Dating tales of Paris

Here I am, a single girl in Paris, the city of love, romance and lights. Yet I have found no such thing after MONTHS of bad dating.

Seriously, months of it! What's a girl gotta do to get some romance around here?

This is part one of multiple posts, and you will soon see the purpose of it all.

So let me tell you all about my French men experience. Of course I expected love to be different in Paris, but in all the best ways! Sultry men, smoking their cigarettes, whispering sweet French nothings in my ear working all their god-given French charm.

Reality, as always, was a mile away.

Firstly, can someone explain to me how to get hot men to speak to you?! And then how to keep them in line after?

This was a learning lesson for me in that French dating varied a lot from Anglo-Saxon dating. The biggest rule being that once you had gone on a few dates and kissed you were pretty much boyfriend and girlfriend.

In a strange way I liked that. None of the dating multiple people confusion, straight to the point, no games.

However what I found was that the French like space. They don't have to be together all the time, in fact seeing each other once or twice a week is sufficient, even at the very beginning love infatuated stages.

What happened to romance?
The need and utmost desire to see someone as much as you could! Riding the last metro at 1 in the morning to go for a midnight walk with your lover?

Is romance dead in Paris?

Or just in my life?

More to come....

Lush 'Sandstone' soap review

I know, I know, it's been over a month since my last post, but if you didn't already know, I moved to Paris!

So the last month has been a whirlwind of emotions, confusion and stress. More on that later. 

Anyway I have the biggest crush on Lush, like mammoth sized. The last month has been hard on us both because it's been hard to find my room in my budget for my beloved Lush in Paris. 

But seeing as I am back in London for a week, I thought I'd review the mountain of stuff I brought this week! 

The product I'm trying right now is the 'Sandstone' soap:

Firstly, the smell is amazing! My brother thought it smelt like candy, but I thought it smelt fresh zingy and lemony.

It lathered up reasonably well and the smell lasted for a good few hours! It wasn't too overpowering or tacky, but just perfect, like most of the Lush smells. 

This soap is perfect for exfoliation with its grains of sand, but beware, as it can sometimes get a little scratchy especially when the bar is whittling down. 

I would highly recommend this for anyone looking for a good exfoliate/generally zingy smelling soap, however I personally cannot use it more than three times a week as I can find it a little too scratchy sometimes.

3.5/5 from me. 

Over and out. 

Moving to a different country

It has been over three months since I have packed my bags, decided to called it a day, and move to Paris. Firstly let me explain in an non self-righteous way why this was kind of a big fucking deal.

Although I had lived in the Netherlands for the previous six months on a study abroad programme, this was different. I was going to this country where people only 34% of the population can speak English well, and I could speak French well enough to know the basic phrases. I was in a solid merde situation.

As soon as I got there I knew that my French would not cut it. I could ask for directions but was that really a question that would come in handy when trying to make friends?

Anyway everywhere around me was a mass of French conversation, not a word of which I could fucking understand. Do you see my frustration now? 

A 20 year old, with a suitcase of stuff, a wage that only really covered the price of rent in Paris, and not a single friend in Paris. It was scary. Moving to a different country is always scary, but more so when it's fabulous Paris, a place I had only dreamt of but never thought I could move to.

With it's well dressed women, and even better dressed men. The place where I would be comparable to a ragamuffin. 

(All the French be like what is she even doing here)

Even after three months the pangs of fear come and go about how I am not nearly as good at French as I aimed to be, or how I have nothing chic to wear. But like I said it comes and goes. Because I have made Paris my home for now which means less regular posts, and more regular shopping trips. 

Any city can become your home if you spend enough time embracing it and finding all the little quirks.

More on my adventures coming soon. 

Lush Mask Of Magnaminty Review

Holla, 

In the spirit of Christmas I thought to myself, why not have a special holiday edition of facemask reviewing. 

For the last three months I have been a little more than absent as I have moved to Paris, more on that in the upcoming weeks!

But for today we will focus on Lush's Mask Of Magnaminty. 

After a little spot outbreak from my stressful life of going to tres mignon cafes, I decided to try the mask from Lush which said it would "clean, calm and clear the skin".

Firstly the smell hit me from about three feet away. Very minty, fresh but with a slight hint of antiseptic.

So it felt very cool and tingly after application which really felt like it was working, I took the mask off after it was stiff but I noticed that the addition of water to the stiff mask turned it into a kind of face scrub.

Being a lover of exfoliation this was a dream. 

My face still felt very cool after taking off the mask and the smell was amazing. My face smelt minty with a slight undertone of honey for the rest of the morning. And might I note that the antiseptic smell was gone. 

Now the knuckle cracker, did it actually help my spots? Yes and no. I did see that my spots went decreased but they also looked darker and although my skin felt clean and refreshed it also felt a tad dry. That is the biggest irritation, when spots tend to darken up which leads to skin blemishes. 

So hopefully there will be no skin blemishes but I give this product a 3.5 out of 5. A little more moisture to make the product less harsh but maintaining the smell would be perfection.

How to be prepared for a semester abroad/exchange programme

As I write this post, I am a 20 year old girl who has spent a semester abroad in Maastricht and is preparing to spend the next academic year in Paris. Therefore I have felt your pain twice. 

I have felt the homesickness, the first flutters of regret, and then excitement. 

Let me tell you darlings then, how to prepare for this exciting adventure. 

Firstly, you must learn how to pack light. If you are travelling from one country to another by yourself, you cannot afford to bring more than a suitcase. 

It'll bite you in the ass on your way back too, when you have more belongings.

My method is: bring 3xTrousers, 5xTops, 2xJumpers, 2xSummer/Going out tops, 3xDresses (or for guys, smart shirts), 2xPJs, lots of clean underwear, 1xshorts, 1xJacket.

Some may call that excessive, and others may find it lacking. There will be clothes shops there, so chill. 

Secondly, do not spend too much time missing home. 

Yes it's hard, and yes it's natural but you'll miss out on all the fun things if you mope around and keeping talking about your cat Baxter. 

Thirdly, go to every single social event you can find. It's kind of like freshers again, where the people you meet at first may not be your best friends after all. 

On that note, don't go out of your way to only hang out with people from your country, or people who also speak your language as a mother tongue. It'll be no different that studying at home.

Lastly, try and get some non-exchange student friends, or some befriend some local students. They will know all the best bars, cafes, and places to see. They'll also know how everything works around there and can help you out. 

I hope these helped, have lots of fun and make some memories you sexy bastards.