Been Using Bobby Pins Wrong? Me too...

I was going to do a rant post about not being able to find any bobby pins, despite only buying a pack of 50 new ones about 2 months ago. This time around, I even dedicated a small tin to putting them in at the end of the day, despite this I only have about 6 left; even Dora the Explorer wouldn't be able to find the rest.

So I have come to the conclusion that I have mice, that take them and use them for furniture building or something... or they're building an army and plan on using them as weapons. Hmm...

[caption id="attachment_2116" align="aligncenter" width="300"] "Quick... there's another pin!" ... "Oh boy, she's going to go mental trying to find this in the morning!"[/caption]

Anyway,I was looking for an Beatrix Potter image to illustrate my bobby pin stealing mouse point (not that I'm obsessed with Peter Rabbit or anything...), and for some reason I ended up stumbling onto an article that claims there is a right and wrong way round to use a bobby pin. Mind = Blown.

Wiggly side down girls! (And guys). Not the flat side. Who would have known...

[caption id="attachment_2115" align="aligncenter" width="300"] *Image from Pintrest*[/caption]

This is because the wavy bit is supposed to stop the hair from sliding out of the pin by giving it a bit of extra grip. And the flat side blends in better with your hair, making them less noticeable.

Apparently I have been using them the wrong way round. Although in my defense I swear my mum used to put them in like that when I was little and she did my hair for dance shows. ;-)

PLEASE tell me I'm not the only person that has been using a bobby pin with the wiggly side up and the flat side against the hair!? 

*Side note: if your bobby pins are still being a pain in the butt, and aren't staying where they should (even when you're using them the right way round!) then spray them with some hair spray before you put them in your hair and they stick so much better.*

Beauty and the Beast: Spiders 0, Hairspray 11.

I've used a stock photo, I apologise, but my Vo5 hair spray has been beaten, battered and launched across the room this evening thanks to an spider invasion of the bedroom. It is currently rolled in a corner with the remains of a huge one stuck to it and I cannot bring myself to move it to take a photo. That can wait for the other half when he gets home from work in the morning. :-(

I counted 4 when I woke up this morning, but when I returned this evening, there were 11. They're pretty medium sized, like 50p sized with really weird extra long front legs, perfect for taunting and waving at you. After a minor panic attack (I really don't like insects) where I felt like I had to beat myself because I thought they were all crawling on me (HA, great, thanks stray hairs for tickling me and making this worse), I knew I had to get something done. I have work tomorrow. I need to sleep.

I don't like spiders. I tolerate their presence in a room. However come into my sleeping area, and we're going to have issues. Bring a gang of spiders, and there's going to be a massacre. Throw in work the following morning and they're lucky I didn't get a flame thrower or something. My hubby will be lenient on you, as you apparently keep out flies (really!? I wiped a few fly corpses off the windowsill, I didn't see one in any of your webs.) But seriously, I don't have time for this inconsiderate crap. Get out, or deal with the spider ninja.

Initially I used some crappy wasp spray to kill the first few, but it ran out. It's given me one heck of a headache though, so it was probably for the best. Like I think I'm almost on the verge of having a chemical hallucination kind of headache. Should probably open a window.

I ended up using hairspray, because my sister uses it on them and swears by it, and I think it used to be my Grandma's fail safe if ever there were any around. Hairspray is a pretty clean way of dealing with them. No squishing, you don't have to get too close to them and there is very little mess to clean up... just gotta hoover em!

[caption id="attachment_2105" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Saving the day, one hair at a time...[/caption]

Anyway, for those that are interested, not only does Vo5 Strong Hold hairspray give you great hair results, it also stops you from being ganged up on by a rowdy group of eight legged beasts. You can also use the cap to trap the odd floor runner under, providing they are small enough. The long cylinder also makes a great 'wacking' type weapon for when they drop in front of your face and on the floor. Although it is a compressed aerosol soooo I wouldn't recommend doing this too violently. Please, be careful.

You heard it here first folks!

The Summer Tag!

I spotted the summer tag on Kayos Beauty and I'm giving it a go! Although loads of people are complaining that Summer is nearly over, I definitely prefer Autumn and Winter so I'm quite excited for Halloween, Hot Chocolates, Bonfires, Yule... and getting out my GINGER BREAD JUMPER. Which I love too much and would wear all year round if it didn't look weird. :-)

Question 1 – What was your summer nail polish? 

I'm really restless when it comes to nail colours, so I usually change my shade of polish every time I take it off! I've worn this green shade by Barry M a lot, and I bought the dark blue a few weeks ago and I really love that too, if I had to choose, it would be these. I'm not sure what they're called but I think they are shade 290 and 292?

Question 2 – What was your favourite lip colour this summer?  

Rimmel London's Summer Angel and Clinique Lip Smoothie in 'Goodness Grapecious'.

Question 3 – What has been your favourite summer dress?

I bought a dress with some birthday money from a small alternative shop in Mansfield Town called Inspirations. It's blue and has some skull/rose decoration that looks quite quirky as well as a poofy under skirt. I love it so much, but it's not for everyday wear sadly!  I also have a red dress with black spots from Asda which I LOVE and a long black one with some wooden buttons that was great for those days when it was warm but not warm enough for short dresses or shorts.

Question 4 – What was your favourite summer accessory? 

My antique silver bangle I got as a present from a friend and some tortoise earrings my sister brought back from Portugal for me :-)

Question 5 – What summer trends were you most excited about this year? 

I've been loving all the flouncy cowgirl and loose tops that are patterned, although after spending a lot of time in changing rooms I've found a lot of them don't suit my body type, but it's nice to look at them and imagine I could wear them without my boobs making me look weird. #bigboobproblems :-(

Question 6 – What was your favourite summer candle? 

Oh, this is hard! I have so many... I LOVE Yankee Storm Watch, and their Fluffy Towel candles... oh! And their Midsummer's Night candle too... I'm a Yankee Candle addict. :-)

Question 7 – What was your favourite body spray or perfume?  

Katy Perry's Killer Queen is all I've been wearing all summer.

Question 8 – What was the weather like where you live this summer?  

I live in the UK, inland so it's just pretty boring really... it's been quite warm this summer, or at least it was for a couple of weeks. It's suddenly turned really Autumn like and blustery, literally overnight. One day it was too hot for clothes, now I'm considering getting my gloves out. I went to the seaside last week and it was sunny, but so windy and we had the tail end of a hurricane so it was pretty grim, despite still being 'summer'.

Question 9 – What was your favourite thing about summer?  

I'm not sure. I've had a pretty poop year, and it sort of really went downhill over summer so I've found it really hard to be enthusiastic about it! But I went to Pagan Pride with some friends and had a couple of days in Nottingham, which was a welcome break. And I worked at an Archaeology Camp for 2 weeks and whilst there I stayed in a haunted house and had another fantastic week staying with a friend whilst I was there. So, I'll go with that :-)

Question 10 – Did you have any summer vacation plans?  

Well I tagged along on a holiday my parents went on to Northumbria last week! Which was really nice, we did some casual sight seeing, visited Lindesfarne, Bambrough Castle and went on a wave hunt whilst the hurricane winds were tearing into the ocean.

So there is the Summer Tag! Feel free to grab the questions and do them yourself! Link yourself in the comments if you want, and I will pop over and have a read :-) x

L'oréal Paris Wild ombré hair.

I've been debating this for some time, to go blonde or not to go blonde? I had blonde hair when I was little, but it turned really dark as I got older and I've always been a bit too afraid to take the plunge and dye it. Then I went through a Goth phase, I love dark colours and the style so I went black, and then raven blue, then purple... red... Don't get me wrong, I love my hair dark, and the black does suit me. But I'm bored... that kind of board where something HAS to change or I wont be happy.

I haven't dyed my hair in nearly 3 months. The last colour I had on was red, and it faded out into this gorgeous redish brown shade which I did like.

But being bored I started Googling hair, and Pintresting hair... and then I decided I wanted it dip dying. I looked at the prices at local hair dressers and decided I couldn't afford it, I really didn't feel comfortable doing it on my own hair. Then I saw this at Asda today, and I thought, eh. What's the worst that could happen? (Apart from uneven hair, orange patches etc... the list goes on.)

[caption id="attachment_2087" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Retails around £8, which isn't bad considering the cost of a hairdresser.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2086" align="aligncenter" width="225"] It comes with instructions (always handy), a comb for application, conditioning shampoo, and some things to mix.[/caption]

So my hair was like this before:

[caption id="attachment_2083" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Previous hair was a redish brown, my natural colour was starting to show at the top (a boring brown).[/caption]

The colouring process looked terrifying. The instructions were very simple, I will give them that, but trying to decide if I wanted it going from chin, ear or nose level was just scary. Luckily they have loads of example pictures in the booklet, so if you have short hair, long hair, a bob, layered hair etc, they show you how each dye placement will roughly turn out. Then you just have to pluck up the courage to put the dye on the brush and then wipe it into your hair. It was SO easy to do and the brush thing that came with it was really good for coverage. I'll admit, my sister did mine for me as I wanted to make sure that the back and sides were level.

[caption id="attachment_2084" align="aligncenter" width="258"] I decided to dye from the top of my ear, which may have been a mistake but it's not all bad.[/caption]

Dying from the top of my ear may have been a bit of a mistake, but on the plus side my hair grows pretty fast, so the dye placement will look better with time. 35 minutes later and it's not as blonde as I would like, but after blow drying and a little fiddling, I actually like the colours. Phew.

[caption id="attachment_2085" align="aligncenter" width="188"] Excuse the really weird face I'm pulling (think it was all the fumes from the dye!) But you can see the shade difference really well here.[/caption]

**I will stress that this HAS damaged my hair. Stripping the colour from your hair WILL damage it, and it's not going to get any better any time soon. I knew this, but even I wasn't prepared for the weird dry ends I now have. *sob* My hair was in really good condition before I did this, it was so soft! So luckily the damage is noticeable to me, but isn't too bad to look at**

Has anyone else tried to ombré their hair using a box dye? Has anyone done it before at a salon? I'm tempted to get it done at a salon next time, unless going for another box dye would lighten the ends further! If anyone has any advice, it would be HUGELY appreciated! <3

What's In My Suitcase?

I went to Northumbria last week! So I thought I'd share with you all what I crammed into my suitcase... well not all of it, but you get the idea. A few of the bits I mentioned in the haul post I did here. Please tell me I'm not the only person who takes a ton of unnecessary make-up on holiday?

In the pic: Primark Pj's, Katy Perry's Killer Queen perfume (this is to DIE for, it smells that good), Cherish cleansing wipes, Argan Oil travel shampoo, VO5 plump it up spray, Boots No.7 day cream, Shockwaves gel, Batiste dry shampoo mini (the floral and fruity one), Sure crystal invisible, Dolly's Mixtures Candy Floss shower gel, a really cool blue shower puff thing, Primark butterfly toiletry bag, Primark bow slip on shoes, new look racoon and cat socks, Top from ASOS.

[caption id="attachment_2078" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Summer pj's from Primark, size UK 8-10 - Bambi, £6[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2076" align="aligncenter" width="300"] New Look lace embroidered ripped shorts, UK size 8, bought last year so no idea on the price![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2074" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Butterfly bat wing sleeves with belt top, UK size 10. £19.99. Freakin' love this top to death.[/caption]

I took waaaay more make up than I probably needed (the pink butterfly bag, another Primark beauty, was filled with the stuff) and I forgot to take a hair dryer, but other than that, I think my suitcase was pretty empty. Could have been a lot worse...

Do you pack your suitcase until it bursts? Or do you leave room to bring lots of things back? Teehee ;-)

10 Things I wish I'd known before I went to uni...

SO, it's nearly that time of year again when people get their results and either head off to uni or, well, they don't.

There seems to be an endless surge of people making plans, people who seem to know what to do and where their life is taking them. Well fact is, I went to uni and four years later, I still don't have a clue.

1. Going to uni doesn't mean you'll get a great job and earn loads of money. So get that out of your head immediately. Hard work and connections will pay off, but if you're an average Joe like me, chances are you'll still have a career battle ahead of you whether you go to uni or not.

2. It's okay to turn around and, you know, not go to uni. Don't go to uni because everyone else is going, and don't do a course just for the sake of it. If you don't think uni is for you, don't be afraid of exploring other options. College, apprenticeships, training schemes... there are so many other options available.

3. If you end up going to uni, you don't really need all that stuff, honest. Um, seriously, if your room is packed and looking full and you've only just moved in I hate to break it to you but chances are you will accumulate more stuff. I swear it breeds. Just keep this in mind and don't leave packing up at the end of term til the last minute haha.

4. First impressions! Try and make an effort to at least say hi to the people living with you and/or around you. Even if you just feel like sitting in your room and crying because you're all alone and in an empty and noisy looking place.

5. It's okay to be homesick. Just because you're 18,19... or 20 something doesn't mean you can't feel homesick and all poop. Honestly, I'd say 99% of the people around you are feeling the same, or will do at some point during the first few weeks. It does get easier.

[caption id="attachment_2060" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Pretty accurate description of pre and post uni. :-)[/caption]

6. Stick it out before you decide to jump ship. I mean at least try a term. Don't go dropping out after a month because you don't like it. Give the course a chance, give relationships a chance... if there is something affecting you that is really making you want to leave, can you change it first? Move out of a hellish accommodation? Talk to tutors about course issues? Etc. But if you've found out the hard way that uni isn't for you, then don't be ashamed of packing your things and heading home. Uni isn't everyone's cup of tea, and no one will think any less of you. And if they do, then they can sod off! Do what makes you happy <3

7. If you're struggling, speak up. Be it learning difficulties, like dyslexia, or just that you don't get the course material, talk to your tutors or student support network. It wont make you look stupid, or silly. That is what they are there for! You wont be the first to need help, or the last. Don't struggle in silence, you're paying a lot of money for your degree, so use the support network provided.

8. Only highlight relevant stuff and colour code! Colour coding saves a lot of trouble when it comes to essay writing, as in using one colour for 'definitely use', one for 'maybe use' and another 'possibly use', for example. Highlighting everything you read, even if it's interesting, will give you an enormous headache when you want to write your essay...

9. Labels and savvy food hiding places. If you share a kitchen you will find your food goes missing, it's a fact of uni life. It's annoying, and sometimes you feel like punching people, but don't. Instead find savvy hiding places, if the food will keep, can you keep it in your room? Label things like milk or have a group kitty and buy things that you all use together (like loo roll, milk, tea bags...) so you don't all fall out or have a million bottles of milk in the fridge.

10. There will be that one person in who doesn't clean up after themselves. I had this issue and I ended up falling out with said person, because she was just that disgusting and lazy. It wasn't fair on the rest of the house, so make sure you do your share of housework, but also don't keep picking up slack for the lazy house mate. Once they know you'll do their dishes if they leave them in the sink, they'll just walk all over you. Make cleaning rotas, or have cleaning days where you all do it together and it doesn't feel so isolating.

 

To all of you who are wondering off into the great university abyss, good luck! And I hope these helped in some way. :-)

August Haul

I've never done a haul post before, but I purchased some lovely things over the weekend. Everything in this post was under £5! :-)

[caption id="attachment_2054" align="aligncenter" width="300"] l-r: Dolly's Mixtures 'candy floss', NSPA Raspberry body scrub, Dolly's Mixtures 'bucks fizz', W7 Flirty eyes false lash effect mascara, Shockwaves ultra strong hold creme gel no. 5, Calvin Klein lipstick in Rose Rush, Kate Moss by Rimmel London in shade 107, W7 light diffusing concealer.[/caption]

<3 Dolly's Mixtures shower gels. These were £1 from Asda, weirdly enough I walked past them a few times as I just presumed they were aimed at kids. But as they have titles like 'bucks fizz' and 'strawberry daiquiri' I guess not! They smell amazing and I wish I could have bought more, but I think two is enough for now. I'm taking the Candy Floss one with me on holiday next week as it's my favourite one of the two.

<3 NSPA Shower Scrub in Fresh Sweet Raspberry, £3 again from Asda. It smells so summery and lovely, I've had this before so I know it works well as a shower scrub. I have had better ones, but if you're on a budget this is a good go to scrub!

<3 Shockwaves Ultra Strong Mess Creme Gel. This was from Asda and cost me £2.50ish. I got a choppy layer hair cut a few weeks ago and the hairdresser advised some hair gel as my hair doesn't hold the messy look for long. We shall see how this goes...

<3 Kate Moss Lasting Finish Lipstick by Rimmel London, in shade 107. I am a huge vampy lipstick magpie. I saw this at a MacArthur Glenn outlet, it was on sale for £2.99 down from about £8, and so it kind of just fell into my bag, yeah... totally what happened. Loving it to death right now.

<3 Another lipstick, Calvin Klein in Rose Rush. I had no idea Calvin Klein did lipsticks, but apparently they do, and they're £15 a pop (eeek!?). I found this one at the same store in MacArthur Glenn as the Kate Moss one, and it was the same price (£2.99). Well I wont say no to a bargain.

<3 W7 Fiesty Eyes Mascara, False Lash Effect. I needed a new mascara and this should have been £5.99 but was down to £2.99. The mascara section was uber busy, so I grabbed this one and hoped for the best. I really do hope that gamble pays off...

<3 N7 Light Diffusing Concealer, I'm not sure how much this is normally, but I picked it up for £3 at MacArthur Glenn. it doesn't seem to have a definitive shade, but seems quite light and matched the back of the hand test. I love the packaging, so I hope it's a good 'un!

The July Positivity List

It seems like this year is flying away, even when the going has gotten tough, time seems to have just slipped me by! I actually can't believe it's just over four months until December. Eeek. I'm trying to stay positive, and a way for me to do this is to list 'happy things' at the end of each month, so I can look back and not feel so ARGH that my life seems to be slipping away. I'm feeling really restless at the moment, like I want to just run off with a backpack and explore the world kind of restless. SO here it goes...

<3 I have just finished two weeks of archaeology camp, which was fab but also hugely stressful and tiring.

<3 I've stayed in a freaky Georgian mansion b&b on my own for a week as the owners decided to go on holiday! (One of the weirdest experiences of my life...) Even though it was terrifying it was a beautiful house.

<3 Pagan Pride, which was technically in August. As it was during the weekend of archaeology camp it involved me getting very little sleep and having a panic attack on Sunday evening I was that tired and overwhelmed, but until then it was fun as I got to see some friends and went to Cookie Shake!

<3 Robin Hood Festival, which is on every summer, and is always loads of fun and as I live local it's a great cheapish day out.

<3 I've learnt to make loom bands!

<3 I went out for a friend's birthday, had cocktails and pizza and went to the cinema.

<3 I saw Horrible Histories live in Sheffield.

<3 And I've navigated my way through a tiring amount of bus stations and train stations, which has eased my train anxiety tremendously, I feel like I can cope better at the moment with long journeys, so WHOO!

So, keeping with the positive theme, what have you done in July that made you happy? Achieved something? Been somewhere exciting? :-)