New Years Resolutions

YES I AM ONE OF THOSE ANNOYING PEOPLE WHO MAKES RESOLUTIONS.

I love making goal lists and the whole "self improvement" malarkey. I find it keeps me motivated as I love feeling like I'm working towards some kind of an end goal. Here are some of my New Years Resolutions

Sourced from Daily Mail

1) Become more active; now I'm not hoping to turn into Jodie Marsh here but I want to do the minimum NHS recommendation for a healthy lifestyle every week which is:

"At least 150 minutes (2 hours and 30 minutes) of moderate-intensity aerobic activity such as cycling or fast walking every week, and  muscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week that work all major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms)."

2) Improve my CV
I don't really do anything outside of my Uni course at the moment. My tutor told me I really need to work on some other interests so I would like to complete either one work experience, one charity volunteering job or enrol on one college course which is outside of my degree.

3) Start Youtube-ing
I have a channel here, but I rarely make videos even though I do enjoy it, so I'm going to challenge myself to make a video at least once every two weeks.

4) Sort out my bedroom
NAME AND SHAME:

Can you spot my cat amongst this monstrosity?

 A whole lot of hoarded items and no storage makes for a very messy room. I'm going to try and make my bedroom organised to the same OCD levels as Emma ;).
The three main things I'd like to do with my room is
1) I'm going to finally sort through all my ebay bags and either give them to friends/family or force my Dad at gunpoint to drive me to a charity shop where I will drop everything off.
2) I'm going to get rid of my "wrapping" box. This is a box I have which has about 600 envelopes I've accumulated through internet shopping and have not binned/recycled yet in case one day they are "handy". I kid you not.
3) I'm going to get some sort of storage device for my clothing as it is just strewn on the floor when I run out of hanging space

5) Improve my confidence
I'm a naturally shy person and find the whole making small talk thing so awkward. I need a reason to talk to someone (i.e we work in the same room, we sit beside each other in class) so I would never just go up to someone in my lecture for example and strike up a conversation. I hate being shy and there is only one way to combat that, which is forcing myself into social situations and getting used to being social with people I don't know very well. I was recommended a book which challenges you to perform cringe tasks every day for a month so I might try that out (and will probably blog about it so you can laugh at me).

I'm keeping it to five so I don't get overwhelmed and give up, but I'm optimistic that all of these goals are achievable and measurable (I don't see the point of resolutions which are really generalised like 'lose weight', because then technically that could be accomplished with one trip to the toilet if you get my drift).

Let me know your resolutions!
Em x

Christmas Presents

How are you all? Feeling full to burst I hope! I had a lovely day with lots of family, food and presents. Here's what I got for Xmas if you're interested. I know these aren't everyones cup of tea but I LOVE watching these and it's easy to forget in a few months time exactly what you got. I can always remember I was very spoilt, but no idea what I actually got!


Are you looking forward to New Year's Eve? I am as it'll be mad, but getting jostled along the dance floor, as well as fighting for taxis will not be so fun haha.

Em xx

Hello :)!
Just a quick post to say that I hope you all have a lovely Christmas tomorrow! And if you don't celebrate Christmas, a really nice holiday off work :)
Xxx

Christmas Tag

The snowman (PREPARE TO CRY... well after the cheesy narration is over haha)
PT 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeVaj4zkWy0
PT 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xs3KwUNCLAY&feature=plcp&context=C3039...
PT 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQRoRlhaGzc&feature=related

TAG questions:
1.Whats Your Favorite Holiday Movie?
2. Whats Your Favorite Christmas Color?
3. Do You Like To Stay in Your PJs Or Dress Up For Christmas?
4. If You Could Only Buy One Person a Present This Year Who Would It Be? OOPS I MISSED THIS QUESTION! TOTALLY BY ACCIDENT, HOWEVER I AM KINDA GLAD I MISSED IT AS I COULD NEVER CHOOSE JUST ONE PERSON!
5. Do You Open Your Present Christmas Eve Or Christmas Morning?
6. Have You Ever Built a Ginger Bread House?
7. What Do You Like To Do On Your Christmas Break?
8. Any Christmas Wishes?
9. Favorite Christmas Smell?
10. Favorite Christmas Meal Or Treat?

Video: Get Ready With Me: Makeup, Outfit & Hair

Coloured Contact Lenses

I've been so bored with my look lately I decided to mix things up a bit and try some coloured contact lenses. I thought I'd share my experience here in the hope it may help you out a bit, as I found all the different kind of contacts etc. and finding a good deal so difficult at first.

The 411 on coloured contacts

What to order: If you don't need your eyesight to be corrected, just order them in power 0.00 which will be just like looking through your normal eyes. If your eyes have different prescriptions, remember you will have to buy a box per eye. There are a million different brands of contact lenses which you can buy from various sites. I chose Freshlook simply because they were the cheapest I could find, but you might be able to find some a lot cheaper. For anyone who has never worn contact lens before here is a run down on the two main different types of contact lenses you can buy.

Monthly: If you order a monthly pack you'll receive one pair of contact lenses which can be worn everyday for a month, or up to 30 times if you only want to wear them occasionally.
Pros: They work out extremely cheap compared to daily disposables at an est. of £7 for a pair
Cons: You have to purchase storage containers and solutions although these are relatively cheap. You also have to maintain extremely good hygiene to avoid infections etc. and you must clean them properly to avoid build up in your eyes. There is also a chance you might be allergic to the solutions, but this is rare.
Where to buy: Link to the  monthly Freshlook Colourblends here
 NOTE: I have not worn the monthly version from this brand, only the daily disposable version, as I have allergies to the solutions monthly contact lenses are kept in. For that reason I cannot personally recommend them, but I really like the daily disposables from the same brand so assume they will be of the same high standard.

All up in my face

Daily disposables: A pack of daily disposables usually contains 10 contact lenses (5 pairs). Each pair can be worn once.
Pros: You only have to rip open the packet, put them in your eyes and when you're done put them in the bin. They are very hygienic and perfect if you suffer from allergies to solutions like I do.
Cons: The price. £13 a pack, working out £2.60 for one wear which is quite pricey.
Where to buy :Link to the Freshlook One Day's (daily disposable): here. These are the ones I purchased.

I have blue eyes like this:

Before

So I decided to go for the colour green which looked like this in the packet:

Forgot to take photo of the contact in the packet, this is taken from the blog listed in the photo.

The whole idea behind these is that they're supposed to look natural, hence the pixelated finish which allows your natural eye colour to mix with the contact. It looks scary but don't worry, you can't actually see the pixels other than VERY faintly round the outer edge of your eye, and even then it's only if someone is about 1cm away from your eyeball and you're in good light. Keep in mind if your eyes are not light blue like mine then you'll get a different effect, just like makeup on different skin tones, but hopefully this will help as a reference.

After

I felt like they looked like a more intense (and honestly nicer) version of my real eyes. They were very comfortable and I wore them for quite a few hours. I didn't find them drying at all like other contacts I've tried in the past which is always a big plus.

Apparently contacts can look really fake if you choose a colour very different from your own. This is because the coloured part of the contact can only go so far in before it would start restricting your ability to see, so a gap in the middle is obviously left for your pupil. Sometimes though when you look into light etc the pupil becomes really small and in that space that's left your natural eye colour will be seen, which could look really fake and obvious.

To avoid this some contacts have a gradual pixelated effect happening so that there isn't just a severe line in your eye which jumps from one colour to the next. Even with hazel eyes (you can see them in in my video below) they looked really natural so I'm really impressed with this brand!

After

Hope that was helpful and let me know if you find them anywhere cheaper :). I also filmed a video on how to put in contact lenses if you are using them for the first time as well as what the hazel contacts look like in blue eyes.

Em x

November Favourites

There are so many products on the market it's hard to sift through and find something that's a real gem. I rarely come across products that I love so much they are worth repurchasing, so when I do find something that really works I like to share the joy. I've been trying out tons of new products (blog sales, how I love you so) and I've have four fabulous products to show you. I hope if you purchase them you like them as much as me!

1) Boots Essentials Cucumber Cleansing Lotion (£1.42)
This is a product I bought in a blog sale on a whim and never really bothered to use. I really didn't think I was going to like it due to the cucumber smell which is a scent I find very unappealing. I guessed I'd just keep it for those times when I was traveling and left it at that. Anyway one fine day I decided to start using this and give it a fair chance... and then fell in love with it. Why is it so good? First of all, I have very sensitive skin, yet I was able to apply this all over my face with no sensitivity whatsoever. It did a really good job at removing all my makeup, mascara included, without having to rub too aggressively and aggravate my skin. My skin felt really soft after using it, and I will definitely be purchasing this product again. I can't believe how massively cheap this product is either, not that I'm complaining!

2) Soap and Glory Hair Supply (part of a kit which is £12.30)

As you can see from this photo, my hair has a tendency to just hang there in messy straggles. It will often be very flat and becomes easily greasy on the top, yet the ends are very frizzy if I don't give them a little TLC. I'd never really bothered much with Soap and Glory, as I prefer fruity smells for my bath products (I judge way too much on scent I know!) even though I'd heard some great things. I received this gift set off my friend Katie for my birthday, so it was the perfect chance to fully test out everything. The Hair Supply mask is my favourite thing from the set by far; it's been a god send to my hair! It's not as dense and conditioning as other masks I've used in the past, but at the same time it performs very well and it doesn't weigh down and dull my hair like the other masks did. I think it's the perfect all rounder, and I'm happy to say I'm now a convert to Soap and Glory!

3) Clinique Brush-On Cream Liner in Black Honey, £13.50

This was another blog sale purchase, and something else I'd never have considered buying on my own. As I'm so pale liquid liners often produce too harsh a line for my eyes, making me look a bit rough. This left pencils, but I found I had to drag a lot on my eye with most of them, so I started searching around for alternatives. I decided to try my hand at gel liners and picked a one by Sleek, but the colour was way too harsh and it dried out straight way leaving me fairly unimpressed. I didn't want to risk paying for a 'higher end' one only for it to do the same, so I was really happy when I spotted this. I've used this everyday for months on end now and I love it. It's actually a dark brown which is a lot less harsh on my features, but it still looks fairly intense on. It hasn't dried out at all and I only need a tiny bit of product, so it's quite cost effective in the long run. It lasts for hours on end too so I never have to reapply. For all these reasons I think £13.50 is really good considering how long it actually lasts, and for how amazing the products is.

4) The Tangle Teezer (£10.20)
Finally a product that has had a lot of hype and coverage in the blogging world! My hair gets tatty very easily and tends to matt together, and after having a huge chunk of hair I just couldn't sort out I decided to try this out and see what difference it would make. To be honest if your hair is not that tangly a wide toothed comb would be fine, but for the likes of me this is such a help. It still hurt to get the knots out my hair, but the process was a lot easier overall. I find this is absolutely great for maintenance and perfect for hair extensions as it doesn't snap the hair. I haven't had any awful tatts since I started using this, and my hair is better condition because I'm not snapping it with a brush all the time. Whilst some might think it's pricey for a brush, it will never run out or dry out like a product would, and if you look after it it will last for years so it's not that bad if you think about it like that ;).

I hope that you found this helpful and you love these products as much as me if you decide to try them out!

Em x