Saturday 29 March 2014

How to Study Effectively

1. Set out a rota as to when your going to study what. It can also help to make a list at what you need to study more and what you don't so that you can improve on them.

2. If making a rota isn't your thing or it doesn't work for you then simply planning what you will that day can help you get into that mindset of doing work. Then, at the end of the day, right down names of topics you revised or even what you can remember about them topics to help keep it in your brain.

3. Find out what helps you to remember most, perhaps just reading, taking notes, seeing something visually, talking aloud. A good website to use is Anki , you create flashcards, then when you go through them you have to say the answer to yourself, speaking out loud is said to be an effective way of learning, then click to see the answer. There is a more effective version which you download to your computer here  

4. The brain usually can focus completely for about 20 minutes, however if your in a mood to be able to get on with work then work until you loose your focus, but try not to make it much more than over 40 minutes. Have a quick 5-10 minute break every 20 minutes to help re-fresh and re-focus your brain. Good activities can be going for a walk, doing a bit of exercise (skipping has been recommended to me and is also a good sport to keep healthy), drawing, or whatever can relax you that you don't need to put a lot of work into.

5. Make sure you get quite a bit of sleep, sleeping helps your brain to make connections with what you need to know. Depending on your age it can vary but it should be no less than around 6 hours, more ideally 7 or 8 hours should be what your getting. If you find it hard to sleep, try to seek out the problem through whatever way you need to. Don't suddenly decide to go to bed 2 hours before you normally do, make it gradual, start with maybe 15 minutes or so then slowly increase it.

I hope these help^^
- Zin x

Friday 28 March 2014

March Favourites 2014

1. Simple Vital Vitamin Foaming Cleanser

 I have wanted a good foaming cleanser for a while and I am really happy with this one. It foams very easily and it says on the bottle to squeeze twice but once is enough if you rub it on your hands before putting it on your face. My face feels really clean and refreshed afterwards and it's good to make sure all your make-up is removed. The only problem is that it dried out my skin too much by using it twice a day but my skin is very sensitive so if yours is not then this shouldn't be a problem.

2. Peripera Water Lip Tint - Cherry Juice
 I had previously reviewed this but I had only worn it a few times then. This has become part of my make-up routine because I love it so much. It can add a cute or a more sophisticated look depending on how you wear it. I love lip tints because you can wear them in different ways; graduated, all over, faded, bold etc. I really love this colour as well because it is just a bit darker than my own lip colour so it's not striking meaning I can wear it for school and, because it is quite subtle, helps to just add a little more to your look.

3.  Soap and Glory Mist You Madly

















If I ever review or suggest any kind of smelling spray for your body, it is most likely to be a mist or perfume because body sprays smell really cheep and get to the back of your throat and are disgusting. *Ahem*- anyway, this mist has quite a flowery scent and it doesn't have a very powerful or strong scent and is just a subtle smell, which I quite like because I prefer more neutral and fresher smells. It has also lasted me quite a while and it's only about a quarter empty at the moment.

4. I Am Malala -  Malala Yousafzai

















This girl is the same age as me and this book has really opened my eyes and my mind and my heart. It's great. She is so inspirational especially to people who want to stand up for something. If you're not familiar with her story, she wanted to let girls be able to go to school and, on her way to school one morning, was shot by a Taliban, who don't think girls should be able to go to school. She's really passionate about where she is from and her family, I really recommend you read this book.


Hope you enjoyed~
- Zin x

(P.S. I just want to apologise for not updating as much as I have been, my exams are coming up soon and there is a lot of work and sometimes it'll take me 3 days to finish a post. I will try to post at least once a week but I think I might go on hiatus from the end of April until mid-June so I can focus more on my studying but I might become more active on my twitter, so please follow)

Thursday 20 March 2014

Spring 2014 Outfit

Spring 2014 Outfit


Topshop t shirt
topshop.com


Pull&Bear blue jeans
$50 - pullandbear.com


Converse white shoes
converse.com


Ilia beauty product
$33 - conranshop.co.uk


Essie nail polish
nordstrom.com


Juicy Couture Set of 3 Hair Elastics
juicycouture.com



Again, another spring post with the Topshop t-shirt I recently wrote about. I really love this years spring fashion! I am also really into the jeans like these in the picture and I think they go well with this outfit and any spring outfit. 

I hope you enjoyed~
- Zin x

Saturday 15 March 2014

Pick of the Month: Topshop Block Stripe Pocket Tee




Because spring is here, well in England I don't know if I can call it spring, the fashion of light colours and thin clothing is becoming more popular again. I have seen many of these tops in different shops, they're slightly cropped and have light colours on like this Topshop block stripe pocket tee.

I love how it's not following the trend of past years with cropped tops were they're really short and some had a weird design and I really disliked them and never even thought of buying one but I had seen this one and bought it immediately.

This one is a bit more cropped than others that I've seen, obviously to show a bit more stomach, and I personally feel as though this is more pretty than the previous styles of cropped tops. I really like this one because of the soft mint colour with the white which makes it look like a real spring fashion item.

This style usually goes well with skinny jeans that also have quite a pale colour also and will go with brown ankle boots so that the overall outfit will have a light colour ready for spring.

I hope you enjoyed~
- Zin x

Friday 14 March 2014

Peripera Water Lip Tint - Cherry Juice Review

I have been wanting a lip tint for ages and I'm so excited to finally have one and I love it!! I decided to buy Peripera's water lip tint because I had good reviews about it. I also chose this colour because I wanted a colour that I could wear everyday and not stand out that much.

                                                                                                                                                                 
This is the packaging which I think looks really cute and you might recognize the artwork on the packaging is by Meri Kim, who also designed 2NE1's for their 2nd Mini Album cover and also for their music video for "I Hate You".


I usually do the gradual look where you just put a few dots near the inside of your mouth and blend a bit so it looks like it's gradually getting darker nearer the inside of your mouth (I might do a whole post on how to achieve this in the future, so watch out, if not then the number 4 and 5 colours below show what it looks like.)

It's great because it doesn't really look like you're wearing anything because it dries to your lips and even if you put it all over it, you can't feel anything different or see that you're wearing it apart from the obvious difference in colour from your normal colour of lips.


(I tried to take a picture of my own lips to help show the colour but it didn't come out well....) But as you can see, the Cherry Juice colour is a pinky-red colour and, depending on your skin tone, looks quite natural. My skin is really pale and so my lips are too, so it looks a bit more darker on my lips than the model's lips and when I covered it all it looked a bit redder.

It usually lasts around 4-5 hours which is really good, and even after there is usually still a little tint of it there but it's just faded.

The only thing that I don't really like is that it can be a bit drying on your lips but it doesn't look like your lips are dry.

I hope you enjoyed this review and found it useful, I highly recommend this product and from other reviews I hear that Peripera's range is very good so try it out!

- Zin

Thursday 13 March 2014

What To Wear Sleeveless Blouses With

What To Wear With Sleeveless Blouses


Seeing as spring is trying to arrive, I have seen that sleeveless blouses are still very popular but can be hard to find something that will go well with them sometimes. I have found that, if the blouse is a pale colour like this one, then other pale-ish clothes will go well with it, such as the sweater and the jeans, but also dark colours will as well. 

The pale colours will make you look as if you're prepared for spring but having a contrasting outfit is more eye-catching if that is what you want your outfit to be.

Hope you enjoy~~
- Zin x

Saturday 8 March 2014

2NE1 COME BACK HOME MV REVIEW

I'm posting this a bit later than I was going to because I have had no words for the mv since it came out. I'm just recovering. I prefer Come Back Home, both the mv and the song, rather than Happy which is why I am only doing this one. Just to let you know, I'm not going to do a full in depth review and look at each scene, I'm just going to be doing a review on what I thought of the mv and the song.

The first time I watched this I didn't understand what was happening, I knew there was a sad world with Dara and her boyfriend but then I didn't really know after that. So basically this 'virtual paradise' is like a get-away from the real world, which you can see doesn't look as bright or as happy and has loads of dull buildings. YG said that this was to show how people nowadays spend their time on the Internet and it's a bit like escaping the real worlds problems and actually living in the real world. I think it was a great idea to show it this way and add a futuristic theme to it as if this is what could happen in the future.









What I love is how 2NE1 are like the rebel group who oppose this virtual world, this part reminds me a bit of the Hunger Games books when Katniss and the other people part of the rebellion (sorry it's been a while since I read them) are hacking into the capital, only 2NE1 are stopping the promotions of this virtual world (CL stopping the advertisement of it)










I saw a lot of comments about the part where in the song the bass drops and it goes through the sequence thing (not sure what to call it) about how it wasn't that necessary or it was a bit weird especially when it repeats but I think that it brings your attention back to the song again and listen to the music. I also think that you couldn't really fit anything in with that part because it is quite dubstep-like and doesn't have singing other than 'come back home' and Dara's 'come baby baby'










I also really like how afterwards it still keeps you listening to the song but also has the story in and you see that Dara has joined them to go against the virtual paradise because her boyfriend has become a part of it. This is one of my favourite parts in the song because all the electronic sounds have been stripped off and CL's rap shows more of the feeling of the song as well as the futuristic theme.










Then it goes back to the story and shows memories of Dara and her boyfriend together and then the members going through with their plot to destroy the virtual paradise. I love the way it's got a positive atmosphere until CL, Minzy and Dara are doing what they need to be doing whilst Bom is distracting everyone in the virtual paradise and there's fire and smoke and food everywhere and it looks like a rebellion is happening and then all walk away from the scene as if it's just another day at work done (i'm getting a bit emotional over this right now......it's so goooooodd) and then it repeats again through the dubstep sequence again bringing us back to the song again. Then the 4 of them are leading a crowd as if they have won and defeated the virtual paradise.










I'm not sure if they have defeated the virtual paradise because it seems as though they do because it looks like the panels are coming off the roofs of the buildings and then it zooms out again to the real world.
I suppose it could show that now they are back in the real world this is what they have to deal with?
I suppose it's open to your own interpretation which is always good and makes your think more about it than even films with resolved endings.


I don't know how many times I have watched the mv since it was released but I've been watching it at school and in lessons as well (good thing I haven't been caught yet).

When you're watching the mv, and mv's with more of a story line to it instead of something else which focuses on the song, you don't focus on the song, which is why I liked how the sequence when the dubstep part happened made you realise what was happening to the music.


When I actually listened to this for the first after watching the mv I noticed the reggae and off-beat style of the song to begin with, after the charm/music box sound, and I love how Minzy and CL's voices fit so well with the style.

The music changes a lot in the song but it isn't really noticeable because it flows into each of the different parts. I only noticed it when it was CL's rap part and it goes to just the guitar and the strings and then back to how it was when it began that the style changes a lot and quite frequently, I think this might be why I love it so much.

This is my first proper review so I hope it was good, if you think there's anything to improve on then please leave a comment (please be nice though, I will only delete your comment if not). Also if there is a mv or song or anything else you would like me to review then please tell me in the comments too. And if you want to as well then you can tell me your thoughts on the mv and the song ^^

Hope you enjoyed it
- Zin x




Monday 3 March 2014

10 Pancake Toppings Ideas

Tomorrow is pancake day!! So I'm going to be sharing some of my favourite toppings that I like to put on mine^

1- Bacon, I love bacon and it's good with pretty much anything. Bacon with pancakes is a whole new experience, especially if the bacon is very crispy because of the softness of the pancake along with it.

2- Cheese & Tomato Ketchup, I don't like tomatoes so I substitute it with ketchup but that doesn't have to stop you.

3- Banana (or any other fruit), pancakes aren't that healthy for you when you eat 10 so add some fruit and then you don't have to worry about that.

4- Chocolate, you could have chocolate sauce or chocolate chips, you could even melt some chocolate in the pan until it is smooth then pour it over your pancakes.

5- Honey, my favourite because I mostly see pancakes as being a sweet dessert so honey is the first thing I ever think to put on mine

6- Butter, if you just want to keep it pretty simple.

7- Lemon Juice, it adds a nice zesty flavour if you prefer something with a sharper taste

8- Ice Cream, it's great with any dessert especially if it's warm and if it's a flavour of one of the above then even better!

9- Raisins, you can already get some pancakes with them in and if yours don't have them in then just put them on top

10- Maple Syrup, a classic topping for pancakes

Hope you all have a good pancake day~~

-Zin x
               

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