University Series #1 : Homesickness

First, apologies for how text-heavy this post will be. For the topic of this post, there aren't many images that will suit it... so have a collage of a few of my fave photo's from this past year.

As you might know, I have just finished my first year at uni and in conclusion of the year, have learnt A LOT. I've learnt things about myself, other people, and basically how to get by day-to-day without my parents to hold my hand. 

What better way to give my advice on many topics that arise when the subject of uni comes up than to write about it on here. 

I'm sure many of you out there will be thinking of uni or are currently at university so you might be able to agree on some things with me. 

SO, where to start eh??

My first post of the 5-part series is...

Homesickness.

Maybe, the biggest and most scariest one... just to get it out the way. 

Now, I want to quickly just say that I'm giving my own personal experience with first year. In no way does this mean it happens in this way for everyone. Everyone is different and handles things differently, that's what makes us unique. 

For me, it was a bit of a rollercoaster ride. 

The day I got to my accommodation and my parents left me in my grey room, I balled my eyes out. Within the hour, my new flatmates had knocked on my door, pulled me out of my slump and had me drinking. I was completely fine after that. 

I hated going home on the holidays because I just wanted to be with my uni friends and have the independence that you don't get as much at home (even though I did love the home-cooked meals). Christmas holidays,which are about three weeks, were the longest three weeks of my life. 

It was until the middle of Spring term (so January until April'ish) that I started feeling about down. 

I couldn't wait to get home for Easter, but yet again, once I did get home I wanted to be back. It was a never-ending cycle aha! 

The last term was a busy one so everyone was doing work or revising. One of my flatmates does the same course as me so we helped each other out. Our course finished two weeks before anyone else because we didn't have exams, it is all coursework based. My parents gave me a date for when she wanted me to come home (they were supporting me whilst i was there so obviously it would be cheaper for them if I came home). I was gutted because it was waaaay earlier than everyone else but in the end it worked out for the best.

Those two weeks, emotion-wise, were the worst two weeks ever. I wanted to get home to see my family so so bad, and I found it worse because I was bored and had nothing to do. 

So here are a few things that may help if you do get there and can't seem to shake the feeling of home:

- The biggest thing, which was a bit of a hinderance at the time, that helped me get through the year were the nightly phone calls from my mum. Some nights they lasted literally two minutes, but hearing her voice, as soppy as I sound, made any 'down feelings' go away. 

- Another thing, do no be afraid to go home at the weekends. I hardly went home other than the holidays, mainly because it is a bit of trek, but also I was scared of missing out. You have to remember, so what if you miss a night out, there will be plenty more in the year.

- Visit you friends from home. Sometimes you don't miss you family, but your best friends. It is such a huge jump from seeing them every single day to only a few time a year. I visited my friends at uni and I loved seeing them and seeing how they were getting on.

That was my experience. Unfortunately, the year didn't end as happy as it started, but that doesn't change how amazing it really was. 

I am so so excited for September...

SECOND YEAR COME AT ME!!!

How was your uni experience?

Did you experience any major homesickness?

Nivea In-Shower Body Moisturiser

Nivea products have always been my go-to products for moisturising. Whether it's my hands, face or body, they never let me down with having silky smooth skin. As of late, mainly because of my busy busy work schedule, my moisturising regime has kinda gone out the window. 

I'll be honest, at first I didn't think it would do anything major to my skin. I just thought if it worked then it would be a great time-saver, but no biggy if it didn't

I have found the PERFECT product and its this Nivea In-shower moisturiser. I get in from work and have a quick shower before bed because I hate the food smell that lingers on me. Because of the time of night, I can never be bothered to do anything major so a long moisturisation (don't think that's a word but you know what I mean) process is definitely a no-no.  My skin has really suffered due to the frequent weather changes, it was feeling quite rough so this product has been a saviour. It's quick and easy, and the thick white formula leaves my scaly skin feeling smooth and hydrated. 

My version of the product has a honey scent, which is quite useful as I find it soothing and helps me sleep. There is also a cocoa scented which I think I'm defo gonna have to try. For those who may get irritated with scented products, no worries because you can get one without. 

You can purchase this product from drugstores or your supermarket. I actually got the 250ml from Savers for £2.99 which is a fair amount cheaper than if I was to get it from Boots!

SO... to round up, this is a definite must-have in my body care routine at the moment!

Have you tried this product?

Do you feel the same, or do you think the idea of a 'in-shower' moisturiser is a gimmick?

'Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty'

"When I'm dead and gone, people will know that the twenty-first century was started by Alexander McQueen."

---

On the 22nd of July, I ventured into London to visit the 'Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty' exhibition held by the V&A in partnership with SWAROVSKI. It was an exhibit to honour, celebrate and inspire by showing the life of one of the most influential British designers of all time.

The exhibition led us through his collections, earliest to latest, to see how Alexander McQueen's work had progressed. What I saw completely blew me away and I was honestly lost for words. 

The atmosphere in each room was different. The V&A did a great job of setting the scene: with music, interior design and the actual placement of the garments to suit each collection. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take photographs within the exhibit (even though I've seen on Instagram that people have - naughty|) so here will be some photo's taken out the exhibition catalogue that I purchased (bloody expensive they were until I realised I could get discount - yay for being a student!), but I would have loved to have taken pictures of the large room filled with accessories, shoes and bejewelled bodices - what a visual impact that made!

In the largest room that I just mentioned, there were clips of catwalk shows. This is where I saw a gown from the 'Sarabande' collection covered in real and silk flowers. As the model was walking down the catwalk, flowers fell off which I later learnt symbolised everything coming to an end, everything dies.

My favourite collections were 'Highland Rape' and 'The Widows of Culloden'. Maybe because of my own Scottish routes, but a reason I loved them so much was the intricate detailing, and more importantly, the story behind them. You could see they were very personal due to his own Scottish heritage, with 'Highland Rape' symbolising "England's rape of Scotland" in the historical sense, and "The Widows of Culloden" balancing it out nearly a decade later by portraying a positive outlook.

I am so so glad to have caught this exhibit whilst I could, as it finishes on August 2nd. If you can manage to get to London before it ends, then I fully recommend you do as I feel so inspired about what I want to do myself, and what message I want to put across through my own work.

Have you managed to catch the exhibition? 

What did you think of it?

Chloe Victoria French

If you've somehow stumbled upon this blog, then hi. I'm Chloe, just a 19 year old girly, currently studying Fashion Communication and Promotion at uni.

For about four years I have read many many blogs that inspired or influenced me in my studies or just my individual lifestyle. Whether it's fashion, beauty, fitness, diet etc, I love love love reading different people's opinions, thoughts and feelings on everything, so why not put mine into the blogosphere? 

I'm known to be quite a confident and honest person (however, I can't deal with confrontation so be nice), so with my opinions I won't be afraid to say what I want as at the end of the day, this is MY place to vent, nobody else's.

I thought I would quickly introduce myself as my first post just to set it off really. I love to write and one of my favourite modules within my course is the journalism side of things. I will write about anything and everything. Somedays I may write about my day, especially if it's a bad one, because I like to get things of my chest just so I don't dwell on things too much, that's not good for anybody. 

So, that's enough of me rabbiting on about not much at all, but like I said I wanted to introduce myself.

Stay tuned...