Lil Miss Motivated: Can you beat the clock? :%

I am all for motivation, especially now that it's Autumn and all I want to do is laze around in my pyjamas. 

Here is a quick motivation tip that I do to get things done. I use it to tidy my bedroom, set my bag, do my chores and also do some studying. 

1) I set my timer to a particular time. I usually set it for 5 minutes.

2) I quickly tidy my room (or do the other things I mentioned). As I know it's only 5 minutes (or less), I feel compelled to finish the task.

 3) I usually finish before the timer is done (I then do some 'extra chores'). If I haven't, I simply set it again (for another five minutes!)

This tip might not work for everyone but it certainly gets me out of bed. I would consider myself quite the 'neat freak', but I can be lazy at times. I use this technique every single day - before work (when time is limited) and also when I come home. It really gets me motivated!

In regards to study, I set the timer for 30 minutes and reward myself to a 5 minute break. 

If you really want a challenge, you can even set it to 1 minute for tidying up and so on.

Hope this tip helps you!

You will be surprised with what you can achieve in merely 5 minutes!

Lil Miss Technologic: iPhone apps I love +

One of my obsessions in life is the iPhone. I have had the iPhone for over two years and it's simply astounding.  Last week, I finally upgraded to the iPhone 4s - which I love. I especially adore Siri, the new voice activated assistant, which will send messages, read emails, check the weather, search the web for you - all you have to do is ask  :)

Here is a recent conversation I had with Siri. It even has a sense of humour! 

I have already mentioned some of my favourite iPhone apps in this post, but I am going to mention some more in this post: 

An app which I have been using recently is called 'My Fitness Pal' (free)

This app is actually a 'calorie counter and diet tracker'. As you may know, I do not believe in diets or calorie counting, but I was ill with the flu recently and my apetite went. I downloaded this app to ensure that I was eating enough food. This app has seriously made me consider my eating habits - I have worked out that I lack iron, Vitamin A and dairy in my diet so I will eating more foods with these gems in them. I found out that one raw carrot has your recommend amount of Vitamin A for a day. I was completely lacking this in my diet so I'm glad I downloaded this app!

To use this app, you simply enter your details (your name, weight, age and so on) and enter what you've eaten, how much water you have drunk and the exercise you have done. My limit is 1500 calories a day, which I cannot follow as it's not enough for me. This app has motivated me to exercise though - so I highly recommend it to anyone in need of some motivation. 

Here are some screen shots:

I only have 311 calories left lol !

What I have eaten today.

 Another app which I love is called Instagram (free).  This is my favourite photography app and I use it to adjust the effects of a photo. It gives a lovely vintage touch to a photo. I love how interactive this app is; you can create an account and upload the photos directly on the app. You can also view other people's photos and like them. If you're into photography, you will love this app! 

You can change the effect of the photo.

Some of my own photos

  Another app I have been loving is called 'Voucher Cloud'. (Free). This app notifies you of the latest offers. Instead of printing out vouchers, you simply show your phone to the waiter. I always use this before going to restaurants - it usually saves me some money :) One time, I even got a coffee for free from Coffee Republic - all I had to do was show the voucher from my phone. Score!

 I am very interested in astrology, so having a daily horoscope is necessary to me. I have previously downloaded many astrology apps, however 'Daily Horoscope' (free) is the most accurate! My sister uses it and she finds it accurate too! This app even has a compatibility chart, as well as a Chinese and Druid horoscope.

The next app I love is called 'Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock'.(69p) This is basically an ''alarm clock that analyzes your sleep patterns and wakes you in the lightest sleep phase - a natural way to wake up where you feel rested and relaxed.'' Sometimes I have a problem getting up in the morning - this app just makes my life so much easier! You simply put it underneath your bed sheet whilst sleeping and it will wake you up at the appropriate time the next day. It analyzes your sleep pattern by judging your sleep movements. Pretty cool stuff, and totally worth 69p!

 

Moreover, Days Until (free) is a great 'productivity' and motivation app. It basically tells you how many days until a particular event. Yay only 61 days till Christmas and yay 86 days until my birthday. If I have an exam coming up I usually put it on the app and check the app to scare myself (a dose of reality is needed sometimes!)

Travel Deluxe (69p) is essential if you use London transport. I rarely take buses,but when I do I usually miss my stop (out of stupidity might I add). The London travel deluxe app allows you to enter which bus you are on and it tells you exactly where you are. Furthermore, it plans routes for buses, trains, tubes, coaches, DLR and overground.

 I have always loved Simulation games and Surviving High School (69p) is definitely one of them. You basically play a character in school and make choices. The choices could lead to happy endings - or rubbish ones. The game has new episodes every week (which are free), and you can also purchase them (but I never do). I love this app - it's really entertaining and slightly reminds me of the Sims.

 The next app I love is called 'iPint (free)'. This app was the reason as to why I purchased the iPhone two years ago! It's my party trick. All you do it fill up the beer on the phone and drink from it. It's amazing how the beer disappears! The only catch - you have to be over 18 to purchase the app lol.

Another photography app I love is called 'Water my photo' (free) which basically adds water to your photos! It creates such a beautiful effect! Here are some photos I 'waterized':

Hope you enjoyed this overly long post about iPhone apps! Remember if you have the Android or the Blackberry (not sure about other phones) you may be able to download some of these apps :)

What are your favourite apps?

Lil Miss Seasonal: Autumn beauty +

Autumn for me is probably my least favourite season - it's not as fun as Summer, as magical as Winter or as pretty as Spring. However - it is definitely beautiful in its' own right.

Now that it's Autumn I tend to wear different colours of makeup. Instead of bright, coral colours, I am now more attuned to colours such as maroons, reds, hot pinks, purples and nudes.

Here are the products that I've been wearing recently / will be wearing a lot more in the coming months:

Barry M Nail Paint in Vivid Purple, Ciate Paint Pot in Kitten Heels and Star Gazer Nail Polish in no.313

No names, but the last one on the right is called 'Extravagance'.

Mac Refined Golden Bronzer.

Mac Quad (Top Left to Bottom Right: Mac Tempting, Satin Taupe, Embark and Black Tied)

Victoria Jackson lip gloss, Mac lip gloss in Pinkular, Elf lipstick in Gipsy and Bobbi Brown lipstick in Carnation.

1)Barry M Nail Polish in Vivid Purple, Ciate Paint Pot in Kitten Heels and Star Gazer Nail Polish in no. 313 - these colours are so pretty and shimmery - PERFECT for Autumn.

2) Mini OPIs (unfortunately, none of these have the names on the bottle) but the first four are from the 2009 Christmas collection and the last one is called 'Extravagance'. All are such pretty colours for Autumn and Winter.

3) Mac Refined Golden Bronzer - this has subtle hints of glitter in it and you can wear it in ANY season.It's definitely more 'deep' and 'warm' than other bronzers.

4)Mac Eye shadows (Top Left to Bottom Right: Mac Tempting, Satin Taupe, Embark and Black Tied) - I tend to go for deeper colours during the Autumn and Winter months. I love Satin Taupe all over the lid and Embark on the outer corners for a 'Fall' look. I also love Tempting all over the lid and Black Tied on the outer corners for a simple smokey eye.

5) Victoria Jackson lip gloss (no name on it), Mac Lip gloss in Pinkular (2009 Xmas collection), Elf lipstick in Gipsy and Bobbi Brown lipstick in Carnation. The Victoria Jackson lip gloss is the perfect red for my lips. It really brightens up my face. The Mac lip gloss in Pinkular looks great on photos, the Elf lipstick can be a bit too much during the day but I tend to dab only a little bit on for a hint of hot pink on my lips and the Bobbi Brown lipstick looks good in all seasons. It's the perfect nude for my lips <3 

Is there anything you do differently during Autumn? 

Lil Miss Review: *October Glossy Box *

So I received my GlossyBox today and I actually despise it!! I've loved it for the last two months but I dislike every single product this month! If I'm annoyed one more time I will cancel my subscription. There are plenty of other subscription boxes on the market now so I'm not fussed anymore (and most of them are cheaper than GlossyBox!)

In this months Glossy Box you get a 6th extra product just because it's their 6 month anniversary.  You also get a bag to hold everything in (which I think is a nice idea). 

Here's everything I got.

Robert Pigeut perfume samples.

Dermalogica Age Smart Skin Polisher, Dermalogica Age Smart Masque and Dermalogica Age Smart Lip complex.

Leighton Denny Expert Nail polish in Baby Doll.

Stila Smudge Stick waterproof eyeliner in Moray.

•  Robert Piguet Perfume Samples - I am not a massive fan of these! The scent is so strong and overwhelming - I actually feel a bit sick! I am VERY picky with perfumes. I wish you could un tick products you don't want to be sent - for me it would be skin care and perfumes.
• Dermalogica Age Smart products - right now, I'm not bothered about anti-ageing and these products will probably break me out. Furthermore, there's no ingredients or anything to tell me whether it's suitable for sensitive skin. I find this extremely irritating (yes it's a sample size but a mini leaflet could have provided??) I gave these straight to my mother!
• Dermalogica Age Smart renewal lip complex - I actually like this product the best. It's very moisturising and cured my dry lips straight away. 
• Leighton Denny Expect Nails - I actually like the colour and the finish of the polish. Too bad I already have a similar colour like this in my collection (of course, that's not GlossyBox' fault!)
• Stila Waterproof eyeliner - the colour is so, so pretty but I can't imagine it looking any good on me!

 So, was this worth £12.95?

Definitely not!

Lil Miss Unhealthy: Navratri and being ill. +

•  The photo above was taken before celebrating the Hindu Festival of Navratri. I had a fab time but I am pretty sure that the late nights contributed to my flu.

Here are some photos of the festival  if you're interested:

Please ignore my MASSIVE stomach - that's what a really tight sari does to you :P 

• Speaking of the flu, I have been suffering for nearly a week. Lack of appetite, feeling weak, having a sore throat etc. etc. The antibiotics I am taking are currently helping me recover but I still feel really dizzy and my throat is very sore. You may have noticed my constant moaning on Twitter (I'm so sorry - illness brings out my emotional side lol)
• I am going to start drinking green tea again - I haven't had it for months and whenever I used to have it I would rarely get ill! 
• I actually miss working out - can you believe it? I've also lost 2kg in weight - but it's due to loss of apetite (which is not good!)
• Hope you all bare with me - I will be trying to post more (as soon as I'm healthy again!) 

 Photo source

Lil Miss Happy: Mummy's 50th Birthday!!

Hi guys!! I've had such a tiring week! I am back at university (already have LOADs of work), I've been celebrating the Hindu festival of Navratri and I've also been working out (trying to tone up again!)

It was my mums 50th birthday party last night, and we had a wonderful time!! I am still feeling very elated after the party :) We went to a lovely restaurant - the food was tasty and the music was brill (we ended up bossing the DJ about at the end lol)

Here are some photos from the party:

My mother and I :)

The lovely venue. The lights kept changing :)

Doing the Inbetweener's OOOh friend impression!

My mum 25 years ago!

The Menu

the lovely cake

My sis and I. Posing crazily as always !

 Outfit: Bombay Looks (my fave Indian outfits store)

Shoes: Unze.

 Face:

• Mac Studio Fix Powder Foundation in C40.
• Garnier Tinted Roll On is Shade 2. 
• Benefit Hoola Bronzer all over face.
• Mac Fix Plus.

Cheeks:

• Sleek Contour Kit in Medium.
• Body Shop Trio in Warm Sunset on cheeks.
• Sleek Highlighting combo in Peach Shimmer for highlight.

Eyes:

• Urban Decay Primer Potion.
• Green eyeshadow from the Original Sleek palette.
• Mac Cork eyeshadow on the crease.
• Urban Decay eyeshadow in perversion on the outer V.
• Collection 2000 liquid eyeliner to line the upper and lower lids.
• Urban Decay Pencil eyeliner in black to line the waterline.
• Urban Decay eyeshadow in 'Sin' in the inner rims of the eyes as well as the brow bone.
• Eyelure lashes in 101. 

Lips:

• Bobbi Brown lipstick in Carnation (my FAVOURITE lipstick!)

* *Lil Miss Cleansed: Honey Mask **

I have watched several YouTube videos on skin care this week - and I've noticed that several gurus keep talking about the benefits of honey for your skin. I have known about the benefits of honey for a long time but I did not bother to use it. The reason being is due to the mess it would make! Furthermore, I have never appreciated the taste of honey so this was another reason not to use it.

How do you use it?

On Tuesday I decided to buy honey because I had enough of my skin. After a clubbing stint in Manchester, my skin was dehydrated and spotty! (Alcohol + lack of sleep = chaos!) I purchased some raw honey from Sainsbury's and applied a generous layer on my face after my shower (I always do face masks after having a shower because it opens up your pores). I left the mask on for 30 minutes and rinsed it. I then cleansed, toned and moisturised my face as normal. The immediate effects were incredible. My skin felt SUPER soft and had a natural glow to it.

The results.

The next day, I noticed that my scars had reduced and that my skin was glowing. I have applied honey on my skin twice this week and I have noticed a MAJOR difference in my skin. My pores have reduced, the texture has improved, my scars have nearly gone and I feel so much more confident. I also applied the mask on my mother and her skin was glowing the next day - my dad even complimented her!

So how is honey good for your skin?

• Raw honey has great anti-oxidant properties - therefore it can help with irritation and reducing scars.
• It can protect your skin against sun damage (honey is found in some sunscreens).
• It's also completely natural.
• It can be used for all skin types - I have sensitive skin and it did not break me out.
• It adds moisture to your skin (hence it is also suitable for ageing skin.)

 What type of honey should I buy?

When I went to the supermarket, I was overwhelmed by the different types of honey on sale! There was manuka honey, honey with blueberries, normal honey and raw honey (and much more). I decided to buy raw honey (look out for the crystallized form in the jar). The honey I purchased cost only £3.99 - I'm pretty sure I can get at least 10 more applications from it! It is very cost effective. 

 How much should I use?

When I first used the mask, I applied a generous layer. After several applications, I have realised that a thin layer is enough.

  How long should I leave it for?

I personally leave it on for 20 minutes. The raw honey I used does not drip or dry out so I am able to do other activities whilst applying it. Some people leave it overnight - but I don't think I'd have the guts to do that. 

I also recommend reading other reviews on the benefits of honey. I regret not using the honey mask before - it has helped my skin SO much! I would highly recommend it to everyone.

You can also mix honey with lemon and honey with yogurt for even better results.

I am really interested on using natural remedies to take care of my skin. My next venture will be an oat cleanser :)  Watch this space.... 

Has anyone tried a honey mask before?