Tuesday 29 November 2016

5 Things Blogging has Taught Me!

I can not actually believe that my little spot on the WWW has now been up and running for 6 whole months! It's gone sooooo quickly, I feel like I only bought my domain 6 minutes ago! I've wanted to do a post like this for ages, and today I finally had the time! There are so many other things I could talk about but don't want to bombard 1 post, so maybe I'll make this a little series, who knows! Either way, lets talk about the first 5 things blogging has taught me...  

Photo taken from Pinterest



English lesson's at school are important - Basically, spelling and grammar count! To be honest, I can't actually remember my last English teachers name (coming from the girl that is literally told on a weekly basis I have an amazing memory!), I know it started with the letter P though. Anyway, all those minute's I thought I was wasting, paid off. I finally realise, 7 years after leaving school, I do know how to write sentences! I do know where to place an explanation mark and I do recognise when things are written in 1st, 2nd or 3rd person! Hoorah! Anyway anyway, I'm sure we've all come across the odd blog post here and there with terrible spelling and grammar. I don't ever want to be that blog that people criticise! (The blogging community is super supportive, but there will always be snakes and trolls lurking in the shadows wherever you look!). So I now understand the value of proof reading! It really wasn't a task Mrs P made us do to piss us off last period on a Thursday. 

Blogging takes time, and the more you have, the happier you'll be - Contrary to what other think, blogging is not a walk in the park. Trying/wanting to keep up with others or stick to your own personal schedule can be hard, and that is OK! No matter how life is portrayed on the Internet, blogging is not the only thing in anyone's life! We all have family, social lives and career's to keep up with as well, and if life gets in the way and you can't post for 2 weeks, then you don't post for 2 weeks - it's that simple! Luckily, there is such thing as "scheduling", but, that doesn't mean you should sit down 1 night and panic that you've got nothing to publish tomorrow/next week, nor does it mean you should be thinking, "I'm gonna half heartedly schedule 8 posts in this 1 sitting that don't actually make a lot of sense and I've put no effort into but I can schedule to give live in line with my own actual schedule! Sometimes blog post's do take 2 hours to write and 1 photo can take 10 whole minutes to edit, but isn't that why we do this? We knew what we were getting into when we started this!...

I took this...

But you only ever saw this! 



Growth doesn't happen overnight & you need to work for it! - I'm sure it wasn't just me, but when I started blogging I just hoped everyone would love me and I'd gain at least grow 5 followers a day! That is not the case! Not for me at least... Readers like consistency. It felt like it took me forever to hit 100 Bloglovin' followers, but no matter how long it takes, don't let it bring you down, you should be doing this for you - not the numbers! Numbers are just a bonus. Thinking about it, it's been 6 months and I'm now looking at 550! It's taken what feels like 234542 blog posts and hours of engaging with others, but I got there! The same goes for Instagram! There are so many bloggers out there these days, no one can follow us all! Work hard to engage others, leave people comments, like peoples photo's, and upload at least once every day! Yep, everyday. I do have day's when I think I just don't have anything to post! But there's always something, a new mascara, an old lipgloss, if its an object, you can snap it. Some photo's may get 400+ likes, others may get just 40, either way, daily uploads show consistency, and consistency is what I find brings in new and different followers. 

Although others share you're interests, you are individual - in a sea full of beauty, lifestyle, fashion, disability, travel, budget, luxury & food bloggers (and everything else I've missed), it's easy to feel like you are just another statistic. However, no 2 bloggers are really the same. Just because both me and Sadie appreciate the same mascara, that doesn't mean Sadie likes it for the same reason's that I do. Just because Louise and Jasmine both loved their trips to Paris, they didn't necessarily see the same sights, eat at the same restaurants or talk about the same hotel's in their blog posts about their trips! You are individual, you are valued and your audience are here to read your opinions, not that of the "bblogger/lblogger/fblogger community"! 


Change is good and should be welcomed - There's not many blog's out there, that look today, as they did the first day they were launched. How many of us even knew what we were really doing when we first signed up to our blogging platforms? As your blog grows, so will your attitude and and preferences. Just as we grow as people through life, our blog's grow as well. Our headers change, our social media buttons change, even our style of writing has changed - well, mine has anyway! When I started Love, Libby xx I was going to be one of those girls that kept everything PG, no swearing, only child friendly topics etc... Now, however, I've come to realise, the only person writing this blog, is me. I do say fuck on a daily basis. I do use the sentence "quite frankly, I was pissed off!" and I do enjoy reading blog post's about other subjects like sex and relationships! I feel my blog has grown in a way that better represents me more as who I actually am, rather then another Internet user trying to bring in page views on their PG Q&A post! Heck, it's been 6 months and I've already changed my header image 4 times! Although, I do feel I'm almost ready to pay for a custom 1 in the new year! With growth comes experience, relish in it. Learn from your mistakes and your past, encourage others, and always be yourself. 





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Monday 21 November 2016

Makeup mistakes my teenage self is guilty of!



When I think about my life as a teenager, I am pretty much content. I had great friends, a lively social life, I was in everybody's "top friends" on good old Bebo and I drank my fair share of Lambrini wine in the field without my parent's permission. Something I wish I could go back and change however, is how I did my makeup. I shudder at the thought of it, and at the thought of all my friends doing the exact same and us all thinking we were the bomb.com. If only I could tell myself then, what I know now. Today I want to talk about all the mistakes I used to make, which I feel a little guilty about. Not as guilty as my mum should feel though, she let me leave the house whatever was on my face...



The Orange foundation look
I know I'm not the only one to reminisce about this... We were all there, at the same place, at the same time. 3 words: Dream Matte Mousse. If you asked me 10 years ago what my go to foundation was, the answer was without fail would be, "Dream Matte Mousse shade Ivory"! I know this foundation is still available on our shelves but I've not bought it in years and years. And let me tell you something... Back then, the shade "Ivory" was not the colour we'd associate "Ivory" with today! Picture this: orange and patchy with a few particles of your dry skin moved around your face. I know the clues in the name but, it was literally the consistency of an Asda own chocolate mousse pot. Ugh. I could always count on this stuff to leave me a pretty orange line where my face ended and my neck began. Because lets face it, none of us knew we were supposed to be blending down our necks and we all thought we looked like the coolest little Wotsits in town. Also, we used to cover our faces in it using our fingers, who had the time or money for a brush in those days? Pft. 

The white lips look
Whilst on the subject of the beloved Dream Matte Mousse, lets talk about lips. White lips. Foundation covered lips. Yep, again something a lot of us did, whilst applying our foundation to our face, no stone was left un-turned and so we were sure to smear the stuff all over our lips as well. No, we weren't oddly priming them for a lip gloss or something, we just wanted them to be a pale orange toned colour to match our orange toned faces, because at the time, everyone did it and apparently 14 year old boys loved the crusty look. I don't know how any of use kissed any boys, or how the boys we were kissing didn't cringe at how our lips must have felt/tasted... 


The clumpy mascara look
I was a mascara expert. If you wanted to know what a mascara was like, I was the one to come too. Why? I hear you ask. Well, that's because I would wear any 5-7 mascara's at one time. Yeah, you read that right. I loved the spider legs look and at one point, I lived by the more clumps the better. I'd let every coat dry then add another, and another until I was satisfied. Some days I'd even sleep with it on, get up the next morning and add another layer! I was always told I had lovely long eye lashes, which I actually do. However people weren't actually complimenting my lashes, they were complimenting the mixture of Benefit, Rimmel and Maybelline that was hiding them! I tried to recreate this look but I'm still not satisfied with how they came out, they were definitely more spider like back in the day... 


The non-existent eyebrows look
When did eyebrow filling come into fashion? Because I tell you now, it's not something myself or any of my friends ever did. Brow pencils, brow powders and brow gels either didn't exist back then or just weren't advertised. When you smeared your foundation onto your face with your fingers, you didn't even think about your brows. If they looked like they had orange highlights, you wiped it off a bit with a clean finger, but if we could get away with it, we left it! No ones brows were on fleek back in the summer of 2006 and no one cared. Maybe the world was a simpler place back in those days? 

The all over bronzer look
What even was contouring when I was a teen? I had never even heard of it. I don't know if people older then me used to do it and Instagram just didn't exist yet or if it just wasn't done. Either way, it wasn't in my vocab. Bronzer however, was my BFF. After the orange foundation, the crap and very small amount of concealer, on went the bronzer. On it went, everywhere, all over my cheeks, on my chin, my forehead, down my nose, on my cupids bow, everywhere. Imagine sitting in front of a pot of loose bronzing powder, then faceplanting it, that's what we must have looked like! Oh, and it had to be in the darkest shade I could find. I liked the Bourjois chocolate bronzer, you know the one, it smelt like a bar of the good stuff. Fun fact: I'm 95% sure I still have the one I used all those years ago in a draw somewhere...

Image result for bourjois chocolate bronzer
photo taken from Google Images

The pointless concealing phase
This is just a quick one, because I feel like I did use concealer... But I literally have no recollection of it. I don't remember which 1 I used, I don't remember ever going into boots to buy one, I don't remember ever putting it on. If I did use it, it definitely wasn't to brighten my under eye and was 100% only because my friends were doing it and I needed to fit in (lol). Maybe I didn't ever use it? I guess I'll never really know...


Please let me know what makeup mistakes you used to make when you were younger! We could even have a good laugh about them together! 


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Wednesday 16 November 2016

The Blogger Tag | Questions and Answers!




My dear friend Steph from Steph's World has tagged me in a new tag post called The Blogger Tag. I just want to say a huge thank you to Steph for tagging me and her kind words in her post - you can find it here! It's been a while since I did a post like this so what A perfect opportunity to get back into it! 


This post will help you guys get to know me that little bit better, which I quite like the idea of! You'll also find a few other blogs/bloggers to check out at the end as well so go and show them some love! So let's get into the tag...



THE BLOGGER TAG QUESTIONS


1) How tall are you?
I'm 5 ft 4". Not particularly tall but not obviously short - the perfect height if you ask me!...

 2) Do you have a hidden talent? If so, what?
I don't really have any hidden talents - because isn't a talent something you can just do? Like, you don't have to learn it? Although, hobby wise (I suppose it takes a bit of talent) I can figure skate. OK, well I could when I was 16 before I gave up - but skating is like riding a bike, once you know how it sticks with you. I got into figure skating from quite a young age and was lucky enough that my parents could afford to fund me group lessons, private lessons & the kit (skates etc). It's my favourite sport but it's not an easy one! I used to finish school and spend 4 hours a night on the ice! 

I'm also quite good at working my way around a computer. If we have an IT issue at work, 8 times out of 10, I could probably fix it. I don't, because hey, I don't get paid to do that, but I could...

3) What's your biggest blog - related pet peeve?  
For some reason we have found ourselves living in a time in which people with "50k" (half fake) Instagram followers will day in day out follow our accounts... The annoying part? Is when they then UN-follow you 2 days later when their numbers have gone up by 1k. Bore off Sadie Supermodel, you're not getting my follow back! 
Steph also mentioned about automated DMs on Twitter - let's not even begin that discussion... 

4) What's your biggest non-blog related pet peeve? 
I could probably sit and type about this for hours, every day people do things to quite frankly, piss me off. However the one that came to mind first, is pedestrians. Not just any pedestrians, don't get me wrong, most of us can follow the rules of the road. However being a car driver I seem to always cross path with that pedestrian who's balls are too big that day and decides "oh, lights green? Better cross and risk death then!" or the one's that literally must say to themselves "there's a zebra crossing 30 steps up the road, I'd better cross here to be a pain, hope a car comes round the corner lol lol lol"... Seriously, just use common sense! 

5) What's your favourite song? 
I don't have a different favourite song every few months like most people do, in fact I've always classed myself as that girl that just doesn't get the whole "favourite song thing". BUT... Well, I do have a favourite song, and it's been belting through my car radio as I drive down the motorway on my own for years. Are you ready for this answer? It's kinda embarrassing. My favourite song, EVER, is... The Westlife version of Flying Without Wings. There, I said it, lets move on.. 

6) What's your favourite social media website?
This question is really hard, I literally could sit on social media from the moment I open my eyes in the morning afternoon, till the moment I close them again at night. Probably, Snapchat. I just find it really personal, plus I'm just really nosey in general. Shout out to the people that see me lurking on their story - posted 37 seconds ago? Better watch it! Quick! 

7) What's your favourite way to spend your free time when you're alone? 
5 words: bed, food, American Horror Story. That's literally all I can say, it is all that I do lately! AHS has consumed my existence, is anyone else obsessed?!?!?


8) What's your favourite junk food? 
Am I really meant to pick one? Well up till about a month ago I was obsessed with bloody Mcdonald's! Of all things, but I've majorly bored myself of it now! So here's a weird one for ya, I like Salt & Vinegar Kettle Chips (normal or crinkle cut, I don't mind bro), or McCoy's crisps... With Dairy Milk chocolate, at the same time. Try it. It's good. Or a Kinder Bueno, I loves me a Kinder Bueno...

9) Do you have a pet or pets? If so, what kind and what are their names? 
I think I've answered this before, but oh well! I have 2 cats, Layla & Zeberdee who are brother and sister. Originally named Layla and Alfie but then my dad decided to have his say and messed up my perfect fur baby's names. I also wish I could say Zeb was named after that lovely children's TV character from the Magic Roundabout. No, instead, he's named after that horrible thug from Football Factory - probably where he gets his aggressive behaviour! 
Steph, if you're reading this - I hope one day we can have a cat date LOL. Genuinely...

10) What are your number one favourite non fiction and fiction books? 
OK, I hate reading. I don't hate it, however I am the worlds slowest reader. If you finished a book in a week, I'd still be on chapter 2 after a week. I've only ever read Harry Potter books 1-4 (maybe?) and the Twilight books, so them I guess?! 

11) What's your favourite beauty product/tool?
How am I meant to choose 1? Why are we all meant to have a favourite? It's impossible! I guess if I had to choose it would be the Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette, or the Mac Fix+ prep & prime spray or the Serenity liquid lip by Gerard Cosmetics or... I could think about this all day and still not have a definite answer. 

12) When were you last embarrassed? What happened? 
I don't actually know now that I'm thinking about it. I thought my life was one thing after the other but nothing is sticking out in my mind right now. 

13) If you could only drink one beverage (besides water) for the rest of your life, what would it be? 
This is tough because I drink water more then anything as it is. Probably Diet Coke. I have a serious issue. I did kick the habit a few months ago but its crept back into my life day by day and here I am obsessed again. I know it sounds like I'm talking about kicking a drug habit, but seriously I'd assume it's the same feeling. Drink at least 1 bottle of Diet Coke a day, everyday for a year and then go cold turkey... It's not easy. 

14) What's your favourite movie?  
I guess Dirty Dancing, but I have a list as long as my arm of films that identify as my "favourite", Including: How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Raising Helen, Gattaca, Titanic, Green Street, We're the Millers, Love Actually... Literally, most films are "my favourite" and they're clearly, all very different!  

15) What was your favourite lesson in school and why?
Food Tech, Food Tech, Food Tech. I hated school, I wouldn't go back for £100,000,000! Lets face it, Food Tech is relatively easy. Don't get me wrong, I was good at quite a few subjects, Art and Design was OK and I found German easy to learn as well. However I've always had a love for cooking and baking so when I could simply go to school and do what I'd been doing at home for a few years, and then get an A for it, I was chuffed. 

16) If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live? 
I'm not someone that could pack up and leave to move to the other side of the world alone, I'd miss home too much, but I'd never admit that. I think the furthest I'd go would be Ireland, I've been a few times and its just gorgeous, however it's super pricey! If I were to move out of Hertfordshire, but stay in England, I'd live in Brighton. I've been in love with Brighton for about 9 years now and I'd love to wake up to the view of the beach.
I live about a 20 minute drive from central London but would never go further into a city then this. Congestion Charge? All day traffic? 20mph speed limits on main roads? No thanks! Also, I'd have to come into contact with way to many people on a daily basis. Ugh. 

17) PC or MAC?
My dad was a computer contractor when I was growing up and swore by PC, MAC was like the devil to him and I guess he drummed that into my brain because I've always had a PC. Always. However, Macbook's are now available in Rose Gold, and the temptation has never been so strong, maybe one day... 

18) Last romantic gesture from a crush, date, boy//girlfriend, spouse? Or kind gesture from a friend?
My boyfriend does little kind/romantic gestures most day's, weather it be the fact he knows I've had a bad day and picking me up a diet coke (lol, this is what love is after 5 years - no complaints!) or weather it's him paying for the shopping in Asda lol. Little things make the biggest impact on me. The other day we popped out for a garlic bread and came home with a concealer and new setting powder (and garlic bread of course), I was winning. Oh plus, if we're together at the time, he watches Eastenders with me. That's a big deal for me. He says he doesn't like it, but I know the truth... 

 19) Favourite celebrity? 
I'm not as into celeb's as I'd like to be, I just don't have time! Everyone that knows me, knows I like Rhianna and Beyonce though. Plus my crushes: Leonardo Di Caprio & Ed Westwick, oh yehhhhhh 

20) What blogger do you secretly want to be best friends with?  
Well it's not really a secret, and she tagged me to do this post! Steph was one of the first bloggers I ever properly chatted with on Twitter when I first started the Love, Libby xx account and we just clicked! Steph knows the things no one else on twitter knows and is always up for a gossip if I've got a mountain of stuff on my plate! We do both lead busy lives and we do often take about 2 weeks to reply to each others messages but I'm glad we're so alike we don't even see the issue in that! I don't know what my blog would be if it wasn't for having blogger friendships like the one I have with Steph and she really is such a beautiful soul. Plus, we're so alike it's quite scary. We're basically best friend's anyway, weird busy best friends that never talk, but one day I just know we are gonna go to the Harry Potter Studio's together with our cats on little leads taking blog photo's hahahah! 

21) Who is your biggest inspiration?
Ok, I'm that weirdo that doesn't get inspired, seriously. That's probably why I often go a week without writing a blog post. There's not much I can say really, I just don't ever get that vibe, from anyone, ever! 

22) What is your favourite blog to read? 
Honestly? I work 24 hour shifts, most of which are on my own. I read a lot of blogs. The ones I read most will be linked below! 

23) What is your favourite high street shop?
As a self confessed makeup hoarder, I love a good trip into Boots or Superdrug. However I also really appreciate my local Yankee Candle store as well, and River Island/New Look for clothes! Oh and don't forget TK MAXX - bargains galore! 

24) Are you in education or do you work? 
I have been working since I was 17! I'm 23 now. I finished (full time) education when I was 18 and have had a full time job/career ever since. Blimey, I've been working for 6.5 years, where has the time gone?? I've also managed to gain my second level 3 qualification over the years and have been thinking about going to university lately, but I don't think I could handle it if I'm honest! 

 25) One thing you are proud of? 
Who I am. I've never really really spoken about my mental health on this blog but in the past I have been so unwell I lost everything, my friends, my job, the lot. My own mum says I was "hard to love"! I never ever thought I'd be able to climb out of the black whole I was in and it took a long time but I am better for it. Also, my teachers at school said I'd never get anywhere in life - aw, well you look like the animation on the front of a Monster Munch packet and clearly you're prediction was wrong, sorry hun xoxo.

How The Blogger Tag works... 
The bloggers who I nominate will also complete the above 25 questions on their blog, and will then nominate other bloggers in return.
I nominate:

Leya from leluroxx.blogspot.co.uk
Rebecca from Glamino
Kayleigh from Kayleigh Zaraa
Leanne from Latte Leanne
Bethany from Adventure and Anxiety
Charlene from Charlene McElhinney
Rosie from Love Rosiee
Beth from Beauty blogging with Beth
Emily from The Mini Mermaid
Jenny from Luxe Style
I look forward to reading your answers and thank you again to Steph for the tag!
#TheBloggerTag


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Friday 4 November 2016

Too Faced palette giveaway!


Remember the Too Faced palette I recently reviewed, here? It is no secret that I myself, am a huge Too Faced lover. I'd wanted to do a little giveaway for a while now so when @lovelibbyxx hit 1000 Instagram followers I took it as the perfect opportunity for my first Twitter giveaway! 

Unfortunately, there isn't much time left on this giveaway! However I can confirm a next one will be launched the week after. Head over to Twitter, and search for @lovelibbyxx - alternative click here! Here, you'll find my pinned tweet with the details! Just follow & retweet for your chance to win your own brand new, in box, Too Faced Cat Eyes palette! 

Giveaway ends November 6th 2016 @ midnight! Oh, and this giveaway is open internationally. Please note - quote retweet's do not count, to enter you must retweet the original tweet itself! 


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Winter warmers from River Island - lustlist


Can you believe that it's already November? Hello winter candles, nights in under the duvet and nothing but cosy, loung-ey clothes. Finally 'tis the season again to top mugs of hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows while you watch cheesey films on the sofa. The worst thing about this time of year? The darkness outside. I love going to work in the dark and returning home from work in the dark, said no one, ever. Here's everything I'm eyeing up on River Island right now that I think will make this winter as bearable as possible...







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