Equality and Diversity

* all images my own. 

I'm currently doing my Art and Design Foundation course and thought I'd share some of my recent work. I wanted to share this particular project as I feel it is something more of us need to educate ourselves on. The project was titled Equality and Diversity and I decided to look at sexual assault and the way in which we view the victims, this idea of victim blaming and look at the vulnerability and naivety of some people's views on sexual assault. 

I was inspired to look at sexual assault after the recent BBC 3 documentary, Is This Rape? Sex on Trail. After watching this documentary I was horrified by the lack of knowledge of what is deemed sexual assault and some of the teens understanding and views towards sexual assault. One girl believed if you kissed someone at a party you were agreeing to have sex with them. This lack of understanding is not only scary but something teens and young adults should be fully aware of. Consent is absolutely necessary, whether you've had sex with this person before, whether you are drunk, it doesn't matter if there is no consent it is sexual assault. It is not acceptable for people to blame the victim if they were drunk or under the influence, it doesn't matter what the victim was wearing, it doesn't matter if the victim didn't verbally say no, if it wasn't consenting, if they didn't want to, it was sexual assault. I feel as a society these issues and more knowledge on sexual assault needs to be a part of the education system. If we as a society aren't educated on the matter how we know what is wrong and what is right? 

I wanted to portray this in my project and created these close up images of the body. I wanted to express the vulnerability of the body and how victims of sexual assault having a metaphoric imprint on their skin from the offender. I didn't want to create graphic images of a sexual nature, but for the images to not necessarily obviously represent the meaning behind them. This links to the representation of the images for how sexual assault victims carry this burden unseen day to day. I wanted these images to be powerful but to allow everyone to interpret them individually. 

Insta Natural Advanced Repair Scar Gel

Insta Natural Advanced Repair Scar Gel

So Summer is right around the corner and that means that dreaded time of year were eventually I will have to wear a bikini, or shorts, or expose a little more flesh than I'm comfortable with. A big reason I'm so unhappy to reveal a little more is because of my scars and stretch marks on my legs. Since umm turning into a women... if you catch my drift, I developed curvy hips and my skins elasticity wasn't quite prepared for this, hence the stretch marks. I feel like stretch marks can be a taboo thing to talk about, they are often associated only with people who are pregnant or had kids or people who are larger. However they are so common, especially on the hips and thighs and I feel like we should be able to talk about them without feeling embarrassed. I also have some pretty bad scars on my right thigh, one more recently from a clumsy shaving accident and one from an incident with a kettle. I'm ridiculously clumsy and this was one of the results of my clumsiness, one freshly boiled kettle over my leg. So when I was given the opportunity to try out this natural scar repairing gel, I thought it would be perfect timing. I have tried out things like Palmer's Cocoa Butter for stretch marks (may I add having a pregnant lady on the bottle didn't help with the self esteem!) and I didn't notice a difference, it did smell great though.

 So I'm going to do a before and after post for this Scar Gel, that way not only will I be able to see any difference, you guys will too and then you'll know if it works or not. Excuse the photos, my camera isn't great inside and also please excuse the state of my legs, hence why I'm trying out this new scar gel. I was given the product free to try out and I want to give a full unbiased review of the product. The Insta Natural Scar Gel has loads of natural ingredients and smells kinda like fruit cake (that might just be me). I was surprised by the colour of the gel, it comes out brown but when applied to the skin it is translucent. But it applies really nicely to the skin and doesn't feel heavily, oily or unpleasant like some other stretch mark and scar products. I've only been using it for a few days and therefore I haven't seen any drastic changes in this time but I'll report back in a month with after photos. Overall my first impression of the product is I'm pretty happy but I will keep you updated on if it improves the look and feel of my scars. 

Damsel In A Dress

Dress - eBay

Jacket & Jumper - Pull & Bear

Shoes - Seven Boot Lane

 So this was the outfit I was wearing on Friday, when my car decided to break down and I became a damsel in a dress (see what I did there?!) My car was a cheapy fiesta and it finally gave up on life and has joined the local scrap yard, I loved Freddie Fiesta so I was very sad to see him leave me. I'm now on the hunt for a new car and getting a bank loan as I'm a poor student who can't even afford a cheapy fiesta. I'm feeling really stressed out and grown up at the moment, I hate it! I don't want to have to deal with and worry about boring things like bank loans but alas this seems to be all part of growing up! Anyway about the outfit and less of my moaning. I was off out in the evening for a meal at GBK, it was my first time and it was heavenly. I had a pesto and mozzarella chicken burger which was gorgeous, definitely recommend trying that out. I wanted an outfit that I could wear all day and that would still be ok for the evening. This seemed like a perfect mix, a pretty dress, layered with a cropped jumper and my leather jacket. I also added my hat to cover my messy mane, popped on my favourite necklace combo and these leather lace ups. 

CrissCross

Blazer - Monki

CrissCross Bra - ASOS

Teeth Necklace - Black Tied

Shoes - New Look

So everything is finally starting to slow and calm down again for me. I've now finished my job at Gap, I've finished my 30 hours of exams and two subjects and I feel like I can breath again. I also feel like making the effort with my outfits again, for the last two weeks pyjama style outfits have been a must! But now I want to have a little more structure to my outfits. Boyfriend jeans are a new favourite of mine. This pair have barely left my legs and I've just invested in a swanky new pair, I'm sure I'll be sharing them on here soon. My blazer is a favourite that I'm always going on about, but it is perfect for the weather at the moment. I added my criss cross bra, that I've had for ages now and my lace up shoes to add some detailing to this basic outfit. The cross over details of the shoes and bra just add a nice detailing, that spruces up the outfit and makes it look more put together. This is always a good idea, adding little details like snazzy shoes or a nice bag to put the outfit all together. These shoes are EVERYWHERE at the moment, I've seen loads of brands own version but I nabbed these in New Look a few weeks ago as the perfect way to add a grown up, chic detail to any outfit. I mentioned in a post recently how I get obsessed with certain items of my jewellery collection and this three necklace combo is my new obsession. I love the lengths of the three necklaces together and I love the simplicity of each necklace and how they look together. I also pulled back my hair into a low messy bun, inspired by all the lovely hair photos I see on Pinterest and Instagram, and I love how chic it looks despite being so simple to do. But yeah overall I really like this outfit, it is really simple and effortless but with cute details to add interest and make the outfit more me. 

April Playlist

1. The Maccabees 'Mark To Prove It' 2. Dr.Kucho!&Gregor Salto (Oliver Heldens Remix) 'Can't Stop Playing' 3. Hozier 'Jackie and Wilson' 

4. Marilyn Manson 'The Mephistopheles of Los Angeles' 5. Lana Del Rey 'Brooklyn Baby' 6. Nirvana 'Come As You Are'

Better late than never? It has been such a busy month, so firstly apologises on the late playlist post and secondly I haven't been listening to very much music so sorry for the short playlist. I have such an eclectic taste when it comes to music, can you tell? But I hope you enjoy some of these and be sure to recommend anything you think I might like in the comments below or over on my twitter. 

A Nice Cold One

Blazer - Monki

Jeans - Gap

Top - Topshop 

Boots - ASOS

I'm amidst one of the longest weeks of college life so far. I studying two creative A levels which results in 15 hours of exams... for each subject. Luckily for me they are both in the same week (sense the sarcasm). I've currently done 27 hours and the final hours flow over to next week, a break you say? Oh no I have three full days of work in between me and those final hours. I'm exhausted to say the least, but I've only had one mini melt down so I'm winning right? Anyway due to the shortage of hours in the day, at the moment, this has meant a lack of blog posts, eek sorry. Most of my outfits this week have resembled my pyjamas however I did make an effort on Wednesday and this is the result. Flares, always a good choice at the moment, paired with my favourite blazer, a striped top, a good pair of boots and a hat to cover my dishevelled hair, perfect! I send positive vibes to anyone else who is struggling through exams, revising or even a busy work schedule, I feel your pain. The thought of a nice cold beer at the end is keeping me going!

Loose Layers

Dress - H&M
Shirt - Blitz London
Necklace - Black Tied

I've been really undecided whether to post this outfit or not, sometimes I like it and then I don't. It was something I chucked on this week for college but I thought showing how I layered up a maxi might be useful for the Summer?  It was still fairly warm but there was more of chill in the air so I added some layers. This shirt it just my favourite it is so baggy and has a load of rips in but I like it, it has character and a past. I think that is kinda cool. The jacket as I've mentioned before it was my bargain £1 charity shop find. I wanted to keep the maxi dress casual as it is a little revealing on the chesticales, so the loose layers and converse were a winner. As for the necklace it is one of my favourites in my vast collection. I go through stages of just wearing the same jewellery on repeat, then I'll mix it up and wear that on repeat. That happened with this necklace, since wearing it with this outfit it has barely left my neck, I even slept in it as I was so shattered I forgot I had it on!