OOTD - 12/08/14 ♡

Jacket - Matalan // T-shirt - H&M // Shorts - Boohoo // Shoes - Dr Marten // Bag - H&M // Necklace - Accessorise // Sunglasses - Vintage Market

Thought I'd share my outfit with you today!  It's pretty simple, but I'm absolutely obsessed with my pink leather jacket.  I'm a bit of a fan of adding a pop of colour to an outfit, especially when that colour is pink.  My shoes are from Dr Marten, and after a bit of wearing in, they have fast become my favourite shoes for everyday.  

Will be back with some beauty posts soon!

Maintaining Blonde Hair ♡

I've been colouring my hair blonde for a while now, and I know how much of a nightmare it can be it keep it looking good!  I thought I'd share with you the products I use to keep it looking good!  My hair is naturally a very dark brown colour, so I get my hairdresser to dye it for me.  Because of this I don't know exactly what colour I use - sorry I can't be more helpful!  Although I do know that it's all coloured by toner - no bleach involved!  I know I could probably get better results with bleach, but I'm happy with the colour my hair is now and I'm not keen on damaging it too much!  Here's an old photo of me with my natural hair - so you can see what I'm working with.

I naturally have a lot of red tones in my hair, so when I have it lighter these tend to get a lot stronger and my hair can go quite ginger.  In order to combat this, there are a few products I find helpful.

A brightening shampoo is a must-have if you have blonde hair!  I find the Provoke Touch of Silver range are perfect for my hair, and also super affordable!  I use the Twice a Week Brightening Shampoo (buy here) every other wash with whatever frizz control conditioner is in my shower, and then I use the Touch of Silver Daily Shampoo (buy here) and the Touch of Silver Conditioner (buy here) together on the other washes.  I find these products are fantastic for stopping any brassy or ginger tones in my hair!

Since my hair is coloured, I think it's even more important to protect it from any further damage!  Heat protectants are essential for me.  I'm not hugely fussy on what on I have, I usually just go for whatever's cheapest where I'm shopping when I need it.  At the moment I'm using the Got2b Guardian Angel (buy here) which is getting the job done- no complaints.  I also like to use a hair oil, just to keep it in good condition.  I'm using the Pantene Pro-V Smooth&Sleek Dry Oil (buy here) which I'm really loving.  It leaves my hair super soft and easy to style!

Hope you've found these tips helpful!

How do you keep blonde hair look bright?

Bargain Buy: eBay Brushes ♡

Brushes can be pretty pricey - even in the drugstore.  I'd been lusting after the rose gold Zoeva set for a while, but it would set me back about fifty pounds - which may not be a lot to some, but for me, that's a lot of money just on brushes!  I'd seen a few other bloggers talking about brushes from eBay, and at first I was unsure.  It seemed like they'd be the kind of brushes to start malting all over your face after one use.  This actually happened with one of my Real Techniques brushes!    I started to look at a few different sets on eBay, and after some thought, I decided there wasn't much to lose - it was a fifth of the price of the Zoeva set.  I'm so happy I decided to go for it!

I ordered mine from this seller, and they were at my door within three days!  I'm so impressed with this buying experience overall, and the quality of the brushes is amazing!  You get a ten piece brush set for just under ten pounds - all the brushes are so soft and apply make up really well!  There are five face brushes, and five smaller brushes for eyes or concealer.  I've been using them for a few days now and I'm really in love!  They also arrive in a little cotton bag, which I think is a nice touch.  When you pay bargain prices you don't expect to have nice little touches like that, but I've actually found the bag handy to keep my brushes in for travelling!  The brushes don't look cheap at all, and I must admit I wasn't expecting them to look as good as they do.

Overall I'm so pleased with the set, and I'd definitely recommend having a look on eBay before you splash out on some pricey brushes!

You can find the set I have here!

Have you tried any brushes from eBay?

Getting into Running ♡

I'll hold my hands up and admit I'm very lazy.  Over the past year or so, the stress of juggling A Levels with a part time job has meant I haven't been massively conscious of my health and fitness.  From the ages of eleven to fifteen I was training and competing in synchronised swimming.  During that time I was training, both in and out of the pool, six days a week, a few hours each day.  I used to be extremely fit, so when I had to stop training due to joint problems, my fitness levels dropped very quickly.  Since then, I haven't bothered with attempting to get my fitness back up, since it just wasn't something I felt I needed to do.

In the past few weeks I've decided to change this and get back into running.  Doing the Race for Life is what has kicked this off I think, as I signed up for it, not really thinking about having to actually run 5k, then panicking a few weeks before.  I didn't run the entire thing, I jogged about half and brisk walked the rest.

I know a lot of people are trying to do the same as me, and since I used to train competitively in a sport, I thought I could offer some advice for getting fit.  I'm using the NHS Couch to 5k Podcast, which I'm loving!  I'm currently on week 3, and finding it a great way to build my stamina up.  I would really recommend it if you want to get running.  It takes nine weeks to complete the entire program, and you do three runs a week, leaving a rest day in between each.  Anyway, here are some tips for getting into running!

Don't expect too much from yourself.
The first time I went out I was so annoyed at myself for barely being able to jog for sixty seconds without getting out of breath. If you haven't done a lot of physical exercise before, your body isn't going to suddenly run for twenty minutes with no problems.  Take it slowly and don't push yourself too much - you'll get to where you want to be eventually.

Be prepared to put time in.
If you haven't exercised much prior to now, getting your fitness up may take some time - it's not going to happen overnight.  It might take a while, but you will see changes - even if it's just not being so out of breath after running for the bus!  It's a long road, but worth it!

Getting fit doesn't have to cost a lot.
The gym seems like a good idea when you're attempting to get fit - until you look at the membership fees!  I do exercises like sit ups and crunches in my tiny box room, and go out running around my neighborhood.  Be creative with the spaces you have - there's probably a space in your area that'd be great for exercise.

Get a running partner.
I go running with my mum.  I find it motivates me to go out and not to stop once I'm running.  I'm not sure why it works, but having a running partner can be super helpful.  It's nice to feel like you're sharing a task with someone else!

Run to music.
I use the couch to 5k podcast, but you could use any music of your choice.  It helps to set a pace and take your mind off what you're actually doing!

Those are my tips!  Hope you find them helpful, and good luck if you too are trying to get fit!

 What's your favourite way to get fit?

  

OOTD - Londay Day Trip ♡

On Monday I set off to London for a day out with my family.  My uncle was visiting from Australia, so we were keen to do something exciting since we barely ever see him.  Me, my mum, both my sisters, my grandparents and my uncle caught the train to London, for a day that included walking round the beautiful parks, a bit of shopping in Covent Garden, a wander round the Science Museum, dinner at Pizza Express and we also saw Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in the West End!  I'm not massively into musicals, but the show really was brilliant, and I spend a lot of time looking at the sets and special effects in amazement!  It's so clever!  Anyway -  here's what I wore.  The photos aren't great since I only had my iPhone with me, as I forgot to charge my camera (oops!).

Dress: American Apparel (buy here) Shoes: Dr Martens (buy here) Bag: H&M (buy similar)

A pretty simple outfit, but it was ideal for a hot day in the city.  My Dr Marten boots are perfect for days when I know I'm going to be walking a lot.  They're so comfy - I've had them for a few years now, so they're looking very well loved!

Because my outfit was lacking in colour, I went for a super bright lip.  The Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet Lipsticks (buy here) are so good for all day wear!  I wore the shade Ole Flamingo, and it's probably my favourite shade out of the collection.  I'm really loving a pink lip at the moment!  Here's a photo of me and my mum so you can see the lip a bit better!  Sorry about the terrible iPhone front camera quality!

Shout out to my mum who corrects my grammar and spelling on my posts!

I do plan to post outfit photos more often, but I always forget to take photos!  Hope you've enjoyed this post!  

What is your go-to outfit for a day out?

Jumping on the Bandwagon - MAC Lipsticks ♡

I'm fairly new to the beauty blogging world, and so far I can see there is always a lot of disagreement over how good products truly are - but if there seems to be something every blogger recommends you own, it's a MAC lipstick.  I never used to be a lipstick person, but in the last six months I've really been hitting up the selection in Boots, but hadn't yet strayed into high-end lip territory.  A MAC lipstick is pretty pricey, and at about fifteen pounds for one, it's not a product I was rushing out to buy, but when Debenhams took five pounds off all their lipsticks for National Lipstick Day, I couldn't say no.  I caved and purchased my first three MAC lipsticks!  Here are the three I chose:

Let's start off with Crosswire.  It's a super pretty coraly pink, and since I don't have any coral lip products, it seemed about time I picked one up.  It's one of the cremesheen formulas, and is very creamy and glides onto the lips.  

I love a red lip, and MAC has a huge selection of shades.   After a lot of googling the different options to see swatches, I opted for Ruby Woo.  It's a classic red, and I love how it looks with my pale skin tone.  It is a retro matte finish, meaning it can be quite drying and not the smoothest to apply, but regardless of this, the finish is so lovely and will be great for the colder months!

Last but not least, we come to Syrup.  This is such a perfect 'my lips but better' shade, and I can see it quickly becoming one of my top everyday options!  It's a lustre formal, and the application is really smooth.  It doesn't feel too heavy on the lips, and would look great with a dramatic eye!

  

Can't wait to add more to my collection!  I'm really lusting after the shades Plumful and Vegas Volt now!

What are your favourite MAC lipsticks?

Two Weeks of Instagram ♡

I've been a little bit absent from blogging in the past week or two - I've had a lot going on!  I thought a nice way to show you all what I've been doing is to show and explain my recent instagram posts!  If you don't follow me on instagram, you can click here to do so - I try to post as much as I can!

From left to right:  My boyfriend and I took a walk in Woodbridge - here is him looking at stuff.  

A few days later we went crabbing.  This is a panorama of the bay area that we went, I'm not sure what the place is called, but it's on the river opposite Old Felixstowe.

Here is a photo of me and my boyfriend.  It's rare to have a photo of us not distorted by an effect on iPad photobooth!

We went out skateboarding - well Sam did, and I walked behind!  He did try to teach me, but I'm too scared and also have zero coordination!

Another panorama I took - this time of Woodbridge.

This is the entrance to Canterbury Cathedral.  I'm hopefully moving to Canterbury in September (waiting on A Level results) but my family and I went for a visit.  We ate in a gluten free cafe!

I did the race for life with my mum and sisters!  It was so so hot, and not pleasant running weather, but was a great day for a great cause!

We had a family gathering because my cousin and his girlfriend had a baby!  We enjoyed the heatwave by the pool in my auntie and uncle's garden.  This photo reminds me of paintings by David Hockney and the album 'The English Riviera' by Metronomy.

This is a playhouse in my aunt and uncles garden that me and my cousins used to play in when we were younger.  It's surrounded by overgrown plants now, since we're all too old to use it, but I love how it looks!  It also seemed a lot bigger when we were little, like it was on stilts or something!

Looked through cool stuff at my grandparents house!  This is a ticket to the Isle of Wight Festival in 1970.  It cost £3 for the entire weekend and Hendrix played!

A poster for the same IOW festival!  The design is so cool!

My sister taught me to make loom bands... apparently it's the new 'thing', like scoobies?  Did anyone else make scoobies when they were younger?  I was obsessed!  A lot of kids who come in to work have loom bands all up their arms.  

I hope you've enjoyed this post!  I'll be back with more beauty posts soon - I may have gone a bit lip product crazy in the past few weeks, and I'll also be doing a space-themed make up look in the near future!  

Do you use instagram?  Leave your usernames in the comments and I'll give you a follow!