Adventure To Manchester | Day 1 | Lush Creative Showcase

Hey everyone! 

How are you? 

Welcome to a brand new post! I went to Manchester last week, and I thought that I would talk to you all about it today. (I've been in pain due to the aftermath of the weekend, which is mainly why I have waited until the end of the week to write and post this.) 

The adventure started off with myself and Luke getting up at the crack of dawn, and making sure that we were on the train before eight am on a Sunday. Yup you read that right, 8am on a Sunday. We made sure that we were on the right train and made our way to Manchester Victoria. When we finally got to the superb station, we stopped for a couple of minutes (checked our phones) and then made our way to Manchester Central Convention Centre. 

After a good ten minute drive and a tour of Manchester via our taxi driver, we arrived at the centre. As there were two different queues for Lush Showcase, we asked to double check that we were making our way into the correct queue. When we were triple sure, we slowly made our way up the side of the grand building, and waited in queue whilst others chatted and waited their turn to get into the beautiful building. After about half an hour of waiting, we had our tickets scanned and made our way to the wristband queue then grabbed our wristband. The wristband had a chip in it which meant that you could 'check in' and out of the building easily when you wanted to. Think of it like how Contactless works on a card reader. We grabbed our #LushLabs bag (to find out the contents of the bag ensure to read the Showcase Haul which will be coming very soon), and made our way into the centre of this well, centre.

Myself and Luke decided to make our way to the Makeup stand first. We, well I, wanted to check out the new solid makeup including the Slap Sticks and the Glow Sticks. I had a wander around and talked to a lovely Lush staff member who told me all about the Slap Sticks, including that they contain amazing oils and waxes including, Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, Argan Oil, Sunflower Wax and Orange Peel Wax. She then matched me up to a shade, as there is a mixture of Cool, Neutral and Warm shades to choose from. I found out that the best one for me would be 8N, which is a pale neutral shade.

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I then checked out the Glow Sticks which were at a stand next to the solid foundations. The Glow Sticks again contain amazing oils for the skin including, Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, Jojoba Oil, Oat Kernel Oil and Rose Wax. These solid highlighters come in an array of shades that are all named after birds. This includes, Goldfinch, Pipit, Sunbird, Robin, Ibis, Lark, Rock Dove, Egret, Linnet, and, Peacock. Sadly I didn't try them all, but I do remember trying out Sunbird and Peacock in particular. Sunbird was a lovely metallic silver shade, and Peacock was an amazing yet bright blue shade. The highlighters are creamy and glide on easily. A little goes a long way with these products. The only problem that I had when trying them out was the product kept falling out of the wax holders. 

We then checked out the new Harajuku range that is exclusive to the Lush Japan store. The Japan store will get over 80? (I think it's 80 but it might be more) bath bombs including the seven that were at Showcase. Two of them that I was in love with was Black Rose, which looked amazing and smelt of the amazing Rose Jam scent. I also loved the seashell one that smelt of Lemongrass. I loved the concept of these. You could kind of buy them at Showcase, but they all had timers next to them. I think that you had to wait for the timer to go off and then go buy it, but I wasn't sure. It's a bit of a shame as I would have loved to try them. We did get to use the mix of one of the Harajuku bombs to create our own sculpture. It smelt of sweet Bubblegum. We also checked out the Goddess Bath Bomb, because well, if God is a Bath Bomb, then I want one!

Next on the Lush Showcase tour was Handmade By You. The Handmade By You stand consisted of two different stages, where members of Lush staff were helping members of the public who were attending Showcase to create products including soaps, bath bombs and much more. We wandered over and was told that we could make either Ghost In The Dark Soap, or Atmospheres. We were told that Ghost In The Dark would take two hours to set. This meant that we went to the Atmosphere's stand, but it turns out that it was just a talk about the Atmospheres for those who don't know what they are. We went back to the Ghost In The Dark stand, and was sadly told that they wouldn't have any mixture for an hour. I know that things don't go to plan at big events like Showcase, but I think it might have worked easier if the handmade by you stand worked on a ticket basis, where you made it and was given a ticket to come back and collect the product. A ticket system might ensure that they have enough mixture for so many or something? I don't know, it's just an idea. 

Even though we didn't get to make anything at the stand, we wandered on and was amazed, as we were asked if we would like to make a Christmas Bath Bomb called Cheery Christmas. Luke being Luke, couldn't see the mixtures or the moulds therefore, the lovely staff member made his for him. I actually got to make mine which included, pressing the powders into the mould, and leaving it to set. 

Carrying on the walk around Showcase, the next place we went to, was the FUN House. Luke decided to not go onto it, but I did and I loved it! It consisted of chunky bouncy castle like steps with a floor at the top including, a FUN modelling table where you can make any shapes out of FUN, a stand where you could choose a bath bomb to push down a shoot, and the best bit of the house... A slide. Yes, my big childlike self went down the slide. I mean, if Lush provides a slide, you go down it! 

After this, we went to the best part of the whole experience in my opinion. We went into a moving Shower Jelly room. The floors moved, the tables moved, everything moved. There were Shower Jellies of all different sizes and scents. Snow Fairy, Refresher, big, small, you name it! You could do anything with them include slap them, as they were already wobbling due to the shaking floor. Y'know where this is going, I went round the entire room slapping every Shower Jelly possible and then smelling my hand, due to the product getting onto it via slapping. I loved it. 

Wandering through the building, we ended up in a sea of skin and hair care, therefore we decided to check out the hair care first. Showcase had stations where you could have your hair consulted by a member of staff, and then they would use products that are best for your hair for you to try out in the middle of showcase. They also had stations where you could style your hair, wirth new and exclusive products. I went straight for that. I tried out a plethora of new products including an amazing Hair Clay, and an amazing Hairspray. Lush creating Hairspray? Weird, I know but also, amazing! We then went to a stand that was showcasing a plethora of jelly cleansers, solid cleansers and much more. The Solid Cleansers were the Cleansers that are available in store (Herbalism, Angels On Bare Skin, Let The Good Times Roll, Dark Angels) wrapped up like Sushi Rolls. The Jelly Cleansers looked like Jelly Cubes and included scents such as Strawberry and Lemon Verbena. Next on our list was face care. This included the new Cleansers and Face Balms including Jade Roller, Like A Virgin, Sleepy Face and many more. They're apparently available via Lush Labs.

After this, we attempted to go to the shop. This had many problems including the card machines going down, and queues becoming very long. When we got into the queue, it was at about a two hour wait to get into the shop. Luckily and thankfully, a person in front of us asked a staff member if there was anything to do for me and Luke to skip the queue due to Luke, a cane and a two hour queue would not go well. They said they couldn't do anything and then came back twenty minutes and let us in. Personally, I'd love to thank Alex from the Lush White Rose store for sorting that out for us. We got into the store and even had a member of staff help us around the store. (Thank you Holly from the Lush White Rose branch). 

We looked around the store and picked up everything from face masks, to bubble bars, to face care and everything in between. If you want to find out more about what I bought, then keep your eyes peeled for my Haul very soon. I would also like to thank the wonderful staff at Lush Harrogate and Lush York who recognised me when I was purchasing my products. 

We headed to the hotel and shoved everything down. We sorted what we needed to out, and then thought about what we wanted to eat. Due to me being knackered from Showcase, and guiding Luke about all day, we decided to opt for Uber Eats and decided to have a bit of a pig out. I then filmed Luke's Lush Haul for his YouTube, and then decided to call it a night. 

Did you go to Lush Showcase? Did you watch any of it? Did you get anything from it? Let me know down below! 

I hope that you have enjoyed this travel and beauty filled blog post. I hope that you come back next time for another post. Don't forget to follow me on Social Media at thejamiesowden. 

Thanks for reading! 

Jamie x 

Want To Win Some Beauty Based Goodies? | Yorkshire Soap Company Giveaway

Hey everyone!

How are you?

Welcome to a brand new post. I'll try and keep this one short. I was going to create a student giveaway, due to freshers happening, but sadly a few of the brands have not been great with timings, therefore I thought that I would just keep it one of my favourite beauty companies ever. The Yorkshire Soap Company!

As I mentioned above, I wanted to do a freshers based giveaway, as I know that, going to college/university can cause a strain on your bank balance, and well we all have to be clean and fresh. As freshers has sadly been and gone, I have decided to class this as a sort of more Happy October giveaway.

I am collaborating with Yorkshire Soap Company to give you all a chance of winning the whole collection of the Cocktail Fizz Bars, which comes in four amazing scents. Mojito, Cosmopolitan, Kir Royale, and, Margarita.

You can either break a piece off and use it in your bath to give yourself a fun and amazing smelling bath, or you can hod a piece of the fizz bar under the running water in a shower. What this means, is that if your accommodation doesn't have a bath, then you can still use these!

Also, as a special thank you for being with me throughout my blog journey, I am also including Yorkshire Soap's new Limited Edition Soap. Monster Mash Soap smells of a deep autumnal Spiced Pumpkin scent and includes a special finger puppet!

All you have to do is enter via the Rafflecopter link below. There is a couple of compulsory ways of entering. Sadly, if you don't do these then you won't have a chance of winning the prizes.

T&C's of the giveaway:

• You must be a UK resident. I will not be able to ship these internationally. 
• You must be following @yorkshiresoap on Twitter 
• You must be following @thejamiesowden on Twitter 
• The winner will be contacted and will have 48 hours to respond. If they don't then the prize will be allocated to another person
• You must also tweet that you have entered the giveaway 
• All details given within the giveaway will not be used or given to any third party users or corporations and will only be used to contact the winner of the giveaway. 
• The giveaway will end on the 22nd of October at midnight GMT. Any entries after that will not be counted or regarded. 
• If you are allergic to any of the ingredients to the products received, then it's not my fault, and its best to contact Yorkshire Soap Company, and to stop using the products immediately. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I wish you all good luck and I hope that you come back next time for another post!

Thanks for reading! 
Jamie x 

This post is in collaboration with Yorkshire Soap Company but I am putting my own thoughts and money into it via adding an additional item. All views, opinions and ramblings are my own. 

A Bath Bomb But For The Shower?! Say What?! | Karma Shower Bomb Review

Hey everyone!

How are you? 

Welcome to a brand new post! I thought that today, I would talk to you all about the new Karma Shower Bomb from Lush. Side note: who's at Lush Showcase this weekend? Let me know down below!

Lush released their Lush Moods range via their Lush Labs section on their website. These were slowly released into the UK stores. The Lush Moods range consists of multiple products, including, a body conditioner, some bath bombs and Shower Bombs.

Ingredients & Scent 

The ingredients that are in this product include,

Sodium Bicarbonate, Cream of Tartar, Citric Acid, Potato Starch, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Calcium Lactate,  Sodium Alginate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Patchouli Oil, Brazilian Orange Oil, Lavandin Oil, Pine Oil, Elemi Oil, Water (Aqua), Turmeric Powder, Citral, Hydroxycitronellal, Limonene, Linalool, Perfume, Colour 15510, Colour 47005, Colour 19140.

The Cream Of Tartar, Citric Acid and Potato Starch help the product to foam up. The starch also helps to slightly scrub at the skin when using it. If you have used any Karma scented product before then you'll know the scent. Patchouli gives a sort of earthy but slightly spicy scent, Pine offsets the full on spice in the Patchouli, and Orange gives it some brightness.

How To Use It: 

The way to use this is to pick up the block, get in the shower, turn the shower on and put the bomb in the palm of your hand, and then let the water run over it so it foams up. Once it has foamed, use that foam to wash yourself. The oils mixed with the hot water will make your shower smell amazing, and will make you feel amazing!

Texture:

The texure of the bomb before using it is very powdery. Once you put it under the water in the shower, the product creates a foam. That foam is the most luxurious and smooth foam that you'll come across in a long white. The Starch acts like a scrub and the foam is reminiscent of a body butter/mousturiser.

Price:

The price of this particular Shower Bomb (there are more, go and check Lush to find the rest) is £2.75.) It's meant for one use, but you can definitely get 2-3 uses out of it!

Overall Thoughts: 

I love this! I love Karma at this time of year, as its uplifting but spicy, so its a great scent for Summer to Autumn.I love how you can experience the bomb phenomenon even if you don't have a bath. The price is fab especially as you get more than one use out of it, and let's be honest, most bath bombs are double that price. I think that the powder is a bit annoying and messy, when you're trying to get it out of the packet when you're about to use it. Although, I get why it's there and I love how it can be used for an in shower scrub.

Have you tried anyt of the new Shower Bombs yet? Let me know down below!

Thanks for reading! 
Jamie x 

Is This The Best Natural Body Scrub Ever? | Lush Scrub, Scrub, Scrub

Hey everyone! 

How are you? 

Welcome to a brand new post, I thought that today, I would talk to you all about the new 'Scrub, Scrub, Scrub' from Lush, that was released to all stores in the past couple of weeks.

Side note: is anyone at Lush Showcase, this weekend? 

Ingredients & Scent: 

The ingredients that are in this wonderful Lush Scrub are:
Fine Sea Salt, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Blackberry Puree, Lime Puree, Sodium Cocoamphoacetate, Powdered Charcoal, Propylene Glycol, Organic Blackcurrant Powder, Blackcurrant Absolute, Buchu Oil, Rosemary Oil, Pine Oil, Lactic Acid, Lauryl Betaine, Citral, Limonene, Linalool, Perfume

The Sea Salt helps to give the skin a good but not too harsh scrub (which makes this product good for dry and maybe slightly sensitive skin. The Blackberry, Lime and Blackcurrant gives the product, an uplifting and fruity scent. If you've been to Lush before, then think The Comforter but deeper. The Charcoal helps to scrub the skin, but also helps to mattify the skin. It also gives it a lovely black colour. The Pine and Rosemary help to deepen the fruitiness that is in the product.

Texture 

The texture of Scrub, Scrub, Scrub, is a weird one to explain unless you've used a Lush scrub before. It's a sort of a scrubby wet sand texture, but black in texture. It's thick but not too thick that you're spending twenty minutes scooping some out, and it's not too thin where you scoop it and it just drips off. It has a fine scrub but you can definitely feel it. It definitely does the job. I feel like its a great one to use at nighttime when you don't want to be scrubbing five layers of skin off.

Price 

It's £13.95 for a 300g tub and £23.95 for a 625g tub

Overall Thoughts 

I love the scent. Yes, it's like The Comforter, but it's not the exact replica of The Comforter. I love the deep Berry scent and I think that it would be a good scent for the colder months, The Charcoat might put people off due to staining, but Lush scrubs don't take long to clean if they end up in the sink or shower. I love the scrub as it's not too harsh. I do think that the price is a bit much personally, but you get a hell of a lot for the price. (I tried this due a generous sample from the wonderful Darren at Lush White Rose.)

I hope that you have enjoyed this post. Are you going to the Lush Showcase this weekend? If so, then I might see you on the Sunday!

Thanks for reading!
Jamie x 

Lathering Up In Your Favourite Drink | Superdrug Haul

Hey everyone!

How are you?

Welcome to a brand new post. I got a few bits from Superdrug last week, so I thought that it would be a good idea to tell you what I got.

I needed some new beauty items for when I go back to University soon, therefore, I thought it would be a good idea to go onto Superdrug and order some things. This is definitely not sponsored. I just go onto Superdrug a lot, due to their many offers.

Mix & Fizz Cosmopolitan Bath & Shower Gel 250ml

I mainly got this shower gel as it was 66p, and well, a Cosmopolitan in a Shower Gel? Gimme! I love a good Cosmopolitan Cocktail.

Simple Kind To Skin Replenishing Rich Moisturiser 125ml

I've used this Moisturiser before and it works for my sensitive and dry skin. I try to use it as often. I love Simple as it doesn't affect my skin too much.

Superdrug Calm Skin De-Stress Refreshing Facial Spritz 100ml

This was something that I wanted to try. I've been really into mists lately. I've tried a Pixi Mist, and, The Body Shop's Calming Coco Mist, so I thought I'd try a new one. It's not a completely relaxing scent but it's very clean and definitely refreshes the skin.

Superdrug Black Cherry & Macadamia Nuts Body Butter

I love a good Body Butter for when it slowly gets a bit colder. I normally stick to the ones from The Body Shop, NSpa, or, Lush. I thought that I would try a new one whilst I was on Superdrug's website. I have slowly gotten into slightly Cherry scented things so i thought that I would try this out.

L’Oreal Men Expert Carbon Antiperspirant Deodorant 50ml

I prefer roll on deodorants, and, as this was on offer, i thought that it would be interesting to try it and see how well it performs.

TRESemme Cleanse & renew 2in1 Shampoo plus Conditioner 900ml

Having troublesome hair, it's rare to find certain hair products that work for you. I know that this is a two in one, but I use it as a shampoo and then I normally use a conditioner/a time based leave in conditioner. This product honestly cleanses so well, which works for my dry hair.

Superdrug Mix & Fizz Daiquiri Bath & Shower Cream

Daiquiri, in a shower gel? Sign me up!

Fruity Coconut Shower Gel

So when it gets cold, you sometimes want a hit of the Summer and honestly this works so well. It was also 66p.

B Men Charcoal Face Scrub

I mainly got this product because I use a general Charcoal Cleanser for when I want to ensure that my face is spot free. I know that it works for me. The one that i normally use, wasn't actually in stock therefore, i got the cheapest one. This says that it can be used as a wash, scrub and mask. I'm tempted to try all three and review my opinions on them?

Radox Feel Ready Shower Gel 250m

I use this mainly, as I own a fair few Apple scented products from Lush, therefore I like to pair it with something similar. It was also only £1.

Original Source Lime Shower Gel 250ml

I love Limes. I love Original Source as they're Vegan and Cruelty Free. and well £1.

Original Source Lemon & Tea Tree Shower 250m

This Shower Gel smells like Lemon Curd, and is honestly one of the easiest ways to help me wake up for Uni very easily.

Oh My Aubergine Grape Lip Balm

Okay, I bought this because I needed a Lip Balm and saw that there was an Aubergine on top of it.

B. Men Post Shave Balm

I have sensitive ski, and it always ends up burning after shaving, so I got this to see if it helps my skin at all.

Superdrug Hairspray Extra Firm 75m

I needed some new hairspray, and, as I am travelling to uni and stuff, I didn't want a massive bottle. It also means I can top it up if I need to.

Have you bought any new beauty items lately? What's your go to skin care routine? Let me know down below! 

Thanks for reading this post and I hope that you come back next time! Don't forget to follow me on social media via thejamiesowden.

Thanks for reading! 
Jamie x

Roaming In The Yorkshire Lands | What To Do In Leeds

Hey!

How are you?

Welcome to a brand new post! I thought that, for those who are moving to Leeds soon, they would like to know a bit more about Leeds. I'm going to focus mainly on Leeds City Centre, but I will try and include a few of the places that I love that are in the outskirts.

Shopping

Leeds is well kfnown for it's shopping destinations. From the vintage yet stunning Corn Exchange which boasts artsy and indie stores with an amazing Hot Dog vendor that creates unique dishes (Primo's), to The Core which contains a lavish food court, with a plethora of vendors including, Kaspas Desserts and El Mexicana. Leeds also contains the wonderful Victoria Leeds establishments, which will crave all of your high retail needs. From Harvey Nichols (which contains amazing clothes and beauty, including Fenty Beauty, La Mer and Charlotte Tilbury) and John Lewis (which offers a range of beauty and fashion including Origins, Clarins and MAC), to Reiss and Vivienne Westwood, to Neom and Le Creuset. Leeds also offers citizens of the UK, Trinity Leeds. Trinity is a highly modern and beautiful shopping centre, that services the public via it's mix of different budget level retail stores, that are all well known in one shape or form. Stores include, NYX, Apple, Primark, Boots, Burton, and M&S to name a few. The last shopping based architecture that I want to talk about is, White Rose.. White Rose, just like Trinity, offers many stores that are well known to the public (including H&M, Schuh, Lush, and, Disney to name a few, but I didn't want to talk a lot about it as I will be mentioning it in the below sections too.

Food & Drink

I like a fair few places within Leeds. Mrs Athas is an amazing coffee shop to try out within Leeds City Centre, and caters for a lot of different eating habits. MOD Pizza is another amazing place within the City Centre, which caters for most via their unique 'Create Your Own Pizza', and take out service. Walkabout is an amazing place for most students, as they serve food and drinks with an Australian twist. They also offer a discount card, and showcase many different sporting nights on their TV's around the beach inspired establishment. I love The Alchemist within Trinity Leeds, for a lavish and unique cocktail, as they serve everything from Colour Changing Cocktails, all the way to, sharing drinks in a tea pot inspired by Alice In Wonderland, or, Meatliquor for everything meaty. Belgrave Music Hall & Canteen offer a host od different events, amazing food including perfectly made Pizzas, and drinks including unique beers and IPA's. If you want to make a night out of around Belgrave, then I would also suggest checking out, Manhatta, Bar Soba, Zaap, Verve Mean-Eyed Cat Bar, and, The Brotherhood of Pursuits and Pastimes. The last venue that I will suggest for food, is, White Rose. White Rose have an amazing food court including vendors such as, McDonalds, Subway, Pizza Express, Frankie & Benny's and Big Momma's. If you carry on walking, you will find 'The Village', which is a brand new outdoor concept featuring wonderful restaurants such as, Wagamama, Pizza Hut, and TGI Fridays. The Village also contains a brand spanking and beautiful Cineworld which contains an array of screens, including an IMAX screen for all you 3D Lovers. (I love it as it's an amazing place to view films that I want to see, or need to see for my Media course.) If that's not enough for you, The Village also contains a play area, which I think is an amazing idea!

Leisure

For Leisure based activities, i would instantly suggest Roxy. They have a Bowling Alley where you can order drinks and food to enjoy whilst bowling, or a Ball Room, where you can dance, play Pool and other amazing sports. I would suggest checking out the Art Gallery, City Library, and the City Museum to have a wander around. They both exude great architecture and displays inside, therefore if you love to take photos then I'd check them both out. I also suggest checking out the Royal Armouries, as that instantly makes a great day out. If you're more animal inclined, then I would definitely check out Tropical World. If you love your Soaps on the TV, then why not go and see how Emmerdale is created, via, the Emmerdale Studio Tour which isn't too far from the City Centre! If you love Escape Games then why not check out, Tick Tock Unlock, and, The Great Escape Leeds. If you love games including table top then I would definitely suggest, Geek Retreat.

Is there anywhere else in Leeds that you love? Let me know down below!

Thanks for reading this post. i hope that you come back next time for another post. Keep up with what i'm doing via following me on social at thejamiesowden.

Thanks for reading! 
Jamie x 

The Truth About Beauty Influencers

Hey! 

How are you? 

Welcome to a brand new post! I thought that today, I would talk about my 'truth' on the beauty influencer sort of drama that has been happening lately. Honestly, I think that I'm going to talk about the beauty influencer thing from a blogging aspect. I have a few opinions on the stuff that's happened and I might mention it at the bottom of the post. I am a beauty influencer myself so I felt like it might be good to talk about it. (The photo is owned by Pexels and is a stock image and not of anyone specific.)

Warning: This post will content language of an adult nature throughout the post. 

So, let's break down the beauty influencer drama. It's about, 1: influencers forming cliques (let's call it the Matte Plastics, get it?), 2: money, 3: contracts and collaborations, and, 4: brands deciding to work with big influencers. I'm probably missing something, but it's probably best if I stick to a fair few.

Cliques:

Okay, so cliques are going to form no matter what. We're shown early on in life that it's good to make friends, and end up in groups that share a common interest. We're shown via primary and secondary socialisation that a friend is a friend, and that it's good to bond. The only problem with that is that cliques form and the whole message of becoming friends with others and being friendly and open, are well, thrown in the sea somewhere with all of the other suffering sea creatures in the world. Cliques become well, messy and disgusting just like when you leave your makeup on overnight after a good night out, and you decide to look in a mirror the morning after. They promote exclusion and honestly discriminatory behaviour. This is all well and good, when you're a child in school still learning your times tables, you learn from it, but when you're still doing it in your twenties and owards? That's when it becomes problematic. When you're doing it professionally, when you have a mass audience following your every single move and they see that you're being messy and childish, they might think that it's okay to do the same and it's not. The fact that you know that you're in the public eye and you think that no ones going to clock you for being a five year old? Newsflash, they are going to, they will and you will suffer the consequences for doing so. When it comes to bloggers, Youtubers, influencers, whatever you want to label us all, doing this, it does the above and shows brands that might want to work with you that you're unprofessional, but also, it shows that you're pushing people that are in your own community trying to do the same thing out of the way. Why? Because you might not like them, they might have different views to you, they might make a different bracket of money than you? Doing that is petty and dirty. Trust me, I've seen it with my own eyes, it's just wrong. We all say that us digital workers need to stick together, then you join cliques with other influencers and decide to talk crap about them and be shady? Bullshit. Practice what you preach or expect consequences to your actions. Don't write shady posts about other influencers. Mean Girls came out 14 years ago, have you learnt nothing from it?
Cliques do not work. End of.

Money:

Okay, so as I mentioned a bit in the previous paragraph, when it comes to working as a digital influencer, money comes into play. You are doing a job, whether that be creating images for instagram, posts or videos, and brands may think that you're suitable for their brand, and approach you to work with them on sponsored content. They may ask you for a fee, and they will normally negotiate what they can offer you, and vice versa. If a brand pay you x amount then that's fab, but do not try and come for them and ask for more money. You're not god. The brands know that you're doing a lot for them. Being an influencer isn't easy, yes its full of amazing things, but there is admin and editing and so forth. Brands get that, but as soon as you've set down a price, don't try and get more money out of them. Where the fuck do you think you are? At an auction? No, a company can only give you so much, so get down from your pedestal and stop thinking you're the shit. All of us influencers are trying to make a living out of something that we love to do, and honestly brands are more than likely going to offer us a measly price for a lot of things that we're doing for them. Why? Because you've screwed up their experience with working with influencers and now guess what? They think that your behaviour is how all influencers act, when it's very far from the truth. Yes, you might have a large following, but you never know, your audience may drop dramatically if you're churning out the same content. When that happens, what are you going to do for your obscene amount of money? Stop thinking that you're the shit, you're not, you're like the rest of us. A influencer making a living via something they love. Honestly, I've seen this happen quite a bit via various influencer groups on the internet.

Contracts and Collaborations:

A lot goes into a collaboration,  and the way that most collaborations are secured are via a legal contract. When it comes to a collaboration, a contract will state things like the brand or PR company you're collaborating with, the fee, the deadline, what the brand want you to do, hashtags to use, handles to include when promoting the post. Once you sign this, you are legally bound to do what the contract says, and the brand pays the amount they've stated. Sometimes, the brand might not pay. I've seen that happen, it's happened to myself, but you don't randomly pull out three quarters through a contract, because you want to. That's not how it works. You don't just cut out of a contract when you want. If you accept a contract, then you and the client have a legal obiligation to follow it through. Don't get shitty and shady/one answered questions when the client asks you something. If you knew that you weren't able to do it or wasn't sure then tell them. Brands need to follow through and pay us when we've done a post but we also need to make sure that we read the contract well, and know what we are getting ourselves into. If you cost a brand a lot of money by pulling out of a campagin without a good reason as to why, then expect the professional bridge to be burnt. They've spent a lot of time, just like you do in everything that you do.
Communication is key.

Problems Working With Big Influencers: 

Before, someone tries to come for me in the comments, trust me, I'm not a big blogger. I guess that I'm slowly getting there but I still wouldn't class myself as a 'big blogger'. My social following is nowhere near what a 'big blogger' would have. Brands work with big influencers is that they are normally only doing it due to their following. I get that. Brands want the most amount of audience checking out a new product or campaign, but the problems with big influencers is that they might have a large following, but where's the substance? You might get a click from their audience, but will you get any organic interaction? Probably not. You'll get a big influx of people checking out your brand but they will instantly fly to the next thing that the said influencer says is great. That's another thing, do you get an honest opinion from a big blogger or will you get a general this is good or bad? Can you improve your product or brand from that? Hell, no! With a smaller influencer, you'll get an honest and probably in depth review/opinion, telling you exactly what they think of it, as they want to be honest to their trusting audience. You can build on that, you can resend the influencer the product once it's been sorted and see if it's better. You might not get a massive amount of traffic compared to a bigger influencer, but, you will get substance. You'll get the audience probably buying something or checking other things that the unfluencer hasn't mentioned. Who knows? They won't be unprofessional and cancel halfway through a campaign, which means that you can create a trusting yet professional relationship with them, hence being able to rely on them for future opportunities.

That's the tea spilled. What do you think about the whole beauty drama at the moment? Would you like me to create more beauty based posts? Let me know down below! 

I hope that you have enjoyed this post, and that you come back next time for another post.

Thanks for reading! 
Jamie x 

Packing It Up & Putting it Down | What To Take To Your First Uni Accommodation

Hey! 

How are you?

Welcome to a brand new post all about student essentials. I thought that I would talk to you about this, I'm sure that a lot of you reading this are worried and anxious about what to take/buy for your first University Accommodation/Year.

I think that this post might be best, if I split it up into sections such as, Bedroom, Bathroom, Kitchen and other (including laundry stuff, cleaning, and what not.

(Oh, also don't be a snob. Get the cheapest stuff you can, as long as they do the thing they are meant to do. It'll mean you have more money to do other things, eg drinking.) 

Bedroom/Gemeral Flat Area: 

Cushions
Duvet
Covers for above
Duvet Sheet
Clothes for all seasons including loungewear, pjs, dressing gown, hoodies, whatnot.)
Shoes
Mattress Protector (some flats/accommodation will provide one. Check before you get your keys.)
Coat Hangers
Ear Plugs
Cheap Fan for when its warm
Laptop and Case if you own one
 Printer and Ink (some accommodations have a printer)
Bluetooth Speaker
Vacuum
Chargers for all things Electrical
TV (if you're bringing one. Remember to check about TV licenses.)
Extemsion Lead
Game Console and games (honestly if you have more than one, take one and then you can always bring another when youre back home at Christmas/Reading Week.)
USB TV Stick if you're taking a TV.
Decorative Things for the room (y'know pictures, fairy lights, teddies, cacti. Stuff like that.)

Kitchen: 
Cutlery Set. (Honestly I'd stick to the 16 sets you can find.)
General Sharp Knife. (You can get a big Chefs Knife if you want, but even a lot of Supermarkets sell a medium sized one that's good for a lot of stuff.)
Kitchen Scissors (For Sachets and cutting things up.)
Crockery (Plates, Bowls, Mugs, Glasses. Honestly, I'd stick to two to three of each, You won't have loads of room due to sharing a kitchen.)
Tupperware (Great for when you bulk cook, or for lunches at Uni.)
Bottle Opener (I'd keep this in your room.)
Chopping Boards
Ladle
Spatula
Fryinh pan
Saucepan that has a lid with it
Measuring Jugs
Can Openers (keep one in your room)
Peeler
Grater
Whisk
Baking Trays (Get a couple of flat ones if you can, and, one roasting style tray.)
Oven Gloves (Some accommodations have one already.)
Tea Towels
Washing Up Liquid
Washing Up Sponges
Bin Bags
Kitchen Spray
Air Freshener (for in the Kitchen and Bedroom.)

Bathroom

Bath Towels
Hand Towels
Soap (It might also be wise to get a soap tray too.)
Toothpaste
Toothbrush
Haircase
Sponges/Flannel Cloths
Shower Gel
Flip Flops for Communal Bathrooms
Toilet Roll\
Hair Tools (brushes, dryer etc.)
Body Scrubs
Shower Moisturisers
Face Care (Cleansers, Toner, Moisturiser, Face Scrubs, Face Masks, etc.)
Deodorant/Body Sprays
Dry Shampoo
Makeup (if you use it
Razors and Shaving Products.
Hair Products (eg, mousse, pomade, bairspray etc.)
Painkillers for Freshers Flu/Hangovers.
Bathroom Spray
Toilet Freshener

Other: 

Alcohol
Passport/Driving License/Citizencard/Birth Certificate (ID)
Any Papers needed to enrol into Uni with
Wallet
Some Cash
Loyalty Cards (which will help you save money.)
Washing Basket
Detergent
Umbrella
Flask/Water Bottle (if you use your water bottle in certain places, they will let you refill it for free. Some Coffee Shops also give you a discount for using said Bottle/Flask.)
Budgeting App
Musical Instruments
Key Loop (so you know where your keys are.)
Bag
Stationery
A4 Pads

All of the above are what i think are my suggestions. Let me know down below if you have any other suggestions. Don't forget to check out things such as Student Discounts, Fresher Fairs, and, Student Nights for more offers and savings.

Are you going a Fresher this year? Comment down below with what uni you will be attending. 

I hope that you have enjoyed this post, and, that you come back next time for another post.

Thanks for reading! 
Jamie x 

Taking Pride In The Clothes We Wear | Outfit Of The Day

Hey!

How are you?

Welcome to a brand new blog post! I thought that i would show you my Outfit Of The Day from my adventure in Leeds. (If you havent read it then do so.)

As I said, I had an amazing day hanging out with Michelle getting up to a few things such as, shopping, listening to great music. gossiping and doing quirky stuff such as getting filmed for ITV, getting a glass of Whiskey spilled on me, and, talking about inexplicit topics in the middle of a pub next to an old aged couple. Oops.

We ended up walking back to the train station, and, noticed the rainbow steps that head down to Freedom Quarter. I remembered them from when I went to Leeds Pride a few weeks ago. As Michelle is a professional photographer and a photography student, she thought that it would be a great idea to get some unique and fun shots on the steps.

I love Pride and I love everything that the rainbow flag stands for. I know that Pride has become a bit commercial but. that's for an entirely different post. I thought that it would be great to get some shots in front of something that encompasses equality and the freedom to be yourself. I'm still trying to grasp my confidence and rock the world like the confident kween that I am. Yes, kween, but hey ho.

A lot of the stuff that i am wearing is from Primark, not because I've been sponsored, but mainly because as a student, I like to wander into Primark and then end up getting far too many items of clothes due to them being pretty cheap.

The Jacket that I am wearing is from Primark. It was priced at £16 and is made of a pleather sort of material. I wear it out and about mainly because I want a Leather Jacket, but, I don't want to sacrifice my ethics of being animal friendly. It also adds to the grunge inspired aesthetic that I want to submerge my life in.

The shirt that i am wearing is from Primark. I believe it's from Primark or Boohoo, I can't fully remember. It's a Blue checked thick short sleeve Flannel Shirt, that is slightly thick but as the weather has slightly gotten a bit nippy, so I thought that it would be a good idea to wear it.

Next on the outfit list is the tshirt. A black Misfits T-shirt that has a white skull embedded on the front, with Misfits in white on the back. I originally got this from Pulp a few year ago, but, I got it in the biggest size possible so I can wear it no matter what... Even if I put a couple of pounds on, or off. This also adds to the grunge inspired look.

I then wore light blue chinos. This is rare, as I normally stick to dark stretch skinny jeans, but as England has had a massive heatwave, I've been wearing slightly lighter fabrics. I love anything blue but chinos make everything look a little bit more smarter which I enjoyed. As I was meeting Michelle, I wanted to look nice!

To finish it off the outfit, I decided to wear electric Blue Snoopy Vans. Yes, I love Snoopy. Yes, I know that they're childish. No, I don't care if they look cringy or tacky. I love them! I also think that the blue slightly goes with the Blue Chinos. I also think that Vans are one of the comfiest trainer/sneaker brands ever. I just love them!

Do you like this outfit?

I hope that you have enjoyed this fashion post. I hope that you come back next time to read another post! 

Thanks for reading! 
Jamie x 

My Day Out WIth Michelle | As It Is, Shopping & Food

Hey! 

How are you?

Welcome to a brand new blog post! I went to Leeds last week with Michelle, and well, I thought that I would tell you all about it. I will also be tagging Michelle throughout this post, so, if you want to check her out then do so!

The day started off by me being up at 7am, getting ready and grabbing everything and running for the bus... Well by running, I mean fast walk. (I do not run unless very necessary, for example, after ice cream vans.) I headed to Bradford Interchange, walked past the photo of myself advertising the MCard (if you havent heard of the MCard then check it out,) I scanned my MCard and went to Leeds supping an energy drink. Yes, i know that they're not healthy but, a scolding hot cup of coffee on a moving bus, no thank you.

I arrived at Leeds City Centre and walked towards the Core Shopping Centre, where Michelle was waiting outside for me, waving with one hand and holding a cup of Coffee with the other hand. We sat down on a slightly cold bench and chatted about a lot of things, things that I can't probably ever go into without causing some form of trouble. We walked towards the HMV which is situated within The Core and purchased As It Is' new album 'The Great Depression'. We have both loved As It Is and their music for a long while. The fun thing about purchasing the album on the day that we were in, was that we were also able to go to a little gig of theirs in HMV later on in the day, and, get our albums signed by As It Is themselves. (If you have been reading Jamie Sowden for a while, then you will know that one of my first posts were about an As It Is gig.)

We made our way towards Lush. Honestly, when myself and Michelle first met, it was a mixture of As It Is, Lush and Disney that helped us to bond on a lovely but intense level. We entered the quiet but whimsical store. I showed Michelle the new Bath Art products, which she loved due to their being a Snow Fairy based product. She is the queen of Snow Fairy. We made our way around and found the new Magic Crystals Scrub and tried it out. (You can also read my post about that.) We chatted to the lovely staff members and then made our way onto Harvey Nichols. Yes, you heard me right.

Harvey Nichols is the epitome of high class shopping, and, Michelle felt unworthy so, I told her to act like Jeffree Star and to not be afraid of swatching products. We went to Fenty Beauty, and, I showed her some of the new products (if you want to find out what I thought about their new stuff then read the post here.) She loved some of the products and then we made our way to Victoria Quarter, and, checked out the Charlotte Tilbury stand. We chatted to the staff members and tried out the Lip Lustre in a lovely Nude colour. I was also told to try the Magic Cream, which I haven't yet. If there is anything from Charlotte Tilbury that I should try, comment below!

Next on our journey was Victoria Gate to check out T2, as Michelle loves her tea. We tried a wonderful Peach Iced Tea. After this, we wandered around John Lewis and checked out Bobbi Brown  and smelt a few fragrances including Viktor and Rolf's Spicebomb Intense and a fragrance from Jimmy Choo. Both were to die for!

Whilst making our way back from Victoria Leeds, I was stopped by the ITV to talk about air pollution within Leeds and how it affects the public. It was random but fun. I did it mainly because, Michelle didn't want to and, I felt like it was my duty as a Media student to participate.

Carrying on with our adventure, we made our way to Wetherspoons. Me, Michelle and Wetherspoons is never a non-entertaining or a quick thing. One of Michelle's most memorable moments is shouting about wine whilst being drunk. That was a fun night. We sat down, ordered our food and drink and chatted about well, everything. I decided to throw caution to the wind, and ordered a Whiskey which is rare. The only problem doing that was that the bartender brought too much over in one go, and well, spilt it all over me. I didn't mind smelling of Whiskey with notes of Coconut and Vanilla. We ate, chatted some more. ordered more drinks, chatted more and then made our way back to HMV.

We queued up. got into the store and made our way to the staging area to watch the intimate set. It was amazing, well, except for the two guys at the side of me and Michelle expressing their views that screamed toxic masculinity and didn't shut up about women throughout the set. We sang along, filmed and cheered the band on whilst they performed. After the set, we made our way to queue up to get our albums signed. We were thankful that we were away from the annoying guys. We got our albums signed, chatted to the guys, smiled.

After the gig, we made our way to Costa, I got a Lacto-free Coconut Mocha. They are to die for. Michelle got a pot of Earl Grey Tea. We chatted, sipped our drinks and decided that we would pop into Primark. Our wander into Primark consisted of looking at all of the new Friends clothing (I was tempted to get the We were on a break vest), and Disney clothing including Disney Pyjamas. We had a look at socks and I ended up getting some cute Mario socks, and a cute Japanese inspired Sonic The Hedgehog top.

Finally, we made our way to take a few photos at Freedom Quarter, which will be featured in my next post which is a OOTD post. We grabbed McDonalds and made our way to our trains.

I hope that you have enjoyed reading this lifestyle post. I hope that you come back next time for another post.

Thanks for reading! 

Jamie x