MAC Facebook Giveaway | Hannah Adams Make Up Artistry

In celebration of reaching 500 likes on my business Facebook page and the relaunch of Hannah Adams Make Up Artistry following our big move in September I'm hosting another MAC giveaway.7

How to enter:

Visit my Facebook page right here to enter, all you have to do is like my page, the post and comment which MAC lipstick you'd like, to be in with a chance of winning!

Thank you again to all of you out there keeping up with my weekly beauty and make up artistry shenanigans right here, and of course everyone along the way who has supported my new venture. I hope to have lots and lots of big news and updates for you in the coming months as I'm working alongside new businesses and really trying to give it my all, but for now good luck in my second MAC giveaway and be sure to find me on the usual channels, Twitter, Instagram, Bloglovin' and of course Facebook.

Until next time folks, 

H.Elizabeth x

Dealing with Trolls | My Instagram Experience

 If ever there was a bloggers hand book on how to deal with any life situation it'd be super short and only contain three words. 'Write about it,' You had a bad day? Write about it. You had a good day? Write about it. You got angry about a topic? Write about it. So shockingly today when I had my first ever experience of a troll on social media I decided what better, more therapeutic way to deal with this than to write about it? And here we are!

Trolls, just in case you've never been unfortunate enough to experience one, is someone who essentially will bully someone from behind the safety of their computer, tablet or phone screens. Usually the troll in question will post a comment to rile someone up or hurt someones feelings with no prompting whatsoever. Or in short, someone who has nothing else better to do with their time in life than comment on strangers posts in an attempt to validate their own existence.

So. My experience. As you guys know I have an instagram account where I showcase my work, make up on my own face, make up on my clients faces and any and all things in between, new products, new releases, news pieces on beauty and well everything basically, and I had never had any negative feedback on my work or what I post that was until a couple of weeks ago when I posted the above picture with a caption about how unhappy I was due to hayfever in the picture. The private message that followed was ridiculous!

'Hi, you have a very big nose you need plastic surgery,' 

Never one to rise to a bully I promptly reported the user to Instagram, blocked her and put it out of my mind but admittedly it gave me a bit of a knock for a good 20 minutes after said message was received. Luckily I like myself. I like my face, I like all of it's quirks, so called defects and bits and pieces that make me up, because it's all mine. Not very much can be said for this particular girls personality on the other hand, you see I can change my face if I want to, I can throw money at it and make things go away, nip things here, tuck things there, but honey, personality transplants are still under development.... and that's too bad.

My best advice I would say if you ever find yourself in a similar situation is to block, report and recover because honestly it isn't nice, no matter how ridiculous the comment, how confident you are as a person or how many times it happens to you it isn't a nice feeling. I've had people take pictures of me, caption them and send them around school. I have had comments posted on my personal Facebook account. I have had people start group chats about me and really all it does is display how little they have going on in their lives by discussing mine.

And remember if the trolls ever get to you remember the immortal words of the great Tay Tay.... haters gonna hate hate hate hate hate! Or drop me a comment below and tell me what your mantra is for dealing with negativity.

As usual you can catch me ignoring the trolls and serving some harsh realness to them sometimes on my socials, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook or keep up with me and my positivity on Bloglovin.

Until next time folks, Tay Tay it up!

H.Elizabeth x

This post is dedicated to the troll....thanks for the content idea!

#AbzChat with Granite City Girl

This week I will be hosting #AbzChat, the dedicated Twitter chat for bloggers or word enthusiasts across Aberdeen and the North East of Scotland which takes place every Wednesday from 8pm - 9pm, just in case you missed the HUGE image above!

Now into our third week of nattering we're a friendly, open bunch who talk about everything from beauty, blogging and lifestyle to films, books and social media. We'd love for you to join us this Wednesday from 8pm - 9pm where our topic will be, 'This or That' an informal choice session where we can find out a bit more about each others interests, likes and dislikes. Hope to catch you there and don't forget to use the #.

Until next time folks,

H.Elizabeth x

Aberdeen Events | Kevin Bridges at the AECC

Comedian of the moment Kevin Bridges may be gracing our television screens more than the Kardasians these days and packing out arenas and concert venues up and down the country but he has by no means forgotten about his humbling roots in Scotland as he brought far more than a chuckle and a few cheeky stories to Aberdeens' Exhibition and Conference Centre (AECC) this November with his hotly anticipated, 'A different kind of story,'

It isn't often I get to see a comedian in concert, in fact I think the last person I saw was Eddie Izzard about 2 or 3 years ago, so when the AECC team came a callin' and asked if I would like to attend dinner and a comedic set for none other than Kevin Bridges, not only did I jump, I back flipped, leapt, pranced, somersaulted and did a trapeze act of such skill you'd think I had won the lottery. And so it was Granite City Girl would indeed attend the show after all.

The dinner was lovely and intimate (and no, Kevin Bridges himself was not in attendance - something a few people had asked before the evening) and before I go further I would just like to thank the catering staff at the AECC for their hospitality and amazing presentation as well as their pr and marketing manager Leigh-Ann for putting on such a great event (and braving the queues running back and forth for wine and delicious beverages!)

It's a very rare thing when you can connect and identify with a stranger and there is no medium by which this is better achieved than comedy and Kevin's particular brand of observational comedy struck all of the right chords with the audiences in Aberdeen that evening. Not only are his observations about life in Scotland, school , wider political issues and seemingly minute encounters totally spot on and relatable but are delivered with such passion and ease that the evening felt like a chin wag wee an old pal despite his Scottish Kardashian like stature.

Chants from the crowd of 'one more joke' could undoubtedly be heard in the surrounding neighbourhoods as Kevin prepared to depart but thankfully returning once more for his encore during which he read Tweets and answered questions from the crowds in attendance, something I personally have never seen a comedian or act do in all my years but was pleasantly surprised by his use of new media (that's me with my PR hat on!)

I returned home that evening with 'sare chicks' from smiling and laughing so much and next time Kevin visits the Granite City I'll be dragging my other half along, though I'm sure he won't take too much convincing. Kevin Bridges continues his A Whole Different Story tour throughout the UK for the rest of November and part of December and if you're interested in some relatable comedy with a Scottish flair get yourself along!

Were you lucky enough to see Kevin Bridges in concert this time around? I'd love to hear what you thought in the comments below. Otherwise you can catch me hanging out tweeting and twittering away on Twitter and if you'd like to see more of my 'sare chicks' be sure to follow Granite City Girl on Bloglovin.

Until next time folks, laughing my lower 'chicks' aff.

H.Elizabeth

Social Media | Unfriend Zone

Oh I do love a good rant, and since posting my blogger pet peeves recently I've came to see you guys do too! Admittedly I perhaps rant a bit more than the average human being and hey why not? The world is so full of wondrous moments of idiocy, irritants and general annoyances that if I didn't point them out who else would!? So in light of my devotion to and deep love of the good old fashioned rant I thought I would share with you today some of the things I have unfriended people for on Facebook during the course of my social media years.

Now before I get started I just want to say that you know, to each their own, I don't mind baby pictures, pictures of your latest holidays, after all isn't that what this glorious social media generation is all about? So take that baby picture, upload that tanning snap and come at me horizon and sunset pictures! But please, for the love of god, keep the following in your home or in your head!

Women who make anti feminist statements

This one wasn't as much a 'I hate feminist' post, rather it was a post on why men should be regarded as higher beings than women and that this particular young lady, 'exists to serve her man' that it (I guess it meant her life) ought to be about his hopes, his dreams, his ambitions and above all else his desires. To be quite honest it looked like an excerpt from 50 shades taken that step too far and if that's the kind of things you'll be sharing I say sayonara to you! 

Excessive photoshopping of selfies

This one was so ridiculous I must have shown every single one of my friends and family members, somebody had smoothed their face, altered their features, hair colour, eye colour and added a false hair accessory only to display this as their own profile picture. Of course being the understanding soul I am (cough) I gave them the benefit of the doubt and thought ach it's a joke. Oh no my friends, oh no, this picture received well over 50 likes and a good few comments on how amazing this person looked and how different to which this person replied, aw thanks just good lighting..... hm... I rest my case.  

Overuse of pet names and PDA's

This I have done to more than one couple in the past, it simply baffles me that couples validate their relationships through gooey pet names and sickly sweet PDA's in their day to day life let alone in the digital world. Worse still, these people generally live together, that's right folks, they're sat opposite each other, in the same room of their house, tagging, untagging, liking, poking, prodding and causing a general digital annoyance to my feed, see ya later pookie!

Well guys, now you've heard my social media pet peeves, well at least we've scraped the surface! So now I'd love to hear yours, be sure to let me know what gets your goat, gives you social sweats or just blows your digital top in the comments below, come share them with me on Twitter, or of course if you'd like to hear more from Granite City Girl you can follow me on Bloglovin'

Until next time folks, love you forever honey and I'll see you soon pookie!

H.Elizabeth

Blogging Pet Peeves | A Rant by Granite City Girl

As a blogger and human being of this particular generation I read a lot of blogs. Through the use of social media and tools such as Bloglovin, technology has enabled me to discover some amazing writing talent, experience the wider world and dare I say live vicariously through my favourite bloggers, but sometimes you'll come across a piece of writing, design or blog in general that makes you question all that you know about the world; and I'm not talking total worldly enlightenment I'm talking, aah the humanity!!! Okay so as you know I may be one to exaggerate but if it helps get my point across then that's really all that matters. In light of my recent burst blood vessel(s) paroosing the twittersphere and blogosphere I thought I would share some of my top blogging pet peeves and just say, stop it!

Image Credit: Pinterest

There have been so many blog posts detailing why this is wrong so I won't go into all of the gory details all I will say however is that this is theft and is a crime against copyright laws. Yes it may make your blog look very pretty, professional even, that is in fact because it came from a professional bloggers post! This makes my index fingers curl up inside my body that's how great a peeve it is for me, it is an automatic 'unfollow' and discredit to your blog. If you want to learn a bit more about image crediting, blogging and copyright you should have a read of Forever Amber's post here.

Scheduled Promo Overload

Last week I unfollowed somebody on Twitter for posting 15 (yes you read that right 15!) promotions for the same post in a row on Twitter. Don't get me wrong, scheduling is sometimes an amazing thing, a fantastic promotions tool for bloggers, but if you're posting the same Tweet at say hourly intervals someone is bound to notice (FYI that someone is me!) for me it's off putting as I like to feel as if I'm having a conversation with the blogger but it's obvious that particular person is switched off and just happy enough to post out automated messages.

Twitter Auto Responses
Bleh, the ultimate form of shameless social media poaching, you know the ones I mean, 'Hi thank you for following me on Twitter, why not follow my blog too,' with sickly, sugary x's and o's. Again it's so impersonal and isn't the entire point of blogging to share your views with the world, open up a dialogue and meet new people. After extensive research and attempting to open up a dialogue with the particulars who have these auto responses I can confirm they are not interested.

So this may have disgressed int more of a social media scheduling, response, twitter rant but it kind of links to blogging right? I'd love to know what your biggest blogging pet peeves are or even social media peeves, in fact just use the space below to have a good old rant, those are my favourites as you can probably tell. Be sure NOT to send me your auto responses on Twitter or spam me with your promos (grrrr internal screaming) but quick plug if you do enjoy my rants and ravings be sure to follow Granite City Girl on Bloglovin.

Until next time folks, screaming internally at all of the blogging blunders.

H.Elizabeth x

Hayfever Heroism with Kleenex | PR done right

Today I just wanted to share a little bit of summer awesome and a little bit of a win, which if you've been following me on Twitter recently you'll know I desperately needed, and though many of you will think this post is a little sad or sponsored (I can assure you it is not) really I just want you to think of this little bit of kindness in the wider context of the world wide web and applaud this specific company for listening to their Target market in a way companies just don't seem to anymore!

From the title you'll have guessed that said company in question are Kleenex and their #HayfeverHeroism campaign they have been branching across social media platforms with, specifically Twitter and targeting (obviously) hayfever sufferers, which if you read my recent post / rant here you'll know I am, with the view to provide the nation with a Hayfever summer survival kit, which after incessant whining, moaning and general complaints about my current state I was lucky enough to receive.

Incase you missed it my tweet went a little something like this and was in no way shape or form directed at Kleenex looking for free tissues if anything this was just a general musing and a 'why god why!' observation of my life, '@GCityGirl: Sick, sick, sick today hayever 1  Hannah 0 #hayfeverproblems #sickday' to which Kleenex responded, they would like to help and send me one of their sensitive care packs designed specifically with hayfever sufferers in mind. After a couple of emails I sent the company my home address and honestly and much to my own shame forgot all about it until of course the blessed day my nose was saved, hallelujah!

The pack itself has a cute little certificate that comes alongside your care pack, a large multipack of handy travel tissues and of course a coffee table box for when I'm hold up in my house hiding from pollinated air! And really instead of doing a review of the tissues and pack - which in all honesty would bore you to tears, I really just wanted to share this campaign with you all and how amazing a thing I think it is for a company in this day and age just to do something for their consumers for the sake of being nice (and of course getting brand recognition such as this) but really how often can you really say you get something for nothing and in such a lovely way? I thought the certificate was a particularly nice touch as the handwritten tweet goes to show it isn't just boxed and sent out to your address with no personal recognition.

And so to end today's post I really just want to say a big thank you and well done to Kleenex for bringing this campaign to tweeters and social media platforms across the UK and for of course keeping in mind we seasonal sufferers who really do go through a helluva lot of tissues in the summer (preach!) I'd love to hear if you have had any experience with companies like this and what your favourite social media campaign by a large corporation has been because I'll bet we're all hard pressed to think of anything this similar! Be sure to leave your comments below, come share your experiences with me on Twitter or of course if you'd like to continue to see me share the love come follow Granite City Girl on Bloglovin.

Until next time folks, blowing with sensitive care!

H.Elizabeth x

Social Media | Posting about Exercise and Weight Loss

I have never been one to document every detail of my private life on social media, god knows there are plenty of ladies and gents out there who over share and it has just never appealed to me to become one of them. Honestly who cares what I had for lunch or what kind of underwear my mothers cats aunt wears? However, having said recently I have become a bit more of a social sharer online when it comes to my health and fitness endeavours and I thought I would share an explanation as to why I find this helpful, productive and generally a great thing despite potentially annoying others in the social arena.

Throughout my life I have struggled with my health particularly when it comes to weight loss and healthy eating after adopting excuse upon excuse, and trust me I have used them all from 'I'm too busy' and 'I'm too tired' and even sometimes 'It just isn't practical for my lifestyle' and it wasn't until I reached a near 13 stone that I decided something had to be done and finally take my health a bit more seriously. So through a combination of a healthier eating plan and (VERY) regular trips to the gym I have successfully lost 3 stone and finally feel a bit more comfortable within my size 12 clothes and most importantly within myself, but today's post isn't about my entire weight loss journey, instead I want to share something that may seem so small and insignificant to outsiders looking in but that played a role in my own determination and drive in bettering my life and that is the use of Twitter and social platforms to keep me motivated.



 

Prior to my own experience I used to think people posting certain aspects of their lives on social media was obnoxious. My eyes would roll into the back of my head whenever I saw someone share a post workout selfie or document their salad choices via social media, that is until I became one of them. Everyday without fail I will probably note which physical activity I'll be doing that day, or perhaps a goal I have for the week (most recently that was an endeavour to cut caffeine down gradually) and I'm sure my posts, tweets and general musings about my new lifestyle have induced some eye rolls too and I don't blame them I found it annoying too. However social media might just be my greatest weight loss tool and motivator. Think about it, by posting your goals on social media you're not just making a pledge to yourself but you're putting it out to the world for all to see, so if you give up it isn't just you who sees it, the world does (don't worry I don't think 'the world' read my tweets but you get my drift) you set certain expectations for yourself and being able to go back in your Twitter history and see whether or not you met those expectations is a great thing.

In a mere 140 characters I was able to find and harness the support network and motivation I needed to keep going, not only do my followers and even strangers cheer me on but I am able to connect with like minded people who share the struggles I have faced in recent years and share tips, recipes and ideas on weight loss and fitness with them and if you are any of those people I have mentioned above I would here like to extent my thanks and gratitude. And of course if you're on the other side of the coin, those whose eyes are sick of rolling well, 'haters gonna hate hate hate hate hate'

Once again guys I hope you have enjoyed having a gander at today's post and I would love to hear your opinions on these sort of Tweets and social media posts, which side of the coin are you on? Perhaps you've found an even better way to keep yourself motivated to get up and go to the gym? As always I love to hear from you, be sure to leave your comments below come share your thoughts with my on Twitter or of course if you'd like to keep up with the latest Granite City posts be sure to follow me on Bloglovin.

 

 

Until next time folks, I'm just gonna shake shake shake shake shake...

H.Elizabeth x