I turned 21!
Lifestyle

I turned 21!

paigebwrites2 Comments

Hey M’lovelies,

So, a lot of you that follow my blog regularly will know that my birthday was recently (October 29th) and I turned the big 21. Naturally, I thought let’s write a post about it and my plans for my 21st year because people will definitely give a shit about that … right? Well tough because I’m doing it anyway.

It feels so weird to say that I’m now officially into the start of my adult life. When I was 20 I could still kinda fit into the teenage age bracket and teenage-like behaviour is still expected from 20-year-olds (on less extreme level). Now, I feel like I’m considered an actual adult and supposed to have the maturity that comes with that. However, I am so excited for what my twenties will bring me because I do believe that’s when life really starts. Most of the big events you go through in life will happen during those years and you grow into who you’re truly supposed to be.

My birthday this year was a very quiet affair but that was exactly what I wanted. I had a group of my friends around the flat for some pizza (it was two for Tuesday … I had to!) and then we headed to karaoke which was pretty dead but my friends made it insanely fun. Particularly my friend Dan, who is usually very quiet, because he’d had a few drinks and was screaming off the top of his lungs to ‘Bassline Junkie”.

However, the highlight of my birthday was when I was in work visiting one of my fresher flats (officially we aren’t supposed to have favourites … but they’re definitely the favourites) and they had decorated the flat with balloons and baked me cupcakes. I have never wanted to bawl my eyes out so much because it was such a thoughtful gesture and I will never forget it.

Now, I thought I would share my goals for my 21st year with you guys.

Take better care of myself – I know for a fact there certain ways in which I need to improve when it comes to taking care of myself. An example of that being that I never drink enough water which is affecting my ability to concentrate properly and probably contributes my insomnia as well.

Blog more frequently – Recently, I have been letting things get on top of me which means that I have been neglecting things that I really love doing.  I haven’t really done anything that I love to do if I’m being honest. However, I have a lot of posts preplanned for the blog and they are ones that I am incredibly proud off, I can not wait for you to read them.

Be consistent with my bullet journal – Bullet journaling is one of my favourites things on the planet, but I have certainly been falling behind on creating new weekly spreads and coming up new spread ideas. December will be an amazing month for spreads because Christmas requires so much planning.

I didn’t want to set too many goals for myself because I’m a firm believer in doing a small bit at a time. However, I am very deadset on sticking to the ones that I have set myself because I truly believe it will make a difference.

I hope you guys have enjoyed this post. Monday marks the start of my Christmas posts which I am so incredibly excited for and I hope you are all going to love them!

Paige x

Current Favourites
Beauty · Lifestyle

Current Favourites

paigebwritesLeave a comment

Hey M’lovlies,

So my last post was a bit of a downer and so I thought that I should probably do something a little bit more light-hearted. Positivity is key and all that.

I was initially writing this as a September favourites but then I realised after being gone for so long , current favourites was probably more appropriate. I’ve discovered a lot of new things over the past couple of months and I have fallen totally in love with a lot of it. I mean, I hated a lot of it too but that is for another time. Let me know if a ‘Stuff I hate’ post is something you’d be interested in reading in the comments below.

Rightio, let’s get into it.

Chamomile tea and honey – It is a well known fact that chamomile has an insane amount of benefits and one of which is that it can aid and improve sleep. To say that I agree with that claim would be an understatement. Sleep is something that doesn’t come easy for me and being an aneamic insomniac isn’t going to end well for anybody. Well, recently I was doing some shopping and I found myself drawn to a magic box that read ‘Twinnings chamomile and honey’ and I could not pull myself away until it was in my basket. It was a total ‘fuck it’ moment but I’m so glad I bought it. I have a cup before bed while reading some blogs and I’m knocked out in half an hour. Plus, I’ve been waking up once a night instead of the usual 5/6. It is a drinkable sleeping tablet … I swear it.

Nyx Honey Few Me Up Primer – oh! Another honey related product? Maybe it’s my good luck charm. While this is slightly on the pricier side of the drugstore scale … It is something that I feel is totally worth the money as I fell in love with it instantly. You guys all know I love a hydrating primer but I generally find they lose their benefits when you set the foundation. However, not only does this hydrate and plump the skin but it gives you a ‘glow from within’ look that still comes through set foundation. It leaves you looking healthy and fresh. Who doesn’t want that! Be warned, the application can be a messy process if you don’t remove the excess from the wand before putting it on your face.

Vanilla Cupcake Yankee Candle – ‘oh my good god!’ were my exact words when I smelt this candle for the first time. Imagine you’re back in year 8 food tech class and you’ve just opened the oven to remove your proud work where the smell of freshly baked cake whacks you in the face, filling the entire room. That’s exactly what the candle smells like and it’s not too overpowering either so it only gently fragrances the whole room. I also love that it comes in a decently weighted glass jar as it means it is very difficult to knock over. It also makes a beautiful shelf decoration.

White Mesh Heart Fairy Lights – I was on my way to the bus home from town when my legs very rudely walked me into Primark. While in there, I spotted a set of 10 absolutely stunning fairy lights and they decided that they’d look stunning behind my bed and so they jumped into my basket. My card then naughtily jumped out of my purse to pay. I put them up as soon as I got home (it would have been cruel not to!) and my room suddenly came together. It was the decorations I had no idea I was missing. I now have them on every night as I lay in bed sipping my chamomile tea and reading blogs. Totally transformed the entire room.

Gel Nail polish – Up until recently I never really cared about nail care or painting them but then I started filling them and then attempting to paint them. I quickly learnt that I would never master it and I decided to get them done while on a weekend away in Cardiff. They recommend gel to me because of how long it lasts and I don’t think I’ll ever go back to normal polish. I feel like it looks so much better on the nail and they last absolutely ages on me which makes it worth the money. Something as little as having my nails done has brought me so much confidence which I know sounds a bit silly but it works for me.

Benefit 24hr brow setter – if your brows are anything like mine then they enjoy growing in different directions, lengths and thickness. Just piss you off. Well, I went into TKMaxx recently and found this magical item on sale, only the travel size of course … Naturally. But, it has been a total brow game changer and they now stay pointing in the same direction all day. I adore the fact that it doesn’t make your brows feel like cement and I got the clear one which makes them look so natural. Also, for a travel size you get quite a lot of product as its the same size as any brow gel you’d find at the drugstore.

Always night-time pads – omg! a female talking about sanitary products on the internet! Gasp! Shock! Horror! Are we done with the taboo silliness now? Thank you very much. Since I had to switch pill, mother nature doesn’t like me very much and these have become my daytime pads as they seem to be the only ones that can keep me relatively safe. They are the most ‘comfortable’ ones I have found and I feel a lot less likely to leak in them. I recently saw online that Sophia Bush has partnered with Always on their #endperiodpoverty campaign. I always admired before but I admire her even more now as she does her best to help anyone with a menstural cycle that are unable to access sanitary products.

I’m sorry that there were not more items and the post is going up late. I tried to think of more but then I realised that if I has to think about them … then they aren’t favourites. I really hope you enjoyed the post and feel free to leave me any feedback in the comment section below.

All my love,

Paige x

Let’s chat!
Lifestyle

Let’s chat!

paigebwritesLeave a comment

Hey M’lovlies,

So after a very sporadic couple of months I felt like it was time to give you a little update on what’s been going on in my life and why things have been so off with me. I am going to put a little warning here that there will be talk about mental health so if that is something that might upset you then please leave the post now and I will see you in my next one.

Around April time I started to notice myself becoming anxious over stupid little things like walking into my world lit lecture because the amount of people in there terrified me. Especially as they all had a habit of turning straight to the door to see who was walking in. There was a lot of things that my brain was trying to work through and they were things that I had no control over but my brain didn’t want to accept that. They were things that had already happened or things that can’t be changed as much as I want them to. I’m not going into detail about what they are right now because they’re very personal things that I’m not ready to put on the internet but I’m sure I will one day. I spent most of my time in my room panicking about leaving the flat and it became all I did which meant I was falling behind on work and the blog. It all just kind of built up to a massive shit show. My brain was taking to me some dark places but I didn’t want to talk about it anyone because I believed that I was just being stupid and people would laugh at me for it but my stepmum and me had a long conversation which really helped me put things into perspective.

On top of that, at the start of summer I started to find myself becoming ill and permanently exhausted again which I started to realise meant that anemia was probably back and in true ‘my body hates me’ fashion … It is. I couldn’t concentrate on anything and I had absolutely no creative ideas coming in which broke me because I don’t want to be doing the same as everybody else … I missed my ideas. I was napping for hours during the day and waking up so late which is just not me at all. My energy was gone but the iron tablets are finally kicking in and Im starting feel a lot better … Minus the dizziness and nausea (fun times!). I’m napping so much less but my concentration still isn’t fully there but it’s getting there slowly.

I also found that I lost a lot of my motivation because I just wasn’t seeing any interaction with my blog and I don’t mean that in a ‘omg I’m not getting veiws’ way but the aim for my blog is to be an escape for 5 minutes for people who may not be having it the easiest but I didn’t feel like it was doing that. It’s a blog about silly, trivial things like makeup because sometimes you just need to read something like that to take your mind off the big things. I couldn’t see my blog helping anyone but I’ve now realised that it is helping somebody … Me. It’s my break and it’s my escape. Obviously I hope other people are enjoying reading it and I hope people start interacting with me more but I can’t base how my blog runs off that or I may as well shut it down.

I found myself falling out of love with makeup as well which obviously hindered my ability to write as 90% of my content is about makeup. Well, I didn’t fall out of love with it as such but totally lacked any motivation with it and just didn’t feel like I had the energy to put it on. I wasn’t feeling confident with or without it and so I just didn’t see the point in bothering to wear it.

Now, 5 months down the line, I am back in London for university and already feel so much more positive. Im excited to start my new modules and meet new people rather than being scared at the prospect of it. Im still physically not in best place but my mental health is certainly on the up. My relationship is going so perfect and we have now been together almost a year and a half; Jack was absolutely amazing in supporting me through all this even when he wasn’t in the best shape himself. I’ve started to feel so much more confident in myself again and am wearing makeup more frequently while also finding myself so excited to try new products. I’ve completed a lot of the planning the my novel so I am now in the process of starting to properly write it out which I am so excited for as it has taken me years to get to this point.
I started a new job working as a residence ambassador for my university and while the first two weeks were very intense, Im enjoying every single second (plus my bank balance is going to love me at the end of it!). It’s made me ready to meet new people and help then as they start the scary transition of being in their first year of uni.

I hope you guys are not too annoyed at my upload situation but I promise you that I am going to be uploading atleast once a week from now on and they will become more frequent as I adjust to my new mindset and get even more positive about life. I know it doesn’t seem like I’ve said much but I didn’t want to get into things too deep as that is now who I am but I thought I’d give a brief explanation.

Please leave any ideas that you may have for me in either my Instagram DM’s or in the comment section below.

All my love,
Paige X

Foundation for ABSOLUTE beginners.
Beauty

Foundation for ABSOLUTE beginners.

paigebwritesLeave a comment

Hey M’lovlies!

Well, it turns out that my ass isn’t lazy after all and is just in need off another good dose of iron tablets. I’ve started taking them as of Thursday last week and am on them for three months but I should be on the way to full health again very shortly.

All misery aside, I wanted to talk to all you makeup newbies about the beauty of foundation. When starting out with foundation it is very easy to get it wrong because there is so many things that have to work in harmony for it to look right. You have to get the colour right, the finish that’s best for your skin and the coverage you desire.

So, generally foundation will have one of three finishes; light, medium or full. Light would be for those who just wanted to cover a little bit or just even out their skintone. Medium would be for those who have a little bit more to cover but don’t want to totally wipe out their face. Full coverage would be for those who want to make their face a totally blank canvass and cover EVERYTHING but I only recommend full for special events as it can look heavy for everyday.

My first piece of advice would be to start with something light coverage and work your way up because lighter coverage is a lot more forgiving if you get it wrong. Besides, If you wanted more coverage you can always use concealer to go over the areas you want to hide a little bit more. My personal favourite light coverage foundation is the Rimmel Match Perfection as it has a gorgeous finish and an even better price tag.

My second piece of advice would be to always use a primer! They can honestly transform how a foundation sits on the skin and often help to keep it on all day. If you have dry skin then you’re going to want something very hydrating like the NYX hydro touch primer and If you have oily skin then look for something a little bit more matte like the L’Oréal infallible mattifying primer. It is okay to double prime! There may me multiple things you want to sort out about your skin before you move on to foundation like hydrating your skin and maybe filling in some pores. It’s okay to use two primers to do this as it will mean your skin will be totally ready for foundation.

When it comes to matching your foundation shade, the most important thing is to get the correct undertone as you can’t hide that if you get it wrong but you can always blend the foundation down your neck if the shade is slightly light or dark. Getting the right undertone is probably the most difficult part which is why I have a little tip for you because the one about looking at the colour of your veins or what jewellery suits you don’t work!. Think about what happens to your skin in the sun because if you are :-

Pink toned – you’ll go red all over.

Neautral – you’ll go red in certain areas.

Yellow – you lucky buggers will tan so easily.

Once you’ve worked out your undertone then finding the shade shouldn’t be too difficult because all you have to do is test 3 shades you think it could be on your jawline and remember that it is the one that disappears into your skin. If none of them do then keep testing.

I can’t tell you what finish is best for your skin as everyone is going to prefer something different but what I can do is tell you a few different finishes that foundations tend to suffer and that is dewy, matte, natural and satin. Natural and satin tend to work for most (not all) skin types whole dewy works better on dry skin and matte works better with oily skin … generally. Dewy foundations tend to make oily people look like they’ve dunked their face in a bucket of olive oil and matte foundations tend to cling to dry patches or look cakey on dryer skin.

Now when it comes to the application of foundation, I recommend using a beauty sponge like the real techniques one because they’re a lot easier to work with than brushes. I personally way prefere the finish of a sponge anyway! Start in the centre of your face, working out to the jaw and use gentle bouncing motions to really work the foundation in. Always bring in down your neck.

Finally, I always suggest setting your makeup with a light layer of powder and the one I recommend for this is the RMCA no colour powder as I have found that it works for everyone and because there is no colour, it’s fool proof. Just dust a light layer over the skin with a setting brush and you’re good to go. You can spray some setting spray over the top if you find you went a bit overboard but I always use a spray anyway as it melts everything together.

I hope you guys found this helpful. I am hoping to get back into regular posting now that I know what is wrong with me and will have lots more coming soon. Let me know what you guys thought in the comments below.

See you soon 🙂

Make-up tips for summer.
Beauty

Make-up tips for summer.

paigebwritesLeave a comment

Hey m’lovelies,

Summer is here … apparently (insert cliché joke about living in Wales and having no summer here) and that means it is that time of year when trying to get your makeup to stay on your face is more difficult than it is for me to reach the top shelf. It also means that different kinds of makeup looks will suit you better and you will need to adjust what tones you are wearing.

This post is to give you general tips on what will make your makeup last, what’s going to be the most flattering and how to take care of your skin during the summer. Obviously, not everyone is going to agree with me and what works for me isn’t going to work for everyone as we are all different. I am simply sharing what I have found to work for me personally but I do hope everyone finds something beneficial.

that being said … enjoy.

1 – Wear as little on your skin as you possibly can.

Now, I wanted to make this my first one as I feel it has the most benefits. Your skin naturally creates more oil during the summer months anyway which is why it does not need layers upon layers of oily product on top of it; you’d be clogging your pores even more and making your face oil city, which is just asking for a breakout. This is not me saying cut out all complexion products as I know confidence doesn’t magically appear and skin issues don’t just disappear.  However, I am suggesting using a lighter foundation that is oil-free and going in with concealer to hide any redness and blemishes because this will let your skin breath. If you do feel confident to just wear concealer then that is what I recommend personally as it is even lighter again. Natural looking skin is just such a flattering look during the summer as it gives off fresh, glowy vibes especially for those with freckles.

 

2 – Matte can look a bit too flat

People often think that by mattifying their entire face and wearing extra powder or matte foundation is going to stop them looking oily throughout the day but this is not the case. You’re actually making your skin very angry as it cannot breathe and you’re just trapping the sweat beneath the powder, clogging your pores and causing breakouts. Makeup naturally wears off throughout the day anyway but mattifying it to excess will make it look horrific as it wears off because the oil will cause the powder to congeal, which isn’t a good look on anyone. Wearing a small amount of powder to start and blotting throughout the day will help makeup breakdown less visibly noticeable. Besides, matte can make your skin look really dull during these months which is the last thing you want. Embrace the dew and make your skin look healthy.

 

3 – Peaches, pinks and reds. 

Whether it is on the lips or cheeks, peach and pink tones are the way to go because they bring so much warmth back the face and I have said reds because who doesn’t love a bold lip. In my opinion, reddy brown lipsticks look absolutely phenomenal on darker skin tones during the summer months and I fall in love every time I see people walking through the street wearing those tones … just yes! is all I have to say.   They are just truly so flattering and bring a healthy flush of colour.

 

4 – Switch up your skincare 

Switching up your skincare during the summer is so important because your skin is going to be asking you for different things than in the spring/winter months. It isn’t going to want a thick, creamy moisturiser because it going to feel and look quite heavy as they contain a lot of oil (even when they say they don’t). A more gel/water-based formula is what is going to be the most beneficial to your skin in these months as it is still giving the hydration while being a lot lighter on the skin. Breakouts are going to be more frequent during the summer but using the right products to wash your face, such as a tea tree face wash, will help to prevent them or make them less prominent when they do.

 

5 – Warm your brows up a bit. 

I have found that people hair tends to get a little bit warmer in tone during the summer months which is why I recommend using a warmer tone for your brows as well because it will really flatter the changing hair. Obviously, you’re still going to look amazing using your normal brow colour as there isn’t going to be a drastic difference but it will also help to warm up the face.

 

6 –  Setting Spray is important. 

Now I don’t mean setting spray in general because not everyone chooses to use it but if you do, then the one that you pick is important. You’re better off using one that is going to lock your makeup in place rather than a mattifying or dewy one because they don’t generally have any benefits. I personally recommend ‘Urban Decay All Nighter’  or  ‘M.A.C FIX+’ because they genuinely prolong the wear of your makeup.

 

I hope you guys have found this post somewhat helpful and if not, pop any suggestions you have in the comment section or send me an email through the contact page as I am constantly checking them.

Head over to my Instagram (@paigebwrites) to check out my go-to summer look which I will be up by 1:30 today (20th June 2019).

This is not okay – Relationship style.
Lifestyle

This is not okay – Relationship style.

paigebwritesLeave a comment

Hey M’lovelies

So today I felt the need to rant about what seems to be becoming ‘the norm’ in today’s society because it is starting to get out of hand.

People are starting to think that possessive bevaiour of your partner is okay. It’s not. The worst thing is, people think it’s completely normal.

It seems to be acceptable in today’s society to stop your partner being friends with somebody because you consider them to be a threat. If you feel the need to do that then you don’t have enough trust in them. You can say you do but that doesn’t make it true. If you trusted them enough, it wouldn’t matter that you were weary of the other person because you’d trust your partner to push them away.

Checking their messages to see if they’re talking to other people is not okay. That’s a violation of their privacy and if you are doing that … You need to stop. You have no right to be doing that and it’s incredibly controlling behaviour, boardering abuse.

There is nothing wrong with your partner not replying to you straight away. They are allowed to be busy and have a life outside of you and that sometimes means not talking for a few hours. There is no point getting angry when they take their time because at the end of the day, they will reply when they see it.

Let your partner go out with the guys or play that playstation game. They are doing no harm. Hell, I love seeing my boyfriend on the playstation because he is having a good time.

If you have an issue with your partner then talk to them because those passive aggressive comments are going to get you nowhere.

Trust your partner. Be open with your partner and you’ll see things become so much better. Healthier.

Anyways, sorry it’s a very ranty post but I felt it was needed. I hope you guys have enjoyed. Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Let’s talk concealer
Beauty

Let’s talk concealer

paigebwritesLeave a comment

Hey M’lovelies

Today I am wanted tackle the topic of concealer because I know it’s been the biggest pain in my ass since I started make up. I’m going to cover as much as I can on this post so it may be a long one. So, grab a coffee and relax.

I’m going to start by telling you that I have very dry undereyes and so the concealers and powers that I recommend will be catered towards those who have dry skin.

The first thing I notcited improved my concealer application was not putting it right into the corner of my eye but a bit below the eye and blending up. I initially thought this would reduce the coverage but it didn’t and it meant there was less product in the corner of my eye to cake up.

To follow on with that, I want to say that the worst thing you can do is over apply. One swipe of the applicator is all you need to start then you can add a bit more once that is blended if you fell you need it.

I always recommend blending your undereye out with a damp beauty sponge as it help to add moisture back into the skin and stops over applying. However, if you are using concealer to cover a spot then I recommend using a densely packed brush to really focus the coverage in one area then go over with a sponge to smooth it out.

Finding the right concealer shade is paramount and that Includes for highlighting. I love when my undereyes look bright and awake but I have seen some people wearing a shade 3 shades too light which is not a good look as its way too bright. You only need to go a shade (2 max!) lighter than your skin tone to get the highlighted affect. For spots, make sure concealer matches your skin because you don’t want to draw attention to them.

Shade is important but so is formula. I need a very hydrating formula which is why I use ‘Maybelline fit me’. It’s no use me using something like the collection 200 under my eyes because it is just too drying for me but it could work for those with oily skin. A dry formula for my eyes is just a recipe for cakeiness and not the good kind.

Finally, it’s time to talk about setting the concealer. Baking needs to stop, all it does is suck the moisture from your skin and leaves you looking 10 years older when you’ve got dry skin. To set my eyes I take my ‘RMCA no colour powder’ and place a small amount on the damp beauty blender and pressing it under my eyes. I sometimes take a small fluffy brush and lightly dust it over the undereye.

I hope you guys have enjoy and found this post useful. Please let me know if you have any concealer tips in the comments below.