Hello Everyone,

So shortly after Christmas I found myself venturing into Debenhams when I had a bit of time to spare and I ended up having a splurge at the Benefit counter with some of my Christmas money. I would say that (amongst the few that I've tried) Benefit is my favourite higher end make-up brand. I love everything about benefit from the quality of the products to the colours and designs of the packaging! The few products I decided to try this time were the concealer 'Erase Paste' (which I have heard LOADS about) and the highlighter 'Watts up' which I had heard less about but which caught my eye straight away. 

I'm not usually one to go for highlighting and contouring, one because I'm lazy and two because I don't fully understand the ins and outs of it. Like a lot of people, the idea of contouring and highlighting scares the hell out of me and even though I've had a few successful attempts I still tend to steer clear of it most of the time. However, Highlighting now definitely scares me a whole lot less since I got shown this little baby! I knew straight away that I would find this product easier to use than others I had tried before as it is applied straight onto the face rather than applied with a brush! Well that's how I apply it anyway. I got advised not to use the sponge on the end but to blend it in with my fingers or a brush and I have found that doing this has works brilliantly. I love the packaging too and love that its nice and compact!


As you can see in this picture and in the swatch below, the colour of this product is also incredibly beautiful. The woman on the counter showed me a few different highlighters they have to offer but the gold tones of this one won me over! My skin tone, although not incredibly tanned, is olive toned (because of my Italian roots) so the gold really does compliment it well! Oh and not to forget its long lasting too! If I come home and it is still on my face after a night out then it definitely scores 10/10 for that.

Overall I would recommend this product 100 times over. It is very easy to apply and makes highlighting incredibly easy, its consistency is beautiful and easy to blend and the colour of it is really stunning with just enough shimmer! Definitely worth the money :)

The other product I brought was the concealer 'Erase Paste'. Due to my Olive skin, I do have quite bad dark circles under my eyes. I was after something quite heavy duty to hide these and needless to say Benefit didn't disappoint.

First off, I know packaging is not the be all and end all but I really do appreciate a product more if its packaged well. I have never owned a concealer that is in a pot rather than in a tube and I like it because you can easily see how much product you have left.

The colour that I got matched to was no.2 medium. I am really loving the tone and find it just blends in so easily with the tone of my foundation. Usually I am an avid user of the Collection 'Lasting Perfection' concealer and although I will always love that little baby I feel that the Erase Paste is the longest wearing concealer I have ever tried. Lets just say that, when I have only done one side, the difference between my two eyes is so clear that even my boyfriend (who has no idea about make-up) could spot it!

I hope you all enjoyed my first review post. I am all new to this and would love some constructive criticism if you have any :) Thanks for reading

Much love,

Tanya
xxx

Hi everyone!

So I have done a new video on my youtube channel of a trip to London i went on this month. Please go check it out if you have time :) Expect a review post on one of the restaurants we went to on the blog very soon!

Thanks my loves,

Tanya xxx

Hi everyone!

First of all, sorry I haven't posted in about a month. I haven't been as regular with posting as I would have liked to have been. I always find that I think of a post I want to write (or in terms of YouTube, a video I would like to film) and then by the time I get round to actually creating it I have put myself off the idea. The longer I have an idea in my head the more I begin to convince myself that its rubbish and that no one in the world will want to read or watch it.

That brings me on to the topic of this post... The dreaded new years resolutions!

I think, like most people, I'm someone who doesn't usually tend to stick to their resolutions without fail. However, When I am determined to give something a good go I most definitely will :) I'm hoping writing this post will be a good way to remind myself of my resolutions and also a good way to inspire some people out there who don't know what resolution to make (even though as it is already the 5th so if you haven't made any you better get a move on!)

So going back to my introduction paragraph, My first resolution is definitely to post on this blog more and on my Youtube channel more without worrying that no one is going to enjoy my content. It is satisfying when people view the content but really I do it for my own enjoyment so others shouldn't be a big issue :). I guess this kind of comes in to a general 'Believe in yourself more' theme. In the past couple of months, after being diagnosed with anxiety, I have doubted myself a lot and I definitely want to rid myself of this in the new year.

Talking of ridding myself of unwanted things... How about a good old stereotypical 'Be healthier' resolution? In June 2013 I went on quite extreme diet. Well, not really a diet but more of a change in way of life as i kept it up for one whole year. I changed my eating habits for the better and lost quite a bit of weight in the healthiest way possible. However, over the past half a year I have been a little bit naughty with my eating and although I haven't put much weight on at all I just don't feel as energetic and healthy as I used to. So I've got my determined head back on and I'm ready to become a health bunny again! Me and my partner have decided that we are also going to start running as he has done half marathons in the past and wants to start again so we have set goals to do various races! (I've even invested in new running clothes and a Breville blend active - Aren't I just the picture of health???)

Last but not least... This may be the most simple one but it will probably be the most difficult to follow... Stay happy and smiling because I was always quite a happy go lucky, care free kinda gal. I know I won't be able to stick to this all the time BUT I can make more effort to think of the things in my life which are absolutely amazing and that make me smile while I feel the depressing thoughts trying to creep their way in.

So there we have it, my three new years resolutions. Sorry if this was a boring post and that there was no pictures but I just wanted to chat to commence the New Year! I hope you all had a brilliant christmas and New Year and that you all have a happy and healthy 2015 

Lots of love,

Tanya

xxx

Hi Everyone!

So as we are just coming into the first of December (oh my life - Christmas is officially on its way!) I thought it would be the perfect time to do a post on my November favourites :) Something easy to start me off haha! 

Beauty Favourites:

Through the month of November I had three staple beauty favourites that I used basically throughout the whole month constantly! 

First of all, I saw that Maybelline had expanded the 'Baby Lips' and had created a 'Baby Skin' product. I'm not sure how long these have been out for in the UK but when I went into boots it was the first time I had seen them on the shelves. I have obviously heard raving reviews about Benefit's porefessional primer but I thought as this was less pricey (£7.99) I would give it a whirl! Needless to say I wasn't dissapointed :) I found that this really did minamise the appearance of my pores (which I do have pretty badly in some areas) and it really did help my makeup to go on smoother than normal. I would even consider wearing this on its own on lazy days! The container is pretty small but you don't need to use much at all... A definate 4/5 from me...

While I was at the Maybelline counter I was looking for a nice winter eye shadow and I came across their colour tattoo cream eye shadow range. I have heard a lot about these and thought I would try them out as I do love cream eyeshadows for blending through the crease of my eye. I went with the shade Metallic Pomegranate which is number 70. This colour is honestly stunning and it looks beautiful in the package and on the eye. Its a lovely colour for the autumn and winter months and it has become part of my staple winter makeup look. I think these eye shadow's come in at around £5

Last but by no means least is a lipstick I picked up from Sleek. This has to be my favourite beauty product that I have been using throughout November. Red and Berry tone lipsticks are a must have through winter and autumn and I am usually more of a bright red lippy gal myself. However, I thought I would be brave and try something a bit darker so I picked out the shade Cherry which is number 790. I have been wearing this lipstick on most outings this month and I think it goes brilliantly with the eyeshadow above. The consistency is smooth and wear is not bad considering the low price...All in all definitely a winner! 

Book Favourite:

Now even though this was only released at the end of November I still think I should include it in November favourites as I had completely devoured it before the end of the month was up!

So over the past three years I have been supporting Blogger and Youtuber Zoella. I think her having a book out is incredible and it shows that even if you do suffer with anxiety you can do anything if you put your mind to it! I'm not going to lie within the first two chapters of the book I was thinking that this story may be a little bit childish, despite the seriousness of the topic of anxiety. I think the book is quite teenagerish (yes thats a word now) However, the more the story goes on the more you see that it does cater for and connect to many different age groups. I finished the book in two days and might I add I completely fell in love with Noah the main boy in the book. Definitely worth a read if you want something with serious issues but at the same time something that isn't too heavy!

Home favourite:

As it gets into the colder months there is nothing better than snuggling under a blanket with films and hot chocolate and, in my opinion, a few candles adds to this perfectly!

I have to admit I'm a sucker for a Yankee candle and even though some may argue that they are pricey (and yes I agree with this) I think they are totally worth it! This is because the scents are usually strong but not too strong and they have such an incredible range of scents. To start of my Winter collection I brought the scents Christmas Memories and Christmas Cookie. Christmas Memories is more of a cinnamon spicy fragrance which does typically remind anyone of Christmas. However, This one hasn't been burnt much as my boyfriend hates the smell so I only burn this one at bathtimes - each to their own ay!

Christmas Cookie however has definitely been a winner with us both. It is a very sweet smell and I would say these candles are complete opposites. I wish I would have brought that smell in large rather than the other way round but I may buy another large one for December and bring the fella with me this time so he can actually tell me whether he likes the smell!

That's all for my November favourites! I hope you enjoyed :) Please feel free to comment with some of your November favourites! I would love to hear them... 

Lots of love,

Tanya xxx

P.S I may make a video version of this on my YouTube channel and include some fashion favourites that I couldn't include on here as I had no one to take any pictures of me haha :)

Hi Everyone!

So I have been thinking a lot over the past few months about responsibilities and what's expected of me from different people in my life. At the moment, I feel a bit distant from myself and I think its caused by feeling confused and pressured by what's expected of me and how I'm supposed to fulfil those expectations.

Anxiety isn't something that you ever expect to have, especially when you're the confident girl that I was. I'm not writing this now trying to be one the typical bloggers who follow in the foot steps of Zoella (one of my biggest inspirations in more ways than one) and start blogging about their anxiety. However, it is needed to explain why I had my magic little epiphany.

 My panic attacks started to happen when.... 

1. I felt pressured
2. I felt the most alone that I have EVER felt in my life

This left me feeling so hopeless and lost. I felt like I didn't have a place in the world. I dropped out of the course I was doing because of panic attacks. No one that is close to me has ever been through them themselves so even though everyone was supportive, and their support helped me greatly, I did feel as though no one really understood fully. 

The past two months have been more than hard. I don't really trust anyone that's close to me because every time I begin to I start panicking and thinking 'why would they care about me? I'm not who I should be' . A reflective bus drive not long ago made me sit back and think though.. Why are we all so desperate to fit some sort of invisible mould? Who invented this mould and why do we all think its so important? I know you're probably saying 'The flipping media' at your screens now... or maybe just society in general but I just wanted to put out a little motto that I've been using over the past few days...

I know that we all have to show concern for what happens in our life. Whether we get a job, a good education, find love. But honestly (some may not agree with this opinion) but I think most of us, the majority of the time, care too much. I think we try to hard to looking for things to happen rather than just enjoying the flow that life brings ( HOW HIPPY DID THAT SOUND LOL?!). So my motto is when you feel like you care too much then just care less... If you have a big exam and the nerves are getting the better of you? Care less (you will do better while not freaking out - trust me!) You feel like your not skinny enough? Care less... You feel like you don't know your path yet? Care flipping less my darling! Thats what i'm doing right now and I feel better already like a weights gone off my shoulders! I even have a top that says it and I have vowed to wear it on stressful days :) Just remember you are you and you don't need to be anything but that

Lots of love,

Tanya 

xxx

Hi everybody!

So this is my first post and I don't really know what I am doing. The plan is to create a lifestyle and beauty blog on here to go along with the video's that I am planning to create on my YouTube channel which is www.youtube.com/theoriginalbambi

Just so you know a bit about me my name is Tanya Zero, I'm 18 years old and I'm from a town called Kidderminster near the city of Birmingham in the UK. At the moment I'm going through a bit of a hard time in my life so feel that concentrating on this blog will really help me and give me something to direct my energy into!

Looking forward to getting properly started!!

Lots of love,

Tanya xxx