2014 Resolutions

Good morning!

I'm sure you've all been thinking about it over the last few weeks, but it is time for some new resolutions now its the new year.

I've been having a think of some real and achievable resolutions that can actually be completed...which is sometimes a little difficult! It's too easy to eat crap, spend all my money and stay away from exercise, but hopefully this year will be different.

1) My biggest aim this year is to try and be happier. I've been working so hard the last few years trying to complete my Masters etc that a lot of things have been pushed to the side, including things that make me happier.

Over the next year I have a lot of events planned including Glastonbury and a lot of hen weekends/weddings, meeting old friends and lots of day trips.

Although I like keeping busy I also like time to myself so I'm going to try and get back into reading as I planned to read so much and never seem to have time. I also plan on getting rid of the things and people that don't make me happy....there are a few that I'm sure I can live without and need to distance myself from. Fingers crossed this will help!


2) My other big aim for the year is to get really fit. I already go to the gym 2/3/4 times a week whenever I can and although I enjoy it, over the winter months it has been hard work with minimal motivation and lots of traffic jams to stop me.
So far this year I have already been most days to either the gym, classes, running outside around the park or swimming. I'm hoping this will help me lose the few pounds I've put on over the winter and a few more that I'd planned on losing previously.

I've also signed up to a 10k run (I've never run this far EVER) and also at the end of the summer.....Tough Mudder. If any of you don't know what this is here is the link to the website, but basically it's a 10-12 mile course with 20 obstacles designed by Special Forces...eeek!
I've got a program worked out to get me fit and ready for that time which I plan on writing in a separate post. However any tips would be greatly appreciated!



3) Debt. Whilst I am slowly making my way through the money that I owe my parents, it is taking longer than I would like. I'm trying my hardest but it seems money really doesn't go very far at all nowadays and with 2 weddings and multiple hen weekends plus Glastonbury to pay for in the upcoming months I need to get my act together. Plus I'd like to move out soon and this will never happen with my debt!

First things first is a spending ban; the usual blogger thing after Christmas really but this time its for real!
I was doing well for MONTHS before Christmas working my way through my stash and avoiding buying anything new but as soon as Christmas came around there was a sudden surge in my buying and i completely lost it and I can't even tell you when!
I can 100% say that I am fully stocked up on anything I could need. The only things I will allow myself to buy beauty wise is face wipes, dry shampoo and things like bobbles etc which are a necessity to every day life and tend to run out faster (don't shout at me for face wipes, I remove the layer of grease from my face before properly cleansing-that's all!).

Aside from that there a few items of clothing that I will be needing and these include jeans (I have only 1 pair) leggings (same again), vest tops, and some additional gym wear as I cannot wash them fast enough!

These can wait for a little while but I plan on keeping this ban going until my birthday at the end of March so if i need them before then i will have to buy them.....but no more products!

4) A simple one - I plan on trying to say 'yes' instead of 'no'. It's time for some more fun, so let's say yes to more things right?

 

These are going to have to become my mottos!

What are your resolutions for 2014? Do you have anything different to mine?

I think they're pretty standard but fingers crossed I can complete them some what!

L xxx

UPDATE 101 things list

Today I've been updating my 101 things in 1001 days task. It ends in October so I thought I'd share how I was getting on. These past few months have been happy, positive ones for me and I'm really feeling motivated lately.

1. Learn to drive

2. Read 5 classic novels

3. Get the dream job (either go back to uni or find another) Starting back at University in Sept which should lead to the dream job!!

4. Sell a cake to someone  ( 3 cakes sold last week, huge smile)

5. Visit Paris

6. Try 10 new foods (1. Sushi 2.wasabi peas 3. hollandaise sauce, 4. seabass, 5. black pudding 6. kippers, 7. Taramasalata 8. )

7. Go on a girls holiday

8. Ring to my grandparents more often (ringing them fortnightly, it's hard as neither of them can hear me, now ring on fridays to have a quick chat)

9. Give Star Wars a chance and watch all the films 

10. Start a hobby or exercise class (Half there on this one, I know regularly run)

11. Volunteer in a homeless shelter

12. Get out of my overdraft

13. Get extensions (my hair never grows past shoulder length :( boo) (they are now fitted and I love them, post found here)

14. Watch 100 new films (1. The Vow, 2. 500 days of summer 3. Avengers 4. The Midnight Meat Train 5. Hard Candy 6. The Lazarous Project 7. Spy Hard 8.Horrible bosses 9. XMen origins 10. Usual Suspects 11. Passengers 12. Basketball 13.The mothman prophecies 14.Nightwatch 15. Flightplan 16.The Mist, 17. Peacock 18. Borat 19. American Pie Reunion 20. 2 days in New York 21. Magic Mike 22. Spiderman 23. Batman 24. Ted 25. Friends With Benefits 26. Twilight 27. Casino Royale 28. Quantum of Solace 29. Skyfall 30. Silver Linings Playbook. 31.LOTR 1 32. LOTR 2 33 LOTR 3 (really wasn't interested in them so don't know the names but I sat through them. 34. Star Wars iv 35. Star Wars v 36. Star Wars vi 37. Avengers Assemble 38. Django Unchained, 39. Wreck it Ralph, 40. Antiviral, 41. The Campaign, 42.Taken 2, 43. Les Mis, 44. Anchorman 2 45. Hunger Games Catching FIre 46. Star Wars 1 47. Star Wars 2 48. Star wars 3 49. The Impossible 50. White house down 51. Wreck it Ralph 52. . 

15. Get down to 10 stone (Eating healthy and exercising now. Got below it for holiday but haven't maintained)

16. Visit 5 new cities in the UK (1. Stratford upon Avon, 2. Brighton

17. Have a BBQ on the beach like old times

18. Have organised storage for my make up and nail varnish (make up now sorted out and stored better but still not how I want it. Post on it here.)

19. Continue blogging

20. Get a new piercing (I got a surface piercing by my tragus)

21. Go to go ape (tree top adventure)

22. Be a tourist in my own town (go on the red bus) (I have now been to the museum)

23. Purchase a food processor (seems a random one but I love cooking and baking)

24. Win a competition (I'm yet to win a competition) (won a necklace from Adorning Ava a competion hosted on http://www.theagoraphobicfashionista.com/, whooo)

25. Purchase a Mulberry (I got myself Mulberry shoes so I'm counting this)

26. Visit the science museum (L and I went in February)

27. Buy a high end foundation (after being thoroughly disappointed by Chanel Perfection Lumiere I purchased Mac Pro long wear and I love it, full review here)

28. Purchase my first item of Mac (eeeek, I love it all already, here is my haul)

29. Own over 100 nail varnishes (With the addition of my Ciate Mini Mani Month I've reached this)

30. Do my third half marathon

31. Actually train for it (the other two I've done with out training and that ended in pain)

32. Go to a Roller Disco / Derby

33. Learn a language

34. Get first aid qualified

35. Donate platelets 10 times (providing I test ok to do it, if not give blood every 3 months) (blood test done waiting on results, unsure if I will be able to do this as my veins may not be strong enough, first donation 27.4.12, this donation didn't go to plan, my vein couldn't take the speed of the blood returning to my body, as I can't complete this one I will be donating whole blood over this period instead. Whole blood can only be donated every 16 weeks so I won't have time to make 10 donations. donated 9.8.12. Donation 21.12.12 Donated 6.7.13.)

36. Host a Dinner Party

37. Go to 3 weddings (this I can't control but I love weddings) As of June this will be done and I have one in september so technically that's four

38. Be in the audience for a tv show

39. Watch the sunrise on a beach

40. Visit a food festival

41. Go to newt beer fest

42. Go to V fest

43. Go to Glastonbury (whoooo this is actually happening!)

44. Actually meet up with a friend I've not seen for 4 years (whooo saw her on 18.5.12, will be doing this more)

45. Reach 100 blog followers (whooo we have recently done this withint the past week 5.9.12 so happy to have reached this)

46. Ride a mechanical bull

47. Inspire someone else to do this list

48. Stop biting my nails and get them strong and healthy (By using nail envy for almost a month and painting them less they are definitely better, haven't bit them in ages either. Started biting them again this week (10.8.12) so annoyed at myself)

49. Sell 50 things on ebay (15.2.12 15 items sold, 29.2.12 5 items sold 19.4.12 10 items sold, 1.8.12 sold 8 items, 3.7.13 3 items sold)

50. Go to a gig

51. Make a three course meal for my family 

52. Say yes to 20 things you'd normally say no to (I am really trying to do this and have lately definitely been putting myself out there and going to occasions where I only know one person which usually is the birthday person)

53. Learn the flute

54. Grow a plant from a seed

55. Knit a scarf (yay I completed this and I'm pretty inpressed)

56. Go to a comedy show (went in bristol on 30th June 2012, was really funny)

57. Do 10 outdoor things/ country walks

58. Kiss at the top of the London eye

59. Spend new years eve in a place I've not spent it before and a different place each year (this one is now sadly not able to be completed! Personally I hate New Years Eve and set this to make me enjoy it more which hasn't happened and this year L and I decided to have an quiet night in after spending way too much the weekend before)

60. Attend a midnight première (L and I went to see Twilight)

61. Take a pole dancing class

62. Start saving for a house deposit  (this could be happening. I have the option to buy a house but since breaking up with the Ex and moving into a houseshare I'm now happy living with people so I'm unsure what to do.)

63. Take a sleeper train

64. Go to a national park

65. Watch wiked

66. Watch a live rugby match

67. Identify 10 constellations

68. Buy a homeless man a meal

69. Drink 10 cocktails I've never tried (1. French Martini 2. Vodka Moonshine 3, Flirtini 4. 10 Feet Tall Grog 5.Summer Fruit Soother, 6.Del Boy, 7.Missippi Mudslide 8. ) 

70. Make a bar area in my house /  flat

71. Take a road trip

72. Bake 10 new things (lemon roulade, profiteroles, pannacotta)

73. Sort out my music collection and regularly add to it. (I'm now using spotify and making playlists all the time.)

74. Watch a ballet

75. Go to a burlesque show

76. Get a fish pedicure

77. Create a tumbler and do project 365 (take a photo everyday for a year) (again I've now missed the opportunity to complete this. Maybe I'll start soon and just aim for 6 months)

78. Go skiing (can be a dry ski slope)

79. Read 50 new books (1. mini shopaholic by sophie kinsella 2. book of the dead by patricia cornwell 3. James Patterson Private London, 4. 50 shades of grey, 5. 50 shades darker, 6. 50 shades freed, 7. the hunger games, 8 catching fire, 9 the mocking jay 10. James Patteron 11th Anniversary 11.We bought a zoo Benjamin Mee, 12. Blue Monday Nicci French, 13. James Patterson Kill Alex Cross, 14. The People Next Door Christopher Ransom, 15.Jamer Patterson Merry Christmas Alex Cross, 16. Salmon fishing in the Yemen Paul Torday, 17. Chris Carter The night Stalker, 18. Chris Carter The Executioner, 19. Silver Linings Playbook David O Russell, 20. The lucky one Nicholas Sparks,21. A Walk to Remember Nicholas Sparks, 22. The Help Kathryn Stockett, 23.again not updating this regularly means I've missed out on lots of books. At least 6 more books were read on the exs kindle. )

80. Get engaged (hopefully this will happen as by then I'll be 25 and I would like to be engaged by then ) This is another one now off the list after me and the Ex broke up as it definitely won't be happening in the next 10 months but I'm also happy it won't be. A friend said something to me on her wedding day that really hit home about how much I had settled for something that wasn't right for me. It was hard to hear but she was 100% right. Now I'm doing what makes me happy!

81. Give up alcohol for a month

82. Send 20 handwritten letters to loved ones

83. Make my own skirt

84. Send a shoe box to Africa at Christmas

85. Go without chocolate for a month

86. Take an evening class / short course

87. Have a friend choose a complete outfit and you have to buy it

88. Bake 5 celebration cakes ( 5 baked, brothers vw van, mums flower cake and cupcakes and boyfriends hockey jersey, 30th birthday cake and baby shower cake)

89. Send anonymous flowers to someone having a bad day/week

90. Sleep on a beach

91. Make my own wine

92. Go to the driving range

93. Learn basic household DIY (plumbing etc)

94. Dress up for Halloween and have a party (L and I did dress up and go out but no party!)

95. Go go-karting or zorbing

96. Go on a camping trip

97. Do 5 random acts of kindness (bought a homeless man some food, will be doing more often seeing how grateful he was)

98. See the Northern Lights

99. Learn to surf

100. Volunteer abroad

101. Be happy with what I have at the end of this

I hope to achieve all of these if possible, I'll keep this updated

M xxx

Bourjois Khol and Contour Ultra Black

Hey all

Hope you all had great weekends. Mine turned out better than expected but I'm concerned at how I'll be feeling as this post goes live as I ended up at a house party on Saturday and stopped drinking at about 5 and ended up getting home at 9am. Ooops. I remained hangover free which isn't normal for me so hopefully I just got lucky.

Today I wanted to share this boujois khol and contour liner. I was lucky enough to win this last year but as I have loads of black eye liners it went in the drawer and was forgotten about until I grabbed it recently.

The packaging is standard and what you'd expect for a liner. The ultra black intrigued me as I'm always looking for a liner that is as dark as can be and that stays dark on the water line. When I first tried this I wasn't impressed. It didn't seem to really go onto my water line well which is why it was left for so long in my make up stash. It is a hard liner and I think this is why I had problems at first as it is a hard formulation and was obviously very sharp.

I'm so glad I gave it another try as it is a great liner. It seems to work really well now. I don't know what's changed but it's a great liner and transfers well on the water line and is really black. I love using this as it does also stay put really well. It can be smudged a little for a smokier look if done straight away.s

So far all the Bourjois make up I've tried has impressed me. It's a brand I'm wishing I tried more of sooner.

Love M

xxx

Label.M Thickening Shampoo, Conditioner and Cream*

Hi all.

Hope you've had a great weekend. Mine has been a stressful one after I stupidly left my purse on the bus meaning yesterday morning was spent cancelling all my cards. I was lucky it was handed in untouched so I'm now just cardless for a few weeks while it gets sorted as in the mess of moving I hadn't changed addresses on a lot of my things making one big mess!!

Anyway onto today's post. We are both big fans of big hair. I love the big volumised wave look. I'm always want the volume people like Kate Middleton and Cheryl Cole have. My hair is personally thin and rather damaged at the moment due to dying it way too much over the past few months.

We were asked if we fancied trying the new Label.M thickening range*. We both couldn't wait to try this after both falling in love with previous Label.M products such as the protein spray and honey and oat shampoo and conditioner.

I love that the packaging on this range and the bright red makes it really stand out in the shower. The shampoo and conditioner are a standard 250ml and the thickening cream is 100ml.

As soon as these arrived I hopped in the shower to test them out. The shampoo lathered up well and the conditioner felt good in the shower and made my hair less tangled and surprisingly I haven't noticed my hair falling out with this set. (very few shampoos and conditioners do this).

When drying my hair I did notice a downside. As someone who has over processed their hair mine did feel dry and I think it was missing a conditioner that added moisture to it. With that aside though my hair definitely felt bigger and held volume better and for longer. I've been using a hot air brush a lot lately and after using this range of products it was easier and volume stayed better at the roots.

As my hair condition isn't great at the moment I'll be using these before a night out. They are perfect for easier styling and making styles last longer.

Love M

xxx

Hello! I've been using this set from Label.m over Christmas and have been absolutely loving it.

First of all let me just mention how gorgeous the packaging is, I do love the simple shape of the products and the bright red colour is gorgeous and looks high end. Next, the product itself is actually pink!

Who doesn't love a pink product!

The shampoo lathers up so easily and the conditioner is great for adding moisture into my hair. The thickening cream is also a lovely addition and doesn't seem to weigh down my hair at all.

I have been blessed with hair thats a little contradictory. It is fine and very long, however it does have certain parts which have really thick hair which generally baffles hair dressers but most of the time it's easy to manage and for that I am grateful!

I am always looking for bigger hair and being a fan of the Megan Fox waves that I continually strive towards and never seem to quite get it right, I was hoping this would help me out.

I found after using all three products together that my hair was definitely bigger and had a lot more volume than it did before. Unfortunately I was ill over the Christmas period and didn't have any big plans for NYE so I am yet to try out the vintage waves whilst using these products but hopefully I will get to use them soon.

I really liked using these products and they definitely had the desired effects. However after using them for 2 weeks non stop I have found that they do dry my hair out slightly, maybe its due to the weather and constant air conditioning in work also but I think i will keep these for Saturday nights out when the full effects will be necessary as I have to keep my hair tied back for work.

These retail from Label.m here and the prices for each product ranges from £12.25 to £15.25.

I would definitely recommend them for the times when your hair needs a boost for an occasion as they worked great on my super long hair.

Have you tried the thickening range? Have you tried anything else from Label.M?

L xxx