Sunday, 23 August 2015

Back to School/College/University - Organisation Tips

In my last post, I talked about what I like to call my 'Emergency Bag', so check out that post if you haven't already! 

Sticking with my Back to School series, I thought that I would give you some tips for staying organised while you're back at school, college or university. 

Tip 1: Get yourself a planner!

It's pretty obvious, but a planner will help you organise everything you need to do over the course of the academic year. The best kind are academic planners, as they start in august and end in July, this means that everything that you put in there will be mostly assignments, deadlines, exams and so on. It's a good idea to pick a fun planner, because this will make you want to check it more often and it will encourage you to use it more as well! I also use another notebook to make my to do lists in! I just personally find it easier to have my to do lists in a separate book and I make them into little check lists, then I tick off each item when it's completed. 







Tip 2: Organise your desk space!

I can't work in a messy environment, (which is strange, because I study Fashion), but my desk space at home and at university are always ridiculously organised! Some people can work with a messy desk and that's completely fine, so if you do skip over this tip.

I keep on my desk: my laptop, headphones, USB stick and/or hard drive, my planner, notebook and a couple of extras, like the book I'm reading and a candle, (the candle changes every season), during the academic term, my sewing machine will also be on my desk. At the moment, my desk also has some pictures and colour swatches on it, as part of a project I have started ready for when I go back to university. 
I find that when you have an organised desk space, you get a lot more things completed, as you don't have to spend time cleaning your desk or wasting time moving things around to make space. 





Tip 3: Organise your supplies!

This one may only apply to those of us who are either studying the arts and/or are just extremely organised! Whether you have just a pencil case, or a set of drawers like myself, organising your school supplies just helps!

I didn't do this last year, but this year I know that the drawers are going to really help keep all of my stuff organised. In my top drawer, I keep stationary items: pencils, pens, crayons and glue etc. The second drawer holds: scissors, post-it notes, rulers, stapler and staples. The third: pattern envelopes, folders and my weekly planner. The fourth drawer is my displaying drawer, so there's stencils, split pins, card and fine liners, these are for my production books. The fifth drawer is miscellaneous items, like dress bags for finished garments, sticky labels and books. Finally, in the last drawer, (my favourite) is everything I need for my C.A.T.S (Critical And Theoretical Studies) lectures: notebooks, spare folders, help sheets and presentation notes. 




Tip 4: Prioritise 

My final tip for this post is to prioritise your work load. I can't stress how much easier your time at school/college/university will be if your prioritise your work! Do all of the things that you know you need to hand in first. If you have an essay that isn't due in until the end of the semester and it's something you know you have a lot of knowledge on, leave it until you've got your projects done that you struggle with and then when you've finished those, you will be able to just power through the essay and it's a good way to end the semester with an easy essay or project!


I hope these tips are helpful and make you want to start organising a bit more, ready for your first semester back at school!

     Until next time...
 x






Monday, 17 August 2015

Back to School/College/University - Emergency Bag

With Back To School season upon us, I thought it would be a good idea to share with you some tips and tricks I've learned from starting University and ideas I've picked up from sites such as: Pinterest and lifestyle blogs. This post will be the first of a new "Back To School" series, were I will write about tips and tricks for the first day back, things you might want to take with you and keep at school/college/university for emergencies and finally study tips.

For this post, I will be talking about an emergency bag that you can take with you on your first day back and either leave in your locker, or personal drawer, as I know some colleges have those, or even just to keep in your bag. I know that this is a great idea for people like myself, who are super organised and whether or not you use it, you may become that lifesaving friend who has something that a friend may need!

Each Emergency Bag will be tailored to each individual person, however this is just a general idea of you will/may need to put in your bag.

Items include:

- A small bag, such as a make up/wash bag
- Sanitary Pads/Tampons
- Feminine Wipes
- Spare Pants (Just in case)
- Deodorant (Especially after P.E)
- Hair Brush
- Hair Ties/Bobbles
- Bobby Pins/Hair Grips/Large Hair Clip
- Pain Killers/Ibuprofen (Check if you're allowed to carry medication)
- A small first aid kit (Plasters/Tape/Antiseptic Wipes)
- Nail File (For those horrid broken nails)
- Shine absorbing sheets






Other things that you can add to your bag could be:

- Hand sanitiser 
- A snack (Granola Bar/Breakfast Bar)
- Lip Balm (Especially for winter)
- Gum/Mints
- Toothbrush/Toothpaste (Handy for people with braces)

While others may choose not to do this, you'll be happy to know you've got things to hand if something does happen, i.e: Mother Nature comes for an unexpected visit, or you're just having a bad hair day.


                                                    Until next time...
                                                               x









Sunday, 29 March 2015

March Favourites 2015



Welcome to this weeks blog post and I thought since it's pretty much the end of March, I would share with you guys my beauty favourites I've loved throughout the month of March. 
An overview of my favourites this month

No7 - Intense Day And Night Creams
         
                                                    Alice + Eliza - Powdered Violet Hand Cream
   
                     

For skincare, I have three favourites this month: Two No7 face creams and the Alice + Eliza Powdered Violet Hand Cream. 
I find that these three products work really well on my skin and each of them also smell amazing, which is a bonus obviously!
The two No7 face creams both have the same scent, texture and consistency and neither leave your face feeling sticky and they both also absorb really well. 
The next product is the Alice + Eliza Powdered Violet hand cream. As stated by the name, it literally smells like sweet violets (remember those sweets from the sweet shop called Parma Violets?) That is what I instantly think of when I smell this. It isn't sticky at all and it doesn't take ages to absorb into the skin, which is amazing! The hand cream leaves your hands feeling really soft and moisturised, but without the sticky residue. 

                                                    Now, onto make up!
Maybelline - Super Stay 24 Foundation
SEVENTEEN - Phwoarr Paint Concealer
Collection - Sheer Loose Powder

                           
                         Dior - Diorskin Forever Foundation

  
For base make up, I have recently discovered the Diorskin Forever Compact foundation. This foundation comes in a small compact, with a sponge applicator and it is in the shade 020. I discovered that this foundation also acts as a powder as well, because when you apply it, it does go on more like a powder than a foundation. However, I think that it makes the application a lot simpler and also, it gives you a flawless finish as it not being applied in a liquid form. 

Another alternative foundation (and also my go to foundation) is the Maybelline Super Stay 24 Foundation. I use this every day when I apply make up and I can't give it enough praise. It is a liquid foundation and it literally does what it says on the packaging: "Flawless Fresh Foundation" I use the shade 005 - Light Beige.

To go with either foundation, I use the SEVENTEEN Phwoarr Paint Concealer and I haven't gone back to any other concealer since finding this. It's a heavy duty concealer and it really is true to it's word. Now, we are all guilty of taking a couple of selfies when we feel we look good, and I find that with this concealer you can't see any of my dark under eye circles in pictures!
To finish off my base make up, I use the Collection Sheer Loose Powder in shade 1 - Barely There. I find that this loose powder is a great, inexpensive and an all-round good product. 


Collection - Work The Colour Eyebrow Kit
Rimmel London - Glam Eyes Liquid Liner

          Estee Lauder - Sumptuous Extreme Mascara      
          Benefit - Roller Lash Mascara
   

For eye brows, this month I have been loving the Collection - Eyebrow Kit and I use the middle shade, which is a light brown colour. I find that this eyebrow kit is the best one I have used so far, as I have quite prominent eyebrows, this kit definitely does not make them look even bigger than they already are! I finish off my eyebrows with the clear brow gel provided, as it locks my brows into place and they won't move all day!

For eye make up, I use Rimmel London - Glam Eyes Liquid Liner in black. This eye liner was one of the first products I picked up when thinking about this post. It dries pretty quickly and doesn't transfer onto your upper eye lid as a result. 

Mascara is a must have for me, as I love having full eyelashes. The two mascaras that I picked for my March favourites are: Estee Lauder - Sumptuous Extreme Mascara and the Benefit - Roller Lash Mascara. Both of these mascaras are equally as good as each other and I prefer to use the Roller Lash first and then the Estee Lauder one over the top. Neither of these mascaras leave you with clumpy eyelashes and they both give you full, voluminous lashes. 

                                  Estee Lauder - Modern Muse Chic
                                      Calvin Klein - Reveal

Now, we can't forget to show our perfume collection some love! My favourites from this month are: Estee Lauder - Modern Muse Chic and Calvin Klein - Reveal.
Each of these perfumes are a favourite in their own way, as Modern Muse Chic smells very floral and is definitely a spring perfume, whereas Reveal is a very musky perfume,  but it can be worn all year round, as it is very versatile. 

I know this post has been super long, but I hope you enjoy what beauty products I have been loving throughout the month of March!


                                                      FashionandThread
                                                                    xo



               

Monday, 2 March 2015

Night Time Skincare/What I Used During Winter 2014

First of all, I would like to apologise for this post being extremely late, it's because I am so busy with university at the moment, I find it hard to find the time to be able to actually write a blog post and also make sure that the pictures and content is actually ready to be posted! (No sloppy work here!)

Now, finally onto the topic!

My skincare changes quite regularly and I love trying out new products, finding out what works for me and what doesn't. It also changes depending on the season as well, it will be different in summer and winter. Now that spring is nearly upon us, I thought that I would share with you all what I have been using and loving on my skin during winter of 2014 and through into the new year.

Products I have used and loved!

Monday through to Saturday, I use the same products every night and then on a Sunday night I change to my Estee Lauder skincare, just to give my skin some love and a good old pamper before the working week!
I use all of these products, because they either work really well on my skin and/or I would repurchase these products again.

Monday - Saturday:

Eye make-up remover - Skin System, Young skin eye make-up remover
Face wipes - Skin System Normal/Combination skincare wipes
Face wash - Olay Essentials refreshing face wash
Toner - Olay Essentials refreshing toner
Moisturiser - No7 Protect & Perfect intense night cream






Sunday:

Eye make-up remover - Estee Lauder, gentle eye make-up remover
Face wash - Estee Lauder, perfectly clean foam cleanser/purifying mask
Serum - Estee Lauder, advanced night repair 
Eye cream - Estee Lauder, revitalizing supreme eye balm
Moisturiser - Estee Lauder, revitalizing supreme cream








                                                                           
                                                              Until next time, 

FashionandThread
xo



Friday, 23 January 2015

What's in my skincare tub?


Now, I know I've been gone a long time but I'm back and I'm ready to get back to blogging! 
I've been gone a while, because I've been so busy at University and I also had a temporary Christmas job as a sales assistant, so that took up a lot of my time. I'm now in my second semester at Art School studying Fashion and now things have settled down, I'm ready to get back to blogging sharing my favourite things with you all! 

Let's get started with my first blog post of 2015: What's in my skincare tub?


I keep all of my skincare, (and some hair products) in a white plastic tub that was only £1 from asda!

This is the left side of my skincare tub and from left to right the products are: 
No7 - Beautiful Skin, Dry Skin Rescue
Umberto Giannini - Overnight Beauty Moisture Balm (Hair care)
T-Zone - Rapid Action, Spot Zapping Gel
Nair- Hair Removal 
Garnier - Micellar Cleansing Water
Soap & Glory - Scrub + Happiness, Dry Hand Smoothing Scrub
Olay - Refreshing Face Wash 
Estee Lauder - Perfectly Clean Foam Cleanser 


This is the middle section of my skincare tub and behind the Estee Lauder face wash is the Simple - kind to skin, hydrating, light moisturiser and the Simple - kind to skin, purifying, cleansing lotion. 
Next to the Simple cleansing lotion and moisturiser are:

Olay - Refreshing Toner
Estee Lauder - Gentle Eye Makeup Remover 
Nivea - Pearly Shine Lip Balm
Estee Lauder - Revitalizing Supreme Anti-Ageing Creme 
Nivea - Regenerating Night Creme 
Alice + Eliza - Hand Cream 
Olay - Wet Cleansing Wipes (Normal Skin)
Olay - Wet Cleansing Wipes (Sensitive Skin)


Finally, this is the right side of my skincare tub and the contents of this side are:

No7 - Beautiful Skin, Cleansing Lotion
Nivea - Pearl & Beauty Deodorant
Jerome Russel - BBlonde Lightening Spray
No7 - Protect & Perfect Hand Creme 
Estee Lauder - Advanced Night Repair Serum 
Estee Lauder - Revitalizing Supreme Eye Balm 
Soap & Glory - Hand Food 
No7 - Protect & Perfect Intense Night Creme 
No7 - Protect & Perfect Intense Day Creme

Now I know that this seems like an excessive amount of skincare, but I divide it up during the week. So I use either my No7 or my Simple skincare throughout the week and also the weekend, I then only use my Estee Lauder skincare once a week which is on a sunday.

I hope you like this post and you can follow me on Instagram at: lorna.fothergill and on Twitter at: @JustCallMeLorna if you want to give me any ideas for future blog posts and things you want to see!


                                                         FashionandThread
                                                                      xo