Tuesday 31 December 2013

Let's take a look back into 2013...

Hi everybody!

How fast has this year gone?! I can't believe 2014 is just around the corner and we have to say goodbye to 2013. I can remember writing a similar post to this taking a look back into 2012, which was an unbelievable year! For me, 2013 has been a mixture of a year. It's had its ups and downs however, the majority of it has been amazing! I thought I'd share with some of my favourite moments of the year, along with a few (really badly done) collages that I made with a few of my favourite pictures. So, let's begin...

Family


London
At the beginning of the year, my parents and I travelled to London for a few days, as a sort of mini holiday. London is one of my favourite cities and I used to go quite a lot when I was younger as my dad worked there so I know the city quite well. However, when he changed jobs, we weren't able to visit as much as we used to. Now, that he is located back in London, we decided to make a little journey down South for a long weekend. We went shopping in London and Westfield, did all the touristy sightseeing things and then went to see Wicked which is something I've been wanting to see for a very long time. This visit brought me back to when we used to go down and it was nice to just get away and spend time with the family. Also, I had just got a new camera for Christmas so I was very excited to look like a typical tourist with it round my neck and take a few (just kidding, a lot) of photos!

Cayman Islands
Our family holiday this year was to the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean and it's safe to say that this was one of my favourite holidays by far. Having two weeks relaxing in the sun, getting a tan and eating food was just perfect! I honestly could've lived there, I didn't want to leave! I think this would definitely be a place to revisit. I did a blog post about my holiday to Grand Cayman so if you want have a look, check it out here.

Great North Run
My dad started running as a hobby and decided to run the Great North Run which is a half marathon race in the North of England where people from around the country take part in. This year, my dad did it for St.Oswald's Hospice, a charity close to our family's heart and did us all proud! A few of us went to support and also went down to the charity village to meet him at the finish line. Although the weather was pretty cold and miserable, he still did it and we were all smiling. I think the fact that I saw and got a photo of Mo Farah was also another highlight to this event ;-)

Family Photos
When I was little, my dad used to do 'the magic'. This was when he basically put his camera on self-timer and took a photo of us all. We thought it was amazing, but nowadays, it's a pretty simple thing to do. It's not really magic anymore. But to bring back that little bit of childhood, we decided to do a couple this year. since my brother is at uni, we rarely get photos of all of us together because he is hardly ever home so we set up the tripod, put my camera on and boom....we have a few photos.


Friends

Malham
In March, I went on a school trip to Malham in Yorkshire for a Geography fieldtrip. We stayed there for 5 days to do preparation for our exams. Although it was a school visit and we had to do work, the other times were great. I remember a few of us went on a walk in the pitch black once and because where we stayed was in such an isolated area, that made it extra scary. One night, we were all so scared that we sprinted back to the house with our torches and had no idea where we were running because we couldn't see a thing. The amounts of cups of tea we had that week was ridiculous but it honestly was a pretty good trip!

Summer
Summer is always my favourite time of the year because I feel like you can do absolutely anything and don't have the pressure of school, work etc. One of my best memories would be when I went to York with one of my closest companions (he told me to say that), Matthew. I love York and like London, it's one of my favourite cities. We did a spot of shopping, but when I go to York I tend to spend ages in shops so I wouldn't really say a spot ;-) I think I might have bored Matthew out by spending a while in Boots. Sorry ;-) Another good memory would be my birthday. I always love celebrating my birthday because it's in Summer and I'm always off school. A group of friends and I went to Pizza Express for a nice meal but I also got to spend time with my family on the actual day of my birthday so I had a really nice time. I wrote an outfit post which you can read here. I can finally drive now yey! 

18th Birthdays
As of September, I have entered the year where everyone is turning 18. However, being an August baby, I have to wait until after everyone else which is just unfair. It really is. Anyway, a lot of my friends had little parties at their houses so it was great to celebrate their birthdays with everyone and I'm sure there'll definitely be more to come. Next year is going to be amazing for birthdays!

Christmas
The weekend before Christmas was probably one of the best weekends I had throughout the year. On the Friday, I took part in a 12 hour lacrosse competition at school to raise money for a charity called Victim Support. It was great fun but so tiring. I think by 4 in the morning everyone just wanted their beds but we still managed to play a few more matches! The next day I basically went straight to sleep for about 4 hours and then started to get ready for our sixth form Christmas party. That was such a good night, had such a good laugh with everyone! Then the day after it was my best friend, Sarah's 18th and we went round her house for a party. This was fun but VERY interesting, I have to say!

There you have it, my little review of 2013. It's been a pretty rollercoaster of a year but honestly, I have loved it. I just want to say thank you (cue cheesy moment) to everyone who has been a part of it and I hope next year will be even better! I really hope you all have a lovely start to the New Year, whatever you are doing and all the best for 2014 from me! :D

Happy New Year!

Charlotte xxx

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Sunday 29 December 2013

Christmas 2013: Beauty Gifts.



Merry Christmas!

I know it's a late Merry Christmas but I thought I'd say it anyway! I hope you all had a great Christmas, I had such an amazing Christmas this year: spending time with family, relaxing and of course, having Christmas dinner (the best part). I received some amazing gifts and I am honestly so grateful for everything!

I always love these type of posts because I always find a good product that I might be able to snap up in the sales or add to my current beauty wishlist, and I'm sure a lot of you are the same (unless you're just little nosey parkers ;-)). I'd just like to put a disclaimer out there that I'm not in any way shape or form bragging about any of the gifts I received I just thought it would be nice to share with you the beauty gifts that I was given, after all this is a beauty blog! I mainly received these presents off my parents but also from a few other family members like my grandma and aunty and uncle. Last year, my mam made me a beauty box full of hair, skin and make up products so I hinted to her this year how much I looooved that idea and she made me another one. So, here we go, I'll stop waffling.

Make Up

I've been wanting to make my own MAC eyeshadow palette for so long and so I added it to my Christmas list but honestly didn't think I'd get one. I opened my present of my grandma and immediately saw the black MAC packaging and was like omg. I was so shocked to see the palette! She also got me three eyeshadows: All That Glitters, Sable and Handwritten and then I bought Woodwinked a couple of days after. As well as buying Woodwinked, I also bought the MAC Studio Fix concealor in the shade NW15, so technically this isn't an actual gift but it was a gift to myself so I thought I'd include it anyway! In my little beauty box from Santa, I received the well-hyped Benefit Rockateur blush! I was so grateful to get this and can't wait to try it! I don't want to ruin it cause it looks too pretty. I was also given a dusky pink nail polish from Marks and Spencer, a Soap and Glory lip butter and a gorgeous brown eyeshadow duo from Topshop. Then, from my Aunty and Uncle I was given two gift sets from No7, which includes neutral eyeshadow shades with two eyeshadow brushes and in the other it has a mini mascara, lipstick and nail varnish.

Skincare

Next up is skincare. Of course, I was given a Lush bath bomb. My mam knows I love lush and when I got my favourite ever bath bomb I was buzzin! It is the Comforter, which is a blackcurrent smelling bubble bar that makes your bath go pink! PERFECT. I received a lovely Jimmy Choo shower gel to go with my perfume and a Pure Natural Beauty skin exfoliator. I also got my favourite ever moisturiser which is the Benefit Total Moisture Facial Cream. Funnily enough, I got a sample of this in my last christmas box and loved it so I asked for the bigger size and got it! As well as this I received the Benefit Foamingly Clean Facial Wash and the bareMinerals Exfoliating Treatment Cleanser and some bog standard facial wipes from good old Sainsbury's.

Haircare


Last but not least is haircare. I received a Mark Hill 'Gorgeous Brunette' box set off my Aunty. I remember getting some last year and loved the products so very excited to use these again! As well as the set, out of my box I was given the Aussie Dual Personality Anti-Frizz and Conditioning Milk which I have already tried and it is absolutely lovely! A Bed Head Conditioner and James Brown Intensive Moisture Mask was also added alongside my favourite sea salt spray by L'Oreal and also some L'Oreal Elnette hairspray which is funny because I always borrow my mam's and I think she gets slightly annoyed. I got the hint mam!





So there you have it, a little snippet into my beauty gifts I gratefully received for Christmas. I'm going to be honest I never put photos on or anything of what I got for Christmas because I don't want people to think I'm showing off, which I'm not, but I thought instead of showing you what I got altogether, I'd create a little collection of my beauty gifts to fit in with the trend! 

I am so thankful for all of the gifts I received this year and I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and have the best New Year!

Charlotte xxx

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Thursday 26 December 2013

Who to watch...

Hey guys!

I love watching YouTube videos. Watching YouTube has become part of my daily routine and when my favourite YouTubers upload a new post, I get all excited like a child on Christmas Eve (or maybe a 17 year old girl who still acts like a kid when it comes to Christmas...). So I thought I'd share with you who I've been loving lately and why and would recommend any of them to you!



Gabriella has only been on YouTube for about 7 months but she honestly looks like a professional. She is so beautiful and her make up tutorials are amazing. She makes very creative looks and always gives her full opinion on everything. She is so quirky as well which is what I love about her! Definitely a new favourite!



Sophie is so adorable and so pretty! I love watching her videos and has honest opinions on everything! Her make up always looks flawless and she has such a soft voice that makes her really easy to listen to. That sounds so weird but honestly, watch her videos!



*Trying to pronounce that in my BEST French accent* Becca's videos are really girly and quirky. I love watching her haul and lookbook videos and she's so funny to watch, she comes out with some amusing things. She's also becoming really close friends with Gabs from Velvetgh0st and together they're hilarious!



Chloe is another beauty YouTuber who I absolutely love. I started watching her through Velvetgh0st (Gabriella is getting a lot of mention today!) after she gave her a few shoutouts on Instagram and I am not disappointed. She is also one of my new favourites and I loooove her make up tutorials so much, they're perfect for what I like doing!



Corrie has been my all time favourite blogger/YouTuber since I first got into blogging. I love her videos and always trust her opinion on everything! Actually, whenever she says something good about a product, I'm always adding it to my wishlist. She is gorgeous and I absolutely love her style, hair and make up. She's also just got the cutest dog ever! Watch her videos! You can also check out her blog too. Ultimate fav!



So these are daily vloggers who basically film every single day of their lives. I've watched them for over a year now and I love watching them. Jonathon and Anna are the nicest couple and have the most adorable little girl, Emilia. They're also expecting a baby boy which I am soooo excited about, can't contain it! Feel like I'm part of their family *emotional moment*.

There you have it, my current favourite YouTubers. Let me know in the comments below who you love to watch and give me some recommendations! I always love discovering new channels!

Hope you have a great week!

Charlotte xxx

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Wednesday 4 December 2013

Sleek Blush in Rose Gold






Sleek's Rose Gold is one of those raved about beauty buys on the good old blogosphere, being duped to the likes of Nars Orgasm blush, another highly popular product. Rose Gold is a deep pink toned blush with a gorgeous gold shimmer running through it. As well as giving a highly pigmented splash of colour to the cheeks, it also gives a subtle highlight, which is evident when the light shines on the cheek area. It is not too overpowering but lasts all day. 

This is my first ever Sleek purchase and I have to say I am very impressed. The packaging is practical, small and compatible with a handy mirror included. The pigmentation and colour is spot on. I do love a good pink blush, perfect for waking up tired skin.


At a price of £4.99 from Superdrug, it is affordable and so worth it.

What's your favourite Sleek product? Have you tried this blush?

Charlotte xxx

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Monday 2 December 2013

What I'm Listening To...November.


A mix of relaxing and dancing music. After all, it is getting into the party season...

1. All Night - Icona Pop
2. Free - Rudimental feat. Emeli Sande
3. Hey Brother - Avicii
4. Juliet - Lawson
5. Move - Little Mix
6. Of the Night - Bastille
7. Sexy Lady - Jessie J
8. Story of My Life - One Direction
9. Under Control - Calvin Harris and Alesso feat. Hurts
10. Wrecking Ball - James Arthur (Cover)

Let me know what you guys have been listening to!

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