August Favourites - Oopsie, it's the middle of September!

Hiya Peeps! 

Happy Sunday! I'm back with another post, finally! I know it's a little late but I'm going with my August favourites.

I've actually had quite a few favourites last month but I'm still loving a lot of stuff from July. I apologise in advance for the poor images. I'm taking the photos at the moment on my iPhone and they're not brilliantly edited or great quality, but hey ho!

Maybelline Baby Lips

I'm sure that these have been released in the US for quite a long time but they came to the UK last month. I was sooo excited to try them because there was so much hype around them and they definitely didn't disappoint. I have them in two colours (Peach Kiss and Cherry Me) and I really like them both. The red colour is super pigmented for a lip balm so you can really see it on my lips. I love the Peach shade for when I'm going for a more natural look or if I'm wearing really simple make-up. I would definitely recommend these for younger girls who are experimenting with make-up as they're a cheap alternative to a lipstick and aren't as heavy.

Kate Moss Rimmel Lipsticks

 
Like I said in my July favourites, I've never been a real wearer of lipstick. I've been experimenting more and recently tried the Kate Moss range from Rimmel. I bought one colour from each of her ranges and actually wear them both an awful lot. I have shade 1 from the Lasting Finish range which is a gorgeous bright red colour. This is something I NEVER thought I'd wear, but I really love it. It works so well for evening make-up, but I really like wearing it in the day for a burst of colour when I've gone for really simple make-up. The second I have is from the matte collection is called Soft Pink (no 16?) and is a great colour for everyday wear. A definite must have in your collection.

Natural Collection Blush -Dusky Pink

I tried this blush just by chance and was so impressed because it was super cheap! It was only like £1.99 and it's super pigmented. This shade is so great for everyday wear and gives my cheeks the very slight, pink blush that I need to look healthy.

Wearing My Hair Tied Up
 I know this really won't apply to any of you, and this isn't really something you can try off the back off my recommendation, but all throughout August, I loved wearing my hair up. During some parts of the month it was just sooo hot and virtually impossible to wear my hair down and I eventually really started liking the way my hair looked when it was up. But yeah, just wanted to put this in. It's not really relevant to you guys but yeah haha.

Hoodie Allen
 
All through August I was completely obsessed by this man. For those of you who don't know who Hoodie is, he's an American rapper. If you're not familiar with his music, you should definitely check his music out. All of his EP's are available for free download on his website so go get them! I was lucky enough to see him in London at the start of September and it's been one of my favourite shows to date. Yeah, just go check him out.

Slimming World
Now, as some of you will know from previous posts of mine, I've been trying to lose some of the many extra pounds I've got hanging around. I decided to give Slimming World a go with my nan (woooo!) and I'm actually really impressed with the results. I've actually lost a stone and 4lbs now, and I know I've still got a long way to go, but I'm happy with how it's going so far. The diet itself doesn't make sense and I still don't really understand how it actually works, but it does! I'm really trying to keep it up because I'm finally starting to see results. If you're looking for a way of losing a bit of weight, I really would recommend Slimming World. It's a lot easier than it looks and it really does work.

Peach Sprite

 This is more of just a side note really as I've only actually had this once during August. I met up with my friend Ben (@Ben_Tarrant) in London and we went for lunch at Five Guys. If you haven't been there and you like burgers, just go. You won't regret it. But yeah, in there they have these immense drinks machines where you can basically put any flavour into any soft drink and it's craaaazy! I went with peach Sprite and it was b-e-a-utiful. I know that it's not something that's readily available in the UK, but what about in the US or the other countries that you're reading from. If you have peach flavoured Sprite in your country, please let me know!

But that's pretty much it. There are quite a few things that I've already fallen in love with in the month of September, so you have next month's favourites to look forward to, and they're coming a lot sooner than this one did.

For next week, I kind of want to sign my post over to you guys. If you've got anything that you'd like me to talk about please let me know in the comments below or drop me a tweet @amyjcollins and I'll do my best to give it a try! I also really want to do a review week real soon where people ask me to review products / things and I give my honest opinion on a different thing each day. Again, let me know if you have any ideas.

As always, thanks so much for stopping by.
Take care, stay beautiful and dream big!
All the love in the world,
amyjcollins
xox

Poopey Week - 11 Personal Questions

Hiya Peeps! 

So this isn't what I had planned for today's post, but I've had a pretty horrendous week. I've been quite busy at work, as well as attempting to overcome two illnesses, and to make things worse, the ear infection I had last week has come back, so I feel more poopey.

But despite feeling like death warmed up, I am here for you! I found this tag on Anna Saccone's blog and thought I'd give it a go. It gives you a chance to find out some more info about me, and is an easy one for me to do on the go.

1. What do you order at Starbucks?
Well, I'm not a regular customer at Starbucks because there isn't one close to me and I don't actually like coffee (sorry!). Occasionally, though, I will go to Starbucks and if I do, I usually order a Skinny Caramel Creme Frappachino, no whipped cream.
 
2. What's one thing in your closet that you can't live without?
 It's going to sound really boring, but the one thing in my closet that I can't live without is leggings. I think they're a staple item in any closet, and I think you can make them work with pretty much anything. Dress them up with a shirt and heels, or dress them down with a baggy tee and Vans. Simple, but a necessity.

3. What's one thing that most people don't know about you?
 A lot of people don't know that I can play the steel drums. I actually used to be in a steel band and we played gigs quite often in my town. We even played at the local MP's birthday party which was pretty cool.

4. What's one thing you want to do before you die?
I really, really, really want to live in the US. I'm so desperate to go back to New York and I really want to visit California, but my ultimate dream is to live somewhere in America at some point in my life for a period of time. I don't mind if it's not on a permanent basis (even though that's the ultimate dream), but I just want it to happen.

5. What's one food you can't live without?
I think I'd have to say chicken. I know a lot of people will turn their noses up at that, but I really do love it. It's such a staple part of my diet and can be cooked and served in so many different ways.

6. What's one quote that you live your life by?
'Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game'. It's a quote from the movie, 'A Cinderella Story'. I'm not sure where the quote came from before that, but I really do like it. It keeps me inspired.

7. What's your no1 song on your iPod/iTunes?
Well if you're asking me for my most played song on iTunes, it's Neckbreaker by Blizzard. But if you're asking me for my favourite song on my iTunes, at the moment, it's probably No Interuption (Acoustic) by Hoodie Allen. The Americoustic EP that he released last week is amaaaazing! I cannot wait to see him in September. 

8. What kind of style would you describe yourself as having?
Average. Painfully, painfully average. I don't really have a style, I just wear baggy tee's, leggings and trainers most of the time!

9. Favourite Number?
 3.

10. Two Hobbies?
 I love Reading. Since I've finished University I've had more time for casual reading and it's been really good for me. As well as keeping my brain active, it's my escape. Is it sad to say that my other hobby is just the internet? I love writing blogs, reading blogs, watching vlogs and social networking. I can't keep off the internet most of the time!

11. Two Pet Peeves?
I really cannot stand when people click their joints, that's my biggest pet peeve EVER! I also really hate being ignored. It really annoys me. If I text you, at least have the decency to text me back. It doesn't take a second to send a text saying you're busy. Don't be sat in a group of friends and ignore my question three times, and then answer to someone else straight away. 

There we go, guys. I hope you've learned some more random stuff about me and I'm sorry it's not the exciting post some of you might have been expecting. I've got a lot of good things planned, as well as hopefully doing a review week really soon. What do you want to me see me talk about? Let me know in the comments, or tweet me @amyjcollins.

Thanks for stopping by; all the love in the world.
Take care, stay beautiful and DREAM BIG!
amyjcollins
xox

My First Time

Hiya Peeps!

If any of you are familiar with the blogging / vlogging community, you will have probably already seen this tag floating around the interwebs. I'm terribly sorry to disappoint but this is not a post about my first sexual experience. This is merely a post about me experiencing things for the first time. But it's a cheeky title, isn't it?! ;)

 First Pet - My first pet was the cutest rabbit in the whole wide world (this is a fact) and she was called Jasmine. My aunt bought my sister and I a rabbit each for Easter, which was actually the coolest Easter present EVER! Originally I wanted to name them Jasper and Horris (like 101 Dalmations) but the vet then told me that mine was a girl so I went with Jasmine. Lucy called hers Barney and we had them for about 7 years.

First Kiss - Oooooooh, cringe! I'm not going to name names in case by some chance he ends up reading this but my first proper kiss was with a guy I went to secondary school with. I think I was like 12/13 and I went round his house after school and we kissed... A LOT. From what I remember, my first kiss experience wasn't a terrible one... Probably because he'd kissed hundreds of people before me but that's all we'll say on that.

First CD / Piece of Music - The first piece of music I ever bought was actually a cassette tape and it was Peter Andre - Mysterious Girl. I remember my mom used to give me like £3 a week pocket money and I'd always spend mine in Virgin Megastores hah! The first CD I ever bought was Lionel Richie - Tender Heart and I still completely ADORE it! That wasn't the first CD I ever owned though; I was given DJ Luck and MC Neat - With a Little Bit of Luck for my birthday by my next door neighbours and that's still one of my favourite songs ever!

First Concert - The first concert I ever attended was the Smash Hits Poll Winners Party. I think it was in 2001 but I'm not entirely sure. It was at the ExCeL centre in London and I saw Blue, Westlife, Steps and S Club 7 as well as many others. We got told off a few times for standing on the chairs, but I don't think we cared too much!

First Job - Well my first job was a paper round and I hated it! It was horrifically boring and I'm very lazy meaning I never wanted to walk around delivering newspapers. When I was 16, I got my first 'proper' job working in a health and beauty shop and I've been there ever since!

First Tweet - My first tweet was 'is getting ready for work :|'. It was way back in April 2009 so I can't scroll back that far to take a screen shot, so you'll just have to trust me!

First Best Friend - My first best friend was a girl called Leanne. I'm lucky enough that she's still one of my best friends because she knows everything about me and we've been through so much with each other. We're actually born only ten days apart and our parents knew each other before we entered the world, so it was destined for us to be close really! We went all through primary and secondary school together and maintained our friendship despite going to different sixth forms and me going away to University. Love you, Lea, my little XXi p3N1.


So that's it. I'm sorry this post has been quite text heavy, but a lot of these things happened earlier in my life and I don't have photos of them. I hope you enjoy these kinds of posts / tags and if you do, please let me know! All of my social media links will be below; come talk to me, I'm really nice and would love to hear from you all.

Thanks so much for stopping by, all the love in the world,
Take care, stay beautiful and dream big!
@amyjcollins