Monday 29 June 2015

The Blog Tour Award

I was very kindly nominated by Rainbow-Rose Blossom to do the Blog Tour Award. She is such a beautiful and strong person and you can check out her post here. All of her posts are so inspirational and I truly enjoy reading her blog. Now onto the actual post...


The award rules:

  1. Pass the tour on to at least four other bloggers
  2. Give your nominees the rules and specify the Monday in which they should post their nomination answers
  3. Answer the four questions about your creative process, which allows other bloggers and visitors to understand what inspires you to do what you do. 
  4. Compose this one-time post on a specific Monday (date TBC by your nominator)

My answers:


1. How Does Your Work Differ From Others In Your Genre?

First of all I'd like to ask what even is my genre? To be honest I don't even know what it is, but to summarize it across my two blogs I'd describe it as lifestyle/personal/beauty. The only way that I think I differ to other people is that I'm myself on my blog. After all, if I'm trying to be myself instead of a carbon copy of another blogger, I'm bound to be different because no two people are the same. I also tend to write what I'm feeling and life updates, which again will be different from anyone else's because no two people have the exact same life experiences.

2. How Does Your Writing/Creative Process Work?

I start off with an idea. I get my inspiration either by reading other people's posts, seeing something in other media that interests me, being nominated in a tag, or something I am experiencing in my life. Whenever I have a post idea I make sure to save it as a draft so I don't forget it. Then, when the time is right, I start to write up my draft and just keep editing, proof reading, and editing some more. I then post it when I'm completely happy with it.

3. Why Do You Write And Create What You Do?

Well I first started blogging because I wasn't confident enough to post regularly on my YouTube channel. I think I've kind of become obsessed with blogging now because its something that's really my thing. I've never had a hobby that I've felt this passionate about before, or ever felt like I had my own "thing". Like, I'm not good at art, I can't sing one note in tune and can't play football ect... But now that I've finally found something I actually feel like I can do, I really wouldn't mind being known as a person who loves to write a blog and make YouTube videos. I carry on creating what I do because I've really surprised myself by doing it in the first place and it is probably the thing that brings me the most joy. 

4. What Are You Working On At The Moment?

EVERYTHING! In my spare time I'm basically always working on my blog or my YouTube channel. Whether that means actually writing and posting something, or doing behind the scenes work like drafting, editing, and replying to comments. At the moment I'm working on a couple of products reviews for Izzy K: Reviews & More. Also, I'm still working on my "let's talk about mental health" series because it is something I feel strongly about and I didn't want my first post about the topic to be a one off. 

My Nominees:


I also nominate anyone else that would like to take part. I hope that you guys have time and would like to do this award. The Monday which the award should be posted is 6th July (or the 13th if you'd like a bit more time) . 

The song of the day is Shut Up And Dance by Walk The Moon, because its legit been stuck in my head for about 50 years. Thanks for reading, and thank you so much Rainbow for nominating me. xxx

Sunday 28 June 2015

Starting To Wear Makeup (Beau Blogger Collaboration)

As I'm sure you all know, I'm part of the wonderful blogging community called Beau Bloggers. Recently, I took part in the blogging challenge where I was paired up with the wonderful Erin from The Art Of Being Invisible to write a post around the theme "A problem and a solution". Her blog is beautifully written and you are guaranteed to always get a good read from it. We both came up with this theme because we think it is very relatable. 




The problem for this post was "when to start wearing makeup" because it's something both me and Erin could relate to. Erin has just started to wear makeup and she posted about the issue here! I really recommend checking that post out because it's so relatable to anyone that's been in that position. I wanted to write about this problem too, because I wish I had received a bit more advice when I was first starting out.  

The first point I'd like to make is that the only reason you should start to wear makeup is because you want to. Let me repeat that, BECAUSE YOU WANT TO! There should be no other reason to wear makeup. Not because you think your crush will like you more if you do, not because all your friends are, not because your favourite celebrity wears makeup, or for any other reason. It's your body so only you should decide what to do with it.

Now on to the question "when should I start wearing makeup". I think this is different for everybody. Personally, I started wearing makeup when I was 14 because I have a baby face and I thought it would make me look older (another stupid reason so please don't do that). I don't think there is a "correct age" to wear makeup. The only thing I will say is that the longer you wait before starting to wear makeup the more your skin will thank you for it.

This links in to my next topic of what makeup to wear when you first start. Makeup is great fun, and I know it's tempting to want to try everything out there, but I would definitely suggest wearing something light to start off with. That will ensure that your skin will stay as fresh as possible, for as long as possible. My advice would be to avoid foundation, because it completely ruins your skin. You will get trapped in an endless cycle where you wear foundation and then get bad skin, so you wear more foundation to cover the bad skin, which gives you more bad skin etc...

I didn't know when or how to start wearing a full face of makeup. For example, I didn't want to go into school with no makeup one day, and then startle everyone by going in with a full face the next day. I'd recommend starting off with a little and then building it up day by day, week by week. Maybe start off with mascara and concealer, and then add more things such as eyeliner into your routine later on if you want to.

I was also kind of scared of what people would say once I started. I was always fascinated by makeup but people knew that I didn't wear it on a daily basis. I thought that people would say something or think it was strange if I suddenly started wearing loads. But honestly, no one seemed to care. So if you want to start wearing makeup but you're not sure when you want to start, I would say just go for it. Why not just spice up your life and try something new? 

And finally I'd just like to mention that I'm never trying to force or convince people that they have to wear makeup. I don't want to seem like a hypocrite either because I always post about it. Some people's hobbies are football, some people's are playing guitar, mine simply is trying out makeup. I post makeup posts because I think it will appeal to other people who like to try makeup, not because I'm trying to convince anyone that they need it. 

Thank you so much for reading this post, I hope it was in someway useful if you are thinking about starting to wear makeup. The song of the day (as chosen by Erin) is Lonely People by Orla Gartland. Please check out Erin's post about this topic and her blog if you haven't already. She writes so beautifully and all her posts are honestly so interesting. Please feel free to leave any tips of your own in the comments, I'd love to hear your thoughts? xxx

Tuesday 23 June 2015

My Confessions

Hey guys, I thought it was time to embarrass myself on the internet again, because I see know way in which this could come back to haunt me in the future. I decided to reveal some of my deepest, darkest secrets through this confession video:

I hope you enjoy laughing at my cringyness

Okay, so I know these confessions aren't exactly a huge deal, but trust me, it was pretty embarrassing owning up to these things. I hope you got some sort of entertainment from it. I'd like to apologize in advance for looking like some sort of zombie in the video, I was pretty shattered from a long week at sixth form at that point. I'm craving a Summer holiday so bad!

Thanks for watching! The song of the day is We All Want The Same Thing by Rixton because it features as the advert in part of the video. Let me know what you thought of my confessions and if you have anything you'd like to confess to in the comments! 

Thursday 11 June 2015

Let's Talk About Mental Health

So today's post is going to be a little different because it's a bit more serious than usual. Today I will be talking about an issue that I feel very passionate about which is (yep you guessed it) mental health. There are many different mental health issues including: anxiety, ADHD, depression, bi-polar disorder, eating disorders, OCD, insomnia and schizophrenia. I won't have time to cover them all today, because there is just so much to say about all of them, so I'm starting off with a general post to raise awareness. I'd like to encourage as many people as possible to talk about this topic and stop the negative stigma that seems to be attached. 


I've been wanting to do this post for some time, but I didn't want to rush it, so that I could to do it justice. I thought it would be best to research and educate myself before I started spreading false information. I was originally inspired to do this post after watching Jack Harries's video "Lets Talk About Mental Health". It's a really good video that summarizes the issue and explains what can be done to help. Another reason that I wanted to do this post is because I'm becoming increasingly aware that mental illnesses are a problem, but I realised that there are some people out there who are not.


Here's the video. I really recommend watching it if you haven't already. 


The first issue I want to address is the negative stigma that is attached. Unfortunately some people become scared and wish to avoid a person with a mental health condition. This really isn't necessary as people, just like with a physical illness, are nothing to avoid and do need to be helped. In Jack's video he used the saying "When someone breaks their arm, everyone runs over to sign the cast. When a person has been diagnosed with a mental disorder, everyone runs the other way". Its upsetting how true that saying is, and I think the best way to stop that happening is to educate people on how to support each other.

Another point I want to raise is that it is real. As silly as it sounds, some people don't realise that mental illnesses are just as real as physical illnesses. Thousands of people have been diagnosed and it would be a weird coincidence if they were all "making it up for attention" or another reason. It also hasn't seemed to click for some people that more than one person at a time can be diagnosed. Yes, just like a cold or a broken bone, more than one person can have one. Shocking! Therefore, people aren't just making it up because other people have it and it's "cool". 

Here are a few statistics about mental health. If you are feeling alone and like you're the only person feeling like this, it should reassure you that you're not. If you still think that it isn't an issue and doesn't effect you, it should also show you that it is:
  • 1 out of 4 people experience a mental health problem in a given year. I don't know about you, but I certainly know more than 4 people, which means it is likely to effect me or the people around me.
  • About 10% of children have a mental health problem at any one time. Children have to suffer.
  • Depression effects 1 in 5 older people
  • 9 out of 10 people with mental health problems experience stigma and discrimination.
  • Nearly 3 in 4 young people fear the reaction of friends when they talk about their mental health problems. 
Another point I want to make its that mental health issues have actual causes. Although for most, the exact cause is not known, research shows that many conditions are caused by genetics, the physical structure of the brain, chemical imbalances and environmental factors. This means that no one is at fault, it is not a personal weakness and it is not made up. 

If you or someone you know is affected by a mental health condition, I want you to know that you're not on your own. I hope to write in more detail about one specific charity in a few weeks time, but in the meantime here are a few helplines and resources I have gathered that are specialized in helping:
  • Sane (mental health charity). Phone:  0300 304 7000
  • Mind  (mental health charity). Phone: 0300 123 3393
  • Rethink (mental health charity). Phone: 0300 5000 927
  • Beat (eating disorder charity). Phone: 0845 634 1414
  • OCD Action (support for people with OCD). Phone: 0845 390 6232
  • OCD UK (charity for people with OCD) Phone: 0845 120 3778
  • No Panic (charity offering support for sufferers of panic attacks). Phone: 0844 967 4848 
  • Anxiety UK (charity providing supporting people with anxiety). Phone: 08444 775 774
  • Depression Alliance (support for people with depression) 
  • The Quite Place Project, Thoughts Room. (anonymous venting)  Thank you Vicky Wright for suggesting it!
There is never a reason to suffer in silence and please remember that there are people out there who can and are willing to help. Even though I'm am definitely not an expert at this sort of thing, if you ever feel like you have no one to talk to, I'm here and you can always leave a comment on this blog or contact me through my social media. Please don't hesitate or be scared to get help if you need it. 

Sorry if you got bored half way through that post, but I feel like with this topic its better to write too much than too little. I still feel like mental health is not getting the acknowledgement that it should so therefore I'll write more posts about this topic in the future. I also want to film a video on this topic, but once I have enough confidence because I want to do it justice. The song of the day is How To Save A Life by The Fray. If you guys have any questions, or anything else you'd like to add, feel free to let me know in the comments. 

Sunday 7 June 2015

5 Seconds Of Summer Concert

On Friday the 5th of June I was lucky enough to see 5SOS live. And let me tell it was AMAZING. I probably become more and more obsessed with this band everyday, but do you blame me?


I went into Birmingham with the banter squad (aka two of my friends who are 5SOS fans) at 11am. We decided to get in nice and early to actually spend the day outside our houses. We've all just finished our exams so it was nice not to be cooped up in our rooms revising. We also had a good ol' catch up.

And I'm not gonna lie, the main reason we went in so early was kind of optimistic and embarrassing, but I'm all about being honest on my blog. Ok, prepare for mega cringe...we were hoping to "conveniently" bump into them. We heard rumors that they were hanging around town the day before. Unfortunatley for us (but probably luckily for them) we didn't spot them. They apparently even went to a coffee shop and we spent the whole day in Starbucks, Cafe Nero and Costa and still didn't see them. Lucky, we didn't set our hopes of meeting them too high, because we thought it was pretty unlikely, and just enjoyed the day out regardless. 




The atmosphere inside the concert was absolutely crazy. You could tell you were surrounded by dedicated fangirls. Their support act did a good job at getting the crowd into the spirit of things too. They were called Hey Violet and I'll be honest I'd never heard of them before. But that's probably just because I've been living under a rock for the last few months. 



I still remember seeing the boys as they came on and omg the excitement was too real. A two minute count down came on stage and I thought my eardrums were going to burst with the screaming that filled the arena. And words cannot describe how amazing they looked. I mean like proper drop dead gorgeous. I still can't believe those wonderful human beings were standing right in front of me. 


The set list was perfection too and included my favourite songs of theirs. I was chuffed to pieces when they did their cover of American Idiot that I'm crazy about at the moment. They even tried to cheekily trick us into thinking that She Looks So Perfect was their last song and that they were leaving after that. But we were like "nah nice try we've seen the set list" and knew that there were still more songs to come because they still hadn't done some of their classics. It was still funny of them to do though. 



At the end of the show, Ashton threw his drum sticks into the audience. I found out later that a girl from my dance class was sitting next to the person who caught them which is absolutely crazy. Speaking of crazy, I would definitely have to say that this was one of the craziest concerts I've been to in terms of fans. We had to walk around the arena to get to the car park afterwards, and it took ages because it was so cram-packed with people. Like, it was busier than my school corridors and that's saying something! 


I had such and incredible day in Birmingham which was then topped of by an even better night watching 5 Seconds Of Summer perform. I'm still in such a hyper mood and I'm listening to their songs on repeat. The song of the day is Voodoo Doll by 5 Seconds of Summer (obviously). What do you think of this mad but fantastic band? xxx

Tuesday 2 June 2015

5 Things To Do This Summer- 2015

Wait what? How is it almost Summer already? It's really crazy that I'm doing this post again because I remember doing it this time last year here! This year I really wanted to write a little checklist for myself, to make sure I'm being productive this Summer. Let's take a look at what I want to achieve by the end of the Summer shall we?

Knowing me I'll spend the whole summer in my room 
so the only way I'll see the sun is out the window!

  • New blog and YouTube theme- I am hoping to change my blog theme to make it look a bit more professional. I still want to keep it looking personalised to me, with pastel colours, but I feel like it needs a bit of tiding up. I also want to change my channel banner on my YouTube channel. The bios and descriptions definitely need to sound a bit more enthusiastic and appealing too. 
  • Organise my life more- Yep, more on the topic of organisation. As you can probably tell, this is a skill I'm really lacking at the moment. My room needs a good ol' tidy and I need to make sure I'm fully prepared for year 13 and A2 levels. 
  • Find out what I'm doing in my gap year- It would be pretty good if I had an answer for when people ask me what I'm doing in my gap year wouldn't it? I'm not sure if I'll go to university or not but I am sure that I'll be taking a year out... at least. 
  • Get involved in a charity- This one is probably the one I'm most excited about. I'm not sure how "involved" I'll be able to get but I want to raise awareness as a minimum. I already have a charity in mind, but I'm still going to do a bit of research into what other charities help this cause too. 
  • Rest, rest, rest- This one is pretty damn well deserved (if I do say so myself) and the thought of it is all that's been keeping me going lately. I've made plans to have a Harry Potter marathon with my mum because she's never watched the films. Shocking, I know! I also want to fully catch up with Pretty Little Liars and possibly start Gossip Girl because I've heard it's pretty good. 
This is what people have to tell me whenever I watch Harry Potter


Let me know in the comments what TV shows you'll be watching this Summer. The song of the day is What Time Is It from High School Musical 2. I'm not gonna lie, that song is one of my ultimate jams. What are your plans for this Summer? xxx