21 Things before I'm 22

I've done it. I've finally bloody made it to 21 - does that mean I'm officially an adult now? Probably not. Does it mean that I know how to look after myself? Again, probably not, but then again, that's why I live with Jordan and not on my own. I actually can't believe that I've now been living away from 'home' for three months - It's been the absolute best thing ever and I love living in Manchester with Jordan! But Moving to Manchester has definitely made me realise that there are so many more things I want to achieve before I'm 22! Here are some of them for my staple 'Birthday' post.

21 before I'm 22

1 / Jump out of a Plane in Memory of Scottie. If you would like to donate then please donate here. 

2 / Finally change my Hair. I've had this hairstyle for 21 years now. It needs to go!

3 / Get a Photo with Ariel at Disney World. I am a complete child. I cannot wait!

4 /  Buy a Mulberry Bag. This needs to happen this year. Heart Emoji Faces all around.

5 /  Take my blog to the Next Level. I need to step up my game. 

6 / Sort out my finances. I need to stop bouncing from payday to payday!

7 / Keep up with my fitness. I need a flat stomach!

8 / Attend more events in London for my blog - I need to start saying yes!

9 / 'Homeify' our Apartment. I need some more pretty ornaments in my life.

10 / Reach 2000 Subscribers on Bloglovin!

11 / Go on a Bloggers holiday! Already booked and ready to go with Centre Parcs in March!

12 / Meet at least one of my Blogging Idols!

13 / Go on a photography course and get my skills on point for pretty as F blog photos

14 / Become more confident with outfit posts on the blog!

15 / Buy a Tom Ford Perfume. ♥

16 / Defeat my Fears and go on the Tower of Terror ride in Disney Florida!

17 / Ride on the Hogwarts Express when visiting Universal Studios in Florida!

18 / Shop in a Sephora ♥♥

19 / Get back into Youtube!! This is a must - Melody, if you're reading this. Make sure this happens!

20 / Meet up with some more Blogging Girlies, namely Megan from Thumbelina Lille & Jess from Blonde of Carbs!

21 / Be Happy and live life as much as I can. No Regrets!

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Fleur De Force Beauty

I am such an advocate for a little blogger loving. I'd always want others to support me if  I ever achieved anything amazing so when it comes to other bloggers doing their bit and getting their name out there I am all for shouting my praises from the roof tops. The latest Beauty Blogger / Vlogger to achieve something massive in the Beauty Industry is Fleur De Force with her brand new Makeup collection. I have absolutely loved Fleur from day one having watched her videos for quite some time now and I am so proud for what she has achieved. Of course when I found out what her Makeup collection entailed I was even more excited and had to get my hands on them (no matter what my bank account tried to tell me!) I ordered one of the eye shadow quads and two lip glosses and already cannot wait to order more from Feel Unique!

I have to admit that when they first arrived I was a little disappointed with the packaging. Now don't get me wrong, I completely understand that for the price of these items this is probably what was available, but I can't help but think it looks a little too cheap / dare I say it, tacky. I'm a massive self-proclaimed makeup snob and I am all for beautiful packaging so it was a little bit of an anti-climax for me when they werent as pretty as sleek as I had hoped. However, saying that, the products themselves were so NOT a disappointment. I am in love! The first thing I got my mitts into was the eye shadow quad. I opted for the Cosmic Bronze palette as I am a huge sucker from a smokey brown eye and these colours looked so beautiful in Fleur's video! I really like how easy the colours are to blend together and the pigmentation is actually really good, although I don't know why I ever doubted that as Fleur is a stickler for a good pigmentation!

Next I got stuck into the lip glosses! I picked up the shades Written in the Stars and Starry Starry Night, the two that really caught my eyes the most when browsing. Written in the Stars is a gorgeous pinky-nude, a really nice 'your lips but better' kind of shade. It's one that I've come to love wearing quite a bit (even though I'm not a lip gloss kind of girl at all). Starry Starry Night is a berry pink, perfect for the Autumnal months and amazingly pigmented. In fact, both of these are really well pigmented and I like that you can wear them alone without a lipstick underneath. That's the kind of lazy girl gloss that I'm into! They're such lovely shades and smell so much like Vanilla that it's almost unreal. Think MAC lipstick vanilla but like 3x as powerful, it's amazing!

I'm really impressed with the quality of Fleur's products themselves and so proud of her for what she's achieved! There's so many more lip gloss colours in the collection and another eye shadow quad, of course not to mention the mirror and makeup bag too so don't forget to check it all out at FeelUnique. Use Code 3FEEL30 to get £3 off of orders over £30!

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Winter Wonderbody #3 | Getting back on track

The worst has happened today (well, Monday when I wrote this post). I have put on a bit of weight since my last weigh in! After such a good 2 weeks of eating well, exercising regularly and making sure I always chose the healthier option, I have come home from a weekend away Celebrating my 21st Birthday and my friends Wedding two kilos heavier. To be honest, I was quite surprised it was only by that much, I'm still lighter than I was when I first started this challenge but still, it was not what I needed. Now most likely at the bottom of this weeks Leader Board (I'm writing this before the DW Fitness post has gone up) I definitely need to kick my ass into gear again this time around.

Over these past couple of weeks I have been trying out a 'Teatox' a Tea Detox that you drink everyday to detox your body of all of the bad toxins inside you. I was very kindly sent a 14-Day Teatox* package from TeaDoctor to try out and by the end of the first week I'd lost about 0.5kg - Obviously that was all ruined by the time I weighed myself at the end of the second week due to me giving in to all of the food and alcohol this past weekend but I was still impressed by the results of the first week! With eating healthy, keeping up with my exercise and drinking these teas each morning (and one every other night) I was beginning to feel so much better in myself and even though my weight has sadly crept back up, I've noticed a major difference in my shape.

As I've mentioned from the beginning of this challenge I'm slightly more interested in toning up and being happy with myself and my body than I am with worrying about the numbers on the scales. Although I would ultimately love to be lighter too, as long as I'm happy with myself then that's really the end goal. I've noticed that with drinking these Detox Teas from TeaDoctor and with eating right and exercising I've been much happier than in previous weeks. I've seen my stomach flatten down a bit and have overall felt like I've been making progress. I'm definitely going to be trying to get my hands on another Teatox package for the next couple of weeks because I've loved the way I've been feeling whilst drinking them.

Overall, (again minus this one weekend) I think I've been getting on really well with the idea of changing my lifestyle. I've been far more motivated to get up and turn on my exercise DVD and pick up my Kettle-bell's. I definitely need to get back into the gym but that shouldn't be an issue now as I've got no excuses with being busy and my gym buddy is back from her hollibobs! Seeing my current weigh-in I'm now even more determined to keep at it and shed the weight again and more! I've been loving the healthy eating side of things and have been able to curb my cravings by allowing myself a little chocolate every now and again.. I'm trying to ween myself off of it all together but I think the thought of going cold Turkey right now scares me a little! I'm hoping I'll get there by the next time I'm writing this post!.

Have any of you managed to keep with your Winter Wonderbody challenge? Have you given up yet?
Let me know in the comments how you're getting on, I'd love the extra boost of motivation!

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Halloween Zombie Makeup for the Boyfriend

For my last Halloween post of the year (except of course for my birthday post) I've let my boyfriend run free with the Face Paints and Halloween makeup kit from Party Delights and of course he had to create something gruesome like this. I'm actually really impressed with it, he's used his imagination way more than I thought he ever could for this look and it's actually turned out pretty darn good! To create this look Jordan first used white tissue paper by ripping up small pieces and then gluing them to his face using PVA glue mixed with fake blood. He only glued around the edges as to keep the tissue in the centre clean ready to cut through and fill with blood, making it look like a fresh flesh wound and then using the liquid latex from the Zombie Makeup Kit* he made the wounds look a little more natural and gory!

To create the 'black hole' eye he started off by wetting an oval cotton pad and wiping it across the black Snazaroo face paint* and then gluing it around the edges to his eyebrow bone and under eye with the PVA  glue and fake blood mix. The rest is just face paint cleverly sponged on, black lipstick, fake blood and a little Zombie eye magic from PicMonkey (that bit was me). It's such a good look and I can't wait to see him do this again for halloween! 

Products Used:

Snazaroo Black Face Paint*

Snazaroo Purple Face Paint*

Snazaroo White Face Paint*

Snazaroo Green Face Paint*

Snazaroo Face Paint Sponges*

Snazaroo Medium Flat & Fine Round Face Paint Brushes*

Zombie Makeup Kit*

Tissue Paper

PVA Glue

What are you dressing up as for Halloween?

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Mary Jane Monochrome

If you saw my post with River Island earlier this week you'll know that I've been trying to change up my style for a while now. Ever since moving to Manchester it's been my mission to dress more like a grown up and step out of my clothing comfort zone. However since moving to Manchester I've also stumbled across a lot of new clothing retailers  and I've been loving picking out new bits from each one to try and put together new outfits. One in particular that I've been really liking browsing the online stores of has been Mary Jane Fashion, an online wholesaler based in Manchester. I love their easy styles and how on point with the latest fashion trends that they are and even though they're a wholesaler, their prices are really good per item.

 A couple of my favourite pieces are some of the more basic ones and I think that's what I love most about them; They have great staple items for sale. The first piece is the first on the image above, a Sleeveless Black Trench Jacket with a tie around the waist. I have wanted to get my hands on a simple black one of these for so long. Like literally, since even before I moved to Manchester, but all that I have seen have just not been what I'm looking for. What I love most about this jacket is that it is plain and understated. I know I want to change up my style a bit, but I still need to take baby steps and this looks the perfect one to me. I'd love to pair this with some ripped jeans and a white or grey t-shirt or even my next pick from Mary Jane Fashion, the Sleeveless, High Neck Grey Knit dress above. I absolutely love the look of this dress and love the idea of the splits at the sides (which do go quite high so Black Jeans / Leggings are a must here), I think it's such a lovely design and such an easy thing to wear with still looking stylish. Come on, who doesn't love a bit of lazy fashion?
Last but not least these 'Olivia Palermo' inspired Rip Legged Denim Dungarees are quite possibly my favourite thing to have stumbled upon. Styled with a white classic shirt underneath and some Chelsea Boots / Heels and you've got such an effortless look. I'm a massive fan of Olivia Palermo and I love that Mary Jane Fashion have taken inspiration from socialites to inspire the clothing that they sell. Celebrity culture is massive at the moment and being able to pick up something similar to your favourite celeb for such good value is what a lot of people are looking for, myself being one of them! Mary Jane Fashion are clearly keeping up with the trends and latest Celebrity looks and it shows well in their current collection! I'm loving a lot of their stuff!

You can check out their website MaryJaneFashion.com to see all of their collections including their Celebrity Inspired Collection! They've got some great Halloween pieces at the moment too!

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*This is a sponsored post

6 Favourite Autumnal Eye Shadows

As every Beauty Blogger / Vlogger out there does, in the Autumn I like to mix up my makeup routine and bring out the purples/berrys/oranges a bit more. I'm an absolute sucker for a burnt auburn / purple smokey eye and I've honestly been waiting so long for October to arrive. I've purchased quite a lot of eye shadows recently and I've generously been sent some to review so I have quite a few Autumnal Eye Shadow favourites to get through so I am terribly sorry if this is a bit of a long post! My first favourite and probably most loved eyeshadow palette at the moment has to be the Naked Smoky Palette by Urban Decay, I have been obsessed with this selection since day one and use at least one of it's shadows on a daily basis. I'm currently loving Black Market and Smolder, two very dark blue-purple shades that are perfect for vamping up eye looks! As you probably saw in my Naked Smoky review post, they have a perfect pigmentation and blend super easily! I've also been loving the original Naked Palette for my Autumnal looks and Half-Baked and Smog are definitely my go-to here.

My MAC Warm/Neutrals palette is my go-to for everyday auburn Autumn eyes, I love how it has 15 shades in that can have so many different combinations on the eyes. I personally love using Dark Brew and Amber lights to create individual block colour eye looks and also really like mixing the two  together to create a burgundy / amber shimmer smokey eye (can you tell I love the smokey eye look?). I bought this in Duty Free a couple of months back and haven't looked back since. Even though it has a slightly hefty price tag against it, it is actually well worth the money (especially compared to buying the pans separately!)

Next up for a gorgeous purpley/grey eye is this Cream Shadow in Chocolate Opal* from New Cid Cosmetics. It has a really lovely creamy formula which is so so so pretty on the eyes for a really bold look in the Autumn. I've had a lot of fun playing around with this recently and I think I've found a new love for cream eye shadows; I've never been a massive fan of them before but this one from NCC has the best formula I've tried out by far. Blending with my finger or a fluffy brush is the easiest thing and doesn't distort the colour at all, it's great build-able properties means it can work for all occasions as a deep purpley/brown block of colour or a smoked out grey. I am loving using this on it's own or with a subtle shimmery nude in my inner corners, it's so pretty I don't think it needs much else with it! I really want to get my hands on Crystal Quartz too to create a look with both of these colours!

Since launching her collection last year Charlotte Tilbury's eye shadow quads have stolen the hearts of many and mine was most definitely one of them. I posted about my Dolce Vita palette recently and have not stopped loving it since. I am insanely in love with the burgundy shade and the gorgeous golden bronze 'pop' colour is literally my all time love. It is always a little disappointing how flake that colour is, but when I really pack it on my eye it gives the perfect colour pay off and really enhances a boring look. At £38 for 4 eye shadows it is a lot, but I've definitely had my money's worth out of this one and really really want to get another...maybe in the new year!

Last but by no means least my fifth favourite Autumnal Eye Shadows have to be from my NARS eye shadow duo. I bought this a couple of weeks ago at a NARS event in the Manchester Selfridges and have pretty much been using it daily since. The left hand colour is my all-time base favourite at the moment and the slightly more orange colour to the right has been perfect for brightening up a dark autumn eye. I've wanted to get my hands on some NARS eye products for a while and yet again, I can't wait to get my hands on some more.

Left to Right: Nars shadows, Dolce Vita Palette, Chocolate Opal + smudged out

What are your favourite Autumnal eye shadows?

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River Island Trafford Centre Re-Opening & Payday Picks

Since moving to Manchester I have had a bit of an epiphany when it comes to my style. I've always thought I've dressed a bit average and that everyone else I see is always styling a look that is 100% classier, more grown up and just generally more on point with fashion trends than I am. I've loved fashion since a really young age, whether it was rocking a pair of cargo pants when I was 10 or the latest designer handbag now it's always been something I've been passionate about. So why can't I get it right now? The one shop I've been heading to a lot of the last couple of months to try and break out of my clothing comfort zone has been River Island, I absolutely love their style and how easy their clothes are to wear together and with the re-opening of their Trafford Centre store this week (Tuesday 20th) I thought I'd put together a little Payday Pick list to show you what I'm currently lusting over!

First up is this gorgeously cosy looking Chevron Jumper which I think I just need to get my hands on! It looks perfect for styling up the cold winter days at work; I really love the turtle neck and the fact that it's snug but still drapes nicely. Next I'm loving this Beige Fold Over Cross Body Bag. I have a couple of black designer bags for nights out (hello Michael Kors and Moschino) but I don't have any beige ones and this cross body bag looks like the kind of one I've been looking for for a while. The fold over aspect has to be my favourite, really secure but still roomy. These Black Lace Up Shoes are just to die for; I don't think I need to explain why I'm lusting over these! Next up is possibly my favourite of the bunch, I cannot wait to get my hands on this Grey Embellished Strappy Cami for the festive party season!

These Aviator Sunglasses are right up my street! For £10 these will be perfect for my holiday to Florida next year and such an amazing bargain compared to the Rayban ones that I really want. I love this Lace Bra  so much. It's so sweet and innocent yet so sexy at the same time and I think it will be a lovely addition to my wardrobe. A Leather Jacket is just what I need i my Autumn / Winter Wardrobe however the price just isn't something I can really splash out on one piece right now so the Leather Look Biker Jacket from River Island is just the best alternative at £80 and the Faux Fur collar just adds the extra touch I've been looking for. Last but not least is this beautiful Black Bardot Scuba Dress, something that I don't need but just cannot stop wanting! It's such a lovely fit and I'd love to wear this to a Christmas Party I have coming up for work!

What would you pick from River Island for your payday wish list? I can't wait for my payday to come along so that I can purchase some of the above.

And don't forget that the new Re-vamped River Island store at the Trafford Centre Manchester will be re-opening Tuesday 20th October! With Competitions, Free Gifts with purchase and a live DJ set from Tuesday night and following through to the Weekend, you don't want to miss it!

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Halloween Makeup Look | Maleficent

I have to say, even though it's not the best makeup ever, I am pretty darn proud of myself with this one. I've loved creating these Halloween makeup looks and I think I'll have to keep it a regular thing on BekyLou. This week I've recreated a makeup look for one of my favourite Disney Baddies, Maleficent! I absolutely loved Angelina Jolie's take on the role with the most recent rendition and it totally inspired me to try out the character for Halloween this year. I was very generously sent some Snazaroo Face Paints by Party Delights a Manchester based, online Party Shop. I've had so much fun messing around with the colours I was sent and love the finished look! It was such a shame when I had to wipe it all off!

Products Used:

Snazaroo Black Face Paint*

Snazaroo Purple Face Paint*

Snazaroo White Face Paint*

Snazaroo Green Face Paint*

Snazaroo Face Paint Sponges*

Snazaroo Medium Flat & Fine Round Face Paint Brushes*

Kiss Cosmetics Seductive Damson Kisstick*

Clarins Truly Black Mascara*

What are you dressing up for for Halloween?

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Winter Wonderbody #2 - 2 week update

So let's be honest from the beginning; The past two weeks have not been great on the exercise front. As my gym buddy hasn't been available to go to the gym with me and I've been absolutely shattered recently I haven't actually been. I'm ashamed. I was so determined to start this challenge the right way and I've fallen at the first hurdle with my exercise. My eating however started off really really well. So well in fact that I was so so proud of myself until of course it went a bit wrong... Now don't panic, my granddad is okay now and is recovering, but he did have a Heart Attack at the end of the first week. As I now live in Manchester I couldn't go home to be with my family and so I was constantly worrying and when I'm alone and worrying it's hard not to eat all of the crap in sight. But He's okay and I've picked myself up and I'm back on the straight and narrow!

I started the weekend off by picking up a copy of Geordie Shore star Charlotte Crosby's fitness DVD 'Charlotte's 3 Minute Belly Blitz'. I'm a huge fan of Charlotte for her weight loss and she's kind of my guilty pleasure (I think she's hilarious). I've been thinking of picking this up for a while now and with this challenge I thought it was about time! I did my first session today (Saturday 10th) and I loved it! I only made it through 10 of the 12 rounds but they are killer by the end of it and I'm hoping the more that I do this, the more that I'll be able to breeze through it without stopping. I'm loving it and I'm hoping that the 3 minute intervals will keep me interested, unlike past fitness fads that I've tried where I've always gotten bored.

I've never done well with past diets, I'm a bit too fussy for all of these grain and veggie diets and I can't be dealing with counting Syns or paying for programmes. I'm only 20 so there's really no need for me to be on a diet plan as such; I like to see it as more of a lifestyle change. Because I'm so young I'm aiming to change my habits now to start my twenties off properly instead of just starting a 3 month diet that will then lead to me pigging out again. These 12 weeks are going to be a complete lifestyle overhaul for me and I intend to stick to it! I've heard it takes 28 days for something to become habit, so I need to make sure I can keep at it.

 My action points for the next couple of weeks are to hit some classes at the gym and upscale my interval training. With my friend being away I'm going to find it difficult getting the motivation to go on my own but I'm determined to get started again. I've got some weights at home so I'll be able to hit some of my full body weight exercise goals and along with my 3 Minute Belly Blitz DVD when I can't get to the gym, I'll hopefully be able to hit my target of exercising 4 times a week. The lovely people at DW Fitness (who if you didn't know are the company behind this wonderful challenge) have sent me a couple of free day passes to their gyms so I'm going to try and get to my local one soon too! My food goals for the next fortnight are to cut out alcohol, which I know for a lot of people could be somewhat difficult, but for me it will be quite easy. To me alcohol is lovely for a special night out but I'm not someone who usually likes to drink throughout the week. I think the thing I'll struggle with (as I have been this week) is staying away from the chocolate.

The photos below show what I look like now. I took these straight after my workout Saturday (when I'm writing this post) so please excuse the sweatiness! I thought it would be proof that I have exercised! I've left my current stats below! If you're following this 12 week Wonderbody challenge let me know what you've been finding difficult; Have you been ducking out to have the odd chocolate bar? Have you stuck to your exercise goals?

Stats so far:

Starting Weight: 62.9KG

Weight 2 weeks in: 61.6KG
Loss so far: 1.3KG

Dress Size: 8
Hips: 38"
Waist: 27"
Thighs: 22"
Arms: 11"

Loving:

Avocado - Cannot get enough of the stuff!

Times Exercised: 2 (oops!)

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Kiss Cosmetics Double Ended Lip Brush

If there is one thing in life that I'm not good at, it's getting my lipstick right first time. I'm not even exaggerating when I say that it could literally take me 10 minutes to do my lipstick on most nights out. I am talking bright reds or pinks here and not just my normal nudes by the way! I'm not that much of an idiot! However saying all of this, brushes are not my friend. I think they're a faff and I've never found brushes that are small enough for my little lips, until I was kindly sent this double ended, retractable lip brush* from Kiss Cosmetics. If you remember back to April when I posted about Kiss Cosmetics brand Launch I was lucky enough to be one of the first to try out their products for review, I absolutely loved the Seductive Damson lipstick and so had really high expectations for the quality of this lip brush. I was not disappointed.

I really like how tightly compact the bristles are in each brush. There's no pesty strays that decide to add an outline around your mouth! I found it so easy working with this brush and it's so nice that each end has a cap to keep from ruining the bristles when you store it away. I literally managed to fill my lips in perfectly within about a minute and had no need to follow around my lips with a brush of concealer. For £5.99 this brush has to be a girls best friend for bold lips! I love it! You can pick yours up online at Kisscosmetics.co.uk 

*Wearing MAC Rebel*

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Outfit | Out Shopping ft Daniel Wellington & Michael Kors

Spot of shopping of a Sunday afternoon? This outfit is one of my go-to for popping down to Aldi (living the high life, eh?!) or heading into town of a weekend when there's nothing much else to do. I absolutely love my Grey Ribbed Blazer Jacket from River Island  and  the colours go really well with my gorgeous  Daniel Wellington  Classic Winchester  Watch* . I think that this watch looks so gorgeous matched with a washed Denim and  the grey of my  jacket.  I'm in love with this relaxed and effortless look and it's perfect for  just popping out. of the house.  Have you got a go to  easy outfit for   just popping to the shops  in? Link me to your favourite items below! 

Don't forget you can get 15% off of Daniel Wellington watches with my code: BEKYLOU

Shop My Style

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