Ireland 2013

Recently I went to Ireland with my best friend to stay with my Aunty, something we've wanted to do for years. It was one of the best trips of my life! We went shopping, museums, it was great!

Heres pictures;

GREDWARD

Trinity college where my dad went to university:)

It was so much fun, definitely an annual thing! 

Lots of love 

Xox

My journey to pink hair!

For ages I wanted to do something different with my hair, everyone seemed to be doing stuff, highlights,fringes, but I wasn't daring enough to cut it. 

I decided to get pink bits put in the end of my hair, but pale pink. I bought this;

It was rubbish, it literally did nothing to my hair. It does recommend use for bleached hair, but seeing as you are meant to leave it on for 5 minutes I thought that it would work if I left it on for longer. 

I left it on in foils for over an hour and there was about 2 tiny pale parts of pink that were barely visible. 

I would not recommend this for people with dark blonde hair. Remember it's a toner not a dye so it's meant to be used all over the head instead of conditioner weekly.

I then went and bought a second dye, which looked very bright and I was scared of:L

As soon as I took the fouls off to wash it out, it was incredibly bright!

I LOVE IT

I've now had it in for nearly a month and it has faded quite a bit but to a cute pale pink, I wanted it gone for school in September but I'll be sad to see it gone I really love it!

As soon as it was done

About 3 weeks later.

I definitely recommend this dye for someone who wants coloured hair semi-permanently.

Lots of love,

Gracicle XOX 

Review: Sally Hansen Airbrush Legs (Medium)

Recently, the weathers been really nice, around 22 degrees everyday, so most people have begun to get their legs out. Me included.

I decided to give my legs a bit of a tan, and be brave and use the Airbrush Legs, as I found the product to be quite intimidating.

My brother bought it for me of my birthday last year, however I took one look at the colour and thought 'woah this is way too dark and orange for me' However, it was the only thing I could use last night as I lost my tanning mitt.

First of all the packaging is really nice and sleek, claiming to give 'perfect legs in an instant'.

The instructions are to 'spray directly onto hand and apply evenly all over legs', which freaked me out as I thought 'I'm gonna have an orange hand and streaky legs' 

THIS WAS NOT THE CASE

You have to shake the product really well before use, yet it's still really really brown when you spray it onto your hand, this was probably only because I had the shade Medium Glow. Once you actually rub it onto your legs it gives a really nice colour, rubs in easy, and a little goes a fairly long way:)

I was worried about having streaky legs, but once you get the product all over your legs, it's easy to rub in and see where you've missed, when you've finished just spend a couple of minutes rubbing your hands up and down your legs just to cover them.

It dried really quickly too, you have to wait a minute before dressing, and it doesn't have a fake tan smell, it smells a bit weird when you're applying the tan, but once it's on your skin the smell goes:)

I will definitely be using this a lot more often, as I have a really even tan now, that is brown but not orange, I would recommend this product a lot!

Just one final thing- Don't forget to wash your hands after this using plenty of soap to get all the tan off them!!

Happy tanning!

Lots of love,

Gracicle xox

**btw does anyone know why the writings suddenly gone red?

Guide to GCSE's

Recently I finished my GCSE's, I still can't believe it.

Since year 7 you're told, 'you'll soon be a year 11 doing your exams!' and suddenly I've finished them.

They went okay, you always think 'I'm gonna revise so much for maths and I'll know everything' but honestly, it's mainly day before revision, as you only have a day or two between exams, so sacrificing one subject for another is inevitable really.

I managed to stay stress free during my exams which shocked me as you dread them and think you'll be so stressed, but there's really no need to be, here's how I stayed stress free, and I'll be sure to do a post on results day to see whether my techniques worked:L

Here's my Guide to GCSE's!

1) Revision guides.

These are SO USEFUL! I didn't use my excersize books at all, these have everything you need to know! Get one for every subject, most have questions in them, and you can get maths workbook ones which are helpful:) these really are a godsend, you can take them anywhere with you, just make sure you get the right exam board! THEY ARE A MUST HAVE! 

2) Mindmaps 

I made loads of these, making colourful ones helps so much really, I had 3 steps, read the revision guides, condense each page or topic into a Mindmap then make a flash card from the mindmap. Make A4 ones for topics, and A3 ones with important facts or dates you need to remember.

3) Flashcards.

Leading on from my last point, Flashcards are amazing they helped me so much I can't explain they are the most useful things and make revising easy. I made thousands for all different subjects with condensed points in shorthand. And made some question and answer ones so I could test my friends, which is beneficial to you too because if you asked a friend to explain mitosis for example and they couldn't, you can then explain it to them using the card, and teaching others is the most effective way to remember information.

4) Highlighters

I must have used 30 highlighters during study leave, they really are useful. I used them for revision guides to highlight important information, which you can then use to make Flashcards etc. then highlight the Flashcards with stuff you are struggling to learn. You can use then for almost anything, definitely stock up on these in the weeks leading up to your exams:)

5) Find a place

I'm sure you've heard this before, but you should find a place to revise. Mine was the dining table, it wasn't the best place but I could lay out all my work, do an hour then come back and pick it up again. I also liked to revise in the dining room because people would walk in and out, and I can't concentrate when I shut myself away, as stupid as that sounds, I have to have noise and people around me. My best friend would sit at the coffee table in her living room with the tv on in the background, same as me she can't revise in silence. It does help because after a while once you sit in your place you get into the work mindset and it makes working and revising easier to do.

6) Friends

Our school allowed us to come into school whenever we want and sit and revise with friends, this was helpful as lots of people felt they could revise better at school. I find revising with friends easier because you can get help on things you are struggling on and you can also sit and chat, it helps ease stress because you know that you aren't the only one going through the exam and the workload, and it also means you can take  regular breaks and don't get too weighed down under your revision. Also take weekend days off! I would sometimes work on a Saturday, go to Ella's Saturday night then on Sunday we would do something fun and test each other a bit with Flashcards I had made on the Saturday, or questions from a revision guide.

7) Exam Timetable

MAKE ONE

Loads of people made revision schedules. They don't help. Nobody sticks to them and you just feel guilty and awful when you don't stick to them and it adds to your stress, make an exam one instead, or download an exam timetable app, then you can cross out your exams once you've done them and see how many days you have left and it makes exams much more manageable. Plus it's a great feeling crossing off an exam!:)

8) Past Papers.

These are very useful, especially for maths, you can see the format of questions and the timing and it's like doing a pretend exam! Science ones are also useful, although admittedly I didn't do many science ones I prefer using the revision guide. They're handy because teachers can see what has come up in past exams and guess what topics are going to come up in your exam. DON'T REVISE BY THEIR GUESSES THOUGH! 

Sometimes topics come up 2 or 3 years in a row, so don't risk it and do selective revision! Revise everything:)

9) Doodle/Make notes

It seems rude to do it in class, but studies have shown doodling actually improves concentration. Still, maybe instead of doodling in class, make notes. Not thousands! You should just write down one or two key points, maybe of a topic you don't understand, then you can look over them when revising. I did this especially in physics.

10) Teach

Be a teacher! Teaching others about a topic helps you understand it better as you can find your own way to explain things:) its proven that teaching others is the most effective way to revise.

Teach family, or even a pet! You can also teach friends on topics they don't understand, which helps both of you.

11) Revision Sessions

If your school is anything like mine, there will be loads of revision sessions.

Personally, I said I would go to all of them, then went to hardly any. To be honest, they're not that helpful. Mine were ones where the teacher asks for topics you want to go over, and for the most of them, there wasn't anything I didn't especially understand, I just went along and it was a waste of time.

I suggest maybe going to one, seeing what it's like then doing your own revision. I find it more helpful revising on your own than going through topics you already understand, to benefit others. Then if you find there's anything you don't understand, go to another revision session before you exam.

Honestly, don't feel guilty if you don't go to many.

12) Look, Cover, Recite

You'll probably not have used this method since primary school spelling, however this is the only way I found to see whether you actually have learnt anything. Use it for revision cards. I made Flashcards on apps on my iPad, then used this method to check I knew everything the day before the exam.

13) Relax

It's not the end of the world seriously, you've still got A-levels, college, apprenticeship, these exams won't determine the rest of your life.

If you get all upset and stressed then you're going to do worse and find the exams harder, so you need to balance work and play, to make sure you don't freak out. Just don't panic:)

Hope this was helpful, coming from someone who finished their exams less than 2 weeks ago!:)

Lots of love,

Gracicle XOX 

Barcelonaaaa

In half term of this year, me and my family went to Barcelona. Admittedly I didn't want to go, as I had my exams in a few weeks and all the teachers had said 'don't go in holiday you need to revise!!' So of course my family booked a holiday.

It was really good, it's a beautiful place and the weather was amazing! I couldn't fully enjoy myself though as I always felt guilty that I wasn't revising:( here are some pictures, I highly recommend Barcelona, definitely visit there if you get a chance!!

La Sagrada Familia, should be finished by 2026/2028, it's beautiful:)

Lots of love,

Gracicle xox