September and (basically all time) favourites

This is a quite late September favourites so I 100% apologise for this delay, but if you are curious as to what my favourites are last month then have a little read here.

From basically all this summer, I have been in love with these lipsticks/lip creams. As you can tell from my previous blogposts, the NYX lip creams have made it into my faves (because they are amazing). 

From the left: NYX lip cream in Copenhagen (a beautiful look for a special occasion or even just to make you look a bit more fancy!), NYX lip cream in Cannes, Rimmel London Kate Moss 107 lipstick, Bourjois Paris in Praline and Topshop LIPS in Love Struck.

These are all fairly affordable drugstore lipsticks so treat yourself because you need it! 

Top to bottom: Lovestruck by Topshop, Bourjois Paris' Praline, Rimmel 107,

NYX Cannes and NYX Copenhagen

Lets talk about.. face makeup! I never really ever wear makeup on my face like bronzers, contouring and all that jazz. This was mainly because I never knew how to 'make up'?? (Does that make sense?) haha. However, I have to give it to one of my friends who is a makeup fanatic and I was curious. The two sleek palettes (the bigger one) is the highlighter kit which gives a great glowy effect (i look so shiny!) and the smaller palette is the contouring and highlight in the shade light. The Bourjois Paris limited edition bronzer smells AMAZING! I just want to eat it (but please don't!). They all have a nice pigment and are brands I trust with my face. They are all really affordable and you can find these at your local drugstore (like Boots and Superdrug). Make up, you have converted me. :)

I hope you enjoyed this drugstore favourites and I hope you had an amazing weekend, whether it is studying or just chillaxing (I'm jealous). :)

E. xxx

Lets talk about...applying to university

To those who are currently in the position where you are applying to university and picking your university options then please have a little read of my blog post today.

I have shamefully (im soooo sorry) not updated you all, but I am currently in university- yes, Glasgow University, and I wanted to share with you all some of my regrets/things i wish i wouldve done when applying to university. 

1) Make sure the course is right for you:

It is quite obvious, but honestly, what you study at a-level does not always mean that university will be the same. This is to not put you off the subject, but more to really be careful and think- do i LOVE (not like!) this subject and what can it do for me after I graduate? Getting into a university is easy, it may sound cocky but you can go to any university you want, but if you don't like your course it may seem harder for you to love anything else. Afterall, you are there for 3/4 years of your life. I have heard so many people choose a subject to do at uni just because 'they were good at it at alevel'. That does not cut it. Make sure you utilise that £9,000. 

2) Choose the dream university:

What I learnt is that treat your 5 uni choices carefully. I tend to have chose some just as back up in case i did not get the grades for the university i wanted. With all seriousness, make sure it is right for you and that the university caters for your needs. Currently I'm in Glasgow and I do have questions of whether this university is for me. Its so important to really and truly evaluate how that university can benefit you. I would really insist on attending open days- i did not go to Glasgow's open day because it was too far. That was one of my  biggest regret ever- but that deserves its own blogpost in the future. I would really advise looking at whatuni.com (really good for comparisons!) and just looking at all your options you have. Don't focus too heavily on league tables.  Make sure that the environment you are in is good for you. 

3) Do your homework:
I have read previous blogposts when I was applying to university too, and I must say that I subconciously tricked myself into thinking I knew my universities from top to bottom (I think that's the phrase! The truth is, I didn't. I mean I read student satisfaction etc but I honestly did not see whether I would be content/really happy with my university. Look at the important things: how you wil be assessed and whether you like their methods, how many contact hours you have, what you are studying and the compulsory modules you have to take. Does that uni do well for your taste? These are questions that every student should figure out before applying. Applying is easy, universities tend to 'over-offer' anyway and give places to a lot of students, knowing that not all of them will even get in. Don't rush this process, otherwise you will regret it. Clearlng is a long way away so make sure you know in advance than in a rush!

4) Make sure that your personal statement is the shiz:
I started writing my personal statement in the summer, where I was at an advantage of being able to figure out whether this course was good for me or not. Originally, I wished to study both history and politics, but I later realised that it was not for me. Your personal statement really and truly tests your passion. It is better to write a lot of things you like about a subject than nothing at all. My school always sent us to personal statement classes and sometimes when I was at university open days, such as Uni of Southampton, they would have personal statement classes based on what they expect from each and every successful candidate. Fall in love with your personal statement and make it really positive. Most importantly, your statement is not going to be perfect, so keep redrafting and be-friend your tutor. Afterall, they are the one who will be writing your reference.

5) Do you want a gap year?
When applying to university, I 100% gave taking a gap year no thought whatsoever. I thought I would become way more stupid and lose my IQ (clearly did) if I took a year out. What would I do instead of not going to uni? I feared i would miss out and waste a good year rather than studying and getting university out of the way. I really regret this. I knew i was not going to be one of those 'I went to Africa and then to India for my gap year' type of people (nothing wrong with that at all, I envy that!) the thing is, you really need to think about whether university is really for you and if you're not sure then maybe you should take a year out. You don't need to be chilling with animals on your gap year but just gain work experience and other things and you never know, your path may change!

These are the holy grails to applying to university. I would also add in look at your accommodation before even getting in to that uni! I mean, both of your firm and insurance! Please do not rush your firm and insurance choice, you may change your mind halfway through and it would be too little too late.
I did have quite a traditional mind about university before. i always thought that uni was the next step for me and I would be totally successful blah blah. Thats not necessarily trus. Just because a majority of your classmates are heading to uni does not mean you should too. Take some time and really think about it. Its never too late. 

Review: NYX lip-creams

Dear fellow bloggers, 

Summer is finally out! Wow, I have finally completed my a levels (A2s this year) and it has been a crazy. I have learnt so many lessons and I have become a stronger person. I do again apologise for my absence, I felt  there was nothing blog-worthy of writing because I was cooped up in books and pink highlighters. Nevertheless, I will continue with this little review.

Recently, I have purchased two lip creams - NYX 'Copenhagen' and 'Cannes' and I must say, once I ordered them, I fell in love. I honestly could not get enough of such beautiful colours and I'm sure you will agree. It feels like you're applying lipgloss at first but then its a matte colour. However, what I find is that you would have to touch it up a few times, it isn't as long-lasting as I hoped it would be but still retains a beautiful touch and look. 

COPENHAGEN

The Copenhagen lip cream reminds me of the autumnal and maybe even the winter season and I can definitely imagine this with a nice warm jumper. Alternatively, this could be suited for a night out- perhaps clubbing or having a nice get together with your friends. The berry colour really appealed to me and I don't really have these berry colours in my makeup collection at all. No regrets made with this purchase!

CANNES

This BEAUTIFUL nude was the one that really stood out for me. I honestly love the colour and everything about it. It was the fact I could wear it anywhere- on any occasion- picnics, parties, bbqs, a casual day, chilling with your friends, lover, going out, staying at home etc. SUCH A BEAUTIFUL COLOUR I CAN'T DEAL. I believe Cannes is one of the popular lip-creams out of the NYX collection and I was so tempted to purchase other lip-creams and explore other NYX products but I felt guilty for my bank account. Damn. One day when I become Queen maybe, joke ( not really :( )

Thank you for reading this post and my review on these two lip creams I purchased. I hope you have a LOVELY evening or day and make this summer the best it can be! 

Rights are also reserved to the owner of these images taken (I didn't take them!) 

Stay beautiful,

Elaine Chu x x x

Horrors and chills: halloween!

To everyone who celebrates Halloween, it is a day of scaring loads of people, wearing things you would get away with on only this day (like wearing bedsheets!).
I hope everyone had a GREAT day!

To those who don't celebrate halloween, I hope it was a great and productive day nonetheless :)

Myself and my best friend, Holly, decided to go as doctors in a zombie lab. I also had accompanied this look with a cheeky Rimmel 107 lipstick to create a joker look, from The Dark Knight (Batman). You can see how we re-created this look by looking at the picture above! We had also used bedsheets and cut them to use as lab coats, creative huh? I did this because it is one of my all time favourite films.. Literally I could watch this film so many times (everyone has a film like this!).

skirt- forever 21

black crop top- h&m

boots- topshop

Just out of randomness, if you ever go to Wagamamas (which is absolutely freaking amazing, you must visit once in your life..) you have to try one of my favourite dishes, if you like spice.

Chilli chicken ramen and Haroon's is firecracker chicken.

Stay beautiful everyone, I hope you have a great day, despite the weather here in London being rather miserable and groggy. I love using that word.

Elaine xxx

Stationary fanatic | Why I love pink

Throughout the whole of AS (first year in sixthform), I have discovered something. Not only that I love stationary, but that I love pink highlighters. Pink. It's not even in general that pink is my favourite colour, but when I began to revise, I found that the colour pink would make words and sentences stand out thus the content would easily go into my head. If you have ever witnessed my revision books, they are all highlighted in pink. Genuinely, my head can not tolerate other colours such as yellow, green, orange.. It is something weird, but it truly works. 

I have tested it out with green, yellow, orange and purple but nothing fits into my head. When I see the colour pink, my head focuses and when I buy pink highlighters, it has to be of a certain quality. I sound so crazy probably, but I just think Stabilo works best for me, hence the amount of stabilo highlighters in the picture above. 

I hope there are others out there who are in the same predicament as I am! 

CAMPING!

Hey guys! It has been a short yet long summer, and I have been doing so much pro-active things (excluding watching all my TV series, chilling in bed and procrastinating), I HAVE SO MUCH TO UPDATE YOU ON! 

Around July(ish) I went camping with a group of friends for my friend, Lucy's, birthday. This seemed like an annual thing so I thought why not connect with nature? Afterall, I haven't spoken/seen much of the people going. 

Here are some pictures I thought I would share with you ♥

Rabbit adventures

I thought I'd also inform you guys on what I brought to camping:

-Spare clothes (in case it rains, which is most likely)

-Towel (i forgot this last year lol *bad memory*

-Make up (You acc dont need this, it is effort)

-Portable charger

-Loads of food

-A book to keep you company

-Blankets and warm socks because its freezing!!

-A pack of cards.

I hope you enjoy this blogpost, have fun at camping and make sure to connect with nature and to not be scared of spiders like how I am. Oh and to ALWAYS zip your tent up when you leave/are in it :( (it was horrible, i was contemplating sleeping outside).

Stay beautiful! xxxx

A message to myself | Remember.

Hi guys. As results day is slowly building up, I thought I'd write a little message to myself. This can apply to all you guys too.
Remember, remember, remember. It is not the grades that define you or your intelligence. No, your intelligence derives from more than that. One paper, one exam, does not define who you are. Regardless of whether your results go well or not, just remember, you worked your ass off. Remember every day of every week you would sit in that room and work from 3 till whenever you got kicked out and when you get home its half six till 11? Don't regret anything. No 'I wish I worked harder', you did YOUR best and that's all you can do. Prioritising your education was the best damn thing you ever did and I am proud of you. Forget every single person for a moment, and think about you. What do you want? What do you believe in? You worked so hard, don't let that go. The hours and hours, the blood, sweat and tears will pay off. If not now, then eventually. No matter what happens, you will be successful. Being successful remember does not mean your a-level results have to be four A's or whether you are going to uni. I believe that what you put in is what you will get out. This will stick with you for the rest of your life. Be proud of yourself, love yourself and respect yourself. I love you.
You're strong.
Stay beautiful.