Birthday Beauty Treats - What I got for my 21st

I was lucky enough to get some very exciting things for my birthday, some that were gifted to me from others and some that were gifted from the person that loves me the most.. MYSELF. Y'know, the whole 'To me, From me' thang. I got a couple of other things too but I thought that I would limit this to a 'beauty' related post. I shouldn't need to remind you of the fact that I do not do these posts to brag, I do them because they're interesting to me and to others too- yet here I am.. reminding you.. 

Without further ado, here are my favourite birthday bits;

 TARTE - TARTELETTE - AMAZONIAN CLAY MATTE PALETTE

Oh myyy goddddd- that was my reaction when I saw this palette in person for the first time. I swear, I have never had an eye shadow palette that's so 'me' before this. Whenever I get eye shadow palettes, I find myself using the matte shades rather than the metallic or shimmery ones. I just think that they're more wearable and the only time that I feel I can really get away with anything fancier on the lids is when I'm going out clubbing. 

To have a palette that's solely matte is just a dream to me, but then even the shades are amazing too!? You have a range of very pale shades, right through to the darkest black. I would describe the tones of these eye shadows as warm which I tend to prefer anyway and the purple colours in this palette are just to DIE for. They are so rich and yet subtle enough to work. Words can't describe how in love I am with this palette. Thank you mumma, you wonderful woman!

 HUGO BOSS - MA VIE EAU DE PARFUM

So I bought this for my mum last year for mothers day, but then had to force myself to give it to her and not myself because I loved it that much. I decided that I needed this perfume myself and so I hopped onto the Boots website one day and the gift set (which included 50ml perfume, body lotion and shower gel) was in the sale for £40 down from £60!! The 50ml bottle on it's own is sold at just under £50 so I thought it would be pretty silly to say no..

So this gift set is sat in my basket for a couple of days while I decided whether or not it's okay to buy myself a birthday present a month before it's my birthday and as I refresh the basket one day.. My basket reads 'TOTAL: £30' I think it must have been a glitch, as the website still said £40 so with that, I didn't hesitate- I filled in my card details and it was mine. 

For me, the bottle says a lot to me and this bottle says, Sleek, subtle, feminine, classy and expensive AF. Let's face it, who doesn't want to be any of those things? This fragrance is of the floral variety and contains notes of Rose bud, Cedar-wood and Cactus Blossom.

 DIXI - OCEAN CHILD RING

I've been following Shop Dixi on Instagram for a while now and have been lusting after their jewellery ever since. I've never been able to justify the price as it is a little costly for me but I thought when's a better time to treat yourself to the things you wouldn't otherwise? Oh yes, my 21st birthday. This ring was from the Harvest Moon collection and I just really love anything that's to do with the ocean and the beach.

TOM FORD - LIP COLOUR MATTE - 09 FIRST TIME

I have wanted a Tom Ford lipstick for years- genuinely, but the price is so ridiculous that I could never spend that amount on a lipstick without a justifiable occasion or reason. Again, you only turn 21 once right!? So I went for it.. I really wanted a deep purple but I thought, if I'm going to spend that amount on a lipstick then it should be a colour that I'm actually going to get wear out of! This is a really nice coral-toned dusty pink which I think is wonderful for people with pale skin like myself.

GERARD COSMETICS - LIPSTICK - UNDERGROUND

My house-mates all surprised me on my birthday with this Lipstick which was a huge surprise to me because I'd spoken about wanted this lipstick for ages but had completely forgotten about it for a while. I was so happy because I don't think I would have got this lipstick on my own accord- just because I didn't know if I could trust the brand and if the lipstick was good quality. BUT, it is now my favourite lipstick. I wore it yesterday and it is one of the easiest lipsticks to put on and the colour is so soft that I didn't have to worry too much about edges being neat and all that jazz - LOVE IT.

 MAC - LIP PENCIL - WHIRL

This lip pencil was a bit of an impulse buy to be quite honest. I had my Tom Ford lipstick saved in my House Of Fraser basket and I needed another £12 to qualify for free delivery so there I was like 'Oh, well I guess I'll just have to buy something else then.. Oh would you look at that.. MAC Lip Pencils are around that price..' You can guess the rest. I've heard a lot about this shade so I just went for it. I have to say, after testing it on my hand- I don't know if i'm going to like it.. but we shall see.

 NARS - SHEER GLOW FOUNDATION - SIBERIA

Yet ANOTHER beauty product that I have been craving since the reviews racked sky-high but didn't want to risk paying the equally sky-high price and then being disappointed. I don't want to talk too much about this product because I'm thinking of featuring it in another post later on.

MAC - BLOT POWDER / PRESSED - LIGHT

I was previously using Rimmel's 'Stay Matte' pressed powder in 'Peach Glow' but it was definitely too heavy and too dark for my skin so I really wanted to invest in a powder that was light and good for oily skin- and here is just that! Again, I'm not going to talk about this one too much as this will also be featured in a future post.

Thanks for reading guys! I hope you enjoyed this post (and the much better photo quality)

Until next time,

Jade x

52 WOGC- WEEK 2- Heartbreak- the worst and the best thing that ever happened to me

DISCLAIMER: This post is going to get personal. I don't do this often as I don't like the idea of my whole life being on the internet. If you're viewing this for any other reason than because you want to simply read this post without passing judgement, then exit this post. My life isn't here for you to mock/ gossip/ or be nosey about :)

So, just quickly- this is my entry for Week 2 of the '52 Weeks of Gratitude Challenge'. My last post for this challenge was over a month ago which is EXTREMELY embarrassing and a perfect example at how rubbish I am at keeping up with things! I lasted one week ffs. 

This entry is named 'Spouse/ Significant other' on the 52 WOGC list that you can find online. As I do not have either of these, I was considering writing about being single but for some reason, I wanted to make it more personal. I think the main reason for this, is that I wouldn't be at the place I am today if it wasn't for what happened in the past, so it makes sense for me to start from the beginning.

It was two and a half years ago now that my ex broke up with me and I'm not exaggerating when I say that it was one of the most painful experiences I've had to endure. Even after all this time, it still affects me today, but that might have something to do with the fact that we stayed in contact and didn't cut each other off completely.

The first year was the hardest because he went off to university in a different part of the country to enjoy a new life that didn't involve me in any way. Whereas I was stuck in a job that I hated, out of education, with only two people that I could call real friends, living in a house that I was unhappy in and I was miserable. The only thing I wanted to do was sleep and I thought to myself on a daily basis- 'Is this it? Is this my life?' 

I spent the whole year both hating him and missing him at the same time and part of me couldn't accept the fact it was over. Those were two of many of my problems- both forgiveness and acceptance are both required in order to fully move on. It wasn't until I started university in a different city that I started to feel so much better. My life felt completely different- I had new friends, I lived in a city that I adored and I was on a course that I really enjoyed. For the first month or so I thought 'This is it. I'm over him.' but it turns out that I wasn't. I was just so distracted by my new life that I didn't really have time to think about him.  

I went backwards a little bit with my progression after the first month of uni, but then I really started to see things clearer and had a better perspective of things. When looking back at my past two relationships, I realised that I was a completely different person. When I was in a relationship, my happiness greatly depended on the person I was with. My insecurities became more apparent and I needed attention all the time in order to feel happy. In reflection, I realised this was not healthy at all. It was then that I started to see the problems weren't with the relationship itself, but with me. I supposed that's where the quote 'Love yourself first' comes in.

This quote really resonates with me and has done for a while now. I never really saw the importance of self worth or self development but now, it's the one thing that keeps me on the right path. I know that a lot of girls (including myself) go into relationships and want relationships because they want someone to love and care for them and show them their worth but you should never put these things into someone else's hands! The only person you should depend on and require acceptance from is yourself. 

I've realised that who I am as a person, what I do with my life and my happiness is much more of a priority to me than a relationship. I'm only in education for another one and a half years and then that's it, I have to make do with what I've achieved and utilize that to potentially and hopefully land my 'dream job'. When I'm in a relationship, I can't help but put my boyfriend before my work because my brain tells me to choose between the thing I HAVE to do (uni work) and the thing I want to do (see my boyfriend) and we all know it's impossible to do both of those things at the same. What I'm trying to say is- boys are a distraction for me. 

Who is the best person to help me realise who I am, what makes me tick, what my strengths and weaknesses are? ME. Who is the best person to help me realise what and where I want to be in life and go out there and make it happen? ME. Who will always put my happiness first? ME. That's all there is to it. I've dated enough boys to know that none of them care about me as much as I care about myself, and THAT'S OKAY. Don't let anyone tell you that you're selfish for thinking that. 

Relationships are great and they can make you happier than you've ever been before but in my experience, there's never a constant happy medium and I just can't cope with that in my life. I need consistency and to have my happiness in the hands of someone that I can trust to maintain it. 

I suppose you could say that I'm sceptical but to be quite honest, I deserve to be. I feel this way for a reason and at the end of the day, I don't think it's a completely bad thing.  I have to tell my grandma on a regular basis 'Grandma, the boys of our generation aren't like grandad! They're a whole new breed' but to be honest, us women have changed too. I think that slowly, women around the world are coming to the realisation that you don't in any way, shape or form NEED a guy. Nope. 

And just for the record, this isn't a close-minded, Beyonce inspired speach about how men suck and women rule- that's not what I'm saying at all. I just happen to believe that society has shaped us all into this way of living that makes it extremely difficult for a relationship to work. It seems as though men and women are just on completely different wave lengths. One day, I'm hoping a guy will come along and prove me wrong but until then, I'm very much happy and capable on my own.

JADE'S PRO'S FOR BEING SINGLE

1. You can invest all your energy into bettering yourself as a person and your career

2. You will learn so much more about yourself

3. You can wear, say, do whatever the fuck you want

4. You can sleep better at night, not worrying about relationship dramas

5. You can have the bed to yourself AND the whole duvet

6. You will save yourself a lot of money- relationships can be expensive!

7. At Christmas and Valentines day, you can spend what you'd usually spend on your other half ON YOURSELF *Hello MAC free delivery* 

8. You can stare at the extremely attractive waiter and not feel an ounce of guilt

9. You can be as happy as you want because your happiness lies in your hands!

10. You ALWAYS go to the gym more when you're single- so you're really getting hotter when you're single.. 


I hope you liked this post as much as I enjoyed writing it! Keep posted for my next 52 WOGC post :)

Keep ya chin up kids,

Jade x

Mantras- The what, the how and the why

In this post I will be talking about mantras, what they are, my current favourite mantras and why they are useful.

WHAT IS A MANTRA?

'(originally in Hinduism and Buddhism) a word or sound repeated to aid concentration in meditation'

I'm not going to waffle on too much about the history and meaning behind the word but I will tell you a little bit about it, just to cover the basics. 

So the word 'Mantra' is a word made up of two smaller words. 'Man' which translates to 'mind' and 'tra' which translates to 'transport' which I personally interpret as- escapism of the mind.

A mantra is commonly used in meditation to help keep the mind focused. It is a word or short phrase that you repeat to yourself over and over in your mind.

I personally use it to stop my mind from running away with negative thoughts and to keep myself focused.

MY CURRENT MANTRA FAVOURITES

These are the mantras that I have been practising over the last couple of weeks;

1. 'I am confident and I don't give a fuck what anyone thinks about me'

I personally really struggle with confidence and anxiety and for those of you who suffer too, you'll know even a trip to the local shop is so mentally challenging. 

As you all know, I'm not the sort of person to get too deep with personal posts on my blog so it's quite difficult to express how I really feel without going too personal. But any of you can research into anxiety if you would like to.  

I basically feel that everyone around me is judging me, that everyone that looks at me is thinking something horrible about me and I feel very uncomfortable, even when I've made a proper effort with my appearance.

I have to repeat this is my mind to fake confidence and remind myself that these people are probably just looking at me just the same as they look at any other person. They're just taking in their surroundings. I try to remind myself how I sometimes look at strangers on the street and the thoughts that I have on these people are very brief and mean nothing to me at all. To be honest, I'm way too busy worrying what they think of me to even judge them.

And if they are judging me or thinking something nasty then who fucking cares, seriously? What they think of me says more about them than it does about me. And let's face it, these people are just strangers. Why should I even worry about their opinions?

2. 'I do not owe anyone "pretty"'

I got this quote from Shirley Bassey on Youtube and it really spoke to me. No one owes ANYONE pretty. You don't have to put on make up or brush your hair or look presentable for anyone. We have been brought up in a world where it's not acceptable to walk around with no make up on, especially if you don't look like bloody Natalie Portman. 

For me, this is especially hard because I struggle with acne and most people will honestly look at my make up-less face and think 'Jesus, she needs to cover that shit up' but why the fuck should I? The only person I should live to please on this earth is myself when it comes to my appearance and anyone that looks at me and judges me on the way I look should really sit down and re-evaluate their life.

It is going to take me a VERY long time to be comfortable with the way I look even with make up on, let alone without it. But as long as I work on it everyday, working on myself, I am taking a step in the right direction.

3. 'If you want it, work for it. You are capable'

This mantra has really helped me to stay focused with my uni work. I have been trying harder than I have ever tried before and I have been working really hard to maintain my motivation. 

I am at a place where I really need to work my butt off in order to get the grades I want in my degree. I've spent a lot of my life being told that I'm average and getting average grades but I know that I'm capable of getting more if I work hard enough. 


I hope you have all enjoyed this post! I really want to involve more posts on positivity and ways to improve your life and mindset so expect to see more of this :)

Until next time,

Jade x