The End.

This is my last blog post as a UCBlogger, and it’s making me quite sad. When I first started this, I had no idea what to do and what to write about. I didn’t even really think people would read the things that I was writing about. I didn’t think I would even know how to write blog posts properly, making it engaging for people to want to read them.

I doubted myself but I still took up the opportunity to be a UCBlogger and I will never regret it. It has been one of the most rewarding experiences and I have learnt so much. I feel like I can express myself better rather than keeping everything to myself. It’s good to let your thoughts out to the world sometimes and see what others think without fearing judgement.

I know that there are so many of you that are afraid to share how you see the world with others because you think that others might not see it the way you do. I want you to know that the way you see the world is beautiful. Your talent is unique. Whether it’s photography, travelling, vlogging, designing or something else, share it with the world. Show the world what makes you special. Show the world what you can do because there are so many opportunities that you might not even think of that could come from this. Blog about your travelling journeys, show people the amazing photography. There will be people out there to appreciate it. Share your blogs or website links in the comments so we could all support one another. Let’s make this community an even happier place.

Although my journey as a UCBlogger has come to an end, my journey as a blogger has not. I have found a new passion in blogging and I will continue to do it. I will still share my thoughts and adventures with all of those who’d like to listen. I will do this because if you want to see a difference in the world, you have to do something about it yourself. Thank you for coming on this journey with me. I cannot wait to share the next chapter of my life with you.

Be the change you want to see.

Be kind, be humble.

– Helina x

How I Edit My Pictures!

I’ve gotten some questions on how I edit my pictures from a yellowy shade to a more cool toned one. So I thought I would let you know the photo editing apps I use, the filters I like best and the filters I use on pictures like this. So here we go!

The first app I use is FaceTune, and as you can probably tell, I don’t use it to tune my face. I use it to make sure that the background is completely white before I apply any filter. This app costs £3.99 but honestly there is no other app like this. So I just use the ‘Whitening’ tool (which is normally used for teeth whitening haha) and make sure the white shades are as white as they can be – in this case the table, the bowl and the yogurt (see the left screenshot). You can use the erase tool if you went a little overboard and made something white that you didn’t mean to (see the middle screenshot). The last step in this app is using the ‘Details’ tool. I just use this to accentuate certain things. On this picture, I just made sure that the raspberries stood out more than the rest, adding a bit depth to the picture.

 

The next app is FREE! YAY! It’s called VSCO. So here you can add whichever filter you’d like. The blue and cool filters that I use are HB1 and A5, I just test and see which one I like the most. I never use the filter fully, I normally go up to +5.0 but since this photo was quite yellow, I went up to +9.0. I added a little bit more exposure and contrast to make the picture brighter. I use clarity to make the colours in the photo stand out more (I never do over +1.0). I add maximum of +2.0 highlight and if the photo is still too yellow, I change the temperature to be a bit cooler (-0.8).

 

 

I hope this helped you a little bit if you have some yellow toned photos that you’d rather edit to be cooler toned. Have a great weekend!

Be kind, be humble.

– Helina x

 

Here I’ll Stay.

I get questions all the time from people back at home in Estonia… Is Estonia no longer your home? Are you going to be British now? Are you ever going to come back to Estonia to live here permanently? It’s all a little bit weird for me because to me, Estonia is and always will be my home. It is where I grew up, it is where my family lives, it is the language I speak and it has made me the person I am today. Although I am currently living in the United Kingdom and it was my life-long dream, it doesn’t make Estonia and my family home any less my home.

When I was back at home in Estonia about a week ago, I went to the 12th Youth Song and Dance Celebration called Here I’ll Stay, which really made me proud of where I am from. It reminded me what our little country has gone through to be independent and what a big role every person in Estonia has had in this. Thousands of people singing and dancing together, laughing together. The rest of the world might see Estonians as quite ‘cold’ people but during that event, you could only feel warmth and love.

I’ll always be proud of where I’m from. And one day I’d love to move back to my little country again after travelling the rest of the world. And then I can say ‘Here I’ll stay’.

– Helina x

Best of Primark Beauty!

I love doing my make-up for fun, and since I’m a student, I love my discounts. Make-up can be quite expensive at times but that’s when Primark comes to help. I was super hesitant about Primark’s make-up as I wasn’t sure if a clothing store should really be expanding into a completely new product line – beauty and make-up. I was intrigued enough to find out what their make-up was like and I was thoroughly surprised. I’ve found some absolute staples to put in my make-up bag that are far better than any high-end beauty products I’ve ever tried. Yes, they’re that great! 

The first product I love the most and only recently bought is this PS Bronze Shadow & Shade palette, which only cost £4! The pigmentation of these shadows is incredible. I never want to use my other eyeshadow palettes again! The colours in this palette are gorgeous. It has those lovely nude shades as well as a blue shade, which makes this palette so special as I love using a touch of blue in my shadow when I want to do something different. It’s got some vibrant shades as well as some more neutral ones. You definitely need this palette in your make-up bag, trust me! I also love the packaging. It’s so thin and simple, which I love as I hate bulky palettes. This is a must-have!

I’ve had this PS Pure Glow highlighting palette for a while now and I’m in love. I’ve put all of my other highlighters back in my cupboard because this is all I need! I use ‘desert’ on the bridge of my nose, inner corners of my eyes as well as my brow bone. I use ‘glimmer’ on my cheekbones and it gives the prettiest golden glow. I also use the other shades depending on my make-up look (‘firefly’ for when I’m more tanned and ‘eden’ for more cooler toned looks) and honestly it’s the best palette ever, especially for £5!

This PS blusher in the shade ‘taboo’ is gorgeous for when you want more of a coral-toned blusher rather than a pink-toned one. Pink doesn’t look the best on my pale skin so when I found this I was all over the moon. I’ve always used sparkly pink blushes but since I’ve been loving using those Primark higlighters, it all looked a bit too much. This is a gorgeous matte blusher and it’s definitely worth the £1.50 that it costs (which is insanely cheap for how amazing this is, seriously)!

Primark’s lipsticks are incredible. I decided to try out their PS Matte Long Last Lipsticks, which are so lovely. I bought this pale shade (can’t find a shade name on the lipstick, I’m sorry!) as I don’t have any pale nude lip products and I am so happy I got this. This also cost £1.50 and it’s honestly worth so much more! It gives a matte finish but it doesn’t dry out my lips at all! My lips can’t normally handle matte products (i.e. matte lip kits etc.) but this one works beautifully! Definitely check out these lipsticks, they’ve got some beautiful shades in store!

Let me know if you know of any amazing make-up bargains in the comments below because there’s nothing better than affordable good quality beauty products! If you want me to do similar posts about other drugstore brands, let me know!

Be kind, be humble.

– Helina xxx