Things I Do To Relax...

Hello, I'm really sorry that I haven't managed to publish a post last weekend but I promise you this post is going to be good - or at least I think so and I hope you do as well! I thought I'd show you a few of the things that I do to relax and  help me to try not stress out too much (which if I'm honest, recently I haven't been doing too well with!)

 

 

The first thing that I do to help me to take some time out for myself is to read a good book. When I was really little and throughout primary school, I used to love reading books but then as I moved into secondary school I started going off reading books a lot as the teachers made it a bit too much of a priority which meant I didn't feel like it was for "leisure" - if you get what I mean! However when this year started, one of my resolutions was to read much more books than I had been doing previously. Now, I have been enjoying having some time out just sitting in bed all tucked up while reading a book before I go to sleep. On weekends I will even sometimes read in the mornings as well!

 

There are two books that I really recommend and they are both YouTuber books actually! The first one is by Carrie Hope Fletcher (aka ItsWayPastMyBedtime) and it's called All I Know Now, if you want a bit more of a review on it then go look on my last Latest Obsessions post. The second book is by Zoe Sugg (aka Zoella) and it's Girl Online On Tour, I loved the first Girl Online book and this second one is no exception, the story leads on perfectly.

 

 

The next thing is listening to music, I love music and I think any chance I get to listen to music, I will do! I always stick my headphones on and listen to music on the bus on the way to school and on the way back home because it is just another time where I can just shut myself away from other people (nothing like being unsociable, huh?) and just focus on the music. Or even just dancing and singing along to any crazy song you like can be helpful - I do that a lot - just not on the bus, please!

 

I've been particularly liking Little Mix's album Get Weird just because it has such a fun and confident sound (perhaps also because I'm a Mixer!) This is the only thing that lets you use your phone on this list though because I don't know if I'm the only one but I can get very distracted by social media which doesn't have to be a bad thing but going on it a lot (which I have been lately - oops) can stop you from getting on with other stuff, in turn making, at least me, feel more stressed.

 

 

Even though I'm saying don't go on your phone too much, that doesn't mean some types of technology can't be de-stressful! I only just got my brand new, bright blue Nintendo 3DS XL (!!!) and I am so incredibly happy because you honestly have no idea how long I searched for one at a reasonable price! I've only got two 3DS games at the moment but I they are both so fun to play and just helps me to wind-down for a bit - even if that means losing some games while winning obviously much more because I'm such an amazing gamer (not...)!

 

I love playing level games and I'm a proper Mario girl so I had to get the new Super Mario 3D Land game and I am doing pretty good at it, if I do say so myself! I also got ScribbleNauts Unlimited which is very easy and fun to play, it lets you create objects to solve the weirdest problems like - spoiler alert - an invasion of zombies at the local fire station. Which is clearly an everyday occurrence in the world of ScribbleNauts.

 

 

It may or may not seem a bit like something only little children enjoy but when you have a whole new range of weird and wonderful colouring books coming out especially for adults and teenagers like Secret Garden by Johanna Basford and I 'heart' Colouring, it is something that seems to have turned into a trend. Most of the books are also aimed at relaxing and calming down as well which makes it perfect to add to this list! I personally love these colouring books as it just gives you something to do that doesn't feel like too much work but still feels productive, if that makes any sense! I particularly recommend Secret Garden though - it reminds me of the story book and film!

 

 

I think this is the thing that nearly every blogger/vlogger talks about being relaxing, and sorry about the continuous 'bath talk' but I am one of those people! Sorry! I don't manage to get many baths actually, as much as I like them (don't panic I do shower regularly!) so when I do get time to have a bath it is more of a treat which makes it feel even more relaxing to me. I am also one of those people who could go on forever about their love of Lush bath bombs, melts, scrubs or whatever other weird but wonderful things they are creating! You may be asking, why do you have the Snow Angel bath melt when it's not Christmas (even if you weren't I'm still answering that!) and it's because I'm so bad at finding time to properly bath that I just end up getting few things, usually at Christmas time, that end up lasting me for the rest of the year. At least it's saving me some money, I guess!

 

 

If all else fails, then you can always rely on one a trusty film! Recently I watched Paper Towns and I absolutely loved it! I mean it had Cara Delevingne playing Margo - what more do you want?? I have to say though, you can always trust a Disney film to cheer you up as well. I also watched The Princess and The Frog for the first time, not too long ago and it.was.amazing. No other words needed. You don't even have to watch a film, you could also watch loads of episodes of your favourite TV show one after the other (Big Bang Theory, obviously) or even loads of videos by a YouTuber you really enjoy watching!

 

Lolly

Caramel

 

Last but certainly not least, the ultimate way I like to relax is having endless cuddles and playing with my two extremely cute guinea pigs, Lolly and Caramel. They are definitely my world and if you have a pet as well then you will know what I mean. Plus, I mean, these photos honestly make them look the cuddliest guinea pigs ever! <3 <3

 

I hope this slightly longer post has made it up to you for having been a while but if not, then I have another surprise for you! Hopefully, I can make a separate email specially for this blog so I can do a lot more with this blog and share things like my posts with you as soon as I publish them! That's all for now though, post soon xx

 

**I watched The Brits awards on Wednesday, did you see how many awards Adele won?? And Little Mix's performance of Black Magic was incredible!! Who else watched it and which performance did you like the best?**

 



Latest Obsessions...

Hello! I'm finally able to write this blog post which I'm so exited about because I haven't done one of these in quite a while! I'm going to do a Latest Obsessions post as I have been loving a lot of things recently and I really want to share some of them with you.

 

 

I'm going to start with hair because I made a huge change in my hair routine recently, mainly because I want to try and grow my hair much longer. So one of the things I did in order to help my hair become healthier was change my shampoo and conditioner. Up until now, I have been using Herbal Essences shampoo and conditioners for a long time, which was alright for what I wanted back then, but I felt like I needed to change if I wanted my hair to grow even the tiniest bit more. So after looking into what made a good shampoo and conditioner, I came across OGX which have loads of different scents and ingredients for the kind of thing you want. For me, I just want my hair to be less dry, stronger and in better condition overall so I decided this would be the best one for I wanted - plus the coconut smell is amazing!

 

 

The next few things I've been obsessed with lately are to do with beauty. The first beauty product is this beautiful, very shimmery eye shadow in Cream Crush from KIKO Milano. It looks so perfect and the almost champagne colour that catches the light goes so well with my blue eyes! I usually wear it as the main colour for all over my eyelid but then put either a matte rose colour or a darker, shimmery bronze in the crease to add more depth to the look.

 

 

I think this has been in a 'Latest Obsessions' post before but I really wanted to include it in this one as well because I have been using it a lot recently due to the weather changing a lot making my lips get dry and flaky. I usually scrub my lips with this (while trying not to just eat it!) before putting any lip product that I know will be drying on like a lipstick or even just before I put on my usual lip balm to give it a smoother surface. And this one tastes of bubble gum which is delicious! :P

 

 

I bought these Mattifying Shine Control Papers by Deep Action not too long ago and ever since I got them, I have been using them every day in school. They are that good! During the school day my T-zone, especially my nose, gets very shiny due to my very oily skin tone. It always got on my nerves and some of my friends used to ask me why my nose was so shiny which made me become quite worried about how I looked throughout the day. I started touching up my makeup much more than I needed to and it started to look quite cakey. Obviously that didn't help my acne and I used to get even more breakouts of spots than ever.

 

However, since I have started using these, I have been managing to just use one to blot on my nose and any other areas that have started to get oily at lunchtime. The papers absorb any oil on your face without taking off all of your makeup and leave a light layer of matte powder so you look and feel a bit more refreshed.

 

 

The next thing on this list is something I have been enjoying drinking (I'm drinking it now) instead of plain milky tea (and even hot chocolates!) ever since getting a taster in one of my magazines. It tastes incredible and if you haven't tried Chai tea before then I suggest you get up right now (well, after you've finished reading this post) and go to the shops to buy a some of this! It has a very cinnamon-y and all those spices you'd get in a gingerbread man or something like that but better!

 

 

I have been loving Carrie Hope Fletcher (aka WayPastMyBedtime / TwentyThirtyTwo), I have been excited while waiting for a YouTube video to be put up by her. At Christmas, I got given her book All I Know Now (I know I'm a bit late on the bandwagon but better late than never), it has truly been an eye opener and I have started subtly changing ways I look at life or ways I act around other people. I've realised how much easier or slightly less stressful some moments have seemed compared to if I hadn't got the helpful advice from her in her book and if I hadn't decided to change my life around more. I think I have definitely turned into a Hopeful!

 

 

Lastly, I want to include something I got given for my guinea pigs Caramel and Lolly. It is a chew toy that, as you can see in the photo, has a rope middle, with two wooden cubes attached on either end. It is so fun trying to play tug-of-war with them and has been helpful because when they are in the run, they try to bite and nibble at the material we put beneath them so I usually give them this and they chew and bite it instead. As you can see, this is Lolly enjoying it when she was in the run.

 

That was all for today, I'm really sorry I haven't posted in a while, it's just that I have been trying to juggle a lot of homework and revision recently. Hopefully having the half term off, I can get back into it for you. Hope you enjoyed it, post soon xx

**I am loving Shawn Mendes' song Stitches and the video is really cool as well! What songs have you been into? Comment them down below.**