I am in a bit of shock that 2017 has come to an end. It only felt like yesterday that I was celebrating my 25th birthday or soaking up some sun in Ibiza back in Summer. But before we ring in a New Year, I wanted to do a quick post and talk about the resolutions I set myself back in January. I set myself some goals that I felt that I could achieve in the year and thought this would be a great chance to see where I got with each one.

LEARN TO DRIVE
This one was something I really wanted to do this year, purely on the basis that I didn't want a fear to get to me. If you've got me on social media or you read the specific blog post, you will know that I actually passed my test first time back in July, with only two minors. I was so chuffed when I got that piece of paper and since then, I actually love driving. I'm much more independent, I've gained confidence and it's allowed me to do things I wouldn't have been able to do when I wasn't able to drive, like see family. I'm so glad that I actually completed this resolution in 2017 because I really wasn't sure if I would have tapped out again.

LOSE SOME WEIGHT
In all honesty, this on been on the back burner. I wasn't doing too bad earlier this year but as the year got on, I cared less about it, ate bad things and because I was suddenly driving places and not doing much in the week, I slowly gained more weight. I do have plans to change this in 2018 though so, watch this space.

STRESS OUT LESS
I believe that I have become better with this. Although it is okay to stress out at certain situations, I don't think I do it as often, or don't find myself becoming stressed so early on. Because I have allowed myself that time out from a job and able to focus on the driving, I became more chilled out and didn't want to allow myself to get to that level of stress. Like I said, it's something I still do, just not as often. I still want to work on that in 2018 and hopefully some lifestyles changes and habits will help with that.

PUT MORE INTO BLOGGING
This one I have more definitely done. Looking throughout the year, although I've not posted as much as some people do (everyday, every other day or take part in blogtober/blogmas), I posted atleast twice a month. I started off strong with 5 posts in January and although that went down as the months went by, I still uploaded content. I posted 12 times in 2016 and seeing that I have done 32 blog posts in 2017, it may not seem a lot but that's an improvement for me. I've really enjoyed being more constant in the year and it's enabled a brand to reach out to me, something that I didn't think would really happen this year, so that's a bonus. 2018 will be a bit different but still hope that I can continue blogging as much as I can.

So I don't think that I have done too badly with my resolutions this year. The driving I am so happy that I've done and although I didn't lose the weight, that's okay, because I'm going to give it a go next year. As I said above, 2018 is going to be slightly different for me because I have a new job that I'm going to be starting on the 2nd January, whereas 2017, I didn't have one at all. I'm really excited and looking forward to working again, I think my time out has got me back to where I once was. I still want to blog where I can but it just might mean not being as regular but I don't usually stick to a schedule so that won't be too much of a worry for me.

I'm glad that 2017 is done with but super excited for 2018.

Did you manage to achieve your resolutions? Any that you missed out on?

Look after yourself,


This blog post is not sponsored and all opinions are my own and honest!

I've mentioned on my blog before that I'm always keen to try new things, whether it be makeup or skincare and recently, a company called Wonderland Makeup kindly contacted me to see if I'd like to try a few of their products. I did a bit of research on the company by looking on their website and I saw that their products are cruelty-free and affordable, which I'm all for, so I replied back and said yes. I couldn't wait to see what I was sent but the products arrived fairly quickly and saw that I was given a primer, loose pigment powder & a nail polish. Now that I had the products, it was time to have a little play around.


So, the first thing I tried was their Studio Finish Primer. I have used primers before, some being actual primers and others not, and I can tell when I've used a primer as my makeup tends to stick around for a lot longer than if I didn't so it's something I've definitely been getting into more recently. So when I saw that this was sent to me, I was pretty excited. Moving onto one of my favourite parts about products is the packaging. The primer tube comes in a box, which is quite smart and simplistic, with a black and white theme and on the back contained details around ingredients, it being cruelty-free and where it was made. The primer packaging itself is a tube, again with a black and white theme. It also has general information on what the primer does and a tip that you'll only need a pea-sized amount. I like that some of the packaging is see-through as I'll be able to see how much I've got left.


So, for the primer itself. It comes out of the tube nice and easily and once you start rubbing it gently into the skin, it's got a lovely, silky finish, perfect to apply makeup. It's also lightweight and you can't tell you've really got anything on. There is nothing worse than if your primer feels heavy or thick. It definitely kept my makeup intact (I actually wore it when I went for a job interview so, I got nervous and developed a sweaty forehead) for the amount of time I wore it but could imagine it'll last even more of the day. This 30ml primer is £15 and seeing as a little goes a long way, I'm sure this will last me quite a while, so it's definitely worth the money.


The next product that I tried was the Nail Polish, in the shade Cotton Candy, a lovely pale pink. For the packaging, it's the pretty standard nail varnish bottle with a white lid and all the standard information printed. The colour is pretty, not something I'd usually go for personally but could only really see the true colour once it was on my nails. If you take the excess varnish off the bristles, it does apply quite thin to begin with but it builds up the colour quickly. As I could still see some of my nail underneath, likely because it's a light colour, I just added another coat which made all the difference. It's a good formula, not gloopy or too watery, it's bang on in the middle. And the plus of this varnish? It dries quickly too! I'm pretty awful for painting my nails and then smudging them, which makes me go and re-paint it and it annoys me that I do it so often. I will say though, if you do end up adding another coat, just give it slightly longer to dry. It lasted a good few days before I noticed chips appearing, so that's a bonus too! Overall, I like this nail polish and for £6, nothing much to fault on it.


The third and final product is the Wanderdust Loose Pigment. I've only really been into eyeshadows and not really used pigments before but there is a first time for everything. If you don't know what pigments are, it's basically a loose powder, normally quite shiny. Eyeshadows normally get pressed but dulls the colour a lot more, so pigments are used if you want a shiny, shimmy look. These pigments are multifunctional, where you can actually use this on your eyes, cheeks and & lips but I personally would use it for my eyes. You can also use it wet or dry, so you'll get slightly different results. So, let's quickly talk about the packaging. The pigment pot comes in a little box (with a handy cut out so you can see the colour of the pigment instantly without having to get it out of the box) with the same black and white theme, like the Primer. It's good that a company is consistent with their packaging as it'll be something people will start to recognise. The pot itself has the white lid, like the polish, and a clear, see-through container. When you take the lid off, there is another top that when you lift up, it's got the holes in, so you are able to pour out the pigment carefully or when you open the lid, as you don't want it to get everywhere, so it's good to have that there. I took it off for photo and swatch purposes but I think if I go to use it future, I will probably take it off so that I can get my brush in the pigment.


Over to the pigment itself, which is the shade Candy. It's such a bright colour, perfect for the party season. When I dipped my finger in, even though it looked a bit crumbly, it's really quite soft and when I did the swatches, it went on with such ease. I didn't have to press my finger hard for the product to come off nor did it feel like my finger dragged. The swatches in the picture above are slightly different. The top one was done with a dry finger and the bottom was when my finger was slightly wet. I can see that there seems to be a bit more colour on the bottom swatch, so if you want to make quite an impact, I'd say use a slightly wet finger or wet your brush and pat it on. For my first real experience with pigments, this is a good start and likely that I'm going to start getting into pigments in the future. These are £6.50 and they have a variety of colours which I think anyone would like.

I am really impressed with these products, especially the primer and would highly consider purchasing from them in future. If you are interested in purchasing their products, I have a code that you can use to get 15% off all products site wide, pretty cool right? Just enter Bloglife15 when you go to checkout.

What do you think of these products? Anything you'd love to use?

Look after yourself,


Although these products were sent to me from the company, this blog post is not sponsored and all opinions are my own and honest!