Music Monday - Ryn Weaver ☆♢☆

For the first of hopefully many Music Mondays to come I thought I'd share one of my favourite singers with you; the lovely Ryn Weaver. For those of you who have not heard of Ryn Weaver before now; she is an incredibly talented singer and song writer, her songs have a distinct tone to them and beautifully written lyrics that contain real emotion. To quote Billboard her lyrics have a "delicate balance between personal and universal", which makes her music so much more enjoyable. The genre of her music can not be pinned down to just one, but I would say it is alternative pop, with a hint of electronic and has a dreamy undertone. Some of her songs have a celestial influence, which makes me love her music even more.

It's very refreshing listening to her songs, because of how different they sounds. I don't know about you, but I'm tired of listening to the same top of the charts pop songs, I'm sick of how all of them sound exactly the same. Late last year I made it my mission to start listening to less well known artists and bands, and since then I've come across wonderful artists like Ryn Weaver and many others who I will tell you about soon.  I still listen to a lot of pop music, I'm not ashamed to admit I'm a Taylor Swift fangirl, however that's not the only genre of music I listen to now. These artists have made me appreciate and enjoy listening to music even more. Ryn Weaver's music blends all of my favourite genres and her lovely voice makes her music exceptionally good.

Here are a couple of my favourite songs by her:

1) Pierre


2) Free


3) Promises


4) The Fool


5) OctaHate


6) New Constellations


Please do let me know what you think of Ryn Weaver, and I would love to know who your favourite artists and bands are at the moment. Also, would you like Music Monday to be a regular thing or not, I would really appreciate your feedback. :)

Inspiration Board

I have had an inspiration board in my room for the longest time, on it I put up pictures mostly from Tumblr and Pinterest that inspire me in some way. I love having an inspiration board in my room, but I thought it would be equally fun and much easier to start making them on my laptop as well. Seeing Jemma's inspiration mood-boards on her blog (Dorkface) encouraged me to make my own digitally.

Looking at this inspiration board you can probably tell that I love fairy lights, I plan on using them to create some dreamy decor soon. I want to make those DIY clouds in the picture, and if I don't fail miserably I will make sure to blog about them. I've also been loving a lot of cute illustrations like this one. This inspiration board includes crystals, because I absolutely adore them, and I think they add to the magical effect of this inspo board. Of course it is not complete without one of my favourite motivational quotes, a cute uplifting drawing and best of all; ice cream in a cloud print bowl :). I hope you liked it.

Life Lately (Finals Edition)

Hello,
 At the moment I have my IGCSE final exams which have been going on for the past two weeks, and  I have another two weeks to go. All I do these days is cram, drink lots of tea and coffee, and cram some more; this is exactly what I plan to do the next two weeks as well. Most of my exams went well thankfully (apart from Math :s), and unlike last time I am not too stressed, just very tired like everyone else taking their finals right now would be. Anyway I thought I would share my daily struggle routine during this finals month (with the help of gifs of course).

1) How I feel when I get all my material together and mentally prepare myself to start studying/revising all of it:

3) I need either a cup of tea or coffee by my side while studying...

3) Eventually I get in the study zone, and get stuff done. 

4) It's night time, and I realise I'm probably going to have to give up some sleep

5) It's 3am, and at this point I look and feel like a zombie.

6) 3:30am I decide to get some sleep, and pretty much just hit the bed.

7) The morning before the exam I try to do as much revision as possible; so more cramming. 

8) I look at the exam questions, and realise I know this stuff, breathe a sigh of relief and get to work.

OR my exam goes horribly. That exam for me was Math. Math is my weak point, and I was almost certain I would mess up in the exam, and um.. I did. I'll pass hopefully, but not with the greatest marks, and I was really upset about this. 

8) Good or bad, after taking an exam this is always how I feel afterwards:

10) You have to realise that you can't change what has already been done, so forget it and look ahead. Things like this happen to everyone, you just have to get over it.

11) Life goes on, and everything will be okay. All you need to focus on is the present. So relax for some time, then open your books and get back to work. Forget about the exam that has happened, and focus on studying really well for the next one. No matter how bad your situation may seem, it will get better over time. You need to be strong and just keep swimming going. 

I know my finals routine is not the best, but I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who resorts to cramming and late night study sessions during finals week. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading this post. Also, do you have your finals right now too, and if so can you relate to my routine somewhat or is it just me :s? 

To those of you who have your finals/exams:

Cute Etsy Finds ♡

(1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 6 . 7 . 8 . 9 . 10 . 11)

You can find such lovely things on Etsy, from art to clothing they've got it all. However, finding the things of your interest on Etsy can be quite difficult since it is full of all kinds of little shops. So, I thought I would share with you the cute things that I have come across on Etsy, and that are on my wish list at the moment. P.S. the 9th item (the Little Mermaid/Ariel painting) is by Jemma, how cool is that? You should really check out her shop on Etsy, it has got a ton of cute things, including a customised illustrated blog header, which I myself got, and I'm more than happy with it! What do you think of these Etsy finds? Also, how are you liking my new blog design(had to ask heh)? 

Last Week I Had Been Loving...

I thought I would start sharing my weekly favourites with you. I'm a little late with this post, but here are my last weeks favourites.

• Lazy Oaf Kitty Backpack : This bag is the best thing ever. It is so soft and fluffy, perfect for winter. You can use it for school, as a travel backpack or just as a day bag. It is quite big. I love taking it to school, and using it as a pillow while taking a nap in the school library heh. 

•  Body Shop Camomile Cleansing Butter and Cleansing Oil : I am a really big fan of this skincare line by Body Shop, and these are the two products that I brought recently, and absolutely adored. The Cleansing butter removes makeup and impurities, and makes your skin feel super soft and hydrated. The cleansing oil does practically the same thing, and leaves your skin feeling silky and fresh. Another bonus is that these smell amazing in my opinion.

• Unicorn Blanket: This is a very random favourite, but I could not help, but include this. It is not the most warm blanket, but the fact that it's so cute, and that there is a little unicorn head on the top, which you can use as a pillow, made me really love it. I think I used it everyday last week; Since I have not been getting a lot of sleep, I would come back from school, spot this on my bed, and then resort to taking a nap with this adorable blanket.

• Bee And PuppyCat: Everything about this cartoon is so cute, from the characters personalities to the illustrations . The story is really sweet, the show is quite funny, and there is something about it that keeps you interested. Also, I've been wanting to learn how to illustrate, and the illustrations for this show really inspire me, which makes me love the show even more. You can watch Bee And PuppyCat here

• Lanvin Me Perfume  : At first I thought the scent was too sweet, but then I grew to really like it. Last week I used this a lot, it has a really sweet fruity floral scent. It is sweet, but not overpowering. It's a girly scent, with a touch of elegance. I'm not the best at describing scents so I hope you get the idea haha. 

I hope you enjoyed reading this post. What have you been loving this week? Let me know in the comments. 

ASOS Clothing Wish List ♡

1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7)

I thought I would share my ASOS wish list with you all, since I have a slight obsession with ASOS at the moment. Last year I did 80% of my shopping from ASOS. The reason I love it so much is, because you can always find something you like, and from clothes, make up, accessories to stationary, they have got it all. They also sell products by other brands as well (e.g. River Island, Wildfox, NewLook e.t.c), so you have quite the variety. Another thing that I love about ASOS; is that they ship free internationally, which is a big bonus for me, since I live in Pakistan.

2015*:･ﾟ✧

2014 has had its fair share of ups and downs. I have grown a lot this year, and now I am in a much better place than I was before. It has been quite a journey of self discovery and development. Now, I plan on making 2015 a productive and positive year.

The first thing that I will work on is being more confident, and getting out of my comfort zone more often. I will also work on thinking positively. Most of all, I will dedicate this year to working on my goals, and hopefully turning my day dreams into reality. My motto this year will be; "Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you will land on the stars".

Favourite Christmas Jumpers ♡

 
1) 2) 3) 4) 5)

Even though my family and I don't really celebrate Christmas, I still enjoy doing something Christmassy on the day. I get in to the Christmas spirit by wearing a festive jumper, and then usually decorate my room with multiple fairy lights, watch festive films and drink a cup of hot chocolate. So today I thought I would share my favourite Christmas jumpers with you, to get you all in the holiday spirit.

I would love to know how you celebrate Christmas, let me know in the comments below (´･ω･`).

Too Faced Makeup

Hello,

Today I'm going to review all the Too Faced Makeup that I own. I've made mention of my love for Too Faced before. I'm not going to lie, the main reason I adore Too Faced Makeup to such an extent, is because of the packaging, I'm a sucker for cute packaging. I own 3 products by Too Faced; sweethearts perfect flush blush in candy glow, chocolate bar eye shadow palette, and the melted lipstick in peony. 

1) Sweethearts Perfect Flush Blush in candy glow: Let me just start by saying, the reason I bought this blush was, because of the adorable packaging, and to be quite honest I was not sure how the product itself would be. When I got it, I immediately put it on, and I was so impressed. It gives your cheeks the perfect peachy pink tint along with a lovely glow. It also acts as a highlighter, which makes it even more special. Overall it's my go to blush, its quick and easy to use, and it's worth your money. The blush consists of three different shades of pink, I usually just swirl my brush around, and all the colours beautifully combine, creating a lovely natural peachy pink look on your cheeks. 

2) Chocolate Bar: Like every other Too Faced product, this one comes in a really cute packaging, in this case it resembles a chocolate bar, it doesn't get better than that, right? The first thing that comes to my mind while talking about this is, that it actually smells like chocolate, which is incredible. I've had this for over five months, and it still smells like chocolate. Anyway, moving on to the product itself.. what I love most about this is the versatility of the shades. It has almost all the neutral shades you could dream of, from baby pink (my favourite), shimmery bronze to matte brown; this palette has got them all. Compared to the naked palette, I prefer this, which is saying a lot. The quality is the same as compared to the Naked palette, which is great, but the only difference is this in my opinion, has more of a variety of different shades, so instead of buying three naked palettes, this one should be sufficient. The eyeshadows stay put  for a good amount of time too. All the shades look lovely on your eyes, this palette is fit for pretty much any occasion, and any time. 

3) Melted Lipstick in Peony: Right now, I'm on a mission to find the 'perfect lipstick/s', and this is close to what I have in mind. This is a really pretty colour, I would say it's a medium to light rosy pink colour. It is a liquid lipstick, so it's easy to apply, and I love how it feels on, it feels smooth and slightly velvety. It is a soft pink, which would work for any makeup look. I would definitely recommend  getting this, it is one of those essential lipsticks, which you would want to own and it will be much use to you, since it makes a perfect everyday lipstick. it looks natural on, and at the same time makes your lips stand out and look gorgeous.

I hope you enjoyed reading this post. I would love to know if you own any Too Faced products, and if you do, how do you like them? Also, what are some of your favourite makeup/beauty brands?

☆ My Top 5 Favourite Albums Right Now ☆

1.
King Con - Alex Winston:
I've been listening to a lot of random artists lately, and have come across Alex Winston, who has become one of my favourites already. I really loved the beat to each song, her voice is fantastic, and even the lyrics were well written. I really hope she comes out with new music soon.

2.
Different Colors -Walk the Moon :
I started listening to Walk the Moon, when I first discovered indie pop, which was a while back. I had loved all their music, so naturally I was really excited when I found out they came out with a new album. I admit, it could have been a little better, but maybe I just think that, because I had really high expectations. Nevertheless, I really love it. Some of the songs really have you on your feet. I love the happy upbeat vibes that you get from listening to most of the songs. My favourites would have to be Shut Up and Dance and Work This Body.




3.
1989 - Taylor Swift:
This album was just beautiful, one of the rear albums that you can listen to without having to skip any tracks. In my opinion, it is her best album so far. This album is full of feel good songs that make you smile.




You can listen to most of the album here too c:

4. My Blood Is Full Of Airplanes - The Cinema:
 I can't tell you how much I love The Cinema, they are one of my favourite bands. This is also one of those albums, I can listen to without skipping any of the songs. I love this specific genre of music, and I really enjoyed listening to this album, and continue to do so.



5. Black Star Elephant - Nico & Vinz
I love the positive vibes that each song in this abum releases. These are the sweetest and most positive songs that I've listened to. If I feel low, listening to this album will surely cheer me up. The lovely lyrics paired with the upbeat music, make each track on this album perfect. My favourite songs would have to be; Know What I'm Not, Running and People.



I hope you enjoyed reading this post. If you have heard any of these albums, I would love to know what you thought of them, and also what your favourite albums are at the moment ♡

September Favourites ☆

This month I have quite a few favourites, everything from beauty, lifestyle and other favourites. 

First up lets talk beauty, here are some of my beauty favourites:

Mac Mineralize Skinfinish Natural

Too Faced Chocolate Bar

Too Faced Sweethearts Blush in candy glow

1) Mac Mineralize Skinfinish Natural: I was really excited to try this out, because I had heard so much about it, and let me just tell you I fell in love the fist time I used it. The Mineralize Skinfinish is the best finishing powder I have used so far, and it is a must have. It leaves your skin feeling soft and looking flawless, it blurs imperfections and looks nice and light on your skin. Your makeup can not look cakey if you have this gem on.

2) Too Faced Chocolate Bar: First of all, can we please talk about the adorable packaging, I'm a sucker for cute packaging, so thats a huge bonus for me, also when you open it, it actually smells like chocolate! The range of nudes is great too, from shimmery shades to matte, this palette has them all. The eyeshadows are pigmented,  long lasting, and you can work with these shades both day and night. I personally love the baby pink and the shimmery light pink. I think this is the perfect neutral palette to own, since it has a versatile range of neutral shades.  

3) Too Faced Sweethearts blush in Candy Glow: 

I'll be honest with you; the real reason I bought this blush was because of the cute baby pink heart that the product was in. But, even the blush itself was surprisingly great. The blush gives your cheeks a perfect rosy pink colour and subtle glow. What I love most about this blush is that; it plays the role of a highlighter as well as a blush, and who doesn't love multitasking products.

 Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation

Baby Doll Kiss & Blush 

4) Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation: This is my holy grail foundation at the moment, it gives you the perfect coverage, covers all imperfections, stays put all day and makes your skin look fresh and alive. It's the best. 

5) Baby Doll Kiss & Blush (no.9): So I have a love-hate relationship with this product. First of all, I love the packaging; it looks like a fancy nail polish bottle. Other than that, I adore the colour, it's a very pretty pastel, medium rose pink. In my opinion, it's a pretty and unique mix of pastel and medium pink. It looks lovely on the cheeks, and works as a great cheek tint, however it doesn't last all day, the colour starts to fade after a couple of hours. On the lips, it looks nice too, however I  feel the need to keep re-applying it every now and then, which puts me off. I also wish it was a little more matte. However, it still is my go to lip and cheek product, simply because, it is a multitasker, it also feels quite nice on the lips, because of its creamy texture, and like I said earlier its a beautiful and unique shade of pink, which I can't seem to get enough of.

Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Cleanser 

Clearasil Rapid Action Pads

6) Liz Earle Hot Cloth Cleanser: This is my favourite cream cleanser of all time. It has helped a lot with my blemishes so far, and even other wise. I've also been getting compliments on my naked skin, and I predict it's the result of this beauty. The cream has a thick consistency, and you basically massage the cream on your face and neck, take the muslin cloth, wet it with warm water, gently massage your face with the cloth, and then wash your face with cold/normal water. This leaves your skin feeling super soft and squeaky clean. It also does a good job removing your makeup. I'm really loving this so far, and I would recommend you try it too, I think it would work for all skin types, so give it a go. 

7) Clearasil Rapid Action Pads: I was not sure if this was going to work well or not, but these rapid action pads have proven to be a lifesaver product for my skin. I use them when my acne starts to show up, and/or when I'm having troubled skin days or weeks, where my blemishes don't seem to be going away, I'll just use one of the pads before bed, and wake up with half of them already gone or less visible. 

Lifestyle Favourites:

   

Little Twin Stars 2014-15 Planner

1) Little Twin Stars Planner: I love how sweet this dairy/planner is, It's so pastel and adorable. I use this for noting down my homework, making to-do lists, taking notes and sometimes for writing down my thoughts. It has the calendar, space for notes and planning each day, and it comes with a pack of pretty little stickers. Every page is sweetly designed, and just looking at it makes you happy.  It makes staying organized 'fun', and it acts as a mood booster for me too. 

Frends Layla Headphones (rose gold)

2) Frends Taylor Layla Headphones (Rose Gold): I've been wanting these headphones for at least two years now, so you can imagine how excited I was to finally have gotten them. Their not cheap, but their gorgeous, everything about them is elegant and chic, from the rose gold colour to the fashionable design. The sound quality could have been better, having said that it's not bad either. They come with a white pouch, which is very handbag and travel friendly, which makes life a lot easier. Anyway, I've been loving these headphones ever since I got them, I love how the look, and the whole idea of such beautiful headphones. 

Lavender Chamomile massage oil

Lavender Chamomile Body Cream 

3) Sleep Sommeil massage oil and body cream (lavender chamomile) Bath & Body works: For as long as I can remember, I've had a huge problem falling asleep at  night, and this has been a huge help. Ever since I started using this my nights have never been better, the lavender and chamomile scent is so calming. Both the massage oil and body cream, help calm me down and sleep better. 

Other Favourites: 

1) Leah McFall Home ft will.i.am: Such a lovely song, Leah's voice is beautiful, and I'm also loving the music video♡.

ASOS

2) ASOS: For over two years now, I've been obsessed with the online store, ASOS, and now days, I've found myself mostly just shopping from ASOS. I love the fact that it's online, ships FREE worldwide, and has the cutest stuff. It's got stuff for everyone, and at affordable to reasonably prices. ASOS sells fashion, beauty, accesories and other gifts and pieces from different brands, as well as their own. I can always find a number of things that are of my style and taste, which is basically anything cute and pastel, but whatever your style is, you'll find tons of stuff you'll like at ASOS, like I said; they have got stuff for everyone. 

3) Once Upon A Time: OUAT is back, and this year Storybrooke is frozen,  which obviously means Elsa is in town, yes the one and only; Elsa, queen of Arendelle. I was a little scared as to how they would fit her and the rest of the frozen characters in the story, but it's all coming together, and the show keeps getting more and more interesting. So far I'm really enjoying the season, and I'm looking forward to the upcoming episodes.

I hope you enjoyed this freakishly long favourites post, and I would love to know some of your beauty, fashion, lifestyle or/and any other favourites, leave a comment and let me know.

My Dream Coat ♡

         

 (FUR COLLAR PEA COAT)

I love everything about this coat, from the adorable perter pan collar, to the pretty pastel colour and the elegant shape and design. It is perfect in my eyes. Truth be told, my love for it only increases, knowing Ariana Grande has worn it, because she is one of my style icons. It also looks extremely warm and cosy, but I can’t say that for certain, since I don’t own it. I have been wanting this coat for a while now, but unfortunately have never got around to buying it. Nevertheless, I felt I needed to share this beauty with you, because some of you might like this almost as much as I do. I’ve been loving Miss Selfridge's line of coats this winter, they have all got this very elegant and high fashion look, that I'm adoring. I definitely think if you haven’t already, you should check them out. Most of them are on my winter wish list at the moment.

What did you think of this coat, and are there any pretty coats on your winter wish list? I would love to know, so please do comment below if you can. 

Motivational Monday ♡

Summer break is over, and it's time to get back to work for most people, which can be really stressful. Its important to have a positive attitude and not to stress out or worry too much. This picture has helped me realize, that I might be having a bad day or have a problem or two to deal with, but it's not worth stressing or being upset over, because there are people with bigger problems, and there are more important things in life. Also, thinking about it all day wont help get rid of the problem, Soon, those problems you had to deal with; that bad day, or embarrassing moment, won't matter.

If you're going through or dealing with something, talk to someone and remember you're not alone, a lot of people have gone or are going through what you are going through right now. So, please stay strong, be positive and remember in the end, you'll be okay! Also, if you want to talk, I'm here for you, you can find me on my twitter or you can email me, my email is: noorza1999@gmail.com.

There are different things that you can do to deal with whatever you are going through. For me, I've seen writing down how I'm feeling, or listening to music helps. So, I made this playlist on Spotify (♡), which will hopefully help me get through this week and the coming weeks. Feel free to check it out, I hope you like it. I also hope you enjoyed reading this post, and that it makes you feel a little bit better.

XO,
Noor.