Prepare for summer - face

Hey girls, so I am almost finished with preparing our bodies for summer. Just 2 more posts! Although that won't be the end of the series, cause there is still more to do.

This week I want to focus on your skincare routine, and show you mine. I know I did this about a month ago, but it was rushed so there wasn't enough detail, plus I have changed it very slightly.

I wash my face twice a day using the products I'll show below.
I only use the same face cloth and towel twice, so in the morning and at night. This minimises the bacteria being spread onto my face. And once a week I don't use any, which I will go into more detail later on.
I also just want to say that a few of my products were prescribed by a doctor, however you can still try this routine out, skipping those parts, and it might work for you.

Each morning I use the Clearasil all in 1 wash and mask, to cleanse my face. I've never used it as a mask, but as a cream wash it is great. It doesn't dry your skin out but does clear it up great.

I then use the Clearasil deep pore treatment toner. I'm just gonna say I love the Clearasil Ultra range, it is perfect for helping clear up your skin. What I do with this is put some/a lot on a cotton pad, and wipe all over my face, obviously missing my eyes. If I have a new/stubborn spot, or I feel one coming up, I place the cotton pad on that area and hold it for a few seconds. To me this is helping to kill the bacteria and rid my face of the spot sooner. Although I could just be crazy.

Next I moisturise with the Boots, SkinClear, Oil-free Mattifying lotion. This does what it says, it keeps your skin matt. I'm not sure that it actually rids my skin of the spots, but not having oily skin helps.

I then use this. It is an antibiotic cream, which really does get rid of spots. It is amazing. Although I do want to stop using it and find a better moisturiser. Let me know if you follow a routine similar to this, i.e. same products, and if it works for you. I'm scared that this the reason my skin is clearing up.

Now my night time routine, has a couple more products, but it's worth it, in my opinion.

I tend to shower at night and wash my face in the shower. Most nights I will use the Clearasil Ultra overnight wash, which is brilliant. It foams really well, which I feel is helping to really cleanse my skin. I also use the Nivia visibly clear blackhead scrub 3 times a week, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. Exfoliating is essential to having clear skin as you are ridding it of the top layer of dead skin, which causes the spots.

I then use my toner again, in the exact same way as in the morning.

Then I moisturise using the next 2 products.

 The first is Clearasil Ultra overnight serum. Pure genius. I use a squirt of this each night and pat it into my skin. The I use the Overnight lotion, and again pat it into the skin. This range is incredible, you can really see a difference in your skin within a week.
I then use my anti-bacteria cream again, as I have to use that twice a day.

That is my routine for the week. I should also mention that I am on the pill for my skin too, so maybe ask your doctor about that if you have very problematic skin.

On Saturday nights I also give myself a facial. I use my Clearasil face wash, and leave that on my skin for a minute, to kind of soak off any old make-up or dirt from the week. Then I steam my face, using a facial sauna, to open my pores. I do this until I feel my face sweating, which I know doesn't sound nice, but that's when I know my pores are open. I instantly put on a face mask, usually homemade, and leave it on for 15-20 minutes and then do the rest of my night time routine.
On Sundays I only wash my face in the morning and I only use porridge oats. Porridge oats, is a natural cleanser and exfoliator. I try and be extra gentle with my skin the day after a facial so that I know I'm giving it time to heal. I then use a moisturiser for sensitive skin because it doesn't have much chemicals in it.

I don't wear make-up very often but when I do, I make sure to take it off before bed. I use the Simple eye make-up remover and baby wipes. They are a great and very inexpensive product for removing make-up.
I also use wipes on those nights when I am really tired and have no energy to wash my face, although I try and do this no more than once a week.

That is my entire routine. I usually find that it takes roughly a month to clear up my skin, so give it time. I slept in make-up this weekend, and my face is covered in blackheads and spots. If you like, I will take a picture once a week, so you can see my skin improve by using these products. I feel that this will give a better indication of how well it works, instead of just taking my word for it. Let me know if you would like that.

Have a beautiful day and I'll talk to you all soon

xx

Spring Clean - Update and a new week

Hey girls, well week 1 is over and I thought I would update you all on how it went.

Well, it started off great. I was only having 1 treat a day, drinking my water and fruit tea, cutting down on my processed foods, then I craved junk food and gave in. So therefore, this week I kinda failed. However I do know why I wasn't able to stick to it and I plan on fixing this.

So for this week I thought I would Spring Clean my room, bit by bit.

Obviously my room is nothing like this. It is rather cluttered and a lot smaller.

My parents are selling their house as my dad has a new job and we were told today, that to sell this house it has to be uncluttered, which, as you can guess, inspired this.

I don't really have a set of goals, I just plan on organizing an area of my room each day.

I break up for Easter on Wednesday so I have more hours to really get into it.

I'm rather excited for this, as I love to organise things. The hard part, though, is going to be deciding what to put into storage, what I want to take to University with me and what I want to go to my parents new house. But I'm up for the challenge.

How did you all do on last weeks challenge (can we really call it a challenge? I'm going to unless you don't want it to be called that)? I would genuinely love to know. Whether you succeeded or failed, we can motivate each other.

Talk to you all soon

Have a beautiful day, and good luck on this weeks challenge.

xx

Prepare for summer - Hands

Wow, I've not been on here for a few days! And I didn't do my 'Prepare for summer' series post yesterday! I've been so busy the past few days; I got my exam timetable and I realized that I have 3 pieces of coursework to do, all due in roughly the same time and my first exam is in 2 months! Crazy!

I just want to let you all know that, I plan on doing, either, a 'Things to make you smile' or a 'Motivation/inspiration' post nightly (as in right before I go to bed), my 'Prepare for summer' series weekly and my weekly 'Spring clean' updates up until my exams are over, then I will get back into my post routine, with many different posts. Oh and I will do my monthly posts as well. These next few weeks are going to be crazy, so bare with me?
Oh and I also want to say hi to all of my new followers! I am now at 25 and I am so happy! Thank you all for checking me out and taking the time to read my posts. It really does mean so much to me.

Now onto, what should have been yesterday's post.

This week is really simple and probably quite short. It is hands (without nail polish, there will be a seperate post dedicated to that)

I think that soft hands are so beautiful and I want to help you all achieve this. I also want to help you to smooth your nails. 

To smooth your nails you will want to buy a nail buffer. These are super cheap but work so amazingly. I use the one seen in my feet post but you could also buy one of these:

which are dirt cheap. They help to smooth out any ridges and make your nails super smooth, giving a perfect base for your nail polish.

Now to rid your hands of any dryness. This is so simple, and all you have to do is use a hand cream after you wash your hands. If you have super dry hands, slather them in hand cream and put on gloves, either your winter gloves (if it is still cold out) or moisturising gloves.

Well there you are, how to get smooth hands. I told you it was really simple, and you probably all already do this, but I felt that, as I was doing the entire body, I should include it.

Do you guys have any tips for smooth hands? Let me know in the comments below and I will talk to you all tomorrow.

Have a beautiful night

DFTBA

xx

Things to make you smile

Hey girls, I am in a rather good mood today and I thought that I would share it all with you.

Sweet dreams beautiful people

xx

Spring Clean series. Week 1, Diet

Hey girls. Last week I saw a video from Elle Fowler about doing a 'Spring Clean', and I thought that this was such a great idea. It is not about cleaning your house, as the connotations suggest, but about cleaning everything, including your house/room/living area in general.

The first week is diet, and it is not about being on a diet i.e. trying to lose weight, but more about cutting out the processed and unclean foods. Below is Elle's video about it, so please watch for more details.

As you can see, Elle has a list of goals for herself, and I have some too. I have tried to keep some the same, because I feel that they are great, however I did change some, to fit me, particularly the bready carbs, as in my family we have a lot of pasta based meals, such as lasagne, plus I bring a packed lunch for my lunch at sixth form, and bready carbs are the easiest thing to prepare.

My list of goals for this week are:

1. No fizzy drinks/sodas, and limit coffee and tea to 1 each a day
2. Drink 1-2 cups of fruit/herbal tea a day
3. Drink at least 1 litre of cold water a day, with 1 cup of hot water each night
4. Have a piece of fruit or vegetable with each meal
5. Allow 1 treat a day/night
6. Cut out as much fried and processed foods as possible.

The last of my goals is dependent on my family, as I still live at home, and I eat, basically, whatever meal is cooked for me, only a vegetarian option, so occasionally we do have processed or fried foods with our meals, however it is not very often.

I am going to start this tomorrow, and I am actually rather excited. I already try hard to be healthy, but my willpower has been lacking of late, and I hope to make it strong again by doing this. I will be trying to do this in the way that Elle does it if she updates weekly too. If not, I do have my own ideas and order for this, which I think will be great. 

Are any of you planning on joining this? Have any of you already started this? If so, how is it going? As always let me know in the comments below. 

Have a beautiful day

DFTBA

xx

Get to know me. Tag

Hey girls, I found this tag, and I thought it would be fun to do. It is the 'Get to know me' tag, and it has 20 questions. I hope you enjoy.

1. Are you named after anyone? Not as far as I am aware. Well unless you count my middle name, which is my gran's name.


2. When was the last time you cried? Last week. I cry a lot, I'm a very emotional person


3. Do you have kids? Not yet, but I seriously can't wait to start a family.


4. If you were another person, would you be a friend of yourself. I think so. I try to be a nice person, and I follow the rule: do to others, what you want them to do to you. Doesn't mean a lot of people like me though ha-ha


 5. Do you use sarcasm a lot? Yes. Although occasionally it doesn't come across, like yesterday in class, I was asked if I go out drinking, because my teacher goes of subject a bit sometimes, and I said no, yet even to me it sounded genuine ha-ha


6. Will you ever bungee jump? No thanks. The rope would probably snap on me ha-ha.


7. What's your favorite cereal? Ready brek or Weetabix original. They are so good! And they have to be from the Weetabix brand, none of this rip off crap ha-ha


8. What's the first thing you notice about people? How they look. I know that this can be a bad thing, cause I do sometimes judge people because of how they look but mostly I am amused and inspired by the way others look.


9. What is your eye colour? Hazel brown, although sometimes I think they look more chocolate brown


10. Scary movie or happy endings? Happy endings. I'm a sucker for a happy ending, even if they can be cheesy.


11. Favorite smell? Vanilla. Although misssunshinesparkle said home in her post, and I realized how much I do actually love the smell of home, or a place that feels like home, you know, the comforting, familiarity smell, it is so nice and safe. 


12. Summer or Winter? Summer, I love everything about summer, and I hate being cold. However, there are things that I love winter too, like sitting in front of the fire, the comfort food, and being wrapped up warm. But summer is where my heart is most of the time.


13. Computer or Television? I can't choose, it has to be both, I can't imagine my life without either.


14. What's the furthest you've been away from home? I went to Gran Canaria once, so not really as far as some people, but I don't really like being far from home.


15. Do you have any special talents? I don't think so. I'm a naturally good organiser and it is something I keep improving, but I don't know if that would count as a talent.


16. Where were you born? Aberdeen in Scotland.


17. What are your hobbies? Reading, watching T.V. and writing for this blog.


18.  Do you have any pets? None that belong to me personally, but in my house we have 2 dogs, 3 budgies and some fish. We did have more pets, but they got old or ill, which is sad but it is the way of life.


19.  What is your favorite movie? Mean girls or Legally Blonde. Pure chick-flicks, I know, but I love them. I do like The Terminator and the first Die Hard (I haven't seen the rest yet) so I'm not completely chick flick central ha-ha


20. Do you have any siblings? Yes, I have 1 younger brother. I've always wanted a sister though, mostly a younger sister, which I guess has lead on to me wanting a daughter really badly ha-ha.

Well that was the tag. I hope you enjoyed it and please leave your response in the comments below.

Have a beautiful day

DFTBA

xx

Picture from here

Prepare for summer - body/skin

Hey all of my lovely followers, and a big hello to all my new followers, thank you for following me :)

Yes that's right, it's that time of week again. The time when I help you to prepare for summer!

This week I want to focus on your body. Not the shape of your body i.e. abs etc. But your skin.

Soft skin is essential for summer, it looks good, feels good and helps to pick up a tan. So, how do you get it? Read on to find out.

The first step is to exfoliate. Just like I mentioned with your legs last week, exfoliation gets rid of all of the dead skin cells, leaving your skin silky smooth. I suggest doing this no more than 2 to 3 times a week. I do this the same days as I exfoliate my legs: Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, so as not to dry out my skin or to make it red and sore.

After every shower, you should use a body lotion or a body butter. Do it whilst the skin is still damp to lock in the moisture. You could also use baby oil or body oil, as these also lock in moisture and keep your skin smooth and hydrated. Use whatever you feel comfortable with, but just make sure that you rub it in completely so you don't leave your skin feeling sticky. And make sure to do it after every shower or bath. I would recommend using a body butter on colder days as it is the most hydrating for your skin. You don't want your skin to dry out.

Now what I am about to say may seem obvious but it is essential! Wear sun cream/sun block. Even if you do all of the above, if you don't wear sun cream your skin will most likely burn, you will bet premature ageing and sun spots, non of which are very attractive. So make sure you wear it! Also stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water.

I hope this post has helped some of you.

Have a beautiful day/night

DFTBA

xx

Things to make you smile

Hey girls. I hope you all had an amazing weekend; mine was packed to burst.

I know it isn't the happiest of quotes, but I felt like it fits perfectly with me right now and wanted to share it with you all.

Have a wonderful night, and don't be too sad that tomorrow is Monday. In fact this post might help with that :)

Happy dreams girls

xx

Picture from HERE

Things to make you smile

Hey girls, this is just a super quick post. For the next few months I am going to be focusing on school work as I have 3 pieces of coursework due and have my final exams coming up, so don't get mad if I don't post everyday. I promise that I will still try and post daily, even if it is just these 'Things to make you smile' posts. 

I hope you liked this picture, and remember to keep smiling. :)

Keep those dreams big

Picture from here

Prepare for summer - Legs

Hey girls, I hope you are all well. I am excited because this is my second post in my 'Prepare for summer' series and I, honestly, think this is my favourite series I have done on this blog.
I have decided to focus on the body, from toes to head, then proceed from there. So stay tuned and start to prepare for summer!

Today's post is on legs. Now I am not going to do anything on tanning yet, as I am planning on trying out a few new tanning products, however I am going to help you to get smooth, hair-free legs, like this:

Now I did a video on this, which I am going to insert, however I have a few new tips that I am also going to share. First here is the video:

I know that this is an old video and I would never borrow someone else's razor now, but I felt that it gives all the tips that I wanted to share with you all.

I didn't mention waxing, which I am going to do now. Again exfoliation is key, for the same reasons as stated in the video. Also it causes less pain. Another tip is to make sure that you really smooth the wax strip down and make your skin a taught as possible. When you pull it off, do it quickly. This is key, because if you do it slow, the hair won't come out. Also pull it in the opposite direction of the hair growth, so if your hair points down, pull up.

I suggest that to keep the smoothness of your legs, even if you waxed, is to exfoliate 2/3 times a week and use a body lotion/butter afterwards (although using a body lotion/butter is suggested after every bath ir shower). This will remove all dead skin cells and leave your skin feeling smooth and looking great. I usually do this on a Monday, Wednesday and a Saturday as I feel it gives enough time in between each exfoliation so as not to be too rough on my skin.

I hope that this post helped you, and as always leave any of your tips in the comments below, we do like to help each other after all :)

That is all for today, and I will talk to you all tomorrow.

Have a beautiful day

DFTBA

xx

Something I think is important - KONY 2012

Hey everyone. I just watched a video on Youtube and I really wanted to share it with you guys. I'm not going to say much, I'm just going to let the video explain it all. I really hope you all watch it.

Together, we can stop Kony.

xx

Spring OOTD

Hey girls, hope you are all feeling as happy as I am.
Today I have an outfit for the weather we are experiencing lately. Doesn't spring feel amazing?

Spring OOTD by kim-lightning-scar-mcpherson featuring square sunglasses

BB Dakota rose print dress
$29 - shoptaintedkiss.com

Dorothy Perkins stockings hosiery
$21 - dorothyperkins.com

Olsenboye high heel shoes
$30 - jcpenney.com

Wet Seal zip bag
$25 - wetseal.com

Zara flower jewelry
$9.90 - zara.com

Nicole By Nicole Miller square sunglasses
$20 - jcpenney.com






The tights are optional, depending on how warm it is where you are. I love this outfit, it is perfect for spring.


Have a wonderfully, amazing day.


DFTBA


xx

February Ins and Outs

Hey girls, how are we all. I still can't believe it is March already. I have so much to do this month, it's scary ha-ha.
Well here are my Ins and Outs of last month. Unfortunatly I don't have much to say here, but I'm just being honest ha-ha.

In:

1. My tattoo. As you all know, I got my first tattoo done this month. Here is the post all about it.
2. A holiday. I went away during February half-term and it was great. Even though I didn't go out of the country and I didn't do much whilst there, it was just great to get away.
3. Organising everything. I am obsessed with organisation and this month I have organised so much, and it feels so good. I plan on continuing that this month.
4. My 'Things to make you smile' posts. I love doing these, and find them inspirational, and I hope you all enjoy them too.

Out:

1. Icy weather. It has slowly been warming up. It is still really cold but it is starting to feel like spring, which is amazeballs.
2. Being full of energy. I have been so sleepy this past month, but I hope to change that this month.

Hmm it appears that that is all I can think off. Well I have been ill a lot this month, so that could explain it ha-ha. I'll just have to make up for it this month.

Want to join me for the ride? Follow my blog and my twitter. Ha-ha, just thought I would try that out :-P

Talk to you all later. DFTBA

xx

British Rambles

Hey girls, I know that I haven't done a real post today, it went by so fast that I didn't get a chance. So to make up for it, I thought that I would do a quick ramble post.

I have just done a facial and have a home-made face mask on. I actually came up with this recipe myself, just using what I had in the house. I wanted to do a facial tonight, but I them realized that I had no face masks handy, and I didn't have all of the ingredients to make ones that I knew off. I therefore decided to see what I had and look up recipes containing the ingredients, but I couldn't find any, so made my own. I knew the benefits of each ingredient and I think that they will really help my skin (well I hope so). It was a really simple recipe as well, with only 3 ingredients. If it works I will definitely give you the recipe, I'm not just going to keep it to myself ha-ha.

I was reading my Skin care routine post, and realized how bad it was. So I have decided to re-do it; however it won't be until next month. I have added a couple of things to my routine, and am giving it a month to see if it works. I really hope it does, I've done it for a week and it seems good, I just hope it will continue and improve my skin even further. After all I want clear skin for summer.

How are you guys getting on with preparing for summer, anyway? I know I  have only done one post so far, but have you tried it? Or do you have other ways of preparing for summer? Let me know, I am fascinated with how people prepare themselves/their skin/bodies for summer. Speaking about my 'Prepare for summer' series, I just want to put it out there that I won't be just focusing on your bodies/skin, I will do wardrobe and make-up as well. I think it will be an entire summer series, as in travel, beach bags etc. Just helping with everything summer related. I'm actually really excited about this series and I really hope you all enjoy it too.

I should go and take this mask off now. Wow this was a short post, I'm sorry about that, but I promise tomorrow I will have about 2 posts. Talk to you all then?

Have a beautiful night and DFTBA

xx

Things to make you smile #5

Good morning girls. 

I hope you all have a wonderful day

xx

Things to make you smile #4

It really is. Night girls, and don't forget to keep smiling

Have beautiful dreams

xx

New Years Resolutions - Update

Hey girls, well it is the first day of a new month, which means it is time for me to update you all on my new years resolutions.

I am ashamed of myself this month as I feel like I have failed on all of my resolutions. I have been ill a lot throughout this month and was away, so some of my resolutions failed this month. Anyway here is my update.

1. Follow my skin care routine day and night. 
2. Brush my teeth every day and night.
3. Take my vitamins everyday. 
4. Eat cleaner/healthier.
5. Exercise at least 3 times a week.
6. Work harder at school and work, so I can get into university.
7. Read 6 books by the summer holidays. 
8. Appreciate all that I have more often.
9. Do something that scares me at least once a month.
10. Learn to play the ukulele.

I'm just going to say right here the ones I failed on for the same reason/s and they are 1, 2, 4 and 5. I guess 4 out of 5 isn't so bad, I just wish that I hadn't broken them. However I didn't completely break them, as in I haven't given up, which is the main thing. The main problem I had with sticking to these 4 are because I really have been ill a lot this week. I've had a really bad headache and have felt flu-y for most of the month, obviously ruling out any exercise. I also wasn't in the mood to eat healthy because of it, all I wanted was crisps or chocolate, and it was either that or not eat at all, which isn't an option. Also whilst I was away it was really hard to eat healthy as I was eating food that they had and not my own. I didn't exercise whilst there because I felt awkward ha-ha. I was basically just very lazy whilst away, which is why I didn't follow my skincare routine or brush my teeth everyday, and you honestly don't understand how much I regret it.

Now onto the rest of my resolutions.

Take my vitamins everyday I am so happy about this. I haven't missed a single day and I even bought more before I ran out, which I never do, I always buy new after I have finished.  

Work harder at school and work This is a hard one as I am still not doing my best, however I do feel more motivated to work and I am starting to get real help with this so that it becomes definite.

Read 6 books by the summer holidays I am still reading my second book of the year, 'Wuthering Heights', which I am almost finished. It is really hard to get into but I only need to read 1 a month to achieve this which is do-able.

Appreciate all that I have more often I don't know if I have said this before or not, but this is a hard one to know if I am achieving, however I do feel like I am. Obviously I do still take things for granted but I feel like I am getting better at that.

Do something that scares my at least once a month OK for this one, what I did will sound strange to a lot of you probably, but I'm going to tell you anyway. I made a phone call. I have a fear of speaking on the phone so this is huge for me, and I am hoping to improve this throughout the year.

Learn to play the ukulele I still haven't played it yet, which I am sad about, but I swear that this month I will start to learn. I really will ha-ha.

So that was it. I am truly disappointed in myself this month and I really hope to do better this month. I'm finding that I have to wean myself off of chocolate again, as I have already had more than I should today, but I know I can do it, and I am excited for it.

How did you guys do this month? Have any of you given up? Let me know in the comments below.

Have a beautiful day and DFTBA