'I hope you fall in love with being alive' // The Maxi Dress

Maxi Dress - Zara

Necklace - H&M

Gooooooood old Tumblr for providing me with this quote/picture thing.  You know, sometimes I think it's easy to forget to love being alive and to love your life. Like seriously, take a minute to think about your life and everything you have going on and just love it.  The fact that you are alive, that you have people you love, that you have a past, present, and future.  The fact that you have opportunities, you have good memories and bad memories, you can get up and achieve so many things... you have life! There is no room for negativity here! Sure, things happen that can get you down but if every now and then if you can remember to just stand still, acknowledge all that you have going on and know that your life is the greatest gift you will ever receive then it can really help (well it helps me anyway). I find it really interesting that sometimes we can act as if life is a chore or a burden and that we don't actually want it. Are you kidding me?! Like 'ohhh, I have to revise/work/look for a job/clean/cook' whatever it is - as if it's the biggest burden to have to do those things. But you know what, it's a good thing that I have to do those things; that I have to revise means I have access to education, that I have to work means I have the right to work, that I have to look for a job means I am able to aspire, dream and achieve and the fact that I have to clean and cook means that I have food and shelter. And those are truly great things.  I guess it's about making the effort and digging yourself out of the negative thinking that we can sometimes find ourselves in. Life is nooooooot a chore - the simple fact that you are living is amazing, it really, really is, and with that, you can do anything. Besides, you don't remember the days you spent revising or cleaning anyway, you remember the days where you decide to make the most of your time and do something you enjoy.

WOW this has turned into quite a heavy post considering I just wanted to show you guys my maxi dress! But I hope it helps in any way it can.  

On to my maxi dress! I love it - I bought it from Zara a couple of summer's ago and whenever I dig it out I know that summer has finally arrived. Yesssssssssssssssss.

Music wise I am loving: 
Gabrielle Aplin - Panic Cord
Gabrielle Aplin - Please don't say you love me

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Dream Cream // Lush Review

Hello. Is it me you're looking for? 

YES! YES IT IS!! 

A couple of months ago I was invited to the Lush Nottingham Bloggers event which I really enjoyed! I left having a good time and with lots of goodies. One of them was a sample of the body lotion 'Dream Cream' which is SO AMAZING I went back to Lush this weekend to purchase the full size bottle. 

It is for all skin types but targeted mainly at really dry, sensitive or itchy skin. So if you have anything from really dry skin to eczema right through to dermatitis this is the stuff for you!  I am prone to dermatitis on the back of my hands and eczema on my legs (amazing, I know!) during certain times of the year (usually during winter) and I've tried all the medicated creams you can get at the chemist from Diprobase to e45.  These never really seemed to work as well as I had hoped if I'm honest, and would always find the same problems reoccurring and getting worse after a couple of weeks. So I was really skeptical with 'Dream Cream' also but I have to say, I've been using it everyday on my trouble areas and have seen great improvements.  If there was one way to describe it it would be soothing. And cooling. Ok that's two but it's true! It's like when you get into a nice hot bath after a loooooong day... yep, that's how I'm going to describe it for you guys! 

Yes, the main ingredient is Oat Milk and, if you think about it - it makes a lot of sense. After doing some research I found that there are some serious benefits to using Oat Milk/Oatmeal and that it can also be used as a natural exfoliant.  If you suffer from eczema or dermatitis long term it might also be useful to switch to using an Oatmeal soap.

This cost me £10.95 which is a bit pricey I think but I would say the benefits are worth it. Although it is a body lotion I tend to just use it on the areas I really need to so that also helps to not use it up. To be honest though, it is long lasting and I know this will last a long while.  If you're unsure about the price though, getting a free sample is the best thing to do. That way you can test it out and see if it really is a dream cream for you (woah that line was cheesy!)

Have you guys used this before? If so what did you think? 

Also, if you go and try it, let me know how you got on!

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Dove Real Beauty Sketches Campaign

Dove Real Beauty Sketches is a new beauty campaign by Dove that aims to build 'positive self-esteem' and to 'inspire all women and girls to reach their full potential.' This might sound a bit over the top and dramatic for a brand that sells soaps and deodorants... however, after watching the video and seeing the sketches in full, Dove have earned my full respect. I know this isn't their first beauty campaign but it's the first one that has made a positive impact with me.  Arguing that beauty should be a source of confidence and not anxiety, this new campaign shows an FBI forensic artist sat behind a curtain.  He is there to sketch women with nothing to go by but the descriptions that they give of themselves and how they look. What makes this interesting, however, is that afterwards, the artist then draws a second portrait of the same women, this time using the description of a complete stranger who has previously met the women. There will, of course, be differences in two different accounts of the same face, but seeing the two portraits side by side makes you realise just how inaccurate our perceptions of ourselves can be.

Image Source: Dove

Look at the difference! They look like sketches of completely different people - there are differences in hair, face shape, wrinkles, and features. Sometimes the insecurities we see in ourselves are not seen by others while the beautiful features we have that others acknowledge are completely disregarded when we look in the mirror. I'm not saying that one sketch is 'uglier' than the other, not at all... but sketches of the same face surely shouldn't have this much difference between them!

I'm not naive to the fact that, ultimately, this is a marketing campaign designed to make a profit.  Compared to other campaigns, however, Dove are challenging negative perceptions about body image,  insecurities and self-confidence at the same time (multi-tasking - nice one!) So you can argue that Dove are manipulating women's insecurities to sell soap and deodorant, or that the ad is anti-feminist, but I believe that the ad is real and truthful, and that is something that we can't escape from. In an ideal world, it wouldn't matter what we looked like or how we thought other people saw us. However we don't live in an ideal world and it does matter, whether we like to admit so or not.  I think it serves as a simple reminder that if you have ever felt disheartened, upset or uncomfortable about the way you look, this is most probably the result of unnecessary focus on that awkwardly placed mole, or your misshapen ears, or your nose you feel is too big for your face... It is true, women are not to blame for how we perceive ourselves but tackling this issue is the first step, for any woman, to realise this. Because if we don't care, then the perfect images that we see on a daily basis in the media and are told to live up to become meaningless and pointless. If we don't care then we see a difference between buying a beauty product because we think we have to (in order to change how we look to appear 'more attractive') and buying a beauty product simply because we want to (in order to enhance our natural beauty).

What is also important to realise is that this campaign by Dove stands out against all other campaigns by similar companies. Dove are tackling real issues and are using real women at the same time. Their campaigns don't focus on unrealistic aspects or use perfect models to advertise their brand and they don't tell women to look a certain way through hidden messages or claim that their product will make them look 'better' (whatever that is).  Campaigns like this are shaping the way companies advertise their products as they are realising that in order to sell to people, you have to be able to connect on a deeper level (something that most companies are yet to understand).

I only have two major criticisms that Dove really overlooked here:

1. The range of women - I think if they claim to inspire all women, then they really should have shown a wider range of women. And by that I mean size, age and colour. 

2. Why stop at women? Dove, as a brand, are not exclusive to women and men are just as likely, if not more, to suffer from body insecurities and body confidence issues. 

Watch the full advert and see the full set of sketches here

What are you thoughts on Dove's Real Beauty Sketches campaign? 

Check out my latest YouTube video HERE

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I know this great little place in... // The TokenHouse

The Tokenhouse is one of my favourite shops to wander into in Nottingham.  I was introduced to the shop by Nora and I find myself going in every now and then when I have time to spare in town, waiting to start work or to meet up with a friend. It's basically full of cards, arts and crafts, jewelry and little nicknacks that you most definitely don't need but will buy anyway to add a bit of character to your room or home and I love it.  If you are ever in Nottingham make sure to check it out (they are on Bridlesmith Gate!) I went in today and decided to take a couple of pictures to share with you guys. Also, if you are looking for inspiration on how to brighten up a room, maybe this can help!

I need the bottom right tin in my life!

Yeah man, fit men wanted indeed

How cute are these?!

Do any of you guys have a place like this where you live? What is one of your great little places? I'd love to hear about it!

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Sunday Diary // Afternoon musings

Image taken from my Instagram. Follow me @thatgirlsaadiya

It seems that life has played a massive trick on us all.Well, not life but society. I think life is pretty much simple but we choose to over-complicate it way too much. We're always promised things. Things that we may or may not need.  Things that we want but may never get.  I think I've gotten to the point where I realise that all these promises are just empty and meaningless. Because even though we are all living together, this is your life and only you can give yourself the things you dream of.  At Uni, you're promised the best years of your life, and a job at the end of it. When, or should I say if, you get that job you're promised exciting and new opportunities. This can be applied to even the simplest of things like buying a new car - we're promised the ride of our lives, make-up - we're promised full and flawless coverage, a restaurant - we're promised the our best meal yet. Maybe I'm being a bit over the top and reading into things too much today but can people just stop with this please? Promising things that are not able to be fully delivered because the bad parts or the struggles are always missed out, brushed over and forgotten about. And when you open up a magazine and are promised that if you buy their certain product 'you-will-look-like-this-size-0-model' and it doesn't add up to reality, the only person you will think to blame is yourself... and there is something wrong with that. We all just need to be a bit more real with ourselves and each other and stop filling the minds of young people with 'information' that they need to be a certain way or have certain things to be great. Because if people don't have the beautiful body, amazing house, great car, charismatic personality or whatever else, then we don't blame society for leading us to chase these things to feel a sense of self-worth... We will turn to the mirror and blame the person staring back at us for not being...enough. And that is a big problem.

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