Matching Lips and Nails for Spring

Whenever it comes to Spring, I love ditching the deep reds and burgundy's that I've sported throughout the Autumn and Winter for more neutral and pretty pink shades; hence this perfectly spring-orientated duo of Barry M's nail polish in the shade 'Ballerina,' and Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet liquid lipstick in 'Don't Pink of It!' Firstly, I love both the names of these products (superficial, I know, but true all the same) as well as the gorgeous blue-toned pink shade they both offer. I'm definitely one of those people who match their lipstick colour to their outfit, but lately I've taken a real liking to matching my shade of lipstick to the colour on my tips. Needless to say the formula of both of them are lovely. You can get away with even one coat of this nail polish, but two just gives it that lovely pop of colour and considering I painted my nails on Saturday and there are still no signs of any chipping, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't impressed. I already knew what to expect for this Bourjois lipstick as I already have one in the shade 'peach club.' I love the - as the name would suggest - velvet texture that glides on the lips and makes for a very easy and precise application. The formula is lovely - matte, long-lasting, but not at all drying and wears nicely throughout the day. I'm so in love with this pretty pink combo and I'm sure I'll continue wearing it all throughout Spring.

Have you been loving any nail/lip choices lately?

10 things that make me happy

1. Having some alone time.It may sound sad but I really enjoy having time to myself to think about things and just relax. As much as I love spending time with my family and friends, I think having time to be alone with your thoughts is important.
2. Sundays evenings. I have a little pamper session on most sunday evenings to unwind and prepare me for the week ahead. I then watch films in bed (most likely something with either Meryl Streep or Grace Kelly in) with a massive mug of tea and, of course, biscuits.
3. Costa dates with my bestie; it's when we usually have our best talks.
4. Reading books that you can't put down. Worthy mentions go to The Picture of Dorian Gray, To Kill a Mockingbird and The Fault in our Stars. (Can you tell I'm a literature student?)
5. Watching the sun go down on the beach in Greece. It was beautiful.
6. No makeup days. Any girl who claims she loves wearing a face full of makeup 24/7 is lying. Letting your skin breathe feels so good.
7. Seeing my grandparents every friday. I'm so close to them, and I'm grateful for everything they've done/do for me.
8. Meals out with my best friend. We recently went to our favourite Chinese restaurant for results celebrations; it's kind of become tradition.
9.Lazy days where all I do is catch up on YouTube videos and drink copious amounts of tea in bed.
10. Days out with my mum; whether it be lunch, shopping or even just a chat over tea and cake. I'm so close to my mum so spending time with her is the nicest thing.

What things make you happy? Share them in the comments!

Welcoming September and the Last Year

I can't quite believe that it is September already, where has the year gone? On the 4th of this month I go back to Sixth Form, which means it'll be the start of my last year in school (I can't lie, the thought makes me extremely happy.) I wanted to make a post at the beginning of my last year, and set myself some goals for the academic year ahead so that I can look back on them and see if any were achieved. So, without further a do...

- Get into university. It's an obvious and standard goal for people my age but this year my biggest goal is getting into university (preferably my first choice) and studying a degree I enjoy.

- Finding a balance between work and social life. Last year I hardly went to any of the events organised by the enterprise team so this year I'm going to make an effort to attend more of them. 

- Stop Comparing myself to others.  I'm so bad at this. I need to stop focusing on how everyone else is doing and just concentrate on myself and my own success. 

- Spend more free periods doing work. Although I worked through most of my frees this year and didn't actually have many frees where I was just sat doing nothing, that was mainly because I'd deliberately leave all my homework to do in frees. Not a smart move. This brings me onto my next point...

- Do homework on the night it is set. I started off really well this year but as the year progressed I started leaving homework till a couple of days before and I was buried in work. I'm going to make a conscious effort to not let that happen again by completing my homework on the night it is set. Getting it out of the way is the best thing to do, because I can't even count how many nights I spent worrying over work that I hadn't started.

- Stay organised. Dear me, if only you could have seen the state I was in this year. I had random pieces of paper dotted all over the place and I had various notes from different subjects in the same notepad. One word, shambles. This year I need to make sure I file away all my paperwork and notes and stay organised. I can't be rummaging for hours to find that one piece of paper that had everything important on it again this year. Just, no. I'm hoping that if I buy a lot of cute stationery, it'll encourage me to actually use them. Am I the only person that does this?

It feels so bizarre that I'll be going back as the eldest in the school. It always feels like there's another year group above you, but this time I really am in my last year. Crazy. 

I hope that any of you starting Sixth Form or even High School in the next couple of days enjoy it, and good luck!

My Month Through Instagram; August 2014

1.Skiathos island view from the plane| 2. The best cocktails I've ever had| 3. Dinner with a view| 4. Re-reading TFIOS on the beach| 5.Celebratory meal with my bestie| 6. Movie date with Deborah Kerr and Cary Grant accompanied by tea and biscuits.| 7. Chilled Saturdays| 8. Sundays are for musicals and copious amounts of tea| 9. Sweet treats| 10. Happy to be reunited with my bestie| 11. Another picture of tea featuring my new pretty ikea teacup.| 12. Re-kindling my love for both Mary Poppins and Emma Thompson by watching Saving Mr Banks.

The month of August has been a great one. The first two weeks of August were spent on the sunny island of  Skiathos (aka Paradise). If you haven't seen it already, I did a post all about my trip here. On the Saturday after I got back I went for a lovely meal with my best friend, Kim, to celebrate our AS results; she's the best. Other highlights of the month include many film nights, over indulging on biscuits and sweets, and, as you can see, a lot of cups of tea! You can follow me on instagram here.

Hope you've all had a lovely month. I must admit, although I go back to Sixth Form in September, I'm excited for autumn to come. I love wrapping up in jumpers and watching the leaves change colour on the trees; definitely my favourite time of the year. Are you looking forward to September?

A Journey to Paradise

You may or may not know that on the 1st of August I jetted off to the sunny island of Skiathos in Greece for two whole weeks. I had always wanted to visit Greece; I really didn't mind which part because everywhere looked so beautiful, and when we settled on Skiathos I was so excited as I knew it would be the ultimate relaxing holiday, and it was exactly that.

1. Skiathos Island| 2. The pool at the apartment.| 3. Kourkounaries beach

4. Elias Beach| 5. Walking down to Agistros beach| 6. The sea at Agistros

The main reason for why Skiathos was such a beautiful destination is all due to the true blue waters and white sandy beaches. Whilst we were in Skiathos, we visited a total of 4 beaches; Koukounaries, Elias, Agistros and Lalaria. Out of the four, Koukounaries had the best sea/sand, however it did get very busy with the locals. All beaches we went to were absolutely stunning, with thick blue waters and white, grainy sand. We visited Lalaria beach when we went on the Mamma Mia! boat trip (more on that later) and it was the most stunning beach I've ever seen. It's only accessible by boat, meaning it was very quiet and serene, the most tranquil place I've been to in a verrrrry long time.

7. The Clock Tower| 8. Ready for dinner and drinks| 9. Long Island Iced Tea

Other than the beaches and boat trip, this post would be nothing without mentioning the food.....ah the food. Being so close to sea, we were offered fresh, locally caught fish every night. We dined at a few of the tavernas near our apartment; worthy mentions go to Elias for some seriously equisite food, and Augusteras for the best cocktails you'll ever have.

On the Monday of our second week we decided to book the Mamma Mia boat trip. For obvious reasons, I couldn't come all the way to Skiathos and not visit Skopelos/the Mamma Mia church. It was everything I imagined it to be and the beach surrounding the cliff where the church was was equally as beautiful as the ones on Skiathos island. The climb up to the church was, to put it mildly, a very tough struggle. The steps were very steep, and it was about 35 degrees, and we were without water. Great. It was all worth it though because the view from the top was incredible. It was such a bizarre experience to be stood where they'd filmed Mamma Mia and it was a day I'll never forget.

10&11. On the boat, ready for the Mamma Mia trip| 12. Lalaria beach| 13. The Mamma Mia cliff| 14. The view from the top| 15. The Mamma Mia church in all its glory| 16. Lalaria beach (aka the most beautiful beach I've ever been to| 17. Chilling by the beach| 18. Boats by Kourkounaries

This is mostly just a post for me to look back on my holiday and give me a serious case of the holiday blues but nonetheless I hope you've enjoyed having a little insight into my holiday. I really would recommend Skiathos for people who want a really relaxing holiday. All the locals were very friendly, and it was definitely one of the best holidays I have had.

Sorry, again, for the lack of posts, I will hopefully be getting back into posting more frequently. The combintation of being on holiday and being completely uninspired has unfortunately resulted in an absence around here.  Would you be interested in a 'What I Wore' post from when I was on holiday? Let me know. Have any of you done holiday posts? If you have, be sure to link them in the comments! Hope you're all having a lovely weekend.

How to get motivated

I, more than anyone, know how it feels to be completely unmotivated and lethargic - especially around exam season. We all have those days where we just want to stay in bed all day and then we regret it and feel guilty afterwards - been there, done that, got the t-shirt, and worn it pretty much all year. However, if you have work to do or even jobs that need doing around the house, it is often hard to get that bit of motivation to get started. Fear not, I've got a few tips that may just help...

Create a list

Write down a list of all the things you want to do and the date that you want/need to have done them by. Whether it be that wardrobe you said you would revamp last summer or that homework piece you keep putting off, scribble it all down. This will help you see what exactly you need to do and just how long you have to do it.

Prioritise

Once you've made your list, prioritise your tasks. You could use one colour to underline things that need to be done asap, and other colours for things that can wait a little longer (although that doesn't mean you don't do them at all!) 

Be realistic

By this I mean don't  tell yourself that you're going to complete all your tasks in one day - this will only make you stressed and more unmotivated. Instead, set yourself realistic goals that you can achieve- you'll feel much happier being able to tick off one thing that you put all your effort into than ticking off several things you rushed and did half heartedly.

Get in the zone

When I have things to do I often make a music playlist on spotify to listen to whilst I'm doing it - it makes the task that bit more endurable. For example, when I need to tidy my room, I'll listen to some music as I go along - pick up beat tunes, it'll put you in a happier and more motivated mood. If you need to do homework or something that requires your full concentration then music is definitely not one for you. Instead, you could give yourself a reward. For example, you could tell yourself that once you've completed that piece of homework you will sit down with a cup of tea and watch your favourite film. Not only does this make you more motivated to complete your work, but it also gives you some relaxation time in between tasks where you can just forget about work for a while and enjoy some 'me-time.'

Tick off your tasks

As you go along, tick off the tasks you've completed. I don't know about you, but I find there's nothing more satisfying than scribbling the hell out of things I've completed. My exam timetable is a prime example!

I hope this helped some of you. I often find that when I have a lot to do I just see it as one big task whereas confronting each task individually makes the process a lot more bearable. 

Let me know if you'd like to see more posts like this!

Beauty Wishlist #2

My beauty wishlist is progressively starting to resemble a scroll. Calling it a list is a tad - and by tad, I mean colossal - understatement. There are just so many things I want/need to get my hands on. 

First up, Nars Sheer Glow

I'm sure you've all heard about this foundation. If you haven't then...how's that rock you're living under? I have wanted Nars Sheer Glow since the beginning of my makeup addiction and it's about time I saved up my pennies and made a trip to Selfridge's.

Stila One Step Correcting Primer

I haven't really seen that many reviews on this primer but a few weeks ago my favourite online magazine, Nouvelle Daily, posted a full review of this which you can see here. Anything they review has me scribbling it down. I don't really have that much interest in primers as my skin is on the drier side, but even their post had me wanting to make a sneaky online purchase.

Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Red Square

I want this. I need this. It will be mine. No more need be said.

Charlotte Tilbury Palette in the shade The Vintage Vamp

For ages I lusted after the Dolce Vita Palette but I was recently perusing the Selfridge's website and came across the shade Vintage Vamp. It's fair to say it was love at first sight. At a gasp-worthy price of £38 the palette is obviously on the higher end of things, but it is beautiful and it is less than the Chanel Quad that is similar so therefore, in my books, it is fully justifiable. 

Estee Lauder's Bronze Goddess Perfume

A big massive YAY for this one. I'm so happy this is being relaunched on the 1st of May. I wanted this perfume desperately last year but my student budget just didn't agree with the price tag. Needless to say I'm still on that budget but I'm willing to save for this one.

I know all these products are high end but they are things I've wanted for a looooong time. Do you own any of these products? I'd love to see what's on your wishlists, so please leave comments to posts you've done.

Skincare Wishlist #1

Pixi Glow Tonic

I know nothing about skincare. And by nothing I mean I know that the three steps to a standard routine is cleanse, tone and moisturise. What can I say, Caroline Hirons would be ashamed at my lack of knowledge. Talking of Caroline, I remember reading her post on this toner ages ago and well if it is good enough for the queen of skincare it's definitely good enough for my chops.

Clinique Take the day off cleanser

I've heard a lot of good reviews about this stuff. I've never actually tried a balm cleanser, I tend to use my trusty Bioderma or a cream cleanser, so I'm intrigued to try this to see whether I prefer it.

Hydralauron

So this is probably the smallest serum I have ever seen. I remember seeing an opened box in boots one time and actually gasping that the full-sized serum is actually smaller than something sample-sized. That aside, it must be incredible stuff as it always pops up in people's skincare routines on YouTube.

Origins Drink up intensive overnight mask

I've wanted to try origins skincare for so long now and I have heard so many good reviews on this mask. I have combination skin at the moment but in the winter my skin is very dry. This may just be my savior come winter.

Origins Ginzing Moisturiser

I really need to try this moisturiser. I think it will be perfect for fresh and awake skin for summer. Origins look out.

Are there any skincare items you're lusting over lately?

Goals for June

Can we all just take a moment to sit in amazement that it's already June? Okay moment over. Looking back at the month of May I can honestly say that it hasn't been the best of months for me. I've had so many exams and have lived a very stressful life for what seems like forever. The month of May aside, I thought I'd set myself a few goals for June in order to have a more positive and happy month in June. So without further a do..

Getting Healthy

I know this is one of the main goals everyone has at the beginning of the year and admittedly it was one of mine but unfortunately I'm not one of those gals who can't eat anything when they're stressed instead I comfort eat (damn you domino's and your student discount). For the first two weeks in August I'm jetting off on holiday to Greece with my family and it's the ultimate relaxing holiday which means beaches which means bikini's which means a whole lot of toning up is needed. So, in a bid to get my beach bod on I'm going to start eating more healthily and doing more exercise over the next nine weeks. Don't get me wrong, I'll still have the odd treat, this isn't going to be one of those fad diets where all I devour are slim fast milkshakes - no thanks, I just want to be more healthy in what I eat and get into a fitness routine that works for me. I'll keep you updated on that one (if you never hear from me again I've gone into hiding with endless tubs of ice cream).

Finish exams

You may know that during the month of May I sat nine of the ten exams I have this year and I can honestly say it has been a very stressful time and I may even cry with joy when it's all over. On 12th June I shall be sitting my last exam which is typically a Maths exam (talk about going out with a bang). Oh and whilst we're on the subject of typical, the day after my last exam I have to go in to sixth form and start next year's work, JOY. And yes that is a Friday and yes they really are making us go in. Number for child line anyone?

Save Save Save

I'm one of these people who saves for ages and then has hardly anything to show for it. It seems like I've been saving for weeks and I currently have about 28p in my purse. My bestie and I  are going to London in July and we're trying to save so we can have a good old splurge on Oxford Street. As you can tell from my thrifty 28p purse, it isn't going all that well.

Get Tidy

I am probably the messiest and most unorganised person you'll ever meet. I've recently moved rooms in my house and there's just piles of stuff in every corner of the room. I'm making it my mission in June to tidy my room and get more organised. What's that phrase, clear space makes for a clear mind?

Sort Wardrobes out

This kind of carries on from my previous point about being more tidy. My wardrobes are overflowing with so many things that either don't fit me anymore or I simply don't wear. Time to follow Lily's Spring Cleaning video  and get those wardrobes clear. Ebay I'm coming for ya.

Do you have any goals for June?

Life Lately #1

Cheeky little selfie on Easter Sunday.

So shall we just skip the apologies for my absence? Yes? Ok I'm  fine with that. Life lately has been pretty hectic; I've had lots of mocks and revision for exams, with the addition of  a pile of homework that's as tall as the Empire State building. Hence my reason for not posting. I've also finally had my room decorated which means all my camera equipment is packed away in a box somewhere in my living room. Anyway, life problems aside, I decided to start a new series on this blog called 'Life Lately.' Although I have a love for beauty, I want this blog to be one that covers a whole spectrum of topics; from the latest beauty purchases to my latest Mary Berry inspired bakes in the kitchen. I also thought it would be a good way for you to get to know me a bit more rather than just my opinions concerning makeup. So here goes...

Being an A level student I am constantly working. Wait, let me rephrase that...being an A level student means I constantly have work to do (whether it gets done or not is another story.) A couple of weeks ago I had mock week which meant a week of highlighting just how much I don't know. Thanks to the wonderful Michael Gove (he's not wonderful in the slightest) we no longer sit January exams meaning there's no chance to resit...thanks Michael, thanks a bunch. I have three weeks until my first exam *insert sick-faced emoji here* and I just cannot believe how quick this year has gone. Am I really having to sit exams again? sigh.

Anyway, I shan't bore you with my hatred for both Mr Gove and A levels, instead I'll bore you with the details of my Easter weekend. The last couple of days I've have chocolate for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Don't judge me I know you've all done the same. On Sunday we had my grandparents over for lunch and it was really nice to just spend the day with family. We had a lovely meal and rounded the day off with a game of scrabble accompanied by tea and hot cross buns....we know how to live.

In other news, I'm having my hair cut on Wednesday. For those of you that don't know, I only have my hair cut about once a year and even then I only have a couple of inches trimmed off the ends. However, lately I've been getting very bored with my hair and want a change so on Wednesday I'm going to have a few inches cut off and have a fringe put in. Given my previous experiences with fringes (apart from when I was little and it looked cute) this is more than likely going to look awful but I can always pin it back if I don't like it.

Not the most exciting of posts - more likely the most boring - but I wanted to write about things other than beauty. If you've made it to the end of this post then give yourselves a jolly good pat on the back from me.
Would you be interested in seeing a post on my room when it's all finished? I know room tours are popular on YouTube but I thought I could show you a few snippets from my new room as well as a few storage/bedroom decor ideas? Let me know what you think.

Hope you've all had a lovely Easter weekend.