Monthly Favourites: March 2016

I hope you all had a fantastic month & had a great Easter. I'm super excited for April & to see what it has in store for us all. I wanted to quickly mention that you'll probably notice that this monthly favourites is a lot shorter compared to other months & that's because I'm going to be separating them into two separate posts. I'll have one going up at the end of every month, like usual, that is very similar to this one & then every couple of weeks I'll have, what I'm going to call 'Love List' & that is where I'm going to be talking about all the other bits & pieces that I've been loving. The reason behind wanting to do it like this is so that I can go into so much more detail without creating an incredibly long post. I think all the things that I'll be covering in 'Love List' will be a lot more appropriate to do every two weeks or so rather than every month like I'd normally be doing.

MAKEUP 
For the month of March I have been loving a couple of Maybelline products. The Maybelline Dream Terra Sun Bronzing Powder & The Colour Drama Intense Velvet Lip Pencil.

Let start with the bronzing powder. I brought this bronzing powder along time ago off NZSale & when I first tried it I wasn't to fond of the colour. It is definitely very warm toned & my guess is back then I was applying it incorrectly, maybe I wasn't blending it properly, I'm not a hundred percent sure what my issue with it was but never this less I love it now! I think it blends beautifully, it warms up my complexion really nicely, it blends amazingly & it leaves my glowing in all the right places. From what I can see on the back of the packaging I have the shade 02S Cheetah, if you were interested. By the looks of the Maybelline website I must have old packaging & an old shade, but if you check out the website it'll give you all the correct & current information.

The next product I've have adored this month is Maybelline's Colour Drama Intense Velvet Lip Pencil in 630 Nude Perfection. Trust me, it is perfection alright! It has a semi matte finish, it's super smooth to apply, the pigment is amazing & it's so moisturising on the lips. This product exceed my expectations by a long shot. I wasn't expecting the formula to be so pigmented & moisturising. I was kind of expecting it to be dry & hard to apply, but Maybelline proved me wrong & I'm so glad that they did! I look forward to try some of the different shades.

SKINCARE 
I guess you could say that this is a skincare tool that I have been loving this month. I tried one back in 2014 & was amazed at how well it worked however I never followed up & got a new one once I had to get rid of my original one. I was in my local chemist what for a prescription to be filled & I got was to excited when I saw the Konjac Sponges sitting on the shelf. I grabbed one for my Ma & one for myself. I honestly can't recommend these enough, even if you don't want to purchase anything you should definitely still check out their site! I'm not going to go into to much detail now because I'm going to do an in depth review soon, where I'll talk more about my experience, the different sponges & options & all that jazz, keep a look out for that.

NAILS 
For the most part, I've had acrylics on my fingers because I was a serious nail biter & I wanted to stop & I've been wanted to for a long time now. I had started off really well but I was scared that I would end up biting them so I went & got my nails done & fingers crossed once a see my natural nails at a decent length I'll fall in love & never bite them again. Well heres hoping anyway. However, on my toenails I have been loving Sinful Colours polish in 1052 Endless Blue. I love Sinful Colours polishes, the have such beautiful colours & I love the formula too.

CLOTHING 
I brought this incredible little shirt for Supré, maybe at the beginning of the month I have have gotten so much wear out of it already. I love the colour, it's super flattering. I think its dressy but causal at the same time if that makes any sense! I adore it very much.

B x

Self Care: For Those Who Struggle To Switch Off

📷  // www.weheartit.com

Self care is something that I've talked about on my blog before, it's something that I'm really passionate about &I think it can be something we all tend to ignore or forget about sometimes. I believe that there is nothing more important than looking after yourself, your body & your mind.

I'm someone who naturally puts others before myself, I'm incredibly critical of myself, a perfectionist in everything I do but I've learnt that I can't help nor be there for others or passionately invest my absolute best into  the tasks & things I do if I don't look after myself first. It's taken me an incredibly long time to actually be able to take a step back & realise that if I don't look after myself then the people I love & the things I love doing are going to suffer.

Taking the time for personal self care still isn't something that I'm 'perfect' at by all means & I still occasionally feel guilty about taking time for myself. I tend to think of all the other things I could be doing that would be a hundred percent more productive & I have a feeling that some of you might occasionally feel the same way too & that's why I wanted to share I few things I like to do when taking time for myself & self care.

TURN OFF ALL TECHNOLOGY 
Don't get me wrong, I love the internet, the online world but sometimes it can be extremely suffocating. Simply turning off your devices for an at least an hour is going to help you switch off & focus on the present moment. If you're a little anxious about the fact that people won't be able to contact you, you can always just let them know that you're taking some time for yourself & that if you're needed, you'll get back to them as soon as possible.

THE GUILT
You mostly definitely should not feel guilty for taking the time to look after yourself. When we see others looking after themselves, putting themselves first, we are generally to quick to judge & think that they're just being lazy, or not working as hard as the rest of us are. In reality, they're doing what is best for them & that's the most important thing. It's important to look after yourself because if you don't, then who is?

MAKE IT PART OF YOUR SCHEDULE
My excuse was that I never had time & the truth was I needed to make time. Allocate an hour or two every week, or as often as you need, to look after you & only you. If you have a routine in place that'll help you unwind then you are more likely to do it. We have to remember that we are all human & we all get stressed & run out of steam, & the truth is if we don't look after ourselves everything else begins to suffer too.

CREATE YOURSELF A SPACE 
Just like you have a desk for work, a dinning room table to eat your dinner at, create yourself a space where you know you're able to just relax. It could be anywhere you wanted. For example, my bed is a laptop free zone. I know it can be tempting to work from your bed but it's just not ideal when your bed is naturally a place for you to relax.

DO WHAT FEELS GOOD
There is no specific way or routine for self care. Everyone is going to find different things relaxing. For some it might be a hot bubble bath, for others it might be working out. There definitely isn't any right or wrong when it comes to self care. Just do what feels good.

YOU A HUNDRED PERCENT DESERVE IT - NO MATTER WHAT
No matter what the circumstances are, we all deserve to take a step back, unwind & take care of yourselves. Please don't feel guilty because we all know you deserve it!

B x