2nd Blogiversary & a few things i have gained from blogging!

I can’t believe I’m sat here writing about my 2 year blogiversary! Two whole years of blogging have just flown by! I’ve definitely had my ups and downs over those years, but I still love ‘Lipsticks and Lashes’, my happy little corner of the interweb. So to mark this very cool milestone I thought I would share with you what I have gained from blogging over this time….

A wonderful space where I can write to my heart’s desire – one of my aims in starting this blog was to improve my writing as one of my ambitions is to write a book one day. My love of writing has only soared since starting ‘Lipsticks and Lashes

My confidence has sky rocketed! I used to be a huge worrier, I still am to an extent but I now care less about what people think and am so much more happier. Doing my ‘Motivational Monday’ posts every week has definitely helped with this!

One of the things I appreciate most is the awesome blogging community. I love being part of such a supportive network, via twitter and all the blogger chats you can join in with. They really inspire me and give me a kick up the bum when I’m in a rut. Then there are the wonderful folk who stop by here and comment or email. Not forgetting The Bloggers Snail Mail Project (Shameful plug, have you signed up yet?!). All of the above have led me to interact with some fab people in the blogging community.

Through my blog I’ve also improved my juggling skills (not the circus variety!). I am ten times better than I used to be at juggling my time and commitments thanks to my blogging. I am still by no means organised (I would love to be one of those people!) but having to create a balance between 2 jobs, a social life and blogging I have had to learn and have made huge improvements in this area.

Before I started ‘Lipsticks and Lashes’ I was in dire need of a creative outlet, I just didn’t know what form that would take. Then blogging came along and has allowed me to be creative in so many ways! I think this also links back to my previous point around confidence. Being able to do things I love and be as creative as I can has definitely put me in such a happy place. I am much more confident and relaxed compared to 2 years ago!

I also just want to say a massive thank you to every one of you who pop by, spares the time to read my waffle, and those who then spare the time to comment, tweet and email me. It really does make my day and never fails to put a smile on my face!

Nails // DIY Glitter Tips

 

For someone who is obsessed with painting her nails, mainly because it stops me from biting them, I am pretty unadventurous. This makes me feel a bit ashamed really when there are so many cool nail art products out there, I think I worry they will look awful and tacky.

However this week I decided to be a little creative and decided to attempt doing my own glitter tips. For the base colour I used Models Own Hyper Gel Polish in Lilac Sheen, this is one of my favorite colours this summer and has become my go to nail colour. I put on two coats of this polish and let it dry.

When it was fully dry I used a sponge makeup brush (you can pick these pretty cheap in places like Superdrug) to dab on the glitter. For my glitter polish I used another Models Own polish in Southern Lights. It’s quite a fine glitter and very pretty and colour so I thought it would complement the lilac. I just dabbed the glitter to the tips of my nails but if you wanted you could easily do more or make patterns.

I am pretty impressed with my handy work and have had some lovely compliments. I think next time I am going to use the same technique and attempt ombre nails!

Lets talk about depression

Today’s post is something that’s been playing on my mind for the past week or so, it’s very different to what I would usually post on here. It is a step away from the usual positive vibes I try to spread but I hope that it has some sort of response and gets people at least thinking.

 

On the 11^th August one of my favourite actors passed away, Robin Williams, a truly talented actor and warm soul. He sadly took his own life and was suffering from depression. Since his tragic passing it has raised a lot of talk around depression and I have been shocked as I have seen numerous negative and uneducated comments about the subject. It has riled me and made me want to talk about it, so here I am.

 

Now I am no doctor so I can’t pretend to know the scientific or medical explanation of depression, but as someone who has lived with people who have / had severe depression as well as working with young people who have a variety of mental health issues including depression, I feel strongly about the issue.

 

 

Depression is the worst kind of illness, it’s not something visible, and you can’t stick a plaster on it and leave it to heal.  It’s something that makes the strongest person fragile. It creates an all consuming darkness so the person can no longer remember a better time.

Depression can’t be solved by fixing a particular problem and all will be well again, it takes you to a very dark place and there is no light. Its horrendous for those around the person suffering as if doesn’t matter how much good you think they have in their life, how much love they have around them, in the depths of depression it doesn’t matter. It’s heart breaking.

Depression is very real and according to stats it affects one in three of us each and every day. So today I would like to ask you to take a few minutes to be more considerate of every one you meet today, for you have no idea what silent battle they may be facing and one kind gesture can go a long way.

I’d like to end this post with the most heart warming tribute I’ve seen to Robin Williams, a man who spread happiness throughout the world and will be sorely missed

Motivational Monday #24

I can’t believe its Monday again already! How fast has the past week gone?! I can’t complain though as my past week involved a trip to London to see my sister, lots of catching up with various friends and a wedding! All in all a pretty fab week, which I hope will continue into this one!

I love today’s quote, it means so much to me at the moment. I am terrible guilty of being laid back / lazy and just letting things happen rather than taking control myself. Over the past 6 months I feel like I have had a bit of wake up call and have realised if I want to achieve the things I would like to do, it is completely down to me to do that. Each and every one of us makes big and small choices every day and they all have consequences. These choices make us who we are.

I think we can all blame others for things going wrong etc but at the end of the day we made those choices. My aim at the moment it is to be a more positive person to achieve my aims and goals, this will involve making choices and being responsible for those decisions. If I am unhappy with my choices then I need to take action!! I am determined to get to where I want to be!

Happy Monday Lovelies!

L'oreal L'Extraordinaire Liquid Lipstick by Color Riche in Fuschia Drama

 

 

I bought this product late one night whilst being ridiculously naughty and browsing the boots website for treats I can’t afford. I am meant to be saving but am absolutely shocking at it! My excuse that night was that I needed to order some sunscreen and bits for my upcoming holiday at the end of the month. So I got all the bits I needed as well as a few other pieces! Whooops!

So when I’m talking about ‘this product’ its L'oreal L'Extraordinaire Liquid Lipstick by Color Riche in Fuschia Drama, when I ordered it I was expecting to receive something along the lines of Rimmels Apocalips, however when I started using it, it soon became clear that it’s not a lipstick, I repeat, ITS NOT A LIPSTICK! It is in fact very much a lipgloss.

I want to feel cheated and lied to by the name of name product, however, errrr I kind of do love this product! I hate saying ‘product’ but they’ve called it a lipstick when it’s not, so I shall say ‘product’, can you tell this annoys me?!

I am a fan of the old lipgloss, let’s get it back in trend!! Matte lips just ain't my style. Fuschia Drama is however the one thing that is true however I would rename it Fuschia Dream, I love a pop of pink and this doesn’t disappoint. It goes on a lovely shade of glossy pink and isn’t sticky and stays put. The perfect LIPGLOSS NOT LIPSTICK!! I also like the packaging, its very sleek and smart.

So if you are looking for a lipgloss with a pop of colour I would definitely recommend this range. It’s a really good quality product, one that’s already become a go to lip product of mine!

 

The Autumn Bloggers Snail Mail - Sign Ups Now Open!

 

Welcome to the Autumn round of The Bloggers Snail Mail! Way back at the beginning of March I launched the first ‘The Bloggers Snail Mail’ and this is now going to be the third round!! I’ve had so much positive feedback from the first two rounds that I just had to keep going and do another!

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 29^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 1^st September who your partner is and you then have 4 weeks to get to know them! So the week of the 29^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 match with someone from the same country as you to save on postage then please let me know!!

The Summer Tag!

I love a good tag post, I think it’s a really fun way to get to know the blogger a little better! So when I came across this ‘summer tag’ on the lovely Tori’s blog ‘Welcome to a Wonderful World’ and realised I cant actually remember the last time I did a tag post myself I thought it was the perfect one to do!

 

1. Favourite bronzer for summer?

The Body Shops Shimmer Waves or Bourjois Paris Cream Blush Sun 05 in Pink Sunwear

2. You're relaxing in a hammock, on a tropical island. What are you sipping on? (Favourite summer drink)

A tropical cocktail or an ice cold beer!

3. Favourite summer lip product?
L'oreal L'Extraordinaire Liquid Lipstick by Color Riche in Fuschia Drama

4. Pool or Beach?

            Pool if I want to sunbath and be extremely lazy and just chillax, beach if I want to play around. I love being in the sea!

5. Summer = crazy hair! What's your must-have styling product?
Morroccan oil as my hair dries out so much in the heat and this stuff works wonders! I have recently had blonde bits put in and am so conscious that it will add to the dryness so I’ve been trying various products to redeem it a little, so far I am in love with the Aussie range! It smells lush and is keeping my hair in fab condition!

 

6. Sun bathing or fake tan?

Sun bathing! Fake is great for sorting out my pale pins but if I can have a natural tan then so be it!

 

7. Favourite summer nail polish?
I am working my way through the Gelish summer collection which is full of fab, fun bright colours.

8. Any summer traditions?

Ummm no traditions as such, I just try and make the most of this time of year and see as much of my friends as I can, go to the beach, long bike rides and lots of BBQ’s. I try and have as much fun as I can and enjoy the sunshine before we all hibernate for the winter!

9. Favourite summer scent?

 I know this question probably means a perfume but I am going to answer with my favourite summer smells which are freshly cut grass and sun tan lotion!

10. Favourite BBQ food?

BBQ chicken, nom nom! I also love BBQ Banana with syrup, so unbelievable yummy!

 

11. What's your favourite summer-proof product?

Benefits They’re Real Mascara, I tend to wear very little makeup during the summer but can’t go without mascara! This works wonders in the heat as doesn’t melt off or smudge, happy me!

12. Any summer vacation plans this year? No plans? Tell us about your dream summer trip...

I have just got back from Malta which was perfect, but now I am debating what to book next... I get itchy feet if I don’t have some sort of trip booked on the horizon! Im hoping to go to Australia for a friends wedding next year which would be pretty awesome.

I tag you all to have a go at this tag! What do you love about the summer?