5 Tips For Preparing For an Interview

It's that time of year again where thousands of people, often graduate hopefuls, are all on the hunt for their next chapter in life and with that comes the dreaded interview. Whether it be for the career of your dreams or the in between job to keep your head above water, it's important that you are prepared as much as possible and you put your best foot forward. First impressions count after all! 

From personal experiences, it's hard going to interview after interview, making your best impression and then hearing nothing or being told (in my case) that you lack the experience the role requires. You put in so much effort beforehand and then it all seems like a big old waste of time afterwards but that isn't the case. More often than not it's not you that didn't get you the job, it's the employer (their having a bad day?), the role or simply you were unlucky. With that being said, if you're prepared beforehand, you definitely stand the best chance of success. On with the tips...

5 Tips to Change Your Hair Washing Schedule

Now I am in no way a hair expert but I have managed to go from having to wash my hair every 1-2 days to often being able to go 3-4, which for me is a massive help as I find it such a chore washing/drying hair. I have super oily hair and it would often go greasy practically the day after washing so I would spritz it with dry shampoo constantly and hope for the best. That is until I learnt that you can actually train your hair into going longer between washes and these are some of the things I found helped with that. 

Start off slowly. There is very little point going from washing your hair every day/other day to washing it ever forth day as all you'll be left with is a greasy mess that no amount of dry shampoo could save. You have to start off with a small change and gradually build up to the desire time. So begin with skipping one day and then once your hair seems okay with that, move on to another until you find that your hair has completely adapted to your new schedule.

Find a shampoo for your hair. Despite the many beauty blogs recommending various different shampoo/conditioner combos to try, these might not necessarily be the right ones for you and your hair. If you have oily hair already, don't use a shampoo infused with extra 'shine' oils as this will just add to your already oily scalp. If you have dry hair though, the need to over compensate with super nourishing shampoos may actually be the reason you are having to wash your hair more often. I personally have oily hair so I find using the Bumble and Bumble Sunday Shampoo once a week works well to deep clean my hair and then my ordinary silver shampoo to keep my colour - neither of which contain extra oils.

Don't use too many oily products. This may seem like an obvious one but you'd be surprised how tempting it is to just run some Moroccan oil through the ends of your hair or use a conditioner mask, when in reality, your hair may not actually need this extra moisture. If you're hair isn't in really bad condition, you most probably don't need all these extra products loading up your hair so try to use just one (or none) and this will help keep the grease away longer.

Only use dry shampoo when you really need it. There's always the temptation to blast your hair with your favourite scented Batiste dry shampoo the second it starts to go flat but don't. Although dry shampoo is great for adding that extra grit and volume to your hair, it's actually counter-productive if you're trying to go longer between washes and it often leaves my hair feeling worse, sooner.

Don't touch your hair. Touching your hair frequently actually makes it go greasier, quicker. This is definitely one I still struggle with as I'm constantly twirling my hair between my fingers but if you touch your hair less, you'll find it helps with not having to wash it as often. A tip I find works is to tie your hair up whenever you can while you're not doing anything to a. keep it away from your face (better for your skin) and b. to stop the dirt from your hands spreading to it. 

Do you have any tips to go longer between washes?

Tips For Spring Cleaning Your Wardrobe

It's time to introduce some newness onto my blog and to start with I've got a handy little tips post for you to spring clean your wardrobe. We are mid-way through March and Spring is well and truly on it's way. It's time to store away your chunky knits and knee-high boots and swap them out for blouses, skirts and sandals - maybe a pub garden lunch isn't on the cards quite yet, but it's certainly getting warm enough to warrant a wardrobe clear out ready for the upcoming season. Here's some tips that I have found useful...

EMPTY EVERYTHING

Start by completely removing everything from your wardrobe. Yes I did say everything. Then begin sorting your clothes (move onto shoes afterwards) into three piles: essentials, items you wear but not often, and items you never wear nor like. To decide which pile an item should go in, ask yourself these questions:

When did I last wear it? Do I look good wearing it? Is it falling apart?

If you answered no to any of these questions, or stood and pondered your answer for more than five seconds, then discard the item into the rubbish pile - it doesn't need to be a part of your new and improved spring wardrobe! The key to this tip is to be brutal with your decisions. I like the next person get attached the clothes and often utter the sentence: "But I might wear it one day!". Almost always this will never happen and it will just be taking up valuable space in your wardrobe that could instead be filled by that sheer blouse or maxi duster coat you've been eyeing up on ASOS.


ORGANISE

This is a key tip when having a wardrobe detox. It's all well and good getting rid of old items but if you then proceed to throw everything back in willy nilly you'll be left with just as much mess as you had to begin with but with fewer items! Obviously depending on the size of your wardrobe the way you organise your clothes will vary but for me, I have three wardrobes (and still not enough space for everything!) so I find it easiest to have one for coats and bags, one for spring/summer pieces and one for autumn/winter pieces.

I then tend to organise things by the type of item, so for example all my shirts sit together - in colour order - all my bottoms and all my t-shirts etc, you get the picture. This just helps me when piecing together outfits as I know exactly where the item I'm looking for is rather tun having to rummage round for ages. I also don't fold anything, except pyjamas but they don't really count. This just leaves things creased and means you can't really see what the times are anyway; stick to hanging everything up if you can.


NEW (NECESSARY) ITEMS

Once your wardrobe is cleared out and re-organised, you can finally see what pieces you are lacking and what you actually need to buy. This obviously helps keep clutter down but it also helps with curbing spending habits and I know that's something I personally, definitely need to do. You can see exactly what pieces are missing, lacking dresses or basics, and then can tailor your shopping to just trying to find the key pieces to complete your seasonal wardrobe.


So there you have it, a few hopefully helpful tips to detox your wardrobe ready for spring (or any season really) and now you're probably thinking: what do I do with the multiple reject piles all over my room? Sites like Depop and eBay are a great way of getting rid of slightly newer or better quality items, while car boots are a quick and pretty stress-free way of ditching those slightly less desirable items!

image via pinterest