the end of an era... A reflection on the last three years!

Hello bloggies,

This post is going to be quite reflective and very personal so firstly I would like to apologise for that. One of the main reasons I wanted to start a blog is because I am a huge reflectionist (that needs to be made into a real word) and I enjoy looking back on the past, remembering how I felt at different points in my life and just generally reminiscing. For me I am hugely paranoid about forgetting things that were once so important, as the daughter of a woman whose experienced the worst kind of Alzheimers it is naturally quite a scary prospect. Without getting too deep I want to be able to use this blog to document, almost like a diary, special memories!

So, with that said, Today (Tuesday 6th) I handed in my final piece of undergraduate work and therefore I have basically completed my degree and the classification lies in the hands of my tutors; right now I feel a mixture of emotions: happiness, sadness, excitement but mostly nostalgia.
       University truly has been so life-changing for me and I have done so much, learnt so much and enjoyed so much in the short three years as a student! I guess, I never realised how quickly time was passing by; after all, three years seemed like a lifetime when i was in secondary school/sixth form. During my time at university I met so many inspiring and amazing people, some who i knew only a short while and others who i held onto the entire three years... even those who ended up letting me down in one way or another, I am so grateful to have met (without sounding cliché).  


Thinking back on all of the key moments of university i want to cry. I clearly remember that first day moving into halls with so much anticipation for the future and my new life, I remember my first lecture feeling so nervous about meeting a whole room of strangers and not knowing what to expect, I remember my first placement feeling so under-prepared and desperate to please the staff, I remember that wonderful feeling in my stomach after i handed in each assignment and its so weird to think that it is all done now. I know that you should live with no regrets and I genuinely do think i made the most of university but i still regret not doing things, not making things right with people and not appreciating the moment enough.I guess, now faced with the prospect of "real life", i wish i had savored the moment more. I must admit that I did not give the academic side of university my all in first or second year, i prioritised Wednesday nights out and house movie nights over doing assignments. Conveniently that worked out for me, I know so many people who were overly into their work in those first two years, only to find out that potentially they did not even count towards the final degree. In third year i got my head down and obtained the grades I needed to push me towards a first/2.1 degree so i am happy, I am happy that i went out all those nights i shouldn't have, I'm happy that i skipped a few lectures in favour of lie-ins and junk food days with my friends and I'm glad that I didn't panic about work and let that get the better of me. My advice to any future undergrad - DO NOT WASTE FIRST YEAR, do not let work get you down and do not let people worry you into thinking that first year/second year grades are the be all and end all. You will have good days, good grades and good times but you will also have bad days, grades that your ashamed of and times where you wonder if your capable of finishing a piece of work. I know I sat there on more than one occasion thinking i would never get a piece of work done, but i did and much to my disbelief I have now finished every single piece of work. First year is for partying and having a good time, if you can hold your nerve and do the last minute thing like me then so is second year. Just make sure that you prioritise your friends and making memories during those first years so that you can grow up and be responsible in third year. 
I wanted to include some pictures that sum up my university experience:

                           

 For those wondering, yes I have plans for the future... which actually make this post seem incredibly over the top (apologies); I have a conditional offer for an Early Years PGCE starting in September, so yes another year at uni but the demands will be a lot greater than a normal degree and i will spend a substantial amount of time on placements so it will seem a bit more "real-world" than a undergrad degree. Plus, all my close friends are starting jobs/moving to study elsewhere so it will be like first year all over again, making new friends! EEK!


Thank you so much if you did take the time to read this, I do apologise for the incredibly personal element to it. I know that is not to every blogreaders taste but i think it is important for me to incorporate personal posts into my blog. Thank you again for reading and I'll be posting again real soon

REVIEW: My holy grail Collection must haves!!

Hello Blogworld, 

Recently I received my final installment of student loan *boohoo*! To my luck, Boots currently have 3 for 2 across all cosmetics and as always I fell victim to a bit of unnecessary make up splurging. I was thinking of doing a blog-haul so let me know if you would like to see this?.... Anyway, I always like to stock up on my holy grail items on loan day so that I have plenty of back ups! It occurred to me that I have been repeatedly repurchasing a few items for the last couple of years and I have not shown them enough blogloving, So I thought I would dedicate a few posts to those products I could not live without!

Firstly, Collection! In general this is a brand I love; they have a really affordable range of products ideal for those starting out with make-up, interested in experimenting or just looking for some bargain buys! When I was 14/15 I started experimenting with eye liner... mainly because I loved the vintage style winged eyeliner look. My parents brought me a Collection Fast Stroke Eyeliner as it was affordable and my mother used it. About a year or so ago I started using the lasting perfection concealer after hearing rave reviews left right and center! Since then these two products have been a repeat offender in my basket and I could not live without them!

Collection fast stroke eyeliner (black)
This is possibly the most re-purchased item in my make-up collection. Though I have tried a range of other eyeliners from gel to pencil, Rimmel to Maybelline i always find myself wanting my trusty collection one back. It is such a reliable eye liner, stays on throughout the day but isn't a nightmare to remove later on - what more could you want?
The "brush"? is the perfect size to do both thin and thick eyeliner (Demonstrated in the pictures below). The nib is very thin which helps with precision and a more natural looking eye liner and then the wand gets slightly thicker and this helps to achieve a thick bold line. The thing i like most about this eyeliner is that the nib/brush part is quite small and rigid which helps with precision. When I tried the Rimmel glam eyes eyeliner i found that the brush part was too long and flimsy (not sure that is the right word) but it moved around so easily and this made it difficult to get a perfectly straight line! The brush and wand size of this product is what sets it apart from others and makes it very easy for anyone starting out with liquid eyeliner. Added to that, The eyeliner drys quickly and has a slightly matte finished, the colour is a a dark black but can come across a little more grey toned if you apply it lightly. For £2.99 I think it is an absolute steal and I am very unlikely to repurchase any other eyeliners!

Lasting perfection concealer (16hr wear)

If you are into make up and beauty blogging then I am sure you have probably read tons of reviews on this product. It is a much-loved concealer! Firstly the consistency is really nice, very creamy and for me personally the colour fair is slightly too light but that helps to really brighten up the under eye area. As you can see in the picture this concealer has the same style applicator as a lip gloss which picks up a nice amount of product and helps to apply sensible amounts to problem areas of your face. What makes this product so good is the coverage, this concealer is wonderful at covering imperfections and it blends really well into foundations. Usually with high coverage products i find they oxidise and cake but this concealer does not and a small amount goes a long way so you really don't need to apply excessive amounts of product. 

The major downfall with this product however is the packaging. I took the initial blog pictures the day i purchased the products. Within about a week and a half the text on the concealer has smudged off. As you can see in the picture.  Generally it just makes the product look very unappealing (I can't stand scruffy looking make up). I think this problem has been mentioned by A LOT of people and despite a redesign of the products when the brand name changed they still did not solve this issue? Not that it majorly affects the product it is just ...annoying?! Added to that it also can make your fingers a little bit black when you hold the product so be wary of that if you use this and then apply your makeup with your fingers!

Thank you for reading x

NICOLEPOWNALLX