January Beauty Favourites 2016

Hey Guys!

Beauty is a big part of my life. Being a qualified nail technician and beauty therapist, naturally I enjoy trying different beauty products each month. This post is just to share my favourite items for January, and hopefully you might love them as much as I do!

 

 

photo @vikkileajones on instragram.

 

Soap and Glory Instant  Sunkissed Tint Body Lotion - this is the best instant tan I've ever used, and has definitely perked up my dull dry skin in January. It is available here http://www.soapandglory.com/the-righteous-butter-trade-instant-sunkissed-tint-body-lotion and its only £8 - bargain!

 

Ted Baker London, Eau de Toilette - this scent has been my 'go to' fragrance for January, although I feel like I'm jumping ahead of the seasons by using it so much. It is a very light, floral scent and I can smell it on myself for most of the day.

 

Celestial Facial Moisturizer by Lush - I have always had problem skin since having a seriously bad and cringey case of acne as a kid, Bork! Since then I have tried so many different spot creams and moisturizers and this one wins by far - the formula of the cream acts as a barrier on your skin to prevent spots and unwanted bacteria accessing your face. As well as making you feel hydrated and silky smooth all day, this moisturiser is also fairly priced at only £12.95 available here https://uk.lush.com/products/celestial

 

Rimmel Lipsticks - there are three featured Rimmel lipsticks in my favourites this month. Two shades are perfect nudes, one called Naughty Nude shade 700, and one called Not An Illusion also shade 700. The third one was a brave move for me which I was undecided to whether it would pay off for me or not, however, I showcased it on the last day of the month and I loved it!! Its the Kate Moss lipstick range in shade 107. It is a vibrant plum/pink/red shade, and it lasted for about six hours, which is more than I have ever had out of a lippy before!

 

There are more products featured in my January favourites and Haul video on YouTube, you can watch it here to see more of my beauty must haves for last month.

 

 

please comment and let me know what your January favourites were, or whether any of your favourites were from the list above.

 

That's all folks!

VLJ

XXX



Whirl wind January.

Hi Guys!

January has been a massive blur for me. A mixture of emotions and feelings, and lots going on in a short amount of time. Enough to stress anyone out, let alone me who is the queen of worrying!

So let's start with an up.... I have had my final wedding dress fitting this month, and I am over the moon with the outcome. Thanks to my 'out of the blue' desire to join the gym just before Christmas, my wedding dress, much to my delight, is being taken in THREE WHOLE DRESS SIZES! Whaaaaaat! That is also six inches! To say I was overcome with emotions is an under statement, I was completely gob smacked and very happy with the result. Aside from this, I have actually gained weight since joining the gym, but I have lost inches and as I said in my 'New year New me' post, that speaks an important message - bin the scales girls!

As I sit here toying this post, we currently have only four weeks to go until our wedding day. Meaning January has been an expensive month. I didn't realise how stressed I was going to be planning a wedding and sorting out final details. The silver lining to this is come February there will be next to nothing to do and I can start back at university, hopefully, with a fresh head.

Speaking of university, amongst all other things I have had my first dissertation to write. For those who don't know, a dissertation is basically a posh word for a research study, and is usually the biggest written piece of work you will do whilst studying at undergraduate level. Mine was focussed around attainment levels in pupil referral units and it was a real struggle to get to grips with. However, during my writing I received good news that I had gained a first in my previous assignment, which made writing my dissertation all the easier. Fingers crossed for another good score!

All in all, January has flown by, and it has been a whirl wind of ups and downs. I explain more on my YouTube channel - specifically my January update vlog, check it out if you would like, I would really appreciate it! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBmxHpxq-QM

That's all folks!
VLJ
Xxx

Advice for Sixteen Year Old Me.

Being sweet sixteen isn't actually all that sweet. It is when your mind and and body are in the heights of lots of changes and the world seems like a big, scary place. 

GCSE's are looming, and you are being forced to attend all the careers meetings going, for what? To change your mind once you leave school? To discover you actually don't have the qualifications to be an astronaut or a global fashion model? 

Here is some advice that I, at the grand age of 25 years young, would tell my 16 year old self: 

1) Stop being so lazy - I hated getting up for school, I hated homework, chores, anything that required a bit of effort. Put the effort in now my love and the rewards will come easier. 

2) Your mates don't know best - peer pressure is so common amongst teenagers it's almost impossible to avoid, however, if I had my time again i would swerve the lambrini down the park and give family time in a go. 

3) Your mum does know best - it's true. Listen to her. 

4) Start saving your money now - my dad always told me to start a savings fund, which I did, and managed to save about £109.50 in total, which I spent in Tammy  Girl. 

5) Them Nike Air's and Adidas shiny trackies are not cool - enough said. 

That's all folks! 

VLJ

Xxx

New Year, New Me?

Hey guys!

Joining the gym has always been on the back of my mind since I cancelled my first subscription in 2009. As a soon to be bride, 2015 was mostly spent battling more than ever with my weight in order to be able to look a million dollars in my dream dress at our wedding in February.

Ever since I can remember, I have always thought of myself as the chubby kid. Growing up I can remember being eight years old, and some silly boy asking my why my thighs were bigger than his. Excellent. Even as a teenager, when my mother told me I would 'lose my puppy fat', I never really did and always felt bigger than the other girls. I was an early developer, so I had breasts and a booty before the others, and I always had a chubby tummy. Regardless of being a dancer as a teenager, I always felt more thicker set than the other elegant and slender dancers. However, looking back mow at sixteen year old Vikki-Lea, there was actually nothing on me, and I would give anything mow to have the body I once had.

Going into my adult years and experimenting heavily with alcohol and going clubbing, I piled on the pounds and from ages 18-22 I gained an average of a stone a year. So by the time I met my soon to be husband, I was at my biggest.

I was a dress size 20-22 and god knows how much I weighed on the scales. I was experiencing a mixture of emotions being so happy in a new relationship, yet feeling enormous and self conscious about my weight. This prompted the first slimming world meeting, where I lost two stone in two months, and by my birthday at the end of February I was feeling great.

I then have yo-yo dieted every year since 2012 and never really exercised at all, except walking the dogs. I have tried every diet going, slimming world, weight watchers, 5:2 diet, shakes, smoothies - the list goes on. Every time I lost weight, it always was a quick fix for a short period of time and then I would lose interest and put all the weight on that I had lost and more.

In January 2015 when we finally decided to book our venue for our wedding, that was when things got serious. I had creeped back into my size 20 jeans, and was completely in denial about my size. I call it 'shallow Hal syndrome'. Anyone who has seen the film will know how I saw myself versus how everyone else saw me!

It took photos of me trying on wedding dresses to bring it all home to me. I wont lie to you, I had a mini breakdown over it and finally realised how big I was, and no way was I happy to be married at the size I was. Don't get me wrong, I totally admire anyone who doesn't diet for their weddings and I am very pro-plus size models and glamour etc, but for me personally I did not want to look back in the future and see myself marry the man of my dreams not looking my best.

I joined a slimming class in April 2015 and by October I had lost 2 stone, taking me from a size 20 to a size 16. For me this was a big achievement, however then I struggled to lose a pound more, and maintained my weight for ten weeks, taking me to the week before Christmas. This is when I took the bull by its horns and joined my local gym.

This was the best decision I made in 2015. I have been going now only for two full weeks (with Christmas and new year in between) and I have already lost half an inch off all over. My closest people to me have complimented me more since I have been exercising than they ever did when I was losing with a class. My body is starting to take a nice shape, and I feel so much more energised and happier for going!

Weight wise, I have actually put 3lbs on. This is probably Christmas weight but even with the weight gain I have lost inches and this speaks an important message to me.

I have vlogged my first four days of my gym experience on my YouTube channel - check it out to see my struggled and triumphs in my first week!! You can watch my first blog down below!

Happy New Year to you all, and may you love yourself more than ever this year. Be you.

Vik

Xxx

My Life as a Pad Brat - Moving Around

Hey Guys!

When someone new asks you where you are from, usually this requires a pretty simple and straight forward answer, right? Not for me.

I enjoy meeting new people and I have met so many people in my life so far, however, when people ask me where l'm from, inside I panic. I quickly analyse whether this person is likely to be in my life for a while or not, and respond with the short answer, or long answer accordingly.

So, the short answer goes something like this: 'oh, just down the road from here'.

The long answer is slightly more complicated, and goes something like this: 'well, I was born in Liverpool but only lived there for twelve days, then we moved back to Germany where my parents were living. Then from there we moved to Nottinghamshire for a little while, then Newcastle, then Chester, then back to Germany for five years... (usually the person I am talking to at this point is  bored), then we moved to Wolverhampton and then we moved to Lincolnshire.'

So really, I'm  not from anywhere. Up until 2002 we had never lived in one house for longer than two-and-a-half years before moving again. To be honest, most people I encounter are like  'that's a lot of moving, are you a Traveller?' to which I respond, 'no, I am a pad brat!'

Although some people think moving around a lot is a bad thing, personally, I couldn't have asked for a better upbringing. I experienced three primary schools and two secondary schools, and met so many people, some whom I am still in touch with, some sadly not.

I have travelled to places where I would never have travelled to before should I have not have had a military family, and in my opinion, some of the richest experiences come from travelling and seeing the world. Granted, I havent been 'travelling, travelling' only for holidays, but still, I was never good at staying in one place for very long anyway.

So my pad brat upbringing has definitely stayed with me. Meaning, since I have been a fully fledged 'proper' adult, I have moved house more times than I've had hot dinners. I usually get about a year in to living somewhere (sometimes less!) and crave a new house. As you may have read in my previous post I am a student of Psychology, so self analysis tells me that moving around as a child has impacted my adult live too, and I am fine with that. It may become costly in the future, but until I feel totally one-hundred percent comfortable in the home I am living in, I will keep moving.

If you are a pad brat, I would love to hear if you have the struggle of explaining where you are from on a regular basis, and what your experiences are with travelling the world, or the United Kingdom.

That's all folks!
VLJ
XX

Who Am I?

Hey Guys!

So this is my first ever blog post, how exciting.... maybe.
I have recently been in a whirl wind state of mind about numerous things, mainly being in my last year of my joint degree (Education Studies and Psychology), getting married in February, starting up a YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmz93z7MIPA), and generally deciding which direction my life will go.


A lady once referred to me as 'a jack of all trades, a master of none'. Now, I must admit, I was always one to swap from job to job and never really be happy. Prior to my decision to return to education back in 2012, I had had numerous different jobs ranging from bar staff, to retail, to numerous sales jobs in different industries. I then sadly got made redundant from my sales job and was left with no job, barely any money, and scratching my head as I decided what to do next. This was a turning point for me, or so I thought, and I decided to return to education to pursue a career in teaching.

It was in college when I first discovered my love for psychology. I studied two subjects on the Access to Higher Education course which in basic terms is a quick way to get into university for those who do not have A-Levels or equivalent qualifications - like me. From there, I studied and read psychology so much I fell head over heels for it, inspired by my sociology tutor who also had an interest in psychology, funnily enough!

Here I am, three years later, studying psychology and education and my life plan has changed completely. My first two placements at university were a total struggle for me, the first placement being in a boy's grammar school and secondly, as a one to one career for a two year old. Both placements were not suited to me at all and I strongly disliked both!

So now here I am, about to embark on a new life with my husband-to-be Frank, still unsure of my future and where the heck I am going to take my degree! I have so many opportunities but my desire to be financially stable and in my own home seems such a distant goal at the moment.

I had a meeting with the Head of Psychology at my university last week, and she threw another spanner in the works. Not only does she believe in me and my ability to become a counsellor, but she clearly sees some sort of talent in me that I'm yet to discover myself.

Basically, the point of this blog post is to believe in yourself. I had a mini epiphany in the meeting I had last Thursday, and the conclusion was that I am in total control of my own destiny. That Audi TT I am striving for? I can make that happen. That high powered and highly rewarding job I'd like? Only I can do that by applying myself to my studies. Those millions of pug dogs I want? Well.... I could probably aim for another two, maybe a million is slightly excessive. Ha.

So in other words, only YOU can control how your life plans out. Yes, there may be some things that happen to which you cannot control but hey - that's life! Otherwise, take life with both hands, work hard, play harder and sculpt your life to exactly how you want it.

That's all folks!
VLJ
Xx

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