Green People Review | Cruelty-Free Beauty

I feel as though it's been the longest time since I sat down and wrote a post about an entirely new makeup brand. I say entirely new because until not too long ago I'd never actually tried anything from this brand, so therefore it's entirely new to me. The matter of the fact is they've been around for 20 years!

So who am I talking about?

Green People! For those of you who haven't yet heard of this brand, you're going to want to make a note of them (for reasons that will be touched upon within this post). Most importantly for myself, Green People is actually a completely cruelty-free beauty brand! Some of you may already be aware of the fact that I've gone cruelty-free with my beauty this past year and making that decision meant that I had to give up purchasing some of my favourite products from some of my favourite brands. At the same time it's meant that I'm trying to find new "favourites" in the process, so discovering another cruelty-free company opens up so many more options for someone like myself.

Lizzie Gines x Tobi | Those Nights Out

We're coming towards the end of the Tobi collaboration, and today I'm here with the final of three outfits. If you've had a chance to check out my other two posts (you can find them here and here), then one of the first things you may have noticed could've potentially been just how girly and summery both outfits were.

Well today we're here to switch things up.

It was initially something that slightly worried me, as one of the products that I was asked to pick out from the Tobi website was a bodysuit. Now bodysuits until very recently were always something I avoided; they all seemed to be too skintight or felt incredibly uncomfortable as someone who is a little taller. However, as I was scrolling through the website, I was pleasantly surprised to find a fair few options that wouldn't cling to my skin and make me so undoubtably uncomfortable.

Lizzie Gines x Tobi | It's Disney Day

As I know many of you are frequent Disney World goers like myself, it seemed only fitting to include and outfit that I would deem perfect for a day at one of the Disney theme parks within this collaboration with Tobi.

I tend to head over to Florida within the early Autumn months... when the heat is still at its maximum, so comfortable and loose summer clothes are a must for me. In fact, if I had a choice I'd opt for either a comfy playsuit or floaty shorts for a day in the parks - those of you who watch my vlogs may have noticed! So when I saw these duckegg blue floral shorts on the Tobi site, I just knew I had to have them, and let's just say that I was beaming for joy when I received them; there's no doubt that these beauties will be heading over to Florida with me this year.

Lizzie Gines x Tobi Collaboration | Transitioning Into Spring

As you can most likely tell, something very, very exciting happened recently! I was contacted by the lovely people over at Tobi, an online fashion retailer based in California, in relation to a collab featuring their beautiful clothes. In fact, I've been scouring the Tobi website since circa 2013, but had yet to buy anything due to the higher shipping costs and customs fees. So on another note, I'm quite glad this collab came along, as by just quickly glancing back on their website again, I noticed that they now offer free UK shipping and have already paid VAT and duties for you... basically, they'll be no nasty customs fees waiting for you upon arrival (and I'll be buying more)!

Anyway, back to the collab!

I was given the chance to pick out a selection of clothing from their website; three which would have eventually been sent my way. Well they recently arrived and today we've got the first of three items on show.

Marc Jacobs Beauty Highliner Review

Oh, don't you just love receiving new makeup products? Well this month I was fortunate enough to receive two Marc Jacobs Beauty Highliners as part of the latest Influenster VoxBox - I believe anyone is able to sign up for Influenster, so get on it if you're not yet a member and you too could be gifted some incredible beauty products.

I remember coming home one day to find out that a package had been left over our gate. Initially I was confused - I hadn't bought anything, so what on earth could this be? After noticing Lizzie on the address I quickly realised that it must've been something to do with blogging/YouTube (as I'll always use my full name for packages I personally buy), but I was still pretty much clueless as to what it was. Anyway, I opened the package to find a box labelled with Marc Jacobs Beauty - could the smile on my face have been any bigger? I think not. And sat inside were two of the beautiful Gel Eye Crayon Highliners. 

Winter Essentials For 2018

It goes without saying that as soon as winter rolls around, my beauty and fashion choices drastically change. Evidently it gets colder (could I be more obvious), my already dry skin turns into the Sahara desert and my lips become unbearably chapped. Therefore my beauty habits can sometimes differ drastically from those within the warmer months - I probably start to take care of my skin a little more! Basically, my beauty regime becomes a great priority throughout these next few months.

YouTube Partner Program Changes? What Do I Think?

I'm sure we're all well aware by now (unless you're somehow living under a rock), but yesterday YouTube made the announcement that there will soon be changes to their requirements for channels to benefit from their monetisation within the YouTube Partner Program. This simply means the requirements to make money from YouTube have risen - the standards have been seriously (and I mean seriously) amped up.

Whilst I still have a relatively small channel, I am fortunate in the sense that these changes will not affect me when they're set into place on the 20th of February this year, however I certainly understand why so many creators are upset at this drastic change. For the last couple of years the requirements have been that you must have 10,000 views on your channel to be eligible for monetisation - I remember exactly what it was like just trying to get my first 1000, 5000, 10,000 views (although I believe I could benefit from monetisation at an earlier point when I began YouTube in 2015), but I can see why there's great frustration that creators will now need 1000 subscribers and 4000 hours of watch time (within the last 12 months) on top of that on their channel. It can be incredibly difficult to reach that when you're first starting out; I certainly know!

Disney World 2018 Trip Announcement!

Surprise! I'm heading back to Walt Disney World! In fact it's no surprise; if you've been keeping up to date with me on social media you may notice that I've been dropping hints just about here, there and everywhere. But regardless, I'm so excited to finally share with you all exactly when I'll be heading back to the happiest place on earth, along with all the nitty gritty details that go along with it.

As a Disney vlogger, one of my favourite things (other than actually being in Disney World) is being able to share my plans for upcoming trips, counting down the days to each exciting step in the planning process - and also sharing the excitement for their countdowns too!

From Drab To Fab: Blog Photography Tips

Photography can easily be one of the hardest aspects of blogging. There's something about taking a flatlay or maybe even an outfit shot that I just found unbelievably difficult (even throughout the first couple years of blogging). Yet all in all, there are a few simple things that we're able to do to improve the overall aesthetic of our photos.

It's something that we shouldn't do, but certainly something that I can say I'm guilty of and that's comparing my photos to others - especially when you've got so many incredible people taking some immaculate photos, it's difficult to not do that, particularly when you have no photography experience yourself. I just didn't understand how their photos appeared as though they'd been taken by a professional photographer with 25 years experience and mine were pretty much on the complete other end of the spectrum. 

Saying that, recently I've really put some much needed effort into improving my overall photos, and bit by bit I'm finally happy to say that I've gotten to a point where I'm actually proud of the images I'm taking. It didn't all happen at once; if you take a glance at my blog photography over the years you'll be able to notice slight improvements to my photos as time goes on. But like anything, blog photography can be a massive learning curve; if you too are struggling with this aspect blogging, take into account some of these well loved tips - I'm sure like me you'll also see some significant improvements to your photography too!

50 Easy Prop Ideas For Your Next Flatlay

One of the biggest, yet most enjoyable aspects for me when it comes to blogging is certainly the photography side of things. It's pretty safe to say that when I first started blogging my photography was, well questionable; it was a case of grabbing one or two products, chucking them together and photographing them in what would only be considered as terrible lighting by the entire blogging community. 

Aside from improving the lighting, the main aspect which has positively impacted my photography the most is definitely the use of props in my photos/flatlays. And it doesn't have to be expensive; you probably have many similar things just lying around your house that could be easily used within your next photo. In fact, to make everything even simpler for those of you who may be struggling on the prop front, I've collated a list of 50 common and inexpensive items to help further improve the aesthetic of your blog photos. It's crazy just how much adding a few simple props can improve everything!

Twenty Things I'd Like To Do In My Twenties

I'm sure I'm not the only one saying this, but how is it already 2018; last year certainly went in the blink of an eye. And with a new year comes new year resolutions. I'm not usually one for new years resolutions; I made them one year, yet there's something about trying to squeeze in so many goals in a relatively short space of time that just doesn't appeal to me.

So instead I'm here with a list of goals that I'd like to achieve within my twenties, some easier than others! Being 23, I've got plenty of time left to achieve each and every goal I set in place; some are one-time events that I'd like to happen at some point or another, whilst others will be spread out over the entire seven years, something that I'll need to put the effort into, so that I can make a positive change. I want to vastly improve my life over my twenties, becoming healthier, happier and more independent in the process and I personally like this way of going about it; there's no rushing around trying to get something done before these 365 days are over - and trust me, they'll be over before we know it! 

Grab a drink, this is a long one!