Taking Small Steps

Hi all, so after saying forever that I'm getting back to blogging, I am finally taking the first small steps.

Life hasn't been easy this last year and I found myself not interested in much. The only saviour has been himself and the kids.

Sophie turned one a few weeks ago and is doing brilliantly. She's been walking since 8 months so my days have involved chasing her around.

Jack is also doing much better and is getting ready for primary school in September. Seriously, where does the time go???

Now things are back on track, I'll be aiming to do a maximum of three posts a week. While I'll still be writing about beauty, I'm also going to break out into other topics so if you'd like to see something in particular, let me know in the comments.

xxx Anita xxx

MY UK Makeup Bag

I'm extremely blessed to have a pretty epic selection of makeup that I can call on to help me. However, it also means that if I have to go away anywhere I tend to go a bit mad with bringing way too much makeup. This trip is no different but even though I have a 20kg allowance for my suitcase, I wanted to break my makeup packing bad habits and cut down on space. Partly because i'd never possibly use it all but also it means there may be space for some newbies for the trip.

I thought I would give you a close up of the eyeshadow palette and cheek products. I always pack two blushers in case I feel like a change. I love the Lightly Toasted palette as you can probably see from some of the shades are. The palette is great for both day and night. I'm all about the contour lately having finally mastered it in a way that suits my face and really love the Sleek Makeup offering.

Other brands I've packed include L'Oreal, Sleek and Flormar

Are you like me and pack way too much makeup?

Have you tried any of the products pictured?

Relaunch Competition

Hi Lovelies, 

I'm back!! You're probably wondering where I went or whether the blog had been closed down. I have been so swamped looking after the kids and dealing with some personal stuff, I really haven't been able to get my mind into blogging at all. I've sat down and had several talks with myself and to be completely honest, I had contemplated closing the blog. But something stopped me, through blogging I have met some amazing people and after Cocoa Browns Passion Persistance Pink event yesterday, I decided to definitely relaunch. 

The event was amazing and seeing Marissa's passion for her brand and some of my blogger friends, reminded just how much I love blogging and that I need to continue doing it. So I am currently working on a schedule that will see three posts a week and a tweak to the blog by adding some non beauty topics.

To kick things off, I decided on a competition,which will run until the 10th October. 

Here is the prize:

To enter

• Comment underneath and tell me if you have ever tried any of these lovelies.
• Like my Facebook page and leave me a comment under the pinned post
• Follow me on Twitter (@anitabeautyblog) and tweet me using #anitasbeautyrelaunch

Sophie's Christening

A few weeks ago, we had Sophie's Christening and I wanted to share a few pictures with you all.

I was really worried about not having anything to fit me so I ordered my dress of Need That Look, I really love this dress, it fitted so well and the fabric is stretchy which made the dress so comfortable.I paired it with which black tights because the day itself was quite cold and wet.

Since I love baking I decided to do Sophie's cake myself. I wanted to forget about fondant and use buttercream. I wanted simple but elegant.I choose a vanilla sponge with pink buttercream filling and iced all over in bright white buttercream. I then decorated with pink and white non pareils. For her name I printed out her name in a font I liked and put in under baking paper. I then tinted white chocolate with pink and painted over her name. It turned out so well and will definitely use this trick again.

I also really wanted cupcakes, but I knew I wouldn't have time to do them myself. I turned to cake genius Agatha from Cakefield Avenue.I choose mini cupcakes, half malteaser and half vanilla with pink buttercream.Agatha was a dream to order from, she is so lovely and I'd definitely reccomend using her for a special occasion.

I also did a sweet table for the kids (and adults) which completely vanished before I had a chance to take a picture. I did manage a picture of the menu. I decided to do a menu rather than having to fiddle around putting labels on the jars.