Friday favourites #3

I haven’t done one of these ones in a while but every so often, its good to take a look back at the things you have been loving or testing out. I can never get my head around having different favourites every single month. I think that stresses me out more than it should. But this way, I have more flexibility in the amount of times I upload.

Favourite items

I am loving the new range that Maybelline have released. I never fall for the hype of new launches but when I was on the market, I stumbled upon the colour temptation range. Firstly, the mascara smells amazing coconutty and I hate coconuts. Its so much lighter on your lashes and really easy to take off. The brow definer is also great for carving out a shape for your brows and they don’t budge at all. Really great release and I am so impressed with those two products.

On the flip side, I have gotten into reading again. Shamefully, I have not read a book properly since English ALevel. It really put me off and I was buying books I felt I had to read and not ones I really wanted to. But I’ve found a book that I’m only 100 pgs in and I am hooked. Its called close to home all about a girl who has gone missing. A vague synopsis but I highly recommend it if you like crime/mystery books.

What I’m watching

Think everyone knows that friends is finally on Netflix and I have noticed that not all of the episodes are complete but I think that says a lot about me. Having started it on new year’s day, I think I am two far ahead for the average human and I am just glued to my ipad screen these days.

I also watched This is Us in like one day and I highly recommend it. Like such a coming of age story with lots of different layers woven into the narrative and such a beautiful story. So many times I had to pause it just to get my emotions in order.

Although not tv, I have loved watching crime/mystery videos on youtube. I have loved tv shows of this genre for as long as I could remember so this little part of youtube is great for me. I particularly love Danelle hallan, Bella fiori and Georgia marie. But so many people are doing them now

Let’s listen

Considering I recently got my spotify subscription back, I have really been enjoying music again. I love discovering new artists and you know, playing a song over and over again until I am sick of it. Right now, anything not3s and mabel is just my jam, I am loving Troye sivans new music and ansel elgorts song supernova. I love the song bad by steel bangles and the song empty room but the cabu remix. And isn’t finesses just the greatest song you have ever heard. Just what I needed. Music has such an uplifting quality about it that it just puts me in the best mood.

Fashion favourites

You guys know from my previous hauls and PLT review that I have been loving the sales section. In particular, I have been loving the outerwear section and have added two new coats to my wardrobe from ASOS and Zara. Two very different pieces and probably both unnecessary but they were just what I felt was missing from my wardrobe. The puffer more for now and a street style look and the longline coat will be great as we move into the warmer months and an allrounder occasion piece.

As I move more fashion items into my wardrobe, I am parting ways with other items on my depop account which I highly recommend you check out. TOO MUCH of the stuff I sell is never worn so if you like bags, oversized pieces, adidas or a plus size girl, I think I have something for you. My username is amirasw and it would mean soo much if you came and said hello.

Something to think about

“Always keep fighting because no matter what, you deserve to live the life you have”

This is a quote I conjured up, but it may also exist on other parts of the internet just expressed in various other ways. But I put this quote on my new years resolutions/bucket list. After all the crap that I dealt with last year, I felt like this was necessary to get me in the right head space for the new year. So far, so good.

Let me know some of your favourites below because I apparently love spending money I don’t have.

Stay woke folks x

5 years on the internet

I can’t believe 5 years ago I said to myself, I can do that too. Write about all of my favourite things after reading another person’s blog. Although my first post on this blog is not as far back I am saying, I have been through a lot with my blogging career if you will; from it being called (I can’t remember omg) to having 2 blogs one called I am the opportunist to then having holy chic to then being here, Amira 365 because I can only be me every single day of the year

As I have grown up within the industry, I have seen it change in such a rapid change that it left me behind and I am now forever playing catch up. To produce content like those more successful than me, to take photos like those more successful than me, to dress like those more successful than me and to be doing things that those more successful than me are doing. And a large part of me agrees with that. I want the personal photographer, the press trips, the pr stuff. All this materialistic stuff the confirms my status as a blogger. Strange right?

When I think about the title that is blogger, I feel like I haven’t earned it or better yet, I don’t have more than 10k followers to be able to use all of the cool additional features on Instagram yet still have to suffer with algorithm problems. But at the end of the day I am a blogger. Whether 1 person reads it or 100, I produce content for the internet. The only difference is that I really don’t make any money.

One of my resolutions this year is to work with more brands and collaborate and not with the mindset that this is what’s gonna get me even more money, but with networking outwards and not upwards being the aim. The blogging industry has become such a ruthless and cut-throat place that if you don’t fit this distinct blogger ideal, you’re out. But if you have something to say, you deserve to be heard, no matter how you lay your content out. I want to work with more brands to better myself as a person, an entrepreneur and a media creator, something that can better me in my non-internet life.

So, I have seen so many people come and go in the past five years and I think I may even be out in the next 5. But for now, I am trying. Trying to make it work and feel excited about this whole ordeal again. Its such a part of my life that it would feel silly to let it go because others don’t think I am adequate enough. So, here’s to the next year…or two. We’ll see what happens. Above all, thank you to the few of you for the continued support. It means more than you will ever know and keeps me coming back to blogging year after year.

Stay woke folks x

The sales took all of my money | new in

Every year after stuffing my face with Christmas dinner, I find myself glued to my laptop once again, not to get going with my uni work but to browse the sales. And for some reason this year, when I have the least amount of money, they were particularly good. I managed to find some amazing bargains and items that I could use to experiment with my style more.

Today I wanted to share with you those items before the sales wrap up. I had to wait longer than I had wanted to get all of my items but now that they are here, they have brought me so much joy and I cant wait to take the labels off. If you saw my preview of pretty little thing, I also got these not in the sale but using their frequently generous student discount. So aside from that, here is what else I got.

I haven’t made an order from new look in the longest time but there were some basics I wanted to stock up on and some items I wanted to try. I got this oversized maroon jumper full price, but it was only £15 which for something I know I will wear 24/7, cost per wear people.

I also got this gorgeous teal velvet bralette. I am so sick of wearing bras, atm, and I just wanted something that functioned like it but didn’t have so much uncomfortable structure. This is soo comfortable and just as stunning in colour in real life.

Now this jacket I didn’t keep but a great discount and fine as we, soon hopefully, move into the warmer months. This suedette biker jack was only £22 with amazing quality and sturdiness to it.

The last thing I got was in store and not in the sale and in the men’s section. Its this vacant hoodie, I just liked the Gucci vibes as supposed to what it was saying but its comfy and oversized and what hoody dreams are made of.

Jumper – http://www.newlook.com/uk/womens/clothing/hoodies-sweatshirts/curves-grey-round-neck-sweatshirt/p/563154404?comp=Browse

Bralette – http://www.newlook.com/uk/womens/clothing/lingerie/curves-teal-fishnet-velvet-bralet/p/540814447?comp=NewLookRecentlyViewedComponent

Jacket – http://www.newlook.com/uk/womens/clothing/jackets-coats/curves-black-suedette-biker-jacket/p/540203501?comp=NewLookRecentlyViewedComponent

My most exciting find of the haul I think is this grey puffer jacket. I have wanted one for so long, yet I refused to pay £60+ pounds for such a seasonal piece. But this was only £26 from £60 and I ordered it straight away without even thinking. So warm and on trend and because of its neutral colour, it 

means it will go with anything. – except maybe an all grey outfit

To experiment more with my style, I got these oversized dungarees in the sale too. A little more of a higher priced item for the sale but again, really good quality, super comfortable too. I mean, I feel like an overgrown child, but I don’t care because I think I have some cool ideas to style it

I also got these boots and trousers but they are not with me, so I will link them below too.

Jacket – http://shopstyle.it/l/tjHg

Dungarees – http://shopstyle.it/l/tjH7

Boots (over the knee wide fit boots only £18) – http://shopstyle.it/l/tjIb

Trousers (sports luxe track trousers) – sold out but check out the asos collection - http://shopstyle.it/l/tjJq

The amount of times the doorbell rang, it failed like I had ordered a lot more. Some things did come it was just too ugly to keep. I hope you enjoyed this and let me know some things that you have picked up in the sale.

I did a thread all about my favourite items on my twitter, so follow me there to get first hand links to items I like/purchase. I am also selling a lot of things on my Depop, a lot of stuff new and or with tags so check it out. My username is: @amirasw

*this post includes use of affiliate links. check my disclaimer page for more info

Stay woke people

Pretty Little Thing review

I hope you have all had a great start to 2018. And if not, you have so many more days of opportunities to come your way.

Today, I thought I would do something a little bit different and give a review of a brand. With the sales season still amongst us (the sales have been killer this year) I made a little order from pretty little thing. With this brand, I had never even bothered browsing through because I knew things wouldn’t fit me the way I would want things to and I am not like the stick thin models they use to advertise their clothes.

But I recently discovered that they had launched a plus size selection. Although not that big, I did end up finding some really nice things that I liked the look of. I was initially sceptical because I wasn’t sure what the quality or the sizing would be like, but I went based off how the model looked in it as I had seen them on websites like ASOS.

This is the first and only sale item I actually purchased as I said, the collection isn’t big yet. But it’s a wet look faux leather tube skirt. When it came, it felt a lot cheaper than it did online and had less structure but was a really nice comfortable fit. However, this is probably my least favourite thing just because of how it feels

I then ordered a pair of trousers because I am still not loving jeans, but I loved that the stripe were horizontal/vertical (I never know which one) but they are the way that slim you and elongate your legs. I love this item and I think it will be a great all year-round piece which is a practical addition to my wardrobe

Finally, I got this self-love t shirt because self-love is important. I loved the Gucci vibes to it, not that that’s all I want from clothing, but it reminded me of a tiger t shirt I got from ASOS a while back. I loved that it was a little more muted than other designs I had seen and was a nice graphic t. Really thick quality t-shirt too. My only thing is I wish I had got it in a bigger size just because I like my things really oversized.

Overall, I am really happy with my order and would deffo do it again but as a seasonal thing just because I think that’s how I see the collection changing. Its very comparable to boohoo in that I think some of it can be a hit and miss, pricing is very similar and if you shop boohoo plus size, you will be the same size for PLT.

I hope you guys enjoyed the post and let me know if you have purchased things from PLT. I think this might be a new fave store of mine.

Top - http://shopstyle.it/l/sHos

Trousers - http://shopstyle.it/l/sHoh

Skirt - http://shopstyle.it/l/sHob

*this post includes use of affiliate links. check my disclaimer page for more info

Monday January 1st 2018

Its such a satisfying feeling that the first day of the new year is a Monday. It felt like it was meant to be. Believe it or not, I think 2017 has been one of the worst, hardest and most eye-opening years of my life. So much happened and so much I never want to happen again. But here we are at the start of the year, and I want to make a game plan. The idea of making resolutions has always felt like something I had to do because everyone else said so. Its become a massive marketing ploy to make u buy things and change your mindset for like two seconds without any lasting effects.

I want 2018 to be the year I find me again. My purpose, my sense of self, my physical, mental and financial stability, to find balance in all aspects of my life and to take each day as it comes.

I wanted to use this post to share some of the amazing things that happened this year. This was the one year I didn’t make a memory jar and I regret it because now I have nothing written to remind me that despite everything, some really amazing thigs have happened this year.

The only resolution I will be making this year is to Always keep trying. Now I do have a very long list of things I would like to do in 2018 but I am going to wait until 2019 to see how those go down. But sometimes there are those days that really get you down but you have to remember that you have survived all of your hardest days so far. My only blog resolution for the year is to create 52 posts as a minimum. Consistency is such an important thing in all aspects of life and I really want to indulge in quality over quantity.

Things to look forward too?...

Graduating from university

Moving back to London

Getting my own place

Getting a job that I love (god please I hope so)

My 21^st birthday

Whatever life has in store for me

I haven’t been the most consistent this year with blogging but thank you to the few for the continued support and interacting with me on twitter and Instagram. I hope you all have an amazing start to 2018 whatever you get up to. Lets all stand behind each other, treat each other with respect, kindness and let’s help restore humanity. Stay woke folks!

Much love