Our blogs are a way of expression: the beauty favourites, the helpful tips, the chatty posts on a specific subject, the most delicious recipes. We definitely write a lot but there are things we never tell. Am I right?

We don’t know where we're going most of times but we think we do | I’ve realised that I don’t really know where I am going with my blog when people asked me “Do you want blogging to be your career?” or “You do it so that you can find new opportunities?” I’ve started my blog because I wanted to share things with other people, I wanted to connect with others that have the same interests I do. I never thought of it as a career or a way of getting new opportunities but I’ll certainly consider them once they pop up. It’s ok not to know.

Around what you see on those beautiful photos there’s a chaotic mess | Can we thank the person who created the “Crop” tool? I always want my photos to look clean and pretty but the mess that is around it isn’t pretty at all. There’s makeup products, notebooks, the bag where I keep my tripod, a list where I’ve written what photos I need to take and the usual mess of a student’s room.

Life isn’t as glamorous as Instagram might show | Who likes to Instagram a selfie from that day you were looking crap? Nobody. I’ll certainly won’t be post photos of my messy room or kitchen and if you burnt your toasts, I bet you won’t capture the moment and upload it on Instagram. If you want to have a glance through our lives, check Twitter. We complain about everything there.

Social media is crucial if you want to grow your blog | It took me a while to realise this but I’ve finally done it and even though I’m not the best at managing all my social media platforms, I’m trying. Promise.

Not everyone can stick to blogging regularly | Yes, everybody can create a blog and most of you will at least stick to it for the first few weeks but will everyone be able to blog regularly? No. It all comes from your personality. Will you have a late night trying to reply to comments and reading the most recent posts of fellow bloggers? Will you get up early on weekends so that you can get a great photo for next week’s post? Most people won’t and that’s why not everybody sticks to blogging.

We waste money on things we don’t need | Most of the times I’m aware I don’t need that pretty notebook or that gold pen or even that copper plate that will have no other use than being a prop for my blog photos but I’ll always find an excuse to buy it anyway and then I’ll tell myself it wasn’t that expensive. But it was money after all. Oh well…

Everything can turn into a blogpost | That trip you’re taking on Sunday with your family? That nice coffee shop you visited last week? Everything can be a blogging opportunity and that's having the mind of a blogger. If you’re in this stage already, there’s no turning back now, I’m sorry!

What others things can you remember that bloggers “never” tell?

Love, Rita

About three weeks ago I shared with you how I felt about my University exams, how some of them didn’t go as I expected and how crap I felt about it even though I tried not to let it affect me a lot. Today is time to do an update on all those crazy exams and how I feel about it now.

Valentine’s Day isn’t just for those who are dating someone. It’s supposed to be fun day to celebrate love and friendship and it doesn’t really matter if you’re having a romantic dinner with your loved one, a fun night with your best friends or a night in eating pizza. As long as you’re doing something that makes you feel happy, it’s fine. For this Valentine’s Day I wanted to create a simple cute and yet edgy (at my own way) look using only affordable products.

For the base I did something very simple and very similar to what I usually do. I applied a little bit more of blush and highlighter to give it another glow. I used the Catrice All Matte Plus Shine Control Foundation in 010 Light Beige and the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser Dark Circles Concealer in Light. To set my under eye area I used the Essence All About Matt Fixing Compact Powder and the Essence Mattifying Compact Powder in 10 Light Beige around my face. To bronze up my face I used the Essence Bronzing Compact Powder (discontinued) and I picked a pink blush as it’s Valentine’s Day to give a flush of colour to my cheeks: the Catrice Multi Matt Blush in 010 Love, Rosie!

For the eyes I only used eyeshadows from the Makeup Revolution 32 Shade Eyeshadow Palette in Flawless. To create a light base I applied Uncover (2nd on the 2nd row) all over the lid and then Gold Digger (6th on the 2nd row) on top. To give some definition to my eyes, I applied Copper Shimmer (4th on the 3rd row) on the very outer corner of my eyes. Underneath my bottom waterline, I applied Red Night (3rd on the 4th row) which is probably my favourite shade of the palette. I also used Highlite (4th on the 1st row) to highlight my cheekbones and I loved the final result (even though you can’t even see it in the photos).

I used the Seventeen Falsifeye HD Mascara* for my bottom lashes and the Rimmel Scandaleyes Lycra Flex Mascara on my top lashes. For my eyebrows I used my trusty Seventeen Brow’s That Brow Kit*. On my lips I used the Essence Long Lasting Lipstick in Barely There and topped that with a light pink lipstick from a Portuguese beauty store but you can use any light pink lipstick if you want to recreate this look.

Will you be doing anything special this Valentine’s Day?

Love, Rita

How could I go through Valentine’s Day without having a nail look dedicated to it? Not possible. I've always associated Valentine’s day with being cute rather than being sexy as I just think it’s a lot more fun and you can enjoy it whether you have a boyfriend/girlfriend or not. 

“Feeling sure about yourself and your abilities” is what you’re going to read if you search for the definition of Self-Confidence. Such a simple definition for something so complex. Something that can makes us feel awesome or it can makes us feel sh*t. That’s right. Today I wanted to talk to you about what is being self-confident and what self-confidence means to you and how some things can affect you the way you feel about yourself.

I was doing some online shopping. “I’ll only add to my basket what I really need” said the girl who added 3 nail polishes to her basket when spotted them at 1€ each. Yes, I’ve seen good quality and inexpensive nail polishes before but I had never seen nail polishes at 1€. “Well, even if they suck, I didn’t waste that much money” I said and happily clicked “Confirm”.

Sharing my love for other blogs is something I’ve always enjoyed but creating a series where you share with everybody your favourite bloggers can become a little bit repetitive over time. This new series called “The Ones I Saved” is about sharing with you the posts that gave me joy to read or that have any useful advice you can take from it.

Being a “morning person” is more about the habits you create that anything else. For many years I wasted mornings and I’d only start doing something productive around 3pm. That has changed due to some very easy and simple habits I’ve created along the way and that you can insert into your life too so today’s post is all about 5 Thing You Can Do For A More Productive Morning.