My Week In Pictures

1) Chilling with Pepsi, 2) Xboxing on Fable 3, 3) Dinner date with Chloe :)

4) Outfit at the pub 5) Nails, black and glittery! 6) Hair disaster!

7) Posey posey 8) Playfighting with Oliver 9) Dippy eggs and soldiers!

Nicola Mai..x

Boredom

So with uni not starting for a few days and no money I have being incredibly bored...

Think i'll have a look round for some posts to do today, that'll keep me busy :)

Nicola Mai..x

Degree at 22?

I have recently being accepted to start an English Literature degree at University Centre Peterborough, which I am very very exicted about! I enrol this week and start my lectures on the 24th so it's all systems go to get everything sorted quickly.
After phoning the uni I had to sort out my UCAS, which if any of you have done this will know is one of the most tedious things known to man. I am now in the process in sorting out Student Finace, who I am convinced I will hate untill my loan actually comes in. I just have to send off one letter today and then that should all be fine, here's hoping anyway.
Now you may be wondering why I didn't do the convetional thing and go to uni at 18, also why i'm not moving away from home. I have always wanted a degree, but when the time came for me to go at 18 I freaked. Decided it wasn't for me and cancelled my place, I did this again when I was 20. Now I don't know whether this is due to being away from home or whatever, but I do know it was mainly due to a fear of failure. I mean it's a big deal to come home and admit defeat with your tail between your legs. As for moving away, well it's just more practical for me to stay with my parents. Also I have Ollie here and we're thinking of getting our own place at some point too, so it'd be silly for me to spend money to move away.
One day late August I finally thought, 'You know what you're wasting yourself.' I've been working in dead end retail jobs, when I have a half decent brain on my shoulders, so I rang my local uni up.
It's safe to say I am shitting a brick or two, but that's just due to never being in this situation yet. As for being nearly 22 and just starting university, i'm not too fussed. I've started my degree when it's right for me, when I won't get distracted by clubbing and cheap drink nights (not as much as I would've anyway) as I've done it all before. Besdies I have a baby-face so people will think i'm 18 anyway :P

Are any of you going to uni this year? What are you studying? What do you think on leaving it late to go to uni?



Nicola Mai..x

NEW PHONE! :D

So, I finally have my new phone in my hands, charged, registered and ready to go! I have traded in my Blackberry Torch for the iPhone 4s, as much as I loved using my Blackberry I just couldn't be bothered with it any more the BBM service was the only thing I really used on it and everyone else had moved to iPhone, which left me with a total of 3 people to talk too.... Not fun!
So far I have downloaded, Twitter, Facebook, Instragram and a Horoscope app.. No clue as to what to download next.. Any ideas?


Nicola Mai..x

This Week's Music Playlist

So this is basically what i've been listening to this week, well my favourites of the week anyway. I literally listen to music constantly and i'll listen to anything, though I tend to lean more towards Indie, Rock and Acoustic stuff. So here's my list.

Arctic Monkeys ft Miles Kane- 505
Arctic Monkeys- I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor
Miles Kane- Quicksand
Miles Kane- First Of My Kind
Guns N Roses- Live and Let Die
Frank Turner- I Am Disappeared
Nicki Minaj- Pound The Alarm
Rihanna- Where Have You Been
The Black Keys- Little Black Submarines
The Offspring- Can't Repeat
+44- No, It Isn't
City and Colour- O' Sister

So what have your favourite tracks been this week?

Nicola Mai..x

Skincare

I don't use a lot of skincare stuff as I try to avoid using a lot of product on my face. I do however use a few things to keep spots away and make my skin feel lovely and fresh!

Skincare

• Clearasil Deep Cleansing Pads

I found these a couple of years ago, i'm a lazy person first thing in the morning and also hate getting my face wet so I tend to steer clear of face washes as much as I can. These are the next best thing, if not better! A small circular pad can be used on the whole face, you get just over a months worth in each pot, which means they're also value for money. They don't have an acidic smell and leave my skin feeling lovely and smooth.

• Lush 'Cupcake' Facemask

I use this facemask every so often, normally when I feel my skin needs a added boost. As you can imagine from the name 'Cupcake' it smells lovely, good enough to eat! The texture is quite thick and a little goes a long way which is a highlight as you only get a small pot at a time for around a fiver.

• Babywipes- any brand but I prefer Johnsons.

I use babywipes every single day, they're amazing for taking make-up off. Also if I ever dye my hair they come in handy for cleaning up around the edges as I'm quite a messy hair dyer. I will use any babywipes as they all do their job, but Johnsons are the softest I find and given that my skin can become red very easily I prefer to use these.



Nicola Mai..x

Before & After

Now i'm going to be brave and do a before and after make-up post. This is mainly because it facinates me just how different I look with and without make-up, I feel there's quite a difference. Now i'm not saying I hate myself without make-up on and i'm not the type of girl who refuses to leave the house without make-up either, but I can totally see how girls can feel so insecure about having to wear make-up all the time.

This was taken just before I had a bath, so I had taken off all my make-up and my hair is a state.... My skin looks lovely and clear here and my eyes stand out, overall not too bad.

Here I have used my everyday make-up listed in my posts below... As you can see there is quite the difference with make-up on!

Any of you guys care to bare? What's your thoughts on girls that 'have' to wear make-up before they leave the house?

Nicola Mai..x

:(

Okay so no new phone today, but my dad's going to ring up Orange so it should be delievered real soon!
So I am left to a weekend by myself as Ollie is working insane hours at The Boathouse but I have some tasks this weekend;

• Tidy and organise my room ready for wardrobe next weekend.
• Find and send off my p60 and birth certificate to Student Finance.
• See my best friend, Kirstie, for the first time in months!
• Book my eye-test, which is long overdue.
• Think up some new outfits.
• Research other blogs and look for some cool ideas to blog about..

First things first though, a long soak in a hot bath!


Nicola Mai..x

Sleepy eyes

After having a rather productive day of sorting out UCAS and Student Finance (more on this soon!), doing little or no tidying of my room which currently looks like an IKEA warehouse AND sorting out my blog  finally I am pretty much ready for bed. Just have to wait another 20 minutes for Oliver to get in from work, then Cherry & Chocolate Horlicks, cuddles and sleep. I have to be up at 8 tomorrow morning, on a Saturday, I think my dad is trying to kill me! But on the upside i'm finally updating my phone!
Night...

Nicola Mai..x

Links to the rest of my life

I thought i'd put some links for people to get in contact if they have anything to say or whatever....

Email- For any questions or anything that you don't just want to comment, or linking me to your blog or other blogs you think are fab! :)

Twitter- My day-to-day stuff, keep updated if I don't have time to blog, also many rants ;)

Facebook- Some people still use this right?!

Nicola Mai..x

Everyday Make-Up Review

Following my last post I thought it'd be great if I could review the products I cover my face in most days and discuss which I couldn't live without and which I would be willing to change.

• Foundation: Bourjois 123 Perfect Foundation in Light Vanilla£10.99

I try and only use foundation on a special occasion or when i'm on a night out as I like to let my skin breath and keep spots to a bare minimum. I  like to try and change my foundation as I think my skin gets used to each one and I never seem to be able to carry on the same coverage after a few months. This Bourjois foundation so far has served me well, doesn't make me orange, the coverage is really good and I only need a little to cover my whole face so I don't mind paying so much for it, I do think that you should invest a little bit of money into a product that goes on your face.. I would defiantly come back to this product again and i'm thinking maybe my next foundation will be Borjois too.
8/10

• Concealer: Rimmel Hide The Blemish Concealer in Ivory £4.49

I have used this same concealer ever since my mum told me about it when I was about 14 and I haven't strayed since. I once tried one of my friend's liquid concealers and just found it oily and horrible. This stick means that it's much easier to target problem areas and you can use as little or as much as you like for coverage! As a teenager I had quite good skin, but when I would get a breakout this gave me enough coverage to have confidence in my skin.
10/10

• Powder: Maybelline Dream Matte Powder in Rose Nude £7.19

I don't often use powder, again only for special occasions or if I feel i'm happy a bad skin day and need a little more coverage. Overall i'm  unimpressed with the final outcome of this product as I find it becomes a little flaky and although i'm pale it makes me look even worse. For the price of this product I expected a lot more and as for 'dream matte powder' I don't think so.
4/10

• Blush: Bourjois Little Round Pot Blusher in Rose D'or £7.49

I remember being little and watching my mum do her make-up and when I was old enough and got into doing my make-up regularly I bought another of the same products as her. Now one this I will say about this, which isn't a normal feature when looking for blusher is that this smells divine, I mean yum! But yes, the coverage is amazing, it's real easy to use a little and build it up for a more dramatic look or just have a little sweep for a light coverage. One thing I will say is that the brush you get with this product isn't great and I did invest in my own brush, apart from that I can't fault it!
9/10

• Eyeshadow: MUA Trio Eyeshadow in Innocence £2.50

This is a new addition to my  make-up bag and quite the steal! I am partial to the smokey eye look and this product does the trick fabulously, there are also many different shades to chose from this time I opted for the browns. Overall this is a good product, though the lightest of the three shades isn't bright enough for me. Something I would buy again, I would also like a set in every shade :)
8/10

• Eyeliner Pencil: Barry M Kohl Eye Pencil in Black £2.99

I always make my eyes my main feature when doing my make-up, so a good eyeliner is a must. This Barry M product does just the job. I use this on the inside of my bottom lashes and although it eventually comes off it does last a good few hours, I hardly ever have to re-touch on a night out either. I like to switch and try different eyeliner pencils but I think I will always have one of these handy as a back up.
7/10

• Liquid Eyeliner: Collection 2000 Fast Stroke Liquid Eyeliner in Black £2.99

My 'signature' as some may call it would be eye flicks. I never leave the house with my flicks being done, so of course I need a loyal eyeliner to keep my eyes in tip-top shape and this is the product! I have differed from many different eyeliners for my upper eye-lid from pencils to liquid eyeliner pens and nothing comes close to this. The brush with this is brilliant, there isn't too much product left so it smudges and it glides easily so I can get the perfect flick (with a lot of panda eye practise in my younger years) I wouldn't even think about using something different.
10/10

• Mascara: Maybelline The Falsies in Black Drama £7.99

I have fairly long natural lashes and I like a product to emphasise this, now while this product is quite good it hasn't got the WOW factor that I would like for the price I paid for it. Especially when I have used much cheaper brands and got a better coverage. The brush itself is quite good, but I find it doesn't separate my lashes as much as I like and can get too much of the product on at one time, which obviously means building lashes up for a dramatic look is out of the window. However, it isn't completely awful and will probably come in handy for a base coat mascara when I get another.
5/10

• Vaseline Lip Therapy in Rosy Lips £1.99

Now a lot of you reading this have probably or do probably use Vaseline or one of their products so I don't need to tell you how fabulous it is. It does it's job and smells lush, I like to use different lipbalms, but this is the one that always finds it's way into my handbag. In the Winter my lips become a horrible mess at times with the change of weather and this clears my chapped lips right up. I can't really fault it too much.
8/10
So readers, have you used any of these products and what were your experiences? Do you have any product reccomendations for my next buys?


Nicola Mai..x

How Much Is My Face Worth?

I've seen this on a few blogs and thought it'd be a good post to start me off on my blogging route. I'll be following this post with another of reviews on my everyday products, so keep an eye out for that!
So for those of you that haven't seen this post before I am basically taking my everyday make-up and pricing it all up to see how much my face is worth.

So here we go:

Face

• Foundation: Bourjois 123 Perfect Foundation in Light Vanilla£10.99
• Concealer: Rimmel Hide The Blemish Concealer in Ivory £4.49
• Powder: Maybelline Dream Matte Powder in Rose Nude £7.19
• Blush: Bourjois Little Round Pot Blusher in Rose D'or £7.49

Eyes

• Eyeshadow: MUA Trio Eyeshadow in Innocence £2.50
• Eyeliner Pencil: Barry M Kohl Eye Pencil in Black £2.99
• Liquid Eyeliner: Collection 2000 Fast Stroke Liquid Eyeliner in Black £2.99
• Mascara: Maybelline The Falsies in Black Drama £7.99

Lips

• Vaseline Lip Therapy in Rosy Lips £1.99

This gives my face a grand total of: £48.62 which I don't think is that bad at all really.

So what is your face worth? Post it and let me know!

Nicola Mai..x

Hair!

Well after 5 years of dying my hair dark brown (for it to then go black) I decided enough was enough and that I was finally going to dye my hair a lighter colour.
Of course I had to bleach it first and not wanting to spend £120+ for a hairdresser to do it I opted for a hair pre-lightner instead. After two applications- as you can imagine after 5 years of frequent hair dying dark it needed more than one go- I was left with a gingery kind of colour.
After deciding this wasnt all that hidious I added a light auburn colour and i'm really happy with the end result.

Although I love my new hair, my black hair was like a comfort blanket... So it's taken some adjusting shown below is the change from before I started to after.


Before



After



Even though I would probably like to re-dye it so it's brighter and also it's a tad patchy (but I expected that) I have decided to give my hair a little bit of a break so it doesn't fall out on me!

Any of you guys got any hair troubles, nightmares or anything? Or is there some products you would have used instead? Perhaps an idea on what colour I can go next or what product to maintain a brighter shade of my current colour?

Nicola Mai..x

Me, Myself and I

Thought I better introduce myself first...

• My full name is Nicola Mai Smith
• I am 21, 22 in Novemeber
• This makes me a Scorpio (more on this later)
• I'm taken by the wonderful Oliver
• Currently living at home with both parents, 2 brothers and a sister.
• I'm about to start an English Degree

I think that's the basics, anything you want to know in particular just e-mail me at missnmai@hotmail.com :)