Such a basic bitch post but hey, I’m fully invested and here is how my 2017 went and what I am doing in 2018.
Some of my highlights for 2017 :
HILDA!
A new fluffy addition to our family came in the form of a blue golden British Shorthair whom we called Hilda. We got her at 12 weeks and although the first 2 weeks were HELLISH trying to get Sourface Von Herms (Herman) to accept it, it finally all happened and gelled into place. She is such a character and we all adore her & Herman love-hates her.
Skiing Trip to Val D’Isere.
One of the most incredible holidays ever with our best friends. We were incredibly lucky to stay in the infamous Chalet Rocher which is basically pimpest-ass rental chalet EVER and is pretty much like a private hotel. It had a spa, sauna, gym ,swimming pool, a bar, a hot tub, a chef, 4 staff & a motherfucking chauffeur to take you to the slopes. A proper once-in-a-lifetime-living-like-a-rockstar-holiday and it was truly incredible. We heard that the Chalet itself was worth £35 million (yikes) and I vlogged it which you can see here FYI.
It re-ignited my love for the mountains and skiing, and It was possibly one of the best holidays I have ever been on. LOVE.
Buying, renovating and selling our first house.
Something I haven’t been talking about too much, but we became home-owners. We are now onto house no. 2 and I’m super excited and I will perhaps share more soon.
Getting paid to blog.
I had had little bits of small sponsored posts before this year, but this year was the first time I made a bit of *ok* dollar from my blog. It’s something I enjoy doing so much so it feels AWESOME to be rewarded and appreciated by brands.
Connecting and becoming friends with some fabulous online peeps.
The list is long, and you know who you are, but it’s been lovely getting to know ‘in real life’ some fabulous blogging ladies including Laura from Laurzrah, Laura from Lelore, Lex from Talonted Lex andHelen from The LoveCats Inc.
My old school crew Zoe Newlove, Caroline Hirons, Rachel BeautyQueen UK, Sophie The Beauty Informer & Laurzrah have continued to keep me going, listened to my rants, lifted me up, helped me with my blog, and kept me on a slightly sane path when everything blogging gets a bit too much, a bit too tainted, a bit too fucking meh. Finding people you can talk to openly and candidly to can sometimes be hard in amongst the snake pit which can be the blogging community. Just surround yourself with the good ‘uns.
Starting my You Tube channel.
Ah gaaad I love and hate it. I’m proud of myself for trying it and putting myself out there in the most vulnerable way I can imagine. It’s really hard, it takes me bloody ages to film and edit as I am far from a natural in-front-of-the-camera gal and it’s kind of disheartening when you spend a day on a video and you get 50 views. However, I have had some lovely comments and even when it’s 1 viewer saying how much they love a video or look then it just makes it worth it, and puts a huge smile on my face.
I will slowly keep pursuing with my channel in my plight to gain my first 1000 subscribers so if you haven’t already, please support me and SUBSCRIBE HERE.
Norfolk Staycation.
I had never properly been before (except on a shoot but it was work and didn’t really count!) and in October my husband booked us a couple of nights away as a surprise for my birthday. I had no idea which part of the country we were going and we ended up staying at Morston Hall Hotel which is owned and run by the fabulous chef Galton Blackiston. If you know me, you know I love my food, and gastro experiences (I despise the word ‘foodie’ but that’s possibly what I’m trying to describe in a less non-cringe way) so this was a perfect choice. We went to Wells-Next-To-The-Sea and had THE most beautiful walk in the forest (honestly, it’s magical & makes you feels like a child again!) and then some other lovely walks amongst eating ALL the foods. It was perfect and I would recommend Norfolk to anyone. I have always been a huge fan of Staycations and exploring what we have here on our doorstep and I’m looking forward to more of this in 2018.
2017 in a few (SHITLOADS of..) piccies:
Coming in 2018 :
Moving out to the country.
something me and my husband have talked about for a couple of years, but it will be happening in 2018 for sure. We are going to move a little bit further out into the country, but still commutable (reasonably) to London for my work and projects. London has been my home for over 10 years now and a slightly quieter, nature-filled life and a bigger property is calling with fields for Herman & Hilda to go roaming in.
Getting Fit & healthy.
Snore off sorry but yeah. I’m 36 now and feeling sluggish, slow and super unhealthy, I am getting back on track, I’ve joined my local gym and I am also getting involved with Veganuary to give me a kickstart. I want to definitely reduce the amount of meat in my diet, and possibly go back to being a vegetarian in 2018.
New Zealand or Canada?
2 places on my holiday hitlist and I am determined to do one or the other in 2018. New Zealand is appealing more to me, as I have family there I would love to meet and I love everything I hear and see about NZ.
Investing into *better* brands
Perfectly showcased by Kylie fucking Jenner trying to launch a brush set for how-ever-many-hundreds-of-dollars. I ain’t buying it. I never will invest into certain brands for various reasons and I want to continue this and be a better and more educated consumer in 2018.
Fur VS synthetic brushes? I feel like I have to make the choice to stop buying fur /animal hair brushes and opt for only synthetic from now on. Real hair brushes are more often than not from animals that have been killed or probably mistreated to get their hair onto your makeup brush. Squirrel & Sable are key ones to avoid – they ain’t groomed, the same way as minks aren’t ‘groomed’ for your fucking eyelashes.
The quality has got *SO* much better since I started my makeup career (literally you would never use synthetic brushes besides the concealer and foundation brush) so I am going to be buying synthetic from now on.
I want to invest more of my money and interest into ‘good brands’. Smaller, home-grown and ethically sound brands. Brands that care about the environment, how they package, how they market and what they care about.
Less. Fucking. Plastic.
We all saw that poignant episode of Blue Planet 2. If you didn’t then go back on catch up, it’s an eye opener if you lived a little ignorantly like myself. I am actively making changes to use and live with less plastic…slowly but surely.
Also: avoiding ANY product that use micro beads in their products (face scrubs) and completely boycotting the entire brand until the cease to do so.
Makeup Less : Blog more.
Ok this is the biggest decision I have made for some time and it’s not one I have taken lightly. But yes, I am slowing down my makeup work a touch, and upping my time into blogging a little more. 2017 has been a year of me burning the work candle (not much social) at both ends and I have rarely had a day off. If you don’t know, I am a professional makeup artist and have been for over 14 years. So when I am not working on a client, celebrity, model or shooting…..I am squirreling away on my blog.
It has all got a bit too much and one has to take a slight hit. It’s going to be the makeup. It’s a big risk and by no way am I giving up makeup but I want to invest a little more time into my blog and writing to raise my profile and get more income from my blog. It coincides with me moving further away from London. I will be commuting in for big makeup jobs and shoots for sure, but the smaller jobs will have to be passed on and hopefully the loss in income from these can be replaced by blog opportunities and collaborations.
Moving forward into 2018, I am super excited and am also loving all the positive vibes which are resonating off people around me.
I am taking a step, or a few, away from those who have constantly taken from me : my advice, my praise, my love, my concern, my energy and my time. Those who never give back and simply ask how YOU are.
The types who you sing for, but NEVER clap for you.
The types who are only invested in negativity and gossip. Be better.
The types who seemingly fill your social timelines with self-praising, gloating, entitlement & narcissism. Mute / unfollow.
The types who come creeping out when they want something or when something has to benefit themselves? Yeah….they can ALL do one.
Happy New Year & Happy 2018 to each and everyone of you, I hope it’s filled with everything you need and wish for, and rid of those who negatively impact you.
