My Current Favourites For Embracing a New Me

It’s officially the summer holidays, which means a detox from a difficult semester of classes is needed. I never truly feel myself during term time, and so now I’m embracing a ‘new me’ and really looking after myself and appearance, indulging in the things that university didn’t allow time for. I’ve chopped off my hair, pampered myself and treated myself to a well-earned relax, and I thought I’d share my favourites for doing so!

You truly know a girl means business when she chops off her hair! I’ve had incredibly long hair for about ten years now, and I was in desperate need of a change. It was dead and dull at the ends and I had fallen out of love with the length, especially since I had become really lazy with it and didn’t give it the attention it needed. It was a bold decision to cut my hair into a lob, but I desired something fresher and more modern looking, and I honestly haven’t looked back since. I personally think it looks much thicker and healthier now, plus it’s more flattering on my petite figure, as opposed to my long hair drowning me out.

With my new haircut has come a desire to keep it in the best condition possible, and I really want to prevent it from reaching the same level as damage as before. The Argan Hair Therapy hair mask has been an absolute dream for this, leaving my hair feeling nourished and silky smooth, especially while I was away on holiday. I’ve also loved curling my hair now that it’s shorter and putting more effort into styling it, and it also lasts better since the weight is no longer dragging my curls down.

One of my favourite pamper evening activities is painting my nails, as it’s therapeutic and is the perfect way to tie together an outfit. I never normally have time to paint my nails during term time, however lately I’ve loved experimenting with some at-home gel nails with my LED lamp. This has revolutionised painting my nails, as you don’t have to sit around for hours waiting for each layer to dry plus you can achieve a salon-level appearance without having to pay for a manicure! Although I’m still getting the hang of it, I think having nail varnish on makes a huge difference to your overall appearance and is something I want to try and maintain.

As a fake tanning newbie, summer is the perfect opportunity to experiment and practice this, especially since there are quite a few nights out that I’d like to look bronzed for. The Solait Tinted Bronzing Lotion has been my go-to since it’s affordable for whilst I’m still getting the hang of tanning, but I have to say I really like it. It’s easy to apply, even for a beginner like me, and doesn’t come out patchy or streaky, so I’ve really enjoyed playing around with this from time to time.

Without a doubt, the thing that I've been loving the most lately is my new camera. My boyfriend generously gifted me the Olympus Pen E-PL9 and I am over the moon with it, and it's been travelling almost everywhere with me ever since. I took some absolutely gorgeous snaps of Majorca with it while I was away and I've also adored taking blog photos with it, so hopefully you can see the improvement in my photos. I am genuinely so thankful for it and I can't wait to thoroughly explore all the different settings and experiment with it, and you can guarantee I'll be sharing a lot of the photos with you guys!

On the music front, it’ll be no surprise to you that I’ve been obsessing over Doom Days by Bastille, since they’re my favourite band. The songs, despite being different to their previous music, are all beautifully written and I’ve had them playing non-stop during my gym sessions and showers. I’ve also been listening to quite a bit of Jon Bellion since I’m going to watch him in October with Aiden, and so I’ve been making an effort to learn some of his newer songs.

As predictable as it may be, my TV obsession over the past few months has been Love Island. Every year I’ve been on the sidelines listening to everyone gossip about it without understanding what’s happening, since it always coincided with my exams. This year Love Island started the day that I finished university (if that’s not meant to be then I don’t know what is!) and it’s safe to say that I’ve been hooked. It's taken over my evenings and has been my priority rather than watching Youtube and Netflix like I normally would, and I've even managed to get my boyfriend to tolerate it which is a win in my eyes!

Now that you know what I've been loving lately, it's your turn to share! Make sure you leave a comment with what you currently can't live without, as I'm always on the hunt for some new recommendations!