New Years Resolutions 2014

1. Start making YouTube videos
I've been wanting to make YouTube videos for so long but a combination of camera quality and nerves have held me back. This year it will happen!

2. Create a blog schedule and stick to it
I have never had a blog schedule. I always thought it would be unachievable thanks to my unpredictable work hours and just post when I can. However, I'm determined to stick to a schedule and have a routine.

3. Re-start the gym and stick to it

I signed up to the gym in January and stuck to it only for a couple of months. I don't want to lose weight I just want to tone up and be healthy. I can see this being one of the hardest ones for me!

4. Continue drinking green tea twice a day
I tried drinking green tea last year but I hated it so just couldn't stick to it. I've recently tried it again and I actually really enjoy the taste now so I'll be sticking to 2 cups a day in the new year, I've already noticed a great difference from drinking this! I'll possibly do a post on it

5. Remember to take my tablets and inhalers every day
I have got such a bed memory it's ridiculous. I have to leave my daily inhaler on my bedside table to remember to do it every morning and evening yet I still forget. As for my tablets, I think I forget them more than I remember them. It probably doesn't help that my work hours are different every day so I don't have a set routine but as is obvious, tablets are needed for a reason so remembering to take them is rather important..

6. Decide what I want to do career wise
I just have no idea, I know everyone says 'you're only young you've got ages' but I really want to decide and start working my way up/into whatever I might choose.

7. Decorate my room
It's one of those stop, start, stop, start projects that just never gets done. I think I'm going to plan absolutely everything and then take a few days off work and just get it done.

8. Pass my driving test 
I have been learning to drive for a year and a half which is absolutely ridiculous haha. It's something I just can't get the hang of and quite frankly, find really hard. Upon planning/starting to write up this post, I've been banned from driving for 6 months, possibly a year dependant on scan results, thanks health. No, I've not been a bad girl, I'm just a big cripple haha. If it will be 6 months, I might just make it, if I can't drive for a year then I think I can excuse myself from this one!

9. Go somewhere different
I've only ever been abroad to your typical holiday destinations; Spain, Majorca, France etc. This year, I would absolutely love to go somewhere more interesting. I'm not sure exactly where, but I'm thinking along the lines of China or Thailand. This is partly dependant on my next point though..

10. Save £2000
£2000 being the minimum. I am atrocious at saving and I have no idea where my money goes (apart from make up and more make up). It should be pretty easy for me to save £2000 in a whole year but that depends on self discipline in Boots.

11. Go on a night out in London
I don't fully understand why I've never been on a night out in London. I've been 18 for a year and a half now and I'm only 20 minutes away on the train. It's been planned a few times but always fallen through, so this year I must get myself there!

*All images from weheartit

12. Get a tattoo
Last but not least, I would love to get a tattoo. I've got a few planned that I know I want, not that I know which one I want first, so hopefully 2014 will be the year I get my first tattoo.

So, quite a few resolutions for this year haha! But apart from numbers 8 and 9 which I can't be confident on, I really do feel like they are achievable. I'm glad I will have my resolutions documented so I can look back this time next year and see how many I've ticked off. I feel really motivated and 'I can do this' so let's hope I get there!

What are your NY resolutions? Do you think I'll be able to achieve all these?!

Emily xxx

Enrapture Totem Styler | Review

2013 has most certainly been one of the fastest years ever. I know everyone says 'wow can't believe how quick this year has gone' every year, but honestly this year has just exceeded all the rest. Last winter feels like last month. One of my top finds this year has definitely got to be the Enrapture Totem Styler. After centuries of drooling over it on blogs, I finally snapped it up when it was on the Home Bargains website for just £17.99 which is amazing considering the £59.99 RRP.

I used to use my straighteners to curl my hair but could never get a full head of curls without at least one kink where the straighteners decided to stop sliding. Despite taking all precautions, I still couldn't do it and so I moved on to a wand styler. I have the Remington Pearl Pro Curl wand which is the fatter version of your typical wand as I prefer bigger curls. I do quite like this wand but I just wish it was conical to make the curls a bit more natural. I also find it quite an effort holding both arms in the air to secure the hair around the wand, being as lazy as I am. A clasp is a weak arms best friend.

This brings me on to the purchase of my Totem Styler. It wasn't at all planned and I wasn't on the look out for a new curler, but when I saw this offer I just couldn't resist. I would recommend this styler so, so much. Even at full price. I would happily pay full price for this knowing how good it is and how much more use I get out of this than my straighteners. I am definitely a curly hair girl, straight hair makes me look like i've got a football for a face.

If you haven't heard of the Totem Styler before, it is just like your normal clasped wand but with a magical twist. The wand is sectioned into three, each of which has it's own heat setting allowing you to create whichever style curls you wish. I wasn't sure if this was just a bit of a gimmick and if it would really make that much difference, but as you can see from the pictures above I've managed to get three different styles for three different occasions. The first three pictures show what I would call my typical night out curls. I then have a picture with half of my hair natural and half curled really loosely. Last but not least is a load of very tight curls for a fancy dress party!

So it really does work. I also find that the styler heats up super fast and I only need to hold it for about 5-10 seconds to create each curl. It's literally everything I could want in a curler. It's fast, easy, much less damaging and of course, much easier for lazy arms. It's now on Boots for £39.99 so if you're after a new curler I urge you to buy this, whatever type of curls you like!

Have you tried the Totem Styler? Are you as impressed as me?

Emily xxx

Instagram #1 & update

A photo from my 'glam rock' make up post

Au natural! Lion hair and no make up

Pretty Christmas tree!

Shall I change my hair colour?! Opinions please

JLS Goodbye tour was amazing!

Sitting in Leicester Square eating mini donuts with the bestie

This cocktail from TGI Fridays was literally the size of my face, purple rain yummmmy!

The cocktails might have affected me a tiny little bit

The O2 looking pretty for Mike Houghs performance, check him out he's amazing!

Spent the day in hospital yesterday, happy days

Back home and bowling with the family today

Red lips for Christmas eve!

And that is all the photos I have posted on Instagram in the past week! I will usually try to post these on Sunday evenings but as you can see from the photos, I was at the JLS Goodbye tour on Sunday evening. I used to be crazy obsessed with JLS when I was a bit younger and although that wore off, I still love them and they put on amazing shows. I think anyone would have enjoyed it even if you aren't particularly a JLS fan. But you're too late now anyway ;) 

I then planned on posting it yesterday evening but as you can also see from the photos, I spent yesterday in hospital. I had a fit in the morning which has never happened to me before so it's been quite a shock and I've had lots of tests and have more to come so hopefully I will soon find out what's going on! It could possibly be epilepsy, which would make sense seeing as there were lots of flashing lights at JLS but we'll see. They've ruled out things like kidney or liver infections so that's a plus! I'm back to normal now just very achey and tired and I can't be alone or drive or drink alcohol but it's nothing that's bothering me too much. I'll still be enjoying my Christmas, don't you worry ;)

I'll hopefully be back with a post towards the end of this week, so for now goodbye and have a wonderful Christmas! Eat way too much Turkey and Christmas pudding and I hope Santa brings you what you wished for ;)

Emily xxx

Instagram | emilykebeauty
Twitter | emilybarbiexx

FOTN | 'Glam rock' work party

Hey guys!

I thought I would show you my make up from my work Christmas party as it's something rather different to my usual! Our Christmas party was held at a huge club in London South Bank called Pulse which was such an amazing place. It's in the arches of a bridge, I don't know which one, but it's pretty cool. Our parties always have a theme and this one was glam rock, which to be honest I wasn't quite sure about and didn't know what to wear but I did know I wanted big hair and bright make up.

If any of you with a good eye noticed, yes I did change my lipstick. In 3 of the photos above I'm wearing Mac Viva Glam Nicki but after deciding I looked like a porn star, I changed it to Mac Impassioned, one of my all time favourite lipsticks. I used my new Enrapture Totem styler for my hair and I am absolutely loving it! I will be posting a review very soon.

Estee Lauder Double-Wear foundation
Collection Lasting Perfection concealer
Rimmel Stay Matte powder
Benefit Hoola bronzer
MUA bright pink blusher
LOOK Beauty blusher in 'Flush' as highlight
E.l.f. brow kit
Mac paint pot in 'Bare study'
MUA 'Poptastic' eyeshadow palette
Bobbi Brown black gel eyeliner
GOSH black eyeliner
Maybelline Rocket Volume mascara
Brit Rocks lashes in 'Curvy' (my all time favourites!)
Mac lipstick in 'Impassioned'

Excuse the terrible mirror photo! As usual I had no time to take proper outfit photos with my tripod and what not but I took a quick mirror shot so I could show you what I wore. I decided that wearing leather and a bright colour was glam rock enough but will still be something I'll wear again, instead of wasting money on a proper costume. My leather skirt is from H&M for £14.99 and the cami top is from River Island for £15. I also threw on my trusty leather jacket to keep me a bit warm!

Hope you enjoyed the slightly different make up and outfit! Do you enjoy doing your make up for fancy dress?

Emily xxx

Benefit | Let's make lovely!

I actually bought this quite a few weeks ago, I think it was when the Benefit Christmas sets had only just hit the shelves. I was in the mood to treat myself and as soon as I saw the big display of all the Benefit sets, which by the way are all gorgeous, I had to pick one up. I decided on this one as it's one of the smaller and less expensive ones and I really need to be saving right now, but also it has 3 of the products I've most wanted to try.

The Hoola bronzer has been on my wishlist ever since I saw it about the blogging world. It's a matte bronzer and so perfect for contouring which I am a bit addicted to. Considering I'm as pale as casper the ghost now I've stopped wearing fake tan in an attempt to embrace my natural colour (and because I can't be bothered to fake tan when it's cold), this is a little gem for me as the colour is not too dark or harsh and works really well with my skin tone. I've been using this every day since I got it which must be at least a month and as you can see, the 'HOOLA' is still embossed in there so I'm amazed at how long it's lasting me. This is only 3g so I'll definitely be buying the full size 11g when this runs out.

To be honest, I'm not all that impressed with Porefessional. Don't get me wrong, it does it's job at smoothing out the skin to give a nicer base for applying make up but I don't agree with all the hype surrounding this product. Maybe that's why I'm not so impressed, maybe I was expecting too much but I won't be purchasing this again. As I said, it does smooth out the skin and make it feel super soft but it doesn't sort out those pesky pores and it doesn't help my make up to stay on any longer than it already does. I have given it a good go and finished the whole tube but i'm still not impressed, so I'll be continuing to use my LOOK beauty primer which I personally find does a better job for a lot less pennies.

When I said at the beginning I'd been wanting to try 3 of these products, this is the one I wasn't too bothered about. To be honest I've never heard much about this before, if anything at all. Never the less I of course still gave it a go, but again I wasn't all that impressed. It made my eyes feel moisturised and refreshed but I couldn't see a difference at all. They didn't look any brighter or awake and whilst they felt nicer, I still looked like a zombie. I'll be sticking to my trusty Clarins eye gel from now on.

My favourite part of this set, the They're Real mascara. This stuff is absolutely amazing. I'm so upset this has run out but I can definitely say I will be purchasing the full size version as soon as I can. This makes my lashes look super long, spreads them out and gives them volume with no clumping what so ever. A few people have asked me if I'm wearing false lashes when I've been wearing this so I think that speaks for itself and definitely proves the name right! You can see a picture on my Instagram of me wearing just one coat of this mascara if you want to see how it looks.

So a 50/50 outcome with this set, two products I'm not so impressed with and two I really love. I'm glad I tried this set as it's let me sample a few of my most wanted products and shown me which ones I want to purchase full size before wasting my money! As for the individual products I recommend both the Hoola bronzer and the They're Real mascara to everyone as I think they can work on anyone and look amazing. I can't wait to buy the full size versions!

What's your favourite Benefit product? Have you purchased any of the gift sets?

Emily xxx

Winter Wonderland | #WWMEETUP

On Sunday I went along to the #wwmeetup at Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park which was organised by the lovely Islay and Ellie. Despite a big kerfuffle with the trains in the morning, I arrived not too late and I'm so glad I went as I had such a great day. I met up with Jordana and Christina along the way before meeting everyone else and we discussed lipstick and blogger things whilst trying to navigate the tubes.

We spent a couple of hours in Winter Wonderland before heading off to Eds Diner for lunch where they forgot my burger, always me! But I did get it for free so bit of a result there! We decided not to go back to Winter Wonderland as it was packed and when we left the queue to get in was massive. Instead we of course headed to the shops where I drooled over furry coats and make up and got a Polaroid in Selfriges with Santa which obviously made my day.

Apart from a few girls that left earlier on, the girls who I spent the day are..
Islay
Ellie
Jordana
Christina
Ellie
Ellen
Carissa
Lucy

Thank you so much to Islay and Ellie for organising this meet up, I have met some lovely blogger friends I'll be hoping to meet again soon!

Emily xxx

My Christmas wishlist

Babyliss Pro 235 Elegance hair straighteners | £79.99 £31.99 at Argos
Best of Benefit | £24.50 Exclusive to Boots
Yankee candles | Large jar £19.99
Boss Orange perfume | £29.75 at allbeauty.com (previously cheap smells)
Mac 'dark side' lipstick | £15
Naked 3 palette | £37
Lush snow fairy shower gel | £3.50/£6.85/£10.95
Real Techniques Sam's picks | £29.99
Topshop socks | £3.50/3 for £8

YAY i'm so excited it's nearly Christmas. For the past two days I have been in the most Christmassy mood which has resulted in a bit of a bashing to the bank balance. Think fleeces, pillows, reindeers, fairy lights, candles and socks. All Christmas themed. (If you follow me on Instagram you'll know what I mean). Over the years excitement for Christmas decreases slightly but this year it is back and I've gone a bit mad. Possibly due to the fact I have a 5 year old sister, possibly due to blogs/instagram/pinterest/weheartit.

So here we are with my first Christmas post this year, my wishlist. There isn't anything in particular I need this year, but being a beauty blogger I always have a list of products I want to try. I've therefore made it into a blog post so you can further grow your own wishlists and spend more money you don't need to. Aren't I nice.

I actually cracked my straighteners by standing on them, so whilst they do still work, getting my hair caught in the cracks is not all that enjoyable. I don't see the hype over GHDs and I know a few people with Babyliss straighteners and they really are great. I think the Best of Benefit set speaks for itself, a box full of my favourite Benefit products, yes please. Candles are always a must have in the winter time for getting cosy in bed and Yankee candles are well known for being amazing, only problem being that there are so many scents I can't choose!

I used to wear Hugo Boss 'Boss Orange' a couple of years ago and when it ran out I decided to try soemthing new. I've been debating repurchasing it ever since and I just don't know why I haven't because I just need it now. Macs 'dark side' lipstick has been circulating the blogging world for a while now and I think it's gorgeous and perfect for winter so that obviously means I need it. My favourite face brush is definitely, definitely the real techniques buffing brush but mine has taken a bit of a bashing and I need a new one. You can only get this brush in the core collection set but I don't want the rest of that set, however this set looks much more appealing.

Snow fairy shower gel smells absolutely divine, my mum thinks it's horribly sweet but I think it's amazing and if it was out all year I would totally have it all year. I would love anything from the Lush Christmas collection, it's all amazing! Last but not least, socks. These socks represent socks in general, I love cute socks, frilly ones, dotty ones, Christmas ones, printed ones. A lovely little stocking filler.

And that concludes my 2013 Christmas wishlist! I've got even more excited typing this up and now I'm going to go to my newly Christmas themed bed, put on the fairy lights and watch The Grinch. I'm hoping to do some more Christmas posts, maybe gift guides and maybe a Christmas haul if you'd like to see all the things I've bought.

What's your favourite thing from my wishlist? Are you as excited as I am?

PS: I'd love it if you took a look at my new Instagram, either search emilykebeauty or click the link on the side of my blog. I havn't had it too long so I'm in need of people to follow, leave your links below and I'll check them out!

Emily xxx

Ebay wishlist

It's been a while since I've had a mooch around ebay and all that means is now there is lots I want.. I'm very, very tempted to order all of these items, which are just my favourites from the trillions of things I want. I actually haven't done that much clothes shopping recently considering the norm for me, so my bank balance should be getting worried.

Grey swing dress | £7.99
Pink floral blouse | £7.13
Black bomber jacket | £27.99
Floral kimono | £14.99
Christmas jumper | £13.99
Grey tartan dress | £19.99

What's your favourite item from this wishlist? Do you like shopping on ebay?

Emily xxx

Twitter @emilybarbiexx
Instagram emilykebeauty

L'oreal Micellar Water

Hi everyone!

I'll be honest, this was a band wagon I was not up for jumping on. Everyone went crazy for this and I was seeing blog reviews here, there and everywhere but it just never interested me. I think I never trusted that a water could actually take my make up off properly. That is until one day I was out shopping when I saw this in Superdrug for about £2 something so I thought I would give it a go and actually, i'm glad I did.

I feel like this is an upgrade from make up wipes, I use this soaked into cotton pads and it takes my make up off with 2-3 pads including eyes. I still feel like it's not as deep a cleanse as my usual Cetaphil cleanser but I love using this when i've come in from a night out or I just can't be bothered. I have super sensitive skin and this is absolutely fine for me, I don't get any irritation from this even on my eyes.

For the price this really is pretty good and I would recommend it to replace make up wipes in the can't be bothered times. I will continue to use my cleanser day to day but maybe this would be perfect for those of you that wear a lighter foundation than me and my double wear!

Have you tried this? Do you think it's worth the hype?

Emily xxx

Instagram!

Hey guys!

Just a super quick post to let you know I finally have Instagram! It's the same name as my blog so search for emilykebeauty if you fancy a look. Also leave your Instagram links below so I can get following some more accounts!

Emily xxx

Lush | Candy Mountain

I love Lush and I love Christmas. So basically Lush Christmas products are just my idea of heaven. I love all the cute products they come out with, penguins and snowmen and all things sparkly. I honestly could spend so much money in Lush, every time I have a bath I use a Lush product. When the sales start after Christmas I will be straight there to stock up on Christmas products to last me through at least a few months. There will be withdrawal symptoms by next Christmas..

So onto the product I'll be telling you about, 'candy mountain'. If you love the smell of the snow fairy shower gel as much as I do (think pear drops and all things sweet) you will love this, it smells exactly the same. Candy mountain is a bubble bar which basically is a solid version of bubble bath I suppose, you can either swirl it around in the bath or hold it under the tap. I find the second option works a lot, lot better. The picture above is when I swirled it around in the bath, as you can see there's not all that many bubbles. However hold it under the tap and you will be left with masses of sweet smelling, shimmery bubbles to relax in.

I've used this for 3 baths now and I still have more than half left so it's amazing value for just £2.65. I will definitely be re-purchasing this and will be continuing to use it in all my baths! I've also got a few other Christmas products from Lush to get using so no doubt there will be reviews up and coming for those!

What are your favourite Christmas products from Lush?

Emily xxx