Emigrating...

Hi all you lovely people, you! I thought it was about time I did a post on emigrating! I have told you so many time how I moved over here (here being New Zealand) from England and I thought I would tell you how it all came about, what I thought about it and advice to anyone who is emigrating to a new country.

New Zealand...
New Zealand is that place at the bottom of the planet - that tiny little dot near Australia. It is one of the many countries that is part of the British Empire and everyone thinks it's just full of trees and sheep.  Well, that might be true. There are a lot of trees here - and sheep too. However, there is so much more to it than that. I live just north of Auckland in North Island, New Zealand. I've lived here about a year and a half now and I love it here. It has sub-tropical weather, bright blue sea and cloudless skies. The people are lovely and it just has a lovely atmosphere over here.

Who I moved with?...
This might be a bit of a silly addition to the post because - who cares? Right? However, I will tell you anyways, just in case you are interested. I moved here with my parents and my two little sisters. However, my brother is someone we left behind. We all miss him more than anything and he is the most amazing person you'll ever meet but we know he's happy where he is and that's all that matters to us.

Why we moved...
We moved over here just to have more opportunities and a chance at a better life. As some of you will know if you watch my Youtube videos that I got really badly bullied at school in England and there was no way I could stay there throughout my school years because I would've ended up with no qualifications and no way of getting a job. Not to mention no self-confidence. So for me especially, this move was really important.

My thoughts on emigrating...
I love New Zealand and all the people in it. Everyone is so nice and welcoming and accepting here. I find it so much easier to cope with school over here than I ever did in England and I'm so grateful for the opportunities it has given me moving out here.

What advice I have for people who are emigrating...
Hmm... I don't think there's anything I can say to make the move easier on you. All I can say is; embrace it. All of it. If you give it a try, the chances are that you'll like it where you're moving to. However, if you spend all your time rebelling against your parents and saying that you hate it and you want to go home, the chances are you are going to be miserable. I know that you are under the impression that if you kick up enough of a fuss then your parents will just move back but that really isn't going to happen. If you are in a different country right now and your furniture is also there, you are not going back home with your family; you'll be moving back alone when you're 18. I know that sounds like a horrible thing to say but your parents would not have dragged you away from your home and your friends without good reason. Go easy on them, the move is just as hard for them as for you. Look at moving as a fresh start and a chance to get things right that might have gone wrong in England (or wherever you're from)

Will I ever go back?...
Well... I'm sorry to say I think it's highly likely that I will go back and live in Yorkshire. I love it out here and I love all the opportunities I have been given and all the friends I've made but after I have finished with school, the chances are that I will go straight back to Yorkshire and live in the Countryside again.

Why?...
Well, New Zealand just isn't me. I don't know if that makes any sense to any of you but I am totally homesick and I miss Chatsworth House and Gardens, I miss Bakewell market. I miss it all. I miss my brother. I miss having Christmas in winter. New Zealand has given me a fresh start and allowed me to have a life I wouldn't have had if I had still being living in England throughout my school life. No matter how much I love it here, it can just never compare to how much I love my home. The place I was born and raised. The place where all of my family is. I have a feeling at some point, we will all go back to England because I don't think New Zealand is where any of us wants to spend the rest of our lives. Home is just too important to us all.

I hope you enjoyed this post and I'll see you next Monday,
Laralu x

Back to School / Growing up and moving on

Hey everyone!! I'm so happy today! I have actually started writing my blog posts and filming my videos weeks or even months in advance since I am back at school now and I so much work to do I can't think straight. (Nothing a cup of tea won't fix though *;)* ) I basically upload them all at once and schedule them to be posted on a certain day at a certain time so as to make sure you still get a blog post and a video every Monday.

Confused?...
Some of you right now might be confused about what I mean when I say 'just started school again'. Well, I shall explain it to you. I am - as you all know - from England. Yorkshire in fact. However, I moved to New Zealand about a year and a half ago and the school years over here start in February and end in November / December time. However I am a senior in College so I leave school in October and get a full 3 months off school (which is pretty awesome!)

Back to School...
Well for most of you, this blog post will be pointless till September but because I am going back to school now; I thought this would be the best time to do this blog post because you can always come back to this in September.
My first day back at school was literally today. I was scared out of my mind about being in classes with people I don't know and having new teachers and being in uncomfortable situations but apart from that, there was nothing much wrong with going back to school after a nice long break.
(You may also be wondering why I was scared. Well, I suffer with anxiety and it is particularly bad in school situations)
It turns out I had a really excellent first day.  I am taking Health, Photography, Classical Studies, Early Childhood Education, Maths and English. All these subjects are ones I am really passionate about and I love learning about. However, I do have some doubts. I took health in year 10 and 11 and really enjoyed it so decided to take it this year for year 12 but realised today that I'm getting pretty bored of it and am actually thinking about dropping it and then I will have a free period to finish off extra work etc. It's not that I don't like health and don't find it interesting but after two years of it, I'm just not sure if I want to do another two. All my friends who did health have also left to do bigger and better things.
Classical Studies is going to be amazing! We get to go to University lectures and visit the libraries there etc. I am SO excited for this year.

What's the problem then?...
What's the problem with all this amazing stuff and amazing opportunities? Well one simple little thing. At the end of next year, I leave school forever and never go back. This is scary as hell for me . I know that I will take a year out after year 13 to have a break from the education side of things and decide what I want to do with my life. As you know - I'm not that keen on going to University myself.
The thought of living by myself and paying the bills and cooking the food and being totally self-reliant scares me. I'm just not ready to grow up yet. I'm not ready to leave childhood behind and be an adult. Every time I think about it, it makes me feel a little ill. It's just all happening so fast and with no warning. You just wish time could slow down and you could be suspended in that moment forever. It would make things so much easier to deal with.


I also did a video on the same subject just a lot more rambling and a lot less coherency. I hope you enjoy.

Let me know your thoughts on growing up and moving on into the big wide world! I would love to know how you feel about it.
Love you all and see you next Monday,
Laralu x

Beauty Review:- CoverGirl's Aqua Smooth Foundation!

Hey everyone!
I hope you enjoyed my last post on 'Sunburn'. I know it sounds quite boring but you wouldn't believe how useful it is.

SUPER Scary...
My blog is growing quite quickly which is SUPER scary but I love it. My YouTube Channel is going a lot more slowly but I don't mind. Now that I have editing software, my video's might become more 'watchable'.
Today's post is going to be on a foundation from CoverGirl.

Just to explain quickly...
(Just for the purpose of this post, I did buy this myself, it wasn't gifted to me by any person or PR company and I am not being paid to do this review. If I should be asked to review something or gifted something to review it will have an (*) next to it. If I've been paid to review something, I shall tell you. (All of this has also been explained on my 'PR' page)

How I discovered it...
Okay, so I shall first of all tell you the story of how I got this foundation. I got $100 (NZD) for my birthday and I mainly bought clothes for the summer, since all the clothes I had were for (New Zealand) winter. I realised my skin was getting darker and my BB Cream didn't match my skin tone anymore so decided to get a 'summer foundation'. I went to the local supermarket and I wasn't looking for anything in particular, just something fairly cheap. Anyway, the CoverGirl Aqua Smooth foundation was on offer to I got it. It didn't look very impressive, there wasn't anything too special about it and there didn't seem to be a lot of product. It was an impulse buy. One of the BEST impulse buys EVER!

The Review...
Okay, so I know everything I just said is a little boring and you're waiting for me to get to the point. Well, I think it's amazing.
Packaging...
Packaging wise, this foundation doesn't have much to be desired. It lets the product down a little. Most people would just skim past this foundation because the outside doesn't look too pretty. As I've started to do reviews online, I've realised just how important visual aid is to selling a product. To be honest, if this foundation hadn't been on offer at the time, I would have gone right past it too.
However, the packaging is light, easy to open but secure so there is no worries about product going all over your bag etc.

Applicator...
As you can probably guess, I wasn't best pleased with the applicator. However, this isn't unusual - for anyone! I always find that applicators in any makeup products are a waste of time but I try them out just the same so then I can talk about every part of the product and give my full opinion. I think, if you are on the go and you can't take makeup brushes with you, this applicator will do okay. I just feel it leaves the foundation a little streaky on my face and doesn't apply it evenly.However, this is my personal opinion, so don't be deterred from trying applicators that come with products! You never know - you might like them.

Foundation...
Well, this foundation is amazing. I honestly don't think I've ever found a better one. It is a cream foundation so there is no need to worry about leakage. It applies beautifully to the face, it doesn't feel like you are wearing any foundation at all and - most importantly - doesn't look like it either. It is a matte (or semi-matte) foundation and there is absolutely no need to apply powder. In fact, I feel powder makes it look too heavy. The foundation lasts easily 5 hours on your face without primer, moisturiser, powder etc. to set it. However, if you do use all these extra things, it should last about 10 hours.

I also did a video review on this so check that out:

I hope you enjoyed this guys and I'll see you next week for another 'Let's Talk' post!
Love you all,
Lara x

Sunburn... Cures?

If you live in a hot country (like me) or you just have a good summer in England then you need to be careful. You may think that the sun is not too strong that day because its not boiling hot or the sky is overcast. In actual fact, the sun can be even more dangerous when the sky is overcast or when its rather cool. Its more dangerous because you can't tell you are being burnt until its already happened.
I recently got very bad sunburn after I spent a day at the beach with nothing to act as shade. I didn't apply sun cream regularly enough and there was only a limited amount of liquid that had to be shared between 5 people. I didn't realise until I got home just how bad the sunburn was.
When I woke up the next morning, I was in absolute agony. I couldn't walk, I could barely sleep because I had burnt my back. It was awful and hopefully it will never happen again.

Tips for going out in the sun...
My first tip to those going out in the sun is put sun cream on! This sounds like a really stupid thing to say but you would be surprised how often people forget to do this one little thing. When you are in the sun, make sure you can to some shade if you feel you've had enough. Wear a hat, sunglasses and bring light clothes that will cover you up but not make you hotter than you already are. The other thing is keep hydrated in the sun. The more dehydrated you are, the easier it is for your skin to burn! The last one is for the girls. Girls, if you're wearing makeup when you go to the beach - or just out in the sun in general - make sure you are wearing a foundation / moisturiser / primer with SPF in. Most foundations and BB creams have an SPF of 15. Its also a good idea to use a lip balm with SPF because the sun can burn your lips too!

Tips for if you've already been caught by the sun...
If you went out in the sun and are now bright pink and in a LOT of pain; here are my tips for you.

Number 1:
get straight into a bath of lukewarm water for 20 minutes. I know a lot of people say take a shower but I find that is too harsh on the skin. Some people also find it hard to stand if they've burnt their legs. Taking a bath means that you can sit and immerse your body fully in the water. The cold water cools the skin down and helps with the inflammation. This is especially useful just after you have been burnt. I doing the same thing in the shower after about a few days. This way, your skin has had some time to heal and it won't hurt. Another method is simply to use a wet cloth if you are in too much pain to use either of the first two techniques. This technique is also helpful throughout the day if the pain increases. Do Not use ice packs from the freezer to cool your skin as this just increases pain.

Number 2:
Number 2 is when you get out of the shower, either air dry your skin or pat it dry with a towel. If you rub yourself, you will cause irritation with the skin which just increases pain and inflammation. This also means that it will take longer for the skin to heal.

Number 3:
Number 3 is to keep moisturised. This is something that people neglect doing when they get sunburn. Moisturiser locks moisture into the skin - which you need as your skin has been dehydrated - and helps to heal it faster.



(Please Note: I have not been paid to feature these products, nor am I recommending them to you.)

Another product that helps heal the skin is after sun. After sun helps reduce inflammation and soothe burnt skin. If you cannot find after sun, Aloe Vera gel works just as well to soothe the skin and reduce inflammation.
Number 4:
Number 4 is a technique that not many people know about. OTC [over the counter] pain killers. This is a technique I didn't hear about until recently and when I had sun burn, helped tremendously. OTC pain killers include ibuprofen, and paracetamol. This technique helps reduce inflammation but also helps with immediate pain relief.   Although this is probably the most useful technique for pain relief, it should not be abused. Taking 2 tablets every 5-6 hours should be sufficient.

Number 5:
My last tip is probably the one that will help the most and be the most effective. Do you see that glass of fresh, cool water pictured below? Well that is my last tip. Drink lots of water. On average you should drink up to 6 glasses of water a day to keep hydrated. However, if you have sunburn, you are already extremely dehydrated so it is more important than usual to drink water. If you have sun burn it is recommended that you drink 8 - 10 glasses every day until you have healed. So make a conscious effort to stay hydrated! Water is the best thing to drink when you have sunburn. Juices, milk, milkshakes, fizzy drinks etc. do not keep you hydrated!

I hope this post helps you and is helpful for next time you are out in the sun. I use all these tips so I am recommending them based on personal experience.
Thanks and I'll see you next week.
Lara x

(Please Note: All pictures featured are my own, not from the internet. Copying these pictures to use for your own blog etc. is a breach of copy write.)

Book Review - Books 1-2 Chronicles of Narnia Series | Lara Pass

Hi guys I know its been a while since I posted anything but here we are! This is a review of the first two books in The Chronicles of Narnia Series by C.S Lewis.
The Magician's Nephew follows the story of Polly and Diggory, who - thanks to Diggory's Uncle Andrew - end up in the wood between the world. While there they meet Queen Jadis who threatens to take over our world. Diggory and Polly manage to take Queen Jadis to the land of Narnia. Here they encounter all kinds of strange new creatures such as talking beasts, fawns, giants and many other magical things...
This book is possibly my favourite book in the series. It starts of the magical story perfectly and the writing is suburb. This is the perfect story for younger kids who are just getting into reading.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is the second book in the series and follow the story of the four Pevensie children - Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy - who end up in the magical land of Narnia by going through a magic wardrobe. This book is probably the most famous and most popular story in the series. It is - again - a beautiful story and follows on perfectly from the first book. I would completely recommend this book series to anyone who loves the films or just loves an adventure story. It sends out lovely messages about growing up and you learn without even realising it. Fantastic and beautifully written first two books.
I hope you enjoyed this book review. View it on my YouTube Channel. Love you all and speak next week.
Lara x

Let's Talk - Bullying and Disabilities

Thumbnail for my Video
 

Hey everyone, this is my first blog post on some actual issues. As some people might know if they check out my YouTube Channel, I do suffer with disabilities myself so it is really easy for me to relate to you if you suffer with disabilities.
The first piece of advice I would give you about disabilities and 'how to cope' is to just accept the fact that you are disabled. I know that it really sucks and can sometimes make you really unhappy but there is nothing you can do to change how you are, you just are how you are. You may also be wondering why accepting the fact that you are disabled matters so much. Well, if you can accept that you are disabled and stop focusing on that and letting it define you, you will be so much happier and it'll help you get the best out of life.
Now, when it comes to bulling and disabilities, there is not much to say that hasn't already been said. My last piece of advice still applies to this and can be helpful. People will bully you about your disabilities to make you feel even worse about your insecurities but if you have accepted that that's how you are and there is nothing you can do to change it and choose not to let it define you, the less this bullying is going to affect you and the easier it will be to ignore it. Remember, being disabled isn't your fault and although its still going to hurt your feelings that people are trying to bring you down and just don't accept you for who you are, there is nothing you can do apart from show them they're not hurting you and if it persists, report them for bullying.
The last piece of advice I will give you is to appreciate the good things in life. appreciate the people that love and accept you for who you are because they're the people that matter. Appreciate all the love and support you receive from your family. Your siblings, your parents, grandparents.
I often get asked that if I could have been born without disabilities would I go back in time and change it. My answer was no.  You may think I'm lying about that but I promise you, it's the truth. When I was younger, I would've said yes without even thinking about it. However, now that I'm older, I'm beginning to see why being disabled is probably the best thing that's ever happened to me. I grew up with and went to school with a lot of superficial and materialistic people and more often than not, they were horrible people. Being disabled has made me different, yes - but it has also made me a more grounded and more compassionate person and I hate to think what I would've been like without it. It has also made me more driven to prove that I can do anything I want to if I believe in myself and I stared to prove that last year when I taught myself to play the guitar and the ukulele. My dream is to become a writer and I am currently in the middle of writing a book with my brother's help. He and I both believe that if I try hard enough, I can probably get published. The other reason I wouldn't give up being disabled is because it means I can hopefully help and inspire a load of people who think that just because they're disabled, they can't achieve their goals in life and can't lead a fairly normal life. Remember, my catchphrase is that anyone can do anything they want and get anything they want out of live if they believe in their dreams - and themselves - enough. I hope this helps you all.
Lara x

Don't You Just Hate It When...

Don't you just hate it when you fall out with a friend and you don't actually know what - or why - it happened? Don't worry, it happens all the time and there is nothing we can do about it. When you're a teenager, emotions run high and it would be a miracle if you never fell out with any of your friends.
You are still growing. Not just physically but emotionally too. You are still learning to be empathetic, to get along with people, to create a filter. Sometimes when emotions are running high - especially for girls - things get scary and out of control and you say and do things you never meant to do but that doesn't mean you are a bad person. It doesn't mean you aren't a good friend and it doesn't mean that you are never going to sort things out and it's the end of the world.
People fall out all the time for many different reasons and over many different things but as long as you can say, 'hey I screwed up, I'm sorry' you should be okay. When you fall out with someone you need to be willing to accept their apologies or apologise yourself if you're in the wrong.
The best thing in life is to have friends and to feel like you have someone to talk to. A lonely life of talking to no-one will not do you any good and is not healthy.
Thanks for reading this week, guys.
Love you all.
Lara