SUMMER STAPLES

So as the Summer comes to and end, the nights draws in and the days until I have to go back to school are in single figures, I thought it would be fun to do a blog post on what my Summer Staples have been this Summer in terms of what products I have been using. So here we go!

HAIR STYLING

VO5 Extreme Style [mattPaste]

So this product is a YEAR ROUND staple for me. It works great for so many different styles, its the wax that I used during every guys 'Justin Bieber' long hair stage, and I still use it now. Every time that I have ventured out on a new wax, I have always reverted back to this one! For how long it lasts its quite cheap, at £4.07 at BOOTS.

VO5 Extreme Style [mattDefinitionSpray]

Because I am such a big fan of the VO5 Extreme Style range, I thought to venture out in this product. Its a cross between wax and hairspray. And I have to say that this product disappoints me. Firstly the product its self, its doesn't do what it says on the bottle, it states "Non-Shiny" and for me it does give my hair a slight shine, and if you use a little to much your hair ends up looking like it needs to be washed again. Another disappointment is the bottle itself. Firstly the spray pump doesn't give a proper 'spray' because the pump gets clogged up with the product and has to be cleaned out quite often, and when your in a rush to get ready this can be quite annoying. Also I have noticed that with the product decreasing inside the bottle, the walls off the bottle have began to 'bow in' as if its being pulled in. I will continue using this product until in runs out, but will not repurchase!! It was a decent price at £4.99 from BOOTS, but will not be repurchased.

Schwarzkopf got2b Glued

This is product is a PERMANENT STAPLE. It is the best hairspray I have come across and has a super hold. It has a great hold and doesn't give your hair that 'crisp' feeling like other hairspray's do. Also unlike other hairspray, this one smells GREAT!! And even with the sturdy hold, its super easy to wash out, no hassle at all!! A definite recommendation!! Its a good price, £4.07 at BOOTS, but currently on promotion for £2.71.

SKIN CARE

SBC Propolis Gel

This product is a skin care favourite. I'm currently using it on my face to try and combat my spots and blemishes, but can be used on any part of your skin. Its great for heeling skin, in regards to bruising and/or scarring. It works wonders!! Its a great product to have and helps in so many ways!! I must admit that this is a pricey product, starting at £36.00 for 125ml and going up to £99.00 for 500ml, but can be obtained much cheaper on the QVC shopping channel for £18.50 for the 250ml.  

DECLEOR AROMA SOLUTIONS

This product was given to me to help my skin. I have quite a lot of spots, and when I get a spot of any sort, it leaves behind a little scars on my face that takes months ans months to disappear! And this product is supposed to help. I have seen results since using this product, but it still hasn't solved my problem completely. It has defiantly improved these 'scars' but they are still there, and new spots come up all the time, therefore new scars. Again this is a product in the higher price bracket, selling at £36.00 from DECLEOR, or 2 bottles for £39.00 over on QVC.

Simple Clear Skin Oil Balancing Moisturiser

After reading a post by Daydream in Blue. I came to realise that a moisturiser in a skincare routine is actually quite important. I have tried many different moisturisers but have been disappointed with them as my skin becomes greasy after I have applied. So I came across this oil balancing moisturiser by Simple, and my skin has improved in looks and feel. Now this product is totally affordable for every budget, at £4.27 over at BOOTS.

GARNIER Pre 3in1 Wash + Scrub + Mask

I LOVE this face wash!!! Its great that you get 3 things, a face wash for everyday cleaning of your face, a scrub to get rid of blackheads and dead skin, and a mask which is great at smoothing the skin and drying up any spots you have. It changes on these three things depending on what you do with it. This product was a real impulse buy, the ingredients contain Benzyl Salicytate (Sounds scary I know) but this ingredient is a blend of two ingeriants that are great for getting rid of spots. And the face thats its 3 products in one sealed the deal! A great buy!! Its a good price, £3.99 at BOOTS.

OTHERS

DIOR HOMME SPORT 2008 Eau De Toilette

THIS is my all time favourite fragrance. It consists of top notes of Grapefruit, Bergamot, Lemon and Elemi Resin, middle notes of Vetiver, Cedar and Ginger, and bottom notes Sandalwood, Rosemary and Lavender. I am very fussy and very picky when it comes to fragrances! And I cant praise this one enough. Its smells so good, so fresh and so citrusy. I very often receive complements when wearing this fragrance. Unfortunately to the utmost sadness, in 2012 Dior reformulated this fragrance and it is not the same. I have half a bottle left of mine and will be hunting online when it all runs out. It was a pricey fragrance, the bottle I have is the 100ml and I purchased it around £60 from the Dior counter at John Lewis. I rushed to buy the big bottle when I heard it had been reformulated, hoping it will last forever.

 BURT'S BEES Honey Lip Balm

Now this lip balm is awesome! It makes your lips feel really good, combats chapped lips amazingly and smells amazing!! I love this!! The tube that I own has lasted my around a year now, and I still have around 1/3 of the tube remaining, even though I use this many times on a daily basis. My chapped lips are gone since I've been using this product! Perfect purchase. This retails at £3.69 and comes in an array of different flavours. 

I surprisingly really enjoyed writing this blog. If anyone actually reads this and has any thoughts or opinions on these products, or have any product recommendations, please feel free to leave a comment! Thanks:)

LIFE EVENT - GCSE RESULTS

So last week (Thursday 22nd of August, 2013) was the long awaited day that I and many many others across the country received their GSCE results. In the UK, students of Year 11 (15-16 years of age) and sometimes Year 10 (14-15 year of age (depending on the school) take part in multiple examinations to determine the end grade they get for each GSCE course that they done over the last two years. Some people had more subjects than others and this varies in how many GCSE's each individual has. (Filling you in just in case someone was unsure).

So me personally have a total of 10 GCSE'S, 3 Level 2 BTEC's and 1 Level 2 NCFE. At my school there were 9 compulsory GCSE subjects, 2 compulsory BTEC subjects, and then students had a choice of 4 extra subjects from a wide range, which included GCSE's, BTEC's and NCFE's. I'm not going to post here what I had in EVERY EXAM, that would be existing, but my combined GCSE exam grades and GCSE course work determined what final GCSE grade I achieve.

These are the grades that I personally achieved;

GSCE Design & Technology - A*

GSCE Art & Design - A

GSCE English Literature - A

GSCE Information Technology - A

GSCE English Language - B

GSCE Welsh Literature - B

GSCE Religious Studies - B

GSCE Mathematics - C

GSCE Science (A)- C

GSCE Additional Science - C

GSCE Welsh Language - C

BTEC Business Studies - DISTINCTION* (Equivalence to 2 A*'s)

BTEC Home Cooking Skills - PASS (Equivalence to a C)

BTEC Money & Finance Skills - PASS

NCFE Animation - 18 Points (I just know that I passed)

I am SUPER HAPPY with my results, I didn't fail A SINGLE SUBJECT!!! Hard work really does pay off, I am going to blow my own trumpet but I studied so hard for these exams and really put all of my strength, energy and effort into them, and I am super happy with the outcome!! :D

WEEKEND BREAK - WEST BAY

So every year for the last 4 years or so I have gone on a little family camping break. This year me and my Dad travelled for a long weekend to join my Uncle, Auntie and Cousin on their two week camping trip down on the South Coast of England. To be more precise West Bay, Bridport. Where we stayed was actually the area in where they filmed the popular murder mystery TV series on the BBC earlier this year, Broadchurch.

On our tag along for a 4 day / 3 night break me and my Dad shared a 4 (2) man tent on the Parkdean, West Bay site. The park was pretty basic considering there's a Parkdean holiday site down in a local beach town just down the road to me with so much more, and better facilities. But the West Bay area its self was BEAUTIFUL! It was all you could ask for for a small, quaint, sea-side village. 

There was a harbour full of fishing boats and privately owned boats, among others. There were quaint little stalls all along the harbour selling fish and chips, ice-creams, cream-tea's, you name it! The food from these stalls was soooo good and soooo affordable, such great value for money! Along with the old-timey pubs and quaint sea-sidey establishments, there were super modern apartments right on the sea-front with a beautiful, clean, long seafront walk way/road. The mix of old traditional and modern was so great to see.

We were busy off doing activities pretty much everyday. From going into  town to eat at this GORGEOUS Indian restaurant (it was sooo good!!!) to having a little adventure on a speed boat, zooming across the blue ocean of the Jurassic Coast of the South. And that 15 minute speedboat ride was possibly the highlight of the whole holiday, highly recommendable!! The surrounding areas had gorgeous walks/hikes with amazing views looking across the ocean from the high cliff tops, I could of walked for miles!

It was nice to get away for a weekend, just have a little relax with the part of my family that I only truly spend time with on these camping trips. It was nice to do new things, relax, talk, debate, and most of all have fun now and again. :)

I GOT A JOB!!!

So long ago back in April I had handed in an application form at a department kind of store down the road from me called OUTFIT. Its a store that sells a variety of brands like Dorothy Perkins, Miss Selfridge, Topshop, Topman and more under one roof!! (Just remember that I said April now). 

Well anyway a few weeks ago in mid July I had a phone call from the same store asking me if I was still interested in a job and invited me down for an interview! (At this point I was already bouncing off of the walls as I have NEVER been invited to an INTERVIEW before, regardless of how many countless CV's (application forms) I have given out this year.) So the interview came... And I don't think I have felt that kind of nervous before. I was totally bricking it, I have no idea why I was no nervous about it, its all that I could think about for 2 full days, I couldn't sleep well and I was even a little ill, so yeah, it wasn't the best couple of days... But anyway the interview came, I thought it went really good and I came out of there in a really positive mood thinking of how well that actually went for my first ever interview, and slapping myself for worrying so much about it! 

So a couple of days past, and then a week pasted, and I had pretty much given up on the hope that I had got the job and pushed into the back of mind and thought of it as a good experience. So I went away for a weekend (future blog post coming very soon) and didn't think about it much. 

Last night me and my friends had a little sleepover... (SIDE-NOTE, IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE KATY PERRY MOVIE, YOU ARE REALLY MISSING OUT!!!!) So this morning I woke up to my phone vibrating, after waking up thinking "what's that noise?" then realising it was my phone, I picked it up and just stared at it as if I had no idea what it was (NOT THE BEST MORNING PERSON RIGHT HERE...) So after I had come around I realised it was OUTFIT calling me, I rang them back, and to my utmost surprise they offered me a job!! I just bursed into happiness and was pretty speechless really thinking of how much an achievement this was, THIS IS MY FIRST ACTUAL JOB HERE!!

I'm going to be placed on the Dorothy Perkins department on the shop floor dealing with customers, fitting mannequins, making the department look the best as it can be and more! I am so exited!! :D I start on the 31st of this month (August) with an induction and then will work one evening a week and a Saturday, a total of an 8 hour contract!! 

I am soooo happy!! There are also 2 other people that I know who also have got a job there, so it should be fun!! AHHHHHH!!!! :D

GOODBYE JULY

This month has been SUPER BUSY for me, and as July is now over and we welcome the last month of Summer in my books, August. I thought I would put in summary and pictures what my month has consisted of. Inspired by Louise's (Sprinkle Of Glitter) blog post, (Here). 

Making the most of the weeks of heat waves we had here in the UK, I have been to countless very enjoyed BBQ's, two of which were in celebration of birthdays. One was of my lovely niece, Chloe's 15th birthday right at the start of July. And the other was my best friend Paige's older brothers 21'st week last Sunday.

I have travelled to the beach twice, once with family, once with friends. The trip with my friends was, unprepared to say the least. We walked around 30 mins to the beach we wanted to go to, realised that we had brought a very limited amount of food and drink. And for some reason I was one of the fools that volunteered to walk back into town to get it. We were gone for about 2 to 3 HOURS I would say... I did enjoy these trips to the beach, but after these two trips, I think I am loosing my love for the beach. The sand sticking to every inch of your body, the limited room on the beach its self and the screaming children. The park (not the children's play area part) sounds much more appealing to my right now.

A couple of weeks ago, me and a large group of friends decided to get together, and go outside into the wilderness and camp out for the night. It was, and experience. We were all very unprepared and didn't really know what we were doing. Me and my two best friends Kate & Paige, not getting much sleep, at 5am decided to pack up our tents and spend the next 3 hours getting to Tesco and eating food in the Cafe before it even opened. Next time I WILL be more prepared, I hope...

With the odd few days here and there, I have also been working as a labourer for my Dad when his regular labourer wasn't available, fitting UPVC fittings for the company that he works for... All I can say is that it gets me up out and off of the sofa and get a little exercise and a little money.

And we can't forget the countless lay-ins until 12pm can we?! 

From hikes up the mountain with my friends, to walks to the gym with my niece, to walks carrying glass up staircases, July has been an enjoyable and eventful busy month!! :)

P.S. Every single photograph in this blog was taken and edited by me. I am very passionate about photography. Some of these photos where not in fact taken in the month of July, perhaps May or June, but I thought they would look great in this blog past, and its a chance for me to share them! :) HERE is my photography Instagram if you would like to check that out!! :)