Updated Skin Care Routine

 Hello everyone! 

As usual, I have slacked once again but I wanted to share with you my updated skin care routine! My skin still isn't perfect but these particular products have helped SO much

A double cleanse is essential when wanting to properly clean your skin especially if you've been wearing make up or maybe you've just done an exercise class, it's just good to get rid of any clogged pores and feel clean facially after a workout! 

• Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish - Rose and Lavender
• La Roche Posay 
• https://www.weareplantmade.com/products/grain << This has worked miracles on my skin, the reason it appealed to me was because it was plant based, I knew none of the products would be harmful but obviously if you have any allergies, it's best to check before you purchase any product! I personally do not have any allergies but I have ordered this product about 3 times because it (in my opinion) is worth the money! It also to me cleared and brightened up my skin instantly which I absolutely loved!
• Sunday Riley CEO vitamin serum!
• Elemis Rose Cleansing Balm - This is KEY if you wear a lot of make up or wear make up regularly! Because it is oil based, it takes your make up off SO quickly and effectively! It also smells amazing!!
• I also have a hidden gem in my opinion and it is from my darling Lush, as you guys may know from my last blog post, I absolutely adore Lush, I think their products are so heavenly and work so nicely and well! What I'm referencing to today is a product I discovered when I went to Lush in Birmingham earlier this year which was the D'Fluff which you can purchase at any local Lush to you, it is a strawberry scented shaving soap but you can use it how you please and I think it smells heavenly! The smell also lingers for so long as you'd find with most lush products so definitely if you can go and grab one!

Weekend Away ...

    Hello everyone!

I am aware it has been a very long time since I have posted on here. 

The truth is...life got very busy, there's been an awful lot of change and I simply haven't had time! 

In the last few weeks, my family and I took a short weekend break to Birmingham..now before some of you decide to roll your eyes and wonder why anyone would travel there.. I for one would like to say it was a wonderful experience and one I thoroughly enjoyed it!

The people, the richness in culture.. the diversity is an aspect, I thoroughly loved and found fruitful.

Whilst there, we popped into the main city centre to look at Bull ring. I feel like you can't come into Birmingham and not explore there. 

We also popped into the market place area and had a nosy.

Whilst looking at Lush Spa Birmingham | LUSH and falling in love, the staff were so friendly and made us feel so welcome, we left feeling very grateful for the experience. As a major lush fan, I was definitely in my element! Lush products have always lasted very long and deserve the credit. With this particular lush being the only one in the UK to offer spa treatments and massages... the staff members showed my brother and I all around and I, personally got to see a tour of the 'Spa'. It was absolutely incredible.  The level of detail that goes into it is truly phenomenal and makes it even more worth visiting!

Some of the products were limited edition but luckily, they had some in stock and I managed to purchase some. I got very lucky! 

The items I picked up were a few massage bars which.. I have never used before so I was most intrigued as to how it worked. I picked up the "deep sleep" massage bar which has lots of lovely calming scents such as Lavender, camomile and magnesium, I particularly liked the fact it had magnesium as I know that is good for bone strength. Another one I picked up was the "turmeric latte" massage bar as a present for someone close to me. They also popped a free item into our bag as they said they really liked us which was so sweet to hear!

Another reason for wanting to explore Birmingham for me.. being a lover of make up, I popped into Selfridges in which I was met with slight hostility. However, within 10 minutes a lovely lady called Jade came over and was more than generous with her time! She took so much time into making sure we were treated nicely. and .. it's safe to say a lot was spent😂 but honestly .. as I'm realising getting older is that it is quality over quantity and I have no regrets. 

After we'd gone shopping, we popped into a Vietnamese street kitchen restaurant, the customer service and food was so so nice, they were very welcoming and everything tasted lovely! We had sharing platters which I annoyingly didn't take many photos of. 

When I'm with people especially family, I tend to want to enjoy the moment :) 

I will be 🤞 filming a video soon explaining in more detail what exactly I purchased, I didn't want to post in via a blog post in case it came off as boastful

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this !

Siaxo 

Summer Moments

Before I start this blogpost, I want to apologise for being so sporadic and non consistent with uploading! From next year, I aim to be more regular as I realised I miss just the freedom of typing and almost forgot that almost anyone could be reading this so if you are, hello! I hope you are having a lovely day or night depending on when you stumble across this!

 As I type this, I am taking a moment to reflect on how grateful I feel to be in this present moment and how you as a reader of this current post are probably thinking "Well, this got deep very quickly" so I shan't bore you all to death and I'll crack on!

Towards the end of July, I drove (i.e. was a passenger princess and a family member drove -we're nothing if not honest over here-) and popped down to be reunited with family and essentially catch up! When we first arrived, we were met with rain and if that is not typical British weather then what is! However, after a few hours it quickly dispersed and the sun came out

One thing you may not know about me is that I absolutely love to bake, I think there's nothing more homely and welcoming that being surrounded by good for the soul hearty food! As well as some bakes, we also made vegan and non vegan waffles which were absolutely delicious! In the vegan waffles, we included desiccated coconut which made such a lovely difference

So naturally, I had to take a few pictures, The recipe I used were two, one was vegan friendly and was actually so lovely! The vegan recipe: Recipe  I found the recipe on BBC Good Food, I feel like their website has something for everyone and it was so quick and simple to make! The other recipe I used is by JanesPattiserie who has a food blog and Instagram and has some amazing recipes! This proved to be a hit with the family and I will leave a link here: Non Vegan Recipe 

For dinner, we had something called raclette which is apparently swiss inspired, this concept was slightly new to me, however was quite fun as I loved the little trays and watching it cook 

Dealing with New Changes

New Beginnings 

So if I'm completely honest.. starting my 23rd year hasn't gone off to a flying start. By the way.. what on earth!? I'm now 23.. I feel like I only just turned 21.. so much has happened since then. Going through something almost unspeakable and having to lead an average daily life whilst processing everything.. I guess I've learnt that it's ok to cry and express some sort of emotion. The start of 2020 has left me feeling befuzzled and wanting to skip straight to December.. 

The idea of being in a new decade is incredibly scary but I guess exciting. 

I've decided I want to take up this blogging thing seriously as well as other things but bare with. 

                                                                                     Sia xo

Adulting

Adulting. What is adulting? Why is there so much pressure being an adult .. 

As a 20 year old something, I can't help but feel like there is a underlying pressure in where we're expected to be. People tend to assume that by this age we should be at this level and in reality there should be no pressure. At this age, we should be focusing ourselves and what we want to achieve. However I can't help but feel like because of the social media world, Validation is seen through how many likes on an Instagram posts or how many retweets a Twitter post gets. 

How can anyone in their late teens/early twenties expect to have their shit together? It's just not possible. We're still trying to reach our own personal goals and achievements. 


Does anybody else feel this pressure or is it just me?




Siaxo 

Turning 21

Hi. Thoughts on turning 21. Scary, exciting...growing up.

The start of the year wasn’t the best for me but can you believe we're now in May! This year has gone so quickly.

I feel like people expect things when you turn 21. Like how you suddenly have yourself together and are now an accomplished adult.

Reality for me though- Still feel like an 18 year old except somehow more wiser as the years have passed (totally kidding I'm still a lost child trapped in a 21 year old's body)

On a more positive note, I'm very excited for the rest of this year and I can't wait to document it on here so hopefully you all enjoy.

For those that are almost turning 21 or turn 21 this year, it's not as scary as everyone makes out and just remember you're in your prime.




Siaxo

Lipsticks and Candles

Now that Autumn has come around. It is time for my two favourite things!  Lipsticks and candles. There's something I  find slightly exciting about changing up lipsticks, call me a beauty fanatic if you will but personally I love the transition from pink or nude lipsticks to slightly berry toned lipsticks.
I think dark lips add so much to a look, you can be wearing the most simple eye look and still look done up which I think is perfect for this type of weather where it's slightly colder or when you can't be bothered to do your whole make up routine in the morning!

I also think berry/plum lips are perfect for this season because it adds slight definition without looking overdone meaning you can get away with a flick of eyeliner, a little bit of eyeshadow and then the lips become everything!

Being an 18 year old girl myself, I've never understood the hype of scented candles but in the last few months I have become a little bit of a fan. Very much so that whilst on holiday recently I bought a candle in the scent Applewood which smells like Christmas baking (may be slightly too keen for Christmas but hey who's counting...)

My go to lipsticks at the moment are the Kate Moss Rimmel 107 bit of a classic and it's easy to apply. I also love the body shop colour crush lipstick in the shade 240 'Damsel in Distress' as it's a lovely deep purple shade and quite buildable.

Sia xo