Zoella Beauty

When I go into Superdrug you will most likely find me in the make-up aisles trying my hardest to restrain myself because I really don’t need another dark red lipstick do I? (yes I really do). When Zoella brought out her beauty range last year I couldn’t help but be compelled to buy it, or well my mum bought me it for my 19th birthday. So I got the candle, the body spray and the bag with Zoë’s eyes on it. I fell in love with the scent of both the spray and of the candle. I’m a performing arts student so it’s stressful and it’s also very, very tiring, so when I came home from college after a particularly tiring day, I got myself settled in my room and lit the candle and after about two minutes my room smelled magnificent. I usually like quite woody and sweet scents and I felt like the Zoella candle gave you that. Overall the smell is wonderfully relaxing.

As for the spray? I swear to god I wore it everyday from October to Christmas Day 2014. It’s such a refreshing everyday scent that I can’t help but spray. Pairing it with ‘Gold’ rollerball perfume from Next or Juicy Couture’s ‘Viva La Juicy’ you end up smelling like a very classy lady on her way to her first day in the new job where she gets promoted to the head of the company 6 months later. It’s grown up but also still fun and I think it’s a scent for any age really.

Pictured above is what i’ve purchased from Zoella’s new ‘Tutti Frutti’ range which hit shelves on the 6th July. From left to right; Candy Cream, Scrubbing Me Softly, Foam Sweet Foam and Kissy Missy lip balm at the front. Now I barely ever moisture, i’m one of those hateful people who was born with naturally smooth and clear skin, only getting a spot once every 6 months. So when the new rang hit shelves in July I couldn’t help but race in and get myself some body stuff.

Candy Cream was at the top of my shopping list along with Scrubbing Me Softly. It’s the bursting beads that sucked me in and I fell in love with. I use it straight after i’ve came out a shower, once i’ve dried off, before I put anything on. It’s amazing and my skin smells and feels absolutely amazing and since I never moisturise it’s like a little treat for my skin and I think it appreciates it.

Scrubbing Me Softly had me a little nervous since I never exfoliate since I didn’t need to start shaving my legs till last year and even then it’s barely ever but I digress, the minute I stood in the shower and rubbed some onto my arms and legs then washed it; my body had just felt so smooth, it was amazing! Safe to say I used it up pretty quickly and actually had to repurchase it last Monday and now I know a little goes a long way when using it.

Foam Sweet Foam is a great shower gel, it’s so creamy and it smells delicious. Also I appreciate that although it’s only a skinny bottle, it’s only £3.50 which is a bargain.

Kissy Missy was something I was scared to get in case I didn’t like it. I’m not a huge lip balm fan, they are too greasy for me and I feel like they are barely pigmented. That certainly can’t be said for Zoë’s lip balm. The lip balm is perfectly pigmented a beautiful pink colour which i’m sure just gives a pop of colour to any colour skin. It can be sheer or built up to give you a more opaque colour.

In Conclusion Zoella has out done herself and I can’t wait to see how the line is going to progress and you never know, maybe we’ll get some cool lipsticks next time.

Taylor Swift Concert

On Tuesday the 23rd June 2015 I made my way up to Glasgow to see the legend that is Taylor Swift at the SSE Hydro.

We booked my singular little VIP ticket back at the start of November 2014 during the Fan-club pre-sale. My ticket came about five or so days before the actual concert which nearly sent me into a panic attack especially after being on hold with AXS for half an hour. I had designed my own costume which consisted of cat ears, a cat tail, a simple white t-shirt, a pair of 3/4 length leggings and a pair of white Converses. I’m not very crafty but I decided to give it a go and transformed my t-shirt and leggings into something incredible. I got so many compliments on my leggings at the concert.

The leggings were easy enough to make, I just used Hi-Tack Fabric Glue that I purchased for about £2 off of Amazon and then used the polaroid photos that came with the 1989 Deluxe CD. I glued them on simply enough then ironed the leggings and I was good to go.

So when it came to the actual day, it started off as any other; I got up, changed into some comfy clothes and messed about whilst I waited for it to be 11:30 when my Driving Instructor would arrive to take me for a lesson. When I got dropped off back at my house at like 12:30 I ran inside to have a quick cigarette and grab my purse and I made my way up to our local corner shop to withdraw money before my best friend Léah arrived to help me get ready. Funny enough, as I approached the cash machine Léah was standing there taking out money too. Once we walked back down to my house, we ordered a Dominos and then we started on getting my face looking amazing which my bffl is very good at doing.

Then it got to 3pm and I was ready to go. We jumped in a taxi and made our way to the train station where Léah headed home and I made my way up to Glasgow. I was dressed to the nines (as you can see above) and I got many funny looks as I travelled on both my trains but once I had walked over the walkway that leads from the Exhibition Centre Train Station and hit the SECC and the Hydro I didn’t get funny looks, I got smiles. There were hundreds of girls and boys dressed up in costumes too. I didn’t feel alone which really helped my anxiety.

Heading to a concert is stressful enough but then when you go by yourself it can cause anxiety, even for someone who doesn’t suffer from it on a daily basis. Thank god that i’m studying acting and i’ve gained confidence from that over the years. That confidence allowed me to interact with the people I was standing in the line with. Once I got into the arena and into the pit I met a girl who was also dressed as a cat called Tara. She was by herself too and we hit it off right away. 

Next thing we knew a guy with a lanyard came in but it was different to our collectible one that came with our pack so we both threw caution to the wind and went up and spoke to him, even gaining ourselves a selfie with him. Turns out that once Taylor came on, we realised that he was one of her main dancers and his name was Mark.

 Vance Joy, who was supporting Taylor, was incredible and played all my favourite songs including ‘Mess Is Mine’ and of course ‘Riptide’. Tara couldn’t help but point out that he kept looking over at me. Maybe it was because I was singing along really loudly or maybe it was because I was just excited to see him but he smiled at me a few times and I melted.

Then Taylor came on and me and Tara were in tears. She opened with ‘Welcome to New York’ and it was beautiful. Safe to say the rest of the concert is a blur and me and Tara basically made friends with Paul, her guitarist. We both even got thrown guitar pics by him which was amazing! I cried when Taylor sang ‘Clean’ and ‘All You Had To Do Was Stay’. I have some clips from the concert and they are on my YouTube channel here (that link will open in a new window and it'll be the video) if you fancy watching it. They are at 3:33 to 5:16. Here are some pictures from the concert.

After the concert I came out the tunnel to see my mum and dad and I cried again. I guess it was because I was overwhelmed. The concert was amazing and although it was painful and annoying to lug around the VIP tour merchandise I got it was something i’d do again and again. Her costumes were incredible and there is no doubt that Taylor can sing perfectly and she can bring Glasgow to their knees. I can't wait for her to come back and watch her do it all again.

Reflecting On How Far I've Come

So I had started and written a completely different blog post for my first post but I found something that made me decided to put up my original blog post next week. Since 2003 I have suffered from Depression but it went un-noticed until 2011 when it took over my life and I had a mental breakdown and started self-harming. It’s been over four years now but I still relapse occasionally and I still have very bad days but I have a handle on it, unlike four years ago. 

So I found an reflective essay I wrote on my Depression and Self-Harm that was a part of my folio work for Higher English in 2012 and I wanted to share it with you. 

To me the last paragraph is the most powerful. I know I wrote it, so i’m biased but tonight was the first time i’d read it in 3 years and it’s amazing that I wrote that when I didn’t know what 2013 was going to throw at me and i’d relapse and start doing it continuously like I had done in 2011.

“This essay has taken me over two weeks to write because every time i’ve sat and a read a paragraph back; I got a throbbing pain behind my eyes, my throat became swollen and I needed to go and take a fast pace walk around my room to stop myself from breaking down. Finally, i’m sitting here in front of my monitor, looking down at my wrist and the thing that stands out isn’t the fading lines that bring my stomach into my throat whenever I look at them for too long, it’s the black ink which reads the word ‘Believe’ because to me, believe can mean 100 things; I believe in Sherlock Holmes, I believe in love at first sight or I believe that I am worth living.”

There’s a bit in that paragraph that brings tears to my eyes, and I wanted to bold it for you. As you saw in my essay I was adopted, my gran died when I was 7 and also, something I didn’t add to my essay, but my mum was diagnosed with cancer back in 2009. My life has been anything but ordinary but for me to have been able to write this in 2012 showed that I was willing myself to get better but you never know what is going to happen tomorrow or in a few months that could ruin your clean streak. Everything we go through in life is a lesson and we can learn from it or continue to make the same mistakes. It’s all up to us and no one should tell you how to live your life, you live it for you. Not for anyone else. So i’m going to leave you with this little section and I promise i’ll be back next week with a much happier blog post.

“I don’t have to act anymore; I don’t have to wear long sleeves or become conscious when holding my hand up in class. I can keep the acting for the stage and produce my best performance to date.”