Choosing a Degree and a University

Just when you thought juggling your A-Level revision wasn't enough you then realise you've got to decide which course you want to do at which university. I decided you share with you a step by step guide to help you narrow down your choices.

1. Make a list of the courses you'd like to study at university

Start off you list by adding things in that you enjoy doing as then you'll be more likely do to well as you're studying something that you like. My three courses that I looked into was Business, Psychology and English Language. English Language and Linguistics was actually the last one I looked into, and it was the one that I ended up doing. So, make sure you don't rush this process as it's the most important.

2. Start looking at what universities do your chosen course

As I said previously, don't rush step 1 because choosing the right course for you is the vital part in this process. Once you've chosen a course, go onto the UCAS website and you can search universities by course. This saves so much time as it tells you what universities offer your course so you don't have to find out for yourself.

3. Things to keep in mind when choosing a university 

There are a few things to keep in mind when choosing a university. First of all, the distance from home. At first, I was determined that I wanted to go to a university far down south, I live in the north, and so this was a long distance from home. However, I had to take into consideration train prices home (which were ridiculously expensive) and train prices to see my boyfriend. After looking into this, I realised that being that far away from home wasn't the best idea for me because it would limit the amount of times during term time that I'd be able to see my family, friends at universities in the north and my boyfriend. 

The second thing to keep in mind is what grades the university is asking for and are they achievable?

4. Narrow your choice down to 5 

Once you've chosen a handful of universities, you need to narrow it down to the five that you are going to be applying to.

5. Personal Statement and UCAS Send Off
Now that you've chosen your course and 5 universities it's time to write your personal statement, this won't be covered in this blog post but I might write one dedicated to it.

My Top 3 Met Gala Picks 2014

As you probably know, unless you've been apart from social media over the past few days, the Met Gala took place in New York. After having a look through all of the pictures, I thought I'd share with you some of my favourite outfits.

Beyonce (obviously)

Emma Stone

Cara Delevingne

Obviously, there was loads of other gorgeous dresses but these were my favourite three. I especially love the crop top trend that many of the celebrities went for. 

Who wore your favourite outfit? Let me know in the comments below.

Tangle Teezer Review

Before going to university, I held back on buying a Tangle Teezer because I thought they were just an over priced brush that wouldn't really do much to better the condition of my hair. However, after being at uni, some of the girls I live with have them so I got to try it out. I'm sure you know what happened next. Yes - I caved and picked myself one up from Boots.

Now that my hair is pretty long, this item has been an absolute gem at detangling my hair without ripping loads of hair out, which is what my GHD paddle brush did. My hair also feels so much softer after using this for a long period of time, especially the ends.

I've also found that after styling my hair curly or wavy, I can still brush my hair out with this and the curls don't fall out and it creates more of a beachy, effortless look, wish I've been loving recently.

The only thing I don't like about it is that the bristles seem to bend much easier than on a normal brush, so it's important to not put it in your bag with anything heavy on it that could risk bending the bristles.

Other than that, I'm really glad I bought this brush. Below is a link to the Boots site with all of the different types and colours of Tangle Teezers for you to check out!

Boots - Tangle Teezer

Favourite Scents

Hello to everyone who is reading this - I'm officially back on the blogging scene. There's been a number of different reasons why I've been absent but now I'm really feeling motivated to write again! So, I decided to share with you some scents that are absolutely lovely.

The first thing I want to talk about is this AMAZING Jo Malone candle. Just a few weeks ago I was a Jo Malone virgin and had never even stepped foot into one of their stores. However, I went along with my friend and had a good sniff around and instantly fell in love with the scent dark amber and ginger lily. I'm going to save myself the shame and difficulty and avoid trying to explain the smell, instead I've linked the website page below so you can go and check that out! Although, it does smell exactly like the Abercrombie and Hollister stores! Unfortunately, the website doesn't really give a full, detailed description of the smell, so I'd really recommend popping into the Jo Malone shop and giving it a smell!

Dark Amber & Ginger Lily

Next up are my two favourite perfumes. I love the Estee Lauder Modern Muse for during the day, and then the Armani Code for the evenings and especially nights out. The packaging is also so gorgeous! Again, the links are down below so you can see a description of the smell!

Estee Lauder Modern Muse

Armani Code

So that's it for this post, I hope that you check some of these out, they really are lovely.

Let me know if you've tried any of these or if you're going to, I'd love to know! 

Beauty Haul 2014

After just finishing my first round of university exams I though it was time to treat myself and splurge a little on some beauty and fashion items. This is my first of two hauls, the second will be a fashion haul. 

I always love seeing what people have bought so I hope you do to!

I'd been eyeing this highlighter up for a while. I wanted a more daytime/natural highlighter as I think that wearing my MAC soft and gentle is a little too much shimmer and glam for the daytime! I've been using this product for the past week and I'm really enjoying using it, it gives you a pretty pink glow making your skin look fresh!

Soap and Glory 'Glow All Out'

These blush palettes by sleek have been hyped up to death! I finally gave in and purchased the 'lace' trio. As you can see from the picture, they are extremely pigmented. Even when on the skin the pigmentation is pretty amazing and the colour lasts all day which is great value for money. The only problem is that because they're so pigmented it's really easy to go overboard so you have to be careful with how much you apply.

Sleek Blush Palette 

Everyone loves the Kate Moss lipstick collection by Rimmel and now I do too, I have completely fallen in love with this shade in 05

Kate Moss Lipstick Collection

                                       

I'm really impressed with this cheek and lip stain. I think the red looks gorgeous on pale skin without looking too scary, if you blend it well! 

Soap & Glory Cheek and Lip Stain

I finally got my hands on some of these babies! The colours celestial and luna (starting from the left) are both lovely. I was surprised that Luna looked decent on my lips as the orange tone of it scared me a little!

Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquer

(celestial, luna, Kate moss 05, Soap & Glory cheek and lip tint)

When browsing the elf website I came across these HD liquid blushes. They are extremely pigmented and the colours are lovely. However, they dry really quickly so they can be hard to blend, especially 'headliner' (on the right)

Elf HD Blushes 

(showstopper, headliner)

I really needed a brow gel to keep my eyebrows in place for the day. This brow gel was only £1.50 and works great! I can't fault it

Elf Brow Gel and Clear Mascara

I was in desperate need of some new brushes and I already have some Elf brushes and I love them so I just added to my collection and I'm so happy with them! Apologies though as I forgot to photograph the blush brush! 

Elf Blush Brush 

Elf Eyeliner Brush

Elf Small Stipple Brush

Elf Stipple Brush 

Avon Angled Brush

I'm unsure where you can get the Nougat London Gradual Tan online as I bought it in TKMAXX and couldn't find it on the Nougat website! Below is the link to the green Elf nail polish:

Elf Green Machine Nail Polish 

So that is it for my haul! I hope you've enjoyed having a nosy at some of the thing I've purchased over the past couple of weeks and remember to keep your eyes peeled for the fashion haul coming soon!

Have you tried or want to try any of the products in this haul? Let me know in the comments! 

£1 Nails!!

Whilst venturing into the realms of Primark yesterday I spotted these beauties for £1 and thought it was too good to be true. I've never actually used glue on nails before from a shop, so I didn't really know what to expect from these.

Of course, with them being only £1, I didn't have high hopes. But I was so wrong, these nails are a god send! The pattern is just the cutest thing I've ever seen so that's obviously what drew me to them. 

The glue that comes with the 24 nails is pretty decent I think, however if you're not happy with the glue you could always get another nail glue and use the nail from this kit. It will probably still end up cheaper than buying other nails!

I can honestly say that I'm going to stock up on these patterned nails and I'm also going to be getting the french tip ones so that I can paint them with one of my polishes, just to make my nails look better!

For £1 you really can't go wrong with these! However, as they are cheap they aren't that thick and so the tips can crack. I've found that it's easy to avoid this if you keep the nails the same or similar length to your actual nails then they won't crack. I'm not really using these nails to make my nails look longer, I just want them to actually look like I've made an effort filing and painting them, when actually all I've done is whack a bit of glue on my nails and stick them on!

Have you tried the Primark nails before? What are your thoughts? Let me know in the comments!

Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Foundation Review

I first heard about this product through Essiebutton on YouTube and everything that I've tried that she's recommended I have loved! Another reason for going for this foundation is that it is a drugstore foundation and now I'm on a student budget, I wanted to go for something a little cheaper. I was sort of skeptical about choosing a drugstore foundation just because I've been using more expensive brands such as MAC, Bobbi Brown and YSL. I honestly didn't think that a drugstore foundation could please me as much as an expensive one - but I was wrong!

The thing I really like about this foundation is the formula of it, it's gel based which works wonders on my dry skin, it smooths over dry areas beautifully - something my YSL foundation failed to do. It's also a serum and a foundation, so I guess that it is better for your skin and has more healthy ingredients that won't irritate the skin. I wouldn't say my skin has got better from using it, but it definitely hasn't reacted to it, no spots - nothing!

The only problem I have with the product is that I bought a shade too dark, but that's just me being stupid and not paying attention to what I picked up! I will 100% be buying it again, it really is a fantastic foundation.

If you're looking for a bit more information on it from the official site, click here

You can purchase it from here

Have you tried this foundation? What other Bourjois products would you recommend?