I'm back from New York! I had such an amazing 4 days there with my family and can't wait to show you all my pictures and share my adventres with you! As the title hints, here are just a few photos from the first day. Despite still being on UK time and having flown for 7 hours, when we arrived and checked in we went straight to the rockafeller centre to see some views of our home for the next few days. The views of the Empire State Building and Central Park were amazing! 

We then went back and sussed out the area, realising we were just one block from the iconic Times Square. With the hectic day catching up on us, we took a bite to eat and good old maccie d's (couldn't go to America without a takeaway right?!) and tucked ourselves up for another long day tomorrow.

REVIEW: VICHY DERMABLEND FOUNDATION

VICHY DERMABLEND in shade Porcelain*

The lovely people at escentual recently sent me this foundation to give a try and I am SO impressed!  hadn't heard of Vichy before, and was surprised to find it is a fairly affordable brand - the packaging and name certainly fooled me into thinking it was a lot more expensive than it is. 

As I said, I am super impressed by this foundation. I was a bit sceptial that the shade wouldn't suit me, normally the shade Ivory in most drugstore foundations, but I was wrong! It it possibly the best suiting shade I've ever had. It's a fairly thin, liquidy consistency but you don't need a lot at all. Coverage is surprisingly good. It takes a while to warm up but once that is done it blends nicely into the skin. As for lasting power it does fairly well, with a layer of powder over the top it'll last all day. 

I'll definitely be reaching for this foundation a lot and might even consider repurchasing it. Have you ever tried any of Vichy's products?

the winter coat

COAT - PRIMARK // TOP & JEANS - TOPSHOP

Whenever I go to a different town/city I will always check out their Primark. The Primark in my town is fairly small and doesn't stock the best things, so I love when I go away and find a big store full of goodies. My most recent trip was to Brighton where I found this beauty of a coat. I've been after a camel one for a while now so this did just the job. I can tell it's going to be the perfect coat to chuck on while I'm walking around campus this winter.

This is a scheduled post as I am currently in NEW YORK!!!! I get back tomorrow and can't wait to share all my photos and experiences with you all.

5 ways to destress

Everybody get's stressed once in a while. After recently finishing my final year of sixth form and it's tortorous exams and coursework I've found my top 5 ways to destress to share with you..

Clean your room

Cleaning my room always helps when I'm feeling stressed out. 50% of the time my untidy room is probably the sole cause of my stress, but nonetheless a good tidy cheers me up. I don't know what it is, but there's definitely something therapeutic about sorting and cleaning, and best of all, you have a clean room at the end of it.

Take a bath

Everyone loves a good bath. Lock yourself away, chuck a lush bath bomb in and chillaxxxxxx sister!

Go for a walk

Fresh air always does good. It's nice to surround yourself with a bit of nature, so, if like me, you're lucky enough to live near lots of fields and woodland, go and take a stroll. Maybe take the dog out, or take a camera with you and get some pretty snaps.

Listen to some music

When I really work myself up I love to sit down, chuck on some headphones and listen to some chilled out tunes. My favourites have to be Ben Howard, Sam Smith and my recent new-found loves Oh Wonder.

Watch a movie

Get a chick flick and get tucked up in bed. And it's an excuse to eat popcorn.

August Favourites

I really need to get into the habit of writing down my favourites throughout the month! August's favourites are sparse, featuring just 3 items, but 3 very worthy items nonetheless. First is my denim skirt from asos. As mentioned in a previous ootd, this skirt is my favourite summer purchase, I've practically lived in it for the past 4 weeks. My second favourite of the past month is Paco Rabanne's new perfume - Olympea. Jamie kindly treated me to a perfume shop voucher back at Christmas and I finally found a scent to spend it on! I just wish I had bought a bigger bottle now! Finally a beauty fave - Rimmels BB cream. Previously I'd been using a quite thick and high coverage foundation from Maybelline, and although I still use it occasionally, I've found myself reaching for this a lot more, especially during the daytime. It has a really light feel but covers just enough!

In terms of things that have happened this month, one very special thing stands out - a trip to London for two nights for Jamie's 18th Birthday. It was so lovely to spend a couple of nights away with him to celebrate, even if we were woken up at 3am by the fire alarm!! Another favourite of the month would be results day. Although my university offer was unconditional so ultimately grades didn't matter, I was super proud to find I'd done way better than expected, finishing with the grades AAB in A-Levels. Probably better not to talk about the celebrations that followed, it was messy. 

P.S. I go to New York TOMORROW! How is that even possible? I'm super duper excited.