Update (Feb 2012)

Hello my lovely ladies,

I thought I'd update you on the ultra thrilling and glamorous life I'm leading at the moment*

You might have noticed my blog has been neglected lately, I'm hoping it (and you) can forgive me in time. It will be a long hard process, but I promise that I can change and hopefully make you both happy. I bought you some chocolates which I put in the post for you to make amends :)**. Anyway, here's a quick post of what I've been up to lately and why I haven't been updating that often!

Katie and me on a night out

I'm a glutton for punishment so even though I only have one module this semester (one hour each day on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays) I'll often stay in Uni all day long afterwards working. I force myself to research and write up practise exams until I get to the stage where eating my own poo is a more appealing prospect than looking at another history book. I used to study crazily back in ye olde college days, but at Uni everything kind of went a bit wrong. I ended up failing everything and had to resit the whole year booo. Understandably I don't want to be ready for retirement by the time I graduate so hopefully you can understand my Uni woes and need to lock myself in the study area.

My natural hair colour in this one eek. Not sure which I prefer!

Since I'm only part time at the moment, I decided I'd study on a makeup course which I've been meaning to do forever. It's a really fun course and so different to anything else I've studied as it's so interactive. The theoretical work is SO LONG though. It's not particularly hard as they pretty much give you the answers but you have to copy it all down and it has to be handwritten so it takes me about an hour per page (the book is like thiry pages long FML). The course itself is four hours on a Saturday which passes so quickly, always a good sign as some courses I've took in the past have only been an hour and dragged so much. I'm planning on uploading videos of what we're learning in class. Obviously I'm not an expert by any means but I thought it might be helpful to show what we're taught for anyone who is interested, and also as my own method of revision so I can remember all the processes.

Me, my sister's gf Jill, and Vicky. Must mention I put my makeup on in a tinted mirror hence the uber heavy application! haha

Alongside this I also got accepted for a scholarship in Business Writing. Since I'm interested in exploring PR and Marketing I've been teamed with a specialist in this area which was a bit scary because she's crazy successful and is testing me weekly. I have quite a lot of homework and seminars for this course too so everything together is pretty demanding and I'm so zonked out by the end of the week all I want to do is sleep for a thousand days.

My life is sounding pretty tragic so far but I see my friends and family a lot in the time I have free. I've had some lovely nights out recently (photos scattered in this post) and have just been enjoying life generally. I went so long worrying about everything and beating myself up about things last year, but choosing not to worry has made me so happy. Obviously it's hard not to worry sometimes especially for someone such as myself, but just given myself permission to not care about things has made me feel so much less stressed. I've also decided to just do things that make me happy (I'm a notorious people pleaser, always end up getting roped into things I don't want to do ha) and I wish that I just did what made me happy many moons ago. I feel like Lester in American Beauty! haha.

Anyway, to leave you with some random thoughts. Firstly, I've just realised how incredibly adorable sea otters are. They actually make my heart melt with their adorable little faces.

Source

THEY ARE HOLDING HANDS. If you don't find that cute then you have no soul.

I've just finished reading Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh which was amazing. I really recommend it and you can read the first few chapters for free I think via Amazon. Some complain it's hard to read but I think once you get used to the writing style it becomes a lot easier. 

Hope you're all having a lovely week :)!


* This statement is a complete lie
** Also a lie

Splurge Vs Steal: Nude Polishes

Nude polishes have paved the way for neutral, chic, work-place friendly fingers. When they chip, they are not as garish as their more colourful polish counterparts, but they give that edge of glamour without being unprofessional. I've accumulated five nude polishes which I grab when I want to look a bit more understated, and I decided to put them to the test against each other. Were the splurges really worth their hefty price tag? Or are they some bargainous alternatives waiting with your name on them?

I wore all five on my digits for a week and can honestly say there was no difference between the longevity of them as they all chipped within the same amount of time. I struggled to tell the difference between Cafe au Lait by Rimmel (£3.49),  So Simple by No7 (£7) and Basil Street by Nails inc (£11) at all, other than Basil Street was slightly more opaque that the other two. One big difference however is the price tag. The Rimmel polish works out 30p per ml, the No 7 polish at 70p per ml, and the Nails inc polish at the more hefty 110p per ml. For that reason if you're after a subtle sheen then I would definitely recommend a bargain buy with the Rimmel Polish. The one I've linked is the exact same shade I've got, just in the more snazzy updated packaging if you're wondering why they differ.

Mushroom by Barry M of course is more of a matte dark brown than a subtle shade like the others. This is a personal favourite of mine and also works out as cheap as the Rimmel Polish at only 30p a ml. The only draw back is that when this bad boy chips its dark colour makes it extremely obvious, so its a total no-no for on the go girls who don't have time to upkeep nails throughout the week.

Finally we are left with the Nails inc colour London. This was a freebie with an offer running alongside Diet Coke, but I have included this anyway as I tend to find that Nails inc often will give the same colours out in a range of different freebie offers, so you are likely to find this colour once again. Honestly, I don't find Nails Inc as anything special, and definitely not worth £11 a polish, but they are worth it if you can get them as freebies. Glamour magazine occasionally has them as freebies, and similarly Diet Coke and certain deodorant brands so it's worth keeping an eye out.

Overall then, I'd say there is very little difference between the nude polishes I have, so you're better off sticking to the cheaper Barry M/Rimmel brands. Some things are worth the extra money and really show in their quality, but sadly this is not the case with the nude polishes I tested out. Hope this was helpful!

Em xx

Video: Outfit 8th Febuary 2012

Outfit that I wore for uni. It's very cold so a few layers were needed to brave the weather!

Most of my outfit is from my fave store Miss Selfridge from the sales section as some of the items can be a bit too pricey for my student budget.

SKIRT: H&M £3.99
BODY: Miss Selfridge £7
SHIRT: Miss Selfrdige £22
NECKLACE: Gift from my Mam so not sure of prices/where it's from!
CARDI: Miss Selfridge £20
WATCH: South West (via a groupon deal)
TIGHTS: Primark £3
SHOES: Miss Selfridge £30
BAG: ASOS £21