Life Snaps~

Two of my colleagues & I had purchased some cupcakes which were bleurgh! Haha, disappointing. 

Early at my training center so thought I'd snap a pic of my seat, it's next to the window ofc x)

Super annoyed about my scabby on my nose which lasted for a few days. It's now gone! 

Been on Tumblr a lot more lately! Check it out http://lilliesd.tumblr.com/

My primarni rucksack that I've been loving and using a lot lately!

On my way to training in a packed train! akkkk!

Got meself a Grande coffee frapp as reccomeded by a friend! Yes, its half drunken :D

My current obsession <3 TOP GEAR ! ! ! 

Song/Video of the Month JULY 2013

Welcome back to another 'Song/Video of the Month' post! This month is July as you already know and I am super excited to show you guys my choice for this month! Now, unlike my last song/video, this one is not Western... but Korean! Surprised? No? Well, I'm sure you all know I love my Kpop music. :D

This song was just released 1 day ago and has already gained over 2 million views on YouTube!! Wow!! Congratulations F(x) with their new single 'Rum Pum Pum Pum'!!!!

It's seriously addictive, unique and just an overall joy to listen to. There are so many different elements to this song that you can't just listen to it once and take in all it's glory. Trust me, you're going to be either singing or humming this song all day long, #rum pum pum pum! I love how all the members have a good amount of lines between them, therefore are all under the spotlight equally in the music video. I especially love the overlapping of the different octaves between the members and the canon throughout the song; it's different and I have never heard it in any other Kpop song. I am seriously rating F(x), they are slowly becoming one of my favourite girl groups in Kpop. BIG UPS TO F(x)!!!! Wooo~

My Skin Story: Acne

Acne: The occurrence of inflamed or infected sebaceous glands in the skin; in particular, a condition characterized by red pimple on the face. (Source from Google)

WARNING! PICTURES AHEAD.

For a person who hasn't suffered or doesn't suffer from acne, will have no idea how much it can affect a person's well-being and their life. Why so serious? Well let me tell you, for the past 7 years or so, my skin has been through so much that there are not enough words that are able to sum up the whole 7 years of what I went through. Bunking school/college, making up crappy excuses for not going out with family/friends, crying almost every single day, piling on the foundation and concealer and hating yourself whenever you looked in the mirror; those are a few of the things that I had to go through during my most difficult years of having acne. Yeah, it may seem stupid and vain to have sacrificed so much because of my skin but trust me, when your face is the first place a person looks at and is out on show 24/7, you'll understand where I am coming from. 

However, what makes my story slightly different from others is that my acne was never constant, it was mostly on my cheeks and it came and went at any time. One moment it'll be just a few spots here or there (plus a lot of scarring) but I could easily cover it up with makeup. The next moment, multiple volcanoes suddenly appeared onto my face and erupted like there was no tomorrow; the pain would be excruciating and you knew not to sleep on that side of the face that night. (Btw, this was during my most worst years: 2008-2012) I remember during every weekend morning when I woke up and laid on my bed, I had this little ounce of hope in me that somehow during the night, my skin had recovered and would be clear from all the scarring and spots but of course, no such luck. It was weird but I remember that as soon as I was conscious, my hand would almost automatically go to touch my skin; as though it would make me feel any better, I would smooth over the bumps with my fingers and just relish into the hope that my skin would clear itself magically. It was rather pathetic I must admit but it helped soothe me in a way, hahaha It's true! xP 

I would have avoided showing you pictures, but    
I think this way it visually tells you my story better       

I've kept the pictures small to avoid disgusting you guys.
As you can see my acne was mostly on my cheeks.    

I started to suffer from acne right after I hit puberty. I was around 13 years old  and was into my first few years of secondary school. My elder brother who is 2 years older than me was already suffering from acne at the time and thus I knew what I was potentially heading towards to. Funny thing; when I had not hit puberty yet and had skin as smooth as a baby's bottom, I had told my brother so confidently and was so sure of myself that I would never get spots when I grew up. Oh how I was so wrong. It was around the age of 13 when I knew I had to do something about my skin, and ta-da I discovered makeup! To be honest, not that I regret it but I now wish I had started wearing makeup a lot later than I initially did. I was so young and inexperienced with makeup, it makes me cringe even to this day to have thought that piling on foundation (Revlon's Colourstay Foundation Makeup) would have made my skin any better! I just made it worst! Gah~ you have no idea how bad it is to apply a super thick or layers of foundation to such affected skin; it blocks the pores and prevents your skin from breathing and healing itself. Plus, it looks TERRIBLE! During my earlier years of secondary school, my foundation was always either too pale or too orange, you knew I was a pro with my makeup skills. -note the sarcasm. 

Through out secondary school, having acne really affected my well-being; I was less social, I avoided big crowds of people, I hardly ever spoke in class, I would always visit the bathroom to check up on my skin, I always avoided peoples eyes when speaking and the list goes on. It was sad, I was always thinking about my skin and it made me super duper depressed. However, it has taught me a lot too, it has made me cherish the people around me who love and accept me for who I am and not for what I look like. It makes me confused yet amused when my close friend called Thamina; having stuck by me for more than 10 years tells me she never remembers me having acne. She may not know it but it makes me happy, it makes me believe that throughout all my years of suffering from acne, she has overlooked that not knowing it was a big insecurity of mine. A friend like her is one in a million. I never did discuss with my friends about my skin during the years of when I had acne really badly. I only started talking about the history of my skin around the time after we had finished secondary school towards College, when my skin was starting to heal and get better. 

Fast forward a couple of years and the trial of 100+ face products on the market, we are here today! Seriously, if I were to talk about every little aspect of my skin story, this post would never end. Hopefully if you have found this post interesting in any way and if you're interested in knowing more about my skin, I will do a series: ie how I treated my acne, products I recommend for acne prone skin and blah blah blah soon.

Thank you for reading this post, it means a lot to me! Until next time my fellow bald squirrels, Good-bye! x

My week in pictures

This is where I get ready and put on my face !! ;D

Failed OOTD post, this is the only successful photo haha xD
Topman - Dogtag, Argos - Identity Rose Gold Watch

Bus journey to somewhere xD

My view during lunchtime at pre-apprenticeship

My computer at pre-apprenticeship learning Photoshop

Attending the summer fair at my local park

A quick OOTD before pre-apprenticeship

My scribble design 

Dinner at Frankie & Benny's with my buddy Sameeha ^^

The beautiful view in Canary Wharf

Another shot of the beautiful scenery in Canary Wharf

My view of the park as I was sunbathing

In the O2 browsing and strolling with buddy 

Cool looking building and a massive puddle haha xD

Random Life Snaps ~

SORRY GUYS! I haven't posted in such a long time, it's because I've been very busy with life atm! Hopefully I'll be able to update you guys with loads of posts soon, for sure after 2 weeks time. (Y) These are some pictures I've taken here and there of whats been going on in my life this month. I apologies for the crappy quality of the pictures, I don't carry the SLR with me everywhere I go. My phone does a great job anyways! ;D Warning: Picture Heavy!

~Happy birthday to my lil bro Tony <3  He's now 12 ;D

On the train heading to Westfield!

Sunny day + Westfield = CRAZY PEOPLE IN SHORTS !

Having a break from shopping with some
 choco pirate biscuits & mocha latte hmmm

Blood test ... first time! eeek, didn't hurt much tho woo.

At apprenticeship learning about schutff (Y)

My apprenticeship location ... whataa beauty!

Been taking biotin to help with my hair growth.

A late birthday pressie from a good buddy! 

Been learning about Photoshop, this is my first ever edit creation!
Even without his features he's still as handsome as ever  ;)

Making sushi with the lil bro! 

Song/Video of the Month JUNE 2013

Hey guys, I wanted to create this new segment on my blog where I would show you guys either a video or song of any kind that I recommend to you all to watch/listen. Hopefully I remember to do these every month. What inspired me to create this segment was by this video by Hopsin, from Hopsintv on Youtube. It may be from last year and considered old, but this video has over 28 million views, 'dayummmm son' & it's still going strong ! He raps about particular subjects that affect the youth of today. His flow is sick and you just can't help but bop your head to the beat. Just watch it and make sure you listen to the lyrics, they're deep and meaningful and everyone can relate to it somehow, or you can listen to it and just understand his point that he's trying to put across. Warning: He does use swear words, like a lot. xD

I promise in these posts, I'll try to keep them as short as possible. (Y)

What's In My Bag?! Edition #1

Howdy Y'all!!! I'm coming here from London, England to report to you all on the weather today.......
IT'S TOOOO HOT!!! Ahhhhhh~ 'I'm meltingggggggg' :'(

I guess it's here, it's finally summer time!~ It's 25 Degrees Celsius at the moment & phwaorrrrrrr it's the highest we've had this year! Bring on the suntan lotion and bootie shorts! ;P

I get it.. some of you guys might be saying 'Pshhh 25 Degrees Celsius?! That's nothing compared to blah and blah here (wherever you guys live).' 25 Degrees Celsius may not be considered 'hot' to some of you but over here where it's constantly raining cat and dogs,

IT'S HOTHOTHOT! Like super-duper hot. 

Anywhoo~ there I go again going off track but I thought it would be nice to let you in about the weather here in England, although it's boiling, it is no doubt certainly beautiful! :) 
Lillian the Weatherlady: 'Update on the weather is over, now it's back to Lillian the blogger in the studio...'
_________________________________________________________________________________

Today's post is going to be a 'What the hell is in your bag Lillian?! Tag.' I thought it'd be fun as I've seen plenty floating around here on blogs and of course on YouTube, sooooo I'm jumping on the band wagon and following the crowd by doing one here on my blog. :D Also because I know you're all secretly nosy buggers whom are dead curious about what stuff other people carry in their bags. (haha I don't blame ya, I'm exactly the same :P)

I'm usually a big bag type of gal.. hahaha had to do a double take on that cuz I thought I had wrote bin bag. xD But yeah, I usually prefer much bigger bags as I like to carry my whole life with me everywhere I go. But since it's summer and I no longer have to go College, there's actually no reason for me to use a big bag since I don't have to carry tonnes of books and some of the things I carry are just unnecessary. So, the bag I now use is perfect! It's tiny and it has GAJJILION pockets, wow, it has like 5 pockets or something and the bag inside is sectioned also. So much room for me to put my stuff in! Yeah! ;P

My bag is nothing designer but it's definitely snazzy and cool. Why? Firstly it's super cool looking as it's vintage. Secondly, it was given to me from my mummy, therefore it's not only ah-mazing looking but it's extra special because it holds some sentimental value to me.

This is the front view of the beauty

The back view of the bag which has a pocket.

A bottle of water, my earphones and my mobile phone.

Before I get into the nitty gritty of the contents of what's in my bag, there are of course a few items that are usually inside my bag but since I'm at home, they're not in their usual living space. From the above image you can see what they are.

1. Bottle of water: Well, you can probably see that my bag is too tiny to carry a bottle of water, but I still like to carry a bottle of water when I do go out with my friends, I just end up putting it in one of their bags, haha xD Gotta keep hydrated wherever you go, whatever the cost! (Y)

2. Earphones: I literally cannot, CANNOT survive any journey without having my earphones plugged into my ears listening to some sort of music. I just hate listening to other people talk or breath near me when I'm walking down the street or travelling on public transport. (you can see how antisocial I am) Well, unless your my bud then yeahh I'm all up for a good chinwag and gossip about blah and blah. xD

3. My phone: Of course I'd have my phone with me! How would I listen to music? Text/Whatsapp my friends?! Call my friends?!?! Write down my notes and reminders?! HOW,HOW,HOW?! Those are four really good justifications in my opinion. Oh yeah, and to take pictures on the go for my blog!! Gasp how could I forget that?! x)

I forgot to include my oyster as well!!!! I can't find it atm which really sucks, without it I literally can't go anywhere honestly.. might as well just stay at home and watch some Running man & play games :D

The view of when I open my bag to grab me stuff.

Front section of my bag.

Btw everything I'm showing here is 100% real. I know I have some random shit in my bag :| but that's some life ey! :D All right, Leggo!

4. My College Lanyard (excluding the card): You guys already know I've left College since I finished after my last exam. We were expected to give back our cards b'cuz you know they actually think we're gonna be bothered to go back in there and Iuno, maybe decide to trash and burn down the place which tbh isn't a bad idea. xD Hahaha but yeah, I still wanted to keep my lanyard for the memories of college  uuber cool sticker I have on it which says 'original assassin' haha.

5. My purse: I love this purse! Once again it's vintage, and no, it wasn't given to me from my mummy, I had purchased it from Rokit in Central. It was only £3!! I could not pass that up! I love the navy blue, it's one of my favorite colors and it's made of a nice leather material, not sure if it's real or fake though~ It carries my ££££, my cards and a hand puppet called 'Hermeenooz/Hernandes Andeles Andeles Gonzalez' that my friend and I had made when we were in the Library, we were bored from studying. Don't judge us, boredom hit us hard, hahaha. xD

6. Pencil, pen, calculator & ruler: I've said this a million of times, I apologies, but yeah these were the equipment I took with me for my last exam. Nothing interesting, NEXT!

7. A receipt & tissue (basically rubbish): I like to keep my receipts not to check how much I've spent... but for those times when there isn't a bin anywhere around and I need to spit out my gum. LMAO! It's not funny.. haha but yeah. I got tissue b'cuz it just makes life easier.. lool tissues are a bag staple.. nuff said.

8. A bag of Almonds: These come in handy whenever I'm out and about and I'm feeling a little peckish and need something to hold me until I get home.They're a bit dry but they're quite tasty! I never finish them all in one sitting, more like a little handful as it's not great for you to eat too much nuts. LMAO. No dirry thoughts guys haha xD

9. Vaseline: This is like a little pot of goodness. It's great for many things, dry skin, lips, hands, elbows etc etc. I have one living in my bag and another one living in my room. It's not the bomb.com for lips since it's quite oily in texture, but I usually just take this wherever I go and use Carmex when I'm at home.

Second section of my bag.

10. Pack of tissues: LMAO more tissue!!! I love my tissues lool xD Uhm, nothing else much to say really, they come in really handy in everyday life! Go get some! ;P

11. Garnier hand cream: This hand cream was given to me from a friend, she's always complaining I don't use enough hand cream but nowadays, I've been using loads! Did you know that your hands are the first signs of aging?! That scared me to death so now I've been loading on the hand creams and it gets annoying sometimes because you can't write after a while, too slippery. >< I do recommend this one though, it feels lovely and smells yummy!

12. More rubbish: Got a random piece of paper and a chocolate bar wrapper. It was either that there was no bin around for me to throw my rubbish, or I was too lazy and couldn't be bothered to go to the bin so just stuffed the rubbish in my bag, I'm guessing it was most likely the latter. xP

13. My keys: I have my home keys along with two key chains, I have a teddy one which was originally from one of my other bags I purchased when I was in China, the other key ring has my name on it that I had got during a Geography trip back in Secondary school.

14. Mirror and comb: I always seems to have mascara or eyeliner smudges across my face at random times and no one seems to tell me when I do! Checking my face regularly has become a habit especially when I have eye makeup on. Also when I have any type of lip product on too. The comb is my chosen form of weaponry for when I do come across a mugger... -.- I'm being sarcastic I hoped you could tell?! Of course I use it to comb or tease my hair on the go.

15. Photos: I just printed these out recently, they're photos of either memories of a particular event or pictures of some friends and I together; no one prints out pictures these days and you're hardly ever going to be bothered to look through pictures on the computer, so, I thought I'd print some of my favorites and stick them on my wall!

Thumbs up & a HUGE THANK YOU TO YOU ALL!

I hope you guys enjoyed my rendition of the 'What's in my bag' Tag! Hahaha this is actually quite nostalgic, it reminds me of my time back in Primary school. You would bring an item from home to bring to school and then you would do a little show & tell presentation to your whole class, talking about how awesome your item was. This is the same really but more uhm... different too... anywho~ until next time, See you later! x

Part of My Experience in Sixth Form College & Some advice from me

Your opinions and thoughts are much more important
than what others think about you, your appearance and your life.

Basically don't be a jackass or a douche to others
if you don't want to be treated the same.

Nothing is more important than giving 100% into everything
you do: work, school, relationships, friendships etc

Learn to love yourself, because hey, no one can love you truly
 before you start to love and appreciate yourself

Don't think about the moneymoneymoney, ahaha, think about what makes you happy.
Follow your dreams, as big or as small they may be,
they'll eventually come true if you're truly passionate about it

What makes you happy? Do more of it.
(haha I basically paraphrased the quote) 

You might have failed that last time, but instead of moping and crying about it
make sure you do better and kick ass the next time!

Education. Sometimes you need to stop whining and procrastinating,
 just get on with the work and get it done. 

Worrying too much leads to stress and potential harm, Don't do that to yourself.
Instead of worrying, do something more productive that would help the situation. 

Life is unfair, shitty things happen but guess what.. they pass!
If something bad happens don't mope about it, get on with your life and carry on! 

These are some of the picture quotes I had on my phone during my two years in College; some are quite harsh and some are probably ones you've heard before. Nevertheless, I want to let you guys know that those who are going to start College soon or are currently having a difficult time in College, I'm here to help you all!

Before College, I was a very timid and shy person, I wasn't one to stand up for myself or the one to most likely be involved in the fight you heard about after school. I was very nice (well I like to still think I am ahaha) and extremely hardworking. Wow.. how it all changed after leaving Secondary School and starting College. I've learnt so many things whilst in College; in lessons, I'm talking more about life lessons here. Being the nice person I am, coughcough I want to share part of my experience in College and things that I've learnt.

(REMEMBER! What I say of course isn't representative of ALL Colleges in the UK; I went to a Sixth Form, but these are generalizations of what my friends, other people I know and I have experienced in College.) 

#College is a new environment and completely different to Secondary School. You're NOT going to be spoon-fed by the 'teachers;' although they're called your teachers, you're going to be expected to call them by their first names (it's weird.. I personally didn't like it, calling them by their first names made it seem like we were buddies or something :| ) There are going to be some teachers that are going to care like it's their life about you, your attendance and your punctuality. On the other hand, there are going to be others that don't give a shit about whether you attend class, if you're late or if you bunk. Let me tell you people! Majority of my teachers were the latter and of course being a 100% hardworking and punctual student in the past, all of a sudden having teachers not telling you what to do as much and basically giving you the freedom to do whatever you want affected me real bad. You could easily bunk and practically just hang around the place with all your mates chillaxing without a care in the world. The teachers are hardly ever around to catch you, they're too busy with their own lives and the students that actually do attend their lessons. #TIP 1 - Please don't bunk, it's not worth it. It's hard to believe coming from a person who bunked A LOT! (Especially in the first year, but it calmed down in the second year) But during those days or hours I bunked, I did.. NOTHING, NA-DA! Rather than spending those hours like you should be, learning and basically what your parents thought you were doing, all those hours turned out to be you just hanging around the cafeteria playing rounds of Blackjack because you 'couldn't be bothered'  to go to class that day. Is it worth it?! It sure does sound very stupid now that I recall and write it out. 

#What is your main objective in College? Is it to make friends? Or is it to go to your lessons, learn and get the grades that you need? Or is it both? I learnt a BIG lesson in College.. okay maybe this is a bit bias especially since it's coming from my experience but honestly, 2 years?! Is that enough for you to make long lasting friendships? Or friends you're sure will be bothered to text and keep in contact with you after the 2 years are up, except that rare chat that happens once every 6 months about what you're doing in life? Unless of course you were friends beforehand or you guys are going to the same University. BUT that is not the point. #TIP 2 - I want you to constantly think about what is more important, your friends/social life in College or your learning; basically the main reason why you're in College in the first place. Okay I get it, it's important to make friends and all that business, BUT it's not when it's affecting your learning, it's not when they're the ones making you bunk and skip lessons and finally..

..it's not when at the end of the day the one in trouble is YOU! 

You need to learn how and when to say 'no' to your friends, learn how to organize your time for your friends and for your learning. You need to keep focus and remind yourself constantly that after these two years are up, which is more important to you, your friends or your grades? I'm not suggesting to you to break all friendships or make no friends at all, but just to realize and notice when you're going off track from work because of your social life in College. 

#Picking your College/Sixth Form Subjects. Wow.. past College Graduates really don't lie when they say to pick subjects you enjoy.. and of course being naive and a bit too confident in myself I selected some hardcore subjects instead. ><" Well, tbh I thought I'd enjoy them and I'd be able to pass them with flying colors! Oh how wrong was I?! #TIP 3 - I mean this, like genuinely from the bottom of my heart ask of you to REALLY think about what you truly enjoy, and then select the subjects closest to your interests. Don't pick subjects based on what your parents want because at the end of the day, you're going to be doing those subjects - it's your life so you should have the final say. Loads of people who finish College always say that if they had pick this or that subject they liked instead of the subject they initially picked, they would of been able to easily achieve an A or B. It's pointless and a bit late for all that don't you think? Learn from my mistakes and other College grads, pick the subjects you would enjoy thus will work hard in, not subjects you kinda like or were pressured into because trust me, you won't be as hard working and dedicated.

THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT TIP OF ALL TIPS FOR  IN COLLEGE,  IN LIFE! 'Fuck what they think' -  Firstly I apologies for swearing but never mind that! My lovely friends, we live in a sad and cruel world, (I'm sure you already knew that but wahey!) we're easily judged and criticized by others, we're pressured into looking and acting a certain way and life just sucks for us girls and boys, because of how the Media depicts the perfect Male/Female. Now.. what I mean by 'Fuck what they think' is exactly what it says.. 

FUCK - WHAT - THEY - THINK.  Simple. 

Who cares?! Really, the amount of cares we give and allow ourselves to give to other people is not right. Especially when they're people who have no relation to you whatsoever! They're not your family, your friends, or even your friend's friend! They're strangers, which equals people who have no right or the audacity to say ANYTHING about your face, weight, style, hair, life etc. Who are they anyway?! Even if they are a blood relation, a friend, a teacher, the granny that lives on your road or someone you've said Hi a few times at School, if they say something that makes you upset or makes you feel worthless as a person, you should slap that person ( I don't condone violence :D ) - tell them that nothing in this world is more ugly than a person with an ugly heart and run off dramatically. Hahahaha xD okayokay I was joking about telling them the ugly heart bit. xD

I want you all to know that, this is cheesy I know but it has to be done! YOU'RE ALL BEAUTIFUL! Yeah, you might not be the World's Top Model or the next G-Dragon (my husband ;P) BUT like I love to say, 'Who cares?!' Trust me, the more you think about what others think, the more unhappy and sad you become as a person; you're never going to live a happy life! You should live your life the way that you want! I'm certain that if a close friend had said to you that they overheard someone commenting that the dress they wore was ugly, what would you say back to them? 'Oh you should  totes listen to them because they know what's in fashion and what other people think is always right'? Or 'Pshhhh who cares what they think, they're just jealous because they can't rock it like you can, don't listen to them, they're not worth your time!' I'm confident in the answer you've chosen, so if the advice you gave your friend was the second option.. then maybe you should start listening to your own advice too and act upon them. But if it was #1 then go away we don't want ugly-hearted people like you here. 

So, that's all I have to say! Was it an interesting post? hahaha, I shall leave you guys now ...  

But remember! You're all awesome and don't go impressing anyone unless they're worthy and actually appreciative of your time, efforts and total ahmazing-ness! 

Goodbye! x