My Top 5 Summer Purchases

I feel like recently, I've been starting just about every blog post with an apology for a lack of posts...

I have no excuses this time; I've been working 9-5, and I figured I'd have time in the evenings and weekends to spend on writing... but it turns out I can nap a whole lot. I realised earlier that my last post was over a month ago (I thought it was like last week, I've been pretty bad), so I've kicked myself into gear.

I haven't done one of my beloved lists in a while, so here are my five favourite purchases of the summer (so far!):

1. Blue Eyelet Lace Up High Waist Skinny Jeans, New Look, £27.99

I love these jeans! I spotted them when I was in Glasgow a few weeks ago and wasn't sure about the whole lace-up look going on, but I couldn't stop thinking about them. I ended up back out in Glasgow the next week for work, so I went straight to New Look to pick up a pair and I have not been disappointed! I prefer the stretchy kind of fabric rather than hard denim jeans, and adore high waists - it feels weird wearing anything at my hips now, I wear them that often - so these are perfect :)

2. Jerome Russell Bblonde Maximum Highlighting Kit No.1, Boots, £6.99

I knoooooow. It was only a matter of months ago that I wrote a post totally blasting the idea of home bleaching, and I still wouldn't dare try to bleach the entirety of my hair again. But things were getting desperate; I'm at home on my little rock for the summer, the few hairdressers we have at home are all in high demand, and I'm never on the mainland long enough to get a patch test done right now. My original blonde from last year is now only coming up to the top of my ears, and despite trying to pass off my roots as being a dip dye look, I know fine that they're just roots. So, I went to Boots and sourced this:

I figured if it didn't work, then I'd just purchase a darker dye and go over it - totally responsible, I know! It works by pulling strands through the highlighter cap provided (which I loved, because I hate all these new "brush through" products!), applying the bleach, waiting between 15-90 minutes (this seemed like an incredibly vague time, so about 25 minutes worked for me), and then the usual wash out - and it was a success! I was so happy with the results. I'll probably do a full review later on to make up for my bashing of home dyes...

3. Essie Nail Polish in "Ballet Slippers"

I was forever doing my nails when I was younger, and for some reason I stopped when I was about 16, so I became determined to find a nice, natural shade that meant I had pretty-looking nails without being a ridiculous colour. Then one day I read an article about the Queen having this shade as her favourite, and I mean, what 20 year old doesn't look to the Queen as a style icon? I came across it in Boots and it looked pretty promising - and it definitely was! It's a lovely pale nude colour with a slight hint of pink (pink = instant winner), and my nails definitely look better for having it on. Plus it goes with anything I'm wearing!

4. H&M Off-the-Shoulder Blouse in White

A bit of a random one given that I've purchased waaay too many tops this summer, but this one is by far my favourite. I've been working in an office over the last few months, so I set out to find something I could wear that was acceptable there, but was also fashionable-looking enough. This definitely ticks both boxes! I loved it so much that I even took a 2010-style mirror selfie (featuring the lace-up jeans!), so there we go.

5. NYX Lid Lingerie Eye Tint

Another one I'll probably talk about more in depth later! I had no idea such a thing existed, but when I was visiting my friend in Lyon, she took me to a Monoprix and I was intrigued to see what they had in their NYX display - and came across these! I bought one to try out, and ended up going back the next day for more colours; it's incredibly lightweight when applying, and the colour comes through so well. Plus it stays on all day! I've never seen the range in the UK, but a Google search suggests that Boots might do them, so I'll definitely be on the lookout from now on!

REVIEW | Benefit Brow Bar

Whenever I'm going on holiday, I always come up with a to-do list that I stick to religiously. Admittedly, this list is normally composed of clothes to purchase and beauty regimes to undertake... and these items tend to come before the more adult tasks like exchanging currency and purchasing insurance - but it works, okay? One of the tasks on the list, and probably the most important to me, after purchasing insurance, of course, is getting my eyebrows waxed and tinted.

It seems like a task that shouldn't really have that high an importance, but myself and my eyebrows have a love/hate relationship that dates back to an incident when I was around 14 years old and got a bit too carried away with a pair of tweezers. Six years later, and I just can't do them myself! I also like being able to sit by the pool without a full face of make-up, so the ability to tint them is also a god-send for me.

Knowing I was heading away, I booked myself in to the Benefit brow bar at House of Fraser in Glasgow (I've been to a few now, and it's definitely my favourite location!). Normally I'd have phoned up or called in, but I noticed that there was a new online booking service available - I say "new", I'm not sure how long it's been there for to be honest! Probably just an oversight on my behalf! It was so, so much easier than having to search for the number and extension code; plus, not only does it offer a list of available times, but it also allows you to choose who you want to do your waxing! I wasn't fussed about that, so I opted for it to choose at random.

Due to my student financial status, I hadn't been able to call in for a couple of months, so my brows were in desperate need of being attended to (I actually didn't realise how bad they'd got until I took the photos!); this was the state they were in beforehand, without make-up:

                    

I never leave the house without drawing in my eyebrows, though, so this is what they normally look like; I didn't get this photo in the same light as before, so they've ended up looking a little bit neater! Still needing maintenance though:

                

When I arrived at the bar, there was a number of people waiting to be served. I love having a look around anyway though so having to wait five minutes didn't bother me! Eventually I got called over, and the fabulous Emma set to work!

One thing I love about this particular Benefit location is the fact that the girls who work there genuinely seem like they enjoy talking to customers. They're all so, so friendly - I've never felt like they're having to make conversation just because it's their job. I also love that they offer advice on make-up techniques, but never push for you to purchase beyond what you're there for. I keep making jokes about my finances as a student, but I genuinely don't have the funds to be able to afford new products on a whim, so the fact that they're not fussed about extra sales really puts me at ease.

It's become apparent in past waxing sessions that I'm a ridiculously flinchy person... Like, the wax will only just be getting applied and I'm already squirming, it's that bad. I've had times before where whoever's been doing them has actually had to stop and give me tips on how to relax; but this time, I can honestly say that I didn't even really notice any pain just because Emma had managed to reassure me. It turned out that she'd waxed a few of my friends who were going on holiday with me in the last few days, so we ended up chatting about that for most of the time!

Knowing I was going to be in the sun in the days following, she also made sure I had advice on aftercare to ensure I didn't cause any damage to the area. I love a place that cares just as much about after you leave as they do about you while you're in their responsibility!

So, this was the finished result - bear in mind, she had only applied concealer around the areas where there was a bit of redness (also really bad for that!); the only product on my brows here is the tint she'd applied beforehand:

*To anyone who noticed - I KNOW. I'm just as annoyed that I took a photo of the one brow for this, it upset my love of patterns too*

I absolutely adore my eyebrows after getting them waxed and tinted with Benefit, and this trip was no exception. I managed about three weeks before I had to start giving them attention again, which is pretty decent for me given that I'm forever finding strays! Being able to go that little while without having to worry about dealing with them is so fab. I admit that I've seen a couple of mixed reviews from people, but I 100% think it's worth the £21.50!

Positivity

I've been considering writing this post for a good while now, and despite setting up my laptop numerous times, I just couldn't find the words to even start anything. Not for a lack of anything to actually say, but more so just because I haven't really known how to capture my thoughts and write them down recently. 

I had a pretty difficult time growing up in the way of confidence and self-esteem and whatnot, and upon leaving high school, moving away and starting university, these problems slowly started to fade. I was really happy and comfortable with myself for the first time since I'd become a teenager, and things were good. But things change, and after a series of these changes, this feeling of self-doubt started creeping back up on me. And as time went on, it grew into something that even dwarfed the way I felt all those years ago in school. 

I suppose I figured that when you hit your 20s, your problems as a teenager disappear. No more self-loathing, lack of confidence... You're an adult, and you have everything under control. So the day I found myself uncontrollably crying in the library, panicking at the thought of submitting work I wasn't ready to submit, it knocked me quite a bit. And soon it had all spiralled out of control, and it became even worse than my teenage years. I'd messed everything up; I'd made so many mistakes, and now I was left to deal with the consequences. I let myself slowly become a victim of my own hatred, and I began to hide myself away more and more.

This continued for weeks, and throughout it all, I was constantly determined to write something. I was aware that about two months had passed since my last post, and it infuriated me to no end. But every time I sat by myself, I couldn't bear it. So many thoughts ran through my head when I tried, and none of them were good. Knowing I couldn't do the one thing that I felt I had control over was killing me, and even though I was always making promises that I'd write by the end of the week or whatever, I knew deep down that it was a big ask for myself.

I wrote this post today. Two months on, I've managed to sit down, and harness all my feelings and energy and emotions and write this post. And to be honest, I don't actually know where I'm going with it... but I suppose I never really do. What I do know is that I'm on the way up. A better up this time. I'm not forcing myself to get on with it, I'm not pushing myself to get out there and make a change - I'm just being positive.

I know; it's cliche as hell, and I'd always roll my eyes when I would get told to "just think positive". But taking the time out to just stop, focus and evaluate everything from a new viewpoint really genuinely has helped. I've made some radical changes in my life - some good, some bad. Some of them, I know I'll have regrets about. Maybe that's another story for a different day; but for the most part, things are getting good again. I've just finished my first week in an internship for the summer which I've loved so far. I've also got a degree! My exam results came through on Friday and I've now got a degree with merit in BA International Business, which to be honest has really caught me out given that my coursework hand-ins and exams all fell in the same timeframe as this period - I'd already accepted the idea of doing re-sits. I've decided to stay on for another year to gain an honours in the field, which is a challenge I'm actually now excited for. My self-confidence has slowly started to return, and I've been incredibly lucky and blessed to have had this occur.

I don't even know how to end this post, given that I didn't have a clue what to actually say in the first place. I suppose my main point is, life can get rubbish. It can be really, really cruel, and sometimes it doesn't look like it'll ever let up. But there's still beauty in the world, and even the smallest of things can distract you from the dark times. It's a big place, and there's so much more out there than the issues that are coming at you from all angles - but letting them get to you and force you to stay hidden away will only stop you from experiencing it. Set small goals, push boundaries, talk to people you wouldn't have usually talked to. Wake up early and make the most of a full day, take time out to reflect on what you have and what you should be grateful for. Believe in yourself. Be positive. ♡

I'm Still Here!

It's been a while... I feel like I haven't blogged for an eternity! 

I ended up giving myself a ban on blogging (and sleeping, eating, socialising... pretty much everything except report writing) while I finished my exams and final coursework, and then I ended up going on holiday for a bit afterwards. But my calendar is now free, which means I'm baaaack!

I feel pretty out of the loop just now, and my momentum for writing has dwindled slightly, so hopefully it won't be long before I'm caught back up with the blogging world!

REVIEW | Liz Earle Natural Skincare

Skincare has been a big thing for me since the age of about 11. It seems really young to me now, but despite not really wearing make-up properly until I was 13 or so, I was unfortunate enough to have had problem skin from around then; at one point, I was having to attend dermatologist appointments every six weeks and take medication, which was seriously not fun as a teenager :( 

Luckily, I've been blessed with a mother who is a proud owner of just about every skincare product under the sun, and after years of experimenting (and quite a bit of time watching tutorials on QVC), she's helped me to find the best range for my skin. I'm very grateful for the fact that everything eventually cleared up around 16/17, and so far I've managed to avoid any repeat cases, but that hasn't been without work.

One range that I've used on and off for years is Liz Earle; in particular, the Cleanse & Polish cleanser, Instant Boost skin tonic, and the Skin Repair moisturiser (their Orange Blossom Botanical body wash is also amazing for sensitive skin, but that's going off topic for now!). 

I have to admit, it was the first range of products I used when my problems started, and it actually wasn't right for me at the time - it just didn't agree with my skin, but now that I look back, I'm not sure if that was actually the case or if it was just that it required more attention than a skincare routine. After years of switching between different brands, I came back to Liz Earle around a month ago, and I've fallen in love (and I've also totally realised why my mum was so gutted that I couldn't use it years ago). I know it's hardly a new release and there'll be so many reviews online by now, but I figured I'd go through the products I've been using!

Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser

This is the first step in the process - probably my favourite too (it smells reaaally nice and it's so good to see your make-up practically melt away!). It's also won a number of awards, and rightly so. It suits all skin types, and there are so many natural ingredients in there.

The first part is the "cleanse" stage, where you simply apply the cream straight to your face (no need to include anything else, just straight on whether you've got make-up on or not), and massage it in to remove any trace of make-up. The best part about this, for me at least, is the fact that it's totally safe to use on eye make-up, so no need to faff about with any other products! I tend to wear a heavy amount of make-up daily, yet I only ever need to use two pumps' worth at the most. A little goes a long way!

Once you've spread it all over - and in my case, caused your face to go a dark grey colour with the mix of mascara/eyeliner/foundation - you then move onto the next stage; you guessed it, "polish". This is where you take the muslin cloth (there's normally two provided when you purchase the set), run in under warm/hot water, and then use it to remove the cleanser. Even when I wasn't using Liz Earle's products, I still always used the muslin cloth to remove whatever I was using! They're super useful and are designed to exfoliate and remove dead skin, so your face ends up feeling sooo soft and hydrated. 

For myself personally, I find that the product always makes my skin look a lot brighter after use. It's also great when I do have the occasional breakout; it somehow manages to tone down any redness, and just generally makes my skin feel a whole lot more smoother. It kind of makes me wish I'd just persevered with it way back when it was at its worst!

Instant Boost Skin Tonic

Next is the Instant Boost tonic, which is fab toner with a gorgeous scent (to be fair, all the products have a nice smell, there's no need to point it out). It's great for ensuring that any remnants of make-up are removed before the final stage, and I find it leaves my skin feeling totally refreshed. It can be applied by simply pouring a dab onto a cotton wool pad and using it to just glide over your face. ** MUM TIP. I wouldn't have known this without mum telling me, but apparently it isn't suitable for using on your eyes. Maybe this is common knowledge for toners and I'm just out of the loop, but anyway ** I always make sure not to skip this one, just because I like being reassured that I've got as much of the day's make-up off as possible. Plus it just generally leaves my skin feeling really good!

Skin Repair Moisturiser - Normal/Combination

The final step is the moisturiser, which again, I totally love. To be honest, I was using a really great moisturiser before this and so I thought it would be hard to try and beat, but this one is just as good - if not better, considering it's a fraction of the price. Once again, a little goes a long way with this product, and the results are always really visible to me the next morning. I always find that I wake up looking fresh (somewhat, let's not get too carried away), and I especially notice how well this moisturiser works for me when applying foundation; I use the MAC Studio Fix powder, and previously I tended to find that I'd end up all patchy due to areas of dry skin. Not any more! I'm really pleased with this, and I'd even consider continuing to use it as my daily moisturiser even if I changed up the rest of the routine.

Apologies if this has gone on forever, I'm still new to the whole reviewing thing! This was definitely something I was determined to do one on though, so hopefully it'll serve to help out in some way :) Thanks to everyone who's given me feedback so far, it's been a huge help! ♡

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My Experience with Home Bleaching Kits

I hate hate hate my natural hair colour.

It's something I've always despised, but to be fair, I suppose there's not really much wrong with it. It's pretty much brown, but being Scottish and all, there's the slightest hint of red and that's what I don't like - I'm constantly told by my parents and grandparents to just embrace it, but I'd rather not!

One colour I always wanted to try was blonde - whether that was golden or platinum, I didn't care; I just wanted something different from my own colour. I'd heard so many horror stories though, and that put me off for years, until I discovered ombre hair kits. After a couple months of using these, I figured last year, "hey, I'm managing this without any disasters, what's the worst that could happen?"... and this is where my hair nightmare journey began :)))

The initial bleach

So I'll admit, I'm not someone who'll sit and properly plan this kind of thing through. When I get an idea in my head, I'm determined to race to go through with it. Of course, this is exactly what happened here.

I Googled a few tips on home bleaching, and went to Boots to pick out a range that my friend had recommended. I got home, followed all the instructions and my advice from Google, and went ahead with the application.

Bam.

As you can see here, not exactly what I had intended (I also did all of this in my boyfriend's flat while he was out at college, and his face here is exactly what I was greeted with when he came in the door that afternoon. Also, obviously not a good photo of me anyway. For some reason I thought over-contouring my nose would draw some attention away from the situation, don't ask). Not only were the ends of my hair orange, but my roots had gone a weird yellow/orange/bright white fusion too. Really do your research, kids.  

I ended up staying indoors like this for near enough a week, before I decided enough was enough and I was going to get someone to fix it professionally. At least, that was the plan until I was quoted prices, none of which I could stretch my student budget for...

The second attempt

I KNOW I was being really stupid in doing it myself a second time, but I was poor, desperate and I HAD ORANGE HAIR. I was going back home for summer the next week, where there's no drugstores selling hair dye nearby for a good few hours and no available hairdressers for months at a time, so I had to do something. 

I waited about a week maybe, and then braved using the same product as before; I knew it worked for other people, so I was aware that it was just my inexperienced idiocy and not the dye's fault. I think this time I actually left it on for a tiny bit longer, which was probably really stupid, but...

Still not great, I know. But at least it was no longer the colour of a traffic cone, and I'd managed to fix my roots by painting over them with a light brown root touch-up kit. I was able to go outside once more, and my flatmates finally saw me again and laughed at me a lot. 

Thing was, it still looked ridiculously blonde. Like, in-your-face blonde. Bearing in mind that my colouring isn't naturally suited to that shade, having a really bold colour made me look a bit stupid. 

Yeah, there was a third step. Idiot.

The toner

Thankfully, I was well over my bleaching stage. All I had to do was get it to a point where it looked natural enough on me. 

I decided to pick up some purple shampoo and conditioner just to get the remaining orange-y bits out (Touch of Silver, absolute life saver), and came across Bleach London's White Toner, so I picked it up to try (because my hair was still intact, it was fine, right?). I am still so grateful that this existed because god knows what option I'd have gone for otherwise.

It doesn't look much different here compared to the previous photo, but trust me, it was a miracle. It was a lot lighter in person, and I felt this was a good enough shade to return home with, so off I went.

The final touches

When I walked through the door, I thought my mum was going to burst into tears. I've never seen her look so distraught in my life. No attempt to hide feelings was made here, and I felt like crying myself. 

Luckily, mum had an idea (which to be honest, I was a bit disappointed in myself for not thinking of) - putting a darker colour through as lowlights. Obviously. So obvious.

For some reason, I just decided to stop taking selfies of my progress as a blonde at this point - probably because I was sick of the sight of myself - so this is the closest photo of me to the time the lowlights were put in. Annoyingly you can't really see the colour up close, but it's definitely not as "out there" as the previous attempts (ALSO I am wearing shorts in the photo, I was on holiday haha). I managed to keep it like this for a good few months, but it's grown out now - I'm still too scared to touch it, even though I've started going to salons. It's kind of worked it's way into a dip-dye kind of look, but maybe one day I'll go back to full blonde - professionally, of course.

So, what did Hannah learn?

1. ALWAYS research this kind of thing before going straight into it. Learn the actual techniques rather than launch into it assuming it'll all lighten no matter what
2. Go to a professional when bleaching for the first time, or failing that, get someone who knows what they're doing to help you apply DIY kits
3. Don't keep repeatedly bleaching thinking it'll all be fine just because there's no instant damage. The one thing I didn't mention is that my hair in fact didn't break throughout the bleaching process - but a small blonde chunk snapped off in my hand two weeks ago. I did all of this in May 2016 - it's now April 2017. 11 months later and it's still damaged! Don't do it.
4. Actually know what shade you want to go for. Not every shade of blonde suits all skin tones, and I just assumed that anything would be fine for me. Not the case.
5. Be prepared to spend a whole lot more on hair products to maintain the colour. Ironically I only went for the initial box dye because it was like £4.99 and I couldn't afford to go to a salon, but I've lost track of how much I've since spent in making sure it stays away from going brassy. V expensive. 
6. Just don't do it again. Don't even look at a home kit. Salon salon salon.

Five Dresses for the Ultimate Baller

If you're a university/college student like myself, you'll be well aware that we're coming into ball season. Being someone who shies away from signing up to things, I've never really taken anything to do with events like these, but my uni's annual Sports Ball is happening next weekend and so I figured I'd at least go to one just to say I've been. **Side note - it's worth mentioning that I'm actually just gatecrashing this ball. I can't even remember the last time I took part in a sport of any kind, and I only ever break a sweat when I have to run downstairs to meet the Dominos delivery guy.**

Because of my lack of experience, and also the fact that my high school was too small to have a prom (boo), I had no idea what kind of outfit I'm expected to wear to this kind of thing. Turns out it's pretty formal, but with a three-course meal and a load of alcohol... so my next issue was trying to find a dress that could fit around these three factors! I'll probably do a bit about my outfit next week, but for now, I've shortlisted five of my favourite dresses I came across in my search :) (links are in the headings!)

1. Grey One Shoulder Maxi Dress, Missguided - £30

I was really close to ordering this dress at first, until I realised that they'd sold out in my size :( 

One of my worries was that I'd end up in something that looked way too formal, and a lot of the off-the-shoulder styles gave me that impression. Despite this, I felt like this dress's style manages to capture the whole "this is a fancy event, but I've still managed to play it cool" kind of vibe? I really love the colour too; I'm really into pastels, and so the fact that this shade is pretty light really drew me to it. I also liked that while the design isn't too OTT, there are little features within it that add a bit of a dramatic look. Much love!

2. Pearl Embellished Panelled Seamed Mini Dress, ASOS, £45

I liked this one just because it isn't the typical traditional style you'd normally opt for with these events, but it still manages to maintain a kind of formal prom style. I'm a huge fan of high necklines right now (bit late to the party, I wasn't into them at all when it burst back into fashion a while ago!) and I think the faux pearl embellishment is so pretty :) Totally would've gone for this one had it not been for the fact that there's a ceilidh at the ball, and so I had to consider the length of my dress - this was a huuuuge deciding factor for me, I'm an islander after all!

3. Jessica Wright Sequin Lace Maxi Dress, Lipsy, £90

So this one might be a little bit more pricey than the rest (subject to opinion of course, I'm a poor student haha), but it was one that I kept going back to and considering. Sadly I ended up having to accept that this style of dress never really suits me, albeit reluctantly. Part of my choice was due to the fact that I have a big love for lace; it manages to look really elegant while still keeping things simple, even with sequins!

4. Pink Lace Sequin Bardot Scallop Dress, Quiz, £36.99

I tried this dress on when I was searching for my own, and I absolutely adored it! It appears quite pink in the photo, but I'd say it's a tiny bit lighter in person. Again, the lace was what attracted me to it, but the only thing I was worried about was whether or not it would be too tight - it seemed pretty fitted on the hanger. Turned out, when I tried it on, it actually really complimented my shape (somehow) while also allowing room to move around comfortably. I was this close to buying it, before I decided to go for a longer style - still considering going back for it anyway!

5. Red Sweetheart Neck Bardot Tie Maxi Dress, Missguided, £35

Red isn't something I usually wear out of a fear of looking too over-the-top (as I said, pastels are my thing haha), but whenever I do wear it I always find that it suits me, so I figured I'd keep it in mind when searching. I actually struggled quite a bit to find a red dress in the kind of style I wanted - and this one wasn't necessarily what I had in mind - but I still really liked it! I'm into the Bardot style anyway, but I thought the tie variation made it look really cute. I also tend to stay away from plunging styles; I found that this dress manages to pull it off without being too daring. Again, one I'm still considering - I've got a week to change my mind!