ONE OF THOSE DAYS

Have you ever experienced one of those days where everything just does not go quite to plan? Welcome to the story of my unfortunate Thursday... 

It all started at approximately 5:53am. I received my delightfully unpleasant HSC results and I could lie and say they were brilliant but to be honest, like many peers (assuringly), disappointment filled the air that not so welcomingly influenced the rest of the however many hours of my day. It is so difficult for me to comprehend that I worked so hard to be let down..and yes I know "exams do not define you," it just sucks when you see a mark that does not meet your expectations. I know I will move on from this and thankfully I received an early offer into University, so my life is not completely over. 

Following this unexpected atrocity that resulted into a spiral of bad luck, I decided it would be a good idea to shop and take my mind of this..but it did not go quite as hoped for. From not having my size in any clothing items I liked or being sold out of every beauty product I wanted, spilling a drink all over my dress and almost falling over. Also, I was feeling completely awful about myself, so the lack of confidence helped immensely. I found that I was comparing myself to people, whether that was exam marks or physical appearances. On top of that I had a migraine which was the 'cherry on top.' Basically, I was having one of those days where I wish I stayed it bed...

I may sound a little over dramatic in this blog post, but what I am vigorously trying to remind myself today is that essentially some days suck and some do not. Tomorrow is a new day and you cannot undo the past. For me specially and anyone that is or has been disappointed in their exam marks, you did as best as you could and unfortunately you cannot go back and change. Instead, move forward and learn from your mistakes. More importantly, applaud yourself and appreciate the hard work you have achieved for making it this far, whether that is during school exams and in life. 

Another thing that I remind myself is that things happen for a reason and in divine time. Meaning, maybe you were not meant to get that top mark in your exams or maybe today was not supposed to be a good day because something great is destined to happen to you. A wise man said all roads lead to great things so keep your head up and keep fighting. Bad days like this only make you appreciate the good days.

Love always,

Sara xo 

JULY FAVOURITES / 2017

Happy first monthly favourites blog post of 2017. Stress and anxiety was a key theme these last few months, specifically because I had the awful and utterly victimising examinations that I was essentially forced to partake. However, I have discovered amazing new music, a few twisted new television series and of course new beauty products that have found a nice spot in my collection. And yes, this is quite a long post, but I could not resist sharing my obsessions with you, plus this is really everything I have been in love with since the start of the year. 

Bourjois Healthy Mix Anti - Fatigue Foundation in 'Vanilla': I have never been a huge fan of foundation, purely because I do not enjoy the feeling left on my skin. However, I recently was gifted this foundation from Bourjois, and it came at the perfect time because as much as I love winter, my skin does not. From dry skin to break outs appearing left, right and centre, this foundation has enhanced my confidence. This foundation has medium coverage that is build-able. It gives my skin a slight glow and makes me look radiant - I believe this is because it contains a vitamin mix that hydrates the skin. I highly recommend this if you are looking for a foundation that does not feel like foundation.

Too Faced Sweethearts Bronzer: I love bronzed skin, especially because it transforms my face and makes me look somewhat alive. This baked luminous bronzer is a duo with a highlight and bronzer shade which makes the skin appear a lot healthier when you swirl your brush in its beautiful heart glory. It is a very lovely, smooth formula that is not patchy or dirty looking. This product contains little specks of gold shimmer which makes you look like a beach goddess and shines in the sunlight. 

NYX liquid lipstick in 'Sandstorm': I love the look of matte lips but for some odd curse that I am unfortunate to have, they always look dry on me and draw out every line on my lips! However, this one is not as drying as the others. The formula glides on like a dream and seals comfortably on the lips. It is very opaque and does not flake off throughout the day. I have a few of these shades but this pretty nude has to be my favourite.

LUSH Enchanting Eye Cream: I have been loving this eye cream! It smoothes and brightens the under eye area so you can appear a lot healthier. The under eye area is very delicate so it is always nice to use a natural product, like this one, that contains a lot of vitamins and minerals. It is never too late to start using an eye cream, no matter how old or young you are - it really makes a difference!

LUSH Mask of Magnanimity: As previously mentioned above, stress levels were pretty high these last few months and as a result, my skin did not appreciate it. Evidently, stress can cause weird hormonal changes and thus result in breakouts which absolutely suck. Luckily, as recommended from Mark Ferris, I tried out this new mask from LUSH and I love it. It is a little underwhelming at first because it draws out every impurity in your skin, however, you will begin to notice your skin clearing up after a few times of using this mask. It not only relieves acne/blemishes, but exfoliates the skin. Essentially, this mask with leave you with clean, clear, soft and hydrating skin.

Music
The Night We Met by Lord Huron
Slow Hands by Niall Horan
Bad Liar by Selena Gomez
Mama by Jonas Blue and William Singe
Somebody That I Used To Know by Gotye and Kimbra
Kiwi by Harry Styles

Television Shows & Movies

Stranger Things: I am incredibly late on this bandwagon but I am obsessed with this series.  I cannot really describe it without giving away too much. It is set in 1983 and is about a twelve year old boy who goes missing, leading to an investigation where the boys friends, family and police discover an experimental lab with supernatural forces. The cast is so talented, particularly Millie Bobby Brown. I cannot wait for season two!

Riverdale: This show is insane but I adore it. It is set in a small town, Riverdale, that is filled with every day people but as the show progresses, the darkness becomes prominent and we get to see the characters for who they are after the murder of Jason Blossom. This series is based off of Archie Comics so there is a lot of twisted drama and unusual romances. This show is quite difficult to describe but trust me when I say that you will be addicted - I have gotten all my friends watching it! 

The Intern: Hilarious and bittersweet. I loved this film! It is about an elder, Ben Whittaker (played by Robert De Niro) who applies for a senior internship for a fashion company, founded by Jules Ostin (played by Anne Hathaway). Basically, we see this beautiful friendship grow between Ben and Jules that made me shed a few tears. Just go and watch it now. 

The Devil Wears Prada: Another hilarious, dramatic but an old classic film with the amazing Anne Hathaway. I have actually never seen this movie before for some strange reason. If you did not already know, it is about a girl called Andrea who lands a job for a fashion magazine, run by the one and only Miranda Priestly (played by legend Meryl Streep). We get to see the struggles Andrea goes through because of all the hustling demands and expectations she is given from Miranda. It is a really fun film if you love a bit of drama and comedy. 

La La Land: If you have not seen this movie, you are missing out on a beautiful, musical fantasy with Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone. This is my absolute favourite movie at the moment. It is about a jazz fanatic and an aspiring actress who fall in love but experience a lot of difficulty through building their futures. It is not only an epic love story but also is filled with singing and dancing that will warm your heart.

Beauty and The Beast (2017): This was hands down the highlight of my year thus far. It is an incredible film full of sweet singing, romance and talking dishes. There is nothing that warms my heart more than reliving a Disney childhood classic. I loved every second of it, particularly enjoyed the face of Luke Evans and presence of Dan Stevens behind the beast. 

13 Reasons Why: This show is so important and made me feel so many emotions. Without giving too much away, the show is essentially about a girl, Hannah Baker who is bullied and is heavily impacted by it as she commits suicide. She records thirteen tapes of the reasons explaining why she did it and who were the individuals that influenced her do so. It is very touching and so real and honest. 

Bates Motel: I just started watching this and I am so obsessed. It is about a lady called Norma Bates who buys a motel with her highly attached son Norman. Their close relationship lead Norman to a twisted state. - A little complex to explain but it is a very dark and disturbingly brilliant show that for anyone oddly interested in the psychotic life of a serial killer, you will enjoy it. 

I hope you have had an amazing first half of twenty-seventeen, if not, it will get better! just keep pushing through.

Love always,
Sara xo 

Cutting People Out & Moving On

Over the last few days, I have realised that I have dealt with the absolute worst when it comes to friendships. I feel like when I cut someone out of my life and find someone new, it is becomes a repetitive cycle of dealing with the same emotions over and over again. Sometimes I feel like I am the problem because I cannot comprehend why I keep experiencing this. 

One of the most difficult things I have experienced is thinking that you are someones friend but it turns out their not. You start to notice that you were punching bag, a shoulder to cry on and eventually thrown to the side. It sucks and I have dealt with this over the last five years of my life - even longer. It is evident that friends come in and out of your life and it is not always guaranteed that you will have the same friends throughout each stage of your lifespan. However, when you experience a fault in your relationships, at the time it can feel like the utmost horrendous thing that can ever happen to you. You think about it all the time, how you are all alone and you will never be happy again. But then people come into your life when you least expect it and make you feel something again. If you are unlucky, you could experience the same thing that happened with your previous friendship all over again and feel like you are back on that cycle. Welcome to the story of my life. 

Your own happiness is critical. Your emotions are primarily determined by the people who you are around which is why you should not dwell on those you make you unhappy. This leads us to the question I have been struggling with for most of my adolescent years, "how do I cut someone out of my life?" This question is something I ask myself on the regular basis because people always say, "if someone is making you unhappy then remove them from your life." They make it sound so easy but it is not. What makes it so hard is that when you see someone five days a week for many years, you cannot avoid them because their energy floats around and you are reminded about how awful they made you feel. 

From what I have learnt and experienced, in order to remove someone from your life, it is best to cut ties by deleting them from your social media accounts, removing their phone number and deleting old photos (even if you look cute). You will often go through a withdrawal stage where you reminisce on all the memories you shared and this is completely normal. It is important at this stage that you let yourself be upset, whilst still remembering why you had to cut them out in the first place. - This is called self reflection and is something that I do in order to make sense of the thoughts in my mind. In order to move on, it is important that you look at that relationship as a chapter in your life that is finally coming to an end so you can progress and make new memories. Be sure to surround yourself with positive people that make you feel good about yourself and support you. - I struggled with this for a very long time and often these types of special people show up when you least expect it. In the mean time, please focus and take care of yourself. It is so crucial that you let yourself recover. After all, we are humans and broken hearts need time to heal.

We are all growing up, figuring out who we are and where we belong. It is hard to disband from previous connections we share with someone. You always need to remember that time heals everything. 

Love Always,
Sara xo.

Favourite Highlighters

There is nothing better than feeling confident. What makes me feel this way is when I wear highlight on my cheekbones, whether it is blinding or subtle. I believe highlight truly completes any makeup look. These are five of my absolute favourite highlighting products.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Glow Kit in 'Gleam': Moment of appreciation for my dearest friend for introducing this into my life. This glow kit is a staple highlight for me - particularly the bottom right shade, 'Crushed Pearl', a beautiful, metallic champagne that gives a blinding highlight. Every time I use this highlight, I receive so many compliments on how illuminating my skin looks. All the shades in this palette are silky smooth and look lovely on the skin.

Becca Jaclyn Hill Collection Champagne Splits Shimmering Skin Perfector Mineral Blush in 'Champagne Pop - Floweredchild': Champagne Pop is a stunning soft gold highlight with sparkling reflects. It is very pigmented and can give an intense shine to the cheekbones. However, it can be applied with a light hand for a subtle glow. It also looks lovely on all skin tones and is worth the money if you are looking for a high quality, luxurious highlight. 

Sleep MakeUP Solstice Highlighting Palette: Believe me when I say that this palette is incredible! This palette comes with four highlight shades, one cream, a silky shimmer and two metallic baked powders. I am obsessed with every shade, however the metallic baked powders have to be my favourite because they are so beautifully unique and bold. If you love an intense, blinding and metallic highlight then you should get your hands on this palette. I did a full review on this palette here if you want to know more.

TheBalm Mary-Lou Manizer: Surprise! another Champagne highlight. This one is the well known Mary-Lou, a buttery and slightly shimmery pearl goddess. I am not a huge fan of Cindy-Lou and Betty-Lou, purely because I do not reach for them often. However, Mary-Lou looks lovely on all skin tones and can be subtle or blinding.  

Illuminate by Ashely Tisdale Illuminating Shimmer in 'Shimmering Sand': This highlight is much more affordable compared to the rest and it is well loved in my collection. This is a silky, baked highlighting product that is perfect for those who want a natural and healthy glow. It contains specks of silver sparkles that shimmer radiantly in the sunlight. This product is a very soft champagne shade that is perfect for those with fair skin. 

It is crazy how much illuminating products bring out the confidence in me. What are your favourite highlight shades? I would love to try something new.

Love Always,

Sara xo.

It's all about you.

How do I be there for a friend and be there for myself at the same time?

My whole life has been listening to other people's problems and doing everything I can to help them get through. I must say, it is a great quality to have; However sometimes if we put all our time and energy into one person, we forget about ourselves.

One of the most important things I have learnt over the years is that you can only do so much to help a person. You can give the most amazing advice in the world but most of the time, people only listen to themselves and what they believe in their heart. - Even if it takes them a very long time to realise. For me particularly, I get so invested into my friends lives, where if they talk to me about a problem they're facing, I immediately make it my own and keep myself up at night to figure out ways to help them. I do not think this is a complete bad thing as it is important in every friendship or relationship to support each other. However, in my experiences at least, I find that acting this way can truly break you. I find the more and more I involve myself, more and more negative energy builds up within me and my mind becomes a blur. I feel listening to people's problems almost triggers me in a way that makes me release my frustrations out on other people. It is quite overwhelming.

This is why over the last few years I have really focused on myself, as I am a true believer that you need to help your self first in order to help other people.

The mind and heart are powerful, It is so strange to me that after years of worrying about other people, that now my mind sends me a signal, reminding me of the importance of taking care of myself, loving myself and being there for myself.

Love always,
Sara xo

Those People We Call Friends.

We accept the love we think we deserve. 

They have pinched every bone in my body and pulled me from one direction to another. They have made me weak but made me stronger. They have made me cry sorrowful tears and cry of happiness. They have made me angry, weak and hopeless but they have taught me the most about life. Why do these people come into our lives? 

Friends come and go and that is all a part of life. Over the years, I have seen my self lose faith, lose hope and lose all of who I am essentially. I always portray myself as a "tough cookie", meaning that I do not let other people hurt me and stand up for what I believe in. Whilst I agree with that to some extent, it is not entirely true. People can easily hide their feelings, others may choose to show it or let it pass over them. I have been constantly working on not letting other peoples opinions hold me down. It is something that I have been struggling with for my whole life, particularly the last four years. I feel everything. When someone I love is in a tough time, I feel it. I feel everything, even if I may not show it. 

One of the main problems that I am trying to overcome is being friends with someone who shares a relationship with someone who tore you to shreds. There are a couple of people in my life who ripped me in half and it really impacted the way I am now. What hurts me the most, is when the people I cried to and poured my heart out, still have some type of connection with the those that hurt me. I know it sounds selfish, but I have trying to understand that I cannot choose peoples friends. It sucks that the people I love do not respect that but I cannot do anything about it. It almost makes me find it difficult to trust anyone. - like how would you like it if your best-friend went out with your ex boyfriend? and did not tell you about it or if your best-friend goes out with the person who bullied you? and did not tell you about it. A lot of people in my situation would disband from these friendships and I suppose it would be the obvious thing to do. But my mind is blurred. I know that I will not have to see these people next year as we part ways.

My father always reminds me that we are the stars to our own show and get to choose who we want to be the people we work with. We have a choice in this world. We make mistakes and we learn from them. It is up to you to decide who you want in your life. - These people come into our lives so we grow.

Love always,
Sara xo

When I Write.

When I write, it is like my subconscious is giving me advice. The advice I give on this blog is different to reality. When I write, my mind runs wild. Every letter, sound and syllable suddenly forms these unusually brilliant sentences that allows me to see things from a clear perspective. It like there is another being telling me what to do, messing with my head, varying my perspectives and changing my outlook on life. When I write, I feel transcended to another universe. I suddenly feel like I have my whole life figured out. I suddenly feel like I have dealt with my problems. - like I know what I am talking about. However, it is not the case. I do not give advice, I just tell myself what I think I should do. It is confusing and completely erratic, but strangely makes sense to me. For example; I say how important it is to not worry about what other people think, yet it is something that occurs to me on a daily basis. Why do I think like this? - Why do I keep telling myself to do something yet I refuse to escape my bubble. I refuse to go a head with it. I refuse to trust myself. It is like trying to cross the finish line; you are only one metre away but you feel this strong wind-like compulsion pulling you back. You know what is right, yet you continue doing wrong. When I write, it makes sense to me. When my mind is filled with a million things, I write. In reality I cannot seem to do the same thing. I choke on my words and I freeze at horrible moments. I know deep down what I should do but I refuse to believe it. When I Write, I understand. It all makes sense to me.

Love always,
Sara xo

One Sided Relationships

There is nothing worse than being in a one sided relationship - where you put all your energy into the other person but receive nothing back. If we view this from an analogical perspective, it is kind of like driving into a road that turned out to be a prolonged one-way street. You have no sense of direction because you a blinded by the fact that you were drawn in or that you committed yourself into a situation that you are afraid to escape because you do not want to hurt another or you have hope that something will change. In this street there are no traffic lights, so you there are no signals or warnings that tell you that the road is coming to an end. No yellow lights telling you to stop giving in, no flashing red lights telling you to stop moving forward, rather your mind sees green as you continue down this path. You continue to drive not knowing what to expect up ahead, although you reach a dead end and realise something went wrong. That is being in a one sided relationship.

This does not particularly apply to a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship, rather a friendship. This issue occurs on a daily basis. Many, including myself, stay in these types of relationships due to many factors. One including constantly putting time and energy into the happiness of the other individual and forgetting the needs of your own. - Forgetting that the other person is not putting their time and energy into you. For a relationship to be effective, BOTH parties must fully commit themselves. If there is only one individual putting in all their time and energy for the other, it will only lead to bad days and heart aches because you are made to feel worthless, disheartened and like all your dedication to that individual was put to waste.

As being in this situation is difficult, it is important to know that you are allowed to be angry and to be sad.  It is okay to feel like it is your fault, even though you know it is not. - it sucks. One of the hardest things to do in these relationships is getting out of them. In my experience, an utterly spectacular event in the most horrible way had to occur for me to realise what was going on.  I slowly distant myself from the other individual/s. The more I drifted away the more I realised how exhausted I felt and how unhappy I was. I hated myself for a very long time for committing myself to these friendships. I picked out every good thing about the person and in my mind, that overpowered the negativity. However, now I realise that all of this happened for a reason and I do not regret any of it. Things happen in life that are going to tear you to shreds, pick out every nerve in your body and make you question the decisions you make. It all happens so we can learn and grow as individuals. 

If you are in this type of relationship, you can get out of it. There is always a way even if you are afraid that you might hurt the other being. If you truly feel personally victimised by this, then realise your worth, understand that you cannot be truly happy if you are in this. If this is happening to you, I get it. I understand. Sometimes it takes finally reaching a dead end to realise that you should not have done something or that you should not have made the turn. Eventually you will be back on the main road. 

Love always,

Sara xo

Colour Pop Haul and Review

My heart sank when I was in study period and got a promotional email in my inbox saying for the first time ever that "Colour Pop has free international shipping for 24 hours only." I have always wanted to try Colour Pop but the ridiculous shipping prices puts me off. So, I was very very excited to grab a few bits to try. I wish I purchased more because I love every single product that I got. I hope they have this free shipping deal again!

First off, I just want to get past the negativity and express that I was quite disappointed in the shipping service. My order was poorly tracked + I did receive my order later than my friends who ordered days after mine. - So I was a little frustrated. It did take a little over two weeks to arrive, which was not too bad considering where it was located, however, spending all that money got me a little impatient because I wanted it right away! I also heard quite a few stories about people getting ripped off by Colour Pop or that their products were broken when they arrived. Luckily, everything was nice and packaged well in bubble wrap, so nothing was broken. 

The eye shadows were what I was most excited to try. I must admit, I was slightly disappointed in the colour pay off and lasting finish. All the shades I found, needed to be packed on the eye lid to get full colour pay off. I found using my ring finger to be best. The lasting power was also a disappointment. It could barely hold a couple of hours without smudging or loosing its pigmentation. Nonetheless, they do glide on the eye lid smoothly, blend very easily and act perfectly as eye shadow bases. 

Swatches from Top to Bottom -
'Weenie'
'Arrow'
'Nillionaire'

I fell in love with this set on the website. All colours appeared to be darker in person which was unfortunate, although they are still very pretty dark berry/purple tones for Autumn/Winter. In this three pack, there is an ultra satin lip in the shade 'Notion', an ultra matte lip in the shade 'Hutch' and an ultra glossy lip in the shade 'Sookie'.The swatches came out quite patchy, particularly with the matte shade. Matte lips look beautiful but I find them to feel uncomfortable and sink into the lines on my lips. The satin finish is my favourite because it is long wearing and does not make my lips look or feel dry. The gloss is also a lovely one because it is light weight but still very pigmented.

Swatches from Left to Right -
'Sookie'
'Notion'
'Hutch'

Creme Gel Liner in 'Swerve' - I could not pass up this liner (thank you Bella Fiori). Classic black eye liners were lacking in my collection so I thought 'hey why not pick this one up'. This is incredibly pigmented and glides on the water line smoothly and opaquely in one swipe. It is super black and easy to apply. I love smoking this out on the upper lash line for a softer cat eye. I need to pick up more shades!

Lippie Stix in 'Brink Matte' - This shade is a beautiful nude with a pink undertone. It is very comfortable to wear and quick to apply because it is a crayon which makes it easy to line the lips. It is not super matte and it still has a slight sheen to it. I love it because it does not make my lips appear dry. 

Ultra Satin Lip in 'Dopey' - Dopey is my favourite shade so far. I actually purchased two of these because I had a feeling I would love it. That feeling came true because it was featured in my 2016 December Favourites!. This shade swatched a lot darker than it looks; I was so unsure about this at first because it has a quite ashy undertone. However, the more I applied it, the more I fell in love. It is a classic mauve tone with a pink undertone. This lip product fits perfectly with a sultry eye. It is long wearing, opaque and feels comfortable on the lips.

Ultra Matte Lip in 'Teeny Tiny' - This shade is very similar to 'Dopey', although it appears much darker on the lips. It is not the most comfortable to wear because it is matte, and matte shades do not work well on my lips. However, is glides on the lips smoothly and applies evenly so if you like matte lips, you'll love this one. 

Ultra Matte Lip in 'Tule' - Is a lovely dark pink shade. It applies smoothly and evenly. Like all of these matte shades, I found it to feel uncomfortable throughout the day. It did not last well whilst I was eating/drinking. It did also flake off which was annoying. However, it is still a beautiful shade!

Swatches from Top to Bottom -

'Tule'

'Teeny Tiny'

'Dopey'

Overall, I am very pleased with Colour Pop. The products are wonderful and high quality for its low cost. I would definitely order more, maybe just not the matte lip products! One thing to keep in mind when placing an online order is that the colours appear much darker in person + I found the lip shades to apply darker when applied to the lips. 

Love always,

Sara xo