Sunday 27 April 2014

TMI Tag

Hiya everyone, as you may know if you read my last few posts, my camera is currently without a battery (left it at uni) so I've had to write blog posts which don't involve photography. However this is the last post I will write without my camera as I will have the battery back soon...yay!
Without blabbering on, I'm going to do the TMI (too much information) tag; it's just a bit of fun and I'm very nosy so I love reading these kind of posts!



1: What are you wearing?
I'm laid in bed atm so I'm wearing a nighty
2: Ever been in love?
Never before but not sure if I am in my current relationship or not
3: Ever had a terrible breakup?
Not really
4: How tall are you?
5'4 or 5'5 I think
5: How much do you weigh?
8 stone
6: Any tattoos?
No, I'm too much of a wimp!
7: Any piercings?
Just my ears once in the normal position, but I do want some more in my ears.
8: OTP?
Google it and it means 'one true pairing'? Don't really understand!!
9: Favorite show?
I loved Breaking Bad and I'm currently LOVING Prison Break (late, I know) but my all time fave that I cannot miss an episode of is Coronation Street.
10: Favorite bands?
I have a guilty pleasure for One Direction but I love the 1975 a lot!
11: Something you miss?
Being young in school. Thinking about it, primary and high school was such a laugh!
12: Favorite song?
At the moment I really like 'Anywhere for you' by John Martin or 'All of me' by John Legend.
13: How old are you?
19
14: Zodiac sign?
Scorpio
15: Quality you look for in a partner?
For them to genuinely like you and want a relationship as opposed to being a player. Being fun and good looks also go down a treat.
16: Favorite Quote?
You only live once. But if you do it right, once is enough.
17: Favorite actor?
Wentworth Miller, mmm. 18: Favorite color?
Probably hot pink but I also love pastel lavender or black and white. Hard choice!
19: Loud music or soft?
Depends on my mood but I really love dance anthems so if I had to choose I'd probably have to say loud.
20: Where do you go when you’re sad?
My room.
21: How long does it take you to shower?
5 minutes but 10 minutes if I'm washing my hair and shaving etc.
22: How long does it take you to get ready in the morning?
Half an hour.
23: Ever been in a physical fight?
Nope.
24: Turn on?
Nice body.
25: Turn off?
Smelly
26: The reason I joined blogging?
I have a passion for make-up and saw so many people writing reviews of products they bought and thought 'I could do that with all the make-up I buy!' It went from there and I realised there's a lot more too it: lifestyle and travel as well as fashion and beauty.
27: Fears?
It'd be easier to ask what I'm not scared of. Main fears: cheese, staffy dogs, spiders, the unknown supernatural stuff.
28: Last thing that made you cry?
I last cried for no reason because I was tired... Cringe!
29: Last time you said you loved someone?
Tonight to my mum.
30: Meaning behind your blog name?
It's my first and middle name with a cheeky kiss on the end.
31: Last book you read?
I can't even remember, is that bad?
32: The book you’re currently reading?
I'm currently (very slowly) reading Divergent.
33: Last show you watched?
Coronation Street yesterday.
34: Last person you talked to?
My friends.
35: The relationship between you and the person you last texted?
My boyfriend.
36: Favorite food?
Pizza or chocolate (maltesers or maltesers easter egg!).
37: Place you want to visit?
California.
38: Last place you were?
My friends house.
39: Do you have a crush?
Niall Horan from 1D.
40: Last time you kissed someone?
Probably my mum or sister or boyfriend, I don't really know.
41: Last time you were insulted?
Yesterday.
42: Favorite flavor of sweet?
Blackcurrant.
43: What instruments do you play??
Can play the acoustic guitar a little bit.
44: Favorite piece of jewelery?
My silver earrings.
45: Last sport you played?
Dance if that counts?
46: Last song you sang?
Probably something from Frozen.
47: Favorite chat up line?
I don't have one!
48: Have you ever used it?
I have never used a chat up line!
49: Last time you hung out with anyone?
About an hour ago.
50: Who should answer these questions next?
ALL OF YOU!
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Thursday 24 April 2014

3 Steps To A Great Summer Body (and meal ideas!)

Hiya everyone,
Are you ever wondering if you're going to ever going to get that summer body you see in all the magazines? I know I do and with so many inspiration photos posted on line, it's hard to stay confident in your body. I'm really intrigued about the whole culture of health and fitness as I want to eat as healthily as I can and be good to my body. I'm a sucker for chocolate and snacking (I eat all the time!) and can never really stick to a good fitness routine. But through searching on Google, reading heaps of blog posts and watching YouTube videos; I feel I have the knowledge to really get that desired body we all strive for: defined abs, a flat stomach, slim toned thighs and a big round toned butt. If you incorporate these 3 steps into your lifestyle then you truly will get where you want to be.


1. Eating Clean & Drinking Water
Some people get confused about the word 'clean' and think it's simply eating healthily. However, it means not eating processed foods (tinned, packeted) and instead replacing it with fresh fruit and vegetables. Good ideas for breakfast include fresh oats mixed with water or non-dairy milk (think rice/almond/soya milk) to make porridge and pop some fruit on top. I particularly enjoy blueberries, raspberries and strawberries on mine. These berries have high antioxidant levels; boosting your immune system and have several benefits to your overall appearance (think skin related). Avacado's are a really good food to eat for lunch as they are proven to improve the collagen in your skin which reduces cellulite (a no-no when it comes to a summer body!) They are quite high in calories, nonetheless healthy calories and fat, so maybe have half of one in your salad or make homemade healthy guacamole (avacado, tomato, lemon and garlic - all crushed up!)
For dinner, I recommend some fish like seabass, seabrime or salmon fillets. These go down a treat on a bed of lemon and coriander cous cous and spinach. If you're feeling like carbs, then wholewheat or high fibre pasta in a tomato sauce would go down well. Some sauces you can get contain all natural ingredients and give you one of your five a day. Win win. By no means do I mean starve your body of what it needs and snacking is not really an issue, but make sure you don't have takeaways etc too often as they're just empty calories and fill your body with nasty stuff. 
Your tummy is not a waste basket so don't treat it like one!

2. Moderate Exercise
I don't believe you need to be in the gym every day to get a good body. Of course it depends on your metabolism, but walking instead of driving places and taking the stairs instead of getting the lift all make a huge difference. It's about the small changes you make. I personally do not have a gym membership as I don't think I would make use of it. I don't feel like running does a lot for your body; it's a lot of work and tires your body out for just as many burnt calories as you could achieve by other methods. It's also not great for your joints and muscles especially when your older. I'm a firm believer in long walks and gentle fitness classes like Pilates. I like to watch youtube videos by Cassey Ho (blogilates) as she has such a range of exercise routines for your legs bums and tums. Videos range from 5 to 15 minutes so it's easy to incorporate into your daily routine. I also like fitness blender and 8 minute abs is a really good video to get those abs showing.


3. Body Brushing & General Body Grooming
After reading the benefits of body brushing, I was truly amazed. It gets your circulation going which is said to boost your immune system and get rid of the dreaded cellulite. Results show that doing it every day will get rid of the horrible lumps and bumps we find appearing on our butts and thighs. You can get a body brush for £5 in boots or if you wanted to splurge, try an Elemis one. At the end of the day, body brushing makes such a difference and we should all do it!!
As for body grooming, we all know waxing/shaving our legs and lady parts will make us look sleek in a bikini as will being rigid with the body moisturiser. Vaseline 'Spray and Go' looks a good moisturiser to try or you could try ones that contain a hint of self tan in to make you look extra hawwwt. 
Clearly a tan makes everybody looks 10x better but sun beds are NOT the way to go! So bad for you, so bad. I've never had one and I never will. Fake it all the way ladies. Getting a tan whilst on holiday isn't a crime (I sure do it!) but remember to keep reapplying the suncream and don't lay out in the sun for too long. Remember, sun = vitamin D, so don't shy away from it!


I know this is all pretty basic stuff but it's nice to have a little reminder now and again as that McDonalds can be all too tempting and can cloud our goals and aspirations. Things like body brushing and brisk walks and squatting isn't a hard thing to incorporate into our lives; it's all about making a plan to do the small changes and our bodies will speak for themselves.
And of course, be happy with your body no matter what, it's not all about looking like Michelle Keegan; it's about being a healthy happy individual :)
Thanks for reading, I hope you've gained some knowledge or that I've reinforced some motivation into you. 


Also I found a great article here that you may like to read: 50 health tips every woman should know. 

What are your top tips for getting a great body?

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Monday 21 April 2014

'Drugstore' v 'High end' Make-up

I haven't been blogging for 2 weeks now and I apologise! I've moved back to Leeds for Easter then went on a city break to Amsterdam, which you will soon read about on the blog when I get my camera battery back. I left my camera charger at uni so unfortunately I have to wait until then to put any photos on my laptop. Therefore I have to go on what photos were already on my laptop so here is a kind of 'drugstore v higher end' post. I haven't done every category of make-up; for example I don't have two similar foundations from both a lower and higher end brand. Some of the products here aren't exact dupes but they aren't too dissimilar either. Hope this helps some of you :)

Eyes

Urban Decay Naked Palette V MUA Heaven and earth palette
The Urban Decay Naked palette is a cult eyeshadow palette for every make-up lover out there as it has 12 of the most pigmented day and night, matte and shimmery, shades you can find. 'Virgin' and 'Naked' with a bit of 'Sin' in the inner corner make a gorgeous daytime look whilst the combination of 'Half Baked', 'Smog' and 'Darkhouse' make for a gorgeous glittery smokey eye. However, this product comes at a price tag of around £30+ which a lot of people cannot just pluck of thin air. This is where the MUA Heaven and Earth Palette comes in to play. The eyeshadows are reasonably pigmented for the price (quite a lot in fact) but are mostly shimmery. It would be nice to have a few more matte shades in there and the packaging could be a lot sturdier, but for the mere price of £4, you can't really go wrong.
Conclusion: If you have the money, splurge on the naked palette as it has more of a range of shades which are slightly more pigmented and the packaging is really sleek, however if you don't wear eyeshadow too much, the MUA palette will do just fine. 

MAC eyeshadow in 'All that glitters' V L'Oreal's Eyeshadow 
'All That Glitters' is one of MAC's most famous eyeshadow shades and for all the right reasons. It's a lovely slightly glittery champagne colour; great for sweeping all over the lids. It's not as pigmented as you would expect for the £12.50 price tag, yet the L'Oreal one isn't overly pigmented either. Both colours are similar and look beautiful on the lid but the L'Oreal one is a bit too glittery. 
Conclusion: I would personally choose the MAC one despite the tag as the formula is better and less over the top. But I think the L'Oreal Infallible eyeshadows are something that I want to try and are raved about so will definitely be a good 'drugstore' single eyeshadow.

Lips

Clarins Instant Natural Lip Perfecter V Revlon Lipglosses
The Clarins lip perfecter is on every beauty blogger's wishlist as it's such a natural lipgloss with no unwanted glitter or stickiness. It adds a bit of shine and looks lovely with a bit of tinted moisturiser and mascara for a natural look. The Revlon lipgloss is the same sort of shade but it a lot more heavy duty. It is thicker and adds a lot more shine - I'd say it's the kind of lip product that goes with a smokey eye for a dressy night out.
Conclusion: It depends what the occasion is but I think the £16 price tag for a lip gloss is slightly ridiculous but nothing like this can be seen on the market. It's worth trying out and as for the revlon lipgloss; it's great for partying but can look a bit too much during the daytime and there are probably better 'drugstore' glosses out there.


MAC Impassioned V ELF 'Sociable'
The price difference here is pretty large as the MAC lipstick is £15 and the ELF one is £1.95. But I can definitely see why. MAC's Impassioned is known for it's pigmented hot pink shade yet is is still creamy and easy to apply. The ELF lipstick is quite dry and has glitter in it which makes it look quite tacky and cheap. 
Conclusion: I would pay £13 extra for the MAC one as the ELF one really is cheap looking and I'd rather just not wear it. However ELF do other lipstick shades, a pink one which is creamier and doesn't contain glitter. I just don't think the hot pink shade is worth even £1.95.

Face

Bourjois Chocolate Bronzer V NARS Laguna Bronzer
The Bourjois chocolate bronzer has been raved about a lot and I definitely think it's the best drugstore bronzer. It's a nice matte shade with a tiny bit of shimmer and it's great that you can get a range of shades based on your skin tone. The NARS Laguna bronzer is something I was super excited to try when I got a NARS palette for christmas, because everyone raves about it. I feel like it isn't dark enough for my skin tone and doesn't really make much of a difference but is brilliant when I'm going for a really natural look.
Conclusion: The NARS laguna bronzer probably suits more faired skinned gals but is so finely milled that the price can be justified for those with a bit of dollar to spend. However, the Bourjois bronzer is really good and at only £7.99 I would probably pop into Boots and get this one!

Natural Collection V NARS
I've always been a fan of Natural Collection's £1.99 blushes as it's so affordable and I personally love the chalky texture as it makes them ridiculously pigmented. The NARS one is more subtle and is very finely milled which I also love. It depends which formula you prefer and the NARS blushes have a larger shade range. The price difference between the two is over £20 so it depends if you think the change in formula is worth the money. The NARS blush looks more natural though and you must be careful with the Natural Collection one.
Conclusion: Any make-up lover must have a NARS blush in their collection so despite my love for the Natural Collection ones, I think the NAR's blushes win on this one.

In general, I think you don't need high end make-up to fulfil your collection as most 'drugstore' products do exactly the same job. In most cases, high end make-up is a commercial con with ridiculously high prices. On the other hand, some products are of such good quality and beat all the others you can find in Boots and Superdrug. I recommend researching and reading lots of blog posts about a high end product before splurging your hard earned cash (or student loan, hehe).

What do you think?
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Wednesday 2 April 2014

OOTN // Night Out

I never do outfit of the day/night posts on my blog because I don't really feel like I'm that knowledgeable about fashion. However, I'd like to start making my blog a bit more versatile than just make-up and beauty. I recently posted a haul which included clothes so I'm getting more into that side of things. I went out on Saturday night, threw some clothes on and liked the outcome. A few pictures later and I thought why not include them on my blog?





My skort is from New Look (can't find on the website) and was around £17.99. Everyone and their mothers seem to be rocking the skort trend at the moment and I can see why because they're soooo comfy like shorts yet look really girly and nice. My top is from Boohoo.com and I also have one in black as well as purple. I didn't include it in my most recent haul and I'm not not sure why because at £6 it's a bargain. I love how these kinda tops sit as it can make an outfit look quite sexy. Cringe.


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