Hello 2015...

What a year it's been. At risk of sounding like every other British person on the planet, it's crazy how fast this year has gone.. 2014 has been the best year of my life, it's going to be very hard for 2015 to beat it!

In 2014 I...

• Saw out 2013 with Jake and our friends.
• Turned 19 - meaning 2014 was my last year of being a teenager!!! Scary.
• Started my blog under the name "Just As Wild"
• Finished my college course with good grades.
• Went to Colchester Zoo for mine and Jakes 1 year Anniversary <3
• Went to Global Gathering 2014 - my first ever festival!
• Went to my first ever Catwalk show: Cosmo #Fashfest
• Met a few famous(ish) people - Louise Thompson, Fran Newman-Young, Mista Jam, Fred V & Grafix...
• Bought a domain name for my blog now named "All That Shimmers"
• Got an unconditional University offer
• Dropped out of the offer last minute, due to a change of heart...
• Got into my local University through clearing, studying Mass Communications (Media, English, Graphics and Journalism)
• Started University.
• Became the Student Representative for my year.
• Held my first blog giveaway
• Reached 1,000 followers on Bloglovin'
• Got my first ever pay rise at work.
• Volunteered with Text Santa in London.
• Organised the University Christmas Social (lots of red wine stains, whoops)
• Woke up at Jakes Christmas morning for the first time!
• Got my first SLR.
• Seeing out 2014 with Jake in London!

Resolutions:

• Pretty cliche but lose weight. Not even a lot, just the Christmas pudge!
• Become more of a fashion person. Explore further than leggings, jeans and a jumper... though they're still pretty great.
• Do OOTD posts.
• Improve blog photography and start YouTube, maybe?! 
• Use Instagram and Twitter more.
• Let my hair grow... Less bleaching - if at all!!!
• Finish my first year at Uni with at least a pass.... haha
• Get a Pug (pls)
• Drink less Coca Cola (the bane of my life)

Here's hoping 2015 is an even better year than 2014!

Emma xo

Bloglovin - Twitter - Instagram

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What I Got For Christmas

Hey guys, I hope you all had a good Christmas! Christmas tends to feel different every year as you get older. Now I'm nearing 20 I genuinely get excited about buying other people presents (particularly my 6 year old sister - who I could have bought every single bit of Frozen merchandise in the world!!) but I thought I would share with you what I got for Christmas!

Nikon D3200 & Accessories
I'm mentioning the biggest present I got first as I mentioned it in my Christmas Wishlist. Thanks to my lovely boyfriend I now finally have an SLR after years of pining for one! It also means better photos for future posts, yay!! (bear with me whilst I get used to my lighting equipment!)

Remington Hair Straighteners 
I asked for hair straighteners for Christmas as my other pair got stood on, so I have been using my old pair for a month or two but it seemed pretty pointless as my hair was still bush-like after. There's nothing better than using a brand new pair of hair straighteners!

Laptop Cover
Another thing about me is my laptop travels with me pretty much everywhere, home, uni, my mums and my boyfriends. So I needed a protective case as I've been throwing my laptop in my bag where I also keep all my other bits like food and make up... And it's fluffy.

Heart Necklace
My favourite bit of jewelry has got to be necklaces! Certain metals on watches and bracelets can give me rashes around my wrists but I haven't had a necklace that's irritated my skin (yet) plus I love heart shaped pendents so so much! I actually have another necklace from last Christmas which also has a heart shaped pendent.

Pug Socks
If you know me, you know I have an undying love for pugs. I have lots of novelty pug stuff that I have collected over the years, particularly socks. Basically all of my socks have various pug patterns... If I see them I buy them no matter what!

Cute Bear Slippers
I'm not much of a slipper person, they either slide off my feet or are too big (I have these giant Minnie Mouse ones which are really cute but are HUGE!) so these are pretty much perfect for me as they're super soft and they fit nice and snug!

Chocolate
I love getting chocolate for presents, gives me an excuse to over indulge myself over Christmas! Especially Lindt...

I also got fatter... What did you guys get for Christmas? Let me know in the comments! 

Emma xo

Bloglovin - Twitter - Instagram

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Ten Blogs I'm Loving

The end of the year is upon us, meaning I have been blogging for 6 months now! In that time I have read various different blogs, taken inspiration, tips and so much more, so I thought I would let you guys know the top 10 blogs I'm loving!

Helen Anderson

Inthefrow

Le Happy

Salt and Chic

Jasmie Mcrae

Rachel Coco

Amy Elizabeth Fashion

Tiny Paint Pot

The Beauty Sanctuary
Autumn Leaves

They're all lovely ladies so be sure to check them out! And be sure to leave your link in the comments so I can check out some more blogs <3

P.s. I've been spending a lot of time changing my blog layout so be sure to check it out - would love any feedback! 

I also have a few posts lined up for after Christmas :D

Emma xo

Bloglovin - Twitter - Instagram

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Glossybox December 2014

Last month when I'd gotten my first Glossybox I really wasn't impressed, I actually cancelled my subscription with them... but by the time I cancelled it was to late not to receive the next box, so I ended up getting their Christmas edition box too, which includes 4 full sized products instead of the usual  2 and has some really cute Christmassy packaging - so here's what I got inside my box!

Bella Pierre lip and cheek tint
This is one of the full sized products I got, not a very well known brand (not to me anyway) but I've seen their products floating around on the shelves in TK Maxx. Didn't really know what to expect of the product but it swatched really well! I was expecting it to either be too much or too little as other lip and cheek tints I've tried in the past seem to be too full on or not enough, so I was quite impressed with it!

Tresemme Renewal Hair & Scalp Tonic
This is another full sized product I got in my box, weren't really too sure as to what to think at first but after a few Google searches I found it's meant to improve the strength of your hair.. You apply the tonic straight to your scalp after washing your hair and leave it on, then you're free to dry and style your hair as normal - it didn't leave my hair feeling sticky or weighed down at all. When you put it on your scalp you get this cooling sensation at first, it's a really nice feeling I love it! So far I can't tell a massive difference to my hair but I' definitely going to keep using this and hope for the best.

Anatonmicals Zap! Zap! Zap! Gets That Chap - day and night spot stick
This is the third full sized product I received in my box - I've never heard of the brand before and I weren't really keen on the looks of them immediately, but the day I got my box I had gotten an unwanted spot so I thought I may as well give it a go and it helped my spot go down quicker than any Witch or Freedem product I've tried! Maybe I was just lucky, either way this is now in my little travel make up bag now for any other spot emergencies.

All That Jazz Nail Varnish - Lipstick is our Obsession
This is the last full sized product in my box, it's this gorgeous red nail varnish (the photo does it no justice) it's so perfect for Christmas, a gorgeous red and glittery? Count me in!

Skin Pep Hydra Boost 
This is the only tester I got in this months box, not really sure I'll ever use it if I am totally honest and I've never heard of the brand before, do any of you know if it's any good?

This box was a lot better than my last, although the packaging does seem abit more exciting than the actual contents.. so I'm probably not going to resubscribe anytime soon, I'm tempted to try a different box but the one subscription I'm dying to try is the Ipsy bags, I just can't believe there's no way of getting them in the UK! :( :( :( 

p.s. sorry I've not been posting much, today was Uni deadline day so I now have a month off woooo + sorry about the crappy photos, getting an SLR for Christmas so they'll get better promise!

Emma xo

Bloglovin - Twitter - Instagram

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Christmas Wishlist

I've never done a wishlist on my blog before so I thought I may as well do one in honor of Christmas!

Make Up: 

● Nars Sheer Glow
I've never had a high-end foundation before, but I definitely want to change that asap, and I'm going to do it with Nars! 

● They're Real! Mascara
I have seen a million and one people express how much they love this mascara, and at just £20 why not?!

● Naked 1 & 3
I've already got my Naked 2 and I am so in love with the palette, I would love to add the other 2 to my collection!

Accessories: 
● Michael Kors Bag
I've wanted an MK bag for a while now, as the quality is so much better than your average bag and they're gorgeousssss.

● Frends Layla Headphones - Rose Gold
Almost every well known blogger owns these headphones and you can see why, they are gorgeous! I love a bit of rose gold.

Other:
● GHD Rose Gold Deluxe Set
Another bit of rose gold here (heh) and obviously GHD's, I've always had my trusty Remingtons but I would love to own a pair of these.

● Fujifilm Instax Mini 8
I am a photohoarder, I print out all my favourite photos and stick them up in my room, so having a polaroid camera would be absolutely perfect for me! 

● Nikon D3200
This one I know I'm getting thanks to my lovely boyfriend! Soooooooooo excited, wanted an SLR for literally years but never got round to actually getting one, so you can image how excited I am!

Are any of these on your wishlist too?

Emma xo

Bloglovin - Twitter - Instagram

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Review of: Barry M Natural Glow Palette 2

I've been eyeing up the new Barry M eye shadow palettes for months now as they all look so gorgeous! But I just never got round to actually buying myself any of them, so I changed that and bought myself this palette...

You get six gorgeous shades to use from this palette, three of which are matte, the other 3 are shimmery and there's also a primer. They're all neutral shades but are a little different from other natural palettes you can get - I was a bit weary of the reddish brown colour but it's actually really nice! My favourite shades in this palette are of course the three shimmery shades to the far right (once a shimmery person, always a shimmery person) I find that they have much better pigmentation than the matte shades, but I tend to find that with most of the palettes I've used.

The only issues I have with this palette is the primer, it's really quite crap and has a horrible texture - I noticed it on the testers in Boots but I just thought someone had just mucked around with them... And the brushes, why do all drugstore eye-shadows come with these spongy brushes? I used to try using them but it'd end up in some big mess with eye-shadow dust all down my face!

Have you tried any of the Barry M eye-shadow palettes? Definitely got my eye on getting another!

Emma xo

Bloglovin - Twitter - Instagram

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Blogging Tips

Like many others I have become the blogger I am today through trial and error So here are some things I learnt along the way that will hopefully help you guys out!

*Sorry for the text heavy post*

1. The Commitment
This is the most important thing of all to have, if you don't have the commitment then your blogs not going to go far. You need to be committed to spending a lot of time on your blog with planning, designing, photography, writing and more, I for one definitely have blogging on the mind 24/7!

2. Picking a name

Domain names are great, they give your blog more of an identity but don't buy a domain name just to have a domain name, wait until you have a name you love as you're going to be using that name all the time.

I was crap at picking names, my first was "Just as Wild" which a friend had suggested but I never liked it so I didn't buy the domain, but one day it hit me that one of my favourite quotes is "All that glitters is not gold" and combing that with my love for shimmer products "All That Shimmers" was born!

When you have picked a name you like use a well known domain website, I made the mistake of using any old website then I had to pay an extra £10 to transfer it to a site that would 100% work with Blogger, I now use GoDaddy!

3. Picking a layout

My design for me is quite important, I won't rest until my blog is looking how I want it. You don't need to pay loads to have a fancy layout, sometimes less is more - especially with blogging.

Premade layouts can get quite pricey but just keep looking until you find "the one", I actually paid £4 for my layout off Etsy! Then I used trusty Google for help with HTML codes and tweeking till I got it how I saw fit and now my blog looks nothing like the one I originally bought.

Original layout on the left, mine on the right. 

One thing I have to say is back up your template when playing with HTML codes! I actually lost my comments box recently and I couldn't figure out how to get it back so I started from scratch and retweeked it till it looked the same again (which took ages, didn't realise how much I'd changed!)

Just go to your Blogger Dashboard > Template then click Backup/Restore in the top right to save your current layout and/or to upload a new one.

4. PR
I've been approached by a few people now wanting me to advertise them on my blog. I nearly did one as the company contacting me was on behalf of a well known TV channel, I was excited that I'd gotten access to exclusive content - but the content I had access to wouldn't have suited my blog and what you guys expect from me so I decided against it.

Basically you can say no to PR companies if you want to, don't write a post for someone if you genuinely have no interest in what they're asking you to write. Your blog is your property you can do literally whatever you want with it, wait for the day someone approaches you with an offer you're actually interested in - it will make for a better post.

5. Blog RT Pages
There are many Twitter accounts set up to help less-known bloggers reach a wider audience by retweeting them, I actually own a RT Twitter myself, basically all you have to do is mention me in your tweet (@BBlogRT) and I will RT it to my 10k+ followers. Easy!

I hope these have been helpful! Be sure to check out my other tips on:

Budget Photography

Time Management 

Emma xo

Bloglovin - Twitter - Instagram

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Review of: Sleek Highlighter Palette Precious Metals

I've never really explored with highlighting products so I thought 'why not change that?'. So I bought this Sleek Highlighter Palette - it's new to the Sleek line and it's shimmery! I must actually go out looking like I've rolled in glitter sometimes but with Christmas approaching who can blame me, right?

You have 4 shades that you can use, which Sleek actually gives instructions as to how to use them - useful for someone like me who's never used a highlighter palette before.

Platinum, Royal Gold and Renaissance Gold are all very creamy, the texture is absolutely lovely and is definitely one of my favourite things about the product. It's also well pigmented - you don't need to use much of the product to make a difference - plus it's really easy to blend out if you put too much on! The Antique Bronze is just a standard bronzer really but I think if it was as creamy as the other shades it would look a bit silly as too much is never a good idea.

Platinum, Royal Gold, Renaissance Gold and Antique Bronze.

I first got to test the product on a night out! The brush it comes with is crap to be honest, so I used one of my own. I followed the instructions on the box at first but was like "meh" and just used it under my eye brows and the top of my cheeks.

Overall it made a huge difference to my appearance and made me shimmer for the rest of the night! So if you love being glittery as much as I do this is definitely for you at just £9.99 you can't go wrong.

Emma xo

Bloglovin - Twitter - Instagram

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Urban Decay Naked 2 Real vs. Fake

As some of you will know the first time I purchased a Naked 2 palette I'd received a broken fake... (see post here) so I thought I would do this post to help prevent anyone else from also purchasing a fake by showing the differences between the two!

1. The Colour Difference

The real Naked has a very warm brown background where as the fake is almost a grey colour and the writing is really prominent. 

Real above, fake below.

2. The "Urban Decay" Written on the Back

When placed down on a flat surface the real Naked's "Urban Decay" writing is upside down, whereas on the fake it is the correct way up. 

Fake above, real below.

3. Back of the Palette

The writing on the back of the real Naked's palette is really small and remains similar sizes throughout, whereas the fake has random bold bits such as the 12 x 1.3g.

Fake on the left, real on the right.

4. The Shadows Names

Although they have copied the names exactly, the print on the fake is no where near as clear and readable as on the real where it is really easy and simple to see.

Fake on the left, real on the right.

5. The Brushes

Last but not least, the brushes. The quality of the fakes brush is awful as you can probably tell from the photos. Even the print on the brush is lacking in quality plus the real brush is a slightly lighter colour than the fake. 

I hope this helps and that none of you accidentally buy a fake! Always safest to buy it off a trusted website.

Emma xo

Bloglovin - Twitter - Instagram


*EDIT: It's come to my attention that the fake I received actually replicates the original Naked 2s packaging when they first came out, I however only bought my palette recently so the information given is correct for newer palettes - so if you have recently bought one from a non-trusted seller (such as a eBay listing) and it looks like my fake it most likely is BUT if you bought your palette from a trusted seller (like Debanhams or Feel Unique) when it first came out and it looks like my fake - that's fine :)

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