UPDATE AUGUST 2014

First of all I want to apologise for not posting at all in the last few weeks; I have been incredibly busy with a dozen things which I will explain. I have a whole list of things that I wanted to blog about this summer and I'm pretty annoyed that I haven't been able to do them but this should be changing soon. Once I go back to school I should be able to blog more regularly as I'll be getting into a more consistent routine. But this month has been absolutely CRAZY. I was planning on just writing just about my birthday but then I decided to just update you guys on what I've been doing for the last four weeks, so let's get into it.

The first thing that I really want to talk about is my volunteering that I've done over the summer. I did it at two different places, one at my local library and one at the SureStart Children's Centre. I had been looking into doing something for months but my exams were obviously my top priority at that time so I decided to wait until the six weeks. I went to both places and just asked if volunteering was something they did and luckily for me, it was. At my library, I sat in on a session that they do there called Reading Buddies where they help people who perhaps struggle to read, or are just learning to speak English for example. It was really incredible being there because I've never realised how much I take advantage of being able to recognise letters and words and be able to understand what they mean. Some people don't have that and it really made me think about the education system and how this can fail some people, which is really sad.

Now the second place I volunteered at was at SureStart which I'm pretty sure only exists in the UK. Basically it is a children's centre which aims to give young kids the best possible chance in life by helping with their early education and general health. The programme that I was involved in was the Early Words Together; its basically a series of sessions which helps children under the age of five with their reading and writing and things. It also encourages parents to become actively involved in their children's education. I thought it was so cool because I've never really been seen this type of thing before.

The only thing which I really hate is that because I'm going to be going back to Sixth Form next week, it means I can no longer volunteer at the library or at the children's centre. It clashes with my timetable because most of the sessions are in the morning and I obviously can't do that. They do afternoon sessions at SureStart but since it takes me an hour to walk home, I would completely miss them so its not really worth signing up to do it. I do hope though that I would be able to volunteer at half term and things like that.


Another thing that I wanted to talk about, which I mentioned before, is my birthday. As you probably know, I turned 17 on the 27th of August which I actually forgot about to be honest. I was so busy trying to finish my summer homework as well as doing my volunteering, and getting my results and everything. It was just insane. I had already sorted out what I was doing for my birthday; I went really traditional with just a dinner with three of my best friends and then a sleepover afterwards. It was really cool to just hang out all together because one of my friends does not go to the same Sixth Form that we go to so we rarely see each other anymore. Its such a shame because we've known each other for over six years now which I think is absolutely mental to have kept the same friends for that long.

Now I didn't actually get a lot of presents this year because I was given money mainly. My favourite present though was from my mom who gave me a Kindle Fire HD which I've never really looked into getting before. I never asked her for it so it was a complete surprise that she bought me one. I have literally been on it for the last few days just spending my hours doing nothing, which probably isn't the best considering I am going back to Sixth Form on Tuesday and I still haven't finished all of my work. I will be making that  a priority tomorrow and Monday so don't worry.

I think thats pretty much all I've got to say about August as a whole. I'm sorry it was so long but sometimes you just have such a busy month that'ss full of so much stuff, you just need to unload everything before you can start anew. And this post has been that for me. Now that its approaching school time, I will be writing another post about Sixth Form probably after my first official day of year 13 so I would expect that in the next few days.

Check out my last blog post: AS Results 2014 - where I tell you what grades I received after a stressful first year of Sixth Form

AS Results 2014

The reason why I wanted to write this post is because I've been blogging for the last year how about hard Sixth Form has been, so I thought you would like to know the end result.

On Thursday the 14th, I found out my AS results and even though I passed all of them, I was sort of surprised. I mean, I'm usually pretty consistent with all subjects but this time, I got a wide variety of results. I received an A in Sociology which surprised me the absolute most, a B in General Studies which I wasn't really too bothered about, a C in English and a D in Maths and Psychology. So that was odd.

I thought I would be more worried about my D's because I tend to think that they're my best grades, but to be honest, I'm not. I would only have to re-sit two modules to bring my grades up completely. I don't have to do the entire year again which was my FEAR so that's over with. I've just been thinking about next year though, I mean I'll have to be doing my year 13 exams as well as two of my year 12 exams again. I counted it up and I'll probably be sitting 11 exams which isn't that bad considering I had 10 this year. Also the AS exams are before half term so I won't be doing them all at the same time. I really think that I can do it all and hopefully I will be.

To be honest, I think that as long as I keep revising for my Core 2 module in Maths and my Research Methods in Psychology, then I should be fine. I think what I'm going to do is just do a paper or so every other week to make sure I'm still actually learning. Of course I'm going to speak to my teachers and get a few resources off them but to be honest, I'm not too worried. In fact I'm actually really pleased and so was my mom, so that's good.

You can read my post on my GCSE Results from last year HERE, which is another reason why I wanted to write this. Its sort of like my tradition I guess.

 

Check out my last post: REVIEW: 'Happy Little Pill' by Troye Sivan - where I write about how much I've been loving the song

REVIEW: 'Happy Little Pill' by Troye Sivan

I've wanted to review Happy Little Pill by Troye Sivan ever since it came out because I just love it. It came out on the 25th of July and I have to say, I have played it at least once every single day since. I like to listen to it when I'm just chilling out in my room or doing my work, I just think its a really good song. His voice sounds incredible in it and the lyrics are just beautiful; it has a really cool pop/ techno vibe to the song and I LOVE IT.

So, as Troye is a YouTuber, I have been watching his videos for quite a long time now, probably close to 2 years now. I knew he sang and things but I had never really listened to his music before apart from his cover of 'Little Things' by One Direction which I thought was absolutely amazing. His videos just in general have made me laugh and smile, and I feel very proud of him for everything that he has done.

Flashforward to now and he is about to release his EP called TRXYE, and I am really excited to listen to it. It comes out on the 15th of August and I'm sure it'll do really well. I know that Happy Little Pill did AMAZINGLY, I mean it was #1 in 13 countries and top 10 in 31 countries which is INSANE.


You can preorder TRXYE here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/trxye-ep/id898132513

You can watch Happy Little Pill here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXeKoGx9zoM

Feel free to read my last post: July Favourites 2014 - where I write about all the things I enjoyed last month

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