Review // ghd Platinum Styler

Straightening my hair is the number one thing that makes me feel presentable. Unfortunately, my natural hair is so thick and puffy that I look like Hagrid if I leave it to do it's own thing (in actual fact, just this week at work, a kid said "I like it when you've just washed your hair and it's big and fluffy"!) Spending the time- and it is a lot of time- to straighten my hair makes me look so much more polished and, well, human. Needless to say, then, I was hugely grateful when ghd gave me the opportunity to review their new Platinum Styler.

Sponsor Becky Bedbug in October

Those of you who have been following me on Twitter for a while may remember Becky Deadbug, who popped up for Halloween week last October. Good news: She'll be breaking out of her coffin again this year! 

Halloween is one of my favourite times for blogging and I pull out all the stops to have a special week of creepy festivities. If you want to get in on the action, I have a bunch of advertising spots available for immediate inclusion. Alternatively, my big Daddy Bear spot is open for advance bookings.

For all the details on how to sponsor Becky Bedbug- or Becky Deadbug as the case will be this month- check out my sponsorship page here. 


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101 in 1001 XXX

This isn't going to be as kinky as the title suggests. Sorry! 
Another month over and another set of goals completed. Admittedly not as exciting as last month's completed goals but still! 

#51 Visit 10 new-to-me cemeteries (1/10)

This month, I visited Odiham Cemetery in the prettiest Hampshire village!

A student guide to saving money

When I was at uni, I became very adept at saving money. Mostly because I was lazy and didn't want to get a job, admittedly, but I still managed to get through my four year course without an overdraft, working or borrowing money off family members. Despite this, I didn't feel as though I was missing out or not making the most of my experience. My uni days were filled with fun and excitement so today I'm sharing my tips on living the uni lifestyle without spending a fortune.

How I failed at Go Ape

Go Ape is something I've wanted to do for a long time. Although I may not look particularly sporty or active (spoiler alert: I'm not!), I loved the idea of swinging through the trees and scrambling up rope ladders. I'm not scared of heights and I'm not particularly prissy. Whenever I see celebrities cry in the rope ladder in the jungle, I shout "Man up!" at my TV. You wouldn't catch me wailing that I can't do it, oh no! I'd be straight in there. Erm... except that is exactly what I ended up doing.

FF CXLI

It was actually one of Georgina's posts that prompted me to buy the Too Faced Sweethearts Blush and she's done it again with her review of Too Faced Love Flush. I cannot wait to get my hands on this!

Inside My Super Cute Box

If you've been reading this blog for... ooh... all of ten minutes, you'll know that I love anything cute and colourful so Super Cute Box- a monthly subscription box of the cutest items around- seemed right up my street. I was very kindly offered a box for review and couldn't wait to find out what was inside!

4 easy ways to get involved in art

Since leaving uni, where I specialised in art education, I've hardly been involved in art at all. Even when it comes to exhibitions and galleries, I've only been to a few in the past 4 years, as I mentioned here. However, I'm making plans to change that! Here are four super easy ways to get involved in art, regardless of your abilities!

Review // LookFantastic Beauty Box Review

When I attended the Big Blogger Conference last month, I (finally!) met the lovely Terri, a blogger who also works with brands such as LookFantastic. She very kindly gave attendees a LookFantastic Beauty Box to take home and discover which was super exciting for me as I've yet to try a beauty box!

I'll be doing full reviews on some of these products at a later date but, for now, I've written my first impressions of the items I found inside my LookFantastic Beauty Box.

Sponsor Shoutout // Day Dreaming Foodie

We all love food, right? Whether it's winter dishes, light snacks or- my favourite- baked goods, everyone has an inner foodie. So I'm super chuffed that my sponsor this month is Laura, the blogger behind Day Dreaming Foodie. You should go and check her out now but, just in case you need a little encouragement, here are three reasons why.
YUMMY FOOD

Oh God, the food posts! Remember how I said I love baked goods? Laura has plenty of them! From banana and chocolate muffins to peanut butter crunch, her baking recipes set my heart a-flutter. If you're more of a savoury fan, try the likes of garlic pinwheels or crispy duck pancakes. Yum!

Lunch in Odiham

Although I am hugely proud of my county, I haven't actually visited a huge amount of Hampshire. Recently I made the decision to visit a lot more of my home county and started off with a little jaunt to Odiham.

OOTD // 60s inspired monochrome

To be honest, I'm not overwhelmed with this season's high street offerings. However, I have always had a very soft spot for 60s inspired looks so I do love the retro prints in Primark and New Look at the moment. 

As soon as I saw this monochrome dress in Primark, I made a beeline for it. It did have a black belt attached but Primark doesn't seem to have cottoned on to the fact that as dress sizes go up, belts also need to get bigger. I'm pretty sure I couldn't have even fastened it around my thigh. The dress itself is sleeveless but I've paired it with a long sleeved black top to make it more season-appropriate.

I've always believed I couldn't wear high necklines because of all the boobage but it turns out this isn't true. The super high collar on this dress is my favourite part (and it also means I can hide my double chin behind it!)

I can already tell that this dress is going to be a staple of mine throughout autumn and winter. Some woolly black tights and suede ankle boots will complete the look. I can't wait!

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Review // Lush Big Bang Bubble Bar and Rub Rub Rub Solid Scrub

Rub Rub Rub is my favourite Lush product of all time (read my review of Rub Rub Rub here) so I was chuffed to discover there were two new products in Lush Oxford Street with the same fragrance (as well as a tub of Rub Rub Rub the size of my face!) 

BIG BANG BUBBLE BAR

Ask Becky // The Google Analytics Edition

Is there anything more joyous than looking through your keywords on Google Analytics? In between the likes of "chubby lesbians in leggings" and "Becky Bedbug in g string" (yep, that's real and nope, you won't find anything!), there are actually some interesting questions to be answered. A while back I did a post like this on my forward helix piercing, answering the questions people asked to reach my blog, and thought it was time to create a more general post. All of these are real search results from the past two years. 

Nails // Essie Minimalistic

I was spoiled for choice when it came to choosing my nail colour this week. My salon has got a bunch of new Essie nudes. I was torn between Topless and Barefoot, Miss Fancy Pants, and Ladylike but, in the end, I settled on this pale pink- Minimalistic.

FF CXL

I learned a lot from Holly's post on common beauty mistakes.

Paige is so talented. I loved peeking into her illustration sketchbook. 

Bee's book blog post ideas are so helpful!

I need this Don't be a Dick badge! 

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Book Review // The Fireside Book of Death

This is it, guys. This is the book that got me interested in death. When I was about 8, I'd read The Fireside Book of Death from cover to cover and this summer, my dad gave me his copy. It was an emotional moment, I can tell you!

River Cottage Canteen- Winchester

On a very wet, miserable afternoon, I met up with Helen for lunch in Winchester. I hadn't seen her since we went to Bath in February so it was lovely to catch up. She suggested we visit River Cottage Canteen, which is housed in the stunning grade II listed Abbey Mill building overlooking the River Itchen. Despite studying in Winchester for five years, I had no idea the building was even there. It's only a stone's throw from the High Street but is tucked away inside the serene Abbey Mill Gardens. It's a shame it was such an awful day as it would have been gorgeous to eat on the patio with a river view.

Review // NARS #47 Angled Eyeliner Brush

I recently invested in some Bobbi Brown gel eyeliner (keep an eye out for the review in the next couple of weeks) and, as it doesn't come with a brush, I decided to go wild and splash out on the NARS #47 Angled Eyeliner Brush.

Summer reading goals revisited

At the beginning of summer, I set myself a pretty ambitious reading target of 13 books and... well, it was a bit too optimistic, as it turns out. Nevertheless, let's take a look at the books I did read and see how I got on!

Review // Lush Sunny Day Detangler

I bought Sunny Day from the Kitchen during their Oxford Street exclusives week but it's since been rolled out nationally so you can pick it up in your local store. Interestingly, the label describes it as a detangler but this isn't mentioned at all on the site. Instead, it's sold as am anti-frizz spray to keep your locks smooth and silky.

Solidarity with Refugees March

This weekend, tens of thousands people marched through the streets of London in solidarity with refugees, and I was among them. It was overwhelming to see just how many people support refugees and are happy to welcome them into the UK. 

FF CXXXIX

Helen's H&M Home haul is dreamy!

Look how beautiful Lucie is!

Everything about Lucy's Dreamland post is perfect. Everything.

Jesus, I wish we had Gwynnie Bee in the UK! 
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7 ways to increase Twitter followers

My goal for the end of 2015 was to reach 10k Twitter followers and, in fact, it looks like I'm going to reach it by the end of September. If there's something I feel confident about, it's picking up Twitter followers. Of course it's not all about the numbers but, let's face it, we all get a little boost when somebody follows us. Besides, the more people follow us on Twitter, the more people check out our blogs and isn't what we all want, if we're really honest?

These seven pointers are what I've found to be the most effective way to increase followers. As always, it's worth experimenting with different strategies to see what works best for you.

OOTD // Navy for autumn

When I first got my car, I vowed to drive over to Waverley Abbey for some outfit photos and, for one reason or another, it just didn't happen. Now, finally, I have done it with an autumnal outfit from George at Asda.

Review // Witch Blemish Stick

When I'm stressed, I tend to get spots popping up on my chin, which are obviously hugely annoying. Back in April, I discovered Lush's Grease Lightning spot treatment and it has worked miracles, so I was really excited to find another spot treatment in my Southampton Bloggers' Meet Up goodie bag- this time, the Witch Blemish Stick.

Review // Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge

This was a total impulse buy. I was in Boots, saw it, remembered the hype and grabbed it. Luckily for me, the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge is one of those rare products that actually does live up to the hype. I am in love with it!

Charity of the Month // Amnesty International & how to help refugees

Last month, I chose Amnesty International for my charity spotlight, based on the refugee crisis. Just 30 days ago, I found it difficult to find information and images to use in my post. Needless to say, that's not the case now. While I'm glad that the refugees are finally getting the media attention- and compassion- they so desperately need, there is still a lot more to be done. Because of this, I've decided to keep Amnesty International as my featured charity throughout September. Alongside my support for Amnesty International, I'll also include other ways to help the refugees across Europe and beyond.

FF CXXXVIII

Louise's photos from Rome are perfection!

How to create an invoice for your blog

I'd been blogging a good couple of years before I was asked for an invoice and, I'll be honest, it freaked me out! I didn't have the first clue about invoicing. Normally brands and PRs would either just pay by PayPal, or would forward me their own template invoice to fill in. Suddenly I needed to create one from scratch and had nowhere to turn. Thankfully, I managed to scramble something together that was acceptable and I've tweaked it here and there to create my own template, which I'll be sharing with you today. If I save one person from the panic I felt that day, I've done my job!

Summer Empties

For the first time in the almost-four years of this blog, I've decided to start writing empties posts. The reason I've not done them before is because I rarely actually finish a product. I tend to buy loads and then have too many to finish so hopefully this will encourage me to use up my products more! Monthly empties may be more common on blogs but, because I so rarely finish a product, I'll be doing them seasonally instead. 

5 best endings in literature

My favourite part of any book is the ending. The final paragraph can make or break a book for me. I could read the most boring book in the world but if it had a strong ending, I'd completely change my perception. (It doesn't quite work the other way round- I love Harry Potter but, bloomin' heck, that ending was a cop out!) I've raided my bookshelf to choose my top 5 favourite book endings. I daresay there are better endings out there but, y'know, I have yet to read every book in the world! 

In case it wasn't already apparent, this post will contain spoilers! Read on with caution!