10 things I want to do this Summer

Where I live, the summer holidays have already began. As I have just gotten back into blogging, I'm slightly late writing this post, but here it is. 10 things I want to do this summer. I love reading other peoples bucket lists and wish lists. I find them so interesting, often sharing the same goals as others. Plus they are a great way to get inspiration! If you don't know what you want to do this summer, take a look at my post and the millions of others on the internet. You are bound to come across an idea that sparks your interest.

I go back to college the first week of September. This will be around the time, I look back on this post and see which things off my list I have accomplished. I'm hoping to do a post based on this, so keep your eyes peeled for that!

Most of these ideas are mine and personal things. Some of them, as I've mentioned, are probably ideas I've picked up over time from other people, whether its other blogs, social media, friends or family. So here goes!

1. Continue to write blog posts. It sounds cheesy and very obvious, but I'm not the best blogger in the world and recently I've struggled to find the time or motivation to blog. I want to get back at it, as when I do it, I love it. I love the relaxation of writing and the satisfied feeling I get when I press publish.
2. Go on picnics. Whether this is with my friends or family, I just love a good old fashioned picnic. Being sat on a blanket under the summer sun and breathing in the fresh air. Whilst eating great food of course! I love picnic food, things like sausage rolls and fresh fruit, sandwiches wrapped in tinfoil! Picnics are fun with friends or family and especially if you pick a good place. I have two picnic moods. The kind where I want to be at a busy park, like Abbey Park Leicester, with lots and lots of people. Or the kind where I like it to be me and a close friend, sat at a desolate, random spot, like by a canal.
3. Take long walks. Pretty simple really, but I enjoy walking. I actually walk quite a lot and have strong legs, so I can just walk for hours. Spontaneous, adventurous walks are the best. I love exploring new places, so walking around without much of a plan or a solid destination is great. Just don't get lost along the way! If I want some alone time, I head for a canal walk and put my headphones in. If I want to meet up with friends, organising a walk with them is great, especially if you walk to a certain place, maybe a shopping centre!
4. Go shopping. No need to elaborate on that really, I just love to shop! With friends is fun, but if I'm honest I love shopping with my mum! It's more relaxed and you get to spend time together having fun. Plus, she might even buy me something ;)
5. Go to an outdoor pool. I love swimming and I've always wanted to go to an outdoor pool . I know there isn't many where I live, but there has to be one near by. I want to go to one when it's really hot, so the pool isn't too cold!
6. Do more swimming. whether it's in an outdoor or an indoor pool, swimming is my favourite sport and one of my favourite past times. When you put your head underwater, it's like being in a different world, a quieter, slower one. I feel like time slows down. I think my love for this came from being a child, when I used to imagine mermaids lived in the deep bottom end of the pool. So I always use to swim underwater and in swimming lessons, I would do my very best. I thought the more medals I gained, the more mermaids I would get to see! Obviously I don't think that now, but the memory and love for swimming is still there. Plus, I'm a strong swimmer.
7. Read more classic books. Reading is my favourite past time and one of my favourite things to do. I'm a strong reader and have been reading since I was 4 or 5. I have the capability to read the old classics, like Little Women and The Great Gatsby. So this summer, I want to read more of the classics. Reading old fashioned books broadens your vocabulary, which would be very helpful to me, as I want to become an author. Plus I love history, so reading the classics would be combining two of my loves!
8. Go out more. I'm a very big home person and as soon as I run out of money and motivation, I start to say no whenever people ask me plans. But I want to stop letting money control what I do. For example, if my mum asks if I want to go food shopping with her, I want to say yes. Basically I want to make sure I don't waste this summer and be spontaneous!
9. Go camping. Although I'm not the biggest camping fan, I love nature and I love spending raw time out in the open with friends or family. Round a camp-fire, tucked up in blankets and eating marshmallows, I feel everyone is in a great mood. Plus people are more open. I don't know what it is about camping, but people talk to you more and talk about deeper subjects like life and death, love and loneliness. Maybe it's the fact that there is nowhere to go. You're all out in the open, sharing tents and being close. But whatever it is, I love it. This mixed with the sense of adventure it gives me, makes me want to go camping more often.
10. Try and do something every day. It doesn't have to be something big. It could be try a new food, or print off a photo or finish a chapter of a book. But just make sure I am doing something I enjoy every single day. This way, none of my Summer holidays will be wasted.

That's all for today's post, I hope this inspired you, maybe to write your own post or add something to your list!

Current Beauty Favourites

When I started this blog, I enjoyed it, but not enough to let it take over and schedule my life. This led to few posts and when it hit March, I had stopped posting all together. Several things have happened in my life since March, some good, some bad, some just events. But I think I've finally discovered my passion for writing again and want to start this post by apologising for the lack of posts. I'm hoping to get my blog back up and running again. If anyone has any advice or feedback for me, it would be very welcome! My Bloglovin page is a good place to send me feedback. Down the sidebar is a link for my page and I would appreciate it you would take a look and maybe give me a follow!

On to today's post now. Throughout June, I discovered a few of my new favourite beauty items. But, as some are old favourites, this is not going to be my June favourites. Some of my current favourites have been mentioned in old blog posts, so be sure to scroll back through my archives and check out some old posts!

The first product I'm going to mention are a set of four make up brushes. Brushes that are soft, but durable are essential to any make up routine. I put all my make up on using brushes; I feel like using my hands makes my face dirtier and makes the make up very warm, sometimes making it run under my fingertips, as I struggle to apply it. If you are the type of person that applies make up with fingertips, you may occasionally need a brush. For parts of your face that are detailed (such as eyes or eyebrows), you may want to use a brush. I have my trusty Real Techniques brushes, which I raved about in this previous post: http://findingniamh.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/real-techniques-brushes-review.html. 

But when on the hunt for some very cheap alternatives, I came across the NiceEshop 4 Piece Brush set. These brushes only cost me £3.99! They were so cheap, I presumed they would not be great quality. However, they had four star reviews and I was in desperate need. If they turned out to be rubbish, I could replace them as soon as I had the money. The link I have inserted will take you to the set I brought. However, the same brand sells different colours and a wider variety of brushes, including ones for your eye make up. The set I brought are for your face make up such as foundation.

The brushes arrived within the week, neatly packaged, as you would expect from Amazon. Upon opening, the brushes released a slight, potent chemical smell. However, after a few uses, this smell went away. Even so, the smell did not bother me in the first place. If you find the smell too overpowering, you can just wash the brushes using something like Johnsons' Baby Shampoo.

On first use, I was shocked by these brushes. Sure, they aren't as good as The Real Techniques, but for such cheap brushes, they were incredible! They are very soft on the skin, full and durable. Now and then a few hairs fall out, but this is expected from cheaper brushes. The Gold and black handle is smooth, easy to grip and matches the Real Techniques Core Kit very well.

The four brushes have different heads. One has a completely flat head and one has a slightly rounded head. The third brush is pointed and good for under eye concealer, in my opinion, because it can reach all the nooks and dips around your eyes. The forth brush has a rounded head, that is longer at one end. This makes it tilted and useful for contour, or on the apples of your cheeks.

The brushes are Synthetic, so do consider this if you go to buy them. Also consider, that the brushes are small, probably too small for powder. However, I have a small face, so these were perfect size. Based upon reviews I read before buying, a lot of people use the brushes for eye make up, if they are too big for their face shape. Thinking about it, you win either way!

 My next favourite are eye products. The first are eye lash curlers, from Models Own. I have had these years. I feel like they are something you have straight from the beginning, as soon as you get into make up. Even though I have had these years, they still work wonders. They are metal curlers and coloured silver, which is very simple but looks more sophisticated than say, a pink pair would. They clamp my lashes well and do the job, making sure every lash is curled. In my routine, I feel like curling my eyelashes is a must. My lashes are super long, but not very curly. Using these, shows just how long my lashes are.

My second eye product is the Rimmel Kate Mascara. It is limited edition and quite pricey for a drugstore mascara. It is totally worth it though. I brought mine in the shade Jet Black. This is the deepest black shade. The packaging of this product is very sleek, yet simple. The lid has a small crown, the sign of Rimmel London, which is a nice touch and looks very cute in photos! The metallic packaging is reflective, meaning you can see yourself in it. This sounds silly, but is fantastic if you are applying make up on the go. It acts as a mirror! I doubt this is why the packaging is metallic coloured, but it's a neat trick!
The broken heart brush curves to fit your lashes perfectly. This means it coats all the lashes evenly, including those hard to reach inner lashes. It does not make my lashes clumpy. It separates them and lengthens them so well! My personal reason for loving this mascara is the brush shape. It really is excellent at coating every single lash and it makes the job ten times easier, because it changes to fit your lashes.

My final eye favourite is a Barry M Dazzle Dust. Mine is in the shade 51, which is a gorgeous light purple shade. It has tiny flecks of silver and looks beautiful, especially on fair skin tones. I like to apply this shadow when I am wearing a basic make up look. It would be very good as a base coat, to then blend out and adapt. Do not let the consistency of this product put you off. It is a loose powder shadow, which looks and sounds scary! But, as long as you are very careful not to throw it around and make sure you screw the lid on properly after use, it really isn't scary. It is loose, which means you can make it as pigmented and as dark as you like; you can build it up in layers. This shadow lasts pretty much all day. When it begins to wear off, it fades to a softer shade, loosing some glitter. However, I like this aspect. If you want it to last a long time, you will probably need to re apply every few hours. I often like to put this shadow just over my lash line, rather than blending it across my whole eye lid. For £4.59, this product is great and will last me a very long time. The tiniest dab of your brush into the pot, goes a very long way!

My next favourite is my only face product. The MUA Bronzer in Shade 3. I have only just gotten into contouring and bronzing up my face. So I wanted a cheap bronzer to get me started. I got more than I bargained for here, as this MUA Bronzer is actually very good. It is a matte shade, so contains no glitter. It is pigmented, but not too much. This is good for me, as I prefer to build the colour, than it all come out of the pot with one swipe of my brush! I chose shade 3, even though I am fair skinned.This is because, in the shop, the other two shades did not look dark enough. At £1, this bronzer is perfect for beginners at contouring. The only downside I have is the packaging. I find it hard to open, but the more I open it, the easier it gets. This is the only downfall and for £1, you can't go wrong! 

 My final two favourites are lip products. I have really dry lips, especially throughout winter. I had heard about the Carmex Lipbalm and wanted to see what the hype was about. The results were incredible. Within a week of applying the lipbalm every day, my lips were no longer dry and cracked. They felt moisturised. The lipbalm does exactly what it says on the tube. When you apply it, it makes your lips feel tingly and soothed. It is a slightly strange feeling at first, but after a while you get used to it and you begin to realise that the feeling is helping your lips. This is one of my staple products and I always have it with me, in my pocket or bag. However, when this one runs out, I will not repurchase the tube version. I will buy the applicator or pot version, as I personally find the squeezable tube annoying and hard to get product out of.

My final favourite is the Sleek Matte Me Lipgloss, in the shade Birthday Suit. I LOVE THIS PRODUCT! First off, the packaging is gorgeous. It lives up to the company name as it is sleek and sophisticated. You can clearly see the product colour through the clear plastic, which I also love, There is no surprise towards the shade when you open the product. I ordered mine online, as they had ran out in the stores near me. It came packaged in thin plastic, which protected the product from spilling. The dofer applicator applies the product well. In the tube, this product is a lipgloss. But, when on your lips, it dries matte and becomes a lipstick! Clever and original, I was instantly drawn to this product. It looks beautiful on the lips and Birthday Suit is a gorgeous, darkish nude colour. It is my perfect nude!
My favourite thing about this product is the gloss to lipstick consistency and how long it lasts. You can eat and drink with this product on and none comes off, because it is matte! It lasts several hours, for me a whole school day and I don't have to re apply it.
At £4.99, I cannot recommend this product enough!

That's all for today's post! I hope you didn't get too bored reading, it was a very long one! If you buy any of the products, let me know, I'd love to hear your opinions! Follow me on Bloglovin, like and comment, and come back soon to read my next post.

Recent Photos

Music Monday // Album Review

Hey there guys, so I want to start doing a weekly thing called Music Mondays. Every Monday I will be recommending some music to you guys; whether its a new song I love, my favourite album or a singer I have discovered. Today Music Monday is going to be about my two most favourite albums. They are my favourites at the moment, but I have a feeling they will be favourites for along time to come! I just love them that much!

The first album I have been loving is Taylor Swift's 1989. I have never been a huge fan of Taylor, i often found her songs boring or too 'girly'. By girly, I mean that most of her old songs were very whiny and had a love story behind them. Her new album is so much fiercer! Granted, it is still based around boys and love, but songs like Bad Blood and Blank Space show a different side to the Taylor people think they knew. The CD cost me £7 from Amazon and came with a free audio version which was great for my phone! I first brought the CD, having only listened to two of the songs on there (Blank Space and Shake It Off). I brought the CD because it was the only way to access the other songs, as they weren't on YouTube yet. Boy, am i glad i brought it! Her album cover is gorgeous, I am absolutely in love with the Polaroid style of it. Plus the CD came with a lyric book, which contained little Polaroid pictures of Taylor at rehearsals and finding inspiration for her songs. There are 13 songs on the album. 

Another album I have been loving  is the Mamma Mia Soundtrack. Mamma Mia is my favourite film and my favourite musical. The songs from it, just make the movie for me. Ultimately, I realised the only way for me to get the official songs (ones that didn't have speaking from the movie in between) was to buy the album. It only cost £3 from Ebay, and came newly packaged.If you are a Mamma Mia fan, you will definitely want this album. It is a basic must have for people who are a huge fan of the film and songs. The album has all 17 songs from the film, including The Name of The Game, sung by Amanda Seyfried, which isn't featured in the film.

That's all for today's post, I hope you guys are enjoying my blog. I know I am enjoying blogging and I'm really getting back into it! Niamh x

Q&A - College Style

Q&A - College and grades

So quite recently my cousin sparked off an idea for a blog post. She asked me to help a advise her with what to take at college for her GCSE option choices. I'm really bad at making decisions so took a long time to choose my options. However I am so glad I took my time! I enjoy all the subjects I choose. The first option I picked was one I knew i would love from the start; Drama. I was not offered drama at high school, but loved doing it and had been a member of a Physical Theater Company for 2 years. First of, I would advise you to take drama, but only if it interests you. It is a lot of hard work and hours after school. Plus you learn so much, lots of words and phrases that you have to remember, on top of lines! I also was lucky enough to be in a drama group with people I love. I get along with all of them, and I am no longer shy around them. Once you get to know people, it's hard to be shy around them!

The second option I picked was Art. I have a love for art, particularly art that has a message or meaning and is  done in pencil. I find pencil easiest to work with. Art GCSE is based around a certain subject. For example, my college's art GCSE is based around Natural Forms. This could be humans, nature, landscapes, etc. I am focusing on human art forms and have currently filled a third of the sketchbook I am working in. All our work is done in the sketchbook (or on larger A2+ paper). A good point to Art GCSE is that all your work counts; you don't have to stress about doing well in one test. A bad point is that it is a lot of work, especially out of school. You often have to finish projects at home, but it is very satisfying when you have done!

My third option was History. I had a history teacher at high school that i absolutely loved. She made everything fun and interesting. This is why I was worried about picking History. I wondered if I only enjoyed the subject because of the teacher. But when I thought about it, I realised I had such a strong love for history. The idea of black and white film, different eras and peoples backgrounds interests me more than anything. I'd find myself walking down the street, people watching, and thinking: 'I wonder what her story is'. I'm a people pleaser, and think one of the best ways to please people is to know their background.  This way, you can't make mistakes that might upset them and you know exactly what they love! So, i eventually chose history and I am so glad I did! I love all types of history from war, to Chinese Governments. However, my favourite type of history is American history and the Tudor Times (which you don't actually cover at college). Most college's curriculum is the same and based on World War Two, America in the 1920's and other, more recent history. 

My final option is Textiles. Now I struggled hugely to find this las option. Originally I thought media would be a good idea; I wanted to be in film and loved photography. However I decided against it when I went for a taster day. It was very boring in my opinion and was a lot of written work, rather than experimenting with cameras. Ultimately I chose textiles. Now textiles is a lot of work; I'm currently on a time schedule to finish. Waistcoat and long skirt for a fashion show. Saying there is a lot of work, doesn't mean it isn't fun. We are left to get on with the work, something I appreciate as an impatient person. Plus it's a fun GCSE, as I am making the outfit to do a fashion show at the Athena! Be warned, textiles is a mix of sewing/ practical work, and written work. You do have to be creative as you do lots of artistic portfolios containing design ideas. 
So as you can see, my college lets me chose 4 options. Some chose more, some chose less. This was just a detailed description of my options, to let people know. I hope this post helps people moving to college, who are struggling to choose their options. Even for those that aren't struggling, this should be a nice insite into four of the many options you can pick.

I'll be back soon, Niamh x