Sunday 29 June 2014

Summer Safety Tips

Whilst summer is a great time to spend days outside and go on new adventures, the sun is very dangerous especially in large doses or if you are very exposed. In this post I will give some tips on how to stay as safe as you can in the sun without having to worry about the dangers too much.

1. The most important is sun cream! We will wear less clothing in the hot weather in order to stay cool and let our bodies breathe and even though it is recommended to get about 1 hour of sunlight a day for vitamin c, it is very dangerous to not be protected from it.

Depending on your skin type you will need to wear a certain sun cream. If you have fair skin, or skin that can easily burn, it is best to have a higher factor sun cream. If you don't burn that easily or can handle the sun well then a lower factor is suitable.

Another thing to remember is to cover every part of your body that is exposed to the sun, even your neck or the top of your ears if needed.

For a high factor I recommend this (even though it's for kids it is very good in many ways)
For a low factor I recommend this

2. Being in the sun is usually fine if you have thick hair to protect your head but after a while it can heat up and can cause headaches and general tiredness, which isn't what we need when we want to be outside having fun.

To help this either have a hat handy so you can give your head a break from the heat or, even better, sit under a tree or a shade for a bit. It is good to do this anyway to cool yourself down as getting hot generally can be uncomfortable.

Having thin, fine or light hair can be even worse as your head can heat up in a matter of minutes of being outside. Unfortunately the best thing to do is to constantly wear a hat.

People with fine hair can also get burnt easily in their scalp so it is best to protect yourself than to be uncomfortable for days afterwards. However, your head can get heated up by this as well so it's also best to take a break and take your hat off and sit under a tree or shade.

3. Drink plenty of water. The heat can dehydrate you so it is best to drink a bit more than you would do if you are going out in the sun or in the heat. Obviously don't drink loads of water as it can be harmful if you drink too much, but just enough to keep you hydrated whilst you are out in the sun.

4. If the weather is getting really hot it is best to help keep yourself cool  by wearing thinner and/or shorter clothing (by shorter I mean shorts or short sleeved t-shirts). If you do get really hot and need a way to cool down then placing ice cubes or something cold on either your wrists, inside of your elbows or inside of your knees.

I hope these tips have been helpful
- Zin x

Thursday 26 June 2014

World Cup 2014 Brazil Look

World Cup 2014 Brazil Look






I have created this clothe set as I really love the colours of green and yellow together and also the colourful style that can be worn with it. 
You can have a plain outfit with one of the bright colours or go full on, a bit like this style.


- Zin x

Friday 20 June 2014

Healthy Snack Recommendation: Popcorn

Popcorn at the cinemas and brands of it are very unhealthy however popcorn on it's own is a lot more healthy and, although it is not exactly good for you, can be a good change from other snacks that are a lot more unhealthy and don't have a good satisfying taste as well.

One brand which has become a favourite recently is Propercorn













Most of the flavours are under 100 calories, this surprised me as the packets are quite large and are filled with popcorn. The popcorn is hand popped and has proper flavours which are strong and very delicious. My personal favourite is Lightly Sea Salted which is 87 calories.

The second brand is Metcalfe's Skinny Popcorn







The calories in each bag are just over 100 but the bags are usually bigger, although I think you can get small, crisp-sized bags as well. Metcalfe's Skinny Popcorn have a variety of popular popcorn flavours and others that a lot more interesting, similar to how crisps can have some odd flavours.

Out of the two, Metcalfe's Skinny Popcorn's bags are bigger than Propercorn's bags but both are filled to the top with popcorn and it suprises me with both brands that the calories are not more with that much popcorn. Propercorn has more 'rustic'-type flavours whilst Metcalfe's Skinny Popcorn have a lot of mixed flavours and more generic flavours as well as unusual flavours. I recommend both as being really good for snacks.

Popcorn like this is a lot more healthier than, for example, crisps as there is no oil or fat that is produced as it is simply just popped corn. This type of popcorn is also very different from cinema popcorn because cinema popcorn can have more oils and fats in it and is usually sitting in a container which can make the taste bad and overall quality of that popcorn very bad.

Hope you enjoyed
- Zin x
(cr. to owners of these pictures)

Tuesday 17 June 2014

June Favourites 2014

1. Good Things Bright Eyes Treatment 





















I had also featured this in my previous post and it is one of my favourites this month because I find it really effective and useful. Sometimes, when I'm still half asleep, I rub my eyes and so they become very swollen and this has helped a lot to make my eyes not as puffy as they have recently been. I also became tired because of exams and got dark circles and this again helped brighten my eyes. It has extracts of raspberry and lychee in it and has a very nice smell, as do all the Good Things range. If you have any eye problem similar then I recommend this .

2. Topp Dogg - Amadeus

















I have followed Topp Dogg since their debut and all their songs, even those not released, have really impressed me. I love hip hop and classical and when they're mixed together it's like a super genre and Topp Dogg have done really well in mixing the 2 genres together, I also like how the vocals are quite R'n'B and they go well with the mixed genres. The song Salieri is different from the other songs as it doesn't have the classical in it and I think it's just the rappers of Topp Dogg in it (correct me if I'm wrong). Overall I think Amadeus is my favourite on the mini album but I really enjoy the others a lot too.

3. Strawberries!!















It's the time of the year for strawberries and also a time to get emotional because of strawberries tasting so good! I'm not sure about other countries but strawberries are also the nicest during summertime in the UK, and strawberry picking is so great. I really love strawberries.

4. Nivea Facial Cleansing Wipes















Nivea products are always very good and I enjoy their range, one of my favourites being their face wipes. The one I have is for all skin types but there are also one especially for dry skin or combination skin. The wipes themselves felt a bit dry to me at first and I was worried there would still be make-up behind afterwards but it takes make up off easily and efficiently.

Hope you enjoyed
- Zin x

Sunday 15 June 2014

How to Treat Stressed Skin

Being stressed can have effects on your skin, most commonly your face. I have just finished my exams and my skin is starting to go back to normal from being stressed so here are some tips which I have found helpful.


  • Spots are one of the most common effects stress can have on your face even if you don't suffer from acne very much. To help prevent spots anyway and for good skin, cleansing your face, especially at the end of the day, is very important and you should be at least washing your face everyday anyway. But when spots appear here are 3 things I mostly use:- Freederm gel, Simple Spotless Skin Rapid Action Spot Zapper and good ol' Savlon.

    Firstly, Freederm handles spots long-term, so this is best for smaller and less aggressive spots

    Simple is a fast acting gel and I can say that it really helps for the bigger and more aggressive spots by reducing the redness of the spot and, after using it frequently, makes the spot less noticeable and reduces it's size.

    Sometimes we can't help but squeeze a big white head even though we know it will make it worse and can leave a scab and even scarring. Savlon is an antiseptic and it's main use is for cuts, grazes and such but it also has a use for acne, although I haven't properly tried it out for that. I do, however, use Savlon to help the squeezed spot heal and to help try prevent scaring.















  • Another effect of stress is dark circles under your eyes. This can become even worse if you're not sleeping properly or well, and I do but I still gained dark circles under my eyes everyday. I have been using Good Things Bright Eyes Eye Cream. I use a few products from this brand, all of which are very successful and smell beautiful, and I think it is also quite new as well. I have found this helped to keep the puffiness of my eyes and the darkness became less when I started using this.





















  • Stress can also cause skin irritation in some form, from a lack in moisture to itchy patches. The current moisturizer I used for my face started to lack a bit once my exams started and so I started using Nivea's Soft Face, Body and Hands cream. Hand cream can be too thick for your face and face cream is too thin for your face so this is good that it has a balanced amount and works very well for anywhere on your body.























I hope these tips/recommendations can help you during stress or if you suffer from any of these in everyday life.
- Zin x

Friday 13 June 2014

Pick of the Month: Miss Selfridge Cream Mono Jacquard Skort



















Cream Mono Jacquard Skort

These types of skorts have started becoming really popular lately with this type of style and I have become addicted to them. This particular one from Miss Selfridge is probably one of my favourites, I love the black and white detailed pattern on it yet it looks simple.

Most of these types of skorts have simple patterns and are not overloaded with lots of detail so the can be a quick match to an outfit.

Whilst this is a female fashion item, I have seen many male celebrities wearing these but are usually in block colours showing that these are also favoured by men.

- Zin x
P.S - I am now officially back from my hiatus and I'll be making new posts frequently ^^

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