Pick-me-up Origins purchases

Not written anything in a bit due to being majorly stressed about my exams :(. However my last one is on Friday yaaaay! I had one yesterday which was a research methods exams connected to my psychology and was all to do with statistics which is a completely yucky subject. Anybody out there having to do a statistics module and can feel my pain? Also as I mentioned last time I was running late for my exam due to the damn buses and guess what it happened again. This time I did get on the right bus though! It just got held up by a LOT of traffic. So I only arrived with 1 min to spare which isn't ideal when you have an important exam to sit! Next time I shall be leaving a day in advance to make sure I arrive in time haha. 

Anyways on a brighter note because I was feeling down I decided make a few purchases. I had been hearing a lot about the make Origins recently and how good their products where and so I decided to give them a go. For those of you who aren't acquainted with Origins they are a natural skin care company who use renewable plants, earth and sea substances. I decided to try three of their products to start off with. 

First is their GinZing Energy-boosting moisturiser. Now this moisturiser smells amazing! It smells wonderfully of oranges, I can't get enough of it. The consistency is a gel like cream and feels very light weight when applied. It sinks into the skin quickly and doesn't leave a slimy finish that I find some moisturisers do. Another plus is that it doesn't contain oil which I like as I have found my t-zone has stayed more shine free when I use it. Though it doesn't contain oil I find that it still manages to do its job and leaves my skin feeling well and truly nourished. 

The second product I purchased is their GinZing Refreshing eye cream to brighten and depuff. This one sadly does not have the same amazing orange smell, just smells like an ordinary cream really. The consistency of the eye cream is definitely more like your usual creamy consistency and there is a slight pinky shimmery colour to it which I wasn't expecting when I opened it. I do however really like it, the colouring of the product definitely helps to hide those dark circles and brighten your under eye. I also found the product to have a great cooling effect when applied which made my eyes feel more awake and open. 

The last thing was rather a surprise! See I had ordered the GinZing refreshing scrub cleanser but instead i received the Ginger Souffle which is a Whipped body cream. Now I was going to send it back because I obviously hadn't ordered this however because there was no sealing on the package I decided to have a sneaky look inside the tub and omg it smelt soooo good. That was me sold really haha. So I have decided to keep it and shall buy the face scrub another time. I have yet to try this but shall let you know how it is when I do :). 

So now I better leave and get back to my studying until Friday when I shall be free! 

 If anyone wants to ask any questions about any of these products please feel free to comment below! Would love to help :). 

x

p.s if you click on the bold and underlined part of the product name it will take you to the product page on the Origins website! Also sorry for the crappy photos, but wanted to try a show you them. 

First exam gone!

Today I had my first exam! It was a psychology exam which is my degree subject. The day didn't get off the the best start due to me and my friend getting on the bus that goes round the long way. This resulted in me and a few others nearly being late for the exam. 

I'm the kind of person that likes to get places in good time, especially for an exam just so I can stand outside, gather my thoughts and calm my nerves. I couldn't do this though because by the time I arrived everyone was entering the exam hall. So that messed up my routine a little. 

My exam was multiple choice which. Everyone always goes 'aw you are so lucky having a multiple choice exam', 'it must be not that difficult'. I however don't find it that much easier than a normal written exam. Like fair enough there a different options for the answer but if you don't know the answer then it's still not much more help. When I don't know the answer to a question and I tend to get stressed by all the possible answers. Though I guess if I didn't know the answer and it was just a normal written exam then I wouldn't have an answer to put haha. 

I think the exam went ok though, so hopefully all is good! I only have two more exams, one next Tuesday and Friday and then i'm freeee :). Anyone else been doing exams?

Just a nice wee reminder of my Christmas holiday to get me through these exams

byeee 

x

Apps Apps Apps

I am most definitely in the category of one of the most distracted people when it comes to revising. Forever picking up my phone and browsing all the many social media sights. Basically doing anything that isn't revising! 

I have found a cool little app in the apple app store for my phone that may just be able to turn me into the worlds best reviser. Well lets face it probably not the best but much better than my current state. The app is called Forest and basically for a chunk of time that you decide to study for you grow a tree. For example if you choose say half an hour a count down will start and your tree will start to grow. However if you leave the app then your tree will die. It's all very sad. So the more you stay focused the more trees you will grow and the more lush your forest will be. At the end of the time period if you have successfully grown your tree you will receive some kind of coins and then you can unlock different types of trees. Very cute. 

Being a sucker for gimmicky little apps, I love this. It gives me a motivation for studying (my exams seem to not do this...) and stops me from fiddling around on my phone all the time. Has anyone else used this app? 

Time to go grow some more trees! 

x

Feeling meh

You know when all your emotions just seem to all pile up and all of a sudden you just feel really weighed down by them? Perhaps its just me though. Well recently I have started to feel this way, for a few different reasons and perhaps some unknown as well. 

Friendships have been getting me down recently. Out of my close knit friends I was the only one to go straight to university after high school. They were then all left at home working for the year. During this time I didn't get to see much of them which was understandable as home isn't very close to my university. It made me a bit sad at times as I felt I was missing out on so much with them however when summer came we all slotted back into our usual group and everything was great. This year and specifically this semester though I have been feeling the whole situation a lot more. It's made me sad thinking that we hardly see each other especially as we only live half and hour away now. In my opinion I feel like I have made more of an effort to keep in touch, though I know that I have not been great at all either. I just wish that we could all be as close as we used to be, we had so many great times. Perhaps though we were meant to drift apart a little and find some more people to be friends with. Apparently some friendships come and go. I just find it all a bit sad. 

Last August saw the very sad passing of my Grandpa which was very hard for the family and still is. My Grandpa did a lot for me, some things that when I was younger I probably didn't appreciate as much as I do now. Now I can see how he helped me with things I wanted to achieve and I appreciate  everything so much. With a death though there is always a lot to sort out. The ongoing thing at the moment is sorting out all of my grandpas and my grannies things from the house. Everyone is of course aloud things of my grandparents and it's sorting out who is getting what that is that prolonged task at the moment. I keep getting asked what I would like and I never have an answer. It's hard. I feel like everyone is getting too caught up in all the 'who is aloud what' and 'how many things' type thing. I'm not even really interested anymore. I can't get into it at all because something about it just feels so wrong. Even though it does have to be done...It's probably because I still can't quite believe he is gone. 

Exams are another stress at the moment. I just keep worrying too much about them that studying then becomes this big impossible task. I have always been a really crap studier. There has never been a method to my studying which is probably part of the problem. I just want some really good grades and I want to be able to make my parents proud with them. I myself want to be proud of them. It seems so impossible though. I've not had drastically bad results in the past but they have never been as good as I wanted. Whenever I feel like the exam went well I never do well. I think I just need to stop worrying so much and get down to it. You can only try your best!

Well i'm not sure whether to post this or not. I don't know if  i'm quite confident enough to put my emotions out there to the world yet. I haven't even properly managed to explain my feelings. That's part of my problem, I find it hard to explain how I am feeling.

Anyways here we are.

x

Missguided haul :)

Yaaay my Missguided order arrived today! Had some birthday money left over and hadn't bought anything in a while, so decided to have a splurge. I started by looking through the sale section, not really expecting to see much, oh how wrong I was! Was a little disappointed when my package arrived though and a few things didn't fit. However I was happy with the items that did fit. I generally really like Missguided and they are probably my most used online shop. Personally I have never had any problems with quality and everything arrives pretty quickly.

So here are all the things that I have decided to keep from what I got. 

This is a mint green midi skirt in a crepe material

This is just a plain grey dress which comes in  a little tighter just under the bust 

This is a playsuit, it looks pretty baggy here but when on it is very fitted

Was wearing this one today, its a long t-shirt and dress combo

This is a pale pink faux leather back pack

Side view

Love all these things a bought, getting ready for summer, fingers crossed the weather is good so I get the chance to wear these lots! 

x

What I did today

(First of all this was meant to have been put up last night, ran out of time though so here it is now!)

I've had a really bad cough recently and so have had trouble sleeping for a while now. So today I slept in and didn't get up to just before 11am! To be honest my day wasn't that exciting and I didn't really do much haha. 

I mainly just revised, though perhaps not that successfully...I find it so difficult to revise, I get distracted and bored waaaaay to easily. Anybody else find this happens to them? I also keep thinking about the exams and get freaked out that I don't know anything and that I will fail. This is obviously not the way to be thinking and certainly doesn't help my revision. If people have any good tips on studying I would love to hear them!

One nice thing I did do today was baking! I making some amaaaazing cookies, so yummy. The recipe I used was the triple chocolate cookie recipe from the blogger Tanya Burr's book 'Love, Tanya'. Won't tell you the recipe because don't want to give away whats in her book, but the recipe is really good. Has anybody else made this recipe? How did they turn out?

This photo does not do them justice!

Anyways that was my not so exciting day today! Hope everyone has had a good day :). 

x

Any help?

Hey there peoples :)

Just a quick wee evening note to ask a wee favour! 

Seeing as I am very new to blogging and very new to actually even using the website, I was wondering whether anybody out there would be able to spare a few seconds to give some advice? 

It doesn't have to be in depth at all, just maybe some pointers on how I can make my blog look better, as in how would I go about doing this? Maybe if I should have anything else on my blog?

Shall try put this simpler haha. How would I go about creating a more unique blog design? Keep looking at other blogs and seeing how nice they look and think to myself would be nice if mine was nicer! Not that it bothers me that much as I am still getting to grips with it all. It would be nice though to make something personal rather than using one of the websites own designs :). 

Any other general blogging advice is welcome, help a newbie out! 

Thanks muchly! 

x

Fun in the sun!

So at the moment I am at home revising for my university exams! Teaching for me finished last Tuesday so its been great being home for a bit, especially as it is sunny :). The good thing also is that my boyfriend was up for a bit as well and so I got to spend some time with him as well. 

The other day we decided to make the most of the lovely weather and take a trip down to the lovely beaches near me. Hate to brag but we do have some amazing beaches down where we live! We bought some food for a picnic and headed out in the car. I loved the drive down their, it's all single track roads and the scenery is so nice. We did have to stop a few times for some cheeky photo snapping, felt a bit like a couple of tourists at times haha. 

This photo is looking out at the Isle of Jura :) 

Eventually however we did arrive at the beach and it was so nice :). Also because it was day where most children were in school and adults at work it meant that we had the whole beach to our self's! Was sooo peaceful.

Then another day my sister, mum, boyfriend and I helped my dad in taking his sailing yacht through the canal that I live beside. Was again a really nice day, which was unusual as normally when we do this job the weather is horrible! So my boyfriend and I helped by opening and closing the lock-gates and were rewarded by pizzas made on the boat. What a great bribe dad haha! After having got to the other end of the canal and out into the sea, we went for a short sail. Sailing is something I really like and so it's great when there is an opportunity to do so. I am also really lucky to have the opportunity to do this as I know people who have never been sailing, which always seems crazy to me!

I have had such a good time over the past week, the weather playing a big part as I wouldn't have been able to do anything of these things in crap weather. Now though I suppose I have to get down to some studying and ignore the lovely weather if I want to pass these exams.. I am groaning as I write this. 

I would definitely recommend visiting the west coast of Scotland at some point in your life, if you have not done so or to come again if you have! It's just a beautiful part of the country and you will be missing out if you stay away! If anybody has been before, where have you visited? 

x

New beauty purchases

Though this blog not a beauty blog and though I am not an expert in beauty, it is still something that I like a lot and so have decided to tell you about my recent beauty purchases. 

I go through stages where I buy loads of clothes and then generally I switch to makeup and other beauty products. These stages both have one thing in common, I always end up spending more money than I should... 

This time round instead of going to the shops I went online and browsed through reviews and talked to friends and then started shopping on the Debenhams website. I chose Debenhams basically because I have one of their beauty point cards and also due to the fact that they have loads of different companies and so you can get everything you want in one place. 

So the first of my purchases was the Urban Decay 'all nighter makeup setting spray'. It says on the bottle that is is oil free and paraben free. Now because I have never tried this before got the smaller travel size which is 30ml and this was £9.00. This product was recommended to me buy a friend after I asked her about it when seeing her using it. Before this I was being rather bad and using the classic hairspray to try and make my makeup last longer. This is obviously not good for your skin at all! I love this setting spray though and I see a real difference when I use it, especially on nights out when I really want my makeup to stay. One time I sprayed before I realised that I had a dot of mascara under my eye. I tried to just wipe it off quickly with my finger as I was in a hurry (this would normally work) however this time time it didn't! I would totally recommend this product :). 

Another item from Urban Decay was the 'b6 vitamin infused complexion prep spray'. Also on the bottle it says that it is redness reducing, pore minimising and oil absorbing. I again bought the 30ml and this was £10.00. This is used after washing the face and before moisturising, so like a toner. I really liked this product and definitely think that it reduces redness. For me I also think that it is oil absorbing as I have medium-oily skin and can sometimes find that as the day goes on my skin gets a little oily. Since I have started using this product however this has been reduced and I mostly have an oily shine free face.

The next product is from MAC cosmetics and is their Bronzing Powder. I purchased this in 'refined golden' which was £21.00. Before this my favorite bronzer was the Benefit 'Hoola', however now I would say that this is. It isn't too dark which is what I like in a bronzer and is also has nice shimmery bits through it giving you a nice glow. I use this for mainly just bronzing up my cheeks a bit but also for contouring in some places. The powder comes off really easily on my brush though I have read that some people have had problems with that, so perhaps something you would want to bear in mind if you were going to buy this. I however have had no problems, it's been great.

My last purchase was also from MAC and was their 'Complete comfort creme' at £25.00. Now I really love this moisturiser! I often find that moisturisers I buy feel way to thick on my skin and I just have an icky feeling that they are clogging my skin up. This 'Complete comfort creme' is really lightweight and my skin absorbs it so well. I don't feel like you need to use a lot of this product which is great as it will last a lot longer, which I always like! After using this though my face is soooo soft and I can't help but to stroke my face, especially on a day like today when I'm not wearing makeup. Been stroking all day haha. Another good thing is that it doesn't make my face oily and so also helps in keeping my face shine free throughout the day. 

Hope you all liked and maybe found even a little bit of help here! 

Thanks for reading :) 

x

Student probs

So being a student I feel like I should be saving my money. This however never goes well for me. I always seem to be spending money. Just unnecessary amounts. I will go food shopping with my flatmate and always without fail I will buy more and spend more than her. Going round the shop I just pick everything off the shelves that I feel like eating in that moment. Probably not the best thing to base your weekly food shop on. Doesn't help that we always seem to go when I am hungry and so my brain isn't being too logical...

I also seem to have a lack of self control when it comes to clothes shopping. I mean when I enter Topshop I have good intentions of 'just having a look' but end up coming out with a bag full and a dent in the bank. The thing is I try to feel guilty but can't quite manage it, why should I anyway?

Being a student has ruined me I feel. I used to be a real saver before heading off to uni. Now I don't think that much when it comes to parting with my money. Probably because living in the countryside at home there were no clothes shops and shopping on the internet was a pain. Therefore coming to uni was like entering a new world, one with everything you could want at your fingertips. I blame my parents for not taking me to roam the shops more often as now I am a shopping monster.

To conclude never think that when you go to uni you are going to be oh so careful with your money. It never happens. You get there and almost instantly forget the carefully thought out financial plans. Students never have money to spend yet they spend it anyway.

We like to have a lot of fun. All the time.  

x

Easter Weekend

Hi everyone!

So being at uni I don't get to come home that often due to being so busy and also just due to the cost of traveling back home. However seeing as it was Easter weekend I made a special effort to make the long journey back home. I say long but it is only just around 3 and a half hours and I know some people have a lot longer of a journey so i can't complain too much (still do though). I was super excited to being coming home anyway because I live in such a beautiful part of Scotland (west coast) and so couldn't wait to be back there with my family again! Also because it was Easter I was hoping that perhaps there was something chocolaty waiting for me haha.

I do love Easter just because it is such a family time and in my family we always do something nice together, which I appreciate even more now that I live away from home most of the time. Living on the west coast of Scotland we are blessed with so many amazing beaches which I miss when I am away at Uni due to Stirling being right in the middle of the country. What better way to spend Easter then than going to one of these lovely beaches!

                            (forgot a normal camera as well as the polaroid, uploaded these anyway)

Just being on the beach and breathing in the fresh air makes me feel a whole lot better. So we (Mum, Dad, Sister, 2 dogs and I) took a wander along this deserted beach just messing around in our usual fashion which was really nice. Especially as we had the whole beach to our self's.  After spending a while on the beach we hopped back in the car and started on our way home only to then stop off for some lunch in a really nice cafe. I had a mountain of chilli nachos which were amazing and soooo filling.

This weekend has been one of the best in a while just because I am home with my family. Its great how even a short trip home can make you feel so much better and relaxed. Only one disappointment is that we never rolled eggs this Easter! This was purely down to being so unorganised and not having any eggs in the house... However in the end it didn't really matter and I had such a nice Easter Sunday.

Byees x