Sunday 16 June 2013

The Liebster Award #3

    So here we are again with the Liebster Award, this is my third time of being nominated and this time it was by the lovely blogger, Rosie (http://thirtyminuteloveaffair.blogspot.co.uk/) she is new to the bloggers world so be kind and give her a follow! For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Liebster Award, it is where bloggers nominate their favourite blogs who have under 200 followers to expose them to new fans. I will answer a series of questions Rosie's picked out, then I set my own and nominate a number of bloggers!


Tuesday 11 June 2013

Exploring Future Universities || Lincoln University

   Hi guys! So as I promised here's another installment from my Exploring Future Universities series that I've started and this time its at Lincoln University. Now for those of you who are unaware, I hope to be studying Journalism during my time at university participating in any extracurricular possible and I feel Lincoln really opens those doors for me. It roughly takes 2 and a half hours driving (with clear roads) to get to the university as I live just outside of Manchester, although the journey is enjoyable as it's mostly green areas so you get some sheep or cows every couple of miles. One thing I must point out while it's fresh in my memory and at the start of this post is that, there is a toll right outside of Lincoln (literally 20 steps before the welcome to Lincoln sign). The toll itself was only a couple of pennies, however I was completely unaware of this when planning the journey, so make sure you have some spare change in your car.

    Anyway onto the university itself, situated just outside are a few useful shops such as Lidl/Aldi (they're practically the same right?) and a holiday inn, now I found this really considerant close to the university as those of you who have been students or had siblings in that situation know you scrap every penny together for food etc. So cheap shops that do supply quality food, household items is essential and the holiday inn allows family members to come visit if they wish without a 20 minute drive in the morning from their hotel.

    The campus is absolutely stunning, because I was struck for time as we arrived slightly later than originally planned I was unable to take photographs but instead absorbed the scenery, but you can take my word for it as being remarkably stunning for a campus. The campus is divided into two sections, with a railway running through the middle (there's high stairs/lift to let you get to the other side) the far side of the campus contains the media building and lecture rooms along with the main administrations building alongside a canal with some cute boats floating about. On the opposite side of this canal is a variation of restaurants such as Nandos, Chiquitos, Harvester along with a large cinema. In contrast to this the other side of campus holds the SU bar, business/law building, some accommodation along with the Engine Shed (their concert venue). So you're not stuck of places to go out to at night. 

    As for the course I'm doing, student life, finance I went to all of these talks missing the accommodation talk/tour and a few other tours around the city of Lincoln. Due to living quite a distance away and due to some other personal issues around the time, I was unable to attend the full open day which ran from 9:00 till 16:00 so I'm planning on attending another while visiting my cousin who's in a university about 40 minutes away. Like I said previously, I hope to do journalism, my course talk covered journalism, along with their other subjects in that field such as investigative journalism and public relations. The talk was outstanding, explaining reasons for committing to the course, previous student experience  awards the university have won and a short introduction to some of the lecturers and professors. 

    Overall from what I've already seen from the couple of hours I was there, I'm all hands on deck to attend Lincoln university, although I still have to take the next open days into consideration. Did you visit Lincoln university over the weekend? What course did you look at and did it live up to your expectations? Comment below as I'd love to hear other peoples opinions.


Friday 7 June 2013

Exploring Future Universities || Chester University

    So today, I went on an organised trip through my college with Chester University a couple of weeks ago we listed three universities within an hours drive which we'd like to have a look around and I got put into the Chester group. I infact places Huddersfield down as my first choice but not enough students applied so it was sadly cancelled. I partially knew one girl in my group who I got to speak to more over the course of the day, as well as her friend.

    I live in the Greater Manchester area and it took me  approximately 40 minutes on each journey there and back, which is rather convenient if I wanted to visit home over the weekend or when I have to temporarily move out over the Christmas holidays. I've never really explored Chester, but I did go once to a killer Chinese all you can eat buffet so that is a plus if it's close by. When we arrived the university looked very traditionalist, besides the construction work which will be finished by 2014, introducing (if I remember correctly) semi-catered halls for first year students.

    We had two student touring us around the campus, which consisted of a girl in her second year I believe studying nutrition and on of their mature students (this is when adults over 21 decide to start uni at a later age) who was studying combined English Language and education (again if I remember that correctly). Both of them were very friendly and informative and I in fact sat with them during our dinner break along with a few other students, to talk about their experiences with coursework, exams etc.

Cheese and ham panini & salad £2.30 with Strawberries and cream starbucks (large) £2.98
    One thing that I loved about the university was they had their own Starbucks inside the university, which was roughly 50p cheaper than in the high street next door to their own SU shop that stocked makeup, toiletries and snacks like chocolate or sausage rolls (the lads were rather dashing too). We went around some of the accommodations but because their students still have exams, we weren't able to look inside any rooms which was quite disappointing.

    Another aspect that I found really good was that their gym membership only cost £20 for an entire year! You would normally pay that every month or even more in regular gyms so that really gave me the kick to think of starting their gym (if I went the university), they also provide free personal trainers for x amount of time every week along with a swimming pool that is free and sport classes.

    I'm going to be visiting a couple of universities over these next 5 months or so, I hope to make these posts every time I visit one uni, to help give those in the year below me some advice for when they get around to picking universities. I'm visiting Lincoln university tomorrow so I should have another one of these posts up tomorrow evening, hope you enjoyed!

Monday 3 June 2013

Topshop || Tall Section Weekly Selections #3

Dark Floral Print Joggers || £35
    The first clothing item for this weekly selections are these lovely dark joggers, that are elasticated around the waist and ankles. These fit straight into the sports luxe trend and although I was quite apprehensive towards this trend I'm quite partial to the comfortable aspect to the trend. Being a lazy, laid back dresser 80% of the time, I've been wearing my paisley elasticated joggers whenever the weather was suitable. The dark shades of green, black and a lighter lavender shade are extremely flattering to all figures especially if you're cautious of your hips/thighs. I'm quite swayed to purchasing these joggers as the material is slightly thicker than that of my paisley joggers, so they would be appropriate for all seasons.

Acid Denim Flippy Dress || £36
    The next piece is this lovely floppy denim skater styled dress with a lovely laced up back, acid wash is a trend that never goes out of fashion and it definitely won't over this summer. The two layers to the dress, creates a more summery tone and more character to the overall product. The detailing on the back, gives you extra space for your skin to breath stopping horrible summer sweats in awkward spaces. The simplistic nature of the dress allows you to layer up in the colder days with tights or thin t-shirts like in the picture above, this to me justifies the rather high price of £36 as it's a very versatile piece. 

Embroidered White Crop Top || £22
    The second to last piece is this lovely crop top that falls into the white trend which I made a post previously about (click here to read) as I said in the post, white is a brilliant shade to bring into spring/summer as it's very fresh and pure looking. The mesh section at the front enables your skin to breath but also gives an alternative and more edgy look to something rather plain. The embroidered detailing is also another aspect of the top that makes it stand out from the rest, as pairing this with a thick, chunky gold chain would enhance these patterns. 

Bodycon Denim Skirt || £26
    Finally my absolute favourite piece from this entire post, the denim skirt. I love this piece as it incorporates the latest pencil skirt trend with denim to toughen it up (also weather appropriate for the uk). This piece is bodycon, so it's very flatter hugging but paired with the right crop top, long tee or band tshirt you could manipulate any odd lumps and bumps to suit your shape. I feel a rather 90's nostalgia whenever I look at this skirt and I can imagine somebody with their hair up in a scrunchy (which are coming back too!), rocking some velvet garment while listening to their hit clips. 

Sunday 2 June 2013

REVIEWED || Tangle Teezer




      After wanting this product for what seems centuries, I've finally managed to get my hands on a Tangle Teezer, those of you who have been following my blog will know I bleach my hair every few months which leaves it in a tatty and tangled state. Due to the continuous dying I have rather weak hair that pulls outs whenever its brushed, especially while it's damp. I remember watching Shaun P, the creator going on Dragons Den with his idea and being sadly rejected, I bet the dragons are kicking themselves now after such a success!

    As mentioned in my Fuerteventura post, I tried picking this product up on the flight home but they'd sold out after the first few rows on the flight, however I am glad I've waited till now as I was able to pick up this lovely neon orange and yellow shade which just screams summer and makes me smile everytime I look at it. The bristles are made from plastic are are raised at a variety of levels allowing your hair to pass through each bristle without excessive pulling or ripping. 

    I paid £10.99 for this product and after seeing how well it performs I would willingly pay up to £20.00, I've battled with knotty hair for a couple of years and it gets to the point where you either completely neglect your hair and don't brush it at all (making the situation worse) or end up ripping half of your hair out in one go. I've also tested this product on my two year old sister, Ruby who constantly puts food in her hair causing it to be knotted quite often. The tangle teezer allowed me to brush out any knots or food out of her hair, without hurting or pulling her hair making a pleasant experience for the little one. 

    I would hands down recommend this product 10 times over to everyone and anybody as it's the best product I have bought all year and it's so inexpensive for the wonderful outcome! Head down to your nearest Boots or Superdrug, bin your hair brush and pick up the revolutionary tangle teezer, you won't regret it!