October Beauty & Lifestyles Favourites

October has been an amazing month & I'm so grateful for all of those who have made that even the slightest bit possible. And holy crap, there is only eight more weeks until Christmas, where the heck as this year gone?! Anyway let's jump into this months favourites. 

Make Up; The warmer months are approaching & a I prefer to use something lighter on the skin. After an recommendation from my sister, this month I've been trying out ChiChi's Super BB Cream & after using it for only a month I think it's safe to say that I'm really enjoying the product, not to mention the sleek packaging. 

Skincare; The Body Shop Vitamin C Microdermabrasion Scrub has always been one of my favourites & I started using it again this month. I've had a few issues with my skin this month so incorporating this product back into my skincare routine has really helped. It deep cleans my pores which it turns helps to prevent any future spots. 

Lip Care; Another The Body Shop product has been Hemp Lip Conditioner. It has been an absolute life saver. It is so conditioning & has really helped prevent my lips from chapping at all. 

Fragrance; Joop Homme is one of my all time favourites fragrances. If you have the opportunity to smell this fragrance I would definitely recommend it!  

YouTube; @bohoberry has been one of my favourite YouTubers this month. I recommend you check her out if you love all things planning. Kara is so down to earth, inspiring & someone I would recommend to anybody just looking for some general life inspiration.

Blog/Blogger; One of my favourite bloggers is Becs from  https://rcfitness.wordpress.com. Bec is one of my close friends & I’m so proud of everything she’s achieved recently. If you’re looking for a health & fitness blog to read I definitely recommend Becs blog, it’s amazing & I love reading her posts. 

Instagram: @beautaplin has been one of my favourite Instagram accounts this month. There is just something about his poetry that I love. 

Magazine: This months issue of Womens Health has been of great inspiration & motivation to me. I've started working out from home more & this magazine is full of great information & workout ideas.  

TV Show; As a lot of you know Meghan Rienks is an all time favourite of mine & recently she stared in a show called Freakish over on Hulu. It's a 10 episode series which watched over three days & I highly recommend it to all of you out there who love the TV series, The Walking Dead. Check it out & let me know what you think. 

Quote; “How you love yourself is how you teach others to love you.” 

Memory; I don't have one specific favourite memory because this month has been full of so  many high points & I’ve loved every moment of them all. 

Let me know some of your favourites from the month in the comments below. 

B x

11 Ways To Love Your Illness Even When You Don't Want To

Loving yourself can be hard sometimes & loving your illness(es) can be even harder. We don’t always want to or feel like loving our illness(es) or be positive all the time. And it’s ok to feel like that, we all do from time to time. 

Here’s a list of the small yet simple things I like to  make sure I do on those days where I just don’t feel great about my illnesses. 

No.001: Easy Mornings > Start the morning out slowly. I love to grab a hot cup of tea & give my body a nice morning boost & time to wake up properly. 

No.002: Vitamin D > I open up all the blind & windows to let in as much natural light & fresh air as possible, into my home. It always helps yo up lift & brighten my day. 

No.003: Zen > Roll out your yoga mat or some type of pad & gently stretch. Tune in with your body. Stretch the areas that are aching & need some attention. 

No.004: Hobbies > Take up a new hobby like weaving, crochet or knitting. It will not only help with relaxation but it will also help stimulate your brain. 

No.005: Exercise > This can be tough for those of us who are chronically ill but I enjoy gentle movements such as pedalling on an exercise machine which is something you could also do from home & can be very therapeutic. 

No.006: Acceptance > When a symptom happens, change your thinking from negative to acceptance. Say you have a migraine & the pain is so bad you want to pull it out of your head.Take a few deep breaths & say yo yourself, “I feel you pain. I feel you in my head & I accept you.” & breathe. Repeat as many times as you need to unite you feel calm. 

No.007: Giving Back > Find an organisation you are passionate that you can help from the comfort of your own home. 

No.008: Expression > Find an outlet such as writing or painting that helps you express your emotion. You may not feel comfortable expressing them to your loved ones & that’s why I think it’s important you find an alternative option. Bottling up emotions will only harm the body further & create more negative engird from within. 

No.009: Mediate > By shutting out the external world & stilling the body for less than half an hour each day, I can educe my stress levels which play a huge role in my wellness of my whole body. I recommend simply doing this 5 minutes a day & then increasing the time gradually. 

No.010: Relaxation > Take a therapeutic bath with your favourite bath bomb or bath salts, surround yourself with delicious smelling candles and/or defuse/apply essential oils such as lavender. 

No.011: Give Thanks > Before you close your eyes & drift to sleep, give thanks. You can either write three things that you for thankful for that day or silently say them in your head. I believe that doing this small act regularly, you are helping yourself both mentally & physically. 

B x

Barely Three Eyeshadow Smudges

Eyeshadow & I have a bit of an odd relationship. We have ‘on’ & ‘off’ stages & I think because I love such big & bold lashes I don’t always feel the need for eyeshadow. I’ve recently been loving really warm tones & especially coming into the warmer months. 

My lids tend to get oily in the warmer months so I like to make sure I use a cream shadow base & set it with a powder to make sure that it’s impossible to rub off. 

Maybelline Colour Tattoo Cream Eyeshadow in Barely Branded; It's a gorgeous cream gel formula, that once set with a powder helps prolonger the wear of shadows on the eyes & also helps keep lids creaseless. Summer can lead to my lids becoming a little oily so I enjoy using this method when wanting to apply shadows. 

LA Girl Beauty Brick Eyeshadow Palette in Nude; There are some really gorgeous shades in this palette & the looks you could create are endless. As you can see in the picture, I tend to reach for the more brown shades for a basic everyday look. All the shades blend amazingly & are greatly pigmented specially for the price you pay for this palette.  

Australis AC On Tour Powder Contour & Highlight Kit; You might be wondering why I'm mentioning a contour & highlight palette in this post however I use the middle contour shade as a crease shade. It's perfect because it's matte, it's a gorgeous shade & it's incredibly easy to blend. It's definitely my go to shade if I'm looking for a matte brown crease shade. 

B x

The Habit Of Gratitude Will Change Your Life

There are both positive & negative side to all life events. Life is full of ups & downs, but even the hard times have the potential to be good. Perspective is everything & there is always something to be grateful for. 

Gratitude is something everyone can practice regardless of all our differences between us. It doesn’t matter where you  live or what you do, you can practice gratitude because it’s how we, as individuals choose to see the world. 

There are days where thinking about what you’re grateful for comes easy & you have that ‘ah moment’ where you count your blessings. But on a bad day, it can be so much tougher & it can be hard to think of all the positive. To no surprise, that’s when we need to practice gratitude the most. 

There are lots of ways to practice gratitude & I’ve head & tried many. From gratitude jars, gratitude journals & motivation affirmations. At the end of the day it doesn’t matter how you practice gratitude - just that as long as you do. Making sure you’re grateful & thankful isn’t just for a nice sentiment but it’s actually proven to increase joy & transform our lives. Still, if you’re not use to having gratitude in your life, there are a few ways to start injection it into each & every moment. 

• Gratitude journals are a great way to express thanks for even the smallest of things. 
• A small prayer of thanks is also another great way to show that you’re thankful & then you are able to go about your day. 

Those are just a couple of ideas but there are so many, it’s just about being creative & finding what works for you.

B x

How To Preform The Ultimate Brain Dump

The panicky feeling you get when you know you have so much to complete but you don’t know where to start. Then of course you’ve got the whole ‘not enough hours in a day’ situation. Well I hope this method will help some of you get rid all those idea floating around in your head. 

There’s a popular technique that everyone is trying called a ‘Brain Dump’. Think of it as clearing your mental slate. It’s a neat little trick to help us unscramble everything that filling our brains up & making them go all foggy. Perfect right?

This post is going to be all about how a brain dump works & what the benefits are. How you choose to organise your life it totally up to you, however I think this is great first step to getting everything from your brain down onto paper & into so sort of order. 

Above is just an example of the brain dump concept but it's a hundred percent up to you how you do yours & I encourage you to get creative with it!

First, you’ll want to grab pen & paper. Any piece of paper will do but you could also create an awesome brain dump journal. Spend some time, it could be an hour or so if you have a lot on your mind or you could do ten minutes in the morning to help you feel a lot more organised & ten minutes in the evening to help you sleep better. Write down anything from whether it’s that you need to buy milk. finish next weeks blogpost or reply to an important email. If you write it down it means that your brain no longer has to store it. 

Organise your notes & arrange them into the things you need to prioritise & also categorise them into lists. Focus on the 10 most important immediately & put ticks next to the things you have no control over because you certainly shouldn’t be worrying about them. It’s a great motivation kick for you to be able to look back & see everything you’ve achieve either for the day or that week. 

Now that your brain has unloaded everything, from to do lists to worries, it’s important to stop thinking about them. Reply of the paper for all your tasks & goals. Give your brain a rest. It’s great those like myself, who are constantly worrying about forget things that need to be done or place I need to be.  

B x

A Simple Pamper Routine

If I’ve decided to have a pamper night I’ll try yo finish work maybe half an hour earlier than usual, that way I’ve got a little bit more time to extra bits & pieces. 

Around 630PM is when I usually finish up on the nights that are my pamper nights. I’ll pack up all my work bits & pieces, I’ll clean up my room & give the rest of the house a bit of a tidy up too. A tidy space helps with a tidy mind, right? I’ll light some candles & create more of a relaxing feel in the house. 

650PM is the time I’ll either have a bath or a shower & this depends on whether I need to wash my hair or not. Skincare is always an important part of my night routine on any night but on pamper nights I like to take the extra time to apply a face mask, a lip scrub & an oil to my skin along with super hydrating moisturisers & eye creams. I’ll also take the time to apply a thick moisturising body butter, paint my nails & occasionally I’ll apply a hair mask too. 

745PM is the time that I will make dinner. I’ll also take this time to catch up on social media. I’ll then do the dishes, clear up any mess I made while making dinner etc. 

Taking time to myself is super important to me on any night whether it’s a pamper night for me or not. I’ll sit down & watch a film or some reality TV. I will generally take this time to also upload to Instagram & just scroll through other social media to catch up on the days events. 

Anywhere between 930PM & 10PM I’ll make my way into my room & start planning for the following day. I’ll also take the time to journal & complete my gratitude journal. 1030PM is the time I try to get to sleep by but this all comes day to how busy & how much I had to get done that day. 

In a regular night routine I would take some time to also workout but I take pamper routines as an opportunity to have a day off but again this depends on the day I’ve been having. 

Let me know in the comments some of the bits & pieces you like to do in your pamper night routine. 

B x

5 Tips For Mental Strength

In an era where nearly everything is digital, it is so easily to feel like our minds are cluttered. Mentally strong people can handle anything life throws at them however some of us feel like any little thing can tip us over the edge. Here are a few of my tips to help train your brain to be strong & smart.

Digital Devices > Drop your digital device, not literally but get rid of it for a few hours & attempt to spell or calculate something without the help of your phone. Even if you can't do it, you've worked your brain just trying to figure it out. You could try a Sudoku or a crossword. Rather than looking at your phone screen, give your brain a workout in other ways.

Get Your Zen On > It's no secret that yoga & mediation are amazing for increasing your concentration, focus & mental balance. Our brains get frazzled sometimes so why not give yoga or mediation a go, even if it is only for 5 - 10 minutes. I also really enjoy mindful colouring in books.

Hobbies > For me, it's so important for me to be able to find my head space. Some people will prefer to play sports, workout at the gym, take art classes or just get outside. Whatever it is, practicing a new skill or just getting your body moving will physically & mentally give you room to breathe.

Goals > Have a clear idea about where you want to go in life & how you plan on getting there. Carry out each day with a purpose & any bumps or criticism along the way will only help you become the head strong individual you dream of.

Positive Progress > Turn negative niggles into positive pointers. Don't let day thoughts reserve room in your head. Focus on the amazing things you can do & how amazing you are. It's important to remember that the reason we are all individuals is because we all have unique strengths.

B x 

Self Love & Self Care

I'm so excited to be finally sharing this post with you. Self love & self care is such a big part of my life & I believe that it should be a big part of your life too.

I wanted to quickly take this opportunity to talk to you guys about one of my all time favourite people. Rhian HY is a YouTube content creator & blogger. The more I learn about Rhian, her lifestyle, values & beliefs etc, the more I realise how similar we are in all aspects of life. While brainstorming up ideas for this post, Rhian actually uploaded her 'Self Love & Self Care Checklist' over on her YouTube channel. Rhain talked about the ten things that she has on her self love & self care checklist, I'd love it if you would go check out her video, it is so encouraging & inspiring. Rhian is one of my biggest inspirations & I couldn't recommend her & her content enough!

I'm going to talk about the five things that I've have on my self love & self care list. Looking after myself mentally & physically is so important to me & these are the ways that I'm currently doing that. These are subject to change because I love trying out new, seeing what works & doesn't work but if you are wanting some more ideas I could do another post or feel free to go over & have a look at Rhian's video.

No.001: Mediation hasn't been a part of my life for long but I feel like it's such a big part of my life now. I wasn't sure how it would work or if it would work for me, but looking back now I wish I'd tried it sooner. Whether it's guided mediation or not, it could be just take a step back & giving yourself the opportunity to just take a few deep breaths. Mediation always helps me clear my mind which helps me look at situations & things in my life a lot clearer. Mediation is great because you can do it at whatever suit you best, whether that is in the morning, during a lunch break, in the evening or maybe even in the bath. I encourage you to just give it a go. If you wanted some recommendations for guided mediation apps, I would recommend Headspace & Calm, they are definitely two of my favourites.

No.002: Yoga was something I started incorporating into my daily routine about 12-18 months ago. Again, I wasn't if it was for me but basic stretching has helped my body an incredible amount, physically & mentally. Because of the Chronic Fatigue, my muscles, bones & joints get extremely sore, simple yoga & stretching has been great, although it hasn't reduced the pain it has definitely made me feel a lot stronger. Yoga is something that makes me great & something that I can do purely for myself. I recommend giving it a go, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised on how yoga can effect you life for the better.

No.003: Get out into nature. I find getting out into nature, surrounding myself in pure beautifulness always makes me appreciate the small things & helps keep me grounded. Simple is always good too, if you can't committed to a hike or don't have a beach or river near your home, you can always just get out in your backyard, maybe plant a few flowers. Take the time for yourself & enjoy the fresh air.

No.004: Take time to read. I really enjoy reading although I struggle to find to time to it. Purely because I tell myself that I have more important things to be doing however in reality, if I just took the time to read for say half an hour or so, I could probably be a lot more productive in the long run.
Reading is super simple & relaxing. Take a step way from the online world & your busy life to read something you love, whether that's the current book you're reading, maybe it's just your all time favourite book, it could even be a magazine. Take the time to escape into a world that you never thought was possible.

No.005: Celebrate anything & everything. Whatever it is, celebrate it. Whether you got some kind of work promotion or maybe you managed to get out of bed this morning. Be proud of yourself & don't necessarily wait for other people celebrate it first. Celebrate however you want, it might have a girls night in with your friends, it might going out for drinks & dinner whatever it is, enjoy because you should be so proud of yourself.

If this is all a bit overwhelming, just take a break. I understand how life can get the better of us sometimes. Take a step back & do something you're really going to enjoy doing & that will make you happy. Remember you can't help anyone put on their oxygen mask if you don't have yours on.

These are the current things that I feel when incorporated into my life that I am looking after myself, that I'm creating a life of self love & self care. What are some of your self love & self care things on your checklist? Let us know in the comments!

B x

Review: LA Girl Cosmetics Lip Products

LA Girl Cosmetics has become quite a popular & affordable brand in the last year or so. In that time I've tried a few of their products & really loved them. The packaging is sleek, the quality of the products I've tried is great & it's affordable, what more could you ask for?

I was having a look at what products they had to offer & what new products they had out, I thought I would pick up a couple of their lip products. I decided to grabbed a lip liner & a matte liquid lipstick. When I first brought these lip products I wasn't sure how they would preform as I hadn't heard of any reviews & hadn't really heard others talking about them. It was really trial & error.

LA Girl Cosmetics Lip Liner Pencil 

"Lip definition becomes easier & more exciting with our new & improved pencils. With the most extensive colour selection available. Moisture rich formula glides on smoothly for a seamless look." 

Above is what the LA Girl Cosmetics website states about their lip liner pencil products. I picked up the shade 'Natural' however they do have 12 shades in total in this specific collection & I do feel like that there is something for everyone. I found the product to be moisturising but not too moisturising to the point where it's slipping all over the place. The formula allows for easy & smooth application. As you can tell from the picture above, this specific shade is nothing too bold, it's really simple & looks amazing against my skin tone. The product does have a scent however I only noticed because I held the product up to my nose, other than that I never noticed it while on the lips. It's a gorgeous formula & super affordable. I definitely do recommend trying them out for yourself especially if you're looking for something different to try. I'm looking forward to trying out the other shade they have in the collection. 

LA Girl Cosmetics Matte Pigment Gloss

"Introducing our hottest new lip product - Matte Pigment Gloss. These 16 bold shades provide rich intense colour in a flat finish for all day wear. A long wearing formula goes on as a high pigmented liquid & dries to a flat matte finish. Leaving lips covered in gorgeous velvety perfection that lasts & last."

Above is what the LA Girl Cosmetics website stated about their matte pigment glosses. I picked up the shade 'Dreamy' however they do have a total of 11 shades in this specific collection & again I feel like that their is something for everyone. The shade 'Dreamy', as sown in the picture above, is a deep, pinky rose. As you can tell, I'm not particularly great at describing shades & colours, but I'm sure you all know what I'm talking about! The formula is super pigmented, long wearing & velvety so I definitely agree with what they've said over on their site. The scent of this is quite unique however it doesn't bother me once on the lip especially once the product is completely dry & matte. I've found the product can be a little bit sticky on the lips especially if you apply too much of the product. The way to avoid that would be to not apply too much product. Applying too much product can cause it to become thick, heavy & uncomfortable on the lip. I would stick to just applying a small amount & because the formula is really pigmented you don't need a lot of it anyway. One thing I wouldn't recommend with this product is wearing it out if you're planning to do a lot of eating or drinking, it tends to seperate easily on the lips. Re-applying can be difficult & doesn't tend to look as smooth as what would've when first applied on clean lips. Another wee recommendation I have is when applying the product make sure your lips are as moisturised as possible, whether that's using a lip scrub or a wee bit of lip balm on the lips before applying any product, or maybe you want to do both, that's totally up to you. I say this because this product tends to cling to drier patches so if you're able to minimise as much dryness as possible the better the product will look on the lips. When it comes to removing the product, it can be quite difficult. I suggest using a lip balm for during the day when you don't intend to remove any other makeup from your face, just because this can be a lot neater however for example, you're removing at night with the rest of your makeup an oil based makeup remover would work perfectly. I personally use coconut oil but it just comes down to preference. For an affordable liquid lipstick I don't rate this one too bad. I'm yet to decide on whether I'll pick up anymore shades from this specific collection but if you're looking for an affordable liquid lipstick to try out, I would recommend giving LA Girl's Matte Pigment Glosses a go.

Let me know if you've tried any products from LA Girl Cosmetics & what you thought were, I'd love to know what to try next from the brand.

B x

5 To Read This Weekend No.003

I've been making a conscience effort to make more time for myself recently which means more time to read blogposts from my favourite bloggers. These are just a few of the ones I've really enjoyed reading over the past few months. 

Twelve Times Rupi Kaur Gave Us Chills With Her Wise Words

By Hillary White at www.popsugar.com

"Some people have the ability to put thoughts into words in the most inspiring ways. Rupi Kaur, a poet, spoken word performer & author, is a master at this art form. She made headlines when she posted a photo of herself with a period blood stain & sparked viral conversation about the way women are both portrayed & perceived in society. More recently, she published a collection of her poetry in 'Milk & Honey' & she shares snippets of her wisdom on Instagram for her avid followers to contemplate. These motivational quotes will remind you to never give up, to find beauty in pain & to celebrate life."

Twelve Blog Props To Make Your Photos Bangin' 

By Georgia at www.asyouwishuk.com

"I am in no way suggesting that my blog photography is the best in the bloggersphere, in fact it's nowhere near, but, what I would say I'm pretty damn good at is being a major blog prop horder - like seriously. I can't help it, my mind says no but my flat lay says yes, yano? Whack any marble, rose gold, copper or pretty fairy lights in front of me & I'm yours!"

How I Edit My Instagram Photos

By Louise at www.helloteddy.co.uk

"I will say something rather controversial - I'm not that much of an Instagram fan. Don't get me wrong, I like seeing outfit photos & holiday snaps but the constant avocado on toast photos does get on my nerves slightly. I think another reason why I am not much of an Insta fan is that it is so hard to grow a following on there & in all honesty, my life isn't that interesting to share through imagery. I don't go out for brunch daily or go to Chanel weekly & sadly no-one would want to see my food shop in ASDA, would they?"

Six Ways To Improve Your Morning Productivity

By Yara Michels at www.chapterfriday.com

"Good morning sunshine! We all want productive morning, don't we? As morning are one of the most essential parts of your day, you might want to reconsider your habits. With limited time & energy mornings seem quite tricky. Maximise the productivity of your mornings with just some small adjustments we would like to share with you." 

My Eight Favourite Netflix Picks 

By frenchbydesignblog.com

"Remember when I promised a few weeks ago that I would share my favourite Netflix picks? I haven't forgotten, so here they are. Some of these are not that new, but new to me, or newly available on Netflix. I've been watching a lot of documentaries on Netflix these past few weeks, along with movies & these are my top picks - the ones that leave you both filled with emotions & empty at the same time, because they give us a new perspective about a topic, or make us personally relate to a character's experience." 

Let me know what your favourite posts have been recently! 

B x

5 Reasons You Should Spend More Time With Yourself

Don't get me wrong, spending time with family & friends is great but it's just as great as spending time by yourself. Just you, your thoughts & whatever you want to do, with no obligations, no opinions or plans & no pressure from anyone else. Not only is it about relaxing but it's also really good for you to spend time alone.

I spend a lot of time by myself especially because I work from home & I've learnt that it's okay to say no sometimes, don't feel like you have to go & watch a movie with your friends if you don't particularly want to. Just in case you can't convince yourself, I've put together a list of 5 reason why I think we should all start spending more time alone with ourselves.

No.001: Get To Know Yourself
If you are always around other people, hearing their opinions & plans, it can be hard to figure out what you want for yourself & to form your own opinions. When you're alone you have the time to work out what you like, want & have the opportunity to form your own opinions.

No.002: You Learn To Love Yourself
You'll get to know & appreciate yourself better. Loving yourself is a big part of spending time with yourself. When you learn to be fun & loving with & towards yourself, you'll then be fun & loving with family & friends.

No.003: You Can Do Whatever You Want
Watching Gossip Girl, Gilmore Girls or Friends, reading a book, singing in front of the mirror, going for a walk. Whatever it may be, no one can tell you what or what not to do. No one can tell you to clean, cook or finish the to do list, because you're the only one in charge. How great is that?

No.004: You Learn To Rely On Yourself
This is especially when decisions need to be made while you are alone, you need to rely on yourself to make the best decision available. Being self-dependent is important when it comes to growing up & unfortunately, at some stage we are all going to grow up.

No.005: You Save Money
This is so practical, yet so true! When you are with your family & friends you are more likely to spend money. When you have time with yourself, it's the simple things you find entertaining, reading a book or spending some time in the sun is the only thing you need for some quality time for yourself.

B x