Sorry for being a terrible blogger!!

Im so sorry for the lack of posts!!

a combination of job changes, time in hospital and general life has been the main culprit! But I am back and can’t wait to start posting again!

Let me know what you’d like to see most!

love you all

Danni xx

Rapid Cycling Bipolar Disorder – how i live with it

Apologies for the absence of posts. I have recently had a change in my medication, meaning the transition between them left me feeling out of control with my moods, so it wasn’t really appropriate for me to be blogging when I couldn’t think straight.

For those of you that don’t know, Rapid Cycling Bipolar disorder is a mental illness (cue the gasps of horror that I dare talk about it openly!). It involves me having manic phases, where I have increased energy, less sleep and a lot less control over decisions or rational thinking, and depressive phases, where I feel so low I can’t get out of bed. On really bad days my own thoughts literally eat me alive. I have attempted suicide (I thank god that I wasn’t successful) and all my family and loved ones have had to learn to adjust and make allowances. The manic days might sound fun to most people, but they are actually more dangerous that the depression. I have literally no control, I’ve started fights, walked out of jobs, got in debt, taken on ridiculous projects and hurt the people I love. The ‘rapid cycling’ part is what makes me different from normal bipolar sufferers. I flip from one phase to the other lightening quick, it can happen over a few days, or even just a few hours. Medication helps to make the moods a little more controllable, but can’t get rid of them completely and there is no cure.

Now I really debated whether to post this or not, but I don’t want my condition to make me feel like I’m any different, and I wasn’t looking for any form of sympathy. I am hoping that by making people aware of this, others like me can get help. We all have our own struggles through life, this is mine. I am lucky to have a massive support group, my family and poor, long suffering boyfriend are amazing. It is never easy not knowing who you are going to wake up as in the morning, but this is who i am. I am not ‘moody’ or ‘dramatic’. And I can’t just ‘snap out of it’.

If you’re not feeling yourself, please see your doctor. It took me 10 years to get help and I wish I’d done it sooner.

If anyone has any questions about it, or just wants someone to talk to, feel free to comment or email me on dannidollydaydream@gmail.com

Danni x

My top 5 Favorite reads

I am a self-confessed book lover. There is nothing better than a quiet afternoon with a good book and plenty of tea and cake.

Whilst I am and always will be a true Potterhead (I’m in Gryffindor, in case you were wondering!) there are a few books I have discovered on my travels which really do deserve a mention.

So here are my top 5 faves that I read again and again:

1. Bobbi Brown Makeup Manual

OK, so technically this isn’t the kind of book you’d read in one sitting, but I love it. It’s easy to follow and is responsible for a lot of my make up knowledge.

2. Lea Michele Brunette Ambition

I am a massive Glee fan, so when this was released I had to buy it. I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of info, helpful tips, recipes….you name it, it’s in here. And it really does encourage you to feel beautiful no matter what your shape or size.

3. Dead Beautiful by Yvonne Woon

I found this while in a small off the beaten track book shop in Croatia. I liked the blurb, and I was right to pick it up. One of the best, most gripping stories I’ve read in years.

4. Blood & Ice by Robert Masello

This was another find from the Croatian book shop, and I love it. Not your typical ‘girl meets vampire, nearly dies, then they all live happily ever after’ vampire novel, it has a lot more depth and I couldn’t put it down. Definitely worth a read.

5. Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

This was reviewed on another blog and it sounded good so I ordered it on amazon. I am SO glad I did. Such an interesting story line, really surprising and a very interesting read!

Honorable mention:

I couldn’t leave this off the list.

Lion Boy/ Lion Boy: The Chase/ Lion Boy: The Truth by Zizou Corder

This trilogy grabbed me when I was about 16. I got the first book free with a magazine, and then I searched through every library in my area for 3 months to find the others to finish it. It is aimed at teenagers, but the themes and story lines do ring true with adult readers as well. It has pride of place (see what I did there?) on my bookshelf, and I will read it over and over and never get bored.

I hope you enjoyed this list. Let me know if you’ve read any of these and what you thought!

Danni x

Make up brush cleaning

I literally never stop. If i am not at work, i am baking, or painting, or building, or playing with my make up. But one thing i ALWAYS make time for is cleaning my make up brushes.

I religiously do this once a week. I sit down with my kitchen roll, brush cleaner and my brush roll and clean them all.

There’s more than one reason to do this. Firstly, if your brushes are clogged with old make up, they won’t apply fresh make up well. They will also carry bacteria, giving you spots, and in some cases severe skin disorders! Also, if you’re anything like me, your brushes are the most expensive thing in your kit, and looking after them is a must to make them last longer.

My favorite brush cleaner is super cheap (only £4.99), and super easy to get hold of. The B. Range from Superdrug is amazing, and their brush cleaner is perfect.

It’s so easy. Spray a few small pumps onto the brush and rub onto strong tissue in circular motions. Repeat until clean, then let dry.

About once a month i will give them a proper wash, using baby shampoo, and let them dry overnight. Always make sure you don’t let any moisture go to the back of the bristles or into the ferrule of the brush, as this will damage the glue and lead to loss of bristles.

Do you clean your brushes? If so, what do you use?

Happy Brush Cleaning 🙂

Danni x

Bread and butter pudding with Hot Cross buns

Apologies for the absence of posts! I am home from a lovely Wales trip with my Niece and Nephews for Easter. Lots of Egg related fun happened, and they thoroughly tired me out!

Today i have another recipe for you, a super simple one that’ll help clear your cupboards of the masses of hot cross buns we (well definitely I) seem to collect over Easter.

All you’ll need is Custard, some milk, some raisins and sultanas, hot cross buns and butter to butter them with.

Start off by cutting all your hot cross buns into 4 and buttering them.

Add the custard to a small saucepan, and heat slowly until it starts to thin out a bit, add some of the milk until the custard is a bit thinner.

Layer the Hot cross buns into a pie dish, i have a round one but any shape will do. Sprinkle the sultanas and raisins on top. Then pour on the hot custard.

 

Let this rest for around 30 minutes, until all the custard has been soaked up by the hot cross buns. Then place in a pre-heated oven for 30-40 minutes, until set.

Serve with Ice cream. Mmmmmm yummy spring time desserts that everyone will love and take minimal effort.

I love simple recipes like this 🙂

Danni x

My Easter Wales trip

  

Apologies in advance if there is a lack of posts over the next few days!

I am heading to South west Wales this evening to visit my big sister and her 3 children for the Easter holidays 🙂

I adore my niece and nephews, and haven’t seen them since November so I am very excited!

I have loads planned, as their ages range from 12 to 3 I have had to really think outside the box. I have a massive Easter egg hunt planned, as well as other Easter related fun!

Have you planned anything with the litte ones for Easter? I’d love to hear your ideas!

See you again soon! 

Danni x

Seventeen Peep Show mascara review

I do love a beauty bargain, and what I love even more is a beauty bargain that does what it promises!

This mascara certainly lives up to that. With ‘lengthening fibres’ it really did make my lashes a lot longer with no clumps.

Before...

After

And at only £4 in boots I was really impressed!

Let me know if you have found any beauty bargains that were great!

Danni x

My crafty weekend

Apologies for the lack of posts! I have had a very busy weekend and started a new job!

This weekend i dedicated myself to my paint brush and my feature wall in my room. I had decorated a few months ago and had been meaning to add some decoration to it but lacked the inspiration. Thanks to Pinterest for the ideas! I decided on a tree, and i incorporated my book shelves and some photos of my lovely niece and nephews in there too.

So i thought i’d share it.

What do you think? Has anyone else personalized walls in their home? I’d love to see your creations 🙂

Danni x

Lee Stafford ProBlondes Shampoo and Conditioner review

So about 3 weeks ago i had my hair dyed ‘ombre’.

Having never used bleach before, i was less than prepared for the damage it was going to cause! And i had a lot of red tones in my hair, meaning my first attempt looked rather brassy and gingery (I am by no means gingerist, my boyfriend is my favorite ginge!).

So after seeing some reviews on this i decided to give it a try and see if it could help repair some of the damage and tone the colour a bit better.

And i am pleased to say it did. It smells wonderful, and afterwards my hair was much less frizzy and the colour definitely looked better – less brassy.

Don’t be put off by the bright purple, it looks a bit scary when its running everywhere, but it doesn’t tint the hair at all, just the bath water!

They are pricey, at £6.49 each, but it does say to only use once per week so it should last a really long time, which kind of makes up for the price tag.

Does anyone have any other tips for bleached hair care? I’d love to find out if there’s anything else out there worth purchasing. Let me know in the comments 🙂

Danni x

The importance of THOROUGH make up removal

I have been a beauty therapist/aesthetician for nearly 8 years now, and it still shocks me how little attention people actually pay to their skin.

We all know the basics, remove make up before bed, drink plenty of water etc etc…

But how many people really remove their make up?

I have strict rules set in place for myself, i always thoroughly remove make up before bed, and always before a bath or shower, as the steam will open your pores, and you don’t want all that make up and a days worth of dirt and grime seeping into them (When you work in London, pollution is a constant problem!)

So today, i decided to see how many cleanses it took to fully remove a full face which consisted of concealer, foundation, blush, bronzer, cream eyeshadow, liquid eyeliner, mascara and setting powder.

So here is the evidence…

The first cleanse….gross, but at least it’s all gone, right?

I used Soap and Glory peaches and clean cleanser with my hands in small circular motions all over my face, and my face did look clean….but lets try again…

Apparently i was wrong…

So it’s got to be clean now right?

One more, this time a toner. Toners are great for removing the last bits and closing pores. I used a sensitive one from Superdrug’s own brand as i don’t like to use astringent on my skin.

Still gross….

We appear to be getting somewhere, but there was still make up visible on the cotton pads….

After this i did one more tone followed by Superdrug vitamin E moisturizer.

It really does make you think! So next time you think your face is clean, give it one more try. Your face is like your canvas, if it’s not clean and fresh to start with then all those beautiful, and probably expensive, make up products are going to waste as they won’t sit right on dirty, spotty skin!

Does anyone else have a go to cleansing routine that ensures they are squeaky clean? I’d love to hear what you think.

Danni x