I'm Not As Chiselled As I Seem | Clinique Chubby Stick

My face is kind of a lump with no specific bone structure. I think I may have very slight cheekbones but nothing that is as defined as I wish, although my acne scars on my cheek create a shadow that make it seem like I have some definition but in reality it is all lies. I have always wanted a cream bronzer though (and a liquid highlighter but I don't own one of those so I can't really include it here) and for Christmas I got the Clinique chubby stick conotur. I had never seen it in real life all I knew was Clinique was a fairly trustworthy brand (despite a terrible concealer I got from there) and everyone said how good this was.

At first I was a bit sceptical because it is very dark and it only comes in one shade. However that doesn't mater at all because it doesn't come out as dark as it seems and if need be I'm sure it can be built up, but I'm not 100% sure because I've never felt the need to do so. At first I wasn't that keen on it, but now I love it. I just wasn't used to using a cream bronzer and wasn't sure what brush to use to apply or if I should use my makeup sponge. Now I just use my Real Techniques Buffing Brush. I'm not sure if that's correct and I see a lot of people using makeup sponges to apply it, but my brush works for me! I then use a mini angled brush (I need to buy a full sized one but no where has what I'm looking for) to brush on a sleek bronzer on top just for that little bit extra and I use the highlighter and the blush from this palette.

My overall contouring regime I like very much, I wouldn't mind having a better bronzer brush though and a liquid/cream highlighter but for now my sleek contour kit does a great job of highlighting and blushing me. If you want a cream bronzer I definitely recommend this one, I don't have much to compare it to but for a girl who loves feeling like she looks chiselled, this bronzer definitely works for me, plus it is so easy to blend in. It's a bit pricey but I think definitely worth it, and it seems like  it will last a very long time!

Whilst on the topic of contouring, what highlighters do you recommend and what brushes are the best for contouring do you think? I'm really tempted to get a fan brush for highlighter and a better angled brush!

Haircare Tips With Madison Reed*

Hey guys! So in case you hadn't noticed a while back I dyed my hair pink and it's still in pretty good condition so I kind of feel like I am a pro at knowing hair care. Plus I work at a hair dressers so I'm kind of the whole package when it comes to hair knowledge. Also lets not forget back in my prime when I had super long hair. Basically what I'm saying is I know how to look after hair. 

DO

-Remember coconut oil is your best friend, especially if your hair is dry. Just put it on the ends an hour before you wash it and then in the shower just scrub at it with shampoo to make sure all the oil is out for lovely hydrated roots. Also if you are unfortunate like me and sometimes get super bad dandruff, put this on your scalp and leave it for an hour before you wash your hair and yeah same procedure. Just make sure you proper scrub.

-Use a tangle teezer when washing your hair. One of the girls I work for told me this, basically if you have thick hair it can be hard to actually shampoo your scalp properly, I definitely didn't used to. it's just so much effort to scrub, but it helps if you use a tangle teazer to work the shampoo in because then you get a proper good scrub.

-Give your hair a break. If you straighten/curl/constantly use heat on your hair remember to leave it sometimes or use heat protecting spray. But you should give your hair a rest, may I suggest if you do really hate your natural hair just doing some French plaits because they always look cute and help keep your hair under control. 

A little side note, this includes let your hair dry naturally. I very rarely ever blow dry my hair (and by that I mean only when I'm at the hair dressers and they insist).

DON'T

-Wash your hair all the time. It strips your hair of it's natural oils and is all round just bad. I only wash my hair once a week, sometimes I leave it a bit over a week (rarely, but sometimes). Try and stretch out the amount of days between washes, your hair may seem terrible but just use some dry shampoo and eventually it will get used to not being washed in that amount of time and gradually you can keep it longer. I can't imagine anything more irritating than having to wash my hair everyday, so treat yourself and just try and make it last that extra day! Dry shampoo is your friend!

-Neglect your hair. If you see a lot of split ends or complain about how damaged it is go get it cut rather than whine, it may be short at first but it will be a whole lot healthier!

-Don't tie your hair back when it's wet. I put this in bold because I never knew this and it stressed me out! Apparently it stretches the hair shaft (no idea what that is) causing it to stretch and break (I do know that this doesn't sound good). I do this all the time with my wet hair and I guess I need to stop!

Hope this post helps! I learnt a few interesting things whilst researching this because I wanted to include actual useful tips, not just things everyone knows. Check out Madison Reed and this fun quiz they have to know what hair colour you should go, I done it and got a nice blonde colour but I'm having too much fun with my pink at the moment to go back to blonde. It's lasting a really long time suprisingly, it fades with every wash (then again I'm not as pink as I was before) but it certainly is lasting well. See you soon! Let me know any of your tips in the comments because honestly I didn't think there was much I didn't know but that wet hair one has changed my life!

Cold Weather Necessities

This winter has not been all that cold, well at least where I live it hasn't been, and that does not make me happy. Nobody seems to care that gobal warming is killing our planet and, I'm not going to lie, it is stressing me out quite a lot. Lately though it has gotten much colder (snow the other day, huzzah!) so I have decided it is a perfect time for me to tell you all the cold weather musts since I am a master at handling the cold. That's a lie, I'm not at all really, to be honest m main piece of advice is to wear tights underneath your trousers and tuck a long sleeved thermal top into the tights to trap your body heat. 

1) Gloves or mittens. 

Don't let the cold weather destroy your hands. Personally I am a big fan of mittens but they make you quite incapable of using your phone so you can always get the touch screen gloves but mittens are just adorable. I really wanted to buy a cute pair that I could cherish forever, in year 7 I got a pair with bears on them but it's time for me to buy a new pair but I couldn't find anything that adorable so just got some cheap boring ones from Primark.

2) Scarves

I never actually really wear scarves but I do find them a necessity. I really want one of those huge blanket type scarves but it wouldn't go with any of my outfits so usually I just wear my hair down and let that insulate my neck. I do own scarves though just in case especially when it's really cold, I find them a comfort to have even if I don't particularity use them.

3) Hats or Earphones.

I wear hats most of the time anyway because I am a lazy person who never really has time to sort out their hair, so I often wear hats to hide this flaw of mine. However during winter they are super important not only for a warm head but also warm ears! If hats aren't really your thing wear earphones as makeshift ear muffs to keep your ears warm. Make 2016 the year you don't have cold ears. Love yourself.

4)  Hot drinks or soup.

Not everyone likes tea but I really recommend finding a hot drink you do enjoy if you don't like tea. Some people like coffee, or hot chocolate or hot water and squash or just plain hot water. In cold weather honestly there is nothing I love more than having something warm to hold and drink, When I get home from college my kettle is usually the first place I go or if you really hate hot drinks invest in a soup maker so you can have that to warm yourself up!

There was going to be five but I couldn't think of a significant last point, but also remember in these cold times keep your face lips and hands moisturised and also never underestimate the power of fluffy socks.

New Year New Goals

I have really boring blog titles usually so I'm trying to spice them up at the moment but I've realised they make my posts seem like they're going to be a lot deeper than they really are so I kept it simple for this one. It was before 'How Last Year Worked Out For Me And How This One Will' then I realised it sounded far deeper than it really is. Last year I wrote a post about my new year resolutions. A few of them I completely forgot I set out to do to be honest but some of them I remembered.

For example, one goal was to try different types of teas and smile more at strangers, both of which I'd say were a success. I'm drinking green tea and lemon right now, how sophisticated of me. Another was to be more on time which partly was success because I am rarely late for college however for meeting up with friends, that is a different story. And I saw one was to moisturise more which has not worked out although ever since I've started working at a hairdressers I moisturise my hands a lot but my legs are still dry. Like a lizard.

2016 goals though well I guess we'll have to wait and see.

1) Try out more makeup looks. I found glitter and colourful eyeshadows in my old makeup bag and want to start wearing them more, and just in general I want to try new things with my makeup. Also include more makeup on my blog because I rarely do but sometimes I think man I want to show people this look! But never actually do.

2) Stretch. My body is quickly becoming that of an old man flexibility wise and I only have myelf to blame. I run sometimes and never stretch, and sometimes I do a workout DVD and miss out the stretches at the end. But not any more, not 2016 me!

3) Have a new laptop. By the end end of 1026 I hope to have saved up enough for a new laptop or have almost saved up enough.

4) Eat less dairy and refined sugar. I eat so much dairy it's unreal and it is not good for my skin so I really need to cut down on that and sugar well. Obviously I'll still eat it but I really want to cut down on the amount I do. I've seen too many documentaries warning me about it. 

5) Not save my homework for the last minute. So far this isn't really working out for me but I will change my ways. I will use my free periods at college to do homework then when I come home I can revise. Highly unlikely really but a girl can dream.

Hope you've all had a good week and good luck if you have mocks coming up!

Simple Outfits Are Needed

At my college there are no rules regarding uniform, which can be very stressful in deciding what to wear. Especially when you're like me and have loads of nice outfit ideas but just need a black belt for them to work. Why not just buy a black belt? Because I can never be bothered to go out. One day soon I will though. Due to the no uniform ways I find it important to have outfits to fall back one, I have a lot o sweatshirts I wear but I also feel like there should be a nice simple outfit to full back on. One of mine is this shirt. I always feel like flannel shirts look good and there is just so many ways they can work. I've actually shown an outfit really similar to this before but I didn't realise. Plus this shirt is from Urban Outfitters, I never really saw the point in splashing out on these shirts from Urban Outfitters when you can buy a chequered shirt in other places for much cheaper, but it was in the sale and they're such good quality. Most of my others are really thin or not the right shape but this one is baggy enough and just such good quality. Also I love the beanie I'm wearing here because it fits on my head so easily. When I first saw it I felt a bit awkward because I thought it wouldn't fit on my head because it was so small but amazingly it fits perfectly, it isn't too big or too small. I'm only used to cheap beanies not a Topshop one. I also paired it with some cool glittery socks. 2016 is the year of cool socks.

I hope you have all had a good first week back! I am procrastinating doing my homework right now but it's not so much I don't want to do it as I am so tired I feel like I won't pick anything up. I have a week off for reading week next week though (hurrah) so although I'll have loads of homework at least I won't have to wake up super early, I forgot how difficult it was. On Tuesday I completely overslept and after ten minutes of waking up was already at the bus stop, the extra sleep was appreciated but I can't handle that stress again. Also my skin was not up for the no makeup look. 

Finding Out Memories of 2015 and 2016

excuse my skin I was going to edit out the blemishes then decided not to because I am tired and lazy. #naturalbeauty too

Last year when I went to Reading Music Festival I took a disposable camera and used it maybe twice. Around October I rediscovered the usefulness of having a disposable camera. You can take pictures and forget about what they are but when you get them printed your memories will come back to you. I have nine pictures left on that disposable and I can't remember what half those pictures are of. Chances are a lot of them will be crap because no one believed me when I told them the importance of making sure the flash was on, but either way. Memories. I have another disposable in my drawer and I feel like this year I will be much more ready to use it. yes I have a digital camera but that's more for blogging and I on't like to take that out with me. A disposable though is purely for memories in my opinion and I'm excite to use them more in 2016 to document fun memories whilst I'm out about and to get them printed and rediscover things I done that I found worthy of a picture. 

I don't know how well I'm phrasing this, but I think you all should invest in a disposable camera this year. 

Also in 2015 I tried to keep a happiness jar (do you ever look back at a post and die at the pictures/way you've written it)  which I completely forgot about/got too lazy to update. This year though I'm going to try something different, I'm just going to put things that happened in my life in there with the date. They still will be happy things but I don't know, it will be more about what I done than what made me happy because looking back at some of the things I wrote were pretty crap. One of them was my mum got really nice scones, not really a memory as much as just a thing.