Twenty Eighteen

Oh, 2018, what a strange year you were. I feel as though the year taught me a few different things and so to start the New Year, I thought I'd share them with all of you.
1. Saving is Better Than Spending After a pretty spendy Christmas on myself, friends and family, I've decided to reign it all in, and start to think about saving more than I'm spending and just having more control over what I'm buying and making certain things more of a treat. I'm starting to set the boundaries of what I need versus what I just want. And I feel like this is a lesson that everyone can take on board, cause as much as people like to spend, I also like to know I have some money put aside ready to set my future up.
2. There's No Better Time Than Now This almost leads in to my last one, so I had already decided as soon as Christmas was done that I wasn't spending anymore money. And it made me think, why do people wait for a new year to start before they decide to start changing things? If you really wanted to change something, it's something that you could change at any time and shouldn't just be because of the New Year.
3. Set Yourself Realistic Goals If you are someone who likes to set resolutions, that's completely fine but I've always found that sometimes it's better to set yourself an end goal for the year, instead of trying to change too many thins in your life at once. And always make sure that the goal is a realistic one as it's something that you want to be able to say you've managed to achieve 12 months later.
4. Everything Does Happen for a Reason I wouldn't say I've ever been someone who doesn't believe this, but I've always been sceptical of it, just due to the type of person I am. However, I feel like 2018 has it's ups and downs and it really did show me that sometimes things have to happen in your life for you to be able to move on and make changes, and it usually always works out for the best even if it doesn't feel like it at the time!
5. Sometimes You Have to Put Yourself First It's okay to have some time to yourself and be selfish from time to time, how are you supposed to look after the people around you if you don't give yourself time to look after yourself? I feel as though the last year has showed me that I need to take more time for me and just put my feelings and self care first more often because at the end of the day, you're the most important person in your life. 6. It's Okay Not To Be Okay Over the past year, I feel like this has a been a phrase that has been drummed into people and it really is true! The last year has been one of the most testing years for me in terms of who I am as a person and where my own head is at, and it truly makes you realise you don't know mental health until you live it. I can safely say, I'm glad I took the courage to do something about the way I'd been feeling and can say it's made almost every aspect of my life so much better, including my job, relationships and just how I feel about life in general.
I hope you've all enjoyed this little read, and hopefully I'll be back soon with another one! Let me know what kind of goals and resolutions you are setting for yourself in 2019!

July Favourites

Another month has rolled around at a ridiculously fast pace and so that can only mean that it's time for me to ramble about what products I've been loving for the month of July! I do have to admit that July has been a month where the weather got ridiculously hot for the UK, to then be raining at the current time of writing this post! And so due to all this, it's safe to say that my skin is rebelling and really doesn't like me at the moment!
So the weather has made my skin a little drier than usual and so I have been using The Body Shop Vitamin C Glow Boosting Moisturiser which not only provides my skin with a hydrating layer to help battle my dry patches but also leaves my skin looking so refreshed and glowing like the name would suggest! Due to the colour of this moisturiser, it helps to prevent the look of tiredness to the skin and I really think that it does improve this, at least one me. It's one that is a little pricey for a drugstore option, but if you suffer with skin that looks a little lifeless and dull, I would highly recommend trying this out!

The first of my makeup favourites comes from Makeup Geek, and their eyeshadows are something that I wish I had discovered a long time ago because the quality of these shadows are incredible for the price! But the one shade that I really want to mention is Peach Smoothie which is the perfect transition shade for any eye look and honestly this has been my go to for almost every time I've done my makeup, and I can see me hitting pan on this before any other of the shadows from Makeup Geek! I've also been using my MAC Quad again which honestly, I'd kind of forgotten about and glad I've rediscovered, it houses Vanilla, Charcoal Brown, All That Glitters and Woodwinked which all together create the sort of eye look that I create all the time! There's something about MAC shadows that I really love, the pigment is amazing and I have yet to find one that doesn't blend out beautifully and although these are pricier than the Makeup Geek ones, I would still highly recommend if you want to splash out a little more!
Sticking with the eyes, I have also been using the Maybelline Lasting Drama Gel Liner but not in the typical black shade, instead I have been opting for brown which I have found is a lot easier to wear and goes with a lot more of the shadow colours that I tend to wear! And I have found that the Maybelline gel liner is so easy to use, and because it's so creamy, it just glides straight onto the eye and really does stay in place for the day! And even though I have been using brown liner, I have still been loving my Maybelline Lash Sensational because it's the one mascara that really separates my lashes while still giving them length and definition, and it doesn't transfer onto my eyelids! But everyone has raved about this mascara and so I feel like I don't need to say too much about it, just buy it if you haven't already!

A few new purchases have made their way into this months favourites, the first of them being the Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit which I am questioning to why I didn't buy earlier! My most used shades from this kit are definitely Sand and Fawn which I use for my contour and highlight and I don't feel like I would use any other contour shade (except maybe Hoola) now just because it is so grey and really looks like a shadow on the face and not bronzer in the wrong place! And as for the highlight, it isn't chunky or too glittery, instead it looks subtle on the cheekbones and is a shade that really reflects in the light! And to go with this I have been using the Real Techniques Sculpting brush with the fawn shade as the brush fits into the hollows of the cheeks perfectly and really helps to create the defined contour!
As I have been trying to get into using pink lipsticks, I picked up Brave from MAC and I have been loving using this shade as it is one that is so easy to wear! I feel like if I have been wearing a lipstick this month, it has most likely been this one and for someone who wasn't into pink lipstick a few months ago, they have really started to grow on me as long as I'm wearing the right shade of pink to suit me! As well as this I have been using the Max Factor Creme Puff Blush in the shade Nude Mauve which I have found is so subtle on the cheek, while still giving a glow due to the marbled effect of the blush! And this is one that I have been using a lot because it goes with almost any make up look and any lip colour and so it's definitely been my go to blush! And my final favourite for this month has been the L'Oreal Lumi Magique Concealer which I have been mixing with the concealer for my under eye area as it this concealer really brightens and reflects in the light which is perfect for the under eye area! But I do find that using this on its own doesn't hold enough coverage and so this is why I mix it with other concealers!
So these have been my favourites for this month and as you can see there has been a lot of make up involved in this one! I would love to know if any of you have been loving the same products as me? Or any products you have been loving this month, I'm always looking for new things to try! 

Being a Bookworm

Something that I've always loved doing is reading and I own a lot of books, some that I've read countless times and some that are still waiting to be read! And just recently I bought a few more books to add to the collection and they are more on the fiction side of things with the exception of one and I'm sure I'll be posting reviews if I think anyone else would be interested in reading them!

The Maze Runner Series by James Dashner

Girl Online by Zoe Sugg 

Where We Are by One Direction
Love, Tanya by Tanya Burr

But I really want to branch out and buy some books that aren't necessarily stories and more along the beauty side of things, do any of you have any suggestions or recommend anything you've read yourselves?