An Honest Post | Life Update & Losing My Blogging Mojo

Do you ever get into one of them moods. Where you feel down in the dumps - apathetic and idle, and you aren't entirely sure why. This has been me for the past month and a half. 

You may (or may not) have noticed my lack of posts this past while. At the beginning of May I made a promise to myself to post at least twice a week, and keep a blogging journal along the way in a bid to keep myself motivated. This lasted for approximately two days and was then forgotten about. I am unable to pinpoint exactly what it is that has me feeling so lackluster when it comes to my blog, and this is probably the most frustrating part of it. 

Without going into too much detail, my Nan, whom I live it, has been unwell in hospital the past month or so during my college exams, and while she will be totally fine, this has still been a huge strain in my life and is set to continue. With all of this going on at home blogging naturally became less of a priority. Other than that, everything else in my life has been going well for me. I have recently got myself a part time job in a clothes shop, which means I will have that little bit of an extra income to plan trips and splurge on shopping sprees. I also found out that I did surprisingly well in my college exams for this year, and I will be sailing on into 3rd year come September. So with things somewhat settling down and going in my favour, why can I not find my blogging mojo again?

I have exhausted every possible reason as to why I have lost my motivation. Maybe it's the gloomy weather. Maybe it's because I have been so broke lately that I can't afford to buy new clothes that force me to make outfit posts. I have tried looking at other blogs to reap inspiration from. I have tried to change up my look and even got a fringe. But nothing, nothing seems to be working. 

Don't get me wrong, I have ideas for posts, but it is just getting these ideas into writing, and writing that I am proud of that is the problem. The idea that I am too hard on myself is a possible reason why I have been avoiding writing posts lately, for fear that I won't be completely happy with them and will beat myself up over it. 

Constantly comparing your blog and it's progress with others is also a sure fire way to end up in a downward spiral in the blogging world, and this I have most definitely been doing as of late. While my following has been steadily growing, my daily page views has been rapidly declining and I can't seem to pick them up again. I have lovely blogging friends constantly commenting on my posts and sending me inspiring messages on instagram, yet I still can't help but feel that my blog and it's following is just not where it should be and that in and of itself is disheartening enough to want to stop posting. 

But I won't stop posting. While I am not going to make unrealistic promises to myself that I will have new posts up multiple times a week, I will have one new one up once a week. And in the meantime I will try to build up my motivation again to keep going with this wonderful little hobby of mine, because deep down I know it is all worth it.

Now enough of this pity party. I will be back next Sunday with a new (hopefully more interesting) post. 

Please do let me know in the comments what you do to keep you motivated with blogging or anything else you do in your life.

Adele x

The Beauty Post | The Battle Of The Highlighters - High End vs High Street

As someone who suffers from generally dull and lackluster skin, I rely heavily on highlighters to give my face the glowy boost it needs. Since the term 'highlighter' has made it's way into the average, make up wearing girl's vocabulary some years ago, I have accumulated a small army of different highlighters. This small army ranges from highlighters that cost nothing more than a fiver, up to instagram's most sought after products which cost the equivalent of 3 Domino's meal deals. 

With all this in mind, naturally through trying and testing, I have chosen my favourite highlighters and my not so favourite. In this post I have decided to choose 4 completely different highlight products, with completely different price tags and rank them in order of my least favourite to ride or die, 10/10, could not live without, favourite.

So is a product's price tag equal to the quality of the product? Or are we simply fooled by more expensive brands that their products are superior? When in fact we can find equally as good products on the high street for a quarter of the price.

Sleek - 'Precious Metals Highlighter Palette' - High Street 

My least favourite on the list would have to be my Sleek highlighting palette. For roughly 15 Euro this products just does not tick the boxes for me. If you are looking for an extreme, over the top highlight maybe for a festival or special occasion, this may be the one for you. However on an average, day to day kind of basis this is just too much. The glittery pigment is a little too much on the heavy 'I look like a five year old who got hold of my mother's make up' side, rather than natural and dewy. 

Benefit - 'High Beam Highlighter' - High End 

In third place is Benefits 'High Beam' highlighter. The most expensive on my list, this product comes in at almost 30 Euro. For me, this product does the job yes, it gives me a natural, subtle highlight, but for this price, I be expectin' miracles and unfortunately Benefit does not deliver that. Am I glad I tried it? Yes. Will I buy it again? Probably not. 

TheBalm - 'Mary-Lou Manizer Highlight Powder' - High End 

The only powder highlighter on my list, TheBalm's Mary-Lou highlighter is a sure favourite of mine. Costing roughly 20 Euro, it is on the cheaper side of the high end products. I use this product not only as a face highlighter but also as an eyeshadow, the perfect product as this does not crease. In my opinion I feel that there is probably a drugstore product out there which is just as good, but chances are, it will take a bit of dedication to find that. 

Collection - 'Speedy Highlighter Stick' - High Street

Coming in as number one on my high end vs high street highlighter list, is Collection's 'Speedy Highlighter'. Costing 5 euro, this product is a hidden gem that many are yet to come across. This little stick is perfect for throwing into your handbag when you are on the go, and not to mention lasts forever. This product I reach for on an almost daily basis, and it never fails to liven up my complexion whenever needs be. Easily build able, I would recommend giving this a go if you have not already. Here is a review I wrote on it quite a while back for anyone wanting to know more information about it. 

So there you have it, once again the high street is proving that you don't need to spend the big bucks to find a make up product that really works. 

Let me know in the comments what your favourite highlights are.

Adele x