2014 At A Glance

So its quickly come round to that time again where we begin to look back and reflect on our year, on ourselves and what we have achieved or maybe the things that we haven't achieved.  Mostly I find the end of another year to be a bit of a bitter sweet moment: I'm excited for the new year ahead and for the prospects of a fresh start and new ventures that lie ahead but I also find it quite sad that another year of my life is about to end.

I've long since abandoned New Years Resolutions, and because I'm usually always thinking way ahead of myself,this year I decided to set a sort of bucket list of '25 Before 25' instead. I definitely found this a more fun approach to setting myself goals as it wasn't like resolutions where you basically just set yourself up for failure year after year.

And so when I think back on my 2014, I have to say that it was certainly a successful, healthy and eventful one. When you can glance back on a year and honestly say to yourself that you achieved something, were fit and healthy and did things that made you happy I think its safe to say it was a good year.

The game changer? Qualifying in my profession, starting my own business, quitting a job that made me miserable and starting one that brings me such an amazing sense of satisfaction and purpose. Doing a job that I enjoy and can be proud of has changed so much for me. I feel at ease and like my life is finally going down a path that it was made for. I'm more confident in myself, my abilities and I've done things this year that I never would have dreamed of doing before. I feel grateful to have had the support of everyone around me in my ventures, in letting me take a few risks and hopefully continue to watch them pay off.

I was lucky enough to go on two holidays this year, it was the first time I had been abroad since getting the dogs in 2011! I also got to see Taylor Swift perform her Red Tour at the 02 back in February - I LOVE Taylor so that was amazing. I spent quality time with my loved ones, celebrated quite a few big events with my family over the course of the year, dad won some money on the lottery in January and took us all out for a lovely meal, then my mum turned 50 in the summer and we also had a pearl wedding anniversary in 2014.

Something I never imagined I would be able to do, but did this year and that was learn to crochet. I've watched my mum crochet on and off all of my life and have always thought it beautiful. Over the summer and thanks to much patience from her, this cack handed leftie somehow managed to pick up the art of crochet. It was so rewarding when I finally got it - I've loved making things for myself and to give to other people its been a really lovely skill to learn and hopefully it will be something that sticks with me.

I know that sometimes its easy to take things for granted, but looking back at this year has made me realise that I have so much to be thankful for. I wish that I could learn to better appreciate every single day the health of my loved ones that are all at arms length to me. Next year may not be so smooth sailing, but I will try my hardest to remind myself of the enormous sacrifices my family are about to make. I live in the hope that my parents' utter selflessness will be worth it in the end.

Estee Lauder Pure Color Envy Lipstick | Envious

Tis the season for red lipstick! Although you probably know that I love supporting a red lip all year round but what better time than on the week of Christmas? If you caught my recent festive lipstick post earlier this month you may have already seen this Estee Lauder lovely pop up and I realised that I hadn't done a full write up on this gorgeous lipstick. I purchased this back in September on my holiday and it quickly made its way into my stash of elite favourites.

This is the first lipstick I own from Estee Lauder and its safe to say that this ticks all of the boxes for me. Firstly the packaging is so sleek and subtly sophisticated with its navy and gold duo, not to forget the satisfying 'click' of the magnetic lid when you close it away. The formula of this lipstick is so dreamy and exactly what I look for in a lipstick - its creamy and comfortable on the lips, very pigmented and I'd say its fairly long wearing especially if you use a lip pencil with it (FYI Mac Cherry is a lovely one to use with this.) Although this has a soft texture that is very moisturising and kind to the lips it isn't one of those colours that slides off in an instant - never desirable with a bright red.

The colour is a stunning shade of scarlet red that completely fulfills that classic red lip look. As this isn't a matte shade it has a slight sheen that is very beautiful as it effortlessly adds a bit of fullness to the lips. If you want to see this swatched check out this post. For a lipstick of this quality that ticks so many boxes, it does come at a small price however I would say that for any red lipstick lover this should definitely be in your collection as it is worth every penny. This is a gorgeous lipstick to wear for daytime or will equally glam up any evening makeup look, and I definitely think that this is going to be my Christmas day lipstick choice for 2014!

QOTD: Will you be supporting a red lip this Christmas?

Winter Break In The Forest

 

This morning I returned home from a short midweek break with some of my family. We stayed in a big log cabin that sleeps up to eleven people so as you can imagine it was nice and cosy. For England, this December has been exceptionally mild so we were lucky to enjoy some warmer temperatures for our stay in the forest. It was dry all the week and the sun even made a few appearances while we were there. I've never been on one of these forest break type holidays before but I knew that I would enjoy it a lot. It was lovely waking up each day in the midst of all the trees and nature - the peace and quiet was unbeatable. It was so nice to relax and not have to do very much but enjoy ourselves, we explored the woods getting some well deserved fresh country air, ate yummy food, sat in front of the fire one evening in Christmas jumpers, built dens (I watched!) and there was also a hot tub to relax in, which one little family member particularly loved! I'm now feeling nicely refreshed and thankful to have had the chance to go along with my family and enjoy a special winter's break.

QOTD: Have you ever done a forest break?

Collective Boots Haul

Quick little Boots Haul for you today. This is a collective haul of items I've picked up across the last few weeks or so with lots of drugstore gems that I've been meaning to try out for ages now but haven't got round to up till now.

You will see soon in my next empties post that I finished another bottle of my trusty Garnier Eye Makeup Remover. Instead of just replacing it when I last returned to Boots I finally decided it was time to switch and try out the Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water which is supposedly a good dupe for Bioderma which I've had in the past before. After EssieButton introduced me to Revlon Colorstay Gel Envy in Up The Ante I was desperate to get my hands on a few more from the line, and after waiting patiently the larger Boots store nearest me finally get them in stock - I think they are new to the UK. I picked up the three shades Queen of Hearts - a deep red, High Stakes - a dark green and Wild Card - a bold blue. I love the formula and staying power of these polishes. On the topic of nails, and a purchase inspired by the lovely Tasha was the Sally Hansen Instant Cuticle Remover, I've left you a link to her blog which I love but I'm pretty sure Tasha spoke about this product in either a YT video or blog post and its been on my Boots list ever since!

Then I've made two makeup purchases from Boots recently the first being the  Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm in Elusive Insaisissable which is a pretty pinky nude shade. I actually got this as something to put on my lips for when I'm at the gym. And lastly another blogger inspired purchase was from Annabel another blog which I love to nosey through, and I was actually after the new Bourjois Volume 1 Second Mascara in Ultra Black, but my tiny little local Boots didn't have that and I decided I would opt for the regular 1 Second Mascara as I've heard its just as good. Sometimes you can't beat a good drugstore mascara - I'm excited to have a good play around with this over the festive season.

QOTD: Have you purchased anything from Boots lately?