New Blog: Behind the Schmile..:)

Hey,

I've decided to open up my own platform where I will continue to share my story on self-improvement.
For all of my old posts and for the new ones still to come, head over to www.behindtheschmile.com
You can also follow this new blog on Bloglovin' to stay up to date!

Tisha x
#Schmile

Mini Haul

Whenever the stress of daily life and A Levels (bane of my life!) start to get to me, I always turn to the beauty that is online shopping! Whilst it feels like Christmas has come early every time I get a package, my bank balance probably does not feel the same joy. Oh well! Such is life. 

This time round, I hit up the E.L.F and REN Skincare websites and did some browsing! 

I have had this cleanser on my 'To Buy' list for the past year and a bit and have always backed out at the last minute, not willing to ever spend more than £10 on a cleanser. BUT I recently rekindled my obsession for the skincare guru that is, *Caroline Hirons, and was reminded of some Godly advice: "Equate your skincare spending to what you would spend on a handbag or shoes. I'm not saying you should - I'm saying you should be willing to." 

With this in mind, I took the plunge -the £18 plunge- and bought the REN Skincare Evercalm Gentle Cleansing Milk. On Asos, the product retails for £18, but on the REN website, you can pick it up for £16! As it was my first order with them, I also benefited from 10% discount and two free samples (Glycolactic Radiance Renewal Mask & Ulta Moisture Day Cream). Making it £17.40 with P&P included! All that, and change for a pack of Oreos! That's a good deal in my books.           

                           

Next, I ordered a couple of items from E.L.F and came across the HD Liquid Blushes from the Studio line (£4.50). With the MakeUp Forever HD Liquid Blushes in mind, I ordered two of these from the 5 shade collection, hoping that I was picking up some mega bargains as a decent dupe of the MUFE Blushes. And I think it's fair to say...I succeeded. These blushes are so super pigmented, that even a quarter of a pea size pump is more than enough for both cheeks! Yes, they dry insanely quickly and therefore can sometimes make it difficult to work with, but at about a quarter of the original MUFE blush price... I think I've found a good'un! Also restocked on a Small Stipple Brush (£3.95) - cheap, simple and does the job; can't complain!

This post was unnecessarily long for what I had to say, so if you read to end 'Well Done You!'

Manny x

Super Simple Marble Cake

Deliciously soft vanilla and chocolate marble cake, only 15 minutes preparation time.

Ingredients: 

225g butter, softened

225g caster sugar

225g self-raising flour

4 eggs

3 tbsp milk

2 tbsp cocoa powder

Helpful Study Apps

There are thousands of apps to help you do a thousand different things. Here are some apps that may help you stay organised and on top of your work. 

3 Spring Juices !

Here are some quick and easy juice recipes for you to try. Cool and refreshing, perfect for spring! 

Ebay #2

Hey People!

Trying to stick with the Ebay post once a month, here’s an October inspired one!

Loving skeleton dresses at the moment, and if I could pull it off, I’d wear one daily! And I know the boots will not be to everyone’s taste but I just love, love chunky boots this winter! Hope you enjoy! *Links are below* 

Nail Polish; Boots; Parka; Dress

Manny! xx

Muji Makeup Storage

Hey People!

So for the past year and a half now I've been admiring these acrylic containers from Muji with the intention of storing my make up in it. It got to the point where I kept my products in 4 different bags around my room...and that was just stress! It'd take me at least 10 minutes to find what I needed, and by then I just could not be bothered with actually doing my make up!! So, I finally decided to just get on with it, and walked into 'Muji' knowing that I would DEFINITELY leave with my drawers. And I did!!

I'm soo happy with how everything turned out, and pretty proud with how this stands on my dresser now :) 

So I bought 2 of the 'Acrylic Box - 2 Drawers Wide' with each one at £10.95 each. I can't tell you how amazing these drawers are - but sturdy, stylish and simple come to mind!

  

If you would also like these beauties, check out their website or go into store and you're sorted!

Manny! xx

Trick or Treat?

Half-term is coming up or has already started for some, so I thought I'd make a list of all the Halloween-related stuff you can do!

• Carve a pumpkin, there's always bargains for pumpkins in superstores so the more the better! 

Here's my attempt I did last year:

• Grab a friend, or a couple more to hide under, and head over to The London Dungeon Late, where they open until 10.00pm for their fright night (31/10/13). Tickets cost around £20-23 online but cost more if you buy them on the day. 
  
• Fright Night @ Thorpe Park! I haven't been yet but some of my friends said it was real good fun. Tickets are usually cheaper if you buy it online and in larger groups, otherwise it is usually about £35. 
  
• London Bridge Experience- Phobophobia WARNING: This Halloween event has been voted London's top scare attraction and it looks pretty scary, so if you're one of those faint-hearted people-please do not go! Here's a link to check it out for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=IdYCQiIQ38I Tickets usually go for £23 but be sure to check online.

• Go trick-or-treating with your friends, just remember to leave the eggs at home...

Or be a complete chicken and stay at home watching Mean Girls!

Happy Halloween!

-JC

Inspiration Time

Happy Tuesday everyone!

It's getting a bit stressful at my school, particularly with UCAS applications, university entry exams, as well as internal tests, so I thought I'd share this pic I found!

If you're beginning to give up, STOP! You can do this. Put your mind and heart into what you love and soon you'll become your own expert. 

Learn more. Do more. BE MORE.

-JC 

New Bits and Bobs!

Hey People!

So I’m one of those who go to Boots/Superdrug and either spends a ridonk-ulous amount of money, or goes and buys only a couple of things. There’s NEVER an in between! This time, I only picked up a few things, so thought I’d share it with you! Enjoy! 

The first is the L’Oreal Couleur Infallible (don’t you just feel so French saying that!) – I got this in the shade 021 Sahara Treasure, and bloody hell! It’s a good’ un! I’m basically obsessed with browns, beiges and neutrals in general, whether it has a matte finish or shimmer, so this is right up my alley! I am really impressed with how highly pigmented this is and it’s just a GORGEOUS colour, whether you’re using it as an eye shadow or even a highlighter!

Next, I repurchased (for the umpteenth time!) the Rimmel Professional Eyebrow Pencil in Black Brown– I’m sure everyone’s heard about the amazing-ness that this is! Great quality for such an amazing price (£2.99!!!!) . I also got the Maybelline MasterPrecise liquid eyeliner. I’m basically trying to find the best drugstore/high street liquid eyeliner and this is the next one that I’ll be trying. I’ll let you guys know how it goes!

I then got the Maybelline Baby Lips in Cherry Me – Quite disappointed with this if I’m honest though – I really don’t care much for the scent or the packaging, and find that it doesn’t even moisturise my lips very well L And finally, from Boots, I picked up the Maybelline Color Show nail varnish from the Vintage Leather collection (shade – turquoise temptation). Gorgeous colour, easy to apply and love the matte effect and 'vintage leather' that it dries to! Without a top coat, it's gorgeous. With a top coat, you can really see the iridescent flakes come out and that also looks gorgeous! I think it's essential that I get a couple more from the range, just so this one doesn't feel lonely...it's only fair :)    
*The nail polish has come up so much lighter in pictures*

Thanks for reading guys! :)

Manny! xx

Real Techniques Review - Starter Set

Hey people! So being completely and utterly obsessed with make-up (like I am), seeing another review on the Real Techniques make up brushes is probably not a surprise, but I figured I might as well put my two pence in! So, if for some reason you do happen to live under a rock, Samantha Chapman, make up guru extraordinaire, from Youtube channel “Pixiwoo” created a series of makeup brushes in collaboration with the makers of EcoTools. I intended on making this a short entry, but I can already see that that’s out of the window! Because I don't want this to be too long, I'm going to focus mainly on the 'Starter Set' - Enjoy!

Base shadow brush

So this brush is pretty much self-explanatory. Basically, it's used to apply a smooth foundation of eye shadow - what I like mainly about this brush is that it works just as well with powder eye shadows as it does with cream ones. I've used it with the likes of Sleek eye shadow palettes as well as Maybelline Colour Tattoos and it works equally well with both! Also, as a given with any RT brushes, it's (mind blowing-ly) soft, easy to use, easy to clean and does not shed! 5*s from me! 

Deluxe crease brush

OMG! This brush is so damn amazing, I just...I can't even! It's beautifully dense but easy enough to blend and just the right size to fit in the socket in order to blend properly. There's not much else to say to be honest! Regardless of the product, it's so easy to blend without having to be too heavy-handed and the job is basically done for you. I would recommend this brush to anyone who is getting started with eye make-up and is working on blending. Love it! 

*Btw, depending on the size of your eye sockets (that sounds so weird), you can swap the two above brushes and use the deluxe crease as a base brush and vice versa as both brushes are VERY similar.* 

Accent brush

Ok, now I may just be quite dense, but I'm still trying to work out the point of this brush! Maybe because I've already got the 'detailer brush' from the Core Set, I have no specific use for this brush, but i'm told that it can be used to place product before blending...I just don't see it working! Basically...I'm baffled :/

Pixel- point eyeliner brush

For someone who does not really use gel eyeliner, this brush does not appear to have much use. I can't deny however, that it is still a really nice brush and I can see it being useful and easy to use. I've tried it once with a gel eyeliner by Maybelline, and it seemed to work nicely but I find that because it's not very dense, it's quite hard to get a straight line. 

*I apologise for the crap photo quality, the lighting changed drastically and so I had to make do with what I had :/*

Brow brush

Erm, I'm a bit on the fence with this brush. On one hand I love how it can make my eyebrows look, on the other, I don't. Basically, It's a slanted brow brush that can be used to define brows. I like how it doesn't give a ridiculously dramatic look and doesn't overload on product to make the brows look unrealistic. However, I find that it is not precise enough, so whilst it makes my eyebrows look thicker, it doesn't do much for definition.

Ok, so there's my 'short' review on the Starter Set, I hope you enjoyed that. There should be a review on the 'Core Set' out soon.
Manny! xx

  

Ebay!

Hey People!

Ebay literally is like a hidden gem! I feel like everyone knows about it, but I haven't met many who use it much - apart from trying to find the odd novelty item for costume parties! So after being completely obsessed with *VIP XO*'s ebay wishlist posts, I figured it might be cool to start one here. So here's the first one (links are below): 

Skirt; Tote bag; Spiked necklace; Oversized cardigan

*vipxo - check out her blog, it's amazing! Quirky style and great recommendations!                                     Manny! xx

What's In My School Bag?

Hey people!

This is my first post on here, so i’m bloody nervous, but I hope you enjoy it! I’m going to do a ‘What’s In My Schoolbag?’ So starting off, my 'schoolbag' is from Primark - I find that they do pretty decently sized bags that are quite on-trend for reasonable prices. I got mine for £10 and have found that it's still going strong, even though I definitely OVER pack it ALL the time! I didn't really know how I would organise this post, so hopefully this works…

I obviously have the general stuff, pencil case, folders, books, books and more bloody books! Then more practical stuff, like an Oyster card (If you’re outside of London, it’s basically a travel card). My purse (on sale from Accessorize – absolutely LOVE it). House keys. Reading book (it’s essential to always have one). iPod (my life. literally). Mirror. (Sun)Glasses. Life bag (dead without one). You may be wondering ‘What’s a life bag?’ even if you weren't wondering, I’m still going to let you know, cause I’m nice like that ;) I basically keep all my little bits in it, from lady stuff (YOU know what I mean), to hairbands, blotting paper, lip balm/stain, first-aid kit (don’t tell me I’m being excessive when you need (blister)plasters /paracetamol /wipes/ paraffin gauze/polythene gloves…etc), perfume, hand sanitiser, hand cream, more hand cream and some sort of breath refresher (for those days that you just can’t say no to Wotsits!). And that’s basically it. I hope you enjoyed that, and hopefully, I’ll be making more of an appearance on here!

Manny! xx

Top 21 Things To Do During Summer...

Summer’s nearly over...

Less than 3 weeks until school starts again guys so you might as well use it wisely! Everyone is always excited for summer and when it comes round, they never know what to do and so here’s a list of the...

Three weeks equals 21 days so here’s something you can do each day!

·    Regents Park’s Open Air Theatre

This is an excellent event to go to during the summer. Not only are you watching a live theatre show, you’ll be watching it outdoors which will be great on a summer’s night!

http://openairtheatre.com/

·    Borough Market

I’ve been here a couple of summers ago and it was great! They have a huge collection of food from delicious beef burgers to extraordinary ostrich burgers!

·    Take road trips to another city!

I recently went to Birmingham over the weekend and it was great! I got to see the university campus and shop at the Bull Ring! It’s definitely something fun to do with the family.

AS Results Day

The majority of us come out of our exams saying "I can't wait 2 months for the results, I want to know what I got now!"
But suddenly we are whisked away by the excitement of summer. Next, all of a sudden its only a few days until results day and we dread the day. 
I know that feeling; racing heart, stomach churning and sweaty palms as we shakily open the brown envelope.
Then that split second of confusion when the letters and numbers on the paper don't make sense. And then it becomes clear and there are 3 scenarios which follow...

Lourdes 2013

In the last week of July, three of us went to work as RedCaps in Lourdes, South France.  RedCaps are a large group of young volunteers who help the elderly or infirm pilgrims in Lourdes. It is their job to push wheel chairs during procession and to take them to different masses or even have a cup of coffee in the café if your malade (old person) fancies it!

Although at times it was hard pushing up and down the hills of the Pyrenees where Lourdes is located, and it was a torturous 20 hour coach ride and there were emotional ups and down (plus quite a few tears one particular night) it was an amazing experience that will stay with me for a lifetime.

~N
click read more to see pictures and videos

Baked Alaska

This delicious dessert is sure to impress; with its warm soft meringue outer layer and cool ice cream interior on a base of soft sponge cake. 

Ingredients 3 egg whites 
                    175 g caster sugar
                    sponge cake
                    vanilla ice cream
                    jam of preferred flavour
                    mint and strawberries for garnishing 

List of items you will need - plus a pipping bag or metal spoon.

Summer LookBook : Page 3

Shirt - H&M
Denim waistcoat - Primark
Skirt - H&MShoes- Vans
Vintage bag

-Ugonna x

Restaurant Review- Wahaca

            Wahaca- Mexican Market Eating

Westfields, White City

Wahaca definitely serves in Mexican style! The restaurant itself truly embraces the Mexican culture with its decor and serving style. So I started off by ordering “Guacamole” which is served with tortilla chips and easy to share between 5 others and myself. For mains I ordered the “Chicken Tinga” burrito which again was served with tortilla chips and salsa on top and for dessert, churros accompanied by a chocolate sauce. Mexican sensation!  

Body Scrubs

I will be comparing a low end and high end body scrub; the Soap & Glory “Scrub of Your Life” and one from Occo from the range “Raiyia”.

Both of these scrubs were given to me as gifts and work fantastically well- but is it worth paying more for a body scrub?