5 Tips for Moving Away to University

September has quickly come upon us, so many of you will be moving away to university, and some of you for the first time! Since I'm going into my 4th year of uni, I reckon I am pretty experienced enough now to give some advice. So here's my top 5 tips on how to deal with those first few nerve-racking weeks:

Tip #1: Be yourself

I know this is probably super obvious, but it'll really help you out in the long run. When you move away you are suddenly surrounded by all these different types of people and it can be hard fitting in. Don't try and change yourself so that you'll fit in with a certain group of people. Be yourself and you'll find the people that you click with. If you pretend to be someone you're not it'll start to show after a few weeks and people will be able to see through it.

Tip #2: Get out of your comfort zone

I cannot stress this tip enough. A mistake I made in my first couple of weeks was I only made friends with the people that I lived with and didn't venture out to make other friendships elsewhere. Because I was so shy I didn't speak to anyone on my course, so everyone else formed friendship groups and I didn't. Just remember, everyone is in the same boat as you, and it really isn't embarrassing to introduce yourself to a few people and get a conversation going. The earlier you do this the better. Also, if there are open flat parties going on in your halls GO! This is the best way to meet people and make friendships. 

Tip #3: Make sure you like your course

This is so important. You're about to spend the next 3-4 years studying this subject so you need to be 100% sure it's for you. Even before I moved away I was having doubts about the course I had chosen. But instead of going with my gut I listened to other people and enrolled on. You are not actually fully registered onto the course until a few weeks after you start (I believe it is once you pay your first round of student fee's). So use the first few weeks to test out the course, because you can switch course within the uni if you realise it's not quite right. Because I didn't turn up to a lot of my first few inductions and lectures, by the time I realised I didn't like the course it was too late for me to change. I know the last thing you'll want to do with a stinking hangover is turn up to an induction, but make sure you do!

Tip #4: BUDGET!

You probably hear this all the time, and like me, roll your eyes. I worked all summer to save up to go to uni. I spent almost all those savings in the first 2 months. It's so exciting moving away and having all of this independence and it can be easy getting carried away. The key to not getting deep into your overdraft is monthly budget. Firstly look at how much money you have for the whole year, then try and equally split into a monthly budget. Set aside that monthly allowance in your current account and then put the rest into savings. That way it'll be easier to keep track of how much your spending rather than having a big sum of money in one account.  

Tip #5: Feeling home sick is normal

I personally didn't get home sick, but there were plenty of times when I wished I had my mum around me. After the first week of freshers fun and the flu kicks in everything can suddenly become overwhelming when you realise this isn't a holiday. If you begin to feel home sick try and hold off from going home for the first few weeks as you're still settling in. Going home from early on can create a pattern and make settling in even harder. Don't hold in how you feel. Speak to your family over the phone and Skype them. Make sure you tell your uni friends how you feel so that they can help. The more you talk about it the easier it will be, because remember everyone is in the same boat. Try and get yourself into a routine as quickly as possible. 

JULY FAVOURITES

July was a good month. I went to Ibiza and got some fab new products! Heres a few... 

Maybelline Fit Me Foundation

Now, where has this foundation been all my life? I am gutted I didn't try this foundation sooner. I've been trying different foundations for a while now, I like to wear drugstore in the day and high end on a night out. I didn't even mean to buy it. I travelled (yes, I live in Wales so I have to plan and travel when I need to buy make up) to go and buy a L'Oreal foundation but they didn't stock it. So that I didn't feel like I'd wasted a trip I saw the Fit Me foundation with 'matte' on the front, which is what I'm ALL about, so I bought it. This foundation is super good if you have oily skin. The coverage is medium but you can build it up to full. Because I'm really oily I find it hard to find foundations that don't separate on my skin or just slide off. I wear this foundation to work, where I can work up to 12 hours a day, and this foundation doesn't move! It's easy to blend with a sponge and feels light on the skin. 

Price: £6.98

Buy: http://www.wilko.com/face-makeup+cosmetics-/maybelline-fit-me-foundation-fair-ivory/invt/0450693 

Mario Badescu Facial Spray

I saw Holly Boon say that this is just as good if not better than MAC Studio Fix+ so I was like, I have to try. I love to spray this on my skin when I've got no make up on. It's so incredibly refreshing and moisturising. I like to spray my Real Techniques sponge with this before I apply my foundation. Because I use only matte foundations this really helps add some moisture back to my face. If I'm doing a super matte look for a night out using a lot of powder to set then I use the spray when I've finished doing my make up and it helps get rid of any cakey-ness. 

Price: £7.00

Buy: http://www.beautybay.com/skincare/mariobadescu/facialspraywithaloecucumberandgreentea/ 

Liz Earle Skincare

I'm going to do a separate post about my skincare routine, but I had to mention it here. I know it's bad but I've never had a skincare routine before. Mainly because I've never really had bad skin, but I've finally realised how important it is. This skincare line is amazing for all skin types. I use it every morning and night and it has helped clear up my skin in the last few weeks. 

Price: Cleanser £14.50 / Toner £15.00

Buy: http://www.feelunique.com/brands/liz-earle/cleansers-and-toners 

NYX Mineral Foundation Stick

I'm obsessed with this product. I've been telling everyone about it because I think everyone needs it in their life. It's changed my contour game for sure. It is a foundation stick, so you could use it as that, but I buy it in a much deeper shade than my skin tone to use it as a contour stick. This blends SOOOO well. It's so creamy and light on the face, it makes your contour look flawless. I found it hard to find a shade that I thought would be right, but I think what I'm using now looks good. I would definitely recommend going and trying the shades first before buying. 

Price: £11.50

Buy: http://www.boots.com/nyx-professional-makeup-mineral-stick-foundation-10213363 

Love Island Water Bottle

Just like almost everyone else in the country I have been obsessed with Love Island. I got my hands on the personalised water bottles and I love it. It's good because there's a compartment where you can add fruit into it to infuse the water. It is also a good size water bottle so helps get you to drink more water throughout the day. These are available on the Love Island app. 

Beauty Works Hair Extensions Review: 6 months on & how I maintain them

I've had a love for hair extensions since I was about 15 years old, and I think I always will. Clip-ins were always my go to, until December of last year when I decided I wanted something a bit more permanent. I decided to get bonded weft extensions after doing some research and speaking to others who already had them in. I went to a consultation at a salon that I had been following on Instagram for a while, and had heard such great things about them. I think it's important to feel confident about the salon and stylist you choose. At the consultation, me and the stylist chose a colour match, the thickness and length. Beauty Works Celebrity Choice was the brand and range that I chose. I already felt confident with the brand because for almost a year before I wore Beauty Works clip in extensions. I decided to have 120g of hair added, because personally I don't like super thick hair and find thinner hair easier to manage. I also wanted a more of a 'natural' look so that it would be difficult for people to tell whether or not I'm wearing extensions. As for length I chose 20 inches. I am a big fan of long hair! This is the second longest length that they do, the next up being 22 inch. 

The process of actually putting the extensions in took no more than about 45 minutes. I had 2 wefts applied, so more will take longer. The hair was sectioned and the micro-bonds applied to small sections of hair around the head. The wefts were then sewn into these bonds and around my head. I have to be honest, the process is a little uncomfortable as there is a lot of pulling of the hair and can sometimes hurt very slightly, but it's bearable. Below I will insert photos of how my hair looked immediately after having the extensions fitted: 

The better you maintain the extensions, the longer they're going to last. They can be pretty high maintenance, but if you want your moneys worth then it's worth doing. These type of extensions are supposed to last up to 9 months. For salon maintenance, you must get the wefts moved up every 4-6 weeks depending on how fast your hair grows. I roughly get mine moved up every 5 weeks. As for home maintenance, you'll need to plait the hair before you go to sleep every night. This is to stop the hair from matting. This can be super annoying, especially after a night out where the last thing you want to do is stand in the mirror brushing and plating your hair. And I have to admit, I don't do it every night religiously, but I do that majority of the time and it definitely makes a difference. The products I use to help maintain them is the Beauty Work Miracle Spray. I use this after the shower, when my hair is still wet. I also use it before putting heat on the hair and sometimes before bed and sleep with it in on the ends just to help bring back some moisture. Once a week I put a argon oil hair mask on to again help stopping the extensions from getting dry and breaking. For washing, I wash them once a week, sometimes twice if I feel like it's needed, but I try and stick to once. I wash them with the Beauty Works Shampoo and finish with the Beauty Works Conditioner. This is my hair after having a re-tighten at 4 weeks: 

I have now had the hair extensions fitted for 6 months. I have lost some thickness, which is to be expected. As for length, I would still say that they are long, if not still 20 inches. The hair is a lot more dryer and has definitely lost it's shine, but all this was expected from wearing extensions for so many years. For this first few days they can feel quite painful on your head and sleeping is uncomfortable, but this passes as you get used to them. I have inserted a photo below to show how they look now (obviously they aren't styled or anything here):

These type of extensions are an expensive commitment. I paid £250, this included the hair, application and styling. For maintenance move ups it is £40 every 4-6 weeks. All salon prices are different though, so best to speak directly to them. I would definitely recommend these extensions. I plan on having a break from them soon, but I will be going back to them as they've maintained so well over the last few months and are comfortable to wear. 

All products mentioned:
Extensions https://beautyworksonline.com/professional-extensions/weft-extensions/celebrity-choice-weft/20-celebrity-choice-weft.html

Miracle Spray https://beautyworksonline.com/haircare/hair-products/10-in-1-miracle-spray.html

Hair done at Mirror Mirror salon.

Foxy Locks Hair Extensions Review: Six Months On

Late October last year I decided to invest in hair extensions. My natural hair had become pretty long, but the ends had become dry and weak and it didn't look how I wanted it to anymore. I decided to get a lot cut off to try and get my hair healthier again, but I have always been obsessed with having long hair. When I was 15/16 years old I was addicted to hair extensions; I wore them every single day. But I never wanted to spend a lot so I ended up with cheap ones which went thin very quickly. Now at 18 years old, I have learnt that to have the natural looking hair extensions I wanted I needed to invest a little bit more. Then I was recommended Foxy Locks, a more affordable alternative that provides great hair extensions that last. I purchased the deluxe 20" set, which is 165 grams of hair. Considering that I have finer hair I thought that this would be the perfect amount. They cost £78.00 - very affordable! When it came to choosing the colour I found it pretty easy because my friend who originally recommended Foxy Locks to me had a similar colour and she wears the brand herself. So, I put her hair extensions up against my hair and it was a match! The colour I purchased was Latte Blonde. 

When I first received my Foxy Locks

The lighting in the above photo is not great therefore you cannot see the colour accurately (see photos below).  I would describe the colour as a blend of light and dark blondes, perfect for girls who have their hair highlighted. The extensions arrived in a clear package that was split in to two. One of the sections contained a strip of hair that you could remove to check that the colour match was correct. This is so that you can send the hair extensions back if they do not match your own hair as long as you do not open the other half of the packaging with the security sticker. Very useful! The hair was really thick and silky soft - as you should expect of brand new extensions. They were the perfect length and even when curled my hair still looked long. 

6 months old

The 20" deluxe set comes with 2 four clips, 2 three clips, 2 two clips and 4 one clips. At the beginning I didn't even need to wear all of the clips, but as the hair has thinned slightly I now wear them all for extra thickness. 

My Foxy Locks are now over 6 months old and as you can see by the photos they are still in great condition. Some people suggest that clip in hair extensions can only last up to 4 months but I believe these will easily last up to 10 months, possibly even a year. I have not been overly protective of them. I've tried to use heat protector on them as much as possible, but I haven't always. I didn't wear them every single day, which has contributed to them still being in such good quality. But you could definitely wear them daily and still have them in fabulous condition 6 months on if you look after them. I would suggest to always hang them up after wearing them and brush them through. You do not need to wash them all the time. In the last 6 months I have only washed them twice. They do not knot easily and always feel so soft.

The ends of the hair

The extensions have thinned, but not much. In my previous experience with hair extensions they quickly became dry and extremely thin with split ends. In Foxy Locks' case this has not happened. The hair never feels or looks dry. 

Recent photo with Foxy Locks in

Here I curled the ends of my hair which helps give the extensions a really natural look. They blend really well with my natural hair whether straight or curled. Foxy Locks hair extensions can be found here: http://www.foxylocksextensions.com/ and my exact extensions can be found here: Latte Blonde

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