Goodbye 2014

Hi!

 

I hope that you all had a lovely Christmas? Myself and Mr C had a lovely but busy Christmas Eve and Day what with family to visit, presents to give and lots of food to be eaten. I'm actually craving some salad and fruit now, (never thought I would say this) but no more chocolate please!

 

I had a scroll through the pictures on my phone the other night and decided to put together some of my favourite photos from 2014. This year has been good, compared to the past two years! I've managed to stay out of the hospital and doctors for a year and am hoping it continues to stay that way for the moment. I've had some really good times thanks to blogging including meeting Kelly Brook and Liz McClarnon, attending the Curvissa Event, going to Plus North and meeting lots of lovely bloggers!

I also feel like my confidence has grown a lot this year. I'm finally realising as I get older that I should just enjoy myself and stop worrying so much about what people think of me, the more you do that the less time you have to live your life. I went to London a few times on my own this year, this may sound strange to people who do this on a regular basis but for me it was a huge step, even though I got very lost on my second visit, I haven't let this put me off at all. I also sat in a restaurant and ate lunch on my own, something I'd never done in my life and I enjoyed it, no one stared at me, no one laughed and I felt happy in my own company.

I want to say thank you to everyone that has read my blog this year, read my random tweets and looked at my (very few) instagram posts, one of my aims for 2015 is be a bit more active on my social media. Last of all I want to wish you all a very Happy New Year!

 

 

Much Love

 

Natalie

 

x

Shop Your Stash

 

 

Hi!

 

                          

 

 

 

 

Welcome to the Shop Your Stash Challenge. This is all about finding a gem in what you already own and creating a blog post on it. This is to let go a little of the stress that comes with being a blogger - even if it is just once a month. Rummage through your beauty products and climb through those clothes draws. You might surprise yourself!

 

So it's my final Shop your stash post of 2014!

 

I just wanted to do post about forgotten favourites of 2014. Most were items that I had purchased and then left to gather dust.

 

First up are the Real Techniques brushes. For years I had been using one M.A.C brush, a few body shop and some unknown brand. I never realised what a difference a good brush could make until I tried these ones, I noticed a huge difference when putting on foundation or blending eye shadow. When I took these pictures it wash brush washing day so most of them were still drying including my favourite foundation brush.



 

 

 

 

Next up 3 recent favourites. I've tried so many brow products, the only one that came close was the M.U.A brow kit. That was until my sister brought me this Anastasia Brow Wiz back from the US. It's safe to say that this has become a firm favourite of mine now. The felt tip liner from Collection was a really random purchase, I really wanted to try the winged liner look and just picked this up on a trip to Superdrug. Cheap and cheerful, it's perfect whilst I try and nail the liner (any tips would be very welcome!). Last of all (on this picture) is my all time favourite mascara, the Lancôme Hypnose Precious Cells, it  legthen my lashes just enough without them smearing my glasses. 

 

I'm still using the Effclar Duo, in the New Year I'm going to invest in the facewash and some toner. The dream matte mousse was actually some foundation that my sister purchased to wear on her wedding day, I tried a bit, fell in love and managed to steal it from her without her realising, well at least until she reads this post! I must admit I got the Baby Lips after reading so many reviews about them, it's a nice product, my lips stay nice and soft when its on and fits nicely in my handbag.

 

Do you have any beauty favourites from 2014?

 

Much Love

 

Natalie

x

 

Hollie

Debz

Nicole R

Gemma

Leah

Helen

Vicky

Kittie

Michelle

Anne-Lise

Lucia

Nicola

Nicole F

Sharon

Sam

Kim

Sarah

Betty

Abi

Kaye

Toni

Nikki

OOTD | The jumper

 

Hi!

 

Another cold weekend, another jumper on again! I bought this along with the pink jumper from Gap. I realised whilst we were away that I only had two jumpers so I thought it was about time to invest in a few new ones for the winter.

 

 

The photos do look slightly odd here, I think it's to do with the pattern on the jumper! ohhh!

I paired it with my favourite jeans from Yours clothing. Sadly I think they are no longer available which is sad as they are the best jeans I've ever owned. If you have any recommendations for jeans please let me know!

Much Love

 

Natalie

 

x

New Additions | Jewellery

 

Hi!

 

A good piece of jewellery makes me very happy, especially a beautiful necklace. It has been a long times since I'd bought anything new but that soon ended after I had a look on the Taking Shape website.

 

These two necklaces caught my eye. The first one has these beautiful red teardrop shaped pendants with little diamante's at the tops. The detail on it is gorgeous, the little diamante balls and further up the purple gems make this a really unusual and pretty piece



 

 

 

 

 

This second one also caught my eye, actually most gold costume jewellery always catches my eye.

This beauty has interwoven strings of beads to make one lovely statement necklace. Be prepared to see this in more posts!

 

Taking Shape currently have buy one get one half price on jewellery

 

Much Love

 

Natalie

x

 

 

 

*This is not a sponsored post*

 

 

OOTD | Pink to make Mr C wink!

 

 

Hi!

 

I love having a few days off during the week. Years ago I would have gone shopping, watched TV and relaxed. How things change, now it's getting the garage cleared, cleaning windows and a never ending to do list around the house!

 

 

 

Mr C also had a day off with me so we thought we have a late lunch at Prezzo. As it was quite chilly I decided it was time to get the hat out! I also wore my new jumper from Gap. I bought this whilst we were away in Devon back in October. I love the Gap retail outlets and always manage to find some bargains. This jumper was £3.99! I haven't worn hot pink for ages so as I soon as I saw this I knew I had to have it. If you are looking for cosy, soft and warm jumpers for the winter then head to Gap.

This is a XL I'm wearing, I always find this style of jumper quite oversized so I knew it would fit without trying it on. The back dips slightly and the front has a v neck but nothing too deep. I will definitely get a lot of wear out of this during the winter months.

The Food!

Have you ever tried anything from Gap?

 

Much Love

 

Natalie

 

x

Christmas Day Outfit Part 2

Hi!

So, here I am back for part 2 of the Christmas Day outfit choices! This is another dress from Taking Shape that I bought a few weeks ago.

 

You'll probably have noticed from most of my blog pictures that I tend to shy away from print, but this dress really caught my eye for some reason. When I tried it on I was not disappointed, like all my other Taking Shape dresses the quality was excellent and the fit was spot on. I only have one other skater style dress which fits ok so I was keen to find one that fitted well. 

 

I could have sized down in this dress but I quite like having a little extra room especially as I know that Christmas day is going to be one long food fest!

 

 

 

Trying to take pictures in the evening! Ughh! Hurry up summer!

 

 

 

 

I think that I might wear both dresses on Christmas Day! Who knows!

 

You can find this dress on the TS website.

 

Much Love

 

Natalie

x

 

Christmas Day Outfit Part 1

 

 

Hi!

 

 

Welcome to part one of my Christmas Day outfit choices. I don't know about you but I quite like to dress up on the day, something smart but comfortable is always a winner for me.

 

 

 

This is the *Collette dress from Taking Shape.

 

I picked this dress as the print was so pretty, perfect for Christmas Day but I could also wear it on New Year's Eve or add a cardigan over the top for a little more of a casual look the weekend.

 

As always I was really happy with fit of the dress. If you haven't tried a dress from Taking Shape then I highly recommend that you do, go to a store if you can. They always fit really well especially around the waist and hips, I have quite big hips and sometimes getting a dress that fits is hard to find.

 

My necklace is also from TS. I will be doing a review on the ones that I bought very soon!

 

 

There was nothing in my stocking yet but I'm sure another dress would fit in there (hint to Mr C!)

 

Part 2 will be on the blog soon!

 

Much Love

 

Natalie

 

x

 

 

 

*This item was sent to me for review but all opinions are my own.

Review | Nars Creamy Concealer

Hi!

Since I started watching You Tube beauty videos and reading beauty blogs my interest in make up has certainly increased. There are a few people that I watch and read that I'm happy to purchase an item off on the basis that they have given a good, and in my opinion, honest review.

There was one item that I umm and ahhhd over, I kept asking myself, could a product really be that good?

The item in question was the Nars creamy concealer. I was wary at first, £21 for a concealer and going on reviews from say so on the internet.

Was it worth it? Yes and no.

The colour match is perfect, the thick consistency allows for good coverage on my dark circles and blemishes. I use a small real techniques brush to apply it and then blend it in with a beauty blender. The result is a really lovely glow to my skin, almost like I'd been in the sun for a few hours. I like to leave it like that but if you don't like the glowing, shiny look then a light powder is needed on top.

The downside? I didn't feel like it lasted as well as some other concealers I own. Towards the end of a working day I had a quick look in the mirror, I got a bit of tissue and wiped it over my cheek where I have a scar and nothing came off! There was a small amount under my eyes still but I could have done with touching it up. Maybe I do need to try the powder, so I will give this a go one day.

.

Overall I'm still impressed with this product, I love the little glow it gives to my skin, a bonus for these winter months. Maybe with a bit a powder I can improve the staying power. And the price, well, I think it could be cheaper but then again you pay for you get, a high end brand and good quality.

 

Have you tried any Nars products?

 

Much Love

 

Natalie

x

Christmas | Party Outfit

 

 

Hi!

 

 

It's that time of year again when most women are faced with the difficult decision of finding something to wear to their Christmas party.

 

Last year I couldn't find anything to wear and left it until the day before my works party! 

 

 

 

This year I have found the perfect dress!

 

This is from Bon Marche*, its the David Emanuel All over Lace and Sequin Dress. It also comes in a gorgeous red. I decided to go for the teal as I've never really tried a dress in this colour before.

 

It is a really stunning dress. I'm wearing a size 24 and it fits true to size. It's comfortable all over, normally I can find lace quite scratchy on my skin but I didn't get that feeling in this dress. There is a teal slip underneath the lace overlay, it's quite thick so there was no worry about flashing underwear to anyone! The light in our house is quite bright so it looks like I'm wearing a white bra but I can assure I'm not, it just happens that our dining room lights up like the Blackpool illuminations!

 

Dress - Bon Marche*

Bag - Roman

Shoes - New Look (old)

 

Have you found your Christmas party outfit yet?

 

Much Love

 

Natalie

x

 

 

 

 

*This item was sent to me for review but all opinions and views are my own.

2015 I Style XL

Hi!

 

Well it's almost the end of the year, it's been an exciting year with lots of events going on but now I'm getting to think about what's going to happening in 2015!

 

This year I missed going to Style XL due to work commitments. It was such a shame as it looked really good from all the pictures that I saw on Instagram and then all the blog posts.

 

It's a full weekend event with catwalk shows, stalls from plus size brands and even a pop up salon. You can read more about the event here.

The early bird tickets are now on sale so make sure you visit the website to get yours!

 

Much Love

 

Natalie

x