Christmas gift guide under £30

With Christmas being prepared with gifts is always a good idea, here's some gift ideas for woman that are all under £30.

1. http://www.boots.com/en/Ted-Baker-Beautifully-Brushed_1687826/

This rose gold brush set is gorgeous and only £20. It's also part of Boots 3 for 2 offer.

2. http://www.boots.com/en/Jack-Wills-Lip-Kit_1687928/

£14 f lip colours in a cute tin, I got this last year and it's on boots 3 for 2 offer.
















3. http://www.fragrancedirect.co.uk/essie/essie-nail-polish-135ml/invt/0042987

An essie nail polish for under £3, from fragrance direct.

4. http://www.fragrancedirect.co.uk/vera-wang/vera-wang-princess-gift-set-30ml/invt/0056878

This cute perfume set is £25 from frangerence direct which is great if you're looking for discounted perfume makeup or hair stuff.

5. http://www.fragrancedirect.co.uk/lips/mac-lustre-lipstick-3g/invt/0057784

A mac lipstick is always a nice gift for makeup lovers. £13.50 

NEVER USE THIS ON YOUR HAIR

Hi, i haven't been here for ages.

No real reason I just haven't, but I'm back.

Today's post is about Sun In, that looks like this:

It can also come in a white bottle, any heat or sun activated hair lightener is a big no no! I used sun-in and was pleased with the result, I heard stories of people straightening their hair and it snapping, my hair being quite strong didn't but then I rarely straighten my hair (about 3 times a year, tops). 

The problem came tester day, my friend works at a hairdressers and managed for me to get my hair highlighted for £20!!! But... when I told them I used sun in about two years ago(very over exaggerated) I used it about a year ago but didn't want my hair to not be done. I chose my colour(a white silver toned blonde) then they took a strand to test. They bleached it and straightened it, the result, my hair when weirdly stretchy and would just snap if a brush when though it.

Sun-in cannot wear out, the lightening properties might, but the chemicals don't. The outside of my hair shaft is very healthy as the hairdresser told me, it's the inside that is chemically damaged, the ingredients in the bleach reacted with the sun in on my hair. So DONT USE SUN IN. 

The only real way to solve this issue is by cutting it out, which for it grow back would take YEARS AND YEARS, but to help I'm going to use a repairing mask, hopefully to help repair my hair. Have you ever used sun-in? 

Study tips

Hi, sorry I haven't posting in so long, I had my first mocks this week so revision for me all week. Heres some ways to revise:
Re-read your notes or revision guide and then try to read them again from memory, this helps if you don't like writing.
Mind-maps - draw mind-maps to recap information you already know and add to it in a different colour as you read though your notes, this will allow you to see what you don't know.
BBC bitesize - online interactive revision with quizzes
Flashcards - great for languages and definitions you need to know
Re-write your notes this helps you remember then you can even try to condense them each time you rewrite them until you have just a work or phrases to help you remember.
Teach someone - This helps even if you use your notes you going over the information again, if you can't teach anyone pretend(you don't have to talk out loud).
Practice exam questions - you need to learn exam technique as well as the information.

Find what works best for you, don't do something if it's not working. What do you do to revise?

Starting my own clothing line?

Hi, sorry I haven't posted in ages. No real excuse. I have something exciting to share with you, I'm starting my own clothing line, now its ages away from being completing I need to make a website, make the designs etc. Any details I will tell you soon above is one of the designs I made but the real ones will have a bigger graphic on.
Thanks for reading.

NEW Batiste dry shampoo

Bastiste have a new dry shampoo the Pixie Lott(middle). I like dry shampoo so I thought I'd do a post on them. I wash my hair every other day or every 3 days. On the second day I don't use dry shampoo as my hair is still looks ok. On the 3rd day I spray some in as my hair might start looking a bit greasy and it adds some volume. My favourite shampoo is the blonde one, they all have a nice smell but come out white. The lone one comes out blonde, they also have a brown one, you still need to run it in but it stops making your hair go grey, which sometimes happens with the others. Sorry I haven't posting in ages. I'm thinking of doing an updated skin care routine to help with acne and spots, any suggestions please comment. Leave your blog in the comments and I'll check it out.
Thanks for reading!
Emily

THE SECRET TO LOSE WEIGHT AND EAT HEALTHY

There's so much these days about losing weight and eating healthy, but to lose weight you need to burn more calories than you eat or drink, if you sat still all day you would still burn calories as your body still has to function which uses up energy and therefore calories. I think fad diets are silly and weight is a gradually thing. Eating healthy isn't just about losing weight or maintaining weight, it's about keeping you healthy, we need to give our bodies what they want to function best.  I'm not saying don't eat pizza or chips or chocolate but in moderation. Yes, some fruit has the same number of calories in as a small chocolate bar, but the fruit will give your body more nutrients.  Chocolate is nice and even a small bar a day isn't bad just maybe don't have crisps and chocolate, everything in moderation.

One more thing I don't think calorie counting is bad it's just not for some people, which I understand but being aware of calories in food can be helpful. 

Artificial sweeteners can be worse for you than real sugar, it can cause a spike in blood sugar levels as the body believes it's sugar but it's not. I not a nutritionist I've just heard this, I think Stevia is ok, but I don't know.

Skincare routine

My skincare is the morning is just applying the olay 2 in 1 moisturiser and primer, my Mum gave this to me as she didn't like it. I like it its just a light moisturiser and I'm not too sure how well it works as a primer as I don't always wear makeup on top.
Next if I wore makeup that day I use the Simple mental eye makeup remover on a cotton pad to remove any eye makeup, I like simple as it's simple. I think people use so many products and harsh cleaners to try and clear up their skin, but sometimes simple is better.
Then I use some face wipes to remove the rest of my makeup.
After I use the Simple moisturising face wash, I like this as it's simple and doesn't leave my skin feeling dry.
Then I use the oil balancing simple moisturiser(I'm not sponsored by simple I just really like their products), it doesn't have a strong smell or leave my skin shiny.
Every so often I use a moisturising face mask by Manuka Doctor I got it in my tesco beauty advent calendar.
Thanks for reading, do you have any skincare products you'd recommend?

Infinity dreams award and Liebster award

Thank you to A Selectors view, who writes great posts of mainly film reviews, for nominating me for this award. Here are 11 facts about me, and the questions she set for me to answer. I'll leave who I nominate at the bottom of this post, and comment on one of their post to let them know. 

11 facts about me 

1. I love America and want to lie there when I'm older, I know people a lot of people say this but if you really want it may happen. 

2. I'm British.

3. I've never had a cup of tea, only an herbal one which I didn't like.

4. I named our cat when I was younger Bruce after the shark in finding nemo.

5. He sadly died many years ago, and now I'm allergic to cats.

6. I won a goldfish at the fair.

7. I watch pretty little liars.

8. My hairs blonde.

9. I like Ariana Grande

10. The last book I read was Zoella's book girl online you can read the review here

11. I'm going to see Ariana Grande in concert. 

What was your favourite film of 2014?

I don't know, I watch films sometimes but I don't know.

Who is your very actress?

Thinks it's meant to be favourite and again I don't really know, maybe Carter from finding Carter, it's a mtv show and it's so good, i'm not sure if it airs in the UK but you can find the first episode on mtv's youtube channel.

Do you belong to a fandom?

Kind of, I like Ariana Grande so I guess yeah.

Who is your favourite Disney character?

Sitch, Lilo and Sitch is the only Disney movie I like.

Do you have any pets?

A fish which I won at the fair.

Book or Film?

Book, I recently re found my love for books.

On Demand or DVD?

On demand.

Do you have Twitter?

No.

Where is your ideal holiday destination?

America.

How long have you been blogging?

Since the start of the year.

What was your favourite blog post to write?

My new year post you can read it here

My nominations are:

http://millie-kate.blogspot.co.uk

http://dazedanddistracted.blogspot.co.uk

Can't think of any more but you should try and tag 11, Ops.

My questions:
Favourite food?
Netflix or tv?
What colour would you like to dye your hair?
Favourite shop?
Do you read books?
Favourite book?
Favourite film?
Favourite singer?
Cats or dogs?
Can't think of any more sorry.

I was nominated my thoughtsofasleepystudent(thank you!) and I don't think I can think of more facts about me so i'm just going to answer her questions. 

The rules are:

Thank and link the person who nominated you

Answer the questions given by the nominator

Nominate 11 other bloggers (who have less than 200 followers) and link them

Create 11 new questions for the nominees to answer

Notify all nominees via social media/blogs

1; What’s your favourite music of the last few weeks?

Ariana Grande - One last time

2; What’s your most recommended product?

Simple skincare-Its simple and I like that, it's ok for sensitive skin.

3; What do you hope to achieve by the end of this year?

More blog views and good grades, see my 2015 goals here.

4; What made you start writing?

I'm not sure, I just thought it would be fun.

5; One thing you can’t live without?

My laptop.

6; Most read blog recently?

Probably millie-kate.blogspot.co.uk

7; You win the biggest prize on the lottery, what do you do with the money?

Go to America.

8; Is there anyone who inspires you?

Not really if I want something I'll work towards it.

9; Where in the world do you most want to go?

America.

10; Your phone rings at 4am, who is it?

My friend.

11; What’s made you smile today?

Reading comments on my blog :) 

Everyone I want to nominate has done it :( 

Marmite Chocolate Review

Yes, this really is thing. You can get it here. It takes odd but is quite nice too. Its ( should it be Its or It's) milk chocolate with a hint of marmite, it's really hard to explain what it tastes like. The marmite isn't strong. All I can say is it's actually quite nice. It reads "quite peculiar" on the box and it is.

No carb pizza

 No carb pizza, what? Yes, this is really no carb. Apart from the cards in cauliflower, eggs, chicken, and cheese.

You won't like the base if you don't like cauliflower which I don't, I tried some of the base being my first time trying cauliflower but I'll still eat it. My dad likes it so if you like cauliflower and want to make a healthier pizza you'll probably like this.

I used this cauliflower wrap recipe for the base(make sure to not process the cauliflower to much or it'll make a paste). I found the recipe on Pinterest but i'll link it here:http://empoweredsustenance.com/cauliflower-wraps/

I then used a Tesco pizza sauce, mozzarella cooked chicken pieces and cheddar cheese(thats why the picture has white and yellow cheese).

New year

Happy new year! I know I've just done a 2015 goals post but I've come up with more. These goals aren't a set of rules that have to be followed if I decide I no longer want to do something I won't. One is 2015 may be a better year it may be worse but you as a person can be better or worse. Not every day is going to perfect. So rather than hope the years better be a better person. Don't be harsh on yourself we all mess up. Think how would like to improve your life and work towards that. My goals:

Read more
Write more - It could just be to do lists but I enjoy writing.
Spend more time with my friends and family - Rather than sit upstairs I'll sit my family and go out with them more, family is important.
Go out more - Just things like a bike ride and going out with my family.

Thanks for reading.
 Emily