The Noise in Wonderland: August 2016

posted by The Noise in Wonderland . 8/30/16 .

Six ways to set yourself up for a ripper semester two

We all start the semester with good intentions. We all plan to keep up with weekly readings , study rigorouslyand be the best student there ever was.

However it can be very easy to lose this motivation and instantly become a disorganised mess.

To help give you the best possible chance at staying on the winning track of being a star student for the semester, here are a few things you can do in this first couple of weeks to set yourself up for success.

Get on your readings early

One key element to being a good student and keeping up with your studies is getting those readings done. A lot of courses will upload a reading guide that will outline every single week’s reading for the semester. Obviously your first step should be to get the very first week’s readings done for all your courses. Do it while you’re lucky enough not to have assignments coming out of your ears!

And while you have a bit more spare time early in semester, it’s tempting to use this time to finishing binging on that Netflix series you’re nearly finished, but try your best to stay focused.

This is prime time to get ahead with your readings. Maybe do all of next week’s readings, and maybe even the next. The further you can get in front now the more future you will thank past you when you’re drowning essays and exam prep.

Become a planning pro

Another thing most lecturers will do at the start of semester is put out a course outline that lists everything you’ll be doing in that course, including all the assignments.

One of the worst things that can happen during semester is letting an assignment creep up on you that’s due the next day that you didn’t even know about. Prevent this nightmare by grabbing your diary and writing a list of all the assignments you have for your courses and when they’re due.

Put said list somewhere that’s clearly visible so you can always double check there isn’t a major essay due next week that’s going to have you bluffing your way through at the last minute.

Create an exercise timetable

You’ve probably heard this before, but it’s super important to make time for physical exercise during semester.

A good exercise session not only gives you a break from having your head in the books, but also helps clear your mind and give you a new spurt of energy to keep you going for the rest of the day.

If you’ve signed up to a gym that does exercise classes, figure out which times suit your schedule and get them in your planner or diary. If you prefer to do your own thing, set aside an hour each day to work up a sweat.

Find a study buddy

Studying on your own can be great, however it also has its draw backs. When you’re reading and come across a concept you just don’t understand, there’s no one there for you to ask for help. And we all know what this means: you ask Google for the answer, which leads to a two-hour Facey session.

To avoid this, find a study buddy, or maybe even a study group and organise set times to meet. Then, when you’re studying by yourself and come across something you just can’t tackle on your own, you can make note of it and discuss it during your group study time.

Buy all of the stationery

Some of us can have a weird and wonderful obsession with stationery (guilty). If walking into Officeworks makes your heart skip a beat, then consider treating yo self to some new paper goods to get you motivated.

Buy some notepads, pens or pencils that fill your heart with joy and get you excited to get working. There’s nothing more motivating than opening a fresh notepad.

Take a deep breath

You’re about to begin a new chapter, and a new semester is all about starting afresh. Whether it’s your first semester, last semester or somewhere in between, take a moment to breathe.

Prepare yourself – things will get crazy. But remember, you’ve done it before so you can do it again.

Originally appeared on Hijacked

Six ways to set yourself up for a ripper semester two

posted by The Noise in Wonderland . 8/27/16 .

H&M Homewares Heartache

With H&M finally making it's way to Newcastle via Charlestown Square, I can't get enough of browsing the store, particularly the homewares. To basically help curb my own desire to buy all the things, here's a few things I wish I could fill my home with.

1. 'Books I Haven't Read' Metal box-end
2. Gold stoneware mug
3. Seaside scented candle
4. Square clear glass box
5. Grey stoneware mug
6. Gold plant pot
7. Large wire basket
8. Wooden Box
9. Pineapple candle
10. Arrow-shaped hook
11. Banana cushion
12. Scented candle in glass jar
13. Metal lantern
14. 'Good Times' paper napkins

H&M Homewares Heartache

posted by The Noise in Wonderland . 8/25/16 .

How to have plants when you kill everything

Some of us just don't have a knack at keeping plants alive. Even with the cacti/succulent trend that seems to be going around at the moment, sometimes we even kill the toughest of plants (that has to be a skill in itself right?) If this sounds like you, but you really want to have some little green buddies in your life, here are a few ways you can have them and never feel the guilt of neglecting them.

Bedding
Fill your dreams with nature's cutest little creatures by covering your bed in them.

Stationary
This one could be good for those plant lovers who do have the real thing but want them with them all the time. Pick up bits of stationary that are adorned with the little green cuties. Books, journals, notepads, pencil cases - if you have a stationary need no doubt there is somewhere on the Internet that sells a plant decorated version of it.

Etsy

Ebay

Etsy

Art
A beautiful sketch, watercolour painting or drawing can not only satisfy your plant needs, but also make your house look 100% on point and cute.

Bethany Linz

Urban Outfitters

Etsy

Clothing
All my fashion lovers out there, this one's for you.

Missguided

Iconic

ASOS

Tumblr/Pinterest
If you don't really have the money to spend on cacti adorned items, then fulfill your green thumb craving by scrolling through Tumblr and Pinterest. Making an account on both is free and you can simply type if 'cacti', 'succulent' or 'plant' into the search bar and you scroll for hours to your hearts content.

Games/Apps
If you want to be able to interact more with your fake plants, why not download an app.

Plant Nanny

How to have plants when you kill everything

posted by The Noise in Wonderland . 8/23/16 .

Having a Bad Day? Click Here

As humans, some days we just don't have a good day. If that's you today, take a moment to read and reflect on some of these quotes and hopefully they give you a bit of a motivational pick-me-up to keep on pushing through today so you can make it to the amazing tomorrow.

Having a Bad Day? Click Here

posted by The Noise in Wonderland . 8/20/16 .

Beauty Wish List

With the recent opening of Mecca Maxima in my local area, Newcastle, my desire for beauty products has suddenly spiked. As I can't afford to spend as much as my heart would desire, I've decided to put together a little wishlist of some products sold by Mecca I'd love to get my hands on one day.

1. NARS The Multiple
2. Hourglass Ambient Strobe Lighting Powder
3. Bobbi Brown Skin Nourishing Glow Foundation
4. NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer
5. Clinique Take the Day Off Micellar Cleansing Towelettes
6. Urban Decay All-Night Long-Lasting Makeup Setting Spray
7. Hourglass Ambient Light Correcting Primer
8. Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer
9. Josie Maran Cosmetic Vibrancy Argan Oil Foundation Fluid
10. By Terry Light Expert
11. Two Faced Better Than Sex Mascara

Beauty Wish List

posted by The Noise in Wonderland . 8/18/16 .

Adult chores that’ll make your life easier even though they’re annoying AF

Let’s get real for a minute: adulting sucks and it only gets worse when you're deep in the throes of mid-sem anxiety of pre-exam stress. And when that mid-semester rut comes around or those dreadful exams start to take over your life, it can be easy to forget about adulting all together.

However some adult chores can actually make your life easier. Here's the best of 'em.

Cleaning

Before you start drowning in uni work every week, give your house or room a real good clean. Yes this means getting out that thing people call a vacuum and giving your floors a good clean.

You might even need to get out some paper towel and cleaning products to give your desk and any other nearby surfaces a wipe over. Transforming your study area into a nice clean haven will make the idea of sitting down to work much more appealing.

Getting organised

This goes hand-in-hand with the cleaning, but you should organise whatever space it is you’re cleaning as well. Put away or throw away all those old pieces of paper piled up from last semester, discard all those pens that don’t work anymore and go out and grab yourself some new stationery.

If you’ve pushed out all the old stuff and brought in the new, you’ll be surprised at how ready this can get you to nail semester two!

Planning meals and actually doing a weekly grocery shop

Starting this now will make it much easier come dreaded exam time. If you’re spending most days of the week at uni for long periods of time, you’re probably going to get hungry.

Most unis offer places to buy food, but let’s be honest - you’re on a student budget that doesn’t allow you to buy a $5 sandwich each day. The solution? Start taking your own food. And you should know that there’s a bit of an art to going grocery shopping as a student.

Our student brain knows we don’t have much money, so if you go in there without a game plan, you’ll end up buying the cheapest, crappiest food on offer. Generally you need to eat more of the crap food to make yourself feel full, and eating all that junk does no good for your physical or mental health.

So before you walk into said food haven, have game. Write out a meal plan for the week, including breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. From there make a grocery list so when you walk into the supermarket you only buy what’s on that list.

Make a roster

This is one for all of our sharehouse friends out there. Your house is always going to get dirty, so it’s going to need cleaning during semester so it doesn’t end up looking like a scene from hoarders.

If you live with other people, and you want to make sure that you’re not always stuck cleaning the toilet, shower and every surface including the kitchen sink, make a roster.

Divide up the sections of the house and assign someone to clean that area. Then rotate who does what each week. This helps ensure someone isn’t stuck with the bathroom for six weeks and if there’s a space that’s looking a bit grubby then you’ll know exactly who to ask to give it a clean.

Originally appeared on Hijacked

Adult chores that’ll make your life easier even though they’re annoying AF

posted by The Noise in Wonderland . 8/16/16 .

Your Are Good Enough

In a world where social media can keep us updated on every little thing someone is doing in their lives, and every achievement they manage to grasp, it's hard to not start comparing yourself to others. I believe people have always done it, but I think the world of social media has made it much worse, and as a result a lot more people are left feeling unhappy, unmotivated and generally lacking in self-esteem.

I'm here to tell you that YOU ARE GOOD ENOUGH.

Every person and their path in life is different. The steps we take and the time that passes before we reach a goal or significant time period in our lives, even if that goal or significant period is similar to someone else's, will play out completely different to every other person on this Earth.

No matter what area you work in or what area of life you're passionate about, there are always going to be people who have already walked the road, climbed up the chain and learnt and mastered what you need to know in that area to be good at it. There will always be people a step ahead of you because they started before you. There is no use comparing yourself to these people.

I know it's hard not to; sometimes it can just feel second nature to do so. You starting thinking why am I not as good as them? Why am I not as successful as them? Why don't I have what they have yet? When you ask yourself these questions you only begin to doubt yourself and your abilities; you can think there is something wrong with what you're doing or that you're simply not good at it. Most of the time this isn't even true, but because we're staring at what we do so closely and narrowly, we can't actually turn around and step back from it to see that what we're doing is actually really good.

If you're looking at people who have been doing what you do for much longer than you, of course they're better at it, of course they make it look easy and effortless. They've been in the game much longer than you and have already learnt the tips and tricks of the trade to make themselves look how they do to you.

It's not that you're not good enough, you're 100% good enough plus another 50% on top of that, it's just that you're a step behind on your path to them. You still have things to learn, experience to gain and room to grow.

Even when we actually reach the point that we once looked up at people to, we probably won't see it because we're to busy focusing on the person who has managed to climb up that next step and we consume ourselves wondering how they got there, how we will get there and why we're not yet?

So whatever you're doing and wherever you're going, know that you are good enough. Don't spend your time comparing, spend your time admiring and working. Everyone is different, just as their journeys are, so just remember there's no point in comparing yourself to someone else, because the reality is nothing about them or what they do is anything like you; we're all suppose to be different.

Your Are Good Enough

posted by The Noise in Wonderland . 8/13/16 .

Priceline 40% Skincare and Tanning Haul

A couple of weeks ago Priceline had their 40% skincare and tanning sale. Unlike my previous Priceline adventures during sale time (here and here), I restrained myself quite well this time around and only picked up two things which I'm really keen to try out; so keep an eye out for them for future mentions in blog posts.

Bondi Sans Liquid Gold Tanning Oil / Sukin Oil Balancing Mattifying Facial Moisturiser

Priceline 40% Skincare and Tanning Haul

posted by The Noise in Wonderland . 8/11/16 .

Truth Behind Detox Coffees

Around five months ago I got a message in my Instagram inbox asking me if I would be interested in becoming an Ambassador for Skinny Coffee Club. This is a brand who makes a product similar to all those skinny and detox teas floating around in the cyberspace out there, but it’s a coffee. We’ve all heard the negative things about the skinny teas and I’d personally never tried one before, and this was the first I was hearing about a coffee version. I was a little skeptical, but after checking out the brand online I thought I might give them a go.

The big thing that made me decide to try jumping on board was the fact the product contained NO LAXATIVES. I’ve heard about brands in the best getting slammed for including them in their products, and rightly so, they should never be used for a weight loss purpose.

So what does being an ambassador for them actually entail? Basically every month I get shipped my satchel of coffee for the month, and in return I just need to post a pic or two to Instagram every now and then; I tend to post one when I get my new shipment and then another at some point during the month. I can pull out of being an ambassador at any time by just emailing them, and there was no obligation to ever stay on board even from the beginning.

When you jump on board and receive your first satchel, they send you a eating and exercise plan that you can follow if you're planning on using their coffee as part of a weight loss program. Drinking this coffee for weight loss is not what I'm in it for, and trust me many people worried when they saw me holding it and saw the word 'weight-loss program' plastered across the front of the packaging. I planned to try this stuff out to see if it would have good detox effects and just make me feel less bloated from day-to-day.

So what did I think overall? I have to say that, honestly, I notice a bit of a difference when I drink this stuff daily. I do notice I feel a bit less bloated. It's nothing major because I'm still just sticking with my normal daily exercise and general eating, which has it's good and bad days.

If someone came up to me and asked would I recommend them giving it a go, I would honestly say yes. Just purchase it once, see how it sits with you, because everyone's body is different. Once upon a time these weight loss coffees and teas may have been filled with laxatives and other less than ideal ingredients, but after the big huff everyone caused around these products, I think these companies have realised there is no place in society anymore for a product like that, and they have become much better.

Truth Behind Detox Coffees

posted by The Noise in Wonderland . 8/9/16 .

Shit I've Tried: Vapour Halo Illuminator Moonlight

The amazing team over at Beautiful Because recently sent me over a couple of the beauty products from their website to try out. I featured the amazing Atom Ghassoul Clay Mask in my favourites post, and I previously mentioned this Vapour Halo Illuminator Moonlight in my Current Makeup Rotation. I wanted to do a post that gave a little more detail about this product because I've actually come to love this new addition to my makeup routine.

Using highlighters in my makeup routine is still quite new to me, I've never really gone much past the basic foundation, eyebrows and mascara steps, but after seeing all these people on their blogs and YouTube channels with beautiful glowing cheeks, I got sucked in and needed to give it a go. I've always been more of a powder fan when it comes to makeup products, so getting use to using this creamy product was a bit of a process for me.

I like to warm this product up on my hand briefly before applying it to my face, and I find it glides on a lot easier. I like to apply it to the upper part of my cheeks, under my eyebrows and down the middle of nose.

I would love to try a highlighter with a whiter shade of colour, but I do still love the warm, peachy tone of this product, and it does give a nice highlight to your face as it settles into the skin. It isn't the most shocking, bright highlight on the market, but it gives a beautiful, subtle glow, and the more I use it the more I love it.

Shit I've Tried: Vapour Halo Illuminator Moonlight

posted by The Noise in Wonderland . 8/6/16 .

July Favourites

The majority of the month of July was my Uni holiday break, so of course it flew by. In between moving and getting my life organised after last semester, I didn't have as many major favourites for this month, but I still have a few I wanted to share.

Wyte*

I love trying new things to whiten my teeth, and this month my favourite tooth product has to be one of the most convenient I've tried. Given to me by the lovely people at Wyte, this stylish tooth whitening pen is the perfect thing to use on-to-go. I love to use this on those mornings I just don't have time to sit down for half an hour to do a tooth whitening session. It's also great for helping to target those little yellow areas that my normal teeth whitening routine just doesn't quite seem to get.

Atom Ghassoul Clay Mask*

I am a massive face mask fan, particularly of clay and detoxing ones, and this baby ticks both those boxes. Sent to me by the lovely people from Beautiful Because, this mask is one of the best I've tried yet, and I'm not exaggerating. The instructions say to grab a heaped teaspoon of the mask powder, but I honestly think you can get away with using a little less to allow the product to last longer. Mix it with a teaspoon of water, and don't go over that amount or you'll just end up with a watery mess that doesn't work (speaking from experience). This mask sets super tight, and you don't want to be in a rush to try and wash this mask off. This mask though leaves me skin feeling super smooth, especially the next day. So much love!

Nivea Anti-Blemish 3-in-1 Cleanser

I picked this face cleanser up towards the end of the month as I find myself running out of my last face product, and this one is a repurchase for me. I've used this a couple of times before and I still absolutely love it. The consistency of it is like a face mask, and you can actually use it as one as well, which I think it awesome.

The Firm - John Grisham

Being the holidays it meant I finally got the chance to read something other than a textbook. The book I picked up this month was 'The Firm' by John Grisham. It's one of many books that I grabbed for free off Gumtree months ago and that I still haven't had a chance to open thanks to Uni. I randomly grabbed this one off the pile, but it was a great choice. The story basically follows a young guy who has just finished his law degree and is taking his steps into the real world and starting to work at a law firm (how fitting). However there isn't something quite right about the prestigious law firm that he begins to work for. Honestly I thought it was an awesome read, and I'm certain I would have thought that even if I wasn't a law student.

Garnier Body Summer Moisturising Lotion Sunkissed Look

I always have some type of tanning body lotion in my bathroom cupboard. The most recent on I picked up was this one by Garnier. I mainly use this after I have already faked tanned to help give my tan more glow and help prolong it's colour. This one is also super cheap, so it's nice on your wallet as well.

*these products were gifted to me, however all opinions are 100% my own