Thursday 27 November 2014

When Words Fail, Music Speaks!

Hi everyone, today I want to write about something that I am so completely and utterly passionate about, aside from loving makeup and crafts and Poodles, my real true passion in life, is music.


Music calms me, energizes me, it fills me with passion, hope and energy, it makes me feel truly alive!  I listen to a certain few songs and I feel like I could have enough energy to run a marathon, well in my head any way!
The title of this post "When Words Fail, Music Speaks", is my most favourite quote and means so much to me, because music is the one thing that's always been there when I've felt at my worst, my best, my happiest and my lowest.  It's everything to me and it's the one thing that I can rely on to make me feel better when nothing else can.  There have been a few songs along the way, that have so much emotional attachment and so many sad memories with them that sadly, I don't feel I can listen to them anymore but there are others that make me feel more confident, more energized and more stronger than anything else can!

I also love to sing, I've been singing for many, many years and it's a total release for me, it's a way to expel my pent up energy and I feel a real power in it.  I'm not saying I'm any good, I don't really know, I've never really been brave enough to sing in front of anyone, well not for a long time anyway but I feel I can do it and that gives me confidence too.


That said, everyone has their own favourite style of music that they love, whether it be chart or country, dance or HipHop, Jazz or rock.  And everyone has their favourite groups, singers and bands that they love to listen to the most, one that means so much to them and nothing else comes close. . . For me, my most favourite band in the whole world is Linkin Park :-D  I could quite happily listen to them all day, every single day, for the rest of my life and never get bored!  I have been a fan of their music for over 13 years, since I first heard their amazing track Crawling, just after it was released back in March 2001, only their second single.  I can still remember sitting in front of the TV watching Kerrang music channel and it came on the screen.  I'd never heard anything like it before and I was totally mesmerized and completely hooked from then on!


And so, last Saturday night I was extremely lucky enough to see them in concert at the Phones 4U arena in Manchester, along with hundreds of other LP fans, and I had the most amazing time.  I love seeing live bands and I have seen the old few, but nothing, absolutely nothing can compare to seeing your most favourite band performing live on stage, nothing comes close!  Just the thrill of being there, the over-whelming size of the place, the smell of dry ice, and the incredible feel of anticipation coming from every single person in there, all waiting eagerly to see this phenomenal band play live.


As the lights went down, the crowd went crazy and the first notes of Guilty All The Same started to play, I couldn't contain my excitement and not only sang every word to every song they played but I couldn't help smiling like a Cheshire cat all the way through too!



The music was very loud, my view was amazing and thankfully I was even able to video the whole thing to be able to watch over and over again whenever I want too.  But best of all Linkin Park were absolutely incredible, they certainly know how to put on a show!  This was my third time of seeing them, but even thought I'd had to wait 6 years to see them this time, it was totally worth the wait and I just really hope they tour here again soon!  In the meantime, thank goodness for YouTube and my mp3 player!



What I wore:  About a year ago, I went in for a Linkin Park competition to design a T'shirt with the theme of one of their tracks Castle of Glass.  I worked really hard on it and had it all ready, but on the day of the deadline, I was ill and couldn't send in my design.  I was so upset that I missed it but I was determined to at least get the T'shirt printed so I could wear it, and once I heard about the concert back in July, I thought great I will wear my T'shirt.  So I found a great little T'shirt printers near where I live and they did a really great job.  I loved wearing it to the concert, as it made the event even more special, wearing my own design to support the band I love :-)  I teamed it with a basic white long-sleeve T'shirt and my favourite jeans and boots, I wanted to be comfortable as I knew it would get quite hot in the arena.


Just another little note, for anyone who's interested, I have uploaded the videos that I took of the concert on my YouTube channel, click here to see them.  It's the first thing I've ever tried to upload to YouTube and so far I'm quite amazed at just how long it's taking.  There's also a link to it on my Twitter page, DaniJ72.
As it was filmed on my mobile, the picture quality is not the best but the sound is pretty good.  It's also uploaded in a 3 separate videos, as it was obviously quite a long concert but they are now in a playlist.  I hope you enjoy it, if you did please leave me some comments on my channel, thank you :-)


What is your favourite type of music, who do you listen to constantly, do you like Linkin Park?  Let me know in the comments below.
Until Next Time, Stay happy
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Wednesday 19 November 2014

I Got Nominated for The Liebster Award!

So there was I planning to do my Autumn Favourites this week, until I was very kindly nominated for the Liebster Award the other day by the lovely Jasmine from Color U Bold blog!!  I would of course like to say a very big thank you very much and please go check out her great blog now, well after you've read this of course :-)


There are so many different logos for this award, but I just love the colours of this one and as far as I know there's no rules on which one you can display, please let me know if I'm wrong about that one!?

The Liebster Award Rules:  I've found a few different versions of this but these ones seem to be the most popular.
1. A mention and a link to the blogger that nominated you
2. Display the award in your post
3. Answer 11 questions given by the nominator
4. Nominate 5-11 other bloggers with less than 200 followers
5. Create 11 questions for the nominees
6. Notify all the nominees via social media

Jasmines Questions:
1. If you could go on a road trip right now, where would you go?
I would go to Seaford in East Sussex and visit my friend, because I haven't seen her in a very long time, plus I just love that area, I used to live there many years ago and I miss it all very much.
2. What movie/s could you watch over and over again?
I actually did this in a post a while back, which you can find here.  Of course it has to be the Twilight saga, but also most definitely Dirty Dancing, The Craft and Transformers too, I love them all :-)
3. Who are your favourite bloggers?
I recently covered this in a post also, I'm always changing the blogs that I love reading and I love finding new ones, so accepting this award has been great for that, but as most of you know PorculainBeautyx is my favourite as well as Autumnleaves :-)
4. Who is one person that inspires you?
I think there are many people that inspire me for many different aspects of my life, but the main one is someone in my family who is an incredibly strong, wonderful, caring person and I look up to them very much.  They've always been there for me and they inspire me every day.
5. Who is your favourite singer at the moment?
As always Linkin Park of course!  But I am also totally crazy about the song Moondust by Jaymes Young, it's just so beautiful, I absolutely love it and I could happily listen to it non-stop!
6. Where do you see yourself in the future?
I really don't like these type of questions, I mean who really knows, plans change!  So I'll just say, hopefully happier, settled and still blogging.
7. Do you see yourself blogging for a long time?
Short answer yes, because I love it and it brings me a lot of happiness.
8. What is one quote that has always stayed with you?
There's a couple of quotes that I absolutely love, one of them I'm keeping quiet about because I'm doing a whole post about it in just over a weeks time!  The other is, "Life is what you make it".  I don't know where it came from but I think it's very inspirational and it has stayed with me for many, many years.
9. What is your advice for someone feeling down and out?
Talk to someone; just to vent or to get advice, try and relax to take your mind off things - YouTube and listening to music are the very best I find, and finally find something you really enjoy doing (a hobby) and throw yourself in to it.
10. Tell us a secret!
I honestly don't really have any secrets, I'm pretty much an open book, but there is one thing I am very excited about at the moment that not many people know, I'M GOING TO A LINKIN PARK CONCERT IN LESS THAN A WEEK'S TIME!!!! :-D  I'm SO excited, I really can't wait, and yes I will be blogging about it :-)  I also have a ticket for this concert for sale, as sadly my friend can no longer go with me.  If you would like more details click here!
11. What is your reason/s for blogging?
To start with, it was therapy, something to help me when I was going through a rough time but the more time went on, it just became a real pleasure too.  Now just over a year later, I'm still really happy with my blog and I still enjoy it very much.

And to pass on the Liebster Award, here are my nominees:
Aimee - http://www.aimeedot.com/
Serena - http://serenditsy.blogspot.co.uk/
Chloe - http://mycrazybeautyjourney.blogspot.co.uk/
Jamie - http://reaping-beauty.blogspot.co.uk/
Jeni - http://www.elfsbeauty.blogspot.co.uk/
Paige - http://paigeviolet.blogspot.co.uk/
Rosie - http://aredlipandanudeshoe.com/
Ellen - http://ellenwarnerxo.blogspot.co.uk/


And my 11 questions for all my nominees are:
1. If you could only have one wish in life, what would it be?
2. If you could have a special/magical power, what would it be?
3. Tell me something that you really love in life?
4. What's one thing that really gets your blood boiling?
5. What made you start blogging?
6. What's one beauty product you couldn't live without?
7. What's one part of your body you love?
8. Tell me something that really scares you?
9. Tell me one funny fact about yourself?
10. Who inspires you?
11. What's your absolute favourite ever song?

Thank you again Jasmine for nominating me.  To the nominees, please tweet me links to your award links if you choose to accept the award.  And to all my readers, please feel free to answer these questions in the comments, I'd really love to hear your answers :-)
Until Next Time Stay Happy

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Wednesday 12 November 2014

Makeup Addict Tag


You all know how much I love doing the odd Tag here and there and after several more serious posts, I felt like just doing something a little more fun.  So when I saw Heather (aka PorcelainBeautyx) do this tag, I just had to give it a go.

1. Which product do you keep still buying more of despite having plenty in your collection?
Most definitely lipsticks/lacquers, I've started to realise I think I have a slight obsession!

2. What’s the one product you couldn’t live without?
Mascara, hands down.

3. Favourite make-up brand?
I tend to like certain products from certain brands, rather than an over-all brand.  But the one I seem to have the most products by, is MUA.  I'm also a big Rimmel fan and I'm very quickly starting to love Urban Decay too.

4. How big is your make-up collection?
I would say pretty average, not small but no-way-near as huge as some I've seen!

5. And how do you like to store it?
I love my Ikea Alex drawer unit, I have the 9 drawer one and wish I had space for another.  It's not 100% organised yet but I'm getting there.  I keep my makeup in various containers and shallow baskets and my makeup brushes are now kept in my Zoella Beauty makeup bag.

6. How many items of make-up have you got in your handbag at the moment?
One a lipgloss, I'm very good with this, I usually decide which lipstick/gloss I'm going to wear and just keep that in my bag until I get home, then it's straight back in my drawer otherwise I tend to forget that I have it!  And if I'm trying out a new lipstick, I usually take a favourite one with me as well, just in case I don't like the new one so that I have a back up (I'm way too organized)  :-)

7. If you could raid another blogger’s stash, who would it be?
I think it would have to be Tanya Burr's stash, she has some amazing products (including her own of course), who wouldn't want a little nosy through that!

8. How long does your usual make-up routine take and how many products do you use?
It takes between 10-15 minutes, I think I've finally got it down to a fine art now, after taking nearly half an hour in the past.  And I use about eleven products, wow I actually thought it would be more!

9. Have you ever bought make-up knowing you wouldn’t use it?
Not so far, I love to buy new things to try out but I would never waste money on a product just for the sake of getting it or owning it.

10. Tag a few other make-up addicts to do the tag!
I would like to specifically tag Shannon from RaspberryKiss, Eleanor from Dream.Love.Live.Fashion and Jeni from Elf's Beauty, as well as anyone else who would like to give this a go.  If you don't have a blog and would still like to answer these questions, why not leave me your answers below :-)

Until Next Time, Stay Happy


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Sunday 9 November 2014

Time For Some Changes


Now I've had my blog for one full year, I've decided it's time to make a few small changes and adjustments.


The first thing, will be purchasing my blog domain name.  I'm quite excited about this one, I've heard a lot about how it can make you blog appear more professional, so I decided about a month ago to take the plunge after my one year anniversary.  I've looked in to it quite a bit and there are many different websites to choose from, but I decided to choose Go Daddy as that seems very inexpensive and quite popular with many bloggers.  So as of next week, my new blog name address will be simply www.crystalsparklydreams.co.uk and even if you click on an older link of mine through Twitter, instagram or any of my other social websites, I'm assured it will still bring you to my blog :-)


The second change you will notice in the next couple of weeks will be these lovely little social media buttons, that I got from Every Little Polish blog, that I will put near the top of my blog in the sidebar, rather than all the various individual links.  I think it makes a blog page look far nicer, tidier and gives an all round better appearance.  I really like these ones, I love the colours and I think they suit the look of my blog just perfectly. . .
 I just need to figure out how to add them in now :-)

**********

And finally, I come to my main change; for quite a while now I have been doing 2 posts a week, Wednesdays and Sundays (generally) and I've really enjoyed doing it but lately I've found myself struggling.  I know to many of you this may seem ridiculous, because many of you do great posts every day.  But for me, I've found that with my lifestyle, health issues and various other commitments, that it's started taking a toll.
90% of my thoughts are blog related, so is most of my time.  It's gone from being a part time enjoyable hobby that helped me think more positively, to take my mind off various problems and give me something good to focus on, to being a full time, stressful worry - will I get this post up in time, no! I'm letting my viewers down, I'm not concentrating on other areas of my life etc!  I don't find blogging as fulfilling and enjoyable as I did and I feel my posts content and quality have suffered because of this.  Instead of being fun, it's now a chore and I'm spending more time worrying about blogging, than actually living my life and doing things to blog about!

So, to get back in control of things, I'm going to just be posting on Wednesdays.  I may go back to doing Sundays or another day at some point but for now, I know I will feel a lot happier and content, getting back to doing better posts in a time scale that I can fit in with my lifestyle, rather than having to try and fit my life around my blog!

Thank you all so much for your continued support and please don't forget to enter yourselves in to my Surprise Box of Beauty Favourites giveaway, which ends on November the 26th!
Until Next Time Stay Happy

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Wednesday 5 November 2014

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Crystal Sparkly Dreams – 1 Year Old Today + Makeup Giveaway


Hi everyone, today is my blogs first birthday! :-)  Exactly one year ago today, I sat at my laptop, listening to the fireworks outside and finally decided to create my first blog post.  I was very nervous but extremely excited as well, as I'd been planning and wanting to have a blog for quite a long while.  Since then, I've uploaded 69 posts (including this one) and have had nearly 5,400 views.  Between all my social media's (Bloglovin, Google+, GFC, Twitter and Instagram) I currently have 97 followers, which in some ways is a small amount but to me it's brilliant and I have readers from all over the world, all of this makes me very happy and it's something that I never thought I could achieve!

Over this past year, I have felt my confidence as a writer and photographer grow and grow and my own personal confidence is better than it has been all my life.  I feel more at ease talking to strangers and being in social situation than ever before and have learnt everything from how to use Twitter to dabbling with html, whereas before I never had a clue!  I've also met people that I never would have got to speak to if it hadn't have been for my blog.

I still feel I have a lot to learn, a lot more opportunities to explore and a lot more to give but I can honestly say, having my blog has made me so happy and been a real pleasure from day one.  Although there may be times when 'life' happens and I can't do a certain post on a certain day, I will always continue my blog for as long as I possibly can.  Because even though it brings me a lot of pleasure, I want it to bring you, my readers, pleasure too!

Finally I want to say a very HUGE thank you to every individual person who follows me or my blog, who's ever written a comment or shared one of my posts, to all my lovely friends that support me on and off line and for putting up with me going on about it all the time :-)

***** THANK YOU *****


Ok, and now on to my very first Giveaway :-)


As another very big thank you, I wanted to give something back to you.  So, I have spent out some of my hard earned savings and re-purchased a selection of my most favourite makeup items, just for you.  I decided I wanted to keep the items a surprise for the lucky winner, but I have mentioned and occasionally reviewed each and every one of them at some point on my blog.  Also I've not included any foundations, concealers or blushers as everyone has different skin tones and types, so I thought it best to stay away from those types of products.

Ok, so how do you enter I am using Rafflecoper to collect the entries and choose a winner for me, all the full entry terms and conditions are below, the giveaway will last for 3 weeks from today and you can enter as many times as you would like.  Good luck :-)

a Rafflecopter giveaway
The Rules:
©    To be in with a chance of winning my 'Blog Birthday Box of Beauty Favourites', enter via the Rafflecopter widget
©    Please make sure you leave your full name and email address in the comments, so that I can contact you if you win
©    There will be only one winner
©    This giveaway is open internationally
©    You must complete all 3 mandatory entries before you can access any of the extra entry options
©    This giveaway will run for 21 days from Wednesday the 5th of November 2014 until Wednesday the 26th of November 2014, 12.00am gmt
©    Once the giveaway is over, I will contact the winner directly via email, once the winner has been contacted they will have 72 hours to reply or a new winner will be selected.


Until next time, stay happy and good luck

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Monday 3 November 2014

October 31st - Halloween Party


Hi everyone, just a quick post today to tell you a little about the Halloween party I went to on Friday night.


I went with my two of my lovely friends, this is a picture of me with my friend Helz.  My other friend politely mentioned she would rather not be revealed to the entire population on the internet, so I will just refer to her as FB.  I know you will both read this at some point so I just wanted to say a big thank you to both of you for coming with me, it was so nice to have you there and for you both to make such a brilliant effort with your costumes, you both looked wonderful and FB it meant so much because I know you really went out of your way to come along with me, so thank you :-)

Ok, so here's just a few pics of the costume I wore, I went with the Fallen Angel theme I spoke about in my Diy Costume Ideas post one Wednesday.




I was lucky enough to spot this gorgeous black gothic lace dress from a gothic clothing wholesaler in Manchester, you can find it for sale on Amazon.
I also wore lace tights from New Look, tall black boots and black fingerless lace gloves which I've had for a while and black gel nail stickers from Wilkinsons.


The black lace beaded choker I made myself and the cross (which you can see in some of the other pictures) is just one I've had for ages, I love it though and thought it would be perfect :-)


My wings were originally black mesh butterfly wings, but with the help of my good friend FB, a little reshaping and lots of added netting, we came up with these amazing tattered angel wings, I was really happy with them :-)


For my makeup, I recently got the Makeup Revolution Give Them Nightmares eyeshadow palette and have been longing to use it for this look, so most of the eyeshadows I used are from that.

For my base, I started with my usual current Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation, then added Collection concealer and Kick Ass powder, I didn't use any blusher and tried to contour a little with dark grey eyeshadow for a spooky look but it didn't really work too well, oh well!




I added some false lashes which I got from Poundland then went over the band with the Collection Extreme 24 hour felt liner in Black and dabbed over the top of that with my favourite black eyeshadow by Natural Collection in Midnight.  And of course my beloved Seventeen Doll'd Up Mascara to finish off my eye look.  This was the very first time I've worn false lashes and it certainly took some practise but I really enjoyed wearing them :-)


For my lips I used the Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Kajal liner in 001 Black to line my lips and create a good dark base.  I went over that with the Collection Work The colour Eyeshadow pencil in Midnight Glam to give a dark shimmer and then I finished off with a light covering of Makeup Revolution's Atomic lipstick in Make Me Magnificent, which is such a beautiful purple shine!


It was a really fun night, I've not been out for Halloween for many years and I've really missed it, I loved dressing up in the costume too.  I'd love to hear what you got up to on All Hallows eve, so let me know in the comments below.  Until Next Time Stay Happy

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