Matte Me Up Barry M Liquid Lip Paints | Review

I remember being a fan of Barry M when my thirteen year old self wanted to do make-overs at sleepovers and finally had the pocket money to try the make-up that all the older, cooler teenagers were wearing. Barry M has come a long way since then in establishing themselves as the go-to cruelty free make-up brand for crazy colourful products, but have toned it down for their Matte Me Up collection with some gorgeous matte nudes.

Below, I managed to get my hands on On The Scene (top swatch, beige) and Minimalist (bottom swatch, pink) for £4.99 each at Next, surprisingly! Next are stockists of Barry M as well as most UK high street drugstores. For £4.99 these are SUCH a worthwhile purchase! The formula is very opaque, the swatches below were one coat and you can see how well it covers my tattoos. 

Despite being opaque, it isn't a creamy formula, compared to brands like Ciaté who have got their matte formula down. It's quite runny which makes for great coverage but don't tip the bottle when it's open as it will spill everywhere (and not come off!). 

As you might know, I went into anaphylactic shock last week and funnily enough was wearing Barry M's liquid lip paint at the time which stayed on completely throughout a day in hospital and my face swelling up, haha! I didn't even use setting spray or a liner, so if there's any test of time, that's probably it!

The colours are really gorgeous and a great dupe for Kylie Cosmetics' Candy K and Dolce which I reviewed here. I'll definitely be trying to get my hands on the rest of the colours and hope they bring out more! They are a total must have for your nude lippie collection as they're super versatile, going so well in any day or night time look.

Have you tried the Barry M Matte Me Up range? What's your favourite shade to wear at the moment? I feel like I want to be more adventurous with colours this season!

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My Week in Perfect Plants | Earth Day 2017

I've said it before, a lot of times actually... I love plants. There's this need rooted deep within me (bad pun intended) to fill everywhere I live with beautiful little plants. When I finally start moving into my new house it's definitely going to be stuffed with these awesome green things, from top to bottom. You might even have to bring hedge trimmers to get in through the front door. 

Perhaps its something about how they grow, or how I can see them flourishing more the better care I take with them. Just the fact that nature produces such crazy patterns and colours is a beautiful thing! Not only that but they make great painting reference for my sketchbook illustrations.

It's Earth Day today and I figured since I've been so obsessed lately, why not share some photos of the wonderful, colourful plants I've spotted this week? Especially as I visited home at the beginning of this week and popped into this flower house in my local park. LOOK HOW MANY AMAZING COLOURS!!

I want to wear them all in my hair at once.

Since my birthday last month I've been testing my green thumb by growing herbs. Cooking is my idea of fun sometimes (I know, I'm old) so my boyfriend and sister both got me some seeds and kits to start growing my own. Great minds think alike! These are almost a month along now and Alex almost killed them all when I went away the other day so I had to resurrect them over Easter, haaaa. I'm growing sweet basil, parsley, coriander, mint and chives. Expect some awesome cocktail recipes come May with the mint!

I'm one of those people who's obsessed by cacti too because there are just so many different kinds! I can very nearly neglect them and they still won't die, a lazy interior dream. This year we've been lucky enough to see some flowers come from them which only happens in the right conditions so I've been peeping at them everyday and making the most of it.

I keep them in the bathroom so that they can live in a more humid environment than the other house plants which is clearly working! The pink hues from these buds really breathe a little life into our bathroom which is currently a super clinical white (not bad at all for blog photos, woop).

 

A few weeks ago I did something I'd been putting of for a long time, repotted all of these babies, made terrariums and took cuttings from a couple of the cacti- one of which is pictured above. It's no bigger than the top of my thumb, so cute!

Growing up in the Lake District means that lakes and rolling hills are other things I really love about nature. The peace of being by the lake on a hot day is pretty much as zen as it gets, or watching mist settle on top of the lake during a cold Winter morning. Indoor plants mean that I'm just that little bit closer to nature, even when living in the city.

Happy Earth Day! Which part of nature do you appreciate the most? 

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6 Easy Ways to Spring Clean Your Blog

Spring cleaning your blog doesn't have to be quite as literal as feather dusting the cobwebs, but it can improve your blog's DA to visit the stale, forgotten corners of your site sometimes. You don't even have to overhaul them to notice an improvement, a little simple spring cleaning never hurt anyone!

I'm not an SEO expert, there are plenty of bloggers out there who are, but me and my DA of 21 are getting along just fine right now after being stuck at 18 for what felt like forever. I noticed that when I took a little hiatus from blogging in March, my SEO suffered even though I hadn't added or taken away anything from my site! There are so many little things I neglected that I realised could do with a little regular polishing from now on, and it's so easy.

Check for dead and broken links

Even if you're not actively posting, products you've linked in old posts could go unlisted and create a 'dead link' on your website. The more of these your blog has, the less your site functions. Keep dead links in mind when deleting old posts or especially if you post a lot on products which may be discontinued one day. I use this site to scan The Scarlet State for 404's regularly!

Update your photos

You might have noticed that some of my Bloglovin' thumbnails aren't the same as what's heading the post on my website. That's because I updated the photo with a better one (but unfortunately BL hasn't got it's crap together and updated it). It does give my site a fresher and more 'me' feel to it though! One day I'll get around to updating my super old photos... one day.

Reply to comments

I can't think of any bloggers who hate replying to comments, comments are like awesome, digital mail! Keeping up to date with your comments and readers is a great way of not just spring cleaning and making your blog more 'complete' but having fun. Y'know? Usually every few days I take a peep to see if any of you lovely people has dropped me a line.

Have a 'featured posts' section, keep it updated

A great way to not change your whole layout but keep your content looking fresh is to get a Featured Post widget and update it with a different post each week. You can see mine in the sidebar! Sometimes I'll feature something really old and casual about weddings or coffee dates, or something important that didn't get seen at time of publication. It gives your readers something new to look at when you're having a slow content week.

Edit your old post format

This is something I'm definitely saving for a rainy day but occasionally I'll click back to some of my first ever blog posts and cringe so much at the layout, even the writing style. Rewriting or reformatting your old posts so that everything is 'you' and uniform is pretty easy. It just takes a little dedicated time.

Change your vibe

By this I mean colour scheme, headers or buttons.  You could even pay someone to change your vibe for you, it's that easy! I recently refreshed my header a little, bumping the saturation up for Spring. If your blog just doesn't feel fresh anymore then you can always commission a totally new look. Etsy has some great cheap blog layouts and I've been illustrating new blog headers for some fabulous ladies this week!

for http://www.izzyevans.co.uk/

How do you keep your blog looking fresh? Are there any tips you could share with us all in the comments? 

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8 Thoughts I Had About Life, After Anaphylaxis

So if you keep up on Twitter you may know that this week I had my first and hopefully last ambulance ride as I went into anaphylaxis for the second time in my life. This time it was a really bad reaction to an antibiotic called Ciprofloxacin (which I'll be steering SO clear of that and all of it's Quinalone counterparts for the rest of my life), not peanuts! Damn you medicine, I trusted you *shakes fist*

Since the first time I went into anaphylaxis, I've been slightly paranoid sometimes about whether a prickling in my throat is allergies or just placebo from being worried. Adopting a positive mindset everyday and trying to come to terms with the fact that whatever happens, happens has helped a lot but with the reaction this week I've been so shaken physically and mentally. It's not that often I'm open about mental health or my most inner thoughts online but I feel like perhaps writing this post will help me to deal with the anxieties that this week has bestowed upon me, bury it all and move the hell onnnnnn.

So firstly, I'm not being a drama queen (promise), I'm not looking for pity or attention- this is mainly as an outlet or reassurance for me, and for anyone else who might be feeling the anxious after a similar experience!

I will explain briefly how I felt as everything was going on! I felt like that was it, like I was going to die. My vision went green and sparkly and my throat closed up- it felt like I was about to pass out for five minutes straight (or however long it was). I've never been so terrified in my life, seriously put me in The Shining or Insidious and I'd have fared better panic-wise. So with that being said, here are a few thoughts I've had since.

Life is too short. 

I mouthed 'I love you' to Alex who rode in the ambulance with me because I wanted him to know that, and I know that sounds so terribly dramatic but you really never know when you're going to go and you should always let your loved ones know that you love them. Tell them everyday, make them feel it!

I'll never take anything for granted!

The antibiotic was prescribed for a kidney infection (excruciating) and on top of that I had period pains which returned once I was out of hospital, but I've never been so grateful to be in pain! That also sounds ridiculous but really, a little physical pain is a small price to pay for enough time on Earth to explore it's hidden gems. 

Let's stop wasting time.

Your time is just that, YOUR time. You don't owe it to a boring job or your mean manager. If you hate where you are in your life right now then change it. Save up, move away, find a new job, discover a new hobby, write that book! Don't waste your precious time on things that don't really matter or make you happy. 

It's going to be okay again.

Albeit the niggling anxiety of 'am I allergic to this? and this? and this?' I cannot go through life wrapped in bubble wrap (mmm, as comfortable as that would be) and must get on with things. My mum always says 'Do it scared' and it's something I've adopted into my life the past few days which is definitely helping with getting over the fear of going through all of this again. Convince yourself that it's all going to be okay, and there's a 99% chance you'll be right!

People's opinions don't matter. 

Linking in to the 'your time' part, what you do with your life, if it doesn't hurt anybody else, is nobody else's business. Enjoy your time on Earth and soak up every rainy day or soggy opinion in all it's glory. People's opinions shouldn't matter to you, do what you love and love what you do.

About loving unconditionally.

Forgive people for what they've done to you and apologise for what you've done to them. Bury petty feuds and at least try to make up old friendships before cutting ties because at the end of the day, when one of you is gone, one of you is going to feel guilty and terrible. There's nothing in this world worth a life filled with hate so build a bridge and get over it, or both leave it alone.

Cheers to good health. 

Thank goodness that I'm in as good health as I am right now because if I hadn't been keeping up with my asthma medication, or had a terrible diet and my organs were secretly suffering who knows how easy it would've been to recover! Always look after yourself, do what feels good.

Wow, I have too much stuff.

Of course, it's okay to have things that make you happy but again, you can't take all of these belongings with you when you die. I returned home after a stay in the hospital and saw how messy my room was and realised how much I needed to declutter again, how sad it'd be for someone else to throw all of that stuff away (which I didn't really care about). Life is about living, not buying! Create memories, enjoy new experiences and make connections with people! Focus more on what matters. (This isn't to say throw away all of your belongings. As long as the value of your life isn't solely the value of your possessions it's all okay).

____________________________________________________

I also want to mention that a lady passed away in my room while I was in the hospital. It was so sad and to realise first hand that there's such a thin line between living and dying was difficult, but somehow something I already knew deep down! It really put things into perspective. Everything I want, everything I have already and everything I'm forever saying 'I'll do tomorrow' that may never get done if I keep postponing. 

I hope this post was interesting to you, sorry if it's a little depressing despite the positive message underneath! Honestly I feel so much more relieved for writing it already. With all that said, I'll be taking another week to recuperate, deal with university work and spend time with family. Hope everyone is well and had a lovely Easter!

Have you ever been through an experience like this? Did it change how you think too?

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Gold For The Soul & Advice Box? | SP #18

Hey all! HAPPY DAY AFTER APRIL FOOLS DAY when I can finally take the internet seriously, am I right? 

As you might know, it was my 21st birthday last week, which I spent in my home town with my family (after a lovely day with Alex at the local teahouse eating amazing vegan food, gulping down cactus tea and chilling in the sunshine) and it was perfect. I also treated myself to some gorgeous earrings this week as I've been obsessing over gold lately. Have you heard of Kintsukuroi? >

This is such a beautiful concept to me (if you look it up, the pieces are beautiful too). So, not that I've been broken or anything quite as melodramatic but right now wearing gold is making me suuuuuper happy.

These earrings were from a little shop on eBay and my nose ring was handmade by a lady in Jaipur! I like to think that wearing things that someone put care, attention and love into gives me some kinda good karma. My sister got me these necklaces for my birthday which I believe are from Topshop. They're so dainty and gorgeous!

This post is going to stay pretty short and sweet as I just wanted to stop by, let you all know how life is! In the middle of this week I headed to a meeting about my end-of-degree exhibition / show and even though I'm excited, there's definitely a lot of nerves bubbling inside me right now. Hopefully they don't show themselves when I need to hold it together most!

Hence, taking pleasure in the little things such as wearing colours that make me beam, listening to new music or just getting an extra hour of sleep. We can't always be working at 100% speed, worrying about everything all the time! It's not something I'm about to feel guilty for, helllll no.

I think this coming week I'll be tackling some more hours of my plastic project, which I'm actually really enjoying (if you follow my stories on Instagram you might have spotted some messy typography experiments), meeting up with a bunch of old friends, baking some incredible vegan chocolate and Oreo donuts to share with you guys here next week and there's an #OOTD post coming up too! It's only been... eight months? Oops.

I hope you've all had a really lovely week and feel on top of things. Speaking of- I'd really like to possibly start some kind of advice or question series on here. Sometimes getting a little advice from someone else's perspective does a world of good, as I know it does for me! 

Hopefully I'd be able to get people who specialise in certain topics to join too, like if a lot of people wanted advice on getting into university, mental health, going vegan, the IUD coil etc I could help with that, (and so could some others) or if people wanted advice on LGBTQ+ and other issues, I could get someone in on that who's more clued up, or has first hand experience. Even dumb things like 'when a t-shirt has white and black on it, which washing pile does it go in?' hahaha. Totally not a legit question I had to ask mum about in first year. Let me know what you think!

I've popped an anonymous asking box in my sidebar (have a scroll about, you'll find it, just not on https://) and I promise there's no way I can see who submits. Obviously if this all goes wrong I'll just take down the box haha. If I get enough submissions in the next week or so, I'll answer what I can in a post!

 Let me know what you've been up to this week! Do you have a new post you're particularly proud of? Also be sure to let me know what you think of my idea, I'm open to criticism!

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