Tuesday 10 September 2013

They Say Money Can't Buy You Happiness... They Lie.

OK so here I am admitting it.
I, Lisa-Nicole Stevens, have a major spending problem.
*Warning, this blog contains my thought process...and yes I do swear in my thoughts. Whoopsie
 

So it's that time of year where we all go up a year in whatever education we are in, or go out alone into a permanent job. And real life just comes along and kicks you up the arse. Hard.
For me, its realising if I have any - and I mean any - money in my account I will go around chucking it about like it's monopoly money, not giving a shit until my card is declined, and then think fuuuuuuccckkk. What do I do now? That daunting feeling just hits you, and you go home lay on your bed with all your new pretty clothes and beauty products around you, kidding yourself thinking its ok I have new, "arse looks good" jeans and glittery eye liner. Until the next time you walk through the high street and think "oh my gosh I just have to have the flowery hair band, I'm like, never going to wear". And no matter how many new clothes you buy you will always have those "I have nothing to wear days" even though clothes are bursting out of every piece of storage you bloody well own*. *(My life hash tag moment right there).

Of course I'm not the only female that goes through this. Thank you God. I have no idea when I developed this habit. Hmmm.. Actually I do... when I was younger I had a "build a bear" cat called Muffy that just had to have the new ice skater outfit and the new teddy bear converses. Sad.. I know. (**Just a disclaimer, I paid with my own money from birthdays and things and used to get told off as i had so much teddy bear stuff. I was not spoilt :P.**) And this "have to have" attitude has pretty much carried on through my teens and into becoming a young woman who thinks eat and pay rent... or have those amazing red high heels. No awards for guessing which choice I'll pick. And yes I have a million clothes I don't wear on a regular basis, nail varnishes I barely use, and shoes that are just too bloody pretty to wear to either Kasbah or Hush. (Both night clubs in Coventry). But you know what, when I was having a bad day, buying those ridiculously high sparkly heels made everything better. And it meant I didn't have to work my butt off in the gym for a lot longer than I usually do because I'd stuffed a whole bar of Cadbury's Creations down my throat.

BUT..
The time has come for me to finally reign in my spendings *cue retailer screams*. 
I have over £3000 pound rent to pay and I need to actually keep myself alive. You know like, eat and stuff. Heard that's pretty important...
Why don't you get a job I hear you say.. Well I would already have one if they weren't such a nightmare to get hold of. I've been applying all summer and once I finish this blog I shall be applying for even more. 
Until I finally get one though, there's no more splurging for me :(. 
I am now going to go cry into my pillow whilst begging for someone to hire me. I can hear you all wish for my life right now :P.
And when I have a bad day... Well I guess it's the gym for me. Least I'll thighs of steel I suppose. 

Oh, and for anyone in my position as you read this, this saying always helps me - 

Some people are so poor, all they have, is money.

xxx






Monday 9 September 2013

People never understand "Leave Me Alone"

**For those of you who don't like ranting blogs I would turn away now as this one could get a little ugly.**

It's not really like me to blast my anger all over the internet (or maybe it is) but there seems to be a phrase that no one in the world who speaks english seems to understand. "Leave Me Alone".
Everyone has their bad days. And I swear most people/girls when they are having one want to curl up with their favourite comfort food and be left the hell alone. So why, when you are the one who wants the space, can they not give you the same respect?
You may say it's because "they didn't realise", but all the warning signs are there. The irritated high volumed voice, short responses, the face that clearly means "don't fuck with me today or I'll punch you in the face".
So when you see that face, don't go up to the person with that stupid happy smile and say "who died" because you know what dumbass...someone may have died in their family. And you will get punched in your face. And you'll only have yourself to blame.
Another thing to not do is try to explain to the person why they are feeling the way they are. Why the hell would they need you to say that to them? I think that possibly...they may already know. And you're just going to piss them off even more, and higher your chances of getting kicked in the throat.

So why? Why do people do this. It literally baffles me.

Obviously I'm not saying this applies to everyone, but if I'm having a bad day I don't want jokes, hugs, explanations, sympathy - none of that. I want to cry into my pillow with a big bar of chocolate, pray and be left the hell alone. And maybe punch my wall, which I instantly regret afterwards and can't move my hand for the rest of the day. Then a couple of days later when I've gotten over everything (and my hand has recovered), THEN you can approach me to provoke a bitching sesh that will probably make us laugh till our sides hurt. But until then, leave me alone.

Hmm.. Maybe I need an "approach at own risk t-shirt"..
Or just to write fuck off on my forehead.
Sure that will go down a treat. 


P.S I make myself laugh :)

Tuesday 3 September 2013

August Favourites

Bonjour tout le monde!
Just a little apology before I start this blog because I have not been posting as recently as I would like to. Birmingham, London, Poland and Paris have been my main locations of the summer and I just haven't had the time to blog. However, in approximately two weeks I will be moving into my first house back in Coventry with the girls **majorly exciting times** and will be posting more regularly. Think I will set a couple of days each week where I will be sure to blog :).

So, without further ramblings, here are my Monthly Favourites for August. Since I've been traveling a lot over summer, quite a few of these products are travel based. Enjoy :).

1) Escada Taj Sunset - 

I purchased this fragrance way back in Easter at the airport coming back from Magaluf, and I have to say it has been the best summer fragrance. It has a really sweet, gorgeous smell and just gets you ready to enjoy a day of sun. Unfortunately, I think this fragrance is a "travel exclusive" so you can only pick it up at airports, but I do recommend making a purchase of it if you are going away any time soon, as it just smells amazing. 

2) Vitamin C, Energising Face Spritz 

If you travel a lot in Summer whether its exploring different countries or making long journeys on public transport, this is a very handy product to keep in your hand bag. Smelling sweetly of oranges, its an instant, refreshing pick me up for when your just getting that little bit too hot. The vitamin C advantage comes from Amazonian Camu-Camu and Community Trade Aloe Vera, and leaves your skin feeling really soft. The spritz also helps to set make-up which is a great added plus for any girl on the go. This product can be purchased from The Body Shop. 


3) Absinthe Purifying Hand Cream 

Another purchase from the Body Shop and another great product for on the go. The thing that made me fall in love with this product was the smell. I just love it. It is so fresh and clean. It leaves your hand smelling and feeling great. The product is for all skin types and just makes your hands feel so so fresh, which is just great for traveling, especially when you've been on the underground or metro. 

4) Soap and Glory's "Clean, Girls Skin Softening Creamy Body Wash"

I bought this in travel size for my recent trip to Paris (a blog will be going up very soon) and I just have to find out if there is a big size because this body wash is incredible. It leaves your skin so soft and it leaves you smelling great for the whole day. The bottle claims the body wash to have a built-in moisturizing matrix, and the amazing smell is a mixture of natural vanilla fruit and orchid extracts. This product quickly became one of my all time favourite body washes. 

 

5) Rimmel London's Lasting Finish Lip Pencils "1000 kisses" 

I was given one of these in the colour 004 Indian Pink  by my gorgeous best friend Kathy for my Birthday, and it is amazing. the colour comes out a lot more red than the name suggests and is incredibly pigmented, with very easy application. I wore it out the other night underneath my "Apocalips" in the colour Big Bang (major love for this product too) and it lasted all night. Very very impressed with this product. Its also a pencil rather than a twist up product so you get a lot more for the price you pay. 

6) Natural Collection Eye Lines in White


With traveling you can get extremely tired, so recently I have been applying white eyeliner to the inside corner of my eyes to create that big eyes, wide awake look - a trick I learnt off my YouTube beauty gurus - and it really does work. I have had several compliments and would really recommend this to anyone suffering long nights and early mornings. 

7) Revlon, Colour Burst, Lip Butters 


I just love these beauty products. They come in great colours and great for keeping your lips smooth. They are really pigmented and are an exact cross between a lip stick and a lip balm. 
 Lip stick can sometimes leave lips really dry so these are a great substitute. I have them in the colours - 015 Tutti Frutti, 025 Peach Parfait and 075 Lollipop (which my sister has seem to have stolen) and I love them all. 015 and 075 are great for nights out, and 025 is a nice natural pink for daily wear.

8) Maybelline Baby Lips 


Another lip balm product quite similar to the last. These are also great. They come in colours or just a normal lip balm. Smell good, taste good and are great for on the go. I used one in the colour "Pink Punch" (on the left) all the time I was in Paris and I loved the product.






 9) Olive Oil Leave In Conditioner


I have been using this for a couple of months now and am really starting to notice a difference in my hair. In summer there is a whole lot of extra heat added to your hair, and if you also straighten your hair you really have to take extra precautions to ensure your hair stays healthy. Now during summer I actually stopped straightening my hair as much, left it to my natural curls, and used this product every time I washed it. "This conditioner helps to preserve moisture balance and protect against daily styling. Perfect for daily use to promote healthy, silky hair". I would completely agree with this statement, my hair feels silky smooth and has a natural shine (even though I coloured my hair recently). It has also grown which I am so happy about. A great product to help return health to damaged hair and it smells good too.

10) L'Oreal Paris Recital Preference Hair Dye (with high shine elixir)

Being a student, you don't always have the money to go and get your hair dyed in a salon, so for a do it at home job, this is a great product. I was in major need of a re-dye when I came back from Paris and this did the job so well. It covered the whole of my hair without making the roots go a complete different colour - (a major problem with other at-home dyes). The high shine elixir that you add to the dye helps keep your hair smooth and shiny rather than having that dry feeling you usually get after a dye on the cheap. The colour is really rich and not patchy. A great, cheap product at around £7.

And last but not least...

11) My Kindle :)

I received a Kindle from my mum for my birthday and it has barely left my sight since. With all the traveling it has just been awesome. Journeys go so much quicker when you're into a really good book, and for a theatre student its a really quick way of purchasing and reading plays. Also with recently re-decorating my room I realized how much room all my books take up and even though I will always love my paperbacks, kindles are a lot more convenient. I also get through books a lot quicker, which will help when I am actually meant to be reading my academic books for research and essays. 

Books I would recommend reading if you liked "The Hunger Games" as much as me: 
- Divergent 
- Matched
And 
- Shattered Promises 


So that's all my favourites for this month, hope you liked it and I will be blogging again soon. 

xxx