It's OK To Say No

Hello just a quick little post to share with you this little quote,

I think this one of the most important pictures I seen on tumblr! Tumblr is known for its quotes and beautiful pictures but this one is one of the most vital to me!

There are a lot of places and events I've chosen not to go to because of anxiety and most of the time I feel guilty for not attending when my friends wanted me to. But this has become my new motto, its 100% OK to let people know you aren't OK with things. If you feel pressured into going somewhere you probably wont end up having very much fun. Even if you do tell a friend you don't want to go or you feel unsafe and they make you feel bad, they are DEFINITELY not the kind of friend you want to be hanging around with.

I know its hard to let people into your world and try to get them to understand whats on your mind believe me BUT it can be done and you should give it a try, you'll find life a lot easier!

                                                              

                                  

Stay Organised

To keep a clear mind I think its important to keep the things around you organised and tidy.

Tidy surroundings = tidy mind (well it helps)

When my rooms organised I generally feel more organised and motivated to get things done. During this holiday I've been sorting my bedroom out and beginning to actually decorate it.

So the first item I bought was a desk, I already had a dressing table but it wasn't really a space to get any work done and since I'm going to college soon I'm going to need a place to do coursework and all that fun stuff. I haven't really got anything to go on top of my desk yet. So for now this is all thats really going on.

Desk - BORGSJÖ Desk Ikea £40

Storage Boxes - KASSET Box with lid Ikea £2.15

Noticeboard - VÄGGIS Noticeboard Ikea £4.50 (Similar)

 Plant - FEJKA Artificial potted plant £3 and plant pot £2.75 Ikea

Chair and Pillow - INGOLF Chair  £35 and ELSEBET Chair Pad £10 Ikea

 Rubbish Bin - Butterfly Bin BHS £16

Love Picture - Next (unfortunately they don't sell it anymore)

Lastly no desk is complete without a healthy snack to keep you going, I have cranberry juice with lemon in a starbuck cup and an original 9bar for anyone who wondered. 

Short and sweet little intro to my new furniture. I hope I've inspired you to go out and buy furniture because its honestly my favourite thing to do! See you in my next post xo

                                   

                                 

July Favourites

...I feel like I've got some explaining to do...

I'm sorry for the lack of posts this months, I actually had loads of posts planned and then I was extremely busy before I went away to Greece. When I got back I was having a rough time in general and I couldn't bring myself to blog. I didn't want to write anything half heartedly and give you bad content with little effort so I decided best thing to do was wait but I'M BACK NOW with My July Favourites.

This month I have a few random favourites as well makeup and clothing so lets get started...

My first favourite is the Boujois Delice de Poudre Bronzing Powder (£7.99) which quite frankly I think every single beauty blogger and youtuber has talked about. I've been holding off buying this bronzer as I was quite happy with my sleek contour kit but I dropped it and was forced to go out and buy a new bronzer. I totally agree with the hype that comes with bronzer and its perfecting for contouring and all round bronzing. I have the shade 52 and it comes in one lighter 51. It has tiny gold flecks which I honestly don't think are very noticeable which is what I enjoy about it. I believe the hype comes with it smelling like chocolate but don't rush out in hope your face will smell like a Cadburys bar because it wont, I think it smells more like muted cocoa butter mixed with vanilla.

My next favourite is the Seventeen Instant Glow Shimmer Brick in Gold Bronze. I'm in love love love love with that Kardashian glow so I've been using a mixture of the lightest shade and second to darkest on my Real Technique Setting Brush on the top of my cheekbones and OH BOY I feel like a Kardashian/Jenner goddess all glowy yasss!! This is the perfect way to achieve that summer glowing from within look. I honestly will probably still be wearing this in the winter.

On to clothing, I've been wearing a lot more dark colours when I say "dark colours" I mean black, channelling my inner Wednesday Addams* in the middle of summer is obviously not ideal especially with the weather we're having in the UK at the moment but its a thing. I have acquired that 'look like I'm trying really hard when I'm really really not look'.

I don't have clothing items in particular as I've been wearing quite a mixture of different things but my favourite store this month have definitely been Brandy Melville. I love Brandy Melville because the clothes are so soft and stretchy. I love that the clothes are all very simple yet quirky also its inexpensive. (Although I do suggest if you want to buy a lot, go to the store, try the things you like on and order them from the American website as its cheaper but it will obviously take some time). I plan to do a few outfit of the day posts or switching from summer to autumn outfit ideas with some of the items I've bought so like I always say make sure you stay tuned for that.

Now since I'm a beauty, fashion and lifestyle blog I thought I'd show actually include some of my lifestyle favourites. I've honestly had more random favourites this month then beauty and fashion related favourites so I thought it was only right to include the things I've been enjoying.

My first 'random' favourite has been Glee, I used to watch Glee religiously when it was on E4 then it moved to Sky and I stopped watching for a while but now I'm hooked every Tuesday at 9pm I'm there. It brightens my mood and I've recorded the series so I can go back and watch my favourite episodes  again! (Is that sad? Okay moving on...)

My next 'random' favourite of the month has been lemon, everything and anything with lemon in it, I'm obsessed. Since I went to a restaurant in Central London and had a still lemonade that is all I want, that and lemon sorbet. Also I love Fanta Lemon but the European version, the English version called 'Icy Lemon' does not taste like lemons and I was HIGHLY disappointed and I do not recommend it.

I have decided to keep my blog running frequently, I'm going to write blogposts and schedule them so I'm going to have a new blog post every other Monday with a Friday post in between.

I hope you enjoyed reading about this months favourites and I'll see you in my next post xo

                            

                                 

*Wednesday Addams is a character from The Addams Family Film 

Aquariums and Newbies

Nail varnish, nail varnish, nail varnish!!

I have literally become a nail varnish junkie, constantly changing my nail varnish and its so strange because I never ever changed my nail varnish whilst I was a school now I've left...boy every week or as soon as my nail varnish has chipped I change it. Now its summer so many brands are releasing such beautiful colours and oh my goodness it does that excite me, pastels shades, luminous shades, bright shades and all theses different funky effects literally nail heaven!!!!

Today I bring to you a brand focus on Barry M's new nail varnishes and little extra Sleek nail varnish on the end which ties in with the Barry M!

Firstly can we all take a moment to appreciate the Barry M 'Aquarium Collection'! Oh so pretty! I own 3 of the nail varnishes in the collection, "Mediterranean", "Caspian" and "Pacific". There is actually one more nail varnish in the base colours called "Arabian" but I couldn't get hold of that one when I went to buy the set. I didn't buy the glitters in the collection because I'm not really a fan of glitters as they come out clear with glitter particles which I don't personally like. But back to the nail varnishes ... All the nail in the Aquarium collection are two-toned and they glisten from every single angle! They all dry relatively quickly which is unusual for Barry M's nail varnishes.

Mediterranean which is my personal favourite, its pink and orange, I find that its predominately looks pink and in certain lights in glistens orange. I'm honestly in love with this nail varnish and will probably wear it in the winter because I'm a rebel! As the bottle instructs with all Barry M nail varnishes apply a base coat first and two coats of the nail varnish to achieve maximum colour. Its a very warm toned colour and very very sparkly without glitter chunks. I don't even know how to describe my love for the colour!



 

Caspian is gold and lilac pink in the bottle but comes out as more of a rose gold, I'm not actually a fan on this one as I feel its almost slightly bland. It is very subtle compared to the rest of them. I think it would make a very good colour for an accent nail to draw more attention to the colour itself. But obviously if you like subtle colours then its definitely one for you.
 

Waikiki the colour featured in both pictures is one of the new "Sleek Loves Gel Nails" nail varnishes which I bought in hope it would be similar or a dupe for Barry M's Peach Melba which unfortunately they don't sell anymore. Sadly its much richer then Peach Melba more orange then peach but its a lovely shade anyway.

The last of my nail varnishes from the "Aquarium Collection" is Pacific. I spoke briefly about it in my June Favourites. It was the first of the Aquarium Collection that I purchased and OMG look how pretty it is... hellpppppp! Its so pretty I could cry. After testing all my new nail varnishes I painted all my nails in Pacific and it was very loud! I really wasn't ready and not something I was used to. As beautiful as it is, I would only use it for an accent nail as I felt it lost its beauty when I painted it on all my nails, it didn't look as effective. 

Cancun the darkest colour is one of Barry M's new Matte Nail paints. I love this one as it dries soo quickly and you could go with only one coat if you wanted to, I did two to make the colour more intense.
Blue Moon is also a colour I bought in hope of it being a dupe for Rimmel's Nail Polish in Sweet as Sugar as I haven't been able to find it in stores but again its similar but not the same.


Last is Seaside which is a limited edition to Superdrug, this is my least favourite out of all the nail varnishes that I bought as its incredibly sheer and to get an opaque colour you need at least 3 coats. I also felt like it was slightly dated looking, I didn't feel like it complimented my skin tone and it was waste of money to be honest.

All in all its safe to say I went a bit nail varnish crazy in the past week but I need to find the perfect colour to go on holiday with (thats my excuse anyway)! I hope you enjoyed reading about the nail varnishes I bought this week.

Let me know your favourite nail varnishes and I'll see you in my next post before we set off on holiday (that was a really bad clue about my next post, just bare with me guys it gets better haha!)

                  

June Favourites!

Is just me or are all the months flying by? Anyway its time for My June Favourites!

This month I haven't actually bought many new products that have made in to my favourites, I've rediscovered some of my makeup products that I've had for a while. Its been the month of combinations.

My first favourite is actually from my 'Makeup May Favourites", the gold shade from my Beauty Uk - Earth Child palette (£3.99 from superdrug) combined with Benefits 'Bikini Tini' creaseless cream shadow. 'Bikini Tini' is a oyster pink shade, easily blended and buildable unfortunately you can't actually buy the cream shadow by itself. I got mine in the Benefit "The Bronze of Champions" set for £26.50 (includes hoola bronzer, ultra plush lipgloss, watts up highlighter, bikini tini, longwear powder shadow in latte and the they're real mascara). When you combine the gold shadow on top of 'Bikini Tini'... holy cow its heavenly. It almost looks wet and metallic! I can't even describe my love for this combination omg. I literally wear this every single day with mascara and I'm out the door! UUHHHHHH THE FEELS!!!!!!

Next favourite combination is Kate Moss lipstick in 08 (£3.99) with Topshop's lip pencil in Deception. At first glance this seems like a weird combination but let me explain, firstly as a base I apply the Topshop lip pencil all over, top it with Kate Moss 08 and together they make a beautiful vibrant purple/pink shade and I don't often wear lipstick but yaaaaaaaassssssssssssss I love this. Topshop lip liner is super smooth, matte and it doesn't move which is vital for a deep coloured lip pencil, you don't want it smudged on your face throughout the day. Kate Moss 08 has a satin finish, its actually pink with a hint of purple alone and its very soft and shiny. Unfortunately I don't think Topshop make this liner anymore as its not on the website but I have seen it in a few stores but if they do I believe its £5-8.

My last favourite is a nail varnish, I never really used to paint my nails whilst I was at school as I never really had the time but since I've left, I change my nail varnish regularly. Barry M have released an 'Aquarium Collection' and OH MY GOSH....I've never wanted to own every single nail varnish in a collection before this one. Right now I own the colour "Pacific". Its dries almost holographic and oh my its just so damn beautiful I just wanna scream. I'm not going to say to much yet as I have a post coming up all about the collection so be excited for that but AHHHHHHHHH its so pweettttyyyy!

I could literally stare it all day and unlike most Barry M nail varnishes it dries so quickly...I'm in love and its only £3.99!

So, like I said its definitely been the month of combinations and some very pretty ones at that! I know for sure that some of these will be all time favourites of mine, especially the nail varnish omg. I hope you enjoyed reading about my favourites and I'll see you in my next post! 

SEE YOU LATER ALLIGATOR XO

                             

I Salute You!

Before I start I'd like to make a disclaimer, in no way am I looking for sympathy, trying to glorify scaring or self harm or trying to show off and I will have a beauty post next.

I don't really know where to start because I know exactly what I want to say I just don't know where to begin. I guess as the weathers changed I've started to notice my own insecurities. In the winter you're trying to put as many layers on as you can to stay warm and cover up but in the summer its the complete opposite. Up until last October I was never bothered by this but A LOT changed since then.

Last October I was admitted to A&E as I was in agony and we thought my appendix had ruptured. In fact my fallopian tube had ruptured and I had a cyst on one of my ovaries. I was in hospital for a week which might I add felt like forever. Anyway as the doctors decided not to do an ultra sound to see exactly what was wrong with me, I went straight into theatre. (It all sounds so dramatic haha) When your appendix is taken out they do 'key hole surgery' which is where they cut four small incisions and take your appendix out. But as the doctors had decided not check me with an ultra sound before hand during my operation they ended up cutting me open (gross) to remove my cyst and fallopian tube.

After a few days in hospital, it came to taking my bandage off, which you can imagine I was very apprehensive about. So I sat down and slowly peeled my bandage away and I honestly cried my eyes out. Its sounds weird that a cut (which it was at the time) could make you feel so disgusting about yourself and I honestly hated my body. I had never really hated anything about myself until that day. I was very happy with my body. It took me a very long time to be able to look at myself and not want to cry.

Months later I'm left with a scar down my stomach, which doesn't bother me as much any more. I will show it to anyone which sounds weird if you're within talking distance I will happily explain it. But thats just my problem not everyone is talking distance I cant go up to people in the street and explain why I have it so I just cover it up with high waisted jeans, shorts or long tops. Honestly my scar isn't even that bad so I do feel pathetic going out of my way trying to cover it.

I really look to up to all the girls that have scars from recovering from self harm, that are able to stand proud and show off their battle scars. I say 'battle scars' because thats exactly what they are, you've come out the other side of your own personal battle in your life to see the beautiful side of life.

In fact, I salute all women who are able to stand proud of their body image and their scaring, stretch marks or birth marks. If anyone ever judges you for them please remove them from your life immediately, they are not the kind of people you need around you.

Be proud of your body you only get one body in life so appreciate it and look after it. I'm sorry I haven't posted a beauty post in a while. I have one coming up I'm just waiting for the pictures.

See you in my next post xo

Decisions

I'm sitting here thinking about writing a post for my blog and I'm stumped. I haven't bought any new makeup or new clothes, I haven't got any products I'd like to sit and ramble on about but I still wanted to make a post. Just sit down and have a chat really.

I've decided that I don't want to narrow myself down to simply just a beauty and fashion blog because there will be times like now where I'm limited in what I can post. So as a result I'm going to turn this into a beauty, fashion and lifestyle blog so if I have a really cool day, got some cool things going on or I just want to chat I can. I hate feeling restricted and I love change so this is perfect for me. Primarily, I made this blog to entertain myself so I don't want it to ever feel like a chore.

With that said, I hope anyone taking exams isn't feeling overly stressed out as it really wont help you in the long run. My last exam is on Friday and I honestly can not wait to get it over and done with so I can enjoy the summer.

Talking of summer (oohhh smooth transition), the weather in the UK at the moment is absolutely perfect, its so nice I've been sitting in the garden rather then in my bedroom under my duvet. Since the weathers been so nice I've been trying to go on my phone less and engage myself with other things. Yesterday I read Pictures of Lily by Paige Toon and honestly its so good, I did cheat a little bit because I had the book on my phone but I still read the whole book in a day so I think that makes up for it.

Pictures of Lily is such an easy read, its so enjoyable and heart warming. I don't want to give too much away about the story line but its about a young girl who's past come back to haunt her and she has to make a decision that breaks her heart! It took me a long time to read the book as it had been sitting in iBooks for about 6 months, I got it free from iTunes from there 12 days of Christmas App and never got round to reading it. But now I've read it, I would definitely read it again.

I'm now going to continue reading The Northern Lights by Philip Pullman (The Golden Compass) turning into a right little book worm. But I'm getting a tan at the same time so BONUS!

I hope you're all enjoying the sun, don't get sun burnt! See you in my next post xo