I can't believe I can finally say I've graduated! I. Aoife Caitriona. Have. Graduated!!!!

I was so nervous and scared in my first year of uni especially as I moved to a new town and knew no one there. If I could send a message to my past self, here's what I would say...

Dear Aoife,

You are about to embark on one of the biggest journeys you'll make in life; University. And you'll smash it! I know this because you graduated today with first class honours and in true style, at the top of your class with 76%. And you won best student on your course! 

I am so proud of everything you have done to take advantage of this opportunity and follow through on your dreams. You never once gave up on your focus or what you're passionate about. Oh, and those Jimmy Choo's you're lusting after? You got them and strutted across the stage looking like a woman who's got her sh*t together. Just a heads up, you're almost there!

You will have the most adventurous three years of your life. Sorry, that was the nicest way I could phrase it. I won't sugarcoat anything but you'll spend your first year feeling alone (but receiving your first piece of blogger mail!), second year living with a psycho (and spending all your money on train tickets home) and third year *finally* feeling confident in yourself. 

All those nerves you are feeling are completely normal but find excitement in them. That feeling of loneliness you feel I'm sorry to say is one you'll get used to but it get's easier. Use that time to create. To blog. To film content. To have fun and make friends. The last one might take a little while to do but at the end you'll have a gang of girls who'll stick by you.

Nothing in life comes easy but you've been working hard all your life. Just remember to enjoy it and live in the moment! Make the most of the not-so-good times and turn them into a positive. Be passionate and stay true to yourself.

Love, Aoife xo

I have never been prouder of myself for not only completing university but graduating with first class honours and at the top of my course! I'm not much of a boastful person but I'm going to give myself this moment to celebrate my achievements.

The day itself was wonderful and it felt great to finally be able to celebrate. I wore a stunning baby blue Reiss dress with the pair of Jimmy Choo's I promised myself I'd wear when I graduate on my feet. We travelled down to Portsmouth for the ceremony and to take pictures before finishing the day at The Ivy in the Lanes in Brighton.

Some of my favourite moments at university:

- Getting dressed up to go to the Chancellor's ball at Portsmouth Guildhall in first year. This was my first official outing at university and we went with the magazine society. My friend and I dressed up for the event and kept ourselves entertained by creating stories for the people in the pictures placed along the Guildhall's corridor.

- Taco night with my flatmates in third year. We made our own fresh salsa and put the leftovers in a tub in the fridge. Despite it being in a somewhat airtight container, the fridge stunk of onion for the next week. Even the red velvet cakes we baked had a weird onion aroma.

- Going to the gym for the first time. During first year, I would go to the gym in my friend's building. I went a little hard in one of the sessions and my body ached the next day. I sent a very dramatic text to another friend complaining I couldn't move and go on anymore; she still hasn't let me live it down.

- Appearing on BBC Radio 4's Today show. I only managed to say about ten words but hello, I spoke on national radio! 

- Getting an internship at Marie Claire and then working as a freelancer. Some of you may know working at a fashion magazine has been a dream since I picked up my first issue of Glamour. I started off as a summer intern and was asked to come back to help over Black Friday. I loved the team I worked with and I learnt my value as a professional here too.

Love, Aoife xo

It's my 100th post on Aoife Caitriona! To mark the occasion, I thought I'd do a Get To Know Me tag but in the style of Vogue's 73 questions. Enjoy x

What's it about?

My favourite thing...

Final review...

Everything about summer makes me happy. The long nights, the constant light and the warm weather. The list could go on. While the constant heat is nice during the day, it can be unwanted in the evening. And on most nights, I’m tossing and turning trying to find the “cool place” on my mattress. Or waiting for a cool breeze to flow through my open window. Either way, it can start to feel like a mission to have a good nights sleep during the summer.

Here are four must haves to add to your summer night survival kit:

Silk/ satin pjs: I practically LIVE in these come June. H&M do really cute satin sets with a lace detail or frilly shorts. I currently have them in black floral, pink and blue. If you’re really struggling with the heat, Hollister have some really cute cotton two-pieces which will help keep you a little cooler.

Rituals, The Ritual of Karma Body Spray: I love adding a little bit of luxury to my routines and on summer nights, it comes in the form of this gorgeous Rituals Karma body spray. Smelling of holy lotus and white tea, it's a beautiful calming scent. I spray three or four pumps and let the fragarance wash over me.

Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic: There’s nothing better than those summer evening showers, washing away the suncream and dirt from the day. I recently decided to simplify my skincare routine while on acne medication to help improve my skin. You can read my latest acne post here. All Liz Earle products are vegan friendly and made from natural ingredients. This toner is soothing on the skin and the natural fragrance adds to the floral of summer. Tip- If you leave your toner in the fridge, it’s really nice and cool on your skin when you get around to applying it.

Eye mask: Did you know during the summer months of Iceland, they can get up to 21 hours of sunlight? If you’re someone who wakes up with the light and struggles to get back to sleep, it’s well worth investing in an eye mask. I bought mine from H&M last year as part of their Love Stories x H&M collection and I adore it. I really like the tie detail at the back which allows you to tie it as tightly as you like and you don’t have to worry about stretching it out.

There you have it. Four must haves I think are important for those hot summer nights. I thought about adding more but when it comes down to it, less is more. And when, it’s 30 degrees in my room, the last thing I’m reaching for is something to add more layers.

What is in your summer nights survival kit?

Love, Aoife xo

The last few months have not been easy. Being in lockdown has been a challenge for us all but for some of us, it has been an even bigger battle. One thing that came out of my recent therapy sessions is that I need to be kinder to myself. I need to learn how to be confident in myself and not see my weaknesses as completely detrimental. 

    Since then, I've been on a little journey of self-confidence in learning how to identify unhealthy behaviours and make them healthier. I think we all need to not just be kinder to ourselves, but learn how to  instead. We can be kinder to ourselves by treating ourselves to a bar of chocolate or a new Dior bag. However, that's only short term. By 'learning', we can create long term healthy habits. Here are four tips that can help boost self-confidence:

Be proud of what you’ve achieved- How often do you stop and reflect on what you’ve achieved? I can’t remember the last time I did that and that’s an issue. We continue to achieve every single day and that should be recognised. I don’t think about what I have overcome or really acknowledge all the amazing things I’ve done in the past three months. And they’re a pretty big deal. I just graduated with first class honours, woah! As humans, we tend to have the habit of chasing one thing after another, never really feeling fulfilled at what we’ve already done. When you have a moment, think about everything you have done in the past week, month or even year. The most important thing is that you can smile about it and think, I did that.

Don’t put too much pressure on yourself- Do you know what’s human? Making mistakes. No one is that perfect and if they are, they’re lying. In order to be kind to ourselves, we have to allow room for errors. We’re going to get things wrong from time to time and that’s how we learn and overcome it. By putting so much pressure on ourselves, we’re missing the opportunity to learn and grow from experiences. And Rome wasn’t built in a day. Things take time and they’ll take as long as they need to.

Accepting you don’t have complete control over everything that happens- Anxiety often stems from a lack of control. In situations where we’re not in control, we often feel anxious. I get waves of anxiety that tend to last a few weeks to a few months. I guess it never really goes away but I’ve learnt how best to manage it, if you will. One thing I always get told is to focus on what I can and am able to control. This can be quite difficult in some situations especially where we feel helpless. Take the coronavirus, we can’t control that or being in lockdown but we can control how we choose to act and use our time now that we’re at home more often than not. We can control some things and we can’t with others. Finding a balance is really helpful and focusing on what we can control.

Treat yourself- I’ll admit that use those two words a lot normally. I only realised the impact of not treating yourself when I starved myself of that. Pre-lockdown,  I’d treat myself by going shopping or buying artisan doughnuts (so so good). But since we went into lockdown and I was struggling with everything including really bad acne, I stopped. I stopped feeling worthy of myself and stopped being kind to myself. One way you can treat yourself Covid friendly is to buy flowers. Flowers can make all the difference by brightening up the space and making the room feel happier. My Nan said to buy flowers for someone when they’re sad and that’s a good lesson to remember. So, whether it’s your favourite doughnut, flowers or something pink (my happy colour), remember to treat yourself and do things that make you smile. 

Love, Aoife xo