Cliche: "a New Start"

My blog never was a personal blog. I didn't discuss my feelings, what was going on in my life or anything "behind the scenes"... I kept this blog make-up and beauty focused because that was what I enjoyed. Now that I disappeared and went on a sudden hiatus from blogging, messed up my blogger challenge I was running I wish I had discussed things before.

My family life has never been good, let's just say that. It's always been messed up and there's always been problems. Last November, something bad really happened to landed my baby brother, who is 4, in foster care. My mum, pregnant with her third child, was obviously a mess and has been ever since. I didn't live with my family; I lived in London, where I moved to from my home town Sheffield in 2009. I had a job, me and my boyfriend had our own studio flat, and I was.. I guess "happy" with my life. Even though I knew I needed to be at home with my family, I pushed away those thoughts and just got on with my life.

Problems at home in Sheffield got worse. My mum got more depressed and her baby stopped growing in the womb. I was very stressed with everything going on and it brought back a lot of horrible feelings and memories from my past. I lost my father 3 years ago, and I've never truly got over that, my childhood was messed up... I became angry and depressed. Everything I'd bottled up exploded, and I had a break down.

The morning after the mess that I had caused and the flat I had basically trashed from going crazy; my boyfriend consoled me. I told him that it was time... we had to move back to sheffield. We had thought about it for a while and discussed it many times but it never went further than just a thought. We both knew that's where we wanted to be, but like I said before, with our jobs and our flat... we were stuck there and I thought I had no way out, I thought moving back to Sheffield was a ridiculous idea.

This was almost 3 weeks ago. Everything happened very quickly. I quit my job the same day we made the decision, my boyfriend handed in his notice and (luckily) got details of transferring his job to Sheffield, we contacted our estate agent about putting our flat up for rent even though our contract wasn't up for another couple of months... it was crazy. Meanwhile, I kept going back and forward between Sheffield and London to see my mum, apply for jobs, go to interviews and help ollie pack, get things sorted. It was honestly the most stressful time in my life without a doubt.

We have been back for a few weeks and my boyfriend has his job transfer sorted and starts in the 18th. I've been both lucky and unlucky with jobs, but I think I have something lined up. We have been viewing flats and houses here and we have a good feeling about one we specifically liked.

I hope this is a new start for me. However this move doesn't mean that everything in my family life and all those problems have stopped... no. It is ongoing, and until the court dates in April; we don't know what will happen. But what happens is that me and my mum are back together now, she has me, I am here for her, and me and ollie are home. For good.

As you can imagine throughout the whole of this blogging is not something that seems important. It might be stupid of me to admit that it has been, though. I'm ashamed I let it slip and wasn't committed enough to blog and carry on with my blogger challenge through difficult times.

I hope to come back to blogging. With a clearer mind and a new start, it can only mean good things. I want to really commit this time, and I am in desperate need to find some good, close, new friends. Most of all blogging is a hobby for me and something I used to really enjoy, so it will be good to bring it back into my life.

I'm not really sure what to do about my blogger challenge: #promptchall. It is closed but I never got around to posting the voting when I disappeared. Now everyone has probably forgot about #promptchall. The lovely girls that participated probably are both angry and sad with me and assume they've wasted their time. But the girls that participated need credit, and although I failed them, they deserve more. Please let me know if I did post the voting, you would vote and participate; so eventually #promptchall wasn't a waste of time and there is a winner. They all deserve a little something for their efforts and commitments, but it would be sad to see no one voting for a winner if I did post the results. Let me know what you think!

It's probably going to take me a while to get back into blogging... and I have to make a decision whether or not I am going to open up and post more personal posts or keep it the same.

I hope you're all well!
Love,

Naomi.

collective haul :] stationery, makeup & more

Hi everyone <3
If you've read my blog before you'll know that I am obsessed with collecting japanese stationery. I've been saving for a while and after getting paid I went into central this weekend to get some letter sets from my 2 favourite japanese toy/stationery shops :]
I also picked up some snacks, make up bits and some bargains from TKmaxx.
My camera died halfway through, so I took some pictures on my phone.

 These are bumper packs with 40 sheets and 20 envelopes, and for £4.80 I thought was very good!!

 I loveeee pocky.

 Cringe at these post cards, haha!

I promised myself I would wait until my Falsies mascara was completely finished before I bought the new rocket mascara to try. :]

I'm really excited about the dark spot treatment from Garnier, and I'm so happy I found the daily moisturizer by Organic rituals. I also can't wait to try out the cover & go due by Collection; there's a mirror and concealer in the lid!

I post pictures of my stationery on my instagram: naomijadex5. Follow me :)

Love,

instagram pictures & hiatus

Hi everyone :)
I'm on a little hiatus at the moment until I receive the last #promptchall posts and get the voting up. I also started a new project; a writing email group. I am really busy with work, I got promoted in January and I got offered a new job this month too, I've been working a lot! So I'm just going to focus on getting my #promptchall blogger challenge sorted and put the voting up, get my new writing group started, then I will be back to posting beauty/make up posts. :)

Please check out my last beauty post which was Origins mask review, and I'm still looking for members for my writing email group called treasury which you can find info for here. <3

Some of my hello kitty collection. :)

homemade pizza <3

Where I sit and have my lunch at work <3

New shoes for work at sothebys (auction house)

Thank you if you looked at these, and if you're still reading my blog even though I've been a little MIA. <3

Love,

my new project; writing email group!

I have been planning this for a while now and I'm so excited to start looking for people and to get the ball rolling! :)
I have created a new email group. It will be called treasury, and it will be writing/literature focused. I am looking for imaginative people, anyone who loves answering questions, writing prompts, and generally just talking!
It will be an RTA "reply to all" and we will be a group, emailing back and forward between clicking reply to all instead of reply, so it's like a big conversation.
Please, if you're interested, more information is below!

I know this is not beauty/fashion related, but I thought some of you might be interested :)

treasury

new writing RTA/email group. writing & daily prompts. questions, surveys & more.

about treasury

treasury aims to be a small, close knit email group for anyone interested in writing or answering prompts/questions. you don't have to be a writer or interested in being a writer. this RTA will be where you can answer daily writing prompts, write short stories, answer questions, send questions, answer surveys, and everything fun like that! :)

and of course, random conversation is encouraged!

there will also be character development. each month i will ask you to develop / imagine & come up with a new character. you won't have to role play as this character, you will just answer questions and tell us about that character, and there will be writing prompts about characters. the aim is that it will help your imagination, and if you stay in the RTA for 6 months, you will have thought up of 6 characters; that's pretty cool!


requirements:



you're imaginative and descriptive. please do not reply to prompts with 1 word answers.replying to all mail and try to participate in every thread / activity sent!
try and send your own questions / surveys to the RTA and converse with people.

if you are unactive, i will remove you from the RTA. do not lurk!



what email address do you want to be added on?:
how often are you online?:
why do you want to be in treasury?:

please send me this back to naomi.jadex5@gmail.com, thank you =)




examples of what you might see in treasury;
topic; "Dream" and tell us three wishes you have.

write about the last time you felt challenged.

#promptchall BECCA - january favourites

Hello again to Naomi's followers.

It's Becca here from Becca's Fashion and Life.If you didn't see my previous post as part of her Prompt Challenge ,click here! 

Anyway, today's post is going to be a January favourites post. I haven't bought many new products this months but I've rediscovered so many lovely things!

Wet 'n' Wild Walking On Eggshells Trio. 

First of all, you may be wondering how I got hold of this product, considering it's exclusive to the USA?! I actually received this is in a beauty swap, from the lovely Jess who writes the blog SimplyJess4U. 

This trio contains 3 beautiful eyeshadow shades - a cream, a peach and a chocolate brown. They look really pretty together , but they actually work really well separately. They are really pigmented and last really well on the eye without a primer. This is really inexpensive, it's such a shame this product isn't readily available in the UK!!

MAC Invincible Light Eyeshadow.

I received this eyeshadow for Christmas, and it was in fact my first MAC product. Aren't I such a bad beauty blogger. This is a marbled eyeshadow and has so many lovely shades within it, including white, lilac, copper and beige. Overall this shadow adds a shimmery wash of colour to the entire eye which looks pretty on it's own. But could also be used as part of a smoky eye.

 It lasts really well on the eye and doesn't budge at all throughout the day. I've used this shadow so much over the last month and I'm very impressed with it!

High Beam from Benefit.

If you've ever read my blog you'll know that I, quite frankly, adore High Beam! It's a gorgeous highlighter with multiple uses. I tend to apply this to my cheek and brow bones, to give my face a radiant glow. This is quite expensive at £18.50, but I think it's definitely worth it as I've used this pretty much every day since July. It lasts really well on the skin, and I find it really easy to apply, which is always a bonus!

MUA Lipstick in Shade 11

This is a warm deep pink toned lipstick. This lipstick is sheer, but can be layered to create a bolder lip colour. I'd say it lasts a good few hours on the lips without needing to be reapplied. Thisproduct  has a very subtle coconut/vanilla scent and costs only £1, which is an absolute bargain!! I'd say this lipstick is very moisturising and I've also worn this so much recently!

Posie Tint from Benefit.

This is yet another Benefit product I swear by. I've had this for months, and have used it so much within the last few months! It's a pink lip and cheek stain that lasts really well on the skin. I love wearing this on the apples of my cheeks, as it looks really subtle but pretty! I tend to apply this with my fingers which is great, especially if you'r on the go! It's also quite expensive but definitely worth it!

Thanks for reading this post! Let me know if you've tried any of these products and feel free to link me your January favourites posts!

#promptchall extension & FRIDAY FIVES! :]

Hi everyone!
No, I haven't dropped off the face of the earth; haha, I've been so MIA on twitter & haven't been keeping up with my blog this week because I've been working doubles at work! It's friday and I am sooo tired now. I'm glad I have the evening off and all tomorrow! Today I'm going to quickly post a friday fives. I did "friday fives" when I first started my blog and loved doing it, but I haven't done it in a while! I've also been wanting to post more non-beauty and random posts on my blog so tell me what you think :)

Before I get into my friday fives, I just want to let you know that I have had to extend my #promptchall blogger challenge. Initially I wanted it to end January 31st, but I didn't get time to post the entries spread out enough on my blog, along with being so busy, before the 31st. Some of the participants posts still need to be posted, so I have to extend the contest. I'm going to be closing the contest on the 11th FEBRUARY. Voting will open on the 12th of february and will last a month (in order for the voting to get enough recognition!) I want to apologize for this extension and I hope you understand. Please in the mean time check out the post directory which is at the bottom of this post: here you can find all links to #promptchall blogger posts, please read, comment, give them support and keep your favourites in mind so you can vote for them when the challenge is over.

This week these 5 things have made me happy. <3

Penpal mail <3 I am getting more and more into stationery, penpalling and snail mail. I'm still looking for new penpals so let me know if you're interested. I'm making some great friends through this, and I really enjoy it. I love getting home to penpal mail <3

My bed... more than usual! Looking at this bed you would probably never believe that I'm 21 and it's also my boyfriends bed, lol. I have a problem with teddies okay!! I love them <3 I collect kawaii/japanese plush/teddies and disney :)

Alpen soya EVERYTHING, haha. My favourites have been the alpro soya yoghurts strawberry and banana, and the alpro soya chocolate milk drinks. I highly recommend them, they're so yummy and a pack of 3 is only £1.05 in tesco or sainsburys.

This is the view of London I get whilst I'm at my morning/day job. Last week I started working at an office in Bank, just serving lunch to 40 people; not glamorous, I know. The view of this all around me and the huge amounts of free food I get to take home makes it worth it.

I've been wearing Wonderstruck by Taylor Swift all week and now my scarf is covered in it, it smells delicious <3

What have you been loving this week? Check out my very first friday five post if you like here! My last post on my blog was a review on the Clear Improvement Active Charcoal Mask by Origins, read here! :) Let me know if you liked this sort of post and what has made you happy this week.

Love,

#promptchall - kels with review; BODY/other

Hi everyone and here is kels last #promptchall post that she is entering into my blogger challenge. If you've been around for a while you will have seen that I have been running a blogger challenge where the 6 participants will submit 2 guest posts each on my blog and at the end of the competition, you guys will vote for a winner (i.e the best post)! I really wanted this challenge to end at the end of january butit looks like it may have to be extended - I will keep you informed! Please do continue to read, support and PLEASE leave comments to their posts; they're competing and would like to know if you enjoyed it so any kind words, I'm sure we would all appreciate it!

To find out more about the challenge if you are new to my blog, or to just refresh yourself about what it is about, please read my post here. That also has an updated list of all the posts which the lovely girls have submitted throughout this month.

Hi again! This is Kels and I blog over at Kelloves. My last #promptchall guest post entry was a skin care review on LUSH so please check it out here.

For my second #promptchall post I said I'd do a review of a body product. Though I am supposed to be using up the products I'm already part way through, I thought this would be a great excuse to open something I've had kicking round for a while: the Burts Bees Cranberry and Pomegranate Sugar Scrub and Body Butter. 

Obviously, I went for the scrub first. It came with a foil seal under the lid, and removing this was as satisfying as when you break the seal on a new jar of coffee to release the aroma. Except instead of coffee, this smells like jam. It looks like jam. Sweet and fruity and delicious.

As a scrub, it's great. I like my scrubs to be really 'scrubby', and this is full of is full of big gritty sugar crystals perfect for polishing away and rough or dry skin. This is an absolute joy to use, not only does it make my skin feel amazing after I've used it but it feels great while I'm using it. It's also chock-full of various oils which give your scrubbed skin a slightly oily finish - I like this though it may not be for everyone. The oils can also affect the bottom of your shower/bath too so do be careful! 

The body butter is lovely too - not as thick as the Body Shop body butters, but very creamy and moisturising. The smell wasn't as instantly appealing as either the scrub, or other butters and lotions I have used, but after a couple of goes I was in love with it! It leaves my skin feeling very soft without staying greasy or sticky, and this lasts for the full day. 

As well as being an awesome skincare double-whammy, (and don't they look like they'd go nicely together on a scone?) Burts Bees products are never tested on animals, don't contain sulfates, parabens, phthalates or petrochemicals, and are kept as natural as possible (the scrub is 100% natural, the butter 99%), so your conscious can feel as good as your skin!

REVIEW: Origins Clear Improvement active charcoal mask

Hi everyone <3

Today I am loving a brand new favourite product, I was going to wait much longer to review this but because I have experienced such positive results so far I thought why not! You may have seen this mask as it was featured in my last haul post, where I showed pictures of my origins package!

 Origins Clear Improvement active charcoal mask £20

I got this mask from Origins 2 weeks ago after purchasing it online along with the Super Spot Remover. I've had problems with pores and blackheads for the longest time and if you've read my blog before you might have heard me talk about it! I've tried a lot of different skin care routines and products to try and minimize my pores but it just seems like they're too stubborn!

After researching online and reading lots of reviews on a range of different products that promise to help pores, I gave in and chose this Clear Improvement Active Charcoal mask from Origins.

Origins say that this thick white china clay face mask contains active charcoal which extracts the dirt from pores. The first time I tried this, I actually felt the charcoal getting out the crap in my skin. I could feel something being lifted out, it's such a weird feeling, and afterwards when I washed it off, I felt like some of my blackheads had just been extracted!

You can feel this mask getting deep inside the pores. I highly recommend you follow the directions though and open your pores before using this mask with a hot cloth or steam; I've found the mask works wonders when doing this.

The mask is a cold, clay texture, very thick but it doesn't feel like you're being smothered with product. I've tried numerous amounts of masks before and I don't know if I'm just strange but a lot of time they make me feel claustrophobic! This on the other hand doesn't feel like that and although it's very thick it feels very natural and nice to have on the skin, so much that if it didn't dry I'd be happy to just rub this around on my face! Lol.

 I use this three times a week so far, two times out of those I only apply a thin layer over my problem areas (cheeks, nose and chin) and tend to leave the rest of my face. Then, once a week I apply a thick layer all over my face.

Instagram picture! :P

After leaving it until it dries, usually 2-3 minutes, it feels tight but not uncomfortable and certainly doesn't tug on the skin if you move your cheeks/mouth. You know that feeling sometimes with face masks where it feels like you might rip your skin if you move? This doesn't feel like that at all, and even before washing it off, my skin feels clean.

When it has dried, it leaves some parts of my skin looking really hairy! There's some crazy textures and lines; don't worry, it doesn't make you grow hair!!

After washing it off, I can really tell the difference due to how my skin feels. I feel like a layer of my dirty skin has been literally, lifted off, and I've got new skin. It feels clean (but not stripped clean), extremely soft, and very glowing! I didn't expect it to leave my skin looking glowing and younger; a bonus!

After only using this for two weeks, I have seen difference as well as felt the difference. This is a god send to me because finally, something is working and hopefully if I keep using this product then I will have my pores under control. My pores have not disappeared and I still have them and lots of them, but they have minimized; they're much tighter, smaller in appearance especially the next day after using this mask, and I believe that some of the pores on my cheeks are gone. I will continue to use this as I am really impressed already.

Another thing to mention quickly is that I would recommend anyone with dry/sensitive skin to use this mask. My skin seems to get irritated by just about everything, but this mask feels very natural and my skin seems happy after using instead of angry!

Let me know if you have ever used this mask, or if you recommend me anything to try from Origins! See what else I got from Origins here, and check out my last post where I reviewed Burt's Bees products. :)


Love,

(not sponsored!)