Review: Soap and Glory 'Scrub Your Nose In It'

Hello lovely ladies. I've been barely blogging at all this month, definitely just not been 'feeling it' and I don't know what's wrong with me? Where's the passion gone?! Even though I have a list on my phone of at least 40 things that I want to talk about I've just struggled to find the motivation to get my camera out, take snaps of a product, upload them and then string a sentence together to rave about it - serious case of writers block! And also, Twitter's been bitchy on the whole #bbloggers front recently and I've just been put off so have taken a back seat with tweeting and 'promoting' myself on there - get rid of the negativity girls it's not good for anyone! 

After spotting today that somebody else I know has started up their own blog (her blog is x-rachaels-way-x.blogspot.co.uk - take a look and go follow it, I'm sure she's going to be absolutely amazing!), it gave me a little kick up the bum to get back into it so I'm coming to you today with a review of Soap and Glory's 'Scrub Your Nose In It'.

Scrub Your Nose It In is the first of Soap and Glory's skincare that I had tried and I love it. It is available in one size only; 125ml and costs £7.50 and can be found in Boots in store and online (link). This is a multi-use product and can be used as an exfoliating scrub and also as a deep pore cleansing mask too. I use this once a week and make use of both of it's functions when I use it - first I use it as an exfoliator predominately around my nose, a little bit across my cheeks and then my chin too, I give it a good scrub and then rise it away with warm water. Then, straight afterwards I apply a fresh dollop all over my face in quite a thin layer and leave this on for a couple of minutes for the clay mask action to take place and then rinse away, scrubbing gently as I rinse to reveal fresher and glowing looking skin.

This gives the skin a mild tingle and a cooling sensation when applied and smells very minty but does not irritate at all. The exfoliating grains within this scrub as so teeny tiny they are hardly visible and are so gentle on the skin, not rough or scratchy at all but can definitely be felt and give the skin a really good scrub, clearing out your clogged up pores. I love using this as my skin always looks just that little bit brighter and smoother after use as the dead skin cells have been buffed away (nice) and all that dirt deep down in your pores has been shifted away. It's a really simple and easy product to use with only a teeny tiny amount being needed each time as just a thin layer on the skin is necessary and £7.50 is a great price for a 2-in-1 product.

One last thing, I've had my blog completely redesigned over the past few days by Becky from Beauty Becky and I love it. I just wanted a change as I was bored of looking at the same set up for the past 6 months and wanted a new colour scheme and just a bit of a freshen up really. She was so helpful and so accommodating to all of my requests; she listened to exactly what I was after and made all of the tiny adjustments that I asked for without any hassle at all!

I recommend that you all follow the link above to Becky's blog, have a read, follow her too and if you're interested in a spruce up for your design then she's one to go for!

♥

Argan Oil Hair Trio | Lee Stafford Gift Set

Hi guys! This set is one that I received for Christmas from my mum which was very lovely of her as she knows how much I love my hair care, and Lee Stafford is a winning brand in my eyes. This set contains three full sized products from the Argan Oil from Morocco line by Lee Stafford, including the Nourishing Miracle Oil, the Miracle Heat Defence Spray, and the Deep Nourishing Treatment. I had seen this set before and it actually featured on one of my wishlists back in November so I know that it did cost £25.00 but in the post-Christmas sales it was reduced to £12.50!! £12.50 is more than just a bargain for this set because if each of the items were purchased individually they would be worth £40! Amazing! Unfortunately, this set no longer appears to be on Boots website so I imagine that it has sold out because of the amazing value.

Nourishing Miracle Oil

50ml £11.99 - link

I know it must seem like I say that I adore every single oil that I review and that all of them seem to be my favourite, but I really do mean it about this one! It's not my number one favourite, because that spot is still being held by the Babyliss Pro Argan Oil (my review - link), but this little one has snuggled its way into second place ahead of the L'Oreal Extraordinary Oil (my review - link). This is one of the few oils that I find I can use on dry hair without it overloading my hair and making it greasy. It's more along the lines of a serum really and I use it as a 'finishing product' to run through the ends to make them smooth, soft and shiny. It's lightweight but still deeply nourishing and doesn't leave any stickiness on the hair strands. I love it!

Miracle Heat Defence Spray

200ml £12.99 - link

I'll admit that I'm not really one for using much heat on my hair, but if I do then I always make sure that it's well protected to prevent any further damage to my already distressed locks. This product hasn't had a huge amount of use, and I don't find that heat defence products are ones that you can really tell whether they are working or not.. because how can I tell whether my hair has been protected from the heat by it? I don't know if it's just me that feels that, but anyway this smells really nice and it doesn't leave the hair sticky or weighed down with any product, and I love the sense of security when using this that my hair isn't going to be totally traumatised from having a pair of hot irons run all over it!

Deep Nourishing Treatment

200ml £14.99 - link

My favourite product from the set is this absolutely amazing, super softening hair mask! I've been a top fan and loyal repurchaser of Lee Stafford's hair growth treatment mask for it's conditioning properties (my review - link), but this mask just blows it out of the water in terms of intensity. After using this it felt like I had new hair all over again! I have a feeling that this could take a place as being one of my 'holy grail' hair saviour, despite it being steeply priced for a drugstore conditioning mask. I've been using this once a week since Christmas (so not a lot), but I've fallen in love and always look forward to using this because of the strands of silk that end up on top of my head after use (haha!). If you enjoy deep conditioning masks and have a bit of cash to splash then go out and get this! Definite stand out product from the set.

Overall, I am overjoyed that I received this set as a present and have loved using all of the products within it. They are all ones that I will be able to get regular use from (the heat defence the least, only because I don't use much heat), and the mask is one that I know I will repurchase on it's own!

Have you ever tried any of these from Lee Stafford's Argan Oil Range?

♥

Ojon Rare Blend Oil Total Hair Therapy

Hi Ladies! (& Gentlemen?). I wanted to talk to you today about this little bottle of beautiful by Ojon called the Rare Blend Oil Total Hair Therapy. This product was really hyped up and popular back in October 2012 when it was released and everybody seemed to be talking about it. It appeared to be the champion of all hair oils, even trumping the original MoroccanOil, so I popped it on my wish list and lucky me received it as a Christmas present from my mum!

This is a 45ml bottle, the only size that it is available in, and costs £29.00 from Boots (link). £29 for this bottle?! Ouch. The ever so raved about MoroccanOil costs £30.45 for 100ml (link), whereas this one works out at £64.44 per 100ml - huge price difference, this one is more than double, making it one of the more expensive hair oils on the market. There's no denying that this is an expensive product, but does that mean that it is over priced? ..Or do you get what you are paying for with this one?

As the name suggests, this is a blend of seven different oils from all around the world (from Tahiti to the Kalahari Desert and all the way to Hawaii) that includes Ojon Oil, Rouge Oleifere, Tahitian Monoi Oil, Marula Oil, Kalahari Melon Oil, Kukui Oil and Ximenia Oil, all of which have different properties that can help out your hair and you can find out more about what each of them does over on the Ojon website, found here: link. Not only does it sound exotic, but it also looks ridiculously pretty too. With the different oils separating to create three different coloured layers within the bottle this looks like a cocktail that you would get on holiday - and smells like one too. It smells like tropical fruits and makes the hair smell lovely and fruity after use.

The product is activated when it is shook and all of the oils are blended together to create the peachy colour liquid, and it boasts the ability to moisturise, repair, tame frizz, create shine and prevent heat damage too. I love how this also contains heat defending ingredients so that it doubles up as both a conditioning and a protecting product, meaning one drop of this before blowdrying and I'm good to go.

 

What Ojon say:

"One precious drop of this multi-tasking wonder helps protects, nourishes and transforms dull, dry or damaged hair to vibrant health. Hair instantly looks glossier, shinier; suddenly feels softer, silkier, more luxurious"

When Ojon describe this a 'potent' concoction claiming that 'one drop is all you need', they definitely are not exaggerating. I have long, thick, and frizzy mane of hair on my head and thought that I knew better than to listen to the directions for use. All that is needed is 'one drop', yes really, one - and I'm not lying because I put about three drops in and looked like my hair hadn't been washed in days. On the Boots website there is a 'How To Use' video, and in this the stylist simply puts his finger over the opening of the bottle, tips and shakes the bottle and then uses the amount of product that has been left on the tip of his finger. He rubs this into his palms and then runs through the models hair. I was sceptical about this being enough and regretably used more on my hair on first application. He is, however, correct and that amount is enough to transform the hair, meaning that although this oil is priced much higher than other on the market, only a small amount is needed each time so it will be difficult to run out of this any time soon!

Although this does contain silicones, it does not feel like it is just sitting on the surface of the hair, it is really penetrating into the shaft and helping to repair damage and frizz. This can be smoothed over dry hair, but I prefer using this after washing my hair and running just one drop through the ends of the hair, leaving it smelling beautifully fruity, and whether I choose to blow dry my hair or not, I am left with hair that is tangle free, smooth, soft (so soft!) and shiny. My bleached and dry ends look a lot less like untameable pieces of straw, and more like actual strands of hair, with a luxurious flow and bounce!

Yes, it is expensive, and maybe if your hair isn't dramatically damaged then this could be a bit over the top for you, but if you're looking for something that will fix up your hair instantly and continue with progessively improved results after each use then maybe Ojon's Rare Blend Oil is one worth splashing out on.



 ♥

January Sales Beauty Haul

Fingers tightly crossed that this is the last haul post you see from me for quite a long time! I'm not so much on a labelled 'spending ban' like other bloggers are at the moment, mine is more that I have realised (finally), that I have just too.much.stuff. really. and I am going to stop being so silly and buying things that aren't necessary when I already have so much.

It's not even funny how many products I have for body, hair, skin, make-up and all the rest of it, and I really don't have enough storage space to put it all away somewhere neat and tidy so right now my bedroom and bathroom is looking like somebody let off a bomb in Boots!

I received so many lovely things for Christmas, and also for my birthday that was just a couple of weeks earlier, that I really shouldn't need to be buying anything else for quite a long time, but who can resist those Boxing Day and January Sales?! Definitely not somebody with zero will power like me.

I personally think that I did quite well in not going overboard, as I didn't enter any shops at all (the craziness of sales in store scares me) so both of these were online orders, and I didn't order a single item of clothing either; I successfully filled my Topshop basket to about £50 the other night but mustered up the will power to click the 'x' on the page instead of the 'pay now' button.

Below are a couple of beauty bits that I ordered from the comfort of my own home during the days following Christmas:

Feel Unique || Instagram: hannahripley1

Boots || Instagram: hannahripley1

Feel Unique - ordered on Boxing Day

- Philip Kingsley Re-Moisturising Shampoo (250ml) £14.75 £7.35

For Christmas my Nanna got me a bottle of Philip Kingsley conditioner along with a small sachet of the elasticizer and I am ever so grateful so this as I loveee using high end hair products, but I'm a little bit funny about needing to use them as a 'duo' - I can't use the conditioner that she got me without the matching shampoo! (I hope other people are the same and need to have a matching pair with shampoo and conditioner??). On Christmas Day evening I had a peek online at Feel Unique sale and was overcome with joy to see 50% off Philip Kingsley products - yay! Perfect excuse to be able to snap up the shampoo for a bargain price and I placed my order the next morning.

- YSL Touche Eclat Radiant Touch Highlighting Pen £25.00 £21.25

A new Touche Eclat has been something that I have desperately needed for such a long time - honestly, I almost included a picture of my current tatty one.. I don't know what's happened to it but it's got about 3 dents in the metal, scratched and scraped within an inch of it's life, it's practically silver now instead of gold, and only a tiny splodge of gloopy product comes out after 20 clicks of the button.. it's been well loved! (and also abused by the sound of things). I was waiting first of all to see if my mum had taken my hints that I needed a new one and got me one for Christmas, but as she didn't it seemed only fitting that I used Christmas money to buy myself one on Boxing Day, and with 15% off there's no better time!

Boots - ordered on 28th December at 4am when I couldn't sleep!

- No7 Skincare Treats Gift Set £16.00 £8.00

This skincare set was the first, and really the only, item that I had wanted from Boots but unfortunately my local store didn't have it in so I needed to order it online. I'm super stingy with paying for delivery and opted to spend an extra £12+ on other items to be able to qualify for free delivery. Shameful. For only £8.00 I am so happy that I got this gift set for myself, especially as the Boots No7 vouchers are back again now and I never know what to get with my vouchers and always play it safe with the face wipes! This gives me a chance to try out the eye make-up remover, day cream, night cream and the hot cloth cleanser, complete with a muslin cloth and a fluffy head band for the ultimate pamper. This only arrived on Monday so I've not tried anything out yet, but I will do ASAP and pop a full review up in a little bit too.

- Palmers Cocoa Butter Natural Bronze Body Lotion £5.35 £2.67

'Half price on selected Palmers body care'

I've always been a bit curious to try this out ever since falling in love with the Palmers Cocoa Butter but never got round to buying one. I needed things to fill my basket and this being half price was the perfect reason to finally try it out.

- Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer £4.19 £3.69

'Save up to £2 on selected Collection 2000'

Yep, best concealer in the world, ever. Definitely. This only had 50p off so obviously not a huge saving but I would have bought this again at some point or another so there was no harm in picking it up while it had a little bit of discount. Plus, I want to review this but all the writing has rubbed away on my current one so that's not helpful for anyone in a review really!

- Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Love Sick £7.99 £5.00

'Only £5 on selected Revlon cosmetics' 

I bought a Chubby Stick (Intense) from Clinique just before Christmas and I absolutely love it to death but they are on the pricey side and these balm stains from Revlon have been so heavily compared to them that I needed to try it out for myself to see if it really was a good cheaper alternative. On first impressions.. these smell horrible and the Chubby Sticks are much nicer! But for just £5 these are okay and I will still use it, I just doubt that I'll be hopping out to buy anymore any time soon.

- Revlon Grow Luscious Plumping Mascara £9.99 £5.00

'Only £5 on selected Revlon cosmetics'

I can't even begin to express how rare it is for me to repurchase a mascara, and I think that most other people are the same. They have to really impress me for me to buy the same one twice when there's so many out there to try. I've been using the regular Grow Luscious for the past few months and it is definitely the best one that I have ever used, ever. If this one wasn't half price and only £5(!!) then I maybe wouldn't have bought it again, but I'm happy that I have and I can't wait to see if the 'plumping' version is much different.

I saved £19.15 in Boots, and £11.15 on Feel Unique, leaving me with a total savings of £30.30 on all of these 7 items! Bargainous sale shopping without even leaving the house.

Did you pick up any great bargains in the sales this year?

♥

Quick Reviews: Soap and Glory Minis

Hiya girls, I hope your first full working week of 2013 isn't going too bad, and if it is well then maybe this will help to give you a little bit of inspiration to have a pamper evening later on today and make everything better again!

 

Recently, Soap and Glory products have absolutely dominated my bedroom and bathroom - they are everywhere I look! Out of curiousity, I gathered them together and counted them all up and found that I had 22 S&G products(!), although 4 of them are 'Hand Food' (handy little back up stash!). I thought that this little collection of minis would be a good place to start with talking about them all, as these three fit together so well as a scrub, a wash and a moisturiser.

Most of Soap and Glory's minis or travel size versions of their products cost just £2.50 and are available from Boots instore and online (link). The minis are great for so many reasons: 1) they are cheap and cheerful in the same cute and quirky packaging as the original sizes, but they're double as cute just because they're small, 2) if you're new to Soap and Glory it's a good way to try something out for the first time if you're not sure whether you'll be keen on it, 3) if you like to chop and change products so often you'd never get through a larger bottle (this is me all over), 4) they're perfect for stocking fillers and gifts, and 5) they're handy for travel, holidays, etc.

'Flake Away' Body Scrub (£2.50 / 50ml)

This is a gentle body polish with shea butter, almond oil, peach, sea salt, and sugar that can be scooped out and massaged into the skin to exfoliate anyway dryness and leaves it feeling nourished and smooth, and smelling absolutely amazing. It smells girly and floral, but at the same time like a buttered peach. I'll warn you the tub is a slippery little one though - twice I've dropped the entire pot in the bath while trying to use it!

'Clean, Girls' Creamy Body Wash (£2.50 / 75ml)

I absolutely adore this creamy body wash, and I don't think I'd ever go back to a normal shower gel ever again. With a built-in moisturising matrix, this skin softening cream makes it feel like you're washing yourself with a moisturiser. Releasing a thick and luxurious lather, with a scent to match 'Mist You Madly', this body wash leaves the skin clean and fresh, super soft but with no residue and smelling like a dream.

 

'The Daily Smooth' Body Butter (£2.50 / 50ml)

This is a 'dry skin formula' body butter with rosehip seed oil and cocoa butter for extra soft, smooth and nourished skin. It is intensely moisturising and is a fairly thick and creamy consistency, but sinks quickly into the skin and doesn't leave any greasiness behind. With typical comical quotes on the packaging such as "do or dry" and again, a scent to match 'Mist You Madly' this body butter is an all around winner.

♥

* 'Flake Away' was given to me as a birthday present, and 'Clean, Girls' and 'The Daily Smooth' were gifted to me as giveaway prizes from Chloe's Way blog.

Review: Lush Solid Shampoo Bar - 'New'

 

Solid Shampoo Bar 'New' - £5.25 / 55g.

Available from Lush instore and online - link.

 

"Healthy hair needs a healthy scalp as its foundation. New shampoo bar has two tasks; to give amazing shine and stimulate hair follicles to promote hair growth"

 

 

What's in it and what do they do: Nettle and peppermint infusions too add shine, rosemary to soothe and clear the scalp, various oils such as clove bud and cinnamon leaf work together to stimulate hair follicles for healthy hair growth, peppermint oil stimulates blood flow which boosts these follicles and the peppermint also inhibits hair loss.

 

Wow, well it's a funny looking thing this bar isn't it? I'll admit that I only bought this out of curiousity about how you would use it, and how well it would work. I was also sucked in by the promise for shine and a growth boost! As with all Lush products there's a fancy looking concoction of natural ingredients and I think the idea of a nettle infusion being included intruiges me the most - don't worry it doesn't sting your scalp!

At first I wasn't sure about the scent, because it is really strong and a little bit overpowering - the smell filled the room as soon as I removed the plastic packaging - but it has since grown on me and it is a really warm, spicy scent, which I would assume comes from the cinnamon sticks that are in it. The smell doesn't linger in the hair after use but I am a cautious of ending up with bits of stick stuck in my hair?! Haha! This hasn't happened yet but I am keeping an eye out for stray cinnamon stick particles.

I wasn't too sure on the directions for use with this product and how exactly to apply it to my hair. On first use I tried applying directly to my head and stroking the bar a couple of times from root to tip and then massaging my head to create an absolute mountain of bubbles! I underestimated how easily this would lather up and it definitely doesn't take much, meaning that this bar is going to last a long time. It was a pretty weird concept using the bar in that way as it felt like I was holding a bar of soap and to rub it through my hair felt extremely unnatural!

 

After this first few uses, I hadn't seen my hair with so much volume in a long time - it was super squeaky clean at the roots and was bouncing around all over the place with it's natural wave in full force. It didn't feel too much softer or in any better condition with regards to strength, but that's what conditioner is for, this just gave my hair the clean of it's life. However, what I started to notice after a few washes was that it was making my scalp dry and flakey (noo!) and from reading advice on the Lush website it's because the ingredients could be too strong for my skin and it is better to rub the bar between your hands to create the lather and then rub your hands on your head, instead of just rubbing the bar directly onto the hair. Since trying this new method I've had no dryness on my scalp but the same cleanliness and bounce.

 

I don't think I've been using this long enough to consciously see any of the other benefits that this can provide, such as the growth boost and reduction in hair loss, but I can say that it's not made anything any worse and I'm going to keep on using this up until it's nothing but a tiny slither of product. I don't know whether I would repurchase this particular one as there's lots of other varieties of solid shampoo available from Lush and I'd like to try another, but these would be great for travel as you can buy a small tin from Lush to keep them in (I just put mine in a soap bar case) and they would take up hardly any space and there's no risk of a shampoo leakage either! At first they seem a little steep at £5.25 for a bar, but I've been using this regularly for 3 weeks and wouldn't say it's shrunk all that much in size so there's plenty more uses left in this, so cost per use it is very good value.

 

Have any of you ever tried out a solid shampoo from Lush before?

♥

Love Lettuce | Lush Fresh Face Mask

Hello hello hello. 

I hope you have all enjoyed your first couple of days of 2013!

 

Towards the end of November and all the way through December my blog ended up being about 95% lifestyle orientated following a weekend in Liverpool, my birthday, Christmas, anniversary, new year, and the only posts featured inbetween were hauls, as I can't seem to shop for others without shopping for myself! Looking back I realise that I massively miss doing all my beauty features and reviews and absolutely cannot wait to start posting up some more product reviews - I have a list as long as my arm of things that I want to talk about, starting right now with Love Lettuce.

Love Lettuce is a fresh face mask that was part of my 'Great Big Box of Lush Goodies' (see the haul post here: link) that I ordered online at the beginning of December and these face masks cost £5.95 for 75g of product. I love how these are kept in the fridge to add extra refreshment and a cooling sensation to the face when they are applied, and the smell of this mask isn't overpowering as the only detectable scent is lavendar which is only faint, but is still very calming and relaxing ..although I have no idea why this is called 'Love Lettuce' when there is no lettuce mentioned at all on the ingredients list - curious?

This one includes an almost perfect combination of ingredients and multi-tasks to provide multiple benefits to the skin; firstly, all of the ingredients are natural and Lush products contain no chemicals which of course is good for the skin, then the clay aspects of this mask draw out of the impurities and the tiny almond shells buff and exfoliate away the dead skin cells on removal of the mask and the lavendar and almond oils soften and smooth the surface providing nourishment. It's almost like a cleanse, exfoliate and moisturiser all in one.

 

I can't compare this much to the other masks available from Lush as the only other fresh one I have tried is 'Cupcake' which is specifically targetted for oily/teenage skin and draws out the excess oils, which I personally prefer to Love Lettuce, as Love Lettuce leaves behind a slight residue on the skin - lavender and almond oils are ingredients in this mask - which although they are softening agents and helps to balance natural sebum production, it wasn't a feeling that I liked being left behind, although this is a matter of personal preference.

 

I really enjoyed using this but I just don't think that it is something I would rush out to buy again in the near future. The number one reason for this being that I felt I had to rush to use it all up before it went out of date, as I had less than 3 weeks of use and I'd prefer a longer lasting product (although this means more chemicals and less natural ingredients) to avoid waste. This mask does work out as being good value for money, because although it costs almost £6 I did manage to get 7 uses from it and as you can see below I have covered my whole face in a thick layer [there was enough product left for an 8th use but I forgot to put it back in the fridge and it was 3 days past it's 'best before' date.. and umm.. it had gone fluffy with mould - EW!].

 

I would prefer to use this mask on occasions when my skin really needed a boost as the exfoliating aspect of the mask worked really, really well and my skin was glowing after using this and felt so incredibly soft and smooth. It worked very well and I did feel that there were impressive short term benefits to my skin, the only downside being, as I mentioned above, I felt like I over did it a little bit by using it so often so as not to waste it. Maybe in the future I'll have to go halves with my sister and we can both use it, or Lush should consider making smaller tubs for half the price!

 

But, if you're interested in a fresh and all natural ingredients face mask to give your skin a little scrub up and a radiance boost, and if you have the time to use this enough to get your money's worth out of it, then Love Lettuce is one for you!

Heyyyyy Sexy Lady!

Look out for exciting future reviews this month, including another Lush product, an amazing hair oil, a couple of gift sets, Clinique chubby stick intense, Soap & Glory skin care, my January sales haul and a new series called 'Top 3 Tuesday'.

♥ 

'Goodbye 2012..' | Resolutions & Plans for 2013

image source: weheartit

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

♥

 

I'm a day late wishing you all this, but I was hardly up to the task of blogging yesterday - my bed was all I needed. Being ill and having a hangover isn't a very healthy combination and I just thank the world that I'm not yet a member of the full time working world and have this day to stay in bed still and can recover fully! I welcomed the new year in by celebrating in Liverpool with my friends and had one of the best nights in a really long time. It was made extra special by the fact that my boyfriend was also in Liverpool with his friends and we were coincidentally in the same place when the clock struck midnight so I managed to get a new years kiss for the first time in 3 years!

 

So, we wave good bye to the year of 2012 - one of the best years that our country has had for a very long time, full of celebrations and reasons to be proud. A great year for sport, the Royal Family, and our country. 2012 was dominated by our hosting of the olympic games and our amazing success within the games, earning ourselves a total 65 medals, 29 of these being gold and finishing third in the medals table. Think Mo Farah, the Brownlee brothers, Ellie Simmonds, David Weir, Jessica Ennis, Andy Murray, Chris Hoy, Tom Daley, Bradley Wiggins, do you need me to say more?? Don't forget the Queen and James Bond jumping from the sky, and the Spice Girls performing at the closing ceremony. More celebrations during the Queen's Jubilee and of course it needs to be mentioned that Prince William and Kate Middleton announced their pregnancy this year too! Aw Royal Baby on the way! It's undeniable that all of this happiness and these celebrations brought us all together with 'pride' as a uniting factor.

 

image source: telegraph.co.uk

 

In beauty terms, 2012 was the year that everybody wanted Bioderma, Revlon Lip Butters, the Naked Palette, Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish, Origins skin care and Moroccan Oil! What will 2013 bring for us all? I have no idea, except that I know for sure I'll be picking up a few of the Rimmel Apocalips as soon as they are released at the end of January - they're set to be a huge hit.

 

2012 was the year that I started my blog, and although I've only properly been doing it for 5 months now I can't really imagine not having a little space to write my thoughts and rambles on anymore! I absolutely love it and I am also really grateful for all of the support and love that I have received over the past few months too. I reached the 500 follower milestone on new years eve which was an absolutely brilliant way for my blog to end it's first year and it made me so happy! Thank you to everybody that follows. I've also come across some really amazing people this year, through blogging, and it's restored my faith that not all girls are nasty bitches! How come girls who blog are so much nicer than normal girls? Everybody is just so kind and supportive of each other, encouraging and praising things that other bloggers do and it's a really great thing to see and be a part of.

 

On a personal level, I would say that 2012 hasn't been that special for me and there has been no stand out events of excitement, which is a shame but it did have a lot to live up with 2011 being such a good year. 2011 was the year that most of my friends turned 18 so there was lots of parties and celebrations with the novelty of 'going out' still being relatively fresh, and for the most part we were still in Sixth Form with no worries or stresses, we had our amazing girls holiday to Kavos, and first year of university began in September. So, when 2012 is compared to a year as eventful as that of course it seems a lot more tame and kind of dull! Most of my friends have settled down now with long term boyfriends and full time jobs so we're just not the party animals that we used to be ..20 going on 70! I'd still say 2012 was good for me though, because although nothing stood out as making it amazing, there was also nothing negative that stands out either. I've had no major troubles, problems or hard times this year which makes me incredibly lucky and for the most part I've been extremely happy with life.

 

What more is there to need when you have health, love, happiness and a roof over your head?

 

image source: weheartit

2013: It's compulsary to start all new years with a positive outlook and a brand new burst of motivation to make little changes to your life and make it the best that it can possibly be, and also to make yourself the best person that you can possibly be. I started to change my outlook on life towards the end of November and stopped saying 'no' to so many things and just tried to take more advantage of opportunities that come my way. I plan on keeping up this attitude to be a little bit more adventurous and just to 'do more'.

imagesource: weheartit

While browsing weheartit.com for motivational and inspirational images relevant to this post, I came across an adorable idea of having a jar at the beginning on the year and filling it with notes of the amazing things that have happened over 2013 and then emptying it out on new years eve to remind yourself of what's gone on throughout the year and all of the little moments of happiness that may have slipped your memory - I bet there'll be more than you think. I really want to do this, and I think I am going to find an empty jar as soon as I've posted this, but I just hope I don't fail on it by about March.

 

I'm not making any huge resolutions or long term plans as I'm more than content with how myself, and how my life is right now. I hope to continue smiling every day and be surrounded by my wonderful family, friends and boyfriend, stay positive and appreciate the little things in life. ♥

 

image source: weheartit

♥