What I Got For Christmas 2013

Its a few days after Christmas and I thought I'd write about some of the presents I received. I absolutely love them all; I think this might have been the best Christmas just in general. I got everything I wanted, spent a bit of time with my family and ate tons of food. I'm telling you, I have no idea how I'm going to get back into my jeans for school because for the last 3 days, I've just been wearing the comfiest, cosiest clothes known to man. Here's some of the presents that I just love (P.S. I'm really not bragging at all, I just thought it be nice for people to read if they need to buy gifts for a teenage girl- I know we can be unreliable at times but with these presents, you simply can't go wrong).



Clothes: Now this year, my mom gave me her laptop to look online and see what I wanted from New Look. She told me to put everything I wanted into the basket and she's pick a few things from there to give me. I think this was the best idea ever because no only did I get stuff that I actually wanted but it was still a surprise because I didn't know what she was getting me from my basket.





I would recommend this to people who perhaps want to buy clothes but they're not really sure what style that particular person likes. Also, they pick their own size for clothes or shoes so you don't have to guess and get it wrong. Now, here's some of the stuff that I got. My style tends to be really simple and casual, I like plain T-shirts with some sort of cool pattern on them. That's what the majority of my wardrobe is and I just wear them with jeans or jeggings because it suits me and my body shape best.




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Shoes: I got 2 pairs of shoes this year; my mom bought me some beautiful brown chunky boots, again from the New Look website. I wasn't sure if she was going to buy me them because when I looked, they didn't have my size. She bought them anyway and had to later exchange them for a smaller size but I really REALLY love them. They're so beautiful and comfortable.







I also got given a pair of white Converse from my auntie and uncle which I really needed because I've been wearing the same pair of shoes for months because my last pair of Converse and the ones before those ripped in the exact same place and I don't know why. Guess I just have to be more careful this time.


Nightwear: I was given 3 pairs of pyjamas so I got rid of a few old pairs to replace them. I was also given a onesie and this is the first time I've ever owned one. I literally wore it all day on Boxing Day because it was so comfortable and lovely. I hate having to wash my new things, I just want to wear for weeks on end and if I could, I definitely would. I got a new burgandy hoodie which I've decided that I might just keep it as part of my nightwear if I get chilly rather than it actually being something I'd wear outside. Its so comfy and it looks great with a pair of navy tracksuit bottoms that I also was given.

Lovestruck by Vera Wang

Perfume: I don't actually wear a lot of perfume, not because I don't like them because I absolutely do. It's just that I have dozens of bottles of cheap body spray and I have this compulsive need to use them first. The problem is that by the time I've got down to using all my body spray, Christmas or my birthday comes and I get more. This happened again this year and now I've got a box of sprays and about 5 perfumes. 


Cosmetics: I was surprised at the fact that I didn't get a lot of makeup this year but I'm actually really happy because I do not have enough space in my drawer for that. It's completely full with things so that's cool.
I was given 3 different sets of nail polish; one from Essie from my friend which I was really happy about because it was the Winter Collection 2013 and the colours are beautiful. Now here, I would usually include a photo of them but I would like to do an extensive blog post on all the nail polishes I have so look out for that in the future.


Music: My other friend bought me the One Direction CD Midnight Memories which I asked for because even know I'm 16 years old, I am still a fan. I tried to not listen to their album until I was actually physically given the CD but I just couldn't help myself. I looked it up and just listened to their brilliance all the way through. Now I have to say, I like their music and will always have a soft spot in my heart for Harry Styles. So sue me.



DVD: Last but not least, one of my favourite gifts ever, my boxset of NCIS: Los Angeles off my mother. I'm already onto season 3 and I just love it. I think it was actually a bad decision buying this for me because I'm just watching countless amounts of episodes instead of planning my English coursework or completing my Statistics revision.

Oh well. What can I say, eh? It's the Christmas week. I refuse to believe that it can only be celebrated on the 25th, I'm going to go against the rules and extend it for a whole week. Who's with me?

Christmas Nail Art

As you know, I've been getting into the "Christmas spirit" a lot more these last few weeks, usually I don't really care and I don't know why this year I'm suddenly really interested, who knows? I've been listening to Christmas music on repeat and even painted my nails all Christmassy and festive.

Now I wanted to do something really incredible and fantastic but I thought I should try something simpler first because I don't have the steadiest hand. My friend comes into school with beautifully painted nails with different patterns and little pictures on and I'm always so jealous. I had a little look on online and decided to try one particular pattern; here's how it turned out..

So if you want to recreate 'Santa Hat Nail Art' just in time for Christmas, here's what I did:

I painted the entire nail with a lovely champagne glittery colour; its called Golden Touch and its from the Fearne Cotton nail range- I tried to find the link online but I think it might have been part of a limited edition set but you can always substitute it with Gold Lining also by Fearne. I use Golden Touch a lot just on its own because its really pretty and sparkly. I tend to use 2 coats because I think it needs that extra build up but this time, I just used one coat because I didn't want to make it look too intense or anything, I just needed a base coat and I found that it just looks really nice. This one drys really quickly so by the time I had done both hands, I could start the next part.

Next I used a red nail varnish to do the tips of my nails, I wouldn't bother trying to make the edge neat like you would if you were doing a French manicure because its only going to be covered with the white nail polish. What I would say though is make sure that if you have rounded nails like I do, then don't round the red nail polish. I did mine in a straight line across the nail because I think it looks better that way. I don't know which colour or what collection the red I used was from because it doesn't have anything to identify it but I'm sure it'll work fine with any red nail polish. This also drys quickly because you're not using a lot of nail polish to be honest but make sure as I slightly smudged my little finger of my right hand and had to fix it properly.


After this, I simply 'dotted' a white nail polish at the edge of where the red and champagne colour meets to make the fluffy rim of Santa's hat. This might be the part where people go wrong and trust me, I did. Especially on my right hand because I'm right handed and hand to try to work with precision with my left hand. The good thing about this is that you can always fix it with the champagne colour if the white has gone too low down on your nail. Again, I'm not sure where this white polish is from, I think its from Avon maybe. I know its part of the French manicure set but apart from that, pretty much clueless.

The last thing I did was use a top coat and I always ALWAYS use the same one because I don't know if its supposed to do this or not but it drys amazingly well on your nails. Plus if you have some on your fingers, which I always do as I'm not the best, its an absolute life saver and you can just pick it off like PVA glue (damn that was the best time in primary school).

I hope you enjoyed this, I certainly did and I'm very happy with the results. Have a great Christmas :)

UPDATE DECEMBER 2013

This makes me sad that this
isn't even all of my work.

Now, I wanted to write this post because a few days ago, I was honestly just fed up of Sixth Form. The first half-term was pretty much fine, it wasn't too bad settling in to a new school or trying to do the work. Everyone said that "the step between GCSE and A-Levels is much bigger than anything you'll do" and to be honest, I did think it was sort of an exaggeration because I didn't find the work difficult at all. But it has FINALLY hit me.

Not just the countless amount of essays I have to write for English or the ridiculously complicated equations that I have to solve for Mathematics, but the tiredness and stress of Sixth Form. Also, waking up at half 6 and leaving for school by half 7 is definitely a challenge, especially lately. I mean, some days when I leave the house, the sun hasn't even rose yet. It can actually be like pitch black when I leave the house which I hate, especially since I have to walk 15 minutes on my own.

If that flaming ball of fire can't even be bothered to get up then I don't see why I should, do you?

I have to say that I have never felt as absolutely exhausted as I have in the last few weeks. I've been literally having 9 hours sleep and that's still not enough; I think because I walk for 2 hours to school and back, it just takes it out of me. Especially because I have the worst timetable so I stay all day when my friends have lie-ins and half-days. I've also been ill for a few days so that was absolutely beautiful *coughs* sarcasm. I'm hardly ever ill so when I am, its a BIG deal (for me anyway).


I think it so sad that the only thing that gets me through the week is the promise and hope of the joy that is FRIDAY. Never have I ever sympathized with Rebecca Black as much as I do now (look at me referencing popular culture- only 2 years late, woo).

November Favourites 2013

I've decided that I'm only going to do my monthly favourites when I have a good handful of things that I've been enjoying. That's why I didn't do one for October because I didn't really use anything new and if I did, I started it at the end of the month and decided to push it into this Favourites post. So lets get started, it might be a long one so I apologise right now.. Enjoy.

Makeup Products:

Maybelline Eyestudio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner 24hr in Intense Black: I don't actually know how long I've had this but I know that I didn't open it because I wasn't really sure about how to use it. It does take a few tries to understand but I think I've got it, I use it everyday for school and its really easy to apply now. This is probably the best eyeliner I've ever tried and funnily enough, my friend asked me which eyeliner to buy and I told her that she should definitely get this one because its just so good. I don't think I'm ever going to buy another one, I might just keep re-buying this one every time I run out. But to be honest, I don't think will ever happen because I've hardly made an indent into the little pot and I use it every day and have done for a good few months so its definitely a good product to invest in.
You can get this HERE.

Maybelline Fit me! power in 315 Soft Honey: Again, I've only just started using this powder because I'd already opened the Rimmel London Lasting Minder Powder Foundation (which you can read about here). I think that its okay for a powder, I mean it does its purpose by taking away the shine on my face which I absolutely hate. I'm not really into shimmer at all, I just think a matte look is so much better for me. I also have the matching foundation which I think is a bit too orangey for my skin colour so I only use a tiny bit for school.

ChapStick in Strawberry: I only bought this because I'd ran out of my other lip balm; it was only £1.05 from Boots and that was the amount of change I had left in my purse. It's pretty good and it makes my lips feel soft for a good few hours which I guess is its only purpose yet nevertheless, a good purchase.

Clothes:

Khaki Fur Trim Hooded Parka: I've only had this for a few days yet I know that I'm going to love it, I've only wore it to school for one day but its so warm and lovely. I was really hesitant to get a coat because I never think one suits me. A bit padded one tends to dwarf my figure but I really love this one. I think that it suits me well and keeps me warm and that's all I really need. You can tell that parkas are in fashion at the moment because pretty much every person at my school wears one so yay for a lack of complete uniqueness.
You can get one HERE.





TV:

NCIS: Los Angeles: This is my new obsession. I know, I know, only last month it was Criminal Minds but now I'm over that. I watched as many episodes as I could but now I'm onto the next thing. I'm very fickle with things like that. I really want Kensi and Deeks to get together because I think they would be the perfect couple and I've even asked my mom to buy me the boxset for Christmas because I love it so much. I hope she doesn't confuse NCIS: Los Angeles with NCIS, because that's a completely different show with different characters and for some reason, I just can't get into it. It only started in 2003 but I don't know if its just my TV, but it looks like it was filmed in the 70's because the filter seems really grey and fuzzy. It's just not good. Whereas, NCIS: Los Angeles is bloody brilliant and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a bit of action/ crime on telly.