Thursday 29 June 2017

June 2017 favourites

Hey guys! I haven't done a favourites since January and so I thought it was time to do one for this month. Here are the things I have been loving in June!


Firstly, one of the things I loved this month was the new series of Orange is the New Black. I have heard some mixed reviews about season 5 but I really liked it! Oitnb is my favourite tv show and I am so excited for the new series, definitely not happy I have to wait another year.


Another thing I have been loving this month is the Garnier summer body moisturiser. Now that the weather has got nicer I've been loving tanning and I feel like this helps to give a nice sun kissed look.

Also on the theme of tanning, another thing I have been loving is the Superdrug's own Solait dry oil fake tan. This is one of the best fake tans I have ever used and I will be doing a full review of this next week so keep your eyes peeled if you want to see that.

A fashion thing I have been loving are these coppery converse type shoes from Primark! I love the colour of these and have been wearing them none stop since I bought them.

A book I have been loving this month is Johnathan Strange and Mr Norell by Susanna Clarke. It's set in the 1800's about magicians and faeries and all things strange and mystical. Despite being written in 2005, it is written in an old-fashioned writing style, although I would say it is easier to read than a Bronte book, however, I do find I have to read each sentence twice to really understand it. I have not finished this book yet but when I do I will probably do a review of it.

Finally, the last thing I have been loving this month is an App. It is the Nike+ fitness app and if you saw my last post all about the apps I use, you will have seen me talking about this before. It's a free fitness app and it gives you workout plans to suit your lifestyle and fitness level. Since I have broken up for the summer, I have not been as active as I was at university, I usually walk at least 40 minutes a day at uni but at home, I have been pretty sedentary so I have been loving this to get me moving!

I hope you enjoyed this post! What are some of the things you have been loving this month?
Lots of love,
Eleanor x

Monday 26 June 2017

Apps on my phone & Ipad, for photo editing, fitness anxiety & more

Hey guys! I hope you are well and hopefully for you doing exams they will all nearly be over now. Today I wanted to show you the apps I have on my phone and on my Ipad. I have a Samsung Galaxy 6 and an ipad mini 2. All of these Apps are free (I am a cheapskate!)



Phone: 
 First of all I have all my social media apps on my front page of my phone so they're easy to get to! This includes Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Whatsapp and Messanger. 
On the first page of my phone, I also have my Santander online banking app and Timehop. I am obsessed with Timehop I love it so much plus my Santander online banking app is really useful too.

Onto my second page of Apps, I have my Costa app. As a massive Costa lover, I love being able to check my points. I also have countdown, which I love too, being able to see how long it is to my holiday makes me so happy! I also have Just Eat ( very useful) Snap Chat, my Vodaphone and BBC weather (my fave weather app.) Finally, on this page, I have Buffer, a useful app to schedule tweets.

Finally, onto my final page of apps on my phone, I have Boomerang, my university's app so I can always check my timetable and Trip Adviser. I also have some Apps I love to use for editing my photos for my blog and for instagram. These are Photogrid and VSCO. Photogrid is really useful for putting multiple photos together and writing on photos, and VSCO is good for general editing and I love it for brightening my photos. Another useful app is Followers, which tracks my instragram followers and tells me which photos are the most popular. I always like to keep a game on my phone in case I get bored and at the moment I am really liking Word Cookies I often switch this game up on my phone.
I also like to keep Apps on my phone that help me when I become anxious. at the moment I am liking Stop Breathe & Think, which has some really nice meditations on that help with anxiety. I also like Flowy, a little game that encourages you to breathe while you play and is really good at distracting and regulating breathing. Finally I have Bitmoji, to keep up with the new Snapchat update!


Ipad: 
First of all, on my Ipad I have pretty much all the same social media apps as I do on my phone, except I have Youtube on my first page of apps .

On my second page of apps, I have the Amazon App and Netflix. Both are really useful and I love having Netflix on my Ipad, makes watching films in bed so much easier! I also have Episode, which is a fun game where you get to take part in stories and select options and decide what you want to do! I personally really like it.

On my third page, I have Pinterest, Bloglovin and Spotify. I also have the All 4 app, making it easy to catch up on tv! Finally, I have some fitness apps that I like to use. The first is called seven, which is a 7 minute fitness circuit which makes it quick and easy to get fit. The other is the Nike+ training app, which is really good and gives you workout plans and more for free.

I hope you enjoyed this post! What are some of the Apps you have on your phones? Do you have any of these?
Lots of love,
Eleanor


Wednesday 21 June 2017

There's bravery in being soft

Hey guys today I have a little extra post, sort of one of my old style posts or my little thoughts about I quote I saw yesterday. I wrote this post as a note on my phone yesterday and I wanted to share it so I hope you enjoy.




I have always been a sensitive girl. The kids at primary school used to call me sensitive, I guess I've always been quite fragile, it doesn't take much to knock me off guard or make me upset. When I was a child, I remember frequently being told I needed to toughen up or I wouldn't make it through life. Yes as I've got older I have toughened up a little bit, I am more likely to say what's on my mind or stick up for myself. But I am still soft and sensitive with the world's biggest conscience.

I used to hate being called sensitive, I used to despise it. I wanted to shake that connotation when I reached high school and I was gutted when someone at high school pointed out (not in a rude way) that I was sensitive. It used to upset me, of course it did, the sensitive girl was sensitive about being called sensitive. Now I'm older, people haven't really said anything like that for a while but it still stays with me, I still have this internal image of myself.

But isn't there something tough about being sensitive? In such a harsh world its so easy to become bitter and build walls around yourself, and maybe there is something brave in staying sensitive. I'm sticking with my goodness and softness and not letting a harsh world corrupt me or my humanity. It's easy to mistake being soft for being weak but it isn't, actually there is something brave about having your emotions on show for the world and not letting the world change you.

So yes, I am emotional and soft and sensitive but maybe I can start to see this as a good thing, maybe there is real bravery in softness.

Lots of love,
Eleanor x

Monday 19 June 2017

The Thousand Tiny Miracles of living twice- Katarina West review and Giveaway

Hey guys! Phew where I am today it is literally boiling, I'm frying alive today! Plus I managed to burn my face and arms yesterday so now I look like a tomato. Now I am on my summer holidays, I am hoping to get a lot of books read this summer and hopefully do more book reviews since I haven't done any in ages! So I am kicking things off with this review of a book I was sent a while ago. There is also an opportunity to win one of these books so keep reading to find out how!
Meet Irene Nylander, a frumpy housewife from Finland… and a yo-yo dieter. She feels trapped in an unhappy marriage, looking after her domineering mother-in-law and living vicariously through romantic movies. Meanwhile, in Florence, Mimi Kavanough’s star is rising. She has the body of a Barbie princess, the iron will of an army sergeant - and Hollywood in her sights. On her fiftieth birthday, Irene discovers her husband is having an affair. Devastated, she prays for a way out: she wants to die. In heaven, a mischievous angel called Aaron hears her prayers. He decides to make Irene and Mimi swap bodies. How will the two women cope with their unexpected, and very different, second lives? And will Aaron’s meddling get him evicted from heaven? What will happen if he has to transform into a human being and live on Earth?

This is the first book in a new series by Katarina West (who, by the way seems lovely) called the Angel Aid books. I loved the premise of this book, mixing fantasy with real life and I loved the characters in this book too, I found it really exciting to keep reading the book. Katarina West herself has written previous books including Absolute truth for beginners and Witchcraft couture and has spent much of her time travelling and wring a PHD in political science. Despite not hearing of her previous books, I was excited to read this one.

I actually thoroughly enjoyed this book, it was a book I found difficult to put down and to see how it ended and I am excited to see how the story continues into the second book. As I said, I really liked the characters, and I enjoyed the ending too. There were a few ends left a little loose so I can't wait to see how they are resolved in the next book too. The only thing that I wish could have been more included in this book is more detail into the angel world. In my opinion, I felt like the detail of the angel world and the heavens was a little rushed so in the next book I am hoping for a bit more about it as it is feeling a bit 2d for me right now.

I loved the message actually that this book gave out, a sort of be kind to everyone and to help the less fortunate message which was really nice. This book had some amazing character development too, as being trapped inside the two different people really helped the characters to realise more about themselves. I would really recommend this book I think it's such a nice holiday read too and if you're looking for something to take on your jollys with you I would say to take this!

There is also a really cool opportunity to win a copy of this book! You can do so through herea Rafflecopter giveaway 
just in time for your summer holidays!

You can buy this book for your kindle for just 99p from amazon here or from Katarina's website here

I hope you enjoyed this post!
Lots of love,
Eleanor x


Saturday 17 June 2017

Summer 2017 asos wishlist

Hey guys! It's such a lovely sunny day here and I am loving it! Even if I have to go and do a shift tonight in this heat behind the bar! I have never done a post like this before but I thought I'd give it a go because I've seen a lot of people do this kind of posts before and I love online browsing. Hopefully, I'll do a few more of these from different websites. Anyway, if I had a budget big enough, here are some things I'd love to pick up from asos this summer! I have linked everything from the website and hopefully, I will have helped you find some things for the summer too.

 
First of all, this swimming costume! I love this it's so on trend, defo want. It's £38 which is quite expensive for a swimming costume though.

This top really caught my eye. It looks so effortless and is so perfect for summer. It is £17.99.


I am in love with this playsuit! It's amazing for summer, such a lovely pattern and could be so useful to dress up or down. It is £30 but looks like it's worth it to me.

I am loving mom jeans at the moment and these are so nice! I especially love and/or patterned mom jeans I just see them everywhere! These jeans are £35, and I think they're really nice for the summer, a cooler alternative to skinny jeans as they're not quite as restricted! Plus paired with an airy shirt it looks so summery.


I need this suedette jacket in my life! It's so beautiful. It's a bit on the pricey side at £60 but it's so beautiful and would go with everything. It would be so nice just to throw over everything.

This body suit is so gorgeous! I would love to wear this, this summer with shorts or mom jeans over the top, it's so lovely and summery and could be dressed up or down. It's £28.


Another trend I am loving is these short dungarees! These are £27.99 and some of these are definitely on my wishlist I can't get enough of them.

Finally, I love this summer dress! I love the back detail and it would look so nice on holiday on a nice summer evening.

I hope you enjoyed this post! If you did let me know because I'd love to do more of them as I really enjoyed making this!
Lots of love,
Eleanor x


Friday 16 June 2017

Our Current Playlists (With Natalie Benton)

Hey lovelies! So today I have a post that I have worked on with Natalie from Gorgeous and Geeky all about what music we have been listening to lately! I hope you enjoy! Natalie is talking about her playlist first and then I will be talking about mine!

Hello, my name is Natalie Benton and I am from Gorgeous and Geeky .  A few months ago, I saw Eleanor look for collaboration guests on Twitter and I contacted her.  After a few unexpected incidents that got in the way (mostly work-related), I am glad to finally be able to write a post with her!  We agreed on writing about our current playlists/most-listened to artists.  I am incredibly excited to write about this topic, as music is a huge passion of mine; I am always booking tickets to go see live concerts!

To make this post more challenging (I could choose so many), I chose to write about my top 5 artists/songs/albums at the moment.  

Natalie's Playlist 
  
1        1)  Lana Del Rey featuring The Weeknd, Lust for Life


I’ve been a fan of Lana’s for years; I feel like her melancholic music which shows a desperate need for understanding helps me explain all the deep, dark feelings I have but typically hide.  Personality-wise, I am a cheerful, bubbly girl who strives to be positive, but I have a painfully realistic and depressed side very few people see.  Her cinematic and moving songs make me feel understood, like I’m not alone.  “Ride” is my anthem, and I want “just ride” tattooed on me one day.   While I love LDR’s thought-provoking and tragic lyrics/sound, I was absolutely over the moon with her new singles from her upcoming album.  I feel as though I can relate to her in a completely new way.  In “Lust for Life,” I am inspired by the dreamy lyrics “and a lust for life… keeps us alive,” for it reminds me that even though bad days happen, I still continue to do my best and live my life to the fullest.  Plus, it wouldn’t be LDR without a darker connection (check out the relation to Peg Entwistle, who committed suicide by jumping from the H of the Hollywood sign).

2)       The Chainsmokers and Coldplay, Something Just Like This
Coldplay has always had an effect on me with their mix of harmonious tunes and profound lyrics (cue Everglow).  The Chainsmokers make the hair on my neck stand up with their blood-pumping songs.  Put these 2 bands together, mention Spiderman and Batman in the lyrics, and I am absolutely loving it!  Since the moment I heard this song, I’ve had it on repeat.  I also admire what this song represents: the fact that we don’t need to have some otherworldly love to be happy.  The best love I’ve ever experienced is one where I can show my flaws and not pretend to be someone with “superhero gifts.” 
    
3         3)  Miley Cyrus, Malibu
This song is a guilty pleasure of mine.  I won’t lie: I have had this song on repeat until my partner is singing “Maliboooo” like Miley haha!  I watched Miley on Hannah Montana when I was a teen and witnessed her grow into Molly-induced Miley who showed the world she was no longer a Disney star at the 2013 VMA’s.  I was not a huge fan of the “I’m trying too hard to be an adult” Miley and was pleasantly surprised when she released “Malibu.”  When I listen to this song, I can relate because it comes from a place of growth.  She’s grown up, she’s made mistakes but she came back to where she belongs and is happy.  Reminds me of that Tay-Tay lyric from “This Love”: when you’re young you just run, but you come back to what you need.


            4)  Royal Blood, Lights Out
My bestest friend introduced me to Royal Blood a few years ago and I’ve been a massive fan ever since I first heard “Little Monster.”  I was truly impressed with this 2-man band from Brighton; when you listen to their music, you wouldn’t believe it’s only 2 dudes!  After the release of their first album in 2014, Royal Blood have been fairly quite.  Thankfully they recently announced they’re back with a new album, How Did We Get So Dark?  The first single is “Lights Out,” and I have had this song on repeat as well.  You can tell by the sound that it’s Royal Blood and piques interest in their sophomore album.
      

      5) Halsey, hopeless fountain kingdom



Last but not least is my absolute favourite album at the moment.  I was completely obsessed with Halsey’s first album, Badlands, with its industrial-pop sound featuring songs about mental illness and relationships.  When Halsey teased her Romeo-and-Juliet-themed album, I was intrigued, especially as it acts as a prequel to Badlands!  I’ve read countless articles explaining the themes throughout this album; I’ve spent numerous hours listening to and analysing the lyrics.  My favourites are: Heaven in Hiding, Lie, and Strangers.  Again, I connect to the lyrics and the messages so much! 

Thank you for reading about my most recent faves in music!  I certainly hope you’ll check these out if you haven’t had the opportunity to listen to them yet!  If you’d like to follow me on social media, my links are: Instagram.com/gorgeousandgeeky Twitter.com/NatCBenton 


Eleanor's Playlist:

1)  Harry Styles
The thing I have been listening to the most is Harry Styles new album! I honestly love this album so much. My favourite songs are Carolina and Kiwi. It's such a good mix of rock songs and more softer songs, I really like it!

2) Malibu by Miley Cyrus
Like Natalie, I have been loving Malibu too! It's really catchy and I am loving the country-esque vibes to it!

3) Riverdale Soundtrack
If you followed me on twitter you would know how much I adored Riverdale! I loved it so much, definitely, one of my favourite shows I've seen this year! I also really loved the soundtrack and since watching it I can't get enough! Anyone else insanely excited for the new series already?

4) Most Girls by Hailee Steinfeld
I haven't seen Wonderwoman yet but this song has made me want to go and see it! I love this song, all about women power so good!

I hoped you enjoyed reading about the songs we've been loving lately! Do you like these? Remember to go and follow Natalie on her social media sites!
Lots of love,
Eleanor x


Sunday 11 June 2017

My shampoo routine updated - Dry itchy and flaky scalp

Hey guys! Its the final day of my blog a day week which is actually quite sad I have been enjoying posting all week! I will hopefully be posting two times a week from now on (maybe even three sometimes!) Today I wanted to tell you about two shampoos I have been loving recently. 



If you have been reading my posts for a long time (or have ever looked back and read some of my earlier posts) you will know that I have used and raved about the John Frieda go blonder shampoo and conditioner for literally so long, maybe 6 or so years. But recently my hair had a massive freak out and my scalp got so itchy and flaky and dry, I had never had that reaction from my hair before. I was using my go blonder combo and the body shops anti dandruff ginger shampoo. So I decided to switch up my hair care to try and help my poor scalp.

I started using two new products. The first is Selsun, an anti dandruff shampoo that the pharmacist in Sainsburys recommended. This comes out as a beige colour with a funny smell, but it's not awful. The second is Palmers coconut oil conditioning shampoo. This is for dry and damaged hair, even though my hair isn't damaged this shampoo really gets on with my hair. I do have to find that I can't use too much though as my hair does get greasy a little bit quicker than normal especially if I take a large handful. This smells like raw coconut oil rather than a tropical coconut scent if you know what I mean.

After using this combo for a week (so washing my hair three times) my scalp had cleared up completely and my hair was no longer itchy at all. I honestly couldn't believe it and my scalp is still so much happier and completely flake free! Before my scalp started to get really bad, I would have a bit of dandruff still but nothing noticeable (which is why i always paired my go blonder with an anti dandruff shampoo) but even that has cleared up. I paired the Palmers shampoo with Selsun twice a week, and then the third time I washed my hair I would just use the Palmers one. I did this for two weeks, and then for another two weeks I used Palmers with Selsun once, and then used Palmers on it's own twice. 

Now these four weeks are up and my scalp is feeling amazingly clear, I have started to reintroduce my go blonder shampoos once a week paired with my Palmers coconut oil shampoo. Then once a week I used Palmers alone and once a week I use Palmers with Selsun again. So far using the Go Blonder shampoos my scalp hasn't gone back to being really dry and I honestly think it was the body shop ginger shampoo that did that to my hair. I don't know why it suddenly had that effect but maybe bare that in mind if you are thinking about buying it for your dandruff because it seemed to have the opposite effect for me. 

I am really happy with my shampoo routine now, however I am looking for new shampoos when my Selsun runs out so I will maybe do another update at some point. if you have a dry itchy flaky scalp I would 100% recommend Selsun and Palmers coconut oil shampoo together to really condition your scalp and combat the flakeyness.

Have you tried any of these products? What did you think? 
Lots of love,
Eleanor x

Saturday 10 June 2017

My current go-to makeup products (June 2017)

Hey guys! Today I have another beauty post for you and I wanted to tell you my current beauty favourites in my beauty bag! Some of these products are quite new and some are old that I'm still wearing on a day to day basis. This is sort of my typical everyday makeup look (if I wear a complete full face of makeup) at the moment and the products that I reach for the most at the moment.




Foundation:
My current go to foundation is the Estee Lauder double wear foundation. I've been wearing this for nearly a year now and I still really like it, I don't know another foundation with such good lasting wear honestly. However, I am feeling a change soon so I may try out some other foundations soon.

Concealer:
Still, my all time favourite under eye concealer is my benefit erase paste.  This is something that is always in my makeup bag and that I wear every day. I love it.

Eyebrows:
The eyebrow product I am loving (and have been for ages) is my collection brow kit powder. It's so easy and fuss free and still one of my all time favourites. I am looking to try some new eyebrow products though.

Eyeshadow:
At the moment, my go-to eyeshadow palette is my MUA Burning Embers palette. I wrote a whole post on this yesterday so check out yesterday's post to find out why I love this palette so much!

Eyeliner:
My current fave eyeliner is the n07 stay perfect liquid liner. Really black and stays all day, although it can be a bit fiddly to get right, it looks amazing when it does.

Mascara:
At the moment, the mascara I am reaching for is the Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara. It adds so much length and volume to my lashes and even a bit of curl.

Bronzer:
I am loving the essence luminous matt bronzer in light. Suits my skin tone so well and blends really easily. Gives a lovely colour to my skin without being orangy or glittery in the slightest.

Contour and Highlight:
So I am loving two contouring products at the moment. The first is the contour powder in my freedom Pro blush palette, and the other is the Beauty UK cream contour palette. Which one I reach for depends on how natural looking or strong I want my contour to be, the powder is a bit less natural and more bold. I also talked about the Beauty UK palette on Monday so you can check a review of it here. If you want to see a full review of the Pro Blush Palette I have also done a full post on that and you can see that here. My favourite highlight at the moment is the highlight in the pro blush palette, such a lovely bold golden highlight.

Blush:
My favourite everyday blush at the moment is another Essence product, the mosaic blush in Miss Floral Coral. I love this it's really pigmented but easy to blend and looks amazing.

Lipstick:
The go to lipstick for me is the MUA lipstick in shade 7. This is a gorgeous summery pinky coral colour and I can't get bored of it.

That is my current makeup bag go to full face of makeup! Do you use any of these products?
Lots of love,
Eleanor x

Friday 9 June 2017

Burning Embers MUA Palette

Hey guys! Today is my fifth day of my blog a day week and I am going to be showing you this gorgeous eyeshadow palette from MUA. As soon as I saw this palette on the Superdrug website I knew I had to have it, it has some gorgeous warm colours and such a lovely mix of mattes and shimmers and even a due chrome colour. As far as I am aware, you can only get this palette online, I have never actually seen it in the Superdrug stores. It's the biggest eyeshadow palette they do and has 25 lovely colours.



I thought there were too many colours to swatch (especially as my swatches never seem to look right!) but I have done a few so you can see how pigmented and lovely these eyeshadows are.


The Colour on the furthest left is called Heat and it's a gorgeous almost foiled coppery colour. The second from the left is my favourite colour in the whole palette and it's a matte peachy pink colour called Burn. The third one, is a lovely chocolate colour that's so perfect for so many looks, called Fume. The other gorgeous reddy purply shimmery colour is Blaze. Finally, the colour at the end is actually a duo chrome colour it is a little bit hard to tell but I'm hoping you can see its a white to purple shimmery colour. I hope from my swatches you can tell how gorgeous the colours are and how pigmented they are.

I have been playing around with these eyeshadows a lot recently and I have to say I just can't get enough of the peachy colours, especially now we're into summer. I love this eye look with a lovely coral blush and a pinky nude lip and at the moment it's my go to look! This palette is £8 which is more expensive for MUA however you get a lot more colours than the normal palettes and I think it's still such a bargain for the palette and still really affordable. Especially when the eyeshadows are such good quality.

I love the packaging too, it feels so light and sleek, although perhaps a little flimsy as the lid feels very flimsy. Overall I honestly adore this eyeshadow palette and would definitely recommend.
Lots of love,
Eleanor x

Thursday 8 June 2017

My experiences on the pill

Hey guys! Today I wanted to talk about my experiences of being on the pill. If you weren't aware, I have started a new little series on my blog talking about my experiences of things and today I wanted to focus on something I had been meaning to talk about for ages, the pill.



I have had a bit of a rocky journey with the pill and I wanted to show you about some of the pills I've been on and how they affected me. But with all of these stories and other ones you see it is important to remember that everyone is different and what affects me may affect others in different ways. I also want to help those of you who are not on the pill but are thinking about coming onto it and to hopefully give you a bit more information about the pills I have been on.

The first pill I was put on is Yasmin, which is quite a popular pill and I think a lot of people have been put on this at some point. It's a combined pill, which means it has oestrogen and progesterone hormones and like all combination pills it is 99% effective. This type of pill you take for 21 days and have a 7 day pill free gap in which you have a "period" although this is not a natural period and is more of a breakthrough bleed that may last the same amount as your previous period. Unfortunately, I was only on this pill for 2 months so I can't give a full review, this was because being on it started to make me sick so I went back to the doctors to make it change.

The second pill I was put on was Microgynon 30 and I was on this pill for a few years I think. This pill also goes by the name of Rigevidon, although it is debated among takes who have been put into this as to if it is the same pill. This is also a popular combined pill. I got on well with this pill for a long time. I did not notice any difference in skin (neither cleared it or made it worse particularly) or weight or even my periods. However it did stabilise my period which was nice, it made me able to predict the exact day it was going to come and it never came early or late. For the most part, I liked being on this pill. That was until last summer when, once again, I started to be frequently sick and nauseous. Now I am not 100% sure that the sickness was from this pill, it seems strange that after a long time of being on it it only just started to show symptoms however I really did not know what else to put it down to as I was often being sick randomly and them feeling okay afterwards a few times a week.

After speaking to the doctor who thought the oestrogen in pills might be having a bad effect I was put onto Cerelle, a progesterone only pill (pop pill or mini pill). These pills are taken differently, you take 28 pills with no 7 day break. This means that gradually, often periods completely stop. However, this pill really did not agree with me and instead of making my period stop, I had a period non-stop for 4 months. That's right, a continuous period for 4 bloody months and I can tell you it was not fun! So I was back to the doctors begging them to put me back onto a combined pill and that I'd just deal with the sickness.

This time, the doctor put me on Millinette, a combined pill but with less oestrogen than the other combined pills. So far, this pill seems to be working for me! Similar to Microgynon 30 I have not noticed any adverse effects.

I hope my experiences have helped you in someway! The pill works for different people in different ways and I have never had any awful effects such as depression on any of my pills and I encourage you to keep trying with different pills until you find the one for you as they are all different! Like I said before, what worst for me may not work for you and vise versa so it is important not to get scared by any horror stories you read on the internet and see for yourself. I hope this also helped to inform you about anything too!
Lots of love,
Eleanor x

Wednesday 7 June 2017

My phones through the ages

Hey guys! So today I wanted to do a fun little post and show you my old phones that I've had throughout my life! I've not seen anyone do this before so I thought it would be quite funny! I've never actually had a phone disaster and all my phones are intact and I still have them all! Because of this I've had surprisingly few phones really considering I got my first phone over 10 years ago! I hope you enjoy.


1) My first ever phone was this red Sony Erikson! I got it when I was about 11 years old as I was nearing the end of year 6 and heading to high school! This phone was honestly rubbish. It was so slow and had basically no memory, I could have about one song and only a few pictures on it. I was very excited to get a new phone when this one came to an end. I used to use Orange and I would pay £5 a month to get free texts for a month, those were the days.

2) This LG push up pink phone was honestly one of the best phones ever! I loved it so much, I think everyone has had this phone at some point. It was a massive upgrade from my first phone and I think I got it at around the age of 13 but I'm not entirely sure. Anyway, I had fond memories of this phone and would probably by it again if they remade it and updated it a bit.

3) Ah, phone no3, the Blackberry Curve. Starting to get closer to the Smartphone era I was excited to get this phone to start using BBM at the age of 15).  Unfortunately towards the end of its life as I filled it up with pictures and music it ran extremely slowly. Although I used to love the customisable LED lights so you knew who had texted you by the light your phone flashed, I miss that on my newer phones! I do have some good memories using this phone and using BBM (i really miss that beaten up emoji face) and when I was starting to text my boyfriend. Say what you want about Blackberries but I did like the lay out of the phone.

4) My first touchscreen phone, the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini I got for my 17th birthday and I never looked back with Samsung phones. I personally just love them and how much memory they have and I loved this little phone so much. You'll notice this is the only phone I smashed, funnily I was bragging (rather drunk) and how my phone was invincible and dropped it on the floor. Turns out it wasn't invincible and did in fact smash.

5) My latest and current phone is the Samsung Galaxy S6 which I love. My phone will run out in February next year so I have a bit of time left with this phone. I've had no problems with it and it runs really smoothly!

Have you ever had any of these phones? What did you think?
Lots of love,
Eleanor x

Tuesday 6 June 2017

The mix up book tag with my sister

Hey guys! Today is day two of my one blog post a day week and today I am doing a fun book tag with my sister! I have scoured together 20 questions from lots of different book tags I have found over the internet and even added some of my own questions too. My sister Heather is just as big a fan of books as I am and so I thought it would be fun for us both to answer some book related questions. I have named this tag the "mix up" book tag and I would love it if some of you guys had a go at this tag too, let me know if any of you guys do this!




1) A Love Triangle Where The MC Ends Up With The Person You Didn’t Want Them To End Up With:

H: Wuthering Hights (kind of!)
E: The Hunger Games! I wanted Katniss to end up with Gabe and not Peeta, definitely a bit of an unpopular opinion.

2) A Popular Character You Didn’t Like:

H: Tessa from the Infernal Devices, she messed around Will and Jem!
E: I also found Tessa and Clary quite annoying, they both did annoying things.

3) What is one book to movie adaptation you are dying to see?

H: A new adaptation of Wuthering Hights, or the Infernal Devices
E: I would maybe say We Were Liars, I think that would be really good as a movie, or maybe the Chaos Walking trilogy

4) Do you get sick while reading in the car?

H: Definitely! I get sick being in the car without reading.
E: The car yes, train no

5) What is your favourite classic book?

H: Wuthering Hights (Can you see a pattern here?) Or maybe Dracula
E: I have talked about these before but Catcher in the Rye or the Colour Purple

6) Do you prefer love triangles or forbidden loves?

H: Forbidden loves
E: Neither really but if I had to choose love triangles

7) Who is your all time favourite author?

H: Don't really have one at the moment, used to be Cassandra Clare but I'm not sure anymore.
E: Probably JK Rowling, or at the moment I am loving Patrick Ness.

8) The worst book you have ever read?

H: I hated Great Expectations! I know this is an unpopular opinion.
E: Recently I read Sphinx and The Map by T.S Learner which I thought were rubbish.

9) What is your favourite genre of book?

H: At the moment, dystopian novels
E: I actually don't have a favourite, I love all genres and love to try different books from all the genres

10) Do you prefer full on romance books or action-packed with a few love scenes mixed in?

H: Probably action packed with a few love scenes
E: Same, I hate full on romantic books!

11) Which book is your guilty pleasure?

H: The Princess Diaries
E: Probably also the Princess Diaries, we love these books!

12) Which book have you read the most?

H: City of Glass, I love the introduction of Sebastian!
E: The Harry Potter series! I've read them so much and I just never get bored

13) Which book made you cry the most?

H: I have never cried at a book! Probably a bit teary eyes at Wuthering Hights
E: I sobbed my heart out at the Divergent trilogy and The Fault In Our Stars, oh and A Monster Calls.

14) Which book made you laugh the most?

H: I found Johnathan Strange and Mr Norell funny actually
E: I love the Georgia Nicholson books! They never fail to make me laugh! I also really enjoyed the Rosie Project and the Rosie Effect, they were both really funny.

15) Describe your perfect reading spot?

H: In my bed!
E: Also in my bed, anywhere warm and comfy

16) What is your favourite reading snack?

H: Biscuits! Especially chocolate digestives
E: Hot drinks, hot chocolates and teas and coffees, or just some chocolate

17) What are three main character pet peeves?

H: Someone who plays around their love interests, when the main character is overly "edgy" and when the main character is American!
E: When main characters drop everything for their love interest/ do stupid things for their love interest, when they're too rash and don't think actions through, and the main character has no sense of humour.

18) What is a book you’ve been meaning to get round to reading for ages?

H: To try and actually finish Pride and Prejudice
E: Johnathan Strange and Mr Norell, Heather keeps bugging me to read it, also the Saxon Series I've been meaning to read.

19) Can you read multiple books or just one at a time?

H: One at a time! Otherwise, I get confused
E: Also one at a time, I like to finish a book before I start a new one

20) What is one book you would recommend to everyone? 

H: High Rise, try and give it a good go
E: I would say Catcher in the Rye or the Handmaids Tale, both are really important books.

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this book tag! Remember to have a go and do it yourself.
Lots of love,
Eleanor and Heather x

Monday 5 June 2017

Beauty UK product review

Hey guys! I hope you are well! So I've just broken up for my summer holidays and I couldn't be happier. To celebrate, I am doing one blog post every single day this week with a mix of beauty books and lifestyle posts and I am starting with a review of some Beauty UK products. I was very lucky to receive some products a few weeks ago but I've just been so busy that I have not had time to write a post on them so I am excited to finally be getting around to writing one!





Ultimate Contour Palette:
I have never owned a cream contour palette until this was sent to me! I usually go for powder, however, this has changed my mind. It comes with three shades, a highlight bronze and contour shades, all three are so natural looking and I especially love the lightest shade for popping under my eyes on a day to day basis as it makes them so much lighter! I do have to say that the colours do not come off well on my brush so I have to apply them with my fingers and then buff them in. The bronzer and contour shades are so blendable and they look very natural on the skin. This is currently my go-to contour palette.

Eyeshadow palette in no.1 Natural beauty:
This is a nice travel sized palette with lots of every day useful colours. It's a good mix of matte and shimmery colours. However, I will say that there is a lot of kick up with these shadows they really create a lot of fall out and are quite powdery. They're not the most pigmented but it definitely isn't bad and I really like this for and every day look. But it would have maybe been nice to have a matte black in the palette as the darkest colour is a dark grey rather than a black but other than that I do like this palette.

Lips Matter velvet matte lip cream in Nudge Nudge Pink Pink:
I love the formula of this liquid lipstick so much! It's so lovely and light on the lips and does not transfer or feel dry at all. Honestly one of the most comfortable liquid lipsticks I have ever tried and it stays on my lips for a long time. This colour is a lovely bright neon pink but for me, it's just not an everyday colour and so I don't get much use out of it! I would love to try some other colours though because the formula is amazing. This is how the colour looks on my lips:



Nail polish in blue crush:
I am obsessed with this nail polish I think out of all the products sent to me this is my favourite one! Nail polishes chip on my within a day sometimes but this one stayed chip free for such a long time! I couldn't believe it because that never happens! I love the colour so much such a lovely summery blue and I was just so impressed with this polish.

I hope you enjoyed this post! Have you tried any of these? What did you think?
Remember to follow me on Twitter (@ellie_smithxo) or on Instagram (littlethoughtsfromlittlepeople) to see when I post this week as the times will be a little different for each day!
Lots of love,
Eleanor x