Being Thankful

HO HO HELLO EVERYONE, sorry that its been a while, I guess I've not quite got the hang of blogging on a set basis. Anyway, Christmas is literally around the corner and I'm probably more excited than a little child. But I just wanted to talk about something that I've been mulling over in my head recently, and that is how some people aren't thankful. Personally I am not the slightest religious so I do not celebrate Christmas for the original reason but I see this time of year to be thankful. As I'm English we do not celebrate thanksgiving but I see Christmas as being a time for this. I'm am hugely thankful for my family, friends and all the opportunities I have had throughout my life time. This is why its my FAVOURITE time of the year but I cant understand why people can be so selfish to not be grateful for what they get. Some people are all about materialistic goods and if they have the latest designer clothing but that isn't what its about. Its about being with family and for the religious people out there, its to celebrate the birth of Christ. I'm pretty sure we can all be materialistic sometimes, especially when you get socks for Christmas, like "wow, some socks. I love them!!" But remember, some people don't even get that. So all I'm trying to say is be thankful for everything you get because there are people out there who don't get as much as you do. You and I are so lucky compared to these people. I'm not going to rant any longer. I hope you have a Merry Christmas and have a great time in what ever holiday you are celebrating!!:) Leave your favourite thing about the holiday season in the comments below.

Ciao xo

Drama Exam

Hey guys, I've decided to make up for my lack of posts by posting a second one tonight. This one is all about my drama exam yesterday. I just want to share my experience with you.
So last night, I had to perform as a part of my A Level drama exam. I can honestly say it was the most nerve wracking thing I've done in my life. Acting is a big part of my life as it will tie in with my future career. It also gives me such an adrenaline rush, being on stage with everyone's eyes on you. For me, its a way of forgetting reality for about 25 minutes while I become someone else. But to be marked on how well you do it really is very daunting.
However, my exam went very well. It did mess up in one section, but knowing how to recover when this does happen is a skill that you are taught. I played a character called Mari and our piece was based on the performance of "The Rise and Fall of Little Voice" by Jim Cartwright. She was a very bold and brassy character but it was something I could relate to so it wasn't that much of a challenge.
This would be the last night we would perform for our A Level as the rest will be theory work. I loved every single minute and I would like to congratulate the rest of my drama family for how well they did! What a great way to end our practical drama.
Here is just a small picture of me in character with one of my closest friends. Ignore the caption as it was stolen from her snapchat.
Leave a comment below what you love the most and if you have ever performed before.

Ciao xo

Snowman soup

Hey guys, guess who is back? ME!!! Its been such a crazy week but everything is now back to normality, hopefully. So as I said in my last post after all my mocks and exam was done I would throw Christmas in your face. So, here it is. This is just a cute little idea for gifts I've found if you like creative, meaningful presents or if you haven't got a lot of money at the moment. Here is the recipe for SNOWMAN SOUP.

Its not as disgusting as it sounds, I promise. Its also not melted ice cream in a bowl which my granddad thought it was. All you need is;

• cellophane cone bags, you can get these from amazon in different colours or sizes (I got large ones,)
• Hot chocolate powder, any of your choice,
• Mini marshmallows and I added sneaky smarties,
• Wire ties,
• Ribbons in Christmassy patterns,
• string of some sort,
• Tags, homemade or pre made,
• scissors,
• Candy canes,
• A spoon for the hot chocolate,

1. Start to spoon your powder into your cones, enough for a mug of hot chocolate, tie this off with a wire tie and cut off the excess after the tie.
2. Place this into another cone bag, this will stop any of your marshmallows from getting chocolate powder all over them. Pour your marshmallows in and any other little bits you want to add. Tie this off again with your wire ties and you've got the basis of your snowman soup.
3. Now you want to tie a piece of ribbon around the top with your tag on and a cute little message on.
4. Add your Christmas ribbon around and tie it in a cute little bow. Place a candy cane through your ribbon and TAA DAA. Your snowman soup is complete.

That is it, not too complicated is it? I really enjoyed making these and cant wait to give them out. They are just so cute and really thoughtful. I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and tell me if you want to see more. If you decide to make these, please show me by leaving a picture in the comments
13 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS

Ciao xo

STRESS!

Hey everyone, I didn't think I'd be making a post this week but I'm just going to do a quick one about stress. At the moment I'm in sixth form college and I never thought it would actually be that stressful. But it is. Not only do I have two assessments next week that involve me learning several essays. I have my drama practical exam on Thursday. All this in one week does not make me a happy bunny. It actually makes me very stressed. A few years ago, maybe when I was about 12 I was diagnosed with severe migraines. You may not think that this is a big deal but they are worse than any headache than I've ever had. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. The main trigger for these migraines is stress. So whenever I'm feeling a little stressed I will get a migraine and it will make me feel worse. I have pills which help take the edge of them but the side effects are terrible so I try and refrain from taking them. A lot of the time to try and chill out I just lie in bed with a cup of tea and try not to think over any of the problems that will be coming up. But that is easier said than done.
I cant really give you any way of stopping a migraine if you suffer from them because everyone is different when it comes down to it. What I do is, pack all my work away, stay away from ANY sort of screen including phone, go to bed turn all my lights out and try to sleep it off. Sleeping is the only way in my opinion that settles my migraine.
This is a REALLY short post but I thought id keep you updated. I have had them really bad the past few days and it doesn't help that I'm also ill. For the next week I don't think I may post just because id really like the time to focus on work and then after that I will throw everything Christmassy at you. I should be back to normal after that. Im sorry guys but I hope you understand. Please leave me a comment if you have any questions or concerns. THANKSSSSS

Ciao xo

Seeing Tonight Alive Live

 

 
Hey everyone, last night I went to a concert to see one of my favourite bands, Tonight Alive. This post will be all about how my day/night went. So my day started out really when I got into the centre of Manchester. Me and my best friend were supposed to have timed our arrivals so that we would get there at the same time, but I ended up having a hot chocolate in a café while I waited half an hour for her. When she finally arrived we went to get a taxi to the Academy but there were none in sight. Which is rather strange. We must have walked around one part of Manchester for at least 15 minutes until we rang a taxi. That taxi must have took 10 minutes and still wasn't there, so we decided to jump in another one. FINALLY.
When we got right near the academy I could see people queuing already. This queue wasn't small. It was huge. There goes our dream of getting to the barrier. As we got out of the taxi we saw two of our friends from college who were 16 people away from the front. Therefore we sat with them and didn't have to go right to the back. We had to wait 5 hours until the doors opened but we found a way to pass the time. One of the ways was pressing our ears against the back door when they were going through sound check. The opening song was The Edge from The Amazing Spiderman 2 but there was no singing. We were all so shocked and confused until the lead singer herself Jenna, walks past waves and says "hi." I died right there.
A couple of hours passed and after being accused of pushing in the queue, the doors were opened and since you aren't allowed to run so it was more like a skip to try and get to the front. I was behind the people who were actually at the barrier so I was very, very close. It was time for the first opening act now.

I instantly fell in love when Chunk! No, Captain Chunk. This is mainly because of the lead singer, plus they're French. I don't usually like bands who are screamo but these only have a small amount of it so it wasn't bad. They are such a good band and their accent just makes it better. Definitely music that you can head bang to.

Next came a band that a lot more people knew. When Chunk were playing the spacing wasn't that bad. You could move freely and happily. But when The Summer Set came on, it got very tight. I hadn't heard of this band before but I really enjoyed them. The most thing I found interesting was that they had a female drummer. I'm not in the slightest saying that its wrong, I've just never seen it before. But I tell you one thing, she had no bingo wings. Things like playing the drums, guitar etc. much take so much talent. I wish I could play the drums. Anyway this band has gone up on one of my favourites lists and I definitely recommend that's you listen to them. The best song in my opinion is Boomerang.
After these finished, it was time for Tonight Alive. And god didn't we know it. Everyone was pushed forward so that you were practically combined with the person in front. I couldn't breathe. The amount of people that got carried out because they were having panic attacks was ridiculous. This was before Tonight Alive came on.

I'm unaware of how many times I screamed because I'd probably lose count. It looked like they all were having as much fun on stage as we were down in the sardine pit. One of the best moments was when I gave Cam a massive cheesy grin and he gave one back. While rocking out if everyone else jumped you had no other option than to jump as they were pulling you up.

This is the best picture I got of the night. Jenna's personality in one shot. I absolutely loved it last night and if I could do it again I would do it again in a heart beat. You could tell that I had a great time because I woke up and sounded like an old woman who has smoked 80 a day her whole life. I guess that's everything I could talk about. Please listen to all three bands and tell me what you think of them. But that's it for now guys.

Ciao xo

My Bathtime Routine!

Hey again, yes I am posting twice in one night. I just felt like it. However, this is my personal routine and its not huge its just my typical products that I use when I go in the bath. In my house I do not have a shower so my only choice is to have a bath. It can be a pain sometimes, especially when you're in a rush.
Firstly before I get in the bath I like to put my tea tree facial scrub on. I just use my hands to apply it and massage it all over my face, avoiding the eyes obviously. I then get in the bath. I leave this scrub on my face for a while, while I just relax. Tea tree oil is known for being good for soothing and preventing spots, it is also good for oily skin and removing dead skin cells. If you don't have oily skin and have dry skin, this can also work for you too as it gives you a fresher looking complexion. I highly recommend this, plus it isn't too expensive. I was this off now with an exfoliation mitt, this will just make sure all dead skin cells are removed and that your pores are open.
After this I move onto my hair. I use two products on my hair and that is the Alberto Balsam raspberry shampoo and conditioner. I fell in love with these after smelling them in the shop and I knew I had to try them. Since then I haven't used any other shampoo or conditioner. Not only does it completely clean your hair unlike some others that I've tried it also leaves it smelling gorgeous. I use the shampoo more than the conditioner. I use the conditioner not as often as I should. I usually leave it until my hair is really, really dry just because I feel like my hair appreciates it more. I can't really give you instructions on how to wash your hair, you should already know how to do it.
My final step is my body. I always leave this until last as I usually shave and I don't want to be sat in a bath full of dirty and skin. I've recently started using this very Christmassy shower gel by NSpa. The flavour is called Cheeky Cranberry Chocolate. It smells AMAZING. It is very sweet but has a deep chocolate undertone. I usually apply this with a body puff and I just clean my whole body. Obviously when I'm shaving I will then go onto shave but you don't need to know about that. I then get out the bath, wrap my body and my hair up and wipe off any left over makeup with my makeup wipes.
That ends my bath time routine, please leave a comment telling me what you think if you've tried any of these products and any that you recommend. Thanks for reading :)

Ciao xo

Meeting Zoella in Brighton!

Hello everyone, this blog post is quite exciting for me and I thought that it might interest you. Some of you may know the beauty, fashion and lifestyle blogger/vlogger, Zoella. Well in October I was very lucky to be one of 100 winners to go and meet her in Brighton. Strange thing is, one of my best friends won too. I know, crazy!
   Anyway, I thought id share with you these exciting two days. So my friends Eve and Saff came along on this trip and it was a very early start. As we are all students we decided to get the coach down as the trains were trying to get us to pay nearly two hundred pounds to get to Brighton. The trip was very, very, very long but we knew that it was totally worth it. We set off from Manchester at about 10:30am and we arrived in Brighton about 8:30pm. The only downside to this journey is that I had really bad travel sickness which I never, ever get. We made a couple of stops but they aren't as interesting as meeting Zoe.
   We stayed in a hotel called Hotel Umi, which was SO nice. It was right on the sea front but because of the time we arrived it was pitch black. We were so hungry when we arrived so Google Maps was our best friend while trying to search for a McDonald's. We went back to the room and enjoyed our night in Brighton.
   At last, the exciting bit. We woke up quite early as we had to be at Churchill squares Superdrug's at 9am which killed me, especially because it was half term. But who cared? I was meeting Zoe within an hour. While waiting in the queue I was stood next to a shutter where behind it she was stood. The best thing is that I could hear her laugh. It was so cute. When we were allowed inside we could then see her. I saw one of my FAVOURITE Youtubers right in front of me. Someone I have been watching since 2009. She looked like such a genuine person and this was all very obvious when I saw her wiping away someones tears. AW. It came to the point when we were next in the queue. I had butterflies in my stomach and then I ran in for a hug. It felt so strange that a person I had watched through a screen for years was now right in front of me. I had a list of things I wanted to say in my head but they just wouldn't come out. I ended up just talking about how my friend Saff can do an amazing impression of Miranda Sings. We all got to spend at least a good 10 minutes with her while we just chatted about how we could start a band. But then we left and had to say goodbye. We were all quite upset but so happy at the same time. We had a few hours then to kill. This was where we walked along the beach, looked in little kooky shops and spent probably £30 in the arcades. If I had to keep count at how many times I had laughed on this trip, id be way over 100+.
    It all seemed to go by in a flash. But I still cant believe to this day that I've met Zoe Sugg. I would love to do this all over again. I hope you enjoy the pictures and i'm sorry if this post bored you or was too long. Comment what you would like to see next e.g. review, advice, etc. THANK YOU GUYS!

Ciao xo

Hayley Williams MAC Collection

Hi everyone, so here it is, my first review. I know this collection is from last year but I thought it would be a good idea to share my opinion. You may not know this by my favourite band of all time is Paramore. They are an American rock trio from Franklin, Tennessee. I've been a fan of them for around 6 years and own every album they have made. The front woman Hayley Williams released a 4 piece collection for MAC in April 2013 and I am so in love with it.
The first piece is an eye shadow. This can be seen in the top left in the collage and on they eyes of Hayley herself. This is a very bright frosted coral colour and can really bring out the colour of any eye colour. The colour itself is called "Day Dreaming" which is one of the names of their songs on their latest self titled album. This eye shadow goes hand in hand with dark hair colours and should only be paired with a nude lip or a natural bronzed look. Its a buildable colour so you can go from a faint pink to a very bold eye depending on what you prefer.
The second piece is a nail lacquer in the colour "Riot Gear" and is a very bold orange. This is only a small pot so I am very weary to use it, just because I really don't want it to run out. But, I have used it a couple of times and the only downside to it is that to achieve the colour that is promised, you need a couple of coats. That is the same with any nail polish really.
The third piece, is my favourite out of all the collection. That is the orange lipstick. And when I say orange, I really mean orange. I don't think my picture does it justice but you can tell from Hayley's lips that it is as bright as her iconic hair. This is called " Sounds Like Noise" and is a very matte lip colour. I usually don't like matte colours but I really like how smooth it is when on your lips. I have used this colour both matte and glossy. I added just a simple clear gloss on top to give it a shine and not remove any of the gorgeous colour.
LASTLY, its the mineralizing skin finish. This is not an original piece to MAC as it was discontinued but was brought back to Hayley's collection. This skin finish is a very pale white shimmer with peachy orange and silver tones throughout. My favourite way to use this product is to use it as a highlighter on top of my cheekbones, my chin, forehead and down my nose. The name of this product is "Lightscapade."

That is all I have to say about this collection and I'm unsure if it is still available on the official MAC website but I know you can buy certain items of it from EBay. Id love it if you could share your opinion if you've tried any of these products, also if you know any high street duplicates for any of these, PLEASE let me know.

Ciao xo

Follow my Bloglovin

<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/13227721/?claim=5v5daevtvtj">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>