6 Ways to Boost Your Blog's Traffic

I'm sorry for how tedious this post might seem, but I feel that it will hopefully benefit some people! And I'm not saying I know these will work, but I've found that the following techniques have really helped me kick my blog off!

Commenting other peoples blogs, regularly.
I can't talk for other bloggers, but I know this works for me. I often check out links people have left me in the comments, then I sometimes return the favour by commenting one of their posts that I've found interesting! And on the plus side, you could potentially find a new blog you like to read - which is always a bonus.

*update 7th March 2015*
If you want to link your blog in your comments to code is:

<a href="http://www.YOURBLOGURL.com/">you can write anything here</a>


Write about a brand new product
When a product is new, there won't have been many reviews or posts about that product. So why not be one of the first people to write about it? One of my most-viewed posts is my Review of: L'Oreal Blonde Legends, I Googled about the product before buying it to find no one had reviewed it, so I decided to give it a try and I've gained thousands of views due to being one of the first/only people to review it! I know some new products like the Benefit Roller Lash end up getting reviewed by every beauty blogger ever but a less popular product would work.

Photographs - lots of them!
A blog is incomplete without photos. I'm always at awe with bloggers who have beautiful photography skills. You don't even need to be a impressive photographer, I know that when I want to buy an eyeshadow palette I always put it's name in and follow it up with 'swatches' so in example 'Naked 2 Swatches' then I click through the pictures and find peoples reviews by visiting the page that was hosting the photo.

BBlogRT
As you probably all know by now, I co-run BBlogRT where you can get your tweets RT'd just by mentioning us in the tweet! We have over 10.3k followers now!

Giveaways
In my year of blogging, I have held 3 giveaways and each of them have really helped me accelerate my blog's popularity! I give away products that I know I've been dying to get my hands on, like my current giveaway to win a Naked palette AND a MAC lipstick! If someone else hosted the same giveaway, I would 100% enter it.

Post timing
I find this post here, really handy when it comes to timing my posts! They give averages on what time the average blog gets the most views, what day is most popular and so on. It's definitely worth a read.

I hope this post helps even one person! What do you find works for your blog?

Emma xo

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February 2015 Wishlist

Hey guys! Sorry I've been MIA this week, if you follow me on Twitter you've probably seen me sulking about my new laptop being in repairs, there was a manufacturer fault (aka karma for changing my laptop for the same model but in pink). Anyway, no matter how much makeup and beauty products I buy, there will always be more out there that I want to add to my collection so I thought I'd share 10 of the beauty products that are currently on my wishlist (aka shopping list).

1) Zoeva Rose Golden Brushes Vol 2 | £55 launches 23rd February
I already have the original Zoeva Rose Gold brushes, but now they're bringing out a volume 2! I think it's a must to add to my already existing Zoeva Rose Gold brushes. They are amazing quality and are so, so soft. I have never had any stray brush hairs fall out and I really do love them. Plus they're rose gold, who doesn't love a bit of rose gold!?

2) Mac Velvet Teddy | £15.50
I have never tried anything from Mac believe it or not, but I want to change that with one of their lipsticks and Velvet Teddy is such a gorgeous shade!

3) Philip Kingsley Extreme Elasticizer | 150ml £30
Being un-naturally blonde comes with its pros and cons. The biggest con is the damage, however this product looks like a must-have-god-send and I plan to buy it very soon

4) Benefit Girl Meets Pearl | 12ml £24.50
I love highlighters, and I really liked the creaminess of my Sleek Precious Metals palette, so I thought I would try out a more liquidy highlighter so I thought there was no brand better to try out other than Benefit!

5) Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara | £19
Like with Mac, I've never tried anything anything from Too Faced either (I am an awful beauty blogger guys I'm sorry) but I also want to change that. I've heard so many good things about their 'Better Than Sex' mascara and what a great name it has as well. Eye makeup is what I buy most up their with foundation so I'm always willing on trying out something new.

6) b.right Boo Boo Zap! Solution for Problem Skin | 7.4ml £13.50
7) b.right Total Moisture Face Cream | 48.2g £28.50
I've been suffering from bad skin over the winter months, although my drugstore products do temporarily fix the issue I have yet to find something that works in the long run. And Benefit has to be one of my favourite makeup brands ever, so I have to give their skin  care range a go.

8) John Frieda Go Blonder Spray | 100ml £6.99
If you have read any of my previous hair posts you will see that I have banned myself from bleach but I'm staying blonde letting my hair grow into a natural ombre. I've gone two months without bleach so far and I tend to go for even longer! I sound like a recovering bleach addict, maybe I am...

9) TIGI Bedhead Dumb Blonde Shampoo & Reconstructor | 2 x 750ml £26.36
When I first went blonde ever (must be 5 years ago now) my mum was also blonde, so she had blonde products stocked up in the bathroom. One of which was this, from what I remember my hair felt amazing after using the reconstructor so I'm dying to try it out again!

10) theBalm Mary Lou Manizer | £17.50
Another highlighter to the list, I hadn't actually heard of this product or brand until recently but all their products look amazing! But I have seen quite a few people raving on about this product and I love highlighters as I like all that shimmers (that pun though)

What's currently on your wishlist?

Emma xo

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My Survival Kit for Blondes

Being blonde is hard work, any un-naturally blonde person will tell you that there is a lot of maintenance and care behind the colour, so here are my go-to products for colouring, upkeep and conditioning!

1. Touch of Silver Purple Shampoo
This is an absolute LIFE SAVER, is your freshly dyed hair a bit brassy? Is your colour washing out resulting in yellow tones? Then this is the product for you. I have recommended it to every blonde person I know! It's roughly £3 a bottle and it lasts quite a while, there is literally nothing to lose. If you buy one thing from this list I highly recommend it to be this.

2. Asda Tropical Dry Shampoo

This is my favourite dry shampoo as it smells so, so delicious! I bought it quickly before uni once for just £1 (you know, one of those trampy hungover days) and it not only worked, but I could still smell the tropical scent on myself for most of the day! Other dry shampoos tend to have a similar scent, so another person could recognise the smell and be like "ooo someones not washed their hair today".

3. Batiste Dry Shampoo for Blondes
I've decided to add 2 dry shampoos to my list as they help me stop washing my hair every single day. This dry shampoo is specially for blondes and it covers up root regrowth really well, which makes it a little less obvious when it's time for a root touch up. 

4. Nice N' Easy - 9A/102 Natural Light Ash Blonde
This is the toner/colour I always choose when dying my hair as I really like ashy blonde colours. Plus much like the purple shampoo ash colours help tone down brassiness and yellow tones in your hair, so I tend to use this after a bleach! 

5. Garnier Ultimate Blends with avocado oil & shea butter - for very dry, damaged hair
In my first ever blog post you see me ranting on about how much I love Ultimate Blends coconut shampoo and conditioner... How times change, as I feel the same about another product within the same range! It's the avocado oil and shea butter shampoo and conditioner instead, this makes my hair feel like silk, I just sit there stroking my hair after a shower, it has got to be my favourite drugstore shampoo and conditioner! 

6. V05 Nourish My Shine - Bedazzling Oil Heat Protection Spray

This was in my October Favourites annnnd in my Cosmopolitan's #Fashfest post... Basically I got it for free at Fashfest and I have loved it ever since, I will always rebuy it! It's the best heat defence I've tried to date and the smell is just the best thing ever!

7. Schwarzkopf Omega Repair BB Beauty Balm - for damaged, depleted hair
I recently bought this as I was like "BB Balm... for hair?" so I had to try it! And it does work making hair feel that bit softer, but I have to be careful that I don't put too much in as my hair isn't that long so I don't need to use a lot (and you just want to pile loads on as it smells good enough to eat!)

8. Aussie Dual Personality Volume & Gloss Hairspray
I love most Aussie products I have tried, but this one sticks out the most as it's probably the best hair spray I've ever used! I find that hair sprays tend to leave my hair feeling horrible, sticky, hard as rock, making it really hard to style but this one just never has, I don't really use it a lot but when I do I can really tell the difference!

9. Lee Stafford's Hair Growth Treatment
Being blonde has really stunted my hair growth for over a year now, plus I've had to have quite a few chops (cry) but it's finally growing again now! I've been on a bleach ban since I had my last highlights last done in December and I'm letting it grow out into a natural ombre. Lee Stafford's hair growth range works a dream in helping growth, I notice it working as my roots really contrast with my blonde hair as my natural hair is a super dark brown colour, it's not super fast but nothing's going to give you long hair over night, it just gives your hair that little push it needs.

10. Bleach London Reincarnation Mask
Another product I've written about before here, I really do love this hair mask! When my hair is feeling a little parched this helps it regain it's moisture making my hair feel softer and more manageable. But I feel if you weren't blonde or suffering from dry, damaged hair then it would just weigh your hair down and make it a tad greasey.

11. OGX Coconut Oil
Last but not least is coconut oil (and another product I also mentioned in my first ever blog post!) I like to drench my hair in it and leave it on over night so my hair can get the most out of it then wash it off in the morning. As gross as it is, oil is so good for your hair and I think most can help your hairs health but don't hold me to that...

What are your must-have products for blonde hair? I'd love to hear them!!

Emma xo

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Review of: Soap & Glory Archery Brow Tint & Precision Shaping Pencil

I feel there's a very fine line between shaping your brows well and just looking like you've sharpied slugs on to your face. So once I found one brow product that I loved and worked for me I stuck to it for almost a year now, but I felt like it was time for a change and there is no brand better to try than Soap & Glory.

Product-less brow | Brow w/tint | Brow w/tint & pencil

One thing you may know about me from reading my blog is that I'm the person who does their makeup on public transport in the mornings. You know there is always one... I'm that one. So I'm always on the look out for products to make it easier for me whilst still looking good!

I'll cut straight to the chase. I love this product! I fell in love with it from my very first try, I'm wondering why I stuck to powder brow products for so long! I've showed the 3 stages of using this product in a picture above. As you can see from the first image my eyebrow is quite sparse where it arches, then in the second image the tint reduces the sparse-ness (is that a word?) whilst still matching the thicker part of my brow then the final stage is the pencil giving my brow that bit more definition.

It is the most natural looking product I've used on my brows, I can barely tell I've used it! I find it's very difficult to give yourself an accidental sharpied on brow, you can go over and correct bits without the fear of making them too chunky. It also lasts all day, I've never had to top up this product from long-wear which makes me love it even more.

The only flaw I can find with this product is the lack of shades, you can either have 'Love is Blonde' or 'Brownie Points' that's it. I'm pretty sure there's more than two eyebrow colours in the world. But I was fortunately quite lucky as I have naturally dark brown hair so I bought the darkest shade 'Brownie Points' and it matches my brows perfectly.

This has become my new holy grail eyebrow product!! What's yours?

Emma xo

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Review of: Botanics All Bright Hydrating Day and Night Creams*

I'm one of those people who don't have one exact skin type, sometimes my skin's oily, sometimes it's dry... And sometimes it's just a mix of the two. However, the cold months have been extra harsh on my skin this year and I've been suffering from dry skin more than usual! I've been in need of a good moisturising product to fight it so I thought I'd try Boots' Botanics range.

I was particularly drawn to the 'All Bright' products in the line, as they claim to make your skin appear brighter by using a plant called hibiscus annnd hydrate your skin, both of which are an absolute godsend in winter as my skin has been both very dull and very dry (cry).

Both creams have different textures, the day one has a thinner consistency, being very light on your skin making it perfect for mornings. Then the night one is that slight bit heavier as it would be, but not too heavy meaning it doesn't clog my pores and leaves my skin feeling sticky, which I really hate in a moisturiser.

I've been using both the creams for two weeks now, I can't really tell if my skins been brighter but I can definitely feel the difference! My dry patches are no where near as bad and my skin is so soft to touch I love it!

As much as I love splashing out on high-end products (and making my bank balance rather low), the cheaper drugstore options can offer products just as good without the fancy packaging! This for me is one of them and I've been using them everyday without fail!

I think you'd be silly to miss out as they're currently half price at Boots for only £2.49 each!
Day Cream RRP £4.99 | Night Cream RRP £4.99

What's your favourite drugstore moisturiser?

*PR gifted product.

Emma xo

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3 Minute Makeup Challenge

Hey guys, so I've finally stepped into the land of YouTube! First videos are always pretty awkward so I'm sorry, but I hope you enjoy it all the same - hopefully the awkwardness will be gone by the next one!



I actually recorded this a month ago but I've only just gotten the courage to upload it, I'd love to know what you think in the comments and thank you for watching! <3

Emma xo

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Review of: Benefit Roller Lash Mascara

Free inside this months issue of Elle is a sample of the most anticipated mascara release of the year (and we're only in February!) which is the new Benefit 'Roller Lash' mascara. Like many others I literally jumped at the chance of trying it, no exaggeration, I actually pre-ordered the issue online soon as I found out... Here are my first thoughts on the mascara!

I want to start off by saying that I absolutely adore the colour scheme of the packaging, you can never fail with pink on black, it's very chic - I love it! Although the sample's packaging looks very different to how the full sized one is going to look.

My favourite thing about this mascara (other than the packaging) has to be the brush. Benefit have taken their inspiration from hair rollers hence the name 'Roller Lash'. The brush features tiny hooks which catch, lift and curl even the shortest of your lashes helping you achieve that extra volume without having spider lashes. When using the mascara you can feel it gripping on to your lashes that little bit more than other mascaras and see the results from the first layer!

So Roller Lash definitely does what it says on the tin and curls your eyelashes from the root helping them appear longer, I thought I'd include a comparison to the They're Real Mascara. You can see my lashes have been lifted that little bit more by the Roller Lash Mascara and the formula is a little thicker, making my eyelashes look both longer and thicker.

Although everything I've said so far is good, I've got to be honest, after the first coat it can get a bit clumpy from the formula being that little bit thicker... But that doesn't mean I don't like the mascara all the same! It has the thickness that They're Real just didn't, and you can sort out clumps by using a separate lash comb.

Overall I feel this mascara has been worth the 4 year wait. Would I buy the full sized version in 4 weeks? Yes absolutely. Have you done the Hook 'n' Roll yet?

Emma xo

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Review of: Beauty Blender and Cleanser

Foundation is one of my most bought beauty products, so I'm always on the look out for new application tools to apply it with and since beauty blenders are such a massive hit right now I was soooo excited when I got sent this free for signing up to Birchbox! 

Swatched with Rimmel's Wake Me Up Foundation

I find with my foundation brushes that I need to do a few circular motions before I'm 100% streak-free, but with the sponge I quickly go all over my face and not worry about it being streaky because it usually isn't. Which is perfect for someone like me as I seem to always be rushing my makeup first thing in the mornings or even on the bus, train... boyfriends car, just any moving vehicle really.

The one thing I really do love since using a sponge is the fact it reaches places that a foundation brush just never seemed to as it's shaped so that it can be used in different areas of your face. The widest part of the sponge covers the largest parts of your face such as your cheeks and forehead, then the thinner, pointed bit is for the harder to reach areas.

As for the cleanser I will be honest. I am absolutely dreadful at washing my makeup brushes, I'm a bad beauty blogger - I know. But I am excited to try out the cleanser that came with the sponge! Definitely going to make a night of it and do all of my brushes... My poor neglected brushes.

Last of all, if you know me, you know I love pink... Pink laptop, pink bedroom, pink everything. So the luminous pink of the sponge I absolutely adore, it's just so perfect and girly. Even the plastic casing is really cute so I've actually kept that as well!

I definitely won't be looking back now that I've tried the beauty blender, do you use a sponge for your foundation? 

Emma xo

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W7 Absolute Lashes* vs. Benefit They're Real Mascara

Mascara is an essential in any girls makeup collection regardless of what their makeup style is. I've tried hundreds of them over the years, from the cheaper brands like Collection and the more high-end brands such as Benefit. As much as I like my high-end products it's always nice to find a cheaper alternative that actually works... Like my Nan says 'it's only a bargain if it's actually worth having'.

W7's Absolute Lashes is very much a dupe for Benefit's They're Real mascara, so I was very excited to try it out for myself. The similarities between the two are just crazy, I often grab the Absolute Lashes mascara by mistake thinking it's actually the They're Real mascara as their packaging is so alike!

I must say that W7's Absolute Lashes mascara has really surprised me! I wasn't expecting it to lift and lengthen my lashes as much as Benefit does, but I'm definitely not complaining at the price. Both mascaras have the same shaped wands so you can reach those little lashes that bigger wands may often miss out.

The only difference between the two mascaras is Absolute Lashes has a thicker formula making your eyelashes appear fuller than They're Real does but that's what I like about it! I often used another mascara on top of Benefits to achieve the thickness I desire, so I'm finding myself reaching out for W7's Absolute Lashes more and more instead of Benefit's They're Real.

Will you be giving this mascara a go? For just £3.45 on Amazon here at the moment you'd be silly to miss out on such a good dupe!

*PR gifted product.

Emma xo

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