Champagne, Depression & nostalgia!

This week has been a busy one for me, I have been doing a little bit of Christmas shopping, working full time and celebrating my mams birthday.

This time three years ago, I would never turn down a night out, a chance to get dressed up and go out and enjoy myself. So a night out in town to celebrate my mams birthday would defiantly be something I was looking forward to? Unfortunately not.

I love my mam, I love the company that was going to be attending that night and I love town! So why was this time any different?

My mam was so excited to be going out, to see her friends that she had not seen for a while but I could do was feel nervous and anxious. Leading up to Friday (her birthday) I felt more and more nervous, I wanted to make sure my outfit was nice and that I wouldn't look out of place.

Have you ever felt nervous or anxious about a celebration and would actually rather stay in the house? My mam was so excited and couldn't understand why I was so anxious which made me feel bad because I should be happy and excited too!

Anyway Friday came, I was at work in the morning and I made sure I left enough time to get ready with plenty of time. I actually enjoyed the 'dressing up' process but I was still nervous.

I am pleased to say the night went fine, I really enjoyed it and it was lovely to be out of the house and in town. Everywhere was so Christmassy and Newcastle is known for its friendly atmosphere (besides the impression Geordie Shore might give you).

I still cannot help think about where I was in my life a few years back to where I am now but I have to learn to accept things have changed but I know that in time I will get there.

I haven't attended Slimming World this week and I haven't been sticking to the plan either. I honestly think Slimming World is a great 'diet' and I hope to re-visit it in the future, however lately I have been more off plan than on so that is making me think whether this is the right plan for me and my lifestyle.

One thing I have learnt this week and would like to share with you is that if you have a Christmas party or event that you have been invited to and are feeling anxious or nervous, even thinking about not attending, try your best to go. We always imagine the worst possible scenario and most of the time everything goes ok.

I am so pleased that I made it out and it has shown me that I can do it. You can too!

Thank you so much for reading

Tracy xx

 

My Top 6 Gift Guides!

Every year I get so excited for the build up to Christmas, and one thing I love to do on a lazy Sunday or a cold winter night is to get settled with a hot drink, Lulu snuggled in and catch up on my favourite YouTube subscriptions.

Over the past few weeks I have been enjoying Christmas gift guides, I love these videos as they always give me inspiration for gift ideas or even just an idea of what is on the market.

I thought that what better way to help get my readers into the Christmas spirit than to share with you the gift guides I have been most impressed with and hopefully they will give you inspiration too!


My first gift guide is from Ruth, from A Model Recommends. I love Ruth's channel and I love that this gift guide is more focused on affordable gifts and I think that if you have a budget to stick to you will find some lovely as well as cute ideas for gifts.


If you love beauty, then I am sure you will be familiar with Vivianna does makeup, I always trust Anna's recommendations and she is so honest and genuine. When I saw that she was doing a beauty gift guide I was so excited to watch it! Hope you enjoy too! I love the Urban Decay eyeliner set!

Anytime I feel a little sad and I watch Talk Becky Talk I find myself instantly feeling happier, Becky is such a happy go lucky kind of person and I was not disappointed with her Christmas beauty gift guide!

I have been a long term subscriber to Talk Becky Talk and have recently been just as happy watching her sister Holly's videos too. So I thought I would also include Holly's Christmas Stocking filler gift guide too.

I couldn't not include Amelia Liliana, I love her YouTube channel, she always adds a bit of class to any video and I love how she has included gifts for all budgets!

Last but not least I thought I would include Lilly Pebbles Christmas beauty wish list, along with Vivianna Does Make up I love watching both ladies channels!

So those were my top picks for my favourite YouTube gift guides, which one was your favourite? Do you have any you would recommend?

Thanks for reading

Tracy xx

 

 

 

 

 

 

November Blogger Of The Month!

If you are a regular reader, you will know that last month I decided to create a new feature on my blog 'Blogger of the Month'. A post where I am able to share with you a blog and blogger that I have been loving during that particular month.

Now I am very excited to share with you my November Blogger of the Month, I recently discovered this blog and fell in love with it!



The blog in question? Prim & Propa. Now I don't know whether I was just very naïve or just out of touch but I never realised that men also blog about beauty and fashion. Silly I know because there is a huge market out there for men's grooming products and male dominated fashion brands, so why wouldn't there be male beauty & fashion bloggers?

I love bloggers who are truly passionate about what they do and what they write about and that is what attracted me to Prim & Propa.

Primal Majithia, the owner of Prim & Propa has a great sense of style and I love his fashion posts as well as his beauty posts. He really knows his stuff.

So I would like to share with a little more information about my November Blogger of the Month, Prim & Propa.

Name: Primal Majithia 
 
Name of your Blog: Prim and Propa
 
Website address: http://primandpropaofficial.blogspot.co.uk/
 
Blog category: Fashion, Beauty and Lifestyle
 
How long have you been blogging for? 

I've been blogging for less than a year, I think my first post went up in January 2014. But I was planning my blog a couple of months before because I wanted everything to be just right for everyone!
 
What inspired you to create your blog?

One of my really good friends has a Blog called Gracious Silhouettes and it was actually her who suggested it to me when I uploaded an OOTD on Christmas Day! This then became my very first blog post 'The Photo That Started It All'.
 
What do you enjoy most about blogging?

I think the blogging community is so strong and it's so nice to be able to share your opinions with everyone in the world. It's also an amazing way to be creative and keep up with a lot of trends. I've been reading blogs for a long time now and it feels so amazing to think that I am now one of them! 
 
What has been the hardest thing you have found about blogging?

I think it's coming up with blog post ideas, I went through a phase where I thought I had to write about things that people would find interesting and I made things quite hard for myself because I wasn't sure of who I was trying to please. In the end I got over it and just started writing about things that i would want to read about myself. 
 
If you could give advice to fellow bloggers trying to increase their followers/subscribers what would it be? What have you found most successful?

I think it is so important to be true to yourself and to be honest in what you write. I found that I gravitate towards blogs with a good layout and good photo's so I'm always making sure everything looks good before I post it. Also it takes a while before things start happening with your blog so don't put yourself down, just keep writing about things that make you happy and slowly but surely your following will grow.
 
If you could give someone thinking about starting a blog one bit of advice what would it be?

Do it! Write about things that interest you, write about your life, writing is such an amazing way to express yourself! Just take the first step ... If I can do it anyone can.
 
How can my readers contact you?

I absolutely love connecting with people almost as much as I love a selfie! You can find me on Twitter - @primalmajithia Instagram @primalmajithia and BlogLovin - Prim and Propa

Thank you Prim for answering my questions, I really appreciate it and I hope my readers enjoy your blog posts as much as I do!

One thing I also love is how nice Primal is, so friendly and genuinely a friendly and approachable blogger.

 

I asked Primal to share his favourite post with my readers and like most bloggers he was very modest and couldn't choose so he allowed me to pick my favourite post to share.

I have chosen to share a beauty post from Prim & Propa, hope you enjoy!

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THE SKINCARE REVIEW - BULLDOG

Hello everyone! So I'm recovering from last week still and its super evident in my skin. I don't know if anyone else experiences the same thing but my skin tends to go really bad when I'm not feeling too good. I've always tried to take really good care of my skin and I've been a bit lucky really. My mum has amazing skin and I guess that's been passed down but that doesn't mean I don't need to look after it. Taking care of your skin is super important, I think it always used to be a bit odd for Men to walk into a drugstore and pick up some skincare ... but the world has moved on! Men take just as much pride in their skin as women do. So over the week when I found my skin becoming a bit dull I made a trip to Boots and picked up some Bulldog Skincare for Men ... I may have gone a bit wild *shhh!*

Original Moisturiser - Before this I was using the Boots Botanics Oil Free Moisturiser and I really enjoyed using it so I wasn't sure what I was going to get with this one but it was just as good if not better! It has a thick consistency but really melts into the skin which means you don't need to use a lot. It tends to stay wet for a little while but sets in quite quickly once you've applied it. It also smells amazing so bonus points right there!

Original Eye Roll-On - Now this is one of my most favourite products from the line, I have always seen these available for women but men get dark circles too! So I put this in my basket without a second thought and I was not disappointed! I have been using this for less than a week but the results are already noticeable ... to me this is a miracle product! I apply it in the morning and also before I go to bed.

Original Face Wash - I tend to use this one in the morning, I don't always have time to do a proper scrub so I use the Face Wash instead. The gel warms whilst lathering and is packed with green tea. This really helps give the skin a good cleanse in the morning and clears away any debris.

Original After Shave Balm - I've never really bothered with an aftershave balm before but it was on offer so I picked it up. Its super rich and really calms the skin after shaving, you don't realise but shaving is a real work out for your skin and it can sometimes agitate the skin. This is packed with Chamomile, Cucumber and Green tea so its really good for you and it works!

Original Face Scrub - The gritty consistency in this really helps budge all the dirt that has piled onto the skin after a long day. I use this before cleansing the skin to give it a good clean. The scrub has pumice and coconut shells and so isn't as harsh on the skin.

As you can see there is a wide selection on offer and I really was not disappointed, I don't really go back to the same products time and time again because I like to try out new things but I was so impressed with the Eye Roll-On it is most definitely something I will be purchasing again. Let me know if you guys have tried any of these products or if there's anything else that you guys would recommend.

Original Moisturiser | Original Eye Roll-On | Original Face Wash | Original After Shave Balm | Original Face Scrub

 

 

 

Please go and share your loveliness that you have shown me and follow Primal's blog on Bloglovin and twitter and say hi from me!

Hope you enjoyed this post and thank you for reading!

Tracy xx

Basic Feminine Hygiene!

Now I am not sure how this post will go as it is a bit OTT however I thought that maybes that is more of a reason to go ahead with this post as many people would stay clear seeing as it is more on the personal side.

Being a larger, all my life, as far back as 11-12 years of age I have been very self conscious about my personal hygiene. In my mind, if there was a 'funny' smell people would always think that it was the 'fat' one of the group. Obviously later on in life I came to realise that all of that was just in my head.

However growing up those were my thoughts so I made sure I always stayed as fresh as can be. Running between College and two jobs was a stressful time in my life and staying clean and fresh was even more of an issue.

Over the years I have tried numerous deodorants, some smelt amazing but didn't work, others worked well but there smell was not so fresh and the ones that smelt nice and worked ended up making me blister (I have very sensitive skin).



I then discovered Anhydrol Forte, a rollerball that you would use at night for two nights, then have a rest of a day then use it again. This worked perfectly however did sting a little but I put up with it. I used to buy it from Boots however they only have it on prescription now. If you do suffer access sweating it is defiantly something I would recommend.



For the past year at least I have been very loyal to Nivea's Pearl and Beauty deodorant, it supposing offers 48hr protection, for me not quite as much but it is defiantly the best deodorant I have tried. I don't like any of the other Nivea deodorants as they do not work for me so I stick to their Pearl and Beauty range.

I tend to get sucked in and try new deodorants out on the market and recently I re-visited these, Sure and Mitchum deodorants, again these did not work for me however my mam loves them and swears that the keep her feeling fresh all day so I thought I would include them too. They both smell very refreshing just a shame that they did not work for me.



One Christmas my mam bought me this for Christmas and to this day she regrets it, not because it is a bad product but because I wont get washed with anything else! I love the stuff. Imperial Leather Foamburst, a gel shower gel that once used turns into a luxurious foam. If your not one for paying a lot for high end shower gels then try this. Its still pricey at £3.15 however it is worth it and comes in a wide range of scents. Bewitching Blackberry & Wild Fig is my favourite!



One thing I strongly believe in is oral hygiene, now I may not have the best teeth but I do brush regular and lately I have found that this toothpaste works for me, it promises whiter teeth in two weeks so I am looking forward to seeing the results. Oral B 3D White, in Brilliance

 

I recently picked up this Colgate tooth brush to as they were half price in boots and it really makes a difference and leaves your mouth feeling very clean.

Now this is where it gets a little more personal, but being bigger I tend to sweat and unfortunately sometimes suffer with blistering due to chaffing (very attractive I know!) however all that stopped about 3 years ago when I found this combination.

Femfresh Powder and Spray have been a life saver for me, the two combined make sure you stay dry and fresh all day long and they give me confidence that I smell fresh two.



Femfresh have recently brought out an active spray which is meant to be better for you if your a bit busier however the smell is not the same and I prefer the original formula however it still keeps you dry and fresh.



Alongside the spray and powder, using these Always panty liners also help you keep fresh throughout the day and again is a staple for me in my day to day life.

Now I know this might have been a little too much information but all these products combined help to keep me feeling and smell fresh throughout the day and anything that can give me a little confidence in that department is a winner.

I hope you have found some of this useful and please share any products that you think I should try.

Thanks for reading

Tracy xx

 

Ciate Nail Varnish Collection!

If your anything like me then you will understand how excited I get when I buy a new nail varnish, I remember in my teens I used to spend ages coming up with unusual designs and experimenting with colour.

I started my nail varnish fetish with Nails Inc but it soon became an expensive obsession and I would say over the past couple of years I have fell in love with Essie nail polishes, they are still a little bit pricey but they have good coverage and come a wide variety of colours.

One brand that I have been keen to try for a while now is Ciate, I am so looking forward to December because I have been lucky enough to purchase their advent calendar, however whilst in TK Maxx I found some of their polishes reduced from £9.99 to £3.99 so I thought this was the perfect opportunity to give the brand a try.

I will be the first to admit that I have a bit of OCD when it comes to shopping and tend to buy something I love in every colour so I went a bit over the top but they seemed too could to miss so I would like to share with you me finds.




I love metallic nail varnish and I had to pick these up, they looked too good not too and I think they will go with a lot of outfits during the festive season and through the winter months.


I absolutely love this colour, it is a burgundy colour, almost like a red wine colour with matching coloured shimmer. The coverage was perfect but it did need two coats and I think this will be lovely on the toes whilst wearing peep toe party shoes! The colour is Fashionista Sister and it is defiantly a fashion forward shade for winter.



This colour is simply stunning, a lovely pearl tone, looks very natural but adds a bit of something special as an alternative to a nude or French manicure, again I used two coats but I imagine you could use this over the top of a colour to give a nice pearl essence effect. This colour is in Angel Wings.



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now this colour surprised me, I wasn't sure if I was too keen it but once it was in the nails it soon became a favourite. A stunning metallic which I would use on my ring ringers or my toes, defiantly a talking point and the coverage is great, one of the best metallic I have tried. This is in the colour Gold Digger.



Now I love a glitter polish but hate those polishes that are so hard to remove but these have such a fine glitter that it isn't chunky or difficult to remove.



At first I thought that this was a Dorothy's slipper red however once I applied it it comes to life. The base tone is more of a fuchsia but has a orange glitter and it looks stunning. This is defiantly a show stopper and looks so unusual but would work for both the party season and even during the summer months, I used two coats and the coverage is perfect. This is in the colour Island hopping.



Now I would say out of all of these polishes this is my least favourite. the base is a mucky grey with a yellow/gold glitter. This colour needed three coats to fully cover the nail however it would be nice to use as a top coat with a colour underneath. This is in the colour Glametal.



I love silver especially over the winter months and this colour does not disappoint! Again I needed to use three colours to get a full coverage but this would also be nice over a colour polish as a glittery top coat. This is in the colour looking glass.



 

I love creamy colours so of course these ended up in my basket!



Now in my opinion this colour looks better on the nails than it does in the bottle, it is a grey/blue colour and looks so creamy on the nails I was really surprised at how much I liked this colour. I used two coats but you could get away with using one coat as the coverage is amazing. This is in the colour Vintage.



Another colour I was surprised by was Sharp Tailoring, it is a nice creamy consistency and a neutral colour but looks so put together. This will be an every day colour for me.



Now for a little bit of colour!



This blue colour looks so vibrant and pigmented however I would say that this was very streaky however with three coats it calmed down. For the colour I would happily paint three coats but I was a little disappointed. This is in the colour is called Power Dressing.

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I am not really a one for wearing black nail varnish but it never comes in wrong and seeing how I very rarely use a black I thought I would take advantage of the reduced price to get a high end polish in black. Again this needed three coats but I really like how glossy this is. The colour is in Unrestricted Glam.

Now last but not least I picked up this gorgeous purple colour. Its a very dark purple and again would look great on toes during the party season. Tis also needed three coats and is in the colour Burlesque. After trying a wide variety of finishes from Ciate I would say I am happy with my purchases and I prefer the glitters and creamier consistency's as they give the best colour pay off.

Which is your favourite? What brand do you recommend?

Thank you for reading Tracy xx

Weekly Update!

 



So if you follow me on Twitter you will know that this week at Slimming World I lost another 5lb! So that means 10lb in total! I am so please with how my weight loss is going and I received my half stone award too!



So two weeks of following the plan and I am 10lb lighter I could ask for a better result.

Lately (touch wood) I have been rather happy in myself, yes things have gone wrong and I have had the odd bad day but overall I have been ok. Living with depression can be up and down and sometimes you don't know whether your coming or going but at the moment things seem to be ok.

I'm not too sure if I mentioned that I am no longer taking my anti depressants and I am seeing a councillor to help me talk through my issues rather than keep them bottled up.

I can honestly say I think that I would not have been able to handle my depression without blogging, blogging has gave me something to focus on and its something I am really enjoying.



This week I made a exciting purchase and bought a Magnitone Lucid facial cleansing brush so I am looking forward to trying that and hope to do a full review in the future.



Recently my exfoliating cleanser from Foryou Skincare finished so I decided to repurchase. Seeing as they do travel sizes I decided to pick up a few of those as they are easy for traveling etc.

So that's just a little update on my week hope you are well and thanks for reading

Tracy xx

Yankee Candle Advent Calendars

I love the whole new style of 'advent' calendars that are on the market now. You may have seen my previous post and current giveaway for a Ciate advent calendar and a lot of brands are starting to release there own branded advent calendar now.

When I was younger (or at least young enough to get away with it!) I would love going and picking my advent calendar for that year, There were always a lot of different designs, with a chocolate for the 24 days leading up to Christmas and then something a bit special for Christmas day.

Now being older and trying to cut back on sweet treats I think its great that brands are making alternative to chocolate calendars.

Many of the alternative calendars about unfortunately, are quite expensive but given that you are receiving a product I guess its worth treating yourself at Christmas.



When I was out shopping for Christmas presents last week I saw that Collectables had a sale on and everything had a small reduction. I love looking at the candles in there and have been a fan of Yankee candles from the beginning. My favourite scent is Soft Blanket.

As I was looking at the candles I saw that they stocked Yankee Candle advent calendars.



This year they have two calendars, Christmas Present and Christmas Past. Each calendar gives you 24 tea lights, Christmas Present gives you 25 tea lights and Christmas Past gives you 24 tea lights and a votive candle on Christmas Eve.



My obsession with Yankee Candle's came from QVC and over the years I have bought many and now have my mam addicted to them too, so when I saw that they had two calendars, I bought one for me and one for my mam.



My mam likes a lot of the more traditional smells so I think that the Christmas Past calendar will be hers and I am keen on trying some new scents so I will keep the Christmas Present one.



Each tea light burns between 4-6 hours so I think I will be burning a candle each evening in the lead up to Christmas to help me get in the festive spirit.

I managed to pick the Christmas Past calendar up for £21 and the Christmas Present one up for £18 so they are not too expensive but defiantly a luxury purchase for me!

Unfortunately I have not been able to find these on Collectable's website and I have managed to find them on amazon but they are a bit more expensive, Click here to buy!

Which advent calendars have you bought this year? Have you entered my Ciate Giveaway? The winner will be announced 24th November!

Hope your all well and looking forward to the festive season!

Thanks for reading

Tracy xx

November Primark Haul!

So last Saturday I decided to brave the shops and do a bit of Christmas shopping and decided to pick up a few bits from Primark. Now if your anything like me, I love Primark but I hate how busy it gets so I tend to go early on when it is a bit quieter.



With winter upon us I thought that I would see what winter pieces they were stocking this year and I thought I would share with you what I picked up! I am the type of person who is warm when it's snowing and tend not to wear a coat because I over heat. With that being said I still get chilly so I thought a few of these accessorise would keep me warm!



There is nothing worse than have wet, cold feet and wearing boots in the winter I like to wear fluffy cosy socks so I picked up these packs to help keep my toes warm. These thick navy socks would be perfect for wearing with boots and the snowflake pattern makes them very festive! So fluffy and cozy with a silver thread running through and at £2 for two pairs they were a steal!



Now I'm not one for being too adventurous with fashion so when I saw these I thought they were too cute not to buy and they will be hidden away so I wont look to silly, the gray marl is perfect and the cute little penguin face adds a nice touch! These to were very inexpensive and came in at £2. Great for stocking fillers too!



I was looking around the sock department and noriced these slippers! They are just what I was looking for, I like slippers that have a tough sole so I can take the bins out, hang the washing on the line and not feel the ground.



They had a wide variety of colours and the teal one just stood out for me as they look more expensive. I also picked my mam a pair up for Christmas in a nice berry colour. The inside is so fluffy they will be great to pop on in the morning when the floor is colder. They were £4 so a bargain!



Now all though I do like slippers, I like slipper socks too, they are less restrictive and sometimes more cosy as you can put your feet up, sleep with them on etc. I love the fair isle design on these and the pom pom's just add a bit of character, These were only £4 so I thought why not!



I am renowned for having problems with my ears, especially in the winter months and I tend to get ear ache quite easily, every year yet I have looked at earmuffs in stores and been tempted to buy them but the thought of looking silly has always stopped me!



When I saw these all black earmuffs and only cost £2 I thought even if I keep them in my bag and in the dark nights nobody would see, or even walking Lulu. Now obviously there is nothing wrong with wearing earmuffs, no matter how jolly they are, this is just me being me with my confidence issues!



I always tend to get cold hands, but I hate the feeling of wearing gloves, so I love these fingerless gloves as they are a cable knit so nice and warm but they also have the option of turning them into mittens which will be handy when it does get freezing!  And at £3 I wouldn't be worried about losing one (which I generally do!).



I saw these and couldn't resist! I love novelty gloves and think that these are too cute not to wear and they happened to just jump into my basket! oops! Well at £3 not too much damage was made.



I think they are meant to be pandas and they look so cosy and even have a rhinestone to attach the mitten past to the glove.



I love scarves, I had them in all colours/textures but recently we had a house flood and all mine were damaged so I was in need of a new winter scarf. If you love scarfs head to Primark they have loads, and they are all very pretty.

I came across a lot of Snood's, so thought I would give one a go, they had a large variety and all very inexpensive. I discovered this black cable knit snood and I loved it! the outside is cable knit and the inside is a fluffy cosy material so it will  keep me super cosy.



Now this one was a bit more pricey than the others because of the two textures but still came in at £6 so not bad at all when you compare prices with Topshop etc.



I love tote bags for carrying my extra things to work such as lunch, coffee, cups etc but in the winter the material tends to get a bit battered from the rain and with them being material they tend to soak through. So when I saw this bag I thought it would do the trick!

Its is a faux leather tote bag with gold hardware and a leather tassel. the inside fastens with a popper and it also comes with a tablet pouch which I will propyl use for make up! I thought given the material this would be perfect for what I need and at £10 it wasn't much more expensive than a tote bag would be.



I don't know about you but when I am at the till waiting to pay, I always get drawn into the goodies on display, this time it was this lunch bag that caught my eye. It is the perfect sixe for my lunch and will fit perfectly in the bag I bought. It was only £1 so I picked up two!



So that was my Primark haul and I hope it has inspired you to visit your local store.

Thanks for reading

Tracy xx