Take the time to just smile

The past few weeks I've been on a bit of an emotional rollercoaster. I won't go into the reasons for this as there's quite a few and that's not really the point of this post. You know when you're just having a really down day and feel as though things just won't right themselves again? Well I've had quite a lot of those as of late and it gets to the point when you just are miserable so much and it has an effect on other aspects of your life.

I've been trying to find ways of keeping myself happy, or if I'm already feeling down then ways to cheer myself up, and have found a few ways, some may seem super obvious and silly but I thought that I'd share them with you anyway in hope of possibly making your days a little brighter!

1) Watch your favourite movie - everyone has that one film that they love and can watch a million times and still enjoy it don't they? I challenge you to find one person who doesn't! There's nothing better than popping said film into the dvd (or vhs if you're super retro) player and sitting back, relaxing and just feeling yourself getting transported into that world. It may be a recent film or one from your childhood, whatever it is will surely put a smile on your face.

2) Pamper yourself - no, I don't mean go all out spend £££ on a spa day at some luxury resort (although I'm sure that would do wonders to cheer you up!), just do something that will make you feel good about yourself. There are so many things that you could do, dye your hair, shave your legs, groom your eyebrows, take a bubble bath, anything so long as it leaves you feeling a little more fresh and confident in yourself!

3) Relive old memories - was there something you loved doing as a child? Why not do it again? Yesterday I found my book full of messages from my friends when we left school last May, reading through them cheered me up so much as it reminded me of so many things we've shared together that I'd completely forgotten, some of which were such happy days in my life. Even just look through photos from that night you and your girls went out or anything.

4) Talk to a loved one - be it a parent, sibling, partner, friend, talking to a person whom you trust is a great way to let off steam and sort out your emotions. Bottling it up often seems like the best thing to do as you don't want to burden others with your troubles, but if they truly love you then they'll want to know what's up. I've learnt this recently and even if the person is the problem, still tell them, they may never know that they've been upsetting you if you don't tell them!

5) Do your favourite hobby - for me this is easy, reading a new book. You may love cooking, painting, sewing, dancing - the options are endless - whatever it is take some time out to do it, you will feel much happier and if it's something you haven't done in a while you may rediscover your love for it. This definitely works, I read a whole book in 24 hours yesterday and after I'd finished I felt a real sense of accomplishment.

What do you do when you're having a down day to put that smile back on your face?

Isn't this just the cutest video ever?!

July favourites!

Makeup:

HD Brows eye & brow palette (Foxy) - I received this in my July GlossyBox and absolutely love it!! It is by far the best product I have used on my eyebrows, the staying power is amazing! Yes, it is slightly pricey, but I believe it is well worth it if you're anything like me and super high maintenance when it comes to your eyebrows.

Benefit posie tint - I used this all the time last summer on my cheeks but this month I've been using it on my lips and it works a wonder. The colour is a gorgeous hot/baby pink and stains the lips for hours. The perfect, bright colour for summer without the slightly thick feeling of lipstick or gloss. I tend to top it off with the rose Vaseline for a slightly glossy look and to stop my lips from drying out.

e.l.f. mineral blush (coral) - I've had this blush for a couple of years and have always liked it but put it away for the winter as I prefer a rosy pink cheek in the colder months. The other day I got it back out again and we've rekindled our love affair, it gives you a subtle glow and works amazingly with a tan!

Yves Rocher sexy pulp mascara (01 noir) - I'd never heard of this brand until I got it in a GlossyBox a few months back but this mascara is amazing! It gives my eyelashes such a long, full effect that lasts for ages. It doesn't go flaky like other mascaras that I've tried and the formula dries quickly and it is easy to remove.

Skin:

Soap & Glory hand food - An all time favourite for me! Lovely packaging, super moisturising without being greasy and a lush smell, what more could you ask for from a hand cream?

Nivea Sun invisible protection spray SPF30 - Sun cream is definitely a must have for summer and this is the best one I've found. I don't get on with cream ones as I always apply too much and end up looking like a snowman in the middle of July! This Nivea spray is great as it's completely invisible so if you don't fully rub it in who cares?

Hair:

I haven't actually been using anything really on my hair this month, apart from my L'oréal Paris Elnett Satin hairspray to secure buns. 

A method that I've been using to give me slightly wavy hair is after washing your hair, blow dry it upside down and then when it's about 95% dry, grab a hair tye, pull your hair to the nape of your neck and put it into a messy bun - don't try and get it looking nice, simply chuck it up. Leave it in the bun whilst you do the rest of your morning routine - teeth, face, makeup, etc. - and then once you've done everything else, release your hair from the bun and you should have slight waves/curls in your hair.

Scent:

Sephora scented spray (must almond) - I bought this whilst in Poland in February and loved it, but a few weeks after getting home I forgot about it and was using various other perfumes. I grabbed it at random the other day whilst in a rush and I've fallen back in love with it. The scent is light and lovely, and the pink packaging is gorgeous and small enough to fit in any sized handbag.

Music:

Frank Ocean - After watching Sammi's video and hearing her mention Frank Ocean I decided to check him out. I've absolutely fallen in love with his album Channel Orange and simply cannot stop listening to it!

OOTD: Summer picnic

Today I went for a picnic with the girls as the weather was so lush. It was so lovely catching up with them as we haven't all been together in over three months which is crazy!!

After the picnic I had my driving theory test which I passed! YAY!

The photos show that I wore today:

Black maxi dress - Topshop

Tan plaited belt - Republic

Tan sandals - Generation 915 at New Look

Heart necklace - Topshop

Bracelets (distantly pictured) - Accessorize & Topman

Summer sun

Those living in the UK will be well aware that for the past few weeks the weather has been awful - rain every day, and when it hasn't been raining it's been super gloomy and overall just plain miserable!

Finally though, we seem to have been blessed with some sunshine!

I don't know about you but I love summer - when it's hot that is!

What's better than chilling outside in your bikini/shorts & vest, soaking up the rays and listening to music/reading a book/whatever tickles your fancy?

I have no idea how long this will last, hopefully a while though, so I'm making the most of it whilst I can. My day today will be spent in my garden revising for my driving theory test and sunbathing, which will hopefully mean that I can have a real tan rather than my current fake one!

Remember though, too much sun can be damaging to you! Keep topping up with suncream throughout the day and make sure to drink lots (water, pimms, whatever really, just as long as you don't go thirsty!) and if you feel yourself getting too hot or burning then go inside for a while!

I hope that everyone is enjoying the sunny weather & I'd love to hear what you're all doing during the summer.

High street vs high end

This is a pretty popular topic for my friends and I, what do you prefer, high street clothes or high end clothes?

Now, by high end I don't mean designers such as Alexander McQueen, Versace, etc. (I mean come on, who wouldn't kill for a pair of Louboutins?!) but brands that are just like the high street but with high prices, for example Jack Wills.

I was discussing this with a couple of friends this afternoon and we all had the same opinion, we each prefer the high street! Our reasons:

a) the clothes you find on the high street tend to vary largely, whilst still following trends

b) the price is generally pretty affordable

c) we just generally prefer the clothes on offer in high street shops

One very valid point that a friend made was 'Why would you spend £19 on a vest top at Jack Wills when you can get 5 for almost the same price in New Look?' I agree completely with this.

Realistically what is it that makes these clothes cost so much? I highly doubt that the fabric used is so amazing that it costs that much in material for it to be made - in fact I have a couple of tees from Hollister and the fabric is pretty shabby if you ask me - the main reason you are paying so much is the brand name!

If you're happy to pay large amounts to have a little bird or other sort of animal in the corner of your top, then go ahead, it's your money! I am in no way saying that I don't think people shouldn't buy these clothes, just that I don't believe that they are worth the price.

I remember last summer I went to Bath with my family and I popped into the Jack Wills outlet that is there and I found a gorgeous floral blazer and thinking that with it being the outlet and all it would be a reasonable price. Boy was I wrong?! The label was marked with something crazy like £60. Yes, it was a nice blazer, but not worth that price!

I don't mind shopping in the higher end of the high street (if that makes any sense whatsoever?) such as Topshop, in fact I love Topshop! I will, however, always check in places such as New Look to see if I can get a better deal as honestly, being 17 years old and living off the small wage I earn from my part time job (I know I don't have to pay living costs such as rent, etc. but still, I struggle to manage with the amount that I do earn) sometimes even Topshop prices are a bit too steep for me.

By all means give yourself a treat once in a while but I think that it's worth questioning whether you are buying these things because you really love them or because you want the 'popularity' that's associated with branded goods.

What are your opinions on branded clothes? Would you spend large amounts for the brand name or would you rather grab a bargain on the high street?

What I plan to do with my life...

Anyone who's in/has been to sixth form/college will know exactly what I'm on about when I say that from now on things get stressful.

I'm super duper close to finishing my first year of sixth form, meaning that I only have about nine months of actual learning left, scary or what?! However, this also means that teachers go UCAS crazy at us! UCAS seems to be a word (if you can call it a word) that sends shivers down students spines and causes them a crazy amount of stress - this word may well be the most important thing in your life at 17, applying to Universities and deciding what you want to do with the next 50+ years of your life!

All of my friends are getting stressed out writing personal statements, looking around Universities and deciding which courses they want to do, which with over 50k courses on offer is a pretty daunting task! On the other hand I'm feeling pretty mellow about it all. I am definitely taking a gap year, although not in the sense that most people think of when the term gap year is said, i.e. travelling the world, volunteering in underdeveloped countries, etc. I am going to use my gap year to explore what opportunities there are out there for me. I'm not even sure if I will apply to University afterwards.

I want to become a Journalist.

After having conversations with my tutor and careers adviser we've decided that if I do decide not to go to Uni then I should try the following:

a) plenty of work experience - in progress

b) keep a blog - check

c) perhaps do some sort of apprenticeship in something in the business field for an extra qualification

So yeah, apart from the career I'm not 100% certain what I'm going to do over the next few years.

I'm don't really know what it is about Uni that doesn't appeal to me, just at the moment it doesn't seem as though it is for me, I'd rather get out there, earning money and living my life.

Is anyone else going through the Uni/post school plans at the moment or have you recently? What did you do and how did you decide to do it?

Sorry, sorry, sorry!

Humongous apologies for the lack of posts, I've been busy/stressed/ill/emotional/moody/anything bad you can think of the past week or so. Things are looking much better now though so hopefully after this weekend I will get back into posting regularly again!

I still have that haul to post which I hope to get up in the next week, I just need to find the time to snap some photoimages and then will pop it up for you.

Anyways, I'll be back next week with some new posts and in the meantime I hope that you all have a fantabulous weekend, if you have any plans, no matter how wonderful or how mundane, post them in the comments below, I'd love to know what you are all up to! As for me, I'm spending the weekend with Elliot as neither of us are working so plan to have a nice relaxed weekend at my house.

Goal to get fit

I've had the goal in my mind for ages now to lose some weight and get fitter but so far that just hasn't happened.

These past few months I've been really unhappy with my body and the way I look in clothes, especially in skinny jeans. I figured that just feeling sorry for myself and unhappy with my figure would get me absolutely nowhere so I've started doing things that will help me to lose a bit of weight and tone up.

Firstly, what I eat. I like to snack and I know that's not particularly good for you so I've tried to cut the amount of snacks that I have down. My diet hasn't changed too much, I just try to eat in moderation and include more fruit and veg into it.

The biggest change that I've made is the amount of exercise I do.

Normally I do little exercise, a short walk with the dog here, the walk to work from town there, that was it really. But that's changed now, the best thing to help me tone up is to do some exercise.

About a month ago I bought a fitness DVD, The Only Way is Essexercise, and it's actually pretty good. It comes with three different workouts; dance, boxing and aerobics. Personally the aerobics is the one I do as I have very little rhythm and boxing isn't really my cup of tea. I try to do this 1-2 times a week.

I have also started running. I will go on a route around the village I live in which is about 2 miles and takes roughly half an hour to run which is good enough for me as I'm not really a runner, in fact I'm not really a sporty person at all! I aim to go running once a week so long as it's decent weather, I don't like running in the rain as I have to run along tracks and would get absolutely covered in mud!!

I've also joined the gym that's next to my sixth form and plan to go 2-3 times a week. At the moment I tend to stick to the cardio machines - treadmill, cross trainer & bike - but will hopefully move on and go on the rowing machines, more scary looking cardio ones that I don't even know the names of and the weight/toning machines.

I know that this wasn't too detailed but yeah, if you'd like me to keep you updated on how I'm finding it then I happily will, all you need to do is ask!