style – realiTEE

How to start your day faster & still look good.

Published on June 8, 2019June 8, 2019 by realiTEELeave a comment

Happy National Rosé Day. Surely this should be a bank holiday weekend right? We should be allowed an extra day off work to enjoy a nice chilled glass of rosé, although the British weather right now isn’t exactly screaming summer vibes. Okay I’m going off on a tangent here, lets circle back…

I don’t know about you but I am not one of those girls that can spend 3 hours + getting ready for a night out, if I’m going out I want to be out out! The whole, shower, wash my hair, blow dry, style, prime face etc etc just gets boring to me. I’m a one hour girl at most. I’d much rather be out drinking the rosé than reapplying my eyeliner for the 3rd time because the flick wasn’t right.

I’m an extrovert get me out of here…

My point is whether I’m going from the gym to the office, or from bed to the coffee shop or more importantly heading to a bar I want to be getting to where I need to be, not messing about with three different shades of blusher. But of course I ALWAYS have to look presentable, it’s just nice to take some pride in yourself right. So (no surprises here) but I have a routine, and I have this down to 45 minutes. It doesn’t matter if I’m getting ready at the gym or in my bedroom I know what products I need where they’ll be and I’m good to go.

Here are a 3 hacks I do to make sure my mornings start off right, if anything throws me off course too early it changes the whole tone of my day and I find that it will just throw me off, anyone else?

1) Sort it out the night before. Yes I’m hyper organised and if being a PA paid more I’d probably do that just for the enjoyment of organising peoples lives, but here’s what I do. I prep EVERYTHING the night before, & I mean EVERYTHING. Even the underwear I’m wearing. Because I think sleep is so important I like to get every last second I can in bed so all my meals will be prepped the night before, if I’m going to the gym my gym bag is packed all toiletries in the bag and gym clothes laid out on my chair so I can literally get out of bed, wash my face drink some water, brush my teeth get a peppermint tea to go and head straight out. This can result ion carrying about 10 different bags but it just makes life easier. I’ll also make an iced coffee the night before. I really try to limit how much money I spend on coffee a month and since I started getting coffee pods from Grind delivered (this is totally on point today as all their branding is pink, just like rosé) my home made coffees are just better. Sorry coffee shops but it’s true, I get the best London coffee straight out of my Birmingham home. Anyway, bags are packed food is ready and coffee is good to go. I’m out the door in 15 minutes.

2) Keep your stuff together. I feel like everyone is on the tidying hype lately with the likes of Mrs Hinch & Marie Kondo all over social media that organisation is in fashion. With fashion comes loads of cute boxes & storage options. I have two little boxes one for AM & one for PM (these are actually the boxes that my Grind orders arrived in, no plug I promise but they’re the perfect size, pink & really cute). As I’ve mentioned before I love to buy stuff in sample sizes because it’s just more gym bag friendly. This makes life so much easier when getting ready because I know exactly where my stuff is so I can just grab & go. Ironically there are three things I ALWAYS lose… headphones (I forget which pocket of which jeans/ coat/ bag I was wearing) glasses (which is annoying once I’ve taken my lenses out, now I need glasses to find my glasses) & keys…

3) Keep the makeup looking simple. Call me a basic bitch but I’m not a fan of a heavy made up face. I like to look like me, and if it’s a day I plan to go running at lunch or to the gym after work I really don’t want to spend ages removing layers and layers of makeup. Honestly once the skin care is done, I can keep it as simple as 4 products. IT Cosmetics CC cream, clear brow gel to brush my brows into place, bit of mascara (honestly I can live without this some days especially if I’m wearing my glasses, big glasses are great to hide behind) & Lanolips 101 ointment, 100% natural multi-balm for your lips. I love this product so much. You only need a little but it really softens the lips smells great and leaves a classy shine.

There you have it, my 3 little hacks to getting out the house and ordering that rosé so much quicker.

As usual nothing mention in this posted was gifted or sponsored but things I love and the options are my own, but I want to know yours.

What do you do on the go? Any top secrets on how to look completely put together in under an hour?

I want to know…

Love,

Tee

One confidence shot please.

Published on May 28, 2019May 28, 2019 by realiTEE3 Comments

So you know how I love to talk wellness on Wednesdays & today is no different. I consider wellness to be an element of beauty as without a balanced life how can you really shine? You can’t reach your full potential, if you can it’s a tiring struggle. Today I want to talk about confidence, & what it means to you. Let’s face it, confidence is essential.

Firstly whether you love to strut around like a VS model in a pair of sexy heels or you prefer the more hippy chic look and wear your kicks everywhere. I don’t care if you wear tight mini skirts and low cut tops, or if you love a onesie and never want to come out or if you are one of those girls that live head to toe in their gym wear. YOU ARE RIGHT. What ever makes you feel confident, what ever makes you feel your best and flatters you. YOU ARE RIGHT. Not fitting into a stereotype does not make you less of a woman (or man, or whichever gender you relate to) & if you haven’t figured out what makes you hold your head up high like a badass boss have some fun working it out. Personally I love a dark edgy look with tight jeans and a pair of statement heels as much as I love a denim mini skirt, t-shirt and pumps. You can dress everything up or down so it’s all about finding your balance. Now to own it…

Why you should own it? When you’re feeling more confident it shows. Like really shows through, it’s in your walk, it shines through your pores, it’s the slight change in the tone of your voice. AND it’s contagious. Genuine confidence is contagious, people are attracted to that kind of energy, but it has to be genuine if you try too hard people will pick up on that & you’ll come across more annoying than confidence. (But that’s not to say you shouldn’t fake it- see below).

Confidence looks good on everyone!

Okay I get that all of this is much easier said than done… in today’s society we have more anxious surroundings than ever before, and that’s just by unlocking your phone. One thing I hear repeated over and over again is ‘I’m so self conscious in the gym I feel like everyone is looking at me and judging.’

Please please PLEASE… stop looking around the gym and judging people. Because I can grantee the 99% of the people in the gym are there to be themselves and the best version of that they can be. Which brings me to my next point, & one I’ve mentioned a few times lately in different forms but it’s so true and the secret to beauty. We are all unique, you are the only you out there. Just do you & own it.

Here are a few of the things that help boost my confidence when I most need it;

1) Always be grateful – Simple but efficient. If you stop & think about it there is always something to be grateful for. Walking into your first fitness class ever… no everyone can do that and you should be grateful you found the strength to get out of your comfort zone & go for it. There’s something to be said for stopping to smell the roses (or even the rosé). Smile. Laugh. Enjoy life. Today I’m grateful for family, friends, boyfriend, my car, spinach pasta, my favourite trainers & the ability to read & write. Below is a book on confidence that I loved, and was so surprised at how many badass woman out there lack it.

2) Do you- okay this is something I struggled with for soooo many years. I was so focussed on what everyone else was doing, wearing, eating, was I doing it right? OMG The stress it takes to live like this, the anxiety the pressure. I got to a point where I would make myself so ill, it just wasn’t worth it. Do you and forget what everyone else is doing. Evolve at your own speed, what feels right and natural for you. Push yourself to do better against yourself. I love the saying ‘if you judge a fish on it’s ability to climb a tree you’ll never know how intelligent it is.’ This is because we are all different, all unique. Being you is a superpower, embrace it.

3) Get fancy – I love love love dressing up, the hair the makeup the right outfit, splash of lipstick. Who am I making all this effort for? Well me! I deserve to look good for me. & so do you. Now please don’t think I take hours and hours to get ready, time is not a luxury I often possess & even when I do I much prefer to be out out having fun then getting ready. Some basic moisturiser (with an SPF obviously) bit of foundation or a CC cream with some thick luscious lashes, thick brows and a tinted lip balm with a badass outfit and you’ll be amazed at how great you feel 40 minutes later. Find a look that suits your style, keep it flattering & dress for you! I brought the below dress last year and everyone I showed it to before hand had reservations but I knew it would look fabulous… (thank you ASOS).

4) Break free- breaking out of your comfort zone is something I wrote about here. It’s a real confidence booster when you realise how far exactly you’ve come. ALWAYS step out of your comfort zone, even if it’s just one small thing. Recently my cousin & I attended a networking event for woman. Neither of us knew what to expect & had both considered dropping out, we didn’t, we went along & actually really enjoyed it. It may be scary as hell, but once you’re out of that comfort zone you’ll see and you’ll want to keep moving forward. Break through one zone at a time.

5) Keep it positive- No matter what, always try and keep it positive. Even with the words you are using, I do this more and more and it’s slowly becoming a natural habit. Instead of saying ‘I hope nothing goes wrong’ try ‘I’m sure it will all go to plan’ Focus on putting that positive energy out there, and it will also tell your brain to be more positive. As I said earlier you can’t fake confidence but you can do things to help trick yourself into believing it and by the time you realise you were faking it it may no longer be fake. I honestly thought for well over a year that I had no idea how to do my job, that I was just faking it and one day someone would call me into the office and sack me. Turns out that by going to work each day and trying to figure it out and doing my best, I actually learnt how to do my job without ever shadowing anyone.

Now your turn… What do you do to feel more confident?

Love,

Tee

5 clear steps to clear skin.

Published on May 25, 2019May 26, 2019 by realiTEE2 Comments

It’s that time of the month again… payday! Payday = shopping. After carefully reviewing my shelfie and making a mental note of what products I needed I headed to town to pick up and test some new products. Now I know you’re probably thinking WTF, you went to a shop? And yes I usually browse my favourite online stores from my sofa and get it all delivered but this month I not only wanted to get my step count in but also felt like seeing a few actually products and what was new. Plus I’m not going to lie I love smelling pretty much every product on the shelf!

One item I was interested in was IT COSMETICS CC Cream as I’d heard amazing things about it (but that’s a whole other blog post) when I headed over to the new counter within a few short minutes the sales assistant was asking me about my routine, I almost laughed. When it comes to Instagramable skin I have 5 simple rules. These rules apply 24/7. At the gym, at home, on a night out it doesn’t matter these are simple rules on the go for glowy skin. It’s that simple! Just 5 easy things to remember.

1) You are what you eat. I’ve spoken before about glowing from the inside out and how important nutrition is but honestly the more organic and natural you can keep your diet the more you can see and feel the difference. We’ve all been there, Saturday night got a little cray cray and you woke up the next morning with a McDonald’s (no? Just me then?) by the time you get to the office Monday your face has broken out into pimple central. Crap food = crap body 💩 Clear radiant skin needs veggies and berries. More kale less chicken nuggets. I known some of you may hate me for saying that but unfortunately it’s a true fact. Kale, blueberries & sweet potato are all a yes from me ✅✅✅ Avoid white bread, this is devil food (dad I hope you’re reading this!) white bread causes antinutrients which can make it harder for your body to absorb good nutrients. So next time you’re looking for something to help your skin at a supermarket move from the toiletries isle to the fruit & veg section.

2) Everything in moderation and that goes for your makeup as well. I have a very specific skin routine (even post workout) at the moment that is really working for my skin, but I’m not going to undo all that hard work by blocking my pores with layers of make up. It’s unnecessary. I’m very much about the natural glowy look and to me make up should enhance your features not make you into a different person. Don’t over complicate your routine and don’t wear so many layers of makeup you no longer represent you. And always always ALWAYS remember to remove makeup before going to bed. No one wants to wake up looking like a member of an 80’s rock band with all that smudged mascara and eyeliner. The smudged black eye look is out!

3) SPF when it comes to beauty I don’t think any blog post should not mention SPF because it’s that important. There are two types of sun rays, UVB which are rays that burn your skin, and increasing ageing of your skin. Then there’s UVA which are present all year round and penetrate clouds, windows anything and these do causing ageing effects of the skin. You can never have enough SPF in your life and you really should prioritise products that already contain these. I’m not saying avoid the sun and wear a hat everywhere you go, although if you want to feel free. Personally I love the sun it just requires some common sense when out and about. Tee’s tip: if products do say they have an SPF factor great but always check they protect against BOTH UVA & UVA.

4) Mental clarity. You may have seen I wrote about this earlier this week & you may have thought what has this got to do with beauty? Stay with me here, I’m not going off brand. Being stressed out causes a hormone known as cortisol in the body which when released into your system will ruin your skin & sleep patterns (which also has a knock on effect to your skin). With this bitch of a hormone flowing freely around your body it’s going to rob your skin a nutrients. Less stress = clear radiant skin and a more manageable life. WIN. WIN.

5) My final and most lived by rule… what works for one won’t always work for you. Each and every single one of us are unique. Although we love to share tips and tricks what works for your bff might not work for you, & no one knows you & your skin better than you. I have the fortune of sharing DNA with the beautiful lady below but you know what, if she swears by a product it’s probably not for me. Our skin types are SO different. Don’t get me wrong I’m ecstatic she’s loving herself more and her skin and I’ll gladly give tips on how to apply a product or if I’ve seen a product talked about online which might be suited to her skin type I’ll tag her or send her a message ASAP. However there are very few products I would pull out of my selection and hand over as a MUST TRY RIGHT THIS MOMENT. It just doesn’t work like that. So in the words of my lovely cousin, honey just do you.

So there you have it my five rules, almost commandments I’d say.

How many of these do you break and what are your rules?

Comment below.

Love

Tee

Gym hair don’t care!

Published on May 11, 2019May 12, 2019 by realiTEELeave a comment

I’m so protective over my hair it’s unreal. I can be like nooo my hair! But with good reason, I damaged it so badly a few years back with no stop bleach and heat that it was actually frizzled at the front. The only solution was to cut my hair into a lob, not like this made much difference considering it kept splitting anyway. So now I do everything to keep it long and healthy to the point where I just don’t wash it. It’s effort and I don’t particularly enjoy it. If you’re a regular gym goer than you know the struggle is real, because you’re most likely going to work up a sweat tomorrow so what’s the point. Gym hair, don’t care! I’ve also learnt is not smart to train arms the day you wash your hair because holding the hairdryer for so long will come back to bite you! Anyway it’s so much more fun to style dirty hair. What can I say washing my hair is not for me. However if you do a LOT of cardio you probably need to wash your hair at least twice a week to help your scalp.

I’ve recently stretched my washes out to once a week, and quickly learnt the dirtier the better. Anyway who has the time to wash their hair everyday? I’ve got this down to swimming once a week and then washing my hair straight away.

Here’s why I don’t wash my hair;

1) I pay for my colour, why wash it straight out? It’s true blondes have more fun but the more you wash your hair the more you wash out the colour. I’ve never been able to keep ashy silver tones in my hair because it naturally has a red tint (thanks dad) but since I started to wash it weekly and switched to Charles Worthington toning shampoo the colour has never been better. Exactly what I wanted, and that’s still the case 8 weeks later. When I do wash my hair I always opt for sulphate free shampoo, this one is currently still my favourite. (Added bonus shampoo and conditioner lasts sooo much longer when you use it less often)

2) It strips out your natural oils, it’s the oils in your hair that make it look shiny and healthy. Isn’t that what everyone wants? So why strip them out, makes no sense to me. You can also end up causing your scalp to produce more oils to try and replace what you’ve washed out, leaving your hair more greasy and you end up in a vicious wash cycle.

3) It’s so much easier to style. Yep, probably helped by the amount of dry shampoo I use but my hair has so much more texture and thickness to it that when I style it it actually does what I wanted, most of the time.

Hair style curls

Here’s some tips for keeping it healthy;

1) The sleep bun, doesn’t need to be a bun but keep it up/ tied back. Buns are great and I use these great crocodile clips which don’t leave a mark in my hair but braids work just as well. I’ve honestly noticed a huge difference in my hair since sleeping with it up more, when I sleep with it down it’s noticeable greasy the day after. Last time I slept with it down my boyfriend rolled onto it in the night and I was trapped, lesson learnt.

2) Hair mask, we all love a good hair mask but my hair is always so much nicer after a hair mask and gym session. Yes that’s right a hair mask and gym session, I heat from my workout helps the hair mask and it’s more efficient instead of sitting around waiting to wash it out. I will comb my favourite mask through my hair from root to ends and then tie it up, completely out of my face so no product touches my skin.

3) Grapefruit oil, I have a little spray bottle with a concoction of water and grapefruit oil. Post workout I spray a little water on my roots and blow dry them for thickness the spray a little grapefruit to make it smell nice. And I’m good to go.

It’s so much fun to get creative with your hair when it’s dirt, here’s a few of my favourite styles;

When it comes to washing your hair I’m definitely a less is more girl.

What about you? Hair secrets accepted below.

Love

Tee

Ps: nothing in this post was sponsored or gifted just products and things I’ve tried and liked.

On your marks, get set… GLOW

Published on April 10, 2019April 10, 2019 by realiTEELeave a comment

Glow, glowing, glow-up, glow up challenge, glow getter… The amount of words we use today about shining and aiming to be the best version of ourselves is forever growing.

A few years back I didn’t even know what it meant to glow up. I thought we simply had to grow up and that has forever seemed dull and boring to me. Maybe that’s why our generation decided to add a little sparkle to this process and really own it.

Healthy glowing skin is something I strive for. The naturally radiant looking skin that people are talking more and more about is the type of radiance that emanates from within. This is possibly one of the biggest wellness trends to take over the world.

But what exactly is this glow?

Post workout glow? Sunkissed beach glow? Love glow? Contentment?

All the above have one shared common denominator and that’s true, authentic happiness.

Think about it… When you absolutely smash a workout, especially one you weren’t excited to get up and do or you started your Monday off the right way. You feel so much better about yourself and that shines through.

When you’ve worked hard for months and you finally get away; you’re in a new location, exploring, sun on your face and no worries in the world. You’re at peace, and that shines through.

When you first start seeing someone and it’s going well; you can’t wait to spend time with them, you can’t stop talking about them to your friends, you get butterflies thinking about them. That shines through!

Being happy and being content will always show, it radiates in so many ways. People pick up on this whether you’re aware of it or not and naturally people will gravitate to you. People have that aura about them, people that don’t take life too seriously, laugh off the bad times and generally want to improve their life and help you improve yours. Those are the people you want to surround yourself with.

Glowing up and glow challenges are much easier to achieve when you surround yourself with like-minded people. I’m incredibly lucky in life to have two people that have an unbelievable amount of faith in me, these two people are the reason I am who I am today, and they are still helping me to glow.

Life is an ongoing challenge but if your vibe attracts the right tribe, you’ll laugh your way through and glow from the inside out.

Love

Tee

#10yearchallenge

Published on January 19, 2019March 28, 2019 by realiTEELeave a comment

Hi again, like mine, your social media feeds have probably been filled with the tag line #10yearchallenge and a cute picture of said person back in 2009.
With a new trending hash-tag in mind I dug through my old photo’s and was unsure whether to laugh or cry at the 18-year-old me who (although incredibly good at faking it) didn’t have a clue.
So, here’s all the advice 20-something-year-old me would provide 18-year-old me with, given the chance to sit down and talk to her.

Continue reading “#10yearchallenge” →