I saw a quote on Instagram this morning. It went along the lines of:
'Don't compare your beginning to someone else's middle'
and it really rung true.
I know, it's a quote that's been floating around for a while but I think it's something that I'd do well to remember sometimes. Especially when it comes to blogging. It's really easy to feel a bit like a lonely fish in a very large pond but it's important to not lose sight of how far we have all come on days when motivation isn't particularly forthcoming.
Or that's what I'm telling myself, instead of digging into the stash of 'Christmas chocolates' that are sitting dangerously in my kitchen cupboards.
Anyway, as it's the last day of November, (Yes, really!) it's time for another Life Through A Lens post, and the penultimate one before we're rolling in with the new year and all the festivities that go along with the holiday season.
We'll just ignore that fact that my Christmas tree is already standing proudly in my living room.
Yes, it's another Makeup Geek post!
Are we sick of them yet?
Since Beauty Bay launched Makeup Geek eye shadows on their website, the UK bloggersphere has gone a little nuts for their much raved about eye shadows, with many of the shades being a complete sell out.
As I was ordering from the US, I decided to go all out and pick up 12 eye shadow shades and 3 large Z Palettes to house all of my current, single-pan shadows.
It's officially less than a month until Christmas and I'm still not getting the festive feeling, despite the fact that I've slurped hot chocolate out of a Santa hat wearing penguin mug and stuffed four mince pies in my face this week.
I think it's time to break out the Bublé big guns.
Anyway, this is totally irrelevant to this post today because I'm actually here to talk about my jolly jaunt around the Emirates Palace which took place on Tuesday. Although this sounds like it's going to be a dignified post, I can assure you it's not.
So I'll just jump right in...
Lately, I've been feeling like I need to spring clean my life.
Which, if you speak to my mother, is most unlike me as I've never been much of a fan of cleaning anything. Some people are born domesticated. My only gift around the home is that I can cook, and well, who doesn't love food?
So, back to life. I don't know if our move is to blame or whether it's the fact that it's just dawned on me that I'm a twenty-something, married woman on the verge of turning thirty. Either way, I feel like my entire life needs an overhaul.
So... brace yourselves guys.
It's time to ditch Effortlessly Excessive!
In September, Scott and I visited the stunning, Greek island of Santorini.
I had high expectations. It has to be one of the most photographed locations out there. The brightly-coloured rooftops and white-washed walls are instantly recogniseable. The cobbled, uneven streets, whilst difficult to navigate, give this place a unique feel. With breathtaking views being revealed around every corner.
I learnt two things this weekend.
1. I have the upper body strength of a ball of wool... and
2. I'm too old to go out drinking two nights in a row.
Let's start from the top.
So, if you follow me on Twitter, you may have seen me bleating about the fact that Scott and I had an intense work out session with our new, personal trainer. I'm not one for exercise, unless you consider a walk around the shopping mall, a workout.
I'm also not one for talking about working out. If I ever take a picture of myself on gym equipment, feel free to roll your eyes in disgust and unfriend me.
I'll let you in on a little secret...
I have a thing for eye shadow.
Okay, not even remotely secret but I view eye shadow like pre-teen me viewed Pokemon. It doesn't matter that a solid, 90 percent of my collection consists of warm-toned browns, my heart skips a beat when I spy another shade to add to the growing mass.
So, it would appear I've been on a short, blogging hiatus.
I didn't plan on not blogging but current events have left me feeling somewhat uninspired and unmotivated to sit down at my laptop and create anything positive. On top of which, Scott and I received some tragic news yesterday about one of his work colleagues.
The saying that life is precious has never felt more fitting.
Today, I've armed myself with a gallon of tea and I'm ready to tackle the blank pages. The last few days have been busy ones so let's jump right in shall we?
If there's one thing that I didn't pack up to be shipped during our move, it's my make up. I didn't trust the process. Whilst I was happy for photo frames and Tupperware to be placed in the hands of the removal guys, I wasn't about to hand over my MAC lipstick collection or my carefully curated stash of peach blusher.
Priorities!
So, inconvenient or not, I hauled the damn lot with me.
If my husband is reading this, can we please pretend that the extra case was for essential items?
Anyway, as I am lacking drawers to tuck it all away into to forget about, I've found that I've been dipping into my stash and using products that I'd otherwise forgotten about. If there's ever a silver lining to hotel living, this is it guys.
If I had to choose, I think Instagram would be by favourite social media platform.
Whilst I love Twitter for the interaction, Snapchat appeals to the inner curtain-twitcher in me and Pinterest, well Pinterest equally inspires me and makes me feel like I posses inferior DIY skills. Which I do, but whatever.
No, my heart definitely lies with Instagram.
Recently, I've been trying to dedicate an hour or so, every evening to scrolling my feed and exploring the popular page. In doing so, I've discovered some incredibly beautiful accounts and felt it was only right that I shared the fruits of my labours with you guys.
These accounts have only just made their way onto my, 'Follow' list but I'm already in love. I hope you find some new inspiration!
FIGTNY
Please excuse the completely uninspiring photography. As the majority of my worldly possessions are currently floating somewhere across the Atlantic Ocean, (yes, I had to consult a map) I'm somewhat limited to things that I can get my hands on in the hotel.
White towel backdrops anyone?
Today's post is going to be looking at a whole bunch of stuff I bought recently. Some good, some not so good. Let's jump right in shall we?
I went a bit OTT on toner products.
For the Snapchat inclined amongst us, you may have seen me complaining about the current state of my skin, recently. Whether it's the effect of changing climates, stress or the dreaded air conditioning, my skin has been paying the ultimate price.
Hello pimples!
Five hours is a long time to spend in a car.
I know this from the recent car trip that Scott and I took to renew my visa. We made it out alive, just, but a journey like this typically ends in one or more of us exploring selective mute-ism. Usually me. I have a short bullshit tolerance which is dramatically reduced when long periods of sitting and/or lack of food is involved.
I'm a delight, really.
I cheated. This is a picture from Finland. I was nowhere near perky enough to photograph my shoes, looking all Instagram-worthy.
Ask and ye shall receive... or something like that.
Judging by the number of page views on my last, 'Shit My Husband Says' post, it would appear that some of you are quite interested in the weird and wonderful ramblings of my Scottish husband.
I guess someone has to be.
Okay, I may have included the line above because I know my husband, and know that he'll be lurking around these pages, looking for what he calls, 'his fans!'
Hi Scott!
Can we all just take a minute to humour him..?
So, moving on to why we're here. There's been some crackers recently, so much so that I've been able to whip another blog post up in no time at all. So, if you fancy a laugh at my husband's expense, keep on reading...
Because men are funny!
I found the perfect boots.
Perfect, because technically they're a, 'bootie' which is just about acceptable considering it's 35 degrees (Celsius) outside, but also perfect because I'd been looking for this exact style ever since I discovered The Un-Fancy blog and realised that tan booties were all that was missing in my life.
Although, I'm not sure how I feel about the word, 'booties'
So here they are, in all their tanned glory...
Hold onto your knickers...
When Bobbi Brown came out with their Shimmer Bricks, I was on the fence.
Yes, really.
The concept intrigued me but after swatching myself into a Christmas bauble, I decided they were too glittery for my liking. The bronzing shades especially, and whilst my inner magpie was screaming at me to make a purchase, I knew that they would ultimately end up gathering dust in my make up drawers.
So, when I spotted a promotion on Seventeen products whilst I was back in the UK over the Summer, I impulsively picked up this:
My name is Kirsty and I'm a NYX noob.
There, I said it.
It wasn't until I accidentally stumbled across a counter the other week, that I realised living in Abu Dhabi opened up of whole world of NYX possibilities. So I took to the Interweb, pen in hand, and started noting down everything that I needed.
...and then off I trotted to the counter again, walking away with this lot.
I'm notoriously bad at posting my Life Through A Lens posts on time. Although, I do have somewhat of an excuse...
I had planned on blogging yesterday but then Scott and I went shopping instead. Beautiful new booties were purchased. That's about the extent of my excuse... Am I forgiven?
Anyway, October has been a crazy month. We waved goodbye to Finland and hopped on a plane bound for Dubai. I've met some amazing people, you know who you are, and I've just started to find my feet in Abu Dhabi.
With the start of November already here, and a move into our new apartment just around the corner, let's look back at October and whisper - is it really only 53 days til Christmas?
Enjoy!
