3 Year Blogiversary and Giveaway

Time really does fly, if you'd have told me when I was at university that I would start a blog that I would continue to write for three years, I'd have laughed you out of the room. I had written blog before, in fact I started my first blog when I was around thirteen and it was honestly a load of self-absorbed rubbish. It wasn't until I was at university that I really started blogging properly, I've probably told this story a million times so I won't get properly into it. 

These past three years have been some of the best and also hardest of my life, and I have loved every second of sharing it with all of you. Don't worry, this isn't the end, I intend to carry on blogging until I am old and grey, or until I run out of things to say, and I don't see that happening any time soon. 

So in honour of three years on Alyssiarose, I thought I would share some of my top three's from the past three years.

Top Three Songs:

• Fallout Boy - The Pheonix
• Macklemore - Thrift Shop
• Ed Sheeran - Thinking Out Loud

Top Three Films:

• Inside Out - Hands down one of the best animated movies I have seen in a long time.
• Jurassic World - Amazing. Just amazing, and so respectful of the original movies, plus Chris Pratt is just a legend.
• 21 Jump Street - Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill together is just hilarious. Even better is that Johnny Depp is in this movie!

Top Three Makeup Brands:

• Makeup Revolution - Best value for money
• Bourjous - Favourite Lipsticks
• Urban Decay - Most amazing eyeshadow palette's

Top Three Restaurants:

• Las Iguana's (Latin American) - Their Tapas are amazing, and Tim and I always end up there when we are nearby.
• Coals Bar and Grill in Basingstoke - They do great cocktails and also amazing food that's spicy, but not so spicy I can't eat it, because I am a wimp.
• Gourmet Burger Kitchen - My absolute favourite burger restaurant, in existence, ever.

Top Three Places I Have Visited:

• Bristol - I first visited Bristol when doing training for a job I had just out of university, and I fell in love with it. Since then I have visited numerous times. I've even thought of moving to Bristol that's how much I love it.
• Brighton - This is somewhere I never thought about going, up until I learned that some of my favourite Youtubers live there. After watching some of their vlogs I thought it looked like a really cool place, so Tim and I went there last summer. It is an amazing place, again yet another place that I have thought about moving to.
• Cardiff - I only ever go to Cardiff when I am going to a concert, so I never spend a great deal of time there, but I love the shopping centre right near the arena, it's massive, and has so many different shops that I feel like I could spend a lifetime there. I'm actually going to Cardiff this weekend for my birthday with Tim, so I'll get a chance to see a lot more of it.

Now onto the Giveaway! Seeing as this is my third year doing this, I thought I would pick Three winners instead of just one. So three lucky readers are going to win a NYX Liquid Suede Lipstick of their choice. To enter just follow the instructions on the widget below.

3 Year Blogiversary Giveaway

250 Bloglovin Followers Giveaway: LUSH Mystery Bundle!

You may remember a few weeks ago that I announced that I had managed to not only reach, but to surpass my target of bloglovin' followers for the year, in a matter of mere months! I had wanted to reach 250 followers by the end of the year, but now I am sitting on 291 followers and really I have all of you to thank for that!

Now I'm sure you are all wondering now I reach my target, whether I will be setting a new one, so I'm being rather ambitious, and setting myself the goal of reaching 500 Bloglovin followers by the end of 2015, and I hope that you will all continue to support me in reaching this target! 

In my last post, I asked you all what you might like to see me giveaway to celebrate reaching my target, and here is what you asked for...

It seems as though my readers love LUSH just as much as I do, because that is what I will be giving away, a mystery LUSH bundle worth at least (but probably more than) £20! I will also be giving you the chance to let me know what ONE Lush item you are desperate to get your hands on, and the lucky winner might just receive what they ask for in the mystery bundle that makes it's way to them!

The giveaway will run from now until the 8th of May 2015, so you have a month to get your entries in using the widget below, good luck to you all, I can't wait to put together the mystery hamper for the lucky winner!

250 Follower Giveaway: Win a Mystery LUSH Bundle

250 Blog Followers! What would you like to see me giveaway?

via

Way back at the beginning of January, yes I say 'way back' I can't believe we are in March already! Anyhow I am getting off track... Way back in January I set my blogging resolutions for the year, you can check out the original post here.

Never in a million years did I expect that a mere two months later, that I would be writing a post to say that I have already reached one of those goals, and one that I really didn't expect to reach so quickly!

The goal I am talking about of course was to reach 250 bloglovin' followers by the end of 2015, and here I am sitting on 290 followers, and I am completely overwhelmed. Not only have I reached my target, but I have gone above it. Thank you so much to every single person that follows me, it means the absolute world to me.

Now I want to give something back to you! I will be hosting a 250 followers giveaway, but first I want to know what YOU want to be given away, so I have added a poll below for you to add your input. This poll will run until the end of March, and then the giveaway will run for the month of April, so go ahead and tell me what YOU want.

Once again, thank you so much for the support, I love each and every one of you!

What would you like to see me giveaway?

LUSH Goodies

Makeup Revolution Goodies

£20 Amazon Voucher

Poll Maker

Two Year Blogiversary and Giveaway!

Two years ago I started this blog, and to be honest it was a little bit on a whim. At the time I was writing a Nail Blog and wanted to branch out to something more, I just knew my readers at the time wouldn't be interested, so I thought starting a new blog would be easier. I never knew how much I would enjoy writing it, and the opportunities and friends that it would bring me. It's been an amazing two years and I can't wait to see what else is in store. I already have so many exciting things planned for the next few months, and I can't wait to share them with all of you! 

In honour of the second birthday on Alyssiarose, I thought I would share five of my all time favourite posts!

1. Skyrim Diary: The Day that everything happened!
2. Blogger Meetup and Benefit Makeover
3. Easy Peasy Ice Cream
4. Bliss in Bristol
5. Welcoming New Cuties to our family!

Also as I did last year I thought I would do another Giveaway to celebrate my second year of blogging, so if you want to be in with a chance to win all the below prizes, then simply fill out the widget below! 

You could be in with a chance of winning:

• Bourjous Little Round Pot Blusher in Cendres De Roses
• Barry M Gelly Nail Paint in Huckleberry
• Along Came Betty Dare to Define Eyeliner
• Along Came Betty Wow! Lashes
• Make Up Revolution What you waiting for? Palette
• Along Came Betty PriEYEmer
• Barry M Gelly Nail Paint in Rose Hip
• Along Came Betty Fix me Quick Mattifying Primer
• Bourjous Smoky Eye Palette in Rose Vintage
• Along Came Betty Highlighter Stick (not pictured)

The giveaway will be closing on the 28th of February, and is a UK ONLY giveaway, so you have almost a whole month to get your entries in. Good Luck!

2 Year Blogiversary Giveaway

Giveaway Winner Revealed!!!

If you didn't already know, it was my One Year Blogiversary on the 29th of January, and to celebrate I hosted a giveaway!

The winner will receive a W7 'In The Buff' palette, which is said to be a dupe for the Urban Decay naked Palette. So without further ado, let's announce the winner...


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congratulations Sarah-Louise Bailey! Check your email as I'll be in contact with you shortly. Thanks so much to everyone that entered, it's been really fun reading your entries, and watch this space as there will certainly be another giveaway soon!

Friday Favourites!

I'm sure I started a weekly favourites post at some point, but I literally cannot recall when that was. Anyhow, I'm inspired by the lovely Leona's Thankful Thursday posts, and I thought it was about time that I started sharing with you all everything that makes me smile!

I reached my one year Blogiversary this week, and to celebrate I'm doing a Giveaway, so make sure to check that out!

I got a haircut! I was less than impressed with it when I first saw it, and I'm still unsure to be honest, but I like it in this photo, and I'm sure it will be better when it grows. I even vlogged about it...

My Youtubing is getting more serious with every passing day, and I have helped to organise a collaboration channel. Myself and 6 others with be posting vlogs every day of the week, set to a specific theme for each week. My day is Friday, so if you want to see my first video next Friday then please go Subscribe to the Youtube Channel!

I finally watched Frozen, and it was as amazing as I knew it would be! I now have Let it Go in my head constantly...

One Year Blogiversary, and Giveaway!

I can't believe that it has been one whole year since I started this blog! Technically I had been blogging for much longer than that, but after starting a nail blog in November 2012 on Blogger, I decided to move my personal blog over to here too. From then on I took my blogging much more seriously, and I'm glad I did. I never thought this blog would grow as it has done, and I'm so thankful for all the new friends that I have made through blogging. This past year has been very interesting, and also very up and down for me, but I'm glad that my blog has given me something to focus on! So to celebrate a year of Alyssiarose, I thought I'd share a few things with you dear readers.

Firstly I wanted to share with you what I have done on the blog so far, and then I remembered I wrote a year in review post in December, that goes through what I got up to last year! So check that our if you want to see what I have achieved on this blog in one year!

Secondly I want to share my blog goals with you all, as I think it's very important to have something to help you focus!

1. Pick up on all the features I seem to have left behind recently! I'm mainly talking about posts like 'My Week in Instapics', and carrying on with my Gaming diaries, seeing as those are the posts that I have the most fun writing!
2. Blog at least once a week! This is something I have been seriously slacking on recently, just taking a look at my archive, it makes me cringe seeing how much I've neglected this blog recently!
3. Continue to Youtube! I've really been enjoying making Youtube videos properly for the past few months, and I'm planning to keep it up. In fact I have a little surprise coming up next week that will ensure I will keep making videos!
4. Have a greater presence online! I want to start a dialogue with all my readers, I want to be there for you all to chat with. So this goal is all about me responding to comments, and making a conscious effort to comment on other peoples blogs/Youtube channels!
5. Take more photos! I have an amazing camera, and I am guilty of not using it to it's full potential! So this year, I want to bombard you all with photos!

So there you have it, my main goals for this year, we'll see how far I get with them!

Finally, to celebrate my blog reaching it's first year, I wanted to host a giveaway! Considering I posted a video recently about my addiction to Eyeshadow Palettes, I thought I might as well give in, and giveaway another one!

So I'm going to be giving away a W7 'In The Buff' palette! 

Photo Courtesy of LetzMakeupBlog

This palette has been ALL over the internet recently, but I first saw it in a video by Siobhan of the LetzMakeup Blog and Youtube Channel! She was talking about how it is a possible Dupe for the Urban Decay Naked Palette, you can check out her post here. Knowing how much bloggers love the Naked Palette, my curiosity was peaked, and I had to take a look! She not only posted a photo of the palettes together, but also swatched them side-by-side, photos of which you can check out below:

Photo Courtesy of LetzMakeupBlog

Top row: W7, In the Buff Palette, Bottom row: Urban Decay, The Naked Palette. 

Photo Courtesy of LetzMakeupBlog

So you can see that although they aren't perfect matches, they are pretty darn close, and considering the difference in price, £5 vs. £38 (prices according to Ebay), you have to sit up and take notice of this palette! 

To enter the giveaway, all you have to do is fill out the rafflecopter widget below! The giveaway will run until the end of February, so good luck everyone!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway Winners Announced!

So my giveaway ended today, so it's time to announce the winners!

The first prize of 12 Macarons goes to....... MICHELLE LOUISE PAN!

The second prize of 6 Macarons goes to...... GILLIAN HOLMES!

And the third prize of a 15% off voucher for the Mighty Macaron is....... GEORGINA DAVIES!

Congratulations ladies, I've emailed you all with how to claim your prize! Thank you everyone who entered, and don't forget to check out the Mighty Macaron!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway Featuring The Mighty Macaron!

Today I am really excited to be bringing you an amazing giveaway thanks to the lovely Anyonita at The Mighty Macaron! I actually saw The Mighty Macaron on another blog and being a lover of all things sweet and colourful I knew I had to check it out! The Mighty Macaron makes Mail order macarons, and ships them all over the UK, I knew I had to order some! I got talking to Anyonita and asked her about doing a giveaway and thankfully she accepted and even sent me some cheeky samples!

I was seriously excited when my package arrived in the post yesterday and I immediately opened it, and wasn't disappointed! Anyonita sent me 4 flavours to try, and they are all seriously cute!

 Pistachio

Almond macarons with an indulgent vanilla buttercream filling; topped with fresh pistachio pieces.

 Vanilla

Vanilla-infused macarons with an indulgent vanilla buttercream filling; polished with edible glitter.

 Lavender

Cotswold lavender-infused macarons with an indulgent vanilla buttercream filling.

Strawberry

Almond macarons with a sweet strawberry  jam filling.

The Mighty Macaron currently sells 12 flavours in all; Candied Bacon, Chocolate, Chocolate Hazelnut, Chocolate and Orange, Lavender, Lemon, Pistachio, Saffron, Sea Salted Caramel, Strawberry, Tiramisu, and Vanilla!

As you may be able to tell from the picture above my Strawberry Macarons got a little bit smooshed in the post! However I know that this is something that doesn't happen with Anyonita's macarons normally as they are packed in their own little sandwich boxes, you can see them here. 

They are all so cute and tasty! Crunchy and chewy at the same time, they are my new favourite treat! I think my overall favourite had to be the Pistachio, the chocolate centre is so yummy. Needless to say I will be ordering some more very, VERY soon! Until then though I actually have three wonderful prizes to Giveaway to you lovely readers!

• 1st Place - 12 Macarons of your choice
• 2nd Place - 6 Macarons of your choice
• 3rd Place - 15% off voucher for The Mighty Macaron

All you have to do is complete some of the Rafflecopter entries for a chance to win. I wish you all the best of luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

ATTENTION FOLLOWERS!

You may have noticed my new layout and domain!!! I'm gutted that I am currently too busy to start on writing up new stuff for you guys, but I have a week off from Wednesday so expect some new and exciting things!

Also I will be launching some regular features shortly (when I have time to decide what I'm going to write), so if there is anything you particularly want to see on my blog then please leave suggestions in the comments! Also there will be a giveaway coming up on the blog shortly to celebrate the launch of the new domain! So watch this space!