Early Birthday Present

Many people start off taking pictures for their blog using a simple camera and then working their way up to those hefty, expensive ones that is a months wage to most. I however starting off taking pictures using my mobile phone as unforunately for me, somebody broke/borrowed/stole/destroyed my camera thus leaving it in a state that I simply couldn't use.

My mobile phone at the moment is the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc which has an 8 megapixel camera as well as the ability to shoot in HD if need be. This phone has served me well and has taken all the pictures on my blog to date. You can definitely tell that I've improved in taking pictures if you go through all my past blog posts, progressing from dark pictures using no background whatsoever to bright pictures with a white background.

Just over a week ago, my dads' partner Rebecca and I were discussing cameras as she had just bought one. I showed her the camera that I wanted for my birthday and we both agreed that I would need it before my birthday as I'm attending a bloggers meetup in April. Little did I know, that I would be receiving it much earlier than April.

My new camera is the Panasonic Lumix TZ25 which has 12.1 megapixels, the ability to shoot in full HD and 16x optical zoom amongst other amazing features. As well as receiving a new camera, I also got a 16GB memory card which will be very handy for taking lots of pictures as once. As well as a memory card, I received a Power Plus Digital Battery (spare battery) and a £15 gift vouchers for Amazon to spent on a camera case if need be.

Overall, I'm extremely pleased with my new camera and I'm so excited to start taking better quality pictures from now on!

Rebecca, if you're reading, thankyou SO much! <3
 

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This week I've been lusting after...

Like many people, I've got quite a few items on my wishlist which I'm lusting after badly. Team that up with being on a spending ban and you have yourself a rather excessive wishlist of 300+ products, no lie! 

This week, I've been lusting after OPI's Nail Varnish in Don't Pretzel My Button. Now, I only have two OPI nail varnishes in my collection (Nail Envy + Divine Swine) and I'm wanting to change that by adding a nice nude colour to join them. Next up, is NARS Blush in Douceur - ever since I saw Emma from Milkteef do a review on it, I've been sold ever since! It's such a nice colour that makes your cheeks look ever so sculpted.

Like everybody, I've been dying to get my hands on Origins Drink Up Intensive Mask purely because it's an amazing product for dry, dehydrated skin which I definitely have due to the cold winter months. MAC's Lipstick in Hue has been on my wishlist ever since I started blogging and I can definitely see myself wearing this on a daily basis when I do finally get my hands on it. I've really been wanting to try out YSL Touche Eclat Foundation purely because it's had such rave reviews and I just really like the packaging to be honest.

Next up is NARS Highlighting Blush in Miss Liberty. My trusty highlighter, Collection 2000 Shimmer & Shade in Just Peachy, is starting to wear thin despite having another two in backup and ever since I saw Kate from gh0stparties rave about it, I've been wanting it ever since. Lastly, I've been lusting after La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo purely because it's a skin miracle product and I have been suffering with a few blemishes recently..

That's all the products that I've been lusting after this week.

What products have you been wanting recently?

A personal post...

 Many people belive that Arthritis only hits those of old age as their bones are weaker and more brittle than those younger than them. Many people believe that it's near impossible for young people to get arthritis as they're young, fit and healthy. I just wish that those people understood what it's like to be in the shoes of somebody who suffers from Arthritis and lived their life from day to day.

 (Image from Weheartit)

Back at middle school, I was a very sporty kid. I always tried my best at PE and I was even on the school team for most sports. I loved playing hockey in particular as it was the one sport were you could get brutal but not necessarily mean it. However, when I moved to upper school, that all changed. I would still partcipate in sports but only when it was our PE lessons. In 2008/2009, I started suffering with an inflammed left foot which meant that I was permanently hobbling about everywhere. I visited doctor after doctor who always said the same thing and didn't take me seriously. "It's a sport injury - it will heal over time" they said. Little did they know, that I would soon start suffering from Arthritis which was caused by this sports injury.

  (Image from Weheartit)

In November 2011, I had just started my new job which involved quite a lot of walking to and from town, going up and down the stairs and just generally more walking than normal. A few weeks after I started, my left foot became inflammed and I found myself being bound to my bed for almost a week. My doctor referred me to a podiatrist (foot doctor) who examined my foot. In non medical speech, he basically said that my two joints in particular on my second toe in my left foot, were rubbing against eachother, wearing themselves down which was causing the problems. He strapped my foot up, told me to invest in a pair of thick soled trainers and a walking stick. Learning to walk with a walking stick was the hardest thing to do as there is a certain knack to it which took me forever to learn. All the elder person definitely looked and stared at me whilst I walked down the streets and I just kept on telling myself that they were jealous of my pink walking stick.

 (Image from Weheartit)

In those few short weeks before Christmas, my life pretty much revolved around my foot and everytime I stepped out of my front door, I had to have my walking stick and trainers on regardless. Those thick soled trainers did nothing for my foot because if anything, I found it more painful to walk in them than before. Over the Christmas period, I bought a pair of River Island UGGs. When they finally arrived, I put them straight on and started walking. For the first time in ages, I could walk without pain. I rang up my Dad in tears and he couldn't quite believe it that a simple pair of £30 UGGs could change a sufferers life for good.

Although a few people love UGGS whilst many detest them, I simply wear them purely because they make my life a lot easier and I will continue wearing them until I feel comfortable walking in a different pair of shoes.

BlanX Non-Abrasive Whitening Toothpaste

I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that I'd prefer my teeth to be considerably whiter than what they actually are. Although we all know that we can't achieve sparkling white teeth using products from the high street unless we turn to getting our teeth turned professionally. And saying that, I'm pretty sure that we've spent a few bob on products which claim to whiten your teeth only to realise that they don't actually work.

This is where BlanX comes in - their unique combination of ingredients is proven to give you healthy white teeth which in turn gives you a whiter smile. But how is that possible? BlanX has an active ingredient within their products called Artic Lichen (Iceland Moss to you and I) that combats the bacteria responsible for causing cavities. It removes bacteria that stick to the enamel and penetrates deeply into teeth to removed bacterial residues and stains caused by food and drink. It also helps to stop plaque from forming. 

Did you know that standard whitening toothpastes often have a high RDA (Relative Dentine Abrasivity - the measure of how abrasive a toothpaste is according to its potential to remove part of the surface enamel during brushing) between 100 to 150 which may have harmful effects in the long run whereas BlanX has a low RDA of less than 70 which is very non-abrasive and is suitable and safe to use everyday.

Now onto the real test - does it live up to its claims or is it another cop-out product?

Well for starters, it's a whooping 100ml in a rather nifty plastic tube which means that you can squeeze out just the right amount and avoid getting messy. The smell of this is rather minty, mintier than some toothpastes I reckon although it tastes nothing like how it smells. Remember when you were little and you brushed your teeth with Aquafresh Milk Teeth Toothpaste? It tastes EXACTLY like that! You don't know quite how excited I was to find out that it tastes like that.. And yes, I do get excited about little things like that.

Now for the record, I have reasonably white teeth which could be whiter in my opinion. However I have four teeth on my bottom row which are very stubborn as no amount of brushing/using whitening products will remove/whiten the yellow-ish stains. 

The first week of using this, I couldn't help but notice how cleaner my teeth felt and looked. They just looked so squeaky clean, almost as if I'd just come back from a cleaning at the dentists! I also noticed that my teeth looked slightly whiter than normal which is a good sign. Throughout the second week, I was using this in conjunction with another toothpaste (As I tend to live round Liams' quite a fair bit during the week). Despite this, I noticed that those four stubborn yellow stained teeth looked WHITER! More whiter than yellow I'd just like to point out! Unfortunately, there wasn't a key for what colour they were on the little handy BlanXometer shown below..

Overall, I do definitely have significantly whiter teeth than before I started using BlanX's Non-Abrasive Whitening Toothpaste and I will most definitely be repurchasing this time and time again! If you're wanting to start your journey into getting whiter teeth, then I would definitely recommend this toothpaste as a starting point!

BlanX Non-Abrasive Whitening Toothpaste along with BlanX's other products can be bought from many high-street places including Boots, Amazon and BlanX online. Prices range from £5.90 to £11.

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