...Hello, 2015

It's a new year, and a new start. I have decided quite determinately that this will be my year.

I have quite a few plans for the year ahead, and things I want to concentrate developing on. They're not really resolutions, as really resolutions are changes that are made immediately, but these are areas I want to work on this year. I find it's much easier to complete goals by working on them gradually, rather than trying to do it all in one go. They're much likely to fail that way.

So below are the things I want to develop on in 2015.

Step up my blogging game - You probably don't realise this, but I actually have a schedule to my posts; Sunday, Wednesday and Friday. You'll be forgiven for not noticing because I've missed ones here and there, and in the last few months there has been no pattern at all. It's been an has-and-when sort of thing. So for 2015, I want to get organised and stick to my pattern. I bought the diary in the picture above to help me with staying on top of things (It's a lovely one from A Beautiful Mess). Not only do I just want to be able to post regularly, I want to begin getting a readership and get more involved in the blogging community. I don't have a plan for it yet, but I'm starting with taking my blog seriously, and putting in the hard work.

Be healthier - I know, this is one which everyone includes in their lists. It's one that's often started, but then swiftly abandoned in a matter of weeks. This is why, for me, it is more of an ongoing achievement rather than a straight up resolution. I plan to add things into my routine one step of time. Starting with drinking more water and adding more fruit and vegetables in to my diet, to picking up running and exercising more regularly when the weather starts to get warmer. I'm much likely to keep it going that way.

Save money - This is quite a big one for me as there are a couple of big purchases I'm planning to make in 2015. Namely, as I am getting closer to taking my driving test, I will want a car. Obviously, on top of buying the car it will be insurance and the rest which goes with it. As well as this, I want to move into a flat this year so I will need money saving up to be able to do that. It's going to be abig task, but doable. My plan is to change little things like making lunch for the week, rather than buying a sandwich everyday, as well as resisting those impulse buys! That may be hardest thing to do...

Meet more people - I will be completely honest with you, I am not the world's biggest social butterfly. In fact, I am much further on the other side of the scale. So meeting people can be difficult. I began to meet more people in 2014, and it is something I want to build on this year.

Be involved - This links into the above one, really, and it's part of my plan as to how I'm going to meet more people. I have a habit of avoiding situations, as I'm happy to keep myself to myself and spend my time catching up on TV and games. So this year I am determined to get involved more and say 'yes' when offers come up.

Work on my photography skills - This is a very practical goal. I bought a bridge camera last year, and I still don't know my way around it. I think it is time to learn. I also want to try and get better with my composition, especially for my blog pictures as they do get a bit boring. I want to be able to inject a bit of excitement into them. Look out for that in 2015!

So there we have it. I am definitely looking forward to this year. I hope in a year's time I will be able to announce that I am well into my goals.

What are your goals for 2015?  

Goodbye, 2014...

So 2014 is officially over, and we are beginning our journey into 2015. Before I get down into my goals and resolutions for 2015, I wanted to take a quick look over the best bits of 2014.

2014 has been a decent year for me. Naturally, it has had its ups and downs, but sitting here and reflecting all the things I have done, I think the year has been more in the way of ups for me.

2014 was the year I got into all things make-up and beauty, and has meant that this blog exists as as it is today. As I said in my previous post, I don't know what changed towards my view on make-up, but I am glad it did, as I've really enjoyed looking at and trying out new products and new looks, and then writing about them. I have enjoyed keeping a blog too (even if it has been a struggle sometimes with working full time), and I have found that it is starting to help me with being creative, something which my job doesn't really allow me to be. I hoping to step up my game in 2015.

In other areas of my life, there have been a lot of great happenings in 2014. I spent an amazing week taking part in activities in Holland, like canoeing, cycling and visiting theme parks. I took some exciting trips down to London, in which I visited the Sherlock Holmes museum, had a fun and informative Illamasqua make-up course as well as doing lots of shopping along Oxford Street, of course.

I saw some amazing plays, not least the Matilda musical which is brilliant, and everyone needs to see! I saw Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake for the first time in about 15 years, and it is still as wonderful asI remembered. I also saw stand-up comedian Dave Gorman live, and met him afterwards. It was an incredibly funny evening.

As well as all this, it seemed to be a year of extra-curricular activities. I spent a lot of my time learning to dive and I passed my theory test. I even took up fencing which has been a lot of fun and I have met some truly wonderful people because of it. I cemented a few friendships this year, but also seemed to grow further apart from others.

Because I love film and television I wanted to take a moment to point out some of the best of 2014.

I am undecided on my favourite film as there were some really fantastic ones; but I think Pride wins out because it is just so witty and poignant. It is most definitely worth a watch. Wes Anderson's wonderful Grand Budapest Hotel is a close second, and honourable mentions go to Guardians Of the Galaxy and The Lego Movie for just being a lot of fun.

One of of my favourite new televisions shows of 2014 was Inside Number 9 which was a little disturbing in places (what more would you expect from two of the creators of The League Of Gentlemen?) but incredibly well written. I also really enjoyed The Musketeers (the second series starts tomorrow!) and I have to mention The Great British Bake-Off and The Apprentice as being really good reality TV. Other honourable mentions are Moone Boy and Only Connect as they are both brilliant.

What are your best bits of 2014?

2014 Beauty Discoveries

For me, 2014 has been a year of beauty. I was never really into it so much prior to this year. I wore BB creams and concealers regularly, but never really knew what I was doing with them, or really cared to branch out into anything further.

For some reason it changed early this year. I don't know what clicked, but something made me want to try using a blush and it all grew from there. I suddenly found myself watching beauty videos on Youtube and avidly reading blogs.

This has meant I had a lot of beauty discoveries this year, and below are some of my favourites. For this post I am going to concentrate on make-up discoveries as that is where my love has mostly lay this year. I could have put much, much more, but I decided to keep it short.

My biggest and best discovery of this year, was definitely the Bobbi Brown corrector, which very, very quickly became my holy grail. It was also the first ever high end product I bought. It is the one product I can use without using anything else. Just getting rid of dark under eye circles really changes the look and helps me look fresh instantly.

Eyebrows are one of those things I never considered concentrating on before. I would hear a lot that they were key to framing your face, but I always thought mine were a decent shape and looked okay, so I didn't really need anything on them. It wasn't until the Benefit counter lady used the Gimme Brow on me, that that I realised what a difference grooming them could make. Just brushing the gel through really made them looking more striking, but kept them looking natural at the same time. I like the shape of my eyebrows, so it mostly helps in filling in gaps and it stays on for such a long time.

Another Benefit product I fell in love with this year was the Porefessional. I think this has become quite the staple in the beauty world. I have tried other pore primers but this is by far my favourite. I love the consistency, as it is so light and creamy, and it makes a difference as soon as I put it on. It is also mattifying which is a huge plus in my book, as I have such oily skin.

Having oily skin also means that keeping my make-up in place all day can be a bit of a struggle. I work full time so the longer my make-up can stay without slipping off, the better. To combat this I use Urban Day's de-slick which is a setting spray, and really does help my make-up stay on longer throughout the day. All it takes is a spritz in the morning and I'm good to go. It doesn't last the entire day (but what does, ey?), but it means I can spend a lot less time fixing and worrying about my make-up at work.

One of my favourite discoveries during summer was the Garnier BB Cream. In the hot weather, when my skin gets particularly oily and is much more prone to slipping away, I find it is good to wear a lighter foundation, and this BB cream was my go to the entire summer. It's very light and offers a decent coverage for a BB cream. It evened out my skin without looking cakey, and meant I was able to build on top of it.

For autumn and winter, I switched up my BB cream for the L'Oreal True Match foundation which I absolutely adore. A little goes a long way with this, and really helps my skin look flawless. Ever since the weather started getting cooler, this has been in my routine. I let my skin breath at the weekends or when I'm off, but I use this regularly in my work routine. One of the biggest benefits of this for me, is how much it lasts throughout the day. 

As far as concealers go I have not found anything to beat Maybelline's The Eye Eraser. I use this for under the eyes and to brighten up areas of my face, but it is perfect for that and really makes a difference. If I am just nipping to the shops I will use this to help even out my skin tone as I like how it brightens up and keeps me looking fresh.

Finally one of the newest additions to my collection is the Illamasqua Matte Veil. It has quickly become a favourite, as it does exactly what it says on the tin. It really helps towards keeping my skin looking great all day. Although my skin is so oily it is impossible to keep it looking matte the entire day, it helps with keeping it stay matte for a little longer and crucially with keeping my make-up on. I really love it.

And there we have it; my favourite make-up products of 2014. As you can see, I've really concentrated on getting the base right this year. For the year ahead I want to get better with eyeshadows, and get the confidence to wear them as well as bold lipsticks more often. I also want to concentrate on developing a good skincare routine and look after my hair much more.

What are your beauty discoveries of 2014?

Nottingham Christmas Market

I love Christmas time.

It's not just about the day itself, the time leading up for it can be so magical. It's true what the song says, it is the most wonderful time of the year.

For me I love the atmosphere of Christmas. I spent a wonderful day this year decorating a Christmas tree with Christmas songs playing in the background, followed by baking Christmas themed treats. It really put me in a very festive mood.

One of the other ways to put me in a festive mood. is by visiting Christmas markets. Luckily Nottingham has a good one, right in the middle of the city centre. There are a lot of food, gifts, games and  rides. They even have an ice rink, which I am yet to try. One of my favourite parts is the delicious Dutch pancakes they sell. They come with strawberries.

But enough of me, I'll let the pictures do the talking.

Festive Lush Haul

Lush is one of those places where you can easily spend far too much time in, smelling all the delicious products and trying them all out. Case in point; I went into Lush, limiting myself to one product from the Christmas range, I came out with three. But Lush have some really great festive products this year that it was really hard to choose only one.

First thing I picked up was the Magic Wand Bubble Bar, which I just couldn't resist. It is pink and strawberry scented, and what makes it particularly great, is that it is on a stick just like a wand, and even has a bell. I am really looking forward to pampering myself with this one.

Next I saw the Butterbear Bath Bomb, which as the name suggests, is a very cute vanilla scented bear with cocoa butter to help soften the skin. 

Finally, I passed a bowl full of The Christmas Penguin Bubble Bar and they made me giggle so much that I could not pass up getting one. I purposely picked up the most deformed looking one because they made me laugh so much. But the bubble bar itself sounds really great. This is orange flower and mandarin oil infused which will make it very relaxing. 

Have you tried any of the festive Lush products?