The Slim Summaries Week #1 - The Start Of Something Good

I'm overweight. I can finally accept that at twenty years old my weight has become a big issue in my life and it's really bringing my self confidence down to an all time low. It was definitely not an overnight realisation either, i've been dancing around dieting and exercise for years now but never really had the motivation to stick with it. I'd say I probably started seriously gaining when I quit dancing at age fifteen and year by year I have slowly been putting more and more on; especially recently where i've noticed a big spike in weight gain as i've ventured off to university (I know I'm definitely not alone in that respect). I love doing outfit posts and putting more of myself into my blog, but whenever I've had to put these images on my blog they have made me feel upset and unconfident because I can see where my tummy as gotten considerably podgier and a round face where there used to be a tones oval. I can think of many amazing outfit idea's as-well but I can't wear the clothes I know will look good because they won't suit my large chest or will show a bump of a tummy which makes me very self conscious. I'm turning twenty one in a month and finally I got fed up of my size and decided to get up and get active.

Everyday Makeup Staples

Bloggers Love Fashion Week #BLFW

Previously I had heard about the Bloggers Love event's but had never managed to go to one, luckily I popped it into my calendar last year so I could remember to book a place this year!

Blogger's Hangout (Previously Blogger's Love) are a company based on bringing blogger's and brand's together for new opportunities. The dress code for the event was Black Chic but unfortunately I have nothing purely black in my wardobe so I opted for this Black and White Dogstooth Dress from Primark with Joe Browns Ankle Boots and a Green Hat from Asos.

When I first arrived at Waterloo station I tried to find the people I had been messaging on Twitter but to no avail, instead I occupied my time playing "Spot the Blogger" (ie. who's wearing black). Whilst playing the game I met Katrina who was also waiting for other bloggers, Ana and her friends.
We all headed off to the OXO Tower in London to be greeted with a room full of bloggers and brands.

First up was the brand With Love Lilly, featuring a mother and daughter power duo focused on bringing girls unique and handmade intimates which make them feel Confident, Free and Sexy.
One of the things I love about this brand is its ethos and how they want their beautiful lingerie to empower girls, and let's face it with the media nowadays a lot of girls are not as body confident as they should be myself included. I also noticed whilst scrolling through their site that their bra's go up to a 34 DD/E which I expected as most delicate lacy bra's are more suited to a smaller bust however they have inserted a "Custom" option where you can give them your size details and they'll make the product tailor made for you. If only I was small enough to not need an underwire....sigh.
Here are some of my favourites:
 Champagne Blush Bralette | Luna Bralette | Ariel Bralette | Nina Bralette

One of my many favourites of the day was MaisonVes, a company that sells luxury hashtag candles! With themed printed hashtags around the candles base, this makes them ideal gifts for special occasions such as Birthdays, Engagements, Weddings or even as a simple Thank You.  As candles go they look clean, modern and "totally instagrammable" (is that even a word?). My favourite is the #BFF Candle with a Cassis, Apricot, Fig and Cherry Blossom scent..yum! Which includes the following hashtags, #BFF #BESTIE #PARTNERINCRIME #FRIENDSFOREVER #GIRLS #MEMORIESFORLIFE #YOUMEANTHEWORLDTOME #XOXO.

A brand i'd researched quite a bit before the event was Little Ondine, this nail varnish  promises to be odour free, quick drying and easy to peel off (instead of using acetone) so I thought I would investigate. I was pleased to find that all of this and more was true! Little Ondine uses natural ingredients in it's varnishes so your nail-beds remain undamaged by chemicals, this is also to give your nails a smooth and hydrating finish. Take one of their twins sets in your handbag to either refresh or change your colour on the go without worrying about stinking out the room thanks to their odour free formula. These are the elements of varnish that put me off painting my nails more often (mainly because its more trouble than its worth) but after trying some out at the event, I might have to buy some for myself! My favourite colours of the moment are:
Ripple | Admiration | Afternoon Tea | HoneyMoon

Motel Rocks was next with their new Autumn/Winter Collection which looked absolutely stunning. We were asked to pick out our favourite piece and mine was this gorgeous turtle neck black sequinned dress pictured below, perfect for a winter evening event! They were also lovely enough to give me a gift bag filled with lots of goodies which will be at the end of the post. Here are some of my favourite picks from their site:

Suede Winnie Dress | Gabby Sequin Dress | Paulo Jumpsuit | Deena Dress

Fleur of England was a brand I had never heard of till this event, and I must say I am in love with their lingerie! A luxurious brand which prides themselves on being purely British, Fleur of England is designed by women for women. They also have a handy "Gentlemen's guide" which makes the process of buying lingerie for your partner that much easier. The brand styles up to a 36DD which again unfortunately is too small for my bust, maybe a diet might be in order to fit into these beautiful bra's.
My favourites are:
After Dark Balcony Bra | After Dark Playsuit | Scarlet Boudoir Bra

Paul & Joe is possibly one of my favourite brands ever despite not owning a single item from the beauty brand. Apart from it's amazing quality Paul & Joe is best known for its emphasis on packaging which was something I noticed when I first started looking at the brand (They had a beautiful Alice in Wonderland collection a few years ago and I was hooked from then on). This year they have wowed yet again with their AW15 collection featuring many a cat print, as you can see from the images below there are individual cream eye colours, cream and powder blushes, waterproof eyeliner, balms and my favourite of all lipsticks which feature a "chat de cafe that reappears with every application" in the centre of each lipstick. You may have also noticed the makeup bag sitting in the first image which comes with a few of the collections products as-well as eyeshadow slips which can be opened and sealed (so it doesn't go all over your bag) and each can be used about 15 times. Perfect for a christmas gift or if you don't want to lug an eyeshadow palette on holiday with you.

I had lovely time at the event meeting lots of new bloggers and brands, and I for one can't wait till next year! I brought home two goodie bags filled with items that I thought i'd show you. Thank-you to all the brands who worked at the event and gifted me lots of lovely items, and thank-you for Bloggers Hangout for putting on a great event!

PHOTOGRAPHS || The 100th Tendring Show

A week ago I attended the Tendring Show; a show which until the last couple of years I have been participating in. Filled with everything from Clothing to Tractors the idea is to keep everything locally sourced. This year was a scorcher so I spent the majority of the day inside tents for protection from the sun! My favourite bits of the show have to be the animal tents (so cute!) and the food tent, even though my diet protests. 

Here are the photo's from the day:

The Harry Potter Studio Tour

One of those day's I forgot to post back when it had just happened (organisation fail) For my 20th birthday present this year, Ben got tickets for the Harry Potter Studio Tour. Being an avid fan of both the movies and books I had already visited the "Harry Potter World" at Universal Studio's in Orlando but was busting to go the tour here in London. Unfortunately Ben had caught conjunctivitis for my birthday and I had managed to avoid it...until the day of Harry Potter Studio's so I apologise for the weird red eye and generally my face looking pretty damn awful. All in all I had a magical (excuse the pun) birthday experience so thank you Ben for my present! 

Here are some of my photographs from the day, are you a fan of Harry Potter and have you ever visited the studio or park?

June Monthly Favourites

As were heading towards the heat of summer (not sure if the UK weather has caught onto that yet) I thought id pop together some products Ive been loving this month!

What Is The "Perfect" Blogger?

(source lapetiteprimp)

One of my main procrastination habits is reading other peoples blogs on Bloglovin', this is mainly to gain inspiration for my own blog so I can make it as beautiful and user friendly as possible for my readers. However i've noticed so many blogs now, especially Fashion and Beauty blogs look too beautiful...as in everything looks pristine, everything has to have a white background and be styled to perfection, the girls are a perfect slim size and look like they've just been taken out of a magazine shoot with photoshop involved. Obviously I can't talk for other bloggers, but for myself? This is a lot of pressure. There's a big enough struggle to show your individual style and what makes you special amongst thousands of others doing the same thing already, let alone the majority of other bloggers projecting this "perfect persona" which readers seem to flock to. As a curvy teenage (well nearly 20 now) girl who likes to wear (probably stinky) pyjamas all day, who suffers with spots on her body, who is so clumsy a white bedroom is a nightmare come true; It is hard to push myself into this genre just because I know this will more likely get my blog more attention. Id love to be a skinny size 8/10 and for my OOTD's to look like everybody else's but that wouldn't be me. I think it's wrong to enforce these "perfect" stereotypes that no one can live up to; it makes us constantly feel put down because our pictures aren't pretty enough or we aren't perfect enough to be in this high-flying community. Instead I have decided to spend more time on developing and adding to my blog, and hopefully in the future when I start to feel more confident i'll be able to post more Outfits of the day etc (something I would really love to get into!). I don't think i'll ever be the "Perfect" beauty or fashion blogger, but i'll be the best damn me I can be!

Sorry for my little rant, but it's just something i've wanted to get off my chest for a while now! Let me you know if you agree or disagree in the comments below!

p.s. please don't take this as a rant to anyone in particular it's not, it's about the community in general.

How-To: Have Yourself A Pamper Night In

(source)

1.The first thing I want to do when I get home is to take off my makeup, it feels heavy on my face during the day and once it's off my face feels incredibly relieved! Cleansing also allows your skin to breathe. For this I use Liz Earle's Hot Cloth Cleanser which is a god send for my troubled skin!

2. Next on the agenda is a nice hot bath or in my case, shower. If you have the luxury of a bath take your favourite bath fizzers, bombs, melts and bubble bars (my favourite being LUSH's Phoenix Rising and The Comforter) and play some of your favourite tunes whether it's relaxing classical or your favourite 90/00's pop bands. (Spotify also has a section where you can pick a playlist depending on your mood)
However if you are unlucky enough to be stuck with only a shower you can still have a relaxing time! I use LUSH's Snow Fairy gel and Soap and Glory's Shower Butter for a sweet smelling experience as well as turning Youtube karaoke up loud for all to hear!

3. After a shower I make sure to moisturise. I have quite oily skin so don't desperately need to moisturise however on a pamper evening I like to use Soap and Glory's Smoothie Star Body Milk (a companion product to the shower butter I mentioned earlier), the whole Smoothie Star range smells sweet and similar to the Christmas Cookie/Snowflake Cookie range from Yankee Candles (like freshly baked cupcakes!). I also make sure to moisturise my face as from the heat of the shower can get dehydrated, for this I use Neutrogena's Oil Free Grapefruit Face Moisturiser. After this I apply my spot treatment and my eye cream (body shop tea tree and body shop feeling younger).

4. After all of that, next is to get cosied up in my pyjamas. As spring in the UK can often flit between warm and cold I've found these Topshop Little Mermaid Pyjamas (illustrating a continuing obsession with Disney even at 20) they still sell this set with shorts instead of leggings.

5. A constant worry for my mother is that I have quite the obsession with candles at the moment. I have an oil burner (a present from my boyfriend Ben) and use it all the time, its exceptionally good for sampling new scents, however if I love a scent I buy it as a large candle. My ultimate favourites are the sweet scents from Yankee Candle like Vanilla Cupcake, Asda do cheaper versions of Yankee Candles called Simply Home and these are just as good as the originals (I honestly cant tell any difference).

6. Just before I assume my regular position under my covers I'll pop to the kitchen to make myself a hot chocolate (and a water bottle if its a chilly night), my favourite is the Milky Stars hot chocolate which actually has miniture milky stars in the mix. Both Ben and I have tried our fair few of different brands of hot chocolate, his favourite being Malteaser and Peanut Hottie (a peanut butter hot chocolate? yuck!).

7. Now you've made your way into bed (not to venture out till morning) it's time to put on a film, my suggestion would be something nolstagic like Harry Potter or an over-the-top girly film like Legally Blonde (my go-to chick flick). Enjoy the feels!

What do you think? I love taking the time out to have a little pamper night at home once, maybe twice a week. Especially on Sunday's… 

Monthly Favourites

March is just around the corner and I for one cannot wait! February for me was a month of assessments and deadlines and Im so glad to just be able to relax and blog again for one! 

I noticed on my blog I have never done a "Monthly Favourites" so I thought I'd make a start as I love reading "Monthly Favourites" posts myself, if you follow me on Bloglovin' you'll see this from my Saved Posts! I also wanted to let you guys know I am hosting a giveaway HERE for a M.A.C Lipstick of your choice as well as a few of my favourite LUSH goodies so make sure you enter!

Anyway onto the favourites:

Fifty Shades of Grey Soundtrack

Music wise I've really been enjoying the Fifty Shades of Grey Soundtrack. Im too much of a wimp to go see the film (I still feel cringey watching intimate scenes on the tv let alone a red sex room) and some of the tracks are so addictive, my favourite being
 "Love Me Like You Do" by Ellie Goulding and Beyonce's Crazy in Love Remix.

Topshop Cream Blush in Flush
I've recently started getting into cream blushes as it's coming up to spring (where natural looking makeup takes over) and have heard rave reviews about the one's from Topshop. I picked up one in Flush which is a lovely peachy/orange shade and I wear it almost everyday.

Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish
I've tried Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish once of twice before and whenever I have used this hot cloth cleanser I have found my face to feel a lot more fresh and nourished rather than stripped and dry. That's why i've been using it this last month to improve my skin, and it will be one product I will be repurchasing as soon as possible.

Smashbox Studio Skin in 1.2
I haven't yet gotten the full foundation however I've managed to get quite a lot of use out of a sample I was given recently, and when I apply it my skin looks airbrushed! It is a little bit full and matte for daily use but for when I have those spotty days (a regularity recently) or a night out it's absolutely perfect. I really want to try their new photo filter powder foundation so will probably compare the two at a later date.

Love Tanya

I haven't had much chance to take the time to really go through and try all the recipes and tips yet, however from a first impression (procrastinated reading during assessment) it's a good all over book. Yes, of course it has the typical "First Date Tips" etc made for younger readers but even these sections aren't patronising as they can be in other books. I especially like her sections on confidence and happiness and the "fill it in yourself" bits pages after each chapter.

Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss Stick in Plum Jam

After last month becoming obsessed with Soap and Glory's Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss Stick in Nudist I knew I had to buy another. I ended up choosing Plum Jam which is more of a dark vampy looking lip however being a gloss stick it comes out as a moisturising rosy colour (your lips but healthier looking!). Its my go-to lip product now for spring.

NUA: TERM ONE

As mentioned in my previous post I am now attending NUA: Norwich University of the Arts studying a BA Degree in Fine Art (much the opposite to beauty and fashion). I have just finished my first term and though I would reflect on how it went. There is one thing I want to point out first though:

An art degree is not a doss. There is a lot of work behind it and a lot of the time coming up with new theories and idea's can be a bit too much on the brain. We don't just produce art, we produce essays, research files, sketchbooks, and reflective journals as-well. Now that's over with...

There were many points in this term where I thought: What the hell am I doing with my life? (mainly when our task was to draw weeds).

Nothing is as good as my mum's home cooking (mainly her mini lasagne's she brings down when she visits).

Its okay to not be homesick. Yes I miss my parents especially my mum (who I used to live with) but why let that stop or distract you from enjoying your time at university?

It is also okay not to go out every night or every week, not everyone can be a party animal, myself included (much prefer a pizza while watching Lord of the Rings)

Here's a couple of pictures taken around my university building, it's so pretty!
Hope you enjoy.