Mental Health

Wednesday 9 January 2019

2019 || NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS


So here it is, 2019 has finally arrived and I couldn’t be happier to say ‘goodbye’ (and fuck you) to the previous year. 2018 was honestly one of the worst years of my life, even though I still made some amazing memories. In this post I will share my highs and some of my lows of 2018, as well as my aspirations and goals for 2019.

2018:
January - I turned 22 and celebrated my birthday with my friends and boyfriend.
- I travelled to Birmingham for work by myself.
February - I went to the re-launch of Las Iguanas in Nottingham with my boyfriend.
- I celebrated my friend's engagement party.
March - I had my first freelance job in months and modelled for a new brand.
April - I handed my dissertation in - a whole lot of words that I now have forgotten.
- I attended a fashion show and met lots of lovely bloggers thanks to Judi from Gemini.
May - I handed my last bits of coursework for my final year of uni.
June - I and my other half went on a fabulous holiday in Majorca.
July - I started a new job at Origins.
- I graduated from the University of Nottingham with a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Criminology and Social Policy.
- I injured myself in the second week of my new job which resulted in some time off.
- I moved to a new house with my boyfriend.
August - I found out that my Master's application was unsuccessful.
September - I worked with one of my favourite brands (Sanctuary Spa).
- I travelled to London for the first time ever (by myself) and got lost on my way to the building and also lost my train ticket for the journey back.
October - I travelled to London again for work, this time with a colleague and I loved every minute of it.
- One of my closest friends at work handed her notice in :(
- I and my partner hosted our first Halloween party at our new house.
November - I found out I was going to lose my job (a job I really love) because the department store I work at is closing down.
December - I met some more gorgeous girls at a blogging event (Thanks to Judi).
- I celebrated being with my boyfriend for 6 years.
- Got spoiled at Christmas with lots of presents, but also had my mood spoiled.
- Celebrated NYE by staying in and ordering a takeaway with my best friend.

So, as you can see my year was full of surprises - from graduating to losing my job. Like I’ve said I mentioned all the highs but only some lows as they are too difficult and painful to talk about at this moment. I am very grateful for everyone who made 2018 special but also glad that I cut out toxic people out of my life. There is nothing worse you can do to yourself than keeping nasty people in your life.

Moving on, here are my goals and aspirations for 2019:
1) Get a graduate job
2) Start doing yoga daily
3) Eat well
4) Go to Paris
5) Start saving up for a house
6) Start driving lessons
7) Stop eating dairy
8) Eat less meat
9) Visit the Harry Potter Studio Tour
10) Reach 10K followers on Instagram
11) Re-launch my blog
12) Read at least one book a month
13) Start writing a novel
14) Educate myself on SEO and web design
15) Drink more water
16) Go on a summer holiday

I think that’s pretty much it for now, I will probably add a few more goals to my list as I tick off the others (finger’s crossed). I just really hope that 2019 will be my best year yet and I cannot wait to share my journey with you all.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE ❤️

What are your goals and aspirations for 2019? What did you do for NYE?

Lots of love,
Maya xo

Monday 14 August 2017

HOW TO RESTORE SEVERELY DAMAGED SHORT HAIR - MY STORY OF LOW SELF-ESTEEM DUE TO HAIR LOSS AND OVERUSING HEAT



Oh dear, my hair journey... ha! Where to begin? Let's start from the first time I dyed my hair - I was a very self-conscious 13-year-old who felt the need to do everything to not look like 'me'.
I was in a very bad place at the time because of bullying and trying to settle in my new school, but now I wish I never touched my hair.

I had beautiful golden blonde hair which was long and healthy, it wasn't very thick but it was definitely thicker than it is now. I begged my mum for months to let me dye my hair and she finally did which made me very happy. I kept bleaching my hair until the age of 15 when I decided I wanted to have brown hair?! - If you're thinking about dying your hair brown but you're a natural blonde, make sure you speak to a professional beforehand, because me going brunette was the worst decision ever. After a couple of weeks, I got bored of my dark hair and wanted my blonde hair back. Oh, boy was it hard to go back to blonde then! I bleached and bleached and bleached my hair until it went a horrible bright orangey-yellow colour and very bad condition.

For my prom, I wanted to have long and curly hair but did I f**k... The hairdresser I went to BURNT MY HAIR OFF!!! She burnt my hair off the DAY of my prom.... The condition of it was so bad that all was left for me to do is have it cut really short and re-grow it. When I say short I don't mean Pixie-cut short, I mean above shoulder-bob-length which I hated. Thinking back now, I should have sued the woman! She was so rude as well, not helpful when it came to me picking out a hairstyle at all... and the fact that she did not dry my hair properly and using styling irons which weren't suitable for wet hair on me made me so angry. But, you live and you learn...

After 5 years of trying to grow my hair out and dye it less, I can say that I'm finally happy with the condition of it due to this routine and these products:



My current hair care routine consists of scrubbing my scalp every time I wash my hair - 2-3 times a week, depending on my plans. Once I've scrubbed my scalp and got rid of all the dry skin, excess product etc. I then move onto shampooing and conditioning my hair as normal, I have recently been using the whole Lee Stafford Hair Growth range and I've noticed a massive difference in the quality and length of my hair already. Once a week I will use a hair mask to nourish my hair, I love this one from Lush and any of the Lee Stafford ones.

I used to wash and straighten my hair every day for at least a year, so I have cut down a lot on using heated tools. When I was regrowing my hair properly I refused to use any heated tools and just let my hair dry naturally and put it up using scrunchies or invisibobbles.
Now, I blow dry my hair every time I wash it because now that I'm older I take care of my appearances more than I used to, and from time to time I'll either curl or straighten my hair too. I have been really enjoying using Lee Staffords' Coco Loco Heat Protecting Mist as it smells bloody amazing, and works wonders for my hair too! Jeez, this sounds like a sponsored post but it really isn't! I paid for all these products with my own money and I only buy hair care products when they're on offer anyway.
Another issue which bugs me is that my hair falls out so much every time I brush it... I know it's normal to have up to 100 strands of hair to fall out but my hair is thin enough as it is!! Would you recommend any hair products or how to reduce hair fall out?

Have you ever been through something similar? What are your holy grail hair products?

Lots of love,
Maya xo

Friday 29 July 2016

HOW TO GIVE FEWER F***S - ALWAYS PUT YOUR HAPPINNESS FIRST

Hey Dolls!


I've been recently having a really shit time in my life. Constantly feeling like I'm second best to some people and it messed with my mind a lot. Idk, maybe it's because I've not been eating well nor working out or just simply because I'm fed up with peoples' BS and wanted to finally get things my way.

Imagine being friends with a lovely group of people and never being invited anywhere, yet you've done nothing wrong (EVER)? Well, that's happened to me on a number of occasions so I finally decided to take action and not give a fuck about what people have to say. I stood up for myself and confronted them all, only to find out that they wanted me to come but knew I'm always working - considerate mates or total BS?

This actually caused me to cut fake friends out of my life - aka best decision ever! There were so many people that I previously called my 'best friends' and once I decided I had enough of the shit they put me through. E.g. one time when I was 15 my so called 'best mate' stood me up to go see a lad without telling me! I was ringing and texting her loads hoping she was okay and that nothing had happened as I was waiting for her in town, only just to get a text off her mum saying she went off to meet her boyf, LOL what a bitch!

***

I remember walking into school without makeup on and the first thing I heard was 'OMG are you okay? You look really ill - maybe you should go home?' WTF who says that? Mate, I've not slept well and I can't be bothered to wear makeup today, what's the big deal? Sorry that I don't look like Megan Fox, I really am - she's so hot, but jeez let me do me and worry about yourself! We're not all meant to be flawless without our fave beauty products! 

The best thing to do when you're in a similar situation is to smile and say you're perfectly happy/well and take pride in your beautiful makeup-less face!

***

When someone comments on your weight - laugh it off. They're obviously so self conscious that they feel the need to point out your 'imperfections'. I stopped listening to people's negative remarks as I think they're pathetic. Yes I gained 10 pounds, yes I am aware that now I buy bigger clothes, and no I certainly do not give a fuck about your negative opinion. 

Whether you have lost or gained weight, it does not matter what other people think as long as you are happy in your own skin - that's what makes you appear more beautiful than a stupid figure. You work out and eat clean? Great! You cut down on snacks to lose a couple of pounds before a big event? Fab! You've been binge eating Ben&Jerry's Phish Food? Lucky You! What's not okay is people telling you that you look better/worse in a certain shape - obviously it's best to eat healthy foods and exercise a few times a week for your own good, but if that's not for you then that's also OKAY!

I'm sick and tired of people being nasty and fake for no reason - always put your own happiness before others, but don't be a bitch, there's nothing worse than being horrible to others to make yourself feel better.

I hope this helps you guys feel better and make decisions that benefit you over others!

Lots of love,
Maya xo
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