Zoella | Beauty, Fashion & Lifestyle Blog

My "Go To" Every Day Hairstyles.

2013-06-07T08:54:00.000+01:00

I get asked an awful lot how I do many of the hairstyles I wear on an every day basis. I don't actually spend a lot of time on my hair if i'm honest with you, the thing that really takes the longest is washing and blowdrying, after that I lose any patience I may once have had to spend lot's of time on the styling.

I recently filmed this "How To" video on my YouTube channel, and wanted to post it here for those of you who many not have seen it or are interested in finding out more about how I achieve these different styles.

Let me know if you found this helpful and tweet me pictures of your attempts!

www.twitter.com/zozeebo

♥

Mykonos | The Holiday of Dreams

2013-06-05T16:33:00.000+01:00

The last time I went on any sort of relaxing holiday was when I was 16 and I joined my friend and her family for a week in Portugal. Since then, there has been Playlist in Florida, which I thoroughly enjoyed, but it wasn't the sort of holiday where you lie by the pool, listen to music and take afternoon naps on the sun beds. Over the last couple of days, I joined a group of friends on a trip to Mykonos in Greece. I'd been to Greece before, Rhodes to be exact when I was 13, so I knew it was a beautiful country, but I had no idea how utterly breath taking Mykonos would be.

Bikini: Asos - Top: Zara - Shorts: Zara - Sandals: Primark

We stayed at a boutique suite hotel called "Bill & Coo" which, depending on the time of year you visit and the sort of room you require can be in budget or very expensive, so if you're looking into a holiday there, check the prices online with the different seasons and months.

I can safely say that this is the nicest hotel I have ever stayed in abroad. I had a suite with a hot tub on the balcony and private sun beds (perfect if you are one of those sorts of people who prefer a little *ehem* naked *cough* private tanning (trust me, some people did do this). The rooms were so clean and modern and had everything you could ever need. I was like a child on Christmas Day entering the room.

Dress: River Island - Bag: Zara - Lipstick : Rimmel Kate Moss 107

Here's a familiar face, it's my gorgeous friend Tanya, and here we are all glammed up for a meal out in the town of Mykonos which was only a 5 minute walk from the hotel. We are also seen here, pretending to drive one of these bad-ass quad bikes. I don't quite think we fit the "bad-ass-quad-bikers" category.

This is by the port where a lot of the restaurants and bars are situated. It looked so beautiful as the sun was setting and with all the little (and large) boats bobbing on the water.

Dress: Ted Baker

Here we are again on our last night heading out for dinner in Mykonos. There are so many cute and quaint little restaurants there, it's a shame we didn't stay longer than 4 days as it would have been amazing to have been to many more.

There were lot's and lots's of stray kitty cats in Mykonos that would just sit elegantly on stairs and shop doorways as people passed through the town.

The restaurant we visited on the last night was called "Interni" (pictures below) and it was honestly one of the nicest places i've ever eaten. I ordered a cherry tomato and basil pasta and it was the best pasta i've ever had my life, alongside a delicious virgin mojito (my current go-to beverage)

Here's a snap of me on a wall at sunset with the sea and beach behind me and another shot of Tanya and I on the stairs that led down into the Interni garden restaurant.

Just generally walking through the town was one of my favourite parts of the holiday, besides great food, sun and amazing company, the streets were so clean, white and fresh and everything looks so idyllic and beautiful (especially at night).

This is the section that could quite possibly make your mouth water. We found a cute little ice cream and crepe shop called "Trio Bambini" and they had the most amazing selection of ice creams and crepes. I am a HUGE sucker for crepes, they are my absolute favourite, and there was a crepe shop round every corner in Mykonos. (This is one of my many reasons for wanting to live there haha)

The hotel pool at night was one of the many highlights of staying at "Bill and Coo". It always looked amazing. There were little twinkling lights at the bottom of the pool making it look so magical, and then candle lit lanters surrounding it. It was nice to lie out after being out for dinner by the bar and just gaze at the stars on the sun beds and chill out by the pool.

Top: Zara - Shorts: River Island - Blazer: New Look - Sunnies: Ray Ban

On one of the days we were there, we popped to Nammos beach which was incredible. The beach was so pretty and the water was so clear. The only thing I will say, is that it's not really somewhere to go and relax (unless you pick a sun bed towards the right of the beach) as there is quite loud music and cocktails being poured and served every 3 seconds. It's a very glamorous place to go with your girly friends to get quite tipsy, but not so much for a relaxing afternoon. We still made the most of it and dipped our toes in the sea :)

The hotel was the nicest place i've ever stayed, all the staff were so polite, accommodating and friendly and the food and service were both impeccable. There was not one thing I would have changed about my stay there. The views were incredible, the rooms were amazing and the Island itself was so pretty. I would definitely go back. I am now writing this blog post with post-holiday blues and wish I could live there forever and ever. I can't wait to start planning my next visit. I had the best 5 days ever!

♥

Nostalgia | Baby Zoella & Retro Outfits

2013-05-17T20:51:00.002+01:00

"Dribbling Sailor"

My Dad was searching through the attic a few days ago and he found some old photo albums covered in dust and very much un-loved. I went through some of them and found old baby & toddler photos of myself and my brother Joe. I thought some of them were worth sharing with you all, as they were too juicy not to. I post a lot of photos of me now, but I thought it would be interesting for you to see me before too. I always LOVE looking at friends' baby albums and seeing the similarities in both personality and facial features. Plus, who doesn't love babies?

"Hello? Is it me you're looking for?" Not sure what tickled me so much here!

"Fatty little ankles, teeny feet & blonde curly hair" "Chillin' in the garden with my subtle hat"

"Oh hey, just chillin' in my retro dolls pram like a little victorian child..."

"Apparently I was being a spaceman" "Someone vomitted 90's on me..."

"Funky sunglasses and the beginning of my collar obsession?" "I was a thumb sucker and I wore jumpsuits and flatcaps"

"This made me chuckle, Plus, Joe looks like a Mitchell brother - Eastenders watchers will know what I mean"

"Spots and Stripes and another collar" "Crazy face, crazy hair and crazy bubbles"

"Holiday snap! Joe is a sailor and I am..well...I'm not sure, but I'd wear those shorts now..."

"Saved my favourite until last, this is one of me and Joe in the garden. It just makes me smile so much"

I felt so nostalgic and happy flicking through lot's of old photos, and it reminded me that we all take so many digital photos these days and leave them on our memory cards and laptops and never print any out! I love having them on there, don't get me wrong, but there is something a lot more special about a photograph when you can hold it in your hand and recover it years later. I'm definitely going to be printing lot's of my favourite photographs and putting them into albums and frames!

If you're a blogger, i'd love to see old photographs of you too. It's nice to see outfit of the days and know what we all look like now, but it's even more exciting to see what we used to look like and what we used to wear. Plus, this brought back so many happy memories for me! Get scanning your old snaps and reminisce the old days.

♥

Paris

2013-04-08T14:10:00.000+01:00

I've never been to France before, and Paris was the one place I had always wanted to visit, so when I did get the chance to go, obviously I took some snaps to share with you all. I ate far too many crepes and macarons and came to the conclusion that Paris is very expensive. I also did a bit of sneaky shopping in Mac, Sephora and City Pharma which is the shop that everyone goes to when in Paris to pick up cheaper french skincare (which might I add, was an INTENSE experience - think smallest ailes in the world with double the amount of people for the available capacity). That was definitely a grab and run shopping spree. I got to see some of the main attractions of Paris, including the Eiffel Tower (which when seen in real life is slightly more disappointing than you might think, but still beautiful from afar none the less), the Notre Dame which was amazing inside and out, the "lovers bridge" across the river Seine and the Louvre Museum. I had an amazing couple of days & highly recommend that if you've not yet hopped across to Paris, please do (Although be reminded that the taxi drivers drive like absolute maniacs & I did think I was going to be involved in many an accident).

Au revoir mes amis x

Sometimes we need to escape

2013-03-12T21:02:00.001Z

Sometimes, when life catches up with you, and you find yourself doing everything at a million miles per hour and forgetting to breathe, it's good to just take some time away. Which is exactly what I did. As you may, or may not know, the Isle of Wight is one of those places where I always feel relaxed and have such happy childhood memories there. When i'm feeling stressed, the beach and the sea are the perfect de-stressing combination. I think I could sit on an empty beach all day, just thinking and doing nothing. It's important that we all take some time away from our busy schedules and life's many stresses and have some recuperation. I love the Isle of Wight because it's only around 2 and a half hours away and a short ferry ride and you feel as though you are detached from the usual familiar surroundings. There are so many quaint little towns and villages and it only takes you around 30 minutes to get from one side of the island to the other, and you just feel as though you are surrounded by beaches and the sea. It was so nice to get away! Here are some snaps from my IOW visit. Sadly the one place I really wanted to go was BlackGang Chine (an old childhood favourite) and that was shut for the winter (re-opening on the 22nd I believe), so I JUST missed out on that one, but come summertime, I'll be back and hyped up for it, haha! I hope you like my photos and that they also bring you a nice sense of calm.

Places I advise to you to visit :

BlackGangChine (once it's open)

Godshill (The Model Village & Chocolate Island - The hot chocolates are INCREDIBLE)

Shanklin & The Chine

Ryde

Sandown Zoo

Owl & Monkey Haven

Ventnor

Go for random drives where you don't really know where you are going, and anywhere that you see a few cars pulled over, just join them. Chances are they are watching an incredible view of the sunset or know a secret pathway to a remote beach.

Do you have that one place where you can completely escape life to? Have you ever been to the Isle of Wight?

My Everyday Makeup

2013-02-20T18:33:00.000Z

I thought I would do a little post about the makeup I currently use on a daily basis. I always get into a little routine with the same products then once I get bored, I'll switch it up a bit and change the colour products around like lipstick, blush and eyeshadow. I've been rocking a dark or bright lip for so long, that I wanted to dull it down a bit and go a bit more natural. I'm enjoying it a lot. I feel like my face looks a bit more fresh. These are the current products i'm using!

Nars Sheer Glow in "Mont Blanc"

Maybelline FitMe Concealer in "Light"

Erase Paste Concealer in "No.1"

Sleek Blush Face Contour Kit in "Light"

Sleek Blush in "Mirrored Pink"

HD Brows Kit in "Vamp"

Estee Lauder Eyeshadow Duo in "Raisins"

Benefit "They're Real" Mascara

Stila Smudge Stick in "Damsel"

YSL Rouge Volupte Lipstick in "13 - Peach Passion"

I hope you enjoyed this little update. I love having a nosey into everyone's makeup bags and I also find it useful to see what others are loving so I thought you'd like to see mine too. I want to review a few of the products mentioned separately as they deserve an individual rave, but for now I thought it'd keep it sweet and simple.

Rose Gold "Yes" Bracelet

2013-02-14T22:43:00.000Z

Last week, I was perusing the website "Etsy" which, if you aren't familiar with, is a site where small businesses can make and sell specific items. Since I am going through a major obsession with rose gold, I searched "Rose gold bracelet" and found a shop which offered cute bracelets with words bent into them. They had words like "Love" and "Hope"(as well as other cute designs) which I toyed between for a while, and then noticed that they offered a custom service for any word of your choice. If you have read my "Just Say Yes" post, you will know that I have decided to say yes to a lot more things in order to break free of my anxiety and panic disorder and to live life to the fullest that I can. As a reminder of this, I thought it would be nice to get a bracelet that simply said "yes" so that when I look down at my wrist i'm always met with a positive vibe and a little nudge of "just do it, what's the worse that can happen". They offer the bracelet in many different sizes so no worries if you have a teeny wrist like me or a slightly wider one. Including postage and packaging this bracelet only cost me £18.27 which for a silver plated bracelet that will mean quite a lot to me, is really not bad at all. I really love it and have already worn it lot's. I love that although it's so simple, it has a lot of personal meaning and also looks so cute.

Is there anything you'd love to get written on a bracelet? A reminder of something? Or maybe something that would mean a lot to you?

Link for the shop: CREATIVEdesignbyTHAO

Instagram Prints

2013-02-03T13:00:00.000Z

Who can you spot?

As most of you might be aware, I am a little obsessed with Instagram. Being a lover of photography this little iphone app is something I am always using and loving and I have now clocked up a rather large amount of photos on there. It's a shame to have all those memories and pretty photos trapped in your phone, so to rectify this problem, I used a site called Printstagr.am to print out my favourite images. I'm not too sure where i'll put them yet, but i'm pleased with how they came out, and all in such good quality. You can buy them in stacks of 12 in 2 different sizes. You can choose between mini prints or slightly larger more "polaroid" style, which is what I opted for. The website also allows you to create calendars, stickers, posters, mini books and memory boxes with your prints, which I think is such a nice idea either for yourself or for a present for someone else. Now I just need to decide where i'm going to put them. I think they'd look great on a wall or a pin board. If like me you are a bit obsessed with Instagram, or you have a selection of photos you think would look brilliant printed out, I'd definitely take a peek on their website.

If you want to follow me on Instagram, search @ZozeeBo

or take a look at my profile here : http://instagram.com/Zozeebo

♥

25 Facts About Me

2013-02-01T21:27:00.000Z

1. I used to suck my thumb from the ages of 0 - 6 and pull out the fluff from a Christmas hat which I named "wobbly hat"

2. The sun instantly makes me happy and rain instantly gets me down

3. I am a really fussy eater and stick to what I know and love

4. The last time I got properly drunk was when I was 18, since then I've barely touched alcohol

5. I can't wait to have my own babies (not for at least another 6 years - hold your horses)

6. When I feel comfortable around you, you will probably think I am a complete weirdo. Weird is good though right?

7. I can appear quite shy when I first meet people, but very quickly warm up

8. I used to do country dancing, maypole dancing and knitting in primary school

9. The Isle of Wight is one of my favourite places to be. I have so many amazing memories of being there as a child, so it's always nice to go back.

10. I am counting down the days until bootsales (car boots) start again

11. The most North of the UK I've been is Leeds

12. The smell of mushrooms cooking makes me gag/want to throw up and don't even get me started on what they taste like...

13. I'm addicted to cupcakes (Hummingbird and Lola's to be precise)

14. I'm taking an extra empty suitcase to Florida in March so that I can stock up on American cereals (Lucky Charms mostly), pop tarts and other sweets and treats. I'm sure most girls would take an empty suitcase to bring back all their US makeup goodies..but no. haha

15. I've not been on an aeroplane for almost 7 years. I've forgotten all things "flying"

16. I sing all the time when I'm alone but would never properly sing in front of anyone.

17. My legs always have little bruises on them. I don't even know how or why, but they do. Apparently I bruise like a peach and have terribly clumsy pins.

18. So far this year, I've only cried at happy things and no sad tears at all. *fist pump*

19. Sometimes I have hot chocolate for breakfast

20. When I'm cold, I'm get really grumpy

21. I collect Disney DVDs

22. I love driving on long road trips and discovering cool new places (mostly by the beach)

23. I still eat potato "SMILES", meant for kids (don't judge me, they taste damn good okay)

24. Sunglasses shopping frustrates me because of my pea head. None of them fit me.

25. I have the worst selective hearing EVER. It annoys everyone so much. if you were to talk to me as I write this blog post, I just wouldn't hear you.

Hope you liked this slightly more personal blog post this evening! I'd seen lot's of other bloggers doing this so thought i'd do it too. I'd love to hear 25 facts about you aswell. I also apologise for the "i'm-feeling-slightly-mental-so-my-webcam-photos-have-turned-out-like-this-and-these-were-the-only-half-decent-ones" shots. We all have moments like this...right? haha

♥

Illamasqua I'mperfection Spring Collection

2013-01-31T22:36:00.000Z

As a huge fan of Illamasqua since they first came on the beauty scene, I like seeing all their new and exciting collections. One thing I love about the brand, is that each collection will be so well thought out, and have so much meaning behind each product and specific "look". I was recently invited along to see the new Illamasqua Spring Collection and I wanted to share my thoughts with you all.

One cannot simply snap away at new products without a comedy shot of their best friend inside a blusher compact...

The collection is titled "I'mperfection" (get it... I'M PERFECTION = IMPERFECTION) Personally, I think this is one the best collection names i've ever heard. So simply but SO clever. The difference an apostrophe can make! It's all about embracing the things that are typically seen as imperfections and highlighting them instead of hiding them away.

Alex Box describes the collection as "a stand against the homogenised nature of the beauty industry today, and a celebration of freckles, scars and birthmarks - the things that make us who we are. To borrow a line from Marilyn Monroe, "Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring". I love that quote!

The first thing in the collection that caught my eye was this gorgeous blusher duo in "Lover & Hussy*", both gorgeous matte shades. The colour that stood out to me the most was the orange/peach tone, as these shades really compliment my skin in the summer once i've had a bit of sunlight on my face! Illamasqua blushers are my favourite thing about the brand. They are far more pigmented than plenty of others I have tried and the consistency of them is really lovely to use and blend.

Next up is the lipstick. Lipstick was the first item of makeup I ever bought from Illamasqua as they had such a vast and interesting colour range. They have the best selection of matte lipsticks you will ever find, and the colour payoff is amazing. This shade is called "Immodest*" and it's a gorgeous vibrant, fuchsia pink. The lipsticks are really long lasting and contain vitamin e for nourishment, which is almost a necessity when wearing matte lipsticks as many people stay well away in case of major dry lips.

Above are swatches of the lipstick "Immodest" and both blush colours from the "Lover and Hussy" duo, as you can see, all three are extremely pigmented.

Next is a brush* which really excited me! Illamasqua have designed this brush for a more chiselled and precise blush technique when applying. This new "brush up" design has an ellipse shaped head designed to tuck directly under the cheekbone. Gone are the days of big rosy round cheeks, it's all about creating more shape and structure to your face (hello fake cheekbones) and the best way of doing that is a more precise way of applying your blusher. I am so excited to start using this on my face, although it definitely sounds a lot easier than it probably is, and could take a few attempts in order to make it look just right.

Besides the brush, I was also really intrigued by the new nail polishes that Illamasqua had brought out with this collection. Each nail polish is in a pretty pastel shade with a speckled finish inspired by the beauty of a bird's egg. At first I raised an eyebrow at this bizarre concept, thinking it looked a little like sparse glitter, but the more I looked at these, and when I saw them on the nails, I was completely sold. They look SO good! The two shades I have above are "Freckle"* and "Speckle"*. Speckle being my favourite in a gorgeous pastel purple. I can't wait to do my next manicure with this and I also think it would look great on toes!

In keeping with the campaign and collection, they had also designed a speckled effect for the eyes using the precision ink liners in black (Abyss) and white (Scribe). I would have never thought to do anything like it but it looked amazing on the girls, and sounded so easy to do. I also love the other creative ways of using other colours with your eyeliner. Who would have thought white cat-eye liner would look really good with a neutral eyeshadow? Not me, but now I really want to try it.

The one amazing thing about Illamasqua is that their collections aren't just "pretty" but inspiring, and the campaigns that run alongside new collections are really interesting and make you think outside the box. If there is ever a brand to open your eyes to the creative world of makeup, it's Illamasqua. You don't have to be daring in your makeup choices in order to indulge in any of the products, but keep an open mind and be inspired. Makeup can become a very boring chore in our every day lives, but it's nice to keep everything a bit fresh and exciting, and I always feel like Illamasqua do that.

Buy items from the new I'mperfection collection here on the Illamasqua website

What are your favourite items from the new collection? Anything you'd love to buy and try for yourself?

♥

Review | Emma Hardie Amazing Face Cleansing Balm

2013-01-25T18:00:00.000Z

This might not come as much of a surprise to you, that after so many fellow beauty fanatics raved on and on about this cleanser, I had to try it out for myself to see what all the hype was about. I ordered the 'Emma Hardie Amazing Face Natural Lift and Sculpt Professional Cleansing and Exfoliating System' (that's quite the mouthful). It contains the Moringa cleansing balm, aromatherapy infused rosehip exfoliating seeds and the buff and polish cleansing cloth. Being a complete lover and addict of the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish, I considered myself quite brave for stepping out of my comfort zone and steady skincare regime to give this a whirl. Totalling at £33.60 for the whole kit, this cleanser isn't cheap, but I also don't consider that sky high for good quality skincare. After all, we have to spend a decent amount of money on our skin to enable us to have the perfect canvas for makeup.

Emma Hardie Amazing Face Cleansing Balm 100ml £33.60

The cleansing balm itself is contains moringa seed extract, wild sea fennel and vitamin E to minimize the appearance of pores. Orange, Neroli and Mandarin extracts to rejuvenate and revitalise and Jasmine, Cedarwood and Rose to help re-hydrate and re-condition dry or dull skin. It also claims to be very calming on sensitive skin too. I really like the smell of the cleanser, it smells really fresh and natural (none of that strong artificial stuff). I actually prefer the scent of this to my trusty cleanse and polish as it is a lot more subtle. I wasn't sure that I would get to grips with smoothing an oily balm over my face as opposed to a cream but it's pleasantly nice. The balm breaks down all traces of makeup and is safe to use on eyes too (nothing worse than getting cleanser in your eye and hopping around your bathroom in pain splashing water at your face).

When I first looked at the size of the tub, I was a bit apprehensive about how long it would last me, but a little goes a really long way. I find that a £2 coin sized dollop is enough to do a whole face (bearing in mind I have a pea head) and then a little extra swipe afterwards if my makeup is a bit on the heavy side. I can see this lasting a lot longer than I initially thought. I also really love the cloth that is provided with this. I thought I'd forever be a muslin cloth girl, but the soft, gentle flannel is so much nicer to use on my skin. Saying that, it's not as exfoliating, which is where the rosehip exfoliating seeds come in. You can incorporate these into the balm, and gently scrub your skin with the cleanser to give yourself a pampering treat. I have also enjoyed using these, however I don't use them very regularly as I prefer to just use the cleansing balm on it's own. You can also use the balm as a face treatment when left on for 10 minutes and wiped away.

Since using the Emma Hardie cleanser, I have noticed a difference in the overall appearance of my skin. As someone with combination skin (oily and dry in places), it has definitely balanced it out, and the dry patches aren't as dry and the oily patches aren't as oily. I also feel as though my skin is a lot more hydrated and looks a lot more healthy. I also just really enjoy using this on my skin, it's a real treat when it's the end of the day and I can use this to remove my makeup, I almost look forward to it. As this cleanser is so gentle and natural, I would say that it is suitable for most, if not all skin types. If you haven't ever tried a balm, or the thought scares you a little, I really advise that you give it a go, like me you might be pleasantly surprised.

♥

Hello 2013.

2013-01-06T11:53:00.003Z

After giving you all a re-cap of my 2012 in my previous post (both good and bad), it's only right now, to start the new year on a positive note. After a turbulent year, I am determined to make 2013 the best ever. I can't say I have ever stuck to resolutions, but I want to make a list of things I'd like to do and achieve, and at the end of this year I want to look back and see which I managed to do. I think it's important to set goals and aims to give you something to look forward to and strive towards. It's also the best feeling once you actually manage to accomplish something.

♥ Don't sweat the small stuff

Being a naturally very worried person (that's anxiety and panic for you), I tend to get very overly stressed about very small and insignificant things. I'm the sort of person that sits biting their nails and the inside of their mouth over the fact they can't park their car perfectly (parallel parking is not my strong point okay...). I need to learn that some things really don't matter and that sometimes I really shouldn't give a F...monkeys. 2013 is going to be the year of minimal stress and maximum enjoyment.

♥ Think more positive

I would say that in a lot of situations, I am able to see the positive aspects but definitely not often enough. I will more than likely think of all the negatives of something before I even consider a more positive outcome. It's mostly reflected in the mood I am in. If I'm feeling a bit down or anxious, I can be a right negative ninny. I need to stop finding things wrong with everything and start looking for all the great things in sticky situations and remember that it's not the be all and end all if things don't go as planned.

♥ Drink more water

I went through a little phase last year where I became slightly addicted to attempting to finish 2L bottles of water in a day. I remember that it was sometimes quite a struggle but also that it made me feel so much better inside and out. I felt a lot more healthy, a lot more hydrated and my skin was also thankful. It's certainly not an easy thing for me to try and do as I'm naturally not a very thirsty person and being quite petite, it doesn't take a lot of liquid before I feel like i'm going to burst from the inside out or wee myself. haha. I'm going to try and drink a lot more, whether I manage to complete a 2L bottle a day or just come close, it will be a vast improvement from "oh, I forgot to have a drink today...". Oops.

♥ Be more organised

I am useless at keeping track of life events and juggling my days. I've already filled in all my dates etc in my new diary and I'm going to carry it around with me and continue to keep track of what's going on in order to make sure I'm not on top of myself with not knowing what's happening. Days all seem to blur into one nowadays and this doesn't bode well with my messy organisational skills. I feel a lot more at ease when I have things sorted and filed neatly and I know what's happening and when.

♥ Blog more

Towards the end of the year my blog got left outside on the doorstep for a while. Myself and my blog have always had a very on and off relationship throughout the (almost) 4 years of us being together. It's not that I decide that I don't like it sometimes, it's just that often I find writing it an unenjoyable experience when I feel as though i'm updating it just for the sake of it. I always want to produce posts that I love, and in turn, that I think you'll love too. Because of this, I sometimes step aside for a while, just to get my creative juices back, then I reappear loving it just as much as I did before. In true Ross from Friends style "WE WERE ON A BREAK". I want to spend more time creating blog posts this year, and really learning to love my blog a lot more. Call it lovers therapy...or bloggers therapy...

♥ Be the best version of you

This is one of my favourite quotes. I'm not sure where it comes from but I currently have this quote set as my desktop background (not the one below with me in it, that would be slightly odd...haha). I like that it encourages you to be the very best you can be, surround yourself with people that bring out the best in you and don't be anything but yourself. It's easy to lose who you are or to become a bit lost but this quote will always bring you back round and remind you just to be YOU and sod anyone that doesn't allow you to do that . :)

♥ Travel more

I haven't been on an aeroplane since I was 16. That is a LOOOONG time. I have completely forgotten what it's like to fly and the concept kind of terrifies me, but I'm determined to step on a plane and go somewhere warm this year. I really want to go to Playlist Live and Vidcon, both in America (where I have never been before) so it looks like i'll be dusting off my passport and getting my bikinis out. *dances*

♥ Choose a healthier option occasionally

That title could have quite easily just been "eat healthy", but I don't want to set myself really unreasonable goals and ban myself from ever ordering a sneaky dominos every once in a while. I simply just need to eat a slightly healthier choice every now and then. My diet is pretty bad. I'll wake up and eat a chocolate bar or make my way through a packet of biscuits for my breakfast. I'll also drink my weight in hot chocolate (with cream and marshmallows) when really I could have a glass of water or a nice fresh smoothie. I also think I need to lay off the pizza a bit, or maybe start making my own :) It's not in order to lose weight (I am already a skinny minny due to my ridiculously fast metabolism) but sometimes I worry that the food I eat is doing no good for my insides and making me feel lethargic and I'd like to feel a little healthier.

So those are my little personal challenges/goals I have decided to set myself. Some are working well already, my diary is full of goings on and I already feel a lot more organised. I've already written 2 posts this year AND thoroughly enjoyed writing them. I have also picked healthier options, and so far, I've gone a whole 14 days without ordering myself a dominos. HOORAH! I am going to really make the most of this year, and I hope you all do too. "Happily ever after starts here". :)

What sort of challenges and resolutions have you set yourself for 2013?

Are you hoping to look back over them in a year and have completed a good handful if not all of them?

♥

2012 Flashback.

2013-01-04T17:30:00.002Z

"The hills are alive with the presence of a complete loon"

2012. Wow, what a year!

I don't even know where to begin, but here goes...

It's only on reflection of the year, when you really sit down and think about it, that you realise it may have possibly been the worst and best year of your life. I know that is hard to get your head around, "how could it have possibly been the best AND worst?", but it really was, and that's the only way I can describe it. The start of the year is a bit of a blur for me. (I could completely side step the reasons, but I am a normal person, and my life isn't perfect, and you are all my friends). Come August of this year, I came out of a relationship that consumed me and took control over many aspects of my life. My anxiety at this point had spiralled completely out of control and I was a very broken person, pretending to be happy and continuing to smile on the outside. I tried with everything I had in me to make something toxic work, to be perfect for someone who didn't care about me. It's only once you a free from the situation, that you realise how messed up the situation really was, and that's exactly what happened to me. I won't go into mammoth detail, and there are things only a handful of my closest friends and family know, but it was a very hard time for me. All I hope is that if you are unhappy with something in your life, and you are being completely clouded by negativity and loosing sight of who you are because of how someone else treats you, please have a long hard think. We only get one chance at life, and you deserve nothing but happiness and to be surrounded by people who bring out the best in you. From August onwards, this is exactly what I did.

I feel as though I am cheating somewhat by starting my year from August instead of January, but really, that is where my year began, and everything turned around for me, and I became Zoe again (as cheesy as that sounds, I was beginning to get my spark back). Bad part of the year now out the way, let's get onto the good things that made it the best year ever...

Louise turned 25 again this year, and we celebrated in her hometown with Fleur. It was a night filled with girly chatter, pervy men, big fluttery eyelashes, cake and giggles. Although it was very touch and go about whether I'd be able to go into a crowded club and stay there for longer than 5 minutes without dashing to the door, both girls made me feel okay about the situation, and I actually managed to stay out the whole night without a trace of anxiety. Win.

Joe started making YouTube videos and we both embarked on the YouTube journey together. It's one thing sitting making videos chatting away to yourself, thinking that your family probably think you are a complete nutter, but it's so cool to actually discover that they think what you're doing is amazing, and they are proud of you. I loved that Joe decided to give it a whirl too, and he's doing amazingly! You can go to his YouTube channel HERE. He can't think making videos is uncool if he's doing it too! ;)

One of my favourite days of the whole year, was when Louise, Tiyana and Darcy came to stay at mine, and we went to Longleat for the day. Longleat is a safari and amusement park here in the South West. The day completely cheered me up and we all has such an amazing time that I forgot what being sad was!

This year, I feel that although we were already such great friends, our friendship was cemented and Louise and I became the best of friends. You only ever see us larking about in videos together, exchanging banter on twitter and uploading still images on Instagram, but beneath all that, Louise was the one person this year that was there for me no matter what. I never felt alone because I always knew she was just a phone call away at any time, and she was the one who helped me get my spark back, and held my hand through everything. I really don't know what I would have done without her. She knows how much I love her and value her as a friend, and that whenever she needs me i'm there for her too. If I could award a "man of the match" in terms of "best person in 2012", that would certainly go to Louise. *makes award*.

Another thing that I have loved about 2012, is seeing Darcy grow into a little lady. I know she is not my child but I care about her a lot, and I feel hugely privileged that I get to share moments of her life growing up. I love the cute little moments Louise shares with her too (like the one pictured below). Darcy now gets excited when I arrive to stay, sad when I leave and looks for me in the dining room (where i sleep on a sofa bed) when I'm not there. It melts my heart. They are both my two favourite ladies, and never cease to put a huge smile on my face.

At the end of the year, I decided to say yes to more things. This resulted in me going to YouTube parties and more events (like Summer In The City), meeting other youtubers and viewers and really feeling a huge sense of involvement. Through this I also made friends with so many other people who I value very highly in my life now. You know when you just meet people, and spend a lot of time with them, and you instantly all click because you all have so much in common? That's exactly what happened. I never realised genuine, honest, nice people were so easy to find, and this was so refreshing after the horrid start to the year. I was spending time with people that brought out the best in me and made me feel happy!

I also said "yes" to going to Reading Festival for the day. No accomplishment for a lot of you, but for me it was a big deal. I went with my brother and met up with Alfie (Pointlessblog) and had an amazing day/night. I got to see one my favourite bands Two Door Cinema Club, but most importantly felt a huge sense of accomplishment that i'd managed to go to something like this and not run away in a panic. I stayed, and I enjoyed myself.

Louise and I took a trip up to Manchester to visit our fellow blogging friend El (AThriftyMrs). I had never ventured that far north in my brum brum before, but the journey up, the day there and the journey back were all so memorable for me. I laughed all day with friends. It's certainly a day that really sticks out for me. El is one of the loveliest people you will ever meet. She is so warm and genuine and such a giggle! (her blog is also one of my all time favourites). Louise and I also had a 2.5 hour singing and bopping session in the car on the way up, where Louise was singing "call me maybe" to fellow lorry drivers as I giggled in the drivers seat. The journey home was also something I will always remember, as we had one of those really deep, meaningful conversations that last 3 hours but feel like you've been talking for 10 minutes. My favourite kind!

Come September I went to London Fashion Week (on my own - WOAH THERE) and spent the day snapping away at pretty people with amazing hair, faces and clothes. I also met up with my fellow blogging chum Lily (What I Heart Today) where we took London Fashion Week posing to the next level. P.S. Lily's blog has been one of my 2012 favourite reads so do go over and see for yourself.

I bit the bullet and uploaded a video surrounding everything anxiety and panic attack related. I was very nervous to upload this video, as writing feelings down is a lot easier than speaking them out loud, and it made me feel very vulnerable and exposed. I think it's easy for people to forget that underneath videos and blogposts, I am a normal girl with problems just like you, I just don't always talk about them. The response I received from the video was so overwhelming that it actually brought many a tear to my eye. I would even go as far as saying I feel like it was my biggest achievement of the year, because it meant that I got to help so many of you, and that's what really meant the most to me. I knew that if it helped just one of you, it was 100% worth it. Just turns out that I helped a lot more than one person and you will never understand just how much comfort that brings me :)

Towards the end of the year, we went to the DailyMix launch party. 5 of us all stayed in a hotel in London and really made the most of our night. It was so fun getting to spend the evening surrounded by amazing friends and swanky drinks and canapés. Beauty/YouTube events were something I used to love going to since 2010, but with my recent bad bout of anxiety they almost seemed like a thing of the past so I was excited that I managed to stay out and have a hoot with all my favourite people!

Photo by Paul Monckton

So there we have it, the best and worst year of my life all rolled into one blog post. Thank you all for joining me on my journey, for leaving me an abundance of amazing comments, messages and emails throughout my entire social networking-dom and for supporting me through the hard times and the good times. I'm so pleased that I get to share the things I get up to with you all, and I wouldn't change that for the world. Massive hugs to those of you who have been here at the beginning in 2009 and to those of you who may have just started watching or reading in 2013 and also everyone in between. I hope you all had an amazing year and that you if you didn't, you learnt from it and 2013 will be a fresh start for you.

Goodbye 2012, Hello 2013

♥

Festive Present Wrapping

2012-12-21T16:18:00.001Z

It's that time of the year again, when we all make the dash around numerous City's and Towns searching high and low for presents and gifts for our loved ones. Last minutes Christmas shopping is the worst! I'm just going to throw this out there too, it's the one time of the year a lot more men leave their caves in one big men-mass swarm, all grunting and groaning in the shops looking for something to get their wives, girlfriends, sisters and mothers (okay, we know that's not entirely true, and some very organised and thoughtful men did their Christmas shopping in February...YEH RIGHT!) This year, I have completed my Christmas shopping AND wrapping by the 20th (not bad).

Although Christmas is a time for giving and receiving, I am one of these people that is ALL about the giving. Putting lot's of thought into people's presents, wrapping them nicely, and PRESENTing (see what I did there?) them to special people in your life is SO exciting. I always feel a great sense of satisfaction when the presents are all bought and wrapped ready for the 25th and popped under the tree.

I thought i'd share some of my wrapped presents with you, in order to get your creative juices flowing if you lack a little in that department or just to give you a few ideas!

Red, Striped & Snowflake Wrapping Paper - M&S

Retro Wrapping Paper - Urban Outfitters

Red Ribbon, Natural Twine, Bakers Twine, Sequin String - M&S

Naughty Swear Word Paper (For the Christmas Un-Enthusiast) - Urban Outfitters

Where's Wally Paper - Urban Outfitters

Red Bells - Wyvale Garden Centre in Northampton

Plush Hearts - Wyvale Garden Centre in Northampton

Red and White Stitch Ribbon - Wyvale Garden Centre in Northampton

Present Labels - M&S

I hope this has inspired you, or if you just like to have a nosey at how people decorate presents, then this has fulfilled that desire for you. I'm a firm believer in how a present is wrapped is a good judge of character and says a lot about someone as a person ;) No pressure guys!

Have you done all your Christmas shopping? Do you love giving presents as much as I do?

♥

Beauty Lovers Advent Calendars

2012-11-30T23:33:00.000Z

Liz Earle Advent Calendar £100* (free delivery until 4th December)

You Beauty Advent Calendar £59.95 + £2.95 P&P*

Every year, I will be given a chocolate advent calendar from my grandparents (yes, i'm 22 years old) and each year, I still find it just as exciting opening the little door and having a cheeky piece of chocolate for 24 days of the month (even though we all eat chocolate all year round, but it's in the shape of Snowmen and holly...thus making it 100% DIFFERENT...okay?) . However, being a complete beauty junky, when these got delivered to my door, I suddenly lost all enthusiasm for my chocolate advent calendars.

The first one is a Liz Earle advent calendar. As most of you know, I am a huge fan of Liz Earle. I've used their cleanse and polish for well over a year now, and although I dip my toe into the realm of other cleansers, nothing ever comes close. This is the perfect pre-christmas, skincare lovers treat. I appreciate that not everyone will have £100 to splash out on a lavish advent calendar, but look how amazing it is! The perfect early Christmas present for your best friend, Mrs or your Mum. It houses samples of all their best selling skincare, eye care, haircare and body care. I can't express to you how excited to am to start opening this. The end of December can't come quick enough..

The second beauty advent calendar has been created by Latest in Beauty to celebrate their 1 year partnership with You magazine. If you aren't really much of a skincare enthusiast, then this would be much more "up your street". The calendar is made up of 24 different branded beauty samples including Benefit, St Tropez, Espa, L'Occitane, Eve Lom and Dermalogica (a few of my favourites from the long list). There is much more of a variation of products in this one, from mascara and lip balm, to hair masks and hand cream. The calendar is worth over £210, so you are getting yourself an absolute bargain. It's like one giant beauty box! :) You can click here to go the site and take a peek at the products included (or if you want it to be surprise i'd advise you don't scroll down on the website and go straight to the "add to basket"). I, myself have looked at the products included (as I wanted to see if the advent calendar was worth the price tag), and I can confirm that it is! I'd probably use almost all of them.

Have these interested you? Are you contemplating spoiling yourself or someone else during the exciting Christmas run up? I personally think these are a brilliant concept, I just wish they'd been around sooner.

♥

Response To Your Response

2012-11-12T20:51:00.000Z

When I filmed my video on "Dealing with Panic Attacks & Anxiety", I didn't think for one minute that I would have had such an overwhelming response from so many of you. It took quite a lot of courage for me to sit down and speak out loud about my experiences and difficult aspects of my life on camera. I know that all it involved was me sitting in my bedroom and talking to a piece of photographic equipment but I knew that there would be an awful lot of you watching, so at the time, the pressure was on a heap more than if I were to be showing you the products I'd enjoyed using that month. The video also made it onto YouTube's homepage, which made the experience all the more nail-biting. Not only were my loyal viewers and subscribers hearing about my struggles with panic attacks, but now anyone that landed on the youtube homepage was also watching. Although scary, it meant that it was helping a lot more people, and this made it all the more worthwhile. I wasn't really too sure what the feedback from the video would be, I only wanted it to be seen, and for it to have helped at least one person. After attempting to try and read through all (5,300 currently) comments, hundreds of tweets and a brimming email inbox, it became apparent that I had in fact helped an awful lot of people. I can't even express how happy this makes me. I wish I could sit and reply to each and every one of you, but I think it would take me a lifetime, so instead I just want to say thank you for all your kind words of support and love. I have shed many a tear hearing about how some of you have changed your lives around because of my gentle push. From 12 year old girls to 40 something men, the spectrum is so wide and so many of you have been affected by my rambly video. Whether it has helped you to realise what you are experiencing is panic and anxiety, helped you to help someone close to you, given you the reassurance you aren't alone or given you a virtual cuddle, I am so pleased that it has affected you positively in some way. If you are reading this and you are one of those people, please remember to stay strong, stay happy and keep positive. I wish you all the luck in the world with whatever it is you are battling, you can do it, and you aren't alone.

*group hug*

♥

Giveaway | Custom Blog Design by Wonder Forest

2012-11-02T17:59:00.000Z

Are you a little bit bored with your blog? Do you wish you had the capability to make it look more professional and add a personal touch?

To kick start November, I have something I think a lot of you will like! My friend Dana who runs the ever so fabulous blog "Wonder Forest", and who is also responsible for my amazing blog design, is giving one of you the chance to win a complete blog re-design/make-over to the cost of $300. If you're anything like me, and find designing things exceptionally hard, along with HTML, then this is perfect for you.

“Hey friends of Zoe! I’m Dana and I blog over at Wonder Forest. I am a professional designer who had the pleasure of working with Zoe on her own blog and wanted to offer the very same services to one of her lucky readers! I know how hard it can be to stand out in a sea of bloggers and a custom design can do just that. I will work with you to design and develop a blog that conveys who you are. If you’d like to check out some of my select past work, just click here. I am excited to work with one of you, and if you are in need of any other design services, premade Blogger templates or graphical goodies you can always visit my new design shop at Envye.com.”

Rules of the Giveaway

♥ Be a follower of my blog via Google Friend Connect

♥ Follow Dana's Blog via Google Friend Connect

♥ "Like" Dana's Facebook Page

Competition is open worldwide

Design services only for blogger blogs

You must already own a blog/have one set up
Giveaway is open for exactly ONE week

ENTER BELOW

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Good Luck everyone!
I will announce the winner of the giveaway in exactly one weeks time here on my blog.

Here are all of Dana's links:

Blog- www.Facebook.com/wonderforest

Twitter - www.twitter.com/thewonderforest

Instagram - www.followgram.me/wonderforest

Blog - thewonderforest.com

Shop - HTTP://shop.thewonderforest.com

Mac Makeover at LFW

2012-10-26T21:03:00.000+01:00

Me & Lily

So, I had these photo's stored away in my "Things I want to blog about" file, and although I feel a little late to the party blogging about LFW when that was "so yesterday", I still wanted to share these photos with you. I went along with Zoe (The London Lipgloss) and Lily (What I Heart Today) to get their makeup done by the mac artists at London Fashion Week. I had tried to book one myself, but all the slots had been fully booked on the first day (obviously). I enjoyed watching the girls get their makeup done, and took some snaps for them so they could blog about it etc. Once the lovely girl doing Lily's makeup had finished, she asked me if I'd like a little "touch up", being a typical polite and reserved english girl, I half said "Oh nooo, not to worry! You don't have time before your next slot", but Lily insisted (she knew deep down I was screaming out for a free makeover haha). I sat down in the chair and she worked her magic. She touched up my lipstick with mac's cherry lipliner and russian red lipstick and created a really cool cat eye with blacktrack fluidline. I totally wish I could do that to my own eyes, but I know i'd fail miserably.

I also have some snaps of Lily and I doing some awful LFW posing. "How NOT to pose outside Somerset House"...?

Do you ever experiment a little more with your eyeliner? I had never thought something like that could actually be quite wearable but I would totally wear this on a day to day basis! Would you?

♥

Bobble Hat & Smokey Eyes

2012-10-13T15:39:00.000+01:00

So, I thought i'd start this post with a little apology. I have been somewhat MIA, and although this may have been a slight annoyance for you lovely lot (or not, depending on how much you like to read my blog..haha) but it has been a positive time away for me. A battery re-charge shall we say! After my last post on "Just saying YES", I took my own advice and started doing lot's more things. Things i'd always been a bit scared to do, meeting up with old friends, making new ones and banishing my anxiety, as it had got quite bad. I also had somewhat of a mental block on the blogpost front. You know sometimes when you sit with a blank page/screen and you just don't know what to write? Yeh, that. FEAR NOT though, I have returned, with a much brighter outlook on life and feeling much more positive about certain aspects of my life. I was also extremely overwhelmed by the HUGE positive response I received from THIS blogpost. That is the whole reason I love blogging, being able to reach out to lot's of people and help in some way, even if it's just a teeny bit.

So, whilst away from my laptop, I started to get into the habit of doing my makeup a bit more. Feeling a bit "meh" in general, meant I stopped doing creative things with my makeup or even making the effort to do it most days. However, I have started spending more time on it, and I found my beloved "Mekong" eyeshadow by NARS in the back of my makeup draw, and since then I have been having a full on love-affair with it. I have been applying it all over the lid and smoking it out with a blending brush, then applying my eyeliner for a more edgy, smokey look. I haven't been doing it every day, as it is quite full on, and doesn't pair too well with my beloved bold lip, but I feel like it makes my eyes stand out a little more. Mekong is a deep brown, with flecks of gold sparkle in it. Being a Nars eyeshadow, it's highly pigmented and will probably last me millions of years. I highly, highly recommend it! If any of you are also interested in which lipstick I am wearing, it's "Desert" by Topshop.

Another thing I have been loving is bobble hats. This one in particular is from Topshop. Being small-headed (a pea head..ehem), I didn't ever think they would really suit me, or fit me properly, but I actually quite like them. I also like that they can hide bad hair days, or dress up an outfit AND keep your ears and head warm (it's main purpose). I can see myself wearing hats all of Autumn and Winter.

♥

Just Say Yes

2012-09-01T17:23:00.000+01:00

"Just say yes, just say there's nothing holding you back"

How often do you turn things down or shy away from doing things a little out of your comfort zone? How often do you say NO? For me, this word would crop up an awful lot more than the word "yes".

As most of you may or may not be aware, I struggle with anxiety and panic attacks (read more on that here), so for me, sometimes saying no, I believe, is the only option. My mind takes control and makes me think that I will be safe doing the things that are within my comfort zone, things that don't scare me. But, what kind of a life is that? Do I really want to be confined to doing things with baby steps over and over? Life is too short for that. Do I want to live my life turning things down and missing out on so many opportunities just because it scares me a bit? No, and neither do you.

If you are reading this, and you suffer with anxiety disorder, have panic attacks, depression, have social anxiety or are just a very negative or shy person, then I know full well, you want more than anything to be able to say yes to so many things, but the way your mind works, means you are terrified to do this. What is the worst that could happen though? Will you drop down dead? No, the chance of that happening are slim to none.

It's taken me so long to try and push all my negative thoughts surrounding different activities that are linked with my panic attacks, but i've just reached a point in my life where I think "SOD IT". So what if I have a panic attack? What's going to happen to me? I would rather do more things, that I can look back on and think "I'm so glad I did that" than think "I really wish I'd done that". I don't want to ever be left with that awful question floating around in my head of "what if?". There may be times when you do panic, or you do get in a flap about something, but if you know that ultimately you're going to be okay, at least you can say you did it, or you tried it, and at least you won't be left thinking "what if?".

I've had so many panic attacks I can't even keep count, but do I remember all of these and relive these panic attacks every day of my life? No I don't. What would be the point? Anxiety is really rubbish, panic attacks are really rubbish, but you can't let these things take complete control of your life or you will be consumed by nothing else, and it will make you desperately unhappy. You are more likely to remember all the amazing times, than you are to remember times where you felt anxious. Why miss out on any opportunity to make happy memories you'll keep with you forever because of this?

One thing I find very difficult about living with anxiety, is the hold it takes over you without you even realising. You get used to it, and you get used to the way of living, and you don't see how your behaviours are so varied from the norm. I am very jealous of people that ooze confidence. I sometimes think "If only I never had to worry about anything", but then do I really have anything to worry about anyway? Are the things I worry about really significant in the grand scheme of things? The answer is no, probably not.

I hold back on so many things, that I feel like I can never 100% enjoy myself in any situation. There are very rarely times in my life, where anxious thoughts are not floating around in my head, ruining a situation for me. Sometimes i'll even be driving to Asda and they'll be there. I feel like my anxiety is a little demon living inside my head (I know, i'm getting slightly freaky on yo asses, but you know what I mean), and the only way to ever destroy it is to be like "LOOK, SEE, I'M FINE, I CAN DO THIS, NOW GO AWAY", and eventually he will get bored, and leave (I'd just like to make it clear at this point that I am not possessed, all clear on that? Yes? good).

More recently, I've had a bit of a wakeup call. I felt myself becoming too consumed by certain aspects of my life, certain people, situations and mostly, my anxiety. I stopped going to events in London, I stopped meeting my friends as much, I stopped eating out in restaurants as much, I stopped getting the train. I let my anxious mind take complete control. Some days, I just spent on my own, speaking to nobody and doing nothing, because I felt safe that way. Nobody should be living their life like this, and sometimes it takes a small (or large) slap in the face for you to realise which path you were heading down. Consider this yours.

Over the past few weeks, I feel as though I have turned over a new leaf. I want to be more positive about things. Being anxious means you are more likely to find the negatives in any situation before the positives, and this becomes so draining. Not just for you, but for others around you.

I have started to say YES to things I'd never normally say yes to. I'm not saying yes to absolutely everything, but i'm making a conscious effort to agree to more things. I recently went to a Festival, and yes, it was only for the day, but I have a slight fear over festivals. Large crowds, drunk people who will probably end up vomming (fear of vomit), but I put all this to the back of my mind, and just went. I had such a good day and got to see one of my favourite bands and make happy memories. The alternative to that, would have been to stay at home doing nothing, which a few weeks back, is exactly what I would have done. I went on 3 trains to meet a friend to film YouTube videos to a place i'd never been before. I know most of you reading this will raise an eyebrow here and think "Zoe, that really is no biggy", but for someone who couldn't even get on one train, to one stop without being on the brink of an anxiety attack a mere few weeks ago, this is a huge achievement for me, and again, had such a good day!

I feel so much better for saying yes to things. It has improved my confidence drastically, and it's made me want to go out and do more things that i'd normally never think/want to do. It's making me feel a lot more positive, and with positivity, comes happiness.

I guess the point i'm trying to make with this post, is please think about this for a second, try and step away from your anxious/negative mindset, and look at the bigger picture...

You get ONE life (unless of course you are a feline), one chance to do anything and everything you want. Do not let something like this control your decisions or ruin experiences for you. The same goes for people. Don't let people ruin things for you, or control your behaviours or your life choices.

It's YOUR life. Share it with others but don't let anyone, or anything take over the control you have.

Say YES. Make it your mission, to do things you'd never normally do, go places you'd never normally go, meet people you'd never normally meet. How can you make memories, and take new paths in life if you turn everything down?

Taking the quote in the song in THIS blog post "Do one thing everyday that scares you". I probably wouldn't take this too literally if you have severe anxiety, but apply it to making decisions every once in a while to begin with. So what if it scares you? Think about how you'll feel when you accomplish it, think about the opportunities it could bring you. Think how happy it could make you!

Now, after reading this blog post, there are a few things I want you to do:

♥ Say YES to something you wouldn't normally say yes to, and let me know in the comments what it was

♥ Listen to the song posted below, I likes it!

♥ Watch the film "Yes Man"

♥ Alternatively, download/buy the book "Yes Man" written by Danny Wallace & read it

♥ Put your favourite song on and dance around to it (not for any reason other than i'm sure it will make you feel at least 10x better than you did before reading this)

♥ Remember that you are not the only one feeling this way, and that only you can change the outlook you have on life

A Day at Reading Festival

2012-08-27T12:12:00.001+01:00

As I'm not really your average Festival-goer, it was most unlike me to jump at the chance to use my brothers spare ticket for Reading Festival on Sunday (I'm trying to say yes to doing more things i'd normally not do & I'm enjoying it thoroughly - more on that in another blog post). For those of you who may not be aware, Reading is a place, and although you could also look at that and think "Zoe, what kind of a Festival is one where you go to learn about literature", I promise you it was nothing of the sort, it's a weekend long music festival. It was a really fun day, and has possibly cured my small fear of Festivals (mainly due to the unpleasant toilet facilities and overly drunken loons). Consider it my "dip in the festival water". I just wanted to share some snaps with you all, hope you like them!

♥ Wearing:

American Apparel "disco pants" in black, American Apparel initials t shirt with sleeves rolled up, Goldfish wellington boots (goodness knows where I got these bad boys from), Sunglasses from New Look (mens section - they are smaller than the womens for some odd reason), Earrings from Love, Hearts & Crosses, Lipstick is Topshops "Firecracker".

♥ Company & featured in photos above:

Alfie - @PointlessBlogTv

Joe - @Joe_Sugg

Chai - @Mrchailis
(I'm afraid I don't know the guy holding the sign, so his twitter name will remain a mystery)

♥ Highlights:

Hanging out with and meeting lot's of lovely people

Two Door Cinema Club (they were amazing live)

Foo Fighters

Bumping into one of my good friends

Learning how to clap properly (essential for a festival)

♥

Messy Bun

2012-08-24T16:01:00.001+01:00

Having long hair means that the maintenance spent on it, can add up to quite a considerable amount of time. I love having long hair, don't get me wrong, but there will always be days where I think chopping it off would be so liberating. However, I am far too much of a wuss to even contemplate snipping inches off my long locks. So for days where I think having long hair is a bit of a faff, I'll sling it up in a messy bun. The bun is never the same each time I do it but i'm always happy with how it turns out. I attempted to show you how I do this in a VIDEO on my youtube channel, although explaining it is actually quite difficult. It's all just trial and error. Sling it up, use many hair pins and hair bobbles and voila. It doesn't need to look perfect, and that's why it's one of my favourite go-to hair styles. I also really like that now it's ombred, there are little bits of blonde in the bun (easily amused).

What's your favourite lazy-girl-quick hairstyle?

♥

Everybody's Free

2012-08-16T00:51:00.001+01:00

Sometimes, when life get's a little complicated, it's very easy to loose sight of all the good things and you become soley focused on the negative. This song is sure to bring you round.

♥

Re-Ombred Hair | Salon Edition

2012-08-12T09:00:00.000+01:00

If any of you have seen my most recent video, you will notice that I have had my hair re-ombred. It was a bit of a spur of the moment thing, and I just went with it. As most of you will know, I've had my hair ombred twice before (the second time was more of a "top up"). I eventually got bored of my ombre, and had forgotten what it was like to have an all over colour, so I went to my hairdressers, and asked them to cover over the blonde (although by this time, the blonde had pretty much faded away). All of a sudden, I craved having ombre again. I like that it gives the hair a lot more texture, and having such long hair, texture is key to making it appear voluminous rather than lack lustre. I went to my hairdressers (Gemma and Lisa), and asked them to re-do it for me. I'm super happy with how it turned out. They used a few different shades to create the blend and put peroxide on the very ends. A lot of people ask me what to ask for at the hairdressers if you want this affect and to be honest, all you should need to do is show them a picture and they'll know what to do to create it. They may all have slightly different techniques or call it different things (Dip dye, ombre, smudged) but ultimately, if they have a good image to go by, they will recreate it for you.

If you can't afford to go to a salon to have this done, then check out my DIY ombre hair post, where I explain how I did it myself the first time round. And you can also see how I did my top up (I used a different dye) on this post here.

Super happy to have my blonde ends back, makes me feel a little more exotic haha

If you live in or around Somerset/Wiltshire and want information on the particular salon I went to, feel free to privately email me & I'll give you the details.

♥

New Love | Yves Rocher Mascara "Sexy Pulp"

2012-08-11T17:26:00.000+01:00

Yves Rocher Sexy Pulp Mascara £8.45 currently half price (£16.90 originally)

If you read any of my monthly beauty box posts, you may recognise this brand as being something included in the June GlossyBox. I didn't really think too much of it initially, and put it aside. Oh how silly of me. I then stayed a night at a friends house and threw this into my handbag as a quick (and nifty travel sized) mascara option. When I first opened this, I grimaced at the size of the brush head. It does look massive, in length and thickness. It scared me a little, putting this near my eye. I once owned "bad gal lash" by Benefit, and that too had a very large brush on the wand, and I didn't get on with it at all. It was messy, difficult for accuracy and sometimes a little painful (bristles in eye scenario). Now, I believe I have normal sized eyes, and that although Louise calls me Chumbolina (in reference to Thumbolina), my eyes are of normal size, so if you're thinking "but Zoe, everything looks big compared with you", i'm pretty sure someone else would feel the same way. Once I had gotten over the sheer horror of the size of the brush head, I went to use it on my eyelashes and very surprisingly, had absolutely no problem using it to apply the mascara. The shape of the brush allows you to easily grab each lash with no difficulty what so ever.

So what makes this mascara so amazing? The first thing I love about it, is the bristles. They are really dense, which means they literally grab every lash, which also means minimum clumping. I am someone who really likes volume in my eyelashes, and this is exactly what "sexy pulp" claims to add, and I really feel that it does. It makes them appear fuller, longer and curlier than that are naturally and I feel like they make a nice impact without going to "false lash" measures. I loved the little sample so much, I immediately went on the Yves Rocher website, and ordered myself 2 in full size. I got one in brown, and one in black, as I do wear a variation of the two shades. When going for something a little more natural I'll opt for brown, and then if i'm going all out i'll go with black. I even stopped using and didn't repurchase, for about the 10th time, my beloved No7 Exquisite Curl mascara which I thought no other mascara could top.

Here are some scary eye pictures of my mascara in use. I was wearing the black mascara in the images above and only had on 2 coats. If you were really mascara crazy, I think you could carry on with another few coats before it might start clumping. I would highly, highly recommend this mascara to anyone that wants volume, length and curl to their lashes. I had never even heard of this brand before, but that's the joy of beauty boxes, finding absolute gems in them, that you then go on to love and repurchase. Although this mascara is originally priced at £16.90, I was fully intending to spend that much on it because I loved it that much, but was pleasantly surprised to find it was half price on the website, so i'd hurry over and grab one if you were interested as i'm not sure how long that may last for.

What is your favourite mascara at the moment? Have you tried anything else from Yves Rocher?

♥