An interest in witchcraft...

... well sort of.

FIRST IMPRESSION: Witch Blemish Stick

So I was in Sainbury's yesterday with my housemate, and was looking for some kind of face wash I could use in the shower. I have make-up remover and stuff that I use on an evening (and morning sometimes....), but wanted something to help with the occasional breakout. I picked up this beautiful little witch (hence the witchcraft title...) blemish stick (because all the face washes were so expensive), and was so shocked. Seriously... it is like witchcraft; IT'S MAGIC.

The product is a witch hazel block that applies to the face in a similar way to that 4head headache product thing. It's almost like one of those rock salt deodorant type thing, but soft. It applied like a gel? Anyway, whilst difficult to explain what it feels like on the face, it is easy to explain what it did to my face.

I applied a few layers to one of my blemishes on my face on the evening, and woke up to find it was literally almost gone. Without a trace. And I swear, just now I applied some over it again just to see, and half an hour later it was gone. This is all within like 12 hours of having first applied it. I am so so impressed with this product so far, and am giving it:

For only £1.30 (although it was half price I believe), it has done an absolutely superb job. I will keep you updated in case my face suddenly comes out in hives or whatever, but for now, good job Witch!

I'VE BEEN STABBED (again); India Update 3

So, just to reiterate, I was only stabbed by a needle. 

Just another quick update whilst I am sat in a break in a lecture... I had another jab on Monday; my second Twinrex (combined Hep A and B). This one didn't hurt nearly as much as the Typhoid one. No-where near. I also organised a cake sale (finally) with a few of the girls on the trip. If you are a Loughborough student, and are around the library next Tuesday (which, come on, you should be because exams are very soon...), then come and buy a cake from us! As I say every post, every penny counts. And this way, you get something for your money too!!

I'VE BEEN STABBED... India Update 2

... with a needle. Two actually. I wanted to clear that up from the beginning!

So a quick India update. Can you believe its only 93 days until I fly to India for a month? I got my itinerary yesterday, and I've genuinely never been so excited for a trip, ever. It's going to be fabulous, and I can't wait!

On another note, I got two injections for the trip. Typhoid (which hurts like you wouldn't believe) and the Combined Hep A and B shot. I have another in one month, and a final dose in 6 months (after I get back). 

I'm also on the hunt for a cake sale outside the library around exam time... so many things to arrange and so little time. But for now... a link to my JustGiving page: https://www.justgiving.com/sharla-bennison. 

It would mean the absolute world to me if you could spare a £1, or just give it a share so that people can see it. If you would like to learn more about the charity I am going to help, please click here: http://www.russfoundation.in/index.php 

Thank you. Your views mean the world to me!

India Update 1!

So I did the bucket collection on Wednesday, as you know, and I thought it went alright, but wasn't too enthusiastic to find out the total. I didn't think we'd managed to raise that much. We did the bucket collection on the Wednesday before Halloween, and after a very big Stupid Tuesdays, and it really was absolutely dead in the Union that night.


However, regardless of all of that, I found out on Thursday (at the first India meeting) that we'd managed to raise £84! And I also found out that on the Friday, they raised £150 something meaning that split between the 6 of us that took part, the total £240ish means we have raised £40 each!! I am so pleased with that, it's unreal. I said to myself before the bucket collection that £30 each would be a huge achievement, and to be honest, I didn't even expect £20 each. I am so impressed... and it'll go straight towards my total of £1450! (which is now down to £1400 after an anonymous £10 donation on my page. Thank you to that person, if you're reading this!!

EXCITING! I hope to be able to do more bucket collections soon, but I also have a few big plans for fundraising too, and have already started contacting people... watch this space...

If you want to donate, please visit www.justgiving.com/sharla-bennison. I understand if you cant donate... but please feel free to share this too! The blog, the link... whatever is easiest. I would just love to get my story heard. Thank you so much for reading this!

London Town

 

So the other day I went to London with my sisters and dad, and it was the most amazing day ever. I guess this will be a kind of haul/ descriptive journal of that visit; it was so much fun!

We started off at a really cute store on Shaftesbury Avenue called Japan Centre. This place was not only huge, but was decorated so amazingly, and was filled with the most exciting things! The most exciting bit for me, but probably not for normal humans, was the whole aisle dedicated to green tea; there were green tea leaves, green tea bags and a variety of green tea flavoured things... Some I thought were funny were: green tea jelly, green tea macarons, green tea kitkats and finally green tea biscuits. I bought some green tea bags from here, and a can of a cold green tea flavoured drink. Mmmm.

I headed over to a small hippy shop after this, and picked up some incense and some pink agate. Next we headed to a shop called Forbidden Planet, and we wandered round for ages looking at all the cool things. This is a shop which is full of things from TV shows, movies, comic books and more; basically the worlds coolest "fandom" shop, as my sister calls it. The basement level is a huge area dedicated to comics, anime and loads of graphic novels... not 100% up my street, but I could definitely see the appeal.

We waltzed through Chinatown and Neals Yard, and came across this gorgeous little shop called the "Tea Rooms"; here my dad decided to treat me to my very own tea strainer, and some fresh green tea leaves (with chai) to go with it. As sad as this sounds to the average person my age, I absolutely loved it, and have never been more excited to have a cup of tea... ever.

After there, we headed over to Chutneys on Drummond Street for lunch; this is the best place ever if you like indian food. It was a buffet, and was all you can eat for £6.75 a head; not bad considering its the middle of London! I loved lunch, and definitely ate my fill. Mmmm.

We then went off to Camden Town, which was the sole purpose of coming to London today. We waltzed around for a few hours, visiting and seeing everything we could, including (of course) Cyberdog. If youre not familiar with cyberdog, its basically a really dark, scary shop with lots of UV light, loud music and people dancing on balconies above you. Its a really fun place to visit if you're in Camden; I definitely would give it a go.

In Camden, I bought my boyfriend a coaster with the words "Of course I love you, now get me a beer", and a man with a beer glass on it, and bought myself a gorgeous ring which is silver with a turquoise stone.

It was an amazing day, all in all. My only regret is that it was "London Live"on Snapchat... and I didn't manage to get on it :( I did my very best though... fingers crossed for next time!!

Dismissing the hype...

So if you are an avid beauty lover like myself, you will have heard of the Maybelline Eraser Eye; the concealer that all the big beauty names are talking about right now. I bought this product, after having seen a million reviews on blogs and youtube. I thought that as so many people had been talking about it, it must be good, right?

Wrong. I have had nothing but trouble with this concealer from the beginning. For me, the lightest shade is too orangey, and I'm not even that pale! Its cakey, leaves creases almost as soon as its applied, and its packaging is pants... who uses those foam/ sponge nozzles nowadays? It's not the nineties anymore!! 

I literally can't stand it. I was so disappointed too, because so many people (including my own mum!) love this product, and I had to take out a small mortgage to be able to buy it too... its so overpriced! I think in future, I'll stick to what i know... Lasting Perfection and Rimmel's Hide the Blemish stick. I'm going shopping today for a new foundation (the one i have had for over a year has finally given up on me, so I'm excited to try something else), a new liquid eyeliner and maybe something for my brows... We shall see.

Hello again!

So I'd first like to apologise for the fact that I have been a very absent blogger in the past month. I have just got a new job (some of you on my Facebook will already know), and it involves marketing for a local company. I would like to do a whole blog post on my blog about it anyway, so I won't bore you with the details just yet!

Its also the summer for me, so when I haven't been working, I've been out seeing my boyfriend and my other friends. I thought I'd just update you on stuff I've been up to, just incase you're interested! ;)

So the first exciting thing that happened was I went on holiday to Spain with one of my good friends. We had such a lovely time, and I also want to do a whole blog post on that too. Its just finding the time, ahhh! A week or so later, we went to see Ed Sheeran in Wembley, London, and it was the most amazing experience ever. When he played Tenerife Sea, I cried like a baby! It was epic.

I then spent a lot of time with my boyfriend, as we hadn't seen each other for ages because of his cruise, and my holiday, and uni in general. It was so amazing just being able to chill out at each others houses and spend quality time together. We haven't done much, been on a few dates and went to Crazy Pirate Golf the other day, but we've been exploring Milton Keynes on our bikes, and that has been so much fun! 

The other exciting thing thats happened is I got to see my bestie that I did a previous blog post about (the shopping trip one), and that was awesome. She came down on a Thursday, and didn't leave until the Monday. We went shopping on Thursday (she bought NOTHING... such a fail of a working girl!), out on a night out on the Saturday with my mum and her bestie (my second mum), and that was a messy night... On the Sunday her boyfriend came up (I'd not met him), and my boyfriend came over, and we had a double date at Nandos. The boys stayed over, and we played Cards Against Humanity, Mario Kart and Mario Party, and watched a film. All in all, we had a really nice few days, and I miss her already! I have an idea of a blog post I can do based around that trip too ;) 

Anyway, thats my life so far. I am going on holiday to Wales soon, which is super exciting, and then I am jetting off to Denmark to see my big bro! So more exciting blog posts to come.. they just might take a while!

Review: MUA Undress Your Skin Shimmer Highlighter

I haven't done a makeup review on my blog yet, however I have drafted a few. As I haven't posted in a while, I thought I'd stick up a review!

I have been using this MUA highlighter (in the golden shade, they also sell a pink shade which I am DEFINITELY going out to buy soon!!) for a long time. I bought it back in April, and especially as it's started to get hotter in england, have started wearing it a lot more. I pair it with my Bourgeois Bronzer and my cream blush by Maybelline or my rose gold blush by Sleek, and it always makes me feel super pretty!

Its very shimmery and lovely, and has a good pigment to it. It brings out flecks of gold that  can look a bit strange if you apply to your nose/ chin when contouring. However, on the top of your cheeks and under the brow, its beautiful. Couldn't recommend this more, and its cheap! ;D

The End of First Year

So I don't really know how this blog post is going to be structured. All I know is I wanted to talk about the last year of my life that has been spent in the most amazing place. I finished my last exam yesterday, and my summer has officially begun. Over the next week, so many exciting things are going to happen, and I wanted to write about them, so I can treasure them forever!

My first year at Loughborough University is over, and I am so sad to see it put behind me. When I think back, back to Freshers, and Halloween, and Christmas and Easter, I think of some amazing times and amazing accomplishments that I've managed to achieve on the way.

In semester one, I managed to get a 71% overall; which is a First (top level you can get in a degree). I might not get that overall throughout the entire year, but at least I know I managed to achieve it in my first semester ever at University. Semester one also included several AMAZING nights out, and involved getting to know my flat (and one of my best friends' flat), and several good course mates that I'll love forever. I have made so many friends in Rigg-Rut (my hall) that I know I'll stay in contact with for a long time.

Semester two was when it all kicked off for me though. I've managed to secure myself a summer job, a job in the Union starting from September, and a part time promotion job for throughout. I am so excited to start all of these things, and feel independent. Rigg-Rut Summer Ball was amazing, and I'm gutted to have missed Stage Society's Summer Ball (nothing will hold me back for the winter one!!). Another thing that happened throughout mainly semester two, is that I was appointed as Stage Society's secretary; something that has completely changed my university experience as a whole. I've got to know a whole new bunch of people who I think are absolutely brilliant, and I can't wait for the next couple of years with them. 

Over the next week, I get to chill, work with my fabulous flatmate, experience Rigg-Rut day (celebrating a year in Rigg-Rut), and most importantly, watching series 3 of Orange is the New Black; which came out today!! (oh, and I get to see my boyfriend, who has been on a 17 night cruise, and I've really missed! I guess thats kind of awesome too ;D). 

In a week and a bit, me and one of my bestest friends are jetting off to Spain, and my summer really begins! I'm undoubtedly going to do a blog post about the whole week, but I thought I'd mention it because I'm so excited! Heres to the summer!

Who am I?

So it has occurred to me that you have no idea who I am. I have people reading my blog from Australia, USA, Ireland and several places in Europe that I've never even visited, let alone know people there. Obviously the UK views are most likely people I know, so if you do know me already, feel free to skip this. I thought I'd do a little portfolio thingy explaining who I am and what I like.

Who I am:

Name: Sharla Louise Bennison.

Age: 19 years old.

Star Sign: Sagittarius.

Hair colour: Fake ginger most of the time, but currently a mousey brown colour.

Eye colour: Green.

University: Loughborough University.

Course: BSc Psychology.

Relationship status: In a relationship with a Mr Dominic Muir. <3

Likes and Dislikes:

Favourite food: pizza, or cous cous.

Favourite soft drink: Diet Coke or Dr Pepper.

Favourite alcoholic beverage (I'm a student, this had to be in here!): currently Dark Fruits Strongbow, but it always changes.

Favourite TV show: Currently Orange is the New Black, but I have also been addicted to Once Upon a Time.

Favourite book: The Fault in our Stars or P.S. I Love You.

Favourite song: again, always changes, but my long-term favourite song is All of Me; John Legend.

Favourite makeup item: I love all of my lipsticks; my fave atm is the kate moss one, i have a corally peach colour and its beautiful.

Least fave food: tomatoes. Can't stand the buggers.

Least fave soft drink: dandelion and burdock; it is GROSS.

Least fave alcoholic beverage: anything with gin, or peach schnappes.

Least fave TV show: um... not sure tbh. There's nothing that stands out as rubbish to me.

Least fave book: I love books, but hated New Moon (Twilight); I wasn't a fan of Jacob, so it was poo.

Least fave song: I literally can't stand most of Sam Smiths music (I know; I need looking at... sad!).

Least fave makeup item: I was really disappointed with the collection lipsticks, although I do have a few that stand out and are good.

Interests:

Books, blogging, wearing onesies all day, singing, dancing and acting.

Thats pretty much it... but last and not least, here is a picture of me! I know you've seen my ugly mutt before in past blog posts, but thought it wouldn't be a complete portfolio without a good old-fashioned selfie!

Hope you enjoyed!

Who am I voting for?

So with today being a really important day for Britain, I decided to write this blog post about who I'm voting for. Basically, for me, I was initially torn between Tories, Lib Dem and Green.

I don't want to get a load of hate for this blog post, because at the end of the day, your political views are your own, and we all have different reasons for voting for different parties. I mean, I don't think anyone who is voting differently to me is wrong, I just don't share their opinion. And thats okay.

Basically, I like David Cameron. I don't think he is appreciated enough by the British public for what he did for this country during the recession. He literally dragged us out of it, and for that, we should be grateful. I don't necessarily think every single decision they made throughout the last 5 years has been right, but all in all, I support their ideal and I don't think that people are fair when they say that the Conservatives "only look out for the rich". However, I don't know if I wholly agree with their ideas for the next term in parliament, having read their manifesto.

I also like the ideals the Lib Dems follow. I liked their manifesto, and their ideas to increase the NHS budget and reduce student fees. However, I sometimes think their ideas are a bit too ambitious; where are we going to get this £8bn from that will be put into the NHS? How are they going to pay the lecturers and universities to keep them going? I like their ideas, but I don't think they are always practical.

Then there is the Green Party. As a vegetarian Buddhist, I like that they prioritise the environment, and truly care about things such as schooling and healthcare. However, with them, its difficult to know if your vote will honestly make much of a difference, seeing as we've never actually had a Green parliament (I'm pretty sure, though correct me if I'm wrong!), and people consider it a "wasted" vote. Although how do we know that the majority of people DON'T want green in power, if everyone thinks it is a "wasted" vote and vote for others instead.

I thought that writing this blog post would help me decide who to vote for, but I don't even think I'll know who I'm voting for when I step inside the polling station to be honest. I'll only decide when i have that little pencil in my hand, and the boxes in front of me. 

What do you guys think? 

Things I'd tell my 13 year old self

I've seen this blogpost by a few other bloggers, and I thought it would be something quite 
fun to write. So I decided to have a think of things I'd tell a 13 year old me.

1. Dont panic, your spots will clear up soon (though you'll never have the best skin ever).
2. Stop obsessing over having a boyfriend. No boys will properly like you like that until you get to the age of at least 16. Then your best friend will decide he loves you, and you'll love him too and happily ever after. 
3. GCSEs aren't as hard as you think they'll be.
4. Always audition for a lead, you never know what might get thrown at you!
5. Your boobs will get bigger and will suddenly stop growing as the rest of you continues.
6. You're going to be in a pantomime (2 actually) and you will lose a nice amount of weight. Keep it up, you look fab then!
7. Full fringe = no go.
8. Same goes for the bob hair cut. And the perm. Basically don't let mum go anywhere near your hair.
9. Please stop wearing luminous purple eyeshadow that matches your cardigans... it does you no favours.
10. Even when you move house, the people that are most important to you will stay in your life even when you're 19... don't worry!
11. When you turn 18, please don't feel the need to take a picture of yourself every time you consume alcohol.
12. You will have an obsession with Monster Munch in year 12 and 13.. never let it stop.
13. Do the IB; dad knows what he's talking about and it will be the best (and yet worst) decision you will ever make.
14. The IB will eventually end and you'll be so sad it did (won't feel like it at the time!).
15. Please change your mind from English to Psychology sooner. It'll save you a lot of time.
16. You are going to end up at one of the best Universities in the country, and love it more than you've loved anything. You'll meet some awesome people, and have the most amazing flatmates ever, and your course will be a bit pants in the beginning, but it gets better!
17. You will always love Disney. Never be ashamed.

UPDATE: 18. Please refrain from the incessant hashtagging on instagram when you're about 16... no-one enjoys that...

Trials and Tribulations of a Psychology Degree

So I am a psychologist. And by that I don't mean I can read your mind, I am simply studying the brain and the mind and a high level. I wanted to rant about how stupid this can all be at times, as I have left my revision wayyyyy too late again and am feeling the consequences.

So, we have the Brain. And one part of our brain, is the forebrain. The forebrain is split into two primary sections, the telencephalon and the diencephalon. Within the telencephalon, there is the cerebral cortex, the limbic system and the basal ganglia. The cerebral cortex specifically is the skin of the brain basically... a thin layer of tissue that is responsible for things such as language. This is split into four lobes. Each lobe has a different responsibility that is then linked to other parts of the brain. The limbic system and basal ganglia have subsections too.

WHY THE HELL ARE THERE SO MANY SUBSECTIONS. AND WHY DO NONE OF THEM HAVE LOGICAL ORIGINS?!

I think my rant may be over. Although I never thought studying the brain would be easy, I didnt realise there were so many subsections to one individual bit of the brain.

Help me. My exam is so soon.

Kind and soothing comments would be lovely.

The Sims Addict: is it just me?

I received a snapchat off my cousin the other day, which was of her Sim dying due to a dishwasher. It sounded like a funny story, and probably was... and it got me thinking; I really want to play the Sims. Not Sims 4 obviously... because thats nowhere near as good as Sims 3. And mainly as a tool of procrastinating from my exams and coursework deadlines that are slowly making themselves more prominent in my life.

It occurred to me that I always play The Sims the same way...

• Build a kick-ass house with 5 floors and several pools (after motherlode of course).
• Make a couple, usually involving myself and a random celebrity that I fancy at that particular time in life.
• Make them get married (look.. if I'm never going to actually get married to Jamie Dornan.. at least a version of me will!).
• Make them get jobs; usually in the music career or the medicine one. Not sure why...
• Cheat to make them get serious skills in whatever they need for their careers.
• Slowly realise that the married couple no longer talks and are both self-centred and only focussed on their careers.
• Make either person experience a serious near death experience, such as drowning in a pool, or being in a house fire.
• Barter with Death (and be mostly successful).
• Make them have two children.
• Let the children grow up and become either alcoholic hobos, or very successful business people (depending on how motivated I am at that point in time).
• Build another kick-ass house and play with another family (myself and Zac Efron this time perhaps).

And so the cycle continues. 

I just wanted to know if I was the only one that did this? Am I the only sadistic person who removes the pool ladders when the Sims are in the pool? The only one that removes all the doors to a room that the Sim is in, until they wet themselves in desperation? The only one that starts house fires, and make the Sim try and put it out themselves? The only one that cheats to get the Sims the best house and best career?

The Sims is a virtual reality. See that word? REALITY. These things don't happen in real life, therefore we should all start playing the game like normal people and stop being weird.

But then wheres the fun in that?

The 16 step process of true procrastination

1. Turn off your phone/ turn off data on your phone.
2. Turn on a light.
3. Open a book, and your laptop.
4. Block Facebook and Twitter and Pinterest and Tumblr and Instagram and Youtube and Netflix.
5. Open your document/ revision notes.
6. Look at it until your eyes water.
7. Begin crying.
8. Accept inevitable failure.
9. Actually get about 10 words written, and then head to the kitchen for a snack because you've worked so damn hard and deserve a break.
10. Spend an hour and a half talking to your flatmate in the kitchen, before telling them you need to go and get this essay done because you're on a roll.
11. Write another ten words, and delete the other ten you'd already written.
12. Tidy your room, because who can work in an environment like this?
13. Hoover.
14. Sit back down, and tell yourself you have loads of time and don't need to panic (its due tomorrow).
15. Unblock Netflix and begin watching an entire series (perhaps Breaking Bad...) and cry yourself to sleep at night worrying about all the work you have to do.
16. Stay up until 5am, fuelled by Red Bull and the occasional Pro Plus, and finish that essay.

Now get off this blog, and actually do some work!

It could only happen to my sister: A&E

In one of my old houses (I’ve lived in quite a few), the design downstairs formed a perfect circle. The hallway led through to the living room, the living room through to the kitchen, the kitchen to the dining room and the dining room back to the hallway. There were no doors, just archways throughout the downstairs. As kids, when we first moved in, my little sister and me used to enjoy chasing each other around and around and around the downstairs; much to my mum’s annoyance. To clarify, I have two little sisters. The youngest sister will be labelled as “blonde” and the middle sister as “brunette” throughout my blogs. This story is about an accident-prone brunette.

My parents were trying to sort out the downstairs and make it their own. Somewhere along the process, a screw was sticking out of the wall (fault of the previous owners stair-gate) at perfect forehead height for my little sister.

Don’t get me wrong; this is actually a very funny story. So my sister and me were running around and around and around, when one day, she tripped and hit her forehead on the screw sticking out of the wall. It was a messy situation, and involved a long stay in the A&E to find out that she was actually fine and didn’t even need stiches (the nail wasn’t in her head, she ran into it and it stayed in the wall). It was pretty much just a scratch… although she does have a pretty impressive scar with an awesome backstory. To this day, we call her the most accident-prone teenager to walk the Earth; as you will learn from later blog posts (she was terrible, my parents couldn’t let her out of their sight!). Many more stories about the accident-prone brunette to come!