HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
Everyone complains at this time of year about the cheesy reflective posts on Facebook and twitter, the photo collages and this year the flipagrams on instagram! But I really don't see what all the negativity is about. A new year only happens, of course, once a year. It's not about changing from the 31st of December and being a totally different person on the 1st January, but it is a good time to look back at the year before and it offers people a chance to start fresh…. Even if it is just another day. 


“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow,” – Albert Einstein





So here are my New Years Resolutions


  1. BUDGET! and spend wisely
  2. Pass my driving test some time this year
  3. To not wait on other people to do the things I want to do, (I'll just drag them along this year)
  4. To go on one big holiday abroad and one small trip ( even if it's in the UK)
  5. To not miss any more films at the cinema
  6. Eat healthy and eat fabulous food and expand my pallette 
  7. To get 100 followers on my blog and blog everyday!
  8. Go and see a show at the theatre 
  9. Go to a theme park
  10. Make more memories with friends and family 

Here's a few pics of my year so far.. 
The only resolution that is going well is the food!!


Last minute NYE outfit




Fulfilling resolution 10!

Fat cats with friends,

Rosemary and Mint Lamb Shank with Champ Potatoes and Buttered Greens
 

Blue Cheese and Garlic Mushroom Potato Skins


                     



To capture your moments in unique ways, why not sign up to Photobox today and automatically get  40 free prints straight to your door! 
You can also print your photos onto mugs, decor, tshirts and anything else you can think of to keep 2014 alive…

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What are your resolutions, Comment below! 







Since I am a bit of a product junkie, I am always watching youtube videos to find new products to fix all my makeup and hair woes. I have a very oily T zone, my nose in particular is so oily that I often avoid moisturising that area of my face. However underneath my eyes and the balls of my cheeks tends to be quite dry, so I have typical combination skin. It is really a pain when I want to wear full coverage foundation but don't want to risk it looking to shiny, thus I have always craved a matte look!

My most recent discovery is Milk of Magnesia (MoM). Many makeup addicts describe this as the best primer they have ever used as it lasts so long, keeps their face matte and works as a really good foundation base. 

When I went to purchase it, I didn't realise that it is actually used for upset stomachs and indigestion, so I'm pretty sure that all the shops I went in to look for it, think I have some sort of issue!!
By the time I got to the final store I told the sales assistant that I want to use it as a primer as many people have suggested it and the final look always looked fabulous, she seemed shocked as it really is a DIY approach, I don't know how this was discovered but I really suggest to buy it. 
I got mine in boots in the health/pharmacy section for £5, at first I thought it was quite expensive for what it was, but there is a lot in the bottle and the typical price for a primer can go up to a lot more than a fiver, with a lot less of the product. 

I have used it for the first time today, and I have to say that my skin looks dewy and refreshed and has kept my makeup in place throughout the day, I could have probably added a bit more to my nose as some shine is still coming through, but MoM dries with a white chalky residue (on darker skin) and this put me off using more! The chalky residue can be covered right over just like any primer and makes no difference to the outcome of the final look so next time I go all out with my make-up (which will be New Years Eve) 

Go and try it out and see for yourself, oh and always use the original, flavour the one that I've shown above. 


First year at university didn't prepare me at all. Starting second year was pretty much the same as the jump from Secondary School, to Sixth form and yep it hurt when I landed! The first two weeks involved constant partying…..



 

 

and yep, this is where I also crashed and burned. After working all summer, most of us came back with energy waiting to be unleashed on broad st. But a couple of weeks later, the assignments began, the group-work meetings started and the energy was gone!! I also have had 2 jobs already this term. One was following from the job I started in summer and I was lucky enough to get a transfer, but the pay was awful and it was boring, so I left for a Christmas temp job which has been fun, yet tiring and I haven't really been out since!

I have learnt a lot this term and have actually been so focused, working on a live brief for my uni's marketing Agency ran by students has made me realise that PR is really what I want to do! I also won an iPad mini this term and it really motivated me to keep working hard and maybe I can keep winning things yay! One of my assignments due in the new year is all about making a blog, and luckily enough I can use the one I have. I really hope to do well in this assignment, thus the reason I am going to start writing much more in depth posts and also turn Maya's world into more of a lifestyle blog, as inspired by The Londoner (I AM ADDICTED).

Living away from home truly gives you the space you need to find out things about your own personality, bad and good. One thing I have realised is that I can pretty much talk about anything, anytime, (all day long) so I want my blog to show this and show you a bit of Maya's World. In the New year I really hope to make something of my blog and get to at least 100 followers by the end of 2014. Working so many hours has made me feel drab and under the weather, so another thing I want to do is a wardrobe revamp, although every one of my friends has said the same thing!!


Currently… I am on the hunt for a year long Industrial Placement in the Advertising, Marketing and PR sector , particularly PR,  starting around June. so if you have any recommendations of where to apply, or if for some weird reason you want to employ me (PLEASE) get in touch!

Anyway, that was just a little post on what's to come on the blog and what I have been up too…. (evidently not much) Thanks for reading anyway and as usual…. follow me on bloglovin and I'll follow you back!









As you may well have heard, unless you live under a rock (or don't have twitter) M&S have issued a new policy that allows Muslim workers to refuse to serve customers wishing to purchase items that are prohibited in their religion. Although a spokesperson has made it clear that this policy also applies to Christian and Jewish workers, their is really only an uproar around the muslim staff. In the news, the emphasis has been placed on products such as Pork and Alcohol, two things that A LOT of religions do not encourage their followers eat. You'll find that Jews, Rastafarians and Seventh Day Adventists just to name a few, don't encourage the consumption of pork and I'm sure you'll already know that a lot of Hindu's, Sikhs, Buddhists and some small Christian groups (to name a few) are vegetarians altogether.

However, As usual the british media are intent on spreading Islamophobia and highlighting any cultural differences between your average roast pork loving, red wine drinking daily mail reader and any muslim person, british or not. It seems to me that the media are trying to make people look for their 'good old Britain', so of course we'll all love David Cameron for trying to tightening immigration laws and then the majority of Britian can enjoy their indian takeaway and fosters beer (originating from poland) in peace.

At the end of the day, Any person with common sense, who practises a religion such as Islam knows what kind of environment they are going to be in when applying for a job. Marks and Spencers, Asda and all other supermarkets will always sell alcohol and meat and retail workers will most likely have a job description when they start…. It would be unfair to assume that every religious worker wants these new policies as they could potentially cause them to be ostracised at work, or even have customers purposely avoid them...

Have M&S made a problem where there wasn't one?







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natural hair today

For the last couple of months I've been wearing a 22inch Brazilian weave, which you can see in my blog avi to the right and in a previous post or on my instagram page in the sidebar. 
I decided to have this style as I had my natural hair without protective styling for the whole summer and was scared to see some effects of heat damage! Also moving back to uni I knew I would find it easier styling on an everyday basis. The image above was taken this weekend as I have taken the weave out and rocking it natural, a bit of bad timing since it is freezing now.  I'm happy to say It has grown a couple of inches, but the growth isn't what I have been trying to improve to much and instead I have been focusing on keeping it thick and healthy! 
It's a shame that when I first started transitioning I didn't really plan it, so I have estimated and it has been at LEAST 18 months since I last relaxed it. 

This (awful) picture is when I cut my hair quite a bit as it was thin and lack-lustre from straightening and relaxing, and this was September 2011. At this time in my life I only cared about what looked good at the time and not the long term effects or the potential that black hair really had. 
This image is just to show that I haven't relaxed it since then and a picture I'm going to use as a reminder of where my journey began! 

Whilst being on my natural journey I've found it difficult to find hair advice for myself as I haven't done a big chop or cut off my relaxed ends (yet, i'm working on it!) So here's a little bit of what I've learnt whilst transitioning WITHOUT removing the relaxed bits! This may not apply to everyone but you might see something you can relate too. 

Water based products are a no go. 
It seems to me that people tend to think that just because you are natural that anything water based will make your hair full and curly. NO. especially with relaxed ends it just highlights the damage on the ends and also this can damage your hair as it makes the divide between the thick hair and the thin hair weaker. And personally I hate this look.

Argon Oil is a must have
Argon oil is great to add shine and make your hair feel stronger, unlike most hair oils argon oil doesn't really make your hair feel like it needs another wash if you put it in whilst damp.

Coconut Oil is a go to product 








Raw Coconut Oil can be used for anything head to toe, however it works as an amazing leave in conditioner and to generally improve a dry hair or scalp. The one I use looks like the image to the left, make sure it does say ' raw' or 'pure' on it! 


My favourite product is Shea Butter!

At home we use this pure shea butter which is the best thing I've ever laid my hands on! It is quite hard and you only need the tiniest bit for a very oily result. A trick my mum does is to mix a tiny bit with olive oil to soften it and it does come out VERY oily, but with a tiny amount it really does add life and bounce to ya bonnet. 

Do you have any tips? Let me know below or tweet me @mayamariebeauty !