Top Five Beauty Tips

Hello folks, now it feels like its been forever since I've written a post even though it hasn't even been two weeks. Its probably because I've been so busy starting back with Sixth Form and everything, plus my laptop has broken so I've had to use my mom's for today while she's at work. Now I thought I'd write a post about my Top Five Beauty Tips because I've been really lazy with my skin and hair routine over the past few months; I think that if I post and physically release it into the world then I have absolutely NO excuse. So, lets get started!

• The first tip is to always condition thoroughly; now I have really frizzy hair and I've always sort of complained about it but never done anything about it. I've looked online and saw that some things that are supposed to be really good, are also REALLY expensive. Now, this was an accident actually but I used the biggest handful of conditioner ever and it actually worked. My hair started to become less frizzy which meant that my curls hung more; this makes my hair look a lot longer than it actually is which I think looks so much better. Now the conditioner I use is the Tresemme Salon Silk Conditioner which isn't for any particular reason than that my mom bought that one. I really like it because it makes my hair feel really soft and smooth. It also smells nice as well which is a bonus.

• My second tip is to always use lip balm; I've only just started using it regularly which is awful. I bought some lip balm and then I was given Nivea lip set for Christmas; I use it every single day, sometimes even twice a day. I hate thinking about the way my lips used to bleed because of how cracked they were, it was absolutely vile. I love the way my lips feel now though, because they just feel plump and lovely. Its just great.

• The third tip is to use Vaseline as a makeup remover; now I had been using makeup wipes which aren't the best for your eyes and they can irritate your skin. Plus, they don't always remove things like eyeliner and mascara which means that if you shower, you can get 'panda eyes'. I put Vaseline on my eyelashes after looking it up online because I wanted them to grow longer and thicker. Then I found out that if you swipe a cotton bud across your lash line, it removes the makeup so much easier and avoids any gunk that will clog up in your eyes.

• The fourth tip is to always moisturise; I always moisturise my face using the Simple Kind to Skin Hydrating Light Moisturiser because it just makes my skin feel soft and refreshed. I do it after I cleanse and before I do my makeup. I use it because of the fact that it gives my face a certain glow which makes my foundation look better. Plus, I do it at night before I go to bed but using Nivea Soft Refreshingly Moisturising Cream because it isn't as shiny as my morning one. I don't know where I bought my morning moisturiser, I feel like I've just had loads of makeup items and things that I've only started using recently... how strange. I don't have so much as a regular routine for my body moisturiser as I have loads of bottles from beauty sets from Christmases and birthdays. I usually just use the matching moisturiser with the shower gel because it feels really wrong to use a peach-scented soap with a chocolate-flavoured lotion. I mean, ew.

• My last and final tip is to always look online when plucking your eyebrows; everybody has them but not everyone knows how to style them properly. Point being ME, circa 2010. I had never really bothered with my eyebrows until I was about 12 or so but when I look back at old photos of me from before that, I wish someone had plucked them properly because they are absolutely awful. Now for about a year or so perhaps, I didn't really do much with them apart from slightly pluck between them and underneath. However, around year 9 I began to take more interest and started plucking them intensely. The word 'over-pluck' is definitely not the word because I went from having quite large brows to the thinnest line of hair ever. They were absolutely ridiculous, I mean, I have a huge head, I'm not going to lie, which made it even worse. They took about a YEAR AND A HALF to grow back completely and ever since then, I have carefully thought out how often I pluck my eyebrows and where I do it. Over the last few weeks, I've been trying to fill out my left eyebrow because it doesn't match my right eyebrow (its such a fuss I tell you). I've been using guides online to try to shape to the best of my ability and its sort of working I guess. My advice for anyone thinking of plucking their eyebrows is to look online first and see the best way to do it because trust me, you will regret it otherwise.

REVIEW: 'Adore You' by Miley Cyrus

She has done it AGAIN. Miley Cyrus has made another video that has caused controversy about the... um delicate subject matter. Now if people think the 'Wrecking Ball' video was graphic, HOLY COW, watch 'Adore You' and you will never feel clean again (I'm slightly exaggerating this for comic effect but you get the gist). Again, just like last time, I think the actual song itself is brilliant. Miley's voice sounds frickin' amazing in this song, it really really does. She sounds absolutely fantastic and I'm not just saying it because she does. That song really plays to her vocal strengths which is a sort of raspy but incredibly beautiful sound.

However, the music video makes me feel violated. I really don't need the image of her writhing around in bed touching herself, just burning in my mind, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. It just looks really wrong. And I'm speaking as a teenager myself so all the adults out there cannot say that this is what we want. Because it really isn't. When 'Wrecking Ball' came out, a lot of her fans defended her on Twitter and I can understand looking back on it because I guess it was "artistic", if you like that sort of thing. Now this video has came out, I see many of those same people sort of questioning her... 'judgement', shall we say?

I know that she's probably top of the charts and I guess that's why she made the video as intense as it is, so people will continue to talk about it because of its graphic nature, and then the song will get stuck in their heads and that's what will make them buy the single. But I think she missed a trick, I mean she could have made the same style of video if she wanted to if that was the inspiration for the song was but just less pornographic. We didn't need to see everything as crudely as it was made. She could have been more vague I guess in the way the video was portrayed, I mean that's what I thought anyway and everyone is entitled to their own opinion, right?

I watched her documentary on MTV and she said something like "people think I'm a hot mess, but it's a strategic hot mess" and it begs the question, what kind of strategy is she going for? And what's coming next? I'd hate for her to be the next Lindsay Lohan or Britney Spears, I know they have their lives together now but for a while, and I hate to say this but it was pretty touch and go. I remember reading articles about them when I was younger (circa 2007) and just being worried for them, you know? They were the people that a lot of young kids looked up to, I know I did. I had every single album of Britney's; my friend and I used to choreograph dances to her songs, just wishing we were "as cool as she was". I don't want this Miley to be the person my younger cousins look up to. Vocally and musically, she is perfect and I do love a lot of her songs but this video is just too far. Sorry, folks, that's just my honest opinion.

To watch the 'Adore You' music video: click HERE

To watch the 'Wrecking Ball' music video: click HERE

To read my blog post on the 'Wrecking Ball' music video: click HERE

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.

I hate the cold.

Can I just say that I hate the cold? I HATE it. Always have, always will. I was never the child who went outside in the snow and made snowmen, I would much rather just sit inside in the warmth and laugh at the people who fall over (I live on a hill and when its icy outside, all I hear is people screaming as they fall over).

Now I must admit that I am looking forward to Christmas (regardless of the fact that it's only November) but I am not excited for winter. Its already starting to get colder so I've had to invest in a new winter coat before I freeze to death on the way to school (it was actually a Christmas present from my mom but she said that I could have it now because of the weather). I already know that if it starts snowing, there is no way that I'm going to school because the walk is already an hour long and can you imagine trying to get there through the ice and snowy gates of hell? Oh, I shudder to think. I've already fell over once and that was because I have to walk across a field and it'd been raining all night. Ughh. I hurt both my knee and my ankle so that was just fab. I'm also getting a sore throat so woo.

I hate being in school because its either freezing and the school doesn't have the heating on or you're unluckily enough to find a seat that's right next to the radiator and you get too hot. You see my dilemma? I just need school to not exist for the winter months. I mean, that would just be perfect, wouldn't it?

Dr Seuss, what a wonderful man.

"Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You." - Dr. Seuss

This recently became one of my favourite quotes just because it sounds beautiful. The message makes you feel special for being you which I think is what everybody wants: Acceptance. Now, I like this quote for a few reasons: 1) because its way better than saying YOLO which even to this day, people STILL say. I just hate it. Especially when you hear little children say it, like no. Just no. The second reason is that I've sort of suddenly become fascinated with Dr Seuss. I know children in the US read his books a lot more whereas here children tend to read Jacqueline Wilson and Roald Dahl, I know I did.

I found the quote and just immediately loved it so I had to find out more about the man who wrote it. I found that he was very particular with his books, he kept them for YEARS without publishing them just to make sure they were perfect and I kind of understand that. I'm not saying that I'm on any level of him, he was one of the greatest writers of all time. I just know what its like to want everything that you produce, whether it be musically or academically or whatever, to be just right.

I don't think there's anything wrong with that even though people have told me that I can get a bit obsessive. I don't think of it as that though, I think of it as taking pride in whatever you've done. Everything you produce is a reflection of you. Every piece of work I hand into school, I have the highest standards of, re-reading it before handing it in to make sure that its the very best I can do. It's like this blog, I have loads of posts that I haven't published just because I don't think they're my best work. I think that you should have that attitude towards everything in life. Today in Maths, I was so close to giving up because I'd tried to do the equation 4 times and I just couldn't do it. I tried once more and I got it right. Perseverance is Power. 

Probably the last reason why I love the quote is because its not telling you to change or be something you're not; its okay to be different or 'strange'- God knows I've been called both. But I'm starting to accept that being a little bit weird is fine, I was called crazy a few days ago by some boy who I hardly know but do I care? NOPE. Because I am crazy. And that's just me. So you should take advantage of what makes you great, that's all the craziness and weirdness and everything in between. Just be You, okay?

REVIEW: 'Story of My Life' by One Direction

I wouldn't call myself a 'fan-girl' but One Direction have just released a brand new single called the Story of My Life and I just LOVE it. Its so gooooooooooood (can I just say that Harry's vocals in the song sound amazing? He will always be my favourite). Its probably the best song One Direction have ever done, it sounds so much more mature since What Makes You Beautiful and I kind of like that.
The lyrics so beautiful because you can really see how much they've improved in the quality of their song-writing since they started. I think that Ben Winston, the director, really made the music video the best it could possibly be and I'm not afraid to admit it but I did cry.. more than once. I mean, it was just so beautiful. I remember watching them on the X Factor in 2010 and I loved them then. The plot of the video as well is just perfect, it really suits the song and whoever came up with that idea deserves a round of applause.

There was a whole thing on Twitter with 'Directioners' trying to take the Vevo record of the Most Watched Video in 24 hours from Miley Cyrus for Wrecking Ball (you can read that review here) but I don't think they did, or there was some sort of problem with the counting, I don't know. Anyways, I just wanted to write this post because the song has been out officially for 4 days and I really love it; its almost got 21 million views and it's only going to get better for them. They're literally one of the most famous bands in the ENTIRE world with probably the most loyal fan base ever.
 If the Story of My Life is any reflection on the songs on Midnight Memories then I think its going to be a good end of year for the boys. Well done, guys; the song was brilliant.

It took all of my will power to not just post pictures of Harry Styles.. We all saw his Halloween costume.. How ironic.

You can watch the video yourself here.

UPDATE NOVEMBER 2013

It's November. Like how? Just how? I mean, this year has gone so quick and I'm about to go back Sixth Form to start my second half term tomorrow, boo. I just don't want to go back. I woke up today at half 11 and immediately regretted it since I need to wake FIVE, yes FIVE HOURS, earlier tomorrow. I don't know how I'm going to cope. Luckily, I've done all my work and haven't left it to the last minute like some of my friends so I can relax for the rest of the day.

I want to apologise firstly for not writing a post in a few weeks, my laptop charger has suddenly broke so I haven't been able to do anything. I started a post on Halloween but didn't get to finish it because of said laptop charger. My mom ordered me a new one but until then, I'm just going to have use hers to do my work.

Now, when I started this blog, I posted pretty much twice a week because it was before I started Sixth Form and I had plenty of free time. Then, when I did start finally started, I was basically only writing a post once a week because I was getting so busy. It started becoming a thing where I would leave it longer and longer between each posts and I really hated that. I want to make sure that I do write once a week at LEAST because its something that I do enjoy doing. I want to try and manage my workload a lot better in these next few weeks, not just so I can write on this blog but for the sake of my own sanity I think. There's nothing better than having the satisfaction of being about to relax knowing that everything you need to do is DONE. So lets have the rest of the day to ourselves and RELAX...