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- Friendship bracelets - Sky (it was really sunny but I instagrammed it with the wrong filter and made it look dark) - Saturday night in last week - BB cream sample (loved it) - Nail paintng - Activia breakfast pot - Nails - Salad - Usain Bolt quote - 

I've missed a few weeks worth of these because, quite honestly, I hadn't taken any photos. Here is this week though. It was the first week of the summer holidays and the weather picked up literally on the night we finished school which was cute. With the sun being out all week I've been enjoying it and seeing my friends. We went out for breakfast, sunbathed and went on a 13 mile bike ride - although I might up it to 15 miles if I'm speaking to a sporty person. 

I'm really getting into the Olympics (see here) and I'm currently watching the Womens springboard synchro diving after seeing GB get their first medal in the road race - Lizzie Armistead starting off the medal wins hopefully! One of the girls diving synchro for Great Britain is 15, Tom Daley is 18 and swimmer Ellie Simmonds is 17. Makes me think I should be a little further along accomplishment wise with my life by now. Also, Tom Daley is really really attractive - I remember when he made his Olympic debut and we all went back to school in September and did a quiz in P.E. which meant all of us named our teams something Tom Daley related (no regrets). 

Hopefully onwards and upwards from here for Team GB! Are you into it as much as I am?

Victoria x

London Olympics 2012 - Top and Nails

Top - Argos

Shorts - Primark

I've got my Team GB top on and I'm ready for the opening ceremony and the games to begin! 

It's hard to believe that we found out Great Britain would be hosting the Olympics in 2005. So much has changed since then. I finished primary school, started and completed secondary school and am now waiting for the results of my AS levels. Quite a lot is still the same though, I still have the same core friendship group as I did back then, with a couple of additions, we're as excited about it now as we were back then. 

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Despite a lot of my nail varnishes going gloopy at the same time and the nibs of my nails pens stop working, I wanted to have something Olympic related on my nails for the start of the 2012 games. I decided to use the GB Kit designed by Stella McCartney as inspiration - focusing on the top Andy Murray is wearing. I wasn't over struck on the kit at first, I thought there should be more red and more of the whole Union Jack, but it's growing on me. I have very little artistic ability but the use of nail art pens just about cover that up normally but as I had to make do without, my nails do look messy but who cares? It's the thought that counts. 

London Olympics 2012. Let's go! 

Victoria x

A (very) Beginners Guide For Beginning Running

* I'm no health/sport/fitness/running expert. I'm incredibly far from it. These are just my opinions and thoughrs based on my experiences, every one is different. What works for me might not work for everyone*

As the Olympics are just around the corner I decided to do a couple of posts relating to them. Enjoy!

As the title of this post suggests this is a beginners guide. By beginners I mean that literally as I've only started running properly about three weeks ago and if I'm completely honest only whole heartedly two weeks ago. In this post I'm basically just going to tell you what I need for exercise and how I try and keep motivated.

My family recently bought a treadmill (Look on eBay for people who have bought them and not used them - they're reasonably cheap but do you're research on brands) so that is what I run on. I'm only saying this to lay it all out there so I wont be going on about running on roads. 

First off and pretty obviously but in no way patronisingly - water. The first time I ran on the treadmill I forgot to take water with me and it was just not good. Water is so good. I have also made the mistake of taking a screw lid bottle, it's rather fiddly when you're trying to focus on staying upright. 

Good trainers. The ones pictured above are the ones I bought for netball but apparently I should have proper running ones - I thought these were running ones but no. These are holding up okay for the time being but good quality trainers are so important for looking after your body.  

Sports bra. If you take one thing away from this post, please let it be this: Supporting your boobs sufficiently and effectively is so important. Tissue damage in your breasts is caused by not supporting them properly (when they bounce up and down rather aggressively) and this can cause boobs to sag. I am rather big boobed and just think it is uncomfortable and painful to exercise without a good sports bra. I have a Freya active one that I got from Bravissimo. I would suggest getting measured properly as my sports bra size is different to my normal bra size. I know sports bras can be expensive but I think they're worth it.  

This one is a personal requirement for me. When I run I find I get really bad back cramp, it was so painful that the first time I used the treadmill I had to get off after ten minutes and just sprawl myself on the floor for about an hour. I get these heat pads from Aldi - they last upto 8 hours but mine have lasted longer. You apply to clothing, not to skin and they warm up really fast. Since I've used them I haven't had any back pain whilst running. 

Staying Motivated

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One for all the 30 Day Shredders out there. 

1. After you've done one run, that itself will motivate you. Seriously, I did like three runs and thought I was Jessica Ennis. 

2. This might sound lame but it does help me or at least keep me entertained. Say motivational sayings to yourself. My favourite is 'Your body gives up before your mind'. Then you might realise your body isn't feeling like it's giving up yet and that keeps you going or if you do 'feel like your going to die' (in the words of Jillian Michaels) then it reminds you not to give up. But whatever works for you, even if they don't motivate you, some of them are quite funny so it could distract you from what you are actually doing. 

3. Another lame one (this is why I don't go to a gym) that I do is cheering myself on. In all seriousness whenever I reach a time or distance goal - like every five or ten minutes that I run - give yourself a little cheer. Arms and everything. 

4. Music. Find songs that motivate you or have a good beat to them. Please give me suggestions! I like One Directions (obvz) up beat ones like Up All Night and also some Bowling for Soup songs for running. I had my iPod on shuffle and Matt Cardle came on. Nothing against Matt Cardle but he doesn't sing for running.

5. Celebrate your goals. Big or small. They are your goals so don't compare them to other peoples, they need to suit you so they are reachable for you. Also if you don't meet a goal don't get worked up over it. Doing a little is better than doing nothing. Try again next time or adjust your goal so you work up to it more gradually - it's all about you.

6. Exercising is also a good excuse to buy some cute work out clothes.

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Cheeky little bit of motivation

I just want to eat healthily and exercise. I think that's all you should aim for. 

Hope you're happy and loving the weather! (I can't resist mentioning it - so British)

Victoria x

No7 Colour Calming Primer

No 7 Calming Colour Primer - £11 

My Skin: I'm very pale and have combination skin. Dryness is definitely a problem with occasional oiliness 

I bought this product using one of those No 7 vouchers that boots give out. In all honesty, as intrigued as I was about this products I would not have paid full price for this but with a £5 off voucher in hand I decided to give it a go. 

I've said it before but I am definitely no beauty expert. In fact it's sad how far away from that I am. So my reviews of products are very basic and simple. 

I was intrigued about this product because I do have red patches and blemishes on my skin. Some days they are worse than others and it isn't something that constantly plays on my mind or anything but it would be nice to not have it cross my mind at all. The mornings are always the worst for redness for me and as this is when I do my make up, I obviously take note. 

I think this product is quite heavy which isn't something I'm used to. It takes a while to rub in completely and reminded me of a matte foundation in terms of blending it into the skin. I would often get told at school that I had "some green stuff on your face". This however may be down to my lack of beauty knowledge and technique. You definitely only need to use it in little blobs. The blob in the picture above would probably do for the whole face, it might even be a little too much. So If this is a product you like you'll definitely get value for money.

For me, I found this product to be a little hit and miss. One day I would think that it had worked pretty well and other days I couldn't really tell a difference. At no point did this really feel like it had holy grail product potential. I'm also not keen on the smell of it. 

This has turned out to be quite negative which is a real shame for me as I like my blog to be nice as positive. I would definitely not slam this product all together and I'm glad I have it in my make up bag. I will use it every now and again to sooth any redness but I just wont depend on it. I don't think I will re-purchase this product. However I do feel I should mention that I have tried other No 7 products and adored them, especially their nail varnishes. This product has by no means put me off the brand. 

We're all different though and these are just my opinions from my experience. If you've tried it and thought differently, do let me know! I love hearing other peoples opinions and thoughts. 

Have you tried this?

Hope you're all able to enjoy some of this sunshine!

Victoria x

Olympics: Ashish For Topshop

We are mere days away from the opening ceremony to the London Olympics 2012 and I am definitely in the Olympic spirit. I'm going to be doing quite a few Olympic themed posts as you never know if we're going to get them again in our lifetime so I'm making the most of it. And anyway, I think the Olympics are something to get darn well excited about. 

To kick them off, I wanted to share this collection with you. This is the Ashish for Topshop AW 12 collection. I first spotted it when reading Gem's lovely blog, I then looked at the whole collection and decided I needed to share it.

This is Ashish Gupta's eighth capsule collection for Topshop. 

The TS website describe Ashish's collection as 'a winning concept designed for the underdog'. This is completely apt as you can see above with the slogans used. And Britain loves an underdog. 

I've seen Rita Ora wearing this flag print lately as well but can't, despite scouring the internet for a good long while, find an image of her in it. It's such a good collection and looks damn well comfy while keeping you acceptable for more than just your sofa. Sweats gon' chic. 

Topshop sums it up wonderfully: 

"Sporting ability aside, when it comes to shopping Ashish for Topshop, you're guaranteed a sartorial win"

Are you excited about the Olympics?
Hope you're well,
Victoria x 

LDN and Hi-Tops

Top - H&M (but I customised it)

Jacket - New Look
Vest Top - Primark

Shorts - River Island (recent sale)

Hi - Tops - River Island

First off, sorry the photos are at a bit of a dodgy angle. Tripod problems. I had to do these photos really quickly as well, I was running around trying to get them done about five minutes before I had to leave. Excellent time management on my part. 

I'm quite into customising clothes right now. I've done the embellished collars and I've also dip-dyed a t-shirt using Lily's tutorial. So I had this basic top from H&M and decided to write something on it, I originally wanted to use fabric paint but couldn't find any so had to settle for fabric pens. I settled on LDN. I'm not really sure why, but I'm happy with how it turned out. 

I'm sure you guys have heard about the Rihanna x River Island collaboration that is going to happen. I'm pretty excited about it which is quite unlike me. Hopefully Rihanna's style will be really come through in the collection. I know it's probably going to be ridiculously expensive and I will just have to look longingly online but it's still exciting, right? 

Hope you're having a lovely day, 

Victoria x

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Topshop Shorts

After my recent purchase of these ice cream print shorts from River Island, I have a hankering (really.) for shorts. Even though it definitely isn't the weather right now and I can't wear them as they break our schools dress code, it is only nine days until the summer holidays begin meaning no dress code and hopefully some sun.

Normally, I tend to stay away from the Topshop website because I think it's really quite expensive. However, what with all the sales going on right now I thought it was worth a look. I was pleasantly surprised with what I found.

Above are the four pairs I loved the most but there were so many to choose from. There were lots of prints which I absolutely love. I think prints are an easy way to make a statement without having to go too 'out there', for me anyway. The £36 pair was the only pair not in the sale, the others all are which brings a rather attractive price tag. I'm considering buying the bottom right hand pair as they were the first pair I spotted that I really loved and they are reduced! I'm thinking they would be easy to dress up and down so would create a good wear/cost ratio.

What do you think? 

Hope you're having a wonderful week,

Victoria x