Five days of Freshers || Five affordable outfit and makeup ideas

 I moved into my uni accommodation on Saturday, and I've spent the past few days settling in, meeting my flatmates, and finding my way around Canterbury. Being the sort of anxious person that I am, one of my main worries has been what I'm going to wear and what sort of makeup I'm going to do! I know in the grand scheme of things it's not a big deal, but I thought I'd write this little post with a few ideas just in case there's anyone else out there like me! The vast majority of clothes and shoes are from New Look or Primark, making everything affordable, even if you're on a uni budget! Without further ado, on with the looks!

1. 

I actually wore this exact outfit and makeup look to my first induction lecture yesterday! It's very simple and very easy, but looks cute and seasonal. I paired this pretty blue dress with a hummingbird motif with a pair of black boots and my favourite blanket coat, threw on this massive scarf, and added a pair of chunky heeled black ankle boots. For makeup, I did my usual base with Rimmel Match Perfection, Soap and Glory Kick Ass concealer and powder, used the blush from my Sleek palette, and a shimmery highlighter from Tesco's. Eyes wise I went for gold, using the lighter colour all over the lid and blended in the darker gold in my crease and the outer corner of my eyelid, and then defined the waterline with a brown eyeliner from KIKO and added the Maybelline Lash Sensational mascara. Lips were also KIKO, this pretty shimmery pink lipgloss. Super easy, and super pretty, and I thought it was very appropriate for the induction lecture. First impressions and all that!

2. 

This look is probably my favourite actually, and would be perfect if you were going out for dinner or something similar with your new friends/flat mates. All I've done is tucked a white vest into this cute flowered skater skirt, chucked on this beautiful collarless burgundy coat over the top, and paired with these burgundy loafers I picked up from Primark today! Depending on the weather, I'd probably wear this with some black tights. For makeup, I'd go for the same base as before, but swopping the blush for a light pink matte blush from the Makeup Revolution ultra blush palette in hot spice. Then for the eyes, if I'm going out, I like a slightly bolder look, so I would use a light shimmery colour for the inner corner, then this beautiful shimmery reddish colour over the lid, and smoke out with a matte brown, add a cat eye flick with the Soap and Glory Supercat liner, and finish with the Maybelline mascara. Then, as I've gone for a bold eye, I'd pair it with this pretty pinky colour from Sephora in the shade fever.

3.

This look is super easy and chic for everyday, if you're just lounging around or doing some shopping. All it is is this pretty vest with lace back detail tucked into a pair of high waist jeans (both from Primark), an oversized checked shirt thrown over the top, and paired with my burgundy brogues. Then for makeup I'd just go for a simple everyday look, with the same base as before, but using the Sleek face form palette for highlight, contour, and blush. For eyes, I just like to use the KIKO eyeshadow stick in Golden Beige all over my lid, blending it out at the outer corner, adding definition at the waterline with the Soap and Glory Supercat eyeliner, and finishing with the Lash Sensational mascara. For lips I love this Barry M lipgloss in this baby pink colour, which looks super natural and is a 'your lips but better' colour.

4.

Living in England, it's unlikely now that the weather will ever be nice again this year, but on the off chance that it is, I thought I'd chuck in this little outfit, which is one of my favourite for nice September days. Using the same high waisted jeans, I've added this cute floaty green top, and paired with these pink/rose gold sandals from Primark. Makeup this time is my favourite look if I'm going for the 'no makeup' look! It's simply the Rimmel foundation, Soap and Glory Kick Ass concealer and powder, a light pink blush from my Makeup Revolution palette, a KIKO pigment in shade 10 blended over the eyelid, the Lash Sensational mascara, and then some Maybelline Brow Drama brushed over my eyebrows. Simple and easy!

5. 

Finally, a look that would be good to take from day to night. I've used my favourite blanket coat again, but paired it with this cute shift dress from Primark with the high neck lace detail, and added my Dr Martin heeled brogues (my all time favourite shoe). It's so simple but so cute, and works at practically any time of the day. For makeup, I quite like to go for some colour on the eye as the dress is black, and after doing the usual base (once again using the highlight shimmer powder from Tesco's and blush from Makeup Revolution), I like to use this purple KIKO eyeshadow over my lid, and smoke it out slightly with this lighter shimmery colour, also from KIKO, and define the waterline with my favourite Soap and Glory eyeliner, and add the lash sensational mascara. Once again, as I've gone for colour on the eye, I like to go for a nude lip, this time adding a nude pink colour from Makeup Revolution.

And there you have it, five easy and affordable looks for Fresher's week, or any week really! Let me know what you think, and what you like to wear on a day to day basis!

Bethany

Uni Room Essentials

I do love it when the universe conspires to give me the perfect opportunity to ramble on about pretty homey things. I was inspired by Parachute, a bedding brand who do the prettiest everyday bedding basics (alongside cute cashmere throws and candles), to write a post about my dorm room essentials, and seeing as I move into my new uni room very soon, I leaped at the opportunity!

I've been steadily packing for about a month now, and have split my 'essentials' into three categories: actual essentials, extra useful things, and pretty stuff I don't need but that is essential in my mind. Good categories, I feel. And so for today's post I am going to share a few bits from each category that are on my wishlist/I already own for 'The perfect, cosiest, prettiest dorm room'. Mmm, catchy!

Actual Essentials:

Obviously, tippity top of my list is bedding. My bed and I have a rather special relationship, and one that I plan on staying in for a very long time, even though life forces me to spend not as much time as I would like inside it. I love a good cosy bed complete with all the trimmings, and by this I mean a heavy cosy duvet, pretty covers, a throw or two, and so many cushions I can barely climb inside. Now that is my idea of heaven. Parachute have some really cute duvet covers on their website, and top of my wishlist is their 'Sateen duvet cover' in 'powder', which is the prettiest pale blue colour and makes me want to cry just a little with how gorgeous it is. The bedding I have bought is nearly just as cute, and from ye olde land of Primark (all hail the Primark gods!). I picked up a cute set in a graphic bear print, which is now forming the background for all these pictures, and a white set with some pretty embroidered flowers. Two different sets for two different moods.

Other actual essentials include storage solutions. Being a student, I have a room to myself and then share a communal living/kitchen area, which means that all my stuff (bar actual kitchen-y bits) are going to be crammed into one area. This means clever storage type things are come in useful. Ikea do some cracking storage solutions, but all I have plumped for so far is a cute tin I once got some cookies in to store essentials like makeup, and a set of little drawers my aunt bought me to store other essentials (like more makeup!). I am also taking along an old, slightly broken mug that will look adorable on my desk as a pen/makeup brush holder. Making the most of what I have already is helping a lot with keeping going to uni as cost effective as possible.

Useful bits and bobs (perhaps not as essential):

Lighting. Oh, lighting. How I hate harsh overhead lights and how I love warm candle light. Alas, candles are not allowed in a dorm room (it's a fire hazard, I know. But I do so love a good candle). And so fairy lights have become my new best friend. I've included them on this list because some may argue that bringing lighting isn't essential, there is already a lightbulb/lampshade combination going on, but I think soft fairy lighting automatically makes a room look cosier and more inviting, especially on cold wintery nights when all you want to do is snuggle with a duvet and a hot chocolate. I am taking with me two sets of lights, a cute fabric rose set, and a red plastic heart set. They weren't expensive, between £3 and £6 from Primark again, but go an awfully long way to making a barren student room look lovely and pretty. Cute lamps do the same trick, and I'm lucky enough that my aunt and uncle bought me a gorgeous heart shaped porcelain lamp which will look adorable on my new desk (and if you ask nicely, your family members may do the same for you!).

Stationary is another big love of mine, and by this I mean I would rather spend my money on a pretty notebook than food. I am a sucker for a pretty notebook (darn you Paperchase). And whilst for my actual useful stationary that I'll need for lectures and notes etc I went budget style and bought notepads and pens from Wilkinson's (total cost: about £6), I'm also bringing along some of my favourite pretty stationary, mainly because it makes me happy to look at it.

The notepad I was bought a few Christmas' ago, but have never used (and will probably never use, but I love it anyway), and I thought the notecards would come in useful for sending actual letters home. I know there's e-mail and skype and texting and calling, but nothing beats an actual letter that someone has written and sent. And these ones are particularly cute little notecards with butterflies on, and I just know my sister will love receiving one once in a while. Obviously, very essential! I'm also taking along a useful pad I found in paperchase, that looks like a normal notebook covered in unicorns, but inside has sticky notes for making to-do lists and jotting down notes and marking things. Handy mcdandy if you ask me. And of course, the usual suspects like a diary etc, for (hopefully) organising my life a little bit more than I do right now.

Not so useful trinkety bits

Love a good trinket me. And I've found one of the hardest things, whilst packing for uni, is deciding which bits to take, and which bobs I am leaving behind. I'm possibly overly sentimentally attached to a lot of my trinkets and pretty things, but I do think they make a room. Bedding and lighting and storage is all very well, but a room is not a room without it's little trinkets. And with going to uni, I'm going to be far away from where I've grown up and where my family is, and so having little bits scattered around that have memories attached not only makes for a pretty dorm room, but one that also helps with being away from home.

The above is just a selection of what I am taking, but a diverse selection to show the kind of thing I personally think is a good idea to take along. The bird cage and elephant were both presents (and technically meant for candles) but look so cute on a windowsill or bookshelf or desk, and make me happy when I look at them, which I feel is an important trait in a trinket. The milk bottle I found in a cute shop in town, and is my favourite flower holding vessel. I adore fresh flowers in a room, even if I've bought them myself, and so wanted to bring along something to hold said flowers.

The little hanging charm has a cute quote on it. Some people I know do not like these kind of quote-y things, but I absolutely love them, and thought this was particularly applicable for going to uni, as I am following my dreams! And finally, the tsum tsum eeyore and Cogsworth have sentimental value for me, because I was given them by friends who obviously put a lot of thought in, and I like having this kind of thing around when I'm away because it reminds me of the people I still have around who I love and who (hopefully) love me back.

And that concludes this snippity snapshot of the things I consider pretty essential for making a dorm room cosy and lovely for the year ahead! Feel free to share what you already have/are taking/would take to your dorm room.