Believe it or not, this platform has been sat here, in this corner of the internet, for over 5 years. It's crazy and, a lot of you may think "5 years?! So where are all of your followers?" but, this is mainly because I don't consider myself starting to blog until the middle of 2017. I made so many mistakes between 2013 and 2017 that, honestly, it's really not what I feel is worth showing. The content that I've created for my blog in the past 12 months is the best content that has been published in the entire 5 years. Here are some of the mistakes that I've made as a blogger that you should avoid:
Thinking every image needs a white background.
Or marble, for that matter. Admittedly, it took quite a kick up the backside for me to get this ideology out of my head - it really isn't a bloggers' necessity to have every image with a white background and, quite frankly, it's a difficult thing to do. I've previously spent many agonising hours boosting the exposure of images in an attempt to have some sort of white background. I always wanted my images to flow into the white background of my actual blog but, when they won't turn from an off-white colour without messing up the entire exposure of the image (and, may I add, I'm not camera expert) it caused a LOT of frustration. It wasn't until I found my ground with my own style and creativity that I realised that it doesn't always take a white background to make something look uniform - in fact, it just takes a little more consistency. I edit all of my images to look the same - in a matter of minutes I can have 20 photos edited on VSCO - and that is what makes my blog flow. Just a lot less stressful.
Not being savvy.
By this, I mean that there was a time where I'd publish a post and that's as far as it went. I may have promoted it on twitter once, and maybe a picture on my personal Instagram where I only followed a couple hundred of my school friends. There was no technicality - no scheduling my posts, no reaching out to other people or spreading my words.
As well as this, only recently in the previous months, I have started editing HTML text and using internal links to boost my SEO. If you had told me in 2013 that I needed to 'boost my SEO', I wouldn't have known two hoots what you were saying. These days, I have a better understanding of how I can do little changes to make a difference to my blog and thus attract more viewers.
Holding back my Creativity.
It took a long time for me to show my face on my blog which, I guess, is understandable seeing as though I was only 13 years-old when my blog started. Now, though, I understand that showing my face on my blog/social media, just here and there, is really beneficial for relating to my audience. Nowadays, I scroll through Instagram feeds and struggle to feel like I can relate to the person if they haven't shown their face even once. Of course, I'm not saying that we all need mugshots plastered on our homepage, it's just nice to know that you are more human-shaped and less robot-shaped.
With showing my face came a lot more creativity, I feel. I found that it helped me write about myself, my own opinions and thoughts. As well as this, there is just something that makes me so proud when I scroll through my blog and see that the face in those images is my own.
But it wasn't only disclosing my face that I found was holding me back - until I found my style with editing, got my own, more personalised blog layout, and upped my photography game, I wasn't entirely myself. As I said previously, I would painstakingly edit and edit photos to give them a 'white' background but now edit it them until I look back and think 'Yes! I like that'. It seriously is true that, if you like your own content, others will too.
Using my Personal Instagram
When you start your blog, I think it's always important to have a personal and a blog Instagram. I've had my blog Instagram for just under a year and the growth that I've seen from that platform in the past 10 months (in comparison to the views/growth from my personal Instagram (or lack of)) is astounding. And, of course, I get it - Instagram isn't the friendliest nor easiest platform to be on at the moment, but it sure as hell does make a difference to make an account specifically for your blog.
This is especially useful for if you have friends following you on Instagram. As I was in school when my blog began, I always refrained from posting anything related to my blog on my Instagram because I was afraid of people mocking me or gossiping. Now, with a specific account, I have full confidence to post what I like, when I like.
Comparing myself
This is something that I've made mistakes with in general life many times before, let along my blog. However, more specifically, I have found that, on more occasions than necessary, I've moped about numbers, I've sulked about quality, and I've huffed over other people's stunning photography. It's almost certainly the green-eyed monster arising but there are times when I have compared myself to unrealistic situations. For example, there have been a few times when I've looked at a blogger working with world famous brands and felt a bit detached from the idea of succeeding, but deep down I know that it takes a lot of hard work and determination to get there. Overall, I fix this mistake every day, over and over again. We're human, we compare ourselves and we get jealous, but the most important thing is that we realise that we can get ourselves there if we want to and the matter is more about how we will individually do it.
What mistakes have you made as a blogger?
I'm totally obsessed with The Body Shop lately. I seem to have connected pretty well with their recent products over the past few years and, after attending an event at the start of April, I'm even more drawn to what they have to offer. One of the new product ranges that I'm particularly interested in is the Himalayan Charcoal Range.
There are so many interesting things about this range that are worth sharing For starters it currently consists of two products: The Purifying Facial Soap (Yep, a bar of soap for your face!!) and the Purifying Facial Glow Mask. Both of these products are 100% Vegan and promote Cruelty-Free cosmetics. As you probably know by now, The Body Shop are huge supports of eliminating Animal Testing on a global scale, and this product is designed to not just promote that; until the end of May, 30p of each Himalayan Charcoal Facial Soap product sold will go towards the protection of Red Pandas. So so far, what's not to like?
- Himalayan Charcoal Purifying Facial Soap -
But let's start off with the Facial Soap. I picked up this bar whilst at the event after one of the team members had shown me exactly what it is. To cut a long story short, it's a bar of soap which is infused with Fair Trade Kenyan Tea Tree Oil and, you guessed it, Himalayan Charcoal. The bar is black with tiny little pieces of charcoal dotted throughout. These little gritty pieces are used for exfoliating the skin but, I have to say, in a perfectly gentle way.
The smell is so fresh! You can definitely smell the tea tree oil in there, as well as a citrusy scent - it reminds me a little bit of the Fuji Green Tea range which, you'll probably know, is my favourite scent ever made by The Body Shop. What I like about the scent of this soap, though, is that the scent will last after you get out of the shower. Admittedly, a dose of your everyday moisturizer works to mask the smell but, in those few minutes when you're stood in the bathroom, shimmying the towel around yourself, you can often still smell the soap on your face and hands.
I would definitely recommend this soap to anyone with oily skin because, as soaps go, this one remains in the drying spectrum. I have combination skin which can often lean more towards dry than oily but I have noticed that, once I've washed my face with this soap, my skin is literally squeaky clean. It really does do what it says on the tin (sidenote: that's a hypothetical tin) and purifies your skin. Totally perfect for after a hot summer's day or a hardcore gym session, but I reckon I might have to pop this one away in the winter time to avoid dry skin.
At only £4.00 for 100g, I think it's pretty much a steal.
- Himalayan Charcoal Purifying Glow Mask -
Which products in The Body Shop are your current faves?
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I feel like The Body Shop has really stepped up their game in the past few months when it comes to face masks. The 'Expert Facial Mask' Range comes with a wide array of different ingredient combinations and one of them is the Himalayan Charcoal Purifying Glow Mask. Formulated with tea tree oil and carrying even more Himalayan Charcoal pieces than the soap, it really feels like a wholesome facemask.
I first tried this on in the store and again at home where I initially realised that it has a tingling sensation and dries rapidly into a pretty tough clay. It's one of those that makes it difficult to smile. But, nevertheless, this crusty clay means that, when it comes to washing the product off, there's some great exfoliation. It probably goes without saying that it smells pretty darn good - identical to the soap.
However, I do feel as though, for the hefty price tag of £17, it's not something that I would write home about. Despite definitely noticing that I had soft skin afterwards, I still felt as though I wasn't 'Glowing' and, honestly, I actually experienced a few red blotches on my skin after using it. I just feel like there are equally as good facemasks on the market for less money. On the contrary, the website seems to show a healthy rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars; it looks like my opinion may be a rarity amongst the bunch.
However, I do feel as though, for the hefty price tag of £17, it's not something that I would write home about. Despite definitely noticing that I had soft skin afterwards, I still felt as though I wasn't 'Glowing' and, honestly, I actually experienced a few red blotches on my skin after using it. I just feel like there are equally as good facemasks on the market for less money. On the contrary, the website seems to show a healthy rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars; it looks like my opinion may be a rarity amongst the bunch.
Overall, the smell of this range is divine - I would love to see more products brought out with this scent. As well as this, I love that The Body Shop are working really hard to turn their products as ethical as possible. I'd love to see them work on plastic packaging next.
Which products in The Body Shop are your current faves?
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It's actually been a while since I've baked at home and certainly a while since I've baked something that looks this impressive. Of course, forgive me for blowing my own trumpet, but I was pretty darn proud of this cake. It was baked in celebration of my sister's birthday; I wanted to do something homely and something that resonates our family and that, of course, had to mean that biscuits were involved. The idea of using Chocolate Chip cookies came from the wonderful cake bakers at The Tea House and my measurements were based on this BBC Good Food recipe.
I know I probably say this every time but, I was surprised at how easy this cake was to do. I look back at it now and see a pretty flamboyant looking cake but, in reality, the process was quite simple. Here's what I did:
Ingredients:
For the cake:
200g of Caster Sugar
200g of Unsalted Butter
4 Medium Eggs
200g of Self-Raising flour
2 tbsp of Cocoa Powder
1/2 tsp of Vanilla Extract
1 tsp of Baking Powder
2 tbsp of Milk
(Great tip: For any of you that don't already know, the cake ratio is easy to look at as a 1:1:1:2 ratio - You always use the same measurements of sugar, flour, and butter, then double the number of eggs. E.g. 400g of flour, sugar, and butter, would mean 8 eggs, etc. This is because the weight of a medium egg is around 50g)
For the frosting:
300g of Unsalted Butter
600g of Icing Sugar
5 tbsp of Cocoa Powder
150g of Milk Chocolate
(Again, another tip: this recipe shows perfectly how, when making a buttercream, you always use double the weight of your butter in icing sugar. For example, I multiplied the original measurements by 1.5 so, where they were originally 100g and 200g, they're now 300g and 600g, but remain the double amount)
Cake Method
Side note:
I baked these cakes the day before I was due to decorate and assemble the pieces together but made sure that, before storing them, they were completely cooled down, and in a very airtight container with a layer of parchment paper between each layer. Taking care of them with this precision ensured that the quality of the cake didn't waver and, when the cake was served, there were no signs that the cake had been pre-prepared.
I started the bake by heating my oven to 170C Fan, aligning my wire rack in the middle of the oven, then lining the bottom of my tins with greaseproof paper. I use loose-bottom tins, so I find it is really simple to slide the paper into the bottom - I'd definitely recommend this method. After that, I took a lump of unsalted butter around the width edges of the tin to make it easier to remove the cake at the end. Again, taking this much precaution really does pay off in the end.
The BBC recipe suggests that you add all of the ingredients into one bowl and mix but for me, as someone who has been taught the old way by my Grandma, I couldn't bare do it that way. I started by creaming together the butter and sugar - it's easiest to do this with an electric whisk because otherwise, it can take an awful lot of wrist work. It's important to mix these ingredients together until completely soft to avoid lumps of butter and thus a bubbly cake.
After that, the eggs were added in 2 at a time and whisked into the mixture with the vanilla extract. Before I added the next ingredients, I added them all together in one bowl so I had flour, cocoa powder and baking powder all together. I sift these in then, using a large spoon, folded it all together. As my mixture looked a little thick, I added the milk in next.
And, for the cakes, it's as pretty simple as that. Separate them into 3 tins (or, if you only have one tin, third your mixture and bake on at a time), bake them for approx. 20 minutes each, then allow them all to cool to cold on a cooling rack.
Frosting Method
First of all, I melted the chocolate in the microwave until melted through, but kept stirring every 20 seconds. The chocolate should be able to be lifted from a spoon 20cm from a bowl and have a consistent run. Leave it to cool for 5 minutes but do not let it set.
You'll save yourself a lot of time here if you make sure that your butter is softened, but also make sure you don't melt it into an oil. I creamed together the butter and the sugar, the same way as I did the cake, until the mixture was more white than yellow. I then added the milk and the Cocoa powder gradually. Make sure that any powder added to this mixture goes through a sift - it makes things a lot easier to work with.
Finally, I stirred in the chocolate and made sure it went right through the mixture.
Once you have a thick, peanut-butter type consistency, start putting your mixture into a piping bag. This part is optional - by all means, a cake doesn't look any worse if the icing has been slapped on with a knife, using a piping method is just how I decided to do it on the day. I chose to go for 'random' with the decoration on this cake, but it turned out looking pretty uniform. Obviously, add the buttercream on the top of each layer and sandwich them together.
Then, finally, to top it all off, I positioned halved cookies around the perimeter of the cake and filled in the middle with a handful of crushed biscuits. Again, it's optional to drizzle over an leftover chocolate but I thought, why not!?
And that's it, really! It honestly is easy to make an impressive cake. I seriously recommend doing the 'bake one day, decorate the next' method if you're cooking for a guest because it makes the whole process so much easier and more relaxing.
Of course, you can add whichever toppings you like!
Which toppings would you add?
Although it doesn't really feel like it, Spring has been in and out for just over a month because, despite what people think, Spring really does bring with it a lot of rain and miserable weather. Obviously, as the season changes, the skincare that we use changes but, for me, these skincare favourites seem to have carried on through to Spring from Winter. When products can do that, it's just something special.
These are the skincare and beauty products that I've been loving lately:
Botanics 100% Organic Rosehip Facial Oil
I was sent this product quite a long time ago now and since the day I tried it, I have continued to adore it. I had absolutely no clue that I would fall so in love with an oil for my face - to me, the thought of it is rather bizarre and when my family or friends see me use, they're equally as confused. Even though I am someone who generally suffers from dry skin, I do also experience oily zones; despite this, applying this Rosehip Oil to my face doesn't make my skin over greasy. It soaks in quickly and can, rather surprisingly, substitute my moisturiser altogether. And, as you can probably imagine, the Rosehip scent is so comforting and feels very luxurious.
Mario Badescu Drying Lotion
I've only had this little product for a few weeks after lusting over it for a while. If you don't know what the Drying Lotion is, it is basically a very intelligent little spot-buster. Using a cotton bud, I dip one end into the pink chalk solution at the bottom of the jar then gently dap it on any spots or blemishes I have. As I said previously, I do suffer from dry skin, however, every now and again, I am surprised with one of those angry, aching spots that seem to take around 2 weeks to show signs of disappearance. As well as this, I hold my hands up in confession as a spot-popper. I know, I know, it's terrible so I purchased this product in the hopes to change that habit. So, I'm currently waiting for a big angry spot to crop up but in the meantime, I am using this on small, under-the-skin zits and genuinely seeing a real difference. Let me know if you'd like another update on this product in a few months time.
Ragdale Hall Sleep Hand Cream
I received this hand cream as part of a gift set at Christmas but I really didn't expect to like it as much as I do. As much as I enjoy them, hand creams typically all do the same job and the only differences between many of them is the thickness and scent. I usually enjoy the Crabtree & Evelyn Hand creams because of their consistency and powerful scents but when I started using this Ragdale Hall hand cream, I realised that for almost a quarter of the price, there's still some good stuff out there. This Lavender and Chamomile moisturiser has some serious magic powers when it comes to bedtime. I don't know if it's psychological but it genuinely helps me fall asleep after 5 minutes of applying it to my hands - it's really brilliant.
The Body Shop Peppermint Foot Cream
The Peppermint Foot Cream from The Body Shop is a product that I've mentioned here on the blog before and it's back because, after 3 years, I have rekindled my love for this foot cream. The tub in the images is actually my second tub because with a holiday on the cards within a matter of weeks, I really want to look after my feet before I end up battering them with sandy beaches. As well as this, I do have quite dry, hard feet that do need an effective foot cream (as opposed to an everyday moisturiser) so this one works wonders with its grape extract for softening the skin and peppermint oil for cooling the skin.
Benefit Benetint Rose-Tinted Lip & Cheek Tint
This tiny little gem has been in my makeup bag for a pretty long time because I really love it. I am totally obsessed with lip stains - they're my favourite type of lip product mainly because of how long they stay on the lips and how low maintenance they are. These are perfect for anyone working in retail or customer service based jobs because you don't have to worry about your appearance weakening throughout the day as your trusty lip-tint will just continue to shine. What's so wonderful about the Bentint is how it will last on your lips all day, but then not cause a problem when you come to take your makeup off. I also find that, after applying the lip tint, it's sometimes nice to apply a coloured lip balm over it to make up my own shade suited to me.
Soap & Glory Archery Brow Sculpting Crayon & Gel
If you know me, you know that I love and preach Soap & Glory make up. So many of their products have worked their way into my collection and, although there are a few that I wouldn't recommend, I do seem to sit well with a very good handful. One of them is the Archery Brow collection; I started with the 'Archery Brow Tint and Precision Pencil' a few years back (which is a tiny brush with tint, and a thin pencil at the other end) but eventually, I was overcome with the desire to try brow gel. The 'Sculpting Crayon and Gel' differs from the original as it has an angled crayon for filling in the brow shape, then a slightly tinted gel for putting the brows in place. And, boy, is that gel strong. Admittedly it can apply a bit heavy sometimes and will need wiping away to avoid having me look like plastic, but otherwise, it really does give me that confidence that my brows will stay in place all day. For someone like me who has fair eyebrows that need that bit of attention, this product is brilliant - especially for on the go.
Which Skincare and Beauty products have you been loving lately?
I began the whole journey like many people do, a few days after my 17th birthday, booked in with a family friend who was a driving instructor and ready to get going like all of my friends. It didn't take long for me to realise that driving wasn't really that great fun. There's a lot of responsibility, there's an uncomfortable amount of close proximity between you and a person that you don't really know, and there's just a whole lot to remember. Even in my last few months of driving, I still remember getting home and thinking 'Gah! There's always 1 little silly mistake that I forget to do' but I think that eventually I just got used to that and stopped beating myself up over it.
After turning 17 in the March of 2016, I went on to pass my Theory Test in July and was incredibly fortunate to pass the first time. I'm not going to sugar coat it and say that I 'can't believe I passed first time' because I worked bloody hard at every single question to make sure that I had polished every inch of information. However, I do understand that that kind of learning comes quite naturally to me, so it did latch on quickly and I had no problem with staying up late doing question after question.
Despite the great news of passing my Theory Test, my driving lessons began to fizzle out. The reason as to why that happened is a big mixture of things. Starting with the fact that I started feeling a little intimidated by other learning drivers; my boyfriend started driving and May to which, of course, it came like walking to him. In a matter of weeks he was ready to take his test but, with me, I was still working on small things like clutch control. Which leads me to the next thing: my instructor didn't sit well with me. It's not that we disliked each other, I just felt like she didn't push me enough but when she did push me it would set off my anxiety and on multiple occasions, I had stopped the car in tears. But, as well as this, there was a bit of an elephant in the room as she knew my parents and me, but I didn't really know her. It just didn't fit for me and my personality.
Anyhow, my driving lessons had stopped and it looked like it was time to give up...
When I made the decision to take a gap year, I also decided that the time off would be a great opportunity to take another go at driving. This time I wanted a new instructor and, after struggling previously with a female instructor, thought I should give it a go with a male instructor. I was recommended a new instructor by an examiner and I seriously couldn't have asked for a better guy. This instructor had been teaching pupils for over 15 years and seemed to know exactly how to handle my personal sensitivity. I look back now with such a grateful attitude towards him.
So I began driving in October and straight away it was a completely different experience. During my first lot of lessons back when I was 17, I hadn't done any manoeuvres despite that fact that I'd had over 20 lessons. With my new instructor, manoeuvres came into play after just about a week of driving. I could tell that I was being pushed in the right direction. We also discussed when I ideally wanted to be passed by and, at that time I said: 'I would love to be passed by my birthday in March'.
The lessons were going well and I had a test booked for January, I honestly couldn't believe how fast it was all going. Then, a few days after New Year's day, I finally said yes to a lesson in the dark. I had always declined lessons passed 4PM because, in the thick of winter, it got dark early and really dark too. This time, though, I agreed. My instructor alerted me that I would have to do it eventually, which he was right about. On the night that we went out, it also rained pretty heavily; I wasn't really enjoying the lesson. I was making more than just a few silly mistakes and I could tell that I was tense. On my drive home from being out into the town centre, I stopped still at a roundabout and what happened next is a blur. A car behind us, presumably focusing on the cars passing through the roundabout and not the vehicle in front, drove at full force into the back of our car. It really shook me up; we were on a hill, so the speed that the car came at us was pretty powerful.
For a few weeks after that, I was uneasy in the car. My test got cancelled and rearranged.
Now, I'm aware that this is already a pretty long post so I won't go into details about my tests. I will mention that my first test went brilliantly and the only reason why I failed was that I was driving too close to a car on a dual carriageway - again, silly little mistakes. My second test was the worst. I felt like I could cry the entire way around because there were diversions all around town which meant that I was nearly declined my test because the examiner hadn't arrived yet, but when he arrived just in time he took me out onto a route through a LOT of busy traffic. The whole thing threw me; when he told me I had failed, it wasn't as much through sadness, but more relief that it was over.
I then passed third time on a test that was just a dream drive. I got 0 minors and was praised by the examiner as doing a 'perfect drive'. I couldn't quite believe it. There had been so many times in those 40 minutes where I had an inclination that I had failed but, it turns out, it was all in my head. I tried so so so hard to keep my cool and relax, and it definitely paid off.
Here are some general tips that I would give to a learner driver:
❋ Start Theory when you start driving.
I started theory practice about 4.5 months after I'd started driving and the difference that I saw after I had passed was incredible. I would 100% recommend that you back up your brain with some road knowledge before you get in a car because I didn't and, honestly, I only really knew a stop sign and a no entry sign. Oops.
❋ Use your first test as a practise run.
Going into your test with this mindset (as long as it's a sensible mindset and isn't careless) can seriously calm your nerves - it certainly did for me. If I hadn't been considering my first test and the practice go, I would've been 10x more nervous than I was. Whether you pass or fail, it is really beneficial to generally get a feel for what the test is like. Understandably, not everyone is in the luck position to do as many tests as it takes given the big cost of them, but this can be a great mindset for anyone that struggles particularly with nerves.
❋ Talk aloud on your test.
You've most likely heard people say this before and, until I tried it (and passed it), I thought everyone was crazy. Here's the thing, you don't literally have to say 'Red light! Clutch down, bring it up, gas on' etc. For me, it was more of a case of being friendly with the examiner. I would say things like 'Oh, I always get stopped at these lights' and we'd laugh together. Similarly, don't be afraid to ask questions. If the examiner can't answer the question that you ask then there's no problem; there's nothing to lose. But, if you missed what the sat-nav said, ask again - that's fine.
❋ Keep your focus.
If I did something wrong in my test it would hang on my mind for a few minutes but, by the third test, I had learnt to overcome this. I began to mentally remind myself to keep focused and really concentrate on the 'here and now'. Yes, I might have made a mistake at that traffic light, but I don't get to know until I've failed until the end so, between then and now, I need to really impress this examiner. It works - honestly - stay focused and don't get hung up on mistakes.
Learning to drive isn't easy for everyone so it really is important for everyone to share their stories because there definitely isn't enough sense of community out there for this kind of thing. Feel free to share or link your driving stories in the comments.
How do you find driving?
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