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...

I'd love to say all of my all time classic films grace IMDB's Top 100 Greatest Movies of All Time list, but I'm the hugest RomCom fan, so basically none of them make the list but honestly, I don't care. They're just the best kind of film and they are my favourite feel good films. Whenever I'm feeling down, or if it's cold and rainy and gross (or equally, muggy and rainy as it has been today)I just pop one of these films on and chill out!

1. Notting Hill

Absolute classic and I love anything with Julia Roberts in. Who doesn't also love Hugh Grant?! Hugh Grant's character is so loveable and so relatable it has me in stitches. My favourite quote being 'These carrots?' 'Murdered' hahaha.

2. My Best Friend's Wedding

Another Julia Roberts classic, with Rupert Everett and the absolute DILF who is Dermot Mulrooney. A classic tale of woman being in love with her best friend but not realising until the very last minute.

3. Clueless

Love, love, love Clueless. That is all.

4. Mean Girls

THE ULTIMATE GIRL FILM. Need I say anymore? Bitchiness, the fight for queen bee status and everything being fetch.

STOP TRYING TO MAKE FETCH HAPPEN, MOLLY!

5. 10 Things I Hate About You

Heathy, we miss you. This is one of my all time favourite films, with Julia Stiles playing a perfect role as a moody and angry teenager. My favourite quote has got to be: 'Am I that transparent? I want you, I need you, oh baby, oh baby'.

6. Pitch Perfect

I love Pitch Perfect, and if you don't agree... I'll pitch slap you.

7. How to Be Single

I first watched this when I had literally just come out a year long relationship. I loved every minute of it and it definitely helped me learn and grow as a person, as well as having a proper laugh at my fave Rebel Wilson.

8. Rush

Slightly different to the rest of the films on this list, but who doesn't love a cheeky bit of Chris Hemsworth.

9. How to Lose A Guy in 10 Days

Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey- match made in heaven on the silver screen. The twist is in this is so obvious but heartwarming. This film is a fantastic watch.

10. Love Actually

Technically a Christmas film, but I have zero shame in admitting I watch this all year round.

With both of the packs, you wash your hair, as normal and apply the pack leaving on for 15-20 minutes. As my hair is in need of the moisture, I choose to leave the pack on for the full 20 minutes and I found that both packs left my hair smooth, non-frizzy and both feeling and looking healthy!

Although I liked the Manuka Flower Honey Protein pack, I found the Coconut Oil Deep Conditioning pack did more for my hair, and gave my hair more of the moisture boost it craved. I would re-purchase the Manuka Flower Honey pack if the Coconut Oil Protein pack wasn't available. I use the Coconut Oil Protein pack every Sunday now, without fail, as part of my Sunday night routine (as detailed in my Skinny Tan Review!).

You can purchase both of these packs from Superdrug (I should really buy some shares in Superdrug now!) here. The Coconut Oil pack retails for £2.09 and the Manuka Flower Honet pack retails for £2.99.

As someone who is forever on a diet, I'm always on the look out for new ways to reduce the number of calories or carbs I am consuming. Which, for a pizza addict like me, is a small problem.

I was browsing Instagram and one of the sponsored posts flashed up as I was scrolling through my feed. It was Lo-Dough, which promised me a low carb pizza base at only 39 calories. I was skeptical, verrrrrrrry skeptical! Nonetheless, I ordered 2 bases to give them a go.

Firstly, I'd like to point out, these are by no means cheap. Traditional pizza bases in Tesco go for two for £1.70 but these work out at around £2.50 per base. So for the two, it was £5. Luckily, I was armed with a 10% off code, which reduced the cost to £4.50 for the two.

The postage however, was free, but it did take the specified 5 working days to get to me.

I've used all manner of tans, with varying results. Only recently have I got into the weekly routine of exfoliating and tanning on a Sunday night and moisturising throughout the week. I thought I'd share my ride- or- die tan with you and do a small review on it.

I found the tan, Skinny Tan, whilst browsing Facebook and it was suggested to me in one of those weird-ass creepy adverts which are tailored to your google searches (still freaks me out!). The advert itself was a clip of the owners of Skinny Tan presenting it as a project for investment to the Dragons (Dragon's Den) with some girls in bikinis, showing off their tans, shouting the most ridiculously catchy song (Who want's a skinny tan?! I want a skinny tan!).

Firstly, props to whoever thought of that marketing ploy, because I COULD NOT GET IT OUT OF MY HEAD. So, I did my research and off I popped to my local Superdrug and bought myself a bottle of the good stuff and a mitt (v. necessary for all you first time tanners).


Let me say, I LOVE THIS TAN.

Much like the White to Brown tan which I reviewed, it has a great guide colour against my skin which enabled me to ensure I didn't miss any major bits.

I hopped into my sleeping bag liner to avoid the whole tanned sheets debacle (and seeing as my sheets are all white, this would have been a major problem!), slept away and I woke up ready to wash the tan off. After a quick bath sesh, I was left with a beautiful but natural tan. There is a slight smell to this tan, but with the results it gives, I really don't care that it's there.

I would 100% recommend with no doubts. It's also interesting to note that the ingredients within the tan are 90% naturally derived and parabens and sulfates are avoided leaving you using a more natural tan! It also not tested on animals, which is a huge plus.

You can buy it from the Skinny Tan Website or from Superdrug- and it starts at £21.99 for the original tan (which is the one I buy!).

I'm not going to lie, Thai food gives me life. Really good Thai food is just everything- you can't beat it! It's one of my favourite cuisines and with all the different flavours and textures of the food, it's literally like a party in your mouth.

In Salisbury, we are spoilt for choice in terms of Thai restuarants: The Giggling Squid, Thai Orchid, The R'ai Dor and Koh Thai Tapas. All four are superb restaurants, but there's a je ne sais quoi about Koh Thai Tapas always draws me in- as you can try a little bit of everything!

I visited recently with my friend Miranda for a catch up over Thai food and cocktails. I'd like to point out, we ordered SO much food that we actually had to move to a bigger table. Fatty for life (no shame!).

As we tested so many different tapas, I thought I'd review and share my thoughts on the dishes we tried.

We started with a couple of cocktails (as pictured above) the King Mai and the Blushing Lotus. The King Mai is pineapple based and so tangy and revitalising which was a contrast to some of the flavours we had within our tapas. The Blushing Lotus however, was very very sweet and kind of cherry bakewell-esque due to the Almond syrup in it.

As many of you know, I am never without my trusty eyeliner flicks on my eyes. Without them, I feel basically naked. When the opportunity presented itself to test out the Flawless Eyeliner by Loreta Flawless Lashes, I jumped at it!

Firstly, I love love love the packaging of this product. It's small and petite and can fit into even the smallest of handbags. The only thing I would say is that I wish the lid would fit on the end of the product like a pen.

The product itself is a marker pen type eyeliner. I'm used to liquid eyeliner with a brush so this took some initial getting used to, but honestly, it makes creating those feline type flicks super easy to do!

The eyeliner claims to last all day and not smudge and my god does it! This heatwave we've had has been the perfect conditions (read: humid and sweaty a f) to test it in- it's lasted through the gym, whilst I slept (ooooooops!) and in general day to day wear. I'm ashamed to admit because I know you're not supposed to constantly touch your eyes but I always rub them and end up looking like Mr Incredible. I rub my eyes wearing this eyeliner- and it stays perfectly intact. SO LONG MR INCREDIBLE LOOK!



Would I buy again? Certainly!  I am super impressed with the Flawless Eyeliner by Loreta Flawless Lashes. It retails for £19.99 (which for a good eyeliner I'd definitely be willing to pay!) and you can purchase from the Loreta Flawless Lashes website.

It's that time of the year where all the products we got for Christmas are starting to run out and I thought I'd share my mid-year empties and whether or not I'd re-purchase! Also, I'm sorry I've used the picture of the Ordinary foundation twice, I really hated my initial main photo because it was too dark (blogger problems...!).




Wonderland Loose Pigment
I love love love using this little loose pigment in the corners of my eyes. I was actually sent this to test out and I'd definitely re-purchase. As I said in my initial review, I might order some different colours too, read my review here.

NYX Matte Finish Setting Spray
I like to use this little finishing spray from NYX on a day-to-day basis and keep my Urban Decay setting spray for nights out/ special events. I think it's lightweight and dries quickly and leaves my make up looking flawless all day. I'd re-purchase.

I also have run out of the Smashbox Photo Finish Primer which I don't actually have a photo of (except in the background of all the other pictures!). I do like this primer, but as I said in my Wonderland review which is linked above, their formula is very similar and at a snip of the price so I think I'd buy the Wonderland version instead.

As much as I try to keep my blog all positive and rosy, unfortunately, life just isn't always perfect and imperfections, such as jealousy, creep their way into everyday life. I also realise this is a slight departure from my usual type of post, but I've had a encounter with this recently and thought I'd share my tips on how to identify jealousy and how to deal with it, based on my experiences.

Who? Where?

Jealousy is a simple fact of human nature. Everyone is guilty of having the green eyed monster creep up within inside them, and everyone has aspects of their lives that others are jealous of. Jealousy happens everywhere, the workplace, at home, within friendship groups. It does not matter who you are or where you are, at some point in your life, this nasty and unattractive facet, will affect you at some stage.

How?

Identifying jealousy can be tricky, as often it is masked under a fake friendship. Things that should be setting off alarm bells could include the following:

Being caught in a game of one-upmanship

Everyone's guilty of trying to outdo one of their friends, it's kind of natural. Buuuuut, when your 'friend' is continually trying to beat you, it can be demoralising and highlights jealousy.

Copying you

Continually being made to look stupid

I know that's obvious, but when someone's continually raining on your parade and deliberately making you look stupid in front of others, this highlights jealousy.

Sabotaging your goals

I think this one speaks for itself. If you have a friend constantly sabotaging you... PUT THEM IN THE BIN RIGHT THIS INSTANT.

Talking about you behind your back

Another self explanatory one- if s/he's a bitch, you need to say 'Bye Bitch'.

Relishing in your failures

Everybody has ugly photos taken of them, but when your supposed friend is sending all of your #uglies round social media when you've expressed your feelings towards the photo is just not on. They are relishing in the fact you don't look your best and this just highlights jealousy.

Isolating you from other friends

Self-explanatory. It's your right to be able to speak to whomever you damn well want (I mean, provided they want to speak to you too, don't go forcing your messages on some poor unsuspecting person ahahah). If your friend is stopping you from speaking to who you want to speak to, byeeeeee gal/guy!

How to Deal With It

I think, firstly, it's important not to take jealousy to heart. The root of jealousy, is something to do with the other person and the insecurities they have within themselves. No matter how hard you try to alleviate their insecurities- that's not on you. It's something they need to deal with by themselves.

I would then secondly, try and rise above it. Yes yes yes, I hear you. It's easier said then done, and trust me, don't I know those feels. Rising to it can often leave you on their level.

If you have to escalate it, like I had to, try to get to the root of it with the person and then work on a resolution together. Try not to be accusatory and broach the subject in a very nudge-nudge kind of way.

I also personally made time for myself, did things for me because I wanted to and also talked about the situation with my friends (shout out to Mollie, Tanya and Emma!). Bottling things up is never good, and it was honestly so good to be able to speak to the girls about it (especially as they were an impartial third party!).

I turned the big 2-5 in May. Meaning, I'm that much closer to 30... Eeeeeeek (super scary!). I've decided that I'm going to make the year of me being 25, my year. Well, at least attempt to. Honestly, I still remember school as if it was yesterday and it's absolutely mad to think that I finished school 7 years ago and graduated from doing my undergraduate degree 4 years ago! WHERE HAS TIME GONE?! Like seriously, chill out time, thanks!

I've come up with a list of 25 goals/ things that I want to do before I turn 26 and I thought I'd share them!

1. Finish my Marketing Masters and Graduate

2. Hit my target weight (which I'm not too far off!)

3. Watch the top 10 films on IMDB

4. Read 5 classic novels

5. Find a job in a social media role to utilise my masters

6. Attend a blog event

7. Arrange another holiday with my friends

8. Secure a pay rise

9. Finish paying off my car and credit card

10. Begin re-saving for house deposit

11. Continue to blog once a week

12.  Move to London/ Bristol/ Bath (delete as applicable)

13. Do something out of my comfort zone

14. Go to Iceland and see the Northern Lights

15. Get Botox

16. Run a 5k in a respectable time

17. Eat at a Michelin Starred restaurant (different to the one I've already been to and reviewed!)

18. Throw a dinner party/ do a come dine with me type affair

19. Make a trip abroad... by myself

20. Visit more beautiful places within the UK

21. Go and watch a 6 Nations Rugby Match

22. Take a full 24 hour social media break once a month

23. Stay in a nice hotel (Thanks to Tanya (aka. GlamGlitzGloss)- this has been achieved! We definitely didn't turn the sink into a fridge for our prosecco!)

24. Collaborate more with other bloggers/ companies

25. Do things that make me happy, just because I can!

Having spent all of my summer and Christmas holidays in South Korea, whilst I was growing up, and taking holidays to far far far away destinations, I have quickly become accustomed to taking long-haul flights. They're time consuming, boring, and you kind of just will it to be done quickly but 10 hours later and once you've landed you're free to explore and experience a different country and immerse yourself in the culture. As the summer season starts and people start jetting off to exotic countries, I thought I'd share my top tips for surviving a long haul flight.


1. REMEMBER YOUR HEADPHONES!

This is the single most important thing to remember on a flight (bar your passport, obvs!). Yes yes, I hear you saying the airline provide you with some crappy excuse for headphones- but they're uncomfortable, scratchy and have incredibly poor sound quality. Earphones enable you to be able to listen to and watch the vastly-improved entertainment system, listen to that banging Spotify playlist you made and downloaded pre-flight and also block out the inevitable screaming child in the row in front of you.. a literal godsend. Forget them at your own peril!

2. Pack snacks

Being the ultimate fatty that I am, snacks are essential for any trip I take. Long haul flights are certainly no exception. Especially with plane food not being the most appetising. I mean, if you're travelling Virgin Upper Class, fair play, you go for that fillet steak! But for the majority of us, British Airways (if that) Economy is where it's at. I tend to buy a sandwich, a couple of snacks such as crisps, fruit etc and then attempt to ration my supplies through the flight (in reality, six hours in and they're all gone!). However, at least there's normal ground food should you decide the chicken or beef isn't for you.


3. Arrive to the airport with heaps of time to spare

I know this goes without saying, as you're supposed to arrive at the airport two hours before you fly internationally, however, I personally like to chill and have a nice meal at one of the airport restaurants (and a cocktail or two hehehe) pre-flight. I figure, if you're chilled and not running about stressed- you're more likely to have a nice relaxing journey and also less likely to be bothered about queuing for 100 years (or what feels like it!) to get through security.

4. Wear layers of comfortable clothing

This one is kind of a no-brainer. You're going to be sat in a tin can full of recycled air (although, slightly more high tech than my brief description!) for X amount of hours in an undoubtedly uncomfy seat (again, unless you're not in cattle class with the masses). I tend to wear loose clothing (aka. leggings and a hoodie) which I can layer up or down according to the ever changing temperature within the aircraft.


5. Get your water in

If like me, you're partial to a pre-flight cocktail- water is essential. I mean, even if you aren't partial to a cheeky cocktail- flying is incredibly dehydrating and can make you feel and look tired a f. Make sure to drink your water as not only will it help you to avoid those horrendous dehydration induced headaches, it can also help to combat jetlag once your arrive at your destination.