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Its hard supporting a lavish Lush lifestyle on a student budget. But it is do-able. After a couple of years of meticulous practice, I've finally worked out how to get more bang for your buck in Lush, leaving more money for lunch. 

Go for bubble bars instead of bath bombs

Yes, bath bombs add something great to a bath. But all they are when you're on a budget is wasted money. A £4 bubble bar can last for around 5 baths (if you don't go too crazy on the bubbles), whilst a £4 bomb can only be used once. 

If you don't like using the product one way, find another way to use it

We are all guilty of buying a product we would not have bought had we been thinking straight. And lets face it, 9 times out of 10, the sweet smells and glitter make it impossible for us to do so. I don't particularly like the shower jellies on my skin, but have found them to be great as bubble bath. A palmful of Needles and Pines actually makes better bubbles than a bubble bar. Go figure!

Buy a multi-purpose product

FUN is a student saviour. It functions as a shower gel, bubble bar and shampoo. £5 a month on one item is so much better for your overdraft than £5 every week. Right?

Ask for samples before you buy the full product

Every Lush store is full of friendly staff who actually want to help you. One of the ways they can do this is by offering you a small sample of the product. I tend to use samples for products such as face masks and body scrubs, as I never know if I'm going to be allergic to something or not. I then go back and buy the full size products that work best for me. It saves me money, and has meant that I have been able to find the products that genuinely do good for me.

Save up your tubs and grab a free face mask

If you do use pots of products on a regular basis, don't forget to wash and keep your pots. When you return five into store, you get to choose a free face mask. What a time to be alive.

Its really not as hard as it seems to cut down on your spending in Lush, whilst still satisfying the 'Lushie' inside you. But don't let this stop you from having a big spend every once in a while - uni is hard and we all need a pick me up every now and then!

Beth x 

I made it through my second year of uni with a very high 2:1, and boy am I grateful. It means I'm one step closer to graduating with a first class honours, and makes me eligible to apply for a place at the best journalism training course in the UK. If you're a first year about to jump ship to the 'damn, my degree actually counts now' flotilla, don't panic. Here's some things I wish I knew before the start of the year - advice that will hopefully make your year go as smoothly as possible.

The essays that you could leave until two weeks before the deadline and earn a 1st, will be worth a 2:2 in your second year.

Lecturers change their tune once you've waved goodbye to your fresher year. They want immaculate spelling and grammar, and tend to pick your argument apart to no end. But it's still totally possible to achieve good essay marks. Just start reading and writing your essays about a month before the deadline, read lots, and try your hardest to re-draft at least once. 

Don't get sucked into inter-subject politics.

Whichever degree you study, be mindful that they are all hard and require the same amount of effort and hard graft. There's nothing more demoralising than a friend casually passing comment about the futility of your essay based degree over their science degree. If you can rise about these politics, and focus on your own work, these arguments will become irrelevant and you will be a lot happier.

Societies can slip to the wayside, and that's okay.

You'll find that your commitment to your favourite society might waiver, or disappear altogether. No one will mind if you miss a few weeks because of deadlines or the need for a night in. You do you.

Early mornings are your friend.

I don't mean a 7am wake up call and a 8am study session. That's too much for anyone to handle. Getting up in the afternoon wastes so much time, and puts me in a foul mood. I found that I was much more productive when I started to study at 11am and finished at 5pm. 

Fruit not Haribo.

I've permanently damaged my digestion due to my insatiable love of Minion Tangfastics. Reach for the bananas kids, reach for the bananas. 

Get to know the people in your seminars.

They're actually pretty nice people, if you break the awkward seminar silence.

Enjoy your experience.

If second year has taught me anything, its that time really does go fast. In and amongst your studying, make time to see old friends, talk with your parents, and experience new things when you can. I only have one year left, and though I'm already excited to see where graduate life takes me, I'll always look back on uni and laugh fondly.

Beth x

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This is an unpaid collaboration with Eventbrite

UK university holidays are 12-15 weeks long. But what do we tend to spend them doing? Well, nothing at all really. Yes, us students don't have the money to go out every day of the week, or pay for oodles of extravagant 'once in a lifetime' experiences - but that doesn't mean we should settle for a summer of boredom! 

"I recently came across Eventbrite, an event management website currently running a campaign to get people to GOMO (Get Out More Often)." The GOMO campaign is all about squashing our FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) this summer, by taking more opportunities both far afield and locally. This really made me think about how everyone, regardless of income and experience, can get out more often and have a great summer.

Book something spectacular

If you're anything like me, you probably prefer a quiet day at home to a busy day out. But sometimes its good to change things up a bit and do something out of the ordinary. My 20th birthday is fast approaching, and instead of a physical gift, my Mum has booked us tickets to see Chitty Chitty Bang Bang the Musical. I honestly cannot remember the last time we spent some serious money and treated ourselves to a special day out, so this treat is well deserved! Maybe you too could book yourself a little treat, a concert, musical or trip abroad?

Get involved in a local event

Living in the South East of England, I'm always spoilt for choice when it comes to local events. When I was younger and to some extent now, I was constantly involved in musical events, whether it be orchestral or more modern. It was such a great thrill to perform in front of an audience and watch people enjoy your hard work. I still get involved in concerts as and when I can. So if you can give up your time for free and help pull off a great local event, do it!

Create your own event

Whilst I have no personal experience of creating my own event, I know plenty of people who do. Whether it be a small charity fundraiser, a blogger meet-up, or a summer celebration, its totally possible to organise something yourself. I'm personally terrified of all the organisation that goes into planning an event, but if the right opportunity came knocking, I would not turn it down. Eventbrite can help you set up and promote your event here.


If you would like to find national and local events to get involved in, I would suggest heading over to Eventbrite's website, where you can explore events going on locally and in all four corners of the UK. If you're feeling brave and want to create your own event, Eventbrite also have the facilities to advertise, so you get as many  visitors as possible!

GOMO this summer!

Beth x