Bedroom Makeover

It's been almost three years since we moved into our new house, and it's been nine months since I moved back in after finishing uni. (I hadn't planned moving back home, but with how things have been with my health and family it has just been the best thing for now) Whilst I don't plan to stick around I thought I needed to make my bedroom mine before I disappear again.

My room is a lot smaller than my previous room so I've had to compromise and get rid of a few things that I was just holding onto - a complete hoarded over here!
Storage is a big issue in the new house and I've come to the conclusion that I've grown up and I now don't like little bits and bobs lying around, I don't like all the dark colours and in a room this size you need to make it feel as light and airy as possible.

I've been through a lot of different colours in my bedroom, from a light blue to sexy pink (I'm sure we've all been there with that bright pink! Ergh it looks so garish looking back on it now!) to silver and purple just to name a few. I feel as though I'm all about those white walls now, the clean light feeling and idea of space, which this room is in need off.  Below is a collage made up of pinterest pictures and my own of the mirror, I wanted to create a sort of mood board of the general idea just to get what's in my head out. I love the soft touches of colour, in this case the pink or you could add any other soft pale colour. The dressing table is from Ikea and I am actually sitting at mine whilst writing this! I love the simplicity of it - the clean lines the glass top and the fact that it doesn't take much space in the room. Grey is a colour I am absolutely in love with right now, so it will just add enough shade to not make the room feel flat but it will add a bit more dimension (depending on the shade of the grey but a light grey is what I have in mind).
GOLD!, I'm normally a silver girl but the look of those gold polka dots has won me over! I mean can you tell I'm loving them right now (the new blog header might have given it away, but I guess if not this post might!) Having gold accents around the room will add a bit of needed warmth and glam about it, which I will never be apposed too!

So this is my idea for my bedroom, I like the brightness that the pictures have and I hope that it brings a bit more brightness to my room too, It's just an idea for now but this is the direction I plan to go in. If you have any tips on how to make a small room feel and look bigger let me know! Pinterest can only get you so far! 

Hope you are having a lovely week! 

Charlie xo

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1. I put my back out some how on sunday night, probably the worst start to a holiday ever, but the silver lining means I can have a relaxing day in bed, all cosy and watching films

2.  One benefit of being in bed and having spare time on my hands has meant that I've caught up on all those blogs and youtube video's that I haven't had chance to see after finishing work in the week.

3. I had so many plans for my week off from work but after hurting my back I haven't been able to bend down or move my back from any sort of up right position so I haven't done any of it. However I did manage to get a small section of my room tidy on thursday, no where near what I wanted to do but it's something that has made me feel a bit better, it's not been a total loss.

4.  I've had more cups of tea this week than I have all year, but each one I've had I've sat down with my mum and we've talked a lot this week

5. I managed to move around a bit better towards the end of the week and so I moved from my bed to the living room - charging my camera and getting some blog photos done!

6. Over the last few weeks I feel out of love with my blog, I really wasn't feeling it anymore, but after looking around the Blogosphere and finding some amazing blogs and instgram accounts I'm slowly getting back into it! I posted a blog about those accounts that inspired me in my last post which you can read here!

7.  So talking about falling out of love with my blog I decided to give it a spring clean and a face lift as it were! Spending a good part of my thursday I decided to change the header and the colour scheme - bright and spring like, sometimes all you need is a change in scenery!

8.  I've been in bed all week because of my back but on saturday we ventured out, it was nice to get out of the house, even if it was tipping it down with rain.

9. Sunday Roast after three week - long awaited but so worth it!

10. Happy Easter Sunday!

Happy bank holiday, hope you aren't in too much of a chocolate hangover!

Charlie xo

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Under the Weather

Im sorry I've not been around lately, the month of March has not been my month/ First off, during a lovely visit to Glasgow and a well over due catch with one of my best friends I got a weird tummy thing that lasted all most two whole weeks - I couldn't eat anything, snack or meal with out feel really sick!? So I was pretty grumpy with the fact that I couldn't eat anything without having to keep a bucket by my side (sorry if it's TMI, but I struggle with the idea of throwing up and those two weeks were horrible!) I then had one good week and now, on the very first day of my holiday I put my back out and I've been stuck in bed for four days, so much for a relaxing holiday from work - I guess some say it doesn't sound too bad, but I had so many plans for my time off work like sorting out my blogging blues, getting some photographs for the blog done, having a few days out with mum (who been copped up in the house for two weeks with the flu) and just generally doing what I wanted when I wanted, but it's all fallen to the way side.

Anyway day four of having to keep pressure off my spine and I've come over all work like - I haven't had the motivation for about three weeks now but enough is enough Charlie get on with it!

Whilst I've had a lot of free time on my hands I've been reading blogs until my heart is content, and I even been inspired to just get back to work and see what I can come up with. So without further ado here are a few blogs and other things around the internet that I've found and loved, because if they put a smile back on my face over this last week hopefully if you need a little inspiration or a pick me up these might work for you too!

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Blogs

Lady Writes - A new discovery and I absolutely love her blog, the easy read and not to mention that her pictures are stunning and inspiring!

Layna Marie - Again some really beautiful pictures, the first post I read of Layna's blog Chocolate Hazelnut Quinoa Granola post which you too can read here! I love anything chocolatey (except raisins or nuts) but I really Really like the idea of this recipe!

Velvet Winter - I love Eilidh's outfit posts - always inspiring and she finds some cute things which I totally don't have patience for to do myself so I love her clothing posts! Not to mention she always finds such great priced gems of the makeup world!

PinkChicClaire - I love her blog, its super easy to read  and informative and she features some beautiful products that I've never heard about but after reading her post I want to go out and find out more about them!

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Instagram

Li-Chi Pan - I just embody the heart eye emoji when looking through her instagram pictures! The flat lays are perfect, the colour combinations are perfect the quality is beautiful I and just like that your inspired!

Pintsizephoto - I am constantly trying to figure out how to make my pictures 'light and airy' and I never can seem to get the best white image no matter how hard I try, so Lily's photos are just beautiful and pure. One day I will find out the secret but for now I'll just admire the whiteness and cleanness of her photos!

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Youtube

The Power of Makeup is a video that seems to be flowing through Youtube beauty fans like tomorrow will never end. I love the idea that makeup makes us happy and comfortable. We all are different, in the way we look, how we feel and how we think. I am yet to find somebody who doesn't love the way the feel when they had decided to take time out of their day to paint there face how they want, with as much or as little as they want. For some make up gives us the confidence to face other people, be it because of skin problems or just confidence issues or anything else make is like freedom of speech and just like fashion everybody has their own style. Here are just a few of my favourite video's of people showing their own love of the power of makeup...

NikkieTutorials 

Becca Rose

Christen Dominque 

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Pinterest

I have always loved Pinterest! It's the best of me, particularly because I love hoarding things but hate messes, so this is the best thing for me! I can spend countless hours in Pinterest and find new things all the time. Whilst I've spent a lot of my time in bed this week I've found things that have been able to put a smile back on my face. (It's a great place for idea making as well so now I have a few blog post ideas built up)

How cute is this little guy?!

image.

Charlie xo

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MakeUp Geek Eyeshadows

Ok so these may have literally just arrived to my house but after a few minutes of playing around with swatting these beauties I think I can safely say I love them. Yep, I am really impressed with the quality of the swatches! The colours are beautiful and pigmented, however I am yet to try them on my eyes and see how they last, I am excited to get up tomorrow and do my makeup for work!

After months of looking into peoples top 10 MakeUp Geek eyeshadows on different blogs and youtube video's I decided to get my hands on these six shadows: (working row to row from left to right) Vanilla Bean, Grandstand, Peach Smoothie, Bitten, Cosmopolitan and Burlesque. I chose these six as I wanted some different to what I already had from M.A.C but I also wanted Bitten to compare it to M.A.C's Deep Damson to see the comparison in colour and texture. I'm working on comparing the quality and textures between both brands before I write any more about my experience or choices but I can tell you right now I feel although I know which shadow will be my favourite and that would be Grandstand. The colour, the texture and the finish are beautiful and something I can not wait to try out tomorrow!

I've already started looking at other MakeUp Geek shadows and I can easily see this little collection growing over time! If you have any eye shadows from MakeUp Geek let me know I can add them to my ever expanding virtual shopping basket!

Charlie xo
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Arming myself with New Tools

All the tools in the image above are all from different brands, ones I've never tried before.

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Morphe M504 Brush

I wanted a small fluffy brush to use when I applied highlighter (even thought I only apply it once in a blue moon). I wanted something bigger than a eyeshadow blending brush but not as big as a contour or blush brush. I wanted something a bit more precise so I could apply my highlighter only on the high points of my cheeks. 

The fluffiness of the brush means that the highlight isn't to harsh and I am able to blend it better on my cheeks. The Morphe M504 is exactly what I wanted and leading up to spring and summer this little one will be what I will be reaching for!

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Sigma F86 Tapered Kabuki Brush

I hadn't looked into Sigma brushes up until late last year because I thought they were an American brand and unavailable in the UK. However they are available to order from Feel Unique, so I place a small order to try one of their brushes.

I'd seen this one from a youtube video by Jaclyn Hill and she used it to apply under eye concealer, which she made to look effortless! I've been using my finger tips but after seeing Jaclyn Hill using the Sigma F86 brush I though it looked super soft but dense enough that they don't soak up any product.
It might be a bit big for me but it blends product away and covers my dark circles in no time so at 6:30 in the morning I love how quickly this works, it is perfect!

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BeautyBay Beauty Blender

With all the hype around the original Beauty Blender and then the Real Techniques Beauty sponge I wanted to give it ago myself, however I didn't want to spend that much on a egg shaped sponge, especially when I tried flat face sponges to apply foundation before and hated it. So I opted for BeautyBay's Beauty Blender, the price was great and I brought a few more things to get free delivery because why not? 

After using it with a few different products like my foundation and under eye concealer I have decided that it does create a smooth natural finish. I like using it under my eyes rather than using it to apply my foundation, I feel that it takes too long to apply any foundation with the sponge and at 6 o'clock in the morning I don't really have time for it. However if I have the time I do like to use it for my under eye concealer. I find it works best damp but there is a limit as to how damp it can be as I find it tends to remove more makeup than it applies if it is too wet. 

I also works dry however it feels as though it drags the skin more, not something you want for the delicate skin under your eye. 

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NARS ITA Brush (Dupe)

The Nars ita brush was actually a find online, I never was one for contour before, and to be honest its still something I'm getting into, slowly but surely. This brush makes it so easy! The bristles are soft yet firm in the way that when pressed against your face, it keeps its shape. The design of the handle is unusual but beneficial, as I find it a lot easier to hold than a cyclindical shape of a brush handle for contouring, but I must admit that at first it was difficult to figure out how to hold the brush comfortably, but after one go you get the idea of how best to hold it.

Whilst I'm still learning how to apply my bronzer and contour I am enjoying playing around with brush and it couldn't be easier with the NARS Ita Brush!