How to Help your Skin Survive the Winter Weather

Hey Guys,
So here in England the weather has got really bad and it's now super wet and cold outside and the harsh winter weather can really damage and dry out your skin so I thought that today I would share with you my favourite products to use to help rehydrate and protect your skin.

The first thing I want to talk about is a hand cream, now I feel like your hands often get forgot about in the winter time but it is really important to use hand cream to keep your hands soft and hydrated; I like to use The Body Shop Hand & Nail Cream. 
Next I want to talk about you lips as in winter mine get really dry and chipped so what I do is exfoliate them; so after I've brushed my teeth I get my toothbrush and gently exfoliate my lips by moving it around in circular motions. This gets rid of the dead skin cells and also increases the blood flow to your lips which makes them look more red which is an added bonus! After you have exfoliated them it's a good idea to apply lip balm to rehydrate your lips and keep them feeling nice and smooth. I use the Baby Lips Dr. Rescue Lip Balm and I find this works quickly and lasts a long time as well so I don't have to apply it too many time throughout the day; but one thing I do do is put on a little bit of lip balm before I go out side because this helps protect your lips from the winter weather. 
Next I want to share with you a few body products that I use to moisturise my body all throughout the year really but especially in winter. The first I'm sure I've mentioned before and that's the Nivea Body Moisturiser, this is quite a thin consistency but is really hydrating and I tend to use this one after I've come out is the shower or bath. The second one I use if I haven't just got out of the bath or shower but am moisturising my legs in particular and that's the Hollister Crescent Bay Body Lotion, this is much thicker than the Nivea one and also smells really nice. And the final body moisturiser I want to talk about is the Body Shop Body Butter and I really like this one for when my legs and arms are feeling particularly dry as I think out of the three this one is the most moisturising and I really like the Body Shop Vineyard Peach scent as well which is the scent of the body butter I'm currently using.
The final products I want to talk about are a couple of face products that I'm absolutely certain you'll have seen me write about before but that is just because I really do love them and it's the Benefit Triple Performing Facial Emulsion and the Superdrug Vitamin E Moisture Mask. They both really help to hydrate your skin quickly and you don't need a lot of either which is also really good because it means they last longer! I use the Benefit moisturiser in the morning when I wake up and at night before I go to bed in the minter because my skin gets really dry and the face mask I use 3-4 times a week in the evening when I've got a bit more time to let it soak into my skin.

So that's everything I wanted to let you know about today let me know what your winter skincare essential is in the comments and I'll see you on Monday,
Charlotte x 

My Instagram Stories #2

Hey guys,

so I thought that today I would do the second post in a series called My Instagram Stories, if you didn't see the first one then you can click here to see it but if you did then we can just get straight into todays post so here we go,

The first photo I want to show you is of me and two if my best friends Clari and Pippa before we went out to a party in October half term.

This photo was taken at Alton Towers when me and my friends went there on Halloween for Scarefest as Megan's birthday party. It was really good and I would definitely recommend going this year. 

This was a photo I took of my sparkler on Bonfire night at a family friends house. We all had a meal together and then set off fireworks and had sparklers in their back garden.

In the Christmas holidays I went to Manchester with my family and we went and looked around the Christmas markets; there were all sorts of different stalls selling all sorts from fudge to decorations to bratwurst. It was such a good day and the market were spread out all over the city that lead from one to another.

 I spent New Years Eve with three of my best friends, Pippa, Clari and Becky; we all went out for a meal and there was a disco there as well. It was so fun spending new years with my friends we had party poppers and party horns as well and we all had a really good night together.

 The final photo I want to share with you today is this one of me and my best friends in the photo booth in Topshop on my birthday. It was my birthday last Tuesday and my school didn't start back until Wednesday so we all went to Meadowhall and saw Daddy's Home at VUE which is really funny by the way and I definitely recommend it. We also went for a meal at Handmade Burger Co. afterwards which is my favourite restaurant even though I don't actually like beef burgers, I really like the classic chicken burger which I think I've had every time I've been for a meal there!

I hope that you liked todays post, I'll see you on Saturday,

Charlotte x

My Blogging Essentials

 
Hey guys,
So today I thought that I'd share with you my blogging essentials. I'm not going to ramble on today so let's just get right into it.

The first things that are a definite must for me is my laptop and iPad; I use them both to write, edit and publish my blog posts. Most of the time I write them on my iPad in nite and then copy them onto here. Then I add in pictures and finish editing it on my laptop before I publish the post. 
Speaking of photos I need to take them before I can put them in a post! I mostly take the photos for my blog on my camera which is the Nikon 1 J2 which is a really good camera and it's also small and compact which makes it easy to transport and I take a load of photos on it so I use a 16GB SanDisk Ultra SDHC card to store them on and then I have a spare so that I can use that when this one is full.
If I'm not using my camera or don't have it on me then I use my phone to take pictures. I have the iPhone 5S which has a good camera on it and if I've taken a photo on my phone then I often use VSCO Cam which is an editing app that I use to edit all of my photos on my Instagram as well as some on my blog so if you don't have a camera but want to make your photos look better then definitely try this app out; it's so quick and easy to use and really makes a difference to the way your photos look.
My next essential is something I use before any of the previous ones and that's a notebook and  a pen. I use it to jot down any thoughts or ideas that come into my head to do with my blog. I like to have a separate notebook just for my blog so that it's away from any other things I jot down. I really like using a notebook and physically writing my ideas down on pen and paper rather than just typing on my phone or iPad but I do still use them to make notes if I don't have my notebook on me.

That's all of my blogging essentials, I hope this helped you if your interested in starting a blog or have one already, see you on Monday,
Charlotte x

How to fit Exercise into your Everyday Life

Hello everybody,
I know that a lot of you probably have made some sort of resolution to do with exercising more or living a healthier lifestyle; but finding time to exercise can be hard when you have a lot on. So I thought that today I would share with you some of the things I do to help me fit in time for exercise and also how I motivate myself to exercise.

So lets start with that, motivation; I always feel more motivated to workout when I have cute clothes to workout in. So every once in a while treat yourself to a new piece of workout clothing and it doesn't need to be really expensive you can find cute workout clothes at places like PRIMARK and H&M for not a lot at all.
Watching shows can also be a good motivation and incentive to workout because why not workout while watching a show you were going to watch anyway?! You can plan your workouts and trips to the gym around when the show airs live. Also if you don't have a gym membership you could just look up a workout online (Pintrest always has good ones or Blogilates.com) then find some space in your room or anywhere in your house and put on a show or just some music and do the workout. If you need more motivation during your workout then you should try working out to a video online you can look up whatever type of workout you want to do on YouTube if you're not sure then try going on Cassey Ho's YouTube Channel, Blogilates; there are a load of really good videos on their and they're all super motivating as well.
One of the things I like to do when I go to the gym is find a show or film that looks good and then next time I'm at the gym I put it on this helps me distract from the fact that I'm in a gym exercising and am concentrating on whatever I'm watching. If you still get bored then try and find a show with ad breaks then every time it gets to an ad break change which machine you're on.
When I've got an important test or exam coming up I always get super stressed out about revising but something I've found that helps me is actually going to the gym or if I can't get to go to the gym doing a workout at home. I also sometimes find it easier to revise at the gym than at home; obviously it doesn't really work if you need to make notes but you can listen to podcasts or look at flashcards on your phone. If you take a language and you have a speaking test then you can also record yourself saying the things you need to learn and then listen to it while you workout at the gym.
I also often write blogposts and come up with ideas for them while I'm at the gym if I'm on the exercise bikes or even on the treadmill if I'm walking.

I hope this post has helped you and I hope that all of your New Years Resolutions are going well so far see you on Saturday,
Charlotte x

How to Start off 2016 on the Right Foot

Hello everybody and happy new year!
I can't believe that we're in 2016 already! I thought that as my first post of this year I would write about some things that you should try to do to help you to get off to a good start this year.

So the first thing is actually something that was one of my resolutions last year which I actually kept  which was to stay hydrated and drink more but not just anything but water and try to cut out fizzy drinks I'm not saying don't ever drink them but just try and drink them less and opt for something else. Drinking more water and staying hydrated also will help you to stop feeling as hungry and snacking in between meals. But if you are feeling really hungry between meals then try to snack on something healthy like carrot sticks or an apple instead of reaching straight for a chocolate bar.
As well as eating well and making your insides feel good you need to make your outsides feel good too so treat yourself to a spa night once in a while; run a bath a pop in a bath bomb or bubble bath, find a film or a show you want to watch and sit your laptop on something in the bathroom, put on a face mask and then get in the bath and have a nice relaxing evening. 

Another thing you can do is make your room, apartment or house feel more cosy and welcoming so things like candles and plants can really help a place feel more relaxing and homely and don't worry if you always kill plants get cacti or succulents because they're really easy to look after and they are also really tumblr so you could take some really cute pictures of them. 
Also display pictures of things you love, you and your friends together or little inspirational quote you like; another one of my resolutions this year is to take more photographs although it doesn't really go with my resolution to not use my phone as much I think it's important to have things to look at to remind you of fun things you did and saw but just try to not constantly try and take a perfect picture because you don't have to share every single thing your doing with people online you can just take silly and embarrassing photos with your friends and keep them between you and them. 

I hope that this post helped you and let me know what your resolutions for this year are, see you on Monday,
Charlotte x