Introducing Sinivalia & Blended Valley - Plus 4 Competitions*

I was lucky enough just lately to collaborate on a blog post/social media posts with the brands Sinivalia and Blended Valley, and was kindly sent some pieces, Sinivalia being the skincare and Blended Valley being the aromatherapy oils. I was also sent some pieces that I could give away to you lucky lot in the style of 4 competitions, with each winner winning one piece each, keep reading to find out how to win these.

Sinivalia

Sinivalia is a range of skincare that is completely organic and natural, and you will also be pleased to know that this brand is totally against animal testing, which I think is something we are all happy to hear.

I was kindly gifted a few of there products, six in total, in which three of these are being given away in three separate competitions over on my Instagram account over the weekend, there will be 3 winners, each getting a chance to win the product they enter for. The competitions are for the "Carrot Face & Body Oil", "Rosehip Oil" and the "Anti-aging Face Oil".

Sinivalia have a variety of products over on there website which all look and sound amazing! If you would like to check out there website, you can do so by clicking on the link below:

https://www.sinivalia.com/

Blended Valley

Blended Valley is a brand that is dedicated to those who use aromatherapy products, there blended oils are perfect for yoga practice, meditation, combat insomnia, promote relaxation, increase your energy and also to improve your general health.

I have also been sent there Chakra Oil Gift Set to give away to just one of you lovely lot! It is a gorgeous gift set that contains 7 of there aromatherapy blends, these oils are designed for both diffusers and oil burners, but can also be applied to Chakra bracelets, healing stones or crystals.

Over on the Blended Valley website, they also have a wide range of different oils for all different purposes, I would highly recommend taking a trip on over to there website if you are into using oils for aromatherapy....the sleep healing oil sounds like a pretty good one to me, as I always have trouble sleeping!

https://www.blendedvalley.com/

Now for the exciting bit, listed below is when the four competitions will be taking place over on my Instagram, they will each run for a total of 1 week and they also have a set of conditions attached to them which are as follows:

Conditions

- Like and Comment on the Instagram post

- Follow me on Instagram - @clairejoanneblog

- Follow Sinivalia or Blended Valley 

@sinivalia - @blendedvalley

Sinvalia Carrot Face & Body Oil - 16th to 23rd Feb

Sinvalia Rosehip Oil - 16th to 23rd Feb

Sinvalia Anti-aging Face Oil - 17th to 24th Feb

Chakra Oil Gift Set - 17th to 24th Feb

INSTAGRAM || BLOGLOVIN ||TWITTER

Introducing Sinivalia & Blended Valley - Plus 4 Competitions*

Friday, 15 February 2019

February Glossybox: Unboxing

Another month and another one of my trusted Glossyboxes arrives to my door for me to enjoy, I tend  to really like getting these boxes each month, it's like a special treat of beauty bits that I wouldn't usually think of purchasing myself.

I've already been a paying subscriber to Glossybox for over a year now and recently posted a picture over on my Instagram of a year with Glossybox, so that you can see for yourself what a variety of products that you do actually get each month.

This month it's all about love, so let's get into the blog post and see what I received in my box this month....

Huda Beauty - Lip Contour

I got this in the shade "Flirt" which I am really happy with, as the other shade which was "Venus" looks to be more of a red shade colour and anything red just doesn't suit me at all. I'm not too sure what I will use this with just yet, but it is definitely one that I will be keeping for myself as it is a colour that I actually do like.

Nails Inc - Status Ready Nail Varnish

This is probably my favourite item out of this months box....being a nail technician an all, we do tend to love anything to do with nails. I recently had a big clear out of all my old nail varnishes and was on the lookout for some new ones, so this has come in good timing for me to start building the Nails Inc ones up again.

Luxie Beauty - Medium Fan Face Brush

I really don't need another fan brush but I guess adding another one to my collection of them won't hurt haha, and if I don't end up using it what it is actually for, I guess it will make a good photo prop at some point right?.

Regenerate - Enamel Science Advanced Toothpaste

I received this in a previous Glossybox a little while ago and after using the last tube of it up, I can't say I was that big a fan of it, I wasn't keen on the taste of it and it just didn't make my teeth feel clean in the slightest. So this time round I think I will pass this on to someone else for them to try and save it being wasted.

Vitamasques - Rose Gold Dust Sheet Mask

Another sheet mask again to add to my ever growing stash of them that I currently have going on, I do love a good face mask but I really don't do them enough! This weather has really dried my skin out just lately though, so I do need to do a face mask at least once a week to keep my skin feeling hydrated and moisturised. So I am really looking forward to trying this one, maybe I will do it this week hmm......

Mugler - Alien His 'N' Hers

These his 'n' hers fragrances I have already passed onto my mum, as she loves the scent of them and for me they were just a bit too strong, I'm more a fan of sweet scented perfumes. I already have quite a few perfume samples that I am still trying to use up, so I really have no need for another two that someone else could make use of.

INSTAGRAM || BLOGLOVIN ||TWITTER

February Glossybox: Unboxing

Monday, 11 February 2019

A Recap Of January

So finally January is over and is it just me or did January just seem to last forever, it just seemed to drag on for ages. I had planned for this blog post to be up on the 1st, but I just didn't have time to sit down and type it all up....even though it was already written up on my iPad.

So let's have a recap of what January meant for me....

One || I managed to read 4 books this month, how I don't know, because usually I only manage one or two. I just seem to be loving laying in bed of a night time and getting cosy with a book for about an hour before I go to sleep, plus I also promised myself I wouldn't purchase anymore books until I had read what was on my bookshelf and so far I have made a pretty good dent in what I already have.

Two || I finally got round to buying a new camera, it's nothing as fancy as the one I originally wanted but I wanted something smaller than my DSLR just so if I'm out walking the dog for instance, I can just pop the camera in my pocket incase I spot a photo opportunity. I paid just under £250 for the Canon camera but it was so worth it, it's so easy now just to transfer my pictures straight to my iPhone/iPad through wifi then having to put the memory card into my iMac.

Three || Procreate on my iPad Pro has meant alot to me this month, I've regained my love for digital drawings and cartoon style drawings aswell, I posted one over on my Instagram the other day which you can see here....but since then I have lightened the skin colour and added more shade and light to it. I am going to be putting these on sale over on my Etsy account this month, so if your interested in one priced at a offer of just £5.00 as a reader of my blog then just send me an email claire-joanne@outlook.com.

These are the three main things that I wanted to include for my recap of January, wanted to keep it short yet simple.

How was your January?

INSTAGRAM || BLOGLOVIN ||TWITTER

A Recap Of January

Monday, 4 February 2019

Three Tips For Instagram

I have always had a love/hate relationship when it comes to Instagram, I go through stages of posting everyday sometimes twice a day, and then other times down to posting just once a week. I then wonder why I keep losing followers instead of gaining any, it's basically because I just ain't putting the effort into it.

Just lately though I am really trying to put more of an effort into my Instagram, as it's the main social media platform of mine that I really want to focus on in 2019 and really try to grow and improve on it. So I thought I would share three of the main things to focus on that I have been reading up about to help me, and hopefully it will help you aswell.

Instagram Niche
When scrolling through loads of Instagram accounts you may notice that nearly all of them have there own style that really relates to them, and you can instantly tell who that account belongs to and what they are about and they really have found there niche.  So take some time and write down what things interest you and what kind of photographs you are instantly drawn to and just go from there, I am still yet to find my "niche" but it's something I am brainstorming ideas for, as you can see in the photo below...

As you can see I started out with six different topics that are related to my blog and I will end up with just three categories to stick to on my Instagram, and then hopefully that will help me stick to three Instagram posts a day. These categories may change over the next week or so whilst I am still getting my ideas together, and find what I like.

Instagram Theme
Most Instagram accounts these days tend to have a consistent theme running through them, my favourite accounts to follow are pink and white airy type of themes or themes with just a hint of colour, I just seem to be drawn to them haha. I hope one day to have a nice theme running consistently on my Instagram page, but at the moment I just can't seem to get the hang of it.
I do notice that the accounts that have themes to them, do tend to get more interaction and the larger following aswell.

You Do You
Lastly my favourite one of all....YOU DO YOU!
At the end of the day it's your Instagram account, so you do you and post the kind of photos that are of interest to you. You may find your follower count increases then decreases, for instance for every five followers you gain you may lose ten aswell, but it's all part of "finding your niche" as some would say.

Three Tips For Instagram

Monday, 28 January 2019

Organising & De-Cluttering: Clothing

Being organised and tidy is something I have always been a big fan of, it's the OCD part of me, but the last year or so though I have found myself not wanting to get rid of anything in my bedroom just incase I may need it in the next few months or so.

2019 is the year for me to change all that though and really start getting rid of everything that I no longer need, whether this be clothing, beauty or even random bits that have been sat in drawers and on shelves for months on end that I just haven't got around to using yet.

Over the next few months I am going to start decluttering the bedroom bit by bit. By doing this I am able to tackle each part one step at a time so that it's not too overwhelming, and hopefully by the end of it I will have a clean and minimalist looking bedroom, but for this to happen I am going to need to be really harsh with myself.

I have broken down the tasks into five simple steps which are:

- CLOTHING - BEAUTY - DESK AREA - BED AREA -BOOKCASE & SHELVING - 

First up CLOTHING: I have so many clothes and half of them I don;t even wear anymore but for some random reason I still keep them "just incase". This was the first area I managed to do, and 4 big bagfuls later I have literally bagged up ready to give to my niece. I have only kept a few pieces of clothing that I know I will actually wear, and my next aim is to get it down to the basic 7 sets of outfits.....an outfit for everyday of the week.

This is the only clothes I now own, the bottom section of this is just a few pairs of black or dark grey leggings, as I live in leggings haha, they are the only type of bottoms I wear as I like to feel comfortable at all times. I forgot to get pictures of what it looked like before as it was only after I sorted the clothing section out, that I had the idea to make this into a five part series of blog posts. The next section I will be sorting through is all my beauty drawers, I have five drawers filled to the top with beauty and skincare products, so hopefully I will be able to get that down to just 2 or 3 drawers.

Organising & De-Cluttering: Clothing

Saturday, 19 January 2019

January Glossybox: Unboxing

The start of a brand new year also means the first Glossybox of 2019, I originally wasn't going to subscribe again to this beauty box and was going to try a different brand, but in the end I decided to stick with it as I knew I would regret it otherwise....so here's to another year with Glossybox!

So let's see what Glossybox had in store for us in the month of January by taking a look inside this month's Glossybox which is the "Beauty Resolutions Edition" - Me personally was rather happy with the contents of the box this month.

Avant Skincare - Deluxe Hyaluronic Acid Vivifying Face & Eye Night Cream

This was the main product in this month's box and is a full sized product apparently, it is priced at £98 over on there website which well and truly pays for this box itself and a hell of a lot more. I used this for the first time the other night instead of my normal night cream, I loved the scent of it and it also made my skin feel so nice! Would I pay £98 for it though? Probably not no, I myself just couldn't justify paying that much for something (I'm tight when it comes to money haha).

-417 - Facial Micro Luffa Foaming Gel

I have to be really careful when trying out different facial skincare products, just because of how sensitive my skin can be at times. I used this for the first time last night though and so far it hasn't affected me badly which is a good thing, it also leaves your face feeling thoroughly cleansed aswell.

        

Maybelline - Dream Blender Foundation Sponge

I haven't opened this to see if it's any good as I really don't need anymore makeup brushes or sponges at the moment, so I have left this sealed as I am going to pass this onto my sister because she only mentioned the other day that she was in need of a new one. I quite often pass stuff on to my sister from my Glossyboxes if I don't think I will get any use out of it, so she does pretty well each month from these haha.

Hask - Repairing Deep Conditioning Treatment

I've never really been one for hair mask's even though I should really make an effort to do them at least once a month to keep my hair in good condition. I think that should be one of my goals for this year, plus I do like the sound of this one and I don't think I have ever used one by this brand before, or at least I don't think I have anyway.

Batiste - Rethink Dry Shampoo

I can not even begin to explain how happy I was the morning I received my Glossybox, I really wasn't feeling washing my hair that day but had run out of my normal dry shampoo. So seeing this in the box this month was a lifesaver for me that day, you just can't go wrong with a bit of dry shampoo can you?!

Do you subscribe to any beauty boxes?
If so which one and what do you think about it?

January Glossybox: Unboxing

Sunday, 13 January 2019

What's On My Bedside Table...

If like me your a bit nosy and like to see what kind of stuff that is kept on our bedside tables, then this blog post is definitely one for you to read because I am going to be showing you exactly what is kept on my bedside table and including a picture of my gorgeous bedside tables aswell.

The past few months all that was usually on my bedside tables was literally a lamp on each side and also my tablet pot so that I would remember to take them every night before bed. Then a few months before Christmas I found a gorgeous mirrored tray with a gold edging over on eBay and I just couldn't resist purchasing it, this now sits perfectly on my bedside table keeping all my essentials in one place. On my mirrored tray I keep a few essential items that I tend to use every night or every two nights all depending on how my skin is looking and whether it's behaving itself or not (most days its not!)

The bedside tables that I have are ones that I found in B&M, they have a white marble top with three light wooden legs that slant out to the side. I'm pretty sure these tables were just £19.99 each which I personally think is a complete bargain compared to other ones that look exactly the same but cost hundreds of pounds!

do ignore the random extension lead haha

First up is my Epiduo cream which was prescribed to me by my doctor for my skin, as I suffered really bad with acne for years before deciding to get something from the doctors to help with it. I only use this maybe 2-3 times a week though as it really dries out your skin and makes it feel really tight.

Next I have both my day moisturiser aswell as my night moisturiser, both are by the brand Simple and again these were also recommended to my by my doctor. I never used to be one for night creams but i find I need to now as I  find my skin gets really dry throughout the night, and this Simple night cream helps to keep my skin thoroughly moisturised throughout the night.

I then have my Neutrogena Cartridge Applicator that attaches to my Light Therapy Acne Mask that I use twice a week on the days that I don't use my Epiduo cream. This cartridge only has 30 treatments sessions before you need to purchase a new one, I only buy about 3 a year as I don't use it all the time when my skin is behaving itself.

Lastly I have a personalised tealight holder that I received off a lovely friend for Christmas, I know it's meant for a candle but I decided to just keep my earrings, rings and the tiny charging adapter for my Apple Pencil in there so I know where they are at all times. I also have a random hair clip just incase i need to clip my hair up for any reason in the morning.

What's On My Bedside Table...

Friday, 11 January 2019

Hello 2019 - Yearly Goals

So last night we all ended 2018 and celebrated the new year welcoming in 2019,

with a new year starting there always comes some yearly goals that we all would like to achieve.

So instead of looking back and reflecting on 2018 and what was good or bad about it, I am gonna look straight to the future and share with you the four goals I am setting myself for this year.....

Make First Sale On Etsy

I finally got the confidence at the end of 2018 to show people my digital drawings that I have been working on over the past couple of months, and also managed to make my first three sales offline just before Christmas. So my next goal is to make my first sale over on my Etsy store which I am still yet to get. If your interested in a digital portrait then go check out my Etsy store where they are priced at just £5.00 plus postage, it would really help me out a lot!

Less Spending, More Saving

This is something I really need to start doing this year, I am always seeing lovely things in shops and online that I "think I need" when in actual fact I don't! I want to be able to pay off both my credit card aswell as my paypal credit account by the end of 2019, I also have five drawers of beauty/skincare products that I am determined to use up before before purchasing anymore.

More Digital, Less Physical

I am slowly converting my stash of notebooks into digital format as I have eay too many unused notebooks that are just stashed away in drawers not being used. I have to 12.9 inch iPad Pro aswell as the Apple Pencil, which makes it so much easier now to be able to write using the iPad now and if I do make a mistake I can just erase it instead of ripping the page out and chucking it in the bin. I am using the app Goodnotes for my digital bullet journals now, and using the app Keynote to design my bullet journal layouts.

Grow My Blog

My aim for this year is to really take my blog to the next level, whether this be in the way of more regular blog posts and content and also to hopefully get some more experience in working with brands aswell. I've worked with a few brands in the past which I am thankful for, as this gave me ti confidence to know that I am capable of producing the content they ask for. I also have a brand new blog layout coming very soon, It's all been purchased but I am just waiting on a reply from the Etsy shop that I purchased it from as the theme doesn't seem to upload to my blog for some reason....something to do with the coding of it.

Hello 2019 - Yearly Goals

Tuesday, 1 January 2019