It's finally summer, time for those summer tunes!! We've had some pretty great releases in June so far, from both albums to singles so I had to share with you what I'm listening to going into the summer.

Rescue Me - OneRepublic

I have really loved the new song from OneRepublic, Rescue Me, this month, so much that I may have overplayed it a little bit! I always love their music and have a feeling they may have an album out soon - which I am excited for, especially as this one is so good


Bad Habits - Danny Jones

Danny (aka my fave from McFly) has released a new song every Friday this month, so far we have three out of the four and Bad Habits is definitely my favourite! Absolutely love the guitar riffs in it and I can tell it will be a good one live... of which I will update on when I see him in September! I've been waiting for Danny's solo stuff for ages, since I knew McFly certainly aren't in a hurry to return, and it has definitely been worth the wait.


Brazil - Declan McKenna

This isn't a particularly new release or anything, but it's on my playlist right now because for me those opening chords feel really summery. It's really feel good which is why I think I associate it with summer so much.

If I Can't Have You - Shawn Mendes

This one actually really surprised me, when I listened to it I remembered why I loved Shawn Mendes' music, which I haven't listened to in ages! It really feels like a classic song of his, so catchy and fun.



Happiness Begins - Jonas Brothers

I think I mentioned Sucker in my last playlist post, so now their album, Happiness Begins is out I of course have been enjoying a listen. I was a huge fan of Jonas Brothers back in the day so I really love that this album still totally feels like them but obviously grown up. Only Human is currently my favourite on it! I also really recommend their Amazon Prime documentary, it even made me cry - I seriously don't know how but it got so emosh!


Doom Days - Bastille

The other album I am loving right now maybe fits in a bit more with my current music taste... I've been obsessed with every Bastille release so far and I am loving getting to know this one. So far The Waves is my favourite, it feels so well put together, but I still need to give them all a really good listen, there's certainly some real stand out tracks on it!

I'm still listening to a whole bunch of Ellie Goulding and Taylor Swift - I'm in two minds about You Need To Calm Down at the moment but I think it's growing on me! You can follow my current faves playlist (and all my others) right here:


Little update: I finally finished my A Levels last week which I am so relieved about! I had a little break to wind down from everything but now I am really excited to put everything into my blog over the summer. I may touch on this in another post but I have lots of post ideas about topics that really interest me so I hope you enjoy reading them over the upcoming months.

Fun fact: I am a huge fan of Colourpop Cosmetics, they are one of my favourite brands right now. They really stand out from the crowd with their innovative products that are at an unbelieveably affordable price point. Unlike a lot of the beauty industry right now, they always seem to be doing something everyone else isn't... including collaborations with Disney, of all people!

Their Disney Princess range included a bunch of exciting products including princess inspired lipsticks and supershock shadows, but I was certainly most excited about the 'It's A Princess Thing' palette, since I had never tried a Colourpop pressed shadow palette and I mean, it is pretty stunning if you ask me!


Firstly, we need to talk packaging. Something I love about the palette is how lightweight and travel friendly it is with its sleek design, to be honest something you don't tend to see nowadays! The front is beautiful with the princesses embossed, while inside the fifteen shades are a great size. It's gold surrounding does make photographing the palette without my weird shadow a pain though! I guess some people may say it could have done with a mirror in there but since I don't use palette-mirrors anyway I am not fussed.



So, onto the shades themselves, we are greated with fifteen which is a fab selection, mostly warm tones meaning they work really well together. I love the Disney related names each shade has, from 'Fairy Godmother' to 'magic carpet', it really adds something special to the shades.

Out of the fifteen, there is only four mattes and they are pretty light in tone, only one, Abu, is deeper, as a rich brown. This is, for me, the biggest downside of the palette. Something I really want out of a palette is the ability to create a variety of looks just without reaching for other palettes, and a lack of mattes always minimises the ability of this.


Saying that, I don't think I could possibly sacrifice any of the shimmers for another matte because they are HEAVENLY, I tell you! Colourpop do shimmers incredibly well, compared to other brands which simply aren't pigmented enough. The range of the shimmers in the palette is insane, brights like 'Poison Apple', a gorgeous rosey 'Enchanted Rose', and the best gold I have ever used, 'One Kiss?'. I have tried a lot of gold shimmers but this one is easily my favourite and the only one I will reach for now!

Perhaps I can't make lots of looks just with this palette, but the shimmers have to be some of the best, if not the best I have ever used. I can tell I will be reaching for the palette for those alone, for a pop of sparkle to brighten up a look, if nothing else! Hence, using the bright shimmers paired with other shadows could make a fabulous evening look, but the lighter mattes also make it great for everyday.


The crazy thing is this palette, all these gorgeous shades, is only $22! I am not sure exactly how much this is in pounds, but what I know for certain is it's only a fraction of my other favourite palettes, the Urban Decays and the Too Faceds, and easily as good quality. My downside of course with Colourpop is that it isnt stocked in any UK stores, I cry, and delivery is from the US but now that the tax is included in shipping for us lot it's miles easier, and there is often no minimum spend shipping for international deliveries, which you should jump at the chance of if you spot one!

I feel like this month we have been truly innundated with some fabulous new music releases. I have been really excited by what I have been listening to lately, some new stuff, some old favourites and some discoveries of mine. Throughout GCSEs I used to listen to music while revising but I have found this doesn't suit me at all anymore, instead my favourite thing to do is stick my headphones in during my revision breaks, so my playlists become a welcome treat. Here is everything I am playing right now:

ME! - Taylor Swift

I was totally that person counting the days until '4.26', Taylor's new release date and I am not at all ashamed, I was so excited! ME! is so different to the Reputation era, with its pastel colours and seriously uplifting message. I was not disappointed at all and absolutely love it (my one criticism is the 'spelling is fun' line but I'll let that slide), and can't wait to see what else she comes out with.


Sixteen - Ellie Goulding

My two favourite female artists are Taylor Swift and Ellie Goulding, no questions about it, so the fact they both released new music this month I feel so treated by. Before Christmas she released Close To Me, which just wasn't really for me, then Flux which a beautiful ballad, and now my favourite of them all, Sixteen. It's going to be one for the summer this one, it's so fun and catchy.

Narcissist - No Rome ft The 1975

I didn't listen to this for ages until I thought well, The 1975 are in it so it's bound to be alright and it really is. It's so chill and even thought I still listen to The 1975's latest album all the time, especially the likes of Sincerity Is Scary, this one makes a nice change.

 
Times Won't Change Me - Circa Waves

I have really enjoyed Circa Waves latest release, What's It Like Over There?, in particular the first single from it, Times Won't Change Me. I became obsessed from the piano intro that features throughout the track, it's so fab and definitely their best release since T-Shirt Weather which feels like ages ago.

Sucker - Jonas Brothers

So I loved the Jonas Brothers when I was about eight. I obsessed over Joe Jonas' hideous hair in Camp Rock and loved the old classics like Burnin Up and SOS. I might not be making dance routines for their songs anymore, but I was excited to see what they'd come out with when they reunited and I actually really like it. It's really fun and feels like their old music but in a refreshed way.


Longshot - Catfish and the Bottlemen

Catfish's new album The Balance came out recently and although I have seen a few tweets saying all their albums are identical, in some ways I think if it's not broken, why fix it? I am yet to properly listen to the entire album, as I am writing this it only came out yesterday, but I am listening to it right now and loving it. Their single Longshot sold it to me that this album was going to be a good one, and it definitely is.

Other music I have been listening to lately include Coldplay and The 1975, because simply when I am I not, The Academic's Tales From The Backseat album, an album where every song is fabulous and unskippable, and the Les Mis soundtrack, because since I booked to see the All Star Concert edition in October I have become obsessed once again.

It will come as a shock to many that over the past couple of months, I have fallen back in love with Instagram. Maybe that's a bit of an overexaggeration - I have fallen back in like with Instagram is much better. I have been less active on the blog lately spending my time revising instead (A Levels sadly loom), but I didn't want to abandon all of my socials over this time. Since Twittter seems to be a downward spiral for me, losing followers rather than gaining them these days, I decided to turn to an old frenemy, Instagram.

Instagram never really seemed to work for me, until I realised that I just wasn't doing it right. I've changed up my posting techniques over the past few weeks and although my figures aren't gastronomical, I am actually enjoying posting on there now which is the main thing!! But what did I do?


SWITCHED TO A BUSINESS ACCOUNT

The day I decided to start trying harder with my Instagram, I looked at all my favourite accounts and realised they all had one thing in common. Business account. This was such a simple fix - you don't actually need a Facebook page anymore, hallelujah - and has seriously upped my game because I love looking at all the stats. It helped to show my what I needed to work on, and also how well I was doing which keeps me motivated to keep going. My life's greatest mystery is why I didn't switch it earlier.

BECAME HAPPY WITH MY NICHE

Flatlays are kinda my thing, for right now anyway. My favourite feeds to follow are either much more chill, life ones or the gorgeous fashion photography ones, but eventually I decided I need to stop forcing myself to be something I am not. I prefer being behind the camera, and so I decided to do this to the best of my ability. I got a lovely comment the other day about my flatlays and it made me realise that being happy with your niche and what you post is the most important way to enjoy using Instagram. If you feel happier, you'll be more likely to take more photos, and then...


POSTED MORE CONSISTENTLY

A few months ago, you'd be lucky if you got an Instagram photo every one or two weeks. Consistency? Never heard of her, until now. I had no idea how much of a difference posting often would make, and so ignored my fatal flaw. Posting at least every other day is my goal right now because engagament is so much higher. However, I realised there's a second step to this...

POSTED AT THE BEST TIME

Timing is key. Over the past few weeks I have done many experiements with what the best time to post is, and do you know when my posts do best? When they are posted early on, either between 7-9am on a weekday, and between 8-10am at the weekend. And they do awful if you post them at midday. It's definitely something to bear in mind, I have been popping notifications on my Instagram planning app UNUM to remind me to post so early, and when I do it really pays off.

USED THE RIGHT HASHTAGS

On my most successful posts, most of my reach comes from hashtags, often double or triple the amount from 'home'. But sure, I've been using hashtags since I started Instagram, popping thirty odd in a comment, so what's changed? The hardest thing about using hashtags, is finding the right ones. The most successful way of doing this, in my opinion, is finding a blogger with a similar niche to yours and clicking on one of their hashtags. Make a note of it. When you click on a hashtag, for example my favourite, #bloggershare, a bunch of related ones come up too. Make a note of some of those that best fit your niche, then click on another one. Keep changing them up and experimenting and see if it makes a difference!


TURNED MY FAVES ON NOTIFICATION

Maybe not to do with my own engagement, but something that turned me off Instagram big time is how so often you miss your favourite accounts' posts. So I simply popped all my favourite accounts on notification, so I never miss a single one, and can like and comment right away. This could help your engagement as you may discover more fab accounts from their comments, but generally I just advise it because I finally don't miss as many posts anymore!

COMMENTED MORE OFTEN... SOMETIMES??

This is the biggie that I am still working on. But commenting is a huge deal. And often, when you comment on someone's Instagram post, they go over and comment right back on yours (I know I like to). On days when I comment a bunch (and I mean make meaningful comments not just emojis, please!!), my own account is noticed more as a result. And you're sharing the love too - it's a win win!

WHAT AM I STILL WORKING ON?

My engagement isn't sky high, by no means, but I think by carrying on my techniques and finding new ones (which I am sure to report back on), it will carry on increasing, which is the main thing. A few months ago my follower count was decreasing per month, however I am now gaining a substantial amount each month which is much more fun.
I'm still working on liking Instagram stories. I love, love watching them, but can't get to grips with them properly myself - probably because I spend my life revising and it's not particularly interesting. Perhaps one to work on in the summer?


Of course, Instagram, like any social media, isn't all about the engagement and the numbers. However I think it's fair to say when you're constantly losing followers, it's going to be less enjoyable because your effort isn't paying off. I am enjoying Instagram a lot more, and by using for my own account more, I have discovered more amazing posts and gain a lot of inspiration to it, saving all my favourite outfits, rooms and flatlays to my saved posts almost like a mini Pinterest.

PIN THIS POST:

Today has been sunnier than usual, the temperature has increased a few degrees and spring finally feels officially upon us. I couldn't hesistate to share with you a few of my favourite fashion trends and items right now that are essentials this seasons.

Firstly, the midi skirt trend is something I am currently obsessed with. I can't walk past a shop window right now without spotting a midi skirt, and wishing I owned it. The lovely Luxe Kate is one of my inspirations when it comes to midi skirts, she styles them so fantastically! I love how these skirts come in a range of styles and colours, there really is something to suit everyone. One of my favourite places to explore midi skirts is New Look, their selection is really fabulous but everyone's really jumping on the bandwagon right now so you can pretty much find one anywhere!

Florals for spring? Groundbreaking! Seriously though, florals are an absolute essential in the spring time, and I love how versatile they can be. I picked up a couple of floral pieces last year but I'm currently loving a slightly different take on it, courtesy of my ditsy floral print t-shirt from Monki. I'm totally obsessed with the gold-mustard colour of it (although my filter likes to make it look really orange) which I think is a real spring/summer favourite. I'm also loving florals in the style of tea-dresses, they are such a cute spring item.


All over the fashion weeks, neutrals was a key trend and I'm totally obsessed. I originally thought I could not pull it off as I reckon beige would wash me out, but taking inspiration from Alix of I Covet Thee's very neutral wardrobe, I've found out how versatile it can be because beige pieces match with absolutely everything, making it a wonderful trend to get into, because it can't really go out of style!

A final trend I'm currently loving is the different ways to wear denim, in particular different styles of jeans. I've been skinny jeans number one fan for years, until last year when I bought a pair of Mom jeans and wondered why I hadn't tried them sooner. Recently I have been inspired by Topshop's new Editor jeans, which are a gorgeous straight leg, kinda cropped fit in a variety of different washes. I am also a huge fan of Miss Selfridge jeans so a pair of their black straight leg jeans are right at the top of my wishlist.

SHOP THE EDIT:

After many, many months of deliberation, watching videos and planning, 2019 was finally the year I started bullet journaling. I had wanted to for the longest time, but for different reasons to most people - rather than using it to remind me to do things, I wanted it more to track things I had done. For example, using it to track my mood, how much revision I had done, what homework I had done and much more.

I chose the navy Leuchstrumm 1917, I feel like this is a classic favourite bullet journal, with its dotted pages and index at the front. It took a while to get into - I am awful at beginning a new notebook, its crisp clean pages are too perfect to ruin! And although now I am in a routine of creating a spread each week, at the beginning I found this difficult, so it was only actually mid January I started making weekly spreads, while early January was devoted to those year long pages at the start of the journal.


Firstly, we have a grid spacer. I find this so useful, and the biggest tip to anyone starting bullet journals is to have one. I was inspired by the YouTuber AmandaRachLee to do this, because it speeds up counting up all the boxes out each spread which can be a time consuming nightmare.


Another of the spreads at the beginning of the journal is my Pixlels Mood Tracker. I saw a bunch of these on Pinterest, where I fill in my mood in its corresponding colour each day. I can't wait to see it become a huge pixelated graph by the end! I do a similar style with blog posts too and the themes of each post, although of course this isn''t filled out every single day.


One of my other favourite continual spreads is my revision tracker. This was something I found essential when I started bullet journalling and truly one of my reasons for doing it. I created a tally chart for each hour I revise each topic of each subject, which will be so reassuring when it comes to exam season and I can see exactly how many hours I have done.


I also recently created a music related spread, including my most played song of each month (tracked by Last FM), and the layout was inspired by Cara's design that I seriously loved. I can't wait to keep adding to this one!


Onto some weekly spreads! I have come a long way since my first one in January I think, they haven't become overly flashy or anything but I am starting to really enjoy them. I pop in events, occasionally homework I have completed (if it's a larger piece), but mostly the revision I do each day, so I know exactly what I have done when, again to prove to myself I have done plenty, but also to see which topics I might not have done a lot on, or actually did a while ago and therefore need a refresh!


They also have a little habitual tracker on each page, which includes revision, instagram and blog. It was much more full on half term week than any other! I also occasionally add quotes if there's any left over, either from a song or something related to the week.


Something I really enjoyed creating recently was a moodboard (really it's just a fancy collage) to start off March. I was feeling quite visual and therefore decided to print out a bunch off stuff. It features some quotes (including my current lockscreen), some photos from the Marvelous Mrs Maisel including others that I'm feeling really inspired by right now, and a little calendar for this month. Oh and lots of sparkly rose gold Washi tape that I was just dying to try out, I can't get over that it was only 50p at the Japanese inspired shop in my city!

I am writing this post the day after I finished my mock exams, with the rest of the week off since mine happened to fall at right at the beginning of the week. I feel relieved, although its a short lived relief because the pressure hasn't really been lifted, at all, for two reasons.

Firstly, for the rest of this week, I have to produce a lot of art work that I abandoned until now to prioritise revision, which all though I do enjoy (only occassionally that is debatable) I am really feeling the pressure of needing to get the marks, and the fact this all goes towards my final grade.
Secondly, the break between mock exams and the real thing is so small, because of all the content, that I can barely breathe before I will need to start revising again.


Right now, in this moment, it feels like the calm before the storm. It certainly does weather wise, it is so warm for the most unusual time of year it feels only natural that the temperature will have to plummet before it goes up again. It's weird, the warmth, it's putting me on edge. A year ago to this very day I woke up to snow, on the way to college the boys were having a snowball fight and I was desperately trying to dodge them. Now I am walking around in a T-Shirt. It doesn't feel right, at all, but that's an issue for another day.

It really feels like the calm before the storm because I have a week or so before I get my marks back of my mock exams, where I realise what I need to do to improve, and in the case of French it will probably become real the ridiculous amount of work I am going to have to put in. But for now, I can be oblivious to how I've done and what I need to do for a while.


I have gone off on such a tangent, I actually started writing this to update you all about my blog. I always knew it would inevitably take a back seat, but I don't want to abandon it for a few months. My head isn't particularly in the blogging game right now, understandably, and I simply don't have the time for my usual goal of two posts a week, but I am determined to keep going with it somewhat. During this week, and a bit at Easter, I plan to draft some posts so I should have a post up once a week most of the time.

I am looking forward to June wholeheartedly, especially when it comes to blogging. I have some ideas that just aren't possible time wise right now, so come the end of A Levels I cannot wait to create some posts I am really excited about.


This post has felt like a ramble but really my intention was for a little update, featuring some sundrenched Huji photos. It is a weird pressure like nothing ever before, is A Levels, because this time where I really want to go next year depends on it. I would love to hear if you're in the same position as I am, in which case good luck to you! Or, if you have been in the same position as I am in before. It's kind of scary, but I am trying to take it all in before the storm begins.