Top 5 Favourite Apps for iPhone.

The beauty of smartphones is that you can customize what apps are on it to suit your needs. This makes them really practical for everyone, which is why they're so brilliant. Today I am sharing with you my top five apps for my iPhone!

INTERNET BANKING. I've talked about the brilliance of the internet banking app before, and I still stand by the fact that its just one of the most useful ways to do banking as a student. I have the HSBC app, but apps are available for most high street banks out there. 

LinkedIn. Over the past 6 months I've been desperately trying to improve my LinkedIn professional profile, which is obviously quite important with me going in to the PR/Communications sector. Since I don't log on to the site on my laptop or computer that often, its just really handy to have it on my phone because I get push notifications. I also find that its much easier and less complicated than the website too. 

TIMETABLE. This isn't that useful to me when I'm out of uni. but it definitely comes in handy when I have classes. Its just really easy to set up and customize yourself, you can colour code everything and add your own time periods, so I find this app to be extremely useful when I want to know what I'm in during the week. Of course, this app doesn't exactly have to be used as a uni./work thing, It can be used leisurely as well! 

RAIN, RAIN. I have trouble sleeping and I have found that this rain app helps me to sleep every night. Even if I'm just having a nap it just helps me to relax and I tend to fall asleep quite quickly (for me) when I use it! There are a range of different types of sounds you can listen to, not all of them actually include rain! 

SOLITAIRE. An iPhone wouldn't be an iPhone without a really good game on there to pass the time. I'm completely in love with this solitaire app because it entertains me in basically most situations. I play it on a morning when I wake up, when I'm in bed at night, when I'm watching TV or YouTube, I'm addicted! 

What are your favorite apps? 

 

My Favorite Polishes This Month.

I always know what my current favorite polishes are because they're always cluttered at the top of the -sort of- neat organisation of polishes. This month my favorites are a range of random colours, not necessarily nude or dark. I like to think it reflects how I've been feeling over the month. 

NAILS INC. WELLINGTON STREET. I'm not usually feeling pinks just because I don't think I suit it very well. But this month I've really liked wearing this shade completely randomly. I've had this polish for such a long time but I decided to bring it out and wear it! (I'm not sure if this product is still sold)

MAYBELLINE COLOR SHOW URBAN CORAL. I've suddenly fallen in love with coral colours, I think its such a uniquie colour and therefore is perfect for nails! In wearing this I have felt summery and a little bit out of character... in a good way though! 

TOPSHOP MATTE NAILS CANDY FOX. I really like Matte Nails at the moment, and wearing this shade has really made me want to buy more matte polishes. This trend, like the colour of coral, is really unique but I like it so much. 

AVON SPEED DRY ON POINT BLUE. This colour is supposed to be a new trend for summer shades, but I already owned it so I thought I'd try it out and I really love it. Its such a nice blue, and I think I suit it really well. I like that its not a bold bright colour but its not really dark either! 

 

My After Shower Hair Routine.

I go through quite a product filled process after I wash my hair, using a bunch of products that help me to create a finished look that I like. It takes time, but here is a list of steps and products that I use! After washing my hair I usually wrap it up in a towel just to prevent drips and to aid the drying process while I potter about doing other stuff. During this time I usually put my makeup on and moisturize, or just lay about deciding what to wear.

DETANGLING. I don't tend to brush my hair that often, so I like to give it a good brush after spraying my Avon Naturals Strand Strength Detangling Spray in Apricot and Shea. It just helps me to brush through any knots and it smells so so good! 

LEAVE IN TREATMENT. After brushing, I use my Avon Naturals Strand Strength Leave-In Treatment in Apricot and Shea. I just brush a small amount of this product through my hair, I like to focus on the ends just to give them a bit of health. 

SCALP TREATMENT. I suffer from dandruff and dry scalp, so the Avon Advance Techniques Scalp Treatment (I'm not sure if this product is still available) is used on my scalp and massaged in. This also smells amazing, and just makes my hair feel healthy at the root.

After this process I may again just potter about by tying up my hair in a towel and letting it dry further, it just depends on my plans for the day and how much time I have! 

VOLUME. When I'm ready to dry my hair with my hairdryer, I use the L'Oréal Elvive Styliste Mousse in Non-Stop Volume and flip my hair over and dry it nearly completely with my barrel brush. This product provides a great deal of volume for my hair and it stays in until I wash it next.

OIL. Before I completely dry my hair I brush through a little bit of the L'Oréal Elvive Extraordinary Oil. I just feel that it makes my hair a little bit healthier and silkier. I will then dry and style my hair with my barrel brush with my hair not flipped over to create my finished look! 

 

My Current Top 5 Songs.

I thought I'd share my current top five favourite songs with the world today. I was kind of stuck in a rut with music because there just wasn't anything that amazed me. That was until Lana Del Rey's new album came out! 

SHADES OF COOL - LANA DEL REY. This one is from her new album Ultraviolence. As soon as I listened to it I was hooked!

WUTHERING HEIGHTS - KATE BUSH. I've recently jumped on the Kate Bush bandwagon, I only really like her hit songs but either way this song is brilliant.

OFF TO THE RACES - LANA DEL REY. I love this song, hence the blog name, and I was obsessing over it when I wasn't obsessing over the others.

I DO - ABBA. A bit of a weird choice but a brilliant feel good song... especially when you've just got out the shower. 

A WORLD ALONE - LORDE. I always have a Lorde song that I obsess over, this week its A World Alone. 

 

Tips for finding good student accommodation.

Every year most students move into student accommodation so that they can live and study at university. However, it can be a task finding the correct place for you to live and its tricky finding something that ticks all the boxes. As a student in my second year of studying, I thought I would share with you some tips that I wish I knew when I was moving into student accommodation.

TAKE PHOTOS. This is so important, especially if your landlord has a habit of blaming you for damages that were already there. When you move in to your new accommodation, be sure to take some photos of damages, marks or stains that were already there. This way your landlord cannot accuse you of doing the damages. 

LOCATION. Be realistic when it comes to location. It could be a lovely place for you to live, but it might be too far away from your place of study. Will you really want to incur yourself extra travel costs and time? Will this be worth it? 

HEAT. I made the mistake of not checking for double glazing in my first rented accommodation. It may not seem like it, but this can make a huge difference to bills and your welfare. Its not nice to be cold, so make sure you consider double glazed housing before signing anything! 

PRICE VS. QUALITY. Keep in mind the phrase "you get what you pay for", and make sure you actually do! Landlords may have a habit of trying to rip off students because they're younger and they think that they can get away with it. Do some research about the price vs. the quality of the accommodation in your area and make sure you're getting value for money! 

TAKE YOUR TIME. There tends to be a rumor that goes around every year that all the houses get taken up early. This is not true! Take the time to look around for properties, chances are the longer you wait the cheaper the property will be! 

REVIEWS. Once you find a property you like, search the landlord and look at reviews online. Do they try and rip you off? Do they try and blame you for everything? Make sure you know what you've got yourself in for if you do end up signing for the property. 

OPEN MIND. Finally, student life isn't exactly luxurious. You should be willing to make compromises with what you can afford, so enter the world of property searching with an open mind!