6 Week Challenge

Here's something I never talk about - health and fitness. I've had a battle with my weight/health/fitness/lifestyle for quite a few years, I went through years of very destructive behaviours and feelings but since becoming more aware of the fitness and healthy community via Youtube, Blogs, Twitter, Instagram, I feel like I have a much healthier mindset. 

I won't go into detail because that wasn't the point of this blog post, it was to tell you all what my six week challenge is! I'm going to set myself three types of goals, a short term one, a mid term one and a longer term one. 

Short - Feel less bloated

Medium - Run 5k

Long(Not to be necessarily achieved in six week, just an overall long term goal!) - Size 8/10, bikini photo, flatter stomach 

My short term goal is something that will be achieved in a few days, medium is something that might take a few weeks and then long term is where you can start to look at cosmetics as obviously this will take you longer! I'm trying not to focus on my appearance too much as that is where I have gone wrong before. But I have taken some initial underwear shots (not to be shared just yet) so that in 6 weeks time I can really compare and see the difference! 

I've started a food diary where I note down everything I eat, how it made me feel, how much sleep I've had, what times I get hungry, literally everything. This will help me to see which foods don't make me feel my best so I can avoid/cut down on them and also just track what meals were really nice! 

Left: Carly Rowena (Instagram) Right: Jess Wreford (Instagram) Photos both from their instagrams. 

All this goal inspiration has come from Carly Rowena who you may have seen on YouTube (here) who is beautiful, fit, strong and healthy. She's so inspiring and motivating so her YouTube videos have been binge watched these past few days! 

Secondly, is Jess Wreford who has just started a YouTube channel (here) (so looking forward to her content!) and her Twitter is (here). She is a nutrition student so she is super awesome at knowing what's right to eat at certain points (after a workout for example) and has some awesome recipe's over on her Instagram (here). She's inspired me to take part in #NoJunkJuly which is pretty self explanatory and I am joining in despite going on holiday this month (eeeeeek!) motivation pls! 

I will update y'all after six weeks with my progress photos which will hopefully look a lot better but for now you can keep up with me over on Twitter (here), Instagram (here) and Snapchat (@bonjourkatie)!

TL:DR

I'm setting myself health and fitness goals for 6 weeks. I want to feel less bloated, be able to run 5k and be a size 8/10, feel comfortable in a bikini and have a flatter stomach. My main 2 motivational inspirational girlies are Carly Rowena and Jess Wreford cause they know exactly what they're talking about when it comes to food and fitness! Join me over on twitter/instagram! 

updated: skin care routine

It has definitely taken me a while to gather a set of products which work for my skin and really help to keep it clear and a good base to apply makeup. I really feel that it is silly buying expensive makeup if you do not have a good skin care routine and most importantly, don't take your makeup off properly" It's a no brainer really, why would you want to put makeup on skin that isn't a good base because it will not I've your makeup application the best results. I have combination/oily skin, particularly oily through my T-Zone so these products are good for similar skin types. Please note that these products may not work for you, this is just what works for me and I thought I would share it with you.

Garnier Miceller Cleansing Water (£4.99) / Soap and Glory Peaches and Clean 3-in-1 cleanser (£8)

I won't go on about the Garnier Miceller water as it has been a recent release and one which has taken the beauty world by storm, a rival for the ever-famous Bioderma, everyone rushed into Boots to pick up this beauty, as did I and it did not disappoint. This is my second bottle and I can confirm that it melts away your makeup in seconds, even heavy duty foundation (I use Revlon Colour Stay or MAC Studio Fix Fluid) or mascara. I personally haven't tried the Bioderma so can't make a comparison but this miceller water is good enough for me, cheap and does the job well - what more could you ask for?! I use this in the evening to take off the bulk of my makeup before moisturising and all that jazz.

The Peaches and Clean Cleanser is also a repurchase. I received my first bottle of this with a huge Soap and Glory set for my 18th Birthday and this cleanser was one of my favourites from all the products so when I saw this in Boots with the lovely new packaging/re-brand and it being on sale, I couldn't resist popping it back into my basket and I have no idea why I didn't repurchase this as soon as it ran out. I'd forgotten just how much I love it! I can't explain how fresh and lovely this smells and I use this in the morning in the shower for just that reason, it leaves my skin soft, squeaky clean and smelling like peaches, a great all rounder!

No7 Beautiful Skin Day (£12.50) and Night Cream (£13.50) for Normal/Oily skin 

These moisturisers have changed my skin dramatically. Before I was using the Superfacialist Tea Flower moisturiser which is targeted at oily skin, I used this both in the day and at night and it is a good moisturiser but I fancied having two creams - one for day and one for night. The two creams work perfectly injunction with one another, as you would expect. The day cream is thicker in consistency but lighter on the skin and soaks in very quickly - great for when you are in a rush! The night cream takes a little longer to soak into the skin but I like that as I feel like it is really penetrating the deep layers of my skin. I wake up with beautifully soft skin and my skin is noticeably less oily since switching to these creams. And a quick note: how lovely is this packaging?! Although the pots aren't made of glass, they certainly look as if they are and they look lovely sat on my desk.

La-Roche Posay Effeclar Duo [+] (£15.50)

After reading so many excellent reviews of this little bad boy I finally caved (I say that as if it took persuasion, it didn't.) and picked it up while it was on offer in Boots. It is incredible, and worth the full price if you have spot prone skin. You don't need this all over your face, only a tiny amount to dot this onto any spots or scarring. I tend to do this in the evening, before my moisturiser as I feel it can then work into my skin without a layer of foundation over the top, I don't want anything to stop it from working. I woke up after the first night of using this with my breakout visibly reduced and it has become a skin saviour. I can't rave about it enough!

Do you use any of these products? What are your thoughts on them? Do you have any skin products that I just need to know about and try? 

mac #217 dupe

I recently saw that Islay (Islaay) wrote a blog post about some MAC 217 brush dupes that she found on eBay and recommended, you can find the blog post here and the eBay link here. So of course, for the amazing price of just 99p each (!!) I couldn't refuse that sort of offer and even if the brushes were under par then I'd have only lost pence per brush. Although the brushes have been sent all the way from Hong Kong, they didn't take long to arrive and since I was in no dire need for them, I didn't mind waiting at all. 

I am very impressed with the quality of these brushes for the cheap price, they are so soft and seem like they will blend eyeshadow effortlessly and wash well (although I am yet to do either yet). Comparing to the original MAC 217 brush, the bristles are slightly longer, which I don't mind at all and the 'stem' of the brush (where you hold - I think it's called that, correct me if I'm wrong..) is slightly thicker, which again I don't mind at all. 

For the price, they are very very good dupes for someone just getting into makeup, if you love a good blending brush, or hate cleaning your brushes regularly (like me!). I bought two of these but I am tempted to order a few more because I'm so impressed and on a student budget I can't afford to stock up on real MAC 217's.

(On nails is Ciate 'Pepperminty')

most loved this week

Hollister Body Mist in 'Tippers Beach'

This was a stocking filler at christmas from my grandma and it has been a god send! I love the Impulse body sprays but always find that the scent doesn't last very long on your skin/clothes so I feel like I'm spraying every few minutes and am forever repurchasing. This spray smells delicious, it is very floral and sweet and is very strong so lasts for ages which means you aren't forever spritzing yourself. Now I never leave the flat without this in my handbag, especially on long uni days in hot lecture theatres. I've had so many compliments on this scent and when this runs out (which will not be for a very long time) I will definitely repurchase one of these sprays, if not in this scent then another that Hollister has to offer.

Revlon Colour Burst Lip Butter in 015 Tutti Frutti

I had never previously owned a lip butter as I'm very much a lipstick kinda girl but I thought this would be a good addition to my lip collection for days when I want moisturised lips with just a slick of colour. Since winter is coming to an end (I hope...), I thought I would go for a fresh peach for the spring! I've worn this a lot this week and I'm sure I'll continue to enjoy it in the spring and summer months. 

Clean Bandit - Rather Be feat. Jess Glynne

I first heard this song when it was featured on Celebrity Big Brother and used the trusty app that is 'Shazam' to find out what this song was... and I haven't stopped listening to it since. If you haven't heard it yet, I highly recommend you listen to it, it's so uplifting and upbeat, I just want to sin and dance when I listen to it, a real feel good tune to brighten up your day! 

new year's resolutions 2014 - new year, new me cliche

So another year has passed and this year I have decided to actually write new years resolutions which is something I have never done before, I know shock horror! Now apart from September onwards, last year was a pretty crappy year to say the least and I found myself being extremely unhappy all the time, well not this year, this year I'm going to improve my life and in turn be a much happier person. So here are my resolutions this year and how I plan to make the coming year a much happier one for me. 

Record more moments

I want to try and write something, whether that be one sentence or 10 pages in a journal every day this entire year to try and keep track of everything that happens this year and then I can look back this time next year and perhaps remember some of the good things that have happened and I may have forgotten about!

Branch out of my comfort zone

This one is pretty self-explanatory, I want to try new things, push myself to meet new people, go places, be spontaneous and do things just because I want to and not overthink things and talk myself out of doing stuff like I always do!

Use my Canon 1100d more

I feel like, for such a big investment that my camera was, I'm not sure I really get my use out of it. So I intend to take more photos to not only document more memories (and put them in my journal rather than just online!) but to also develop my currently limited photography skills and learn more. 

Blog more!

I have set myself a new schedule of two posts a week: Wednesday and Saturday, you lucky devils! So I will try to stick to that as much as I possibly can, but when things get a bit busier, then I want to try and at least blog once a week. 

Eat healthier

Last year I had a lots of ups and downs when it came to food so this year I intend to eat as healthy as possible, and I won't starve myself of little treats now and again but I want to cook proper meals and eat more fresh produce. 

Exercise at least once a week

Whether this be a video workout in the living room with the girls or going for a jog with the lads, I want to d more to tone up and get fitter. 2014 is the year I get a hot bod! haha. 

Make more time for friends

I want to try harder to stay in contact with people this year, including going to see my bestest friend in the world in Sheffield and just making more effort to drop people a text and asking how they're getting on, which let's face it, isn't difficult. 

Achieve a 2:2 or above in my first year of uni

I want to actually do my pre-reading, attend more seminars and try my absolute hardest on the 4 essays I have due in April!

Look after myself

I want to start respecting how far I have come in the past year and look after myself both physically with exercise, healthy eating and skin care, but also emotionally. I want to stop being so tough on myself and start accepting the mistakes I am bound to make. No one is perfect, certainly not myself and I need to start remembering that and realising that I'm gonna make mistakes and chance are, push people away who I really care about but it's never too late to start again.

Well, before I go all soppy on you all I shall leave it there for you! Hopefully this year can be much better than last year and I can stick to these resolutions.

Hope everyone had a wonderful new years eve and I wish nothing but happiness for each one of you in the coming year. 

Have you made any new years resolutions? Let me know!

See you Saturday for a new post! xox

Welcome.

Hello! First of all, thank you for visiting my new blog!
I'm going to use this to log what makeup/beauty products I'm currently using or trying out, any clothes I buy and anything else that could be beauty/fashion related.
Any opinion I have is mine (obviously!) so take everything I say with a pinch of salt and of course, feel free to leave discussion points as a comment to give other viewers and myself your opinion too.
I hope you find this useful or interesting and please, don't hesitate to contact me on twitter: @katieegoodwin or comment on my instagram: @bonjourkatie

xo