Me and Sean visited Paris last summer after an exhausting few days in Dublin. Things didn't exactly go to plan, mostly because there was no plan and we just wanted to play things by ear. This meant we were super unorganised and apart from the one day we did have planned in Disneyland, we wasted a lot of our time in the city of love thinking of things to do. Since returning we've thought of all the things we wish we'd have done..



The Catacombs - Ever since watching As Above So Below a few years back I've been fascinated by the Paris Catacombs. They have the right balance of scary and intrigue that makes me want to explore. We did try to take a trip into the Catacombs on our last day but the queue was hours long and it was more hassle than it was worth to book tickets on the French language website.

Shopping - This seems like an obvious one but we didn't do a single spot of shopping while in Paris. I don't really think a quick whiz around the supermarket for a sandwich counts. It would have been nice to rummage in a few vintage shops or even have a mooch in a Sephora but we were lacking in energy for anything like that.

Centre Pompidou - You know that funny looking building with stairs that look like a waterslide going down the side? Well thats the Centre Pompidou. The inside is holds the biggest collection of modern art in Europe and the exterior divides opinions worldwide.



Eat French Cuisine - What even is French cuisine? I wouldn't know I only ate subway and burgers! But really I would have liked to have gone to a traditional french bistro and eaten delicious French food and I don't mean frogs legs or snails. 

The Bataclan - Without sounding too strange I wish I'd have seen the Bataclan. The same morbid curiosity that almost drove me into the Catacombs also made me want to visit the Bataclan theatre and pay my respects to people who lost their lives there.

National Museum of Natural History - I've been to the Natural History Museum in London and I love it. I've always been fascinated by dinosaurs and fossils so it would be nice to see how the French version compares. 



Palace of Versailles - Thinking back now I honestly can't believe we didn't even try to visit Versailles! I've been obsessed with Marie Antoinette since I was 15 and to pass up a chance to see her home is just unthinkable. Yeah its a little far out from the city but I know it would have been worth the trip. 

The Islands - I'd never heard of these until Sean mentioned them to me but they sound really interesting. The Islands are literally two natural islands in the middle of the Seine where the City of was Paris originally founded. 

I know we must have missed a thousand things in our disorganised state but I can honestly say I won't be making that mistake again when visiting anywhere. 

Have you ever been to Paris before? What are your favourite things to do?


Thanks for reading

x

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Paris, France

THINGS I WISH I'D DONE IN PARIS

So for this months High End vs. Budget post I thought I would do something a bit different. In the last few posts I've written about my favourite product from that category, whereas this time I'm doing more of a first impressions style post. If you haven't already, you can catch up on my previous post here and Amanda's previous post here.


As soon as we decided this months category would be eyeliner I knew I wanted to try something different. You've heard me banging on about how much I love my Kat Von D Ink liner for ages now so I didn't want to just rewrite that again. I thought it was about time I picked up a new liquid liner from a brand I'd never used before. I settled on this little green beauty from Pixi as I've heard good things about other products in the range.

Price

So this product isn't super high end like some of my other makeup items but it's not something you'd find in Boots either. Its reasonably priced at £12 which, if like me you purchase it through Asos with your student discount comes down even further to £10.80. Like I said this isn't that expensive like my treasured Ink Liner but its a bit more than others I've used in the past from brands such as Miss Sporty.


Packaging

Now the packing is something I can really get on board with; I actually think it's what sold the product to me in the first place. The liner comes in a matte minty green box with rose gold text and trimmings - if that doesn't just shout luxury I don't know what does. The pen itself is the same shade of gorgeous green again with gold writing and honestly I'd give this product a 10/10 for packaging design. 


My Verdict

I've only been using this liner for little over a week - that's why this is more of a first impressions than a full review - but I think I've got a good enough idea of how I feel about it. The impressive exterior is really where my love affair with this product ends. I found the nib to be the biggest problem, its far too long and doesn't draw nicely at all. The amount of product that comes out is also pretty inconsistent and I've found myself time and time again having to fix my wings with my Ink Liner.

I did find the solution to be pretty hard wearing however and it does live up to the claim that it is waterproof. So would I buy this again? Honestly no, it's too much hard work to apply some simple flicks and even though the ink itself is good quality, the nib just doesn't do it for me.

Shop Pixi Eyeliners 

So my 'high end' product didn't really work out that well for me this month, but you should head over to Amandas blog now to read all about her chosen budget Eyeliner!

Do you have a 'go to' liquid liner? Let me know in the comments or over on Twitter!

Thanks for reading

x

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Birmingham, UK

HIGH END VS BUDGET - EYELINER


I've just booked a holiday, my first holiday of 2017 and I cannot wait. Me and Sean are off to Warsaw, Poland in March and while it's still a little while away, I'm dying to pick up a few new bits before I go. I've decided to put a small wishlist together in the hopes that its all still in stock in few weeks time.


So I have no idea what the weather is going to be like when we land. I know it can be a little hit and miss around this time of year and I'm probably being overly optimistic with my outfit choices but I guess I can always layer up.

One thing that I would really love to get my grubby hands on for the weekend is that gorgeous pink Grafea rucksack. I know they are expensive, pretty heavy and just a bit impractical but its literally amazing so I really don't care. Also can we just talk about those leopard print boots for a second! Again completely the wrong thing to wear for walking around a rainy city all day but bloody hell they are lovely!

While I'm talking about my holiday, if anyone has any blog posts about Warsaw or Poland in general I'd love to read them, so please leave the links below or tweet me!

Thanks for reading

x

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Birmingham, UK

CITY HOLIDAY WISHLIST

A few months ago I was contacted by the guys at Kiy-oshi to test out some of their products. The items on offer were the Eyelash Enhancer Serum and the Eyebrow Enhancer Serum. Needing a little help in both of those departments I gladly accepted their offer and the products were sent out to me. I wasn't able to start the trial until basically November due to my broken hand but its been just over 2 months now and I can finally show you the results.

Kiy-oshi Eyelash & Eyebrow Enhancer Serums RRP £25 each*

About the serums

The enhancer serums claim to increase the growth of eyelashes and eyebrows including the length, thickness and colour. To use the serums you simply apply to your clean and dry eyelashes and eyebrows before you go to bed. You should see an improvement between 6-8 weeks of daily use however I was told some people start to see a difference after just two weeks. The serums retail at £25 each which is quite pricey, but considering the cost of false lashes and eyebrow tinting you may end up saving money if they follow through on their promises.

Before using the Serums

So do they actually work?

After the first few weeks I didn't notice much change. I used the serums each night religiously but I couldn't really start to see a difference until the 4 week mark. I put this down to my overall hair growth rate which is naturally quite slow anyway. My eyebrows were the first to start filling out, after using the serums for around a month I did notice that they were starting to look fuller. Although this wasn't by much, it was a start.

At around the two months of using the products however I did notice quite a difference. My eyelashes were significantly longer and slightly thicker and my brows had really plumped out. Although its hard to see on the photos my eyebrows have started growing in toward the centre which I'm really quite happy about. I was overly keen to pluck my brows as a teenager and I'd honestly thought I'd ruined them for good.

After using the serums for 2 months

My verdict

I've been using the serums nightly for just over two months now and so far I'm happy with the results. Although the difference isn't as significant as I would have hoped I'll just put this down to how slow my hair grows anyway. My eyebrows were the first to start showing growth however I actually think you can see the most improvement in the length of my lashes. I'm going to carry on using the products until they run out and probably do another update then.

I'd love to know if you've ever used these serums or if you've ever tried anything similar!

Thanks for reading

x

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*This post contains PR samples however all opinions are my own

Birmingham, UK

KIY-OSHI EYELASH & EYEBROW ENHANCER SERUM

So last weekend me and Sean were bored. Like really, really bored. The weather was shit and as always money was a little bit on the tight side but we wanted to get out of the house and do something fun. Sean jokingly suggested that we go skiing. Assuming that he meant we should jet off to the French Alps or somewhere else just as luxurious I came up with the next best thing, Tamworth Snowdome. 


I'd visited the Snowdome plenty of times before but I hadn't been for years. After checking the activity prices and times we were soon booked in for a 2 hour Ice Skating session and a half hour Tobogganing session the following evening. Both activities were priced at £8.75 per person which didn't break the bank too much.

We arrived the next day in our cosiest clothes ready for a bit of fun in the cold. After popping our boots on were were soon ready to skate and even though it was Sean's first time on the ice and I was a bit wobbly myself, it didn't take too long for us to get the hang of it. Before we knew it we were whizzing around the track and despite a couple of slips I think we did pretty well. I wasn't sure if two hours would be enough time to get on our feet and actually enjoy the experience but I don't think you'd really want anymore than that.

We had around an hours break before our highly anticipated tobogganing session so we grabbed our packed lunch and a little hot chocolate each from the on site Starbucks.


After our short but well deserved rest we headed down to the slope for the main event of the day. The slope is much bigger than it looks at first as it curves round slightly at the top. Although I'm sure this was a space saving idea it makes for a much more fun run. In our half an hour session me and Sean probably got around 6 or 7 runs each and only crashed into each other once, which I didn't think was too bad. Although I can't say we're expects I think we got the hang of this pretty quickly too and I know we will be back again soon to master it!

I absolutely loved our time at The Snowdome and if it wasn't so far away I honestly think we'd go every weekend as it really is the perfect place to spend a rainy day. We want to try out snowboarding lessons at some point so maybe I'll review them next time!

Have you been to the Snowdome?

Thanks for reading

x

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Tamworth, UK

TAMWORTH SNOWDOME

Lately I've been in a funny place with my blog. Don't get me wrong, I still love it, but I can feel the passion I once had slowly fading. Blogging has changed a lot over the last few years and while I probably missed the golden years of the early 2010's I can still feel the difference.

I started my blog in mid 2013; I was getting ready to leave college and honestly I was terrified of starting a boring job and not having anything creative to do. I've always been a bit artsy and photography had always been a big thing for me too, so to leave all of that behind to work full time was such a shock. I needed a creative outlet, something of my own to put my time and passion into but now I'm not so sure what I'm doing anymore.


I loved posting hauls, telling you all about my holidays and maybe snapping the occasional outfit photo and while I still post those kinds of things I feel my little corner of the internet and blogs in general is changing rapidly. Bloggers are making magazine quality content now, with photographs you'd mistake for something out of Vogue. Their posts are written in such a professional way and I can't help but wonder what happened to diary style blog posts? Where did all the basic bloggers go? Don't get me wrong I love looking at content I know someone has spent hours on but sometimes I just want to see something a bit more raw.

Daily vlogs are probably one of my favourite things right now. Youtubers like Helen Anderson record every aspect of their lives, the ups, the downs and even the arguments. Thats what blogging was about, sharing you life with the world. I still love the blogging community and I've never had any negativity shown towards me or my blog but I can feel it getting a bit more catty. Bloggers are changing from friends to competitors. Now that money is involved, and its not pennies either, bloggers seem to be climbing over each for opportunities and jealousy is rife. 

I'm still a small blogger, I'm probably not known enough to warrant nasty comments about my content but it does make me wonder what could happen if I do get a bit more popular. I'm quite sensitive about this site, I put so much effort into it and I'm not sure I could take negative comments. Would it make me quit? Most of my friends don't even know I blog.


I've noticed a lot of really unnecessary comments on Gracie Francessas videos lately, granted a lot of that has come from Youtube users and not other bloggers, but it could make her lose sponsors. She even commented in a recent vlog about how worried she was that so many people reacted negatively to a sponsored video she put out and it made her concerned that she would no longer be given paid work from that brand. That's her bread and butter, she needs to do sponsored work so she can make the content that people originally followed her for. When did it become okay to be so horrible about peoples work, sponsored or not?

This year I was also given my first ever press pass for The Clothes Show. I was over the moon. I'd been going for the past couple of years and now to actually be invited as a blogger was just incredible to me, and all of this was just after my weekend in London at The Vuelio Blog Awards. I was on a high, my blog was taking me so far and I can't even explain how happy it was making me. The day was quite nice, I handed out a few business cards and chatted to a few other bloggers but honestly I left incredibly disheartened. 

I didn't look like the other bloggers, I was fatter than most of them, I didn't have half the followers, I hardly had an Instagram theme and my blog didn't look as professional as theirs. My confidence was knocked like it never has been before and I just didn't feel good enough. I know you shouldn't compare yourself to others but its just so easy. When everyone else looks like they've got it all together and you can barley find time to slap up a blog post how do you go on?


My blogging mojo has been wobbly at best lately. I'd never publish anything I didn't love 100% and this has left me with pretty basic content recently. I really enjoy writing product reviews and my latest OOTD post was my favourite yet but I still feel like there's something missing. I wan't to write more honest raw posts like this, I wan't to talk about things that are important to me, not just makeup and clothes. I wan't to express my opinions on Brexit, health, sex, politics, feminism and anything else that I feel passionate about.

If I died tomorrow I wouldn't want my legacy to be Asos Hauls and Eye Shadow Palettes. I want to make a difference. I want my blog to be positive, make others feel good and talk about the important things.

I know this has been a bit of a ramble and if you got this far well done but I just needed to get this all out. Lets take blogging back to its roots and write for ourselves again.

Thanks for reading

xxx

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Birmingham, UK

LETS TALK ABOUT BLOGGING...

You might remember a few weeks back I reviewed a pretty pricey Benefit eye shadow primer and I was less than impressed. When I fork out £30+ on an eye shadow palette I don't want that pigment to budge all day so I need a half decent primer. As I didn't have much luck with my previous one I thought it might be nice to try one on the other end of the scale.


I've been using this Collection Primed & Ready Eye Shadow Primer for a couple of months now, enough time to give it a proper review. This product comes in at £4.99 which is really quite cheap for a product that should keep my eye shadow fresh for hours. I've used Collection for years now and even though its incredibly affordable, I've always got on really well with their products so I had high hopes for this too.

The formula is really silky and dries on my eyelids quite quickly, leaving them smooth and ready for the eye shadow to be applied. Unlike a lot of other eye primers this one isn't tinted so it wont give your eyelids an even tone or cover up any little veins, it does however have a very faint shimmer which leaves a subtle glow once applied. I find the formula to be quite soothing and some days I use even if I know I wont be wearing eye shadow just because I like the feel of it on my skin.


So does it actually make my eyeshadow last any longer? Yes. Well yes if I'm using sparkly eye shadow. If I'm using shimmery eyeshadow this product is perfect. It applies really smoothly and keeps my makeup looking fresh for hours without it creasing. If I'm using a matte eyeshadow however the story is a little different. Although it does stop it from smudging it doesn't stop it from looking a little tired after a few hours and I've also noticed after a long day of wearing matte eyeshadow it tends to gather along the crease of my eyelids.

SHOP THE POST
So would I repurchase? Yes I probably would, but I am still on the hunt for a decent primer that works for all types of eye shadows. Even though this works well for shimmery eye shadows I've been tending to wear a lot of dusty pink mattes lately and I wan't them to look fresh all day too. Overall  this product is just okay and if you're on a budget £5 for a primer isn't bad at all.

Do you have a favourite eye shadow primer? Let me know in the comments!

Thanks for reading

x

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Birmingham, UK

COLLECTION PRIMED & READY EYE PRIMER


I'm lazy, it's a fact. It's not something I'm proud of but it does mean I try to find ways to make my everyday life easier. Beings as I spend a hell of a lot of time blogging I thought I would share my blogging hacks for lazy girls like me!

1. Keep photos - You never know when you might need a photo of a lipstick or a beautiful holiday shot. I never delete old blogging photographs as they might come in handy for a post later down the line!

2. Write titles and save them - I'll usually have an idea pop into my head and I cba to write about it then and there, so I just write down a rough title. I'll more than likely come back to write it later and this way I won't forget it.

3. Keep a blogging notebook - If you don't have access to your computer write your ideas down in a notebook or in your phone. I've covered this before but its important to remember your little bursts of inspiration.



4. Use your phone camera - Can't be bothered to get your good gear out or are you on the go? Just use your phone camera. The quality will probably be good enough and you won't be wasting time or missing out cause you're playing around with camera settings!

5. Make wishlists using specialised programs - I love making wishlists but sometimes it can get a bit tedious. Lately I've been using a program called Shop Style Collective. Not only does it let me put together really easy wishlists, it also tells me when a product is out of stock and lets me easily swap that product up for something similar!

6. List posts - Running short on blogging ideas? Write a list post...



7. Nail Polish Wheels - Want to review a new nail varnish but can't be arsed to paint your nails? Just paint these handy little things and everyone will think you are sooo professional.

8. Use RT Twitter Accounts - If you don't have time or a huge twitter following find some blogger retweet accounts to help share your tweets. Accounts such as @BloggersInTheUK@FemaleBloggerRT or @BloggerBees will retweet your blogging tweets to their followers so you can easily get more traffic to your blog. 

9. Buy Pretty Bedsheets - I can rarely be bothered to set up a nice background to take product photos on, I do however have a gorgeous selection of bedsheets. I simply place said product on top of my pretty bedsheets and it looks like I purposely chose a gorgeous floral background, or at least I think it does!

So those are my tips for lazy/ short of time bloggers. I hope these help all you lazy girlies out a little bit. If you have any hacks I'd love to hear them too!

Thanks for reading!

xxx

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Birmingham, UK

BLOGGING HACKS FOR LAZY BLOGGERS

So I wasn't really sure what to write today. I didn't know whether to do a 2016 round up or talk about things I'm looking forward to in 2017 but its the start of a new year and I wanted to write something so I thought I'd do a bit of both. 2016 wasn't all that bad for me but it wasn't amazing either so I am excited to start a fresh new year. I hope you enjoy some photos from our NYE last night. We had a lovely meal, a couple of cocktails and we were snuggled up in bed by half one.


My 2016

Blog
My blog has taken me on some adventures this year. Although I struggled to keep up with writing posts at the start of the year, by summer I was lucky enough to be given my first sponsored blog post. I created the whole thing myself and I was really proud of it.

I was also invited to the Vuelio Blog Awards in November which was just the most amazing experience and I really hope I manage to bag a ticket next year too! You might have also seen if you follow me on social media that I was given a press pass for the Clothes Show which has been my dream since I started going a few years ago.

Uni
I finished my first year of university in 2016 and if you've read my 'Things I Wish I Knew Before Going To Uni' post, you'll know it wasn't that great. Between teachers leaving and my motivation being all over the place I just about got through the year, but I did finish it and I started my second year this September. The teaching quality has dramatically increased but my motivation is still a bit low so I'm really hoping to improve that this year.

Travel 
2016 was a fab year for travel. I started it off with a 6 day trip to Barcelona in April with my Uni girls. It was honestly such an amazing trip and one that I know I will always treasure. I actually wrote two travel diaries about it when I started to get back into blogging which you can read about here and here.

The next month I flew to Rhodes with my family for a week of sunbathing and all inclusive cocktails. We hired a car which is something we've never done before and saw as much of the island as we could. I took in so much history that week and even though I haven't shown any of that holiday here it really was fab.

My last abroad holiday was in the summer with my Seany. We flew to Dublin for 4 days over my birthday and loved every second of it. We went to the Guinness Factory, took in a lot of very interesting Irish history at Kilmainham Gaol and had a tour of the huge Glasnevin Cemetery amongst other things. This is when we decided Dublin was the city for us and started our plans to move there not long afterwards. From Dublin we flew to Paris for 3 days to explore the city of love and have a little fun in our favourite place; Disneyland Paris. Although we didn't do as much as I would have liked I still enjoyed it.


My 2017

Blog
In 2017 I really want to push myself to keep up with blogging. Its a hobby I've been passionate about since 2013 when I started and it's something I always want to have. Although 2016 gave me some amazing experiences and opportunities I want to do even more this year. 

I post twice a week at the moment which is okay but I really want to start posting three or even four times if I get the chance. There just so much content I want to create and so much I want to talk about so I want to make this year the year that my blog really grows. 

I also want to start working with a lot more brands. Although I've been able to create content with some lovely companies already and I've got to try out some amazing products I want to do that so much more this year. If sponsored opportunities come along also well then that would be fab too!

Uni
This year I'll leave Uni. I could stay for a third year and get a full degree but honestly I've outgrown education and its just not for me anymore. I'm glad that I went but I'll be so happy to leave. I've spent a lot of time worrying and procrastinating about getting my work done and its started to really get me down. I'm excited to learn as much as I can in the next few months but once its all over I will be very relieved.

Travel
Hopefully this is the year me and Sean can make the big move to the Emerald Isle. We fell in love with Dublin and with all the uncertainty around Brexit I really just want to pack up and start a new in an EU country. When we voted to leave the European union my heart sank. I'd always had plans to live, work and travel freely all over Europe, I just love meeting people from all over. So when that all began to fall apart this summer I knew we needed to move soon. Sean has Irish grandparents so he already qualifies for citizenship however I don't so that's something I need to work on but honestly I cannot wait to start my new life with my Guinness loving boyfriend.

As we won't have much holiday money once we've moved out, me and Sean have decided to go inter-railing for at least two weeks in the summer. We know we wont have much spare cash when were living alone so we thought we should have one last big blowout holiday and see as many countries as possible. The list isn't final yet but were thinking Germany, Austria, Italy and Switzerland.


So that was a little round up of the main things I did in 2016 and my hopes and dreams for the coming year. I hope you all had a fab New Years Eve last night and I honestly wish you all the best for this year! 

Did you make any new years resolutions?

Thanks for reading!

xxx

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Birmingham, UK

HELLO 2017

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