With everything going on right now, I understand that Mothers Day may be the last thing everyone is thinking about – however it’s still a day to celebrate our amazing mums out there so I don’t see why we can’t carry on with it!

I thought I would share a few last minute gift ideas that you can easily order online (perfect if you’re isolating) that will put a smile on that special persons face.

Five Gift Ideas:

There’s nothing like a good pamper so skincare is the perfect gift for a little self-love. My current favourite skincare brand is Embryolisse – a french brand that creates nourishing products for the face and body.

I am currently loving the Embryolisse Lait-Crème Concentré which is a 5-1 power product that works as a moisturiser, primer, make-up remover, after-shave cream and face mask. It is perfect for mums on-the-go who like to take care of their skin but have little time!

You can buy it here at Lookfantastic for £20 and use next-day delivery!

Rose is a scent that reminds me of elegance and beauty – like my mum. This British Rose Ultimate Collection is a great gift from The Body Shop at £40 (free express delivery).

A good nights sleep is sometimes all a mum wants – so this deep sleep pillow spray is perfect as it is literally a great sleep in a bottle. I love love love this product and have been using it religiously for the past 4 months.

You can purchase it Next Day Delivery from Lookfantastic for £19.50

You can’t go wrong with a candle – especially a Diptyque Baies Scented Candle. It is my favourite candle and if I could smell it all day, every day, I would be forever happy. You can purchase from Space NK for £27.

And finally, onto flowers. If you’re like me, buying flowers brings me as much joy as receiving them. Living in London whilst my mum is in Scotland means I won’t see my mum this weekend, however I have ordered her the most gorgeous flowers from Bunches. They offer free delivery, give 10% of their profits to Charity and just have the most beautiful selection. I won’t post what I got my mum a she may read this but below are a beautiful bunch and you can check out their website here.

So there’s 5 simple ideas that might help anyone last minute!

Take care xx

So its been a few weeks since I’ve graduated and as you can tell from my Instagram updates its been a whirlwind! I spent a couple of weeks in Spain with my friends and boyfriend and then got back in time to graduate! And now I have moved out of my flat in Dundee to stay with my family in Perth for a bit. The week of my graduation was one of the best weeks of my life- I had the most amazing celebrations with my friends and family but the week ended with a sudden hit by reality- I was then a graduate and needed to figure out what on earth I was going to do with my life.

I highlighted in an earlier post that I originally planned on doing a postgrad in fashion marketing (the degree I just completed was a business one) however I decided to not go ahead with that. So here comes the question of ‘what next?’. Im sure every graduate loathes this question but it is something we all have to think about. I have spent the last month in either a state of panic, confusion or excitement and so I thought I would share my thoughts as no doubt quite a few of you reading are in this position or will be at some point.

It is of course very easy to start overthinking and worrying about your future- all we hear about nowadays is that there is an increasing amount of competition for jobs, the price of living just continues to go up and if I see one more news article on how we will be renting the rest of ours lives I might scream! The pressure is immense so it is completely normal to be in a panic. However, here are some thoughts that have helped me gain a little bit more peace of mind.

Firstly, I, like many graduates, am young! I’m 22 and am in no rush to choose an exact career that I will be in in the rest of my life, I will probably have a few jobs before I find the right career path, so whats the rush now- I will get there in the end.

Secondly, you really can’t  plan life to a tee. As much as I would love to say that in 6 years time I will be at the top of my career, have my own house and have five dogs, it isn’t realistic. Furthermore, I can’t say whats going to happen in 6 months time, therefore how am I to know that in 6 years time my life will be all sorted? It is important to take things one step at a time- as long as I am happy and healthy and working towards one goal at a time, thats all that matters, eventually I will get my five dogs!

Thirdly, we need to believe in ourselves. Most of my friends and family with vouch for how hard I am on myself, but I really need to realise that I have already achieved a lot at a young age. If you, like me, have just graduated from uni, we have spent 3/4 years studying, passing exams and assignments etc and have gained a degree! So clearly we are capable of something! We just need to believe in ourselves!

So whats my plan? well… As you can probably guess, I want to work in fashion, however the industry is a big one. There are all kind of jobs in fashion, so I think my main focus is finding what kind of role I would like. I have some idea of what kind of job I would like (perhaps digital trading or digital marketing), however I think its a really good idea to take some time to think about it and see what is out there. I am currently applying for stylist jobs in Glasgow in the hope I will get to work with a cool brand in a nice shop, learning how the company works from the ground up! I will also be trying to gain some experience in digital marketing as well as looking at what other jobs I could look at in the industry. And of course I will be spending more time working on my blog. My blog was one of the main reasons I have decided to make a move (besides the fact that 10 years in a small city like Dundee was driving me crazy). I have received quite a few opportunities in Glasgow for my blog (a lot of you will probably think I live there because of the amount of work I have done there already), but the travelling from Dundee restricted my chance of gaining a lot more of these opportunities, so I am hoping that once I am there, I will be able to build my blog and brand a lot more. I am really excited about the next few months to see what I can do. Despite already facing a few people telling me to avoid the fashion industry, as apparently when you start out the jobs are rubbish, I feel like despite being only 22 I have already had my fair share of awful jobs (as in cry on my way to work and cry on my way back from work kind of jobs) so I am clearly prepared for that. In addition, I have wanted to work in fashion since I can remember (basically since my dreams of being a vet died when I realised I would have to deal with sick animals) so why should I let a few hesitations stop me? I can do anything I put my mind to, and I know my work ethic and passion will help me do so.

Basically what I am trying to say is that it is so easy to feel under pressure if you are in the same position as me, but why are we rushing or panicking? I think the key is to find something you love or are interested in (you don’t even need to know what that is right now either, you just need to explore) and know you will need to work hard, but the end result will be worth it! We have our whole lives ahead of us where we will learn lessons and make mistakes but thats what gets us to where we want to be! After all, its a marathon, not a sprint (credit to my dad)!

I hope anyone reading this who has felt the way I have the past few weeks finds a little more peace of mind in this blog, knowing that everyone is in the same boat. However, eventually and hopefully, we will all find out exactly where we are supposed to be.

All my love

Rachael x

 

 

“You must be so confident to post all those pictures on Instagram”, “She’s just confident because she’s tall”…   the reality? I’m anything but naturally confident. When I started Style With Rachael, I was so excited to start something I was passionate about, but I was so worried that people wouldn’t like me. Being a self-proclaimed people pleaser, meant I wanted everyone to love my blog, the way I look and the way I assert myself on social media. However, of course, you can’t please everyone.

I have been self-conscious my whole life- probably like most people. I have insecurities and focus on my weaknesses and that brought me down a lot. I started doing a bit of modelling when I was 15 and HATED the camera. Every photo taken of me at fashion shows made me pick out every imperfection there was. Even when I take photos for my blog, my boyfriend will tell me how he loves all the photos we took, but I will sit over analysing, looking at every little detail in the picture. Lacking in confidence was something I just accepted and in response I put on a persona to try and cover up the fact I was really self-conscious. However until recently, a couple months ago to be exact, I realised how unhappy it made me. I started back at university after the summer and was really struggling. I had no confidence or motivation in myself, I wanted to just delete my blog and forget about everything. I don’t really know what happened, but I have a feeling it was to do with ignoring how I really felt and continuing on with this “perfect” image I portrayed. It was when I realised this, that I set myself three tasks to help, and I can honestly say they did. So I am writing this in the hope that I can help someone else.

1. Don’t care about what other people think of you- yes this is cliche and yes it is so much easier said than done. But honestly, it is life changing. As I said, I am a people pleaser, and really want everyone to love me, but I have realised that is not possible- and you know what? Who cares. Life is waaaay to short, and quite frankly, why waste time and energy on people that negative anyway. Since ignoring what people have to say (not all the time- I have my bad days, like this weekend I was getting worked up about a couple of comments) I have felt so much more assured in myself and a weight off my shoulders.
2. Focus on your strengths and passions– ‘Education, Education, Education’ has been drilled into my head my whole life. The slight issue though? I’m not great at the whole education/university thing. I love the social aspect, but the whole exams/assessment aspect? Not so good at that. Don’t get me wrong, I work my bum off and I try so hard- I just don’t think uni is for me. I get stressed, I don’t think it shows my strengths and quite frankly I just hate my course. I want to work in fashion, and thought after I graduate from my business degree I HAVE to get a fashion degree and I felt super unconfident about that fact I will get a job in the industry without. But recently I have realised that there is really no point in me stressing and being unhappy for another year. So I have completely changed my plan and decided to take a year out after uni to focus on my strength and passion- my blog. This is a much scarier option, but I think I can really do well in this industry with my blog and feel super confident about that. So if you have a strength or a passion- go after it. Don’t conform to what you think you have to- take a risk and have confidence in yourself.
3. Love yourself- yes another cliche, but this is so important. I think the most important thing I have learned is to find what makes you happy and to find what aspects of yourself make you happy. Whether its as small as your laugh or your eye colour- love it! I know that sounds silly, but I have recently been focusing on small aspects of myself that I actually quite like, and last week I found myself- believe it or not- a little bit more confident in the way that I look!

Basically, we all have insecurities- its part of life. Even Victoria’s Secret models will have something they don’t like about themselves but it is so important to not focus on that- but also don’t ignore it!

I hope that if you are reading this, and can relate to how I felt a few months ago, that taking little steps in accepting you have insecurities but acting on them can make thinks that little bit better.

Have a lovely, positive week!

Rachael xx