A Level Results day & University Freshers advice video!

A terrifying day for hundreds of thousands of 18 year olds today, who find out if they have got into the university that they have been pining over for the past 8 months at least.

I was in the same position myself last year and results day for me was an utterly traumatising experience, to think of it now makes me feel a bit nauseous in my stomach. I wish I could go back in time to hug my past self and reassure them that things would turn out okay in the end.

I won't go into the too grim and technical details, as you will probably fall asleep on the keyboard. However, I will say that I was horrifyingly rejected by my first and second choice universities (If you don't know how the system works... there is no third choice, you get a first and second choice and that is your lot!) So I was then thrust into a process in the UK called 'Clearing' which is sort of how it sounds, but if you're still confused then Google can enlighten you on that. It was a huge rush of urgent and frantic telephone calls, waiting on hold, keeling over the toilet bowl with nerves, loss of appetite, begging universities shamelessly, breaking down in tears at any given moment, refreshing my email every 10 seconds and a general feeling of being an absolute failure. However, 36 hours after everyone else, I was accepted by my second choice university who had decided that it wouldn't be so bad to have me on board after all. After initial apprehension at not being at my favorite university like I had expected, I just begun to get very excited. That is where my story ends and this video will be able to fill in all the gaps from that point onwards...

If things haven't gone the way that you expected today, and you're perhaps feeling like your life plans have fallen off the tracks, I plead you not to get disheartened. Life has a wonderful way of springing us away from what we think we want to a place that is even better than we could have ever imagined. I am so unbelievably thankful that I was steered away slightly from what I thought I wanted a year ago, now I have ended up in the place that I am supposed to be.

Makeup FAQ Primers, Eyebrows and lips and more!

I don't know if what I am about to say would make a very exciting video, but hopefully we can make it a fun and interesting blog post, here are the most Frequently Asked Questions about makeup that I get messaged to me, or in the comments of videos, or that I just see all over the interwebs. We are about to go into the nitty gritty of eyebrows, contouring, skin care and top tips!

1. What is the difference between an eyeshadow base or an eyeshadow primer?
This is the old classic question. An eyeshadow base is usually coloured, you can get skin coloured bases, blues, greens, purples, golds - in fact any colour! They can come in a pot to apply with a brush ro your figner or in a chunky eye pencil. The ultimate goal of them is to create a great base for the rest of your eyeshadows, to make the colours truer and to last longer. A Primer is usually of a lotion consistency and dried to a clear finish, sometimes they might have a little shimmer to them or a little something else but they are designed to be a universal underlayer for any colour makeup look. You do not need to put a primer under an eyeshadow base.

  
2.Does Priming my face make a difference/ what is it?
Priming your face does make a difference, and it's not until you prime that you will notice. Priming your face before you apply your foundation creates a much smoother canvas to work with, it covers over pores, blemishes and fine lines to give an airbrushed finish once you've applied your foundation, and it makes it last longer! You shouldn't use eye primer as a face primer and vice versa!

  
3.How do I contour my face without looking silly!?
Don't load up your brush with bronzer, just put a tiny bit on the brush, suck in your cheeks if you need to so that you can see clearly under the cheekbones and begin just by contouring under there gradually building up product and blending it out. If you want to go more advanced you can contour the whole face. You can watch my video on that here

 
4.How do I fill in my eyebrows?
I always think it's easier to use a brow pencil than powder, although now I think I prefer using powder. Anyway, remember to keep in mind a very light hand, so that when you're initially drawing, it's almost like you're gently sketching the individual hairs on a horses main. Do little, gentle strokes with the pencil to get the feel of it and use your natural brow as a guide and follow it, just fill in where the hairs are a bit more sparse.Even if you have perfect natural brows, I think everyone benefits from a little brow filling

  
5.What is the point in a lip liner?
A lip liner works as a great base for lipsticks on top as it helps them to stay on longer. You can also get a lot more precision when outlining the lips with a pencil than a chunky lipstick. Remember lip liners should not just line the lips but colour in the entire lips with it too! I often just wear lip liner by itself.

  
6.Am I really supposed to wear sun cream on my face every single day?
If you want to help your skin to look as youthful as possible then yes. But it's not got to be like slathering oily thick factor 50 on your face. Lots of foundations, primers and daily moisturisers contain SPF so that you won't even realise that you are wearing sun protection. So look out for them. 

  
7. I have oily skin what is the best makeup for me?
Oil free makeup! Revlon Colorstay foundation has a special formulation for oily skin which I love. Laura Mercier create oil free tinted moisturisers for a lighter coverage but a bit heavier on your bank balance. BareMinerals is good too if you can't even stand the feeling of a liquid foundation. If you are going to use cream blushers, highlighters, bronzers etc you must either use a powder version of that product (similar shade) over the top, or a transluscent finishing powder to lock the products in place and stop them sliding on your skin.

 
8. I have dry skin what is the best makeup for me?
A good primer will help to ensure that your makeup doesn't look flaky. Laura Mercier Silk cream foundation works well with dry skin and is a full coverage. MAC Face and body foundation has moisturising emollients and is a much lighter coverage or the L'Oreal Paris Lumi Magique Foundatio. Also, cream blushers and bronzers.

9. I'm scared to wear bold lips, where do I start?
Start with a lip tint, I like the Lip and Cheek stain from the Body Shop in Rose Pink, onr Benetint from Benefit or Revlon Lip Butters. They have a bright colour but are easy to apply, don't require lots of touch ups and still look somewhat natural

10.What is your number 1 makeup tip/advice?
Take your makeup off every single night, and not just with a face wipe. I have very problematic skin and taking my makeup off is one of my favorite parts of the day. I love cleansing my face thoroughly and it is absolutely key because if your skin isn't in good, healthy shape then applying flawless makeup becomes much harder work!

If you enjoyed this post, I'll do a part 2 because there are so many more questions that are common misconceptions or just not understood or explained very well!
Take Care and enjoy!

How NOT to revise / study for exams!

It's exam season worldwide
(or at least in the UK and USA so probably other places too)

Here is my tried and tested tips of how not to revise, because there is a difference between revising and feeling like you're revising so that you don't feel guilty.
So here goes:

1. Put your laptop or computer away. Sit with your back to it, or if possible study in a place entirely different from where you're used to sitting with your computer, otherwise being in that place with a textbook without your computer will feel just weird. Not many people have two desks so if you usually sit with your computer at your desk then study at the kitchen table, in your bed, in the library.

-If you are determined that you need your computer for revision then log out of all the social media that you are normally automatically logged into. It's that little bit extra effort to log back in again so will stop you going astray while you study using your computer.

2. You can kid yourself that you can study while having the television on in the background, but we all know you can't. Anything to ease the monotony of looking at words on a page and writing and staring at that wall ahead of you feels like it's better than nothing. But, if you just give silence a chance, you'll find that time goes much much faster than having constant distraction of television when you're studying and you get much much more done.

3. Reading a textbook over and over isn't productive, and isn't really revision. When you read a passage, you'll absorb hardly any of it. Your eyes will glaze over the wrods on the page and you won't be able to recall much of what you've read. You have to do something with the information you're reading. Write it down, put it in a brainstorm, colour it, underline it, repeat repeat repeat.

For me, I have three stages of studying for a exam, this is how it goes:
Step 1. Initial note taking, I take notes of the content, and underline or highlight where necessary
Step 2. I compile a '10 essential things to include in any essay on (subject goes here)' list
Step 3. I plan every past paper available, using my list from Step 2. as guidance and tailoring it to the specific question.
Repeat Repeat Repeat

If you have no time for that, there's always an old video from me on How to cram the night before a test and pass:

Good luck!

My favourite 'Back to school' tips!

Being back at school might have you bubbling over with excitement, or make you feel a little sick inside, I'm not at school anymore- maybe you're not either but these were my back to school 'go to tips' to make the first day that little more painless!

1. I'd lay out my uniform the day before, including shoes, a packed back, tights and underwear so that when I am extra 'bleary eyed' in the morning I don't have to think about a thing and can just pull on what is in front of me. I still do that sometimes now, as a treat to save me some time in the morning

2. Set a 'feel good' song as your alarm song in the morning!

3. Invest in some pretty stationary that looks all lovely, fresh and crisp for the new year! This for sure includes hello kitty note books

4. Buy the ingrediants before to make sure you have a fabulous lunch for that first day back, I love lunchtime and if I have prepped myself something great then it makes the day a little better and gives me something to look foward to. Even if it's a simpole change like putting what you would normally have in a sandwich in a wrap instead, or if you haven't tried them already the Innocent 'veg pots' are really great as a hot lunchtime treat!

5. Bake cookies, biscuits, cakes or brownies to hand out to your friends back at school, this makes everyones first day a little sweeter!

New video: Looking better when you feel ill

I wish I had a better camera to truly pick up the difference between the before and after, but hopefully you can tell that I'm less blemish-y and the redness around my nose has been zapped away!

My video is as follows:
But if you're super short on time I'll give you a brief outline and additional tips below!

- I avoided moisturisers while feeling all yucky and flu-like because I already felt super sweaty and gross, and didn't want to slather anything over my skin.
-If I really have to face the world while feeling gross I apply concealer to the redness on my nose, my blemishes, eyelids and under eye circles.
-I prefer to dust a super lightweight foundation all over my skin over the top of the concealer to make my skin tone appear much more even
-I dust the smallest amount of blusher on my cheeks to stop me looking 'ghost like'
-I apply vaseline to my lips (pots are more hygenic than tubes)
Adterwards don't forget to cleanse all the brushes that you used, and I washed the lid to the foundation that I used aswell (as I swirled the brush in the lid)

Other top tips:
-Using a seperate toothbrush for 'being ill' and keeping it in your bedroom if you share a bathroom with other people so that toothbrushes don't have to 'mingle'
-Get lots of sleep, as much as you can!
-When you can, remove all your makeup and apply vaseline to your nostrils if they are sore and red from blowing your nose too much
-Drinking peppermint tea is a great way to open up your airways and it's warm and soothing!

Sending lots of 'get well' wishes your way!

Pretty Pastel Nails

I treated myself to a new set of acrylic nails, and when the lady asked me what I wanted I said a ranbow! Then I specified pastel, and I was so delighted with the results!

All the polishes were OPI but as for names... I really don't know, I'm usually much more of a Barry M nail polish wearer.

They make me feel so happy to look at, it's like having ice cream dripping from my finger tips!
I think they'll chip off pretty soon though, I'm quite tough on my hands.

The colours make my pastel rings looks so much cuter, and I love the way that the acrylic makes the nail look thick, does that make sense? It makes them look more yummy and plastic-fantastic!

Tanning Time Line!

A little while back you may have read that I invested in some St Tropez fake tan, it was an investment for me at something like £17 a pop, but thankfully I was not let down!

I am a very milky white skin toned sort of girl naturally so when I pumped this foam out onto my (gloved) palm I was a little horrified that it was the shade of dark chocolate! I didn't want to look like I'd been rolling around in chocolate, but luckily as long as I rubbed in and blended out it's still a gradual build tan that actually worked on my skin (the other gradual build moisturiser ones never worked on my skin and didn't really absorb in)

I usually do about four days of applying, then I get to the shade where I don't want to go any darker because it will look unnatural and then skip the tanning for 3 days for it to fade back down, and work in motions like that.

I took a snippet every day, unfortunately not at the same time every day so the lighting goes a bit whack and makes me look more (or in some cases) less tanned than I actually looked in real life.

But here it is:

My Top tips:
Victoria Secret Plum body scrub all over before you apply the fake tan
The Sanctuary foot scrub especially for my feet

Any ol' body moisturiser (I have too many, and rarely use body moisturiser) for the elbows, feet and knees
and a face moisturiser (I like the Simple one)

Gloves on your hands! This stuff stains baybay, I washed my hands immediately after application and four hours later and they still looked utterly Tangoed!

Why ebay can be ris-kay (but why it's mostly worth it)

So I buy a lot from ebay and this is why
1.It's quick
2.It's easy
3.Everything is in one place
4.Paypal always favours the buyer and makes sure the buyer is satisfied

So what's the pitfalls?
1.You don't get to see the stuff in real and there are sellers who will photoshop items to make them look better, brighter etc AND there's sellers who just google image their item and get a stock photo, this is not such a problem if you're buying new items, but it won't be accurate if you're buying something second hand
2. Stuff can take a long time to arrive (especially from Grand ol' China)
3. Essentially you are bidding on someone elses junk, that has been stored probably behind a radiator, or in that cupboard that always smells musty
4.You're buying from people who probably have other jobs and so don't operate as effectively a website run by people whose full time job is to answer to your emails and post your products

My ebay catastrophes:
I paid £40 for a dress only to recieve it with chocolate stains all down the skirt!
I've bought more books than I can count described as 'good' condition that when they arrive tell a very different story (think torn covers and musky pages)
A fake Hello Kitty purse- fake hello kitty?! Are you kidding me?
Linen trousers that arrived after my holiday

Those are all I can think of on the top of my head, and for about 200 transactions to date, I'd say that's not so bad at all.

So here they are, my words of advice:
-If you're selling, always post recorded within your country because otherwise the buyer can recieve the item but tell Paypal it's got lost in the post and Paypal will swipe that money from your account faster than you can say 'Liar liar pants on fire'

-Do not expect products brand new with tags (especially designer) items to be genuine, the best you can do is hope that they are. This can be everything from Gucci, Louis Vuitton to fake MAC Makeup, wedding dresses, perfume and even fake Hello Kitty!
The way to get around this is to be wary of a person selling multiple of the same brand new D&G handbag for instance.
Who has ten identical 'brand new with tags' designer bags stored in a cupboard?
Fraudsters importing them from China, that's who.
Usually if a Ralph Lauren Jumper or Ted Baker dress is listed on ebay as brand new and the photo looks like it was taken by Sally down the road rather than a super-professional photo then it's probably genuine.
But even better still is if the designer item is used, as this is likely to be a individual seller rather than a business ebayer and probably genuinely has been put on ebay due to a closet clear out and selling of some pre-loved goodies

-China is the top importer of fake goodies into ebay, this is no big deal if buying general bits and pieces but labelled and designer goods are almost certainly fake. This can include GHD flat irons, ugg boots and prom dresses. If you want to risk it check their return policy, feedback and if you have a good eye for fakes then you can always send it back and get a refund (remember how paypal always want to rescue the buyer and will take your word for it in most instances)

-Pay by Paypal, it is your best friend and will make sure that you (the buyer) is always covered, Paypal will always give the buyer the benefit of the doubt! But if you're selling be aware that paypal and ebay take a portion of the profits

I leave you, with a bit of ebay info from the inside! (click it to make it bigger!)

Tan-o-phobe!

Since I've been born I've been branded a milky-white-vanilla-popsicle-snow-white sort of person, and this never really bothered me. I'm just not a 'tanning' sort of person- Big deal

Well it only started to bug me when I'd buy fake tan to look 'glowy and healthy' in the summer and not one of them took to my skin!
I tried L'oreal and Johnsons both of which I know lots of people love and swear by, but all it did to me was make my skin horribly greasy with lotion that didn't absorb in over night and a horrible fake tan smell with no fake tan!

I'd all but given up but was tempted by St Tropez mousse.

A mousse sounds good to me, less oily
AND! According to the label the classic 'fake tan' smell is almost non existant (but labels say a lot of things so I'll have to get back to you)

What didn't sound good to me was the £17 price tag from www.feelunique.com (and I can give you the update that they certainly have not changed their packaging methods since I last ordered, check my past post here to read what I'm talking about.

As eager as I am to try it out, I'm going to wait til Friday incase I have a tan-tastrophe and can hide away while it fades easier.

Also! I have a little cut and I don't want to make it horribly infected by putting on lotions, hopefully it will all be healed by Friday- if there's anything to make a boo-boo feel better it's Hello Kitty plasters

I'm hoping to give you a day-by-day pictures of how/if my tan develops over the days following, have you tried this product? Love it ? Hate it? Let me know!

SHOPPING HURTS!

It hurts our purse, feet, and shoulders, carrying all those bags
But prom season is upon us!

So a video is in order on how to get your perfect prom dress and not have the process be so gosh darn painful!

For those of us who are not buying prom dresses, these tips are universal for every kind of shopping trip! Nowadays, I tend to do more little bits here and there online than a big shop in stores because it's so gosh darn tiring.

Here's the video:


Prom perfection tips:

-Avoid the temptation to get your dress online, photographs of clothes are not the same as wearing it on yourself as you want to look at your absolute best!

-If you are buying your dress online, be wary of websites that are based in China, often the dresses are immitations of the ones pictures rather than the actual one photographed and the quality suffers because of this, think shoddy stitching and uneven seams and you'll get what I mean

I'm packing!

Probably one of my most least favourite things to do! I find it near on impossible to effectively gather everything I'll need for a week, into a limited space.
I've decided these are my top space saving tips!
-Bring one pair of versatile shoes (mine are my little ankle boots with a buckle, can be dressed up or down)
-Do not bring every makeup brush, I can double up uses for some if i think about it especially with eye shadow blending brushes
-Do not bring every eyeshadow, a neutral pallette can be adapted for night time, just add more of the dark colour and blend etc
-Do not bring every ring and necklace I own

...that's all I've got!

Here's a little peek at what I'm packing:

Clothes! Trying to strategiacally organise..

Magical Pink suitcase, unfortunately it doesn't sparkle in real life, but I had you thinking it did didn't I!?

Hair supplies, a few rings and a charm bracelet

Makeup! The complete essentials and only one lip colour! Body Shops Lip Tint

My makeup bag I've got to fit it all into! I love this thing because it's wipe clean fabric and there's sure to be an explosion somewhere along the way...

I maybe dislike packing mostly because then the morning of when you're leaving you think 'oh I need that hairbrush' then you remember 'oh darn it's in my bag' and have to use a awful comb you found in a drawer.
Then on the way to where you're heading you're sat there thinking 'Have i got everything?' 'I'm sure I forgot something'
I remember one time I forgot a headband, and I thought this would be no big deal- it turned out to be so irritating to not have one to wash my face at night time, and holding my hair back just got it all wet!
I still need to pack leggings, pjs, work, camera, pressed powder makeup (goes in a smaller bag that I carry to stop it from breaking or getting crushed in the pan in a big bag)
I'm still waiting for some stuff to get out the wash so it can be ready and I leave tomorrow!

Throughout this week uploading videos won't be possible, but.... I'll have captured lots of fun footage to put up the following week and of course I'll be blogging every day still.

Hope you enjoyed packing with me!