The Beauty Haul

I love the excitement that comes from buying new things probably way more than I should. And whilst feeling a little sad about having to return to university after a long christmas break the other week, I decided one of the only things to do that would lift my mood was to treat myself to some new beauty products. There was a few new bits that I wanted to try, plus a few things that caught my eye whilst I was browsing the shops. 

If you haven't guessed already, I have a bit of an addiction with lip products and they are by far my favourite item. Since NYX has recently become more available (Boots, Selfridges, Feel Unique, Very), I picked up the Soft Matte Lip Creams in 'Antwerp' (mid-toned pink) and 'Prague' (dark raspberry). For years beauty bloggers have raved about their products, and after trying some of their nail varnishes a couple of years ago I was left extremely disappointed. One of the most talked about makeup products by far are the lip products, so I picked them up hoping they'd be a lot better than the nail varnishes. I'm pleased to report that they are miles better, and they are fast becoming a staple product. Not only are they cheap as chips, but the formula is really impressive as well. They have a matte finish like the name would suggest, but they aren't as matte as I thought they would be. They look matte, but they feel so creamy (hence the name lip cream duurrrrrr) and provide long lasting colour!

Again with the lip products, for months I have been searching for the Rimmel Exaggerate Full Colour Lip Liner in 'Eastend Snob', and it always seems to be sold out everywhere. But whilst in Boots, I spotted 1! It was the last one and was mixed in with another shade, so I was extremely happy when I finally got my hands on it! It is a gorgeous shade of warm pink, and I know a lot of people use it as more of lipstick instead of as a lip liner, and I had been dying to try it out. The shade is gorgeous, and looks beautiful by itself and when paired with a lipstick. I've been enjoying wearing it all over the lip and underneath my Charlotte Tilbury lipsticks.

Whilst I was breaking the bank in Leeds, my sister texted me asking her to get a couple of things from The Body Shop. Whilst I was in there I noticed there was a 3 for 2 offer on, so I cheekily picked up the Vitamin E Overnight Serum-In-Oil. I've been looking at buying a few different face oils, and after receiving the Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate at Christmas, I have been searching high and low for some alternatives. I tried the Body Shop one the same day of purchasing and I have fallen head over heels with it! I applied it underneath the Origins Calm To Your Senses overnight face mask (can you do that?) and my skin looking ahmazing when I woke up! It looked so refreshed, calm and hydrated! On days where I haven't used an overnight face mask, I have been using the Vichy Idealia Skin Sleep Night Cream. I've never tried anything from Vichy before, but I received a mini sample in with a bit of shopping and I loved it! It is quite a thin formula, quite like a lotion. and like nothing I have ever tried before. It is targeted at tired looking skin as it includes caffeine to reduce signs of fatigue to reveal a fresh, radiant complexion. 

Bought anything nice recently?
Thanks for reading!

Love Charlotte x

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The Books That Have Changed My Life

I know that I am extrememly late to the game writing about this now, but it's very rare that a book affects my life and I felt as though I needed to talk about the two that have made a big impact on me. Over Christmas I read Marie Kondo's 'The Life Changing Magic Of Tidying' and it has honestly changed my life. Literally on the day I finished reading the book, I happened to notice that there was a second book coming out (called 'Sparks Joy') and I pre-ordered it without a second thought. As with any self-help style book, there were obviously a few points that I will probably never put into practice (like tidying in silence - NO MARIE I have a dedicated Spotify playlist for that!). I'd not even read half of the book and I felt inspired to have a massive clearout! So I thought I'd share with you what I took away from the book....

1. Marie likes tidying A LOT. I'd even go as far to say she loves tidying more than anyone else. I also think she is a little crazy as she mentions that she speaks to her house on a daily basis...

2. Tidying is catching. Marie mentions that when you see someone else tidying, you feel compelled to start too. Since reading the book and having my own clearout, my family saw how clean and tidy my bedroom looked and they started work on their own. At the time of writing this post, my mum has already got rid of two thirds of her wardrobe (including some very dodgy pieces from the 90s). 

3. Marie mentioned that the average number of bin bags that her clients get rid of in a single day is 20. TWENTY. At first I was like 'woaaaaah who gets rid of that much stuff??', but when the first of January rolled around I managed to get rid of 21 bin bags of stuff. Including 7 bags from my wardrobe alone!! 

4. I was shocked when Marie said that downgrading pieces of clothing from your wardrobe to loungewear status is forbidden. I'm incredibly guilty of this, and I have clothes that I got when I was like 13/14 that I didn't wear but didn't really want to get rid of either. After taking a long hard look through my wardrobe, I realised that I didn't even wear these clothes round the house - so I knew I had to get rid of them! In the end I got rid of almost 50 items of clothing, and yesterday they went into the Tickled Pink Breast Cancer donation bin at my local supermarket!

5. Obviously being a beauty blogger, I am lucky enough to be sent products for trial and review. There are odd products that I really don't get on with, and they sit in a basket in the corner of my room collecting dust. But not having bought them with my own money I feel quite guilty throwing them away. Usually my sister will have a raid through to see if there is anything she fancies trying - but this time she only picked out a foundation. So that meant everything else went in the bin, along side some out of date makeup products and skincare items!

6. I don't really consider myself a hoarder as I have seen hoarding first hand with my own eyes. But whilst sorting through all my possessions, I realised that there was a lot of items that I was holding onto purely for sentimental reasons - not because I liked/needed/wanted them. For example, on top of my wardrobe I had a large box containing every single card I have ever received over the last 19-20 years. Birthday, Christmas, Christening, Easter, Thank You, Good Luck, Congratulations, Get Well Soon - THE LOT! After taking a few moments to look through well over 1000 cards, I realised that I had no use for them. I never take the time to sit and look through them, and so would I really notice if they went? The answer is no. It's been almost a month since they went out for recycling and to be completely honest I don't regret my decision in the slightest. 

7. Repeated mentions are made about the lack of clients that relapse into untidiness.  To my utmost surprise, NOBODY has ever become untidy again. I was certain that I was going to be the one and only person to relapse, but my bedroom has been tidy since my clearout - which is unheard of for me. Usually it will last until the end of the week - but it still looks spotless. Because I got rid of so much stuff, I know have a dedicated place for everything - which makes me want to put it away after using it! 

8. The book is centered around the idea of each item 'sparking joy'. If an item doesn't give you pleasure when you see or use it, then it is time for it to go. I found this such a good way of deciding whether or not I wanted to keep something, and I haven't found myself needing or regretting anything that I got rid of. 

Have you read Marie's books, or are you planning to have a clearout soon?

Thanks for reading!

Love Charlotte x

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9 Things Nobody Tells You When You Start Blogging

Something a little bit different for you all today. But I found myself very reflective recently, which isn't entirely unusual for me. But in recent weeks my attention has been around my blog. I've been blogging here for over a year and a half now and during that time I have had a lot of shocks and surprises! So here we are - the things nobody tells you when you first start out in the blogging industry:

1. If you go to a blog event, everyone is awkward. It's just the way it is. You aren't the only one that feels all nervous and shy! But you can literally talk about anything. Instagram, cats, food, blogging, makeup, shoes - ANYTHING! And don't worry, none of the bloggers I've met (well the ones I've met anyway) turned out to be axe murders or catfish. 
2. You will never be completely happy with your blog. Whether its the amount of reads your latest posts get, your blog design or simply the number of followers you have. There will always be something you don't like or wish you could improve. In many cases there are things you can do to help. For example, if your blog isn't getting readership - share your posts on social media more. Plug yourself like crazy. It takes a lot of time and effort, but the results are worth it! 
3. You will get some strange PR requests. And I mean strange. Oh you want me to talk about mens underwear on a blog targeted at women? You want me to share an outfit idea for a stripper in Las Vegas? OK. I'll definitely reply to your email straight away. (NOT!) These are genuine requests I have been sent too! 
4. Coding is incredibly hard and you will probably end up paying someone to design your blog for you and maybe even install it for you. Even if you try googling how to do something, chances are you won't understand ANY of the results that come up. 
5. Every single time another blog with a similar amount of followers gets asked to go to an exclusive event or gets their hands on the latest beauty releases. You will get incredibly jealous. Like is my blog not good enough for you?
6. Some free blogger samples are not worth the amount of effort it takes to get them. You've taken two months to send me the products but you want me to write a post about them and mention them on my social media 272678976 times in 24 hours? Goodbye. 
7. When you finally get to meet a blogger in real life who you have been talking to on pretty much a daily basis, you will be shocked when words come out of their mouths. And their voice sounds completely different from how you imagined.
8. Buy a domain name from the start if you are wanting to buy one. Otherwise old followers or readers won't be able to find you if you spontaneously decide to purchase one at 4am on a Thursday morning. 
9. You'll run out of mobile data on a regular basis. Refreshing the Bloglovin' Popular page to see if you've 'made it', tweeting every blogger in the world, and uploading that Instagram of your latest buys or your delicious lunch will lead you to run out of data and will take away those precious pennies that could be better spent on something else. 

And that's the end of my list! Anything I've missed? Share it below!

Thanks for reading!

Love Charlotte x

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