How to Get a Good Night's Sleep

Sorry I haven't been blogging lately guys, I had to prepare for a presentation I was giving for uni. I ended up doing really well! I'm proud of myself, for once! Usually I just shrug it off and feel I could've done better, but this time I feel soooo much better.

Anyway, I digress! As a bit of a stress-head, I sometimes struggle with sleep. I worry about things that don't really need to be worried about and I ponder on the for ages. I make up scenarios in my head and imagine what can go wrong, I'm so bad! So I thought I would put together a list of what actually helps me fall asleep when I'm struggling.

Stay Offline

Don't keep checking Facebook or Twitter! Put your phone down/on charge and keep it away! Staring at it will keep you awake.

Read a Good Book

If you like reading, then I suggesting doing so before you go to bed. It's something to do to get you nice and relaxed and to keep your mind off other things. However, don't get too carried away! Sometimes I read for too long because I've lost track of time.

If you don't like reading, maybe you could read some poems in a poetry collection, or write a journal.

Don't keep too bright a light on, as that will keep you up too. Alternatively, a Kindle Paperwhite would be useful.

Don't Worry!

As I have anxiety (which is getting better though, hurray!) I thought I would share with you some of my tips that I use to stop me from worrying too much when I get too anxious. I can't stop thinking and end up keeping myself awake.

1. Imagine the bad thoughts float down a stream as you watch on from the neighbouring bank. It's relaxing and wards off the hostile thoughts.
2. If you're worrying about something like work or school/college/uni, think about the good things you've achieved. For example, I was worrying about giving my presentation, but then I realised that I got a First in my presentation last year. Thinking about my achievements and what I've done well in really cheers me up and gets me relaxed.

Use a Pillow Spray or Roll-On

I recently just tried out thisworks' Pillow Spray and I absolutely love it. I usually get interrupted sleep and wake up for no reason whatsoever, but I was able to drift off easily and stay in a long, deep sleep. thisworks' Pillow Spray retails for around £16, but you can get a cheaper version from Avon here for about £5.

I also remember that Roll-Ons used to help me when I couldn't sleep when I was younger. I rolled on some product (usually containing lavender) onto my temples and wrists and that helped me drift off in the same way.

Have a Cup of (decaffeinated) Tea!

Before I go to bed, I like to pop the kettle on and make myself a cup of tea. To help me drift off I usually have a peppermint tea, fresh mint tea (see my blog post here!) or chamomile. If you really can't sleep, then I suggest camomile, as it is soothing and relaxing.

I hope I helped you with these tips! Do you do anything to ensure a good night's sleep?

Thanks for reading!

Knot Any More!

First of all, I'm sorry for the pun title. It's bad isn't it?

Anyway, I decided to go on a Boots haul and look for things that focussed on my hair. Usually I'm more of a make-up and skincare gal, but I decided I was fed up of the fuzz on top of my head. I read up about it, and found out it's due to the breakage of hair when you brush it. I also read that brushing is a bad thing, and you should use a wide-toothed comb to use on wet, tangled hair. When I get out of the shower, my hair is always knotty. That's just how my hair is! I hate it! I can go outside when it's not windy at all, and come home with thick knots in my hair. It just loves knotting.

NSPA Complete Treatment Masks Review

Due to other beauty bloggers, I came across the brand NSPA. People love how fresh and cleansing they are, so I thought I'd try something of theirs out! I've got enough cleansers and washes, so I decided to use one of their masks: the Complete Treatment Masks. It contains 3 Cloth Face Masks and 2 Eye Masks and the whole of the NSPA range is only available at Asda in the UK (I think Walmart does them in the US).

Picture from the NSPA website

The Face Masks

The fact that these are cloth masks kind of weirded me out! I'm used to thick, creamy masks and thought I should try something different. Although I look a bit like Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs when I put the facial mask on, (my boyfriend was scared!) it was lovely and refreshing. It was cooling, rejuvenating and fresh. I let it sit on my face for 10 minutes and had a little nap; after a stressful day of calling customer services, then having to lug all the shopping up and down the stairs 6 times with a painful foot. After all this, and the stress of doing my presentation at uni next week, this mask really calmed me down. It was nice sitting there relaxing and I felt revived.

After I took it off, my skin looked mildly brighter and was soooo smooth! It definitely made an improvement. I'm sad that I only have two more after this, because I won't be ordering from Asda again - they didn't deliver my shopping so I cancelled it after 15 phone calls, and then they turned up 24 hours later whilst I was at uni. Sigh.

The Eye Masks

You have to leave this cloth masks on for 3-5 minutes and let them work their magic. It's supposed to improve dark circles, but I found no difference whatsoever. It felt mildly refreshing whilst I had them on, but not as nice as the face masks. I simply didn't like these very much - I found them a bit pointless.

Verdict

Overall, I think the set is worth buying since the face masks are gorgeous luxuries that de-stress and brighten skin. They are magnificent if you're feeling overworked and/or tired! However, I don't think the eye masks are necessary: I would rather have two more face masks! You can buy them here or with your Asda grocery shop for a measly £4 at the moment, as opposed to the normal price of £6.

Have you tried anything from NSPA? What's your favourite face mask?


Thanks for reading!

Shower Saviours

Yesterday whilst I was in the shower, I was overcome with a wave of luxury. I felt at peace, I smelled wonderful, and the stresses of the week melted away. My dry skin was buffed off, leaving my skin feeling luxurious and soft. I felt good, and here's how I did it.

Firstly, I started by washing my hair with Lush's Rub Rub Rub body scrub, I love it so much! Although it doesn't volumise hair like it says it does, I find that it makes my hair soft and gorgeous. See my full review here. I then rinse it off and use Lush's American Cream Conditioner. It simply smells gorgeous: a mix of vanilla milkshake and strawberries! Again, see my full review here.

As for my body, I start with buffing away dead skin with Soap and Glory's miraculous Scrub of Your Life. It's easily the Scrub of My Life, it's the best scrub I've ever used. I get bumps on my arms and dry tops of my legs and this baby buffs them away easily. At just £7 for a 200ml tube, it's budget-friendly and I encourage you to try it! My boyfriend loves how smooth my skin gets when I use this!

After that, I use Lush's (see a pattern here?!) Snow Fairy (review here) or Rose Jam. Snow Fairy is a gorgeous pink shower gel that smells like a sweet shop (candyfloss and pear drops)! It's simply an amazing concoction that makes my bathroom smell like happiness for so long! It's soothing and nice to use. Snow Fairy is cheaper than Rose Jam, retailing at £11.95, £7.50 or £3.75.

I also like to switch to Rose Jam Shower Gel. I'm not very good at describing smells, so I'll let Lush describe it for you!

"Let your skin be kissed by a rose with this sweetly floral shower gel. Wrap yourself in a comforting embrace with nourishing argan oil, organic rose absolute and rose oil together with a Fair Trade vanilla pod infusion. This is an indulgent wash that lifts the spirits."

I agree with this description whole-heartedly. It's so refreshing and rejuvenating! It really perks me up. It can be quite expensive, with it being £15.95 for a big bottle. But I got the medium sized bottle for £9.50. You can get an even smaller bottle for £4.75.

I apply these shower gels with Body Shop's Bath Lily. Priced at just £2, it's a wonderful product that lathers up shower gels superbly.

When I get out of the shower, I use Lush's (I'm so sorry, I'm obsessed) Vanilla Dee-Lite body lotion, which is priced at £12.95 for 250g. It's a beautiful, vanilla scented light lotion that perks your skin up without making it greasy. It goes well with my American Cream Conditioner! I'm always happy if I smell nice!

What are your favourite shower products?


Thanks for reading!

Book Haul!

Once in a while, I go through a reading dry spell. Usually, I can't stop reading, and people have to pull me away from a book! I think that during summer, I read just over 30 books! During this period, I developed a love for Agatha Christie and her detective Hercule Poirot. I think, perhaps, I'll write a blog post recommending the best Agatha Christie books I've read in the near future, they were amazing to read and whole-heartedly ! Anyway, I digress. I went to Amazon and was looking at books that I think I could get back into. I just finished reading Eleanor and Park, a YA Novel, which I usually do not enjoy. However, in this case, I couldn't put the book down! It was truly a gorgeous book about raw, romantic, awkward, consuming teenage love (but can trigger issues such as domestic abuse).

These are the books that were delivered to me:

Sali Hughes - Pretty Honest

Sali knows what's she's talking about, so it's no wonder the book is a beauty blogger's favourite. I thought I should get it as I've seen it pop up on a lot of bloggers' posts. I've quickly flicked through a few chapters and love the advice she's given! I'd recommend it for beauty advice that isn't boring, but sassy and funny! The introduction is charming and really appealed to me when I was browsing through Amazon. Buy here for £11 for a hardback and and £9.15 on Kindle. (For such a measly price difference, I'd recommend the hardback, isn't it gorgeous?!)

Tyger Tyger, Burning Bright: Much-Loved Poems You Half-Remember - Ana Sampson

I've always loved poetry but hardly seem to actually read any, which is such a shame! I saw this pop up on Amazon and thought I should give it a try. I read Tyger, Tyger, Burning Bright when I was younger and fell in love with it, but hardly remember it! It's a gorgeous purchase that's in beautiful hardback edition, and doesn't break the bank. Sit back, brew a hot beverage and drink in the gorgeous words that are written in this book. You can get it here for £7.99.

My True Love Gave to Me - Edited by Stephanie Perkins (Various Authors)

Although this is a collection of YA stories, it still appealed to me. The cover is gorgeous. It's a vibrant pale blue, with pink pages on the side. It's simply beautiful and comes with a ribbon bookmark. I've only read the first story, written by Rainbow Rowell - the author of Eleanor and Park. It was a sweet, heart-warming short story and I'm sure the rest will be just as great! The description of the collection says that these stories will "warm you up in the Winter" and I completely agree. I read them when I'm feeling a bit bored, or on a break from uni work and don't really want to get into a bigger book. It's a lovely, simple, gorgeous little book that will make a great gift. The price is amazing too! You can get it herefor £7.69.

The Summer Queen - Elizabeth Chadwick

I fancied reading a historical fiction book and luckily came across this gem on Amazon. It's about Eleanor (or Aelinor in the book, as that is what she would've called herself) of Aquitaine, a prominent figure and powerful woman of the High Middle Ages. Although I just said, "woman" she is a 13-year-old girl at the beginning of the novel. The novel actually extends into a trilogy (I don't think the third book is out yet), the next being The Winter Crown.

Similar to the books above, the cover is beautiful! I'm a sucker for a nice cover, it makes the book much nicer to read somehow. I've only read a few chapters, but I already love this book. I love Eleanor and how simulatenously strong and weak she is. She's strong when she's forced to marry Prince Louis (don't worry, it's in the blurb!) and accepts her role in uniting Aquitaine and France. She realises that she cannot get out of this, and approaches the situation with a strong attitude. She doesn't falter, she just gets on with it. I admire that about 13-year-old Aelinor. If I look back to when I was 13, I was a moaning, groaning little brat! So I really respect her here. However, in contrast, as she is still young, she still relies on her father and is broken when he dies (again, in the blurb!). She's a fascinating character, and I already feel like I know Aelinor, even though I'm only partially into the book. You can get it here for £5.24.

What are you reading at the moment?

Thanks for reading!

Benefit Laugh With Me Lee Lee Review

When I had my brows waxed at Benefit, I had a look at all the gorgeous products (who wouldn't?!). I realised that I actually have most of the cosmetic products... and turned to the perfume. The first and only one I picked up was Laugh With Me Lee Lee and I fell in love.

Gorgeous packaging right?! Some people find Benefit's packaging gimmicky but I find it beautiful and fun!

Nars Fall Collection: Lip Pencil in Mandore

Hello everyone!

I seem to be the same colour as the wall...

My Struggle With Body Dysmorphia

Hello everyone! I decided to write a blog post about why I started to blog. I thought that having an unhealthy obsession with cosmetics and the way I look was making myself feel worse so I decided to make it a hobby that transformed my obsession into something fun!

What Is Body Dysmorphia?

First of all, if you don't know what Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) is, I shall explain briefly here. In my own words, it's an unhealthy obsession with the way that you look. It's not vain, conceited or narcissism, it's a consuming chain of thoughts and behaviours that focus on the way that you look. Almost everyone has things they don't like about themselves, but people with BDD are obsessed by these little things and often-times feel that these tiny flaws are worse than they are. For example, I thought my acne scars were really horrific and noticeable and wouldn't even consider going to the shop downstairs without a full face of make-up because I was worried people would judge me for the way I look.

I don't want to blather on too much about the definition of BDD, because I'm not a professional. If you want more information, these websites make good reading:

• Body Dysmorphic Disorder Foundation
• NHS
• Anxiety and Depression Association of America
• Mind

Benefit Brow Bar Review (Wax and Tint)

Hello everyone!

It's no secret that I love Benefit's cosmetics. I love their cute packaging and gorgeous products! In addition to this, they do gorgeous eyebrow waxing and tints in their renowned Benefit Brow Bars. I, sadly, don't have any in Canterbury, where I study for uni, so had my eyebrows done when I got home in Essex.

They wax and tweeze your brows in an arch that suits your as an individual, no brows are done the same! First, they tinted my eyebrows to make them a deeper colour and, in turn, making them look less sparse. I look so silly whilst they do this, like I have massive caterpillar eyebrows! However, it's all worth it! They take that off, and begin waxing. It stings a little, of course, but 5 minutes later, the redness cooled down. This is good for me, as I have sensitive skin! So I was able to continue shopping without looking red. They popped a bit of concealer round the eyebrows too, to cover up the red.

And here is the end result!

I love the bold colour and shape!
Have you had your brows done by Benefit?
If you want more information, click here!

Thanks for reading!

Ciate Paint Pot in Sugarplum Review

Hello everyone!

I decided to started painting my nails again, I stopped because I got too lazy and couldn't be bothered removing it. Plus, I'd always end up with a mess all over my hands and be too fidgety to keep my hands still and get them all smudged :(. I've got Netflix now, so I decided I could just veg out with the IT Crowd on whilst I painted my nails and waited for them to dry.

I'm a huge fan of cute pastels and thus decided to buy Ciate's Sugarplum (a pastel purple, shown below) and Baby Doll. Baby Doll is a pastel pink, which I meant to alternate with Sugarplum but forgot... So I'll try that another day!

I really like Sugar Plum! I think it's gorgeous. It's subtle and beautiful, which is just the right thing for me. I don't like really bold colours, because you can notice when they chip off easily and don't really suit my pale skin.

I also find Ciate's packaging really gorgeous, it's so cute and fun!

Here's my (badly) painted nails with Sugar Plum on! Gorgeous!


Thanks for reading!

My Outfit Today!

Today I went to the cinema at uni to have dinner and watched My Neighbour Totoro with my boyfriend, Dan! It was actually a disaster at the beginning... We had to get the bus to uni, which was about every half an hour. When we got off the bus, I realised that I had forgotten my glasses (I'm short-sighted and need them for the cinema!) and the cinema tickets. We had to get a taxi back to the flat and back again to the uni.

When all that was over, it was a really lovely night. Plus, my outfit was so cute (who doesn't love a bow tie?!):

Shirt: Primark
Bow Tie: New Look
Skirt: New Look

Thanks for reading!

Figs & Rouge Mocha Orange Lip Balm

Hey everyone! I'm going to be reviewing Figs & Rouge Mocha Orange Lip Balm. First of all, the packaging is so cute, in a small and adorable tube.

Secondly, it tastes delicious! A fruity orange with coffee-like undertones. It's gorgeous! I really love the taste of this. However, it says its tinted but really doesn't seem like it - it just looks like a simple balm to me. Furthermore, it doesn't last very long, it lasted not even an hour for me.

In summary:

• Taste: 5/5
• Colour: 1/5
• Longevity: 1/5

You can buy from Look Fantastic for £4.95.

Thanks for reading!