A few changes at Lipsticks and Lashes...

original source

Lately I have had a bit of the blogging blues, I’ve just lost the motivation to blog which hasn’t been helped with the lack of a laptop this month!

It’s not been a completely bad thing though as it’s made me stop and re-evaluate my little space on the internet, why I blog and what I want to be writing about. I think to be completely honest with you all, I have just got really bored of it lately!

So I want to shake things up around here and write about what makes me buzz! For someone who absolutely hates change I am pretty proud of myself for making this decision! High five me! I will still write about beauty as I love it but I want to include a hell of a lot more lifestyle posts too. I want to write about my travel plans I have coming up this year and do more recipe posts. I want to record my adventures and focus on improving my photography.

I want to do a monthly round up of my health and fitness journey to keep myself focused. I am scrapping the weekly motivational Monday posts and am going to do a monthly one instead.

I am going to post when I want rather than having fixed days, I don’t want the pressure of that, and if that means not posting for a few days and loosing followers then so be it! I started this blog for me and this year I am going to focus on that fact!

Change is good so this year I plan to embrace it, I hope your all going to stick around for the ride as I think this year’s going to be pretty epic!

January Comforts & a House of Fraser Giveaway!

So for me January is the month where you hibernate, I am ridiculously poor at this time of year so can’t afford to do much and the weather is either freezing cold or pouring with rain! January is all about indulging in home comforts so for me I have been going to circuits 3 times a week first thing in the morning so on my nights off I can come home from work and just relax.

My favourite place on earth is my bed, this love has increased since my friend bought me an electric blanket for my birthday. I know this makes me sound super old but it is the best invention ever! So for the past couple of weeks I have been arriving home and just snuggling on my bed. I have recently signed up to Netflix again and am hooked on watching ‘Pretty Little Liars’. I know I’m late to the party but I am currently on season 3 and its soo good! I’m thinking ‘Sons of Anarchy’ next but if anyone has any other Netflix suggestions let me know?!

I’ve also been reading ‘The Power of Habit’ by Charles Duhigg – I’m about half way through and it’s fascinating. It looks at how we form habits and how we can change those habits into new ones. I can really relate to it at the moment as a lot of my new years resolutions this year were about changing my habits into healthier ones.

The other thing that keeps me entertained during an evening at home is ‘The Tattoo Colouring Book’, it’s an adult colouring book!! I’ve had it for a while and find it so therapeutic to pick up every so often and just colour in the pictures. Did you know you can get tons of different colouring books for adults?! I didn’t till recently and am already deliberating over which one ill get next when I’ve completed this one!

I tend to complement my cosy nights in with a ton of herbal tea! I gave up coffee around 10 months ago now and try not to have much monkey tea. I feel so much better for it! I’m also a huge fan of candles and am still burning my Yankee Candle Christmas candles, so there are usually a few of them on the go too!

I love summer and can’t wait for the lighter evenings to arrive however I’m going to enjoy the guilt free cosy nights in while I can! Do you like to hibernate too? What do you like to do to treat yourself during this long cold month?

Fancy winning a gorgeous candle set of your own? The lovely folk over at House of Fraser would like to offer one lucky ‘Lipsticks and Lashes’ reader the opportunity to win a Linea Elderflower & Lime Luxury Gift Set worth £40. The scent is an energising lime fragrance with sweet elderflower and linden blossom, complimented by woods and musk. The set contains a reed diffuser, a jar candle, a mini pillar candle and a mini room spray. How awesome does that sound?!

This giveaway is only open to UK residents and you can enter by using the raffle copter below. The winner will be picked next Sunday 25^th January at midnight! I will be checking the winner is genuine and not some made up account!

Good Luck lovelies!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Laqa & Co Sheer Lip Lube In Menatour

I received this Laqa & Co Sheer Lip Lube way back in Julys Birchbox. Now purple isn’t a colour id normally wear so was a bit ‘meh’ about it at first however a few months later it has definitely grown on me and I do wear it regularly now!

The shade is called Menatour and is a bright purple and when you look at the pencil it looks a little garish to me. However this didn’t completely put me off and I decided to try it out anyway. I am so glad I did as once on its a little more pinkish and is quite flattering. It is still pretty vibrant so may not be everyone’s cup of tea.

It glides on pretty easily, I start by lining my lips with it then filling in the rest after. It’s not sticky or tacky and it actually stays put for hours! Its long lasting, smooth and non drying, all points that make me very happy with a lip product.

A bonus point is gained for the fact it smells like peppermint! Add a little lip gloss and I really like the results. I would never have chosen this colour myself, but I LOVE it and it’s made me more open to trying new shades!

Laqa & Co Sheer Lip Lube in Menatour can be bought from the online Birchbox shop for £14, this is the only thing that puts me off buying it as I think it’s a little expensive for what it is.

30 before 30 update!

IT’S MY BIRTHDAY!!! Wahooooo! I’m 29! Which is actually a little depressing but hey ho! I’m not doing too much today, I do have the day off work but don’t have much planned! I am going to get my nails done this morning and then a meal later with some friends. I’m really looking forward to a relaxing, lazy day! Then tomorrow my brother is coming over to cook us all a meal, he is an amazing cook so I can’t wait to see what were going to be eating!

This also means that in exactly a year I shall be turning 30. THIRTY!!!!! As I’ve mentioned before this terrifies me for numerous reasons. I think this is partly due to the fact I think in my head I’m still 17, I certainly don’t feel mature enough to be nearly 30. 10 years ago if you asked me what I thought I would be doing ten years from now my reply would have been along the lines of ‘be in a job I love, own a house, married with babies’, damn you Disney for making me want the fairy tale! Instead of any of this I’m nearly 30 and live in my parents loft and am in a bit of a rut. I guess I also thought I would have achieved a lot more by now. Don’t me wrong I have no regrets, I don’t believe in them and have had the most awesome experiences, travelled to some incredible places so I really can’t complain. My life is pretty great I just need some changes and new challenges as I’m a bit lost at the moment.

I also better state for the record that I don’t think turning 30 is the end of the world, I fully intend to embrace it, I just feel like life has been a bit stagnant lately so want to insert some fun into my life and turn things up a notch.

So for all the reasons above 6 months ago I created a bucket list, a list of 30 things I would love to achieve before I turn 30. It’s a wide variety of things that I have wanted to do for a while but for whatever reason have been a lame ass and haven’t done yet. They are all things that I think will help me make the most of life and make me a better person and I though now would be a good time to give you a little update on how I’ve been getting on...

1.Start dating... my love life is drier than the Sahara desert, mainly due to the fact I don’t put myself out there. – My friends have staged an intervention here! That’s how lame I am about it! They have signed me up for plenty of fish, and are refusing to give me the password! God help me! I shall let you know what happens!

2.Go indoor skydiving

3.Cook one dish a week from scratch... I live off toast at the mo.... I am now on a bridesmaid diet ready for my friend’s wedding in November, so I’m back on weight watchers so cooking again so this one is slowly being ticked off!

4.Say yes more! To any opportunities that come my way. – This is an ongoing one and I think I’ve been embracing it pretty well! It’s a great way to put myself out there more!

5.Learn to long board – I have a long board and am working on it! I am a giant wimp and keep jumping off before I think I’m going to fall off! I have zero sense of balance so it’s been fun!

6.Try a roller derby

7.Visit Disney World in Florida

8.Start a ‘grateful’ diary and record 3 things I am happy for every day. – I have started this from the 1^st January and am enjoying doing it! It’s a nice way to positively reflect!

9.Buy a house

10.Try Paddle boarding.

11.Start a successful Etsy Shop – I’ve started this one already but my aim is to make it successful!

12.Write a book – I’ve started writing and I love it, just wish there was hours in a day so I could get more done!

13.Live abroad for a month – I have booked a month of work next November!! I am going to Australia for a friend’s wedding and am thinking of spending 2 weeks there and then 2 weeks somewhere like Bali – it’s still all in the planning stage! But a month abroad is happening! Whoop!

14.Get down to a clothing size 12 – okay so this week I’ve signed back up to weight watchers, and I’ve joined a fitness boot camp, I am a girl on a mission!!

15.Run a 10k – I’ve signed up to do a 10k muddy runner in the summer and a 4km colour run in April – this is the year I am going to get fit!

16.Do a painting on a canvas – I have bought a canvas and some neon acrylic paints!! I can’t wait to have a play with them. If it looks half decent I might even share the final painting here!

17.Go to a music festival – it’s all booked and paid for!!! I am going to a small festival called Blissfield’s this summer for a friends hen do! I am ridiculously excited about this!!

18.Visit Machu Piccu

19.Fall in love and be loved – see no1

20.See the northern lights

21.Visit Ireland

22.Try Wakeboarding

23.Start an art class

24.Learn to Surf

25.Learn another language

26.Learn the ukulele – there is a local Ukulele group that meet in the local pub, I’ve been to a few sessions now! I am really bad at learning to play but its good fun! I’ve learnt I am just not musical!

27.Figure out some sort of career path and be happy with whatever it may be.

28.Make a drift wood coffee table

29.Read one book every month – I’m on it with this one and really enjoying it! It’s nice to have a bit of me time with a good book and a glass of wine!

30.Go to New Zealand

I am so happy with what I’ve achieved so far in the last 6 months and can’t wait to see how many more I can tick off over the next year! I don’t know if I can or if funds will allow me to achieve all of these but I am definitely going to try my hardest to make this all happen! I will try and do a few blogs to keep you in the loop as I go along with this journey. Wish me luck!!

Gift Idea: Eat Your Photo!

I recently spotted on Twitter that ‘Eat Your Photo’ were looking for bloggers to try their Gift Cake. As someone who has been known to eat cake for breakfast, I never say no to cake so jumped at the opportunity! The concept behind ‘Eat your Photo’ is that you choose your photo and text and they pop it onto a cake for you!

To place your order all you need to do is decide on your chosen outer frame design, your chosen flavour, the message that you would like on there and finally your shipping address, filling all these details in on a really straight forward form on their website.

My mum has been really poorly lately and has recently come home from hospital so I thought it would be fun to create a cake for her. I chose a picture of my brother, sister and myself and the text ‘Love you xxx’. I also decided on going for the Ornate Frame with the vanilla sponge.

I received an email to say it was on the way and it arrived pretty quickly. To be honest I wasn’t expecting much so was pleasantly surprised by what turned up! The Gift Cake is 16cm square but is over 8cm high and they state there is enough to serve up to 18. You do get a lot of cake for your buck! For £18 you definitely get your money’s worth!

The photo looked really good on the cake and was a good quality image. As for taste it was actually super yummy! I’m glad I chose to go for the vanilla filling as it was scrumptious. I will definitely be using ‘Eat Your Photo’ again.

Oooh and my mum loved it!!

Christmas #DICraftSwap

Over the past year I’ve really fallen in love with crafting, and just generally being creative again. I don’t think I ever really feel out of love with it, I think life just got in the way and I didn’t really make time for it. That’s all changed lately and I am so glad to be back making things and having fun with craft. So when I found out about Hannah's #DICraftSwap I just couldn’t resist signing up!

This is the second swap I’ve signed up for and I’ve really enjoyed doing them! Each month she announces a new theme for the swap and then Hannah emails you the person you are sending to, the person you are sending to is not the person you are receiving from. It’s up to you if you want to reveal yourself. Each parcel must include at least one handmade item and one bought gift with the min. value of £3. Spending and making more is entirely up to you!

This rounds theme was ‘Christmas’ and I was given Lauren who blogs at ‘Oh Hay!’ to make something for. I decided to make her some star tree decorations and a necklace, I had so much fun making these pieces. I also sent her a Doctor Who print as she is also a fan. I did take some pics of everything I sent but somehow managed to delete half my photos this morning and have been unable to retrieve them! So all I can show you are the stars I made for Lauren....

The lovely Claire who blogs over at ‘The Owl in the Teacup’, had me and she completely spoiled me! She made me 2 absolutely gorgeous traditional Swedish Dala Horses, which have had pride of place on my tree this year. Claire also made me a twine and painted heart picture holder, which I am going to use to hold photos as it looks fab!

Claire also treated me to the cutest pair of unicorn socks, some unicorn stickers and a lovely letter set which I have already started using. Oooh and a Thornton’s fudge chocolate bar which didn’t last long at all!

Massive thank you to Claire for such lovely treats and to Hannah for organising this! If you are interested in craft swaps then I really recommend popping over to Dainty and Ivory to sign up. I’m skipping the current swap due to lack of funds and time but look forward to joining in with more this year! 

Hopes and Dreams for 2015

Happy New Year Lovelies! Hope you’ve had a wonderful festive period! I can’t believe how quickly it’s flown by! So this is my annual post where I get to be a little reflective on the past year and start looking at what I want to achieve in 2015! 2014 had a lot of ups and downs for me, it started off amazing, I spent the first month in Thailand and had the most amazing time! Over all its been a pretty good year however the last few months have been a bit of nightmare as my mum’s been very ill but hopefully we’ve turned a corner there! I also feel like this year I’ve been on autopilot, my life being a bit static and I’m just going through the motions. Does that make sense?

I am really looking forward to 2015! I have some fun things already booked in the calendar and think it’s going to be a good one! Here are my personal hopes and dreams in no particular order. Please note that this is a working document for me and something I want to come back and reflect on throughout the year. Also for the record these are NOT New Year’s resolutions! Who actually sticks to those?! These are just a few of my hopes, dreams and aspirations...

• Be better with my money – start saving and stop spending so thoughtlessly!
•  Get fit! Standard for most people but I want to improve my fitness, tone up and run a 10k race this year!
• Laugh more! The last few months have been pretty hard so I want to smile and laugh more! Have the most fun going!
• To say ‘yes’ more and to try new things. Something I started a few years and want to continue and do more of as it’s only led to positive things! 
• Be positive! I want to be one of those cheesy people who see the light in every dark situation. I truly believe positivity attracts positivity!
• Be more adventurous, try new things and travel to new places! 
• To start dating again
• To buy a house, Okay so this one may be a pipe dream but I want to save up and start heading towards this one! Or at least move out of the parents loft by the end of the year!

In terms of hopes and dreams for 2015 in regards to my blog, I want to shake things up a little! I have got a little bored with my blog lately and want to insert some excitement back into it! I want to blog about different things, maybe do a few more lifestyle posts. Is there any type of posts you’d like to see more or less of?

So 2015 I want to mainly enjoy my writing and to see what other excitement and adventures it brings me! I also want to meet some blogging friends!! None of my real life friends blog and I would love some friends who do!

I am so excited to see what 2015 may bring! I also just wanted to say a massive thank you to everyone who’s taken the time to stop by and have a look at my ramblings here over the past year; it means the world to me!