October Goals Update

October has been a productive month to say the least. I’ve been getting back into a routine, juggling my studies, social life and work life with great difficulty. I’ve also been a little unwell during the month so healthy eating and fitness has been a little slower (had a week off to recover and start to control my asthma again). All in all, it’s been a decent month and just as I had wanted it too, it’s been my favourite so far this year. 

My main motive for this month was to just be happy and to be honest, I really actually have been. I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about what I want in my life and making changes to improve it. I’ve made some lovely new friends whom I get along with so well! I also feel like now I’m doing more of what makes me happy my life is generally drama free. It’s been an easy month, one of which I’ve enjoyed a lot. 

I’ve not managed to go to the gym every week as I had to take 1 weeks off due to illness. However, I’ve been eating as healthy as possible and generally just trying to keep as fit and healthy even when I’ve been so unwell! 

My course is underway, it’s challenging and hard work but I love how motivated it makes me and how happy I am to be doing a masters. I love education and furthering my education really does make me feel like I’m bettering myself and to be honest, I love improving my own life. 

It’s been a lovely month and I’ve really enjoyed myself so I’m hoping November will be just as fantastic. 

Twitter: @bethdaviesblog 

Instagram: @_bbbbethan 

With love, Beth x 

How You Doin’?

It’s been a while now since I posted about my anxiety and I thought it was time to update you on how I’ve been. 

During the summer I was feeling quite low for a fair while actually. I came back from New York with my self esteem feeling destroyed and then I experienced a break up shortly after. This making my anxiety hit an all time low. Some days were good, I felt like my life was finally getting on track and I was feeling myself. Then other days just weren’t so good and I hated everyone and everything but mostly myself. 

It was a whirlwind of an experience. I couldn’t help but feel like I had ruined everything, that it was all my fault and I was only to blame for my errors. Although some of that isn’t wrong I don’t feel like it’s all totally my fault. I think life got in the way, things happened and I didn’t fail. It was just how things were to plan out and I had been given a fresh start. 

However, now I feel different. Sometimes crappy and down but mostly good. Most of the time I feel like I’ve finally got my shit together. I’m back in uni, I’ve made new friends, I lost some weight and plan to carry on and finally, I don’t feel that I have to please everybody. 

I don’t regret the mistakes I’ve made, I’ve learned from them. Overall, my mental health is feeling fantastic and I am feeling better than I have done. I’m still human and I still have moments but honestly, I feel pretty great. I’ve also been reading different blogs recently, specifically with posts about mental health. Some of my favourites have been: 

• nospaceformilk.com 
• Littlethoughtsblog.com 
• MaryGeorgeBlogs.com 
• lauralikeschange.wordpress.com 

You should definitely check them out, I highly recommend them! 

Twitter: @_bbbethan 

Instagram: @_bbbbethan 

With love, Beth x 

Halloween Makeup // Clown

Halloween is my favourite time of year and occasionally, I enjoy to dabble in a bit of facepaint and Halloween makeup looks. I know clowns are often people’s biggest fear, so this clown is hardly a scary clown but more of a fashionable friendly clown just looking to blend in with the crown on a Halloween evening. 

With that, it’s also a fairly straight forward look that almost everybody can do! This look is used with both makeup and face paint. If you don’t have face paint to hand, an eyeliner could also be effective but I prefer face paint. 

For this look you could make this anyway you specifically want and I think big, fluffy eyelashes would look perfect with this look. To start just do your normal foundation/concealer routine, I added a small amount of bronzer as well but generally the look is fairly basic. I then went ahead and done a dark smokey eye, not really being all that tidy with it and especially making it extra smokey on the lower lash line. I did my brows normally, added mascara and a thin strip of liner and that’s is for the makeup side. 

For the added extras that make the clown look, I went ahead and used a black paint with a thin tip brush and created the tall triangles above the brow and making it thinner towards the end. Then placing a small dot at the top. I used concealer to tidy it up and make it really clean. I then applied a small line from the lower lash line and bringing it down, again ending it with a dot. 

For the next step you’ll need a careful hand but you can use concealer to clean it up. From the top of the cheek bone start to create the lines across to the nose. Don’t worry about blending at this point, just try and make sure you get these lines on either side as closely as possible. Once you’ve achieved these lines, use a fluffy brush and a black eyeliner to smokey out the lines, you don’t want them too far down your face so slowly do it and gradually pick more product up until you’ve reached your chosen look. After this add a black circle to the tip of your nose. 

For the lips, add a red lipstick or any that you choose. Then either a black lip pencil or black face paint and create the liner of the lips and drag them out either side to make your lips more clown like. Again, blend it away with a black eyeshadow. Blend away until your hands fall off! 

I would definitely apply a setting spray to keep this look totally in tact throughout your night of partying and enjoying all of the halloWeen fun!  

         If you recreate this look, show me! Tag me in your photos on twitter/Instagram. 

Twitter: @_bbbethan

Instagram: @_bbbbethan 

With love, Beth x 

Who Do You Aspire To Be?

Someone once asked me who I aspire to be, who my role model is. For a long time, I didn’t know and until April this year, I still didn’t know. I think choosing a role model is such an important thing because that person is potentially who you aspire to be or have characteristics that are similar to them. It’s taken me so long to realise that my role model is in fact, my Nan, Rosemary.

My Nan (Nana P) had a stroke in April 2017 and I have never been more inspired by somebody in my life. Her strength and determination to be more than a stroke victim have shown me how incredible she is (I already knew but this situation just added that extra loving). Although she had experienced such a horrible thing she never once let it become her. The way she lives her life has definitely changed over these past few months but she still shows us every day that just because something bad happened to you, doesn’t mean it stops you from being who you are and achieving things that you always want too.

In her 71 years of living, she has worked, raised 4 children, cared for, loved and nurtured countless amounts of grandchildren. She has been a friend, an adviser, a shoulder to cry on for all to use, but most of all, one of the strongest women I have ever met. Although at times she can be brutally honest and hold a grudge, she still shows me that being kind and fun is one of the most worthy things to be in life. Being true to who you are is what makes people love and adore you.

Whether I’m feeling down, had my heart broken or been disheartened by something, she always manages to encourage me to be more than the situation. She taught me that I’m worthy of love, friendship and life. My Nan reminds me every day that it is important to keep living because it’s so short.

This is exactly why my Nan is by far the most important person in my life and someone who I aspire to be. Who is yours?

Twitter: @bethdaviesblog

Instagram: @_bbbbethan

With love, Beth x

Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation // Review

I’ve recently been testing out the Rimmel Match Perfection foundation and I’ve been loving it. Many years ago during high school, I used the Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation religiously. It’s all I ever used and recently I have seen so many people say how amazing the Match Perfection foundation is and I was sceptical but I thought I would test it out myself to see whether it’s worth the hype. SPOLIER: IT’S FANTASTIC.  

I wore this foundation for a few days before a night out to test how it wore on my skin. I first started with using the Maybelline Baby Skin primer on one side of my face and leaving the other side free of a primer. I did this so I could truly test out the wear of this product and whether it makes a difference to use a primer or not. I could definitely see a difference between either side when I used a primer and didn’t. The combination of both the primer and foundation made my skin look totally flawless and my pores were so blurred out. It was incredible. 

It isn’t too thick at all when it’s on the skin it’s not super dewy but it makes your skin look so healthy which I love. It’s extremely long wearing and has become my go to foundation for a night out because of this. I especially love the shade selection because it caters for so many different skin colours and I think that just makes the collection worth trying really. 

I’m wearing it in the photo below and I just love the finish and how other products sit on my skin once it’s applied. It’s also amazing coverage and I didn’t experience it since it is a drugstore foundation.

I totally recommend this foundation and I can see me wanting to try the other complexion products from Rimmel. 

Twitter: @_bbbethan 

Instagram: @_bbbbethan 

With love, Beth x 

Too Faced Sweet Peach Palette Tutorial

Recently I’ve loved to explore with my shadows and eye looks. Although I’ve been loving the ABH Modern Renaissance palette I thought I’d go back to my Top Faced Sweet Peach Palette and create a purple/gold halo eye with a sharp wing. 

This eye look is perfect for a night out with the ladies or even a date night. It’s really flattering and sexy looking, perfect for when you’re feeling fun. 

I went ahead and started with concealer to prime my lids. I used the Maybelline Age Rewind but you can use whatever you have. I then went over and set it using the shade ‘Peaches ‘N Cream’. 

Using a fluffy crease brush I used ‘Puree’ in the crease and dragging it out to make my eyes look more cat like. Next I went in with ‘Delectable’ in the inner corner and outer corner. I do this by taking a small precise brush and adding small pigment at a time, constantly blending and adding until I got my preferred look. I then added ‘Luscious’ to the inner halo and connecting the shade ‘Delectable’ by dragging either side through the crease. Again, adding more of ‘Luscious’ to intensify the took. To finish, I highlighted my inner corner and brow bone with ‘White Peach’. 

I then went ahead as used the Maybelline Master Precise liner to add a sharp, dramatic wing. I added plenty of mascara and some fluttery, flirty lashes to perfect the look. To finish I dragged ‘Delectable’ under the eye, remembering to drag it up towards the liner and out to make it a more cat eye effect. 

There we have a simple but beautiful halo eye!

Twitter: @bbbethan 

Instagram: @bbbbethan 

With love, Beth x 

Fighting Those Post Break-Up Feelings

At 21 years old I’ve officially experienced my first heart break and let me tell you, it’s shit. The hardest thing I have ever had to do is walk away from someone whilst still loving them, it’s the worst feeling in the world but now I know that it was the right decision for both of us. It just wasn’t supposed to be and that’s for a number of reasons but I don’t regret a single moment I spent with him. I learned so much about who I am whilst in a relationship and now that I’m single and that’s OK and for now I get to be selfish and live my life a quarter mile at a time doing exactly what I want to do. 

However, I knew exactly how it feels to fight those post breakup feelings of anxiety, grief and anger. It’s actually so sad, my friend told me to treat it like a death rather than a break-up and it was probably the best bit of advice I had been given. Whether you’ve just broken up or you’re a few months down the line it can still be challenging but there are things to do to make the process easier. 

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a break-up expert by no means. In fact I was and often continue to be a total mess, you aren’t alone in that one. I took gradual steps after my break-up to process and grieve my loss and it took a while but eventually I figured myself out. 

Step 1: Change your relationship status, remove the photos, give back their things. Leaving these things around will only make the process harder, believe me I know. Once you do it you feel so much better, like weight has been lifted off your shoulders. Having a clear out also just makes you feel more refreshed, think of it as changing the your summer clothes to your winter clothes. Out with the old and in with the new. 

Step 2: Take it slow. Stop rushing things, you wont wake up the next day and feel wonderful. It does take time, so give yourself time to process the situation. I don’t mean spend all day, every day dwelling on what could have been and feeling sad about it. I mean give yourself a few minutes to think about it, get up, shake it off and distract yourself. It’s okay to think about it and be sad but you need to do other things to do slowly adjust. I read all 7 Harry Potter books (best decision I ever made), got a summer job to distract myself and started eating healthy and exercising.

Step 3: Put yourself first. Was there something you wanted to do before you broke up that you wouldn’t have done whilst you were together? Now is your opportunity to do it. I’ve focused my time to lose weight and, study my masters degree, work and make new friends. I’m eating healthier and less, the weight is slowly coming off me and it’s increasing my self-esteem massively, I feel so much better every single time I see those numbers on the scale fall. I continue to embrace my new life as a masters student, occasionally go off plan through drinking wine or eating a little unhealthy whilst I make new friends and learn how to juggle my life.

Step 4: Go out, be sociable and meet new people. You have to get yourself back out there and especially into the world of dating (that dreaded world). My friends told me that you have to kiss a lot of frogs for you find your prince, so you go kiss those frogs (when you’re good and ready of course). Being sociable will really help to keep your mind off things and along the way you may find yourself with a new partner but most importantly, new friends and founding confidence. 

Step 5: Learn to accept the change, embrace your new founding freedom and remember that you probably weren’t the reason for the break-up and things don’t always pan out the way you planned things. Your dream wedding with the guy of your dreams will happen, just not at this moment. Yeah it’s shit because you planned your baby names, what dog you wanted and the type of house you wanted to live in. Those things will come, just with someone else eventually. You’re still worthy of love and attention, don’t you forget that. 

Remember, your break-up doesn’t define who you are. You can be anybody you want to be, so go out and be her/him. You now have the chance to do more of what makes you happy with the privileged of not worrying about someone else. 

Twitter @bethdaviesblog

Instagram @_bbbbethan 

With love, Beth x 

Why You Should Read Harry Potter

During the summer I read all 7 Harry Potter books for the first time since I was a child. Even at 21 years old they didn’t fail me, in fact I was so captivated by the story that I was reading them so fast. The minute I picked one up I couldn’t put it down and before long I was half way through the book regretting reading them too fast. 

I honestly believe that everybody should experience reading the Harry Potter books, especially if you were never keen on the movies. The movies and books are similar don’t get me wrong but there is much more of a story in each book. There are things you find out in the books that you’re never told of in the movies. 

Not only that, they’re such fun reads and just brings you straight back to your childhood. For me, I wanted something that I could continue to read across a series and fall in love with the characters. This series just done it for me. Admittedly, I’ve been a big fan of Harry Potter ever since the first movie was realeased. 

It’s fun, imaginative and J.K Rowling created a story that will be forever known and loved by generations of children and adults. 

Twitter: @_bbbethan

Instagram: @_bbbbethan 

With love, Beth x 

Being Alone Is Ok

Some people, like myself, become so used to being around a lot of people all the time. Especially within a relationship, it becomes the norm to have someone to rely on and talk too whenever you need them. It’s almost natural to have the support and attention from the same person. However, when you lose that person or people it can become so hard to adjust. 

The first week you may find that you’re totally lost with no way of understanding how you’re going to cope. Eventually by the 3rd week it becomes something you’re adjusting too but naturally, sometimes you think about it and it makes you nervous. Your hands sweat, it gives you anxiety and the constant worry of not knowing who is going to look out for you when times get tough. By week 5 you might start to enjoy it again, you’re going out more, meeting and talking to new people and you’re not feeling so anxious about doing things by yourself. By week 10, you’ve adjusted so well that you don’t need nobody and you love nothing more than falling asleep at night peacefully because your life is so simple now.

“I think it’s very healthy to spend time alone. You need to know how to be alone and not defined by another person.” – Oscar Wilde.

 You’re an independent person with a whole life ahead of you. Your past may be behind you but your achievements and accomplishments are something you should embrace. Yeah, that one person may have given you help through that time, but you came trough? Just because they helped you doesn’t mean that they achieved it. You did. For me, although I had a lot of help to overcome my anxiety and panic attacks, he didn’t actually achieve anything, I did. I came through and learned to control them. I got myself a degree but with a little help from my friends. I worked hard to make sure I maintained being independent. 

Although, like I said, when you spend so much time with one individual it can be hard to come through and be alone at the end. Just remember, being alone isn’t a bad thing. It’s valuable time to learn more about yourself and what you deserve, want and need in your life. Its time to learn a new skill, pick up a new hobby, change your hair colour or start a new adventure. Everything you now do is something that you want to do. 

Think about it, being alone is actually strong. It shows people that you aren’t afraid of living your own life and making your own decisions. You can be whoever you want to be right now, you decide who that is. 

Be whoever you want to be. 

Twitter: @_bbbethan

Instagram: @_bbbbethan 

With love, Beth x