It was my birthday last month, my seventeenth to be exact. I've picked up a little bit of knowledge along the way, as well as some wisdom. To celebrate this new year of my life, I wanted to write a little blog post that I've seen floating around the internet for a while now. I've found it quite interesting to see what other people have put down for the 17 things they've learned in 17 years and I wanted to give it a go myself...

1.  "When a door closes, you have two choices, give up or keep going." - Rihanna

2.  Negative people exist and you don't need them in your life. Surround yourself with positivity and what or whoever makes you happy.

3.  Love who you've been given the privilege too.

4.  Find the balance between work/play/rest.

5. Laughter is one of the best feelings ever.

6. Trust your gut.

7. People who are confident enough not to care, should be taken note of.

8. Every problem, has a solution. Other than death.

9. Make yourself you're No.1 priority. You have to do what's best for yourself. That's ok.

10. No one is going to stop you from doing what you love. It's not up to anyone else. It's your choice.

11. Be the person you wished you had when times were rough.

12. Wearing makeup and using an instagram filter doesn't make you beautiful. Your character does.

13. Surround yourself with creative, funny, smart, caring and good people. You deserve it.

14. You have to learn to accept yourself.

15. Don't let someone structure your life.

16. Change is too evolve. Without it, there's no life.

17. You can do anything you put your mind too. Stop stopping yourself from achieving it. Get some motivation and dedication and kick your own ass into gear.

I'm in love with anything that provides my skin with hydration and moisture- especially when its to do with lip products. I've tried and tested many over the years, some which have worked, others not so much. However, I have never tried or used a lip oil, which made me very excited when one of my favourite brands added to their lip oil collection with even more flavours, that I was already dying to try.

I present to you the Clarins Instant Light Lips Comfort Lip Oil. You won't be disappointed.




I finally managed to get my hands on one, in my favourite colour and flavour- mint (theres four shades in total). To me lip oils are still pretty new and an awesome concept which I love. I've always associated Clarins with lip products and they defiantly didn't disappointment with this.

 

"A lip care treatment infused

with all the power of plant

 oils to nourish and enhance

your lips' natural beauty."

- Innovative formula

Hello, hello!! Sorry for the lack of blog posts last week, I got very caught up with revision and celebrating birthdays and just life in general, but I'm back again now- writing quite a few blog posts in advance to avoid future delays within my posting schedule.

So, today's topic is 'How to combat dry skin', I feel like a little bit of a seasoned pro with this now after suffering from dry skin since I was a child and I've felt like I've tried every remedy possible; some of which have worked and others not so much. Personally, my skin gets very dry in winter like most with the cold weather and then in summer my skin takes a bit of a turn and becomes more oily which then leads me to wearing either very little or no makeup just to let my skin 'breath'.

I know first hand how annoying dry, itchy and flaky skin is and can be as well as how much you desire relief from it. Mine got considerably worse when I hit puberty due to my eczema, making me unable to use some of the same remedies as others due to having such sensitive skin.

Now, it's important to keep in mind that your skin is affected by a lot of other things too, including the environment, how you clean and care for your skin, and even your clothes.

Hot water-
Having hot showers are good every now and again but aren't advised for having on a regular basis by many dermatologists. By having hot showers you're actually stripping your body of its natural oil barrier which helps keep moisture and keep your skin smooth and moist.
Skin care experts recommend short, warm showers/baths lasting no longer than 10-15 minutes.

Cleansing-
When washing, use a soap less cleanser. By using gentle soaps that are fragrance free you are being more gentle on your skin. For example, products with deodorant or antibacterial additives are much harsher on the skin. A great alternative is a cleanser containing ceramides- fatty molecules which help to make up the outer barrier of your skin and hold in moisture. By stripping back on your use of toners, peels and other astringents you are helping your skin stay moisturised due to all of them being drying. Exfoliating is a similar issue with some scrubbing too hard and fast leading to irritated skin and thickening of the skin.

Shaving-
Did you know that shaving can irritate and cause dry skin?
When shaving you're also shaving off natural oils. Shaving after you've showered is the best possible time; with the hair being more pliable. Remember to shave in the direction of hair growth in order to protect your skin. In addition to this, make sure the razor is sharp. A dull razor blade can also cause irritation.

Sun damage-
Sun damage is one of the main causes for dry skin, wrinkles and skin roughness. You can prevent this through wearing a broad-spectrum SPF 30 sunscreen year round.


Moisturising-
Moisturisers help to track the moisture into the skin that already exists. To achieve this you need to apply moisturiser within a few minutes of drying off after washing or washing your face and hands.

If you're anything like me, then you like to stay organised. I have to admit that I do have more than one calendar hung up in my room, just so I can always have a clear plan of my month ahead. However, staying and becoming organised isn't as simple as it may seem. I can't count how many times my to-do lists have become messy and I started another one and the process repeated itself or how many times my calendar has become overwhelming.

I wanted to do a blog post on how I stay organised with everything and give you guys some tips so you can be organised too!



To-do lists:

For me, to-do lists are life savers. I use them for everything and I make them on anything I cant get my hands on, the majority of the time in my bullet journal and if I'm out the house then on my phone. However, you have to keep them reasonable. For example, don't have 50+ things on your to-do list )slight exaggeration, but if you do that's impressive), consolidate them down a little. Once you've done that, prioritise everything on your list. After this, complete the first 1-5 before even beginning to worry/ stress over the other items on the list. Repeat the process until everything is done. 

To-do lists are amazing for giving you a hard copy of everything you have to do and get done. It helps a lot to have a visual representation in front of you, instead of just having a mental to-do list. If you aren't much of a list maker then I suggest at least jotting down the top 5 things you have to do and get done.


Prioritize:

As important as this step is we can't predict what interruptions might pop up that could obstruct our priorities. This makes re-prioritizing just as important as prioritizing. An example of this was, that my media coursework was my main priority for a while due to its due date, however, once I had catched up with everything that I had to do I realized that I was falling behind in English. English then came my priority once my media coursework was handed in.


Organizing binders:

I'm an a-level student which means that I have a lot of paper with notes on that I have to organise into their designated subject folders and a lot of things I have to learn; so having my binders organised is such a HUGE help. I group things into different sections and texts I study so it's easier for me to look back over and revise from. Everything has a place and is easy to find, compared to that of a folder which is quite the opposite- which would probably take twice as long to find the same piece of information.


Planner:

This is the same as a bullet journal just a lot more structured and concise. My school provides us with one at the beginning of the school year to help with school events and homework. Planners are so helpful for keeping on top of deadlines and school schedules. I really recommend that if you are in school and you don't have a planner then you buy one, or make your own on OneNote, for free.


Keeping schedules and making deadlines:


I hat wasting time, I always want to be doing something and be productive at least. Keeping things organised goes alongside being productive like the numbers 1 and 2. Making deadlines and keeping to schedules and making to-do lists for everyday and for the week ahead makes me 100x more productive and more likely to get everything that I need to done. By setting goals and sticking to them you're speeding up the progress between you and your main goal.


Don't procrastinate

I know we are all very guilty of coming home from school and spending an 1 or 2 on our phone unlike the 15 minutes we had planned on the journey home. I've found for me personally, that the longer I leave a task, the harder it is to complete and the stress that comes with alongside it. I've prevented this as much as I can through organising everything that I can and getting the task done quicker. What gets me through procrastination and starting on my to-do list is the list of goals I have on my pin board above my desk, being my main motivation to get things done.


Everything having a place to stay

This is the most common form of organisation and the easiest to accomplish. Everything I have is organised by type of item and how frequently I use it. For example, all my stationary is organised next to my desk and easy to reach when I need it. When organising don't make a space really overcrowded or cluttered, that's just defeating the purpose of organising in the first place.