How to do a Fishtail Plait

Sophisticated & Professional Look

Do the plait (or braid) really tight

Cute & Messy Look

Loosen the plait up by teasing your hair beforehand and pulling apart the strands slightly at the end to give the finished plait more volume

STEP 1
Brush the hair to get rid of any knots and bring it behind you shoulder. Then split your hair in to two even sections.

STEP 2

Take a small piece from the outside of one of the two sections of your hair. Cross the small piece over and add it to the inside of the other section - this piece that you crossed over will now be a part of the other section. Keep the crossed section tight to ensure that hair doesn't start falling out once you have finished the plait.

STEP 3
Next make the exact same cross but use the other section of hair - take a small piece from the outer part of the section and cross it over to the other section. Keep the crosses tight!

STEP 4
Continue crossing the outer section of the hair. The smaller the pieces of hair you use the more detailed and better your plait will be! Stop plaiting when the sections are too small to hand (approximately 1/2 inches from the bottom of your hair)

TADAH! Your finished plait should looks similar to this one!
Hopefully you found this tutorial helpful and if you don't get it straight away don't worry just keep practising and you will eventually get it!
I personally find it easier to fishtail my hair to the side (rather than behind my shoulders) so that I can see what I'm doing

How to Control Oily Skin

Why do people have oily skin?

A shiny face is something that lots of teens struggle with due to excess oil, however there is a silver lining - oil keeps the skin smooth and moist so it is less likely to wrinkle [Source: Poirot] so it may be a pain at the moment but you will be grateful when your older and you still look youthful! 

Many believe that you get oily skin because your eating oily foods but that is not the case, oily skin can be the result of several things:

• Oily skin can be hereditary -  If you have oily skin constantly then it is highly likely that you may have oily skin because your parents have oily skin. 
• If your oily skin comes and goes then it may be due to heightened hormone levels ( this is why teenagers often have acne )

• Stress - when you are stressed or tense your body releases a hormone called cortisol - this hormone can increase the skin's oil production [Source: Whitmore]

How is the oil produced?

It is produced by sebaceous glands and secreted through pores

Can you stop your skin from secreting excess oil?

Sadly, no you can't stop your skin from secreting the oil but there are things you can to to help control it. There are many products available to help tackle excess oil and on the go items to help control the shine

How can you control the oil?

If you have oily skin you may believe that you need to constantly wash your face and use harsh products that strip the oil from the skin. However, if you do this then your skin will dry out and your sebaceous glands will go into over drive! [Source: Jaret]

Use a mild oil-free cleanser and wash your face no more than twice a day. It is recommended you wash your face in the morning before school and before you go to bed. [Source Lehrer]

Products I Recommend...

I have oily skin and I have tried so many products and I have found some items that work really well for me to help control my shiny face:

1. Visibly Clear, Oil Free Moisturiser by Neutrogena

This moisturiser is fantastic as it is really affordable and hydrates and smooths the skin without making the skin oily. I apply this on my face morning and night after cleansing my skin

2. Stay Matte Pressed Powder by Rimmel London

I apply this over my makeup to help keep in tact for the day and to mattify my face so that it doesn't appear so oily. It says on the packaging: " Up to 5 hours natural shine control with natural minerals. Helps minimise the appearance of pores."

3. Shine Absorbing Sheets (powder free) by Kleenex

These of my MUST HAVE item for people with oily skin as they are great for on the go. I use these every day at school or when I'm out. You use them to dab away the excess oil (they sort of absorb the oil from your face) but they don't ruin your makeup. You get quite a lot in a pack and they are purple with a pretty pattern on the one side.

4. Beautifully Matte Foundation by No7

This is the foundation I'm using at the moment and I haven't had it very long but it's the best one I have had so far as it makes my skin appear so smooth and flawless whilst controlling the shine at the same time. It says on the packaging: "For an all day shine free look with a soft, even finish." What makes this foundation even better is that it has SPF 15 so it helps protect your skin from the everyday harmful sun rays which damage your skin (but obviously if you are going on holiday somewhere sunny then you will still need to use a sunscreen).

Glamour Magazine Freebies

For the bargain hunters of Britain I recommend that your purchase the Glamour magazine, December 2014 edition because it only costs £2 and you are guaranteed to get your money's worth! With this magazine you will get 5 FREEBIES worth £14+ :

• A gift card for the Body Shop ( WORTH ATLEAST £3 )
• 20% off at H&M
• NailsInc Nail polish (worth £11 each!)
• Reveal Calvin Klein perfume sample
• Pantene Break Defence Conditioner Sample

 I bought three of the magazines as I believe it is such a great deal and I got these three nail varnishes, so here's what the colours look like. There are 4 colours to collect in total though.
Personally, I believe the red (Tate) is perfect for Christmas! The grey is lovely for school as its not too bright. All of the nail varnishes are fantastic quality as NailsInc is a very popular professional brand and create a fabulous glossy finish on your nails. These varnishes are worth £11 each so by only paying £2 for the magazine you are getting a bargain!


The little card of Christmas Wishes is a gift card for the Body Shop and can be worth up to £1000!
To tell how much your card is worth you have to look at the back of the card where you will find a store code near the bottom. Here are some of the codes:
38933, 38962 & 38985 are all £3. 49506 is £15 and 38911 is £100. There are other codes but I'm not sure what they are worth.

Also, in the magazine you get a free Reveal Calvin Klein perfume sample! its a small sheet which you can rub on your wrist and neck. You can get a couple of uses out of it and the smell is lush! 
The 20% discount of H&M is great for your next shop however, you have to spend a minimum of £20 before you can use it :(
 Additionally, the the conditioner is great if you have damaged hair; it helps to strengthen and protect the hair to prevent it from breaking.

How to get FREE Giftcards and Apps

I discovered this app a few months ago and it's fantastic! It's a great way to get gift cards for: Itunes, Starbucks, Amazon, Xbox, Playstation, PayPal and loads of different apps for free by following some simple steps. I can promise you it's not a scam and it's completely legal because the app is basically advertising apps and gets paid by the app producers to advertise them and to encourage you to download them, so its completely safe to use.


To get free gift cards and apps all you have to do is follow these simple steps:

1) Click on this link: Feauture Points to be taken to a new page where you can download and signup for Feature Points. There should automatically be a referral code typed in (QMZ2Q7) which will give you 50 FREE points when you sign up to help you!

2) Once you have downloaded the app on to your smartphone or tablet then press on the app icon on your home screen

3) Once the app has opened you will see a list of different apps. It will also say how many points you will gain if you download the app

4) Click on one of the apps and then press download.

5) After you have downloaded the app, you will need to use the app for 1 minute: complete any tutorials, and just have a general play/ look around on the app.

6) Once the minute is over (and you have completed any tutorials) then you can close the app and go back on to feature points.

7) You should now see that you have gained more points. However, it may take a while sometimes to register the points.

8) You can go on to the Rewards button and you will see all of the gift cards and apps that you can save up for

9) Once you have saved up enough points then you can purchase your desired gift card of app for FREE! 

DIY corner heart bookmark

I decided to make my own bookmark today because I have recently just been using a scrap piece of paper which doesn't look very nice! I was inspired by some bookmark images on google and decided to make a corner heart quote bookmark for the book I am currently reading (Four: A divergent collection)

1) Fold a plain piece of paper in half

2) Draw half of a heart on a corner of the fold

3) Cut out and then unfold, your symmetric heart template is now ready

4) On the corner of an envelope draw around the heart template

5) cut out, your bookmark is now ready to be decorated

6) Write a quote on the heart from your favourite book

VARIATIONS: You could tea stain the heart to give it a vintage look, you could do random doodles on your heart or  stick some fabric or patterned paper on to it

Please comment below if you liked this tutorial, or if you tried it out. Also, I'd love to see your creations, so please tag me in them on Instagram: @simplyteentalk

DIY photo-frame whiteboard

I've been back at school for a couple of weeks and I often find myself searching for a scrap piece of paper whilst in my bedroom to jot something down. I thought of buying my own whiteboard but then decided to make my own because its much more fun and you can personalise it to suit your room colour/theme!

Step 1) Find an old photo-frame that you no longer use or you can purchase one cheaply at a bargain store.

Step 2) Take out the glass and any papers that are inside the frame

Step 3) Find an image that you want to use for your whiteboard background. I found a pattern that I liked of google images but you can use a plain piece of paper or a piece of your art (HINT: make sure that the background is a light colour so that you can easily see the whiteboard marker on it!)

Step 4) Print the image off

Step 5) Clean the glass using a duster/cloth

Step 6) Place the glass in the frame first, then place the piece of paper behind it and then place the back of the frame on

Step 7) Your DIY photo-frame whiteboard is now ready for you to write reminders on or to just doodle to your hearts content!


REMEMBER TO ONLY USE WHITE BOARD MARKERS AND NOT PERMANENT MARKERS, OTHERWISE YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO WIPE IT OF!


Please tag me in your DIY photo-frame whiteboard creations on Instagram @simplyteentalk

How to get organised for school

Here are a few tips to help you get organised for school:
1-  Teens need about 9 1/4 hours of sleep each night to function best (for some, 8 1/2 hours is enough) because not having a decent nights sleep can limit your ability to learn, listen and concentrate so you wont be able to do your best in school. You may even forget important things such as names, your homework or a date with that special person ;) Also, lack of sleep can contribute to acne and other skin problems ( info. from www.sleepfoundation.org )

2- Stress and panic are two of the things you don't want bright and early in the morning, So ensure that you pack your school bag the night before so that you don't end up going on a hunt around your bedroom for your PE socks or your maths book!

3- I'm sure you have heard it a thousand times before: 'breakfast is the most important meal of the day' and its true! If you skip breakfast then you aren't getting the food your body needs to refuel for the day and therefore it may lead to you feeling tired or irritable.

4- In Addition, if you use colourful and pretty stationary (such as: notepads, pens and highlighters: then you will enjoy doing your work a lot more :) 

5- Try your best to do the homework the day it is set so that it is done and dusted which will prevent masses of homework piling up on each other. If you leave it all to the last minute then you are going to stress and stay up late to try and finish it all which is not a good idea! If you can't do it on the day its set then don't worry, just set aside a time to get it done the next day. Furthermore, do your homework in a quiet place (such as your bedroom) so that you can concentrate on the task without any distractions.