WHAT YOU NEED TO START YOUR BULLET JOURNAL

Happy Wednesday all! How's your week going so far? I'm shattered, but luckily this is my last week before a cheeky week and a half break, which I'm very much looking forward to :-) Today I wanted to talk about something that I've been really loving lately, and it's writing in my bullet journal.

I’ve heard about bullet journals for a few years now and was never really interested in starting one until recently. I have always written down ideas and to-do lists, but they were all over the place. I’d write one thing in one notebook and something else in another, meaning that I was never that organised in the end because I would forget where I’d written things. I really liked the idea that I could have absolutely everything in one place, so I started watching bullet journal videos around early December. I loved seeing how creative people get with theirs and getting an idea of what could and what wouldn’t work for me. My bullet journal will be much more simple, and it definitely won’t have many designs because I look like a 5 year old every time I try to draw something. I’m also not very good at calligraphy, so beautiful lettering also won’t be happening.

I got my bullet journal from Rymans and it’s the Leuchtturm A5 Notebook. I got mine in white, mainly because it was the only colour they had there haha, but I do quite like it. I'm just worried it will get dirty, but it’s a hardcover, so it should be quite easy to clean if it does happen. I used my Dymo Label Maker to title my Bullet Journal and I really like how it turned out. It’s very simple, but I love it.

So far I’m finding the whole bullet journaling thing so therapeutic. I never imagined I would love it as much as I do. Personally for me, I find it a lot easier to write everything out in pencil first before going over it with a pen. If you’re a pro at line work or an artistic person in general, then I think you’ll be fine going in with a pen straight away, but I want my bullet journal to be tidy and clean looking, so I find it gives me peace of mind when I use pencil first. I started by writing out the yearly calendar, and then adding a few pages on things I want to do and see throughout this year, and then I moved on to my January spread. 

I wanted a page for blog post ideas, a page for to-do lists, an expense tracker (OMG, you need to do this! SO helpful! I was actually shocked when I started filling mine out and seeing how much I’ve already spent). I also have a weekly spread, although I will be writing it out differently next month, as the way I did it this month isn’t very useful or helpful to me. And lastly, I have a page to keep all my monthly favourites so I don’t forget any when it comes to writing my Monthly Favourite blog post.

This is just an example of pages you can have in there. If you’re not into blogging, to-do lists, or tracking your expenses, you can of course tailor it to your needs and create pages that will be helpful to you. That’s the beauty of a bullet journal, you can literally use it for whatever you want! If you would be interested in seeing how I set up the month of February, let me know and I can write a post on that. For today’s post however, I wanted to share with you some things I bought to set up my bullet journal in case you’re planning on starting your own and needed some inspiration on what to buy. 

Of course, you need a bullet journal. I went for the A5 Leuchtturm dotted notebook. They do bigger sizes too if you think that would be more helpful for you. I preferred something smaller as it’s easier to carry around with me if I ever need to take it out of the house, like when I go to London or something. I also like to have a pencil and an eraser with me at all times. Again, if you don’t feel comfortable going straight in with a pen, this will help you design the pages exactly as you want them, and then you can go over it with something permanent and erase the pencil outlines. 

I bought the Stabilo Point 88 Fineliners to write and add some colour to my journal. My favourite purchase however, was the Tombow ABT Dual Brush Pens. They’re gorgeous water-based ink pastel coloured pens which have two ends. One end is a fine tip and the other is a flexible brush, which is the one I use the most. I love highlighting my writing with these pens, and they don’t smudge the ink... in case you were wondering. 

For the calligraphy side of things (or non-calligraphy in my case), I got the Faber-Castell 4 PITT Artist Pens. There are 4 different pens, each with a different thickness and they’re labelled with a letter, S being the thinnest and B the thickest. I usually use S and F to write things in the journal, M to go over any line work and B to title some of my pages. Lastly I bought these pens by Tombow. I don’t know if they’re fakes or something, because they just don’t perform very well. They’re meant to be calligraphy pens, but when I try to write something, the ink fades and not in a good way, it’s almost like the pen is drying out and there’s no ink left in there. Very bizarre. 

So that’s all lovelies. If you would like me to share my February spread with you, let me know. I could turn it into a monthly thing if you would like to see it :-)

Lots of love, SFS.

WINTER SKINCARE ROUTINE 2018

Hello loves! It’s been a while since I’ve done an updated skincare routine post and I have changed a lot of the products I use, so I thought it was time I do another one.

Let’s start off with what I use in the morning. I sometimes skip washing my face with soap and water and I’ll go straight in with Bioderma on some cotton pads or with my Pixi Glow Tonic. But on the mornings where I can be bothered, I do a proper cleanse using my Glossier Milky Jelly Cleanser to get rid of any dirt or oil that’s on my face. Then I’ll use the Pixi Glow Tonic on a cotton pad to exfoliate my skin and give it a nice, healthy glow. This product is seriously amazing. If you’ve never tried it, please do! It’s not harsh at all and doesn’t tingle, so if you’re scared of using acids on your face, this is a good one to start with.

Then I go in with my Dior Hydra Life Eye Cream. This was a discovery I made a few months ago and I have to say it’s taken the place of the Kiehl’s Creamy Eye Treatment. I thought I was never going to find something better, but this Dior cream did the trick. I am a massive fan of the Dior Hydra Life range in general, so I was almost certain I was going to like the eye cream too. It’s very hydrating, but feels light on the skin and also sinks in very quickly. 

After eye cream I apply a few drops of the Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Serum all over my face and neck. I used to love this product a few years ago, but I wanted to explore and discover other things at the time, so I never thought about buying it again until recently. I love how it keeps the spots away. Like literally, no spots in sight when I use this product. And yes, even though the product says 'night', I do also use this in the morning.

My moisturiser of choice right now is the Elemis Hydra-Boost Day Cream. I love the packaging, I find it so hygienic and practical to use. It smells like their papaya enzyme peel which is just a joy to smell first thing in the morning. In the evening I’ll sometimes layer the Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery Concentrate Oil over the top of this cream, or I’ll just use the oil on its own. It really depends on my mood and how my skin is feeling.

The star of the show for me though, is the Simple Cleansing Oil. MAC's Cleanse Off Oil is one of my favourite products ever, it melts makeup so effortlessly and it doesn’t leave a film on my face. And although it’s not that expensive considering it’s a high end brand, I did find it a bit much for something that was going to be washed away immediately, so I found this Simple one at Asda and decided to give it a go and I bloody love it! It performs in the exact same way as the MAC cleansing oil, the only difference is that it has a scent. It almost smells like sunflower oil, which I’m not too keen on, but it doesn’t bother me to the point where I wouldn’t want to use it. Honestly guys, if you haven’t tried a cleansing oil, please do! It takes off your makeup in 2 minutes. It’s life changing!

So that was it for my winter skincare routine. I will admit that I don’t always follow all these steps, sometimes I’ll just cleanse my face and use my body cream as a moisturiser, but on most days I do try to be good and treat my skin to the very best. If you have dry skin, I would highly recommend these products. They’ve helped my skin through these cold months and my skin is looking pretty good, if I do say so myself :-)

Lots of love, SFS.

GUCCI MARMONT VELVET BAG

Hey lovelies! Welcome to the first blog post of 2018. I hope you’re all having an amazing start to the year, if not, don’t worry, there are plenty more months to come ;-)

Seeing as my Gucci belt post was such a massive success, I thought I’d share with you my thoughts on the Gucci Marmont Velvet Bag. I’ve had the bag for a few months now and I've worn it every single day since, so I feel like I can give you a good review on the bag and a few tips on precautions you should take with it. I’ve seen so many reviews where a person says they’ve worn it for a total of 30 days in a year and so they can give a good review of it... like, WTH? No, haha! 30 days in a year is nothing! I’ve had mine for 3 months and have worn it every single day, rain or shine. Although in the grand scheme of things 3 months isn’t that long, wearing a bag for 90 days straight actually gives you a good idea of how practical it is and of how it’s going to wear down the line.

BAG OVERVIEW 

Firstly lets discuss the general look of the bag. I got mine in the mini size, which let me tell you, is more than enough. I can fit every thing I need in there and more. I’m usually not a big bag person, so the mini was the obvious choice for me. I’m also quite petite, so usually big bags look a bit funny against my body. I got the bag in the velvet Cobalt Blue shade. It has a a gorgeous chevron pattern  and has a heart design on the back. I’m not too keen on the heart, but it’s at the back so it’s not always visible. The bag is also lined with leather on the inside of the flap, and a pink silk lining on the inside of the bag with a pocket. The opening is my favourite, I love the push lock system, it feels so satisfying to press... it’s the little things haha. The hardware on the bag is antique gold, and it has a sliding chain handle with a leather shoulder tab. You can use it as a shoulder bag by doubling up the chains or by leaving the chain at its full length, and you can also use it as a cross body bag.

HOW TO STORE IT

Little tip for you when storing the bag, make sure the chains don’t lay on top of the leather or the velvet as it can mark the bag. If you prefer to store your bags by hanging them on something, make sure you’re doubling up the chains and hanging the bag that way. I made the mistake of hanging my bag with the strap at its full length and it marked the velvet quite badly. The marking will happen with use eventually, especially if you use it as a cross body bag or with the chain at its full length, but there's no need to make it worse. 

This is what I mean about the straps marking the bag.

If you like to keep your bags in their boxes, stuff the bag with some paper or a piece of clothing so it doesn’t lose its shape. Place it inside the dust bag and then cover the body of the bag with some foam before placing the chain strap on top. This will prevent marking also. 

LEATHER OR VELVET?

I’d say there are definitely some pros and cons to both. A friend of mine has this bag in leather and she mentioned that it marks also. The leather is really soft, so when you press down to close the bag, it flattens the leather completely, which overtime can misshapen the bag. But of course it’s leather, so it's definitely more weather and dirt resistant and you can wipe it down if it gets dirty. The velvet to me is a lot prettier to look at, and it’s more durable in the sense that it holds its shape a lot better than the leather bags. When you push down to lock the velvet bag, it hardly moves. The only downside to the velvet, is that you need to be cautious when wearing it when in the rains. Some people avoid wearing it in the rain, but not me. If I pay a lot for something, I want to be able to use it no matter what. Usually I’ll just pop the bag under my jacket to shelter it from the weather. 

WHAT SIZE TO GET?

This is a tough one to answer because we all like different things and want to use our bags for different purposes. This bag comes in the mini, small and medium size. The mini being the smallest and the medium being the biggest. My friend has the medium leather bag and personally I find it way too big. Like I mentioned before, the leather is really soft, so if you don’t carry a lot with you on an everyday basis, the medium can look quite flat and doesn’t hold its shape on the sides very well. Also, the top part of the flap tends to lose its shape and instead of looking round like it’s supposed to, it ends up looking quite pointy. The small size would probably be for someone who likes to carry a little bit more than the everyday essentials, like maybe a notepad or a book to read or something. And finally the mini, I’d say is for someone who only carries the essentials, like a phone, sunglasses, cardholder, keys, a cosmetic pouch, some lip products and some tissues for example (yes, that’s what I carry in mine haha). If you don’t have a lifestyle that requires you to carry a lot, I’d say the mini or the small would be the best choice.

PRECAUTIONS / CARE FOR THE BAG

In this category I speak mainly for the velvet bag as it’s the one I own. Don’t get it wet. Spray it with a fabric protector. If you are wearing it and get caught in the rain, put it under your jacket. Obviously try not to spill anything on it, duh. Once again, be careful with how you store it, as the chains can mark the bag (this goes for the leather one too). With Velvet, you will get a lot of fluff caught on the bag, so just go over it with a roller every now and then to remove it. Well, that’s all I can think of. Just a little side note, you will get a little patch on the part where you place your thumb to open and close the bag. It’s normal, it’s the part of the bag that you touch the most, so the velvet will rub off a little. 

I’ll be writing a post on what I can fit in the bag, with pictures to go with it, so keep an eye out for that. Also, let me know if you would like to see what the bag looks like after a few months.

Lots of love, SFS.