Wednesday 26 February 2014

Holdiay Shop wishlist

As some of my twitter followers may know, myself and Beki are heading off to Ibiza at the beginning of June! After meeting in January at my Bristol Bloggers meet up, we've become great friends and now cannot wait to get into the summer spirit with our trip to Manchester for One Direction and then a trip back to Beki's home town of Cardiff for our flights off to Ibiza! Of course, before all of that, we couldn't go without a shopping trip for holiday clothes! Below are some of my favourite from the holiday collections so far! Click on the image to open my Polyvore page with links to all of the items!


swim

swim by beky-lou featuring a hi low dress

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Tuesday 25 February 2014

Advertise with BekyLou

For the past couple of months, since starting my little blog BekyLou here over on the interweb, I've gained an amazing amount of followers and have been completely overwhelmed by the response. I write about everything I love when it comes to Beauty and Fashion and I even write about everything in my personal life that excites me and that I think would interest you too.

From March 2014 I will be offering my readers advertising spaces on BekyLou. If you have your own blog, shop or company that you would like to advertise here then please drop me an email to beky.lou94@gmail.com stating which package you would like and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

I am currently offering 4 packages on BekyLou and all monies are to be paid via PayPal at least 2 days before the beginning of your advertising month.

* I am offering an introductory price for all packages at 25% off the amount shown below - March only *

Exclusive Package
(1 available each month)
- Top spot in my sidebar with a 200x300 blog button 
- Individual #FF every Friday of your advertising month
- Top spot in my 'Advertisers of the Month' post where you can write a short paragraph about you and your blog/business. Including links to all of your social media platforms. 
- Link at the bottom of all of my posts in your advertising month.
£6

Large Package
(5 available each month)
- Spot in my sidebar with a 200x200 blog button
- #FF every Friday of your advertising month
-Spot in my 'Advertisers of the Month' post where you can write a short paragraph about you and your blog/business. Including links to all of your social media platforms.
£4

Medium Package
(5 available each month)
- Spot in my sidebar with a 200x150 blog button
-#FF every Friday of your advertising month
£3

Small Package
(5 slots available each month)
-Spot in my sidebar with a 200x100 blog button
£1.50

I'm more than happy to talk packages with you if you'd like to discuss, feel free to drop me an email to chat!
I also offer 25% off to anybody who buys an advertising package with me more than 1 month in a row for first three months. I'm also more than happy to discuss prices if you'd like to book bulk advertising with me. 

Stats:
(as of 15/02/14)
Bloglovin Followers: 344
GFC followers: 122
Twitter followers: 422
Facebook followers: 76
Instagram Followers: 145

Total Followers: 1109
Total Pageviews: 23,270

Attention:All packages and prices are subject to change depending on blog statistics. I have the right to refuse advertisement to any blog or business that I feel does not fit in with the look of my blog. 

You can find my advertisers page permanently here.
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Guest Post | Lush Seanik Solid Shampoo Review

Hello Everyone, my name is Kimberley (from Kimberley's Beauty Blog) and Beky has kindly allowed me to write a guest post on her blog which will be a review of a Lush product I love.  However before I start, I just want to say a big thank you to Beky for giving me the opportunity to write a little post on her corner on the internet.  She is a really lovely blogger who I am a big fan of so when she offered me the chance to write a guest post on her blog (my first ever one) I jumped at the chance and I really hope you all like it.


As mentioned above, today's blog post features a Lush product I love which is named Seanik.  This is a solid shampoo which at first I was a little dubious about using but after attending an amazing event at Lush in London where they told us more about it and even gave us a demonstration I decided to give this unusual product a try.  Lush offer a huge variety of solid shampoo's but Seanik caught my eye because it is said to add volume and shine to hair, something which I always look for in hair care products.

This solid shampoo is a small bar which is a gorgeous bright blue and contains lemon to add shine to the hair, sea salt to add volume and seaweed, jasmine, orange flower and mimosa. The combination of these ingredients gives you a wonderful floral fragrance and a formula that adds an amazing amount of volume to the hair.  I would even go as far as saying this product has added more volume to my hair than any other I have tried and that volume is even maintained after adding additional products such as Macadamia Oil and styling.  Seanik also gives my hair a beautiful shine although it doesn't seem to leave it particularly soft so an intensive conditioner is a must.

Initially I wasn't sure I would like this product but once again Lush haven't let me down and this is definitely a winner for me.  It is a compact size so is perfect to use when travelling, you get a huge amount of washes out of it making it excellent value for money (around eighty), it adds volume and smells lovely.  Seanik is definitely now a stable in my hair care routine and although I will not use it every time I wash my hair because I like to alternate the products I use (so my hair doesn't get too used to it) this is a product I can see i will be using a lot.

Thanks for reading, I really hope you enjoyed the blog post and if you fancy a read of my blog as well as Beky's I would love for you to pop by and say hello.

Kimberley x

You can follow Kimberley here : Twitter | Blog | Instagram

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Sunday 23 February 2014

Beauty Blogger Tag | A Few Things You didn't know

So, a little short of time this week to write a full On beauty blog for you all, I thought I'd do this little Beauty Blogger tag for you all.

1) Do you wear the same style everyday or do you change it?
My fashion is very versatile, it changes on a daily basis depending on what mood I'm in. Some days I will dress it up with a cute crop and skater skirt and feel more girly and the next I could step it up with some Topshop Joni jeans In black with a slouchy oversized tee tucked in.

2) Do you do your own mani/pedi or go to the salon?

I'm gonna confess something here, even as a beauty blogger I'm not too fussed on mani/pedis. I don't like feet as a general thing, but I'll occasionally paint my toes if I'm wearing peep-toe shoes or flip flops. And as far as manicures go, I'll usually just cut, file and paint my own nails.

3) How long does it take for you to put on your makeup?

It usually takes me around 15-20 minutes to do my makeup, it's taken me a while but I've finally perfected my daily routine and managed to set the time.

4) What do you do first, the face or the eyes?

Face is always first for me, then I move onto my eyes and usually focus there before finishing with my mascara. 


5) Do you 'collect' makeup or just buy what you need when you need it?

I am a massive fan of Benefit cosmetics, as they are quite a pricey I usually save up and limit myself to buying one or two product a month, so I usually do collect makeup and use it when I feel like it, I don't like to throw products away either so my collection is getting quite hefty.

6) How often do you wear false lashes?

I have honestly never warn false lashes and I don't really feel like I need to start as I have naturally long and full lashes.

7) Do you do a full face of makeup every day?

Not everyday, if I'm going to work then I will definitely make an effort, but I don't like the idea of getting myself into a position of not feeling comfortable without a full face of makeup. I recently did a post called, Minimal Makeup Month, as a way to realise and to get the opinions of you lovely lot on why we actually ware make up and hide behind it.. you can find that post here. 

8) Do you wear makeup when at home or alone with family?

Yes, sometimes, but I don't feel the need to. I'm more than happy to have a bare-faced day with the family or close friends.

9) Will you leave the house without makeup?

I don't really care what state people see me in sometimes. Hell, I've even gone popped into work in my pyjamas bare faced before. I don't think I necessarily have to fancy myself up all the time.

10) How many high end products do you have?

Like I said before, I am a massive fan of Benefit products and most of my collection is Benefit; however, I am also stepping into the worlds of MAC and Clinique and am also loving these.

11) How often do you change your handbag?

I probably only change my handbag every year or so, I'm not a massive bag person.

12) What time do you get up and go to sleep?

I have to get up at 6.30am every day for work. I work in an office so have to be up and ready and drive to work for 8.. I then usually head to bed at around 9 or 10pm depending on how the days gone, how much I do at the gym and generally how tired I am. I'm not one for late nights. Can't really handle them. 


13) How often do you work out?

Most nights actually. I head to the gym with my Dad after work and usually do 30 mins on the bike in the gym and then a 500m-1000m swim depending on how tired I am. I do this about 5 times a week!

14) Do you speak a foreign language?

I learnt French and German in school but I can't really remember any of it.

15) How did you come up with your blog name?

It's really boring actually. My name is Beky and when I was little my mum and dad used to call me Beky Boo. Hence my blog name is BekyBoo1.

16) What kind of camera do you use to take photographs?
I just use my iPad Mini's camera or my iPhone 5s at the moment, it's not the best but I use a great little photo editing app which really helps enhance my photos.

17) What is your favourite colour?

I don't really have a favourite colour, I like most colours and my like for different colours are expanding every day.

18) What are you doing for the rest of the day?

I am off out tonight for a girly night on the town! But first to drive and get ready - the boring parts!


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Friday 21 February 2014

What's on my iPad | Featuring Mallzee

I've seen a few of these 'What's on my iPad' posts floating around recently and thought I'd share with you all some of my favourite apps.


The first page of apps are just the main ones that come with the iPad really, I then have 2 folders, the second being full of blog apps that I use, my favourites being GMail, Blogger (although I honestly don't recommend this for anything other than writing posts) and many of photo editing apps, my favourite being 'A Beautiful Mess' which is 69p on iTunes and I would HIGHLY recommend to every blogger that loves editing with cute writing and that uses Instagram quite a lot!


 The second (and last) page of my apps includes my favourite and most used apps. The usual social apps : Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Bloglovin', Youtube, Snapchat... We then have the two games that I only play. These being the only two that I am absolutely obsessed with - Candy Crush and The Simpson's Tapped Out. Honestly, I cannot describe how OBSESSED I am with Tapped Out, It gets me nowhere, but I can't help but keep going and keep re-building my Springfield! I then also  love Malzee - a new app which honestly is making me lust over so many new clothing items.



Mallzee is an app which brings personal shopping to a whole new level online. It easily finds items of clothing perfect for you through just a few search criteria and learns what you love the more times you use it - perfect for when you just want to have a quick browse and not have to scroll through millions of unwanted items. In Mallzee you can also save favourite brands and easily search through their latest offerings, which I think is a fabulous idea as it minimises the trawling through all of the different websites individually. Another great feature that I love about this app is the 'friends' section. I think it's such a great idea to be able to interact with your friends on a shopping app, as Laura says in the mini interview below, it's great being able to share something easily with your friends for approval before you buy, just as you would in the changing rooms when out shopping.


I asked Laura, a team member at Mallzee a couple of questions about the app which she kindly answered below:

What was the main purpose within the first ideas for app?
The main purpose was to make shopping online better, more personal and more social. Shopping in a store is a fun and social experience and we didn't really see that online so we wanted to create a shopping experience online that brought that same experience into the users home (or wherever they chose to shop- whether it was at the bus stop, on the train or sneakily in a lecture!). 

How would you describe the app in a few sentences?
Mallzee is a personal shopper in your pocket- without the personal shopper price tag! Swipe right if you love it, left if you hate it (think browsing the sale rail) and the app learns your style and recommends clothes to you that you’ll love, getting smarter the more you use it. Mallzee makes online shopping social too, letting you get the opinion’s of your closest friends before you buy!

What is your target audience for this app or is it so versatile that you could see it appealing to a wide range of people?
Mallzee is pretty versatile and we can see everyone enjoying it for different reasons but the app is especially designed for fashion/shopping fanatics. Everyone in our office is slightly shopping obsessed so we have a good understanding of what shopping lovers want!

I absolutely love this app and haven't stopped using it since I first downloaded it.

Mallzee is available on the Apple store and on Android for free.

What are your favourite apps?
Have you heard of Mallzee before?
Let me know in the comments below
xox

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Tuesday 18 February 2014

Review | Proactiv Oil Free Moisutriser

A couple of weeks ago, I was sent this charming little bottle of Proactiv Oil Free Moisturiser* to try out. Proactiv has always been a brand that I have wanted to try - You know how it is, see an advert on tv with Vanessa Hudgens and Hayden Pantenierre doting on a brand and then you want their flawless skin and all of a sudden NEED those products. It's been like that for me for so lomg that when this little package was left on my door mat I was beyond excited to give it a whirl.


Proactiv Oil Free Moisturiser is a great little product that I have been using ever since it arrived. I apply it every morning as soon I've stepped out of the shower and leave it to soak up whilst I get dressed and sort my hair out. I then apply my makeup as normal, primer first. I've never been the girl to moisturise properly in the mornings - naughty, I know - but with my makeup primer, I feel moisturised enough and have never wanted to put extra oil onto my face and into my pores. This Proactiv moisturiser however, has changed my mind completely. At first, I was a little skeptical as I noticed a few spots appear... but I fought through them and in a couple of days they were gone and my skin was starting to feel a lot healthier. I never knew how much a little moisture could brighten my skin so much.

As this moisturiser is Oil-Free it doesn't clog the pores, which is perfect, yet it still soothes and softens the skin and the best part, which I've found that it does really well, is hydrate my skin. I'm also a massive fan of the fact that it has an SPF of 15 - not so much of an issue in this crazy weather that we're having here in England at the moment, but when summer or even spring, finally arrive - it will be a total lifesaver. I don't know about you lot, but I HATE putting sun cream on my face - the smell is too much, and I always find it difficult to work with my makeup and daily facial routine.

Overall I've really loved this moisturiser and will definitely be trying out some of the other products in the Proactiv ranges - despite the slightly heftier price list than I'm used to from my high-street facial care products, I think Proactiv is going to become one of my future staple skincare brands.

You can buy this Proactiv Oil Free Moisturiser here for £15.95 or here for £12.74

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Sunday 16 February 2014

February Beauty Haul

It's been a while since I've had a massive beauty splurge - yes, over the past couple of weeks I've bought a couple of bits every now and then, but Saturday, I went a little beauty crazy. Myself, my father and my younger sister, Holly, all traveled down to Brighton for the day to do a spot of shopping whilst my Mother was in a refresher course for Hypnotherapy. I went, wages in hand, not knowing the wonders that the Churchill shopping centre would bring me. I came back with half of my wages gone and the boot of the car laden with shopping bags.

First of all I popped into Debenhams; The Clinique Bonus Time offer was just too good to pass up. I sat with a lovely lady at the counter and was shown the beauty of the Clinique '3 step' skin care routine. Shamelessly, I came away with all three products, determined to finally sort out my skin care and rid myself of these bloody spots! This also meant that I came away with the Clinique Bonus Time makeup bag and the goodies that were inside. I've used this skin care routine twice since I bought it yesterday and can instantly feel a noticeable difference in the feel of my skin - I will be doing a follow up post in March to let you know how I get on. 



Boots was my next stop and to the Benefit counter! I only needed to pick up one thing here as when I arrived home the rest of my Benefit order was waiting nicely on my doorstep (how convenient). My total Benefit haul included a Boiing concealer, which I've needed to repurchase for quite some time now, a 'High Brow' pencil, which I've been lusting over for weeks and a bottle of their makeup remover (a definite must have now I've sworn goodbye to makeup wipes!). As many of you may know, I'm quite obsessed with Benefit and would definitely say that it's my favourite high-end brand for makeup. It's always a challenge to walk away from a Benefit counter empty handed - one that I don't think I've actually accomplished as yet!

Looking back, it doesn't look like all that much, but along with the two pairs of heels that I bought for work, it came to a hefty price! I had such a great day and cannot wait to try out these products properly and get them all reviewed! Also - can we please just appreciate how amazing the Benefit 'Remove It' packaging is?!

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Girls Night

You may have seen that just after Christmas I wrote this post about a girly pamper night in with Danni from Danielle Saint. It seemed quite a popular post and so with a little encouragement from a new Survey that has been done, I decided to write a follow up post. All about girls nights - Do we really want to go out partying all of the time or is that just the stereotype for us young ones?

In the survey, undertaken by Ladbrokes Bingo, there were a couple of questions that definitely caught my eye. The first of these being Question 2:

Which of the below have you experienced / been annoyed by on an night out?

Now, as an open question, this could be quite a tough one to call - I, like most of you, usually enjoy my nights when I'm on them and don't usually think of this in the moment, but looking at the options given, quite a few are being ticked off in my mind. For a start - just the other week, I 'laddered my tights early on in the evening', which is the third option on the long long list of choices. I never even thought about it at the time, but looking back, I must have looked a right d*ck walking around with a bloody gurt ladder running from thigh to ankle...
Another was 'Girl in heels steps on your foot' - another one that happened merely a few weeks back. The same night as the tights laddering incident in fact! A girl came out of no where and all of a sudden her heel was impaling the side of my ankle -okay so I was 10 or so Jagerbombs down at this point - she could have done it by accident, I can't quite remember but still. I had a massive gash in my ankle and I now have a faint scar - luckily I was too drunk to remember it in the morning, the pain only started when I realised it was there!

Other options in this list included (Little red crosses next to them. Yep, they've ALL happened to me) :

Toilet tissue stuck to your shoe    X
Dress tucked in to knickers
Laddered your tights early in evening  X
Fallen over in front of a crowd  X
Caught in the rain before the night has
even started  X
Drink dropped over your outfit  X
Girl in heels steps on your foot  X
Ripped your outfit  X
Long queues to get in to club or bar  X
Paying to get in to a club or bar  X
Long queues at the bar  X
Expensive drinks  X
Being leered at by men  X
Long wait for a taxi at the end of the night                                X
Toilets not having any toilet paper  X
Long queue for the toilet  X
Toilets not having a lock  X
Shoes / heels breaking  
Lose phone, coat or purse  
Having to look after a friend who is really drunk  X
You’re sick in public
Seeing an ex   X
Falling out with a friend in a drunken argument  X
Awful music all night  
Being the designated driver  X
Arguing with the doormen
Sore feet  X

Honestly, It's a wonder I bother going out at all! I'm sure most of you out there are also ticking a fair few of those on the list.
I've never really thought about it really, but I guess as much as I like going out, I much prefer staying in. I've calculated that since Christmas, I've been out merely once. Not so much calculation to be done there after all. In 44 days I have been out drinking and in a club, once and until my weekend in Cardiff at the end of March, I think it will stay that way. Some may call that boring... but I bet anything the rest of you are the same.

Another question in the survey was:

'Do you tend to prefer a girl's night in more than a night on the tiles?'

A whopping 69.6% of 2000 ladies that took part in this survey said yes. That's 1392 ladies. As much as I would have been one of the 'yes'' I am quite surprised that that was the majority vote. Is anyone else?
I do agree though and it's definitely the cheaper out of the two, in fact, 60% of the women surveyed said that what's great about a night in is that you don't have to spend as much money as on a night out. I don't disagree with this at all - I often lose money on a night out just because of my drunkenness!

The survey is full of incredible answers and questions that I would never have thought of had I conducted this questionnaire, it definitely has made me think more about my night out vs night in. I loved reading through people's answers and was quite shocked by some of the results when it came to ideas for nights in. Honestly, I think my perfect night in with the girls would be, wine, lots of yummy food and a good movie - oh and of course there would be boy talk! I'm not into drinking games and don't like drinking when I'm in the house, but after all, who needs a drink to have fun on a girls night??

Don't forget to give the survey a read yourself here.

What do you think of the results?
Which do you prefer - a night on the town or a night in with the girls?
Let me know in the comments below. 

xox

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Friday 14 February 2014

Review | Tanya Burr Nails

As many of you may of heard the lovely Tanya Burr - one of our own - has recently launched a Lip Gloss and Nail Polish range alongside Eye Candy. Ever since I heard this was a go I've been desperate to get my hands on the nail polishes and see what gorgeous colours she was going to bring out. Not a massive fan of lip glosses in general, I haven't bought any so far and instead I allowed myself a little extra spend on the nail polishes. I bought 4 in total and couldn't wait for them to arrive.

The first thing I noticed about her range were the cute names for each polish, the ones that took my fancy were called 'Peaches and Cream', 'Mini Marshamallow', 'Bright and Early' and 'Little Duck'. Now unfortunately - even though I ordered within 5 minutes of the products going live on Feel Unique - Two of the polishes I ordered haven't arrived and my order is still 'pending'. After receiving the other two, which are gorgeous, I'm so eager for me email notifications to ding and for an email saying 'you're order has been dispatched' in my inbox. However the first two that have arrived are absolutely gorgeous and I couldn't wait to tell you about them!

Left to Right: Little Duck - Peaches and Cream

I instantly filed and prepped my nails and applied Peaches and Cream. It's such a beautiful nude peach and was so easy to apply. I'd say that it has quite a thin formula and was quite watery overall, but I've found this with Topshop ones before and they have been some of my favourites, so I'm hoping that these polishes can last as well, it's already been a couple of days and without a topcoat they've lasted well not to chip so far. I was also impressed with the time that it took to dry to the touch - a lot of the time I find that nail polishes that have this consistency take quite a while to dry, I don't know why, they just do, but this one dried within a reasonable time and was great after with not smudging  at the smallest touch of something. I cannot wait to try the other colours when they finally arrive!

Have you tried any of Tanya's range yet? What do you think?
Let me know in the comments below

xox


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Tuesday 11 February 2014

My Makeup Storage

It's been a long time coming but I am finally happy with my makeup storage! Don't you just love the feeling when something that you've been unhappy for forever finally all comes together? That's how I feel this week after taking a trip to Ikea and coming out with a hefty load. A hefty load including £150 worth of furniture more than I anticipated leaving with. Whoops...

So since I'm finally happy with my finished look and my glorious new dressing table and drawers, I thought I'd share them with you!



The middle of my dressing table is my favourite part, these quirky glass jars are perfect for my makeup and beauty essentials!

The left side of my dressing table - a gorgeous clock that my sister bought me for Christmas, the standard Ikea plant pot full of makeup brushes, my coveted Umberto Giavanni Hairspray and my massive pump of Soap and Glory's Hand Food! The drawer holds my Simple makeup wipes and my Lush Tea Tree Water. 


The right hand side of my desk is a little more cluttered, although no where near any less important! My beloved Christmas Cookie Yankee Candle sits alongside my Body Shop lip balm, Lush Bubblegum lip scrub and my Batitse Dry Shampoo. Yet another Ikea plant pot sits with my lonely Denman tangle tamer in. The drawer is full of hair bands and hair accessories!




The main drawer of my desk is full of my everyday makeup with my makeup bags stashed away. I find it so easy this way, to just pop out the drawer and have everything I need in order!


Once again another Ikea / beauty blogger staple. I fell in love with these drawers straight away and couldn't help but buy them straight away!



The first couple of drawers are filled with my other makeup, my face cleansing and skincare products. I've popped them in these cute little wicker baskets that I found lying around the house, it makes it all so much easier to control and keep neat!



Excuse the terrible quality of images here; these next two drawers are filled of all my Lush/ bath products and all of my hair care products. I never realised how much I had before! Definitely need to start using up all of these and pop myself on a spending ban!



These are the two drawers that a couple of months ago, I thought would never exist. But beauty blogging is a blessing and a torment. I have fallen in love with nail polish all things nails and I have also stepped into the wondrous world of self tan. These are my 'newbie' drawers, as I like to call them. The drawers that I can see being opened a lot over the next couple of months as I experiment more. Tan post coming soon!

What is your makeup storage like?
Let me know in the comments below

xox

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Sunday 9 February 2014

Valentine's Gift Guide / Wishlist

Valentines

Valentines by beky-lou featuring a twin bell clock

Anybody else get a little moodier as that time of year rolls around again? I know I do...  Yet again the clock ticks forward, the days fly by and all of a sudden it's the 14th February and I'm home alone eating a box of chocolates that I bought myself. Who says that just because nobody else will  buy you them that you can't indulge on yourself? Valentine's is to celebrate the one you love, right? Well, if there's no other 'special someone', then I most certainly love myself more. Valentine's day is very over commercialised and the idea of it honestly makes my skin crawl as a consumer, but at the same time and as bitter as I may seem about it from this side of the pond, I'd love to have someone to share Valentine's with. I'm 19 and it so far, hasn't happened. Hence why this post is a gift guide / wish list - Feel free to send me a little v-day gift you lovely bunch! 

In all seriousness, I love each an everyone one of these items and if you're looking for a pressie for your lovely lady - or even a friend - then these are some of the best I've seen after a search on ye ol' t'interweb. Guys keep note (or ladies, there's no judging here) keep it sweet and romantic - we're not all that impressed by how much you spend, but how much effort and thought you put into it! Flashy diamond Rolex that costs   £££?? No thanks, I'm sure as much as it would be nice to someday own one, us girls are more impressed and feel far more spoiled with a little thoughtful gift (a bit of dazzle won't hurt though) and a romantic evening planned. Just something for you to think about... I know I'll be enjoying my night with my two fave guys. Ben and Jerry. 

Have you got much planned for the big 1-4?
Let me know in the comments below. 

xox


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Friday 7 February 2014

February / Valentine's Giveaway

Hey Hey you lovely lot. It's February again and that means one thing. The day of St Valentine's. Can we all sigh? It's not such a great day for us singletons - personally I like to spend my day tucked up in bed watching Bridget Jones and eating my weight in junk food. But nevertheless, this year I am determined to be a little more perky in anticipation for the world's worst day of the year of a single person.

Hence this impromptu Giveaway. I want to thank you lovely lot for following me and helping me and my blog grow - I appreciate every single one of you and want to boost your spirits this V-Day by giving away these lovely prizes to one lucky person reading this!

valentines giveaway

The PRIZES

Katy Perry Killer Queen 50ml Perfume
L'Oreal Miss Manga Mascara
Barry M Nail Polish
Dairy Milk Chocolate Bar 
Selection of Valentine's sweeties


This prize includes some of my favourite products at the moment - especially Katy Perry's Perfume. I absolutely adore the smell of this and cannot wait to share the goodness with one of you! L'Oreal's Miss Manga Mascara and of course all of these sweeties are also faves at the moment! 

The RULES.

This is a UK giveaway only. Sorry for any confusion. ****
You must enter via the Rafflecopter widget below
You must leave your email address so that I can contact you in the case that you win
You must enter all mandatory entries for them to count
You must leave a comment below saying why you love/hate Valentine's


a Rafflecopter giveaway


The giveaway will run from 7th February until the 28th February and winners will be announced the following day.

Good Luck!

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Topshop Wishlist


Before last year, I was never a massive fan of Topshop - but as styles change and my fashion sense grows and expands, Topshop has fast become one of my favourite shops. There are so many amazing items that I want from Topshop at the moment that I thought I'd share a couple with you - some of my ultimate must-have buys for the next few weeks. 

topshop wishlist

topshop wishlist by beky-lou featuring petite tees

Have you got any Topshop items your lusting over?
Let me know in the comments below

xox

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Tuesday 4 February 2014

Minimal Makeup Month - Why do we hide beneath our second skin?

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For a very long time now, us girls, myself included have relied on makeup. We, for whatever reasons, feel the need to hide behind this mask - which have you noticed? Does not come cheap. Now, I know that there are many reasons why some of us hide behind our masks of gorgeously expensive slap, many more reasons than just wanting to 'feel pretty', but do we really need it? Hiding scars, boosting your self-esteem, covering blemishes and acne - they're all reasons that we cover ourselves in everything from MUA to MAC.

My reason for wearing makeup has been that of many others - making myself feel better in myself and up until last summer, it was a reason that I didn't feel too bad about. I like makeup and I like spending my hard earned money on slightly more expensive brands. So what? Us girls are allowed an indulgence and are allowed to feel pretty... But last summer I went through a really traumatic time - It's a story for another day, as I have said before, a story for a time when I feel like I can relive the situation without crumbling down into a messy heap on the floor. But that situation and those couple of months scarred me in more ways than one. Makeup and my blog became a new hobby and obsession for me to try and forget everything that had happened. I dove head first into a whole new world of high end and left behind the magazine samples and the Mother's hand-me-downs. Makeup well and truly became my mask and I found myself applying more and more layers to hide the pain. It was my way of dealing (or what I thought was dealing) with the trauma that I had been through. I felt much like the Phantom of the Opera, in a way - I thought that the guy I had been with had stripped me so emotionally bare that my skin may as well have looked like the Phantom's. Makeup became my new skin and gave me the 'confidence' to try and move past what had happened.
I know for a lot of people out there, Makeup has done the same thing for them. It's helped them cover up and focus on something else...

A few days ago, a guy told me that he didn't like too much makeup. It affected me more than I thought it would as that morning I'd worked so hard to try and look 'perfect' for him. Having him tell me that he thought I was pretty without all of the cosmetics really made me start thinking. Do I need to be hiding behind it all? If he can see through it and think I'm the same person that I feel I am with it all on, would taking it off really matter? As the months have passed, I have become a little more relaxed with letting certain people see me with my 'guard down' as I like to call it, bare faced and being myself. Granted, these people are my family members, but for a while after everything had happened and I'd first turned to makeup properly, it had taken me a long time to even think about leaving my bedroom in the morning without makeup on. So maybe now is the time? It's been long enough, I feel, and to have somebody tell me that I'm myself no matter what I have covering my face, that really boosts my confidence more than anything.

This month I have decided to strip myself bare - well, almost. I've zipped up my makeup bag and popped it on my shelf, taking out only the 'necessities' of my MAC Studio Finish Concealer, my New L'Oreal Manga Mascara and of course, my Benefit Browzings palette - A girl's got to have bold brows! These are the 'bare' necessities that I have allowed myself for this month, or at least for however long I manage to go before realising I can live without my 15 'daily essential' makeup items that I currently use. I think it's a bold step, but one that I need, not only to rejuvenate my skin and get it back to a healthy no-makeup state, but to also show myself that I don't need the makeup everyday. That I don't need it to be a confident person or to be myself. I don't want it to be all that people see, the emotional scars are still there, but I'm not the Phantom, I don't need the mask on anymore.


Anybody else with me?

I'd love to know your thoughts in the comments below. 
xox


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