Blood, Sweat and Heels

Friday, 29 August 2014

Y SPA at Wyboston Lakes - A Girly Retreat

So yesterday I had my first ever spa experience. At 22, I'm probably a bit behind on experiencing the fluffy towels and complimentary slippers, but I was like a little kid at Christmas.

A girl at work is leaving, and had organised a spa day for a few of us.We managed to get a group deal that meant if we went in pairs, we only had to pay £27 each instead of £44. This included afternoon tea as well as free reign of the spa (treatments were extra).

Having never gone to a spa before, I wasn't sure whether this was a bargain or a rip off, and I guess all spas differ as to what deals they offer, but this was most definitely a bargain.

We started the day off with our afternoon tea. Now afternoon tea has become a major food trend recently, so you don't have to venture to some pretentious tea rooms in London for the 'ladies that lunch' experience. But there's nothing worse than a bad afternoon tea, so I was intrigued as to how nice this one was going to be. I was actually really surprised. Sandwiches are sandwiches at the end of the day, and if you get them wrong you're a bit of a numpty. It's the cakes that are the real test. This afternoon tea came with the classic scones, jam and cream, which were gooey and really filling, Victoria Sponge squares and a strawberry mousse cheesecake which was so yummy. It all looked really pretty and was so filling that I felt I was going to sink when I got in the pool. One of the girls that was with us was gluten and soya intolerant, and the restaurant staff really went out of their way to accommodate her, with her own sandwich selection and some gorgeous looking desserts in cute jars.

After our tea, we heaved our full tummies over to the changing rooms to adorn ourselves head to toe in fluffiness. The changing rooms themselves were of a boutique design, with individual vanity booths which included a hairdryers that were free to use.

The spa area itself was quite small, with a salty steam room, a soft steam room, a sauna, and showers dotted around for cooling down. I'm such a wimp when it comes to heat that I could only manage 5 minutes max in each room. The pool area was my favourite though. Again it wasn't very big, but we were lucky that it wasn't very busy either. It was stationed outside and consisted of a hydrotherapy pool, a jacuzzi, a chilled decking area with cozy sofas and a fireplace, and a 'Some Like It Hot' steam room that reaches 85 degrees (I stayed well away from this). The pool was lovely and warm so it didn't matter if it got a bit overcast. Once we were as wrinkled as prunes we had a cheeky glass of wine each by the fire and a lovely catch up.

I'd say this is a perfect day out for a group of girls, or even couples, and if you're one of those people who can spend a good few hours doing nothing, you'll definitely get your money's worth. Due to size however I can imagine during weekends it will be a lot busier, and it will be harder for you to make the most of it, so if you can weekdays are best.

Everyone needs a bit of time to relax, and when there's something like this on your doorstep, I say milk it for all its worth!

The Great Blogger Bake Off: Week 4 - Tiramisu Trifle

DESSERT TIME. Before this week, I'd been eating pretty healthy but when I realised I had to make a dessert I looked through all my recipe books for inspiration and thought stuff it, this week I'm going all out. So I have decided to combine two of my favourite desserts: Tiramisu and the classic trifle.

I'm a dairy addict, particularly when it comes to cream. The creamier the better (getting on the Bake Off innuendo band wagon). I don't think you can get more decadent than this dessert. It contains everything from coffee and chocolate to liqueur and lashings of mascarpone and custard. The brilliance of this recipe is that instead of sticking to traditional trifle layering, the custard is combined with mascarpone to make more of a Zabaione.

Ingredients
175g sponge fingers
4 1/2 tbsp coffee
12 tbsp boiling water
6 tbsp Amaretto liqueur
3 medium eggs seperated
50g golden caster sugar
500g mascarpone
1 tsp almond extract
50g dark chocolate
4 tbsp toasted slivered almonds
A handful of cob nuts (if you can get them)

Method
1) Select a suitable trifle bowl or serving dish.
3)Take a handful of sponge fingers and chop them in half. This allows for an easier fit in the bowl. Line the bottom half of the bowl. This is just to figure out how many fingers you need for the first layer.
2) In a tupperware container, pour 4 tbsp of boiling water and add 1 1/2 tbsp of coffee and 2 tbsp Amaretto liqueur.
3) Add the halved sponge fingers to the coffee and liqueur mixture. Make sure both sides are coated, then re-line the bottom of your bowl.
4) In a mixing bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until combined, then beat in the mascarpone and almond extract until completely smooth.
5) Whip the egg whites until stiff using an electric whisk, and fold into the mascarpone mixture in two goes. The texture of the mix should be a thick mousse texture.
6) Smooth half of this mixture over the coffee soaked sponges.
7) Repeat step 2, using the same measurements, but this time place the sponges on top of the mascarpone mixture.
8) Grate 33g of the dark chocolate on top of the 2nd layer of sponges.
9) Pour the second half of the mascarpone mixture on top of the chocolate, and smooth with a spatula. 10)Leave in the fridge for two hours or overnight to set.

Camden Bargain Buys

Ahh Camden. My home away from home.

I'm forever discovering new and interesting places in London that fulfill my needs for the weird, wonderful and bizarre, but every time I go to London, I'll always at one point or the other find myself returning to Camden.

Not only did it play a huge part of my childhood (yes I was an Emo/Scene Kid) but it is an amalgation of all the things I love: music, fashion, food and BARGAINS!

During the months of June/July, I got to visit Camden twice. Once with the lovely Fi Shemmans before the Cosmopolitan Superblogger Masterclass, and then with my best friend George Puddephatt for a nostalgic catch-up .

Camden has changed a lot since I was 15/16, especially when it comes to shopping. It has definitely become more commercial. I'm not complaining, it just means you have to hunt a bit harder for those unique items.

The t-shirt pictured above I bought from the market on the right hand side of the river, with the Vespa seating area. Because of all the food stalls there I always forget that there are shops behind them, but on this occassion Fi reminded me, and we spent a good hour or two there. The t-shirt came from a stall selling tonnes of garish yet eye-catching graphic print tees. Falling back into my monochrome habits, I fell in love with this particular one. It's got a sports luxe meet grunge vibe about it, and I could instantly picture in my head how I wanted to style it. For only £12 I thought it was an absolute bargain.

The sunglasses were an emergency buy. Whilst waiting for George to meet me in Camden, I'd realised I'd forgotten my sunglasses, and the sun was blinding. Upon walking towards the main stables I found a mini market on the left side of the street, with one vendor selling hundreds of on-trend sunglasses for £5. From flip-up sunglasses to oil slick, this guy had everything. I must have spent a good 20 minutes trying them on before deciding on this gold-rimmed oil slick pair. They are a proper statement and for £5 I won't be to heartbroken when I loose them (and believe me I will).

Lastly but certainly not least are the bohemian bracelets and bindis. These came from a Middle Eastern shop just a few minutes Camden station. You can smell the incense a mile off, and the gorgeous colour scheme of oranges, reds, yellows and pinks draws you in. This shop has a pic 'n' mix system, where you grab a bowl and sift through piles of bracelets, rings, anklets and incense all priced between 20p and £1. It's hard not to go overboard, but when you see how much jewellery like this is going for in high street brands you'd be well and truly justified to do so.

So if you're ever in London and looking for a bargain, take a little trip to Camden. Even if you don't buy anything, I guarantee it's a visit you won't forget.

The Great Blogger Bake Off: Week 3 - Sage and Olive Focaccia

Eeeeek bread week!!!

I have never in my life succesfully baked bread before, so I was even more nervous this week than biscuit week. So I really did my research this time as to what was the most fool proof bread recipe, and to my surprise everyone said Foccaccia. It's so fancy and beautiful that I never thought it could be so easy, but it actually is.

I think that focaccia in itself is such a beautiful bread that I didn't want to be over zealous with the flavourings, and stuck with a simple sage and olive, inspired by the good old Rosemary Shrager.

If any of you out there are considering getting into bread baking, this is a definitely a brilliant beginners recipe. Given my track record ( we're talking loafs of solid rock here) if I can do it, anyone can.

Ingredients
500g strong plain white flour
1 1/2 tsp dried yeast
2 tsp salt
4 tbsp olive oil
300ml tepid water
2 tbsp chopped black olives
1 tbsp fresh sage, chopped
To Finish:
3 tbsp garlic cloves finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
Sage leaves
Sea or rock salt (optional)

Method

Place flour, yeast and salt into a bowl and mix well.
Add the oil and most of the water and mix.
Add the remainder of the water to bring together to form a soft dough (I found I needed bit more flour).
Knead for 5 minutes until smooth, allow to rest for 5 minutes and then knead in the olives and sage.
Tip into a large bowl, cover with lightly oiled cling film and put in a warm place to rise for about 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in size.
Make indentations in the top with your thumb and sprinkle half the chopped garlic over each loaf, and then pour over 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Lay the sage leaves over the top and sprinkle with salt crystals.
Cook at 230ºC (450ºF) Gas Mark 8 for 15-20 minutes.

The Make-Up Alphabet: To BB or to CC

As you'll know by now, any beauty posts on this blog are part of my journey of make-up discovery. In 5 months I've gone from make-up Neanderthal to cosmetic addict, but there are still some products out there that throw me, and this post is about one product in particular.

For the last couple of years an alphabetical trend has emerged in the beauty world - I'm talking about BB/CC creams.

These abbreviations have been thrown around with the assumption that we're supposed to know what they mean. I'm not one to buy products if it requires any guess work as to what it does. I'd only just come to understand that BB stands for Blemish Balm and was ready to give it a go when CC creams came and stomped all over my new-found knowledge, bringing with them a wave of confusion. So what's the bloomin' difference?!

BB creams are Blemish Balms and from what I can gather are basically foundations with added skincare benefits such as SPF or anti-oxidants. Slap-bang in the middle of foundation and tinted moisturizers in terms of consistency and coverage, they're good if you want to 'ditch the cake' (sorry Georgia, stole your line.)

CC creams on the other hand are Colour Correctors. Using 'light-diffusing particles' CC Creams address skin issues like redness, dullness or blotchiness.

So coverage-wise there isn't much difference, but whether you use a BB or a CC all depends on what effect you want it to have on your skin.

CLINIQUE

To help me understand, Clinique were kind enough to send me their latest CC creams so I could figure out what all the fuss is about.

Despite the difference in packaging, both of these products are the Moisture Surge CC Cream. They just differ slightly in texture and SPF. Whilst the compacts are SPF 25, the bottle is SPF 30 . Also, the bottle is of a more fluid consistency, whilst the compacts are thick and moussy, and obviously this has an effect on the ability to build up coverage.

The bottle is available in 9 shades, whilst the compact is available in 6, which is a little bit of a nuisance if you find a shade you like with the bottle, but want a different consistency.

Personally, I prefer the bottle because of its lightweight, liquid texture. When using liquids of any sort, I prefer a dewy finish to a matte one, otherwise my skin can look quite dry. The coverage on both was excellent. My skin is quite patchy anyway due to a mixture of old acne scars, dry patches and recent Summer tanning, so having a product that evens that all out is brilliant.

Clinique sent me these before I went on holiday, and I was using the Light compact as it matched my skin best, however when I returned, my skin had knocked me up to a medium, so luckily I could test both shades. They are a perfect match and blend with my tan instead of changing it.

The bottle is £28, and the compacts are £30. Now if you're looking for full-on coverage, I wouldn't recommend these. But if moderate coverage as well as the added skincare benefits are what you're after, I can assure you that you're in good hands with Clinique. I've had these products for two and a half months now and am still not close to running out so they will last you a good while. They're also versatile in the way you can use them, whether it's underneath foundation or mixed with moisturiser, or even alone, they'll do the job.

So, do you BB or CC, or are you sticking with the good ol' foundation?

The Great Blogger Bake Off: Week 2 - Biscuits

So it's week two of the Great British Bake Off, and therefore week 2 of the Blogger Bake Off. On the last episode, it was mentioned that this week's theme would be biscuits. Now I don't have a very good track record with biscuits - I always manage to over-do them, so as you can imagine I was pretty nervous about baking this week. It's bad enough baking for the family and getting it wrong, but when I'm sharing it with you guys, there's an added pressure. It's a good job I'm not on the actual show really - just one disapproving head shake from Mary Berry and I'd crumble like my over-baked biscuits.

Luckily though, I'm quite pleased with my bakes this week. I chose to make Florentines, because after looking at the recipe, the likelihood of over-baking them seemed pretty low. They are so cute and delicate and ridiculously easy to make (although I did create an awful mess).

Ingredients
85g unsalted butter
85g golden syrup
30g plain flour
30g chopped almonds
30g chopped mixed peel
60g sultanas and crystalized fruits
60g glace cherries, chopped
110g plain or white chocolate, or some of each, melted
2 baking sheets lined with non-stick baking parchment.

Method
1) Put the butter and golden syrup in a medium, heavy-based saucepan and heat until melted. Stir in the remaining ingredients except the chocolate.
2) Put teaspoons of the mixture onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them well apart. Flatten lightly with the back of a spoon. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C (350°F) Gas 4 for 7-8 minutes until light golden brown.
3)Remove from the oven and let cool for 1-2 minutes, or until firm enough to transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
4)When cool, coat the flat underside of each Florentine with melted chocolate and, using a serrated icing spatula or a fork, make a wavy pattern in the chocolate. Leave to set, chocolate side up. Store in a cool place in an airtight container and eat within 1 week.

What I Wore: Floral Grunge at London Zoo

Two weeks ago today I was preparing to celebrate my 22nd birthday at ZSL London Zoo Lates, a festival for adults held at the zoo (you can read all about it here ). The day before, I still hadn't chosen my birthday outfit (I'm not the only one that has birthday outfits right?) I was in a bit of a panic. Yet again I'd left it to the last minute, so ordering online was out the window. My only option was Bedford Town Centre. I'm not complaining, but with only a handful of high street brands, I was worried I would end up grabbing any old thing for the sake of having something new, or come home empty handed. And to add to the stress, what the hell do you wear to a party at a zoo?!

I looked through Topshop, New Look, River Island, Oasis and Warehouse, but remained uninspired, which I was really surprised about considering I've been so obsessed with New Look lately. My last stop was a Miss Selfridge concessionary department in Beales. I adore Miss Selfridge's style, but being a small concessionary shop with very small stock, I didn't get my hopes up.

I was pleasantly surprised though. I was desperate for a bit of colour , and Miss Selfridge was packed full of it. I had originally been looking for a nice summery dress but when I saw the range of vibrant crops Miss Selfridge had in store, I decided for the first time to try some on. Now crops are intimidating, especially if you don't have a flat stomach, and if you have a large chest like I do, but my advice to all of you out there like me is don't write crops off completely. Try some different styles and you will find ones that suit you. I would recommend crops that are square in shape - they don't cling and emphasise your chest, instead they make your waist look smaller. I would also recommend not wearing a padded bra - if you want to make your chest look smaller, they are your worst enemy.

Anyhoo, I saw this tropically floral crop, tried it and fell in love. It was a nice, loose fit, worked well with my hair and was perfect for day and evening looks. It had a skirt to match, which I was so tempted to get, but it was quite restricting. Unfortunately they're now sold out, but you can find a very similar style here.

I adore the summery, hippy grunge look that's around at the moment, and really wanted to give it a go, so I paired the top with some high-waisted denim shorts which I'd roughed up with a cheesegrater (cheeky life hack) and my white flatform sandals. My hair is way to thick for full-on grunge buns, so I went for the half up, half down style, and teamed it with a delicate bindi, a pack of which I bought from Camden for £1, and my £5 circle mirror sunglasses (again from Camden).

I'm planning on doing a separate post on crops and the variety of styles for different body shapes, but until then, I hope you've enjoyed today's post, and have an awesome weekend!

The Great Blogger Bake Off: Week 1 - Cakes

Evening all.

This post is very different to what I usually write about, but this is something I couldn't resist doing.

Now if you're an avid baker you're probably more than aware that the Great British Bake Off starts tonight.

So in homage to this mouth-wateringly addictive show, the lovely Lawra over at I Love Crafty has organised a Great Blogger Bake Off, where once a week, alongside the show, bloggers bake something inline with the theme of that week's show.

Now I love any excuse to bake, however I only found out about the whole thing this morning. I didn't want to miss out on the first post though. Now in true Come Dine With Me style, I'm going to come clean and say I didn't bake this today. However, this was a very recent bake of mine that was dedicated to the using up of my homegrown harvest of redcurrents, tayberries and blackcurrents.

I'd never worked with these berries before and had no idea what to do with them, but was determined to make a cake. After a bit of research, I found this Good Food recipe. Alas, still no use of my berries, so I had to adapt it a little.

First off, I didn't have a loaf tin so used a normal, round spring-form tin. Apart from that the majority of the recipe is pretty much the same. I had to add a bit more sugar than the recipe states when reducing the berries with the lemon juice, simply because my selection of berries were a lot more sour tasting compared to those in the recipe.

I can only apologise for this very lackluster first post to what I would love to have been an icing fueled, bowl licking extravaganza.

I do solemnly swear that my next post will contain more dedication.

Enjoy the first show of this Great British Bake Off season!!

(Would still recommend this cake though, a great use of a homegrown harvest, and can really be applied to any berries you have lying around.)

(wearing Flawless Primer, Luminating Foundation, Gel Eyeliner and Lip Lacquer)

(wearing Matte Lipstick in Wilde Berry)

(wearing Matte Lipstick in Lilac Belle)

(Wearing Intense Colour Eyeliner in Forest Green)

MUA.MUA.MUA.

The acronym grabbing the attention of everyone remotely interested in make-up.

For me, it wasn't to much the products themselves that caught my attention, but rather the buzzword 'bargain.' Having tested so many beauty products, I've learnt that expensive doesn't always guarantee you quality, and that there are some hidden gems to be found in bargain brands.

So this haul all started when I signed up to The Sun+ online for £1 to receive a £20 Superdrug voucher (you should check it out, they have amazing offers, and you can cancel the subscription shortly after). Now we all know make-up can be expensive, and I wasn't expecting the voucher to stretch very far, until I heard about MUA. I walked away with a whopping 8 products!!

Undress Your Skin Flawless Primer - £5

Primers are one of those products that cost a lot, yet the result is very subtle. One of those products you convince yourself you can do without. Now when I say subtle, I don't want to demean the importance of a primer. When you find a good one, you'll never be without it. In regards to this particular product, it does do the job. It creates a smooth, even and matte layer upon which you can apply your foundation. This product gives you what you pay for, and no added extras like colour correction or luminosity. It's not the best primer I've tried, but I was really happy with the result considering how much it cost. My only issue is that a little doesn't go a long way like others I've used. The bottle's quite small, and you will go though it quite quickly.

Undress Your Skin Luminating Foundation (Medium) - £5

I was really surprised by this foundation. I've never really got on with high street liquid foundations. I usually find them too drying for my skin and being olive toned, it's a right old hassle trying to find a match. The first thing I noticed about it was how runny in consistency it was. I saw this as a good thing, as the YSL and Estee Lauder foundations I've used were of a similar consistency and were very moisturising. The shade was a perfect match so I didn't have to faff around with neck and chin blending (I bloody hate that). Coverage wise, it wasn't as matt as I would have liked, but MUA do a Matt foundation, so I can't really complain. It left me with a nice and natural dewy look which for Summer I think is perfect.

Gel Eyeliner - £3

I actually used this gel eye liner before the Jane Iredale one that I reviewed HERE so this was my first experience of it. For me, gels have the best elements of both pencil and liquid liners. You have the intensity in colour of the liquid, and the control and precision of the pencil (depending on what brush you have of course). The brush on this product is quite short and square, which I really liked. The gel itself is more of a paste so you have to make sure there aren't any lumps on your brush or you'll get in a right state. To my surprise, there wasn't much smudging and my wings lasted longer than if I'd used a pencil. I have actually almost finished the pot, so for £3 this is more than a bargain, it's a bloomin' steal.

Intense Colour Eye Liner (Forest Green) - £1

I don't think there's much you expect from a pencil eye liner other than vibrant, sharp lines that last. This pencil is creamy in texture and has a gorgeous metallic, dark green hue that is perfect for adding a bit of drama and depth to an evening look. Just a thin line on the top lid is all you need. It also works well for blending with eye shadows. Now that I know how brilliant they are, for £1 I'm gonna get the whole lot. Oh, and the fitted sharpener in the lid is soo handy.

Matte Lipstick in Lilac Belle and Wild Berry - £1 each

I was so excited about trying these when I bought them. Now if you've ever been to an MUA counter in Superdrug, you'll know they're always an absolute mess ( which I can only put down to popularity). It's like someone's set loose a fashion conscious yet penny-pinching honey badger. So when I went to get the products, there were only a scattered few of these lipsticks left, but luckily in the shades I wanted. I thought Wild Berry was perfect for a moody red whilst Lilac Belle was cute and kitsch. However I was a little disappointed. The shade of Wild Berry once it's been applied differs quite drastically to what you see. It's a much brighter red, which clashes with my olive skin tone, but would definitely suit someone fairer. The Lilac Belle isn't as deceiving. I knew it would be a risk choosing such a light shade, and it doesn't suit me as much as I hoped. They also have that cheap, plasticy texture that means no matter how hard you rub it on your lips, you barely get any colour. I've managed to get some use out of them however by manually scraping off a bit of lipstick and massaging it into my lips, and mixing both colours together to get a wearable shade. For £1 I can't say it's too much of a surprise, and I'm happy to continue using them the way I have been.

Luxe Velvet Lip Lacquer in Kooky - £3

When I saw the word 'Velvet' I knew I had to try this. I'm a sucker for purple lips anyway, and I loved the pictures I'd seen all over Instagram of matte lips. In the short term, this product doesn't disappoint. The colour is gorgeous and slightly cooler in tone than my MAC Cyber lipstick. It's wet to the touch at first but in a matter of seconds dries to create a brilliant matte look which I adore, despite the fact the coverage isn't as even as I'd like. Now this lacquer is fine if you don't plan on eating/drinking anything whilst wearing it. The first time I discovered this, I ended up with camo style lips, and looked down to find most of the product on my burger. Despite this, I do love this product. A cheap price to pay for quite a dramatic statement, even if that statement does need a top-up or two every now and then.

Undressed Palette

I was very eager to try this palette as everyone's been raving about it. If you're into reading beauty blogs then you've probably heard the word 'dupe' thrown around a lot. If not, this basically refers to a product that is very similar to a more expensive counterpart. In this case, the Undressed Palette is the dupe for Urban Decay's Naked palette. I've never tried the Naked palette but being a beauty blogger I've heard so much about it. The colours in MUA's palette are stunning, and I love how each matte shade is paired with a metallic. It saves you trying to figure out what colours work together (I mean, of course you can experiment,but for beginners this makes life so easy). The pigmentation is incredible for a product so cheap, and the shades blend together really well. I'm going to do a separate post just for this palette, so I can show you the variety of ways in which these shades can be used, so watch this space.

Until then, go grab yourself some major beauty bargains (if the stand isn't too much of a mess.)

My Liebster Award Nomination

So literally 10 minutes ago I received a Twitter notification telling me that the lovely Kiarna Lewis over at Mama's Journey to Slim 'n' Curvy had nominated me for a Liebster Award.

Since I'm pretty new to the 'blogosphere' I honestly didn't know what this meant, but after a little research I've learnt it's an award given to bloggers by bloggers. Even though I've only been blogging for 4 months, I've learnt to never underestimate the value of networking and meeting other bloggers, so I can't thank you enough Kiarna for not only knowing that my blog exists but for deeming me worthy of a nomination.

The Rules

Link back to the blogger that nominated you
Answer the 11 questions that blogger has asked you
Nominate 11 bloggers with under 200 followers and come up with 11 questions for them.
You cannot nominate the blogger who nominated you
You must let your nominees know they've been nominated and provide them with a link to your post so they can learn about the award.

So now the rules are out of the way, I'm gonna get to the interesting part and answer Kiarna's questions:

What do I blog about and why?
My blog is a mixture of fashion, personal style, beauty and lifestyle. It was meant to be purely fashion based as I really knew nothing about make-up, but having received so many beauty products from brands to review, my blog has turned into a mini diary of my journey of beauty discovery. I also love experiencing new things and sharing it with other people so they can be inspired to experience things too.
What's your favourite blog post you've written?
My write ups of Graduate Fashion Week. It was my first runway event as a blogger/press member and I got to take some amazing pictures of the awesome talent that was on display, and I was so happy to be able to give the designers exposure and share what I saw with my viewers.
How often do you blog?
I try to blog two times a week at the moment, but am hoping to up it to three, when I reach the 6 month mark.
Where do you see yourself in a year's time?
I would like to have moved over to Wordpress and have improved my page design, and I'd also like to have expanded the fashion and lifestyle elements of my blog. Outside of blogging, I'd like to think I'd have a graduate/entry level job in the media or PR/Marketing.
What's your most successful blog post?
In terms of the most views, it would have to be my write up of the Cosmopolitan Superblogger Masterclass. Obviously there were a limited number of tickets, and also not all bloggers can travel from far and wide to an event like that. I was lucky enough to be able to go, and thought it would only be fair to share the vital information and advice I received with as many other bloggers as possible.
What have you learned so far about blogging?
I've already mentioned the importance of networking with other bloggers, so attending blogger events and swapping tips and ideas is crucial. I've also learnt that patience is key. Looking at some of your favourite bloggers and how many followers they have and the things they're doing can be seen as motivation to grow, but can also show that for us newbies, we have a long way to go. We're not going to get thousands of followers overnight, and the only way to prove out worth is to keep on at it and enjoy it.
Apart from blogging, what else do you do?
I also write fashion and beauty content for a variety of publications, one being LSN Media, a publication house that produces newspapers covering the three counties of Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire.
Do you enjoy blogging?
Oh god yes. It's the one thing that allows me to explore all my passions without any limitations, and the added bonus is that there are people out there who want to know what I have to say about the things I love.
What are your goals for the next 6 months?
To get more organized with my blogging. I want to have a timetable so that I do particular posts at the same time each month, just so there's an element of consistency to my blogging. I also want to come up with some post ideas that are unique to me.
What social media site do you like the most?
It would have to be Instagram. I think we all respond more enthusiastically to visuals rather than written words, and with a blog about fashion and beauty, images definitely shout louder. I also really enjoy creating a visual documentation of my life.
What's your dream job?
I would love for blogging to be my full-time job, but obviously this is something that is going to take a lot of time. I also love all animals, whether they're big, small, fluffy, slimy or spiny. Any job that enabled me to spend best part of my day with animals would be the all-time best job for me.

My nominations are:

1) peachjin

2)The House That Never Rests

8)Alison in Wonderland

9)My Sparkly Life

10)Style Gamblers

11)Bella La Moda