Motivational Monday // May

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Firstly, Happy Bank Holiday Monday!! I hope you’re all having a fab long weekend and making the most of an extra day off work if you have one?! After being a bit poorly last week, I’m fully embracing feeling better this weekend and making the most of catching up with friends which has been so lovely and full of fun and giggles!

I can’t believe it’s May already! I can’t say I’m too pleased about it as this year is going way too for my liking! April was a bit of a crazy month I moved jobs after spending 5 years at my old job it was a big change for me and has taken me way out of my comfort zone! I think I’m going to like my new job but there is so much information to take in at the moment so I’m trying to take it one day at a time at the moment!

I’m not a huge fan of change, I hate being out of my comfort zone but I’m trying to embrace it and do you know what? I feel so much better for it! I really do, I didn’t realise how fed up I had gotten and how much id had enough of it all. It’s made me realise that sometimes you need to take a risk and try new things. I don’t want to live a life of regrets, I want to make the most of every opportunity that comes my way and live my life to the fullest!

Also I know I have been a little hit and miss with blogging lately, but I am back! I have a ton of exciting posts coming your way, and I have totally fallen in love with it again! So thank you for sticking with me, you won’t regret it! 

What I'm Loving Lately #1

1.       Cashew Cookie Nak’d bars – I am obsessed with these things! I am not particularly convinced they are that healthy for you as they are 4 pro points on weight watchers (useless fact of the day for you!) but as they are mainly made from prunes I am conning myself that it’s better for me than chocolate! Plus they are actually really yummy!

2.       Pretty Little Liars – I have 4 episodes of this left to watch on Netflix and I am already panicking over what to watch next! I love this show and worried I am going to suffer from a post TV show hangover... so I have slowed down my viewing marathon sessions and are taking my time to watch these last few episodes! Any ideas on what TV series I should move onto next on Netflix would be gratefully received!

3.       Lipsticks and Lashes Book Swap! – You may have seen a while ago that I wrote this post about doing a book swap. Well a number of lovely ladies signed up to join in and my parcel from the gorgeous Katie arrived a couple of weeks ago. She sent me ‘Trust in Me’ which is one of her favourite books and ‘The Unfinished Sympathy of You and Me’ which I’ve wanted to read for a while! I have just started reading ‘Trust in Me’ and I like it so far! Have you read either of these?

4.       Orelia London Jewellery – I was lucky enough to be sent this necklace and these earrings and they are just stunning! I’ve had lots of compliments about both, they are very simple yet stand out. LOVE THEM! Saying that though, I have my eye on quite a few items on Orelia London’s website as they have so many fab pieces, I think next pay day I may be making a cheeky order!

5.       Weldmars Colour Run – a few weeks ago now our local hospice, Weldmar who are an amazing charity and do an incredible job,  held a 4k colour run to raise some funds and I went down and joined in with a few of my friends. It was so much fun! We thought we would walk most of it but ended up jogging it all! We got absolutely coated in a variety of bright colours! It was such a good laugh and I would definitely recommend doing one if there’s one being held in your local area. I’ve heard Weldmar are going to be doing another one next year so I will definitely be going and doing it again!

How much is your face worth?

I have seen this tag doing the rounds for quite a while and thought it would be a fun one to do.  Do you know how much your face is worth? I always thought mine wasn’t that expensive but over the years I have definitely started spending more on make up, so thought it would be interesting to work out how much my face adds up to! This is based on my every day make up, I think I may do a night out version of this tag one day as I’m sure it’ll all add up to a bit more! So here we go....

Laura Mercier Foundation Primer – £18.50

Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Foundation – £26.50

MAC All That Glitters Eye Shadow – £13.00

MAC Studio Finish Concealer – £15.50

Benefit Roller Lash Mascara – £19.50

MAC Amplified Lipstick in Girl About Town – £15.50

Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eyeliner – £13.00

Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Rose – £32.50

Drum roll please.... My face is worth.... £154

That does kind of freak me out a little! That’s 6 weeks worth of petrol for my car!! I’m glad I didn’t do the evening makeup now otherwise I think I’d be in shock!!

I now tag you all to have a go at this! If you do make sure you drop me the link to your post!

My ABC's of Travel

I’ve seen this tag / prompt post around blogland for a little while, I have a slight addiction to reading travel blogs and posts and always feel my wanderlust kick when I’m browsing others posts and stories. So I thought I would have a go at this one myself, here is my A-Z of travel...

New York

A // Age you went on your first international trip?

I was about 10 and my dad took me, my brother and sister and a friend to Tenerife for a week and they had the worst weather in 20 years whilst we were out there! I just remember there being a ton of rain!

B // Best foreign beer you’ve had and where?

Demi peche which is French beer with a shot of peach flavoured syrup was probably my favourite drink whilst doing a ski season in France! I also loved Chang, a Thai beer which was drunk cold on the beach in Thailand, it was perfect!

C // Cuisine. Favourite?

Probably Thai, as I love all the flavours and spices. But Italian has to be a close second!

D // Destinations. Favourite and least favourite? Why?

Favourite: Canada! I did a ski season there a few years ago and it was just incredible! I loved living in the mountains and the people are just so lovely and genuine, and their way of life is just so much more relaxed.

Least favourite: I’m not sure I have a least favourite?! I think I’ve been really lucky and had tons of amazing travelling experiences.

Egypt

E // Event you’ve experienced abroad that made you say “WOW!”?

New Years Eve in Bangkok was just incredible! I am not sure I’ll ever experience a new year’s like that again! It was electric, such a great atmosphere and so many things happening!

F // Favourite mode of transportation?

Flying as it means I’m heading somewhere exciting!

G // Greatest feeling while travelling?

The excitement of new things and the freedom to explore, I always come home feeling so much more relaxed and happier. There’s nothing better that the feelings you experience whilst travelling.

H // Hottest place you’ve ever travelled to?

Egypt, it was in the mid 40’s every day. When you stepped out of your air conditioned hotel room it was like stepping into a sauna! It was such an intense heat.

Ao Nang, Thailand

I // Incredible service you’ve experienced and where?

Probably when I stayed in a lovely hotel resort in Egypt that I can’t for the life of me think of the name of now! Everyone was so helpful and kind, making it a great holiday.

J // Journey that took the longest?

Probably Australia in terms of travelling time, however when I went to Thailand the journey out there took ages as we ended up spending 10 hours in the airport in Delhi which really isn’t the nicest of airports!

K // Keepsake from your travels?

Definitely my memories! I don’t really tend to pick up keepsakes but the memories I have of my travels so far are incredible!

L // Let-down sight. Where and why?

The Eiffel Tower – so much smaller in real life!

M // Moment where you fell in love with travelling?

I went on a college trip to New York when I was 17 and I was so in awe of the magic of the city and the freedom of travelling. I also think doing a few ski seasons round the world also helped as I met so many amazing people from around the world and it just spurred on my wanderlust!

N // Nicest hotel you’ve ever stayed in?

Probably The Hilton Hyde Park a good few years ago now, it was a beautiful hotel and was a fantastic stay.

O // Obsession. What are you obsessed with taking photos of while travelling?

For a blogger I am shockingly bad at taking photographs even whilst travelling! I have the best intentions, I take my camera most places but always forget I have it on me! I’m lucky I have a lot of snap happy friends!

P // Passport stamps. How many and from where?

I have literally just got a new passport which is completely empty at the moment and I can’t wait to fill it! My old one had many stamps in from Australia, Canada, USA, Egypt, Tunisia, Malaysia and Thailand to name a few!

Thailand

Q // Quirkiest attraction you’ve visited and where?

Probably Popeye world in Malta! It’s basically the set of where they filmed the film of Popeye and it was a bizarre and very cheesy place!

R // Really frightening. One place you’ve visited where you felt unsafe or uneasy?

I have been very lucky in that I’ve not really been anywhere that I’ve felt unsafe or uneasy but I’m sure one day that will come.

S // Splurge. Something you have no problem spending money on while travelling?

Experiences, I think if you’re somewhere you may not visit again you need to make the most of it!

T // Touristy thing you’ve done?

Tons! I think you have to do the touristy things as they are usually well known for a reason! However it’s also fun to go off the beaten track once and a while!

U // Unforgettable travel memory?

Way too many to recall! I have amazing memories from most of the places I’ve visited and I feel so ridiculously lucky for that!

V // Visas. How many and for where?

Thailand, New York, Canada and Australia!

Thailand

W // Wine. Best glass while travelling?

This question is wasted on me! I’m not really a wine drinker! Give me a beer or a cider and I’m happy as Larry! Not very lady like am I!

X // excellent view and where from?

There are way too many to mention! The coast of Australia gave me some incredible views, the Rockies in Canada were breathtaking, and standing at the top of the empire state building in New York was amazing...

Y // Years spent travelling?

I have been an on and off traveller over the years! I’ve spent 6 months in Canada, a month in France, 3 months in Australia, a month in Thailand. I have been on lots of weeklong holidays too.

Z // Zealous sports fans and where?

When I was living in Canada we used to go and see the local Ice Hockey team play every week and the fans were absolutely bonkers! They would throw live chickens on the ice or start fights with the players, they were beyond passionate but it was always a great night and usually a fab game to cheer on!

What are your ABC’s of travel? Write your own and leave me a link to your post in the comments. I’d love to read your travel experiences!

Weapons of beauty in 21 century

So back at the beginning of last month the lovely Nika, whose sarcasm and dry wit always makes me giggle, she is one funny lady, she wrote THIS guest post here on Lipsticks and Lashes and I am ridiculously honored to have here back again with today’s guest post! She is a fab writer and I think this is such an interesting topic, I would love to hear all your thoughts…..

Nobody is perfect, but on the other side, we have beauty standards that are demanding perfection. How does one cope with that? Should we reconcile with living with imperfections? Do we accept them and look at them from a positive side? Or do we change them if we have the chance? The answer is quite simple actually: it all depends on us. Different people have different view of life and different images of themselves and based on that they’ll decide what it takes to feel self-confident.

Different beauty standards depending on the country (source)

In search for perfection

Women’s hyper-criticism is leading them to have unattainable standards of attraction. They are constantly bombarded by images of perfect women’s body in the media, but even putting that aside, throughout history women always strived to changing their appearance in order to achieve some bigger level of beauty. 

Real-life Ken and Barbie hated the sight of each other (source)

The difference is in tools that are used for such a purpose. In ancient Egypt women used products based on copper, led and malachite to give their faces definition and color. In Middle Ages women risk their health for beauty, by using cosmetics that were blocking proper circulation. In Renaissance arsenic was basic ingredient for face powder. Up to now, make up and cosmetic treatments dominated as a way to beautify. Today, however, as a tool in search for perfection, plastic surgery is becoming more and more popular.

Plastic surgery as a tool of beauty

Plastic surgery today is more popular than ever. One of the reasons is that most of the interventions are pretty affordable, so they are not anymore available to members of the upper class only. Its popularity is also based on growing acceptance of “going under the knife” as a method of beautifying. 

JI YEO

Evidence, news and confessions that many celebs had plastic procedures are making plastic surgery more in demand. It actually makes one feel better about his imperfections, by seeing the flawless look of many stars didn’t happen naturally, and that he too has the chance to look like that. With always popular curves and sexy cleavage, breast augmentation continues to be the biggest trend in cosmetic surgery.

Most popular procedures

Reshaping the nose, or rhinoplasty is on the very top of most wanted procedures. People often have nose job for health reasons, to correct birth defect or breathing problem, or they are simply unhappy with the appearance of their nose. 

Even the most gorgeous of them feel they need to change something

Breast augmentation and enlargement, as mentioned, are extremely popular, due to previously discussed search for perfection, because not all of us are fortunate enough to have firm and well shaped breast, and we all want them. Liposuction is very much in demand because of the obvious reasons. There is no surprise that Botox is still most popular non-surgical procedure. But due to curvy girls popularity, a surprise trend of butt implants emerges, and it’s becoming more and more wanted.

A little touch up here and there

Is there something wrong with a little “polishing” of our nature given bodies? Self-improvement has always been an admirable cause, but when it comes to plastic surgery it is often viewed as unwanted and unacceptable trend. On the other hand, the answer of cosmetic surgery supporters is that the matter is quite simple: “If you don’t like something and you have the opportunity to change it, what’s stopping you?”

- You can find Nika on twitter here. I would love to hear your views on this subject!

Empties #4

I haven’t done an empties post in a little while so here is what I’ve been using up lately....

Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Foundation – this is my third tube of this foundation. I really do love it and find it’s not too heavy on my skin. I prefer a natural looking Foundation and this definitely ticks that box. However I’ve decided to be brave and try a new foundation, which is a big step for me, as a beauty blogger I am pretty rubbish at trying new products and shaking up my routine as when I find a product I love I tend to stick to it! I do have a funny feeling I may come back to this foundation though!

Laura Mercier Foundation Primer – I have received tube after tube of this stuff in various different beauty boxes and I am finally all ran out! I have to say I’m actually disappointed as I do like this primer. However I do love Benefits Porefessional primer a little more so I think that’s what I’ll be investing in next!

MAC Satin Taupe Eye shadow – I bloody love this eye shadow! It’s my perfect shade of brown and is the one I tend to wear day to day.  I have to admit I already have bought a replacement as I just can’t possibly be without it!!

Stila Smudge Proof Eye Liner – This eyeliner was one I received in a beauty and box and wasn’t sure at first as it’s a very solid black. It has really grown on me and has been a regular product in my make up bag however I think I will be replacing it with a cheaper alternative as I have used better eye liners.

Steam Cream – another product found in a beauty box (yes I subscribe to waaay to many boxes!), I was intrigued to try this as I have heard so much hype about it. It has a very strong herbal scent but once you get past that it’s been fantastic for my skin which is usually super sensitive at this time of year.

Revlon Professional Coconut Uniq One All In One Hair Treatment – BEST HAIR PRODUCT EVER!! I know that’s a ridiculously bold statement but as someone who dyes their hair regularly and suffers from crazy matted hair on a regular basis this stuff has been a miracle worker. It has really helped improve the condition of my hair.

Have you tried any of these products? How did you rate them?

Dating Disasters #2

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I wrote THIS post back in January about my foray into the world of dating and what a disaster it was, well there’s a lot more to the story now so make yourself a cuppa, get comfy and let me update you!

So the guy I went on a date with back in January, a few days after writing the original post and about a week after the date and hearing absolutely zero from him. Well I met up with a friend for lunch and was telling her the story and I showed her a picture of him and it turns out she knows his girlfriend, yes you read that right, GIRLFRIEND! I still can’t believe it, so many people are on dating sites how did he think he could get away with that?! Some men are jerks!!

So after that I took a hiatus from dating, not that one date throws me back out there fully! Life’s been pretty hectic but the past couple of weeks I decided to stop being a complete relationship phobic and try and put myself back out there. So back onto plenty of fish I went, I’ve been chatting to a few guys, none of whom have wowed me. Where the hell are all the nice single hot guys hiding?

One guy, not particular nice to look at (yes I know that sounds awful but I do believe there needs to be an attraction and you need to find them hot!) but was nice to chat too, he randomly tried to add me on facebook. I know you may think that sound like I’m being dramatic and that it seems like a normal thing to do.  Well I would normally agree but I plenty of fish profile doesn’t contain my name and I hadn’t given my full name to him. I queried him on this and he replied that he used to be a body guard and can find anyone who doesn’t want to be found?!! Creepy!

So last Sunday I braved it and went on a date, not with the creepy guy, a different one, we had been chatting for a little while and agreed to meet in Costa for a coffee. Firstly never meet in Costa for a coffee! It was super busy, we were wedged between buggies and grannies gossiping. It was really noisy, hard to hear what was being said and the least relaxing environment you. Oh and I don’t even drink coffee!

Hmm where to start? Well he was late which is annoying, especially on a first date. If any of my friends are reading this, yes I know I’m a hypocrite! I am always late but not to dates!! When he arrived he didn’t look much like his picture and was super short, I mean ridiculously short! I am 5ft 2, I am a Shorty so I don’t look at peoples heights on their profile as 99% of the time everyone is taller than me!  He must have been 4ft something! When I got home I double checked and he had put 5ft 5 as his height, there is exaggerating the truth and then there is exaggerating! I like my men tall and I mean really tall 6ft plus, I also need to consider my future children I don’t want them to suffer with my height deficiency! Then on the actual date all he spoke about was himself! Not one single question about anything else! It was a complete yawn fest!

So that is my update! I am 4 months into the New Year and my resolution of putting myself out there and back into the dating world isn’t going to well! All I have learnt so far is that dating is hard work, I don’t enjoy it, and it feels fake. I want to just bump into a TALL, good looking man who makes me belly laugh and we click. Is that asking for the impossible?!