High Street Beauty Junkie

How To Personalise Your Student Dorm Room!

Tuesday, 15 October 2019

I've written a lot about student living, particularly for Fresher's just starting their Uni journey, and one thing I touched on in my Student Checklist (click here to read) was decorating your student digs. Let's be real, halls can often look very dull, so it can be nice to put your own spin on things - make things feel more "you". Having photos around and cute decor that you've picked out yourself can also help to ease any feelings of homesickness too. Thinking back to my halls in 2012 (eek!) one of the things I loved the most was my photo wall (apologies for the ANCIENT and TERRIBLE quality photo!).

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A post shared by Charli Babb (@charli1993) on Nov 29, 2012 at 7:09am PST

Websites like Funky Pigeon (spoiler: they don't just do cards!) can create personalised, unique home decor that are perfect for decorating your gaff. Funky Pigeon kindly gifted me some products from their website to share with you to help you decide what to buy. They also make perfect gifts for any siblings/friends/loved ones who are flying the nest and beginning a new chapter in a new house/halls.

Candles are a great addition to any bedroom or living room to create a cosy vibe, and these candles from Funky Pigeon are extra cute when they can be personalised with their own quote or even photo on the front. The smell is a fresh linen-type smell - perfect if you haven't washed your clothes for a week (or three). *Check with your landlord or in your tenancy agreement first before lighting any candles in your house!*

I also love their photo blocks which I think look a little more sophisticated than your average photo stuck on a wall (sorry 2012 me). You also don't have to worry about carefully pulling the blu-tack off your walls before you move out! These are just great if you don't have anywhere to hang or stick up photos around your room. I love the addition of the glitter too (snow globe-esque in that it moves as you shake it round).

Now we all know that University (particularly in your first year) involves a fair bit of drinking and what better way to drink than with personalised glasses! Although these would also make a fab gift for an engagement/wedding, I also love the idea of having a quote on it too! I went for "Prosecco is always the answer". As easy as drinking out of a mug may seem, you can feel a little bit fancier with these for sure.

Now this isn't from Funky Pigeon (although you can buy flowers and plants from them too!), but I love the addition of a plant in a room to give it a bit of something extra. I go for ones that I know I don't have to water often otherwise they WILL end up dead. I also think they complement the candle and photo block really well too!
Here are the links to the products I received: https://www.funkypigeon.com/gift/photo-block/acrylic-photo-block/162200 https://www.funkypigeon.com/gift/candle/shine-bright-personalised-candle/161604 https://www.funkypigeon.com/gift/glass/vintage-heart-personalised-flutes-set/153481
Charli's Funky Pigeon tip: check their "Offers" tab at the bottom of the page to see what they have on offer at the time you're browsing - you can end up saving yourself some money too!
I hope you like the new additions to my flat - I'm so happy with them and even 2012 Charli in her student digs would have loved them to brighten up the place! What's your favourite item? Leave a comment below!
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Why I Choose To Travel By Coach: Travelling with National Express Part 1*

Friday, 27 September 2019

*This post was kindly sponsored by National Express* Let's be real: travel (particularly around the UK) is expensive. A BBC news article published last month suggested that UK train tickets are some of the most expensive across all of Europe (source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-49346642). I often travel up from Cardiff to Sheffield to see Tim, and a return train ticket can easily be £70+ (even more if you don't have a railcard) - not ideal if you're making the journey multiple times a year! This is where my appreciation for coach travel comes in. Sometimes it takes a bit longer, but for the amount you're saving (often more than 50% cheaper than the trains), it's worth it.

So when National Express asked to work with me, how could I say no?! I use their services regularly anyway and I am more than happy to recommend them to others. So here are my top five reasons for choosing coach travel with National Express over train travel, and hopefully I can convince some of you too!:
1. I've already eluded to the price differences - and when you're a student on a seriously tight budget, every penny matters! National Express even offer students discount (20% off with an NUS Extra/Totum card: https://www.totum.com/se/student-discount/national-express/offer or 15% off with a UniDays account: https://www.myunidays.com/GB/en-GB/partners/nationalexpress/view/online). By booking in advance, you can get a coach from Cardiff University to Bristol bus and coach station from just £3 - even less with your student discount code!
2. The leather seats on the National Express coaches are actually super comfy and give you much more space and leg room than you might have previously thought. You might get lucky and have two seats to yourself (like I did on my trip recently) if you're on a less busy coach for extra privacy and snooze time.

3. Your seats and luggage storage is guaranteed - unlike on a train (unless you've reserved seats but then you have the awkward job of telling someone to move out of your place). Ever been on a train and been cramped against the door for an hour, desperately grasping your suitcase because there's nowhere else for it to go? I have on multiple occasions and it ain't fun. Travelling on a National Express coach means you're guaranteed a seat and your luggage is tucked neatly under the bus until you arrive at your destination.
4. Something new that I learnt recently is National Express' entertainment app, VUER. You can watch films and TV shows, play games or read their online magazines on your phone or tablet - for free! You just need to connect to their Wi-Fi (yes, you also get free Wi-Fi!) on the coach and you're good to go.
5. National Express has so many convenient stops around the UK - one of which is Cardiff University, which is perfect if I'm travelling up to Sheffield after a day at Uni! And you don't have to worry about changing trains and missing connections because National Express has direct routes to all the main destinations around the UK - I can easily get from Cardiff University to Sheffield coach station direct without any hassle.

Let me know in the comments: do you prefer coach or train travel (and why)? Have I changed your mind yet?!
Stay tuned for my next blog post (I was going to combine them as one until I realised I had too much to say) which will be more about what I got up to in Bristol on my recent trip with National Express. post signature

REVIEW: Hill's Pet Nutrition for Dogs*

Tuesday, 20 August 2019

*This post is kindly sponsored by Hill's Pet Nutrition*

Aside from family and friends of course, one thing I miss very much when I'm at Uni is spending time with my favourite furball, Alfie. He plays a huge part in our family now and is always (well, most of the time...) happy to see me when I come back. So I've been really lucky to team up with Hill's Pet Nutrition to give Alfie the treat he deserves! We were kindly sent a 3kg bag of the following (watch out, it's a mouthful!): Hill's Science Plan Canine Mature Adult 7+ Active Longevity Medium with Chicken.

Life Update! Where Have I Been?

Monday, 29 July 2019

Hello all - it's been a little while since I last posted! Not for any particular reason; I've just been busy with other things and the blog has taken a little bit of a backseat for the last few months. So I thought I would just share a few things that I've been up to and what to look out for next!

My Current Eye Makeup Favourites

Saturday, 13 April 2019

In terms of makeup, I'm much more of an eyes than a lips person. Lipstick, I can give or take. I only tend to wear it on a night out. But I rarely leave the house without mascara and love going all out with eyeshadow and a liquid eyeliner too. So I thought I'd share some of my current favourites and some new bits I've been trying out over the last month or so.

Eating Disorders Awareness Week 2019 - Supporting A Friend In Need

Sunday, 24 February 2019

[Disclaimer: this post contains an item that was gifted]

I haven't spoken much about my PhD research on my blog, but it's such a big part of my life it seems wrong to leave it out. A lot of my blog is about things I love, things I'm passionate about, and I guess in a way this falls into one of my passions, or interests at least, as well.

My PhD research topic is very specific and often when I tell people about it, they look at me blankly. The research focus is on restrictive eating disorders in autistic women. We're looking at why the rates of anorexia and other restrictive eating disorders seem to be so high in autism (see Huke et al., 2013 for a review) and whether the causing and maintaining factors behind the eating disorder are different to that of a "neurotypical" (essentially, someone who is not on the autism spectrum) person with an eating disorder.

Hopefully, this research will have practical implications in helping autistic women to access appropriate services and receive better treatment and care. It's something I've been interested in for a while now (I became aware of it about 6 years ago), and so to be doing a PhD on the topic is pretty cool (yeah, PhD's are cool okay).

But for this blog post, I want to focus more on eating disorders in general. Eating Disorders Awareness Week (EDAW) falls in February each year, with the aim to raise awareness and encourage support for eating disorders. Most people know what an eating disorder is on a superficial level, but there are a lot of myths and stereotypes around them, which organisations like Beat (the country's leading eating disorder charity) help to debunk. They have some great online resources if you want to know more: https://www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk/

Taste of Wales Afternoon Tea with Future Inns - PLUS EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNT CODE!

Monday, 14 January 2019

Happy 2019 all!
I was recently invited to a lovely evening with Future Inns to try out their new afternoon teas with a handful of other bloggers.
If you haven't heard of Future Inns before, they are a small Canadian chain of hotels, currently based in the UK in Cardiff Bay, Bristol and Plymouth and not only do they offer overnight stays with free parking and WiFi (priorities!) and easy access to the city centres, but they also have a fantastic restaurant that we were lucky enough to visit. They're currently pushing their Taste of Wales afternoon tea which is all made from scratch on site.

How To Personalise Your Student Dorm Room!