//

I seriously am becoming one of them bloggers who constantly promises to keep updating, but never does. I have literally been so stressed out with Uni this term, but thankfully I have one day left and I'm finished for the term. I have to hand in two more essays on Friday, which is so scary. Thankfully, I only have two exams in January, but an essay due as well. I don't think I prepared myself for the jump from first year into second, there is so much work to do, and there is the constant pressure of knowing that this year actually counts to your degree. Being one of those people who stress out over the smallest things, I think you can imagine how much this thought has stressed me out! Thankfully though, today I signed for my new house which has taken one of my stresses away, and it is absolutely beautiful. And leaving my job has made Uni seem far more doable, often doing up to 30 hours a week, on top of lectures, coursework and readings was getting way too much for me. 


Hopefully the Christmas break will encourage me to blog more. I'm so excited to get back to Birmingham and see my friends and family, its been so long. Also, next semester one of my modules is based on social media trends, so a lot of blogging will be involved there! If I can stick to it, I might start doing OOTD'S, just to keep you updated somehow! 

update

I've had a busy couple of days that have completely stressed me out. Essays, uni, working, house hunting, and making time to do other things is literally draining me at the moment! It is so scary to think that I am looking for a house that I will be living in as of next september, and with the lack of funds due to my plan for next summer I am stressing so bad. House hunting is such a chore! On a brighter note though, I've just handed in a huge essay today, so I guess that is one stress out of the way. But knowing that I have rushed it because I have had to do more hours than contracted at work is literally stressing me out even more. I'm so excited to have a day in bed after my 9am lecture tomorrow, I refuse to move! I'm going to get straight into my comfies, watch films all day and eat heck loads of chocolate and treat myself to 1 billion cups of tea.  I might put aside a bit of my day in bed to plan some interesting posts -you lucky little things!



P.s// someone help me think of plans/ presents that I would like for my 20th birthday- please! 

bunkhouse cardiff

Bunkhouse, my future home please!                             

This place is amazing. It is like a beautiful little den that you can hide away in, and just chill out and avoid all your revision worries and uni stresses! It's a hostel which is pretty cool but I haven't stopped in the rooms, I literally go for a drink or two. You can pop down for a drink during the day, I opted for lemon ginger tea today it was heaven! Or pop down on the night, where its more lively with music and full of people, and treat yourself to a fruity cider or even a cheeky spirit or two. This place is up there when it comes to my favourite places, it is bliss and every time I go back, I begin to love it even more! 

Disposable

So after having this disposable camera in my bag at all times for the past 4 months, it was interesting to see what photos I had snapped up. Some of the photos I came out with were nice to see, as they made me remember a few things that I had completely forgotten about. The first photo was from the day we scattered my grandmothers ashes.  The whole family went on a boat trip and it was a really nice day to reflect on everything, such a beautiful send off to a beautiful lady. The second photo is from when I came to visit Ryan back in Cardiff over Summer, we went to this place called Cosmeston Lakes. It was so nice there and I definitely cannot wait to pay it a visit again next Summer. I just hope the scary animation of a priest in the medieval village section doesn't creep me out again! The third photo was from a trip to Bristol. It was one of my favourite days, and my disposable was a lucky little thing for being able to tag along. The photo is of these cute apartments that were pastel pink and gated off, which made them seem really precious. But the scruffy-ness of the surroundings completely juxtaposed how pretty they were, it actually looked beautiful. The final photograph is from this place called Bunkhouse in Cardiff. It is full of dainty little things, fairy lights, cider, oh and beds- so cosy! 

I think I'm going to make it a rule from now on that everywhere I go over the next few years, a disposable camera will stay in my bag and come with me. Even if it is a trip to the corner shop, who knows what I will see! 


(Click images to enlarge.) 

Topshop Autumn / Winter Trends

no.1 Dark Craft
I love dark clothes, even in Summer I find myself wearing all black! After browsing this trend on the Topshop website, I am finding it hard to resist the urge to click add to basket for everything. It's a trend that stands out with loads of lace textures, glitter, and dark prints. My favourite things, especially when it is redeemed acceptable to mix and match them all together. There is nothing better than teaming those three things up with bright lipstick, ideal for a night out or even a day when you feel like a change and putting some effort in! This is the ideal outfit that I would very much so like in my life please from the Dark Craft trend.

Click To Buy.
Lips in Trigger, Fluffy Knitted Jumper, Autumn Floral Tea Dress, Velvet Lace Up Shoes.


no.2 This is England
For this trend it seems Topshop have gone to the past and bought back the English essentials from the 80's. Leather, double denim, faux fur are all over this trend. It comes across with quite an androgynous feel, making a laid back effortless look up there with the trends. Think Agyness Deyn, mixed with a big of Alexa Chung. Now, my ideal outfit from the This is England trend.

Click To Buy.
Pork Pie Hat, Airforce MA1 Bomber Jacket, White Ankle Pop Socks, Andromeda Lace Up Boots, Moto Mom Jeans,  Linen Mix Stripe Tee. 


no.3 Margots World
Pastel colours are everywhere, and they will always have a place in my life! This trend is the most feminine out of the trends, and it has a feel of mixing vintage with preppy. It has a fairy tale vibe going through it, full of dainty cute pieces. Out of all of the trends, this was the hardest one to come up with just one outfit, so instead I am giving you an insight to my favourite things from the trend. 

Click To Buy.
Nails in Bashful, 50's Bralet, Knitted Angora Cable Jumper, Martie T Bar Geek Shoes.  


Well done Topshop, you have impressed me. 

Chaiholics, Cardiff

After an afternoon of charity shopping with Ryan, we accidentally came across this cute little place called Chaiholics. If you know me, you know how much I enjoy a Chai Tea Latte from Starbucks/ Nero/ Costa, so to find a place that is dedicated to different types of Chai I was more than over the moon. It's located in a tiny little arcade sort of thing called the Globe on Wellfield Road, but it stands out immediately so you cannot avoid it! To begin with, we were overwhelmed by the amount of choice.  I went for the classic Masala Chai, and I do not regret my choice one bit! As weird as it sounds, it tastes so earthly and natural, not over done with sweeteners which I feel is the problem with the standard Chai from generic places. First I thought it would just be a place I would go to when it was freezing cold, but on another visit when it was relatively warm ( I know, weird for Cardiff), we came across the Iced Chai Tea's. I went for the Very Berries, which was so good that my mouth is watering whilst typing this right now. The staff and the owner made the experience here even more lovelier than a standard tea house. They talk to you on a personal level, and go through everything with you on the menu. We were also greeted with a lovely complimentary cake on our second visit from the owner, who even came over for a little chat with us because he recognised us from previous visits. Check out the website here, and just look at how amazing the menu is!

Sorry!

I've not really been up to date with this blog lately, I reverted back to my Tumblr for a bit but I am back on Blogspot now for good! ( I promise). I've had a busy few weeks/ months but I am finally back in Cardiff in my second year of Uni. It is ridiculous how much work there is in comparison to first year, I am already feeling nervous for the amount of work Uni will pile on us next year! I also luckily got a job at New Look in Cardiff. If anyone is looking for a job at the moment I literally suggest you force your CV's on people, I spent most of Summer at home finding a job for when I returned, and luckily I got this one within the first 2 weeks of being there. Just be honest with employers about hours, I've been really lucky with mine. Whilst being at Uni, it is tough to find a job that suits the hours you want so just be honest about your availability instead of getting one million times more stressed about Uni work piling up!

Josh Beech ft Shenae Grimes for Cut and Run London

The Fault In Our Stars - John Green

So after the major hype about this book, and after the label of being New York Times number one best seller, I finally decided to give it ago. After a day of wondering around town I couldn't avoid it, it was pretty much everywhere, it was definitely a sign for me to read it! So i'm going to try and write a bit about it, without giving too much away, if you haven't read it you are definitely missing out but I will be nice and save the major details! When I got back to my flat, I got into bed at 6pm, (the joys of student life...) with my fairy lights on and fully got sucked into this book. Green created characters that allow the reader to identify with, and it allows you to look at such major illnesses from a different perspective. Augustus Waters is presented to be the stereotypical, cliche guy character, whilst Hazel Grace is presented to be the stereotypical crushing-on-a-boy- girl character. Usually I hate this, I think its absolutely rank and overrated, but for Augustus and Hazel it really works. It is interesting to see how they both struggle with their own individual illness', yet Green presents them to have a positive aspect on their lives. At points whilst reading, I did go into the hopeful teenager soppy mode, of just wanting Augustus and Hazel to end up together because they seemed to understand each other so well, but Green plays this so well and drags it out to save the cliche soppyness. This approach makes it a far less cheesy read, which I literally could not put down until 6 hours after I had started it and finished it. If you want a read that gives you a different perspective on life, definitely indulge in this. It's predictable yet not predictable at the same time, why did this book have to end?!

p.s warning: you will be sobbing your eyes out

“You don't get to choose if you get hurt in this world...but you do have some say in who hurts you. I like my choices.” 

Models 1: New Faces

Few of my favourite of the new faces, definitely cannot wait to see more of these!

Jamie Lee, Thierry Lecomte, Josh Rowley, Tommy Lee, Tristan Piggot

Cut & Run London ft Shenae Grimes

So naturally, I should hate Shenae Grimes considering she stole my man (Josh Beech). And finding out she was collaborating with Cut & Run London made me even more jealous. I have to say though, her jewellery designs are amazing. I'm very into dainty pieces, and the ones she has released are definitely all designs I will end up blowing my money on. They are very summery, and her personal style, something else I envy, is heavily portrayed. She's said that Josh Beech has helped her with the designs, and that they have collaborated her L.A style, with his far more rough around the edges London style. March needs to hurry up, so I can get my hands on this jewellery! Grimes, give me your jewellery, style, and my man back!

                         

visit to london

I didn't take that many pictures because my hands were freezing off! But London was lovely. It was pretty shit having to wake up at silly o clock to get to London in the cold snowy weather and feeling ill, but as soon as we went through Chelsea I was full on in my element. I swear I have never been so excited! Camden was definitely my favourite part of London, I've always loved it and hadn't been back in two years, so I was more than excited to get back down there! Despite craving Camden noodles for days before going down, we opted to have Wagamamas, nothing beats firecracker rice and peach ice tea. Just as we sat down, I was joking like ha, theres a guy that looks like he belongs in One Direction, turns out it was Niall from One Direction, spending his dollaaaar in wagas. Definately want to go back down to London some time soon, hopefully it will be warmer so I dont feel like an idiot for eating frozen yogurt in the snow next time!

general update and chit chat

I’ve probably grown to love Cardiff more than anything in the past few days, and it kind of sucks that I’m currently on my way back to Birmingham, because I will actually miss Cardiff! It’s like a weird little cycle, I always get excited about the prospect of getting to go home, but as soon as I get back into Birmingham I miss everything Welsh! I thought I’d share a few things about the last few days in Cardiff, partially because I hope you’ll find it a good read, and partially because I’m on a four hour journey home, trying my hardest not to get bored. I guess I could be revising for exams on this coach, but procrastination is getting the best of me.

First I’ll update you on a cheeky few steals. With Christmas money, sales, and staff discount at Urban Outfitters, I just couldn’t resist these new bargains. I managed to find two dresses from Topshop, and a cute little playsuit from Miss Selfridges. The two dresses both have lace detail, something I seriously cannot get enough of. The white lace dress has a Lana Del Rey-esque feel to it; it’s very elegant and girly, which is something that I never usually go for. I tend to avoid the colour white, it’s always seemed risky to me, I wonder how long it will take me to stain the poor thing.  It’s a dress that can be worn casually during the day, with a denim shirt over it or cardigan, yet it also seems appropriate for a few drinks/meal out. Following my ‘black dress’ post, I figured there was an urgency to get a black dress in my life!  After browsing around, Topshop offered me this lovely dress for an amazing price of £30. Bargain. The playsuit is something I would never go for usually either, I’m such a clumsy person, and it is extremely girly with floral patterns. I wore this playsuit on NYE, and struggled so much when I ‘broke the seal’. I guess that’s my own fault though, playsuits may look good, but I have always figured they are not practical for a night out! Yet, I can imagine it to look lovely in Summer, so it’s a decent investment.

With my staff discount at Urban Outfitters, and these lovely Sparkle and Fade velvet shorts screaming out at me to buy them, I decided it was finally time to invest in them. I opted to go for XS in the shorts, because of the awkward sizing at UO it just seemed appropriate to do so. However, although these shorts are lush to look at, I’m finding it hard to even think of when to wear them, because they are way too short! This is probably why they are categorised under Women’s Accessories at work, so if you’re into the whole ‘under wear is outer wear’ look, these are seriously amazing, but I will definitely pair these shorts with dark opaque tights, to avoid judgmental looks on a night out! Another new thing in my life is my pug pillow, which my mom kindly surprised me with. Just look at how cute it is!  You will soon begin to learn that I am obsessed with pugs, that’s if you didn’t know already!

So what have I been up to for the past few days? Well Thursday night consisted of going down to the Woody for a barbecue chicken and bacon melt, highly recommend it, fuck it is lush! It then accidently turned into drinking silly amounts of apple vodka and a night out in Cardiff. It was fairly quiet in Cardiff, so we ended up going Live Lounge, and sitting on a sofa laughing at gross couples that were eating each other’s faces off. Luckily though, I ended up with a double bed this night and falling asleep with Russell Brand. (This sounds so inappropriate, so I’ll let you know that by falling asleep with Brand, I mean falling asleep with him on TV).  Hangover day was different this time, instead I was shown where the Chinese supermarkets were, and got little treats and found out that pandan cake is available on Sundays, so exciting! I’m eating my white rabbit sweets right now, they’re so addictive and taste like mini milks, mm! Pizza also came in the equation of hangover day, as did acting like fourteen year olds and using inappropriate names to order!  I also bought some fabric to start making my own bunting for my room, I’ve already started and there will be a post on it pretty soon, I just need to finish it at home when I can get back to my sewing machine!

I’ve been trying my hardest to revise, with exams coming up in the next two weeks; I am still finding it hard to concentrate. I have two exams, on the 16^th and 17^th, Human Communication and History of Mass Media; I seriously cannot wait to get them over and done with. I will behave when I’m back at home, and become a bookworm and revise loads, I promise!  I’m excited to get back and get exams done because me and my friend Liam have decided we are going to make the most out of Cardiff and stop being lazy!

This post has been fairly brief, and I promise to make photos far more interesting after my exams! 

illamasqua gleam cream and mac eyeshadow palette

Illamasqua- Gleam Cream.

I remember hearing about the brand Illamasqua and being dead intrigued. It was two summers ago, I'd finished my GCSE's and I was bored as fuck so decided to tag along to work with my mama. I remember it being really hot and moaning about having to travel down to London, but after shit loads of moaning this is still one day I'm glad my mom dragged me out of bed for! We got into London to find ourselves in the Illamasqua offices, as they were doing the make-up for one of the fashion shows my mom was organising. And guess who's son owns the brand? Vivienne Westwood's , Joseph Corre is his name, he's class check him out. But guess who I was in an office with? It was me, my mother, Corre, and Westwood. I had to try my hardest not to fan girl at this point, and act completely interested in the make-up. I didn't even have to pretend I was intrigued, within a few minutes the brand had won me over. I was extremely touched by the charity work Illamasqua were involved with, Corre explained that there was a woman who was brutally murdered due to looking 'different', for being 'counter-cultural'. He then began to explain how the brand support 'difference', and accept this 'difference'. It wasn't just this heartwarming story that had won me over, within a few days I had received a parcel, full of Illamasqua goodies from Corre. I was addicted, nail varnishes, face creams, eyeshadows, eyeliners and mascaras, my makeup box was full of it! All of the products were amazing, but I'd just finished school, left my job at Nicky Clarke, I was extremely poor.

But there was one product I knew I had to continue to purchase, even if it meant scraping the last pennies out of my purse. Illamasqua- Gleam Cream. Its a product that you apply as a base, I tend to use it on my cheekbones to highlight them and give them some definition, because i have the chubbiest cheeks ever, this product is like magic to me. It leaves a subtle shine, which if you apply foundation over, it looks like a natural definition. I only use it when I go on nights out, and considering I'm a fresher thats quite a few nights out a week, one bottle has lasted me four months. The application is extremely easy, I literally just put a small dot on my finger and rub it onto my cheeks. The definition lasts a long long time which is always a positive because I never need to top up, which saves any waste. My overdraft isn't looking too healthy at the moment, but its just something I cannot live without! 

     

                                                        Mac- Eyeshadow Palette.

When receiving this as a Christmas Present, I had mixed thoughts and feelings. My first thought was, Mac! I have always loved Mac, ever since I'd started wearing makeup, I would always sneak in my mothers trusty little makeup bag and steal the odd Mac product. I'd always deny taking these products and never give them back, because I would literally fall in love. My second thought was, fuck they're bright colours. I'm super boring when it comes to doing my makeup, I literally apply foundation, black eyeliner and mascara, occasionally the bright lipstick and head off out. I guess I've always felt comfortable sticking to dark eye makeup, because it has always seemed safe to do so. Its so easy to over do it with bright colours, especially eyeshadow and end up looking tacky. However, these colours are growing on me. Luckily, Mac have chosen colours that work well together, and they grouped suitable shades together, making it easy to blend without looking OTT. The application is fairly easy, its a dusty eyeshadow so I literally just use an eyeshadow brush to apply. However, a sassy little trick I've learn't whilst tagging along and helping out at fashion shows/photo-shoots is to apply water to the brush, so that the powder becomes a form of liquid. This then enables the bright colours to be used as eyeliners, something I feel a lot safer using than eyeshadow! 

not so little black dresses

Both dresses are a steal for the prices, especially when Topshop offer the handy 10% student 

discount. Trust me, when you're so far into an overdraft as I am, even Topshops' cheeky little discount offer seems like the best thing in the whole wide world. Without a doubt, every girl needs a black dress in their wardrobe, they're versatile and handy when it comes to last minute plans for a night out. Unfortunately though, my wardrobe suffers from having 0 black dresses, which is quite shocking considering black is the most consistent colour within my wardrobe! I guess I've always bought black tops/skirts/shorts, and put them together; the trusty black topshop skater skirt and  black bandeau work a dream team in creating an illusion of a black dress, but I guess its time to invest in a real one now, being 19 without a black dress just seems way too wrong!

The high neck mini bodycon is definitely worthy of the small £22 price tag. It's quite classy for a black dress, making it suitable for both a night out in town, or even just drinks at the local. I'm dead keen on the high neck feature on this dress, since working in Urban Outfitters, high neck features are all that I have been lusting! The minimalistic features of this dress make it extremely appealing, I can imagine teaming it with sparkly socks and wedges could work a treat.

I've always been a fan of longer dresses and skirts, but never quite had the confidence to even attempt to pull them off. Being only 5'3, its one of those things I would usually feel self conscious about, and fear looking stumpy. Luckily, this midi length seems a suitable, as it wouldn't drown my figure completely. Its also quite simplistic which I'm a fan of, theres nothing better than finding a simple dress and dressing it up with jewellery. I'm pretty confident that this dress would look amazing with bulky necklaces, and chunky wedges for a night out, or merely teaming it with a leather jacket, a scarf and heeled boots for a far more casual look.

Fuck, I might just get both.

uni and cardiff in general

The more I think about it, it is quite weird how I've ended up in Cardiff, considering it wasn't even one of my choices for University. I remember waking up on results day and feeling sick with nerves because I had convinced myself I had failed my a-levels, and convinced myself that i was going to stay in Birmingham for another year, whilst all of my friends had ventured off onto doing better things. Luckily, and thankfully, my hard work paid off, and I got into both my insurance, Sheffield Hallam, and first choice, Brighton. Literally, I cannot explain how over the moon I was, I had spent the previous year getting excited about the prospect of living in Brighton, and picturing myself there was finally becoming real. However, as the weekend went by, I did a bit of research and took a gamble, and rang up Cardiff Uni, a Uni who are known to specialise in my course, and had a casual chat with one of the lecturers. Next thing you know, my life plans had changed, everything I'd pictured for a whole year had changed in the matter of a few minutes, I was going to become a Welsh student! It was quite daunting changing everything last minute, sorting out accommodation, altering things on UCAS, and to add to the stress I had to sort it all out whilst at Reading Festival, whilst being absolutely fucked out of my face. Thankfully though, it paid off, and after 3749032409327 calls to UCAS, explaining the importance and nagging them to hurry with application changes, I am now living in Cardiff and at a fairly decent uni. The more I think about it, the more I realise it was such a huge risk to change life plans so quickly, especially when I had never been to Cardiff in my whole life. Best risk I have ever made, I have ended up meeting and living with some class people, and got a job at Urban Outfitters.

thanks UCAS adjustment! 

Keaton Henson

That beard, that voice, that awkwardness, Henson is perfection! I was so glad when I came across his music, slowly i became obsessed, googling articles about him, over analysing interviews about him (wow I sound like a freak). So basically, he's a singer/songwriter from London who has stage fright, hates the idea of fame, hardly does any gigs, and records music from his bedroom. How cute. His personality makes him stand out, and his awkwardness works so well in relation to his music.

Not only is he a singer/songwriter, just when I thought things couldn't get any more perfect, I found out he's an illustrator too! Yet again, there is an awkward presence in his illustration//

The other night I listened to his music for hours in bed, and decided to get my own sketchpad out. This was my result//

(I apologise for the quality, it was a photo taken on my phone)

p.s If anyone wants to treat me to something amazing, Keaton Henson' illustration book Gloaming would be very much so appreciated.

self.

So I thought it was about time to get into a new blog, because my mind just rambles on and on, and I get over excited about silly little things. I guess it would be nice to share these silly little things I get excited about with other people. I haven't blogged properly in a while, I'll admit that my previous blog had no aim what so ever, but this blog will - I promise! Well about myself, I'm Reen/Reenie/Coco/Cokes.  I'm from Birmingham, but currently in Cardiff studying Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies. That's all I'm really going to say about myself, I guess my blog will pretty much expand on my personality and the notion of 'self'.