Tuesday 31 December 2013

Goodbye 2013!

Hola mis amigos!

It's officially the last day of 2013! We finally made it through this year!
For me, 2013 was definitely one roller coaster of a ride! It definitely had its ups (I mean, I actually met Justin Bieber!) but it definitely had its lows.

I'm not going to dwell on that which has passed as I believe we ought to keep positive! I'm a firm believer in happiness being a choice (thanks to Shay Carl of the Shaytards for enlightening me to this view). If we continue to look at those moments in life which were most definitely negative or impacted us in a negative way, and never try to view the positives in them, it will just bring us down. For example; in January 2013 I was very stressed out with school work and I gave in to it and left high school. I was then, by my mum, made to find some sort of job or January start college course. To cut the story short, I joined what I believed to be a course aimed towards musical theatre (a passion of mine). However, the course turned out nothing like that, I hated it and left after a month. For a long while I hated myself for leaving school and not getting by qualifications and then not even getting a certificate in the college course. I could look at this as a negative time in mylife, however, I did end up with a job for a while, more money than I ever had, and free time in which I found myself discovering my love for blogs and YouTube (zoella, sprinkle of glitter, stilababe09 to name but a few)

I decided to go back to school for my sixth and final year and picked up three of the same four "highers" (qualification) I was going the precious year along with Higher Philosphy.

School is great now! I don't hate it as much and I've only had two days absence! (From third year up until fifth I always had a very bad attendance. One year it was 22%...)
I still sometimes think about how if I had stuck in for another month or two of school I could've passed these exams already and be sitting Advanced highers in them. Alas, I cannot change the past, only the present and the future. The past year has shown me that I cannot allow these things to upset me. Yes, I can be seen as being a "step behind" but I view it as being a step forward. Everyone in my class is now about to go to college or university, and this may or may not be the right place for them. I already know this for myself and I am also more self-aware as to what is right for me and what I enjoy.

While I do not know what I intend to do next year - 7th year at school, a job - I do know that I really want to get right into my blog and my YouTube. I love sitting in front of the camera and talking to my  (so far not many, but wonderful!) subscribers and sharing things I have purchased and my favourite things etc. 
I also very much enjoy writing up my blog and spending time changing its design and layout to make it the kind of blog I, myself, would love to visit/read! I do it out of my love and passion for this area. Not because I think I'm the "next zoella" or anything. Wether I have 2 followers or 2 million followers, as long as somebody is enjoying the content I create I am happy. 

I guess I've went a little off topic!
For 2014 I have a few "new years resolutions". The first of these I've spoken about to you before; and that is uploading a video to my youtube channel once a week as well as writing a blog post once a week. I intend on making this the same day (a Tuesday) but the day for blog posts may change :)

I hope you all ring in 2014 full of joy and are looking forward to it! Let me know what your plans for the year are in the comments below or what positive experiences happened to you in 2013!

See you next year ;)
~Emma x

PS. this weeks video can be found here: http://youtu.be/gVUsuMSyUGU
       
 

Sunday 29 December 2013

New Videos!

Bonjour, ma chérie-s! haha

I thought I'd ought to give you a little update about my life and my plans for this blog along with the YouTube channel!

I have previously shared all four videos currently uploaded, ("What's In Our Bags?", "Clothing Haul!", "Edinburgh's Christmas" & "Boxing Day Sales Haul!!"), on a really rather erratic and unscheduled schedule. I hope in the coming months to have an upload schedule of about 1-2 videos per week, however, I have a lot of exams coming up in school before the final exams so I will be busy with those.

 I do get "exam leave" which means I will have a LOT of free time for a month or so which I will have filled with studying (or procrastination) which means I will not have much time for filming and editing (or perhaps I will find all of my time to do this haha) but after my exams are over (roll on Jun 5th!) I will be hoping to dedicate my time to bogging and youtube - yes, ok, and finding a job or something!

I intend, from now on, to update the blog once a week; I'm thinking Tuesdays? But as I said earlier, it all depends on school workloads and things such as what to actually blog about. Don't want to bore you all by updating with boring junk! If anyone would like to give me inspiration, please feel free to leave blog post - or youtube video - topics/ideas in the comments, or drop me an email at wonderofnothing@gmail.com.

I hope, once again, you all had a splendid Christmas and I'll see you all on Tuesday (HOGMANY!) to say goodbye to 2013!

~ Emma xx

Thursday 26 December 2013

Boxing Day Bargains!

Hey Everyone!

As you all know (well I'm guessing you all do), it's the day after Christmas which - apart from meaning it's only 364 days until next Christmas - THE BOXING DAY SALES HAVE STARTED! woohoo!

Normally, my mum, gran and I get up about nine or ten to get along to the shops but this year, we got up at 6am to head out shopping and to get to boots in time for it opening at 7! Whilst we were all knackered, this was honestly the best idea! The car park was so busy but that was for the masses of people queuing outside NEXT for the 6am open so Boots was relatively quiet.

I wouldn't say I bought a ridiculous amount of stuff, but in comparison to my normal purchase amount and my bank statements, I definitely got a lot:

 
See? no? ok.
Boots wasn't as amazing as I'd hoped, but I believe that is down to my lack of enthusiasm for any of the gift sets this year. I did however get a pair of amazingly soft and comfortable PJ's (Jimmi Jams) which I am wearing now and utterly adore! Along with a Simple minis set and some Toni&Guy hair products
 

 
We then stopped off at New Look where my bag obsession was no longer dormant! I have been looking for a backpack for a while now and kept going to one in New Look which was £20; admittedly, this is not expensive, but I'm used to a £10 bag from Primark so when I walked in to New Look and found said £20 backpack for £10 I HAD to buy it! It is such a perfect size for me and the straps go to exactly the length I like. It is extremely good quality and I feel it will last for a long while!
 
I also got another bag for £10 which I feel is great for a shopping trip uptown or if you're aiming for a 'smart casual' look. It's black (fake) leather with a sort of wicker-ish patterned material in the middle. There is so much room on the inside for everything I need and the neutral colours mean it will go with everything!
 
I also bought a pair of fluffy socks because they are irresistible and sooooooooo soft & cosy!
 
I received a £20 giftcard for Next but their sale this year wasn't impressive to me. I did find an adorable little cushion that goes perfectly with my room, which is Parisian themed (lamp and duvet) so for £6 I figured it was a bargain!


 
Also, I purchased a cute little necklace in Claires and a pair of fake pearl earrings. The necklace was just a silver chain with a teeny tiny Eiffel Tower and I thought, for £1, it was a must!

 
Finally, I was in the Card Factory (mi madre wanted a new years card) and all their Christmas stock was half price. This little festive box caught my eye and I impulse bought it because it was so bloody cute! (I have used 'cute' and 'adorable' faaaaaarrrrr too much in this post. SORRY!)

 
I wanted to share this with you as I had so much fun shopping today and I in no way wish to brag about this. I didn't receive any extravagant gifts this year and mostly received money and giftcards which is why I bought most of these items :)
 
I sincerely hope you all had a wonderful Christmas full of happiness and laughter with your family, friends and loved ones.
See ya!
 
~ Emma xx
 
P.S: New Video going up soon! Haul of all the above products http://youtu.be/AB42A0VYVMM     

Sunday 22 December 2013

Christmas Traditions!

Hey everyone!

I hope you're all having a wonderful festive season and are all prepared for Wednesday! I just finished my Christmas shopping yesterday - oops! They are all wrapped and under the tree; including three of my friends' presents which I reeeaaaly need to deliver to them soon!

Whilst laying in my bed tonight, going through in my mind if there was anything needing to be done before the "big day" I started doing what I normally do when I'm either nervous or excited (obviously, I must be talking about the latter in these circumstances!) and that is plan out the day. (Do any of you do that, going through what needs to be done and going through the day in your mind?)

It got me thinking about what Christmas Traditions my family and I have. The one that sticks in my mind the most is definitely the Christmas Eve present. Every year without fail, I get to open one present - which is typically one my mum has bought specifically for this purpose - just before I head off to bed. Nine times out of ten this is usually a pair of [Christmassy] Pyjamas for me to wear that night. I say nine times out of ten because last year I got toothpaste and a Justin Bieber singing toothbrush hahah!

For the first eight or nine years or so of my life, I would (beg my parents to) get up early and open my presents from my parents and, of course, Santa. I can't quite remember when/if I saw my grandparents from my mums side during the day or not but I definitely remember the Christmas afternoon/evenings being spent at my dads parents with all of his side of the family: all my aunties, uncles, cousins and for a time, second-cousins, all being their for Christmas dinner. There were literally fifteen - twenty of us packed into one room and my gran and my aunties trying to cook the dinner in a kitchen that could barely handle one person! My gran had the inside and the outside of the house COMPLETELY covered with decorations. There was not one bit of clear wall - or ceiling! - space. I think the Grinch would have a heart attack if he saw it. She's like all of the Who's in Whoville rolled into one!
My fondest memory of Christmases there is actually the only one I really remember: we were all sitting at the table, Christmas hats on everyone's heads and party popper streamers hanging from the ceiling light and drowning in the gravy boat, the noise was unbelievable! I must've been about six years old and I just sat there watching everyone having about ten different conversations at once. My dad's dad was sitting at the head of the table and clearly had had enough of everyone's lack of table manners (talking whilst eating!) so he screamed "STOP TALKING WITH YOUR MOUTH FULL!" to which everyone stopped, looked over at him and burst out laughing for he had just forced a huge forkful of roast potato into his mouth and subsequently was not "practicing what he preached"

However, around eight years ago my parents split and I believe for the first year or two, I continued to go to my dad's parents house for Christmas dinner, but for certain reasons I stopped this and since then I visit him for a few hours on the day, see the family and then come home for Christmas dinner (with my mum and her parents) which is cooked by my mums new husband.

I'm not going to go into my plans for this Christmas as 1. I will possibly do a post on my Christmas day and what I got/gave for Christmas and 2. I actually don't really know! It will be a strange Christmas this year as we will be missing a very special member of our family.
Benji, our 17/18 year old cat had to be put to sleep at 9:38am on December 21st 2013 as he had taken what we believe was a seizure the previous night and there was nothing we could do for him. It's definitely a relief as we didn't think we'd get him to last until last Christmas and he's definitely not been himself.
Whilst we will miss his, wonderful, constant meowing and his never ending scrounging for food, the money saved on buying his cat food will be wonderful (the skinny little thing never stopped eating!)

Sorry to end on a slightly sad note but anyway, I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas! love ya!
~Emma xx


Saturday 7 December 2013

Edinburgh's Christmas!

Hey,

Just a quick post to show you all the video I posted on Youtube the other day of Edinburgh's Christmas :)

If you enjoy it, and haven't already, please subscribe and thumbs the video up!

Thanks!

~ Emma
 
 

Wednesday 4 December 2013

Christmas Gifts!

Ahhhhhhhhh!

Christmas is in three weeks!!!
THREE weeks!!
3!

I can't believe it!


I currently have no presents for anybody.
None. Zero. 0. Zilch.
Oops.

I really only planned on buying presents for my parents, step-father and grandparents, along with my friend who desperately wanted someone to buy her pyjamas so that's her sorted. But then two other friends told me that they have me something which of course means I now, out of the goodness of my heart, even after being told not to, am obliged to buy them a gift also.

Of course, I have no objection to buying my friends a gift, (that is not the problem), the issue is that I have no idea what to get them! Which made me wonder, has anyone else actually started their Christmas shopping with any idea of what to get people?

Hope you're not all as stressed as I am about it! Haha!

 
~Emma xx
 

P.S. I have a small selection of clips from Edinburgh's German Market/Winter Wonderland that I took at the weekend that I thought (if there's enough) I may make into a cute little montage-y video-y thingy for you to see, so keep an eye out to see if it ever does appear haha :)

Saturday 30 November 2013

Current Favourites.

Before we start this blog post can we take a moment to realise something?

It's like, 24 sleeps until Christmas!!


How/When did this happen? I am struggling to believe it.. On the plus side we do get to watch Elf without being glared at!

Anyway! Some Current Favourites.

I only have a few things to discuss as most of the stuff I am loving I have loved for months (such as the Rimmel Apocalips!!) So, what's first?


Toni&Guy Texturising Sea Salt Spray
 

 
 
This, honestly, has to be my favourite hair product! I prefer wavy/curly hair to poker straight and, as my hair is ombréd, I suit the wavy/curly look better but don't always have the time to plait my hair at night or curl my hair in the morning (nor do I like using heat on my already damaged hair a lot!) o this is PERFECT! It gives such an amazing tousled wave to your hair - which is what it says on the bottle - and it also smells amazing! It gives one of those styles that looks effortless yet not rushed, even when it only takes thirty seconds to do!

Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick
(Shade 200/Latino)



 I have heard soooooooo many beauty bloggers/youtubers rave about this product! So, when I was at boots for one of their christmas point events, I HAD to purchase one of these! My local boots seemed to only have four shades - slightly disappointing as none were particularly colours I normally go for - so I literally just picked the one my mum liked the best! I must admit I LOVE the colour this gives and it is nice and moisturising! It's not as moisturising as the Maybelline Baby Lips but in its defence this is a lipSTICK not a lip BALM (which also makes this easier to apply neatly due to it being a bullet!) It is definitely a product I intend to purchase again and in other colours as it is an awesome product!

Collection 5in1 Mascara

 
I've never really been a fan of the Collection make-up, most likely because I never ever tried it, so  when I was at the "Pout" event in Edinburgh a few months ago (which, by the way, was such a good day! Photobooths are so much fun!) and got handed a free goodie bag of collection products from the semichem stand, I wasn't overly ecstatic. However, whilst a few of the products were definite "i am never going near this again" types of things (superglue-like lipgloss? I'll pass) This mascara was such a hidden gem!! It is amazing! Never clumps and looks wonderful! My lashes look PERFECT with this on (sorry for no picture of it in use) I definitely recommend this. And to make it even better, it costs less than a fiver! BARGAIN!
 
Maybelline 'Cats Eyes' Mascara


I'm not gonna lie. I literally only bought this for two reasons: 1. I like cats, 2. I was going to a Halloween disco (obviously about 2 months ago) as a cat and I figured it might help me look more cat like.
Okay, I suppose the fact that Boots had a points event on also contributed! However, it is a really great product (obviously, why else would it be in my favourites!?) I love the wand for this! It's curved which makes for a much easier application and it's just a very, very good mascara!


Very small collection of goodies for you to try out if you wish. I would have more but unfortunately, that wonderful place called school has given me a magnificent amount of joyous homework to do!
Please let me know in the comments below if you have tried any of these products and what you  thought, or if you found any amazing products yourself!

To all my American readers, I sincerely hope you had a wonderful thanksgiving and grabbed some awesome bargains on Black Friday! I'll see you all in December! :)

~Emma x

 

Monday 4 November 2013

Busy Bee's and Bloglovin!

Hey Guys!

So so so so so so so sorry for the complete and utter neglect of the blog for the past few months! :(
We've both been busy bees with school and just generally not had any ideas for posts!

BUT

I just got a new camera (or should I say my own camera - was using mi madré's) so I can FINALLY take photos for the blog and also videos for our youtube channel! (Link is on our "social networks" page! so go check it out and subscribe!) This means, if all goes to plan, there should be hauls/monthly favourites plus vlogs and the like coming up regularly!

I have an "October Favourites" post currently in the making so to make sure you dont miss that when it comes follow us on Bloglovin: <a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/11191929/?claim=5ycatf6v8q7">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

I hope you all stick around for all the exciting new things to come and love them as much as I do :)

See Ya!
~ Emma

Tuesday 10 September 2013

School life!

Hey guys,

Sorry for the long absence! School has been back for about three or four weeks now and as it is my sixth and final year at school it has been quite hard going so far! I'm doing four highers this year, three of which I done last year. For those of you who are interested I'm doing English, History, Philosophy and Modern Studies.

Fun.

Or stressful.

Nah they're not that bad. But we all know I'd much rather be eating, sleeping, shopping and - my new obsession - watching supernatural (I'll save you all from my fangirling by not discussing how much I absolutely LOVE  Jensen Ackles!!) Currently, I've already had a report to write, 3 essays and a TONNE of note taking. So I apologise profusely for not blogging so much; I will do my best to get into a routine and keeping you all updated on life and reviewing my new favourite (and not so favourite) products. I was attempting a back to school blog - before school went back - but it sort of got lost with all my getting ready and supernatural watching; maybe next year you'll get one!

I've also recently been unwell with a bad case of the cold. This has caused me to have swollen glands behind my ear and also on the back of my neck/head; the latter is currently causing me quite a bit of pain which my GP so kindly informed me will be around for about another three weeks! So that's been fun.

Now, I need to crack on with a history essay that I done last year! (I won't copy it, promise).
So I'll see you all soon and I'll be back with an August Favourites post :)

                                                   - Emma x

Tuesday 13 August 2013

Clothes, Clothes, Clothes! Haul.

Hey guys,

So I filmed this video ageeeeeeeeeeeeeees ago.. like 2 or 3 weeks ago and I just realised I forgot to upload it to zee youtubes. so it's up now and it would mean a lot if you'd check it out and also subscribe to the channel, thumbs up the video and leave some nice comments :)

 
Ta,
 - Emma xx

Tuesday 30 July 2013

Leaving The Comfort Zone

Hey guys!

In my spare time, I find myself doing some online shopping -theres nothing better than receiving a parcel in the mail! - or having a Zoella and SprinkleOfGlitter video marathon. I literally just sit and rewatch the videos that made me laugh, smile and taught me something useful (how else do you think I know how to get a messy bun?).
Because of these marathons, I have found myself falling further and further in love with ombré hair, especially, as a fellow brunette, Zoe's!

My hairdresser, Stacey, was due to come and cut my gran, my mum and I's hair on friday and I was going to ask her then how much an ombré would cost, but being the impatient little thing I am, I messaged her and asked for a rough price on wednesday. Expecting her to say about £60, I think you can imagine how much I literally jumped with excitment when she said it was almost over half the price!! Without even thinking, (or consulting my mum - I'm 16. I'll make my own choices. And I'm paying) I asked when she had appointments available and to my surprise and ecstaticness, she said she could do it on friday as she'd have time!

Obviously, I agreed to have it done then.
This, for me, is a rather big, "scary" thing to do. I'm not one of these girls at school with loads of friends, with the "perfectly" (term used loosly) done make up - if any - or the hair that took an hour to perfect. I just wake up shove some clothes on, and hope I don't scare people away. So doing something a little out there isn't expected of me at school. Which is why I didn't tell anybody I was having it done.

Friday came, I was first to have my hair done and long story short: I LOVE IT!
I am literally obsessed with my hair now. I do want to have it done brighter in the next couple weeks/months but for now it is PERFECT. I couldn't be happier with it if I tried. It is so me and I feel a lot, happier, with it. It sounds stupid but it was something I really wanted and it's nice to really like something about yourself rather than looking at what you don't like.

I'm so happy I took the step to have something different done and after seeing the effects of this I have moved on to redecorating my room - although this has proved to be stressful! (I know I want my walls done a teal/turquoise but finding the right shade is KILLING me!) - in the hopes it will provide more relaxation and calmness to my life.

I hope you're all having a great week so far and that if theres anything you'd like to try but are scared to (be it a new hair colour, new food or skydiving), you give it a go. Better to regret trying something that didn't go how you though than wondering "what if".




Before
After
 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
See you soon
-Emma

Tuesday 23 July 2013

We Are On The Tube of You

Hey guys, please go check out the first and new video on our youtube channel that me and my Buddy, Carley done :)

- Emma xx

Wednesday 17 July 2013

Just Keep Swimming..

Hey Guys...
It's a sad post today.

Yesterday at 4:22pm GMT the world lost an angel. Talia.

Talia was 13 and was suffering 2 types of cancer. She had been in the hospital for almost 6 months straight.
I didn't know Talia personally. I was one of her almost 900,000 subscribers on youtube and one of almost 500,000 "likers" on facebook.

This post is rather hard for me to write as Talia meant a lot to me. She was one of my biggest inspirations and taught me that you can be happy no matter what you're going through.

She is also the main reason that this blog exists. (For me).

Talia was an amazing makeup artist and also a covergirl. She sparked my love for fashion and beauty and without her, I probably would never have gotten into it enough to find people like Zoella and SprinkleOfGlitter who inspired me to blog.

I'm finding it difficult to actually believe she is gone. She was far too young and had so much coming up for her in life that she will never get to experience. Life isnt fair and she, of all people, did not deserve to go through this. My thoughts are with her family and friends right now.. If I'm finding this difficult I cannot imagine how it is for them.

Talia should not have passed away at 13. Nobody should pass away at 13. Nobody should have to go through what she, and so many others, went through.
As cheesy as this probably sounds, I want to.. live my life for her. If that makes any sense. Whatever I go on to do in life, I want it to be for Talia. I want her to be remembered. She was such a great girl with a spunky, outgoing amazing personality and I don't want people to forget that and see her as "another kid who had cancer" because she is so much more than that.

The most important thing right now is that she is happy, comfortable and pain free now. And that's all we've been hoping and praying for the past few months. Now my hopes are with her family, to stay strong.

Just keep swimming, Talia. You are forever in my heart.









Cancer SUCKS

-Emma xx

Monday 1 July 2013

Bodyshop Skincare Product Review

Hey, guys!
I haven't posted any solely beauty things for a while and I recently bought some new facial/skincare products from The Bodyshop and decided I'd do a little "review" on them today.


Sunday 23 June 2013

School, Induction, Life.


- WARNING. FAIRLY LONG POST -

Hey guys! So, I'm finally writing my second blog post!

Sorry it's been a while. I wanted to make a haul video to upload to our youtube channel (link can be found here) but, unfortunately, this hasn't been possible as I don't own a camera, my mum's camera has no memory and the 2 SLR's we own don't have video function. I am hoping to purchase a camera in the next few months so you might end up with a haul of all the clothes I bought within the last 6 months!

Tuesday 18 June 2013

Life, school mostly, update.


Hello lovelies,
I feel like it's been ages since I last blogged! Two weeks is kind of a long time! I don't have anything beauty related really today, just a few updates on what I've been doing!

Thursday 6 June 2013

Hair and Make Up Tutorial!

I had an idea for a make up tutorial recently and thought I would show you guys! It's really simple and gives a great definition to the eye! I didn't have an intention to do a hair tutorial but Natalie asked how to do a bun so I thought I would show you guys too!

Friday 31 May 2013

Nailed It!

Doing my nails is one of my favourite things to do (albeit I'm not extremely good at it). Wether if it's to go with an outfit for an event or just because I'm bored and want to add a splash of colour to my life, I tend to do my nails 2 or 3 times a week.
 
I felt like sharing some of the brands and colours I have and give you an insight into which ones I think are the best!

Wednesday 29 May 2013

May Favourites!

May is almost over so I thought I would share a few of my favourite things this month!

Monday 27 May 2013

Welcome!

This is our little page on the internet! After many late night discussions of "I really want to do a haul video" and sharing our ideas of blogs to each other, this little page was created.

The two of us have been friends for 3 and a bit years after bonding over the Jonas Brothers, after many a dance sessions in PE, and we are slowly realising (and still are!) we like almost all of the same things (except Emma has a weird obsession with Justin Bieber. She stalks him - and others - and Katy likes so many football players that Emma can't remember which one is which), one of the things we both like are Beauty and Fashion bloggers/YouTube gurus, hence the reason for this blog.


Our blog was created to share beauty products and fashion items that we love and those not so great. We hope you enjoy what we post and help us learn along the way!


- Emma and Katy xx