Is This Thing On?

Can you believe it? The last time I blogged was my first few nights here in Dublin. And now look, here we are on the 15th of March 2017 and the college year is almost over! It's been a hell of a journey since then so why don't we take a trip down memory lane and revisit the last 6 months..

I'm not going to lie, it took a while to settle into college life and living in Dublin. But now I absolutely love it! There is always something happening and places to see. Just today, a man dressed as Donald Trump was being filmed as he walked down Grafton Street. So strange but I love it.

I've also completely embraced the nightlife which isn't as scary as I thought it would be. I think Dublin has a bad reputation but it's actually such a quiet, friendly city.

I've also made some really great friends. They're the kind of people who I feel I can literally say anything to and won't be judged for being weird (they already know how weird I am). I've also met some not very nice people, but you have to take the good with the bad.

I don't really know what else to say.. I've forgotten how to blog but hope to do it more often, even just for myself to read back on in time. It really is like an online diary.

Oh and I've also decided that I'm going to get a tattoo. I've not decided what of yet as I don't want to rush into anything but will definitely post about it when I do get it.

I hope everyone's 2017 is treating them well. Leave a comment and I'll talk to you soon xo

College

So here I am. Sitting in my college dorm on my own, listening to Adele with tears in my eyes as I think of my home comforts and family. Ahh home. Something I will never take for granted again.

Yep I've made it to Dublin. And let's just say that the transition for a country girl like myself has not been easy. Every person I see is a potential thief/murderer/sexual predator etc. I cling my bag to my chest as I walk down every street while politely trying to turn away people trying to sell me something or preach about their religion.

My first day of proper college is tomorrow and while I'm so excited to get stuck in and leave my dorm room, I can't help but feel worried. What if I hate it? I honestly don't think I'd be able to deal with that. I can't deal with that.

Anyway, hopefully everything will turn out okay. It is only day 2 after all. Leave a comment if you too are starting college or have moved away from home. Or leave some tips for surviving college.

How Do You Measure A Month?

It's been a month since I last posted anything on my blog. I don't know why but I just couldn't find the strength to write anything. And anything that I tried to write was so negative, and I didn't want to add to the negativity in the world right now. I wanted to write something uplifting and positive. However, when you're stuck in a rut in your own life it can be hard to try and spread positivity in everyone else's.

Yep, I've have a pretty rubbish summer. I'm not going to get into the details of it, but basically I've been fed up with every aspect of my life, the people I'm surrounded with and the way my body looks. And while I'm sure every girl has these periods of hopelessness in their lives, I've felt like I've cried on my own more times than I care to admit.

That's pretty much a catch up on my life this summer. And while I'm most definitely not back to my normal self, I thought that I would make more of an effort to write on my blog (even though no one reads it, I find it fun!).

SO, now that all the negativity is out in the open I'm going to focus on all the good things going on and what I've been loving:

• I'M GOING TO COLLEGE IN DUBLIN! Yep, it's finally happening! In approximately 2 weeks I'll be making the big move to Dublin and I'm so excited. It feels like a fresh start, and I'm so ready for that!
• THE OLYMPICS! Okay so I know that they are over (although we've the Paralympics to look forward to now #buzzing), I thoroughly enjoyed the Olympics this year. I have such a massive amount of respect for every single one of those athletes. They are such an inspiration and are crazy good at what they do. I particularly enjoyed the diving and Bob Ballard and Leon Taylor's offbeat commentary! And even though I'm only half English, I couldn't help but cheer on Team GB as well as Team Ireland!
• DANCE MOMS! I've said it. I love Dance Moms. It is without a doubt been my guilty pleasure TV programme. I mean these girls are insanely talented and have to deal with immense pressures. Some of the mothers are completely bonkers (in fact the whole show is completely bonkers) but I find it so entertaining.

My Top 3 Olympic Moments

1. Jack Laugher and Chris Mears winning gold in 3m Synchro Springboard Diving - I've been following these divers since 2012 so it was so incredibly amazing to see them standing on that podium receiving gold medals. So well deserved.
2. The O'Donovan Brothers - so for those of you who don't know them, the O'Donovan's are two brothers from Cork in Ireland who won silver in the men's rowing. Their interviews had everyone in stitches and pretty much summed up the whole of Ireland with their laid back attitudes and love of shhtake.
3. Simone Biles - need I say any more? This woman is the most incredible person ever, and a wonderful inspiration to girls all over the world. This 19 year old gymnast caught everyone's attention in the best way possible and showed amazing talent and sportsmanship. I love her so much!           

Leave a comment below on what you're favourite Olympic moments were! Talk to you soon x

Friendships

I suck at friendships. This is something that I think I'm starting to realise. Since I've left school I've found keeping in touch with my friends insanely hard. Mainly because I'm completely rubbish with messaging people. I'm not one of those people who is constantly talking to people on my phone or my laptop. I don't know why. I think that I hate conversations that aren't in real life. Like what are you suppose to message someone about? There's no flow of conversation. 

I also find myself getting more annoyed with people online. Like why didn't you reply to my message? What's with the one word answer? What am I suppose to say to 'haha'? Are you angry with me or something? And then once I see these people in person, there's no problem and everything is simple.

I hate to say it but I feel like I'm losing my friends. Even writing that is making me well up. I love them so much but since the summer began we've only got together once. And once September comes we're all going our separate ways again. 

Do you find maintaining friendships difficult? Should maintaining friends be easy, and if it's not is there a problem in the friendship? Any input would be greatly appreciated! Leave a comment below.

17-07-2016

Unsocial Media

Recently I've been strongly considering deleting my Facebook account. There are so many reasons that make me want to so I thought that I would share them with you today. As with anything, there are pros and cons to Facebook and social media I know, but these are just my own personal opinions and I have absolutely no problem with people spending as much time on Facebook as they'd like.

So anyway, here is my list of reasons to convince myself to delete Facebook.

1. Friends?
In my life I have around 5-6 REALLY close friends. We'd talk every other day and meet up every once in a while. I have 507 friends on Facebook. So now I can keep up with 507 people that I barely know and watch them attend weddings, concerts, get into relationships and everything else. And what does it matter to me? Nothing. I mean, while it's great to get the latest gossip on people I haven't seen in years, I really don't care what these people are up to. And I don't mean that in a horrible way but I don't know them. And I'm sure they don't really care what I'm up to either.

2. Under Pressure
This is a biggie for me. I'm not sure if it's the same for everyone or just some weird social anxiety side-effect that I have but I feel an enormous amount of pressure on Facebook. For example, how many likes can I get on my profile picture, how many people will wish me happy birthday or will I be tagged in those photos my friend took? This is no word of a lie but I haven't changed my profile picture in over a year for fear of not getting any likes. Is that silly? Maybe. But it's something that causes me a lot of stress and anxiety and I'm starting to wonder if it's really worth it.

3. Depressing
Again, this might just be me but I spend an awfully long time on Facebook comparing myself to others or comparing my life to theirs. I ask myself 'why don't I look that good in photos?' or 'why isn't my life that exciting?' I see people jetting off on foreign holidays, having crazy nights out and moving to exciting places and I can't help but feel myself getting more and more depressed with each scroll. Why is my life so boring? Why can't I do those things and look that way and have that many friends? It's not healthy and it's not creating a good mind set.

4. Living Life For Social Media
I feel as though this one doesn't just apply to Facebook, but also to Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram etc. Whenever I go anywhere with my friends or have a night out, all I can think about is getting that perfect Snap to show everyone how great my life is. Or people spend ages taking that perfect picture to post on Instagram. I'm starting to feel like me, and those around me, are living our lives just to brag about it later on Facebook. We spend more time perfecting these pictures and posts that we forget to actually enjoy ourselves and enjoy the time we spend with each other.

5. Confidence
I feel like this point ties in with all the other points. With everything I see on social media I honestly feel like my confidence has been beaten and thrashed by everything. I see all these girls looking tanned and thin on Instagram, previous friends with their new boyfriends and relations living it up abroad. Even sending friends requests causes me so much anxiety. What if they reject? Do they hate me? God, I hate my brain. Nothing is ever simple and I feel like Facebook and other social medias are frying it even more.

So, why don't I just quit? That's the question I ask myself every day. If I hate it so much, why not just delete my account and be done with it? The fear of missing out I suppose. What if my friends are trying to organise a day out and they can't get in contact with me? Or how about when I go to college next year and I miss out on all the fun on Facebook with new friends? 

Also, we become so dependant on Facebook it's like an addiction. I can't go a day without checking on Facebook. A 'quick' look soon turns into hours and hours of random searching and pointless posts. 

I think the only option for me is to try and cut down how much time I spend on Facebook day-by-day. There's no way I could quit cold turkey. How do you feel about Facebook and other social medias? Have you ever deleted an account? Leave a comment below and let me know. Thanks for reading.

Everyday Makeup Routine

Hello! How are you? Today I thought that I would talk you through my everyday makeup routine. And before we get started I would just like to mention that I am in no way a makeup guru or an expert at applying makeup. Honestly, I'm doing well if I can make myself look semi-okay with makeup. So, without further ado, let's get started..

1. Having cleansed and moisturised my face in the morning, I start my makeup by doing my eyebrows. I do this because in my opinion, they are probably THE most important part of any makeup routine. Now my eyebrows are awful! Like really really awful. I use the Eylure Brow Pencil in Blonde to map out the shape of my brows. This pencil also has a spoolie to brush through those pesky brows. I then use the Barry M Brow Kit to fill in any gaps with the powder. I generally don't ever use the wax but the kit does have a very pretty highlight which I love!



2. Next it's onto foundation. Recently I've been using the No7 Stay Perfect foundation in the colour Calico. It gives a lovely dewy finish which makes me look a lot healthier than I actually am. I apply this with the Real Techniques Buffing Brush. I then use the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in Fair under my eyes, on any blemishes (a lot!) and to outline my brows and use the Real Techniques Expert Face Brush to apply it.















3. To powder my face I've been using the Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in Peach Glow for years! I dust it all over my face and then focus it on anywhere I've used the concealer.

 4. Next up it's bronzer! I use the Benefit Hoola Bronzer and love it more than you could ever know. I use the Real techniques Sculpting Brush to define my non-existent cheekbones, on my jawbone (gotta get rid of that double chin!), on my temples, by my hairline, on either side of my nose and down my neck. I also get a smaller brush and apply this bronzer to the outer corner and crease of my lid to act as an eyeshadow. For blush, I use the Bourjois Little Round Pot Blush in the colour Rose d'Or. This is such a pretty blush with a hint of gold shimmer. I also apply this blush to the centre of my lids with a smaller brush. It compliments the bronzer really well! I then use the highlight in the Barry M Brow Kit mentioned above on my browbone, on the top of my cheeks, down my nose and on my cupid's bow.

 

5. Next, I use Benefit's They're Real Mascara on my lashes. I will generally do two coats on my top lashes and one coat on my bottom lashes. I feel like this step makes the world of difference to any makeup look.

6. And FINALLY it's time for lips. I will always use the Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet Liquid Lipstick and have recently been loving the shade 17 Cool Brown. It's a kind of brown nude which is so gorgeous.

And there we have it. My everyday makeup routine. Below you can see a before and after shot:

Before

After

I hope you've enjoyed this post as much as I've enjoyed talking you through my everyday makeup routine. I love makeup and how it can really improve your confidence. Having said that, I have no problem with heading to town or that without makeup. After all, that's what I've been given. But there is nothing wrong with wanting to enhance your features and have fun with how you look. Thanks for reading!