Abbott Freestyle Libre: Review

Hi everyone!

Well it's fair to say I haven't blogged in quite awhile. I'll discuss why I've been slacking on my blog another time, but for now, I felt the need to write a quick post all about the new Abbott Freestyle Libre blood glucose monitor. If you're not diabetic, this blog post might not appeal to you, but if you are, I hope you can share my excitement over this new gadget.

So without further ado, I will give you a run-down of this device, sent from a magical realm to help you with your diabetes management.

Unlike me, you might have total control over your diabetes (type 1) and you might think "Chloe, I've got this, I don't need anyone's advice". If that's you, congratulations and please ignore this post. However, unfortunately, 11 years on and I'm still just as clueless as I was when I saw my first "HIGH" come up on the nurse's glucose monitor the day I got diagnosed.

I struggle with stabilising my glucose levels, or as I call them, my sugars. I've posted numerous blog posts on my diabetes management, and I think in more or less every one of them, I've talked about my inability and struggle to actually stabalise them. Leaving my house to go to work at 7 mmol/l? No can do, I'll panic about going low when driving and then I usually do go low...I tend to drop quite quickly.

So, what do I do? I over correct and glug down a glass of orange juice or crunch on a biscuit on the way out the door. Sometimes I'll have to sit and wait until my levels go up before I head out, which is a pain. What would I like to do? I'd like to be able to leave my house with my sugars at 7mmol/l and keep an eye on them while driving, or while walking down the road without having to do an invasive sugar test (which by the way, is slightly impossible when driving or walking).

What is the solution? There isn't one... or so I thought. Introducing Abbott Freestyle Libre. No, I am in no way sponsored or anything like that, so don't fear, I'm here to tell you the honest truth.

The truth? It's a dream come true. I know, I know, it's a bit lame to be so excited over a machine that tests my sugar levels. Leave me be!

This machine isn't your standard finger prick, test strip and wait 10 seconds for your results. Nope, this pocket sized device allows me to SCAN MY ARM and give me my sugar reading instantly. I kid you not.

Basically, you have a reader (touch screen, I know), a sensor and a sensor applicator. If you're a pump user, like myself, this application of this sensor is quite similar to the Medtronic Paradigm Quick-set Infuser, but far less painful. Pop the applicator on the back of your upper arm after you swipe with an alcohol wipe, and press down firmly. The needle shoots in (yes it does stay in your arm the whole time, but you'll get used to it, don't worry) and you're left with a white, two pence piece coin size sensor on the back of your arm.

Grab your reader and scan to calibrate the sensor (it takes 60 minutes for the reader to sync with the sensor). Each sensor lasts 14 days, after that, it no longer works and you need to remove it and replace with a new sensor.

The downside? It's expensive. If it's your first time purchasing it, on the Abbott website, you can buy the starter pack for £150 (or there about) but you receive tax relief on the final amount. Within the starter pack, you get the reader and two sensors (so, a month's supply).

You can then buy each sensor separately once you've used your starter pack. Each sensor separately is around £55 which is a quite a substantial amount for only two weeks supply. However, now I'm working, I'll hopefully be able to save up and use this more frequently. My glucose readings have significantly improved since using this as I'm able to check them 80 times per day if I wanted to (yes, I actually did that on my first day of using it!)

You can also sync this device up to your laptop and download the data, allowing you to see your trends and graphs on screen! Again, here I go getting excited over graphs and statistics, please don't mind me.

Anyway, that's enough for now but if you have any questions regarding this device, please feel free to drop me a comment, tweet or email and I'll get back to you!

Thank you for reading,

Chloe x

#DefineDiabetes Campaign

Hi everyone,

Today's post is something I feel very strongly about and is something I've been itching to write about for a long, long time.

As you may or may not know, I'm diabetic type 1 and for those who don't know exactly what diabetes is, in a nutshell, it is when your pancreas stops working and therefore stops producing insulin which regulates your blood glucose levels.

Now there are two types of diabetes; type 1 and type 2. I have type 1 and type 1 is when you develop diabetes through no control of your own. You can't prevent it and it's NOT because you're overweight and no, you can't go on a healthy diet to stop you from having it. Diabetes type 1 occurs in people under the age of 30 (generally), has absolutely nothing to do with weight and requires multiple insulin injections per day. I have a post all about my diabetes story which you can read here if you like!

Now diabetes type 2 is a whole different story. Type 2 diabetes develops in people over the age of 30 (generally), can sometimes be prevented by leading a healthier lifestyle and can be treated by taking tablets and sometimes, it is possible to come off diabetes medication altogether whereas with type 1, there is currently no cure (although I'm sure we're getting close!). 

I just want to make clear before I continue with this post that I am in no way accusing type 2 diabetics to have brought diabetes on themselves. It is a very thin line and I am not in any way, shape or form attempting to stereotype type 2 diabetics as being "overweight" or "obese", I am only speaking from a type 1's point of view. So if you are a type 2 reading this, I would love it if you were to get involved to stop the media stereotyping all type 2's as being overweight and obese, when we know there are other reasons for a person being diagnosed with type 2. 

Here is a table below from Diabetes.co.uk which compares the two types.

Table from Diabetes.co.uk

There is the possibility that in some cases, individuals may be overweight and still be diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (not that they've been diagnosed with type 1 because they're overweight - it just might happen they're overweight but has nothing to do with them being diagnosed as diabetic), and individuals diagnosed with type 2 may in fact not be overweight, just over the certain age group to categorise them as type 2. 

This post is to in no way state that all type 2 individuals are overweight, not at all. It is simply to make the general public aware that if you have type 1 diabetes, it is not caused by being overweight and it is entirely out of your control with no way to prevent it.

I am tired of watching the news, TV programmes, listening to the radio and reading articles with the majority of them NOT stating which type of diabetes they are talking about in headlines and in the body of their articles. The media has such an extraordinary influence over an individual's mind, thoughts and opinions and when a broadcaster or journalist says something along the lines of "Obesity in the UK is continuing to rise, causing an increase in diseases like diabetes..." it automatically triggers minds into thinking "Oh, so diabetes is caused by obesity... it's their own fault".

People read or hear that headline and some aren't aware that there are two types. These people will then assume diabetes is caused by being obese. Is that a nice feeling for people who have diabetes type 1? Who have had this brought on through no fault of their own? A life changing disability which involved thousands of injections per year, at least 100 blood glucose tests per week, constant hospital visits, hypo/hyperglycaemic attacks and life threatening situations on a daily basis? Again, I am not in any way saying all diabetics who have diabetes type 2 are obese or overweight, as mentioned, it could be due to their age or other circumstances and not all type 2 diabetics should be tarred with the "obesity" brush. But that's a different story for a type 2 to discuss!

Here's an example of a Daily Mail article on the 15th July 2015 which talks about both types of diabetes further on in the article. It is also a rare article I've came across which defines both types, explaining how diabetes type 1 cannot be prevented and has nothing to do with weight. This is great - at least they have defined the two, explained how they're different, but wait... if you were to read the article's title, what would you honestly think?

1. 
   

Daily Mail

Diabetes? Which type? Throw in the word 'obesity' a few words after the word 'diabetes' and you've got an automatic link between the two.

   2. 

This one might be my favourite, posted by the Daily Mail on the 31st July:

   3.

What about this one by The Market Business?

The Market Business

This article goes on to discuss how they are referring to type 2 diabetes, yet fail to stick that all important "type 2" in the heading.



  4.

Huffington Post - Title

Huffington Post - Body text

"...and other obesity-related problems" Really?

  5. 

The Guardian

"Being overweight is associated with increases in the risk of...diabetes". Diabetes type 2, you mean? 

One of the only media influencers who ensures they correct anyone they interview or any news headline they read which only states "diabetes" is Philip Schofield. Philip Schofield has family members who have diabetes type 1 and so he understands the frustration when people generalise diabetes, not explaining the different types and how each type has differences.

So, I apologise for this super long post but I wanted to really try and make this change, and this change being to change the way in which diabetes is represented in the media. Yes, diabetes costs the NHS a very heavy amount of money, but without the medication, type 1 diabetics would not be able to survive and it is not fair we are being made to feel guilty for something we cannot prevent. 

This is one of the reasons why I feel so strongly about the media defining which type of diabetes they are referring to: If a child/teen who has type 1 diabetes is in school, and another child/teen thinks it's caused by them being obese, think of the bullying that child might suffer through no fault of their own, all for the sake of a news channel, journalist or presenter being clearer on what type diabetes they are talking about.

As part of my #TakeBackWhatsYours campaign, I'm adding another dimension. This dimension will use the hashtag #DefineDiabetes and I would really love it if everyone could tweet using this hashtag, getting the word out there about the campaign or how they also feel frustrated at news channels, journalists, presenters and other media influencers who need to be clearer on the type of diabetes they are talking about in order to let the public know that there are two types which have extremely significant differences.

Here is what fellow diabetic type 1, Emily Barker had to say about the media stereotyping diabetes:

'It is so essential that the media differentiates between the different types of diabetes, although they share the same name they are caused and treated by many different things. As a type 1 diabetic I honestly say that the media has a big impact on society and saying that diabetes is caused by obesity generalises the idea of diabetes and doesn't give people the chance or influence to learn about it and it's many forms. Because of this many Type 1 diabetics are suffering a negative impact from what's being said in the media, such as nasty name calling and rude comments and assumptions that aren't true that aren't helping the type 1 diabetic with their illness mentally. This has to change.'


Thank you for reading this super long post! Please let me know if you would like to get involved in #DefineDiabetes! I'd love to put your quotes in this post about your feelings towards diabetes type 1 being stereotyped.

Chloe :) 

Get in touch! 

Twitter: @ChloesConcept / @TBWYCampaign 

Email: ChloesConcept@gmail.com / TakeBackWhatsYours@gmail.com

A GRADUATE'S GUIDE TO SURVIVING UNIVERSITY

Hey everyone!

It's been so, so long since I published a blog post and it's been a lovely break (sometimes you need to take a blogging break to realise how much you miss it!) but now I'm back and I'll be posting as regular as possible to get back into the swing of things!

As the first week of teaching at most universities started last week/the week before last, I thought it would be a good idea to make a little 'freshers-coping-with-the-stress-of-university' post. I graduated in July of this year and I honestly wish I was starting my first year of university all over again! Sounds crazy? I know, I would never have that I would be saying that this time three years ago. I think this time three years ago I was probably pulling my hair out thinking "how on earth am I going to survive these next three years of essays, assessments and exams!?" But you know what? I did and I miraculously managed to get a high 2:1 (2 marks off a first - unbelievably annoying!) and here I'm going to give you a run-down of how I, someone who did borderline-average in school, managed to do quite well in university.

Step 1: Studying a degree you're genuinely interested in.

At first, I struggled to really decide on what course I wanted to study. I always had an interest in media but wasn't really sure it was enough to study a degree on and what type of job I could get out of studying media. Instead of committing and following my gut feeling, I went on different course open days... like midwifery! Actually, I think I would have really, really enjoyed that course and would not say no to being a midwife now, however I don't think I was fully cut out for all the blood and guts, but I can imagine how rewarding a job like being a midwife would be. 

Anyway, back in 2011 I stayed on an extra year in sixth form and took the time to decide Media and Communications Studies was for me and it really was. In 2012 I began my course in media, which allowed me to experience all the different forms of media there are in order to choose which I preferred. I studied film, television and radio as well as journalism, PR and marketing; all of which were so fascinating and interesting. Although the work was hard and challenging, it didn't feel like a chore. Yes, some of the times I detested some of the essays as you don't get the most interesting ones every single time, but on the whole, they were at least manageable.

Step 2: Keeping Sane

Take up a hobby to keep you sane. Pretty self-explanatory, really. I decided last year (February 2014) to start up this blog in order to take my mind off all the work I was doing in university. It actually worked out extremely well because through blogging, I've adapted it into what I want to do now I've left university... I've set up my own online campaign focusing on diabetes, bullying, self-esteem and motivation as well as using my digital marketing skills to work in the field of marketing!

Step 3: Can-do Attitude

Know you CAN do it. As I've mentioned in a previous university guide post, you would not let yourself go into an exam or hand an essay in without writing something... you would never leave it blank and accept a zero without trying. So, when your work starts to feel too much and too stressful, take a step back and realise you will eventually do it, you just need to think it through, make plans (I couldn't have survived university without making essay and exam plans), take regular breaks, drink plenty of water, exercise and try and eat a bit healthier (throwing in an extra apple a day will do the trick in this case!) 


Step 4: Take Advantage of Resources

Make use of your university's resources. I didn't really take full advantage of this until my last year, but better late than never! You'll find by popping into your university's library or help desk, you'll be able to access a whole host of fantastic resources which will help you during your time at university. There will be so many workshops you can attend to improve your essay writing skills and there are always tutors willing to help you if you need that extra bit of support. I also found it extremely useful to meet with careers advisers when preparing my CV nearing the time I was due to graduate, so keep in mind life after university!


Step 5: Life after University

That brings me onto step 4; life after university. I know, I know, if you're just starting your first year of university, the last thing you want to do is think three years ahead when you can barely think of one week ahead, but it's really important you at least start to think about it. When I was in my second year, I started a long-term internship with a great advertising platform which allowed me to combine my passion for blogging and digital marketing. This internship gave me so many fantastic and real life practical experiences of what it is like to use what I have learnt in university. I also simultaneously interned for an entrepreneurship department within my university which allowed me to continue to develop my skills. Not only is it great for personal development reasons, employers nowadays won't look at you twice if you don't leave university with some good internship placements and experiences under your belt! I also highly recommend you checking out your university's societies. I was marketing officer and secretary for a student television station at my university and whilst it wasn't exactly the same as an actual job, it still allowed me to develop and improve my skills whilst being surrounded by my peers and friends, making it more enjoyable and something I would look forward to!

Step 6 - Be Kind to Yourself

Don't beat yourself up over university. If you're really worried or stressed, go and speak to the head of your department because they don't want you to feel upset or stressed. They understand how daunting starting this new chapter of your life is, so don't think you're alone. Think of all the exams and essays you've passed previous to starting university and how you managed to get through those... okay, university is a bit of a jump from A-levels, but you wouldn't have been accepted into university if they didn't think you could do it!

If I think of any more in the meantime, I will definitely update this post!

I hope you're enjoying university life so far. I'm sure when it comes to the end of your course in 3 or 4 years time, you'll be wishing you were starting this chapter all over again so enjoy it while it lasts!!

Chloe x

One last piece of advice - take lots of hair grips to your graduation to keep that heavy and awkward cap on!

HOLY GRAIL FOUNDATION... FOR REAL!

Hi everyone!

So as you may or may not know, I think I could open my own foundation shop. I've tried every single drug store foundation on the market (trust me) and I've also dabbled in a few expensive ones (Nars probably being my favourite!) but none has came close to doing everything I want.

Without foundation, I've got highly pigmented skin; very red and very noticeable and it makes me extremely self-concious! I don't want a thick foundation just for the sake of covering it all and I don't want to look like I've dipped my face into some heavy-duty paint! I want a natural, sheer coverage which matches my skin tone (that's another thing, my skin tone it extremely hard to match to foundations, due to the redness!)

With the summer finally arriving in Britain (supposedly), a couple of weeks ago I decided it was time to try again to find the "perfect" foundation. I liked the looks of the Bare Minerals new(ish) foundation; the complexion rescue one? I tested that and tried to persuade myself it would work but I was left feeling disappointed and wanting to give up again!

On the way out of Boots that day, I walked through the skin care isle and found myself hovering by the Vichy Dermablend range; the range I had looked at briefly a few months ago but dismissed it without giving it a try. I don't know why I thought to test this one because I felt that it would just be another tinted moisturiser with not enough coverage (with it being situated in the skin care section). I tested it on my hand (I know, you should never do that) and left the shop, continuing on with my day. After a couple of hours, it was still on the back of my hand and made me wonder whether it would be worth having a better look at it.

That night I went home and did some research (as we bloggers do) and spent what I think must've been a good hour watching YouTube videos from people who had tried it. The reviews were amazing and I found it hard not to believe it would work for me too but kept in mind the bad luck I always have with foundations...

The next day, I decided to take the plunge and purchase the £18, 30ml squeezy bottle and rushed home to try it. I honestly have never seen such amazing results. I needed about two squeezes of the bottle to cover my whole face and covered it, it did! This foundation is high coverage but not thick and has a light sheen to it so it left a natural (not too matte and not too sheer) finish to my face.

Some of the videos on YouTube mentioned the colours were a little off and whilst I agree, there is not a huge collection of colours to choose from, the colour Opal matched my skin perfectly. In fact, it matched it better than any other foundation I've tried (and had tested professionally)!

There are only two criticisms I've got when it comes to this foundation and they are as follows:

The foundation is quite transferable. Touch your face? It's likely you'll find excess foundation on your hands...and possibly your clothes for that matter (if you dress after you put your makeup on).

Secondly, I've had a couple of breakouts since using this foundation and whilst I can't be 100% sure it's because of this foundation, I didn't often have breakouts before using it. I know this should make me steer clear of it for a while to test if it is because of this foundation or not, but I just find this foundation so easy and quick to use as well as so blend-able and long-lasting, I literally don't ever want to use any other foundation!

So that is my Vichy Dermablend foundation review! Oh and before I go, this foundation comes in a liquid (in a squeezy bottle like I've got) and also in a foundation stick, however I've heard the foundation stick provides a much heavier coverage and is of a thicker consistency. Also the colour choices are called the same in both the bottle and stick however the stick is quite a lot darker in each colour!

I hope this review was of help if you're looking for a perfect foundation! 

Let me know if you've tried this one before and what you think of it!

Chloe x

FAT FACE SUMMER COLLECTION COLLABORATION

Hi everyone!

Hope you're all doing well and enjoying this temperamental summer weather! The weather in Wales is starting to heat up a bit now so when Fat Face got in touch to do a collaboration for their new arrivals as well as summer and beach collections, I was beyond excited because I just love all of their items! 

I could actually pick the pieces I liked and so I've got a few pictures to follow of the items I was lucky enough to be sent (thank you, Fat Face!)

Look 1

The top is called Pretty Broderie T-Shirt and the bottoms are called Printed Pineapple Trousers. I got this top in white but they do sell it in navy too! I love this look because it's so casual yet smart! The top is so pretty and sometimes a plainer top looks better when you've got patterned trousers on! I thought I'd tuck this top into the trousers so you could see how high the trousers actually are and also just because I like it tucked in - but you could totally wear it whichever way you'd like! There are no rules! 

The top's detail is cotton with a lace embroidery detail all over the front and plain on the back - extremely comfortable yet gives you that put together look I often lack! The trousers have an elasticated waist (perfect) with adjustable drawstrings and are a super light and flexible material (very soft!)

Here's me being super relaxed and comfy lounging on the grass (with one of the cute neighbourhood cats also lounging in the background!)

Look 2 

So I decided to pick a top and bottoms to match together (as seen previously) or wear separately, so in the picture above, I'm wearing the bottoms from Fat Face and matched it with a top I already own. These trousers are the comfiest trousers I own - honestly. I'm going to Florida in August and I'm planning to wear these travelling as they're so comfy, I'd happily do a 10 hour flight in them. As well as wearing them travelling, I'll be wearing them out to meals with a nice floaty vest top for that boho look paired with some nice big hoop earrings! You can also really dress these trousers up with a top like the one I'm wearing above or keep it casual like the top from Fat Face in the first picture! 

The colours in these trousers are so pretty; navy, blue, aqua and a peach colour too so you can get lots of different tops to go with these. I 100% recommend them for style and comfort reasons. I also love these because I'm the type of person to stick to jeans 99.9% of the time so to have something different, makes me want to wear them all the time (they also do other patterns and colours so check them out!)

Thank you all for reading and thank you to Fat Face for these lovely items - I'm obsessed!

Get in touch! 

Twitter: @ChloesConcept / @TBWYCampaign 

Email: ChloesConcept@gmail.com / TakeBackWhatsYours@gmail.com

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Chloe x

Inspiring Interview with blogger, Florence Grace: Low self-esteem & confidence!

Hi everyone!

Now that my university life is over, I'm back working as hard as ever on my Take Back What's Yours Campaign. Over the last few months, I've been in complete awe at how many people have gotten involved and taken the time to spread the word about it. It honestly means so much and I'm forever grateful to you all!

To kick things off again, I've got a great interview here with fellow blogger, Florence from the blog 'Love from, Florence Grace'. I hope you all enjoy this interview as much as I did... I'm sure you'll all find it inspiring and will help any of you who are going through body confidence/self-esteem issues.

Hi Florence, tell me a bit about yourself!

Hi! I'm a student, studying Creative Business, I work part time at a charity shop and I am a radio presenter, columnist and blogging extraordinaire! I'm a very busy bee and am working hard to create a media-based career for myself. 

What do you blog about?

I blog mostly about 'lifestyle'-esque topics, usually current issues with a spin of my own opinion...I am a very opinionated person and I am not afraid to speak my mind. Sometimes it gets me caught up in some debates, but that's all part of the fun of being a writer! 

What inspires you in life?

In life, I inspire myself! It may sound big headed or vain, but I have overcome so many obstacles in my life to get to where I am right now, and I have achieved so many things in the last year that about four years ago I never would have even dreamed about doing! I'm also inspired by Vanessa Sanyauke, founder of Girls Talk London, who strives to work hard for and represent women of all ages from all over the world. 

What keeps you motivated?

My blog keeps me motivated! Every time I see my views go up or receive a nice message about my posts, I feel happy that people are actually reading my posts and that it makes all the time spent working on my blog seem worthwhile...this motivates me to write more and to improve my writing as one day, I want to be a voice for people worldwide!

What is your proudest achievement either in life or the blogging world?

My proudest achievement is finally gaining independence at the age of 18. I was always so co-dependent on my friends or my boyfriend and then one day, something just clicked and I started to do all these exciting things by myself! I started travelling to media events at London, alone, doing courses, alone, and of course branching out into a brand new world of blogging completely new to everything and everyone! Gaining independence has been a massive confidence boost and I'm so happy it happened for me. 

What is your experience with low confidence and self-esteem?

I suffered very badly at the hands of online bullies for 4 years of my life during secondary school. I was mocked for absolutely anything and everything I did, given endless abuse and lost all of my friends for doing nothing- or nothing that I was ever aware of anyway! 

How has it changed and impacted your life?

Being bullied completely destroyed my self-esteem, and to this day I am still an incredibly self-conscious person- from my looks, to my weight, to feeling like I'm always being stared at by people and laughed at. It was a very bad time for me and unfortunately still has an impact on me today. I hope one day this will change. 

When did you realise your low confidence and self-esteem was impacting your life and how did you feel about it? Was there a trigger that set it off?

I realised it was impacting my life when I was about 17 and my boyfriend noticed I was increasingly more and more sad and keeping myself to myself. My parents then went through a divorce around this time, so I think this probably made everything feel that much worse. I could feel myself getting sadder, but felt I could do nothing about it, which only made me feel worse! 

What happens when you're feeling at your lowest? Is there anything you do to make you feel a bit better?

When I'm at my lowest I comfort eat and I cry. Both of these are incredibly bad for me, especially when I am already very self-conscious about my weight, and as for the crying, well, it just leaves me with a pounding headache! Usually to feel better I will get in my pj's and watch a good film, or if I can, I will see my boyfriend, who has been with me through highs and lows for almost 5 years and usually knows how to make me feel a bit better. It's important to remember to breathe deeply and remember that it's not the end of the world, just a small rut. I have to frequently remind myself of this! 

How are you coping with it? 

I'm coping much better now! Whilst I am still a very self-conscious person, I am much happier in myself compared to me about a year and a half ago! 

What kind of support did you seek or did you keep it to yourself?

I just had support from my close friends and family. Fortunately, my problems were nothing serious, and I think it was just a lot of bad things happening all at once, on top of the bullying. Like I said, when I feel bad, I tend to comfort eat and this made my weight problems worse! The Take Back What's Yours campaign is hopefully going to change that around!

Thank you, I hope so too! Do you feel like the media is doing enough to help people who suffer from low self-esteem?

No. Definitely not. It’s definitely one of my pet hates when a magazine splashes a size 6 (or smaller) celebrity female on the front of a magazine with the title "So and so feels comfortable in her body...and tells you how you can to" or words to that effect. Of course you feel comfortable, you're tiny and made up every day by professionals! I think we need a more realistic and serious approach to the issue of low self-esteem. It may not always be something seen as a serious problem, but it can be tough to deal with. 

What are your top tips for anyone living with low self-esteem?

Put up little messages with positive, sunny quotes on for you to find in random places, such as in your sock drawer, on your mirror, next to your toothbrush.

Remind yourself of all the great things about you- keep these written down in a list if it helps! 

TALK to someone. Even if it's only your cat, or your stuffed bear. Sometimes you just need to let it all out! 

I just want to say thank you to Florence for getting involved with Take Back What's Yours! I know your honesty and openness will help people understand they aren't alone in what they are going through. If you want to check out Florence's blog, you can here.

If you're interested in the Take Back What's Yours campaign, there are so many ways to get involved!

If you want to take part in the Take Back What's Yours Challenge, head over to the website here!

If you'd like to be interviewed on topics such as Chichi's or anxiety, bullying, health issues or anything at all you feel could be inspiring to readers, send me an email and I'll get back to you ASAP! 

Get in touch! 

Twitter: @ChloesConcept / @TBWYCampaign 

Email: ChloesConcept@gmail.com / TakeBackWhatsYours@gmail.com

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Chloe x

REVIEW: BOURJOIS BRONZING PRIMER

Hi everyone!

I have another review for you all today on the Bourjois Bronzing Primer. As you might know, if you read my review on the Sigma F80 Flat Kabuki brush, I've recently tried this bronzing primer as my cousin bought me it for my birthday last month.

For contour, I really prefer to use a cream based bronzer as I feel it's easier to work with and blend with. It also doesn't leave that dreaded muddy mark we all freak out about when we've just finished our makeup routine and then spend 20 minutes trying to repair the damage...or is that just me?

Anyway, I've tried SEVENTEEN's Instant Glow Tan bronzing cream which I really love and Sonia Kashuk's bronzing cream which is so lovely however I do like to try new things where makeup is concerned and so I thought I'd give this a bash.

When I opened it, it's less like a cream and more like a whipped mousse...think Dream Matte Mousse formula but a bit more whipped and you'll get the right idea.

They only sell it in one shade which made me wonder if it would be too dark for my pale skin, but it's not. If you're a bit on the pale side, simply use less. I spoke in a previous post about using it with my new Sigma F80 so I really recommend pairing them both up and trying that out - both used together makes the application process a very speedy one, which is great if you're in a rush! I also love applying this with a beauty blender as it gives a very natural look and blends in super well.

Also, as this is bronzing "primer", the idea is that you can apply this under your foundation so that when you put a light layer of foundation on, the bronzed glow will come through, looking ultra natural, which is lovely if you want to create that defined cheekbone without it looking heavy or too made up! I usually just use it over my foundation but in the summer, I'll definitely be using it under instead!

A little perk to this product before I go is that as Bourjois is owned by Chanel, this product is highly compared to Chanel's Soleil Tan De Chanel bronzing cream! I haven't tried that product, but I've seen a lot of reviews saying it's a great dupe and some even say it's better than the Chanel one, but I can't vouch for that!

Thank you all for reading and I hope you like it as much as I do if you decide to try it! 

Get in touch! 

Twitter: @ChloesConcept / @TBWYCampaign 

Email: ChloesConcept@gmail.com / TakeBackWhatsYours@gmail.com

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