So, if you follow me on Twitter (if you don't... have you been living under a rock?!) you will know that in a short TWO WEEKS, I am going to Las Vegas with one of my main gals, Liz. As much as I am excited for it, there is A LOT of preparation to get done before I go, especially in the beauty department.

I thought I'd share the sort of prep I do in terms of pre-holiday beauty and the sort of time guide I follow to ensure I am holiday ready!


1. HAIR

A Month Before: As a platinum blonde, I need all the help I can get in the hair department. I tend to find my hair is really prone to breakage due to having it peroxided/ constantly straightening it so around a month before I go on holiday I begin taking a supplement for Hair, Nails and Skin. This time round I've opted to test our HairBurst (review pending!).

Two Weeks Before: Two weeks before, I'll get my hair coloured (shout out to the only salon I'd get my hair done, Legally Blondes) . I know it's nice having your hair all freshly dyed right before holiday BUT from my research... the sun can fade your expensive dye-job so it's worth having it done a few weeks before as the colour will have settled and won't fade but still look fresh.

Two Washes Before: Two hair washes before I go, I will use a deep conditioning treatment like my favourite Palmer's Protein Hair Mask (which I reviewed here). I find that they make my hair so smooth but also tend to make my hair slightly greasier, so I won't use it on the wash right before I go.

The Night Before: I will tone my hair the night before I fly so the colour is at it's best and not brassy (I use Bleach London products, see my review here)! As I have red (read: ginger) undertones, I am prone to my colour looking brassy. I'll also do a full blow-dry and straighten so my hair is ready rock when I emerge in sunnier climes.

2. TAN

Three Weeks Before: As a fake tanning novice, I always do a test run about three weeks before I go away to ensure the colour I want is coming out of the bottle and that my application techniques are still up to scratch. It also gives me a week to scrub it off, and begin my real prep for the real tan.

Two Weeks Before: I am one of those people who absolutely detest being all slimy and cold having got out the bath and having to douse myself in moisturiser. It's one of my pet hates. However, the key to a beautiful and most importantly, even, tan is having well nourished and moisturised skin. So, two weeks before I go away, I begin the hideous process of dousing myself in moisturiser morning and night to prepare for my tan.

A Week Before: A week before, and it's time for extreme exfoliation. An even starting skin means an even tan!

Two Days Before: I will tan up two days before, right before bed, and snuggle up in my sleeping bag liner so I don't ruin my sheets. Definitely thinking of trying the Purity St Tropez range which promises no ruined bedsheets! Side note: has anyone tried it?? Is it good?!?! Two days before also gives me time to rectify any mishaps (hello orange hands).

3. WAX/ SHAVE

Three Days Before: As I tan two days before I go, I will wax/ shave three days before. I usually decide whether it will be wax or shave dependent on how lazy I've been in the weeks up to departure... LOL.

4. TEETH WHITENING

Two Weeks Before: I use Crest whitening strips (which, yasss I'll be stocking up on when I'm in 'murica) and will use these everyday for two weeks pre-departure to ensure my teeth are gleaming and picture ready.

5. SKINCARE

Three Weeks Before: I am terrible for skincare. Like, literally awful. I rarely cleanse, tone and moisturise, despite having the Clinique 1, 2, 3 system (reviewed here back when I did used to do this every single day). Three weeks before, I try to make a consientious effort to actually cleanse, tone, moisturise and apply an anti-ageing serum. I've hit the ripe old age of 25. ALL OF THE ANTI-AGEING COME AT ME.

One Week Before: I make sure to apply a face-mask a week before so any impurities can come out and be gone before I fly!

6. LASHES AND BROWS

One Week Before: As standard, I get my eyebrows waxed and dyed and lashes dyed (hello lazy girl life, no mascara or filling in my eyebrows for a daytime look!), but I'll arrange my standing appointment to be a week before I jet off.

7. MANI/ PEDI

A Few Days Before: As an acrylic nail fanatic, I'll get my nails infilled as close to departure as possible. In terms of pedicure, I tend to get this done at the same time as my infills and I usually opt for shellac to ensure it's long lasting and won't chip off around the pool or when I excessively wear my flip flops.

As 2018 draws to a close, I'm surprised at how quickly it's come around. Nonetheless, the end of the year is a perfect time to reflect on the previous year and evaluate the lessons learnt. I was having a read through some of my favourite blogs and I stumbled across Mollie's blog post on her 'takeaway' lessons from 2018 and she inspired me to write this post! There are five main things I've learnt from this year which I'll share below which have inspired my New Year's resolutions.

1. If you put in hard work, success will come to you

This year I worked full-time hours at work whilst completing a full-time masters degree, I put in the hard work and dedication, with some days getting to the office at 4am and leaving at 11pm. I put my heart and soul into both working and my masters degree, writing countless assignments and writing a 15,000 word dissertation, culminating in being awarded my masters degree in Marketing Management with Merit! I'm ending the year with a great qualification which has held me in good stead for a job in Marketing. Which, I managed to do, by securing a job as Digital Marketing Executive at a software firm and I couldn't be happier that my hard work has allowed me to work in a role whilst utilising my masters degree.

What will I do differently in 2019? I wouldn't necessarily say I'm going to do anything different in 2019 with this lesson. However, I'm going to continue putting in hard work to my job, improving, learning and striving to become the best marketer that I can possibly be.

2. Friendship is a two-way street

This year, I've become friends with some incredibly wonderful people and become a lot closer to people who I wasn't necessarily close with this time last year! However, I have also found myself in several toxic friendships. Two main instances come to mind: a toxic competitive relationship where the friendship was based on one-upmanship, continually berating me in front of others and tearing me down behind my back. The other friendship I found that just because you call someone a 'friend' doesn't mean the friendship is reciprocated.

It's sad to see people I initially considered friends to become this way, however, at the end of the day you have to do what's best for you and sometimes cutting these types of 'friend' loose is the only way to move on. In 2018, I began to remove these toxic friendships as quite frankly, I don't have the time or the inclination to waste any more time on these types of people.

What will I do differently in 2019? In 2019, I will continue to remove toxic friendships and cut ties with people people who bring me down and aren't happy to celebrate my successes when I am there 100% to celebrate theirs. I'm going to put my extra time into continuing to develop my existing friendships with my wonderful friends and making sure I'm doing everything to be a good friend.

3. It's okay to not be okay

I'm one of those people who always try to be happy, and positive and not be a negative nelly. However, I've learnt that it's okay to reach out to your friends and family if you're stressing about an assignment,  dissertation or shit friendship situation. They can often give you some of the best advice and an outsiders perspective.

What will I do differently in 2019? I resolve that in 2019, I am going to make more time for me- giving myself an evening a week to do life admin and to not be rushing round 24/7. I also resolve I am going to be healthier, and get back on the diet wagon to get back to my goal weight. Healthy mind is a happy life after all!

4. Sometimes you need to prioritise money

After the huge expense of my masters, I've realised I reeeeeally need to get better at prioritising my money and begin saving.

What will I do differently in 2019? I will pay off my credit card and begin saving for a house deposit. Even if this means compromising on buying less make up and missing out on some social occasions.

5.  There's still so much to learn and mistakes can be a good thing

Even though I've now finished in formal education, everyday is a school day. I still learn something new everyday and about a huge range of different things. From car insurance, to marketing, to general news and random facts, I've learn a lot in 2018.

I've also learnt that making mistakes can also lead to more learning opportunities as finding out what you've done wrong and how to fix what you've done wrong is all part of the learning process.

What will I do differently in 2019? I'll continue to learn something new everyday and search out different opportunities to learn more. I also resolve not to be afraid of making mistakes, and learn you can't always be a perfectionist.

The fabulous people at Herbalife and the lovely Lara from Immediate PR, got in touch and offered to send over the new Banana Cream Herbalife shakes, which I jumped at the chance to test out!

Before I get into the product itself... I'd firstly like to point out, whilst writing this review, I was sat watching Christmas films and drinking green tea singing Gwen Stefani's Holdback Girl because I swear (other than autocorrect!) that this is the only way to remember how to spell banana.

Next up, this is THE cutest PR package I have EVER received. Along with the shakes, I was sent a shaker, a cute banana stirrer and... a banana plant!! When Gus (my local DPD driver) turned up with the box... I was taken aback/ shocked!


The packaging of the shakes is in line with the rest of the Herbalife range, the traditional white and green. The nutritional values were outlined clearly which, in my book, can only be a positive.

Now onto the bit that you care about, THE TASTE. I honestly loved it. I tend to find a lot of banana flavoured things taste really synthetic but there was nothing synthetic tasting about these shakes! It has a beautifully subtle banana flavour. The texture of the shake itself (I used almond milk) was thick and creamy which left me feeling full and didn't make me feel like I was missing out whilst using it as a meal replacement.

I even pimped my shakes and created a banoffee shake (which, of course, I forgot to take a photo of!) I drizzled toffee sauce round the glass, popped together my shake in my blender, poured it into the glass and used some Anchor light whipped cream on the top before drizzling some more toffee sauce on the top. AMAZING.

As a die hard Weight Watchers (or should I say WW!) fan, I've always been skeptical of shakes that promote healthiness and weightloss. I tested these shakes for a week, with a weightloss emphasis. I had a shake in the morning with almond milk and a shake for lunch. I had a snack of fruit and then for tea I had a balanced 600 calorie meal. With WW, I tend to lose 2lbs a week. With Herbalife, I lost 2lbs, so the results were on par, which actually shocked me! If I have a super busy week/ don't have time for breakfast, I'll definitely be turning to a Herbalife shake as a stand in. I'd definitely like to try some other flavours so I'll be having a browse of their website, for sure.

In the words of Gwenny, this shit is bananas, b-a-n-a-n-a-s! I'd definitely recommend for those who have a busy lifestyle and need a quick breakfast or those looking to drop a few pounds.

I've been a bit quiet as of late, due to a whole host of stuff going on in my offline life! I just thought I'd write a little post updating you all on the trials and tribulations of my life (yawn) before making a promise to be much more active with both my blog and social media (hahaha...)!

What have I been up to for the last few months?

To answer this question briefly, I've been wrapping up my masters degree in Marketing by writing my dissertation about the effect that bloggers have on purchase intention, which many of you contributed to by answering my survey (which I am eternally grateful for! thank you thank you thank you if you did take part). Nearly 16,000 words later and after a lot of blood, sweat and tears it's been handed in! Which brings a close me being a post-graduate student. SO SAD. I wish I could be a student forever.

As my masters was in marketing, I have managed to secure a job as a Digital Marketing Executive, which I'm most thrilled about! I start next Monday. However, securing this job meant that I finished at my previous job in the office at a plumbing and heating firm, which was really tough saying goodbye after three years.

Why did I stop blogging and being active in the blogging community?

When times get hectic, something has got to give. In this case, I prioritised my masters and my work above blogging. I also stopped contributing to the blogging community because I was finding it was becoming increasingly negative in my life. I wasn't posting and therefore seeing everyone else thriving (which by the way, is great, and I fully support each and everyone of you for this!!) and posting new content made me feel really guilty that I wasn't producing new content. I felt it best to take a step back so that once I was ready I would be ready to step forward once again.

What's next?

I'm in the middle of a blissful week and a half off, doing nothing except netflixing and looking after my dog! Long term however, I am looking forward to the new challenges my new job brings and to use my degree in a role that really interests me. I am also making a promise, right here and right now, to post once a week until at least Christmas in regards to my blog. I'm also going to be bringing back BDIB and weekly twitter chats. Watch this space...