Essential planners + giveaway

I spend a majority of my time at my desk, be it at work or at home. I also have a slight obsession with buying lots of stationary. In particularly the kind of stationary you don’t really need but buy because it’s cute. I’m THAT person. 
This year I conscientiously made the effort to use planners and diaries in order to stay organised. I am a lover of lists but there is only so many garish sticky notes you can have lying about everywhere. Planners are perfect for dotting in appointments and even tasks you need to complete that day. Ticking them off gives you a great sense of achievement. I have a personal planner and then one for my blog and blog design shop. 

I purchased this cute little diary from Tesco a while ago now, but you can get it online here, it’s around £6. It’s quite small in size and isn’t dated so you can start the diary whenever you like and add in the days yourself.
I purchased this little diary purely because of the water-colour illustrations inside. It is such a unique diary and it’s great because it also includes plain paper for doodling and a weekly view section. At the back of the diary there is a small insert where you can pop in notes or train tickets. I wouldn’t use this diary for school or work, more for daily use as it is quite small. This diary is advertised as being a ‘pocket planner’. It is the perfect size to pop into your hand bag. The back of the diary also contains and address book and lined paper. 

The next diary I have been utilising a lot recently is this Personal Planner. I have seen this planner on so many blogs and have always read such good things, I just knew I had to make my own. This planner is totally customisable, from the front and back cover to the pages you’d like inside of it. It also comes in so many different sizes, I chose A5. Being the indecisive person I am I ended up just opting for a plain pink cover with one of my favourite fonts on the front. On the site they have so many covers to choose from, you can also use your own pictures. 
Next is the inside of the planner so aside from the cover itself you can also add in x amount of plain paper, lined paper and graph paper. I chose lined and plain paper which is perfect if I quickly want to take down notes. I didn’t add in lines in the diary section (which I regret now) so I would advise you to chose the option to add in lines as it will look neater. This diary is similar to the other one in the sense that you can start it any day you like, but this time you select the date and it will be printed for you. This would make the perfect academic or work diary. The delivery took around 2 weeks but it is fully customised so this is understandable. I love this diary, like the other one this one is the perfect size for a hand bag. The elastic faster keeps everything in place. 
I have been looking online at organising diaries and have seen a lot of people use washi tape, this makes the planner a lot brighter and fun so I definitely need to purchase some.

Personal Planner uk kindly gifted me the planner, they would also like to send one to a reader of my blog. So you have the opportunity to win a planner of your choice from the site which you will customise to make it more personal. 
This giveaway will run for 3 weeks, it will be a random draw pending you have followed the mandatory requirements.  I will email the winner directly to notify them and then send their email to Personal Planner UK. You will be given a voucher to use against any planner on the site. Worldwide giveaway :)
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hope you enjoyed this post x
   ♡

How to make money from blogging

Something most bloggers want to know; how can you earn money from blogging. Something I would like to point out though, if you plan to blog just to earn money and ‘get rich quick' it won’t work, unless you have thousands and thousands of followers. Blogging isn’t like that, it takes hard work, time and dedication. I have been blogging for around a year and a half now and feel I am now well equipped with the knowledge of what does and doesn’t work so here is the low down. Adsense This is possibly the one most people know about. Google adsense is a free service which allows you to place advertisements on your blog. When clicked, these advertisements should earn you some revenue. I have never really got on with Adsense for two reasons, the adverts don’t fit in with my blog style/design (too distracting) and also you only earn a few pennies each month, if that. Literally. For this reason I don’t use it anymore. I think Adsense works better for ‘bigger bloggers’ as they’re monthly page view count is a lot higher.  There is also a minimum threshold you have to reach before you can withdraw money, for Adsense it is a whopping £60. For a new blogger this would be really hard to reach. Affiliate links For this I utilise Skimlinks. Once you join an affiliate program you are able to earn a few pennies through purchases people make by clicking your links. After signing up there is a piece of code you add to your blog and this automatically changes all the links on your blog into affiliate links. So say you have written a product review on a candle, and placed a link to the candle below the post, if people make a purchase by clicking that link you will earn a small percentage of the sale. Did that make sense? I hope so. Skimlinks also have a handy tool called a link generator, this enables you to share affiliate links on social media such as Twitter. All you do it pop in the link on the skimlinks site and it converts it into a short affiliate link. Again there is normally a minimum threshold before you are able to withdraw money, it is £7 for Skimlinks which is more manageable. Sponsored posts Love them or hate them sponsored posts are a nice little earner. I personally am extremely picky with who I work with for sponsored content, hence why they are quite rare on my blog. I have come across some blogs who have the same amount of followers as me and they write sponsored content at least 4 times a month. It is totally up to you but I think it’s important to be picky and to remember your blog theme, your readership is more important than easy money. In regards to fees, this again is down to you. Some people charge £10 for every 500 blog followers they have, or you can just charge per hour so calculate how long it takes to write up a  blog post. Guest posts Occasionally I receive emails from various companies asking me to guest post on their blog. Again, this is totally up to you but for me it depends on the company. If it is a well known company I will gladly guest post as it will increase exposure for my blog. But if it is a brand or company I haven’t heard of I charge a small fee due to the time it takes to write posts. Sidebar advertisements I sometimes use E-tail PR for this. Once registered on the site, check the campaigns and add the coding to your sidebar for the advert to show up. Some of the brands pay you when someone clicks the advert but some will only pay you if the reader makes a purchase.  Another way to earn money through blogging is selling ad spaces on your blog, these can be sold to brands or bloggers. I don’t have any experience of this but many bloggers do it. Bloggers and brands who purchase an ad space from you will see their logo on the sidebar of your blog for a month. This should drive some traffic to their site. The charge for this again is based on how many followers you have, your monthly views and also how long the advertisement will be up for. Ebook This is getting popular again, if you are good at writing why not write an ebook and sell it on Amazon? You could write about anything you have an interest in. ~ A few more tips, check out #prrequest or #bloggerswanted on Twitter (please don’t spam with things such as, “The washing machine has just broke, who wants to send me one for review.” It’s annoying) Using the hashtags are a good way of finding out about brands who are wishing to collaborate with bloggers, this can be for sponsored content or product review.  Also check out sites such as Etail Pr and Bloggers Required for brands who want to work with bloggers and follow PR agencies on Twitter and join their mailing list if they have one. They usually contact you when an opportunity arises that would fit with your blog. So that’s that, I won’t be leaving my job any time soon and although it might seem like it blogging isn’t a way to ‘get rich quick’. I hope you enjoyed this post? Let me know what you think x *image source: pinterest ♡

Rio Sonicleanse

Rio Sonicleanse*

I have been eyeing up the Clarisonic for a while now after hearing so many good things but recently managed to find a cheaper alternative. After using it for over a month I can see why these face brushes always get great reviews, I have noticed a dramatic difference. I thought now would be the perfect time to review it.
The Rio Sonicleanse is a water resistant and rechargeable face exfoliator and smoother. The charge lasts absolutely ages. It comes with two face brushes. The brush helps remove excess dirt and oils and provides a much deeper clean than just using a cleanser on its own. It also removes dry patches which has been a real issue for me this Summer. The brush exfoliates your skin, and this works great if you suffer with blemishes too.
The brush is firm enough to remove dirt yet still gentle so they are safe on the skin. After searching online for the perfect cleanser to use I ended up just testing it out with a few different types I already own- lotion, foam, gel etc. They all worked fine, but I preferred to use a gel cleanser as it foamed up when used with the brush. To use it you just dampen the brush with warm water and then apply the cleanser to it. It also has a nifty little 20 second alarm which indicates when you should move to another area; I usually to both cheeks then the chin and finally the forehead. And this is set to a one minute timer. You can also choose wether you’d like a low level exfoliation or high which is perfect if your skin is a little more sensitive. I have sensitive skin but the high level works fine for me, I also find that your moisturiser sinks in a lot better once you have used the cleansing brush. Brush heads need to be replaced every few months.
I know sometimes it seems easier and quicker to just use a face wash on it’s own but after using this for over a month I really think face brushes are the way to go. It uses less product and provides a much deeper clean. This particular brush can be used daily so you can opt to use it in the morning or at night before bed. It is also great for taking makeup off with, just make sure you go over again after you have removed your makeup to actually cleanse your skin.
Overall I love this face brush and I’m impressed with the results. My face looked brighter after just a few days, and as well as thoroughly exfoliating my skin it also helped remove blackheads and reduced pores. Compared to some of the other face brushes available on the market this one is priced affordably, particularly when you look into it’s functions like the timer and exfoliation settings.
What are your thoughts on the Rio Sonicleanse? Do you own a face brush? 
♡

FREE Benefit they’re Real push up liner sample!

 

Just a quick post to let you know about this great scheme which will allow you to get a free Benefit They’re Real push up liner.
All you have to do is pop into any Boots store who have a Benefit counter and give-away one of your old eyeliners (any brand) and they will give the highly raved about Benefit They’re Real push up liner  mini for free!
I think this is such a fun idea, the offer is available for around 2 weeks so head on over to any Boots store to grab your own.
Hope you are all well x
♡

Motivational Monday #2

Thank you for the great feedback on my last Motivational Monday post. I chose to do another quote I try and live by for todays post. (Side note but how cute is this image I made? So Pinterest.)
Anyways, you know that way where you get so excited for an upcoming event/holiday and spend x amount of hours preparing and getting excited for it. And then it passes so quickly without you even realising? Yep that. What happens to the days leading up to it, are they wasted? Did you make the most of them or was your time and sole focus on what was to come.
What I’m trying to say is planning ahead is great, but don’t lose sight of the here and now, don’t lose sight of today.   
Alternatively, if you tend to stress out a lot and are easily anxious it will dictate the rest of your day. Easier said than done I know but try make the most of your day - put your worries and stresses to a side, tick off the tasks that need doing and savour the day.
Enjoy today, don’t leave things until tomorrow. 
What do you do to make the most of your day?
MM #1
♡