Freshers Week – Why it’s not always ‘the best week of your life’

Before I went to uni, soo many people told me that Freshers Week would be the ‘best week of my life’. So when I finally arrived, super excited for this amazing, life-changing, crazy Fresher experience, you’ll forgive me for being a little bit disappointed.

Firstly, a quick disclaimer: I was extremely homesick in my first week of Uni. I cried, lots and didn’t really tell anyone (who wants to tell people you’ve known for two hours that you want to leave already, particularly when the girl in the room next door has travelled for 21 hours and half way round the world rather than the 2 hours down the M25 you travelled to be there!?). This is probably a factor in why I wasn’t a massive Freshers fan. I’d also just like to add that the Freshers week of my second year was probably one of, if the not THE, best week of my life, so please read on to find out what on earth I’m talking about.

There are probably a few of you who don’t like to drink or clubbing. Keeping it real, a LOT of Freshers week is made up of this. Unis definitely try to promote non-alcoholic, non-club types of events but the reality is that the biggest events of Freshers week are the club nights or college social events. Now, I like going out and I like to have a drink, so this wasn’t my main issue with Freshers. What I didn’t like was going out with people I had known for literally 3 hours. You’re stuck in an extremely awkward situation where you don’t really know what to say to each other beyond, ‘What’s your name?’ and ‘Where do you come from?’ and the trust between you is about zero. This leaves you torn between wanting to get really drunk to drown your homesick sorrows but also not wanting to drink at all because if you do get wasted what will everyone think of you and more to the point, how will you get back to the flat you now live in which you can barely remember where it is, even stone cold sober?

It’s an exhausting week too. You meet a ridiculous amount of people. You potentially go out for 8 nights in a row and you may also have things to do during the days. Going out with friends can seriously be the most fun thing ever. Some of the best nights of my life have been at uni and trust me, if you had asked me that two years ago, I would NEVER have believed you. You may have to wait a while at uni before you start to have a really good time. However, you may extremely lucky and be loving uni life straight away and to you I say enjoy it (and also I’m pretty damn envious you settled in right away!)

Five Faves

It’s summertime! Honestly, it’s not my favourite time of the year, I’m extremely pale and extremely English and I cannot deal with excessively hot weather. Recently I went to America (and yes it is a small miracle I survived the southern heat) and I discovered that I love it out there. Not only do I enjoy the chilled out lifestyle but I LOVE LOVE LOVE how cheap everything is...seriously! Three of my five favourites are from America and I’m desperately regretting not stocking up on the skincare products whilst I was out there. Gutted.

FAB (First Aid Beauty) Face Cleanser

Probably the best cleanser I have ever used, hands down. My skin is for sure 100 times better than it had been in the months prior to using this. It’s hard to explain but because the gel like texture requires massaging into the skin in order to foam up, you always ensure that you work it in really well, something I never really did with my cleansers before. An added bonus for me is that it’s suitable for sensitive skin, so I really recommend everyone to try this. It’s fab ;) And I’m dangerously close to finishing it. Cry.

Late Post

Hello hello hello!

So, here's my super late post on some of my favourite things. This is just a quick and simple post to keep you guys updated on what I've been enjoying. I promise I have a much larger post prepared for my July favourites but that will just have to wait.

June was a pretty quick month for me. I've moved back to my beautiful home in the tropics, so the transition has been pretty intense. From weather to lifestyle choices so much has to be changed for myself to adjust to the hot, hot sun and the random monsoon showers. As June was a pretty speedy for me I did not spend it buying new beauty products or visiting new places. I've just been trying to settle back in and spend time with my family and most importantly relax.

(1) For my birthday my lovely housemates bought me an eyelash curler which I've had my eye on for a while (huhu punny). It's the Ted Baker eyelash curler which you can get at Boots. Now that I've landed back in the super hot temperatures of Borneo I haven't been too keen on wearing makeup apart from some bronzer and mascara. So I use this baby every time I go out and it does the job. Definitely a new favourite of mine.

(2) As it is summer I've been really in to floral scents and I've rediscovered my love for my YSL Parisienne perfume. It's rose scented and isn't obnoxious. Super light and super lovely.

(3) Continuing on with the floral scents I loooove Victoria Secret's Such a Flirt body butter. It's beautifully scented and super creamy. It sinks in to my skin and leaves me smelling great all day which means you really don't need to wear any perfume. It smells so delicious its so hard not to eat it. But don't, it'll probably taste rank as heck. Hashtag you're welcome.

(4) As I mentioned previously, I've been concentrating on relaxing and chilling from uni life and why not dive in to a good book. I mean, I don't even remember the last time I had the opportunity to read for pleasure. I have to read heaps and heaps of books for my course and I've definitely forgotten the satisfaction of escaping from the real world for an hour or two with a good read. I picked up this book whilst I was waiting to board on to my second flight back home. It reminds me of The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night Time and I've read the same in some reviews. Its quite interesting and basically is about what the title says i.e. a story about a boy who can see demons and a child psychologist analysing his claims and behaviour. It bounces between the perspective of the boy and the psychologist. That's all I'm gonna say. It's great though, I'm really enjoying it so far.

(5) Finally, my super cool 'Zippo' lighter from my best friend. She got it in Turkey. I mean, look at how rad it looks.

-Yaz

Learning a Language

Something neither beauty nor fashion related today but more lifestyle - a topic I’ve been wanting to write about for a while, so I hope this post is useful. I may or may not have said before that I study French (with English) at Uni. People often approach me to ask what it’s like to learn a language and how it feels to be able to speak it at a reasonable level. Today I’ll talk about the pros and cons of learning a language and for those in education, what learning a language is like at various stages in the UK education system.

I’m clearly biased, but I think learning a language is really great. Here are my five top reasons as to why I think you should consider giving it a try:

·      It’s interesting. You don’t just learn another language, but you learn about the culture of the country or countries in which the language is spoken, including everything from history to fashion to art to food.

·     You can learn a lot about your own language. This is particularly helpful for me as I also study English Language, but nonetheless it is particularly informative and helps with some of those more obscure Trivial Pursuit questions.

·    Employability. Employers love people who can speak more than one language and with the current job market as competitive as it is any little extra skills you can bring to the table are a bonus.

·   Confidence and communication. Learning a language brings you multiple other skills,  particularly communication skills and in turn those skills contribute towards making you  a more confident person.

·   Impressing your friends. And your parents. And men...I always get asked to ‘say  something in French, it’s really ...’ ;)

MAY FAVOURITES!

Heya, so I know it has been a while since I last posted. I've had my final exams during the whole month of May so I had to concentrate on revision rather than blog posts (sorry, priorities right?). Anyway, it is now June so I thought I would share some of my favourite products of May!

I've always had a problem with my legs being ridiculously dry but ever since I purchased Soap and Glory's Sugar Crush body butter I am a changed woman. I have never experienced such smooth, hydrated and deliciously smelling legs- ever?! It smells like key lime pie IMO and doesn't leave any yucky residue after you apply it. This has become my holy grail moisturizer, its recommended to apply this after you've taken a shower when your skin is still a bit damp. It works wonders and has brought life back to my skin! Seriously try it out if you get the chance. 

Okay so I obviously gave in to the Oral B hype. But let me tell you, THE HYPE IS REAL! My boyfriend purchased this before me and told me how brill it was at whitening and cleaning his teeth. I was pretty skeptical at first but he told me to get it when it was on a deal because it would be SO worth it, AND IT WAS! This has changed my dental hygiene life you guys. My teeth have never looked or felt so clean and over time this baby has helped whiten them too. One day it ran out of battery and I had to revert to my old school toothbrush and let me tell you it just wasn't the same. Boots often have great deals (up to 50% off) on these toothbrushes so its a great value for money. Highly recommended. 

So yeah I've finished my L'Oreal micellar solution and decided to try out the Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water. I have to say that I much prefer this to the L'Oreal one because I personally find it much stronger and better at removing my makeup. I also felt like the L'Oreal solution had a scent which bothered me quite a bit whereas the Garnier one doesn't. However, Alex once mentioned she felt the opposite about the smell so I guess it depends on what you consider a strong scent. 

Also, as a result of exam stress and womanly pains my skin has been, well, shit. My usual routine was no longer working and I was breaking out like crazy. I recently purchased the Body Shop tea tree Cool and Creamy face wash. Firstly, its great for those who suffer from dry skin/patches, like myself. Its hydrating and is really great at keeping zits at bay and calming them down. My skin is already clearing up after a few days of using it. (Ok I bought this like 3 days ago so I kinda cheated but whatever)

Finally, I know this isn't beauty related but its a favourite. I've only started to read this and I'm sucked in. I'm already such a fan of Murakami (okay I love him) and so far I'm really enjoying this book. I've heard mixed reviews about this book (1Q84) but so far I think its beautifully written and stays true to his style. His writings are so vivid and clear and are definitely great reads. This book comes in a 3 and to not give much away I'll just repeat what it says on the back of my copy:

"A love story, a mystery, a fantasy, a novel of self-discovery, a dystopia to rival George Orwell's-1Q84 is a tremendous feat of imagination from one of our most revered contemporary writers"

I hope you enjoyed this post and I've convinced you to get some of the things I've been loving!

-Yaz

Motivational Monday

As we have reached the end of the Bank Holiday Weekend and the end of my special three post weekend plus the fact it’s a Monday, I thought I would do a quick ‘Motivational Monday’ post. I really like this following quote:

Top Tips for Prom

Hi everyone. It’s that time of year – proms, balls, dances! Exciting but kind of stressful times. My prom was 4 years ago now; I cannot believe how quick that time has gone. Seriously! Here are my top tips for preparing for a prom or ball and some essential things to do (or not do) on the big day.

Beforehand

The dress

In my opinion you want to go for a relatively timeless look. Obviously, this is dependent on your own personal style, but try to avoid anything too trend specific. Ideally, you’d like to look back at your prom photos in 5, 10 years and think ‘Wow, I love the dress I wore’ rather than, ‘Oh gosh that look was so 2014. What was I thinking?!’. Perhaps also steer clear of anything too sparkly or, dare I even say it, a tiara...so not a good look.