Blogging | A Few Things To Remember

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I was recently thinking about being a blogger and the things that often come along with it - the thoughts and feelings we have or the actions of others that can leave us feeling a bit 'meh' about the whole thing. I think its really important to remember to always try and remain positive when blogging so I thought I'd offer a few pieces of advice from my own personal experience below. I hope you can relate to some or maybe even all of them on some level ...

You will be judged unfairly. Take it with a pink of salt or as Taylor Swift would say 'Shake It Off!'. Don't feel like you can't be true to yourself just because a few keyboard warriors like to pick on everything and anything you do. Ignore them, move on and keep being you. I've developed a pretty thick skin over the past twelve months and I think this is really important as its impossible to please everyone on the internet. People will dislike you for no reason at all and my advice would be to not let the opinion of those you don't care about affect your day.

You will have moments of doubt. You will have times when you feel like your blog isn't 'up to scratch' and everyone around you is producing better content. I've been there many times, its only natural. However, you have to remember that we're all different and if every blog was the same, blogging wouldn't exist. What makes blogging so amazing is that we're all individuals with our own style and stories. Have confidence in your own work and if you love it, others will too!

Social media isn't real life, don't let it suck you in. That girl who appears to have the perfect life on your Instagram feed has her own problems too. Its SO important to remember that nobody leads the perfect life and as the saying goes 'stop comparing your behind the scenes with everybody else's highlights reel!'. We can all take pretty photos of our 'best bits', stick a filter on them and share them online - it doesn't mean that behind closed doors everything is peachy. Most people just choose not to share the dull, boring and stressful moments with the rest of the world.

Cheating will always end badly. Yep that's right, unfortunately people do this across all platforms and it makes me sad that its almost becoming the norm. Not only because its unfair on those who have worked hard to build a genuine following but its also sad that people feel the need to 'buy' followers in order to gain something like freebies or 'fame'. As soon as you stop concentrating on numbers, you'll enjoy blogging a hell of a lot more. Plus, cheaters always get caught out eventually.

Some people won't get it. If your second cousin or Bill down the road don't understand why you're blogging and aren't willing to listen to you talking about it, that's fine, don't try to justify yourself. If people don't understand that blogging takes a lot of hard work, passion and effort or understand why you'd spend so much time doing it, let it be. As long as you enjoy it, that's all that matters. There will always be ignorant Ian's (no offence to anyone called Ian intended) in the world!

Keep your dignity, always. Blogging is developing quickly and there are more and more opportunities cropping up where brands want to pay bloggers to endorse their products. I think this is great as it allows bloggers to turn their full time hobbies into careers. However, never ever accept an offer just because there's money involved. If you post halfheartedly about things you're not all that interested in, your readers will be able to tell. If you wouldn't spend your own money on it, don't accept it.

Don't take it too seriously. I guess blogging is 'serious' in the respect that it can become a full time career and is developing into a well recognised form of media. That's all well and good. However, when you begin to take it too seriously, you lose the enjoyment. Take blogging for what it really is - an outlet for you to share your passions and something you enjoy doing. Don't let it become a chore. Let go of the stress and expectations and just be yourself, its a lot more enjoyable.

There's no right or wrongs. If you fancy sharing something a bit different to the norm on your blog, then you go Glen Coco! Don't feel like you have to be the same as everyone else to 'fit in', you really don't. I know its hard to be totally unique as a blogger but as long as you're passionate about your content, that's all that really matters.

Its not a race. If you're a new blogger, its important to remember that those established bloggers you look at and think 'I'll never be as successful as them' were in your shoes once. Everyone starts somewhere and blogging is anything but easy - it takes hard work and dedication to gain a loyal following. I'm going to throw another quote out there (nothing like a quote for some inspiration) but its true that you shouldn't 'compare your chapter one to someone else's chapter 20!'. Just work hard, enjoy it and go with the flow!

Do you agree with any of these points? Are there any others you'd add?

Lots of love,

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NARS Lip Pencil Lovin' | Review & Swatches

I'm a big fan of NARS and I'd go as far as saying its my favourite beauty brand alongside MAC. I've loved every single product I've tried but because of their high end price tag, its not a brand I buy for myself very often. With this being said, I thought Christmas would be the perfect time to feed my NARS addiction and ask Santa very kindly for a couple of items from their Christmas collection! I was very lucky to receive the stunning Virtual Domination Cheek palette and the Digital World lip coffret which contained five slightly smaller than full size NARS lip pencils. Surprisingly, until Christmas, I'd never tried any of NARS lip products so I was super excited to try these!

As you can see from the photos, the set included a good range of shades from a nude to a deep vampy red and they're all beautiful, there isn't one I don't like or wouldn't wear. I love the simple and sophisticated packaging too and the colour indicators around the bottom of each pencil is very handy as it makes them easy to identify when they're lined up in my Muji drawers. As you can see, some of them have black lines around the bottom while others are a plain colour - the plain ones are the Velvet Matte pencils and the ones with a line are the Satin pencils. I'm not sure why NARS have designed them this way but again, its a good way of telling them apart. 

The two Velvet Matte shades in the set are Cruella and Iberico which are both crazily pigmented. Cruella is a classic deep red shade and Iberico is a vivid orange toned red. Considering I don't usually like matte lip formulas, these two lip pencils are absolutely stunning. They are quite drying without a lip balm underneath but the amazing pigmentation and longevity certainly makes up for that. I'd say these are the perfect night out lip products are they make a statement and won't budge, even when eating and drinking. 

The other three shades are all Satin's and they include Yu which is a vibrant fuschia pink, Descanso with is a pale peach and Torres Del Paine which is another peachy shade that leans more towards a classic nude with pink undertones. Being a bold lip girl, my favourite of these shades would have to be Yu as the colour is so vivid and I know I'm going to get loads of wear out of it in the Summer month. However, considering they're fairly pale, I do really like the two peach shades and because of the glossy formula they're great for an every day natural look. This formula is definitely more moisturising, glossy and comfortable on the lip than the Velvet Matte's but they do have a tendancy to wear off that bit quicker. 

I believe all of the shades I received are available to buy individually and full size from NARS, other than 'Iberico' which was exclusive to the gift set. I really hope they do release it into the permanent line up though as its probably my favourite from the whole set and really striking on the lip. I love it!

L:R Cruella /  Iberico / Yu / Descanso / Torres Del Paine

Overall I'd say these lip pencils are well worth a try. I'd go for the Velvet Matte's if you love a bold lip that lasts or the Satin's if you prefer a more subtle glossy look. They're available to buy here and here from Space NK and the full size versions are priced at £18.00. I know its not cheap but considering they're a pencil rather than a standard lipstick, I imagine they'll last a really long time. They're also perfect for popping in a handbag or clutch bag as they don't take up much space!

Do you like the look of these NARS lip pencils? Can you recommend any other shades?

Lots of love,

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Updated Makeup Storage | IKEA Malm & Muji

My most popular blog post of all time is the one about my IKEA Malm dressing table and makeup storage. When I wrote that post, I never expected it to go down so well but to this day, I'm still getting emails asking me questions about it or finding photos from the post pinned to lots of boards on Pinterest. Crazy! I guess the reason it was so popular is because people love to be nosy and love a little snoop at the way other people do things. I know I certainly do anyway. I could spend hours reading makeup storage posts or watching makeup collection and room tour videos on YouTube so its not surprise that these kind of posts go down well. I also find they give me so much inspiration for how I can store my own makeup stash without it cluttering up my bedroom. Makeup is pretty so it should be displayed nicely too!

With this being said, I decided it was time to do an updated storage post as I recently moved flat and since my original post, my set up has changed and I've bought a few extra bits and bobs to make storing my stash that bit easier. When my boyfriend and I were looking at new flats, one of my requirements was a bedroom with large windows, lots of natural light and space for all my storage. Our new flat couldn't be more perfect as it has large ceiling to floor windows along one wall and the corner of the room shown in these photos fits all my storage in perfectly. I also love that it has white walls to match the white furniture. I feel like I now have the light, bright and dreamy bedroom I've always wanted. 




So first things first is the furniture which is all from the IKEA Malm range. I absolutely love this range of furniture as its SO affordable - the dressing table, chest of drawers and tall set of drawers photographed cost just over £200 which is such a bargain!  In my original post I just had the dressing table which stores my makeup and the tall drawer unit which stored things like hair/skincare and body products. However, since my collection of products has grown considerably since then, I now have the set of three drawers too. These now hold skincare in the top drawer, hair care in the middle drawer and electricals/miscellaneous bits and pieces in the bottom drawer. The tall unit now holds body products, nail products, my palettes, jewellery and makeup/travel bags. I love that it has the two thinner drawers at the top as they're great for storing my palettes and special jewellery while the drawer at the very top with a flip up lid is fab for keeping my fashion jewellery in.

I've also replaced the small white mirror I had in my previous post for this pretty shabby chic one. I found it on Amazon for a reasonable price and couldn't be happier with it. I eventually want to put it up on the wall but for now, it will do just standing up against the wall. I still have the white stool which I had in my previous post and this slots underneath the dressing table nicely - you can buy it here but it does cost £80.00 so I'd recommend this one as a cheaper alternative.

As it was in my last post, my makeup is stored inside the pull out drawer of my Malm dressing table which I love a lot. Its just so handy to tuck it all away in there and considering its a fairly thin drawer, I've managed to squeeze a good amount of products in there. I use the IKEA Antonius basket inserts inside the drawer to keep all my makeup tidy and in different sections such as lips, face, blush/highlights, eye pencils and mascaras. I went into more detail about what's in each drawer in my last post here if you want to know more. 

Being a beauty blogger / makeup addict / shopaholic (you get the picture), I was obviously going to have makeup over spill that just wouldn't fit into the dressing table drawer so that's where Muji comes in. I currently have two sets of three Muji acrylic drawers stacked on top of each other on my dressing table and one of the five drawer sets on top of my chest of drawers. These contain various things but mainly things that won't fit in the drawer (especially base products) or my favourite lipsticks / lip gloss as these are the products I have most of. To be honest, I'll probably end up buying another five drawers to stack on top of the other ones as I think they look really pretty when they're stacked tall and because I have them spread out, I don't feel they make the area look cluttered. I might do a separate post on what's inside my Muji drawers if this is of interest? Let me know in the comments.

As well as the acrylic drawers, I also have an acrylic lipstick holder which sits next to my set of six Muji drawers on my dressing table. I'd always wanted one of these to display my MAC lipsticks so when I found this one on Amazon, I was chuffed to bits. It also has other compartments which I keep my daily hair care products in so they're easy to grab in the morning. 

Other nick nacks I have sitting on top of my drawers include my makeup brush holders which are displayed on top of the Muji drawers on my dressing table.  I have three different brush holders at the moment - the one on the left is an empty Aromatherapy Associates candle which holds eye brushes, the middle one in a Muji acrylic pen pot and the one on the right is an IKEA plant pot - these two both store face brushes. I also have a cute little shabby chic distressed wood drawers which sits on top of the chest of drawers, mainly for decorative purposes. My Nanna bought me this when I moved flat as she knows I love all things shabby chic and I think it looks super cute. I've popped a few small skincare pieces and lip balms inside the drawers. On top of those drawers I have a Chanel bag (I couldn't bring myself to throw it away), my 'Invisibobbles', a Jo Malone scent and my new Zoeva brushes which I'll be reviewing soon.

I also like to have all my perfumes out on display so these sit on top of my chest of drawers next to and on top of my five Muji drawers. The ones on top of my Muji drawers are displayed on my Yankee Candle love heart tray which adds a cute touch. I also have my Sali Hughes 'Pretty Honest' book on display as its so pretty! The final nick nack on top of my chest of drawers is a glass jar which is home to my cotton pads. I like to keep these in here so they're easy to grab morning and evening to do my skin care routine.

On the very end of my dressing table I keep some pink artificial flowers and the cutest little ring / jewellery holder from Gifts and Pieces which I keep my watch, hair ties and small pieces of jewellery on. I also use both of these things are props when taking my blog photos on my dressing table. I get asked where I take my blog photos quite a lot so now you know! I also have a little scented clay shoe hanging on one edge of my mirror - this was a Christmas gift from my auntie and I think it fits in really well.

Well there we have it, my current dressing table set up and storage situation! Congratulations if you managed to get the end of this post and if you did, I hope you enjoyed having a sneak peek into how I store my collection and hopefully its given you a bit of inspiration for your own.

How do you store your makeup??

Lots of love,

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None Beauty Haul | Books, Shoes & Lunchboxes

Although most of my extra money tends to go on beauty products, occasionally I like to treat myself to other things and recently I've been feeling quite spendy on Amazon and Missguided. I don't normally do none-beauty hauls as I'm not sure anyone will be interested but if you like being nosy like me, you might find seeing what I've been buying remotely interesting. There's a mixture of things from books to shoes and even a lunchbox. Yep, I'm so cool. Here's a little bit about each of them, my reasons behind buying them (its always good to justify ones purchases, hehe!) and some links so you can get your mitts on them too ...



I'm a bit of a sucker for blogger hype so when I saw every blogger and their dog talking about the book 'Pretty Honest' from beauty journalist Sali Hughes I just knew it had to be mine. Other than being super pretty on the exterior and all about one of my favourite things, its also very well written and informative. I pretty much already know most of the things sally covers in the book (skincare routines, makeup essentials, shopping at makeup counters etc) but even so, I'm still thoroughly enjoying it thanks so Sali's witty writing style. I have laughed out loud a fair few times now! A great book for all beauty lovers I'd say, especially those just starting out who need a helping hand with the basics! Sally's got everything you can think of covered!

My boyfriend very kindly bought me the Breville Blend Active blender so I can make myself so healthy homemade smoothies, something I've always wanted to do. With this being said, I need some inspiration and that's where this 'The Smoothie Recipe Book' comes into play. I spotted this on Amazon for around a fiver which I thought was a complete bargain and although I wasn't expecting much for that price, its actually very good. It has smoothie recipes for all kinds of things - breakfast, energy or weight loss to name a few. I can't wait to give some of them a try - I might even be brave and try a 'green' smoothie. Wish me luck!

As someone who is forever spending my free time taking photos for my blog, you'd think I'd own the basics by now. Well. no, I like to make things difficult for myself. For the past two years, I've been using a 2GB memory card in my camera which can hold no more than a couple of hundred pictures. As you can imagine, I take more than that in one blog photography sesh so it was becoming quite tiresome having to keep deleting images. That's where this SanDisk 32GB Extreme bad boy comes into play - it can hold thousands of images and film videos in HD. Winning! To go alongside it, I also bought a Canon camera remote which will come in handy if I ever decide to film a YouTube video. I will get round to doing it one day, I promise!

Yep, I bought a plate. This highlights how random my purchases often are but I did have reason behind this one, I promise. When taking blog photos I like to add something to them to make them a little more interesting. Be it a candle, flowers or some pretty nicks naks, you'll notice than most of my photos have some kind of 'prop' in them. Getting slightly bored of my current set up, I decided to head to Amazon to hunt down some bits and bobs I can use as blog photography accessories. I found this plate which is supposedly a Yankee candle tray (no idea?!) and just loved the cute love hearts design. I've already used this in a few photos I've taken and it looks really cute with something place in the centre. When its not being used as a prop, I'm keeping some of my perfumes on it. I'm sure you'll see it crop up in future posts!

This year is all about healthy eating for me and although I'll always have my bad days and naughty foods (who can resist a dominoes, lets face it!), I want to try my absoloute best to be healthy 80% of the time. Part of this means taking homemade meals to work for my lunch but I realised I was lacking in tupperware to store my meals in. I'm a big fan of the brand Happy Jackson and when I spotted this lunch box on Amazon (yes, I spend a lot of time on Amazon okay), I just had to have it. If anything is going to make the prospect of eating a salad more appealing, its this bright yellow lunchbox with 'YAY LUNCH!' wrote on the front. I mean come on, how cute?!

I always use clutch bags when I go on nights out and as much as I love them, they sometimes bug me because they have no strap and when I'm attempting to juggle a bag, drink and lipstick re-application after a few vinos, things can get messy! I spotted this pretty clutch bag on Missguided just before Christmas and I thought it'd be perfect - its big enough to fit all my essentials in, plain black so it goes with everything and it has a thin gold chain strap so I can have it hanging over my shoulder. However, the strap also comes off if you prefer a standard clutch. I've been using this on all of my recent nights out and absolutely love it!

Hello shoes dreams are made of. After spotting these 'Valentina' heels on some of my favourite bloggers Instagram accounts a few months ago, I just knew I had to have them. It was love at first sight. It seems lots of people feel the same way as every time I tried to buy them before Christmas, they were sold out. However, after lots of checking to see if they were back in stock I struck gold and managed to get my hands on them just before New Year's Eve. I did plan to wear them on NYE with an LBD but had a last minute change of outfit and didn't get round to wearing them. I'm actually planning to wear them tonight for the first time and I cannot wait - they're my favourite shoes ever, ever, ever. 

So there's some of my recent none beauty purchases. I hope you enjoyed seeing what I've been buying and have perhaps got some inspiration for your own purchases!

What have you been buying recently?

Lots of love,

TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN | INSTAGRAM

Zoeva Pink Elements Classic Brush Set Review

I'm a huge fan of my Zoeva rose gold brush set so when the Zoeva 'Pink Elements' classic brush set* from one of my fave beauty sites Love Makeup turned up for me, I couldn't have been more excited. For a girly girl like me the colour Pink and makeup brushes are a very good combination as they look so pretty displayed on my dressing table! However, I also love that they have gunmetal grey ferrules and a matching gunmetal grey clutch bag as Pink and Grey is one of my favourite colour combos for a pretty yet sophisticated look. The clutch bag is fab for travelling too and I use it regularly.

As with my beloved rose gold brush set, this set comes a mixture of eight different face and eye brushes, all of which are exceptionally soft to the touch and great quality. They're definitely the best makeup brushes I've ever used alongside Real Techniques and I'd recommend them to anyone! The set includes three face brushes and five eye brushes. Keep reading to find out a bit more about each of them and how I use them.

L-R: 317 Wing Liner, 322 Brow Line, 230 Luxe Pencil, 230 Luxe Petit Crease, 227 Luxe Soft Definer, 109 Luxe Face Paint, 127 Luxe Sheer Cheek & 104 Buffer

Face brushes

104 Buffer - This brush is a flat top kabuki style brush and very similar to the famous Sigma F80 brush. Its best used for buffing liquid foundation into the skin for a flawless finish.

109 Luxe Face Paint - This brush is unlike anything I've ever used before as its very thin and flat. However, I've found that its perfect for contouring as its small enough to place product precisely under the cheekbone and create definition.

127 Luxe Sheer Cheek - Another brush that's great for contouring due to its angled shape. However, I also think this is great for blush and highlight application too.

Eye brushes

227 Luxe Soft Definer - This is a great fluffy brush for blending eyeshadow in the crease and is very similar to the famous MAC 217 brush.

230 Luxe Pencil - I tend to use this brush for detailed eyeshadow application underneath my eye or in the outer corner. I always wear shadow underneath my eyes on a night out to give them more depth and this brush is great for creating that look.

231 Luxe Petit Crease - Another brush that's great for applying shadow to the crease but this time its more detailed. If you prefer a strong line in the crease, this brush is great. It packs shadow on nicely and due to the pointed tip its great for a detailed look.

317 Wing Liner - This is the only brush in this set that I don't have a great deal of use for as I don't really wear liners that need to be applied with a brush. However, if you are a gel liner lover, I imagine this would work very well as its really fine and flexible.

322 Brow Line - I fill my brows in every day with powder so a brow brush is a must have for me. This one is quite short and stumpy so it packs colour on well and is great for creating a sharp line on the outsides of the brow. However, I prefer my Crown Brush angled liner brush for filling in sparse areas and creating natural hair strokes.

Overall there's a fantastic selection of brushes within this set and the only one missing in my opinion would be a powder brush. However, if you aren't someone who likes to powder, this set would easily do a full face of makeup. Its a great one to get if you're just starting to get into makeup and want to invest in some brushes. Its available to buy here for £56.95. Not a bad price for eight high quality brushes and a bag!

Do you like the look of the brush set?

Lots of love,

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The Kylie Jenner Lip | MAC Brave Lipstick & Soar Lip Liner

Over the past twelve months, the world has gone mad for all things Kylie Jenner and even more so for her now famous pout. Towards the start of 2014, a selection of Instagram snaps saw Kylie with much fuller lips and soon after, everyone wanted to know what she was using to create the illusion of big lips. Lots have speculated she's had lip fillers and if so, there's probably not a lot a lipstick and liner can do. However, if makeup trickery is what her new look is down to, I can see why so many girls want to re-create it, including me. She looks amazing!

The look Kylie has been sporting is a very 90's style brown/pink toned neutral lip which is clearly outlined with a lip liner. I have to admit, I used to be really scared of lip liner as I always imagined it would be very unnatural, but after seeing the amazing effect it gives Kylie's lips, I thought it wouldn't harm to give it a go. 

After a bit of searching around online and a lot of watching Kylie Jenner makeup tutorials on YouTube to see which products would work to create the look, I decided on two products from MAC. Brave lipstick and Soar lip liner. I actually watched a Pixiwoo interview with Kim Kardashian where she said Kylie uses Soar so that was a must-have and I really liked the look of Brave as its more of a pink toned neutral which I find more flattering on my pale skin tone than a true nude / beige shade.

I received both of the products as a Christmas present from my boyfriend and I've not stopped using them since - I'm completely in love with them worn together and worn separately. Brave is the most gorgeous neutral rose toned pink and perfect for an every day look whilst Soar is slightly deeper and has more brown tones for that classic Kylie look. 

I've been wearing Soar all over the lip to create quite a deep look and then adding Brave to the centre of my lips to lighten them up a touch and achieve a two-tone effect. According to Kim, Kylie only wears lip liner with no lipstick or lip gloss but I'm presuming she adds a darker one to the outer edge of her lips as they tend to be a lot more defined and a deeper shade on the outer edges. Both of these products are very comfortable on the lips, even the lip liner which I was quite surprised about as it has a matte finish. Its the first MAC lip liner I've ever owned and I'm so in love with it - I now have a list as long as my arm of more I want to buy! Brave has a Satin finish so its creamy and moisturising without being glossy which is perfect for the Kylie look as she tends to favour the matte look. 

I tried to take a picture of the combo on my lips but my camera just wouldn't focus and I ended up giving up on it. I took the photo below on my Iphone which shows how full it makes my lips look but it has made the colour of the products slightly darker than they actually are so if you want to see a true to life swatch, I'd say this photo I found on Pinterest is spot on.

Overall I'm completely obsessed with this combo and can't stop wearing it. I've always been a brights girl so I never thought I'd find myself leaning towards more neutral shades but these are really gorgeous and still add lot of definition to my lips without being too bold. I also love that I can wear this look both day and night - it looks great with a simple eye in the day time or glammed up with smokey eyes in the evening. Well done Kylie Jenner, you're onto a winner with this one.

Are you a fan of the 90's Kylie Jenner lip look? Do you like Brave and Soar?

Lots of love,

TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN | INSTAGRAM

Urban Decay NAKED On The Run Palette Review

When I spotted Urban Decay's latest launch on my Instagram feed just before Christmas, I knew it wouldn't be long until I got my mitts on it. I immediately loved the concept - virtually a full face of makeup (minus base products) in one handy little palette. I'm often travelling back to my home town for weekends and I thought this would be a great little travel companion. Also, who doesn't love Urban Decay? I now own virtually all of their NAKED range so as soon as a new product is released, I just *need* to add it to my collection. With this being said, I added it straight to my Christmas list and my mum very kindly bought me it - what a gem. I unwrapped it on Christmas morning and am pretty in love. I even bought one to include in my Christmas giveaway as its such a great product and something I know someone would love to win!

As I mentioned, this product is pretty much a full face of makeup in one palette as it includes six neutral eyeshadows (yes, that one next to the bronzer and blush is actually an eyeshadow), bronzer, blush, eyeliner, mascara and lipgloss. I love how its packaged - it is quite bulky but lightweight at the same time and it feels secure when closed. Lets just say I wouldn't have a problem with throwing this in my handbag for on the go touch-ups.  Plus, its rose gold? What's not to love?!




The shadows included in the palette are all absolutely beautiful and although they're neutrals, they're all brand new shades different to the ones I've seen in previous UD palettes. From left to right we have Dixie, Fix, Resist, Dare, Stun and 5050 which is the slightly larger shadow (can also be used as a highlighter) in the bottom right. All of these shades are brand new so you can be rest assured that if you already own the other palettes, there won't be any of the same shades!

I really do adore all of these shades and the pigmentation is on point. I like that there's a mix of shimmer and matte shades so there's everything you could need to create a number of eye look - both daytime and evening. You can also use the matte shades on eyebrows which is another bonus of this palette - it really is a full face in one. I think my favourite shades would have to be Dixie (far left) as its a beautiful rose gold shimmer and Stun (far right) which is a stunning chocolate brown with gold flecks. I also love Resist (second from right) as its the perfect crease colour. Overall, the eyeshadows are a big win for me!

Moving on to the bronzer and blush, these are the only two products in the whole palette that I wasn't sure about when I saw the image online. As you can see, they look scarily bright. However, I'm pleased to say that they're nowhere near as garish as they look when swatched / applied. The bronzer does still have orange tones but when applied with a light hand, it looks golden brown rather than oompa loompa orange. The blush is fairly bright but when blended out, it creates a beautiful soft pink flush.



Next up is the 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in the shade 'Stag', the Perversion mascara and NAKED lip gloss which all slot perfectly into the top of the palette. The eye pencil and mascara are both generous travel sizes and the lip gloss is full size. I've tried the UD eye pencils previously a really liked them so I'm chuffed to have this dark brown shade which is very pretty for day to day wear when you want something slightly softer than a jet black. The Perversion mascara has been one of Urban Decay's most hyped products of late so I'm looking forward to trying it - I'm trying to use my other mascara before I open this one. Finally, the NAKED lip gloss is something I've wanted to try ever since they were launched, purely for the packaging alone. I mean seriously, HOW pretty? The gloss itself is absolutely lovely too - its none sticky and a beautiful rose pink shade.

L-R: 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencil, Gesso Lipgloss, Dixie, Fix, Resist, Dare, Stun, Bronzer, Blush, 5050 eyeshadow/highlighter

Overall I'm a huge fan of this palette and as you can see from my swatches above, the palette features really gorgeous and more importantly, very wearable shades. I also think its 100% worth its £37 price tag - one of the NAKED lipglosses alone costs £14 so to get all those extra products for only £23 is amazing. Feel Unique often have discount codes flying around too - I managed to get £10 off when I bought it - what a bargain! You can find it here with £37 and free delivery.

What do you think of this palette? Is it something you'd use?

Lots of love,

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Branding Your Blog: Five Tips

Image Source (edited by me)

I've noticed a lot more bloggers going full time recently and I think that's a bloomin brilliant thing. Its fantastic to see so many bloggers doing so well for themselves and their hard work paying off. I know lots of people can get funny over bloggers getting free samples / earning money but I see it as a great thing - it means bloggers can now turn the hobby they love into a paid full time job and provide us with more regular and varied content.

Now although I still work full time and have no plans to become a full time blogger, it is something I've thought about so I thought I'd put together a little post with some tips for branding your blog and making it look more professional. After all, blogs are like an online CV and showcase the work you can do / the kind of person you are so while I'm sure we all want to ensure they're fun and not taken too seriously, its always good to tidy any rough edges and ensure you're putting yourself across in the best light.

Buying a Domain Name

This is something I've been meaning to do for a while now as my friend who works in SEO said is super important and has a whole host of benefits. I also think it instantly makes a blog look more professional. I'm not sure why it makes such a difference but if a blog ends in .blogspot.co.uk, it looks more amateur than a simple .co.uk or .com. There's lots of website hosting services out there, including 34sp.com and they're all easy to sign up to and affordable. I just need to pull my finger out and actually do it now!

Make it visually pleasing

I've said it before in my other blogging tips and advice posts but its SO important - if you want to be taken seriously as a blogger, your blog has to be visually pleasing. I'd advise making everything very clear and easy to navigate to give your readers the best experience possible. I'm not saying you shouldn't inject your personality into your blog as that's what blogging is all about after all but perhaps consider a few basics like a white background, easy to read font and large images. 

Network Yourself 

Attending blogger events / press days is a great way to get yourself out there and make some new contacts. I used to be really scared of attending any kind of event related to blogging but since moving to Manchester, I've attended a few and they're not as scary as I thought they would be. In fact, they're quite the opposite. They give you the chance to meet fellow bloggers and people within the PR / Marketing industry. As well as making some new blogging friends, its always good to have PR contacts too as they can send you press releases to let you know about upcoming launches or events.

Business Cards

Following on from the last point, getting some business cards printed is a great idea as this means when you attend events, you can hand them out and hopefully encourage people to visit your site. It also shows that you're dedicated to your blog and are proud of it. Its important to ensure your business cards look professional but fun at the same time - they should be an introduction to you and what you're all about including the link to your blog and social media usernames. I think these cards from Moo are fab and I'm planning to get some printed myself soon!

Have a Consistent Style

If you want to be taken seriously as a blogger, I think its important to always remain consistent. By this I mean its important to have a regular posting schedule and your own way of doing things. That's not to say you can't mix things up now and then but find a writing style and posting schedule that suits you and try your best to stick with it. I've changed the layout of my blog and the way I take my photos multiple times now as I feel this keeps things fresh but one thing that has always remained the same is that my posts are always very detailed as they're the kind of blog posts I like to read myself. I also try to post at least three times a week - sometimes more if I'm feeling particularly organised. I don't like the idea of going for weeks or months without posting as my readers have come to expect new content on a weekly basis.

Lots of love,

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*Wrote in collaboration with 34SP.