Struggles Of Being A Teen

So, I am now taking part in another blogging project, alongside the Secret Blogger Project but this one is called the Teens Tell Their Story Project, and it's basically a topic a week to write about and I guess it'll probably just be general things! I will leave a link to Caitlin and Sherina's blogs at the end of this post as they are the creators and I'm sure they would be happy to answer any questions you may have about the project! 

So, the first topic is the Struggles Of Being A Teen and I honestly think this is such a perfect topic to start this project off with because let's be real, being a teen comes with a lot of struggles. So, I'm not going to waste anymore time rambling on and I'm just going to get straight into it!

SCHOOL STRESS

I think school and the pressure put on teenagers at school is one of the biggest problems for teenagers right now. Whether it's GCSEs, A Levels, college courses whatever, it's really stressful and there is a hell of a lot of pressure put on people to pass, to get good grades, to even really push for the highest grades possible. I understand our teachers want us to reach our full potential, and I want to reach my full potential too but having just finished GCSEs and having to take 7 subjects, it's a lot of pressure to do well on ALL of them. I think I had about 17 exams in total, including my practicals in dance and that is a lot, we are still children and I think sometimes that is forgotten because these are the grades that we need in order to live a successful life. I think the fact that your teachers say 'this will affect you for the rest of your life' so many times until it makes your ears bleed, puts so much extra unnecessary pressure on kids. But, I guess we have to get on with it if we want to get a job...

PHYSICAL CHANGES

I don't want to go into too much detail with this because if I do I'll end up sounding like that school nurse that came to talk to you about puberty etc. in middle school. However, the physical changes that happen in the body are at their peak in teenage years which makes it even harder for us. I think hormones are the biggest problem because let's be honest, they control everything. I don't really know if it's worse for boys or girls but I feel it might be worse for girls with the menstrual cycle etc. so I'm going to speak from a girl's point of view on this one. Hormones literally control everything we do, in my opinion although that may be a little extreme, but I over exaggerate a lot, moving on. I find that I can go from being the happiest person in the world to rock bottom within 2 seconds flat, and that sucks. I feel like I'm going off the physical changes thing here a little... But I guess hormones in the body control the physical changes in the body, yeah, let's go with that.

RELATIONSHIPS

When I use the term 'relationships' I use it loosely as I am referring to both intimate and friendly relationships here. Building relationships as a teenager is so hard I think we underestimate it because it was so easy as a child. People say things get easier as you get older but for me personally, building relationships with people is something that just gets harder with age. Whether it be a boy or girl you're completely head-over-heels in love with or someone you would just really like to be friends with, making the first move and starting that relationship can be really difficult. I feel that there's some sort of wall that's built up between teenagers because it's such a judgmental generation, am I the only one who thinks that? I feel that teenagers, more specifically teenage girls, judge each other like there's no tomorrow and I think that's the main problem. We judge each other before one word has been said and it really isn't fair, but that just seems to be how the world works these days. 

Another thing about relationships is once you have that relationship with someone, keeping it the way you want it to be and keeping it good can be super difficult too because again, the judgmental and jealous generation that we live in sucks. There are too many things of getting in the way of keeping a good strong relationship with people, my bet is technology...

CONFIDENCE

I have written a few posts about being confident now and I will be writing many more in the future but I think confidence in teenagers lacks so much, I even lack confidence myself so I know that it's a huge issue for people my age. Again, I think one of the main problems is the judgmental society we live in but I also think the media plays a huge part in how confident teenagers are with themselves, and more specifically their bodies and their appearance. I've seen countless articles and interviews etc. about the media and the effect it has on teenagers, more commonly girls, and how they view themselves. Magazines, TV shows, you name it, we've all sat there and said to ourselves 'I wish I looked that good' but honestly, they don't really look that good either. I've said the same thing so many times on this blog now but I can't say it enough! These people have someone touching up their hair and makeup every 30 seconds, they have lights, photoshop, everything! They have absolutely everything there for them and that's how they look that good, I bet if you saw them in real life they wouldn't look as good as they did in that picture.

CAREERS AND JOBS

I've recently been doing some part time job hunting after finishing my GCSE's and honestly, it's been so much more difficult than I thought it would be. I saw something on the news a while ago that said there was something like 14% of teenagers were employed last year, or something along those lines I can't quite remember what it said, but I remember thinking, if only they realise how hard it actually is for someone of the age of about 16 or 17 to get a job. My problem has been experience, but how can anywhere expect me to have experience if no one will take me on and give me that experience? It's a hard thing to do. Staying along the lines of work, choosing your career path is also so hard at this age but there is also again a lot of pressure to have some idea of what you want to do and where you want to take your life. Currently I'm settled on the idea of event management or photography, and possible interest in interior design. But I have changed my mind multiple times and I'm sure it will change again at some point. You get interviews at school, college etc. where people ask you what you want to do when you're older and you just freeze... 

I guess that's everything I have to say for today! I really enjoyed this as a first topic for this new project I am a part of and I hope you all enjoyed reading it just as much!

Caitlin's Blog

Sherina's Blog

Love, Becca

-xoxo

Sunday GRWM - Chilled Family Day

So yesterday, I enjoyed a nice peaceful Sunday Dinner with my family. Although I didn't go all out fancy which is normally an excuse to do a Get Ready With Me, I thought it would be nice to show you a more chilled day and how I get ready for that! 

So of course, I started off in my PJs! Which are actually from Next if anyone was interested! (The top says 'I need a bear hug' and the shorts have pandas all over them!) 

The first thing I do is hop in the shower. Here are my current shower staples!

Head & Shoulders Shampoo

Garnier Ultimate Blends Conditioner

Radox Coconut Kiss Shower Gel

Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser

Tea Tree Daily Facial Scrub

Here's an interesting face for you... Pore strips are my favourite thing ever, so satisfying to pull off! I highly recommend you try them if you haven't already!

Once I've taken off my pore strip I used some of the L'Occitane Essential water and my simple moisturiser just to treat my skin a little more before I put my makeup on.

And then I dry my hair and do my makeup! I'm not going into detail about the makeup look I did here as it was a practice for my Prom on Sunday and I am doing a full tutorial on this look very soon! So keep your eyes peeled for that when it comes out! 

Here is my outfit also! Just a casual jumper from Primark with some jeans from Tesco!

I hope you enjoyed this and I will see you all again on Wednesday for a review! 

Who is enjoying me going back to the schedule?

Love, Becca

-xoxo

Pink Parcel Box Opening | May

So as you may or may not have seen last month, I subscribed for my first box to Pink Parcel. I wrote about it and talked about all of the things I received here if you would like to read it!

I'm not going to go over all of the different sections to the box again because I did all of that in my unboxing last month so you can go see that there if you would like to find out more. So basically, I'm going to show you the 'For You' section of the box, enjoy! 

And that's everything I got and it's safe to say I'm very excited to try it all and I will definitely let you know what I think of the products I have received this month! 

I also have a review ready for a product from last month's Pink Parcel so keep your eyes peeled for that! 

Love, Becca

-xoxo

Stress 101

It’s that time of year again where those dreaded exams come round for people my age. We all hate this time of year, and we’ve been waiting for it all year and now it’s eventually here.

This post is my stress tips shall we say for now. I want to write about all of the things that I do to de-stress or just things that I do to avoid stressing out, in the hope that it will help at least one of you out in some way!

Teachers will pile on work like there’s no tomorrow. Each and every teacher will treat their subject as the be all and end all, and that’s what makes it so stressful for us. They often forget that we have 6 or 7 subjects that are equally important and we have just as much work, if not more for. Prioritising is the most important thing at the time of GCSEs and A Levels because you know how you should prioritise things to suit you so do that, not what someone else tells you.

I’m in no way saying don’t listen to your teachers, because you should always listen to them! Just make sure you take yourself into consideration!

THINGS TO DO TO AVOID STRESS

Be organised

I’m probably one of the most organised people when it comes to my school work. I have a folder for everything and a notebook for everything and if anything is in the wrong place I will know about it. I think I’ve really pushed organisation upon myself lately because of how stressful I have found high school, but it’s helped me out a lot. If you stay organised, you know where everything is and you know what needs to be done first and what can wait. This way, you can feel less pressure on yourself and you will be able to get on with things easily rather than not being able to find something or forgetting the due date for a piece of work.

Break

It is so easy to sit and force yourself to work for hours on end because you think that will stop you from getting distracted. This will not work I can promise you that! Take a break because if you sit for hours, you’ll start thinking about what else you have left to do and then you’ll stress yourself out. Take a break and stop your mind from thinking about anything related to exams and revision! This way, when you do go back to your work, you will feel refreshed and ready to work again, hopefully feeling much less stressed.

Have time to yourself to do what you want

I thought that when this time of year came round, I wasn’t allowed to do anything social with my friends at all. I had to be revising all the time. That is not the case, yes you do need to spend a substantial amount of time revising so that you do well in your exams, but you need time to spend with your friends and family too. I have been out on day trips with my family and friends and I have a Sunday Dinner with my family every week where we sit and just chat for 2-3 hours. You can even revise in a social situation. Me and my friends have gone to our local library to revise multiple times and myself and Matt have also had revision days together. So what I’m trying to say here is, don’t be unsociable for months until your exams are over, you need time to completely free your mind of exams and revision, so spend that time wisely.

HOW YOU CAN DE-STRESS

Pamper night/day

I actually did this today. I sat and did 2 hours of revision then I decided I was going to go in the shower. My shower involved various cleansers and a face scrub as well as some nice hair treatment from my Paul Mitchell sample I received in my Pink Parcel last month. When I got out the shower, I put on a face mask and a nose pore strip and just sat and chilled for 15 minutes while those products did their thing. It’s honestly amazing how refreshed you can feel after giving yourself a bit of a pamper! After I’d done this, I went straight back into my revision and did another 4 hours, with breaks of course! I did a similar thing the other day, I took an hour out of my revision to paint my nails which also made me feel much better about going back to my revision and gave me time to clear my mind for a while.

Talk

Sometimes stress gets a little bit too much for some of us. It’s never really got to this point too much for me but I would imagine talking to someone would help. We are always told at school, as I imagine you are, that if you are getting so stressed you don’t know what to do anymore, the teachers are always there for you to talk to. Even if it’s not your teachers, your friends and your family are also always there for you to offload things onto. I offload things onto people all the time when things get too much for me, not always stress related, but it always feels so much better to get it out and have someone tell you that everything is going to be okay, because it will.

Go for a walk

It’s amazing what a bit of fresh air can do. Go walk your dog, go for a walk with your friend who lives round the corner, go sit in the garden for a while. Even do a bit of exercise if you’d prefer to! Burning off a little energy and getting some fresh air allows your brain a chance to stop and just breathe for a while. The fresh air will also make you feel much more refreshed and ready to go. The message is, do something that makes you feel good. If exercise isn’t your thing, maybe you could read your favourite book or watch a bit of YouTube for a while just to give your brain a chance to relax.

That’s all the tips I have for you today guys! I hope you enjoyed the post and I will see you all very soon for another one!

This post is part of a little blogger series I'm taking part in called the "Secret Blogger Project 2015" run by teen bloggers Emily, Rebekka and Charlotte. About 30 of us will be writing twice a week on selected little lifestyle topics and you can also go onto the Twitter and Instagram hashtag "#secretbp2015" to have a little chat and view everyone's posts. If you would like to join or know more (we'd love to have you!) Instagram DM @theperks0fbeingemily or if you don't have Instagram, send a quick email torebekkarosebeautyxo@gmail.com.

Love, Becca

-xoxo

How To Style A Two-Piece

Mid week post? What is this? What's going on? 

I had my first 2 GCSE exams today - NO MORE FRENCH EVER - and so I thought I'd give myself a night off revision and just put together a post for you!

So today I thought I'd do something slightly different to normal because, well, why not? 

I wanted to do a style related post so I thought I'd use this outfit that I wore the other day and share it with you guys!

This isn't actually a two-piece that I bought as a set, I've actually had both of these pieces for ages and just never thought of putting them together until now! 

I hope you enjoy seeing how I styled this two-piece as two-pieces have never really been something that has appealed to me but since putting these two pieces together I'm really starting to warm up to the idea! This is pretty much just a selection of selfies as I didn't have anyone to take the photos for me so, yeah enjoy!

Top: Amazon

Denim Shirt: New Look

Skirt: Miss Selfridge

Socks: New Look

Shoes: JuJu

Necklace: Primark

Watch: Casio

Bracelet: Dainty Day Dream

Anklet: Dainty Day Dream

If you would like to read specifically about the Dainty Day Dream jewelery and get better photos of it, click here to head over to an exclusive post I did which includes a discount code for the shop so hurry! 

Hope you enjoyed the mid week surprise! See you again soon! 

Love, Becca

-xoxo

Natural Beauty

It's the weekend again and I honestly couldn't be happier, it's after 12 and I'm still in bed and that makes me very happy. 

Today's post is all about embracing your natural beauty. Some of you will be sitting there thinking, what natural beauty do I have!? I thought the same thing when I found out this was the theme of the first Secret Blogger Project 2015 post! But, I promise you, you all have natural beauty inside of you, you just have to find it!

I'm going to show you a "no makeup makeup look" but to be honest, I'm really hardly wearing any in this as you will soon see! If you feel like you would be more comfortable with a little more than I am wearing here, or even less - if that's possible - that is also fine. These tutorials are there for you to make to suit you, not to be done exactly the same. 

So this is before I have put anything on - just a clean and fresh face! It's totally okay to go out like this too! I've been doing this a lot more recently since I've had a lack of energy from school. You may not feel 100% confident that you look your best like this, but it's so good for your skin, makes you feel refreshed and it boosts your self confidence just to know that you can go out in public bare faced!

This is the only makeup product I put on my face in this look! I know you can't see because the logos have rubbed off but this is the Natural Collection concealer in Fair. This product is decent coverage and stays on long enough for me. It's also super cheap so anyone could afford this product!

All I do is put it under my eyes to cover the dark circles a bit and on any spots or blemishes that I might be a bit self conscious about. It's amazing how you can feel just knowing that the things you dislike the most are covered up, not your whole face.

And that's it! A little bit of concealer and you're done! I've been doing this so much for going to school recently just to avoid getting out of bed really! 

Going out with this little makeup on can be really difficult for some girls to do, and I understand that. I never used to want to leave the house without anything on but I realised that I was being silly really and I didn't really need to wear makeup all the time because no one is really looking, or cares. 

As long as you feel confident in the way you look, that's all that matters. Even if that is with a full face of makeup, that is your choice and no one should ever make you feel differently about that.

This post is part of a little blogger series I'm taking part in called the "Secret Blogger Project 2015" run by teen bloggers Emily, Rebekka and Charlotte. About 30 of us will be writing twice a week on selected little lifestyle topics and you can also go onto the Twitter and Instagram hashtag "#secretbp2015" to have a little chat and view everyone's posts. If you would like to join or know more (we'd love to have you!) Instagram DM @theperks0fbeingemily or if you don't have Instagram, send a quick email torebekkarosebeautyxo@gmail.com.

Just before I end the post I just want to draw your attention to some advice posts that I'm having published every Friday on Silent Secret. I'm basically writing about different things for teenagers aged 11-19 just giving general advice about a different topic every week. Head over to the blog linked above and check out what I've done so far! 

See you next time!

Love, Becca

-xoxo

Pink Parcel Box Opening | April

So I have wanted to subscribe to Pink Parcel for a really long time and well, I eventually did it! 

I'm a bit late to the party on the April box but I thought I'd do it anyway since it was my first box from them! 

Just a little disclaimer before I start, this was in no way given to me for free and I am not being paid to write any posts about the box itself or any of the products in the box. All has been paid for.

Pink Parcel is basically a monthly subscription that sends you all of the things us ladies need at that time of the month, as well as a few lovely treats for yourself! When you subscribe, your first box is £5.95 and then after that it is £9.99 per month. At first I was a bit unsure about the price considering a lot of the package is sanitary towels/tampons, but the other things you get in the box add up to much more than that price anyway, so it's totally worth it!

So, I thought I'd share with you what is in the box from April!

Before I say anything else, I want to start off with the packaging because it's literally flawless. So subtle and sleek, I love it.

Some of the products that come in the box will include some leaflets and information about the product and where you can get it which I always find helpful because there's nothing worse than loving a sample and not knowing where you can get more of it!

There are 4 sections inside the box when you open it up...

For Now: A small material pouch containing 4 of the sanitary towels or tampons that you selected online.

For Bedtime: 5 more protective sanitary towels or tampons.

For Later: 12 sanitary towels or tampons of the same brand as the For Now pouch.

For You: Includes 7 products for you to try and enjoy.

2 of the products I received in the For You box was a Bella Pierre eye dust in Bubble Gum which looks lovely and I am excited to try out! I'm not sure what brand this actually is but there was also an eye liner that came so I am also very excited to try that out!

There are also 2 food/drink products in the box. There was a Ceylon pink tea and a Doisy and Dam coconut and lucuma chocolate bar. Not going to lie, not sure how these are going to taste but I'll let you guys no at some point no doubt!

The final 3 products were as shown above. 

#LipGlam lip balm which can apparently be used for many other places than just your lips so I'm really excited to see what this has to offer! 

Paul Mitchell Tea Tree Hair and Scalp Treatment and this is a 22ml sample. I love trying out new hair products because my hair often feels quite strawlike and dry so finding something to fix that or at least mask it a little bit is always a plus for me! 

And finally a pack of 10 2 ply tissues with ducks on them. What more can you want in life? These little packs of tissues are so helpful if you're out and need a tissue, you never know when you might need one!

And that's everything! I do plan on reviewing some of the products in this box for you so do keep your eyes peeled for those reviews in the next month or so! 

Just before I end the post, my advice post went live on the Silent Secret Tumblr blog last night also so I have linked that if you would all like to go and check it out! It's the one right at the top about Friendship as that is the topic I decided to write about this week! Enjoy! 

I hope you enjoyed this post and I hope you all have a lovely bank holiday! 

Love, Becca

-xoxo

Accepting Me

Teenagers and young girls have so much pressure on being “perfect” from the media these days, and the truth is, it’s dangerous. Not many teenage girls know how to be confident anymore because no one knows what confidence is anymore, many believe it doesn’t even exist.

Today I want to talk to you about how I stay confident in the hope that some of you guys might be able to do the same, in your own way or in a similar way to me.

BE YOURSELF

How could you be confident in your own body without being who you really are? If you like that dress, buy it and wear it with every bit of pride you have in you. Heck, buy those shoes to go with it too. If you like something, wear it or use it. Were all so wound up in a world where the world’s opinion matters more than your own. The truth is ladies, no one really cares what you wear or what you do, they’re too busy focussing on themselves. Don’t waste your life trying to be who everyone else wants you to be and just be you. God made you perfect in YOUR OWN WAY, so embrace it. The world is your oyster, make the most of it and leave your footprint.

SURROUND YOURSELF WITH PEOPLE THAT MAKE YOU HAPPY

Some people think confidence is all internal and it’s a very individual thing, but if you are constantly putting yourself in a position where you’re with people who aren’t making you happy, who you don’t have fun with, you’re going to notice more things to doubt about yourself. You’ll start thinking you don’t fit in, that there’s something wrong with you because you don’t like the same things they do etc. There’s nothing wrong with you, and you do fit in. You just need to find the right people to make you feel like you fit in, and I promise you once you find those people, you will feel so much more  confident in yourself within a group.

SMILE

Everyone likes to see someone with a smile on their face. It even feels good to know you have a smile on your face yourself. If you look at life with a frown, everything will be much greyer leading you to feeling like everyone in the whole world is out to ruin your day. Look at yourself in the mirror, smile and tell yourself how good your butt looks in those jeans you bought a year ago but never had the confidence to wear because you thought ‘your butt looked big in them’. I promise you, your butt looks fine. Smiling could also make someone else feel more confident. If someone smiles at me in the street, I feel more confident in myself as a person as they clearly felt I looked like a nice, friendly person to smile at. So I smile back, and that is one of the best feelings in the world. You might just brighten someone else’s day too! It’s been proven that it takes more muscles to frown than it does to smile, save your energy.

EAT WHAT YOU WANT

The biggest problem relating to body confidence is weight, size, shape etc. and THAT IS NOT IMPORTANT. People all over this world are all different shapes and sizes because we were made to be different. Those girls you see in the magazines don’t really look like that. Their boobs and bums aren’t actually that big, their waists aren’t that tiny and they aren’t that curvy and toned. Yes, they may be pretty and have a pretty good figure, but before you see those photos they are edited so much, it could be a different person in some cases. Eating that chocolate bar will not make you gain 10 stone, so why exaggerate? You don’t need to go on a diet and you don’t need to do extreme amounts of exercise. Yes eating healthy and keeping yourself fit and in shape is perfect. But don’t overdo it.

DO WHAT MAKES YOU FEEL GOOD

In order to be a confident person you have to do what makes YOU feel good. If doing some light exercise makes you feel a bit more body confident, do it. If getting on that crowded train makes you feel more confident in a public place, do it. Do whatever you feel you can to be more confident physically and mentally because you only get one life, so why live it wishing you looked like someone else or thought like someone else. If you feel good about something you are so much more likely to feel more confident in yourself during doing that and after you’ve done it. There’d also be a huge sense of pride, and if you don’t see it, no one else will. Be proud of yourself and let the whole world know it!

So that’s it, I think confidence is a huge issue at the moment for teenage girls specifically, all striving for perfection that doesn’t even exist. It’s a stupid dream no one should spend their whole life worrying about because EVERYONE IS PERFECT and I love you all.

I hope you enjoyed this post and if it helped one of you, then I am a very happy girl indeed.

I want you all to do something for me… I want you to do all of the things I’ve discussed in this post, even if you just try it quickly. You never know, it might make a difference. Even if just one of the five things helps you, it’s a brilliant thing for you so be happy about it. If you can complete one of these things successfully and feel good about it afterwards, you’ve done something amazing for yourself and I hope this has helped.

See you soon

Love, Becca

-xoxo