Affiliate links are marked with [*] and gifted items marked with [gifted].
A little late this month but better late than never! I'm very excited about creating these monthly roundups as I've changed things up quite a bit from last year. Basically, these are going to be jam-packed with highlights of the month, my favourites, lots of photos and more! I have definitely neglected my blog as of late (mostly because I'm just not sure of what to create and share on here anymore) and so I just want my little space on the internet to be a positive one and I'm hoping these posts will do that.
*Illuminating Moisture Balm, Bobbi Brown (golden glow) : This product has been an ah-ma-zing 2020 discovery for me! I haven't tried Bobbi Brown products before so I was really keen to give this a whirl and it's safe to say, I instantly fell for it. Some days I wear this on its own and other days I will layer this under my foundation for a gorgeous, healthy looking glow (and boy do I need one this winter).
*Pro-collagen overnight matrix, Elemis [gifted] : This is only the second product I try from Elemis but it's quickly become a brand I love and am dying to try more of! Admittedly, this night cream probably isn't aimed at my age group, as it promotes firming and smoothing wrinkles, but I've been using it every night and am obsessed.
*Radiant creamy concealer, NARS [gifted] : I've used this concealer in the past - I loved it then and I love it now. I think this will always be a classic in my makeup collection.
*Sheer Blush, ICONIC London (cheeky coral) [gifted] : I did not expect to like this as much as I do. I was sent all six blush shades but Cheeky Coral has stood out the most to me and is now part of my everyday makeup. It's so easy to blend and gives a gorgeous pop of colour to the cheeks.
*Eyelash curlers, Tweezerman : Eyelash curlers are an essential part of my mascara routine, I have incredibly straight lashes which require quite a bit of work to give me my desired effect. I curl my eyelashes before applying waterproof mascara so a good curl is imperative. These create a great curl and are exactly what I needed, I've used them every day since buying them!
Books I Read This Month
The Shawshank Redemption : My boyfriend and I watched this over the holiday and absolutely loved it. I didn't think I would enjoy it as much as I did but it's fantastic and well deserving of the top spot on IMDb. If, like me, you haven't yet watched it then I would highly recommend you do!
New Amsterdam (Season 2) : I watched season one last year and was very happy to see season 2 on Amazon Prime Video. It's a hospital drama, along the lines of Grey's Anatomy, so if that's your kind of thing then you'll love watching this.
The Mind of Aaron Hernandez : I love a crime documentary and this one, based on former NFL player Aaron Hernandez, was such a good watch that both my boyfriend and I really enjoyed. It's available on Netflix and only 3 episodes long. It's a short watch but really interesting - we've recommended it to a lot of our friends.
Kittisaurus : If you're a cat person then I think you'll love this YouTube channel! They upload a new video weekly sharing 7 cats dealing with different obstacles/food/people/things. The videos are only around 2-3 minutes each and always put a smile on my face.
This Month's Highlights
January is notorious for being one of the longest months of the year and typically, not a great one. My January has been fine, it just kind of happened I guess. I've been feeling a little bit demotivated recently for various reasons (I don't just want to blame everything on January!) but I've just taken some time to reflect which I think is really important.
I usually try to push through bad patches in the hope that things will get better or pass but this time I decided to take a mini break, a few days not posting on Instagram and not worrying about content in a bid to feel refreshed once I'm ready to start again. Sadly there is no magic spell to make things better so listening to your mind and your body is the most important thing to do.
January saw me get back into some sort of work routine, I don't really have a set weekly routine as things vary day to day but I've been back at meetings and events this month which has been nice. Things started to slow down mid-December so it really felt like such a long time since I was last out and about for work things.
A stand out event this month was one with *Mádara, an organic skincare brand, which included an overnight stay at Treehouse Hotel. A fairly new hotel that has opened just off Oxford Street. The rooms are modern and beautiful, with an earthy theme throughout, the hotel emulates a treehouse - a very fancy one at that! Every inch of the hotel offers a gorgeous view of London's city skyline. It's definitely worth a visit if you're in the area and if you can squeeze in a trip to the restaurant then I would highly recommend it, their vegan menu is extensive and SO good!
This month we also got together with some friends and spent an afternoon at Puttshack playing mini golf. We all loved it! Although I will say it's quite pricey at £12.50 for a 9-hole game (I found an offer online which made it £5 per person when we went) but we did really enjoy it and I would go again. In the Westfield branch they house a restaurant as well as a bar and there are 3 different mini golf courses to choose from too. It's great to go with friends or for a date night!
2020 is the year I decided to start a bullet journal (a good few years late to the party but oh well!) I bought a *dotted notebook and began my journalling journey. I'm not the most artistic person ever but I have found it really therapeutic to take some time at the start/end of each month to design my monthly journal pages. I've decided to use my bullet journal to track some of my habits, my sleep and my mood (I know some people use their journals as weekly planners but that doesn't work for me so I've catered it to suit me - that's the freedom of having a bullet journal - there are no rules). I might share my pages in a blog post if you're interested in that?
Most of us also set out our goals and plans for the year in January and I would say I kind of did that. Honestly, I don't know how I feel about setting goals for the year. Sometimes I feel like I'm setting myself up for failure. When I look back at my goals from 2019, I realise I didn't stick to any of them: I didn't get my driving license, I went to the gym about twice and I still live at home. But then I see a lot of people talking about manifesting goals in order to make them happen which is something I want to learn more about. I would love to buy a flat in London over the next couple of years - does this count as manifesting?
I realise this was meant to be a highlight reel for the month but sometimes I just get caught up wanting to ramble about things.
What do you think of my updated monthly roundups? I really enjoyed putting this together actually. January is always one of those months that is a bit all over the place, I think we all feel the January blues at some point so recapping my favourites is such a nice way to bring back some positivity. It's such a joy to look over the things I have loved throughout the month and being able to share those with you in the hope that you fall in love with some of them too.
These blog posts will be quite casual and I've decided to merge my monthly favourites from my YouTube into these posts as well. I have been sharing monthly favourites for around a year and a half on my YouTube channel (peexo vlogs) and whilst I really enjoy putting those videos together, they aren't the most popular on my channel. For that reason, I thought why not switch things up and merge my favourites with my monthly recaps on my blog instead. It means there's a recap of everything I've loved throughout the month all in one place. I really hope you enjoy these posts!
Fashion Favourites
*links below are affiliate links
*Belted grey coat [gifted] / *Polka dot tights / *Biker boots [gifted] / *Light-wash mom jeans / *Blue-black skinny jeans
Most Used Beauty Products
*links below are affiliate links
*Pro-collagen overnight matrix, Elemis [gifted] : This is only the second product I try from Elemis but it's quickly become a brand I love and am dying to try more of! Admittedly, this night cream probably isn't aimed at my age group, as it promotes firming and smoothing wrinkles, but I've been using it every night and am obsessed.
*Radiant creamy concealer, NARS [gifted] : I've used this concealer in the past - I loved it then and I love it now. I think this will always be a classic in my makeup collection.
*Sheer Blush, ICONIC London (cheeky coral) [gifted] : I did not expect to like this as much as I do. I was sent all six blush shades but Cheeky Coral has stood out the most to me and is now part of my everyday makeup. It's so easy to blend and gives a gorgeous pop of colour to the cheeks.
*Eyelash curlers, Tweezerman : Eyelash curlers are an essential part of my mascara routine, I have incredibly straight lashes which require quite a bit of work to give me my desired effect. I curl my eyelashes before applying waterproof mascara so a good curl is imperative. These create a great curl and are exactly what I needed, I've used them every day since buying them!
Books I Read This Month
*links below are affiliate links
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
What I've Watched This Month
The Shawshank Redemption : My boyfriend and I watched this over the holiday and absolutely loved it. I didn't think I would enjoy it as much as I did but it's fantastic and well deserving of the top spot on IMDb. If, like me, you haven't yet watched it then I would highly recommend you do!
New Amsterdam (Season 2) : I watched season one last year and was very happy to see season 2 on Amazon Prime Video. It's a hospital drama, along the lines of Grey's Anatomy, so if that's your kind of thing then you'll love watching this.
The Mind of Aaron Hernandez : I love a crime documentary and this one, based on former NFL player Aaron Hernandez, was such a good watch that both my boyfriend and I really enjoyed. It's available on Netflix and only 3 episodes long. It's a short watch but really interesting - we've recommended it to a lot of our friends.
Kittisaurus : If you're a cat person then I think you'll love this YouTube channel! They upload a new video weekly sharing 7 cats dealing with different obstacles/food/people/things. The videos are only around 2-3 minutes each and always put a smile on my face.
This Month's Highlights
January is notorious for being one of the longest months of the year and typically, not a great one. My January has been fine, it just kind of happened I guess. I've been feeling a little bit demotivated recently for various reasons (I don't just want to blame everything on January!) but I've just taken some time to reflect which I think is really important.
I usually try to push through bad patches in the hope that things will get better or pass but this time I decided to take a mini break, a few days not posting on Instagram and not worrying about content in a bid to feel refreshed once I'm ready to start again. Sadly there is no magic spell to make things better so listening to your mind and your body is the most important thing to do.
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A stand out event this month was one with *Mádara, an organic skincare brand, which included an overnight stay at Treehouse Hotel. A fairly new hotel that has opened just off Oxford Street. The rooms are modern and beautiful, with an earthy theme throughout, the hotel emulates a treehouse - a very fancy one at that! Every inch of the hotel offers a gorgeous view of London's city skyline. It's definitely worth a visit if you're in the area and if you can squeeze in a trip to the restaurant then I would highly recommend it, their vegan menu is extensive and SO good!
This month we also got together with some friends and spent an afternoon at Puttshack playing mini golf. We all loved it! Although I will say it's quite pricey at £12.50 for a 9-hole game (I found an offer online which made it £5 per person when we went) but we did really enjoy it and I would go again. In the Westfield branch they house a restaurant as well as a bar and there are 3 different mini golf courses to choose from too. It's great to go with friends or for a date night!
 |  |
Most of us also set out our goals and plans for the year in January and I would say I kind of did that. Honestly, I don't know how I feel about setting goals for the year. Sometimes I feel like I'm setting myself up for failure. When I look back at my goals from 2019, I realise I didn't stick to any of them: I didn't get my driving license, I went to the gym about twice and I still live at home. But then I see a lot of people talking about manifesting goals in order to make them happen which is something I want to learn more about. I would love to buy a flat in London over the next couple of years - does this count as manifesting?
I realise this was meant to be a highlight reel for the month but sometimes I just get caught up wanting to ramble about things.
What do you think of my updated monthly roundups? I really enjoyed putting this together actually. January is always one of those months that is a bit all over the place, I think we all feel the January blues at some point so recapping my favourites is such a nice way to bring back some positivity. It's such a joy to look over the things I have loved throughout the month and being able to share those with you in the hope that you fall in love with some of them too.
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