INJURY FROM EXERCISING // WEEKLY VLOG
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10 MOST UNDER RATED BEAUTY PRODUCTS
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Baking with Honey
Quite a few years ago I wrote a blog post about the 30 year old birthday cake tradition we hold in my family. For us, it just wouldn't be a birthday without a chocolate cake covered in smarties!
Last week was my nephew Bailey's sixth birthday, which is crazy because it feels like only yesterday that I rushed back from University to meet him. When he was born I became an auntie for the first time so I feel like I'll never forget his birthday. The best thing about traditions is passing them down the family so this year for his birthday, his little sister Honey and I baked him a chocolate smartie cake!
We started with the Betty Crocker Chocolate Cake set as it's really easy to use and especially good when baking with kids. I've always loved the Betty Crocker Tempting Chocolate Cake because it's spongey, moist and well pretty damn delicious. All you need is some oil, water and eggs and the rest is sorted. There's a layer of icing through the middle and smothered on top - Bailey loves chocolate so I know he'll like this one.
We followed the instructions on the box and it was all really straight forward. Once the cake was baked, cooled and covered in icing we started to decorate. I left most of the decorating to Honey so she started with the smarties and followed with edible blue glitter and gold stars.
Nothing beats baking at home and giving a cake as a gift. It's nice to make someone feel special, especially on their birthday. So next time you have some spare time get out that apron and wooden spoon and get baking!
*This post was sponsored by Betty Crocker. Check out their #ICAKEYOU campaign here and try #BakingwithBetty yourself!
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GETTING 5 PIERCINGS!
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THE ULTIMATE BEAUTY ADVENT CALENDAR
Charlotte Tilbury is literally playing Santa this year with a huge selection of beauty treats, from trinkets, to gift sets and she's also got a beauty advent calendar which is what I'm showing you today. Beauty Advent Calendars have been around for a few years now but every year they get more and more exciting and this one in particular really made me ooooooooh.
If you know anyone who's really into beauty or has always wanted to try Charlotte Tilbury products this is the perfect early Christmas treat! Unlike most advent calendars, this one has 12 doors but inside each door is an adorable, luxury beauty treat. There's a mix of makeup and skincare, I don't want to ruin the surprise but if you want to see what's inside you can have a look on the website here.
The Book of Makeup Magic is £150 so it's a proper treat, but if it's in your budget then I say go for it! I think it's beautifully done and now all I can say is bring on 1st December!
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LIFESTYLE CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE 2015
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Gold Eyes, Red Lips
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ESTEE LAUDER – THE MAKEUP ARTIST COLLECTION
Last week Anna and I had the pleasure of spending the day with our friend Harry from Harry Makes It Up. She is an amazing makeup artist and we've both featured in her videos in the past so it was really nice to get together again. We teamed up to celebrate the release of Estée Lauder's "The Makeup Artist Collection" which is available to buy with any Estée Lauder fragrance for a limited time.
The beautiful red briefcase contains so many amazing products that all come together to create a kit that would be the perfect gift for any beauty enthusiast or budding makeup artist. Inside you'll find 12 products; 3 full size lipsticks, 2 lip glosses, a moisturiser, serum, mascara, eye makeup remover, perfume, shimmer compact and the most amazing palette with 2 blushers and 12 eyeshadows inside. The star of the show for me has to be the palette which offers such beautiful eyeshadow and blusher shades but I did also "oooooooh" over the mini Advanced Night Repair and 3 full size lipsticks. I think it's such a great kit and can really help you create a variety of makeup looks.
To demonstrate, Harry used Anna and I as models in the video above for a day and night look. For the day look on me, she used some of the softer shades from the palette on my eyes. She started with a softer lilac and slightly built up the plum - you guys know how much I love my plum eyeshadows! Then she layered on the mascara which worked really well on my lashes and popped on a bit of the peachy blush. For lipstick she chose "Rose Tea" and patted it on with her fingers which left a pretty, subtle day lip. A bit of lipgloss on top to add fullness and that was it! I really loved the finished look and definitely want to recreate it myself at home.
The collection is just £54 with any Estée Lauder fragrance purchase and to celebrate Black Friday, from 27th-29th November it will be available exclusively here for only £54 with no fragrance purchase required! Terms and conditions apply.
Let me know what you think of the kit and if you'll be picking one up yourself. If you recreate one of the looks at home yourself hashtag #redattitude so we can see!
*This post was sponsored by Estée Lauder
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NOVEMBER FAVOURITES WITH RICH
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A COSY CHRISTMAS NIGHT IN
At this time of year I crave a cosy night in, watching Christmas films, making hot drinks and occasionally having a bit of a pamper session.
I've been burning my three wick Jo Malone Roasted Chestnut candle almost every night and I love how it fills the room with such a warm, Christmas scent. Rich is a big coffee fan although I have always been more into tea so we've been loving the new PG Tips capsules as they're compatible with our Nespresso machine, so when Rich makes his coffee he can make my tea at the same time! There are four different flavoured capsules, Green Tea, Peppermint Tea, Raspberry and Apple Tea and Black Tea with caramel and vanilla. The idea is that you can make an instant cup of tea without having to wait for the kettle to boil. I love the instant process and the flavours are great, my favourite is the green tea but if you're into trying something new and interesting the black tea with caramel and vanilla is really full of flavour!
I spent the evening painting my nails in Topshop's Heart of Gold whilst sitting in front of our tree and watching Home Alone 2. I love the West Elm tree decorations we picked up, they're really special and something we'll keep for years to come.
So what does your cosy Christmas night in involve?
•This blog post was sponsored by PG Tips
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Vlogmas 2015
After 23 days of vlogging, minus one day spent in bed with flu, Vlogmas has finally come to an end. It was last minute decision to do it and despite the downs, there were many ups and I'm glad I did it! Thanks for all of your lovely and encouraging comments.
For those of you who weren't able to keep up, I know it's hard, here is a link to my Vlogmas 2015 playlist!
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December Favourites
My final favourites of the month is here, a sum up of the makeup and style bits I've been loving during December.
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NEW YEAR’S EVE MAKEUP TUTORIAL
New Year's Eve is a funny one. Some of us go out clubbing, some have house parties, some go for dinner and if you're my parents you stay in with a good cup of tea. This year Rich and I are doing fancy dress, but for those of you going out and fancy some makeup inspiration here's a quick makeup tutorial. Something light and golden on the eyes and a bit vampy and intense on the lips.
Have a great night whatever you do and be safe! Happy new year!
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A NEW YEAR CATCHUP
Happy New Year Everyone!
There's something about January that gets me really excited. I don't find it depressing in the slightest, in fact I've been looking forward to it since before Christmas. It's exciting, it's new and it's inspiring.
On January 10th it'll be my sixth blogging anniversary - that's SIX years!! The first couple of years were on and off, it was almost like an online diary, the third and forth year picked up and in the last two years I've taken it very seriously and been incredibly consistent with my posting. I did it for myself more than anything, it's been my life and I do love to stick to a schedule! In the last couple of months, if I'm honest, I've struggled a bit with juggling YouTube videos and blog posts. They used to work hand in hand but as my video content and style has evolved my blog hovered in the same place. I'm the sort of person who's quite hard on myself but I noticed my blog posts were getting worse and worse and quality for me is more important than quantity. It was the first time in 6 years that blogging didn't feel natural to me, I was stressing out about it when it should really just be enjoyable. I gave myself a break and focused more on videos and I did enjoy having more of a focus on one of my channels. Then Vlogmas came along which is always a weird time, everything comes to a halt and daily vlogging is my only focus for those 24 days. Now we're here... January. And I feel good about it!
I think this year my "blogging strategy" (is that a thing?) is to be a bit more relaxed about it. Getting a post up every day at 7am isn't necessarily my priority anymore and I'm not sure that's what you guys care most about anyway? I'm going to try and focus more on the content and quality of my posts. I'm going to try and take my camera out with me on weekends more and document some of the "cool" stuff I get up to. I don't think I'll ever be the blogger who has professional looking outfit photos but I'm going to try my best at getting some more lifestyle shots. The photos have always excited more than the writing so I'm not going to give myself a hard time about that.
I'm off now on a short skiing holiday with Rich's family and I think it'll be a good time for me to think about blogging and what I want to do with 2016. So hopefully soon I'll be back on the blogging train and I hope you'll all stick with me as I find my feet again. I thought the spark had gone but now it's the new year I can feel it coming back!
I hope you all had a great New Year's Eve last night and enjoy New Year's Day!
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2015 Favourites
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WHAT’S IN MY HANDBAG: TRAVEL EDITION
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TOP TIPS FOR FRESH LOOKING SKIN
A few years ago right at the top of my new year's resolution list was "to look after my skin better". So for those of you who also want to spend this year focusing on looking after your skin, here are my top tips for fresh looking skin!
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6 THINGS I’VE LEARNT FROM 6 YEARS OF BLOGGING
On Sunday 10th January I celebrated (on a flight home from France) my sixth year of blogging. Six years by no means makes me an expert, every blog is so different and no set rules apply to all, that's the beauty of it! When I started my blog I didn't know anyone else that even really knew what a blog was but now I get messages all the time from people saying they're starting a blog. I think it's great and it's exciting so to celebrate six years I thought I'd think of six things I've learnt along the way.
Self motivation is hard but important. Make sure to write about something you're passionate about and it'll keep the fire alive. Set yourself goals (not numerical goals!) and give yourself a schedule to work towards.
The equipment doesn't really matter. I think photo positioning and the content of blog posts is more important than the quality of the lens. Find your own personal style.
Don't compare yourself to others. Something we are all guilty of but has anyone ever gained anything from it? It just messes up your mind. Just do you.
Give yourself a break every now and again. Daily content doesn't always equal great content. Time off is ok, just get back on the wagon when something sparks inspiration.
Treat your blog as the hub. I have found it works best to treat your blog as the hub and treat all of your social media channels as arms off the hub. Linking them all together allows your audience to get to know you better. I always explain it like this... I tweet to say I'm going shopping, I snapchat on my way to the shops, I Instagram a photo of me in the shop, I get home and film a haul video and then I write a blog post about the best shops in London. They all link together somehow like a story.
Be open to change. Don't be afraid to make changes and allow your blog to evolve and grow up with you. I think fear of change is a terrible trait, I have it a bit myself, but things can only progress if you do too. Try something new!
So here's to the future of blogging and a great six years so far. Thanks for sticking with me!
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SKI 2016
I tried a different style of vlogging on my ski trip last week as I wanted to share a part of my trip but still get time to relax and enjoy it. The views were amazing and it was so nice to see some proper snow.
I hope you like the little video, let me know what you think!
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PACKING FOR A SKI TRIP
The last time I went skiing I was a child and my mum did all the packing for me, so this time round I was a bit clueless as to what to pack in my case. I googled a lot but not much came up and when I spoke to friends and family they just laughed at my "but I don't want to look like an idiot" comments. Considering I had little advice I ended up packing quite well and I now feel like I can pass on some good advice to those of you packing for your own ski trip!
I've written up a packing list if you'd like to print it off yourself here.
A lot of it depends on 1. How sweaty you get and 2. If you have a washing machine in your accommodation. If you answered VERY to the first question and no to the second, take enough thermals for your entire trip.
I definitely think it's worth investing in good ski gear, even if you're a beginner. I found myself thinking what's the point in spending lots of money on goggles if I don't ski three times a year but then when on the slopes I found goggles to be really important, even more important if you're a beginner. So don't be afraid to invest in good gear, that's my first tip. I took with me a range of thermals like this Sweaty Betty Top and Bottoms that kept me really warm on the very cold days. I'd say these might be too warm if you're going in a sunny period but they're great for the colder months. I also found the Uniqlo Heat Tech range to be great and very affordable. It uses Japanese technology that keeps you warm when you're cold and cool when you're hot. I bought a polo neck top and leggings from the range. My Sweaty Betty Jacket and Salopettes were perfect but if you are looking for something for affordable just make sure you get a very waterproof jacket as there's nothing worse than being soaking wet and skiing. I think the jacket is really important for keeping you warm and something with a lot of pockets works really well. Make sure there's a pocket on the arm for your ski lift pass, otherwise it gets really annoying every time you get on a lift. A snood to keep your neck warm is essential and one that can pull all the way up over your mouth and nose is the best option. I also wore an ear protector as a hat wouldn't fit under my helmet but a helmet alone wasn't warm enough for me. Helmets are essential when skiing, you can either buy your own for around £30 or rent one at your ski resort. I got my helmet and goggles from Decathlon which is really affordable. Goggles with interchangeable lenses are even better as visibility changes depending on whether it's a sunny day or if it's snowing.
We didn't go out that much in the evenings as we were so tired so loungewear and slippers were important for me to pack, but take a few warm clothes if you think you'll be going out. I either wore my ski boots or snow boots all week. No other shoes will be needed, ski resorts are always super casual!
Beauty products that I found important were SPF, even when it's not sunny, to protect your skin, an intensive lip balm with SPF and an oil to slather on in the evenings. I personally wore a sports bra every day to ski as it's more comfortable, more supportive and I didn't want to ruin my nice bras. I took a minimal amount of makeup with but only really wore it if we went out in the evenings.
So I hope the packing list is helpful! If you have any questions please tweet me @lilypebbles
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