FIRST YEAR OF UNIVERSITY...RESULTS, NIGHT LIFE, LIVING ON CAMPUS ....WAS IT ALL WORTH IT?

FIRST YEAR OF UNIVERSITY...RESULTS, NIGHT LIFE, LIVING ON CAMPUS ....WAS IT ALL WORTH IT?

Saturday, June 24, 2017

Hi everyone! I can't believe that my latest blog post was dated back to December last year, I am sooo bad at this blogging malarkey but I vow to try and get back into the swing of things. Lately I have been suffering from writers block and although I had loads of new ideas for content on here, I couldn't find the time or words to sit down and express all of it to you guys. So for that I apologise, and now lets jump straight into the topic for todays blogpost......UNIVERSITY! 


So some of you may know that I have just finished my first year of uni at UWE Bristol, I can hand on heart say that I have had a blast and met some of the nicest people that I will be friends with for a very long time.  I received my results from Year 1 today, and I kind of had an idea what they would be based on my progress throughout the year. 

For those of you who don't know I study BA Business Management with Marketing and I am pleased to announce that I scored 68.13% as my average for the year, which translates as a high 2:1. I was a bit gutted at first that I didn't get a 1st (70%) just because I know how close I was to getting it and I wanted for once to prove to myself that I am intelligent and can achieve anything that my little heart desires hahah. 

Nevertheless I am still very proud of myself and whilst I know that Year 1 doesn't count towards my final grade for the end of my degree, I know that achieving a 2:1 puts me in a good position to apply for placements in third year. As you need to have at least a 2:1 or 1st in Year 1 to do placement. 

Now onto the nightlife.... Bristol is one of the busiest, most expensive cities to live in, in the UK. But who really cares when you have the likes of Motion and Lakota on your doorstep??? Not I 

One thing that I really love about Bristol is the vast, diversity of people that you will come across, everyone is so unique yet their hearts are filled with gold. In other words, you can walk down to your local shops wearing a bright yellow neon skirt with makeup everywhere at 3pm on a Monday afternoon and no one will bat an eyelid (trust me, I've tried this before), hahaha no really I am joking but I have definitely gone to the shops on campus wearing pajamas and no one has looked at me twice. That my friends is the BEAUTY of Bristol... and if that hasn't swayed you enough to transfer uni's to UWE then you can doing it COMPLETELY WRONG. 

I officially moved out of halls two weeks ago and I haven't felt the same since....

I know what you're all thinking, why is she being so dramatic right? Wrong, when you've gone to uni yourself and lived in halls for a year I guarantee that you will feel a similar way. I think for me, more so than anything it is the convenience of it all that makes me miss it so much, if you're lazy like I am and prefer living 2 minutes from all of your friends flats, the campus shops, the gym and lectures then you will understand the pain that I am enduring.

However living on campus means living so far away from town and the night life in Bris, which results in paying ridiculous prices for Ubers and Taxis. I mean who do the taxi drivers think they are?? We are students, not millionaires and I struggle to understand how they can justify charging £20 to drive 10 minutes into town... 

But next year I will be living in a house which is half way between town and uni with 5 overly hormonal, dramatic, & hilarious gals. It is safe to say that Bristol won't know whats hit it...

(Yeah and I bet you've heard that one before)

So far I am only one year into my degree so I cannot comment on the rest of my years yet but at the moment, it has definitely been worth going to UWE. For someone who 3 years ago would have never considered university as an option, I have come a long way and feel like I have made the right choice. In regards to my degree course, I do kind of wish that I picked either English Literature or Philosophy instead just because I have a strong interest in both fields and would someday like to become a writer (ahhhh, I've finally said it...theres no going back now Leah). I know that I can always do a Masters in English Lit afterwards if I wish or I can do online courses at home to earn a Diploma in Creative Writing/Blogging. Using this platform to blog regularly will really help me to develop my style of writing and skills set so watch this space haha

Thank you lovely's for taking the time to read my first blog post of 2017!!!! Wow it feels weird writing that, but anyways stay tuned for similar blog posts and if anyone has any feedback or questions please feel free to comment below :) 

Love Leah xx

5 HIGH END AND HIGH STREET FOUNDATION REVIEWS, SWATCH TESTS

5 HIGH END AND HIGH STREET FOUNDATION REVIEWS, SWATCH TESTS

Thursday, July 30, 2015

Hello everyone! 

Today I will be reviewing five different foundations that range from light to full coverage. The prices between my foundations vary; with some being high-end and others being high street. Some of these foundations I have been using for years and others I have been using for a few weeks. I will be providing you with SWATCH tests on all of the foundations, and showing you the tools that I use to create a flawless finish.

( Left to Right : No7 Stay Perfect Foundation, Maybelline Fit me Foundation, MAC Studio Fix Fluid, Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation and Revlon's Photo Ready Foundation)

(No7 Stay Foundation in Warm Beige.) 

I have been using this foundation for a good two years now, its light-weight and easy to build upon. This foundation is medium to full coverage but requires a couple of layers to create a flawless look. I would recommend this product to people with combination, normal to dry skin because the foundation is moisturising and has SPF15 inside it. The colour match service provided by Boots is fantastic because you're guaranteed to find a foundation in your shade as there is a wide variety. I don't really think you could go wrong for £14.50 when the foundation lasts for ages. The foundation matches my skin tone so well, however I usually opt for darker shades because I want to be more tanned.

I would rate this foundation a 3.5/5 because it's lightweight and good for the price!

I apologise for the poor lighting guys, the light brown colour on the far right is the shade of this foundation. 

(Maybelline Fit me Foundation in 220)

This foundation got recommended to me by a friend a couple of months ago, she has the same skin tone as me and used this product religiously. I thought I would try it out and see what the hype was about; first of all I think that the packaging is really boring.

 The packaging of a product is so important because it usually determines whether I buy it or not; sometimes I've bought products purely because the packaging was nice. The foundation retails at £7.99 which is really affordable if you're on a budget. 

The shade range of the Fit me foundations really dissapointed me because in my local Boots there was only a choice of 3 colours to choose from. However, when I looked online there is a variety of shades but it is a massive gamble because you don't know what colour will match your skin tone best. I feel like Maybelline doesn't really cater to darker skin girls, which is a daily struggle for me.

In terms of coverage, I would say that this foundation is light to medium because it doesn't completely conceal impurities but can be built up. I usually use one layer of this foundation before I apply my MAC Studio Fix Fluid to create a matte finish.

I would rate this product  2.5/5 because of the lack of shades available for darker skin zones.

(Revlon Photo Ready Foundation in 009 Rich Ginger) 

I have only used this foundation a handful of times, it is medium coverage which can be built up to full coverage. I do find that if I apply this foundation after I have put a primer/moisturiser on my face first that it becomes very oily and tends to come off my skin very easily. Although there is a wider variety in the shade range for Revlon as opposed to Maybelline, the foundation itself is very pinkie/yellowy toned and would need to be mixed with another foundation to avoid this. 

So far this foundation hasn't wowed me and for £12.99 in the Beauty outlet, I thought it would have by now. 

I would rate this foundation for a 2/5 purely because it doesn't stay on my skin for very long and I hate having to apply loads of layers throughout the day. 

(Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation in Ivory Beige)

This is one of my favourite foundations because it has a matte finish and is full coverage! I am so obsessed with foundations that provide full coverage to hide my blemishes. I have heard so many mixed reviews about this product that I decided to try it out for myself!. I have worn this foundation out on many nights out and it has stayed in place all night long. It is more on the high-end spectrum of foundations retailing at £30.00, which is a good investment if you like high-quality products. I had my shade tested for this foundation back in February and after going on holiday, I have come back too dark to be able to wear this. Even 3 months after I came back from holiday, it is still too light for me which secretly breaks my heart. So I think this foundation will have to be saved for the winter when I am slightly lighter.

I would rate this foundation 4/5 because although it's an all-round great foundation, it can sometimes be hard to remove using make-up wipes or Garnier Micellar water.

As you can see from this picture, Ivory Beige is way too pale for my skin at the moment *sighs*

(MAC Studio Fix Fluid in NC40)

 And my all time favourite foundation goes to........ MAC Studio Fix Fluid. I purchased this foundation on holiday for around $30 and can't get enough of it! The texture of the foundation is very creamy and it applies evenly if used correctly (with a beauty blender). This product is full coverage and I tend to use one layer day to day, and two-three layers if I am going on a night out. This shade is darker than my natural skin tone, however when mixed with concealer it evens it out.

I have had this foundation since April and I still have loads of product left, despite using it everyday which is great!

The only thing that annoyed me about this product is that it didn't come with its own foundation pump, which makes it extremely difficult to pour out. I eventually bought my own one because I got frustrated with how much product that I was wasting when doing my foundation.

I would rate this foundation a 4/5 because there is a wide variety of different shades and the coverage is fab!.

Final SWATCH test 

Left to Right ( Maybelline Fit Me Foundation, Estee Lauder Double Wear, No7 Stay Perfect Foundation, Revlon Photo Ready Foundation, and MAC Studio Fix Fluid)

FOUNDATION TOOLS

A beauty blender

Makeup brushes

Thank you for reading my blog post! Comment below your favourite foundations and any you think that I should check out :) 

Love you all

Leah x