Tips on Acing Your Finals/Tips For Test Taking

Finals are considered the most stressful series of tests to take for school. They are the tests that out of all of the others you've had to be bothered with for the school year, matters the most. It determines where you're going to be for next year so understandably, it can be a very nerve wrecking thing. Here are my top 5 tips that have helped me and my friends not look at test taking so intimidatingly and actually pass.

1. Don't Stress
Most people already have the thought in their heads "Omg im gonna fail!" or "Omg what if I fail?! My parents are going to KILL me!!!" etc etc. Those thoughts are just something I call "Doubt Bullies". Doubt Bullies fill your head with things that aren't true. Everyone has the potential to get a good grade on their final! Your thoughts create your world so if you start thinking you're going to fail, chances are, you will. That being said, it is important that you go into your test with a positive, optimistic attitude about passing. You have to believe in yourself and know that you are smart enough to succeed.

2. Don't Overload Studying
Most people think that if they run through flashcards over and over and over they're going to have EVERYTHING down and memorized and get a guaranteed A. Wrong!! Actually, this goes in line with the first tip because when you study and study and study, you're basically telling yourself "I'm not ready." You have to be so confident in yourself that you won't feel the need to study a bajillion times. Yes, studying is good and important but when you're stressed out while studying, it has absolutely no affect on your brain at all. Even though you'll think you have it all down, because you put so much negative energy into studying, you're going to forget more than half of what you worked so hard on.
Most people think that studying is the one and only key to passing; This is the first mistake. When it comes to studying, don't look at studying as your only key to passing. Look at it as "I know this stuff, I just want to refresh my brain a little." The key to passing a test isn't about how hard you study, it's about paying enough attention to your classes, that you know (and understand) what you need to know to pass.
If you need to, get a study partner (preferably one who is known for taking notes) to help you review. Another thing that could help you not overload on studying is to set up a study schedule. Set certain days, times and how long you'll be studying during those times, to help you balance out your mind.

3. Eat and Sleep
Do not skip breakfast, do not stay up late. You need to feel as rejuvenized as possible for test day. If you're tired, you can't focus. If you're hungry, you cant focus! Its a lose, lose situation! Sleeping enough will help you feel more optimistic in the morning because when you do, you wake up bright, happy and ready to take on the day. Whereas when you're tired, you don't want to see anyone, you don't want to talk to anyone and you're just grumpy! That kind of attitude isn't going to help you pass your test because at every question, you're just going to be all "Whatever." and not even care if you get something wrong when you had the potential to actually get it right.
You can't test on an empty stomach because the only thing that'll be playing on a loop in the back of your mind is: "I'm hungry I'm hungry I'm hungry" which will cause frustration because you can't focus on questions.
So do yourself a favor, and allow yourself to eat and sleep.

4. Don't Obsess Over It
After you're done with your studying sessions, get the test out of your mind. Dont think about it, Dont talk about how worried you are about it, leave it alone until it's time for you to review again. The more you obsess over it, the more stressed out you're going to be over it.

5. Just Breathe

 When test day comes, just breathe. You know you can do it, you know you're going to pass and that's it. If you go in with a optimistic attitude and you've studied your best, all you have to do now is know you've got this thing covered. Know that you have nothing to worry about. 

If you get freaked out by questions and freeze, just remind yourself that you know the answer and just breathe. If it helps, keep summer on your mind! Think about tanning, being with your best friends, think about the beach. Dab some sunscreen on your wrists so that smelling it calms you down. Think about road trips and taking tons of pictures. Know that at the end of all of this testing, it will all be worth it!

I hope this helped you! You can do it!!

Love,

Flair <3

A Broken Hearted Girl's Guide To Valentines Day

Ok, worst day to come when your breakup still feels fresh huh? If you haven't read my "Don't Pressure Yourself, Love Yourself" post, it's on the left. It's about being single on valentines day and why you shouldn't feel bad about it. Even though I already have a blog post similar, I thought I'd make a new one that's relatable for people who are in the same scenario as me (had a relationship fail right before). Don't forget though, I'm on this journey right along with you so nothing that is being said right now, is said out of the view of the outside looking in. 

Here are my top 4 things that will help you cope with Valentines Day:

When you're dealing with a breakup, the one thing you do need is some outside interaction. Being inside and moping is NOT going to help you. I know some people say that you should take time to let your feelings out but you also need to take time to heal yourself.

Part of the healing process is getting out and getting your mind off of your ex and just having a good time. So this Valentines Day, take this idea into consideration.

 

Have A Girls Night

 

 

 

Valentines day is on a Thursday this year (a school day) so maybe after school that day, go out and with your friends and eat some pretty dessert.

  

Treat Yourself To Some Spa Treatment

If your friends aren't available to hang, treat yourself to some spa treatment! Give yourself a facial and a mani and pedi (and if you don't feel like doing it yourself, schedule one)!







Write A Wishlist

Write out qualities of your "Prince Charming". Give him a name, write out his phsyical features, personality traits even get detailed with things like height and sound of his voice. Write out how he'll treat you and if you want to, put a deadline on it.

From experience, this absolutely works. In the 6th grade I wrote a list and prayed everyday for that guy to come to me before I turned 15. Do you know, that  I met the EXACT person I described on my wishlist? Everything from A-Z was this guy! At first I didn't recognize that this person was meant for me at the moment because I hadn't looked at the list in forever. I felt a connection with him and didn't know why until I began talking to him. I was like "Holy gawd..its him!" when I finally realized it!

Unfortunately, I wasn't specific enough though. Here's a tip: make sure that when you put that you'll be forever in love with him, that you also put that his feelings will be the same towards you!

Now the only way this works is having faith that he will come to you. That's it. No doubts, no fears, no questions- you know that he's coming!

Writing out a wishlist for your future love helps you get over your breakup and getting over feeling alone on valentines day.

Get Valentines Day Gifts For Your Friends

 Getting a nice gift for your friends will help you show your appreciation for them. You don't have to buy anything! Making a gift would make it more special than actually spending money on something. Along with that, make a card letting them know how much they mean to you. If you just want to make the card, that's ok too!
Remember, Valentines Day isn't just about couples and romance. It's about showing appreciation to the people you love too.







*

Eyeliner For Beginners

Sometimes eyeliner can be tricky for people. Today, I'm giving you tips on which kind of eyeliner is best for you and give you tips on how to apply it!

Pencil Liner

This kind of eyeliner is the #1 liner that is PERFECT for beginners. It's very easy to use, especially if you have neat handwriting!It's not too handy when it comes to creating a perfect wing but it's easy for the basic things, like: lining your water or lower lash line and lining your upper lash line or lining your tightline (Quick Tip: lining your tightline makes your eyelashes appear thicker!).

The best way to use a pencil liner is to always make sure it is sharpened. A dull pencil liner will begin to hurt because when you get to the rim (where the wood is) you're literally just scraping your eyes at that point. It's not a pretty feeling, at all!

 

Liquid Liner

This kind of eyeliner is better for someone who is good with art- drawing, painting, sketching. Believe it or not, people who are artsy may be better at liquid liner than a pencil liner! I'm an aspiring fashion designer so I'm sketching all the time. I've been painting portraits ever since I can remember so liquid liner is just naturally easier for me to handle! 

The best way to deal with liquid liner is to handle the applicator with ease. A little goes a long way with this stuff so applying it with pressure or having a little too much product on it could ruin your look. You start off as gentle as you can, and depending on your look, build the pressure up as you go.

Gel Liner

Gel liner is better for those who are good with makeup brushes. People who are really good when it comes to applying and blending eye makeup, this is better for you. With gel liner, applying with a brush is mandatory so if you aren't so good with handling an eye makeup brush yet, gel liner may be a bit tricky to perfect. 

Because gel liner requires the use of a brush, I suggest that you always make sure your liner brush is clean. Especially if you like to get funky and switch up your colors.

These are my suggestions for which eyeliners would be better for someone to use if they haven't really played around with it too much before. All of these eyeliners are easy for anyone to perfect if they really want to. It just takes practice!*

Are You Having Trouble Sleeping?

Are You Having 
Trouble Sleeping?
We all need our beauty rest- 
especially after a long day of
doing school work or dealing with
a bothersome boss. For some reason
though, either because our minds don't 
want to shut up or our body's want to keep
going, sleeping becomes a difficult task.       


So earlier this week, sleeping became a nightmare for me. I tossed and turned, my eyes didn't want to stay shut and I kept getting the urge to get back up. I figured out that because of certain events that I've gone through lately, my mind is constantly throwing chatter parties. I tried things to stop my mind chatter like: watching movies hoping to fall asleep on them but I only ended up watching the whole thing instead. The first good nights rest I got was last night so I'm going to share with you how I got my beauty sleep breakthrough and giving you possible reasons why you might be having trouble sleeping too.

~Stress~

Stress is number one on my list for making beauty sleep impossible. Whether life is showing you a rough time or you have so many things to do yet so little time to do them, it makes sleeping a lot harder to do. So how do you get rid of stress?

Stop thinking about things so hard and so often.

We all want to live happily and stress free but, life happens. Sometimes things go on that we can't control. The best way to deal with this is to find some time during the day where you stop thinking about it so much. Find activities that will direct your thought patterns else where. For example: going on a hike with your friends, having a girls night out, throwing or planning a massive slumber party or find a party to go to. Always make sure that you have a support system with you no matter what activity you choose because if you go alone, chances are, the thoughts will creep right back up on you. 

 Stop thinking about what's going to happen tomorrow.

Tomorrow isn't here yet. Why are you busy worrying about what the next day holds? Worried about outfits? Plan them before you go to bed. Let tomorrow handle itself because obviously you can't control what happens to it the night before.

Put your phone away!

Yes, a difficult task, I know (especially when youre in an amazing relationship) but if youre serious about sleeping, put it away. Tell your friends you're going to bed and you'll talk to them in the morning because when youre in conversations, time flies. It may be 9 when you last look at the clock and then all of sudden its 2 am and you have to be up within a few hours. Then, with the thought of how many hours you have left to sleep, you get stressed because you're busy beating yourself up for staying up as late as you did which makes it harder for you to fall asleep. That being said, putting your phone away is a major part of getting the rest your longing for.

If you know it will keep you up, turn off your TV.

 If you know your tv is going to distract you, turn it off. From experience, I know that even if you've seen a certain movie or certain episode a million times, you're still going to manage to laugh at something or be anxious to watch the full thing. Then, watching one thing turns into watching another, and another and another and then you wind up pulling an all nighter- the exact opposite of what you want to accomplish. So if you know it will keep you up, turn off your TV.

  Keep iced water next to your bed.

Sometimes at night, the air causes your throat to get dry which is pretty uncomfortable. A quick cure for that is just to keep iced water by your bed. It will sooth your throat and help you feel refreshed and relaxed which will make it easier for you fall back asleep. 

Keep your room clean and organized.

Last but not least, keep your room clean and organized. Constantly being around clutter and confusion eventually makes your mind uncomfortable. When your mind is uncomfortable, it starts its chatter sessions which makes your body uncomfortable, making falling asleep a lot harder. Keeping your room clean and organized helps your mind feel clean and organized. When your mind feels clean and organized, it has no reason to keep you up at night.  

*If falling asleep is a lot harder than any of this, you may want to see your doctor for further help.*

 

An It Girls Guide to Fall Fashion: Menswear

 Menswear is on this season's radar! Blazers, tailored vests, suits and pencil skirts are the essential go-for items. Here are some outfit guides for help you  apply the trend to your daily outfits:

Alessandra Ambrosio's look to the left is an example of an outfit perfect for events like brunch meetings or a casual day at the office while the look to the right is prefect for formal business meetings. 

The best thing about the menswear trend is you can make your outfits casual for a nice day out but have it also be perfect for the office or work at the same time! The outfit I created below is excellent for work, a lunch date or a day out with your girls! The blazer adds the work chic to the outfit. If you get rid of it, you have the perfect look for a day out. The tossled curls and red lips adds sophistication which is great for any occasion and the design of the bag makes it versitile for work as well as everyday events. The watch gives off the "office menswear" vibe and the necklace and shoes help make the outfit more casual.

Menswear #1 by flairberry featuring high heels

The same applies to Kourtney's outfit only you don't need to take the blazer off for the perfect day look. Her outfit is great for casual meetings yet it still works for going out for lunch or going shopping! The romper's fun print, the sunglasses and shoes all attribute to making the outfit casual.

I hope I helped you today! :) Give me your feedback by commenting below and stay tuned in for more blog posts!

Love,

Flair <3

An It Girls Guide To Staying Organized For School

Organization is a huge part of being successful at school. When you're organized, homework is never late, assignments are always done, important papers that your parents need to sign are always signed and ready to be turned in on time and so on. Being organized is one of the most important keys to having good grades in school so today, I'm giving you ideas on how to stay organized throughout the year.

Keeping Track Of School Assignments

I would recommend that you get a checklist app and a calendar app on your phone or iPod for making sure that all of your assignments are done and ready to be turned in on time. Keep all of your assignments on a checklist and every time an assignment is FULLY completed tap the check spot. You don't want to check it off if you're "pretty much done" or "almost done" because that only causes confusion which leads to disorganization.
For the calendar app set an "event" date for when you're project is due and set it so that it warns you at least 5 days ahead and on the day when you need to turn it in.

Another way that you could keep track of your assignments is by using an accordion file. These things are a LIFE SAVER!! My grades were low because of my disorganization with keeping up with hand outs and homework. My teacher gave me one of these to help me become organized and my grades went from C's to A's! It helped me keep track of everything- every assignment, every important paper, permission slips!
The accordian file has different tabs and comes with white slips to label and put inside the tabs. I kept a tab for every class, I put all of my handouts from each class in their labeled tabs and in the very back, I put all of my homework assignments and permission slips in their own tab. I highly recommend using an accordion file because it makes staying organized easy! These things are truly amazing and are definitely a great investment for school.

Keeping Track Of Pencils

This one makes me LOL because the one thing I always lose in school are my pencils! You buy a whole pack and then within a week, they're all gone. This is the best way I have learned to keep track of them:

I recommend mechanical pencils because you don't have to worry about sharpening them and then having to deal with the mess of shreds. To keep a track of them, you have to choose one that you are going to use for the whole day and keep it in your purse. When you're finished with it for a class put it back in your purse. This way, you know where your pencils are going!

Keeping A Clean Locker

A clean locker is so important for staying organized not only for school supplies but for your daily beauty needs too. I'm in love with the two photo examples I found because they display a perfect mix of organization and style. You can find them on PBTeen.com.
As you can see from the photos, each have at least one locker shelf but you can have more than one if you need it. You can find these at your local office supply store. Here are some that I found on the Office Depot online store:

Link: Office Depot Locker Shelves

They also have magnetic dry erase boards, pouches for your beauty supplies and pencils and magnets to hold photos or a checklist if you don't have a phone or ipod. I think having these things are very good to have for keeping your locker in tip top shape. Having the pouches and shelves are guaranteed to keep your locker organized for the whole school year which makes things easier for switching out your books when its time to switch classes.

Those are my tips for staying organized for school! I hope you found it helpful and enjoyed it! Follow me on Pinterest and Twitter and give me feedback :)
Love,
Flair <3

An It Girls Guide To The First Day Back To School: Hair

Today's post is going to be on an effortless glamorous hairstyle inspired by Dianna Agron! It works well with medium to long length hair, it's fast and easy to do and goes along excellent with the makeup suggestion that I gave yesterday. Dianna dazzled the red carpet at the 2011 Golden Globes with this beautiful hairstyle and today, I'm going to tell you how to achieve it.

Things you'll need:

Anti Frizz Serum *optional

Heat Protectant

Blowdryer

Comb

Teasing comb or brush 

(a regular brush or comb can do the trick too)

One Inch Curling Iron

Bobby Pins

Hairspray

Pretty Hair Clip

Step 1: Start off with clean damp or wet hair. Apply your favorite anti frizz serum and heat protectant and begin to blowdry your hair with your head down for gorgeous volume.

Step 2:  Section off your hair in any way you prefer and curl 1-2 inch pieces using a one inch curling iron. When you curl your hair, start at the mid-shaft and work your way to the ends. To achieve the springiness of Dianna's curls, release the curl in your hand, let it sit there for a few seconds then drop it.

Step 3: After curling your hair, take a comb and create a deep side part (like the picture on the left). Take two sections on each side of your head starting above the ears, ending at the crown of your head (where the deep side part ends) and tease them a bit. Pull each section up and clip them up with bobby pins that best match your hair color. If you have bangs, I think what happened with Dianna's hair is the stylist who styled it combed her bangs into the parts and then hairsprayed them so that they stayed (See picture above).



Step 4: Apply a pretty hair clip to the right side of your hairstyle, hairspray your hair and you're ready to go!






Thanks for tuning into this blog post! I hope you enjoyed it and found it helpful. If there are any questions about it just tweet me! Stay tuned in tomorrow for tips on being organized for school!
Love,
Flair <3