Origins Zero Oil Deep Pore Cleanser

Like many girls I am constantly striving for the perfect products to keep my skin looking healthy and breakout free.  I have combination skin which tends to be dry on my forehead, oily around my nose and chin and normal on my cheeks. As someone who has, thankfully, never really suffered with particularly problematic skin I wasn't quite sure what was causing me to break out pretty consistently a couple of months ago. I think the combination of stress and working in an office which allows for no fresh air day in, day out, were to blame. Whatever it was, it's safe to say my skin hated me.

My cleanser of choice at the time just wasn't cutting the mustard and after hearing many good things about the Origins range, I thought I would treat my skin to a little TLC. At £18 a bottle, Origins Zero Oil Deep Pore Cleanser doesn't come cheap. However, for a product with natural ingredients and not the acetone-like substance you can get in a £4 Clearasil bottle, I think spending a little more is always worth it.

I have been using this cleanser now for four weeks and I am so impressed. It contains saw palmetto which is supposed to inhibit excess oil production, salycilic acid to exfoliate and unclog pores, and the added mint makes it smell so fresh. The cleanser foams up slightly as you add water and washes off easily leaving my skin free from all traces of make-up and looking brighter but not tight or stripped entirely of moisture. In terms of breakouts, it has certainly kept them at bay and I have definitely noticed an improvement in the oiliness of my skin. You only need to use pea-size amount for your whole face so it doesn't look like it will be running out any time soon. But if the effects continue to be as good as I've experienced so far, I'll almost certainly be repurchasing.

I Could Drink a Case of You Darling, Still I'd Be On My Feet

Last Monday I started my latest work experience placement with The Spirits Business Magazine in London. As ever, first day nerves were rife but I swallowed my worries and tried to walk into their offices as confidently as I could.

This was my first bit of experience writing for a publication with a very specific target audience. The magazine focuses on all things spirits; vodka, whisky, gin, new releases, competitions, the works. What surprised me even more was that deputy editor Becky was pretty much running a one woman ship. I was told the editor contributes various pieces but overall, she was the editorial team wrapped up in one.

Teamed with the knowledge that I was their first student in for work experience the pressure was really piled on for me. I knew I had to step up to the mark and make sure that I got to grips with the publication's style and (to an extent) the spirits industry as quickly as I could. One of the first things Becky asked me on my arrival was what did I want to get out of this week? I knew the answer right away - as many bylines as possible to add to my portfolio, and that is certainly what was provided.

My first task was to compile the monthly round up of the 'top 10 spirits' featured in the previous month's publication. Now, I like a drink as much as the next person but I would by no means consider myself to know anything about spirits. Cue frantic Googling and searching their archives for any scrap of information I could lay my hands on. However, I managed to meet the deadline which I am hastily learning is crucial in this industry.

In the days to follow I was sent an abundance of press releases to write into worthy news stories, I searched the web to find new stories that had not been sent through to us and learnt the basics of photoshop. (I don't mean to brag but I'm now a dab hand at cropping photos.)

Friday was supposed to be my final day however, due to a cancelled work placement I was able to stay on for another week at the Spirits Business with the added bonus of working from home (allowing me to save some much needed pennies.) Friday afternoon certainly came with its perks including a trip to a local pub, being gifted with a bottle of vodka for my contributions to the website and a cheeky cosmopolitan in the office.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the Spirits Business Magazine and would definitely recommend it to anybody looking to build their experience and portfolio. It was certainly challenging at times but help is provided on tap and what I have learnt over a short amount of time will undoubtedly prove useful in the long run.

Live To Tell The Tale

The last few weeks have absolutely flown by. It is strange to think that in less than four weeks time I will have completed my course and Christmas will almost be upon us. Before I can even begin to dream about that glorious Christmas break there is a lot of work that stands in my way and I am so determined to make the most of it and achieve the results I so desperately covet.

Throwing myself into a world of fast paced learning has been such a change of life style compared to the laid back methods us university graduates have become so accustomed to. My days are jam packed with media law, public affairs, endless hours of shorthand and sub-editing. Then on top of that there's the small task of going out into the world to find real stories to be published. Every break time is filled with revision, emails and occasionally, a  truly fascinating and insightful talk.

As a result the time to browse ASOS, to pick out my weekly favourites, to write about new products I have found and would love to review and to have a good ol' rant about one topic or another have become few and far between.

And truth be told, I've missed keeping up this bog. It took a lot of courage for me to publish my blog to the world and despite those who mock because they don't get it, every post I've written on here has been a pleasure to produce. Some make me question what I was thinking when I pressed 'publish' and others make me proud of how I've grown as a writer.

Everyday without fail there is a blogger who starts their post with 'sorry I haven't posted for a while.' So rather than be an apology to the 281 subscribers who have so very kindly chosen to acknowledge Hyper Heart, this post is more of a promise to put more into this blog because, actually, it may still be small in comparison to how others have grown, but I think it has done all right.

Here's a little snippet of how I've been putting my journalist skills to good use with my fellow students, enjoy!