Say hello!

So as i'm sitting here on a chilly Monday night, in my onesie, drinking a cup of tea and flicking through bloglovin' reading some posts, I start to think about blogging as a whole. It's a strange concept really, isn't it? You write your thoughts and feelings onto a webpage then other people read it, and they may even get some inspiration out of it or go out to buy the product you recommended. The blogging community is such a lovely thing to be involved in, and I feel so privileged that people accept me into that community. People actually take time out to write lovely comments on some of my posts, follow my blog and just listen to me. 

I've spoken to some really great people, whether it be via email, instagram or just on comments. Every time I get an email I get so excited because it's more or less always about something to do with my blog. But I wouldn't go so far in saying that I've made some real close friends, sure I've spoken to some people but it's never been much more than a quick chat. I really want to change this. So many people in the blogging community make lifetime friendships out of doing what they do, and I would love that too! I'd love to be able to speak to people who have a blog too, I don't really have a friend who I can talk about my one main passion which is beauty, so meeting someone who has a blog too will be an opportunity to do this. Nobody really knows about my blog (post on that coming your way soon) so speaking to someone with a blog could be really beneficial. 

I'd absolutely be over the moon if I made a lifelong friend through blogging, one of my main hobbies and there's a chance to make some friends out of it - bonus! I'm always checking my e-mails so if anyone would like to get in touch then please do (makeupyourmindx@gmail.com), I promise you I don't bite haha! I love looking through instagram pictures too so if you want me to follow you then follow me on "makeupyourmindblog". 

Lots of love, Lucy x

Liebster Award

Hello everyone, welcome to February! Only 17 days until I turn 16, eep! Today's post is going to be a little different. I recieved a comment on my previous blog post from the lovely Ally from AllysFashions letting me know that she nominated me for the Liebster Award. 

(this picture is not my own, credit to:
http://avoidingatrophy.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/liebster-award.html)

I saw a few posts floating around about the Liebster Award but I'd never really looked into it. If you're like me, and was oblivious to what the Liebster Award actually is then it is an award for bloggers who have under fewer followers or who are newer to the blogging world. It's an opportunity for you to share your favourite smaller bloggers and allow your readers to see their blog too. It is lovely to be awarded with this because it's one of the little things you can get when you're a blogger. It's a way to put your blog out there and getting it viewed by others. It really is a compliment for all of the work and effort gone into your blog.

The rules for the Liebster Award:

1. Link back to the blogger who nominated you - Ally.

2. Answer the 11 questions which were given to you by the blogger who nominated you.

3. Pick 11 nominees but it can't be the person who nominated you.

4. Tell the nominees that you've nominated them.

Questions:

1) Top 3 lip products?

 MUA lipsticks in shade 3 + 13 and Rimmel 1000 kisses lip tint in "Carry On Cherry".

2) Favourite season?

Autumn.

3) Staple fashion piece?

Tartan scarf.

4) Why did you start blogging?

It seemed fun, I've always wanted to start but never knew how it would turn out for me. But I absolutely love sharing my thoughts about things with people who share the same interested.

5) What are your hobbies?

Shopping, Baking, Socialising with friends, and obviously blogging.

6) Favourite make up brand?

Rimmel or MUA.

7) Favourite nail polish brand?

Barry M.

8) Favourite colour?

Blue or burgundy/marroon.

9) What is your dream job?

Midwife or nurse.

10) Who is your favourite celebrity?

Demi Lovato if she's counted as a celebrity rather than a singer!

11) Favourite shop?

Primark and Boots.

Bloggers who I nominate:

Pippa - The Simple Life Of Fashion

Sarah - Sarah Jones

Libby - Libby Jade

(sorry if you've already recieved an award)

(only 3 nominations as nearly everyone who i follow has 300+ followers:()

Questions for you to answer:

1. Favourite book?

2. 3 products you can't live without?

3. Favourite recipe?

4. Why did you start blogging?

5. Which country do you live in?

6. Favourite lipstick?

7. Favourite youtuber/blogger, why?

8. Countries you'd most like to visit?

9. Favourite skin care product?

10. Favourite, if any, high end make up product?

11. What are your hobbies?

Lucy x

Where did I go?

You may or may not have noticed but I haven't been about on the blogosphere for 8 whole days (literally feels like forever). I apologize for not being a very good blogger! The past few days have been hectic, I've had assessment after assessment in lessons, I've had a few fall outs with some friends (but don't worry your little head, everything's sorted!)). I just haven't been in the right mood to blog, my heads been all over the place. 

I feel like if I haven't been blogging for a while then I need to come back with an amazing post that's going to woo all of you, but I can't do that. I'm going to get back into blogging and I will be posting regular posts every weekend like i usually do. I've just had a bit of trouble balancing real life with the blogging life, schools really got in the way. I've not had the time to sit down and write a full post about a certain topic, the amount of homework and revision I'm doing at the minute is outstanding. Also in some cases I've just simply run out of ideas for posts and I just haven't felt confident in my blog. 

This is where you come into this, I'd love suggestions for blog posts in the comments or tell me anything that you think will really give me a boost for blogging again. I love blogging so much, it's something I can do to escape from the real world of dreaded school work and painful exams. 

Thank you so much for being a supporter of my blog, I love every single one of you who comments on or follows my blog! 

lucy x

Thank you!

Right.. Guys, I don't have a clue how to start this post. I'm lost for words and have been since last night when I received one of the most exciting e-mails of my life. I received an e-mail from bloglovin' letting me know that I had reached 100 followers! 

Saying that my little blog has 100 followers doesn't sound right, it's such a shock! I started my blog thinking that I would never reach 100 followers, let alone reaching it in about 6 months! I'm literally so ecstatic about it - I haven't stopped smiling. I'm so glad I've reached this milestone, it's lovely to know that people enjoy my blog and take their time to follow it and come back to read posts! 
I'm gutted that I didn't have time to arrange a giveaway for my lovely followers, maybe I will when I reach 150 followers! Then I'd be able to give back to my followers :)

I want to thank every single one of you for following my blog on bloglovin', I want to give everyone a massive hug to say thank you! You will never realise how much this means to me, all you had to do was click "follow" and it's made me the happiest girl ever ever ever! I haven't been putting up posts on a schedule for the past few weeks due to my school work getting in the way, so I'm sorry but I will get my butt back into gear haha!

THANK YOU AGAIN! *virtual hug*

Simple Oil Balancing Facial Scrub Review

Finding suitable skincare items for me is so difficult. My skins like a rollercoaster, somedays it's oily and some days its dry. But as soon as I find a product that helps my skin out, I stick to it and never abandon it. This is how I feel with this product that I am going to review for you today. I received the simple oil balancing facial scrub for Christmas and have used it everyday since. 

I use it every morning once I have used my L'oreal Micellar Solution to remove all of my make-up. All I do is apply a pea sized amount to the areas I wish to use it. As the bottle states "clears 64% of blackheads in 7 days", I use it in the places I get the most amount of blackheads and oilyness. This means I use it on my chin, nose and forehead. I spend about 30-50 seconds rubbing it in circular motions on these areas. 

I love the consistency of this product, it has very fine micro beads which exfoliate and remove any nasty bits from my skin easily. It is a white/ cream colour, but once it has been rubbed into the skin it turns see-through. It is very easy to remove, it suggests to splash water onto your face but I prefer to wipe it off with a face cloth as it gets all of the micro beads off nicely. 

I can always tell when I use this product. It leaves the areas I've used it in so smooth and fresh feeling. I have noticed a difference in the amount of blackheads in my skin and also the way it looks. My skin looks a lot more healthier. When I miss a day of using this I always know - my skin just isn't as smooth! I also love that it's only around £4 and it's available pretty much everywhere! It's a real bargain! I adore this product and is now something which I will use everyday. It states that the product is gentle enough for sensitive skin but I do find it fairly harsh on my skin, but that's the type of thing I like. So I'm not sure if I would recommend this to people with sensitive but I absolutely love this product. It's a 10/10 from me!

Is there any skincare products that you rave about? 

2014 Blogger Challenge | Inspiration

Hello everyone, today is exciting because it is my first post of the 2014 blogger challenge! It is also my first post for 2014! I cannot believe how fast 2013 flew by, it was such a great year. There was some real highlights and I'd just like to wish you all a very happy 2014! But anyway, onto the post, you can read more about the 2014 blogger challenge here. The first post is all about inspirational quotes and things which will motivate you in the new year. 

I found several quotes from our good old pal tumblr and they are what I am going to share with you all today.

I love this quote because it means that no matter what you do, if you try you will succeed one way or another.

This quote shows that if you're dedicated to something then you will get what you wish for.

This quote gets me all giddy - just to think that if you smile and someone sees that, then that could change their mood all together! I'm always one for helping people. 

This quote has got to be my favourite! It makes me keep my head up and realise that if I want things to go my way in life then I've got to think positive!

Well that's it, my first post for the 2014 blogger challenge. I really enjoyed writing this post, is there any quotes that give you inspiration for 2014? 

Other Christmas Gifts!

Afternoon my lovely readers. Today I'm going to be sharing with you some other gifts I got for Christmas. If you haven't seen the beauty things I received then you can click here. I'm so so appreciative to my mum, dad and the rest of my family who got me presents. I was truly spoil this year! My main present this year was an iPhone 4S and I was absolutely ecstatic when I opened it up! I also got other things which I am going to share with you now. 

Throw and Hot Water Bottle - Primark, Wellie Socks, Multi Coloured Beanie - TU clothing at Sainsburys

Tartan Snood - F&F at Tesco, Big Ben Tweety T-shirt + Pajamas - Primark, Bed Socks - Unknown

All of the above from Dunelm

Colony Costal Breeze Candle - Dobbies

Strawberries and Cream shower gel, Nemo - Disney Store, Tangle Teezer - Boots, Shower Comb - Wilkinsons

Love Sign and 2014 Diary - Wilkinsons

And of course, no Christmas is complete without mountains of sweets and chocolately goodness! I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas, what did you receive?

Beauty things I got for Christmas!

In my previous Merry Christmas post, I mentioned that I would be doing a "What I got for Christmas post", but I have decided to split my presents into two posts: beauty and miscellaneous things. I know Christmas isn't just about presents but I love seeing what people got for Christmas so I thought I'd share that with you! I hope you all had a wonderful day if you celebrate Christmas, I did! :) Anyway, onto the presents!

Sleek Contour Kit - Light, Sleek Blush - Rose Gold, Collection Concealer - Light, Collection Illuminating Touch  Concealer - Natural.

Rimmel Stay Matte Powder - Translucent, MUA Undress Me Too Palette, NYC Eye Brow Pencil - Blonde, Revlon Eye Shadow Contour Brush. 

Osco 3 draw and pen pot which I will store my make up in.

Tresemme Big hair set, Body works body butters, L'oreal Skin Perfection set, Tresemme Heat Protectant, Tresemme Texture Styling, Simple Oil Balancing Scrub, Simple Face Mask, Lush Rock Star Soap.

What did you get for Christmas?

Christmas Wrapping

Only 6 days to go guys, where has time gone! It doesn't feel like long ago that I was opening last years presents, now I'm wrapping this years! It's crazy!

One of the best things about Christmas for me is the wrapping. I do most of my mums wrapping for her because she cannot stand it But for some reason I absolutely love it! This year I wanted to be very vintage and traditional, I'm not quite sure which word describes it best, I'll let you decide that. 

But anyway, I went for the brown paper theme. I got some parcel paper from my dad's work but you can get it from anywhere. I got some red and white ribbons from tesco and hey presto! Super cute present. There are many different types of ribbon available but I thought red and white was fairly traditional :) 

How have you wrapped your Christmas presents this year? 

Instagram!

Hello everyone, just a quick post to let you all know that I have made my blog an Instagram account!

It's username is "makeupyourmindblog". I will be uploading photographs whenever I can of all different things and I'd love it if you all followed me :) 

OOTN | House party!

Friday just gone I was invited to a house party by one of my best friends, Zoe. I genuinely didn't have a single clue on what to wear, so after a lot of searching through blogs I finally came up with an outfit which I'm now going to share with you!

I wore this cream, lace crop top which was from New Look in the Generation section, this was only £9.99 in the summer. I paired it with a pair of high waisted, wet look disco pants which I got from Primark for £7.00 which is a bargain. I wore my maroon converse with this to add a little bit of colour and wore a red lip for the same effect! 

What do you wear to house parties?

Button swap!

Hello everyone, just a quick random post here! I just wanted to write this to say that I am up for doing button swaps with anyone who wants too! A button swap is basically an advertising opportunity where I add your button to my blog and you add mine to yours. Everyone gains a bit more publicity from this so everyone wins! If you would like to do a button swap, please leave a comment on this post, or e-mail me at: makeupyourmindx@gmail.com :)

British Blogger Selection | Favourite Clothes Shop

Hello everyone! Today I'm going to be doing my second post for the British blogger selection. If you don't know what this is you can click here. 

The theme for this week is our favourite clothes shop! I love shopping for clothes but there is only one store that stands out.. guess what it is? yep, you guessed it! Primark! 

I absolutely adore shopping in Primark. Everything is so cheap and cheerful. Primark don't just do clothes they do other bits too, which I love because you can always go in there and find many different things which you wouldn't normally find if you just went to somewhere like Topshop, e.g. homeware items!

The price of all Primark items are so so cheap and affordable for everyone. They always keep up to date with the trends to make sure they're offering the best range of items. The quality of some items aren't always the best, but you get what you payed for and if you look after the item then it'll last you longer than you thought it would. 

The one thing I don't like about Primark is that they don't have a website where you can buy things off, arrghhhh! 

What's your favourite clothing store?

  

2014 Blogger Challenge

Whilst looking through people blogs, I come across some wonderful things that I want to get involved in, and this is one! It's the 2014 Blogger Challenge. You can read more about it here.

Anyone can get involved in this challenge, no matter what your blog topic is. But basically you get emailed something to write a post about, twice a month! It's that simple. 

All you have to do is contact Gaby via e-mail with your blog URL, e-mail address and name. 

Are you involved in any challenges? 

British Blogger Selection | Q&A

Hello everyone, today i'm going to be doing my first post as a part of the #BritishBloggerSelection, if you want to know more about this click here. This week the "theme" is a Q&A, so here goes! :) 

1: Why do you like blogging?

Well I like blogging as I like to be able to have my own little space on the internet where I can say what I like and talk about things that I'm interested in. I like meeting new people and looking through other peoples blogs, everyone is so lovely!

2: How did you come up with your blog name?

Well I was talking to my friend, and all I kept saying was "I can't make up my mind" - then it clicked. It's kind of a play on words, because my blog is about make up. 

3: Where in the UK are you from?

I am from the East of England.

4: Favourite colour?

Either blue or burgundy.

5: Do you like Lana Del Ray?

I wouldn't say I was a massive fan but I like some of her songs.

6: Do you have any hidden talents?

Nope I don't :(

7: Celebrity crush?

Hmm, one direction boys (obvs!), Channing Tatum, Shia LaBeouf.

8: Favourite blog of all time?

This is difficult because I'm still finding new blogs, but I'd have to say Zoella and Louise (sprinkle of glitter) - I've watched them on YouTube for a long time so I love reading their blogs.

9: What made you want to join #BritishBloggerSelection?

I just liked the idea of being able to interact with other people and discover different blogs who are from the UK x

If you're taking part in the #BritishBloggerSelection let me know as I'd love to check out your blog.

British Blogger Selection

Hey everyone! This is just a quick random post, but I just contacted Ellie from Little Vintage Camera to see if I could get involved in the British Blogger Selection. Of course she said yes! The aim of this is to get as many British Bloggers together as she can which I think is a lovely idea because in the blogging world you don't really know where people come from! So what's involved? All that you have to do is ask to join, you can do this by contacting Ellie, then each week she will send you an e-mail of a theme for a post. From there you blog about anything related to that theme. 

I really like the whole idea of bringing several different bloggers in Britain together because most of the people you've probably never heard of, so it's a socializing opportunity too. 

To be a part of this all you need to do is check out Ellie's blog.  

Primark Haul | November 2013

I never have enough patience with Primark, it's normally super busy so I, most of the time, can never be bothered to have a look. But today was different, I knew from reading a few blog posts and watching a few YouTube videos that Primark had a few gems in! 

The first item I got was a plain black skater style dress. This was a bargain at £5. It's just a simple skater dress, the material is stretchy so it fits nicely. This isn't short, it comes just above the knee. I'll style this with some black tights and a cardigan or jumper over top.

Next, I picked up a similar dress but this time in a red/purple colour. This colour is so autumnal but wearable throughout all of the seasons. The arms on this are 3/4 length which is perfect for winter. Again, this comes just above the knee and was £5. I will wear this the same way I do the black one. These dresses are such a staple piece and affordable. Bonus!

I next got this chunky cardigan. It's black, white and grey so it's wearable with pretty much everything. It doesn't need to be buttoned up but there are a few buttons just in case you prefer it to be done up. This was just £10 so will be great to throw over anything, including the dresses!

The last two pieces I got were this dungaree type things, but it's a skirt so I'm not sure what to call it, oops! But you know what I mean. This was £12 I also purchased a white t-shirt which is called "My Boyfriend T", it's just a plain t-shirt with rolled up sleeves, a very simple piece! This was just £3.50

So, that's everything I purchased from Primark, have you got any pieces from Primark lately?