A little life update and an Old English Company Wishlist!

Its been a little while since I’ve posted on here mainly due to some huge life changes! A couple of months ago i packed up all my worldly goods, said a drunken teary goodbye to my friends and family and moved exactly 156 miles away, a 3 hour drive. I was doing long distance with the boy but coming up 2 years it was getting a little silly! So i took the crazy step to be the one to move. So far so good, i miss all my friends terrible and have no idea how you make friends at 32 years old (suggestions welcome!). Apart from that the new job is cool and living with the boy is like a dream!

Moving has meant styling our home which is one of my favourite things to do! Im obessed with following home inspiration tags on instagram and feel like ive missed a calling to be an interior designer! In our lounge I have a wall full of frames full of prints i love, photos and most of all inspirational quotes. I cant get enough of them! Which is where todays wish list stems from...

 The Old English Company specialise in designing stylish homewares, clothing, art prints, stationary and accessories which all feature unique, hand-lettered quotes – some funny, some inspiring, all completely lust worthy and right uo my street! So here are a few bits i have my eye on....

 This print would be perfect for our bedroom. I’m going for a vintage, romantic kinda vibe in there and this would fit right in!

 Another print that’s perfect for the bedroom!

This is a quote my mumma always says so is pretty meaningful to me. Would be perfect addition to my picture wall.

As well as prints, they do so much more including another of my obsessions- the cutest stationary! Check out this gorgeous planner!

And this pin... I actually have this quote tattooed on my run! Its one of my favourites. I love all the pins they sell! Im slowly building a collection of my own and will have to treat myself to this one!

Are you a fan of pins too? Well, here’s the good news – Old English Company are holding a competition! You could win these three beautiful heart-shaped enamel pins shown above! Entering is simple – all instructions and details can be found here.  

What happened when I used coconut oil as my cleanser for a month

If you stop by this little space on the Internet on a regular basis then you will know that I have a bit of a love affair going on with coconut oil. Apart from using it as my primary oil for cooking I swear by it for my hair. I’ve regularly use it as a hair mask and leaving it on over night and I completely credit it for my hair being in a good condition especially when you think about how much bleach has been on my locks! I’ve also used it on dry patches of skin when my eczema is being a bitch  and it’s like magic!

Anyways even though I have been a coconut oil convert for a while I’ve not been brave enough to use it on my face. I’ve used facial oils for a while now but was worried coconut oil was a bit too thick and greasy for my face. However I’ve heard a lot of positive comments about coconut oil being used as a cleanser and ’m always up for giving things a go though and thought I’d try it for a month and see how I get on!

So how do I use it? I scoop of tiny bit, maybe the size of pea out of the tub and massage it into my skin. As you do this it heats up and melts and you begin to look like something from the house of wax horror film as it literally melts the makeup off your face. I then use a damp cotton pad to wipe it a off. It is a fab makeup remover and gets every last bit of mascara off, so no more waking up with panda eyes even though you’d been behaved and removed your makeup the night before! Hurrah!

It can be a little messy and you honestly don’t need much or it will melt and go EVERYWHERE! Trust me I learnt the hard way! So a month down and am I still going to carry on using it? Well I have had so many complements about my skin lately and I really think it’s down to the oil. My skin is so much softer, the eczema on my cheeks has completely gone. I still get the odd spot but only during the time of the month, and I’m totally going with the whole ‘while your getting spots you’re not getting wrinkles’ thing so I’m OK with the odd hormonal spot!

Also in terms of value for money, I purchased a large tub of coconut oil in superdrug whilst it was on offer for £5. As you only need such a small amount I’ve not even used a quarter of the tub so far and I’ve also been using it on my hair once a week so it’s going to last a long time. I think long term using coconut oil instead of whatever cleanser has taken my fancy I will be saving big bucks. Happy days!

Ebay Wish List...Pastel Home Decor

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I have a real thing for pastel colours at the moment especially when it comes to home décor. I think it started when I recently changed my bedroom theme to grey and pastel pink. When I finally get my very own place I already know I want a pastel coloured kitchen which will include some of these items! Its going to look so cute!

Ebay Wish List... Cactus Finds

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I’m so in love with anything Cactus at the moment! I’ve seen some stunning home décor based around cactus themes and there one of the very few plants I can actually keep alive! I would love to have a whole shelf full of cactuses one day, I think they have a cool chilled vibe about them.

March Goals

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I can’t believe its March already! Does anyone else panic when time seems to fly on by?! Although saying that I have to admit that I am loving that the mornings are getting lighter and I’m not leaving work in the dark anymore, signs summer is on its way!

So here I am looking at my March goals so it only seems right to have a little round up of Februarys goals. I got  new car – Kev the KA – I am so in love with him! Getting used to driving a manual after years of an automatic has been interesting!! But its been fun and nice t have a car that’s notes falling apart! I also got a new phone, the Samsung Galaxy s7 Edge, its awesome! After years of being in the iPhone cult I jumped ship and do not regret it at all! Its been such a good decision!

Ive failed at the whole blogging regularly, Feb has been such a hectic month with little spare time but I’m going to add this to March’s goals and will hopefully crack it! Another goal was to dye my hair grey, well I did, and failed miserable! It didn’t take at all! So I went to the hairdressers and went for a dark chocolate brown! So good bye bleach blonde ombre and hello classic shiny brown! I’m so pleased with how it looks and my hair feels so much healthier! Oooh amd a read a whole book! Go me!

Anyway looking forward lets set march’s goals.....

1.    Sign up to some freelancing websites – I’ve always said I want to expand my writing so I’m determined this is the year I’m going to do it, and if I can get paid for doing something I enjoy then bonus!

2.    Sign up for some craft fairs – Im working really hard to expand my shop Pearl Divine and want to spend some more time focusing on this and gaining sales.

3.    Blog regularly – same goal as last month but I want to crack this one! I love blogging and want to spend a bit more time on this little spot on the big world wide web. I’ve been a bit sporadic lately but want to get back to regular posts and do more reviews and lifestyle posts. With this space!

4.    Loose 4lb – ive been so poorly the last couple of months my weight training and running have taken a hit and my diets been very much one filled with comfort food. So I want to get back on it and 4lb which is a 1lb a week seems manageable.

5.     Take time to look after myself – I’m still not well with this Thyroiditis and its so tiring. Its a long term thing so I’m trying to crack on and not let it get in my way but I’m also trying to make sure I listen to my body more and look after myself when I need to. So this month I want to focus on a bit of me time, this could involve things like a glass of wine and a good book, a bit of crafting or anything that’s just relaxing.

6.    Get back running twice a week – I am determined to crack a half marathon this year so need to get back into my training so I’m setting myself the target of 2 runs a week.

7.    Read 2 books.

Wish me luck!

ASOS Payday Wishlist....

Happy pay day!! For a short month February has felt soo long finance wise! This has meant my online wishlists for many shops are huge so I thought I would share one of them with you!! So here is my current ASOS wish list... so many petty things....

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The Beauty Blogger Tag

 

I love a good old tag and have spotted this one going round for quite a while so figured I’d give it a go! I feel a little bit of a fraud doing a ‘Beauty Blogger Tag’ as I feel my blogs taken a bit more a lifestyle twist lately. However beauty is where Lipsticks and Lashes started and I can blog about my love of make up a little less, but my bank balance will confirm that I am still a complete beauty addict! 

Why did you start blogging and how long have you been blogging for?

I have been blogging for just over 3 years, I started writing in this little space on the internet as a way to practice my writing and to be a bit creative. I was super bored, very lost in life and need something to get my teeth into. Hello Blogging! Logging onto Blogger.com and starting this blog was one of the best decisions I’ve made. I thought it would just be me writing to myself when I first started out, I had no idea about the blogging community and that people would stop by here or be as super lovely as you all are.

Whose blog did you fall in love with first?

A Beautiful Mess was the first blog that I got completely lost in for hours, I think at the time I didn’t really grasp it was a blog or what blogging even is!

What was the first blogosphere hyped about product you bought and was it worth the hype?

God I’m such a sucker for when it comes to purchasing hyped up products! I have no will power! I would love to say that after 3 years of blogging I’ve got a bit wiser but nope not at all! So what was the blogosphere hyped up product I purchased, well that would have to be Rimmel London’s Apocalypse Lip Lacquer. I think I liked it at the time but too be honest it definitely wasn’t worth the hype!

What are your favorite five things about blogging and being a beauty blogger? 

1.    Making blogging buddies!

2.    Finding new products I just have to try out due to someone’s lovely blog review

3.    Blogging has increased my confidence loads!

4.    It’s a great creative outlet

5.    I get to waffle on to my heart’s desire about things I love!

What have you learnt from being a beauty blogger?  

That I am more skilled that I thought I was! As a blogger you’re a writer, a photographer, a PR pro, good at marketing… the list is endless!

Have you changed anything since being a beauty blogger? 

Personally, my confidence has grown, that’s the magic of finding something you love and enjoy doing. I definitely feel more confident within myself. In terms of how I blog, I hope I’ve improved as I’ve gone along, I think blogging is something you continually strive to be better at. At least I hope I’ve got better as my first couple of post all those years ago are pretty cringe worthy!

What advice would you give to a beauty blogger just starting out?

BLOG FOR YOU! If you start blogging to gain followers and popularity you’re wasting your time! Blogging is hard work and needs to be something you do because you love doing it.

Name your top five brands: 

MAC, Benefit, Bobby Brown, Urban Decay, Lush

Recommend your top five favorite beauty products: 

Laura Mercier Foundation Primer

MAC All That Glitters Eye Shadow

Benefit they’re Real Mascara

MAC Amplified Lipstick in Girl about Town

Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Rose

 

Hope you enjoyed this tag? I would like to now tag you all to have a go at it! Make sure you let me know if you do complete it as I would love to stop by for a read!