Farewell May | Beauty, Fashion & Lifestyle

Friday, April 24, 2015

What Is The "Perfect" Blogger?

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.

Outfits To Get You Ready For Spring!

Recently I was asked by Cocoa Cashmere to create some Spring Looks for my lovely readers including some of their SS15 range. However seeing as England hasn't quite reached Spring yet (clouds,wind and rain) I added a little more warmth to the outfit than usual (probably turning them into transitional pieces for most).

Look One

. Cocoa Cashmere Striped Tunic . Denim Skirt . Faux Fur Gilet . Coin Collar Necklace .
. Over The Knee Tights . Red Wellington Boots . Chunky Zip Backpack .

Look Two

. Cocoa Cashmere Grey Jumper . Choker . Watch . Mini Pink Backpack . Pink Nail Polish .
. Floral Flat Shoes . Yellow Parka .

Hope you like this post! Tell me what you thought in the comments below.

Anna x

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…

Huge Spring Primark Haul 2015

It's been a while since I "attempted" a Primark Haul on my Youtube channel, nearly 2 years ago in fact! Over these last two years my Primark love has possibly tripled but my confidence to present myself to a camera in my bedroom has not, however I felt a blog post would not do a haul justice. I have thought of filming/photographing a lookbook with these pieces plus a few more, please do tell me in the comments or on my social media if you would like to see a lookbook .
Anyway here is the video and I hope you enjoy!