Why being a newly graduate sucks

So, I recently graduated and got my major's degree. This June. Yay me.

(...You can really tell the excitement of the sentences above, right? Overall, it was one stressful experience and it took me almost whole summer to recover (shocker; hence why I was away for so long). The idea of this post is kindly sponsored by my autumn nostalgia and memories, also huge thank you to all the old photos on my phone for adding to my pain as well.)

While I was a student (school or uni, doesn't really matter), the word "graduation" itself sounded like gift sent from heaven. I think that's how it is with everyone? The whole big dream of finally having no studying and exams in your life and just doing whatever you want. It also feels like the day you graduate will be the happiest day of your life... but let me tell you, a story of someone who went through it...that feels nothing like you expect.

1. You feel tired. Really tired. You become the definition of the word "tiredness" and at some point when everything is over and you have your diploma in your hands, instead of partying all you want is to sleep for years.

2. After getting a bit of rest (a bit aka a week of being a zombie with diploma), you start realizing that you actually achieved something. That's when your mind embraces the hyperness and goes wild. The only thought of having all time free and for yourself is literally making you crazy and excited and at this point you start making a list of huge plans (aka "I'll get my body in shape" / "Learn another language" / "Go traveling " / etc.)

3. Now that you realize how much time studying took from your life these past few years, you get pissed, so pissed, that you nearly hate the place you studied at.

4. Once excitement and irritation both fade (after 30 chocolate milkshakes, month of doing nothing and one huge clean up session of your room) and your mind starts to function clearly, it's that time when you start thinking about the job. AND WHAT A SURPRISE. All your desired jobs are either: nonexistent, already taken, impossible to get. Also the thing that will piss you off the most is when job offers require 3-5 years of working experience, and noone seems to care that you couldm't work as much due to literally spending your days studying to get that damn diploma.

5. Due to temporary inability to find a job you want, the depression mode knocks at your door and says hello. You forget about all the exciting plans you wrote during stage 2 and generally feel down.
And this is when you begin doubting if getting the profession you chose was the right idea (most likely, you'll end up considering it a huge mistake).

And finally 6. As time goes, you begin realizing that...you, goddamnit, did it. You were strong enough to survive through all the struggles and get to this point in your life, which means that your current struggles are temporary and you sure can fix it all.

And, yes, it's okay to, every now and then, feel proud of yourself.

New name and design

To avoid any confusion, for all my dear followers, I've came up with this small note:
Firstly, yes, my blog got a new name, and the old url aliceinboots.blogspot.com no longer exists!
Secondly, yes, I am back and revamping my blog for upcoming awesoness aka new posts and stuff, so stay tunned! xx

Life is not a competition.

This post was "inspired" by my exams...and by life itself, honestly.
 I mean, look at the picture above, isn't it the perfect definition of our life now?

We all want to "win" at life. You hear it from people on social media, you read about it in the books, you see all these "How to be winning" tutorials and advices, and you think "I really should win this, I have to do everything to achieve that"

But wait a second.

Wait and think, what is it exactly you are winning? Or that one social outcast, that everybody calls a loser, what did they lose?

Nothing.

I wish someone told me, I wish someone taught me that this life IS NOT A COMPETITION. I mean, yes, evolution had it perks, the strongest ones survived, but it also taught us that only cooperating will get us to the true success.

You were born, which means you are already a winner, you won a life and that's the biggest award.
And to think that people spend that life turning it into some constant contest of who is better, it's horryfying me...I don't want to do that. I am not obliged to and neither are you.
I spent my entire teen years, always worrying that I was somewhat worse than the others. I did not want to be below in that score I created in my head. I used to be obsessed with getting best marks, best everything and if I got anything less than the best then I would literally think of dying. I know just how bad it sounds, and what is worse is that, it wasn't only me. I look around and see people trying to achieve goals they do not truly need, in order to impress others  and convince themselves they "won one round".
There is a huge difference between wanting to be successful and to be a winner. Because on first case, there will be no losers. It will be just you on the road, that you chose, and it will be only your path.

It's good to compare yourself with other world every once in a while, but if you see it as some huge Olympics Game, then I am sorry to break it to you...but then we all are destinied losers.
1. You can't be better at everything.
2. There will always be someone who is smarter, prettier, wealthier (and anything else) than you.
And chances are, these people will never find out that they won...at your life.

Review: Timotei Precious Oils Shampoo & Conditioner

Hey everyone! So first of all, I want to say sorry for my sudden disappearance off of the blogland, it is due to me having an exam time, and being busy with uni life, but no, the posts won't stop coming! There will be a little less of them in following two weeks, and after that I promise, I'll get back to my regular blogging "routine".

For today's post...yet another haircare product, and this time something that people clearly overhype about, but eh lets just get to the point.

Price range: Affordable.

Hair condition before using the products: natural color, dry ends, normal to oily roots.

The actual review: I've used both of this products and clearly, for the price (they're  ridiculously cheap) these babies surely work. Shampoo leaves my hair looking fresh and shiny for a great amount of time and is more gentle to my hair in general than any other shampoo I've tried. BUT (huh, always with that but, ya know) while I really really love the shampoo, I don't really like the conditioner. It's obviously not bad, but at the same time it always left me thinking and feeling that it's just not enough for my hair as it didn't soften enough. But then again, for those who don't have such dry hair ends as me, or dry hair in general, this conditioner can be your holy grail. 

Hair condition after using both products: slightly better.

8/10. 

Have you tried any of Timotei products? Did they work for you? xx

All About That Bag || Topshop edition

Some girls crave new shoes, some obsess over makeup... Well, I demand new bags!\
Especially the bags from Topshop, I wish we had this store in my town, so I could see all these amazing clothing items in real. But sadly, all I can do is creating yet another wishlist of stuff I so want to buy.
This time it's bags. Bags. Oh and...bags.

1) Clean Smart Backpack / 2) The Sheena Bag / 3) Perforated Backpack / 4) Spectrum Clutch Bag / 5) Premium Leather Boxy Shopper bag / 6) Clean-Cut Satchel

P. S. Which one of these bags you like the most? Oh let me know if you would like to see more wishlist posts! xx

Why I will never be beautiful Or Post of a typical girl

Great quote, isn't it? BUT so hard to follow, you know?

I used to be convinced that I was ugly. No, scratch that, I used to let assholes  some people convince me that I was ugly. And it's not like they've got much to do for that. Oh no, I, myself, already found so many flaws in my looks, that honestly, I would be feeling the same without their remarks.

It made me really unhappy. I judged myself constantly - for not having silky shiny hair, for being a size bigger than all the "pretty" girls, for brown eyes (because I would rather have blue)...for everything. Of course, I tried to change, all this struggle with diets and cute clothes and dying my hair and strange thing is every time I thought I got rid of one flaw, another would pop up.

And that is actually what it is, darling. Just an endless circle of feeling ugly. Different reasons - same sadness.

The only way to stop it and become beautiful consists of few simple steps.

Accept yourself.

Doesn't matter if you are planning to change your style or lose weight and become a super model alike in few months, no. Accept yourself right now, make peace with your flaws and only then plan on how to work with them

Some things cannot be changed. Unless you find a way to change your DNA code... don't be harsh to yourself for not looking like a Victoria's Secret model. 

Ignore the trends. Everyone is obsessed with new lipstick shade, dress style and you feel like having that does not make you look as pretty as that girl from instagram? Then it's just not your thing and all you gotta do is just find the style that makes you even more beautiful.

Don't be lazy. My mother used to say that not every woman is born gorgeous, but every woman can be beautiful by simply taking care of themselves.

And the most important...don't ever compare yourself to others. We are all different and often people we find attractive, suffer from exact same insecurities as we do, and that is normal. Beauty is not about perfection, it's more about the way you present yourself to this world. xx

Anti Valentine

Now lets get this straight, I like the idea of a day that is dedicated to couples and their undying love.

But have you noticed lately, how Valentine's Day and love in general turned into a mass market deal?

All these heart shaped cards and candles and everything else with "I love you" written on them - not only written, better yet thrown around as some kind of a crappy slogan, it just makes me not believe in sincerity of people these days. I find everything so typical and downright copied, not to mention how some of us choose to act during this day.

I mean...okay, you are in love. Congratulations. Your man got you flowers and ... (insert any typical Valentine's Day gift here), but for the love of all holy, it's not an award that you should shove into everyone's face.

It's not a competition nor a hunt for valentine cards from secret admirers either. It makes me kinda sick to see how "plastic" society turned this holiday to be, narrowing it down to few standard things that should be done.

Well, here is some big news, when you are in love, every day is Valentine's Day and "I love you" is not something you throw around, and your first thought after receiving flowers is definitely not the "I am gonna instagram this, so other bitches be jealous".

Schauma Keratin Strong Rebuilding Conditioner review!

Hello everyone! Today's post is just a quick review of the hair product that I've tried about two months ago - yet another conditioner from Schauma (Okay, I tried too many of them).

Price range: affordable.

Hair condition before using this product: natural color, dry ends due to using heat (hair straightener).

I've grabbed this bottle for it's claim to "reduce the hairbreakage" and from what I've seen while using this product, is that my hair became softer and less damaged. Not completely, but using this conditioner after my shampoo, made a difference, which is quite good for the price it has. The only thing that set me off, was really strong parfume smell that it has (Yes, it stays on your hair for days), so I recommend taking a sniff before you buy it. To summ it up, I wasn't disappointed by this product, but I won't buy again, due to its scent. 7/10.

P. S. Have you tried this conditioner before? Did you like it?

Bedroom Decor Inspiration

I hope, I am not the only one who craves for a change of decor every January... I mean, new year - new life, right?

So lately I've been searching around for some inspiration to figure what do I want to change my room into, and these are some cute samples I came across reecently. Maybe they will inspire you too? ))

All images found on weheartit.com.

Alice in Movieland! #1

Elloooooooooooooooooo my beautiful readers! Okay, now you probably see how hyper I am about the new design of my blog. It's just something you'll have to deal with if you stick around, because I just have these moments of complete girliness when I want to surround myself with cute things (mostly pink or floral or both) and there is nothing I can do about it.
The next thing I am hyper about is this new post series I am starting! So as you know, I do post book reviews from time to time...and I figured, what the heck, why can't I talk about movies and TV shows too? So yeah, every month I will air one "Alice in Movieland" post, featuring two movies I've been impressed by (in a good or bad way) and one TV show that I've tested.

AND two movie picks of January are.............

You can tell I wasn't really into dramas and horrors, January happens to be a holiday aka free month for me and I wanted to spend some time relaxing my brain from studying and all the worries and watch some inspirational movies that would get me motivated for upcoming spring (and lately, I've been really loving the independent films and comedies). And since this one is an opening post, I decided to include two recent favorites of mine - "Struck by lightning" and "Ten inch hero". There is nothing much to say except that I absolutely loved both, and if you haven't seen them, then you definitely should.

AS for TV shows, the new TV show I tried to watch this month is.....

I've heard about The 100 a lot, it seems like lately everyone is so hyper about this show. So I've decided to watch the first two episodes (I never judge a show by its pilot only), and I think it's safe to say I've skipped through them... It bored me. I could not claim it as bad, as it obviously isn't, the plot seems original too and I can see why it has so many fans, but we just didn't work. However, if you are into YA fantasy books and movies, gives this one a try.

P.S.  I would love to get any movie or TV show suggestions, so let me know which ones are your recent favorites by dropping a comment below this post! xx

Beauty Promises I Don't Believe

Lets be honest, we all fall for the things beauty industry, or commercials, or simply that pretty packaging on the shelf in a drugstore tells us. It's hard not to, when you see something promising to take away your acne or make you slim or get your eyelashes look like they are fake or (insert whatever you want to change about yourself in a blink here), as if it's not a simple beauty product, but some kind of magic caught in a small bottle.

I used to be a huge believer. But after years of using different products, here are the things I no longer believe...

1. One bottle = two products.

For example, when it's shampoo and conditioner together. Or toner and moisturizer or etc. I honestly think that you can't combine two different products together, and even if you do, the mix won't work as good as the same two products unmixed. Besides I would rather spend a little more money to buy two bottles, knowing that they both will do what they are supposed to do.


2. Foundations that "adjust to any skin tone and skin type and look like second skin".

I mean...seriously.

3. Face washes that "will help you get rid of your acne in a week or so"

Lets be blunt honest here, that face wash is contacting with your skin for like 30 seconds, there is no way it's going to do any dramatic changes to your skin, considering that having acne is a result of "inner" issues, such as unhealthy food, bad hygiene, hormones gone crazy or simple genetics.

4. And more about acne... The products that promise to balance out oily skin.

Most of them just dry your skin out, WHICH actually causes your skin to produces more oil and...more acne.


5. Bleaching products that claim to "make your hair soft".
Even bleaching your hair with natural products can get it dry, so.....


6. Moisturizers that promise to keep your skin hydrated 24 hours.

Hydrating your skin gets from "outside" is only 20% of the water it needs. Want a hydrated skin? Drink enough of water.


7. Nail polishes that "dry on your nails in a minute".

Seriously sounds like "meeting a unicorn" to me.

8. And lastly, all the "body shaping/slimming" gels that promise to make you skinny.

I agree that they can be used with some nice massage to keep your body nice and healthy looking, but it certainly won't make you loose a size or two, sorry.

....

P.S. What are the beauty products you no longer believe? xx

We just didn't work out #1

Hey everyone!

Today's post  is an official start of one the few new rubrics / series of posts that I'll be doing this year and hopefully even longer.

"We just didn't work" will be my special post series featuring any beauty things that did not do the job for me, and including small reviews for each of them. I won't do this rubric monthly, as thankfully 90% of products I buy I end up liking enough not to put them into "worsest thing ever" pile.

However for now, we have three "winners" here, so let me tell you why we just did not become friends.

1. Maybelline Dream Pure BB cream.

Yes, yes I know, so many girls like this product. I used to like it too. When I first bought it (it was my second attempt with BB creams, the first one I ever used was the one from Garnier), I just fell in love. I liked how it adjusted with my skin color, how light it felt and the coverage was enough for my face. I do tend to have breakouts every now and then, and mostly all I need BB cream / foundation for is to cover the postacne spots, even my skintone and hide my pores a little bit.

The tube lasted me about 6 months since I used a small amount each time and not every day. I had a chance to test it during summer, autumn and winter time and let me just tell you... At summer this thing is unwearable. It melts off and becomes an oily mess. Same thing happened during warm autumn days. The only times when it stayed well on my face was when it was cold outside, but even if you have this on and stay outside all the time, exactly after three hours it will become a mess, sink into your pores, make them large, and basically look like you applied your foundation in a very dark room.

The trick is when you first apply it (using a brush, fingers, blender - anything), it looks heavenly. But after few hours, believe me, it looks so bad, that I want to cry and wash my face straight away.

Also, it did not help with my acne at all. Useless.

2. Vishy Eau Thermale Water.

I got this one in a Vishy face care gift box my mother bought me. It contained of their Normaderm 3 in 1 face wash, this water and Normaderm moisturizing cream. Before this one, I've never used thermal waters before, and I am not really a fan of them (and micellar waters too, sorry). But since I had it, it would be a crime not to use it, especially as it claimed to protect my skin and help to heal it; plus I got this bottle in summer, and it was nice to have something to spray on my skin when it felt dry. Also, I am not sure if I've got it in travel size or regular one..probably travel size, but anyway, I used it up and you know what? Yeah, nothing. NO, wait, not nothing, eventually I noticed that every time I used it, an hour later my skin would feel even more dry than before.

Really, good job, I mean, isn't it a miracle - a water that makes you feel dry?

3. Maybelline Colorama nailpolish "Polka dots". 

When they first came out, every girl in my town was so hyped, especially about this certain color I own. I couldn't find it anywhere, literally any store I went to, had them all sold out, but as you can see, I managed to get one and I was SO happy. It seemed cool and unlike any other nailpolish I ever seen. 

First problem came with applying it. It was really difficult to get it look on my nails the way it looked in the bottle and when I achieved it, my nails had like...3 messy coats of this nailpolish on. It looked cool, however, the next time I just used 1 or 2 coats, even though it wouldn't come off the same deep blue. It was one hell of a mission to get rid of this nailpolish as well. It just would not come off, no matter how hard I rubbed my nail, and one day I was like "You know what, I don't want to use this one for now, I got tired of it and how heavy it feels". So I closed the bottle tightly and hid it in my collection. After two weeks I reached for it again, and what a surprise - it dried the heck up, even though it is STILL more than half full, and no, it's not due to leaving it open, I closed so well, that after it dried, it wouldn't open at all. 

To compare it....I have a nailpolish from old Colorama range, in a shade 120 "Urban turquoise" (I had other collors as well, but I've literally used them all up) and it is ONE YEAR old. Yes, it dried up a little, but still works really well on my nails. As for Polka Dots - complete fail.

That's it with my "We just didn't work out" post this time, I hope you enjoyed it!

P. S. Have you tried any of the products mentioned above? Did they work for you? xx

The Return?

Hello to whoever is reading this, and I hope you had some great time over past few weeks with Christmas and New Year eves and all that fun stuff.
If you've are one of the readers of this blog, then you've been probably wondering where I was whole month and what I was up to. It's crazy to think it's been a month since I last updated my site, but hey, it is what it is.

I could lie to pretend like I am all nice and peachy and tell you, that I've been too busy with upcoming holidays and life and all to continue with regular blog posts. But apart from being nice, I also want to be honest to my readers.

The reason I was away is because somewhere along the lines, I lost it. That hyper love feeling toward this blog. Suddenly everything I had written and done here before, looked silly to me. I started question myself on what I was doing, and eventually I fell into endless doubts. To me it seemed like my blog looked just stupid, that it wasn't good enough, and everything here irritated me. I wanted to change it, from the name and layout to rewriting or deleting all posts and starting fresh. But every time I came to do the actual changes, my fingers just wouldn't click the 'save' button.

I was stuck.
And the lowest part of it, is that it's not the blog I really had doubts for. I doubted myself. I disliked myself and....yes, I allowed myself to feel miserable. I wrapped myself in all the blankets and burried myself in my bed-fort for days. I didn't cry, nor feel depressed, but it was the time when I thought everything I would try to do - would end up as a failure.

Tables turned on December 24. I was finally done with all exams, boring paperwork and house cleaning, so my mom dragged me out for "last minute christmas shopping". She convinced well, hands down, she said it was finally snowing and we had to get me a new pair of winter boots and also tons of food for upcoming holiday dinner.

Maybe it was the magic of Christmas time, or people looking more happy than ever, or the new pair of shoes (silly, I know), but I felt alive again. It's not like it cured me in one day, but I felt hopeful again, and the feeling grew within me. I gave myself time to relax, and get my inspiration back, until I felt like it was the time to return. And I also realized how much I really missed blogging.

And now I need just a little bit of help. Its nothing much, just few words to type and submit as a comment below this post, but it will mean the world to me. What I ask for is really simple: I want to know if there is anything I should really change in this blog to make it more reader friendly and if I should keep it a "funny mess" or stick to certain topics, like beauty and fashion, or book and films reviews, just let me know?

P.S. I feel like 2015 is our year... You feel it too, don't you? ;)