My New Obsession

So I haven't been posting a lot lately and this is all due to discovering all these crazily awesome apps on my new iPhone and also in part looking for cute little cases for said iPhone. I have about twenty saved on my shopping feed, I am being good and have decided to wait until my next installment o the beautiful thing which is student finance. I have a while to wait unfortunately. But in the meantime I favourite new discovery and consequent obsession is Instagram, unless you have been living under a rock for the last few years or have no Internet access or technology whatsoever which in that cases you wouldn't even be reading this, I assume you know what Instagram is. And if you don't you should because its awesome. I can't fully encapsulate in words the joy it brings me to find a filter for my photos, it makes me insanely happy and can completely transform an otherwise ordinary photograph. Don't get me wrong there is a lot of people on there that bore the total crap out of me but apart from that its quite a fun distraction. I frequently find myself on trains so instead of casually playing Subway Surfer, which is another of my obsessions, it's quite easy to kill time perfecting your latest picture and thinking of hash tags. Who knew hashtags would be so marketable and transferrable in social media? 

I warn you all though, it is hopelessly addictive, and you don't get judgement for people when you start taking photos of the most inconsequential things but I say screw them. The older generation can suck it, I was in Asda yesterday and I was taking a Snapchat to send to one of my close friends all is wanted was to say that she had sent me the same snap thrice so I took a picture of the closest thing which was a bowl of quite tasty pasta and the cooks in the cafe were flabbergasted and thought I was retarded most likely, I just glared at them for their judging eyes and hopefully they will be more accepting in the future. So as long as you are prepared to put up with that you'll be fine, my friend I was with at the time wittily and yet quite harshly told me no to worry about it we won't have to deal with their judgement when the older technophobic generation die out, that felt a tad mean though but I suppose she has a point.

Anyway so this post is basically to shamelessly broadcast my account. And gig you a snapshot of my pictures but also to find another way to interact with you guys. I still am not entirely sure if any of you read this blog as you all firmly refuse to comment or reach out to me in any way. However, everyone and their son has an Instagram account as far as I am aware so if you follow me or comment below with your Instagram name I would happily follow you and check out your pictures I would love to see your accounts if you have one. Thank you for reading again and her is a look at my account. Lots of love. 

I have bought a lot of stuff recently and I am going to start selling some stuff I never wear or no longer wear on eBay, I am a size 8 so I will do a post of what I plan to sell and if any of you are interested I will give you first refusal. Thanks again ❤ xxx

BLUE VANILLA

Hey guys, so I have basically just been shopping recently and waiting for my phone to arrive. I went out last night with some of my school friends and had so much fun getting ready. Earlier in the day me and a friend went shopping and we each bought some makeup to try out. Lately, I have been looking at lipsticks it is the one thing I am quite iffy about. I usually just put on some sheer gloss or a lip balm and then I am good to go, but I know that Urban Decay are releasing a range of lipsticks consisting of 22 different shades and with matching lip pencils. Urban Decay is one of my absolute favourite make-up brands for eye shadow, they really do excel in this area they have the most gorgeous varied shades and they are incredibly pigmented and show up on all skin tones excellently, but I am not a fan of a lot of their other products. Their Moondust eyeshadows are too die for.

However, I am interested in their lipsticks and they are out in the UK on 5th August, I find it hard to get a shade suited to me so I am happy and excited to look at such a range. I have heard the formula is creamy and feels luscious on your lips and is highly pigmented. So I will let you know when I check that out.

So far, though, Rimmel has stood out for me in terms of their lip products. I love their Apocalips range, the applicator is the perfect shape and colours such as Galaxy and Celestial look amazing on all races, my friend bought Big Bang which is a strong red she literally only dabbed it cautiously on her lips and it came up really well, a great red. Their 1000 Kisses Lip Tint is incredible too, it smells and tastes amazing it's very subtle and consequently perfect for day wear and there is a handy little balm on the other end. I bought Galaxy Apocalips and the new Maybelline mascara, the plush one in turquoise packaging. It's a nice big wand which is my preference. I also got the matte foundation from Collection for £2.99 which I think is a great price, I got it in Almond and as I have oily skin I tend to only use matte foundations.

Finally onto the title of this piece as my phone arrived today I shot off to all the high street shops looking for pretty, relatively inexpensive cases and found a bright pink one with white butterflies from New Look. While I was there, a stand caught my eye with the loveliest clothes and I picked up a pretty red dress and twisted the tag to read Blue Vanilla. From what I have seen in New Look their clothes are fantastic they are fun and fancy as well as cute and quirky you could wear them during the day or on a night out, their pieces are so versatile. So I really recommend them, I love wearing white in the summer as it reflects heat it is also a pretty colour to wear in the sun and Blue Vanilla had halter tops, lace embellished shirts and flirty flippy little dresses.

This is the dress I got and I absolutely love it I would wear it every day if I could. Thank you for reading and I will post more soon, I promise. In other news I am on Instagram my username is kiranjeetkaur19 so follow me if you like if you comment on any of my posts I will happily follow you back. Lots of love xxx

Self-esteem. A bit of a personal rant.

Hello there, my sweethearts, I know I promised to continue Paris but writing about it and looking over all the pictures is making me pitifully nostalgic if I could beam myself back there I would. In a heartbeat. However, I promise to finish it and all some lovely, atmospheric snaps, cross my heart. In the meantime, I thought I would just fill you in with what is going on in my head today. My mind over the past few days has been preoccupied mostly with envy and body-image.

As you all know I have just started a YouTube channel and it scares the absolute crap out of me, all of my self-esteem issues have suddenly just rushed to the fore and I am scared people will rip me to shreds. It takes a lot of guts to put yourself out there so I admire anyone who can do it with the confidence and grace I have seen from some YouTubers. I look upon you with awe. And envy.

I am sure we all get it, when you're scrolling through your news feed, or passing people by in the street or even when you're having a much-needed catch-up with your friends. At least for me, I am not ashamed to admit that I get a little jealous sometimes, not in a cruel way, but I have constantly been the type of person who sees one good thing in everybody. You name any person on the planet and I would be able to find a good quality or feature that I could ascribe to them and that's not due to being born in a cripplingly polite household (the opposite actually) but simply because I believe it. I might have high standards when it comes to looks but I have never found anybody on the planet, even those few people that I dislike, ugly.

Getting back on topic though, as a psychologist, this envy intrigues me greatly. It baffles me when I realise other people feel it too. For me, because I know my own mind better than anyone else's, I can to an extent pinpoint my issues. I have always been insecure, whether it be because I wear glasses, or am naturally shy, and not nearly as confident as the people I surround myself with I genuinely have no idea. I just know that when I look in the mirror, I don't think there is a single part of me I wouldn't change if I could. I am not talking anything drastic, I would never go under the knife for fear they would muck up irreversibly and I would end up with half a nose or something. Rather, little things, like my elder sister has really big eyes, lovely, bold and brown, and they are the first things you would notice about her. I have always been a little envious of this, and in the same vein my little brother has outrageously long eyelashes which I would love to be the owner of myself. It takes me several coats of Chanel mascara to have the same effect.

You see, they aren't big things and I know it's been reiterated that as humans we are simply programmed to want what we can't have at all times, but I am not buying it. I feel like I have met people who seem perfectly comfortable and at home in their skin and that is a feeling I envy most of all. When you think of all the time wasted wishing you were someone else with clearer skin, bigger eyes, longer lashes and legs, it's actually quite ludicrous. I have no idea how to change it though, whenever I am depressed I seem to dwell on these things and of course I get a little upset until in despair when I come to the realisation over and over again that lamenting it isn't going to change anything I get fed up and declare that I am over it.

This bugs me, this endless cycle, because I know I wasn't always like this, as a child I was as uninterested in looks as my father is in MAC cosmetics, I couldn't have cared less, I thought it was obscene the amount of money people fritter away carelessly on fancy designer garments and high-end cosmetics. Evidently all this has changed and I think it's quite beautiful in a way, the confidence a lipstick or mascara can give you, yes it's superficial but if it makes you feel good and you aren't hurting anyone, what is the harm. No one can begrudge you that happiness, temporary though it may be. I got to the point where I was ruminating over how unexpected my shift in attitude towards appearance altered so drastically and I think I finally pinpointed it.

 One day in class, I was about nine or ten years olds. The teacher asked us to write five things we liked about ourselves, at this time I was already having trouble. I have always been smart, not so much now, but as a kid the simple stuff like fractions and addition, multiplication, reading etc came as easy to me as breathing so I tended to find school quite boring. I wasn't gifted or anything, I just spent a lot of time with my older sister and it seemed to have paid off without either of us noticing. Around this time my Great Grandfather died and although it wasn't utterly unexpected considering his age it knocked me for six, this was the first time I had ever been confronted with mortality and it terrified me. I just wanted to know where he was and I started to get a little anxious and restless at school so I would usually just stay at home or go to my Nan's when I could. This day though I was there, and at first I struggled to complete the assignment, but eventually I wrote down a few things, like my hair and teeth, my eyes were okay but I didn't have good eyesight so I reluctantly put that down as my third thing. And then I was stuck, hopelessly stuck, I just couldn't think of anything, it was pathetic but I was having a serious crisis of confidence. It wasn't just aesthetics, I couldn't name anything I liked about my personality either and it shattered what little self-liking I had.

I know now that's silly, but at the time it felt like a major deal and as soon as I got home I hid under my Dad's arm reassuring myself that it didn't matter if I was unattractive and uninteresting my parents loved me unconditionally. Luckily as I grew up, I started to notice that other people had their own confidence issues, everyone has areas which they are not totally pleased with, that is just life. I can't say I won't ever feel that way again, because as an insomniac I think obsessively when I can't sleep and just start listing things I want to change or improve about myself as a person and on one hand that is good, it pushes me to keep becoming a better person because I know I could do so much more. But on the darker hand, it can sometimes be soul destroying and extinguish any love you have for yourself. It can be positive to be critical but don't over do it.

I have never in my life wholly admitted to someone even the people closest to me in this world about my self esteem issues. Once when I was drunk in the first term of university and upset about something I spoke to a good friend a little about it and she basically told me I was being ridiculous. That was good in the sense it made me snap out of it, I liked her and wanted her to be my friend so I just brushed whatever was bothering me under the carpet I didn't want her to think I was making stuff up for attention or that I was pathetic (which admittedly after reading this post I am starting to feel like it haha). But alternatively, we meet so many people and judge them instantly. Label them as people who have always got what they wanted and have never had anything bad happen to them at all. And that is what is ridiculous, someone tweeted me saying that "The brightest smiles often hold the saddest secrets" which is a more poetic way of saying "Don't judge a book by its cover". Everyone's feelings are valid.

So please, promise me, that if anyone ever confides in you about anything to do with their body-image or self-esteem or really anything personal, just hear them out. Sometimes all anyone needs is someone who will listen and maybe offer up a hug and a hot drink afterwards. It's not hard. And remember that even though maybe you don't like what you have, someone out there will. We are all unique and are tastes are so varied, so in the end everything will be okay and if i have depressed you immensely with my tirade please watch an episode of The Simpsons and just forget I ever said anything. Thank you guys.

Paris: Day 2.

It was quite a chilly day, and rain was forecasted so I wore a dress with tights and packed my cardigan into my TopShop handbag (which I got on sale). We rose bright and early and did all the fiddly things like showering, dressing, make-up etc before heading down to breakfast where we saw the cute British guys again and flirted a little. Breakfast was good. We had a choice of two different type of cornflakes, one was fruity and the other was more chocolate based. There was a pitcher of unlimited orange juice, you got a bread roll with a sachet of margarine and jam. Plus, unlimited hot chocolate and coffee. I detest coffee even the smell is utterly repulsive to me so I had three cups of hot chocolate which wasn't as tasty as the hot chocolate I recall from the French trip we took in Year 8 which was undeniably delicious, but was still sweet and edible especially as I poured half a cup of sugar into it. 

We wanted to cram in all sorts of sights but essentially the only thing we actually managed to cover was the Louvre. We set off for the Eiffel Tower because we knew how to get there pretty easily and then we walked across the Seine thinking we would get a boat tour because everyone had encouraged us to do this back home. We bought tickets to the Batobus which stopped conveniently at all the landmarks in Paris like Musee D'Orsay, Champs d''Elysees etc but before that we spied a gorgeous old green and cream boat that would take us to Montmartre and as we made polite, basic French converstaion, we both made a mental note to definitely do this if we had time. Also, after said conversation we hi-fived like total plebians congratulating ourselves on our first proper French conversation in Paris. Go us!

So we got on the Batobus, which was a nice, simple boat with clear windows and an area where you could sit outside too. The first stop was the Louvre because we had no idea how long we would spend there and we were both so excited to go. I thought the queue would take forever so it made sense that we would go there first. As we stepped off the boat and walked into the direction everyone else was walking in (informational social influence if you're interested, I'm a Psychologist, sorry, I can't help it) we saw the most lovely stone buildings with enormous lions by the entrance, I wanted to curl up and take a picture with me in the lion's lap napping but there were quite a few people milling about. Ieva and I both fell irrevocably in love with the place, it was huge and as we walked underneath the arch admiring absolutely everything we fell a little more. We saw the pyramids, which I dislike, they might be iconic but they definitely detract from the historic feel of the place. We spent an hour crowding around the replica of the Arc de Triomphe taking pictures from every possiblee angle. Eventually we joined the queue which snaked past the fountains, and a cute French guy with oversized sunglasses and the American flag emblazoned on his shorts was blasting music and being obnoxious. 

In the queue, which didn't take nearly as long as we imagined, we looked up at the statues and tried to guess who all these famous French men were, we moaned a bit about sexism (no women were immortalised, assholes) and then decided to give them all personalities and conjured up mini biographies for them. Behind us, were three Americans from the Deep South discussing politics and Raegan. One of the guys was in full out biker gear and can I just say, I admire that man's confidence. He was a dude. 

When we finally got inside and got our bags checked, we went down the escalator and queued for tickets despite not needing any. The place was huge, and we didn't have any maps or anything, there were so many exhibitions advertised that I didn't know where to start, but Ieva wanted to go see the Greek sculptures so we went there first. Long story short, we saw a myriad of sculptures including the Venus de Milo and we learned all sorts of interesting facts like they still to this day don't know where her arm is, we ogled al of these sculptures and Italian paintings, Islamic pottery and scripture, there were wonderful mosaics and in some places the ceilings were a work of art themselves, Egyptian scrolls, and of course we saw the Mona Lisa, though again wasn't that impressed. I did feel quite cool to be able to say that I had seen it though. 

Four hours or so later when we had had our fill, we hopped back on the bus and went to Notre Dame. Researching prior to the trip we had discovered a bookshop called Shakespeare and Co which was said to be a highly recommended hotspot in Paris. As Mass was occurring when we got to Notre Dame we went in search for the bookshop instead, starving we ate on the way. I devoured a cheesy hot dog and a nutella soaked waffle, it was pure heaven. We asked for directions and got talking to some street artists who were so talented and realistic in their sketches of people, and we also had a stilted conversation with a kind old lady painting for pleasure at the edge of the Seine, she was lovely. You could see the kindness radiating off her face, she was so sweet and helpful, modest too when we flattered her painting. 

The bookshop when we found it, had a queue outside, but next door to it was a Rare Book Shop so we dallied in there for a while poring over old books and gasping when something was as old as trees. Shakespeare and Co is amazing though, it's a bottle green shop with gold lettering. Inside it is chock full of books, they are everywhere and it is breathtaking. It can feel quite claustrophobic and even more so when you up the narrow, creaky stairs to the library section but there are cosy places made up for you to sit, there is a piano and typewriters, it's like you have stepped into Dickensian times. Strange and unexpected to find in Paris, the only flaw of this otherwise perfect place is that it is so well-known. It would be more impressive if it was self-discovered and secretive but it is fabulous. 

After the bookshop we wanted to go to Notre Dame but it closed early for some unknown reason so we planned to go to Saint Chapelle instead which I believe is the oldest church in Paris. We approached a kind man on the street but he distracted us with bird seed, literally, he was handing it out to random passers by and they would hold their hands up and birds would fly and peck into their hands while we all gazed at them mesmerised at the beauty this world has to offer. I was thinking of Beauty and the Beast the entire time and it made me fall in love with Paris even more. So we didn't go to the chapel, but there were lots of stalls full of cheap french books that Ieva couldn't keep away from. After she bought her body weight in Dumas novels we each got a Subway and sat on the bench in the sunshine, feeling like we had lived in Paris all our lives, it was most certainly a Kodak moment. 

Eventually, we came to the realisation that we had to do something with our time here. So we settled on going to the Champs d'Elysee to scope out the lay of the land so we would be aware of what we were dealing with when it came to Wednesday. Back on the Batobus, we journeyed to our next destination this time standing outside and taking videos, admiring all the bridges and buildings. The first shope we went to was Disney and I purchased a Belle mug and a large Disney nightgown thing. And then for the first time ever I went to Sephora and I never ever wanted to leave. I had my heart set on finding the Princess Jasmine Storylook palette because it would make my life complete but apparently it is solely an American thing as none of the staff had a clue what I was on about. I did, however, find a Chanel lipstick which was like my lips but better basically and it is called Scenario (83). We went to many more shops, like H & M and Zara and we saw a group of guys dancing in the street which was entertaining to watch especially when they started body-popping. 

It got quite late by then, it was around eleven and dark so we decided to head back. It was beautiful walking at night, with all the lights twinkling we had no concrete idea of where we were going and even though we both had stabbing pains in our feet it was worth it. We walked past lots of pretty, luxurious and heart-clenchingly expensive shops, gazing at the sumptuous window displays was a great distraction from the weariness of our feet. When we saw the Eiffel Tower all illuminated and glowing I think it hit us both that we were in Paris, and well life doesn't get much better than that really. It was such a defining moment for me, I don't think I have ever been that happy since I was a little kid. We took some posey pictures both just high on life because usually we are both camera-shy, but a photo was needed to commemorate that moment. 

Miracle of miracles we managed to find the hostel without the help of maps or relying on the kindness of strangers fir directions. We found it all by ourselves, which makes me really proud. I didn't think we would ever be capable of that, but by this point I was surprised we were still alive we were being so careless. As we got in and unwound, we met the new girl that was staying with us. Her name was Camille and she was from Bordeaux, she had an adorable accent and was here in Paris to go see the exams she would have to take next year, she planned to go to business school and was a really nice girl, calm and quiet, she adores her twelve year old sister and works incredibly hard. I hope she gets everything she wants. We didn't go to sleep until about 3 in the morning even though we were shattered, I just love meeting new people. It brings me joy. Again, I'll add pictures later and I will finish the rest of my Paris Diary tomorrow. Thank you for reading, comment or contact me in whatever way, if you follow me on Twitter I will follow you back. Hope you are all enjoying yourselves.

YouTube

Hello, so I did as was promised. I have created a YouTube channel and uploaded my first video, please watch it for me and like/subscribe/comment. That would be utterly fantastic, any support at all would literally mean the world to me so please if you care at all, show some. Thank you. I will post the link to my channel and my first video below. I also have started a vlog channel except I tried putting up the Paris videos but the sound for some inexplicable reason isn't working. I will endeavour to fix this as soon as possible and will inform you when I have. Thank you. Please check out the video and let me know your thoughts that would be incredible. I will do the rest of my Paris Diary tonight so it should be on here by the morning and then I will do a Paris haul video and blog post tomorrow.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/kiran94ful

My first video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62XjRfCFPog

Thank you! 

Oh and here is my new twitter: https://twitter.com/KiranK94ful

New Plans!

Hello, my sweets. So I have officially decided to suck it up and start getting creative. There is so much I want to do and I can be shy and wallow in the corner effectively pissing my summer away or I can get up of my ass and take action. So first step, I created a new Twitter account because underneath all this bravado I don't want anyone in my life to know about this online identity at least until I am sure I am not getting destroyed by keyboard warriors.

My name is @KiranK9ful and I would appreciate it if you would follow me, it would make my year let alone my day. I will post a link at the bottom for ease of access. I have also decided to start with YouTube because damn it, it looks like fun and what harm can it do? So please support me if you give the tiniest damn about it, if not, I apologise for bothering you with the internal struggle I have been battling with for the better part of two seasons. It would give me endless joy to have your support. I will upload my first video here, which is bound to be a shambles and then I will post a link to a vlog channel which will contain a lot of my Paris videos. I will post about the rest of the Paris trip tomorrow. Sorry for the delay, it's just been hectic meeting friends and everything. So thank you for reading.

Here is my profile: https://twitter.com/KiranK94ful

Thanks so much. Happy Tuesday! And now I am off to eat dinner, which is a Peri Peri burger and fries. Yum :)

Paris Diary ❤

Day Un.

Like all accounts I feel I should start at the very beginning, as in why we even decided to go to Paris in the first place. The idea first came into being during the Easter holidays, my friend Ieva who is a total label-whore but I love her anyway is obsessed with this French designer brand called Lancel that from what I can glean specialise in bags and the like. Ever since she was twelve years old she has pined over this bag and wanted to be its possessor, unfortunately it has always been outrageously expensive. Until, of course, a sale.  So she looked into it and discovered there would be a sale and she could order it online but to have it shipped to Lithuania (her native country) from Paris would cost a small fortune. And coincidentally a small fortune is exactly the same amount of money that would be required for an impromptu holiday. She proposed the idea to me, and instantaneously I concurred. Impulsive decisions are always my undoing, but I have wanted to go to Paris for most of my life and was incredibly excited by the prospect. Although, I couldn’t give a shit about this apparently life-changing, mouth-wateringly beautiful bag that resembles a marshmallow (which is my theory why she has coveted it so much); I do give a shit about going to Paris.

A few weeks before the alleged sale we started planning, we booked three nights at Aloha Hostel online and purchased return megabus tickets from Coventry Canon Park to Paris. It was all surprisingly simple. We planned what we wanted to do there, we found a myriad of things and then being brutal we slashed through some that we wouldn’t have time for. We were very ambitious, trying to fit eighteen things into three days and naturally not all of them were actualised.

On Sunday morning, we were scheduled to leave at quarter past six so we could reach Canon Park in plenty of time before our ten past seven coach. In preparation for this and the twelve hour journey ahead of us we opted to skip sleep and watch movies set in Paris instead. WE watched Pink Panther and practiced our own French accents, we had tea and packed and repacked and then packed again. We got to the coach station stupidly early and already hungry we indulged in some Galaxy cake bars. They were damn tasty, even if it was early.

The coach arrived and we sat together, even though in my experience from travelling to Amsterdam by coach, you should always sit by yourself when you are travelling for longer than a few hours. We arrived at Victoria Coach station in London a couple of hours later and went in search of hot food, we came to a café and had sandwiches. The coach trip to Paris was fairly uneventful, we discussed everything that was going on in our lives and infrequently napped, Ieva listened to her mp3 I gazed dreamily out of the window until we arrived at Dover.

We had missed the ferry. I love ferries, and am always unduly eager to board one, I love the rockiness and the smell of the sea, you just feel so fresh on the deck, utterly rejuvenated.  Instead, we crossed the channel via the Eurotunnel which meant we did not get a chance to stretch our legs at all. It was fine, a total of thirty five minutes so although there wasn’t much to look at, at least it was efficient. When we arrived in France, we looked eagerly at the scenery and all we really saw was a whole lot of green which was nice in its own way and then I shamelessly eavesdropped on the two girls behind us who both led very interesting lives. One girl was talking about how she had ran away to join the circus and that the circus was big in France, she had fallen in love with someone’s cousin and time apart was hard but she was very glad to be seeing him soon. The other girl had just graduated and was going to stay with her friend in Paris, she had an interview so she was only stopping for a few days and was very nervous. It was very entertaining.

Soon, Ieva alerted me to the Eiffel Tower and I forgot all about the girls behind me and concentrated on not squealing in delight like a two year old. We reached Porte Maillot Coach Station at seven in the evening and as we left it started to drizzle but not too much. Ieva had written out directions to our hostel and we planned to walk there even though in hindsight this was a crackpot idea. As we left the coach station in search of a street name we might recognise we came across a tiny, pretty building with gates. It was simple but appealing from the outside, and like dutiful tourists we snapped a few pictures and then I ventured inside to discover it was a chapel. A truly gorgeous chapel with stained glass windows, flickering candles and a marble Jesus on the cross. It was lovely, quiet, peaceful and echoing. I fell in love with this little chapel. A woman was there, praying intently she looked like she was in despair although maybe that was my imagination running amok. I like to think she was earnestly repenting and her piety would soon be rewarded. I am not religious by any means but this chapel made me wish I was.

Eventually after taking dozens of pictures and tiptoeing quietly around we left dragging our suitcases silently behind us. It started to rain and by rain I mean pour, we were being assaulted by the skies and not to put too fine a point on it we were miserably lost so we asked for directions. One woman sent us in the wrong direction so we asked another and she was extremely helpful even though she herself had no clue she would ask others. A guy with an iPhone Google-mapped it for us (Thank you God and Steve Jobbs) and we went traipsing back in the opposite direction at which point we saw the Arc de Triomphe from a distance and “fan-girled” for a couple of minutes.  We saw lots of tall, beautiful champagne and pastel coloured buildings that reminded me a little of Prague so of course we clicked away with our cameras, and by then I was desperate for the toilet so I went to a little café and practiced my limited French. The gentleman was very kind and I took ten minutes to freshen up.

We found the Eiffel Tower in due course and went crazy tourist for a good half an hour, with our suitcases we were easy targets and the dark skinned men with Eiffel Tower replicas on key chains pounced on us, but we just shook our heads and soldiered on even though some of the deals they were spitting out at us were quite tempting, one Indian gentlemen even offered one free as a gift which scared the shit out of me but amused Ieva to no end.  We walked far and then we walked a little more, we got lost a couple of times, we asked people directions, luckily the weather had cleared up nicely and we were fine, enjoying Paris. When we finally reached the street of our hostel we were exultant, we honestly didn’t think we would actually find the hostel it took us a good three hours but we definitely felt like accomplished human beings. Proper adults. It was a heady feeling. I think we were high on a sense of independence.

 At about ten pm we reached our hostel and our feet were dying. The man behind the counter was nice but he was very busy he told us to dump our stuff and go get something to eat so he could check us in when we returned, so we dumped our stuff I changed out of my boots because they were pinching my toes and we met two cute British guys in the storage room. We left and it was dark, we had passed so many places for food on the way we knew we wouldn’t have to walk far, we settled on a small Italian restaurant with red checked table cloths and wine already displayed proudly on the tables. We ordered hesitantly in French, Ieva had ham salad and I had Bolognese and Coke. It was good. We got lost on the way back to the hostel even though it was a mere street away and the sense of independence faltered but we found it in the end.

The man behind the counter had changed but he gave us everything we needed, our key cards, freshly laundered sheets, a few maps, times for breakfast etc. Our room number was 32 and we couldn’t find it so we asked the man again and he informed us it was outside so we went outside and trudged up to the highest floor. Our room was nice, there were two bunk beds, a sink and it was situated right next to the bathroom and shower which was handy. The only problem was it was already occupied by three girls whom we easily made friends with. They were all lovely and one tiny girl called Inka who was actually twenty-seven realised she had been in the wrong room all along.

Eventually, after washing and changing we crashed into bed. Ieva slept on the top bunk and every time it squeaked I had a mini heart attack. We planned to get up at seven in the morning eat our fill and then do some serious sight-seeing. There is no rest for the wicked.  I will upload pictures and videos later. Thank you for reading. Je t’aime beaucoup.

Birthday Haul

Firstly, I apologise, I haven't done many posts and that is because I have been to Paris (more about that later) and then immediately after returning I had to pack up all my stuff from university and drag it all home. Since I have been home, I have been looking for a job and Skyping friends that I am already missing and meeting old friends I haven't caught up with in a while. So all in all, I have been pretty busy. On top of this, I had so many ideas for ensuing blog posts. I wanted to do a Paris diary but my phone is being difficult about letting me import pictures/videos on to my computer, but I promise to sort this all out shortly. No more excuses. In the meantime, here is my birthday haul. It was my first birthday away from home and although the majority of my extended family gave me money and chocolates (always welcomed by the way), I thought I would do a little post celebrating what I did get.

I already posted about this, but my sister bought it for me in London, it was £25 from Topshop and I adore it, I think it is one of the best crop tops I have seen. Seriously, check the out they have so many different styles and although I tend to favour the more casual varsity ones, I really do love this one, if you pair it with the Mom jeans it literally shows just a strip of stomach so it is incredibly flattering as well. A great confidence boost.

Obviously the next big thing is that I went to Paris, my beautiful Mama paid for my hostel essentially and all the money I got went to my little spending packet for the romantic city. I will do a day by day diary play on this blog very soon, as soon as my mobile starts co-operating. It will contain all sorts of interesting historical facts about the places I visited so I am sorry if it will be a bit boring, but in all honesty it's more for me than it is for you. I don't want to forget a single moment of it.

My Aunt got me this Soap and Glory box, which contains all sorts of amazing little goodies. Including hand cream, moisturiser, body butter, shower gel, bubble bath and of course the crucial body scrub. I haven't had time to test out each product and fully appreciate this gift but it is right up my street and in the coming days I will right a review/first impressions of it. I have never owned any products from Soap and Glory, in fact I have only just recently heard about them so I 'm excited to try them out.

My mother very sweetly got me a cosmetics holder and this isn't an actual picture of it because mine is still in the box, there is literally no room to move anything in my bedroom it's just full of bags and suitcases and handbags stuffed full of bits and bobs, I feel like I am living in a hostel, but I will rectify this.

 I also got a Benefit make up brush set which consists of 7 different brushes which are all super soft and lovely to use. I am a Benefit enthusiast, I love all of their products and swear by their Hello Flawless foundation. In the brush set there is a powder brush; an angled contour brush; foundation brush; eyeshadow brush; angled flat top eyeshadow brush; and an angled liner brush. In addition to that I got Maybelline Gel Liner, which I have heard is the easiest to use, because all my life I have struggled with eye liner I always seem to get it wrong and then proceed to have to cover it up with excessive amounts of glitter. I got lots of other little things as well which I love including perfume, which I never buy for myself so it is always nice to receive as a gift. I got the Sigma Paris palette which I will do a review and some tutorials of, I got two new dresses, an overnight spa day, and a pair of cute black ballet flats from River Island with a gold bow which were £25.

The two things I am extremely excited about are this makeover for Unique Studios, which was £50 and includes going to a posh salon in London that is frequented by lots of stars such as Mylene Klass and Victoria Beckham etc (not Rihanna, I know, but I can deal) you get a makover, a professional haircut and a day of pampering with champagne on ice, you get to dress up all fancy and have professional photographs taken which you are allowed to keep at no additional price. My friend Paige and I are going to do this, most likely in September, it sounds like a lot of fun.

The next thing is a make-up master class which is in Birmingham, you get skincare tips and tricks, you learn how to apply false eyelashes and you get taught by a professional how to do evening looks and what suits each face etc so this will come in handy when I finally get the stones to start
a YouTube channel. This was £24 and one of my friends found the deal on Wowcher, what can I say they know me well.

So all this is coming up: Sigma Paris palette review/tutorials; Paris Packing because I only took my prettiest things to the city of love; Paris Diary including outfit and make-up of the day; Paris haul because let's face it I bought way too much and I am a sucker for all things tourist; and I am going to Risa in Birmingham on Friday so I'll do an "In My Shoes" for that. Please comment, and thank you for reading it's very sweet of you. Happy Fourth of July, guys. I'm not American but I am feeling the freedom anyway. Have an awesome day, the sun is shining and I have a tonne of stuff to do. Toodles.