Let's abolish the fat and skinny stereotypes!

Lately everything has been pretty hectic. I've suffered through an immense amount of loss, I've gotten an offer to work somewhere completely different to what I usually do, and my YouTube collaboration project is growing more than I thought it would!

I'm forever in debt to the people who have been there for me in the past few weeks: Jimmy, Taylah, my sister, my mother, Jessie and many more.

Unfortunately i've strayed from my original exercise/diet regime, which I plan on resuming ASAP, and it's taken a toll on my motivation and self esteem, mainly on my dress size. A size 16 isn't that bad when you put it into perspective, but it feels like a sucker punch to the gut when someone reminds you that you are in fact 'plus sized'.

I don't quite understand why being a curvy girl equals being plus sized, and why there are negative connotations behind having a voluptuous body, all logic has escaped me on that topic; and it annoys me more-so when that cute dress I want isn't available in my size, because they only stock up to size 14?! What a crock of bullshit in my opinion, embrace all body types. Make maxi dresses for those who have to hem them, not everyone is 5'9", and give rompers a little more room for your vagina to move about, I don't exactly enjoy having an incessant camel toe thanks, us taller girls enjoy a flirty floral jumpsuit as much as the next person.

That's just my two cents on that topic. I'm going to be doing a similar rant on the media portrayals of 'perfection' on my YouTube channel, make sure to look out for that!

Catch you guys later,


Taylor
xx

HeyItsTaylorJade and GirlTalkTV

As some of you may or may not know, I have a YouTube channel -- HeyItsTaylorJade if you don't weren't aware. I've had it for almost 2 years now, and I've finally started posting videos! 

My channel is much like my blog here. I'll be doing whatever tickles my fancy. Whether it be skits, reviews, vlogs, hauls. You name it, i'll make it! So far I have 41 subscribers from the 5 videos i've posted, and i'm pretty proud if i do say so myself!

But let's forget my channel for now, I have another YouTube project i'm working on right now with 3 other girls: Jamie, Cassie and Antoinette. We're currently in the early stages of a collaborative YouTube channel called GirlTalkTV. We post weekly videos where we give advice, do DIY's and tutorials, so basically anything really. The first video is already out if you want to check it out!

I post as often on there as I do here, ad i'd really appreciate it if you'd subscribe to either GirlTalk or my main channel, it would mean a lot!

Taylor

xxx

Let's Get Fit | A Journey to a Healthier Life!

Hi everyone! This is definitely a little different to one of my usual posts, but this is going to be a big part of my life now, so I thought i'd share it with everyone.

Recently I've become really conscious about my health, and my weight in particular. I am closer to being a triple digit weight than I am to the healthy weight for my height and age group, and has caused me crippling anxiety in regards to going out in public and wearing certain types of clothing. I was always so unmotivated to change myself, but recently a family member was diagnosed with Diabetes, and it was a serious eye opener for me.

I used to go to sleep at 3am and wake up at 12pm the next day, and then repeat the cycle. I used to rarely eat anything nutritious -- save the smoothies I have posted about on this blog. Everything else was smothered with something redundant. I've now realised that food is fuel and should be treated as such.

For about a week now I've been trying my hardest to exercise and eat healthy, I've jogged on the treadmill 30-45 minutes a day and tried to stay on my feet as long as possible, and I feel like i'm progressing! Which is a huge deal for me. From tomorrow i'm doing 45 minute Zumba sessions and i'm really excited! But my only concern is keeping up my nutrition! I've found that I've been under eating sometimes up to 3000kj in a day, the most I've ever gone over is 1000kj.

I might possibly start blogging bi-monthly about my progress, and if i start getting the self-confidence, even progress pictures.

I'm really excited to start being healthy finally, i've never in my life ever been confident about myself, and now i'm finally willing to change that!

I'm going to cover this topic more on my YouTube channel on the 'let's catch up' tag, make sure to subscribe here to know when it goes up!

Love always,



Taylor
xx

Product Review | Furless Perfectly Pink Brush Kit

Hello lovelies reading this! Today I bring you another another product review. Today I will be reviewing the Furless Perfectly Pink Brush set from Furless Cosmetics. I've been a loyal customer of Furless for almost a year now, and I don't think any words will do justice as to how much I recommend their products! You can find their website here if you'd like to see more of their products.

The set I have are a part of the fun & funky brush collection. They have similar sets in purple and light blue/black. I'm aiming to have the blue set in my hands very soon, so I might just write an updated brush collection post sometime in the future, so watch out for that!

The Case

The case are as colourful and fun as the name suggests! It is a very vibrant pink and very squishy to the touch, that's the fun bit! But it's sturdy enough to protect the brushes inside. The name of the company is etched into the front, it's so light you sometimes don't see it!

Inside

There are individual sections for each brush to go in! Each section is sized so your brush can fit snugly and not move around and damage the bristles. Much like the outside, the inside is also vibrantly pink, so any girly girl's dream really. 

The Brushes

The set comes with a total of 8 brushes (WARNING! PICTURE SPAM AHEAD):

• Large powder brush
  

• Stippling brush

• Angled contour brush

• Fluffy eyeshadow brush

• Stubby blending brush

• Small domed crease blending brush

• Angled liner brush

• Precision eyeliner brush
  

• 
  
• 
  

I haven't gotten around to using the fluffy eyeshadow and the crease blending brushes quite yet, but every other brush has had a good workout from me, and they all look and feel brand new! Only because I wash them regularly though, remember to wash your brushes ladies, especially those foundation brushes.

First of all i'd like to emphasise exactly how soft all of these brushes are! The only words I could possibly use to describe the softness are feathers and marshmallows. It's weird, I know -- but if you had the honour of feeling these brushes you'll know exactly what i'm talking about. Each brush does its job well, and I can't wait to use the eye brushes some more, because it feels amazing.

If you're interested in purchasing some Furless brushes, head on over to their website and check them out! They have a variety of sets, from bamboo to fully loaded professional kits; as well as singular brushes if you're looking for something in particular. There is also a banner in my sidebar that gets you 15% off your purchase! If you click on that, it will take you straight to the furless website.

Happy shopping! :)

x Taylor

Makeup Review | Hourglass Illusion Tinted Moisturiser

Recently I paid a visit to my closest Mecca Maxima to get a new foundation, as my old one was empty, and to be honest it just barely did it's job. The lovely ladies working there did not disappoint me in their customer service. So please, if you live in Australia or NZ, please do pop into your closest Mecca store, the MUA's working there are more than willing to give you their advice on anything beauty related.

I digress from the point though. I discussed my beauty dilemmas with the MUA appointed to me (whose name I don't remember, sorry about that!) and soon enough we found a product that we were both happy with!

The Box

The box is simple enough, it's not too flashy, but still aesthetically pleasing. Standard open at top box, just big enough to allow the product inside to slip out with ease.

Product Packaging

The packaging itself i would consider to be quite pretty. It's pretty minimalist, all you really need to know about the product is on the front of the bottle. it's a lovely sheer peanut shell colour for the bottle, and a darker chestnut colour for the lid. When you pop off the lid you're met with a pump nozzle, so this alone has already put this product in my good books.

The Product

The product itself just looks like a normal foundation. I bought it in the shade Ivory. It feels creamy when you put it on and leaves your skin looking smooth and dewy when it settles in. Results will be 10 times better if you put on a primer first, I use the Stila One Step Correct! The best thing about this product is that it doesn't clog your pores. I haven't experienced a single break out since using this product!

Here is a swatch i did on my hand to show you

Here is 1/2 pump applied directly to my hand:

Using my fingers, i gently blended it into my hand.

As you can see the red patched on my hand in the first picture all but disappeared. The foundation itself gives you more of a medium coverage, but it is definitely buildable so you can use as much or as little as you want!

This is most definitely a long lasting product. I had it on my face from around 1-7pm, and I wasn't overly shiny, nor was i orange, which is something I've experienced with a lot of foundations.

I highly recommend this foundation to anyone who is reading this, I've literally fallen in love with this product, which is honestly saying a lot because i'm mostly indifferent towards a lot of things I've tried.

You can find the product HERE. See you guys next week for another product review! :)

Let's go! | Kit Cosmetics Complexion Perfection Event

So on the Friday just passed, my friend Alice and myself trekked into the city for the Kit Cosmetics Complexion Perfection Event! I found out about this through the Kit Cosmetics Facebook page. Go give them a like if you haven't already, they're always posting about products and events such as the one that I attended!

Getting there

Getting there was relatively easy! Alice and I drove from my house at 9:30, to the train station at 10, and from there we took the train to central station, we arrived roughly around 10:30. After that we walked into Queen Street mall and towards the Myer Centre! Travelling in the city by car is not the best way to travel in Brisbane. The roads are always packed full of buses, so travelling around the city VIA public transport would be the best option.

When we got there we decided to head towards the Wintergarden and have some lunch! We had Tokyo Beef from Fantasia with noodles, I also had a couple of spring rolls because they're fantastic!

Finding the actual event was pretty easy, but that's taking into account that I spend a lot of my time in the city. For those of you who don't travel there often, it would be a bit of a challenge.

The Event

We arrived at the event at 12:00, which was the indicated start time on the page. But it looked like they were still setting up, so we hovered around the Too Faced section while we waited. On another note, how gorgeous are these brushes?

The event started roughly around 12:15, I was approached by a lovely MUA named Rachael and she sat me down and talked me through the products she was about to put on my face! She first put a light coverage of the new bareMinerals bareSkin foundation in shade #02 - Bare Shell, she applied this using the Perfecting Face Brush. It felt nice going on, not too thick like some foundations can be. But  won't reveal too much! That's saved for another blog post.

She then applied some blush to my cheeks. Being a naturally rosy girl, I was a bit reluctant because I was afraid it'd make my red stand out even further. But she out it on and boy was I surprised! She used the shade Amused, which you can find here!

Overall, I had a lot of fun at this event. It went by really quickly, and the company was more than friendly! Thank you to Rachael for the lovely hospitality and service.

That's all for this week! I'll see you guys next week for a product review!


Here are some photos of the day!

Before shot

After shot, featuring the lovely LouLouLalice!

I'm pretty sure We were discussing how soft the brush was. Seriously, it's amazing.

| Smoothie Sensation! |

I wouldn't consider myself much of a health nut, but when it comes to smoothies, i'm 100% down!

Recently I've been experimenting with fruits and salads to try and find the best possible smoothie for myself post-workout, and I think I've found the one!

The smoothie consists of:

• 1/2 handful Fruit For Life dried berry mix:
  with Sultanas, Goji Berries, Cherries,
  Strawberries and Cranberries,
• 2 teaspoons store brand black chia seeds,
• 5 fresh Strawberries, quartered,
• 1/2 cup - cup Coconut water,
• 1 scoop Green Tea X50 skinny protein
  powder in the flavour chocolate,
• 2 Kiwifruits, halved and flesh extracted
  and,
• 1 Banana, sliced.

The method is pretty simple, first you add the fruits. I layered the strawberries first, then the kiwifruit and then the banana. I then added the coconut water and then sprinkled 2 teaspoons of chia seeds on top. You can add as much or as little coconut water as you'd like, as some people find it harder to swallow than others.

It should look a little something like this!

You then blend that until smooth, the chia seeds may take a little longer than the fruit, but it's well worth it!

After that was done, I added the dried berry mix on top and then the protein powder. I despise the stuff, so i try and put in as little as possible without losing any benefits, so i usually put in 3/4 of a scoop. 

This smoothie is packed full of vitamins and lots of yummy good stuff to give you a good start to the day, it's also yummy too! And that's coming from a picky eater like myself.

| First Post! |

First and foremost, I don't consider myself a professional by any means. All opinions shared on here are purely my own opinion.

First of all, hello! My name is Taylor, and I started this blog just to share my life with you. Whether it be DIY projects, first impressions of beauty products, or new things in my life I wanted to share, this is probably where i'm going to share it. Here is a photo of myself to break the ice.

I'm definitely looking forward to sharing this journey with anyone who cares enough to read.





Taylor
xoxo