I've Missed You

Long time no speak! Recently I've been very busy and yes... that's the excuse every time but Year 11 has hit me hard! I had 'mock exams' for 2 weeks in which I thought I couldn't cope and cried almost every night and they've piled coursework on us from every lesson so trying to manage the time for it all is hard. I spent 9 hours of my own time in school when I could have been at home relaxing because my mocks were over but instead I thought that I best knuckle down and get coursework done. Some still isn't done but I'm almost there! I got my mock results back and on the whole I was pleased and if I got them results next August I would be over the moon (except I got an E in R.E but we can work on that...).
Applying for college and thinking about my next steps has been hard and also trying to maintain some form of a social life and have the balance between revising and friends. It was my last Christmas at my school this year and it made me really emotional, we always have an assembly for Christmas as it is a Church of England school so we were celebrating the religious side of Christmas instead of just the typical gifts and food but when the priest and the teachers were wishing us luck for our future and sharing all the memories with us it set me off and I cried for the rest of the day! Leaving school terrifies me... when I was in primary school I didn't actually experience 'leaving' as such, I was on holiday for the last week of term meaning I didn't get to be with everyone and I had my own special 'leaving day' which was equally as special but not as good and I suppose that secondary school is a lot different, I've made friends that will be my friends for life and had memories that I'll never experience again and been with people that I truly enjoy being with. I constantly say 'I can't wait to leave school' but I'm hiding the fact that I'm absolutely terrified but on the other hand I know that college will be the best time of my life, having the freedom to basically do whatever and leave whenever and start at times that onlycan be described as perfect! I'm not saying its going to be an easy ride because I need to do the best I can possibly do to get into University which will set me up for the best future I want.

    

Christmas jumpers, painting nails, scalp plaits and long LUSH baths have been my thing this winter! I've been living in my Christmas jumper (From Store 21) and painting nails I can only say I am obsessed with! Scalp plaits are my new 'go to' as they are pretty but keep my hair off my face, they are the best hair style for school! Lastly, baths on a night with a LUSH bathbomb and a film on is the easiest way to relax and unwind after a busy day!

How do you wind down?

Black and Blue || NOTD

If you have been following me on Instagram (velvetvogue1 nice self promo there Chlo) you'll know that I recently painted my nails gold and pink however yesterday every single nail on my hands snapped and got all short and horrible meaning that the nail varnish ended up all chipped and horrible so I obviously had to paint them again!

I never usually go with a dark colour, I am more for loving bright and vibrant colours like pinks and baby blue's. However I thought I would change it up a bit and choose black.

I couldn't have all my nails black so I had to add a cheeky bit of glitter on my ring finger ovcourse. Who doesn't love a little bit of glitter?!

Before Picture- I picked all the nail varnish off due to boredom.

The colour of the nail varnish isn't on both the bottles so the brands are... O.P.I- Black
Barry M- Sparkly Blue

What are your 'go to' nail varnish colours?

Have a good day and I hope you enjoyed my constant daily uploads of blog posts for a week!

I Love Summer Tag

Credit: http://pinkpeonies.co.za/

I realised that during my week of constantly blogging the theme has been summer related to say the least so to top it off I thought I'd do the 'Summer Tag'. I noticed a few people do this last year (I'm late.. I know).

1. Favorite bronzer for summer?

As stupid as this sounds, I don't actually wear bronzer... I'm not a makeup fanatic. I wear it yes, but it's not all the time and when I do wear it I usually only wear the basics. However I did use the Rimmel Bronzing Compact Power and I thought it did just the job and it's not expensive either.

2. You're relaxing in a hammock, on a tropical island. What are you sipping on? (Favorite summer drink)

Cranberry or apple juice! No ice just pure juice. Oh, I need some now!

3. Favorite summer lip product?

It would have to be any of the lip balms from the Maybelline Baby Lips line if I want a tinted lip but if not I use my trusty vaseline, works a treat.

4. Pool or Beach?

Beach. It's super relaxing.

5. Summer = crazy hair! What's your must-have styling product?

The Fudge sea salt spray which I talked more about in my last blog post (here)

6. Sun bathing or fake tan?

Sun bathing! I don't sit in it for hours however I do get a good tan if I do say so myself. I don't think I could fake tan as I don't like the smell and I would no doubt do it wrong and go blotchy!

7. Favorite summer nail polish?

The Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine range.

8. Any summer traditions?

Constantly being outside, including eating meals out their and socializing. It's so much better than being inside not enjoying the sun which in England, we do not get a lot of.

9. Favorite summer scent?

Bath and Body Works 'Midnight Pomegranate' or Soap & Glory 'Mist you Madly' 

10. Favorite BBQ food?

Pork chops and sausages!

11. What's your favorite summer-proof product?

The Tea Tree Moisturiser which I talked about here. It's not oily and doesn't make you look greasy.  

12. Any summer vacation plans this year? No plans? Tell us about your dream summer trip!

Recently been to Menorca with my family and I was very sad to be leaving again, but back again next year like usual. Had the best of times relaxing and doing nothing for a while with my family especially after I had some exams and a lot of coursework and now the pressure is on to do very well in my last year of senior school!

So, I've done my first ever 'tag' on this blog now!

Link down below your blogs if you do tag posts!
Have a good day.

Summer Hair Care Routine

My hair care routine typically stays the same all year round and doesn't change dramatically. The most dramatic thing is changing up my shampoo or conditioner... yes I live life on the edge I know. 

Today, on the 6th night of consistently posting (oh, I am proud), I thought I would share my summer hair care routine. It's quite simple and easy to do and takes less than 10 minutes so it's perfect if you're in a rush.

From left to right: Tresemme Colour Fade Protection Shampoo, Mini Aussie Miracle Moist Conditioner, Fudge Sea Salt Spray, LUSH Marilyn Hair Mask, Tresemme Heat Protection Spray 

First I'll usually wash my hair with these. I'd usually use the matching Tresemme Conditioner however I've just ran out and I found the mini Aussie Conditioners that I bought for travelling but forgot to take them (oops.) so I used them, they last 3-4 washes which lasts me just under a week and for the price you cannot go wrong however I will be re-purchasing my trusty Tresemme Conditioner!

As I get my hair dyed I like to use this hair mask every once in a while to help the bright blonde stay in place but also keep my hair manageable and not damaged! It leaves it feeling super soft and silky. I put it on before washing my hair and apply it to dry hair.

I usually leave my hair to dry naturally as it doesn't take long and also dries straight away however if I do dry my hair with a hair dryer I'll spray the Tresemme heat defence spray in my damp hair. It helps not damaging my hair as much as it would without it and also makes it shiny. Once my hair is dry or if I just cannot be bothered to make a lot of effort with my hair I'll use sea salt spray. I like the Fudge one as it reminds me of the smell of the beach and leaves a good finish to my hair.

Hope you enjoyed this post, what are your favourite hair products?

Maybelline Baby Lips: Cherry Me

Reviewing this has been one of those 'long time coming' posts. The Baby Lips line was released in August 2013 and it's been a staple item in my makeup bag or hand bag since the day it was in my local store. It's soothes my lips but also giving them a nice look as it has a pink tint to it. I'd highly recommend this if you are not a lipstick lover like myself but you're keen on your lip balms or lip gloss! 

Short and quick post today but I thought you would get sick of reading super super long ones (I waffle a lot O.K!)

Hope you're having a fab night!

PS- Share this post with people if you appreciate my amazing photography skills.. the reason for them slacking in quality and in my editing is because my camera broke but all will be well for tomorrow's blog post... 

Get Up and Do More

I broke up from school a few weeks ago and so far I've done nothing with it apart from lay in bed or lay on the sofa watching Geordie Shore or re-runs of The Only Way Is Essex. 

I made the effort today to actually make myself look some-what alright for a small family gathering that was being held. I did my make-up and my hair and put decent clothes on which felt strange as I've literally been living in joggers. It was today that made me realise I really should get out more whether that's going out with friends, going for a walk, exercising or spending quality family time instead of sat slumped in my room. I say this all the time, 'I need to get out more' but this time I really mean it, I don't want to go back to school into what is going to be the hardest and longest 10 months I've experienced and say that I've done nothing with my six weeks, as from September the 3rd I'm going to be drowned in revision and extra classes so there will be no time for myself anymore!

                         

Even if I spend my time walking my dog, doing my hair or going for morning/late night strolls on my own to take time to think about things it gives me something to talk about when people ask 'So what did you do in your summer holidays?'



What do you do when you have time off?

Hope you're having a really good day!



PS- HAVE YOU HEARD TRXYE YET?
I cried when I heard it, its so damn good!!

My Skin Needs HELP!

Recently I've been really struggling with keeping my skin at a level where there is minimal spots  and less redness. I've tried soooo many products and nothing has worked however I went back to my trusty favourites and they really did help so I thought I'd share with you my top 5 products that I love and help me get defeat spots! (There's actually 6 things I'm going to share however I thought that by saying 6 it would sound really weird...)

From left-right: Bio-Oil, Tea Tree- BUY SIMILAR, Clinique Emergency Face Mask, Tea Tree Spot Stick, Tea Tree Foaming Face Wash, Superdrug Tropical Face Mask

Its rare that I ever get scars from spots or anything like that but when I do I use Bio-Oil and it works so good! It keeps the area moisturised and removes the scarring. It takes time and you have to apply it everyday for the best results but it's worth it!

Buying face masks was going to be the death of me at one point until I found these beauties. If you are on a low budget or just simply looking for a quick and easy fix then I'd highly recommend the Superdrug face mask. Barely any mess left over as it comes off in one. However if you're willing to spend the £20 on a 100ml tube then I'd go for Clinique. It's little and handy and a perfect size for travelling. It does surprisingly last a long time as a little goes a long way!

Tea tree is my favourite. Its soothing, refreshing and keeps my skin under control. With the spot stick its so easy to just grab throw on and walk out the door, its quick drying and isn't noticeable. The foaming face wash is excellent. It's not expensive at all and you can buy it from anywhere. I like to wake up on a morning and wash my face in it, 2 pumps will do and it wakes me up and also removes the majority of dirt built up from in the night (I do clean my face with other things as well when I'm in shower!). I also swear by the moisturiser, its not oily (which is good as I have oily skin) it dries fast and again, a little goes a long way. It calms down the redness I get around my nose as well and helps control dry skin.

I hope this blog post was some what helpful even if it's just for one person,

what are you're trusty skincare favourites?

Have a good night!

American Who?

I have found my obsession. 

A M E R I C A N   A U T H O R S.

Wow.

I stumbled across these handsome four just over a year ago when 'Best Day of My Life' was released. Their current album 'Oh, What A Life' is the best thing since sliced bread (in my eyes!).

I have it on repeat pretty much everyday, it helps me sit, think and concentrate. 

I returned from my family holiday a few days ago now, and every time their album comes on it reminds me of lounging round the pool with the sun melting me away by the second as I used to have the album on constantly even to the point where my family eventually got sick of hearing the same thing, but how can you seriously?! 

Their album also fills me with happiness and helps me come out of the small shell I end up trapped in after over thinking or just having a rather crap day. I would 110% recommend their album to anybody, I never thought I'd listen to this type of music but when I heard it I was instantly sucked in!

I'm also going to be putting posts up every day for the next week (Monday 11th August-Monday 18th August) so if you have any suggestions for future posts please feel free to comment them!
Have a good day...

Summer Months: Part 1

These next few blog posts are going to be like a 'series' explaining all my plans for summer and sharing some photos. The first part to my series is about my holiday this year that I am so looking forward to!

Summer is slowly but surely approaching us which means suntans, sun and sand. My summer this year is going to be really good (I hope)...(If everything goes to plan!). I have my friends theatre performances to watch, holidays and my birthday as well as 1001 other birthday's I have to remember!

My favourite part of summer for me is defiantly heading back to Menorca! Every year me and my family take the two and a half hour plane journey to the little island amongst the popular countries of Mallorca and Ibiza and every year we come home with tons more clothes, a really good suntan and some very funny memories. We stay in a little house that is tucked away, close to the beach and close to the ice cream parlour (always good when walking down to the beach).

The past 2 years we've had quite an experience with getting to Menorca but looking back they are quite funny. Back in 2012 we were on our way and flying over France until we heard the pilot say 'I'm sorry to be saying this but we're going to be heading back as the autopilot isn't fully working' So we flew back to the airport but had to circle around for an hour to burn some fuel so by this time we'd been in the air for 3 hours. We eventually landed however couldn't get off the plane as there was nowhere for us to go it was also lashing rain outside so opening the door was a no no. After an hour and a half (4 and a half hours after first taking off) we got transferred to another plane which took about another hour but then back we went. Eventually after a round total of 8 hours in a fairly small confined space we arrived. Then last year we got there fine and in one piece however coming home it was extremely hot in the airport and we got delayed nearly 3 hours due to the fact that the suitcases from the previous flight wouldn't come out as some compartment had broke so we had to wait for another plane to fly in but by the time that it had flew in all the suitcases were out! I will cross every finger on my hand and all my toes that everything is sweet and dandy this year with no problems or delays!

In 6 weeks I'll be enjoying these views all over again!

...and the best thing I'll be straight off to the shop to buy some more of these!

Hopefully you've enjoyed the first part to this. I'm not going to be consecutively putting up my plans for summer I'll try and mix posts up.

What plans do you have for the summer? 

Fresh From The Shop

With it recently been Easter I got a little bit carried away with the Easter sales and the first place I hit up was ASOS. By God I love it. I can always seem to find good deals and you get good quality products for your money which is always enjoyable. I also love the fact that ASOS have other brands inside their online shop rather than just their own brand and i say this because I have found my one true love... Pull&Bear. I stumbled across their website ages ago and found they didn't have many shoes (which is what I intended on buying) and then found that they were on ASOS, now I wanted a decent pair of boots and I was willing to spend a bit of money for something that would last me and I found these... 

      (buy here: Buckle Flat Ankle Boots)

I did actually get these in the sale for just over half of what they should have been.

I think that with this type of shoe it can go with anything you wish. You can go casual or smart or fancy and wear these... They are 'versatile'.

 How long do they look on this photo?! They aren't this long in real life!

I have to admit, the heel on them are bigger than what I thought they were going to be however they are the perfect height! They aren't uncomfortable if you wear them all day like some mid-high heeled boots are.

Sorry for the lack of blogs and tweets lately, school work and revision comes first... Exams all next week, wish me luck! 

My Boudoir...

I have so many ideas for future blog posts and one of them was a little taste into what's inside my bedroom however since last year I've really wanted to decorate it but I just had no idea  what I could possibly do with it. Do I have it pink? Green? White? So, February 2014 I bit the bullet and just thought 'lets just see what happens and go with it'. At first I thought I wanted to downsize in bed size, I've had a double bed since the age of 5 but I had seen so many daybeds that looked so good! After sleeping in a single bed for a night I decided I couldn't get rid of my double! Then I wanted a place where I could sit and work but also sit and chill. I wanted bright, happy colours in my room because before it got done it was dark purple and made my room look quite small! Me and my parents started to paint it all white and instantly it made it look huge. I was up to my eyes in picture frames and lamps and bedding! But after a month of pulling it all together it's finally done! Walls and radiators are bright white along with all the door frames and doors! Everything has been built up and put exactly where I want it! The following pictures are some of the favourite things in my room that I chose.

(Duvet Set)

(Lemongrass fitted sheets)

I chose my bedding first. I wanted something that would stand out amongst the white walls and I was 110% adamant to get something flower related. I chose this bedding from ASDA Living and as you'll see throughout this post I got quite a lot of things from ASDA because I do think they sell really good things for your room/home!

(Throw)

Next thing I bought was this throw just to put over the end of my bed. I put this over me as well as my duvet in the winter when its too cold and then in the summer when its too warm I can just put this over me instead of a heavy duvet!

(Lush)

(Buy Similar- Glass Jar Candle)

(Small Yankee Candle)

(Cherry Smelling Hearts- Sold out)

I got an old fish-bowl from my grandparents a few weeks ago and straight away knew exactly what I was going to put inside. Now as my auntie works in Lush she sends down all the left-overs quite often and as Easter will shortly be here I'll no doubt be receiving some Easter Lush things! 

If I go out shopping and smell something nice it will probably end up coming home with me and this is how the two candles ended up in my room...they smell soooo good!!

And finally, the cherry smelling hearts are like a present from heaven. I have hung these above my wardrobe and my wardrobe is near my bedroom door so every time I walk out of my room I just get this strong smell of cherries and its just too good.

My grandparents went on holiday the other day and bought these lilies the day before so obviously as it was a waste if they were just going to sit in the house whilst nobody was in for a week so I claimed them and now they feature in my room and I love them. I'm going to make a point of buying different flowers every few weeks as I think they look gorgeous!

 I'm a sucker for sweets and you'll soon realise that very quickly. I used the last little bit of the coffee the other day and the best idea I had ever came up with popped into my head so with that idea I went out straight away and bought 6 packets of jelly beans. (Whilst writing this I am currently sat with the jar in-between my legs and eat them). The live next to my Lush fish-bowl and I've even asked my gran to save her coffee jar the next time she finishes one so I can put more sweets in!

(Chair)

(Pillow- Sold out)
(Buy in purple: Lamp)

(Desk)

The last thing I wanted to share was this little part of my room, its by far my favourite bit. I can sit here and do homework and everything but also put my feet up and relax whilst watching my television or on my laptop. I bought the desk on Amazon when I seen it had a super good deal on it... It was meant to be £60.00 but I got it for £38.00!

I hope you enjoyed this super long post (the next one won't be this long!)

I'll be uploading a mid-week post next week!