Sorry we've been away

Hi Everyone,

Sorry we haven't posted in a while.

Over the last 2 years a lot has happened and I wasn't sure where I wanted to go or what I wanted to do in life.

We will be posting regularly and filling you in on everything that's happened.

Thanks for sticking around.

Stay tuned,

Lou x

First Holiday without Parents

Hi Everyone,

February 2016 this signified the start of a brand new adventure for me and my sister, we booked our first holiday without our parents.

Without much planning we booked a holiday to New York City for October 2016 although we agreed the dates we would be going, we didn't think about everything this involved.

Once the holiday was booked I didn't think about getting a Visa, Insurance or tickets until the month before we were due to go.

So the year passed by quite fast, birthdays came and went, the summer was over. It was now September, NYC was just over a month away and we hadn't applied for ours ESTAs, I hadn't looked into any insurance and had not bought any tickets for attractions.

Luckily I managed to do this all quite quickly and it was finally sorted. One thing I will say is shop around for insurance there are so many places willing to completely rip you off.

Then it was finally October!!!! By this point I was so excited but still extremely nervous on the prospect of going away with out either parent.

So then came time to go to the airport, we checked in online which eased my nerves a fair bit. But we still had to get to the airport, check bags and go through security. Thankfully this all went smoothly we had breakfast did a bit of shopping and boarded the plane.

At this point I was perfectly fine, I didn't think anything could possibly go wrong. The plane took off, the flight was one of the best flights I've ever been on.

That's what I thought until the plane was getting ready to land, all of a sudden we heard a clunking sort of noise. At this point I knew something was wrong I hoped it was nothing but I had a feeling it wasn't great. The Cabin crew were huddled together talking, I could hear people panicking. The plane had started to ascend instead of descend, the announcement came out, we were told we would be making an emergency landing. My heart sank, I couldn't remember the last time I was this scared, thousands of miles away from home, on the first holiday without our parents and this happened.

The Cabin crew then instructed us through what would happen. I was close to having a panic attack but thankfully we landed safe.

It turned out the landing gear was working fine however the information wasn't transmitted to the cockpit currently.

We were greeted at JFK by the NYPD and fire department and had one of the most amazing holidays of our lives.

One thing this taught me is that you never know what will happen but you just have to take the gamble. It's not scared me enough to not fly again, I still love flying as much as I did before. But now I want to go on so many more adventures.

I don't when the next adventure will be, hopefully this year or next but I do know that whenever I get the opportunity I'll take it no matter how big or small.

Until next time,

Lou x

Starting Work and Youtube, Chris King Robinson and 5SOS

Hi Everyone,

So this may be a bit of a long one.

Lets start with the biggest thing that's happened since I've been away, I finally got a job!!!!!!!!!
I haven't spoken about not having a job but since I left college I struggled to get a job, everyone always said that when the time was right I would get one and I guess the time was right.

There is one piece of advise I can give you if you are struggling to get your first job and that is don't panic, it really will come when it is time, I could never imagine myself doing the job I am doing at the moment. Before I started this job I wasn't the most confident person especially speaking on the phone but this job has made me come out of my shell a lot, I can speak on the phone a lot more confident, I feel better in myself now that I have one and it also means I can go out with my friends and family now that I can afford it and not let them down.

My confidence growing then leads me on to starting Youtube.

Me and Abbie have spoke about this on and off for a while now and as we live quite far apart we hardly ever got a chance to see each other, but as we are both now working it is easier, we have already started filming for it, we just have to edit and upload the majority of them. You may think what is the point in doing Youtube when we struggle with keeping a blog going, me and Abbie struggle to sit there at and write what we always want to say, we would rather just sit in front of a camera and talk. This will also mean our channel will be a mix match of things, Abbie is most likely to be the one vlogging out and about where as I am more likely to sit in my room and film, which is a good thing as it won't be the same content from each of us and it will also mean it is something we will like doing instead of making each other do something we don't want.

Going onto the music side of this post and something that isn't about me, is that Chris King Robinson is currently on his way to do an American tour with his band. He is one of the most talented people I have ever met and to be able to say my step brother is touring America makes me proud, although I have never told him that. But, we don't need to tell each other stuff like that, I'd rather just annoy him like always reminding him I'm 2 months older. I hope he has the most amazing time while he's there. Oh yeah and he's also releasing an EP!!

The final thing I'm going to talk about happened on the 10th June. It was one of the most amazing nights of my life, I took my cousin (Caitlin) to see 5SOS in Liverpool. I don't get to spend much time with my her as whenever I see her, my youngest cousins are usually about too which means we never get to spend quality time together. So, I made that night about her I let her have anything she wanted, it cost me a fortune but I got to see one of my favourite bands and also spend time with her.

It was such an amazing night and I will probably repeat that a ridiculous amount of times, but before I went Abbie was telling me what they were like live so I had pretty high expectations and they surpassed all those expectations. The atmosphere was amazing and I think it will always be in my top 10 moments. But, now seeing 5SOS live will be something me and Caitlin can do together which means I will also get that quality time with her that I know she misses.

I could keep going but then this post would be incredibly long and I'd just start rambling on.

Oh, hang on, did I mention I turned 21 two weeks ago but I will leave that for another time.

Thanks for reading,

Lou

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P.S Chris if you actually read this did I mention I'm two months older!!!!!

My Makeup Brushes: Part One Eye and Lip Brushes

Hey,

So I know there are a lot of expensive makeup brushes out there and not many people really say anything about cheaper ones, my make up brush collection is made up of cheaper brushes from Amazon and a few Real Techniques brushes, I reach for the cheaper ones more than my Real Technique brushes. I mean don't get me wrong I have nothing against more expensive brushes they just aren't in my budget, I might one day splash out on a few but until then I will stick to the ones I use.

Many of you probably don't like cheaper brushes because they can shed or they aren't as soft and it is hit and miss with cheaper makeup brushes but I don't have a problem with any that I use. The majority of my makeup brushes were bought from amazon apart from the odd couple.

So I will start with my blending brushes, the brushes a I bought all cost less than £4 so I didn't have high expectations of them when I ordered them;
1. I use this brush mainly for precise blending and softening eyeliner, also for applying eye shadow as well (www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004IOIQ2I/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_roN2ub0YAMJ75).
2. Similar to the first I use this one for precise blending but I can create a nice smokey eye with this brush as well (www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00DO3ZB90/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_SmN2ub1DKDME5).
3. This brush I use for blending when I want to focus on one area (eyeslipsface.co.uk/en/restofworld/single-brushes/blending-eye-brush/invt/1803).
4-7. These are a set of brushes I bought off of Amazon when I wanted some more blending brushes, 4,5 and 6 I use for blending and 7 I use for applying colour to the crease, I have them in black and pink as well,
   - Blue Brush Set (www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00MGA5MGY/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_dkN2ub1AE67VH)
   - Pink Brush Set (www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00M7XELSU/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_.lN2ub1CCCRM7)
   - Black Brush Set (www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00MG8VZ76/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_MlN2ub1MBEQ69)

8. Is a lip brush which I wouldn't have bought myself, but I got it in a beauty subscription box and I use it so I thought I would include it in this post, it's the only lip brush I won as I don't use it that often but it is really good quality brush and I usually use it when I have that bit of extra tip to apply lipstick. (www.glossybox.co.uk/brands/emite/lip-brush-l312/)
9. This brush I use for mainly eyeliner as my brows don't need filling in and I prefer angled brushes for applying gel liner, I did used to have a different angled brush but it was quite a stiff brush which was quite uncomfortable to use, but with this one although it is soft it is easier to apply liner and a lot more comfortable, the one I use was actually from a make-up set which I got as a gift, so I don't know where you can get this one in particular from but I'm sure there are plenty on Amazon.
10-13. These are all from the same set (www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00C661V7M/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_3kN2ub1HMED2R)
10. The spoolie I use to comb through my brows.
11. I use this liner brush for gel liners that are a lot softer and wetter, also for cream shadows that I want to use as eyeliner.
12. This brush I use for highlighting the inner corner of my eye and also for applying shadow to my lower lash line.
13. I also use this brush for applying shadow to my lower lash line but also sometimes for liner on my upper lash line.
14. This is just a standard shadow brush which I use for packing on shadow and also blending shadow and liner on the lower lash line. (www.barrym.com/products/accessories-gifts/brushes.html)
15. I use for the same thing as 14 but as it's bigger instead of using a blending brush when I am using a single colour I will use this to blend the colour out. This brush was actually from a brush set that I bought when I first started wearing makeup, although this was the only decent brush out of the set, it was only a cheap set off of Amazon.

I hope this was useful for those of you that don't want to spend to much money on brushes and are only starting out with makeup. 

Thanks for reading.

Lou

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About Me Tag

Hey,

Another tag to get to know me a bit better,

1. What is your middle name? Louise.
2. What was your favourite subject at school? Art or History.
3. What is your favourite drink? Dr Pepper.
4. What is your favourite song at the moment? Blank Space.
5. What is your favourite food? Pasta or Pizza.
6. What is the last thing you bought? The Balm Balm Jovi Palette.
7. What is your favourite book of all time? A Hunger Like No Other by Kresley Cole or That Night by Chevy Stevens.
8. What is your favourite colour? Typical Girl, Pink.
9. Do you have any pets? Yes, a German Shepherd Cross called Toby.
10. What was your first pet? I might be wrong but I think it was two gerbils called Timon and Pumbaa, but the first pet I bought myself was a hamster called Eric.
11. What is your favourite perfume? Ghost Eclipse.
12. What is your favourite holiday? Christmas.
13. Have you ever been out of the country, if so how many times and where? Yes, 7 times. I've been to Florida, France, Malta, Menorca, Belgium, The Caribbean and New York. 
14. Do you speak any other language? I learnt a bit of French when I younger, learnt German in school and can remember a bit and I am fluent in sarcasm.
15. How many siblings do you have? 4, an older half-brother, younger sister, younger step-brother and younger step-sister.
16. What is your favourite shop? Boots.
17. What is your favourite restaurant? TGI Friday's.
18. When was the last time you cried? About a month ago.
19. What is your favourite movie? Mortal Instruments City of Bones.
20. What is your favourite TV show? The Walking Dead or The 100.
21. What is your favourite musical? Whistle Down The Wind.
22. What was the first musical you saw in theatre? I think it was Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat.
23. PC or MAC? PC
24. What phone do you have? Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini.
25. How tall are you? 5ft 7.5
26. Can you cook? Yes, I did cookery at college for a year.
27. When is your birthday? 18th July.
28. Who is your favourite singer/band? 5 Seconds of Summer.
29. What was the first concert you went too? I think it was Steps.
30. What was the last concert you went too? Mcfly Radioactive.

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed getting to know me a bit better.

Lou

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Disney Tag

Hey,

So I felt like changing it up a bit for the next few posts, which will be a mixture of tags and my normal posts, just so you can get to know me a bit more and what better way than a Disney tag as I've never spoke about it but Disney has played a big part of my childhood and still is, because hey you're never too old for Disney.

1. Favourite Disney movie? It's a toss up between The Lion King and Hercules.
2. Walt Disney World or Disneyland? Disney World always!
3. Favourite Disney character? Always has and always will be Winnie the Pooh.
4. The first Disney movie you remember seeing in the cinema? I don't really remember this but I went to see Hercules when it came out and called it Tercules instead.
5. What type of Disney item do you collect the most? Soft toys.
6. Favourite Disney song? There's so many but I can only narrow it down to three, so it's either I Won't Say I'm In Love, I Just Can't Wait To Be King and the Winnie The Pooh Theme Song. 
7. Favourite attraction/ride at the parks? Tower of Terror (as I wasn't actually tall enough to go on I had a pair of trainers with really thick soles)
8. What is your dream job at Disney? Probably just to be a part of the parade.
9. Who's the park character you never want to miss at the parks? Winnie the Pooh, or Mickey and Minnie.
10. What's your most treasured Disney item? Probably the Winnie the Pooh soft toys I got when I was younger.
11. What's your favourite parade/shows at the parks? Whichever parade it was that I danced in when I was 4.
12. Flounder, Sebastian or Scuttle? Sebastian.
13. Favourite Disney memory? Dancing in the parade.
14. Favourite Princess dress? Probably Cinderella's dress.
15. Favourite Disney soundtrack? The Lion King
16. Genie, Abu or Carpet? Genie.
17. How did you first discover the 'magic' of Disney? Before I can even remember.
18. What's the saddest moment in any Disney movie? Obviously when Mufasa dies.
19. Favourite Disney sidekick? Timon and Pumbaa or Pegasus.
20. Are you the only one obsessed with Disney in your family? Nope.
21. Which Disney movie do you turn to when you're sad/upset? Any the majority of Disney movies cheer me up.
22. Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck? Mickey.
23. What Disney movie, even if it's not your favourite, will always have a special place in your heart and for what reason? Probably The Lion King as my nickname when I was younger was Rafiki and also me, my brother and sister had two gerbils when we were younger called Timon and Pumbaa, so it will always remind me of my childhood.
24. Favourite Disney Pixar movie? Toy Story.
25. Favourite Disney Pixar character? Buckaroo or Sulley.

Well that's that done hope you enjoyed finding out a bit more about me in the Disney side of things, thanks for reading.

Lou

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First step I took towards therapy

Hey, 

So this is a bot of a serious post, but I thought I would write this just in case it can help one person that reads this. The reason I went to see my doctor about going for therapy was because I have comfort ate since a really young age but never knew it was classed as an eating disorder until I started looking further into it and trying to find ways to stop so that I could start losing weight. 

Once I had found out that I was suffering from an eating disorder I decided to book an appointment to see a doctor, this appointment wasn't that helpful as I already had a brief idea of what triggered my comfort eating the doctor said I was already halfway there and therapy was for people that didn't know what triggers it. So I came away from that appointment thinking that I would either have to just find a way of living the rest of my life comfort eating or try to get over it myself although I had been suffering from this for 15 years already and I knew it wasn't going to change anytime soon. This appointment did dishearten me from going to see a different doctor to get their opinion as I thought I would just get the same answer as before, but my family told me to go back, this time I went to see a different doctor and told him what the problem was and how long I had been suffering with this for, the doctor then asked me what I thought would help me and that is when we agreed on therapy.

So from there I rang the number I was given for self referral and booked an appointment with a therapist for an initial assessment. The day of my appointment I was really nervous it was somewhere I had never been before and I didn't know if having an eating disorder was the only thing I was going to need therapy for. I made sure I got to my appointment with plenty of time to spare and so I could collect my nerves before my appointment. Once I started my appointment I knew I was going to get upset as I needed to give the therapist a brief background on what I thought was triggering my comfort eating, during this appointment I found out that I also suffer from minor anxiety and minor depression. Once the therapist had assessed my situation properly she told me all the options that were available for me and we both agreed that CBT would be the best treatment for me the only thing the therapist wasn't sure about was whether I needed high intensity or low intensity CBT. So I had to wait until the following week to find out, it turned out that I need high intensity CBT but the problem being the waiting list for NHS therapists is a minimum of 4 months.

Whilst I am waiting to start therapy the NHS run three seminars that are available to go to for those who are on the waiting list so I can start helping myself before therapy and make the most of therapy when I start it.

This may or may not help anyone but if you feel as though you possibly need therapy or just some advice on something don't be afraid to go talk to a doctor about it.

Thanks for reading,

Lou

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Ways to re-use old Glossyboxes and Birchboxes

Hey,

As I am subscribed to both of these beauty boxes I wanted to think of ways to re-use the outer boxes, the actual glossybox and birchbox and the pouch the products come in from the birchbox.

1) A way I use the outer glossybox, I cut off the top part of the box and use this to store birthday cards, ribbons and other bits and bobs that don't have a home.

2) When I have opened my birchbox I flatten the outer box and store them until Christmas or someones Birthday and just use these when I need a quick box to put the present in.

3) I use the actual birchboxes and glossyboxes for gifts as well but I also use these to organise my makeup in my top drawer of my chest of drawers, it's easy to do and all it costs is the subscription prices each month.

4) The pouch from the birchbox I either save this for gifts or use the special edition pouches as makeup bags for my handbag.

I hope this helpful, thank you for reading.

Lou

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DIY advent calendar

Hey,

This year I decided I was going to make a advent calendar for my dad as your never too old for an advent calendar.

This was the finished calendar it doesn't look as good as I wanted it too but I am pleased with it.

The things you will need:

A wire coat hanger

Brown Parcel Paper

Parcel String

Ribbon 

Sharpie

Sellotape

Christmas Chocolates ( or whatever you want to put in your calendar) 

A bow is optional

Step 1: Plan the order you want the gifts to go (I bought 25 things to lead right up to Christmas day). I did this by laying it out in the order and taking a picture of it.

Step 2: Wrap all the gifts and make sure you number them as you go so you don't get confused, I did this in pencil first then once I had them all wrapped went over it in a black sharpie but you can use whatever colour you want.

Step 3: I then tied the string around each wrapped gift like you would a parcel.

Step 4: Cut 24 pieces of the string at three different lengths and the 25th needs to be longer. Then I tied a piece of string to each gift alternating the three different lengths between them all.

Step 5: Starting at with number one I tied this at one end and number two at the other and kept adding the rest in random places until I got to 25 and tied this in the middle of the hanger.

Step 6: I strengthened the hanger by wrapping the ribbon in a zig-zag and then around the hanger, once this was done I tied the bow to the hanger and wrapped the excess around the hanger as well and tied it in the middle where I had tied the number 25 gift.

You can adapt this so it is your own by adding different decorations and using something different to attach the gifts too.

Thank you for reading.

Lou

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My Top Tips for Christmas Shopping

Hey,

I just thought I would share with you ways I make Christmas shopping easier.

1) If I see something instore before I buy it I will check online to see if I can get it cheaper elsewhere or if there are any deals on.

2) Amazon and other internet shopping sites are my go to for Christmas shopping as I can usually get plenty of ideas from them even if I don't necessarily buy the items off of them sites.

3) I also find that if you are wanting to buy Christmas chocolates for people you may find it better to look on Amazon to buy it in bulk or buy the hampers that they have on there.

4) I also use discount and voucher apps on my phone so that I can by more for my money and get some good discounts on things I wouldn't usually buy for people.

5) The majority of vouchers and coupons I get throughout the year for extra points or money off mainly for Boots I use as I then have more money to spend on Christmas presents.

6) It's never to early to start Christmas shopping especially when the sales are on, if you see something you know someone would like and it's a great price buy it and put it somewhere it won't get ruined or in the way just make sure you don't forget about it. August is the busiest month for Christmas shopping I started mine at the end of August, mainly because I have a lot of people to shop for.

7) Make a budget for each person but make sure it's not a stupid one, I tend to roughly add up all the things I want to buy them then add a little extra so I know I will have enough money for each person.

8) I tend to buy what I can for people then make a list for each person to see if I need to buy anyone anything else I can without going ridiculous and buying too much.

9) I will make a list of Christmas cards I need to buy, then go out and buy them all at once so I'm not having to make multiple trips to the card shop.

10) If you don't have much money don't be afraid to make gifts for people, I looked on pinterest for ideas this year and adapted them to make them my own, this is also the case with gift boxes and bags there are plenty of DIY tutorials and gift wrap ideas if you don't want to spend much money on gift wrapping.

I hope this is helpful, thank you for reading.

Lou

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Halloween Zombie Look

Hey,

As I am now too old to go trick or treating and the majority of my friends work on Halloween, I don't go to any party so there's not much for me to do. I still carve a pumpkin and put up a few Halloween decorations but I miss dressing up, so I decided that I would put a bit of effort in for all the trick or treaters that come.

I usually do easy and cheap things as I don't want to spend that much money on something not many people will see, but last year I decided I wanted to put a bit more effort in than usual but I didn't decide this until the actual day so I had to think quick on what I could do, so I decided Zombie but there are a lot of things to think about. I already had the clothes side of things sorted I just ripped some of my old clothes that already had holes in.

So the next thing I had to think about was the make up and how I would create the wounds, the majority of people use liquid latex to create this look but I wasn't able to go buy any as I cut it too fine so me and my sister decided we would use PVA glue and toilet roll. This didn't give as good effect as liquid latex would have but it was good enough.

1) I applied white face paint from a cheap Halloween palette then added grey to make my skin look more dead. I then also used the grey with a little black and layered this to contour my face properly so the right areas appeared sunken. So underneath my cheekbones, my jaw line, around my eyes, down my neck in places and my temples.

2) I then gave this a bit of time to dry while I made some fake blood as I only had a small tube. I made this by mixing 1/4 cup of water, 3/4 cup of golden syrup, drops of red food colouring until I achieved the right shade, then I added a drop of blue and green food colouring to achieve a more realistic shade ( keep adding blue and green until you think the shade is realistic enough), to thicken this I then added cornflour until I achieved the thickness I wanted. Then I left this to thicken for about 5-10 Minutes)

3) Whilst the blood was thickening I carried on with my makeup and used grey and black eye shadow to deepen the contour.

4) I then decided where I wanted each of the wounds to go on my face and used a red eye shadow to redden the areas to make them look sore before applying the glue and toilet roll.

5) Once I had decided where I wanted the wounds a applied a thin layer of glue with an old make up brush, then applied small pieces of ripped toilet roll, I applied about 5 layers of each then let this dry. Once this had dried I used some tweezers to make the effect of a cut by pulling part up and away for the skin whilst making sure the edges stayed smooth.

6) When I had received the desired look I started with a dark red face paint to the middle of the wound to give it the effect of being deep and bloody before adding the fake blood. I then reddened to outside of the wound to give it the sore and realistic look. Then came the messy part using the fake blood, I used my finger for this part so it looked more realistic and applied it over the dark red face paint I had applied and I also applied a bit of this around the opening of the wound and around my mouth so it appeared like I had just eaten someone. Then I used the fake blood I already had to drip down from each wound.

7) I then put the clothes I was going to wear and splattered them with blood and applied blood around the tears and underneath them where you could see my skin so there appeared to be more wounds.

8) Finally I backcombed my hair a little to make it appear messy and added any finishing touches I thought I needed.

I hope this has given you some ideas, thank you for reading.

Lou

X

Ps. The good thing about making the fake blood with syrup is that it is edible and you don't have to worry about getting any in your mouth.

Taiji Dolphin Slaughter

By the title of this blog you will know that this isn't a beauty blog but about something that shouldn't be happening in this day and age. I decided to write this blog as the slaughter season started on the 1st September and will last until May next year, so far there has only been blue cove days (no slaughtering) but the boats still head out every morning.

I know that there are a lot of people out there that know about this but there are still people that don't even know that this is happening and it needs to stop. There are some people that argue that it is the same as killing cows, sheep, pigs and other animals for meat but it isn't as these animals are bred for their meat and dolphins aren't, also the meat off of these animals aren't toxic and dolphin meat contains high levels of mercury so they are willingly poisoning their own people by selling dolphin meant.

Also they are killed in the most inhumane way as the fisherman round them up by using sound barriers, they create these by lowering poles into the water once they have spotted a pod of dolphins and strategically bang the pole, this is done strategically around the pod so that they become disorientated and are then driven in land and into the bay where this is then sealed off with nets and the dolphins are usually left to calm down usually overnight.
Once the dolphins or porpoises have calmed down the fisherman the enter the bay in small boats and select the dolphins that can then be sold onto marine parks around the world. Once these dolphins have been selected the rest of the pod are inhumanely killed and the meat is the sold to sell across Japan. From the slaughter last year there are still dolphins being held in the sea pens in the harbour of Taiji.

During the last slaughter on the 17th January this year a baby albino dolphin was rounded up with it's mother and the rest of the pod into the cove in Taiji, this pod was then netted up in the cove for over 20hrs. As albino bottlenose dolphins are extremely rare and are worth more than other bottlenose dolphins the baby was the first to be selected and taken for his mother. As she was being handled her mother was frantically calling out for her. After 30 minutes the mother swam to the bottom of the cove and never resurfaced, the albino dolphin that has been named Angel is now living in the Taiji Whale Museum where she is seen swimming in circles and she is also bullied by the some of the other dolphins that she is now living with.
The captive dolphin industry is the driving economic force behind the dolphin slaughter in Japan, as this is a big industry all over the world.

There is no international law that provides protection against the killing of dolphins, the International Whaling Commission offers no protection for the majority of cetacean species including dolphins and porpoises this is why japan can legally kill them by the thousands.

There are ways that you can help to stop the slaughtering of these amazing and clever animals, you can donate, sign petitions and get involved in other ways.
http://dolphinproject.org/
http://www.savejapandolphins.org/
http://www.takepart.com/thecove

This is a link to the 'The Cove PSA' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8JC_239vnc

You can also follow the dolphin project on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for updates on what is happening in Taiji.
https://twitter.com/Dolphin_Project
http://instagram.com/dolphin_project
https://www.facebook.com/ricobarrysdolphinproject

Thank you for taking time out to read this. We are their only hope.

Lou

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Sorry!!

Sorry I haven't posted a new blog lately things have just seemed to get on top of me, my laptop broke and I just got it fixed and as it's been the summer holidays here in the UK I've been spending time with my cousins, went to see my dad and also got my first tattoo.

Good news is that I have blogs written to be uploaded each week and my beauty series will be continuing and I will also write a blog post on my experience of getting a new tattoo and the aftercare that worked well for me as I have eczema.

Then when it gets closer to Christmas I will be doing a gift guide as I have already started my Christmas shopping because I hate shopping at Christmas there's just too many people and I will be ordering most of mine online and I want there to be enough time for shipping and if there are any problems I have time to send it back, some of you may think it's early but I find these next few months fly by and I couldn't deal with how much I had to get last year still in December.

That's it for now the next blog will be up tomorrow.

Lou

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Beauty on a Budget: Primers

Sorry I haven't posted in a while I've been ill and been quite busy, but things should go back to normal now.

So I will get to it, I will start with a primer that I received a sample size of and need to go and purchase this still, it is the MaxFactor Facefinity Primer this is £10.99 at Boots.

I only had a small sample of this but it lasted me three days and made my foundation look amazing, my makeup lasted for about 10 hours with this until I needed to touch up,  it also didn't bother my eczema as at the time I had a bad eczema patch on my forehead and applying this over it, it then held my foundation in place and stopped it from clinging to the dry skin as much. So I will most likely be purchasing this soon and using it when my eczema flares up.

Nivea Express Hydration Primer £4.99 at Boots

I used to love this primer when my skin was really dry and I have recently rekindled my love for it as it's a primer and moisturiser in one. I love this product as it absorbs fast so your not having to wait around to apply the rest of your make up. It hydrates my skin great when my skin is really dry the only problem I have with it is with my eczema patches when they flare up it makes them a bit red so I can't always apply my foundation to that area straight away. It makes my foundation last about 6-8 hours without a touch up depending on the type of day.

 George Face Primer £5.00 at Asda

I picked this primer up when I was wanting to find a new primer so I decided to give this a go as it says it hydrating, there are a few pros and cons to this product. I tried applying it all over my face but it did dry my skin out a bit on my forehead, so I decided to just apply it to my cheeks to see if it helped hide my pores it does a better job just on my cheeks than on the rest of my face, another con to this is that it has to be shaken vigorously before using it or the oil that is in it doesn't mix properly. So it's not the best primer but it's good enough when your on a budget.

Bourjois Paris Happy Light Luminous Serum Primer £10.99 at Boots

Out of all the primers I use I like this the most, this makes my foundation application so flawless whether I'm using a beauty blender or a brush, it has such amazing lasting power and is light weight that it sinks into the skin fast leaving it soft and an even colour, this is my go to primer especially on a night out, it gives a nice luminous finish and I like this best paired with the Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum. I definitely recommend this if you have normal to dry skin but there is also a matte one for combination skin.

Thanks for reading

Lou

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Beauty on a Budget: Skincare

This is the first out of ten beauty on a budget blogs in this series, I hope this will be helpful for you. But, I will say now the products I use work best for me and may not work for you.

There are two scrubs that I use but I have run put of one and need to repurchase it, the one I use twice a week is the St. Ives Sensitive Skin Apricot Scrub which is £4.29 at Boots. I've used a few different scrubs in the past and I have found that this works best for me. I get really stubborn dry patches sometimes and once I've used this it keeps them at bay for a few days as long as I moisturise after. The other scrub I use is the Neutrogena Spot Stress Control which is £4.79 at Boots, I only use this one I have a bad breakout though it's the only thing I have found has worked since I started getting bad breakouts at about 13. I also find this a quite calming face scrub as it has cucumber in.

 After I have exfoliated I moisturise using the NSPA Ultra-Hydrate Cream this as far as I'm aware is only available at Asda, this is great after using the scrub or just as a daily moisturiser I use it for both sometimes but feel it works better after the scrubs. It soaks into the skin great and quite fast, it can be focused mainly on dry patches and I tend to put more on them and just let my skin soak it in.

There probably isn't many people that think that the Boots essentials brand isn't very good but I love the Cucumber Eye Gel which is £1.50, for the price you can't really go wrong there are probably better eye creams/gels that are pricier and better but this is extremely purse friendly and it's lovely and cooling around the eyes, I could tell a difference a few days after I started using it. It's for reducing the puffiness and to hydrate and it has certainly done that for me.

Then last but by no means least there's the Garnier Moisture Match in Dry to Very Dry Skin which is £5.99 from Boots but I always seem to get it when it's on offer. I use this as a daily moisturiser before my make up and on a night after I take my make up off, it definitely leaves my skin feeling soft and hydrated. When I'm having a difficult skin day I also mix a bit into my foundation just to add that extra bit of hydration. I would definitely recommend this moisturiser and if you don't have dry skin check the others out as I'm sure you will find a Moisture Match suitable for you.

Lou

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Beauty on a Budget Series

I have decided to do this series as I can't afford high end products and I know there are a lot of other people out there that can't. As much as I would love to be able to buy high end products and try them. I have to stick to budget brands.

The series will consist of all my favourite affordable skin care, primers, foundations & tinted moisturisers, eye products, lip products, blushers and bronzers, haircare, make up brushes and nail products.

I will be uploading them every friday, starting this week and if you have any ideas for my next series let me know.

Lou

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Elf Haul Part 2

Sorry it's taken me a while to get this post up I've had a few problems with my laptop lately so lets get into the second part of this haul.

So the next thing I added to my basket was this Lipstick in Sociable, it applies really nice and has gorgeous pigmentation but isn't long lasting I had to reapply throughout the day. But, for only £1.95 I would recommend it.

I then decided I wanted to try one of the Moisturising Lipstick in Coral Cutie, I have been wanting a nice coral lipstick for a while and this is a gorgeous colour its not as moisturising as some of the other moisturing lipsticks, but it is good. This lipstick lasts longer than the lipstick above but I did have to reapply it during the day.

Nail Polish in Mango Madness

Nail Polish in Mint Cream

Nail Polish was next as I can never have too much, so I got Mango Madness and Mint Cream, I got these as I don't have any colours similar to these because for some reason I always stayed away from them. I'm glad I got these colours as they are great for this time of year. I applied 2 coats to get it nice and opaque, I also applied a top coat to some and left the other nails without it to see how long it lasted without the top coat, after 2 days there was a bit of chipping but not much so if you're wanting some nail polish to try then you can't go wrong for £2.50.

Mineral Loose Eyeshadow in Outdoorsy

Super Glossy Lip Shine in Mauve luxe

I got two free products with my order I don't really use green eyeshadow so that's going to my sister and the glossy tube I will give to my cousin to use if she wants it as the only glossy tubes I like are the Barry M ones but I don't mind giving these away as they were free.

Thanks for reading

Lou

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Elf Haul Part 1

Last week I did a bit of online shopping and after ordering a set of new make-up brushes, I decided to see if elf had an offer on and there was an offer for 2 free gifts if you spent over a certain amount, so I decided to order some make-up as I've heard lots of mixed reviews about elf.

From just opening the products and swatching them I am quite impressed with the pigmentation, I will do reviews on a few of these products, but I have a feeling I will like them all.

So first off I had a look at the brushes, I just stuck to the basics though as I get fed up of always having to wash my brushes and make sure they are dry by the next day so I ordered a Total Face Brush, Bronzing Brush and a Blending Eye Brush. I did use the eye brush today and it blended my eyeshadow nicely and is soft, the other 2 brushes do feel quite soft as well but I notice a bit of fall out from the Total Face Brush, but it wasn't much so I'm not too bothered.

 I then looked at blushers as I have gone a bit blusher crazy at the moment and whenever I go to town I buy a new one, I was looking for a new bronzer as well so I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone and get a Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder in St Lucia, the blusher is quite light so I may just use it as a highlighter instead and when I swatched the bronzer it is quite shimmery but I don't mind that, it also doesn't seem to orangey like most cheaper bronzers.

An All Over Colour Stick in Pink Lemonade was next to be added to my basket, let me just say it smells so good but I can't think of what it reminds me of, I don't like the idea of using this on cheeks, eyes and lips so I will just be using it as a blusher, I love the colour of this, it's a rosy light pink and very shimmery, it will be lovely in spring and summer to add a healthy looking colour to the cheeks.

Next is an Eyelid Primer in sheer, I'm always wanting to try different eye primers as I hate it when my eyeshadow creases, lately though I haven't been using a primer I've just been using one of my Calvin Klein cream eyeshadows as a base which works quite well but I don't have that many colours, so I thought I would give this primer a go. It's not very thick and is nice and creamy so I'm looking forward to using this.

I love eyeshadow pencils as a quick, in a rush wash of colour over the eyelid, also being able to blend them easily is always a plus, I wanted a nice everyday colour so I got the Jumbo Eyeshadow Stick in French Lace, it's like a light rose gold colour, I also use these as bases for eyeshadow aswell so they are always handy to have in my make up collection.

The final thing in this part of my elf haul I ordered was a Single Eyeshadow in saddle although I have a lot of brown eyeshadows I always want more, I thought that this colour would be great to great a smokey eye with, I also think it will be a nice colour to wear alone, it's a medium brown with a nice shimmer to it.

Part 2 will me up later this week.

Lou
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Just a short message

Sorry there hasn't been any posts uploaded for a while, I have some written just haven't had the chance to upload them and I have also had to change the days I write posts as my sister doesn't have time to do posts anymore so I'm going solo, but keeping this blog as I don't see the point in starting another.

So I will post the next blog tomorrow, and then try and post 2 a week if not more.

Thanks for reading.

Lou
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My Hair Dying Experince

I was about 13 when I decided I no longer liked the colour of my hair, I had blonde hair when I was little and as I grew up it started to get darker and it became a mousy brown colour, it was then that I decided I was going to dye my hair blonde. At 13 I knew a bit about dying hair at home as I had seen people do it, so after school one day me and a school friend bought 2 boxes of Clairol’s Nice’n Easy Permanent colour. I can’t remember which shades I bought but they were the lighter blondes in the collection.

So I let my friend apply the first box of dye and left that on for longer than recommended on the instructions, we then washed it off in the kitchen sink as it was the easiest place to do that, I let my hair dry and decided that the colour wasn’t the colour I wanted, so this is where to made the mistake of dying it again the same day, the outcome of this was that the colour was right but my hair had become quite dry and wispy at the ends, so I had to go to the hairdressers and have my cut. Over the next few years I didn’t have my full head dyed I just had highlights done at the hairdressers. Once I moved back to Leeds when I was 16 I started using nice’n easy again and as I learnt from my previous experience my hair was still dry and damaged at the ends but I knew how to look after it better. I carried on dying my hair blonde until the beginning of last year when I decided to dye it brunette to give my hair a rest and to let it repair from all the damage I had caused dying it.

Even a year on my hair isn’t the same as it was before dying it but now I use hair masks once a week. I wouldn’t say don’t dye your hair if that’s what you want to do, do it, just make sure you have a good hair care routine to help your hair from the damage of the dye. Now that I have a good hair care routine I will be dying my hair blonde again in the near future. So I will be writing a blog post about that and the products I recommend for dyed hair.

If any of you have any hair care products you like, let me know and I will try them out as I’m always willing to make my hair care routine better.

                                      Lou

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