How to Become a Better Human: Dealing with Stress - Lollie

Yes, it is that time of week again my faithful friends - it's Friday. The day you look back on the week and think 'Where did it go?' or is that just me?

Before I start, something happened this week - Our blog started booming and page views soared and we got a comment which was unexpected, so thank you!

Anyway, as I promised in my first ever post, I am doing something today called 'How to become a better human'. This is going to be an on-going thing where I will cover things from health, relationships, life-changing choices and also small day-to-day things that might help your life be better and give you a better chance of surviving.

The first topic I have picked is stress. This past week, the pressure of sixth form has been getting to me, I know the other Seven Sweethearts can relate. I am doing three coursework subjects and trying to keep on top of them is exhausting. My mind seems to be jumbled and confused 24/7 and my concentration span is at 0. I suffer from constant headaches and I feel sick for no apparent reason. If you think you might be stressed, here are a list of symptoms:

·         Low energy.

·         Headaches.

·         Upset stomach, including diarrhea, constipation, and nausea.

·         Aches, pains, and tense muscles.

·         Chest pain and rapid heartbeat.

·         Insomnia.

·         Frequent colds and infections.

Now in psychology, we have been learning about the two types of stress. You have acute stress, which is to do with short term situations that leave you stressed, for example, your car breaking down or your computer not working and then you have chronic stress, this is seen to be the most serious of the two, often occurring due to a massive build up of acute stress over a long time period, or a major life-changing event that has caused stress.

I'm going to talk about acute stress. Things that can be seen as acute stressors include deadlines, getting to school/work on time, making sure you get enough sleep etc, etc. These can also be called daily hassles - breaking a pen, seeing the person you hate, losing a key.

Although you may feel as though all this is getting on top of you - don't worry. We have these daily hassles but we also have things called daily uplifts, things that make our day worthwhile and push the hassles away. These could be reading your favourite book, receiving an unexpected text from someone, getting a hug, a phone call with someone you love, seeing a picture of your favourite actor (if you're me, that's John Simm at the moment) or having some food that you like (or maybe it's one of your friends giving you a small jar with '25 reason to smile when you're feeling down' written down on small pieces of paper and folded into it - thank you Belle!) If you take a moment when you are stressed out to let one of these uplifts come your way, you could feel much better.

If you find you are still feeling stress, here is a list of things that might help you to relax or relieve that stress:

·         ·         Go to the beach
·         Be positive
·         Sing a song
·         Pet a dog
·         Tell a joke
·         Listen to music
·         Blow bubbles
·         Take a nap
·         Dance a jig
·         Take a walk
·         Write a letter
·         Have a cup of tea
·         Ask for help
·         Smile
·         Take a break
·         Do it now!
·         Stretch
·         Keep a journal
·         Hum a tune
·         Practice patience
·         Get up early
·         Meditate
·         Do Tai Chi
·         Play a drum
·         Prioritize
·         Give a hug
·         Throw a ball
·         Play with a child
·         See a movie
·         Plant a flower
·         Say "No"
·         Set Limits
·         Eat a snack
·         Read a book
·         Practice kindness
·         Light a candle
·         Laugh out loud
·         Lie in the sun
·         Walk in the rain
·         Run in the park
·         Talk to a friend
·         Take a bubble bath
·         Avoid negative people
·         Take a deep breath
·         Ask for what you need
·         Go to bed on time
·         Walk a labyrinth
·         Give a compliment
·         Clean a closet
·         Go barefoot
·         Give a blessing
·         Watch a sunrise
·         Say a prayer

Thinking carefully about the lifestyle choices that you make is also a big factor in relieving stress. Make sure you get enough time everyday to just sit back and relax.

- Learn how to say 'no'.
Simple, but effective. Where a 'no' is the appropriate response, say it without guilt.

- Manage your time.
Don't overdo things.

A simple method is to:

·         List the things that you need to do.

·         Put them in order of importance

·         Decide what you need to do yourself, and what can be delegated.

·         Decide which needs doing today, next week or next month

·         Decide what doesn't need doing after all, and drop it from the list.

I find that making lists works best for me. I make lists for everything. I even make lists for my lists... but it helps me be  bit more organised and puts what I need to achieve into perspective.

- You could always try 'Desk Yoga'

Alternate nostril breathing

Fold your index and middle finger (2nd and 3rd fingers) towards your palm on your right hand. Then place your left thumb under your right nostril to 'tap' it up. Inhale from the left nostril to the count of four. Gently pinch the left nostril with the right ring finger (4th finger) to the count of 16. And release your thumb and exhale through the right nostril for 8. Now inhale through the right nostril for 4. Hold for 16. Exhale through the left nostril for 8. Repeat for several minutes.

This exercise balances the brain's serotonin, the chemical that regulates happiness. The pattern of inhalation (4, 16, 8) means that the air is pushed down to the bottom of the lungs and more toxins are released on exhalation. You will feel relaxed after this exercise, particularly in the shoulder area, and may experience heightened perception'

Now this doesn't work for me but if I find my concentration slipping, I'll breath slowly and relax for a moment and then maybe stick my headphones in so it is just me, the music and the work.

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING: If you're ill, rest.
When stressed, your immune system lowers itself, making you vulnerable to illness. If you are ill when stressed - DO NOT CARRY ON, TAKE A BREAK. If you don't it'll only make you more ill and in turn, more stressed.

I'm sorry if this has been a little bit of a downer on your Friday but I felt like it was a serious topic that I needed to address :)

Until next time - Allons-y!

Lollie x

My Top 8 Beauty Products -Love Maya♡

Heya guys!

Once again it's Thursday, and again-this week has gone soo quick! Where does time go aye?

So today I thought I would share with you my top eight beauty favourites. This is both skincare and make up products. I do like to try my best in keeping my skin spot free, bright and glowing. However, there are times which I do have small break outs or redness within my skin.

8. My 8th beauty must-have would defiantly have to be my eyelash curlers. I unfortunately wasn't born with the luck of having naturally curly eyelashes. So I therefore swear by this tool. 

Top tip: I like to heat up my curlers using a hairdryer for 5-8 seconds, just to ensure my eyelashes hold the curl all day. 

7.  At number 7, my beauty recommendation would have to be the neutrogena spot stress control 3-1 cleanser. I bought this recently, around November time and ever since I have been in love with it! Whenever I have a break out I like to dab some of this on the spot with a cotton wool ball. I find it works wonders, in shrinking the spot and reducing redness rapidly.

6. At number 6, it would be the simple cleanser and toner. I have sworn by this stuff for years now. I tried using the combined toning cleanser, however I haven't found it as effective as the individual products. I like to use this product both morning and night as its light enough for me to do so. It's both hydrating and moisturising for my skin, and leaves it glowing and radiant. 

5. My 5th top beauty pick would be the Nivea lip balm sticks. I've always loved these as they are soo hydrating and never leave my lips feeling oily. However, towards the end of last year, I found they now do fruit flavoured, high shine versions. Not only do these taste delicious, but they also produce a slight tint to your lips which I think are great for an everyday lip when you don't want a full lipstick look. 

4. The next four products are makeup based. Firstly, the Rimmel stay matte pressed powder. I've used this products for years now. Even after trying other brands, I always revert back to this product. Even though I have pretty fair skin, I use the shade 006,warm beige. I love this product because it is really light on your skin but also produces a good, lasting coverage.

3. Into the top 3 now! At number three, I'd have to pick the Bobby brown gel eyeliner. Up until about this time last year (January 2014), I was never an eyeliner person. I found it to not suit me very well and quite frankly, I was always rubbish at applying it. But since experimenting with new makeup products, this rapidly became my favourite. I started to use kohl pencils and the felt tip pen style eyeliners, but I found these not very long lasting. I then branched out to gel eyeliners, and I have fallen in love with them ever since! My favourite currently would be the Bobby brown one, not only because it's long lasting and easy to apply, but because I finds it never dries up in the pot-highly recommended!

2. At number 2 would have to be the collection lasting perfection concealer. This is another product that I absolutely swear by everyday. Like it says in the name, it is very long lasting and it has fantastic coverage. I would never use and love a product as much as I have with this. I would highly recommend this to everyone as it is such a fantastic product!

1. And finally, we have reached my top beauty product. If you haven't yet tried this product, I would highly recommend you do so. It's the benefit high beam liquid highlighter. I always have and always will love benefit products, but this is by far one of my favourites. It leaves me with glowing and radiant skin. I've tried different brands and types of highlighters, but for me personally, this is one that works best for my skin.

And that's it for today guys, I do apologise if it was a bit lengthy. But I swear by all of these products and would highly recommend these to anyone. Most of the products I have listed are relatively cheap and can be found in any high street store/drug store. 

Hope you have a lovely week and I'll be back next week with some more tips and reviews for you all. Comment below some of your favourites, I would love to try some out!

Love, Maya♡

Guess Who's Birthday It Might Well Be (The pain of an Epilator examined) - Wednesday's Child

GREETINGS Y'ALL!

*Mario voice* It's a-mi

Good morning/evening/afternoon all. It's my birthday today, and as it's been an interesting week I'm gon' share it with y'all. First of all, I've finally got my script for the play I'm gonna be in with my drama group, and I'm super exited as it's probably going to be the most professional show we've ever managed to pull off. My character is Eryn, and although I don't want to give too much away as I'm hoping the other six sweethearts will come watch the show (and therefore I want as much of it to be a surprise as possible), I'm going to tell you one thing. I have a monologue, and yesterday at drama when I started practicing it, I made one of my friends cry. (I was told afterwards that he hadn't cried in seven years and he hated me etc. etc.). 

So yeah, apparently I have a gift to evoke manly tears of man-pain from my cast mates, which is an effective and brilliant skill to have. 

Anyway, it's my birthday today *sounds of distant party poppers* and I'm going to give you a quick run-down. I got my L plates as I'm filling in for my provisional license (which is needed to learn to drive in the UK), got the money for the application, a dress, a really cool poncho-/blanket thing (it's so freakin' warm), and an epilator. 

Now lemme tell you about the epilator. This thing is a hair removal thing, that's kind of like waxing. It looks like an electric razor, acts like a waxer, but is actually a plucker (?). 

An epilator effectively plucks your leg hairs. It's quicker and more effective than shaving, and as it pulls the hairs out instead of just cutting them at the surface they take much longer to grow back (apparently I'll only have to do this once every two weeks instead of shave twice a week (which by the way I literally never do)). The only downside is it's a damn sight more painful than shaving. Like it took me three attempts to get both my legs done because I had to keep stopping. It's very painful the first time around. But I've been promised that it A. becomes less painful the more often you do it and B. the hairs grown back softer the more often you use it, which is the opposite to shaving. 

Also, once you get used to it, it's a lot quicker than shaving. Shaving takes me about twenty minutes to do completely, and always tends to become some kind of slightly strange aerobics class in my shower, but as this is electric, you can do it any time (in your bedroom with loud music playing to drown out your tears of pain would be good). This takes probably about ten to fifteen minutes tops once you're used to it, so cuts off some time and can also be used whenever, so you don't have to irritate your family by spending forever in the bathroom. 

That's pretty much all that's happened this week, so I'm gonna leave you here. Have a good week, and as always,

I'm with you 'till the end of the line, folks ♥ 

My Top 3 Animes! - Tuesdays with Ash

Hey guys! =D

Once again it's Tuesday so you're stuck with my post for today! As usual, I've been struggling to think of an idea for a post when it occurred to me. As well as reading books, what's my other favourite thing to do? It's WATCHING ANIME! =D

If you guys have no idea what anime is, it's basically Japanese cartoons. Most animes are based of manga which is the Japanese equivalent of comic books. Between the two I prefer watching anime than reading manga but I know that other people would disgree with me. I got into anime probably almost 4 years ago when two of my close friends persuaded me to start watching this anime called Naruto. I wish I'd discovered it sooner! =P

Like the post title suggests today I'm going to list my 3 favourite animes that I HIGHLY recommend that you watch. I would list more but, honestly, this post would never end!

1. Naruto/Naruto Shippuden - Kishimoto Masashi

This was the first anime that I ever watched and I was hooked after watching the very first episode! The anime is based of a boy called Naruto Uzumaki who is instantly likeable due to his hyper-activity and his caring yet stubborn personality. He lives in a village called Konoha and he's training to become a ninja like his fellow classmates. He is an outcast in the beginning due to his past (which I shall not mention cause SPOILERS) but he eventually earns everyone's respect and makes friends. The first season is called Naruto (original name I know) and the second season is called Naruto Shippuden where it's been 3 years since we last saw Naruto in the first season and he's all grown up =3

The manga for Naruto Shippuden ended 10th November *cries* after the whole franchise had been going on for 15 years! One of the longest every running manga ever! The anime hasn't caught up to the ending yet but I read the last chapter online and oh my God I cried buckets! D'=

Naruto in the second season

Naruto in the first season (so cute!)

  

2. Attack on Titan 'Shingeki no Kyojin' - Hajime Isayama

This next anime is (I think) the second major anime that I watched and seriously it doesn't mess around! Within the first episode you were thrown into the action and storyline and the plot twists, OH MY GOD THE PLOT TWISTS are amazing because you never see them coming! The protagonist is a teenage boy called Eren Jaeger and in his world there are huge humanoid creatures called Titans that terrorise mankind by eating them. There city is surrounded by a huge wall that keeps the Titans out, until one day the Titans manage to break through. 

Eren signs up to help fight these Titans along with his two best friends and if you don't like gore then you probably won't enjoy this. The animation in this anime is absolutely stunning and the theme tune is so catchy! If you like to watch something with immense action and gore and brilliant story lines with original context then this anime is so for you!

Eren Jaeger

One of the main Titans

3. Kuroko no Basket - Tadatoshi Fujimaki

This next one is quite a strange one for me to watch as it's about a sport and I don't do sports! XD This anime revolves around a basketball team and the two main protagonists are Tetsuya Kuroko (he's meant to be the main character but you wouldn't think it) and Taiga Kagami. This anime is hilarious to watch as Kuroko is practically an invisible boy who doesn't show much emotion (but still adorable) while Kagami is a boisterous hot-head who likes to make his presence known. Even though they are worlds apart personality wise they are best buddies when it comes to basketball and I just love their bromance!  

Kuroko was originally from a famous basketball team called the Generation of Miracles and he was known as the 6th Phantom Player due to people never noticing him and even forgetting about him. However, the Generation of Miracles separated when they moved to different schools and now with the Winter Cup approaching Kuroko will have to face his old teamates once more...

Tetsuya Kuroko

Taiga Kagami

                           

I hope you enjoyed reading this post and that you'll try out some of these animes!

Ash xx

The bad boys are always stealing my heart...

Hey guys, 

This week I've been struggling to think of anything to post about, with all of us doing a post each day I find it hard not to copy anyone else's work.

So today I wanted to talk to you guys about the bad guys.

I know! It's so cringy but I wanted to talk to you about how when you watch a television show or even movie, your automatically drawn to the bad guys. If your sitting there and thinking 'yeah right'

Here is a picture of the most gorgeous  villan ever (in my view).

Now I don't actually know what film this is from so if you know please comment or tweet it to me!, but this fine man is Mr Tom Hiddleston, aka Loki.  Now you may not know this but in my life I'm addicted to Tv series like once upon a time, lost, supernatural and marvel, and in all of these I seem to love the villain!

For example in once I fell in love with rumplestilskin, in lost I was in love with sawyer and jin ( in the first series I guess they could count as the baddies?!) and in marvel mr loki has stolen my heart, now I want to know which bad guy or even good guy has stolen your heart so tweet me  at @the7sweethearts.

I'm not sure what it is but sometime the bad guy just seems to be the better character, becuase they have a more richer background history and you just want to hug them and never let them go! 

Now miss lollie has this man in her heart at the moment- the master! 

While ash is in love with loki as well!! 

This is it for this week from me and hopefully next week I'll have a better entry!!! 

Love 

Belle x

Urban Decay Naked Basics 2 Palette Review - Saturdays with Payton

Hey!

It is Saturday, which means today’s host is me…. Payton! So I hope that you all have had a wonderful week, mine has been a little crazy with getting back into the swing of school and working but thank goodness that it is finally the weekend! Anyway this week I wanted to give you a review on one of my favourite products, so let’s get into the review!

Today’s product that I will be reviewing is the Urban Decay Naked Basics 2 palette! Now I can tell you now that it will not just contain my review on the Naked Basics 2 palette but it will be a comparison to the Naked Basics 1 palette.

Firstly, if you know me I am absolutely in love with makeup and if you ask any girl what their favourite type of makeup is they could say, lipstick, blush, bronzer, concealer, mascara, eyeliner etc., my answer to that question is definitely eye shadow. I cannot live without eye shadow it is basically perfect!

So one of my favourite ranges of eye shadow is Urban Decay’s whole range of eye shadow but specific the Naked range, now I am going to admit that I do not own all of the different palette’s in the Naked range however that is because these are some of the first palettes that I picked up, and I straight away fell in love with them!

The Naked Basics 2 palette is the newest palette to the collection which was released in the second half of 2014. It contains 6 different shades and they are:
Skimp (pale nude satin)
Stark (nude-pink matte)
Frisk (warm grey matte)
Cover (muted red-brown matte)
Primal (muted brown matte)
Undone (deep, smoky, brown matte)

As you can see these shades are more grey oriented and this makes it really fun to play around with the Smokey eye! I could not tell you which shade is my favourite as they all work so well for any look, they are also work really well together with the Naked Basics 1 palette which I find is heaven!

To help you compare this new palette to its predecessor these are the shades contained in the naked Basics 1 palette:

Venus (white with a semi matte finish)

Foxy (yellow toned ivory with a matte finish)

Walk Of Shame (W.O.S) (Pale cream with pink tones)

Naked 2 (pink nude with grey tones)

Faint (Matte Light brown with red and charcoal undertones)

Crave (Deep, dark brown that is almost black)

What I love about the Urban Decay Naked Basics 2 palette along with the Naked Basics 1 palette is the size and the practicality of them. The size is wonderful as the palette can be taken anywhere as it is so small and lightweight so it can be easy to put in your handbag and you’re away! What I mean with the practicality of the palettes are that they are amazing for both day and night looks, and it is so simple to turn a simple day look into an effortlessly-looking Smokey eye ready for an evening out! The reason why they are perfect with making a day look into a night look is due to the fact that they are highly pigmented which is a dream for anybody who wants their look to pop and to last all day and night!

Overall I have no bad things to say about the Naked Basics 2 palette, I have had no struggle with creating amazing eye looks which get many compliments from my friends and family! This product is a must have for anybody as it can create such amazing natural looks as well as looks that make the eyes just pop!

So that’s it for today’s post folks, I hope you enjoyed my review of the Urban Decay Naked Basics 2 palette and the comparison to the original Naked Basics 1 palette. Comment what type of product that you think I should review next!

See you next Saturday!

Payton <3

Well this wasn't as planned... - Lollie

Hi It's me again! (Lollie... Incase you didn't know)

And as the title says - it's that time of week again. You should be lucky I named it that, it was going to be 'Crime-fighting, inter-species lesbian couple' or 'Sontaran Conversion'.

Why you ask? Well, ladies and gentleman, fellow Whovians everywhere - I have converted my sister to a who-loving, strax-adoring Whovian. All it took was one watch of 'Deep Breath' and 'Crimson Horror' and suddenly she was quoting The Doctor and particularly Strax, laughing and the funny bits and also drawing Madame Vastra! (This is the drawing she did for me, she's only 11 bless her)

Then she ask me to draw Madame Vastra:

Which then led to the download of multiple Vastra and Jenny pictures because come on - how can you not ship crime-fighting, inter-species, lesbian spouses consisting of a lizard women fro the dawn of time and a Victorian chamber maid from London with their pet potato who also happens to be an ex-leader of an iter-galactic Sontaran battle fleet who gets over excited at the use of weapons?

Anyway, I would pay a good amount of money to watch The Paternoster gang's spin-off tv show. I would love it! MOFFAT you need to do this.

They also need to come back in Series 9 of not, I will be very disappointed as I feel they should be in more episodes than they have been already.

Overall I just wanted to let you all know about this development and I hope you all had a good week and I hope you have an amazing week ahead I'll see you next Friday!

Until next time, Allons-y! 

Lollie xoxo