Hiatus

Hey guys,

I'm really sorry that you haven't heard from me in so long but I just haven't been having any inspiration/motivation to write anything. While I could have given you a rubbish post about random, rambling thoughts and contemplations, which I have a knack for producing when put under stress apparently, I wanted to be able to publish something with pride and certainty. Also, other commitments are being prioritised because I need to focus on the future in the present. For this reason, I've decided to go on a hiatus until further notice, or until I decide whether to continue with this blog or even start another one. You will be hearing from me again though -- as I truly enjoy writing and posting -- I just don't know when.

In the meantime, you can still find me on my Twitter account here.

I hope each and every one of you had a Merry Christmas and have a very happy, positive and successful 2016.

Much love,

Duchess

P.S. See you soon!

Social Media Misconceptions

Hey guys!

How are you doing?

I'm going to start of this post by saying that at one point of my life, I used to scroll through countless Instagrams, Youtube videos, blogs and just admire the way people seemed to live. I would spend endless amounts of time trying to fix myself, although the question of why never seemed to be answered. As I sat here right now scrolling through Instagrams, Youtube videos and blogs (for an entirely different reason), I had a sudden thought - why did it always seem to matter so much?

Being constantly surrounded by social, and other, media puts a whole lot of pressure on people, especially teenagers who still trying to identify themselves, to fit a certain mold. Whether this be by showing them unrealistic photos of what they should aim for, or presenting them with successful people who have had the opportunity to work; it is so easy for a person to watch, see or read something and have a misinterpretation of someone's life. Many people don't understand that what you see on all these various social platforms, is only what the publisher wants you to see.

While a picture, or an article, or a post may have a story hidden behind it, most of the time this hidden story is not exposed, much less explained. This story could be full of negativity, and bad happenings, but you just do not know because you aren't seeing the other half of what is going on. The person who publishes the photo, film or article is in complete control of what you see and what you have access to. This means that although you might think someone is living a perfect life, they are only showing you the parts of their life that are what might be perceived as perfect.

Which makes sense, right? I mean, when was the last time you posted a crying #selfie, or you wrote a whole blog post on how you didn't like your hair when you woke up on Monday morning?

In addition to this above mentioned misconception, about people having perfect lives, it is also important to remember that you should not be constantly comparing yourself to these people. We are all on our own journeys of confidence, and just because some people might view somebody or something as idyllic, it does not mean that subject matter of your admiration is comfortable themselves. On another hand in some similar perspective, you should never compare your beginning to someone else's middle. A lot of the influential people on social media have worked hard to live the life they life, and first and foremost, they have been given the opportunity to work for what they love.

For example, Blogilates has been working since she was 16 to make something of her devotion to Pilates. Due to Cassey's extreme enthusiasm and love of exercise, she has built something for herself that stems from her love of health, and has influenced so many people to develop a love for looking after themselves. You may admire her omg-amazing body, but you have to remember that her fitness and health is her life, and honestly, I'm so glad it is. Another example is the beautiful Michelle Phan who is devoted to beauty. Phan has worked so hard to build her own label, and to build the branch of the industry that she has for herself, and her love of beauty. For all my beauty lovers out there, I wouldn't doubt for a second you have heard of (or even admire) Michelle Phan, but it important to note that beauty is her life and she has slogged to get to where she is today.

It's for this reason that social media, in it's various forms, is such a powerful outlet for spreading a message, and could potentially be used for spreading positivity and energy to almost every body who has access to it. It's become an undeniable truth that we're going to be surrounded by social media, it's just our choice on what we use this as an outlet for.

I have worked very hard to surround myself with media influences that are positive and always make me laugh. Maybe it's time for everyone to do that too? We all know that we already have so many negative things weighing us down, so why would you make the choice to add some more on top of that? It's absolutely your choice on anything to do with social media.

In my personal experience, I tend to stay away from most social media (I write on a social media platform) as it often serves as a distraction, or is just filled with negativity which has a heavy impact on my life. When I do log on, however, I tend to just check up on my friends and plan things as, as I mentioned before, it's a very effective way to communicate with people.

What do you spend most of your time on, and why? Who are your favourite bloggers/Yotubers/Instagram-ers/Tumblr users?

Also wanted to apologise for the consecutive chatty videos, and my irregular (but getting back into the swing of things!) publishing routine. Stay with me, I'm almost there!

Much love,

Duchess

Some Good Ol' Chatter

Hey all!

I'm baaaaaack! I've spent a good many hours contemplating, amongst other things, what my next blog post should be about. I came to the realisation that I haven't been talking to you guys (like a really good, nice jabber) as much as I used to, which is something I really liked to do. I found bits and pieces of the following in drafts that I had started but had never finished and didn't really seem to have a point to, so I thought I'd collab a few of my little thoughts to make a big one. There is probably no sequence, but I thought it'd still be nice.

I know I haven't been as consistent or reliable with my content and publishing as I promised myself I would be, but it's honestly the best I think I could do. As many as you know, my exams were really restricting me on the quality of the content I was able to have access to, and the time I had on my hands to fiddle with. However, my exams are over! And this consequently means that you should be able to expect more enjoyable things out of me in the weeks to come, especially as I'll be going up the coast for a family holiday and may be able to snap a couple of sneaky shots for you guys.

Recently I've actually had a few days off, in which I spent lazing about and doing little somethings with friends, which was lovely. In and amongst this lazing, I have been able to discover a lot of things which really intrigue me. In addition to constantly having a tab open playing some sort of media (whether that be YouTube, movies, or the rare television show - I tend to watch them on proper television), I've been discovering and rediscovering blogs. I think one of the things that really sparked this was the relaunch of the Zoella blog. As many of you know, Zoe Sugg had a bit of a haitus from her blog, in which she took time to rest and think about what she wanted to do. I can happily say that she's back, better then ever, with a blog that is absolutely BEAUTIFUL. I am in awe of her design and her new blogging style.

Speaking of bloggers, in much excitement, I actually had a really quirky talk with the beautiful Velvetgh0st on Twitter about food (of all the wonderful things). It was so exciting and such a surreal moment to be able to talk to one of the people whom I spend hours watching on YouTube and read about on their blogs. She was such a lovely person and it was weird to know so many people had seen our conversation too (and to watch the amount of Favourites that kept rolling in from the people who had seen the Tweets).

I've also been doing a little bit (quite a bit more than I'm used to) of shopping to prepare myself for my families visit in the upcoming weeks. I love being able to spend time with my family, whether it be for a few days or four weeks, but I also like being able to feel nice (I know this sounds awfully weird) while doing it. Also considering I would be spending a week or so going up the sunny coast, and many of my clothes were there to help me during the Winter (colder) months, I thought buying some clothes to accommodate me for the next half a year or so was acceptable. The only problem I seem to run into when shopping is that I tend to be drawn towards the tops, and seem to completely neglect the bottom half of a potential outfit Aside from a couple of pairs of jeans (the only couple I own that actually fit...), a couple of pairs of shorts and a few skirts, I don't have that many bottoms to accompany outfits. I guess that'll be my next mission then - to find some bottoms (in concern to clothing, nothing else)!

I've also been exploring, with what free time I've had, into music. I love to stick with what I know, which is generally classified into 'indie rock' or 'soft rock', but I've recently been extending to exploring new artists on YouTube, listening to those albums that you've always had but never been inclined to listen to or rediscovering artists and albums that were once loved but have recently been neglected. I've come to realise that I love artists like Miguel, as well as The Killers and The Kooks. I love being able to love a variety of music, and I love that I sometimes now feel like jumping around my room again because I have something fresh to listen to.

Much to my surprise, I've been watching shows on my laptop when I can! I mean, I'm more of a person to wait till they come on my Aussie television and then record them, but unfortunately most of the shows that I want to watch, I do not have access to, and I'm trying not to succumb to the temptation of Netflix (which has just been recently introduced to Australia). My most recent guilty pleasure is The Vampire Diaries (oh, I know, I give myself enough confused looks), but I love to stick to my roots as well. Speaking of which, can we talk about How To Get Away With Murder and Empire. They both surprised me by coming out close to each other, and I got to enjoy them with my older cousin too. I've also recently started watching Quantico (with fellow Indian Priyanka Chopra) and although I've watched only one episode, I feel like it's going to be a good 'un.

I am meant to be focusing on school. Sigh. A bit of an exaggeration though, because I've been keeping up with school work for now. I just can't wait till I feel like my back's breaking with work that's expected of me.

My family friends just came over so I was playing with their little daughter, who was telling me a variation of Cinderella, which she told me had a big 'story twist' at the end which was to be a surprise. It made me so happy that the twist was that Cinderella said no to the Prince when the hat (we had to scavenge around my ten year old Barbie's and came up short) fit her head properly because Cinderella still had to finish studying and get a job before she wanted to get married to anyone. When I asked her why she put this twist in, she simply said "because Cinderella wasn't ready and that's okay." This genuinely made me have good butterflies, and a huge smile.

That's all for now, I hope you've had a brilliant past few days and continue to have a brilliant week.

Much love,

Duchess

Absence Note

To whom it may concern,

I have an excuse! I know, I know. I can feel disapproving, disappointed eyes burning into the back of my head through the interwebs, but you have to  understand why. "You were doing so well. You were being consistent too," I know, but I have a legitimate excuse and I hope you all understand.

So the last couple of week or so of my life have been a loud whirlwind of headaches, outings and unusual meetings. This also has an explanation - my mothers astoundingly large and loud family. Now to be expected to an extent, this large family took up a lot of the time that I had been permitted, due to the fact that I have been on vacation. I can say, however, that the last couple of weeks have provided a few of the most memorable days of my entire life.

Due to the fact that I have always been the youngest in my extended family, on both sides, I had always been somewhat restricted on what I could and couldn't be involved in. This always used to bother me because, as to be expected, I wanted to spend as much of the limited time I had with my cousins whenever I could. This time, however, it felt like I had finally matured to the stage of accepting the fact that there was always going to be that division, irrespective of whether it was in concern with my family, between me and older people, and that was something I was going to have to live with. This made my time spent with my family even that much more enjoyable.

My family has always been very close. We make an effort to all come together, from our various sides of the world, at least once in two or three years. Even my fathers side and my mothers side are very close, to the point where my aunt from my mothers side will visit a part of the world just to stay with my fathers mother. We're all entangled together and this was established to me last year during one of my cousins wedding. Every family member, from which ever side of which ever family, at least attempted to come together to celebrate the first legal, loving addition to our family. It's because of this bond that I consider family very important.

Of course, when everyone made the decision to come to Australia and spend time with our family acting as the host, my first thought was "How on earth are we going to fit that many people into our house?!" As it happens, however, as soon as everyone came and settled, sleeping and other positions soon became comfortably established, with minor conflict. With so many working, active and many young people, it was hard to set a time where everyone arrived and departed and so we had family coming and going as the weeks passed us by. The time I did spend with my family this year, I will never forget.

So yeah guys - call me lame - but I had to devote this time to my family. Not only because I love them very much, but because they mean a whole lot to me. I hope some of you share this relationship, and if not, you have someone which you can share this kind of relationship with. We also did a little bit of road tripping along the way, in which we stopped at many beautiful places (so expect a few things coming your way). I did miss talking to you guys, and you should expect me back soon.

Much love,

Duchess

Gluten Free Dark Chocolate Cake

'Ello!

It feels like a while since I've done my last food related post (go figure, because it has been about half a year), so when my brother had to make something for a picnic he was attending, it seemed like an opportune moment for me. I had actually already had another post planned, which I was in the middle stages of making, but since I haven't had really any quality content for you guys recently, I thought this would be a nice change to the system. Also the post that I had planned, which I think you can expect next week, is a right old ramble and I didn't think you'd want that.

Apologies for the lack in quality of the photos. I had a little tantrum in the middle of the making-of-the-baking process in which my brother (considerately) took the photos for me. I'm not saying that his photo taking capabilities are limited (I mean, he only took three photos on his recent trip overseas), but I am just saying that we were all a little stressed. A tip for next time, if you want to bake when your family is home, set some strict ground rules. For example, four people in the kitchen at once is not a good idea.

Before I ramble on some more, here you go.

Preparation Time: give or take 30 mins | Cooking Time: give or take 30 mins | Serves about 16 

You will need:

• melted butter or greasing paper (or both) for greasing
• 20 cm square cake tin
• 250 g dark chocolate, roughly chopped or in small pieces for easy melting (chocolate buttons work well) 
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil 
• 2 Tbsp low fat milk 
• 2 cups almond meal
• 5 eggs, separated
• 1/2 cup Caster Sugar 
• Optional: Icing sugar for dusting, or ice with whatever you want
• Optional: paper cut outs in shapes

Method: 

1. Preheat oven to 160oC. If you are using butter, grease the base and sides of your cake tin; if you are using baking paper, line your tin. Or do both, like me! 
2. Put your chocolate, oil and milk in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (make sure it's not touching the water) and stir with a metal spoon until the chocolate is melted and silky. Set aside to cool slightly. 
3. Put your chocolate mixture, almond meal, egg yolks and sugar in a bowl and mix to combine.
4. Put the separated egg whites into an electrical blender until stiff peaks form. 
5. Fold 1/2 the egg whites into the chocolate mixture first. Then add the remaining egg whites into the mixture, once incorporated. 
6. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin.
7. Bake for 30 minutes or until the cake is firm to touch. Allow to cool completely  before cutting the cake into 16 slices.
8. If you're feeling creative, cut out little templates (in paper will do) and place them on top of your cake squares and dust over them (with icing sugar)
9. Enjoy your good cakeness yums.
10. While enjoying your yums, make sure you appreciate my poorly added and taken creative shots. I mean, some thought went it to these, albeit limited.

Now the icing is completely up to you but make sure your cake has cooled completely before you add any icing. The last thing you want is runny, goop-y icing on your beautiful creation. Also keep in mind that any cracks that occur in your bake are normal and perfectly fine - they will be just as most and enjoyable! It just adds a little more character. I prefer to just add icing sugar to the top and leave it at that, but obviously it's up to you. I hope you enjoy it. 

Much love,

Duchess

Shoe Envy: Tony Bianco

Hello beautiful beings,

"Give a girl the right shoes, and she can conquer the world." - Marilyn Monroe

Upon purchasing a new pair of Tony Bianco boots (yes, I know that I'm going into Spring, but they were on clearance), I found myself exploring their site to see what else I would develop a love for. Turns out, Tony Bianco sources some of the most divine shoes that I have ever seen. Now for some (including me), you may look at some of the prices and sadly look down and turn away, but - judging from the one purchase I made - they seem to be of amazing quality, and marked down quite a bit, may just be worth the wait.

I am a huge supporter of clearance sales, and you can always find my mum and I going through racks of out of season clothes to pick up at ridiculous prices, to wear next year. I mean, I would much rather that (with my limited source of income) than spending, actual, ridiculous amounts of money to obtain clothing that's considered 'season'. I mean, a shirts a shirt - you can pair it with a coat and a scarf, and you're going to be fit to wear a Summer top in Autumn anyway. So when I saw these boots being marked down by $150 (?!) I couldn't resist splurging a little (by splurge I mean roughly $45).

If you want to check them out, you can find them here.

I mean, they're really pretty boots, and they were going at a super reasonable price for quite a high end shoe store. Getting back to the topic at hand, as I scrolled through this site, my hands seemed to disregard my brain, and I soon found myself with about 15 items in an online wishlist I would never, but would like to, purchase. Also, because my brain works in weird ways, I thought some of you might like to see what I had collated from this websites wishlist, so I narrowed these shoes down to just a hdnful. Here you go...

1. FRAYA: I love the simplicity of these booties. I mean, they just look like grown up Chelsea boots, and I think that this would be some easy to wear with just about anything.

2. MIXA: I'm loving laced heels at the moment, and I will always love a little peeptoe, as I think it's quite a classic look. You can only imagine my excitement when the two were brought together! Albeit looking somewhat uncomfortable, that chunky heel ought to make up for it.

3. OLIVER: Imagine how easy this would be to add your extra something-something to it. I like the neutral shade, especially on flats, because it gives you the flexibility to do almost anything with it. The little bit of wood detailing also adds a little more charm.

4. OLLEY: I would normally just go for a black if I dared to go this dark, but I think that this colour definitely suits this type of shoes. I'm a sucker for a bit of detailing on a plain flat, and I like the look of these, as opposed to the statement metallic designs that are being displayed on the fronts of flats at the moment (although I love that too).

5. TWISTER: How I adore a heeled boot. I think that this shade is so chic and fun to play around with. I would love to be able to buy something like this, when I'm older, and just see how much I could do with it. I'm in awe of people who wear things like this casually - one day!

6. ALAQUA: As I said before, I'm loving a laced heel. This thin heel and intricate design gives the shoe a much more feminine and delicate feel, which I adore. Not going to lie, I've been eyeing some shoes like this, but with no where to wear them there's no point! Won't stop me window shopping though.

Obviously these are just a select few shoes on the site that particularly caught my eye, but there were so many more that I had to, unfortunately, cut down. I guarantee that they'll be something on the site that you'll like though. As some what more of a conservative, play-it-safe kind of shoe person, I would say that this site even dared me to consider something I would never usually consider, and I think that that in itself is something to be happy with.

Apart from selling a wide variety of beautifully designed and crafted shoes, Tony Bianco is also a source of many other clothing and accessory items. I would definitely recommend you check them on out, and I will link their website here. Note that the website linked is actually just for the Australian website, I'm sure that there's a way for you to get to your nation/areas website from there though.

Which were your favourite pair? And what's your favourite shoe brand?

Much love,

Duchess

Blogs I'm Loving!

Hiya guys!

I'm really sorry about the extremely chatty, quick posts from my side. What with my exams and such coming up - I have a lot to do and not so long to do it all! I hope you won't mind me taking a little bit of time away from here and putting that into my school work and my future. I thought it'd be a cute idea to do a little blog post on my recent favourite bloggers. Keep in mind, I am by no means a blogging 'expert' and I think it would be a stretch to even classify me as a 'blogger', but I know I love reading other peoples work and I think you might like some of them too. Apologies if you've heard, or you've read, the peoples blogs I list down below already - at least you now know that we have something in common. Also, note I don't mean that the bloggers I mention are new, but rather that I have either recently discovered their blog; or have recently really being enjoying their content. On with the blogs!

1. A Beautiful Mess 

Oh, and what a freakin' gorgeous mess it is. The title tells no lie and the girls who run it are especially beautiful. If you want something happy, creative, lively or something just fun - they've got your back. Constant inspiration for me want to something more with my life, and to make everything a little bit more pretty. Definite, definite love.

Bloglovin'
Blog

2. Poppy Deyes 

I was incredibly happy when Poppy Deyes went live with her own blog. Many of you may know her as the older sister of Alfie Deyes, but she is now becoming a big part of the beauty and lifestyle blogosphere. With her beautiful pictures, and her original and fun content, it's hard not to like what you see. Her blog itself is categorised into three different headings - travel, food and lifestyle - and aside from making it very easy to navigate through her posts, it also draws the whole site together. The design and theme of her blog is very simplistic, elegant and feminine and I am in love with it! So, so nice and congratulations to Ms. Deyes on the launch of an extremely successful blog.

Bloglovin'
Blog

3. Gh0st Parties

Holy moly! What a beautiful way to spend your time cosying up with a blanket and a cup of tea while scrolling through this blog. YES! I am aware of how big of a blog this already is, but it doesn't alter the fact that everything on here is absolutely beautiful and makes me want to have a blog like this one day. Gh0st Parties is all about beauty, interiors, lifestyle and travel (yes, yes, yes and YES), which really appeals to me. Although it may not take to everyone's fancy, I think it's safe to assume that anybody could appreciate the beauty and aesthetic of this blog.

Bloglovin'
Blog

If you hadn't already realised (or seen) I have a new handy gadget on the side of my blog which give you access to follow me by email, or follow my Bloglovin'. Anyway, I hope you've all had an absolutely lovely week, and as I head into my weekend, I'm sending lots of hugs.

Much love,

Duchess

The Winter Tag: Australian Edition

Hello guys!

In Australia our winter is (slowly) drawing to a close. I would be lying if I said that I hadn't been craving the sun. We have been pretty lucky lately to have a few days when the sun made a hasty, but hot, appearance and for those few days, I soaked up the sun in content. I thought it would be fitting to do The Winter Tag. I know this tag is old, and consequently hasn't been doing rounds recently, but I don't think it really has a time stamp as it is a universal kind of thing.

Also, just wanted to let you know that my updates, over the course of the next few weeks probably aren't going to be as regular. I have all my major exams coming up, so I have to dedicated even more time to my studies Rest assured that after my exams, I already have planned a few quality ideas for some blog posts as I'm going to be travelling up the coast with my family. Watch this space! In the meantime, if you want to keep up to date with me, I'll be occasionally posting thing on my Twitter.

So, without further ado, I give you the Australian Winter Tag.

1. Do you like the cold? 
No, I much prefer the heat. I love being able to spend long times in the sun, or going out with friends and family, or going to the beach, or just going for drives. However, there are some aspects of the cold which I do like.

2. What is your favourite part of Winter? 
Friday and Saturday nights. That might sound a little random, but whenever I'm not busy on these nights, I love cuddling up in my bed and watching movies or having long marathons of television shows (crime shows, namely), or watching YouTube videos (no shame), or reading others blogs. I also love when I'm at home and it's raining, but I don't like when I'm out and it's raining - in that situation, I just feel miserable.

3. Does it snow where you live? 
No, it doesn't. If you drive for about six hours, you'll hit snow.

4. What is you favourite Autumn/Winter scent? 
I don't actually have many scents, but when I go out for formal events, I like to wear Burberry Brit.

5. What is your favourite item of clothing to wear in Winter? 
I love to wear big jackets or coats. I have a hand me down jacket that my brother gave me for my birthday (which was featured in this blog post) which has been a staple in my wardrobe. It's comfy, and is often mistaken for a Burberry product, because of the inner lining, which makes me laugh (because there's no way I can afford it!)

6. What is you favourite Winter nail polish colour? 
I love love love the Rimmel London Kate Moss Collection, of which I adore the Acid House nail polish shade (which was featured in this blog post). I don't really fancy my fingernails being painted all the time, because I hate how it looks when they chip, and I feel the need to take it all off, so I tend to just only put it on my toenails. When it chips on my toenails, I don't really taken any notice.

7. What is your favourite Winter lip product? 
 I get really dry, cracked lips during the colder months if I don't take care of them. It's for this reason that I tend to stick to what is popular, because they obviously are popular for a reason, or what is advised to me. I'll just say classic Maybelline New York Baby Lips, or Nivea Moisture.

8. What is you favourite Winter accessory?
Although I don't really tend to change, or mix up, my accessories, I do really like when people wear big, chunky rings. Unfortunately, I don't really wear statement accessories, but I do adore that look.

9. Coffee, tea or hot chocolate? 
Ooh, I can't possibly choose from tea or hot chocolate. I'm not really a fan of coffee, I've always been a massive fan of hot chocolate, but I'm also a sucker for tea. I just love the variety that it offers - I love chai lattes a lot, but I also love a classic green tea. I've actually recently tried a green tea with coconut, which was interesting, and a green tea with chai in it, which I loved! If you are ever wanting to try a new brand of tea, which has so much variety, I would definitely recommend Higher Living. There is so much to choose from, and it all tastes so good!

10. What winter trend do you prefer: winged eyeliner or dark lips? 
Considering I'm still a student, I don't really have the time to perfect either of these looks, or really a place to wear them. It's safe to say that I adore both of these looks so I really don't think I can choose. I am in awe of people who have the ability to do/pull off these trends though.

11. What is your most worn sweater? 
Hmm... My collection of sweaters is limited, as I'm more of a jacket/coat kind of person myself. I do however love the Urban Outfitters and Free People Winter sweater collections. Maybe another blog post idea? 

12. Skinny jeans or leggings?
Jeans, without a shadow of a doubt. I used to live in leggings, but for the past couple of years, I just love wearing jeans. There's so much diversity with them - ripped, boyfriend, skinny. Whatever you want. I just really like jeans, to the point that if I had to choose one pair of clothing to always wear, it would be them.

13. What song gets you in the mood for Winter/Autumn? 
Honestly, I'm not really sure how to answer this question so I'm just going to say what songs I've been loving this Winter which has predominantly consisted of Henry Green's cover of Electric Feel.

14. What shoes do you tend to wear most in Winter? 
I love to wear my Doc Martins (of which I recently acquired my second pair, second hand, from one of my friends), or any boots, or any detailed flats (I have a pair of lion ones from Rubi Shoes which I think look so nice with skinny jeans).

15. Have you ever gone ice skating? Are you any good at it?
I do occasionally go ice skating, and I have the ability to skate by myself, but I am in no way a good skater. I have a couple of friends who have grown up skating, or play ice sports, so they obviously are much better at skating than me, and that's what I'm comparing myself to.

That's all! I hope you guys have had a brilliant week and that you're all safe and healthy.

Much love,

Duchess

Favourite Youtubers: Editing Edition

Hey guys!

So as many of you know, I'm a huge supporter of many forms of media spread throughout the internet. I love reading, watching and listening to other peoples content whenever I can. The fact that it is now so easy, efficient and accessible for a person to create and for people to witness other people's work still blows my mind to this day. You'll then understand my love for Youtube and videos in general. I will be the first to admit that making videos and uploading them has crossed my mind many a times, but right now, I don't think I'm mature enough or ready to do expose that much on the internet. For now, I'm happy with maintaining a blog.

Anyway, one of my favourite parts of Youtube is observing peoples videos (obviously), but also witnessing many different editing styles and how people put their art together. Now, I have never restricted myself to any one 'genre' on Youtube, and I tend to jump around a bit, but I though it would be a nice to compile a list of my favourite editors of videos. Maybe this will be an opportunity for you reading to experience some more Youtubers, and gain even more understanding into the sort of person I am.

Below I will name them, attach a link to their Youtube channels, and include an example of a video(s) they have made which displays why I like their editing so much. Without further ado, my favourite Youtube editors.

1. Will Darbyshire 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeD3VwVu0HzIkPbLwl1D_VA

2. Ben Brown 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAkP51BEzkKimJh7KDflx_g

3. Jenn Im (clothesencounters)

https://www.youtube.com/user/clothesencounters 

4. Victoria Macgrath (Inthefrow)

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyxZB7SqkRFqij18X1rDYHQ

5. Karlie Kloss (Klossy)

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH5Qu8Sd-m-7Zk4xc_J5VzA 

It is important to note that the last video was produced by the talented Casey Neistat (https://www.youtube.com/user/caseyneistat) who is another very talented Youtuber. 

I hope you enjoyed this post and the Youtubers and videos I put into it!

Much love,

Duchess

Bucketlist #4

Yoo-hoo!

Happy to announce bucketlist #4. I'm not sure if you guys are honestly enjoying this series, but I thought it was a convenient, efficient way to communicate will you all about how I feel and what I want to do. You'll not believe the depths I had to go to from my tired, dusty mind to come up with these. Dreams I used to wish have long been forgotten, but are recently being brought back up to the surface. Here are some of them.

31. Feel comfortable in my own skin

32. Own my own car (or have my own car... Money is tight!)

33. Work until I no longer have to introduce myself

34. Live in an apartment

35. Have a job that lets me travel

36. Have my own signature make up look

37. Take a decent selfie (the last time I took a selfie was with my brother... About 6 months ago)

38. Get myself a DSLR camera and all the gear to go with it

39. Spend a day abroad with just me and my camera (mentioned above)

40. Learn how to contour properly (!)

I hope you're all having a lovely day and I see your gorgeous face back here soon. Sending lots of warm hugs and cuddles just in case you're not having that good of a day. I am always here for you.

Much love,

Duchess

Short Hair, Don't Care!

Hellooooh!

I've always had long hair growing up and it, at one time, got to the point where it was my identifier. "Oh you're the girls with long hair, right?" "Yeah, that's me." Now, while I didn't mind it, it wasn't something that I wanted to be known for. I love long hair, but I don't want it to be my definition. Now, you might think I was exaggerating, but with all honesty, I can state that my hair (however dead at the tips it was) reached down to my knees. It was very, very long. I constantly felt drowned, and my hair has a tendency to be frizzy, so it made me feel a little bit like a lion (which was a pro).

As I got older, however, I made the choice to cut it. At the time, it felt like a lot, but looking back on it, it wasn't much at all. When the operation was done, it reached to about halfway down my back. What I had cut, I donated to Locks of Love, which is a great cause. Now, I sort of wished I had cut it even shorter. I think everyone, at some point should experience both short and long hair, which is why I had wished I had cut more of it off when I was in high school - because that's the time to make mistakes. Now, it's grown back to my hips, but I refuse to let it grow back any further.

Short hair has always appeared very mature and elegant to me. I'm not sure if that' just me, but judging by the overwhelming number of people who are now making the choice to cut their hair, I feel like I'm not alone. Anything shoulder length and above, I view as very brave. Anything from shoulders to half way down the back I still admire. So here, I thought I would just make a little appreciation post about short hair. Because I love it.

Alicia Keys

Emeli Sande

Emma Watson

Anne Hathaway

Ingrid Nelsen

Jennifer Aniston

Lily Collins

Okay, yes. I have one larger than usual one. You guys know that this means that I have fallen in love with this more than anything else that I have displayed. Let me just start by telling you what a beautiful person Zoe Sugg is, both inside and out. On top of that, she is undoubtedly one of the most gorgeous people I have ever seen. So when she cut her hair short (and lopped off all her characteristic long hair in the process), my jaw dropped. But how stunning is she looking now?! Even to this day, her hair inspires and makes me love long hair even more. SO PRETTY! 

How would you describe your hair? And what would you change it to if you had the chance? 

Much love,

Duchess

Suki Waterhouse Style

If there's one person I can always rely on to dress in something that will always slightly amaze/surprise/excite me, it's Suki Waterhouse. With her memorable style and my impressionable mind, it's easy to see why I was in awe when I first was exposed to all aspects of her style. Here I have compiled a short, sweet list of some of my favourite of her outfits or her looks, and a few of the ones that made me 'ooh' and 'ah' in amazement. Keep in mind, Waterhouse is definitely not my favourite (style) icon, I just am constantly excited to see what she'll put out of her hat next, and a few of those times, I have been delighted with what I saw. Also, for future reference, I do think Waterhouse is astoundingly beautiful, and some of these looks I would never even attempt to pull off because she has one of those styles that is the embodiment of uniquely cool, meaning that she's probably the only person who can pull off her style with high satisfaction (see: Kate Moss).

I mean, starting with her off-duty model looks, can we just admire how cool (for lack of better word) she is. Her hair, her make up, and she's possibly the only person I've seen that's ever had such a happy person in the background of their photo. That would probably be me if I ever got to stand in her presence - note the way she's smiling adoringly at the clothes rather than anything else. A lot of things here probably shouldn't work - the suit with the bag with the shoes - but somehow, in some realm of unfair-ness, Suki Waterhouse was blessed with the ability to wear and pull anything off. I absolutely adore her fringe (Americans, see 'bangs') and the colouring of her hair, as well as her characteristic natural make up and her solemn expression. Nothing looked this good in a horizontally striped suit, and although she doesn't show it, I am loving every stripe.

Moving onto these casual outfits, I'm again reminded of how I'm constantly surprised by what she's wearing. These ensembles almost seems tame in comparison to some of the others she's managed to throw together and I want every item she wears in these, including the suitcase. Can we also take note of her composure, when there's seems to be quite a few cameramen present. I love everything about these outfits, although white shoes have never been a good idea for me.

Next, moving onto some of the more formal and quite special looks she's pulled together, the following has got to be one of my favourites. That dress is so magical, and her hair and makeup, although some would call it dishevelled and unruly, I think completes her whole look. With her hands encompassing her slim waist and the dress falling neatly the rest of the way down, I imagine this dress to be in some way an interpretation of a modern day princess. With much more intrigue and passion in the way she carries herself and looks. I love this gown, and want it, with nowhere to wear it.

The next two outfits are more characteristic to the red carpet, but really caught my attention because of the similar looking trench coats she seems to be sporting. As a lover of coats, I find the fact that she can turn something so ordinary into a whimsical and essential looking accessory, fascinating. In both outfits, the sets would have appeared complete, but the addition of the coat adds that extra flavour that Waterhouse needed to make the outfits her own. Something I admire about her a lot! Both the ensembles under the outfits seem to have also won me over. I remember the initial awe I had when seeing the suit she wore to Cara Delevingne's Mulberry launch. I love a lot about both outfits below, but her curly turn wavy hair and distinct brows really set off this look for me into something truly her. 

The next two outfits really surprised me. Not because they weren't something I could've ever imagined her wearing, or anything like that, but rather because they really showed me her ability to wear things so diverse and pull them off. The photo of her in a gown shows a much more innocent, young Waterhouse, with her bright eyes and sweet smile. Her gown, of course, is breath taking, and seems to be tailored to fit her slender frame. I love the addition of the bold, thick silver belt as it really broke up the metallic material the rest of the gown was made of. The photo on the left shows us another side to Waterhouse which we are not always allowed to be exposed to. She looks absolutely beautiful. Her hair, her dress, her makeup, her shoes, her nails, her coat - timeless. I don't think I've ever seen someone so different dressed up so classic, and I love it.

.

The next two outfits, I thought of pairing up simply because of their notable similar designs. The tulle skirt - am I a fan? Heck yes. I don't think anyone could pull off these particular designs with as much ease and elegance that Waterhouse manages to. Waterhouse looks ethereal in the pretty green dress with the tiered green colour effect. I love how innocent she looks, I love how magic she looks. I'd be lying if I didn't say that I haven't imagined this being a very cute elf/Tinkerbell outfit. I don't really feel the need to explain why I'm awestruck with the photo on the right. Wow, just... Wow. Look at her and stare. Given my similar slender frame and small bust, if I ever had the opportunity to go out and walk the red carpet someday, I know exactly who I would want to aspire to look like (as well as some input by Ms. Chung). I love everything about this look!

I hope you guys were also quite amazed by this young lady's ability to dress just as I was. Definitely not my own style inspiration, but I am impressed all the same by how different, and likeable, she is as a personality. Keep doing what you're doing!

Much love,

Duchess

Passion

Hiya!

Bet that title caught your attention. In all honesty, if you clicked on this in hopes to find anything to fuel your imagination then you've probably taken a wrong turn. I was looking up my favourite chatty blog posts that people have done in the past that I adored and would like to recreate, about me, for my blog. One of the ones I stumbled across was someone writing about five passions that they have and how they influenced their life. Considering most of my blog posts consist of content that does not, in particular, relate to my personal life, I love just being able to sit down and write and feel like I'm chatting with you reading this.

If you follow my Twitter (find me here), or you've been reading my posts for a little bit, you'll know that I've recently returned to schooling after a little break. This break was not personal, but rather a break that everyone took. I just wanted to let you all know that I will be writing more chatty posts from now on, apart from the odd occasion where I may go out (in which case you'll have something different!). The time I would have spent in the past going out or on leisure activities, I will now have to spend studying as one of the more important years of my education are coming up.

So, here we go. I hope you enjoy and learn a little more about me!

1. Dancing: I've been dancing ever since I can remember. I used to dress up in my tiny little leotard and bounce around the room in my fairy tutu imitating those princesses on the TV until my mother couldn't stand me bruising my arm from falling over again. From the age of four, I've attended some dance school or the other. When I was younger, dancing used to be a little bit of a fun thing - I would have friends, we would be a little silly together and I would go home with no worries. As I aged, though, dancing stopped being something that I would look to to have a little bit of fun, but rather something that I looked forward to. It's one of the few things that I have, in my own responsibility, fully committed and stuck with for as long as I have. I also think that it's one of the many factors that assisted me in my obsession with health and exercise as I grew up. Right now I'm still being trained in the classical Cecchetti style of ballet, and have been since I was six or seven, and it's helped me build my posture, strength and endurance so much. I can safely say I would not be who I am today without the influence of dance.

2. Music: Around the same time I started training for Cecchetti ballet, I was enrolled into a very laid back keyboard class. From there, my love for piano started. I've been playing piano for a good number of years now, and I still get the same feeling of excitement whenever I sit on a piano stool and put my fingers on the keys. I also think that my love for piano stemmed into my love for music generally. I have had a lot of times in my life where I have experiments with a lot of different styles and genres of music, and I hope to write some kind of post about that at some point, but music has and always will be a big part of my life. Every individual person in my house also enjoys a very varied style of music, so my family has also had a huge impact on how I perceived, respected and admired music from a young age

3. Travel: Although suffering from the unfortunate fate of a student's budget, I have made so many untold plans to travel overseas and experience, well, life. I don't think my life will ever be complete or satisfied (as cliché as it sounds) until I have utilised all the opportunities I have been given to experience different cultures and places to their absolute maximum (and I do mean everything about the culture - food, clothes, everything). I have no doubt in my mind that I will travel the world, or to the extent that I see fit, because that is one of my absolute, non-negotiable wishes that I have been asking for ever since I knew it was possible travel. At first it was to see pretty places, but it soon evolved into so much more and I have a good feeling that this is one of those dreams that is going to stick until I achieve it.

4. Design: Not so much of the fashions sorts, although I do love creating and putting together new wardrobe assortments - it's just something I find myself enjoying, rather than being passionate about. My design is more on the spectrum of interior design. I have always been tucked away in my parent's house, with the ability to do what I want (with my parent's permission, of course) but I have always had it on my conscience that once I move out, what are they going to do with a room that just screams out my name. So the plan is to complete a uni course that I can pursue an enjoyable career in, and then go back to some sort of school that can offer me a qualification that I can do maybe in my spare time. I want it to act as two things - a sort of backup just in case the time comes, or a way of doing something I purely enjoy so I don't have to get bored and get lost. The idea of interior design, although unknown to me, must have stemmed from my absolute love of architecture when I was younger. I suppose as I grew up, that yearning shifted to the other side of things and now I hope to pursue the inside of the making.

5. The Future: Interpret this as you will, but I am obsessed with my future. I am without a doubt able to say that I know that my future is going to be so much more exciting than my past has proved to pan out and I am so ready. I'm not sure if this is just me, but I could spend hours, and even day, planning my life just as how I want it to be. Now this may seem weird to you, but it sets up competition with myself, for myself and this motivates me to strive for that goal. I don't deal well with competing with other people, but when I'm working towards my own personal goal (which people do not have to know about) it proves so much more effective in making me want to work, because I want to get there.

I hope this helped you understand me a little more. I wrote a quite a bit about my childhood and earlier years in here. Nostalgia!

Much love,

Duchess

Schooling Tips and Tricks: The Set Up

Hello!

Just a quick little update. As some of you may know, I've recently set up a Twitter account and am much more active on it than I ever thought I would be. I have a thing with social media where if I spend too much time on it, then I get a little panicky. There is a reason behind it, and one that I don't really want to go into right now, but I might explain it in another post. Anyway, I've discovered most of my favourite bloggers and Youtubers on it and it's getting me really involved in this particular community. It's also a brilliant platform if any of you would like to get in contact with me. If any of you would like to follow or get in contact with me, my Twitter can be found here.

Due to the fact that I have to get back to schooling soon and I am constantly going to have to be studying now (which I regretfully say) I thought it may help myself and other people if I created some sort of small series to help people who are going back to school as well. So here's the first instalment: The Set up.

No matter which course you go into, you will always receive a syllabus (or you can find one online) which will state what you need to learn, study and revise for any upcoming exams. It also provides an outline to what you will cover. Essentially, it acts as a basis and a backup for your course. For me, this is an essential part of my studying. Not really a part of the set up, but would just like to highlight how crucial your syllabus is.

Now to the actual set up. Before I begin, I would like to point out that studying is a different experience for everyone and all that I state will be what works for me. I would advise that you take time out to really find out what works for you, because that will be so helpful in the long run too.

For me, music is a no-no. Studies have shown, however, that headphones tend to decrease retention and memory whereas music in the background can aid some people. It all depends on how close the source of sound is to you. Some music - such as Bach and Beethoven - have even proved to help some people memorise and study more efficiently, but I have had no such luck. One thing that has no positives to it is working in front of a television, or any screen that has some sort of entertainment on it. This can directly interfere with your thoughts and your pattern of study, making it even more difficult to retain information. I will be the first to admit that if I learned something in a class or lecture that I fully understood, and I received work or assignments about it at home, I sometimes turn on the television as I sit on the couch and do my work. This is not advisable and should be avoided! I do, however, work a lot from my laptop. Whether it be taking notes on it during lessons, or gathering extra in information from it, it has become a crucial part to my studying process. It is a very tempting distraction, however, so if you have a tendency to give in very easily, I would try to refrain from using any digital gadgets where you can.

The location in which you study is also very dependent on the person. I prefer to study in my room, with my door locked so I can tucker down and close myself off for a few hours at a time. I also prefer to be alone, and I definitely work best if no one else is at home with me. When I do take breaks, I try to limit the time that I have outside of my room, as I can often get driven off to things that lead to doing other things, resulting in me subconsciously avoiding work. However, the bedroom or any other room can represent sleep and relaxation to some people, which results in them not having any motivation to do work. It is also a place of many distractions, so to be able to work effectively in a bedroom you have to be able to stay focused for excessive periods of time, without feeling the urge to check your phone, go on social media platforms, or anything like that often. 

Mixing up your study environment occasionally is often advised to stimulate your brain. I often do like to take my work some places, but they have to have a desk and a quiet area. Working on beds, or any other surface where I cannot fully focus, tends to draw my attention anyway and draw me towards sleep because that is what a bed represents to me. Study groups, especially those with people who are revising the same information as you, can be a very positive influence for some people, but as I tend to work better alone, I find myself getting easily distracted by them. This is especially evident when I study around some of my closer friends, because I often end up just chatting with them. For me, when I get out to study, I lean towards a library that has isolated stalls, or another, similar place. For people who do not attend university or college yet, although it may be a daunting experience the first time, uni and college libraries and general campuses have a multitude of places that have been designed especially for their students to study. I promise that once you get there, no one will pay much notice to you. They may seem very scary, but uni students are actually most of the time (when they are on campus) too absorbed in their own work to care about too much else. 

Some people even prefer noisier locations, as when you get too much background noise, your brain sometimes blocks it out. For me, this would never work but it is important to practically explore our options. 

Lighting and temperature may seem unimportant but actually can have a drastic effect on your mood and how you're feeling. Try to find a happy medium with lighting that isn't harsh but doesn't want to put you to sleep, and a place with consistent temperature. I prefer to be warm, whether this means turning the heater up or piling on a few extra layers, but it makes me feel even more focused.

This might lead onto the question of - when I study, what material should I take/what materials should I have with me? Of course, I cannot answer this question so that it covers everybody. With every course, there comes a whole new set of materials and course work. This is another advantage of working from home - you have everything on hand. When you go out and study, you should triple check to make sure that you have all you need when you leave. If you do go out, do not set yourself the task of going over all your courses and studying everything. I may not be able to generalise on many things I have said in this post, but I can assure you that this will never work. If you go out, give yourself two or three subjects in which you have narrowed down even further what you need to go over and make sure that you have a basic outline of what you're going to study. There's nothing worse than going out to study, pulling out your books and materials and then having no clue what you're reading, with no one to ask. 

When I work from home, I study one subject at a time, because flipping and switching does not work for me at all. In between topics in a subject, I like to take five minute breaks, and in between subjects I like to take at least fifteen minute breaks, in which I refuel. On my table, I have to have all the physical books, materials and resources that I need to go through all I want to before my next break. If they are not on my table, and I constantly have to be getting up, I get drowsy and bored much more quickly as I am constantly being exposed to distractions. So make sure you have everything you need with you on hand. I also have to have my pencil box/case with me. However, life becomes much easier when I take everything out from it and lay them out on my table for easy access. 

Highlighting is a tricky thing as some people have a tendency to overcompensate with the colour that they put on their pages (I come from experience). One trick a friend advised me is to colour coordinate your information - for example, green could be for key dates, yellow could be for important people and so on. This did not work for me at first, and I still have trouble with this, but I have slowly trained myself into some sort of compromise. I highlight what I absolutely need to, and then right out the key points of what I have had to highlight. This has registered in my brain as less writing, which means a less ache-y arm. Of course, if you received a document that is crucial to your studies, do not compromise on your information because you want a less ache-y arm.

I like to write in lead and red pens when I study. Lead makes it easier to scribble notes around and add information to, and writing in red makes it really establish in my brain as hard fact. Blue and black pens are kept on hand if need be because they can come in handy for taking side notes or scribbling on post it notes. 

That's something that I forgot to mention and show! I'm not sure what they're called universally, but I call them post it notes. They're the little paper tabs with stickiness on the back of them that you can attach to paper and things to make little notes on or mark an important passage or page. These are important to my studying process. I find them excessively handy in writing little side notes which I stick next to passages. They also prove useful when you are studying out of a textbook and don't want to damage or mark it, and you can stick a post it note to write notes on and not permanently vandalise the book.

Apart from that I don't really like having anything else on my table. As far as snacks go, I like to have something that I wouldn't normally crave - so anything like cookies is a big no. There are some food that have proven to increase brain performance, such as celery with peanut butter, and I tend to lean towards snacks like this. Celery with peanut butter is a snack I consume on a day to day basis, as it really can fill you up and make you feel very awake.

Finally, and because I do do this a lot, I would encourage you to clean out your mind and physical area before you study. Any worry, distractions or other problems should be out of your head before you sit down to study for long period of time. Make sure you aren't worrying about how messy your room is as you sit down, and if you are, do something about it. Make sure that fight you're having with your friend is out of your head, even if it means taking some sort of radical movement to do so, before you try to concentrate too hard. Meditation, although it may put you off a little, has actually proved to help people who have trouble studying due to prior concerns. It is the most important thing to be completely aware of your mind and surroundings when you study, and have the capability to drown them out.

That's all for now. If you have any additional tips about the set up and environment of studying, and what works for you, leave them in the comments or tweet them to me. If you have any exams, tests, or just schooling coming up - good luck! I believe everyone is capable of doing well in whatever they pursue, they just has to learn how to harness their natural intelligence.

Much love,

Duchess