Post Comment Love 20th-22nd January

It is Friday again and that means it's time for Post Comment Love. Link up your best/favourite post of the week so Stephanie, me, and others can read (and share) it. We love reading the varying topics of your posts and it's a welcome break from the kids (at least for me!) 

Hasn't it been dreary this week? I haven't got much photography done because the weather has been so dull. The lighting is terrible at the moment and there's not a chance of getting any good photos unfortunately. I do have an arm for my tripod though, which is a huge help when it comes to doing flat lays. 



  • A day without sunshine is like, you know, night.

Steve Martin



I've been buying supply for crafty things this week too and I have an idea brewing. I don't want to reveal it just yet, 1) because I need to practise first and 2) because I want to keep it a secret at the moment. Thinking about trying out crafts is a big step for me. Last week I said I used to be very crafty and enjoyed the creativity but not having done any for years I appear to have lost any ability I once had. That means starting from the beginning again. I am determined to do it though, and hopefully I'll have some lovely crafts at the end of my learning curve! I hope you'll go with me on my journey.



  • Keep your face always toward the sunshine - and shadows will fall behind you.

Walt Whitman



Have you done anything to brighten your week?



Blogger Showcase Harriet from With Lipstick and Love




Who are you?


I’m Harriet, 25 years old from Buckinghamshire! I have a 3 year old son called Jack and a wonderful partner. I blog over at www.withlipstickandlove.co.uk where you’ll see them pop up from time to time but it is primarily a beauty and lifestyle blog! 



How did you discover blogging?


This is a tough one as I’ve known about it and been reading about blogs for so many years now! I think like anything you hear your friends talk “Oh my gosh have you seen / watched this?” and it all goes from there really! I couldn’t even tell you who the first blogger I started following was as it’s been that long! Although there are a small handful I’ve been following for a long time now…



Why did you start blogging?


I had a blog years ago. Originally it was one called ‘Project Flawless’ just a little blog that was hosted through blogger. I’d taken inspiration from all the blogs I’d read and wanted to see if I was any good at it myself. I did this for a couple of years and loved it. Things changed when I got pregnant with Jack, I handled pregnancy really badly, suffered a lot emotionally and just didn’t feel like me. I deleted every possible trace I could of ‘Project Flawless’ as it just wasn’t a priority for me. In hindsight that was a terrible thing to do. It’s funny how irrational you can be when your emotions are heightened… Like why did I delete it all, I could’ve just left it! Anyway, fast forward a few years and I couldn’t stop wondering ‘What if?’ And always pondered over where my blog would be all these years down the line if I’d just stuck at it. I was very lucky that my partner, Spence, purchased my domain name ‘With Lipstick and Love’ and basically told me to stop moaning and crack on with it! That push he gave me was exactly what I needed and I’m so thankful that he did that for me.



What do you find most challenging?


At the moment, my photography. I currently work only using my iPhone 5s camera. Don’t get me wrong, when the lighting is perfect you probably couldn’t tell the difference between me having taken it on my phone or if it was with a good quality camera. Unfortunately this leaves me with a tiny window of opportunity each day to take the shot. Usually I will retake time and time again until I’m 100% happy with it but I’m a little ashamed to say there are currently a handful of photos on my blog I really dislike. They only made it up there as no matter how hard I tried I just couldn’t get the right shot! I’m in the process of fixing this though as I’ve recently purchased the Olympus Pen EPL8 which is on backorder but fingers crossed it’s delivered soon! I also plan to purchase a soft box to help my lighting issues!



What is your favourite topic to write about?


I love sharing new products that I’ve found and fallen head over heels in love with. Sometimes the products aren’t new to the market but they’re new to me. To be able to share images of beautiful packaging and the product shades and hopefully get my readers as excited about the product as I am! I always try to include links and prices of where to buy them as I hate reading about a product and thinking “Oh my God I need that!” But there’s no link left for you to easily purchase the item yourself. I also like to share experiences and trips that I have with Spence and Jack. The three of us are National Trust members so if we’ve been to a particularly beautiful place I like to talk about that or indeed if we’ve been on holiday I like to share a bit of a photo diary so people know what we’ve been up to!



Are you blogging for fun or do you have goals?


Primarily I blog for fun. I love it and truly can’t get enough. I love discovering new blogs and chatting with other bloggers within the blogging community. Everyone I’ve had the pleasure of speaking to seems so lovely, kind and supportive. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have goals though, I’d love for my blog to continue to grow. No, not because ‘the numbers count’ but because I have a genuine passion for blogging. For sharing what I love and for getting to know more people. It means so much when someone leaves me a comment saying how they love my photos or what I write and I really thrive off that. I would just love for With Lipstick and Love to reach more people and for more people to (hopefully) have it bookmarked so they can read it again and again!



What is your favourite thing about blogging?


I love the freedom that comes with blogging. No one tells you what you can or can’t write. Your blog is your platform to get your voice heard, to have your own opinion on something without being told it’s wrong. Blogging has made me a much more confident person and has enabled me to speak up more ‘in the real world’ as well as online, I’ve learnt so much about myself and it’s great to do something in life that I’m really passionate and excited about. No two days are the same and it never gets boring. From writing a new post to meeting other bloggers, it’s so wonderful to be part of the blogging community.



Have you ever attended a blogging conference?


No, and this needs to change! I would so love, and be utterly flattered, to be invited to blogger events / go to blogger conferences. The whole thought of it excites me hugely as I know it would benefit my blog and benefit me as an individual. I’d love the opportunity to meet new bloggers that I might not otherwise get the chance to.



What are your three best posts?


Oh this is a tough one. I mean, no one likes to blow their own trumpet right? I’d like to take a different approach to this question and by ‘best’ interpret it to mean ‘most proud of’. I’d have to start with the post ’Sunglass Emporium’ (http://www.withlipstickandlove.co.uk/sunglass-emporium/) and please excuse the awful photography and shaky writing. I’ve picked this as it was my first post on With Lipstick and Love, this was the post that kicked this incredible journey off for me and got me where I am now!


Second I’d say ‘What I’ve Learned In 6 Months Of Blogging’ (http://www.withlipstickandlove.co.uk/what-ive-learned-in-6-months-of-blogging/) This was an incredibly reflective post for me. I sat and thought about where my head was at when I started and where it was at the time of writing the post. In 6 months I’d grown and learned so much and it was wonderful to be able to share it with my readers.


Finally, I’d pick “Welcome To Marlow – Our Home Tour” (http://www.withlipstickandlove.co.uk/welcome-to-marlow-our-home-tour/) this was another personal post. We’d recently moved to Marlow and the place we’d purchase was a ‘doer upper’ to put it politely. The amount of hard work Spence and I put into it to get it to a liveable condition was insane. This post is full of before and after shots showing how we got our home looking in the short space of 2 weeks.


Now, I’ll admit, the three posts I’ve given you aren’t the posts that are the best written, or indeed the posts that have the best photos, but they are the ones that mean the most to me. I really pride myself on making sure I give little insights into my life as much as possible as I’d really love my readers to get to know me as a person and not just read about endless product reviews (although let’s be honest, we all love them!)



Describe yourself in three words:


This is a tough one! Again, kind of a blowing your own trumpet thing. So I’ve cheated a little bit and asked Spence… The three words he picked were; thoughtful, loving, beautiful (and I didn’t even have to bribe him, he’s definitely a keeper!)



Tea and biscuits or coffee and cake?


Err both! I’ll take a chocolate hobnob and a slice of lemon drizzle please…



What’s your idea of a perfect night out?


I love a good cocktail or two (who doesn’t?) but I feel like I’m too old for clubs now. I like to be able to hear the person that I’ve gone out with! Take me to a great wine or cocktail bar that has cosy sets and beautiful background music and I’m in heaven.



What’s your perfect night in?


I love a naughty takeaway every now and again. So cosy up on the sofa with a Chinese or curry and stick on a film or two. If Jack has his way it will be anything Disney or Superhero… We’ve watched so much Captain America it’s unreal.



What would your best friend / OH / mum or kid say is your best quality?


Asking Jack: “You’re a dinosaur”…. Never trust a 3 year old to give you a sensible answer!
Asking Spence: “Loyalty’

So there you have it guys, I’m a loyal dinosaur!


You can find Harriet on


Thanks for taking part in Blogger Showcase Harriet, I love a good Lemon Drizzle cake too! Feel free to grab our badge.


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