January...A Month of Firsts

January has been a great start to the year. I know most people look forward to getting January out of the way but for me I've loved - almost - every minute of it. Last month saw a number of first's for me so I thought I would share them all with you as well as throwing in a few of my favourite things of the month.

This month I....

• Wrote my first blog post! It was daunting, very daunting in fact to hit publish but when I finally did it, it felt really good. So far I'm loving blogging, I'm finding it a great outlet for getting everything on paper (well 2014 style!) and I love writing about things I have a passion for - mainly beauty related things!

• Ran my first Park Run.Training for my 10k is hard, mostly down to the fact that I never seem to have the time to get outside and when I do its bloody freezing but the Park Run on a Saturday morning really keeps me focused. I just need to get some longer runs in before 1st March! You can read about my first Park Run here.

• Have been on a spending ban. I love shopping as much as the next girl so opting for a spending ban in January seemed to only spell disaster but I was pleasantly surprised that I coped pretty well. Now I'm not saying I'd jump at the chance to do it again but with saving being my main aim this year I do think I need to cut down on my spending - bar today though as I had a major spend up! Watch out for that haul coming soon! 

Some of the things I've been loving this month are:

MAC Lipstick in Creme Cup - This has been my go to lipstick since I got this at Christmas. Its a great pinky nude that is prefect for adding a touch of colour. I've been wearing this nearly everyday for work as I tend to go for the more natural look. Its a Cremesheen finish, now I dont really know much about the different types of finishes but I do know that this feels really smooth on my lips and has a gorgeous vanilla scent that all the lipsticks seem to have. 

Garnier 5 Sec Perfect Blur - I've got primers coming out of my ears but this one is always the one I come back to. I love the way it glides on like air and leaves my skin feeling silky smooth. It gets in all those pesky pores and leaves a smooth canvas ready for the main man, foundation. Although I cant really talk about the effect it has on wrinkles, thankfully I don't have any yet, but I can only imagine the wondrous job it would do on them. The only negative about this is the packing. Even when I bought the product it seemed half full, you really had to give it a good squeeze for anything to come out. Its like its jam packed with air! Other than that and maybe the price - £12.00 - I think its a great primer that I'll come to repurchase in the future when its on offer. 

L'Oreal Telescopic Extra Black - This mascara does it all for me, lengthens, divides the lashes so they're not all clumpy and gives them extra colour. I've been wearing this nonstop since I got it just before Christmas, so much so the writing is fading off the tube, I'm definitely going to be getting another one of these very soon.

Roger and Gallet Fleur de Figuier - Back in the summer last year I received a sample of this in a beauty box, it was a brand that I've never heard of and probably wouldn't have looked twice if I saw it in the shop. But oh my, I'd been missing out, this is the most amazing scent, really floral and grown up I'd say. I'm awful as describing scents so the next time your in M & S (that's where Roger and Gallet is stocked) definitely have a sniff of this. Whilst your there take a sniff at everything else they do because let me tell you its all good.

Yankee Candle Christmas Cookie - Christmas is well and truly over but this doesn't mean the candles have to be put away, and especially not the Christmas ones! I got this and Merry Marshmallow as a gift and they smell amazing. Christmas Cookie has a sweet buttery scent which fills my whole room with vanilla yumminess. What's not to love! I dont like the idea of putting the candles away until next year as I'm not sure they will keep as I have started to burn them so I'm going to carry on the Christmas spirit until they are gone, which I think will be awhile as these things last so well! 

James Patterson Along Came a Spider - Before the world of Facebook, Twitter and blogs I loved reading. I'd stay up late trying to get through all the goods bits because I didn't want to put it down. Then it was just on holidays that I used to read, but still managed to get through 2/3 a week. So this year I'm making a conscious effort to get my reading list back up and I started with Along Came a Spider. I've read a few of James' books before but never any from the Alex Cross series so I'd do the right thing and start from the beginning. If you love detective, homicide stories this one will be right up your street. It's a real page turner with crime at every corner, and there's even a bit of romance in there too. I wont spoil it in case you do decide to read it (I urge you to!) but just when you think you know how its going to end it will all get turned upside down. 

So there you have it my January favourites if you will. I hope you liked hearing about the things I got up to and what I've been enjoying. If you have any books you think I should check out please let me know!