#Nomakeupselfie | Doing Your Bit

Hello everyone, so a week has passed since the #nomakeupselfiefor cancer swept the social media sphere throughout the UK at least, and if you don't know what I'm yapping about, where have you been?

Not only were those of you who took to the internets snapping pics of your faces au naturale, the majority I could see were even donating generously raising over a staggering £8m in a little over a week AND COUNTING for Cancer Research! As a PR and Communication student I was incredibly impressed that a campaign like this has had such an effect and it just goes to show the power we hold as internet users and social media sharers!

So today I would like to share with you what I plan on doing in aid of various charities this year.

(The first time I have appeared au naturale on the line, feeling good for charity)

Race for Life 10K

Last year my friend and I took part in another event in aid of cancer, one I'm sure you're all familiar with, the Race for Life 10k. For all of you ladies out there who have yet to participate in the Race for Life 5 or 10K run, it is a fantastic atmosphere where there is a real community sense and it a lot of fun. Being healthy and helping charity is a great boost and we were eventually able to raise over £200.00 to help beat cancer!

Baker Hughes 10K

This one is a race that is a little different and one more specific to Aberdeen over a UK wide run. It is called the Baker Hugues Running Festival and is not held for a specific charity but rather participants are given the opportunity to choose a charity which is close to them personally. So I intend to run for either a heart disease charity or lung disease as these are causes closer to my family which I always feel go unnoticed by the media. I have never taken part in the Baker Hughes Running Festival before but I am really pleased to be able to run for a cause which I have chosen myself.

Unfortunately this is all I have planned for my Summer sponsor activities, the Baker Hughes 10K is in May and the Race for Life in June, so I've given myself a bit of a challenge here but I am determined to raise over £100.00 per run, if you are feeling so inclined and generous this evening here is my Just Giving page for the Race for Life 10K.

What do you guys do for charity, and are there any specifically close to your hearts? Drop me a comment below, come chat with me on Twitter or if you'd like to keep up with the latest Granite City posts follow this blog on Bloglovin.

Stay generous everyone
H. Elizabeth

Ten things I learned about myself while travelling alone

Hello everyone, today I thought I would share one of the many adventures I have in life, my latest one being my megabus journey and beyond from Aberdeen to London for a mini weekend away all by my lonesome to visit London's Super Comic Convention 2014.

Now let me first of all start by saying I had the most amazing time, I met some amazing characters (literal characters if any of you are familiar with the cons) I had some downtime alone and lastly I discovered some pretty odd things about myself, some great, some not so. So without further a do here are the ten things I learned about myself while making my journey.

#1 Packing light is not my forte. In fact only last week I hunted far and wide for a tiny, smurf sized 'travel case' with no luck and decided a little extra room would do me good, HOWEVER upon packing my major - I'm packing for two weeks - case I managed to completely fill it...my arms did not thank me for having to drag that everywhere.

#2 Carrying a coffee, a case and a handbag ought to be an olympic sport - enough said.

#3 I cannot sleep on buses - much to my disdain.

#4 Junk food is my travel companion. Yes having done so well to stay fit and healthy this year for it all to go out the window for London, over the weekend I consumed 4 Aberdeen rolls, 9 mini cupcakes, 1 bag of popcorn, 6 mini pancakes, 2 cereal bars (the only healthy item!) 2 Mcdonalds meals, 1 ice cream sundae, half a pizza, a sausage roll, a DOUBLE sausage and egg mcmuffin and perhaps worst of all 9 bottles of Dr Pepper. Needless to say I am still suffering.

#5 My sense of direction leaves much to be admired. Yes in fact there were multiple occasions where the only reason I was able to tell which direction I ought to go in was to spin in a circle and stare at the tiny arrow on my mobile GPS.

#6 I am clumsy, first of all I THOUGHT I lost my ID and almost was not allowed admittance to my hotel room, I accidentally slept in my hotel room (with sketchy neighbors might I add) with my door unlocked the entire night, and finally 20 minutes prior to catching my bus home I went to the wrong bus station, panic ensues.

#7 As much as I feel like a neutral sort of person, there is no escaping, I am a true Scottish lady. Upon one very rude vendor refusing my cash due to it being 'too difficult' to change I was overcome with a ginger tinted rage and uttered the phrase which typifies us Scots when visiting England, 'it's legal tender!!!' Grr.

#8 Comic con is my calling, I've never felt more at home than around people who dress up as heroes, villains and all manner of creatures.

#9 I am a moody madam when I travel alone, on several occasions I put my bag on the bus seat (which I hate others doing) and pretended to be asleep, or attempted a menacing look in order to sit alone and retain my comfy space!

#10 I love throwing myself outside of my comfort zone, and I endeavour to do it more and more!

Have any of you guys ever survived a mega bus journey alone? Share your experiences and travel giggles in the comments below, send me a Tweet or if you'd like to keep up with my latest and greatest antics you can follow me on Bloglovin

And because I'm not a fan of text heavy posts here is a pic of Darth Vadar and Darth Sidious from the convention! (Post pending!)

H.Elizabeth

Cinema Outings | February, March 2014

Hello guys, today I thought I would share some of my monthly cinema outings with you guys since you already know how much of a cinema geek I am.

Unfortunately I wasn't able to go to the cinema as much as I would have wanted this past month because of coursework, wedding planning amongst other personal activities, so I'm afraid we are just going to have to make do with the main four I have seen this month.

Wolf of Wall Street

Let's start strong with the widely renowned 'Wolf of Wall Street' A twisted true story of the corruption that lives at the top of the career pedestal that is Wall Street. Following in the footsteps of 80's classic 'Wall Street' starring Michael Douglas, 'Wolf of Wall Street' shocks and awes with tales of  greed and excess from the biographical works of Jordan Belfort. I am a great lover of tales of money, excess and grandeur and the air of reality surrounding the 'Wolf of Wall Street' made this cinema treat that much sweeter. As I said much like the beloved 'Wall Street' but with more boobs.
Wolf of Wall Street Trailer

Lego Movie

I went in with high hopes, I really did but something didn't quite click for myself and the Lego Movie. Perhaps it's because of THAT song I just couldn't get out of my head, the shaky plot line or the potential that I feel was just wasted, unfortunately this will not be at the top of my 'to buy' list.
Lego Movie Trailer

The Book Theif

A very pleasant surprise came to me in the form of the cinematic adaptation of 'The Book Theif' seeing yet another WWII film release in the cinema made me want to snooze, but with some swaying my mother persuaded me to watch it with her and thank goodness I did. From the off there are tears, tension and terror, as we journey through newly occupied Nazi Germany through the eyes of a young girl and her family.
The Book Theif Trailer

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Reminiscent in parts of good old Monty Python skits The Grand Budapest Hotel is a comical and visual feast not to be missed by fans of Wes Anderson. Even if not to go for the storyline, the visuals are so perfectly placed offering the audience a delicious confection images and Ralph Fiennes dazzles as the camp and witty Mr Gustave H, whose performance is good enough to go see the movie alone, a far cry from his renowned performance as Voldemort that's for sure!

The Grand Budapest Hotel Trailer

Of the four my favourite is absolutely 'The Wolf of Wall Street' in fact I loved it so much so I have even went and bought the full autobiographical work of Jordan Belfort.

Are there any films you've been loving lately, cinema, DVD or TV, I'd love to hear your thoughts, drop a comment below come chat on Twitter or if you'd like to keep up to date with the latest posts on Granite City Girl come follow me on Bloglovin

H. Elizabeth

What I Wore | In a Galaxy Far Far Away...

Hello everyone, so today I thought I would do a bit more of an off duty, casual what I wore post today last week I had a kind of comfy, lazy day at uni and I thought for the purposes of being an open and honest blogger I better show you on one of my beauty/fashion days off. Also I wanted to show off my first ever pair of brand new ASOS boyfriend jeans (a bargain from their sale at only £10.00!)

 What I wore on my body
 T-Shirt - Deep V Neck Star Wars T-shirt, Superhero Stuff
Boyfriend Jeans - Baggy ripped Boyfriend jeans, ASOS

What I wore on my feet
Pumps - A regular star of my what I wore posts, New Look

What I wore on my head and face

Head - Mid Ponytail with my fringe quiffed (it was a lazy day indeed!)
Face -  L'Oreal 24hr Infallible Make up (Porcelain)
Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer (Fair)
Eyes - L'Oreal Colour Riche Crayon Le Khol (Midnight Black)
L'Oreal Miss Manga Mascara
Lips - Clinique Chubby Stick (Mighty Mimosa)

So as you can see from this look this is not something I would generally post but I thought for the sake of being real I would show you a more casual look which is far less high maintenance than usual. And if you're not too keen on this look...well... I was comfy at least!

As always guys I enjoy hearing from you, I'd love to see your off duty, casual looks for lounging, studying or just lazing. Drop me a comment below, catch me on Twitter or you can keep up to date with my latest posts on Bloglovin

H.Elizabeth

Beauty Staples | Lifes Little Must Haves

It came to my attention recently that I have shamefully enough not yet shared the beauty bloggers ritual of ritual post, sharing with you my beauty staples! So today I have got off my lazy hind and decided to share with you a few of my favourite products I simply could not be without!

Since January I have aimed to try something new every month and I have introduced a few new products into my daily routine and they have become my little life must haves and they get me through my day, as sad as that may sound!

Beginning with my absolute and 100% must have, my L'Oreal Infallible Lasting Perfection Foundation in Porcelain. I struggled for a very long time to find my perfect foundation which didn't dry out my skin, look too cakey or worse still give the dreaded oompa loompa effect! As you might have guessed 'Porcelain' is the lightest colour the foundation comes in, perfect for me really and thankfully it doesn't dry out my skin!

My eyes are my favourite feature so there are a couple of things I feel I must must do everyday in order to enhance them. I recently bought a brand new eyeliner in the form of L'Oreal's Colour Riche eyeliner pencil in Midnight Black and it is so so much better than my previous eyeliner brands. First of all the pencil doesn't break very easily, the colour glides in so smoothly and doesn't come off in clumps on my eye (I have use some terrible eyeliners!) and lastly it is such a gorgeous black colour and doesn't come off grey.

Next I have my Burts Bees Lip Balm, which some of you may know I got as part of Glamour's Beauty Box last month. I suffer from incredibly dry lips and needed something as a miracle base for my lipstick/gloss to glide smoothly over and by jove I have found it. The beauty box gave me the mint Burts Bees balm but they come in all kinds of flavours from pink grapefruit and honey to blueberry & dark chocolate.

Lastly and very simply my staple face moisturizer, which I have been using for years and years is the trusty old Nivea Soft Refreshingly Soft Moisturising Cream. I use this in the morning after my face scrub and in the evening after removing my make up and I have had a fairly clear skin complexion throughout the years as well as silky smooth skin.

And those are my current staple, must, must haves of the month, do share what you've been loving in the comments below or even if you share the same staples as me I'd love to hear from you. Otherwise you can catch me on Twitter or keep up to date with the latest Granite City posts on Bloglovin!

H.Elizabeth

What I Wore | An Evening with Jamie (Oliver)

Over the weekend my better half and I attended a meal with family at our local Jamie Olivers restaurant so I thought I would get that little bit more dressed up than I'm used to and share one of my rare wardrobe successes with you.

The evening demanded room for expansion (in the waistline) and a sophisticated style for a lady looking to dine in style...and grace where possible!

What I wore on my body

Vest - Black Scalloped edge vest, Topshop
Belt - Oldie, favey belt which I cannot remember where I bought it from!
Midi Skirt - Monochrome Leopard Print Midi, Internationale (new bargain buy only £3, and note the elasticated waist skillfully hidden with a clinching belt)
Tights - Supercosy Tights, Asda

What I wore on my feet

Pumps - Guilty of yet another purchase of a pair of pumps, rationalized due to the heavy rain and soaked feet I got from walking to the shopping centre! New Look £8 Sale

What I wore on my head and face

Head - Loosely curled hair with that terrible fringey bit pinned back! Although due to our rather unfortunate climate in the North East my hair ended up in a high pony by our main course!
Face - Attempting a more 'natural look'
L'Oreal 24hr Infallible Make up (Porcelain)
Collection's Lasting Perfection Concealer (new love, in fair)
Eyes - Trying to go easy on the eyes too!
L'Oreal Colour Riche Pencil (Black)
L'Oreal Miss Manga Mascara (Black)

Thankfully, I didn't bloat, my hair looked fab in it's restyled makeshift pony pinned up in the lovely bathrooms of Mr Oliver and overall I had a lovely evening. Hopefully the lack of make up will come back to me in a good way, I've been drinking more water, moisturizing religiously, exfoliating everyday and attempting to get more sleep, so my skin better thank me for my near naked face!

I hope you have enjoyed the first March 'what I wore' post of the Granite City Girl blog, I'd love to see your recent bargain buys and fashion finds as of late, so be sure to drop me a comment below, catch me on Twitter or if you like what you've read so far, keep up to date with my latest post on Bloglovin!

H.Elizabeth

Size Doesn't Matter | Something a Little Different

Hello everyone so today I thought I would do something that little bit different and share with you something that is quite personal to me and perhaps inspire at least one of you to get on board with my new life outlook / mantra / goal in life.

Recently I was clearing out my wardrobe looking for clothes to donate to my friends latest charity endeavour and I came across a very old size 6 dress from a couple of years ago, and in all honesty the size shocked me. Today I am a well rounded size 10 and cannot imagine fitting my entire body into something which quite frankly is the size of one of my thighs!

Unfortunately I have always battled with my weight, facing the stigmas I'm sure every teen girl faces in life I was always fighting to be skinnier, change my shape and tone my body which  I've only now realized I shouldn't have had to. I wasted the entirety of my teen years battling with food and exercise to achieve some sort of twisted version of an 'ideal body' which does not exist, and let me tell you those were the unhappiest days of my life so far. I spent so much time focusing on how much I hated my shape, what I wanted to change about myself and who was better looking than me and today I really don't know what I was striving towards, I looked fine.

Before you all turn away, don't worry this is not another media rant, I personally believe we all have the inner strength to say no to any 'ideal' we have either in our heads, in magazines or even pressures from our peers, and today I have decided to say no.

All I want now is to be happy and healthy so this year I endeavour to take care of and love my body, eat well, exercise right and not be driven by the stigmas of weight, shape or trends. And I challenge all of you, size 2 to 24's and everything in between to learn to love your body the way it is before you waste away your years chasing an elusive dream of the 'perfect body'

As you can see this has been a slightly different pace to what I usually natter to you about but this is something that really matters to me personally and my eyes have been well and truly opened recently. As you know I love hearing from you, have you been changing your ways recently or have you previously struggled with body issues? Drop me a comment, come chat with me on Twitter or if you'd like to keep up to date with the latest Granite City posts follow me on Bloglovin

H.Elizabeth

Philosophy | Granny's Apple Pie Review

A bargain buy at only £3.50 from Boots (courtesy of a Christmas clearance sale), I have only just this past week been introduced to up and coming luxe body product brand, 'philosophy' and their fantastic shower gel/bubble bath/shampoo range and so far I love it.

 On offer in my local Boots store were two of philosophy's Christmas inspired homey scents, Granny's Apple Pie and Peppermint Stick, and with my personal all time favourite scent being apples and cinnamon I just had to grab the chance to use it as a shower gel!

As I have now implemented quite a vigorous skincare routine into my morning and evening rituals all I really look for in a shower gel is foamy, lovely smelling goodness rather than specific moisturizing or any particular skin related aspect, so if like me you are just looking for a sumptuous smelling shower gel then this will be right up your street.

As you can see the gel comes in very cute packaging and they give you a surprisingly generous amount for only £3.50. I am a bit of a sucker when it comes to pretty looking bath and shower products I tend to buy things because they're pretty, I mean you ought to see my Soap and Glory miniature collection, but this was a fantastic investment!

A little of this lovely gel goes a long way it gives a really rich smelling, very foamy lather which leaves your bathroom (and in my case, my entire flat) smelling like a home baked apple pie with a hint of cinnamon as well as your skin feeling soft and well treated.

If you get the chance I urge you to run down to your local Boots store (unless it's my local in which case THEY'RE MINE!) to get yourself a bargain in the form of these lavish gels while they're cheap. I would however say that if you are looking for that Soap and Glory like squeaky clean smell and feeling you're probably not going to love this product but if you just want to smell beautiful, homely and a little like Christmas this is right up your street!

Has anybody else tried the 'Philosophy' range from Boots, if so what did you try? and did you like it? Drop your comments below, come chat with me on Twitter or if you want to keep up to date with the latest Granite City posts come follow me on Bloglovin

H.Elizabeth

Garnier | Cleanser and Toner Review

I have made the move! After a little bit of badgering from my skin conscious friend (you know who you are) I finally gave in and made the move from my trusty old make up wipes to a healthier skin cleanser and toner for removing my make up and daily pampering.

I've always found the thought of implementing a cleanser and a toner into my skincare routine quite a daunting idea as I can be quite lazy with my skin, previously only using a Simple Skin make up wipe and an all purpose face moisturizer, however as you may know my skin has been rather lack lustre as of late and I've been battling a fair few blemishes. So enough is enough and I have bought myself a cleanser and toner and I thought I would share with you how I feel about them thus far.

The Cleanser

Garnier Skin Naturals Sofening Cleansing Lotion, Goodbye Dry

I was recommended this cleanser by a fellow beauty blogger on Twitter sometime last month so I thought I would give this a whirl. I chose the softening cleanser for people with dry skin because I've been getting a fair few unsightly dry skin patches and blemishes, so as well as removing my make up better to kill two birds and nourish at the same time. On my first use of the cleanser I hated it in comparison to make up wipes especially for removing my mascara unfortunately I used a little too much and hurt myself....the shame! But I have to admit it gave my skin a fantastic feel once I was finished which I ultimately what I was aiming for. Since my first use I have mastered the art of not blinding myself with being over zealous so I can reap all of the benefits with none of the horrible fiddly bits!

The Toner 

Garnier Skin Naturals Refreshing Toner, Start Afresh

As I shower in the evenings after taking off my make up I used my cleanser straight out of the shower and prior to using my moisturizer and it gave my skin a lovely clean feel and I could really feel the toner getting into my pores and working its magic. If I had any criticisms I would say that personally I ought to have gone for a toner which was more suitable for dry skin as I felt it kind of undone the doings of the cleanser!

Overall the cleanser and toner routine isn't as bad as I had first thought, I really think now that I can see the benefits of using these over make up wipes it definitely gives me a fantastic incentive not to be too lazy when it comes to my face.

Do any of you have any skincare tips you would like to share, or have you tried any skincare products you have been loving lately? As you know I love hearing from you so drop me a comment below, come chat with me on Twitter or if you want to keep up to date with my latest blog posts come follow me on Bloglovin!

H.Elizabeth

February Best Buys

Hello everyone, so it's that time of the month again, time for me to show you my best buys from the past month and give a little review of this months favourites.

#1 Furry Slipper Boots, Dorothy Perkins £5.00 down from £15.00

So I saw them, I loved them, I had to have them. I have awfully cluttered wardrobe at the moment and believe it or not it's about 25% made up of pyjamas or comfy related articles of clothing. These boots are oh so comfy they're barely off of my feet when I'm lazing around the house, they are made mostly of a knitted material and came in a red tartan (none my size) or this lush cream colour with faux brown fur trim. Great for lazy home bodies like me!

#2 L'Oreal 24hr Infallible Make Up in Porcelain, Boots £9.99
Earlier in February I began to run out of my staple L'Oreal 16hr infallible foundation and in a bid to get the most of my money, for about a week and a half I resorted to scraping my tub with a cotton bud, but enough was enough and I faced up to the fact that yes, I need a new foundation! So traipsing along to boots I panicked when I didn't see my ever trusty 16hr Infaillible Foundation, but did see a 24hr one, panic over. This has been my face staple for a few years now, the foundation offers high coverage and hides my blemishes a least and doesn't dry out my face, don't think I'll be changing any time soon.

#3 Lush Angels on Bare Skin Cleanser, Lush £6.35 100g

As you'll know I recently expressed my love of this cleanser in a previous review, but thought it definitely deserved a wee mention in my best buy blog post this month, so if you want to read the full review click right here!

#4 About Time DVD, HMV £10.00

Favourite romantic comedy in such a long time. When I saw this in the cinema I was so skeptical because of the cheesey poster, yes I'm afraid I do judge a film by its poster, honestly the poster made it look like another Nicholas Sparks film adaptation but I am happy to report that this is not the case. I won't give away any spoilers in case any of you rush out to buy it but it combines quirky 'real life' comedy, time travel, romance, family and such a refreshing take on life and love.

#5 Cat Pyjama Bottoms, Asda £6.00

 My second comfies/pyjama purchase of the month in the form of the amazing multi coloured and cosy cat bottoms from my latest Asda shop. These are lighter than my current cosies so perfect for summer days in our (fingers crossed) brand new flat.

I promise next month won't be filled with comfy related articles like my boots and bottoms, but stay tuned for my March wish list which I guarantee will contain a little more Lush products! Hope you have enjoyed this month's best buys, if you like what you see you can keep up to date with my latest and greatest on Bloglovin, drop me a comment on here to let me know what you think or you can always catch me on Twitter.

H. Elizabeth