End of the holidays!!!

It is finally coming towards the end of the summer holidays in England and I am so excited to be starting college!!

On the 22nd August, I went to collect my GCSE results from school and even though I wasn't completely happy with the results I got, I had plenty of 'points' to get into the college I wanted to which is Winstanley College! 

I can't wait to go on Tuesday (my first day there) and make new friends and have a fresh start doing subjects that I'm interested in and should enjoy. I suppose I'll just have to wait and see!!! I've chosen psychology, sociology, maths and textiles  as my subjects for my AS Levels this year so hopefully they'll be really good and I'll enjoy college life! 

The Challenge Week One and Two Complete!

So I posted a couple of weeks ago telling you all about the Challenge and saying how excited I was for it! 

I was completely right to be- I'm absolutely loving it.

The first week we went to Ghyll Head Outdoors Centre in the Lake District with a bunch of strangers to stay the week and do loads of outdoor orientated activities! At first I was so nervous as I didn't know many people but everyone was lovely and I made so many friends in the first couple of days. We all encouraged each other in so many ways doing things we never thought we'd manage such as caving, gill scrambling, rock climbing, zip wiring, canoeing and team work activities. 

My group (aka Team Edwards) stayed in a really nice bungalow with a beautiful view of Lake Windemere. 

The second week we went to Manchester University and stayed in the Wilmslow halls of residence with some other people in our wave and we had to fend for ourselves by cooking and cleaning on our own which was quite a challenge for some people in itself! My flat was on the top floor (unfortunately) but there was also a lovely view here. My groups skill to learn was media so we had a mentor called Tim who taught us how to use filming equipment and how to edit footage which is making me consider wanting a YouTube channel hmm. We made a 'humanimal' mockumentary and a charity based video in the four days that we stayed there and I didn't stop laughing the whole time.

So far I have had an amazing Challenge experience and it is one of the best summers I've ever had!! I have just started week three which is the final week and I can gladly say I have made so many amazing new friends along the way and I've loved every minute of it! 

Love from Sammy xxx

NCS- The Challenge

So this Sunday I will be meeting a bunch of other 16-17 year olds at 9am to experience an amazing week of outdoor fun and make loads of new friends.

I found out about NCS when they came into my school and did a presentation and then most of my favourite youtubers joined in and started to promote it. Basically, for the first week we will be going to the Lake District for a week and doing loads of fun outdoor activities such as abseiling, kayaking, hiking and really just pushing yourself to overcome your fears and help others!

The second week we are staying in the halls accommodation at Manchester University and we will complete a task from the area we've chosen and we'll work in a team to create a presentation whilst working with professionals in the area.

Finally, we will get together for 4 weekend in September to do a project to help improve our community and make a change.

This is a really fantastic opportunity and I'm so excited but slightly nervous as I'm not the best at making new friends lets say... But as I will be attending college in September it seemed the perfect way to boost my confidence and it gives me some independence away from my family ! (Also, we got a super comfy hoodie to wear when we go 😃)

Leavers Do!!

Recently, I have finished all of my exams and so now I have officially left Standish High School!! On Thursday, the class of 2013 celebrated in style at the DW Stadium and even though the weather was horrible, we had an amazing evening.

Me and my two friends travelled in style in a beautiful cream and silver camper van which had been changed so that it had a lovely cream and pink interior and lots of spring flowers to give it a feminine touch. We set off from my house at around 6.45pm and got to the venue for around 7 which is when the fun really began!!

We had our photos taken by a professional photographer when we arrived and socialised then had our meal (which was very disappointed considering we paid £25 for it!!)

After this was the 'disco' which was really fun although my heels had to go because walking in 6 inch heels is rather difficult after a while!! The evening was really enjoyable and I wish I could go back. I will insert a library of all my photos from the night below. Love from Sammy xxx

Mini shopping trip to Southport

On Sunday I went to Southport to have a look around some shops with my Dad. He took me to loads of places that I had never seen before and they were really lovely. There were 3 amazing vintage shops in alleys and hidden throughout the town centre and most were 3 or4 storeys high! It was so fun!

These are my purchases from the day ( I know there aren't many but I'm planning to go for the whole day and have a proper root around to find some really nice things) but from one of the shops I bought a really nice hardback copy of Pride and Prejudice as its a classic that I've wanted to read for quite some time and it was a bargain at only £3!!! 

I also went to a really cute sweet shop that sold American sweets so of course I had to get some nerds in my favourite flavour- they're amazing!

Finally, I went to superdrug (you can never stay away from make up when shopping) and I bought 3 MUA products as there was a really cheap 3 for 2 offer which meant the liquid eyeliner in Shade 5, concealer in Fair and nail varnish in Amaretto Crush were only £2!! I couldn't leave that offer... I also finally got a Barry M nail varnish in the shade Watermelon as they've had really good reviews and the colour was a really lovely emerald green- so far it has been really good and it went on well and dried fairly quickly! Hopefully I'll get some more in shades like Dragon Fruit soon because they were really lovely, my main problem at the moment is a lack of money :( oh well! That's all for now but I have a few ideas planned for future posts so I should be updating more regularly. 

Sammy xx

Cheap and Cheerful- My Everyday School Make Up

These are the products I use everyday for a natural look with cheap but average quality products. In order from left to right: W7 Flirty Eyes Mascara, MUA Matte Perfect Foundation in Fair, Simple Kind to Skin Light Moisuriser, Clarins Water Comfort One- Step Cleanser with Peach Essential Water, Kleenex Shine Removing Wipes, MUA blusher, a Next Continental Eye and Lip Palette and Estée Lauder and 17 brushes. 

Firstly, I cleanse and moisturise my face with the Clarins cleanser and Simple moisturiser.

Then I filled in my eyebrows with the Next Continental palette and used the MUA foundation with the 17 brush.

(Sorry if it looks like I'm posing, just trying to show the blush and contouring better)

I use the MUA blusher with the Estée Lauder brush and one of the colours on the Next palette to contour.

Finally, I use the W7 mascara and then I'm done!

I'm sorry that this post was quite boring but I was struggling to think of ideas for a post and I thought this might be useful is people were looking for a cheap and average looking natural look.

Hopefully I'll post again in a few days, I'm doing my GCSE's at the moment so I've been quite busy but I'm hoping to stay on top of this :-)

Sammy xxx

Top 5 albums for the Spring/ Summer season

So I thought I could do a bit of a different post which doesn't just show you what I've bought or give a review today. These are my favourite upbeat or acoustic albums for the Spring/ Summer period and aren't the usual mainstream music as I'm not really into that.

The first album is Paramore's 'Brand New Eyes' which has a lot of quite powerful songs which make you feel happy and alive when walking on a lovely warm day. Even though this album has been out for quite a while and their new self titled album is out, I just think that this is a nice mix between powerful and mellower songs. I saw Paramore's tour of this album and it was incredible- my favourite song by far is 'All I Wanted'. Hayley's vocals are just incredible in it.

The second album is by Walk The Moon and it is self titled. I saw these when they supported Fun. And on their own tour early this year and the vibe was incredible- everyone was having a great time. I love this album because it is really upbeat and fun. The songs instantly put you in a good mood and make you want to dance about (which I may have done in public a few times...). Anyway, I love this album and I love the band (especially Kevin Ray asdfghjkl)

The third album is Mumford and Sons album 'Babel' which doesn't even need an explanation as to why I love it- it's just an amazing album!! The songs are so free and dancey (yes, I am aware that 'dancey' isn't a real word :') ) and are fun for walking in the sun or having a Spring/ Summer bike ride. It's just a generally amazing album and it will always be in my iPods summer playlist!

Fourth is King Charles with his album 'LoveBlood' and his songs are similar to Mumford and Sons but slower and more relaxed. I am not a big fan of two of the songs on the album called 'Polar Bear' and 'Wilde Love' as they are different to the general genre of the album and aren't as calm as the rest of the album. However, most of the album is happy and really good and I love the singer's hair. (Yes, that was a very random comment, haha)

Finally, the last album that I listen to most in the Spring/ Summer weather is by Panic! At The Disco and is called 'Pretty. Odd.' This album is very relaxed and happy even though some of the lyrics on the album are very peculiar but that doesn't stop the great vibes that the songs give off. This album is also very very old but in Spring it cheers you up and makes you feel positive.

That's all for today, I'm sorry if I babbled or if you're really not bothered what music I listen to but I just wanted to do a different type of post to the norm. 

 Sammy xxx

Today in Topshop :-)

Today I went to Topshop and quickly picked up a few things because I had a bit of extra money to spend.
I got a long and baggy vest top with a pretty lace top section at the top. This was in the sale and was only £8 which is an absolute bargain (especially for Topshop!) I got this in one size smaller because it is quite big anyway so I think it would be too big in my normal size. However, the colour is a really nice dark raspberry and for the price I couldn't resist. I also saw that they did crop versions for £14 which were quite new in.
I also got a set of 3 rings for £5 which are really cute for stacking and have small gold hearts on them. The main rings are in a brushed chrome, black and gold and they will pretty much go with anything because the colours are really versatile.

Finally, I got a lipstick in Macaroon because I have wanted it for a long time and now that the weather is turning warmer I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to buy it and wear it. It is a really vibrant pink/ coral and will be lovely for the next few months.

Anyway that was all I bought from Topshop but hopefully I will be able to do some more posts about where I've been and my favourite beauty products etc. Love from Sammy :-) xxx

Favourite body treats!

Recently, I've been loving 'Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau So Fresh Radiant Body Lotion' and 'Gorgeous by Gok body butter with Argan Oil'.

The Daisy body lotion RRP's at £22 from House of Fraiser and I got the Gok Wan body butter in a set ( the only ones that I can find now are in sets on eBay).
The Daisy body lotion perfectly complements the pefume and leaves you feeling and smelling fresh. It is a beautiful fragrance for spring as it is quite floral and fruity and isn't too heavy on the skin- it leaves your skin looking beautiful and radiant. Also, it soaks into your skin really quickly so you don't have to wait too long to dress after putting it on. The packaging is just adorable!
Gorgeous by Gok Wan has a really strong scent and so I think if you're wearing it, you can miss a day of wearing perfume. It has a really unique scent but it really is gorgeous (no pun intended). I think the packaging for this is really nice and vibrant. One of my dislikes to this product, however, is that it doesn't sink into your skin easily and it is quite heavy on the skin as it is a butter and not a lotion but the amazing scent overpowers the negatives and that's why I love it so much. The scent lasts for 24 hours + which is amazing and you have to keep moving to appreciate how lovely it is. ( Can you tell I like the scent?)

I am on a quest to try quite a few different lotions and bod butters to find a staple one but these just smell too good to leave untouched!

Sammy xxx

Shopping!!

Sorry that I haven't blogged in a while, I've been really busy revising for exams. However, I have saved a few things that I have bought recently and thought I'd do a blogpost about.

The skirt was £10 from River Island in the sale section, the MUA foundation in Fair was only £2 (barginous!!), the MUA blusher in Shade 5 was £1, the OPI Gold Shatter Nail Polish was £11 , the Barry M Retro Collection Nail Varnish was £1.99, the Barry M lip gloss was £4.49 in Toffee and I can't remember how much the Avon Colour Trend lipsticks were (sorry) but they were in shades Flirty and Lucky Kiss.

These are some things I've bought lately, I didn't really have enough to do a blog post on before, hence why I didn't do one.

The MUA make up is actually really good quality for the price that you pay so I thought if I tried some of the products it wouldn't cause much harm to my bank balance. I've not really tried much of the make up yet but I thought that the brght shades of the lipsticks would be lovely for spring/ summer for a bolder approach and to brighten up a plain outfit. However, I am absolutely loving the orange one in 'Flirt'- it is very similar to Hayley Williams' Mac collection in the shade 'Sounds Like Noise' but of course is a lot cheaper. Also, the white packaging makes it super easy to find in your bag when out and about. It's quite long lasting but unfortunately rubs off very easily if you have a drink or some food. I also think that the Barry M and OPI nail polishes will look really pretty for a girly spring look and can make a blod statement to an outfit.

I must say, I am proud of myself for buying a skirt as I'm not usually a skirt kind of person but I couldn't resisit. I just loved the floral ditsy print on a bold red with gold buttons down the front and a cute little brown belt. It will look lovely to brighten up and outfit and hangs loosely down to the knee. The small flowers mean you can wear it with quite a few colours such as tan brown and white.

 

I'm sorry if I rambled and I will try to upload a lot more frequently, I'm just struggling to find ideas to blog about.

Sammy xxx

 

Estée Lauder Lipstick Review

So, this is a review of my favourite lipstick by Estée Lauder. It’s from the Pure Colour range, blushing crème in shade 55 in a really cute gold tube. The colour is a really gorgeous dark terracotta/ red and it is really long lasting so good for everyday wear. I’d say it lasts for around 4 or 5 hours without needing topping up, even having a drink doesn’t have too much of an impact on it. The only problem that I seem to have with this lipstick is that when it starts to fade, it works from the centre of the lips outwards so you look like you’re only wearing lip liner- I don’t know if anyone else has this problem with lipsticks, if you do, please comment then I know it’s not only me! Luckily, it’s so moisturising and isn’t shiny unlike some other Estée Lauder lipsticks I’ve tried but if you like a bit of shine then most lip glosses look beautiful over the top, I use a Barry M glossy tube in GT8 called ‘Hint of Red’ which looks really nice together.

 From the lovely set I got at Christmas, I would definitely recommend this delightful lipstick and there are now more in the collection which are available in shops such as Estée Lauder, Boots,  Selfridges, Debenhams, House of Fraiser and quite a few more stores. It is a beautiful spring colour it can work well around so many outfits- when this runs out I will definitely be buying a new one!

Newbie

This blog is going to be a bit about me and some reviews of products I've used etc. The Wonderful World of Me!!