Summer 2017 Highlights

Hello lovelies!

Today I am going to be sharing with you my top 5 highlights of my summer this year! These were so incredibly hard to pick because I have had the most fantastic summer and I know that I am so lucky to have had the opportunity to experience I have.  From finishing uni to this weekend when I actually move back and start my second year at uni, I have had almost a 4 month summer! Crazy – I know! My summer has been non-stop and I have always been busy either working or, if not, making the most of everyday or travelling! I hope you enjoy looking through some of my summer highlights!

• Holiday to Portugal – First on my summer highlights list is my holiday to Portugal which I took way back at beginning of June now! It seems so long ago, it is ridiculous! My boyfriend and I spent a week at the Algarve and we had a fantastic time exploring a new culture and country. It was so nice to have a week away with my boyfriend and go on so many great excursions and create so many great memories together!

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• Holiday to Vienna – The next thing on my list is my holiday to Vienna which I took at the very beginning of July with my best friend who I actually met at uni! I enjoyed every single moment of the trip (well except for getting food poisoning) and my friend and I had the best time exploring such a beautiful city. This was actually my first trip without my family or my boyfriend and honestly I had an amazing time and I couldn’t have asked to go with anyone better!

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• Day Trip to Dublin – More recently, actually a week ago today, my boyfriend and I took a day trip to Dublin. This was such a fun and spontaneous trip and allowed us to explore yet another place together and have many more amazing experiences and memories together. I am so glad we just randomly decided to do this and it was definitely was one of my favourite moments from this summer!

• Catching up with friends – This has been one of the best things since I have been back from uni! I have enjoyed catching up with all my friends from schools and seeing them,going to parties with them and having a good old laugh like we always use to! It has been so nice to hear about their time at uni and everything they have been up to this summer and I have had a lovely time spending time with them! I have also had a lovely time going down to Surrey to catch up with my best friend from uni and I also had a great day going to London to meet up with a group of my uni friends. Honestly, it has been so nice to see everyone and just catch up with them all!!

• Enjoying the countryside – Another thing I have really enjoyed this summer is just spending time going on lovely walks in the countryside. It was so nice and peaceful and a nice way to relax and de-stress because as I say this summer has been rather full-on! I love the Outdoors and I love going on hikes and just spending quality time with people as well as enjoying the weather. I always love to get out and about whenever I can!

Thank you so much for reading and I really hope you have enjoyed looking through some of my summer highlights. These aren’t in any particular order because I have honestly love all of these different things so much and had so much fun this summer! I am so thankful and lucky to have all these amazing people in my life and honestly I have had the loveliest summer and I am definitely never going to forget some of these moments! If you have missed reading of these posts then I will link them down below so you can have a look at my trips and summer in more detail if you want! I will see you all very soon. Much love,

Lizzie X

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• Portugal post
• Vienna Post
• Dublin Post
• Enjoying the Summer post
• Country walks postCountry walks post

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My Current Favourite Skin Care Products

Hello lovelies!

Today I wanted to write a post sharing my current favourite skin care products. Skin care has definitely been something that I become more invested in and have really started to invest in quality products which work well with my skin type and take care of my skin. When I was younger, I definitely did not appreciate the importance of skin care and I don’t know whether that was my lack of interest or just because there was less platforms available for you to research and read reviews on products so you could make well informed decisions. Perhaps it was a little bit of both – I don’t know. Either way, now I appreciate the importance of skin care, I have been making a massive effort to concentrate on my skin and make sure I am not being lazy and looking after my skin properly even if I am tired, because honestly it is so important and it makes such a difference to your health and your daily life. Getting into a good skincare is one of the best habits to develop!

The first product I would like to mention is the Neutrogena Visibly Clear Pink Grapefruit Gel Wash. I really get along with this face wash and at the moment I am completely obsessed and I really enjoy using it. The face wash is supposed to eliminate spots and blackheads as well as making your skin feel refreshed and clean. I must say, this product does exactly that. It smells amazing and is a lovely and gentle formula which is fantastic because I have sensitive skin and in the past I have experienced numerous allergic reactions to face washes because they have been too strong, however, with this one I can use it daily and I have no issues. I have noticed a difference in skin since I have started using this and my skin just feels so refreshed and clean without feeling dry. Would definitely recommend this product!

If you know me at all, you know I always have dry skin and dry lips – I don’t know why but I always do! Now that we are coming into the winter months my lips have started to become a lot more dry and sore and I absolutely hate it. They bleed and become really swollen and I can tell you that it really isn’t cute or pretty! However, I have been using the EOS lip balms and I love them. The formula is so soothing and smooth and it really has helped me combat sore lips. I love the smell of the product and really love how they feel on the lips. Lip balms are definitely one of my essentials which I cannot live without. I really do like the EOS lip balms and they are one of my favourite along with my Burts Bees in Pomegranate. Plus how cute are they?!?! So cute – LOVE THEM!

On the theme of dry skin, I have recently started using the Soap and Glory Righteous Butter and OMG this thing is amazing and I wish I had discovered this sooner! As always, with Soap and Glory Products, it smells absolutely amazing – I cannot even describe! It not only smells incredible, but it feels amazing on the skin and is so moisturising. My skin has felt the best it has in ages and I absolutely love this product. I hate moisturising but when I use this I actually look forward to it because my skin just feels so incredibly soft and hydrated. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!!

Soap and Glory is definitely one of my favourite skincare brands because they are so affordable and the product quality is always amazing and is definitely worth the money. Therefore, it will probably come as no surprise to you all, that I have been obsessed with the Soap and Glory Scrub of your life. Again, with having sensitive skin, I normally have issues with exfoliating scrubs because quite often they are too harsh for my skin and I just end up coming out with rashes all over my body which is not cute at all and painful. However, the formula of this is fantastic and I can use happily on my skin and don’t have any reactions to it. Of course it smells amazing but it also does an amazing job at removing the dead skin cells and making your skin feel amazing as well as looking refreshed and hydrated. This paired with the Righteous Butter is an unbelievable combination and I just love it!

Finally, I have the NSPA Skin Glow Mud Mask. This is charcoal mask which unblocks pores as well as purifying and clearing the skin. I have been using this for a couple of months now and I have really enjoyed using it everyday. I usually do a face mask once a week or twice if I have time, however, you can also use this product as a spot treatment and so if I have blemishes I will use this on them. I think it works really well and have noticed a difference in my skin. Again, it is great for sensitive skin and after use I always find my skin looking brighter, more hydrated and it feel so soft and smooth. I really like this face mask product and will continue to use it!

I hopeyou have enjoyed this post and perhaps even found it somewhat useful. All these products are inexpensive and worth investing in, I believe. They have honestly changed my skin care rountine and I love using them. Let me know if you have any oher skin care products which you would recommend because I am always looking for new products to try and test. Thank you for reading and I will see you soon. Much love,

Lizzie x

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24 Hours in Dublin!

Hey guys!

Today I just wanted to share with you some photos from my 24 hour visit to Dublin yesterday. Just incase you were wondering – yes I am exhausted!! My boyfriend and I, last week, spontaneously decided to book a day trip to Dublin because we wanted to visit! I had such a lovely time yesterday. We had a full day of things planned and lucky for us the weather was dry and sunny, except for around 10 minutes when it rained so hard and we had to take shelter. It was super cold though, especially when we were on the tour in the morning!

Why did we just go to Dublin for the day? Simple answer was because flights are cheap from where we live and they only take approximately 40 minutes! Also, I am obsessed with travelling as you all know and I want to try and see as much of the world as possible and to be honest this was one my favourite trips because it was so spontaneous and different.

When we arrived, we got the Airline 747 Express from the Airport to the city centre with a return price of 12 Euros. If you are travelling to Dublin and not hiring a car, I would definitely recommend this service because it super affordable especially in comparison t the taxis and only takes about 30/40 minutes. The staff are also really friendly and helpful and will help inform you about the stops so you know which one you need to get off at!

The first thing we had planned for the day was the Viking Splash Tour. I had read so many reviews about this and was informed that it was a great tour to go on and because we were only there for 24 hours, we really wanted to get to see as much as possible. The tour itself was absolutely fantastic and I would recommend this 100%. It was so lively, engaging and absolutely hilarious. The tour is actually both land and water based. The first half of the tour, they drive you around the city showing you many of the famous parts and informing you of the history of Ireland. The second of the tour they take you on water and show you the U2 recording studios, for example. It honestly was such a fantastic tour and I loved the fact that it was both land and water based – it just added something to the tour which made it stand out from regular bus tours!

After that we went sightseeing and then stopped at Hard Rock Cafe for lunch. I really enjoyed eating lunch there and it has to be one of my favourite restaurants to eat at! I love the atmosphere and the food always tastes amazing!

For the afternoon we spent time around the Guinness Storehouse, finding out how Guinness was made and sampling it too. (On your ticket you get a voucher for a free pint – if you aren’t a drinker don’t worry because you can get a free soft drink instead). The storehouse is absolutely huge and there is so much to do there and see – you could spend absolutely ages there. They really have spent a lo of time making it interactive and it is finished off to an excellent standard. Again I would definitely recommend going here if you pay a visit to Dublin at some point! Well worth the money!

Next, we headed to the Temple Bar because I had read so many great reviews about this place and it was so lovely. Pints were obviously super expensive but that was to be expected. The pub itself is so quaint an pretty and I am glad we got time to enjoy this place!

For the remaining of the day we went and walked down by the River Liffey and then over the Ha’penny Bridge. We were actually going to head to Jameson’s Disterilly but as it started to rain we decided togo into th shopping centre and shop for the rest of time until we got the bus back!

I had so much fun in Dublin and really enjoyed experiencing another city. It was super cute and it a lot different to what I was expecting which I really enjoyed! I would really like to go back to explore even more and see the castle etc. but yesterday we actually got so much done and saw so many amazing and cool places! I can’t even begin to list all the amazing sights you get to see on the Viking Splash Tour – it’s incredible!

Thank you so much for reading and I really hope you have enjoyed reading about my visit to Dublin and what I managed to do in 24 hours there. I had such an amazing time and thank you to my Boyfriend for coming with me and for making the day really special. If you have been to Dublin let me know about your experiences there or if you haven’t been, let mw know whether you would like to and what you would like to go and see! Much love,

Lizzie X

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Bullying My Story: Part II

Hey!

I am not 100% sure where to start with this post today so I will try my best to be as coherent as possible, that may be hard so just bear with me.  Every time I upload a personal story/experience I am always terrified about the response, but thankfully everyone has been super supportive and for that I am thankful. However, I still get butterflies every time I press upload on a post which is rather personal and exposes more of me. I feel more vulnerable and like I have let some walls down, which I built up over the years and worked hard to keep them up there. You see, once you have lived through some hard times and been through some difficult experiences you hurt and feel and incredible amount of pain and therefore you naturally build a defence system to prevent the same thing happening again. Every time I share a part of personal life with you, I feel the walls crumbling ever so slightly and I feel my heart and my soul becoming open and more vulnerable once again and trust me that terrifies me. However, I know speaking about problems you have had helps bring closure to the pain. It allows you to move past that part of your life and close the chapter. It enables you to move on and create a better future for yourself. The best closure I have found to these situations, is that sharing my experiences help other people and that is what I really what to do and so I always feel better about things knowing that I have helped someone else who was feeling the way I did. So, today, I guess I am going to share another part of my life with you all.

As most of you will know, if you have been following this blog for a while, I unfortunately was a victim of bullying and I shared my story with you in what was probably the most heart-breaking and painful post to write. If you haven’t read this you can do so here. Anyway, today I wanted to focus on another aspect on the story. Today I wanted to talk about one of the many side effects bullying has on you as a person and how you can develop coping mechanism and strategies to deal with what you have gone through, but importantly with how it made you feel.

I never sought any sort of help from anyone when I was bullied. I was a very timid person anyway, so the thought of speaking up terrified me. For me, I felt like it was just not an option. I told no one at all, not a single person knew what was I experiencing and go through every single day of my life – only me.  I kept it all a secret and kept it all in my head and didn’t even hint to anyone that I wasn’t okay. Luckily for me, the bullying did stop after I left school in year 11 at the age of 16, but after what had probably been the best part of 8/9 years, the damage had already been done. I was already mentally scared and physically drained.

Before I get into some of the side effects, I just wanted to point out, that even to this day I am still struggling with the side effects of bullying and what people had done to me. I still struggle every single day with things. I know that is my fault for not speaking out and dealing with my problems and going to therapy but honestly the thought of confronting them and speaking up scared me so much more than just dealing with the bullies daily. For some crazy reason, I had drilled it into myself that if I spoke up that things would be worse and they wouldn’t make it stop. All that speaking up would do would make me more vulnerable and increase the amount of bullying and give them new things to pull me down on and for me I just wasn’t prepared for that. However, I want to point out that YOU ARE NOT ALONE and that there are so many services available to receive help not only with stopping the bullying but also with dealing with the side effects and the impact it has on your mental health. I beg all of you, to have a little bit of courage, which I didn’t, and take the step to speak to someone who you trust because it needs to end and I don’t want anyone else suffering for even a day, let alone years like I did. Please don’t be afraid because everything will be okay!

So, the first thing I noticed that changed since the bullying started is that my confidence hit an all-time low. I know longer believed in myself and thought very little of myself. They had managed to make me feel worthless and weak. They had made me feel fat and ugly and they made me doubt myself. For me, this is such a shame because I know prior to the bullying I was the bubbliest and most confident little girl. I was always so happy and loved acting and performing and talking. Bullying took all that away from me. I hated being in front of people. I hated acting and performing. I despised talking in front of people and once I got so anxious I actually just stood and cried in front of about 200 people. The thing is, a lack of confidence effects your life in so many ways you don’t even realise. I didn’t feel confidence in myself so I would say no to every opportunity given to me because I was scared.  I missed out on so many opportunities and that really is so sad because you need to make the most of life and take every single opportunity you get given. I know longer believed in my ability in school or in any passions. I would always say “I can’t do it” even though that wasn’t true. I lost any sort belief in myself. I don’t think my confidence will ever be as low as that ever again. A few years on… I still have massive confidence issues. I have gotten so much better with speaking but I still get really nervous and have to calm myself down. I still don’t perform or act. I still have massive doubts in my ability which annoys me boyfriend and friends so much because they know I am capable of so much and wish I saw it and knew it. It is sad because I always wonder where I would be now or how many crazy experiences I would have done by now had I still been confident. I know I would still be actively involved in so many of my childhood hobbies had I not lost my confidence, but everything happens for a reason. I know that I am where I am at the moment because that’s where I am meant to be at the moment and everything in life works out okay in the end and how it should.

The next noticeable change I saw in myself was that I became a more negative person. I wasn’t optimistic and I didn’t think positively. All I could now vision was the worst-case scenario. I hated how they had turned into such a negative person and made me feel worthless. I hated the fact that I no longer felt happy and positive to life. I think this obviously coincides with the fact that I had zero confidence and in my ability, in people and in my body and it just turned very negative and it is so sad for me to even write this. To the day, I still struggle to think positively about certain aspects in life. I still struggle to think positively about myself and my body. I always have managed to see the good in people, even at my worst and that unfortunately has been my downfall but I still see the good in people. I have hope that things will get better when for years I told myself they weren’t. I now try and look on the more positive side of things although after years of seeing the worst-case scenarios I now actually have that as a coping mechanism. If I know that is the worst possible situation and I know I can deal with that, then I know I can deal with anything. It has in some ways been both a blessing and a curse.

Being bullied made me increasingly aware of other people’s opinions. I had kind of been oblivious to other people’s opinions about me beforehand because as people do say ‘ignorance is bliss’ and ‘what you don’t know, doesn’t hurt you’. Bullying brought other people’s opinions to forefront of my mind though and it’s all I thought about. It became kind of obsessive actually. Which is ridiculous really because people talk and care far less than you know. You are you own biggest critic.  I became very self-conscious and this developed my huge body issues. I was very aware that people were judgemental. I felt ugly and fat and was very ashamed of my body. I actually hated my body for years to come and I became paranoid and cared why too much about the approval of everyone else. I lived years of my life trying to please others and make them happy and like me, when really, I shouldn’t have should have just lived for me. I wasted years of my life. Don’t make the same mistakes. People opinions are irrelevant. You honestly have to do you and do whatever makes you happy because it is impossible to make everyone happy (trust me I have tired) and there is always someone who is going to want to bring you down and will be jealous. Remember a ‘lion doesn’t lose sleep over the opinion of a sheep’. Honestly when you stop caring you will be free and it will be amazing. I don’t care so much at all these days about what anyone thinks about me because I want people to like me for me and if they don’t, then I don’t want them to be my friend to be honest. I still feel conscious all the time and worry about whether I am fat or ugly which annoys my boyfriend so much because he wishes I could see what he sees and believe I wish I was confident and care free but those insecurities are going to take a lot of beating thanks to some cruel people. Luckily, I think it is all in my head from been bullied because recent comments and remarks haven’t left the same scars and insecurities.

Being bullied definitely damaged my trust and it made it harder for me to form relationships and friendships with people because I was suspicious of them and worried that one day they would no longer be my friend and bully me. I know my trust issues largely comes from another very personal thing that happened in my life which I am sure I will speak about one day but being bullied added to the lack of trust in people. I am a very guarded person and I never want to suffer and be in as much pain as I was then so I have built up so many walls I feel like they are virtually impossible to break. I don’t want to feel vulnerable again. I don’t want to ever feel that way again. Learning to trust people was super hard and scary but some people genuinely care and not everyone wants to see you fail and bring you down. I still struggle massively with trust and I feel like I always will but I will try and fix and heal the wounds.

Thank you so much for reading and sorry for rambling. Let me know if you thought this was useful/helpful and if you would like to see a part two to this! See you soon. Much love,

Lizzie X

Twitter: @Life_WithLizzie

Instagram: @libwalton_9

 

Your Twitter Questions answered: Life advice, beauty staples and who I would have over for dinner…

Hello lovelies!

Today I am back with a Q&A because I feel like I have done one of these in ages and they are one of my favourite posts to both write and read. I also love hearing all your answers to the questions and finding out your opinions! I took to Twitter and asked you all for some questions which you would like to be answered and so here are all the answers!

• Where do you see yourself in 5 years’ time? – So, in 5 years’ time I will be 24 years old so approaching my mid-twenties. In two years, I will be graduating (hopefully) with a degree in History.  I think short-term obviously not much is going to change. I am still going to be going to uni and working part-time at Nike. To be honest, I have no set career path of what I really want to do, but if everything was to work out perfectly I would be blogging and setting up my own business. I hope I will have travelled a lot and hopefully will have been lucky enough to experience lots of places and cultures. Depending on what happens with my career and finances, potentially have moved out of home and have my own place. I could even have been on a volunteer camp to help those less fortunate because that is something that I AM SUPER passionate about doing! To answer your question, I don’t know where I will be 5 years, probably nothing crazy will have happened, but I just hope that I am happy and healthy, doing what I love and still travelling and everyone I care for is doing great.
• If you could have three guests over for dinner, either dead or alive, who would they be and why? – Richard III so I could find out about what happened to the ‘Princes in the Tower’ because as someone doing a History degree I would love to know the answer to that!! Jane Austen because she is one my favourite authors ever. Walt Disney because for one I love Disney and it just really confuses me that one person could have this ‘whole new world’ in their head and be this creative. It just baffles me in all honesty so I think he would be super interesting to talk to.
• What is your life’s mission? – My life mission is definitely to be happy and successful. It is help those who need it the most and to love and care for people. I want to have travelled a tonne and experienced the world. To complete my life’s mission will be to sit down hopefully when I am old and to think I lived my life to the fullest and helped people and did what made me happy.
• What are you thankful for? – I am thankful that I have the life that I do because I know I am super lucky to have everything that I do. I am thankful that I am healthy and able to enjoy life. I am thankful that I get to wake up every day to a lovely home, with an amazing family (even if we don’t get on sometimes – who does?) and not have to worry about food or water or any other essentials – I am so thankful for that. I am thankful for my family, friends and boyfriend. They all support me and love me unconditionally and are there for me when I need them and just always know how to cheer me up and make me laugh. I am thankful for all the holidays my parents took me on when I was younger and for all the places I get to travel to now. It is so special. I am thankful that I get spend Christmas and birthdays with all my favourite people have a lovely time. I am thankful for the experiences I have had (good and bad) and for the lessons that have gave me because they have made me into the person I am today. I am thankful for everyone who reads this blog and supports me on my other social media too, I really appreciate it! I am thankful that I get to have an education, because even though some days you hate it or you don’t want to go, it is so important and you are so lucky to have an education because not everyone can and some people would give anything to have one – I think that’s always so important to remember because honestly, I think I would be so lost if I couldn’t read or write! I am thankful for having the freedom to express myself and explore my own creativities and develop my own passions and of course thank you again to my parents for supporting them all!
• How do you unwind after the day? – It depends on how much time I have. A pamper evening is always a good way to relax and de-stress and it also makes you feel incredible. A bubble bath again is always a good option to relax. I love going to the gym to release stress if I am not too tired. I don’t think you can beat putting on your pyjamas, having a cup of tea and watching your favourite programmes.
• What’s your best tip/advice? – I have learnt some very important life lessons over my short life so far, and have great advice to pass on to others but I would say one the most important one and one which I think really needs to be enforced in this new age with social media, peer pressure and expectations from the society we live in today is that you must live your life for you and accept who you are. No one is the same and everyone has a different life ahead of them and will go on a different journey and that is completely fine. I think it is so important to have the courage to live the life that you want and not a life based on the expectations of others. If you live for someone else then you will never do anything you want and you will never be free and happy. You will always feel like you are letting them down or feel pressure to act a certain way or do certain things. Everyone is different and it take a very strong person to have the courage to accept that and embrace it and be proud of who they are – flaws and all. Live for yourself because I can guarantee when you are older and sat looking back through your life you would much rather be able to sit there and say, ‘I did this because I wanted’; or ‘I went here because I wanted to’ rather than having to explain your life through other people and what they wanted and expected from you.
• What’s the worst place you have travelled to and why? – Ah this is so hard because I have loved every single trip I have been on – all for different reasons. Out of everywhere that I have been, I don’t think there is anywhere where I wouldn’t go back or disliked. I mean as always, have some bad experiences like food poisoning and injuries but I have honestly loved and enjoyed every single trip I have been on. I really don’t know. As a child, I loved my vacations to France camping, Florida to meet Mickey Mouse and Cornwall or Norfolk to be by the sea. I have such fond memories of them all and now that I have started travelling places by myself, I have still enjoyed them just as much. Let me know your least favourite vacation in the comments and why it was.
• Why did you start blogging? – I started blogging because I wanted somewhere to properly document my life and I wanted to share my experiences/advice with others so I could help people. As humans, we all go through so many experiences and learn so much and I just feel it so important to help and share that information with people. I really care about helping people and I want to do that in whatever possible and I thought a blog was a good way to do and was also a great place to document my life at the same time.
• What is your go to beauty product and why? – At the moment, it is the Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Milk. I just love this product and I am completely obsessed with it.
• If you could travel anywhere, where would it be? – This is so hard because I want to go to so many places, there is seriously a tonne on my bucket list but right now it would probably be Bora Bora or the Maldives.
• If you could only wear one makeup product what would it be? – A hard decision but either mascara or lip balm because I am fortunate enough that I have quite nice skin so don’t need that much coverage so mascara makes a huge difference to my face, but then without lip balm I would have the driest and the sorest lips ever. They would be horrible haha, so one of those!

So there are all the answers to those questions. I hope you have enjoyed this Q&A because I said I find it really enjoyable writing these kind of posts and answering all your questions. Please leave your answers to all the questions in the comments because I have a feeling some them would be really interesting especially the question about having dinner with three guests. Also, if you would like to be involved in my next Q&A, or would like to keep up-to-date with what I am doing, then please do follow me on my Twitter and Instagram because I am active on there all the time and would love to chat! I really hoped you enjoyed this and will see you very soon! Much love,

Lizzie X

Twitter: @Life_WithLizzie

Instagram: @libwalton_9

 

 

 

My New Favourite Summer Outfit

 

Today I wanted to share with you my favourite go-to outfit at the moment. I have been completely obsessed with this style and have been finding a reason to wear it so much recently! For the longest time, I have always been a jeans kind of girl and would always just throw on jeans with a cute top and that would be my outfit like 99% of the time – no word of a lie! However, I started feeling uncomfortable and wasn’t loving that style anymore and really wanted to branch out more and buy and wear more clothes which suited my figure better. If you have been reading my blog for sometime you will know I have struggled with body confidence and my figure the majority of my life but now I am starting to find peace with who I am and have been working so hard on becoming a better person and loving myself for everything I am, flaws included.

Anyway, my mum actually bought me a denim skirt from Next for my birthday back in April, which you will have seen me wear all over my instagram if you follow that, and I was obsessed and had refound my love for skirts. Since then, I have purchased some more skirts and have been wearing them almost every single day and to be honest it actually feels kind of strange now when I wear jeans. I have been completely converted!

The skirt I am wearing is a black, distressed one from Missguided which I am completely in love with! OMG!! It’s an A-line skirt and sits high-waisted which flatters my hourglass figure beautifully. It’s a mini skirt but definitely isn’t too short and looks so flattering on. I loved the distressed detailing to the skirt, I really think it adds a little extra to the outfit and honestly it is the comfiest denim skirt ever. I am just obsessed and it is only £20! They have it three available colours I believe so I will be ordering the other ones very shortly haha! Just a side note, with all my skirts I always have to wear a belt because my waist is about two sizes smaller than hips haha!!

The shirt I have used to pair with this skirt is from Tommy Hilfiger which I know is expensive but I have seen so many equally cute alternatives in the high street stores. This is just their standard slim fit shirt and what I have done is tied the front in a bow to turn it into a crop top because that flatters my figure the best when wearing high-waisted bottoms but that is totally optionally but really on trend on the moment. I also rolled my sleeves up for comfort and because I have short arms!

I then just paired this outfit really causally with Adidas Superstar trainers. If you know me, you know these are my absolute favourite trainers and I wear them pretty much every day! They are so comfortable and just go so well with almost every outfit. Actually, a big thank you to my boyfriend for washing them and getting them so clean after I managed to ruin them on a hike. Thank god they turned out okay I would have been so lost without them haha!

Accessories wise I don’t really wear a lot of jewelry on a day-to-day basis just a watch which is the Rose Gold Darci watch by Michael Kors which I absolutely love!

This has been my go-to outfit over the past couple of weeks/month and I am obsessed with the look it gives! I hope you have enjoyed this post and let me know if you would like to see more post like this! Thank you so much for reading and I will see you really soon!! Much love,

Lizzie X

P.S. I have finally just hit 1k on my Instagram and 2.2k on my Twitter, so thank you for much for all your love and support. I really do appreciate it all always!!

Instagram: @libwalton_9

Twitter: @Life_WithLizzie

Rimmel Lasting Finish Foundation 25hr wear Review

Hello everyone!

Welcome back to my blog and today I am back with another beauty post. It feels like the longest time since I sat down and have done a blog post around beauty and makeup and reviewing a product, yet strangely enough, they are one of my favourites to write. You see, sometimes I am not all that adventurous when it comes to buying new products because I fear wasting my money and just tend to repurchase the same products which I know work well with my skin and ones which I absolutely love. Am I the only one like this? Consequently, that means that I don’t tend to buy new products all that often and therefore don’t write may reviews because I feel like they would be boring because I would just be reviewing a bunch of products which I know well and love and so they will appear all the same. However, I realise now that probably doesn’t matter to most people because not everyone will have tried the product I am talking about and thus might find it somewhat useful to have an informative review of a product before purchasing, because I for one, certainly appreciate that.  Therefore, to end this extremely long introduction full of ramble, I have decided I am going to review products more often.

Strangely enough, today, the product I am reviewing is new. I purchased this foundation around two weeks ago now and wanted to properly give it a chance before writing this review.  In all honesty, I don’t tend to wear foundation at all, as many of you will know if you have been reading my blog for the past year. I am not a huge fan of the way foundation feels and sits on my skin and prefer to go for something a little less heavy on the skin like a tinted moisturiser. Also, when I do wear foundation is does tend to be a high end one because it is normally just worn for special occasions, however, I have tried a Rimmel Foundation before. I used to wear the Rimmel True Match foundation and got on with that so well. It was great for my skin and provided good coverage and was a great alternative for not having to wear and use my expensive foundations if I felt some days I needed a little more coverage in the day because I was having bad skin day or week. Don’t lie, we all have them!

Anyway, I ran out of that foundation and so when I was in Boots the other week, I was really tempted to stick to my ways and purchase that foundation again. However, for some reason I felt a little crazy and picked up a different one for a try. I stuck with Rimmel purely because I had used a foundation by them before and loved it and because the L’Oréal one I did want to try didn’t have my shade available in store.  I had also heard and read good reviews about this products from numerous beauty gurus and articles and thought why not – let’s give it a try!

First thing, a price point for this product is £.7.99 so it is super affordable and a great drugstore price. I know makeup can be expensive but in my opinion, this is really affordable.

My first impressions were that I liked the packaging and I thought the glass bottle was nice and seemed sturdier for travelling over the plastic bottles you can get which unfortunately tend to leak more than the glass ones and I don’t really know why.  I liked the fact it comes with a pump because I think that it makes application a lot easier and quicker. Overall, I think the finish and packaging is great. Very simple and classic but does the correct job.

In terms of the actual foundation, it is a full coverage foundation so as you would expect it is quite thick but is still very creamy and smooth. For reference, I tend to use one full pump because I don’t like a tonne of makeup on my face for everyday wear but obviously if I am having a bad week and my skin is being problematic like it has been these past two weeks then I am going to want to wear a foundation for coverage. (Thank you for your suggestions on skincare products for problematic skin over my Twitter – they were so helpful!!) Anyway, so far, I have been really impressed by this foundation.

The foundation itself is high coverage like it says and does eliminate redness, blemishes and spots.  It blends out super well and gives a really nice even coverage to skin. I tend to blend out with a brush initially and then go over with my beauty blender to make sure it is completely even and not cakey anywhere. When I saw how thick the foundation was I was worried that it was going to be really cakey and drying and sit into my pores, however, it is nice and nourishing on skin and my skin still feels super soft and moisturised – not dry at all. I am also pleasantly surprised by the fact that it doesn’t fall into your pores and open them out but does just apply evenly to your face and minimise your pores. A big plus for me is that I haven’t found the foundation particularly cakey either which I really like because I was worried that it was going to feel really heavy on my skin.

I have worn this foundation without primer and setting sprays and it has lasted all the way to the evening even when I have applied my makeup early in the morning. It still looks great at the end of the day. It does look slightly worse in my t-zone, but not so bad that I couldn’t still wear the makeup and look extremely patchy. In terms of it lasting for 25 hours, I don’t know on that one! I haven’t tested that out! It stayed perfectly fine thought when I have been out at parties and dancing all night and has also lasted through hot summer days on hikes when I have been sweating a bit – TMI??? I don’t know – maybe – sorry!!! I Haven’t felt the need to reapply powder throughout the day and I genuinely have felt comfortable with this foundation on my skin.

Overall, I am super impressed with this foundation and I have really enjoyed wearing it and have got along with it really well. Personally, I would recommend this foundation to people who are looking for a more budget-friendly, full coverage, long lasting foundation because it does all of those things. So far, I have tried 2 Rimmel foundations and I have been thoroughly impressed with both so I would 100% recommend giving this a try if you are in search of a new foundation. If you have already tried this foundation or know of other foundations similar then please let me know your thoughts and opinions in the comments below or what foundations you recommend and are your go to on a daily basis. Thank you so much for reading and as always, I hope this has been of some use to someone and that you have enjoyed reading this post and has helped inform you little bit more about this product. Much love,

Lizzie X

Twitter: @Life_WithLizzie

Instagram: @libwalton_9

Be sure to keep up with me daily on my social media. Mwah X

Summer Walks

Hello everyone!

If you haven’t noticed or if you don’t follow me on my Instagram and Twitter you won’t know that I have been working a tonne lately and haven’t had many days off to just relax and enjoy myself and even on my the rare and occasional day off I have had I have pretty much been exhausted all the time haha! However, a few days ago the sun was shining and it was super warm in the UK (rare – I know!) so I decided to make the most of the day and went out for the day.

On this day,  I actually visited Hardwick Hall which if you don’t know is situated in Derbyshire in the UK and is a beautiful Stately Home. The house itself is absolutely stunning and is one of the most significant examples of Elizabethan architecture. It is a National Trust property and if you haven’t visited it yet then you should because the house and the gardens are stunning. However, I have visited so many times that on this particular day I just wanted to wander around the grounds, go on a peaceful walk and admire the views because again they are stunning.

Spending the day out in the sun in such a beautiful and peaceful place was so good for my mind and my body. I finally got a chance to relax and enjoy myself on a beautiful summer’s day. It relieved so much tension and stress and was such a peaceful and beautiful day. I had the best time, spending the day with my favourite person laughing, talking and just generally catching up and it was something I had not done in so long.

Even in the busiest days and weeks in our lives it is still so important to take time to yourself and enjoy the simple and little things. Even though it is so important to work hard and to achieve our goals it is also so important to enjoy ourselves and live in the moment and make the most of lives because today you aren’t as young as you were yesterday and tomorrow you won’t be as young as you are today. Time moves so fast and I just think it is so important to just do the little things and have fun and do the things we love and enjoy.

I had the most fantastic time and will leave a few photos from the day below. Let me know what you have all been up to this summer and what you favourite thing has been and remember to always care for yourself and spend time doing the things you love.

Thank you for reading and I hope you liked reading about what I enjoy to do on my days off to relax. Much love,

Lizzie X

P.S. I am so close to hitting on 1K on my Instagram and 2K on my Twitter. If you would like to keep up with me daily then be sure to give me a follow and leave me a comment so I can follow you all back. I would love to keep in contact!! X

Twitter: @Life_WithLizzie

Instagram: @libwalton_9

5 Simple Steps To Live A Happier Life

Hello everyone!

Today I am going to share with you some things that I have been investing my time in recently which have really helped me become a much better version of myself and someone is much more confident and happier. Recently I have been spending a tonne of time researching self-love and self-care and finding out a few simple things I could do on a daily basis to improve my health, happiness and overall lifestyle.

1. Appreciate the little things – I feel like this is such an important part of living a happy life. I know it is so important to be thankful and grateful for everything that I have, for all the memories and experiences that I hold and for the life I have been given – That is so special itself.  I know it is easy to get caught up with wanting all the fancy and bigger things in life but as you grow up, you will learn it’s the simple and little things that make you the happiest and that you are the most appreciative of. It’s those little moments which will make the darker times a little brighter and make you laugh a little louder or smile a little brighter.  Sometimes I think it is easier for us all to forget how lucky we are, it’s human nature, but practising gratitude and learning to love what you have instead of what you want, really will bring happiness and a much more positive outlook to your life.

 

2. Invest in yourself – This is the most important thing you could ever do and is something I have spent the last month to six weeks doing more of. The best person you can ever invest your time and love in is yourself. If you don’t love yourself who will? Spending time everyday taking care of your body, skin and health is so essential to living a happier life. The more you look after your body, the better you feel. The more you look after your skin, the better it will look and the more confident you will feel. Again, it is just simple things which really help when it comes to loving yourself and taking care of yourself. Ensuring you get enough sleep, and that you look after your body, exercise and eat a balanced diet make the biggest difference to not only your health but your overall lifestyle. I cannot emphasise how much of a difference this makes both emotionally and physically.  Self-love costs nothing but you gain everything!

 

3. Invest in your inner circle – Again, this is so important! Investing your time and effort into those who truly love and care for you are the only people you should be spending time with and on. It is impossible to live a happy and positive life if you surround yourself around negative people with negative thoughts and feelings and people who do not support you. It is so incredibly hard to lose people out of your life when you thought they were meant to be your friends forever but someone people are just meant to come into your life for a reason and only temporarily. Not everyone in permanent. Remember, sadly not everyone has the same heart that you do and not everyone is worth your time and effort. So, invest in your family and your friends who support you and love you no matter what. Invest in those people who have seen you at your worst but love you anyway. Invest in those who encourage you and inspire you to be a better version of yourself. It’s okay to lose friends and grow apart and separate. It’s natural and although in the beginning it is hard, in the end you will be happier and be so loved and you will also know that you have the most amazing support network behind you.

 

4. Practice forgiveness – This is so essential if you want to live a happy life. If you hold grudges and keep re-reading the same chapters in your life and cannot let go of the past you will never move forward and will never move onto better things.  It is not only important to forgive other but it is so essential to forgive yourself as well. We all make mistakes, that’s human nature but you must forgive yourself and carry the lesson and life experience with you for the rest of your journey. We are growing and changing and we will all make mistakes and the best way to move forward is to accept that and accept that people will mess up and they will hurt you and they will upset you or things will go wrong. That’s a part of life. None of us are perfect. We are beautifully imperfect and we all think and feel differently to each other and it is so important to remember that and remember to forgive people for their mistakes.  That doesn’t mean you must forget or you must be friends with them or continue your life with them and give people multiple chances, no of course not. It simple means you can’t hold grudges and live in the past in you want to be happy. Learning to let go and accept what has happened or what you cannot change really will lift a weight off your shoulders and will allow you to move on and be happy.

 

5. Stop expecting the worst – Life is inevitably going to be difficult and there are going to numerous challenges thrown your way but your attitude and outlook throughout those difficult times really define you. Setbacks, failures and tragedy are all a natural part of life, but when you expect the best from people and the certain situations we are place in you start to build a much more positive outlook. You build a promising and inspiring future for yourself instead of a bleak and miserable one. You build one which will make you happy and encourage you to be the best version of yourself. You will create a far more compassionate and understanding environment for yourself and you will be able to focus and bring more to the situations than if you were pessimistic.

Thank you so much for reading and I really hope this has helped someone in some way and you found it an enjoyable and interesting read. Let me know if you would like to see a part 2 to this because I would love to make one! Much love,

Lizzie X

Follow me on both Instagram and Twitter to keep up with me daily 🙂

Instagram – @libwalton_9

Twitter – Life_WithLizzie

Why you should always dress your best…

Hello everyone!!

Today I am going to be doing a slightly different post and talking about clothes and why it is important to dress your best. I know I haven’t done a fashion style post in the longest time, so I thought it was about time that I did one again and dressing well and presenting yourself the best way possible has actually been a topic that I have researched a lot recently and spoken to people about, after having a quite recent realisation myself and a very important subsequent lesson.

The first reason as to why you should dress your best is because of human nature and social conditioning we are all guilty are passing judgements on people based on what they are wearing. I don’t mean we judge people for what style of clothes they wear because I think diversity, variety and uniqueness is amazing and it would be so boring if we all dressed the same and wore the same style. I mean we subconsciously pass judgement on someone based on how well they appear to have taken care of themselves and thus already have this assumption of what a person is like. For example if someone is wearing clean clothes without stains and has washed, wearing deodorant they are presented much better than someone who isn’t wearing clean clothes and hasn’t washed and thus we would naturally trust and notice the person better presented. Basically, the better you present yourself and take care of your skin, body and personal hygiene creates a better impression and message for those around you. It also shows that you put effort into how you look and take care and pride in how you look and want others to perceive you.

Secondly, dressing your best everyday will honestly change your mood so much and will make you feel so much confident.  This is something I have learnt over the past couple of weeks. When you are struggling and having a difficult time, you don’t feel like getting up, spending time getting ready doing your hair and makeup. You just want to stay in your pyjamas and lie in bed but you really shouldn’t. It is so hard and I struggled with this recently so I do know how people feel but altering your mindset and telling yourself in the morning that you are going to get up and you are going to your makeup and you are going to put on your favourite outfit is honestly such a game changer.  It will change your entire mood and your day. If you get up and dress in your favourite clothes and do your makeup you won’t want to lie in bed and be miserable all day. You will feel so much more confident and want to go out and be productive. How you dress yourself and present yourself really does change your entire mood, mindset and confidence and it is important to get up, dress up and show up even when you feel a bit low.  You will feel so much better for it.  Just a little side note, that’s not to say that if you are spending the day inside and want to have something comfy on then wearing some jogging bottoms and comfy top but change out of your pyjamas, do your hair, do your skincare routine and put on some comfy clothes that fit well and make you feel confident.

Dressing your best is one of the best ways for you to express yourself and make yourself feel great. As I mentioned earlier, everyone is unique and has their own style and dressing in what you like and makes you confident is such a great way to express your personality and style. Dressing how you like and in what makes you feel confident and comfortable will change how people see you and will be a reflection of how you want people to perceive you and making the right impressions is very important as we all know.

If you are a creative person then getting up every morning and designing an outfit that you love and gives off the right impression will boost your creativity. If you want to dress your best and showcase a style that is really you, you will put time and effort into creating the perfect outfits everyday and will use your creative influences to do so.

I definitely use to be one of those people who would save their favourite items of clothing or outfits for special occasions and wouldn’t wear them otherwise. Now I don’t because I want to feel great and special everyday, not just a few times a year.  If you love your clothes and your wardrobe and you want to wear them and feel happy and excited to wear them, then wear them. You don’t have to have a reason to dress up and wear your special items. Everyday should be a special day and everyday you should feel excited to get dressed and wear an outfit that makes you feel happy.

Lastly you should always dress your best because it is fun!!!

Thank you so much for reading and I really hoped you have enjoyed!! Leave a comment telling me what your favourite outfit is that makes you feel great and I will see you very soon! Much love,

Lizzie X

P.S. Don’t forget to keep up with me daily on instagram and Twitter! I am so close to 1k on Instagram and 2k on Twitter!!

Instagram: @libwalton_9

Twitter: @Life_WithLizzie