You only have last chance you know (Revision tips and treatments)


Exam season really does ruin the condition of our skin... it gets dry, we get pimples and our eyes become strained. Hopefully today I'm going to give you all some quick exam tips and treatments that you can work into your revision schedule to make your revision and studying more efficient! This should be the last post before my exams, which are on the 3rd and 6th June and this year I have 4 exams so I have to split my time equally between all four areas. 

Where do I start?

Well. That's easy. Create a quick checklist! Write down the names of all the exams you're sitting, the date and the grade you hope to get (this sounds a little critical...but instead of aiming for full marks on them all, go for something realistic...you don't need to show anyone else in the world this, so don't lie to yourself!). Next up after that, write down the subsections that you need to cover for the exam, some exam questions, dates, whatever it takes to trigger something!
I'll share my history one with you all! So, this year I'm studying the English Civil War for history which spans from 1629 - 1667. The topic falls pretty naturally into four sections, Personal Rule (Charles I) which is 1629-40, The Civil Wars themselves - 1640-49, The Interregnum (the time between Kings) is 1649-60 and finally the restoration (Charles II) 1660-1667. As you can see, it's all spread out so not one section is overlapping. As long as they don't overlap, it doesn't really matter what you label everything as!

I personally don't like revision timetables, in the summer I suffer from a lot of migraines, I don't know how long they'll last or when they'll come...so a specific timetable is inconvenient to me because I can't actually stick to it. That's why I prefer this method of creating a giant checklist. So far it's worked pretty well for me, I used it last year for English, Philosophy and Critical Thinking (nope not Geography and History for some reason...) and the few GCSEs that I needed to revise for, I also used a similar method back then. This year I'm using this method for all of my exams and so far it's working pretty well. Instead of having to organise myself and work out what I want to revise every day, I'm just working my way down the list.

What do I need?

First, figure out what sort of learner you are! I'm very much a visual learner as opposed to an auditory or kinesthetic one. I do have a slight element of auditory learning in me I suppose because I do enjoy listening to lectures and videos...but that's as much watching the presentation in the back or watching the actions on the screen. The only thing I know I don't like is kinesthetic...I personally don't get along with this style...at all. So I can't really give tips on that! But let's focus on the visual aspect first!

Coloured Pens

In my opinion you can't even start the school year without plenty of these. I take the majority of my class notes in mind map form and therefore plenty of colour is needed. All of my English notes are in mind maps, the majority of my History is as well (Philosophy is not because it's harder to fit quotes into a mind map - I use the Correll system for Philosophy instead).
I really love the MUJI sets - yep, that's the guys who are famous for their makeup storage boxes! - I have the double ended 10 box and the single 30 box. Both have lasted me all year and I bought the 10 box over a year ago now...and most of them still work on at least one end...and I use these alot. I do recommend buying some decent pens rather than cheaper ones if you can. If you intend to use colour alot and want to colour code in particular...you really do need the same colour set for the whole year!

Notepads

Self-contained. Separate notepads. One for each exam. Keep everything separate. There's one thing I really hate and that's when people mix up their subjects. Please don't put your maths in with your literature class...don't mix science and music...they don't work together and it won't help for your exam. Using separate notebooks also helps when you go back to look at class notes to revise. If they're separated then you need to search through everything you own as opposed to just looking through the one subject book! 
I use Moleskines for my class notes. I do understand these are expensive though and not everyone can justify buying them...I just love stationery and I knew I'd use these alot. I bought 3 plain books last year - one for History, another for English and then the last for Geography as I took that class last year as well - then this year I went back and purchased a lined one for Philosophy. I didn't buy the biggest sizes simply because I wanted them to be accessible. This year my timetable fell so that sometimes I'd be going into school just for one class...when that happened I just wanted to take my regular handbag and put my class book in there. For this to work, I couldn't buy A4 or large notepads because they just wouldn't fit! 
Psychologically as well there's probably some benefit in buying smaller notepads, the satisfaction you get when you turn the page happens more frequently on smaller paper after all! 

As motivational as SNSD are, please don't listen to them when you revise!

Playlists

Definitely a must for me. Now that I've got my paper and pens sorted I want some background music. I definitely don't advise listening to your biases. Don't play your favourite K-pop tracks full blast. Play songs with no music on. I'll go back to my music tastes page and add this playlist in later, but just quickly now I'll give you some of the albums and artists I like!

Wang Wei every time. Wang Wei's Rose & Piano album is one of my favourites, all of the music is really relaxing and although I also love Lang Lang's Chopin: The Piano Concertos album...his style is a little too violent for concentrating! You never know when some loud noise is going to play and disrupt you with Lang Lang! 
I also love gayageum music to add some variety in there! Occasionally I'll play the gayageum tag on Last.Fm but I also bought some gayageum tracks for my iPod such as Chocolate playing The Autumn Sonnet.
For some more natural sounds, you could try Dou Wei's Umbrella of Early Spring or Satomi Saeki and Alcvin Takegawa Ramos - Japanese Traditional Koto and Shakuhachi Music.
Hang around music sites such as mp3.zing.vn though and you're bound to discover some piano or gayageum album that you love!


Flashcards

This is optional which is why I've placed it last on my list. Personally I've only started with these properly this year so I can't tell you how effective they really are. But they work on the same principle as mind mapping. Condensing and rewording. To stop you remembering the phrases from the textbooks, these force you to put information into your own words so it actually fits on the card! 
I bought 2 different packs of these. One from John Lewis which was a pack of 50 - these I bought when I first tried them out...and although they're great quality (of course from JL) they're only one sided and a pack of 50... - and the other from Asda which was a pack of 100 I think (I bought 2 packs). I definitely didn't need both packs of these. But I'm glad I bought the variety, I use the John Lewis ones as title cards for each subsection and subject and on the back (where the lines are) I write a summary of everything in the subject or chapter.
So I'll get back to you after exams to see how well this actually worked!

This candle is from Ikea! I used to have a phobia of fire, but I'm so glad that
I'm now getting through it and managing to sit with candles now!

DON'T CONSTANTLY REVISE THOUGH

My biggest advice to all of you though...don't work flat out. It's not productive and you really won't remember everything. Don't wake up at 6am and work straight from then until 6-9pm at night. You won't remember what you've learnt and most importantly...you've wasted too much energy now that you should have really saved for the exam!
This is where the treatments come in. Exam season we all really neglect our skin. We stop putting so many masks on - mainly because we all love watching TV with our masks - and don't drink enough water to hydrate our skin. We sit inside without any vitamins getting in...and just waste away. By the time it gets to the exam we all develop some form of illness, injury or just feel so ill from the late nights and lack of self love.
So guys. Love yourself. 
Use your collagen eye patches, even when you're revising, they're a lifesaver. Drink plenty of water and green teas (try and stay away from the caffeine if you can!). Use natural light so you don't suffer from eye strain - I now wear glasses simply due to eye strain! And remember to get to sleep on time! This is probably the one rule in this post that I really don't follow myself. My face gets puffy when I don't sleep early enough...and you can all tell! But as long as you get to bed before midnight...then I'll leave you alone! Just please don't stay up until 2am (JYP~~~~), I don't care what you're doing...just get some rest!

Yesterday I finally gave in and gave myself the afternoon off to relax, for the first time since September I read a book that wasn't on one of my syllabuses, I drunk a ton of different teas, sat with some candles and read my book and had a bath. I thought this was actually time well spent. It's now 10am the next morning...and I'm already up and written all of this so far. I'm more motivated now than I have been all week. Instead of sitting around procrastinating...why not work all morning and afternoon and then take the evening off every day to relax?
A lot of my friends complain...and my exams will be over this time next week now, but unless we relax we really can't contain any information effectively right?

Look after yourself and revise effectively.

Pure Derm's Collagen Eye Patches

The Packaging

To help you all revise...I'm now going to share with you some Collagen patches. I previously showed you Etude House's one which was packaged individually - which is probably better for your bag or travel? 
Now I'm going to share Pure Derm's! 

In a huge pack of 30 sheets, that's 15 uses - because I'm assuming we've got 2 eyes? - there's enough here to last you the whole revision period...hopefully! 
Whilst not as thick and moisturising as the Etude House ones, they're more suitable for a daily use and they only need to be applied for around 15 minutes before they make your eyes so much more comfortable! 
Plus, Collagen is great for tightening the skin, so say bye to ageing! 

Korean Directions (Click to enlarge)
If there's one thing you really do need in life, it's probably these patches. Everyone wears them after all! Michelle Phan - on the plane to work in the mornings no less! - and Claire from Steps! (She wore them on Big Brother). Also according to the daily mail Jennifer Aniston wears them as well... except the ones they're advertising are costing £24.99 for just FIVE. Pure Derm sell THIRTY for less than that. Oh Asia. Why does everything have to be so cheap?

English Instructions (Click to enlarge)
These masks are really hydrating and although they don't correct dark circles straight away, it's a good habit to get into!
Inside the pack - all of the masks are stacked, there's 15 in that pile
I'm going to apologise in advance for the condition of my skin...I took these photos when I had a rash from the product which I'm going to share with you after exams..it's really damaged my skin and now I have so many problems that I never experienced before!

(I did manage to photoshop the majority of it away...but you can still see
the remains :/)
Please check out this product and you can buy from gentlershop on eBay right >>> HERE
for only £2.30 and free shipping! Talk about a great deal...you're spending about 15p per use then! Wow.

Have a great day, good luck revising and remember to relax and just enjoy life!
See you all again from the 7th June! ♥

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