Author: hoiyinli

Epiphanies, Thoughts and Expression

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If there is one way to see 2020, then see it as a life lesson. Irrespective of Covid, a lot of other crises has occurred this year since it has come into existence; and being one of those people who always think everything happens for a reason, I feel that this year is the greatest life lesson in itself. How can we be more present? How can we enjoy this moment when it’s hard? How can we be more productive with our time, especially when finding so much of it free right now? I got rather anxious at some points of the Covid lockdown…and it was not nice. But sometimes it’s about falling into a pit of bad before you can appreciate the good and finally see the light (even in Covid circumstances). Things get worse before they get better is a phrase I have heard often during this time period…and with Biden having won the American election recently, I think that may be right. Over the past few months, I had a tonne of …

I Became an Artist During the Pandemic

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I haven’t blogged in months and now I’m back writing in a completely different light. For those who follow me on my Instagram anyway, you’re up-to-date. For those who may have discovered that I was missing in action or simply didn’t know that I existed until now, the main title is the update in a nutshell: I became an artist! Firstly, I hope everyone is okay in what’s been a turbulent 2020 to say the least. I know certainly for me, all the good came with all the bad both emotionally and mentally during the pandemic lockdown. For the first time in a long time, I had time to make art – time I always said I didn’t have (in order to make art). Suddenly with a lot of it, I thought I’d make do and before long, I realised that it was healing my mind and soul especially during the days when I was feeling rough. That’s how I know now that art therapy is totally a thing. As clichĂ© as it might sound, …

#Selfcare Sunday Series | Navigating Friendships and Deciphering Toxic Negativity

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Happy Sunday! Amidst everything crazy that is happening right now, I hope you are all keeping well and being kind to each other. I also need to keep my mind off it too so I’ll be attempting to write more. Firstly, I’d like to say Thank You to everyone who commented on my post about Getting Over My Anxiety for Driving. It was a topic that I desperately needed to write, even if no one was going to read it (clearly I don’t trust page views). But reading some of your comments to confirm the similar struggles that you had, particularly for driving, was really heartfelt and helped open up a whole new avenue that I didn’t know existed. I no longer felt as stupid and actually, I would like to promote this sort of topical confession/discussion more in the future. #PositiveMentalHealth #Positivity 🙂 I’ve been keeping up with driving so much so that I’ve enjoyed it in the past few weeks. I’m hoping to tackle dual carriageways soon but only once the weather calms …

How I Edit My Photos

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Living in the UK means that we don’t get a great deal of sunlight except in the summer but even that is difficult as our seasons have blurred drastically in the last couple of months. Today I’ll be showing you how I edit my photos – and yes, this includes those already featured on my blog! Whilst every photo has its own characteristics dependent on things like lighting and shutter speed, I generally use the same steps for every photo that I edit. There are however, some rules I abide by first before editing anything. My first rule of thumb is to make sure that the base of the photo is good enough to edit. This includes good lighting (or at the very least, average lighting), a considered composition and a decent quality all-around. If all these boxes are ticked, it will make the editing process a lot easier and more successful. To give you a bit of guidance, I never take photos in artificial (bedroom) lighting because I know from experience, editing will never …

Review: L’OrĂ©al Infallible 24hr Foundation

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I’m so happy to be back at reviewing some products! I realise that they’re few and far between but I do love writing a good, detailed review. It’s just not often that I have enough to say about a given product and you should know that I want to give a quality review as much as I want to be interested in the product I’m reviewing whether for a good reason or a bad reason. Today, I’ll be reviewing the L’OrĂ©al Infallible 24hr Foundation. I bought this foundation completely on a whim with no prior knowledge to it. I seldom watch beauty YouTube anymore so I have no idea, no recollection, of whether this foundation has been hyped about or not. I have also not read a review to do with this product so this may be the most unbiased review you’ll have seen me write. Let’s begin shall we? FYI – I have combination/oily skin with the tendency to suffer from dehydration. I purchased the foundation in shade 120 Vanilla. What is it? It’s …