GIRLY ADVICE #2: HOW TO BE THE BEST BLOGGER, LIKE, EVER

Hi lovelies! Today, I thought I'd do another Girly Advice post to follow my 'How to not get hit on' post. This time, it's super helpful post with a few hints and tips about how to be the most stereotypical and annoying amazing blogger in the whole world, ever. Warning sarcasm ahead.

Step One 
Instagram everything. Not just every meal in a restaurant, but every meal you eat, had cornflakes today and yesterday? Instagram it again, there's no way that looks the same as before and it's in a different bowl today. Not just every cute thing your pet does, every single thing your pet does, sleeping in it's bed? Eating dog biscuits? Cat in the litter tray? Snap away - and don't forget to hashtag like mad #cute #dog #dogsofinstagram #cat #kitty #feline, the more the BETTER. Selfie before a night out? No. Selfie before everything. Off to work, selfie. Popping to Tescos, selfie. Going to the dentist, selfie. HASHTAG NO FILTER.

Step Two
punctuation is for suckers who actually needs full stops capitals letters commas apostrophes and paragraphs aint nobody got time for that and it totally makes sense without it. no punctuation just makes it look like you were typing in a hurry and had no time to worry about full stops and commas it makes you look like a busy business woman and people love that just put a full stop at the end of the post though you dont want to look crazy.

Step Three
Spam your link like crazy. People love that shit. Better still, write a generic 'follow for follow' comment, e.g. 'Great Post that I totally didn't even read. Why don't we follow eachother?! www.reevaluateyourlife.blogspot.com xxxx', copy, paste and leave it everywhere. You're bound to get a million followers an hour this way, people will really appreciate the time you took to press Ctrl C, Ctrl V over and over and then they'll definitely go straight to your blog to follow you. It's foolproof.

Step Four
This step is called the Social Network crossover. Get a facebook page for your blog and a twitter page for your blog and post 'follow me on twitter' on facebook and 'like my facebook page!' on twitter. Do this hourly until you have ten thousand followers. Better still, tweet celebrities asking them to retweet your blog link, Justin Bieber probably has a lot of free time these days...

Step Five
Copy other bloggers. Many people are making the mistake of writing something a bit different on their blog these days, no one wants that! Find a few blogs you love and buy what they buy, review what they review, wear what they wear. The bigger bloggers didn't get where they are today by being original, duh.

Step Six
Apple is your friend. You simply must own an iPad, MacBook, iPhone and anything else you can get your hands on. Then instagram (see step one) every single time you use any of the above. It's imperative that people know you have apple products. If you can't afford to replace all of your electronics, just take a bite out of an apple and tape it to your old Dell laptop. No one will notice.

Step Seven
Buy every single hyped up product ever. You never wear eyeshadow, but everyone has the Naked 3 palette, so you totally need it anyway. Use it once and swatch it on your blog, then leave it in the back of a cupboard forever, or better yet, stick it in a blogsale two weeks after your review. The point it, you had it when it was cool and that MATTERS.

Of course, the most important step is to actually ignore this entire post and do your blog your way. This is of course, a jokey post and all of these should be taken lightly (I'm actually guilty of the instagram one myself!!)

Let me know if you enjoy silly posts like this, as I love to write something a little different every now and again!

KATE MOSS RIMMEL MATTE LIPSTICK 107: REVIEW

Kate Moss Matte Lipsticks available on ASOS*

Hi lovelies! If you follow me on twitter or instagram, you'll know that I was recently accepted into ASOS's Access all ASOS programme and became one of their insiders. When my little welcome parcel came in the post, I received a pair of sunglasses and this gorgeous lipstick. What was really lovely about this, was that a few weeks earlier, I'd tweeted about feeling crappy and said send help, or failing that, new lipstick and my ASOS package came with a note saying 'Did someone say send new lipstick? Your wish is our command!', it was such a wonderful personal touch, seriously impressive!

I'd tried a Kate Moss lipstick before, but never one of their Matte ones, so I was really excited when this I opened this little beaut! 107 was pretty hyped up in the blogger world last year, but as it's a berry tone, I just assumed it wouldn't be for me. I'm generally not too brave with lipsticks, going for natural pink or nude most days and a true red on a night out, deeper colours and berry tones are usually a little out of my comfort zone! However, when I tried this on, I was pleasantly surprised about how much I loved the colour. While it is definitely a plum toned colour, it's not too dark or too purple. It's more berry with red undertones. It's slightly sheer, but can be built up for a more intense, opaque look, but also tapped on lightly to be more of a stain.

Despite being a slightly more daring shade (for me at least!), I think this would honestly suit most skintones, as it stands out against pale skin like mine, but isn't so dark that it looks 'gothic', I can also see it looking gorgeous on deeper skintones too, as it's not overly cool toned. The finish is like a satin matte, not so matte that it feels dry and gross, but definitely in no way glossy. This is perfect for me as I love a matte lip, but if you prefer more of a shine, it may be a good idea to put a gloss or balm over the top. It feels super smooth on the lips, just the same as a regular Rimmel lipstick, definitely none of that typical dry lip feeling you get from a lot of matte lippies.

I'd thoroughly recommend this to anyone, because as I've said, fab consistency, fab colour and pretty perfect on any skintone!

What do you think? Have you tried any of the Kate Moss lippies? Which is your favourite?

TAG: THE BLOGGER MADE ME BUY IT

Hi lovelies! I was recently tagged by the lovely Jessica, to do the 'The Blogger Made My Buy It' tag. I thought this was a great little tag, particularly for us fashion and beauty bloggers. I will be tagging a few bloggers at the end, but feel free to do this tag too as I'd love to see your answers!

1/ Who are your most influential bloggers? Who are the ones that you really rely on for reviews and swatches?

Honestly, I don't really look to any one particular blogger for reviews and things, as I like to get a lot of different opinions. I think it's good to look at lots of different blogs to get several opinions and I'll always check blogs over website reviews. That said, I don't think you can beat Temptalia and The Sunday Girl for a fab review and high quality swatches. 

2/ Do you buy a product solely as a result from one review from your favourite bloggers, or do you look for more reviews from others?

Sometimes I'll look at one review and think 'yep, sold', near enough straight away, particularly if it's a product I've been considering for a while. Other times though, if I'm not too sure, I'll at least look at swatches online first, or scout around for other reviews, just in case! If it's a pale skinned blonde reviewing a pretty pink blush, I'm much more likely to buy it straight off their review than if I was reading a foundation review from an oily skinned, tanned girl - because it's probably not going to work for me! So basically, if I feel the blogger has similar taste to me, I might buy a product based solely on their review, but with anyone else, I'll look around first.

3/ What is your most favourite item that you have ever bought as a consequence of blogs?

Soleil Tan De Chanel without a shadow of a doubt. Had it not been for all the bloggy enablers out there, I'd never have considered this, but after reading countless reviews, I caved and I'm so glad I did. This product is just beautiful. I have a full review here if you'd like to read that so I won't bang on too much!

4/ What is your least favourite item that you have ever bought as a consequence of blogs?
The Bourjois BB Bronzing Cream without a doubt, the one that looks like it's in a foundation bottle. I don't know where to begin with this, literally, what is it even for?! I saw it on so many blogs and my blogger brain went 'get it! You need it! BUY IT, BUY IT!', so I did and ever since it's sat in my makeup bag confusing the life out of me. It's just like a weird brown liquid that serves no purpose other than to maybe give you a patchy fake tan look for a Jersey Shore Halloween costume, I just don't get it.


5/ Name 5 products you have bought recently as a result of blogs.
I honestly haven't bought that many products lately as I've had a few sent to me to review and my bank account has been saying a firm no this month. However I think the most recently blogger inspired purchases I made were Rimmel Stay Matte powder, which I had tried before, but was talked into buying again by you guys (thank you for that, my purse enjoys this much more than MAC MSF Natural!!), an MUA Matte Lipstick, a Topshop Lip Bullet and a cheeky Urban Decay purchase last night (all will be revealed, it may not be what you expect!).


6/ Have you ever given into blogger hype? If so, which hype?
Yes, the Soleil Tan De Chanel hype, I regret nothing.


7/ Have you ever avoided blogger hype? If so, which hype?
Rimmel Apocalips, as much as I loved the look of them, I know I wouldn't get that much wear out of them, as I prefer a matte or satin finish lippy, gloss just isn't my thing most of the time. Although I don't mind a glossy red, so I may give Big Bang a go one day... Shh.


8/ Is everything you buy based on blogger reviews or are there some items you buy without checking out a review?
A lot of things I buy are based on blogger reviews now, definitely a lot more than before I became a blogger, but some things I will just pick up on a whim. Particularly if it's something I haven't seen on a blog before, as I think it's great to review something not too many people will have seen or know about. Saying that though, I do think blog reviews are incredibly useful and if I'm buying something a little more expensive I will look at reviews first.

Phew! I really love doing tag posts and love reading them too, so if you've done this post, definitely let me know in the comments, I'd love to read it!

I tag:

Perdi: http://watermelonraindropx.blogspot.co.uk/
Ellie: http://www.elliesramblings.com/
Becky: http://lipgloss-and-lashes.blogspot.co.uk/
Sophie: http://sophielouisew.blogspot.co.uk/
Georgina: http://www.georginadoes.co.uk/
Becka: http://www.beckasbeautyblog.com/
Kimberley: http://www.kimberleysbeautyblog.com/
Sophie: http://www.sophie-said.blogspot.co.uk/
Becky: http://www.beautybecky.com/
Rebecca: http://www.nouvellebeau.co.uk/

ABOUT TIME: OOTD

jumper - chicnova* (available on ebay)

skirt - karma clothing*

socks and boots - primark

watch - marc by marc jacobs

What's this? An OOTD?! On my blog? It's taken me until near the end of January to complete this blogolution, but I finally got there. I think regular OOTD's are a bit ambitious, at least until summer, but I do want to start doing them a little more regularly than I was (which was almost never). I really like this outfit, this is my second ripped knit jumper and I just love it, I have the white as well but I love this blush pink one even more. Bare legs is definitely not the way to go right now, so if I dare go outside at some point today I will be swapping my beloved knee highs for some very thick tights - booo.

Also, you may not be able to tell but I've gone very slighter darker blonde - again. I went this same shade of ash blonde last year and I absolutely loved it but my hair fades super fast and doesn't like to hold onto darker tones for too long, so who knows how long this will last. I do love it though as it's looking a lot more natural than it has in a while! Side note, I feel like my camera's gone a bit weird as I can't seem to get my photos looking as good as they used to, I'm not sure if it's the winter weather or something I've done to my camera but either way, you'll have to bear with me until I figure something out!!

Let me know if you'd like me to do more OOTD's in the future, or what kind of posts you would like to see more of in the comments, I'd love to know!

LOVING LATELY...

Hi lovelies! Today I thought I'd show you all a few of my favourite things I've bought/ received lately. I love seeing posts like this on other peoples blogs and I think it's often nice to share some of the slightly different things that you wouldn't generally see on my blog.

Something that popped through the post recently was this gorgeous Catseye London* Washbag from their new 2014 collection. Catseye London have sent me items in past and I was just as pleased with this one, fab quality and cute dogs? Perfection.

I absolutely adore this jumper* that was sent to me c/o chicnova.com, I have this in white with orange/yellow flowers, but I much prefer this one. It's a gorgeous blush pink/ peach with pink flowers and the ripped/ distressed effect on the sleeves and hem. I'll definitely try to feature it in a (long overdue) OOTD very soon!

On the topic of cute, how precious are these Bambi slippers? I picked these up in Primark lately for just £4, which was an absolute steal! I love these kind of sock slippers as I'm not really one for full on slippers or feeling like I'm wearing shoes in the house. These are super comfy and soft inside and they have Bambi on them, need I say more?

My sister bought me this gorgeous list book from Paperchase recently, it's nothing too exciting to most people, but I really do love a good list. It's pretty, it's pink, it's made specifically for lists and it has stickers at the back, which pleases me slightly too much. I'm 19, not 9, honest.

Finally, I decided my phone needed a New Years makeover as I've needed a new case for quite a while. As I have a Samsung Galaxy and not an iPhone, it's not quite so easy to find pretty cases, so when I fancy a new one, I always head over to eBay as they have the best selection! The one I got is here, the seller has loads of designs for several types of phone, which is fab. I loved the pretty shoe design of this one, definitely the prettiest case I've had so far!

What little random things have you been loving lately?

*Marked items were gifted to me. All opinions are my own, not a sponsored post.

KORRES ALMOND AND LINSEED CONDITIONER AND MASK: REVIEW

Korres Mask  and Korres Conditioner for dry, damaged hair - both ASOS

Hi lovelies! Sometimes, when it's cold outside and raining pretty much every day of the week, the winter weather can seriously take its toll on your hair - particularly my hair! So, when I saw this Mask and Conditioner from Korres on ASOS, I thought I'd give them a go. I've always loved Korres and as their products are full of natural ingredients and I've never tried a single product from them that I don't like. 

The products I picked out were these gorgeous Almond and Linseed Conditioner and Hair Mask, they also did a shampoo, but as I generally use a blonde toning shampoo day to day and a clarifying shampoo otherwise, I decided just to go for the conditioners. These products are for dry and damaged hair, which unfortunately, I definitely have, particularly at this time of year. My hair has been growing very quickly lately, which is fab, but as my hair is a not so natural shade of light blonde, it means colouring my hair a lot, so it takes a lot to keep it in good shape! 

The daily conditioner is fab as it's thicker than some of the other daily ones I've been using, which makes it feel a lot more nourishing on the hair. You don't need too much to spread it all over the lengths of the hair, then I tend to leave it on for 2 or 3 minutes before rinsing. This leaves my hair super soft and shiny and much easier to manage. The mask is very similar in consistency, but thicker still than the daily conditioner. It takes a little more to spread over the hair, then I leave this on for 5 to 10 minutes before rinsing. I have been using this mask once a week, which makes my hair feel super nourished and soft, even more so than the daily conditioner. The main difference I have found between the two is that when I use the mask, my hair still feels nourished on the second day, whereas it often feels it needs conditioning again the next day when I use the daily one.

These aren't cheap at £10, but I definitely notice the difference in my hair compared to cheaper ones. Not only does my hair feel amazing when I use these, but it smells amazing too. The almond scent really comes through, so if like me you love an almond scent, you'll love this! It's also very fresh and clean smelling, I can't stop sniffing my hair when I use it! If you did fancy something a little more luxurious to help out dry and damaged hair, then it's definitely worth investing in one or both of these. I think if I were to just have one, I'd have the mask, as it's an amazing once a week treat and makes such a big difference to my hair, even when I'd just used it the once. 

What do you think? What's your favourite conditioner right now? I'd love to know!

*Not a sponsored post, however these products were purchased using store credit that was gifted to me.

SLEEK: BLUSH BY 3, PINK LEMONADE REVIEW*

Pink Lemonade Blush By 3 Palette - Sleek*

Hi lovelies! In the past year or so, I think the high street has seriously upped its game when it comes to make up and one brand that I think has really got it right, is Sleek. The quality for price is amazing and the packaging is so beautifully simple, and not dissimilar to a lot of high end brands. I've tried a few of their products, but had only ever had a couple of their blushes, despite hearing great things. So, when I got the opportunity to try out one of their amazing Blush by 3 palettes in new shades, I was super excited! The one I received was 'Pink Lemonade', which comes with three beautiful pink shades - definitely right up my street! These are just £9.99 for three good sized blushes, which works out to just £3.33 per blush, so they're a total bargain too.

As I said, the high street seems to have a lot of great make up on the go lately, but I don't think I've been as excited about a new release for ages as I was by this. Blush is one of my favourite parts of my make up routine, as I think it can change up your whole look. If I think I look a bit tired, or my skin's looking a bit dull, I don't think anything 'wakes up' my skin more than a gorgeous shimmery blush. I tend to stick to the same lippie and eyeshadows day to day, but blush is something I like to switch up. However, as I like to keep my every day make up in just one make up bag to save going through drawers and boxes every morning, this little palette is perfect, as it's slim and compact and I have three colours to play with without having to carry three separate products around. It also has a good sized, great quality mirror inside, which I love as it's perfect for touch ups on the go!

Onto the actual product itself, I have come to expect no less than perfection from Sleek and these certainly did not disappoint. This little palette contains two shimmery powder blushes and one cream blush, all in stunning pink shades. The two powder blushes, Icing Sugar and Pink Mint are very highly pigmented, so you only need a tiny amount for a subtle flush of colour, but they can be built up depending on the look you want, or your skin tone. They blend perfectly onto your skin, so no streaky clown cheeks here! Icing Sugar is a beautiful blue toned pink, which I don't normally love, but it has a golden shimmer through it, which looks great on my pale (sob) skin, as the blue tone is really flattering, but the gold adds just the right amount of warmth. Pink Mint is a warmer, almost coral pink, also with a stunning golden shimmer through it. I'd never tried a Sleek cream blush before, and to be honest, I didn't even know they did them, so I didn't really know what to expect from this, but oh. wow. I love cream blushes and this one is just amazing, the colour is just beautiful, it's a fairly neutral pink, not too cool and not too warm, so it can be worn underneath either of the powder blushes, for extra long wear time, or alone for a more subtle look. It blends out really well and can be built up too, so can be worn as naturally or bold as you like! This looks gorgeous blended out for a really natural flush, and leaves a slightly dewy finish, which I love in a cream blush. So, gorgeous colour, fab quality and it's called Macaroon, sold.

I'd totally recommend this little trio to anybody, as the colours are all so universal and can be worn subtly, or built up. They have fab lasting power and go on like an absolute dream. If you fancy a new blush in your makeup collection, these pretty palettes are definitely worth checking out.

*This product was sent to me for reviewing purposes, all opinions are my own.

SKINNYDIP

iPad Mini Case - SkinnyDip on ASOS

Hi lovelies! Usually, I wouldn't dedicate an entire post to something as (usually) dull as an iPad case, but as soon as this beauty arrived in the post, I knew I had to share it with you all! Before, I had a Victoria's Secret hard case and kept it in a Ted Baker zip up case for travelling and while I did love both of those, I fancied getting something that was more 'all in one', so when I spotted this on ASOS, it went in my basket straight away! This stunning iPad mini case is from a brand called Skinny Dip (which I have linked above), who do the most amazing cases for iPads, phones and tablets, as well as headphones, clutch bags and other bits and bobs, all of which are super cute so it's definitely worth checking out their website or range on ASOS.

We'll start with the obvious, this case is gorgeous. I fell in love with the design as it's so simple, but so unique. I adore the simple white leather look design, as I'm a sucker for all things white at the moment, and then there's the matter of the beautiful jewelled design on the front. The colours are lovely and the placement is just perfect. As much as I was completely taken with the design of this case, the quality is just amazing too. It feels really sturdy when you put the iPad in, as it keeps it in place really securely. The case itself is thick and robust, as feels like it's really protecting your iPad, which is perfect for me, as my poor iPad spends most of it's time in my handbag, which is about as overcrowded as the central line at rush hour, so a strong, protective case is definitely necessary. I love the fact that you can fold this back and have it standing up, which I love, mostly because it means I can watch Gossip Girl on Netflix without it sitting flat on my lap or holding it up. It turns it into a tiny TV and that thrills me.

What do you think? Are you a sucker for pretty gadget cases?

* Not a sponsored post. Case purchased with a voucher that was gifted to me.

A LITTLE THANK YOU, 1500 FOLLOWER BLOGLOVIN' GIVEAWAY: A MAC LIPSTICK OF YOUR CHOICE

Hi lovelies! Recently, I reached 1500 followers on bloglovin' and I was just so excited. It may not seem like a lot to some and there are blogs of all kinds out there with more followers than me and others with less, but no matter what, it always feels amazing to reach a milestone such as this one. This happened in the same week that Chloe's Way reached quarter of a million pageviews, so to me this was such a big deal! As I've said before, 2013 was a huge year for my blog and this was just the best way to kick start 2014!

So, even though I do have a collaboration give away planned for the near future, I decided I wanted to also do a little one now, just to say a big thank you to each and every one of you! My blog wouldn't be where it is right now without all of your support and it honestly just means the world to me. Every single comment, email or tweet I receive from a follower puts a huge smile on my face, it sounds massively clichéd and cringey, but it's so true! Us bloggers blog because we love it and when other people tell you that they love what you're doing too, it's just the best feeling in the world. So! Sappy rambles aside, when deciding what to give away, I thought I'd go back to the old Chloe's Way days and to an old favourite - a MAC lipstick giveaway! These used to be my favourite kind of giveaways to run (and enter!) and it means the winner can personalise their prize to suit themselves.

So, you know the drill, enter using the Rafflecopter giveaway form below - and good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway