Wednesday 20 August 2014

Is Blogging a Fairytale?

If blogging is a fairytale or some sort of fantasy than I missed the memo because I did not receive my talking unicorn or magic carpet in the post. Recently I have come across a couple of statements from different social medias insinuating blogging is either a fairytale or not a real career path. Words such as: 'fantasy', 'unrealistic' or 'not real' have been thrown around in different areas so I got the notion that outsiders look at blogging as a comical community that are living in a dream.

Not everything is for everyone
Let's face it most of us would love a full-time career in blogging I know it has crossed my mind a few times but, that doesn't make it a fairytale ending for all of us or means we have sleepless nights thinking of this. Not everyone will excuse the expression 'hunky dory' over blogging because its not for everyone and it will be the same situations for other hobbies, jobs etc it isn't for everyone. I know I wouldn't want to spend my free time playing football but I'm not going to judge the people who do by saying its a fantasy/unrealistic career. The more I think about this the more I feel like certain outsiders disagree with blogging - the reason why this is I am unsure but, what do I say to that? let them and continue.  

Put it together and what have you got...
Every blogger has a different reason to write what they do whether its fashion, beauty, life, mental health, whatever it is we all have a story to tell. I started blogging because I was for years watching beauty and fashion bloggers/Youtubers and always wanted to start something of my own where I write reviews or post what I get up to. I did it for myself not for fame or money I just wanted to document things I've been doing and review things I enjoy or don't. These sort of posts become useful to others especially reviews as they are really useful to read before spending that money on something that doesn't work for you. Reality is, probably most people in the world find reviews useful even if its reviews for hotels or food we find it useful.


An unrealistic career

If blogging isn't real then I must just be imagining the past year and it must really be a fairytale. The notion that blogging isn't a 'real career' is bizarre and quite frankly mistaken, some bloggers started blogging because they want a career path in it. I disagree with the statement that it's unrealistic because you see bloggers splattered all over magazines for their inspirational beauty, fashion styles. I think people outside of the box of the blogging world presume its just sitting in front of a screen in your pyjamas writing what you love/hate but, its a lot more to it than that and its different for everyone. If my goal in life wasn't to graduate and work in the design industry I would possibly love a career in blogging because it's never-ending and always interesting!


When you wish upon a star

Blogging means something different to all of us but I don't think any of us wishes its a fantasy, fairytale where we are all whisked away by a prince charming and live happily ever after. For me, it is (like my basics part of my blog says) a little area where I can blog and chat about all the beauty/fashion related things I enjoy where I don't annoy my friends but I share with all you blogging fanatics! So for outsiders to presume we are living in a fairytale world just tells me a lot on what they know/don't know about this community. 


There is probably a lot more I could say on this post but the main thing I wanted to talk about was what these statements actually mean to bloggers like myself. It doesn't mean I am living a perfect lifestyle because believe me I don't and it definitely doesn't mean I make wishes every night to have a fairytale ending. If outsiders want to disagree on what blogging is all about then let them it isn't for everyone and not everyone knows the ins and outs to it. If bloggers want a career into this industry the outsiders need to mind their own business and stick to what they know.
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Sunday 17 August 2014

The Summer Spending Ban

How To Budget Your Money
For those who don't already know, I am a student which means when the summer arrives it becomes a bit of a stretch to keep all of your last student loan back until the end of September. Now, I would go look for a job but I am wanting to put 100% focus into my last year of university which is why I took this summer as my last 'chilled out' before things get serious. Anyways relating to this post I haven't been spending much money this summer so I haven't been buying much beauty or fashion items unless they are an essential. I decided to share an update on how I am getting on with my summer spending ban and maybe this could be useful to any of you shopaholics!

Bankcard stays at home
I refuse to carry my bank card when I go out with me unless I have no cash on me at all. If I know I have money on me I will most likely want to impulse buy so this is my no1 essential tip! If you have no will power to not bring your card with you I sometimes give it to my mam to keep for me, not even joking. It works though!

Out with the new and in with the old
Since I am missing out on all of the amazing new products being released 'cough They're Real Liner cough' I have been digging out some of my oldies but goody makeup or beauty products. One product, in particular, has been my Soap&Glory mother pucker gloss sticks they are brilliant for summer! I have also been digging out some of my Birchbox samples and using them instead of splurging on new stuff - this has really helped me keep my hands away from shelves in shops!

Bargain hunts
The only time I've really impulse purchased has been when I've gone to markets. I have been to a few markets around my hometown and both times I've picked up bits and pieces. The great thing about it is how inexpensive everything is! I did a post here on one of my markets finds where I only spend a little amount of money. I've come across a vintage watch and a leather satchel those were my favourite bargain hunts! Markets are really great though because they are incredibly inexpensive.

Only buy the needs
I have obviously splurged here and there but not as much as I have done in the past. The odd necklace or piece of clothing but nothing too drastic as you can tell with the no hauls I've done! The only time I've spent money has been on essential things like stocking up on moisturizers or foundation. My foundation isn't cheap either so money does add up in the end.

Avoid shops/hauls
This has been my hardest challenge yet because I love reading peoples hauls or reviews on new products. But basically, I've set myself a challenge to not read those posts just in case I get badly influenced to go shopping! I've also kept my distance from the town. Spent a lot of my summer keeping active, going on walks or little day trips away places - I have rarely been in my home town to even want to look in shops so this has helped.

It has been a challenge at times but it has done me good in the long run so I am glad I stuck at doing all of these because I have now not been properly shopping in months, it sounds so depressing but I am glad I haven't caved as much. Keeping away from the shops and not taken my bank card out with me have been the biggest help for me!

How would you handle a spending ban?
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Monday 11 August 2014

Bleach London Hair Crayon Review

Bleach London Hair Crayon Review
Bleach London Hair Crayon Review
Bleach London Hair Crayon Review
A couple of weeks back when I was grabbing my essentials in Boots I came across the Bleach London hair crayons for around £4 so I thought..I've always wanted to dye/colour the ends of my hair in a pastel pink so why not try these crayons and see if I like them! They have a variety of colours too so I will definitely be grabbing some more next time!

When I finally got around to applying it I placed the ends of my hair on a towel on a hard surface where I was able to put pressure on. I took the crayon and just started 'colouring' the ends until it was near enough the way I wanted. The bad side about doing this was how fast the crayon got blunt so it was a constant every 2 minutes of sharpening involved. 

It is a little time consuming and it does take a lot of patience especially with resharpening the crayon. I realized my patience was running out when my crayon was halfway used already! (the disadvantages of long hair!) You can sort of seeing some of the results it left my hair in the photo above - unsure why the light has made one photo look darker than the other. I didn't colour all of my ends because by this point my sharpener broke! which was really frustrating.

In terms of long lasting, I have noticed this colour still in my hair after the odd hair wash so they do stay in like the box says it does. However, I found after a day of this in my hair the ends felt very dry and tatty so I don't like leaving it on my ends for longer than a day. These are perfect for festivals or holidays away because of them being inexpensive 

Pros:
Inexpensive
Variety of colours
Nice outcomes
Perfect for festivals
Easy-ish to apply
Last a few washes
Get your money worth

Cons:
Constantly resharpening
Sharpener breaks easy
Takes a lot of time/patience
Creates a bit of a mess

Overall, I am glad I tried one of these out because even though I didn't manage to finish my ends off I still liked the results it gave! it made my ombre look a lot more appealing. Apart from the constant resharpening and the sharpener actually breaking I am satisfied with the results and will probably repurchase another.

Have you tried any of the Bleach London range?
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Wednesday 6 August 2014

Primark OOTD

Primark OOTD
Primark OOTD
Primark OOTD
Primark OOTD
Primark OOTD
Since the weather was quite warm and I was blogging anyways my little adventure out down to the fish quay/seaside - post is here, I thought it was a good idea to do an ootd post whilst I had my camera at hand too! Getting two posts done in one day is a successful day for me!

The weather may not look at all warm but it was and it eventually picked up as the day went on! I decided since I was going to the coast to wear something that was letting my legs get some colour but wasn't going to blow in the air with the wind so I decided to wear a little playsuit! This was incredibly comfy to wear and I never had to adjust myself or anything I would do if I was wearing a dress.

For weather purposes I decided to plait my hair again - if any of you's have medium/long length hair you's will know how frustrating it can be in the summer to wear down! This just kept everything out of my face. For accessories, I just grabbed my white 'Willy Wonka' styled sunglasses to match what I was wearing. I also just brought a pastel pink/off white satchel sort of bag that was big enough to fit some suncream and my camera in. I don't really like carrying big bags in the summer for some reason.

I kept my jewellery at a minimum with a little anklet and an elephant necklace and completed my outfit off with my little white sandals which are my comfiest summer shoes I own for walking!


Surprisingly everything (apart from jewellery) is from Primark which really shocked me! what can I say I clearly love Primark fashion at the moment!
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