When it comes to skincare, there are always specific brands that I run towards first and Soap & Glory is one of them. I've been using Soap & Glory for as long as I can remember and I think that the first ever things that I remember using were the body mists and I absolutely adored them with their divine fragrances and moisturising properties which made my skin silky smooth and smelling like vanilla or fresh floral.

You seriously can't go wrong with Soap & Glory and its a brand that a woman at any age can use despite their funky and youthful packaging. From all of the products that I have tried out from Soap & Glory I would definitely say that my all time favourites are the Hand Food Hand Cream, The Scrub of Your Life Body Scrub, and the Sexy Mother Pucker XL Extreme Plump Lipgloss. Two of which are featured in the pictures above.

As your shopping for all of your essentials this summer, three products that I fully recommend are the Sugar Crush Body Wash, The Scrub of Your Life Body Scrub, and the Butter Yourself Moisture Lotion. There is just something about the scent of Soap & Glory products that really draws me to them, which is probably the same for most people who use this brand, am I right? And these products in particular really do tempt me into taking multiple showers a day, but I sadly do not as the water bill would not be pretty.

They all smell fresh which is something that I always look for in products that I use during summer, as well as subtle hints of anything vanilla, floral or fruity. I just love it! Another thing that I love about these products and this brand in general is that everything is so affordable, which is fantastic for a non working full time student like myself. This post really seems more like a sponsored post by Soap & Glory and as much as I would happily take that opportunity, it sadly is not, I just absolutely adore this brand and can not think of one bad thing to say about it.

I spent the afternoon in the garden today since I had a half day at college and the weather was surprisingly nice considering UK weather is so unpredictable, and I definitely wanted to take advantage of it and catch some rays whilst I had the chance. I also pulled together a little OOTD since I was quite proud of my outfit today since I tried to make somewhat of an effort today.

Well hello everyone, long time no see right? I admit, I haven't been posting as much as I should have been doing but I do have an excuse given that it is exam season and I have only just finished my summer exams. Now that I'm free of Normans and Christina Rossetti poems, I can fully focus and dedicate myself to my blog, so what better than to update you all with one of my favourite skincare products right now.

As you could tell from the title of the post and the pictures, I have been loving Elemis' Pro-Radiance Cream Cleanser. Back in the day I had a horrible habit of taking my makeup off with makeup wipes and no matter what brand they are from or how good they are, they are never the answer to taking off your makeup. I must admit that sometimes when I'm being really lazy I do take my makeup off with some wipes, but thats only ever on the odd occasion (Friday nights mostly..) and the majority of the time I always stick to my cleanser.

I love the feeling of my skin after I've used it because the cleanser leaves my skin feeling squeaky clean and not like I need to go over with a face wash or a wipe. I've also noticed how it hasn't affected my dry skin and doesn't seem to make it worse, although, I must admit that my skin is being pretty good right now. It's a very gentle cleanser so I imagine that it will even work with sensitive skin types.

It also has a pump so its really easy to get out the product and you do get plenty of it with just one pump. I generally find that one is all I need to cover my whole face. The one thing that I have noticed, but it may be just because I'm not spending as much time on them than the rest of my face, is that it doesn't get rid of every bit of eye makeup and I always find myself going back over my eyelashes and lash line with a cotton bud and some eye makeup remover.

Overall, I absolutely love this product and would definitely recommend it if you are willing to splash out a bit more on a cleanser because its worth every penny. I have a feeling that you could probably get it for as cheap as £20, and for a high end product which is from an amazing brand that I've been using for as long as I can remember, it's a definite bargain.

Today was my brothers 16th birthday which is absolutely crazy because I swear it feels like it was only yesterday that we were eating jelly and ice cream and celebrating his 7th birthday. To celebrate this momentous occasion myself and the rest of my family went for a meal at Central Park, which reminds me of FRIENDS every time I go there.. remember, Central Perk? I also managed to get some snaps of my makeup, hair and the outfit I wore. After all, this is still a fashion and beauty based blog.

I was looking through my stats last night and it seems as though the most popular blog post of all time is my MAC Refill Pan Wishlist and since there is nothing I love more than endlessly browsing through the MAC website and their range of beautifully made eyeshadows, lipsticks and lines of cosmetics. I wanted to show what I have been loving from the entire brand, instead of a specific product. However, if you do want more MAC wish lists, then I would be more than happy to do separate posts dedicated to lipsticks, blushes, nail lacquers, etc.

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The Pro Longwear Concealer is a new addition to my wish list which is all thanks to Gabby, who most of you may know as VelvetGh0st. She uploaded a MAC Starter Kit video not long ago and ever since then I have been dying to know how well this works. For some reason, even though a lot of people don't due to any bacteria reasons, I love tube concealers with the doe foot applicator rather than the ones in pots or the stick concealers because the liquid and creamy consistency makes it so much easier to blend in, especially when your dealing with delicate areas like under your eyes.

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With Summer vastly approaching, Im really looking forward to experimenting with lots of bright colours because when is a better time to wear a bright pink lipstick than summer? I also really love the whole matte lips craze at the minute so the Pink Pigeon lipstick seems like the perfect fit.

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As much as I love bright funky lipsticks, I also can't resist a good old nude. Modesty has really grabbed my attention recently, which has a cremesheen finish and since it's a muted pink, it just seems like the perfect spring and summer shade because its subtle and will pretty much compliment any look.

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The Mineralise Skin Finish Natural has been something that I have been eyeing up ever since I discovered MAC and for some reason, I still haven't got round to giving it a try even though I've heard so many positive things about it. 

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I didn't plan on writing a blog post tonight, especially since its 11:47 pm and I've been so busy with revision and preparing for my exams next week that I really haven't had the time to prepare content. However, tonight I had just finished a book that I was really enjoying. It was something that I related to on so many different levels and it really spoke to me and got me thinking. Growing up is stressful, I know that, you know that, everyone knows that and there is no chance that the everyday person goes a day without feeling a little bit of anxiety or stress about something, even if its just making a decision on what to wear that day. I have never wrote a personal post on my blog before where I just rambled on about whats on my mind and just let my thoughts and heart take control and determine what I type, but I really wanted to share this feeling I have with you guys as I just love to connect with my readers, who I now refer to as my friends because you are all so lovely and kind, and the response you all leave on my blog always puts a smile on my face.

Anyways, back to my point... actually, do I even have a point to this post? I don't actually think this post has any reason at all to be honest, it seems as though I'm just going to continue rambling. Oh well, let the ramble proceed! Now I'm not going to lie because I promised you guys that I would always be honest on my blog. I have definitely had my fair share of problems growing up, friendship problems - falling in and out of friends, making new friends and losing those who I were once so close to that I thought of them as my 'sisters from other misters'. Then there were the expected boy issues, you know, liking a boy one day but another the next, same old, same old. Oh and not to forget school and the never ending stress which is just pressures you into thinking that you need to do well and get good grades or else your future will just go down the drain and you will end up working in McDonald's for the rest of your life. I mean who is this insane person who decided that all kids have to make a decision about the rest of our lives just as we are leaving primary school, and putting away and colouring books and sandboxes.

We are only just discovering ourselves never mind planning out the next 40 years of our lives. I honestly think that it is absolutely ludicrous. Do teachers even have any kind of sympathy for us? Do they not see the bags under our eyes from staying up all night studying and the spots that are growing on our faces like cherry tomatoes due to the stress of making sure we get into a good college or university? And finally, the constant anxiety over this idea of having to be 'perfect' just to fit in. The media now brainwashes teenagers into thinking that they have to have a thigh gap, no imperfections, and need a toned body to be socially acceptable. Yuck-ee!

What I guess I am trying to say is, I would be lying if I said that my life has been one easy ride, but whose has? If yours has, then I am so very jealous.

However, even though there are moments in our lives which aren't the most pleasant, big, small, it doesn't matter. The point is, we shouldn't let them take charge of our lives and manipulate us into being a person who we don't want to be. If there's anything I have learnt from my experiences its that I have the choice. I have the choice to be whoever I want to be, I have a choice to decide what I want to do with my life, I have a choice to do whatever I want to do and whenever I want to do it because I am in charge of my own life. Whatever path I take, I will want to take it because it was my choice , and it doesn't matter if you make a wrong decision and choose the wrong path because another thing I have learnt is that all of our mistakes only shape us into the person we are today and if it were not for these bad decisions, then we wouldn't be this person looking back on us through a mirror.

The most important thing that I learnt from this book is that time really is a great healer and if you're going through a rough patch in your life or you are feeling really stressed, maybe about exams, which I know is definitely mine right now, then you should always remind yourself that this will not last forever and things will ALWAYS get better, it just depends how long time takes to heal. My tips for you, if you are someone who isn't having the most pleasant time right now, is to picture yourself after you have healed. You should be happier, less stressed, more relaxed. You should be thinking to yourself, did I really let this get the better of me before I was strong enough to overcome it? I am much stronger now and I am so proud of myself that I fought this and that I am in a better, a happier place.

Also, I am a firm believer in the old saying that everything happens for a reason and have always referred back to this when I am faced with a problem, so for now on just think, this little problem which I am going through right now, maybe it was meant to happen. Maybe its their to make me stronger? give me more courage? confidence? Or maybe it was there to teach me a lesson and to aid me in the right direction. Always try and look at the positives of any situation, no matter how hard or difficult it may seem at the time because there will always be some good out that comes out of it. Hey who knows, you might be dealing with a heartbreak now, but this time next year, you could be flying to Paris or Rome chasing the job of your dreams.

So if theres anything you should take from this blog post tonight, its that:

1. You shouldnt let a bad past, memory or choice defy the person who YOU want to be 

2. Your past whether bad or good can only shape you into the person you are today

3. Time is a great healer and things do work out in the end, it just depends how long it takes for time to heal you

4. Everything happens for a reason

So what do you all think of tonights blog post then? Was it too much? Or a nice change from the usual makeup and fashion post? I am definitely sticking to my normal routine of beauty and fashion posts, after all, this is why I created clarabellasecrets, but let me know if this post has helped any of you in some way or another and whether or not you would like more posts like this in the future. I know that I am unaware of certain things that some people may be going through in their personal lives and maybe this post was too strong or too far away in understanding, but I didn't write this for any specific people or issues and I, myself, am not going through anything over than turning into an exam maniac, but I would like to think that in some way or another, this helped someone as there are several life lessons featured in this post, which I tried to summarise at the top, and I guess, my main point is that no matter how bad something may seem at the time, you will rise above it and things WILL get better.

When it comes to finding inspiration whether thats for new blog posts or helping me decide what outfit I should put together each day, I always refer back to my Lauren Conrad beauty bibles. These two books have everything you possibly need to know about all things makeup, fashion and beauty. 

Whether thats fitness tips, makeup tutorials, fashion essentials, and even sections dedicated to de-stressing and taking time for yourself. There are also checklists of everything you should have for every occasion or event, as well as personal memories and experiences from the very own Lauren Conrad.

I absolutely adore Lauren and she has been an inspiration of mine since I can remember whether thats because of her admirable choice of outfits which we see her sporting on the red carpet or caught in by the paparazzi, or her endless list of tips and life lessons she shares with us on her blog and in these books.

I would definitely recommend giving them a try because there are a lot of things that I didn't even consider before reading them and now I have learnt so much about my skin and  what are actually in the cosmetics that are taking storm in today's high street.