What to do if you keep running out of time

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Yep it’s definitely happening, as we grow older the time we have seems to somehow whittle down. What happened to all that time you had to watch TV that wasn’t at the loss of doing something more productive and beneficial with your time?

How easy is it for the hours to pass us by without feeling the tangible benefits of any real productive action?

But there is something that can be done and thankfully there are steps that you can take to ensure that you make the most of each day.

  1. The biggest use of our time in (for those that use it) has to be social media. It can take up a lot of our time and if you are a part of Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter this alone can eat into your time. If you also use messaging services such as WhatsApp your time can quickly be filled checking and connecting with others through these instead of making time for more important things. Limit the time you spend on these by logging off or muting the notifications on the apps that take up the bulk of your time.
  2. Consider keeping a diary and write down your to-do list each day. When things are written down and kept somewhere visible its easier to follow it and strike it off when complete then creating lists on your phone.
  3. Practice being disciplined in small tasks. Commit yourself to completing the things that you begin will help you develop the commitment to finish the things that take a little longer.
  4. Avoid burn out by taking time to sleep. Working late into the night is what works best for some but if your energy is at its peak during the day having a good night’s rest is essential. This should also allow you to wake up earlier, giving you more time to respond to emails in the morning etc.
  5. Set reminders, if forgetfulness is whats taking your time then set a reminder with an alarm and don’t put off doing the task.
  6. Try and stay positive, negativity and talking down to yourself will deter you from completing or even starting what you need to. Time spent worrying and becoming anxious over a task not only takes your time but also takes up your energy, leaving you tired and deflated.

I hope these few pointers help you to really assess and take control of your day in a way that will help you to see a real change in how much you’re able to get done and effectively managing the time you have.

 

Thank you for reading x

Dubai

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For my birthday (in January) my husband and I went to Dubai and I thoroughly enjoyed 7 days of basking in the sunshine, eating delicious food and spending some time with my husband before the busyness of the year began.

Here are a few pictures from our trip:

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The Global Village
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The Global Village
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The Global Village
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The Global Village
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Probable the finest hummus I’ve ever had!
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Jumeriah Beach
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Jumeriah Beach at sunset
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Dubai City
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Dubai City
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A delicious watermelon beverage to cool me down before our flight

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Making the most of your mascara

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Even if you are yet to venture into the world of eyeliners and other eye enhancing make-up products, if you wear make-up its highly likely that you own a tube of mascara or two. This wonder product that enhances, lengthens and adds volume to the lashes has been used by make-up wearers since the beginning of the 19th century and is definitely a staple in my make-up collection.

Mascara brush leaving traces of mascara on a white background

Although there are so many different types to choose from the market isn’t swamped and new mascaras still attract attention (and sales) from us.

I wear false lashes almost all of the time but still coat my lashes with mascara first because I love the volume that my mascara gives me. I’m currently using Rimmel Extreme Black Volume Mascara Flash, you can get one here.

rimmel mascra

I really like the volume this gives me and the wand really does coat every single lash, even my much shorter lashes. I also have some lashes that tend to grow in their own direction and the mascara seems to be able to tame these!

So here are my top tips for making the most of your mascara:

  1. If you wear lashes, I recommend wearing your mascara before wearing lashes. Wearing your lashes then wearing mascara reduces the length of time you can use your lashes for as you’ll need to clean the build up regularly
  2. If its length rather them volume the your after, check that your mascara wand doesn’t have to much mascara on it before application. Wipe the excess on the edge of the tube before applying
  3. For extra volume wiggle the mascara wand at the base of the lashes before stroking upwards
  4. I usually change my mascara roughly every 3 months for hygiene purposes
  5. If your mascara does dry out you can add a few drops of contact lens solution, same applies to liquid eyeliner too.

I hope these tips help you make the most of your mascara. Would love to hear what your favourite mascara is. Do you have one brand you’ve used for years or do you like to try whats new?

Have a good evening!

A timely return

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Considering I haven’t posted on here I should probably start with a little explanation, but I think its far better if I actually continue to striving to be more consistent rather than giving my excuses. So, this year I would love to give you all more reviews on my favourite beauty buys as well as the odd posts on alternative topics that I would like to share with you all.

There’s something I’ve learnt here about persistence and determination. I some how allowed the lack of topics to keep me from posting but I find that when I just sit in front of my laptop I do actually find topics to write about.

I hope you’ve had a positive start to the year and are well on your way to achieving the goals you’ve set for yourself (even if it is just to become better at doing your eyebrows 🙂 ) The thing about goals however small or big is that they give you something to work towards and provide you with tasks for each day, those incremental steps take us closer to reaching where we want to be.

They say you must do something every day for six weeks in order for it to become a habit, whether it be working out or sticking to a diet and although I wont be posting on here everyday I will most certainly stick to a weekly goal.

I’m happy to be back and expect more from me soon!!

 

Have a lovely weekend x

 

Beauty has a new boss

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Hello all! 🙂 Its been a while, as the nights draw in faster than we can get to used to at least we now have a very good reason to bring out and revive our winter wardrobes as the temperatures whittle down.

Recently I’ve seen so many encouraging posts from women who were once reluctant to really express who they were and felt increased pressures to conform to the industry standard of beauty (which often than not is unattainable for the average joe/joanne) leaving many feeling deflated and left out but are now feeling confident to express who they really are and live it out unapologetically.

But what I can only describe as a ‘revolution’ seems to have swept over almost everyone bringing us into a space of being able to share who we are and the things we love unreservedly on social media.

It doesn’t matter your skin tone, religion, face shape, contour style, we are now realising that there is a space for everyone in the beauty world. Brands no longer (to an extent) dictate to us how products should be used and what they should look like when worn but many have now taken this into their own hands.

This really is so refreshing to see and long may the ‘revolution’ continue! The standard of beauty seems to now be more firmly in the hands of the people it should have been in all along- ours 🙂

Thank you for reading x

Sublime Prime(r)

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As you’ll know from my previous post I recently went to Paris and had the opportunity to visit one of the Sephora stores there. I was really impressed with the wide range of brands that they had, the layout and the overall vibe in there. Having recently stocked the Fenty Beauty range the store was heaving with people ready to purchase the newest and coolest make-up range to hit the shops. Apart from bagging myself one of Rihanna’s new make-up products I also invested in the Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion.

urban decay eyeshadow primer potion

I’ve come to know and trust Urban Decay’s products over the years so was silently confident that this primer wouldn’t disappoint. When I first felt the product on my finger tips I found it to feel quite thin and silky and had a doubt as to whether it could handle not only my hooded but also sometimes oily eyelids. In my experience I’ve also found that there are some eyeshadow primers that only work well with shimmery or glittery eyeshadows as they adhere better but are a let down when matte eyeshadows are in the picture. This isn’t the case with this, it has a small wand brush that makes it super easy to apply on your lid and you need very little. I smooth it out with a concealer brush and give it a few seconds to set then begin applying my eyeshadow. The primer keeps my eyeshadow put all day and it doesn’t matter if its a cheap eyeshadow or one of the more upmarket ones, the results are the same.

I wanted to use this a few times before reviewing it just to be sure that I really do like it and that it actually works and I’m pleased to say it does. I should also add that the beige colour of the primer works very well on dark skin tones too as I know the other Urban Decay primer is lighter and can as a result make your eyeshadows look lighter and brighter than intended.

Overall, I’m pleased with this product and would buy it again. Hope you’ve enjoyed my review, please do let me know your thoughts, comment below or drop me an email at fuschiasequins@gmail.com

Have a lovely evening x

 

Paris!

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I’ve had a few requests to write up a little review/recommendations list for my trip to Paris recently so here it goes! 🙂

My tips

-The best way to see Paris in my opinion is by public transport. If you do choose to use the buses and the trains then buy a day travel card from any of the train stations rather than paying for singular journeys. You’ll save money!

-There are lots of places that are walking distance from each other so do have your google maps handy on your phone and walk so that you can take in more of the sights 🙂

-Choose your hotel carefully. There are lots and lots of hotels in Paris but not all of them are central and can be over 30 minutes from the city centre. So do check carefully, many cheaper options are further out but will mean you spend more time travelling to where you want to go, which isn’t really worth it if you’re only staying in France for a couple of days.

-Reservations are a must in Paris. Wherever you choose to dine, I recommend booking in advance to avoid disappointment. Paris is full of tourists pretty much all year round and the locals eat out a lot too so book a table (and be on time 🙂 ) to avoid a long wait or being turned away. It’s very normal in Paris for small restaurants have a queue of hungry customers leading out of the restaurant.

-You probably already know this but when planning your trip let sites like trip Advisor be your friend. People are very frank on there and give you all the little details when it comes to hotels and restaurants. I prefer to look at the pictures that reviewers post rather than the professional pictures uploaded by the company, these give you a better idea of what to expect.

Attractions

  1. Eiffel Tower is a must see. Walk around to the north entrance so that you can get a good view from the end of the bridge. If you’d like to go up the Eiffel Tower you can do. You can book in advance or on the day and it costs 17 euros per person.
  2. Louvre Museum If you’d like to go to the museum please note that it doesn’t open on a Tuesday. Admission is free but there may be charge to enter some of the exhibitions.
  3. Notre Dame Cathedral This beautiful cathedral is well worth a visit, its easily accessible by train or bus.
  4. Square Louis Michel This green area is elevated and gives you amazing views looking down onto the city
  5. Pont des Art Also previously known as the padlock bridge. Although you can no longer place padlocks on the bridge you can walk across it and enjoy views of the river. Its also very close to the Louvre, so can be admired en route to the museum.
  6. Louis Vuitton Foundation We didn’t get to see this but when I was doing my research it looked pretty cool and is worth checking out.

Food!

Bistrotters Booking beforehand is a must here! Its a small restaurant so service can be slow but the food is faultless. We loved it here. The desert was sooo good- toasted brioche wish chocolate and caramel sauce. The menu choice is small with three options for starter, main and desert and you can have either a two or three course meal at a set price. You are of course free to order a la carte of you wish. The pictures aren’t great because I took them on my phone but you get the idea 🙂

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Pottoka Again this is a lovely small restaurant and would strongly recommend you book a table in advance otherwise you’ll need to wait for a table. The food here is delicious, really different flavours and the service here is also great. I had the cod dish for my main with white beans, bacon and a tomato gazpacho, it was so tasty. A lovely dining experience 🙂

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Twinkie Breakfasts If you’d rather have an English or an American breakfast in addition to french options then Twinkie is your place! The service super quick and the food is delicious. Just like with all with the restaurants do try and book. We went on a Sunday without booking and found ourselves in a queue! I didn’t get any pictures of the food itself (I was too hungry and the food smelt so good!) but you’ll like this one 🙂

Le 68 Guy Martin A lovely place with beautiful decor perfect for either lunch or dinner right in the heart of Paris.

Brasserie Barbes This cool find is open until 2am and serve reasonably priced lunches and dinner. It was on my list but I didn’t get the chance to eat there but the reviews I read on this place were very good. So if you do there please let me know how you found it.

Breakfast in America This cute diner serve breakfasts all day as well as all your american favourites. Theres no booking needed here, you just turn up and get seated. It was the first American diner in Paris and has loads of character. A cute place with good food. We had breakfast there and were so impressed by the quick service. This diner is also walking distance from lots of cool sites. We wandered down the hill from the street and discovered places as we went along.

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Shopping

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Les Halles This covered shopping centre houses over 150 stores and has many of the high street clothing brands we know and love. Its linked to one of the main train stations in Paris Chatelet-les-Halles. There’s something for everyone here, such as a dedicated basketball store by Footlocker, a Lego store as well as lots of nice restaurants to choose from too.

Galleries Lafayette A large department store in Paris’ city centre that can only be described as a shopping experience. The decor inside of this huge store is truly breathtaking. You’ll need some time in here if you like to take your time and browse through stores. The menswear is in a separate building and also includes lots of really cool brands. There’s a rooftop on the 7th floor (take the lift to the 6th floor then take the stairs) from where there are some cool views of Paris. On the rooftop you’ll also find a restaurant and bar thats worth checking out.

Carrousel de Louvre This little shopping centre is linked to the Louvre Museum. It has some shops and restaurants too.

 

Phew that was a long post and well done for making it to the end! I really wanted to include most of the places I liked/enjoyed or would have liked to go to. I found these places purely through researching and reading reviews and I tailored our trip around the things my husband and I would enjoy.

I hope its useful and as always I’m happy to answer any questions. Just leave it in the comments section or drop me an email fuschiasequins@gmail.com

Thank you for reading x