Get to know me...

1. Is your hair naturally curly or straight?
Its curly but not a good kind of curly.

 

 2. Do you dye it yourself or go to a salon?

My hair is currently my natural colour but if I do dye it then I tend to go to the salon now as I had far too many disasters with at home kits.

 

3. Do you wear the same style everyday, or do you change it? 

My hair is either in a ponytail, a bun or straightened. You can normally tell which days I have washed my hair as they tend to be the days I have it down and straightened.

4. Do you do your own mani/pedi or go to a salon? 

I have gel manicures every 3 weeks but always do my own pedicures. Mostly because I am ridiculously ticklish and cannot stand anybody touching my feet.

 

5. How often do you change your nail polish?

Every 3 weeks.

6. Do you polish your toes in the winter or just the summer? 

Bare toenails are one of my biggest pet peeves so I always have nail polish on my toes. Normally in the winter it is a dark berry red or black and then I like to mix it up in the summer.

7. How long does it take for you to put on makeup? 

I have to make a decision in the mornings, do I want to get up really early and do my makeup perfectly or do I want to sleep?? Normally the latter wins and I have on average 7 minutes to do my make up. If I am going out I like to spend a lot longer on it though.

 

8. What do you do first? Face or eyes?

I always do my face first, I'm not sure why but it is just the way that makes sense to me. I guess I don't wear eye makeup every day so it just becomes habit to do my face first.

9. Do you collect makeup or just buy what you need when you need it? 

I am pretty good at just buying what I need, I will always have more than that but I wouldn't buy things just for the sake of it.

10. How often do you wear false eyelashes? 

Never really. I can never make them even and they always fall off before I am ready to take them off. Not a great look on me.

 

11. Do you do a full face of makeup everyday?

I guess this is kind of answered in question 7. I wear the bare minimum to work as I am just too lazy but on the weekend and nights out I wear a full face.

12. Do you wear makeup when you’re home alone or with family?

Unless it is a special occasion no but if we have people over then I will put a full face on.

13. Will you leave the house without makeup? 

I do but it isn't a pretty site and I tend to see everybody I know just to make it that little bit worse.

 

14. How many high-end products do you have?

Urm my skincare is high end and I guess it depends what you class as high-end. I have quite a bit of MAC.

15. Do you plan your OOTD every night or decide when you’re getting dressed? 

During the week for work it is a last minute decision but at the weekends I tend to plan a little bit more.

16. How often do you change your handbag? 

Never really. I have a work bag for my laptop and then my beloved Mulberry for weekends and evenings

 

17. What time do you wake up and go to sleep?

My alarm goes off at 6:30 every morning and I tend to be in bed by about 10:30 

18. How often or when do you workout?

Never! I really should though

19. Left handed or right handed? 

Right Handed

 

20. How tall are you?

5ft 5 apparently

21. Do you speak any foreign languages?

Nope I don't even speak English very well haha

22. How many pets do you have? 

Just the one, a border collie called Kingsley

23. Do you read comments posted on blogs? 

Of course, I love reading and replying to comments. 

 

 

24. What’s your favorite color?

I love grey! I think it looks great with so many other colours and can be so pretty.

25. What are you doing with the rest of your day? 

I am getting my nails done tonight and then have an appointment at the hair salon for a wedding hair trial!

Maybelline Haul

I am a sucker for the make up stands at the supermarkets and feel like if I sneak it in with my weekly shop it doesn't really count. I know this is ridiculous but that didn't stop me picking up 4 new products from Maybelline on Wednesday evening between all of the vegetables and dog food that was in my trolley.

 

If something says it is new or on offer then I am automatically interested in it, I cant help myself. I am the person that the offers by the tills were designed for and even if I have no use for something I will probably pick it up 'just in case' or 'because its a bargain'

 

 

I love Maybelline as a brand and have used their products for the last 10 years. When I first started wearing makeup and being interested in different products I would spend hours at the Maybelline stand in Superdrug looking at all the amazing eye shadows and lipsticks. Not a lot has changed really since I was that 15 year old teenager. I am a huge fan of their mascara's and would choose the Lash Sensational over any high end mascara I have tried.

 

Anyway enough about my love of Maybelline, I'm sure you only came here to have a nosey at what I picked up recently.

 

 

The first thing I was drawn to was obviously their new mascara 'Push Up Drama' I believe this is from the Falsies range and I wore the original of this range for years. I love the packaging of this with the metallic pink and red. I got the shade Very Black as this is the only colour mascara I ever wear. I need my mascara to be as dark as possible. I am very excited to use this as I am yet to be disappointed by a Maybelline Mascara. This was on offer for £6 which I think is great and its only £7.98 when its full price so a really good price.

 

 

The next think I picked up was the Brow Drama Crayon, this kind of product worries me slightly as I have a fear of having eyebrows that I have drawn on with a crayon like a toddler. I am hoping this doesn't happen but it was on offer for £4 instead of £5.98 so it isn't the end of the world if I can't get the hang of it. I got it in the shade Dark Brown.

 

 

If you have read my blog for a while you will know that I am forever on the hunt for the perfect foundation. I have tried so many from drugstore to high end and none of them are quite what I am looking for. So obviously when I saw the Dream Velvet foundation on offer for £6 instead of £7.98 I had to pick it up. I got the colour Ivory as there were no testers and that was the lightest shade, I have since tested it on my skin and it seems to be a good colour match. Apparently this is meant to be a hydrating matte foundation which, if it works, may be the perfect thing for my skin.

 

 

Finally I picked up the Dream Blender which I think is their version of a beauty blender but is a lot smaller and on a stick. I have no idea if this is going to work or how it even works but I am always willing to try new ways of applying foundation so I will give it a go.

 

So that is all I picked up, I will spend a couple of weeks trying them out and if anything stands out I will do a review for you all.

 

Have a great weekend.

 

xx

Wedding Chat

 

 

I thought I would start a new series of posts all about my favourite subject...Weddings! Who doesn't love a wedding and that excitement of flowers and white dresses only increases once you actually have a ring on your finger.

 

I have been slightly obsessed with weddings for probably the last 20 of my whole 25 years on this planet. I am a girly girl who is a hopeless romantic. My biggest dream has been to have a fairy-tale wedding and a long and happy marriage. Obviously the marriage bit is the most important but the fairy-tale wedding is what we all really dream about. If you are anything like me you have probably had an idea about the sort of wedding you would like, what the dress would look like, how many bridesmaids you would have, that kind of thing, but planning a wedding is a lot more stressful than I ever though. Who knew there were so many decisions to make?? The other day I sat up crying about chairs!!! What is happening to me? Basically the chairs at our reception venue are ugly. I'm not a huge fan of chair covers and the chairs I really loved were too expensive. It was a big drama for me last week aha!

 

I think until we are actually in the position we really have no idea what we want or even where to start. I thought seeing as I am going through it at the moment I would do a little series all about the planning process and things that we have had to make decisions on. It isn't going to be ground breaking but it might help you out if you are struggling to decide between an manor house or barn conversion, that kind of thing.

 

So from now on every other Monday will be a Wedding Chat post. If you have anything you would like me to cover in these posts then either leave a comment or email me at jodienatalie@gmail.com and I will try to answer your questions. I am still in the process of planning our wedding so I am still learning as I go.

 

Have a great day

xx

Spring has nearly sprung

Firstly I  need to apologise for the lack of a post on Monday, I have had a really busy few weeks what with the wedding planning and buying a house so blogging slipped a bit but I am back now and have some great ideas for the next few weeks.

I'm not sure about where you live but near me there have been some big hints that spring is on its way. The blossom on the tree's, daffodil's shooting up everywhere and beautiful blue skies.

 

 

This post is a bit of a nothing post but I just felt like I needed to share this image as it just shows everything that is great this time of year and who doesn't love bright pink blossom everywhere???

 

It might just be me but I also feel a lot happier and relaxed when the sun is shining and there are spring flowers everywhere.

 

I love everything about spring and cannot wait for the lighter evenings and warmer days.

 

Sorry for such a dull post today but I promise next week is going to be much more exciting, we have wedding posts and a lipstick collection coming up.

 

Have a great weekend!

xx

Red Lips for Valentine's Day

 

I am a big fan of red lipsticks all year round but I especially love them in the winter and of course Valentine's Day. We never tend to do a lot on Valentine's Day but my one tradition is that I always wear red lipstick.

 

 

I have different red lipsticks depending on how I feel but here are my top 4 and one of these will be the one I wear this Sunday:

Rimmel Kate 107

 

Mac Ruby Woo

 

Mac - Mac Red

 

Loreal Blakes Red

Things I have learnt whilst planning a wedding

 

Planning a wedding is possibly one of the most stressful things I have ever done. When I got engaged a year ago and everyone was telling me horror stories I didn't believe them for one second. All I could think about was pretty dresses, flowers and how great it was all going to be. Since then I have learnt a few home truths:

 

1. It might not look like the Pinterest board you have been creating for the last 3 years.

 

Pinterest is my best friend and worst enemy, it is where some of my best ideas have come from but also my biggest failures. Be warned, that DIY garden game that looks so rustic and easy is anything but! The pictures on Pinterest might not be the most realistic and your wedding might not turn out exactly how you imagined but it will be perfect for you and your partner and that's all that really matters.

 

2. DIY is not always best.

 

When we first got engaged I decided that I wanted to make all of our invites myself. I thought this would be not only the best way of getting exactly what I wanted but also a cheaper option. Turns out I could have paid somebody to design and make what I wanted for the same price and half the stress. They took so long to make and although I love them, I am pretty sure a standard invite would have done the job just as well.

 

3. Prepare for the arguments.

 

I have argued with pretty much everyone close to me about something to do with this wedding, if its not the interfering mother in law then it is the bridesmaid not pulling their weight. There is so many opinions involved in a wedding that it is impossible for everyone to agree. At the end of the day if you and your partner are happy that is all that matters. Who cares if Great Aunt Betty doesn't like the idea of a photo booth, you want one and you will have one!

 

4. Not all weddings are the same...and that's okay!

 

Your wedding is a chance to express yourself and your relationship. Nobody is the same and if we were it would be boring. So there is no such thing as the norm when it comes to a wedding, just because you know somebody that got married in a big fancy house doesn't mean you have to. Make sure you have a wedding that represents you and not what you think a wedding has to be.

 

5. Enjoy every minute, it goes so fast.

 

It might not sound like it after reading everything I have just wrote but I really have loved every second of planning a wedding and once it is over I will miss it. There is so much to do and everybody get so excited about it all, you really need to take a step back every now and again and remember why you are doing it. You never get these moments back so enjoy every second of it.

 

xx

Take time to De-Stress

If you are anything like me then I bet you don't take much you time. Over the last few weeks all I have done is work, sort house things and plan for the wedding. There hasn't been much time for relaxing, so last night I went home with the intention of having a chill out night. It was the best thing I have done in a long time so I thought I would give you my top 5 tips for the perfect chill out:

 

1. Run a bubble bath

 

Use a bath bomb or some lovely bubble bath and make your bath extra special. I like to use the Laura Mercier Honey Bath's as they are lovely and rich and you really feel like your muscles are relaxing when you have a soak in these. Lush bath bombs are another great way to spruce up your bath.

 

2. Turn the lights off and light the candles

 

 

Everything is better by candle light and I instantly relax if the lighting is low. It helps if they smell lovely too. My favourite candle at the moment is this Tonka Bean and Myrrh one from Next, it smells delicious and looks lovely too.

 

3. Choose some relaxing music

 

 

Nothing chills me out more than a relaxing playlist, I have been loving the 'Relax & Unwind' playlist on Spotify at the moment. It just makes me want to lie in the bath all evening and listen.

 

4. Give your skin a pamper

 

I like to give my body a full exfoliation including my face, give myself a pedicure and cover myself in a nice thick moisturiser. You should do this all the time anyway but I think it feels even better after a long soak in the bath.

 

5. Read!

 

 

Once I am in my pyjamas and ready for bed, I like to get in the covers with a warm drink and a good book. It is so bad for you to be on your phone or Ipad just before going to bed so I try to stop using them half an hour before I am going to sleep. I use this time to read a couple of chapters of a good book. I love reading but never make time for it. That is definitely on my to do list this year.

 

So there you have it, my top tips to a perfect chill out night.

 

xx

January Favourites

Well there you have it, January is over!

 

I can't believe we are in February already, this year is flying by and already so much has happened. I love reading other peoples favourites posts and I also love looking back on my own over the years so I wanted to do something a little different this year. I decided to come up with four categories and each month I will choose my favourite of that category so the categories are (drum roll please!!!) Beauty Item, Clothing, TV Series/Film and Life. Lets get started with the first favourites post of 2016 then...

Beauty Item
 

My favourite new beauty item this month has been the Make-up Revolution Contour Kit. I mentioned this in my beauty haul post a few weeks ago and I have been using it so much over the last few weeks. I especially love the baked highlighters.

 

Clothing



marksandspencer.com

I have quite a classic style and do not tend to follow any major fashion trends so this may seem a bit boring compare to some much cooler bloggers but this month I have been loving this cashmere jumper from Marks & Spencer. It was a Christmas present and I must have worn it every weekend since I opened it. I love the colour and the zip detail as well as the fact that it is the softest thing I have ever owned.

 

TV Series/Film
 

 

For anybody that knows me this is a no brainer...Pretty Little Liars is back! I have been obsessed with this show for about 4 years now and I believe this is the last season so I'm not really sure what I am going to do when it is over. In case you have never seen it the main plot is that a teenage girl goes missing and her friends end up being stalked and blackmailed by the mysterious A. That's pretty much been the storyline for 6 seasons and it still thoroughly entertains me every week.

 

Life  

Buying our first house! If you haven't read last weeks post here then you need to. It explains what is currently going on, but basically we are in the process of buying our very first property together and it is so exciting. There is still a lot to do before it is officially ours but we are getting there. I will update you when I know more.

 

So there we have it, January is over and it was a great way to start 2016. I hope your January's were great and please leave a comment and let me know your favourites for each of the categories.