book review - the insiders

hi there, so i think it's fairly safe to say that i have failed at constantly uploading blog posts, but i am very sorry and i have told myself that from now on i am going to upload a new post every saturday so you can look forward to that. i also have cara to make sure i do upload when i say i will. if there is anything in particular that you would like to see on this blog then let me know and i'll get round to it !!

"meet the insiders, the coolest, hottest guys in new york city:

mickey: romeo never fell off a roof impressing juliet…did he?

david: will he always be the nice guy?

arno: can boys be sluts?

patch: missing in action.

jonathan: he's the glue that holds them all together.

they're having the time of their lives until they meet…
kelli: she's the new girl who crashes the party and won't stop until she conquers their world.

know the rules. be on the list. get inside."

my finding of this book is the same as what happened when i first read dark inside. i only had a small amount of time left to choose a book from the library and i picked this one. i chose it especially, though, because it had a good review from the author of gossip girl. this book isn't the kind i usually read - i predominantly read apocalyptic/quite morbid books i suppose but i fancied a change and so i picked this up. at first. i thought it was just going to be a cliche "new girl comes a long and changes things" but it's more than that - there's so much drama and that's what i really love. 

the book, as mentioned above, is centred around six characters (mickey. david, arno, patch, jonathan and kelli) the boys are a part of new york's elite and kelli is jonathan's cousin visiting from st louis. each chapter is from a different character's point of view (excluding kelli), but jonathan's is the only one from the first person. i think it's really interesting to be able to see how each character sees a situation and it also enables me to see what else is going on with other characters. 

i also ship kelli and arno 100%, at first i really did ship it a lot, and then something happened which made me really dislike kelli and then something else happened and now i really love them together again. i agree with jonathan and i think they were honestly made for each other and oh my gosh they are just my otp.

i honestly thoroughly enjoyed this book and i cannot get enough, i've re-read it far too many times and i cannot wait to read the other books in the series, which i will be sure to review for you too if you want me to. i would 150% recommend this book if you're looking for something to read, if you have read it, let me know what you thought too !!

see you next time,

paige-louise 

revision techniques 2015

hey there ! i'm so sorry i disappeared (again) and i'll try not to do it any more. i'm going to try real hard to be active on this blog. if you have any requests for a blog post feel free to comment below and i'll try to get round to it as soon as i can. i haven't really had a lot of motivation after the science exams but i sat myself down with some peppermint tea and told myself i was going to write a blog post whether i liked it or not. so, here i am. i'm going to be sharing some revision techniques and i hope you enjoy and find it helpful !

quick tips

1. remember to take breaks when revising (but don't procrastinate)

2. drink lots of water to keep your brain going

3. ask about anything you'e unsure of

4. don't stress yourself out/overwork yourself

5. remember you can only try your hardest in the exam

environmental

make sure you are in an environment in which you are able to revise and take the information in. in other words, try not to sit in the front room with your whole family if you can't concentrate. revise if your room if you feel comfortable and confident that you are able to actually take in the information there. if needs be, ask to go to the library or somewhere you know is going to be a place in which you can revise. it's very important that you are in a suitable environment to absorbing information or there would be no point in revising in the first place.

learning

make sure you are revising in the style that is best fitted for you. there are four main learning types: visual, kinaesthetic, audible and reading & writing. visual learners are able to take in information by seeing things. kinaesthetic learners take information in by physically doing things. audible learners by hearing the information out loud.  this online quiz is good for determining your learning style (requires email address) although it is a good idea to take more than one just to check. 

for visual learners - copy down as many diagrams as you can and fully label it, the more the better ; use textbooks that contain a lot of diagrams and visuals ; watch educational videos ; use highlighters to make important things stand out ; use flashcards with diagrams (e.g. "what is this part of a cell called?") ; replace words with symbols or initials to grasp concept rather than words.

for kinaesthetic learners - use flashcards ; revise in short blocks (shorter periods and shorter breaks) ; use examples and situations when writing notes to remember things like formulae ; study with other people ; talk about what you have learned with others ; do something while you study (e.g. tap a pencil, occupy your hands) ; play music in the background. 

for audible learners - ask people questions (especially if you're unsure of something) ; get permission to record the teacher/lesson to re-play it later ; watch videos ; use word association to learn facts and lines ; repeat things out loud ; participate in discussions ; avoid auditory distractions such as music in the background.

for reading & writing learners - take lots of notes during the lesson ; rewrite the notes you have taken ; write notes in your own words ; don't lose any handouts or worksheets ; use bullet point lists to get information into an easy-read format ; turn diagrams and charts into words ; avoid auditory distraction (will allow you to interpret things in your own words and take in information better).

textbooks and websites 

my favourite textbooks to revise from (science-wise) are the 'collins gcse and additional science' book (higher + foundation) and also the cgp textbooks which come in separate subjects and units which i find very handy. the collins book is suitable for all learners because there are many diagrams, questions in the back (audible learners - you could get someone to read them aloud for you) and a lot of information. 

i think the cgp textbooks would be very good for visual learners as there are many bright colours and diagrams included in this one. 

one website i would 100% recommend is get revising. it includes resources you can use for revision such as spider diagrams, flashcards and question + answers. there is also a feature which allows you to create a revision timetable for yourself and create your own resources rather than use other people's ones if you prefer.

i would also strongly recommend printing past papers as they're always very helpful and gives you an idea of what exam questions are going to be like for you. i usually take ones from edexcel because they are the papers i'm doing at school. i love this website because it lets you choose which qualification you're doing, which subject, which paper and even gives you the option to print out the marking scheme.

packing your revision bag (metaphorically)

the things i usually have with me when i'm revising are my laptop, my textbooks, past papers, pens, pencils, ruler, calculator and water. sometimes i will light a scented candle but that depends on the person. i will also have my phone in the room in case of an emergency but i put it on airplane mode when revising so that i'm not able to get distracted by texting or anything. i only try to have essentials with me by revising to limit distraction (i get distracted easily). however, everyone is suited to their own thing and this is just my advice to you so you don't have to do everything i'm saying.

mentality

remember that you can only do your best in these exams. i find that walking into an exam with that mindset calms my anxiety a lot and it generally won't make you beat yourself up if you didn't get the grade you wanted, because whatever you got was the best you could do. obviously, this doesn't work for everyone, but it does for a lot of people so it's worth giving it a shot.

i wish all of you good luck on your exams if you are doing any. if i have been unclear at any point during this point or if there is something else you would like me to talk about, feel free to leave a comment.

see you next time,

paige louise

use your &

hey there !! so i'm going to be doing a tag, the use your & tag. this was created by esmee b and i was tagged by cara dixon so thank you for tagging me cara!!  i think this tag is super great and i'm glad that self-confidence is being boosted so much recently. i'm going to keep this into short because the post is pretty self explanatory once i post instructions etc. anyway, onto the actual blog post. 

this tag was inspired by sprinkleofgltter on youtube and is also celebrating the new campaign venus have started - use your &. the aim of this is to encourage self confidence and not limiting yourself to what people label you as. venus has made a video explaining the concept of this campaign and the video itself is inspiring and just lovely so i recommend giving it a watch. i'm so so happy that this company is promoting self confidence in such a way. 

instructions/steps of the tag

1. grab the "use your &" logo from the top of the post and and share are list of your qualities titles "i am..."

2. if you can't think of anymore; ask your friends and family around you to describe you using three words and see what they say

3. thank the blogger who taged you and include the link to venus' video above.

4. tag as many people as you want and encourage them to use their &

5. this isn't necessary but link to the creator of the tag (esmee b) 

i am...

a daughter &

a sister &

a niece &

a cousin &

a friend &

a blogger &

a bookworm &

a worrier &

a student &

a writer &

a good listener &

a fangirl &

a feminist &

an anime enthusiast &

kind &

musical &

silly &
smiley &

creative &

trustworthy &

caring &

loyal &

awkward &

optimistic &

dedicated &

adventurous.

i tag:

nearly everyone i know has been tagged and has done it so i guess i'll tag alana

and then anyone else who wants to do it !!

see you next time,

paige louise

favourite animes

hey there everyone, happy easter !! so someone messaged me yesterday asking me to recommend some animes and i decided to turn it into a blog post so that i can share this list with more people. i watch anime far too often but hey-ho, here are my favourite ones. i'll possibly be adding to this in the future but when i come up with more, i'll probably just make a part two so look out for that. these are not in any particular order because that's just impossible for me to do. anyway, i hope you enjoy !!

death note

i have only been watching this for just over a week, but i've already completed it on netflix. it's by far one of my favourite animes and i'm so glad i started watching it. i'll definitely re-watch this as soon as i can.

it's about a student, light yagami, who finds a notebook that supposedly fell from the sky into his school grounds. he discovers that he is able to kill people using the notebook by writing their name into it, with their face in mind. he uses this power to murder criminals, alongside his new shinigami companion, ryuk. light is trying to become a god of a new and innocent world, free of bad people. after a while, the police force, including light's dad, begin to take notice of the drastic amount of criminals dying and build a case to find the identity of this new serial killer, "kira". the police force also team up with l, the greatest detective in japan to try and figure out who "kira" is. 

this anime is full of suspense, funny, clever and original. not one episode let me down (i maybe would have gone for a different ending + delete episode 25 but that can't be changed) and it kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. however, if you're sensitive to death mentions or murder etc then this anime is probably not for you, i will say that the murders aren't really shown and (possible spoiler ???) only a couple of main characters die.

pretty cure

i used to watch this anime when i was pretty young and i still do now. my sister and i used to get up at 5 in the morning every day just to watch this and i don't regret it. 

this is about two girls, nagisa and honoka, who are given a cell-phone like item each, containing a member of the garden of light (mipple and mepple). mipple and mepple give them the power to transform into the emissaries of light; cure black and cure white. they are given the duty to fight against the dark zone, a force of evil that has taken over the garden of light and is going to do the same to the garden of rainbows. nagisa and honoka have to search for prism stones in order to defeat the dark zone and regain power over the garden of light. the stones are awarded to them after defeating a member of the dark zone.

this might sound childish and girly but i remember i really used to enjoy it and watching it back now, i still think it's great. i even remember their transformation speech off by heart still. anyway, if you think you might want to watch this, i'd 100% recommend this !!

sailor moon

this anime is also a childhood favourite and also a little girly. even though this was first aired before i was born, i used to watch re-runs of it on tv a lot and i loved it so much. i still watch it quite often now and my love for it still hasn't changed.

sailor moon is about a girl called usagi who befriends a talking cat called luna that gives her a magical brooch allowing her to become sailor moon: a soldier destined to save earth from the forces of evil. luna, usagi and the other sailor soldiers assemble to find their princess and the legendary silver crystal. the fellow sailor soldiers are: sailor mercury, sailor mars, sailor jupiter and sailor venus, who is accompanied by her talking cat, artemis. 

this anime is close to me and i love it a great deal so i'd definitely advise you to watch this if you are looking for one to watch

sword art online

i heard about this anime from amazingphil and i thought it sounded really interesting so i watched it, and i loved it. it was very "me" and i plan to re-watch it as soon as i complete my yet-to-watch list. 

sword art online is about is set in 2022, when players of a new video game, sword art online, log in and discover that they are unable to log out. this game is played by wearing nerve gear on your body and it stimulates the five senses via the brain so players can experience and control their players by their mind. they are informed by the creator that they must reach the 100th floor of the game tower in order to log out and defeat the final boss. if the players die in the game, they die in real life and people will also die if they try to remove their nerve gear outside the game. the anime is centred around kirito, one of the previous beta testers for the game and asuna, who kirito befriends 

i loved this anime so so much and it was so suspenseful wondering whether kirito and asuna would make it out of the game alive. it also made me wonder whether i would survive the game or not which was interesting.

see you next time,

paige louise

march favourites 2015

hello !! i'm super sorry i disappeared for a while but i am back now and i'm going to try and make sure that it doesn't happen again. okay, so first of all, how is it april already? it seems like yesterday it was january. anyway, in this blog post i'm going to be talking about things that i have loved during the month of march. i hope you enjoy !!

hair

okay, so first up is the 'kelp help' deep conditioning masque from john frieda. i got mine in beach blonde as my hair is naturally blonde (no matter what anyone says) but they do a range of hair colours so don't worry. with this masque, you just apply it to wet hair and leave it for 

3-5 minutes, and wash off. in my opinion, the smell is amazing and i actually rather like it, but i know it's not for everyone. i honestly love this product so much, it is really nourishing and moisturising to my hair, which is extremely helpful as my hair is quite damaged. i got visible effects after the first time using it which was really impressive and i know for definite i will keep purchasing this product in the future.

now i have really loved the bed head masterpiece hairspray. i bought this not too long ago as i needed a new hairspray and i'd heard many good reviews about this one, so i picked it up. i can honestly say i love this product. it's long-lasting which is extremely helpful. also, it's not sticky so it doesn't make your hair look greasy like some others do. it gives a lot of volume without going stiff and i think that's great because it makes it easier to shape and hold. this hairspray smells great too, not like chemicals. this product is so so good, it makes your hair shiny and gives you professional-like results without the worry of it being affected by weather or something. 

makeup

i have really been loving the soap and glory 'sexy mother pucker' lip glosses this month too. i have three- clearvoyant, coy toy and pinkwell. i also plan to purchase cherry up and hot toffee too. i have always been a big fan of soap and glory makeup and so i decided to buy these while in town. these lip glosses are quite moisturising which is good because it means i haven't got to keep applying lip balm. they also last for a very long time and apply very easily. the plumpness you achieve from using these is also amazing without it being uncomfortable and i absolutely love these products and will definitely be buying these again and the others.

i bought this brand of blush in recommendation of my friend and that is the sleek blush. i got mine in 'pixie pink' as i didn't think i could really pull off anything much darker. it is very pigmented and is perfect for spring months. when i first bought this, i thought it would be far too bright as i'm quite porcelain but it's not as bright as it is in the packaging which was obviously good for me because most blushes make me look like a clown. this is quite a matte shade of blusher but i still love it as i can't really have too much shimmer on my cheeks or i end up resembling a disco ball or something. this blush is fantastic and i will try some of their other shades when i'm feeling more confident.

next up is a makeup academy lipstick. mine is in shade 1 which was a huge step out of the comfort zone as i'm only really used to quite natural looking lip products. however, this shade complimented my eyes and skin tone quite nicely and i was very pleased with it, especially as it was at quite a low price. it is super easy to apply and is also very pigmented so you don't have to layer it on or anything. i wore it to my cousin's engagement party and i thought it was just great as i didn't have to re-apply as much as i thought i would. it stays on for about 4 hours at a time. i'd really recommend these lipsticks and they are only £1 which is amazing.

other

this month, i have been really loving a book called 'the catcher in the rye'. i am aware that this isn't the most recently published  book but i wanted to read it so much. i think that the catcher in the rye was beautifully crafted and you can tell that there are many emotions attached to the book from the author and i think it's pretty amazing. it's about a teenager called holden caulfield who believes that everyone in the world are phonies and that only children are the true people. he says that when the children begin to grow up, they become more of phonies and less innocent. he wants to save the innocence of the children and stop from becoming phonies. i wont say anymore or i'll end up telling you the whole story but i'd 100% recommend this book if you're looking for something to read.

finally, i have really liked the daisy dream perfume by marc jacobs, i have started wearing this much more often now that it's coming up to spring and this is one of my all-time favourite perfumes. to me, this perfume is what spring smells like and i know that's not a good explanation of a scent but i'm not really sure how to describe it. it's a floral scent, but not too overpowering and actually kind of smells like daisies. so yes, i think this perfume is perfect for spring (and all year round but it's spring right now) and so i think i will be using this further through april and onwards.

see you next time,

paige louise

recent purchases

hey there !! i hope you all had a good weekend and monday, of course. i apologise for not writing for so long, but i'm back now. i decided to get a post up today as i'd be busy any other time. so, i went shopping on saturday as i had some money to spend. i bought a few things and so i've decided to share some of my (interesting) purchases with you. hope you enjoy !!

'boi-ing' concealer - benefitm

i absolutely love this concealer, it has amazing coverage and is also really easy to blend. also, it lasts all day for me which is extremely helpful if i'm at school or something as i don't have time to re-apply makeup there. it also doesn't look cakey on my skin, but is thick enough to cover spots and things, which is great. the only thing i have to say is that it's a bit pricey (£17.50) but if you save up to purchase this product, it is worth it and i 100% recommend it. 

'love spell' body mist - victoria's secret

this is now my second bottle of this body mist. i adore this one the most, it is peach and cherry blossom scented and i just love it so much. it lasts my for quite a while which is very handy as i don't have to keep spritzing myself. it's definitely one of my most used body fragrances and i'd recommend going to one of the shops and sampling this one. but yes, this is honestly one of my favourite perfumes/sprays ever and i will definitely keep re-purchasing this product.

'fireside treats' candle - yankee candle

i purchased this candle less than a year ago because it was in amazingphil's may favourites video. once i'd smelled the candle, i knew i was sold and i bought it. now, i've got round to buying a new one and i am honestly so happy. it smells like bonfire and marshmallow which i absolutely love. also, the bonfire smell isn't too strong, which is good for me otherwise i would start choking. anyway, i love this candle so much and it's obviously my favourite.

'miracle moist' shampoo + conditioner - aussie

i have heard many amazing reviews about these products and after using them, i can honestly say i 100% agree. i tend to use heat on my hair quite often, which dries it out. (i'm working on stopping this habit asap.) however, this shampoo is extremely helpful in moisturising my hair and it already feels softer after a couple of washes. it also lasts for a few days without getting greasy which is also very handy. lastly, it smells so good; kind of like bubblegum which is always great.

'scandal eyes' eyeliner - rimmel london

this product has been in my wishlist for a while and now that i've finally managed to buy it, i am so happy. many people have said so many good things about this eyeliner and so i decided to give it a try. it is amazingly good for a budget eyeliner. it's incredibly easy to apply and lasts for a very long time without smudging or anything. i bought mine in black because i didn't really feel adventurous enough to go for blue or purple (i probably couldn't pull it off anyway). so yes, this product is great and i'd very much recommend it.

see you next time,

paige louise

book review - dark inside

good evening (or another time phrase depending where you live), i'm not feeling too good with my sore throat and i've been laying in bed for a while watching skins. i then thought i should do a blog post because cara said she'd get me if i didn't. anyway, today i am going to be talking about one of my all-time favourite books; 'dark inside' by jeyn roberts-

"an ancient evil has been unleashed, and it's turning friends into murderous strangers. for those who survive the brutal earthquakes and the first wave of the killing, the world is a different, deadlier place. society has fallen apart. no one can be trusted. for four teens struggling to stay alive in a world determined to kill them, it means all they have is one another - if they can trust one another - and hope that their future holds something greater than mere survival."

(i actually have the us version of the blurb so don't worry if yours is a little different)

i picked this book up on a monday afternoon, last period in english. we were in the library that day and i had thirty seconds left to choose a new book. i chose this book at random, not even really looking at it, but i'm glad i decided to pick it up. when i sat down and started reading, i couldn't stop and i nearly finished the book within the day. it kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time and i was gripped to the plotline.

the book is centred around four teenagers (aries, clementine, michael and mason) who are thrust into an apocalypse, where humans have begun killing each other due to voices in their minds each chapter is told from a different character's point of view, which was frustrating at times because every time something exciting happened, it would switch to a new person and you'd have to wait in order to find out what happened. however, it was nice to know the point of view from each person without it getting confusing. 

like most books, there is a little bit of romance, but it's only slight. there are a few mentions of romance, but the rest is filled with apocalyptic things.

i think my favourite character in this book is clementine. i don't know know why, i was just hooked onto her story and even after reading the sequel, i still want to know more. every time i read this book, i'm always tempted to just read all of her chapters because i love them so much. i'm super excited for the third book to come out and i'm hoping clementine will finally get some closure, fingers crossed.

this book changed my perspective on things greatly and i keep thinking to myself whether i'd survive something like what happened in the book (i've come to the conclusion that i wouldn't get very far). i'll admit it made me a bit wary to trust people because the concept of the book scared me a little, but i still thoroughly enjoyed in nonetheless and i have re-read it many times since getting my own copy. 

i've only managed to get three of my friends to read this book, but i'm hoping to get more people to read it so i can talk about it to more people without sounding mad. my friends also enjoyed the book and we've discussed the possibilities of it happening and our master plan/escape route many times. i know it's kind of lame, but at least we're prepared. 

see you next time,
paige louise