I've been blogging for just over 3 years now and although I'm no expert I have picked up a few tips along the way! These little bits of advice won't make you an overnight blogging sensation but I hope they are useful to you guys either way! Don't forget to leave your own tips in the comments!


1. Only blog about what you are passionate about, not the latest trend
2. Always resize your photographs to 'Original Size' if using blogger, the quality will be much better.
3. Buy a custom URL, it makes it easier for other people to remember and looks more professional.
4. You don't need a fancy camera but images are everything on a blog. Learn how to edit your photographs, even if thats just chucking a filter over them.
5. It's important to have several social media platforms and link them if you are happy for them to be public.
6. Don't try and stick to a blogging schedule unless you're really happy with doing so. Blogging should be fun and not forced, don't ruin it for yourself.



7. Lighting is so important when taking photos but you don't need a professional lighting set up, natural light usually works just as well!
8. Get on Twitter and share share share! Don't forget to be friendly and engage with other bloggers too.
9. Try not to buy things 'just to blog about them'. I know a lot of beauty bloggers are guilty of this one and its not a good habit to keep.
10. Sometimes its good to take a break. Its easy to tell when a someone hasn't enjoyed writing a blog post.
11. If you are offered free products to try out only accept those you are genuinely excited about. Blogging isn't about getting your hands on all the freebies.
12. Don't be afraid to try something new, if blogs were all the same they would be boring.



13. Keep a blogging notebook to write down ideas as and when they come to you.
14. Don't start a blog expecting to make money from it. The big bloggers put a lot of time and effort in to get where they are.
15. Invest in a nice easy to use blog layout if you can afford one.
16. Don't be afraid to comment on other blogs, we are all friends here!
17. Try not to worry if you don't have many followers, I only had 3 followers for for the first 6 months of having a blog and I still loved it just as much as I do now!
18. Most importantly have fun! Use your platform to talk about things that matter to you and enjoy it!

Do you have any other tips? Leave them in the comments!

Thanks for reading!

xxx

18 Random Blogging Tips

At the start of August Sean and I flew out to beautiful Dublin for 4 days. Neither of us had been to Ireland before and with Sean's family links to the country we were super excited to delve into the history and explore the city. Unfortunately we were enjoying ourselves too much to take lots of photos and I'm kicking myself a bit now that I hardly have any to show. Anyway here is a run down of what we got up to in those few days...


Day 1 - After a very early start we arrived in Dublin at around 9am; we were checked into the hotel by 10:30am and by 11am we were riding around on a sightseeing tour bus. We needed to make the most of every second here as we only had a few days. The first few hours were spent viewing the city from the top of the tour bus, taking in lots of information as we went. There really is just so much history here and I think tour busses are one of the best ways to learn a lot in a short amount of time. 

After a few hours of looking at all the touristy stuff we headed back to the hotel to get ready for our first night out. After realising I'd left my hairbrush at home (along with my toothbrush, phone charger and makeup wipes) I sent Sean out to buy me one and we were out not long after 7. The plan was to find a nice place to eat around Temple Bar area as our hotel was 5 minutes away but it was just so busy. I think the amount of people around coupled with being in a new place set me on edge and I just couldn't stay in that area. I was really annoyed at myself for getting so anxious but we soon found a little american dinner that was super cute and dead cheap. 

After our slap up burger meals we headed to The Dublin Hard Rock Cafe for our all time favourite cocktail; The Southern Rock. Me and Sean are trying to visit every Hard Rock eventually and this one marked our 5th! We soon turned in for the night after deciding I just couldn't hack the Dublin nightlife.


Day 2 - The second day was also another early start. We had pre-booked tickets to Kilmainham Gaol for a morning tour but we also really wanted to change hotel rooms. After a lot, and I mean a lot of pleading with the reception staff they were willing to move us but only if we moved right then! With only 5 minutes to spare we packed everything up and popped it into our new, much nicer hotel room. We then dashed off to take one of the most interesting tours I've ever been on. 

I can't even explain the emotions that go through you as you wander around Kilmainham, its so easy to feel sympathetic for the former residents and angry too but I mostly just felt sad for them. As you are told their stories it's so hard not to get emotionally attached to them. The story that spoke to me the most was of Joseph Plunket and Grace Gifford, who were married just hours before his execution. It's really worth reading about those two and the others involved in the Easter Rising but you'll probably cry, don't say I didn't warn you. 

After that emotional rollercoaster we walked down the road from the jail to where Sean's grandad was born. Sean wanted to see the house he used to live in and get some pictures for his grandad. Out of courtesy for the current owners we knocked on to see if was okay to snap some pictures and explained why we were there in the first place. After talking to Patricia the new owner we discovered that Sean is actually related to her husband and we were soon being invited in for tea and to chat about Sean's family! It turns out her husband is Sean's grandad's cousin and they had lost touch when he came over to England 50+ years ago! 

After leaving there we headed back to get ready for our second night and went on the hunt for some traditional Irish stew. Turns out I'm not the biggest fan of Irish stew. We decided to give temple bar another go and despite staying in a few pubs for a little sing song and a couple of pints I really just couldn't enjoy myself. My confidence was virtually none existent that night again and I'm so gutted I let everything get on top of me. For whatever reason I just couldn't get settled and felt sick again for the whole night. 


I was going to put the whole holiday into one post but I've written a lot more than I thought I would so I'll post the second half next week! I hope you guys actually enjoy my ramblings! 

Have you ever been to Dublin before? Did you love it?

Thanks for reading!

xxx

Dublin Travel Diary | Days 1 + 2

Rushing around the shops a few hours before I needed to be packed to go to Dublin I suddenly realised I hadn't washed my makeup brushes. I aways give them a good soak before I go on holiday and the thought of running out of time to do so made me feel a bit unwell. Luckily I happened upon this gem of an item and my worries drifted away.

The B. Makeup Brush Cleanser retails at around £5 for a 125ml bottle which I think is a pretty decent price. The formula cleans and disinfects brushes and can be used with either synthetic or natural bristles.


To use the product you simply spray the solution onto your brush two or three times and gently rub the dirt off into a tissue. I prefer to use a couple of clean flannels as tissues tend to make a bit of a mess. You then leave your brushes to air dry and use again as normal. I found the cleanser really easy to use and my brushes were dry within a few hours which is perfect if you are in a hurry like I was. 

The product also claims to condition your brushes although so far I haven't really noticed any difference. This might be because I've only used it twice and my usual way of cleaning my brushes (baby shampoo and warm water) does leave them feeling really quite soft.


I always have to comment on the scent of a product and although this doesn't smell of anything amazing it also doesn't smell bad. The scent is mostly down to the disinfectant which smells a bit like alcohol and hand sanitiser but this doesn't stay on the brush once the product has dried.

Although I'm very impressed with this product for how easy is it to use and the price, I don't think I will use this every time I wash my brushes as I think they do need a long soak every now and then. That being said this is a perfect cleaner for a lazy girl like myself and I would buy it again!

Have you tried this makeup brush cleaner before? 

Thanks for reading!

xxx

B. Makeup Brush Cleanser

With summer in full force and everyone jetting off on their jollies, I thought it was about time I put together another style guide. As everyone's idea of the perfect holiday can be different I've created looks for both city lovers and beach goers. This year I've really pushed myself to wear more dresses as its too easy to just throw on a pair of jeans and there are some gorgeous holiday dresses on the highstreet right now.

Outfit One

The first look is a simple very casual style designed for hot sticky days wandering around the city. I've paired these comfortable converse with a light jersey dress and basic tote to make a practical yet stylish outfit.

Outfit Two

I've based this next look on outfits I usually wear on my own city holidays. Again I've decided to keep it quite simple with the yellow skater dress being the only pop of colour with all black accessories. I've chosen to included some pricier jewellery for this outfit as I like to really dress up for a night on the town.

Outfit Three

I was going to choose another daytime dress for this beach look but honestly when I'm on the beach I spend most of my time swimming in the sea, occasionally popping out to get a drink so I thought a pretty cover up would be more appropriate. I chose this pretty Topshop kimono as it would be perfect to wear day or night.

Outfit four


For the last look I wanted to create an outfit that I could see myself in, sipping cocktails by a harbour in the Med somewhere. I've chosen this gorgeous floaty tea dress paired up with a staple bucket bag and some delicate gold jewellery to top it all off.

I hope you enjoyed this style guide!

Thanks for reading!

xxx


This post was made in collaboration with JD Williams

Summer Holiday Style guide


A few Sundays ago the weather was absolutely glorious. It was the type of weather you pay £500 to fly to Spain for. Me and Sean wanted to make the most of the sunshine so we headed off to Canon Hill Park to test out the new Mini Golf Course. It was only £5.60 each for the 18 hole course and £8.50 for the 36 hole which I didn't think was too bad. We just chose the 18 holes this time as we didn't know if we would get bored of it and we wanted to save something to do next time!


The game took us around an hour to get through and we loved every second of it! There were some really easy courses and some super hard ones that we just couldn't get the hang of but it was so fun. I can't remember the last time I played mini golf and this was Sean's first ever time playing so I expected us to be pretty shocking at the game but honestly we weren't all that bad. Obviously I won with my insane golf skills.

Top - Pull & Bear ( Similar ) Kimono - New Look ( Similar ) Jeans - Primark ( Similar ) Shoes - Converse ( Here ) Sunglasses - Primark ( Similar )


I really wanted to get some OOTD photos while we were on the course but honestly I was just enjoying myself too much to pose for photos. I hope you guys don't mind these half arsed outfit pics until I get chance to take some proper ones.

All in all I really loved pottering around this little course and I can't wait to come back to finish the other half off! If you guys are ever in the area I couldn't recommend this enough as it really is just so fun! 

Thanks for reading!

xxx

Crazy Golf

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