A Few Mood Boosters

Sometimes there are days when you feel really down and unmotivated and you just need something to pick you up. I've been thinking about the things I do when I have one of these days and I thought I'd share a few of them with you.

Do Your Hair And Makeup

When you're feeling down about, possibly your appearance, this is a great way to make you feel a lot more confident about yourself. I know that you should love yourself with or without makeup but I find that making myself look slightly better usually perks me up. 

Go Out For A Walk

Depending on how much time you have, go out for a long or even just a short walk. I find that in doing this my mood is instantly boosted and I feel refreshed. It's almost like being outside, particularly if you live in the countryside, makes your brain more occupied on what's around you instead of just the thoughts in your head. 

Workout

Working out releases endorphins which are known for enhancing your mood and often make you feel good about yourself. Although you may feel extremely unmotivated to do this when you're feeling sad, it's best to push yourself to do it because you honestly won't regret it afterwards.

Stretch
Stretching, especially reaching your arms up to the sky, makes you feel good.  

Have A Shower/Bath

Having a shower definitely wakes me up and makes me much more motivated. The warm water gets your blood flowing and makes you 'pumped' for your day.

Change Your Bed Sheets
Whenever I change my sheets, especially to something light, it brightens not only my room but also my mood! Who doesn't love snuggling in bed with crisp, clean bedding? 

Do Anything That Keeps Your Mind Occupied

Going out and keeping myself busy prevents me from thinking negatively too much as you're engaged in whatever activity you're doing.

I hope this post helped you and be sure to stick around for next week's post! (hopefully it will be a holiday related one) :) 

Becky x

Year 11 Prom 2015

School has flown by, even if it did seem to drag on and on at the time. I'm partly sad but also glad that it's finally over as everyone parts in their separate ways. Prom was that last time all of us would be together before we went down our different pathways and it was weird seeing all of my classmates dressed up in fancy clothes, especially those who don't usually make much of an effort. 

I did my own makeup for prom which I thought was going to be very stressful but in fact it wasn't at all! For weeks before prom I kept practising and experimenting what makeup to use and what kind of look to go for. In the end I went for a silver smokey eye with winged eyeliner and false lashes. For my face makeup, I kept it very simple and used my typical foundation, concealer and powder routine and added a tad of blush for some extra colour. Along with my face makeup, my choice of lip colour was also very simple and a 'your lips but better' kind of shade.

For prom I guessed that the majority of the girls would be fake tanning so I decided to hop on the band waggon and tan myself. Going to a shop to get a spray tan whilst standing half naked really didn't appeal to me so I decided to go out to Boots and buy my own fake tan. I'd never used fake tan before, so like I did with my makeup, I tried it out a week beforehand so that I could figure out how to do it properly and whether I had to correct shade for my skin colour. Fortunately the colour was fine; I used the sun shimmer instant tan and gradual glow by rimmel in the shade light matte. Overall I found that applying the tan for a few nights in a row to build up the colour worked best. If I were to tan again, I'd definitely make sure to apply it to my hands and face as well.

For my dress I took the less stressful option of choosing it a few months before prom so that I would have time to make any alterations. Choosing the dress was probably one of the hardest decisions of my life, no joke! I can't imagine how long it would take me to choose a wedding dress. If I remember rightly, it took me a long 3 hours of trying dress after dress on before I came to the conclusion of which one to get. I chose this particular dress because I was drawn in and repeatedly went back to it. Luckily my Nan leant me a beautiful purse to go with my outfit and I found some glittery heels from Debenhams for a really good price.

I hope you enjoyed this post and be sure to stick around for another next Sunday! :) 

Becky x

My Favourite Affordable Skincare and Makeup

Most of my everyday skin products are very low in price as I'm still at school and don't have a great deal of money. So for anyone else who is in my situation or low on money I have decided to share my favourite products that are all under £10 to give you help on finding good products for little money.

Foundation - Rimmel Lasting Finish

This foundation is perfect for everyday wear as it's not very heavy on your skin and gives a light covering to give your face a more even tone. The application of the foundation is very good, especially with a large foundation brush which is what I use daily. I wouldn't say that the foundation lasts 25 hours but it certainly stays on my face all day unless I rest my head in my hand in class, which I'm guilty of doing quite a lot. I usually set this foundation with a powder to make it look more matt, however you can leave it as it is if you prefer a more dewy look. It also has added SPF which is perfect during summer so you don't have to worry about forgetting to apply sunscreen to your face.

Face Washes - Garnier PureActive Anti-blackhead Deep Pore Wash for oily skin prone to imperfections

I've been using this face wash in the evening when I shower for the past few months and I've really seen an improvement in my skin as I now feel confident to go out with out wearing foundation. It's a good deep cleansing wash to use after a long day to get rid out any dirt or grime, therefore reducing the possibility of breaking out. The tiny exfoliating bits are amazing at unclogging pores and refreshing your face and making it feel perfectly clean.

Neutrogena Visibly Clear Oil-free Facial Wash

This face wash is much gentler than the Garnier one which is why I prefer to use this one in the morning. After a deeper cleanse in the evening, I don't feel like I need a face wash quite as powerful therefore, this face wash is mainly just to remove any grease build up from over night and as a way to make my face feel refreshed in the morning.

Moisturisers - Clean & Clear Dual Action Oil Free Moisturiser

When I begin to break out or my skin is going through a particularly oily phase, I love to use this moisturiser as I find it great at clearing my spots and reducing oiliness. I tend to only use this at night, however when I do use it in the morning I find it very refreshing and it tingles on my skin. It also has a thin consistency and creates a great base for make-up.
Mascara - Rimmel Scandaleyes

This product has been my all time favourite, low cost mascara for the past few years. I've tried out other mascaras, but time and time again I found myself coming back to this one as it's a good quality mascara that I find best value for money. This mascara also lasts me a good couple of months a time and even when it's running low, I still achieve volume and a good coverage of mascara on my lashes. 

Eye-liner - Collection Extreme 24 hour felt tip liner

I've only recently began to use this eye-liner over my other L'oreal Superliner Blockbuster eye-liner which was beginning to run out. I find the Collection eyeliner much better because it's thinner and therefore easier to apply and the slimmer stick itself makes it more comfortable to hold. However, I would say that neither of these eye-liners last 12 hours, let alone 24 hours, but this may just be down to me rubbing my eyes and by the time I come to take off my make-up in the evening, half of my winged eye-liner is smudged off. Although this product isn't as well wearing as I'd like it to be, it's definitely my favourite eye-liner I've tried out so far.

Concealer - Rimmel Wake Me Up

Only recently have I began to use concealer as a way to cover up my spots and blemishes; before hand I would never bother. However, I did put this concealer under my eyes to hide my slightly visible under eye circles and found that it made my eye bags look worse and it also seemed to crease under my eyes.  Although I have noticed an improvement in the evenness of my face's skin colour since I've been using this product. I would also say it's as long lasting as the Rimmel Lasting Finish foundation and I love to pair these two together when doing my everyday face make-up.

Face masks - Any Montagne Jeunesse Masks

These face masks are my absolute favourite face masks and one packet, which is enough for two people to share, usually costs me under a pound. I try to use a facemask once every 1 or 2 weeks whenever I find the time as they are great at helping me keep my skin clear. My favourite ones are the face masks that heat up such as the Hot Chocolate one which smells just like chocolate heaven. 

I hoped you enjoyed this post and be sure to stick around for more in the future! :) 

Becky x