The One Where We Start Again

Happy New Year! (and Merry Christmas, Happy Halloween and everything in between...) 

I know, it's been a little bit quiet over here on Beauty and the Brunette. Since my last post a lot has changed and I still can't quite believe that it's been 6 whole months since my last post. Where did all that time go?

Sometimes, you really just need to take a break. It's funny, during my time away I've been reading more blogs and watching so much YouTube it doesn't really feel like I've left. And with 2017 finally here, I think it's about time I finally stop pressing pause on my own content.

July brought so much chaos (in the best possible way) and blogging just had to take a step back. So much has happened, and at the end of June I finally moved out of my parents' home and into an apartment in my favourite city. As well as finally being able to call Leeds home again, I've also started my first full-time job. I'm now a content writer for a marketing agency and every workday is so different. From creating content on bathrooms and pensions to fashion posts and writing about sex toys (I'm deadly serious, haha!), I won't deny it took me a little while to find my feet. 9am starts were (and still are) hell for this night owl, and doing laundry and planning meals are certainly not the highlights of adulthood. But the freedom it brings and the fact that I'm financially independent are definitely major perks.

I mean, I even have a company email address and I've purchased a fancy decorative hand towel from M&S. If that doesn't scream 'adult' I don't know what does.

So here's to 2017, to navigating adulthood and to the many adventures the new year will hopefully bring!

4 Instagram Accounts Worth Turning Your Notifications On For

Everyone seems to be panicking about Instagram's new upcoming algorithm. The possibility that it will now be even harder to attract likes and the fear of missing out on your favourite users photos sparked a frenzy of 'Turn Notifications On' posts on the platform yesterday. In reality, as the new algorithm works off your behaviour on the platform, the accounts you interact with the most should still appear frequently on your feed. But let's be honest here, nobody is entirely sure whether they're going to get buried by the new changes or not. The desperate plea by many to encourage their followers to receive a notification every time they upload a new photo is all well and good but our phones are already saturated by notifications without Instagram adding to the mayhem.

If you are planning on pushing the 'Turn Notifications On' button you definitely want to be very selective about who you push it for. For me, I'm limiting myself to only receiving notifications for close friends and those accounts that truly inspire me and cheer me up every day. So I thought I'd create a list of my Favourite 4 Instagram Accounts that I'm so obsessed with that even the idea of adding to the notification hell doesn't alter my love for them.

Instagram Diary No.2

ZOELLA'S BATH FIZZERS (I WASN'T TOO IMPRESSED SADLY) | GRADUATION DAY | THE PRETTIEST FLOWERS FROM THE GARDEN | THE PHONE CASE OF DREAMS FROM RIFLE PAPER CO. | MID-SEPTEMBER FAVOURITES | GREEN EYELINER IS OFFICIALLY MY NEW FAVOURITE THING | MY BLEMISHES DON'T STAND A CHANCE WITH BAREMINERALS' NEW FOUNDATION | GIVE ME SUEDE EVERYTHING | THE MOST AMAZING ARCHWAY IN ALNWICK GARDENS

It's been just over 2 months since my first Instagram Diary and I couldn't think of a better time to post this other than on a lazy Sunday morning! This summer hasn't been too eventful but a couple of exciting things have occurred between this Instagram post and my last, including the fact that I graduated from University with a BA in English Literature! I'm not exactly too sure what to do with myself right now and I feel like I'm living in limbo with job-hunting slowly taking over my life (seriously, if anybody needs a new Content Marketing Assistant / PR Assistant / Digital or Social Media Anything I volunteer as tribute!) but whatever happens I'm pretty excited for the future and I actually cannot wait for Autumn to finally arrive! I can't decide whether I'm more excited about cosy knitwear, berry lips or thought of a crackling fireplace at night. What's your favourite thing about Autumn?

I'm still a complete and utter failure at sticking to an Instagram theme but I suppose some things will never change! I've picked up so many new products in the past few months and I can't wait to write about them: my favourites so far have to be bareMinerals' new Blemish Remedy foundation and the Balm's Cindy Lou-Manizer highlighter (which I bought so spontaneously after falling instantly in love after seeing it on a random YouTuber's cheeks). Non-beauty wise I've developed a little bit of an addiction to suede and I now own 2 suede skirts - a mini and a midi - and I don't think I'll be taking them off until next March. I also finally picked up my phone case of dreams from Rifle Paper Co. I'd been eyeing the Paris case up for almost half a year now and I finally found it online (and on sale for too!) at the Northlight Homestore and I'm so unbelievably happy with it.

A few other exciting beauty related things include my new found love for coloured eyeliner, specifically emerald green. After picking up Latest In Beauty's Awards box (you can find my post on this here) I fell in love with Daniel Sandler's Green Velvet eyeliner and it's such a fun way to add a pop of colour into a makeup look. And, speaking of Latest In Beauty, I was also one of their Winner's Box Competition winners and I was kindly gifted a Winner's Box which is probably the best beauty box I've ever received! Did any of you buy it?

Instagram Diary No. 1

I often find it a little bit difficult to incorporate lifestyle elements into my blog yet with such a lack of my actual face (I'm still overcoming that camera-phobia) I'm becoming increasingly worried that my blog isn't personal enough. I love taking the odd snap of my daily adventures: beautiful views, pretty flowers and even a scrumptious meal or two yet I'm completely rubbish at photographing throughout the day and gathering enough photographs to make an entire blogpost. I guess I'd be an absolutely terrible lifestyle or travel blogger but I just simply forget to grab my camera and snap a particular moment. I suppose I love living fully in the beauty of the moment more than I care for visually capturing the memory yet there's a part of my life I feel like my blog is missing. So, I've been noticing a lot of 'Instagram Diaries' floating about the internet lately and I thought it would be the perfect way to add a little bit of me, along with a couple of my favourite beauty snaps, into my blog. One of my goals on social media is to really start using and updating Instagram so I suppose this type of post really kills two birds with one stone (don't you just hate that expression - I never used to think about it but it's pretty awful! Poor birds...) I'm not sure how often these little Instagram Diaries will occur (possibly every 1-2 months?) but I hope you enjoy them and if you fancy a little bit more insight into my life you can follow me on Instagram at @b_ecki.

Soap & Glory's Smoothie Star smells incredible! (and S&G posted my picture as a Regram!) | The Prettiest Pink Roses | My Little Beauty have adorable packaging | My amazing beauty swap package from Sakura in Japan | A Sneak Peak of a New Beauty Post! | Dan & I at our final University Ball | The view from Dinner in Estepona Port | Cute Summer Shoes from Primark | Attending the Launch Party at the new Cutler and Gross store in Leeds. 

Let me know how your week has been in the comments below!