The Liebster Award

I am so incredibly grateful to have been nominated for the Liebster Award by the lovely Emily over at Little Emily Jane, and Ivana from Little and Flushed. Please go and check out their blogs, they are both lovely girls. I've read other bloggers posts and genuinely never in a million years though that anyone would nominate me!

Weight Loss Wednesday: Week #1

I have decided to be a part of fellow blogger Jennifer over at Barely There Beauty's Weight Loss Wednesdays. It's a community for us bloggers, where we motivate each other in our goals to lose weight and get fit for 2014. If you also want to become a part of #BLOGGERSWLW, head on over to Jennifer's blog: http://www.barelytherebeauty.com/p/bloggerswlw.html Personally for me, there is no better encouragement than having someone else that is striving for the same goals to give me encouragement and tips, so I would really recommend becoming a part of it. 

To give you a bit of a history of my weight, the first time I was ever properly weighed was when I was 16 years old. I was diagnosed with an over active thyroid in 2010, and was around 57kg. The medication I took over 2 years, along with eating too much McDonald's caused me to put on a hella lot of weight. In September 2012, I was weighed at the doctors and came in at 66.4kg. I was shocked to say the least, and that's when I knew I needed to do something about it. 

I have already done a lot of the hard work and I weighed myself today and was 56.8kg, the lightest I've been in over 4 years! I would eventually like to be 53kg, however when I get to a stage where I am super happy with my body, then I will stop whether it be higher or lower than that weight. Even though I do plan to lose more, I am going to go easy on the diet and focus more on toning. This is mainly because I am due to have jaw surgery in February, and I've read that on the liquid diet I will be on, you can lose between 10-30 pounds post-op - crazy I know! The days leading up to the surgery will be like the last suppers - Dominos, Mcdonalds, Wagamamas, Nandos anything I can get my hands on - before I have to endure endless meal-replacement shakes, baby food and yogurts for 4 weeks +.

Here are a few tips as to how I have got this far:

1. Healthier alternatives: Almond milk instead of dairy milk, sweet potatoes instead of white potatoes, low fat/dairy free spreads for butter, wholewheat bread rice and pasta instead of white.
2. Cutting out things I wouldn't miss: Try to cut out salt and oils to fry food. 
3. Eating vegetarian when possible: I am not denying that lean protein isn't good for you, but I cut out meat and replaced it with fish or quorn and found that I started losing weight at a faster rate.  
4. Making meals in bulk, then freezing them: When I get in from work or uni, I tend to be ravenous and will eat anything in my reach. I like to make 5-6 portions of bolognese sauce to freeze so that I can pop it in the microwave and have it with wholemeal spaghetti or a baked sweet potato for a quick dinner.
5. Detox: I invested in the Bootea detox, it was brilliant for kick starting my weight loss. I lost 2 kilos in 2 weeks without changing my diet. 
6. Weights: Weights have been my biggest help in terms of exercise. I do about 35-40 minutes of weight circuits and it has transformed my body. I never thought in a million years that I would have a thigh gap, but weighted squats and lunges mean my thighs no longer touch which I could cry with happiness about. 

I hope that some of these tips help! Why don't you take part in #BLOGGERSWLW?

Haulin' #8: Chanel, Guerlain & MAC

Guerlain Terracotta Bronzer 03 & Kabuki Brush - £17 (Normally £33.50)

Chanel Soleil Tan De Chanel - £30.10

MAC Lipstick in Ruby Woo - £15

This was a very naughty purchase. But as you may have seen in my Christmas Wishlist and my January Wishlist, I have been coveting the Guerlain Terracotta Bronzer in 03. I was browsing the House of Fraser website and had already added the Chanel Soleil Tan De Chanel and MAC's Ruby Woo to my bag - may I add not necessarily intending to purchase them both - and what came up in the 'Other customers viewed' was what I'd call a miracle or fate. It was the Guerlain Terracotta Bronzer in 03 WITH the Kabuki brush in the sale for £17 - yes people, I said £17 - and there was only 1 left in stock! What ensued after that I can only describe as a mad frenzy of me trying to add it to my bag and checkout before someone else in the world bought it before me. Luckily, I made it out the other side alive, along with a 10% student discount which made the purchase even more worth while. The irony is, the night before I was seconds away from purchasing the bronzer from Beautybay.com for £30.50, but I fell asleep before I got the chance. 

I am forgetting the two other items I had bought, which is exactly what I had done at the time. In hindsight, I really did not need the Guerlain Terracotta Bronzer in 03 as well as the Chanel Soleil Tan De Chanel, but I was in the moment and it just happened - plus I got free delivery for spending over £50. 

I am so excited that I have my first ever Chanel beauty product! Isn't it beautiful? With my student discount the Chanel Soleil Tan Chanel Bronzing Makeup Base was £27.90. It is 30g which is a huge amount of product considering similar priced bronzers such as Nars, Guerlain and Laura Mercier are between 8-10g. I don't own anything like this, so I definitely don't regret buying it. 

I am so annoyed about this next one. I thought I had ordered MAC Ruby Woo Lipstick, however I now realise that with the House of Fraser website they have a list of the lipstick names and then colour swatches that you can click on. Rather than click on all of the different red swatches to find Ruby Woo, I just found it in the list of Lipstick names and added it to the bag. To cut a long story short, on the H of F website you have to click on the colour swatch you want to add it to the bag. Therefore, even though I thought I had added Ruby Woo, the colour 'O' was the colour swatch selected which I ended up getting sent. Now there are a lot of MAC lipstick colours that I could have ended up getting and potentially loved, but please google 'MAC O' and you will see that it is by far the most HORRENDOUS lipstick MAC do. Not only is it a Frost finish (vile), it is brown (horrific). I need to go into university this week so I'm going to pop into Bluewater on the way home to exchange it. I'm definitely going to send House of Fraser a few stern words about my inconvenience. 

Tag Tuesday: Beauty vs Brains

1. Favourite book

The Great Gatsby

2. Favourite quotation

'Everything will be okay in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end' - John Lennon. This quote is actually really important to me, it really is something that I live by. 

'Happiness can be found in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light' - Albus Dumbledore. I just love Harry Potter to be honest haha. 

3. English or Maths

English, I have a passion for writing and would die to be a Fashion Journalist in the future!

4. Science or Art

At school I was a bit of an all rounder, I convinced myself that I was better off doing Biology than an arty subject at A levels and ended up getting a U in it haha. So I dropped it and picked up Textiles and Photography instead. 

4. Name 5 musical artists that changed your life
If I'm honest I don't think any musical artist has changed my life. I like to listen to certain artists but I've never had a song really affect me in anyway. 

6. Favourite and least favourite subject at school

Textiles was my favourite, languages were my least favourite. Essex accents and French just don't merge well together.  

7. Favourite celebrity with a brain

Emma Watson, again because I love Harry Potter. 

8. If you could study anything, anywhere what would it be?

I wish that I could go back and shout at my 17 year old self and tell me not to do English Literature at the University of Brighton, and tell me to do Fashion Journalism at the London College of Fashion. I have thought of doing an MA in it, but my university experience has put me off staying in education for any longer!

9. What is your nerdy little secret?

In 2002, aged 9 I was the Under 11's Essex chess champion. So embarrassing haha. 

10. Beauty gurus who you admire for more than their love of fashion/beauty.

Grace from the Ugly Face of Beauty. She is so real, and has real life issues that so many people can relate to and are helped by her honestly addressing them. I find myself watching her videos and thinking, 'Yes Grace! I feel the exact same'.  

11. If your blog couldn’t be focused on beauty/fashion what would be the focus instead?

Probably interior design. It's something I would consider as a career path. 

12. Name some things you’re obsessed with that others would find strange.

Crime and prison documentaries, I find them so interesting finding out why people do what they do. They always scare the s**t out of me, but I get hooked!

13. Name 5 people who inspire you (no friends of family).
Anna Wintour
Beyonce
Zoella
Andrea's Choice
I know I'm cheating a bit but my Mum.

14. Who is your intellectual soul mate?

I don't think I have one. Plus the fact they say opposites attract. I've never been out with someone that had/was studying for a degree, I have always been the smart one!

Haulin' #7: Boots Sale

Original price: £14

Paid: £7

Worth: £18.37

Original Price: £15

Paid: £7.50

Worth: £22.47

Original price: £15

Paid: £7.50

Worth: £20.40

I'm not really a sale shopper, there's usually a reason why nobody bought it in the first place. But the annual Boots half price sale is one that I always make a point of visiting. It's basically Boots getting rid of all of their Christmas gift sets and everything is half price. Last year I went a bit crazy in the Boots sale on Soap and Glory gift sets, but none of them really caught my eye this time around. Instead, I went for the hair care gift sets. I'm on a mission to have long hair for summer and I need all the help I can get! 

Toni & Guy Brunette Set

The Toni and Guy Brunette range is my all time favourite shampoo and conditioner. It was the last set left and I am not lying when I say I ran towards it.

James Brown London Volume Kit

One of my favourite products for curly hair is the James Brown Photo Fabulous Wave Spray, which is also from the Volume collection. Whenever I wear it I always get compliments on the smell of my hair, so I thought I would try out the shampoo, conditioner and hair mask. This was a total bargain because the mask alone retails at £8.49.

James Brown London Seductive Shine Set

There was no other reason that I bought the James Brown Seductive Shine set other than it was a great deal considering the collective retail price of the items is over £20. You can never have enough shampoo and conditioner in your life!

I also bought a few more gift sets for my Nan and my Auntie as their birthdays are in January/February, but haven't shown them as they both like to read my blog. I'm probably going to pop back to Boots as there were a few other bits I was eyeing up, so watch out for another cheeky sale haul!

What have been your best sale bargains of the new year?