Tuesday 31 January 2012

My Room: Part 1

I have decided to do a bedroom post, because despite what I am going to say about my room, I feel that in some ways it does reflect my personality and I think it's nice to know the person behind the blog.

I cannot stand my room.  I live in a student house and have the biggest room, but with the ugly navy carpet and cream blu-tack marked walls and the old, student feel of the house, my room just doesn't feel like mine.  Last year I had the smallest room in the house (a different house) and managed to decorate it lovely and it felt cosy and homely.  I have also perfected my room at my parents' house and love how everything is set out.  This year I have tried to do the best I can with my new room but I just don't like it.

So here is my student bedroom:


The bed.  I'm not too fond of the duvet covers that are on at the moment, but at least they brighten up the room.  I absolutely love the bed though.  We bought this when we moved in because the bed before... was just gross.  Memory foam mattress.  It is SO comfy.  I could lay in bed all day.


Bottom of the bed.  To the left are cushions, these used to be on the bed, but every night they got kicked off and I got sick of picking them up again every morning.  So now they mostly live on the floor and only occasionally go back onto the bed.  I do love cushions.  To the right are my speakers.  I could never live without my music.  In front is the wardrobe which I hate.  There's just no space in there!  Also, check out the ridiculously old plug socket which doesn't even have switches.  It is the only plug socket in the room and I am always getting electric shocks from it.  Stupidity!


The wardrobe.  See! I said there wasn't much room in there!


My lovely Welsh flag.  I have a massive love for Wales. This flag has been on many trips with me.  This is the only place I can stick stuff up for fear of making even more blu-tack marks on the walls. 


I will call this my make up corner.  There's my mirror with long necklaces hanging from the corners, with various shoe boxes stacked under the mirror to make it higher... It's still not high enough but I can't put nails in the wall.  Then there's a bag where I store some bits in and my hairdryer and GHDs.  My drawers with all my make-up and beauty products on top, neatly organised but in a messy way, if that is even possible.  Then there's my stack of lecture and revision notes which I have nowhere to put so they are just stacked at the side of the room.



The other corner.. with my bag of bags to the left.  And random notes and diagrams stuck to the door.. I stuck them there to help remember stuff, but I never take any notice of them.  You can see the horrible blu-tack marks just above the mirror.


Lastly, here's the wonky desk.  It is actually just balancing there because like everything else in this house, it is manky and broken.  With my TV, boyfriend's playstation, some bottles of alcohol and uni notes.  My little heater is on the floor - this thing has stopped me from turning into a block of ice!  The heating is rubbish in this house.  I did have a chair and used to sit at the desk on my laptop, but the boyfriend stole my chair and I don't see myself getting it back any time soon!  Just like I had some fairy lights up in my room, but now I can't use them because the boyfriend stole my extension lead so now I can't plug them in and when I asked for it back the answer was no, because apparently he uses it everyday.  How rude!


So this is my horrible room.  I hate it and I cannot wait to move out.  I might have to go on a shopping trip to see what else I can do to pretty-fy my room!

Monday 30 January 2012

I want!

I want this!
Clinique Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief
I had a sample packet from some Clinique stuff I ordered ages ago but wanted for wait for a time that I had particularly dry skin on my face to try it.  That time was this weekend, and I am impressed!  It comes as a gel and it smoothes onto the face so lovely, and doesn't feel sticky or greasy or anything.  It made my face feel quite fresh and almost felt as if it worked immediately as I had quite dry skin.  I tend to break out in areas of my face really easily, and some moisturisers and other products can really irritate my skin as I have quite sensitive skin.  But this stuff did no harm.
I managed to eek out the gel to last two applications.  The first time I tried it was at night.  The gel felt so smooth going over my face and I waited for it to soak in and then went to sleep.  In the morning my skin was feeling very soft and hydrated, and no spots or irritation in sight.  The next time I tried it was before applying my foundation in the morning.  Again, it was great.
It's quite expensive at £30 a pot.  A bit out of my price range.  This stuff really is that good though so I might have to sacrifice £30 for it.

My cold and illness has gone! Yay!  I'm so busy at the moment with uni stuff and placement and work and trying to learn loads of things and do assessments, I feel like I never have any time for myself.  I am working seven days a week at the moment.  It's mad!!

Saturday 28 January 2012

Is this the one?!

I have found the perfect foundation that I've been looking for.  A few days ago I wrote about needing a new foundation, and Scarlett from scarletthearts suggested I try mineral foundation, and one of the recommendations was Lily Lolo

So I went onto the website and ordered two samples.



<< China Doll


Blondie >>






I have very pale skin so if I don't get the right colour it can leave me looking a bit too dark or sometimes even orange.  The samples were only £1.29 each, I ordered then on Thursday and they were here by this morning (Saturday).

I tried the China Doll shade first.  I put this on the left half of my face.  I loved it straight away.  The way it went on over my face, how light it was, the brilliant coverage... everything!  I next tried the Blondie shade on the right half of my face.  The two colours are very similar, you can hardly tell that I am wearing two different shades of foundation.  However, I think the Blondie one is just slightly too dark for me (maybe more suitable for evening wear) and the China Doll shade matches my natural skin colour better.  I love it!  It's excellent.

I haven't been wearing foundation everyday this week as I have had some days off sick so my skin has cleared up lovely!  So I hope this stuff doesn't mess up my skin.  My cheeks do feel a tiny bit itchy, but it's bearable.  I put the foundation on at around 4PM so I will take it off in a few hours. Then I will wear the foundation at work tomorrow as it's only a four and a half hour shift and hopefully the itching doesn't continue as this foundation really is great!

I was meant to be working all day today but I really couldn't face it.  This illness has left me feeling so tired and worn-out even though I have been having decent amounts of sleep.  I just have no energy!!  My whole chest aches and I can't stop sneezing.  This sucks so much!!

I have a new best friend.  It's this thing:
Seriously, it is AMAZING.

I rediscovered my tube of Savlon as I was having a clear out of all my make up and beauty products and started using it.  If I get a spot I whack on a bit of Savlon and it clears up in no time.  Get a cut, put on some Savlon and it disappears quickly.  Dry lips - Savlon.  Dry hands - Savlon.  And as I have this stupid cold my nose was looking really red and sore last night so I put some Savlon on my nose and this morning the redness was pretty much gone!  Ohh Savlon, what would I do without you?!

I have been looking on the Lily Lolo website after my amazing foundation discovery and have seen some eyeshadows that I wouldn't mind getting.  I love experimenting with eyeshadows and these few colours look lovely:
Smoky Brown

Pixie Sparkle

Green Opal

I really want to try all of them!  I think my favourite is the Pixie Sparkle.  Or maybe it's the Green Opal.  Ahh I'm not sure, I love all three!

I'm now going to eat some tomato soup and watch Casino Royale and feel sorry for myself.  I want someone to come and look after me, but the boyfriend has gone off to visit some friends and I'm left here all alone for the weekend.  Am I too old to say I want my Mummy?!

Friday 27 January 2012

New Hair!

SO I decided to dye my hair.
I always use L'Oreal Casting Creme Gloss in Terracotta.  I love this colour, it's the perfect colour for my hair.

This is my hair today before I dyed it:


You can see my roots growing through, even though before I used the same dye which is only meant to last about 6 weeks, and I think I dyed it back in November.  I think because my natural hair colour has some ginger/red bits in, the colour takes to it really quickly and just never seems to completely wash out.  Or maybe it just means I don't wash my hair very often.  (I joke!)



I find it quite awkward to dye my hair because I only have the one mirror so I can't really see the back of my head.  I have a method for doing the front of my hair.  But for the back I sort of just massage it in and hope that I've covered all the bits and it always seems to work out alright. 
So the dyeing process began:

I love making funny hairstyles.


Oh nooooo, it's turned PINK!


And now for the finished colour:





This one is without the flash on, because it does appear quite bright with the flash:



Overall I am quite pleased.  I really like it.
I would have preferred the colour to be slightly more red, so could have left the dye in for longer.  But as I'm on placement at the moment I was worried about it becoming too bright and being told off.

So there we go, that's my new hair.

Eurgh.  I really look like crap.  I have massive dark circles under my eyes due to my illness.  I don't think I'm going to go to work tomorrow, it is only a weekend job afterall.  Although last time I phoned in sick they were really moody about it, but I wasn't actually sick then, just hungover.  But now I am properly unwell I still feel guilty about not turning up.  Oh well.  I'm sure they will survive without me! I do need the money though.  That's £50 I'll be missing out on! I do feel soo ill though! What a dilemma!

SHOES

I actually wrote this yesterday,  but didn't get time to check it over so couldn't post it.

I had to phone in to sick to work today.  I felt way too rough to go in and didn't fancy sneezing all over the patients.  So I've lay in bed pretty much all day.  I also sorted out all my jewellery.  It was all over the place and now it's in neat little boxes.  I love feeling organised.

Today I booked my tickets to see Lostprophets in Wales in April.  I really cannot explain how excited I am.  I absolutely love Lostprophets, but to see them in Wales is even better.  I also love going shopping in Cardiff, I always have to have a little shopping trip when I'm there.

Shoes!
I keep on find myself looking at shoes, wishing I had the money to buy all these nice shoes.  But sadly I don't.  If I did have the money these are the top five that I would buy.

Jimmy Choo Zebra Print Sandals
I've always wanted a shoe with a flower of some sort on.

Lanvin Suede Moccasins.
I really love this colour!


Giuseppe Zanotti Embellished Suede and Leather Slingbacks

Jimmy Choo Wallach Canvas

Jimmy Choo Wallach Patent-Leather Ballet Flats


I love looking at stuff I'll never be afford... And dreaming...

I need a new pair of boots. I have been looking for a new pair for months now and still haven't found the perfect pair.  It's so frustrating!




Wednesday 25 January 2012

Another Day, Another Foundation

I am on the hunt for the perfect foundation.  
I have a bit of a problem though, some types of foundation are just not good for my skin.  Whenever I have a break and do not wear any foundation, say if I have a week off work and don't bother wearing any make up, my skin is great and I have no problems.  As soon as I start wearing foundation, I break out in spots.  It is so frustrating.
I have a routine that I use everyday, morning and night, of cleansing my face and making sure all make-up has been cleaned off.  This seems to have helped tremendously.  It just seems like it's the foundation that's the problem.

Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse


I loved this stuff, it was great!  This foundation made my skin look so perfect.  It was really good to apply as well, it just smoothed so easily over my face.  It was lovely.  However, this was by far the worst foundation for my face.  It made many spots come up so no matter how good it looked, I had to stop using it.

Rimmel Stay Matte Foundation


There wasn't anything special about this foundation.  It was ok, but it didn't look really good and it didn't do wonders for my skin.  I also found myself applying quite a few layers of this foundation onto my skin for it to actually make a difference, it didn't smell so nice either. 

Clinique Anti-Blemish Solutions
This is the foundation that I currently use.  I have been using it for at least the last year and so far this one is by far the best for my skin.  It covers my face really well and looks quite good.  I have definitely had clearer skin since I have been using this foundation, however I still do get spots when I wear this everyday.
I did try another Clinique one but I can't really remember what it was called, I think it was the Superbalanced Makeup one, however that felt really quite heavy on my skin and was too thick for daytime make up.

So now I really don't know what to do.  I think I need to go for a shop to maybe try another foundation. I'm not quite sure where to start though.
If anyone knows of a good foundation to solve my problem then let me know!

What have I been up to today?
I went to work this morning, I really love where I'm working at the moment.  When I say work, I mean placement, I'm a student.  This week I'm working in a different hospital to where I have been previously working, it's quite a small hospital, but I love it there!  The staff are so friendly and nice and helpful, and it's busy-ish but it's not so busy that you are constantly rushing around and get really stressed.  You can work at a nice pace.  It would be the ideal place for me to work when I leave Uni.

Luckily I was only working for half a day today, I feel so ill!  I think I have a throat infection, I have a temperature and feel really shivery and achy.  I don't want to be ill!

Despite me feeling like rubbish, I am now going to get my anatomy books out, and start studying for my summer exam.  How geeky!  But I really want to pass, and get a good grade.  I want to prove to myself that I really can do it if I put my mind to it.  
I didn't get so great grades in my first year, mainly out of laziness.  So this year I have really got to try!

Monday 23 January 2012

Placement. Day One.

Once again I have started my placement as a second year Radiography student.

So that meant one thing.  I had to chop off my nails.  My nails are my pride and joy.  I realise how sad that sounds.  But they grow quite quickly, and they stay really strong, so I just paint a bit of Nivea's Calcium Power in Soft Rose which gives the nail a lovely natural looking pink colour.












The photos do not make them look as good as they did.
But now my nails are gone, and they're all short and not so nice looking which makes me sad.  But I guess they're only nails.

I am in love with a particular hand cream at the moment.


Greenscape Organic Cocoa Butter
This stuff is AMAZING!  I got it for one of my Mum's birthday presents back in September.  I knew she needed a hand cream because she was always complaining about dry skin on her hands, so I went into a shop and must have looked at, tried and sniffed hundreds of different creams.  Then I came across this one.  It smells lovely!!  It also moisturises really well.  The skin on my hands can get really bad if I don't look after them carefully, and this stuff does the trick straight away.  It leaves the skin feeling so soft and smooth.  I'd definitely recommend it.  I'm going to have to get some of my own instead of nicking a bit of my Mum's now and then when I go to see her.

I have some exciting news.  Well, it's exciting for me.  Not necessarily for anyone else.  Since January I've been quite careful with what I've been eating.  On most days I have been making sure I eat breakfast, then a salad for lunch, vegetables for dinner and if I have any snacks then it's been fruit.  I have also been eating smaller portions.  I didn't eat particularly unhealthy anyway, but my diet has improved quite a bit.  I weighed myself at the weekend, and it turns out I have lost a few pounds.  Which isn't loads, but it hasn't been a month yet.  My waist and hip measurements have also gone down so they are now bust 36 inches, waist 26 inches, hips 36 inches.  I'm really happy with these improvements so far.  I can see a difference in the mirror as well.  It's only a very tiny difference and no one else may be able to see it, but I can.

I think I'll start back to the gym this week.  Although it's quite difficult with my placement because I get so tired.

Like now.
So.  Tired!

Saturday 21 January 2012

Another Shopping Trip



Haircut!
I went to the hairdressers this afternoon.  I couldn't stand how long my hair was getting.  I don't really like it when it gets past my shoulders, and it was definitely a little bit longer than my shoulder length.  And messy.  I always love how my hairdresser cuts my hair, and I love it just as much this time so I took some photos.


It needs dying though.  That's my job for Sunday evening.

Let's Get Organised

I returned back to University and realised how messy my room really was.  I had bits of make up and everything lying around everywhere.  It was terrible.




My Mum had given me some nice boxes.  So I had a clear out and sorted everything.  And now it's so neat and tidy, looks so much better, and is a bit more colourful.


















I love it when I have my stuff organised.
In the second picture along you can see two black bottles of eyeliner.  I bought these today.  They're called Maybelline Liner Express and I absolutely love them!  I have been looking in shops for them everywhere! But I can only find them in black, never in brown, and I find that the brown is perfect for me.  So finally, today I found them in brown.  So I got two.  But more about them another day.

Shoooooessss

And lastly, here's some shoes.







They're my favourite new shoes!  I got them from Debenhams a few weeks ago, reduced from £35 to £17.50.  I have't had a chance to wear them yet.  I need an excuse to wear them!  They are too nice just to sit in my wardrobe.



Friday 20 January 2012

Versatile Blogger Award

My first Versatile Blogger Award?  Not really sure what this is, but I think I get the gist of it.  So, thank you to http://lottie-loves-beauty.blogspot.com/ for this.


So I need to link back to the blogger who gave me the award, share 7 facts with you and then pass on the award to 10 of my favourite bloggers.

Seven facts about me:
  1. I have a phobia of hairy/ woolly jumpers.
  2. I love the country Wales
  3. I can play the flute and keyboard
  4. I love watching those real-life TV programmes about hospitals, I love all the blood and operations
  5. I would love to travel the world one day
  6. I want a cat
  7. I am addicted to drinking tea
And now ten blogs I like:

I Love Green!

It was back to my parents house last night, for the night.  My Mum tried to give me the whole contents of her food cupboard as usual.

Yesterday was pretty stressful.  I had an assignment to complete.  I'd had at least two months to complete it, and I left it until the last day.  That is what I do.  Leave everything until the last minute.  I did manage to complete it though.  It does worry me slightly that I managed to complete it in a day.  I mean, it's a good thing as the deadline was today, but what did I do so wrong that I could complete it in such little time?!

So today I went shopping!  I hadn't planned to go out and spend any money.  But my Mum wanted to go shopping, and then I saw things I liked...


I desperately needed new jeans.  I don't normally go for lighter coloured jeans, but I quite like these so I got them.  From River Island.


LOVE this colour green.  It's one of my favourite colours.  It fits perfectly too.  Can't wait to wear it.  From New Look.


From New Look.  I like that these sandals aren't completely flat, they have a little bit of a wedge heel.  Maybe a bit cold to wear them at the moment though.

I'm off to get my hair cut in half an hour.  Can't wait!!  I've been waiting for this haircut for ages!

Wednesday 18 January 2012

My new clothes arrived from Topshop today! Yay! 
This is what I got:


















































Vintage-Feel Bib Dress by Rare
I quite like this dress however I'm not too sure on the neckline, it's very high up on my neck.  However I think I'm going to keep it because I do like it.  I'm not sure if it's one of those things I think I'm going to wear and then in a years time I will be looking through my wardrobe and realise I have never worn it though.  


With this shop I decided to buy items that I would usually look at and think, I wonder what that would look like, but wouldn't normally buy.


Faux Leather Waistband Flannel Skirt in Teal
and Foil Block T-shirt


I like the skirt.  I really like the colour.  I just need to find something to wear with it now.  Although I'm not too happy, it has streaks of dirt all down the front of it.  It looks like it will brush off though.  Not happy Topshop! I expect my new clothes to be clean!




I'm not too sure about the tshirt.  I was expecting it to be tighter fitting than it is.
Also, this outfit makes me look a bit chunky which I am not happy with considering the weight I have just lost.  Might just end up sending them both back.




Unicorns Boyfriend Tee by Illustrated People
This one is.. OK. I was hoping it would cover my bum a bit more though, then I could have worn it with leggings.  But we'll see.






What I've Been Up To Today.
I had my physics exam this evening.  Yuck.  At 6pm.  Who schedules an exam for 6 in the evening?!  It was quite nice I suppose though, I had all day to revise and relax a bit in between.
Then we went to McDonalds.  To celebrate end of exams?!  HA. Now I feel fat and gross.
Tomorrow is assignment day.  Hand in is on Friday. AHHH. I always leave things until the last minute.  MEGA STRESS.


What I wore today:
I like to be comfortable in exams and not have to fidget around with what I'm wearing.
So I wore I my x-ray t shirt, jeans and my grey jacket.  I am in desperate need of new jeans after two pairs recently broke.  But I'm really fussy with jeans and have to shop around for ages until I find some that I like and that are a good fit.  The grey jacket is one of my favourites. 














The necklace is one my Mum brought back from Italy last year.  I love it.  It's quite different.  But I haven't worn it much so I thought I would give it an airing.




The boots I wore were from last year.  I haven't worn them in AGES.  I really do love them though so I'll be getting them out a bit more.












AND I PURCHASED MY TICKET FOR DOWNLOAD FESTIVAL TODAY.  
YEESSSS!!