Shadowing Practice: OFFICE VLOG | Heatwave make-up, moving past setbacks + healthy dinner - Learn English Speaking with Video

good morning london how is everyone doing this week's vlog is probably gonna be

going to be 38 degrees in London this week which is absolutely crazy.

I got woken up by crazy thunderstorms last night.

Could not get back to sleep so I'm feeling a little bit sleepy.

I can hear the birds outside right now.

They're actually really loud.

I was reading all the comments from last week's vlog

and you all kind of said

that you love seeing just the daily vlogs where I go about my day -to -day life running around London, being in the office, that kind of stuff.

So that's So what we're going to do today, I'm going to do an office vlog but Obviously, we're going to try and do it in this heat.

I'm going into the office today partly because it makes me way more productive when I go into the office.

But also because they have aircon.

If you.. know what London flats are like and you're sat in the heat.

It's the most unbearable feeling because you cannot escape it.

We're going to go into the office so we can actually get some work done.

Just use the Erborian Eye Cream.

It's super hydrating for under my eyes so that my concealer doesn't crease underneath my eyes.

And I've been using this Super You Hydrator because it gives me really glowy.

skin.

I've got a bit of a strategy for commuting in heat waves

because I have been doing it for about five years now.

If you can work from home until about 9 30 10

and then head into the office it's always much quieter on the tubes

and it doesn't get too hot yet at 10 o 'clock

so that the commute.. to work is at least bearable

and then i try and stay in the office till about seven o 'clock

when it starts to cool down outside

and again it's not as busy on the tubes it's only tuesday

so i don't think we'll be going out for drinks

or anything tonight

because we can't hack doing lots of nights out anymore i've just got some cream all over my white pajamas

which is really annoying this stuff is really good it's kind of like a toner

and it's not breaking me out and it's super lightweight it makeup.

I've already spilled food on it as well.

Gross.

I am also going to try and go to the gym

so we need to factor that into the plan today and make sure that the gym has air con.

I'm going to stop yapping now and actually talk you through my makeup routine

when it's this hot to try and make sure that my makeup stays but it doesn't feel too heavy.

I recently got this Refai Blur and Hydrate Primer.

I really like it because it doesn't break me out.

It actually does keep my makeup in place all day

because we are fighting both the aircon and the heat on the tube today.

Also, I finally managed to grow my nails up long enough again to get almond shaped, which I think just look way better on my hands.

Makes my fingers look so much longer. And skinnier.

I just ordered a big one of these.

This is the Glowy Super Gel in Star Glow from Say.

Actually, it's in Sun Glow because this is the tan one.

base and again I love this product

because I know it's not gonna break me out

but it's definitely gonna give me a nice bronze looking base I've been really struggling with chin

and jaw spots like underneath The skin spots which are just so painful.

I've never been someone that struggled with my skin really

So this is kind of a new thing and it definitely is hormonal

because that's where the hormonal acne kind of comes out So you just need to figure out what's going on there.

I'm just using this summer Fridays skin tint I really don't want to wear loads of makeup.

So this will be nice and light on the skin and just give me a bit of coverage

what I've got underneath it feels very breathable as well so

that I know it's not gonna make my face feel all

gross in this heat I like to add lots of spray

during my makeup routine in summer this is the beauty elixir I don't know what it does

but it smells really good and I kind of melts all the makeup together.

We'll put the actual setting spray on later.

I've been loving the Summer Fridays bronzer to give me a little bit of shape.

This is in shade Sand, so it's the lighter shade.

So it's more of a contour and then I can go in with

another bronzer on top i just think it really melts in well

with the rest of my makeup and makes me look alive.

It's definitely a little bit darker than the contour shade I use in winter so it's definitely my summer version.

I just think it makes me look a little bit more ready to go.

Then I've been using this Rode pocket blush.

I really like the shades that they've done in these

but I find it quite hard to blend out but we're just gonna put these as a bronzer on top of

the summer fridays i've kind of been keeping this where i would put my blush

so it's not too bronzy if that makes sense i've got three shades

and i can never remember which one i'm supposed to use they're all really nice but

when you open them they all kind of look the same

that's me bronzed i'm gonna put a tiny bit of concealer on in the places that i'm

still breaking out in

and under my eyes slightly this is the merit it's the wrong shade it's the merit complexion stick

that i've just used in the wrong shade

but we're gonna roll with it i need to get a darker concealer

because i only have a really light one from tower 28

which is really good i don't know where my other merit complexion stick is

because i love love love that product i'm just gonna blend everything out a bit okay it's

I feel like there's too many lines.

A bit more spray.

I don't like to do my eyebrows when it's really hot.

I don't know if that's weird or not but I feel like

They get really sweaty and you can see the product in my eyebrows way easier

so I just try and avoid it if I'm not doing anything where I need to have more defined eyebrows.

I just got them shaped so I think I'm just going to leave them as they are.

I don't know put anything on.

I'm going to put a tiny bit of powder on just up here and around here.

If I have any spots I really want to cover up I usually put powder on them

because it just mattifies them and then you can't see them as easily.

I've been really liking the Merit blush in archival

but it's in a different bag and I can't really be bothered to go

and get it so I'm just going to use this pocket brush from Rode in Sprinkle.

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It's also a really cute colour.

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Sometimes I think it's a little bit too pink for what I'm looking for, but I'm just gonna blend it out with my blush.

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I've got this highlighting stick from Glossier that I've been really liking.

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The Summer Fridays brushes are really good.

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I never really pay attention to brushes, but having tried these, these and the Se ones are amazing,

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especially for the way that I use makeup, which is

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pretty much the same every day just very quickly throw it on my face get out the wall

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and these work perfectly for that.

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Base is done.

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I'm gonna use this L 'Oreal Infallible setting spray.

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This is the only thing that helps your makeup stay in summer, I swear.

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I don't really use it that much the rest of the year

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but in a heatwave I will use this because it's pretty intense.

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promise you you've got makeup on

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that budge i'm gonna put mascara on just a light layer

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final step is a little bit of lip liner i just go over the very top just for There's that little line.

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And along the bottom, I swear I have so many lip products and I never know where any of them are.

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This is the YSL lip oil.

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We're done.

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Now I need to go and get an outfit on that I won't roast in.

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I'm going to try and show you my outfit, although the angle's not great and I still haven't quite figured out how to do the full body thing on YouTube.

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Anyway, I'm wearing this Frankie Shop Chef.

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These shorts are from Abercrombie.

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I've got these little, pumps on.

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They're from, I don't know how to pronounce it, Aied?

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Aied?

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But they have a version in Massimo Dutti which are about half the price.

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I've got this little Garni belt on.

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My Kate sunglasses because they're nice sporty looking.

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I've got all of my gold jewellery on to make sure that I don't look too casual.

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I need to pack my work bag, that's what I'm gonna do now.

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And then I'm gonna head to the office.

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I don't want to carry too much stuff with me today, but I do want to go and do a gym class after work.

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So we're going to have to fit that in.

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Got my two phones, my planner, obviously.

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I've got this green set from Viori that I think I'm going to bring with me.

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It's very light and airy because of the shorts.

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So hopefully I won't get too hot in these.

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I don't know how good I...

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walk home now Probably just have to change back into this outfit to commute home.

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Okay.

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I think that's everything quick sneak peek

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Of some stuff

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that we've been working on how exciting we're finally in getting somewhere with one lane studios i'm

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so excited i can't wait for it to be ready my

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bag is just full of receipts i know i'm trying to

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keep receipts just in case i need to return things

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but i won't be able to tell what they are anyway

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let's go get on the tube this is going to be interesting

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Thank you, how are you?

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Thank you!

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I thought it was giving farmer sheep, but you know, it's gonna work.

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Yeah, exactly.

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Thank you!

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I made it into the office.

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The tube wasn't that bad because it was really quiet.

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I think a lot of people have stayed at home.

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I've got my iced coffee from Roslyn on the way in.

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I just get a regular iced coffee with almond milk and a little bit of their sugar syrup.

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It tastes...

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kind of like caramel.

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I'm pretty sure it's just made with maple syrup and brown sugar. so good.

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I only asked for it a little bit sweetened.

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I'm sat here replying to a bunch of Teams messages that I got overnight or while I was on the tube, and also some emails.

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This is the plan I've got today.

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I wrote this earlier this morning when I was drinking my coffee.

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I've got some quick tasks that will take under five minutes, some things that will take around 30 minutes each LM project

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that will take a couple of hours and I've tried to time block those into my day.

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I have a pretty free day in terms of meetings

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and calls so I don't need to run around London today

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so I can just be here in the aircon and get a bunch of stuff done.

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I do want to go to a fabric shop

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but I think I'm going to do that later this week

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because there are only good ones around me

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and I don't want to be kind of out and about in 35 degrees searching for a decent fabric shop when

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There's one across town.

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time to get there today.

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So I'm gonna do that.

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I'm gonna get going on some of my quick tics this morning, get those out of the way, and then move on to the longer tasks that they've got to do.

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I like doing the like doing a design mood board and fun things like that.

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I will come back to you when it's time for lunch.

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I don't know where I'm going to go for lunch today.

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I don't really want anything too heavy so we'll have to see what's nearby

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because I usually just go to sell a project but I had that yesterday.

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I feel like I can't have it two days in a row but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

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I'm probably just going to go to Sainsbury's.

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Sorry, I had to get out of the lift.

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I'm just heading to Sainsbury's.

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I'm just going to grab a very quick lunch.

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Probably a Spanish omelette, which is very, very sad.

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And we're nowhere near a copain where I can get a gluten -free sandwich.

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It is.

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I'm gonna have to be a Spanish woman today.

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And then I'm gonna run back to the office, see how fast it is outside on the terrace, where I might be able to eat some lunch.

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Hey guys, I have just been sat at my desk doing loads of desktop work.

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I've just jumped on a call with the new designer that I'm working with.

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I just quickly wanted to talk to you about some stuff that's been going on with the brand.

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Obviously, I have tried to talk about this a little bit, but not that much.

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And we have faced a few setbacks.

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in terms of timelines and part of that has been the manufacturing part of

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that has been designers and this kind of feels like a big setback

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but actually i feel like we're in a much better place

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to move forward now we've learned a whole load of things

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from the past couple of months in terms of sampling working with manufacturers trying to actually get the product right

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and how difficult So we've been working on that and obviously things have not really gone to plan,

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otherwise we would have launched a lot sooner than expected.

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But we are moving forward and I feel

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so much better about how we are moving forward and the team we are moving forward with.

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So that's a big win.

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And I'm telling you this to keep myself accountable

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because I am not going to be giving up on

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that this idea and I think a lot of people probably would have quit if they'd got to this point.

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I think I said that in my last video.

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I saw a few people say it on social media recently, it's that these things are hard for a reason.

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if they were easy everyone would do them but we're not giving up

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but there are a few things

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that i've had to do over the last week to kind of reframe my mindset

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and kind of move on from a bit of a setback

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if you will and one of the ways i do

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that is obviously learning from the setback and

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so it's more like capturing data learning lots and using that to move forward in a better way which is i do that.

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So I'm proud of myself for moving forward quickly

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and kind of making those decisions quickly

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so we can be more successful on this new route part of that learning has been understanding what actually

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has not been working and what has been working and focusing on

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do work well and changing the bits that don't work well

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which is not specific to what i'm doing it's kind of a normal thing to do

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if you suffer a setback at work you kind of look at what has worked well

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and you replicate those and you change the things

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that don't it's the same in social media when you're testing videos

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if something doesn't work you don't really move forward with that

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but you look at all the data of what videos have worked and you kind of tweak those to see

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So we're just tweaking and learning and adapting as we go.

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Also because of my naivety of starting a business I guess, I have been able to

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get a much clearer understanding of the processes involved and the order

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that you have to do things in to get things right.

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So we are kind of working to the right timelines now, which is brilliant.

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And I've been able to speak to a lot of really helpful,

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interesting people over the last couple of weeks that has helped me kind of reframe what I'm doing, how I'm doing it and

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move forward with a bit more confidence which is so much better

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because that's something I definitely have lacked throughout my entire career

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and kind of why I started on social media in the first place

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so reaching out to the right people speaking to people

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that you think will help you

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or support you is such a good way of building confidence and understanding kind of what needs to be done

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to get back on track

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and like i said we have onboarded a new designer we're speaking to some new manufacturers

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and i feel like those are small wins right now

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but they feel really big because i feel

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so much more confident having those people in my corner than i did having the previous lot in my corner

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because that clearly was not working

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but anyway that's kind of what i've been working on the

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rest of this afternoon is stuff for the designer making sure that we have a really clear

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how we're moving forward and how we can communicate that to the manufacturers.

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It takes a lot more thinking than I kind of expected it to.

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All of this takes a lot more thinking than I expected it to.

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I have a few more emails I need to respond to before I head home.

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I'm going to a Pilates class at seven o 'clock tonight.

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I wanted to try and avoid the hottest part of the afternoon or evening.

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It stays hot till really late in the moment

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because it this heat wave

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so I'm gonna leave the office at like 6 :00 go to my Pilates class

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and then go

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and grab some dinner after I don't know what to make for dinner I'm thinking something light like a salad

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or sushi but we'll see what we can get our hands on yeah I will catch up with you later.

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Good evening vlog I am just walking to my Pilates class right now it's about seven o 'clock

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It's absolutely roasting outside still.

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The house is warmer inside than it is outside.

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I have no idea how I'm going to cool it down later or how I'm going to sleep.

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I might have to have a very icy glass of rose just to put me to sleep.

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that's not healthy we don't do that probably just go home

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and lie in bed

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and wait for it to get cold we're gonna go to

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pilates now i'm pretty sure there's air con at pilates at least

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that will be a nicer experience than sitting in the house right now but at least it's a beautiful day

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I've changed back into the shirt because I might go out

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and watch the football at the pub at the end of the street.

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But I really need to eat something first.

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So I'm gonna make a gochee cheese salad.

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I'm pretty sure you'll see me making this a lot over summer.

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It's my favorite summer easy meal for people who can't be bothered to cook.

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Especially when it's this hot outside.

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I got lots of compliments on this shirt today,

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which I didn't think would happen because I thought it looked a little bit to family to be smart.

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I've just put half a shallot in the salad.

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chunk of cucumber diced up in there as well.

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Wow.

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It's literally the easiest thing to make in the world and it's so tasty.

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I like to put green beans in my salad it's not for everyone i think they're really delicious

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And of course, goat cheese.

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I'm going to put some walnuts on as well.

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I'm going to put some pink salt on top.

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This French dressing. So yummy.

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I'm going to go eat this and then I might head to the pub quickly.

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We decided it was far too hot in the pub

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so we've come home to sit in front of the fan in bed and watch the end of the game.

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Currently got a fan on top of our washing basket so

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that the fan actually hits us instead of just getting cut off at the bottom of the bed.

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So hopefully it's going to cool down the room

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because at the moment we cannot get to sleep with the heat like this.

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I look very red in this light.

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I have my sleep mask.

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I don't know if that's gonna make this worse or not, but We're all in this together, so wishing everyone in London good luck tonight.

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Hopefully you can sleep.

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It'll only last another couple of days.

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And then we'll be back to normal.

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That's everything.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This video has 306 sentences and 3636 words to shadow. The speech runs for 21:14. The speaker talks at a natural 171 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 82% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.

Key vocabulary in this video

The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
shade noun	/ʃeɪd/	Darkness where light, particularly sunlight, is blocked.
setback noun	/ˈsɛtbæk/	An obstacle, delay, disadvantage, or blow (an adverse event which slows down, or prevents progress towards a desired outcome).
vlog noun	/ˈvlɑɡ/	A weblog using video as its primary presentation format.
blush noun	/ˈblʌʃ/	An act of blushing; a pink or red glow on the face caused by embarrassment, shame, shyness, love, etc.
merit noun	/ˈmɛɹɪt/	A claim to commendation or a reward.
salad noun	/ˈsæl.əd/	A food consisting principally of raw vegetables (especially greens, e.g. lettuce), other savoury ingredients (typically cooked), fruit, or confectionary; often…
spray noun	/spɹeɪ/	A fine, gentle, dispersed mist of liquid.
concealer noun		Something that, or someone who, conceals.
eyebrow noun	/ˈaɪˌbɹaʊ/	The hair that grows over the bone ridge above the eye socket.
commute verb	/kəˈmjuːt/	To exchange substantially; to abate but not abolish completely, a penalty, obligation, or payment in return for a great, single thing or an aggregate; to cash…
blend verb	/blɛnd/	To mingle; to mix; to unite intimately; to pass or shade insensibly into each other.
underneath adverb	/ˌʌndɚˈniθ/	Below; in a place beneath.
complexion noun	/kəmˈplɛkʃən/	The quality, colour, or appearance of the skin on the face.
contour noun	/ˈkɒntɔː/	An outline, boundary or border, usually of curved shape.
glowy adjective	/ˈɡloʊ.i/	Glowing.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
move forward verb		To cause to make progress.
cool down verb	/kuːl ˈdaʊn/	To become cooler; to be reduced in temperature.
figure out verb		To come to understand; to discover or find a solution; to deduce.
run around verb		To be very busy doing many different things.
come out verb	/ˌkʌm ˈaʊt/	To be discovered; to be revealed.
cover up verb		To conceal or disguise.
do over verb	/ˈduˌoʊvɚ/	To cover with; to smear or spread on to.
get back to verb		Return to (an activity)

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

I've already spilled food on it as well.
We'll put the actual setting spray on later.
I feel like there's too many lines.
I don't know put anything on.
I've got these little, pumps on.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on	I've been using · have been doing · I've been loving
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	I've already spilled · I've been · I've never been
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing	week which is · spots which are · makeup, which is
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	be bothered · is done · been sat

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 181 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, I've, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “th” sounds: underneath /ˌʌndɚˈniθ/, breathable /ˈbɹiːðəbəl/, thunderstorm /ˈθʌn.dɚˌstɔɹm/
The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shade /ʃeɪd/, blush /ˈblʌʃ/, complexion /kəmˈplɛkʃən/, shallot /ˈʃælət/, sushi /ˈsuːʃi/

How to practise with this video

Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like shade, setback, vlog.

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Sentences worth repeating

Grammar in this video

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?