A Night In Town Outfit Choices

Hi guys! How are you?
I'm going into town tomorrow night with my best girlfriends for some drinks and a bit of night clubbing. But I need your advice on which outfit I should wear!
I brought some cute wedges today so would like to wear them but which outfit do they go better with? Should I play it sassy and sexy it cute and girly? 

I need you! Just post a comment down below which outfit you prefer or maybe you might have another suggestion?

Thanks, you lifesaver!

Love Just Al xxxx

Shopping Outfit of the Day- British Summer Edition

One thing us Brit's have to get used to is that summer doesn't always mean sunshine and warm weather. Today I had a driving lesson and then went to do a bit of shopping. Although it was sunny outside, the weather wasn't near the 20 degree mark. So I decided to show you my take on an English shopping outfit to show how I look summery, without getting goose bumps!

So my shopping look is made up of black skinny jeans from River Island, I light, white, floaty blouse from New Look which keeps you cool even on the hottest days, a denim, spotty waist-coat from the Angel range in Marks and Spenser's, nude ballet pumps from Tesco's and a brown bag from New Look.

Because this look is sleeveless, it keeps me cool throughout the day and has a summery feel even if there are clouds in the sky. I can also take the waistcoat off throughout the day if it warms up a little bit and the outfit still looks good. On a hotter day, I could team my top half of my outfit with a skater skirt which would look really cute too!





Accessories!


 My ring was a present from one of my friends so I'm not sure where it is from but my pale pink bracelet's are from Primark.

 I seem to have a bird theme going on with my jewellery as my bird necklace is from Dorothy Perkins and matches my bird ring :)





I keep my hair out of my face with this cute spotty clip from New Look :)

And that's it for my outfit of the day! I hope you like it :)

 

Love Just Al xxx

 

 

Nail Varnish of the Week!

When I think of summer, I think of pastel, light colours, sunshine and happiness. And it's only fair that my nails reflect that right? So I took this as an excuse to buy some new nail varnish and this lilac colour is officially my nail colour this week! I got it from Claire's Accessories for £2.50 and it promises to be chip resistant.
I have had it on for two days and no chipping is insight so far despite testing it out on opening cans/containers and washing my hair (all in the name of research right? ;-))
I did put two coats on although the colour looked okay with one coat. I am happy with the colour as it is different to any other colour I own and very on trend with the summer pastels this year. It is definitely worth the price so if you're looking for a new summer colour for your nails, check this out!
Happy nail painting!

The Lady, the lift and the Strangers

I love the stories you hear from people you have just met. You know that they have said this story a few times because the words sound more confident and structured. But there is some magic about hearing a new story and knowing that you will tell it to your friends or maybe a person you’ve just met and that will be their first time hearing it and it will spread from their ears to their tongues and the story will keep travelling through different ears and mouths…

So I decided to share this story to you and maybe you will share this story?

Background information

I heard this story (which is true, may I just point out) about two weeks ago from a guy called Steve. I was doing some acting work with him at Birmingham City University and at lunch we drifted to that silence you get with people you’ve just met and don’t really know that well. And then he said, ‘One of my friends is a travel agent. Travel agents have the best stories they do.’ And that’s when I knew I was in for a treat.

The Lady, The Lift and The Strangers

One day a Scottish elderly couple in their 70s walked into the travel agents to book a holiday for their wedding anniversary. Neither of them had been abroad before but for some reason they decided they wanted to visit Las Vegas. Everything was going well on their holiday until as they were walking out of their hotel, the old lady realised she had left her handbag in her hotel room. She told her husband to wait in reception whilst she retrieved it and headed towards the lift.

As she was walking, she felt the presence of people behind her and turned to see three black men following her. (No racist comment intended- facts are facts) The old lady felt threatened by their presence and hurried into the lift with the hope it would close quickly. Unfortunately, her wish was not granted and the men followed her into the lift.

‘Hit the floor’, one of the men said. The old lady quickly dived onto the floor, her hands on her head, trembling with fear. The men seemed taken aback by lady’s response. They had merely meant for her to choose which floor her room was on, yet she presumed they were going to mug her! The men felt terrible that they had upset the old lady and calmed her down and walked her to her room to make sure she was okay.

The last day of their holiday arrived and the elderly couple went to reception to pay for their room. Yet, the staff at reception seemed adamant that their bills had been paid. Confused, the elderly man asked to see the manager to explain.

‘Are you the lady from the lift?’ said the manager to the old lady. She blushed, presuming her incident had travelled around the hotel.

‘Yes.’

‘All your bills had been paid as an apology by Mr Will Smith,’ the manager said with a smile. It turned out that the three men were none other than Will Smith and his body guards!

Hope you enjoyed this (true) story!

What would you do if you were in a lift with Will Smith?

xxx

 

 

My Summer Sountrack

Summer has finally hit England! YAY! And with it, it has brought lots of lazy days, road trips and just hanging out with friends. But one thing that has accompanied summer and all it's events is music. Music is such an important part of my life just because it can have such an impact on my mood and can make me feel happy when I am sad and relax me when I'm stressed. So I thought I'd share with y'all my favourite tunes that I have been loving during summer!

Road Trips

My boyfriend has recently passed his driving test which luckily for me means a lot of free lifts and the chance to have road trips :) I am definitely the type of person to be travelling in a car and imagine I am in some music video with some dramatic music on in the background! But for summer, upbeat classic songs are the way forward for me.

1. 'Drive By' by Train. This song is perfect to sing along to with your friends. It may old now  but I love the upbeat chorus and the way you can't help but bob your head along with the beat!
2. 'Wouldn't It Be Nice' by The Beach Boys. This is what you call a classic summer tune. This song is so retro and put's you in a happy, relaxed mood- fabulous for swaying along to in the car.
3. 'C'est La Vie' by B*Witched. Okay okay this may be a bit of a guilt pleasure but I am a 90s baby and B*Witched ruled my school discos as well as S Club 7. But this song is the one all my girl mates can't help but belt out and make us feel five years old and carefree all over again!
4. 'Livin' On A Pray' by Bon Jovi. I don't think I need to say anymore about this song other then, roll down the windows, turn up the volume and prepare your vocal chords for some serious singing!
5. 'All These Things That I've Done' by The Killers. The 'I've got soul but I'm not a soldier' chant in this song is one that everyone joins in with. I actually first heard of this song on a school trip when I went skiing in Austria and this song reminds me of that long but happy coach journey to get there.

Chilling in the Garden with Friends

I've spent most of this week soaking up the rays on my friends hammock in her garden drinking strawberry milkshake and singing along to uplifting songs. Fabulous.

1. 'Walking On Sunshine' by Katrina and the Waves. This song is guaranteed to put a smile on everyone's face and create a summery atmosphere!
2. '5 Years Time' by Noah And The Wale. 'And they'll be sun, sun, sunnnn...' Get everyone whistling to this song and feel young and carefree :)
3. 'Come On Eileen' by Dexys Midnight Runners. This song used to be one stereotyped for weddings to get the great aunties and grandparents to wiggle about too. But since 'The Perks of Being a Wallflower', this song has suddenly become cool again and who can not help but copy Charlie's walk up to Sam and Patrick in the dance scene?
4. 'She's So Lovely' by Scouting For Girls. This song is so so catchy and uplifting that you just want to jump around the garden!
5. 'In The Summertime' by Mungo Jerry. 'In the summer time when the weather is hot, you can stretch right up and touch the sky...' Perfecto.

Summer Parties!

Colourful, homemade punch and summer dresses, summer parties are the best. Let's turn the music up and get everyone dancing!

1. 'Blurred Lines' by Robin Thicke ft. Pharrell Williams & T.I. This song is high in the charts for a reason. And that reason is that it is so catchy and has this cool, relaxed feel about it that makes even the most uncoordinated person feel like they can dance along.
2. 'The Other Side' by Jason Derulo. This song just screams 'PARTY' with it's steady bass and an uplifting chorus!
3. 'Mr Brightside' by The Killers. And the award for the most reliable song to get a group of teenagers to jump around like crazy fools and to wave their hands in the air (like they just don't care!) goes to.. 'Jealousy, turning saints into the sea. Swimming through sick lullabies. Choking on your alibis. But it's just the price I pay. Destiny is calling me. Open up my eager eyes. ‘Cause I'm Mr. Brightside" (Yeah I totally just sang along to that..)
4. 'I Love It' by Icona Pop. The repetitive lyrics in the is song make sure that by the end of it's two and a half minute duration you know every word.
5. '22' by Taylor Swift. I am a bit of a Swiftie so I couldn't resist including this song. However it's a great song to get you into the party mood :)

So that's a few of my summer songs. Have you got a song you have been loving this summer? I would love to hear about it in the comments! Have a fabulous summer- be safe, be happy and be carefree. :)

Love Just Al xxx

How to Make the Best First Impression

I don't know about you (but I'm feeling twenty-twooo.. okay sorry.. back to blogging..) but I find meeting new people kind of scary. I don't understand why as most people would probably describe me as quite confident. I mean, I've been acting since I was about 7 and been performing in shows since I was 4, so really one thing I should be is confident. But the idea of meeting new people seems quite daunting to me. There was even a time when I was apprehensive to even approach shopping assistants in supermarkets...
Since then, I have had no choice but to meet new people through joining sixth form college and acting work, but I still get nervous. Yesterday I had some training to do with some casual work I do at my local theatre and I knew I would have to meet a large group of new people and my heart started pumping. But why did I feel this way?
I think it is because I really just want to be liked. In this large world, I have no enemies (that I know of anyway). Of course, I have people that I dislike through them being mean to me or my friends but I don't hate them. I just stay away from them. But if a person is nice to me, I am nice back. So when it comes to new people, I just want them to like me.
I think it also comes down to self confidence. When I was younger, I was quite fat (I am actually the same weight I was when I was 11 believe it or not!) and I was very aware of it and a lot of my friends were thinner then me. This meant I had quite low self esteem and would hide it by being the 'funny' or 'loud' person. But now I still sometimes feel aware of people looking at me and a little voice in my head tells me that they are thinking horrible things about me when really they might be saying nice things like 'ooo I like her top' or 'hmm when's lunch?' So when I meet new people, I always think they might have a bad first impression of me based on my appearance. (I know that's ridiculous but surely I am not the only one right?)
But yesterday, in the morning before I had to go to my training course, I had an epiphany. It hit me like lightning striking a tree in a sudden storm (okay I realise I am just being dramatic now..). Anyway, I realised something. Who cares? Who cares if they don't like my top? Or that maybe I should have had fruit for breakfast instead of leftover cake because now my thighs look fat? The fact is, if people are so quick to judge a person by their appearance then maybe they don't deserve to be your friend. Life is too short to spend time worrying about what people think of you. If you like that 'vintage' top you are wearing that really is your mums and looks like your playing dress-up, then good for you.
And I am going to tell you a secret, they say first impressions count and that they effect show that person thinks of you from then on. Well honestly, that is rubbish. People will always make assumptions about others. Don't say you don't because you do, whether they are good or bad. But first impressions can change. You have the power to change them. And I will now tell you how.
SMILE. That's it. Smile. Because if you walk into a room full of strangers and give the first person you see a smile, they will smile back and they will create a first impression on you through that smile. And that is how you make the best first impression.
But another tip is confidence. Wear something you love and you will automatically feel more confident walking into a room. Maybe if you have some earrings your best friend complimented the other day, pop them in your ears and think about that compliment and you will feel better about wearing them.
And now I will share with you my favourite poem. This is a poem I memorised in my high school that I looked at twice a week for 4 years whilst lining up for P.E class. (Yes I was that geeky kid ;)) And I love this poem so much because it is so simple and true and to this day, I still know it word for word.

Smiling is infectious,

you catch it like the flu,

When someone smiled at me today,

I started smiling too.

 

I passed around the corner

and someone saw my grin.

When he smiled I realised

I'd passed it on to him.

 

I thought about that smile,

then I realised its worth.

A single smile, just like mine

could travel round the earth.

 

So, if you feel a smile begin,

don't leave it undetected.

Let's start an epidemic quick,

and get the world infected!

 

 

Hope this wasn't toooo cheesy for you ;)

Love Just Al xxx



PROM! My Face Products

My year 13 prom was last Friday so I thought it would be a good opportunity to share all the products I used on my face that morning.
My skin type is combination. I tend to have dry skin during the winter but oily skin in the summer but get breakouts all year round. (Whoopie!) Because it was prom I wanted to try and have perfect skin (well as much as possible anyway) so I prepared my skin all week by eating fruit for breakfast and for snacks and drinking as much water as possible. I also avoided spicy foods and made sure I cleansed my face every morning and evening. This meant that on the day of the prom, my skin was fairly good with only a few blemishes.

So I started off by washing my face with my favourite face wash of all time, 'No7. Beautiful Skin Foaming Cleanser'. Many people say that foaming cleansers are bad for your skin because it strips your skin from its natural oils and ironically can make your skin 'too clean'. However I found this product to be quite mild on my skin. It washed away all my leftover make-up and troubles of the day and left my skin feeling soft rather then dry. I have been using this product religiously for nearly two years now and have never looked back. It has been the only drug store product that I have used that has been successful on my skin and has decreased the amount of blemishes I used to get, stopped my skin from being oily and also stopped it from going dry. Yep, it really is a miracle worker. And as you can tell, I am going to be running out of this product very soon! But the great thing is, it lasts for ages as you only need one pump of this baby every time you wash your face!

As it is prom day (i.e.. a very special occasion!), I decided to treat my skin with a face serum. I tried out 'No.7 Lift and Luminate' day serum and applied a pea sized amount after I had cleansed my face. Even though this product is aimed to stop the signs of aging, my motto is 'you're never too young to use anti-aging products' and considering I am now 18, I have noticed a few winkles on my face and I might as well stop the process now to help my skin later! I found this serum to have beautiful results on my face. It made my face feel super super soft without making it greasy. It also made my skin look healthy by adding a slight glow, perfect for my prom princess look!

And now for my favourite thing since discovering mascara, 'Freederm Fast Track Spot Gel'. I have tried every product under the sun to get rid of my blemishes from tea tree to toothpaste, but this product has been the only one to make a real difference. It promises to reduce the appearance of spots in 3 hours, and I honestly believe it does. I apply a blob of this beauty to my spots before moisturising and it immediately soothes any particularly irritating blemish and in a day or so, 'POOF'- Gone! The only thing I would say about this product is to be careful if you have sensitive or dry skin as it can irritate your skin. But I would still recommend this product 100%

To moisturise my skin, I used 'Nivea's Light Moisturising Day Cream' which has SPF 15. It says it is for normal to combination skin so hopefully it will be able to tame my oiliness and dryness. This product is light and easy to use as well as being cheap. I think it does what it says on the tin (or tube.. whatever..) and who can argue with that?!

Okay I know my last product isn't exactly for your face but just call me a rule breaker and be done! But I thought I would include it in this post just because I used this on my prom day and thought it was a great product. I thought it smelt amazing and it promised to keep me smelling wonderful for 48hrs. Admittedly, I did top up on deodorant before leaving for prom for safe measures so I can't be sure whether it would have kept me 'protected' for 48hrs but it smelt so good and fresh, I still think it is a great product :)

So that's all folks! I hope you enjoyed reading this post. Please comment and follow.

Love Just Al xxx