Today I would like to share with you what I've been living in a very short July, I feel it went by very quickly I'm not sure it even lasted a whole month. It honestly lasted 10 seconds for me. Maybe because I sleep a lot but we're not here to discuss my lazy habits!

Here's all what I've been loving lately! That's a lot of beauty products.. Oops!

First up.. (This suddenly feels like a contestant line up) is my all time hair favourite Garnier Ultimate Blends 'The strength restorer' serum. This is honestly amazing! At it says at the top of the box, it targets split ends and as I've already mentioned, strengthens the hair. I apply this through the ends when my hair is half wet-half dry before styling as it can dampen the hair slightly. The reason for this is because I like to work it through the hair and feel it is more effective when slightly dry as the hair has more grip. Whereas when it's wet I feel it's more slippery. 

I bought the serum to try and revive my hair as the ends started to dry out (I've finally had a much needed hair cut). This worked wonders, although my hair wasn't magically revived and looked healthy again after one use which wasn't what I was expecting, it still felt silly smooth and much less dry. Once my hair was dry I could run my fingers through the strands easily. It also has a lovely honey scent, therefore smelling amazing!

Another hair product I've been loving not just through July, but for a while and I still do, is the Argan Oil of Morocco. This, I apply to wet hair before rough drying and after styling. However, instead of running this through the wet strands with my fingers I simply spray all over, paying particular attention to the ends. This works really well and smells amazing with the Garnier strength restorer which I mentioned first. This helps the ends feel much smoother and adds life by giving colour and highlighting the hair also.

My third favourite of the month is Maybelline's 'Babyliss' in the colour Cherry Me. I love this lip balm, I honestly cannot go a day without wearing it. It's such a beautiful, natural red.. and by natural I mean it's the perfect everyday lip colour. 

It's also extremely moisturising and tastes amazing. I love the fact that it's basically a tinted lip balm, I've tried other shades but this is the only colour I've stuck to and when I apply my everyday makeup, always reach for it. If I wear something different I just somehow feel lost without it (is that weird?). However, it's definitely suitable for an everyday look but not an evening in my opinion. I have sometimes worn it on a night out but the feeling of lipstick always tends to make me feel much more glammed and party-girl. Lip-balm is more casual and during the day so I wouldn't recommend it as a night-out look.

Another lip product which I've used a lot and worn on almost every night out is the Rimmel London Kate Moss in number 20 under 'Lasting Finish'. 

As you can see I've pretty much reached out for it when I'm wearing a little bit more makeup than I would everyday as I feel it is such a beautiful shade of pink and the pigmentation is extremely suitable for a night out or special occasion. I wouldn't wear this if the plan for your eye makeup was using bright colours as it would be buried amongst the shades. This lipstick is much more eye-catching and makeup appropriate if the eye-shadows are darker as the pop of colour suggests bold and adds a hint of glamour.

Onto face products I've been loving The Body Shop bronzer in the shade Golden Bronze. 

I have used this in a recent makeup post if you want to check it out here..

I am always on the hunt for bronzers as I love having a selection of shades suitable for different makeup looks. What drew my attention to this bronzer is the packaging. I love how makeup travel bag size appropriate it is and the colour just appears stunning. The thing I love most about this bronzer is you can apply it lightly, giving off a low-toned contour and warmth to the face. But you can also build it up which I often leave to the contouring depending how strong I want my cheekbones to appear.

Another face product I've been loving, not the whole of July, only recently is the Super Facialist by Una Brennan. This feels lovely on my skin, it comes out as a clear gel which smells of Elderflower. This is so simple to use, the gel feels lovely on my skin, I haven't used it to take off my face makeup yet, only to clean the skin. The gel can be so easily washed off with water by wetting your hands and rubbing them into the skin in a circular motion which foams the gel up then splashing your face and rubbing all over. This leaves the skin feeling tight as though it has closed the pores up, but also leaves a nice smooth touch.

The final section of this month's favourites is eyes. 

First up is the Maybelline Colour Tattoo in the shade On and On Bronze. This has been raved about for ages and I bought it quite a while ago but decided to include it in this month's favourites. This is such a lovely creamy texture holding the most beautiful shade of brown with a hint of glitter. The only thing I often find it difficult to do is picking it up with my finger to apply it as my nails are so long and I wouldn't want to cut them. I've tried a brush but the texture is slightly sticky making it awkward to gather up, also giving off a scratchy look once applied and it's also left stuck to the brush. However apart from this, I've used it as a base if I'm aiming to go for a brown smokey look. When rubbing it into the eyelid, it's so easy to glide around, spreading out an even base. A little tip though, a little goes a long way, if you're like me and don't like letting your products go to waste, don't gather up much of the product as if you don't need to use all of it, it'll go to waste. 

My final favourites of the month is the Urban Decay Smoked Palette.

This palette is beautiful for creating smokey eye looks (as the name suggests!) I've used all of the shades apart from Evidence and Loaded which are slightly out of my comfort zone and haven't felt the need to reach for them in any of my looks. However, apart from Kinky and Freestyle, all the other shades have been applied more to the crease, outer corner or the lower waterline of the eye, creating a dramatic drawn out look. 

My most favourite shades are Mushroom (which I use daily for my brows), Rockstar as it's such a beautiful, slightly glittery purple and Asphalt, which I occasionally use on my crease and eyelid to add glitter to a black smokey eye look.

And that's all my favourites for the month! What've you been loving this month?

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I hope my last 'Uplifting Midweek' post made you realise the affects society can have on us and by ignoring it we can lead much happier lives and start to become happier in ourselves. I know that sometimes all I need is a reminder or a little pick-me-up especially when I'm feeling down and I hope I was able to do that for you.

Today I want to share with you a topic that can be another reason for one's unhappiness and I feel it needs to be discussed. 

Friends are ones you can rely on, they're always there for you when you're feeling down, making you laugh, basically another enjoyment in your life. Or so they should be.

For me, school was one of the hardest stages of my life I had to go through. Although some say your years at school are some of the best years of your life. However if you were like me, and suffered from bullying, this may not be the case. Luckily an unexpected happier place was waiting for me round the corner which is university.

The problems with bullying most of the time is that the students(or adults even) haven't fully matured yet. But instead of the bully taking their personal problems into their own hands and dealing with them, they take those with better lives than them and make their life hell. 

What some people don't realise is that the person who is doing this to you could be who you thought was your friend. However, because they brainwash you with 'we're just looking out for you', the victim is oblivious to the situation. Only once you mature is when you look back at the situation and realise what you should've realised back then. But because we're innocent and haven't done anything wrong, we don't see why they would have a motive in order to put us down.

Comments such as 'why are you putting on makeup? You're not going anywhere' for example. This is a clear sign of jealousy but like I said before, because they have brainwashed you into thinking they're your friends, the 'advice' they give you is surely only to help you, right? In relation to bullying, this is only snide. The only way to make them feel better about theirselves is by getting back at you, therefore making silly remarks about things they know make you happy. 

This is a different form of bullying here and still joins in with what I said at the beginning; They take those with a better life than them and make their life hell. Your 'friends' are only using you for what you have because your life is so much better than theirs. They also now know that because you're fully convinced they're your friend, you will want to share what you have with them so you can enjoy it with somebody else. Or in your mindset, your very best friend/s. This is wrong. If they were a true friend they would, instead of being jealous, enjoy your luxuries that they don't have but not let it get in the way of your friendship.

Another well known way of getting back at someone out of jealousy is by excluding them from events where everyone else is invited except you. In doing this they know it will upset you and no doubt hundreds of thoughts will be flooding through your mind such as 'what have I done wrong? I thought we were friends'. You haven't done anything wrong and I think this is what people need to realise. They want us to think 'if we're not invited we must've been a bad friend to them'. Instead of standing up to the person and letting them be aware of how hurt we felt at the time, we keep our mouths shut, feeling as though we've done something wrong and promising to be better friend to them by sharing even more of our luxuries with them which is exactly what they want. They want you wrapped round their little finger.

However if you were to do the same to them, they wouldn't let you forget it.

If we refer back to the image I placed at the beginning, in which this post is basically based around, this is difficult to stand by especially when school is somewhere you have to be everyday. That could be another reason for the mistreatment you get from your 'friend/s' as they know you wouldn't leave them due to you basically letting them in on your life, giving them a chance to use your luxuries and probably told them your secrets. You've basically opened up to the person and for some, this is a hard thing to do. At school however, as this is part of our everyday lives, many of us learn to 'put up' with this due to wanting to be friends with as many people we can to ensure we have someone to talk to and at this age, popularity is everyythiingggg. Only once we leave school is when we know who our true friends are. I guarantee your so called 'friend/s' will still be at least keeping in contact with you strangely enough. This adds another reason to our list of why we believe they are our true friend/s as they must care about us to want to keep in contact right? This is bullying gone too far. If they have had fun so far by putting you down, why would they want to end it? After all if it makes their life happier than it was before they met you, they'd want to keep doing it! At least this gives you a chance to feel special in some way - you're so amazing that you've made someone's life better by being in it ;) although not in the beeest way unfortunately.. But you're still special <3

In their mind, as long as you're miserable they've succeeded by sucking the happiness out of you for themselves. They can enjoy your relationship commitment knowing your luxuries are one text message away at any time they need you but unfortunately this allows them to drop you whenever they feel like it. And that my dear readers, is the definition of a bitch - excuse my rudeness :)

I'd just like to remind you of how much stronger you are compared to the bullies which I know can be difficult to realise when your thoughts are too busy focused on feeling hurt. This distracts you from realising how much better you are. What we forget is;

1. How strong we are for simply coping with someone who is pretending to be our friend just to bully you more - ever stopped and thought about that? I hope you do now.

2. Not sinking to their level - if you haven't treated them the same way you should feel proud! Let me remind you of how good a person this makes you, no matter how much they've hurt you you've managed to stick by their side and because they'll never let you know how lucky they are to have you then allow me. However you do deserve soooo much better! 

3. Nobody deserves to be treated this way - don't 'put up' with them because you might aswell, 'au revoir bitch!' Sooner rather than later! However if the reason for putting up with them is because they're your only friend/s then before you do this perhaps try to make friends with others, and may I make a suggestion - someone nicer :)

Therefore you no longer need your fake friend because you're leaving him/her for someone better!

I hope this has uplifted your spirits a little😊

Until next time sweetie

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Hello my lovelies,

Today I have a makeup tutorial which I wore one night on my recent holiday to Majorca with my boyfriend :)

For me, evenings are the time where you transform from no makeup and perhaps feeling not so glamorous during the day. Obviously this would be the case if you're going to be outside sunbathing/going on a trip etc and the sun is just too hot to even think about makeup. However when the temperature drops only slightly and the sun is hidden amongst the darkness, here's the time for you to feel glamorous. This might either be done with your favourite perfume and a bit of makeup. Evenings are basically the time to feel good about yourself as the temperature has dropped a bit, therefore you can cope with a bit more makeup! 

Before I start I'd just like to point out I am no professional makeup artist, this is just a look I enjoyed putting together and I want to share it with you guys as makeup is something I enjoy.

For starters, I apply the Revlon Colorstay in 220 Natural Beige for Combination/Oily Skin. For me, this is a foundation I have to spend quite a bit of time on blending otherwise it looks a bit scratchy at first. Another tip when applying this is always apply the foundation in layers. Therefore meaning to start with a thin base and go from there. I decided to keep quite a thin layer for this look because as I have recently been on holiday, my freckles have come out and I do love them :). Because they are one of my favourite parts about me, I didn't want to cover them up, therefore only applying a thin layer of foundation.

I then focused on brightening up the shadowing underneath my eyes and covering up areas of redness with my Rimmel London Wake Me Up concealer in the shade 010 Ivory. When applying this under my eyes and in the corner I tried to spread this as much as I could instead of patting it in, not wanting to cover up my freckles! In terms of redness, which tends to show up round my nose and, since my holiday, at the end of my nose! 

After using both a light shade of foundation and concealer, I decided to bronze up my face and contouring my cheeks to match my tan with the Body Shop bronzer 01 Golden Bronze. This is such a lovely shade of brown for this look as I sometimes find bronzers can be a bit too orangey. I was extremely happy to have found this product and it even looks gorgeous in the package! This product works extremely well with the foundation as it doesn't contrast too much, therefore making the bronzer give more of a natural glow. I use this for contouring my cheeks and nose. I then sweep the product over my face darkening up the face slightly, blending in with my tan. Otherwise I think I'd look a bit pale!

Here is the finished look for the face.

Onto the eyes:

For my eyes, I am going to create a glittery, bad girl smokey eye.

I start by using the shade Bootycall from my Urban Decay Naked 2 palette as a shimmery base for all over my lid including the inner corner adding to the brightness from the concealer to help open up the eyes. I also apply this underneath my brows brightening up my brow bone and widening the eyes. I then use the shade pistol across my lid, dodging the inner corner. This is a light grey shimmery shade and I aim to use it to darken up the crease slightly. 

Then onto my Urban Decay 'Smoked' palette I continue the eye makeup by applying Asphalt into the crease and under the eye along just below the waterline. This gives a smokey outline of the eye and helps darken up the eyes but instead of closing them in, with the application of the concealer and shimmery touch in the inner corner, this helps outline those big eyes. 

To finish the eyeshadow I applied a touch of the shade 'blackout' to my outer corner, blending into the crease.

Brows:

For brows I use an angled brush to apply the shade 'mushroom' starting from where the brow begins working my way out. I've found the easiest way to guide yourself here is to get the end opposite the brush, place it next to your nose in a vertical line, here is your starting point. Then, leaving the brush end still touching the end of your nose, move the tool along the brow, to find another corner, then continue to find point 3, the end of the brow.

In terms of eyeliner I use both products from Rimmel London 'Scandal Eyes'. I begin to use the Micro Eyeliner just above the top waterline and finishing this with a flick at the outer corner, drawing my eyes out. This helps make the eyelashes appear thicker once mascara has been applied. I then applied the pencil eyeliner along my bottom waterline, out lining the eyes making them stand out a bit more.

Lastly, for the eyes, I apply my all time favourite L'Oreal Paris Miss Manga mascara in the shade extra black. Due to the dark, smokey atmosphere given off from the eyes, it seems only right to ensure the lashes are visible and if you are preparing for a night-out, falsies would also be worn. I apply the mascara to my top and bottom lashes knowing the mascara promises to add mega volume. My lashes are naturally long anyway but the volume this adds is insane and I think I've bought this quite a few times now after binning an empty pot each time.

Lips:

I decided to include two lip products for this look depending on the occasion. For a night out I would, without hesitation, grab for the Kate Moss Lasting Finish in the number 20. When applying this lipstick you are immediately made aware that the product sticks to your lips due to it lacking moisture. I will sometimes apply my babyliss lip balm as a primer just to add a touch of moisture to my lips otherwise I can find myself licking my lips often as they can feel sticky. However on the plus side, the product is long-lasting, therefore extremely suitable for a night out hitting your favourite club. I also feel the product helps resolve the lack of colour due to the pink brightening up the look a tad escaping the goth-like effect it may have given off. And also, if a bit of smooching is involved, no worries! It doesn't smudge!

Although, if you're more for nude lips I would highly recommend the Urban Decay Naked lipgloss. This came in a travel set and it is the nicest colour! It's a beautiful dark glossy, shiny nude which makes the look suitable for either shopping trips, date nights or even night outs if you're more of a nude girl (not literally, don't do that).. 

I feel that the look you are going for depends entirely on the colour of the lips. If you've chosen a bright lip, this finishes a night-club look. However, a nude lip can automatically transform the look into a daytime wear such as going out for lunch, coffee dates, shopping trips etc. 

Thank you for reading my step-by-step tutorial on a smokey eye. I will leave some snaps of the final look below.. Until next time lovelies :)

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Louise Pentland or as some of you may know her as 'Sprinkle Of Glitter' recently brought out a sparkling number 1 in the Times Best Sellers charts confidence boosting book 'Life With A Sprinkle Of Glitter'! 

In her book she goes through different stages sharing her tips, tricks & advice within Glitz, Creating, Need To Knows and All About Love. I am going to share with you the affects this novel has had on me without giving too much away hopefully! 

The section that has had the most impact on me & felt I could relate the most to was 'Body Confidence' and 'Comfort Zones' under the 'Need To Knows' section. Here, she advises us on how to look at our bodies with love instead of disgust with her own tips on how to do so. Because I have quite a small body, there have been the odd comments such as 'you're so slim!' and 'you don't have to worry about how your body looks in photos'. As lovely as this may sound to some, we all have our own secret dislikes about our body that we purposely hide away which only we know about. That's why I felt 'LWASOG' (little abbreviation there in case you wondered if my cat had accidentally stepped across the keyboard) helped boost my confidence in 'Body Confidence' by reminding me that I am not alone, whatever body type you have, we all have our own insecurities because we see our bodies everyday. I suppose it could be the mind's way of being bored and trying to give us something to keep us busy. Nobody is perfect but every body type is unique and Louise gives us advice on how to make us realise that. 

I also scare myself with the thought of leaving my comfort zones & with Louise's own stories of how this has happened to her, I finally felt I could relate to someone and as though we were having a proper conversation about the topic. In this trinket she also gives us tips & ways to deal with these situations and has once again left me with not feeling alone anymore.

One of the best things about this novel is you don't have to read it from start to finish. The contents page allows you to skip forward/backwards to any part of the book and float along in whatever order you wish suggesting a chilled, chatty laid back vibe.

Another favourable feature of Louise's style of writing is although she talks about the not so positive parts of our lives (body confidence for example) she will add snippets of her life experiences encouraging light-hearted vibe to the theme which I enjoyed. 

Quote used from 'Life With A Sprinkle Of Glitter' • Image taken by moi 

Although sadness kicked in when I realised I had finished reading such a great book.. I learnt some great tips & the fact Louise uses her own experiences really helped as I finally felt I could relate to someone else as the feeling of loneliness left my bubble of thoughts. 

I hope you enjoyed this review and realise that this book is worth the money. If you want my advice.. I'd say buy it off Amazon as it only costs £4.99. Here's the link: 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/1471149722/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1438027600&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SY200_QL40&keywords=life+with+a+sprinkle+of+glitter&dpPl=1&dpID=51QulgvK9wL&ref=plSrch

This is one of my first book reviews and I hope I didn't give too much away from the book! Thankyou for reading :)

Until next time 

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Today I am going to be sharing 10 facts about me to help you get to know me a little bit better :) 

1. Favourite colours; I love colourful shades such as light pinks, baby blues, coral, purple! Although I do tend to find myself buying clothes with black in them which is fine for colder temperatures but unsuitable for a summer wardrobe! I therefore find it successful when I manage to pick up something with more colourful shades :)

2. Favourite song right now; recently I have been loving Kygo feat. Conrad 'Firestone' (the perfect chill song) & Calvin Harris 'Outside' (if you need to get in the partaay mood)

3. Favourite thing to watch on t.v right now; I have just started watching 'American Horror Story' with my boyfriend and it is so creepy but we love it! We've watched all four seasons in the past couple of weeks.. Oops.. And also (of course) 'Pretty Little Liars' (our guilty pleasure) which comes on Netflix each week! 

4. Ideal date; dominos and Netflix/films night❤️or a meal out then cinema is another favourite :) I also enjoy days out, for example, me and my boyfriend have been to Thorpe Park & The London Dungeons!

5. Why I have started blogging; I am going to use this space as a happy area I come to in order to write about things I am interested in or events that I can come back to and read again when I'm feeling down just to lift my spirits a little. This will also be used for tips & tricks whether that is in the area of beauty, fashion, lifestyle, anxiety, confidence. These are all subjects I would enjoy writing about for others to try for themselves or just for me to share with you.

6. What I enjoy doing in my spare time; YouTube is at the top of the list by far! I love spending some quiet time watching my favourite YouTubers such as; Velvetghost, Zoella, Pointless Blog, In The Frow, Tanya Burr, Jim Chapman, Sprinkle Of Glitter and more but the list is endless!🙈 

I also enjoy a good book, right now I have just finished reading Louise Pentland's 'Life With A Sprinkle Of Glitter'! Such an uplifting, confidence boosting book😊

Instagram is my baby. I love photography, the simpler the better! For example, a simple flower surrounded by leaves, I enjoy playing around with the lighting, shadowing etc in order to improve the quality of the capture. If you want to see what I mean, my Instagram is melbrill :) 

7. What are my aspirations?; I love to dance, for those who didn't know, I am going into my second year of university, studying Dance :) Also, to be happy, and I don't just mean a family; simply do what makes me happy. Travelling, be surrounded by people who make me smile, join a dance company, make others happy :)

8. What is my favourite season?; I love both summer and winter! The clothes in summer are beautiful I love picking out colourful outfits & bikinis for a holiday - it's just my thing ;) And let's not forget the tanned body you come back home with after a week or two away somewhere hotter! Nothing better than walking into class looking more tanned than everyone else ;) 

Winter is in my opinion a cute season where you wrap up warm & cosy up to another with the fire burning away - whether that may be your partner or your mum/dad! Slowing sipping away a hot chocolate as the marshmallows melt away, hands wrapped around your mug keeping you warm as you put a Christmassy film on in the background! It's just so cosy & cute! Thinking about it gets me in a winter mood :)

9. Do I have any pets?; I have a Jack Russell called Rolo, a rabbit named Flip and two cats called Bubbles & Furby!

10. Favourite food?; I love pizza, spaghetti bolognese/Carbonara for dinner! Obviously the unhealthy foods! For breakfast I would enjoy a fry up everyday if I could! Two fried eggs and bacon in a sandwich is yummy enough for me :) This has to go with a coffee/tea to get me going for the day otherwise I don't think I'd survive!

There are my 10 facts about me! Hope you enjoyed getting to know me!😊Until next time .. 

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However, I have decided to return to my blog as writing is something I have enjoyed since a child. My favourite subject was always Creative Writing as I have quite an imagination and would enjoy coming up with stories that made me smile. 

My first year of university has helped me find aspects of myself; new friends, likes, dislikes, some have changed, some haven't. Instead of pressuring myself into making sure I write one post a week I am going to post whenever I like and the topic may vary so expect the unexpected!

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