My Current Skincare Favourites

Hey guys,

So if you read my 2017 goals (you can read it here), then you will know that I am really trying to step up my skincare game. Therefore, as I have actually started using a skincare routine, I thought that I would share with you the products that I have been loving!

As you can see, there are quite a few bits from Estee Lauder in this post, so I thought I would start off with them. I was very fortunate to get an Estee Lauder set for Christmas, which included a range of skincare and make-up.

As you probably all know, I love Estee Lauder's Double Wear (you can read my review on it here), so excited to try out some of their new products!

First off, we have the Advanced Night Micro Cleansing Foam. As someone who suffers with sensitive skin, I have to be very careful with cleansers, as sometimes they can be harsh on the skin. However, this is perfect, as it isn't too harsh on the skin, but gives your skin a good ol' clean. After applying this, I normally go in with the Advanced Night Repair (which I had already heard great things about), which is a serum. I feel this gives my skin a little boost, as it glides on so well, and a little goes a long way. After this, I then apply the Revitalising Supreme Moisturiser. I feel this is perfect for winter, as it is great for when the weather is awful, your skin is not at its best and needs that little bit more moisture. This is a tad thicker than my other moisturiser, but I like this, as I prefer to use the lighter moisturiser in summer.

Next, we have The Body Shop Hand Cream in Coconut. I absolutely love these for the winter months, as my hands are permanently dry (damn you eczema!), so I always like to keep this in my bag for when I'm out and about. I love The Body Shop moisturisers in general to be honest, as I have a lot of their body butters, and also have the Strawberry Hand Cream. Plus, I'm in love with the scents of these products, I probably look like a freak as I sometimes walk around smelling my hands. Bit weird. So I apologise if you see a small blonde person walking round with their palms on their face, it's probably me.

I have also been loving The Body Shop's Argan Oil range, as I feel they are so nourishing for the skin. However, I tried the Wild Argan Oil Miracle Solid Oil on my hair, and that went badly, as I used waaaaay too much by accident (I couldn't tell if it had set or how much had gone in), so yeah, be careful, as I sported a greasy looking mop for the day. Not nice. However, I feel this product is good for the elbows and hands, as mine get really dry during this time of year. The Oils of Life range is also fab, it just feels so soft and smooth, and my skin always feels amazing in the morning after I have used the Sleeping Cream from this range. I only have this in sample size, so I will definitely be purchasing a full size one soon!

Right, this is definitely one of those products that is a 'YouTube/Bloggers made me buy it'. I have heard many a great thing about the Pixi Glow Tonic, yet was always quite apprehensive to give it a go, as I had heard that a few people had reacted badly to it. However, I just bit the bullet and got it, but in a small bottle, just in case.

So far, I have been loving this, especially for on a night after I have taken my make up off, as it seems to take of the excess that I have missed. On a night, I will either use this or the Estee Lauder Cleansing Foam, as it's just nice to jazz things up a bit. I also use it before I put my make up on, just to add a bit more of a glow to my face, and also to make me look a bit more awake. Love love love.

So there you have it, my current skincare favourites. I am so glad that I have finally gotten into skincare, and am actually really loving trying out new products! If you have any recommendations, then please do let me know in the comments!

Much love,

Grace x

Review | Rush Hair, Birmingham

Hey guys,

So, recently, I was very kindly offered the chance to get a cut and blow-dry at Rush Hair in Birmingham*. In all honesty, I have had the same hairdresser for years, as she knows what suits me and what my hair is like (it's a nightmare!!), so I have never had any need to try out a new hairdresser.

However, I thought that, as I am a student in Birmingham, that I should probably find a hair salon here. I had heard many a great thing about Rush Hair, so was very much looking forward to my appointment, but was still just a tad worried due to being quite particular about my hair, as we have all had that nightmare in the past where we have had our hair cut too short and hated it (however, I later realised that there was no need to worry at all!)

The staff were so friendly, the salon was very smart in its layout, and it was very professional, as well as having a relaxed atmosphere! Plus, the area of the salon where you get your hair washed was so cool, it felt like a spa!

I had my hair cut by the very lovely Eleni. She asked me exactly how I wanted my hair to be cut and styled, and also gave me advice on what would be best for my hair type. She also showed me all the products that she used on my hair and explained what they were used for. Basically, I have very fine hair, but A LOT of it, so she used products that would help to detangle and smooth my hair. My hair is naturally straight, but it doesn't half frizz! Plus, I get blonde highlights, which really doesn't help!

I asked to have my hair dried curly, as I have naturally straight hair, and love my hair curly, yet I'm so lazy to style it like that normally! When Eleni showed me the end result, I was in love! My hair looked so shiny and felt so soft, it was amazing!

I apologise about how gormless I look in the background of the photos by the way, I was going to crop them, but I thought I looked funny, so I kept them.

I would love to thank the lovely staff at Rush Hair for having me, and I will definitely be returning when I next need a hair cut whilst down in Birmingham!

Much love,

Grace x

*Disclaimer: I was very kindly offered a cut and blow-dry in return for a review. All opinions are my own.

  

10 Reasons Why I Love Being a Northerner

Hey guys,

So, as you can probably tell, I'm northern. Well, I'm very northern.

So therefore, I had an idea of writing a post all about why I love being a northerner! By the way, I have absolutely nothing against the midlands or the south, I just thought it would be a fun post to write!

1. We have the best accents - I mean, some may find them annoying, but I think they're bloody brilliant. I still find it so strange how even people from places that are only a few miles apart have completely different accents. But I love it!
2. We have the best of both worlds - you get your cities, your towns and then your countryside, all in a couple of miles of each other. I actually live in the suburb of a town, and if I go 5 minutes one way, I'm in a town, and if I go 5 minutes the other way, I'm in the countryside. Living the dream.
3. Snow! - I mean, we haven't really had any this year, but ah well. As we have a colder climate than down south, we get more snow, so there you go, every cloud and all that! We may be cold, but we have snow.
4. The Lake District - Okay, yes, it rains a hell of a lot, but it's bloody beautiful! And yes, I do live on the opposite side of England, but it's still only a 2 hour car journey away!
5. It's close to Edinburgh - Honestly, this is such a big factor for me. I love Edinburgh, and as I live on the east coast, I can get a direct train to Edinburgh for less than £20 return, which is fab!
6. It makes visiting London more exciting - As I live at the complete opposite end of the country to London, it's just so exciting to travel and have a short break there! I love London, but I know a few people who live near London and don't like it, and I never want to be like that!
7. We have pretty decent beaches - Don't worry, I know they will never beat the beaches in Cornwall (which is definitely my favourite coastal place in England), but they are pretty nice! I took this photo a couple of days ago at sunset, and this beach is literally a 30 minute drive from me, if that! I'm very fortunate to live near the sea, and I try and go as much as I can.
8. Our dialect is great - At uni, I will say certain words, and my housemates, who are We all southerners, will have no clue of what I mean. For example, I use the term 'canny' to mean that someone is cute and nice (it's really hard to explain), yet I know in other parts of the north east, it means something completely different, which is understandably confusing. Again, it's pretty cool how differently people speak, yet are in such close proximity of each other within the country.
9. York - I absolutely love York, it is by far one of my favourite cities, and I actually hope to move there one day. It is honestly one of the prettiest cities, and I feel it's completely underrated! If you're ever up in the north east area, I'd definitely recommend a visit!
10. We have parmos - enough said really. It's basically breaded chicken with béchamel sauce and cheese, and it's absolutely mint.

So there you have it, 10 reasons why I love being northern! I hope you enjoyed it! What are your favourite things about where you live?

Much love,

Grace x

Pamper Routine Gone Wrong

Hey guys,

So I had the idea of showing you my pamper routine, as we all need a good pamper every once in a while, especially as we've just finished Christmas and now we're back to stressful reality!

However, because it's me, I was just a bit useless really. Therefore, I thought that I wouldn't do the normal pamper routine where the lighting is good, the pictures are super pretty, and where all the products are used correctly (you'll see what I mean later in the post), and just show you exactly what happened when I tried to be a good blogger. And failed. Again.

Firstly, I applied cleanser to my face, and used the Estee Lauder Advanced Night Micro Cleansing Foam. This part actually went okay, surprisingly. I also got a nice, cheerful selfie to accompany this achievement, as I was quite proud that I had cleansed successfully. However, I do look like I'm asleep, so I apologise.

I then ran my bath and used the Fizzbanger bath bomb from Lush, which smells INCREDIBLE! Plus, it turned the bath a really cool green colour, which I definitely was not expecting! And it had a bit of paper inside that said 'Bang' in a cartoon print, which I appreciated; I love how Lush pay so much attention to detail!

Okay, here is where the issue arose. As you can see, I tried, I really did. I don't know if I just have a small head, but the face mask just kept flopping around. And didn't sit on my face at all.

I actually first put it on with the plastic on, and was very confused as to why it wasn't sticking to my face and was droopy. I then realised that I was a complete idiot, and took it off, to find that it still wouldn't work. It basically just had my life.

My boyfriend's exact words when I showed him that picture were 'you look like something out of a horror film' - fab.

I finally managed the mask to fit onto my face and got it to stay put, but it kept flopping over my mouth so I had loads of product on my lip - not nice - so yeah, as you can see, I struggled just a bit. And looked quite scary in the process.

After finally managing to work out how to put the damn thing on my face, it was actually all right, and my skin felt very hydrated. I actually got this face mask, which is the Gold Brightening Facial Treatment Mask, out of the November Glossybox, so it was cool to try it out!

After the stress of the face mask, everything else seemed to go to plan, apart from I sat in the bath the whole time worried about the face mask falling into the water and me not being able to get it out (don't ask why I was worried about this, but I was), which meant that I could not watch 'How I Met Your Mother' in peace. The pamper night actually made me more stressed. But at least I got a blog post out of it.

Hey, I tried to get a nice, normal photo, and it kind of worked. Apart from the jaunty angle. And the fact that my hair looks like that. Okay, it didn't work. But afterwards, I used the Estee Lauder Revitalising Supreme Moisturiser, which I am loving!

However, I will end on a high - I painted my nails for the first time in ages, yay! I used this beautiful shade from OPI called 'Red Finger and Mistletoes', and it is just the perfect shade for this time of year. To be fair, it's very Christmassy, but I wanted a nice colour after the drama with the face mask, so I just made do with the Christmas nails.

So there you have it, reasons why I am the worst blogger ever; I can't take a good photo for shit, and I get confused by applying face masks. But hey ho, it's good to be unique (well, that's what I tell myself, basically because I have no other choice but to tell myself that).

I hope you enjoyed my very eventful pamper routine, and I hope to see you all again soon!

Much love,

Grace x

Goals for 2017

Hey guys,

So you're probably going to be seeing a lot of these, but I really wanted to write one so that I can look back on it this time next year, and see what I have actually achieved. I'm not one for New Year's resolutions, but I do like to set myself goals for the year, so I thought that I would share them with you.

In relation to my blog, I really want to start writing more lifestyle posts. I love writing beauty posts, don't get me wrong, but I really do love just sitting at my laptop and having a good old ramble about what I got up to on a trip, or a day out that I had, or even just a general talk about life. So this is something that you should hopefully be seeing more of on my blog.

I want to attend more blogger events, and try and put myself out there more. If you read my last post (I'll leave a link here, it's quite a personal post), then you will know that I have been invited to a massive blogger event in London, and I am so excited to attend! I hope that 2017 brings me more opportunities like this, as I love meeting fellow bloggers!

I also want to maybe stick to more of a schedule within my blog. In 2016, I just posted whenever, which I guess was more relaxed, but I feel that I need to post more regularly and keep a regular schedule, as I sometimes wouldn't post for weeks, and then post 3 all at once! I'm going to try not to put pressure on myself, and if I don't feel like posting, then I won't, but on a whole I would like to try! Plus, I have tons of ideas for blog posts, so am really excited to share these on my blog throughout 2017!

I would also like to step up my photography game. I see so many bloggers who have amazing photography, and I always think 'wow, I wish I could do that', as well as being like 'yes, you go girl!!'. I hope to get better, so a lot of practice will be going into this! Plus, I recently got a new camera, so my photography should be somewhat better than before!

I hope to try out more skin care products (I am a beauty blogger after all!). Since I have turned 20, I have been panicking about skincare routines, as I literally just used a make up wipe on a night to remove my make up and that was it. I know, I can feel you all judging me, but I'm just so lazy that I just thought meh, it'll do. However, I really want to try and stick to using certain products that will benefit my skin, and hopefully keep my skin looking healthy. I genuinely just think that, because I have spent the whole of my teenage years looking 12, I'm scared I'm going to hit 30 and look 40, because that would be just my luck! So due to this, in the past couple of weeks, I have been trying out some new products, and my skin already feels better! As you can probably guess, I will definitely be writing a post about them, so be sure to look out for that!

Okay, so this is a big one. I really hope that I get to go on my year abroad. As I am currently in second year, I have very fortunately been given the opportunity to study abroad next year. I have actually picked to go to the US, which will be amazing, but there is an issue in the fact that I am already incredibly anxious about it. So the question is, if I am like this now, what will I be like when I get there? I really hope that my anxiety doesn't hold me back from such an amazing opportunity, and I hope that I get on the course that I have applied for! In terms of university, I really hope that I don't leave my essays until the last minute; for goodness sake Grace, you need to be more organised! So yeah, I really hope to become more organised this year!

Overall, I just aim to be happy and make the most of this year. I hope to travel to places that I have never been before, meet new people and make memories.

What are your goals for the year?

Much love,

Grace x

Reflecting on 2016

Hey guys,

It's been a funny old year, 2016. As I'm sat up writing this on the 30th December, I'm contemplating the fact that it was quite a weird year. I mean, politics has gone tits up, and there have been some awful tragedies, but some of it was actually okay.

I saw a tweet that went viral the other day, all about the good things that have happened this year in relation to our environment and wildlife, and it made me think that some good things have actually happened this year.

Going a bit more personal here, I really feel like I have grown this year. Not literally (damn you small legs!), but in a way in that I feel like I'm more independent, and more understanding of the fact that life is a bitch, and you've just got to go with what life throws at you. Unfortunately, I had a lot of shit at school, and yes, it's affected me pretty badly, but I'm finally realising that I've got to let it go. I mean yeah, I still don't have the confidence to go out without make up on and I hide away from doing certain things, but I have managed to go out wearing less make up, which is a start. I just haven't yet come to terms with the fact that I'm not the person that I was 4 years ago, but that's okay. I'll get there. 

I finally realised this year that I really need more experience in the line of work that I want to go into, but I'm still not 100% sure what that is. But that's basically what your twenties are for, finding out what you want to do for the rest of your life.

And yes, 2016 was the year I turned 20. No longer a teenager, which means I can no longer sit on my arse all day and eat without a care in the world (although let's be honest, I'm still going to do that). I don't know, even though it's just an age, it's a new decade, a new decade in which I may get married, I may have kids, I may finish university, I may travel, I may get that dream job...it's quite overwhelming. I feel like my twenties are going to be amazing, but I just don't think I'm ready for them yet.

I have also struggled with my mental health, but I have had such amazing support from my friends and family, and I am so thankful for them. My mental health is something that I have never really spoken about on my blog, but it is something that is very apparent in my life. Anxiety is always something that I have struggled with, as I can't really remember not having my weird compulsions in relation to grammar and shapes, but I feel that university has heightened it somehow. I have always felt stress, but it got to the point where I wasn't sleeping or eating, and had to get extensions on my assignments. I felt so frustrated with myself, as I wanted to be like everyone else and just be able to write my assignment in the time given. But looking back, if I hadn't had those extensions, I probably would have gone into a spiral of stress and low moods, so I am so glad that I faced up to what was going on. I think I need to focus on that more in 2017, and focus on helping myself in relation to this. However, this year I managed to fight my anxiety to some extent, and in my second term I handed in all of my assignments in on the deadline. It's a small victory, but one of which I am proud.

In 2016, I started my blog. This was a massive highlight for me this year, as I finally put my love of writing into something real, into something that I can look back on, and think 'wow, I was doing that this time last year' or 'wow, look how far I've come' (although not in photography, my photography is still a bit shit). It's quite amazing how much I have changed, within my writing style and also within my confidence. I would never in a million years have posted a photo of my face on the internet showcasing a make up look that I had created. It's also been an outlet for me, an outlet to just get out of my head for a while, and write. Write whatever I want and do whatever I want - it's fantastic.

I've also had some amazing opportunities in relation to my blog, as I have met loads of incredible bloggers, and have attended events that I would never even dream of attending. In fact, I was invited to an event in London recently, which also has guests attending such as In The Frow and Lydia Elise Millen, which is so amazing, yet so overwhelming. I'm so excited to attend, but I'm such a small blogger, with very little experience in comparison to the majority of people attending, and it's quite daunting to say the least. But this is something that I am so looking forward to, and I will definitely be writing a post about it!

I also started my YouTube channel. I never ever ever thought that I would be sat in my room talking to a camera as if the most natural thing in the world and then post it on the internet - but I did. To be honest, I never thought that I would even come close to starting, but here we are. If you're interested in checking out my YouTube channel, I'll leave the link here.

I was also very fortunate to visit California with my parents, something that I have always wanted to do. It was on of the best holidays I have ever been on, and I made memories there that are completely unforgettable. We toured down the West Coast, and we saw some amazing places, such as San Francisco, San Diego and Yosemite! I wrote many a post about my time here, so I will leave some links for you to view them - Monterey Bay, Yosemite, San Francisco. I am so thankful for being able to visit such amazing places, and I am so grateful to my parents for taking me!

So that was a very rambley post, but I feel that it was more honest and personal, which is something that I have never delved into on my blog, in fear of being found by someone I know, but also in fear of being judged in some shape or form. However, I have learnt to just say 'screw it', and go for it!

I hope you have all had a wonderful 2016, and I wish you a happy new year for 2017.

Let's see what this year brings.

Much love always,

Grace x

Everyday Eye Make-Up Look | Modern Renaissance Palette

Hey guys,

So this post is going to be a different kind of post to what I normally do, as I have never really had the confidence to do one before. Plus, I'm not that great at doing make up (understatement of the century), but I loved creating this look!

I was very lucky to receive the Anastasia Beverley Hills 'Modern Renaissance' palette for Christmas, so for the past couple of days, I have been experimenting with it to create all kinds of pretty eye looks. So, thought I would share my favourite every day look with you!

I decided to focus on a brighter look, as I normally go for a more natural/nude eye look. However, I am really trying to be more 'out there' with my make up, so went for a more dark pink look.

I started by blending Tempura all over my lid, just to set a base. I then took Red Ochre, and blended it into my outer corner and crease, using a large eyeshadow blending brush. With this palette, a little goes a long way, as the pigmentation is AMAZING, so be careful to not get too much on your brush, and be sure to tap the excess off. Plus, blending is your best friend when it comes to this look!!

I also took a thinner eye shadow brush and blended Red Ochre underneath my lower lash line to give it a more smoky feel.

I then took Veneer, a very pretty, pinky champagne gold, and patted it into the middle of my lid using the flat-shaped brush that was provided in the palette. After this, I took the first blending brush and blended the edges of where the two shades met so that there would be no harsh lines.

So there you have it, my everyday eye make-up! I am absolutely loving this look and this palette, and will be sure to try and create more looks with it. I loved writing this post, and I really want to start doing more of these types of posts, so I hope that you enjoyed it!

What palette are you loving right now?

Much love,

Grace x