7 Things I learnt in Freshers Year!

Heyyy!!!

So I thought i'd start a university series over on my Youtube channel as well as my blog (so head over and please subscribe)

My first of many ideas was to list a few things that I learnt in my first year at uni that I wasn't informed on when I did my research online.

P.s - Some are in general and some are for if you move into halls of resident (which I did).

1. Becoming nocturnal isn't an option.

This is mainly for if you choose to live in halls of residence.

But it's so so difficult to try and maintain a normal sleeping pattern.

It's very different to being at home - you have the freedom to go and get food no matter what the time is, have a shower at any time (providing everyone in the halls haven't used up all the hot water) and staying up all night to binge watch new series on Netflix. 

You'll find that also you'll get woken up a lot by the slamming of doors and your flat mates being loud. It's funny when you're laid in bed and everyone is still awake and pranking each other and running around like lunatics - you can hear them every now and them stand and go "shhhhh, Amie's asleep", hahaha nope it was always too late and I was wide awake listening to people laughing.

You'll have to get used to the sound of other flats/buildings playing music until ungodly hours and people stumbling back in at 4am from a night out (this isn't so bad when you're one of the people falling through the door with a pizza).

Before you know it you'll be counting down the hours until a lecture is over and you can catch up on many hours of sleep in the afternoon - ready for the mayhem again the upcoming night.

I miss this now though. Being at home where I have to be quiet, can't eat all through the nights without a lecture off my Mam. Also when you're laid in bed and you can't sleep and you've ran out of things to watch - you can't just go next door to see one of your friends and stay up talking. I'm sure my sister would have something to say if I tried this. Although she stays up later than me now - I love my sleep more than anything.

2. The dream life of an organised student will not work.

I am one of the most organised people you'll meet. I'm a complete clean freak and love a good diary/planner or 25.

You see in the movies and online that you want this fantasy idea of:

Starting a new university, making new friends that you'll keep for life. You'll get up early at around 6-7am, have a shower, perfect your makeup and hair, dress smart every day, eat fruit and yoghurt for breakfast, have a healthy packed lunch ready for the day ahead. Go to lectures and listen intently writing lots of notes, go back to your room to copy up the notes neatly, do lots of research and get to bed by 9pm.

DO NOT MAKE ME LAUGH, HAHAHAHA. NO THIS IS A BIG LIE.

This really won't happen. This worked for me for 2 days, two!! And then it turned to leggings and hoodies for lectures, no make up, hair on top of my head, never eating breakfast and sometimes not even taking a notepad to a lecture and using the excuse 'it will go up online i'll just copy it when i'm back at my flat'. But that won't happen either because as soon as you enter your room and see your bed - your clothes end up all over the floor and you're in bed for the next 5 hours regretting not being productive.

How I got a 2:1 I'll never know...

Don't try and live up to any expectations. Don't put too much pressure on yourself and go at your own pace.

Oh - and a Costa a day makes your loan disapear.

3. Discount codes on takeaways are a con!

I know. There's nothing better than having money in the bank and spending it all on alcohol and pizza. But trust me - the takeaway shops also know this!

They give out lots of voucher codes to Fresher's because a lot of them have never had so much money in their bank and will blow it instantly. 

Trust me when you buy 3 takeaways a week - it all adds up and when it comes to a few weeks before your next loan day, you will regret the binge eating and living off smart price rice will be the next step.

My advice for this would be to always order in a group. More money spend means bigger discounts and split between 5 of you? Brilliant idea!

I'd say 1 a week is more than enough (I mean come on we are students and if our parents aren't cooking our food - we need someone too)

But really don't go overboard because the pennies add up so quickly and you'll wonder where the heck all your money has gone when you could have bought that Mac lipstick but you spent the money on a pizza (story of my life).

4. You can go on a night out for £10.

Yes it is possible.

It's not like going out in your home town where you need to take the equivalent of a mortgage out down the bars because drinks are so expensive.

Student nights really are cheap.

If you pre-drink hard and share taxis with people (WHO YOU KNOW! JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE 18 DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN TALK TO STRANGERS!) then you can easy have one of the best nights out.

5. PJ's are day clothes.

I judge grown adults for going to Asda in their PJ's when it's easy to shot on some clothes.

But I feel with people a student you have a leniency to be able to wear what you want.

My halls of residence had a campus shop so I always wore my pj's and hair in a towel to go grab some crisps or some toilet roll. Especially if you go in a group the attention isn't so much on you but on the group as a collective.

Obviously don't take the Michael - if you live 4 miles from a Tesco, you should probably put a bra on under your jumper.

6. Not all stationary is needed.

I read so many posts before I joined uni (I love a good list!) about what I should take and buy for uni. Some of them lists were CRAZY!

Please take into consideration that if you're doing English you probably won't need a scientific calculator or a protractor. You'll end up spending so much money on things you'll never even look at.

I bought so much stuff that I never even took out the packaging. Although I am a stationary freak. I have a box full of every coloured sticky note and highlighter - they'll probably last me until i'm 40...

If you want I can do a list of things you'll need to do journalism/english? I wouldn't do an overall list for every course because they're all so different! But if you want one of what I know them hit me up and i'll get onto it.

7. Mix & Match your outfits.

No one can afford to buy a new dress and a new pair of knock out heels for every night out - especially not as a student - unless you don't want to each that week then you go ahead.

There's so many outfit choices that you can mix and match.

Also after Fresher's week, the novelty of looking unreal wears off and you'll find yourself in a pair of skinnies and some converse. I wore this so much and trust me you're a lot comfier than the people in 6" heels. There's nothing better than being to walk at the end of the night and see people around you basically crying because their feet are dead.

So there you go guys!

I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Let me know what videos you want to see in this university series

Love you all lots,

Amie

XX

Book Review: Beautiful Broken Things

Hey guys!

How are you all?

I've just came back from my holiday in Turkey which was so nice and hot - I will be doing a blog post on that soon.

One thing I done on holiday was a lot of sunbathing. And what better way to lay and get some tan lines than to lay in the sun with a new read.

I seen the book Beautiful Broken Things (BBT) by Sara Barnard when Zoella's Book Club was released and I was interested in reading so many of the books she mentioned. So I picked up BBT from WHSmith. You can get it as an E-book but there's something nostalgic about actually having a physical book and being able to display the pretty cover when you've read it. I've actually got quite into reading again so I will be nipping back in to get another book from the Zoella Book Club.

So, now about the book...

It's such a relaxing and easy read but contains some adult topics that could be quite inappropriate to children under 15. It does have swearing in but nothing crazy and nothing that teenagers in this modern day don't hear daily...

It's based around two best friends called Caddy and Rosie. Rosie has a new girl join her school called Suzannah and she becomes quite close to her - which consequently makes Caddy quite jealous. 
I won't go into it too much but it features topics around the teenage life such as drinking, parties, exams and most obviously - sex. It also includes the serious topic of mental health.
But it's nothing raunchy and is quite nice to read as it's what every teenage girl thinks about around the age of 15-16. About having the "perfect relationship" and finding someone significant to lose their virginity with.
It sounds weird me talking about it but it's displayed better in the book.

From the WHSmith Zoella Bookclub blog page.

Some parts of the book are quite hard hitting and it does contain a lot of drama. It's set in Brighton and included the normal public school and a private all girls school. So it opens up to a wider audience.

I think the book covers the topics such as teenage life, sex and tragic family life such as abuse - quite sensibly. It's accurate and contains small advice throughout about how to handle certain situations with regards to mental health.

It's so interesting that I couldn't put it down and did have quite a few 'laugh out loud' moments. I finished the book - which has 300 odd pages - in just 3 days and once I had finished it I was so sad that it was over.
I wasn't sad about the ending - I quite enjoyed the ending and it could lead onto a second book. But I didn't like that fact that I could no longer carry on reading.

I'd give the book an 8.5/10 and would definitely buy a book by Sara Barnard again.

So if anyone has any reading suggestions please let me know & also let me know what you thought about the book!

See you soon!
Amie 
XX

How Much Is My Face Worth?

Holaaaaa, 

How are you all?

I've spent my morning recording a 'everyday makeup look' for my channel which i'm starting on again.

So I thought I'd like the latest upload with this video is of how much my face is worth.

Basically you never realise how much you actually spend on makeup to wear it for a few hours a day... I added mine up and I had no idea.

Make sure you let me know in the comments how much your face is worth?

I found the idea over on Kat's blog, you can go see hers here...

So lets get onto it!

The Base:

Foundation - Rimmel London Match Perfection in 100 Ivory // £7.99

Concealer - Collection Lasting Perfection concealer in 1 Fair // £4.19

Blemish Concealer - Rimmel Wake Me Up concealer // £5.49

Powder - Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in 003 Peach Glow // £3.99

Total - £22.26

Eyes/Brows:

Eyebrows - Collection Eyebrow Kit in Brunette // £3.99

Eyelids - Seventeen Easy On The Eye Palette in Birthday Suit // £7.99

Eyelashes - Maybelline Lash Sensational Waterproof in Black // £7.99

Total - £19.97

Cheeks:

Bronzer - Hoola Benefit Bronzer // £23.50

Blush - Collection Blush in Bashful // £2.99

Highlight - Makeup Revolution Highlighter Palette // £8

Total - £34.49

Lips:

Lipstick - Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick in 45 // £5.49

Total - £5.49

Okay are you ready for the scary part?

Overall price - £81.61

That's terrifying! Considering it's on for less that 12 hours and it takes a lot of time to put on.

That's EXCLUDING the amount spent on brushes for each product, make up remover for both face and eyes AND any other products that are stored away for nights out, parties etc...wow.

How much is your face worth?

Let me know in the comments!!

Thanks for reading!

Go and check my video out over on my channel and make sure you subscribe, pleaseeee?

Signing out,

Amie

XX

May Faves 2016!

Hello hello hello hellooooo,

I hope you're all good!

Well May is over, we're in the beginning of June now. So I thought I'd do a May favourites.

I haven't really bought anything new this month, I'm skint and saving my money for my holiday to Turkey which is a month away! (1st July)

Rimmel London Salon Pro nail varnish in 312 Ultra Voilet.
This month I decided to start painting my nails more since it is coming up to summer and the sun is trying to come out. I thought with a brighter nail varnish it might influence the sun to come out more.
Purple is my favourite colour so when I tried this I was in love! My nails aren't long - I really can't grow them, as soon as I get a little stressed and I bite them off. So I've been using some fake nails and used the polish over the fake nails and it looks lovely. 
I think the colour is really pretty and it looks like the colour in the pot. There's nothing worse than buying a nail colour but when you put it on your nails it's a completely different shade. 

The nails I have been using are the HEADTOTOE French Manicure Nail Set. 
(I binned the box- oops! But still they were nice haha & there's a picture above with me wearing them!)
These are also one of my favourites of this month. 
You get 24 nails in the back and also the adhesive.
I went into Claire's Accessories and they have some really pretty fake nails but they were between £6-£8 and I cannot afford that.
I went into Home Bargains for a mooch with my Mam and they had these nail sets and they were only 79p! To also get the glue in these packs is brilliant.
Honestly I wasn't expecting much from these considering the price - but they're actually really good. I've had a pair on for nearly a week now and only a couple of them have came off. But that was when I was in the bath so the hot water might have melted the glue. 
They look really natural on my nails and fit my hands perfectly, which can be quite difficult because I have quite small hands and small fingernails. 
So yeah i've very happy and for less than £1 you can't really complain.

Someday perfume by Justin Bieber.

I know this is a few years old now but the smell will always be gorgeous.
I always seem to wear it a lot more in the summer as it is a sweet and florally smell. It holds so many memories around this time of year and whenever I wear it I just feel a lot fresher.
The packaging is a bonus also because it's so beautiful and the amount of times I've dropped the bottle and it hasn't broken!
So yeah I've been loving this and will be wearing it on my holidays.

Seventeen Easy On The Eye Palette.
This palette has been my saviour. With the weather getting warmer I'm really into wearing golds and pinks.
So this palette is brilliant for just that. It's really pigmented eye shadows for such a cheap price. They are brilliant quality and do stay on all day.
I will say the primer that comes with it is quite poor quality and actually makes my eye-shadow off quicker than if I don't use the primer.
My favourites are the glitter colours and the mattes. The metallic creams aren't as good but are still okay. I've loved this all month and will continue to wear it all summer.

New Look Pure Colour Baked Eyeshadow in 91/Bronze.
This eye shadow is so lovely! It matches up with the shade Radiant Gold in the Seventeen Easy On The Eye pallete.
It's got a lovely gold pigment, you don't need a lot on your brush when you apply it. 
It was only a couple of pound and there was a few shades so it was a brilliant buy and I love wearing it.

Scarlett Moffatt - Scarlett Says

I got this book in April and have been reading it throughout May. It's hilarious!
I love Scarlett on Gogglebox so I was over the moon when she brought her book out. It is definitely what I expected, it's completely her attitude to certain topics and it's a brilliant read. It's easy to read so when you're laid in bed or have some spare time during the day it's a good book to just pick up and read a few pages.
I know a lot of people who get some spotlight on TV or online think that bringing a book out is a great way of making money - but this one actually works, you can see she has put a lot of thought into it and hasn't just thrown it together for some more money.
Well done Scarlett!

Sorry that this has went up a bit later than usual for a monthly faves - but i've been busy.
See you all soon for another post - thank you for reading! 

Love Amie 
xx

My Skincare Routine - May 2016

Hey guys,
how are you all?

Today I'm going through my skincare routine!

To be honest with you I don't have the best skincare routine. I use the basics, I don't use anything expensive because I don't actually know what to use for my skin. So if you have a clue what I should use or if you can recommend anything - let me know in the comments.

My skin type varies all of the time. Sometimes it is dry so when I put my foundation on it goes all patchy, but sometimes it's oily and I get patches of oil down the T-Zone and my chin. So I don't really know what I should use to change this?

I don't go out of my way to buy skin products to put on before bed and in the morning - I use the basics.

But to take my make up off I use the Garnier Pure Active Micellar Cleansing Water. 
I have to large 400ml bottle which states that it gives you 200 uses. I will admit it has lasted me so long. I have 1/4 of the bottle left and i've had it for around a year now? 
It's really good for taking off your make-up, it's for combination to oily skin - which is probably best for mine. And also for sensitive skin so it doesn't sting your face and leave you all blotchy.
Also if you don't want to invest in the big bottle which is £3 (even though it lasts such a long time), maybe you're going on holiday or travelling, places like Boots and Asda doing the miniature bottle which is maybe 100ml? And they're something small like £1 each. 







I use a different product for taking off my eye make-up. I use the Nivea Double Effect Eye Make-Up Remover. It comes in a 125ml bottle and is for all skin types. When you see the product in the shop its two different colours because the liquids inside sets and layers, so that it goes a dark blue and clear - so make sure you shake it.This is amazing for taking off make-up. It's the only thing I know to properly take off my waterproof mascara completely. My cousin who is a beautician suggested it to me (hey Niamh!) It was cheap considering the quality of it and it lasts quite a while. I've had it a few months and I'm just about half way through the bottle.
All I'll say is that once you put it on a cotton pad and take off your make-up, you may want to use another pad to wipe off any access product as it does tend to leave some kind of oil around your eyes and makes them quite greasy. 
But for the amazing job that it does - that doesn't bother me at all.
My Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish doesn't even remove eye make up that well compared to this product!



To use the cleansing water and eye-makeup remover, I use the Lacura Body and Face Cotton Wool Pads. They come in a 2 pack and have 100 in each so they are going to last me a long time hopefully. I prefer these cotton pads over any others (strange how i'm particular about them), but these ones are thick and a lot more padded. Other pads I use fall apart as I use them but the Lacura ones have been pressed around the edges so that the stuff on the inside doesn't move about a lot when you use them. 
They're also really soft on your skin and aren't itchy. I think I got them from Aldi! For less than a pound! But yeah I just really like them, they're the perfect size too.

If I feel like really pampering myself I will use my Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish which I got for Christmas. I still have a little bit left in the bottle so I'm trying to use it in small portions so that it doesn't all go.
It smells amazing and makes your skin feeling so fresh after you use it. I do want to try the new scents that are available - but cannot afford them just yet. 
They are great for all types of skin as Liz Earle is all natural ingredients so nothing will damage the skin. 
I mainly use this if I have the time, as although it doesn't take too long to do - it's still more effort than using a face wipe or my Micellar Water.

For a while I've been looking for a face mask that will get rid of any black heads and just get my skin looking better as it looks very worn out. I was thinking of going to Lush and getting a mask from there but I bought a magazine which had a Balance Me Treatments - Radiance Face Mask in. The real thing is £18 online but I received a free 30ml bottle. 
I do really love it! I couldn't afford the bigger bottle but it tried the tester and it made my skin so refreshed and soft. It didn't irritate my face at all and it really made my face feel more hydrated. I covered my face for 5 minutes like the bottle said. I did feel it working on my skin too whilst it was on my face - which I loved because I like to know it's actually doing something.
When you put some on your hand it has little orange balls in which massage into your skin. It smells so fruity (probably because it has fruit extracts)
I'd love to try some more of their stuff but I cannot afford it just yet! But yeah I definitely rate them.

Something I occasionally use before bed, usually after I've taken my make-up off and am ready to relax, I use my Nivea Rich Generating Night Cream. It's a very thick cream and it has literally lasted me a year and I'm not even half way through. I don't use it every night, probably like once a week. It's quite greasy but it definitely moisturises your skin for the next day. 












So there you go! There's my skincare routine. There isn't really a routine but it's what I use on my face.
Hope you enjoyed it.

Let me know what you use in the comments.

Love,
Amie xx

Finishing My First Year At University!

Hi everyone!

I haven't spoken to you all in so long, with finishing my first year it means I've had uncountable assignments which have knocked me so close to the edge.

But I'm back!

Before I get back on track with my posts, I thought I'd do an update on what happened this year - in case anyone is starting university in September and want to know a bit more about it goes down.


So as some of you will know, I studied Magazine Journalism at Sunderland Uni. My first year has just finished and it hasn't been as hard as I thought it would have been - let's hope I've worked hard enough.

I've made some incredible friends. There's the friends who you see now and then but are always greeted with a smile and a "hey", there's the regular drinkers who you see on a night out and are greeted with a cuddle and dancing. 
Lastly there's the ones that you've grown up with. Although it's only been 9 months, everyone has changed so much and came out of their shells. It's crazy because you don't even realise it happens but all of a sudden you have your really close friendship circles.
I know that I'll end up being friends with them for a very long time, not just for the next 2 years of uni. 

My flat mates are my home away from home. Over the past couple of months I have been at my actual home in Hartlepool a lot more, purely because with the stress of assignments I prefer my own environment and my home town makes me so relaxed. But when I am at Sunderland I love spending time with them. We have had a handful of fallouts - all for stupid reasons but we always end up making up and completely forgetting anything that's happened. That's how it should be, at the end of the day you have to live with them so what's the point in falling out and having to avoid each other? That's soooo much more effort than making up.
I'm able to talk to them about anything and they can tell me anything.
p.s - Hi guys if you're reading this, I love you x

For you guys who might be joining uni soon - don't worry about making friends. I panicked so much about making friends when I started. But you make them and you don't even realise. There isn't really any effort. If you are staying in halls like I did, you're surrounded by people who are all in the same boat. Even saying hello or smiling to people who walk past you is a great start.
 Honestly there's so much stigma about "will people like me?" but yes, yes they will. I'm friends with a complete mix of people. I don't know how we met, but I regret nothing.

Passion on a Monday.

Play Wednesday!

IndieP on Friday!

With regards to university itself - it was amazing. If you want a blog on my course (if you're interested) let me know. 

The night life was amazing, all thanks to Stephen Gatsby, Harry Play, Sam Evans and Tom Box. Play Wednesdays and 21st Century Box Fridays - are the shiz. 
I didn't go out every week because when I did go out I would appreciate it more. But yeah it was such an amazing experience, filled with so many friendly people and cheap drink!
Plus who can go wrong with winning free stuff?
So I owe these guys a big thanks for making my Fresher's year a blast.

This year has went SO quickly it feels like last week I was in Fresher's week dressed as a zebra. I wouldn't change anything.

Guys if you're going to become a fresher - I highly recommend that you put yourself out there with people, don't be shy. You don't need to be. 

I've loved my first year - here's to the next two!

Love,
Amie 
xx

Borderline Perfection: A Trip To Coldingham

Hey everyone! 

I hope you're all doing well.

Did you all have a good Easter? Let me know what Easter eggs you received in the comments :)

I've spent my week in Scotland and so I thought I'd try something different and give you an insight on where I've been.

We have a caravan on the borders of Scotland (hence the title 'borderline perfection'). It's on a beautiful holiday sight called Scoutscroft in Coldingham. We've came up here for holiday breaks ever since I was born. Even my Mam used to come when she was a teenager!

To me this place is paradise. It's on the coast as well as the countryside so you get the beautiful scenery as well as the peace. 

Scoutscroft is owned by our very close friends, the Hamilton Family.

As we’ve been coming here as a family for such a long time, the area and the caravan site hold so many amazing memories that will never be forgotten.

Today was a lovely day and the sun was shining! It wasn’t the warmest, it was bearable. I decided to go for a walk in the sunshine, basically to procrastinate from University work but that can wait – Vitimin D is more vital, especially with all these storms we have been getting lately.

*As I’m writing this, the sky has went black, luckily I came back in when I did! There was a massive hail stone storm!*

For my little trip out I wore my white converse, black jeans, daisy top from New Look and my Missguided coat. Oh – not forgetting my gorgeous sunglasses from Primark!

I wouldn’t recommend hiking up gigantic hills in converse though, I thought I was going to come rolling off a cliff at least twice.

On my nails: Collection Lasting Gel Nail Colour in Raspberry 7.

To go with my spring walk, I went with gold eyeshadow from the Seventeen: Easy On The Eye palette in Birthday Suit. I also used the Maybelline: The Falsies mascara and on my lips I went for a nice nude pink from Elizabeth Arden in the shade Petal (18).

I saw that my Grandad had the Nivea Men Post Shave Balm which a lot of people have been talking about with regards to using it as a primer, so I pinched a little bit (sorry Granda!) I think it worked really well and am going to buy a bottle so I can test it properly and I’ll do a review post for you guys soon!

Taking my earphones was the best idea, it was awesome blasting some Justin Bieber through the countryside.

The good thing about the area being so isolated is that you rarely pass people when walking the country, so I can sing out loud as loud and as badly as I want and no one apart from the sheep and birds can hear me – sorry guys!

I passed a field filled with baby bunnies but my camera wouldn’t focus on them – boo!

But I think rabbits are now my favourite animals, they’re so cute and I want twenty.

Just passed them was a mini field with some chickens, roosters and geese in so I thought I’d give them a shout out as they were pretty cool.

But then I got to the walk way that leads you to the beach, and it’s the most beautiful thing. You have to stand there for a few seconds to stare, it does actually take your breath away – and not because it’s still quite cold.

I went a few days ago with Luke when it was lovely and warm, we went for a walk and got my favourite ice lollies. The sea was a gorgeous blue too!

Today I thought I’d challenge myself and walk up a huge hill which gives you an overview of two gorgeous bays.

And when I got to the top and got my breath back…

The view then took my breathe away again.

And there were cute little beach huts which were too tumblr to not put in this post…

There you go folks, I hope you liked this more photography based post but I had to share these beautiful views with you!

Let me know where your version of “perfect” is, whether it’s on your wish list to visit or if you’ve been.

Lots of love,

Amie xx