Blogger Enabled Purchases I'm Loving!

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A huge part of blogging for me, aside from actually writing blog posts, is reading blogs! I'm talking a lot of blogs; possibly 200+ that I actually keep up with. That may seem a little crazy but blogs inspire me so much, not only in my own blogging but in life. But the outcome a lot of the time from so much blog reading is a lighter bank balance!

So today I thought I'd share with you five products I was inspired to buy that I now love and the blogs that enabled them purchases. 

Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation in 010 Light Porcelain
£7.99 - Light shade in Tesco or Amazon here
After reading Miss Makeup Magpie's review (here) on the then new lighter shade of this foundation, I was convinced in to buying it! Her clear swatches really won me over. I may have taken over 6 months to buy it but once I'd swatched it against my own skin I was amazed! This really is an amazingly light toned foundation perfect for pale skinned girls like myself. I've since purchased another Rimmel foundation in the same shade but love using the Wake Me Up foundation on tired skin days when I need a radiant glow to my skin. A must try if you have yet to try this foundation out!  

COLAB Dry Shampoo 
Mini £1.99 - Superdrug here
This was of course an enabled purchase by Ruth from A Model Recommends who is both the face and creator of this product! As I know Ruth doesn't do things by halves and is beyond passionate about all things beauty. Now being a lover of Batiste Dry Shampoo for many years I really didn't expect to love anything more... but it seems I can, as I was amazed at how good the mini CoLab Dry Shampoo were that I tried - great scents, amazing at soaking up hair oils and non-itchy on the scalp if you get over zealous with it! Will be buying a full-size can of this and ditching Batiste from now on!

Milton-Lloyd Stars Parfum de Toilette 
£3.40 - Amazon here 
This was a recent-ish amazing find with the help of Sophie from Makeup Wonderland after she posted an image of a little fragrance haul on Instagram. I'm definitely a lover of cheap scents as long as they smell good, so I was so pleased to discover Milton-Lloyd fragrances that smell exactly like some popular high-end scents. I decided to go for 'Stars' which smells exactly like one of my favourite fragrances - Thierry Mugler's Alien. I really couldn't believe it. The silliage of course isn't as good but good enough and I really can't see a reason to purchase a pricey bottle of Alien, again. Worth looking at the other Milton Lloyd scents through the link and reading the reviews to find out what fragrances they are dupes for!

Montagne Jeunesse Black Seaweed Peel-off Masque  
£1.00 - Boots here or Amazon here 
After reading Miss Budget Beauty's review of this face mask (here) I knew I had to buy it. This without a doubt would have been a mask I'd normally avoid because seaweed anything just doesn't appeal and a black face mask is bound to be messy. But as Khila stated it was a good peeling mask and she liked the results I picked it up. I will spare you a review of the application and tell you that it was such a satisfying mask to peel off and yes, it does actually leave you with such soft skin. I also grossly spotted a few blackheads stuck to the face mask as I peeled it away so it would be ideal as a deep cleansing mask for anyone with oily skin. Will 100% be buying this again.

Bourjois Color Edition 24H Eyeshadow
£6.99 - Boots here
This was definitely a collective enabled purchase because last year I read so many great reviews on these eyeshadows that I decided to buy two of my favourite looking shades at the end of 2014. I went for a beautiful glistening plum shade with Prune Nocturne and the most shimmery gilded gold in Or Desir. The firm cream to powder formula of these was just what I expected and blended and stayed a dream on my lids. I'm not too much of a fan of using other eyeshadows with these as I like to swipe these over the eyelids and blend out with either my fingertip or a small fluffy blending brush. These also stay all day... though not 24 hours! Next shade on my list to buy is Petale de Glace; it looks amazing! 

What have you recently been enabled to buy that you've loved? 

Fee xo.  
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What I Own From theBalm!

theBalm-product-reviews


With it's kitsch retro-style packaging theBalm has been a firm favourite of mine for some time now. Without actually realising it I've build up a little collection that I absolutely love, so to show off the cuteness and rave about the brand I thought I'd share with you what I own from theBalm and what I hope to pick up next! 

First came the blushers, I'd like to say with Frat Boy Blusher (£15.50 Feel Unique here), in a beauty box. It was instant love and actually it's now still one of my favourite ever blushers. Beyond the gorgeous packaging the soft dusky pink blush is just perfect for pale skin tones and ideal for spring/summer. And even with my excessive use this still doesn't show huge signs of wear - you do get 8.5g after all! This however is also classed as an eyeshadow... which I very much disagree with, I mean who wants a light pink eyeshadow?! Just a big no-no really. 

Next came Bahama Mama Bronzer (£15.00 Feel Unique here), I'm thinking this was a lucky TK Maxx find that I didn't spend too much on it. Which is actually a good thing as this is the only hit and miss product I've experienced from theBalm. The problem I have is that it's just too dark for my skin! But thankfully I do make use out of it as a lovely contouring eyeshadow. I imagine if I had a medium skin tone this would be amazing as it's such a finely milled press powder and the right side of tan with no orange in sight. 

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Then lastly to complete my little blusher collection I picked up Hot Mama Blusher (£15.00 Feel Unique here), another favourite out of my entire collection! Unfortunately this doesn't pick up on the swatch as beautiful as it is in real life, think a stunning rose gold type blusher that's very similar to Nars Orgasm blusher. This is definitely a shade I become obsessed with each summer and it works with all skin tones! 

Next up the amazing Autobalm California Palette (£16.50 Feel Unique here) which is quite a recent addition to my collection, and one I thought would be great for travel. And it is! This could possibly be my favourite product from theBalm as I love everything about it! The palette contains a lovely blusher, brow/crease eyeshadow, highlighter/eyeshadow and liner come eyeshadow. Meaning you can achieve a full eye look, fill in your brows and add blush and highlight - all in a credit card sized palette! All the shades are just spot on and so far I've got so much use out of it! 

Lastly the Cindy-Lou Manizer Highlighter (£17.50 Feel Unique here) which I annoyingly confused with Mary-Lou, the highlighter I actually wanted! But all wasn't lost as this turned out a pretty lovely blusher come highlighter and one I know I will be reaching for in spring/summer. Also finally no cardboard packaging... the only down fall of a lot of theBalm products. 

As for what I want to buy next... I still have my eyes on Mary-Lou Manizer Luminizer and possibly another compact palette! 

Do you own anything from theBalm? What do you think of the brand? 
Tell me all!

Fee xo. 
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Boots #GiveItAGo Twitter Chat Summary

As a few of you will know yesterday myself and Sabrina from A Little Obsessed (@SabrinaLovesYou) hosted a Boots Twitter Chat/Party with Makeup Artist Louise Constad (@Louiseconstad) on hand to answer any questions. 

The hour chat really flew by and I felt everyone had a great time. This is what I love the most about Twitter chats, that sense of community and the fact they are always so positive! Above as you can see is a summary of the chat if you missed it.  

You can also #GiveItAGo and try out the above looks and beauty cheats by heading on over to Boots.com!

If you did join in I hoped you enjoyed it as much as myself and Sabrina did! And thanks for taking part! 

Until the next one! 

Fee xo.

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Top 5 Tips to Speed up Your Blog Writing Time

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Last week I randomly asked on Twitter what the average time was for fellow bloggers to write a post. The answers I got were actually pretty similar - 1 to 2 hours, though quite a few mentioned it takes them forever. I definitely could relate to this as procrastination is a skill of mine and I know how distracting it can be working/blogging from home! 

But thankfully over the years I have improved and can now write a blog post in under an hour. So I thought I'd share with you five tips of my own that have helped me to cut down writing time and basically get shit done! 

Close tabs 
Okay, this is a pretty obvious one but it's a must. It's just way too easy to keep open social media and email tabs that will constantly distract you. If you have no self-control then using a temporary website blocker tool is a must, this will block any websites you know you won't be able to resist visiting for a set amount of time. Closing tabs will definitely keep you more focused on the task in hand! 

Write key points/sub-headers first 

When I open up a new post the first thing I do is write all the sub-headers I want to include or even when I'm not using them I still write headers as a guideline/structure that I will delete after I've wrote the post. Take this blog post for example, I spent 2-3 minutes thinking of the 5 points I wanted to touch upon then typed them out. Instantly this gives structure to a my post as I have an intro, 5 key points and an end/summary. This without a doubt keeps me from rambling on and makes eager to get on to the next point/header.

Listen to music
So this isn't a common one but if you can getting into the habit of doing it it works wonders! I started listening to music (I have a specific Spotify playlist for it of upbeat songs) a few months ago after reading that it's been proven that people work faster, even when writing, when listening to music. Since then when I want to write a few blog posts within a day I pop in my earphones, crank up the volume and get cracking! I've found this to make me type faster, ignore my surroundings and it also stops me from pausing to think about what I'm writing. Currently listening to Changing by Sigma as I write this very post!

Don't edit as you write 
This is a vital one! Getting the words out and onto the screen is the main thing here, then editing and tweaking can come later when you read it back. Too often we get stuck on trying to think of a better word to use or way of writing a sentence and that can really slow you down. So forget about being perfect and write your heart out!

Set a timer
 If you're one of those bloggers than can take hours writing a post and often leaves it in 'draft' unfinished then this would totally change the way you work. A little pressure hurt no one so set a realistic time goal on your phone and make sure to check it when you're half way through the post. If time is ticking away you know you need to hurry the F up and even if you go over the timer slightly you will complete it in a good time. I often do this at night when there's something on TV I want to watch.


Suggestions from other bloggers 
Corrie from Dizzy Brunette 3 - "I sometimes use a temporary website blocker (Cold Turkey) to stop me procrastinating on YouTube/Twitter!".
Jaime from Girl Loves Gloss - "I like to collect all my links first then keep them open in TextEdit so I can just copy and paste them in when needed".
Laura from Love & Liquor - "Take photos first, I find it so much quicker when I have clear images of the products in the post before I start typing!".
Jen from A Beauty Junkie in London - "Pause emails so that doesn't distract and take product photos in bulk so you have a backlog of ready to go images!".
Liza from Glam Beautys - "When you want to link back to lots of products find a website that stocks all/most of the products so you don't have to go onto a million different ones to find the products".
Nic from Strawberry Blonde Beauty - "Put your phone away/on silent while writing so that you don't keep getting distracted!".
Chelsea from Through Chelsea's Eyes -"Write bullet points on paper before sitting at my computer". 
Annabel from Fragmented Splendour - "TV off, headphones on and a big glass of water (& maybe snacks) so you have no reason to get up & be distracted".

Hopefully this has give you more then enough tips and ideas on how to streamline your own writing!

If you have any tips you'd like to share that I haven't covered, feel free to in the comment section below. If it's a good one I will edit it into this post!

TOTAL WRITING TIME: 46:29
(yes, I timed myself!) 

Fee xo.

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A Beautiful Flamingo Gifts Haul

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A few weeks ago the wonderful people over at Flamingo Gifts contacted me and asked if I'd like to try out a few of their products. So I of course said yes as I'd previously been on the website and knew it offered some amazing brands and unique gifts. 

So today I thought I'd share with you what I picked out and what I thought of them. Plus one of the products I feel could be amazing for bloggers - I know I'm totally loving it! Side note - A few items are out of stock as I'm writing this but all products do seem to come back in to stock, so it's worth checking back on them!

Flamingi-cheesecake-crunch-candle


Cheesecake Crunch Flamingo Candle 
£11.00 here 
Candles are a must for me, I literally have them all over my house! From Neom and Homesense finds to beautiful Sanctuary Spa ones. Little fact - Yankee Candles give me a headache! I just can't get enough. So when I spotted this 'Cheesecake Crunch' scented candle I could only imagine how good it smelt and had to get it. Plus the glittery flamingo to the front swayed it for me! For me this has an instant smell of brown sugar mixed with nutmeg and caramel, a real baking biscuits kind of smell. However I did find on initially burning the candle I couldn't smell it, but after the 2nd use all was fine and the smelt burnt wonderfully and filled the room with the warm yummy scent. Also worth mentioning is that the candle wax is made from Soybean oil, meaning it burns clean without any nasty vapours coming off it to inhale or stain your wall.

Roe Dee Jewellery Dish 
£4.99 here 
Next up I thought what's another cute jewellery dish, I only have 6 dotted all over the house afterall! It was too cute to let go. Of course the idea is to lay jewellery on the dish but I realised you can even hang rings from the deer's antlers. Also without jewellery this looks lovely. The dish will be sat on the windowsill of my bathroom looking pretty. This is also great value for money and would make a great gift.

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Ted Baker Gift Wrap Book 
£14.99 here 
Flamingo Gifts has a great range of Ted Baker gifts that I somehow have seen anywhere else on the internet, including this amazing Gift Wrap Book. Firstly can be just marvel at this idea... I mean why don't these exist everywhere?! The idea of the gift wrap book is that you can use the pull out gift wrap sheets to wrap presents with. But some of the Ted Baker prints are so beautiful that I'm tempted to frame them! Also I really think a few would make amazing blog photography backgrounds - it's used the stunning spring print one in a few upcoming blog posts and it looks stunning! Or these could make lovely drawer liners.... the options seem to be endless. The book contains 16 sheets that open out to a huge A1 size and to the back of the book you get push-out Ted Baker gift tags and bows to make - really lovely! 

I absolutely love this and know I will get so many different uses out of it!

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Wu & Wu Deer Makeup Bag
£15.28 here 
Makeup bags are my thing! Okay... so jewellery dishes and candles also seem to be my thing - just call me Ariel! But I do seriously have a weakness for pretty makeup bags! So as soon as I spotted this adorable Wu & Wu wash bag I had to have it. In fact I instantly spotted that the illustration was by one of my favourite artists - Fiona Hewitt. Yes, the wash bag is a little steep in price but Wu & Wu is a fairly high end/unique brand. Overall it's great quality with a good chunky zip and the padded material is thick and not cheap feeling. This will definitely be my wash bag for my upcoming holiday!

Cupcake Toothpaste
£5.99 here 
Okay... this was a last minute "why the hell not" kinda' buy! I think I was just intrigued to see if it tasted of cupcakes... and I can now confirm it does!! I was hoping after it tasted so amazing that I'd want to ditch my standard minty toothpaste, but sadly my brain cannot allow it as it relates a mint taste to feeling fresh and clean. So even though this tastes of yummy cupcake frosting, it's sadly nothing more than a novelty product for me!

What do you love here the most? 

Fee xo. 

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Boots Twitter Chat Invite! #GiveItAGo

0928 Boots LGIAG Twitter Party_FA 
Finally I can share with you information about the exciting Boots Twitter chat/party next week! 

Along side Sabrina from A Little Obsessed and Boots, we will be hosting a fun and informative chat between 1-2pm Tuesday 24th March. The idea of the chat is all about giving something new a go, hence the hashtag #GiveItAGo, whether it be with makeup, your hair or a savvy way to use a product for another use! Both myself and Sabrina will be sharing our own tips and tricks throughout the hour and would love to hear yours!

So if you'd like to join in with the chat on Tuesday make sure to be following myself (@Makeup_Savvy) and Sabrina (@Sabrinalovesyou)! 

See you then!

Fee xo. 

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Glamour Mag with Balance Me Freebies out now!

Glamour-Freebie-March-2015

As I love my freebies I thought I'd give you all a reminder of the wonderful free gift with Glamour magazine this month! For only £2 (the price of the magazine) you can pick up 1 of 4 Balance Me products. 

Choose from - Super Moisturising Body Wash, Pure Skin Face Wash, Radiance Face Mask, or the Shine On Tinted Lip Salve. 

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I personally love all the products here but decided to pick up the Super Moisturising Body Wash as it's SLS-free and I've loved Balance Me body products in the past. Plus I also received the Shine On Tinted Lip Salve with my Glamour Magazine subscription - a lovely lightly tinted red gloss/salve that feels great on the lips. 

I'm now trying to resist picking up the Radiance Face Mask as I've heard only good things about it! 

Are you tempted by this free gift? Have you already picked one up? Let me know!

Fee xo. 

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On Healthy Eating: 5 Tips To Change Your Diet Forever

Healthy-eating-tips 

Today I felt like doing a different kind of post! One on healthy eating. Because for the past 7 weeks changing my diet for the better and losing weight has been a big thing in my life! 

You could say I've been a serial dieter on and off for the past 4 years but finally I feel a lot of things have clicked. It could be that I have more of a drive now to change my diet for good or that I'm just more educated and balanced in my approach to healthy eating - either way it's working! So far I've lost just over 1 Stone (14lbs) and have actually enjoyed the process! So today I thought I'd share 5 tips that have helped me the most and hopefully they can help you too...

Focus on health over satisfaction 
The reason why we eat is to fuel and nourish our bodies - everyone knows that! But sadly it's so easy to get drawn into craving bad foods when the food industry seems to be made up of 80% unhealthy processed foods. But if you can be mindful most of the time you should be feeding your body, and not your mind's own cravings you will actually see a difference in how often you crave processed foods. My main goal now when food shopping is to pick foods that will be good for me - fish, lean meats, vegetables, fruit, complex carbs - beans, whole grain rice, quinoa. Then I have to find satisfaction in them foods (with seasoning and different ways of preparing them of course), which is definitely possible! So forget about losing weight whilst keeping your old habits and concentrate on feeding your body with the right types of food!

Seek out new healthier foods and alternatives to what you use to love 
When trying to lose weight/eat healthier we ditch certain foods that we know just aren't good for us. Maybe it's your sugar laden cereal? But instead of changing that eating habit altogether and then craving it, switch to a homemade granola with milk. The same if you love bacon, switch to turkey bacon! If you ditch a food because you feel it's unhealthy then you must think of a replacement or you will end up craving it in the beginning. As for trying out healthier foods this has been a big thing for me. I now love nothing more than low-fat Greek yogurt with honey for breakfast or as a dessert. I also love to snack on Nut & Seed Mix and can't get enough of Edamame beans in stir-fries!

Get interesting with food!
There is nothing more boring and unmotivating than bland food! Food really is as interesting as you make it. I've always loved to use different seasoning and ways to cook my food but over the past 2 months I've found some amazing recipes via Pinterest and Deliciously Ella. From Melt-In-Your-Mouth Chicken using Greek Yogurt to Ella's amazing Cannellini Bean Stew (the SW Campfire Stew is also amazing). As for seasoning my favourites have to be Cajun (perfect for chicken/turkey), Paprika (sweet potato wedges), Chip Seasoning and fresh garlic and lemon (amazing on Portobello Mushrooms and fish). 

Plan meals ahead
If you're a convenience eater then planning ahead for the week could be a god send. For me as some weeks are busier than other I do this as and when I feel I need it. I simply shop for the week ahead with meals in mind then come Sunday night I will prepare them meals and store them in the fridge or freezer. This generally takes a few hours and I make around 3-4 meals, but then I know I'm done for the week and I don't need to cook. This keeps me on track and also looking forward to the meals ahead. It's also worth searching 'free meal planners' on Pinterest for free printables or use a platform like Wanderlist to keep a track of what you want to make. If you are short on time meal prepping can work wonders!

Ditch a specific diet and eat how you're wanting to long term 
Unless you have a small amount of weight to lose you really want to be focusing on changing your eating habits forever with a balanced non-faddy diet. So restricting total food groups, obsessively over calories or over eating one type of food just isn't going to work long-term. Instead eat more of the healthy foods you already love and try to aim for a healthy balance were you can eat everything in moderation. This is definitely easier said than done but is key to keeping it up long term and keeping off the weight you've already lost. So be realistic and don't jump into that fad diet! 

These aren't the most traditional of tips but I hope they can be of help to anyone who is trying to lose weight and live a healthier lifestyle! 

Fee xo.

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An Ode to... err, Soap?

Top-Facial-Soaps

I will admit I didn't have a blog post planned for today (post ideas seem to have been going on scheduled posts lately for whilst I'm on holiday in a few weeks). But then as I was washing my face in the shower, yes, you guessed it - with soap, a blog post idea came to me. It came in the form of a question really as I wondered how many other bloggers/skin care junkies actually use facial soap as part of their routine. So let me know... Do you use a facial soap? 

I came to the conclusion not many... because, well they just seem a bit out dated now and when you think of soap you think of Dove and that's certainly for hand washing only. But along side my cream cleansers and micellar waters I've loved some pretty amazing soaps. I actually got hooked on a pricey £35 soap once! I still miss is to this day but unless someone buys it me for my birthday (14th May fyi) I just can't justify repurchasing it, though my skin loved it.

Dead Sea Spa Magik Black Mud Soap
£3.90 - Feel Unique here
I'm now onto using Dead Sea Spa Magik Black Mud Soap which is a much more affordable option. The weirdly black slab of soap, which thankfully foams white, lives in my shower meaning I use it roughly 3 times a week. The reason why I love it and prefer it over a facial wash is that is contains only one ingredient Dead Sea Mud, which to be honest I don't know what it does, but it does make it incredibly gentle to the skin and SLS-free. Whether my skin is oily, dry or hormonal I know this will just gently cleanse my skin and that's it. You can also find the soap in Holland & Barrett.

Sebamed Cleansing Bar
£3.54 - Amazon here
Previous to using the above soap when I found my skin was prone to more blemishes and was generally just oily I used Sebamed Soap-free Cleansing Bar. I'm not sure how I discovered it but I remember going cold turkey with all my other skincare product and solely using this for a month! It was of course boring just using 'soap' and water but itcontrolled my over oily skin and balanced everything out! This was the soap that got me into look at other sulfate-free face and body products and since then I've not looked back. Unlike the Black Mud Soap this isn't one for all skintypes but for anyone with combination to oily skin. You can find the cleansing bar in most chemists for around £2.50 - bargain! 

Cor Silver Soap
£15 for 1og - Blissworld here 
£35 for 30g -Amazon here  
Lastly I want to talk about Cor Soap or "The Silver Soap" as it's known. This was a soap I used for over a year and it really did wonders for my skin. But alas it comes with a hefty price tag that my savvy nature cannot justify. Cor soap is actually unlike any other soap as not only does it contain silver but a ton of active ingredients that almost seem to adapt to whatever skin needs you have. For me this was blemishes and pigmentation and whilst using the soap I noticed such a huge difference in my skin with it looking brighter from reducing spot scarring and making my skin blemish-free! It also made my skin feel so much softer and enough to actually ditch using a facial exfoliator. The silver soap also claims to calm inflammation, tighten pores, balance out an oily T-zone and replenish collagen! If you are into your skincare and have acne/blemished skin I really couldn't recommend this soap more highly. 

Although I still love to use a cream cleanser to fully remove my makeup I couldn't ever imagine my routine not involving a facial soap. 

I'd love to know if you've ever used a facial soap?

Fee xo.

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eBay Bargains #16 - Disney Edition!

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Beauty and the Beast Stained Glass Style Vest (£4.58 here) - There's a fine line between looking like you are wearing a child's Disney top and an adult one. But this thankfully is the latter and is just stunning! Very much reminds me of something you would find on Black Milk Clothing but as literally a fraction of the price.

Disney Mosaic Phone Case (£4.73 here) - Another mosaic/stain glass style item here that I absolutely love and will purchase sooner rather than later! Just so detailed and vivid. Lots of different size cases in the listing.

Beauty and the Beast Stud Earrings (£3.50 here) - In the past I've turned to Gogo Philips and Disney Couture for Disney themed jewellery. But you can find some amazingly cheap pieces on eBay if you look hard enough. Again these are so detailed and not at all childish looking.

Disney Character Tablet Case (£5.99 here) - Okay, this is a little more cutesy but anything with all the Disney characters on I'm drawn to. The case also acts as a stand and looks pretty well made for the price. Lots of different size cases in the listing.

Alice in Wonderland Quote Art Print (£7.50 here) - A lovely one-of-a-kind print here that I just adore. The artist has quite a few different prints - Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan and Mary Poppins. This would look perfect on a dressing table or gallery style wall.

Peter Pan 'You Can Fly' Necklace (£7.99 here) - Totally in love with this! There are a few different quotes in the listing and I really did struggle to just pick one to show as they are all so lovely. I can't help but think this would make a lovely gift to someone that loves Disney. Again not child-like in the slightest.

Bambi Nightdress (Size 8-18 - £7.49 here) - Okay, this is my favourite of the lot! Yes, it's a nightie but this could sooo be worn as a dress, right? Give me this over a £390 Givenchy Bambi T-shirt any day of the week!

OPI Minnie Minis Nail Polish Set (£9.99 here) - Lastly I had to include something related to beauty and Disney themed - kind of hard to do! I'm a fan of OPI mini sets to start with but this Minni Mouse edition is just adorable! Plus it includes a mini OPI Rapidry Top Coat!

I love putting these eBay Bargain posts together but this without a doubt has been my favourite to do! 

Fee xo.

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Current Favourites - March 2015

Beauty-Favourites-March-2015

A new month and some of my current favourites for you!
 In the last month I seem to have had an influx of products to try, both PR samples and my own spending, which has resulted in finding some amazing new favourites. 

This actually got me thinking that readers of beauty blogs must think that bloggers are easily swayed in loving new products and calling them their favourites, especially as "monthly favourites" blog post are so popular. Which is kind of true... but as we have so many products to compare against I think on the whole we have high standards and view products with a much more critical eye than most, especially if we have an upcoming review or blog post in mind . Just a random thought there about blogging! Anyway, onto my current favourites that I've been using so much in the last month...

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Gosh Prime 'n' Set Primer & Mattifying Setting Powder 
£9.99 - Superdrug HERE 
I love primers. I love silicone based primers most, my skin doesn't! So when this new powder primer from Gosh entered my life I was eager to try it... though I'll admit I couldn't imagine it working well. But thankfully it does and I've been reaching for it more than my other pore-suffocating primers! To use - the scarily white powder is simply dusted over the face pre-foundation as it's thankfully translucent, then any type of foundation liquid/powder/cream can be applied over the top. 1. This means no drying time 2. It's totally light weight on the skin 3. It's gonna last you a life time compared to a liqiud primer. Then you can optionally dust it over the face to set everything, I'm still in love with my Clarins Loose Powder so I rarely use it for that purpose. I've been using this for around 3 weeks now and it's possibly the best oil-controlling powder I've tried - it keeps my T-zone shine-free nearly all day and my foundation from wearing. PLUS I'm convinced this diffuses my pores somewhat before foundation. The price is a little steep for a high street powder product but I'm sure this will end powder/primer buying for a lot of people, especially oily skinned girls! I'm also thinking this will be amazing in summer when no one wants to add more layers onto their skin than necessary!

L'Oreal True Match Foundation in Nude Ivory N1
£9.99 - Boots or cheaper Chemist Direct HERE
I'm currently rotating around 9 new foundations and this is one of them! The life of a Beauty Blogger - someones gotta do it! And this is one of my clear favourites due to how well it matches my own skin tone and is able to correct the slight redness I had. I could put this down to getting lucky picking the right shade but I true believe this range is possible the best on the high street for suiting different warm and cool tones of skin. This shade is thankfully a cool porcelain (so many pale shades are warm toned) and with it's light weight formula just blends into my skin a dream. It's been my go-to foundation on natural looking skin days and it's actually making me a lot more confident in how my skin looks without having to reach for a more opaque coverage. Clapping emoji at L'Oreal for this one!

Ciate Underwear Base Coat
£12.00 - ASOS HERE
If you want to save your nails from turning yellow then a base nail polish is a must. I learnt the hard way a few years ago and after letting my nails grow out I swore to always use a base coat and I've actually stuck to it. It's surprsingly not that hard to remember to use once you throw it into your nail polish routine and your nails will definitely thank you for it. Also if you have ridged nails from over using nail polish, like myself, then it's a god send. So after my beloved China Glaze Ridge Filler Base Coat glooped up I moved onto Ciate's Underwear which has recently had a makeover. I'm not overly impressed with how it looks as for £12.00 you'd think Ciate could make sure the ugly label couldn't be seen through the glass bottle but that's by the bye I guess. It's if it does the job that mattes to me and thankfully it's a good one. This smooths over the nails easily with a thin but not too thin formula and dries fast. I've personally found two coats is perfect for smoothing over my ridged nails but for someone looking to prevent nail staining a single coat would do the job. If you paint your nails a lot like I do, then this certainly does the job. 

Models_own_gel_Purple_Orchid

Models Own HyperGel Puprple Orchid
£4.99 - Boots in-store or Superdrug HERE
Models Own have recently come out with some many new products making it hard to pick a favourite! But due to the amazing formula and subtly unique shade it has to be Purple Orchid. The entire HyperGel range is one of my favourites from MO as the thicker glossy formula is exactly what I want from a nail polish. Plus I find the formula lasts on the nails with only tip wear and no chipping! As for the actually shade this is slightly darker in real life and a beautiful vivid purple on the nails that is actually quite unique in my vast nail polish collection. 

I'm also finding it spot on for this time of year as I'm not ready to sport any pastel shades just yet and darks are... well seeming too dark, making this a perfect transitional shade.

Multi-Facet-Palette-Semblance

Illamasqua Multi Facet Semblance Palette
WAS £45 NOW £22.50 - Illamasqua HERE 
Where to begin with this palette?! This sleek compact is truly what dreams are made of for a beauty lover. Encompassed in this palette are four beautiful eyeshadows (I personally use the pink shade as a blush), an eyebrow powder/cake, a cream contour pigment, cream bronze pigment and a stunning powder blush! I've had this palette for little over a month now and truly have got so much use out of it already - the middle two eyeshadows are just stunning, the blush in Hussy is fast becoming one of my favourite blushers and the eyebrow cake is perfect for statement brows. I've also been using the lilac-y pink eyeshadow as a light blusher but I've yet to use the black eyeshadow - I must get on it! The only fail product in this palette for me is the cream pigment in Hollow, it's simply too dark for my pale skin tone and looks a bit on the muddy side. The palette also includes a huge mirror and is amazingly compact in depth, making this ultra travel friendly. Very much worth the lower price of £22.50.

W7 Butter Kiss Lipstick in Pretty In Pink 
£2.47 - Xtras HERE
Last month I reviewed quite a few of the W7 Butter Kiss Lipsticks and loved them. A couple were on the sheer side but on the whole they rivalled the NYX butter lipsticks well and came out pretty impressive for the mere £2.49 price tag. Pretty in Pink has since not left my bag as it's a great pop of colour without being worried if it's all over my face! Aside from the vivid pink shade I'm in love with the creamy formula that's perfectly lightweight and lasts a good amount of time for a balm-type lipstick. Cannot wait to try out some of the brighter shades in Spring now! You can see more of my swatches of the W7 Butter Kiss Lipstick range here

What are you currently loving? Let me know! 

Blogger side note - Isn't it amazing when the lighting is perfect for photography and you take amazing pictures? This was today for me!

Fee xo. 
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Cult Skin Care Products Worth Buying!

Cult-Skincare-Worth-Buying

When it comes to 'cult' products I sometimes have a job believing magazines. I mean when will that pink Maybelline mascara ever disappear? And don't even get me started on magazines that try to pawn off gigantic tubs of Vaseline as a cult skincare product. No - the sales are high because elderly people like to use it on their... just, yes, you can imagine. But I digress with my negativity! Because sometimes magazines do get it right (or just follow suit with bloggers, shhh) and highlight products that are seriously loved by many. 

So today I thought I'd feature five skincare products that I truly believe deserve the term  and that I feel are worth spending on if you have the intended skin type.

cult-skincare-products-reviewed

Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque
£4.25 - Amazon HERE
Thought I'd start off with a bit of a confusing one as this is probably seen as a U.S cult favourite, seeing as you can only buy it online in the UK. This is an amazingly priced clay based mask for anyone with oily or blemished skin. The mask is unlike any other I've tried and honestly feels more like a giant tube of toothpaste with it's thick consistency and spearmint scent, which does take a bit of getting use to. Once smoothed over the face this is one of those quick drying masks that feels tight on the skin but not uncomfortably so. Then once rinsed off it leaves the skin instantly smooth and brighter. But the lasting effects are that it controls oil secretion and dries up spots a treat! Also I'm convinced it actually does something to the pesky blackheads on my nose. This is truly an amazing mask for anyone with oily skin!

Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser 
£14.00 - Boots HERE
Step one of achieving perfect skin is cleansing properly and with Liz Earle's Cream Cleanser you can't fail to do that. The creamy cleanser literally melts all makeup leaving a totally clean and nourished face due to all the lovely ingredients that won't irritate or leave the skin red. I've personally found when I go back to using this cleanser (because I always stray to try out something new) my skin looks so much clearer and brighter without 5 days of using it. A total staple for me and one that suits all skin types.
 
cult-skincare

HealGel Intensive
£37.50 - Look Fantastic HERE 
The list of uses for this product are endless! I actually don't know where to start. Well I should explain that this is a light gel product that aims to help the repair process of the skin as well as calming the skin down. So this can be used to heal sore patches of skin, soothe skin that's had a reaction to another product, on sunburn, to fade spot scarring or scars in general, to use as an eye cream to fade dark spots and more! And yes, it actually works! I've use this many times to fade spot scars and only a few months ago it was a god send when I burnt my hand on the oven. Perfect for the face and all over the body really. To me it feels like half a medical product and half a skincare product with some amazing ingredients in it. Pricey but worth it!

Origins Super Spot Remover 
£15.00 - Boots HERE  
Beloved spot treatment, how I've relied on you countless times, through pimples to volcanos you have always stayed strong. 
Yes, just casually talking to my spot remover there - totally normal. Back to reality and yes, everyone needs this product in their life! Well not those annoying people that remember the last time they had a spot was in puberty. This tiny tub is like a potent mix of spot fighting stuff that literally zaps annoying blemishes away. AND it seems to last forever making it's pricetag of £15 for 15ml strangely worth it. Simply dab a small amount of gel onto the spot (even over makeup if you must) a few times a day and you will seem the spot disappear before your very eyes with in 1-2 days. Actually you will notice the difference after 2 applications, it's that good!

Konjac-French-Clay-Heart-Sponge 

The Konjac Sponge Company - French Pink Clay Heart Sponge 
Harvey Nichols - £9.00 HERE 
Lastly the unique and quite beautiful Konjac Sponge. I've yet to get my head around what this sponge is made out of, it's vegetable fibres whatever they are, but it's a beautiful thing none the less. The idea of the wonderful sponge that feels nothing like it does went wet (it turns from a hard feeling pumice stone to a weirdly squishy... thing!) is that it's intended for tired or lack luster skin, making it perfect for use in winter when we seem to have our central heating on so often, though thinking about it it would also feel amazing on sun burnt skin. So anyway this can be rubbed over the skin be itself or with a cleanser. Most would prefer it with a cleanser to feel like it's doing something but I just love the feel of it over my skin after I've soaked it in water and rung it out. It literally feels so refreshing to the skin and leaves it soft and awake feeling. This is definitely a unique product but for the price and as an added extra to your cleansing routine this is perfect! Now very tempted to try the Konjac Sponge with Bamboo Charcoal which apparently helps reduce excess oil and blemishes. 

What are your own favourite cult products? I'd love to know! 

Fee xo.

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On Blogging: Top 10 Ways To Make Money From Blogging

Making-money-from-beauty-blogging

  1. Google AdSense
AdSense is pretty much the easiest thing to set up and basic enough to use, making it most people's first port of call when it comes to making money through their blog. But if you just lob a load of ads onto your blog/site before it has a good amount of traffic the chances are you will make pennies each month and never make the £60 payment threshold. So it's important to implement Google Ads when you have a nice amount of daily traffic and also to be savvy in where you place them... as sadly people don't click on them out of kindness! Google Adsense will suggest what type and size of ads are best for your layout but personally I find image/rich image ads to make the most revenue and positioning them under where people often click on your blog is a good idea. Also if AdSense isn't making you money, switch the ads around, try something new! If that fails... ditch them altogether until you have enough traffic. Earning Potential - £-£££

2. Affiliate Programs
Affiliate links are my favourite source of passive income! Plus they aren't really visible as they look like standard links, meaning you won't annoy anyone reading your blog/site (I'd always turn off the automatic links - with Skimlinks it's 'Skimwords'). I would explain further about Affiliate links but as I have a whole post on it you can read more about it over there. When it comes to commision especially with low-priced beauty products like I focus on it's low, but it definitely adds up and all the links in old posts have potential to still earn you money. My personal favourite affiliate program is Skim Links, I've tried many in the past but  SL contains an umbrella of popular brands and pays out at only £7 unlike a lot of others. As for how to make money with affiliate links it's all about honesty and showing good deals, I personally always try to link to products they are free P&P, competitively priced and what I'd wholeheartedly recommend. Also not gonna lie a good amount of people reading your posts increases the likelihood of how many will visit the links you include and buy from them. Earning Potential - £-£££

3. Sponsored Posts 
Once you've been blogging for awhile (especially in the beauty/fashion) you will get emails asking if you can feature or write a sponsored post. Actually I tell a lie, you will get emails asking if you will do it for free! I personally like to find out what the brand/company want me to write about, what links they want included and then state my fee and that I will be only giving 'no-follow' links - VERY important. I also always set my fee slightly higher as all brands will want to bargain with you, I also never accept pre-wrote articles as they are basically shit and one big advertisement for the brand and clearly not in your own writing style. I'd say sponsored posts are offered less frequently now as a result of Google's stricter guidelines but if you do get approached then PLEASE PLEASE make sure all the links are No-follow (in blogger click 'Link' then tick 'Add rel=nofollow') and you are charging enough, and by enough I mean £100+ however new you are to blogging! Earning Potential - £££ 
 
4. Ad Agencies 
Once you have a good amount page views per day (out of the 100's I'd say) you can start to think about joining an ad agency or even a few! Like Google Adsense they will provide you with image or video ads but generally at a higher standard and rate. There are beauty/fashion specific agencies like Mode Media (I'm with them!) but there are a tons of others that are more general. Generally ads won't be served with every page view so if you want to be pro-active you can find another agency to join (or even 2-3) to fill in the gaps, or just use Google Adsense as a default, though remember you can only have 3 standard Google ads per page. This is called an 'Ad Waterfall' or 'Backfill Waterfall' if you want to find out more! The benefit of joining an agency are that the ads are priced per 1,000 page views (per CPM) and not per-click so if you have the traffic you are good to go! Plus there are lots of ad sizes and options that offer quite good rates.
 Earning Potential - £££-££££

5. Create an eBook/course
Now this is a potential money maker but only if you have something amazing to offer. An e-book on beauty/skincare is most likely going to be a flop unless you're Caroline Hirons. But if you have something to share when it comes to earning big bucks via a business or blogging or can share a skill such as photography or photoshop, then you stand a chance. Both writing and producing an eBook or E-course takes a lot of time and effort so unless you have the platform/readers I would give this a miss.
Earning Potential - Varies so much depending of how successful it is! If it's a flop - £ If it's a hit - ££££+

6. Selling physical products 
Now this a sideline to blogging and something I've considered doing myself but as having a blog helps greatly when it comes to promotion of products I thought I'd include it! This literally can be anything, but I'd total recommend selling on a platform such as Etsy or setting up a separate website. Also if you are a blogger you will potentially have a better understanding of how PR works and could send free samples to fellow bloggers to get more exposure to your products! If you are creative or have a skill then this is a potential great income stream and fun!
Earning Potential - Again it varies so much depending on what you are selling and how successful it is. 

7. Paid Giveaways 
Paid Giveaways are a funny one because a lot of fellow bloggers seem to dislike the idea (I always find it's bloggers and not general readers!). But from past experience quite a bit of time goes into organising a giveaway and if you are going beyond just writing a blog post, plus promoting the brand, why not be paid for your time? I wouldn't set my fee high here but enough to make it worth hosting the giveaway and any potential hassle it incurs. Again, like sponsored posts these are less frequent now but still if you get offered to hold a giveaway don't be shy to state a fee for what you will be doing!
Earning Potential - ££

8. Freelance Blogging 
Once you become a more established blogger you may get brands asking you to produce content for their own blog/website. This may be a one-off or a frequent thing but either way DO NOT do it for free thinking it will be good exposure! Side note - I've generally found a mention for a fellow blogger to be worth a lot more than a mention from a brand on their website. Charge like you would for a sponsored post, if not a bit more and make sure they link back to your blog. Freelance blogging can be a great thing if you get the chance but you can also keep your eyes peeled on the Pro Blogger job board here or even search 'blogger' on job sites in your local area - you never know!  
 Earning Potential (per article) - £££

9. Private Ad Sales 
Offering ad space at a low cost to fellow bloggers and small Etsy-type businesses can be a good way to dip your toes into placing ads on your site. Simply decide on the size of ads (and price) you wish to show in your sidebar (I'd keep them small-ish), what as you will offer along side it - a blog write up, twitter shout-outs etc, create a page and then promote it! This can be a monthly thing that can create a little extra money and also help out fellow bloggers.
 Earning Potential - ££-£££

10. Offering a service 
 Once you've been blogging for several years you may find that companies want to pick your brains. This may be on a new line of products, a new brand, how best to use social media or even on random things such as internet bullying! It can be pretty vast. But other than giving interviews or quotes to use, this is really something that you should be charging the most for - whether it be communication over the internet, Skype, as part of a focus group, one-to-one or on a panel. Generally brands will approach you and suggest a fee (make sure it's worth it per hour for you) but if you feel like you have something to offer you can of course outline your services in the 'About Me' or 'Contact' pages of your blog.
Earning Potential - £££-££££ 

*Earning Potential based on an average fashion/beauty blogger that have been blogging for over a year*

Hopefully you have found some of this insightful! 

If you have any questions feel free to ask me them in the comment section below. 

Fee xo.  
 
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