Nailed it - with Kardashian Kolor

Chipped nails are the bane of my life. They are not a good look one ANYONE and even if I was bed bound for a week I'm sure I would STILL somehow find a way to chip mine.

So, baring this in mind, I probably end up painting my nails at least once a week to make sure they are looking neat and tidy. Today I've settled on a colour that I have actually only worn a couple of times before, even though I've owned it for over a year now and it is the Nicole by O.P.I. Kardashian Kolor in "Back To Reality...TV".

I own a few of the 'Kardashian Kolors' and all the colours are really unique and as aswell as the amazing end result I am also obsessed with the names of them, they are really cool and quirky and normally a play on words. (another easy selling point when it comes to attracting me to products). I actually purchased this whilst in America but as far as I am aware they are available in the UK aswell.

 This is a pretty lilac colour with a slight pink iridescent shine to it and is described as a "pretty little periwinkle". This polish is perfect for spring/summer. I like the fact is has the slight shimmer to it as it makes it different to alot of the other lilac and pastel colours that are out on the market.

I love this nail polish and am always a fan of the colours and collections that O.P.I. bring out. The only thing I would say with this particular polish is that it does need a good few coats to get a good opaque colour as there's nothing worse than a watering thin coat of nail varnish.

(Yes we can all see that 1. I have really small hands/nails and 2. I'm pretty messy when painting my nails.)

MY WEIGHTLOSS STORY

At the beginning of this week I completed the Race For Life run in my local area. It was 5km and I had been training for it for the last couple of  months! (and by training I mean running around my neighborhood trying not to get caught with a bad VPL and no make-up on every morning)

I know for most of you 5km won't seem far but for me I was just really chuffed to get myself fitter, complete it in a good time and at the same time raise money for an amazing charity.
  After I finished in under my goal time with crossing the line in 28minutes - it got me thinking.... a couple of years ago I would have never been able to achieve something like this and I am really proud of how much I have changed myself for the better concerning my weight and health.

So with this thought I decided that I should do a quick blog post on how I lost weight and how I have became a healthier and happier person.

Just over 18 months ago if you saw me and then a photo of me now you would have never of believed that they were in fact the same person  (in fact you may have believed that I had eaten the current Kirstie!) 

Yup. I indeed weighed alot more. How much you ask? About 2 stone more. And you may all be thinking but your fine now? you wear size 10? why do you still want to talk about it? I do still get people that I know asking me for advice and 'how did you do it?' and to be honest it is something that I did all by myself no Atkins or Marjorie Dawes involved and that is something I am still very proud of. 

Before I start I just want to state that I am all for people who want to loose weight but these things always need to be done in a healthy, moderate way. Starving yourself does not work and my response to every single person who asked me "What diet did you do?" was ... 'The eat less and exercise more diet'. I ate less crap (because I was a junk food whore) and I made myself alot more active (because I was a lazy couch potato) these were simple, easy and basic steps AND they worked.

It was 2011 and over the past year or so I had slowly but surely gained of good few unflattering pounds. This was the first time in my entire life that I had ever been bigger than your average size 10/12 or "overweight" and although my friends told me I looked no different I felt and knew that in reality, I did.
I think first truly believed I was overweight when one rainy afternoon I decided to play on my wii fit and after my first little 'test' my cute little person who I'd grown to love suddenly expanded. I am deadly serious. It full on went plop with a sound effect and became a chubbier little mii person who I immediately felt sorry for.(Lets just say the wii and I then fell out and I was determined to prove it's judgmental scales wrong). 
This, along with the fact I had just booked a trip around America for 6 weeks for March 2012, with my best friend, was the firm kick up the backside I needed to start my weight loss journey.
It was October 2nd 2011 (I remember this as it was a friends birthday) and something in me snapped and right there, right then I was on a diet. 
I'd said this countless times before... "I'm on diet"..."I'm determined" but they all seemed to end on a drunk Saturday night and a hungover Sunday morning. 

But this time it was different, I had a goal.

I wanted to be confident America and be able to enjoy myself to the full. I wanted to be able to go to the water parks in Florida, go to the beach in LA, party in Vegas and not have to think about what I could wear to cover up and how I could avoid these intense public situations. At one point I was actually thinking about wearing leggings to Typhoon Lagoon - how is that even a normal thought? 
And even though I still have hang-ups about myself (that is just something in me that will never change) I went and I had done it and felt 100000% more confident and happy within myself. 
Along with wanting my confidence and self-esteem back (which at this time were total rock bottom) America was the number 1 reason for me to loose weight. But there were also a number of other things constantly on my mind and the answer for all of them always pointed towards me loosing weight and become a healthier and therefore becoming a  happier person.
 I would get anxiety a lot back then and really really badly and I am certain that was to do with my diet and the poor poor state it was in. My fitness was also horrific which for me was just awful. I'd always been a sporty kid/teenager and too be out of breath walking to work was just not right. Fashion also played a huge part. At the time I was working in fashion retail and so much of the stock that came in I loved but I just couldn't wear it because of my size and shape.
 I'm not say I was really really huge, I wasn't 47 stone and stuck in bed or anything, but knowing my body and how I felt, I just wasn't right.

Anyway I digress, it is October 2011 and I decide to get the "Myfitnesspal" app for my iPhone, which can I just say was absolutely brilliant for me. You can type in what you eat and how much you exercise and it calculates your calorie intake and loads more. If you are looking for something to keep track and help control your diet and find out more about what you eating  - this will help.
I knew the main things I wanted to cut out. White bread, pasta, cheese, pizza, crisps and sweet treats (mainly my top weakness - chocolate.) These are things that I knew had to go. I'm sure it's different for everyone but these were my downfall.
Drinks, surprisingly, weren't actually a problem for me. I only drink water and green tea anyway (unless I'm going out, in which case it's a vodka & lemonade) so I just made sure I was constantly drinking them. 
Water is one of the best thing for weight loss, it has so many amazing benefits and makes you feel so much better aswell, if I could give one top tip for being healthy and loosing weight it's drink more water.

Rather than bore you with what I used to eat daily I will list below food which became the main staples in my diet.

• Porridge 
• Cereals - Weeatbix/Bran Flakes
• Fruit - Bananas, Strawberries, Grapes, Satsumas, Tomatoes
• Vegetables/Salad - Broccoli, Carrots, Peas, Spinach, Sweetcorn,Lettuce, Cucumber.
• Eggs
• Baked Beans
• Wholemeal Bread
• Soups
• Jacket Potatoes 
• Fish
• Chicken
• Steak

Of course I'd still have treats now and again and most weeks I would have 1 day where I could have whatever dinner I wanted, which normally ended up being my favourite meal - my mum's macaroni cheese.

As for exercise I tried to do something everyday. I did everything from walking to Wii Zumba. Everyday I would make sure I was active for at least 20 minutes and always tried to better myself each day. I bought a stepper for my bedroom and to go alongside the exercise bike I already owned  and went on these most mornings whilst catching up with some TV shows ( two birds, one sweaty stone.)

After just couple of weeks and a few pounds I was feeling so much better abut myself and as soon as you start to see that number on the scales going down the more motivated you feel about what you are doing. The last thing you want to do then give up and ruin all the hard work you've done. 
Another thing which keeps you motivated is comments from other people, sometimes people worry about saying "ooo you look like you've lost weight" as they don't want to offend the person, but I loved it. The fact that other people were noticing these little changes just gave me that extra boost to keep going with it all.
So for the next 2 months I worked super hard and kept it up and amazingly by mid-December I had reached my goal weight, I had lost 28lbs and I had bought a size 10 dress for the first time in years. 
This was the happiest I had been in a long time and finally felt like myself again and since then I vowed to try and keep myself healthy. Yeah I still eat junk food (who doesn't) but I like to think that I am more sensible with my eating now and still keep myself really active.

If you want to set a goal, no matter how small, do it. Take little steps each day and with determination and motivation you will always make it to what you want.

Sorry if this has been a very long and rambley post and if you did/n't like it please let me know in the comments and give some feedback as too why.

What's that on your face?

Today my best friend and I decided to grab a hot drink and go for a walk along the seaside. Where we live we are really lucky and the beach is literally less than a 5 minute drive so it's always nice to go for a stroll and a chat. 

Before all of that though I thought I'd give you a quick look into a product I swear by and use daily and the make-up I wear on a day-to-day basis. 

After I've had a shower and washed my face I always use Liz Earle's Instant Boost Skin Tonic, with the ingredients including aloe vera, cucumber and natural vitamin E this stuff really wakes my face up and gives me the perfect clean base to start my make-up on.






I tend not to use a moisturiser after this as it tends to make my skin a little greasy/oily. I actually only use my moisturiser ( which is the Liz Earle Skin Repair Light Moisturiser ) a couple of times a week and always in the evening after I've taken my make-up off.

Now onto the make-up (and how I prevent myself from looking like a 12 year old.)

Even though I am a massive beauty love and a huge make-up hoarder I tend to use the same make-up daily, switching up my mascaras and lip colours now and again. This is what is in my make-up bag right now and for me are all definitely must-haves. (Minus my brushes which I keep in a storage holder) Below I've written out all the products in the order in which I use them, if you have any questions please ask! Most things you can get from any Superdrug or Boots stores but if not everything can be found online!

Benefit - The POREfessional Primer

Maybelline - Super Stay 24H Concealer (Light/Beige 2)

e.l.f. - Complexion Perfection Powder

L'oreal - True Match Foundation (N4)

e.l.f. - Warm Bronzer 

Fake Bake - Beyond Bronze Shimmer

Rimmel - Eyebrow Pencil (002 Hazel)

HD Brows - Powder Palette (Nude, Carbon, Warm Brown, Ash Brown)

Eyelash Curlers ( Cheap Boots pair that I've had for years)

Liz Earle - Intensifying Mascara Base

Benefit - they're Real! mascara (Black)

Seventeen - doll'd up mascara (Black)

Rimmel - Accelerator Endless mascara (Black)

Maybelline - Master drama khol liner (Ultra Black)

Not pictured -

 e.l.f.mineral complexion brush

Rimmel - Kate Lipstick (20)

Barry M - Bubblegum Lipgloss

I wore a leopard print swing dress from ASOS which I styled with black tights and flat pumps. For jewellery I wore my new look beaded collar necklace, a mix of silver rings and my silver Tiffany studs and seeing as the weather is still a bit chilly (whats all that about?) I also wore my trusty old new look leather jacket.

Here's a few photos from my afternoon out at the seaside.

Please let me know what you think of this post and what you want to see more of!

Wise Words on a Wednesday

“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.” - Dr. Seuss

I am the biggest fan of Dr. Seuss and like to live by his many amazing quotes. This is one of my favourites and so I thought it would be perfect for my first 'Wise words Wednesday'.

The reason I like this quote is that as obvious as it is, it is ,as it says, - very TRUE. There is no-one else in the world that can be you so we should all learn just to be ourselves!

 Alot of the time we'll look and someone else and think "I wish I had that", "I wish I did that" and you may sit and look at someone and just think about wanting their small nose or maybe their thick hair but I can guarantee that those people would look straight back at you and do exactly the same thing. 

As women we criticise ourselves alot.... and I mean alot.

 I am hugely guilty of it and am a serial moaner about more or less every single little thing about myself BUT at the end of the day I am me and always will be... so it's tough! 

What we all need to remember is that we are who we are and we should be proud of it, because no-one else can be you!

What are some of your favourite quotes? 

Did you like this Wise Words Wednesday?

Write in the comments about one thing that makes you proud to be you!

'Sale away with me'

I'm the sort of girl who hates paying full price for most things, call me a cheap skate or tight but why pay full price is there is going to be an offer or a discount anytime soon or if there is a place which sells it cheaper? Maybe this baffles some of you and I'm not saying I don't buy things full price because I do, but I will always search for a discount code or an offer if it is from an online store, that's just me. I am a self-confessed bargain hunter.

 I get e-mailed so many times a day from all the fashion sites I have signed up to over the years and 95% of the time I don't even bother reading them (bad I know) unless that is I see my favourite word.... "Sale". 
Last week this happened to me with one of my favourite high street stores New Look. So, even though I was on the phone at the time, I went straight onto my laptop, some classic female multi-tasking, and onto their site. 
Needless to say this was probably a bad idea for the sake of my New Look store card BUT I did manage to get some utter bargains (everything I ordered was £7 or under) for the upcoming months which I am so happy with.

New Look sale's online tend to sell out super quick as alot of the time it is between 50-70% off so alot of what I show you may already be sold out but that's not to say you shouldn't still look anyway!

Eylure 152 False Lashes - £2

5 Pack Of Socks - £2

Silver Collar Bead Necklace - £3

Black Floral High Neck Crop Top - £3

Black Egyptian Print High Neck Crop Top - £4

Pink Check Print Skirt - £4

Black & White Tartan Print Skirt - £5

Elephant Aztec Print Midi Skirt - £5

Coral Pinafore Dress - £6

Black Floral Print Pinafore Dress - £7

Black & White Polka Dot Tea Dress - £7

(All size 10, all from New Look)

I love this dress and necklace combination, I wore this when I went out for dinner a few evenings ago.

I've put crop top under both of the pinafore dresses (both again from New Look) and a statement necklace with each, I love this 90s style look and can't wait to wear them once we have some sunshine, although I'd even where them with tights too. I think they would look great with some frilly socks and some converse trainers.

Necklaces : Left - New Look , Right - Primark. 

I am actually still waiting for some of the stuff which I've ordered to arrive so hopefully they'll be more to add to this haul soon....

The birth of A Yellow Brick Blog

Welcome to A Yellow Brick Blog!
 So I've decided it's time to start a new project and really give this  blogging lark a go! As ,well.... It looks super FUN and I need something to keep me  entertained! 
 I'm so excited about this new adventure! 
I have loads of ideas and posts ready to come your way which will included purchases, ideas, thoughts, recommendations and much more!
So please join/become a member/follow .... whatever they call it nowadays and make sure too find me on twitter aswell - KirstieLouiseS

They say a picture is a thousand words.... so here's a sneak peek at a few personal photos!