• Make up. What's it all about, anyway? •

I recently had a very interesting conversation with 

a male friend of mine who asked me why girls

 wear make up to impress boys when boys don't

 really like girls to wear make up.

And, to begin with, there are so many 

things wrong with that question already.

Now, I have his permission to write out the argument on here, but as the conversation went on for about an hour and a half (and I can't remember word for word what we both said), most of this will be done by memory. The general gist of it is this; (male friend) "girls wear make up to impress boys" (me) "girls wear make up for themselves". But for the sake of giving a balanced argument, I will attempt to write it out in a more interesting, holistic, coherent way for you. Please note: I don't mean to offend anyone, these are just my opinions so please don't feel like you have to agree with me and please don't feel like I speak for everyone - this is just how I feel.

Why I wear make up
I've mentioned on here before that from about the age of 14, I was very interested in make up. Looking back, however, I was interested in it for all of the wrong reasons (in my opinion). I used to wear it to cover up my acne and yes, to attract and impress boys. Yet, I was a child, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who caked their face in Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse and eyes in black kohl liner. I was inexperienced, young and, unfortunately, brow-less (I'm sure people didn't start filling in their brows til at least 2006? Am I wrong? I'm probably wrong... but as a teen, I was never into it, and never noticed other people's fuller brows either!) Now I'm more confident, have grown into myself a bit more and I've learnt how to do my make up to suit my face shape and tone, I wear make up for me. I wear it because it makes me feel more confident, put together, 'finished off' and so that, basically, I feel nice. I literally love the ritual of putting it on in the morning, creating a mental to-do list in my head for the things I have to get on with for the day, and I love the concentration that goes into it all. I feel so relaxed when I'm doing my make up and I always look forward to it! Make up might not mean to you what it does to me, and everyone can have their own reasons for wearing it, and I'm not saying my reasons are right, but they are my reasons nonetheless.

The 'girls wear make up to impress boys' debate
My boyfriend comments on my appearance when I wear make up, and he comments on my appearance when I don't wear make up. This then tells me that he doesn't mind whether I do or I don't. And in turn this tells me that whether I wear make up or not, he won't be any more or any less impressed. So I wear make up to please myself and because I think I look nice with it on. My male friend was telling me that girls wear it purely to attract members of the opposite or same sex struck a chord with me and actually offended me. Why is everything centred around finding a boyfriend/girlfriend these days? Why is everyone so focussed on trying to please and attract potential lovers? Why can't we wear make up, do our hair properly and dress nice just so we feel a little better about ourselves? I personally have been on a night out wearing no make up at all, my hair in a bun and (God forbid) jeans and flats on, and did I feel like my night was any less fun than the other people I was with? No, not at all. People are so set on trying to attract other people that even applying make up is seen as provocative.

Beauty bloggers' lives evolve around make up!
My instagram is filled with photos of make up and selfies showing different make up looks, this is on my 'news feed' screen and also on the photos that I myself add. And so what? What the hell has it got to do with anyone else? If you don't want to see these photos, then don't follow me or any of the people that I follow. If you don't want me to tweet that I've just bought a new lipstick, then unfollow me. My friend was telling me that people become obsessed with make up and that it takes over their social media, and I told him that it's because we enjoy make up and it's a hobby, just as much as golfing or swimming is a hobby to other people. But do you judge someone who has photos of new golf clubs or new swimming trunks on their instagram? No. So how can you judge someone that has photos of the perfect winged liner or a lipstick dupe? This confuses me, honestly. I like the look of make up and packaging, so I pop it into my instagram. My life does not evolve around make up, and I don't think that checking someones social media can even tell you what their life evolves around, it just tells you what they're interested in at that certain point in time.

To end this rambly, honest and perhaps controversial post, I'm asking you if you agree or disagree with me. I'm curious, really, as to other people's opinions or if it's just me that thinks these things. I'm not crushing anyone, I'm not saying I disagree with every point my friend made, but I did disagree with the majority.

Let me know your thoughts!

I hope that post wasn't too deep for you. And if it was, to lighten the mood...

You can enter my giveaway! :)

Daniela xo

• London Girls Night Get Ready With Me // Face of the Day •

I love this Autumnal, dark, bold look, especially for an evening out in London pubs dancing to 90's music!

I went to London on Friday night to see my girlfriend Alphie and had the best time. We ate some food, went for a few drinks at a pub and ended up randomly dancing the night away to some nostalgic tunes from our teen days! I decided to put this look together as I really love the colours - the golds, the burgundies, the mixture of sparkly and matte. I hope you enjoy this look; this Get Ready With Me is pretty long, but I promise it's very easy to do!

I started with an illuminising primer to highlight the high points of my face then pressed a pore-minimising primer on and around my nose and chin. Then I took some foundation, dotted it around my face and used a damp beauty blender to blend and buff it in, being sure to carry this down onto my neck. A light concealer and a dark cream bronzer were then swiped onto my face to give me a light contour, again blended out with the damp beauty blender. I then used a brow pencil to fill in my brows and a white eyeshadow base to prime my eyes and make the colours pop. I blended this base out and began applying a gold eyeshadow to the whole of my lid with a flat eyeshadow brush. Then I went for a deep burgundy colour for my crease and blended it out seamlessly. I applied a cream eyeshadow to my brow bone to highlight it, then used the burgundy colour for my lower lash line. To brighten my eyes a bit more, I highlighted my inner corner with a champagne highlighter. Next up was tightening, so I grabbed my gel liner and began to tighten my upper lash-line. Then I used a liquid liner and started to line my eyes, starting with the flick and then filling it in. My lashes were next, so I used a mascara primer and the matching mascara, then applied some glue to some false lashes, waited for it to go tacky, and applied them using tweezers - first dragging the lashes to the outside corner, then the inside corner, to make sure they fit snugly. I then used bronzer to warm up my pale complexion, highlighter to highlight my cheekbones, and lip liner to line my lips. I also used this liner to fill in my lips as the colour is stunning.

I used:

L'Oreal Lumi Magique Primer (review here)

benefit Porefessional primer

Revlon Colour Stay in 'Buff'

Beauty Blender

Sheer Cover Studio UK Concealer* (review here)

Bourjois Bronzing Primer

Rimmel Professional Eye Brow Pencil in 'Black Brown'

Nyx Jumbo Eye Pencil in 'Milk'

MAC Eyeshadows in 'Butterfudge', 'Dark Brew' and 'Warm Breeze'* (review here)

The Balm Mary Lou-Manizer (review here)

Maybelline Eye Studio Gel Liner in 'Black'

Eyeko Skinny Liquid Liner in 'Black'

Urban Decay Subversion Eyelash Primer* 

Urban Decay Perversion Mascara*

eBay eyelashes

benefit Hoola Bronzer

Maybelline Lip Liner in 'Midnight Plum'

I hope you enjoyed this post! Let me know if you recreate this look, or something similar :)

PS. Don't forget to ENTER MY GIVEAWAY!

Daniela xo

• My Current Favourite Pinterest Pins #1 // Home Decor Edition •

I've always been a little bit obsessed with home decor and interior design, but more so now that I'm moving into my own flat (well, with the boyf) in a few weeks time.

It feels so exciting to have the freedom to be able to decorate it how we want to, buy whichever furniture we please and we've even had the option to paint it which is great. I'm already a long-term Pinterest pinner and I've had my 'Home' board for ages, but it's being used a hella lot more now that we're in the stages of decorating our own place. I thought I'd show you some of my favourite pins - you can find them all on my Pinterest (user name: danielascribbs) in the 'Home' board! I think you'll notice that my kind of decor style is quite minimalist but also cottagey, particularly when it comes to kitchens. In most of the rooms, I like things to look white and 'clean', with a few pops of colour here and there - I also really like hanging chairs... I hope these pins inspire you as much as they do me!

*obviously, these photos were not taken by me, and I have sourced them from Pinterest.

I hope you enjoyed this post - a little different from me, but more of an insight into the kinds of things I'm into! 

I'd love for you to leave your Pinterest names so I can have a cheeky look at your boards - I'm so bloody nosy...

Let me know if you're into this kind of post, as I'm planning on doing a
'Beauty edition', 'DIY edition' and a few more 'editions' -
only if you all enjoy reading them!

PS. Don't forget to enter my GIVEAWAY here! :)

Daniela xo

• October Birchbox #6 // review •

This month's 'CoppaFeel' box includes some fantastic products and is very, very pink!

I reeeeeally like this box. I haven't come across any of the products before, apart from the Balance Me Face Balm (which I love) so the majority of these products are very new to me. I could've done without yet another red nail polish as I seem to get these in lots of beauty boxes, and have built up quite a collection of them, but I'm not complaining too much as I love the look of the other products. If you wanted to see what I got in my last box, you can click here.

Balance Me Cleanse and Smooth Face Balm // £20 full size

I'm excited to try this as I had received a sample of this in the past and really enjoyed using it. I love balm cleansers as they're so gentle on the skin, and so fuss-free too - you just massage it onto your dry skin, apply warm water then remove it with a flannel or hot cloth. For this time of year, my skin gets very dry, so this cleanser will be perfect to add some nourishment to my skin!

KMS California Tame Frizz Smoothing Lotion // £15.50 full size

I plait my hair every evening so in the morning I just hair spray the plait and I'm left with really pretty waves/curls. A downside to this, however, is that my ends get quite frizzy. I'm definitely looking forward to giving this smoothing lotion a go as I'll try anything to keep my ends looking sleek.

Shaveworks The Cool Fix // £11

I'm so excited to use this! I don't own anything like it and I love the idea of it cooling my shaving rash down after I've shaved my legs (which happens every. fricken. time.) I get really dry legs in Winter so I'm thinking that if I apply this, then a tonne of moisturiser, my legs won't sting as much. Fingers crossed, and I'll definitely report back to let you know if this works.

Lollipops Nail Lacquer // £7

It's a red nail polish... That's all, really.

Pixi by Petra Shea Butter Lip Balm in Honey Nectar // £8

This was the product that excited me the most. A girl can never have too many lip products, especially moisturising ones that have a pretty colour to them. I checked out the other colours on the Birchbox website but was definitely chuffed that I got this shade. It's a browny/nude and it goes on so smoothly. The colour is quite sheer but it's gorgeous for a natural flush of colour.

And that's it!

I'm pretty happy with this month's box and I'm looking forward to November's box already.

Are you subscribed to Birchbox?

Which products did you receive?

PS. Don't forget to enter my GIVEAWAY!

Daniela xo

• A mid-week treat - Aromatherapy Associates Bath and Shower Oil // review •

I was first introduced to Aromatherapy Associates when I read a blog post claiming that the bath oils would completely de-stress and relax you. I thought to myself that it was a pretty big claim - and for someone who's a bit of a worrier, I wasn't sure I believed them. 

But after trying a few from the range, I can genuinely vouch for the fact that there's something about the Aromatherapy Associates Bath and Shower Oil that forces you to relax, even for just that half an hour in the bath. Now I'm someone that loves spas and I truly believe in the ethos of them; there's nothing I enjoy more than being looked after and pampered over, especially when it means spending some quality time with my mum as well. In addition to spa-days, I also like to treat myself at home as I think it's really important to have something to look forward to mid-week. So a gorgeous bath and shower oil that will relax me and leave my skin feeling silky soft are a total winner for me, and these tiny bottles of spa-like escapism have fast become a very important part of my mid-week routine.

They are pricey, but they're pricey for a reason. The product really does work. A few drops of this into my bath and my bathroom is left smelling exactly like a spa, and as soon as I slip my foot into the bath, I'm transported to a zen-like experience (it also helps if the lights are out and you have a few candles and a cup of tea to hand!) You really don't need much of the oil at all so it brings the cost of it down by quite a lot. Some people use the oil in the shower but, as it costs so much, I see that as a little wasteful (and certainly not in my budget) so I prefer to use it in the bath. I have been known to drop off in the bath when using this, so be sure to have an alarm ready! I can also genuinely say that I have the best night's sleep when I use this and I feel really relaxed for the rest of the evening. I know that this particular scent, Revive Morning, is obviously meant for morning use, but it's such a lovely relaxing scent that it's perfect for evenings, too. Plus - how cute is this mini in the bell, which is part of the Christmas range? I'll welcome a few of these in my stocking this year! This is also a great way of trying a few out from the range, and they do excellent Christmas gifts which include the minis for a very good price.

Have you tried this product?

What do you think of it?
PS. Don't forget to enter my GIVEAWAY!

Daniela xo

• Catch up - Summer 2014 and Life Recently •

So now that we're firmly into Autumn, I thought I'd catch you all up on what I got up to during Summer - which seems so far away now!
There was lot's of eating, reading, chilling, eating, chilling, eating, and photographing... oh, and more eating.

So in my books, I had a pretty lovely summer this year! I finished my course in June, worked some of July and I dipped in and out of work during August before starting my job properly in September. It was really nice during summer having a relaxed few days, then a busy few days, and so on. I didn't go on holiday this year although, as you'll see below, I did spend a few days in Center Parcs at the end of August which was lush! I wasn't sure how much I'd have to do before the school term started so I didn't plan any getaways abroad, but next year (after a few pay slips!) we're planning to go on a rather large holiday. So my lazy summer days generally consisted of getting up relatively early, mooching around, seeing friends and family, writing blog posts, countless trips to Costa and some lesson planning here and there. Oh and not to mention the Sims. Where has it been for the past 6 years? I've rekindled my love for the game and I've been known to spend a few hours a day on it (no shame). But before I go on about my rather large family of 8 and their mansion with a pool (the 'motherload' cheat is sweet - again, no shame), I shall go on to chat about the other, perhaps more exciting past-times of my summer!

I purchased the Canon 600D back in July so I've been putting it to good use by finding tranquil spots in Cambridgeshire and snap-shotting them. I've really been enjoying learning about my new camera and I've even sort of worked out how to use the manual setting for everything, including focus (which took me the best part of 3 weeks). I like to think I have the hang of it now, but I think photography is one of those hobbies that you never really quite master - you just keep going with it so you get better and better.

My mum has started buying Quorn and we've been cooking together, which has been so nice - just like old times, before I went to uni and became an adult! This is a Quorn lasagne which was absolutely delicious and really healthy. I think I'm now a Quorn convert!

I've had lots of time to spend with these little munchkins. Now, anyone who knows me knows I'm weird about my rabbits. I literally love them. I play with them every single day, I talk about them every single day and I even sometimes have dreams about them. Before things get weird, I'll stop, but just look at my little babies - Tilly (the blonde one) is like a Disney bunny and Poppy just has the most ridiculous fringe. Love. Them.

I had the chance to experiment loads with my make up and really enjoyed wearing a bold brow and brown lip pretty much every single day. It was really nice being able to wear quite a bit of make up as I don't often wear a lot for school, and it's also nice having more than 10 minutes to spend on it! Putting on make up is one of my favourite parts of the day - I really enjoy it - and I've had a lot of fun with trying new products and colours this summer. PS. How annoying is that bit of hair on my cheek? Grr...

Speaking of fun - bacon sandwiches. Bacon is fun, right? Well, I think it is anyway. During the summer holidays, my friend and I basically had a weekly bacon date where we tried bacon sandwiches from different places in the area. This photo was taken on our last bacon trip, where we tried a little tea room down by the river in town, and oh my, it was lovely. The bacon was crispy, not to mention they put about 10 rashers in each sandwich, and the bread was so good too. The salad, though? Nah, that I can leave. 

Sorry to all of you non-teacher readers - but labels excite me! I decided to make my own this year as it seemed quite simple to do, and I didn't like any that I found online. I also like the thought of having labels that no-one else in the world has (is that sad?). I must have spent hours on Google Fonts trying to find the perfect ones for the children's drawers, or classroom displays, and I can't say I have any regrets. Look at how pretty these are!

My grandmother (Nonna) turned 68 in August and when it came to my attention that she'd never had a birthday cake, I was frankly quite upset. How can you go 68 years and never have a birthday cake?! My mum decided to make her a Black Forest Gateu and it was truly incredible - four layers of chocolatey, creamy, cherry goodness. Safe to say, everyone was impressed - and the cake was finished in 2 days which is a record for my household!

My best friend, who I haven't seen since May (!!!!) came to visit me in August and we had the loveliest day. I started off by showing her my new flat, we then went for a mooch around town, we grabbed some fish and chips and sat on the river, and then we randomly went to bingo. It's so hard when you live away from your friend but it makes it all the more special when you get to see them.

So now I have my head in the game and I'm firmly rooted into the Autumn term of teaching year 5. I'm absolutely loving it and I just feel so lucky and so blessed to be in a school which is so amazing. This summer was really lovely and chilled, but I must say that I was always just on the cusp of relaxing as in my head, I was thinking 'have I bought enough pencil pots? I wonder if I've planned far ahead enough? I hope the kids like me!' so I think that next year I may try and relax a little bit more!

I hope that you had a great summer. I really love Autumn and Winter

(they're my favourite seasons!) so I'm excited for all that they

have to offer this year. New flat, semi-new job and lots to

look forward to!

Daniela xo