Last week I attended the opening of the new nature gallery at the museum. It was a really great evening with lots to see; I had a great time. I didn't take too many pictures as I was too busy looking at things, but I did get my mum to snap me a couple of outfit photos before we left. There were people walking in between us all the time we were trying to take the photos, so you'll forgive me for looking a little wooden!

I wore a new 1950s dress and added my bird skull necklace in honour of the natural history theme. This is the dress that reminds me of the dress worn by my grandmother here (fourth photo). Obviously it isn't exactly the same, but it makes the dress feel a little more special.

A small warning before we go any further - there are photos in this blog post of me holding a giant millipede and a snake, so if you're phobic of that kind of thing then feel free to leave. There are three more photos before we get to the first one with the millie :)









Some of the other staff from the university were at the gallery doing some invertebrate handling... I of course jumped on the opportunity to get acquainted with the gorgeous banded millipede which is new to the uni's collection. Such a total cutie.



I also had a go at holding this hognose snake which belonged to another company doing animal handling. I was really taken with her as you can see.



This last photo is inspired by this blog post by Sara of Lilies and Remains and this picture from Solanah of Vixen Vintage's instagram. I feel like my attempt is a poor imitation, but something about the images really spoke to me. I think I may try again to capture a better recreation when the museum is a bit less busy. I'm sure people thought we were a bit mad as I was trying to instruct my mum in how to use my camera whilst posing with my back to the shot. 

I was recently contacted by a representative of Salons Direct, a supplier of professional salon supplies, to see if I would like to review some products for them. They were kind enough to send me three nail polishes from the new ORLY Spring 2015 collection, "Sugar High".

The three polishes are shown in the photo above. Left to right they are "Candy Shop" (mauve creme), "Cake Pop" (white pink creme), and "Key Lime Twist" (lime green creme).



I tried out Candy Shop first. The colour is a really pretty mid purple which reminds me of hydrangeas. It's a little bit darker than it appears in the photo above (closer to the colour as seen in the first photo). The polish applies really nicely and is touch dry in about a minute or so, which is really great for impatient people like me. In the above photo I'm wearing two coats of the polish with no base or top coat, although the colour is reasonably opaque after just one coat. I wore this for around two days before it got chipped while I was doing some housework, but I think I could extend the wear time by using my usual base and top coat and being a bit more careful when working with my hands.



The second polish I tried was Cake Pop. This colour was fairly opaque after two coats, but really benefited from a third coat to help even out the colour and get the full effect. It's definitely more on the white side than I was expected (I think it looks more pinkish in the bottle), although I think "white pink" is an accurate description of the colour. I'm not sure if I'm imagining it, but I feel like Candy Shop has a slightly smoother finish and faster drying time than Cake Pop. The first time I wore this, it started to chip and peel a bit when I washed my hair - in the spirit of giving it a fair trial, I tried it for a second time and I'm glad I did, because I got a comfortable three days' wear out of the polish, and could have managed at least another day if I'd wanted to. Again, I wore it without a base or top coat, which would also extend the wear time. Overall I'm very happy with this polish, and can see it getting a lot of use this Spring and into the Summer.



Lastly I tried out Key Lime Twist. This is a really interesting fluorescent light green, which, like Cake Pop, was alright after two coats but really benefited from a third coat for maximum opacity. The colour is brighter than it appears in the above photo (again, the first photo shows the colour the best) but I can't for the life of me get the lighting in this photo to resemble the lighting in the others, despite it being taken under the exact same light, which is a shame because this colour deserves to be seen! Although it's probably not a colour I would have chosen for myself, I was really excited when it arrived because it just so happens that I have a new vintage dress (which I am saving until some warmer weather arrives) that will match really well with this nail polish. The drying time was very fast, like with the other polishes, and so far I've been wearing this for around two days.

The bottles are a great design with little ball bearings inside to mix the polish and a rubberised grip on the lid which is very comfortable to use and feels high quality. I'm torn between the pink and the purple by way of a favourite shade, but I do anticipate the pink shade (Cake Pop) getting a lot of use as I often wear lighter pink colours which match with a range of outfits.

Thanks again to Salons Direct for working with me!.

Last year I helped out at an event at university called STEMpunk, an event designed to showcase STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and maths) by putting on an evening of themed activities for families. Like last year I was working on the biology stand doing insect handling (you can see last year's photos here) which I really love doing because it gives me the opportunity to play with the insects for several hours as well as telling people all about them. This year the event was Alice in Wonderland themed, and although I didn't get round to take photos of any of the other exhibits, I did find a bit of time at the end to grab one or two outfit snaps.


I dressed as Alice and was pretty pleased with my costume even though I just put it together out of things already in my wardrobe. The only thing I had to buy was the socks, which I think was the perfect finishing touch to the outfit.




I think you can really tell by looking at my face just how exhausting I found the event on top of a full day of work (the photo above in particular!), but I still found it very rewarding. I was really pleased to have the opportunity to get involved; I was going to attend as a guest if not as a member of staff. We actually have some new insects in the lab (which I'm sure I can do some kind of blog post on if anyone is interested) so that was exciting as well.






Angie, one of our technicians, made this awesome caterpillar too. I love his face. He also had a hookah which I didn't manage to get into this picture. I know I've mentioned before how much I love Alice in Wonderland so this was a really perfect theme for me. I wonder what they will choose next year!

I originally wore this outfit on a lovely day recently with gorgeous Spring weather but didn't get chance to take any pictures. When I recreated the outfit for these photos, of course the weather was no where near as nice which resulted in some slightly more windswept photos than I'd hoped for. The photos were taken in the covered market which is a Victorian building. While it's not the most spectacular market in the world, I love to see the candy stripes of the shop awnings and the bright colours of the shops selling flowers, yarn, vegetables, confectionery and all manner of other things.

As for the outfit itself, I really love how it came together with the teal matched between my cardigan, skirt, shoes and bag (which you can just see the strap of on my shoulder in the first picture). I love how the pink and teal look together as well - it's a bit of an unexpected combination but one that seems to attract a lot of compliments when I wear it.

I only wish I'd had a scarf in a coordinating colour to wind-proof my hair a bit better. It really needs cutting soon; it's getting really hard to manage. I fancy a change but I'm too lazy to have my hair coloured. I guess I'll see how I feel when I next go to the hairdresser!

As I mentioned previously, I had to try really hard not to smile during this photoshoot because of the doll lips I'd painted on for the flapper look. I actually found it really hard not to smile at all (apart from a couple of giggling fits where I had to take a break to try and regain a straight face) but I think the shape of the lips really tops off the look nicely.











I hope you enjoyed these images. If you have a favourite, don't forget to let me know in the comments which image it is, and don't forget to check back soon for another post in this series where we will be taking a hop, skip and jump forward to a sultry 1940s look.

The first time I did any kind of work experience was when I was in year 10 at secondary school (aged 14, for any non-Brits) where I worked at our local library. Since then, I've undertaken another work experience placement, and, as of this year, three volunteering positions with organisations which are relevant to the career that I'm trained for having finished my Masters degree back in October.

Young people in the UK are constantly advised to volunteer or go on work experience to improve our CVs and become more employable, and I'm sure it's the same for young people everywhere. Here are some of my top tips for getting the most out of your volunteering or work placements so that all your unpaid time and hard work is worth it. To be clear, I'm discussing specifically skills-based volunteering - i.e. volunteering which is directly related to the career you're working towards, or your degree - rather than working on a voluntary basis purely for charitable purposes.

1) Show up on time and dress appropriately.

Yes, this is super basic. It's also absolutely imperative if you're going to make your placement worthwhile. It's an important workplace skill, and besides, you may not be allowed to finish your placement if you don't meet the company's expectations.

2) Identify what you want to get out of your placement, and, if applicable, what you can give back to the company.

Think about what you want to learn, what new skills you want to gain, what aspects of the business you would like to gain experience of. If you're doing a degree or college course, or if you're already working in the same industry that you're volunteering in, what pre-existing skills can you use to benefit the company while you're working with them? Can you make any suggestions that might improve an aspect of the business? If you're still at school or you have no experience of the industry that you're volunteering in, you may not be able to contribute in the same way - but you can definitely focus on being a functional member of the company. If you're allowed to do some work, do it to the best of your ability. If you're limited to observation only, be a good observer; listen carefully and ask polite questions.

3) Keep a journal of everything you do on your placement.

This will come in really handy when you come to writing CVs, applications, or personal statements, and when you're preparing for job interviews. You might need to know what dates you worked to and from, or the name of a specific technique you learnt. Not a problem as long as you wrote it all down.

4) Ask questions.

Make sure you use your placement to its full potential, and get what you want out of the experience. Ask how things work, why things happen, where things are kept. If there's something specific you want to learn, make sure you ask about it.

5) Network.

When I started university I was "painfully shy" (that's a direct quote from one of my tutors), but talking and interacting with the other members of staff is really important, especially if you think you might want a job with that company later on. There's always a chance someone might pass your name onto another company, or keep you in mind if they have a vacancy.

6) Follow up.

When you're finished your placement, drop the company an email and thank them for having you. If you really enjoyed your placement, let them know - tell them you'd love to come and volunteer again for them sometime, or if you're currently jobhunting, ask them if they might have any upcoming vacancies you could apply for.

7) Keep in touch.

I go to quite a lot of conferences where I'm able to reconnect with people I've met elsewhere. Writing someone a quick email to ask if they'll be at a particular event or popping over to say hi during a coffee break will help people to remember you and might give you the edge over someone else when you apply for a job.  

If you have any other tips, leave them in the comments so I can see, and if you have any questions about this type of skills-based volunteering or work experience I will do my best to answer them.

The company I work for has recently started to redecorate in a really cool retro style. I went in to work a couple of weekends ago to discover we've now got a juke box so I went in on one of my days off to get some photos. I may also go back in another day to take some photos with some of the other retro décor items as I'm very excited about the way it looks.


I decided on a 1950s teenager inspired look featuring my second pair of Freddies of Pinewood jeans. I wear my grey pair on a regular basis, although I tend to style them more or less the same way every time which is why I've only featured them on the blog once so far. I'm looking forward to the summer when I can wear them with some wedges. I am so glad that I finally got around to adding a couple of pairs of these into my wardrobe as they're very useful for colder weather, and I really enjoy wearing them. I think jeans can sometimes get a bit forgotten in vintage wardrobes or they're dismissed as being "not vintage enough", but provided you shop for the right style then you can wear them without feeling like you're compromising on a period-accurate look.

Just like with my other pair of Freddies, I sized down on these and it was the right decision. I'm really pleased with the fit of them. You can read more about my experience with the sizing of Freddies here.

At the end of last month I was lucky enough to be invited to tag along with a class of third years from my former university on their field trip to the Oxford University Museum of Natural History. Although I actually spent two weeks volunteering there a couple of summers ago, I didn't get the opportunity to properly experience the museum because the building was undergoing some refurbishment at the time and wasn't open to the public. You can read a couple of my posts about that visit here and here. This time though, the museum was fully accessible so I was able to enjoy looking at all the exhibits. I will definitely be visiting again though, because I feel like I could easily spend a lot more time there in order to properly appreciate the whole museum.

I'll share my photos from the museum visit first but if you're here for the outfit photos only, then feel free to skip over the first part of this post and scroll right to the bottom.



One of my favourite things about the museum is the gorgeous Victorian gothic architecture. It's doubly special because it is the site of the Great Debate - where several very prominent scientists and philosophers gathered together in 1860 to discuss the theory of evolution following the publication of Darwin's Origin of Species. A second floor has been added to the museum since the debate, so you can actually stand in the ceiling space directly above where the meeting took place. You can read more about the debate here on Wikipedia, or here on the OUMNH website.













There is also an Alice in Wonderland themed display in the museum due to the connection between Oxford and Charles Lutwidge Dodgson - AKA Lewis Carroll. Carroll was a regular visitor to the museum with many of his characters reportedly being inspired by museum exhibits including the famous Oxford dodo which was incorporated into his stories.







Now I'm a bit disappointed with the photo above, because there was an amazing display of beetles but my photo really doesn't do it justice. Beetles are one of my favourite insect orders to work on though because of the huge amount of diversity - I never get bored. Some of my favourites at the moment are longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae) and weevils (Curculionidae). Beetles are the largest group of organisms on the planet - a fact which prompted the evolutionary biologist J.B.S. Haldane when he was asked what could be inferred about the Creator from the works of Creation to reply that the Lord must have had "an inordinate fondness for beetles".





I also popped briefly into the Pitt Rivers museum (which I visited last time as well). I only took one photo, do you want to see?



It's one of the shrunken heads of course! I actually took an almost identical photo last time I went to Pitt Rivers but had completely forgotten about it. Aren't they freaky though? Have to be seen to be believed. They even have some shrunken monkey heads in the museum.

Lastly, here are some photos of what I wore. I didn't take any outfit photos while I was on the trip but I did take some at home.
 

Because of the cold weather I added some extra layers to my outfit compared to what I'd originally planned. I may revisit this outfit over the summer and see whether I can make it look more like the idea I had in my head.

However, I feel like this outfit is a good example of how you can wear vintage clothing without actually recreating the styles of past decades. In this instance only my blouse is original vintage, but you could easily put together a similar look using a vintage pencil skirt, cardigan and accessories. The outfit did originally look more vintage as I'd wet set my hair as usual, but a look out of the window before leaving convinced me I needed something a bit more weather-proof so I put it in a quick plait on my way out. We had rain showers and hail later in the day so I was glad I did!







As an extra touch I added my moth brooch which was a Christmas present from Ell. I'm slowly building a small collection of insect jewellery which I really enjoy wearing. A friend asked me a while back where I get the pieces from - mine are actually all high street (I grab them whenever I see them to avoid missing out) but good old Etsy is great for unique jewellery as well. I've got my eye on a few things from Etsy to buy when I've got some money!