So, It's Been A While.......

The last couple of months have been......strange, I don't really know how else to describe it. So I'll explain what I've been up to since my last post.

Summer Arrived.

I've never really been a summer loving type of girl, The sun is suppose to make you happy and to motivate you but in all honesty it doesn't have that effect on me. I hate the summer, mainly because it means stripping down into shorts and vests and well we all know I don't have the perfect body and I really admire those who do have the confidence to wear what they want and not care, but me, I hate showing skin, I'm much happier in a baggy jumper and thick leggings, I just feel more comfortable and it's not even because I'm worried about what people think, I couldn't care less, it's me, even in my own home I refuse to wear shorts or a vest (unless I have a cardigan over the top) I feel bare and humiliated by myself. I also hate summer because of the heat, now of course my clothing choices don't help but I'm one of those rare people who can't stand being hot and sweaty, I literally melt in the sun, after 5 minutes I'm looking for shade. I get headaches and feel sick, I literally can't think of anything worse than laying under the sun, hence why I'm so pale.....I can live with that though.

My 22nd Birthday.

So I turned 22, it was fun, I was spoilt as always and I did really enjoy myself.....but as each year goes by, it's another reminder of how little I've accomplished and the older I'm getting the harder and scarier it is becoming. 

Anxiety/Putting Things Off.

So for some reason, I've being putting everything off, even stupid little things like washing my hair....it's gross I know, but I've been supper sluggish and lazy, I feel so guilty about it and I know it's got to change. I've been putting off exercise which is why I probably feel lazy. I've been putting of my veterinary course, I've been putting off cleaning/tidying. I've been putting off going out anywhere. I pretty much just sleep and eat, it's really embarrassing for me to admit and the longer it keeps going on the harder things will become, so I'm going to make a conscious effort to sort this error in my life out.

Losing My Childhood Companion.

My beautiful Jasmine, she may have been an unusual dog, but if you got to know her like I did, she was special and she only allowed people she trusted and loved close to her heart and that wasn't many lol she was very protective. We lost her to cancer in the end, she was 13 years old and had a long happy life. It's hard not having her around, I was only 9 when we got her, shes been there through everything. Every house move, every argument and fallout and every celebration and laughter. I will dearly miss her and It will never feel the same without her.

Now for somethings a little more positive.

Charlie.

We decided to get another dog, my mum has always wanted a Caviler King Charles Spaniel, ever since she was a little girl. One night we happened to research into the breed a bit more, get a bit more information, price, temperament, health conditions, if they get on well with cats etc etc. It just so happened there was one little boy pup left about 8 miles down the road from us and it was the exact gender and colouring my mum wanted. We didn't want to get a puppy so soon, but after we thought about it, we kind of just felt as if it was meant to be, what are chances of the exact breed/gender and colouring to be so close to your home, and for it to be ready to be collected at that time. A lot of people would just say it's coincidence, but it felt a little like fate for us. Although we still miss Jasmine so very much, and it's still not the same without her. At least we have a little something to keep us occupied and positive while we get use to her not being around. 

Diet 

So I may not be exercising, but at least I've kept my diet on track. I still only eat brown rice/ brown pasta, veg/salad and chicken/fish 99% of the times. I've even been adventurous and tried Quinoa and Courgettes....didn't think i'd like them but, turns out I actually do. I've been making a conscious effort to drink more water as I'm pretty terrible at this. I tend to fill up on fizzy and high sugared drinks, which I'm slowing cutting back on.....it's hard ok! I've had a few off days, where I've binged on chocolate but I don't let myself go off the rail, I tell myself it's ok in moderation, you've got to treat yourself a little, but it's about knowing when to stop, trust me, if you knew me 3 years ago......I've improved so much. 

Veterinary Course

I may have been putting it off more than I should be, but I am making progress, I've passed  3 tests so far and currently studying lesson 4. I think because Lesson 2 was such a long, and hard lesson, it took me ages and I found it really difficult getting my head around it, but I eventually did and i'm breaking the lessons up into sections which is helping a lot, instead of trying to cram it all in to my brain in one go....it just doesn't work. 

I know where i'm going/gone wrong and at least me recognizing that is something, so I can take the steps to put it right. I keep reminding myself how far I've come in the last couple of years and how much improvement I've made and not to let it all go to waste. I guess we all have bad days....weeks even months, but noticing the reasons why and not letting them drag us down is the best we can do. Constantly reassuring yourself it's ok to be down but tomorrow is a new day and you need to pick yourself up and try again, just keep trying, no matter how many times you fall or fail, one day, you may eventually succeeded even if it's a little later than everyone else, you still did it, in your own unique way. 

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It's a GlossyBox Thing - June 2014

I recently had my 22nd birthday and after receiving an email from glossybox about their current special offer (more on that later) I decided to treat myself to the monthly subscription with some of my birthday money.
So what is glossybox? Well it's a little box with 5 beauty goodies inside, skincare to fragrance, make-up to hair care, it covers a whole range of little treats.

I first heard of glossybox when my Aunt bought a couple of them as christmas presents last year for me and my sister, we were fascinated by this box, not knowing what it was, we were so excited to open them but my mum made sure we waited to christmas. I then did some research online and loved this idea of being sent beauty products for you to try before you invest and buy the full sized products, the website itself is very appealing and I was pretty much sold on the idea, but before I went ahead and became a member I wanted some feedback from actual people, who have experienced the glossybox treatment and was it even worth it?

It was pretty much mixed reviews, some people loved it while other's not so keen and thought it was/is a waste of money, the main reason for this is because you don't get to choose your products it's literally pot luck, you don't know what will be in your box each month, now to some, this idea is brilliant it's like getting a birthday present every month but to other's it's pointless because how do you know if you're going to like the product, but for me I think that's the whole idea, if you are one of those people who like to try new things and can never find or settle on just one mascara product or one moisturiser etc then it's a nice idea. Another reason why people didn't like it was because the website claims to give you "premium branded" products and this is not always the case, the company is sponsored/in partnership with many brands, some premium and some high street, you're not always going to get premium products because then there would be no profit in it for them. A lot of people also complained about the sizes of the products, once again it is a very random thing, the idea is they send you samples, enough product for you try and if you like it, you can buy the full size, but some of the sample sizes are very stingy and you barely get one use out of them, yet on the other hand they sometimes send you the full size products for you to try, I guess it depends on the deal they've made with the brand itself.

So after reading into it, I thought maybe it's not really worth it, as some months you can be really happy with what you get and other's feel like you've been ripped off big time, this made my mind up and decided not to go ahead, however I did subscribe to their newsletter as they promised to email you with upcoming limited edition boxes (one off buys) and offers/discount codes.

Now back to that offer I got! So it was friday afternoon and I was going through my emails, getting rid of spam, junk you know the usual, when I came across an email from glossybox. It promised a free box when you sign up to a subscription and I thought that was pretty good offer and I had always wanted to try them out....so I convinced myself into signing up (Didn't take much did it? ha)

When you sign up you have 4 choices:

• Monthly Plan - £10 per box, per month (+ £3.25 postage) = £13.25 every month
• 3 Month Plan - £9.50 per box per month (+ £3.25 postage) = £38.25 every 3 months
• 6 Month Plan - £9 per box, per month (+ £3.25 postage) = £73.50 every 6 months
• 12 Month Plan - £8.50 per box, per month (+ £3.25 postage) = £141 every year

Although cheaper I didn't want to commit to an upfront cost if it was going to be a one time thing for the sake of saving £1.50 so I went ahead with the monthly plan as you can unsubscribe/cancel anytime. I added my discount code which was JUNEOFFER (If any of you want to subscribe before the end of June) and was then asked a few questions about my appearance (skin type, colour, eye colour, hair colour, what products you prefer etc.) I guess so they know what you like and what colours to send and that was pretty much it, they then sent out my box, which arrived lunch time today.

When it arrived I was so excited to see what I had got, I must say the gift wrap and packaging is very posh, it's lovely (although mine was a little battered on the edge, through transmit) and the best thing is you can reuse the boxes as little gift boxes when giving a present to a friend, or use it as a photograph box, writing box, you could do all sorts with them. 

This is what the box looks like once opened: 

You get a Welcome card, a cute little magazine, another card with a list of your products, stating how much they retail at and how you use them. The products are wrapped in black tissue paper with a cute sticker keeping it together and a lovely satin ribbon bow around for decoration, It's lovely isn't it?

Here are my products on a bed of black shredded tissue paper:

So here we have, a mascara, a deodorant, a make-up brush, a nail polish and a concealer palette, oh it's so exciting :D 

Nailgirls 3-in-1 base/topcoat and nail strengthener.  

This product is a new launch (not sure if it's out yet) the full size which is 15ml retails at £13.50 and I was given a 10ml bottle, now I think that is a generous amount, it's 2/3rds of the full size and nail polishes do go quite far. I'm excited to try this as I'm always looking for a decent nail base coat and strengthener as I have quite weak brittle nails. 

Teeez Trend Cosmetics - Beautiful Flat Stiff Brush.

This is a full size product, I guess being a make-up brush you can't give sample sizes haha, it retails for around €19 (about £15) I don't think I would ever spend that amount on a make-up brush so i'm guessing it has to be a good one? or at least a good brand, I've never heard of it but I'm looking forward to seeing what it's like. 

L'oreal Paris Volume Million Lashes Black

This is a full size product, retailing at £10.99. I found it quite funny when I saw this as it's the mascara I currently use, I've tried various mascara's and never found one as good as this so I always end up going back to it. I'm almost out of my current one so I was very happy to know I didn't have to pay for another one as this is quite a pricey mascara for a high street brand! 

So Susan Cosmetics Concealer Quad.

Once again it's a full sized product, this was the only product I knew I was getting, well it was between this and a So Susan blusher but I was secretly hoping I got this one so I'm very happy. It retails at £20 which would straight away put me off because that's a lot for concealer!! I probably won't use the darkest shade either as i'm so pale but I'm curious to see if this is everything it lives up to be. 

Rituals Qi Gong Spray.

According to my card this 50ml can is a full sized product that retails for £3.50, it's a 24 hour anti-perspirant spray which to me is very small for a deodorant, maybe it's one of those new compact cans. It does smell lovely though. Let's see how well it lasts. 

And that concludes my first GlossyBox, I must admit I am actually very happy with this months box, I definitely will try every product and there is a good selection of products as well as a lot of full sizes which from what I heard was quite rare, hopefully it's not just a one off. I now have to try these products and then fill in an online survey about them (this is optional) and I will then get 50 glossy points for each product I review, once I reach 1000 I get a free box! So basically for every 4 boxes you get, providing you leave feedback about every product you will then be entitled for a free box. 

I should receive my free box (from the offer code I used) in around 2 weeks and we shall see what treasures are hidden in there . I'm thinking I will keep my subscription for July as well and see what that also holds, and if they're both as good as this months I may just keep subscribed as so far It's proven worthy for me and I think knowing I have a little beauty box coming for me each month, I'll be less inclined to spend money in boots and superdrug, we shall see ha! What are your thoughts? Have you tried GlossyBox before? 

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It's Officially Summer!

My younger sister had her last A-Level exam today, she has worked her butt of for the past 3 years and for the first time in what feels like forever she has no worries or work related problems to deal with until September when she goes off to uni. It's going to be our last proper summer together as she is leaving home and going to be a student nurse and I'll hopefully be qualified and working as a veterinary nurse by next year so we won't see each other on a daily basis which I'm going to find hard, as corny as it sounds she truly is my best friend and has always been there for me when I've needed her, it's going to be hard adjusting to life without seeing her regularly.

Sob story aside (I guess we have to grow up sometime ey?) we've come up with an awesome plan to spend (most of) the summer together, here is a list of things we want to do this summer.

• Have a 3 course meal

• Camp outside

• Have a spa day

• Roast marshmallows by a fire (It failed....they melted)

• Have a movie marathon (In Pj's of course)

• Make dreamcatchers

• Go on a night out

• Have a picnic

• Baking day

• Tie dye some t-shirts

• Go to a museum

• Go to a theme park/ zoo

• Watch the stars at night while in a jacuzzi

• Have a BBQ

• Painting day

• Trip to somewhere we haven't been before.

• Get glitter tattoo's (Because I'm too scared to get a real one) 

• Get a piercing

• Let off chinese lanterns

• Climb a tree lol

• Play pool/bowling

• Go swimming

• Go to the seaside

• Make jewelry/friendship bracelets 

• Dance in the rain (It's british summer time duh)

We might not do all these things, and there could be things we add to the list as we go along. It's about being together and having fun. What plans do you have for the summer?

P.S It's my birthday in 24 hours and 15 mins :) (Not the time I was actually born, I can't remember that.)

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