A Change is as Good as a Rest

So they say that a change is as good as a rest...

I'd have to agree, as over the last two months of my life things have changed rather dramatically. In my last post, I was having a bit of a moan (okay, maybe a lot of a moan) about being stuck in a rubbish-ish job, living with my parents and feeling in a bit of a rut. Spurred on by some kind words from friends and some lovely people who commented on here, I persevered with my job search, and in a very un-Emma like fashion took a risk and applied for a job in south Cornwall. There is no way in hell, a year ago, I would have applied for this job, I would have said it was 'way over my head' and 'too far away', 'not worth trying'. So it goes to show that I've changed quite a lot over the past year, for once I took a risk, and it paid off! 

I'd like to say that it all went smoothly and everything is perfect and magical, but that would be a small lie. It was an incredibly stressful few weeks, I got offered the job, handed in my notice, left my old job, friends and family and moved 100 ish miles down the coast all in one week! Not something I'd recommend. But it's all been worth it, and as a chronic pessimist, that's saying something.

I feel incredibly lucky, I've moved to Falmouth, which is a beautiful sleepy fishing town in southern Cornwall - it's all very cornish. The job front is looking up, my new job is working for a university's Bioscience department as a laboratory technician/teaching support, and so far I love it. Although I had no idea how old working with 18 year olds would make me feel!? (Am I an adult now?? is that a thing? I think I missed a memo, cause my socks have pandas on...). 

Anyway, in all the madness I have severely neglected this blog - which I don't want to do because I love writing, and I never wanted it to just be a 'fad'. So, new life = new resolutions, and I am going to attempt to continue blogging and no doubt fill you in on the ups and downs of life in Cornwall! :) 

All in all, this change has made me realise how important it is to take risks sometimes...in moderation, but when the right opportunity comes along, don't push it aside just because it might take you out of your comfort zone. Change can be hard, but it can also be good. 

And patience is important, don't give up, it'll happen.  

Cheers, 

Big love,

Emma<3 

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Job hunting is too stressful for words sometimes.

Evening beautiful, 

This is a very spontaneous post, prompted by a skype call I just had with one of my best girlfriends, who's recently moved to the big smoke (i.e. London). It seems to me that currently the vast majority of 'twenty-somethings' I know are a bit lost, jobs-wise. I'm not sure if that's down to the current hideous employment cycle we appear to have here of 'No experience = No job = No experience', or whether it's just that there are too many people looking for work, and too few positions available. Either way, myself and many of my friends are getting rather frustrated by this. 

Personally, I guess I just pictured myself having a job at least vaguely related to my degree by now. I graduated last September with a BSc (Hons) Animal Science, Behaviour and Welfare, and despite a year of fervent applications and job hunting, I remain a coffee shop barista.  Now don't get me wrong fellow baristas, it's not a bad job to have by any stretch of the imagination, it's just not the job for me. I love animals, and biology, and all things to do with nature. It's been my passion since I was a child, and I miss it. 

 I do love certain parts of my job, I adore the people I work with, they manage to make me smile on even the worst of days. I love our regulars and how they stick up for us, and give us a 'thumbs up' or a cheeky wink when everything's going pete tong. And I do love coffee...and cake..and food in general. So y'know, it could be a lot worse. 

I think it's just frustrating when you apply for jobs and hear nothing back, no interview, no email saying 'Unfortunately you haven't been successful on this occasion'. I don't know when it became okay for employers to not even gracefully let you down, and I don't know about you guys, but it really bugs me *Insert grumpy cat face*. 

Anyway, that's my rant over. Is anyone else stuck in this weird 'Mid-twenties' crisis? 

I'd love to know I'm not the only one! In the mean time, I'm going to continue hanging on to my rope, and drawing silly pictures in people's lattes to get me through the day! 

I hope you're all feeling much more positive than me and have a lovely weekend :) 

Cheers then, 

Big love

<3 

Blogging and curling hair are harder than expected.

Hey there guys! 

So it turns out it's so much harder to find time to blog than I thought it would be...definitely 

underestimated my ability to just sit and watch endless youtube videos and/or tv. I really need to learn how to be more productive with my free time, I swear I am the laziest person. Anyway, on a more positive note! I've recently been trying to be more creative with my hair, because it's so long, I get into bad habits of just having it down all the time, and that's become a tad boring I feel. 

Last summer I purchased the Remington Ci95 Pearl Wand, after using my sister's, and I love it! It heats up so quickly, which is amazing, if like me, you have a lot of hair to curl and need to save as much time as possible. And although the 'wand' style curlers do take a little bit of practise to get used to hand positioning etc (it took me forever to grasp the basic concept of wrapping my hair around the wand...), once you've got the hang of it, it's brilliant as you can really adjust how tight your curls will be by how tightly you wrap the hair around the wand. Below are a few photos (excuse the shoddy camera phone quality, my digital camera has died, and also the total lack of makeup!) of my hair after using the pearl wand; I think it creates really pretty curls. 

As you can see, I struggle with the back of my hair! Need longer arms.

However, what I'm really after when I curl my hair is big, soft, glamorous 'Lana Del Rey' style hollywood curls. My hair is naturally very blonde, and I feel a bit 'Barbie-esque' when I've got tighter curls. I've yet to really master this look to be honest with you, my hair is naturally straight and therefore seems to reject any kind of soft curl within 20 minutes. With this in mind, I recently bought the Remington Pearl Pro Curl Wand CI9532, which is essentially just a wider barreled version of the one I already had, but I thought it might help to create looser curls. So far, I've used this three times, and only once managed to get curls vaguely similar to the 'Hollywood' style I want. I figure, practice makes perfect, and I'll just have to keep at it!

Both wands are great, and I don't think my lack of 'Hollywood' curls are a reflection on the wider wands curling ability, more just my unpracticed hand. Let me know if you like this look, and if you've got any tips on creating loose, glamorous waves! 

Hope you've all had a wonderful weekend :)

Cheers then, 

Emma 

<3 

Soap and Glory product review.

Recent Soap & Glory Goodness – Reviews

Well hello there lovely people, it was my birthday recently and my sister very kindly bought me a couple of goodies from Soap & Glory. Now, anyone who knows me, knows I adore this brand, I've been buying products from them for a longggg long time now, whenever I could afford it basically.

So I thought I would do a little review of the new products I’ve tried and some of my old faves.

• Orangeasm super rich body butter (300ml)

This lovely tub of citrusy goodness comes in a bright pink and orange tub, makes me intensely happy to look at and smells like a great big citrus hug full of joy. The scent is ‘fresh green mandarin, Sicilian lemon and sweet orange peel oils’ – normally I'm not a fan of citrus scents but this one just makes me feel more awake, it’s so fresh but not overpowering. The body butter is what you'd expect from a Soap & Glory product, thick but quick to soak in and good for dry skin, leaving skin soft but not sticky (especially the pins!).

At £10 a tub, it’s not exactly cheap but a little goes a reasonably long way, a lovely treat for tired, dull skin looking for a summer makeover!

(Also – just read on the tub there is a ‘Super tonic fragrance spray’ that is similarly scented?! how have I not seen this! Has anybody tried it, and is it also as deliciously fruity without making you feel like you've snorted a tablespoon of lemon zest?).

• The Daily Smooth body butter (250 ml)

In case you can't tell, I suffer from dry skin, and therefore am a bit obsessed with moisturisers/body butters! This next one features Rosehip seed oil and cocoa butter, and is scented with S&G’s ‘Mist You Madly’s’. Now, for anyone who hasn’t smelt this, it smells AMAZING. Subtly girly, flirty and musky (in a good way), it features bergamot, blackcurrant, magnolia, freesia, vanilla and musk. To me, all of those scents together sound like a hot mess, but somehow S&G have managed to make it into something magical.

The consistency is slightly thinner than Orangeasm, making it better for daily use as a general moisturiser (if you're lucky enough to be able to afford to buy it that regularly). Soaks in quickly, didn’t cause any crazy skin reactions which sometimes occur with heavily perfumed products (I am blessed with sensitive skin – THE JOYS), and smells like a dream, so you don't even have to perfume yourself up if you don't have time/perfume to hand. 

My only gripe would be that I am not sure how long the 250ml tube will last, it may just be me, but I've found it doesn't go quite as far as Orangeasm (However, I do have freakishly long limbs, so might be something to do with that). Still, definitely worth a try if you’re a fan of lovely smelling body moisturisers!

•  Mist You Madly – A flirty, floral, fragrant body spray (250 ml)

This is one of my old favourites. Normally I have one of these and also a high-end perfume on the go at the same time, just so I don’t ‘waste’ the more expensive perfume on days where I’m just going to work or a quick trip into town. It’s a lovely scent; floral but not overpowering, and good for any occasion I think. A little goes a long way, making it great value for money, and they also do a handy travel size version! I feel like I get used to the scent quite quickly, and then can’t smell it after a couple of hours, but people do ask what perfume I’m wearing, so that’s got to be a positive!

• 365 – For Daily Youth moisture lotion (50 ml)

I bought this moisturiser as a replacement for a Simple one I had been using and grown bored of, and also to attempt to combat my very ‘fatigue’ worn skin last Autumn. I’m not sure why I went for an anti-ageing moisturiser, I guess perhaps I was working on the theory it might help combat the tired skin a bit better!

So, the positives; I love the scent of this moisturiser, it smells beautiful – peaches, fresh and clean. It’s a very handy size, it’s lasted me a long time, and you only need to use a little to get good coverage of your face and neck. I definitely saw an improvement in the softness of my skin, and I feel like it did ‘brighten’ up my skin. I can't really comment on it’s ‘anti-ageing’ benefits, but my guess is it probably works better as an all-round moisturiser/brightener.

My main issue with this product was that it stated it was ‘For all skin types’; from my experience I would say that it would be suitable dry to normal skin types, but not for normal to combination/combination to oily skin types. I have combination skin, with a relatively oily T-zone, which was the bane of my teenage life, and this moisturiser did make my skin feel oilier throughout the day, and my makeup didn't sit well on top of it. So I won't be using it again during the day if I plan on leaving the house, however, it has made quite a nice variation to my night time moisturiser choices where I prefer a thicker moisturiser.

I hope this review was useful, and if you have any Soap and Glory recommendations please share them with me!

Cheers then, happy blogging!

‘While beauty absolutely matters, it doesn't matter absolutely’ – Soap and Glory

<3 

New beginnings.

Well hello there fellow blog connoisseurs,

After roughly six months of dilly-dallying over whether or not to begin this blog, I’ve finally taken the proverbial leap and done it. Insert sweaty palms and internal cringing. Anyway, after being told multiple times that I have too many random  thoughts, and feeling in a bit of a ‘Mid-twenties crisis’,  I decided I would use this blog as a way to share my rambling ideas and thoughts on a myriad of topics. Off the top of my head, I hope to regularly include the following:

      

        -  University life tips and tricks
  -  Beauty reviews/newest hauls/general excitement at anything beauty-related  #obsessed
  -  Health, including self-motivation for staying fit, and living with a chronic illness
  -  The general ups and downs of life as a twenty-something

A quick intro (a more in-depth introduction will be available pronto in the ‘About Me’ section for those wanting a nosy); My name is Emma, I am currently twenty-three going on forty-five and I live in the b-e-a-utiful county of Devon, England. For those who don’t know, Devon is bordering the ‘deep-south’ of the UK and essentially full of farmers (why yes, I did go to an agricultural college – who doesn’t want to learn how to shear sheep at the age of 16??).

I graduated last summer from Plymouth University, and in the past year have moved back in with my parents, got a ‘fabulous’ job with a certain large retail company (Not just any job…), finally got my driving license, ended a long term relationship, and said many goodbyes to old friends moving away to begin their grown-up adventures elsewhere!

So all in all, it’s been a bit of a biggun’! I am very excited to be starting this new chapter of my life, and hopefully it’ll be onwards and upwards from here. I hope some of you will enjoy joining me on this little venture, and please don’t hesitate to contact me or link me to other blogs you feel I might like! :)

Cheers then! Big love,

Emma <3