My Study Essentials

My Study Essentials

With uni starting back I'm having less ad less time to focus on blogging, I was already starting to fall behind on notes by week 2! Here are my top items that I use to study and my study life would not be the same without!

Whitelines Paper
This is my biggest one! Whitelines paper is revolutionary and will genuinely change your study life! Not only do the white lines make everything easier to read and cause less strain on the eyes, they're also equipped with technology allowing you to create digital copies of all your notes that you can carry around with you on your phone.

Pastel Highlighters
I love my notes to be pretty, I can't help it, I'm a visual learner so if something is pretty I'm more likely to want to look at it and remember it. One way I do this is by using pastel highlighters. Mine are from Stabilo

Planner
Not necessarily a study essential but an absolute essential for uni life. With timetables constantly changing it's important to keep on top of what classes you have each week. There are so many styles of planner available so make sure you find one that suits you best. I used to bullet journal but then had no time for the upkeep which completely defeated the purpose!

Coloured Pens (previous paid partnership)
Again as a visual learner, I like to add a pop of colour to things every so often. I use the Pentel EnerGel pens for this because they have such a vast range of colours and they are super great quality but any coloured pens will do the job!

What are your top study items?

tarte mystery bag: unboxing

tarte mystery bag: unboxing

I'm a simple girl, I see makeup sales, I buy makeup. It's a vicious circle but a few weeks back tarte had a sale on and I definitely DID THE THING! The mystery bag (which cost me the grand total of £40) was purchased and on its way to me.

I've been slacking a lot on the old blog posting front lately because I'm so busy with uni so here's a rundown of what I got in my mystery bag along with some first impression reviews.

Mystery BAG

as it's a mystery bag, everything came along with a cute little makeup pouch which says 'never not busy' on the front which is the absolute TRUTH of a final year university student.

Stay Spray (Sample) (X)

I'm a die-hard Urban Decay all nighter setting spray type of gal so I was intrigued to see how this one compared. They're very different consistencies. The Tarte spray is a lot more liquidy than the urban decay spray which is an interesting change. It keeps my makeup on well though! I've just come home from a whole day at uni and it's still on my face!

Kitten Liner (X)

I was actually on the lookout for a new eyeliner and this one works so so well, it has the right applicator and just glides on very nicely. BIG FAN. Also, it has a little kitten head on the lid so what's not to love!

Lights, Camera, Lashes Mascara (X)

It's nice, but it's not my favourite mascara I've ever used (hi too faced better than sex). It's lengthening, which as someone with naturally long lashes anyway, I don't really need so that's most likely why it didn't click with me. I did like it better on my lower lashes on my top lashes though. A good masacara, and in super cute packaging, but just not for me!

Tarteist Lip Paint (X)

Okay so if you know me you know that I love me some lipstick and ordinarily I'd go for a solid lipstick as supposed to a liquid lipstick but this liquid lipstick is EVERYTHING! I have the shade front row which is a really pretty dark mauve shade, which is one of my favourite lip colours! It goes on like a dream and is super long-lasting! A BIG WIN!

Rainforest of the Sea Palette Volume II (X)

When I pulled this out of the package I DIED! I've wanted this palette for so long I was STOKED. It's so pretty!! The colours are all neutrals and it's kind of similar to the tartelette in bloom which I already have but it's different enough to merit its own palette. It's not super-duper pigmented but I like that as it allows you to build up colours and keep it as natural as you want which is perfect for me for going to university.

Anyway, I'm a big big fan of all the products and definitely would purchase again even though it left me a little out of pocket I think it was worth it! Here's the finished look I did using all of my new products.

I also filmed a first impressions video if you want to take a look at that!

Have you used any Tarte products before? Let me know your thoughts!

Super Easy Scone Recipe

Super Easy Scone Recipe

I don't know about you but I bloody love the Great British Bake Off. I'm so excited for the final 2 weeks that I've been baking again! I made these scones last week and lots of you were asking for the recipe so here's a super easy scone recipe for y'all courtesy of a nice lady from church!

INGREDIENTS

500g Self Raising Flour

125g Butter

125g Caster Sugar

1 Egg

Natural Yoghurt

Optional: Cherries/Sultanas

1. Rub the butter into the flour

2. Add sugar 

3. Add dried fruit (if wanted)

4. Beat egg and add to mixture

5. Gradually add small amounts of yoghurt until dough is firm.

6. Roll on a floured board, cut into shapes and place on a baking tray

7. Bake at 180ºC for 10-15 minutes

8. Leave to cool on a wire rack

VOILA! Super easy, super delicious scones, best served warm with some butter MMMM! let me know if you make these I'd love to see your attempts! 

my enneagram and me: type 9

my enneagram and me: type 9

This is basically just a personal waffley post mainly because I wanted an excuse to use the multitudes of pictures I took at the sunflower fields and haven't used yet but also because I've been thinking a lot about my enneagram lately and figured that there are definitely other people feeling the same way as me.

"TYPE NINE PROBLEMS AM I RIGHT!"

This is potentially my most used phrase. Hello, I'm Alice and I'm a type 9, also known as the peacemaker. Can my fellow type nines give me a whoop whoop! I'm not at all claiming to be some sort of enneagram expert and each enneagram type is distinct and different people express their type differently but this is just a few things that I notice in myself.

The Peacemaker, avoiding conflict is our big motivation but that can be both conflicts with each other, or with ourselves. This can manifest itself in many forms and as with everything, it can be in healthy doses and unhealthy doses. And at the minute I'm teetering on the edge of unhealthy so here's what I'm promising to do about it!

At their best type nines are at peace with themselves and able to form strong relationships with others, Deeply receptive, accepting, unselfconscious, emotionally stable and serene. Trusting of self and others, at ease with self and life, innocent and simple. Patient, unpretentious, good-natured, genuinely nice people who are generally optimistic, reassuring and supportive. Sounds great right?

However, as avoiders of conflicts, it can be very easy to diverge into less healthy levels. The second that a choice emerges, we tend to go with the flow and become much less peacemakers and much more just go-with-the-flow-ers. Saying yes to things just because offering an alternative would cause a very minor conflict to arise. We avoid asking for things so as not to inconvenience people and for lack of a better phrase 'keep the peace'.

This also leads to a lot of procrastination, and let me just tell you I am a MASTER procrastinator, I literally can't ride a bike because I procrastinated it too much as a child, start as you mean to go on I guess. 

This can occur with responsibilities but also with problems. Addressing the challenge at hand can sometimes seem too daunting a task so we just push them under the rug and think we'll deal with them later but hoarding up problems just leads to a multitude of problems to deal with at a later stage leading to overwhelming bouts of anxiety and stress.

I'm currently feeling very much stuck at a level of putting other people's plans and priorities above my own so that's something that I'm planning on working on this October. Making sure I'm doing things that I want to do and not things that other people want to do that I'm just going along with because I'm a go-with-the-flow-er, while also making sure that I'm being accommodating and positive about other people's ideas too.

If you don't know your enneagram type I'd definitely suggest looking into it, there's a test you can take to give you an idea. It's a great tool to use for your personal development and allows you to understand a little bit more about how you operate at healthy and unhealthy levels. 

Also definitely listen to Sleeping At Last's Enneagram EP because I guarantee that your song will give you ALL THE FEELS. I waited over a year for Nine but it was worth it!  

And if you know your enneagram type, drop it below because I'm nosy and love knowing people's types!                                                                   

just some random september picks

just some random september picks

Long time no post! After a summer of travelling and blogging A LOT I decided to take a little break so now I'm going back to the blogger roots with this post and decided to share a few things that I've been loving lately with a good old fashioned favourites post. This is a very eclectic mix of stuff because I'm notorious for liking too many things and liking too many things too quickly and seriously so without further ado let's get straight into this.

What I'm Watching
It's no lie that I'm a bit of a Netflix fan, actually, a LOT of a Netflix fan and particularly Spanish Netflix. Elite season 2! I've been waiting for this to drop. I was literally up at 8am for the drop ready to go and binge the HECK out of this show! It did not disappoint and I have many, MANY thoughts, (Which if you follow me on twitter you've probably read enough of SORRY!).

What I'm Reading
Before I even owned Red, White and Royal Blue I knew it was going to be my favourite book of the year and boy oh boy oh boy. Simon Vs The Homosapiens Agenda is one of my favourite books of all time and this book gave me a similar vibe. I LOVED. I've had a pretty terrible reading year this year but I absorbed this and deffo recommend.

What I'm Listening To
I have the strangest taste in music ever. I can go from acoustic, to rock to something obscure and Swedish and here's a selection of everything and in fairness, all I've really been listening to this month is Los Dias Raros by Vetusta Morla after it's exquisite use in Elite (yes sorry back onto Elite again). But my pick for this list is the New Maisie Peters BOP 'This Is On You'. I love everything Maisie puts out and this is no different. DEFFO recommend listening to all her stuff, she's the BEST!




What I'm Wearing
I recently finally picked up Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara and I AM OBSESSED. I'd seen people talking about it forever and was like 'surely a mascara can't be THAT good' I'm always wary about buying high-end makeup products because I know I'm going to end up loving them and ends up costing me more money but alas I love it!

RANDOM PICK
Back to uni means freshers and we had a board games night and It's rekindled my love of Monopoly Deal which I genuinely haven't picked up for years but is such a good game. I love board games and table games so if you know any good ones fire them my way!

What things have you been loving recently?

Things I Wish I Knew Before Starting Uni

Things I Wish I Knew Before Starting Uni

It's September (honestly where did the summer go!) and that means two things schools are back and universities are ALMOST back. Thank goodness for long university holidays am I right? I'm going into my final year of university this year which is a scary scary old time but starting university for the first time can also be really scary so here are some tips of things I've learned in the past three years that I wish I knew when I started.

The backpack is the Mint Backpack from Madlug and is not owned, purely modelled for editorial use however I do own nine other Madlug backpacks.

No one cares what you look like
Your uni wardrobe can seem like a daunting task but in reality, for class, most people will turn up in sweats and a t-shirt with their hair up in a messy bun. I'm the anomaly that likes to dress up for every single occasion of my life and yes people have commented on my style in class but for the most part it's pretty much a non-event so don't stress too much about waking up at 6am to make yourself look presentable for 9am lectures because in reality nobody really cares.

Budget, budget, budget
Student life can be expensive and as someone who's just started life on their own, it can be really tricky to learn how to manage your money. I was fortunate enough that my dad is a debt coach and money management specialist and he gave me all the tricks on how to best manage money as a student. The one that saved me the most in first year was using cash, take out a select volume of cash for the week and try to limit yourself to only using it also using separate bank accounts to manage your direct debits, your spending money and your savings. I also definitely recommend checking out Monzo to help with managing your money. Sign up here* and get £5 automatically credited to your account. On the whole, don't blow your student loan in the first week on fresher's events because more than likely you'll need it more at a later stage when you've run out of money to pay your rent (raises hand that I'm most definitely guilty of this).

*Affiliate link- I'll also receive £5 for every referral 

Have fun
While you are predominantly there to study and get a degree, your uni years are some of the most formative years of your life and if you spend them all locked up in the library studying, chances are you'll regret it later. What I'm really saying is the FOMO is real! Yes work hard, but don't let your need to succeed and do well in class stop you from enjoying yourself.

Lectures will only get you so far...
but please go to lectures! Lectures are really beneficial to your understanding of the modules but in order to actually do well, you need to also do additional reading. Taking notes in lectures doesn't need to be immensely detailed but anything you think is useful or interesting is usually good to jot down and you can supplement your notes with independent reading and study later.

Not everyone will be 18

I felt like when I started university I was just expecting everyone in my class to be in the same stage of life as me but that's not necessarily the case. Yes, a lot of people will be fresh out of school but many people will also have taken gap years or even have worked for a number of years before pursuing a degree. Especially if you're older and starting uni for the first time, there may be an overwhelming number of 18-year-olds milling around but it's not like school and not everyone is the same age.

Pinterest Uni Rooms are a lie!
As you go to uni you'll be so ready to have your own space to design exactly how you want it and make it as Pinterest ready as possible but realistically, if you don't have a Pinterest room at home, you're not going to have a Pinterest room at uni. I'm so guilty of thinking I was suddenly going to be tidy and organised when I moved into my own space but that most definitely did not happen and the infamous floordrobe made its unwelcome return.

What is one thing you wish you knew before starting university? Or if you are just starting out what are you most excited about?

Feeling Myself With Pink Parcel

Feeling Myself With Pink Parcel

Your period is a funny old time. I miss the early days when your period used to just be a slight inconvenience because now I always have the WORST cramps during the first few days but then they die away but I also have to suffer through really long periods. Oh, how I envy people who don't have to bleed for a week.

I recently received my August box from Pink Parcel which is a period subscription service which caters towards you by providing you with all the sanitary products you need as well as some goodies to keep you feeling yourself during that time of the month.

I received the product free of charge for review/content creation purposes but it retails at 3 different price points. 

The Needs: £5 a month

All the sanitary products that you'll need for the month, you get to choose your fem-care products between tampons or pads so it's catered towards your needs. You can schedule it to arrive when your period does. It works to you.

The Wants: £8 a month

Just a little box of goodies and pick-me-ups for you to treat yourself while you may not be feeling your best.

All Of It: £11 a month

All the needs and all the wants in one place. (this is the one I got)

What was in My August Box?

I'm a pad user, I have a love-hate relationship with tampons but it's predominantly hate, so I chose to receive pads as my fem-care product of choice, they even let me choose my favourite always pads with the wings! The fem-care I received was a little bag that says self love full of pads and liners, a box of night pads, and another box of pads.

For my wants box, I received: a milk hot chocolate spoon from Cocoba, a lip gloss from Floss, a hair mask from Mudmasky, a face mask from Minus 417 (which I'm most excited about because I love a face mask), a coffee bag from Lyons and an spf lip balm from Anatomicals and a makeup brush from Moonface.

If you want to sign up to Pink Parcel you can do it here!

Rwanda: My First Time in Africa

Rwanda: My First Time in Africa

Hello! I've spent ten days in Rwanda this August. If you don't know where that is, it's a tiny little country in the very centre of Africa (I say tiny but it's actually twice the size of Northern Ireland). I've travelled a lot around Europe but this was my first time ever venturing into Africa and similar to my Naples post I thought I'd do a little travel diary of this trip as well.

My Safari Experience

My Safari Experience

I recently had my very first safari experience and it was pretty surreal. I thought I'd do a little write up about it and discuss my expectations and experience, pretty much because I have so many photos I want to post.