The Liebster Award

I have been nominated by ThatBritishBlogger to do the Liebster Award - I know it was back in November but I'm finally doing it!

 The Liebster Award is basically a tag that helps to raise the profile of smaller blogs like my own. I think it's a great idea! 

THE RULES

• Acknowledge the blog that nominated you and display the award badge
• Answer the 11 questions given to you by that blogger
• Nominate 11 more small blogs (with under 200 followers) who you feel are worthy of the award
• Create 11 more questions for them to answer in their Liebster Award posts
• Notify the bloggers that you have nominated them for the Award

MY 11 QUESTIONS TO ANSWER FROM ThatBritishBlogger 

#1 Who is your favourite music artist?

I don't have one in particular, but I love Taylor Swift, Sam Smith, Olly Murs and Sia at the moment

#2 Any Film Recommendations?

Safe Haven is really good, as are  Divergent and Endless Love

3# What is your favourite colour?

I really love mint and white

#4 Favourite youtuber?

I have quite a few, but at the moment I really love Dollybowbow, Becca Rose, BeyondBeautyStar, Zoella, LoveLaughAndMakeup, Velvetgh0st and Floral Princess

#5 Maybelline or Rimmel?

Maybelline all the way. I love some of Rimmel's products and they do great foundations, but Maybelline's 24Hr Colour Tattoos, Baby Lips, Baby Skin and Great Lash mascara are all brilliant.

#6 Favourite TV series?

Pretty Little Liars, The Vampire Diaries and The Dumping Ground

#7 Would you rather do a Bungee Jump or a Sky Dive?

Probably a Bungee Jump but both would be scary!

#8 Favourite Drugstore Makeup Brand?

Maybelline probably, but I like the look of some of the products from Bourjois and Sleek even though I don't own anything from either.

#9 How did you decide the name of your blog?

My name is Rosalyn and I love to write :) The two 'R' sounds flowed together nicely

#10 Favourite Blogger?

I really like Perksofbeingami at the moment

#11 Any pets?

Yes, I have a golden labrador called Tilly

11 I NOMINATE 

• elisha-mae i wear this? 
• theOMGdiaries
• lauramae xo
• Thee Limited Edition
• Blush Parade
• BlogsByBekahh
• Vintxge Clouds
• Haveacupofteax
• Life of Lauren
• more about cat
• intheeyeof-this 

I'm sorry if you've already done this tag; I know so many people have.

MY 11 QUESTIONS FOR YOU TO ANSWER

• How long have you been blogging for?
• Do you have a favourite book?
• If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
• What are you most looking forward to in 2015?
• Which bloggers/vloggers inspire you?
• Pick one item of clothing that is a definite staple in your wardrobe
• What is your favourite food?
• Do you have a favourite makeup brand?
• Do you have a favourite film?
• Which season is your favourite?
• What hobbies do you have?

Good Luck!

Rosie x

How To Be Happy

I had thought that for this Sunday's post I may do some healthy recipes for getting 2015 off to a good start, but then I thought it was a bit cliched and everyone would be doing meal ideas and workout routines anyway - plus it would end up being totally contradicted what with Valentine's day just around the corner; I'll most likely be whipping up a not so healthy cake to share with you all.

Life is too short to be anything but happy. Recently I have been thinking about this quote, and I know people say this all the time, but it really is true. If there's something in your life you're not happy about and you get the opportunity to change it - just do it! 

Ten tips on how to be happier:

Image Source: driverlayer.com via google images

#1 Smile more!

It makes you feel much better, just by simply smiling, just raising the corners of your mouth. A smile suits everyone, and most of the time, you'll get it returned :)

#2 Be kind and caring towards others

Or in other words, treat others how you would like to be treated. If you're pleasant, caring, kind, welcoming or friendly towards people, not only will you make their day better, but it will also make yours better too, knowing you've had a positive influence towards someone. 

#3 Accept compliments

If someone has paid you a compliment, accept it gracefully, rather than putting yourself down and rejecting it. They have paid you that compliment for a reason!

#4 Try to eat healthily and drink plenty of water

I know this is easier said than done, but it is important. You don't have to diet and only eat salad for the rest of your life, but enjoying a nutritious meal every now and then can't hurt. It does good for your body and does good for you, knowing it's goodness. 

Healthy foods and water also massively improve your skin. They can reduce spots and blemishes, and help to maintain a smoother, more hydrated complexion and body. 

#5 Exercising

I know that may sound silly as exercising isn't enjoyable for some, but actually, when you exercise, chemicals are released in your body called endorphins. These chemicals lift your mood and genuinely do make you happy. You may not feel the effects whilst you're sweating on the treadmill, but after some consistent exercise over a period of time, you will start to see changes in your mood. 

#6 There is good in the bad, and bad in the good

If something hasn't gone the way you expected or a bad thing has happened, instead of overthinking the negatives, try to search for the positives too, as quite often there will be some. Sometimes bad things don't resolve themselves, but sometimes there are opportunities to create positivity. 

#7 Putting yourself first

I mean this one in the least selfish way. If you're a people pleaser like me, you'll know the struggle of wanting to do something for yourself, or feeling like you always have to make others happy first. 

It's ok to just do something for your own happiness, rather than always feeling guilty about someone else. There's no point in making everyone else happy if you aren't. 

#8 Let go

Sometimes in life we have to let go and move on, and put the past in the past. The feeling of freedom is great, and it makes you feel lighter and more alive. 

#9 Forget everyone else

This one is simple; if it makes you happy, do it. Who cares what others think. 

#10 It's still ok to be sad

I know I'm giving you happy tips, but you can't punish yourself for feeling sad. Everyone has down days, they're natural. Accept that you feel sad but it's ok. Because of those down days, it means you can appreciate the up ones so much more. 

They're all my tips! Let me know what you think in the comments...

...And remember to smile :)

Rosie x

Day Trip To London

Just before new year, I went on a trip to London with my family for the day.

   We caught the train in the morning to Kings Cross and then took the tube to the Tower of London. Before arriving at the tower, we spotted the Gherkin, Shard and a few other landmarks. 

   Once in the Tower of London, we explored the grounds where we saw the famous Ravens and had a photo with one of the beefeaters. We walked through some of the towers and wandered around the battlements, which gave us a great view of London. Oh and I can't forget the cafe - there were some good sandwiches and brownies there!

After spending several hours at the Tower, we took the river bus to Tate Modern, an amazing art gallery full of modern arts. There were so many amazing pieces there, I loved it!

 

 

After visiting Tate Modern, we crossed the Millennium Bridge over the murky Thames, surrounded by lights and illuminations across the city. We made our way over to St Paul's Cathedral which was surrounded with trees and lights for the festive season.

 

Till next Sunday,

Rosie x

Small January Beauty Haul and Reviews

Hello!

It's just been Christmas and the deals are out, so I went to town with a friend (blogsbybekahh) last week and we got a couple of bits each.

I have four things to show today, so I thought I would do a mini review for each product too :)

One of the things I bought was a new foundation as my old Collection one was a bit dark for me and my Garnier BB Cream is almost gone. I went to the Rimmel counter as they have a good selection of good foundations and I picked up the Match Perfection for £6.99. I bought it in the second shade, Ivory, and it's perfect for me. 

So far I have been really impressed - I'd say it's a medium coverage foundation as it covers redness on my cheeks quite well but at the same it gives a really natural finish; you can't really tell you're wearing it. 

It's a fairly runny consistency so it's easy to blend and build and is quite light on the skin. When I wear it, it doesn't feel heavy and horrible. 

It also has a really nice scent - I think it's maybe slightly fruity, and the staying power is good. I powder with the Rimmel  Stay Matte and it lasts all day. 

Love this product!

To go with my foundation I bought a new concealer as my old one ran out about a month ago and I kept forgetting to repurchase. I bought my second bottle of the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer at £4.19.

I buy it in shade 1, Fair, as having your concealer a shade lighter than your foundation works well for brightening and highlighting purposes. 

I would highly recommend this product if you're looking for a long-lasting, fairly high coverage concealer to cover under eye bags or hide blemishes and spots. 

It's unscented and a thick, creamy consistency making it slightly more difficult to blend but it's still easy to do. I use a sponge for my concealer and I really like the results it gives. 

The next product is by far my favourite thing I bought - the Soap & Glory Archery, which is a pen and wax tint for your brows. I had been thinking about getting it for a while but I knew it was £10 and a lot of money to go on one product that I had never tried before, despite the fact that all the reviews say it's an excellent product. Me and Bekah both gave in, but it was on buy one get one half price so we got them for £7.50 each! 
I am so glad we did because it's one of the best makeup products I have ever bought. I got mine in the shade Love Is Blonde. It can be so difficult finding a good brow colour being blonde because you need a good ashy colour; light brown just looks wrong and unnatural. 

Love Is Blonde is perfect, a grey tinted ashy brown. I use the felt tip point to fill in the sparse areas and define, and then the wax to shape and keep in place. It's so easy to use and gives you perfectly natural, long-lasting brows. I can't recommend this product enough and it will most likely be a repurchase.

The last thing I bought was my first nude lipstick. It was £1 from MUA and I bought it in shade 14, Bare. It's a peachy-brown toned colour and looks lovely when wearing a darker eye look, and I have been wearing it a lot lately. The formula is really creamy and so it glides on to the lips a dream. 

It looks patchy over dry lips, so you have to moisturise your lips before hand, or sometimes if it looks slightly too pale I will add a fairly neutral 'your lips but better' kind of colour underneath. I pat my lips with a finger just to smooth the colours together, and it's totally fine. 

It will also need a touch up or two during the day, but you can't really complain for £1!

 

I hope you enjoyed reading about my most recent purchases and my opinions on them. 

Come back next Sunday for an entry on my recent trip to London,

Rosie x

New Year - Blogging Aims for 2015

Hey guys!

Image Source: savidgereads.wordpress.com via google images

So it's that time of the year when everyone is setting New Years resolutions and planning to stick to them.
I have had my blog for just over four months now, but I think that I can make these coming months so much better; there's definitely stuff I would change about the previous ones. 

   I have come up with some blog aims for 2015 that I feel will make this little space so much better, and I am really excited about this coming year. 

1• my first goal has to be to actually come up with a blogging schedule and stick to it! I am irritated by my own haphazardly timed uploads, which I know seems silly as I have a life outside of blogging where I do get busy, but at the same time I don't want to seem unreliable. I am serious about blogging and want others to know that too. 

   I was thinking that I could try to upload a new blogpost on Sundays as that would give me an entire week to plan and a weekend to write and take photos etc. 

   Sometimes I will get snowed down with homework, or be spending time with family and friends, so if a post is late or missed entirely, that's still ok.

2• I also plan to bring more variety to my posts. My blog is a beauty, fashion and lifestyle blog, but right now I feel that the lifestyle side has been neglected slightly. This year I want to blog about day trips, share creative DIYs, recipes and more. I will do my usual beauty and fashion also, but I think having more variety will make my blog so much more interesting to read. 

3• my third goal is easier said than done, and that is to double the amount of followers I have now. I feel it is achievable, but if you're reading this and like what you read, please follow!

4• I think that at some point this year I will invest in a custom blog design, where basically you can pay to have someone redesign your blog or you can pick out a pre-designed template. I have seen many blogs that have this, and I always think they look very professional and appealing and I have spent so long trying to get mine to work with the layout and template tabs on blogger. 

   I know there are many websites offering this service and I have already seen a few I like.

5• next is something that I feel I have been quite lazy with and that has to be answering my comments asap. I have currently answered all comments on my different posts, but sometimes it is a week later and I don't want that sense of unreliability again. Everyone likes a fast reply!

6• you may have seen in my What I Got For Christmas blogpost that I got a camera, which I am now using to take photos for my blog. I am going to try and learn how to use my camera really well to make my photos much better and enjoyable to look at, because good photos look much more appealing than not so good. 

7• last but not least is just to be satisfied with my blog: its content in both writing and photography areas, appearance and variety of topics. Not that I'm dissatisfied with it at the moment, but I just feel like there are positive changes that can be made, and this is the year to do it.

You can expect a lot more of me in the future. As of today I will try my best to bring more variety to my posts, better photography, quick replies to comments, hopefully a Sunday schedule and just be a better blogger in general. 

I hope you agree with my new blogging resolutions and are looking forward to this year's posts. Please follow!

Rosie x

What I Got For Christmas 2014

Hello!

I hope you've all had a wonderful Christmas and happy New Year, this is my first post of 2015! Today I am going to tell you about what I got for Christmas - this is basically a haul and I am very grateful for everything in it. Many people do these and I enjoy watching/reading them and finding out what others got. If you're interested, hopefully you will enjoy...

An overview:

Bath and Body

I got some Soap & Glory goodies, Lush, body butters and nail varnishes, a Hollister spray and some makeup bits and bobs...

I love Soap & Glory's items, and was lucky enough to get the Think Pamper set from my Auntie, which includes 6 minis: a body butter, hand cream, body scrub, foot cream, shampoo and shower gel, as well as a pink netted scrubbing thing.

 I absolutely adore lush, so after having an enormous box sitting on my lap with a gorgeous scent wafting out, I was delighted to unwrap 6 So White bath bombs and 1 So White shower gel from my Nana. So White has a strong apple smell, which I love love love!

I have been wanting some of Zoe's beauty products ever since they were launched, so I was very excited to get Soak Opera :)

 In my stocking I got a few things from Estee Lauder - I got a makeup bag with a black eyeliner in 'Blackened Black' inside, two lipsticks in 'Candy' and 'Pink Parfait' (both of which are shimmer) and the 'Take It Away' removal lotion.

Photography

The thing I had been wanting for Christmas is a camera, and I was really, really excited when I unwrapped this Canon 1200D!! I will be taking all my blog photos with this from now on, and some of my instagrams. I also got a bag to go with it, and a digital photo frame from my Uncle so I can put some of my favourite photos on there. I can't wait to set that up.

Also from my Nana I got Tony Northrup's DSLR Book: How To Create Stunning Digital Photography which I have found very useful so far. It is set out so clearly and is so easy to understand with tips on lighting, rule of thirds, flash, portraits, shutter speed and more. I would totally recommend it to anyone.

Clothes and Accessories

I got several pairs of beautiful earrings and some hair clips and a necklace; my friends know I love owls!

I got a grey Hollister hoodie which is so soft and cosy, and I just think grey is quite flattering, it's one of my favourite colours for clothing.

 This is a 3 quarter length pink dressing gown from New Look from another Auntie which is so warm and fluffy!

One thing my Grandparents got me was this super, super cosy black onesie from Next with white reindeer all over it. This is honestly the softest thing in existence, I can't even describe it!

Miscellaneous

I got a candle making kit, which I am really excited about, some Yankee candles and a tealight in a pot, art supplies, a Paris 2015 calendar and a portable charger.

This is also some of my food, I do love Terry's Chocolate Orange a lot!

 My portable charger is EasyAcc and it's so, so useful and great for travelling/long day trips if you use your phone a lot! I love how it looks being plain white with strips of purple, and it's so compact being the same size as my phone.

My brother bought me Garden Sweetpea and Clean Cotton Yankee votives, which are both beautiful, delicate scents. Clean Cotton is heavenly...

Books and DVDs

I am a Zoella fan, and was very happy to receive her book. I am so excited to read it! :))))) I also love Divergent as you will know if you have seen some of my older posts, and I got Four, which is like a spin off from Divergent with four short stories all about the character Four.
From my stocking, I unwrapped Z For Zachariah, a book my mum has been telling me to read, and it does sound very good. I'm sure these will all appear in my Bookworm Wednesdays!
A Wreck This Journal has also been on my wishlist a while, which I was very lucky to get this year. I have done a couple of the pages already, and I will soon be doing more.

These 3 DVDs were also on my wishlist; I have read City Of Bones and saw the film a few years ago at the cinema, and I have finally got the DVD from my Uncle. I can't wait to watch it again!
I have also read The 100, featured in an older Bookworm Wednesday and I was super, super excited when I unwrapped Season 1. I have so far watched 3 episodes with my brother and we are both hooked, it's soooo good and always ends on a cliffhanger!
Last but not least is Endless Love from my Nana which sounds really good and I will definitely watch soon.

I hope you all enjoyed reading this post and having a little nosy, I always do haha.
I'm not sure if I will do any December/2014 favourites posts like some do, but I have got a post on nails and of course, a Bookworm Wednesday coming soon!

 Happy 2015 :)

Rosie x