Goodbye 2014, Hello 2015...

Happy New Year everyone and I hope you all had an amazing New Year's Eve and New Year's day. I had a beautiful one spent mainly on the phone with my loved ones who live all far away from me. I thought it would be nice to look back at 2014 especially on how I have grown this blog and how it has helped me grow as a person. I know many people never take blogging seriously because it just looks so easy from the outside but it is never really as easy as it seems. Nevertheless, I don't think I have loved any hobby as much as I have loved this little space of mine and I look forward to many more posts in 2015.

January 2014
I remember being a little anxious at the end of the month because I was hoping to move into a new job and it was proving a little more difficult than I envisaged. I still had my old job but it was due to come to an end and I wanted something new. I was blogging a little more regularly and got more engagement which made me really happy. My boyfriend bought me my iPad Mini with Retina Display which I was completely obsessed with. My favourite blog post was my Zara Sales Haul which I loved writing and taking all the pictures of these bags. I think January Sales are the best.

February 2014
I had finished my old job and I had a little more time on my hands so I blogged a lot and I loved it. I had a brief glimpse of how it would work if blogging was my only job although I still prefer to work in my career which is a totally different world from blogging. I showed what happened behind the scenes when I blog and those posts were well appreciated. I got a job offer which absolutely blew my mind because it was much more than I expected. I was very happy but scared because I was not even sure I could do the job. I remember feeling a little anxious going to work because I didn't really know what I was doing or so I thought but everyone else thought I was great. I realised that we are always harder on ourselves than we should be. I learned so much within a short time and quickly settled in my role even though I was always the youngest person in meetings, presentations, etc.

March 2014
I bought my first DSLR camera and I was so proud of it. I had been toying with purchasing the Canon 600D ever since it was launched but I just could not justify spending that amount of money. One day, I just went into Curry's and picked it up just like that and it would have seemed like an impulse purchase to the sales assistant but it was far from that. I came back home and played with it; it was like my baby and it still is. Of course, I didn't know all the photography tricks and tips but I was willing to learn and with constant practice, I was able to improve my blog photography. I also purchased the Canon 50mm 1.8 Lens with a Canon £50 Voucher which I received which brought down the price to about £40. Together with the Canon 600D, there are a dream team and I quickly built my photography kit. This month was also my one year blog anniversary and I felt really proud to have blogged continuously for one year.

April 2014
I tried out Cleansing Oils for the first time and it made such a huge difference to my skincare routine. I loved it and I could not believe I was missing out all this while. I began to understand what my skin wanted and I refused to spend money on crappy skincare that made no difference. Work became a little busier but I was up to the task, I was managing a major publication from start to finish which was new to me but I was happy to have such a challenge. My confidence at work soared and I could only be grateful to God for seeing me through it all. I held a giveaway on the blog to celebrate my blog's anniversary and the lovely Zori D won the prize. I loved reading everyone's comments and I felt I got to know you all better.

May 2014
I travelled back home to Nigeria to see my family and for my best friend's wedding. I was so pleased and happy to be there for her and I was her Chief Bridesmaid. It was such an emotional event for me to attend and I knew I would not even dream of missing it for anything in the world. I had not been home throughout 2013 so I was missing everyone so much. It was lovely to see my family and friends and just relax. I met my sister's dog Jay for the first time and he even took over the blog and wrote a cheeky post over here. I discovered some indigenous Nigerian Beauty Brands and I shared some of them here especially ones from Kuddy Cosmetics which I absolutely love.

June 2014
It was my boyfriend's birthday this month and we had such an amazing time in a Nigerian Restaurant called 805 which was good but it did not live up to all the hype I had heard about it. I took my photography to another level by trying my hands on Photoshop which was amazing new world to me. It still remains one of my favourite photo editing software. One of my favourite posts in June was my MAC Duty Free and Selfridges Haul. I absolutely love MAC makeup and even though they keep increasing their prices, I still find myself drawn back to them

July 2014
I discovered so many brands in July and tried out quite a few drug store makeup items which have still remained one of my favourites. I also worked with Bourjois who kindly sent me a sample of their Bourjois Volume 1-Seconde Mascara which is one of my favourite drug store mascaras even though the wand looks quite different to what I am used to. I also tried Makeup Revolution cosmetics for the first time and I was impressed with the quality and how affordable they were. The highlight of my month was purchasing my first LongChamp bag which I still love and carry with me everywhere. It was on sales and I am so happy I snagged it at such a ridiculous price. It has served me really well and come with me to so many places and has remained strong.

August 2014
Summer was in full swing and work was even busier than ever. I had finished a major project at work which received accolades from my managers and it was such an amazing feeling to see the finished product of all my hard work. Apart from this blog, I don't think anything has ever made me feel as proud as this project and I know running this blog provided me with the knowledge to confidently see it to fruition. I discovered Wilko Makeup Brushes and I fell in love. I could not believe I had only discovered their brand because these brushes were very affordable and good quality. There are still one of my favourite brushes within my stash and I travel with them because they are travel friendly.

September 2014
I decided to blog almost every single day of this month because I just wanted to infuse more time and energy into my blog. I also started scheduling my posts and it made blogging a whole lot easier. I have always known about scheduling but I never used it and I still liked the sweet feeling that comes with clicking the publish button...silly me! All the posts from September seem to be my favourite ones because the weather was really good and my photos had improved a little bit. I attended a London Fashion Week event with London Ethnic and it was amazing and I made a new friend- Marta who is a blogger and an amazing Photographer. I showed my makeup collection here which you all loved which shows we all have similar interests and I feel like we are kindred spirits sometimes. One of the highlights of this month was making YouTube videos (shameless plug in here-you can subscribe here). I am so happy I got encouraged by the lovely Paula and Tilo (who I also met for the first time in London)  to start (again) because I once made videos a long time ago but I stopped due to laziness. It was lovely to get back into the swing of things and you all supported me. Thank you!!!

October 2014
I got to try even more drug store makeup and I started picking out what my favourites were. I even branched into drug store skincare which I discovered was actually good for my skin. I know any people equate expensive skincare to good skin which may be true but sometimes, your skin may just need the simple things to work really well. I fell in love with the Soap and Glory Brow Filling Pencil which I still love and I have gone through about 3 to 4 pencils already. I made more videos and I was enjoying it. I tried my hands on Adobe Premiere to edit my videos and I loved it although it was a little challenging to use compared to other simpler video editing software. My boyfriend moved to Scotland and I was able to visit Scotland for the first time. It was amazing and I stayed in Glasgow which is such a beautiful city that reminds me a lot of Paris.

November 2014
I did not blog as much as I would have loved in November but with good reason. I travelled to Switzerland and France towards the end of the month with my boyfriend and we had such an amazing time. I stayed in Basel, Switzerland and it was one of the most beautiful and peaceful towns/cities I have ever been to. We then drove down to Paris and had the best time over there visiting some of our favourite places including Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triumph, etc. I had to go to Sephora as well and I picked up a few items that had been on my wish list for far too long. It was indeed such a memorable week and I was sad to come back as always.

December 2014
To makeup for my lack of blog posts, I tried to post almost everyday until Christmas which I absolutely enjoyed as always. I shared with you my hauls from my trips and also pictures from all the lovely cities I visited. I still have some footage which I may edit into a vlog as I think you may find it interesting. I also received a box full of makeup brushes from Real Techniques as part of my replacement brushes and I was so shocked; it was indeed one of the highlights of December and felt like an early Christmas present. I absolutely enjoyed watching vlogmas especially StyleSuzi and Lily Pebbles vlogs. I also enjoyed reading my favourite blogs as always including Magpie Jasmine, Paula from ThirteenThoughts, Tilo from TiloLovesVanilla, Tari-Ann from Frunettte , Fiona from BriNaija Beauty, Lubka from Balgarka Blog and a bunch of others. Most of all, I want to say a massive THANK YOU to you lot for sticking by me and always encouraging me with your lovely comment and engagement. They mean the world to me and I appreciate it every single day!!