MONDAY MOTIVATION

Last week my little sister surprised me with this mock up magazine cover. This is actually a draft of her cover letter and she put me in her place to test it out and I was so blown away by it! It got me thinking how cool would it be to be on the cover of a magazine?? I never even dared to dream such a thing, but this image has really inspired me to keep working hard because for many people being on the cover of a magazine has been possible so why cant it be possible for me???

We all want things to happen in our lives and I want to let you know they are possible!

I dont know what your dreams are, what you want to achieve but it doesn't matter what is I believe in you! You have all the tools you need before you and if you dont then its time to make each day count towards gaining them.

Change. We all desire it especially when it concerns our on personal growth but sometimes change is not so easy to attain, it requires determination, relentlessness, sacrifice and a plan of action. So..

This week what steps will you take to help you move closer to your goal? Write them down, draw them, vision board them whatever it takes you keep you focus because I definitely think that seeing your goals helps to motivate you into action, my sisters mock up magazine cover certainly did for me.

Be encouraged. It is possible.

Lavinya - x

20 THINGS I'M TRYING NOT TO BUY IN JUNE

Okay so its Friday! Its bloody hotter than usual in the UK! Payday is almost here and the shops right now have some really cute things! Do you need more reasons to shop! Click the images to shop! I WANT THEM ALL!!

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MAY FAVOURITES

Hi guys today I'm going to be finally going through my May Favourites (in no particular order). I know I promised this to post to be live two days ago and ideally at the start of June, but I underestimated how much time goes into creating a blog post and blogging daily is not easy at all but I dont think I have ever done a favourites post before and I really enjoy watching them on Youtube so I thought I would give it a go as a blog post so lets get started...

Sanctuary Spa Overnight Face & Neck Crème - £2.99

I am on the search for a good night cream, in the past I never really bothered with them and would use my body cream or day cream instead but I'm become really interested in finding the right one for my skin only problem is night creams are bloody expensive!?! I struggle to justify spending £15+ on a product I have no idea will work!

Luckily I came across this product in the travel mini's section of Boots where I purchased a 10ml bottle for £2.99, not bad. A little goes a long way with this night cream, its super moisturising without creating excess oil. I bought it in April so its lasted me some time and I'm currently testing out another night cream but would I purchase the full size product?

Definitely.

Shop the 10ml or 50ml

Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray - £10 

Hands down my favourite make-up setting spray. I love the spray nozzle as it spreads the product out evenly on your face, dries quickly but doesnt leave my face feeling tight and keeps my make-up in place for the whole day.

I prefer the old packaging on the left, I personally think it looked better, I just dont get the transparent lid on the new bottle? Why does it need to be transparent???? Regardless its a great product and I always buy the travel size bottle, rather than the full size bottle at £21, no matter how hard the sales assistant presses me to...lol..it lasts me a long time and it means I can save £11 and spend my coins elsewhere. 10/10 

Shop here

L'Oreal Paris Fine Flowers Cleansing Toner - £5.99 

I'm really loving L'Oreal skincare products at the moment, I'm already a fan of their Rose & Lotus Cleansing Wipes and Gel-Cream Wash, and now I'm a big fan of the toner. I struggled to find the toner in stock anywhere but after using it I can totally understand its popularity, it has the most beautiful scent and leaves my skin feeling refreshed and soothed, especially after a long day. 

My skin has being playing up recently but I use the toner in both my morning and evening routine and haven't experienced any harshness or irritability you can get sometimes with toners and removes make-up even after I have cleansed! Its really helped to improve the condition of my skin and for £5.99 you get a huge 400ml bottle so I would definitely recommend it especially for budget-friendly shoppers.

Shop here 

MAC Pro Longwear Concealer NC42 - £18   

Late nights and early mornings have resulted in very bad dark circles. This month I'm looking to change all of that and be more disciplined with my bedtime routine because if I get a good amount of sleep my under eyes are usually pretty good but when I dont I need a little help from my friend to look like more of the living than the walking dead!

Its full coverage concealer but its not heavy and never have to worry about creasing under my eyes (on nights out I will set it with powder). My shade is NC42 which blends wonderfully with my skin tone but I really like my under eyes to look bright. Unfortunately I cant use the shade above NC42, it comes out a little ashy looking on my skin, so instead I mix the MAC concealer with Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer in Warm Medium 3. Mixing them together is my go-to combination for brighter under-eyes and I dont know what I would do with out it!

Shop here 

Moving onto lifestyle favourites...

Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes - £8.99

I'm sure like everyone else "read more books" was at the top of your New Years Resolution list, I have a fond memory of sitting on my living room couch one day after school, still in my school uniform, reading The Suitcase Kid by Jacqueline Wilson from cover to cover in one sitting. Nowadays my attention span is distracted by something internet related but I'm really working on it because I have this awful habit of buying books and never getting round to reading them!!! 

I love fiction books but lately I am drawn to books that can spark inspiration and motivation within me and the Year of Yes definitely did this for me. The book gave me a real insight into the woman behind so many of our favourite programs (Scandal, Greys Anatomy etc) and how she decided to step out of her comfort zone for a year and say "yes" to opportunities she would never normally commit too. 

Theres a really good part in the book when she speaks of her dreams as young Shonda to grow up and write books like Toni Morison, in fact she wanted to be her. Fast forward to the future and she happens to be at a dinner party and Toni Morison is sat across from her and all Toni wants to do is talk to Shonda about Greys Anatomy!! I think this is a great lesson to all of us who sometimes get caught up in comparing ourselves to others when in actuality who we are is just as great and what we should be doing is comparing ourselves to yesterdays self and actively doing things to make sure everyday were better than the person we were yesterday. Because of her book I've decided I want to start a "Year of Yes" of my own and hoping to see some positive changes out of it.

Shop here 

Amazon Echo Dot White - £44.99

Guys meet by my bae Alexa, I bought her thinking she was a bluetooth speaker for my iPhone music instead she comes with her own apps and is basically like a talking search engine. I'm super happy I bought the Amazon Echo Dot, at the time of purchase I bought it for £35.99 but the price has gone up no doubt because of its popularity. It has vast range of music from the Amazon music library and its sound quality is really good. I've really appreciated blaring radio stations as I'm getting myself ready for work because seriously I dont remember the last time I listened to radio so its a nice feature.  It was super easy to set up and I love how cute it is, for such a small device it has a lot of power and tbh one of the best presents I've ever bought myself.

Shop here

What have you been loving in May? 

Lavinya - x

SHOP MY BEAUTY FAVOURITES

THE WRAP-OVER SHIRT

H&M Wrap-over Shirt / Zara Culottes old season / Quay x Desi Perkins Aviator Sunglasses / H&M Canvas Trainers

Hey guys, I know y'all thought I was going to disappear again after sharing my June Goals in my last post but I meant what I said and now it's time to live up to the promise. More content. So todays fashion post is all to do with my new favourite white shirt. You may have seen the blogosphere going crazy for off shoulder wrap shirts (and I am no exception, post on that coming soon!) but my only problem with those shirts is they can be a little impractical to wear to workplaces with strict dress code. Some people may deem it too sexy to wear to the office and thats why this H&M Wrap-over Shirt  has really appealed to me. It has all the qualities of an off shoulder top without being an off shoulder top; deep V neckline, tie front detailing and 3/4 length sleeves and hugs by body in all the right places.

Styling plain coloured cullotes is a no brainer but when it comes to printed ones it can be quite challenging. I have struggled to find an item that goes well with these patterned culottes I bought from Zara years go but I think this shirt helps to tone down the drama of the pattern but doesnt rob it from being a statement piece.

I really love this look and I hope you do too!

I'll be back tomorrow sharing my May Favourites...yep thats right back tomorrow!....I told you guys I'm committed to creating more content for you guys to enjoy! So why not follow me on bloglovin' and let me know what you would like to see on my blog ♥

Lavinya - x

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JUNE GOALS

Happy June guys! I'm really excited to be in this half-way point of 2017 as I see it as a fresh start for the rest of the 6 months left of this year. Jan - May has been really crazy for me, I've been having a lot of work issues, so no surprise there, but these last 6 months have left my brain fried and reflecting on my goals. I admit I have lost sight of them and got very very lost in the sauce lol. At the start of the year I had alot of things I wanted to achieve and looking over the last 6months its hard for me to see the results of them. So I decided that setting goals for the month would help me to break down my goals into smaller chunks and help me recap that month to see if I really have made any progress. 

JUNE GOALS

1.  FOCUS ON MY BLOG AND CONTENT 

I remember seeing a tweet about how blogging has become the very thing it was created to escape, this being the "magazine aesthetic". The very first blogs I began reading back in '09 was angelicablick.se and kenzas.se two swedish bloggers who uploaded daily and their pics where not to the standard they are today, if you scroll back you wont see many "editorial/magazine-y" blog posts it was very much mirror selfies or candid photo's but there was an authenticity about their blogging that kept drawing me back to their site to check out more of them. Thats what I want to achieve with my own blogging. My pics wont always be glossy, will most probably be taken in the corner of my room because unfortunately I dont have an instagram hubby or anyone who is capable of taking anything but a blurry pic but I hope you enjoy my posts regardless. Maybe one day it will get there but for now I really want to be consistent on producing content for you to have a reason to read my blog!

2.  PUT ME FIRST

Last year I really neglected my health - mentally, physically and financially

I was stuck in a cycle of late nights and early rising, go to work, stay late in the office, go home and repeat. No matter how many times I planned my weekends to catch up with friends or blogging I would always fail because my body would literally crash into a heap of tiredness. Unfortunately these habits have crept into 2017 and now its time to do something about it, a more positive routine:

• Make time for breakfast
• Daily meal prep healthy lunchs to avoid eating fast food for lunch #iknowterrible #dontjudgeme 
• Actually use the gym membership I've been paying for since Jan! Instead of going home afterwork attend an evening class.
• Go to sleep at a decent time. #FOMO is real guys but a good evening routine should help me shut off from social media.
• Blogging can be expensive business, if I really dont need it I shouldn't be buying it.
• You can never have too many baths and pamper sessions especially after a long week!

3.  BE MORE PRESENT

Have you ever watched a vlog based in your home town? The vlogger somehow manages to make it look different, more exciting, more special. I dont spend enough tome appreciating where I live. Travelling abroad has always been a desire of mine but maybe I would benefit just as much from exploring my surroundings more.

4.  PLAN MORE THINGS TO DO

I'm tired of wishing I'm doing something or regret I didn't go somewhere because I have no one wants to go. I really wanted to go to couple festivals this year but no one was on it so thank God for livestreams and snapchat. But you know I want to see more live music, plays, movies. Treat myself and go on more spa days and not everyone likes those things but I do so sometimes you gotta do stuff for yourself. DO MORE OF WHAT MAKES ME HAPPY.

5.  GO OFFLINE

Blogging can sometimes get you caught up in playing the numbers game. How many followers do I have? How many likes did I get on my pic? How many retweets have a got? Stepping away from my phone and laptop and taking a break from the internet is a must but not just from social media but Youtube and TV Shows too. I dedicate way to many time to my digital life. I would love to read more, spend some time journalling or on self care. I've just bought Get Your Sh*t Together by Sarah Knight and The Five Minute Journal and I cant wait to get started on them!

Do you have any goals for June?