Beauty Blogger Awards

Hello everyone! On Sunday I was very kindly nominated by Love Rosiee for the Beauty Blogger Award. It's an opportunity for bloggers alike to learn more about you as a person as well as what interests you within beauty. Personally, I love tags and answering questions, it's one of my many favourite things.

1. What is your beauty must have?
My beauty must-have is Urban Decay setting spray. I could mention so many more products, but for me it's my holy grail setting spray. There's just no life without it in my eyes!

2. What is your most common beauty empty?
Probably Liquid eyeliner as this is a staple in my collection, I'm always wearing it and finding that this is the product I mainly re-purchase more than others. 

3. How long have you been blogging?
I've been blogging on and off for about two years and a bit. I would love to get into it more as I love talking but I get distracted very easily so find it hard to concentrate on writing posts frequently. 

4. How would you describe your fashion sense?
My fashion sense varies A LOT. I can be very plain Jane or I can be quite out there. I love my monochrome colours and very rarely venture into colour. My makeup generally makes up for the lack of colour in my fashion sense though. You'll often find me in black leggings and over sized tops with slip-on vans or chunky heeled boots.

5. Drug store or high end?
I love both equally. You can find some absolutely amazing products in the drugstore but there's just something about high end that brings me so much amazement and satisfaction. I feel like drugstore products do lack quality in some products as well as their packaging but then again so can high end. I think it's safe to say I'm a bit of an in between kind of girl! Sorry for not giving a straight answer, I just can't decide! 

6. What made you start blogging?
I just love talking, sharing my opinions somewhere, being able to talk to people about what I love or anything that's happening with my life. You know when you run out of people to tell stories to? Well, I turn to my blog to share them.

7. If you could work with one beauty brand, who would it be?
Again, this is extremely hard to answer because I love so many brands. But I would absolutely adore to work with Urban Decay as I love colour and going 'out there' with my makeup. I feel like companies such as Bare Minerals are a bit too safe for me and are more focused on the natural side of things. I love to be a bit of a daredevil when it comes to makeup nowadays. 

8. What inspires you?
I'd say colour as I am genuienly a very creative individual and I feel like colour can make up such a big part of someones personality as well as colours having no limit to what you can create with them.

9. What’s your favourite skin care brand?
My favourite skin care brand is Soap and Glory or Simple. I have quite sensitive and dry skin so finding something that doesn't irritate the two
is quite hard, especially when you don't have all the money in the world to spend on skin care. Simple is what I use for my everyday routine - Soap and Glory is what I use on my pamper evenings. 

10. What’s your biggest beauty regret?
My biggest beauty regret would be not realising my passion for it sooner. I was so focused on forcing myself to love Art and Design that I lost sight of what I really loved which resulted in me not studying beauty/makeup at college or even at degree level. It's something I would have love to have done earlier. 

Here are my ten questions:
1. What is/are your beauty pet-peeve/s?
2. What beauty brand best represents you?
3. What is your beauty staple?
4. Most recent beauty product you've purchased?
5.   What inspired you to start a blog?
6. What do you love most about the beauty blogger community?
7. Favourite beauty YouTubers or bloggers?
8. Overall, favourite beauty brand or store to shop at?
9. A brand you wish would expand their range of shades or products?
10. Your current go-to makeup look?

I nominate the people below to answer my questions:

Katie
Nishi V 
Shazard

Kirsty

Lauren
Megan

Emmy
Jodie
Ashleigh

Ottilie

Emilie x x x

My Mental Health Story and Journey

Okay so before I start I just want to say that in no shape or form am I seeking for attention or sympathy. I am simply sharing my mental health story.

So as a child, home life was somewhat hard. 

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Living in my house was a nightmare, a downward spiral. Things only ever seemed to get worse. My dad AND my brother had undiagnosed bipolar and if you know a lot about this condition already, you’ll maybe see how hard it was for me growing up. I was scared of my dad, no… terrified. I couldn’t face him to ask questions and I barely even spoke to him because of this so would always go straight to my mum.

In my primary and secondary education I got ever so slightly bullied. Name calling, people hiding my things, taking things off of me and not giving them back. This all affected me massively. People saw me as weak and an easy target because it wouldn’t take much for me to break down and cry or even to storm off with anger. People used to laugh at me crying and I just used to want to run away. Whenever, I cried at home I’d get laughed at too so I felt like I never had an escape.

A LOT has happened in my life but luckily, my family are all okay now or are getting better, as am I. Especially things with my dad, I can talk to him now, laugh and just have that father-daughter relationship I never really had before.

 Mental health is MASSIVE and should never be brushed under the carpet because it not only effects the individual who suffers but also everyone around you.

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To this day, I’m still not quite sure whether my mental health state came from the happenings of my childhood or it was always just there – or of course, a bit of both.  I could never go a single place on my own, always had to be with someone or else I’d feel like something awful would happen to me. I felt I was at more risk of having panic attacks when on my own. But I remember the nights of me crying, crying until I gave myself a migraine, crying until my eyes were so swollen I couldn’t see, screaming so much out of anger that anyone would think I was being attacked, skiving off of school because I didn’t want to be around anyone. I just hated everything. My attendance at school was bad; 60-70% was my lowest. At the time, I had no idea there was anything wrong with me, but now I realise.

Countless times I’ve wanted to take my own life, asking myself if there’s any point in me being here still, wondering if anyone would miss me. Of course they would, my family love me and I love them too – why would NO ONE miss me. 

Even though I’m on medication now, it doesn’t make everything magically disappear which I know it’s not meant to. It has helped me realise things about myself I never saw before. I’m stronger and braver than I thought and loved way more than I thought I could ever be loved.

There is so much more that has been left unsaid but I could be here forever writing about my life. If you do want to know more about my experiences or even talk to me for some support just email me or send me a message on any of my social medias. I'd love to talk.

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So, never for a second, doubt your abilities. You are so much better than you think. No matter how big or small, I am sure you’ve achieved something great in your life so far. That’s evidence you’re more than worth it.  You can really do some great things with your life, you really can. You can do anything no matter your struggle. Use your struggle to do the things to make your life a happier and brighter place. Tell yourself you won't be that sad person who doesn't do anything, tell yourself you will be that happy person that spreads joy everywhere. 

Aliexpress Collective Haul

I've been meaning to do this post since last summer yikes!

I love a bargain - I mean who the heck doesn't.

I have been eyeing up Aliexpress ever since I heard about it on the wonderful world of YouTube but had always been too skeptical to place an order. 

I took the plunge and placed my first order which was a bikini, a Triangl dupe to be exact. I was going on holiday with my boyfriend in just over a month and a half so thought it would be the perfect time to order. These were around £10 each and took just under a month to arrive. What I love most about these sets is they're neoprene material. There are an awful lot of Triangl dupes out there that are just the normal soft material - but these are so flattering, they don't bunch up, get twisted AND you can remove the straps. Overall, I love these both so much and will be ordering more for my future holidays!

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Swimwears-Triangle-Women-s-Fashion-Neoprene-Bikinis-Woman-New-Summer-2015-Sexy-Swimsuit-Bath-Suit-Push/1935324604.html

My second order involved these absolute gems. I'll admit I never really wear falsies but when I do, I love to wear the Ardell demi wispsies as they're so natural and comfortable. Due to having weird shaped eyes, I find that the black lash bands dig into my eyes too much so the invisible lash band is perfect for me. I got five pairs for £1.05 so they're a lot more affordable than the Ardell ones. I will be buying more once I have used them all as they're amazing!

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/5-Pairs-Lot-Black-Cross-False-Eyelash-Soft-Long-Makeup-Eye-Lash-Extension/32280802576.html

These brushes are A-MA-ZING. They're possibly one of the best cosmetics items I have ever bought and owned. In this set you get fourteen synthetic brushes. The majority of the set are for the face but there are a couple that can be used for eyeliner which is fabulous in my opinion as I find most sets lack these. If you love contouring and highlighting, get this set - it's a must-have!

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Luxury-14-pieces-set-super-soft-hair-blue-makeup-brush-kit-for-make-up-Eye-Face/1732685783.html

If you're looking for set of blending eye brushes, look no further. These are perfection. You get a tapered brush, some larger fluffier brushes and more sturdier ones for packing on colour as well as applying eyeliner. They're only £3.66 so I would definitely recommend these for such an amazing price. 

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/2015-New-Arrival-Makeup-Eye-Brushes-Set-Synthetic-Hair-Cosmetics-Foundation-Blending-Tools-8Pcs-BLACK/32268471392.html

                                               

So that's all for now! I'm sure I will be ordering more in the near future so keep your eyes peeled for another Aliexpress haul. I hope your enjoyed this haul and feel free to leave a comment below or email me at: cooper-e@hotmail.co.uk.

Emilie x x x