Welcome to my blog. This is where I write all about what's going on in my life, any exciting news that I might have, and things that are coming up in the future.
I really like hearing from you, so please feel free to email me anytime (see the About Me page) or send me a DM through Instagram if you follow me. (@nilipod and @idknia)
27th December 2017
HAPPY NEW YEAR
I hope that you had the most amazing Christmas, with loads of family fun. Check out my new video for Childline if you can, thanks so much:
Nia XXX - my blogs and vlogs.
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19th November 2017
ZOELLA'S ADVENT CALENDAR
It's been so controversial this week for Zoe Sugg, with loads of people being very outspoken about the 12 Days of Christmas Zoella Advent Calendar. The general consensus is that it is overpriced and nothing special, and the reviews on the Boots website are shocking.
We thought we'd compare it with Tanya Burr's beauty themed advent calendar and open each door alternatively. Which one do you think we liked the best? Check out the video to see...
Nia XXX - my blogs and vlogs.
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10th September 2017
PO BOX HAUL AND GIVEAWAY COMPETITION!
Lately I've been sent so much stuff from people, hoping that I will promote it on my YouTube channel.
Unfortunately, some of the clothes are the wrong sizes, or sadly they don't actually suit me, and so I decided to have a giveaway for these items.
If you're interested in getting some cool clothes for free, here are the competition rules:
Follow me on all my social media and subscribe on YouTube:
Email your entry here: info@nilipod.com, saying what clothes you would like to win. Watch the video carefully, I'm not giving everything away, just the things I say! Simply describe the item from the video, e.g. black skirt from Romwe, green and purple hoodie, or just put the time that they appear on screen, whatever is easiest for you.
All winners will be notified within four weeks, and the clothes posted out then.
Many thanks for joining in the fun.
Nia XXX - my blogs and vlogs.
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20th August 2017
BORED IN SUMMER?
Are you? Maybe just a little bit?!!
Then check out my What To Do If You Are Bored In Summer videos from last year, and let me know what you get up to! There are three parts. Here is part 1:
Nia XXX - my blogs and vlogs.
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14th July 2017
13 REASONS WHY CHALLENGE
One of my favourite shows of the year so far is without question 13 Reasons Why on Netflix. It was just so compelling to watch, sad, tense, exciting, funny at times, and even quite shocking. Everyone was talking about it in school and the show was so popular that there is now a second series being filmed - can't wait for that.
My YouTuber friend and fellow Harry Potter fan James (JME Epic) recently invented this great idea of a challenge, which he has named the '13 Reasons Why Challenge'. For his latest video, James had to say 13 Reasons Why Warner Bros should make a movie about Tom Riddle (Lord Voldemort). So check out his video and make sure that you subscribe to his channel.
Here's 13 Reasons Why you should subscribe to JME Epic - he is my friend, he has red hair, he loves Harry Potter, he raps like Eminem, he sings like Ed Sheeran, he does funny live streams on Instagram, he invented this cool challenge, he deserves more subscribers, he won the lottery (kind of), his most popular video is close to 1,000 views, he's great at football, he's very funny, and he is epic. Oh, and also, he is a great dancer too.
In his YouTube video, James ended up nominating me for this challenge. He said that I have to give 13 Reasons Why Reese's Chocolate Bars are the best. Unfortunately, I can't make a video right now, because I have about ten to edit already! So I thought I'd give my reasons here, on my blog...
My brother is called Rhys, spelt differently I know, but it's kind of the same name as the guy who invented them in 1928, Mr. H. B. Reese
Peanuts are healthy
I like peanuts and I like chocolate, so this combination is like heaven in a packet
The packet is orange like my hair
There are three in a packet, so perfect for sharing with a friend. I can have two, they can have one!
Reese's Cups give me happy memories of my childhood and growing up
You don't need to chew them, you can just take it slow and let the Reese's chocolate dissolve on your tongue. Or if you're in a hurry, just scoff them down in one go.
They make me think of Brad Pitt eating peanut butter in one of his best movies, Meet Joe Black
Reese's Pieces are delicious and they were featured in the classic Spielberg movie ET, the Extra Terrestrial, with the lovely Drew Barrymore (instead of M&Ms). So if they were good enough for ET, they're good enough for me!
They are the perfect present for special occasions, and Reese's even do pumpkin and ghost shapes for Halloween. This is the number one Halloween candy now in America
They are made by Hershey's, and I love Hershey's sweets, especially their white Cookies and Cream chocolate bar
They fit into my school lunch box, so they are great for school, snacks and picnics
My friends love them too, so we can snack on Reese's Pieces together when we go to the cinema, as long as I can hold the packet!
Nia XXX - my blogs and vlogs.
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11th June 2017
YOUTUBE THUMBNAILS FROM SCREENSHOTS
Whenever I make a YouTube video, I always like to try and take lots of images at the end, so that I can pick the best one as the basis for a YouTube thumbnail. However, when I am vlogging and enjoying a fun day out somewhere, I often forget all about the thumbnail until the next day! So in these cases, I take screenshots from the video and Photoshop them to create a more natural looking thumbnail that reflects elements of the vlog.
In my recent Southampton Vlog, I had fun making the thumbnail by merging the best bits of two screenshots, and adding a sunset background. Look closely at the sunglasses and you'll see how I had to change the reflections in each of the lenses as well. It was very fiddly and this whole thumbnail took around two hours to complete, from finding suitable screenshots, Photoshopping the images, adding the sunset and choosing a font.
Next time I vlog, I must try and remember to take a few photos during the day, but I expect I'll forget again! I've shared this here on my blog, because it's a bit different and I thought it was interesting to show the timeline behind the finished thumbnail.
Here's the finished Southampton vlog - shopping in Primark and going to the beach:
Nia XXX - my blogs and vlogs.
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31st May 2017
UKIP MANIFESTO - WHAT A JOKE!
The funniest thing happened to me and my brother this week. Picture this, he is sat in the common room at school, eating his lunch, when his year head bursts in and says that she urgently needs to speak to him in her office, immediately. So he nervously follows her, and when he finally reaches her office, she shows him her computer screen and asks 'What's this? Is this you?!!!'
What she was actually showing my brother was the recent UKIP Manifesto brochure for the general election, because rather weirdly, there is actually a photo of me and my brother on page 11, where we are eating fish and chips in Swanage! We had absolutely no idea about this photo being used, it was news to us. It wasn't long until most of the school found out and the teachers were taking the mickey out of us all day.
I should make it very clear that I am in no way affiliated to UKIP and do not support this party! They simply bought this image as a stock photo from Getty images (my dad uploaded some stock photos to Getty a few years back) and then UKIP decided to use it to illustrate some new proposed takeaway food tax policy. It was all very bizarre and very funny, but the funniest thing was that the teachers spotted it in the first place!
Nia XXX - my blogs and vlogs.
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29th May 2017
POETRY CORNER
This is a really great poem by a very talented poet friend of mine, who also drew this cool picture. I wanted to share this here, because it deserves to be read by as many people as possible. I hope that you like it as much as I do.
Love is Life
Love is suffering, another name
Heart progressed not to feel pain
Not to forget the end
Your eyes studied me twice girl
Not so much to end my sorrow
But the best captain made rough waves
Now strong, so tread
Give life to something
I'm ready
Hell, I had a hot stone
Manuscript not even
Diagonally from behind
Your beat plays additional
Our story is getting on sleep
Girl finished spot over tonight
I'm still tolerated with the flames
Nia XXX - my blogs and vlogs.
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2nd May 2017
THANKS FOR THE PICS
Thanks to everyone who has sent me such fantastic pics, art work and photos lately. It's amazing seeing these!
Nia XXX - my blogs and vlogs.
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22nd March 2017
YUMMY VEGAN BROWNIES
My friend follows a vegan diet and so I wanted to make her something delicious when she came round for dinner the other day. We tried the Linda McCartney vegetarian / vegan sausages from Iceland and they were really quite meaty, but how to make chocolate brownies for pudding without using eggs was a bit of a challenge.
So after a little bit of experimenting in the kitchen, we eventually came up with this cookie-like brownie recipe. These are actually pretty easy to make, very tasty and extremely quick to cook, using a microwave.
Nia XXX - my blogs and vlogs.
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24th February 2017
HOW I MAKE YOUTUBE THUMBNAILS
Rarely a day goes by without someone asking me how I make my YouTube thumbnails, and so I've just added a really detailed page explaining what I do, showing the step by step process.
If you have your own YouTube channel, you will know how important it is to make your video stand out from the rest, and adding good, eye-catching thumbnails is definitely one of the best ways.
So if you are interested in finding out what I do, then check out this new page and let me know if it helped you:
Nia XXX - my blogs and vlogs.
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5th January 2017
NAKED PHOTOS AND PERVERTS
Instagram is a really fun place to share your photos, and lots of children and teenagers love to share their photos here. But have you ever asked yourself, what kind of people are looking at your photos? Mostly nice I think, but not always.
Everybody is guilty of judging people at some stage in their lives. It is so easy to make snap decisions about what somebody is like from their appearance, and so often you can be so wrong. I've been guilty of this and as a result, I really really try so hard not to judge anyone and stay open minded, instead getting to know them first to find out what they are really like.
I've known the strangest people, both in looks and personalities, who have turned out to be the kindest, most caring, thoughtful and generous people ever. Conversely, I've known some really cute guys who have shown the most vile, untrustworthy and repulsive character traits.
I've touched on the problems with my Instagram accounts briefly in the past, but after the past few months and the problems I've been getting, I thought it was time to go into more depth. Here's some guys who messaged me recently on Instagram. Who do you think turned out to be nice guys, and which one sent obscene, disguisting messages to me, a 14-year-old schoolgirl? Take a close look and decide for yourself.
Did you guess correctly?! It was actually a trick question, because the answer is all of them - they have all sent me the most disgusting pictures and comments recently. I've added a selection of these below, and some from other people. If it wasn't so sick it would be funny, but it's so not!
These are all screenshots from actual comments that I have received as Instagram messages recently. This is just a selection! It's shocking isn't it?!
So what can be done about this problem? Well the first thing is obviously not to talk to weird strangers who start off by asking leading questions, such as 'Do you have a boyfriend?'. Secondly, if you are concerned in any way, don't reply to messages and block the person. And finally, if you have been sent something offensive, rude and generally inappropriate, then make sure you report it to Instagram. It is actually illegal and people can get into serious trouble by sending unsolicited rude images,like these that I was sent by complete strangers the other day:
For me, I always wanted to share my photos openly, and so I chose to make both my Instagram accounts public (idknia and nilipod) so that everyone could see my photos. However, I completely get the reasons why many children choose to make their accounts private. And so if you have any concerns about your account, then maybe making it private is the best thing for now. I'd love to hear if other people are experiencing this kind of thing, so please send me an email and let me know. info@nilipod.com
Nia XXX - my blogs and vlogs.
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29th December 2016
URBAIN MAGAZINE- EXCITING NEWS!
Thanks so much to Urbain Magazine for the great article and putting me on the cover! You can download the mag here, as a PDF. The link is at the bottom of this page: Urbain Magazine.
Nia XXX - my blogs and vlogs.
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24th December 2016
ALL VLOGGED OUT
I've had so much fun sharing my December with daily Vlognas videos. But if I'm honest, it was so much more work than I thought it would be, particularly on school days when I was often up until the early hours of the morning editing. But I'm not moaning, far from it! It's so nice to look back at these vlogs, like a YouTube diary of Christmas 2016.
So I just wanted to say a huge thanks to everyone who watched them, particularly those subscribers on notifications who watched almost immediately when I published them. And thanks as well to all of my friends who made an appearance. I hope that you all have a great 2017.
Nia XXX - my blogs and vlogs.
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22nd November 2016
GET BRACED FOR IT
Lots of teenagers have braces for their teeth, and so I know that I'm far from alone here, but I thought that it might be fun to share my experiences. When I was young, very young, my worst habit was that I sucked my thumb, which caused my teeth to stick out. Around 18 months ago I was fitted with removable braces, which wasn't too bad, except it made me lisp quite badly for ages.
The orthodontist was insistent that I should almost never take them out, but I really didn't see the point of eating with them whatsoever. So I always removed my braces at mealtimes, and apart from that, I was actually pretty good at wearing them. I had the kind made to widen my mouth, where I wound a key to make the brace wider and wider. Yes, it was painful at times and uncomfortable, but I soon got used to it.
After six months of wearing those, I was fitted with cemented braces. Now, I'd been dreading this and rightly so, because it hurt like hell for a few days. I don't want to put anyone off, but it was absolute agony! Fortunately it was school holidays, so I spent a couple of days in bed, sulking and taking painkillers.
After a few days had passed, the pain passed too and I started to get used to them, although brushing my teeth was always a chore and it took ages at night, because I wanted to do it properly. And of course, at school the nicknames quickly came and went - 'Brace Face', 'Metal Mouth', 'Train Tracks' - the usual stupid remarks. A couple more visits to the orthodontist saw my braces tightened up (ouch!) and elastic bands added, to pull my teeth back further and improve my bite.
So today, just under a year after having my cemented braces fitted, I've had them removed! It feels so weird and my teeth seem enormous. Has anyone else felt like that? I keep feeling my teeth with my tongue and I just can't get used to it. I now have a clear plastic mouth guard to wear for up to 12 months, day and night, but that is really no big deal. I think I'll probably leave it out for school though and just wear it at home, and see how it goes.
So, my advice for anyone with crowded, sticky out teeth, is not to be afraid of having a brace. Sure, it is not the nicest thing in the world, but it is really not that bad, and it's well worth and discomfort in the long-term. And if you suck your thumb, then maybe don't! I wish I hadn't.
Nia XXX - my blogs and vlogs.
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13th November 2016
WINTER IS COMING
Last week, I uploaded an autumn makeup routine video which was fun to film, and I enjoyed reading the comments (as usual). However, one person commented that it was a bit late for an 'autumn' makeup routine, because it's already winter.
Now, I still think that it's autumn, and so that comment got me thinking - 'When does autumn finish, and when does winter actually begin?' So I found out and I was really surprised. Apparently, according to the official Met Office website, winter starts on December 21st, that's just four days before Christmas - how crazy is that?! Therefore, it would seem that although winter is coming, it's not actually 'officially' coming for a long time. Who knew? It's pretty cold already though!
Nia XXX - my blogs and vlogs.
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25th October 2016
WHY IS IT SO MUCH FUN TO BE SCARED?
I've never been more into Halloween than this year. Yes, I know it is all very American and that, but it's just sooooooo much fun. Poundland has pulled out all the stops this year with its incredible selection of spooky decorations, for just £1. In fact, they are in such great demand that lots of the best ones have sold out already, like the spooky Halloween 'Trick or Treat' crackers and the cute pumpkin fairy lights. Lidl's also have a great selection and I picked up a really nice pumpkin table runner made from orange felt - check these out on my October Favourites video.
So, when I saw that there was a spooky Halloween themed FrightMare Festival going on nearby, I was beyond excited. I invited my friend and booked tickets. It all started at 6:30 pm, just as it was getting dark. This year, the autumn colours on the trees seem to be incredible, and so the drive was so perfect, especially with the deep red fiery sunset. When we arrived, we were greeted by hundreds and hundreds of pumpkins - they were everywhere. And then the zombies appeared! Basically there were dozens of actors wondering around in very very scary costumes. We were warned not to touch them in any way - 'If you don't touch them, they won't touch you!'
The main attractions consisted of converted barns, which were transformed into a series of rooms, corridors, sewage tunnels and science labs. Most of the 'mazes' were extremely dark, and as we walked around, people in the creepiest, most revolting costumes jumped out at us. These included science experiments that had gone horribly wrong, where mutants were grabbing at our feet, as well as crazy nuns, a seance that had got out of control, and of course clowns, not to mention the chainsaw wielding freaks who kept chasing us. It was without question the scariest evening I have ever spent, we both screamed and screamed, and yet we loved every minute of it and are already planning to go next year! How mad is that? We finished off by heading to the funfair next door and going on a rickety old big wheel. Thankfully there wasn't a single clown in sight.
Nia XXX - my blogs and vlogs.
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13th October 2016
THANKS FOR 2 MILLION MINUTES
Just wanted to say a huge thanks to everyone who has been watching my YouTube videos. I've checked my stats this morning and was amazed that now they have been watched over 700,000 times, which adds up to over 2 million minutes. It's hard to comprehend that, because this is really just a fun hobby, but I really appreciate everyone's support with this.
I upload on Sundays now, without fail, and it is awesome that so many subscribers have added me to their notifications so that they can watch straight away. But the best thing is reading the comments! Thanks for everyone who left funny vegetable comments in my recent September favourites video, that was hilarious. If you've not seen the comments, go and check them out - it made my day. I'm back in the swing of writing my blogs again, and my next one is about school. I got set some very, very dodgy homework that was really quite inappropriate, involving pictures of naked men and soft gay porn! Let's just say that my parents weren't very impressed.
Nia XXX - my blogs and vlogs.
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30 September 2016
QUITTING YOUTUBE
No, not me! But a friend of mine posted on her Instagram yesterday that she was quitting YouTube, so I asked why? Her answer was that she was struggling to find the time and I completely get that. I am struggling to find the time to do anything at the moment, after starting my new school - I've never had so much homework in my life!!! How about you?! However, I think that the important thing with life is that you have to make the time to do the things that you really really want to, and not quit when things get hard. That's the easy way out, and in the end, after chatting it through, she's decided to carry on with her YouTube channel, which is just great.
I'm trying to get into a routine of doing any school work straight away, so that I can go out and see my friends, or film and edit my videos, but it is proving very tricky at the moment. Therefore, some Sundays I may only be able to upload one video, rather than three or four as I have been lately. This weekend it 'should' be 'Extreme Boom Boom Balloon', while others on the way include 'Boy Tries To Guess The Price Of Girly Things' and 'Tasting German Candy'. I'm also hoping to film my 'October Favourites' and 'Body Shop Makeup Review'. But I will always load someone on Sunday, however busy things are!
I am planning to do 'vlogmas' in December, where I upload vlogs every day until Christmas, so that would be fun. Can't wait for Christmas, although in fairness I've been listening to Christmas songs for months now anyway! What's your favourite Christmas song ever?!
Nia XXX - my blogs and vlogs.
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1st September 2016
Hope You Had A Good Summer!
Apparently it's now officially autumn and so that means that the summer holidays are over, and the new term at school is looming. It also means that I'll be back writing regular weekly blogs and I've got some great things to write about that I've been saving up, so check back here soon.
Nia XXX - my blogs and vlogs.
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31st July 2016
How Old Do You Have To Be To Wear Makeup?
And Does Wearing Makeup At 14 Make You A Slut?!
I find this question really interesting, because so many people think so many different things, and I am seriously surprised by the strong opinions that some people have - old and young. I recently launched my High-End Makeup vs Drugstore Makeup video, which got the most views and thumbs up I've ever had in its first week, which is great, but what I wasn't expecting was some of the really, really negative comments, not about the video or what I was actually doing, but about my age.
One person wrote a huge paragraph saying that I was far too young to be wearing makeup, and I should not even think about this until I reach puberty! (I'll be 14 years old in a few weeks!) She went on by saying that she was horrified to see me using makeup and that she couldn't understand why my parents let me wear it. I politely replied and said that I was obviously older than she thought (I don't mind people thinking I look younger!) and that really, it's up to me what I do and how I spend my money. I really, really enjoy wearing makeup and making videos about it, and to be honest, there are far worse things that I could be doing with my life, like shoplifting for example - let's put things into perspective here! What was especially great was that some of my lovely subbies started replying to her, telling her to mind her own business. After she got my polite reply (it really was polite!), she chose to delete her comment, rather than have the courage to reply to me, so I'll never know if I changed her mind, although I'm not bothered, either way.
Then I got the usual few comments saying I was 'ugly' and another person was really rude saying that I was wasting my money buying so much makeup. It's very easy to judge people, but I'm not wasting my money buying cigarettes, or alcohol, or gambling on scratch cards, or funding a drugs cartel, or worse, I'm just buying some lipstick, foundation, powder, etc. At the end of the day, I work hard for my money (part-time jobs) and I can spend it how I choose really. I would never, ever tell someone how to spend their money. They ended up apologising when I replied, and acknowledged that the way they worded their comment was actually very rude.
All of the other comments have been lovely and very supportive, and I think that most people would agree that you have to start practicing with makeup at some stage, whether it's cheap Poundland makeup or more expensive cosmetics that you borrow from your mum. You don't suddenly become an adult and know how to apply makeup, it takes a lot of practice, and I'm having fun practicing and sharing my thoughts via YouTube.
The thing that really surprised me was when I found out this week that some boys at my school have been calling me a 'slut' for wearing makeup, and a 'double slut' for making YouTube videos about it. That's a horrible word to call anyone. Apparently 'real girls' don't actually wear makeup. Well, I think that 'real boys' don't go around calling girls sluts, personally! And the irony is that the majority of the girls in my year at school wear at least some makeup, including all of the girls that these boys are friends with, and even fancy. Most boys have no idea, because school makeup is generally fairly subtle when properly applied, rather than full-on 'going out' red lipstick and purple eyeshadow.
So, to answer the question that I posed at the start 'How Old Do You Have To Be To Wear Makeup?' - I think any age, as long as it makes you happy, and most importantly, as long as it is age appropriate. Let me know what you think. Does wearing makeup at 14 really make you a slut?!
Nia XXX - my blogs and vlogs.
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12th July 2016
300 Ideas For YouTube Videos
It's always fun reading the comments that people leave on my YouTube channel and I do try to answer them if I can. Something that I get asked most days is whether I have any ideas for people's next videos. The answer to that is always 'Yes, I have lots and lots of ideas!' I regularly make a note of my video ideas when they are fresh in my mind, and my list is gradually getting longer and longer. I love making lists and trying to be as organised as possible!
With that in mind, I thought that I'd share my list of suggestions. It was initially just going to be around 100 possible YouTube videos, but as I started grouping them into categories, I kept thinking of more and more, and so now the list has grown to around 300 ideas! Please let me know if this new page has been useful, and if you have any suggestions of your own, then let me know and I'll add them. I'd love if this page becomes a useful resource for YouTubers, I'm certainly using it myself already, as you can probably tell! Here's the link:
Nia XXX - my blogs and vlogs.
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5th July 2016
Anyone Else Get Weird Instagram Comments and DMs?!
I really love Instagram (I'm @nilipod and @idknia), it's so much fun sharing my photos and reading the comments that people leave. I get lots of DMs now every day and I always try to reply to them if I can, but ever since I got over 20K followers, I seem to have started getting some very, very weird messages. They are usually from men, asking my age and saying inappropriate things.
The other day, I got this particular message, from someone who apparently wanted to marry me!!! He even sent me his phone number, telling me to phone him immediately. This is about the weirdest message I've had so far, and so I just wondered if anyone else gets weird messages or comments like this one? Or is it just me who attracts the weirdos?!
I'd love to hear what kind of DMs you get and how you reply - maybe comment on my Instagram and let me know! Me personally, when it's like this, I just don't reply and I immediately block them. These very strange individuals really aren't worth giving a second thought.
Nia XXX - my blogs and vlogs.
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1st July 2016
Losing YouTube Subscribers This Week?
For anyone with a YouTube account and more than a handful of subscribers, you will know all too well what a frustrating week this has been for so many YouTubers. At the start of the week, the YouTube team decided to close down literally millions of old, inactive accounts, as they do every few years (like Instagram does). Of course, the knock-on effect was dramatic, with almost everyone complaining of losing huge numbers of subscribers. I've seen people drop from 10,500 subs to 9,000, and a friend of mine went from 280 to just 88.
Therefore, if you have lost subscribers this week and are wondering what on earth happened, I hope that this explanation helps. For me, I'd just reached 10K subs, which was great. Lots of my subscribers have been really nice, congratulating me for reaching the 10,000 mark, and so it would have been really embarrassing if I'd dropped back to 9,000 again! Fortunately I only lost around 100 subscribers, which was still a real shame, but I've heard that PewDiePie lost over 500K subs. Let's hope that it's a long time before YouTube do this again! Let me know how it affected you.
Nia XXX - my blogs and vlogs.
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28th June 2016
Website Revamp
I've been spending the majority of my time lately trying to edit and upload my backlog of YouTube videos, and now I'm pretty much up-to-date. I upload on Sundays and so if you follow my channel, you'll know that there will always be new videos each week.
So, now that I'm finding myself with a bit more in the way of free time, I'm going to start writing my blog again, at least once a week. I've got loads and loads of things in my mind that I want to chat about. I've had a bit of a clear out on my website - it was more than 500 pages, and as lots of them were getting quite old and a little bit out of date, I've simplified things now and deleted loads of old stuff. I quite enjoyed it, it was very cathartic!
If you read my blog, please leave a comment on my Instagram, I'd love to know. Thanks...
Nia XXX - my blogs and vlogs.
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Welcome to my blog. This is where I write all about what's going on in my life, any exciting news that I might have, and things that are coming up in the future.
Lately I've been sent so much stuff from people, hoping that I will promote it on my YouTube channel.
Love is Life
Rarely a day goes by without someone asking me how I make my YouTube thumbnails, and so I've just added a really detailed page explaining what I do, showing the step by step process.
I've touched on the problems with my Instagram accounts briefly in the past, but after the past few months and the problems I've been getting, I thought it was time to go into more depth. Here's some guys who messaged me recently on Instagram. Who do you think turned out to be nice guys, and which one sent obscene, disguisting messages to me, a 14-year-old schoolgirl? Take a close look and decide for yourself.
Lots of teenagers have braces for their teeth, and so I know that I'm far from alone here, but I thought that it might be fun to share my experiences. When I was young, very young, my worst habit was that I sucked my thumb, which caused my teeth to stick out. Around 18 months ago I was fitted with removable braces, which wasn't too bad, except it made me lisp quite badly for ages.
Last week, I uploaded an autumn makeup routine video which was fun to film, and I enjoyed reading the comments (as usual). However, one person commented that it was a bit late for an 'autumn' makeup routine, because it's already winter.
I've never been more into Halloween than this year. Yes, I know it is all very American and that, but it's just sooooooo much fun. Poundland has pulled out all the stops this year with its incredible selection of spooky decorations, for just £1. In fact, they are in such great demand that lots of the best ones have sold out already, like the spooky Halloween 'Trick or Treat' crackers and the cute pumpkin fairy lights. Lidl's also have a great selection and I picked up a really nice pumpkin table runner made from orange felt - check these out on my October Favourites video.
So, when I saw that there was a spooky Halloween themed FrightMare Festival going on nearby, I was beyond excited. I invited my friend and booked tickets. It all started at 6:30 pm, just as it was getting dark. This year, the autumn colours on the trees seem to be incredible, and so the drive was so perfect, especially with the deep red fiery sunset. When we arrived, we were greeted by hundreds and hundreds of pumpkins - they were everywhere. And then the zombies appeared! Basically there were dozens of actors wondering around in very very scary costumes. We were warned not to touch them in any way - 'If you don't touch them, they won't touch you!'
The main attractions consisted of converted barns, which were transformed into a series of rooms, corridors, sewage tunnels and science labs. Most of the 'mazes' were extremely dark, and as we walked around, people in the creepiest, most revolting costumes jumped out at us. These included science experiments that had gone horribly wrong, where mutants were grabbing at our feet, as well as crazy nuns, a seance that had got out of control, and of course clowns, not to mention the chainsaw wielding freaks who kept chasing us. It was without question the scariest evening I have ever spent, we both screamed and screamed, and yet we loved every minute of it and are already planning to go next year! How mad is that? We finished off by heading to the funfair next door and going on a rickety old big wheel. Thankfully there wasn't a single clown in sight.
Just wanted to say a huge thanks to everyone who has been watching my YouTube videos. I've checked my stats this morning and was amazed that now they have been watched over 700,000 times, which adds up to over 2 million minutes. It's hard to comprehend that, because this is really just a fun hobby, but I really appreciate everyone's support with this.
No, not me! But a friend of mine posted on her Instagram yesterday that she was quitting YouTube, so I asked why? Her answer was that she was struggling to find the time and I completely get that. I am struggling to find the time to do anything at the moment, after starting my new school - I've never had so much homework in my life!!! How about you?! However, I think that the important thing with life is that you have to make the time to do the things that you really really want to, and not quit when things get hard. That's the easy way out, and in the end, after chatting it through, she's decided to carry on with her YouTube channel, which is just great.
I find this question really interesting, because so many people think so many different things, and I am seriously surprised by the strong opinions that some people have - old and young. I recently launched my High-End Makeup vs Drugstore Makeup video, which got the most views and thumbs up I've ever had in its first week, which is great, but what I wasn't expecting was some of the really, really negative comments, not about the video or what I was actually doing, but about my age.
It's always fun reading the comments that people leave on my YouTube channel and I do try to answer them if I can. Something that I get asked most days is whether I have any ideas for people's next videos. The answer to that is always 'Yes, I have lots and lots of ideas!' I regularly make a note of my video ideas when they are fresh in my mind, and my list is gradually getting longer and longer. I love making lists and trying to be as organised as possible!
For anyone with a YouTube account and more than a handful of subscribers, you will know all too well what a frustrating week this has been for so many YouTubers. At the start of the week, the YouTube team decided to close down literally millions of old, inactive accounts, as they do every few years (like Instagram does). Of course, the knock-on effect was dramatic, with almost everyone complaining of losing huge numbers of subscribers. I've seen people drop from 10,500 subs to 9,000, and a friend of mine went from 280 to just 88.
I've been spending the majority of my time lately trying to edit and upload my backlog of YouTube videos, and now I'm pretty much up-to-date. I upload on Sundays and so if you follow my channel, you'll know that there will always be new videos each week.
