My Favourite Hair Products

AUSSIE SHAMPOO, CONDITIONERS & 3 MINUTE MIRACLE
Having previously worked at Superdrug for 2 years, I couldn't help but find that most of my wages earned was spent in the store itself. When you're in that mood to just mindshop (yes 'tis what I named it - when you pretend to work but actually check out the things you're most likely going to buy at the end of your shift). I found that working in the hair department was probably one of the worst times of my life. I tended to buy lots of L'Oréal Recital Preference or Feria hair dyes and ended up ruining my hair with so many products. Trust me, I used, gel, hairsprays, mousse, all types and kinds of hair dye in various colours, Sun-In, you name it! Not to mention, years of GHD straightening lead to the destruction of my once thick, beautiful healthy hair. For me, the solution to repair such terrible hair was essentially finding the right shampoo. 

The care for hair starts right at the very beginning in my opinion, so for me that's the washing. Shampoo is essential in my endless list of MUST-HAVE beauty products and with my damaged hair, I needed to find something that was gentle and would do the job. I tried various products and tested for at least four weeks before deciding whether or not it was worth it. Most shampoos ended up giving me dandruff which was a problem, and I found I kept shuffling between a new product and my old shampoo. Catastrophic. Every three months of so, I would have hair falling out followed my a shower of what looked like snow on my shoulders...

Eventually I was replenishing stock on the shelves and came across a new product that was initially exclusive to Superdrug called "Aussie". Being cynical as ever, I was reluctant to spend on a shampoo that was relatively new. However after a week or so the Aussie products were on offer, 2 for £5 and well... mindshopping led to temptation. Boy, was I surprised! I bought the shampoo and conditioner called "Smooth Mate" which is contains blue gumtree leaves and is AMAZING! It's a bit gooey in texture but the after effects on my hair made it feel incredibly soft. My hair felt new, smelled bubblegum nice and felt like a newborn baby's hair.It didn't take long before I fell addicted to these products and the 3 minute miracle conditioner was perfect for my damaged hair, and I must say 3 years down the line now and my hair still feels amazing! What's even better is the price! Most people would spend around £8 or more for a bottle of REDKEN shampoo and this is only £3.45 at Superdrug! You can purchase the product at www.superdrug.com and for more info check out www.aussiehair.com. 

British Weather - So Unpredictable?

LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW!
I woke up this morning only to find that my whole window was covered in snow! As much as it may have lit up my room (I have a skylight window) from it's beautiful glowing white, snow is a HUGE inconvenience. England doesn't get much snow and as amateur as it may be that we can't deal with handling a few inches of snow, the fact of the matter is, our government doesn't put enough funding into buying grit to make our very tiny roads safe and well, inevitably, accidents happen. I took a few snapshots from my window of what it looks like:

And with that I decided I may as well embrace the weather, since we don't see very much of it! Having said that, the last few winters we've also had snow which doesn't occur much but may be a result of global warming, who knows? I decided to lighten up my day, since I didn't get to go shopping, and build a mini snowman:
I think I'm gonna call him Tim. Tim the tiny snowman. 

The Lyceum Theatre West End Musical

THE LION KING
I cannot describe to you the feel good experience you get out of watching an old time childhood favourite cartoon come to life on stage! The Lion King is undoubtedly the most brilliant theatre performance I have ever seen and to those of you who have the chance to see it and still haven't - what are you waiting for? 

From the choreograph to the staging and costume design (award winning too) to the actors and music, this show is unbelievably brilliant! I could sit here and spoil everything for you, but that'll take away all the magic and surprises. For years I've been recommended to go watch The Lion King in the theatres and I never truly understood how great it is, until now!

Pictures from Lyceum theatre website. Due to the nature of the show, photography is strictly prohibited. I did manage to get a couple of snapshots of the theatre though:
If you're itching to go watch a theatre performance I would highly recommend to watch The Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre in London's west end. You can purchase tickets online from www.lastminute.com or for more information check out www.lyceum-theatre.co.ukClick for preview and enjoy!

BAFTA Screening and Cast Q&A

FOUR LIONS

So today I got the amazing chance to go to a screening of the movie Four Lions to celebrate the BAFTA Orange Rising Star Award for Riz Ahmed who stars as Omar in the film. Having been one of the most controversial movies out, full of all things terrorist, I must say Four Lions is a definite must see movie. A great film which sure as hell made my stomach ache from hours of laughing!

A picture of myself and Kayvan Novak (also known as phonejacker and facejacker) 

who stars in the movie as the character Waj.

Countdown to the London Olympics 2012

CADBURY'S SPOTS Vs STRIPES

The countdown to the London Olympics is in it's full swing as Londoners brace themselves for either the most anticipated glorious event in decades, or arguably, the worst! To celebrate Royal Mail have teamed together with Cadbury producing 12,000 matter boxes all of which contain the two remaining finalist pocket games which are competing to become a brand new game before 2012! Having been one of those lucky 12,000 I've tried and tested both pockets games and have voted for the best (in my opinion of course) to win. For information check out www.spotsvsstripes.com and sign up if you've decided whether you want to represent spots or stripes! 

Live Horror Show

GHASTLY TALES

I am known for being mad enough to chase things (that would in a normal situation scare the bleepers out of people) and have always had this crazy yearn inside of me to want to explore into supernatural phenomenon. I mean the ghost hunts, witch hunts, horrible tales, folklore, live scare shows - you name it, I've seen, done, and practically heard them all! Anyway, I've seen this theatre show advertised everywhere across London for a while now and finally got the chance to check it out.

Ghost Stories is currently still running at the Duke of York theatre in London's west end and tickets can be purchased at www.ghoststoriestheshow.co.uk so be sure to check it out! 


From my personal experience the show was not as frightening as I had anticipated it to be, however the stories are chained together brilliantly well. The actors were amazing and the show was well constructed to play on most people's fears. I won't give away too much because you really have to judge for yourself! In terms of psychological damage, I reckon I'll be ok. Movies such as The Haunting in Connecticut, Paranormal Activity and Mirrors still play on my personal fears however as this is a live theatre, given just how much you are able to work with I think they did well to play on our generic fear of death. The show focuses on three main stories and leaves you to be the judge on just how much you may want to believe... 

Designer Sales For £10 Or Less!

AMAZING WEBSITE

So I was googling away on my break today bored silly and came across this website called www.10orless.co.uk which is where you can find bargain clothes sold at a sale prices and I found some amazing purses for only £3! The website is pretty much like a cooler version (much cooler version) of a price comparison website, except it shows you all the items and they’re listed like a regular online clothes retailer. Once you click on what you like, it links you to the webpage where you can find the deal. I know what you’re thinking... so then what’s the point? Well, sometimes when you just want to browse for something at a specific price most websites have endless pages of stuff to sell which start with the smallest accessory and then they present that accessory in different colours. Then you find you waste most of your time trying to skim through to the item you might actually want to buy. Well this website doesn’t do that! Also, it combines the best £10 or less offers from some of the best bargain online retailers such as www.boohoo.com, www.asos.com, www.fashionunion.co.uk, and www.fashionworld.co.uk! 

Lush Handmade Cosmetics

LUSH-IOUS GIFTS AND HALLOWE’EN FUN
I’ve always been a HUGE HUGE fan of Lush products and I can’t quite get enough of the whiff of gorgeous alluring smells I come across when I walk past the shop. No matter how late I may be or how desperate to rush to the loo, whenever I’m within a 25 metre radius of Lush, all my priorities instantly die. My favourite products would have to be their classic bath bombs! I get so excited each time I think about how they fizz up and melt away in my bath tub, especially the ones with butterfly confetti in them... it’s like a magical scene from Alice in wonderland each and every time I have a bath. =D
I’ve just come across their new festive products on their website and I must say, I am very looking forward to my next trip as they’ve already got their Christmas collection out! Here are some of the Halloween goodies that I would recommend to get your hands on:The Lady Catrina Soap Bar £2.95 each (100g)The Calavera Bath Bomb £2.95 each (180g)Both items are vegan friendly.

Also maybe try their citrus snow globe:

This is £1.95 (100g)All products can be purchased off the LUSH website.

The best thing about Lush is that their products are all made 100% from organic ingredients and most items can be purchased under a fiver! KWOARRR, go on say it with me... THAT’S PRETTY AWESOME!

Be sure to let me know what you purchase at www.lush.co.uk!

Eyeko Cosmetics

Eyeko London's Cutest Cosmetics
I discovered Eyeko Cosmetics around 5 years ago when I used to work part time at Superdrugs (a drugstore) in Brixton, London. We used to sell Eyeko products on a stand in the cosmetics aisle and I was covering a shift when I noticed them. At first I took a look at the packaging and assumed it was just something that was there as Christmas gift stock and wouldn't be there permanently. After a year or so I attended an Anime Expo in Excel (London), during the summer, and came across a stall selling the products at bargain prices. I bought a little gift set which included an eyeshadow palette, a fat balm, some face wipes and also a larger palette which included eyeshadow and lipglosses for about £5. After I returned home I opened and tested the items and found that they were pretty damn good!


The eyeshadow palette that I purchased was a round small tin that had blue, black, charcoal, white and purple colours which I still use today! The quality of the eyeshadow is great and lasts for very long hours without gathering up on the creases. And best of all, it comes in a covenient tin you could pop in your bag. 


I recently visited their website (www.eyeko.com) and I am so excited that the fat balms are soon returning because they are awesome! Nothing is better than a juicy fat balm. Mine was a minty fresh one which lasted me a while and seriously guys... it's one of them ones, you know, once it's on you can't but help licking your lips every three seconds or so. 





Another product I would highly recommend is the graffiti eyeliner. It works just as well as the Loreal Superliner, easy to grip and apply and you can use one hand without having to think about holding the eyeliner pot. Works just like a felt tip pen! They're also cheaper (£5) and come in black, navy, brown and purple:





I've recently ordered my nail polish package "the darkside" which has all the colours I love, people often tell me I have a goth side to me hahahahaha!!! But I'll be sure to let you guys know what the nail polishes are like! 


As an ambassador for Eyeko cosmetics, be sure to use my code E9550 if you shop online to receive yourself a free gift at checkout. Happy shopping! =D

Final Year Back Again

Another year, hell will be let loose this time.
Student life is stressful. STRESSFUL. Regardless of what others say about students being lazy, spending too much, partying too much when it comes to demands and deadlines everybody breaks because it's not just a period of your life that may almost never really depend on your actual career, however much you may be lead to believe that the subject you choose to study is ACTUALLY where you're heading in the next five years or so.
Believe me, as a student myself, I've already changed my course three times and this much overdue last year is finally here, with much deliberation and procrastination, I actually made it! =D
Yeah... don't get me started on tuition fees and the amount of debt I have at this current moment. Guess I fit the stereotype eh?

I hate how the system works. At 14 I was pressured into making decisions about my future when I myself didn't have a clue as to what field I wanted to enter in later life. Realistically, how is a 14 year old meant to decide what they want to do? I read yesterday in Stylist Magazine that the greatest fashion designers ended up in fashion as a second choice career. Who would believe Vivienne Westwood was a primary school teacher? The pressure on students to make decisions young hasn't helped me in my academic path and I think it's safe to say there are probably hundreds and thousands who feel exactly the same. I've realised that over the past few years I've learned, developed and attained skills in various fields that a few years back I would never DREAM of entering and it's such a shame that those life changing decisions had to be made at the wrong time. Now it's all about money right up until the end, if I want to pursue a career I have a passion in, I need the £££!

I guess we'll see where my path leads me.

Photoshoots for Charity

Fundraising = Stress + Events Management = Hard Work
This summer has been a long period of unemployment for me and my social life has been practically funded by three of my closest friends (I love you guys if you're reading this) who I owe so much to! <3 MUCHO LOVEEE! Searching for a job not only became long and routine but so overwhelming and disappointing. Being a student, I've spent the past five years in part-time jobs mainly in retail and call centres and wanted to spend this summer in a job that not only was different, but also pays better. Current recession didn't help the latter so I decided to apply for an events management position within a charity. We managed to pull together a photo shoot experience which raised just over £500 and considering it was my very first ever event, I believe it was a good enough achievement. We managed to book the venue for free, hire some amazing photographers and make-up artists and pulled the whole thing together rather smoothly. 


Here are the flyers I designed for the previous and upcoming photo shoot:




And here's the flyer I designed for the designer clothes sale:
Upcoming end of summer event flyer:

Can anyone spot where I am in one of the flyers? LOLHere are some of the photo shoot pictures (you can see some of them in the flyers): 






Prices are higher for the upcoming photo shoot event as we have world class Photographers and Make-Up Artists and we are hiring out a professional photo studio. The event will be taking place at IM studio near Whitechapel (London) and starts 10.30 finishes 18.30 so if you want a booking email photography@shanti-international.org.uk and book a time slot. The photoshoot costs £45 which is 100% donated to the charity and this is all inclusive of hair styling, make-up and between 20-30 photographs.

Into the world of me!

Let's start from the beginning... 
A much overdue blog post is finally here. I've been meaning to get a start on this and never really had the time to be bothered but a new me has been born this academic year.


People often refer to me as the random girl who has a tendency to partake in various crazy activities, acts way too often on impulse and generally tries everything once (note: "generally" -there are SOME boundaries). So, I'm a 22 year old student waiting to graduate as I'm in my final year of study at university. I'm currently studying Psychology but I don't actually know if it's a field I want to pursue a career in. =/ The joys of being a clueless student. 


In my spare time I like to fill my life up with things that keep me busy, I work part time as an events organiser for a charity organising photo shoots to raise money (will post pictures and examples later, if you want to see my private portfolio work check the link to my website at the bottom - click the banner) and recently became an aspiring make-up artist. I like to do graphic design every now and then, designing flyers etc.


Every now and then I enjoy a rant, however I will try my very best to make these blogs more about the joys of being a young Londoner so I hope you enjoy reading! =P