What I got for Christmas and My Birthday 2015

I know it's a bit late, but I really wanted to write a what I got for Christmas post and since it was my Birthday on New Year's Eve too I thought I would do a combined post. This is in no way bragging, I love reading these posts because I'm super nosey and I also just wanted to remember what I got in 2015! Also I haven't included everything here, I also got some pjs and slippers but I had already wore those when I photographed this, I got the most beautiful and softest dressing gown I've ever felt and of course chocolate but that was quickly demolished! I also got a bit of money which I used to buy some new Nikes for the gym, I'll show them off in a fitness post which I will be writing soon! I was very spoilt and loved everything I got so I am very thankful. So here goes... 

Cannot go wrong with eyeshadow palettes for me! I actually picked out the MAC Cool Neutral and Urban Decay Gwen Stefani palettes myself as I work somewhere that I get great discount on beauty products and at certain times they have promotions on so I got these for a really good price! This applies to a lot of the beauty products that my dad got me, it was much easier for him if I just bought them for him!

Left to right: Vino and Edge to Edge lip liners and Viva Glam III, Twig, Verve and Diva lipsticks. More presents from my dad! I am absolutely loving brown tones and matte lipsticks at the moment, I'm so glad they have come back in fashion.

Urban Decay Perversion mascara and eyeliner and and All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray both from my brother which he picked out himself, I'm impressed! Also Benefit's Porefessional which I have wanted for so long!

These two were gifts from friends, a lovely eylure set and this beautiful Ted Baker set. I didn't want to throw out the box so I kept the bottom half which is sturdy card board with a floral pattern and kept it as a tray for storing my perfumes on!

Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate and Elizabeth Arden's Eight Hour Moisturiser. I've tried a sample of the Kiehl's concentrate so I know I like it, but the Elizabeth Arden moisturiser was a first and I absolutely love it, new favourite! It has been a god send to my skin during this time of year. (Both from dad again).

This was one of my favourite presents this year, from my best friend. If you can't already tell, it's a basket filled with lush products! She got all the best ones in there and my baths will definitely be sorted for the next few weeks! She also threw in some cute little soaps and a candle. All my favourites!

More gifts from friends. St Moriz is a great low cost self tan, I've used it for years! The beautiful set of draws contains Baylis and Harding products which I am excited to try. 

More presents from friends, they know me well!

I've never actually read any Sophie Kinsella books and have been wanting to for ages, these will keep me entertained on my way to and from work. My friends also bought me these recipe books, which will really help with my journey to lead a healthier lifestyle.

More presents from friends! Cute fingertip rings, a penguin eraser that is too cute to use so I'll keep on my desk! And a banana protector, which I have actually wanted for so long, it can even clip onto things! Handy on a run..

Ted Baker undies, love them! And Bambi socks how cute?!

My main Birthday present was a Fitbit Surge! I wanted a small but really struggled to find one that wasn't a lot more money! I have been using it a lot and may write a review soon. I'm very impressed by it in some ways but also a little disappointed in other ways. It definitely encourages me to move more though!

What did you guys get for Christmas? I love all of my presents!

The Standard New Year Post!

One of my favourite photos that I look in America, I think it sums up 2015.

I know this post is really late, but I've just updated my blog and I didn't want to post until it was all finished! I really like it, I think it reflects my personality a lot better now as I had outgrown my old template. Let me know what you think!

Normally I am really good at having a good old ramble, but so much has happened this year, good and bad, and I just don't know where to start! I don't even know if I want this to be a deep and emotional post or a light and fluffy post. Maybe I'll just throw in a bit of both?

I've just had a flick through all of the posts I wrote in 2015 (and since I didn't write many it didn't take long!) but this summarises exactly why I love blogging, because I had forgotten half those things even happened in 2015, some of them felt so long ago, and it's great having an online diary to look back on. This was last year's post and I didn't realise how much of a better place I'm in now until I actually went back and read this.

2015 was a difficult year. Although I can happily say I think it ended with me in a better place than the place I was in when it started. January-May was a manic blur, mum was very ill, I was trying to block this out really and get on with life, working 36 hours a week when I probably should have taken some time off, I didn't even tell my colleagues that she was ill. Maybe part of me was in denial, but I think it was more the fact that I didn't want to be asked about it constantly, I didn't want to bring that part of my life to work and maybe I also used work as a form of escape. But I did go to work every day dreading having that phone call that she had gone. I felt like I was living in limbo, I've never said this before but I wanted my mum to die. She wanted to die, she had said as much and for such a strong and amazing person to be destroyed by cancer, hardly able to speak or move near the end, and when she did speak it wasn't her at all. She had never said a mean thing to me in her life until those final months. It was just so awful for all of us. I just wanted her to be let free of her pain and I knew we could never get the old her back, instead we were left with a shell of a person that was just waiting to die. I don't think anyone can ever understand unless you have been in that position yourself. For me it was about preserving the good memories of her that I had and trying my best not to let these terrible new memories take over. I think I will write a post on grief soon. Because personally a large part of my grief happened before my mum died, because in my mind I had lost her a long time before she was actually gone, and that was very difficult to deal with alone because very few people knew what was going on. 

In May mum died, and I wrote a personal post saying goodbye. Although how I felt was horrendous, I want to look back and be able to remember those feelings one day. Maybe when things get bad I can reassure myself I've been through worse. We spent a lot of that month crying and pulling together as a family. But I didn't let the pain stop me living. Me and my best friend had booked a trip to London a month before which fell a week after Mum's death to the day. My friend of course said we didn't have to go, but I thought about it and Mum would have said well why wouldn't you go?! So we went, and I had an amazing time. You can't stop living just because someone has died, and you know what, living is actually a brilliant distraction. 

I then convinced my Dad to let me get a dog. Now I'm not exaggerating, I'm 23 and for 22 years of my life I had asked and asked my Dad for a dog. I think I finally gave up aged about 20. And I know it may seem a bit insensitive to put that pressure on my Dad at such a difficult time. And I do know he only caved because he felt sorry for me because Mum was my best friend, but I honestly knew it was the best thing to do for me, my Dad and my brother, not just myself. Theo arrived in our lives and instantly proved a massive distraction, something that needed constant care and attention. Our house had been so hectic when mum was alive, there were constantly carers and nurses rushing in and out, and suddenly when she had gone it was so silent and empty. Theo came charging into that silent and empty space and filled it up again. He is the most loving and adoring dog, he's so happy all the time and you can't look at him and be sad. Of course he quickly turned into my Dad's dog rather than mine, and even though dad claimed to not like dogs, Theo sleeps in Dad's bed with him every night. But I'm still the one he comes to if he wants a cuddle and a fuss. 

The summer consisted of me trying my best to get back into a normal routine and living my life. I had been accepted onto an MSc course, booked a holiday to Zante, went to see Taylor Swift in Hyde Park which was amazing and we were blessed with the weather! I actually visited London four times in 2015, mainly to meet up with friends that I met in America. Me and my best friend then decided to take the plunge and signed up for a half marathon in September! We didn't have that much time to train as we were used to just running 6 miles every couple of weeks, and we had to up this to 13.5 in just a couple of months! But we managed to run the whole thing and raised over £900 for Macmillan Cancer Support, which I am still over the moon about! I did actually write a whole section about fitness, but it was huge and I decided it needed its own post. So that's what I've done and I'll be posting that soon! But to summarise the second half of 2015 was a good year fitness wise, and I have some good plans for 2016! 

Zante

Berlin Zoo

The Robin Hood Half Marathon

Ready to race!

Hyde Park

September saw me start back at university, only part time which is one day a week as I still work 30 hours a week, but it was still a shock to the system! I found the step up to MSc very hard, but I still enjoyed being back at uni, there's just something about being a student that I love! It also gave me a sense of purpose, knowing what I actually want to do in life and having a goal, which is nice. I haven't done that much since September to be honest, I've met up with some friends, had workout classes during the week, went to some Halloween parties and enjoyed the Christmas festivities! Although Christmas was a hectic blur this year as working in retail it always is, but add assignments due December/January to that and there wasn't many spare minutes!

2015 seems to have flown by, but then when I look back at some of the things that happened, they do seem so long ago. Here's a few random things that I loved in 2015:

The Walking Dead
Theo
Benefit Hoola Bronzer
MAC Velvet Teddy
I found a new love for lip liners, particularly MAC's Whirl!
French Plaits/Braids
A spontaneous trip to Berlin
Not having to defrost the car (although I've had to the last few days!)
Being back at uni (part time)
Reading more
Having more confidence

What I want to achieve in 2016

So in my Blogger Planner there was a page for New Years Resolutions, which I wrote down and I'll type up here too, but I also added my own little list of things I don't need to work on this year, just as a little boost to my confidence to remind myself I am doing alright! Here's what I wrote:

2016 Resolutions:

1. Start assignments earlier (after having the horrendous experience of writing 9,000 words over Christmas!)
2. Continue working out
3. Eat healthier
4. Cook more meals and a greater variety of healthy meals
5. Blog more
6. Use my planner more
7. Do more kind things
8. Visit a new country
9. Do another fitness challenge
10. Walk the dog more
11. Get some planning experience

And what I don't need to do...

1. See friends more, I've seen them all a lot last year!
2. Say yes to more opportunities, again I said yes to a lot of opportunities last year.
3. Get a boyfriend! There's so much pressure these days, and I refuse to force anything.
4. Get up earlier, I did a pretty good job of that last year!

I hope you all had an amazing 2015, and have an even better 2016!

Blog Makeover!

So as you can see the last half of this year I've been terrible at blogging! I think part of it is that this blog doesn't really reflect me anymore and I have such high standards for posts that I don't have time to get the right photos etc.. So I've decided to completely give my blog a makeover, spend time planning and writing new content then have a relaunch! This will be at some point in January hopefully. Wish me luck and I'll see you soon! xxx

The Best Beauty Advent Calendars of 2015

I think beauty advent calendars are definitely the new Christmas must have. I think these advent calendars are a great way to challenge yourself to try a new product every day. However many have already sold out or are selling out very quickly so I'd get a move on if you want one! There are many more calendars floating around this year, unfortunately I couldn't post about them all or I would have been up all night! So in no particular order, here are my favourites...

The 25 Days of Beauty Wonders Advent Calendar - Boots

This calendar is a steal as for £38 you get £148 worth of products! Plus there are 25 to look forward to opening. It includes 6 full sized products which are a mixture of skincare and beauty products. The full list of products is available on the website, but why spoil the surprise?!

Tanya Burr Deck the Hauls Christmas Beauty Calendar - Superdrug 

Now this one is a bit hit and miss, as the calendar includes 12 products, including two pairs of lashes, all full size I believe. So when I watched Tanya's video (the day it went up) it sounded great and I went straight to buy it online as it is currently on offer from £25 down to £15. However it was sold out already and is still sold out now. I checked in a couple of stores too but her stand had been ransacked! So if you can actually get hold of it this one does sound great. More stock next time maybe?!

Charlotte Tilbury The Book of Magic

This is definitely a luxury calendar; retailing at £150. The Book of Magic contains 12 products, which are a mixture of full size and miniatures, many of which are Charlotte Tilbury best sellers. I was sorely tempted by this advent calendar but I just couldn't justify the price! But you no doubt get your moneys worth.

Selfridges Beauty Workshop Calendar

This is the second of Selfridge's advent calendars released this year, the first one was the Cosmo calendar which was contains the same number of products only more luxury and retails at £95. However it is currently out of stock but is selling for a whopping £140 on Ebay! I opted for the £60 Beauty Workshop Calendar myself, as I thought that was pretty steep for a calendar really.. But every year I always say "I'd really like a beauty calendar this year.." but never get one, so this year I took the plunge! Plus I'm single so I thought why not spend the money I would otherwise spend on a partner on myself?! Single life perks! Anyway going off topic.. The Beauty Workshop Calendar retails at £60 and contains 24 miniatures worth £226! I thought this was a great way to try some new products and I'm excited about the challenge of using which ever one I get each day! 
One thing I should add about this product though, I had to pay £5 postage which I think is pretty steep considering its £60, this was a couple of weeks ago and I was told it would arrive on the 12th but it still hasn't arrived. I know I don't need it until the 1st but some correspondence would be nice! 

The Bodyshop Beauty Advent Calendar

The Bodyshop released two advent calendars this year, their premium one which was £80 and this standard one which is £60. I can't see the premium one on their website anymore but it is probably available in some stores. The standard one is still a good buy in my eyes, as the products are worth £93.50 and you get the full 24 days worth! It features a range of their best sellers in miniature form.

Benefit Part Poppers Advent Calendar - Debenhams

Retailing at £34.50 this calendar is quite a steal. It's currently sold out but I think that's because Debenhams has just finished Mega Week where all beauty was 10% off. This calendar only has 12 doors, however it sings!! And although the products are all minis, I know from experience that Benefit minis last a long time! I would have purchased this calendar but being a Benefit lover I already own a lot of the products it contains so there wasn't much point. 

Lush Advent Calendar

If you're into your baths this is definitely the calendar for you. I love a good bath but don't really have time for them that often so I couldn't really justify this one! However retailing at £49.95 this calendar features 12 of their best sellers most of which are from their Christmas range. I honestly don't think you'd save an awful lot with this calendar, but then again all of their products are vegan and handmade so I think they would struggle to slash their prices. 

Ciate Mini Mani Month Advent Calendar

This is currently down from £49 to £39.50 on Look Fantastic. This is one for the nail varnish lovers! I rarely paint my nails as I can't be doing with the upkeep and they take so long to dry! Lazy I know, but they chip so easily at my job. So this one isn't the one for me, but if you're a nail varnish lover it's definitely worth getting with its 24 products.

M&S Ultimate Beauty Advent Calendar

This calendar is a steal at £25 (if you spend over £25 on M&S beauty products) with the products inside worth over £200! I was very tempted to buy this calendar, there are some well known brands in there too such as Burts Bees, Stila and Rituals. It's a full 24 door calendar too. 

Do you have a beauty advent calendar this year?

Halloween 2015

Firstly I apologise for these appalling quality photos! I didn't have the time or proper lighting for my Canon so iphone selfies had to do. They're alright for Instagram but once you blow them up not so good!

Anyways, this Halloween I went to a couple of parties over the weekend so I got the chance to do two looks and they were both so fun! On the Friday I did the cracked doll which I did a very similar one in 2013 (and I took better quality photos!) which you can see here. And on the Saturday I did a sort of spontaneous look, I hadn't planned it at all but I'd seen how people did a scale effect using fish net tights so I had a go at that, did some dramatic eye makeup, patted some eyeshadow on my lips, backcombed my hair and sprayed some glitter in it. I think I turned out as a sort of mermaid/fish/punk, all good fun!

I curled my hair with the Nicky Clarke Styling Wand which I love and will hopefully be reviewing soon! For my face I used my No7 Beautifully Matte Foundation, which is quite pale on me and I used more of my Collection concealer than usual in shade 1. I then powdered over it with a white powder from Amazon (which wasn't great). I filled in my eyebrows as usual, contoured with Benefit Hoola bronzer and one of the Sleek palettes on my cheeks. 

I'm wearing the Urban Decay Vice Palette on my eyes with lots of Loreal Super Liner. I did the semi-circle under my eye and filled it in with white eye liner which I set with white powder, then met the line with the liner along my upper lash line. I wore two pairs of lashes on my upper lash line so that they extended right the way to the end of my eyeliner to make my eyes look bigger. The first pair were Eylure and the second were a set of two Smiffys Dolly Eyelashes which I got off Amazon. I then glued the lower lash ones to the line I had drawn underneath my eyes. 

I then drew the cracks using the Super Liner, and blurred them a little using a brown eyeshadow.

Very rushed outfit shot! I bought the dress and the Petticoat off Amazon, I was impressed by the quality of both!

For this look I did the same base, then pulled some fish net tights over my head (very uncomfortable!) and used my Urban Decay Book of Shadows Volume II (which I've had a good few years!) to contour. I used a green shade at the top of my forehead and a blue shade further down. I then contoured in the hollows of my cheeks using a mixture of the blue and green. I dabbed some lip balm on my lips before patting on some eyeshadow, mostly in the middle. I did a smoky eye using the Vice Palette again and tried my hand at some dramatic eyeliner, by doing cat flicks outwards and dragging it down past my tear ducts. I used a Mac highlighter on the top of my cheekbones and cupids bow.

I just brushed the curls out of my hair and backcombed it a lot (although it didn't stay in long!) and I pinned some bits back.

Here's me and my bestie at the party (she was a mad scientist if you couldn't tell!)

Our scary faces!

Two mad scientists!

I hope you all had a fun Halloween whether you staid in and watched movies or partied all night!

What did you dress as? I need inspiration for next year ;)

Life Lately and a Blogging Break

So I've unintentionally taken nearly a three month break from blogging.. I think lately the weeks just seem to merge together and before I know it it's been three weeks and I haven't wrote anything! It's not that I'm lacking inspiration, it's just that I've been busy and I'm a perfectionist when it comes to my posts so I didn't want to upload anything half hearted! But I'm going to try and get more organised now and start scheduling posts as that seems to be a lot easier for me!

Anyway I thought I'd write a summary (which will probably turn into an essay) of what I've been up to the past three months, these posts are just as much for me as they are for you as I love to look back on them!

What I've been up to..

Summer flew by didn't it!! I shared some of what I did in my last post, but I also went on lots of walks and runs, a camping trip, visited London with friends again, attended a very rainy ladies day, went to Zante for a week, went to the spa, had a drastic hair change and of course worked a lot! Autumn hasn't been as fun-filled so far but then again I kind of like hibernating in autumn. I have started my MSc though! And safe to say I'm petrified, and already procrastinating.. I feel like I've forgot how to write essays! On the more fun side I visited some friends in Lincoln last weekend and the weekend before we had a good night for a friends leaving do, and of course next weekend is Halloween which I have fortunately booked off work as I am attending two parties this year!

Here's some of my holiday snaps and some party holiday outfits for you..

Top: Miss Selfridge

Skirt: River Island

Bikini: Miss Selfridge

Top: New Look

Skirt: Miss Selfridge

Bag: New Look

Top: New Look

Shorts: New Look

Fitness

I have actually been quite good the last three months! Basically me and my best friend had been talking about running a half marathon to raise money for Macmillan, and we finally plucked up the courage and took the plunge! We didn't have long to train and the most I'd ever run about two months before the race was 7 miles.. so only another 6.1 to add onto that and I'd be set! 
I mainly prepared by doing bootcamp sessions twice a week with a local run, and usually two runs a week, one long one; about 6-10 miles and one short one; about 3 miles. When we were actually running the race I didn't enjoy it as much as I would have liked, I think I panicked at the thought of failing and the amount of people we were surrounded by made me feel claustrophobic! Whilst my friend was buzzing off the atmosphere I was a stressed out mess! We made it round though and ran the whole thing which was my only goal really. We did it in 2 hours 15 which isn't bad considering our training was very last minute and that was the furthest I've ever ran! 
We've also raised £845 for Macmillan which I'm really happy with since our goal was £500! We ran it in memory of my mum as Macmillan did a lot for her while she was ill so I wanted to repay them. If anyone wants to donate the page is actually still open for donations for a few more weeks at: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/Running4Rose 

What I've been loving

My puppy! He's 6 and a half months old and he really has his own personality now. He's so cheeky and full of energy but he also loves a cuddle and we spend most of our evenings on the sofa together snuggled up with a blanket! 
My hair; I had a lot chopped off which I initially freaked out about as it was more than I asked for and the highlights I had looked terrible too! But it has grown out a bit since but looks better than it did really long and I've had my routes done darker so I have a sort of subtle ombre effect now which I like! And my hair has finally come away from the dark side which I struggled to shift for a good year.. 
In terms of beauty I've been loving the Nicky Clarke Diamond Shine Hair Styling Wand. I think it looks a bit tacky, but it works amazingly! My GHDs won't hold a curl anymore, but these do it perfectly! 
I've also started watching The Walking Dead, finally! Everyone told me it was amazing but I'm terrified of zombies so I was skeptical.. But since it's near Halloween and seasons 1-5 are on Sky boxsets I thought I'd give it a go! I've actually really got into it and it keeps me on the edge of my seat every episode! Although I warn you don't watch it before bed, I've had some seriously messed up dreams the past couple of nights!

I think that's about everything, hope you enjoyed the essay! I'll leave you with a peak of my Instagram (@xbeccabe):

 1. My friend's Birthday drinks

2. Mental puppies playing!

3. A weekend camping in the Derbyshire countryside!

4. Love an inspirational quote

5. Ladies Day OOTD, dress from ASOS. Unfortunately it rained the whole day :(

6. With the girls

7. Lovely breakfast at a local gem on a beautiful morning

8. Me and the pup, he actually stayed still for a moment!

9. Be classy!

10. Zante sunrise

11. A day spent at Eden Hall Spa

12. The Many Faces of Theo Part I 

13. Training for our half marathon!

14. Race day, running for Macmillan!

15. Autumn time, my favourite!

16. The Many Faces of Theo Part II

17&18. FOTN and OOTN I wore my new Misguided dress last week and I love it!

June/July Summary and Where I've Been!

How is it August already?! I swear July didn't even happen! Us Brits just seem to spend the whole of summer waiting for summer to arrive and then it's gone! I haven't blogged in a month, how bad is that?! And it's because I literally haven't had a spare moment to, I have been so busy. I guess that's good in a way, because life has been happening and there hasn't been a dull moment! So what have I been up to?

What I've been up to..

Most of the last 8 weeks I have spent every moment at home looking after and training my crazy pup! He's nearly four and a half months old now and I'm very happy with how he's growing up. He was insane when we got him at 8 weeks but he's actually calming down! He doesn't bite as much now and he seems to be able to chill out more with us on the sofa without constantly attacking us which is nice! But as everyone keeps reminding me, he's half Springer Spaniel and half Labrador so he's going to be crazy! He's getting so big now, I can hardly lift him anymore! *cries*

Enough about Theo though, one of the highlights of June was definitely going to see Taylor Swift at Hyde Park in London. She was amazing! She's just so talented and Hyde Park was just so cool, it was all amazing and so was the weather, I couldn't have asked for a better day! If you're British you will know that in June we had a heatwave, which I enjoyed apart from it being unbearable at work! However July has been mostly a washout.. But that hasn't stopped us having and going to plenty of bbqs! 

Real life has sort of happened the last couple of months.. I've been working pretty much full time and I have actually met a guy! I met him at a puppy party (that's nothing dirty I promise!) Both our pups were the most mental ones there and had a great time biting each other and it went from there! We've been hanging out a lot and are hopefully going camping this weekend, I'll keep you posted!

Fitness

So in June I joined a bootcamp! I was talking to my cousins friend and he runs one and it sounded fun so I thought I'd give it a go because I go Zante at the end of August (oh yeh I booked a holiday!) and I wanted to try a last push at getting in shape before I go. It's seriously hard but so much fun! I've met some nice people there and I've been going running too. The only problem is I've been slacking off the gym because I do that two nights a week and usually run two nights a week too! Plus seeing the new guy and walking the dog.. Busy busy.. See why I haven't blogged now?! Haha. In terms of eating in June I was pretty good, however in July it kind of went downhill and I think it's because I just haven't had time to cook properly (no excuse I know!) so I'm trying now and I'm cutting out sugar for the last 3 weeks before my holiday starting now, as a final push to look my best!

Blogging

Not great really is it! Butttt on the 31st of July my blog turned two! Terrible twos wright? ;) I think I need to work on pulling it back! I'm off work next week and I have plenty of posts I want to write, so I'll have to get working on that. I have a lot of blogs I need to catch up with too! Hopefully you'll hear more from me this month.

What I've been loving

Pretty Little Liars! I finally started watching it as everyone raves about it, I'm really liking it, I just can't predict what's going to happen! I love anything American and that's what it is, I've nearly finished season 1 and will definitely try and get a good way into season 2 on my week off! I also bought an Active Blend in June which I have been using a lot, it's so easy! My favourite includes mango, almond milk, oats and banana!

In terms of beauty I've been loving the Magnitone Lucid which I was sent to try and I reviewed here. I've really seen a difference in my skin since using it, it's so soft and my makeup goes on much better. 

1. Watching Pretty Little Liars

2. Sunset after the British heatwave

3. The cutest puppy in the world (Theo!)

4. My healthy version of a bbq (turkey burgers, roast veg, brown cobs)

5. Father's Day throwback 

6. Theo at about 10 weeks

7. After a long run Theo was helping me stretch by biting my feet!

8. Puppy snuggles

9. Active Blend smoothie

More photos to see on my Instagram @xbeccabe

What have you been up to this summer so far?