THE PETITE DECEMBER 2014 ROUND UP

What. A. Year. It seems to have just flown by, especially in blogging terms. I started the year as 'The Beau Bow', progressing into the step of buying a domain under 'Petite December' and really getting to work with my layout, content and pictures, and I've had absolutely no regrets about that step.

This year I've really come to terms with blogging; thinking about my content as well as planning ahead. I've changed up my personal style rather dramatically as well as improved my makeup application alongside my knowledge and I feel far more capable of writing good quality posts (although a tight budget makes things a little more difficult). In the recent months I've fallen in love with fashion and can't wait to (hopefully) get a more 50:50 fashion and beauty regime going on post-wise.

My most popular post of 2014 was the 'Kylie Jenner Esque Lips' in which I explored the slightly overdrawn, staple pink-brown nude lip that Kylie has been coveting over the year. Following that is the 'Half Up Hipster Bun' show and tell in which I expressed my love for a hairstyle introduced to me by Lily Melrose. At the beginning of the year I declared a battle between some of the well known Drugstore Foundations around - some of which I still love today. And one of my favourite post titles of the year, 'On Wednesday's We Wear Pink', of course, exploring my pink beauty selection with a few harmless Mean Girls references.

I've recently got back into Intragram, so for more regular pictures and updates, follow @petitedecember . I've been so proud of my post consistency throughout 2014, and I hope 2015 will see the same, although it is my year for GCSE exams so we will see how things pan out, but scheduling will always be by my side.

I've already been planning plenty of posts for the new year (I have a notebook, and I'm being pretty bloody organised), and can't wait to see where 2015 will take Petite December.

A NEW HAIRSTYLE: HALF UP 'HIPSTER BUN'

For me my hair is usually the same old same old - either straight, waved after sleeping on plaits the night before, or curled by twisting it up overnight. I got into the 'half up, half down' look a while back but after seeing a video where Lily Melrose took this look further by creating what she labelled as a 'hipster bun' and remembering it earlier this week with Megan we each gave it a go and I really like the look.

It's simple, just take a section of hair from the top section (although it's dubbed as a 'half up' style I definitely steer clear of pulling half of my locks up for this look), and tie it with a thin bobble lightly. Then, twist this chunk of hair and wrap it round to create a small bun. I pull some out to make the front more bouncy and shake the bun a bit to loosen it, take some pins/another bobble and secure it into place and it's complete within minutes.

It definitely takes some getting used to, I'll admit I felt a bit of a tool whilst wearing this for the first time as I felt like I was carrying something on the crown of my head, but I got used to it and now it is easily becoming a go-to hair fix. I will say a couple of times I have had some hair well and truly tangled among the hair tie upon removal (one incident involved me having to cut a few strands free), but just go gently when tying it up to begin with and when unravelling it and all is well.

With light beachy curls I feel this could change the look entirely and is something I shall be attempting tomorrow morning... I'll report back on that one via Instagram soon.