The 3 Step Skincare Routine You Need In Your Life

I know I've only recently done a skincare related post but to be honest, skincare is my weakness and I probably enjoy it more than makeup. I was kindly sent some products by Green People to test out and I've been soo impressed with them. This is their Organic Young collection, which is aimed at teenage/young adult skin which suits me perfectly. 

So the three products I've been testing are the OY! Clear Skin Foaming Face Wash*, the OY! Clear Skin Purifying Serum* and the OY! Clear Skin Cleansing Moisturiser*. So first things first, cleanser. I haven't used a foaming cleanser in what seems like years now so I couldn't remember what to expect. As its a foam formula, it feels very lightweight when applied to the skin and feels very gentle when massaged in. It has quite a strong tea tree scent which I personally like a lot. Every time I use this my skin feels squeaky clean afterwards and honestly, I think this with a combination of the other two products, is what has kept my skin clear.

After I've popped a bit of toner on, I then go in with the purifying serum*. This has what I can only describe as a jelly like consistency. You don't need much of this, about a pea sized and you're good to go. This feels very soothing and sinks in quickly, which is always a plus with serum. I feel like it's the perfect serum for the summer months because it feels so cooling. The last thing in the trio is the cleansing moisturiser*. I've been on the hunt for a new moisturiser for ages now and I think I've finally found a holy grail. This is a lightweight moisturiser and it smells incredible, I think that's to do with the mandarin extract. Similarly to the serum, this sinks into the skin quickly and feels very refreshing. 

In all honesty, I think I have this trio to thank for my skin being so well behaved recently. I have a combination skin type with quite an oily t-zone and using all of these has really helped to control the excess oil I experience. I'm definitely going to continue using all three of these in my skincare routine and hope my skin stays well behaved!

- Lucy

PR Samples/Gifted Items*

May To Do List

I can't believe we're in May already, 2018 is going ridiculously fast - I can't keep up! I thought I'd start posting a 'to-do list' for every month, because then at least I have some goals to work towards. Not saying that they'll all get done, but I can at least try.

01. COMPLETE AT LEAST 3 SHOOTS

Seeing as I've finished uni for the year, I really want to do more shoots for people. I was lucky enough to photograph the beautiful Elena on Friday and I'm so happy with how the images came out. The just leaves me with two more to do this month, which I think I can do!

02. HAVE A MAKEUP CLEAR OUT

Since spring has well and truly sprung, I've been doing quite a lot of clearing out recently. I decided the other day to buy some new bits and update my desk area and make it more 'minimalist'. So, I kind of want to carry this 'minimalist' theme through to my makeup collection. I have so much stuff I don't use that needs to be chucked away,  just gotta make the effort to do it. 

03. BUY A BASKET BAG

I mean, I've spent enough money this month as it is (oops) but I saw the most gorgeous round basket bag in Miss Selfridge and decided I need one. Although I can't find that one online *cry*, so I hope they still have it in store! If not I've been eyeing up this ASOS one and this Topshop one.

04. FINISH READING 'HOW TO STOP TIME'

I can't remember the last time I actually finished a book, which is soo bad. I've started reading How To Stop Time by Matt Haig and so far I'm really enjoying it. I'd love to be able to finish it by the end of the month.

05. RUN AT LEAST ONE 5K

I signed up to my local park run a couple of weeks ago, I just need to turn up to it (lol). I'm so unfit its unreal and I don't even go to the gym anymore, so I think this would be a good start to get back into the whole fitness thing (wish me luck). 

What are your goals for May?

- Lucy

First Year At Uni: My Experience

And just like that, it's all over. I can't believe I've come to the end of my first year at university, its gone so quickly! Throughout school and sixth form I never wanted to go to uni and was convinced that I'd do anything but a degree, so it's crazy that I'm now at this point in my life.

I haven't really done the whole university thing the way you'd imagine it. I don't live in halls, nor do I spend my nights getting drunk at the SU or going clubbing. I actually still live at home with my family and spend most my nights watching RuPaul's Drag Race with my boyfriend, which suits me down to the ground. So its safe to say my uni experience has been a bit different to others out there.

For a bit of context, I'm studying photography at a university that's literally 20 minutes from my family home. The reason I didn't choose to go to university further afield is due to my anxiety. It's best for me to live at home and commute in every day (or not every day as the year went on). So that's that and I'm happy I'm not doing university the conventional way. So let's talk about how I've found the course and general day to day uni life over the past 8 months.

I chose to study photography because honestly, I've loved it for as long as I can remember. I'm not very academic and hate exams so it made sense to do a creative degree. I also fell in love with the facilities the uni I go to has to offer, there's just so much creative freedom. We had four different units to complete this year and a lot of work had to go into each and every one of them. I won't go into detail about what each one was because we'd be here for hours. But each unit taught me something different and looking back, I've learnt so much. I now know how to use a medium and large format camera and I've even become super confident in using a 35mm camera as well. I know how to work with both black & white and colour negatives and how to print in the darkrooms, which is really fun.

Although I've learnt all this new stuff, I definitely could have put more effort into my unit workbooks/final outcomes. I am the queen of procrastination and will avoid doing work at all costs. So the amount of time I spent scrolling through Instagram or watching Youtube videos could have been spent doing actual work, but hopefully, the motivation will pick up next year (who am I kidding)?!

I was worried at the beginning that I wouldn't make any friends as I didn't live in halls, but I did try to make an effort to talk to people on my course. Luckily everyone's really nice and obviously, we have stuff in common or else we wouldn't all be on the same course. However, I have made one really good friend, Sarah. Who actually has a blog as well and has written about her first year at uni experience, which you can read here. I think I'll wrap this up now because I'm fully aware I've been rambling on, haha!

What was your first year at uni like?

- Lucy