My 2014 Resolutions

Happy New Year! I know everybody says this but 2013 really has flown by! In September, Lost In Lipstick turned one and in November, Rory and I had been living in our house for a year! It really doesn't feel like a year since those things happened but 2013 has been a pretty awesome year. I am planning on writing a post all about my favourite moments of 2013, so make sure you keep your eyes peeled if you're wondering what was so great about 2013. 

Last year I didn't make any New Years Resolutions as I know I'm not very good at sticking to them. Who is?! However, I have a lot happening in 2014 and I would like to change a few things in my life for the better. I think if I publish my resolutions here, I may be more inclined to stick to them as they're on the internet for everyone to see and check up on. Hopefully, this time next year, I can report that I stuck to all of my resolutions. Has anyone ever stuck to their goals before?

I don't want to set too many targets as I know targets need to be SMART; Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely. My job involves setting targets for SEN Children to meet termly and we have to try as much as possible to make them SMART. I'm just going to have two but many things come under each one. Anyway, enough rambling...

1. To become more organised and manage my time more effectively.

This year I am getting married! I've got so much to do between now and then but not enough time to do it! I also suck at being organised with my blog and life in general. I have already started to plan my blog posts in my new diary, I just have to stick with it for a whole year and not just a couple of weeks like my blog planner! I absolutely love blogging but I need to manage my time more effectively so I can fit it in. When I get home from work, I sit down on the sofa and before I know it, it's bedtime and I haven't blogged or done any housework (the latter I hate so I can understand why I put it off!) I am going to try and spend at least one hour every day on my blog. If there is a particular day or two that I cannot blog, it's not the end of the world as I will have blogged all the other days anyway so I won't be far behind. In an ideal world, I would like to blog about four times a week. I am going to be carrying on with my weekly Instagram posts, which will be published every Sunday, and I am going to be doing a new feature on a Monday, which will be published each week. This will be based around a motivational quote and may even link in with my resolutions! I am going to try and schedule posts so that I do not go days and days without blogging like I have this year. That way, I always have something to fall back on if I am ill or really busy in real life. 

Do you have any tips you can share for becoming more organised or how I can manage my time more effectively?

2. To become healthier.

I know that almost everybody has a New Years Resolution to become healthier but as I am getting married this year and both my hen do and honeymoon are abroad, I really need to tone up. I also eat far too much rubbish as you can see on my Instagram! Now I'm not going to go crazy and say I'm going to sign up with the gym because we all know that I will not go to the gym but I need to start exercising more even if it's just dancing on the WII or going on walks with Rory. In 2013, I started going to a weekly Zumba class with my friend, which I am loving. In 2014, I would like to carry on with this and I have Zumba on the WII so maybe I could do an extra hour or two a week. This resolution also ties in to my previous resolution as I will need to find time in order to exercise. I have a timetable at work for when I work with different year groups and I'm thinking I will create a timetable in the evenings to help me manage my time and I'll put time aside for blogging and housework as well as exercise. I know that's sad but it's the only thing I can think of. Do you have a different suggestion?

What do you do to stay healthy and how do you exercise?

Rachel x

Lost In Lipstick

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What I Bought in the Christmas Sales

I was lucky enough to receive some money for Christmas so I decided to treat myself and buy some things which I would have loved to receive at Christmas. At midnight on Christmas Day, I was on Space NK waiting for the half price sale. I think I managed to pick up two really good deals and I cannot wait for them to arrive and start using them (after I've photographed them of course!) As well as purchasing a newbie which wasn't in the sale but I needed a new cleanser. 

Firstly, I bought my very first Diptyque perfume which I am extremely excited about and I managed to get it for £34 instead of £68! I actually chose it without smelling it which I think is very brave of me but the description sounded beautiful and I couldn't resist. Do you own L'ombre Dans L'Eau? What do you think of it? My second Space NK purchase was my very first Laura Mercier product(s). I managed to grab the Creme Brulee Bath & Body set for £15 instead of £30. Bargain! I cannot wait to have a luxurious bath when it arrives. Lastly, I needed a new cleanser so I decided to have a look at what Space NK had to offer in terms of skincare. REN is a brand I haven't tried before but I've only heard good things. I decided to pick up the Rosa Centifolia Foaming Cleanser. It wasn't in the sale but I decided to give it a try anyway. 

Next up, on Friday, I braved the crowds and headed to The Trafford Centre. I obviously headed to Boots for the infamous half price sale. I have to say, I was fairly well behaved as I had spent £62 on Space NK. Here's what I managed to pick up from Boots, Lush and Cath Kidston. 

From Boots, I picked up this delicious smelling candle and diffuser set in the scent mulled wine and cinnamon. I was going to save it for next year but I have already displayed them in my living room, I couldn't resist. I haven't lit the candle yet but if I want to, I won't stop myself. It was only £7.50 in the sale for both. I also picked up a real bargain from Origins! I'm actually so excited about this find! It was the last one in Boots and I'm not surprised. It's the Merry Moisturisers set, which contains Make A Difference Plus + Rejuvenating Moisturiser which is £34 alone, Make A Difference Plus + Rejuvenating Treatment Lotion, Make A Difference Rejuvenating Hand Treatment and Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask. I'm so excited to try everything in this set and I got a real bargain at £19 instead of £29! Finally, I picked up a 2014 diary in the form of this adorable Winnie The Pooh design. I am going to use it to plan blog posts and I have already made a start! 

My next stop was Cath Kidston where I picked up a large zip wallet to store make up products in my handbag and a glasses case as I recently got some new glasses and the case that Boots gave me is uninspiring. My final destination was Lush where I managed to pick up a Magic Wand Bubble Bar for £2.47. I haven't used this before but it smells amazing and is making my whole house smell incredible. 

I enjoyed the sales this year but I do wish I had the patience to raid rails as I could have done with some new clothes. Oh well, maybe next year! 

What did you pick up in the sales? Did you get any serious bargains?

Rachel x
Lost In Lipstick

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What I Got For Christmas 2013

I wanted to do one of these posts last year but I just didn't get the chance to but as I have loved seeing what everyone else got for Christmas, I thought it would only be fair to share what I got too. I struggled to photograph everything as the lighting has been so bad recently plus I didn't know where to shoot them and I actually tried two other places before settling on under the Christmas tree! I kind of like how they have turned out even though the lighting is still terrible but it's quite appropriate being under the tree. 

Once we were awake on Christmas morning, me and Rory exchanged presents. We had decided not get each other anything as we are getting married in August and need all the pennies we have for that! However, we obviously couldn't resist and ended up getting a few bits for each other. Rory managed to pick up the infamous Soap & Glory gift set when it was half price - hooray - and he knew I wanted my own external hard drive with lots of memory so I didn't have to ever delete any pictures or songs! I now own one in my favourite colour - pink! Thank you Rory.

Christmas isn't Christmas without receiving socks and pyjamas etc. and this year didn't fail. I received these cute giraffe pyjamas and bootie slippers from my mum and dad and this super fluffy pink dressing gown from my gran. Some highlights include Chanel Coco Mademoiselle Fresh Moisture Mist to match my perfume, Cath Kidston tea towel set, a beautiful Topshop jumper and a velvet Topshop skirt. I also received lots of chocolate, which may have been eaten before I could photograph it. Rory managed to eat a whole selection box for breakfast! I also received some money which I've already spent in the sales. Stay tuned to see what I managed to buy. 

I had such a perfect Christmas this year and I loved giving presents as well as receiving them. I was spoilt with all my gifts and I'm so thankful and grateful to all my friends and family. Christmas is a time to spend with loved ones and we still have some family left to see in the New Year so we can do it all over again! I hope you all had a fabulous Christmas and I hope Santa brought you everything you wanted. 

Merry Christmas!

Rachel x
Lost In Lipstick

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