December Blogger of the Month!

Being a blogger, you come across some amazing blogs and meet some great people! I was first introduced to my December Blogger of the Month through twitter and Dee from Prompts by Dee!

When it comes to blogging, there are thousands of blogs out there so finding a blog that catches your eye and makes you want to follow them is, in my opinion a great blog!

I follow many blogs as I enjoy reading reviews, experiences and I am pretty nosy too so I like to know what is going on, especially in the world of beauty!

This lady is an amazing writer, not only are her posts informative, but they give you a real sense of her personality and I must say reading her posts defiantly cheer me up and I actually find myself giggling along with sense of humour! Oh and all of the above is great but the most important part is, she really knows her stuff, whats not to love?

Now I know your all on the edge of your seat to hear who the blogger in question is (drum roll please...) it is no other than Katy from Little Miss Katy.



So as in pervious months, I presented Katy with my questions and I would now like to share with you her response so I hope you love her and her blog as much as I do!

Name: Katy
 
Name of your Blog:  Little Miss Katy
 
Website address: http://www.littlemisskaty.co.uk
 
Blog category:  Lifestyle
 
How long have you been blogging for? 8 months
 
What inspired you to create your blog?

Boredom! I work really long hours as a receptionist in a really quiet building, so have waaay too much spare time on my hands. I started reading blogs to keep me occupied and from there it was a short jump to starting my own :)

 
What do you enjoy most about blogging? 

The community! I love talking and meeting new people, so the social aspect of connecting with people, who love the same things that I do, is what really keeps me going. I love writing and photography as well, but I know that without the community and the social interraction, I'd never have kept this up as long as I have.
 
What has been the hardest thing you have found about blogging? 

Getting organised! I'm the least organised person of all time, and I find it hard to get the balance right between taking photos, writing articles and getting posts up five times a week, plus interacting on social media, answering emails and handling behind-the-scenes technical stuff. My goal in 2015 is to finally start getting some sort of order and process into my blogging routine!
 
If you could give advice to fellow bloggers trying to increase their followers/subscribers what would it be? What have you found most successful? 

My advice would be to jump headfirst into the community. Join in Twitter chats, read other blogs, comment thoughtfully and leave your link for people to click on if they want to. But please for the love of all pizza do NOT post a "follow me and I'll follow you" comment. Everyone I know will either mark you as spam or just ignore you completely.

 

But most of all: BE PATIENT. Rome wasn't built in a day, and it's highly unlikely you're gonna get 1000 followers in a month, let alone in a week. Grow your blog slowly and organically, and focus on creating a community of people you love talking to, not just mindless followers who couldn't care less about what you write. It's not all about the numbers!

 
If you could give someone thinking about starting a blog one bit of advice what would it be? 

Just do it! Don't put it off waiting for the perfect moment, the perfect design, the perfect idea. Just start. "Read like a butterfly, write like a bee" and learn on the go. (Shameless plug: I actually wrote a post on How To Start A Blog a couple of months ago!)

 
How can my readers contact you?

 I'm ALWAYS online and up for a chat! You can tweet me at @MissKatyEnglish, add me on Instagram: @littlemisskatyuk or (if you're old school) message me on my Facebook page: Little Miss Katy.

Now I would like to share with you a favourite post from Little Miss Katy......

10 GOOD THINGS ABOUT 2014

I just want to say a massive thank you to Katy for taking the time to answer my questions and please please show your support and head on over to Little Miss Katy and subscribe and follow Katy's blog!

So I wish you a happy new year I look forward to reading and discovering new blogs in 2015!

Thanks for Reading

Tracy xx

A massive Thank you! Saying Goodbye to 2014!

So September 8th 2014 I was in a really low place in my life, this was the day I thought it was time to either give up or make a change. Thankfully I chose to make a change and created Little Miss Plus Size.

To this day, I honestly think that my blog has saved me, it has given me a new purpose in life, given me back my creative side and most of all it has allowed me to document me journey, my feelings and has shown me that I am not alone!

For me, 2014 has been a rubbish year but it has also been the best at the same time, It has brought me to the point that I had to face my past and overcome my issues in order o move forward in my life, I can honestly say I feel like there is nothing holding me back no more and all the self hate I had is slowly disappearing.

My blog was new, still is as its actually only a few months old, but that never stopped you commenting, being friendly, giving me advice, reassuring me and the generosity of the companies that have given me opportunities to try and sample products.

You were all so positive and blogging has helped me so much and the communication with my readers has kept me going.

Everything I say can seem cheesy, but if you have commented on a post, followed me on my social media, worked with me, or simply taken the time to read my posts, including this one, then I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart and I hope we can all reflect and celebrate 2014 and prepare ourselves for the opportunities and experiences that 2015 base to offer!

Thank you so much! I honestly cannot say it enough!

Please subscribe if you would like my blog to continue in 2015 and show your support.

May 2015 bring you great things!

* Just to let you know, I am hoping to develop my blog further in 2015, so hopefully I will be uploading more frequently and also dedicate specific days for uploading!

Thanks for reading

Tracy xx

Time for a little Caviar! Ciate Caviar Manicure!

I do love nail varnishes and Im always looking to experiment with different textures and trends. I know that Ciate Caviar Manicure sets have been out for a while now but I have never had the chance to try them until now.

I was lucky enough to pick up two sets to try, Rainbow and black pearls. I thought that it was about time that I gave them a go and see whether or not they are worth the hype.



In each set you get a varnish, caviar beads, a funnel, a collecting tray and a information booklet. In order to achieve the desired look you follow these simple steps:

1) Paint your nails using the solid colour, I chose to paint mine using two coats.

2) Once you have decided where you would like the caviar beads to go, re-paint that nail so that the beads will be able to stick to the varnish.

3) Whilst the varnish is still wet, hover over the 'collection' tray and sprinkle the caviar beads onto the nail until covered, or until the chosen area is covered.

4) using the funnel, return the unused beads back into the bottle to use the next time.

5) Finally I would recommend using a clear top coat to further secure the beads however that is a personal preference.

I really enjoyed applying these to my nails and received lovely compliments on how pretty my nails looked.



The first set I decided to try as I thought it was most suited to the winter season, Black pearls.



The polish, unrestricted glam is a deep black colour or at least that is the colour that it showed up on my nails.



You then also get these stunning black pearls, the pearls are actually a mixture of green, black purple and blue. At first when I bought this kit I was concerned that the beads may not show up too well but I was defiantly not disappointed. I am so pleased I picked this kit up!



The second set I chose is Rainbow, whats not to love!



I can honestly say I have never tried such a lovely baby pink that has so much coverage! The colour of the polish is called Strawberry Milkshake and I think Ciate could not have picked a better name. I was so impressed with this colour alone and offers amazing coverage, you could get away with just using one coat, but I stuck with two.

The Rainbow beads have got to be my favourite, simply because they remind me of sprinkles I used to have on my ice cream when I was younger! The Caviar beads are a mixture of green, red, pink, yellow, pearl, blue quite frankly a rainbow of colours. I think that I will use this set more in the spring/summer months and think it looks so pretty and feminine!



Which set would you chose? Have you tried any different trends that you have enjoyed?

Thanks for Reading

Tracy xx

 

Lush Boxing Day Sale 2014!

Last year I braved the Boxing day sales and went to Lush, I had never seen anything like it before! The que made a sort of 'conga' line around the store, people were pushing and shoving and the poor staff, they looked run off there feet! Last year I managed to pick up a load of lovely products and saved a small fortunes each year Lush holds a 50% off sale!

So Boxing Day morning this year I woke up soon with intentions of visiting my local Lush store, however I went online and noticed that there sale was going to be online too so I stayed in my onsie with my laptop at the ready. 9.00am came and nothing, the site crashed, people were complaining and the poor staff at Lush were doing there best to fix the technical difficulties.



After 2 hours of waiting, I decided to give up and returned later in the evening, they still had sale items available but it wasn't the same, I realised that part of my love for Lush was the experience of smelling the products, interacting with the staff etc so I decided not to make a purchase.

So this morning I needed to pop into primark and I past my Lush store, they had products left! Now this is a very rare occasion and I was so pleased to be able to pick up some products. The lady I spoke to said they had to close 3 hours early on Boxing day as they had no stock left but they got a surprise delivery this morning!

I am so happy I made a trip into my local shopping centre and picked up some great bargains!

Everything was 50% off!



Holly Golightly, a gorgeous glittery (more sparkly) bubble bar. The smell is very refreshing and is described as uplifting and refreshing. I think this may be a good weekend pamper product.

A favourite of mine from last year was this little fella, The Christmas Penguin. now I am not sure exactly what a Christmas penguin is but this smells fresh and clean, not overpowering and would be lovely after a hard day sale shopping! Again this is a bubble bar. For those of you who are not aware a bubble bar is essentially bubble bath in a solid form. You crumble it under hot running water and they create lovely soft bubbles. Very luxurious!

Snow Angel, a white angel dipped in gold glitter, looks like it is going to be very indulgent to use. It is meant to be very moisturising so I look forward to using this in the colder months when my skin is a bit dry off the cold weather.

Butterbear is a new bath bomb, the smell is very subtle and soft, not heavily fragranced. It smells very comforting and has the same fragrance as the butterball bath bomb.

Luxury Lush Pud bath bomb, it is very colourful and looks great fizzing around your bath. I really enjoy Lush's Twilight bath bomb and Luxury Lush Pud has the same smell.

So White, this smells like apples, so crisp and clean and I can imagine feeling very clean using this. I think this would be lovely in the morning. I also just re-purchased this in the bath bomb version also!



If your worried you've missed the sale why not visit your local store you might find a bargain, why not try ringing the store first to see what there quantity of sale stock is.

Thanks for reading

Tracy xx

Christmas & NYE Nailspiration : Party Nails!

Christmas is getting closer and so is NYE so I was thinking about adding a touch of sparkle to my nails. As Christmas is approaching, I have been doing a lot more shopping recently and I came across the perfect set to help me achieve 'party nails'.



Now please don't go thinking that I only use Ciate nail polishes, in fact up until a few months ago I had never tried them! When I was shopping in TK Maxx I came across this lovely set at a discount price of £9.99 for 3 full sizes and thought it would be great for the party season.





This set contains three glitter polishes in 3 amazing colours.



This colour is stunning, a bit salt and pepper. lovely black, silver and grey glitter pieces that look so pretty on there own or would look great as a top coat to jazz up another colour.the colour is brocade parade and I think this would be my NYE party choice.



This colour is so pretty and would look lovely over a pale blue or white/nude nail. I chose to show this colour on its own and it defiantly is build able but to get a full cover it would take 3-4 coats. This will be the colour I would choose between boxing day and NYE. The colour is need for tweed and I also think it would look stunning in the summer months on toes too!



Gold nails? Look no further than meet me in mayfair. A mix of gold, black and white specs that look dazzling on your nails. I am thinking about painting my nails red on Christmas Day and using this as a top coat!

All of these colours are very wearable and defiantly season appropriate. For these looks I did use 3-4 coats but if you were looking for a top coat with something different these would work fine too.

Enjoy the festive season and sparkle into 2015!

Thanks for reading!

Tracy xx

When life hands you a Lemon..........!

Ok so if you clicked into read this post expecting it to be about lemons then I am sorry its just a update about what has been going on recently!



You may/may not have noticed that over the past two weeks my social media accounts have been relatively quiet, this is because I thought it would be clever to carry my iPhone 5S around in my cardigan pocket and you guessed it, it fell out and broke! I took it to the store I bought it from and it seems as though it would be cheaper to buy a new phone!

Now I am not the type of person to save money so I don't have £500+ to spend on a new phone so seeing as my contract still has another year to go I bought a cheap phone to see me through and that means no twitter, Facebook, bloglovin etc on the go so I hope that explains the quietness.

Last week I was driving to work and my car broke, the whole suspension has dropped, If you know cars then you will know that your suspension going is a bad sign.

I took it to the garage and he said I needed a new car, just like that! Now after looking at my finances I have managed to purchase the same type of car for a reasonable price, but being so close to christmas it was an expense I could of  done without.

Good news I picked my car up today and it is great! So I am happy!

I recently created a new site www.littlemissplussizecreates.com, a 'how to' site about blogging, creating websites etc. After things breaking on me I started to evaluate my options and I wanted to create a blog that created an income, if only it was that simple! I started to neglect this site, focus on stats, ads etc and quite honestly became miserable not to mention making no money!

I love blogging, I, like most would love to make a living blogging but it takes passion! I love little miss plus size, it has helped me so much so I am going to scrap my other site and my magazine idea and focus on my blog!

I am passionate about beauty, fashion, finding weight loss tips etc and most of all it makes me extremely happy so rather than be a 'jack of all trades, master of none' kinda person (which I am!) why not put all of my effort in one place.

Having depression can be a terrible time, but it can also teach you about yourself, how you react in certain situations, when my phone broke it was the end of the world, when my car broke I thought what was the point!

I am in no way a religious person but I find that things are sent to test us, and how we deal with those shows our character and we can learn by our actions.

There are so many people suffering in this world, a broken car and phone is absolutely nothing to those who are suffering with illness, abuse etc.

So sorry to sound cheesy but when Life throws me lemons I am going to throw them in the blender and make Lemonade!

What ever your situation, wherever you may be, sit back write a list of the positives about you, your life and I am sure those of us who sometimes feel hard done by will actually be thankful for what we have in life!

Thanks for reading

Tracy xx

Christmas Gift Guide: Jewellery Edition!

Ever since I was younger i always received a piece of jewellery for christmas, sometimes a lovely watch or pair of earrings. As I have got older the jewellery I like is a lot more expensive so the tradition slowly stopped.

There are some amazing pieces in stores at the moment, if your considering buying your loved ones a stunning piece of jewellery this year then i hope this might help you too!

Firstly I love Pandora, I own one of their very first charm bracelets and a few charms that were bought to me by my friends and family to celebrate special moments in my life, I love this idea and personal I found it to be such a thoughtful gift.



To start off with you will need a charm bracelet and this one is perfect to add the charms of your choice.



Pandora have some amazing charms, but i must say I love there Christmas range and if your thinking of buying someone a gift, then a christmas charm can be a reminder to them of when it was bought and who buy, also they are just so cute!



Since I received my Pandora Charm bracket, I noticed more brands creating charm brackets and a brand I would like to receive most is a Thomas Sabo charm bracket, I like that this is a link bracket apposed to a 'snake chain' style one. Thomas Sabo also have some great charms to chose from and you can really buy something meaningful or unique to the person your buying for, for me I love dogs so a dog charm would be lovely.




A brand that I have been introduced to recently is Corazon Latino, a gorgouse jewellery brand that sell stunning Jewellery, I particularly love the Athena Silver Half Bead Earrings, they would be subtable for all age ranges and a lovely gift. I also think that there Rhiannon Silver Knot ring and Bangle is simply stunning! A solid silver piece or precious metal manipulated to make this gorgeous knot design, If you buying a piece of jewellery for a loved one then I think that knot could represent strength, unity or togetherness and I would be a very happy lady to receive this in my stocking! (use the code Gift10 to get 10% off!)



I don't know about you but i love Michael Kors, I haven't been lucky enough to receive one of their iconic rose gold watches and i think that this one a bit more feminine ad not so 'on trend', obviously this watch is a trend setter but in a few years time you won't be wearing a watch thinking it was 'so last year'. It would defiantly be a considered purchase and a treasured one at that!

So those are my top jewellery favourites this year, which one would be yours?

Thanks For reading

Tracy xx

My New Winter Skincare Routine ft REN!

One thing I think any blogger loves is trying new products and I am no exception! I love skincare but think that it is such a personal product, over the years I have made purchases based on amazing reviews yet the product didn't work for me.

Recently I have changed up my skincare routine and I have to say my skin is really benefiting from these products.

I am a big fan of Liz Earles Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser, however I like to try alternatives that are on the market. I was shopping in Marks & Spencer's and came across this Rose Centifolia hot cloth cleanser by REN.



This has to be my favourite, especially for during the winter months. The cleanser is a nice luxurious texture, a little thicker than the Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish. I apply this to dry skin, make sure to work it into the skin then run the cloth that comes with the cleanser, under hot water. I then place the warm cloth over my face and allows my pores to open with the warmth. I then remover the cleanser with the cloth to receive soft smooth skin. £16 for 150mls.

The cloth acts as an exfoliation and sometimes I use my Magnitone Lucid face brush with this cleanser too and then remove with the cloth provided.

I find that this cleanser is very moisturising so possibly might not be great if you have a very oily skin type however in the winter months skin generally lacks moisture so it is defiantly worth a try.



After I have cleansed my skin I have then been using this facial toner* by Safa, I am going to be 100% honest and I am normally fussy about which toner I use and also this is a step I am most likely to skip (please don't shout at your screen I know using a toner is important). I was sent this toner to review and in all honesty I wouldn't have came across it and probably wouldn't have bought it. However I am so pleased I was sent it as I love it!

Its is an organic product and is wheat and gluten free. It also contains no alcohol which is unusual for a toner and contains 94% organic ingredients. I found that it complimented my cleanser however it took me a while to get used to using, simply because it is a step I am most likely to miss however I am enjoying using this toner at the moment.



After I have finished toning my skin I then use this gorgeous REN Vita Mineral Daily Supplement Moisturising Cream. I love this moisturiser as it leaves my skin so soft and sinks straight into my skin. The formula contains powerful antioxidants and when I apply it to my skin my skin feels very fresh and replenished. I look forward to repurchasing this in the future. £19 for 50mls



When I was purchasing my REN products I came across this, Flash Rinse 1 Minute Facial with Water activated Vitamin C. I use this when ever my skin looks like it needs a pick me up or is I am going out (a very rare occasion I know). This facial left my skin feeling rejuvenated and my skin looked instantly brighter. One thing I will say is that when I use this and the product is on my skin, my skin tends to sting. Not in an unpleasant way, but more in a way that you can feel the product working. If your not a fan of products that you can feel working on the skin then this is maybes not for you. I am really enjoying using this and I can defiantly see a difference in my skin tone. £32 for 75mls.



A while ago now I was lucky enough to try Foryou Skincare, their E1 exfoliator, I loved it so much I purchased a few of their samples and I use it religiously once a day, normally of an evening with my Magnitone Lucid. This helps to buff away dead, dry skin and leaves your face radiant. The exfoliating beads are so gentle but tough enough to gently exfoliate your skin. I would defiantly recommend this to anyone as it suits all skin types. £2 for 10mls



Lastly this is a product again that I wouldn't normally buy but I was kindly sent this Safa Skin Therapy Oil*. This product is made with 100% organic ingredients and helps to reduce skin imperfections, very dry skin and stretch marks. I have been a lover of Bio oil to help reduce my stretch marks so I was keen to test this out. I enjoy using this at an evening as it nourishes my skin and the thought that it can be helping my imperfections is a bonus. I have been enjoying using this product but no visible improvement on my stretch marks so far. (If you would like to try Safa they have competitions over on their facebook page https://www.facebook.com/SafaSkin or you can contact them over on twitter @safaskin)

I hope you have enjoyed seeing what has been helping my skin during these colder months and if you have any recommendations I would love to hear them!

If you enjoy reading my posts I would love it if you would support me and subscribe to my blog by filling in your email on the sidebar I would really appreciate it!

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Thanks for Reading

Tracy xx

Limited Addition Magnitone Lucid Review! Pixie Lott Edition!

A few weeks back now I was very excited to purchase the new limited addition version of the Magnitone Lucid Daily Cleansing & Exfoliation Brush. I was given a discount code to use and thought it was too good of an opportunity to miss and even bought two more as Christmas Gifts.



I previously owned a Clarasonic Mia however overtime unfortunately I lost it, so you can imagine how happy I was to buy a similar product at a fraction of the price!

The Magnitone Lucid comes in a few different colours including this vibrant hot pink colour. I opted for the Limited addition version as that was the hot pink option and also I love Pixie Lott too!



Inside the box you get:

Duel Mode Lucid Brush

Wireless Travel Charger

Active Clean Brush Head

Full Usage Instructions

12 Month Warranty Card

The brush has a 7 day promise so I thought that I would put that to the test, at first I was worried in case I went through the purging stage, the stage where your skin breaks out in order to get clearer. This never happened to me straight away but any spots/blemishes that came afterwards cleared up more or less straight away.



The brush itself has two modes. deep clean and sensitive, I use the sensitive mode the most and days where I have worn more makeup that day or feel like my skin just needs a more thorough clean then I use the deep clean mode.



One thing that I found very useful is the timer, the brush has a 20 second zonal timer where it allows you to concentrate on one area or you can use the 1 minute auto stop function, which is the option I use more in a morning.

Sometimes I think looking at cleansing brushes can make you think that the brush would be tough or hard on the skin, but I found this very gentle to use and no different from my original Clarisonic.

You can even use this in the shower as it is fully waterproof which is another handy feature as it cuts down time spent cleansing in a morning.

Magnitone advise that you change the brush head every three months which I would agree is acceptable and they are £15.99 so its not braking the bank and is effectively only £5 per month.

I think that it is great how you can use your normal everyday cleanser and I have found that my moisturiser sinks into my skin much better and also my makeup sits on my skin better too! If you can imagine your actually buffing the skin and removing the dead skin so naturally the application of other products will be more effective. My skin has never felt so soft and smooth!

I am so pleased I was able to purchase this brush and at £69 it would be lovely present for someone or just a treat for yourself!

I hope you have enjoyed this review and feel free to comment below.

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Enter your email address to keep up to date with all my latest posts and news directly from Little Miss Plus Size.

Thank you for reading

Tracy xx