I spin, colliding into sound.

Just a quick update RE: my unintentional hiatus. Despite my efforts to save it my MacBook's hard drive completely broke down and I had to buy a new laptop. As I didn't want to pay over the odds for another Apple product (they are shockingly overpriced for the hardware – you're paying for the pretty) I ordered this gaming laptop which has been custom made for me. I'm off to Germany on Sunday so Bryan is going to install my OS for me and do some tinkering whilst I'm away, and I should be up and running when I get back at the end of next week. :) I have a lot to share, including my defecting from Apple's OSX/iOS to Windows/Android, a review of my awesome new phone, and some makeup stuff for all of you who really don't care about technology. ^_^' In the meantime, you can check out my guest post on Daisies and Dr. Martens, which will go out on Monday!

xxx

Natural Skincare Collection

I mentioned looking into oil cleansing for skincare last week, and purchased a few products to try it out. I can't comment on the results yet as the reason I wanted to try it was a cystic acne breakout, which takes ages to heal, plus my eczema freaks out during exam time so I'm quite the hot mess currently. However I can say that they feel gorgeous on the skin and smell amazing, which is good enough for me just now. I've only been using them for about a week, so I'll report back when I've had more experience with the products. Here's what I picked up:

(From left: sweet almond, argan, rose hip and jojoba oil, decanted into pump bottles and labelled.)

(Tea tree and lavender essential oils.)

(Thayer's alcohol-free witch hazel and rose petal toner – a truly gorgeous product!)

(Now brand Moroccan red clay powder and organic shea butter.)

(Organic virgin coconut oil, decanted into the cutest jar in the world.)    

I got these on Amazon, largely from Naissance as they were the cheapest and offered free shipping on orders over £14. My favourite items here have to be the Thayer's toner, the coconut oil, and the shea butter. Even if you aren't into the idea of oil cleansing, these are beautifully natural and the coconut oil in particular is great for your hair, whilst shea butter makes for the cheapest and best lip balm ever! I melted the coconut oil into this cute little jar (59p from BM Home!) as the tub wouldn't fit in my bathroom cabinet, and decanted my carrier oils into bottles I got on eBay to give me more control over how much I'm using. (Don't they look awesome? I think I've gone insane.) I am having a bit of trouble with the essential oils as the droppers aren't very precise, causing me to use too much and end up with an irritated face! I might buy a couple of traditional glass droppers to help with that, as you wouldn't believe how potent the essential oils are!

Have you ever tried oil cleansing?

You're the sky that I fell through.

Today I'm sharing a weird 'haul' of sorts – stationery!

I have been a stationery fiend since my early days of primary school, and even at the age of twenty-one I still get thrilled over buying new Filofax inserts and back-to-uni supplies. I have even been known to read detailed pen discussions, and I'm very fussy about what I'll write with, and on. This week I went into Wilkinson's for the first time, and found that they had a plentiful selection of stationery with skulls on it. Need I explain further? Also featured: some cool scissors, awesome TK Maxx and Clintons finds, and my new Filofax. ^_^ I know I don't start back until September, but I couldn't resist.

(Wilkinson's Wilde and Nostalgia stationery.)

(Dunelm Mill printed owl scissors.)

(Exercise books via TK Maxx.)

(Punch Studios notebooks via Clintons)

(Paperchase tweed personal size organiser.)

The Wilkinson's stationery is incredibly well-priced. The two A4 ringbinders here cost just £1.50 each, as opposed to £3 or £4 from WH Smith and Paperchase. I always try to find pretty, patterned binders as they look nice when in a bookcase and I find it's easier to remember which holds what that if they were all just different colours. I wanted some new scissors for my room, and at £1.99 for three pairs Dunelm Mill really did well here. Plus, they have owls on them! Owls! The Punch Studio notebooks were just too beautiful to not purchase, and the new Clintons in Silverburn was doing a buy one, get one half price offer on all their gifts and stationery so I decided not to make myself choose. Finally, my Filofax was about five years old, and falling apart as it wasn't a leather one, so I picked up this cute tweed number for just £15 in Paperchase. Their inserts fit Filofax pages, and are much cheaper. I particularly like their little to do list inserts. 

Hopefully some of you are stationery nerds like me, and found this post enjoyable! ^_^'

Makeup Organisation

My exams start next week so I've been putting a load of hours in at the library, as I really can't study at home. I get distracted by YouTube and Netflix, or find an odd job to do around the house, and end up wasting time completely (which is pretty bad for a twenty-one-year-old to admit, but let's just skip that). My local library is painfully archaic as it doesn't even have wi-fi, and people don't seem to understand that libraries are supposed to be quiet places, but I still study much more effectively there than when I'm out of the house.

In my downtime, I've been getting really into de-cluttering and organising things in my bedroom. I have always been one of those people who is neat and organised in theory, but never in practice. I stumbled upon Pink So Foxy's 'Less Stuff, Less Stress' series as I mentioned in my last post, and she inspired me to really go through everything that I have and get rid of things that weren't serving a real purpose, or that I didn't enjoy. I started with a few drawers, and then my wardrobe, and now everything in my room has a specific place which just fills me with nerdy joy.

I never before realised just how positive an effect this would have on my mental state: with less clutter around me I feel really relaxed and clear-headed, as though I've managed to de-clutter my brain somehow in the process. My uni work is all organised into folders, and I've been using my Filofax to make study plans which has helped me get a lot more done. I'm even more inclined to dust and hoover as the room looks so pretty, which is something I never thought I'd say ...

I'd like to do a few posts on this, including a 'haul'-type one on the things I've picked up along the way from Dunelm Mill and Wilkinson's (my new favourite shops), BM Home, and Amazon. For now though I thought I'd keep it small and show you my newly-organised makeup collection.

My dressing table is a late Victorian reproduction. On the left shelf is my makeup bag, my foundation (which I left out of the makeup bag so I could stand it upright and see how much I had used), and a cool skull snow globe thing my mum bought me for Christmas a couple of years ago. On the right are some antiques: the bottles, clock and tiny silver dish are all pretty old. The other trinkets have been picked up from ASOS and abroad. This shelf is still quite cluttered but I don't know quite what to do with all of these things yet. I store my key, everyday makeup items in the bag alongside my brush roll, so they are easy to find. My more 'fun' items are stored in the little drawers at either side of the table.

In this drawer I have my lip products and blushes (plus a new Revlon face powder I purchased recently as my MAC one is due to run out and I didn't really want to spend another £20+ on a new one). I recently found out that my favourite lipstick, Barry M lip paint in 152 'Vintage Rose', has been discontinued, so I will probably stock up on a few of those.

Here I have my eyeshadow palettes. I have five of the Sleek palettes, and because they are indistinguishable from each other, I used my Dymo embossed label-maker on each one so that I can easily find them. The MAC palette contains such garish colours as I compiled it when I was 14 and really into wacky eye makeup; I'd like to eventually get rid of these crazy old colours and replace them with more wearable ones.

The drawer of dreams! This one houses my single eyeshadows, of which I have quite a few. My favourite brands are Kiko, Morgana Cryptoria, and Barry M's Dazzle Dusts.

Finally, I store all of my eyeliners and mascaras in this drawer. I am a big fan of the Collection 2000 glitter eyeliners, and I have a couple of coloured pencils here too. These mascaras were all given to me by my mum as she had so many, so I won't need to buy any for a while – yay!

I'm really pleased with how these drawers turned out and I got rid of quite a few old, unwanted products that were just taking up space. It feels nice to own all pretty, functional makeup that I enjoy wearing! Next up I'll be doing my wardrobe and jewellery storage. ^_^

P.S. I did a coconut oil hair mask today, just rubbing the oil into the ponytail section of my hair and letting it soak in for about twenty minutes. I washed it out, blow-dryed my hair, and it feels amazing. So soft! I also tried the red clay face mask from this video and again it worked beautifully and left my skin feeling fresh and healthy. I may never buy face wash again ...

YouTube Find: Pink So Foxy

I wanted to do a quick post on a new YouTube channel I've found that I absolutely love. I watch quite a few of the girls on YouTube as I trust their opinions and recommendations far more than magazines/beauty websites as they aren't paid to rave about products, plus it's nice to see a real person in front of you rather than a faceless wall of text.

My new YouTube 'crush' is Pink So Foxy. Christine is based in Hawaii and designs jewellery for a living – what a life! I love her approach to all-natural skincare and a clutter-free life. She has very informative videos about using essential oils in skincare, and has inspired me to start moving away from store-bought products in favour of cheaper, simpler products from the earth in an effort to improve my annoying skin. I've also been on an organising binge lately, so you can imagine my joy when I found her "Less Stuff, Less Stress" series! I've been even more ruthless since watching them and have cleared out quite a few things I had lying around that I just didn't need. :)

It's refreshing to see a beauty vlogger that is conscious and critical of excessive consumerism. I myself am very guilty of over-indulging at times, so I wanted to share this channel on here as I'm very glad I found it. I also think it's funny that Christine is so girly and bling-y whilst I'm a vampire queen in comparison, yet I relate to her way of thinking so much. I hope you enjoy this channel as much as I do! ^_^