One of my goals for 2019 was to lose weight and get fitter and quite frankly, I've gotten nowhere with it. So, I am going to be starting a health diary, where I share with you all my weight and body progress, to hold myself accountable in a way and share some of the things that I have done along the way. This month is only the beginning so while I won't be sharing what I have done, I will be sharing with you all the things that I aim to manage to do.

I'll admit, towards the end of April I began to comfort eat again, something that I had managed to limit myself from doing for most of the month. But, I'm human and these things happen, so I'm not going to guilt myself over it. So I had gained a little bit of weight, but more than likely this is water weight that will come off relatively quickly. At the beginning of April, my weight was 87kg so you will see here I have made some amount of difference already. This is a new month and a time to set some new goals and try and do what I can to better myself overall.

I've got a lot going on in my personal life right now, stuff that I'm not going to divulge in a blog post as I really don't think this is the place to be speaking about it. But, I'm going to try and put my energy of feeling depressed and such into a different type of energy of bettering myself and really trying to meet my goals.

MEASUREMENTS

Height: 159cm
Weight: 82.5kg
BMI: 32.6
Fat%: 33%
Upper Arm (Left): 32cm
Upper Arm (Right): 32cm
Waist: 74cm
Hips: 101cm
Thigh (Left): 63cm
Thigh (Right): 64cm
Calf (Left): 42cm
Calf (Right): 42cm

GOALS THIS MONTH

• Aim to get my BMI out of the obese range 
• Get my weight as close to 75kg as I can
• Workout 3-5 times a week, according to my schedule I've written up
• Eat at least 2 healthy meals a day
• Put  a focus on strength training 
• Take my vitamins daily
• Replace my sugary, milky teas with herbal for the most part

Mask Monday is back (finally)! 

My little weekly feature where I share with you all some of the masks I have tried whether it be sheet mask, was off mask, peel off, hair mask or whatever kind of mask I get my hands on! Though, let's be honest, 99% of them tend to be sheet masks! Today's one is a super cute one

The sheet mask featured in this post was gifted to me by Mask Time in one of the monthly boxes. 

Holika Holika Essence Jelly Mask - Sweet Peko Edition // Strawberry

I've yet to use a product from Holika Holika before but I've heard a mixture of opinions when it comes to both their skincare and makeup. So, a good place to start might be with their skincare and sheet masks are usually the most affordable aspect of a brand's skincare range. Last year, Holikax2 did a collaboration with Fujiya Milky Candy and their mascot Peko for a range of adorably packaged products. The brand itself is highly popular in Japan and I've actually tried the Matcha version of the sweets and loved them (thanks Ellis!!). So this collab appealed to both fans of the brand and those who enjoy collecting adorable packaging. I highly appreciate how the actual packet looks like the sweet bags!

Scent & Essence // THIS DID NOT SMELL LIKE STRAWBERRIES!!! Which disappointed me greatly. Being infused with strawberry extract, I was hoping for a strawberry scent, however, it ended up being more citrus/slightly herbal (?) which was a little disappointing. There is a TONNE of the essence in this package though, there's definitely enough to either keep the excess in a pot to use for a few days or apply on your body. It has a water jelly type texture, which is quite refreshing and gives the impression it's going to be very moisturising.

Fit & Material // As with a lot of novelty character masks, this mask has Peko-chan's face making up the design of the entire mask. A little creepy, sure. But cute all the same. Though my daughter ended up finding it a bit scary on me. It was a little big for my face particularly the bottom half of it, so I had to do a lot of pulling about to make it sit and fit onto my face properly. The actual mask itself is quite thick and sturdy and feels woven.

Overall // I used this for 20 minutes following a double cleanse and tone. 
Initially, my skin appeared brighter and thoroughly moisturised. It felt supple and overall just felt really soft. The mask left a lot of essence on my face so I had to massage it in for a little bit to make sure my skin just didn't have a thick layer sitting on the skin and so that it could be absorbed faster. There was a little stickiness left afterwards that took maybe half an hour or so to go away, but this isn't too much of a big issue because it wasn't dramatically sticky. This was generally a very well performing mask, doing as it says and doing it well.

Repurchase? Since this was limited edition, I know this won't be around for all too long, so I may buy one or two more but I'm probably going to go ahead and try some of Holika Holika's other sheet masks along with their make up.

Let me know your mask of the week!

Purito started appearing all over K-beauty Instagram as soon as word got out about it and its popularity has continued to grow and grow. Being a brand that intends on having products that are honest and safe, containing naturally sourced ingredients. It's easy to see why this has made them popular, caring primarily about the actual quality and effects of the product rather than just the appearance of the packaging, though I do really enjoy the aesthetic of their packaging in all honesty!

I was recently contacted by Shikaglam (this site is in Spanish as they are based in Barcelona) who is the only current European distributor of the brand. They sent me a whole bunch of samples to try from Purito and to give my impressions on them. So I have decided to do this in the form of a wishlist of the products I liked the most from the selection given and give a little mini first impression on said products. 

Purito's products are generally quite inexpensive, with the most expensive products being about £18. So while maybe not ideal if you're on a very tight budget, but still affordable even if it's just to try one or two products from them. I've given all the samples I got a few uses to see how I found them and below I have listed the four products that I enjoyed the most and would like to continue using at a later point in time.

Defence Barrier PH Cleanser 

I've used this a couple of times in the morning as I enjoy using a light, gentle cleanser in the morning to just get rid of any dust and debris that has fallen onto my skin while I've been sleeping. I've found this to cleanse extremely well while not being harsh on the skin. Leaving it feeling clean but without that ~squeaky~ clean feel (which is what I look for). It does have quite a strong scent to it, however, this is natural due to the ingredients contained as they haven't added excess fragrance. I would like to see how this fares on my skin over prolonged usage and I've been looking for an ideal morning cleanser.

Centella Green Level All In One Mild Pad 

This was actually one of the products I had my eye on the most when it came to Purito. I've been so intrigued by the idea of these types of pads from various brands and I know Centella is an ingredient that is supposed to be amazing for acne scars. I usually used this after my double cleanse or in the morning when I wake up to get rid of dust and found it left my skin feeling smooth and hydrated at the same time and I hope that with regular use, they would help my scarring. This is definitely going to be one of the purchases I make from Purito in time and a lot of my K-beauty pals love them too.

Centella Green Level Eye Cream

Eye cream is something in my skincare routine and I know it's something that I should be using a lot more. This intends on restoring moisture to the undereye area and that's exactly what I need (though really I could do with tattooed concealer or something as I'm cursed with chronic eyebags). My trial of this product has left me with the skin around my eyes being thoroughly hydrated and I feel like this could be a great addition to my routine skin care.

Sea Buckthorn Vital 70 Cream

This is a cream I've actually seen doing the rounds and from my trials of it, I've found it to be very nourishing and moisturising without leaving any oiliness on the skin. The natural fruity scent that comes from the ingredients as well makes it even nicer to use. Buckthorn is an ingredient that is supposed to help with skin tissue regeneration, so I'm hoping if I was to begin using this regularly, it may help with some of my hyperpigmentation.



I will, at some point, get a hold of these products throughout the year and give my full and thorough opinion on the products I do pick up. I can highly appreciate the quality of the products and how they have behaved on my skin in the short trial time, however, I would like to be able to see a long term effect. So, be sure to keep an eye out for a haul of these products and my eventual views on them!

Have you tried Purito before? If so, which products of theirs would you recommend?
If not, are there any from them you're desperate to give a go?

I know we are already a few weeks into 2019, but I always find the first two weeks a bit of a bumpy step to make a start to any changes as I have things like my birthday and such so close to the start of the year that I tend to look to aim towards my goals after that. I know some people see a new year as nothing different, however, I always think it's nice to plan ahead and think of what things you want to achieve and do. So, I've spent some time over the last few weeks coming up with some things that I want to look back on the year and say I have managed to succeed with. 2018 was a year where I met absolutely none of my goals and in some cases, got even further away from those goals as the year went on. I had a very stressful first half to the year and I seemed to not be able to get myself out of habits and mindset during that time, so I'm hoping 2019 will be different.

Prior to my weight gain

Eat Healthier, Get Fitter, Lose Weight, Improve My Relationship With Food

This one is first and it's probably the most common one you see from people. This was actually one of the 2018 goals that I fell very far from. I ended up gaining about 16kg (about 2.5 stone), became very unfit and my relationship with food got worse to the point I just let it be a constant comfort and boredom killer. I intend on allowing myself unconditional permission to all foods while focusing primarily on eating more nutrient-dense foods and lessening my intake of nutrient sparse ones. That side of things is probably going to be the hardest part of this goal, but I'm determined to pull myself through it. This combined with exercising, focusing on strength training, jogging (when it's at least somewhat warm) and short HIIT workouts, I'm hoping to improve my overall fitness, stamina and body strength. I'm lucky that I'm the type that manages to build muscle easily, I just need to make sure the effort is there. I want to lose the 16kg I gained last year at the minimum, but I would like to lose an additional 7-10kg, however, I won't be giving myself a big push to do that and will let that come in its own time. However, I may find myself happy and comfortable at a completely different weight so I won't make this the only deciding factor in everything.

I always feel like I need to justify my reasons for wanting to lose weight, especially since last year I saw a lot of posts and threads about how wanting to lose weight is fatphobic or at least showcases some form of internalised fatphobia (though I'm not denying that these are issues that do exist). I do want to lose weight for aesthetic, I like my body the most when I look a certain way and I know that my body usually looks that way when I put effort into looking after my body, which I feel like is my own form of body positivity. It's something that makes me feel happy and therefore positive in myself, something that I've severely lacked over this past year.

Study Korean Again

I began teaching myself Korean in 2010, putting a big focus on it in 2011-2012 where I got to a point I could have simple, basic conversations and I could translate some things here and there with a little help from the naver dictionary extension. I haven't properly studied it since then (apart from the odd time on Duolingo) and my Korean has gotten terrible. I can still understand the alphabet fully and know a lot of words and some grammar aspects but I can't write or speak it anymore properly, I'm lucky if I can translate stuff anymore. I don't have a massive amount of time to study this due to me working, being a parent, blogging and my other hobbies. But I would like to spend maybe an hour a week dedicated to studying it and getting to grips with it again. Being able to understand Korean meant that I was able to become friends with a Japanese girl back in 2012 who didn't speak any English but was well versed in Korean so we could converse with each other, so it had its benefits.

Plus, Stuart would like us to take a trip there (since he knew I was going to move there for a year but aspects of life got in the way) and it will be better for us getting about if I can actually converse and not just expect everyone to speak in English.

Take More Photos

Whether artsy, more stylistic or just photos of family and times that make me happy. I have a moderately expensive camera (£480 including the lens) and I need to put it to more use than just taking my blog photos. I'm someone who usually likes taking photos at events and when I'm spending time with people, I like to preserve happy memories. However, whenever I was doing things with some people, they would point out that I was doing this and spoke as if it was something weird or bad, so I ended up subconsciously holding back on what photos I was taking. So, I'm not going to allow that to bother me now and just continue to freely take all the photos I want and even try and improve my photography in some way. This will also require a lot more time, which will hopefully help with my overall productivity.

Go Out + Do More

I've been a bit of a hermit all my life and was never really someone that went out very much. I got especially bad for this last year when I wasn't working and I just never did anything and stayed in the house all the time. So, I hope on my days off and time before work, that I can spend that time going outdoors and going and doing more exciting things than sitting about doing nothing. This means Rinoa gets to experience more things and gets to go and see more places. I do feel guilty that over the past year, especially as she's nearly 3 now, I haven't taken her out to do more things due to my own lack of motivation to do anything. I always complain that life is boring, but I don't do anything to make it exciting, so this is something I want to do and something I will put the effort into.

As part of this, I am also planning to go to Belgium in the summer to see my dearest friend Kaye (maybe my wee Swede too) This will be Rinoa's first time abroad and also my first time going outside the UK to anywhere that isn't Majorca. I've been wanting to go to Belgium since 2013 and so many factors got in the way so I will do it this year! Hopefully, we will be able to go abroad at least once a year or two years at the minimum as I want to see more of the world and experience different food and cultures.

Be More Organised

I feel like sometimes when you grow up with parents that behave or act a certain way, you either end up replicating them or becoming the opposite of them. I'm the latter when it comes to my mum. My mum has always been a very clean, tidy, organised person and her idea of clean is miles beyond what most people's is. I'm not the tidiest person in the world and I find things get unorganised very quickly. I do make attempts but they usually fall flat. As my mum says to me, I have very good intentions to be organised but don't really end up putting things into practice. So this year, I hope to make a change to that and get my house in a state where it's organised, everything has a place and it's super easy to clean and keep tidy without having to do a full gut out all the time of stuff I don't need.

Finish More Games

I have a massive backlog, and I know if you speak to most gamers they will tell you the same thing. I'm so bad for getting a game, starting it, maybe doing the first part or getting halfway through but just not finishing it. I want to finish 1-2 games a month if I can manage more than that, great. However, I know with how busy I am, I can't expect too much. I've already got my games planned for finishing for January and February so I will see how I progress with them and what games I actually complete this year (I promise I will do a look back on the year of games for me when the year ends!). Though, with Kingdom Hearts 3 coming out this month, I doubt I'm going to be playing much more than that for a good while!

Work More on My Blog

My blog is my little place of pride. While I may not have the best, most amazing or successful blog in the world, I've felt nothing but pride for it. I have met some amazing people during my time of blogging and I've had some amazing opportunities with brands and stores that have given me the chance to try new products and share them with you guys. I hope that this year I can spend time improving my content further, making it something more insightful than just reviews (as much as I love doing them). I want to help those that want to get more into skincare find products that may help them, with the majority being affordable. I've grown up with severe cystic acne and I've been left with the scars from it, so I'm constantly working to improve my skin's overall appearance despite what my genetics have done to damage my skin growing up. Skincare and makeup is self-care for me and I want to improve in both areas.

I also want to do more creative projects when it comes to kkochsongi, make things a little more interesting for people to read and look at.

Start Youtube (?)  

This is a maybe, I've thought about this a lot over the last two years and it's something I want to start and do for some fun. Sharing different things with everyone and sharing my experiences with products (I find things such as foundation/BB creams etc are easier to showcase in video form). Even if I just upload one video this year, I'll be happy and I'm not going to put too much pressure on myself for this but I know it's something I want to do and a few of my friends would like to see me doing. Though I don't think my awful Scottish accent will make for the most enjoyable of listening we will see.

Save Money

Stuart and I have been living in this small flat for the majority of our relationship and while it is a nice little home, it's too small for all the things the two of us and Rinoa have. It just feels a bit cramped and we could do with a bigger living space and ideally, somewhere with a garden so Rinoa can spend more time outdoors. On top of getting a new house, we would also like to have our wedding finally, since we have been engaged for 3 years now. We initially thought we would end up getting married in 2020, but due to not exactly having the most money behind us, we might have to wait a bit longer for it.

I have a few other smaller things I would like to achieve but these are ones that I'll not be putting too much of a focus on since I feel the others are the most important to me.

• Learn more recipes from scratch and cook more
• Get better at replying to people (this is important but I'm also a busy person so it can't be helped at times)
• Take up a new hobby of some sort
• Find a style that works best for me in both makeup and fashion
• Continue to work at my current job but try to constantly improve my work 
• Stress less