2018 Goals

I already had my goals set in mind for the year ahead and had no intention of writing up this post. But as 2018 has started off really shit, I thought that maybe writing my goals down will make me feel more positive and determined to smash 2018 in the face!

Eating healthier, fitness & starting dance classes again

I've become so unhealthy and lazy over the festive period, I can't wait to start eating healthier and get back into my fitness routine. I haven't been back to my dance class for about a year. I stopped going when I was in a full time job as I literally had no time for it and my hours were all over the place. Getting back into dance will definitely happen this year because I've missed it terribly.

Blog more

This time last year, I had hardly no motivation to blog and it only got worse from there. I don't blog all the time but I definitely put a lot of effort and time into it - I've never really had a break from it. Since September, I have been more motivated and gained lots of ideas so hopefully I'll have a good year of blogging.

Qualify as a beauty therapist & get a job at the end of it

I am studying for my level 2 beauty course at the moment in which I'm hoping to be qualified by June/July time. Once I'm then qualified, I'm expecting to get either a full time or part time job as a beauty therapist. I would obviously prefer full time but we'll see what happens when the time comes.

Get another job

I'm currently working as a self employed nail technician and as much as I love it, the money isn't great. I only took the self employed route back in August, so of course I still don't have my client base. Products aren't cheap to buy and now the busy Christmas period is over, work is dead. I have the usual regular clients but it just isn't enough. So, I'd like to get another job along side my nail work until I qualify as a beauty therapist.

Maybe start YouTube again

I think I published my first ever YouTube video back when I was fourteen years old. I then published and deleted videos on and off till I was probably sixteen. I started YouTube again on a brand new channel back in 2016 but due to having no confidence and worried that someone would notice me, I ended up deleting the videos. I have been thinking about getting back into it as I really enjoyed the full works of it - filming and editing etc.

Start saving up again

I was in the middle of saving up for a new car and for mine and Liams first home, but paying for that beauty course has literally wiped my bank account and put everything on hold. So, as that beauty course is now paid for and I'm on the lookout for a second job, I'm going to save as much as I can. 

Do you have anything you'd like to achieve in 2018?

What I Got For Christmas 2017

Ayyy, happy new year! We're finally in 2018 - I'm gonna be honest, this year has started out pretty shit but I have so much to look forward to this year so I'm just going to try and keep positive. Anyway, getting back onto the topic of this post... I had no idea what to ask for this year so a lot of presents were surprises. 

I really wasn't expecting to get as much perfume as I did - I got my favourites; YSL Black Opium and Britney's Midnight Fantasy along with Lady Million and BOSS Orange. I'm definitely stocked up for the year now! I also got a gorgeous set of underwear from Boux and from Pandora, I got a beautiful ring and earrings from Liam. I also got other bits of jewellery alongside Liams too. 

My parents surprised the hell out of me by getting me a new TV! I didn't see this one coming at all. I remember seeing it standing against the unit on Christmas Day and I was literally like WTF IS THAT!? I'm so pleased with it though, the TV remote has a YouTube and Netflix button and ahh I'm literally in my bedroom all the time now. Of course I had the Christmas music playing whilst taking these photos.

I couldn't wait to use the Moondust palette on Boxing Day! As you know, I love glitter! The colours in this are beautiful and I also used this palette for NYE too. I was super impressed with the No7 rose gold mirror. I had the exact same in silver but obviously, this colour is a lot more me. 

Of course I got a few new pairs of shoes - you know me, ha! I was so happy to get new pyjamas and clothes too. My wardrobe needs updating so bad! I got a new faux fur jacket from River Island, which I actually chose myself and oh my god, it's so cosy! My parents also bought me a new dressing gown from Jasper Conran... lushhh! Ooh and I got Tinkerbell. My car is called Tinkerbell and my mum has actually wanted to get me a Tinkerbell teddy for ages to put in my car but they've always been too big, so she's finally got me one. So cute! 

Alongside these presents, I got the usual money, bath bombs, alcohol, socks, sweets, chocolate and a scratch card which I won £20 on by the way, jus' saying... Winner winner chicken dinner!!!!!

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and New Year! I certainly did, I'm so grateful. What did you get for Christmas?

Best Beauty Buys of 2017!

I can't believe the end of 2017 is getting closer. I know we all say it every year, but this year really has flown by! Literally, Christmas and New Years Eve have appeared from out of no where! I've bought and tried many different beauty products this year, and managed to round up my favourite and most loved beauty products from 2017.

Black Opium Perfume

I remember discovering this perfume sometime last year and I just had to pop it down on my birthday list. So, I've been using it since my birthday back in June and I'm still not bored of it. Literally everyone comments on it and says how gorgeous the smell is. 

Bobbi Brown Eye Repair Cream

I actually found this little winner back in 2016 but I've carried on buying it and have used it a lot more throughout 2017. It brightens my under eye area and gets rid of those unwanted dark circles. It also firms those little fine lines under your eyes. I will carry on using this forever more unless I find another product that's better.

L'Oréal True Match Foundation

I've tried this quite recently for the first time, you may have already read the review on my blog. How I didn't try it sooner, I'll never know... this is a great little number! It's more of a liquid consistency and it's very light. This foundation lasts me a good six hours. Full review, here.

Epoch Glacial Marine Mud Mask
I bought this mud mask through a company called NuSkin back in the Summer. It wasn't cheap but I saw great results and reviews online, so I caved in and bought it. You don't need a lot of product to cover your face as it's really runny. I leave it on for about 15-20 minutes and then wash off with a face cloth. It really does get right into your pores and gives your skin a good cleanse. 

Freedom Brow Pomade
I made the purchase of this brow pomade back in January, so I've been using this particular product for almost a year which is amazing! It was so affordable aswell, a fiver, which is fantastic as I and many other people think it's a dupe of the Anastasia Beverley Hills brow pomade. I've written about it in a blog post, here.

The Body Shop Drops of Youth Concentrate

I had never tried anything like this before but I can now see why people use facial oils now. I do have sensitive skin and this product actually irritated it within the first few days of using it but since then, it's worked wonders for me. Before going to sleep, I use about three drops and massage lightly into my skin and then apply my moisturiser. You can definitely feel the difference when you wake up the next morning.

Makeup Obsession Highlighter 'Moon'
I had never heard of Makeup Obsession before until watching one of SophDoesNails videos on YouTube. Soph actually recommended this highlighter, so I bought it! It's crazy pigmented and only £3! Honestly, look nowhere else for a good affordable highlighter!

PRO.VOKE Touch of Silver Shampoo
I tried this hair range back in the Summer months and oh my was I pleased - I've been using it ever since! For one, it smells absolutely gorgeous and two, it does a bloody good job. If your hair looks dull or needs toning, look no further. It leaves my hair silky soft too... perfect for bleached blondes. 

The Body Shop Shea Exfoliating Sugar Scrub
I only use scrubs for exfoliating and before I fake tan. This smells amazing and will definitely last me ages as it's quite a big pot. I love the Body Shop products, I think they're all worth their price. 

Urban Decay De-Slick Setting Spray
I've been used to the normal 'all nighter' setting spray. When I ran out of the 'all-nighter', I decided to try out the 'de-slick' oil control setting spray. Of course I get on much more with 'de-slick' as I have oily skin so it's perfect.

Revlon Colorstay Foundation
I bought this foundation before I bought L'Oréal's True Match. This particular foundation is for combination/oily skin which was perfect for me, I also loved the colour as well! I've currently ran out of it and won't buy anymore until I've used up True Match. Read a full review, here.

Happy New Year! See you in 2018 x

A Lookback on 2017

Oh what a year it has been! 2017 really hasn't been that much of a good year for me.

As much as I don't want to think about the past year, I want to dig out the good parts to make myself feel better about things I have achieved and feel more determined for 2018!

January - March

Starting off this year in a stable, full-time job at Boux Avenue - I became a qualified bra fitting expert. Boux Avenue was the most loveliest and friendliest company to work for. The only reason I left back in July was because I hated working in retail with a passion. I was there for eleven months and that was more than enough for me - getting back onto that later.

I also got a couple of new tattoos to add to my lil' collection. Yes, of course I still want more. Hopefully, I'll be able to get them done very soon. Plus, I finally broke up with my twisted ex - I haven't actually mentioned much about what happened. But, I found myself the most loveliest man, Liam, with an amazing family back in March. We've actually known eachother since we were like twelve years old and we live about a ten second walk away from eachother. I sadly lost my uncle the same day as my nan was admitted into hospital after having another stroke - so that was really hard for me. Liam was so supportive considering we had only just got together.

April - May

In April, mum and I headed to Londons O2 Arena to see Olly Murs live. Obviously we did quite a bit of shopping beforehand and Olly is amazing live and mum even enjoyed the concert too! Liam and I have spent quite a bit of time in the cinema watching new movies, especially Beauty and The Beast and the new Pirates of The Caribbean movie. I had been shopping in Cambridge - it was lovely by the way, I had never been there before. I also got invited to go on holiday to Grantham in Lincoln with Liam and his family for a week in May. It was lovely to just get away from everything.

June - August

I turned 20 in June and as my best friends birthday is two days after mine, we shared our birthday night out. We did the same last year and they've always been really good nights. I had been thinking about going back into hairdressing for a good few months by this point, so I attended an interview at a local hair salon and got the job. So, I handed in my notice at Boux Avenue and started working as a hairdresser.

After a couple of weeks there, I realised that hairdressing really weren't for me. I got so depressed and down that I had to leave. So, I was then stuffed, I didn't have a job. I didn't know what to do and I applied for loads of jobs. Anyway, I was already qualified as a nail technician, so I applied for a self employed nail technician position at a new beauty salon in my hometown and I got the job. Liam's family asked if I'd like to go to Mexico with them next year and of course I couldn't turn that down, so we're heading to Mexico in August and I am so excited!

September - October

Working self employed was hard work. I obviously had no client base whatsoever and I lost a lot of money. I moved into a well-known tanning salon in my local area which helped me much more with getting a client base. I then had my first one to one psychic experience in October. The whole psychic and spiritual thing interests me. Everything the psychic said was on point and my twin brother even came through in spirit, I will definitely go again next year. Shortly after, I became really ill and ended up having glandular fever. I was tired all the time, I felt sick, dizzy, had numerous amounts of headaches and was back and forth to the doctors and even had an emergency doctor called out. It's finally gone, thank god! I wouldn't wish it upon anyone.

November - December

In November, I had never felt so depressed and down in my whole life. Everything had just gotten on top of me, I felt like I was really struggling. Luckily Liam was supportive throughout everything and I know he's always there if I need to talk to anyone now - which is really strange as I've never had that much support before. Earlier this month, I met up with old school friends and we had a lot to catch up on. I think we're now going to make it more of a regular thing in the new year.

Liam hadn't been to a pantomime since he was young, so I took him with me to see Sleeping Beauty at our local theatre - he really enjoyed it. We also spent our first Christmas together which was so lovely, we had been looking forward to it for months. Liam and I wanted to do something for our 1 year anniversary in March, so we booked a couple of nights away in London, and I'll tell you now that I can't bloody wait to get away! I never usually do anything for New Years Eve but I'm celebrating with Liam and his family this year, so that will be nice to see the new year in.

After writing this long ass post, I have realised that I really don't know where I'd be without the new people in my life. I'm so determined to make 2018 the year for me and for my career to arise! I can't wait to look back on this post this time next year and see the progression and how different life is.