How Your Skin Works

Obviously from the title, this post is based on how your skin works. You have plenty of skin but you might not know that much about it in relation to what it needs to stay looking healthy and refreshed.

So lets start with the basics. Your skin acts like a protective covering shielding you from germs and other nasty things. Your skin is packed with white blood cells that attack any harmful bacteria that you have lurking inside your body, so skin is pretty important for your health as well as looking good on the outside. Your skin signals an alarm to your immune system when harmful germs and bacteria enter the skin which sends your body into action to kill off those bugs.

Basically your skin acts like a bodyguard! Even when we tan, it is a sign our skin is protecting us from UV  radiation. To keep your in tip top shape wash away all dirt, oil and makeup. Always moisturize or apply an oil to your skin while the skin is damp to lock in moisture after showers or baths. Moisturizing daily will also prevent dry skin which will stop it cracking in dry seasons or becoming incredibly itchy.

Your skin can actually reduce stress.
Basically your skin is like a switchboard, nerves in your skin respond to different stimuli. This includes touch, pain, pressure and temperature. To decrease stress try a massage as it boosts immunity and reduces feel good hormones!

Your skin is also a sort of thermostat. That's because your skin is able to cool itself down by sweating and increasing blood flow which allows heat to be lost through our skin. On the other end of the skeptical, when we are cold our blood vessels decrease which reduces blood flow and retains heat. So your skin is really clever when is comes to keeping your body at the right temperature.

 You will want to be careful with using certain types of products on your skin as you are constantly regenerating and repairing damage. Too many harsh chemicals could upset your skin and stop this process from happening. To keep your skin in a good condition I would recommend products with active ingredients that will stimulate skin cell renewal. This should keep your skin calm and not make your skin react in any ways that could damage the repairing.

One last tip, if you find that your skin is wrinkling it is a massive indicator that your skin is aging. Now none of us look good with wrinkles, clothing doesn't look good with wrinkles so neither do we. Wrinkling could be caused by many different types of abuse like smoking for an example so sometimes your health plays a massive part in it as well as your skin aging naturally. 

When your skin wrinkles when your muscles move, basically like a bent piece of cardboard it eventually cracks. Sleeping on your back has been proved to help which I believe is down to gravity. Lots of sleep improves wrinkles and plenty of water! Reduce smoking if you do smoke as his plays a huge part in your skin aging. Wear sunscreen while out in the sun as this is also proven to be a top cause or wrinkles.

Give me a follow and share this post!

Thank you
x

Mind-blowing Stuff!

We all know the world is a mysterious place, but how mysterious can it get? Here are a few weird and interesting things, places and products that you probably didn't know existed in the world. There are also some weird but true stories and facts that have actually happened in the world.

Lets start off with something really bizarre...

Glaucus Atlanticus.

The Glaucus Atlanticus is a creature most commonly known as the Blue Dragon. In other words its a bright blue sea slug most commonly found in warm waters. This creature is known to float on the surface of the water because it has pockets of air trapped inside its stomach.

Glacus Atlanticus

To me this creature looks nothing like a slug at all and if I saw one I would assume it was a petal or a brightly colored leaf. I don't know about anyone else but I think the Glacus Atlanticus is really beautiful when its in the water, out of the water is another story! On land its doesn't look at pretty and sort of looks like a cyclops. Don't get me wrong it is still cute but it kind of looks like it has a giant eyeball evolving from its head!

The Woman Who Called 911 After a Bad Manicure.
This is really a true story and unbelievably ridiculous! A woman called Clonston reportedly argued with her nail technician about her nails being cut too short, later followed by her calling 911 to complain. When a deputy arrived she called the emergency line again because she found the policeman unhelpful when she was told she could not file any charges. She ended up ringing 911 two more times before she was arrested for misuse of the 911 system. After she was arrested the police had the last laugh as she had to remove her nails!

Volcanic Lighting!
Sounds scary right? During a volcanic explosion electrical and static charges are released and can result in this scary storm. 

Wouldn't like to be in the middle of that storm!

Emo Style In Russia.
In 2008 Russia banned all citizens from dressing and behaving like an "emo". The Russian Government feels that the trend is dangerous and could lead to antisocial behavior, suicide and depression. To achieve the emo look people say you should wear mainly black clothes, have facial piercings and have odd colored hair that is bleached from time to time to strip it from it color ready to be dyed again.

Mcdonalds Secret Menu...
It is said that Mcdonalds have a secret menu with all sorts of weird snacks and meals. People say that if you mention any of the secret items from the list the workers at Mcdonalds have to make it for you. I'm not entirely sure that this is true, and I'm not a fan of Mcdonalds either so I wouldn't be up for the challenge of asking for something that isn't real. I'm guessing if this story was actually true it would most likely be in America as half the menu sounds like it should be from some crazy Americans brain. There's orders like Fries with Big Mac Sauce, Monster Mac and Pie Mcflurry. They are all a bit out there and very bizarre, if anything its worth a try to see if these items actually do exist because I do not have and answer for them at all as it stands.

KFC Secret Menu...
Like Mcdonalds KFC Is said to have a secret menu as well, but not on the same scale. KFC's menu is slightly smaller compared to the Mcdonalds menu. There's something called the Triple Down which is basically chicken, bacon, cheese and sauce without a bun. Again I am not totally sure that this menu is 100% out there and if the staff really do make these orders when asked by costumers.  

Britain's Basic Plumbing.
 Recently someone questioned Britain's plumbing as it has been said we always use two taps. This is not the case everywhere but in most places you visit in Britain you will notice that we do mainly use two taps, one is for extremely cold water and the other is for extremely hot water. It has been argued that in other countries they use only one tap that mixes the two temperatures to create a more pleasant experience. 

Why Do We Have So Many Hospital TV Shows?
Its true, why do we have so many TV shows based around hospitals? When I think about it there's a lot of them out there. What is our fascination with them and why are people so intrigued to watch them!? And by the way, will Eastenders even end!

London Chicken Joints.
If you have even been to London then you will understand this fully. Why in London do we have to have so many chicken joints, there is literally one around ever corner. I understand people may like chicken but isn't KFC used for that?

These are the only things I can think of off the top of my head without researching anything.

Give me a follow and a +1!

Thank you
x

Pricey Over Cheap

Sometimes we think the most expensive products are the best products. Its the same with food, the most expensive restaurant is always the better one right? However I don't think this is necessarily true.

I have tried many drugstore products along with high end products and most the time there is no difference with quality. I also think you are mainly paying for packaging and not the actual product itself. For example if you were buying a mascara worth £10 I'm pretty sure most of that is based on how pretty the packaging looks and not for the quality of the mascara itself. Its the same with branding, sometimes big brands live up to their names however sadly this is only a select few and many brands are just pricey because they feel like they are probably the best and want you to buy their products because they are pricey and well known.

I'm going to give you a few beauty categories and give my opinion on whether I think high end products are the way to go or drugstore. You don't have to follow this guide word for word as this is just my opinion and how products have worked for me.

Skincare:

Over the years I have tried a million skincare products to sort out my skin which was a massive waste of money and time as my skin has only gotten better with age. I have tried Origins right down to the Simple brands and to be honest with skincare it can go either way. When I was younger and I was really spot prone I used Origins and it worked really well and calmed my skin down and gave me a better appearance. However Origins is a really pricey brand and like I said my skin did get better with age so once I used up all of my Origins products I moved onto the Simple range. Simple is very affordable and works just as well as keeping my skin looking refreshed as well as Origins. I also think keeping your skin in top condition comes from within so make sure to drink plenty of water as well and consume a balanced diet. Its really down to you on skincare as you can go either way, if you don't look after yourself from within your not going to look well looked after on the outside. If this is the case then you may be looking into buying a product that will revive your skin and I think any product for drugstore to high end is good as long as you don't look at unknown brand names as they can be very misleading most of the time.

Foundation:
For me foundation is very important as it hides any imperfections I have on a day to day basis, so I never go without it. This is an easy one for me as I say as long as you get the type of foundation you are looking for, for example brightening or matte, then you need to look no further. Drugstore foundations are all very good and affordable and they all do the same as high end foundations. I have tried the MAC Mineral Foundation before and at first I thought it was amazing until I had used i for a couple of weeks and discovered that it didn't last very long on my face and became very shiny towards the end of the day. I looked like I had ran a marathon! Although high end foundations last forever, and I'm talking a good four months they are sometimes not worth it as you can get a similar type of foundation that many last a little less than the high end but will cost half the amount. Even with tonnes of powder over the mineral foundation it just would not last me till the evening so definitely try out some drugstore foundations and find the type of foundation that will improve your complexion the way you want it to.

Mascara:
Again mascara is very easy for me as I don't really know what else a mascara can do other than lengthen your lashes and define them. I have tried so many branded mascaras and I have simply opted for a more affordable mascara from The Natural Collection as I cannot find anything different with the high end mascaras from the drugstore mascaras. The mascara I currently use is £1.99 and last me two to three months so for me it is a bargain and it works a treat. I don't see the point in using high end mascaras as they basically do the same thing as other mascaras and I feel that you are just paying for packaging so I would go for drugstore here.

Haircare/Styling Products:
For hair I would always go high end. I feel as though drugstore products don't have that much effect when used. I usually test hair products for about two weeks and I have never felt or noticed a difference in my hair in drugstore products/brands. However when I purchase products from my hairdressers I always notice a difference after the third day or so and I find that the high end products usually last so much longer as I'm not using as much product to force a result that isn't going to happen. The brand I believe to be the best for your hair is the Keratase brand. It gives my results after the first usage and isn't going to break the bank either! I can honestly say that these products are amazing and would recommend them to anyone.

Nail Polish:
Lastly I feel that nail polish is just nail polish and that it does its job whether it is high end or drugstore polish. Sometimes you can get the odd brand that has a very watery line and just doesn't give great results, but brands like Barry M are always good quality and value for money. I tend not to buy high end polishes as for £2.99 I cant really complain for the quality I am receiving! To conclude I think that drugstore polishes are always good value for money if you pick the right brands.

Hopefully this has given a few people some ideas on whether they should try different drugstore products or probably try some other brands that they would usually try. Remember packaging is sometimes the money maker and that you shouldn't be tempted into high end products when there are other brands out there that do the same or even a better job for half the price.

Give me a follow and check out my other posts!

Thank you
x

   

Lush Bath Bombs/Bubble Bars

Recently I was given three Lush products to try as I have been wanting to use their products for so long now and this week I finally had the chance to do so!

I received Secret Garden, Rose Bombshell and Unicorn Horn!

Secret Garden and Rose Bombshell are both bath bombs which mean they fizz up in the bath and leave your water smelling fantastic, and can change it to a variety of different colors. Sometimes there are even little surprises hidden inside the bath bombs!

Unicorn Horn on the other hand is a bubble bar, you can probably guess what it does by the name. For the bubble bars to work you need to crumble them under your running bath water and rub the powder between the palm of you hand and thumb for the best results. These again turn your water a different color and leave you with millions and zillions of bubbles!

I have found the Lush bath products are very deceiving regarding the color you believe you are going to be left behind, however I will explain all of this in my reviews of each product I tried.

Secret garden!

Secret Garden was the first product I tried. I couldn't really put my finger on a specific scent as it was really quite strong smelling. This type of bath bomb is a medium green with a bright pink flower printed on either side of it. As predicted my water started to turn a green color mixed with the pink, however I was surprised to then see a bright yellow oozing out of the bomb. Little surprises like this are nice as I didn't expect it at all. Even though this bright yellow was mixing into the water it didn't really have much effect on the overall color of the bath water, mainly because the green was over powering.

I was also very pleased with how nourishing the bath bomb was for my skin. Bath products usually irritate my skin however this bomb was very gentle and didn't react with my eczema or made my skin feel itchy or sore.

It smelt incredible and was very relaxing!

8/10

Unicorn Horn!

This was the second product I tried and WOW!! It works so well! I never expected to see so many bubbles as I usually use pour in bubble baths which don't really do much. However Unicorn Horn worked really well and produced so many bubbles, I was in complete shock! I could make out a lavender scent with this product but it wasn't too over baring like the Secret Garden bath bomb.

I used this product when my bath was about full so when it came to shutting the water supply of there was a mass of bubbles around the area from where my water had been flowing. If I had used this product before my bath was half full I think there would be loads more bubbles! It just doesn't stop producing them!!

The only bad thing about this product was that the water wasn't a very nice color. I expected to see something multicolored but it was more of a browny purple color. However it smelt good so you can't have everything!

9/10

Rose Bombshell!

This is the product I used tonight and to be honest I wasn't expecting much from it at all as the bomb was just plain white on the outside. I did notice that there were small flecks inside the bomb which I knew had to be some sort or petal that would float around once the shell had dissolved. I took some pictures of this last one so you get a general idea of what I'm talking about:

If you can see, near my thumb there is a petal speck!

Obviously once in the bath it started to do its thing, spinning round and dissolving into the bath.

Just put into the bath!

I wasn't expecting much as it was a white bath bomb and I thought that the main color of my water would be white or clear with the petals floating in it. I was then shocked to see a bright pink coming out from the inside of the bomb. I think this is what I like about Lush products the most as you never know what you are going to get as the end result. There is always going to be a surprise with Lush I think and I seriously want to try out more!

Pink from the inside of the bath bomb.

Just as I thought there were petals inside the bath bomb. I was slightly disappointed as there were only four petals and I was expecting slightly more. The petals were big though so if it was down to them being that size and that no more could be fitted inside the bomb then I am pleased with the results.  

End results!

The bath ended up being a lovely light pink color with the petals floating about. This bomb smelt like a variety of flowers which was truly wonderful and leaves the most gorgeous scent on the skin afterwards. 

8/10

Overall I found these Lush products amazing to use and none of them disappointed me in the slightest! They all left my skin smelling fabulous and feeling so smooth and soft. The scents of all these products left me feeling relaxed and ready for a good nights sleep! 

I will definitely be purchasing more Lush products as these products were so amazing to use.

Give me a follow and a share!

Thank you

x   

Bad Habits

We all have bad habits, especially when we are bored and find that we have nothing to do. We even show signs of bad habits when we are occupied, the best example is when we are watching the TV! I often find myself snacking, biting my nails and doing all sorts of things that I didn't know I did subconsciously that might annoy the people around me or make me look like a total fool in public!!

I'm going to be sharing the most common habits we all share and little ways you might find easy to overcome them!

Snacking! Even when your not hungry. Lets face it, we all snack even if we think its just one packet of crisps, until you realize you have gotten through two bars of chocolate, three packets of crisps and a large bag of popcorn!  We you think about it you are adding on unnecessary calories that you don't need to add on. Snacking makes you lose touch with your natural hunger satisfaction signals and by doing this you can overeat by a considerable amount making your lifestyle unhealthy, and in the long run snacking on a regular basis could damage your health significantly. With determination anyone can overcome this habit, all you need to do is reverse it!! Replace junk food with real food, swap out your crisps with carrot sticks. Don't mindlessly eat because you want to, get in touch with your body and ask yourself if you really need to eat more food when you already feel full.

Eating way too much fast food! Personally I find staying away from fast food is easy as I have totally cut Mcdonalds and KFC out of my diet completely! The reason for this is that I consider it to be very unnatural and the meat in these fast food branches are not quite what you think they are. I'm not going to go fully into detail about this but I do not crave fast food anymore as my body now prefers real foods. I have also noticed that by consuming less fast food I am able to maintain a stable weight. Fast food is also very unhealthy and can lead to multiple health problems if consumed daily. We often find ourselves having fast food on holidays if we cant be bothered to cook or after school/work when you have other things to do and think the easiest option is to grab something from your local Mcdonalds! To overcome this make your own food or pop to your local store as they will have healthier a fresher foods there.

Skipping breakfast. We all have them days when we wake up late and need to rush out of the house to get to work, school or to catch a bus to wherever you might be going! By doing this we often forget to have breakfast or think we will be fine without it and just leave the house regardless. However breakfast is very important. Munching on a piece of toast or crunching a bowl of branflakes signals to your metabolism that its time to kick things up a notch. Skipping the fuel keeps your metabolism running low, which can lead to weight gain and sluggishness. If you find your self rushing in the morning to get out of the house prepare a on the go food that you can eat travelling to your destination. This means you are still having the most important meal of the day, just not at home.

Biting fingernails. We all do this and it is incredibly annoying to others around us. Biting our nails could be triggered by us feeling anxious or worried but we most commonly do it when we are concentrating on something like the TV or our computer screens. All I can really say about this is to plainly resist temptation and bite the inside of your lip rather than your nails. By biting you nails you could also damage them and I know I would rather have nice nails than horrible looking ones!

Facebook. I bet right now you have Facebook or some sort of social media site opened up in a different tab while you are reading this. We cannot help feeling that we need to share our lives with others and it is all down to the social status we have with out friends and acquaintances. Every time I log onto a computer I always have to check my Facebook as it just comes naturally to me and I like seeing what other people are up to. There is nothing that can be done about this as it is plainly something that we all do and in some cases that we cant resist doing.

Smartphones. Everybody these days are obsessed with their phones! IPhones and many other type of smart phone are all the range right now, we just cant get enough. I think the reason being is that they basically do everything we want them to do. However I think we have become too obsessed with our phones as you see more people walking down the street with a phone in their hand than with somebody else. If we all put our phones down and talked with other people we would get a greater social interaction than by texting or talking over the phone.

Sleeping with makeup on. Many of us girls do this if we are extra tired and just doze of without realizing. However whatever the reason might be this is actually damaging to the skin as it can lead to clogged pores and spots! And lets face it, we try so hard to get rid of them why not just remember to remove the makeup and prevent those nasty spots for longer!

So those were a few habits that are most common all over the world. Go check out some of my other posts if you liked this one!

Give me a follow if you would like to see more from me!

Thank you

x

Benefits Of Water

I haven't posted on my blog for a while now as I have been studying for my A-Levels, however I am back and to set me off I'm going to be talking about the benefits of water.

I'm not a massive water drinker and I used to drink very little throughout the day, even if I was being active I still didn't drink enough to keep me going. I soon started experiencing headaches, tiredness, I couldn't exercise for very long and I became very lazy and didn't really want to do anything. 

Whenever I used to go to a friends house I would decline drinks or whenever I went out for a meal I would only usually get through one drink which would be coke most of the time. I was always being told that I didn't drink enough and it has really started to show now that I'm older.

My skin was very dry, which didn't concern me too much as I thought my dry skin was the cause of my eczema and I became very spotty. For an eighteen year old this isn't great as I wanted to look more mature and not spotty like I used to look. 

I soon came to the realization that it wasn't eczema that was making my face so dry and it was never itchy and patchy like it usually is on my hands. I knew then that I could prevent it and stop my skin from looking so lifeless and dull.

I opted to setting myself the task of drinking more water and after two weeks the results started to show. I know it sounds so cliche but my skin has improved dramatically! I still have the odd spot as I am coming up to exams, and that is stressful enough. The water also filled me up between meals so I found that I snacked less throughout the day. My headaches have totally gone which is brilliant as I can now get on with work rather than constantly wanting to throw myself out of the window!

I feel that drinking water for me has benefited me in numerous ways and has helped me improve my appearance, fitness and concentration.

If you are like me I am going to give a few little tips on how to consume more water throughout the day to improve your life and also share little facts on why water makes you as a person awesome!

Water will improve your mood. By drinking water it makes you feel refreshed so it actually improves your state of mind. Mild dehydration has shown negative impacts on your mood so get drinking that water!

Water aids weight loss. You have probably heard this so many times but trust me it works. For me it filled me up which meant less snacking which lead to me loosing quite a bit of weight. The facts are that if you drink a glass of water before a meal you are more likely to lose weight compared to a person who doesn't drink a glass before a meal. The H2O helps us eat less and gives us that full up feeling. It also boosts your metabolism which aids weight loss further.

It energizes us. Feeling tired is one of the first signs of dehydration so by drinking a glass of water it could zap the tiredness right out of you!

It prevents pain. Aches, strains and pains mainly feel worse when you are dehydrated. By re-hydrating yourself you could find those little pains will go away and wont bother you for sometime.   

Here are some ways that helped motivate me to drink more.

Keep a bottle of water in your bag throughout the day. I found that when I had my bottle with me I felt like I had to finish the bottle. By thinking this way it increased my intake and I found myself refilling my bottle more and more as the process went on. 

After a minute of exercise, stop and drink. This method helped me loads as I would do intense bursts of exercise for a minute followed by an intake of water. This helped increase my intake significantly as the water helped cool my body down and made me feel more energized to carry on a do more. This staggered my routine and got me drinking more efficiently. 

Set yourself a goal. I recently discovered the Evian 2L bottles, which is the right amount of water you should be drinking daily. Like I said from my first point by having a bottle with me it will make me want to finish the whole bottle before the day is done. By having the daily intake in one place means I can monitor how much I have drank so far and how much I will need to drink to complete my goal.

I would highly recommend the Evian 2L bottles as you can keep refilling the bottle after every day without having to repurchase another. I got my bottle for under a pound from my local Co-op so they are not even going to break the bank and they are great for motivating you.

This post may seem a little rushed and I'm sorry if it does, I don't have much time at the moment but I do want to continue blogging.

Give me a follow and a share!

Thank you

x

Ways To Improve Your Life

In this post I am just going to be listing a few facts that have been proven to improve peoples health and the way that they live. Many of these facts are related to beauty, lifestyle and health so I hope it inspires some people to make small changes in their lives to increase their well-being. 

So here are the facts:

Turn Off The TV. We all love TV, but has anyone ever wondered when enough is enough? Think of all the hings you could be doing rather than watching TV, even in fifteen minutes you could tidy your room or finish off some homework that's really important. I'm not saying totally wipe TV out of your life but cutting down would be a good idea because TV has been proven to have a passive and hypnotic effect on people. Scary huh? 

Drink Less Alcohol. Did you know that alcohol can effect your physical appearance dramatically if consumed on a regular basis. Alcohol is stuffed with calories, especially a pint of beer weighing in at 230 calories. It can also dry out your skin and make you feel depressed so drink responsibly!

Eat Healthy Food. 2015 seems to have got everyone motivated for the perfect bod and what better way to aid the hard work your putting in by making your inside look good too. By eating healthy foods they will nourish your body and give you energy throughout the whole day. 

Get A Makeover. When you look great, you feel great. Simple!

Relax. Stress in your life has the potential to ruin your health. Minimize stress by going on a walk, having a warm bath, reading a book or listening to music. I prefer having a warm bath with my Neal's Yard English Lavender Bubble Bath as lavender is great for relaxing the senses.

Drink Plenty Of Water. Water is really good for your body as you are made up of more than half your body weight in water. Without water your body wouldn't be able to function properly. Water also benefits your skin, and since I have been drinking more water I have seen a dramatic improvement in how my skin looks and feels. 

Call A Friend Rather Than Texting. Calling a person up is much more personal, and sometimes it nice to hear a friendly voice to lift your spirits. 

Take Naps. I love napping, especially as I am doing my A Levels, having a little nap now and then can really boost my creativity. It allows you to break from any blocks you are having, and once refreshed you are able to start working again without any problems. 

Create New Friendships. Loneliness is terrible for your immune system. From being lonely all the time it can create stress on the body that is not needed. Always be social and make time to meet new people as this can benefit your immune system and improve your overall health.

Get Regular Exercise. Too much exercise can be harmful but a moderate amount is critical for brain function. It is also vital for keeping healthy and fit. 

These are a few things you can do to improve your life and well-being. I hope this has inspired a few people to do something different and diverse with their lives.

Give me a follow and a share!

Thank you

x