January Favourites

January is known as being pretty much the worst month. It's a come down after the festive period, it seems to drag on forever and it's dark seemingly all the time. Therefore, focusing on the good is certainly helpful in getting through the month.

Maybelline Forever Strong in Divine Wine | Ciate Mini in Fit for a Queen

I have two nail polish favourites which is a definite side effect of work. We're allowed to wear nail polish so long as it looks nice, and not chipped. These two polishes did a really good job of lasting a long time and looking great. The Ciate polish came in my advent calender, and is really space-agey. I saw the Maybelline on Amelia Liana's instagram and it's really great-and does genunially last pretty much the 7 days it claims to. I use both of this with an Essie base coat, which probably helps.

Yankee Candle in Christmas Eve

I know technically Christmas Eve was a long time ago, but festive scents are probably my favourite thing. Plus, this was a Christmas present from my parents so I kind of had to burn it. This made my room feel really warm and I am pretty heartbroken that the wick has broken and so it just won't light anymore.

Lush Rose Jam Shower Gel 

I popped into Lush before Christmas as I bought my Mum a bath melt, and spied Rose Jam when I was there. This is a product I thought they'd discontinued and doesn't appear to be on the website anymore, but it smells heavenly. Think Turkish Delight in a bottle. If they bring it back I would definitely recommend it, and it does looks as though they have a bath product with the same scent.

Bourjois CC Cream

I tend to stay away from BB/CC creams generally because they don't tend to offer the coverage I need or tend to look pretty ashy on my skin. However, I was really pleasantly surprised by the Bourjois CC cream. It offers really good coverage without feeling really heavy.

I've been a subscriber to Elle UK for a while and just wanted to give this month's issue a shout-out. Whilst I'm not crazy about the fashions for the new seasons, I really liked Emma Forrest's article on growing up as a girl and a wonderful article about the ballerina Michaela DePrince, who was orphaned during the civil war in Sierra Leone. Plus, this month's Vogue had the individual cover debut of the gorgeous Jourdan Dunn, important in the sense that women of colour are hardly ever represented within the fashion industry. Plus, there's a really good article about David Miliband, the former Labour MP who now runs an NGO. Annoyingly, you can't read any of these online but if you can track the magazines down before the March issues come out-I would recommend them both.

2015: Resolutions

(source)

I haven't given myself new year's resolutions for quite some time. 2014 was a year that had pretty much terrified me since I was at school as it marked the end of my education, unless I decide to do a Masters at some point. This is the first year which has not got some kind of term or semester breakdown and so resolutions/goals seem a good way to organise myself this year.

1. Cultivate a positive self-image and attitude.
   2014 was the first year in a long time which didn't feature a lengthy downturn in my mood (I'm hesitant to use the D word as I haven't had a formal diagnosis). Despite a few wobbles, these remained just a bad day or a bad week and didn't snowball. I've worked really hard at coming to terms with my appearance (hence the multitude of selfies in this post) and myself and that's something that I want to continue into 2015. 
2. Learn to drive
   I first started lessons when I was in sixth form, and if I'm going to be living in the sticks for a while I need to get this done. Also it would be just good to finally have it ticked off. 
3. Get a full-time job
   Preferably one that would allow me to move away from the sticks and that would enable me to be working in an area that I'm passionate about. Don't allow the job search to grind me down, continue to take college courses that develop my understanding of the areas that I'd like to work within.
4. Make an effort to communicate more
   I'm really bad at falling out of touch with people, or worrying that they'll think me messaging them is annoying. This year I want to make a definite effort to keep in touch with people from university and even school.
5. Stop feeling bad about removing people from my life
   The flip side to the above resolution is what happens when people don't return the effort. I need to stop feeling bad about not wishing to have people in my life who make me feel bad or undeserving of their attention. 
6. Make a regular exercise routine
   I definitely don't need to lose weight, but I could really do with feeling more fit. I want to try and exercise at least once a week. I'm currently partaking in Blogilates beginner's calender which is killing me slowly.
7. Own less
   I'm starting to feel a bit antsy about the amount of stuff that I own. I also get far too emotionally attached to objects. I want to start doing monthly wardrobe clear-outs to ensure that the clothes I own are clothes that I actually wear. I only want to keep books/dvds that I really love. 
8. Burn more candlesI've gotten really into having candles in my room now that I can actually burn candles (they were on my landlords hitlist at university). Especially now that I've discovered long matches so burning my fingers isn't such a problem anymore. 
9. Be kinder to the family
   This isn't to say that I am the worst human ever, but I sometimes take my frustrations about living at home on my parents which definitely isn't fair. We're also currently dealing with a family illness so this is definitely a time to be kind.
10. Read 50 books
    I've taken part in the 50 books challenge since 2011, and I've managed to succeed each year. I'd like to make more of an effort this year to read a more diverse range of authors, especially people of colour as that is something that has been embarrassingly low over the years.
11. Stick to a skincare regime
    I always have the best of intentions when it comes to my skin, which has been troublesome over the years to put it mildly. This year I want to really stick to using products that I know work and actually remember to take off my make-up each day (I know, I know). It would be cool to no longer have to look at the 'teenage skin' section of Boots
12. Journal more
    I have a diary which has been on the go since February 2014 and is less than half full. I definitely want to get better at recording things in there, especially when I have a bad day as it does really help.
13. Wear more lipstick
    When I was at university I wore lipstick pretty much everyday, and the same was true when I had an office job. However, working somewhere wear I'm pretty such a red lip would be frowned upon means that my beloved lipstick collection is floundering. I'm definitely going to take up any opportunity to wear it this year.
14. Embrace the song "22" 
    I turn 22 in March and cannot wait to truly feel this song (also I adore pretty much all the outfits in this video)....

I'm sure I'm going to think of more things along the way that I want to achieve this year, but this seems like a good place to start. 2015 just has a good, solid ring to it to me, so I hope it's a good one. What are your 2015 goals?

Amy
Twitter | Instagram | Tumblr

2014 in Books: The Best of the Year

2014 Throwback: The Year via My Phone

Taking advantage of late Valentine's Day reductions-Delicious mac & cheese at The Shipping Forecast-The docks in Liverpool-Pre Speakeasy selfie-Silent disco with my housemates-Favourite spring flowers-Rainbow at Selly Oak train station-First ever cronut-Risque tights impulse purchased after seeing this (yet to be worn)