Saturday 31 May 2014

I'M BACK AND KINDA STRESS FREE!

Hey guys!

I'm back! (Miss me? Haha)

I've had a pretty stressful couple of months but I've survived! At some times I wasn't sure if I would make it but here I am! I have never been so tired or stressed in my life so I'm hoping my results make it all worth it.

Hope you've enjoyed the recent posts by my amazing guest bloggers. I'm so grateful to them for allowing my blog to not have had such a long hiatus. If you haven't read their posts please do check them out and also give their blogs a visit. ( You can find their blog buttons on my sidebar).

I've actually enjoyed my break from blogging. It's given me some time to come back with new, fresh ideas and trust me I bought a lot over this period so be on the look out for hauls and reviews. I've also received a few products that I would love to share with you so watch this space.


In the meantime I thought it would be nice to do a lifestyle post as it has been a while. I thought it would be interesting to write on ways to keep sane during exams (and other stressful periods) especially for those who may still have exams, or for future exams or just for generally stressful times on how I deal with it.

I'll give my tips for exam/revision success and dealing with stress.
(I'd just like to add that I'm no expert, I'm just using my personal experience)

So as it stands, I'm still in education. Hopefully one more year of uni left! So most of my stress has come from education.

People have different ways of dealing with stress but the (good) ways I deal with stress include:

Planning/Good organisation

This is one of the major aspects. Having no plan can cause major panic and I've done that way too many times. I'm an organised person but when it gets to revision it seems to just fly out of the window. Using a diary/calendar is great whether paper or electronic. I'm useless with paper but the Any.do app is great and also using a whiteboard as you can't miss it when you get into your room.

Breathing

Sometimes taking in a few deep breathes helps to calm you down.

Getting some fresh air

 I revise in the library which consists of staring at books and screens for ages often with no air circulation. When I begin to feel overwhelmed leaving my workspace and walking outside for about 5-10 minutes helps to clear my mind and I can come back and tackle my work with a fresh, clear head


Taking a break

 Do something fun. Despite exams being all serious and all, we all need time out. This could include going to lunch or dinner or cinema with your friends.

Watching something funny

 Laughter can make things so much better and take a weight of your shoulder even if it is just temporary. But you gotta use that self-control before you've spent 3 hours on YouTube watching countless suggested videos or before you know it you've finished 5 seasons of Parks and Recreation or any other great show (that hasn't happened to me of course...)

Exercising

 I must admit this exam season I did none of the sort as it just wasn't feasible but normally when I do it definitely helps especially as I tend to stress eat (and it's not stress eating fruit and veg...). I find it so therapeutic and it helps to clear the mind, revive the body, release endorphins which help to make you feel happy and less stressed and also helps give you a good night's sleep which is essential for a well functioning brain. 

Cleaning

This may seem an odd one but it's actually very therapeutic. Scrubbing the bathroom and kitchen was so useful after one of the terrible exams I had. I can just take out all my frustration out on the dirt and then have the satisfied feeling of a sparkling kitchen and bathroom.

Praying

You may not be religious, but I am a Christian and sometimes, just taking out a few minutes to just pray helps me especially when things are out of my hands (e.g. after I've done an exam that went particularly badly). 

Hope you've enjoyed this post and found it useful and not too long and boring. If you have any other techniques do let me know as I'm always looking for ways to relieve stress. And if you're still having exams I wish you all the best!!!

Thanks for reading!



Tuesday 27 May 2014

Watercolour flowers mani (GUEST POST)

Hey Everyone! 

Today I am going to be filling in for August while she concentrates on her exams, which I'm so excited about!

First just a quick bit about me and my blog. I'm fairly new to blogging as I only started in January and I mainly blog my nail designs and tutorials (although the odd beauty/make up posts make it in there now and again!). Doing my nails is just a hobby for me and something I love doing, and my blog is my own little space where I can share my designs and ideas with other people that love nails as much as me!

So today I've got a cute little design to show you all using (my favourite) Barry M polishes. 


nicole's nails UK barry M

nicole's nails UK barry M



To recreate this design you will need the following Barry M polishes:

Huckleberry (the blue used for the base colour)
Rose Hip (baby pink used for the flowers)
White, Gold and Key Lime (used for the small details on the bird)
Black, white and pink nail art pens

I've tried to create a watercolour style design for the mani, with the dark blacks and bright pink of the flowers. I wanted to do something quite challenging as well for the design so I added the tiny bird to my ring finger, as an accent.

The design is much easier to create than it looks. Just choose a nice light colour as your base colour so everything stands out. Then draw the flowers on freehand and just see how they turn out. The bird took a bit more work, and a lot of concentrating to get it looking just right, but I'm glad I put the effort in, because I love how it turned out! 

 

nicole's nails UK barry M



So I hope you like my design today, and that you all think I have been a worthy guest blogger for August!

Nicole x  

Wednesday 21 May 2014

Beauty Hacks For Your Beauty Routine (GUEST POST)

beauty hacks


 Who doesn’t love little tips and tricks to make your life easier and simpler? Here are some of the best beauty hacks to help you out! 
 
·      If you ever are in the shower and realize you have ran out of shaving cream use your conditioner instead. It’s hydrating and will get you a very close and smooth shave!
·      You can color your eyelid with white eyeliner to make colored eye shadow pop!
·      Always apply concealer under your eyes in a triangle shape rather then dots. 
·      Use a spoon to get the perfect winged eyeliner shape.
·      Apply perfume behind your ear, inside your wrists, base of your neck, behind your knee and inside your elbow. 
·      If you ever run out of dry shampoo baby powder will work just as good in a pinch! 
·      Coconut oil can remove your makeup. Just put it on a cotton pad and your makeup will dissolve. 
·      If you ever get a rash from your legs rubbing together in the summer, just apply deodorant to your inner thighs and it will prevent any rashes!

Do you have any other beauty hacks you swear by? 
Nickki
Twitter: @kuwcoco

Wednesday 14 May 2014

Pastel Galore (GUEST POST)

Lately I have seen so much pastel trending around the world from pastel hair to jumpers and even shoes. I personally love pastel colours especially on dresses as pastel colours are so classy and elegant. Check out this dress from Missguided worth only £24.99.



What a beautiful shade and style


A trend that I have not only tried out myself but seen others try out is pastel hair!



pastel hair



Don't they look beautiful! My favourite pastel colour for hair has to be blue, it's something different than your usual hair shades, and will look absolutely stunning in the summer time with the sun shining on your colourful locks! Pink is also a great colour to use especially if you just apply it to the bottom of your hair to create an ombre effect.

Here are a few tips for when considering adding pastel shades to your hair:    
Buy hair chalk if you are not sure you will like the finished look, it's a good way to try before you dye.
Normal chalk you would use to draw with is more or less the same as hair chalk and is a lot cheaper (tip for money savers like me).
If your not sure whether to do it google some pictures to give you inspiration.

Thank you all for taking time to read and I hope I have persuaded you to give pastels a go!

Olivia


Monday 5 May 2014

Bourjois Healthy mix Serum Foundation Review (GUEST POST)


Hello everyone! My names Sophie and I write the blog CosmeticsCase. Today I am going to be writing a post all about my favourite ‘Holy Grail’ foundation- Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Foundation.  It’s not very often that I settle down to one foundation and pin point it as my all-time favourite but I feel like I have tried so many and they have never seemed to be just right. For me it’s like Goldilocks where she try’s all the different porridges and finally finds the right one. Okay…not quite Goldilocks and breakfast but you get my idea.

Bourjois Healthy mix Serum Foundation
With Healthy Mix Serum Foundation on my skin. Powdered with Natural Collection Pressed Powder
Bourjois Healthy mix Serum Foundation
Foundation- Shade 52.
Real techniques buffing brush
Brush I use.
So I tried the original healthy mix foundation and wasn’t really a huge fan because although my skin is oily I have dry patches around my nose and I found it really clung to them which I was shocked about because so many people (with dry skin) had said it worked really well for them on dry skin. However for Christmas my mum brought me a few Bourjois pieces and I was quite hesitant to try the serum because I typically like really matte foundations and I didn’t think that it would work with my typical needs from a foundation. However the first time I tried it I fell in LOVE.
The foundation is hypo-allergenic which is good for people with sensitive skin. It claims to last for up to 16 hours but I would say it lasts 4 hours without needing powder which I expect normally because my skin is so oily. However before the foundation begins to really wear off I would say it last about 11 hours but then I take my foundation off by that point anyways.
I love the foundation for many reasons. Firstly its drugstore and super affordable which is a bonus because I thought that I would have to spend £20+ before I found an amazing foundation. It retails at £10.99 which although it’s at the higher priced end of the drugstore my bottle lasted me just under 4 months using it most days as I haven’t changed foundation since only for probably about a week.
Another reason I like it is for the smell because although I typically like a non-scented foundation this smells so fresh. In case you are wondering I use the Real Techniques Buffing Brush and just put the foundation of the back of my hand and then use a circular motion to apply it all over my face.
As for coverage with the foundation I feel like it provides a medium coverage and my skin isn’t the best I do have a lot of spots and imperfections. You can build this foundation because I have when my skin has been worse and it hasn’t looked cakey at all it looks really fresh and natural. I feel like this is a foundation that looks better over time which I love because I think over the day it looks nicer and nicer.
While all the factors above are part of the reason I love the foundation I mainly love the fact that this foundation provides a general healthy glow but provides such a flawless finish on the skin. It covers over everything so smoothly. I love this foundation for when my skin is looking dull because it instantly picks up my skin. There is a good colour range too however it doesn’t cater for a really dark skin tone. I do tend to powder it but that natural glow still shows through which I like. Overall I love this foundation and there isn’t one thing that I don’t like about it.

If you have tried this foundation let me know what you think.

Buy Here:

Thank you for reading my post let me know your thoughts and if you purchase it. If you have any questions about the foundation you can email or tweet me.

Love Sophie xo

Friday 2 May 2014

Blog and Life update


 
Hey guys

As you may or may not now, I am in exam season which is a pretty stressful and tiring time which explains the lack of regular posts. I barely have time to eat or sleep and sadly blogging is put on hold. 

However, I didn't want my blog to have a month of no posts so I've got some lovely guest bloggers who kindly volunteered to write a post for my blog and they are all great posts so look out for them. Please do make sure to check them out if you don't already follow their blog.

Guest bloggers:

Sophie from Cosmetics Case
Nicki from Kuwcoco
Olivia from Beauty Spot 
Nicole from Nicole's Nails UK


I'll be back in about a month's time with, God willing, great exam results and loads of nail art and reviews (because if there is a time retail therapy is needed it's during exam period...)