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Life Updates and Exciting Events

Hey there.

This is novel.  Writing an entry for this blog seems like the strangest thing as I haven't done it since March.  And now it's almost July. Where has this year gone?  Well, I'll tell you, as my year so far, from March until now, has been hectic, stressful and jam-packed.

We had prelim exams in February, although I only had 2 subjects which required these, as Advanced Art doesn't have a prelim or final exam, just lots of other work. I did well in my prelims, despite little work. An A in Graphic Communication (second highest in the class, no biggie...) and a B in Philosophy.  Anyway, after my last post, my final exam's seemed to be fast approaching and art was getting more stressful by the day.  However, before we launched into exam leave, we all had to prepare ourselves for our final month; final week; final day; final hour.  Our year had our muck up day (consisting of water guns, water balloons, flour, etc.) on the last Thursday of our timetables and on Friday, the teachers prepared a day of bacon rolls and beach games (though most just came along for the free bacon rolls). And despite being told time and time again that "S5/6 exam leave starts on Tuesday and pupils are expected to attend school as normal on Monday", a VAST number of my class mates appeared to be 'ill' on that Monday.  Many treated Thursday as our last day, as I did since I knew attendance on Monday would be minimal, so many photos were taken and our Leavers hoodies were distributed.  I was in on Monday but classes seemed to have ceased, and I ended up spending most of the day in our art AV room.

Again, for the final exams, I only had the 2: one at the beginning of May and one the beginning of June.  The time in between would be spent in art.  As many of my peers celebrated their freedom from school and frolicked in the sun, our Advanced class slaved away indoors.  The work seemed relentless.  It consisted of hours of writing a dissertation, arranging sheets, sewing fabrics and modelling final outfits. By the end of it, I had really had enough and was tempted to throw in the towel, but I powered through and ended up completing everything on the 3rd of June (2 days before my final Philosophy exams, possibly the hardest subject I'd done. Ever.) with a dissertation of over 3,000 words, 2 outfits and 14, A3 sheets. I was exhausted, to say the least.  Of art, of school, of any type of work, but, of course, it wasn't over until the final page of Philosophy was read over for the final time.  I walked out of that exam, roughly 20 minutes before the end (since I was finished anyway), with a disconcerting look on my face as I realised that would be the final exam I ever sit in that hall.  I almost ran back to my desk and would refuse to leave, until my conscience convinced me otherwise.

Even after exams and school were over, I still had things to look forward to, and prepare for.  Although some may think it foolish of me, I went to the One Direction concert on June 3rd. Partly to celebrate my freedom from art, and partly to help me forget the looming darkness of the Philosophy exam that was less than 48 hours away from me.  It worked for both.  My friend (Eliza) and I, despite not camping out since 3 in the morning, were fairly close to the front since we were in a standing section between the stage and the central walkway.  The support act was 5 Seconds of Summer, who I had, a number of times, embarrassingly fangirled over in front of my friends.  They were perfect in every sense of the word.  As were One Direction.  Despite us telling people we were only going because we had to accompany Eliza's younger sister, if our friends had seen as there they would have seen through our lie.

And, as if all that wasn't enough, I have more.  I passed my driving test on the 12th of June.  I'm not ashamed to say it was my second attempt, but hey, the best drivers pass second time, right?  This allowed me more freedom to get around without needing to wait for my parents to take me places.  I could get myself to the hairdressers, and things of that nature.  Oh yeah, if you didn't know, I have brilliantly red and blonde ombr hair now, which is interesting.  The recently-departed sixth year were invited back to the school on the 13th (Yes, that was a Friday) for out Leavers lunch were the food was average but the company was exquisite.  For many, there were people they hadn't seen since our final day/exam.  It was also, sadly, put in to perspective by our now ex-Head Girl, that this would be the very last time our whole year would be together, since, despite the Leavers dance growing ever closer, not everyone would be attending.  It was somewhat heartbreaking, that some of these people that I'd spent either 6 or 13 or more years with, I may never see again.  So, we made the most of it.  We sat at our lunch table for the final time, eating food from the canteen for the last time, making memories in our school for the last time (cheesey, isn't it?).  We received our yearbooks and floated around tables having people write messages in them, laughing at some of the photos that had been chosen.  After many had drifted away, a convoy of us drove out to Lucas in Musselburgh for milkshakes and nachos.

The Lunch Table (or most of it)

Now for the part of our year that we (mostly the girls) had hotly anticipated for a very long time.  The Leavers dance.  It's all about dressing up fancy, getting your hair and nails done, and having your photos taken.  I'd had my eyebrows, toenails and fingernail extensions done on the Tuesday, as I was going on holiday on Saturday.  Leavers was on Thursday.  I had my hair re-dyed on Wednesday.  All my prep was done, and all my accessories had been purchased well in advance.  Wednesday, after my hair appointment, I went to get a cold drink as the weather was warm, to say the least.  Although I was unaware at this point, the weather was preparing us for the next day.  I went to pick up a bag from one of my friends and then drove through to Aberlady, her bag and mine slung on the backseat.  I dropped them off with another of my friends, whose dad would be checking us into our hotel for the next night.  And then it was time.  I'd managed to sleep well, although I felt like a child on Christmas Eve, anticipating the excitement of the next day.  My morning was fairly casual.  Well, as casual as it could be.  I went to get petrol and coffee, stopping off at work to collect tips, as this would be the last time I'd be in for a while, then raced down to the hairdressers to meet with my friends.  The time spent prepping and getting all done up seemed like a bit of a blur.  Two of my friends arrived at mine at around 3.30pm, as our pres were just up the road. We arrived just after 4, but not without me stressing and running up and down my stairs in my huge heels a number of times before I had everything.  At the time, I wasn't in the state of mind to comment but my friends looked angelic.  They scrub up pretty well...

At pres, I was quite literally taken aback (mostly because my heels were so high) by the consistently, and dangerously, high standards the girls and boys had set for dressing.  Everyone looked immaculate and fantastic.  I don't envy next year.  Good luck out doing us (although I'm sure they'll rise to it)!  What made it even better was the weather.  It was perfect, also, if a little too warm.  Before the buses arrived at 5.55 to pick us all up, copious amounts of champagne were consumed and hundreds of photos were taken while parents mingled with other parents, chatting about how lovely everyone looked.  Plus, to make it even more special, it was Eliza's 18th birthday.

Lauren, Sarah and myself at pres

When we made it to the venue, our room looked amazing.  Balloons floated from the middle of the table, while we were all greeted at our seats by bags of retro sweets.  It all seemed to go by so quickly, and I won't bore you with all the details, but the food was good and my table was perfect, sitting between two of my favourite people.  Alcohol seemed to be everywhere, hidden from view mostly, but I didn't have enough for it to ruin my night.  The music and dancing was amazing, but when all that was over, making our way (bare-footed) along the length of George Street to our hotel was invigorating.  We had 2 rooms, 3 girls in each, and all getting ready again.  The plan was to go back out with everyone  to a club, but me and one of my friends (Georgie) ended up back at the hotel (after I had traipsed round Edinburgh with others in the early hours of the morning) with McDonald's and the remaining buzz from Leavers.

Now, I'd say we went to sleep at around 2/2.30 only to be woken again by our other roommate coming in at half 3.  We dozed off again until she woke us with the announcement that she had 3 of our guy friends outside the door and that she was giving them refuge in our bathroom.  Now fully awake, and the boys no longer hiding in the bath, Georgie and I had our morning cup of tea at 10 past 4 in the morning.  We all chatted until 5 when Finlay, Johney and Nathan ran over to McDonalds to get themselves breakfast and us girls orange juice.  They ate as if it was the first meal they'd had in weeks.  Georgie left at around 7.30 to get a train, the boys and Callie were sprawled out asleep all across the room, so I left them to venture to the other room of girls, before subsequently going to get, and missing, a train.  I finally got a train with the hungover girls (sorry guys, but it's true) from our other room at quarter to 10.  Leavers had been quite something.

And now I'm on holiday in Turkey, sporting quite a nice pink burn down the backs of my legs currently.  You're all up to speed with my life, and I know that this post is horrendously long, but it's my list of excuses for not posting.  If you made it this far, I commend you.  If I hadn't of been writing it, I wouldn't have made it past the second paragraph.  Go you!

I will try to get back to posting more beauty related things, like I said I would but it'll have to be after T in the Park.  Yes, I still have other things planned.  For example, in September, I will be starting a 5 month beauty course at Mary Reid International Spa Academy in Edinburgh. I can't wait!

I hope you enjoyed catching up on my life.  Have a good day!

Iona xo

I'm sorry..

Hey there.

Okay, so I've been really super bad at posting on here recently, and that's the reason for the title.  I know I never said I was going to post according to a timetable, or upload things on a specific day every week or so, however, I still feel bad.  Maybe it's because my last two posts were so close together...

  In all honesty though, I've been so swamped with school work.  We have roughly 2 weeks left (not including our Easter holiday) before we go off on exam leave and leave high school forever. It's pretty scary, if I'm honest.  I'm really not looking forward to our last ever day, I'm sure it's going to really sad, and I won't cope well.  Anyway, my classes have been piling on the work load since we have to get all the courses finished in the allotted time, which means very little free time for me.  As well as classes, we have sixth-year-type things to organise like yearbook, the Leavers dance (which I'm on the committee for), leavers hoodies, final assemblies, plans for next year etc.  Although even writing it down, it doesn't seem much, I'm the worst for procrastinating so of course, I've left it all to the last minute...  Not sensible.

I'm going to write out my classes, and the things I have to complete before the start of exam leave/Easter holidays:

Higher Graphic Communication:  I need to complete a 12 paged (A3 size paper) thematic unit on a household item (I chose a plug..).  This consists of 5/6 hand-drawn pages, including rendered graphics, and 6/7 computer-based sheets using AutoCAD Inventor and Publisher.

Higher Philosophy:  Let me start by saying that I love this subject but at the same time it just destroys your brain.  We have 2 units still to finish completely, which will include essays and past paper questions, no doubt

Advanced Higher Art:  Thankfully for art we have until the beginning of June to send off our portfolios and dissertations but this means our class will have to continue coming into school to finish it whilst everyone else is off.  I need to start and finish my 2000 word dissertation, complete my outfit which I've not done a great deal of AND have enough work to fill 10 to 18 A1 sheets.  I plan on making a post on my AH art stuff once it's completed, as I'm hoping it will turn out well!

 Luckily, I only do 3 subjects this year, but Advanced Higher art is double the work load of a normal class, which also means it is double the stress.

That's all for this post!  Not very exciting, I know, but I will try to do some better posts as my school stress and work load start to die down.  Until then, you'll have to deal with very small and irregular posts on here.  I will TRY and do a Feb/March favourites at some point next week/weekend, but I'm not making any promises!

Have a good week.

Iona xo

Masquerade Ball NBHS

Hello there.

Two posts in one week?! What's happening to me? This one will only be short though...

Last week, we had another amazing ceilidh/dance/ball at North Berwick High School. An excuse to dress up (with masks!) and do some more Scottish ceilidh dancing. This event was organised by the House Captains of Glen, one of the school houses (I'm in Fidra, and the other two houses are Law and Craig), who I'm also very good friends with. I thought they did an amazing job of organising it, and making it a great night for everyone. 

The tickets cost just £3 pounds, and were available for all years. All the money that they raised from ticket sales (after paying for the band, of course) went to their sponsored child in Africa, and they have now raised enough to send her to school, which is just incredible! I'm so proud of all of them.

Glen House Captains, looking smart (minus masks)

I hope Finlay doesn't mind me pinching his photo of him and the other captains...

Me and Georgie before heading to the ball

Just a little update of recent school activities, I hope you enjoyed!

Have a good day.

Iona xo

January Favourites

Hello there.

Wow, so it's the 10th of February and I'm only just doing this now. I'm really behind, sorry!

As the title suggests, this is my January favourites. I'm going to do it in different little sections, so I'll have my favourite beauty products, my favourite song etc., to give a bit more order.

All my January favourites

BEAUTY

I've been liking quite a few beauty products this month but I managed to narrow it down to just 5.

1. Bobbi Brown blush in Desert Rose This blush has been worn by me a lot this month, close on everyday, that's how much I love it! I got it when I was in London and have been loving it ever since, I seem to find myself only reaching for this one when it comes to everyday make up now. The colour is quite a dusty pink but gives a beautiful and natural look when applied.

2. Collection Lasting Perfection concealer This stuff is amazing! I had seen other people raving about this concealer, which is why I went out and bought it, and I honestly could not believe how great it was. I have it in 2 shades, number 1, Fair, and number 2, Light. I tend to use both of them, to get extra coverage but even a little of either covers up so much. And the best part is, they are super cheap! It's a win-win.

3. Benefit Watt's Up highlighter I have used the Benefit High Beam highlighter in the past, and I do still use it occasionally, but I sometimes feel it's a little too pinky for my liking. However, Watt's Up is perfect. It has much more of a goldy shine to it and because it's a stick and not a cream, I find it much easier to apply and blend.

4. The Body Shop Born Lippy in Watermelon I'm quite a fan of fruit flavoured lip balms, but I usually lose them before finishing them. Born Lippy in Watermelon has been my favourite for a long time now and I think I've finished and repurchased it twice. It's very moisturising, smells (and tastes) amazing, and gives a nice pink shine to the lips. The only down side to it is the fact that it's in a pot and you have to get it on your finger before on your lips, leaving you with a sticky finger. Apart from that, it's fab.

5. Jo Malone Cologne in English Pear and Freesia I got this as one of my Christmas presents from my brother, and he did a great job of picking a smell that I would like. When it comes to things like perfumes, I can be very picky but I love this. I'm probably the worst at describing smells, so I'm not even going to try!

CANDLE

My favourite candle from January has been November Rain by Yankee Candle. Although it is not November any more, that is when I bought it. It's one of the bigger candles that they do, so, even though it has been burning in my room a lot, it still hasn't burnt out, which makes me happy! I will continue to have this as my main candle for my room until I find one that I like just as much.

FOOD/DRINK

For January, it has to be the original hot chocolate by Charbonnel et Walker. Best. Hot chocolate. Ever. During winter, I consume quite a bit of hot chocolate, but this is the best I've had in ages. I first had it at my friends house after she got it for Christmas, but then I sent my brother out to go get me some of my own because it was so good! The actually chocolate isn't a powder, but looks more like it has been grated. And also, the tin is really pretty...

SONG

This month, I have been loving George Ezra's music. He has such a great voice and sounds really unique. My favourite of his would have to be Budapest, I have been playing it so much in my room, I think my family will be sick of it! If you haven't heard it, I will add a link here.

RANDOM

So, now onto my random favourite, and it is quite random: it's my ukulele. Again, this was a Christmas present, but it was something I'd wanted for a while, just because it sounds amazing and looks a lot easier to play than a guitar. I haven't quite mastered it yet, but I'm trying. My friend has one also, and she taught herself to play it with a few books and online tutorials, so that's what I plan to do, too (hopefully, with her help though).


And that's it done! My January favourites is completed (even if it took a while..).

I love watching and reading other people's monthly favourites, so I hope, if you're like me, you have enjoyed reading mine, too!

Also, I kind of failed at my target of doing one post a week BUT I have an excuse: we have our prelim exam's coming up this month, which means lots of revision, and I've had portfolios to complete for University's. This year of school seems to be getting crazier and crazier as the weeks go on, so I'm not sure when I will have time to have a normal upload schedule, but I will try to keep this blog updated as regularly as possible!

Have a good day.
Iona xo

My Favourite Winter Lipsticks

Hello there.

Swatch order: Topshop, Rimmel London, Maybelline

I enjoyed listing my favourite winter nail varnishes in blog form, so I thought I would do the same with lipsticks. However, I am only going to do a top 3 for this one! I choice these three all for different reasons, none of them really have the same qualities as another, but I don't think that is going to be a huge problem. These lipsticks are all high street or drug store, so buying them won't break the bank! I will add the price underneath the photos.

Okay, here goes...

Maybelline Colour Whisper in Lust for Blush

Although this isn't your typical dark, winter lip colour, I like this product for many other reasons. The Colour Whispers by Maybelline are so moisturising which makes them perfect for winter. They will protect your lips from becoming chapped if you're out in the cold and will also add a really nice nude shine to your lips. These are also great if you have dark eye make up and want something subtle on your lips as they aren't too pigmented. I wear them a lot for school and work. Unfortunately, for you people in the UK, I picked this up (and 2 others) when I was on holiday in America in the summer, and they aren't currently available here (or not that I am aware of). I believe I got these in Target for around $5, which is roughly £3.

Rimmel London Kate Moss lipstick in 107

Something a little darker now: Rimmel London Lasting Finish lipstick by Kate Moss. A lot of my favourite lipsticks are the Kate Moss ones because they are so pigmented and the shades are very wearable. This colour is from the slightly newer line from Kate Moss and Rimmel, and what I love about this colour (and the whole of the new collection) is that it has a matte finish! I don't know why I love matte so much, on lips and nails, but I just do. Maybe it's because you could also make this shiny, if you added a gloss over it. The colour, also, is really nice for winter as it's a little darker than your typical red. I don't think that the photo and swatch really do it justice, but it is really nice to brighten up your make up. I would definitely recommend buying this, especially since you can get it in Superdrug or Boots for about £5.50.

Topshop lip bullet in Wine Gum

Finally, my absolute favourite lip colour at the moment, the lip bullet by Topshop. These things are just amazing, everything about them is perfect! Firstly, I think that Topshop have done really well with there make up packaging, it's not too over the top but it's pretty different to most other brands. Also, the lip bullets look great, and they are just as easy to carry around as any other lipstick. Secondly, the colour is a really nice dark berry red, more of a traditional winter colour. You can give these a matte affect by applying and then lightly blotting off. This works well as the colour is very pigmented and stays on the lips well, almost like a stain. These lip bullets can also be layered, so you can make the colour as intense as you want. And thirdly, the consistency of this product, despite it being a stick, is creamy and smooth, making it easy to apply and fix. I can't stop raving about the lip bullets, and I think that everyone should own at least one of these! It was slightly more pricey than the other two, but even £8 is not a ridiculous amount to be spending on a lipstick, in my opinion. I will definitely be buying more of these lip bullets in other shades!

So there we go, my 3 favourite lipsticks for winter! As I said, it's not only the colour of these products that I like, but other factors about them too. I've been feeling super uninspired the past few weeks, probably because it's January, but I will be trying my best to post something on here every week (or every other week). They may be shorter than this, and also may not have a beauty theme, but, yes, I will try for once a week.

I hope you enjoyed this and have a good day.

Iona xo

Christmas Dance NBHS

Hello there.

First of all, Happy New Year to you, I hope that your festive season was wonderful! I still can't quite believe that its 2014 already, I was only just getting used to writing 2013 in the date. Hopefully, 2014 won't fly by as quickly!

I thought that for this post, I would share with you my last ever Christmas dance at my high school. Each year has a dance; some years share (3rd & 4th, and 5th & 6th) but the 1st and 2nd years have separate ones. At them, we do traditional Scottish ceilidh dancing, which gets better and better the further up the school you go! The Christmas dances are the highlight of year for a lot people (mainly the girls) because everyone gets to dress up, it's right before Christmas and New Year, and you get to see and talk and dance with the whole year, which is lovely as we only see each other all together when we are in school. 

Having a joint dance can get slightly chaotic (and very warm) as our school hall is not extremely big and there is always trouble fitting everyone in. However, it is so much more fun having two years as everyone can mingle and, mostly, we all get on very well. 

In 6th year, the dance is unforgettable! The whole year knows that this is going to be the last dance we will have in the school, all together, so during the dances, everyone seems to get so into it and give it everything they've got, which is amazing. The year is also so close by then, that you can have so much fun and dance with so many different people, instead of just sticking to your one group of friends. Despite all the fun you have, no sixth year can deny the sadness they feel during our final waltz. You look around the hall and see people, who you would never imagine, crying and hugging the person they are dancing with. I was lucky enough to have my final dance with my best friend, which was wonderful, and heartbreaking.

Overall, the night was incredible, and I think the whole year would (hopefully) agree with me!

 In sixth year, we are also allowed to help out at the younger years dances, which is nice to do as you get to see the progression of the ages, how they become more comfortable dancing with people as the years go on. It also makes you jealous as they still have more Christmas dances ahead of them, and, unfortunately, you don't!

Georgie, myself, Anya and Callie

Above is a photo of me and a few of my very close friends before we left to go the dance. It was amazing how stunning and grown up all of my friends looked, seeing as I've known all of them since they were about 12, or younger! Now, this isn't just a photo of me and these lovely girls, but it's actually more of the dresses as we all got our dresses from the same place, the online shop Jones + Jones. I've linked it as they have beautiful dresses, and it's definitely worth a look.

The Girls (minus a couple, and, also, Georgie isn't paying attention)

This will forever make me smile because they are all amazing!

Finlay, my final waltz partner and my best friend

I'm sorry that this post was not beauty related but I really wanted the internet to know about our Christmas dances, and how fab they are! I also wanted to post some pictures of my friends because they all looked very beautiful/handsome. I hope you all enjoyed reading this, because I certainly enjoyed writing it for you.

Have a good day.

Iona xo


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