July Favourites 2014

I've been thinking about the things I've been enjoying lately and so I thought I would write a little post about my July Favourites. Its not going to be too long because I haven't got any new makeup or face products lately since I've broken up for summer. But I have been liking a few other things so sit back and enjoy!


Books:

I've been reading Enduring Love by Ian McEwan over the last few weeks because its on the curriculum for my A2 English course next year. To be honest, at the start of the novel I wasn't too sure about it but the more I read it, the more I get into it. Its about a hot air balloon accident which changes the course of many peoples lives. The main character, Joe, becomes the obsession of another man called Jed, who suffers from De Clerambault Syndrome: a type of delusion in which one person thinks that another person is madly in love with them. Its actually really REALLY interesting reading because I never even knew that it was a real thing before this book and its just really fascinating. I haven't read the end yet because I'm only twelve chapters in but so far, I really like it and would recommend it to anyone.

TV:
NCIS: Los Angeles: I have spoken about this before in my November Favourites last year and I am still absolutely loving it. It is probably my favourite TV show ever and I cannot wait until season 5 comes out on DVD so I can watch it. I've got seasons 1 through 4 and honestly, I watch it REPEATEDLY. The only thing that annoys me about NCIS: LA is that since its an American show, it takes absolutely forever for it to come out here in the UK. Until then, I'm just going to watch it over and over and over again. Oh, I need a life.


Music:
There aren't many new songs that come out that I like, usually just because I don't listen to the charts at all. Most of the time, I just play old songs that have been stuck in my head until another thing comes along. However, two of the songs that I have been playing repeatedly for the last few weeks are Boom Clap by Charli XCX and Ghost by Ella Henderson. I just love them, I really do.

I'd never really heard of Charli XCX until she featured on Fancy with Iggy Azealia which I LOVED as well. I think she's a really good singer and I hope she brings out loads of cool new things.

Ella Henderson on the other hand, I already knew. For those of you who don't live in the UK, she appeared on the X Factor a few years ago and she was absolutely amazing. She's really REALLY young and she has an incredible voice. I think this is her first single and honestly, its just incredible.

Feel free to read my last post: Summer - where I show you a collection of beautiful flowers

Summer

I've wanted to write a brief post for the last few weeks, and so every day on my way home from Sixth Form, I was looking for things that remind me of summer. The weather in the UK right now is pretty hot and so everyone is just enjoying it, including my mother who is literally outside sunbathing right now. Anyway, this post won't be a lot of writing or anything, just a small collection of photos that make me think of this beautiful season.

 I was on the hunt for pretty flowers that I could take photos off and I was literally only 2 streets away from my house before I found some.

 

 

They were so beautiful, I really REALLY wish I had a better camera so that you could see how vibrant the flowers were. The purple colour in the photo above was absolutely gorgeous. 

 

 

 

 

You can read my last blog post: END OF SCHOOL - where I write about my delight at finishing Sixth Form for the summer

END OF SCHOOL

Yesterday was my last day at Sixth Form until September and I have to say, it felt AMAZING. Walking out of those gates and seeing that blue sky was just magical.

This summer I'm going to try to do as much as possible; I want to hang out with my friends, do some olunteering and just try to have some relax, especially before my results come through. I also want to start blogging more, like I did last year, because I really REALLY enjoy writing about what I've been up to and such things. I think this is a good way of storing memories and I like the idea of being able to read everything back and thinking, 'wow, that was incredible'.

Now as far as I'm concerned, I have 26 days and countingbefore I find out my grades but until then, I am going to have FUN. This is my last summer before I decide what university and as much as that scares me, I am so ready for it.

Feel free to follow my blog to find out what I'm going to be doing this summer because I'm absolutely determined to make it a good one. Care to join me?

Check out my last post: Higher Education Fair - where I told you about my day talking to university representatives

Higher Education Fair

Last Friday, my Sixth Form organised a school trip to a Higher Education Fair at a local university. Now it didn't take long to get there, only about an hour or so, which I was pleased about because I get absolutely terrible travel sickness. We left at about half 11 which I didn't really care about until we actually got there and saw how many stalls there were.

There was at least a hundred university representatives there to ask questions to but to be honest, I wasn't really focused on that. Any places that I want to go to, I have already looked online on the websites and know everything that I need to know about that specific courses, campuses or universities. While I was there, a lot of people tried to get me to order prospectuses even though I've already got loads, so I was generally just helping my friends talk to people.

The absolutely best thing about the day was all the free stuff we got, I mean it was AMAZING; I literally collected 8 pens, about a dozen chocolates and a wristband. As soon as the bus pulled up to the gates, we saw masses of people walking out of the halls with BAGS of free things and I almost died with excitement.

There was also a Careers Hall that we went in for a few minutes but it wasn't that good to be honest. I mean, there was only a few stalls which weren't really that interesting and so we left pretty much straight away.

The only downside of the day was that we weren't actually told where all the stalls were and so we spent the large majority of the time in the Main Hall without realising that the Sports Hall, which was literally on the other side of the campus, was filled as well. This means that we weren't able to see every uni stall before we left since we were only there for 2 and a half hours.

But overall it was a good day and I think it was really beneficiall for people who haven't really looked at unis and wanted a little bit of guidance. I know that they hold the fairs at loads of different unis across the country all throughout the year so if you are looking at going into Higher Education, then I would recommend going to one because I think its a good experience. You can have a look online at the remaining events right HERE.

Check out my last blog post: French Manicure Nail Tutorial - where I give you easy step by step instructions on how to achieve simple yet beautiful nails

French Manicure Nail Tutorial

For the last few months I've had bare nails just because I haven't had any time to paint them properly. So I thought I would do something really simple and pretty in time for summer, and thats a French Manicure. Now the last time I tried to do this was years ago and it completely failed but this time, I was a lot better. I think any nail art just needs practice to perfect it and with that in mind, don't worry if it doesn't work out exactly right the first time. I will say that this tutorial is very similar to my 'Cupcake' Inspired Nail Art which you can check out if you want to.
Now the first thing I do is cut and shape my nails correctly. I find that French Manicures always look better when the nail is squarely rounded; by that, I mean that the shape should be more square than not but the corners are rounded. I think that this makes the nail look professional but beautiful at the same time, which is exactly what a French Manicure is.

At this point, you can put tape around your nail bed to avoid getting it all over your fingers but this depends on how well you paint your nails. I don't usually do this but I think it looks good. I didn't use tape for this just because I only painted my nails to take the photos.

The next thing I do is start creating my white tip; now you can use a base coat first but I don't really think its necessary for this look because the white is only on a tiny part of your nails. Depending on how good your white varnish is, is how many coats off it you need. I would say two coats is probably best because it gives just a solid block of colour on your tips and that makes the nail look SO much better. Anything more than two coats is usually more risky because the more layers you put on the tip, the more 3D it becomes and therefore the longer it takes to dry. This increases how likely you are to smudge or ruin your nails so I would definitely stick to only two coats.

The next step that you would usually expect is to wait for the tips to dry then paint your entire nail with the French Pink. However, I'm skipping this step because my nails naturally are relatively pink and adding another colour to them just doesn't look right, especially since my skin colour is darker than the French Pink. It also dulls down the intensity of the white tips that you've spent the last ten minutes perfecting, so I leave my nails bare.

I still use my Elegant Touch Rapid Dry for Nails just to set the tips before I put a top coat on. This gives my nails a slight shine which looks nice with the white and then thats it! You are DONE.

Check out my last blog post: UPDATE JUNE 2014 - where I tell you what happened in my life last month

UPDATE JUNE 2014

I've offically done 3 full weeks of Year 13 and so far, it hasn't been too bad. Now I don't know if every school does this but mine does because next year, I'll lose 6 weeks when my exams are finished (that makes absolutely no sense but oh well). Anyway, I think I've really settled in to A2; I'm completing all of my work on time and even managing to do a little extra just because I want to be as prepared as possible for next year.

With my English work, I've been making a start on trying to work through my Wider Reading list and I do plan to write a review on The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald some point soon. We've read a lot of short stories in class which all seem to be about repression and domination so I was glad to read a novel which was a bit more upbeat, until the end that is. We're also reading Antony and Cleopatra for our coursework and I've just started Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, can you tell our theme for this year is 'Love Throughout the Ages'?
Maths at A2 seems to be going well also, I mean, we're doing Core 3 now which so far has only really been expanding on things we've already done from Core 1 and Core so I'm quite happy about that. I've had a few pieces of homework but I've managed to do them without any help, so thats really good.

Both Sociology and Psychology have been relatively 'easy' if thats the word. In Psychology, we've had a few 15 mark essays to write but nothing too complicated or difficult so its all good. Sociology has been pretty much the same, we had a few lessons where we had to make a presentation on separate topics and even though my group hasn't presented yet, I have a good feeling about it.

Generally I feel pretty good about starting Year 13 in September, I'm glad my school gives us those extra six weeks before we get our results to try A2 out just because I think its best to understand how the course goes before you decide to drop something.

I also wanted to mention that the Year 13's at my Sixth Form had what they call 'Dress Up Day' where they come to school in fancy dress. Now I remember hearing about it at the start of last year but since it was my first time there, I had no idea what to expect. There was no way I could have predicted the crazy outfits that some people wore, I'm talking Crayola crayons, soldiers, ninjas, Disney princesses, babies (that's right, some boys wore nappies (diapers) and NOTHING else). I have to say though that the weirdest one was a girl who dressed up at Beyonce from the Single Ladies video. I'm talking a black leotard, heels, a massive ring and her hair up in a beehive type thing. It was very odd.

This sparked the discussion between me and my friends about what we would wear next year and honestly, I have no idea. I can't even think about anything past Results Day because I need to know what my grades are, if I need to resit or whether I've just completely failed EVERYTHING. I hope not. Pray for me.

You can read my last blog post: My Favourite Eyeliners 2014 - where I talk about, you guessed it, my FAVOURITE pencil, gel and liquid eyeliner ever.

My Favourite Eyeliners 2014

I was going to write about my top five favourite eyeliners but then I thought that it would probably just be a list of liquid eyeliners with one gel eyeliner thrown in for good measure, which wouldn't be very good for people who like pencils for example. Anyway, I thought that the best way to write this post was to speak about my top FAVOURITE pencil, gel and liquid liners. So let's get started!

Pencil Eyeliner:
It didn't take long for me to decide what my favourite pencil eyeliner was, just because I've only tried a few over the years. Personally, I'm not the biggest fan of pencil eyeliners because I find that they always rub off onto my lid or smudge and I hate that. For years I used pencils and so I would probably say that my favourite pencil eyeliner is the Soap and Glory Smoulder Kohl in Black. I really like this one because it has a really creamy formula and when you apply it, the eyeliner just glides on without it feeling like you have to drag it across your lid. I also like the intense pigmentation in the pencil, its absolutely brilliant. Plus, its very cheap as well which is also a bonus.

Liquid Eyeliner:
Now I know that I said that I would mention my FAVOURITE liquid eyeliner but I have used so many that I cannot even narrow it down to my favourite. The thing is you see that I have never had a problem with any particular liquid liner, but I always find that they never last very long at all. I've used the Rimmel Scandel Eyes Thick and Thin, L'Oreal Super Liner Luminzer Brown Eyes, the L'Oreal Super Liner Perfect Slim and many MANY more, but as good as they are, they always run out after 2 months or so. Now I would recommend them because they are good products overall but I would consider something with more substance, like the Rimmel Glam Eyes Professional Liquid Liner.

I have sort of a love-hate relationship with this eyeliner because I think that if you master it then it looks absolutely incredible. Unfortunately, I cannot. It needs a steady hand to perfect the look and patience in case it takes a few tries (both of which I don't have). Even though I don't use it regularly, on the few times that I have wore it, I have been really impressed with the results. I think its better for people who like a thin line of eyeliner and maybe a slight wing if they're feeling fancy. Anyway, I think this is such a good product and if I ever convert back to liquid, then this is definitely my go-to.



Gel Eyeliner:
My favourite gel eyeliner by far is definitely the Maybelline Eyestudio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner 24H in 01 Black, I have spoken about this a few times before but I cannot get over how much I absolutely LOVE it. The first time I wrote about this product was in my November Favourites 2013 and since then, I've probably used it every single day for school and have hardly made a dent in the little pot. Its such an amazing product and once you figure out how to use it then you're SET. A little tip for new users: always make sure that after every time you use the eyeliner brush, squeeze the bristles into a really neat flat point. I know thats probably not the best instructions but trust me, it works so much better. You can make such a smaller, finer line and it just looks better overall, especially in the summer when you might need a softer look. I have to say that this is LITERALLY my favourite eyeliner of all time and I doubt that I will ever buy another one, or need to, because it is just the best product.

 

 

You can read my last blog post: REVIEW: 'Problem' by Ariana Grande ft. Iggy Azalea - where I write about my thoughts on Ariana's latest music video

REVIEW: 'Problem' by Ariana Grande ft. Iggy Azalea

I absolutely LOVE this song, I really do. Ever since the music video came out, I have just had it on repeat for days. Not only does does Ariana sound amazing as always, I really love the beat as well. The way that the melody changes throughout different parts suits the song absolutely perfectly.

I think the fact that Iggy Azalea featured during the song just made me love it even more. I mean, I'm usually indifferent towards her but I really think she made the song so much better. Together, they both make the song sound really good; in my opinion Ariana always make good pop songs but I think this one seems more edgy and upbeat because of Iggy, and I like that.

The video as well was really well made and I'm glad they went for a 60's sort of feel because I think it suits the video. I know that there were a lot of comments saying it didn't fit the song but I thought it did. It was quite a simple video meaning there was no storyline or anything but I think that sometimes that's best. The video had everything the song needed and I LOVED it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BLOG

It feels like only yesterday that I started blogging and already its been whole YEAR. I just can't believe it, I really can't. I mean, I've spoken before about why I started writing, in fact I wrote a post about it called Why do I write this blog?, where I explained in detail why I love doing it. But the fact that I've been doing this for a whole year consistently (I know I don't always post EVERY single week but details, details...), it just means so much to me. This blog means so much to me and I cannot tell you how proud I am of this little space on the Internet that I created.


Even though it has been a challenge, sorting out formats and layouts and things, blogging has always been something that I've always wanted to do, and I'm so glad that I have done.This time last year, I had just finished my GCSE's and was looking forward to the summer; fast forward to now where I'm starting Year 13 tomorrow with a fully documented account of my experience of Sixth Form. Who knows what this next year will bring, care to join me and find out?


Just a little thank you to anyone who reads my blog; it means a lot more than you will ever know, trust me...

You can read my last post: UPDATE MAY 2014 - where I talk about how my exams went.

UPDATE MAY 2014

I thought I would write an update about what happened in May because the last few weeks have been pretty intense for me. I've done almost all of my Year 12 exams now, so here's how each of them went.

(A little side note, this will be a long post because I've done 9 exams in total and only have one left, yay!.)

My first exam was my General Studies exam which was pretty good; the questions on the paper were almost insultingly EASY. I mean, "Name three other types of transplants other than kidney transplants"- COME ON. Even a monkey could answer that question. Pretty much everyone wrote, including me, liver, heart and lungs, apart from one person I spoke to who wrote 'Brain'. BRAIN. I really fear for the time my generation is in power, its going to be tough folks.
I also did another General Studies exam a few days later and even though it was more difficult than the first one, I think I did alright. I had to guess a few of the questions because they were about politics and I just couldn't deal with that.

The next exam I did was my Psychology Research Methods exam and to be honest, I can't remember any questions from it. I have been keeping notes on how well my exams went so I could write this post, yet for some reason all I wrote was 'good'. I don't remember it being bad or difficult so I should be okay I guess.
My other Psychology exam, my Core Studies, went really well also, a lot easier than I was expecting. I wasn't too worried for this one, just because I understood the studies really well and the questions on the paper were all pretty easy too.


I was probably the most NERVOUS for my Sociology exams. The first one I did was on Families and Households, and literally the thing that I had revised 20 minutes before the exam came up so that was great. I managed to include lots of information and theorists, with even a few policies as well for good measure, so hopefully I'll get a good grade. After the exam, a few girls and I went to speak to my Sociology teacher about how well it had gone; we just sat in her office speaking and eating sweets until this one girl walked in looking really upset. Obviously we asked her what was wrong and it turns out she did the WRONG questions. She did the first page when we were supposed to do the second page. I don't know what she's going to do but according to my teacher, she may have managed to at least pass. Let's hope so anyway.
The second Sociology exam was called Education with Research Methods and was split into three sections; it was two hours long and I genuinely could have done with another 20 to 30 minutes. I tried every question so I was pretty happy about that but I completely messed up on the last question, just because I ran out of time and couldn't finish it. God damn.

My English was also pretty good, I managed to write 8 pages or so and luckily, the questions were really good. There was plenty of things to write about and so I think I did okay. I did have an odd dream the other day where I thought that I was 45 minutes late to my English exam, even though in reality I had already done it. I'm telling you, its bad enough thinking about exams while awake let alone having to worry about them affecting your subconscious.

My final set of exams were my Maths ones; I did Core 1 on the Tuesday and Core 2 on the Thursday. Now Core 1 went okay, the only questions that I struggled on were 8 and 9, which I think I did try to answer so at least I'll get marks for that.
My Core 2 paper however was by far the WORST exam I've ever done. I literally only had 6 hours of revision before the exam, 4 of which my friend came round to revise with me. It was absolutely terrible, it really really was.I've never left blank pages but I just couldn't do half of the paper because it was so difficult. During the exam, I counted up the marks I would potentially get and that was 30. Out of 72. It was horrific, in the last 10 minutes, I was literally trying to stop myself from crying because it was so bad. Luckily, when I got out of the exam, everyone was talking about how they hardly answered a question and so hopefully, the exam will have a lower grade boundary this year.

But, to avoid any chance of my Core 2 mark bringing down my entire Maths AS Level grade, I worked out that if I were to get almost 100% on my Statistics paper, then I could  COULD get a C at the end of this year. That's all I want and so to get that, I must finish this post right here and start revising again. Wish me luck.

Feel free to check out my last post: May Favourites 2014 - where I talk about things I've been loving in the months of May.