Friday 10 July 2015

Life with a Sprinkle of Glitter - Book Review

So the other day, one of my favourite youtubers released a book. Sprinkle of Glitter (Louise Pentland) is a beauty/lifestyle blogger and youtuber who promotes positive body image and confidence in women and encourages everyone to be the best that they can be. I am so inspired by her and aspire to be more confident in myself as a result of her uplifting and positive videos. Here is a link to her youtube channels - one is a more formal one whilst another is more her everyday life:

https://www.youtube.com/user/Sprinkleofglitter
https://www.youtube.com/user/SprinkleofChatter

When I found out that she was going to be releasing a book, I was so excited! It is something that a lot of youtubers have been doing recently but rather than writing a novel or an autobiography, Louise has gathered little nuggets of helpful information on various different topics. When I received this book, I realised that some of the pages are targetted at girls of a younger age, however, most of the pages are very useful nuggets of information. Here is the book, so much sparkle and glam!:
Inside is a treasure trove of advice and guidance, beautifully decorated and illustrated! The topics she covers are as follows: beauty and pampering, partying, meeting celebrities, the art of shopping, travelling in style, setting up home, prettifying your room, crafts, anti-baking (making yummy stuff without cooking), surviving education, bullying, online safety, body confidence, comfort zones, boys and lurve, dating, bonding with baby and being kind. 

Like I said, although it is aimed at the tweenage market, this book is still a pleasure to read and has some nice crafty and baking ideas! I bought it from amazon for £6.50 although I think the price has gone down to £5.00 now, the RRP is actually £12.99! This is a great little book for teenage girls and would make an amazing birthday present if you are struggling for ideas.

Monday 29 June 2015

The end of an era...but the start of a new one!

On the 8th June, I sat down in the exam hall at 9am, ready for my last ever exam. It was a weird experience, thinking that I will never again (hopefully) take another exam. It has been a fun-packed three years at university with some highs and lows but overall, it has been a wonderful experience. I can't believe the time has gone so quickly. If you are a first or second year or about to start university, I urge you to make the most of your time there, it will go in the blink of an eye.




All of a sudden I am now expected to be mature and a fully responsible adult which scares me. I am still unsure of what the future has in store for me but I trust that everything will begin to fall into place. My final year at university was a stressful time for me and there were some times when I really struggled and considered dropping out. However, I have managed to overcome these blips and come out stronger than ever which I am really proud of myself for doing.

The future is slightly scary but I am sure that it is full of pleasant surprises and good times to come.

Tuesday 25 June 2013

Long time no blog!

Hello fellow people, it feels like forever since i've blogged and it has been. I just haven't had much time or motivation to put up a blog post recently but here's a catch-up on what's been going on in my life.

As of friday, I am now at home for the summer in Essex. Don't quite know whether this is a good or bad thing as it's not got a great reputation (thank you TOWIE!). Nonetheless, it is good to be back, seeing the family and home friends and having lovely home cooked food (some of which i'm cooking myself). I'm looking forward to doing a lot of baking this summer and getting ready for living in my house next academic year. I've also managed to get a job at my local shop for over the summer which is really good as it's stopping me from being bored and earning me a bit of money!

Part of me misses uni as well though and all the people that go with it. Luckily i'm meeting up with most people in just over a weeks time for a catch up! Over the summer I won't be able to upload many youtube videos as my mum doesn't like me filming in the house so this'll be my only outlet for blogging shenanigans.

That's about all I have to say today!

Blogallsorts love xx

Wednesday 12 June 2013

Super Summer of 2013!

Who's excited about summer? I am!

I have such a good summer planned and after monday, it'll begin! Monday marks my last exam for this academic year and i'm really looking to the freedom afterwards. Next thursday it's Rutherford day - a day in which my hall celebrates everyone who's been there and includes bouncy castles and BBQ's. Let's hope the weather is beautiful. Next friday, i'll be finally heading home for the summer which is a super exciting but also a little sad. I've really enjoyed living in halls this year and experiencing university. I'm going to miss all my uni friends so much but we're gonna meet up over the summer at least twice so it shouldn't be too bad.

Although i'll really miss uni, i'm really looking forward to being at home again and seeing home friends and family. I'll definitely be baking and cooking a lot as it's what I love to do! I've got a job secured for over the summer at my local coop which i'm really looking forward to as it'll give me a chance to earn some money and top up my savings a bit (they've been suffering recently). I'm also aiming to try and pass my driving test - i've had about 16 lessons so far and I know I can do it!

I'm not going on a major holiday this year, my family hasn't planned a holiday but I am going on holiday with a group of friends for 3 days to a beach resort, I've never been on holiday with friends before so it'll be really exciting and a heck of a lot of fun! I've also got two weddings to go to - my nan's and my cousins! 

What a packed summer!

Blogallsorts love xxx

Monday 10 June 2013

Real Techniques Core Collection

Hello everybody, it's time for a beauty post! I haven't done one of these in ages but I have been excited about doing this post for a while! Now that I have a bit more time on my hands, I've finally got the time and opportunity to do this.

For a while now, I have been meaning to get some real techniques brushes but couldn't quite get the courage to buy them as they are a little on the expensive side. These are designed by the beauty blogger Samantha Chapman (also known as pixiwoo on youtube). The other week, I decided to bite the bullet and get them for £17.50 on amazon. Compared to in the shops, this is a good price as they are usually priced at around £21.00. After a few days (it seemed much longer) they finally arrived and as you can see, I was pretty happy with them! (Apologies for the cheesy grin)


It comes in nice packaging and contains 4 different shape and size brushes with a carry case. These brushes are (left to right) the buffer brush, contour brush, pointed foundation brush and detailer brush. The bristles are made of taklon, a synthetic fibre that's super soft. They can be washed gently by using soap and water but must never be dried by using a hairdryer. They should be left to dry on a flat surface so that water doesnt drip down to the bottom of the brush and weaken the glue that attaches the bristles to the handle.


The carry case can be used in a variety of different ways to suit your differing needs or preferences. It can be used for travelling as it has a velcro strip which can be used to fasten it together. I use it like this as I don't have much dressing table space and so fold it and put it away ready for the next time I use them.


It also has a string and toggle at the back and so can be stood up on a dressing table. It has two spaces on the other side for any other make-up brushes you may have (real techniques or not). I have not used these yet but may get some more real techniques brushes and so these spaces will be handy for when I do as I will have somewhere to keep them.


The first brush is the contour brush. I use this for bronzer and then blusher as it is a nice size for this and really helps to define my cheeks and the center of my face. This is my favourite brush of the collection. I go over my bronzer and blusher with the buffing brush to blend it in some more and set it (more information about this brush further on).


The next brush is the pointed foundation brush. Some people have said that they do not like it as it is too small for applying foundation and so takes a long time. However, I disagree, this is another one of my favourites of the collection. It does take a while to apply foundation but it is definitely worth it as you can achieve an airbrushed look.


The third brush of the collection is the detailer brush and is the smallest in the collection. This brush can be used for lipliner and concealer. I personally don't use lipliner so I only user it to apply concealer and blend it in finely. It can also be used for eyebrows as it is a nice size for this. I have tried to use this for eyeshadow but it is too small so I would not recommend using it for that.


The final brush of the collection is the buffer brush. This is the largest brush in the collection and I use this to blend in everything and for applying powder to any shiny areas of my face.


To anyone who is considering buying these or any brushes in the real techniques collection, I would strongly recommend them as they are not too expensive for what you get. On my youtube channel I did an unboxing video for these which can be seen here:


Blogallsorts love xxx

Daily snap catch up - days #8 and #9

Hey guys, apologies for not uploading my daily snaps for a couple of days, i've been busy with lots of things.

My first snap was taken on the 8th and is of a game of beer pong that me and my friends played saturday evening. We've never played it before but it was actually quite fun and took up a lot of time:


The next two snaps were taken on the 9th (yesterday). In the morning I went to visit the art exhibition of my friend and then went to the BBQ my hall was hosting. My friends Antonia and Georgina made some amazing cupcakes and cookies to sell which can be seen here:


The next picture is a little odd, someone in my hall got brown taped to a tree (for a reason which I don't know) but it was a little funny. (He did manage to escape eventually!):


Hope you've had a good weekend!

Blogallsorts love xx


Friday 7 June 2013

daily snap day 7

Had no idea what to post for my daily snap today so thought i'd post a picture of lunch in my catered halls (after i'd finished). The food was pork with mushroom and potato soup (I grabbed a sandwich and banana's for dinner as i worked tonight). When I applied for halls, I really didn't want a catered hall but ended up with it and it's much better than I thought it would be, I get to see my friends a lot and I don't have to worry about cooking (even though i'm good at it) and washing up :P