New Year, New You: How to make your resolutions last!

How to make your New Year Resolutions last!

Hi Beauties!

Happy New Year! :) So it's officially New Years Eve, can you believe it! 2014 went so fast I feel like the weeks have just flown by. It feels like it was only summer yesterday! I love this time of year its such an exciting time filled with hope and joy. I'm sure most people are getting ready to go out and celebrate, this year I have decided to stay in and celebrate with my family! :) But before I go ahead and do that I wanted to share a quick blog post on "How to make your resolutions last!" I make resolutions every year but I think this was the year that I conquered most of them One of them was actually to start a blog as I love reading blogs and have always dreamed of owning one of my own. I started one at the end of October/November kind of on a whim it was called "Miss Kerrie Burke" I was consistent on it for a while but I was just new to blogging and I didn't really know where I was heading with it, and then I didn't put much thought into the name. I took a break from blogging for a while and then I came up with the  name "Bella and Vogue" for this blog. I love the name of this blog Beauty and Fashion two of my favorite things. I started this in December! Better late than never! One of my New Years Resolutions is to be more consistent with my blogging. I will post my New Years Resolutions tomorrow in a full blog post as well as that I am going to be bringing all of my wonderful readers along with me on a massive health and fitness kick. From tomorrow on I will post my health and fitness motivation tips and tricks, what workouts I am doing daily, What I Wore - Gym Edition ( part of my obsession with going to the gym and working out is because the cute workouts clothes they have now,I won't lie!) Anyway that will all be coming tomorrow so stay tuned! Now without further a due here are a few tips on how to make your resolutions last all year long! :) 

1. Firstly you must decide what resolutions you should make that will change you for the better. Make them measurable. What I mean by this is don't be like okay I want to lose weight so i'm going to cut out wheat, dairy, carbs, fat, sugar and run ten miles everyday as well as go to the gym and drink loads of water and go to pilates! Take small steps and keep working to where to want to be. 

2. Write your goals down and have them displayed in  a place where you can see them daily. I am going to write mine out and with a nice pen on pretty paper and pin it to my inspiration board where I can see them every morning when I wake and every night when I go to bed. This year I want to be a more positive person so I am going to stick pretty heart shaped post-its on my make-up mirror and dressing table with positive quotes on them. 

3. Keep a journal - Tomorrow I am going to start a new journal, I am going to write down everything I'm grateful for everyday, and at the end of the week I can reflect back on all the things that make be happy and grateful. I think this will also motivate me to work harder towards my goals. 

4. Make an inspiration board. When my Mum first told my about this I thought she was mad and a bit weird but I was very wrong. When I was in college I was going through a stressful time with studying, case studies, exams and house mates... I started having anxiety attacks and my whole face broke out in eczema because I was so stressed. I read the book The Secret and I made a inspiration board as the book reminded me of what my Mum had told me. Anyway, I made the board, put a picture of the qualification I would receive when I passed my exams I would look at it every morning when I got up and every night going to bed, I passed all of my exams with flying colors. I than put a picture of the place where I wanted to work on the board and guess what, I still work there!! ;) And I love it!

5. I am going to post my resolutions on here, so that you dear reader can hold me accountable and call me out on anything I start to slack on! :) 

So there you have my top tips on "How to make your resolutions last!" I hope they help!

Happy New Years Eve and I will be back tomorrow with my Gymbunny/Health Kick serious and my 2015 resolutions! Its been a good year guys! Thank you!

Lots of Love

Kerrie Anne

Bella and Vogue x 

The Beauty Department: Liz Earle Skin Care Essentials Review!

Liz Earle Skin Care Essentials Review!

Hello my beautiful ladies!

How are you? I hope you are all good and your skin is behaving for you. I know some of you read my top skin care tips in my last post and followed my advice and the feedback I got was overwhelming I am so happy to help you out not only young girls suffer with their skin. Your skin can play up at anytime. I for one know all about it. As I mentioned in my last post I have very dry sensitive skin and have suffered with eczema since I was very young. My poor Mum didn't know what to do with me she used to have to cover me in calamine lotion most nights and when I became older I had eczema all over my hands and it used to be so sore and dry it would crack and get chapped and I used to be in a lot of pain. My Mum brought me to the doctors and he used to always prescribe steroid creams, they would work for a while and then the eczema would come back so it was no good using them especially because they are not good for your skin. Steroid creams thin and damage the skin making your skin more sensitive to external factors. 

Story cut short I tried everything you could possibly find and nothing worked until one day my Mum was watching a morning chat show and this lady came on talking about how she and her daughters had suffered with eczema and she like me could not find any product to help calm her condition. So she decided to create her own skin care brand! This lady is the one and only Liz Earle. She is one smart business lady and a true inspiration to me... Watch this space! ;) 

Liz Earle skin care back then could only be purchased on line so off Mum went and ordered me a set. Since it arrived I haven't looked back. It is truly amazing and I love it! 

Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser 

Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser is a cream based cleanser suitable for all skin types, it works on acne prone skin as well as dry sensitive skin, you name it works! Young or old.It contains natural active ingredients including eucalyptus and cocoa butter for smoother clearer skin. You can use it twice daily morning and night, it quickly removes daily grime and make up to leave skin clean, soft and radiant. It offers a concentrated yet gentle cleansing power. It has a two phase cleansing action. Phase one is cleansing, free from mineral oil and has a creamy texture. It quickly removes all traces of make-up even stubborn mascara. Phase two is the polishing. Polishing your skin with the muslin cloth to help remove any dislodged dead skin cells, and to reveal soft, radiant, glowing skin. I use this cleanser twice daily I first apply one pump to dry skin to remove my make up starting on my neck and working y way up to my forehead in massage like movements leaving my eye until last so that I don't have black all over my face, I then polish my skin and apply a second pump to ensure that my skin is squeaky clean and blemish free. And believe me ladies you will want to smother this cleaner all over you it smells gorgeous! 

Instant Boost Skin Tonic 

Instant Boost skin Tonic is the toner, as we all know our second step to our skincare regimen. This toner is heavenly floral scented. It is non-drying, it refreshes soothes and brightens the skin. It is gentle and alcohol free and leaves a light layer of moisture on the skin.I apply this to a cotton pad and apply it all over my face and neck after using my Cleanse & Polish. It is amazing how refreshed your skin feels after using it especially in the morning it really wakes you up. You can also purchase this toner in a spray bottle and it is handbag friendly size so you can have it with you and spritz your skin during the day just to give your self a little boost. This can also be left in the fridge so it is nice and cold. I sometimes do this over night, when I go for a night out or if I have to get up very early. I apply the cool toner to cotton pads and pop them on my eyes to get rid of any puffiness, or to hide symptoms that it's the morning after a night on the town with the girls! ;) This is also good if you have sun burn to help calm and cool as it contains aloe vera. This boost also contain natural active ingredients including, calendula, chamomile, cucumber and natural source of vitamin E to soothe and refresh the skin. 

Daily Eye Repair 

This triple action eye cream can be used every morning after moisturizing. It helps to reduce the appearance of fine lines and dark circles. Light-reflective particles lighten dark under eye shadows. It also contain SPF10 mineral sun screen to help protect the delicate area from UV light. 

Skin Repair Moisturizer Dry/Sensitive 

The Skin Repair Moisturizer is very creamy a little goes and long way but it soaks in quickly and doesn't leave you feeling greasy. It is perfectly balanced, leaving your skin feeling soft, smooth and conditioned.It is rich in natural actives, including borage oil which is a rich source of the essential fatty acid GLA and natural antioxidants beta- carotene and vitamin E to replace lost of moisture and help protect against dryness. I apply this twice daily after my Daily Eye Repair. My skin feels fresh and moisturized all day long.  

The above photo is a picture of my skin today eczema fee! This is all thanks to a clean diet and Liz Earle Skin Care Essentials. I hope you enjoyed this post and I really appreciate all of your positive feedback. I am so happy to help you out with any skin concerns you may have feel free to contact me with any of your questions. 

If you are interested in purchasing any of the Liz Earle Skin Care products they can be bought on: 

Her very own website: http://ie.lizearle.com/

John Lewis: http://www.johnlewis.com/

Or

Boots: http://www.boots.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/TopCategoriesDisplay?webrewrite=Y&langId=-1&storeId=10052&geoOpts=Y&catalogId=11051

Again Thank you so to all my readers for all of your love a support you!

I will be back soon with another post!

Stay tuned!

Much Love Kerrie Anne 

Bella and Vogue x 

The Beauty Department: My top skincare tips for flawless skin!

My top skincare tips for flawless skin!

Hi Beauties! 

How is everyone? I hope you are all doing good and are getting into the festive spirit and are as excited as I am! Has everyone started their Christmas shopping? I've only done a little bit! Times ticking!! So i'm going to stop rambling now and get straight into my top skincare tips before this post is longer than a story book. Hope you enjoy and find some useful tips and tricks!

So as some of you may know I am 22 and throughout my entire teenage years I have suffered with my skin. I have very dry extremely sensitive skin and would break out in eczema in the near mention of chocolate, stress or even something as simple as to hot or to cold weather not to mention skin care products containing harsh chemicals. That is why when it came to my time to decide what I wanted to study in college I knew it would have to be something with skincare. So I decided to study Beauty Therapy as it had such a variety of different subjects and there's a lot more to it then people think. I loved the course I did and I learnt so much about skincare. I have a real passion for it and now when my skin is acting up I know exactly what i need to do with it. So I decided that I want to pass some of my knowledge onto my wonderful readers. So here goes...

Tip #1 I know this is always said in skincare tips but I have to say it because you have no idea how important it is. Drink 2/3 liters of water every single day no matter what. Water hydrates your skin, it cleanses your system so it helps to prevent breakouts and it also helps with anti aging as it goes right into the spaces of your cells and plumps up your skin and reduces lines and wrinkles. Did anyone see the picture of the woman who drank 2/3 liters of water everyday for a month or something the change in her was amazing.

Tip #2 Eat a clean diet rich in antioxidants and vitamins. Really this goes without saying but you can't expect to have glowing flawless skin if you are eating processed foods such as chips everyday of the week. Chips are processed foods they are greasy so therefore your skin too will be greasy. If your wont do it for your skin a least do it for your body a healthy body is a happy body.

Tip #3 Get outdoors and exercise fresh air will do you the world of good not only for your skin but for your mind if you get up and out early in the morning it is scientifically proven that you will be a much happier and positive person then lying i bed until noon and then staying up late hand having to have three cups of coffee just to get you buzzing in the morning. Exercise doesn't need to cost you anything all you need is to get outdoors and go for a run it doesn't matter how slow you start off your doing better then you were when you were lying in bed or sitting on the sofa. Need some motivation grab a buddy some friendly competition will keep you on your toes. 

Tip #4 Double cleanse, tone and moisturize twice a day.No matter how tired you are a night even if you've just come home from a night out on the town you have to do this. Your skin will seriously thank you for it. By double cleansing you are making sure that  that your skin is thoroughly clean before you apply you toner and moisturizer. Then tone you skin if your skin needs it not all skin types do to make sure that there is no residue left from your cleaning and then moisturize to make sure your skin doesn't become dry.

Tip #5 From the day you turn 20 start using an eye cream if not sooner. Its not to late if you haven't started yet, go today and buy some. Use it twice daily applying it with your ring finger in circular movements very gently under your eye from your tear duct out to your brow bone and all over your eyelid. The skin around your eyes is very thin and needs extra. Don't forget anti ageing cream for your neck and your boobs too! It keeps them up there! ;) They also age!

Tip #6 Twice a week it is so important to exfoliate and use a face mask. Exfoliating your skin gets rid of all the dead skin cells and leaves you with a glowing complexion, but really when you think about it why would you want to waste all your products and time on dead cells! Whatever skin issue you are having you can be sure there's a face mask to treat it, from deep cleansing to hydrating to nourishing you will certainly find one!

Tip #7 Find the right skin care regimen for you and sick with it - what I mean by this this that not everyone who has oily skin can go out and buy the same cleanser, toner and moisturizer and expect it to suit them. Everyone's skin is different and has different needs no matter what skin type you may have. So find what products suit you and stick to them! 

Tip #8 Avoid skincare products with a list of ingredients as long as your arm and full of words you cant pronounce - most of these are chemicals. Remember what you put onto your skin goes straight into your bloodstream. So when buying products look out for as natural ingredients as possible. 

Tip #9 Avoid touching you face at all costs, bacteria will be transferred from your hands to face and cause breakouts and that is something none of us want. Always wash your hands before washing your face.

Tip #10 Make sure you always use clean make up brushes and sleep on clean sheets at night...

So there you have it my top skincare tips for flawless skin, I hope you enjoyed my first post and I hope that you learnt a tip or two. One of the main skincare brands that I would recommend is Liz Earle. I personally love it and use the whole range all the time and if you like me have sensitive skin, I think you will love it too. If anyone has any skin worries or concerns feel free to contact me and I will help you out as best I can!

Thanks a million for reading!

Lots of Love

Kerrie 

Bella and Vogue x

About Me

Welcome to my blog! 

Hi there and welcome to my blog. 

BellaAndVogue.com was created in November 2014. I have always been a huge fan of other people's blogs  and spent the majority of my free time reading them. I had always dreamed of one day having my own when one wet and stormy November night I decided to go for it. 

I had always planned on having my blog filled with beauty and fashion as they are two of the things I adore the most but to be honest my passion for health, nutrition and fitness were bursting to come out. I think these topics complement each other perfectly as beauty and health come hand and hand. I now love the variety and working on different topics. I studied Beauty and Complementary Therapies at college. Which was a very intense two year course. I loved every second of it as well as all the opportunities it has opened up to me.

Over the past year I have been nominated for two awards both to my excitement and surprise. The first was in the Beauty Blog Awards 2015, I was nominated as 'Best New Blog'. The second in the Blog Awards Ireland 2015 as 'Best Fashion Blog'. 

If you require any further information about bellaandvogue.com please e-mail kerrieburkexo@gmail.com 

Yours stylishly 

Kerrie 

x