73 Questions

You might recognise this title from Vogue as they do the 73 Questions with celebrities on their YouTube channel and even though I'm not a celebrity in the slightest I still want to answer these questions. I'm not sure if these are the Vogue questions as I found 2 lists online but regardless I'm answering 73 questions. 

1. Were you named after anyone?
No

2. When was the last time you cried?
I can't remember but it would've been for a silly reason.

3. Do you like your handwriting?
It's okay.

4. What's your favourite lunch?
Pasta salad

5. Instagram or Twitter?
Instagram

6. If you were another person, would you be friends with you?
Yes

7. Do you bake?
No

8. Do you like flying?
Yes

9. Would you bungee jump?
No

10. What is your favourite cereal?
Coco pops.

11. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off?
No

12. Do you think you're strong?
No

13. What's your favourite ice cream?
Mint choc chip

14. What's the first thing you notice about people?
Their smile 

15. Red or pink?
Pink- it's my favourite colour

16. What is the least favourite thing about yourself?
Stomach

17. Who do you miss the most?
My mum

18. What was the last book you read because everyone was reading it?
Girl Online On Tour by Zoella

19. What film did you cry at most?
I don't cry at films.

20. What was the last thing you ate?
Cookie Crisp

21. What are you listening to right now?
Hair by Little Mix ft. Sean Paul (I'm listening to Capital)

22. Favourite smell?
Floral and fruity

23. If you were a crayon, what colour would you be?
Pink as it's my favourite colour

24. Who was the last person you spoke on the phone with?
I can't remember as I hate speaking on the phone. 

25. Mountain hideaway or beach house?
Beach house

26. Favourite sport to watch?
None as I hate anything to do with sport

27. Hair colour?
Brown

28. Eye colour?
Brown

29. Puppies or kittens?
Puppies

30. Favourite food?
Chocolate M&Ms

31. Scary film or happy ending?
Happy ending

32. Last film you watched?
Can't remember

33. What book are you reading now?
Billy and Me by Giovanna Fletcher 

34. Summer or winter?
Winter

35. Hugs or kisses?
Hugs

36. Favourite dessert?
Cheesecake

37. Favourite room in your house?
My bedroom

38. How long have you been on Facebook?
Over a year

39. What is your favourite country to visit?
Egypt or Turkey

40. What was the last country you visited?
Turkey

41. Do you have a sibling?
Yes I have a little sister called Georgia

42. Favourite sound?
Don't have one

43. Rolling Stones or the Beatles?
Beatles

44. What is the farthest you've been from home?
Not sure

45. Do you have any special talents?
No

46. Where were you born?
Essex

47. Where are you living now?
Essex- same place as where I was born

48. Favourite Hitchcock movie?
I don't know any, lol

49. What book have you read again and again?
The Bed And Breakfast Star by Jacqueline Wilson

50. Favourite TV series that's on now?
None

51. Dark or milk chocolate?
Milk but I do really like dark

52. What's your favourite drink?
Diet coke

53. Who is your girl crush?
Perrie Edwards

54. What was the first film you saw at the cinema?
Hotel For Dogs

55. Heels or flats?
Flats

56. Favourite bed time story?
I don't have one

57. Bath or shower?
Bath

58. What's the hardest thing about being a mum?
I don't know I'm not a mum, lol

59. Favourite band?
Little Mix

60. Favourite solo artist?
Jess Glynne

61. To be or not to be?
To be 

62. What would be the title of your autobiography?
Louise Carter: My Life (to show how uncreative I am)

63. Best gift you've ever received?
Probably money as I can do what I want with it

64. Best gift you've ever given?
You would have to ask the people I've given presents to

65. Favourite fruit?
Strawberries

66. What was your first pet?
My cat called Millie who we still have (and she was born before I was too)

67. Favourite board game?
Monopoly

68. How do you have your coffee?
I don't drink coffee often but when I do I have it iced.

69. Best invention?
Technology

70. Diamonds or pearls?
Diamonds

71. Blow dry or air dry?
Air dry- I'm currently doing that right now actually

72. Cheap or expensive shampoo?
Cheap!

73. How difficult was it to answer these questions?
Only a couple were a bot difficult but other than that they were easy.

They were my answers to the 73 Questions- let me know any suggestions for any blog post ideas in the comments below and follow me on Twitter @_louisecarter_ for updates when I post.

What's In My School Bag + Essentials

The other day I done a What's In My Pencil Case so I thought it's only fair to do a What's In My School Bag as I'm sure you want to know what my essentials are as everything in my school bag I would recommend you take. My backpack is from Primark and it was £9 and I really like the print and it's super light which is great for school.

What's Inside?

-Water bottle

-Pencil Case (from Victoria Secret)

-Body Mist (Victoria Secret Strawberries & Champagne)

-Pencil Case with Sharpies (Pencil Case-Tesco, Sharpies, WHSmith)

-Umbrella (from M&S)

What's Inside?

-Reading Book (Billy and Me)

-Planner (I usually have the one the school gives us but this one is from Tesco)

-Homework folder (from Tesco)

-Ruler (from WHSmith)

What's Inside? (Front Pocket)

-Glasses Case (from Paperchase)

-A6 Notebook (from Tesco)

-Essential Bag (From Zoella Beauty)

-Impulse Spray (Be Surprised from Tesco)

That's everything that I carry in my school bag on a day to day basis. I do have my french dictionary in here on days I have French and any school books I'll need for that day but they're currently at school in my locker so I couldn't include them.

How To Be Organised

I would say I'm quite an organised person and as back to school is upon us, I thought I would share some tips on how to be organised which you can link to school or at home or wherever.

-Get a planner which you will actually check. This sounds like an obvious one but planners are so helpful and you will become organised as you now have a structure to your day. Some people prefer digital but I'm a paper girl at heart and if you think you're not going to look at your planner why not try decorating it because as it looks pretty you'll be more encouraged to look at it.

-Always have post-it notes for notes that you might forget and the good thing about them is you can chuck them away when you're finished so you're not going to have lots of random note paper.

-This one is more for tidying and it's tidy up as you go along if you're someone who hates tidying. If you're at your desk doing your homework and you take all of your Sharpies out, as soon as you have finished tidy them up and put them where they were before.

-Some people might not agree with this tip but don't be afraid to have lots of notebooks if it'll helped you be organised. It will save you from going through lots of pieces of paper to find a note or something you've worked on as you'll know what notebook to go to when you need to find something.

-Multiple planners won't hurt if it'll help you organised. I have 3 planners (one for everything, one for school that stays at home and one in school) and that helps and all of that won't fit in one planner and it won't look as neat if it's all cramped and you'll end up getting confused.

-If you're someone who makes to-do lists, make smaller, more realistic to-do lists with 3-4 things for each day as it won't stress you out as much and after you've done the 3-4 tasks you can still do more and I find I'm more productive.

-If you find you have lots of random pieces of paper get some folders- it can be one big one or multiple smaller folders for sorting your paper into categories so it's easier to find important pieces. 

They are all of my tips. Let me know in the comment below what tips you use that I haven't mentioned on how you're organised and also let me know if you're going to use these tips, I would love to know.

Back To School Supply Haul | 2016

You don't know how excited I am to do one of these because I've watched them for years and today I'm doing my very first back to school supply haul. As you can tell I'm very excited but I'm not very excited about the going back to school bit because I've really enjoyed having the summer off just to chill out.

Tesco Clear Pencil Case 30cm- This year I decided to get a clear pencil case (even though I didn't want one) because sadly I'll have to do exams soon and you have to have a clear pencil case so I thought I would be prepared.

This was £1 from Tesco

Tesco Floral 20 Pocket Display Book- Last year my homework folder was a display book and I thought it was very handy so I thought this year I would get the same but this time I managed to find a cute one (last year's one was plain)

This was £1.50 from Tesco

Tesco A5 Pink Spiral Notebook- 80 Sheets- I find it handy to carry a small notebook in my school bag (which I haven't bought yet) so I got this one and this one came with a ruler and has dividers for different topics but I'm going to use this for passwords and random stuff.

This was £1 from Tesco

Crayola Super Tips 50 Washable Markers- I won't be using these for school because I already have Sharpie's for school but I wanted to include these because I bought them at the back to school section in Tesco and they were a good price.

These were £4.50 from Tesco

Helix Oxford Set Of Mathematic Instruments- I don't know how much I will actually use this but I thought it would be handy to have as I'll probably use it once in my next 2 years of secondary school.

This was £2 from Tesco

Tesco Tape Dispenser With 4 Refills- Again like the markers I won't be taking these to school but this will be good to have at home as well especially for journaling and I might need to use this for homework.

This was £1.50 from Tesco

Wrigley's Extra Peppermint Gum- 60 Pieces- I know you're not allowed to have gum in school but I bought a pack to have in my school bag because when you have bad breath after having a smelly bag of crisps you need gum.

This was £1.50 from Tesco

Tesco Record Cards- I already have some but I bought a fresh pack in case I run out. Flashcards really help me to revise so obviously I want to have quite a few for when I'm busy revising.

These were £1 from Tesco

Bic Cristal Original- Black- Obviously in school you need to have pens so I bought a new pack. I do like these pens because they make my handwriting look neater and I also like the Tesco clicky ball pens but I already have quite a lot from last year.

These were £1.50 from Tesco

Pritt Stick 43g from Tesco- I do geography as one of my options and last year there was only ever 4 maximum glue sticks in the classroom so I thought I would be prepared and buy a massive one.

This was £1.50 from Tesco

Tesco Tablet Eraser- My pencils have a rubber on the end of them (American's think erasers) so I don't normally use a  big rubber but I thought I would pick one up whilst on offer in case people ask to borrow a rubber.

This was 60p from Tesco

Helix Oxford 30cm Folding Ruler- For the last couple of years I've had the flexible rulers but I wanted one that fits in my pencil case so I got one that folds up in half and will fit in my pencil case.

This was 75p from Tesco

Scentos Scented Markers- I haven't decided whether I'll use these for school or not but I wanted to include these in my haul because they're so cool. I haven't smelt them yet so I can't tell you how good they are but they were only £5 for 30 pens.

These were £5 from Tesco

I did buy some stationery from Asda's back to school section but I'm not going to be using that for school so I thought there was no point in including it. I find going to supermarkets for back to school shopping is best because they have amazing deals and stationery shops are really overpriced.

15 Question Tag

Today I'm going to be doing the 15 Question Tag and I don't know if I've done it before as the questions do seem familiar but I looked on this blog and couldn't find it so maybe I done it on my old blog- I don't really know.

What’s a nickname only your family calls you?
My family don't have a nickname for me (we're not a family that does nicknames) and none of my friends have a nickname for me.

What’s a weird habit of yours?
I leave way too early to go somewhere as I hate being late so I'll always be that person that arrives super early.

Do you have any weird phobias?
I'm scared of balloons popping but I think that's quite common and I also have a phobia of rollercoasters, especially after the accident at Alton Towers. 

What’s a song you secretly love to blast & belt out when you’re alone?
It's always my favourite song at the moment so right now I would belt out Tears by Clean Bandit and Louisa Johnson but sometimes I will sing a random song that pops into my head.

What’s one of your biggest pet peeves?
People being late- I can't stand it!

What’s one of your nervous habits?
I start talking really quietly, I shake and I keep saying erm even if I know what to say.  

What side of the bed do you sleep on?
I have a single bed so I just sleep in the middle of it. 

What was your first stuffed animal & what was its name?

I had a pink bear which was called Pinky because 4 year old me couldn't think of any proper names and pink was (and still is) my favourite colour.

What's the drink you ALWAYS order at Starbucks?

I don't go to Starbucks often but I always get a cold drink as I'm not that much of a fan of their hot drinks.

What's the beauty rule you preach.. but never ACTUALLY practice?

Lining your lips before applying lipstick- I always say I'm going to do it but when it comes to it I forget. 

Which way do you face in the shower? 

Towards the water and the taps.

Do you have any 'weird' body 'skills'? 

Sadly no.

What's your favourite 'comfort food'/food thats 'bad' but you love to eat it anyways? 

All my favourite foods are bad but I still eat it anyway and I don't really have a comfort food as I will eat anything sweet which I can find.

What's a phrase or exclamation you always say?

Goals or a hashtag- usually what the trendy saying is. Or I always call people tramps if I'm annoyed at someone.

Time to sleep- what are you ACTUALLY wearing?

Top and pyjama bottoms.

That was the 15 Question Tag and hopefully you've learnt something new about me. I'm not going to tag anyone in particular as anyone can do it. Let me know in the comments below what tags you would like me to answer next.

School Life Hacks

Today I'm going to be sharing with you some life hacks for school which I've learnt in my 3 years of secondary school and all of these work (especially for me) and you might learn a new life hack which will really help your school life.

-Go to bed early and no electronics for an hour before going to bed. Some stuff you can do before going to bed is read, journal or use a colouring book- just things that will help you relax and don't require electronics. This will help you wake up earlier which will improve your morning routine. 

-There is a really effective studying method called the Pomodoro Studying Method and this is where you study/revise for 25 minutes, have a 5 minute break and the 3rd break is 20 minutes. This method really helps as you're not revising for too long and you get to look forward to that 20 minute break.

-To make sure you leave on time if you are someone's who late create a playlist which is exactly how long it takes you to get ready so when you get on a certain song you know how long you have until you need to leave. However don't get distracted singing and dancing to the songs.

- If you're still tired after a long sleep, drink some water right as you wake up as that will kick start your brain and throughout the day you're going to be less tired. If you can't be bothered to make a glass of water in the morning, make one before you go to bed and leave it until the next day so it's there for when you wake up.

-This one's for inside school (and could be used for homework) and if you spell something wrong or cross a word out which you don't want the teacher to read write random letters over the original and then you can't see it anymore and looks a bit more neater than massive scribbles.

- Keep a place in your room with all of your essentials before you leave (like if you can a place near the door). On top of my dresser I have a crate thing (a decorative one though) with everything that'll I need before I leave like snacks, body spray, keys, money and anything I might forget.

- As well as having a place for your essentials, also have a whiteboard/corkboard in your room for any notes like when you have a test or when your science homework is due or a quick reminder saying you need to bring your PE kit home. You can get these for cheap so 
it's good to get with your school supplies.

How many of these school life hacks did you already know? Let me know in the comments below what school life hacks you use and ones I didn't include and remember to let me know if any of these work for you.

Blogging Q&A | Happy 1st Birthday The Lipstick Insider

Why did you start blogging?
I didn't really want to start a YouTube channel because I didn't have enough confidence and I didn't know how to edit (and I still don't) so I chose a blog because I knew how to type and (hopefully) string a sentence together and over a year later I'm still loving it and it's a great hobby to have and would recommend it to anyone. 

What has been your favourite blog post to write?
There's been quite a lot and I'm going to link a load of my favourites at the bottom of this post but I really enjoy writing any posts related to journalling and stationery so I really enjoyed making my Journal 101 but there's also a ton more which I really like the finished product.

Will you start a YouTube channel?
I might but not for a while though so no promises- at the moment it's all blog. 

Will you stop blogging?
Probably not for a while as I'm really enjoying it but in the future I might get bored and change my hobbies and blogging might not be one so I don't know if I'll do it until I die or if I stop when I want to and when I fall out of love with it.

How did you come up with your blog name?
Before this blog I had a blog called LouiseSprinkles and the name made me cringe so I wanted a whole new blog with a professional sounding name and one I will continue to like so I had a brainstorming session and this one was my favourite out of what I came up with.

What blog post has the most page views?
Being completely honest I don't look at my page views because that's effort but the blog post that has the most views is my Zoella Beauty Review and the only reason I know that is because it's on my sidebar and it says my 3 most popular posts.

How do you manage your blog and school?
I will do all of my schoolwork during the day and prioritise that and then in the evening I will focus on any blog stuff I want to do but as I don't want to burn myself out I don't do any blog work in the evening and just relax playing Sims.

That was my blogging Q&A with frequently asked questions about blogging and my blog as well. If you have any questions which I didn't answer put them in a comment below and I will answer. This post was actually to celebrate the 1st year of The Lipstick Insider as this day a year ago I uploaded my first blog post on here (even though I had been blogging for a couple of months before this) so all sing along 'Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to The Lipstick Insider, happy birthday to you!!!'

What's In My Pencil Case

Today I have another part of my back to school series and that is a What's In My Pencil Case because a pencil case means stationery and we all know that Louise has an unhealthy obsession with stationery. I will actually be doing a What's In My School Bag but I just ended up doing this one first.

This is my pencil case but it's actually a makeup bag. I've found that it's hard to find cute pencil cases so I just use a makeup bag and I have for all of year 9. This pencil case/makeup bag is from Victoria Secret and it's a lot smaller than my other pencil cases so it gives me more room in my school bag.

What's Inside?

-Colourful pens (from Tesco and WHSmith)

-Wooden and Mechanical Pencils (from Wilko and WHSmith)

-Black writing pens (from Tesco)

What's Inside?

-Sharpies (from Tesco)

-Sharpie Highlighters (from Tesco)

What's Inside?

-Scissors (craft set)

-Protractor (from Wilko)

-2x Rubber (from ?)

-Sharpener (from Tesco)

-Ruler (from Wilko)

In my school bag I do also carry a glue stick, a scientific calculator and a 30cm ruler but they all don't fit in my pencil case so that's why their in my bag. Remember to check back here as I will be doing more back to school posts and also a What's In My School Bag.