This Life #3

My favourite camera, Pikachu costume, Fancy Dress and Who can guess who is on my t-shirt?


My best friend and I at Trafalgar Square, Getting all romantic at London Zoo with my new man, The awesome Whisky Jax before their gig at The Lexington, L�Oreal Nail Art Event!


Flowers from the gorgeous Suzie from Hello October, The Body Shop Lipstick heaven, Playing Dress up & Escalator fashion.


My filming equipment, Helping Casper Lee film a video, Outfit of the day, Bowling!

It was my birthday last week and I turned the ripe old age of 25.  I spent the day in Cambridge with my family and my new squeeze.   We went for a punt along the river, bought lots of fudge, had a �high tea� lunch and I had a really lovely day.

Since then, things have been a little up and down and I feel like I�m having a bit of a real �life' dilemma.  I�m really trying to evaluate what I want in life and where I am at at the moment.  I�ve learnt over the past week that I am incredibly lucky to have the most incredible and caring friends and family around me who will be there for me no matter what my choices.  I still believe that everything happens for a reason (although I�m not sure what these reasons are at the moment) but I hope everything works out well in the future.   I feel like the song Mulder & Scully by Catatonia explains my situation perfectly, as the lyrics are quite prominent.  Sorry for all the mystery, team!

Things I�m looking forward to: 
- Seeing one of my favourite artists, Josef Salvat, play London tonight in Hoxton. 
- I�m going away on holiday shortly and I really can�t wait for some valuable �me� time.  I plan to spend my days exploring and pampering life�s complexities (10 points to whoever gets the Morrissey reference).
- Reading a gazillion books on holiday � give me summer read recommendations!
-  Going to Alton Towers with my work mates in September
- Catching up with lots of friends over cocktails over the coming weeks.

If anyone has any book recommendations for my holiday then do let me know.  Also � if you have any nice, inspiring quotes, please tweet me them or leave a comment � I need positive energy!

Lots of love,

Katie xxxx

P.S New songs I can't stop listening to are -

Magnetic Eyes by Matrix & Futurebound


Ghosts by The Presets.

xxx

Pikachu (Birthday) Makeup Tutorial!

A couple of week�s ago I went to a fancy dress party and the theme was �Favourite Childhood Characters�.  It really wasn�t a difficult decision at all for me who I adored growing up (apart from Count Duckula) it was of course Pikachu.  I have been obsessed with Pokemon since it hit my TV at the age of about 13, I have every episode of the original TV series on DVD and have completed both red, blue, yellow and diamond editions of the game on my multiple gameboys. 

Now, being as it�s my birthday today (I�m 25, so old!) I decided to upload my Pikachu tutorial in ode to my childhood.  If you are ever in need to look like a pokemon, look no further!

Pikachu!

I really hope you enjoy this video.  Do subscribe to my YouTube channel (it�d make my day) and let me know what your favourite Pokemon was, maybe I�ll do their tutorial next!  For now, I�m back to birthday celebrations! 

Who was your favourite childhood character?

xxx

Lovebox Festival (& deodorant challenge)!

I�m not normally one for festivals � my phobia of people being sick stops me doing a lot of things and going to festivals is one of them.  However, Sure recently got in touch with a challenge � to try out their new Maximum Protection deodorant in a situation where you are likely to get rather hot & sweaty.  I chose two tickets to Lovebox festival to see a couple of my favourite artists live and it just so happened that some of my best friends also went along also! 

My favourite girls in the world! Zoe, Emma and Lily!


Jumping/Action shots � which definitely tested the deod!

Lily�s vlog of our day!

The Festival: I saw two of my current favourite musical obsessions, Josef Salvat (thanks Andrew you babe for coming to watch him with me), and Aluna George.  We sipped rose, ran around, ate pizza, jumped for photographs and claimed our spot of grass in between five massive flags.  After the festival I made my way straight out to the Barfly in Camden to see Andrew perform with his band Whisky Jax and did even more dancing there.   The day was pretty perfect and has definitely re-ignited my love of festivals. 

Lily also took her camera along on the day (most of the photographs above are hers, thank you!) and we didn�t realise but the camera was on a mode which filmed little clips before we took a photograph.  So once she was home she put together a little vlog of our day (you can see me preparing to take a selfie � cringe!) you can watch that above too!

The deodorant: Now I am already a massive fan of this deodorant and have been using it religiously for the past year, however they have bought out a new scent and so I was looking forward to giving it a try.  The product works best when applied before bed as that's when your body temperature is at its most consistent so it can really get working.  The morning after applying it was the day of the festival.  I had a shower (and shaved � note this is important, as this surely means that I�m getting rid of the deod?).  I gave myself another sweep of the product before heading out at 12pm and I can safely say that I didn�t sweat an inch, despite the hot weather and festivities.

I had an incredible (sweat-free) weekend and would do it all over again if I could!  Thanks Sure for the opportunity!

What�s your favourite deodorant and festival?

xxx

Life Post-Uni�How I got my job!

I was recently asked on Twitter if I could do a post about my life after uni and how I got my job etc and so I thought, why not!

I know how difficult it can be after university, having spent pretty much your whole life studying and then not knowing what to do and even if you want to carry on in the career you studied for at university, so this post is going to be a little about what I did and my tips for getting a job you want!

My Story
University:

^ My plaque in Tate Modern < At my graduation!

I graduated from university in 2011 with a Photography degree.  Uni holds some of the best memories of my life and I had an incredible time, studying something that I had real passion for and loved doing.  Doing an arty subject such as photography might be seen by some as a lazy subject but it was tough, as any subjects are!  As well as dissertations, classes and essay work we studied a lot of conceptual photography & art, had to develop concepts and ideas for projects, hold exhibitions for our work (3 a year) as well as give presentations about our work. 

Half way through my degree I started my blog.  I�ve always had a big passion in makeup (I worked as a colour coach (makeup artist) at The Body Shop for 5 years whilst studying) and I wanted to start writing about my favourite products and sharing my thoughts on the matter.  I�m not an incredibly social person so it wasn�t a problem juggling social and work/blogging life, I just got on with it and enjoyed it.  I also landed a job as a photography intern at Tate Modern.  I was one of their official photographers for their events and workshops for 2 years and even got to exhibit one of my photographs in the Tate. 

Again � this meant that I didn�t have time to party but I was allowed to photograph in the Tate after hours � I didn�t care! 

(If you google image search my name then a couple of my photography shots come up � even one of a nude male model at a lifedrawing class I photographed for the Tate)!

After University:



A few examples of my wedding photography!

After university I moved back home with my parents in Essex (a tough thing for any wild creature to do after 3 years of freedom) and started the dreaded job hunt.  I still wanted to work in photography and landed a freelance photography job for a very popular classical music company, documenting their projects over a period of around 5 months. 

I also started photographing weddings for a little bit of income and I LOVED it.  I have photographed three in total (I don�t really have time anymore).  It�s hard work � shooting for 8 hours solidly (only breaking when the guests are eating) but it filled me with complete joy being a part of someone's special day.  (I�m going to pop some of my wedding photographs up on fromkatiewithlovee.blogspot.com so stay tuned for that)!

I also started applying for internships and small jobs, mainly art based.  I landed a job as a freelance Styling, Hair and Makeup researcher for a fantastic online brand where I spent my days researching my favourite photographers and makeup artists for an online database.  Around 6 more freelancers were hired at the same time and we worked together, however I was called back a few weeks later to do more (by myself) as they loved how hardworking I was. (Not boasting at all, but if you are passionate and hardworking enough then it does pay off).

Around the same time, I also saw an online application for a blogger to have a meeting with a new start up beauty company.  I went along to the meeting and put in my honest thoughts and opinions about what a beauty website should be like (from a bloggers perspective) and they too called me back to do a weeks more work with them.  (This site has now launched and is called BaoBella.com - a lot of the website is based on my ideas and input so check it out!)

How I got my full-time job:

My first full-time job

After months of doing freelance jobs like those above, I saw a friend (gh0stparties, you babe) tweet about an internship she knew that was going.  I tweeted her, got the details and applied.  I went in for the interview and got the internship with Gleam.  I interned for 5 months and was then made into a full time employee with a brand spanking new job title in January.  I have been working at Gleam ever since and ADORE IT.  The opportunities it has given me are fantastic and I learn more and more every day (I�m even getting the hang of how to work out percentages, despite being horrendous at maths).  I also get to spend my days with great people and help to manage YouTubers who I have been fans of for a long time, so I count myself very lucky!

Motivational Speech:
I know how difficult it can be to job hunt and how at times it�s depressing, and your self-confidence then drops too because of it, but my best advice is to keep busy.  Take every little opportunity that is thrown at you and do it;  say yes!  There have been lots of other things I haven�t mentioned in this post � like the fact that I also taught drama to children ages 8-12 for a year (the year that I was jobless after uni) and also act for the same theatre company whenever a job comes up (I love acting and went to a stage school growing up).  These extra  little bits and bobs on my CV have shown that I am reliable, enthusiastic, committed and passionate about the creative industry.

I�m sorry about how long this post is � but I hope it has been interesting and helped (inspired?) a few of you out there?  Do let me know if you have any questions and I will try and answer them to the best of my ability!

xxxx

Introducing Balthazar!

I don�t know about you, but whenever I see a blogger posting about their pet (whether it be a kitten, bunny rabbit, dog or even hedgehog) I am immediately filled with delight and happiness and sigh a big fat �awwhhh� out loud.  Now, my mum and sister are allergic to cats and dogs (I would love nothing more than a little kitten running around at home) so for my whole life we have always had little hamsters!  I�ve never done a post on hamsters before but thought I�d introduce you to the current cutest member of the Snooks family!





Having a staring contest (excuse the bare, no makeup face!)

Ladies and gents, I introduce you to Balthazar, the light of my life!  Balth is coming up to two years old now so is turning into a little old girl, but she is still as energetic and loving as ever.  Whenever I�m feeling down I just look to Balthazar and she instantly makes me happy.  I�m the trainer of Snooks family hamsters and am always given the job of holding the hamsters first and teaching them not to bite, but Balth has been the only hamster we�ve ever had that has never bitten, ever!  She loves cuddles and I like to feed her food whilst holding her (bonding sessions).

She had to have a little operation a few months ago as she had a little lump that kept growing on her ear, so a vet removed it and she has been happy (but silly looking) ever since and was so brave, running all over the place once she came round from the anaesthetic. 

Our last little hamster was called Bishmael, who was equally as loved and adorable. You can watch a video of Bish and I here -

The last Snooks hamster�Bishmael!

There we have it!  I hope you enjoyed (and squealed �awwh�) at this post.  I�d love to know if you have any little pets, tweet me a photograph! @katesnooks

Do you have a little hamster? What�s your favourite pet to have?

xxxx