Back To School Must Haves.

It's that time of year again guys, our triumphant return to school. (Eeeek)

This summer, for me at least, has gone so quickly. It was a summer of relaxing and recuperating, and now that I feel a little more human, I also feel a little more prepared for the next school year. I've had time to sort out my life a little before I get thrown back into my final year- and lord knows it's gonna be busy.

Now I may be a total girly girl and you might judge me, but one of the ways I feel on top of things in life is to look put together. If all else fails and I feel like I'm losing control of things, having great eyebrows or killer lipstick, or on POINT shoes- I feel like I have a little more together in my life. If things are falling apart a little in life and you are totally overwhelmed with it all, a good place to start is eyebrows, I promise.

So, here for you all is a list of my essentials for the new school year- so you can at least start the year feeling put together and fabulous.

1. Facewash

This gentle little dream right here is the Garnier Skin Naturals Pure Active Fruit Energy Daily Energising Gel Scrub. (the name is hella long I know)

This little tube of orange cuteness is a wonderfully gentle gel I use on a daily basis for my morning skin routine. I like to use a gentle wash in the morning and a stronger exfoliator before I go to bed the night before. My skin is quite sensitive when it comes to washes so this one is perfect for a something to make your skin feel a little tighter and smell really quite lovely!



2.  Garnier Ultimate Blends, The Marvellous Glow Oil

If you hair is feeling a little limp, or a little dry- maybe from heat damage, that holiday sun or a little ombre, then this is fabulous stuff.

After I ombred my hair at the start of the summer I really wanted to take care of it properly, because after my first ombre my hair really needed some serious TLC. A little of this stuff really goes a long way for me, and I try to use it as much as I can during the week- but you really don't need to use it every day depending on how damaged your hair is.

There have been a lot of these products brought out over the summer time and they seem to be super popular at the moment. I decided to give this one a go, because as an honorary Broke Girl I like to keep my hair and makeup essentials to a fairly tight budget- this little beauty is only £9.99 at Boots, which compared to other brands bringing out essentially the same product, was pretty good in my mind!

The oil takes a little time to disappear in your hair so I tend to put it on, pin my hair back and do my makeup while my hair absorbs it. By the time I'm dressed and makeup is done my hair is usually good to go, I run my fingers through it (I have no time to spend hours on my hair when I go back to school) and go!
Damage control that smells lovely!

3. Johnson's Face Care Makeup Be Gone Moisturising Wipes 

Makeup wipes are a hand bag essential for school.
I have no idea why schools are so weirdly over heated when we get back into school, but between rushing to classes and being squeezed into non-air conditioned classrooms- eye makeup tends to run, or if you are brave enough to attempt eyeliner on the dodgy bus ride to school, then these are a MUST.

I don't do anything special when it comes to makeup removers usually and tend to get the cheapest and most basic no-perfume packs of wipes from my local Superdrug or Boots store, and it works just fine.

Recently I decided to treat myself a little and buy some Johnson's Face Care Makeup Be Gone Moisturising Wipes. There's not a lot to say about them other than they are super gentle on my skin with a nice subtle smell I love post-shower and pre-bedtime. They  remove makeup so much quicker than the cheapest makeup wipe brands and I just love them!

Johnson's have and entire range of makeup wipes for all different kinds of skin types, ranging from dry skin to oily skin. If you want to give your face a treat and switch up your skin care routine, these are perfect for the job.

4. Gum

For school, be that girl who always have gum- but protect it with your life.
Either embrace the fact you will ALWAYS be asked for a piece by EVERYONE, or get really good at being sneaky about your gum.

My personal favourite is the classic Rigley's Extra packs, they are perfect for being on the go, pre-date freshen up, post lucnh freshen up rituals, and go a long way!

A back to school essential.


5. Rimmel London Colour Rush Balm

Now this is my ABSOLUTE august favourite item.

Being someone who struggles with having fairly large surface area when it comes to my lips, I struggle to find "quick fix" products for my lips when it comes to colours. But this has saved me in my daily make-up routine!

The balm is like a big crayon that you just draw up on your lips, and is really really quick to apply and fix up if you make a mistake. This one really is a quick fix! The product has a bunch of different shades for a pinkish every day tinge or a brighter and bolder lip too- and the thing that's great about it is that because its a balm you can layer it. If you start with one sweep of it you definitely get a first base of colour, but you can build it up however you may need for whatever look you're going for.

The balm is perfect for really long lasting colour after one application, but I recommend topping it up half way through the day to keep it all together. The colour that I personally use is called 'Not and Illusion', a bright peachy pink colour perfect for brightening up my everyday look with a little colour.

The item is about £5.99 at Boots, and it's available at all Rimmel London supplies- currently the product seems to be on offer just about everywhere and I recommend you grab it when you can!


So there we have it my lovelies, my personal favourites for going back to school this year!
Good luck munchkins, it's going to be great.

Good friends.

Good friends are like good jeans, or bras, or luggage. Those are things you need as standard in your life. If you have these fundamental things I promise you that life will be easier, because your core components are of good quality and will last you a very long time.

In your life you are going to meet a lot of people, and as the years go on, you and the people around you are going to change. You are going to meet people who change you too, sometimes for better and sometimes for worse. You're going to meet a boy that you would turn your world upside down for, you're going to sit next to a girl who bites her nails and you are going to have to resist the habit yourself (and probably fail too, don't feel bad the best of us fall to the nail biting).

There will be people who get you into boybands, or heavy metal, or Instagram. Crazy health kids who put you on a mad diet, a wise grandparent who changes your life with a humbug and a story from the days of black and white photos- the people that you surround yourself with will shape you and the way you are.

Therefore, in my 17 years experience of this big wide world, you need to surround yourself with wonderful people. People who make you do this:

And this:

Or this:

And make you act like this:

What I'm saying is, you need to surround yourself with good people. "Good" I am aware is a relative term, so let me just expand on what I mean. You need to surround yourself with people who are going to be good to you, treat you with respect. People who respect you will care about your opinion, but equally aren't going to sugar coat it when you are wrong. You need to have people in your life who are going to call you out on your BS, and keep you grounded if you get a little bit too floaty. But equally you cannot surround yourself with people who constantly bring you down- people who will support you and care for you and push you higher are essential for your individual happiness and well being.

I am incredibly blessed to have an incredibly supportive mother and wonderful group of friends who play this role in my life. Without this network of support and laughs and tea drinking maniacs, my life would not even be half as entertaining, ad I would not have consumed half as much coffee as I do with them.

Now, people are all flawed. Just because someone is a wonderful person does not mean that they will not make mistakes. You can do dumb shit without being a dumb shit, you feel? If you have a good friend who screws up with you, give it time- but forgive them. If a person is not there for you one time when you needed them I know it's difficult, I know it hurts and I know that you feel like they are no longer a good person for you. But if they're trying and showing you that they are there, and are sorry and make it up to you- and if that person would move the moon and sun to make sure you're okay again, then kid's it's important you forgive them. People mess up, we're human- the human condition dictates that we make huge mistakes, but we grow and we learn from them. Good friends will mes up, but if they are truly good friends to you, you need to forgive and forget.

I'm not saying that all people deserve to be forgiven. If you have a best friend who sleeps with your boyfriend and kills your hamster and dates your dad- damn son, you can push the slag out of your life. Toxic people lead to toxic relationships, making your life harder and more difficult- but good friends will improve your life, and make it happier. You have to be able to see the difference between people who are there for you and people who say they are, that's the true distinction between good friends and acquaintances who once showed an interest. 

If you are having a hard time you need to be aware that if you have a good network of friends, they will always try and help you. Don't keep it all bottled up because that will hurt you, and pushing them away will hurt your relationships too. Talk to your friends, over coffee, at your house, at their house, on the phone, scream it across a field, send a message by pigeon post- whatever you want, but make sure you communicate because good friends will always make you feel better.

Go out with your friends, make room for their mad interests as well as your own. Go to that comic book convention with your crazy guy friends, let them talk physics at you. Shop with your wanna-be Made in Chelsea crazed girls, talk Monet with the arty ones, try those cookies they make, listen to that song even if it's uber depressing and awful- you'll learn something along the way.

When it comes down to it, whatever you want your friends to be to you, you need to be to them. If you want someone supportive, crazy and kind, a good listener and a fast talking gossip buddy- you need to be all of those things. If you want consistent and strong and grounding, be that for them.

Good friends, like good bras, good jeans and good luggage will carry you throughout your life, making the struggles and journey along the way more manageable. They will be reliable, they will make it through the hard times with you, and they wont leave you when the pressure is too high, or the wash is too hot. But you have to take care of them too. Never underestimate the importance of good friends.

Feel how you feel.

Alrighty kids, so we all know what its like when you have a period time where it feel like you cannot get it together no matter what. It's like everything is messing up at the same time: your friends are falling out, you feel like you're fat, your family life is draining, work or school is just overwhelming you completely- and life just generally sucks. You feel like you want to sleep through the day and just hide away from all your problems and issues. It happens to every person in the world, you are not alone in those awful days or even weeks where you just feel like nothing is working out for you- it happens.

One thing that's always worked for me on days or weeks or just periods of time like that, on an emotional level, is music. Here's the thing though, I think music is a great escape, a really powerful way of feeling however you feel. Whenever I've had one of those totally emotionally draining days and you just want to be sad or alone or angry, I always end up playing the sad songs on my iPod, and I get lost in it. Sometimes people just need to accept and feel how they feel about things. Even if you're sad or mad about something so trivial and stupid, sometimes it's the small things that build up and get to you- human beings are not designed to bottle up emotions. To quote the literary love of my life John Green's, The Fault in Our Stars: "That's the thing about pain, it demands to be felt" The truest statement of all, sometimes you just need to feel and express how you feel. Sad, loud, angry, resentful, beautiful, heartbreaking music is such a good way to "feel how you feel". Someone has put what you're feeling into words and are singing it with all their force- music is an amazing release in that way.

Personally I play the sad tracks first, then the angry ones- then it kind of mellows out while I sit and process and listen and think through whatever it was that was making me feel bad. Then usually I end up listening to Beyonce sing Resentment ( *cough* link here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1aWqEa3Ce8 *cough*) and I get all sassy and cool off- then I look in the mirror take a breath (and usually a shower to wash away all the negativity) and I get on, because you cant run away from your responsibilities or your issues for too long.

If it's not music then use art, or singing or shouting, running, dancing, walking or writing- try blogging, it's one of the most therapeutic things I've ever done.
People need an outlet, so find yours. You need to feel how you need to feel sometimes. Feel sad, feel angry or hurt that's fine- even if it's pointless, you deserve to feel how you feel.
But after time you need to stop, progress and move on, because in life you have to let go sometimes.

Winter Lip Products.

It's happening you guys, the winter is coming.

I know this because I have seen the Coke advert, the Christmas light's in my time have come on, and my Grandma has started knitting all her grandchildren jumpers. I know this because I can see my breathe in the air at the bus stop, and I can FEEL MY LIPS HATING ME.Winter has many beautiful perks, however its's effect on your lips are not one of them.
Being one of large lips I have a lot of surface area that can get cracked and dry and generally not very nice, so it's a yearly struggle for me to keep my lips smooth and pouty (All ready for mistletoe etc obviously...) So obviously I had to check out what lip products ACTUALLY work for this year and my loves I have my list of Top 5 Winter Lips Products!

3. Maybelline Baby Lips

These cute and colourful little chap stick type products from Maybelline are pretty fabulous. With a range of different colours and flavours to match your preference these little cuties are good for a quick top up when out in the cold. I used the yellow intensive care and the blue hydration lip balms, and I really did like them. You can wear a layer of lipstick or just on their own. They all smell fantastic and are a wonderful little addition to your makeup bag or just in your back pocket. Although these are a lovely little product I don't feel like they can save your lips once they're chapped. They are a great prevention for chapped lips, but if you're already trying to fix severe damage to your lips I'm afraid these are not the product for you. They are fabulous products, lovely smelling, cute size, beautifully packaged and a good buy. You can get these little cuties for £2.99 at Boots online.

2. Carmex Lip Balm Tube

Now I won't lie- I did think this little tube of wonder was glue at first glance, but don't be deceived  these little wonder tubes are a fabulous little addition to your winter beauty routine. The tub is a lot like lip gloss and makes your lips tingle a little when you apply- but CAN ACTUALLY FIX ALREADY CHAPPED LIPS.
I know, calm down guys, it's cool. Carmex basically saved my chapped little lips after a week of just licking my lips in the cold and letting them get more and more chapped. At boots they come in little pots and sticks with similar formulas but my favourite Carmex product has to be the tube version. In strawberry, cherry, mint, and just its origional scents the smell could be a little much for some but personally I love it, a fabulous and STRONG little product available for £2.99 on Boots online.

1. Palmer Cocoa Butter Lip Balm.

Here it is you guys, my number one beauty must have for winter lips. Palmers is a brand I am going to be raving about I think because I adore it. I LOVE cocoa anything, being a self confessed chocaholic anything that smells as good as a hot chocolate is pretty good in my books. Palmers Lip Balm smells AMAZING, and it actually works. The Ultra Moisturizing Lip balm lasted me absolutely ages and after my very first application started making my lips feel softer and less chapped. I love this product and it'a simplicity: smells good, does good. My lips feel soft and smooth every time I use it and it's only £1.89 on Boots online. Palmers also do a lip gloss type version of the product that I'm also mad about for, which is £2.75 in Superdrug- let me tell you, your lips will smell so good you'll just want to keep applying it just for the smell.