Year in Review | Best of 2012

Happy New Year! 

This is part two of my 'Year in Review' series.  Yesterday I wrote about my Top 12 Beauty Products of 2012 and today I'll be talking you through each month and all the things that happened to me.  So without further adieu...

JANUARY

While for many, January is a horrible month, for my family it was a really happy one.  On Wednesday 25th January my Sister-in-law gave birth to William Alexander and he's brought so much love and happiness into the family (and quite a few sleepless nights for his Mum and Dad). Without sounding too soppy, it was the best possible start to the new year.

FEBRUARY

My birthday month always brings good memories.  This year was no exception and on my birthday we went out on the town.  The club was packed thanks to Joey Essex and Diags from The Only Way is Essex making an appearance but I can't really remember much else from the night.

MARCH

A busy month at university.  We were creating a magazine in a group as part of our course and it was a lot of hard work which would eventually pay off.

APRIL

April was both a good and a bad month.  Tuesday 4th April brought the end of my favourite TV show in the entire world - One Tree Hill.  On the plus side, I have all the box sets and will continue to watch them for years to come! At the end of the month, I started a social media internship at Phoenix, a designer reseller which meant I was surrounded by Chanel, Louboutin, Mulberry and many more for a whole month.  At lunch time, I often found myself in a small shop called 'At Home' where they sold delicious but humongous  sandwiches.  The shop was also situated about two minutes from Space NK and inevitably, I got the bug.

MAY

With the end of my internship also came the end of second year at university.  I continued freelancing for Phoenix whilst they were between interns.  May is also a big month for birthdays in my family with my brother on the 7th and my youngest niece Alice on the 25th (are you noticing a pattern with birthdays?)

JUNE

On Tuesday 5th June, myself and two of my best friends went on holiday to Spain.  It was the best 10 days of my life, we laughed, tanned, shopped and just had an amazing time.  Definitely what we needed after a stressful few months at university.  Sophia Bush, aka Brooke Davis from One Tree Hill also tweeted me on the 20th June - a pretty cool highlight.

JULY

My second internship of the year was in June at More! Magazine. I spent two weeks working with the fashion team as well as contributing to the magazine which was fun, as I read More! on a weekly basis. It was a lot of hard work, more so the commute than anything else but it was also great experience for my CV.  July also saw the arrival of another baby in the family.  My auntie gave birth to a baby girl who is absolutely adorable.

AUGUST

While I didn't get to go to the actual Olympic park (still kicking myself), I definitely got the Olympic bug.  Luckily, the cycle race came through my hometown so I got to feel the atmosphere without paying a pretty penny for it.  We saw Wiggins, Cavendish and the boys for all of about two seconds as they whizzed past.  

SEPTEMBER

I made an Apple investment in September and bought my iPad, which I've found difficult to put down since.  The first thing I did when I got it was buy Allure magazine, my favourite magazine and one any beauty junkie should read!

OCTOBER

After what felt like a year off, it was time to go back to university for my third and final year (eek).  Of course, October also means Halloween and I celebrated with the girls at a house party. I decided to go as Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter because I don't think I could have passed as Hermione with my bleach blonde hair.  

NOVEMBER

I popped my spa virginity in November as we celebrated one of my best friends 21st birthday by getting pampered. Although I didn't have any money to get a treatment, we had access to a relaxation room with herbal tea and fruit, both steam and sauna rooms as well as a jacuzzi, where we spent the majority of the day.  We finished the day with Mexican food and cocktails.  

DECEMBER

Gossip Girl ended but Christmas softened the blow.  December is one of my favourite months and the lead up to the big day was made more magical now that Alice is old enough to understand and really believes in Santa Claus. On the 10th, the girls and I got together for our very own Christmas day, complete with Secret Santa, Turkey and all the trimmings. 

That's my year in review, thanks for reading my blog this year and here's to another good year! I've got lots to look forward to in 2013 including (hopefully) graduation, seeing Girls Aloud, Williams 1st birthday, my 21st birthday and hopefully I'll be able to leave Tesco for a big girl job (fingers crossed).

How has 2012 been for you?

Diary of an Intern

This past week I've been adjusting to waking up early and working most of the day, then coming home and wanting my bed straight away.  The work experience unit on my university course has started and I am currently working as a social media intern at a dress agency in Cobham, called Phoenix.  As a social media intern I mainly look after the networking sites (Twitter, Facebook etc), but I also blog, write up press releases and take photos of the latest and greatest stock.  If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen the various items I've been photographing.  It's been both heavenly and dangerous being surrounded by so many beautiful clothes.  

DVF, Marc Jacobs, Anya Hindmarch, Louboutin, Jimmy Choo, Prada, you name it, they've got it. Everyday there's always something new and exciting added to the stock (and at ridiculously good prices too).  They get some real characters in each day.  This week I've seen girls trying on Jenny Packham dresses for their prom, a lady who 17 years ago bought her wedding outfit from us and one lady who checks tickets to see when things are due to be reduced before she buys.  

I've got three more weeks to go and I've already learnt so much, so I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next week.  

What have you all been up to this week? 

How To: Get Work Experience in the Fashion Industry

Todays post is going to be slightly different but still with a relevant theme.  This will be a lot like the post I wrote about how to maximise your blog potential, which you can read here.  I'm not claiming to be an expert on getting work placement, but I know from previous experiences how difficult it can be to find, especially in the fashion industry where internships are like gold dust.

As a fashion journalism student, I have a lot of different options when thinking about work experience, PR, Publications, Broadcast and Radio.  For my final unit of my second year, we have to complete 4 weeks at a work placement and I have just landed myself one, after trying since mid-October.  It really is all about luck and timing.  Here are my four top tips to get work experience.

1.  Perseverance - When you send out emails, you may not necessarily get a response just like that but don't think it's because they don't want you.  If it has been a week since you sent out the email, follow up and make sure the email didn't land in their junk or it might remind them to respond. Do not send them a million emails, because you may end up getting a rude response and no work experience (or a restraining order).

2. Tailor your Covering Letter - I have three different covering letters tailored to specific job roles, Online, Beauty and a standard Fashion Editorial.  Whenever I send out and email I will edit the document with the persons name, the company and a paragraph that shows I've gone to the trouble of researching the company and know my stuff. Remember to double and triple check that the name you're addressing the letter to is both the right person and the right company.  Also, when sending your covering letter and CV, convert them to PDF so that it opens up easily on any computer.

3.  Always Say Thank You - This might sound obvious but whenever someone replies, even if it is not the answer you were hoping for, say thank you.  These people are busy, getting a million emails a minute (slight exaggeration), so if they reply you're lucky because they have higher priorities.  Also, if they put your CV on file, you may be the one they remember who was polite and said thank you.

4.  Play on your Strengths, but don't be Arrogant - You may have gotten some great experience at one company, but they want to know what you will bring to their publication or fashion house.  If they ask you about how previous experience will benefit them, tell them your strengths but don't gloat or tell them you're amazing.

Once you've got them interested, you may be asked in for an interview or just be offered dates over email.  Remember to be yourself in the interview and also believe in yourself - they are interested in you for a reason it's never just a fluke.  

This summer I've got a couple of work placements set up.  One as a social media intern for a designer boutique called Phoenix.  I've already completed a social media internship at Push PR but wanted to try a smaller company who had just started to build their online presence (plus they have some cute Chanel sunglasses...).  I've also just been confirmed for two weeks at More! magazine which I'm extremely excited about as it will be my first experience at a print publication! 

I hope this post has helped those of you who are struggling with work experience in the fashion industry. Like I said, I'm no expert and it's all about luck and timing.  

Have you got any work experience stories to share?