January in Instagram

Sorry I've been gone so long! January has been such a busy month I haven't known anything like it in a while!

Despite my lack of time and poor organisational skills have still been pretty snap happy so here are a few snaps from my Instagram @sequins_n_glitter

All in all its been a good month!

Id love it if you would follow me on Instagram @sequins_n_glitter

Do you have Instagram? Id love to have a look!

See you soon,

Chloe

Positive Posts: So You Woke Up On The Wrong Side of The Bed.

Its happened to all of us. Wednesday morning you wake up to an alarm thats too loud for that time of the morning. After getting up and getting in the shower, you get out of the bathroom. Its too cold. You go out to work and its raining etc and it just doesnt seem to be your morning. Sometimes this can set you (me) to be grumpy all day. No-one wants to be grumpy and as part of my positivity series Im going to share my little tips on how to turn the morning around:

1) Take 5.
It might be seconds or minutes. Shut the door, sit down, take a few breaths, maybe have a cup of tea. Just a little bit of time to myself to take a deep breath and reset is sometimes all I'll need to get in a better frame of mind.

2) Play Music.
Whether its through speakers or headphones, playing a song I love will improve my mood 100%.
Some favourites of mine are:

• Alex Goot - Lightning
• Vanilla Ice - Ice Ice Baby (I love cheese)
• The Avett Brothers - Live and Die
• Passenger - The Wrong Direction
• Idina Menzel - Let It Go (Yes, from Disneys Frozen)
• Idina Menzel - Defying Gravity (from Wicked)

As a complete contradiction, sometimes I just need to listen to some sulky, moody songs for a little bit when I'm not having the best morning. Thats ok too.

Source

3) Wear something that makes you feel good.
That dress that makes you feel like Beyonce in Crazy in Love? Throw that bad boy on.
Lipstick so pretty that you cant help but smile? Put it on your lips and then in your bag.
Sparkly earrings that you keep aside for special occasions? Treat yourself!
It may sound shallow but wearing something I think is pretty or makes me feel prettier will in turn, make me feel good too.

Source

4) Treat breakfast.
For me this is a failsafe if the above things have not worked. I'll walk past work, right into the Tesco bakery section and pick myself up the cinnamon roll with the most icing on. The minute I bite into it I know the day is getting better.
This also works if Im trying to be better with food choices and I pick up some strawberries or something to go with my normal breakfast. Yum.

Source

So the next time your morning isnt going as you expected, try the above tips!

See you soon,

Chloe

Review: Primers

I love primers. As a girl with super oily skin I find that a good primer will really stop my makeup from making me look like wax thats been too close to the fire.
There are lots of primers out there from cheap and cheerful high street to mega bucks high end. If I had the mega bucks money I would review some of those primers but sadly I don't so today it'll be a review of two high street primers:

On the left: Rimmel Fix & Protect Pro Primer. On the right: NYC Smooth Skin Perfecting Primer.

To look at them briefly, they are very similar. Same basic look, same amount of product and yet the product itself couldnt be more different.

First up NYC:

It claims to revive skin, boost radiance, fade redness and, of course, keep makeup on for longer.
What it actually does is slip and slide around your face, taking your makeup with it. It may be that this product just isn't suitable for my skin type but I just couldn't get on with it. I could see its attempt to boost radiance and revive dull skin but I think the formula is too sparkly rather than glowing.

Sorry, but this one is a no go.

Next: Rimmel

Rimmel claims that this primer will smooth, resurface, brighten, mattify and protect the skin.

I kind of love this. The minute I got the product out of the tube and it wasnt glittery I knew I was onto a winner!
The texture is much thicker and almost grainy but really not. Once I applied this to my face I could see that it had mattified my skin without making it look dull which is always nice for someone who suffers from midday shiny forehead syndrome. Whilst appliying my foundation I noticed how much better it applied, so much smoother than before and best of all. It stayed put all day.

If you didn'y guess before, the Rimmel primer is so much better than the NYC one. Yes its double the money but I'd rather spend £5 on a really good product than £2.50 on something I'll use once and throw away.

Do you have a primer recommendation?

See you soon,

Chloe

Positivity Posts. Part One

As you may have seen from my last post, one of my New Years resolutions was to be more positive and I thought I would share a few posts on how I plan to do it.

My main reason for this resolution is that I didn't have the best year last year. At all. But I also had some amazing experiences and helped me realise what I value and care about the most. Thats what I wanted to focus on.
The good things in life. No matter how small.

One of the easiest ways for me to start actively being more positive was by downloading the Gratitude 365 app. The idea is that every day you log something, or several things that have had a positive impact on you that day. It can be anything as small as someone giving you a smile as you walk past. Just as long as you acknowledge that something positive has happened to you that day. You can also include a picture of something for that day (which would also help if you are doing a picture 365 project!)

Im really enjoying using this so far, especially on days when nothing amazing happens and it really makes you think and acknowledge the little things.

I really hope that I can keep this little app updated for the full year and that, after a little while, it will just become part of my daily routine and continue to bring a little more happiness to my day.

Do you have any similar resolutions?

See you soon,

Chloe

2014 Goals

I love the idea of a new year. The idea of being able to draw a line under all the drama, pain and crap and start again. But it's not all about looking forward and dismissing the past year. I like to look at what I'm proud of, the things I did or the places I went. The memories made with loved ones that you can't just draw a line under.

2013 was rough for me if I'm honest but I was also very lucky. After losing a job I was able to get another one closer to home, I went to New York, Morocco and Glastonbury. I am so proud of my photography and how far I've come with it! 

I'm not one to make resolutions but I do have a few goals or ideas I want to keep in mind for 2014. Some are personal development things and there are a few that are achievements I'd like to have accomplished:

1: Care less about what others think. I hold too much back of myself because I worry constantly about what other people will think of me. Time for a change there!

2: Spend more time with loved ones. Life is too short for "oh I'll call them at some point". Just do it. 

3: Take more photographs of my life. Not just landscapes but things I do with people that I want to remember. 

4: Pass my driving test. It's been over a year since I last drove. Time to get back behind the wheel.

5: Be more positive. Good and bad things happen all the time and I want to highlight the good. I've downloaded the Gratitude 365 app where you log positive things that happen that day and a picture to go alongside it. I hope this will help keep me on the straight and narrow!! 

6: Read at least a book a month. I love reading but never seem to fit it in so Ill be swapping a little bit of Netflix for picking up a good book.

I plan to do updates on here every so often to see how I'm doing so be sure to subscribe to me on Bloglovin to keep up to date!

What are your 2014 goals?

See you soon,

Chloe

Instamonth: December

Hello and Happy New Year!!!!

2013 is gone and 2014 is here. How did you celebrate? We went to a murder mystery party which was so much fun!

Anyway, time for my Instagrams from December. If you like them Id love for you to follow me my username is sequins_n_glitter 

On with the show!!

Of course, 90% of Decembers pictures are Chrismas based which makes me happy. I try extra hard every year to make Christmas extra festive and lovely as I worry the magic gets lost if you don't make the effort.

How was your Decmber? 

Do you have and Instagram? I'd love to have a nosey!!

See you soon,

Chloe

Holidays Are Coming

Everyone knows Christmas is here when they see the Coca Cola advert. Its a classic. And they haven't changed it unlike some other Christmas adverts - yes Im looking at you Toys R Us.

Anyway. Turns out the legenday coke truck goes on tour around the UK at Christmas time and this year it stopped at The Mall Cribbs Causeway in Bristol so of course, the boy and I headed down after work.

They parked right next to the Winter Wonderland area, played Christmas music and handed out mini coke cans. You could also queue up to get your picture taken but the line was huge so we didnt do that!

We also had a little wander round to fully soak up the festive spirit.

It was a lovely evening, very festive and I love doing something a little different from the usual.

What Christmassy things have you been up to?

See you soon,

Chloe