Operation: Organize

I'm a very well organised person and am a firm believer in that "an organised mind is a happy mind". From the looks of my work space, you'd think I was the most unkempt, untidy and unorganized person ever to have lived but in my mind, I know where everything is and that it's in its place. Organizing my blog is something that I love to do (please tell me I'm not the only one?) as it gives me a clear image in my head of what's happening and makes sure everything is in order.

I keep everything blog-related in this little notepad where I have the dates and days along the margin and what post will be going live on that day. Opposite this I have a little column with the headings P, E, W, S which means photographed, edited, written and scheduled. Once I've done one of the steps I then tick off and I know exactly where I'm up to.  I also do this with my YouTube channel except the headings are F, E, S (filmed, edited and scheduled).

I also like to keep a note of upcoming post/video ideas as well as monthly favourites and notes for my "10 Things That Made Me Happy" series. There's nothing worse than coming to write your monthly favourites and you've forgotten everything that you've loved within that month. Keeping a little note of these kinds of things can help you feel much more organized and you don't rush around in a flurry taking photos of products that you've already photographed.... Trust me, I've done that before.

As well as paper notes, I have a sheet in Google Docs where I made a calendar and colour co-ordinate where I'm up to on that particular project but if you have any other organisation tips, tell me below! Fellow organizers, we can work together on this one!

Clinique Cheek Pops

It's not new news that I have been professing my love for the Clinique Cheek Pop in Ginger Pop on both my blog and my YouTube channel endlessly over the past few weeks. It's by far the best makeup-related purchase I've bought in such a long time and I'm completely in love with it – how can anyone not love a flower shaped pink luxurious makeup product? I picked it up in my Post-Exam Haul and it has been a staple in my makeup bag ever since.

I tend to go for reddish-brown muted shades as I find them to be the most complimentary on my skin and this shade is perfect for me. “Ginger Pop” is the one I chose from the four shades in the new collection and it gives my skin such a healthy and natural glow that it’s quickly become a staple in my makeup routine. Although they’re really pigmented, they’re also really easy to blend. You can also see it in action in my Kylie Jenner Inspired Makeup Tutorial… I’m obsessed!

DIY Polaroids

There's not many things I love more than sitting down and going through old memory boxes full of photos. Nowadays our photos are stored on social networking sites like Instagram, Facebook and Twitter and it means those special nostalgic sessions are few and far between. One thing I've loved doing lately is making my own DIY Polaroids (which are so easy and cheap to make!) and storing them in a cute memory box for me to look over every now and again.

For this little DIY you will need:

// Photos

// Scissors

// A Ruler (if you tend to make wonky lines)

// Card

// Glue

The first step is to print your photos. I used the FreePrints app (use invite code edopson2 for extra bonus prints) and imported my photos straight from my private Instagram account. This is such an amazing service and you get all of your 6x4 photos printed for free and your first 10 photos receive free delivery. It took such a small amount of time for these to be delivered and the quality is amazing. I then cut them into squares.

After your photos are all in squares, glue them on a piece of card and leave approx. 2 inches below to write your captions. To make sure all of the captions on your photos are the same size, turn them upside down and trim the tops off. 

Once the photos have been glued and the cards have been cut to the right shape, use a permanent marker to write your captions and voila! You have your own DIY Polaroids! I like to store mine in this little floral box from Tesco's and it makes a lovely little coffee table piece. Everyone who comes to your house can have a flick through your photos and if some of the people who visit are in the photos, it makes it even more special!  I think this is such an amazingly cheap way to store your photos and to make 10 of them, it cost me around £2... Amazing!

The Perfect Red

I'm a sucker for a good red nail. I've also been searching high and low for the perfect red nail polish for my tips and toes that is the right shade, formula and has the best staying power with no chipping... I think I've found it. This little gem comes in the form of Nails Inc Kate Spade's Big Apple Red. Now I bought this last year in a magazine and it's pretty hard to come by now but I'm sure a quick search on eBay will show the nearest one to you. If you can get your hands on it, please do. I've had two coats on my nails for the past five days and no chips are in sight and I'm still as in love with the colour as I was when I put it on. I don't say this often but I think I'm in love.

Can we please also acknowledge the fact that every time I wear a grey hoodie/jumper I feel like Pennsatucky from Orange Is The New Black. I don't know what's wrong with me... I swear that programme is haunting me.