Things that have helped me tremendously, that may also help you.

So it's now coming to the end of the 2016 which is seriously just crazy to think about; can we just take the time to think about how fast this year actually has gone?! To end the year, I thought I would write about some of my skincare favourites because I was reading through the skincare routine I wrote at the start of 2016 and I have incorporated quite a few new products over the course of this year which have made such a positive impact on my skin as I have been breaking out a lot less than I used to and my skin just feels a lot more smoother and hydrated than it used to. So I thought, why not talk about the products I have been absolutely loving and are also now my holy grails in regards to skincare!

But before I get into all that, I would just like to say I hope everyone reading this has had a lovely Christmas and that the New Year of 2017 brings everyone so many blessings and positivity as well as new and amazing opportunities!

And now without further ado, let's get into my updated skincare favourites!

I have been thinking about writing this but 95% of the content I wrote for this, I didn't know how to really word it. (when am I ever able to word anything I write though LOL), But I thought, let's try again and just really go for it and write anything and everything that I would tell my younger self. If could tell my younger self anything so far? It would be this. (Cue the cheesiest yet deepest post I've done to date).


To my younger self,

It is now getting closer to the end of 2016 and it has been an incredibly eye opening year for you to date. You've had to make a whole lot of decisions regarding a lot of personal things and it's opened your eyes up on so much that you wish you knew what you know now, back then.

With you being the oldest out of your siblings, you have never really known what to expect growing up and going through life since you never really had anyone to guide you in a way, so it pretty much resulted in you just going with the flow. Yeah, you've had a few bumps in the road along the way but all of those bumps in your life have resulted in where you are right now.

You use to worry so much back them about the situations you were in, the people you were around and what would happen to you if you were to ever drift apart or lose contact. Right now? You are doing more than fine without them. Yes, you have had people leave your life. People who you thought you have known your whole life since you had already known them for that long, buuuuut things don't quite work out the way you want them to. You have met so many new and amazing people who have all left their mark in your life, whether that be good or bad. You will meet more people in the future, some who may not like you and others who you will feel like you have known them for years. 

Let me give you some life lessons...Do not give a crap about what people say about you, especially if they do not know you personally. You will come across people who will speak fluent bullshit to your face. Known who have genuine intentions for you and keep those people close. You are honestly in the happiest mental state right now than you have ever been in your entire life. Don't ever let anyone bring your self esteem and confidence down again. 

I hope you are glad to know that you are now embracing your culture and heritage as opposed to you feeling ashamed of it when you were younger. Fuck every single person who ever made you feel ashamed of the culture you are from and made fun of your skin colour, told you to go back to your own country, made fun of your traditional clothing, you wearing mehndi and bindis, etc. Those same people are now wearing those as 'trendy' fashion statements. You are apart of one of the most diverse and rich cultures in the world and don't ever let anybody make you feel ashamed to be. 

Following on from my previous point, your skin colour is perfect the way it is. It does not need to be lighter!!! Embrace your shade of brown which glows in the sunlight. Don't touch any skin lightening creams or any kind of crap like that. 

Don't stress too much either. It's not good for your health to stressand worrying a lot will make you ill. You're still young, you're not supposed to have your entire life figured out at such a young age. Everything will work out even if things don't quite go the way you wanted them to go. Who knows? Maybe the reason something didn't work out the way you planned because there's something better in store for you. God works in mysterious ways. This leads me onto my next point. Seize every life changing opportunity you get. You have missed out on so many opportunities because of your shyness and constantly getting anxious that you would eventually back out. Always take a chance on even the smallest of opportunity that comes your way because who knows, that may lead to something bigger.


PUT DOWN THE TWEEZERS AND DON'T TOUCH YOUR EYEBROWS!!!!! You have always been so self-conscious about your eyebrows but trust me, thick brows will soon come back into style before you know it. Seriously though, put down the tweezers because you look silly with thin eyebrows. 

Reading will always be a means of escaping from reality for you because once you find a good book, you literally can't put it down until you know what happens next. As an 18 year old right now, it is still one of my favourite things to do till date and I hope you never get bored of reading books.

I know that you have had a lot of times where you felt like completely giving up because you feel as though you don't quite fit into the world and that you're simply just ''here' and existing, but you have so much potential to do anything you want in this world, so don't give up on yourself. You'll find your purpose eventually. 

Writing always helps. Buy yourself a journal again like you used to and write in it so you can look back on it when you're older. You used to do this so much and then you just completely stopped. 

It has been such a long time since I have wrote about my monthly favourites mainly because there wasn't anything I was really really liking enough to talk about, however last month I have had so much I loved and I just wanted to share with you! So without further ado, enjoy!

The first thing that I used so much during August and majority of September was an eyeshadow palette from Makeup Revolution. This is their Ultimate Iconic Palette and it is literally iconic. I absolutely fell in love with the packaging and loved the eyeshadows even more. I haven't had the chance to use every single colour in the palette but judging from what shades I have used, the colours are so pigmented! It is a fairly neutral shades palette ranging from colours such as nudes and browns but then you've also got your blues, golds, dark reds and blacks which are both shimmery and matte. I have been thinking of doing an in-depth review of this palette sometime soon so let me know if you would like me to write one!

Can I just start off by saying that I can't believe we're already halfway through the summer holidays?! Summer is just flying by and I have made so many new memories this year with family and friends doing all sorts. One of my all time favourite things to do during the summer is to go on road trips. There's just something about long car journeys which I absolutely love! Sometimes I like to take a good book with me to read on long car journeys and most of the time I love to put some good music on for everyone to listen to!

If you specifically live in either America or Canada, then you could rent a car from Turo for your road trip. Turo are a peer-to-peer rental company and you can rent a car for whenever you need it or you can list your car so other people can rent it to use. Some renters may leave a custom playlist or CD's so worry not if you have forgotten your music! If you would like more information about Turo then click here!

My playlist is pretty much a huge random bunch of genres ranging from artists like Michael Jackson to The Weeknd so there's pretty much songs that you can just chill out to along with songs which you can jam out to. So now without further ado, here is my summer road trip playlist!

Click here to listen! https://open.spotify.com/user/114674240/playlist/72tdU0ZNYpspX5X2maXJ9q

I have been wanting to write/film something like this for the longest time and I have finally got round to writing it (I may also film it sometime soon too!) and it is a 'What's In My Bag' Summer Edition.

The bag that I have been using quite a lot recently is this bag from New Look. Usually I don't go for floral type bags but I thought why not switch it up and go for some pastel/floral colours rather than my usual black/brown bags for the summer.

I'm literally writing this a month early because I just can't wait until the 4th of August to publish this (LOL). This is going to be on a more 'deeper' and more personal level purely because I have learnt so much over the years, a lot of which I have seen and experienced, have shaped me to be the person that I am today.

I'm going to cut the introduction short and literally just get on with it. Enjoy reading!

1. Be patient. You will have times where you feel as though life isn't going the way you want or you feel like giving up completely because you feel like you have no clue what you're doing with your life. Good things come to those who wait but even better things come to those who put in the hard work to achieve their goals. Something may not necessarily go the way you planned originally but that is alright! The universe works in mysterious ways and what the future holds is better than what has just gone.

2. Sort of following on from my last point, you have your entire life ahead of you. There are so many opportunities for you to grasp and so many places to see and so many people who will cross your path in the future. Don't stress about things you should not even be stressing over. You're 18, you're still young. You are not supposed to have life all mapped and figured out because it could change in a split second and the career you have chosen for yourself now, might not even be what you do in 5 or 10 years time because you find something that is incredibly better.

3. When troubles arise, don't stress or worry or panic like you always do. View them as opportunities for you to learn and grow. And when good things do happen, see them as blessings, but every now and again, stop and take a look at your surroundings and see what you have already been blessed with. 

4. Do not ever grow up too quickly. You're only a child/teenager once. You have the rest of your life to be old and one day you will miss being young so take advantage of your younger years. Have some fun and be childish once in a while because it makes you feel as though everything is idyllic. 

5. BLOOD RELATIONS DO NOT MEAN ANYTHING. Just because someone has been born into your family, does not mean you have to consider them family. 

6. LISTEN TO YOUR GUT INSTINCT!! The amount of times you have had a good or bad feeling about something/someone/a situation and it has come true is crazy. If you are put in a situation where you definitely have a bad feeling about, more than likely, it will come true judging from past experiences. Remove yourself from that situation asap. 

7. Keep your true friends close. Even if you end up going your separate ways or no longer attend the same college, keep in contact with them. When you meet up further down the line, it will be one huge crazy catch up session! I have a friend (she will know who she is when she's reading this) who I last met up with nearly 2 years ago and even though we don't speak every single day because we're busy with our own personal lives, we're still close and it's 4 years of friendship going strong!

8. No matter how old you are, crying in your mum's arms will always make you feel like a 5 year old (and that is perfectly alright). Along with this point, it is okay to cry. And in front of people too! Don't keep everything bottled up. I guarantee someone will listen and you will have a huge weight lifted off your chest. Show your vulnerability, it doesn't make you weak. 

9. Education is important. But so is your mental health. When you find yourself skipping meals and staying up until 3am to do an assignment which has been giving you breakdown after breakdown, it's time to stop and give yourself a break and some time to relax. 

10.In your childhood, you always thought that the fairer you are, the more beautiful you are considered to be. That literally means nothing now. Go out, run around in the sun for hours on end and get that golden brown tan! Embrace your skin tone and flex your complexion.

11. Do not ever be ashamed of your culture and your heritage and do not allow others to make you feel ashamed for keeping in touch with your heritage and culture. Never also lose touch with your culture. Don't be embarrassed to speak in your native tongue to your parents in front of other people like you used to. Be proud that you know another language or two. It's something you will be able to pass down to your kids and future generations to come. 

12. No matter what you do or where you go in your life, your family and your close friends will always be there for you. They are some of (if not the most) important people in your life who you can truly truly trust, apart from yourself. They will pick you up when you're down and you can turn to them when you need them the most and you know they won't judge. After all, they're only a phone call/skype call/message away. 

13. You have spent far too long being sad and feeling so shit and down about yourself. Forget every single person who ever made you feel bad about being yourself and bought your self-esteem+confidence down to literally nothing. You do not need that kind of negativity in your life and I am glad you now know that. You have spent years building up your confidence and self-esteem and they have seriously never been higher and you've never been more at peace with yourself and who you are as a person. Do not ever allow anyone ever to bring you down to the point you were at a few years ago. 

14. Dream big and don't let anyone or anything stand in the way of you achieving your dreams. You are capable of so much more than you will ever know. 

15. Everything happens for a reason.

16. Put down your phone once in a while and stop looking at life through a glass screen. Yes, taking photos and videos are great for making memories,but time is passing by too quickly so live in the moment rather than through a glass screen. 

17. Know your worth and do not settle for anything less. 

18. Live in the moment and don't be afraid of living. Create memories that you will look back on when you are much older. You will never be as young as you are now, ever again.