Social Action Project!

Hello everyone,

Today I am going to be talking to you about something me and the rest of my team on NCS.

If you didn't know what NCS is then basically it is a 4 week programme and 2 of them weeks we do social action, which is what I'm talking to you about today.

For our social action project we have decided to team up with SANDS which is a charity that supports being who have been affected by still births and neo-natal death. 15 babies die a day, so we want to try and do 15 mini projects to help these people at our local hospital. These projects will include knitting a blanket and making memory boxes.

We are going to be doing lots of different things to fundraise money to be able to do all these 15 projects. Our target is £750 and we have already raised £211 in 2 days.

If you would like to donate, anything would be appreciated, you can go onto this link

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ncsnewlight

or you can text NCSS66 to 70070

Thank you in advanced for any donations made.

Make-up faves!

Hello everyone!

So today I thought I would share with you some of my favourite makeup products. I have definitely been through a lot of makeup products in the past couple of years and tried different brands, but these are the products that I always find myself going back to.

The two base products I have used over and over again throughout the past years of me wearing makeup. They are my all time favourite makeup products. The concealer is the Collection Lasting Perfection in the lightest shade, I am pretty sure most people use this concealer as it is affordable but also really high quality.

The foundation is the Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation in the shade light porcelain. I love this foundation because it is so easy to blend but I also love that it is not full coverage, so on days where I am confident about my skin it is perfect, but on those days where I have had a break out, the foundation is really easy to build.

On to giving my face some definition. For contour I use the NYX contour and highlight palette. I mix the bottom, middle two shades to get the perfect shade for my skin tone. I love this palette because it is easy to take on holiday but I love all the shades, and the contour shades are so easy to blend.

For highlight, I use the BECCA shimmering skin perfector poured in the shade moonstone. For anyone who has not tried this before. You need to try it now. It is the most beautiful highlighter I have ever seen. With it being crème it makes it easier to blend, but it has the most amazing shimmer to it, it is unbelievable.

For the eyebrows I love to use NYX Tame and Frame. I think this is a great dupe for the Anastasia Pomade. At first I wasn't too sure about it as it is hard to work with at first and gives a very filled in look. However, after using it a few times I began to love it more and more. I then just like to go over that with the Benefit Gimme brow gel.

My favourite eyeshadow palette is the first Naked palette, as I love having pink shades on my lids. I also feel like it brings the blue/green out in my eyes. I also like to use this with one of the Mac eyeshadows in the shade Mythology, as this is very sparkly and pigmented, so I feel like for those sparkly nights it really adds the shimmer.

My next favourite is the Maybelline Lash Sensational waterproof mascara. This is actually my favourite ever mascara. As much as a love my Better Than Sex mascara, I feel this does the exact same job for a lot cheaper price.

My last three favourite products are lipsticks. The first is a Soap and Glory gloss stick in the shade Nudist. I feel like it moisturises my lips and gives me such a natural look, which is why I wear it for school.
Secondly, I love matte liquid lipsticks and this one is Lady be good by Mac and it is a nude/pink colour and the colour stays on for soooooo long. Also little goes far with this lipstick. Sometimes I like to put Nudist on the top if I want to give it more of a glossy look.
Finally, I have been getting into wearing red lipstick recently. I have never braved it before and now I have. I love it. This is the NYX soft matte lip cream in the shade Morocco. If you are looking a cheap, amazing red lipstick then you need to try this.

Last of all I would just like to show you the different types of brushes I like to use when applying my makeup.

I hope you enjoyed this blog post about my favourite makeup products. Be sure to tell me your favourites, so that I can try them out too.

Bye

Libby

x

Stress and Revision!

Hello everyone, 

This is the year of my GCSE exams, and I could not be any more nervous. This time of year can start to get very stressful and it is round about now you realise you need to start revising. Yep, that's me. 
So now that my third set of mock exams are nearly over, I am now getting the hang of revision. However, as it gets closer to the real things, I am starting to stress out. So today I am going to be going through some revision tips, and a few ways to help with stress. 

We will start with revision tips first.

My first tip is to have a revision timetable. I find this really helpful because you are not just choosing the subjects you want to revise for, also there is something about being organised that makes it easier to revise. Maybe that's just me.

My second tip is to make sure that when you choose to revise, that you turn your phone off and I also suggest not listening to music because if you are like me you get tempted to sing, then you get distracted. 

Another tip I have is to make mind maps. A couple of weeks ago I did not really know what revision worked best for me, and it has taken me a while to find out, but I found the best way for me and that is mind maps. If you just go through all the notes you have on a topic or subject and do a mind map for each little section, with as little writing as possible, then it is a clear way of presenting just the important information. I also enjoy making mind maps, especially colourful ones.

My final tip is to use post-it notes. I know you probably have been told this so many times, but honestly, if you use them effectively, they are really good. 
What I do is write a question or a date (if I'm doing history) and put the answer on the back and whenever I walk past it on my wall I have a go answering the question and then I look at the answer, this way it will stick in your mind. 

Stress. 
Being stressed makes concentrating and revising so much harder. I have been trying out lots of ways to help calm stress. Luckily they seem to have worked, which is why I want to share them with you today. 

Firstly, you will probably hate me for this but running is my number one tip. It may seem like a lot of effort but honestly, it helps the most. Going on a run genuinely just makes you feel better as a person but also it gives you time to think about things and to make time to yourself. Running also is meant to help you feel more calm about things. Since going on runs everynight, I have become a much more positive person, I've become less stressed, and I overall feel better about a lot of things. I never thought I would ever say this, but I actually enjoy going on runs. 

My next things to help with stress is to read. What I do every night is stop revising at night and once I'm ready for bed I read for about an hour, and I know reading is not everyone's cup of tea, but if you read a little bit, it helps to relax your mind, and you will find yourself not thinking out the things that worry you. 

Another 2 ways you can use to help with stress is to drink lots of water to keep your brain healthy but also to eat plenty of fruit and vegetables. It links in with the running, it helps to give a positive mental attitude, which then releases stress because you are more positive about the outcome of the exams. 

My last piece of advice for stress is to get a good nights sleep. I know it seems obvious, but the later you go to bed, the more tired you are and if you are tired at school you end up becoming more grumpy and end up with a bad attitude towards life, with that the stress will start to pile back up again. 

I really hope you found that useful. I know it was a bit wordy, but if it helps, then that's all that matters. 

Bye 

Libby

x

Healthy vegetarian soup!

Hellow everyone, 

Today is going to be another food related post. 
I was going through the food at home and just picked out a few things I could use to make a soup. In the end, it ended up tasting really nice. Which is why I am going to be sharing with you the recipe. It is a vegetarian soup. However, you could add some chicken to it, depending on if you are going to blend it or not, and how you like it. 

Ingredients: This recipe gives approximately 3 servings, so depending on the amount you want to make, will depend on how many of each ingredient you use.

3 carrots
2 potatoes 
1 celery stick
2 small onions (1 big onion)
Half a vegetable stock cube 
Boiling water  
Salt and pepper for seasoning 

Method:
The first thing you want to do is chop all your vegetables up and put them into a pan with some oil.
When the vegetables have softened slightly, you add the stock and water until the vegetables are covered. 
You then want to leave that to cook on a low heat for 30-40 minutes or when all the vegetables are soft. 
Next, you can either leave it how it is, or you can blend it all. Personally, I prefer mine half blended so it is still a bit chunky, buy you can have yours how you like. 
The next thing to do is to serve it up in a bowl. I added salt and pepper to it once in the bowl, because if more than one person is having it, then different people like different seasonings. 
I served mine with granary bread. 

I really enjoyed this soup, and I will be experimenting with different soups, using different vegetables. 
I hope you enjoyed this recipe, and I hope to see you soon in my next post.

Bye

Libby

x

Quick and Easy Makeup!

 Hello everyone, 

Since my last makeup post, my makeup has changed a lot. I have branched out to more brands and have been braver with my colours. The makeup I wear is quick and easy because I don't have a lot of time to get ready in the morning as I like my sleep. 

The first products I use for the face is the Rimmel Lasting finish primer, which I have to say is not the best primer as it is really thick and sticky, but it still does its job. I then apply Rimmel Match Perfection foundation, which is my favourite drug store foundation, as it has really good coverage and it really easy to blend. I apply the foundation with a foundation brush first, then blend with a buffing brush and any areas that look unblended, I blend with my beauty blender. 

 To cover any spots I use the trusty Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer, which is blended with the thin end of my beauty blender. I then use the Maybelline Eraser Eye Concealer, which is great for under the eyes. The face is then set with the No7 Perfect Light Pressed powder in Translucent, which is a new favourite of mine. 

 Now that the base is done, I now go on to contour by using the Collection Highlight and Sculpt pallet in the lightest shade. I use the contour shade just underneath the cheekbones, nose and forehead using a contour brush, I then blend that in using another buffing brush to make it look less harsh. To add brightness to the face I use The Balm Mary Lou Manizer highlighter, which I recommend so much. You only need a tiny bit for such a good results. I use a cheeks brush to pop this on top of my cheekbones, on my nose and on my cupids bow. 

Now going on to the brows. If I am really short for time I will use the Collection Eyebrow kit but if I have a bit more time to spare then I use the Soap and Glory Archery 2 in 1 Brow filling pencil and brush, which is definitely worth spending more time on.  

My favourite part of doing my makeup if the eyeshadow. If I am dressing casually then I just use 1 colour from a Maybelline eyeshadow pallet. It is a rose gold kind of colour and I just place that all over the lid and blend it out. The eyeshadow is really pigmented and makes it look like you have put more effort into your eyeshadow then what you have. 

Finishing off, I use the Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara which is the most incredible mascara I have ever used. It is so worth the money.
Finally, I put my lipstick on. The colour of lips changes each day. I have 3 personal favourites and they are Mac in Ruby Woo, NYX in Stockholm and Revlon in Rose.

I hope you enjoyed reading into some of my favourite makeup pieces.
See you soon, 

Bye

Libby

x