New Years Resolutions | July Update

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i say this every month, but literally July has passed me by so quickly! i think because the first two weeks were taken up with finishing my internship and then i went straight back to my normal job, i've barely had time to myself until the last week or so, and it's safe to say i've missed having lazy days to myself where i don't actually have to do anything!
as for what i've been up to this month, honestly not much except making the most of the gorgeous sunny weather we've had for a change in the UK - i've managed to squeeze in about four full days of sunbathing (not that i have any sign of a tan at all, thanks to my pasty skin!) which never happens except for on holiday. have also spent a couple of afternoons catching up with friends now we all finally seem to have time, and a nice little weekend away at the beach with the boyfriend as a sort of end-of-internship/getting-away-from-everyone treat.
since i've finished my internship, i've found myself getting back into a much loved, yet much neglected hobby - reading. what with uni and the what-not, i never seem to find myself with the time to just sit and read, but i've already gone through three books in the last two weeks, so if anyone has any recommendations then please let me know! Nicholas Sparks and Jodi Picoult seem to be dominating my reading list at the moment!
i've also been in a real make-up mood this month too! recently i seem to have unintentionally amassed a HUGE skincare collection through PR samples, recommendations from bloggers and my own purchases and it's made me realise how little make-up i actually own, so my mission from now on is to try and build my make-up collection to match! there's so many high street/drugstore products out there that I want to try at the minute which is the perfect excuse for me to start right now! I have a haul post coming up in a week or so, so you shall be able to see the gems i've picked up!
if you read last months update, then you'll know i was waiting for my second year uni results, and i passed with a 2:1, so i'm hoping to graduate next year with the same!
august is looking up to be a pretty busy month for me! i've been given the opportunity to go and help out at a few events and i'm super excited to get some more experience under my belt and see how the other side of PR works! i'm meeting up with Ellie (www.elliesramblings.com) and our friend Courtney next week for a little date and belated birthday shindig for Ellie, and no doubt we'll probably see each other at the end of the month to go and see the One Direction movie which myself and Ellie will not shutup about until we've seen it, and will then probably go on about it for at least a month afterwards and once i've dragged everyone else i know to come and see it too! then a couple of friends are doing bits and bobs for birthdays, but i shall leave all that excitement for next month!

this month i'm going to cut down my resolutions as i'm sure i made some on a bit of a whim and have done nothing about them for months!

1. Try some Soap & Glory products

i was in a real S&G mood when i made this one, and i actually don't get on with their products, so bye-bye resolution number one! 

2. Try some Lush products

my nearest lush is half an hour away, and i never go!

3. Do 20 sit ups every morning and every night

right, i still haven't done this, but my first holiday is now just over a month away so now is the perfect time to start. she says.... 

4. ALWAYS walk to work. unless it's raining.

my work is literally a ten minute walk away... but i've found myself driving in everyday for some reason. time to save some petrol i think! 

5. Eat more healthily

i sort of have healthy days, followed by a super unhealthy one? but i've recently discovered Cous Cous and have fallen in love with feta and cous cous salads which really fills me up with just a little bit, so this is my new obsession!

6. Try and save £1000 in my savings for car/internship DONE!

7. Don't attempt a spending ban

this is the only resolution i've stuck too... 

8. Book a holiday DONE!

hurry up, September!!

9. Purchase a brush cleaner for  make-up brushes

Home-made cleaner is good enough for me!

10. Jar project

i've got really bad at this, really need to start it up again! 

11. Watch as many films as possible off my list of 'Films I Should Have Seen But Haven't'

i seem to be watching more films not on the list than that are on it... i saw Dispicable Me 2 and Django Unchained this month! Managed to cross Shawshank Redemption off the list though, and i'm reading The Lucky One at the moment, so will watch that one when i've finished! 

1. 500 Days of Summer

2. New Year's Eve

3. The Time Travellers Wife

4. Bambi

5. The Lucky One

6. Keith Lemon: The Movie

7. American Beauty 

8. 127 Hours

9. Dirty Dancing

10. Friends With Benefits

11. Knocked Up

12. Alot Like Love

13. Taken

14. 13 Going On 30

15. About a Boy

16. Fame

17. Green Mile

18. Mamma Mia

19. Music & Lyrics

20. Sex and the City 2

21. Slumdog Millionaire

22. The Kings Speech

23. Snow White & The Hunstman

24. Tangled

25. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

26. Ice Age 2

27. Ice Age 3

28. Ice Age 4

29. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

30. 21 Jump Street

31. What to Expect when You're Expecting

32. Fight Club

33. Grown Ups

34. Saving Private Ryan

35. Romeo & Juliet

36. Batman Begins

37. The Dark Knight

38. The Dark Knight Rises

39. Inception - i've actually already seen it but was so confused!

40. Pirates of the Caribbean Curse of the Black Pearl

41. Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Mans Chest

42. Pirates of the Caribbean At Worlds End

43. Pirates of the Caribbean On Stranger Tides

44. I am Legend

45. James Bond Quantum of Solace

46. The Butterfly Effect

47. Breakfast at Tiffany's

48. LOL

49. Atonement

50. The Devil Wears Prada

51. Pride & Prejudice

52. How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days

53. Clueless

54. When Harry Met Sally

55. Serendipity

56. Back to the Future

57. Wild Child

58. A Walk to Remember

59. Oceans 11

60. Oceans 12

61. Oceans 13

62. Forrest Gump

63. Hitch

64. The Pursuit of Happiness

65. What Happens in Vegas

66. The Blind Side

67. The Bucket List

68. Easy A

69. Over Her Dead Body

70. White Chicks

71. 50 First Dates

72. The 5 Year Engagement

73. Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants

74. Me & Orson Welles

75. Savages

76. Breaking Dawn Part 2

77. So Undercover

78. Aladdin

79. The Little Mermaid

 80. Confessions of a Shopaholic

81. Love & Other Drugs

82. Limitless

83. The Parent Trap

84. Chicken Run

85. Honey, I Shrunk the Kids

86. Crazy Beautiful

87. The Perks of Being a Wallflower

88. Chalet Girl

89. Lost In Translation

90. Phonebooth

91. Collateral

92. Big

93. Crash

94. Crazy Stupid Love

95. War Horse

96. Step Brothers

97. Brothers

98. Shawshank Redemption

99. Seven Pounds

100. The Roommate

101. Eat. Pray. Love

102. Bad Teacher

103. P.S. I Love You

104. Definitely Maybe

105. Little Miss Sunshine

106. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

107. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

108. Skyfall

109. Iron Man 3

110. Hangover III

111. One Direction 3D Movie (NEXT MONTH! FINALLY!)

112. Pitch Perfect

113. Spring Breakers

114. Movie 43

115. Les Miserables

and bye-bye July! hopefully next month will be a little more exciting than this month!

i've also just added a 'What's Coming Up?' page to the blog, where you can see what posts I have coming up in the future - i thought if i wrote it on here, it would make it a little more official so i can't make any excuses for myself! i'm also after 3-4 guest bloggers for September, so if you'd be interested then either leave me a comment or tweet me! 

The Review | Bumble and bumble Surf Spray

last week i reviewed one of the latest drops from Bumble and bumble - their Surf Shampoo & Conditioner, so i thought it would only be fair to give their coveted Surf Spray it's own review!

i feel like this is a product i've been aware of from the day it came out. i'm a little bit of a self-confessed salt spray/beachy waves product hoarder and this always seemed to be the 'cult' beauty for waves, so i was a little bit chuffed when i got my hands on some of the Bumble and bumble Surf Spray(*). and i have to say i'm in love. if you want the natural, sea-salt, sundried waves then you certainly need to get your hands on this as it's perfect for a messy wave with a bit of volume. i've found that this works best being sprayed on damp hair and then blow-dried in for the ultimate tousled look, rather than being initially sprayed onto dry hair as a first application. i also like to spray it into the roots of my hair for a little extra lift and messy, roughed-up look and will be popping this in my holiday beach bag to make the most of that sea air and keep the beachy look for as long as possible. this is definitely more of a styling tool, rather than a curl enhancer but it hasn't yet left me with crispy hair like a majority of the high street salt sprays - you definitely get what you pay for! no matter how many other brands try to make something like this, i don't think you'll quite find the 'just been surfing' look anywhere else!

have any of you girls tried this out? what did you think?

Bumble and bumble Surf Spray - £21.50 for 125ml available from Boots and bumbleandbumble.co.uk

The Edit | Everyday SPF For Your Face

so it's just my luck that once i'd planned this post, the weather takes a turn for the worst and we end up with thunderstorms! but in the hope that it will get sunny again and for those going on holiday this summer, i'm going to take the plunge and put this post up anyway. 

in the recent hot weather that we've had in the UK, i've found myself either ditching the make-up for sun lotion or my make-up just melting off my face leaving me with no protection. but after a quick snoop through my stash of skincare and cosmetics, turns out i actually have a hell of a lot of products with SPF in them that i'd never taken notice of before. as a bonus, all of these products and travel-size friendly so are perfect for the rare hot spell or your summer travels. 

Skincare

these are the three main bits i've picked from my skincare stash, and stuff which i will actually be using whether the sun is out or not! i actually picked the Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector BB Cream up intentionally for my holidays as i wanted something a bit lighter on the face. now i don't know about you guys but as hard as i try i can never bring myself to leave my hotel room without a little bit of make-up on my face, so the fact this has SPF15 is leaving me with the hope that this will be my holiday saviour - lighter coverage plus a little bit of SPF protection! if you're after something to give you a bit more of an even skin base, then Witch's Mattifying Moisturiser(*) also has SPF15. and not forgetting those peepers, Dermalogica's Total Eye Care(*) is another SPF15-er to reduce puffiness and fine line appearance!
other facial/skincare products with SPF in are Palmer's Cocoa Butter Daily Facial Lotion, the majority of Superdrug's B. Range, Max Factor CC Cream, Maybelline BB Cream and Neutrogena Multi Defence Moisturiser.

Make-Up

turns out the majority of foundations in my collection actually contain SPF! Rimmel Wake Me Up has SPF13, Maybelline The Eraser & Fit Me Foundations have SPF18 and Collection Lasting Perfection Foundation hits the top of the list with SPF20! Revlon Photoready & Colourstay, Sleek Foundations and L'Oreal Lumi Magique also have SPF content. with a little bit of internet trawling other make-up products i came across that contain SPF include the new Bourjois BB Bronzer and Colour Boost Lip Crayons, Sleek Lip Glosses and Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipsticks.

Samples

this little spell of sunshine is the perfect opportunity to root through your samples stash (i know you all have one!) and get-a-testing! i found so many samples which have SPF in them including Clarin's Skin Illusion Foundation and BB Cream, Maybelline BB Cream and L'Oreal Age Perfect Cell Renew. even if it turns out you didn't like the samples, then at least you've bagged yourself a little bit of sun protection for the day. and if you love it, then that's just a bonus! 

Sun Lotion

just in case, i always keep this pocket sized Nivea Sun SPF30 in my bag because i burn so easily that sometimes i just need to give in and protect my skin in the conventional old way! 

so there we go... the products i've found with a healthy dose of SPF! do you guys have any SPF-friendly products you'd recommend? let me know in the comments below...

The Review | The Jurlique Night Time Treat Duo and M&S Release News!

so i have a couple of confessions... until recently, i didn't have much of a night-time skin care regime (please, all hold your judgement!). i used to just remove my make up, cleanse and that was about it. number two, fine lines are something i am genuinely worried about, even at the age of 20. if i ever bring it up, people bat me right back down and tell me to stop being stupid, but fine lines around my eyes are one of the things i really don't like about myself and something i want to combat now before they get any worse and just look completely awful when old age does eventually hit me. so in a mission to get into a nighttime routine, i have been trying and buying a lot of products recently which promise to combat fine lines, and i have to say these two are my favourites so far... 

Jurlique's Herbal Recovery Night Cream(*) & Eye Cream(*) now hold their righteous place with my daily skincare products. the Herbal Recovery range was made with age prevention in mind, so is perfect for young skin and those who want to fight the signs of anti-aging before they well and truly kick in. both products are antioxidant creams with botanical extracts which help to reduce the appearance of fine lines, provide long-lasting moisture and increase skin elasticity to keep skin looking as youthful as possible. with the promise that you'll wake up with firm, smooth, hydrated and luminous looking skin, you can't really go wrong. since using these, i have noticed a huge difference in my skin. it used to have quite an uneven appearance, but this is nowhere near as bad as it used to be and i now have a more even, smooth skin surface. as for the fine lines, i think this will take a little more work, but my eyes are looking less puffy in the mornings and a lot more brighter so i think with some dedication to these two products i'll soon combat those pesky lines. 

also, a bit of a heads up for you all, Jurlique will be hitting Marks & Spencer's 'You Beauty' stores and www.marksandspencers.com this Thursday, July 25th. Jurlique are marking the launch with the release of a Deluxe Version of their Rosewater Balancing Mist which is designed to help hydrate the skin. and doesn't it just come in the purdiest bottle you ever did see?! i can also speak from experience in saying this smells amazing and is perfect for a quick spritz to leave your face feeling refreshed in this hot weather!

Rosewater Balancing Mist Intense Deluxe 200ml | £41

Jurlique will be going into the following M&S Your Beauty stores, so track down your local one and go check out Jurlique for yourself | Argyle Street Glasgow, Bluewater, Cheshire Oaks, Cribbs Causeway Bristol, Camberley, Cheshunt, Chester, Hedge End Southampton, Kingston, Meadowhall Sheffield, Manchester, Marble Arch London, Metro Centre Newcastle, Milton Keynes, Newcastle, Nottingham, Pudsey, Stratford & Thurrock!

have any of you girls tried anything from Jurlique before, or will you be popping down to your local Your Beauty store to have a little nosey?

Jurlique Herbal Recovery Night Cream(*) | £35.50

Jurlique Herbal Recovery Eye Cream (*) | £34.00

The Intern Post | How To Find An Internship & How To Make The Most Of It

recently, i've had a lot of positive feedback on my 'Life As A Beauty PR Intern' series, and a few of you expressed an interest on a post about how i went about getting myself an internship which is what I'll be doing today. apologies to those of you who this doesn't interest, but if i can help just one person bag themselves a internship then i feel this post has been worthwhile. it will be half about how to get yourself an internship/how i went about getting mine, and half on what to do once you've got your internship and things that i have learnt from mine. 

How I Got My Internship

i made my mind up that i definitely wanted to go for an internship in fashion/beauty PR, but the way i went about it would work for an internship in any sector you want your internship in. before anything else, i just googled both 'Fashion PR Companies in London' and 'Beauty PR Companies in London' and collected all the e-mail addresses of them. i wasn't fussed who their clients were, where in London they were based - i just wanted experience in the job i want to do. obviously if London isn't your local city and PR isn't what you're after then just change this for what you want to do and where abouts and you'll soon compile a good list of contacts. 

then you need to get e-mailing. i e-mailed almost each and every company that i came across, whether they had current vacancies or not; nine times out of ten, internship/work experience isn't advertised in fashion/beauty as there's such high demand for it - you need to ask! in your e-mail be precise and to the point:

1. if you're studying a degree then always say this and if/how the internship and experience will benefit you 

2. state when you are looking for an internship (e.g. Summer 2014/January-March 2014), how long you are prepared to work for, and where you are based

3. mention your blog (this is obviously more for those of you after a fashion/beauty internship). it will give them a good idea of the sort of person you are, but i also found with PR that they knew I had an appreciation of how they work

4. say why you want to work in your particular industry and what experience you have/what you think you can bring to the company 

5. end it with 'I look forward to hearing from you' as I found companies felt more obliged to reply!

and then it's the waiting game. if there's a company that you're desperate to work for, don't just give up. send a follow-up e-mail asking if they received your previous e-mail as you're still interested in a position with them. if you still get nothing, three e-mails is the limit - something along the lines of 'i hope my last couple of e-mails have reached you, and would love to be contacted in the future if any internship opportunities arise'.

once you start getting replies, it will more or less go from there - interviews, inductions etc!

another great way to find internships is through Twitter - follow PR (or whichever companies are relevant to you) accounts as they will occasionally ask for internships. if you're after a Fashion internship then follow @UKFashionIntern  who are constantly advertising for both paid and unpaid positions. 

What I've Learnt and Think You Need To Know

the biggest thing i think you need to know is that you need to be prepared to work unpaid. if you can get a paid internship, then you're extremely lucky. a lot of places i found will pay at least something towards your travel (usually London Underground Zones 1-6) and some lunch aswell. i was lucky and got £50 travel expenses a week which they let me put towards my petrol too, which leads me on to my next point... you need to be fairly prepared to travel. i'm based in Essex, which isn't a million miles away from London - or so I thought until i started commuting. i live close enough that it's handy for day trips, but soon a 40 minute drive, 10 minute walk and then over an hour on the tube twice a day soon takes it toll but this will just show your employer some dedication. if you put in this effort, they are potentially more likely to up your travel budget to accommodate how hard you're trying. 

the next few things i think are probably more particular to the internship i did, but i completely think they will apply to an internship within any PR company or the majority of internships which are fashion/beauty based. 

1. Dress comfy - Fashion is not the way forward. to me, fashion and beauty have always come hand in hand and i sort of assumed i needed to put in maximum effort in the fashion/beauty stakes, but i soon learnt this is not the case. comfort & practicality are key - you'll possibly be up and down stairs, getting your hands covered in newspaper print/dust from boxes and deliveries, and sitting at a desk for a long time sometimes just calls for leggings, converse and a tee! (if you want to see what I wore for the majority of my internship, i blogged weekly with a few OOTD's, and you can find the links to my Intern Series in my product directory)

2. Be early, and stay late - it shows dedication. obviously this depends on train times, and my last train home happened to be pretty close to home time so I couldn't stay, but I was always at least 20 minutes early. 

3. Don't be offended if you are asked to re-do something - you will not be expected to walk into the company and be able to do things to the standard they have built up and are used to when they've probably been doing it for years. when i was doing press releases i was always asked to make amendments, but this was helping me in the long-run as i was being taught how to do things to an industry standard. 

4. Don't feel disheartened and as though you are just doing small tasks - Every little job that you do will be helping someone in the office in some way, you will never being doing a task just to keep you busy, it will always have a purpose! 

5. Always ask for jobs to do - i learnt this the hard way by keeping quiet when i first started, but always ask! again, it shows enthusiasm and that you are efficient with what you've been doing. 

6. Get involved - i never felt like 'just the intern' when i was working; i was happily made to feel like part of the usual team and found that getting involved really helped! don't keep quiet in the corner; join in the office conversations because your input will be just as valued as anyone elses. 

i know this has been a horrendously long and wordy and rambly post, but i really hope this can help some of you in any way! if you have any more questions on how to go about getting an internship or what i've learnt from mine then please feel free to ask either in a comment, or tweet me (@sophielouisew_) as i'm pretty likely to reply straight away and you don't need to keep coming back here to check if i've replied. 

if you've made it to the end of this post, congratulations! 

The Review | Bumble and bumble Surf Shampoo & Conditioner

beach waves have been a staple hair trend for a while now, and i'm not sure about you girls, but i can never get them looking as natural as i'd like. it seems the guys over at Bumble and bumble heard my cries (and those of many others, i'm sure!) and recently released this fab little duo - Surf Foam Wash Shampoo(*) and Surf Creme Rinse Conditioner(*) to team with their renowned Surf Spray. 

i've been using these for a couple of weeks now, and i know they're a product i will probably go back and repurchase each and every summer as they make your hair styling routine so much easier! i suffer from pretty flat hair at the roots, compared to fairly thick hair at the ends, but these two seem to have balanced out the two - i definitely have the 'buoyant' look that's promised. i know there's a lot of products out there that claim to give you 'straight off the beach' waves, but the majority of things i've previously tried have been sprays and styling products, rather than something which is more of a preparation step, and i think this really makes a difference. it leaves you with a more natural looking wave, and there's obviously no suffering with crispy hair from sprays.

the shampoo lathers up really well, and a little amount goes a long, long way. i tend to leave the conditioner on my hair for around five minutes, and i've actually found that it eliminates tangles like nothing else, too! 

after use, i spritz some of the surf spray (that's a whole other review!) and then just blow dry my hair as normal and am left with soft waves with a bit of grit and life to them - they don't look overly styled and have a real oceany, tousled feel about them. the duo also leaves your hair with a super fresh, seasidey scent - i can safely say these give you those just stepped off the beach waves. yes, you heard it here first! 

you can pick these up at Boots or through the Bumble and bumble site.

have any of you guys had the chance to try these out yet, or are they the kind of thing you'd like?

Bumble and bumble Surf Foam Wash Shampoo (*) - £18.50

Bumble and bumble Surf Creme Rinse Conditioner (*) - £20.00

The Edit | Orange You Glad To See Me?

if there's one colour i love when it comes to beauty bits, it's got to be a bit of orange. any shade, any variation and chances are i'll be completely drawn to it, so it's safe to say i'm a huge fan of all the coral that seems to be around at the minute. i've picked out my favourite orange pieces from my collection - lips, cheeks and nails - to share with you all! 

Lips

i've gone for four lip products which are they ones i find myself reaching for most often in my collection. first we have Pillow Talk from the Famous by Sue Moxley brand; a warm peach tone with pink hues to it. next, there's Juicy Papaya from Revlon's Colorburst Lip Butter range; a bit more of a sheer shade that adds just the right amount of pigmentation to the lips. Mexican Wave from Louise Gray for Topshop is a bright, vibrant and almost neon orange, making it perfect for the summer months. if you're more of a gloss kinda gal, then i would recommend Barry M Lipgloss in 11 for a quick, subtle splash of colour! 

Cheeks

i know these both look fairly pink in the photos, but they are both gorgeous coral shades with pink tones and hues to them (my skin has warm undertones, so these kinds of colours give me a natural looking glow). these two products are actually very similar with Sleeks Rose Gold on the left and Benefits Bella Bamba on the right. Rose Gold has more of a shimmer to it, whilst Bella Bamba is more on the verge of a matte shade with glimpses of shimmer in. unfortunately i completely forgot to swatch these, but don't be scared of how pigmented they look in their palettes - a light dusting across the cheeks leaves a natural, healthy flushed look.

Nails

these have been my two go-to shades this summer and am getting through them far too quickly! Barry M's Gelly Nail Paint in Papaya is a rich, peach shade - the perfect peach polish. Dolce & Gabbana's Camelia is a much more vibrant pinky/coral shade, and hasn't much left my nails since i've had it! 

aswell as the products featured here, I have a huge amount of other orange favourites including L'Oreal Glam Shine Stain Splash in Princess, Benefit Cha Cha Tint and Rimmel 1000 Kisses Lip Stain in Nothing But Nude. 

i would absolutely love any recommendations from you girls on orangey products that you're loving, too! just drop me a comment below!

The Life Of Being A Beauty PR Intern - Week Six

afternoon, girls! hope you've all been enjoying the super sunny weather if you're in the UK? 

today is the last week of my intern posts, as it was my last day the Friday just gone. i'm so sad to have left, but I've been given the opportunity to intern again next year once I've graduated and I already can't wait to go back! the girls there have taught me more in six weeks than I've learnt in two years of doing a degree and it's 100% made my mind up that I want to work in PR once uni is over. to be honest, the thought of going back to university right now to study a final year on something i now know i don't want to do, makes me a little sad, but there's no point giving up now, especially when i have the opportunity to go back to a place i loved working at. 

i will definitely be keeping in touch with everyone there over the next year because i genuinely feel like i've made friends with everyone there - if you girls are reading this, then thankyou so much for everything, especially a surprise leaving gift which was totally unexpected, i've had the best six weeks! and with that, onto my final week of being an intern! 

Monday 

So this week we had a work experience girl in for a few days, so the morning was spent going through the papers with her and telling her who all the clients are that we work for etc. on the way back from picking up the papers we bumped into Professor Green coming out of the gym, but were both a little too starstruck with a pile of papers to say anything! With the weekend papers, comes the scans of all the coverage, and the rest of the day was filled with sendouts, including one to Clemence Poesy (which involved the neatest hand-writing i think i have ever done in my life) 

Tuesday

Along with all the normal send-outs, I spent the day adding the Cosmo Blog Award shortlisters to our Blogger database, and then worked on a couple of press releases for different clients. There was also a send-out to The Script, and we started pulling some products together for the Lovebox festival. 

Wednesday 

Full of the normal day to day tasks, working more on one of the press releases and then helping the work experience girl with doing some evalutating for the monthly reports. 

Thursday 

My final week seemed to be full of celebrity send-outs, and today one went out to Maggie Gyllenhaal. Then there were just all the office odd jobs to be getting on with, and working on the other press release and making the final changes. The afternoon was spent starting off a coverage sweep for something new that will be happening soon - just a little bit excited for you all to find out! 

Friday 

Emma treated us all to pastries for breakfast as a treat for my last day and it was lovely to have a catch-up with everyone that morning. Then both the press releases were finalised and I carried on with the coverage sweep. Then I had a big tidy up of the stock room and made sure everything was where it should be for the two new interns who start tomorrow (who I'm uber jealous of!). The afternoon was fairly quiet with everyone out of the office, so the girls let me go early, so I said my goodbyes, and headed home for the last time! 

and guess who made it to a full five OOTD photos this week?!

Outfit One

Top - ASOS

Shorts - H&M

Belt - River Island

Outfit Two 

Dress - ASOS

Scarf - Ebay

Outfit Three 

Dress - Boohoo.com

Waistcoat - F&F at Tesco

Scarf - Ebay

Sandals - Primark

Outfit Four

Cardigan - Primark

Top - ASOS

Trousers - sheinside.com

Sandals - Primark

Outfit Five

Top - ASOS

Trousers - River Island Kids

i'm thinking of doing a post over the next couple of weeks with my tips on how to get an internship and what to do once you've got one - if anyone would be interested in this, then let me know in the comments below! 

The What's In My Handbag Post | Intern Edition

The Intern Essentials

Commuting Essentials

The Beauty Essentials

happy friday girls - we've made it to another weekend!

any of you who have been following me for a little while now will know i've been interning for the last few weeks and, unfortunately, today is my last day *cue sobs* i'm so gutted to be leaving, but will have a couple of intern posts coming up over the next couple of weeks including how i found my final week, tips for finding an internship, and what's i've learnt from mine. 

but for today, i thought i'd do something a little more fun and give you a glimpse of what i've been lugging up to London with me everyday for the last six weeks in an Intern Edition of WIMH!

The Bag 

a little boohoo.com number - a very similar one is available here

The Intern Essentials

a lifetime supply of pens which you are guaranteed to lose and replace numerous times.

a diary incase any important dates pop up (or just to make you feel a little more businessy!)

a notepad - essential for writing down all the sendout details, making notes on tasks you're set and a to do list for every day of the week! 

Commuting Essentials

oyster card, because without it, i won't get far! 

a purse, because there will always be at least one little lunchtime purchase.

headphones, to make the tube a little less boring

portable phone charge, because we all know iphone's weren't made to last the day.

chewing gum, just because

tissues, because hayfever is a bitch 

The Beauty Essentials

travel makeup bag, but that's a whole other post!

deodorant and bodyspray, because a busy tube is a smelly place, so at lease i know i smell good!

hand sanitizer, because the tube is dirty, not just smelly! 

hairclip and kirby grips, because you probably won't make it through the day without wanting to shove your hair up...

lipbalm, an essential for any handbag.

hairspray, which never actually got used, but has stayed for the full six weeks...

hope you've enjoyed having a little nosey!

The All-Round Face Powder

in all honesty, a finishing powder is something that's only made its way into my make-up bag in the last year or so, and since then a firm favourite has definitely been Rimmel's Stay Matte purely on recommendations and how affordable this is. but recently someone suggested to me that i should try out this beauty - Jurlique's Rose Silk Finishing Powder(*). I was given this to try without even seeing the product or even really knowing anything about it and there were a couple of things I was instantly dubious about on opening - first was that it was a loose powder (something i've never used before), and secondly how pale it is. i know that i'm naturally the palest of the pale but i was a little worried this might be too light even for me.

but doubts aside, i took the plunge and gave it a go, and turns out i had absolutely nothing to be worried about! although it is a loose powder, it doesn't fly all over the show and stays very contained to its little pot. to apply, i've just been using the powder puff applicator and dabbing a circle on each cheek and my forehead and then blending in with my Real Techniques powder brush. and the colour is absolutely nothing to worry about - once buffed into the skin it just adds a sheer layer to the skin and does not at all affect your skin tone. i've been using a darker foundation than usual at the moment whilst i've been tanning, and applying this hasn't diluted the colour at all.

sometimes i do suffer from a slightly oily t-zone, and this eliminates any shine on the face and gives an all-day, matte finish. the rose scent isn't at all overpowering and actually helps to maintain moisture balance of the skin. i can see the pot lasting me absolutely ages - a little really goes a long way once buffed into the skin.

compared to the high street powders, it is a little on the pricey side but you get what you pay for - a finishing powder that does its job and doesn't need reapplying throughout the day. there's also the elimination of the worry of trying to get a perfect colour match to your skintone - this blends in flawlessly on any skin type.

have any of you ever tried a Jurlique face powder? if not, which powders would you recommend?

also, today is the LAST DAY to enter my 100 follower giveaway to win a £75 fashion & beauty bundle plus more! click here to enter before it closes at midnight tonight! 

Jurlique Rose Silk Finishing Powder(*) £24.50 - available from jurlique.co.uk

The OOTD Post

Just a quick little OOTD post today from an outfit last week! I actually wore this dress over the super hot weekend we just had, so you can only imagine the tan burn lines i currently have... lesson learnt.

this is easily going to be my staple summer dress - it's the perfect item to dress up or down, and i've already worn it for a night out, for work and for a lazy weekend, so for £12 it is well worth the money! 

Dress - ASOS

Jacket - New Look (old) 

Scarf - Ebay 

Boots - Barratts

don't forget there's now just TWO days left to enter my 100 follower giveaway to win a £75 fashion and beauty bundle plus more - to enter just click here

The Life Of Being A Beauty PR Intern - Week Five

i can't believe i only have one week left, it's absolutely flown by and i don't want to leave in the slightest. next week i'll do a little general post on the internship and tips for anyone else whose interested in something like this!

Monday 

We still had last Fridays' delivery to finish putting away, so that was top of the list, and then there was the usual weekend press to go through which always takes us through to at least lunchtime. then in the afternoon i had a good rearrange and tidy of the stock room and then the rest of the day was filled with send-outs. 

Tuesday 

This week was when all the final monthly evaluations had to be in for our clients, so the last few bits of coverage from the month needed to be evaluated so everything was up to date! Then there were some send-outs to do and we got onto updating the contact details for the whole of our Blogger database, and also checking that all of our online press contacts were correct and up to data. A huge delivery turned up right at the end of the day, which leads us on to Wednesday...

Wednesday 

The first three and a half hours of the day were spent putting away the delivery - it took so much longer than i ever thought and the stock room ended up jam packed. i was the only intern in this morning which is why it took to long, but it was so satisfying once it was done! Then in the afternoon, i carried on with the database update. 

Thursday 

Finally finished on the database! All the monthly magazines seemed to come through in the post today, and the whole of the afternoon was spent going through them and scanning in all the credits and client coverage. it may sound boring to some of you, but you have to remember that this is a huge, huge help to all the girls in the office and has an impact on what they do - every little thing you do within Chalk is helping someone. 

Friday 

Send-outs in the morning, and then i was set the task of writing up a press release for one of the salons who stock one of our clients, and that will take me through to Monday morning. It was the other intern, Luce's (Bonjour Luce), last day so we had a little lunch as a send-off, and it was lovely to sit down with the girls in the office and have a good chat. Unfortunately I've been a bit poorly this week and finally gave into the offers of going home a little early, but i'm now raring to go back tomorrow for my last week! 

Still only made it to four OOTD's... i've gone one week to make it a complete set! 

Outfit One 

Vest - Forever 21

Trousers - sheinside.com

Outfit Two 

Tee - Made for a uni project.

Disco Pants - ASOS 

Converse

Outfit Three 

Top - ASOS 

Trousers - River Island Kids 

Outfit Four 

Top - Primark 

Jeans - ASOS 

Converse

there's now only four days left to enter my 100 follower giveaway to win a £75 fashion & beauty bundle which you can do so by clicking here!