October Challenges | Laura Sivers

Hello lovely people.

October I find can be a bit of a strange month for me; it's not quite time to start getting excited for Christmas (although I have to admit I have already indulged in watching a Christmas movie last week) and the weather's always a bit rainy and miserable, so I've decided to set myself some challenges for this month to keep myself busy and focussed on something.

The first one I am most excited about. I'm going to be doing an OOTD (outfit of the day) post every single day throughout the month. I will post photos daily to my Instagram: @laurasivers_ and will do a weekly roundup blog post here on my blog. So make sure you're following me on Instagram and on here if you're interested in seeing my OOTDs. I wanted to do this partly because Autumn fashion is my favourite and partly because I just thought it would be fun. I'll post where I bought the clothes from and link them if they're still available.

My second lot of challenges I have been inspired by one of my favourite people on the internet Shay Carl Butler. I'm sure most of you know who he is but he is a Youtuber who currently lives in L.A. with his lovely family and he has been posting daily vlogs on http://www.youtube.com/shaytards for almost 5 years - I began watching him late 2009! Anyway he is doing Shaytober for the month of October where he is going to 'get in the best shape of his life'. He encourages people to join him on this journey and set their own personal goals to obtain a healthier lifestyle so I thought why don't I join in! I've set myself 3 goals:
1. Walk at least 7 miles every weekday (Mon-Fri).
2. By the end of the month be able to do 40 press ups in a row without stopping.
3. Cut out sugar completely from my diet.
Now I think I will find the first 2 relatively simple but number 3 - the no sugar - is going to be a real challenge. It's safe to say I have a serious sugar addiction and often rely on sugary drinks and snacks as fuel rather than eating actual substantial food so I am going to have to start eating proper food. I have done some research into this and it has surprised me how many foods contain sugar. There's the obvious chocolate, sweets, cakes, biscuits etc but theres also all white bread, white pasta, sauces/dressings, cereal. The one type of sugar I will be allowing myself though is the natural sugars found in fresh fruit. It's going to tough but once I set my mind to something I can usually stick to it so I'm hoping I wont fail. I'm sure during the month I'll be moaning about it on twitter so be sure to follow me on there @laurasivers to keep track of how I'm doing.

So there you have it, my October challenges! If this has inspired you to set yourself goals for the new month then do let me know in the comments below.

Lots of love
Laura x x

Autumn has arrived!! | Laura Sivers

Today marks the official first day of Autumn and I am so happy. Autumn is my most favourite time of the year. I love how it's starting to get colder but not quite freezing temperatures and you can later up with jumpers and cardigans and tights.

Autumn fashion has always been a real love of mine which I think I picked up from my mum as she loves it too. I've recently bought a lot of new seasonal clothes and I'm hoping to do a haul video on my YouTube channel this week so keep an eye out for that! It will include lots of long sleeve skater dresses and pinafores as that is going to be what I'll be wearing throughout Autumn/Winter. 

Beauty wise Autumn for me means one thing - berry toned lips! I recently picked up MAC Rebel satin finish lipstick which I've had my eye on since Coleyyyful swatched it on her blog (www.coleyyyful.com - check her out, she has an amazing blog and YouTube channel and is just a lovely lovely person). It is a gorgeous shade, MAC describes it as mid tonal plum, and it's really build able. I like to wear a more subtle smudge during the day then later it up for night. As I've said before I love purple toned lips and this rich, deeper shade is absolutely perfect, and as with all MAC lipsticks it's staying power is second to none. 

Next week in the UK is very exciting as Starbucks bring back the Pumpkin Spice Latte back to their menu! Anyone who knows me personally knows I am a big coffee fan and love seasonal drinks and Starbucks PSL is just my absolute favourite. It comes to UK branches on Thursday 3rd October.

I hope everybody else is looking forward to the colder and snuggly months ahead of us, let me know in the comments below what your favourite things about Autumn are - I'd love to hear from you! 

Lots of love

Laura x x

Summer favourites | Laura Sivers

Hello lovely people.

So it's suddenly September...what?! How did that happen and where did the summer go? I'm not the biggest summer fan but I had a fabulous summer this year which has been lovely, but I am so excited for Autumn/Winter and can't wait to be wearing layers and coats and cosy tights.

Anyway, while before it's a too distant memory I though I would safer some of my favourite things I've found and used over the summer.

Stila | In The Moment Eye Shadow Palette

Firstly I have to start with this stunning Stila palette which I got sometime during July and it has been practically the only eye shadow I have been wearing since I got it. The colours are beautiful and all seem to suit my pale complexion. I'm a big fan of anything purple and I've had my eye on the Stila palettes for a while so In The Moment had to be the one I chose. The shadows are so soft and blendable but really pigmented so you don't need much to create a strong colour. 

It also comes with a eye liner pencil but I haven't really used that except to test it out.

BarryM | Gelly Hi-Shine Nail Paint

I know I'm a little late on the band wagon for these Gelly polishes but wow I have fallen in love. I cannot fault these at all. Beautiful colours, easy smooth application and so long lasting and paired with my standard Seche Vite top coat just unbelievably shiny. Love love love. My favourites are Blueberry and Lychee (3+5).

Maybelline | Colour Sensational Vivids Lipstick in Hot Plum

My most worn lip colour of the season is definitely this. As I said before I'm a massive lover of purple so this is my ideal summery happy shade of lipstick. 

I do love a statement lip and this really does give you that. Every time I've worn it I get comments from people - even strangers - saying what a lovely shade it is. I'm sure I will continue wearing this in Autumn and Winter.

La Roche-Posay | Anthelios XL Melt-in Cream SPF 50+

Urban Veda | Purifying Day Cream

I don't think I would have survived the crazy hot weather the UK has had this season without this SPF 50+ day cream. I love La Roche-Posay products so much and am building my collection slowly but surely. Their formulas just seem to work so well with my sensitive skin. But this melt-in cream has honestly been my saviour on all these hot days where I've had to be in the sun as I burn stupidly easily. I've scent is nice and clean like all their products and it just feels nice to apply onto my skin after cleansing. It doesn't really work when applying foundation over the top but I didn't tend to do that as I didn't wear a full face of foundation during the day in summer. I wouldn't recommend it as a base for foundation.

The Urban Vida Purifying Day Cream I receives in my August Glossybox and I've included it in this as although I've only used it a few weeks I really like it. It really mattefies my skin if I'm having an oily t-zone day which I really like and it has a gorgeous scent of tea tree which makes me feel so fresh. It is just a really nice cream to apply first thing in the morning.

So there you have it, my summer favourites! 

Hope you've all had a lovely summer too :)

Laura x x