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