Body Confidence featuring my necklace from Trinkets Jewellery | Also all about Fiona's Campaign

Hello Again!

Today I want to speak to you about my journey trying to find body confidence and I also want to talk about a campaign all about #EveryBodyInAds.

Body Confidence. It's a pretty big subject these days and I think that it has taken me up until now on my 24th year in this world, to actually like myself and the skin I'm in. I find it hard as a mum raising a little girl because I know just now the pressure on young people not only girls, is so much and there's a certain category that society want you to fit in and if you don't then you should be disgusted with yourself and should change to fit in. Why is it this way though? I think that social media plays a HUGE part in this and pretty much everywhere you look you can find the 'perfect' body. As a bigger girl this has made me very depressed and I'm not using that word lightly, I have went through spells where I hate to look at myself in the mirror because what I saw was horrible. That is why I stopped making YouTube videos, I hated looking at myself when editing because all I saw were my flaws and that made me immediately delete that footage! 

But recently (and I literally mean like the past few weeks) I've noticed that I am really hard on myself. I don't look exactly how I'd like to look and yes I'd like to lose a little bit of weight but if I do I'll be doing it for myself and not because some magazine says that I should! I am in a happy relationship with a man who loves me for me. He doesn't look at me and see my flaws he looks at me and loves me. I have a little girl who looks up to me and loves me because I'm her mummy, I shouldn't be showing her that I hate myself because I don't want her growing up and hating herself!

So what I'm trying to say is that whatever skin you're in, whatever shape, size, colour or age you should love yourself because you are you. You only get to live once, live your life how you want to! Before hand I would never have put photos of myself like the ones below online but now I am not even thinking twice about it because why should I?!

Now for the campaign, Fiona De Buitlear is a jewellery designer for Trinkets Jewellery, from Ireland and she has a campaign called #EveryBodyInAds. Let's have Fiona tell us a little about how to campaign came about.

Where are the pictures of real women?

I was looking for some stock photos because I updated the website recently. I wanted to show some real women on the website. I could not find any pictures of "real women" on the stock photo sites. I don't know about you but I am a little bored with seeing all the same type of women and shots in websites, magazines and other ads. What I mean by this is stick thin highly glamorous women in their twenties or younger in very obviously "posed" shots. I do not have anything against such ladies but they only make up a very small percentage of people. There are almost no pictures of real women used in advertising. 

As Fiona has said she's not against any body type but she just wanted to see more of a variety so that's what her campaign is all about.

The faces of Trinkets jewellery

I do not have vast resources but at the same time I want to do something about this if I can. This is my idea: I am launching an initiative to find the real faces of Trinkets jewellery.  I will send a free piece of jewellery to any women who volunteer to allow me to use their pictures on my web site. They do not have to be models – I want to use pictures of real women!  I will just ask for a promise that she will send me some photos of herself wearing the piece and I will ship a piece of jewellery to her absolutely free. I will use these pictures on my website to show off my products. If the thought of your picture being used on a website to promote jewellery makes you a little queasy then please ask yourself why? This is a call to the women out there to take a step towards reclaiming their individual and collective self esteem. I know it's not a lot but I think that if enough of us start to make a change then together we can change the world!  

I think this is fantastic, Fiona's pieces are stunning and I love the piece that I got. It goes with so many outfits and I've been wearing it with pride!

If you like the sound of this campaign and would like to join then email Fiona: fionadebuitlear@gmail.com

Also go and have a look at Fiona's Website and her blog. Also check out her on Social Media.

www.trinketsjewellery.com

twitter.com/trinketsjewelry

www.facebook.com/trinketsjewellery

I'd like to say a massive thank you to Fiona for letting me take part and for my lovely necklace. I love what you're doing and don't give up!!

North Hop Aberdeen | Craft Beer Festival

Hello!!

So when an email from the PR Goddess herself about a craft beer festival popped up in my inbox I knew it was going to be a good day! North Hop was coming to Aberdeen! North Hop was created to raise the awareness and love of craft beer among other things such as gin (yes, there was lot's of gin). I was allowed a cheeky plus one so Sam happily came along with me but we didn't really know what to expect but it's safe to say we weren't disappointed.

When we walked in with our North Hop glass we were taken aback by the size of it. There were long tables in the middle of the AECC surrounded by barrels of hay and around all that was a huge stage, stalls and stalls of different beer, gin, wine and cocktail stalls. There was even a Photo Booth, temporary tattoos by Rebel Tattoo and even a little camper van that was selling crème brulée! 

Once we had a walk round we settle on trying some Thistly Cross Elderflower cider and I wasn't a massive fan of cider but I can honestly say now after trying the Thistly Cross ciders I am a big fan - especially of their Real Strawberry Cider!!

Later on we tried some Brewdog beer which was definitely different, I went for a blackberry beer which wasn't my favourite but Sam helped me drink it! There was also a Mango beer by DryGate which seemed to be quite popular. 

A few others were Eden Mill, 10 Dollar Shake and solid liquids that were offering two bars specialising in gin and rum. 

Brew Dog had a really big truck at one side of the arena and there was such chilled vibe. You could get your beer, relax on a bean bag and listen to the love music or watch the live art that was being created just at the side of the truck.

I obviously don't recommend drinking on an empty stomach but all the street food vendors had taken care of that for us! There was so much selection from the Bay Chipper all the way from Stonehaven (their fryers broke down just after the second session on the Saturday and they had to get someone up all the way from Glasgow to fix it but thankfully they were up and running again by the end of the night). There was Real-Food that was selling amazing sausage rolls, my friends from Cue Barbecue were there making incredible burgers. There was nachos and tacos - basically everything that you could want you could get.

 If you still had room after all that which I definitely did there were deserts!! Crème Brûlèe made in a camper van, delicious popcorn by poporopo (I picked up some Gin and Tonic caramel popcorn which was incredible). I also have to mention by favourite food of the night which came from Stew 'n' Drews!! These men have some seriously good ice cream! We got to sample their whisky ice cream, Elvis juice and jet black heart which was made with some Brewdog beer then Drew asked us if we liked to try new things, we said yes and he handed Sam and I a spoon each with some ice cream on it. Guess what? The weirdest thing happened, the Ice cream went from cold to hot!! It was green apple flavoured which was the cold and then wasabi which made it taste hot, that was one of the weirdest things I had tasted but it was great. I settled on the Humbug and Blondie Brownie - they were great!

It was such a great night spent with friends and plenty of beer, cider, gin and glorious food! The live music was spot on and even Alice in Wonderland made an appearance (a hen on her hen night). It's their second year in Aberdeen and I certainly don't think it will be their last! Absolutely great job by all! Thank you to the North Hop crew for inviting me along - it was a blast!

The original Beauty Blender | Review

Hello Again!

Guess who's back? Back again? Sarah's back, tell a friend! Woo! (sorry) I'm back with a beauty post which I feel like I haven't had one in ages so I am back and today I'm talking about a cult product! The original Beauty Blender!!

Previously have just used brushes mainly but I have used sponges before for applying my foundation and I'm a great fan of the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion sponge but the beauty blender takes my number on spot of a beauty sponge!

When I first saw it my initial thought was, 'oh that's quite small' but when you squeeze it under running water it practically doubles in size! The pointed end is perfect for blending in concealer and because it comes to a perfect point it gets right into the corner of your eye. I find that it applies foundation so flawlessly and I think it makes the overall finish really healthy and dewy.

Price Point. It's £16.00 - £16.00 for a sponge. But, it is really good and I've heard they're quite long lasting (unless your kitten gets it and takes a few chunk out - thanks Altas) so hopefully I don't need to replace it very often. Also they are now stocked in boots which is really good as before I've only ever seen them on websites such as Cult Beauty and Beauty Bay.

Overall it's great and if you're in the market for a new tool to apply foundation and concealer etc then I highly recommend the Beauty Blender!

See you next time

Why you need hotter shoes!! | Discount Code

Hello Again!

There's nothing worse when you have great looking shoes but after wearing them for 5 minutes, they're killing your feet! How does good looking shoes with the comfort sound to you, good? Well keep reading!

I was invited along to Hotter in Aberdeen to preview their new Spring/Summer collection. Now I'm not going to lie, I was a bit apprehensive only because I have always associated Hotter with mums and golden oldies but I was oh so wrong! Yes they do have shoes that your mum and gran would wear but they also have shoes that you would!

Let me tell you a little bit more about Hotter:

In February 2010 there were 5 Hotter stores - today there are over 80! They've expanded massively in just a few year. Hotter is the UK's biggest shoe manufacturer - making a pair of shoes every 20 seconds (woah). They started making slippers and now? They make shoes as comfortable as slippers (who doesn't want shoes that feel like you're wearing slippers?!?). Hotter shoes have comfort concept features in every pair and they even include wiggle room! The soles of the shoes are made in the Hotter Factory and are filled with millions of air bubbles! They stock ladies shoes in size 3 to 9 (which is really good for me as I have a size 9 - I know, you have found bigfoot). They even stock some half sizes and different widths which is very rare for a shoe shop to do these days!

Here we have some of their new floral shoes which include the Tara shoe (the navy skater shoe with flowers) I absolutely loved these! 

Sam makes fun of my 'taste' of footwear because he says that I like 'old lady' shoes but they're so fashionable right now and these little beauties are too - they are the Brieton Shoes! I love the chain across the front. They were super soft and had great cushioning all round the inside of the shoe!

Here's the Hotter Bus which has been winging it's way across the UK.

Now I got my hands on these cheeky little bad boys, Hotter's H92 - Feather Shoes! These are Hotter's lightest shoe and that really does make a difference when you're wearing them. They also have memory foam insoles so they literally mould to the shape of your foot and when you're not wearing them it bounces back! I have basically worn these every single day since I got them and I'm obsessed!!

If you want to get your hands on some great looking shoes with the comfort go give Hotter a try! The ladies in shore are very friendly and will help you find the perfect shoes for your feet!! If you do want to go get a pair or two then I have a discount code for you to get £10 off your first order and that includes free delivery! 

Discount Code: PPATEN

Terms and Conditions: £10 off plus free delivery on your first order only. You are entitled to £10 off the total order value of any full priced items in the Hotter range (excluding shoe care products and accessories) plus Free delivery. Minimum order valve £25. This offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other promotional offer or on Sale. Expires 30/06/16.

Thank you to the Hotter team for inviting me along and thank you to the lovely ladies in the store who stayed back to help us out. I will be back for more!!