Diesel Loverdose Eau De Toilette Review

Said Luvverdose not L-overdose

Today I'm showing you my latest perfume purchase. Since trying this out in store at Christmas, I've wanted to get a bottle of Diesel Loverdose but just never had the spare cash to do so. The eau de parfum retails at roughly around £36 for 30ml so when I saw the new eau de toilette in Debenhams I decided to see if there was much of a difference because the eau de toilette is only £29.50.

For those of you who don't know the main difference between toilette and parfum is the strength and intensity of the fragrance; generally you don't need to spray so much of parfum to get an intense scent purely due to the level of perfume concentration... basically toilette is a lighter scent and doesn't linger as long.

I'm the kind of person who likes to spray LOADS, when I spray Viktor and Rolf Flowerbomb I usually end up making myself choke/sneeze because it's so strong (being eau de parfum) so it's nice to go for eau de toilette because I can happily spray away and feel fine.

Loverdose is a really difficult fragrance to describe, and I think you'll either love it or hate it but for me it's a perfume that makes me want to keep sniffing my wrist. For me its in between being musky and sweet,  I'm not too keen on sweet smelling perfumes (I used to love Amor Amor, but now not so much) but this one sits really well with me. The perfume shop describe it with notes of vanilla, liquorice and mandarin.... unless you're a perfume buff that description would probably mean nothing to you but I'd say that if you like scents like Calvin Klein Euphoria, Chloe, D&G The One and Ghost Deep Night then you might like this too... but saying that, regardless of what you normally go for I would definitely recommend trying this at your nearest perfume counter.

I used my Debenhams Beauty Card to get some discount off this, I had £10 on it (to be honest I wouldn't have splashed out had it not been for the discount!) and I also got a free bottle of body lotion! I can't find the eau de toilette version on the Debenhams website at the moment but you can get it from Escentual for roughly £30.

NARS Angelika Blush

NARS are known for their cult 'Deep Throat' and 'Orgasm' blush so I wanted to try one of their lesser known blush shades so here's a review and swatches of NARS Angelika Blush.

I sort of knew what to expect quality wise as I already have Deep Throat and I absolutely love that one but obviously Angelika is very very different in terms of shade and wearability. For me, Angelika isn't a shade I would wear daily purely because it's just too sparkly, had it been a more matte shade it would probably be easier to wear but as it is I will look great for special occasions or nights out when I wear a little bit more makeup and I don't mind a bit of sparkle. I think its also nice that this is a more 'traditional' blush colour (like the sort you expect blusher to be when you're little) rather than a peachy shade which I often use to help contour as well as blush.

I think it does suit my pale skin tone but as I say it's just not my normal kind of shade, however I am really pleased that I chose this as I think we all get a bit wrapped up in what's popular and forget about the less popular shades offered by brands like NARS so it's nice to discover something I enjoy without being told 'you'll love this'... if that makes any sense at all?

You can buy NARS Angelika and other shades from NARS Online for £21.00. After trying this shade I now have my eye firmly on Gaiety which I think is a matte pink (judging by website swatches).

Pros and Cons of University

Graduation was full of mixed feelings really, finishing university was a huge relief for me because it signified the end of 3 years of really hard work and 3 years of fighting with myself to not drop out before the final hurdle. I don't think young people get enough information about university before applying because they think it's the natural 'next step' so I've put together a list of pros and cons so you might be able to answer the question 'Should I go to university?' a little bit more easily.

Pros of going to university

- You should hopefully widen your knowledge of a subject you love and come out with a degree

- You meet some lovely people

- You get student discount in lots of shops

- Even if you can't afford to go the government will help with fees
- Some professions require degree level education (but it's still well worth looking at alternative routes if you're still unsure about university)
- It gives you a taste of independent 'adult' living
- There's opportunity to have a fantastic social life
- If you choose to, you can get involved in lots of interesting extra-curricular activities and societies

- There are student loans to help with fees and maintenance

Cons of going to university 

- Your degree definitely does not guarantee you a job

- It can be very cliquey

- It is very hard work and if you are not willing to push yourself it probably isn't for you

- It costs A LOT and you will be left with debt (although Martin Lewis will tell you that tuition fee debt isn't a bad debt)

- You cannot afford (in money or time) to party all the time in the second and third year, it is NOT a three year party unless you want to come out with a rubbish classification (unless you are a superhuman genius who can bash out an A grade essay in 8 hours)

- Be prepared for it to be a massive shock to the system, I honestly thought it was going to be the making of me; moving to Leeds and starting a new chapter of my life, living the big city lifestyle.... When in reality I didn't fit in with my flatmates, it cost an absolute fortune and I ended up back at home permanently after Christmas, and I still had to pay full rent as the terms and conditions stated that unless you personally found a new occupant, you had to pay the rent whether you were there or not.

- Driving to and from Leeds was such a pain, especially when some days I only had an hour or 2 of teaching so make sure that if you don't want to live near your university that you don't go somewhere too far from home!

If you're really unsure about university you need to ask your in-school/college careers advisor to recommend some alternative routes into what you want to do. There are some fantastic degree-level apprenticeships out there, it's just a case of finding the right one for you.