You Are What You Eat

When I was a teenager my friend really surprised me with a revelation that she is "on a diet". It was very surprising, considering the fact that she was not fat at all and only 15 years old. Did I say anything to her? Oh, yes I did. Was it something sensible? No, not at all. I only asked the details of her diet. It didn't really concern me why she does that - at that time it seemed to be trendy to be "on a diet". So I followed a lead as well. No bread, no sugar, nothing fat and not eating after 6 p.m. Did it work? Well, it's hard to say, as I wasn't fat either. I did feel miserable and hungry all the time and after a while I gave up.
The truth is - diets do not really work. It's just a torture. The main secret is exercise and healthy eating. Don't get confused here - healthy eating is not the same as diet. Healthy eating is not about restricting yourself, but about enjoying everything in moderation. Recently I watched Katya's video (harmonyofbeauty on the you-tube) about slimming down. There she made a really good point - before starting a diet you have to ask yourself - are you going to able to stick to it all your life? Most of you will think - yes, of course. So did I. But then she made another good point. If you are sticking to a certain diet and then stop - all the weight that you lost will come back and very possible you will gain even more than you had before (tried and tested - 100% true) so it all becomes pointless. Also we have to remember - one day (if you are a woman) you will decide to have a baby - and then you will have no choice, but to stop dieting. And that is the fact we all are forgetting about.

The best way is to make healthy choices, enjoying everything in moderation and making it your lifestyle. If you all the time will be eating fresh fruits and vegetable, brown rice and pasta you will never have to stop and it will only be good for you.

It really does work. I try to eat healthy all the time and if I want some chocolate - I will have some, just not the whole bar, if I want ice-cream I'll have a frozen yogurt instead - healthier and as delicious as ice-cream. If I want pizza I can make some myself - using wholemeal flour for dough, fresh veggies, healthy topping and low fat mozzarella. I pay attention to ingredients on the pack, try to cook my meals every day and avoid using ready prepared, processed meals. Also try to steam or bake you food instead of frying too much. And of course lots of water - no fizzy drinks, no juices (too much sugar). 

It is not so complicated and it does deliver results. It also makes my grocery shopping a lot more interesting. You will be able to stick to it forever and see results, with the additions of some exercise. 

Trust me - you are what you eat. If you want to be beautiful and healthy you have to take care of your body and it will thank you afterwards. You know what they say - beauty is within us. So take care of yourself!

Love 

Lace butterfly

Wishlist

I must admit - I like really good clothes. But... I buy them very rarely - I am one of those people, who sees something in the shop and thinks "OMG I love that!", but after a while I start thinking "Oh, do I really need this? I already have a dress at home. And I don't go out very often, so why buying this? Let's save some money". And I always end up never buying things.. Only when I really need something I do purchase things... Crazy, isn't it? I talk myself out of it...
Another thing that I noticed is I have a very expensive taste. Always when I like something - it is extremely expensive. I remember recently browsing through a shopping site and decided to check some classic white shirts for women. I was looking at this endless list of hundreds of nearly the same looking white shirts, when one pop out. It was outstanding - you could see that it is very good made and the quality of material is very nice. So I clicked on it and... Yes, there it was... Hugo Boss... ££££££..... Oh dear..
Then I was watching TV and there was a program with Gok Wan. It was a fashion show, where high street was competing with designer. Nobody knew at first which outfit was designer and which one was high street - it was all revealed in the end. But watching this show I was assessing the outfits and every single one, which I liked was designer!!!! Is there a sign in all this? Maybe, I'm not sure...
Anyway, I started receiving newsletters from Selfridge's - my favorite shopping destination (to look, not to buy - everything is so expensive!!!) and there it was again.. Look at this beauty...

I just love it... Like always - it is from Gucci and it costs around £2 300... I don't earn half as much in a month!!!
And then this beauty from Burberry... Oh dear...

The most beautiful coat I've ever seen... Wool and silk, and of course £2195... I also love the shoes, but the black ones look much better.

Nice...Really nice... And £600 away...Well, who knows, maybe one day I will be able to have some of that... Why not, right? Just keep dreaming and never give up, remember? :)

Love

Lace Butterfly

Nails of the Month

For over two years now I've had gel nails. I always loved perfectly groomed, manicured, long nails. However, my own nails are very weak and thin, they break easily and it is impossible to grow them. So I found the perfect solution - gel. I do not do it myself - all work is done by professional. My natural nail is covered with gel and sets under UV light. That is it. They are very strong, long and I can have any design I want. The best thing? It stays on forever, unlike nail polish, which starts chipping after 2 says. I have to do them every three weeks and they do not break at all - you have to do something really bad and smash your nails really hard to break them. That is why I am so happy! I decided that every month when I have them done, I'll post a picture of them - just for fun. My nail technician does an amazing job, so maybe it will be a great inspiration for somebody?

Here are my nails for this month :)

Product Review: Clarins Instant Smooth Crystal Lip Balm

As I have quite big and full lips I do not like lip glosses as they make my lips extra huge. I prefer lipsticks or lip balms, but as long as they are not glittery, shimmery or metallic. I like satin finish and I still have divided opinion about matte lipsticks. Anyway Clarins Instant Smooth Crystal Lip Balm is a lip balm with color. I have only one color - 04 Crystal Red as I am trying to introduce red color into my make up, but I want to start with something sheer and not too strong. Clarins is perfect. It has color core surrounded by rich balm, which looks like a gel.
The packaging is very nice and expensive looking, which I like a lot.

I apologize for the poor picture quality, but it is the best I could do.

As you can see the center of the balm is very pigmented, but still it is very nice red, which is not too strong. Possibly the balm surrounding it makes the color more sheer, which I like. It is very nice color for everyday wear and is very suitable for summer.

The balm feels very smooth and rich, it doesn't dry out my lips, like some similar products and color stays on for hours after application. Very often I noticed that the feeling of the balm is gone, but the color is still there. The only thing to remember is that because the color is in the middle, you really have to blend it well by rubbing your lips together. Overall, it is a very good balm, which looks good and feels luxurious, so well worth the money :)

Love 

Lace Butterfly

Things That I Love #5. Pampering and Beauty

Well, which woman doesn't? :) I really got interested in beauty only when I came to England six years ago. I started to earn my own money, which I could spend on anything I like. That is small money, but where I came from - it is huge! When I was younger my parents didn't have much money. We couldn't afford to buy Pantene shampoo because it was too expensive... My Mum didn't know much about beauty as well, so she had nothing to teach me. So I suffered with low self esteem because of acne and damaged hair...
When I moved here I could afford to buy good things. But for me the brand's name is not enough. I always do research on line, read blogs and reviews about certain products before buying them.  I am not so much into make up, but I do love a good skincare. And it has paid off. Since my active interest my acne is gone, skin is glowing and soft, my hairdresser said I have the healthiest hair she had ever seen and I am happy. I do still suffer from acne scars, but I am working on it. Also, next month I will be twenty six, so at the moment I am researching choices of effective anti-aging products as prevention is the key! :)
I haven't tried professional pampering as that is too expensive for me, but I hope that once I will earn enough I will be able to treat myself to a trip to SPA :)


Love

Lace Butterfly

Anything is possible

I have a firm belief that each and every single person can achieve anything. Determination, hard work and optimism are the tools that help us with this process. Never lose hope and never give up. Here is the example from my life. Since the age of seven my Mum sign me up for private English lessons. She always told me that I am smart, so it should be easy for me to learn the language and in the future I will not regret it. It was not cheap and my Grandmother was giving me part of her pension to pay for those classes. Right now I couldn't be more grateful for that, but back then I hated every second of it. I had to attend those classes every week after school, sometimes in weekends and through summer as well. When I was eleven, English became a compulsory subject at school and then I realized my advantage. Everything we studied in class was a child's play for me. I was the best student in the class and excelled in English exam. My classmates were always asking me for help and for once I get a chance to shine.
My teacher was encouraging me to go study abroad after finishing school, but it was very difficult and expensive. My parents straight away notified me that they can't afford that and advised me to give up on that idea. And I did. I still continued with my private lessons until the age of eighteen and after finishing school I went to University to study Sociology. Until my aunt's husband moved to England and a year later my aunt joined him. They invited me to visit them during the summer and as tickets were cheap (I miss those days) I went there. I was only planning to stay for three months - in September I had to go back home to continue studies, but I never did. It was my chance and I decided not to let it go. I find a job and started earning money. In one month I earned enough to pay for two years of my University fee. Then I decided to have a look at the way English higher education works as by then I knew that Sociology was not a field for me.
It was hard as nobody could explain me properly what I am supposed to do to get in to the University in UK. As I was foreigner it was not just the case of filling in the application. I needed qualification and my high school diploma was not enough. Also hey had to determine my language level and it did not matter that I had private lessons and certificates proving it. Those certificates were not issued in UK so it wasn't a valid proof. This journey was long, I was sent to the wrong people and even applied to wrong and completely unnecessary courses until by lucky accident one of the advisors in the college said that the perfect way for me was the Access to Higher Education course. That was the course for those who wanted to go to University, but had a big break from studies and do not have qualifications, or their diplomas are too old. It was intense one year course, where students had to learn the two year course content. I went on to apply, but had to wait a year as my application came to late.
I had to chose a field that I wanted to study and I took the one that scared me the most - Business. I wasn't sure that I am strong enough for it. Back at home I had some Business related subjects at school, but I was really bad at them. However, this time I was determined to succeed. I had to... I wanted to. And honestly, it worked. I started understanding those subjects and I finished the course with amazing grades. College also helped me to apply to University and in two months I am starting my final year of International Business degree at University of Brighton!!! I am very happy about it. I never thought I will be in this place. I am doing really well, with very good grades and I like the work I am doing. It is hard work, but I did it all by myself and that gives me even more confidence in achieving my dreams. Back at home everyone were telling me that t is just a dream and I will never be able to achieve it. They called me silly for hoping, but hey - who is silly now?
Never give up! Dream it! Do It! Because anything is possible!

Love

Lace Butterfly

Never Lose Hope

Doesn't this picture helps to understand my choice of the name for this blog? I tried to explain it earlier, but this does even better job. However, I wanted to post it not just because of the name, but also because of the message. Very often we get upset as our dreams do not come true, we are waiting and nothing is changing, we are just hoping... But there is a limit to our patience. I have seen so many people giving up, only because they were tired of waiting. I remember somebody telling me to forget that I want something - because when you are really waiting nothing will happen. The secret is to forget about it and think about something else. That way tome will pass without you even noticing it and your wish will come true. It is very similar to the thing they say about love - stop looking and it will find you. So the lesson is, my friends, never lose hope. Things will happen, just in their own time. Good luck to you all!

Love

Lace Butterfly