First Seminar Assignment: Me, Myself & I...

This piece of writing was initially meant for my first seminar assignment to describe myself(and is aimed at my class), but I will be posting a lot of my work on here. You guys can not only get to know me better but this means I can get my writing out to the general public!

I can confidently say that writing makes up a major part of my life. My mum told me that after my first day of school I told her that the school was ‘rubbish, because they haven’t taught me how to read yet’. I read whenever I can nowadays, and when I get the chance I will update my fashion blog. My ten or so followers don’t seem to mind that the posts are occasionally weeks apart!

    
For this task I racked my brains trying to think of something interesting about myself to write about, but it was difficult. I think I’m probably similar to every other girl in this room! We shop, we laugh, we eat, we sit in bed watching desperate housewives for 3 hours eating crisps! I think what makes us interesting is what we find interesting ourselves, and for me that’s writing. What we like to do in our down-time and our hobbies is really what defines us as people, whether that’s watching films, going shopping or playing rugby! 

Whenever I have an interesting or meaningful experience I will write about it, sometimes on my blog, sometimes personally in my diary. People seem to think that keeping a diary is something for lonely people to confide in, but in reality it’s not just a shoulder to cry on, it’s a document of your early life!

    
Looking back at my writing from when I was younger definitely makes me cringe and wonder ‘why did I write that?!’ but as time goes on it’s a lovely indicator of where you were at and a reminder of your experiences that you had probably forgotten about!

I think the most interesting thing about me at the moment is my passion for this course and my dedication to my career. We are all in the same boat on this course and we all want similar things for our futures, which is why I chose to focus on writing for this task. Hopefully and most likely it will appeal to you as much as it does to me.

Beth x

Interview with Jessica David: Former Beauty Editor at Glamour

Interview: I get chatting to Glamour’s former Celebrity & Entertainment Editor, Jessica David…

Full time mum and winner of the Best Online Journalist award (2010) Jessica David is the former Celebrity and Entertainment Editor of Glamour.com. After giving an inspirational talk at Southampton Solent University, here’s what she had to say in a more in-depth conversation…

Did you always want to work on a women's magazine?

Initially I wanted to be a novelist! This is something I still want to do but haven't got 'round to yet, but I've always been heavily into women's magazines and especially celebrity, fashion and beauty, so this area of journalism seemed like a logical step for me.

What kind of experience do you think would be invaluable for someone looking to get into this industry?

I'd say bag as many work placements in London as physically possible! I spent a year doing placements and internships before I got my big break, so I know it certainly helped me have an edge over other applicants.

Was your life as Beauty Editor of one of the most successful women's magazines as glamorous as people presume?

It was and it wasn't! There were times when I'd worked a 20 hour day because of a relaunch or some impossible deadline, and times when I couldn't afford to update my wardrobe because all of my money had gone on travel expenses! But then, I wouldn't change any of it.

What do you love most about your job?

As a freelance writer now, I love that I can pick and choose my hours and my features. I decide what I want to write and when, so if I want to have a week where I just spend time with my daughter and go to Peppa Pig World EVERY DAT (which has been known!) then I can.

The Day I Met The Editor of Women's Health!

A lot has changed since the last time I posted, for example I moved to uni! I'm currently studying Magazine Journalism and Southampton Solent, and it really has its perks.
This is just a short post about the Editor of Women's Health magazine, Farrah Storr. She came in to talk to our class about her journey and the industry, whilst giving some invaluable advice. Once I've sorted out my notes I'll write a proper piece on her advice for all those wanting to get into magazine journalism, but for now here's a few bullet points to sum it up...

• Get work experience at as many places as possible.
• Build up a portfolio of small pieces of writing- anything you can.
• Make your email specific to the magazine you are writing to- don't make it generic.
• If you get a place, try to stay on. Hang around.
• Dress for the job you want. You are much more likely to get noticed.
• Get in early and stay late.
• Use social networking whist looking for a place and whilst at your place.
• Read up on the editor. Follow them on twitter!
• Try not to specialise too early- you may find it difficult to branch out later on.
• Have a favourite writer.
• Have an opinion.

Me with Farrah Storr.

Bestival 2012

I thought I'd share with you all the preparation that went into one of the best weekends of my life! The fancy dress theme for Bestival this year was 'Wildlife', so I chose to be a leopard and a flamingo. Separately, of course.

Numero uno: Glitter leopard. We had a few days to prepare costume wise, so we decided to make our own! The leotard used is really just a body/bodysuit (whichever you prefer) from Primark which cost £6. I drew on the leopard spots with felt tip and spread the gold glitter with Anita's Tacky Glue and a Q tip. Took me a few hours but it was so worth it!

This is the make-up look I went with to match the costume. Apologies about the untamed eyebrows,  I had yet to sort myself out pre-festival! The background gold was a Barry M pencil which I definitely lost therefore can tell you no more information about! The darker gold was an extremely cheap eye pencil, I don't even think it had a brand! And the black is just liquid eyeliner.

My flamingo costume! This one was the killer... took me a few days! The top was another body from Primark, and the feathers are Marabou feathers from Amazon at £3.99 for 120. (I needed 3 bags/360 feathers).  My tutu is from FairyLove, but they are quite expensive and you can't really see it so feel free to just make your own! I then ripped up strips of pink tissue paper and glued them on and scrunched them up. That definitely took a while...

Definitely not looking my best here with scraped back hair and tired eyes but here is my flamingo face paint! I think in the end I just went with the mask in the previous picture, but this was a nice experiment. I just used liquid eyeliner for the black bits, although face paint would've been a lot easier! The white is eye pencil, the light pink is just eyeshadow from Claire's applied with a really good brush, and the dark pink is Mac pigment so I didn't need a lot. All of the make-up used were presents so I have no idea of the price but I'm sure the internet will hold the answers!

If you went to Bestival this year I hope you had just as an amazing time as I did, and if you didn't, I advise you to go next year!
Beth x

Nail Art...

Here we go... as promised!

So these are my jubilee nails. Out of date by a couple of months and looking a bit scruffy but as my first ever attempt at nail art I was pretty pleased! The blue and white used are from Topshop (£5 each) but the red was just a nail varnish I managed to find at the back of my shelf... I don't even think it had a brand!

These are from when I went to New York at the end of June/beginning of July. I'd just bought the green colour and the black nail pen from Topshop (linked below) the day before so I was excited to use them! Also, New York/Big Apple.. see what I did there? ;)
Nail Pen: Topshop £6.50

Obviously these aren't from my artistic hand... It's crackle nails! But I thought I'd show you guys anyway, as when I was considering buying the polish I couldn't find any great pictures as examples. I got the black as it's the most versatile, and it's so easy to use! It's quite like oil paint when it goes on, and you kind of have to use it in stripes but be quick; it dries in seconds!
Black Crackle Nail Polish- £6

Last but not least... My pacman nails! This is by no means an original design, and are a product of me having a lazy day in bed, searching nail art on google ;) I found the pacman design and thought I'd try it for size... I think it turned out pretty well! The orange and yellow I used are 'La Femme Beauty' nail varnishes. I have no idea where they're from or how much but they're good quality! The black and blue are Topshop and the black pen is the same as before. As for the other colours... they are mystery 'back-of-the-shelf' colours! I'm sure any would do.

So there we go! I'll probably do another update soon as I love nail art, but that's all for now!!
Beth x 

Missguided Haul

With all this time on my hands now that college is over, I frequently find myself "accidentally" scrolling through online shops on a daily basis. Yesterday, I gave in to my craving for some new clothes and placed a rather large order from the Missguided.co.uk sale...

So these are my new favourite jeans! I love this colour, it pretty much goes with everything, and the gold and black embellishment down each side is simple yet beautiful. I've paired them with nude heels and shirt for a smart/casual look.
Missguided- £16.49 (from £32.99)

So these are probably the most amazing heels I've ever bought. Believe me it took a lot of justifying to  myself to put these in my basket! I think once you look at the price you'll know why I did in the end. I haven't yet figured out what I'll wear them with, but I'm sure inspiration will hit me the more I look at them! (Which is a lot...)
Missguided- £20.99 (from £41.99)

My new favourite dress! I adore this colour, I think it's always suited me the best. I tried my best to move my hair so you can see the beautiful detail at the top. This dress fits so well and even at my height (5"9) it isn't too short. Some cream sandals would look cute instead of heels if you just wanted to pop into town or something!
Missguided- £13.49 (from £26.99- also available in orange and navy blue)

This picture reminds me of those people that take photos of themselves just before going out then plaster them all over facebook, but I think it would be impossible to show off these shorts without a full shot! Obviously the addition of leopard print heels may be a little much, but there's so much potential to dress these shorts however you like; black is so versatile! When you see the price... don't freak out. ;)
Missguided- £4.99 (from £9.99)
So I probably shouldn't have spent so much in one day, but with free next day delivery I don't think I had much of a choice ;) Love all these items! I'll post again soon...

Beth x

Studs/Embellishment

Today I'm feeling in the mood for studs, probably because I'm looking at my beautiful studded Topshop heels right now, which I'll post later ;)

Most of the time I find myself planning an outfit round what shoes I want to wear, which is kind of a bad habit. But these shoes go with anything and they're gorgeous so go ahead! They're a little on the expensive side but I've also linked to an Ebay page if you're willing to compromise on quality! ;)
Missguided- £40.99
Ebay- £25.99

These are also from Missguided so it made sense to do them next! I love the fact only one side is studded, as too much can look...scary. Missguided shorts also tend to fit me really well and can double for one half of an evening outfit! They have a range of studded shorts so I'd recommend you check those out too...
Missguided- £29.99

These backpacks are so cute! And so helpful for festivals, I'm going to have to get myself one! If you're going to any festivals this year you NEED to get one of these. Say goodbye to aching shoulder and the inability to do some crazy dancing! Not only that but it's good quality too, so it won't fall apart when you need it most...
Topshop- £35

I seem to be posting a lot of black items at the moment, but I guess for versatility that's what you need! Fortunately, you can also get this sleeveless shirt in white if you want to make the look a bit more summery. I loved this when I first saw it, as it's simple but so cute!
Boohoo- £20

These are probably the most expensive accessories I'll put on here, but if you're a bit of a ring hoarder you won't be able to resist! ;) These are the kind of rings that would look just as lovely worn separately as they would stacked together. 

Obviously I wouldn't recommend wearing these pieces together, but as statement items used as part of an outfit they're perfect! Hope you find some use in my stud trend edit...

Beth x