A little life update and an Old English Company Wishlist!

Its been a little while since I’ve posted on here mainly due to some huge life changes! A couple of months ago i packed up all my worldly goods, said a drunken teary goodbye to my friends and family and moved exactly 156 miles away, a 3 hour drive. I was doing long distance with the boy but coming up 2 years it was getting a little silly! So i took the crazy step to be the one to move. So far so good, i miss all my friends terrible and have no idea how you make friends at 32 years old (suggestions welcome!). Apart from that the new job is cool and living with the boy is like a dream!

Moving has meant styling our home which is one of my favourite things to do! Im obessed with following home inspiration tags on instagram and feel like ive missed a calling to be an interior designer! In our lounge I have a wall full of frames full of prints i love, photos and most of all inspirational quotes. I cant get enough of them! Which is where todays wish list stems from...

 The Old English Company specialise in designing stylish homewares, clothing, art prints, stationary and accessories which all feature unique, hand-lettered quotes – some funny, some inspiring, all completely lust worthy and right uo my street! So here are a few bits i have my eye on....

 This print would be perfect for our bedroom. I’m going for a vintage, romantic kinda vibe in there and this would fit right in!

 Another print that’s perfect for the bedroom!

This is a quote my mumma always says so is pretty meaningful to me. Would be perfect addition to my picture wall.

As well as prints, they do so much more including another of my obsessions- the cutest stationary! Check out this gorgeous planner!

And this pin... I actually have this quote tattooed on my run! Its one of my favourites. I love all the pins they sell! Im slowly building a collection of my own and will have to treat myself to this one!

Are you a fan of pins too? Well, here’s the good news – Old English Company are holding a competition! You could win these three beautiful heart-shaped enamel pins shown above! Entering is simple – all instructions and details can be found here.  

What happened when I used coconut oil as my cleanser for a month

If you stop by this little space on the Internet on a regular basis then you will know that I have a bit of a love affair going on with coconut oil. Apart from using it as my primary oil for cooking I swear by it for my hair. I’ve regularly use it as a hair mask and leaving it on over night and I completely credit it for my hair being in a good condition especially when you think about how much bleach has been on my locks! I’ve also used it on dry patches of skin when my eczema is being a bitch  and it’s like magic!

Anyways even though I have been a coconut oil convert for a while I’ve not been brave enough to use it on my face. I’ve used facial oils for a while now but was worried coconut oil was a bit too thick and greasy for my face. However I’ve heard a lot of positive comments about coconut oil being used as a cleanser and ’m always up for giving things a go though and thought I’d try it for a month and see how I get on!

So how do I use it? I scoop of tiny bit, maybe the size of pea out of the tub and massage it into my skin. As you do this it heats up and melts and you begin to look like something from the house of wax horror film as it literally melts the makeup off your face. I then use a damp cotton pad to wipe it a off. It is a fab makeup remover and gets every last bit of mascara off, so no more waking up with panda eyes even though you’d been behaved and removed your makeup the night before! Hurrah!

It can be a little messy and you honestly don’t need much or it will melt and go EVERYWHERE! Trust me I learnt the hard way! So a month down and am I still going to carry on using it? Well I have had so many complements about my skin lately and I really think it’s down to the oil. My skin is so much softer, the eczema on my cheeks has completely gone. I still get the odd spot but only during the time of the month, and I’m totally going with the whole ‘while your getting spots you’re not getting wrinkles’ thing so I’m OK with the odd hormonal spot!

Also in terms of value for money, I purchased a large tub of coconut oil in superdrug whilst it was on offer for £5. As you only need such a small amount I’ve not even used a quarter of the tub so far and I’ve also been using it on my hair once a week so it’s going to last a long time. I think long term using coconut oil instead of whatever cleanser has taken my fancy I will be saving big bucks. Happy days!

Ebay Wish List...Pastel Home Decor

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I have a real thing for pastel colours at the moment especially when it comes to home décor. I think it started when I recently changed my bedroom theme to grey and pastel pink. When I finally get my very own place I already know I want a pastel coloured kitchen which will include some of these items! Its going to look so cute!

Ebay Wish List... Cactus Finds

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I’m so in love with anything Cactus at the moment! I’ve seen some stunning home décor based around cactus themes and there one of the very few plants I can actually keep alive! I would love to have a whole shelf full of cactuses one day, I think they have a cool chilled vibe about them.

March Goals

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I can’t believe its March already! Does anyone else panic when time seems to fly on by?! Although saying that I have to admit that I am loving that the mornings are getting lighter and I’m not leaving work in the dark anymore, signs summer is on its way!

So here I am looking at my March goals so it only seems right to have a little round up of Februarys goals. I got  new car – Kev the KA – I am so in love with him! Getting used to driving a manual after years of an automatic has been interesting!! But its been fun and nice t have a car that’s notes falling apart! I also got a new phone, the Samsung Galaxy s7 Edge, its awesome! After years of being in the iPhone cult I jumped ship and do not regret it at all! Its been such a good decision!

Ive failed at the whole blogging regularly, Feb has been such a hectic month with little spare time but I’m going to add this to March’s goals and will hopefully crack it! Another goal was to dye my hair grey, well I did, and failed miserable! It didn’t take at all! So I went to the hairdressers and went for a dark chocolate brown! So good bye bleach blonde ombre and hello classic shiny brown! I’m so pleased with how it looks and my hair feels so much healthier! Oooh amd a read a whole book! Go me!

Anyway looking forward lets set march’s goals.....

1.    Sign up to some freelancing websites – I’ve always said I want to expand my writing so I’m determined this is the year I’m going to do it, and if I can get paid for doing something I enjoy then bonus!

2.    Sign up for some craft fairs – Im working really hard to expand my shop Pearl Divine and want to spend some more time focusing on this and gaining sales.

3.    Blog regularly – same goal as last month but I want to crack this one! I love blogging and want to spend a bit more time on this little spot on the big world wide web. I’ve been a bit sporadic lately but want to get back to regular posts and do more reviews and lifestyle posts. With this space!

4.    Loose 4lb – ive been so poorly the last couple of months my weight training and running have taken a hit and my diets been very much one filled with comfort food. So I want to get back on it and 4lb which is a 1lb a week seems manageable.

5.     Take time to look after myself – I’m still not well with this Thyroiditis and its so tiring. Its a long term thing so I’m trying to crack on and not let it get in my way but I’m also trying to make sure I listen to my body more and look after myself when I need to. So this month I want to focus on a bit of me time, this could involve things like a glass of wine and a good book, a bit of crafting or anything that’s just relaxing.

6.    Get back running twice a week – I am determined to crack a half marathon this year so need to get back into my training so I’m setting myself the target of 2 runs a week.

7.    Read 2 books.

Wish me luck!

ASOS Payday Wishlist....

Happy pay day!! For a short month February has felt soo long finance wise! This has meant my online wishlists for many shops are huge so I thought I would share one of them with you!! So here is my current ASOS wish list... so many petty things....

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The Beauty Blogger Tag

 

I love a good old tag and have spotted this one going round for quite a while so figured I’d give it a go! I feel a little bit of a fraud doing a ‘Beauty Blogger Tag’ as I feel my blogs taken a bit more a lifestyle twist lately. However beauty is where Lipsticks and Lashes started and I can blog about my love of make up a little less, but my bank balance will confirm that I am still a complete beauty addict! 

Why did you start blogging and how long have you been blogging for?

I have been blogging for just over 3 years, I started writing in this little space on the internet as a way to practice my writing and to be a bit creative. I was super bored, very lost in life and need something to get my teeth into. Hello Blogging! Logging onto Blogger.com and starting this blog was one of the best decisions I’ve made. I thought it would just be me writing to myself when I first started out, I had no idea about the blogging community and that people would stop by here or be as super lovely as you all are.

Whose blog did you fall in love with first?

A Beautiful Mess was the first blog that I got completely lost in for hours, I think at the time I didn’t really grasp it was a blog or what blogging even is!

What was the first blogosphere hyped about product you bought and was it worth the hype?

God I’m such a sucker for when it comes to purchasing hyped up products! I have no will power! I would love to say that after 3 years of blogging I’ve got a bit wiser but nope not at all! So what was the blogosphere hyped up product I purchased, well that would have to be Rimmel London’s Apocalypse Lip Lacquer. I think I liked it at the time but too be honest it definitely wasn’t worth the hype!

What are your favorite five things about blogging and being a beauty blogger? 

1.    Making blogging buddies!

2.    Finding new products I just have to try out due to someone’s lovely blog review

3.    Blogging has increased my confidence loads!

4.    It’s a great creative outlet

5.    I get to waffle on to my heart’s desire about things I love!

What have you learnt from being a beauty blogger?  

That I am more skilled that I thought I was! As a blogger you’re a writer, a photographer, a PR pro, good at marketing… the list is endless!

Have you changed anything since being a beauty blogger? 

Personally, my confidence has grown, that’s the magic of finding something you love and enjoy doing. I definitely feel more confident within myself. In terms of how I blog, I hope I’ve improved as I’ve gone along, I think blogging is something you continually strive to be better at. At least I hope I’ve got better as my first couple of post all those years ago are pretty cringe worthy!

What advice would you give to a beauty blogger just starting out?

BLOG FOR YOU! If you start blogging to gain followers and popularity you’re wasting your time! Blogging is hard work and needs to be something you do because you love doing it.

Name your top five brands: 

MAC, Benefit, Bobby Brown, Urban Decay, Lush

Recommend your top five favorite beauty products: 

Laura Mercier Foundation Primer

MAC All That Glitters Eye Shadow

Benefit they’re Real Mascara

MAC Amplified Lipstick in Girl about Town

Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Rose

 

Hope you enjoyed this tag? I would like to now tag you all to have a go at it! Make sure you let me know if you do complete it as I would love to stop by for a read!

February Goals...

Hello and Happy Monday! As I mentioned in yesterdays post I’ve been in a bit of a rut and this year I’m trying to promote lots of positive change in my life and be a bit more productive. I know a lot of bloggers do monthly goals posts and I love to read them and I think by doing my own version ill be stating to the universe what I’m aiming for and it will hopefully spur me on! I’m also shocking at doing series posts over here, I get bored pretty quickly so we shall see how many of these I do but I’m excited to get started!

So here are my goals for February...

1.      Buy a new car and sort out the old one – I’m half way through this one already – I’ve put down a deposit on such a cite little KA. Its just got to go through an Mot and a service then it shall be mine! I’m so in love with it already!

2.      Get a new phone – my phone is driving me up the wall! I have an iPhone 5s and the storage is horrendous and I really don’t like the camera. I’m also having to buy extra data each month as my allowance is pretty lame so I’m spending a small fortune! ANNOYING!! Luckily for me I’m due an upgrade however I’m clueless when it comes to technology so I’m unsure what to go for. I’m falling out of love with Apple at the mo and would like a change so I’m thinking about a Samsung Galaxy 7. Any advice or suggestions on this one would be hugely welcome?!

3.      Blog regularly – I love blogging and want to spend a bit more time on this little spot on the big world wide web. I’ve been a bit sporadic lately but want to get back to regular posts and do more reviews and lifestyle posts. With this space!

4.      Colour my hair grey – I love the grey hair trend that’s doing the rounds and I really really want a grey ombre look. There’s two catches to this – my hairs a mess at the Mo, its a weird orange colour and needs a bit of bleach work done before I can go for the grey. So I’m not 100% confident I can do a home job on it but I am going to give it a try!! Eeeek!!

5.      Edinburgh – okay so this is a give, I’m heading there next week and I’m so blinking excited!! The furthest north I’ve been is Liverpool so I’m so happy to be finally venturing to Scotland. Its a bit one on my bucket list and I want to enjoy every minute of if.

6.      Take time to look after myself – I’m still not well with this Thyroiditis and its so tiring. Its a long term thing so I’m trying to crack on and not let it get in my way but I’m also trying to make sure I listen to my body more and look after myself when I need to. So this month I want to focus on a bit of me time, this could involve things like a glass of wine and a good book, a bit of crafting or anything that’s just relaxing.

7.      Read a book – I have a massive to read list and have been slacking with it so I really want to get back into reading and want to read at least one whole book this month.

Wish me luck!!

Life Lately...

This was the view from my morning run a few days ago, how beautiful is where I live? I can’t imagine not living near the sea, its keeps me calm and has a kind of magic about it.

So there been some radio silence over on this little space on the internet lately as there has been so much going on in my real life world I’ve had to have an impromptu mini blogging break. So where have I been, I hear you ask! Well I’ve turned 31... yikes... I am officially properly in my 30’s now and its terrifying! Its made me reflect ALOT on where I am and where I want to be. I’ve spent the past year in some weird anxious place where life has kind of been flying by me. I’ve felt lost and unconfident and I’ve just been treading water. Its not been awful but its not been fun either. I kind of thought that by the time I was in my 30s I would be all grown up and settled down by now. You know the whole married with babies and a white picket fence shebang by now. Nope, I’m learning that I’m pretty crap at adulting.

Anyways the tides are turning, I’ve finally moved out of the parentals loft, what was meant to be 6 months turned in to 2 years... so now I’ve moved in to a friends spare room and I have actual windows, can stand up without bashing my head and I have actual walls where I can hang things – luxury! Its feels good and has been nice to have a bit of change. Moving house made me realise how fiercely independent I am and how terrible I am at accepting help! So many lovely people offered to give me a hand and I turned them down, I have in my head that I don’t want to bother folks and that I can look after myself. How could I forget how stressful moving is?! So I did it single handed and told myself off a lot for it! My new aim this year is to let people in and accept help, team work makes the dream work and all that!

This weekend I also purchased a new car, like I said lots of new changes going on very here! My poor bashed up Honda civic has had its day and is unlikely to pass its MOT which is die next week so the times come to part ways with it. So I’ve gone for a ridiculously cute black KA Sport which should be with me by the end of the week. I’m so excited!!

So that’s a brief low down on my life lately! I’m excited to have a bit more time coming up and to get back to blogging more regularly!

8 Reasons Why I am a Shit Blogger...

**Dramatic blog post title alert**. So I’ve been blogging for around 4 years now, which to be frank is quite possibly the longest I’ve stuck with anything. I really do enjoy love blogging, however I am well aware that I am not your typical blogger and definitely don’t fit in the ‘in blogging crowd’, and here is why....

1.     I don’t have any white walls or floors in my house, or any fresh flowers (feel free to send me some!). My house is messy. There is dust and everything! My floors are cheap brown wooden laminate – just in case you wanted to know?!

2.     I’m not sat on twitter 24/7 – I’m so out of the loop with the latest twitter dramz. I forget when chats are happening and can very easily forget to check my twitter account for a few days, ok, ok... weeks.

3.     I don’t own all the latest beauty products to do all the latest up to date reviews – how the hell do people afford to do this?!

4.     I hate having my photos lf my myself on my blog – I cringe a bit m the inside when I do put the  up.

5.     I forget to blog regularly, when people chat about their blog schedules I’m like WTF?! If I can get my act together to blog more than once a week I give myself an actual high five.

6.     I spend an unhealthy amount of time in my PJ’s and when I am like all properly dressed I md to have a standard jeans, tee and converse look that would get pretty boring if I were to venture into talking about fashion over here.

7.     I don’t own a marble table, faux marble table cover or a marble pot... I don’t own anything marble, genuine or fake.

8.     Bloglovin followers. Twitter analytics. Bounce rate. GFC followers. ALL THE NUMBERS. I am clueless, I have no idea what half of it means!

Oh 2016, you beast...

Oh 2016, you fucker. Before you think I’m going to start on about all the celebrity losses we’ve had this year, fear not, that’s not where I’m going with this at all. I’m sat here in my pyjamas lamenting over the end of this year and what I want from life in general for the next one.

I feel like 2016 has been a bit of a blurgh kind of year, I wanted to say it won’t be one that stands out for anything in particular but after speaking to my sister who is pretty frank with me, it ain’t all been bad. The year started pretty awesomely with my 30^th birthday (I’m still horrified that I’m 30), I went with a big group of friends to Dublin for the weekend and it was such a blast! Full of Irish dancing, Guinness and laughs. I also met a man this summer and got my dream job in September which I am loving. However my mum has been seriously ill which has been stressful and had a big knock on to my own health. I’ve been poorly for about 3 months with my thyroid and have zero energy and motivation which has been horrendous as isn’t me at all.

Over all I feel that this year has been hard and a little stagnant and ive been pretty lost. So 2017, I’m coming for you, I want to make you a year that I remember for all the right reasons, that I laugh till I wet myself on a regular basis, that I spend time in the moment, that I appreciate all the small things. I feel that I have been ploughing through life lately with no real reason other than to get through the day. I want to stop and enjoy life and that’s the plan for 2017. Nothing big just being grateful for all the good things in lif

The Glasses Shop // New Specs

2016 has been the year I’ve had to bite the bullet and accept that I needed glasses (insert horrified face emoji here). I think a mix of using screens more and turning 30 has hit my poor blinkers and I’ve gone from having pretty ace eyesight to squinting whenever I try and read something!! If I didn’t cave and get glasses I would have needed a severe amount of Botox to get rid of the lines from trying to focus!

Anyway around the same time I decided to embrace being a speccy four eyes I received an email from the lovely folk at The Glasses Shop asking if I would like to chose a pair from their range and I just jumped at the chance!

The Glasses Shop has a huge range of glasses and sunglasses at pretty cheap prices! I was a little nervous about ordering prescription glasses online but the whole process was pretty easy. I decided to go for the Horace Wayfarer glasses in Tortoise shell which sells for $34.95. I just filled in my info and let them know my prescription for each eye.

I was really surprised they arrived really quickly from America and they are great! They are really good quality and very stylish. I think there fun and slightly quirky too. Very me! I am a little in love with them!

Have you ever ordered prescription glasses online before? I would definitely be doing this in the future! I felt a bit rushed when I was choosing at the opticians and there wasn’t much choice. This way meant I could take my time and find the perfect pair!

#BloggerSecretSanta

What feels like ages now, I signed for Char over at T Rexes and Tiaras #BloggersSecretSanta. I love a secret Santa, I find it so fun becoming a bit of a social media spy (I was going to say stalker but that makes me sound a little nuts!!) and figuring out what they may or may not like. I was given Hazel who blogs at World of Joy. Her blog is beautiful so would deffo recommend heading over there to take a peek! I decided to treat her to a little pamper package which you can check out on her blog here.

My own #BloggersSecretSanta parcel arrived this morning and it is so perfect!! I was this stunning Gin necklace – if you pop by here regularly you will know I am a huge Gin lover and my Santa got it so right! My awesome Santa was Alex at Eat Play Pixels and I would like to say a massive Thank You her! I love the necklace and am pretty sure its going to be one of my key accessories this holiday season!

Dorset Etsy Team Christmas Fair

I was going to write this post a few weeks ago but life got in the way! Decembers always super hectic for me and even with the best intentions I have been shocking at getting shit done! I am so behind its unreal! So I had a little debate with myself as to whether it was too late to write about this but to hell with it, I had a great day at this and wanted to share it with you all!

What am I waffling on about this time? Well let me tell you... As you may or may not be aware, I have my own Etsy Shop and a few weeks ago I attend the Dorset Etsy teams Christmas fair which was held in Wimborne and supported by Etsy Made Local. I had a stand for my shop Pearl Divine and had a blast. It was the first Dorset Team event I have attended and I was blown away by how friendly and lovely the other team members/stall holders were.

I was a bit nervous to begin with as wasn’t sure what to expect but I had such a great day and cant wait to sign up for next years event already! The event as a whole was a huge success with 70 stalls and with over 2000 people through the doors! The quality of produce available was immense and I feel really proud to be part of the team. There was so many talented stall holders and you can check out the full list of them here. I Would definitely recommend having a browse!

P.S as a bit of a thank you and as I’m super feeling in the holiday spirit I’m offering 20% off EVERYTHING in my Pearl Divine shop until the 31^st January 2017. Just use the code ‘ THANKYOU20 ‘ at the checkout! Go on you know you want to treat yourself....