Looking Back Over 2011...

 As much as I like to think that next year will be better than this one, I thought I'd look back over what has been good this year and what I have achieved. Please note I'm not normally one to blow my own trumpet but I think it's good to look at positive points rather than negative. :)

• I guess my biggest achievement would be passing my driving test. I had no intentions of doing this in 2011, but in March, something made me think I wanted to. I made it my aim to pass by December and I did it early! I also managed to do the drive to Aiden's (2 hours!) for the first time just a month after passing my test.
• My second biggest achievement would have to be this blog. I had an old blog but it was called 'Away With The Fairies' which most of you will know is also the name of Hannah's blog. I didn't realise this and it caused a lot of confusion, so I made Ditzy Glamour and I am so happy that people are actually interested in what I say. So, thank you for reading this.
• Also in 2011, Aiden and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary. It's a milestone I knew we would reach but it still doesn't stop me from being proud, and very happy. :)
• I signed up for the Open University this year. I've written two posts here and here on my experience so far, and I'm still loving it. I was unsure if I was making the right choice but now I'm certain I did as I'm sure it will help me a lot in the future.
• 2011 is also my first full year of being in the working world. I still work at ONLY. (If you haven't heard of it, then it's another retail company related to Jack Jones and Vero Moda)
• I've probably missed a lot out as 2011 has been a very long year, but as good as this year was, I cannot wait for 2012.

Come back tomorrow to read my Looking Forward To 2012 post. :)

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2011 Favourites

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a lovely Christmas. Mine was amazing, I managed to see lots of people in two days as I was working Boxing Day and I got spoilt rotten! I'm going to do a post of some Christmas presents and a sales shopping haul (I didn't get much but I love what I did get). I've haven't done the posts yet as I haven't had any time to take photo's so for today I'll blog about my 2011 favourites (photos were taken a while back! #prepared). I cannot believe how quickly this year has gone, and what a year it's been!

Batiste Dry Shampoo.

I'm not sure if I first tried them this year or last, but they have certainly become a best friend of mine. As it takes me 2-3 hours to wash and blowdry my hair, I tend to avoid it until necessary (I'm smelly, I know). Batiste is amazing as it just helps me to look less like a tramp in the between wash days. I own a variety, including a mini version for my bag. Click the links to read reviews: Wild, XXL, and Floral & Flirty Blush.

MAC Studio Fix Fluid

MAC had never been a part of my life before blogging, and I am super pleased with how good this foundation is. It applies easily and lasts all day, even through a 9 hour work shift or a workout at the gym.

Topshop Lipstick in Pillow Talk

I reviewed this here, and if you read the post you'll know it is the perfect shade for me. It's currently my favourite but I've got a MAC lipstick wishlist (and I KNOW Mac Snob is under my Christmas tree right now) so you never know if it will move down in the ranks soon.

Urban Decay Naked Palette

Ah, my trustworthy eyeshadow palette. It contains every colour I need, and I've had so much fun just playing around with it and trying new things. I've also heard there's a Naked Palette 2 coming soon? Exciting stuff, although I don't think I need it if I already have this.

Tresemme Smooth Memory Straightening Spray

I purchased this simply to boost up my Boots bill to £40 so I could get a discount and I'm so glad I did. This works so well on my hair and keeps it super straight for longer. I love it, and I prefer it to the John Frieda 3 Day Straight which is also great, but to me it's not as good. See my review here.

What are your 2011 Favourites?

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YSL Lipstick Review

As you may have read before, I won Siobhan's giveaway and received a whole bunch of lovely prizes (click here to read the post). The thing I was most excited about was the lipstick. I have never purchased a YSL lipstick before, as I never have that much money to spare! So I was very happy to win one.

The shade I won is called 1 Nude Beige and is such a gorgeous baby pink/nude colour. It is very creamy and highly pigmented. The thing I love the most is the fruity scent - it smells amazing! Also, how can you resist the gorgeous packaging?

So is it worth the £22 price tag? As it doesn't last all day, not really. But it is such a gorgeous colour with lovely packaging, it's quite hard to resist buying another. Want to check out the other colours available? Click here.

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Open University: My Journey #2

I've been studying at the OU for just over a month now and I thought I'd do another update as so many of you wanted to read more. I hope I've inspired a few of you to get involved, and if you have any extra questions then feel free to comment or e-mail/tweet me.

A lot has happened in the past month. I went to my first 'day school' where I got to meet my tutor and some of the other students. Everyone was very friendly although many were older (only one was the same age as me) but I felt comfortable and I learned so much just by having a few discussions.

I've also handed in and received back my first assignment. I got 79% which I'm extremely happy with as I was worried that I wouldn't even pass (a pass is 40%). I know everyone says things like that but I genuinely thought I would as I didn't know how it would be marked but now I feel a bit confident for the next assignments. I'm starting the next one this weekend.

With Christmas coming, work, and the enjoyment of driving everywhere, I've found it a little difficult to keep up. I'm not miles behind, in fact I'm where I should be, but with Christmas coming, I would prefer to have got a lot more done.

photo: weheartit.com

PS. There  are still advertising spots available on my blog for January 2011. It will only cost £2, and I will also do a blog post on whoever is being advertised. You'll be placed high up on the right sidebar too. E-mail me at jesswd18@hotmail.com if you want to know more or want to definitely advertise!

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Soap and Glory Heel Genius Review

Working as a sales assistant does no good for your feet at all. So for me, there's nothing better than coming home from work, having a long bath, followed my treating my feet. I currently use Soap and Glory Heel Genius, and me and my feet love it.

Soap and Glory has always been a favourite of mine, ever since I got their bubble bath years ago. I love the fact that most of their products have that significant 'Soap and Glory' smell and I adore their packaging. I think almost every girl has one of their products in their top 10 all time favourites.

This costs just £5.50 and is available at Boots. :) Also, just a little heads up to you all. You know Boots do a weekly deal, well starting from tomorrow is the Soap and Glory Big Splendour is reduced from £60 to just £25! I won't be getting one myself as I'm still using last year's that Aiden got for me. But, it is an amazing deal and totally worth it.

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Denman Brushes

If I think back, I cannot remember the last time I purchased a new hairbrush, so I have no clue how old mine is! I was offered to try two Denman hair brushes and at first I was a little nervous as I thought, "How is it even possible to review a hair brush?" However, when I saw the collection, I couldn't resist trying the Large Hot Curling Brush and the Large Head Hugger Brush. I purchased the large as they were recommended for my hair length. In order to give the best review, I have outlined the positives and negatives, and what is good for my hair, might be bad for yours.

Hot Curling Brush - £11.22

 The website says: "The Thermoceramic Hot Curl brushes feature flexible nylon bristles that provide optimum grip and control when straightening the hair or adding curl. The vented barrel allows warm air to circulate freely for high-speed blowdrying. The brush also features a riveted handle for extra strength and durability."

Positives:
- It left my hair looking shiny and feeling smooth.
- The soft bristles didn't hurt my head at all (most brushes do).

Negatives:
- I found it didn't really speed up the blowdrying process
- The nylon bristles just made my hair frizzy.

Overall opinion:
I enjoyed trying it out, but honestly I don't think I will ever find a brush with nylon bristles that works well with my hair. 5/10

Head Hugger Brush £8.87

The website says: "Denmans' Head Hugger brushes feature ceramic-coated barrels to retain heat, enabling damage-free styling. The hourglass shaped barrel 'hugs' the contour of the head providing extra volume and root-lift. Featuring crimped bristle that is gentle on the scalp and provides enhanced grip and control. The brushes are finished off with a Luxury, velvet-touch handle that gives added comfort and control during use."

Positives:
- When using it, it held onto my hair really well.
- The shape made it really easy to use.
- It gave my hair some extra volume, especially at the roots.

Negatives:
- Towards the end, it began to hurt my scalp a lot.

Overall opinion:
Love this brush! It did everything it said it would except the soft bit, but my head is a bit sensitive so I'm not going to complain. 9/10

The brushes are available on the Denman website (links to the actual brushes are above). Take a look at their other products too, they have a wide range to suit every need.

Have you tried Denman brushes before?

Coral Lips

When it comes to lipstick I prefer pink and the brighter the better. However, there is one lipstick that I also love, and it's Cool Coral by ELF. It's one of my bargain lipsticks that cost just £3.50.

As you can see it is quite a natural looking lipstick with a very slight shimmer (you can't really see it in the photo).

The only downside is it looks nothing like it does on the website. (see Cool Coral). So although I'm still on the lookout for a coral lipstick, I'm very happy with everything else.

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Tresemme Smooth Memory Straightening Spray

I accidently posted this the other day by accident and quickly took it off, but here it is again. :)

Tresemme Smooth Memory Straightening Spray is designed to train your hair to become straighter, smoother and less frizzy over time using smooth memory technology. It also claims to minimise heat damage. This sounded to me like the ideal product as my hair was not straight, not smooth, and certainly frizzy.

I purchased this during my lunch break at work, and it was because I had to buy something to round up the price and get a discount. It wasn't until the first time I used it that I realised how much it would help my hair.

My first thought was that it smelt amazing - like a hair salon in a bottle. I sprayed it vigourously over my hair, and then blow dried and straightened as normal. I've noticed that every time I do my hair, it takes a lot less time than it used to, and it straightens a lot more easily. I used to have to work on the same bit of hair 3 or 4 times but now it's just once, maybe twice.

In the days after I'd used it, I couldn't believe how straight my hair was! Normally, the morning after I have to go over it again, but I don't anymore. I can even tie my hair up and then take it out and not need to worry about the awful bump I used to get in my hair.

I cannot stress how great this product is. And the best is yet to come - I've been using it for over a month and a half and I've been spraying it a lot. However when I looked to see how much was left, I promise it's no less than 95% full.

This spray costs just £4.99. I'm sorry if I seem a little too over excited in this post, but when I love a product, I get too happy. And sometimes squeal. :)

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Update.

Another 'update' post. I'm sure you all enjoy reading them though as we're all a little nosy aren't we? I was going to add a few photos to this too, but I've got lots of photo filled posts coming up so I'm sure you'll forgive me. I've managed to draft over ten posts which I'm so proud of, as it means I don't have to abandon my blog when life gets busy.

I've gained a few followers over the weekend so I'd like to say hi and thank you for following!

I've crossed off a few things of my 101 things list. I've got back into reading books so the number is going up. I've also purchased my first car! His name is Joey (after Joey Essex, 'cos he's reem *cringe*) :D and I love being able to drive about everywhere. Anyone with their test coming up soon should read this post. I also crossed off  'Get measured for a bra'. I've always wanted to do it but was put off. However, after learning you don't actually need to take your bra off to get measured I felt at ease and got measured yesterday. Turns out I've been wearing the completely wrong size!

Aiden & I have almost finished our Christmas shopping. We've been working hard to get it done early and I'm so happy with what we've bought everyone. We also get to see both of our families on Christmas Day now I can drive, so I'm really looking forward to it.

Finally, if you read my last post, you'll know I am offering five advertising spots. Please e-mail me (my e-mail is on the other page) if you want to advertise - my prices are extremely reasonable!

My plans for tonight are to treat my face as I feel like I've just been ruining my skin lately and watch I'm a Celeb: Coming Out. This is always my favourite part of the show. What are your plans?

Want To Advertise On Ditzy Glamour?

I have decided to begin offering advertising on my blog from January 2012. I've mentioned it on Twitter, but I thought I'd also do a quick post about it in case any of you haven't seen the link to the page above. I think it's an exciting opportunity to show some blogs/shops that are out there.

There will be five spaces available. I will only charge £2 for the whole month, and around the 15th I will write a post explaining a little about each blog/shop advertised.

If you are interested (you don't have to commit or anything) then e-mail me at jesswd18@hotmail.com letting me know, even if it's just to ask a few questions.

I look forward to hearing from you. :)

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Aren't I A Lucky Girl?

I was fortunate enough to win first prize in Siobhan's giveaway. Please check out and follow her amazing blog here. The prizes arrived recently and were beautifully wrapped and today I am still finding little stars around my room. (This is because I let my brother open the package as I was at work and he opened it on my bed and all the little stars inside went everywhere!) Take a little peek at what I won.

I won all five of the new Dove Go Fresh range which is going to last me a very long time. I haven't used them all yet, but my (and my brother's) favourite scent is the nectarine and white ginger scent (far right). It smells gorgeous and they lather up really well leaving the scent around the bathroom for ages. (This is helpful as I can tell when my brother's used one!) I also love the cucumber and green tea scent (second left) as it smells so fresh. The other scents are Pomegranate and Lemon Verbena, Plum and Sakura Blossom, and Grapefruit and Lemongrass.

I also won the Dove shampoo, conditioner and express conditioner which I haven't yet tried but will more than likely review at a later date. :) My previous experience with Dove hair products has been good so I'm looking forward to it.

I also won a Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish set. This will be a spare as I already have won (you can see the review here) and so this one will probably be left at Aiden's to use when I'm there. :)

The final thing which I am so so so excited about is this YSL Lipstick. I have a review coming up of this next week so I'm going to keep quiet about my opinions on it, but I think you can tell I am very happy with it.

I'd like to say a big thank you to Siobhan again. You've made me a very happy girl. :)

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Festive Fridays: Christmas Hunt

I received a lovely e-mail yesterday letting me know about a little Christmas Hunt that will be taking place for the next few Friday's and it is such a good opportunity I had to blog about it.

On the 2nd, 9th, 16, and 23rd of December, Urban Retreat Beautique are offering you chances to win amazing prizes and it will only cost you a penny! At 1pm on these days, 3 presents will be placed somewhere on their website and all you need to do is find them, add them to your basket, and purchase for 1p (free p+p). If you are the first to do this, you will win!

The prizes are worth up to £100 and although I'm working this Friday, I will definitely be participating the other days. Good luck and let me know if you'll be entering.

For more information, and to register (it will save you time!) click here.

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