Goodbye Google Reader| Where else can you find me

 

I assume you all know already that Google Reader is no more come July, so whether you use it to read blogs currently or not I’m sure it will have a huge impact on some people’s blogging. The major worry for many bloggers is that Google Friend Connect (GFC) may also disappear as a consequence. So before we all loose touch with each other how about we connect on different platforms and adapt to new ways to catching up with our favourite blogs. I have demonstrated below the other social media platforms that I am alive and well on, if you would like to follow me. I obviously don’t want to loose contact with you so please, please, please leave your social media links in a comment below and I will follow you all… lets share the love!

Bloglovin’

Bloglovin’ has had a very busy day as bloggers scramble to add their favourite blogs asap. I have seen such a huge increase over today that my blog has become number 33 in the Up and Coming Personal blogs… made my day! It seems to be the platform of choice for many.

Follow me here.

 

Twitter

Twitter is actually one of my favourite platform for reading blog posts, as it is instant and I am always on it. Yes you have to click through to a persons blog and everything isn’t in one place, but I very often favour peoples tweets then go through them at a later date to check out their recent posts.

Follow me here.

 

YouTube

Not so much of a blog following platform but still a social media platform. I am very new to YouTube and am slowly but surely working on it, so if you fancy checking out my videos and subscribing then go ahead.

Subscribe to my channel here.

 

Pinterest

A very different and interesting platform. I could spend hours looking at all the pretty and inspirational picture on Pinterest. It is great for fitness motivation also. I really need to work on my boards but plan on doing so soon.

Follow me here.

 

Hello Cotton

This is a relatively new platform for me, and rivals Bloglovin’ It allows you to follow your favourite blogs all in one place, but is a bit more magazine like than Bloglovin’, which appeals to many.

Follow me here.

 

She Said Beauty

A completely new platform for me, I literally signed up a few minutes ago, so I’m unsure to what it is like, but first impressions are good. Like Hello cotton is is a bit more magazine like with different sections etc. I also allows you to add all your social media widgets which i like

Follow me here.

 

Google+

This again is completely new to me, I have played around with it in the past but I find it quite hard to navigate and am a bit unsure of it. This is the platform that Google wans us to all start using but its yet to take off in the way that they had hoped.

Add me to your circle here.

 

Which one is your favourite platform for keeping in touch? Please leave your social media links in the box below and I will follow you all on all of the sites. I need to make sure that I do not loose touch with my favourite bloggers!

Why do you wear makeup? | Tag

*Combination of my own images and those from We Heart It*

I have seen this tag floating around on peoples blogs over the past few weeks and it seems to be spreading like wild fire. Now I’m not normally one for tags; I don’t know why, I just never found one that inspired me and if they did, they were quite lengthy. However this tag is short and sweet and gives a little insight into the blogger. So here goes my answers.

When did you begin to love makeup?

Like many others I have forever been a girly girl. When I was a little girl I was obsessed with princesses, pink, glitter, Barbie's and spent my time dressing up, putting on fashion shows and baking mud pies. With this girliness came the love of makeup. I remember I used to have a big pink makeup case at my Nanas house and would stand in front of her mirror applying glitter, stick-on tattoos, peel off nail varnish and sickly sweet perfumes. I have always been gifted numerous makeup palettes for birthdays and Christmas, and as I grew so did my make up case. Obviously as I got older the quality of the product improved.

I first started wearing “proper” makeup aged 12… yes it is a little early, however when I was a younger I wore glasses, which unfortunately made my eyes appear smaller than what they were. I was obviously very self conscious of this and used to (still do) layer on the mascara to make my eyes look bigger. I probably started wearing a full face of makeup when I was 14, again to mask my insecurities, which at the time was my bad skin. When I started wearing a full face my confidence with my makeup improved and so did my experimentation, cue lots of black eyeliner and bright eye shadow… baby pink was one of my favourites for a while. Thankfully my taste has changed and matured, but I still like to have fun with it.

How do you feel without makeup?

A bug! I have a bit of a complex whereby I think my eyes look very small when I’m not wearing mascara, I call them my little bug eyes! As a result I almost never leave the house without mascara, the only time I do is when I’m out running. I know they probably don’t but I just don’t feel very confident when not wearing mascara. I will quite gladly leave the house without other makeup; I choose not to though. When my skin is looking good I will happily just wear mascara and a bit of bronzer and blush, especially during the weekends.

What do you like about makeup?

Quite a difficult question I think as sometimes I love makeup (like 70% of the time) and other times I feel like its an evil necessity and more like war paint than makeup. The days when I love it are obviously days when I’m feeling on top of the world. I love that makeup allows me to look and feel more human. I like that it can help enhance anyone’s natural beauty, and draw out a persons individual and beautiful features that they may not have been aware of before. I also love how colourful and pretty makeup is, the colour combinations and collections are never ending… it’s always great finding a new favourite lippy.

The days when I don’t love makeup are obviously days when I’m not feeling quite my normally self, perhaps a little blue. On days such as this I tire of applying my makeup but I would never leave the house without it. Like I mentioned, I feel like it’s a necessary evil; war paint; a mask that myself and many others apply to hide behind. I wish there was a national day where us girl don’t wear our makeup and show and (try to) embrace our natural beauty, as no matter how much we fight it, we all have something unique and beautiful about out face.

Three “Holy Grail” Items:

Mascara- I’m not fussed on which brand, however I do love L'Oreal Telescopic False Lash Mascara and Maybelline Colossal Mascara

Urban Decay NAKED Palette- A god send for eyeshadow lovers! I use mine all the time, perfect for both day to day looks and for dramatic night out looks. The pigmentation is great and the colours all compliment each other perfectly.

Rimmel Blush Pink Rose- A bargain high street product, but one that is very pigmented, lasts forever and is a great match for my skin tone. Great at giving me some colour on these dull days and a daily wear for me.

I hope you enjoyed reading my answers and learnt a little more about me. I look forward to reading some of your answers, if you do write your own be sure to Tweet me or comment below so I can give them a read.

The Days Gone By| A Week In Pictures

A little update for you all. To be honest I have not been up to much recently, as I have been pretty much tied to Kendal as I am dog sitting for my mum while she is honeymooning in Hawaii… so jealous! So apart from the weekends when my boy comes down to visit, I have been keeping the company of two very lively and sometimes annoying dogs and working hard at work. However despite the lack of excitement in my life these past few weeks I have still taken plenty of pictures.. blogging problems.

• Walk with a view- Last Sunday I dragged my man on a nice long walk with the dogs, the view is the view from the top of the hill I run up, it over looks all of Kendal and across to Oxenholme. I am really enjoying the change in weather, yes the rain sucks, but it rains all year here in Lake District anyway. Its the crisp cold days I am loving.
• Clean brushes mean a clean face- I admit, I am not great with washing my makeup brushes, yes beauty blogger cardinal sin. However last weekend I bought some baby shampoo and spent a good hour washing all my brushes, and the difference in them is amazing! I must keep this up as my makeup looks so much better after applying it with clean brushes.
• Are you breast aware? My Breast Cancer post this past week has received some great feedback. I wasn’t sure on whether to publish it at first as I did not want to offend or lecture anyone, but as it is something close to my heart, and something that is affecting my family right this moment I wanted to talk about it and am glad I have after all your lovely comments. I hope I have helped some of you be more breast aware.
• Drinking green, eating clean- After over indulging both before and after my mums wedding, I haven't been feeling too great so decided to embark on a bit of a detox to kick start my healthy eating regime. You may have seen the post below that talks about it. I essentially have been eating and drinking homemade smoothies and soups and having a healthy dinner, very simple, but effective.
• Autumn television- Oh yes, oh yes oh yes! Gossip Girl is back! I am totally obsessed with this programme! I am so sad it is the last season, I won’t know what to do with myself.
• Puppy cuddles- Pretty self explanatory!
• Wednesday is treat day- This has to be one of the highlights of my week. I came home form work on Wednesday to this scone and note from my lovely neighbour who has been helping me look after the dogs while I am at work. She attends Weight-Watchers with my mum on a Wednesday morning, so after the meeting they always go for coffee and a treat, and this week she brought me a treat… how lovely!
• Cani-x- As I have restarted my healthy living regime again, I have been out on the fells running with my dogs again. It proves a bit more difficult to run down hills when its muddy, I find I slip a lot more and the dogs attached to me pulling like crazy really don’t help. It’s all still fun (until they pull me over).
• Luscious lashes- I had temporary lash inserts applied over two weeks ago, and they are still surviving! Yes there are some gaps but this picture was taken just before I went to bed, so you can see I can still get away without wearing any mascara. A blog post will be coming up.
• Domestic Goddess- Baking at the weekend is something I love to do, I just have to try and not eat all my batch at once. This week I made peanut butter and chocolate squares
• Christmas Presents- I am already buying Christmas presents! Firstly I want to be organised and spread the cost, but secondly it’s because I’m already excited! I am a little Christmas crazy!
• Christmas Chocolates- Again as I am Christmas crazy these were purchased and soon consumed by me and my man this weekend… whoops. Back to the smoothies tomorrow!

What has been the highlight of your week? Have you had a quiet one like me? Have you started Christmas shopping yet?

Soap and Glory| No Clogs Allowed Super Self Heating Deep Pore Detox Mask| Review

 

My regular readers and followers will know that I am a Soap and glory fiend! I love this brand, although I have not tried every single product in their range I have ambitions to do so. The newest products to my ever growing collection is the ‘No Clogs Allowed Detox Mask’, and the ‘Greatest Scrub of All’, both are products I have heard many good things about, and have been longing after for some time. I finally took the plunge last weekend and bought them both as Soap and Glory products were on offer for Buy One Get One Half Price, and never being one to pass on a bargain they soon appeared in my basket.

As the title suggest I am firstly going to review the ‘No Clogs Allowed Detox Mask’. I have used the mask three times now, and believe this is long enough to give you a summery of my thoughts on the product and its results.

Their opinion

Soap and Glory claim that the the mask is a an intensive-action pore-refining facial peel. Here is what they have to say about the product-

“A super self-heating 5 minute deep pore detox face mask with a free skin smoothing sponge. This is a deep cleansing treatment, ideal for greasy and blackhead prone skin.”

My opinion

The product has the consistency of a mud mask, but is not as thick as traditional ones. It comes out of the tube with ease, and when rubbed into my skin heats up with immediate effect. At first the mask feels a little grainy, but these grains soon rub out when you scrub the mask into your skin. It leaves a thin layer upon the surface of your skin and doesn’t take too long to dry. When drying the heating sensation soon levels off, and there is no tingly sensation that there is with some masks. When drying it doesn’t dry solid and crack like other mud masks.

For removal you are provided with a ‘skin smoothing sponge’. Although it is handy for removal I can’t say it leaves my skin anymore smooth than when I don’t use it. The mask cleans off easily, due to the fact only a thing layer is needed for application.

The end result is very good. My skin glows, looks very healthy and feels a lot smoother, and my blemishes and blackheads appearance are reduced. I feel like my skin is left completely clean with no dryness or sensitivity that I often suffer with after using mud masks. 

The only downsides to this product for myself are that firstly, I do not experience the blue Smurf face effect that is meant to happen when apply the mask. My face stayed white, as you can see from the pictures. Secondly, although I believe my pores appearance has reduced by using this mask, my blackheads have not reduced dramatically. This is one of the main reasons I bought this product, as I am always looking for a miracle product for reducing blackheads. I will continue to use this mask as I do love it regardless of this. I hope that in time my blackheads do disappear as it suggests on the tube, so watch this space as I will keep you updated with my progress.

Which Soap and Glory products are your favourite? Any you recommend for my collection? Or do you have any miracle cure for blackheads that you can recommend?

Where I have been for the past few weeks

*Chocolate friends* *View from the library, wish I was there* *At least I never fell asleep in the library like this girl* *Deadline countdown*

*All printed off and ready to hand in* *Celebratory dinner and drinks*

Hello all, just a quick little apology for my quietness on the blogging front. For the past few weeks I have been ever near my dissertation deadline, so rather than spending my free time blogging, I have had no free time, and have lived in the library for the past few weeks. Thankfully my hand-in was yesterday, so I now have a life again…yeah! I have quite a few blog posts coming your way, so stay tuned. And for my lovely followers, many thanks for staying around.

Pamper Night| Montagne Jeunesse Smoothie Face mask review

Using an entire sachet- lots of product!

Last night, I took my usual late night trip to Asda to get my tea, and was very excited to see they currently have a load of beauty and toiletry items on special offer.  I didn't get too much, but did buy a special bumper pack of face-masks, which I haven't seen been sold like this anywhere else. 

It was a bumper pack of Montagne Jeunesse sachets, there were two boxes on offer. A box filled with 5 sachets of chocolate treatments, for face, hair and body, and the pack I chose, a 5 pack of face-masks.The boxes are normally sold at £5 ish, however they were on offer for I think £3.

So last night I decided have a mini pamper and chose the Crushed Raspberry Fruit Smoothie, Deep Pore Cleaning face-mask. The product is described as; 

"Our delicious nutritious smoothie mix of raspberries, peach, mango, apricot and pomegranate isn't a drink but it is bound to leave you in a smiley mood- with fresher, cleansed  and softer skin' 

The Good

• Left my skin incredibly smooth.
• Loads of product, so enough for two treatments.
• Animal friendly. Quote- "We're vegetarian and animals are our friends-that's why we don't bash bunnies or add bits of animal!"
• A cheap product
• The product had a rich and creamy texture.

The Bad

• Nothing really, I suppose the fact that there is too much product can be wasteful.

Over all- 5/5- Its a super product and I have to agree with everything the product claims to be. It smelt absolutely gorgeous, good enough to eat (but don't.) I have used these products over the years, but  I'm still looking forward to using the other four products. 

Plastic Surgery Madness

Recently plastic surgery is very much everywhere in the media due to the uproar about the poisonous breast implants, PIP. 

I will put it straight out there, my own opinion on plastic surgery. 

I believe that for those who is is necessary for, then yes go ahead, if it makes your life easier to lead, or helps you for medical reasons, then definitely. For those who choose to do plastic surgery for non-medical reason, please be careful. I am not against plastic surgery at all! But I believe many do not see the severity of the surgery, and how addictive it can be. Many enjoy the quick fix it gives to themselves and their confidence, and then resort to it more and more. That is where I stand. 

This post is about the influence of plastic surgery on children. I came across an article in Closer Magazine about Sarah Burges, 51, who buys her daughter, 7, vouchers for plastic surgery for when she is 18. Madness!  The mother herself has been dubbed the Plastic Barbie as she has had over £500,000 worth of plastic surgery.  Apparently little Poppy asks for plastic surgery all the time, she wants to look good, , and she can't wait to be like her Mummy with big boobs, as they are pretty. Her mother believes that she is investing into Poppy's future, as looks are a big part of peoples futures, and little girls dream of becoming WAGS etc, so looks are essential to achieve this goal. 

So I know this is an extreme example of the effects of plastic surgery on children, but it shows there does exist a relationship between children being surrounded by it and it's influence. 

In my opinion this mother is showing her daughter that perfection can be bought and achieved through plastic surgery, and its not OK to be happy with the way you look naturally, you need to enhance beauty. Overall small girls can grow up believing that they are not good enough, you have to be careful around influential minds. 

I know being a beauty blogger, it can seems skeptical as we are always talking about beauty products and how good they make us feel and look, but I believe plastic surgery takes this beauty obsession to another level. 

I would really love to know about all your opinions on plastic surgery. 

Is it a good thing, or a bad thing? 

Do you believe the younger generation are more susceptible to buying plastic surgery? 

I want to know, as we never talk about such a big issue in the beauty industry, yet we are all beauty bloggers, thanks girls!

Metallic Nails| NOTD

Another look at what my nails are dressed up like today. I think they look quite futuristic! I hope you like them.

Glamorous Eyes| FOTD

Argh...Eyelash problems 

Another look that I call glamorous casual, as when the eye is closed, the makeup looks quite dramatic, but when the eye is open and paired with a simple face overall, the look is casual. I wore this to dinner and drinks one night. 

To get this look I used

Face-

Foudation- Rimmel Stay Matte

Bronzer- Rimmel Sun Shimmer

Blusher- Rimmel Blush, Shade- Pink Rose

Eyes-

Eye shadows- Urban Decay Naked Pallete- Darkhorse, Smog, Sidecar and Virgin for highlighting.

Mascara- Rimmel Scandeleyes

Fake Eyelashes- Eyelure

Nails Inc Piccadilly| NOTD

Just a quick peek of my nails today. Moving away from the metallics (although I've got a little bit of sparkle.)

This is my first and only Nails Inc varnish, but I would definitely get another. I got this free with Cosmopolitan magazine or glamour magazine a few months ago, and I really like the shade.

Topshop Makeup Brushes| Review

A while ago, actually during the January sales, I bought this makeup brush collection from Topshop. I had previously not owned an entire makeup brush collection, just a few cheap brushes here and there, so thought I would splurge. 

The brush set cost me £26 if I remember correctly (so not so much of a splurge) but I thought it was a bargain, a good starter set, and loved the cute little case it came in too. 

So for the review.

The Good

• The brushes were soft
• There is a good variety of brushes, including brushes for face, bronzer, blush, lips and eyes. 
• Nicely shaped brushes

The Bad

• Quite thin bristles, not good for packing on colour. 
• The brushes have started to shed quite a lot... very annoying!
• After washing the brushes, they do not seem as soft.

Overall I would give the brushes a 2/5. At first I was very happy with them, but it seems that after continually usage they have almost disintegrated as they just get worse and worse. 

I am definitely looking at investing in some new brushes. Anyone got any favourites that don't break the bank? Or does one have to pay money for quality make-up brushes?

Pamper Sunday

So tonight I had a little pamper night, after my hard day at work.

I finally unpacked my Lush box that I got for Christmas, and inside found two bath bombs/ fizzers and a bath bar. I decided to use the Santa bomb... better late than never! The aroma is really nice, quite fruity, but still relaxing, and it turned the water a bright orange.

So I had a lovely long bath while reading my Cosmo magazine and painting my nails a lovely metallic silver, and being covered in my mud mask

I think people should pick up Cosmo magazine this month, some great articles that make you stop and think, my two favourite are one on UK citizens being duped into trafficking abroad. The other article is about Sugar Daddy websites, and the girls who use them... a very interesting read. 

I hope you all had a lovely relaxing sunday also!

100 followers

Wow! I am really happy and amazed that I have hit triple figures for those who like my blog so much. It means a lot to me that you find my ramblings interesting. 

I have only been blogging for about 3 months now, and I love it! I have found a place which is filled with amazingly creative people who have the same passions in life as me. I am inspired by each of my followers, as you are all so unique and have your own take on not only beauty but on life. I am thankful for all the support you have shown me, and for every single view and comment that you have shared. 

To thank you all I am going to do a give away. It will be a little parcel with a few different little gifts in but it will be a present all the same. I get paid tomorrow, so will start buying the bits and bobs then. So keep a look out for when I actually announce the giveaway as I want it to be fair, so each of you must enter. 

Thanks you again! I hope you are all having a lovely week!

Image From Google

Much love from me (on the left)

A Week in pictures

*Champagne cocktails*

*Healthy dinner*

*Mother Bear and her giant salad*

*View from my bedroom at home*

*Zumba Time*

I've had a lovely week, I've gotten over my illness, and had some quality time spent with friends and family.

• Champagne Cocktails- To celebrate finishing our assignments and exams for the past semester me and my best friend went out for a dinner date to celebrate. It was Restaurant Week in Newcastle, where many normally high priced restaurants have special offers on. So we went to Babucio's on Quayside and it was beautiful. We finished off dinner with some gorgeous champagne cocktails.... yum!
• Healthy Dinner- this week I have been healthier, and my lovely boyfriend has been cooking some yummy healthy dinners. This was chicken and noodles with chilli, ginger and garlic, with some sweet potato mash... again Yum!
• Mother Bear and her giant salad- My mum came to visit me in Newcastle for the day and treated me to lunch at Olive and Bean, a great deli that has a wide range of salads, sandwiches and cakes, all homemade... beautiful. We had a lovely shop in Fenwicks as well and she treated herself to a few bits and bobs... a great girly day.
• View from my bedroom window at home- I spontaneously went home with my mother, and spent a couple of nights back home in the country. I love getting away from the city. My bedroom at my mums backs onto the allotments and fells (She lives in the Lake District) so its amazingly quiet!
• Zumba time- My mum also had me exercising with her. I tried the Zumba DVD which is loads of fun. I have the video game for the Wii, so already knew some of the dances, we had lots of laughs!

I hope you all had a great week also.