Amaryllis' Positive Beauty Pledge

What's this? A Positive Beauty Pledge? It's been a while, and it's nice to see it back up an active again, because I've really missed them. So let me introduce 2012's first Positive Victim, I mean Pledger, to you. Introducing the lovely Amaryllis, of Deeper Dazzle:

Amaryllis' Pledge to Others

I, Amaryllis of Deeper Dazzle will use my blog as a place to celebrate and encourage everyones beauty and own personal style, and will never let any negative points about other people, particularly about the way they look, be said on my site. I will never judge someone on how they look, everyone is beautiful and has their own style which should be applauded.

Amaryllis' Pledge to Herself

In the past I have been my own worst critic when it comes to the way I look, but that stops today. 

The "Bad"

What are you doing in this picture?

I am out to lunch for a friend's birthday. 

Why don't you like it?

Firstly the actual photo is taken at very close range, and I wasn't aware it was being taken, so I'm pulling a rather interesting expression.....! 

But even though I'm looking up it's easy to see that I am wearing a lot of very dark eye make up. When I was a teenager I did wear lots of eye make up, even when I was just spending a day at home, so I guess this photo reminds me of my own insecurities.    

Is there anything that you like about the picture?

I think the reason I'm pulling such a weird expression is because I'm about to laugh!  

The Good

When was this picture taken?

December 2011.

What are you doing in this picture?

I am at a 'formal' Christmas party! 

Why do you prefer this picture to the first one?

Firstly I'm a few years older and feel far more accepting about myself and don't rely on heavy make-up all the time. I am wearing a vintage dress that I found and have gone for a retro glamour make-up look, which is far more me, and more subtle (other than the lips!) Also I am having a great time and smiling which I think always makes everyone look better!

Has comparing how you feel about both of these pictures made you realise anything about how you view yourself?

Having a flick through photos to send for the Positive Beauty Pledge made me realise how easy it is to fall into the trap of judging yourself harshly and therefore judging others too.

Unconventional Beauty

Give us an example of someone that you consider to be "unconventionally" beautiful (for a male, "beautiful" doesn't seem right, but just play along!!):

Nicola Roberts

Why do you consider her to be "unconventional"?

I think she was always placed in the shadow of the other members of Girls Aloud, and she has a different look to the other girls I think she got a lot of stick for that. 

2. Why do you think she is beautiful?

Her skin is amazing! Having overcome how own issues with being pale and using fake tan she is waving the 'pale and interesting' flag for us pale people out there!

Final thoughts:

Thank you Kat for starting this Positive Beauty Pledge, it's an amazing honour to be part of a voice standing up for positive and true beauty. 

Thank you so much to Amaryllis for being the first Pledge for 2012. I always find pledge's so interesting, because we all have our hang ups, and things we don't like about ourselves, and yet when I look at everyone's "bad" pictures, I honestly don't see any of the badness in what the person has seen in themselves. It's made me realise that what I see in my self, is not necessarily what the rest of the world sees. And I'm positive that this has to be the same for everyone. It sounds corny, but everyone is beautiful.

So, here you go Amaryllis, your very own Positive Beauty Pledge badge, to use as you wish :)

If anyone wants to take part in the Positive Beauty Pledge, then please do email me at: katmusselwhite@gmail.com. You don't have to be a beauty blogger to take part, and you most certainly don't even have to be female either.

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Positive Beauty 30-Day Fitness Challenge: Day Thirteen

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NOTD: Dark Skies

Apparently snow is heading our way, which I'd really be grateful if it didn't thanks, because I've made this bargain with Mother Nature, and she promises that Spring is on its way. But, today's Nail of the Day I felt really matches the mood of recent weather. First of all, I just want to apologise for how rubbish my nails are looking at the moment, a couple of them are growing nicely, and others keep breaking (the nature of the breakage isn't important, right *cough*). But then I didn't do a very good job on the nails...I ended up smudging them and ARGH! But, I wanted to show you them, because the colours are so pretty.

So, here is what they look like:

This is what the colours look like, when you first pick up the bottles:

Left: Hidden Reef. I'm not sure that the photo entirely represents this colour, because I think that it's a bit more pink than it looks here. But, it's a gorgeous colour no less.


Right: Deep. When I first looked at this shade, it felt like a really drab grey, and I wasn't that excited about trying it out. However, I then looked more closely at the bottle, and realised that it actually had a little bit of a hidden secret behind it.

Indeed, both of these polishes have glittery undertones that really shine whent he bottles (or your nails) are held up into the light).

Here is a closer picture, of each, to try and show you what I mean:

The glitter is much more noticeable in the grey product on the left, but if you look really carefully at the peach one on the right, you can just make out a very subtle pink glitter. And I really love that, especially in the grey shade, because I am really not a fan of grey for nails, so was a bit sceptical when I first got this, however, the purple makes it such a secretly cool colour.

Both of these polishes are part of the SpaRitual Spring range:

Initially, when I first saw this image of the collection I was curious at to why it was called "Water", and I know that I really detest writing things out as a copy-and-paste jobby from the Press Release, but I wanted to share the inspiration for the collection with you, because I found it quite interesting:

"Nature’s purest distillation of life-giving energy. Drink in its powers while getting lost at sea. A hidden world, found in the depths below, beyond reflection.
Shimmering corals, deep watercolors and dense pastels rise to the surface. The effect is fluid, weightless and glistening.
Our collection is inspired by the beauty and life-giving energy of one of our most precious resources, water." 

All of the collection contains absolutely no Formaldehyde, Toulene and DBP, and they're Vegan products. And 20% of sales created from this collection, will be given to Surge, a Charity specialising in providing clean water, as well as awareness for the need for clean water.

Colours available in this collection, are:


Deep: Shimmery Grey
Ebb and Flow: Aqua Creme
Hidden Reef: Shimmery Coral
Lucid: Lilac Creme
Ripple Effect: Mauve Creme
Undercurrent: Blue Creme

Personally, I think these colours are stunning, and I'm loving wearing the grey and coral shades together.

What do you think?

**I received both of these products as PR samples, but has that effected how I blog? Not really. I only share the information that I'd be interested in, and any review is 100% honest**

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Positive Beauty 30-Day Fitness Challenge: Day Twelve: Relaxation

It's Sunday again, so take a break, chill out, have a nice long bubble bath with a good book.

In the modern age of technology,  where even our mobile phones are connected to everything Interweb based, including Twitter, Facebook, blogging etc, I really do wonder how many of us ever truly just "switch off" and relax. You know, into that kind of relaxation when we're not thinking about that email that we might have (although, more likely than not, we haven't) missed, or if so-and-so has replied to our probably-not-even-that-important tweet. Or planning blog posts, or thinking up that witty one-liner for Facebook (which, let's be honest, is only really hilarious in our heads anyway!). How many of us, spend more time taking photos for social media, than actually enjoying the views, and the world around us?

Source: coastalliving.com via nicole : on Pinterest

A few years ago, I was lucky enough to be taken to Niagara Falls, in Canada, and that was a truly breath-taking experience. We went on the Maid of the Mist boat, underneath the falls, and then ventured into a helicopter to see the falls from the sky. Pretty incredible, wouldn't you think? The problem: I feel like I spent those two experiences watching it through a Camera Lens, as I filmed it for the memory. And, part of me feels like I completely missed out on the real "being there" awe of the experience. I do, however, remember the moment that we were directly underneath the falls, and I had been forced to hide the camera beneath my very fetching blue waterproof poncho, because I didn't want to kill it. I looked up at the Falls, and for the first time, I got incredibly emotional at the immenseness of where I was. I hadn't felt that whilst I was filming stuff, but I did the moment I was forced to put it to one side.

On the other hand, of course, I do have those memories down on tape, nevertheless, it doesn't feel the same. I wonder how many of us are too busy creating hard-solid memories in photos and videos, that we forget to actually "live" and to enjoy experiences?

Niagara Falls - May 2008

I look at the picture above, and it definitely sparks some amazing memories of my trip to Canada, that much is without a doubt true. I love looking at this picture, and at the Maid of the Mist, and to just think that I was on that boat not long before this picture was taken, and that is an incredible feeling.

What do you think? Are our lives so full of technology, and preservation of memories, that we don't take the time to enjoy it? 

Or, do you think it's more important to savour those good times in photos etc, so we can remember and share them with future generations?

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Positive Beauty 30-Day Fitness Challenge: Day Eleven

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Positive Beauty 30-Day Fitness Challenge: Day Ten

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All Change on Platform Kat's Beauty Reviews...All Change

Yes, yes I did just make a railway reference, and no, I'm not ashamed to admit it! Haha! Well, if you've made it this far (as in your reading the post, on my actual blog), you might have noticed that a few things have changed. Most noticeably, the name.

I've been unhappy about the name of my blog for quite a long time, and if I'm being honest, the name "Kat's Beauty Reviews" was never meant to stick around for as long as it did. It was a slap-dash type of name, that I gave my blog when I was first sorting it out, purely because I couldn't think of anything at the time, and figured that I'd choose something more suitable when I got round to it. Well, it would appear that it has taken me almost two years to get around to it, so yes, here we are, I've finally done it.

So, why the name change now?

For a while now, I've begun to feel that my blog's name just wasn't very representative of what I blog about anymore. I'm not reviewing stuff as much as I used to, and it seemed a little deceptive, and I felt like I wasn't being honest about what I blog about, in the name.

I felt like a name change would allow me to blog about a wider range of stuff, whilst not changing the overall feel of what I blog about. So, other than the name, nothing is really changing. I'm still me, and I'm still going to be rambling about the same old stuff. I'll just be using a more appropriate name.

Why Barefoot Girl?

When I started thinking about what to re-name my blog, I really didn't have a clue where to even start thinking. And I got to a point where I nearly asked my lovely readers to make suggestions, because I just couldn't think of anything. Then, yesterday, I came up with the idea of re-naming the blog "Barefoot Girl", because I felt that it strongly represented the person that I am, for several reasons:

1. I virtually never wear shoes around the house, and you'll be lucky to find me in socks. Okay, so in the winter, I'll probably wear my Ugg Boots around the flat, but to be hoenst, I really it. When I'm at home (as in parents home), I don't even put shoes on to go out into the garden, and I've even been known to leg it to the garage with bare feet, even when the ground is wet. Call me crazy, because I have no idea why I'm like that :)

2. I think that bare feet implies quite a carefree personality, and someone who is a bit of a dreamer, which I think definitely describes me. I spend most of my time dreaming up stories and such, so the blog name felt right.

And the subline?

Believe it or not, but it took me ages to come up with "The Beautiful World of...", which sounds quite sad, but it felt just as important for me to get right, as it did to get the right title.

Anyone who has been paying attention to all my blog changes over the past week (and I'll be honest, there has been several, for which I'd apologise, but without them, I wouldn't be where I am now!), might remember that for roughly a day, my header was a picture of a postcard. That postcard actually spawned the idea of having a title that was something like: "Postcards from a...." and the title would be the next part! For a while, I nearly called the blog, "Postcards from a Barefoot Girl.", with the header having a picture of a beach, but it didn't feel right, because it seemed like I was a travel-based blog, and obviously, I'm not, so I scrapped that idea.

I went through a huge number of idea including:

"The Dreams of a Barefoot Girl"
"The Musings of a Barefoot Girl"
"The Imagination of a Barefoot Girl"

As you can imagine, I was trying to convey an image that related both to me, and to the theme of my blog, but none of them quite felt right. So, I started looking up some of the keywords in the thesaurus, which led me to "The Beauty of a Barefoot Girl".

Unfortunately, I don't feel confident enough in myself, to go with a title like that, so I decided that "The Beautiful World of a Barefoot Girl", was far more appropriate. The reason for that, was because of course, the blog is about beauty, but not just beauty, as in cosmetics, but the beauty of the world, and the people in it too, so I think that, for me, I have picked the perfect title.

A Quick FYI

Although www.katsbeautyreviews.co.uk will still direct here, up to at least May, when the domain expires, the actual domain is now www.abarefootgirl.com. Of course, http://katsbeautyreviews.blogspot.com will also bring you here, as per usual :)

Okay, so this short update into the re-branding has evidently turned into a mini essay whoops. Sorry about that, and I hope that I haven't bored you all rigid :)

What do you think of the name change?

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First Weekly Weigh-in and an OPI Treat

Hey hey, lovely positive beauties. How has everyone's first week been? Have you been keeping up? I'm not going to lie. I haven't done all of the daily challenges when I've initially seen them go up (and I genuinely don't know when they are going to go up. I literally put in a random time, press schedule and forget because I do several at a time!), but I have done every single one of them, by the end of that particular day at least. And I feel quite proud of myself.

So, if you too have managed it so far, then accept a positive pat on the good ol' back :) Well done you. I told you that you could do it ;)

It's Thursday (erm, as if you didn't already know, because it's only one more day to the weekend right?), and Thursday means weigh-in day, so I'm gonna take this opportunity to tell you about what I've been up to over the past seven or so days.

What I've been up to...

Being slightly agoraphobic, I'm not going to deny that I don't get out very often, so I've enjoyed the motivation of  my daily workouts. But about a week ago, I also ordered myself a couple of fitness DVDs, for beginners that I've been trying out. One was Pilates, and one was Yoga. Now, I have never ever tried Yoga, so it was an interesting experience, but I'll do proper reviews of those probably some time next week :) I haven't been doing my DVDs every single day, but I've been alternating between the two to shake things up a bit, because I was worried about getting bored if I tried doing the same one every time. I think that I might introduce more DVDs gradually, as I progress to more "intermediate" DVDs.

And, the Weekly Weigh-in?

The weigh-in isn't very exciting this week, because there was absolutely no change at all. I'm not going to deny that I am slightly disappointed, because fitness wise, I have definitely been doing a lot more, and when you're agoraphobic, that's hard to do at times. But, I'm just really glad that I haven't put any weight on.

Positive side of keeping active

I've noticed two big changes already in me:

1. I'm drinking a lot more fluids. This feels like it's come more naturally to me, because I know that I never drink enough water, but I'm definitely getting closer to drinking my however many litres of water a day, so I'm quite chuffed about that.

2. I feel like I have a bit more energy. This was something that I've often heard people say about going to the gym, but I really didn't expect it to occur so quickly. Okay, some days the workouts really wear me out, but most days, I definitely feel more motivated. I'll be interested to see how that effects my productivity over the next few weeks, as I continue on my Challenge.

On a completely different note:

I just wanted to let all OPI lovers out there, that if you head on over to Buyapowa right now, they have a fantastic deal that has just come up on OPI's Nicki Minaj Mini Collection:

How amazing do these colours look? I really look the turquoise and silvery-black ones!

Original Price: £12.75
Potential Lowest Price: £8

The Collection includes:

• Did It On Em - A hot lime green with a cream finish
• Fly - A neon turquoise polish with a glossy finish
• Pink Friday - A stunning bubblegum pink with a glossy finish
• Metallic For Life - An incredible black shade with lots and lots and lots of silver glitter eeeiii!

No matter what the final cost that you pay, you'll also pay £1.50 to cover postage, which isn't too bad, I thought.

As of writing this, the current price was at £11 with 18 co-buyers, and they need 100 to get the price down to £8, but with this beautiful collection, from one of my favourite nail polish brands, I really don't think that it'll struggle to reach 100.

I really love this Collection, and if I hadn't just bought myself a few polishes in the Lena White / OPI Sale, I would most definitely be grabbing this co-buy. but, I decided not to...I know, I know, it was a tough choice for this OPI-a-holic!

How has your positive beauty challenge gone this week? 

If you've done well, perhaps this OPI Collection would make a lovely reward for your hard work :)

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The Positive Beauty 30-Day Fitness Challenge: Day Nine

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Thoughtful Thursday: 26.01.2012

Source: healthyhazards.tumblr.com via Kat on Pinterest

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The Positive Beauty 30-Day Fitness Challenge: Day Eight

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OneStopPlus Newsletter

If you follow me, on Facebook or Twitter, you might have seen me mention this, but I completely forgot to blog about it. But, better late than never right?

So, for anyone who did miss it, I wanted to share something with you...Well, you might remember a few months ago, I was asked to review a piece of clothing from One Stop Plus. You can read my review here if you missed it . Well, One Stop Plus featured my thoughts in their newsletter. How awesome is that?

Okay, so it's hardly a full feature or magazine article, and it might only be sixteen words chopped about a bit, but they're still my words, and I feel incredibly proud to have written them, and to have been featured, because I've never been featured in anything before (well, unless you include the one issue of the School Magazine that I featured in....the magazine that never made it passed its first issue!).

So yes, very proud, and I'm currently wearing the top I reviewed, by pure coincidence (which is actually how I came to remember that I needed to blog about this!)

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30 Before 30

As many of you might already know, I turn 30 next year *gulp* in the very distant (yet nowhere near distant enough) November of 2013. And I've decided that I want to see out my twenties in style.

The problem with lists like this is judging how realistic to be. I mean, I have some really big dreams, but financially I honestly don't think that I'll be able to save up to do them, before the end of 2013. But then again, January 1st 2008, I never expected to be going to Canada five months later, just like January 1st 2011 I never expected to be going to Turkey five months later. Life is just so unpredictable, and I want my list to be achievable but interesting at the same time :)

1. Lose one stone in weight (24.02.2013 - so far I've lost eight pounds!)
2. Stop biting my nails (2012!!)
3. Have a Manicure
4. Dye my hair purple, one last time
5. Own a product by MAC, just because I feel like I'm missing out by owning nothing of this brand!! (28.01.2012 - Bought MAC Matte Eyeshadow in Zingy from Cosmetic Candy's blog sale :))
6. Go for a rain walk (03.10.2013)
7. Walk up Steep Hill in Lincoln
8. Watch a sunrise or sunset (16.10.2013 Car Journey from Milton Keynes to Oxford at Ridiculous o'clock!!)
9. Exercise every day, for at least one week
10. Complete my entire Pilates DVD without feeling tired, in one work out
11. Read 15 books over the course of 12 months (I almost managed this in 2011, but only managed 14!) (Achieved in August 2012, well I've actually read 16 books in eight months :P)
12. Finish writing the first draft of my novel
13. Encourage a minor celebrity to take part in my Positive Beauty Pledge (how awesome would that be??)
14. Learn Japanese Welsh (I learnt a few bits whilst in Wales in May 2012 :D)
15. Master the application of liquid eyeliner (I swear that there is a secret to, I just haven't mastered it yet!) Maybe not quite mastered, but I've managed to do it pretty much okay :P
16. Paddle in the Sea (25.05.2012, Black Rock Sands!!)
17. Go to a  Gig Saw Blink-182 and All-American Rejects, in Sheffield, in June 2012 :D
18. Go to Edinburgh (November 2012)
19. See Les Miserables in London (not in London, or on stage, but I saw the film, and that felt good enough for me :D)
20. Go back to Derby (April 2012)
21. Go to the Media Museum in Bradford (December 2012)
22. Try ten new, healthy recipes

1. Egg and Prawn Fried Rice (16.02.2012). This really didn't go too well, because I discovered that I don't like cooked prawns, and that I only like them in a prawn salad :)
2. Turkey Burgers (Various Occasions). Okay, so I didn't actually make them, the other half did, but they're yummy and healthy, so I say that they count :P Plus I'd never tried Turkey Burgers before :)
3. Ham and Cheese Chicken (08.07.2012). Didn't quite go to plan, and the ham wasn't really with the cheese or the chicken, but it still tasted nice :D
4. Chicken and Vegetable Soup (15.01.2013) 
5. Chicken, Potato and Leek Soup (19.01.2013)
6. Chunky Chicken and Sweetcorn tSoup (02.02.2013)
7. Mushroom Risotto (11.02.2013) It was....boring! Just plain boring.
8. Chicken and Mushroom Risotto (12.02.2013) Better with the chicken, but I don't think that I'm a fan of Risotto!!
9. Chicken Casserole (07.07.2013) This was actually really delicious, even though I think I put too many onions in (I'm not a huge fan of onions)
10. Shepherd's Pie (29.09.2013)

23. A Star Wars Marathon: All six films, in the proper order (as George Lucas intended them to be!)
24. Go to Oxford (3rd July 2013)
25. Take other half to Chester (10 November 2012)
26. Go to Newcastle (September 2012)
27. Find a new hobby (I've started working on a Creative Journal as well as collaging which has been fun)
28. Watch 30 films

1. Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter's Dead
2. Moonrise Kingdom
3. Batman Begins
4. Arrietty
5. Aristocats
6. Adventureland
7. Les Miserables
8. Wreck It Ralph
9. Bridget Jones' Diary
10. The Runaways
11. The Wedding Singer
12. Transformers
13. The Matrix
14. Forrest Gump
15. Turner and Hooch
16. Due Date
17. Charlie Casanova
18. Easy A
19. Twelve
20. Oblivion
21. Star Trek Into Darkness
22. Secret of Nimh
23. Mirror Mirror
24. Damsels in Distress
25. Avengers Assemble
26. Leon
27. Water For Elephants
28. The Dark Knight
29. An American Tail
30. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

29. Complete 30 Before 30
30. Have an AWESOME 30th!!

What would be on your 30 Before 30 List? Or whatever big age will be your next (hey, no one is here to judge ;))

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Make Up in Film: Capitol Couture Anyone?

For the past couple of months, the Hunger Games community on Facebook has been rife with activity relating to the upcoming film (due out March 23rd!). But I don't think that anything has intrigued me more than the gradual drip-feeding of the Capitol Couture Tumblr page. 

The whole thing started in mystery, as we were given nothing more than the link to the password page. And of course, no one knew the password, so people were trying to figure it out. Eventually, we were told that the password was #LookYourBest, which brought us to this page.

Of course a few people got irritated at the idea of having to work out a password, just to come to a page where they had to sign up for something. But, I was intrigued purely because I wondered if it would hold more information on the China Glaze nail polish range, that I blogged about a while ago.

But, anyway, yesterday saw the end of the wait to see what the hell Capitol Couture was all about, and this is what we fans were treated to.

The spotlight is very much on character Effie Trinket, but I love the fact that there are elements of the real world in the film world to. For example, check out these Alexander McQueen shoes...

As well as these erm....interesting shoes...

If shoes aren't your thing, I was right to think that the China Glaze stuff would feature somewhere in here, and I wasn't disappointed, as we're given some nail tips:

Of course, considering that this is all for a film, it seems to be incredibly over-the-top, but as a beauty lover, as well as a fan of the books, I'm absolutely loving it, because it helps us to connect to the film. I just strongly hope that all this marketing on Twitter, Facebook and their various websites isn't a huge letdown but it's good that they've recognised that a great deal of their audience is so obviously female. and how many females don't love shoes and nail polish? As marketing goes, it is definitely very clever, albeit very expensive marketing!!

What do you think of this kind of marketing for a film? 

Too much, or just a bit of fun?

After all, it's only beauty products ;)

**I am in no way affiliated with the film, or any company associated with it. I'm blogging about it, because I'm a nerd, and a beauty lover, and this stuff excites me ;P**

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The Positive Beauty 30-Day Fitness Challenge: Day Seven

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Grab Your OPI Polishes Quick

Just a quick post to say that if you were interested in buying some cheap OPI polishes, the Lena White website is still running a Sale until 5pm today. AND if you enter EXTRA10 when you're ordering, you'll save another 10%...pretty good don't you think :)

Here are a few products that will be available, in the OPI Sale, until 5pm today (23.01.2012)

Animal-istic

Cuckoo For This Colour

Excuse Moi!
From The Muppets Collection

Fiercely Fiona
From the Shrek Collection

I Lily Love you

It's My Year!

Nice Stems! Mini Pack

I MAY have just ordered a couple of these products, but I'm not going to share which since they might just be a present for someone...that really depends on how much I like them :P

Are you planning on grabbing a bargain from the Lena White website? 

You have to admit that these a damn good deal!!

** I was NOT asked to write this post, I am NOT being paid to write it, and I did NOT receive a press release about it. I am just a huge fan of OPI polishes, and I know that a lot of ladies (myself included) can hardly ever afford to buy them, so I thought that it was a great Sale to share. I only share sales etc, if I am genuinely interested in them **

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The Positive Beauty 30-Day Fitness Challenge: Day Six

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GHD Style Total Volume Foam Review

GHD and Me: I remember the first time that I ever used a set of GHD hair straighteners. They belonged to one of my closest friends, except at the time, I'd actually only just met her, and she had the most amazing hair straighteners on the planet. I don't think that my hair has ever looked so amazing, so easily and so quickly. Needless to say, I always loved her hair straighteners ;)

Considering that GHD stands for "Good Hair Day", I guess I shouldn't really be too surprised!

But, anyway, I'm not gonna lie when I say that I honestly didn't have any clue that GHD sold anything other than hair straighteners, so I was a bit surprised to discover that they sell other types of hair products too. And excited to be given the opportunity to try one out.

My Hair: I have incredibly fine hair, that is currently quite long (I hate to think how overdue a hair cut I am!!), and because it's quite long it has become quite lank and heavy, so it's craving a little bit of lift and va-va-voom. I've tried using volumising products in the past, from foams to sprays and some have worked nicely, whilst others have just made my feel heavy and bogged down with product. I've even tried using a crimper especially designed for adding volume, and whilst I did love the effect that had in the sense of volume, it was incredibly drying, and I suspect damaging on my poor fine hair, so I try not to use that too often!

The Packaging: The product came wrapped up in this awesome GHD paper. Okay, so it's nothing fancy, but I liked it, because it seemed like a really nice touch. And I think I'll be using this paper in the future :P You might notice that the photos that appeared on my blog the other day, were also taken on this paper ;)

The product actually came in a box, but I haven't got any photo's because they were all blurred and pretty rubbish, so I decided not to include them, which is a bit of a shame. But, overall, the design was very much like the bottle, in that it has a black background, and the same coloured dot pattern!

The Bottle: The bottle is really quite big, and very heavy. I found this very assuring, because it suggests that there's a lot of product in there to use, so I'm confident that it'll last a fair amount of time.

From what I can see, each product in the styling range comes in a different colour to represent which range it comes from:

Volumising = Purple
Straight and Smooth = Green
Shine = Blue
Curls = Pink


Initial Thoughts: As I've already mentioned, I've tried a few other volumising products, and some of them tend to make my hair feel heavy and weigh it down, which is obviously counter-productive when you're seeking volume. I've also found that a large majority of foam-based products weigh my hair down, so I definitely bore this in mind when trying the product out. I'm certainly vary aware that because my hair is fine, that I generally don't need to use as much product as the instructions usually recommend.

Another reason that I would normally regulate the amount of foam I'd use, is because they tend to be goopy or sticky and ultimately leave my hair feeling pretty disgusting.

The Smell: I absolutely love the smell of this product, and don't really know how to explain it. But, anyone that doesn't use expensive brands very often, will hopefully understand what I mean when I say that this smells like a "better" brand. I don't know what that means exactly, but it just has a nicer, and more subtle smell than the overpowering chemically smell of cheaper brands.

How to Use: The bottle recommends applying two to four pumps evenly from root to tip, and I really wasn't sure how much to use for my first attempt with this product, because the pump looks like it'll chuck out loads of product, so I decided to just pump carefully, and judge it on how much comes out.

I ended up sticking to the minimum recommendation, and put two pumps of foam into my hand, which looked like this...

On first glance, it looks like quite a lot, so I was a bit nervous that I'd used too much, but I rubbed it between my hands and rubbed it into my hair, starting at the roots and kind of scrunching my hair away from the scalp. I did this all the way down to the roots. I remember that my friends, at School, used to do this to their permed hair, which always turned out quite crunchy, so I was paranoid that my hair would turn out all crispy and yucky! I was convinced that I'd used too much!!

Next, I blow dried my hair like I normally would, and since I am always looking to add volume, this included drying my hair upside down and scrunching it up a bit, especially at the roots.

Results: Once I'd dried my hair completely, I kept my hair upside down and quickly combed out any knots with my Tangle Teezer. I then flipped my hair over, and yeah my hair did seem to have a little bit of extra volume. It wasn't anywhere near as volumised as Cheryl Cole's is, in the L'Oreal adverts, but then I'm not naive enough to think that any product would ever be able to give my hair that much volume!!

I don't think that this product was amazing, but it certainly helped, and it didn't feel like it was weighing my hair down, which is always a huge plus. An even bigger plus, for me, was the fact that my hair felt lovely and silky. Okay, so that was probably assisted by the natural shampoo and conditioner that I'd used on my hair, but a lot of products applied after shampooing often leave my hair feeling yucky, so that was impressive.

The scent of the product lingered for a long time after drying, and not in an intrusive way, so that was another positive.

One thing that really does put this product ahead of a lot of other volumising products, is that it includes the GHD Heat Protect System, that protects your hair from damage caused by drying, straightening etc, so that is a good.

Any Let Downs? Just one, and that was that it didn't really give my hair volume for very long, and it wasn't long before it started to look a bit flat again. I think it might do with a little help from a blast of hairspray after I've blow dried, just for a little extra held. However, I don't necessarily blame the product for that, because most styles fall out of my hair incredibly quickly, which is the reason that I rarely bother to curl my hair!

Would I Buy This Again? For £14.95, probably not. It is expensive, in my opinion, and although I like it, due to it's smell and how light the product was, I don't think I can justify paying almost £15 for it! Saying that, due to the size, I don't think I'll get the chance to need to buy another one in a hurry, because I can imagine this product lasting a long time!!

Where to Buy: The GHD website.

Has anyone else tried this product? What do you think?

Did you even know that GHD sold hair products like this?

** I was sent this product, for reviewing purposes, however this does not effect my review, which has been written honestly :) **

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The Positive Beauty 30-Day Fitness Challenge: Day Five

Day Five of the fitness challenge, yipee!! So how is everyone doing? Keeping up? I feel quite proud to be able to say that I've done it every day so far. As I chose completely random times when I was scheduling the posts, I genuinely have no idea when the posts will appear, but I've been attempting to do them as soon as I see them, and I'm finding them to be great motivation. Of course, sometimes I'm not in a position to do them straight away, but I am aiming to do them as much as I can.

To reward everyone who might have been doing the challenge, I am giving you the day off. How lovely am I? But, even though this challenge is all about keeping fit, consistently, for the course of 30 days, it isn't about wiping ourselves out. Therefore, taking a day off is a good thing to keep us sane!! Or maybe that's just me ;) So, TAKE A BREAK, otherwise you'll end up like this poor kitty....collapsed over your keyboard........!!

Source: wwwhappytobe.blogspot.com via Kat on Pinterest

We all have motivations that keep us going when it comes to weight loss, and I wanted to share a few of mine. These are things that I really want to be able to achieve, and I can only achieve them if I'm a bit slimmer:

1. To be able to fit into my Graduation Jeans. These were probably the most expensive pair of jeans that I've ever bought, and came from Monsoon. I absolutely love them, and hope that I can slim back down into them.

2. To feel confident wearing dresses and skirts.

3. To feel confident no matter what I wear, especially during the summer, when more skin is on show. In winter, I can hide it behind a warm coat.

4. I want to be able to fit into clothes that also fit my boob size. At the minute, a lot of larger sizes seem to cater for bigger boobs, so I'd really love to be able to wear smaller tops that don't, perhaps, expect me to fill them with huge breasticles!!

5. I'd love to be able to buy clothes from Petite Ranges. Most petite ranges appear to completely ignore the fact that larger women can have short legs too, and I often have to buy trousers and jeans that I drown in!!

Source: harpersbazaar.com via Kristi on Pinterest

6. I want to be able to fit into Primark Clothes! I don't care how tacky most of the clothes are, I just want to have the option, especially when I'm looking for cheap clothes for holidays etc.

7. So I can decent walks, especially in Wales. A couple of years ago I managed to get up an incredibly steep incline with my brother and boyfriend, and although I was absolutely cream crackered when I got to the top of it, I was proud that I did it. But, I want it to be easier, because I hate that I'm missing out on seing some incredibly amazing sights, especially in Wales, a country that I don't think I will ever fall out of love with.

8. I'd like to build up the confidence to get into running. I'm not saying that I'd do a marathon or anything crazy like that (although, why not?), I always enjoyed getting on the treadmill, at the gym, so I think I'd enjoy going out for runs. At the minute, I always feel held back by this immense and overwhelming paranoia that people will judge me, because I'm fat.

9. I want to be healthy. I want to stop getting back ache from doing simple tasks.

So whilst you're taking a well deserved break from your fitness challenge, take some time to think about what your motivations are to lose weight. Remember to stay positive, and of course realistic. I know that I'm unlikely to fulfill my desires quickly, and that's okay, because I'm not in a hurry to lose weight. I know that if I lose weight crazy fast, then I'm just going to put it all straight back on again, and that defeats the purpose!

What is motivating you to lose weight?

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A Bargain Hunting We Go

Just a quickie post that I really wanted to share with you, but it's no secret that I love a good bargain, and that I'm a huge advocate for finding them in Charity Shops (you never need an excuse to support a good cause!!), so I wanted to share with you my latest, post-Christmas buy from the Cancer Research Shop, in Newark.

Whilst it looks like a really great gift for Valentine's Day, I thought it was a nice little set to treat myself to, and for only £1.25, I thought it was a really awesome bargain.

The set comes in a re-seal bag, although I'm not entirely sure why you'd want to put them back into it, but hey, what do I know, right? :)

The set includes:

• I Love... Raspberry & Blackberry Bath and Shower Creme
• I Love... Raspberry & Blackberry Shimmer and Shine Lipgloss
• I Love... Raspberry & Blackberry Body Butter

Not bad for £1.25 really, is it?

What bargains have you picked up recently!

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The Positive Beauty 30-Day Fitness Challenge: Day Four

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The Positive Beauty 30-Day Fitness Challenge: Day Three

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Positive Beauty Fitness: A Few Words from Me

Yes, I know this is sort of my third post of today, but hey, two of them weren't exactly proper blog posts :)

Anyone who follows me on Twitter will know that I was deliberating whether or not I should separate all the stuff relating to fitness into a new blog. Initially, I decided that I would. But, I don't know if you've ever run several blogs, but it really is hard word. Baring in mind, that I'm already running this one, and my entertainment one, as well as a business one that gets incredibly neglected, I set one up, and then decided that I would probably neglect it if I continued, so I've opted to keep everything here. Plus, a few of you expressed that you'd prefer me to leave it here, so that's what I'm deciding to do :)

Losing weight is not necessarily about being "slim" or "perfect", it's about looking and feeling good about yourself, and about being HEALTHY. Healthy is not the same thing for everyone. Some of us are tall, some of us are short, some of us are curvy, some of us are slimmer built. That is just a fact of life, and a fact that the media, for some unknown reason, doesn't want to encourage us to remember.

This is my my journey to lose some weight, for the sake of my health as well as personal happiness. I hope that a few others will join me on it :)

I spent a long time trying to decide whether to share my weight on here, but I've decided that I'm going to shame myself and confess. I'm also going to confess that I'm not the heaviest, right now, that I've ever been, I've been just under a stone heavier than this, a fact that I'm not proud of.

I hope that by admitting how much I weigh, and by being completely honest, I will help other women to stand up and make a change in their lives. That change might not be to lose as much weight as I need to, it might not even be to lose weight at all. The most important thing is that today, you take those first steps to a happier life. Nothing is more important in life than happiness.

So, here goes:

Starting Weight: 16st 9lbs (I told you it wasn't pretty.

Target Weight: 13st

My target weight is the weight that I need to reach, in order to no longer by considered "obese", but instead "overweight". I remember the last time I was at that weight, and I miss it!!

I also want to add that, yes I am fat. Negative comments are not necessary, and will be removed. I hate to sound harsh, but the whole point of this blog was to be supportive.

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The Positive Beauty 30-Day Fitness Challenge: Day Two

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Thoughtful Thursday: 19.01.2012

Source: tumblr.com via Kat on Pinterest

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The Positive Beauty 30-Day Fitness Challenge: Day One

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