Thursday 30 July 2015

DSLR- Expensive Vs. Investment

Cannon EOS 100D

Cannon 55-250mm

When it comes to blogging one of the most important things is your photos, now I'm not saying my photography is perfect-anything from it but something that I have learnt while mindlessly browsing other peoples blogs and an interesting topic of conversation that has appeared in lots of twitter chats, I have been part of, is, ' Is a DSLR camera worth it?'    

So, that got me thinking, is a DSLR just a expensive piece of kit, that people have, just to show of? or is it an investment piece, that could last you for years to come. The answer, I believe is the person behind the camera.

Of course, DSLR cameras are expensive. I'm not going to pretend that they aren't and brush it under the carpet. DSLR's  can set you back quite a few hundred pounds, not to mention all the bump that shops try and sell you with it. I truly believe that a DSLR can be a really  life changing piece of kit   wouldn't go that far, but you get what I mean.

What turns a DSLR from becoming an expensive piece of kit to an investment is what you do with it. Are you buying a DSLR to try and make you work harder at your blog? Are you buying it because you think it will make you look better and more professional? or do you want a DSLR because your committed to your work?

DSLR cameras are a great way to help you learn and encourage you to take better blog photos,but only if you are prepared to learn. Just because you have a £600 camera and a swanky lens, does not mean you will be able to take good photos overnight. ( That came out a bit harsh)  

A good camera, with a better sensor, more megapixels and bigger zoom is sure going to give you a leg up in the right direction but it also goes hand in hand with a good composition.lighting and background. Learning is not just something you do one afternoon and that's it, your sorted for life- its an ongoing process, you learn by trail and error. If your not prepared to do this, it is not a investment, more a great dust collector. 

If your not prepared to look after your camera, your find yourself back at the camera shop before you can say ' DSLR' You don't have to wrap it up in cotton wool, they are made to withstand their fair share of bumps and bruises, but still- look after it. 

What I'm trying to get across is the fact that, if you blog, every now and again and you are considering  buying a DSLR, its probably not going to be worth it, you won't invest your money wisely, you have to be really passionate about your blog, for a DSLR camera to really be an investment.

Of course, there is so many fantastic point and shoots and bridge cameras out there, that definitely can produce better photos, then a DSLR in the wrong hands

Thanks for reading x

I hope you enjoyed this post, something slightly different from usual- really want to do more of these posts though, as it is something I am passionate about 


   




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Tuesday 28 July 2015

New Makeup: First Impressions

I've recently found that somebody, (I won't say who) has been sneakily putting things in my basket when I go in to Superdrug and boots. Umm, so I think that its only right, I share with you what I think of these recent buys. 



Firstly, I picked up a Rimmel Kate Moss lipstick, In the shade 8 ( catchy!) This is a kind of nude, kind of not nude shade ( Great description Nicole) Its a warm nude, but very wearable. I have only worn this a couple of times, but its becoming a favourite of mine. They are really easy to apply, which if like me you suck at applying lipstick- its a bonus! It feels very soft and velvety on the lips! All for £5.49, I don't think its that bad.



Next up, I have brought three nail polishes. The first two are MUA, The black one, in the shade pitch black and the white one, in the shade white wash. What drew me to these nail polishes, was the price- I'm not going to lie, at a £1 each- you can't really go wrong. Surprising, they aren't actually that bad. I know what you are thinking, ' They are not very summer like colours, are they?' Yes, I'll hold my hands up and agree, but I got them more for nail art, and so far I highly recommend them.

 The polish on the end, is a top coat, base coat and nail hardener by Barry M. I will admit, I actually didn't go in to buy this one, but being the only one they had, and desperately needing a new top coat, I brought it and I am very glad I did. For £2.99, I don't really see any effect it has had on my nails strength but what I have noticed is the way it makes my nail polish last considerably longer! Top Marks, from me! 



The last product, is a Rimmel 1000 kisses lip liner, in the shade Indian pink. It would normally cost £2.99, but as Rimmel have a buy one, get one half price offer on at the moment, it only cost me £1.99. I admittedly haven't found a lipstick to wear with this yet, ( don't you think makeup brands are very clever, they make us go and buy countless amount of lipsticks, trying to find an exact match, wasting all are hard earn money?) Anyway, I have worn it on its own, and its very easy to apply, lovely colour pay off and great value for money!

Thanks for reading x 

I hope you enjoyed reading this post, do let me know what you have been picking up lately from the drugstore. 




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Sunday 26 July 2015

How To Gain Instagram Followers Quickly

I love reading ' how to' posts on other peoples blogs and watching them on YouTube so I thought I would do this one today. Its a bit different, so I don't know if you guys will like it, but here goes.





Instagram is one of my favourite social media platforms because I love interacting with my followers. Here is how you can gain more followers, quickly.

#1 Post regularly!! This is pretty obvious but if someone sees that you haven't posted in a couple of weeks, they are less likely to follow and even more likely to un follow

#2 Interact with others. Leave comments and questions on other peoples posts. This means they are more likely to come and check your feed out. But don't leave 'sfs' or 'f4f' on everyone's photos because you won't be as successful ( and its so annoying)

#3 Add hashtags to your photos, that are relevant to the image but DO NOT #hashtag #every #word #because #people #find #it #really #annoying #please #stop :)

#4 If you have clicked on this post, you may have a themed account, if so- try and upload images with the same background or similar style and filters, because I find my followers often don't like change. BUT DO NOT LET THAT STOP YOU UPLOADING WHAT YOU WANT. There are lots of different 'themes' you can go for black and white, photography or pastel. But you can be a total rebel and do a mix!

#5 Upload at popular times and go on at times that a lot of people are on. For example I like to upload when people wake up in the morning and when they come home from school. Try not to interact and like a ton of peoples photos at night, hoping they will come and check your account out, because they often get lost in amongst likes and comments they got overnight- so I found they are less likely to reply.

Hope you guys found this useful.

Let me know in the comments if you have any other tips for gaining Instagram followers fast or any other posts like this you would like me to do.

You can follow my Instagram HERE

Thanks for reading x 
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Friday 24 July 2015

Top 10 Under £10 Beauty Picks

Me and Megan from http://secretlymegan.blogspot.co.uk/ are going to be showing you are top 10, under £10 picks today. Make sure you go and check out Megan's blog, its a good old favorite of mine. She makes lovely posts all about makeup, beauty and lifestyle- so make sure you go and check her out, I am sure you will love it  :)


(Check out my fancy basket pictures! It probably took me longer to get them all to neatly stand up then it did to write this blog post)


#1 Soap and glory thick and fast Mascara- £10
 This is a really good mascara for volume and not so much the length. I have mentioned before, that it can be quite clumpy sometimes when applying and also quite hard to get out of the tube. But once its on the lashes it looks amazing, definitely looks like it is worth more than a £10 mascara. I actually did a whole review on this mascara, you can check out HERE

#2 collection Lasting perfection concealer- £4.19
I and millions of other bloggers mention this product all the time. You know that it has a really good coverage and is super cheap for the quality.  Fun fact, mine is one shade to dark for me and I really need to buy the fair one soon.

#3. Collection crème puff lip-gloss in cotton candy- £2.99
If anyone said to me, I had £3 what could I buy from the drugstore that would be worth the money, I would say this product. Its probably my favourite lip product ever. Its so easy to apply, it dries to a matte finish- lasts a long time as well and its the perfect colour for me. Forget trying to find the right foundation match, I can't even match lip colours to my face tone- this though suits me so well

#4 Maybelline colour tattoo pink gold- £4.99
I really want to try the on and on bronze version of this, as I think it will be a lot more wearable. However the pink gold one still as good, its easy to apply and does in fact last all day, its a shame I can never find any of the neutral colours though   

#5 Collection No clumps Mascara- £2.99
If you buy this, trust me another £2.99 well spent at the collection stand ( can we see a running theme of my favourite brand) I think this mascara adds more length to my lashes but still a bit of volume. Its not clumpy at all, the only thing I would say is it likes to fall of as the day goes on, more than my other mascaras, which isn't as great.


#6 Rimmel match perfection foundation 001 porcelain- £6.99
The good thing about Rimmel is that it is always on some kind of offer. I picked this foundation up for £5. It gives the perfect light coverage, like your not wearing any foundation. It does cling to dry areas, so I wouldn't recommend for dry skin.

#7 Rimmel stay matte powder transparent- £3.99
This is another holy grail product for many a beauty blogger. Its really good at making you stay matte and holds your makeup in place all day, for you.

#8 Collection eyes uncovered eye shadow palette- £3.99
I brought this on a total whim, just after it came out and its like the best ' whim' product I have ever brought. Its fabby because all the eye shadows are really natural and easy to blend, they are so good for beginners. They come with 6 shades and there is 3 versions of this palette to chose from

#9 Natural collection eye shadow duo milk/sable- £1.99
If you are completely new to eye shadow or don't want any thing over the top, this is perfect. Two very nice, natural easy to wear shades at a very good price

#10 Avon ultra glaze lip-gloss iced pink- £4.99
This is my favourite non sticky lip-gloss. It feels super soft on the lips, leaves a perfect finish and is such a lovely light pink colour- suitable for every day wear  

Thanks for reading x

Make sure you go and check out Megan's post as well!



* Stay Fabulous*

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Wednesday 22 July 2015

How To Edit 'Amazing' Blog Photos


After posting my ' 50 quick blogging tips' post, which you can read HERE- if you missed it
I mentioned, doing a post about editing software, in particular free pieces of editing software. 
You guys really seemed to want to see this post, so of course, I was going to stand by my word and do it for you. 




( Side note- I don't think all my photos are ' amazing' it just wouldn't make a very interesting blog title, if it was called ' How to edit some half decent blog photos'  would it?! :) )


For my blog photos, I use Picasa 3. This is a free bit of editing software that is honestly so good, and takes literally seconds to install. 


Just type in to your search engine of choice- picasa 


Click the one at the top 

Then click either mac or windows and follow the instructions through from there. It takes no time at all to download and its 100% free.

What can I do with it? ( I hear you ask) well I'm going to show you a before and after comparison


This is the photo I am going to be starting with and showing you how I edit it. 


As you can see, there is a lot of excess space around the edge of the photograph- so I need to crop it out. You can do this, simply by going to crop.


Whats really good about the crop feature, is you can select one of the crop features it gives you or click the drop-down menu. This comes in particularly handy, when you need to have a certain size photograph, I use this feature a lot for competitions.   


Still on the first tab, you can play around with the basic editing features, such as auto contrast and auto colour. I went down to the little slide button, called fill light- which makes it brighter. Another excellent feature about this software, is if you make a mistake you can simply click the undo feature. 


I then used ' I'm feeling lucky' button. This basically adjusts the levels, lighting and colour for you. It can be hit and miss. Sometimes it works great and other times it gets a bit excited and goes a bit over the top, so its better if you adjust it manually. 


Moving on to the next tab you can adjust the light, highlight and shadows. Because they are little bars, its really easy to move and adjust them and move back if you went too far.


I like to adjust the saturation on my photos to make them brighter and more eye catching. If you go to far, this can mean your photo will lose quality. So the better the quality in the first place, the more you can increase the saturation. There is so many amazing filters and effects you can use, if you want to experiment or are doing digital art.  


When saving, always remember to save as a copy not just save because it will overwrite your original photo.
And this is the final photo, 




I hope you guys found this helpful and interesting. I can definitely make a post about how I edit my Instagram photos, because I use a different piece of software and I can also make a post called ' how to take amazing blog photos' or something like that, if you guys want to see it, Including things like composition,  lighting etc. 

Thanks for reading x

Let me know if you have this software, or are thinking of downloading it




* Life is short, chose happiness*


    
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Monday 20 July 2015

Whats in my bag!?

Today, I am doing another collab. This time it is with the lovely http://pastelpost.blogspot.co.uk/
You should all go and check her blog out and follow, because she makes really good quality blog posts and talks about everything pink and girly   
We are both going to be showing you what's in our bags, so make sure you go and check out hers too!
I did this post, actually around this time last here. Funny enough I have the same bag and pretty much the same contents. What can I say? I'm a creature of habit and I don't like change

My bag is from Primark last year. It is just a plain, black satchel- but it can surprising fit a lot inside. Here are some alternatives, in case you were looking to buy one similar  (because I'm kind like that)



The beauty of having a smallish bag is you can't fill it with rubbish ( well not as much rubbish)
Some handbag essentials include my phone, which is just some old, Samsung one, some tangled earphones, some beautiful hand sanitizer, Hand Food, a cute little set for my nails, Some mints, a really cute Disney mirror my friend brought me from Japan and my good old trusty tangle teaser.  

In the back of this photo you can see an Avon naturals spray poking through, my purse- which consists of no money but a ton of out of date NO7 vouchers to spend at boots and finally a very interesting set of house keys.
That's it for this post, make sure you check out http://pastelpost.blogspot.co.uk/ post!
Thanks for reading x
Comment below, some your handbag essentials
* Think happy thoughts*

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Saturday 18 July 2015

Current Favourites

 
When ever the end of the month rolls around, I tend to of forgotten to make a favourites post for that month. So today I thought I would share with you some products, things and some just general stuff that I have been loving recently.
 
First of all I am going to talk about books. Not a world that I tend to dive in to much on my blog, mainly because of the lack of time I have to read. However when my summer holidays began a month ago, I made it my aim to read more ( It was even one of my goals, in my Summer bucket list- which you can read HERE) I spontaneously chose to pick up the Harry Potter books. I Never read them before, as I lived under a rock as a child and the Harry potter craze passed me by but I took it on holiday and shortly after finished it and now I am on to the second one! I really love them so far, I am finding them a great escape at the moment, as I am basically a nervous wreck, waiting for GCSE results and enrolment at the end of August.
 
 
Another Ultimate favourite of mine this month has been my new and first DSLR camera. My Canon EOS 100D with 18-55mm lens and 70-300mm lens. Its amazing, the quality is unreal and I can't wait to take more pictures with it. You can follow my Instagram HERE for photos, as I am trying to do a 'bright summer theme' with my new camera.
 

 
This is the Canon 100D with 18-55mm lens
 
 
 
This is the sigma 70-300mm lens

 
Not really much in the way of beauty that I have been loving this month, a couple of things though are the Rimmel match perfection foundation in the shade 010, light porcelain. I brought this for prom, thinking I wouldn't really get much wear out of it afterwards but I actually have. I am planning on doing a whole review on it, so stay tuned for that.
 
 
I have also been getting back in to nail polish and nail art recently. Some of my favourite polishes are the two rainbow glitters, by techic and Rainbow street by nails inc, because who says you cant wear rainbow glitter all year around?! I have also been loving the OPI one in planks a lot, because it is such the perfect lilac summer shade. You can see my whole nail polish collection HERE
 
 
For music this month I have been enjoying bills by lunchbox Lewis, its such a catchy song.
My favourite youtuber at the moment is sophdoesnails, you can check out her channel HERE. Her makeup and nail tutorials are amazing and I don't really know many other youtubers like her.
 
Thanks for reading x
 
Hope you enjoyed reading this post and I will see you soon. Let me know what some of your favourite items at the moment are in the comment x
 
 
 
 
* You can achieve anything*
 
 
 
 
         
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Thursday 16 July 2015

50 Quick Blogging Tips

I haven't done one of these ' Blogging tips' style posts in a while, so I thought I was due to write another one. Today I thought I would share with you, 50 quick blogging tips for everyone.

Picture Credit  
Lets go!
1. Know your stuff
 I couldn't make a post about fishing ( LOL) if I have never tried it out myself.
2. Get involved with the community
Like, comment and share others posts so you make friends and feel part of a blogging community
3. Use social media
Twitter and Instagram are prime sites for promoting your blog and getting to know others, seriously if you don't have them, get them- you will thank me later
4. Join twitter chats
what are twitter chats, I hear you ask? well there is certain hashtags, like #bbloggers and #lbloggers, where on certain days and certain times of the week, they run a chat on a chosen topic and bloggers can interact with each other and SHARE LINKS!
5. You don't need a DSLR camera, to take good photos!
(but it helps!)
6. On the other hand, if you have all the kit and don't know how to use it- what's the point in you having it.
7. Invest in a good piece of editing software
( There are some great free ones as well, I am thinking of doing a blog post about it)
8. Tripods are a key!
9. If you want to work with companies, create a separate business email and put that in your contact page.
10. Don't be afraid to experiment with your content
11.  Natural lighting in photographs is a lot more flattening than soft boxes or using a flash
12. Do collabs
It will help you promote your blog to a wider audience
13. Don't put watermarks on your photos, if you can help it. They tend to look tacky and are distracting
14. Spell checker is your best friend
15. Don't over edit your photographs, this means they lose quality
16. If you don't know how to edit HTML, LEAVE IT! You will only ruin your blog
17. Always give credit, if you are using other peoples photos
18. Don't force content, if you are not in the mood
19. However when you feel the sudden urge to write! DO IT! It will be probably some of your
best work!
20. Don't worry about your analytics. There important but not everything
21. Learn from pervious posts, Find out what's popular and not popular with you demographic
22. Your writing style should match the average age of your demographic
23. Don't comment 'f4f' on peoples blog posts! ITS ANNOYING! and nobody likes it
24. Instead leave your blog link at the end of a genuine comment and people may just come and have a look
25. Don't think that hundreds of companies will want to work with you overnight- it just doesn't work like that.
26. Post regularly!
27. Use bloglovin!
28. Have a notebook with you at all times, if your phone leaves you hanging- you have
something to jot those brilliant ideas in
29. Spend time working on your blog design
( Trust me your probably won't ever be happy with it)
30.  Don't let negative comments pull you down, learn from them instead
31. If people in the real world don't understand, that's okay. I wouldn't expect them too!
32.  Do something out of your comfortable zone
33. You don't have to make a YouTube channel, just because your blogger
34. Good pictures speak a thousand words
35. Break up your writing in to paragraphs.
( some people find it really hard to read long essays on a screen)
36. Just because everyone else is doing it doesn't mean you have to do it
37. Invest in lots of SD cards, so you can take pictures to your hearts content
38. Take a break, once in a while
39. NEVER let your blog control your life
40. Find a place where you really like to blog
41. Blogging should be something you enjoy and is fun- don't make it to serious
42. Don't blog just to get free samples
43. Make your blog personal to you
44. Do not put yourself under too much pressure, you miss a upload date, SO WHAT?!
45. Take your time over your blog posts
46. You don't always need a seclude
47. Some people love secludes, see if they work for you?!
48. Be critical with your blog, but not over critical
49. You don't need to spend thousands on products just for your blog- people love lifestyle posts, which cost nothing
50. Be Positive!  Be Happy! and Enjoy yourself
Thanks for reading x
If you have any other quick blogging tips, do leave them in the comments
* Be Happy*   

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Tuesday 14 July 2015

My Nail Polish Collection

 
I haven't done a collab in a while so today I am doing another one! Today It is with the lovely http://prettyperfectxoxo.blogspot.co.uk/. Her blog is lovely and you should go and check her out. She's doing her makeup brush collection and I am going to be doing my nail polish collection.
 
I think I have quite a lot of nail polish. I have taken the pictures so all the same colours are together. For my brains sake and so you don't fall of your chair in boredom reading every single colour, I am not going to list the name of each one, however if you do what to know the name of a certain one just comment down and below and I can sort that out for you.
 
As you can tell I have a lot of technic ones, Ciate and nails Inc. I have got these all in sets but there all really good.  My all time favourite brand though is OPI HANDS DOWN! oh and I have a lot of glitter polishes , I don't know why- glitter is the most impossible thing to get of EVER!
 
 
 
 
Ted Baker nail polish is just a dream.
 
 
That orange Avon one at the end was a big mistake


 
The Barry M magnetic one in cosmetic glow is pretty rubbish but the technic one in the middle in the shade sionna island is lush

 
The blue glittery one in mermaid is stunning and has a fabulous name

 
OPI planks a lot is an all time favourite

 
The Rimmel polish in cupcake and the Topshop one in cryogenic are top notch  

 
I never wear gold's but okay it seems that I have a lot

 
MUA in white wash and pitch black are recent purchases and are really good for only a pound

 
These are all my special effects and crackle coats ( Does anyone else remember when crackle was such a big thing?!)   

 
The Barry M topcoat and basecoat is very good, highly recommend
 
 
Thanks for reading x
 
PS; This is the first blog post with photos taken on my new DSLR camera! WOOP for good quality, boo, for the fact they all take so long to upload
 
 
 
 
 
 
* Not everyone looking at you, is thinking negative things about you*
 
 

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Sunday 12 July 2015

How Much is My face Worth?

Have you ever wondered the cost of your entire face? No me neither, but I have seen a couple of people do this lately and thought it was highly interesting. I tend to lean towards buying cheaper makeup brands and products on offer or from discount shops, so this will be fun to see if it really makes a difference.
 
 
 
 
For my foundation, I use the Rimmel match perfection in 010, light porcelain. This retails at £6.99
 
 
For concealer, I use the lasting perfection concealer by collection, this costs £4.19

 
For powder, I use the natural collection powder in neutral, this is £1.99  

 
 
For eye shadow, I use the makeup revolution iconic 2 palette, this is £4

 
For the mascara, today I chose to use the thick and fast mascara by soap and glory , which costs £10

 
Finally for lips I used a Topshop lip bullet (  This is in Joyride, which they don't sell anymore, they normally retail for £8)
 
The cost of this look was £35.17. I don't think that is too bad but I didn't use primer, lipblam or eye liner so, I guess those things would bump up the price.
 
Let me know if you do this post, I would love to see how much your face costs
 
Thanks for reading x
 
 
 
* Stay Positive*
 


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