Pamper Night

Hello and welcome to my blog!

This post is about my pamper night that I recently had. The weather has turned chilly, the dark nights and dark mornings are setting in and I was just feeling a bit deflated and in need of some pamper time.

I had been working all day on my university work and I was down in the dumps thinking of what I could do. The items I list now, are my top pamper night necessities, which will hopefully inspire you to take a break, have a few minutes to yourself and relax.

Firstly I ran myself a bath. I don't usually have baths and I prefer the thought of germs/dead skin (all that kind of thing) to drain off me and go straight down the plug hole. As you can tell, I'm very much a shower kind of person. However, when I'm feeling stressed, a good soak in the bath can often help alleviate stress. For me, a bath helps me to focus on what matters, or at least allows me to clear my head. I used a lush bath bomb called Golden Wonder. If you are wanting to check out some of their bath products, they have some great seasonal ranges out for Halloween and Christmas. I got two uses out of this because I broke it in half. You could also just have one use or plenty of uses depending on what suits you. The inside is an amazing blue colour that turns your bath water, yes you guessed it, blue. It has orange and lime scents which make it nice and fresh.

Secondly I lit a candle. This is a Yankee candle in my favourite ever scent lavender. I love lavender in general so this was a no-brainer for me. It fills the room with the calming scent and also works well to add some ambient lighting.

Once out of the bath I moisturised using the Body Shop's strawberry body butter. Then, I got all cosy in my; M&S dressing gown and my Primark pyjamas. My pj's are in a Christmas theme but I don't really care. I love Christmas and they're super soft, comfy and very affordable so go check those out if you are curious.

This was my short and quick pamper night to relieve some of the day's worries. It's not rocket science and I am aware that this is not an original idea, but sometimes you need a little inspiration and encouragement to give yourself ten minutes of you time. 

If you want to look at the lush bath bomb, the link is here!
https://uk.lush.com/products/bath-bombs/golden-wonder

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My In-Flight Travel Essentials

Hello everyone! So I've been a busy bee recently and have just returned from a lovely holiday in Ibiza. It occurred to me that it might be interesting to see what my top hand luggage bits and pieces were, to help you if you're going away soon, or just to have a relaxing read.

For this holiday I took a small backpack. It's lightweight so wasn't too bad to carry around. I like the style of the bag, with its minimalist black and brown fabric. It has a simple magnetic popper opening, disguised as fake buckles. I do like that this means you can get into your bag easily, but sometimes for extra security, it'd be nice if the bag had a zip or did actually buckle down. Inside, there are two small sewn-in pockets, a small zip pocket and a large compartment at the front.

Ipod and Headphones

I placed my Ipod and headphones in the zip pocket so that the headphones and Ipod were easily accesible. I think it also helped my headphones stay un-tangled, a first world problem I'm sure many people have encountered.

Wordsearch Book

I have had this wordsearch book for a while now. It contains loads of word searches and so it keeps me well distracted whilst on the flight. It's also useful to have when on holiday, to use on the beach, by the pool, or just whilst you're waiting to do something.

Magazine

I love magazines. I am not the type of person to be able to sit down and read a full book. I find that magazines suit my lifestyle. I love to be doing things, going in the pool, playing a sport etc. Therefore, a short one page read, or a look at the latest trends for five minutes is great for me.

Sunglasses

I love my sunglasses. These were just around the £2.50 mark and came with their own travel sleeve which is really handy. I like to pack these for when I come off the flight when the sun can be quite dazzling, or even just when coming off the plane due to the change in brightness. I also like to carry these for tired eyes because often my flights are in the morning or late at night and so they can be a little more susceptible to being sensitive to the light. Also, an extra tip and reason to carry sunglasses is that they're great for hiding tired eyes/ eye bags, which I get a lot. And because I don't wear make-up on flights, you can at least still look human for a bit.

Tissues

Anyone who knows me, will know that I often carry tissue with me wherever I am. The air-con on planes can sometimes make my nose run, or eyes water and so tissues are just convenient to have. I tend to be sensitive to dust or strong smells also, so I'm normally the one sneezing. If don't have the above issues, still take a pack of tissues (yes, I know that rhymed), because you never know when an unexpected sneeze may arise. And they're multi-functional for spills too.

Camera

My camera goes in my carry on so that when I get off the plane, I can start my holiday snaps. On my recent trip to Ibiza, we had a short transfer and so I took a few pictures on the journey. I also just like to have my camera in my bag anyway....I don't really know why.

Passport/Travel Documents

This is a given. Without them, you're not going on any flight. However, I thought I'd mention them anyway, just to remind you that if you're going away, check they're in-date and that all your documents are ready.

Stress Ball

I'm afraid of flying. I have been going on aeroplanes since I can't even remember and have experienced flights with bad turbulance. I have also been on a long haul flight to America, which coincidentally was one of the flights with bad turbulance. None of these experiences even phased me and I actually found the jumpy flights to be entertaining. It wasn't until around four years ago that a little nerve kicked in. Firstly, I wanted to be sat next to my family, then I just didn't like flying and then last year, I just freaked out. Now I have found a way which really really works for me. A simple stress ball. This green, squidgy, foam, stress ball helped so much to the point where take off and landing was a doddle for me. If you're not a good flyer, I would highly recommend trying this out.

So these are a few of the things that I took with me in my carry-on bag. Obviously you may need to take more if on a longer flight and you can take liquids that are up to 100ml. I decided not to take any liquids with me, just for ease and you can always buy drinks once you're through security.

 I hope you enjoyed this blog and if you're going to be flying soon, where are you going? Leave a comment, follow my blog and see you soon!

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2016 Goals

Happy New Year! Welcome back to my blog! So this one is about my goals for this year

I purposely didn't call this my 'new year's resolutions'. Why? Well I'm not one of those people that can stick to resolutions. I don't feel guilty by not sticking to them and so I think that 'resolutions' would be the wrong word to use. My second reason is that we're already past the first week of January 2016 so I'm a little late on the whole new year thing. 

Firework Show at Nottingham Castle

I would say I've had a tough year in reflection. University has presented me with a few difficult challenges and its often been stressful. I know I need to focus on my achievements and my strengths and simply work on things I'm not as good at. I'd recommend this to anyone, as it allows me to set realistic expectations for myself. 

My first goal is to take more pictures. 

I find photography both relaxing and entertaining and I don't think I'd get bored of taking pictures very quickly. Over the last few years, I've taken more and more pictures. The rest of my family doesn't and that's sort of what started my passion. I looked back through family albums and pictures on the computer and found gaps. I'd suddenly jump from one picture of me in January at my brothers birthday meal, to Christmas at the end of the year! Looking back at pictures is so important to me and so it's probably one of the reasons I love it so much, because I know the end result will provide me with memories that I can save and cherish-sorry for the yucky sentimentality, I'm very emotional :'). 

This year I want to spend more time taking pictures and go to different places specifically to take pictures. My favourite shots are of landscapes and nature, because they're just so amazing. My parents love long countryside walks and as much as I don't like the walking, the views have often been breathtaking. I also need to think about the different settings I can use whilst taking the picture, even before I think about editing. I often don't add filters to my natural shots because the landscapes speak for themselves, but recently at university, I sat through a seminar about the controls of their hefty, ridiculously clunky video cameras. I took the opportunity to ask a few questions about shutter speeds and gain etc and tried to tailor it to photography and not filming. So that's what I shall think about doing whilst out enjoying myself taking snaps of the world, my family and myself. Not to be vain, but I would like to see how I change through the year and by the way my stress levels are, I'll probably have some greys coming through! 

Goal number two is to express myself more. 

I love my colouring book. Sounds mad I know, but it has really helped in the past week. I have a deadline coming up with university, in a module I don't really enjoy and it doesn't help that I'm rubbish at it. I needed to get out and felt like running away from everything. Music helped a bit, but I still felt like I was listening to music whilst feeling unhappy. Instead I got out my colouring book and completed a whole pattern. It sounds childish but the book does have the word 'adult' on the front, just to prove to those who find it funny that I have been colouring. I also wrote a bit of poetry/ story as English has always been something I've loved, poetry especially. I'm not planning on being an author or a poet, but I'm just doing it because it lets me release all the mess in my head and put it down on a page. 

Organisation

At the start of this year, I used a notebook for all my to-do lists and kept note of upcoming dates on a calendar that Uni gave me for free. However, I think in the next few days, I will go on the search for the perfect diary, to do list, notes, goals...anything I want to write down. It must be the right size to be carried everywhere. The one I was using was a little too big to carry around with me everyday but I loved it regardless. It really helped me with anxiety and stress because I could put down everything I needed to do and it gave me great satisfaction to cross out the ones I had completed. The one thing I didn't like about that, was that it left crosses and mess in the book, which made me feel cluttered and confused.....When you get in a flustered state of mind it's easy for the smallest thing to annoy you and the mess in my notebook does that for me. 

To have accomplished something 

I would love it, if at the end of the year or throughout it, I could think wow, well done Charlotte. I want to be able to be proud, and I mean really proud, of something I have done. I'd love it, if I could finish this year at university with an amazing grade, I wish to pass my driving test and my biggest task I'm setting myself for this year is to get myself sorted. I might do a blog about it, but since starting university, I've realised how much of a big step it has been and how it has narrowed down my learning so much. In sixth form, I chose four subjects to learn; Drama, Media, English Language and Psychology and realising that they were just subjects and not career choices has come as a surprise to me, as I now have no idea what to do once my degree is over. At the end of the academic year/this year, I want to have narrowed down my career choices, as it has been one of the factors giving me anxiety. 

One of my funnier achievements of last year

I hope you've enjoyed reading this post and that it may have inspired you. 

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My Winter Nights Routine

Hello!

I am definitely a summer girl. I love being able to wear shorts and a top and feel comfortable and uplifted. Unfortunately, it is freezing now so I thought I'd write a blog about how I keep calm, pampered and winter ready.

Firstly, I like to get in from wherever I  have been, throw my coat over the stairs and relax on the sofa with a cup of tea. That sigh of relief that you get when walking into your home is the best!

Then, once I've eaten I will start my routine. I will go and take a shower. During the winter months I like to use moisture rich shower gels. I have this Nivea in-shower moisturiser that helps to soothe dry skin. A lot of people would have thought that a bath would have featured in this blog post, but personally I find having a bath very boring. I like to get in the shower, have a soak and then get back out again so that I can relax in my pyjamas.

My slippers from Marks and Spencer 

Nivea in shower moisturiser 

Christmas scented candles (not the spicy ones)

Dressing Gown also from M&S

For my showers I use:

• A regular shampoo (non-expensive) such as Alberto Balsam 
• A conditioner for medium to dry hair/dry hair
• Shower gel of choice with a shower lily/shower scrub

I find that gently using a shower puff helps to exfoliate my skin and prep it ready for moisturising which I do about once a week using a Bodyshop body butter. 

I get out the shower, quickly dry and put on my dressing gown. That's the other bad thing about winter- getting out of a nice warm shower, into the frozen bathroom.

I don't often do this step and I do it even less in the Summer, but if I've had bad skin, I will give my skin a full treatment using my No7 skincare.

Firstly I take the hot cloth cleanser and place onto my face. I then run the cloth under a warm tap and put onto my face for a few minutes as guided (the reason I don't do this much, is because you have to wait for the cleanser to work...I find it difficult to sit still).

Then once I have wiped and washed off the cleanser it's onto my face mask. This No7 moisturising mask helps to soften the face and treat any dry spots on the skin. My only reservation is that these products can sometimes sting, depending on how sore your face is feeling.

Then after this I moisturise using a Boots own moisturiser #studentlife. I find it's really gentle and it just really works for me. On a normal day however, I'd skip out the hot cloth cleanser and mask, and just use my other boots cleanser and toner, as they both work really well.

Before jumping into bed, I make sure to moisturise my legs, arms and elbows, as I find that these are my trouble spots. I use a different moisturiser for my hands, as the body butter is very oily. I have almost used up all of my Ted Baker one, which smells really nice.

Then, I can settle down with my drink, my fairy lights and enjoy a movie. Recently they have been Christmas themed, like The Santa Claus featuring Tim Allen who is the voice of Buzz Lightyear in
the Toy Story films.

I hope you've enjoyed my blog post and I hope it has reminded you to pamper your skin every once in a while!

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Tips to relax and de-stress

Today I thought I'd create a post with some tips that help me to relax and unwind. Whether you've had a hard day in education, work, family life or may just have had a bad day I hope this gives you some calming inspiration!

Instead of my usual list style, I thought I'd make this blog a bit more chatty since there are so many options and things that might help calm nerves and inspire positivity.

I am very much a home girl and find having a good home life and a comfortable home can help to settle my nerves. If I'm having a bad day at uni or something has upset me, I love nothing more than walking through my front door and taking a deep breath. However I don't think staying in your home all the time is a good thing so make sure you get a healthy balance of both. If you're struggling at home, go to a friends house or find a hobby to keep your mind off things.

If you feel like you can't sleep and just want to shut off your brain, the next few tips are for you. I often over think things or find myself awake at night with my brain still wizzing so my top tip to get a calm mind is to stop. Stop, take a deep breath and then think, what would you benefit from doing. If you're having trouble whilst trying to sleep, don't force yourself to sleep, instead try writing. I enjoy writing lists and weekly plans as it makes me feel a lot calmer, a lot more organised and less worried because I can step back and see what needs to be done; I also get satisfaction from ticking off my to-do lists. Already do this? Why not do some meditation or listen to some music, concentrate on the lyrics of songs, calming songs or songs you enjoy and not ones that make you feel sad!

If I'm feeling stressed in the daytime, I love to relax, put my feet up and have a nice hot drink. If you don't like hot drinks then some flavoured water is usually my go-to cold drink. If you really are having an awful day, and you don't like hot drinks, then you can be excused a nice sweet drink of soda/pop, just to give you some more energy so that you can think positively. On the other hand, if you do like hot drinks, try out this peppermint tea. I find it relaxing, cleansing, tastes fresh and gives you a nice warm feeling.....(durr Charlotte, it's a hot drink). This one that I have is cheap, tastes the same as any other brand and does the trick...Ahhhhhh

Get those slippers on, grab some magazines or a book, sit back, relax and think....the future is bright!

Everyone is different so if you have any more tips or some feedback, feel free to write it in the comments section below! 

Hope you've enjoyed!

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