My Zoella Beauty Purchases

Ever since her launch night last Thursday where the long awaited products were finally revealed, Zoella's (Zoe Sugg's) beauty range has taken the world by storm! I cannot go on Twitter or scroll down my Bloglovin' feed without seeing a photograph or a mention of Zoe's new bath and body line. With just under a week since their release, the products have been selling like hot cakes on both Feel Unique and Superdrug. In fact, when I went into my local Superdrug today, the sales assistant told me that they have already had to restock multiple times since their official release in stores yesterday! 

As all of you are probably fully aware by now, the Zoella Beauty range contains 7 amazing products; a Blissful Mistful body mist, Creamy Madly Dreamy body lotion, Let's Glow candle, Soak Opera bath soak, Fizz Bar and two very cute make-up bags (one featuring a guinea pig and another featuring Zoe's eyes.) The products range from £5 to £8, which means that they are all extremely affordable!

I was really excited to have a look at the collection on the shelves and give everything a good sniff. After much deliberation on which products to buy, I finally settled on the 'Let's Glow' fragranced candle and 'Soak Opera' bath soak & shower cream. Although I only bought these products earlier on today, I couldn't wait to share them with all of you. As I haven't had the chance to test them out properly yet, this is just going to be a mini review describing the scents of the products and so on. Let's get started!

First up, the Let's Glow candle (£5.00) smells absolutely amazing! It's fruity yet sweet at the same time without being too over-powering, which is everything that I look for in a candle! I am really looking forward to using this candle as part of my pamper night routine. There's nothing I love more than having a relaxing bubble bath and lighting a candle, hence why I have chosen these two Zoella beauty items to try out first! Not only do I love how affordable the candle is but I love the packaging too. It's so cute and dinky! I have actually had an idea that once I finish the candle, I can use the tin as a little trinket box to store rings or hairbands/clips in. I think it would look super cute on my bedside table!

The second item that I purchased from the range is Soak Opera (also £5.00,) which is a bath soak and shower cream in one. I love multi-purpose products as you get more for your money, it looks like Zoe has really put a lot of thought into this product! Soak Opera can be added to your bath water or applied straight onto your skin. Just like the candle, the scent of this bath soak is lovely! It is sweet and floral smell that is very calming and it's perfect for when you need a long soak in the tub! It also contains aloe, vitamin E and shea butter to soften and condition your skin too. I can see this item being one of the most popular in the range as it's simply gorgeous!

So, those are the two products that I purchased from the Zoella Beauty range earlier on today. I am obsessed with them already and I cannot wait to try out some more of the range soon, the Fizz Bar is definitely next on my list! I can see these products being very popular for a long time to come and I cannot wait to see if Zoe adds more to the range in the future as well! What do you think of the range so far? Have you tried any of Zoella's range yet? Which product is your favourite? Let me know by leaving a comment below. Thank you!

My Top 5 Fashion & Beauty YouTubers

Hi guys! Today, I thought that I would do something a little different and talk about my top five favourite fashion and beauty bloggers. I really got into YouTube around this time last year after somehow coming across one of Zoella's videos, (I cannot for the life of me remember how that happened,) and ever since then I have been hooked! I have always been a girly-girl who loves make-up and shopping but over the past year or so, my passion for this has really developed. Even though I am just a regular girl with quite a small budget, there is nothing I love more than going into Boots or Superdrug and trying all of the newest products on the market. I am definitely a make-up hoarder! So, without any further ado, here are my favourite YouTubers that I always enjoy watching and who have really influenced me since I have started watching these types of videos. Enjoy!

1. Zoella

First up is the first fashion and beauty based YouTuber that I ever watched, Zoella (Zoe Sugg.) She is by far my favourite YouTuber for several reasons, however, I think that the main reason is because Zoe also suffers with anxiety like me. When I came across her infamous 'Dealing With Panic Attacks & Anxiety' video, I really connected with it as Zoe spoke about a number of topics that all applied to me and my current situation. Not only this, I absolutely love her style! I often look at Zoe's clothes for inspiration as she is petite, like myself, and so I know that her fashion will also suit my small frame. I also love to watch Zoe's vlogs on her second channel, where we get to see more of her day-to-day life. Overall, I think that Zoe is a very inspirational girl and her videos always interest me - especially her HUGE hauls that show which fashion and beauty items she has bought!

2. Tanya Burr

Next up is the gorgeous Tanya Burr (formerly known as Pixi2Woo.) Tanya is renowned on YouTube as being a trained make-up artist who posts a tonnes of excellent tutorials showing her viewers an array of different looks. The main reason that I love watching Tanya's videos is because I have picked up so many beauty tips from her that have completely changed the way I apply my own make-up. As well as this, I love Tanya's whole outlook on life - she is always smiling and is such a bubbly person. I love watching her vlogs because of this reason and in particular I loved watching 'Vlogmas,' where Tanya filmed every day up until Christmas. Plus, I think that her and her fiancé Jim Chapman, who is also a YouTuber, are the most adorable couple ever! 

3. Glam Life Guru

Glam Life Guru, otherwise known as Tati Westbrook, is a YouTuber who I have really grown to love over the past couple of months. I think that the reason behind this is because Tati posts such a great variety of videos AND posts several videos a week. One of my favourite things about her channel is 'Madness Monday,' where she goes to various American drugstores and does huge hauls. She then often reviews all of the new products she has bought in a separate video. The only downside to watching Tati is that because she lives across the pond, sometimes she reviews amazing looking products that I cannot find easily in the UK (which makes me a little sad at times!) 

4. Fleur De Force

Fleur is another one of my favourites because she seems like a really kind, down to earth person which is really refreshing. I find that I get a lot of good product recommendations from Fleur's channel because I am also blonde and fair skinned, so I know that what she uses will also suit myself. Plus, I love her timeless style and clothing - it is very classic and sophisticated. I love watching her main channel videos but not as much as I love watching her vlogs, mainly because I love being nosey and she always seems to have exciting projects that she is a a part of!

5. Essiebutton 

Last but not least is the lovely Essiebutton, who I have only recently subscribed to despite knowing about her channel for ages. I have become instantly hooked to Estée's channel and every time I have some free time or I am bored, I watch her videos. I love Estée because she, again, is a very bubbly and down to earth character. Her reviews of products are really helpful and honest, which often influences me to take a trip to my local Boots and make some naughty purchases (oops!) I really enjoy her Body Shop hauls in particular as I am not really familiar with the brand apart from their body butters, so it is nice to learn about what other nice products are out there.

So, those are my top 5 fashion and beauty gurus on YouTube. I found it very hard to whittle my favourites down to just a mere five, so I would also like to give a quick nod to Sprinkle Of Glitter (Lousie Pentland) and Miss Glamorazzi (Ingrid Nilsen) as both of them just narrowly missed out on spots in my top 5!

Who are your favourite YouTubers to watch? I would love to know, so please leave a comment below - I love recommendations to new channels! I am also thinking about doing another post about my favourite non-beauty related channels, so let me know if that is something that you would like to see in the near future. Thank you :)

Saying Yes And Overcoming Your Fears

Hi guys! So, my favourite YouTuber Zoe Sugg (Zoella) uploaded a video today about saying ‘yes’ to new opportunities and pushing yourself. A few months ago when I first started watching Zoe, she released a video about anxiety and panic attacks which received an astonishing amount of feedback – which is why she has made a follow-up video. As a sufferer of anxiety and panic attacks myself, I have found these videos to be both extremely helpful and inspiring. I must say that I have always been one to avoid situations that make me worry or on edge if at all possible, which I know deep down is the worst thing that I could possibly do but it is just a pattern that I have never been able to break out of (yet!) However, I am determined that this is going to change.

Like Zoe mentioned in today’s video, nothing can be fixed overnight. Conquering your fears and anxieties is a slow process and I think that it is important to not expect miracles. For example, setting yourself a series of small tasks that will gradually increase your confidence is a much better way of overcoming things. In psychology, pushing yourself to your limit straight away is known the ‘boom-bust’ pattern – which is something that I used to do a lot.

The past few months for me have been pretty hard anxiety wise; however, I am slowly starting to say yes to more things. For instance, the other day I was thinking about how I still do not feel ready to go back to full-time work, so I have decided to apply to a charity in my hometown that enable you to do charity work. There are many different vacancies available from working with children or the elderly, to doing some administration work for our local chairman. Although neither of these tasks sound particularly thrilling, I think it will just be good for me to have something to do during the week rather than moping around indoors and making myself feel even worse. I really want to get back in to some sort of routine and get some normality back in to my life. I feel that volunteering will also make feel good about myself as I know I will be helping others in the community, which is always rewarding.

Zoe also mentions in the video that when you suffer with anxiety, you lose interest in a lot of activities that you used to enjoy and you subsequently become a ‘shell’ of your former self. I can honestly say that this is one of the things that I am most guilty of. If somebody invited me out, for example if my friends asked me to go clubbing, I would constantly say no in fear of having a panic attack or feeling overwhelmed whilst I was out. A big thing for me is the fear of not being able to escape from a situation easily, which is why I sometimes feel claustrophobic in big crowds. Another one of my worries is having a panic attack in a public place, as I hate feeling embarrassed or under scrutiny from others. Saying this, over the past few months, these two fears have dramatically decreased and I feel a lot more comfortable in these situations and happier about going out clubbing and other social places now.

Overall, the message that I am trying to put across in this post is that it is important to take little steps to build up your self-esteem and confidence. Doing so will allow you to gradually break out of your comfort zone and start to enjoy life again. As always, I would love to hear about your experiences with this topic – whether it be yourself, a friend/family member that suffers with anxiety or even if you do not have any links with anxiety at all – please do not hesitate to leave a comment below. I hope that this post inspires others to say yes to more things, in the same way that Zoe’s video inspired me.

Below is a list of Zoe's social media platforms in case you haven't checked her out already:
YouTube - Blog - Facebook - Twitter - Instagram - Tumblr - Bloglovin'