Sunday 31 January 2016

January Favourites

I absolutely love favourites posts/videos, so I'm gritting my teeth and attempting to do one myself. January has been a bit of a slow month for me, with going back to university and the like, so my favourites probably aren't particularly interesting, but I'll do my best.


Diary
My diary has been without a doubt, my favourite thing this month. In 2015, I decided to move out of a day-per-page diary and instead use a blank journal, but I really missed the structure of having a set place to scribble stuff down everyday, so I've gone back to a day-per-page one for 2016. It's my saving grace, it really is. As I've mentioned in previous posts, it keeps me from going insane on a daily basis!

Microsoft Surface Tablet
This was a surprise present for my 20th birthday, and I love it so much. I've always considered myself a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to taking notes in lectures; to this day I always use a pen and paper, but I also bring my tablet with me as it makes seeing the lecture slides so much easier. I can take notes from them at my own pace without worrying about the lecturer changing the slide, and it saves me so much money in printing (I used to print the lecture slides out and annotate on them).

Meditation/Yoga
This is a bit of an odd once, since meditation and yoga isn't an 'item' technically, but I find it absolutely invaluable for helping to keep my emotions in order. I'm a massive worrier and stress about all the little things that happen in day to day life, so practising yoga and meditation really helps me to deal with this, and keep my focus on the 'big picture' instead of all the mundane things.

Natural Collection Face Powder
Again, a bit of a random one, but I bought this in December on a bit of a whim, since the store didn't have my regular face powder. I was pleasantly surprised - it's really good! Really easy to apply, smooth on the skin and doesn't flake over my small patches of dry skin, which is obviously brilliant. Having used it for about a month now, I actually prefer it to the powder I was using before, and it's cheaper, which is always an added bonus!

Naked 2 Palette
I know I've mentioned this in a blog post already, but I am obsessed with this. I've used it everyday this month, and I'm loving it.

What have you been loving this month?

Monday 18 January 2016

What I Got For Christmas | 2015

Before we start, a bit of a disclaimer:

I am in NO WAY trying to brag, show off, gloat, or otherwise revel in the things I received for Christmas. I'm just quite nosey and I love looking at what other people got for Christmas, so I thought I'd do a similar post myself.

Equally, I won't go through everything I received for Christmas, instead I'll just show a couple of the 'main' things that I received. Everything else is pretty standard: chocolate, odd bits of makeup, clothes, trinkets, etc. Obviously I'm not turning my nose up at these things in any way - I'm incredibly grateful for everything I received this year, I'm just limiting this post to a couple of items, otherwise it would be quite long, especially with pictures included!

Okay, with that out of the way, let's continue.

















Oh my goodness. I'm in love. I'm so excited about these. They were on my list, so I hoped that I would get them, but of course you never know. The Naked 3 palette looks a bit battered because it's actually my Christmas present from last year, but the Naked 2 and the Naked Smoky I received this year. They are BEAUTIFUL. I've been using the Naked 2 palette everyday since, and I love it! Normally I would never let anyone spend this much money on something so-not-important like makeup, but I really love them, I wear them everyday, and these are the only expensive makeup items I own, so I don't feel too guilty.


This was a completely unexpected present from my younger sister, who is obsessed with hair products. If I'm being honest, I think she secretly wanted these for herself, so they must be good! I don't know much about hair products, but I used these for the first time the other day, and I really like them. They smell really good and my hair was so soft after. The hair treatment that you apply when you get out of the shower is particularly amazing - I have pretty bad split ends, but after I used this product, the ends of my hair were softened and it just looked so much healthier.

Presents and material things aside, I really love Christmas because I spend loads of time with my family. This year, we had a really big family Christmas, and it was so nice to have just a couple days focused purely on that, instead of uni work and other life commitments.

What did you get for Christmas this year, and how did you celebrate it?

Sunday 3 January 2016

New Year's Resolutions

Every year, we make new year resolutions. Promises to ourselves to be better in some way, or do something nice for someone else. Do we stick to them? Absolutely not. But still, it's nice to try and convince ourselves that we will.

1) Stop biting my nails
This has been one of my resolutions every year since I was about eight. And now, twelve years later, maybe I'll actually manage it! Twelfth times the charm?

2) Change computer/phone wallpaper every month
This sounds silly, but I tend to keep my phone and computer wallpapers the same for months at a time, so it'll be nice to mix things up.

3) Post on Facebook more
I'm not a massive Facebook person, but it is a good way of documenting what happens in a year other than writing it down. I'm a massive fan of the traditional way, don't get me wrong, I've kept a diary since 2008, but Facebook offers something a little bit different, which is good for a more visual record.

4) Take more pictures
This kind of links with number three, but I hardly ever take pictures. I love looking at pictures and they're an amazing way to remember memories, so I'm determined to take more this year.

5) Write gratitudes everyday
This has been so important to me lately - it's really important to remember and appreciate all the small things that happen on a day-to-day basis that make you happy, no matter how small or insignificant they seem.

What are your resolutions for 2016?