Book: Love, Tanya by Tanya Burr

First of all an admission, I have never seen any of Tanya Burr's videos or read her blog. There, I said it, it's out there, so why did get the book out of the library? I know Miss Burr is currently one of the biggest vlogger on Youtube at this current moment, I was intrigued by this as I knew it was more of personal book than Zoella's novels.

It is a mixture of autobiography, hints and tips and personal experience. It starts from Tanya's childhood with more focus on how she got into make up industry (She got her experience assisting one of the Pixiwoo ladies). Tanya dives into different topics from make up, fashion, love, baking to her experience with living with anxiety.

The chapters, to me, are then split into sub chapters, her life story, top 10 lists and then hints and tips. The style is easy going and light, Tanya has openly admitted that this has been ghost writed, it still is essentially her at the heart but she has had help with how to put all the thinking together. This does give it a more polished look than say a personal blog would of been.

Apart from her history, did I learn anything new? Not really, the majority of the make up and fashion tips is something I knew from my own experience in make up or have learnt through magazines/other blogs. In simple terms this is a very person focused magazine, targeted at the people who already watch/read her.

If I got given this as a present I would of been happy with it, it has the perfect format to be able to dip in and out of with a cup of tea when you have five minutes to spare. I would like to point out that Miss Burr is only 25 years old and the book is targeted towards that market, so a lot of advice and recommendations is towards them.

RRP £12.99 but currently on offer on Amazon for half price.

#SummerLondonMeet

Saturday just gone by, I left Bethany with Hubby and got on a train to London (and finally started A Storm of Swords from where I left it when I gave birth!). It was strange to leave the house with no buggy and changing bag and only have a few items with me rather than half our flat.

The meet up was organised by, who I like to call friend, Clare from theloveofallthingsbeauty.co.uk at Dirty Martini in Covent Garden. It was good to have a small mix of bloggers and vloggers so everyone got to talk to everyone at some point. Martinis were enjoyed.

I had tripped over the #MJDaidyChain Tweet Pop up shop on my way there. Simply works that you give the hashtag a tweet go into the store and flash them your tweet to get some goodies. It was only up for the weekend but it was an ingenious use of PR, not only get a mini Daisy perfume and Daisy keyring but I timed it perfectly that one of my Blogging heroes, ZOE LDN who I've been tweeting for a while was in store. I nervously introduced myself, exchanged hugs and had a chat that it great to finally put a face to the tweets. Photo was compulsory.

We all grabbed lunch on the run and started to shop, MAC, Burberry, Space NK, Cath Kidson, to name a few and ending at Selfridges. I did protest I had no money that I would not buying anything, so of course it meant I brought something. We did drop in the Kiko Cosmetics store and I ended up raiding the sale trays and getting some of their amazing eye cream shadows from the latest limited edition range. Once my Hubby is out of the way and I can photo them, I'll stick them up here.

Clare also asked us all to bring our own goodie bags to put into a raffle, I cheated and brought a Selfridges gift card with a note saying that the only requirement is to put it towards something they've longed for ages. I drew Clare's bag, full of bits for a mini pampering sessions including Montange Jeunesse faces masks I haven't tried yet, Soap and Glory's Hand Food which I've been dying to try, and Natural Collection's Blusher in Pink Cloud.

Had a really good day, and after all the stresses of the past few weeks was the tonic I needed to feel a lot more Helen and less like Mummy/Wife. Thank you to Clare to organising everything and hope to make the next one!

Entry 300

Blog entry 300 is dedicated to my little family, the long suffering Hubby and Bethany aka Minilemming, the only things that are keeping me going at the moment.

Over the weekend we added another member to the Gray family as my Brother in Law married his long term girlfriend after the civil ceremony on Friday. As you can tell by the quietness it's been madness, but worth every minute.

I wrote in Entry 200 how I and the blog was going through changes, the time it was going from being just a beauty blog to more of a everything blog. I wanted to be able to talk about more things that matter to me, and I knew this more when Bethany came along. I always said that when she was born I knew there was more to life than lipstick.

I am currently going through a tough time, Hubby has finally gone back to work after a year of being out of it, leaving me without the support net I've grown used to.The passing of my aunt has hit me enormously, it's the first close relative I have lost as an adult and mixed with other anxieties I've made the decision to ask for help rather than work through things on my own. When I feel ready I will write about this more but for now I'm only at the start of another journey.

#BBBBeautyBox Number 3

I spent that last of my birthday money on Brit Beauty Blogger's 3rd Beauty Box (try and say that quickly). I know from previous boxes, with some samples I am still working my way through and some going into my labour bag, that every single item is a hidden and well loved gem. I will always get my moneys worth and as glad this time that she had teamed with another company I have also used and loved in the past, Latest in Beauty. Latest in Beauty do a sampling and beauty box service, where what you see is what you get and I have used them a few times in the past (YOU Editors Box is still one of my favourites).

You have read a trillion other reviews with long lists of the products so I will not bore you, there are some that have different colours so I will tell you these: The Essie polish I got from Spring 14 is Spin The Bottle, a milky latte like nude. The Charlotte Tilbury lipstick 'Kiss' is Marylin, a perfect toned red and the Makeup Revolution palette is Lock and Load, a mix of neutrals and deep jewel tones. I actually could of not of asked for a better box, the colours are exactly what I would of picked out. I honest feel that Jane and LIB sat down and made sure that I got the right box for me (I know it's not true but it's my fantasy so shush).

I've already nearly used up the Elemis foot cream, as this is my treat for night feeds - I give myself a foot rub afterwards to wind down. It's thick enough to feel it doing something to soften but you are not slipping over because of grease. The Lola Kabuka brush is a must have for dusting powder to set make up, supple and soft. Roger and Gillet Gingimbre Rouge sample has gone, and I'm not repeating what my Hubby said about it, this is a family site. Janjira Art of Siam is beautiful, hand softing and a little treat when washing hands after changing Bethany.

I am still working my way through the rest (as well as the previous boxes). I've said this to Jane (honest if you love the boxes, give her a tweet, it'll make her day) but these are just incredible for the amount of care and attention that goes into them is beyond what any brand can so. I told you they would be a success, congratulations.

Please Don't Vote for Me

It's that time in the blogging calender again where the whole of my Twitter/Facebook/Bloglovin feed is full of 'Vote for me' pleas. It's also the time that I want to go into hibernation until the whole thing blows over. It sends a wave of people begging for votes, then depression as they don't get nominated.

Just because you don't get nomiated it does not mean that what you write is not valued, you have people who read you every time you write, the people who want to work with you. This is the best time to reflect why you started your blog in the first place. I started this to occupy myself while I recover from a knee injury and now it is a record of my daughter as well as my sounding board.

Blogging should give you joy in itself and if it isn't then you should be reviewing if it is for you. Today I reviewed my Tots100 ranking and I had gone from 864 to 1201, yes I was upset and started to beat myself up on it. Hubby reminded me that I started this for me and not for follows, rankings, etc.

I know that I am a small fish in a very large pond and you know what I'm comfortable with that.

I Promise Gift

My husband and I don't celebrate Valentine's Day for two reasons: 1. We tell each other we love the other everyday, we don't need over priced tact to show that and 2. It's also our anniversary of when we re-met on a night out exactly a week later on 21st. On the other hand I am an old romantic who does put a thought into gifts, so this appealed to me greatly.

IPromise puts your little promises and gestures into writing turning them into keep sakes. They come in two colour ways Blue or Red and are printed on thick, high quality card. You can add whatever you would like and can put on illastrations. If you get stuck for ideas, IPromise also has some suggestions.

I love the idea behind these, I did spend a large amount of time thinking of what I want to promise my Husband (dont't worry he won't be reading this before next week, he's been banned!). My promises were: To hug and love you everyday. To support you in your dreams. To love our family everlasting.

Considering we both been ships that pass in the night as one of us goes to bed while the other sits up with our newborn girl, I really wanted something to show that not only did I appreciate the support he gave me but not forgotten him as a person.

IPromise starts at £9.50 (for the set I have) up to £18.50 depending on how mnay promises you want to give. You can purchase them through their website http://www.ipromise.to/

*PR Sample

MyBeautyCompare.com

MyBeautyCompare.com is a new beauty website on the block. Not only does it house reviews and a beauty forum where you can ask like minded people for their recommendations, but also after setting a profile they an point you in the direction of what would suit you. This site isn't all about the top end but also has a mix of the high street as well.

I had actually heard about this site on Twitter when they hosted a chat alongside another blogger and when I was approached to review the site myself, I had already had a profile set up (Unevenlemming is the user name is you feel the need to look me up).

How accurate are the recommendations? Let's take the biggest make up headache of them all, foundation. I have combination skin, with fair, neutral undertones, am a busy mother who works part time. I was recommended MAC Studio Fix (Which is one I'm keen to try), Bare Minerals powder and Estee Lauder Double Wear, which is one of my favourite foundations. On to nails and the top recommendations there were OPI, which yet again is another brand I am a fan of.

You get given 4 recommendations, and out of mine there was always one product that I have tried and loved before, but it also had ones that if I was offered to try I would jump at the opportunity. I do like the fact that there was a good mix of High street as well as premium (I got about a 50/50 mix of each in my recommendations), so if you felt a little more flush with the cash then you could find the equal to the high street brand and visa versa.

When I have a little more time on my hands I want to dive into the reviews side of the website, written by people who have used the product before and are as honest as you can get from a consumer. There is a forum for people to get advice and ask questions, this is still in the beginning phase but I can see this growing.

*This is a sponsered post, however I was already looking at the website before being asked to review it. All opinion is my own.

Best of 2013

I honestly cannot believe we are now at the end of 2013, this year really has flown by. It has been another mixed year, the joy of qualifying for my BTEC in Make Up Artistry and finding out I was pregnant with our first child; alongside the downsizing of our home, my husband losing his job and family illness.

2014 is starting to line up to be a year of a lot of changes and I really do not have a clue how everything is going to be until Minilemming makes an appearance. I have not really planned anything as I have learnt that when I do plan and it falls through it only makes me more stressed!

Before we embrace a new year let's have a reflection on the year that is going:

Products that I'm having a love affair with

B.Skincare Replishing Facial Oil - This was my discovery in September from British Beauty Blog and managed to get my hands on a preview bottle before launch. It's light but powerful, smoothed my skin out with feeling I had an oil slick on it. It was love from first use.

Herbal Essences Bee Strong Honey Mask - Not only does it smell like toffee but it does smooth down frizzy hair and brings a shine to it. I can see the difference every time I've used it compared to when I've use my normal conditioner. I do have to resist over using because I love it that much.

Ginvera Green Tea Nude Cover BB Cream - Best base product I have ever tried, hides redness, smooth's out skin tone, perfect colour (for me at least) and doesn't look like I've dipped my face in a cement mixer. The only product this year that I was given a sample of in a goody bag and went back to buy the full sized product even before finishing that sample.

Brand that I discovered this year and loved everything I've tried (so far)

The whole NSpa has without a doubt been a small revolution to me, I got gifted their mum-to-be collection when another blogger got me in touch with them. They are an exclusive to Asda but I like them enough that I could happily get the two buses it would take to get across town to restock. They are Spa inspired but at really affordable prices (around £6), smell great without being sickly, which was a blessing when everything was making me feel sick early pregnancy. Well worth an investigation if you haven't already.

Blog Bits

Most popular entry (other than giveaways) - Superdrug AW 2013 Press Preview My first official PR day and loved every moment, got to met some great Superdrug people as well as other Bloggers. Still kicking myself over not going to say hello to Bettina of Beauty Swot and Jane from British Beauty Blog.

Most Comments - How Commenting has Rattled Me Not surprised this seemed to hit the nail on head with a lot of fellow bloggers. Thank you again to everyone who got in touch and shared their thoughts, it one of the main reasons I started blogging.

Highest of number of readers came from America, then UK and Russia (привет means hello).

Twitter is still my biggest referral site where people find the blog from (other social media available).

Goodbye 2013 and Hello new beginnings in 2014.

Happy New Year Everyone!

How commenting has rattled me

The other day I got a notification of a comment (this reduces the spam), this made me really happy because I love comments/feedback from people. It was the main reasons I started a blog to share opinions with like minded people.

So why am I mentioning said comment? Because it only contained 4 letters - "good". My inital reaction was, "Urmm, thanks?" Not even a mention on what was good, I still published it just for the sheer hell of it.

It has however got me rattled over the past few days. This is my hobby but I do spend hours on it - researching so my facts are straight, photographing, editing etc. I must admit I took a step back because it knocked me - am I really just "good"?

I know there are now thousands upon thousands of bloggers out there, fighting for the same scraps. Any little snippet I get I am amazingly thankful for. I try to use the knowledge and experiance I have to help at least one person.

I also try and comment on other peoples blogs but I try to be constructive with feedback rather than, "I like blog/entry". I think the saying, "If you haven't got anything nice, then say nothing at all", applies here.

We are all writters surely we can come up with something more original than "good"?

Embrace Your Inner Nerd/Geek

 

I was tagged by the stunning Shona at Freshbeautyxox to supply what fuels my inner nerd. It was interested that this week I was reading on the Daily Mail site how a study was done into what makes you either a geek or a nerd (link here), this caused great discussion with Hubby and I because we fall so easily into both.

 

So what feeds my inner nerd then (other than beauty of course!)?

 

Formula One

 

I am a petrolhead, which is surprising for someone who doesn't have a drivers license. I've watched the sport since the end of the 1995 season but always had a love of cars from a young age (yes I even had my brothers toy cars). For a few years in the early 2000's I even wrote driver and season histories for the now closed F1 History website. I've been to Silverstone 97,98 and 99, Belgium 99 and Le Mans 03 and 04, as well as numerous days out and testing sessions. .

 

Cartoons

 

I have watched The Simpsons since it started in 1989, my aunt used to tape them off of cable for me to watch when I went round about 7 years old. Before then I loved all the Looney Tunes, Tom & Jerry, Animanacs and Garfield (I swear there's more I could name). Yes as a grown woman of 31 I love cartoons, it's my guilty pleasure this then leads onto....

 

Disney

 

 

 

I have one shelf completely dedicated to all the Disney Classics on DVD, I also have the list where I keep track of the 50 odd that have been made so I know where the gaps are in my collection. This was always my treat from my mum to take to the cinema in the holidays to see one Disney film. I remember the old theatre just outside our town who would put on the classics like Cinderella on the big screen every holiday. I have listed my favourites on my tumblr page

 

Superheroes/Fantasy/Sci-Fi

 

I had to club this together as well they are typical nerd things to get nerdy over. I was a little into these things for a while and then I met Hubby it has escalated from there (and still learning to this day). Our box sets are a mixture of the above topics. My current obsession is Game of Thrones - A Song of Ice and Fire after watching the series I now am trying to rattle through the books. My Hubby also proposed to me dressed as Joker from Batman on my birthday, that's love right there.

 

 

Gaming

 

This also links with the above, our front room does resemble a GAME store, between us we have - two desktop computers, two tablets, 360, PS3, Wii, black and white Gameboy, PSP and some other ones that we've probably forgotten about. Favourite games - The Sims, SimCity, Skyrim and Assassin Creed series (and yes currently working through Black Flag and loving being a pirate!).

 

I am sure there are many more things that I am nerdy about but I think these are the main things I get excited about.

 

So what feeds your inner nerd?

 

 

 

Entry 200

 

 

"What I love most about rivers is you can't step in the same river twice
The water's always changing, always flowing"
Pocahontas - Disney

What a huge difference a 100 blog posts can make?

Unevenlemming Beauty, I like to think, is entering another phase of evolution, as we never stand still and always change. I, myself are going through the biggest change since I got married, I am creating my own Minilemming to add to the family and as well as to the blog. I realise as my pregnancy progresses that it's going to play a huge influence to my life, people do not joke when they say 'life changing', but also the choices I make for myself and wellbeing.

I love blogging, even in the times that I am stuck in a rut, I still love writing, reading, and eventually planning (I'm still working on this!). I have also made lots of friends from this, who have been a huge support but also the kick up the bum I've needed in the ruts. Many thanks and hugs to them.

Hopefully over the next few weeks you will see some new improvements that will benefit me and give Unevenlemming Beauty a little more of a clear identity, so bear with me during this transition - It will be worth waiting for. Until then thank you for reading and sticking with me, for all the comments, tweets and messages - Some day's it's the best and only thing that keeps me going.

Beauty Swap with Clare (A Bit of This and That)

About late May I signed my name to a Beauty Swap organised but the retro fabulous Kat from Tales of a Pale Face. It is very simple, you get an email to say who you have got as well as contact mail, you send a lot of emails asking about likes/dislikes and arranging when. Clare and I found out that we were both going to London Meet Up at the end of July and decided to save the postage to send more surprises.

 

I mentioned in my emails that the pale person for me struggles to find a bronzer that doesn't turn me orange and I lacked any daytime lipsticks (all of them are mostly red!). Clare said that she kind of liked MAC lipsticks (owns 25 of them , you need help with a MAC lipstick - she's your girl!) and loved premium make up.

 

You can read what I got her here on her blog and see below what appeared in my little bag (beautifully wrapped up may I add, I lasted an hour before I opened them all).

 

Natural Collection lipsticks in Apple Blossom (on the left) and Rose Bud (on the right) - I already have one of the lipsticks and think they're really great value so it was great to see two more for my collection.

Bourjois Powder Bronzer - Smells delicious, have not tried it yet, but the other bloggers around me when I opened it, 'Ohh'd' at it and came with recommendations.

Not Pictured - Montagne Jeunesse peel off face masks - my favourite face mask brand and they have added to the collection. I also gave the exact same ones to Clare!

The one I got most excited about was:

My second ever MAC lipstick in Crème Cup - a beauty bloggers holy grail. I have worn this a few times now and it goes slightly pink on me but looks great for everyday which is what I have been looking for.

Big thank you to Kat for organising and Clare for being really generous.

Dispatches: Celebs, Brands and Fake Fans

I instantly tweeted this last week when I saw the advert for this, as I knew a high majority of the blogger community (regardless of your topic) would be interested in this.

I hate to say that this is nothing new, being able to buy a significant amount of ID's for a few hundred didn't really surprise me. This actually brought up by several other Beauty Bloggers including Really Ree who wrote Twitter Fakes and Twitter Fakes Part 2 which I think has the best writing on the topic.

The most thing that rattled me about Dispatches (as well as making a mountain out of mole hill), is that celebrities only apologise when their hands are caught in the cookie jar. Us bloggers lose respect, followers and can also get named and shamed for doing this.

The Beauty Bloggers I read/follow are honest and will have open discussions on the issue of affiliate links (these are links that if customers purchase they get money from it), gifts, sponsored posts etc. I also like to think that I am also open about what I write on here.

The key tweet that I made tonight on the #fakefans hashtag was this: "Bloggers have a lot more respect for the real followers they have, as we engage more with our readers" We are more clearer than ever before on all of our activates. A large amount of my relationships have actually come through engagement from Twitter.

We are in an age where social media is becoming bigger and bigger, where advertisement and marketing is also getting smarter. Multi million pound sponsorship deals still continue and this is just another branch of advertising.

Channel 4, consumers are not as blind as you think, stop treating us as so.

#JulyLondonMeetUp

Today I meet up with a lot of bloggers in that there London town, to mingle, gossip and catch up on goings on in the blogging world. It's a as meet up should be, a time to mingle with old friends and met some new ones.

Did I get any photos? Urm.. No - I was to busy laughing my head off with Bex, Lisa, Clare, Natalie and a few others (please let me know who you are! I have a terrible memory at the moment, it would nice to get your blog links). We were the slightly louder table by the bar, who were talking quite animated and constantly laughing.

I also want to thank everyone who came up and said congratulations on the pregnancy, it really did meant a lot especially as now I am showing a bump and not looking a little bit fat anymore. I ask forgiveness that I didn't mingle as spent the whole thing sat in a chair, as I was suffering one of the joys of pregnancy which is swollen ankles.

As normal with these events I missed saying hello to several people and my apologies for this.

I had a fantastic day and the last HUGE thank you goes to Helen who has worked really hard (a nod to Grace who I know helped and everyone who helped as well). A well organised day and over generous gifts for all the attendees. Also a huge shock for a beauty blogger in a beauty department store - I didn't buy anything!

Time to put my hot, tired feet up ....

The Music Tag

Don't you hate it when you want to blog but cannot think of anything to blog. I do also look like a wookie on a bad hair day at the moment. While I wait for my afternoon of getting glam once again (Hairdresser, threading etc.), I shall provide you another insight into my little world by doing Makeup-Pixi3's Music Tag that she did a few months ago.

What’s your favourite type of music?

I am a rock fan, I am however not limited to that. I have a huge mixture of music in my collection thanks to my pop loving mum, jazz loving dad and hip-hop rap brother. I also find my music taste depends on the weather, mood and what I'm doing while playing music. Most of my music has all got some kind of memories attached to it, it's amazing how it can transport you to another time and place.

What’s your least favourite type of music?

As I find I am getting a little bit older now, there are some trendy music that I just don't get. Sampling done well is brilliant but most of the time it makes me feel nostalgic for the orginal. Not the biggest fan of County and Western, just cannot get into it really.

What’s the best gig you’ve been to?

Within Temption - an amazing rock band with a operatic lead vocalis. Got towards the front, danced sang and moshed happily away. They played every single song I loved and I even caught the drumstick of the support band. I even managed to get the train home in time to sneak into my weekly local and met my mates.

What albums are you listening to at the moment?

Currently listening to The 2nd Law by Muse. Husband and I are big fans of Muse, all of tables at our wedding were their song tittles and our first dance was 'Endlessly'.

I am also a huge fan of a Canadian band called Barenaked Ladies (most known for the mid 90's hit One Week), they have released their new album 'Grinning Streak' so I've been listening to the uploaded version on youtube while I wait for it to arrive. The 'Fun' album is on my wish list currently.

What's your favourite bands/artists & favourite albums?

Favourite albums:

Stunt - Barenaked Ladies
The Heart Of Everything - Within Temptation
21 - Adele
Greatest Hits of Queen (Yes I know that's cheating but it's well loved - Great memories of blasting it out of my friends Skoda on the way to watch F1 at Silverstone)

If you could instantly know how to play any instrument, what would it be?

I did want to play guitar and owned two, but because I have really small hands I never got very far. I learnt to play keyboards on an organ in my dining room, I played clarinet at school (but gave up after I fainted in a lesson) and sang in the school choir. I also did and failed my music GCSE's. I was happy to sing and dance, my Saturday nights were spent doing this to The Prodigy

 



Normal Service Will Resume

I wanted to add a note on here to say a thank you to everyone while I took sometime out when I found out I was expecting. It's been a bit of a mad time recently, but I had my dating scan this morning (this is where they find out how far along you actually are) and I am confirmed at seven weeks with my due date now 10th January. It even has a little heartbeat that they managed to find, and yes, I did well up with tears as I was really worried. They confirmed that baby is developing well and going strong, this means I can finally relax a bit more.

Work has also cut down my hours so I'm not over working while I'm feeling really unwell. I cannot thank them enough for this as the morning sickness is the worst thing ever in pregnancy, just you think you start to understand it, it completely changes. Also the doctor has ordered me to try and relax more, before she starts forcing me to slow down, I said this to Hubby and his reply was, "Do you even know how to relax?"

The spending ban is going well, the only thing I've had to buy was some pregnancy vitamins as I had ran out, and I did treat to a £5 Chinese when I really couldn't be bothered to cook one night when Hubby wet out with his work. I have however learnt that I have way more beauty stuff than I knew and have be hiding it in various places. I will not need to buy skincare/make up for a while (hubby wants to include nail varnish but that's not going to happen!). I haven't had any magazines as Bubba has also been distracting me enough as I cannot stay awake enough to read.

If you like to follow my pregnancy and more general ramblings I will be doing more on my tumblr page The Many Things of Unevenlemming as I know it's not everyone's cup of tea but I would like somewhere to document it (well somewhere to have rants about it). This weekend is a matter of tying up some loose ends and then a lot of weight will be lifted from my shoulders.

From next week: Normal service will resume

Being a Wee Bit Broke and the Start of Spending Ban

 

I have mentioned a few times before that our funds have been very tight since I had to take a job that was a lower in pay. I'd rather of taken the job that have to watch another minute of daytime TV, it was slowly sucking my soul. A few months back we also moved out of our two bed roomed house into an annex adjoined to my husbands family, its taken time to settle but its getting there.

 

This does mean for a while, while the house goes on the market, funds are slim on the ground. This leads me into the spending ban, I noticed that Tales of a Pale Face was looking for volunteers to do a one month ban, I thought it wouldn't hurt for a month to see if I can not give in to my buying impulses.

 

So these are the rules:

 

1. Obviously, no beauty purchases unless I run out of cotton pads or similar.

2. No Magazines - I have four subscriptions, two of which are free magazines.

3. No books - I have nearly 40 that need to be read

4. Walk - Now the nights are lighter I can walk more home, that big uphill climb will also mean I'm getting some exercise.

5. Take packed lunches to work 4 times a week - I work 5 so the spare is a 'just in case'

6. Birthday presents can be brought during this time, I'm not that mean. (A new outfit does not count)

 

I'm just hoping that my first update is not, "I spent all my money."

 

Blog sale is also coming soon

#ldnbbmeet - When Bloggers Attack Selfridges

Monday was something that I had been looking forward to since my holiday had been confirmed at work and I put my name done as coming. Organised by Tattooed Tea Lady (assisted by Lisahh Jayne and Sophie from Candy Cane Heart), it essentially was a meet and greet with an hour touring the beauty halls of Selfridges.

I decided to make a day out of it as the event wasn't until the mid afternoon and I really love spending days ambling round London, I was over due for a trip. I first went to Convent Garden and ambled round the antique stalls, restrained myself at Forbidden Planet and brought a vintage scarf from Rokit for £3.

For my birthday (thank you for the best wishes last week) my husband brought me Gok Wan's Chinese cookbook and a wok as I've been saying that I've wanted to try and cook Chinese for ages. I did my first dish over the weekend (Traditional Noodles with chili), I was eager to go to Chinatown and go round the markets to get some inspiration as well as steamer so I can do some Dim Sum.

After a quick pit stop I started the slow walk down to Selfridges viva a few shops on the way. I did, as well as a majority of people, go into the new & Other Stories store, the new older sister of H&M. I skipped over the clothes, being a plus size person I wasn't holding much hope, I headed straight towards the beauty section. The store is airy and clean with everything laid out making it easily viewable. I ended up with Twill Blue nail varnish, a £5 dupe of Nails Inc Baker Street.

I arrived early so after a sit down and a pot of Earl Grey, I lingered at the Selfridges entrance. Being one of the 'older' beauty bloggers it was over whelming at first, I managed to grab someone I recognised (thanks to Bex for rescuing me, sorry if I sounded like a crazed woman at first!), everyone was welcoming and also felt in the same boat.

We descended on the poor people of Selfridges and brought like mad woman but alas it was soon time for people to move on to other things. A small group of us has agreed before to continue shopping and hit the bar afterwards. The shopping didn't last long and was soon chatting away with a jug of Pimm's, topics included Beauty boxes, youtubing, foundations for pales, and how Superdrug are now doing 50 Shades of Grey kits. We then adventured into Primark afterwards which I'm really surprised we didn't get out for the amount of laughter that was coming from us!

Team Pub was Indra from Alice in Beautyland, Sarah from Some Sparkle and Shine, Face Value Blog, Leotard in Leopard, Kimberly Beauty Blog and Amy from Amoi Universe.

As well as my Chinese food ingredients and & Other Stories polish, I got Antitopdes Avocado Oil and Rosehip facial oil, Whitard of Chelsea instant teas in Turkish Apple and Dreamtime, and Sinful Colours nail varnish in Nail Junkie.

I had a brilliant day and evening, it was great to met some people I knew from Twitter already and a whole new bunch to talk to. It was brilliantly organised and we had a drink to the hard working girls that night.

Unevenlemming Beauty is 1 year Old

Mmmmm Cake

 

Things have moved a huge amount from one year ago when I decided to take the plunge and join the expanding world of Beauty Bloggers.

 

At the time of writting this there is more followers than I ever hoped for reading my ramblings, when i started this it was merely something to keep me sane while I was recovering from knee injury. The inital idea was it was to compliment the business I had started, which has long gone while the blog has gone strength to strength.

 

I appreciate all you guys who read, comment, and tweet this - without you guys I don't this would of lasted longer than a few months.

 

To all the #bbloggers as well thank you for all your support, kind words and recommendations - I am now well and truly broke now.

 

To the bloggers who inspired me to start - You guys are not only a huge inspiration but I thank you for being a support to me and your kind words over the past few months. To get them from people I'd admire means more than what I can put into words.

 

I want to add a thank you for the suppliers who kindly let me try some of their products, its a huge privilage that I am grateful for.

 

To all my friends and family, thank you for being the first set of readers and champions of what I do and doing in the future.

 

And finally to my long suffering husband, who now has a front room that looks like Boots. I am grateful that you put up with my ramblings of why this red vanish is different from another red varnish and why I need both.

 

Just Thank You To Everyone

#Bloglove

"What the world needs now is love, sweet love
It's the only thing that there's just too little of
What the world needs now is love, sweet love,
No not just for some but for everyone."
Burt Bacharach

Image from Jaynes Kitschen

I keep in touch with a lot of other beauty bloggers through twitter and would like to think I do contribute towards on the hash-tag twitter chat called #bbloggers (Wednesday and Sunday nights at 8pm - For more information #Bbloggerschat Blog).

From one of the chats it came through that one of the things that other bloggers wanting to do for 2013 is  to promote other bloggers. I think this was a great idea and while chatting about it another blogger, Jayne from Jayne's Kitschen jumped in and said that she started a hash-tag with the same idea. Read her original idea here

For me the beauty bloggers community is just that - A community of like minded people who share ideas, problems and the love of what we do. I am fully behind something that brings people together because together we can knock any problems and negativity. It also not a place for competition on who has more followers than others, we write because we chose to and if people read it - even better!

I have met some of nicest people with a varied mixture of experience and they've all been ready to help (this even included the people who inspired me to start this blog in the first place). No one has ever turned me away for being a "small" blog, they've noticed I'm like them and have spent a good hour talking to them.

To spread some #Bloglove:

• Comment on their entry - Tell them you liked it! I still get excited by comments, for me it shows that what I'm writing is being actually read and not glanced over.
• Play it forward - This is where the hash-tag comes in, tweet about it (or Share on Facebook depending on your social media preference) and share it with other people.
• Think before you speak - Is what about to send to the wide world really a reflection on who you are? Is it promoting #Bloglove? There are ways of providing feedback without being judgmental  a friendly mail is better than broadcasting it to Twitter.
• Engage with other bloggers - Tweet, Email, Facebook, Instagram: we now live in a world where we can connect with more people easier. Like what some says? Tell them, like, share, re-tweet, favourite. 

Share the #Bloglove.

"Your talent makes you who you are. You should be proud of it." –Tinker Bell