Person of the week: Zoe Sugg

Zoe Sugg (Otherwise known on Youtube as Zoella) has been a favourite youtuber of mine over the last two years. She's a 25 year old blogger/vlogger who lives in Brighton with her boyfriend Alfie Deyes (Otherwise known on Youtube as PointlessBlog - but it is under no circumstances pointless!)

Yesterday on the 29th of March, she won UK's Favourite Vlogger on the Kids' Choice Awards and for good reason. Her bubbly personality reaches out to her audience with her contagious smile and laugh accompanied with her lovely graceful voice and adorable accent. She vlogs and blogs about beauty and fashion mostly and also throws in some hairstyle tutorials and makeup tutorials from time to time. She also has a great eye to fashion and you can see that in many of her shopping haul videos. I like the way she shops because when she sees an item, she plans outfits with it, instead of buying something because you want it and discovering you have nothing to wear it with (Let’s all just say is our worst nightmare!). She shows potential in pieces that you'd normally overlook in shops which I always find to be a rare skill in people. She normally bags things at a great bargain so her advice is good for your pocket too!

This video above is an example of her great eye in fashion. She also doesn't limit her audience by talking about designer products which makes her a student-funding-friendly individual - my kind of people! In this video she does a haul in Primark, here in Ireland known as Penneys. It's perfect for spring so take a look and get inspired.

She's very active on social media, updating her followers on twitter with updates and ideas for new videos. Her instagram just radiates her positive, bubbly personality (She's worth the follow trust me, her Instagram is divine! - @zozeebo) and makes me want every outfit she wears ever. They're all so gorgeous!

She also does daily vlogs although I don't think they're as daily as they used to be but she's great sharing her personal life on youtube which features her adorable pug Nala but also her even more adorable boyfriend Alfie. They make the perfect couple I mean look!
<--- Aren't they just beautiful? *cries*

Her most recent vlog I saw was her birthday vlog which featured her adorable friends, family and boyfriend giving her a perfect day of celebration and you can see how humble she is as she's genuinely shocked throughout the whole video!

She also did a lookbook on the Spring collection in boohoo and the outfits she put together are absolutely stunning and I want all of them… even the yellow coat!! (Yellow definitely isn’t my colour!)

In November of 2014, Zoe released her own book called "Girl Online". It was a huge success and everyone was talking about it! I bought it over Christmas on the google book store on my smartphone and fell in love with it. I thought it was such a cute little story inspired from her own life but with a twist of fiction and different characters.

This gives you a gist of what it's all about: "Penny has a secret. Under the alias Girl Online, Penny blogs her hidden feelings about friendship, boys, high school drama, her crazy family, and the panic attacks that have begun to take over her life. When things go from bad to worse, her family whisks her away to New York, where she meets Noah, a gorgeous, guitar-strumming American. Suddenly Penny is falling in love - and capturing every moment of it on her blog. But Noah has a secret, too, one that threatens to ruin Penny's cover - and her closest friendship - forever."

 I'd give the book 8/10 - It was really good. Get it. get it now.

She's just an all round amazing person and it shows how successful you can be with doing what you love. She's an inspiration to many!

Last but not least, Zoe if you are reading this you are truly amazing and I hope you enjoyed my words of praise to you! 

Subscribe to her channel if you haven't she's great! (Click right here to view Zoe's channel)

Have a great day everyone!

Here's the outfit ideas she had from boohoo, I loved them all!

"Monica Lewinsky calls for a more compassionate internet"

So I was getting a bit of writers block (standard really because I'm not all that creative) and I decided to do opinion pieces or talk about my own experiences towards news articles.
I came across this article --> http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-31976567
It's a really interesting article but you should also view the ted talk they talk about because it's amazing!
I thought it was relevant to write about because well my blog is online and whenever you put anything online there is always that risk of somebody not liking it or talking about it to their friends.
I've had my own experiences of this but I'm gonna leave that until later in this post to explore.

To be honest, although the internet has it's incredibly bad rep for bullying I have found aspects where people have shown compassion and support. I have a couple of examples: the other day I came across a video of a man who was promoting confidence in yourself and your body. He showed his body after losing something like 240 pounds (Which is an incredible achievement!) and he exposes his excess skin. What I found so powerful was that he gets rather emotional talking about it because he thinks girls will think differently about him if they see it and that when he goes to public areas on a sunny day, he feels compelled to keep his shirt on and not take it off. I presume he worked his ass off trying to get the body he wanted to end up facing something that he didn't want at all. However, people saw this and took pity on him and started a fundraiser in order for him to have his surgery to remove the excess skin. I thought this was beautiful, it made me so happy that people on the internet sometimes do look out for eachother.

I also had a tumblr blog years ago called thisisjustagame.tumblr.com (it's since been deleted and now someone else has the url - damn) I used to post a lot of personal stuff in it and my darkest thoughts - this is back when I wasn't very happy with my life - Most of my followers came from a couple of 'tumblr famous' people who I had made friends with in a group chat. I know most of you are probably screaming catfish at the screen right now while you read this but they were all legit, lovely people. I remember the amazement when I posted a really personal mother's day blog post on my tumblr page. If you have read my previous blog posts you would know that my mother died tragically when I was nine years old, meaning mother's day isn't the most easiest day for me so the post was rather depressing and sad. All of a sudden I was flooded with messages of so much love and support from the 'tumblr famous' people and their own followers as some of them had reblogged it and said how beautiful and meaningful it was. I was amazed at the kindness they showed me because I didn't really know them but it's amazing how complete strangers can sometimes say things better than your own friends.

I'd say the website that I see most abuse on is youtube, this is the worst website to put abuse on because people could literally pick anything out of a video and make fun of it. In fairness we are all guilty at some point of looking at people falling or hilarious cat videos and that's all good. With my experience on youtube before (Not there anymore so don't bother searching guys!) I remember how nerve wracking it was to put content up especially singing or just talking in front of the camera. I remember my friend and I had this youtube channel (we kind of laugh at the embarassment of the whole situation) but we were only 13 years old and we were just mucking about in front of a camera for fun. Soon enough I remember waking up every day to people saying "Go kill yourselves" and "You're such f***ing idiots". It was terrible, imagine waking up and seeing those messages - not the best way to start the day I must admit. At least our videos didn't go viral but some poor people on the internet get awful abuse for barely anything sometimes.

I've been snooping around on facebook (yes people I am creepy - moving on) but I couldn't help but notice when people publish their drama online on facebook. People that bother fighting with people on their own timelines and stuff. It didn't make sense to me. All you're doing is promoting to your friends and whatever family you have on facebook that you're a nasty person. If you haven't got anything nice to say about someone publically (Cause lets face it, we do need our private bitching every now and again) don't say it at all. Some girls I've found on facebook are publically humiliating eachother on facebook because 'karmas a bitch'. Why? Why would you do that? Would you not want to just pick yourself up and strut on and do something positive with your life rather than negative?

Now for the final part, I am always so nervous when I post stuff onto this blog. It's mainly because this is something I consider doing professionally and with the risk of getting 'hate' it's awful. Then I have to have a mindset that there are a LOT of people on the internet and not all of them are going to be nice. You just write what you believe in and express what you believe in and that's honestly all that matters. I have a good few people that read my posts and give a lot of support and I'm absolutely grateful to you!

Enjoy the day and stay positive and safe on the internet folks!

Latest MAC Range: Disney Cinerella Theme

I think this is my first blog post about make up which is kind of strange because if anyone saw my collection of makeup it would be very easy to realise my passion for it. It's kind of funny because if I hadn't gotten into my Journalism course I was actually prepared to go to a beautician school to become a make up artist. However, I would love to do columns on reviews of makeup ranges, that is my dream.

I think most people will agree with me when I say that MAC's latest range inspired by the new real life disney film "Cinderella" - debuting this month - is absolutely gorgeous. The packaging is absolutely stunning, depicting the infamous blue from Cinderella's dress when she attends the ball. If I could I would take a loan out of the bank to buy all of it - too cute!

It's not a huge collection but most of it is natural/ neutral colours that are suitable to all skin types and looks which reflects MAC's motto ("All ages, all races, all sexes"). I'm a high supporter of natural beauty and wearing make up that enhances my features. The nude lip shades from their lipsticks and lipglass (lipgloss) and the "Stroke of Midnight" eyeshadow pallet with 6 shades perfect for smokey eyes would certainly make that look achieveable.

It really does reflect the natural beauty that Cinderella is supposed to have in the story, that she's pure and beautiful on the inside and out with her selflessness and with her angelic, pure appearance. All of the shades have an element to the story like "Evil Stepmother" which is a plum shade pigment with plum pearl shimmer in it and "Glass Slipper" which is a very light, nude lipgloss shade. There's also other shade names which depict a princess story like "Happily Ever after", "Royal Ball" (Lipstick shade I really want!), "Mystery Princess" and so many more.

I'm incredibly excited for the movie, it'll be a brilliant throwback and I hope they don't tear away from the story to add loads of effects like Tim Burton did with Alice In Wonderland. The cast look brilliant so cannot wait to go to the cinema to watch it. This is the poster for the movie. I know what you're thinking the dress is absolutely stunning - am I right?

MAC seems to be continuing this disney themed range after their successful Malificent range which promoted the dark, sinister colours (like my soul) from Malificent's clothing and look.

Hopefully they will do a range for "Beauty and the Beast" starring Emma Watson, I can only imagine what beautiful shades they'll come up with for that, perhaps even some lovely golden shades from Belle's dress?

Anyway if you love neutral shades or know someone who likes neutral shades or have have a girlfriend who wears natural makeup then this Cinderella collection is for you/ them. Definitely going to be raiding the Mac counter for these beauties!

Until next time! If you like these reviews and want more, let me know!

From Soundcloud to the Eurovision - the journey of Molly Sterling

Everyone in Ireland has been talking about the sensational young singer Molly Sterling. What some people don't know (and I get to feel really cool about) is that Molly and I went to the same primary school, although we were in different classes we got along really well.

I remember back when Molly was posting songs on soundcloud and sharing them on facebook to all her friends and now she gets to share her songs with all of Europe when she performs in the Eurovision Contest.

Molly was very good and allowed me to interview her through facebook. This was a little weird for me interviewing someone I knew but anyway I couldn't help but go for the opportunity.
This is how the interview went. Hope you enjoy reading!

1: What was your initial reaction when you found out you won? 

Molly: I’d say just absolute disbelief. I was mentally preparing myself for the adrenaline comedown when the votes were being totted up and kind of expecting to come last because our song maybe isn’t what is usually entered for eurosvision. The whole results process is a complete magical blur! 

2: What inspired you to write this amazing song Playing with Numbers? 

M: Well, the song is based on number of different scenarios. It’s relatable for anyone I think. If you’ve had your heart set on something and took a huge risk on it, whether it’s a person, a career or anything in between, then you can relate to ‘playing with numbers’. When the gamble you have taken falls apart all that’s left is reflection on the situation really. And that’s the state of mind I’m in when I perform it, I guess. 

3: Did you think after you'd written the song that it would make the eurovision?

M: Not for one second. It didn’t even enter my mind that the song would get chosen for the National Final, let alone go on to represent Ireland. It’s all so crazy and I’m literally walking around in this big happy bubble right now! Haha! 

4: What are the big changes you've noticed since you've made it to the eurovision? 

M: People that I don’t know are sending encouragement!! From Hungary, Spain and all over the world!! It’s an amazing feeling to have support from people you’ve never met who base their support fully on your music. That blows my mind. I also feel like I can fit into who I am now because I was worried about that more than what people think about my music. It’s easy to believe in your music because your songs are your creations, your babies and you have to believe in that, it’s instinctive! It’s more difficult to have confidence in how you will come across as a person. Everyone has been so lovely though. I feel more like myself now than I ever have. 

 5: When did you realise that singing was what you wanted to do? 

M: Forever. I’ve always wanted to be a song writer and a musician. Although, I never thought it would ever happen because as an outsider to the industry, you just don’t let that enter your head. Expectations have to be managed too y’know. When I started working with Greg a year ago, he made me realise that I could have a career out of this if I work really hard and keep in touch with my music. So, with his guidance that’s what I’m trying to do. 

6: How does it feel to be the 16 year old that everyone is talking about?! 

M: Haha! Well, I know my age is a slight talking point but, personally, I base my opinions on the character of a person rather than their age. In terms of my music I’d love if people could separate my age from my music. Besides, I write from other people’s perspectives. You don’t need to experience certain scenarios to write about them, that’s what delving into the world of your imagination with songwriting is all about. Yoko Ono has a great quote actually that goes: ‘'Some people are old at 18 and some are young at 90. Time is a concept that humans created.’’


 7: Have you met anyone that you were starstruck with yet? 

M: Oh god, I get starstruck by everyone, it’s really ridiculous! Even when there’s other artist’s in the studio, we would be chatting away casually and then they play their music and suddenly I just go completely quiet. Stunning talent is all it takes to make a person starstruck! I’ve been fan-girling at just about everything in this past week though, I’m such a wuss! I still haven’t got over the fact that I was actually on The Late Late Show. It’s mad! 

8: What's the strangest reaction you've recieved so far from all of this? 

M: In all honesty, every bit of it is strange but in an amazingly exciting way. All of it is new territory for me so it’s all wacky and weird but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Waking up every morning having to give myself a pinch is the best feeling in the world. This is all actually happening! 

9: How are you feeling right now? 

M: The happiest and most grateful I’ve ever been. The support of everyone has completely baffled me. What did I ever do to get this lucky?! I’m so excited for the future. Greg and me just can’t stop smiling! Haha!

 Well we wish Molly the best of luck in the competition and I'm sure (in fact I know) she will not disappoint!!
What an amazing, talented, beautiful young lady!

ZOMBIES.... RUN!!

Okay so once again, here I am with the weird, misleading titles but trust me, I think even you will find this app awesome. So if you're like me you are one of those desperate people who are ridiculously unfit despite my appearance. It takes a miracle for me to actually leave my house because the only destination I will bother to get up for is the kitchen and even that visit is usually brief (don't worry fellas I am a serious catch - NOT!).

The only exercise I can unfortunately do due to a torn muscle in my back (I'm sure you'll hear me complaining about it in the next coming days) is running. Now running for me, particularly without good headphones is a serious treck, I can't stand it. I just find it so boring, once you've found a route you like walking on (mine is all around UL a couple times - around 10km or so) it's just the same old thing over and over again. Well I discovered this app that put excitement back into running.

It's called 'Zombies Run', it's almost like audible/walkman apps where it runs like music. All you need is some good earphones and you're good to go! Once you start the app you have three options to turn on or off at your choice, first is to be able to turn on your music from your memory card to play in the app, second one is to be able to track your distance when you're walking via google maps and the third one is to turn on chasing. The last one is the best feature and kind of brings the whole meaning of the post. When you start the app story it'll sound like you're in a helicopter with one other person, the helicopter crashes and you've landed in the centre of a zombie apocalypse. You hear someone sane talking into an intercom to you saying your location and where you should be headed (their location) what's great is you don't actually have to follow their exact directions, the story will continue the more you walk. Every now and again you may get a warning from the intercom guy that there are zombies around you and you'll hear the zombies in your ear pieces. You have to run, as if running for your life. It's so much fun.

For a girl that was doing this at night, in the fog you could imagine how easy it was to get sucked into the story and soon enough I was running and looking back like the total idiot I am to check that zombies weren't behind me. Needless to say I'm pretty sure the public found it really amusing. There's about 40+ missions in each season and the first one I did literally lasted a whole lap of UL which isn't so bad. There's 3 seasons in total so there's plenty of fun to go round and it's just as fun to do all those missions again - trust me!

As well as the normal missions there are also other features in the game that are pretty cool. There's a section that is similar to farmville, where you have a base, it's up to you to run more and collect items that can improve your base, you'll gather more people and maybe one day you'll be able to stop the zombies.

What's even cooler is that there is another section called airdrop which is google maps figures out where you are and will drop a supply box somewhere in the real world where you'll have to run to and collect it. HOW COOL IS THAT?! Technology is seriously peaking people!

You can buy stuff from the store but if you're someone with an addictive personality (like myself) I wouldn't suggest it, you're better off running and earning those prizes yourself, plus you get to find out what happens next in the story.

Once you start it's so hard to stop and hey, you're doing something that's good for you! If you've ever wondered what it's like to be in a zombie apocalypse this is the closest thing and it's awesome!
Enjoy running guys and let me know how you get on in the story!

Good luck 'Runner 5' (once you start you'll understand what that means)

Everything Gets Better

Okay some of you may be wondering what the hell I could possibly be writing about with this title on it. I’ve had a bit of writers block recently and all I’ve wanted to write about was what I’m going to be writing about in a second (I know this is a bit of rambling – bear with me) but I kept putting it off. I was saying to myself ‘This can wait, don’t write about it right now.’ but I knew inside that if I didn’t write it now, I never would, so I’m writing this at 11pm – excuse any mistakes. I also talked to a couple people about it but they were very supportive.

A lot of people I know, particularly on facebook have taken interest in a photograph I posted recently. It was posted the day I got my glasses. I was looking through old photographs (Something I do a lot in my spare time) and I found an old picture of my mother with upside-down glasses and grinning like a Cheshire cat. If any of you had known my mother before you all would have known that she hates having her picture taken and that’s why there’s very few pictures for me to hold onto her with. It made me smile so much I had to take a picture of myself, wearing my glasses and do the same thing. I felt so much like her it made me so happy and made me think ‘Jesus after all this, it’s really coming together now isn’t it?’. So in my head, the picture was like a mirror, of my mother then and me now. The whole picture meant how connections between those who are gone can be sparked in the little things in life, like buying new glasses and seeing someone that looked like your mum in your reflection.

Now for the sad part, nearly ten years ago my mother passed away. Her anniversary was actually a couple days ago when I wanted to write this, but I decided not to, the approach would have been much more depressing and sad. A way I don’t like to do things!

I was nine years old and barely understood the concept of death because I had never lost anyone close to me. She had leukaemia for nearly three long years. When I think now, three years isn’t that long. However, during childhood, it is. But this isn’t the point, the point of this is how I keep my head up and this post is to inspire those who have lost someone close that it does get better.

My mother was an amazing person; I know everyone says that about people who are dead but this woman was wonderful. She made me believe in myself and to always try my best to make someone else’s day. It’s tough being like that all the time but somehow she managed it just fine. She always made me embrace the small things in life – something I continue to do now – and enjoy everything and take every opportunity. I don’t know how but she taught me so much in such a small space of time. She was the person who always looked at the bright side of life (Seriously, she loved that scene in Monty Python: The Holy Grail – if you haven’t seen it, do it, you’re missing out!) when she shaved her head while she was going through chemo, she joked with my brother and myself saying she looked like Gollum from Lord of The Rings back when it was just out in cinemas. Seriously, how cool is that?!

I’ll tell you a little story that makes me get up every single morning (well… most mornings, I’m not a brilliant morning person!) with a smile. When my mother was ill, now I mean very ill, the stage patients get to when they know they’re dying and are counting their last days. She was helping dyslexic children in my primary school using systems on computers to aid them. All my friends in the class who had dyslexia said she was the nicest teacher they ever had, she was always patient even when she was really tired and wanted to sleep. She would stay up in the middle of the night writing letters to those she loved, she must’ve written two hundred letters to all the people she’d met throughout her life. It was incredible. She even made two memory boxes for both my brother and me, unfortunately she never got to finish mine but at the same time I don’t think it could ever have been finished. I’ve had countless memories with her. She just had this unconditional kindness and love for everyone she knew. She never spent her days angry at the world or fate or whatever it is that makes life cruel for those amazing people. She just made sure that my last month with her was unforgettable. It was unforgettable.

I’m not going to lie to you; the shitty feeling that brews inside you never really leaves because you always feel they are missing out on your life. For example, I won’t be getting ready on my wedding day with my mum, she won’t see me graduate, she won’t see my children (If I manage to find a human who actually likes me), she won’t be around to have chats with me about how shitty of a job at parenting I’m doing, she didn’t see me head off for my debs or watch me turn 18, she missed me performing in shows and singing my heart out. She’s going to miss a lot of things but on the other hand, I always feel a part of her with me and sometimes when the wind changes for just a second I can feel her presence. I know, it’s a little stupid but it gives me comfort.

I finally got to the point of this but the way I look at life is yes, it’s horrible that I lost my mum. I have my down days and my up days. One thing always remains constant, that I have learnt so much from that woman. Now Christ, before I continue I’m not saying I am 100% perfect because I’m a walking disaster! I am so much stronger now, I inherited her optimistic way of looking at things (I hope, sorry guys if I’m a depressing shite), I love life and when I see how easily life can be taken from us it makes me get up and go about my day because there are some people who would adore that have that privilege – my mother being one of them. She just inspired me to touch other people’s lives the way she touched mine and everyone in our little community. 

I miss her but I know she’s always with me and for anyone who is going through shit or is dealing with a death in the family. It’s shit now and let yourself be sad about it for a little while but after that, go off and do things with your life. Make that person proud to have known you. Keep going because the only one who can control your life is you.

Sorry if this was confusing for people to read but it’s now ten to 12 and I swear this post did have a point to it. Now go off and enjoy things and have a fabulous day!! I hope I didn't upset any of you because the point of it was to know that you can be amazing too, in fact everyone can, it's what you decide to do in life that will realise that. I hope you enjoyed reading a little part of me. I didn't write this to attention seek I swear, I just had this idea in my head for a very long time and I decided to bring it about tonight. Excuse the loose planning in this post but I had a sort of impulse to write it now. My bad!

I love you Momma.

I'll always love you. Thank you for being my constant inspiration.

From turning pages to plugging in earphones

In case you guys didn't know I am a massive fan of Tyler Oakley, a youtuber who is the most cheerful, happy person I've ever watched. I love his videos and they always leave a smile on my face.
What he does every month is recommends a book on audible.com. (P.S  if you want to check out Tyler Oakley click right here - as Tyler says 'you're welcome in advance') Seriously, you will fall in love with his adorable-ness.

I don't know if this is just me but do you remember the old audio tapes people used to have as kids with all the surrounding noises in the background? Well my family had a 'James and the Giant Peach' one for ages, I don't know why but I thought maybe it was a bit... childish to be listening to audio books. That is until I tried it and you guys are missing out.

I tried it out last week and holy god I thank you for letting me do that. As an aspiring journalist, I find it hard to do all the chores for the day, work out, study and cook while having some time to sit down and just read something that I'd like. I'm also a huge fan of video games (reviews are coming up, they're just going to take some time) and I have to have time to play and wind down.
 I'm always one to listen to music on the go, in fact the majority of the time I just blatantly refuse to leave my house if I don't have good earphones or headphones. Audio books are so handy for going for walks or walking to college or even just lying down getting ready for bed and dozing off. This is because it's not like a song you play over and over and get sick of, it's someone reading. If it's a book you're getting into then all you're doing is sitting and relaxing while someone tells you a story. You barely need to concentrate, it is perfect!

I really wanted to read the Game of Thrones series but with all these writing projects I have made for myself coming up, I really can't delay myself too much to sit down and read the huge series. So instead, I bought them on audible.com and I haven't looked back. What's even better is that audible.com has an app, which makes it so easy to download to an android or iPhone. You play the books almost like on itunes and they'll save your spot so that when you come back later to continue listening you won't have to search through endless chapters trying to remember where you are. Also if you need a small reminder where you are in the story (particularly good for those with memories like a sieve - like myself!) you can tap to rewind 30 seconds from the story for a quick recap of the scene you are currently listening to.

Honestly, I know this blog is short for today but I cannot praise audible.com enough. Plus if you go onto audible.com/tyleroakley you can get your first book for free! It can't hurt right?
Enjoy reading guys!