I Heart: The New Year

2012 has been such a special year for me. I grew up a little bit, appreciated my family a lot more and got into Grad School, moved back to the UK and kept love in my heart.

I have always been confident, had many friends and always felt pretty no matter what size I've been. I've been lucky because I hear stories all the time about people who are truly suffering and are lacking confidence due to their weight. That breaks my heart. But of course -  I like everyone else have bad days where I feel fat and disgusting and I most certainly don’t feel like running around in a bikini with thunder thighs any time soon. (Thank god its winter...)

This year I really want to focus on my health! New Year’s resolutions have never really worked out for me because I would always make up unrealistic goals for myself that I wouldn't follow through with. Since 2008, I've lost more than 20 kilos but now I’m stuck exactly ten kilos above where I want to be. I realize that It gets harder to lose weight the smaller you become.. But at the same time it also gets easier and easier to be healthy because you teach yourself healthy habits along the way.

I have tried every diet possible and now I know that not every diet will work for me because everyone’s body is different. I can exercise and eat next to nothing and still not lose weight. So simply counting calories does not work for me. I need to eliminate all carbs and fruit because it makes my blood sugar rise. When my blood sugar is low, my body goes into a process called ketosis where my body starts burning fat for fuel. It’s a good diet for me because I get to eat loads of meets and veggies, nuts and berries without starving. Since the beginning of this month I have already lost 8 pounds so obviously it works well for me because I’m learning to appreciate healthy food.

I did this diet in 2007 after gaining the freshmen…. Well it was way more than fifteen pounds. Basically I had moved from Asia to the UK so I was overly tempted by everything delicious the UK had to offer. Anyway I've had 'a couple of years' break now before attempting this diet again. I've tried other diets in the meantime but they just didn't work out. So now I’m trying again to lose those last few kilos.. Wish me luck.

Oh and of course…. I wish everyone a beautiful year ahead. 

I Heart: River Island Watch

Jingle jingle bells!! Its almost Christmas  :) I keep buying myself little presents and I got this beautiful watch from River Island for only £25 today.  Its a miniature boyfriend watch that is not too over sized so it fits well with my other little bangles. I also bought some glitter dust that I applied to the tip of my french manicure. I used the tip of a spoon to drizzle the glitter on top of a wet layer of clear nail polish. Then I applied another layer of top coat to seal in the glitter. It was a bit of a mess but it turned out quite good.

I'm so happy with my new watch. What do you guys think? :) ❤

I Heart: L'Oreal's Xmas Goddie Bag

Hello Beautiful people ❤...

I've been really busy this week so I thought I would treat myself with a new nail polish and a new eye liner from Boots. Little did I know a free Goodie bag was waiting for me there.

Before I got the Goodie bag I picked up a lovely red-glitter nail polish from Rimmel called 'Ruby Crush' from their Precious Stones collection. I think its very cute and sparkly, and very fitting now that its the Christmas season. I have seen a lot of different reviews on this nail polish and I must agree with most people who said that it chipped easily... but after experimenting with a topcoat i found it to be a solution. 

From L'Oreal I picked up a Dark Brown eyeliner from the Color Riche collection. I prefer brown eye liners because I'm blond and when I wear black it kind of looks like I have panda eyes. I do like to wear black mascara though in order to make my lashes look bolder. 

From L'Oreal I also picked up an eye shadow which I decided that I really really needed... it is called Sahara Treasure (very fitting since I've lived so many years in the Middle East) and its from the 'Color Infaillible' collection.

I also bought a lipstick from L'Orial's 'Intense' collection.  The color is called 'Magnetic Coral'... 

I Heart: Macadamia Deep Repair Maque

So two months ago a friend of mine who is a hair stylist told me about this amazing deep repair hair masque called Macadamia that helps rejuvenate hair and bring back shine. My hair has been quite dry for a while so I thought why not try a few samples to see if I could notice an actual difference to my hair before I purchase a whole jar. I told myself that unless I am hundred percent satisfied with the product I would not invest approximately 20 pounds on a hair masque.

Two months later, I can now say that I’m a proud owner of a full jar of 'Macademia - Natural Oil -Deep Repair Hair Masque. I would defiantly recommend this product!!

I heart: Winter Parka

Jacket/Parka: Topshop   Hat: Newlook  Jeans: Boohoo

I love my new Luxe Nylon Parka from Topshop. It has a beautiful gray faux fur lining with a large hoddie to keep me warm this winter. The Parka has really wide pockets which I find really useful because I don’t like carrying around huge bags when all I really need is my wallet, keys, makeup and mobile… and maybe even a small notebook. It’s not a cheap jacket but I think it’s important to invest in clothing that will keep you as warm as possible this winter as cold waves are likely to emerge at some point. There is also a green military version of the jacket which I have seen a lot of girls wear but I prefer the blue version because I don’t necessarily like to wear the same color as everyone else.