Being Confident // In Who You Are

Hey, guys! 

I thought I'd do something a little bit different today. A little bit more personal. I don't just want to be a beauty blog, or just a fashion blog, I just want to be Leanne's blog. A little place where I can share my musing about beauty, fashion and all things life-y!

"It took me a long time not to judge myself through someone else's eyes." ~Sally Field

Something that has always been something I've struggled with, more so now than before, it being confident in who I am. 

Imagine there's this dress. You've seen it in the shops and you love it. You've seen it on this one friend and you love it. So you go out, adamant that you will look just as amazing. You run home from the shop with glee, so excited to finally put the dress on. You open the zipper on the dress, slide it on and look in the mirror and it just doesn't look right. 

You pull at the hem, and breathe in hoping that will change the way it looks. You pull it up, you pull it out. You fiddle and fidget. Pulling and prodding at the dress. You don't feel right in it, but it suits your friend so maybe it's just you being silly. 

You're invited to a party, and you want to wear this dress. Show it off. It just doesn't feel right and you beat yourself up because that one friend that's got it, can pull it off effortlessly.

I have felt the exact same way about who I am. Trying to be just like your friend or someone you know or just anyone but you. I know I'm not the only one. So many people struggle with who they are to others, and who they really are. I spent a massive portion of my life trying to squeeze myself into a personality that just doesn't fit. I tried to be cool and normal and 'in'... turns out, I'm actually pretty nerdy and weird but hey ho! 

It took me 20 years to find a dress that fit me. It still needs some tweaks but on the whole, I feel pretty damn comfortable in it now. It feels like me. 

It's not always easy to accept things about yourself, especially if others don't accept them. Hell, I don't always feel confident but I'm working on it. But you know what, the people that don't accept you for who you are, aren't worth the worry. I can tell you that from experience haha! You'll find that not everyone you meet in life will like you or will accept you and if you're anything like me, you'll find that hard to get your head around. I am very much a people pleaser and if some one doesn't like me, I absolutely hate it. I like to keep all people happy at all times. And that is one thing you can't do. If you say one thing, someone will say another, so if you say another, someone will say one thing and if you say nothing, neither will be happy! There is always someone that won't like you and I'm finally starting to accept that myself. 

But when you finally put everything aside, and you finally find the dress that suits you. You'll be surprised at how confident you can feel. When you finally own who you are, it will show. When people say you can see confidence, they aren't lying. You can almost feel it radiating out of someone. 

Being confident in who you are is such a beautiful thing. It can make you see the world in a different light. The outfits you wear feel so much more bad-ass. Your make up and hair feels on point. You strut rather than slump. You glow. It's not an arrogance thing, it's a loving yourself thing. 

You have to own who you are. There is no other you on the planet, and there never will be. Absolutely no one. And I think that's amazing, so why hide who you are. We should embrace the things we like about ourselves rather than focus on the things we dislike. Some times we can be our own worst enemy, picking apart the things we don't like. But we have to learn to be our own best friends.

I'm not saying its easy, especially if, like me, you've spent your whole life not being true to yourself. I'm not saying all your problems will disappear. I'm not saying that you won't have days where you feel less confident in who you are. What I want to say is that, when you finally start accepting who you are and all your little quirks, you do start to love yourself and I think the whole world needs to love itself more.

So, if you do like this sort of thing, maybe I can do another one... I have got other little ideas maybe?? I'd love to hear your opinions on being confident or loving who you are. 

Let me know what you thought, whether you like this sort of thing. 

Lots of love, hugs and a dash of lipstick, 

Leanne xo

I may have gone on a little shopping trip...

Hi again cherry drops! 

Okay, there's no may about it - I went shopping. I didn't spend too much time actually shopping because it was a Sunday and it's coming up to Christmas so it's pretty darn crazy and I am not too good in crowds! None the less, I did manage to get a few things so I thought I would share them with you! 

So the first place I ventured was to Currys. I know, an odd place to start... but hear me out. I have been after a good camera for ages and I didn't know what I wanted for Christmas off my parents. I was looking and looking and I finally decided on the camera I wanted and my parents said they'd put half to for my present. So all of these pictures are of somewhat better quality! I'm not an expert but hey, I can try haha. I picked out the Sony A5000 and it is beautiful. It has a flip up screen so I can take selfies and everything! 

Next, I toddled on over to Superdrug. I wanted a few things from there but with it being Black Friday weekend, a lot of the things I'd looked at online weren't in the shop - booo!

 My hair is super thin, super fine and super soft so I need all the help I can to get textured, big hair. I love the Vo5 Plump it Up range and the Give Me Texture range. They do pretty much what they say on the can. I picked up the Give Me Texture dry texturising spray this time round.

I love me some eye lashes, but I'm not brave enough to get the big, thick black ones that touch my eye brows but these Eylure Naturals ones are just lovely. They are so delicate and they're a mix of black and brown eye lashes to make them look a bit more subtle. People always complement my lashes when I have these on and when I tell them they're fake, they never believe me haha! Big thumbs up from me!

 I always seem to head right to the Essie nail counter when I go to Superdrug and when I saw this purple one, I needed it. Well, I didn't actually need it, but I definitely reaally wanted it. I don't actually have many purples in my nail collection. I have lots of pinks/reds and blues but I really like this one. Its in the shade Sexy Divide and I actually have it on right now haha.

 What's that Leanne? You've gone and bought another plum shade lipstick? No, not you surely?! Well, italics Leanne, I have actually. You can't really see the colour properly on any of the pictures I took but it is such a pretty colour. It's also a really good consistency and I just love plum lipsticks. I picked this up in the shade 260 Always Plum.

 Ah, the good old Lasting Perfection concealer! There's not much to say about this other than I was running out and I haven't found another concealer I like as much as this. It's in the shade warm medium which is number 3.

I have finally picked up my copy of Girl Online by Zoe (Zoella). I was super excited to finally get this. Zoe was the reason that I got into blogging and watching YouTube and things so it was super good to have something like this... proud moment!

I then wandered round shops looking for a dress for my friends 21st Birthday party and I just couldn't find out anything that I liked, and it wasn't until I went into Simply Be that I found a dress that I absolutely fell in love with. 

 It's a simple swing style dress, which is one of my favourite styles of dresses as they are just super comfy! It falls about 3/4 of the way down my thigh and has the most gorgeous lace detail on the sleeves. I'm just going to need a spray tan because I am super pale haha!! I loved it so much that I picked it up in the black aswell.

It's just super floaty and I can dress it up and down. It feels like such good quality and it was such a good price. The only problem is, you can see your bra strap through the lace paneling so if that sort of thing bothers you, then make sure you have a good strapless bra and some tit tape for good measure. Well done Simply Be, you have saved my bacon!

My last stop in town was to Primark. I just can't resist a walk around, although it was super busy so I didn't stroll around for very long. 

(ohh watch out, an arty looking photo!)

 I did pick up this blazer style jacket. I mean, it's not practical for this time of year because it's pretty thin and it has rolled up sleeves but I just absolutely adore it! It just adds the right amount of smart to an outfit. It is super comfy and it's not restricting at all so good on you Primark!

Warning, mundane buy alert! I know they're boring but we all need warm tights in this weather! I think I have a tights gremlin living in my draw because they're always going missing or they have holes in them so god only knows what happens to them haha!

Last but by no means least, I nipped into Asda to pick up some baubles for my Christmas tree! As my room is all pink, blue and white, I decided to buy some decorations that would match.

 

This is just a big box of 46 baubles (I'm pretty sure that I won't use all of those). They're all different sizes and some are glittery and I just love the colours of them!

 These are my favourite ones because they're all glittery and they have stars on them and the colours are just so pretty! 

 And for the top of my little tree, I have this little angel. I'm going to call her Maggie....

So there is my little haul! What things have you bought recently that you love? Any tips on being a better photographer? 

Happy 1st of December too people! 

Lots of love, hugs and a dash of lipstick,

Leanne xo

 

Liebster Award // getting to know me

Helloo!

So today, I was nominated to do the Liebster Award by Magda from Pure cuteness and Stuff and I thought seen as I am new to this whole blogging thing, it would be good to get to know a little more about me!

11 facts about me: 

1.I can play the piano, not very well, but I can play. I also have a guitar but I really can't play that! 

2. I don't think any of my friends have actually seen my natural hair colour.
 

3. I am about 5 foot 4 but I have like size 7/8 feet.

4. I try and be organised and neat, but I'm so bad at it.

5. I have a phobia of moths and butterflies. I swear to god, it's like they can sense your fear

6. I religiously watch Home and Away but the annoying thing is, I live in England and we're behind Australia and so I always end up knowing what happens way before its even aired :(

7. I am super obsessed with Horrible Histories. My family laugh because I'm 20, but I have all the books and the TV show DVDs and I even have some songs that they've done on my phone.

8. My eyes are blue,brown and green. I have like a ring of blue, then a ring of green and then a ring of brown... or something like that.

9. I love the outdoors, but I'm not the outdoorsy type. I love going for walks in the park and things like that, but I'm not keen on things like camping and proper hiking.

10. I've got a tattoo of a flying swallow on my right wrist. I only got it for my 20th birthday, so about a month or so ago.

11. I have a super eclectic music taste. I can go from super cheesy music to rap music to heavy things and alternative things, mainstream things. I'll listen to absolutely anything!

Q&A

1. Where were you born?
Manchester, England

2. Describe yourself in three words.

 Weird, clumsy and easily pleased.

3. What is your guilty pleasure?
Really cheesy music... like the Vengaboys and stuff. Oh and chocolate...

4. What quality do you appreciate the most in others?
I love it when people can be themselves and not care what other people thing.

 
5. What dream do you hope to accomplish someday?

I'd love to do a professional make up course. I'd also like to be an astronaut or something like that... the first one is slightly more achievable! I'd also like to design and live in my own house.

6. Three things you cannot live without?
My bed, my phone and my family

7. Who are your favourite bloggers?

Zoella, Louise (Sprinkle of Glitter), Gabby (Velvetgh0st)... just to name a few!

8. Why did you start blogging?  
I've always wanted my own little space to share my thoughts and feelings and find people that think the way I do. I guess this is my best way of getting my voice out there. Also, my friends and family were getting sick of me rambling on and on about make up and everything haha!

9. If you could live anywhere on earth, where would it be?
I'd love to live in London for a little while, ooh and Australia, and a little countryside village somewhere.

10. What would be the first you’d do if you won the lottery?

I wouldn't even know where to begin haha!  

11. What did you want to be when you grew up?  
I always wanted to be a maths teacher. I got through the first year at uni and but I missed out on the entrance grades for the next year by 5% which totally sucked. So now, I don't know what I really want to do when I grow up but I would love to do something make up related.

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So now I have to nominate people to do this, but I don't really know anyone to nominate! So I guess I nominate whoever is reading this. Let me know if you did do this because I'd love to check you out! 

Lots of love, hugs, and a dash of lipstick,
Leanne xo

FOTD and my new favourite coat

Another day, another blog post! 

Today, as work has been horrifically busy, I thought that I'd just do a simple FOTD. The camera quality is pretty rubbish because I'm just using my phone at the moment and the quality is poo! Also, I have like the worst lighting in my bedroom.

Face:

♥ Benefit POREfessional
♥ MAC Studio Fix Fluid in NW20 and No7 Beautifully Matte in warm ivory

♥ Collection Lasting Perfection concealer in warm medium (number 3)
♥ Makiash perfect finish loose powder
♥ Sleek Pink Lemonade blush by 3 in pink mint
♥ Sleek face contour kit in light

Eyes/brows:
♥ Shade 5 across the lid

♥ Sahde 8 on the outer corner and crease
(Both from the MUA Undressed eye shadow palette)

♥ Bourjois Mega Liner

♥L'oreal Miss Manga Mega Volume Black Angel Mascara 

♥ Beauty UK High Brow eye brow kit

On another note, I have fell in love with a new coat... hey, that rhymes! I am a massive coat addict and I picked up this little beauty from T K Maxx a couple of weeks ago. It has slowly become my favourite coat! Its super silky inside and the outside feels like such good quality. It only has one button, which I'm not too keen on. Luckily, I never fasten my coat anyway so it doesn't really matter!

This is how much I love it... 3 pre work selfies in it! 

What's your favourite coat this season so far? Are you a bit of a coat buying addict? Also, are there any cameras you would recommend? 

Lots of love, hugs, and a dash of lipstick,

Leanne xo

Top 3 // Winter Lipsticks

 Hi all! 

So this is my first official make upy (is that a word?) post and in honor of my blogs name, I thought I'd start with a lipstick post.

The month of winter is well and truly upon us which means that my trusty winter lipsticks have made it through the lonely summer months and are finally getting some use hurrah! My favorite season is actually winter, mostly for the make up, but a tiny bit because I'm always cold and its acceptable to wear 10 layers in winter... you just get looked at funny in summer if you do it! 

Here are my 3 favourite winter lipsticks this year (in no particular order)

Lasting Finish by Kate Moss for Rimmel in 01 . B Beauty lipstick in 187 Gothika . Lasting Finish by Kate Moss for Rimmel in 107

 

First up is the good old trusted Kate Moss lipstick in the colour 107. I have had this for well over a year now... well not this exact stick, but you catch my drift. It was the first ever dark, more vampy, lipstick that I had ever used and I still use it now. It is just such a lovely colour! Its super pigmented and it just glides on so easily. It's more of a matte lipstick so it isn't very moisturising but it isn't overly drying like some lipsticks. Man, I just love this and I can imagine it will be in my make up bag for a very long time!

This is a very recent purchase for me. The only B Beauty products I have is the blusher which I do love so after searching endlessly for the perfect purple, I stumbled on this one day on Instagram and it was the best decision ever! The colour is just lovely... the swatch doesn't really do it any justice really. It is super moisturing but it doesn't need millions of layers to produce a noticeable colour on your lips. Plus the packaging is brilliant. Instead of having a lid that pulls off, you have to press the bottom in and pull the actually lipstick out which stops the lid coming off in your make up bag or hand bag. Genius! Well done B Beauty, well done idead!

 Ah the post box red lipstick. Well almost post box red! What make up bag is complete without a post box red lippie... I'll stop saying post box red now haha! This little beauty is the Kate Moss lipstick in the colour 01. With this being in the same range as the 107 above, there isn't much to say really other than this colour makes me feel like I could do just about anything and look smoking while I do it!

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I also love a good lip balm during winter, because I get terribly dry and cracked lips. My favourite at the moment is the Balmi lip balm in strawberry (I think... it's the pink one anyway). The smell is absolutely divine and I make everyone I know smell it every time I use it!

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So those are my favourite but I'd like to hear yours! What lipsticks do you love in the winter? or are you more of a summer make up lover? What is your holy grail of lipsticks regardless of season? Or are you more of a lip gloss lover? 

Let me know, I would love to hear your thoughts!

 Lots of love, hugs, and a dash of lipstick,

Leanne xo

Bloglovin'

Before I jump into my first real post, I just thought I'd say that I'm on Bloglovin'... Woohoo! Follow my blog with Bloglovin

So here I am...

Yep. Here I am. Finally!


I have been such a chicken about starting a blog *cue chicken noises*, but after reading a lovely blog post about the blogging community, I finally decided that I would... well, that and all my friends are pretty sick of me rabbiting on about all things make up and beauty so where else is a girl to turn!

I am definitely not an expert in make up or fashion, I just love it. There is nothing more exciting than knowing you have a brand new lipstick or a foundation or a blusher or, well, you get the point. The excitement of tearing open the packaging and seeing your new toy in all its unused glory! Ohh, sends shivers down my spine it does.

So this is just a small introduction to my little space. A bit of a glimpse into what is to come. And tomorrow, my first proper little blog post about all things beauty, fashion and life.

Lots of love, hugs, and a dash of lipstick,

Leanne xo

PS. if you are reading this, leave me your blogs in the comments and I will definitely check you out cause I'm not actually following any blogs at the moment really :(