It is that time of the month again for monthly favourites (ahhhh!). I love doing my monthly favourites and I love sharing it with you guys! This month I have a few recent purchases, and then some oldies which I am still loving and using every month. In this month's favourites, I am also going to be including a favourite song as I am really enjoying some of the new albums which are currently out and having songs on repeat are always a must -  I bet you're thinking of a song right now that you always wack on repeat. Let me know what it is!

So let's get too it;
 My second makeup favourite of this month has been another +Makeup Revolution product, but this time an eyeshadow palette. This is the "Make up Geek" eyeshadow palette with the most beautiful colours. I decided I wanted to adventure out and try brighter shades on my eyes and this palette was perfect for that. I created a pink look on my "Makeup Revolution First Impressions" post where I used this palette with other products from +Makeup Revolution. This palette had very little fall out, the colours are very pigmented for the price and to be honest; they really did last all day on my eyes. Every eyeshadow palette I own is by +Makeup Revolution and they have never let me down.
 I have always been a lover of books. Through the whole of my life I have had a book case full of books and then a pile next too it where I don't have enough room. You would have always found me with a book in my hand but as I have got older, I found that I never have the time to just sit there in the corner of my room and read. When I went abroad to Cyprus I took the book "One with You - Sylvia Day" with me and I couldn't put it down. Once I finished it, I instantly regretted not taking another book with me and books were quite pricey when I was in Cyprus. Now I'm back in England, I am taking advantage of charity shops and book stores, and I have done the largest book haul you'll ever see. One series of books I have really been enjoying and reading everyday is the Pretty Little Liars series by Sara Shepard. I watch Pretty Little Liars on Netflix every single week and I know exactly what's going on but I love reading the books, after I've seen the programme or film. These books are well written and such a good read. I won't stop reading these books until I have finished them, and then I move onto the next. If you want a good read to get you through summer then try out this series and I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

Good Morning Everyone!

Today I am going to be sharing with you my ten summer essentials. It is that time of the year where the sun has finally come out and it is forever hot and sticky. I hate this feeling and will do absolutely everything I can to feel relaxed and cool throughout the summer. Everyone has their own individual unique ways of staying relaxed throughout the humid summer days but sometimes we forget about the real essential items we need to keep with us. I will be throwing some of these items into my ten summer essentials which you cannot forget in your bag!

So let's get too it;
Firstly, we need to have a good decent book to read, a book which you're not going to want to put down. I personally have always read a book which I cannot put down until I have finished it, however some people can pick up a book and find it really difficult to get into. You do not want to be one of those people. Look around and read the blurb of books and find one which you can really get into when you're lounging in the sun, catching a little bit of a tan (or maybe a bit of a sun burn). Make sure to check out my book haul in a few weeks time to find out what books I am currently into!

Obviously another summer essential is a light perfume. I personally do not have many light perfumes and I find it quite difficult to find one that I like. In this occasion, going for a body mist can be a great alternative as they're not too heavy and you don't tend to find a body mist which you'd use for an evening occasion. One light perfume I currently have in my collection is "Diamonds" by Emporio Armani. I really like this perfume and my boyfriend's Nan bought it for me after speaking to a sales assistant who recommended this perfume to her. This perfume is fruity and floral which contains aspects of rose; a youthful and full of energy eau de parfum which features lychee and raspberry. You can wear this both in the day and night but it is very light and beautiful.

It's summer and the sun's out so we are going to need our sunglasses, especially when driving! Where ever I go, I always carry a pair of sunglasses with me but I always forget to put them on which is absolutely terrible but I should remember. Sunglasses protect our eyes but they are also very trendy and you can find some beautiful sunglasses out there. I'm forever complaining of a headache throughout the summer and if I put my sunglasses on, there's a chance I wouldn't complain. So here's a reminder to myself and everyone else; wear sunglasses in summer!

My fourth essential for summer is a bikini; a pretty one. If you're going on holiday throughout the summer of course you are going to be wearing a bikini for the majority of the time you are away. This doesn't mean you can't also wear one here in the UK when you're lounging in your back garden or at the beach. Bikinis not only are very pretty, but they're great for when you really don't want to be wearing a t-shirt or dress against your skin, but it's acceptable to wear when you're out. You can pick up some beautiful bikinis here in the UK from places such as; +Primark, +ASOS and +New Look.

So here's the biggie; we need to keep hydrated and drink water even when we don't want too. I know I know, drinking and eating while you're hot isn't the one thing you want to do, but you need to make sure you keep hydrated while it's hot because you might not think your thirsty, but your body is! If you don't eat too, you're not going to have any energy and you'll most likely get ill. Water and food is the biggest essential throughout summer and it's the last thing you want to think about but it's the most important. Stay hydrated and always have water with you and a little snack.
Summer is just like winter and you can still get chapped lips even when it's not cold. I love lip balm all year round and I cannot stand having dry or chapped lips so I tend to carry a lip balm in every bag I own and if I have a pocket, there will always be a lip balm. It is so important to take care of your lips, just as much as you take care of your skin with moisturisers, or if you condition your hair every time you wash it. Always always always remember to use lip balm and take care of them lips!

Of course, we all need to have an essential piece of clothing and mine is shorts. I have never worn shorts so much in my life until this summer. The perfect pair of shorts are baggy ones and very thin ones (but so you can see through them). They are absolutely perfect for throwing on over a bikini or if you're going anywhere. You don't have to look absolutely stunning in a beautiful floral dress. If it's hot, wack on a pair of shorts and enjoy feeling cool. There's nothing worse than going out in the day time, wearing a pretty dress but sweating like there's no tomorrow. Don't be silly, and dress appropriately for the weather.

This is my favourite essential, and it is nail varnish. I love nail varnish if you didn't know this already. I probably have every single shade you could ever possibly find and even then, I still don't have enough. Nail varnish makes such a difference to your hands and your feet. I honestly don't feel like myself if I don't have nail varnish on because I always have it on. My favourite shades throughout summer are pinks, yellows, light blues and oranges. You need to have your nails standing out and shining bright just like the sun!

What is summer essentials without including a beauty product? I don't wear foundation so I wear powder all year round but if you are one of those girls who cannot stand looking oily or dewy then I am sure powder is your best friend. Not only does it stop your face from looking oily, but it is also a great alternative to wearing foundation throughout the summer when you just want to make your face feel like it's actually getting some air too it. I highly recommend the Rimmel London Stay Matte Powder in transparent. It's great!

I love music all year round but I especially enjoy listening to the charts throughout the summer when you can lounge in your back garden with the music full blast without having your neighbours complaining. There are some brilliant summer albums currently out which you can download and they provide you with the best tunes that are currently in the charts. There are also others which include songs which were in the charts centuries ago which are still absolutely incredible. Also, having your windows undone in your car with the music full blast is also a must.

Good Morning everyone!
Today I am going to be sharing my tips on how to stay motivated, whether this is through school, college, work, university or just life in general. I use these tips nearly every day and they're the best ways for me to stay motivated and get things done, especially if I am doing anything uni related.

Firstly, the best way to stay motivated is using a calendar or a planner. Preferably I use a planner because I can carry it round with me where ever I go, whereas it would be a bit strange if you walked round town with a calendar hanging out of your bag. Calendar's and planner's are great because you can prioritise when you're going to get things done, what day you are going to do them and then you can stick them off once you have completed them. I picked up two planners recently from +Poundland, one saying "Make Things Happen" and one saying "Dream Big". I absolutely adored these planners because for me, I can't make things happen unless I go to University and complete all of my assignments etc. Whereas, I also need to dream big to be who I want to become in the future. Obviously, these are a pound and they are new in stores now.
Obviously, it's 2016 and we all have some sort of smart phone, whether this is a Sony, IPhone, Samsung or any phone which is currently out there. Phones at the moment are basically like having a tiny little laptop/tablet in your pocket, however they're not that tiny at all anymore. They are absolutely brilliant and can provide you with any sort of app that you need to get through life! There are some brilliant apps on the market through the Android play store or the apple store and the ones which I love the most are the "notes" if your phone doesn't come with this.. You can make a list of things that you need to get done, and on some of these apps it also gives you the opportunities to tick these jobs off your list once they are completed. This is a great way of getting motivated and personally I find lists the best method to do so. You can obviously use them on the go and don't have to worry about finding a piece of paper in your bag or worrying that you don't have a pen with you to tick it off. Check out your app store on your phone now and see what is currently available.
If you're old school like myself, you will have a massive collection of pens. These pens can be glittery, metallic, neon, thick, thin, fineliners, permanent, and a variety of brands too. When revising for school and college, I used to use big pieces of paper and for each topic within a subject I would use a different colour. My best method of revising was writing out key points of a topic, and while writing these points down, I remembered them. Strange but so great! Colourful pens made it so much more fun to revise and even now while in University, I still have a great collection of coloured pens. If you are a visual learner, having colourful pens make it a lot easier to study too and easier to revise for different subjects, and colour makes everyone happy too!
Who uses pencils in this century, honestly? Being a university student, I can't remember the last time I used a HP pencil but they can come in handy especially if you might need to rub something out. On the other hand, colouring pencils are a completely different situation. Doesn't it just annoy you when you're writing in a notepad and the coloured ink goes through to the other side of the page so now you can't write on it? Colouring pencils are perfect for this. You can still have a brightly coloured page with lots of writing on without having to worry about the dreaded ink on the other side of the page. If you're feeling stressed too you can quickly wack out your mindfulness colouring book and just sneakily colour in a beautiful picture to relieve some stress before carrying on with your work. Another great use for colouring pencils.
Highlighters are one of my favourite things in the world. I love writing lists and I tend to use a pen and pad to do this. However, I find ticks so messy, I don't know why but I do. So I use highlighters to highlight anything that I have completed to make it a lot prettier on my page and it brings me a slight bit of satisfaction for some reason. You can use highlighters for so many different things. Highlighting different sections within a book, or highlighting key words. You will always make use of a highlighter if you are in school, college, sixth form or university and I'm sure you as sick as I am of hearing the word "highlighting" now but they're just an essential in your stationary set!
I have made an individual blog post of this but post it notes are also a brilliant essential instead of using colouring pens. You can find post it notes in a variety of shapes and sizes and they can come in use for nearly everything. This can be from book marking an important page, to writing down notes and sticking it to a page of information. I use post it notes a lot to write down key terms on, or a learning objective to keep me on track. You can find my post here all about post it page markers; http://goo.gl/D7MEH8
Below are my five top tips to stay motivated. This necessarily doesn't have to be while in education, but it can be at work too or even if you're at home!

Use some sort of planner and make your "to-do" lists and make a list for everything. Once you have completed something, tick it off. The more you tick things off, the more motivated you will be to get the whole list completed.

Always prioritise what you need to get done. Is painting your nails more important than completing an essay? Use terms such as "Must complete, sort of important, not really important" to decide whether the different things on your list are important or not and what you should do first throughout your day. You could also number these in importance if it's easier for you!

We all know how to procrastinate and trying not do this is also very important when staying motivated. Try not to watch television or go on social media whilst completing important tasks. The more concentrated you are on this task, the more likely you are to complete it quickly when you don't have something to distract you. Social media is definitely the biggest devil in life. We all want to know what's happening at all times and our phones and laptops can tell us this. With the latest trend of Pokemon GO, getting anything done right now can also be difficult, so try not to get addicted.

If you need inspiration to keep you motivated, my best tip is visiting Pinterest. I absolutely love this website and you can find some brilliant things on there. Personally, I love reading motivating quotes which help me to get motivated when I need to get up and do something. Also finding something relating to what you are doing will help you stay motivated and may even interest you more. Youtube is also another great place to help you find inspiration for what ever it is your doing. Although social media can be a right pain, it can also be great for helping you find inspiration and motivation.

Last but not least, please be realistic. Do not put something down on your to-do list for the day, knowing it will take more than one day to complete this. Write down things you know you will be able to complete otherwise you'll feel disheartened and this won't help to motivate you at all. Think about the time frame you have to do your tasks and whether or not you can complete it.

Good Morning Sun shines!
I hope you are all having a lovely week.

It has been nearly a month since I came back from Cyprus and I thought it was about time I showed you what I purchased while abroad. I didn't buy much but the things I did buy mean a lot to me and are very exciting and I still cannot get over the fact I have them. Ah, like a child at Christmas!

So let's start!
 The first thing I purchased while on holiday in Cyprus was a Beats Pill and the little cute frog stand for it to sit in! I think this is absolutely adorable. His name is Frank the Frog and I can't get enough of him. This was a brilliant deal in Cyprus and one week a year there is a market in Paphos, and we were there when the market came, ahh! How exciting that was. I am so glad I managed to find Frank. The sound he produces is absolutely amazing and for a speaker that uses aux, usb and bluetooth (I think you can use a memory card too), I think this is a brilliant purchase and I couldn't be more happier with him! Isn't he cute? My boyfriend also picked on up but in green and he called him Alan, aw!
 I also couldn't help myself when it came to the Beats Solo 2 headphones. After having my tragus and daith piercing done, I find it really difficult using the headphones which you put into your ears. It makes them feel sore and uncomfortable and I was in desperate need of a pair of headphones which you put on your ears inside of inside. We hunted round Paphos Market at the Harbour nearly every single day for a pair of baby pink beats and then I changed my mind and wanted the bright pink pair but I didn't want a damaged box (I am so fussy). So I ended up finding these beautiful white beat headphones and I had to get my hands on them. They are an absolutely incredible pair of headphones. I have never had any headphones which are as good as these and overall I am very impressed! I love how comfortable they are on my ears, and they don't squish my head either.
 This is a standard purchase when you go through Duty Free at the airport. I saw these when I was leaving England, and I saw them again leaving Paphos, So I bought a few. It's a Toblerone, milk chocolate with the little bits of almond in which actually chipped my tooth! I couldn't believe it. However, they are still amazing even if they do damage to your teeth and you need to go get your hands on a Toblerone if you're reading this, they are am-a-z-ing!
 Soo, now onto perfume. I already have around 9 perfumes, but you can never have too many perfumes. You always have to smell nice! My boyfriend picked me up the Alien perfume for my first Christmas present from him and I fell in love with it and I think he did too. He smelt it and when outside of work to ask the lady what perfume she was wearing so he could buy it for me, so sweet! I absolutely love the smell of this and I feel like it's more of an evening scent than a day time scent. It is beautiful. I don't really know how to describe the scent, but if you are ever near a perfume shop, find this and smell it! You won't regret it. A description from The Perfume Shop website is "A rich floral woody amber fragrance containing jasmine sambac, cashmeran wood and white amber it is a fragrance whose magic trails awakens your emotions."
I absolutely love the Paco Rabanne Lady Million perfume, I received this as a Christmas present a few years ago and I have loved it ever since. Unfortunately, the one I received is very nearly empty so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to purchase a bigger bottle for once my one is empty. I really love the scent of the Lady Million perfume, it's a scent you can wear during the day and in the evening. This perfume isn't for everyone but it's definitely worth checking out and giving a sniff to see whether you like it or not! I love the shape of the bottle, and the colour of the liquid. It's an all around beautiful product and this will be one of them perfumes which will always be in my collection. A description from The Perfume Shop website is "A femme-fatale who wears scent to seduce. Lusting for life and living for the chase. A trail of white (sexy) flowers awakens the skin with fresh notes -that spill over into a dangerous patchouoli".
I absolutely fell in love with this perfume when I smelt it. Originally I bought it for my mum, and ended up going back to a shop on my last day in Cyprus to purchase another for myself because it was too beautiful to not buy. I absolutely love the description of this perfume too because it truly does some up what it smells like. "Discover Black Opium, the feminine fragrance by Yves Saint Laurent – new glam rock fragrance full of mystery and energy. An addictive gourmand floral with notes of: Black Coffee – for a shot of adrenaline; White Florals – to instantly seduce; and Vanilla – for sweetness and sensuality." This perfume is perfect for the day time or to wear only in the evening. It's beautiful, my boyfriend loves it, I love it and this will be another perfume which I will continue to purchase when the bottle is empty.
This is another beautiful yet mysterious perfume. Personally, I think this is an evening perfume and it will definitely be one which I wear out on date nights. Once again this perfume has a magnificent description from The Perfume Shop; "The Guilty Black lovers bring out the most scandalous sides of each other: alone they are magnificent, together irrepressible. Fearless in their passion, they are brazen, shameless, unpredictable – ready for each and every explosive encounter. Their attraction is instinctive: they go where they scent danger and each other. Too much is never enough for our young hedonists, who drive each other to stray ever darker. Life is thrilling and meant to be lived to the fullest. Again and again, they give in to pleasure and the excitement of breaking the rules. Gucci Guilty Black is a sensual oriental floral, inviting you to indulge in your burning desires."
If you haven't ever smelt this, I highly recommend finding your nearest store which sells perfumes and try this out. It is an incredible scent and one you won't be able to walk out of the shop without! Another perfume I will also repurchase.
Last but not least; is Loverdose. My boyfriend saw this on our first day in Cyprus and he fell in love with it and said I needed to buy it. I didn't buy it and then kicked myself for it so hunted everywhere for it until I found it. This is a beautiful heart shaped diamond bottle with pink liquid. It's a perfume you can wear during the day or in the evening which is something I love about some perfumes!

Good Morning Everyone!

I hope you are all having a lovely week so far.
Today I am going to be raving on about +Tanya Burr's new baking book called "Tanya Bakes" and sharing with you guys the first recipe I tried out using her book. If it's not apparent already, I am a chocoholic, I love chocolate, I am addicted to chocolate and chocolate brownie is definitely a guilty pleasure. Soo if you haven't guessed it already by the title of this post or the picture, I tried out her Salted Caramel Brownie! Oh my god, this was amazing. Let's just stop here! I don't need to rave on about this because it's so damn amazing and you guys need to go and purchase her book right now and try out this recipe before you continue reading this post.

I'm joking, but it is great! Or am I not joking?
One thing that really stood out to me with this brownie is the density of it. It's a very thick brownie but the thickness gives the brownie it's fudgyness. I was so concerned when it said bake for only 20-25 minutes because of how much mixture was in the tin, but it generally takes 30 minutes. If you want more of a gooey brownie then 25 minutes is also a perfect time to cook this for.
Doesn't the look of this make your mouth water? Make it now!
In the recipe Tanya tells you to pour half of the brownie mixture into the tin, then pour over the caramel then pour the rest of the brownie mixture on top to create three layers. However, we decided to make it all swirly and to have the caramel running through the whole of the brownie instead of having just one layer. I think this is better to be honest but it's your choice of how you want to make your brownie.
If you want to make this recipe then carrying on reading!

You will need;
200g Butter
300g of dark chocolate (70%)
300g golden caster sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
160g plain flour
60g cocoa powder
1 tin carnation caramel 
1tsp sea salt flakes

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees and line a tin of your choice.
Melt the butter and dark chocolate together then whisk in the sugar. Once you have done this, whisk in the eggs and vanilla extract until the mixture is light and bubbly.
Carefully fold in the flour and cocoa powder, trying not to knock out any of the air.
Pour half of the mixture into your desired baking tin, then pour the carnation caramel over the top. add your sea salt flakes and distribute these evenly.
Once you have done this, pour the rest of the mixture on top of the caramel.
Bake for 20-30 minutes.

Good Morning Everyone!
I am so so so excited to be writing this post and sharing some of my memories of Cyprus with you!
If you haven't read some of my previous posts, I went on my first holiday abroad with my boyfriend in June to Paphos, Cyprus.
I was extremely nervous about going on my first ever flight but it went fine and once we weren't ascending anymore, I was completely relaxed. I squeezed my boyfriend's hand when we were taking off and landing, and I sucked on around 5 Werther's Originals while waiting for the plane to take off so these were definitely not going in my bag when flying home.
We spent 12 days in Paphos in total and we stayed at the Avanti Hotel which is also part of the Avanti Village. Overall I was very impressed with my first stay at a hotel, the staff were extremely polite and friendly and there was fantastic activities running throughout each day were many people took part. One thing I absolutely loved about our holiday was being able to lounge by this beautiful pool all day. However, the pool was so hot, it was like jumping into a giant bath; this was beautiful but quite frustrating when you were very hot anyway. The indoor pool was just as beautiful but absolutely freezing, however it weren't too bad when you sat at the edge for a few minutes before getting in just so your body temperature adjusts to the coldness.
One beautiful aspect of the hotel was this beautiful waterfall which sat next to the pool and pool bar. We visited the pool bar nearly every day. The make the most beautiful club sandwiches in the world and eating a club sandwich while sitting next to a beautiful picturesque waterfall was like sitting in heaven. If only I could have one of these in my back garden; I would never be in my house!
Have I mentioned the amazing waterfall in the swimming pool? This was incredible! It was like having an amazing back massage, without having someone actually massage you. The feeling was indescribable and it was quite fun taking pictures in this too! We took so many, I'd need a photo album to put them all into.
We had many yummy dinners while away in Cyprus. My favourite place was "Tea for Two" which was opposite our hotel or there was one at the harbour. They had the most amazing meals for such a low price and the deserts were beautiful too. On one day we adventured to the shopping mall and then walked back to the harbour to get a KFC and this was possibly the worst idea we had during our whole holiday. Feeling absolutely exhausted from heat, wanting to jump into the sea to cool down but instead eating a very hot meal in temperature which was also very hot in spiciness was not ideal and it was dreadful. As much as I enjoyed the fact we could have a KFC in a different country, and also have the most beautiful view; this was not the best day for a very hot meal. Plus, they don't sell Krushems?! I couldn't believe it.
I think this picture was taken on one of our first nights in Paphos where we had the most beautiful walk down to the harbour and saw the Paphos Castle. This place is absolutely stunning. I have no idea what it looks like from the inside but the outside was incredible and I could look at this picture all day. It was surrounded by the most beautiful blue sea and a broken wall which must have stood round it at some point back in the years but wouldn't you just love to see something like this where you live? I personally would.
Obviously I live in England and the one thing I don't get to see every day is palm trees so I definitely took advantage of this. I loved our evening walks down to the harbour and then back to our hotel again. Although I broke my foot while on holiday and the walks absolutely killed me, I still enjoyed being able to walk past the palm trees to take some wonderful pictures of them so I could hold the memory with me for a long time.
This was another beautiful picture I captured of the palm trees but with the sea in the evening. I am very tempted to make some of the pictures I took into canvas' for when I have my own house. I think they would make wonderful pictures to hang on the wall but also a great way of remembering such a wonderful holiday, but also my first holiday with the person I love.

We spent one evening just enjoying ourselves and taking pictures and we both took some brilliant shots that I just had to share with you! I absolutely love the ones I have picked out and some of these would also look perfect on a canvas or in a frame for the wall.
I had the most wonderful holiday and if you're ever thinking about going abroad but you're not sure on where to go, I really suggest checking out Avanti Hotel in Paphos. Although I didn't go to the Olympic Lagoon Hotel, this also looks like a fantastic hotel to visit, I saw quite a lot of weddings here and it looked absolutely beautiful.

Something I would love to do is visit other hotels in Paphos, especially ones next to the beach just t experience something different. As well as this, next time I will try not to break my foot and it would be fun to go cite seeing around Paphos and see different places where we're not able to walk too.
I surprisingly really enjoyed our flight home, although we did have to spend the whole four hours with our seat belts on. There must have been some issues and it weren't exactly the smoothest flight but it was really fun and it was definitely an experience being able to sit next to the window because this girl decided she would go sit with her boyfriend as he had a free seat next to him, what a result!
There was also someone on our flight with a nut allergy so I weren't able to eat my chocolate or my hobnobs which I specifically bought for the flight, I was so gutted!

Good Morning Everyone!
If you are like myself and the thought of University makes you want to scream, then this post might make you feel at ease a little bit. So many people said it's fun, but then the majority of people said they were so graduate from university because by their last year, they were ready to leave and didn't like it one bit. There are also them people who give you the three ground rules; "Don't drink too much", "Beware of freshers", "Bring a door stop". Thinking of university and applying for university can be quite scary and nerve wracking but you don't really know what it's like, until you experience it for yourself.

Just a quick disclaimer; I'm not studying at a live in University, I chose a small university centre which is part of a larger university, but it's located somewhere else. Therefore I travel to university on the days I need to be there and I go back home again afterwards to sleep in my cosy warm bed with my dogs. I haven't been to the university parties etc etc, and I haven't been drunk but that is my personal choice and I didn't want to experience that part of the University world.
So, let's get too it!

1. Things cost money (what a shocker!), but seriously; they do.
I'm one of them girls who would rather purchase every single book I am going to need instead of going to the library and having to carry heavy bags back to my car, or on the train to then go home. Ebay and Amazon however are a great place to purchase books for University, especially if you find the lowest price ones too. I also use facebook groups where people tend to sell their university books on there too for quite a low price compared to Amazon. However, you are going to have to spend money on books and stationery, paper and all the other tiny little things you will be using throughout your first year. The most amount of money I spent throughout my first year was actually on travel getting to and from university using the train. I passed my test a couple of months after I finished my first year so I was spending £18 a week on travel which does add up eventually. If you're not travelling, you'll be using this money on rent if you're living at the University or even nearby. Spend your money carefully!

2. You need to be organised (to the point) and self-motivated.
Something many people lack throughout education is self-motivation and organisation and this is something I actually got bullied for throughout school and college because I have always been organised and motivated to get on and do my work and finish it as quickly as I can but to the best of my ability. However, now being at University, I'm really glad I've done this for pretty much half of my life, because it really comes in handy now being OCD with my organisation and having such high self-motivation. You're not going to have the work handed to you by your tutors. If you miss a lecture, you are going to have to find a friend to get them notes from and then work your bum off to catch up. If you leave you work till the last minute, you're going to be the one spending every weekend amending your work to make it pass. Get into the habit now of being organised. Buy a diary, highlighters, colourful pens. Something which will motivate you and help you organise your time and you work and get motivated. Set yourself goals and achieve them before the deadline. You will not get through University without organisation and self-motivation, trust me.

3. Everything constitutes a social life.
Sorry if you don't like socialising with people, but you're going to have to. I found in my first year, we were forever having to talk in pairs, or do group work just to write your own essay or complete a presentation and then share it with everyone else so they had information about your theorist to save your tutor a job of teaching it. You are going to have to talk to people, even the people you don't like. You will see them in your lectures, you will see them in the library, in town, in fast food restaurants. You're going to have to talk socialise and meet people even if you don't want too. I am a very shy person so this was so nerve wracking throughout my first year, but that's okay. My confidence is now a lot higher than what it ever has been and I can talk to people now without any issues. More good things come from socialising than the bad things so don't worry! Smile and talk, it will be okay.

4. You're not going to get along with everyone.
Obviously, everyone is different, even if you are doing the same course as 20+ other people, depending what University you have gone too, this could be 200+. You are not going to get along with everyone. After the first day of my first year, one girl said the wrong thing and that was it; this was the first disagreement between a lot of people on the course. You need to make a good impression so don't go into your first lecture with the biggest frown and attitude as this won't make you any friends. Make a good impression, be polite, smile at people and if after a few weeks maybe a couple of months you still don't get along with one person or a few people, then fair enough; that's going to happen. Don't go into your first lecture thinking everyone is against you though, you're all in the same position and you will help each other get through University without killing each other. I have people I don't get along with on my course, but then I have my closest friends and people I'm so glad I met; this is life and it's okay to not like someone.

5. You first year doesn't matter.
So, once you are at University you will hear this quite a lot; your first year does not matter. Oh my god, you will get so sick of hearing these six words. You will put blood, sweat and tears into your essays and then be told "This mark doesn't matter, don't worry, you did great". Ignore them, you work your hardest regardless and you ignore what they say. 40% was my pass mark and I pushed myself to get higher than this because I knew I was capable of doing so. Getting 50% and being told it doesn't matter was a complete heart breaker but they don't want you getting high marks in your first year, so don't be disheartened; but don't let it stop you from working to the best of your ability because you still want to pass, right?

Good Morning Everyone!
So recently I may have purchased quite a few nail varnishes from Accessorize when they had a huge sale on. I just couldn't resist! One day I bought three, the next day I bought another seventeen; oops. However, this was a perfect opportunity to show you guys what colour nail varnishes Accessorize sell and the quality of them! To be completely honest, I was surprised with the quality of these nail varnishes and the amount of coverage I got from just one coat. These nail varnishes originally cost £5 each and I purchased them with 70% off for £1.50 each which was a huge saving for an individual nail varnish.

So here we go;
Unfortunately the light was washing the first two colours which was rather frustrating. However, ignoring the dark backgrounds, they are now true to their shade! This first red shade is the shade "Raspberry Jam" the cutest name in the world. This is a very bright red, however it is a blue-toned red which makes it that little bit more prettier than a usual red nail varnish. I personally prefer blue toned reds so when I saw this, I was very excited and couldn't keep my hands off it! I swatched every nail varnish to see how they came out and this one doesn't come out streaky and you only need one coat of nail varnish to have beautiful looking nails!
This shade is called "Cherry Bomb" the rather deep shade of red which does truly represent a very dark ripened cherry. My mum absolutely loves having red nails, it's her favourite colour and I'm pretty sure if she could own every red nail varnish, she probably would. So this was a no brainer, we had to pick it up! This shade would be absolutely perfect for Autumn and makes me feel all fuzzy inside just thinking about it! - It's the little things that make you happy. As all of the Accessorize nail varnishes, they are very true to their colour in the bottle, they only require one coat of nail varnish and then you are good to go!
Although blue is my favourite colour, I do love wearing pink on my nails! This is another beautiful shade and is called "Macaroon". This looks like quite a coral shade but not too orangey which I really like and this is so perfect for Spring and Summer when all the pretty flowers are coming into bloom! I would wear this every day, every week, every month but I always get fed up of wearing the same colour on my nails! I highly recommend this shade, as well as all of the others because the colours are wonderful. Accessorize has done an amazing job with their shades.
Now, a beautiful baby pink! Every girl will have a baby pink in their nail varnish collection at some point in their life. This is in the shade "Bubble Gum" which is just another great name for a great nail varnish! I would honestly wear this colour all year round but it is a lovely shade for the Spring and Summer seasons when you want to wear a bright nail varnish instead of the dark and gloomy ones! I think this would look great with the nail varnish called "Party Dress" on the ring finger, just to give it a bit of glitter. These nail varnishes aren't a runny consistency so they apply an even coat and to be honest, you won't need a second coat with any of these nail varnishes, they're that great.
This shade looks quite grey but I promise this isn't! It's in the shade "LaLaLa Lilac" and is a beautiful pastel, pale lilac which is so difficult to tell through this picture! I'm not usually a purple fan but you can't really call this nail varnish purple. It's pastel, it's pretty and it makes you nails look very pristine. I recommend this nail varnish if you love pastel shades because the quality of it, is inc-red-ible! I am amazed with how good these nail varnishes are.
We just need to take a moment to appreciate how beautiful this nail varnish is! Oh my god! Aqua blue, pale blue, blue in general is my favourite and this reminds me of a beautiful mermaids tail and I LOVE it. This beautiful glittery aqua blue/teal is in the shade "Forever Emerald" Not 100% why emerald as they're dark green but hey ho! I love this. It comes out a transparent nail varnish with lots of glittery blue circles but it's gorgeous anyway and perfect to throw on top of another nail varnish. I love it, you should try it out!
This nail varnish is also absolutely gorgeous. I'm wearing this right now as I write this post and it's also a transparent nail varnish with pink tiny hexagon pieces of glitter and then teeny tiny circles of blue glitter. I am wearing this on top of a grey nail varnish and I have had so many compliments about my nails whilst working. This is one of my new favourite glitter nail varnishes and I can't get enough of it! This is in the shade "Party Dress".
Accessorize have done it again with the beautiful shimmery nail varnishes! This shimmery dark green/blue sea like shade is called "Teale Next Time" which is just such a sweet name. I very rarely wear dark nail varnishes because I'm such a pale person but I really love this for some reason. I feel like this shade would be absolutely perfect for Halloween because it's so dark and mysterious but I don't know, I'll try it closer to Autumn/Halloween season and see how it looks on my pale skin!
This gorgeous blue isn't quite an Electric Blue but it's still just as wonderful. This in the shade "Blue Suede Shoes" and honestly, how great are these names?! I'd love to create my own nail varnishes and name them, it would be such an amazing experience and probably a lot of fun too! This is one of my favourite nail varnishes out of all of them. I love how it's not too bright like some electric blues are, but it still gives a lot of pop when you're wearing it. Also another one which isn't streaky and only needs one coat to have a beautiful set of nails! You guys needs to buy this one, it's fab!
If you want to know what my favourite colour blues are, the two above are. They are so different but so gorgeous and I love them. This paler shade is called "Sugar Blue". I really love this, and usually with pale nail varnishes, the quality usually isn't that great compared to the darker shades. However, I tried this out to see how it looks and I was surprised! It gave such a beautiful coat of polish and it would have only needed one coat too! I was very impressed. This will one day most likely soon, be featuring in a favourites because I love it that much.
This pastel blue is in the shade "Heavenly" and well, it is heavenly. It's perfect! I weren't too sure about this nail varnish when picking it up, because I had a feeling it would need a lot of coats to not come out streaky and very thin. However, I was wrong! It's just like all of the rest and it comes out beautiful for just one coat. I am so impressed with the Accessorize nail varnishes and I'll happily be purchasing more if they bring out any other shades!
I can't quite decide if this is my true favourite out of them all but it is very close! This beautiful colour is in the shade "Almond". I really love this and even my boyfriend liked it! It's a very cool toned nail varnish. It's not quite brown but it's not quite grey and it's one of them colours which you will never see anywhere else. I think this would look beautiful with a glittery silver shimmer nail varnish on top, or even the shade "Savannah" which you will see further below. But overall, I love this. It's definitely a favourite and I only need to apply on coat to have a beautiful set of nails!
The only purple shade they sell is in the shade "Orchid" and I actually really like this. I'm not usually a fan of purple but this is very pretty as it's a very pinky toned purple. I tried this and to be completely honest, I think this will look so much nicer on pale skin and right now I'm quite tanned after being on holiday. So I am going to try this out when I am pale again and see how I like it! Otherwise I'll be gifting this to my mum as I'm sure she'll love it. It's a beautiful shade however and this one is quite a thick nail varnish compared to the rest which is odd but it still gives a great coat of varnish even just after one layer!
This beautiful pastel coral/peachy shade is called "Ballet Shoe" which I guess is the best way to describe this colour. The perfect shade for a ballet shoe. I love this shade and I have never seen any other colour like this one. I currently have a tan so this looks absolutely stunning and quite "professional" when I have this on. However, I'm pretty sure it will look great when my skin is as white as paper again when I no longer have a tan. Another massive favourite of mine and I highly recommend this shade!
Now we have your nude shade, called "In the Nude". I put this on straight after my holiday and it nearly blended in with the colour of my skin. It is definitely one of them nail varnishes that you could wear to school and probably get away with. I wish I had this when I was at school. I really like this because it's natural and if you're not supposed to be wearing nail varnish then you could get away with it if people weren't very observant around you. It's very flattering and gives a great coat of nail varnish in just one coat. I recommend this to any of you guys who are in school!
Now this is your typical top coat nail varnish which helps your nail varnish to last a lot longer than what it would if you didn't apply top coat! I haven't learnt the hard way with top coats and I never used to use it. However, that meant changing my nail polish every few days because my nails had chipped a lot. If you do what I used to do, buy a nail varnish and grab this one! It is great and helps the nail varnish to last a longer. As you can see in the picture, my thumb nail has chipped and I hadn't applied top coat so I changed my nail varnish shade the next day. Use top coat, the best piece of advice when using nail varnishes!
Who doesn't love a mint green nail varnish? This is in the shade "Breezy". I really like this because it's so different to the rest of the mint green nail varnishes which I already own. This one is a lot more brighter compared to the others and it isn't the typical pastel mint green which you would usually find. This brings a lot of brightness to your nails and I love the way it looks with either a tan or very pale skin (which is what I usually am). This will one of them shades which will stand out in my nail varnish collection and no doubt appear in a monthly favourites. It's beautiful and so different.