UPCYCLED NO. 2 - Crop Top

If you didn't see me last upcycling blog post (linked here), I am really trying to be more concious with with my clothing in terms of buying less and reusing or upcycling some of the clothes that I already have. I have spent a lot of today upcycling some clothes and so I wanted to start sharing them on my blog one at a time. There will definitely be a few more coming in the near future, so do let me know what you think of these posts. 

This top was made out of a full length tshirt a a pair of leggings. The first thing I did was crop the tshirt into a length that I thought would be more flattering and then I used the band of a pair of black leggings to line the bottom of the top with. Like I said in my first upcycling post, I am not an expert in sewing and so these pieces are not the best put together, but I do feel like I am slowly getting better and understanding more about construction. 

Because the tshirt I cropped was very baggy and oversized, it didn't match the circumference of the legging band perfectly and so I introduced some pleats in the top. I tried to make the pleats as symetrical and as neat-looking as possible and I think that the front of this top actually looks alright. As you can probably tell, I ddin't include any pictures of the back of this top, mainly because it turned out much messier than the front, but never the less, I still like the overall look of this top. I also tried it on and I really love how it fits.

I definitely love this style of top, how it is oversized but still has a bit of sinching in the bottom to add shape. I think that this would just look super cool with a pair of jeans and trainers, I also think that it is very perfect for the season coming. The slogan on this top is definitely very cute and a great feature to the entire piece, but I do hope to possible add some more black to this top. As much as I love the black band at the bottom, sometimes when I look at it, I think it looks a little harsh and so I might add some more black details in the future. 

Let me know what you think of this piece?

Grace xx

DO I AGREE WITH MY STAR SIGN?

Everyone seems to have very different opinions about astrology and star signs, some believe it, some depend on it and some people think that it is a load of rubbish. For me personally, I like to believe it but I don't let myself become dependent on it. As of recently though, I have became fascinated with my personality traits and whether they reflect the star sign I am, so I wanted to talk about that today. I feel like you are either going to love this post or hate this post, but either way, it is allowing me to reflect on my personality and whether it lines up well with my star sign personality traits. If you know me personally, also, this post might explain a lot for you. 

Before I get into the personality traits, I just want to say that there is so much more to astrology than star signs. As for my star sign though, I am a Cancer. It is normal for someone not to have all Cancer traits if their star sign is a Cancer and that is because of your birth chart which contains other star signs that are your rising sign, moon sign and so on. However, in my case, my star sign is a Cancer, my moon sign is a Cancer and my rising sign is a Scorpio. A Scorpio is a water sign a long with a Cancer and so it is pretty likely for me that I am going to have a lot of these Cancer traits because of how much they dictate my birth chart. If you want to know about your birth chart then I will leave a link HERE which will take you to a good website you can use and maybe you might learn a little bit more about yourself. 

1. Super Moody

This is a huge conception about Cancers and I think the main reason it comes about so much is that the planet that represents Cancers is the moon and so the different phases of the moon are suppose to represent a change in mood for a Cancer, I guess. To be honest, I am completely like this. I find that I have a very changeable mood, I can very easily go from happy to sad or angry to forgiving, it is just very quick and easy for me to do. This characteristic also made me laugh a lot when I was reading into it because I know a lot of people around me think that I am very moody and so this could explain it. 

2. Friendly

I would love to consider myself as a friendly person, but speaking truthfully, I know that it isn't always true. This can also be interpreted in lots of different ways, but what this triat is trying to say is that, when you first meet a Cancer, you are suppose to like them and get along with them straight away. Again, I don't know whether this is fully true for me. I always find it really difficult to initiate a conversation, especially when it is with someone I don't know, and so I would really consider myself as a super friendly person, in this case. I also find myself to be pretty unsocial and as much as I try to come across as nice, I do think that some people could take it as being the opposite and so I don't really agree with this one

3. Shy

This is another pretty common trait and that is because of the symbol for a Cancer. The symbol for a Cancer is a Crab and obviously, a crab has a shell which lots of people interpret as the Cancer's home and, a crab is very comfortable in its own shell and likes to sort of stay that way. I would definitely say that I am shy and timid to an extent. Like I said before, I am pretty unsocial and I find talking to people to be difficult for me sometimes but saying that, I think that once you get to know me, I definitely turn into a much more talkative and entthusiastic person. 

4. Guarded

This is linked to being shy, because it again has to do with the whole crab and shell thing but I think that this trait is definitely the most accurate one I carry. I definitely don't want to call myself fake but I definitely find it very easy to come across as someone I'm not because of this guarded trait. This is to do with a constant need of wanting to feel protected and I definitely get that. I am very much a very concious person, I would never put myself at risk of anything. Even to do with the smaller things though, I find that a lot of people don't know me as well as they think they do and I think that comes from me being so guarded. I definitely keep a lot to myself, with you could class as a good or a bad thing, but that is definitely the case for me. 

5. Fear rejection

Once again, this has got to do with being guarded and shy, and the shell again but I wanted to mention this one seperately anyway. I definitely think that I fear rejection but not on an extreme level which is how Cancers are made out to be. Rejection is something that I don't cope with very well, I tend to dwell on it a lot and a lot of the times, I won't sign up for something if it puts me in a risk of being rejected. However, I think that this is very dependent on the circumstances because somethings I will just not fear being rejected for and others with stop me from trying because I don't want to be rejected. I definitely don't fear rejection in all aspects of my life but I definitely do for a lot of them, so I guess that this is mainly true. 

6. Self doubtful / insecure

I had no idea that this was a Cancer triat, but reading and hearing about it, things started to make more sense. I definitely don't trust myself and I don't consider myself to be extremely confident, so I would definitely say that I am pretty insecure. A lot of the time, I find myself needing reassurance of myself and this extreme sense of insecurity seems to be very common in Cancers which explains so much to me. I am very hard on myself and I am always sort of trying to improve myself due to this sense of never feeling good enough and this could explain where it comes from. Saying that though, I don't know whether my insecurities come from my star sign and my 'inevitable triats' or whether it is just the way I am due to my life experiences, but I guess that is what I am trying to figure out today. Either way, I definitely carry this trait. 

7. Appear as cocky/ confident

I sort of have mixed feelings about this trait because I don't really believe it myself but when I reflect on the conversations I've had and the things I've said before, I could definitely understand why some people would deem it as me being 'cocky' but that was never my intention so I am kind of unsure. I am definitely very insecure internally, but I do think that sometimes I can come across as extremely condifent to disguise that, but I don't think that is the case for the majoirty and so I don't really agree with this. 

8. Considerate/ caring

I would love to consider myself as someone who is caring and I think that links to my next point, because I do tend to be very emotional. A lot of the time, I do find myself asking everyone whether they are okay, several times and I would like to think that I step out of my way to reassure people and to remind them that I care, particularly if they are someone I care about deeply. I'm not sure on the extent I believe this to though because I think sometimes, I can be quite mean so I guess it all depends on where you stand in my life. I think that if you are close to me, then I am a very caring person but I think that if you are an enemy of mine, then I can be the total opposite. 

9. Emotional

This is probably the most common conception about Cancers and it is honestly so true in my case. With majoirity of my signs being water signs, it sort of indicates that I am an extremely emotional person and this can obviously be interpreted in lots of different ways. When I first started looking into star signs, I didn't believe that I was emotional because I never really showed it a lot but the more and more I've thought about it, the more accurate it has became. I still don't always appear as a particuarly  emotional person and I think that is because I am guarded a lot of the time, but internally and mentally, I am extremely emotional and sensitive. This is also combined with me being a huge overthinker. I tend to be very sensitive and so if there is a sudden change in someone's mood, attitude or actions, I will immediately try and find out why and if I don't get an answer, I will so overthink it and become very emotional indelved in this person. I definitely think that I feel emotions more than other people because of how sensitive I am. I find myself to get extremely paranoid and distraught over other people's emotions and I think that is because I am so emotional invested in so many people's lives. 

It is sort of linked to this, and it kind of makes a lot of sense but a lot of people say that because Cancers tend to feel emotions more than anyone else, they tend to get very frustrated when they don't receive that same emotional response. I definitely relate to that. I find myself overthinking and feeling like nobody cares when I don't get a response I want. Lets say I'm upset but because I am so guarded, I don't show it, however, I would still expect someone to ask me if I'm okay and to offer me emotional support, and when I don't get that, I find myself being very frustrated internally. 

This is definitely a trait I wish I didn't have, but it is very much true and so I guess I can't avoid it. 

10. Intuative 

Lots of people say that most psychics tend to be Cancers and that is because they naturally have this gut feeling and intuativeness that no other sign hands. I am definitely not a phychic to begin with but I do find myself encountering a lot of conincidences and I also tend to get a 'gut feeling' in a lot of situations. Saying that though, I don't think I experience anymore coincidences than anyone so I don't really believe this one. As much as I would like to think that I am a phychic and very intuative, I don't think that I am. 

11. Motherly

I knew I needed to talk about this point when I found it because it made me smile reading about it. Basically, why this made me laugh so much was because a lot of people tend to notice me as being the 'mother' of a group of people. I find myself being very protective over people and to be honest, I would say that I can act quite motherly at times. I definitely like to make sure that everyone is safe, organised, protected and prepared so I guess you could say that this quality is pretty true. 

Let me know what you think of this post and definitely let me know in the comments your star sign and whether you agree with it or not!

Grace xx

I'M NOT GOOD ENOUGH ACADEMICALLY...

This idea for a blog post has all came about due to some things that went on in my sixth form this week. I am sure that my school isn't the only one out there that behaves in this way and so I wanted to acknowledge it on my blog to reassure people that this has happened to me also but I'm not letting it affect me serverely, and you shouldn't either. 

So I better start explaining what it is I am talking about. As a bit of background knowledge, I went to a grammar school, got my GCSE results and I stayed on at my high school to do sixth form. What happened this week was that letters were handed out to the people who did 'especially well' in their GCSEs and they were given the opportunity to go to a talk all about getting into a Russell Group University. 

Once this had happened, it was a very large topic of conversation for the day and I quickly learned that I hadn't recieved a letter. I didn't think much of it at first, but when I found out that you were given them based off of your GCSE results, I felt disheartened and unworthy, to say the least. 

Long story short, I am now going to this talk but only because one of my friends, who got a letter, didn't want hers, and so she gave it to me. I didn't get it because I was 'worthy' of going and that is what I want to discuss today. 

I don't feel like telling you my GCSE results would make this situation any better, because although I did the best I possibly could of in my GCSE and I gained results that I am extremely proud of, that didn't stop me from feeling so distraught and disheartened by this whole situation. I also just want to point out now that I am not envious of anyone who did recieve this letter, I am proud of them, I definitely don't think that I am the best or more worthy than anyone else. I understand that some people would not be phased by this going on, but as someone who would class themselves as being quite academic, this was really disappointing to me. Although I am still weighing up university as an option for after ALevels, I would have liked to have been given the opportunity to have gone to this talk personally, anyway. 

But I didn't, and that is what I mainly wanted to talk about today. With this happening only last week, I still find some of my thoughts today to be very doubtful and negative. I have felt disappointed in myself this week for feeling like I wasn't good enough and that feeling has simmered down, but it is still there. Overall though, I just felt unworthy and like I was a disappointment and I am sure some other people who didn't get this letter has felt like this too. 

I felt as though I needed to acknowledge this though, to myself and to also reassure people. I can see some people from my sixth form, reading this post and saying judgemental things about it, but I don't really care, because this has taken a toll on my confidence this week. 

This post is just a reminder to myself and to anyone reading this that I am worthy and so are you. Elements of the school system are corrupt, and this is an example of that, but it still happens and so I think it needs to be said more often that every student is capable of what they want to achieve whether that be getting into a Russel Group University or not. I think that feeling disheartened and unworthy can have two outcomes, finding a new motivation or falling into a spiral of self doubt, I know which one I would rather. I have definitely came out of this situation feeling upset initially, but now reflecting on it, I feel a greater motivation to prove them wrong and to write this post. 

If this has happened to you, if you have felt this way, then I hope you have came out of it on top too and if you haven't, you deserve better than how you are being treated and you are worthy of anything you want to achieve. 

I think I might start writing more posts about the education system because as of right now, there are a lot of things that I wish were different and that's not to say that I am ungrateful, but I think it needs to be discussed. 

Grace xx

CURRENTLY DAILY MAKEUP LOOK

I finally feel like I’m getting back to my old self, I’m rediscovering things I was starting to fall out of love with and one of those things is makeup. Since starting sixth form and being consumed by homework, I don’t really get the change to wear makeup very often but since I am on half term now, I am using makeup that little bit more. With doing this, I have found myself reaching for certain products to help create my current everyday makeup look and so I wanted to share that today. 

Collection Primed and Ready Primer In Warm Apricot

This primer is pretty basic, it does the simple stuff, smoothing your skin and ensuring that your makeup will last that bit longer. I would never say that it is the most amazing primer I have ever tried, but I love it because of how lightweight it feels on the skin. 

Barry M All Night Long Foundation Stick in Cashew

I have had this for quite a while now and I don’t think that I have mentioned it in that many blog posts but it is definitely a staple foundation of mine at the moment. This is the first foundation stick I have ever tried so I haven’t got much to compare it off of but I really like the formula. I love the way this applies and I like how buildable it is. I find that I can achieve something super natural or something that is medium to full coverage with this foundation stick and for that, I love it. I won’t lie, sometimes it is hard to blend, but with the right applicator, it works amazingly. This shade is also a really good match for me because of the strong yellow undertone it has. 

LA Girl Pro Conceal Concealer in Porcelain

This will forever and always be a staple of mine, it is just an amazing concealer. I find myself using this over my more expensive ones because it just does it all. Sometimes, I will even use this to act as my foundation because I love the way it blends and the coverage it gives. In this case though, I just used it to conceal and highlight my face. 

Natural Collection Matte Pressed Power in Natural

I spoke about Natural Collection in a recent blog post of mine (linked here) which included this powder, which has very quickly became a new favourite of mine. I use this for everything, setting my under eyes, setting the rest of my face and for setting my eye shadow base. It just works like a dream, i gives little coverage but it sets and mattifies wherever you apply it. 

Physicians Formula Butter Bronzer in Light

This bronzer is so worth the hype, it is amazing. It has became one of my favourite bronzers since I bought it last August and rightly so. I mainly love it because of how nicely it applies, it blends like a dream and gives off the perfect amount of colour but by bit. I also have to point out that the smell of this bronzer is incredible, I might not be the biggest fan of coconut scents, but this one is incredible. 

Natasha Denona Mini Blush and Glow Duo

This is probably one of my favourite makeup products of all time, I love it that much. There is something about this formula that makes it so lovely to apply and makes it look so nice on the skin. It basically contains a blusher and a highlighter, both of which are super glowy but look so fresh on the skin. I just couldn’t recommend this product enough, it is perfect for everyday and i can imagine it looking amazing on everyone. 

MUA 6 Shade Pallette in Matte Essentials

I won’t lie, there isn’t anything spectacular about this palette, I just love it to fill in my eyebrows with. The shadows are pigmented and blend really well, the colours are a really good match for me and it is just a super useful palette to have on hand. 

Zoeva eye shadow palette in Blanc Fusion

I also recently spoke about this in a recent blog post talking about all of my Zoeeva palettes (linked), but this one is still my favourite. Especially for everyday, this palette is just so great and I love it because it isn’t your typical warm tones, it has some really cool crease shades which I wouldn’t usually reach for, but look great when I work with them. You can do so much with this palette but I mainly use it by putting a few of the matte shades in the crease and using the pale white shade as an inner corner highlighter and a lid shade. 

Collection Volumax waterproof mascara

I’m pretty sure the whole planet knows how much I love this mascara, it is just the best one I have ever found. It is waterproof, super black, thickening and lengthening. It is just simply ideal for me, plus it is super inexpensive. 

Dose of Colour, Desi & Katy lip gloss in Over The Top

This lip gloss is incredible, it is just a perfect staple lip product of mine now. In this case, I am wearing it with nothing underneath and it looks super natural but really glossy but even over a lipstick this looks amazing.  It is a really intense glossy finish, but I love that cause I think it just looks so amazing. It is super comfortable to wear and it isn’t super sticky which I know is a huge bonus for a lot of people, when it comes to glosses. 

Let me know what you think of the products I have mentioned in this post and whether you think I should try out any other products

Grace xx