Moving to University?

In a few weeks a load of you will be getting your A-Level results, if you're anything like me then you will be super nervous but also so happy that school is finally over and you can start planning what you're going to do!  If you decide to go to University (and I seriously recommend you do!) I have composed a list of things that you need to take!  Uni is full of new experiences and hopefully, these items will make it that bit easier.


WHAT TO BRING:

• Slippers - I never used to wear slippers but honestly I wouldn't be without them at Uni.  The kitchen floor will be gross and you won't remember the last time someone hoovered, they're also great when you're running between flats too! Next do some really cute slippers
• A doorstop - Seriously.  Buy a doorstop.  This is the best way to get to know your flatmates and be sociable.  And you will want to have your door open more than you might think so seriously, don't forget a doorstop!
• Fairy lights - the main light in my room in halls was an overly bright, fluorescent light which I almost never turned on.  So I brought a bedside lamp, desk lamp and more importantly, fairy lights which made my room a lot cosier.  Also, everyone will be very jealous when you have gorgeous fairy lights draped around your room!
• A printer - Okay, you don't need a printer at Uni because your library will have loads for you to use.  However, I found it very useful to have one in my room to print off lecture slides and last minute assignments.
• A mattress topper - I was lucky enough to be given a new mattress  and mattress topper when I moved in but if not you might find it a bit gross to sleep on the same mattress as who-knows-how-many-people and it makes the mattress comfier too!
• Photos - As soon as I arrived at Uni, I filled my huge notice board with photos of friends, family and pets.  Gradually over the year, the board became filled with Uni memories too.  I found that you can actually print your photos fairly cheaply at Boots which allowed me to keep printing them throughout the year.
• Plants - Okay, granted I'm not the best at taking care of my plants.  I managed to kill two cacti in my first year (and everyone says it's impossible!) but they bring so much life and colour to your otherwise quite dull room.
• Comfortable clothes - I think I spend more time at Uni in a pair of trackies and a t-shirt or hoodie than I do in actual clothes.  So before you move into your new place, make sure you are well stocked with PJs and anything comfy.
• Shower basket - I wasn't sure the best way to describe these things but you know the ones that stick to your wall like a basket and hold your shampoo, body wash and the rest of it?  Yeah, one of those!  My first-year accommodation had the tiniest showers and there was no room to put all the crap I use in the shower so my basket-thing has been a life saver.

So there you go, my life-saving tips for freshers!  Let me know if you liked this post because I've got a few more planned, and if you're off to uni this Autumn let me know where you're going!  Good luck Freshers!

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Anna and Lily Cult Beauty Box Favourites (so far)

The Anna and Lily Cult Beauty Box is my first ever beauty box, and although I was very sceptical about spending £85 on products I had never tried before (£85 is a lot of money for a student!) I decided to bite the bullet because the box looked so damn gorgeous.

I received my beautiful marbled box last week ago so I haven't tried all the products yet but from my first impressions, these three are my absolute favourites!

Firstly, the product I was least excited about but definitely my most used so far!  The Pixi by Petra Hydrating Milky Mist contains Hyaluronic Acid and Black Oat which deeply moisturises my skin in a few, featherlight sprays.  This has been my go-to moisturiser in the morning or after I shower to stop my skin from feeling tight after I cleanse, but I've also been loving applying this throughout the day too.

Although I can't be sure, I think the Sunday Riley Luna Sleeping Night Oil has made the most improvements to my skin.  I've been using it religiously every night and noticed that after a few days my skin was spot-free and the pores on my nose had shrunk!  Previously, products that have claimed to do the same thing haven't been effective but I can see this product becoming a regular and crucial step in my skincare routine.  However, I do hate the scent of the oil and I think the price point is a bit ridiculous!  At £85 for the full 30ml, this is definitely an investment, and I will have to think twice about repurchasing this product.

After using my Jade Roller  for about a week now, I'm enjoying it, but still very curious.  Despite plenty of research, I'm still not entirely sure what the benefits are or exactly how I'm supposed to use it.  However, I love the cooling feeling on my skin, I find rolling this little tool around my face to be very relaxing and therapeutic!  I'm keen to see if this makes any changes to my skin in the long-term, but for now, I'm more than happy just using it to de-stress and look gorgeous on my desk.


Over the next few months, I aim to try out the rest of the products in the box and will report back with my findings!
If you're interested in buying the Cult Beauty Box, you can buy it here.

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Prepping for holidays

In the next few days I will be jetting off to my favourite Canarie Island for a bit and after spending most of my winter staring at a laptop in a corner of the University library, I want to make sure I am sun and bikini ready.  So, here are a few things I make sure to do before I see the sun;

In the week running up to going away, I make sure to exfoliate my skin, at least, every other day and make sure that I moisturise after every shower.  I admit, it does add an extra 10 minutes to my shower routine but believe me it's worth it when you have soft, glowy limbs.

I also like to take good care of my skin in the run up to my trip.  On holiday, I like to keep my skin makeup free during the day so having good skin is crucial, try regularly exfoliating or even doing a facial and face masks to keep any spots at bay.

I always used to shave my legs regularly on holiday to ensure that I had silky legs every day but then I discovered wax.  I find that waxing my legs a few days before I travel means that I don't have to worry about shaving them every day and there's no risk of those pesky red bumps or cuts.  Make sure you grow out the hair on your legs for a week or two beforehand (yes, that does mean I currently have gorilla legs).

After waxing, I like to use a bit of fake tan too.  This is optional because I know some people hate fake tanning, but I personally think that every bikini looks better with a bit of a tan.  Make sure you complete this step after waxing because it will apply better to smooth legs and waxing may remove some of the tan too.

The day before I go abroad I like to try to squeeze a pedicure in between packing.  Holidays are made for sandals and flip-flops so don't ruin them by have chipped or bare toenails, instead I like to paint mine with a bright colour.  Try to ensure that the polish is long lasting because it's likely you will be spending a lot of time in the water and if not it will chip very quickly.  Don't forget to take the polish with you too to touch up during the holiday (just make sure the lid is firmly on! Exploding polish in your luggage is the worst).

So there you go, my top tips for looking gorgeous on holiday!  If you're going away this Easter, let me know where you 're jetting off to?

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Where have I been?

Its been a while since I posted on here and I'm keen to get back into blogging again this year but you need to know, a lot has changed since September.

Firstly, I am now in my second term at University.  I spent the first term working lots towards my exams, learning how to live by myself and making a lot of new friends who are all amazing!  Its been so busy I've barely had time to read any blogs, never mind updating my own!  But I'm keen to get back into it and have a few new posts planned, you might need to be patient though, this whole time management thing isn't exactly my strong point!

Secondly, as mentioned above, I don't live at home anymore.  I'm living in halls at uni and absolutely love it!  But it has meant having to get used to washing up (a lot), cleaning, cooking for myself and a whole lot of independence. But seriously, I'm having the best time!

So that's most of what's been going on in my life over the past few months, if you want to see what I'm getting up to most of the time you can follow me on Instagram (I've been getting a bit more snap-happy recently).

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A LIPSTICK FOR CAT LOVERS?

I admit, you've had to wait a while to hear from me but I think it's been worth the wait.  Every time a Beauty Bay email pings into my inbox I can't help but have a browse.  However, being on a student budget and all that, I rarely buy anything.  However once I saw a tiny cat face peeking out of a MLBB lipstick shade, it took me less than 30 to place an order.

Introducing the Paul & Joe Autumn 2015 lipstick in 'Cafe Espresso 095'.

I have to confess, I hadn't heard anything about Paul & Joe before and didn't bother to research it before I placed my order, how unlike me!  Yes it's a risk (especially for someone who hates wasting money!) but it's a lipstick, with a cat in it.  What was I meant to do?

After a little bit of reading, I found that it's actually created using a Japanese candy making technique called 'Kinatro - ame'.  This is when layers of candy (or makeup in this case) are rolled together meaning that the cat face shape runs through the whole bullet of lipstick.

I've spent too long for my own good staring at this lipstick - the gorgeous case and tiny detailed cat face! And yes I was scared to ruin it and actually use the lipstick but when I did I was actually very impressed!
The lipstick has a sheer and creamy formula, it contains cocoa seed butter, jojoba seed oil, lavender oil, orange flower water and white lily extract which makes the lipstick very nourishing and moisterising.  However, this also means they do also have a limited wear time and need re-applying after 2-3 hours but the neutral shade and sheer formula make this very easy to do without a mirror.
This was definitely my favourite shade, it's the neutral pick of the Autumn 2015 collection and is a great everyday shade.  A little more brown toned but very similar to MAC Patisserie which is my current favourite lipstick.  If I had the money I'm sure I would try to get my hands on the red shade which also looks gorgeous!

Paul & Joe Autumn 2015 lipstick in 'Cafe Espresso 095' - £14

Paul & Joe Autumn 2015 lipstick case - £7

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THE DALMATIAN COAST - CROATIA

The more observant of you might have noticed I've been a bit absent on the blog recently, and that has been because I've been away in Croatia for a week.  I went with my family for the second time and still love it there!  We spent all of our time on the Dalmatian Coast which has lots of little islands on to explore.
Split is the main city on the Dalmatian Coast and although we didn't spend any time there, we spent a couple of days in Trogir, a nearby island accessible by car.  This tiny island has some beautiful views of the Dalmatian Coast and tiny, winding streets through the centre with cobbled streets and beautiful hidden churches around every corner.  However the area was very busy with tourists, most shops were very overpriced and it was rather loud in the evenings.  It's also worth adding that you have to pay to get into any attractions such as the bell tower and the fort and the small island limits how much you can do here.  I would recommend it but for a short stay only as there isn't much to do and no beach.

We then got a taxi from Trogir to Murter (more photos later) where we got our boat for the next week.  For those interested we had a Bavaria 46 yacht for 8 of us which was the perfect size for a week.

 One day we took a trip up to Krka National Park which is a huge waterfall with a swimming area. From Skradin, a nearby town, you can catch a ferry which takes about 20 minutes to travel up the river to the National Park. After a few days of swimming in the sea it was amazing to swim in fresh water, I want to find more fresh water places to swim!  Make sure you wear beach shoes if you plan to go in the water though because it's very easy to stub a toe on the rocks!  After swimming, we walked around the waterfall, although the walk doesn't take long there are plenty of steps but you get some amazing views and it's worth the climb!

These photos of the dragonflies were taken using a Tamron 70-300mm tele-macro lens which takes amazingly sharp close up photos, it's great if you like photographing wildlife.

One of the islands we stopped at was Zlarin, a very small island with only a handful of restaurants and no roads so there's not any cars.  It's beautifully unspoilt with pretty winding streets and flowers, pomegranates, dates, figs and apricots growing everywhere!  It was by far my favourite island which is why I photographed it so much!

And finally, I had to picture the beautiful Croatian sunset.  These photos were taken in Murter which is another pretty area with some great views and Hramina Marina, the nicest marina I've ever been to (if you sail you will really appreciate a really nice marina with great showers).

So there you go, a few photos from my time in Croatia.  I fully recommend sailing around the Dalmatian Coast if you're into that as it's the best way to explore islands and find beautiful little coves for lunch spots, go swimming and get a great tan!

I hope you enjoyed this slightly different post!

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THE PERFECT FACE SPF?

Previously when I've looked into buying a facial sun cream any decent ones seem to be way out my budget and the cheaper alternatives still come with that greasy look which makeup just doesn't stick to.  But finally I've managed to find the middle ground, and it's fab!

The Eucerin Mattifying Sun Fluid for Face doesn't come with the greasy sheen associated with most sun creams but you can also pick it up in Boots for only £12!  I was a bit sceptical about this at first because I hadn't heard of it before, but I was pleasantly surprised.  Eucerin is known for being good to skin, catering for allergies and sensitive skin.  Not only does it have SPF 50+ and UVA and UVB protection due to it's UV filter system but it also helps with biological cell protection to help protect against sun-induced damage and contains licorice which is a well known anti-oxidant and protects cells in the deeper epidermal skin layers.  I like knowing that my skin is well protected, especially from the sun!

But possibly even better than that, the sun fluid has a very runny texture that melts into your skin easily and disappears!  There's no residue left, no weird white cast, and it doesn't look greasy!  It just looks and feels like skin, but with all that protection!  Because it looks and feels just like skin it goes well underneath makeup.  That brings me onto it's mattifying properties, I'm happy to report they got the balance just right here, no it's not shiny like a sun cream but it also doesn't take all the glow out of my skin either.
And just to top it all off, it comes in this handy little bottle which is perfect for travelling because, let's be honest, no one needs SPF 50+ in the UK. 

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