Depop!

I'd just like to take this opportunity to rant and rave (after a period of silence, I know, I'm sorry!) about an app that goes by the name of Depop. This is a free app available on both iPhone and Android where you can sell your stuff. I came across this app when a number of my favourite bloggers posted about their Depop sales and I figured I'd check it out.

In my opinion, Depop is infinitely times better than Ebay. Ebay is awesome for buying, but for selling, there's fee after fee after fee. On Depop, listing any item is completely free. Payment is sent through PayPal, meaning buyers and sellers are protected, but if you buy/sell through the Depop app itself, it also has its own protection - meaning you're doubly protected. When you sell an item on Depop, they take 10% of the overall sale and PayPal takes their usual percentage - about 3.4% I think? You have the option to message a buyer/seller and offer to complete the transaction through PayPal alone - meaning less fees.

There are SO many bargains to be found on this app - I found a pair of Vans that were essentially brand new - never worn outside etc - I paid £10 inc shipping. Just recently I've bought a vintage faux fur coat for £15 inc shipping. I have so much more in the lineup to be purchased - as soon as I have some spare money!

I can't rave about this app enough - if you stumble across the right item at the right time you can find some right bargains. My username is 'lgoldup' and I've just sorted through some clothes so check out my Depop!

Laura

SheInside Review

DISCLAIMER:

I am no way affiliated with SheInside.com. All opinions are 100% my own and I have not been sent items/paid to do this review. I paid for all items with my own money and this is my true, honest opinion of my experience.

After watching so many hauls of Youtubers showing items they've been sent/bought off www.sheinside.com, I finally decided to take the plunge. I have ordered from Chinese Wholesalers before, and while this wasn't the worst experience, it certainly wasn't the best. I was hesitant to order from SheInside because of all the seemingly 'too good to be true' offers: free delivery with 30 USD (around £17) orders, 20% off when logged in with Facebook, discounts on near enough every item, reward points and so on. Coupled with all the negative reviews (which I only found after I ordered!) it's safe to say I was in 2 mind about ordering.

I initially intended to order as little as possible so that, if it did all go horribly wrong, I wouldn't have wasted too much money. I trawled through the site for ages and my order eventually consisted of 5 items, totalling £29.45 (with 20% Facebook discount):

Shipping!

SheInside claim to ship orders in 5-7 business days and claim to deliver in 5-15 business days. This means that it could take up to 22 business days to receive your parcel if you live in the UK. This is to be expected; they are based in China, after all. You can opt to pay for faster shipping or you can automatically get free express shipping if you spend over a certain amount. There are also different shipping estimates for different countries, and some parts of Asia will be subjected to a duty fee - make sure you check the shipping information relevant to your country before you order: http://www.sheinside.com/Shipping-Info-a-280.html

I ordered on the 3/07. My order was shipped on the 10/07 (5 business days from date of order) and I received my order today: 15/07 (3 business days from date of shipping). I'm quite surprised and pleased with the delivery service - I spent enough to achieve free standard shipping but my parcel was Royal Mail Tracked - I'm not sure if this is classed as standard, but either way I was chuffed that I got a tracking number. I appreciated the fact that it was a proper tracking number - i.e I was able to find out exactly what time my parcel was shipped, what time it arrived in London and what time it arrived up North, rather than being fobbed off with 'yeah your parcel is shipped'.

This is what arrived:

Everything arrived in its own protective plastic bag and it was nicely packed - shows that they didn't just chuck it in a bag. The jewellery was in a padded envelope, everything I ordered was there (unlike my last experience with a different wholesaler!) and everything was sealed nicely.

The Clothes!
I bought the crop tops specifically for when I've lost the weight I put on during college, so they don't fit properly just yet. I was particularly impressed with the white crop top; the material is thick, very stretchy and good quality, the colour is a brilliant white and I have a feeling I'm going to love it when it fits properly! The flowery crop top is also lovely; a light-weight material with a good quality zip and good quality fastenings on the straps. I forgot to properly check the measurements on this top, so it's likely that it will never fit me right, but that's my own fault for not checking the sizes. You might find it handy to have a conversion chart open while you're ordering as they show the measurements of the garments in cm, rather than actual sizes, and Chinese sizes run smaller than UK sizes.

The shorts that I received weren't like the ones in the picture. The hem wasn't rolled up and they looked more like stereotypical American farmer shorts than anything, but it should be easy enough to fix them up so they look like the ones online.

The necklace is really nice: the teeth things hanging at the bottom are secured well to the rest of the necklace and it doesn't look cheap (in my opinion!). The only niggle I have with this necklace is the chain - it's either made of plastic or really really cheap metal, but it seems sturdy enough all the same. The rings are lovely: they don't feel cheap but at the same time I'm going to be surprised if they don't leave my fingers green. These rings only come in one size - if you generally take a size M or up in rings these probably won't fit you. I can only fit a couple on my ring fingers comfortably - even then they're slightly tight.

Communication!
The rings were supposed to be shipped within 24hrs from purchase. However, I didn't receive any confirmation of shipment for these rings the next day so I emailed their customer service asking what the crack was with these rings and my whole order. I got a response in 3ish days - at least one of which was over the weekend and they say their customer service team is operational Monday-Friday. The reply was very vague - something along the lines of 'don't worry we are processing your order. We will send confirmation of shipment'. Their reply wasn't very professional - the English was good I guess, but there was no proper use of punctuation, words were shortened and there was a lot of slang. This didn't fill me with confidence that I was going to receive my order, so I worked out the estimated dates for shipping and delivery to make sure that I didn't miss the 45 day deadline for a PayPal dispute. However, I received my shipping confirmation and tracking number a couple of days later, so I was a happy bunny.

Verdict!
Basically, if you order from SheInside, you need to be vigilant.

• Check out the reviews for all the items you're thinking of purchasing to get an idea of the product you'll be receiving. If there is any problem at any stage of the ordering process then do not hesitate to start sorting it out. PayPal does have a safety net dispute system, but there is a time limit - miss the deadline and you're on your own.
• The sizes run small so make sure you check the measurements and use a conversion chart to ensure you're ordering the right size - SheInside will not pay for returns.
• SheInside have great offers - 20% off, free shipping, reward points on every purchase, 50% off if you get 5 Facebook friends signed up.
• The customer service at SheInside is a bit shady - I would recommend for you to not rely on them.
• The quality of the products are very decent, especially for the price.

Overall I am very happy with my first experience ordering from SheInside and I am happy to order from them again.

York Dragon Boat Race 2014

Yesterday (Sunday 13th July) me, my boyfriend, my mum, my sister and her boyfriend travelled up to York to see  the Dragon Boat Race. It was really fun - the weather sucked throughout the morning (cheers, England!) but this was to be expected. The weather was forecast to be sunny, after-all. We wandered around the city centre around mid-day to keep my ginger skin out of direct constant sunlight, and I ended up buying a flowy cami top from H&M for £7 - styling post to come?

Watching Dragon Boat races always want me want to have a go myself - they look fun!

While walking through the gardens surrounding York Minster (I think it was the Minster) there was a little tent with birds of prey in. I loves me some birds of prey! This little guy was adorable.

The Shambles: my second home. My boyfriend had never been here, or to York, before: shame on him! I love the Art Shop; it's so cute in there and they have awesome stuff!

No trip to York is complete until you have some PROPER Lemonade. I love this stuff so much.

This adorable bike basket really stood out from the bleak street. It had been raining for hours so it was refreshing to see a bit of colour in my life.

Mama and Papa swan with their army of Swanlets! (I know they're not actually called swanlets).

This guy was the highlight of my day!

Basically, York is awesome.

Laura

Lifehack #1: Mascara!

Welcome to the first  post of my Lifehack series! This will be the place where I share all the life-changing information I stumble across. First up: Mascara!

I know for many people that mascara causes more trouble than it's worth - from constant smudging to not holding your lashes curl to any number of problems - here are my lifehacks to help you out!

• My mascara always smudges, even though I use waterproof mascara!

The key to solving this problem is in the name: waterproof mascara is exactly that - waterproof. People with oily skin tend to switch to waterproof mascara to try prevent their mascara from giving them panda eyes. Faces produce oil, and waterproof mascara is oil soluble. Try switching back to a good quality regular mascara to vanquish your mascara woes. Apply your base, set with powder and apply mascara last to ensure its surroundings are completely dry.

• My mascara won't hold a curl!

I've experienced this problem first-hand so here's my solution: the key here is layering. Curl your lashes as you normally do - personally I just do a couple of pumps of the curler near the base of my lashes and another around half-way up. After your lashes are curled you want to apply a reasonably thin layer of mascara. Let this layer dry for 20-30 seconds and then, gently, re-curl your lashes. Apply another layer of mascara, let it almost dry, and curl your lashes one last time. Curling the last coat as it's almost dry forces the mascara to dry curled - et voila!

• My mascara clumps all the time!

My first suggestion to solving this problem would be to research any mascara (and any make-up product for that matter!) and read up on the product's tendencies before you buy it. If 1000 people are all saying a mascara clumps, chances are it's going to clump for you too. If you've already bought your mascara and it's relatively new (i.e it's not 5 years old) and it's clumping like there's no tomorrow then try cleaning the wand thoroughly. There could be any number of causes of clumpiness hidden in the wand - eyelashes, bacteria, skin, etc. If you've had your mascara for a long time then I'd suggest binning it and buying a new one. If you're adamant about keeping a clumpy mascara then you can always run through your clumpy lashes with an old (but clean!) mascara wand or spoolie to remove the clumps. Prevention is better than cure.

Let me know if you have any other issues with mascara that you'd like some advice on!
Laura

!!!!!!!

I got a Distinction!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is a few days late - I've been experiencing some worrying technical issues (don't die on me, laptop!) and I've been looking for jobs to see me through the summer. However, I am officially a Distinct student!

Laura

Final Show

My Final Show at NEW College Pontefract was amazing; even if I do say so myself. The past few days have been an emotional rollercoaster ride (hence the lack of posts!) and it's safe to say I'm glad I got this thing over and done with. There's an examiner out there, somewhere, who knows my grade - meaning he knows whether or not I'm going to university in September. I'm terrified.

When I arrived I was greeted by this lovely arrangement of a years' work:

There was absolutely nothing that was untouched and that makes it all the more scary because I know full well where my weaknesses lie and there was no-where to hide. I've experienced moderation for years now and it's never really bothered me; I'm not sure why I've been so anxious this time around but I guess that just means I care.

Fashion things

I kept my make-up and outfit simple mainly because I knew it was going to be extremely hot in the studio and I was hitting the town afterwards so feeling comfortable and confident was key for me.

 Face

Revlon Colourstay Foundation - Ivory

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer - No.1 'Light'

Collection Fast Stroke Eyeliner - Black

Urban Decay Primer Potion

Urban Decay Naked Palette

Beauty UK Eyeliner/Shadow Palette - No.2 'Amazon'

Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick - 'Birthday Suit'

(That's a lot of products for a simple face oh my)

 Outfit

Hair - Straightened

Dress - Missguided

Bag - New Look

Tights - Asda

Boots - Boohoo.com

Accessories - Everyday

I might do a separate post on my actual exhibition piece so watch this space!

Laura