Sunday 11 December 2016

Why Women Can't Resist Bad Boys

My impatience, frustration and general disdain for men is pretty well-documented.

However, I’m one for balanced perspectives and even I can recognise women can be equally as frustrating to men, especially when it comes to dating.
hunk-image
Image credit: OpenClipart-Vectors

I've touched on a similar topic before. Often, you have decent guys ready for a relationship, scratching their head as to why a woman is giving mixed signals. Maybe she responds to your contact, but never initiates. Maybe you had an amazing first date, the girl seemed interested but she’s difficult to pin down for a second date, constantly saying she’s "busy".

In some cases, a girl may actually be interested but just doesn’t want to look desperate. I personally can like a guy, but will hold-off initiating too much contact in the early stages as I prefer to take things slowly. Also, I guess I like to gauge his interest level and an easy way to do that is by seeing how often he initiates contact. I will, however, respond enthusiastically to contact and date requests.

However, if a woman isn’t making any real effort  to see or speak to you, if conversations taper off into nothing, then her ambivalence is most likely due to her half-hearted interest in either you, or in dating and relationships in general.

Women are often at the receiving end of this type of behaviour from men, and are frequently (and often, brutally) told: He’s Just Not That Into You.

However, guys tend to be treated a lot more delicately. So much so, it’s perplexing to them. Hey, if a guy has made it clear he’s single and ready for a relationship but a girl isn’t biting… clearly she has issues of some sort, right?

Sunday 20 November 2016

Emotional vs. Physical Attraction

It’s often said that if a woman is inclined to cheat, it’s because her emotional needs are not being met. On the flip side, if men cheat it’s because their sexual needs are not being met.

couple-kissing-image
Image credit: Unsplash
Now obviously, this isn’t a hard and fast (excuse the pun 😉) rule, but I think it’s fair to say that women tend to be more enthusiastic about entering a relationship compared to men.

This is what causes a lot of dating woes – a mutual attraction between two people, but not exactly a meeting of minds when it comes to what they’re looking for in the opposite sex. Therefore, dating can be equally frustrating for all parties involved.

Generally speaking though, it’s usually pretty obvious if a guy you’re dating falls into the "serious" or "casual" category. A guy that’s not really looking for anything long-term isn’t, for example, going to ask you too many personal questions. He’ll avoid delving into deep and personal topics, and conversations are quite superficial in nature. When you meet up, it tends to be last minute. Fun and non-committal, kind of thing.

This was a situation I was confronted with when I reconnected with a blast from the past recently.

Monday 17 October 2016

What Feminism Means To Me

"...even when I'm a mess
Still put on a vest
With an "S" on my chest
Oh yes,
I'm a Superwoman." [Alicia Keys]

These lyrics come from a lovely, underrated song by singer/songwriter Alicia Keys.

Incidentally, the song title "Superwoman" is also the moniker of mega-successful YouTuber Lilly Singh, who has successfully carved out a career in the digital industry, and someone I personally find an inspiration.

I don't usually subscribe to celeb-endorsed products/merchandise, but this girl's accomplishments, maturity and outlook on life are incredibly admirable, she brings out the hardcore fan in me.

Singh has also dedicated her time to advocate "Girl Love", a movement which is all about empowering and enriching the lives of other women. And I’m all about that.

A photo posted by Lilly (@iisuperwomanii) on


Because the truth is, being a woman is tough. That’s why it’s so important for women to support and celebrate each other.

Sunday 28 August 2016

When Life Gets Tough, Stay Positive

"How do you stay positive in a world that is such a negative and hateful place?"

We all have bad days where we come across everyday obstacles and challenges, not to mention people or situations that really test our patience and lead us to lose faith in people and the world around us.

But when it’s getting to point where a bad day has turned into a bad week…then a bad month, it’s time to take a step back and re-evaluate your circumstances and more importantly, your mindset.

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Image credit: Maialisa
I’m not trying to minimise people’s problems. Trust me, I know how much it sucks when it seems like every aspect of your life is going wrong, causing you to feel helpless, stressed and overwhelmed; when life feels like a long, lonely journey with no relief in sight.

Life can be tough man, what with stressful jobs, financial instability, crappy living situations, disappointing relationships, unreliable friends and rubbish support networks.

But the truth is, everyone has problems. No one’s life is peachy, all of the time. Everyone has stresses, worries and concerns. Granted, some people’s problems or circumstances may be more extreme than others. But generally, if it seems like some people are happier than others then it’s because there’s a difference in how they deal with things.

Some of the strongest, seemingly happiest-on-the-surface people have had the most traumatic experiences. They’ve just learnt how to handle and overcome setbacks.

Sunday 7 August 2016

Confused Trailers: Suicide Squad

I’m not a massive fan of Hollywood comic book franchises so I’ve never had a strong desire, for example, to see the latest revamp of the Batman, Superman or Spiderman movies.

If I’ve gone to see them in the past, it’s because I’ve wanted to be a good sport and accompanied dates or friends who are really into those types of films. Truthfully, I’ve always ended up zoning out during the films, not really fully engaged. It’s been an entertaining couple of hours, but nothing life changing or something I’d watch again.

However, I caught this initial Suicide Squad trailer about a year ago:



I actually thought the movie looked interesting and was looking forward to catching it when it came out, even though I don’t usually pay attention to American superhero films.

It’s now a year later, and the film is now due to be released (it actually dropped nationwide in the UK on Friday). But I was left a little confused at the way the film had been savaged by critics...from what I saw of the trailer, it looked like a dark and interesting film with a decent back-story to it.

But with all the recent press and promotion surrounding the movie’s impending release, it was hard to miss the latest version of the trailer. Suddenly, the bad reviews made sense:

Sunday 24 July 2016

H&M "Rewear It" Campaign – World Recycle Week

There was a recent ad campaign launched by high street retailer H&M (I say recent, it actual ran back in April so I guess I’m a little late to the party), and this snippet/teaser in particular really caught my attention:


It ran during World Recycle Week to encourage shoppers to donate unwanted clothes. In return, they were rewarded with a voucher to use on goods in-store.

The ad itself is dope: everything from the visuals to the beat, lyrics, choreography and timing is cool and cutting edge and it really grabs your attention. There’s so many layers to the visuals, for example the circular movements in the choreography to reflect the cyclical nature and lifespan of reusable goods.

However, many viewers of the ad were quick to point out the hypocrisy of the campaign, namely the way H&M is a clothing outlet that is the epitome of fast-fashion; the clothing items produced aren’t made to last or have a long shelf life, and consumers are constantly encouraged to keep up with the latest fashion trends. One could argue that H&M is therefore contributing to the waste issue on a very large scale. It definitely does seem like a bit of an oversight from a PR/Marketing standpoint.

It makes you question why exactly H&M would run such a campaign that would leave them open to all sorts of obvious criticism?

Sunday 17 July 2016

Obnoxious People: Speak Up Or Let It Slide?

Over the past couple of years after dealing with some major downers, I decided I wasn’t even going to bother confront people about their sh*t behaviour anymore, because it proved to be a pointless exercise. All it ever really did was just create more drama.

Realistically, people in general are never going to react well when you’re pointing out their flaws. So why bother? You just end up looking argumentative or like a nitpicking a**hole, and most of the time you end up dealing with someone who is defensive, in denial or is so offended that you called them out on their behaviour, they’re going to fall out with you and never speak to you again anyway.

arguments-image
Image credit: mattysimpson
So from then on, whenever someone was bugging me, whether that was a friend or someone I’m dating, if an issue arose and the subsequent conversation was going nowhere, I would simply distance myself from them and the situation. Far better to walk away without all the drama.

It wasn’t a difficult thing to implement because I’ve generally been keeping people at arm’s length these days anyway, preferring to keep things casual.

'My apartment is the only place that I feel safe right now. I have food. I have alcohol. I have 600 channels. And none of them want to hurt me.'  (The Mindy Project)

Recently however, things took a different turn.

Sunday 10 July 2016

Why A Beach Holiday Is Good For You

I came back from a holiday recently, my first overseas break in three years and I think because I hadn’t holidayed in a while I definitely appreciated the getaway a lot more.

beach-holiday-pebbles-photo
A snap from my recent holiday 
Not that there’s anything wrong with going abroad multiple times a year. In fact, I used to be that type of person, a frequent flyer and I even went travelling around Southeast Asia. I had this thirst to see the world and I was fascinated to see how other people lived in different parts of the world.

But then all of a sudden, my interest in travelling dwindled. Perhaps it was the shock of realising just how much money I had spent on holidays, which is money that could have been put to more practical use.

Or perhaps it was the difficulty in getting people to commit to a holiday. Add to that, it seems everyone gets on each other’s nerves on holiday – no matter how close you are, being cooped up with someone 24/7 is bound to lead to some issues. So maybe this is what put me off.

Sunday 26 June 2016

Comment Of The Day #8

Model Xenia Deli, whose most notable role includes starring in the Justin Bieber video for "What Do You Mean?" (which has been viewed over 1 billion times on YouTube), hit the headlines recently after marrying a 62-year-old Egyptian businessman (at the ripe old age of 26).

[Read the original article here: "Justin Bieber's former flame Xenia Deli, 26, marries Egyptian businessman, 62, in a lavish wedding" - Daily Mail, 24/06/2016]

I guess in this case, the dollar-signs-in-the-eyes is a more fitting emoji than the eye hearts.

To quote Lady Gaga:

"That’s M-O-N-E-Y, so sexy…"

Sunday 19 June 2016

Modern Day Dating Dilemmas

Boy Meets Girl.
modern-online-dating-image
Image credit: kpgolfpro
Boy Likes Girl.
Girl Likes Boy.
They become boyfriend/girlfriend.
And they lived happily ever after.

Remember when relationships used to be simple? Back when there was little game-playing and indecisiveness in taking the plunge?

Yeah neither do I.

Dating is far too complicated these days - more complicated than it probably needs to be really. Imagine how many potential relationships could have flourished without so many modern day distractions?

Maybe I’m just viewing the past with rose-tinted glasses. Perhaps people back then had just as much trouble finding "The One" as people do now.

But it doesn’t seem that way. I work with a more mature workforce and the majority of people I work with are married with families. They’ve been married for years. They started their families at my age. Some have even been married more than once and I’m amazed - it’s hard enough to get a guy to commit and call you his girlfriend these days, let alone have him get down on one knee.

So what changed?

Saturday 30 April 2016

Help to Buy ISAs: How It All Works

I’ve never been overly-knowledgeable when it comes to matters of personal finance – too much talk of variable interest rates and AERs and I start to zone out.

help-to-buy-isa-mortage-help-imageIt’s quite contradictory really, as I’m quite a good saver and I generally have a clear idea of exactly just how much money is going in and out of my bank account. You would think I’d be keen to be banking-savvy to maximise my saving potential.

A guy I was formerly seeing introduced me to the world of ISAs, practically begging me to open one up. He went as far as to setting the whole thing up for me online.

And I’m glad/grateful he did, because I now earn an extra £100 a year…as opposed to the 0.02p I was earning from my savings before.

But now that time has come around again, as there’s a new type of ISA account on the market that I really need to brush up on.

Sunday 17 April 2016

Help! My Washing Machine Leaves White Streaks On My Clothes

I’m a bit of a neat/tidy/clean freak but laundry has got to be my least favourite domestic chore, not least because my wardrobe consists of a lot of black and after EVERY wash I have these annoying white streaks on my clothes.

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Once dried and ready to wear, I would have to get a damp sponge and pat the area to get rid of the white marks. I can’t believe I’d been dutifully just doing this for years before I finally decided to Google a remedy.

So, first things first – locate the source of the problem. Answer: surplus detergent. I decided to go easy on the washing powder with my next wash but sadly, the white streaks remained ever-present

I then came across some advice which suggested just doing an extra rinse with your wash. Unfortunately, my washing machine doesn’t have that option so once the cycle was complete, I just ran the "prewash" programme. I believe the "handwash" setting will work too if you have it.

I was pleasantly surprised that this actually worked! If you’re worried about the extra cost, you can always run the wash during off-peak hours where the energy tarrif is cheaper. Generally, these progammes only add an extra 15-20 minutes onto your wash anyway.

Saturday 9 April 2016

Comment Of The Day #7

In the ongoing train wreck that is YouTube star Trish Paytas’s love life, she was recently left wondering if a guy she dated had been using her to raise his profile the whole time.

When Trish detailed how the guy had ended things and how sad and hurt he seemed to be by it, she was left reeling when his social media posts told another story. She took to YouTube to vent her frustration in a (now deleted) video and soon her fans descended on his Instagram page:

trish-paytas-breakup-sean-image
instagram.com/seanvanderwilt










Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned…or indeed, her loyal online following.

Friday 25 March 2016

What Sex and the City Can Teach Us About Female Friendships

You can’t deny the popularity of television show Sex and the City. Somewhat of a cultural phenomenon in the late ‘90s/early 00s, the success of the show left some critics baffled at its popularity.

The truth is, the show was popular because most modern women were able to relate to some of the situations the female characters found themselves in. 

Sure, the fabulous apartments, expensive shoe collection and cheap laughs and innuendo-filled gags did (at times) take away from the realism of the show but generally, a lot of single career women could relate to the relationship woes featured in the show.

The lasting effect of the series is that now, a lot of females aspire to the "Sex and the City lifestyle" – the great jobs, the great apartments, the glam wardrobe, going out for cocktails etc. 

A photo posted by SJP (@sarahjessicaparker) on

But it seems a lot of women are forgetting to aspire to one key component of the show: the strong female friendships.

Sunday 6 March 2016

How To Talk To Women

It REALLY p*sses me off when guys don’t know how to talk to girls properly, or talk down to them in a lame attempt at flirting.

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Image credit: Unsplash
I know I’m not the only one to experience this, and my friend recently told me about an occasion where she and her friend were approached by two guys. They got into a seemingly pleasant conversation and when it ended, the guys asked for their number. They politely declined, causing the guys to verbally abuse them both.

Charming.

I’m not talking about shy or introverted guys by the way, because I can sympathise with those types, and once they open up you realise they make wonderful conversationalists.

Sunday 21 February 2016

Tethering & Portable WiFi Hotspots: How To Use Your Phone As A WiFi Source

I’ve had numerous connection problems with my broadband service provider lately, which makes the random price hikes all the more frustrating.
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Image credit: ClkerFreeVectorImages

The plus side to this is that I had a valid excuse to terminate my 12 month contract with Sky, as they could see my connection status at their end and couldn’t argue that it would frequently timeout (such a first world problem, I know).

Coincidentally, I’ve been going on house/flat viewings as I’ve been thinking about moving out. Even though Sky were okay with me leaving early into my contract, waiving any cancellation fees due the technical issues I had been experiencing, moving to another broadband provider would have been pointless as I didn’t want to be tied to another 12 month contract if I’d soon be moving.

So, what to do in the interim?

I rely heavily on the internet for entertainment - it’s where I watch most of my TV series. I also like to keep up with celeb gossip (a guilty pleasure) and the general news. I need it to check-in on this website as well.

Sunday 7 February 2016

Why Men Are Players

You get guys like this:

                                                             i.e. Mr Womanizer
Then there are guys like this:

                                                 i.e. Mr I-Prefer-The-Hassle-Free-Single-Life

Oh believe me, there's a difference.

Wednesday 27 January 2016

Comment Of The Day #6

Backstory: Dating, sex and relationship expert Tracey Cox (yes, ironic name I know) examines the types of people who prefer and primarily seek-out casual relationships.
casual-relationships-funny-comment
[Read the original article here: "Tracey Cox reveals why some people like having one-night stands" - Daily Mail, 27/01/2016]

Tuesday 19 January 2016

Depression & Anxiety: How To Cool Down After An Argument

People can be dismissive of depression and anxiety, seeing it as a phantom illness endured by those who are too weak to overcome trying times.

Image credit: Unsplash 
On one hand, they might have a point: everyone goes through difficult periods and the onus is on you to overcome it.

Sure, people can help in terms of lending an ear or offering advice but ultimately it’s up to you to seek practical steps to deal with stress and then apply it. Or at least try to, to see if it works for you.

However, sometimes stress or emotional-related problems manifest into physical symptoms that are beyond our control e.g. insomnia, lack of appetite, skin breakouts, muscle tension, teeth-grinding, digestive issues and my personal favourite chest tightness and palpitations/heart pounding. What feels like a mini heart attack is your body reacting to the adrenaline rush from a particularly stressful situation.

This is something that’s developed for me personally over the past year, and I feel like I’m getting weak in my old-age! Sometimes I wonder why trivial stuff is getting me all bent-out-of-shape, especially when I compare it more extreme situations I’ve dealt with (and managed to brush off) in the past.

Sunday 10 January 2016

The Male 90-Day Rule

So apparently, some guys are trying to hold out spending money on a woman they’re "dating" for 90 days, the way some women have been advised to avoid giving up the goods (or at least try to) for 90 days.

The reason? Men want to avoid being used financially the way women want to avoid being used for sex.


I’ll play devil’s advocate here for a sec and say that there does seem to be some logic behind this reasoning. There are some girls who will entertain a guy, knowing damn well they have zero romantic interest in him, either because they’re bored, they like the attention, they’re trying to take their mind off the guy they REALLY do like or simply because they incapable of a deep meaningful relationship, but don’t mind the perks.

In short, girls that give the rest of us (who are genuinely looking for that meaningful, romantic connection) a bad name.

Friday 1 January 2016

Is MAC Makeup Safe To Use On Acne-Prone Skin?

If my ongoing battle for clear skin has taught me anything, it’s that sometimes less is more: not overloading my skin with cosmetics is likely to prevent skin problems from even occurring in the first place.
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Image credit: Maria Morri [Flickr - CC 2.0]

However, I still like to glam-up on occasion and I find I need to purchase the higher-end cosmetics to get the right shade of things like foundation (nothing worse than looking grey in photos where a flash was used!). But of course, the ingredients often used in these products are usually too rich and heavy for oily, acne-prone skin.

I feel like MAC is one of the few makeup brands that is worth the hype and extra cost. However, no matter how good the brand is you still have to be cautious when trying out new products.

So as someone who is prone to breakouts and cystic acne, I would probably avoid the following MAC products: