2017 Favourites

I can't believe it's time for me to sit down and write up my favourites for the year. 2017 has gone with the blink of an eye and that terrifies me but at the same time it's a blessing because 2017 as been one hell of a year. 

Because this is my last post for 2017 I want to take this opportunity to say thank you to everybody that has continued to support me this year. I couldn't have gotten through 2017 without your support, love and kindness so thank you. 

MMAKEUP AND SKINCARE

Too Faced Waterproof Better Than Sex Mascara

Too Faced Milk Chocolate Soleil Bronzer

Revlon Highlight and Sculpt Palette

The Body Shop Matte Lip Liquids

Maybelline Matte Maker Powder

Mecca Diamond Dust Highlight; White Gold

St Ives Exfoliating Facial Scrubs

Wild Ferns Manuka Honey Intensive Refining Eye Cream

Simple To Kind Skin Hydrating Cleansing Oil 

Glamglow Super Mad Clearing Treatment Mask

L'Oreal Detoxifying and Illuminating Mask

YOUTUBERS AND BLOGGERS

Zoe Sugg; @zoella 

Suzie; @hello_october

Alix; @icovetthee

Anna; @theannaedit

Lily; @lilypebbles

Kalyn Nicholson 

Meghan Rienks 

Desi Perkins

Shannon; @shaaanxo

Katy; @lustrelux

Megs; @wonderful_u

Shani Grimmond 

Michael Finch

Sharon Farrell

BOOKS AND FILMS 

The Hate U Give; Angie Thomas

Option B; Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant

Goodnight Stories For Rebel Girls; Francesca Cavallo and Elena Favilli

The Way I Used To Be; Amber Smith

Surrounded By Spirit; Kelvin Cruickshank

Baby Driver; Edgar Wright - 2017

Only The Brave; Joseph Kosinski - 2017

Captain Phillips; Paul Greengrass - 2013

Everest; Baltasar Kormākur - 2015

MUSIC AND PODCASTS

Ed Sheeran; Divide

Pink; Beautiful Trauma

Niall Horan; Flicker

Lily Pebbles and Anna Newton; At Home With . . .

Meghan Rienks; Don't Blame Me

Ingrid Nilsen and Cat Valdes; Ladies Who Lunch

Esteé Lalonde; The Heart Of It 

I've linked everything where I can so I hope that helps! Best wishes for 2018 and I'll see you next year! 

B x 

Summer Travel Makeup

Over Christmas I'll be spending time with friends and family in Christchurch. Naturally, I thought this would be a great opportunity to share with you what makeup I'll be taking and wearing while I'm away. 

I'll leave all products linked so you can easily find out more information. 

FACE

Chichi Super BB Cream

Maybelline Master Conceal

Maybelline Matte Maker Powder

Revlon Highlight and Sculpt Palette 

Revlon Blush: 007 Melon Drama

BROWS

Natio Brow Kit

Maybelline Brow Drama Sculpting Mascara

EYES

Too Faced Natural Mattes Eyeshadow Palette

Too Faced Waterproof Better Than Sex Mascara

LIPS

The Body Shop Liquid Lips in 032 Windsor Rose and 014 Sydney Amaryllis 

B x

Summer Skincare Line Up

I’m starting to wonder if I have more skincare products than I do makeup but none the less skincare is so important and I can’t stress that enough. I often get compliments on my skin and I’m often asked how I keep it looking so healthy. The answer is a regular morning and night skincare routine. 

In the summer my skin is definitely a combination of oily and dry. I tend to be more oily in my t-zone and drier on the outer the perimeter of my face. And to be honest I don’t really change products due to the change of my skin type, I kind of just roll with it. 

While I throughly enjoy all of the products I’ve mentioned below, I do recommend that you do a little more research into each product before purchasing them. Remember what works for me may not work for you and your skin, and vise versa. 

MAKEUP REMOVER

There are two kinds of makeup removing products I'm using at the moment. Face wipes are a standard product in my routine. I use them to remove the majority of my face makeup and then I'll go in with my Simple To Kind Skin Hydrating Cleansing Oil to remove any eye makeup. Cleansing oils can be messy sometimes but I think they're the best way to remove your makeup. They help break down and remove makeup without having to pull and tug on your skin. But the thing I love most about the Simple Kind To Skin Hydrating Cleansing Oil is that it removes waterproof mascara with ease and leaves skin feeling super hydrated, which it suggests in it's name. To see a full review on the Simple Kind To Skin Hydrating Cleansing Oil click here.

CLEANSER

This will be no surprise to some of you but The Body Shop Tea Tree Skin Clearing Facial Wash is still a solid part of my routine. I swear by this stuff for keeping my skin clear of any breakouts and blemishes. I've used this product for years now and everytime I try something new I always find myself going back to The Body Shop Tea Tree Facial Wash. I believe I've mentioned it before but tea tree is great for your skin as it has antibacterial properties that will help keep blemishes at bay.

EXFOLIATOR

St Ives Pink Lemon and Mandarin Orange Scrub is my current exfoliator of choice. St Ives have a fantastic line of exfoliants and I've used a few of them in the past. I think that you're able to pick the intensity of the exfoliant is a great feature so that even those with more sensitive skin still have an option. St Ives exfoliants leave your skin feeling soft, smooth and fresh without being too drying. And I'll quickly mention that all their product smell incredible. 

TONER

Again, back to continuous favourite, The Body Shop Tea Tree Skin Clearing Mattifying Toner. Really lovely toner and because of the tea tree and it's antibacterial properties it's great for helping clear the skin. I will mention that if you're not too keen on the smell of tea tree then this product may not be for you. 

FACE MASKS

I have a couple of face masks I'm really loving using at the moment. Both along the say lines but different brands and different intensities. L'Oreal Pure Clay Detoxifying and Illuminating Mask is great for pulling out any gunk in your pores and just giving your face a really deep cleanse. It's also a great dupe for the Glamglow Super Mud Clearing Treatment Mask however it's definitely not as intense. The Glamglow face mask really makes my skin tingle once applied, its like I can feel it doing the cleansing of my pores. It also drys down a lot quicker meaning you wouldn't need it on your skin for as long as L'Oreal face mask. I alternate the use of both face masks, using the L'Oreal mask more often to help clear pores on a regular basis.

MOISTURISER

Again this shouldn't be a surprise to any of you but the Nivea Soft Moisturising Cream is the moisturiser I'm using at the moment and will be continuing to use this summer. There isn't really much left for me to say about it other than I love it and the glow it gives my skin.

EYE CREAM
I think I mentioned this eye cream in my winter skincare post, the Wild Ferns Manuka Honey Intensive Refining Eye Cream. It has a variety of oils in it which leave your under eyes bright, glow and hydrated. I've also done a full review on this eye cream so if you'd like to read that it'll be linked here. 

SPF
My SPF of choice this summer is the Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Face Sunscreen Liquid Lotion SPF50+.  I'll always use SPF50+ on my face to ensure that it's really protected from the sun. I love that this sunscreen is a water light texture and gives a matte look on the skin which I think it perfect for under makeup. Also I really enjoy the fact that this product doesn't close pores. It gets a b ig thumbs up from me.

B x 

2018 Planning and Organisation

@kellybrito

You all know how seriously I take my planning and organisation. I've actually already know how I want to plan and organise my life in 2018 and I've gone one set further and already set it all up.  Some of you will think that's absolutely crazy but December is busy month as it is and I think it's great to already be thinking about, if not already know, how you want to plan in 2018. 

I'm very much a paper and pen girl but apart of that is also being digitally organised as well. So that for whatever reason I don't have my physical planner on me I can still know what I need to do, where I need to be and schedule other appointments if need be. 

For 2018 I'm going ton have three planners. Crazy I know but let me explain. My main planner is standard day to a page. This is where the majority of my planning and organising will take place. Everything from birthdays, events, appointments, to do lists and notes will go in here. 

 The next planner is a week on two pages. I've decided I'm going to use this one for journaling and gratitude. I really want to start journalling again even it is only small amounts daily. These kinds of planner and journal are really awesome to look back on and I think it'll make for some really good self care and creativity time. 

The final notebook I'm using in 2018 is my Bullet Journal. I won't be using it in the regular Bullet Journal way but what I'll be using it for is post planning for my website, goal setting, routine planning, gift ideas and all that good stuff. It's going to be something I can refer back to regardless the time of the year. 

Like I said earlier I adore planning and organisation. It's just one of those things that has to be in my life or otherwise everything is just a shambles. Let me know how you're choosing to plan for 2018, I'd love to know. 

B x 

Warm Weather Essentials

The fact that it's December doesn't just mean the festive season has begun but it also means that summer is officially here. I love the warmer weather but with the weather being warmer I tend to carry around a few more essentials with me on a daily basis opposed to the colder months. 

I've compiled a list of my ultimate essentials. Products that I need to get me through the warmest months of the year. These are items are what I try to have on me everyday regardless of what I'm doing. I feel like my summer holiday essentials would be ever so slightly different, but along the same lines. 

SPF 30+ Sunblock

Sunblock is so important in the warmer months. I can't stress that enough. I don't use anything under an SPF 30+ on my body and I don't use anything under an SPF50+ on my face. 

 Antiperspirant/Roll On Deodorant

My choice of brand when it comes to deodorant, both roll on and antiperspirant is Dove. I haven't used any other brand in a very long time. All their scents are beautiful, fresh and last long on the skin. Carrying some kind of deodorant around with me in the warmer months means that I don't have to be paranoid that I stink. 

Lipbalm

A lip balm with some kind of SPF in it is great in the warmer months because sunburnt lips are the worst. I am yet to find any great lip balms with SPF so let me know if you have any recommendations but for the mean time I've just been applying my SPF50+ face sunblock to my lips and it's working for the time being. 

Handcream

I always carry around hand cream with me regardless of the season but it the warm months I think it's quite nice to have something light and moisturising. I have the worst dry skin on my hands so this is definitely an essential for me. 

Waterproof Mascara

Waterproof mascara is a must for me in the warmer months. My favourite at the moment is the Too Faced Better Than Sex Waterproof Mascara. It's super long wearing and looking gorgeous on the lashes. It doesn't transfer onto your skin throughout the day either which I think is the reason I love the product so much. 

Sunglasses

I've talked about protecting your skin in the warmer months but it is also so important to protect your eyes as well. Invest in some decent sunglasses and wear them!

Water Bottle

I always try to carry a water bottle around with me regardless of the season. It's so important to stay hydrated especially in the warmer months when it becomes easier to get dehydrated. 

B x 

2017 Vlogmas Favourites

@morezoella - Vlogmas Day 4

The festive season is my favourite time of the year. I adore seeing others get into the Christmas spirit and people enjoying themselves after what can be what feels like a really long year.  Another part of festive season that I have come to love over the past few years is Vlogmas. For those of you who don't know what Vlogmas is, it's a pretty simple concept. It is where a YouTuber will vlog from the first of December right up until the 24 of December so you get to see all the festive bits and pieces they get up to. Seeing the contrast between what a summer and winter Christmas is like is also pretty awesome. 

I'm not watching no where near as many peoples Vlogamas' this year but regardless I thought I'd share those that I am watching as there might be some YouTubers you haven't heard of before or maybe you're looking for some new content to watch. 

Zoe Sugg - @morezoella

Suzie - @hello_october

Alix - @icovetthee

Megs - @wonderful_u

Sophie - @sophdoesvlogs

B x 

Roadtrips and Tattoos

@trenthaaland

Happy Sunday you lovely bunch! It’s December! But where the heck did November go?! I feel like I blinked and it was over, it’s nuts! And it's officially summer! It feels so good to be sitting back at my computer and to be writing again. November was a bit of an off month for me in regards to my website. I uploaded a total of six posts and there was no real order to when they were scheduled for. 

I was in Christchurch for the entirety of November with a trip back home for an hospital appointment mid month. It’s safe to say November was a super busy month and while I had content planned, I just didn’t have the down time I wished I’d have to write. I managed to get a few posts up and those, I hope you enjoyed. 

I arrived home on the 30 of November which was fantastic. I was so excited to be back home and have my own bed. I then travelled to Blenheim for my Grandparents burial which of course was super tough but was something I was glad we could do as a family. I stayed two nights in Blenheim, spent time with my family that’d travelled from Christchurch but I also may have got myself a wee addiction. I got my first tattoo! If you’re following me on Instagram then you’ve probably already seen it but it was just a wee dedication to my Nan and Pop. 

So I’ve spent my first full week home and it feels great! I’ve loved being back in my own bed, being able to cuddle my fur babies and get back into some kind of routine.

It’s roughly twelve  days before I’m back in Christchurch for Christmas and I’m so happy that I’ll be spending it with my Mum’s side of the family! Christmas is my favourite time of the year and while this year is the first year without my Nan and Pop around, we as a family are determined to keep there memory alive even more so on a day like Christmas Day.

For posts this month I’ve decided I’ll be uploading twice a week, Tuesday’s and Thursday’s, rather than the alternative three days a week which will come back into play on the 01 January. This is just because I want to slowly work my way back into the swing of things but also because I don't want to overcommit myself in already a crazy busy month.

I’m happy to be back writing and I can’t wait to get back into the full swing of things! 

B x