My disastrous adventure back into the world of dating...

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I have been single for around 2 years and am not the most confident when it comes to guys. I’ve been pretty lucky this far as in I’ve always been introduced to guys through friends or I’ve we’ve been friends first, so it feels natural. This becomes harder as you get older, your social circle shrinks and you get to know the majority of your friend’s mates. I have had a blast being single and don’t feel I need a boyfriend but do miss having someone there and would like to meet the right man to have fun with. However I am useless at putting myself out there! My friends laugh at me and say I wouldn’t have a clue if a guy was chatting me up, I’m pretty oblivious to this kind of stuff!

It is on my 30 before 30 list to get out there more and start dating again and I recently had a look at the dating app Tinder. Highly recommend if you fancy an entertaining evening at home, get a glass of wine and slide one way if you like the look of the man and the other if you don’t.  If they click they like you too, you get matched and can start messaging. Apart from being ridiculously vain the problem with Tinder is that hardly anyone seems to message. This may just be me but if you actually want to meet people I would necessarily recommend this one!

So on the 1^st January my 2 best friends staged an intervention and signed me up to the dating website, plenty of fish and wouldn’t let me have the password for the first week. The first message was from a guy offering to pay £2700 to do rude stuff to my boobs, to say I didn’t have high hopes for this intervention would be an understatement! 

After a week of them messaging random guys I eventually got the password. I was pretty impressed with their work and it definitely showed how well they know me with their responses. I did delete a few who I didn’t think were my cup of tea and I carried on chatting to the ones I liked. I was having a great time chatting to one guy about travelling, and then he suddenly disappeared so I’m assuming he met someone. Then another guy was I was chatting too asked to befriend me on facebook so I agreed and we became facebook buddies and then he stopped chatting to me! I’m assuming he didn’t like the look of me. Who knows?!

I then started chatting to this mediocre guy, his profile stated how spontaneous he was but his messages were a little generic and boring. However I tried not to judge thinking online dating is an awkward thing in general and he might be my amazing dream man in real life. Therefore I agreed to go on a date with him, so we arranged to meet last Sunday and he would get in touch nearer the time and say a time and place. He text me at 6:30pm on the Sunday asking if we could still meet, err no, I was already in my pj’s and having a hot date with Ben & Jerry. So that one’s fizzled out.

Then I started chatting to a nice guy, for the rest of this he shall be known as ‘wakeboarding guy’. He was entertaining and chatty, he loved being out on the water and liked snowboarding. He gave me his number so we started texting instead. I really liked him and when he suggested meeting up in real life I agreed. So last night we met up in a county pub for dinner, we met at 7pm and relieved and happy to see that he was ridiculously hot and seemed really nice. We chatted about various things, I was ridiculously nervous and talked rubbish, and I also giggle a lot in these situations. He seemed a bit nervous to begin with but then seemed to relax. There were a few awkward silences, and I don’t think me blurting out that I’m 29 and moved back in with parents last year is a particular selling point. So at the end of the evening (9:30pm, not sure if that’s a bad thing?! The pub was bloody freezing!) In true Gemma style we walked to the car park to our cars and I just kind of flung myself on him for a hug and then pretty much ran to my car. Awkward much. He said ‘ill text you’ then paused for a bit and through in a ‘...soon’, what the hell does that mean?! So as you can probably guess I quite liked him.

I arrived home to a barrage of texts from friends asking if I was okay and how it went and I don’t really know to be honest! I then went through the dilemma of should I text him and say thanks for dinner and a nice evening. My friends were split on this one and me not being able to leave things text him. I then got a text saying ‘No worries, thanks for coming x’. According my dating expert friends this is known as a cut off and I won’t hear from him again. Gutted.

This dating world feels cut throat, I feel massively out of my comfort zone, I have woken up feeling extremely anxious and headed straight to the gym to try and sweat it out. It feels like a rollercoaster of emotions and this morning I feel pretty crap.

So I am currently sat here blasting out Beyonces single ladies and attempting to pull myself together and get back out there again. Sigh....

10 reasons why having a birthday in January sucks!

So as you can probably guess I am a January baby, my birthday was a week ago now and for the record this year it was pretty lovely and I got to spend some quality time with my friends and family. However this isn’t always the case and a large part of me is pretty grumpy about having a birthday at this time of year! So for a bit of fun, here are 10 reasons why I think it sucks to have a birthday in January....

1. People actually give you Christmas presents that they received and didn’t want. How do I know this? They forget to remove the original gift tag!!

2. Presents arrive in left over Christmas wrapping paper.

3. No one wants to come out and party as they are too skint from Christmas and New Year.

4.  If they do come out, they can only stay out for an hour/not eat/not drink as they are on a January detox which involves only eating green leaves and no alcohol. They then proceed to rub this in anyone’s face who is indulging, therefore ruining the party atmosphere. 

  

      5. The January blues have kicked in and everyone’s grumpy and in hibernation mode. Everyone’s tapped out emotionally and financially by this point.

      6. When you were younger all you wanted was a birthday party involving a BBQ and a bouncy castle but it was always too cold (this is made more stressful by the fact my sister (June baby) and brother (august baby) could have my dream party! Kick in the teeth!)

      7. Birthdays are just never a big deal. They have been completely over shadowed by the previous month.

      8. "Oh, this is a Christmas and birthday present."

    

      9. Or the flipside, some people from actually explain that you’ll have to wait to next month as they have no money. Err it’s not my birthday next month?!

     

     10.  Folks with January birthdays are usually pretty despondent about having a birthday at this time of year, we all feel pretty hard done by.

But then having a birthday in January means getting to go mad in the sales yourself, being able to add your Christmas and birthday money together to get that big pressie you wanted, finding out who your true friends are (the ones who will still come out and party) and the hideous January blues are postponed till February! So its swings and roundabouts my friends!

A few changes at Lipsticks and Lashes...

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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!!