I feel like a lot of bloggers lately are falling out of love with their little space on the internet and to be honest I am too! I have had my blog for just over 4 years and whilst I've had my ups and downs I have always managed to just keep it ticking over at least, but here I am with one post scheduled and all out of ideas for any future posts. It's not that I don't like writing any more because I actually really do, I think it's just that I am losing my voice lately!
If anyone has read my blog as of late, all the beauty posts are just reviews of The Body Shop products and it just feels so suffocating, it's almost like they are the only brand I choose from which isn't necessarily true, I do like a lot of their stuff and, herein lies the problem, it's easy content! How have I got to a stage where I only post stuff that is considered easy, surely I should be posting stuff that I am really excited about. I mean don't get me wrong, everyone has some filler content in some blog posts but all of a sudden it seems to be my only content...! I do love beauty but since going cruelty free it does get harder to try out new things because as soon as you find something you love you just cling onto it for dear life!
Also, I feel like my lifestyle content is lacking that certain something is used to have, I barely even write about food anymore and you guys know I love my food. Sometimes I'll go out with the intention of taking a few blog pictures for a foodie post, take one picture and then literally forget to take anything else, seriously so annoying from a blogger perspective. I also haven't baked in MONTHS and when I do, they never quite look good enough for my blog so what's the point. Even when I write opinion pieces about how I don't quite fit into the blogging community or even my love/hate relationship with social media no one really engages with it, so it seems a little pointless.
I used to be so strict with scheduling posts but now come midweek I genuinely forget, how have I got to a stage where i genuinely forget to do a simple task that I have been doing for years? One reason I have other stuff going on and that is no longer priority, which is absolutely fine but I need to figure out a way to work blogging back into my life again. Work is just busy all the damn time and actually quite mentally draining right now, so when I get home I don't even want to look at another laptop in all honesty!
Things I am 100% clear on are that I do want to carry on blogging, I do want to write home content, I do want to carry on writing about beauty - I just need to find a way to do that! So I think I am going to reduce my content down to one post a week until I am up to speed and loving my blog again!
Still keeping up with my "1 book a month goal" April's book was a little something different for me because it was a Biography on the late (great) Alexander McQueen by Andrew Wilson. Fun fact about me is that Alexander McQueen is my favourite designer, I've never really known why but I have always loved the designs and the outrageous fashion shows. I spotted Blood Beneath The Skin on Amazon and realise that whilst I love the McQueen brand I actually knew very little about the man behind it other than that he killed himself about 8 years ago so I had to buy it.
This biography is beautifully done because it contains quotes and memories from friends and family which help to tell Lee Alexander McQueen's story from trusted people in his life. From the book you get a really detailed understanding McQueen's personality, he was wild, he was passionate, he was controversial and yet he was very vulnerable. There are a lot of things that can be said about his fashion shows and he in his time received a huge amount of criticism for some of the visual effects of the shows which must have been so frustrating because some people just didn't see what he was trying to say.
This book does not paint Lee in any angelic light, I think he was a personal that many probably would struggle to get along with but I like that
I have always loved McQueen because the fashion was hard, it was edgy and it was a work of art to some people. The man knew how to tailor suits perfectly and gave the womanly form a bit of structure and strength that most designers just didn't do! I remember ages ago i read a quote that suggested McQueen wanted people to be scared of the woman he dressed, he wanted them to be feared and not feeble and dainty and that really resonated with me, he saw women as survivors because he witnessed his own sister become a victim of domestic abuse. McQueen was obsessed with light and dark, life and death and reading this book tries to encourage the reader to see things from another perspective.
If you aren't into fashion then obviously this book isn't gonna be for you, but if you like Alexander McQueen or are interested in luxury fashion then seriously give this book ago!
I have never really been someone to wear a lot of concealer, a little while ago I thought I would give the Collection 2000 one ago again and then I quickly remembered why I had stopped using it! Love the product cannot stand the packaging, mine always seems to leak everywhere and I can't stand mess. The other week I go caught shirt because I had a mammoth spot and had a big meeting so I ran to Boots and the only (cruelty free) concealer I could find was Barry M Flawless Concealer.
They only had about 4 different shades with this concealer and I was very lucky to see that my shade was in stock! To be honest I didn't really know much about it other that was written on the bottle which states that it is light reflecting - not exactly what I wanted but I thought it would do the job. Upon researching it's actually a lightweight concealer which has been infused with cucumber and aloe to soothe and it's great for under eyes...yeah...not for spots so now it kind of makes sense. I though the colour match was good for me and it's a very easy product to work with but I have to admit it isn't great for covering spots, you have to keep building up and blending out to try and get a higher coverage.
The wand of the Flawless Concealer is so underwhelming and I would go as far to say that it is completely useless! I can get on board with brush wands for concealers but this one is so thin I struggled to apply the product to the areas I needed to. I even used the product for it's real purpose which is under the eyes and I just couldn't get enough product on the wand to get it under my eyes. When I eventually did manage to get some on my skin, I did really like it! It blends out easily and it does have a light reflecting quality about it, but it's worth noting that I don't have very dark circles under my eyes.
The Flawless Concealer, is a very lightweight concealer and it's gonna struggle to cover any huge spots but if you are looking for something that brings a bit of light into your face and that isn't too cakey then this little fellow might be for you!
What are your favourite concealers
Having recently just bought our first home, I have spent all most all of my spare time in bloody home interior stores and I actually really love it. I feel like me and the boyf have done really well in filling our home with bits and pieces but at a fair price-point so today I thought I would share with you some of my favourite places to discover things for your home.
Some of these are going to be so obvious so I may as well start with THE most obvious which has to be...
Home Sense
I don't think I can fully explain just HOW much I love Home Sense, I literally cannot walk into that place without walking out with at least one new thing. One of the many reasons I love Home Sense is that when you walk in there is always something new to look at or explore, our local one changes around so frequently that you are always finding unique times that weren't there the week before. I wouldn't say that Home Sense is a "cheap" shop but all of the products are less than half their original price so you still can save quite a lot. One of my favourite purchases from there has to be our bright yellow velvet feature chair!
IKEA
I feel like IKEA is a bit of a "marmite" shop lately, I saw some people recoil at the fact I was going to buy my bed and mattress from there and others who literally jump up and down when I said I was going. Don't get me wrong the physical act of going to IKEA stresses me out just a tad because it's quite chaotic but me and the boyf did a lot of research online before we went so we kind of knew what we wanted anyway! We bought a lot from there on Easter weekend and I was surprised at the total price came to less than what I thought it would! My favourite purchase is definitely our bed and mattress, the mattress is super comfy and the bed is perfect for what we wanted!
Wilko
Guys, I'm putting it out there, I think Wilko is one of the most underrated shops for home interiors! I definitely feel like Wilko has had a rebrand as of late and I just feel that they make certain interior trends super accessible for everyone because the price point is always really good. I tend to find myself buying bits and bobs more so than huge pieces of furniture but it's a place I always think to go first if I am looking for something because I guarantee that they will have it! My favourite purchase from there are our light shades, they are a black industrial look and we have some gorgeous amber filament bulbs which brings the whole look together.
Dunlem
Dunlem was a place that I never thought to go and yet since getting the house we find ourselves there almost every weekend. Dunlem is unusual in the sense that the price point really vary across products, you can pick some things up that are dirt cheap and yet others are what I would consider luxury prices. I really like the variety of products per department, some store specialise in soft furnishings or furniture for example but Dunlem has a lot of different items for lots of different areas of your home, it's very easy to get lost in there. My favourite item from there has to be my bedroom curtains, even if they were bloody expensive, I can't help but look at them and just love them!
The Range
It's taken me quite a while to come around to the idea of The Range, I'm not sure whether it's just my local one that I don't really like or what but I used to really get put off of going there. However, as of late I have found myself warming more to the store. It does have some handy things and we ended up getting quite a few items from there for our kitchen and some bedding, another brand again that offers a really reasonable price-point. Whilst I don't consider The Range to offer "trendy" items it certainly offers a lot of home essentials. My favourite item from the store is our giant mirror, in fact it was one of the first items that me and the boyf actually both liked!
There we have just 5 of my fave places to buy gorgeous stuff for your home in! What are your faves?
Another Body Shop product, I can almost SEE your eyes start to roll, you guys have to know that I really think The Body Shop has some incredible skincare ranges and I am obsessed with the Resurfacing Liquid Peel and the Youth Cream but I have been honest about my opinion regarding their beauty products such as the CC Cream which was a massive disappointment. I just kinda have a problem with the The Body Shop in the sense that I cannot walk out of there with just one thing so I end up buying a few!
You guys already know that I am paranoid about my ever aging face so was on the look out of a little eye cream when I spotted (with my saggy eyes) The Drops of Youth Eye Concentrate, I just saw the words "youth" and "eyes" and knew I had to have it! Like the Drops of Youth Cream this product also has plant stem cells such a Edelweiss, Sea Holly and Criste Marine.
It's an unusual little contraption isn't it? Basically it's a pump and applicator all in one! You press down on the little black part which deposits the eye cream around the silver roller ball and then, as instructed by the packaging, you massage the cream around both eyes in a figure 8 motion and then you simply pat it in with your fingers until it is completely absorbed. I'm not gonna lie to you guys but this took me a little while to even remember to keep using, for some reason I really struggled to work it into my skincare routine but I eventually did.
The Youth Eye Concentrate is a really lovely product because it's so fresh and light, it also has a cooling quality to it which is helped by the roller ball. I definitely noticed that this product made the skin around my eyes appear more lighter and brighter but I am lucky in the sense that I have quite pale under eyes anyway so don't often have "bags" as such! I have read the reviews online and many people have said that it reduces fine lines which personally I haven't noticed, for me this product is more of a hydrating cream than a cream to reduce wrinkles which I actually wanted.
It is a lovely product but I think I want to go for something that is a little more tightening and wrinkle reducing as opposed to birghtening so I won't buy this product again but that's not to say it isn't a great product because it is, I just need something a little stronger to tackle my aging eyes!
What eye creams do you recommend?
