My Month On Instagram | January

I love Instagram. I would most certainly go as far as saying that it's by far my favourite social media platform; unless you're counting YouTube as a similar platform. During 2016 I decided to dedicate a greater amount of time to Instagram and as a result saw my following grow from just under 200 to over 3000; an incredible growth in my opinion! I've started experimenting with Instagram Stories (as I'm useless on Snapchat) and enjoy sharing my many photos with anyone who may be interested! I just love it!

So as I love Instagram so much I've decided to start a monthly roundup series on my blog, showcasing some of my most important or memorable moments throughout the month, be as big or as small as they may be, as well as discussing my activity on Instagram to show the progression of my page. 

Lipstick Standouts | YSL & L'Oreal

I'm not going to lie, I just took a photo of some random lipsticks that I had lying around and decided that I liked the photo so much that I should write a blog post around it. Regardless, these few lipsticks are some of my absolute favourites within my collection and I cannot stop raving and recommending these to so many people. And depending on your budget, whether you can splash as much can as needed or you need to be a little more restrained, I most certainly have you sorted here!

3 Things You Should NEVER Do As A Blogger

Getting your blog out there can be hard. I should know. Whilst I've had a fair few off moments from blogging, getting people to just find my blog posts can be a massive task in itself. And although I'll always be working on growing my blog, there will always be those few things that since day one I will in no way shape or form ever do! And unless you want to get in every bloggers bad books, I suggest you steer clear of these things too!

London | Being A Tourist In My Own Country

Just last week I popped down to London for the incredible #GoGlamGala event (my blog post on that can be viewed here). And whilst I was very excited to go to this event with so many talented bloggers and YouTubers alike, as someone who hadn't visited the capital in 9 years, I was also super excited to run around London doing the typically touristy things!

Although I would've loved to stay a little while longer, I did manage to get the few of the major tourist spots done within the two days that we were there. But this recent trip has made me realise how much I not only want to head back to London, but how much I need to start travelling around my own country. There are so many incredible sights and I'm missing out on them!

#GoGlamGala

Just a few weeks back something incredible happened. I received an email from the lovely Scarlett about an event called the #GoGlamGala for Go Send, a company which we in the UK can use to ship over many US beauty products for a discounted shipping rate. You can place many orders which will be held in an assigned locker in the US and then you'll be able to decide when to ship it over to yourself, saving a considerable amount on shipping when placing multiple international orders online. 

I don't know quite what I've done to be invited to such an amazing event; I had a massive break from blogging last year and quite honestly thought everyone had forgotten about me. And then when I found out some of the bloggers and YouTubers who would be in attendance, I began questioning it even more! Regardless, it sounded like such an incredible event and there was no way that I was going to be missing out on such an exciting occasion. 

3 Year Blogging Anniversary

I've made it! Three years at this blogging malarky. And whilst there's certainly been some bumps in the road, what an achievement it's been! To say that I've committed a vast amount of time in my life to my little corner on the Internet...wow, just wow! And it's grown, it's had some sort of impact! Yes it may not be an uber successful blog like the many that we all lust over on a regular basis, but it's gone somewhere and I hope that only continues to grow in the future! I've never been more passionate about blogging than I have at this exact moment in time, and this is really something that I would like to work on improving and getting out there to maybe even help a few of you out there!

Chloé Love Story Perfume Review

I will be the first person to admit it, I probably have far to many perfumes. At least more than the average person should anyway. It's not that I'm constantly spending money on fragrances, but my collection has really built up year on year and it seems as though very little of the product is ever actually used...I even upped the amount of sprits I apply on a daily basis, but no, they don't seem to go anywhere! 

Regardless, this past year or so I've become much more obsessed with high-end fragrances. Whilst I only have two full-size high-end fragrances and a couple of minis, (the vast amount of my collection being built up of fragrances from those celebrities who I used to obsess over...), I only want more! There's something special about having a high-end fragrance; the packaging is generally of a better quality and a beauty to look at, and they always make me feel more sophisticated, always beneficial for a big kid like me. And my favourite right now you make ask? Well that's the Chloé Love Story perfume!

My New Jewellery Storage

I find that jewellery is always one of those iffy things. Whilst I have a large portion of pieces stored away in jewellery boxes, for the most part I like to keep my jewellery out for me to easily see. I so easily forget to accessorise the vast majority of my outfits that having my jewellery displayed straight in front on my eyes always helps to give me that reminder that I do actually own necklaces, earrings and rings and that I can actually wear them to add just a little more p-zazz to my overall look!

And whilst many of my jewellery pieces will still be stored away from view, one particular gift that I received for Christmas will certainly help me to keep a few more items out on show, never to be forgotten about again. 

Alex & Ani Bracelet | Believe In Every Wish

For years I'd been lusting after an Alex + Ani bracelet. After hearing Anna Saccone raving about her bracelet which she bought from the brand roughly two years ago, I'd been ever so tempted to buy one, but held off for some time. That is until I went to Disney World last year. 

The great thing about the Alex + Ani Disney bracelets is not only that the choices of Disney characters and quotes are endless, but that they are also 100% authentic to the Disney parks. Therefore I wanted to hold off until the next time I did end up heading to Disney, so I could have a piece of jewellery that was that little bit more special to me, with Disney being a massive part of my childhood and even my life now. And the great thing is that whilst they don't scream "DISNEY", they're a lovely, simplistic accessory to add to any outfit to give just that little bit more detail.

ColourPop Haul + Shipping & Customs Info

ColourPop has been one of those brands that for the past year or so I've been longing to try. And towards the last half of 2016 they began shipping to the UK. Great. But I was uhming and ahhing for such a long time due to the high shipping costs and the potential of having a disgustingly large customs charge delivered through my door. 

However fast forward to a couple of days after Christmas and I just decided to go for it. I'd heard a ridiculous number of people raving of multiple products from ColourPop and after months of holding off I picked out my favourite shades and placed my order. Sign up to their newsletter too and you get $5 to spend on your first order! In total, the delivery took a total of roughly two weeks, arriving nicely packaged with plenty of padding to prevent the powder products from smashing.

Top 5 Winter Lip Products

Lip products are certainly one of my favourite products out there. I personally love experimenting with all lip products and have possibly every finish and colour there is (aside from those very out there blues and greens)! And in my mind, I always have those specific products that are most suited towards each season...well, every season but Winter it seems. Whilst Spring screams pink to me, Summer is all about bright, tropical colours and Autumn is focussed on those darker berry tones, Winter just doesn't seem to have those shades that I seemingly have to wear throughout the season!

Evidently during Winter, we experience an entire month of Christmas festivities, red lips certainly make an appearance into my Winter lip essentials. With this said, I am unlikely to stick to a theme and you will certainly see me wearing some brighter pinks in the middle of January. But for the vast majority of my other lip choices, I tend to stick to warmer toned lips, incorporating some of the berry tones that we see ever so frequently in Autumn, as well as bringing in some more matte, nude shades.

My Blog Photo Progression Throughout The Years

We're coming up to three years, three years since I plucked up the courage and started my own blog. First crowned as xBeautyMagic and eventually changed to LizzieGines just last year, my blog has seen drastic changes and improvements throughout the years. Whilst the design of my blog and the content I've written over the years has grown a significant amount, one of the most apparent changes there for everyone to see is certainly the progression of my blog photos!

Cold/Flu Essentials

It's most definitely that time of year where many of us are coming down with a dreaded cold. And if you've been lucky enough to avoid them recently, I'm sure you're somewhat worried about the next time you'll end up contracting one. In fact, I've just spent pretty much the whole new year dealing with a cold and an incredibly sore throat...not how I wanted to bring in the new year! But it got me thinking; thinking about the essentials that I need plastered to me for the entirety of my cold.

100 Blog Post Ideas To Beat Bloggers Block

I know what it's like. Those moments of absolute dread, when you're eagerly anticipating to write that next blog post, but there's nothing coming to mind. Or as many of us bloggers now like to call it, bloggers block. 

Bloggers block has been one of the main reasons that I've ended up taking big breaks away from blogging. I don't want to publish something that on the whole I'm really not passionate about and seems too forced. The content that I publish needs to be on the topics I truly love, that I can contemplate spending a heap of time planning, taking photos and writing up for all of you to eventually read (and hopefully enjoy)! But I come to those points far too often where I think I've spoken about absolutely everything I possibly could and anything else I post would simply be half-arsed.

That is until now. Only recently I decided to kick myself back into gear, up the organisation with my blog and in general, just beat bloggers block. I went about creating an entire spreadsheat full of the varying blogging topics I love and listed as many possible ideas I possibly could. In fact, I managed to come up with over 400 blogging ideas from beauty to fashion to blogging tips, 100 that I'm going to share with you today, so you can beat bloggers block too! 

Mini Stationary Haul

It's odd. I'm not usually the type of person to go out and buy masses of stationary, but recently it seems as though that's all I want to do. I say masses, but I did manage to restrain myself! Whilst half of the reason I've become obsessed with stationary is due to the fact that I think it looks incredibly pretty in blog photos, bringing a bit more detail and making them appear a little more interesting, I've also had this odd yearning to become more organised, make more lists, write more things down...you get the point. And out of all places to look, I ended up finding some absolute gems in Wilkinsons.

Generally a store that I overlook, specifically because of its out-of-the-way location in my hometown, Wilkinsons actually stock some pretty incredible stationary pieces at very affordable prices and I'll definitely be heading back in the future to see what new items they have. In fact, my little haul here ended up costing me the mere fortune of £5! So where to start?!

Birchbox Review | My First Box

I've always been intrigued by the idea of beauty subscription boxes. You know, you pay a specified amount each month to have a box delivered to your door, filled with a selection of products. And whilst I've been yearning for one for the longest time, I've never taken the plunge and signed up for one. I contemplate far too much as to whether I will actually like the contents in the box and use each and every one of them, so I've been quite unsure if they'll actually be worth the money.

With that said, lets rewind back a few weeks ago. I was scrolling through Facebook when I saw an ad for Birchbox (darn ads...you got me again). I noticed that each box they were offering for December (which is unfortunately unavailable) came with a full size Ciate eyeliner priced at £15, and when the box itself costs £10 (plus £2.95 postage) it seemed like an absolute steal. I'm always one for trying new products and don't particularly like spending tons on higher-end ones that I may be unsure about. 

Zoella Beauty Must-Haves

There's no denying that since the release of Zoella Beauty back in 2014, I have been a massive fan. Whilst I've yet to try everything from all the ranges, I've definitely discovered some real keepers which I plan on buying over and over again; in fact, in some cases I have! From fragrances, to makeup bags to bath and body products, there is certainly something for every subscriber of Zoella and beauty lover out there - even if you're not a massive fan of Zoella, I'm sure there are many products that would take your fancy. And whilst I have never been disappointed with any products from the masses of ranges now available, I've somehow managed to whittle it down to my absolute favourite five!

Rewind To Christmas Day

I know it's all been done and gone, but I refuse to believe that Christmas is truly over. The festive season is one of my favourite times of year and as soon as the New Year has passed everything is over. Just like that. And then we all have to get back into the swing of things and go back to normal. Or even worse for me, we have to brave the dreaded cold. Honestly after it's all over, the only thing I want is for summer to roll around. But today we're going back. I'm having a look at my Christmas day, what I did on that one special day, and I'm sharing it with you!

2017 Blog Goals

Happy New Year! How did 2017 come around so quickly?! I feel as though I'm definitely not the only one who feels as though 2016 just started a mere month ago, so is incredibly baffled by how swiftly this new year has made its way around to us. And although 2016 was certainly filled with many downs for us all, there were also many positive points too - the ones which at the end of the day we should be focussing on! For me, my highlights include graduating from university with a 2.1, heading to Disney World on my first trip abroad without my parents and improving my driving confidence; before this year I had never driven on my own despite having a license for a while, but now I can happily say I have - such a massive deal to me!

And within the online world, I've also had many positive points. Having both a blog and YouTube channel, I've been able to create so much content of which I'm proud of. Throughout the year I have successfully managed to upload once a week, since increasing to twice a week due to the introduction of my Disney World vlogs; a big achievement in itself. And whilst my blog has been somewhat abandoned for a large portion of the year, I fell in love with blogging again after recently partaking in Blogmas. I was able to create so much content that I am truly proud of and can see drastic improvements from over the years. But this year I really want to work on bettering my blog (and YouTube channel) and the many different aspect that come along with it!