So after having looked at my blog, I knew it was missing something. And that something turned out to be some beauty tips! Therefore, I will occasionally write up some posts including some beauty and skincare tips and reviews that I hope would come in handy for you guys!

With the winter season upon us, I sometimes feel that my face is at its most vulnerable stage due to the harsh wind that could end up leaving my skin rough and certainly dry as well. That's why, I decided to make this first skincare post about some of the creams I use to treat my skin.

First up is Olay Essentials Night Cream 


This products is for normal dry and oily skin, and when I first purchased this product I had my doubts, as I wasn't too sure if it would make my skin smoother. However, once I started applying it every night, I found that on the morrow my skin felt smoother even after the first try!

It also sinks in the skin really fast which I liked, because it didn't leave my skin feeling sticky. This night cream also doesn't smell of anything, so it didn't actually bother me during the night. Definitely a must have!

2. Olay Essentials Day Cream


This cream was definitely fair priced, and its texture on your skin is really comforting. As soon as you apply the cream, it leaves it feeling moisturised and healthy. Very much like the night cream, it's fast sinking and doesn't smell too strong. It also has a SPF15 and has anti-oxident Vitamin E. Definitely one of my favourite day creams, which is why I went for the 100ml rather than 50ml like I had done the first time I bought it.

3. Botanics Day Cream


Now this is the first time I am trying the Botanics range in face creams and I have honestly high hopes for this product, as it has been extracted from plants. And in this case, the Hibiscus plant which helps increase cell renewal. So far, I am quite happy with this product.

It's colour is quite nice (it's got a soft pinkish and purplish colour - similar to that I am using for the link page) which I quite liked. It certainly smells nice too and the texture is not too heavy either. Once applied on my skin, I can instantly feel the hydrating feeling I experience with the Olay product, but the difference with this is that I can also feel it under the surface of my skin too which is great! It's quite cooling and when I rub my hands over my face, I can feel it softer than it had been before I applied the cream on. It also leaves my face looking brighter, which is what is stated on the bottle and so I'm overall happy with this product.

4. Botanics Night Cream



The only problem I have with this product is its smell during the night. It takes a bit of time to fully sink into my skin and so the smell of the cream is left hovering around my nose which could be quite dizzying at times. However, it does its job and leaves my face feeling soft and smooth just like I expected. But, I think that once I finished the bottle, I rather buy the Olay Night Cream than this one again.

Let me know if you've tried any of these brands and if you liked them. It would be cool to know what creams you guys use, and if you recommend them.

Until next time!

Remember the cousin I went to visit in Lyon? Well, she made a trip to Paris for the weekend and really wanted to go to Disneyland with some friends. At first, I wasn't supposed to be going, because I had to meet a classmate and do the coursework that was due in the next day. However, I couldn't possible pass up the chance, especially since it was going to be decorated in all its Christmas decorations! So, I was stuck in a dilemma of course! The trip was taking place on Sunday 14th December 2014 and on Saturday, I literally texted my friend telling her that my cousin was in Paris and that she really wanted me to spend time with her as she wasn't going to see me until God knows when, and if we could meet at 18:00 instead (I obviously exaggerated the whole situation, but made sure to leave Disneyland out of it), after what seemed ages, she finally replied completely understanding the situation and agreeing to the time change. I honestly felt like a little child again when I realised I was actually going to be able to go to Disneyland!

It was unbelievable, I seriously couldn't sleep that night. Anyway, after meeting at 7:30am at Châtelet les Halles we were finally on the RER A and on our way to DISNEYLAND!

We got there by 8:30am and the day was so gloomy and foggy, that we couldn't see anything, but we made sure to not let that dampen our spirits! We bought our tickets and were all ready to explore the two parks, when we were told that the gates didn't open until 09:30! We waited an hour until they opened, but at least we were first in the queue!

And when we got in, it felt so magical that I almost felt like crying because I was actually there!



Seeing all the Christmas decorations was making me so excited for Christmas, I really wanted the day to last forever.



But boy, was it free-zing!! I couldn't move my fingers, and do you know that guy in one of the Pirates of the Caribbean movie whose toe falls of because of the cold? Well, I seriously felt like that was going to happen to me with all my toes and fingers. So we went into this really cute café to grab something hot to drink, and after purchasing a Disney mug with my other because I couldn't pass up the chance of holding the cute thing, I was ready to embark on the wonderful adventure. And just as we were paying for our things, it started to snow! Yes, it snowed! In Disneyland! It may have only lasted 10 seconds, but IT SNOWED! And it was so magical, I couldn't believe it was happening.

We hoped it would snow again, but it never did.



However, the fog did add to that mystical feeling in the Pirates of the Caribbean section of the park. It made it all that bit more eerie and as if a pirate was going to pop out any second, but I loved it!

The POTC ride was adorable, we got into this boat and got to go inside this cave where all of Barbosa's treasure was hidden. Since we only had till 4pm to enjoy ourselves, because then we had to leave, we therefore had to quickly move on to the second park. We did manage to squeeze in the Indiana Jones ride just before we left though! The only disappointing thing about the rides, was that they didn't even last a minute :(



The Tower of Terror was my favourite ride! Once we were buckled in our seats and the elevator fell from the top of the tower, I felt as though my heart was ready to fall out of my chest. But it was brilliant, I really wanted to go again, but we obviously didn't have time and the queues took ages, so it was off to enjoy another ride.


This last and final ride was at Toy Story. After waiting in the queue for an hour, we got inside the famous green car and were driven to and from each point of the semi-circle until the car lost its speed and we were back in the middle again. These kind of rides are not my favourite, because you honestly feel as though you're heart is going to leave your body, but I still try them even though I know what they're like.

Sadly, before I knew it, it was already 4pm and it was time for us to leave. The day was fabulous and I spent it with the best people and the memories we created will live in my heart forever. But, I promised myself that I would have to go at least one more time before I leave Paris because there were other rides that I wanted to go on and we didn't have the time, and also because you can never get enough of Disneyland!



[100happydays, Day 6]

A flatmate was travelling to Lyon for the Fête des Lumières and she literally told me about it three a week before she left Paris. So in that moment I knew I had to really take advantage of the opportunity to see a different region of France, and I therefore immediately decided to go along with her. Conveniently, my cousin is studying in Lyon, so when I told her of the trip she invited me over and told me I could stay at hers. It was fantastic, because it saved me the trouble of looking for a hotel (and also helped me in saving some money!).

After buying the tickets, (I honestly recommend OUIGO, as they have fairly affordable prices and are much cheaper than SNCF) and packing some essentials into my small suitcase, the day finally arrived and my flatmate and I were making our way to Marne-la-Vallee station to catch our train.

The trip was supposedly two hours and a half long (almost the same as London to Paris by Eurostar!), but it seriously only felt like 30 minutes long maybe because I was excited or something. Anyway, when we reached Saint Exupéry, we had to take the Rhone Express because unfortunately OUIGO didn't make any stops in the city of Lyon itself and because the station is right next to the airport, we had no choice but to take this form of transport (which was a painful 23 euros worth) and sit back as it was what took us to central Lyon where my cousin was waiting for us in the freeing cold.


Anyway, once we got there and hugged my cousin (whom I hadn't seen in three years) we quickly made our way to her campus, which was also the campus of my flatmate's friend with whom she was staying at. So it was like awesome, because we stayed so close to one another and when my cousin went to work I just walked over to her friend's dorm and chilled with them.

We travelled to Lyon for four days to have time to fully explore the city itself and attend the festival of lights which was frankly a-mazing! It truly was an outstanding and breathtaking event, which attracted visitors from all around the world. Some of the shows portrayed on the buildings of l'Opera, Place des Terraux and the Saint-Jean cathedral were honestly mind-blowing. They were seriously, so interesting and captivating that the people behind them honestly deserve the biggest round of a applause for such creativity.

I'm going to share with you some of my favourite snaps!

 How cute is this? Tea being poured into a cute little mug. (Well, the mug was actually half my size, and not so little after all).
These upside down flowers were so cute and initiative, that almost made me want to have something similar to decorate my own room back at home.

 Above is the Place des Terraux and its show was inspired by art. It showcased some of Monet's paintings which morphed into a telling of a story that was so beautifully designed as it projected across the two buildings of the square.
The show on the cathedral was so sick! It basically played with the lights to the beat of the music playing in the background. It gave me goosebumps, and was my favourite by far!

On the trip as well, we visited the museum of miniature and cinema which was so good it is honestly a must see! It had original costumes and props used during the filming of some major Hollywood films. I got to see the original wand of Harry Potter used in the Chamber of Secrets and one of the Hogwarts letters sent to him in the Philosopher's Stone. There were also the costumes of Hulk, and Superman as well as other superheroes and characters alike. The second half of the museum was where we spent most of out time, as it was where the miniature sets were being displayed. Each and every single set was so detailed that you could spend hours looking at them and wondering how on earth they made it all look life-like! We also went to Furvière as well and its basilica is so breathtaking I couldn't take my off its beautiful ceiling.

For dinner, my cousin invited me to this delicious Italian restaurant called Al Dente. Believe me when I say this, but that restaurant has the most mouthwatering and heavenly pizzas in all of Lyon (and even France itself)! They were really generously portioned pizzas, too well portioned that we couldn't finish ours as they were huge. But my goodness, did they taste good. If you're in Lyon, DO NOT miss this restaurant! It is located just next to the Fourvière téléphérique and you may miss it if you weren't looking for it, because it is down this small alley and away from any tourist attractions. But do look for it, because it is honestly amazing okay? okay. I might just make another trip to Lyon, just to go to that restaurant. I'm kidding.

This trip to Lyon has put a smile on my face, and I was so glad I got the chance to see it. It is definitely a place worth visiting. To end things, since the festival of lights was during the 5th-8th of December, it was also during the Christmas season and so we visited the Christmas market where I bought most of the Christmas presents I was taking back home! This market was was definitely a much better market than the one at Champs-Elysées because there was definitely more to see and the layout of it felt more homey and cosy. Also, the people of Lyon are so warm and welcoming, that I honestly felt right at home there I didn't want to leave!

[100happydays, Day 5]

If you ask any child what place they dream of visiting, they would most likely say Disneyland; however, in my case, it was actually Versailles (although Disneyland was also on the list of course, because who wouldn't want to go to Disneyland?). Anyway, my dream came true on the 9th October 2014, when I decided to take my mum along with me on the trip when she came to visit me in Paris.

The journey there took us about an hour, but it was lovely because we got to see the outskirts of Paris and the difference in architecture as well as getting a glimpse of the banlieues. Once we reached the station, we followed the tourists that were also making their way to the palace, until we finally reached the beautiful golden gates. The grandeur of the place made my heart swell; I couldn't believe I was actually there, about to enter the former home of Marie-Antoinette! I absolutely adore the history of the place and of all the famous royals that once upon a time lived here. I completely immerse myself in the history of the French Monarchy and of the life of Louis XVI and his wife, whose reign brought it to an end.

Stepping inside the palace, I automatically felt myself go back in time as I pictured glamorous ball gowns swaying around me and dancing in front of the King and Queen. If the walls could only talk! To think that I was standing in what was once the centre of France's political power, was unbelievable.

The central gallery of the Château is its Hall of Mirrors (La Grande Galerie or La Galerie des Glaces in French) built during King Louis XIV's third building campaign in 1677-1684.


The chandeliers that decorate the hall are so beautiful, I literally took like 100 pictures of them. The paintings on the ceiling are dedicated to the political policies and military victories of Louis XIV. You could really see that Louis XIV is obviously the key figure in them, as they all highlight his power and success.


Going to the Petit Trianon and seeing the place where Marie Antoinette liked to take time away from the busy lifestyle of the French court, was surreal; seeing her bed was slightly strange, because 1) I couldn't believe she had actually slept there, and 2) because it was far too small! I was telling my mum that I didn't think that was her real bed, but after one of the room guards heard me, he actually confirmed to me that Marie-Antoinette actually did sleep there, but she merely slept sitting down! I was like "Oh, well that makes sense!" But it still seems strange to me.

And just when I thought I had seen it all, we stepped outside and onto the gardens. My goodness, were the gardens beautiful. Below is a picture of them, but it's one of those situations where you have to be there to truly feel the amplitude of the place.


Just seeing the lake itself and the stretch of it, was enough to take my breath away. And just so we could make our mark in the place, mum and I decided to row in the lake. It was bloody amazing! A duck was following my mum and I along our 30-minute trip which was adorable and I felt sorry for him because he was obviously hungry and we didn't have anything to give him. We had a sandwich inside the palace in the Angelina restaurant, but we didn't really leave anything of it because it was delicious! But anyway, enough of that. After we got out of the rowing boat, and having learnt how to row by my mum, we started making our way towards the Queens Hamlet.

To say that my mum and I walked a lot, is an understatement. We were knackered by the end of the day; our feet were killing, I had blisters and my legs ached so bad I honestly thought they were going to fall off.

However, the highlight of the trip had to have been Marie Antoinette's Estate (once we reached it, because it was buried deep in the gardens) - The Queen's Hamlet. The place seriously set butterflies to flying in my stomach because it was just too beautiful! It looked like I was inside a fairytale; I never wanted to leave!




I mean isn't it just mind-blowing? Lucky Marie-Antoinette, seriously. (I kind of take that back, considering how she died.)

Mum and I spent the whole day there and we honestly didn't want to leave because the whole scenery was beautiful it made us want to just live there forever. However, once we knew we had to leave, we thought our wish was going to come true, as we couldn't find the way out! We tried looking on the map, but then I am useless at reading maps so that was a bust. There was nobody on the roads, and the gardens were almost forest-like that we felt trapped inside it. Eventually, we reached the palace, but we were the only ones around!

We looked everywhere, but there was not a soul in sight. It was after several minutes of wandering about, that we finally saw a security guard across the grounds of the Grand Trianon.We ended up heading towards him and asking him if he could let us out, which he did. sadly.


And there I am walking to our exit!

[100happydays, Day 4]

So, this weekend (20th and 21st of September), some places in France are open for free because of the Heritage Days. Since I live next to the Luxembourg gardens, I tried my luck yesterday to see if the palace was open for free too. And it was!

I had my lunch in my bag, but I decided to queue, not knowing that the queue was going to take a while and that I would be growing hungry from just standing there. Nevertheless, I stayed put, because I really wanted to see the palace. And boy was it worth it. 

Once we got in, the hunger went away. I was so impressed by everything, that I literally had my mouth agape when I saw how elegant and rich and glamorous the décor was. I could picture the royals and noblemen that graced the place back in their day. The paintings also helped to put faces to the names that I read about on the little leaflet they gave us at the entrance. 

                              Library ceiling with Dante's Inferno
                                         by Delacroix

After the death of Henri IV in 1610, his widow, Marie de Médicis, became regent to her son, Louis XIII. Having acceded to a much more powerful position, she decided to erect a new palace for herself, adjacent to an old hôtel particulier owned by François-Henri de Montmorency, duc de Piney-Luxembourg, which is now called the Palais du Petit-Luxembourg, home of the president of the French Senate. 

The building is inspired by Florence's Palazzo Pitti which was the native building of Marie de Médicis, and hired the architect Métezeau to make detailed drawings of the building by sending him to Florence.
 
                               Salle des Conférences

During the French Revolution, it was briefly a prison, then the seat of the French Directory, and in 1799, the home of the Sénat conservateur and the first residence of Napoleon Bonaparte, as First Consul of the French Republic. 

                    The Seven Statues facing the Senate Chamber's
                        Semicircle (from left to right):

It was such a lovely day, I loved the Palace and I can't wait to visit Château de Versailles now because I can guess it'll be more extravagant than this! Mum should hurry up, because we'll be going together to visit it! Can't wait! 

It will almost be a week since I arrived in Paris. A week! My goodness, time does fly. My first ever experience of living abroad -by myself- has been all right so far. After arriving to a room which I have to share in the month of September, and carrying two heavy luggages along with a backpack and a handbag all by myself, I thought I would want to book the first trip back to London. However, I am still here, and there is a smile on my face.

My 'foyer' as they like to call it here (student residency) is located just next to the Luxembourg gardens along the Boulevard Saint Michel. From the terrace I have the most wonderful view of Paris, where both the Tour Eiffel and Montparnasse appear on the horizon. With the Notre Dame just minutes away from me, I couldn't ask for a better location. Walking the streets of Paris, and discovering the most cutest petits rues along the way, has been a highlight of my experience. Streets full of cafes and restaurants that grab your attention with their shabby and parisian decorations, the cobbled pavement and narrow streets that look like they have come out from a pop-up children's book, and the cute markets with the smell of fresh bread and fromageries just aligned across the street, has been so enjoyable to discover. My camera is always packed in my bag, because I never know what I will stumble upon or what will capture my eye.





I spend most of the evenings in the Luxembourg gardens, sitting on one of their famous green chairs with an open book on my lap, headphones in my ears and the sun shining on my face. The weather has been wonderful! It doesn't feel like the end of summer at all! I just wish it could stay like this forever!


On one of my little trips around Paris, I decided to go visit the famous bookstore: Shakespeare and Company.

This bookstore has the most welcoming and cosiest interiors I have ever come across in my life. I honestly wanted to stay there all day. Unfortunately they didn't let us take pictures inside, but the place even had beds for you to rest on while your mind wandered into another realm. They have books that are quite ancient and tend to be second hand, however, they do sell new books (which takes most of the downstairs floor) that vary from children's books like Rold Dahl to John Green for young adults to all kinds of genres and English authors one can think of.

The original shop, which doubled as a library, publisher and boarding house for aspiring writers, was opened by American Sylvia Beach and was featured in Ernest Hemingway's memoir, A Moveable Feast. The store closed during World War II, and was reopened in its current incarnation in 1951 by George Whitman, whose daughter, Sylvia, runs things today. And they even have a small message stating this on the side of the store.

Also, the place has its own cat! It's white and so cute, I have actually petted it.


The nearby restaurant Le Procope, is said to have had guests of luminaries like Voltaire, Rousseau and Verlaine, and that its walls are adorned with author-signed title pages. However, I have yet to visit that restaurant, but it is definitely in my to-do list!

That is just one of the many places I have and have yet to visit here in Paris.

[100happydays, Day 3]

Pets bring such joy to a person and you form an indescribable bond with them that when they pass away, it feels like a part of you has been taken away with them.

You grow to care for the tiny things, you play with them, feed them, watch them with fascination because they do the most curious things sometimes, you laugh with them, laugh at them, talk to them, cuddle them, and even cry with them. They are always there beside you no matter what.

Albus, or Albus Dumblepurr -as was his full name- was the first 'cat' pet that I ever had. I always had dogs as pets when growing up and hamsters and rabbits and even ducks, but never had I a cat of my own until my dad's friend gave away his cat. I remember the night I first saw him; he was in his little cat basket and I was getting ready for school and almost bumped into him in the living room as it was still dark. My dad had woken up with me, and told me that the cat was given to us. I literally bursted into tears because of how happy I was to have him. He was about 8 months old and he was mostly white with a black coating on his back and tail and tiny bit on his head - he was so cute and handsome I'm sure he drove all the female kitties in the neighbourhood crazy. There was a black female cat opposite our house, who used to come to our garden every time Albus was there. They would smell each other's muzzles to which I assumed was kissing, so I thought he would father some kittens but unfortunately my baby was neutered. However, they must have had a little romance going on, that's for sure.

On the first day, he hid inside the wardrobe of my brother on top of his shirts and curled up in a ball refusing to come out. It was natural that he would do that, he didn't know us and once we brought him to the living room he again tried to hide and rushed underneath the couch and stayed there. After hours of trying, we finally convinced him with little food so he would slowly step out of his hiding place and meet us. I pulled the small bowl slowly further and further away so he would walk a step or two to get to it, until he was finally out from underneath the couch. That was the last time he did that. Albus began to get familiar with us and finally grew to trust us.

His original name was Messi (like the player) but I never really thought it suited him, so I changed it to Albus and he grew to respond to that name. Every time I called him, he would snap his head towards me or move his ears and meow; even when he was asleep, he would wake up and answer to the call. It melted my heart when he did that.

Other things he did that made my heart melt like honey, were when he used to trick us. Albus used to love to jump on furniture, and especially on beds. My mum (of course it had to be the mother) hated that, so she would refuse Albus to get on the bed because 1) he had long hair and so it fell everywhere and sometimes it was hard to get rid of, and 2) because once Albus grew to love spending time outside fleas found refuge in the thick coating of his fur, so they would obviously jump on the bed and bite us. (Which we did experience, but not from the beds, but from letting him sleep on the sofa.) However, when he tricked us was when he would stare at the chosen furniture he was planning to jump on, and stare at it for a while. We would immediately tell him 'No' which he understood perfectly as whenever we said that word he would stop what he was doing. But he was a clever little cat, so clever that whenever we used to say 'no' he would pretend he didn't want to jump on the furniture and so he would 1) meow as in telling us that 'why can't I jump, it's not fair' and, 2) he would go over to a different place to which he knew we would also say no to. He was so stubborn that he knew he would get his way in the end; anyway, he would try and jump on the second chosen furniture and ignore our 'no's', then when we took him down he would slowly walk towards a bedroom as we thought he would jump on the bed, so we would rush to stop him and as we got closer to him he would turn and run to the first furniture he chose to jump on in the first place. He would jump and sprawl across it and even pretend to be asleep so we wouldn't get him back down. He was such a clever cat and I miss his little tricks so much, you wouldn't believe.

Ham was his favourite snack. Every time we opened the fridge, even if he was fast asleep, he would spring down from his chair and rush to the fridge door and start meowing at us to give him some. We eventually ended up buying him his own packet, as he would finish ours, because we could never say no to him. How could you refuse your cat's pleas, anyway? He was so cute, I felt so bad whenever I denied him something.

The day he passed away, he actually woke me up. I think he wanted to say goodbye, because once I was by his side he had stopped meowing. I am crying right now, as I remember that night. It was the most dreadful and heart wrenching experience I have ever gone through; I loved him so much. I still love him, he was my little baby and he knew I loved him. I remember holding his little head in between my hands and forcing a smile, and telling him it was okay to go. That it was okay, because I knew his suffering would end. His eyes looked at mine, and they were just searching for an end, and I wanted to cradle him in my arms, but whenever I tried moving him, it seemed to hurt him because he would meow in complaint. So I left him on the carpet, and simply put a rolled up towel under his head and sat by him, caressing his gentle paw and whispering to him that everything was going to be okay and that I loved him so much.

I think about him every day. We buried him in our garden, and each morning, I go out and make sure to say good morning to him and place a kiss on his resting place. I still cry when I see his pictures, and remember him. But those memories also bring me joy because I know they happened. He taught me to be more responsible, to love harder, and to enjoy life because you never know when it will be taken away from you. No one knows when one will die, the future is untold.

We gotta live each day as if it was our last.

Rest in peace, Albus. Mummy loves you.