New Year, New Blog!

 

Firstly, Happy New Year! I know I am so late in saying that but as you can tell I’ve been seriously neglecting this blog lately. BUT I AM BACK!! And as you may be able to tell I am a little excited about it! I feel like my little blogging fire has been re-lit and can’t wait to see what this year now has to bring!

This year I seriously want to bring the Blog Love (check out my twitter handle @BlogLoveRT), I seriously neglected this little space on the internet last year as I sort of became a bit despondent with the whole blogosphere. I was finding it wasn’t a fun network of people with a similar hobby anymore, but somewhere that had become very bitchy and competitive. Two things that massively aren’t my cup of tea and not what I signed up for. So I took a giant step back for a while and put my energies into other things. I started a new job, I seriously got into the gym (I heart weights, who knew?!) and running, which was an awesome experience, and I finished the year with a month in Australia. 2015 was a pretty good year for me but I have missed writing and playing in this little creative space a lot more than I ever thought!

It feels so strange to be sat here typing away again, I feel a little nervous as to what it may lead to but I also feel like I’ve come home. However things are going to be a little different, as you can already see I’ve had a ‘Lipsticks and Lashes’ has undergone a little revamp, all courtesy of the gorgeous Hayley over at Tea Party Beauty. I’m a little bit in love with it! I feel like it’s fresh and simple and suits where I am at the moment. What do you all think??

I’m also not going to blog to a fixed time plan, I used to blog 4 times a week and get myself stressed out if I didn’t blog for a few days. Feels silly now, what’s the worst that could happen?! Some of my favourite bloggers only post once a week, they have a great readership and I always look forward to what they are going to post next. I think that’s how it should be! I want to enjoy blogging not find it a burden. So I am going to blog when I fancy doing so! I have tons of post ideas floating around my head at the moment so it will probably be a few times a week and do you know what? I can’t wait! Expect the usual beauty reviews, mixed up with travel posts, health and fitness, clean eating and general positive lifestyle post. All the things that excite me!

Also in case you have missed it, The Bloggers Snail Mail project is BACK!!! So many fab bloggers have signed up already so I think it’s going to be such an exciting round. You have till this Friday to sign up so check out the blog post all about it here!

Bring on 2016!

The Bloggers Snail Mail is Back! - Sign Ups Now Open!

The Bloggers Snail Mail is back!! Wahoo! After taking a little hiatus last year, due to becoming a little disillusioned with blogging and bloggers and seriously not feeling the love, I am bringing it back! I’ve met so many awesome bloggers through this project and want it to continue in 2016 so spread the word, tell all your friends, let’s make this a round to remember! 

So here is how it works: A quarterly gift exchange where you can meet other bloggers from around the world and spread a bit of positivity! People get paired up in February, May, August and November. During the sign up period, every participant will be paired with one other new participant and you’ll spend a few weeks becoming BFFs (i.e. reading each other’s blogs, sending happy e-mails, you name it!). After that, you’ll send your partner a gift from your country that you think they may like from the info you now know about them. There’s a £5 limit on the gifts to make this project as affordable as possible. Be as creative as you can and make it meaningful! Motivate them, tell them all the beautiful things you learned about them, and make them feel special! We could all use a little encouragement, especially from our new friends. Also, each package should include a postcard (or a letter if you can’t find one!) with some motivating love or positive words of wisdom written all over it.
 

So to sign up for the ‘The Bloggers Snail Mail’ you just need to send an email to whatsinyourmakeupbag@gmail.com, title it ‘The Bloggers Snail Mail’ and include in it your name, where you are from, and your blog! Sign ups will be open until the Friday 29^th January. I will then randomly match you all up aiming to make sure you are with someone from another country or at least in another area from you! I will then let you know by Monday 1^st February who your partner is and you then have 4 weeks to get to know them! So the week of the 7^th March, you can then send your new buddy their Snail Mail!

Once you receive your gifts, write a blog post about your experience, sharing what you gave, received, and learnt through this being part of this and meeting your new pal.

If you want to tweet about this project, use the hashtag #TheBloggersSnailMail, You can also tag me @GemmaMarieJames and ill retweet your post, so everyone can share your experience!

Please only sign up if you definitely are willing to take part and if you want to be matched with someone from the same country as you to save on postage then please let me know!!

Lets have a coffee and a catch up...

Well hello! It feels a little odd to be sat here blogging again after what feels like a massive break! I feel like I've been a bit of an adhoc blogger lately and I don't like it one bit! Life's just been so hectic, so I figured I would do a little catch up post and share with you all what I’ve been up to so we are all on the same page! Right, get the kettle on make yourself a cuppa, and get comfy!
 

I have a pot of coffee on the go here, I have just received this amazing coffee from Perk U Latte, who do a monthly coffee subscription. Forget a monthly beauty subscription; send me coffee monthly and I'm in heaven! I do love a good fresh coffee and I wasn’t disappointed with this. I was sent their Bali Kintamani Organic Natural coffee in a Turkish blend and just from the strong sweet aromas while it was brewing, I knew it was going to be good. It has a strong creamy, sweet caramel taste. It’s described as medium bodied but I would state it’s a full bodied coffee and has a little rustic flavour to it. I can find some coffees a little bitter but this wasn’t at all, it was definitely moreish! If you want to try the brew for yourself, the lovely folk over at Perk U Latte have offered my readers 10% off! Just use the code LIPSTICKLASHES.

So are you comfy? Well shall we start from the beginning of summer… well way back at the end of July I had an amazing two weeks in Turkey. It was so relaxing and we had an amazing time, it was just bliss. I properly had the holiday blues when I got home! It was awful! I felt so down in the dumps! I’m sure I have that SAD syndrome, where I need sunshine or I get a little grumpy!

However I soon perked up as the weekend following I headed to one of my gorgeous friend’s wedding. It was such a beautiful day, they even had an owl fly the rings down the aisle! It was a fab surprise for all the guests and the whole day was just perfect.

Following that, a few weekends later I completed my first ever Tough Mudder. To say I was bricking it would be a massive understatement. It was 12 miles of absolutely crazy obstacles, such as electric wires, skips filled with ice… serious madness! However saying that, it was an amazing day and I am definitely doing it again! It was seriously hard work but there is no way I would have been able to complete it a year ago. I think all my training this year paid off and I was with such an amazing team, I had so much fun.

I also completed another one of my bucket list challenges this summer and completed my first ever 10k! I did it with one of my besties and we completed it in 1 hour 20 minutes and I am so blinking chuffed that I did it! I genuinely couldn’t run 2 yards 6 months ago so it’s been a huge challenge for me and I am so pleased I did it! I am going to keep working hard and am determined to keep running and sign up for some more runs!

Continuing on the fitness theme, I’ve also massively changed my diet this summer and have been sticking to clean eating and man do I feel better for it. I have more energy and have such a clearer head from it. I have also started weight lifting, don’t worry I’m not going to go mad and become some sort of body builder. I’ve been doing it for about 6 weeks and I am already feeling stronger, more toned and fitter.

So there’s a rough summary of my summer, there’s tons more been happening but that’s kind of the highlight reel for now! Now I’m just plotting for Australia, I’m going there in less than 5 weeks for a whole month and I can’t wait!

So that’s me, how are you all? What have I missed?

Lipsticks and Lashes 3rd Birthday!!

It feels so weird to think that 3 years ago today I was sitting here writing my first every blog post! It still makes me giggle looking it now, it was a post about Topshop Makeup and it isn’t my best work! I am hoping after 3 years my blogging skills have improved a lot since those first few posts! I started out very much wanting to blog about beauty but as times moved on and i have changed as a person, I wouldn’t have a clue what type of genre you would pop my little space under now! I tend to blog about what ever takes my fancy at the time from health and fitness, books, travel, DIY, Positivity, Lifestyle… don’t get me wrong I still have an unhealthy addiction to make up so beauty posts are always going to pop up! 

Not only has my blogging style and what I blog about changed over the past few years but I think i have definitely changed as a person and I think I owe a lot of that to blogging. I think i'm a hell of a lot more confident, I get to embrace being creative and I smile a lot more! Its funny how when you find something you love and enjoy it can have such a knock on effect on the rest of your life. 

While i’m being all nostalgic and gooey about blogging I just wanted to say a big thank you to all the wonderful friends i have made through blogging. I may not have met you in real life but I appreciate you none the less. And a big thank you too, to all lovely folk who spare the time to stop by and read my waffle. I can’t explain how much it means!

Anyways I have my first ever Tough Mudder today! Its 12 miles of gruelling obstacles and I currently have a weird mix of nerves and excitement going on! I just hope I make it to the end! Wish me luck!

How has blogging changed your life? Are there any particular posts you would like to see more of on Lipsticks and Lashes?

#BlogLove

Have you spotted the Blog Love Twitter account yet? It's my new baby, it's an account I've started to share some Blog Love, so basically what it says on the tin! I've seen some negative things on Twitter lately between bloggers and it doesn't really make me comfortable! 

The Blogging community should be and usually is an amazingly supportive place and I want to focus on that! I have received so much love from other bloggers that I want to give back. Hence this new Twitter account, share your latest posts and I'll retweet them but also spread some blog love! Share what bloggers you love, whose blogs inspired you lately, and any blog posts you've read  that you've loved! Just tag us into your tweets! 

I'm also debating whether to start a Blog Love Twitter chat under the hashtag #BlogLove that focuses on the positive side of blogging, supporting each other and most importantly sharing some love. What do you all think?

THE AUTUMN BLOGGERS SNAIL MAIL - SIGN UPS NOW OPEN!

The Bloggers Snail Mail is back for the Autumn! Wahooo! Spread the word, tell all your friends, lets make this a round to remember!

So here is how it works:

A quarterly gift exchange where you can meet other bloggers from around the world and spread a bit of positivity! People get paired up in March, June, September and December. During the sign up period, every participant will be paired with one other new participant and you’ll spend a few weeks becoming BFFs (i.e. reading each other’s blogs, sending happy e-mails, you name it!). After that, you’ll send your partner a gift from your country that you think they may like from the info you now know about them. There’s a £5 limit on the gifts to make this project as affordable as possible. Be as creative as you can and make it meaningful! Motivate them, tell them all the beautiful things you learned about them, and make them feel special! We could all use a little encouragement, especially from our new friends. Also, each package should include a postcard (or a letter if you can’t find one!) with some motivating love or positive words of wisdom written all over it.

So to sign up for the ‘The Bloggers Snail Mail’ you just need to send an email to whatsinyourmakeupbag@gmail.com, title it ‘The Bloggers Snail Mail’ and include in it your name, where you are from, and you blog! Sign ups will be open until the Friday 28^th August. I will then randomly match you all up aiming to make sure you are with someone from another country or at least in another area from you! I will then let you know by Monday 31^st August who your partner is and you then have 4 weeks to get to know them! So the week of the 28^th September, you can then send your new buddy their Snail Mail!

Once you receive your gifts, write a blog post about your experience, sharing what you gave, received, and learnt through this being part of this and meeting your new pal.

If you want to tweet about this project, use the hashtag #TheBloggersSnailMail, You can also tag me @GemmaMarieJames and ill retweet your post, so everyone can share your experience!

Please only sign up if you definitely are willing to take part and if you want to be matched with someone from the same country as you to save on postage then please let me know!!

Im raising money for the MS society with my first ever 10k run!

So today I am being super cheeky and am going to ask you wonderful lot if you would like to sponsor me for my first ever 10k run! 

If you read this blog regularly you'll know that I have been on a bit of a fitness journey and have only started running a few months ago. When I say I've started running, I mean I couldn't run a yard without having to stop and catch my breath! So this has been a massive challenge for me, one I set myself as part of my 30 before 30 bucket list! It's been hard going and has taken a lot of work! 

My run is on the 13th September and I've decided to raise money for the MS society. It's a cause that really means a lot for me as my mum has MS. It's a degenerative illness and it's been awful watching it slowly take my mum. It breaks my heart and I would love to help support the MS society continue their amazing work to research MS with the hope to find some sort of cure in the future as well as to continue to offer incredible support to sufferers.

I would love for you all to sponsor me, every penny really does matter and would mean the world to me! You just need to click on MY VIRGIN MONEY GIVING PAGE HERE!

IM BACK // Creating a balance between blogging and real life

source

So you may have noticed I have been on a little hiatus! It was unintentional, one week just seemed to turn into four! My poor little blog has had dead air for a while and I hold my hands up to say I've been neglecting it. Sad times! 

Have you ever struggled between blogging and balancing you your real life? I really feel there isn’t enough hours in the day for all the things I love lately and it really stresses me out. I want to blog, I love to blog but when I blog I tend to put my everything into it, it becomes my sole hobby. However lately, or looking back most of this year I have had so much on, I have had many weekends away, I’ve been spending time trying new things, catching up with friends and upped my exercising from doing nothing to doing six sessions a week. Throw in a full time job and a part time one on top and it leaves me with very little free time and feeling exhausted!

Don’t get me wrong I love all the things I do and I feel so lucky and grateful for all that I do. My issue is blogging, when I blog I want to put everything into it and I like consistency, I like to post good quality posts a few times a week. If I can’t give it 100% then there is no point….

….so I’m an idiot! It’s such a load of rubbish! I feel like I’ve had an epiphany! I feel like along the way I’ve lost the real reasons I blog. I blog because I love to write, I love to type away in my tiny little space on giant World Wide Web! And most of all I blog for me and if I don’t blog every other day then so what! I want to blog and it doesn’t matter if I miss a few days or a few weeks, my blogs like an old friend, it’s always here to come back to! 

So welcome to the brand new ‘Lipsticks and Lashes’! I am taking the pressure out of it, I am going to blog when I want, and I am going to enjoy it! I’m going to shake it up post wise too! There will be less beauty reviews and more lifestyle posts and a little of whatever I fancy.

So this is a bit of a waffle pot but I guess what I want to say is I'm back and if you’re reading this thank you for sticking with me!