Manic Monday #63

Monday has flown by yet again and it is now officially 5 weeks until I go to Canada! I can't quite believe how quickly it has come around.

Work was a strange mixed bag of pretty weirdness today, I'm not too sure how I feel at the moment - I know this is a subject that I do cover quite regularly, but I am finding it very difficult with knowing how to deal with the completely unknown, going from whispers and snippets of conversation. 

I attended my first Pilates class this evening, Pilates is something that I've wanted to try for a while as I really want to improve my core strength and increase my flexibility again. My class was good but I feel something a little faster paced may suit my work-out style a little better. I will keep it up for a few weeks to see if I want to continue as I'm quite ambivalent and don't really feel like I worked out today. 

Tomorrow might be a different story...we'll see.

I also definitely need to work on how I breathe; I breathe the opposite way to how they teach, I expand my stomach when I breath in and suck in when I exhale but you're supposed to do it the opposite way which I find most bizarre!

I had a wonderful spa break on Friday and Saturday to Ardencote Manor in Claverdon, I really enjoyed it and felt utterly relaxed. We had a Honey Blossom and Green Tea Back Wrap for a treatment which was so good I didn't want it to end! I have taken way too many pictures so will do a post soon! I spent most of the remaining weekend with Ben's family which I thoroughly enjoyed.

How was your weekend? Are there any exercise classes that you are particularly enjoying at the moment?

Toodles!

x

Communication

I find it odd that some people verbally communicate every thought they have, not that I think this is a bad trait; I mostly keep my thoughts to myself, mulling things over in my own head to try to make sense of them and generally keep quiet. 

It's not for fear of the types of things I am thinking, I just have never felt comfortable sharing all of my thoughts, I speak when I feel certain that it is something I think people will want to listen to and am quite cautious when I am aware that a crowd of people may be listening to me.

Why would they want to listen to little old, me?

I do wish sometimes that I were a little more vocal than  I am, people tend to misconstrue my quietness for snobbery or me thinking I'm better than everyone.

People who do communicate, tend to be the types of people that I am drawn too, maybe it's because I am in awe of them...

Toodles.

x

Wanderlust Wednesday #1

I've been thinking about starting this 'series' for a while and something about today felt right; I am so, so, so stoked to be visiting Toronto soon and seeing as I am on a self-imposed buying make up ban today it is!I am planning for this to be a bucket list style series, most of my bucket lists consist of wanting to visit places in the world.

Canada - 

As mentioned, I am visiting Canada soon having always wanted to visit, I know they're part of the America's but to me Canada has always seemed, to me, much older and filled with much more culturally diverse history that the States. 

I really want to do a working holiday to Canada, as my research seems that Canadian's seem to have a much quality of life and I want to experience this for myself. I have always had itchy feet and have never wanted to live in the UK for my whole life and Canada seems like a great place to start. 

Toronto seems like a great first visit destination, I have a very long list of things that I want to do - a Tim Horton's trip being right at the top, obviously.

Canada simply looks stunning, each province seems to have something beautiful to bring the country as a whole and would love to explore each province. 

 

I don't need to say anymore, right?

I have already decided my next province visit will be to British Colombia. 

Toodles.

x

Manic Monday #62

[Image source: Pinterest] 

 

I had a good Monday, the sun was shining, I had a great weekend, work was busy and I just generally feel happy today. It is ridiculous how much my happiness does depend on the sun being out, I was definitely made for warmer climes.

I digress, even though I don't quite know what from! Writer's block still plagues my mind.

Recently I mentally put myself on a make-up buying ban and told myself I was only allowed to replace things that I ran out of, this morning I heard the oh-so-satisfying click from the last twist of my Archery Brow pencil from Soap & Glory, a planned visit to Boot's instantly popped in to my head like a forbidden fruit; I haven't stepped foot inside a store for a long time.

Yes, three weeks is a long time to me.

I am also running low on a few other staples, such as concealer and am rapidly running out of my Max Factor Skin Luminizer Foundation, which made me make a mental note to write a review post before it disappears.

I'll have a hearty list before I know it. 

On Friday I am off for a spa trip with my mum and two aunties and am looking forward to relaxation and have some pampering; I am already fantasising over what brand they may stock!

Wow, so this is what happens when you put addicts on a ban...

Did you have a nice weekend? How was your Monday?

Toodles!

x

Inspirationless Motivation

Feeling hugely motivated yet wholly uninspired is a strange feeling. I feel like I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. 

I really want to do everything and am being quite productive with my spare time, but I am feeling uninspired and my ideas for what to write here are few and far between at the moment. 

I do have my Spanish and have started working out again so am feeling justified it respect, but I feel like a lost little lamb when it comes to my blog. 

I feel like I've neglected my blog and social media accounts the past couple of weeks, even though I am still regularly posting on here as I don't want to fall out of my routine and still feel incredibly passionate about it and love writing my posts even though I am finding it really hard at the moment. 

I'm sure it will come to pass soon, for now I'm just treading the water. 

Toodles.

x

April

April,

I'm sorry I'm late, I've had a busy few weeks moving out of my childhood home and settling in to my new one. 

April, you bring true spring with you, the daffodils come to life and inject a bit of colour to our everyday surroundings, Spring sometimes fees to me like it's the true start to the year with the fresh colours that pop up around us. 

 You also bring with you my wonderful mum's birthday, I love celebrating my mum's birthday as she is literally a wonder-mum, she does everything for everyone no matter how she's feeling, she will always be around to help and I love to spoil her and tell her how amazing she is. I am truly grateful to have her in my life and lucky to have her as my mum.

Easter means chocolate and family...in that order. We always go to Ben's aunties and do an Easter Egg hunt which gets very competitive...yes even for the "grown-ups". I always have such a fun time with them, Easter is definitely something I love to celebrate with them!

This month also saw me partake in the Spring Wolf Run with my colleagues, in aid to raise money for the Multiple System Atrophy Trust - MSA Trust - which was another muddy but very fun run. 

April, I know you'll be gone in a flash as you're already halfway through but I do like you. 

Toodles.

x

Manic Monday #61

[Image Source: Pinterest]

The weekend flew by in a haze of mud, sore limbs, water and freezing cold winds. I ran my second Wolf Run this weekend; I had a slight panic attack in the middle of the lake which is never a good thing, but I did it and feel accomplished that I finished another one...this time around with very little training. The t-shirt is bad ass too, I will have no trouble wearing this one to the gym - especially as it's not like a dress on me this time around!

I have recently been watching the amazingly talented and inspiring Casey Neistat's daily vlogs, they are incredibly creative and offer a different perspective from other every day vloggers out there. You can tell that filmography and story-telling is a true passion of his and that he truly loves what he does. He has definitely inspired me to do more with my time, not letting everyday life get in the way and to make sure you enjoy things as you go.

Looking a life a little differently definitely won't hurt me in any way. I have recently activated the interior design course that I purchased on Groupon and am looking forward to getting stuck in to the content. 

Since visiting Costa Rica I have wanted to learn Spanish as it is one of the most spoken languages in the world next to English, I have been testing the waters with Duolingo and have found the format really easy to get along with and am finding that the phrases and Spanish sentence structure is sticking with me more so than it has done before when I have attempted to learn it.

I am creative and always have been, but unfortunately I do lack self discipline and do sometimes waver, but Casey's attitude towards life has definitely inspired me and I hope it will continue too. 

I find Pinterest a great source of motivation and inspiration as well, the F. Scott Fitzgerald quote I popped in my post from yesterday - here - also gave me a bit of a wake up call! 

What do you do when you need a bit of inspiration? Is there someone you find inspiring? I'd love to know!

Toodles!

x

Direction

I'm feeling unsure of my direction at the moment. 

But, I need to remind myself regularly that I am the one who holds the key to change it.

Feeling Naked on the Run?!

I am always drawn in to Urban Decays branding and products. They were my first real make-up love when they had a teeny tiny stand in my local Boots. Smog has forever been my shade, my eyes pop and look oh-so green when I use it.

I recently walked in to my local Debenhams with a sureness that I would be leaving with one and I did just that.

Naked on the Run is a great release from Urban Decay, personally I think it's quite unique and considering what it houses it's an absolute bargain. It has all of the essentials you could need for a relatively compact palette, minus your bases.

It didn't take long for me to get stuck in, first opting for the two matte shades, Fix and Dare, these are very similar to Naked and Buck from the original Naked palette, but I felt these two shades were much more pigmented. The shadows are incredibly easy to work with and the blending is impeccable.

It was my first try with their Naked lip gloss and Glide-On Eye Pencil, the gloss is a great neutral and adds a slight tint to the lips, it had good longevity for a gloss product. Now the eyeliner...now this is a love at first sight sort of product, it does exactly what it says on the tin and glides on, no pulling and once it has set, definitely no budging.

Another first was Perversion, I spoke about it briefly in my Recent Make-Up Loves post, I held off on using it for a while because I have a million mascaras on the moment and for the fact that I hadn't heard anything remotely good about it through the blogging grapevine. But I do completely understand why, it is painted as something that it just isn't, it doesn't add intense volume, nor does it make them look particularly darker but it sure does make my lashes long incredibly long, separated and fluttery. That is really what I look for in a mascara as I don't really like my lashes to look like spider legs on an every day basis, but I am love, love, loving Perversion for an every day mascara!

The bronzer is slightly too dark for my skin tone and does come across slightly muddy if I apply with any other brush than my RT Duo-Fiber and the blush is a simply lovely pink colour; great for a fresh wash of colour over the cheeks for a Spring/Summer look!

When you tot up the amount of Urban Decay goodies you get in this wonderful little box, the price staggers me a little that is why I absolutely think the £37 price tag makes this particular release an absolute steal. 

I really hope UD keep on this one-box-does-all theme and release more lovelies such as the Naked on the Run. I am thoroughly enjoying using mine and will be at the front of the queue if they do decide to release any other similar products. 

Have you tried the Naked on the Run palette? What are your thoughts? Do you have any particular looks you like to create with the shades given?

Toodles!

x

Manic Monday #60

Happy Easter! I hope you have all had a wonderful weekend. We've all been working hard this weekend and things are quickly settling down, I am hoping that my schedule will return to normal this week, however I am currently writing from my parents house again as I am now house sitting! 

Recently I have been thinking about how some people just do what they think is right for themselves, without feeling abashed or feeling like they have let people down. My brothers girlfriend is the prime example of this, she recently left a job and started a new one, a week after starting the new one she quit because she knew it just wasn't the right fit for her as it was making her ill. 

I was discussing it with my mum and we both said the same thing; if we were in her shoes we don't think we could have done it as we'd always be thinking we'd let people down or wasted the new employers time.

This attriubte is something that I really admire in people, knowing when to just turn around and say "You know what, this isn't right for me." and move on. Some people might be let down or feel disappointed, but in the grand scheme of things does it really matter?

As long as you feel happy with your decisions and know you are doing something that will inevitably make you happier you just go right ahead and do that. 

At present I am unsure if a recent decision I have made is right for me, I'm not going to be rash and make my mind up quickly, because I want to try and make this thing work. However if in the end it still doesn't feel right I can undo what has been done.

Do you think it matters what people think of your decisions, regardless of whether they are affected or not? If this is something you also struggle with, how do you deal with it?

Toodles.

x

The Body Shop Drops of Youth Mask

The full title is The Body Shop Drops of Youth Bouncy Sleeping Mask, I thought it may be a little long for the title!

Firstly, I love the packaging for this product, the box is all kinds of lovely, it has deep green leaves over it and an all over green feel to the whole range. It makes me think fresh, clean, invigorating, hydrating products. I love a bit of green.

The jar is a little impractical for travel, as it is made of glass and is pretty huge, but for what it contains...I really don't see much by way as an alternative except for going all over plastic. It comes with a little scoop for the product inside, which is a life saver, you'll see what I mean when you first try the mask.

 

On to the product itself, it's a dense, jelly, that is true to it's wordy name and is also very bouncy. The first time I used it, it instantly made me think of Flubber. It's incredibly malleable and incredibly fun to play around with.

The scent is very fresh, almost with a citrus note too it, it slightly reminds me of freshly washed clothes.

Once scooped out with aforementioned handy scoop, the product starts to melt slightly from the heat of your skin, I personally like to melt it for a few seconds between my fingertips before applying to my face. 

On application, the mask feels incredibly wet in texture and also very cooling to the skin, considering the initial texture of this product, it really sinks in to the skin very well, which to me detracts slightly away from the 'mask' element. I like to massage is gently all over, really working it in to the skin.

I'm not usually one to notice how my skin feels in the morning after trying a new night cream or product, but I do have to say that this makes my skin feel so soft and plump in the morning that I don't feel I have to do my usual morning routine (disclaimer, I actually do still do it...but ya'know getting my point across!)

Another great aspect is a little goes an incredibly long way, I use around half a scoops worth of product which is more than enough for my face and neck!

Side note - be careful how you store it, if the product gets in to the rim of the jar and the lid goes on top it's very difficult to open again as it seems to create a vacuum seal!

I hope you enjoyed this review! Have you tried any of the Drops of Youth range? Is there anything else you would recommend trying? 

Toodles!

x