Hey, What's going on?

Hello Gorgeous!

I thought I would do a little blog update about my life because, over this summer, has changed quite a lot.

Firstly, my work. Over the summer I received two promotions and gained another job. I am now officially a 'Crew Trainer' at good ol' McDonald's, which basically means I've been promoted to a supervisor. Yes, har har!

In the journalistic side, I was also promoted to a sub-editor for The University Paper. This means that I am in charge of the Fashion side of the paper, which I am ecstatic about! Practice for the years to come! (Hopefully!)

I also had a drastic change with my personal life. I am no longer with my long term boyfriend. I know this may be too personal for my blog, but I want to show every aspect of my life and this was a big part of mine. I'm slowly getting there & I want to thank my amazing family & friends for the support I have received!

On 13th September, I was very lucky & privileged enough to be Maid of Honour to my godmothers wedding. Now, although I attended a wedding when I was a baba, I have never been to a wedding before. I was definitely thrown in at the deep end. But I completely and utterly enjoyed every moment of it!

Did I scrub up well?

                                            

So now, my summer 2013 is officially over; I have experienced my first festival, my first wedding & my second holiday in Turkey. It has definitely been a Summer to remember! BUT, I cannot wait for winter. Bring on Halloween, Bonfire night & cosy nights in!

Post-Holiday Blues

Hello Beautiful!

For me, Summer has reached it's end and I am preparing for the harsh winter months. Last Saturday, I landed back on British ground and since then I have had the post-holiday blues. And the British weather is definitely not helping.

For those of you who didn't know, I have just come back from two much needed weeks at Turkey. We stayed in the southern part of Turkey called Side (Pronounced seed-ay) which meets the Mediterranean sea. Side is a breath-taking place, for both the older and the young generation. Roman ruins surround the area, including the temple of Apollo. If this doesn't interest you, then the extensive bazaars and Turkish bars can tickle anyone's fancy.

Side Ruins

We were very fortunate enough to stay in the five-star hotel Asteria. I have been on numerous holidays, but I can honestly say this was by far the best holiday I have ever experience. The hotel itself was always immacualte, so it was no wonder I didn't want to return home. with it's own beach, you always had options on how you could spend your day & 3 A La Carte restaurants as well as it's own restaurant.

By the pool

The staff however, were the ones that made the holiday for me and my family. The waiters and waitress were very attentive, whenever a drink was ordered the glass would remain full. The cleaners were polite and friendly, and you would never see them unhappy. When we had a problem with our transfer times, the receptionist did everything in their power to co-operate with our needs. The Animation team; to be honest, they became a second family to us. They were always their trying to improve your holiday by encouraging you up to do pool games, dragging you up to dance and if you wanted someone to talk to, they were always their to listen. I cannot thank them enough for the experience they gave me and my family.

But now, I am experiencing the post-holiday blues and I cannot wait to return the sun next year so much so that I'm contemplating doing a work placement abroad. Stupid British weather.

And so, I am now ready to embrace the dark, cold months - which also means I can indulge on some new knitwear, ready for bonfire night.

How was your summer?

Review - Scaramanga satchel & accessories

With September slowly creeping up on us, I thought it would be the perfect time to start looking for a new University bag.

As I have mentioned before in a previous post, I absolutely love the bags provided by Scaramanga and was very excited when they sent me a few of their products to sample.

As soon as you open the package, you can already smell that beautiful leather scent - so you can already tell that the quality of the items.

The first item I received was this beautiful leather satchel, made with the finest distressed leather. With a sterdy strap, and an authentic satchel feel, I am totally in love with this bag!

With a front pockets with three buckles, the bag looks absolutely gorgeous and gives you that 'official' or 'I mean business' look that us student journalists crave.

The Satchel
£80

The bag itself is of a good size, and I'm fairly sure will be able to carry all the heavy textbooks that university will throw at me (darn it!). 

The front of the bag

 As well as being completely in love with the bag, I am obsessed with the protective covers that it came with! These beautiful Asian-patterned bags are gorgeous within itself, and are great for storing your bag when not in use.

 I was also very lucky to receive a few bonus items and, I can honestly say, these are going to get alot of use. Below there is; a pencil case, a little notepad, a keyring coin holder, a suitcase tag and 3 little purses. They are all absolutely adoreable and are all made from the leather. What more could you want?

All of these items are very affordable, and for the quality you will recieve, seem to me more like a bargain!

If you haven't already, go and visit the Scaramanga website - not only do they sell gorgeous bags, they also sell furniture, notepads and jewellery! Something that I will be investing in very soon.

What qualities do you like in a satchel?

Festival Review: Y Not

With the wellies at the ready – and a promise of wet weather, I had high expectations for the Y Not festival. As the crowds arrived, anticipation about the weekend ahead grew and the excitement soon filled the site.

With this being said, no one would never have expected an evacuation on the first night.

In the midst of watching the performance from Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip on the Friday night, the crowd are told to return to their tents due to the adverse lightning. Surely a first for Y Not?

However, this did not effect the quality of the performance as, after a short half an hour, the duo came back onstage to finish the set. He later went on the ‘rowdy-a**’ crowd'. Not even a spot of unpleasant weather can dampen the spirits of the festival-goers.

Y Not, situated in the Derbyshire Dales, showcased a range of music genres that would satisfy the pickiest of people – from classic rock to dubstep, the festival had it all.

Reaching its eighth birthday, Y Not pulled out the big stops as The Horrors, The Cribs and The Darkness headlined the festival – promising great things.

These wishes were certainly fulfilled as all three bands pulled out great shows – driving the crowds wild and definitely making the festival what it is.

The Darkness closed the festival on Sunday night and gave the crowd a performance to remember. Crowd surfing and banter about their ‘cutting edge’ logo brought a comedic approach to the show which, compared to The Cribs and The Horrors, was fairly unique.

The eccentric personality of Justin Hawkins, lead singer of The Darkness, created an electric atmosphere in the crowd as he made full use of the stage. He later tweeted about how he could not wait to return to the Midlands.

The festival, known for using up and coming bands, brought alternative rock band The 1975 to Derbyshire. The growing band managed to bring an audience so big that it overfilled out of the tent – with the crowd happily singing along with the band. This can only mean great things for the band.

The only criticism I have of the music itself at the festival is the lack of female artists on the main stage. I know the majority of males in the alternative rock industry compared to females is higher but I couldn’t help but find it old. Maybe it’s just me being feminist.

Overall, the festival exceeded the expectations set by the typical local festival and has raised the game for 2014. Can it be beaten next year? We’ll have to see.

Tickets for Y Not 2014 are on sale now at this year’s prices.

The Benefit of having good eyebrows

Hello Beautiful!

As a lover of all things to do with beauty, I tend to become fascinated with the way people approach their own looks. And, at the moment, there has been a lot of hate over the way girls address their eyebrows. For example:

Yes, I can accept that this is ridiculous. But, I believe that eyebrows have the same effect as a bold lipstick - it makes your look and defines your face. This is why I am obsessed with my brows and took drastic actions to create my dream brows. 

Previously, I actually hated my brows. They were just horrid and I now realise that I really over-shaded them in. 

Previously

On Friday, me and my good friend Emily decided to treat ourselves to getting our eyebrows done. We thought of no place better than Benefit, and we were not disappointed!

For £11.20, I had my eyebrows trimmed, waxed, shaped, plucked and filled in. I was immediately impressed! and to finish it off, I decided to tint my brows.

I decided to use Eylure Dybrow in brown to create a natural but striking look, and for £7.49 for 6 applications - I was impressed.

My finished look

If you are a virgin to getting your eyebrows done, I totally recommend the Benefit treatment the 'Benefit Brow Arch'. The staff was so helpful and I really enjoyed being pampered.

What treatments do you enjoy?

Competition time with BeTrousse

Hello my loyal readers!

Recently, I have been going through a tough personal time - meaning lack of posts. Even when I have wanted to write a blog post, my internet has decided to play up. But no fear! I am back and with a beautiful competition!

The Original Blonde Journalist has teamed up with the beauty box company BeTrousse who are giving away  one of their beauty boxes for one lucky reader!

Similar to the Glossybox, BeTrousse delivers 4 full sized products that you may have not heard of before at a small fee.

What's in the box (sorry, It won't rotate!)

In this box, you will receive JASON Normalising shampoo, Fair Naturally mango and Safflower body moisteriser, Benta Berry Facial Cleanser and Make Believe Beauty shimmer lipgloss.

How do I enter?

Go over to the BeTrousse page and give them a like, and let me know by either writing a post on this blog or over on The Original Blonde Journalist page!

Product Review - The Body Shop Face Mask

Hello beautiful!

Before using this product, I can say that I was simply a virgin when it comes to using The Body Shop products. For my price range, I have always found it really pricy and never really wanted to try the products. However, I do admire The Body Shop for its vegan-friendly products and super gorgeous scents.

I was very lucky enough to be sent two if the new packet face masks that The Body Shop has to offer and couldn't wait to give my skin a pampering!

The other day I tested out the Tea Tree face mask (£1.50) as I know that tea tree oil has a lot of good-skin ingredients to give you that healthy, feel good skin.

The packet was very generous in its amount and gave me more that enough to cover my entire face.

According to the instructions, you are advise to leave the mask on for 10 - 15 minutes, which is a much longer time frame that I'm used to. The mask went on very well and did not sting my very sensitive skin.

The results: I am actually pretty happy with the outcome! My skin feels salty, smooth to the touch and visibly clearer! With no spots to be found!

Furthermore, I would totally recommend this mask and is available to purchase in any Body Shoo store.

Have you ever tried any of The Body Shop products?

Lauren

Disney Films - Will the next generation ever understand it?

Hello Beautiful!

This is just a short post about me rambling on about my love for Disney and the challenges it faces today!

If I was to ask any child who was born in the 90's if they've ever watched a Disney movie, the answer would be 100% yes. For me, Disney had a huge impact on my life. As the first born , you could always find me watching The Lion King, The Little Mermaid or Cinderella - all classics with very important messages.

But now, as I watch my two younger sisters grow, I can't help but feel that Disney has evolved from the old Disney that I love and cherish. Yes, it may very well be because of the ever changing times - but from own personal experience I feel that children do not care about the Classic Disney - just Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez.

I could still find me to this day snuggling in bed watching Disney films - especially The Lion King. Now, I'm unsure if it's because the film was created the year I was born; or my obsession for cats, but I cannot help but adore everything about this movie! The message 'Hakuna Matata' is something I do live by, and the idea that you can move on from even the worst of times and carry on your dreams - Well, I think this message is extremely important for children today.

However, I worry that some children do not enjoy Disney the way my generation do. Instead, they focus on the new Disney - which includes Miley Cyrus. Yes, she is an amazing young lady (and I do love the new hairdo)  but now I worry 'Is she that good of a role model now?' Maybe, maybe not.

Do you enjoy Disney? What are your thoughts?

Apology for my absence!

Hello beautiful!

I hope you've all been enjoying the sunshine, because I know I have been. This is just a short post to say sorry for the lack of post over the last 2 weeks - last week I was at work for 6 days and the other days have been filled with family catch ups and receiving come great news! On Saturday, I found out that I have passed my first year of university with a 2:1 - and I am so happy with this news! And for all my lovely followers, I will be running a competition soon in partnership with Betrousse - so stay tuned for that!

Enjoy the sun guys!

Lauren

June Favourites

Hello Darlings!

June has been a very interesting month for me; officially finishing my first year at University and it's first set of exams, having to say goodbye to some amazing ladies and working towards a promotion at work. The weather has been amazing! meaning I have changed my winter make up look, to a bronzed diva summer look. Here are a few of favourites of the June month:

Benefit's Sunbeam Highlighter

£19.50

This bronze-tinted highlighter is definitely a must for any summer look. Similar to the top-selling High Beam, I find this highlighter easily blendable and gives your face a lovely glow. I have never used highlighters before I brought this item, and I really am enjoying using it! I dot it along my jawline, nose, eyebrows and above my lip - blending it with my foundation brush. If you are looking for a cheap, alternative highlighter MUA do a lovely powder highlighter in their 'Undress Me' range.

Nanshy Face Brushes

£34.95

As detailed in my last post, I really do love these brushes! Soft but stiff, these brushes give me a flawless finish in seconds! Just remember to put on a primer before foundation to give you that extra staying power.

MAC 'Riri Woo' Lipstick

Rihanna and her lipstick 

Me wearing the lipstick 

Yes, I am a sucker for red lipsticks. However, this is my first purchase of a MAC lipstick. I am so happy with my purchase and cannot wait buy more MAC lipsticks! It is a deep red, but I do like the colour against my skin tone. It is also a semi-matt lipstick,  also a new trend in my lipstick collection. If you want something brighter than this shade, I would recommend the sister lipstick Ruby Woo. 

Bourjois BB Bronzing Cream

£9.99 from Boots

A BB cream with a hint of bronzer? Isn't this product just made for summer!? This is officially my first BB cream and I love the idea that when I go on holiday, I can still wear a touch of make up to create a gorgeous look. The only thing I have noticed that you need to moisturise well before using this product as it seem to get darker in dry places. All in all though, brilliant product!