Monday 2 July 2018

Cannon 1200D Camera Review

Hey everyone! I think from now on I'm going to say that my posts will go up on Sunday or Monday, given that most of my posts have gone up on Mondays! Today's post is my second review post, and this time I'll be reviewing my camera - the Cannon 1200D. I got given this camera for Christmas in 2015, so I've had it for two and half years, and the fact that it's still working with no problems gives you an idea of its quality. So here goes the review...

First of all, this camera is very easy to use, and I have rarely had any problems with taking good quality photos. All my blog photos are taken with this camera (apart from my Disneyland Paris post), so just look back at them to see the quality of photos this camera can do! The battery lasts a really long time as well, which is useful for longer shoots. Another feature I like is the amount of different settings available to use on the camera, such as action, no flash, landscape, and many more.

Another thing I like about the camera is it's size - it's not so tiny that you struggle with the buttons, but it's not so huge that you struggle to carry it. I did a shoot with it yesterday in my town centre and I didn't struggle to do a bit of shopping with it round my neck!

Overall, I would rate this camera a solid 9/10, simply because sometimes when I'm shooting in the evening I have a few problems with the flash. But I'd definitely recommend this camera to anyone looking to buy a good quality camera. It's especially great for GCSE photography. I'm not entirely sure where you can buy this camera, as I can't seem to find it online, however I was able to find the 1300D on the Argos website.

That pretty much wraps up my review! Thanks for reading, and I'll see you next week!

Ellen x

Sunday 24 June 2018

My End of Year Results 2018

Hi everyone! I feel like I haven't done enough school related posts on here yet, and took my results day, which was on Friday 22nd June, as an opportunity to tell you how I'm getting on at college and what happens next. I've just finished my first year at College studying English combined, Media and Politics, and will be enrolling for Year 2 tomorrow (25th June), after receiving positive results from my end of year exams. My college calls them 'Transfer Exams', as you have to pass (E or above) to be transferred into the second year. If you don't pass, then you can't go into the second year and must take the first year again, but only for the subject you didn't pass. So if you got C, C, F as your results, you can continue your two C grade subjects but must either drop, or complete the second year again, in your F grade subject. Make sense? Anyway, here's how I got on...

English Language and Literature
This exam was comprised of two sections; a section on the book we studied (The Handmaid's Tale) and a section on a collection of extracts texts about Paris. Overall I got a C grade, which I'm happy with as I have been working at a C grade all year. So now my target for Year 2 is to bump this up to a B, which is actually my current predicted grade, or even above!

Media Studies
This is the subject I did the best in, as I achieved a B. This exam was comprised of a series of long and short answer questions regarding music video, advertising and film posters. I am particularly happy with this out of my three subjects, as a B is my predicted grade and I've been working at a C-B all year. Hopefully next year I can maintain this or take it up to an A!

Politics
This exam was made up of one essay question and one source based question which basically means that the answers are in a piece of text and you have to use your knowledge to back the points up. The essay question is all own knowledge. I achieved a C, which s what I've achieved all year, and after reading my subject reviews I learnt that my C was a high C. Next year I am hoping to get a B, which is my target grade.

The Next Step
Tomorrow, I will be enrolling for my second year at college. After that, lessons continue as normal until 12th July when we break up for the summer. I now need to maintain my attitude to the first year, although working even harder in my second year to achieve the grades I need and am hoping for, which is 3 B grades, and maybe even ABB.

That concludes my results overview, thank you for reading, and I'll see you next week!

Ellen x

Wednesday 20 June 2018

My Summer Wardrobe 2018

Hi everyone, I'm finally here with this post! I'm so sorry it's so late, I had various reasons why this couldn't go up earlier, including Father's Day, lost schoolwork and photography issues, but at least it's here now! I thought this post would be a great opportunity to discuss what I'll be wearing this summer, since the weather will be getting warmer next week and the summer clothes will (hopefully!) be making a reappearance! I'm going to try to include things that I've bought recently, so I can leave a link so you can check the items out if you like it too! Also, thank you to my best friend Jess for taking most of these photos, she has her own blog which you can check out here: http://www.jesslouise.co.uk/

1. Shorts - I've only worn shorts a few times so far this year, but since next week is looking to be around 26 degrees, I may have to dig them out again! Most of my shorts are from Primark, but a couple of my favourite pairs are from H&M. Most of my shorts are just standard denim, however in Primark the other week I picked up a white lace pair that are a bit different than my usual style and I love them! They were pretty cheap, at £8. I've not yet worn them, but I can't wait to!

This photo also features the mustard top I start ranting about below.
2. Tops - I've been buying my fair share of smaller, not quite cropped tops, all which will match at least one pair of shorts I own. My favourite is the one I bought most recently - a mustard coloured ribbed vest top with tortoise shell buttons, which I've heard are popular this summer! This is, again, from Primark, and cost only £5! I also picked up a striped ribbed vest top from Primark, costing £4. The mustard top goes great with the shorts mentioned and pictured above, and the striped top goes really well with a black denim skirt I've got, speaking of which...

This photo also features the black skirt mentioned below, you can check it out here: https://www.prettylittlething.com/cammie-black-denim-mini-skirt.html
3. Skirts - I only own a few skirts as I usually wear jeans, but I have two denim skirts that I love wearing whatever the weather, however I feel they can be styled really well in summer! The first is a standard blue denim skirt from ASOS that cost £25 (however I got it cheaper - student discount rocks!) and the second is a black A-line skirt with buttons down the front from PrettyLittleThing, which cost £15 (but I think I got a discount on this too!). As mentioned above, my striped top looks great with the black skirt and I have another yellow top with buttons down the front and a tie up (£8.99, New Look, http://www.newlook.com/uk/teens/clothing/tops/teens-pale-yellow-ribbed-tie-front-cami-/p/588346988?comp=PDP-Color-Swatch) that looks pretty good with the blue skirt.

The exact skirt is no longer available, but I found a similar one on ASOS here: http://www.asos.com/missguided-petite/missguided-petite-raw-hem-mini-skirt/prd/9145342?clr=lightstonewash&SearchQuery=petite%20denim%20skirt&gridcolumn=3&gridrow=6&gridsize=4&pge=1&pgesize=72&totalstyles=30
4. Dresses - Again, more of a jeans person, but I do have a few dresses I really like, my favourite at the moment being my black floral dress that I mentioned in a previous post, that cost £12.99 in H&M. I also have an orangey coloured striped midi dress, which I think was also mentioned in a previous post, that cost £6 from Primark that I can't wait to wear!


5. Shoes - I'm loving my sparkly Converse, as they can be worn with everything. I have a pair of sandals that I bought in Primark last year that I loved last summer, and they have pretty much the same pairs this year too, costing £5 (I think).


Link: https://www.schuh.co.uk/womens/converse-all-star-glitter-ox-black-and-purple-trainers/1924018960/

6. Jacket - I recently invested in a denim jacket, like I mentioned in a previous post, which is great for styling with any summer clothes. Mine came from Primark and cost £12.

This photo also include the dress from H&M mentioned above: http://www2.hm.com/en_gb/productpage.0504113014.html
7. Bikinis - Obviously this isn't part of your everyday summer wardrobe, but if you're going on holiday to a hot country, you're going to need to think of these. Pretty much all my bikinis are from Primark, and the ones I haven't seen the ones I bought most recently in the shops lately (I was in Primark less than a week ago), however I've just ordered a bikini from H&M. It hasn't arrived yet so unfortunately I don't have a picture, but I'll leave you the link so you can check it out.

There you have it, a little taster of my summer wardrobe! Thank you for reading, and thank you again Jess for taking most of the pics! Let me know what posts you want to see on here in the future too! Hopefully I'll see you Sunday!

Ellen x

Tuesday 12 June 2018

This Or That...Summer Edition

Hey everyone, I'm finally back! I'm so sorry there was no post last week and that this post is late going up. I couldn't decide on a post topic as nothing seemed suitable, until I stumbled upon this tag! In my last tag post, the Disney tag, I don't think I actually tagged anyone, so if you want to do this tag on your blog/YouTube, you're officially tagged to complete it! I found this tag using the following link: http://www.mamakatslosinit.com/2014/07/summer-youtube-tag/. So without further ado, here's the this or that summer edition tag!

1. Ocean or Pool
If I'm abroad then I prefer the ocean, however in the UK I prefer the pool.

2. Beach Vacation or Wilderness
Beach vacation. I don't think I've ever been on a Wilderness holiday, but I'd definitely like to!

 3. Watermelon or Strawberries
Watermelon. I don't actually like strawberries (don't hate pleasee!)
4. Bikini or 1-piece
Again, this depends if I'm in the UK or abroad. If I'm abroad then I prefer a bikini but I the UK I prefer a one piece.

Is anyone else wishing they were abroad right now?

5. Lemonade or Iced Tea
I actually don't like either of these drinks!

6. Hotdogs…grilled or over a fire
Over a fire, as in a barbecue, right?

7. Hat or Sunglasses
Sunglasses, as I enjoy styling them with my outfits.

8. Windows Down or AC all the way
AC, as I find when the windows are open it's too noisy in the car and you can't hear the radio!
9. Tanning Lotion or Sunscreen
Sunscreen...it's better to be protected and tan naturally!

10. Baseball Game or Concert
Definatly concerts, I'm not a fan of baseball and I think it's more of an American thing!

11. Ice Cream or Popsicle
I'm not a fan of either, but some popsicles are alright if they're strawberry flavoured (I know I said above that I don't like strawberries but I actually do like strawberry flavoured things!)
12. Fireworks or Fireflies
Fireworks. I've never actually seen a firefly, does anyone know where I can find them?

13. Flip Flops or Bare Feet
I think I prefer bare feet over flip flops.


14. Water Balloons or Squirt Guns
Squirt guns! My friends and I have an annual water fight and these come in really handy!

Well, there you have it! Like I said, if you wanna give this tag a go, feel free to say I tagged you. Hopefully I'll be a bit better at blogging, and I'll see you on either Sunday or Monday!

Ellen x

Sunday 27 May 2018

My First Q&A!

Hey everyone, I’m back! My exams are finally over and it’s half term now, so bring on the blog posts! Today I’m doing my first ever Q&A! Admittedly, all of my questions came from my best friend Jess who is also a blogger, and I’ll leave her social media handles at the end of the post so you can follow her too. Hopefully I'll get some questions from some different people next time I do a Q&A, but without further ado, here’s my first ever Q&A!

1. What’s your favourite thing about blogging?
I’d have to say my favourite thing about blogging is having the ability to share whatever I want with my audience and there’s always going to be someone out there who’s interested since the audience is such a wide place!

2. If you could go anywhere where would you go?
I’d love to visit Florida and do all the theme parks, especially Disney World.

3. What subjects are you doing for A-level?
I’m studying media, enlglish language and literature and politics, all of which are A-levels (not BTECs)

4. What’s your favourite TV show?
I think my favourite TV show is Friends, it’s just so funny!!

5. What’s your favourite sport?
It depends if I’m watching it or playing/doing it. My favourite sport to watch is football, I don’t like it that much but it’s alright. My favourite sport to do is dance!

And that’s it for my first ever Q&A! Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you next week!

Ellen x

Sunday 6 May 2018

Life Update!

Hiya! I wanted to take today's post as an opportunity to fill you in on what's going to happen over the next couple of weeks. Exams are coming up at college, and for that reason, as of next Sunday, there will be no posts until Sunday 27th May. Sorry for any inconvenience, but school always has to come first, no matter how much I love blogging, but it's obviously a distraction from revision!

I know I had a Q&A planned for next week, but in truth, I haven't received that many questions, so if you want to ask me something, feel free to check out my Twitter (@EllenGBlogs) and leave a comment on my pinned tweet or alternatively just leave me a comment on here. The Q&A should be my first post after my hiatus, so on May 27th.

I'm hopefully going to get into the habit of doing outfit of the day posts over on my Instagram account (ellengblogs), so if you're interested, feel free to check that out, they'll be posted on my story. I did a couple last week, but then forgot to do it again! I'm also looking into possibly starting up some sort of online based store (most likely on Etsy) to sell digital revision and blogging tools. So let me know if that's something you're interested in.

Anyway, that's it for today's post. Short, I know, but I've been enjoying the nice weather. I won't be seeing you now until Sunday 27th May, hopefully with a Q&A! So I'll see you all in three weeks! Thanks for reading!

Ellen x

Sunday 29 April 2018

Lush 'Think Pink' Bathbomb Review

Hey everyone! I haven't done a review post on here yet, so I thought I would review the Lush bath bomb I used the other day - 'Think Pink'. I'm going to be discussing my initial thoughts and my reaction during and after using the product. Let's go!

Now, being the smart blogger I am, I forgot to take a photo of the product before I put it in the bath, so you can find a photo on the Lush website, which I'll link at the end of the post. But as an overview, the bath bomb was a rather hot pink colour with silver glitter, with a sort of swirly design on the outside, probably resembling a rose, but I was so taken by the pink and glitter that I wasn't paying that much attention! The smell was one that I can only describe as 'that smell when you walk into Lush'. So rather strong, but very lovely! I just knew I had to buy it!


The bath bomb was very fizzy, and the water turned pink and glittery almost immediately and the smell filled my whole house, even before I used it! The bath bomb created a small layer of white foam over the top of the bath too, which really set off the pink tone. Below is a photo of the bath bomb in action!


Upon getting in my bath, the water felt smooth on my skin, so the bath bomb was obviously doing a good job there!  And I smelt fresh for the whole evening!

This bath bomb gets an overall rating of 5/5 from me, because it left me smelling great, which is the main goal, and who can go wrong with pink and glitter? I would definitely use this bath bomb again! And here’s the link I promised: https://uk.lush.com/products/bath-bombs/think-pink

That's it for this week! I know this post is slightly smaller, but I wanted to do something a bit different, and recommend a great product to you! Just a disclaimer, this post contains my own opinion - I'm not being paid to say any of this! Anyway, I'll see you all next week with a new post!

Ellen x