Biggest Blogging Pet Peeves

Hello everyone!

There's not much that bugs me about blogging. I love it. I love the freedom to write about whatever I want, I love the excuse to collect copious amounts of makeup, I love the communications you have with other bloggers. However, there are a few things that nark me. 

I'm a strong believer that people shouldn't be dictated to about what their blog should be like, their writing style, what they write about but I think some small changes could make a world of difference.  

So here is a list of things that get on my nerves. Or if we want to look at it more positively, things that can be changed to make a blog better!

1. Small font size.

I know it seems to be the trend at the moment to have the smallest possible writing with as little line space as possible. The line spacing doesn't bother me at all but the font size does. If I have to zoom my page in to read something, it's unlikely I'll ever read it. 

2. Pale font colour.

Again, this is just too awkward to read. Pastel is cute, it's adorable but when I'm squinting to read your post text it's not a good start. I'd suggest black/dark grey. This way it's clear and easy to read and should still match the rest of your blog design.

3. Dark background colour.

Have you noticed that the majority of blogs have white backgrounds? There's a reason for that. It's the best background colour to have. If you're a beauty blogger and you're posting swatches etc. if you have a coloured background it's probably going to effect the pictures you upload, it might make them look darker or manipulate the colours. Additionally, without sounding like a parrot, it's easier on your readers eyes. It also just looks better and sleeker and more professional.

When I began blogging I think my background colour was teal green and my text was white. It was bloody awful. But we all learn along the line.

4. Complicated design layout. 

I remember once I was reading a blog and found it really interesting and decided to follow it. Could I find GFC? Could I find a Bloglovin' link? I could not. I searched all over the page and in the end I found it in a kind of slide out window thing. It must have taken me a good five minutes to figure it out. I wondered how she had any followers at all!

Thankfully I don't see many blog designs like this but I would seriously suggest that you have your links towards the top of the page.

5. Reviews of items without swatches. 

When I'm reviewing a product I try my very best to get a swatch of it or a demo picture in my posts. People read your blogs to see what an item performs like before they purchase it for themselves. They probably don't click on your post to look at five differently angled photos of the packaging. 

This bugs me so much! It's definitely my biggest blogging pet peeve when I'm reading a post about a lipstick or an eyeshadow and there's no swatches. 

I'm not referring to haul posts or anything like that, I mean actual reviews of a single product. Please please please try to include some swatches.

6. Unfollowing.

I'm not bothered about how many followers I have, I've been doing this for two years now and only recently have I gained quite a few new readers. I do however try to follow everyone back. On GFC I haven't been able to recently because it isn't letting me follow anyone for reasons unknown to mankind. BUT I do aim to return follows. 

What bugs me is when I follow someone back and the next day they've unfollowed me! What?! Did you not look at what I write about before you followed me? Who has the patience to keep on top of who they've followed so they can unfollow you the next day?

Additionally, it bugs me when I get an email saying I have a new follower and I go online a few hours later to return the follow (as I can't on the bloglovin app) and they've unfollowed already !! I obviously didn't get there quick enough! Argh!!! Why!!!!

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As I've said, I'm not being mean here, I honestly don't think people should be constrained regarding their very own blog. I just think that if you're writing something to be read, make it readable. Provide people with swatches of the products you're reviewing and stop following people just to get a follow back, it only clogs up your newsfeed.

What are your blogging pet peeves? 

Let me know in the comments!

Thanks for reading, 

Leanne x

Huge Beauty Haul! Ft. Estee Lauder, La Roche-Posay & Revolution

Hello everyone!

Brace yourselves... I have indulged in quite a lot of cosmetics recently. Everywhere I went I saw new things, good deals, items that were interesting to me and eventually I accumulated a fair few products.

On one trip, I bought some bits from Superdrug. I saw that GOSH had brought out some new products and decided to give them a go as I've not tried a lot from the brand previously. 

The first thing I bought was this GOSH eyeshadow palette. It's the New York collection and I think there were two more varieties. I picked this one because the colours appealed to me more than the others, it has lots of neutrals along with some purple shades too. 

I wouldn't have bought this had there not been a tester. I swatched a few shades in store and they are ridiculously soft shadows. They're so velvety and they have great colour pay off too. I think this was £9.00.

I've used this palette a couple of times since buying it and I can confirm that the shadows are very easy to blend and look really natural. I like that they aren't really shimmery so you don't get much fall out. 

Next, I decided to try one of the Giant Blush Sticks also from GOSH. There were three shades to choose from, the one I bought is called Shy but there was also a pink and a coral to choose from. 

I really like this blush. It's a strange consistency as it's more solid than a typical cream blush. It's very easy to blend and looks matte on the skin.

Whilst browsing the Rimmel stand I noticed this red lipstick. As I've mentioned before,  don't wear a lot of reds but this one appealed to me because it's not a typical post box red. It's much more cherry toned if that makes sense. This is shade 22. I haven't tried it yet but I shall let you know how I get on!

I saw this Cargo lipgloss in TKMaxx. My local store is mid way through a refurbishment so they had quite a lot of different stock out. I'm not personally familiar with the brand Cargo although I have heard of it through other bloggers and YouTubers. This was only £3.00 and I thought I might as well give it a go. It's sheerer on the lips than it is in the tube but it's nice to pair on top of other lipsticks. It's a little bit on the sticky side I must admit.

(Left to Right) Swatches: GOSH Blush in Shy. Rimmel Lipstick in 22. Cargo Lipgloss.

Not overly interesting here but I also bought a back up Rimmel Stay Matte whilst they were on offer. Being economical! 

The following items I've collected over a few different shopping trips and they range from very affordable products to a few high-end pieces!

I knew after I'd bought my first Revolution makeup products that I'd be back for more. I wanted to buy this in the first place but it's always been sold out in store. Luckily I managed to nab one on my last shopping trip!

It's the Flawless 32 pieces eyeshadow palette which costs £8.00. What a steal. I think having this will prevent me from buying the 15 pan MAC palette for a little longer. I literally can't think of another eyeshadow I need. Obviously this won't stop me being more because I have a problem haha. But this is excellent value. Has anyone had any problems with actually opening the palette though? Mine's really stiff so I've had to just leave it open slightly...

Next, I finally caved and bought the Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation! I'm so so pleased to have it, I really needed something that I could wear all day without having to top it up and this does just perfectly. 

I originally wanted the Face and Body Double Wear but the lightest shade is far too dark for me and the advisor said it's unlikely they'll bring out lighter shades. 

This costs a whopping £29.50 which is a bloody lot of money but there's just nothing that does the job as well as this. 

Keep eyes pealed for reviews!

 When I was telling the lady on the counter that Double Wear clings to my dry areas and that's why I was considering the Face and Body version she suggested I put this Hydrating Cream under the foundation. It felt very smooth but the price tag was £36.00 and I just couldn't justify that. She gave me a sample regardless which I will try but I doubt I'll be buying the full thing. 

I'd consider this a high-end product too. It's the La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo cream/primer/magical serum. I almost bought this when I saw all the adverts for it on YouTube but I couldn't justify the £15.50 price tag when I wasn't in urgent need of it. Not to mention I was a little sceptical knowing full well people were being paid to give it a good review. 

Anyway, recently my skin has been a nightmare. I think it's stress/nerves related and it was seriously in need of some TLC. So I bought this. 

I've been wearing it for 3 days now and I'm not exaggerating when I say it's the best thing I've ever bought for clearing up face demons. I saw results the very next day, no kidding!

I'll be writing a review on this when I've been using it for a while longer.

I saw the new Aussie Dry Shampoo on offer in Boots and couldn't resist. I'm a huge Aussie fan, they can do mo wrong in my eyes. This smells fantastic but it's considerably more expensive than Batiste.

Last but not least I bought this little compact mirror for my work bag from Primark. It was only £1.00 and I thought the chiffon pattern was really cute. 

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So that's everything I've bought. You're all up to date now and I really doubt there will be another haul for a while. I've spent up! Boo! I couldn't possibly need anything else though.

Here are my previous hauls if you've missed any:

Makeup Revolution London Haul

Recent Beauty Buys Ft. MAC, Rimmel, MUA

Collective Clothing and Accessories Haul Ft. Primark

ELF Haul

Boohoo.com and Primark Haul

Makeup Brushes Haul

Thanks for reading, 

Leanne x

Thoughts of the day:

• I've been looking online for cheap accommodation near the Warner Brothers Harry Potter Studio Tour in Watford. We're looking at going in late October but it's so expensive to stay over! I can't find any reasonably priced hotels! If anyone has any ideas let me know in the comments I'll be very grateful :D
• I only have one more day off before I start work. I'm so nervous!
• Trying to think of something productive and fulfilling to do with my time.

Cheapest Makeup Brushes Ever?

Hello everyone!

A while ago I was reading someone's blog and they had written a post about some makeup brushes they'd bought on CNDirect at an exceptionally cheap price. I'd been debating whether to buy some brushes from Real Techniques or somewhere a bit more expensive but this post seemed to give these cheaper brushes great reviews. So I bought some...

Now when I say cheap I mean super cheap. I bought two sets of brushes, one for your face and the other for your eyes. Including delivery, I think I spent £6.50!

They look very similar to a lot of the high-end brushes I see everyday on blogs and YouTube and I'm not saying they're the same quality because I really don't know but they do the job really well. 

The face set comes with: Large Stipple Brush, Angled Stipple Brush, Domed Kabuki, Angled Kabuki and a Tapered Brush.

The bristles feel very soft and sturdy. They seem to be densely packed with bristles too. The brushes themselves feel well made, not amazingly luxurious, but they don't feel like they'll fall apart like you might imagine from a set that costs less than a fiver. 

Next I bought a set of five eyeshadow brushes. These are basically baby versions of the ones above. Although I do love these brushes for the price, they're not as impressive as the face brushes, only because they aren't as densely packed with bristles so they aren't as sturdy. They're by no means useless and for a beginner they're perfect but if you're used to more high-end brushes these may not be for you. 

Having said that, I think they feel very nice to hold, the handles are a nice length and they look very sleek. 

I would absolutely recommend the face brushes, they're excellent. The eye brushes I'd recommend to a beginner or someone who doesn't want to spend a lot but if you're looking for brilliant quality, I don't think you'll find that here. 

As for the delivery, these came from China and they took less than two weeks to arrive! 

You can buy the eye brushes online HERE.

I couldn't find the exact set of face brushes I bought but I found similar ones HERE.

Alternatively, I found this 10 piece set on eBay for £8.90 which you can see HERE.

If you want the exact set of face brushes I bought from CNDirect, maybe they'll come back in stock soon so keep and eye out! 

Have you tried any of these brushes? 

What do you think?

Thanks for reading!

Leanne x

Thoughts of the day

• Finally caved and bought the Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation today. Man that stuff is expensive. I actually went to buy the Face and Body version but the lightest shade is wayyy too dark for me which is sad because it felt a lot slicker than the normal Double Wear. 
• On a similar note, there will be another beauty haul coming soon...
• My bedroom is once again an absolute tip. I've run out of makeup storage too but I don't want to buy anything until we move house because I know exactly what I want but it doesn't fit in my current room. Woe is me. 
• I can hear either my Mum or my sister listening to the same ice bucket challenge vine over and over again downstairs. It must be very amusing.
• I am becoming increasingly obsessed with chess. A week ago I couldn't play it but my Dad bought a board and now I love it. 

Huge Haul! Ft. Boohoo.com & Primark!

Hello everyone!

Today I have a haul post for you! I feel like I've done quite a lot of shopping recently, the reason being I start my new job on Monday (argh the fear) and I needed to basically collect a new wardrobe of appropriate teaching clothes. It's been a pricy experience but I'm extremely happy with everything and I think I'm just about done now. 

For previous haul posts from this month click HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE. 

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Okay so I'll start with my Boohoo.com order which consists of a lot of dresses!

When I placed this order I bought everything in the sale and everything was £8.00 or less. On top of that, I had a 20% off code so most of these dresses were around £6.40 each! That kinda beats Primark these days!

These first three are probably my favourites especially the pink one. They're all shift dresses so they look boxy but when they're on they look really nice. 

These next three are more flowy/skater style. I really love the aztec one in the middle I think it will work well throughout all the seasons paired with different things. The blue one on the right is made of a really clingy material so I'm not sure now I'll get on with it. It has a pretty pattern though!

These last three are miscellaneous in style. The check dress on the left is my least favourite of them all because the seam doesn't run straight through the middle so it looks uneven. It's also very big for a size 10. 

The paisley print dress in the middle I love. It's a great autumn piece and it's made of thick material! The floral skater dress on the right I think it adorable. Not my usual thing but I think it will be perfect for working in a school. 

That rounds up my Boohoo experience. Overall, I'm really happy with my purchases at the prices I payed. Had I bought these at full price I don't think I'd be as enthusiastic because some of the dresses are made of really thin material and feel quite cheap. Some of them are great, like the bright pink dress, the aztec dress and the paisley print dress feel really high quality but some of the others really don't. As it is though, I can't complain for what I payed and I've ordered items from Boohoo before which I absolutely love. 

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Before we go on to Primark, I'll show you my lonely little M&S piece.

My mum actually bought me this top because she accidentally put a hole in one of my other tops, bless her. I really like it! It looks classy and sophisticated and I can't wait to wear it. This was about £8.00 I think. 

***

Now I have a few bits from Primark:

I bought two tops, the first is a sheer shirt with a butterfly print on it. My sister bought the same one for college too. This was only £5.00 reduced from £10.00. Would never have payed a tenner but I think £5.00 is a great price. 

The tank top stood out to me because I liked the pattern on it. This was £4.00 and they had loads of different styles so I might go back for some more one day.

I then proceeded to buy three cardigans. I know it sounds excessive but I will get my wear out of these at work and at home. I bought them in navy, mint and black. These were £6.00 each.

Scarves. I am aware that we're not in scarf weather yet but last year I so wanted a tartan scarf and couldn't find one so I saw these I decided to pick them both up. Excessive much? The green one was £5.00 and the red one was £6.00. I love them both very much. 

I know you're laughing. If you read the 'thoughts of the day' section of my posts you'll know that I recently spent three days re-watching all the Harry Potter films. 

When I was in the pyjama section in Primark I saw these and I knew I just had to. I have zero intentions of wearing these for bed... I'll be sporting them in my actual life! The sweater was £8.00 and the t-shirt was £5.00.

They also had pants too but I decided that was a bit too far... 

***

And that rounds up my haul post! I hope this was enjoyable to read or even if you just looked at the pictures. Let me know if you'd find links to things helpful in this type of post. I used to link everything but it took me ages and I didn't know if people even clicked on them so I stopped. Just let me know your thoughts in the comments!

Thanks for reading!

Leanne x

ELF Haul!

Hello everyone!

Today I have an ELF order to show you! I've only ever made one previous order with ELF and that was before I had a blog so this is exciting to me haha.

I mostly ordered brushes. I really needed some eyeshadow brushes because, as I've mentioned before, I'm an eyeshadow fiend. I buy loads of it but hardly ever wear it. I came to the conclusion that the lack of brush variety was the reason.

I'd heard plenty of good things about the ELF brushes so here's what I picked:

2x Eyeshadow Brush

Smudge Brush

Blending Eye Brush

Defining Eye Brush

These are from the basic range of brushes and they were £1.95 each.

These next brushes are from the studio range so they're supposed to be slightly better quality and they look a bit sleeker. These are £3.95 each.

Small Stipple Brush

Small Precision Brush

Eyeshadow 'C' Brush 

Contour Brush

I like that the brushes all have their names on the handle so when you take them out of the packet you still know what their purpose is. From what I can tell right now, they are very soft and are not shedding any bristles. 

On to the few makeup items I bought.

I picked up the 'cool' bronzer for £3.95 because I don't have a truly matte bronzer. I've never had a matte bronzer so I thought it would be interesting to have a go at some contouring with this. I have actually swatched it already and it's very soft and pigmented.

Next I bought this baked blush in Rich Rose for £3.95 having heard good things about them. This is a really pretty autumn colour but it appears I have one of the dodgy ones. I've heard that some of these are super soft and pigmented whereas others aren't, it's kind of a gamble. I can get colour off this but I have to really work hard to get it to pick up. 

Another item I bought from hearing good reviews is the eyeshadow primer. I think this is only £1.95 which is extremely reasonable. I really do believe that primers make all the difference to your eyeshadow. Haven't tried this yet but I will be sure to let you know how it goes!

Finally, I'm not really sure why I did this. It's one of the jumbo eye pencils in Little Miss Thing and these cost £2.95. I absolutely didn't think I was getting a gold eyeshadow. By the picture it looks like a beige/nude colour and I thought it was going to be matte. 

I'll try to find a use for this because I don't like things to waste away but I must admit I'm not a massive wearer of gold eyeshadow. 

Below are some swatches:

Bronzer

Blush

Primer

Eye Pencil

***

So that's everything I ordered from ELF. Fortunately when I placed this order they had a 40% off code and free delivery if you spent £20.00. In the end I think I spent about £21-ish on everything in this post which I was beyond pleased about. 

Luckily for you ELF currently have 40% off everything right now visit website here. This runs until 26/8/14. They also still have the free shipping if you spend over £20.00 too so hurry!

If you miss this deal though make sure you wait until the next one because they have offers on a lot. 

Have you ever ordered from ELF?

What's your favourite product?

Thanks for reading, 

Leanne x

Thoughts of the day

• I'm going to start reading The Casual Vacancy again. I bought the book when it was released and read about 30 pages of it and never picked it up again. After watching a few interviews with JKRowling about the novel I think I'm going to try again.

• Miserable weather here in Manchester. It's cold, rainy, dark and gloomy :( Never known an August as cold as this before.

• Still haven't got used to the fringe things I've had put into my hair. You'll know what I mean if you've read my New Hairstyle post. They look great but I just can't find a good way to achieve it myself. Any tips?

• Just found it really amusing that I have three drinks sat next to me; a coffee, a can of coke and a bottle of juice. I won't be going thirsty today haha. Don't know how I've accumulated all these.

• Finished my Harry Potter marathon last night. It was tres emotional and now I want to read all the books again. Truly wish the series could have gone on forever. 

A New Hairstyle!

Hello everyone!

Guess what? I had my mop chopped!

Left: before Right: after.

I decided to go with something different from my usual highlights and trim as I was feeling bored with my current hairstyle. I wasn't completely sure what I wanted but I have seen middle partings becoming increasingly popular recently so I decided to give it a try. 

I also had some low lights put in my hair as well as my usual highlights. This broke up the block blondness that I've had for so long.

I went for a layered look along with the new middle parting so it looks really choppy around my face but I didn't lose anything off the length at the back. 

Here are some pictures:

I absolutely love this new hairstyle. I was nervous at first because I've never had a middle parting before and I didn't know if it would suit me. Also, I have a widows peak so I wasn't sure if that would allow for a middle parting. I did have to have it slightly off centre because of this. 

I have found a way to keep the flicks at the side of my face going backwards by curling them that way. Haven't quite got the hang of just using a hairdryer and round brush yet, but I'll get there! 

Overall, my hair feels a lot lighter. I have very thick, long and curly hair so it was getting a bit ridiculous every time I washed it so these layers should halve my the time it takes...hopefully. Once I'm totally settled with the middle parting and doing the flicks myself I will be really happy with this new style. 

What do you think? Do you like the middle parting or are you a fan of the side fringe?

Thanks for reading!

Leanne x

Thoughts of the day

• It's taken me two and a half days to get up to film 7 of my Harry Potter marathon. I still have one and a half to go but I'm ploughing through and really enjoying myself. I'm realising things I never noticed before. Like when Moody points to the left when Harry enters the maze in film 4. I never noticed that before! Lol. 
• Still wish Dumbledore didn't die.
• I bought the first book, City of Bones, of The Mortal Instruments series as I'd heard it's a good read. Didn't know there's about 6 in the series! Haven't seen the film either. 
• I have an ELF haul and another little beauty haul to write soon!
• Had a shopping trip planned for tomorrow but I've heard that it's going to rain all day so it will probably be another in doors day.
• I can really tell that the Autumn is on its way, the dark nights and mornings are drawing in..it's no fun at all. Are you a winter or summer person? I like the look of winter but it's much easier to function in the summer.