brick by brick

bowler hat: h&m

boyfriend jacket: new look

dogtooth turtleneck: charity shop

necklaces: lilac edge & handmade

skirt: internacionale

shoes: dr martens

seeing as i start back at university today and as such need to get my creative life back on track, i thought i'd apply the same thought to my blog and headed into my back garden yesterday to snap a few outfit pictures because, shockingly, i managed to make it out of my house for reasons other than alcohol and throw on something other than pyjamas during the daytime!

i nabbed this boyfriend jacket from the new look sale back in may, and i've been patting myself on the back for doing so since the start of september because it's such a good alternative to my well loved leather jacket during these awkward, slightly colder months. it also makes me feel as though i'm trying to look as though i'm attempting to enter adulthood, which i assume can only be a good thing seeing as i'll be turning 21 in november and that's pretty much the definite age when you transition into adulthood, right?

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sunday synopsis

well, tonight marks the first night i've properly had the chance to sit down on my laptop all week, and it's odd because i haven't missed it all that much... probably because i've spent my week drunk or hungover, but we'll just quickly brush over that fact.

this week's been one that seems to have passed both quickly and slowly, if you know what i mean? you know, where the days seem to pass slowly, but you get to the end of it thinking bloody hell, where has the week gone?! no? yes? well it's passed in that fashion for me regardless. freshers has been somewhat tame, but still extremely exhausting, which i think is due to the sheer amount of nothingness that my week consisted of; if i was hungover, i didn't have the motivation or energy to do something, but at the same time i was far too aware of all the hours i was sat wasting, making for an altogether draining week because i was constantly in some weird kind of flux of wanting, but also not wanting, to do something. 

i'm heading into university tomorrow for the first time this year and i assume it'll be an introductory lecture where we're given the lowdown for the year (where we all get the chance to freak out about how little time there actually is within an academic year) and our first brief to begin thinking about. while i'm kind of freaking out about being a third year and no doubt the sheer amount of work i'm going to once again be tackling, i'm also looking forward to welcoming some well needed structure back into my life; i've learnt over the summer that if i'm not faced with a deadline, everything can always wait until tomorrow, and then next week, and then next month and then nothing ever gets done, or if it does it's in a rushed, "i hate myself" style panic, so it'll be nice to reclaim some normality workwise once again. 

as for now, i'm going to prepare my clothes and university bag like a giddy year seven on their first day of high school and crawl into my bed to indulge in a few episodes of freaks and geeks while i can still waste my time so indulgently without feeling horrifically guilty about it.

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saturday scribbles

i've had a completely unproductive week since moving into my student house last saturday, but hey, you can allow yourself a week for settling in, seeing friends, and getting drunk more times than is necessary during freshers week, right?!

while i've not created any new illustrations this week, i have had a play around with my doggy design and turned it into some super sweet bunting to decorate my room with and i'm thinking it looks pretty good! i also picked up a print from our freshers society stall on tuesday because it had a slight mark from pink-tac on the top left corner and so wasn't suitable for sale, and although i'm not too sure how i feel about decorating my room with my own work, i know i'm still really pleased with the illustration as a whole. 

speaking of the freshers fair, here's a picture one of our tutors snapped of me and a couple of others on my course as we were heading outside to try and sell a few prints. we had an incredibly successful day, making just over £200 by selling our own prints and freshers guides that we'd put together and we couldn't be more pleased to have kickstarted our new blood fundraising so fantastically – here's to hoping the rest of our fundraising efforts are just as successful!

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youtube video appearances

i've been a little absent from my blog this week minus my usual wednesday, saturday and sunday posts due to a rather lazy freshers week, but what i have gotten up to over the last couple of weeks involves me appearing in a couple of my friends' youtube videos. if you're a long time follower of my blog, you'll know that i briefly dipped my toe into youtube around this time last year with a couple of short ootd videos, however i never decided to take to it any further and quickly gave them up. i'm still getting used to watching and listening to myself on a computer screen, but i thought i'd pop by to share my friends' channels in case you wanted to have a bit of a nosey through them!

"most likely to" friends edition with whatalicewore

best friend challenge with emilysw0rld

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my unsung heroes

1: elf blush brush / 2: real techniques buffing brush / 3: elf small stipple brush

4: real techniques contour brush / 5: real techniques detailer brush / 6: h&m eyeshadow brush
7: collection lasting perfection concealer / 8: eyelash curlers / 9: burt's bees lip balm / 10: elf makeup mist & set

i tend to keep up with my weekly beauty post well and in all the weeks i've been posting, i've rarely (or not at all) mentioned any of the products that i use on a daily basis that have well and truly become staples within my makeup bag, so today i thought i'd show them some love and talk you through some of the items i couldn't live without. 

1 - 6: ah, makeup brushes, where would i be without you? i bought my first proper set of makeup brushes last september (i think) and i opted for the real techniques core collection, just because it seemed like a sensible place to start, and since loving them i've picked up a couple of other makeup brushes along the way. i always used to blame the products i was using when i ended up with an unsatisfying finish, but after trading in my cheapo makeup brushes for these more expensive ones i've learnt that it's definitely in the way you apply the product rather than the product itself, which has changed the way i wear makeup completely. 

7: a firm favourite amongst bloggers is the collection lasting perfection conceal, and there's really no mystery as to why because it's a fantastic little product for the £4 price tag. nowadays i tend not to wear a full face of foundation, and instead touch up any blemishes and around my eyes with this, dust with a powder and i'm good to go for the rest of the day!

8: i was at a friend's house the other day and was shocked to learn that she didn't own a pair of eyelash curlers! they're something i never mention on my blog, but every day without fail they help me to achieve a little bit more of a curl in my lashes before i go in with my mascara, and i won't be changing that fact any time soon. 

9: a good lip balm is a must for everyone, and recently the burt's bees lip balms have grown on me quite a bit. they're fairly thick to apply and feel slightly waxy on the lips, but the moisture hangs around for a while after application because it slowly seeps its way into your lips, making sure they're getting the moisture that's needed.

10: and finally, a setting mist. i've only ever used this e.l.f. offering, and it's always worked well enough for me to not want to bother looking for a replacement. the spray is very light and natural feeling, as though you're just spraying water onto your face, and doesn't leave a nasty, sticky residue behind. i've worn this every day now for as long as i can remember and it finishes off my makeup nicely while leaving my skin feeling refreshed.

what are your unsung heroes? is there something missing from my list that sits firmly on yours that i should have tried out? please do let me know!

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belated saturday scribbles & sunday synopsis

i've been a bit awol on social media these last few days as i'd been out consuming my body weight in alcohol making the most of seeing friends before i left for uni, and since saturday i've been living in my new student house internetless until today so haven't really had the technology at hand to be blogging properly, but never fear because i'm back today to make up for lost time... kind of.

this last week i've further extended my a-z of doggies by creating a linework piece that has since been screenprinted and is going to be sold at our freshers fair tomorrow alongside the work of other students on my course in the hopes of kickstarting our fundraising for new blood next summer, and i'm pretty excited to see how they've come out! 

i've also been playing around with typography and more doggies while working entirely in watercolour in the same gutsy, paint straight to paper way that i originally produced my a-z of doggies in, and so far so good, i think. i've always loved the painterly textures that comes from traditional work and i'm enjoying the results i've achieved so far, so i'm thinking it's a technique i'll try and play a little bit more with throughout the coming months.

as for uni life so far, last night was the first day of freshers and i had a fantastic time out with all the people at uni who've made the last two years as special as they have been for me – here's to another couple of weeks of good nights out and lazy hangover days before the real work starts for third year!

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preparing to graduate

tomorrow i'm moving back to middlesbrough for my final year at university, so over the summer i've been making every effort to turn my room into a space that will feel comfortable for me to both live and work in, because, let's face it, next summer i'm more than likely going to be moving back home, whether it's for a couple of months or a couple of years, so i thought i'd share with you some snippets of my room to show what i've been doing in preparation for me graduating.

i've pretty much split my room into two parts, 'living' and 'working' space, and above is my living space. this summer i've put up a few of these 'z' shelves in my room, and they've proved to be extremely helpful for giving things a place to live, but also for somewhat prettying up the place; because everything looks better on a floating shelf than stuffed in a corner! they're practical for keeping all my books together and out of the way, but also for using some otherwise useless items as a bit of decoration; my marc jacobs perfumes for example. i was bought them last christmas as a gift, but after having recently gone cruelty free i just couldn't bring myself to use them, but for now they at least help to pretty my room up a little.

to further decorate my room, i decided to adorn the walls with some prints and some snaps of me and my friends during our time at university. i love having prints dotted around my room because they help to bring a bit of character and personality to my room that's well suited to me, but also because a couple of them have either been very kindly gifted to me or won in competitions, so i thought they deserved a special place in my room to celebrate those facts, and hung them above my bed in some pretty ornate frames that i picked up for £1 each (!!!) in poundland, would you believe it! i also thought it'd be a nice to touch to hang up some of my favourite people and memories from my time at university, so that when i leave i can look at them fondly and remember that, hey, university was fantastic.

so, onto my working area next. we dragged this old computer desk out of our garage last easter and it's been a life (and money!) saver ever since, giving me somewhere to keep all my arty bits and bobs and a place to work in solitude if i so need to. all around my desk is decorated with various prints and cards with work on them from some of my favourite illustrators, providing me with my own little inspirational nook to work from to help and keep my mind focussed and in the game – these are the people who work within the industry that i aspire to work within, so to try and make sure my work is of a quality that their's is is extremely important! as well as my working area, it doubles up as a makeup desk (kind of) so i keep various makeup bits and bobs dotted around, too.

and i suppose that's everything covered, really! my room was redecorated this easter, swapping brown walls and a floral wallpaper feature wall for simple, white walls, and it was quite possibly the best decision i've made in terms of decoration because it's opened my room up so much and made it much lighter and pleasant to be within; it also means i can now go crazy with wooden furniture and all the patterned goods i could ever dream of! 

it's not very big, flash or beautiful, but i've managed to create a cosy space for myself that i know i'll be happy to live and work within when the time comes. as we all know, your workspace can often affect your mental state more than it probably should, so a fuss free, tidy room is essential if i'm to be as happy and productive as possible within it.

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fantastic eyeliner on a budget: makeup revolution

double flick liquid eyeliner (not online): £3.50

i must admit, picking up new felt tip eyeliners to try has become something of second nature to me recently, so when i picked this makeup revolution offering up i wasn't really expecting to be blown away by it, but from the first use of it i realised that i couldn't have been more wrong because it was absolutely fantastic.

the liner differs from most highstreet felt tip liners in that it's double ended, offering a thick or thin side depending upon the intensity of the wing you're looking to achieve.

wearing the 'thin' side

wearing the 'thick' side

i tend to opt for the thin side when teaming up a subtle flick with eyeshadow as to not overdo it, and then opt for the thick side when i'm going for an all out, dramatic flick, but i'll not bore you any more with the obvious and instead talk about the actual product. 

the colour pay off is fantastic; a light stroke of the nib leaves a luscious, opaque black that glides on with complete ease. if i were to compare the finish to any other products i've used, i'd describe it as sitting somewhere between the soap & glory supercat liner and collection's fast stroke liner. i found that collection's fast stroke liner seemed to create a very thick, sometimes crumbly looking finish where you could almost pick it off in parts but at the same time didn't budge easily because of this, and the supercat liner left a thin finish that could be easily wiped away or smudged with your finger, and this liner sits happily in between, offering a thin covering of liner that doesn't budge with as much ease as the supercat liner, meaning you don't have to worry so much about accidentally rubbing your eyes and in turn all your liner off!

the thin end of the pen is by far the easiest, most precise liner i've ever had the pleasure of lining my lids with. i used to find with the soap & glory and collection offerings that it was really difficult to get a precise, thin line that was close to my lash line and instead always ended up cocking up and settling with thicker than intended flicks, but with this liner i'm in complete control of what i'm doing and can 9 times out of 10 get right down to the lash line to create a subtle flick for the days where i want a less dramatic look. 

in terms of lasting power, i'm more than happy to admit that i've neglected to take this off after a night out, and have woken up the morning after with absolutely minimal movement, which was a complete delight to discover after having woken up on many mornings with my eyeliner all over my lids from my hours of slumber. generally, unless you get your eyes excessively wet, the liner tends not to budge. 

after what seems like a lifetime of looking for 'the perfect eyeliner', i feel happy knowing that this liner ticks near enough all my boxes, and will only set me back £3.50 every time i need to replace it which is more than okay with me! if you ever find yourself at a makeup revolution counter, i would whole heartedly recommend picking this up to try because i've never been as impressed by an eyeliner in my life; with an opaque finish, precise application and decent staying power, it's worth every penny you'll pay for it. 

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sweet tooth

choker: lilac edge

necklace: robynmakesthings

crop top: depop

belt: primark

jeans: charity shop

socks: primark

shoes: dr martens

i picked these jeans up from a charity shop a couple of months back and i've found that they come in handy for the days where the sun's not out, but it's still not quite cold enough to warrant wearing a jacket. to balance out the masculine shape of them, i like to team them up with this incredibly girly pink gingham crop that i bought from a user on depop who handmakes various pieces of clothing, and to further continue the girliness i like to also throw on one of my handmade cupcake necklaces which sits perfectly next to the gingham. finishing off with my trusty t-bar docs, i feel as though i'd fit in perfectly if you were to throw me onto a friends set. 

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