My Birthday!

Last Friday (22nd November) it was my 17th Birthday (yay!). These past couple of days I have been thinking how fast your childhood goes and how next year I will be an adult, which is a pretty scary thought. Which has lead me to thinking how I really need to appreciate my last year of childhood as your an adult for the rest of your life.
Anyway, on a lighter note I am going to share with you a few of the gifts I received for my birthday!

Noughts and Crosses

A few weeks ago a family member recommended I read a book called "Noughts and Crosses" by Malorie Blackman. So I though why not and went and bought it at my local supermarket, and I can tell you now that it was one of the best decisions. I can honestly say it is one of the most interesting, exciting books I have read, Malorie Blackman has taken a serious and difficult issue and explained it in a way everyone would understand. As a fan of fantasy immortal genre books (Vampire Diaries, Twilight, True Blood) I never seem to know what other books to read so this was a great opportunity to read something different.

It took me about a week to read "Noughts and Crosses" as its quite a thick book but it is well worth the time. Noughts and Crosses is set around two teenagers Persephone a cross (dark skin) and Callum a nought (light skin), who's relationship is frowned upon in the society they live in. Persephone (Stephy) is the daughter of a wealthy politician whereas, Callum is the son of a Nanny. Noughts are not allowed to go to the same schools as crosses however, when Callum and a few other noughts get into Heathcroft high they face a lot of discrimination because of the colour of their skin.
If you get the chance to read this book I would highly recommend it, Noughts and crosses is the first book of a quadrilogy.

Noughts and crosses series by Malorie Blackman £18.17 (for the book set on Amazon) 

Another book that I have also read recently as part of my wider reading for English Literature is The Help. It deals with similar issues as Noughts and Crosses, and the difficulties that some people faced in the society that they lived in. These types of books really get you thinking about the world we live in and are also quite a challenging read.
Currently I am reading a book called The colour purple which I am finding quite interesting, it is an epistolary novel (written in letter form) and is based around women living in America and the troubles they face in when married.

The Colour Purple by Alice Walker £4.60

The Help by Kathryn Stockett £4.60

I hope you enjoyed a preview on what I have been reading recently and I hope that you may give these books a try as they are defiantly worth it.

Daily skincare routine

As the nights are getting darker and the weather is getting colder I thought I would take the opportunity to share with you my daily skincare routine to keep my skin in good condition. Keeping your skin healthy at this time of year is important as the cold weather can cause it to become dry. Here are a few of the products I use to keep my skin healthy, that do not cost a fortune!

To remove all make-up I tend to use either a make up wipe or the Freederm cleanser that not only removes make-up but also moisturises your face. I tend to use this as I find that make up wipes affect my eyes, so if you also get this trouble a cleanser is a better option.

Freederm cleanser £8.99

 Most of the time I do not bother to use toner but you could also use a toner which removes excess dirt, oil, etc that your cleanser left behind. 

First of all I use the Garnier pure active exfo-brusher wash. This face wash has a soft brush or applicator on the end to help get rid of any make-up that has not been removed already.

Garnier pure active exfo-brusher wash- £7.99

Finally, if I am not applying any toner I use a face cream to keep my skin hydrated, this also keeps it soft and looking nice. I have tried out a few face moisturisers and have found that they all seem to work pretty well, so here are two of my favourites.

No7 Beautiful skin radiance exfoliator for normal/dry skin £8.00 

Nivea Daily essentials light moisturising day cream for normal to combination skin £3.99

I tend to use face creams that are for normal skin as my skin is not very dry or oily but you can also get these creams for oily or dry skin.

I hope these small tips will help you keep your skin healthy and looking its best throughout these cold winter months.

 P.S. Sorry I haven't been posting much recently, I am trying to now post every Friday! 

Jessie J Concert!

A few weeks ago I decided to buy a pair of last minute Jessie J tickets for the O2 Arena in London. I've seen Jessie J a few times in the last few years but at events where lots of artists play, so I thought it would be fun to see her on tour. Luckily there were a few standing tickets left, which was great for us as we'd only ever been on level four at the O2, which is still great but the artist seems like a dot in the distance. However, now I've experienced the amazing atmosphere of the standing area I don't think I'll be able to go back to level four. Being in standing makes the experience even more fun as those around you join in with not only the main artist but also the support acts too, which you don't get when sitting.

 Here are some pictures I took that I thought you may like...

If you get the chance I would really recommend seeing Jessie J live as she puts on a great show, and we all know her voice is amazing! 

I will be putting up some of the videos I took on my YouTube channel if you want to have a look https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCb7acHpdK0DQoELQqJySK4g

GCSE results!

So as the big results day looms, many 16 year olds will spend tonight and tomorrow morning worrying about what they have achieved over these past two years...including me.

 I thought this day would never come considering the long summer but sadly it has. Although many adults will say that these do not matter the fear of not wanting these past two years as a complete waste of time kicks in. 

The walk to school with  my friends tomorrow will defiantly include a lot of talk about how badly some exams went, and also some moaning about how early 9am is considering, most teenagers are used to getting up slightly later than usual. 

I'm sure most results many people will be happy with but there will be a few disappointing grades that we will have to put up with, and there is bound to always be one grade that is one mark away from the next grade. Which we all know is the most annoying feeling! 

Then when the huge anticlimax kicks in we will all be thinking the next two results days are going to be even more nerve racking! 

For those of you who are receiving results tomorrow GOOD LUCK! 

July Favourites!

So its that time again...the end of another month and time to share this months favourites with you! The first is a foundation brush that I recently bought but have been loving so far. I have always used make up sponges to apply foundation but have seen so many people using foundation brushes I thought I should give it a go and I'm glad I did! Using a brush gives much better coverage and makes it easier to apply.

Ecotools flat foundation brush £7.99 

The next item or items should I say that I have been loving this month are two 60 second dry nail varnishes. I picked up a coral and a baby blue Rimmel London nail varnish as I needed a more summery coloured nail varnish for when I go on holiday. They both look great when applied and dry super quick...which obviously lives up to their name.

430 Coralicious Rimmel London nail varnish £3.99

842 Too cool to tango Rimmel London nail varnish £3.99

Next is a TV series called The Vampire Diaries, for those of you who have never hear of this it is an American supernatural TV series which is based around a 17 year old girl and the love triangle between her and two brothers who are vampires. So if you love the supernatural genre then I'd recommend giving this programme a go, its well worth it! I am also in the middle of reading the book series that the programme is based on and am loving these too, however, they are very different from the series so it doesn't matter too much which way round you get them. 

The Vampire Diaries season 1-3 box set £25.94 

The last item that I have been loving throughout July is my flossy shoes. I can honestly say that these are one of the most comfiest pair of shoes I have ever owned, they never cause my feet any problem however long I have been wearing them. I have two pairs one black and one white which pretty much go with any outfit, so they are well worth the money. 

White Flossy shoes £19.99

Black Flossy shoes £19.99

I hope you liked my favourite item throughout July! :) 

Cupcakes!

As I love to bake I thought I would share my simple delicious cupcake recipe with you! Or if you wanted a slightly larger cake you can use the same recipe but increase the amount of ingredients.

8 Cupcakes
100g butter/ margarine
100g caster sugar
2 eggs (1 egg per 50g of butter and sugar)
100g self raising flour

Place the sugar and butter into a food processor or a bowl and mix together with a wooden spoon until you reach a creamy consistency.

Next crack one egg at a time into the butter and sugar mixing in between. (don't worry if the mixture curdles)

Then sieve the self raising flour into the mixture and fold in with a metal spoon. Make sure you do not mix vigorously as the air bubbles which make the cupcakes light will be knocked out.

Finally spoon the mixture into cupcake cases which are in a cupcake tin, till they are about 3/4 full. Place in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.

TIP: I always place a skewer through the middle of one or two of the cupcakes to make sure they are cooked all the way though. The skewer should come out clean if cooked properly.

When baked leave to cool before you add any decoration. Now I generally pipe buttercream icing in a swirl with a 5 point star nozzle or I cut the middle out of the cake and make butterfly cakes. However, you could use a drizzle or another type of icing over the top, or even just leave them plain it's up to you!

June favourites

So the end of June is approaching so I thought I would share 5 of the items that I have been loving this month. The first is a mint coloured nail varnish that I bought a few weeks ago, now I know this may not be the most exciting product but I am very impatient when painting my nails and this one dries quickly so I don't have to wait too long!

Revlon Brilliant strength nail varnish £5.99 

The next item/s are the Aussie shampoo and conditioners, I had heard many people saying how good these were so I thought I would give them a try considering they were on offer! I have found that since using these my hair has felt much healthier and softer. So they are well worth the money!

Aussie 3 minute miracle conditioner  £4.99

Aussie Take that heat shampoo £4.48 

The next is a pair of boots I bought a few months back from Asos, I am very fussy when it comes to shoes and find it hard to find the right ones that do not hurt my feet. However, these boots are the comfiest shoes I have ever bought by far! Mine are becoming slightly tatty as I have been wearing them a lot so I will defiantly be purchasing another pair some time soon.

Asos ADA suede ankle boots £35 (also come in  brown) 

The last item that I have been using a lot recently is the #3 album by The Script, to be honest this would be on every months favourites but as I've finished school for the summer I have been listening to it more. As I am a huge fan of The Script this album is always on replay however, even if your not a huge fan this album is well worth a listen to! 

#3 The Script (2012) £7.99

These are my favourite items throughout June, I hope you liked them. :)

Concerts!

So earlier this year I went to two concerts which were of course amazing, so i thought I would do a little review of them for you.

Starting off in February when I went to see Example at Earls Court, for those of you who don't know who Example is I recommend you check some of his music out! Not only was the music amazing but the crowd were pretty exciting too. As the gig ended the crowd were still singing along to the last song, which carried on until we all got on the tube in the underground station. You don't get this at many concerts which shows how awesome the fans are!

Then in March I went to see The Script at the O2, now The Script are one of my favorite bands so this was pretty exciting for me! The band involved all of the audience and told some funny stories, for example how Danny (the main singer) likes to call old friends when drunk, which then led onto one girl in the front row handing him her phone to ring her ex and he sung their song Nothing down the phone.

I highly recommend seeing either of these artists if you have the chance, as they are two of the best bands/ singers I have seen live!

Rather cool green lasers- Example

First Blog post!

Well, this is my first ever blog post and it seems kind of strange so you'll have to be patient with me!   I guess I should start off by telling you a little about me. My name is Laura, i'm 16 years old and I live in London. I have brown hair with a blonde fringe, which isn't dyed, I know what your thinking...but it really isn't and don't bother asking how I have it because I have no idea myself! 

My life isn't that interesting I guess but I hope to share with you some of the adventures I go on, that should be of some interest to you. I have just finished my GCSE's so i'm hoping this will mean that because I have a long summer I can post more.  

I love music... well I can't get enough of it really, I probably drive my friends and family crazy with the  amount I talk about my favorite bands or artists. I also enjoy baking which I suppose will be interesting if you love food! :) 

Anyways I better stop rambling on, I hope you enjoy my blogs and I will try to post regularly!