I Don't Know About You, But At Least I'm Not 22

I always remember when I used to play games with my sister when we were little and we always used to say "Oh I'm 18" because we thought it was such a cool age and so grown up. I am now sitting here in my bunny dressing gown while eating a Frozen candy cane after turning 20 yesterday and realising how wrong I was. 18 year-old-me is now long gone and I feel I appreciated her more when I was six rather than when I actually was 18. Where did the years go? Can they please slow down slightly? I'm not mature enough or emotionally prepared for this whole ageing process...

Anyway, I had such a lovely day with my family and got fab presents, a few of which are pictured below! When I have my new phone up and running I will update you on more bits and pieces I got for Christmas and my birthday :) Snapchat: fenellafoxy

To be honest, the day before my birthday I was dreading turning 20, but now that the fear is done and dusted I am SO excited to see what adventures will await me in my twenties! I can't wait to learn to drive and there are loads of places in the world I'm dying to see. Paris is the top of my list and always has been, but I also want to go to London and New York. Can you believe I'm from England but have never been to London? So close to home but definitely on the bucket list! Who knows what is on the horizon for 2016 :) What have you guys been up to? Any birthdays coming up or exciting plans for 2016?:) 

Now that we have started a brand new year, if you have any questions or blog post requests please don't hesitate to get in touch, I would love to hear from you and hear your feedback :) Also, don't forget about the giveaway I'm doing, check out my Facebook or Instagram to see how you can be in with a chance of winning my pamper hamper :) I'm also aiming to hit 1,000 followers on Instagram soon so I would love your help! Fingers crossed :) 

Rant Of The Week: A Cinderella Story

Well guys, I have to admit, I almost had a Cinderella moment on New Years Eve. And no, I don't mean I was transformed into a beautiful princess or a prince came and searched every household in the middle of nowhere for me, I just mean I was about to leg it out the door before the clock hit midnight. Glass slipper left behind or not, if the two guys behind me on the dance floor got any closer that was about to turn into one messed up fairytale - 'Man found purposely squashed by pumpkin carriage due to Cinderella no longer needing a man to save her.' Excuse me Mr, please back up. We may be about to say goodbye to 2015 but that doesn't mean I've left my sense or list of potential men I already have lined up behind as well. Although I really should rethink the decision about the potential men... New Years Resolution number one: He is potential, but not essential.

Why is there the tradition to kiss someone on New Years? What if I don't want to ring in the New Year with a complete stranger? What if I'm one of those girls who likes saving her kisses for someone special even if they are only kisses? Am I a dying breed of girl kind? In my family we just bang saucepans together outside and start singing, why can't we do that in clubs and at parties too? Anyway, as the countdown began I was sandwiched between my horrendous romantic choices of 2015, and the men lurking to be the start of that again in 2016. As it hit 12 I ended up kissing my best friend (my own fairy godmother, many a makeover has she transformed me with in the past) on the cheek while there were numerous games of tonsil tennis being played around us - Some quite cute, some quite drunken, and some quite memorable for all the wrong reasons. I then went and did a shot of tequila, thought about life for a bit and then danced to Single Ladies.

I am now sitting here with the flu (and I didn't even kiss anyone, bloody hell!) and smiling about what an amazing night I had anyway. Lets face it, what makes Cinderella a classic - the magic, the fashion or the man? Yep, talk to you later Prince Charming because 2016 is all about creating my own fairytale!

Here's to a healthy, happy 2016! With more of this positive change...

And hopefully less of this...

"No matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing, the dream that you wish will come true." 

Happy New Year everybody! Xx

Dear 15-Year-Old Me

As 2016 is pretty much here and I am just days away from saying goodbye to my teens for good (eeek, so scary!) I decided to reflect on the past few years of my life and all the things I have learned along the way. I am aware that many of you guys, my readers are teenagers so I decided to offer you advice now. These are all the things I have become wise about over the years and don't worry, many of them I learned the hard way and because of endless lectures from my mum! Life is full of ups and downs but it's all part of the adventure :)

Dear 15-year-old me and all my readers,

1. Secondary School isn't real life but I'm hoping Sex and the City is!
Remember that "popular" group you couldn't stand? That girl that was mean to you? Your Irish teacher you were terrified of? Nah, neither can I. At the time it seems like everything, but trust me, I couldn't tell you what half of those people are doing now. School doesn't last forever and if people think it does they are going to get a serious wake up call when they come in contact with the real world. Be you, do you and don't worry about what other people think because the negative ones won't be in your future! School isn't ideal, but your future can be.

2. Don't become trapped
If you feel you're in a relationship that doesn't feel right, leave. Whether it's friendship or a romantic relationship, it should make you feel happy and secure. Don't worry about 'Oh god does this make things awkward for everybody around us?' and end up putting up with them for the sake of everybody else. If they make you unhappy, you will become unhappy in yourself which will be worse in the long run. I've learned that not everybody is supposed to be in your story forever, some people are just small chapters that teach you a much bigger lesson. So unfollow them on Facebook, delete them on Snapchat, stop dwelling on the coulda, woulda, shoulda and just move on.

3. Get off that bloody fence!
If you're constantly wondering where you stand and if he likes you then the truth is, he doesn't deserve you anyway. No matter how many times you defend him and his actions that hurt you, he still won't fully want you. A real man makes you a priority and will chase you until he gets you, you won't have to wonder if he likes you and only have him come running when you start moving on! And trust me, I know that hurts, but learn from my mistakes because I'm only truly realising it this year. There is nothing wrong with you, you are absolutely beautiful and amazing and if he doesn't realise that then it's his loss and save that beauty for the deserving man who will!

4. You are fabbity fab
In a huge world of social media, supermodels and societies idea of perfection, you can sometimes lose yourself for a little bit. Just because you don't look exactly like a Kardashian, doesn't mean you can't take the world by storm like they have! There is only one you so find yourself, cherish yourself, praise yourself and show the world everything amazing that YOU have to offer.

5. Do what YOU love!
For some reason, as humans we seem to take negative comments on board more than positive ones. I love blogging, writing and making YouTube videos but I have had to deal with people knocking me. I've had a guy making fun of one of my videos on Facebook and I've had nasty comments written about me on Twitter. I'm not going to lie, some of this actually pushed me to tears at first but then I meet girls out who get excited about meeting me and tell me how much they love my blog which is amazing and I then realised that for every person that hates you there are 10 more that love you... and hey, all press is good press!

6. Trust your gut feeling
Bad vibes? Good vibes? Trust them. I 100% believe in my gut feeling and the majority of the time I can immediately tell what I think of a person or situation from the vibes that I get. Everything happens for a reason and only you truly know what you want in life so listen to what you're telling yourself.

7. Follow your dreams
I don't mean this lightly. Pretend your dreams are a boy you like and channel that determination. Text them, get your friends to help you get them, think about them constantly, never give up, give it your all! Even if the boy chases don't always go to plan, dreams do if you want them badly enough! Get off your bum right now and do it, you never know what magic could happen until you try.

8. It isn't about fashion, it's all about style
Your personal style is a way of showing the world who you are with simply a glance. Wear what you want and you are already on the road to self-confidence. I once had a guy tell me he didn't like my new outfit, so what did I do? I wore that outfit and I worked that outfit! My wardrobe, my world.

9. Stop overthinking, worrying, and jumping to conclusions
It leads to madness I tell you, MADNESS! But guess what? It won't change a thing!

10. Be kind, be true, be remembered
A pretty face means nothing when it's disguising an ugly heart. Even if people are unkind to you, rise above it. Pray to the angels to help them because it's them who needs the help, not you. Don't be a push over, stand up for what you believe in, but you can do this while being kind, because a caring heart will always be remembered for all the right reasons.

I hope all this helped and hopefully you readers will take it on board because soon to be 20-year-old me is now laughing at 15-year-old me... we're here, we made it, things go wrong but life goes on!

Lots of love,
Soon to be 20-year-old me xx

P.S. You're still not too old to believe in fairytales and probably never will be because you'll need that belief to achieve point number 7! Make the most of your youth while you have it though because you only get it once so it's okay to have a young head and a wild heart :)

Rant Of The Week: The Glitz And Glamour Of Christmas Nights Out

Are Christmas nights out really as glamorous as we think? Or do we all just drag the sequins, high heels and faux-fur out of our wardrobes to distract from the ever growing Quality Street belly, pickled onion breath and turkey sandwich thighs? Looking around on St. Stephens night I noticed the pub was full of beautiful, dolled-up girls. I myself was even in a gold sequin dress with a bold pink lippie. However, in the eyes of the people around us we may appear to be perfect sparkling masterpieces, but in reality, this is all false.

For me, my biggest concern on the night was my hair. What started out as a big, bouncy mass of flirty curls turned into a big, ratty, tangled, mass of frizz. I stared around me and thought about the various girls: 'Aww her hair looks so pretty! Her hair looks so flawless! Her hair ALWAYS looks that good!' I then complained about my own hair to my best friend who told me 'You can't even notice!' So, how many things do we really not notice?

When you feel insecure, other people still think you look nice because they're all caught up in their own insecurities.
For example, when other people looked at me I'm sure all they saw was...

• A gold dress.
• Black heels.
• A black clutch.
• Pink lipstick.
• Big hair. 

Simple. However, in reality, my idea of the outfit was completely different...


• I had spent the past week trying on all the dresses in my wardrobe with Spanx trying to decide which one sucked in my Christmas jelly belly the most.
• When the night finally arrived I kind of wanted to stay in and read my Kim K book in my fluffy pyjamas while eating dried banana.
• I had a melt down before I left the house because my fringe looked like someone had ironed it onto my scalp. Can't cope.
• My spots could not be properly covered and it looked like World War 3 had broken out on my chin.
• My lipstick kept smudging everywhere and all over my teeth (even on my nose at one point, don't even ask.) 
• Trying to squeeze into the dress proved to be a bit of a struggle because I had eaten about fifty tins of chocolates within the space of 24 hours.
• I couldn't decide which jewellery or jacket to wear.
• I realised parts of my legs were still hairy.
• My tan was fairly dodgy.
• I had tissue stuffed in my new shoes to make them fit better but still couldn't walk in them properly anyway and was in complete and utter pain for the whole night.
• I was completely over paranoid about my knicker line.
• Nip-slip was a very likely scenario.
• I really wanted a new Facebook profiler.
• Don't even get me started on the battle I had with my eyeliner.

Now, are Christmas nights out really built from natural perfection? Absolutely bloody not - they are built from Spanx, tears and backcombing fails. Perfection isn't real, but determination is. Trust me, there's a reason fancy nights out only happen once a year, the preparation time and emotional stress is not an easy task. So, to all my fellow girls who still wear a smile, brave the heels and go out and strut their stuff with confidence despite everything that happened in the previous few (or you know, like 36) hours, I salute you!

Rant Of The Week: The 12 Loves Of Christmas

Last night I had great fun, I went out with friends and did the 12 pubs of Christmas. Well, in my case it was only the one pub because my bank account couldn't afford the other 11, and well, you know, I was afraid I might die. By pub three I can assure you it would have been 'Don't wait around for me guys, go on without me, but don't forget to tell my family I love them... ' as I casually slide off the bar stool and become a drunken mass of Christmas jumper and mistletoe on the floor. So no, on this particular night I decided to be sensible and my dads reaction of 'Waheeeey, no tears!' when he collected me at the end of the night proved that sensibility (I'm a crier.)

However, as I was sober and no longer the one crying, as the night progressed I asked myself, how many broken hearts are there in this room being disguised by a Christmas jumper? How many girls are hoping for their one love of Christmas while doing the twelve pubs of Christmas? There was the girl shouting at a guy as I got out of the car, there was the girl with mascara running down her face in the pub, and as I walked to get food at the end of the night there was the girl saying 'I can't believe he would do that after texting me all that stuff the other day.' At some point, I have been all three of those girls. I have shouted my feelings in the face of ignorance, I have cried the same old tears over and over again, and I have asked myself 'why would he do that?' and still continue to ask myself whether it's weeks or months later. We, the members of the female species have all been there. So, does a drunken mind speak a sober heart? Does alcohol express what we really need to say, or is it just speaking the words that really should remain unspoken? When I'm drunk I tend to say all the things I later regret saying, and when I'm not drunk there are so many things I want to say but can't bring myself to say them. So, is vodka a helping hand or a curse?

As cheesy as it sounds, love really fills every room we ever walk into. Whether it's happy love, bitter love, unrequited love, unspoken love, past love - the list is endless. I noticed that there was more than 12 loves of Christmas at the 12 pubs of Christmas, but everyone is absorbed in just one - no matter how frustratingly confusing, up and down, or logic and sense destroying that love may be. Ah, the joys of romance and tequila!

Five Times Beauty Fails Us

Being done up is a lovely feeling, however, getting done up is a whole different story. No matter what though, the tears, tantrums, anger and worry is always worth it for the sake of a new Facebook profiler...

Here are some relatable moments that we all go through while trying to transform ourselves!

1. Eyelash tantrums
'I can't do it, they won't stick on, the corner keeps popping off, now my eye make-up is rubbing off, he doesn't love me, I have jiggly thighs, I'm so poor, we're going to be late. I'M JUST NOT GOING ANYMORE.'

2. When you don't look like Adele
It's a very stressful time alright, my personal motto during this frustration is: If you can't wing the eyeliner, bin the eyeliner.

3. Hair on the back of your legs
Not going to go away no matter how many times I go over you with the razor, nah? You could film I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here back there...

4. The terrible tan
'Is your face supposed to be a different colour to your body? And can anyone smell cat pee?'

5. The realisation of celebrity myths and legends
Are all girls expected to be able to contour like Kim, have lips like Kylie and look as smokin' hot as Khloe on the cover of Complex? Yeaaaah, unfortunately I wouldn't even make the cut for KUWTK season one...

Beauty On A Budget: Stocking Fillers For Beauty Lovers

We all know how expensive Christmas can be - Do I spend this forty euro on a dress for St. Stephen's night or just invest in a few boxes of Roses and go into a food coma instead? The struggle is real! However, if you have a friend/sister/mother/daughter who is a huge lover of beauty products, you don't need to break the bank! It's time to start hinting to Santa's elves, ladies, because these are my stocking filler ideas for beauty lovers :)

Essence lipsticks
I cannot stress enough how much I love Essence. Their products are available in Penneys and pharmacies nationwide and are a must have for Christmas. I am in love with their lipsticks because there are so many shades available, they don't dry out your lips and they are cheap and cheerful! I always use them. They are perfect if you have a teenage daughter finding her feet in the world of beauty because you will be able to buy her a few for the price of one expensive lipstick. And trust me, it's totally worth it, such great quality... I love them!

Make Up Gallery Smoothly Does It Pressed Powder
You aren't going to believe me when I say I bought this for only €1.49, but it's the truth! This is my go to powder and doesn't make me want to look in my purse and cry after purchasing. I can't wait to try all of Dealz other make-up products, I am very impressed so far.

Batiste Plumping Powder
Okay, so I know you're probably all sick of me going on about this stuff I refer to as fairy dust, but I promise you, you will be thanking me later. You simply sprinkle it on your hair and it creates volume, so no more backcombing hassle. I have seen other brands for around €30 euro, but I bought mine in Penneys for around the €4 mark and usually stock up. I actually tried the more expensive one to test it, but I didn't find it as good as Batiste. My mum is a hairdresser and uses it in her salon and we LOVE it. Plumping powder is a must have in the Fox household!

Penneys Make-up Brushes
I was dying to try these from the moment I heard they came out. I finally bought one for my eyes and love it. For €1.50 you would be crazy not to grab a few, has Penneys ever let us down before? I think not! Just think how pricey other make-up brushes can be, it's mad. I have not tried the others in the Penneys range yet so cannot recommend them but I definitely will be trying them as I'm sure they're great. I love my one for the eyes as I can blend with the bigger end and I use the smaller to apply eyeshadow as eyeliner, I love it :)

Penneys Make-up Fixing Spray
Even as a blogger and lover of make-up, I'm not going to sit here and tell you I can afford loads of expensive make-up because that would be a complete lie, I'm constantly bargain hunting! I cannot express how excited I was the time I was strolling out of Penneys and a bottle of Make-Up Fixing Spray caught my eye. I had never had one of these before so headed up to the till with this instantly. I honestly find it really good for setting my make-up and it only cost €2.50.

Catrice Even Skin Tone Beautifying Foundation
I am such a foundation hopper these days, I can't help myself. I always use Estee Lauder Double Wear for going out but for everyday use I need something a little more natural and affordable. I was using No7 Stay Perfect which I loved, but then I ran out so decided to give another affordable brand a go - Catrice! I bought their Even Skin Tone Foundation for around the €8 mark and am really loving it. I am so pale so I find it hard to find a natural looking foundation to match my skin tone. I must say though, after buying it, I am really impressed. It has really nice coverage (goodbye dark circles) and doesn't make me look orange. Such a gorgeous product for a natural, flawless finish!

Okay girls, I hate to be the bringer of bad news, but I can see how all this beauty product shopping is going to end...

I hope you enjoyed this post and it gave you some ideas for Christmas :) Now it's time to start shopping, or dropping hints!