New Video: Blogger Mail Unboxing

Hi Loves,

Today there's new content over on my YouTube channel. A few weeks ago I visited Christmas in July Festival in London which is hands down one of the most amazing blog events I've been to recently. I had a few people ask me to do a haul of what I was given at the festival, but I had a few other bits I wanted to feature so I turned it into an unboxing video.

Follow Me To: SS Great Britain Summer Party

Hey Owlets,

I've been very lucky with what I've been up to recently so I have another Follow Me To post for you today. I'm fortunate that I get to travel the country, but Bristol is hands down my favourite city, especially around the harbour, so when I was invited to SS Great Britain's summer launch party I couldn't wait.

When we walked in there were drinks and nibbles to help yourself to. We kind of weren't sure what to expect so grabbed a drink and sat down. A few minutes later, they announced that a band would be playing, called The Lounge Cat Ideals. I tend to be a bit resistant to change in my playlists - I like the bands I like and that's it but they were amazing! Only four local bands have ever made it into my playlist, and The Lounge Cat Ideals may well be number five. Also have to give them extra points as half way through a song, the guy in the back's guitar strap broke and he not only caught the guitar but also managed to reattach the strap all while continuing to play. That's some serious talent.

Fix Your Skin in 7 Days with 7 Products

Hello my lovelies,

I hope you're doing well! 

This week I'm once again impersonating a beauty blogger as I come back at you with a highly requested post. By the time you read this, I will have already graduated but as I'm writing, it's six days until my graduation ceremony. I'm usually super lazy with skincare - I just about cleanse and tone my face before falling asleep, face masks are a rarity and I only moisturise before doing my makeup because it applies better that way. However, this week is different because I REALLY don't want to be spotty for graduation. I've found and spoken about a couple of hero products before, but I put them all together this week and wow, what a difference.

If we're looking at this in terms of days 1-7, then using the Lush Mask of Magnaminty would be what I do on day one. I'll make sure my skin is clean and dry before applying the mask to any problem areas (basically all over my cheeks and chin). I warn you now, use this SPARINGLY. The mask smells and feels amazing - it's got peppermint in so it's really cooling, and is grainy so works wonders on any unwanted skin texture. However, if you don't put on a really thin layer then it takes forever to dry and cracks and falls off as it dries so you don't get the full effect. When it's dry, wet your face and massage your skin before washing the mask off  with warm water to be left with super smooth skin. I use this once a week as my skin's sort of "reset" - I feel like doing this gets rid of anything left behind over the past 7 days.

Follow Me To: Graduation!

Hey Owlets,

Today I have a particularly special "Follow Me To" post. In case you've not been on any social media in the last two weeks... I'M A GRADUATE!! I am going to be filming a Q&A and I've already had a few questions about applying so I intend to do a completely separate post about that, but for now I just wanted to be able to share my day with you. 

My graduation trip actually started the day before the ceremony. Our ceremony was at 10am and there was absolutely no chance that I was going to get ready and do my makeup ready to leave home at 7am so we stayed in a hotel. We decided to celebrate the night before so went to Cafe Rouge for dinner. We decided to use Tesco Clubcard points to pay for it. In case you didn't know, you can transfer points into vouchers and they're worth 4 times more, so £2.50 in points is £10 in vouchers (not sponsored - I just don't think anyone knows about it!). Anyway, to the point of the story. Dad called because the vouchers hadn't come through, and as per usual he got chatting to the man on the phone, saying that we were in Cardiff for graduation, so he gave us an extra £10 voucher to say congratulations. Not particularly relevant but I thought that was so lovely! The food was great as ever, and they're really good for gluten free food too. We then went back to the hotel, I opened the presents my parents kindly gave me then we all had an early night.

Follow Me To: Bristol Zoo After Hours

Hey Owlets!!

I'm coming to you with my best flamingo impression today (I really hope you appreciate that photo - I nearly fell over several times). A few weeks ago I was invited to Bristol Zoo to check out their new Twilight Evenings and to try their new restaurant. If you've been reading The Owlet for a while, then you'll know that I jump at any opportunity to get to act like a child for a little bit longer, so I probably don't have to tell you how excited I was about this.

When we got to the zoo we were taken for a tour of the the animal enclosures, starting with the penguins and seals. This is a fur seal- they're called this because they have two layers of fur unlike other seals. They also have a serious set of lungs on them - I know this because this seal decided that he really didn't like the tour guide's talk and proceeded to swim around screeching every time the poor man spoke. I didn't laugh... too much.

5 Ways To Hack Your Hair

Hey Owlets,

I will never understand how bloggers turn up to events looking like they’ve had an entire backstage team hiding in their bathroom. I, if you couldn’t tell, am not one of those bloggers. I bought my first curling iron the night before the Blog Awards because my hair stylist bailed on me, and I think it took me about three hours to get ready (I already had my makeup done so that was just my hair!). I’m getting better now but I thought it might be nice to share some hair hacks that I’ve found since I’ve started paying more attention to it.

Take Care of Your Hair!

None of these tips will work if you don’t take care of your hair first. I used to ignore haircare and then get really annoyed that my hair would never go the way I wanted. It doesn’t have to be difficult. Use an intense conditioner when washing your hair - I wash my hair first then apply Aussie’s 3 minute miracle. By the time I’ve washed my body, exfoliated etc it’s had time to soak in and my hair is soft and smooth, ready to style.

June In Pictures

Hello loves!

We're going to be taking a step back towards vintage Owlet today. I was looking for photos to write a guide to Bristol (don't worry, it's coming!) when I realised just how much I'd managed to cram into June, so I thought it might be nice to give you a bit of a rundown of my personal highlights.

We kick off the month with a trip to London on 2nd June. I was very fortunate to be invited to Victoria's (InTheFrow) British Heart Foundation dinner. I got into London about 12pm and met up with my friend Alicia. We used to go to school together, and I hadn't seen or spoken to her again until the last few months so we spent the entire day chatting in a coffee shop just off Oxford Street. I picked up my dress from the Arcadia Offices (I know I've said this loads but thank you so much Simona!) and headed to the hotel. The meal was beautiful, and it was lovely to meet everyone.

I was originally planning to stay in London but was really sad to be missing a family event in Bristol the next day so I cancelled my hotel booking and went home the same night. 

The Self Love Tag

Hey Owlets,

First of all I need to say a massive apology for not being around much lately. I had it in my mind that  once I got through my uni hand in I could go back to posting twice a week, but since I left I've been even busier. If you saw my post on quitting Facebook you'll know that I've been getting a lot of abuse, and that's made it difficult for me to find the inspiration to write on The Owlet. So when Emily from Emily's Little Notepad tagged me to answer the Self Love Tag, I thought it would be a nice little break from regular programming. 

Rules:

1. Answer all the questions honestly.
2. Tag 5 people who you want to bring a bit of happiness to.

So lets get on with the questions: