It's My Birthday: 24 Things Before I Turn 25 + Urban Decay Giveaway

Today I turn 24, Happy Birthday to me! Instead of creating a fashion/ beauty wishlist, I would much rather make plans for the year ahead of me. I find that setting goals not only motivate me more to go after something, but it will also make my year a whole lot more meaningful. This year I decided to come up with Birthday Goals aka a list of 24 things I wish to accomplish before I turn 25 next January and in a year, I will be back here to see how it all went down and hopefully tick as many things off as I can!

1. Read the Bible more and pray more

2. Sing a solo at church

3. Plan my wedding

4. Go wedding dress shopping

5. Have a pre-wedding photoshoot

6. Throw a bridal shower

7. Take a dance class

8. Exercise more (aka get in shape for wedding!)

9. Take a photography class

10. Buy a new camera

11. Have a professional blog photoshoot

12. Blog makeover

13. Go to /hold a blogger's event

14. Go to a brand press release

15. Get a promotion at work

16. Learn how to bake

17. Travel to another continent

18. Go to a concert/ music festival

19. Take mum to a spa

20. Do more charity work/ volunteering

21. Go to the cinema at least 20 times

22. Dye my hair blonder

23. Try nail extensions

24. Take a professional make-up class

Wish me luck! And despite not being in this list, I decided 2016 was going to be the year that I would Give Back more and guess what, here I am to do just that holding my first 2016 giveaway! I know it's MY birthday, but I want to gift one lucky reader with the beautiful Urban Decay Naked Basics Eyeshadow Palette & the Urban Decay Sheer Revolution Lipstick in shade Liar, both perfect for every day use! 

It’s simple to enter, and easy to win! You must complete the steps in the Rafflecopter widget below. There are no mandatory fields because I know some of my readers aren't bloggers thus they will not have access to all social media platforms and I want everyone to be able to enter. Of course, there are ways to increase your chances, the more entries you complete the more likely you will win the prizes thus you are highly encouraged to complete all fields. This giveaway will run until the 1st of February giving everybody more than plenty of time to enter AND it is Open Internationally!

Terms and Conditions

– This giveaway will run until 1st of February 2016 (Midnight GMT time).

– This is open internationally and I myself will be shipping the prize once I have the winner’s details.

– One winner will be chosen at random via Rafflecopter, and the lucky winner will win an Urban Decay Naked Basics Eyeshadow Palette worth £23 and an Urban Decay Sheer Revolution Lipstick in shade Liar worth £15.50.

– There is no purchase necessary to enter this giveaway.

– ALL entries will be checked and verified, with any lacking, dishonest or duplicate entries being removed completely.

– I am providing the prize myself and this is not being sponsored by Urban Decay (I just love the brand too much!).

– The winner will be notified and will have 48 hours to respond. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, an alternative winner will be selected via Rafflecopter's randomiser.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck everyone!

Thanks for reading beauties and have a lovely weekend ahead!

xoxo

UPDATE: WINNER is Danielle Kearney

Widget is playing up and won't let me display the winner. Contacted support to resolve this.

Urban Decay X Gwen Stefani Eyeshadow Palette: Worth The Hype?

Yes yes, I realise that this palette has been available for quite some but I thought I’d share my thoughts on it regardless, after all if you know me you will know that I love all things Urban Decay and I couldn't pass the opportunity to write about this beauty. I confess, when I first heard about this collaboration I instantly thought that the shades would be too wild and non-wearable for my liking but surprise surprise, this was not the case at all. Pictures started to emerge in the blogging world and it was like love at first sight. Despite containing mostly neutrals shades, which I already had tons of; I still went ahead and placed it on my Christmas wishlist (thanks for getting it for me daddy!). 

The Urban Decay x Gwen Stefani Eyeshadow Palette (£40 for 0.60 oz.) contains 15 eyeshadows of which 12 are brand new and 3 are existing shades, all placed in a compact gold and cream (and gorgeous may I add) palette case, which sadly (and this is my only complaint) does not include a dual-ended brush like we are used to with other Urban Decay palettes. Shades vary between light and medium warm-toned neutrals, with 2 shades bringing pops of colour to the scene; Harajuku and Danger. All shades are described as follows:

First Row L to R:

Blonde: Pale beige with pink iridescent shift/ Bathwater: Pale beige with gold pearl/ Skimp: Pale nude satin/ Steady: Medium rose with metallic gold shift/ Punk: Reddish brown matte

Second Row L to R:

Baby: Cool metallic rose/ Anaheim: Light taupe-brown matte/ Stark: Nude-pink matte/ Zone: Medium brown matte/ Serious: Smoky gray with iridescent floating pearl

Third Row L to R:

Pop: Pale Coral with iridescent sparkle/ Harajuku: Metallic blue-pink with iridescent micro-shimmer/ Danger: Deep metallic royal blue with blue micro-sparkle/ 1987: Bright metallic yellow gold/ Blackout: Blackest black matte

As per Urban Decay standard, shades are all equally pigmented, buttery, soft and easy to work with. I find that they apply and blend well, with minimal fall out and last 8 hours when worn with an eyeshadow primer. I particularly like how, despite having 2 unusual shades, this is an ideal every day palette with many neutrals shades to mix and match and create wearable nude make-up looks. This palette also effortlessly takes you from daytime to nigh-time thanks to its darker shades, Punk and Blackout that yield that smoky evening look we all love. If I had to pick my favourite shades I’d go for Harajuku and Danger, which I know aren't everyone’s favourites but this girl loves colour, the yellowy gold 1987 and the highlighting shade Pop. This is one of those palettes I feel like I will be wearing every single colour, not something I can say very often.

All in all, did I need another neutral palette? No, I most certainly did not. But believe me when I say that this is one of those amazingly high quality palettes you simply have to have in your stash. Packaging and shade wise, I have nothing but high praises for Urban Decay and Gwen, and I am already looking forward to the launch of the rest of this collab which will include lipsticks, lip liners and a blush palette. Anyone else super excited for that?

The UrbanDecay x Gwen Stefani Eyeshadow Palette will set you back £40 but being a limited edition and worth more than £150 it is totally worth the hype and money, so I’d hurry and get one.

What do you think of this palette? Excited for the other releases coming soon? Let me know below! 

Thanks for reading beauties!

xoxo

The Only 3 Winter Coats You Will Ever Need in Your Wardrobe

It's undeniable, the temperatures have dropped and the so far warm winter we were having is currently waving us goodbye and nearing its end. With dropping temperatures it's time to ditch the capes, blanket scarves and trench coats we were getting away with until now and opt instead for something a little warmer, ready for the snow that is on the way.

Every year, when winter hits I set out to buy me a new coat. Despite already having 8 gorgeous coats waiting to be worn, I of course have my favourites and always end up wearing the same ones. 5 or 6 of these just don't get as much wear as I would like so I found myself recently asking one simple question, did I really need all of these? Take a look at men's small coat collections for example, how does my fiancé, dad and little brother get away with owning just one coat that works perfectly well for any event, any outfit combination AND lasts several years?

With this in mind, I set to clear out my wardrobe and get rid of anything that I haven't worn in a while and things I no longer needed. Whilst doing so, I tasked myself to come up with the perfect winter coat wardrobe. I told myself I could only choose 3 different styles, all of which would keep me warm for the winters ahead and of course, free up much needed space in my wardrobe. Meet the only 3 coats that I believe you will need for ANY winter.

L to R: Khaki Parka, Woollen Coat, Faux Fur.

The Khaki Parka is a classic weekend piece, perfect for fun and play. It works just as well with an all black outfit such as a dress, tights and ankle boots too. A padded parka provides you with the comfort and warmth you need on those chilliest days, besides when is khaki not on trend?

The Wollen Coat is versatile, easy to wear and will work for most occasions whilst keeping you cosy and stylish. Wear it for work for a chic finish or for a night out with the girls. This is the key every day coat so invest in something that will last and remember, neutrals shades such as camel, grey and even black are your best friends as they will go with literally anything.

The Faux Fur coat keeps you warm and on top of your fashion game given it is one of the hottest season's trends. I personally wear mine at night for a more chic look paired with over-the-knee boots or leather pants. But browsing through Pinterest (where else), I've seen it being worn with jeans and trainers for a fun weekend get up and let me tell you, it looks just as good!

Keeping your wardrobe minimalist can be one of those best fashion decisions you ever make. It will save you time getting dressed in the morning, space is freed up for other bits and bobs and best of all, you get to wear your favourites more often instead of forgetting you had them at the back of your wardrobe. All wins in my opinion but what do you think?

What do you think of these 3 essential coats? Do you have one of each? Let me know below!

Thanks for reading beauties and have a nice week ahead!

xoxo

Making 2016 Matter: Blogging Resolutions

I may be a little late in sharing these a few days already into the year and it may seem like you've read tons of similar "resolutions" publications lately, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do, and that is exactly how I felt when it came to sharing with you what I have planned and what I hope I can achieve with blogging this year. Needless to say, blogging has become a huge part of me to the point that sometimes it is all I can talk about with family and friends (#sorrynotsorry). It has opened many opportunities for me in such a little space of time that I will treasure for the many years yet to come, and because of the support, exposure and feedback which so far have been nothing but positive, I dream only of bigger and better things for the future. 

Social Media

The aim here is not to gain number of followers or likes but rather share more of my passions for whoever wants to see them, blogging related or not. In the past, the thought of exposing myself in such way was daunting, I did not think anybody would be interested in knowing what I was wearing on a specific day or what latest make-up look I was rocking. Today, I am much more carefree and engaging, something that resulted in a rise of followers especially on Instagram and Twitter and that was not even the intention behind it.

Creativity

I don’t want to be another fashion blogger out there simply posing for pictures and detailing what I'm wearing, which according to mum anyone can do, and let me tell you she is so right! My fashion posts not only bring fashion that is affordable and accessible to every woman but they also take into account the season’s hottest trends and how to work these trends. I do NOT want to pose with the newest items in my wardrobe and talk about how I got that purse from my boyfriend and the coat from the sales and how I love them both so freaking much; I do not want to be one more blogger that is doing that. Instead I want my blog's content to be better and different than anything else currently out there and that is something I will strive for even further this year. Only recently a mention was made that 2016 would be the fashion year for pamscalfi.com (read: 2015 Outfit Recap) and I can’t wait to sink my teeth into all of the fun I plan on having in upcoming fashion related posts.

Photography

This is on everybody’s list I'm sure so I will be brief: improve photos quality and learn more editing/photographing techniques. I'm pretty basic when it comes to all of these, so I would love to take a photography related course and have a few more tricks up my sleeve. Would very much enjoy also having at least one professional photoshoot done this year for the blog/upcoming wedding, which will eventually be shared here too.

Growth

Not referring about the number of followers I'm hoping to gain; I write my blog to share a passion so growth refers to both blog content growth and me as a person and a blogger. I hope I can reach more people out there with what I have to say, “meet” more bloggers with the same interests, work with both smaller and bigger brands, as well as come out of my shell and attend a few blogger events. 

Give Back

Giving back to the blogging community and my readers is something I truly enjoying doing and, besides who doesn't love a good giveaway?! I hope I can run at least 5 or so giveaways throughout the year, although ideally I would want to hold one every month, and who knows, maybe smaller ones for 12 days of Christmas. This is my way of thanking you for all the comments and love I receive every day, both here and across other platforms.

Tell me, what are your blogging resolutions? Are they similar to mine? Let me know below!

Thanks for reading beauties and have a nice weekend ahead!

xoxo