LOLITA

LOLITA ISSUE #1

MAY 2014

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S/S ‘14 trends EXCLUSIVE: Dean Piper interview The King Is Dead

Student’s clothing company

Beat procrastination

STUDENT offers

TIPS TO EAT WELL

Beauty tips

FROM THE EDITOR Hello and welcome to the very first edition of LOLITA! Solely run and produced by myself, this magazine is aimed at female students who want to keep updated on the latest fashion, lifestyle, beauty and real life stories in and around Northampton.

In this edition, LOLITA focuses on helping you through this stressful university period with articles on how to stop the excuses and saying no to procrastination. Dean Piper, celebrity and showbiz journalist, talks to me about his life in the industry and James Nugent talks to me about his The King Is Dead clothing line. There are tips on how to eat well on a student budget, and I give the best advice I can to students through my experience as a final year student. Students also reveal their most embarrassing and cringiest moments, eek. Thanks for picking up this issue and I look forward to presenting issue two!

Kayleigh x

IN THIS ISSUE..

4 The University of Northampton wins varsity 5 Introducing ‘My Student Style’ 6 The King Is Dead - James Nugent talks to us about his self-managed clothing company

8 Spring/Summer ‘14 season trends 10 ProcrastiNOtion - tips to combat

procrastination

11 Nick Petford - right or wrong?

12 The Rise of Dirty Fair 15 Confessions - head in hands at the ready!

16 Hair with Farrah Hussain 17 I LOVE TOUR? - have students gone too far?

18 Chasing the A-List - EXCLUSIVE chat with celebrity and showbiz journalist Dean Piper

20 No more excuses - start saying YES 22 Is online dating the way forward?

23 Fashion at the University of Northampton 24 Eat well on a student budget 27 Ask LOLITA... advice from one student to

another

28 Stand out nails - the latest nail trends to have 29 Make up must haves - beauty essentials you

need in your life

30 Latest student offers just for you

GET INVOLVED... @magazinelolita

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UoN WINS VARSITY The University of Northampton made sports history for the university after winning their first varsity match against the University of Derby. The Northampton Stallions won by a close margin against Team Derby 10-9 when the teams met for the first time on March 26 at The University of Derby.

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he University of Northampton first announced that they were to partake in a varsity match back in November 2013. Kane Roderique-Walker, the Vice President for Student Experience at the university, campaigned to get the university the right to have a varsity and was successful, thanks to the backing of other sports teams. The University of Derby was the chosen university to compete against, as they also did not at the time compete in any kind of varsity.

Kane, who is also a member of the men’s lacrosse team, said at the time: “It provides a platform for us to work closer with their Students’ Union in a number of areas and should prove another fantastic example of the Stallions’ spirit we have at the University of Northampton.” The date was set for March 26, as by then each sports team would have finished their league games and could focus predominantly on the varsity.

The University of Derby won the rights for the first varsity to be held on their grounds, with Northampton playing hosts next year. All the Northampton teams left for Derby at different times in the morning, depending on what time their matches were on. The teams that participated were badminton, rowing, basketball, hockey, football, men’s rugby league, netball, lacrosse, squash, men’s rugby union, volleyball, tennis, table tennis and American football, with the cheerleaders there for moral support.

With Derby having the home advantage, Northampton’s Students’ Union opened tickets up to travel and support the Stallions, as they needed all the support they could get.

Little did they need it though, as throughout the day we were hearing the news that various sports team from Northampton were winning their matches by

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a mile off. Arguably the biggest winners of the day were the women’s lacrosse team, who smashed Team Derby by a staggering 20-1. Richard Forsyth, a member of the men’s hockey team said: “I’m so happy that we won our match and to win our first varsity is absolutely brilliant considering we weren’t even at home! I can’t wait for next year when it comes to Northampton, where we’ll play hosts and defending champions.”

After returning home, the students were treated to a varsity after party at the Students’ Union at Park campus. Here, awards were handed out to the students to celebrate their achievements of the day. Dani from lacrosse won woman of the day, Chris from tennis won man of the day, team of the day was awarded to tennis, the hilariously titled dick of the day went to Lewis from rowing (who fell in!), and the wooden spoon award went to badminton.

The final results for the The University of Northampton Stallions vs Team Derby varsity are as follows: WOMEN’S HOCKEY: Stallions 0 - 1 Team Derby CRICKET: Stallions 124 - 99 Team Derby NETBALL: Stallions 59 - 43 Team Derby RUGBY LEAGUE: Stallions 24 - 20 Team Derby WOMEN’S FOOTBALL: Stallions 1 - 4 Team Derby WOMEN’S LACROSSE: Stallions 20 - 1 Team Derby TABLE TENNIS: Stallions 10 - 7 Team Derby MEN’S FOOTBALL: Stallions 5 - 3 Team Derby ROWING: Stallions 3 - 7 Team Derby MEN’S HOCKEY: Stallions 7 - 3 Team Derby RUGBY UNION: Stallions 12 - 6 Team Derby MEN’S LACROSSE: Stallions 20 - 2 Team Derby TENNIS: Stallions 4 - 3 Team Derby SQUASH: Stallions 2 - 3 Team Derby Congratulations to everyone! Good luck for next year’s varsity, held at the University of Northampton.

Photos courtesy of @NorthamptonSU

MY STUDENT STYLE My Student Style is an online website that is entirely based around students. The articles and features, which are written specifically by students for a student audience, varies from sports, fashion, general news, lifestyle and hair and beauty.

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he website is treated as an online platform for The University of Northampton was just one of the student writers so they can gain valuable writing many universities contacted by Joanna Booth before and work experience. For a lot of the students the launch. Joanna wanted to find eager students signed up to My Student Style, this is the first time their who wanted the practice before she launched the My writing has been published outside of the university Student Style so that the website could start with a bubble. My Student Style offers all students the chance bang. “The University of Northampton has been unique to build up their own work portfolio, gain industry in attracting five of its brightest and best students to references and get real world work experience. write for the site,” Joanna said before the launch. “Both Over the years, gaining paid work experience journalism and fashion students have signed up to the particularly for undergraduate or recent journalism site and are making a significant contribution to the graduates has proven difficult. My Student Style success of My Student Style.” aims to close the gap between a blank CV and a first On a side note, having been a contributor for My real job. By providing students with such a platform, Student Style since June 2013, I could not think of their work is being broadcast to everyone - including a better way for students and their work to be seen potential future employers. and heard to the outside world.

The more articles you write Contributing to the website has for the website means you given me the confidence I needed have a wider portfolio to show to step out of my comfort zone off to them too, making you of just writing for university stand out from the rest of your assignments. Additionally, I find competitors. that if you have had a break for Joanna Booth, who created a while in between assignments the website in July 2013, says it can be a struggle to find your My Student Style homepage “My Student Style is more than just a writing style again and you can easily forget magazine or website; it is a place where students can how to write, in a sense. The great thing about My have a voice, gain experience and read about the on Student Style is that you can write as little or as much goings around the world no matter what the subject as you want, so you are always in the writing loop and be.” Joanna recognised how hard it can be to get quality getting regular writing practice, meaning you won’t work experience and how tough the job market is find it hard to start an assignment again after a break. becoming, which made her want to create My Student Joining and writing for the outlet is a simple process.

Style. She wanted to create something that would After you have created your account, you will be asked tackle these issues head on and start making a social to join a Facebook group by Joanna. There are also change. a few other subsection groups you can join for your The website is becoming more popular on a daily specific interest, for example, there is a My Student basis, with 370 students registered with the website Style Media & PR group if you are interested in writing as of April 2014. Lauren Ashby, a marketing and PR pieces. Once you join these groups, the subeditors journalism student at the University of Northampton, will place a list every week of what articles they would joined the outlet at the beginning of its launch. “The like written and it is on a first come, first served basis. strong online community and having the freedom to You can also pitch your own articles and features. write about anything, within reason, is great,” she says.

If you are interested in joining the website, visit “It is a great experience and good for writing practice.”

MyStudentStyle.co.uk for more information.

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THE KING IS DEAD The King Is Dead is a clothing company based in the centre of Northampton, run solely by computing student James Nugent. All pieces authentically designed and produced by James himself, he takes time out to talk to Lolita about his clothing venture and future plans...

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aving been interested in fashion from a young age, James Nugent knew that this passion would stick with him into his adulthood. Although he chose to do a computing degree, James never lost sight of his fashion instincts and set about organising a society at the University of Northampton devoted to fashion and making a new fashion brand.

“Basically The King Is Dead started in my first year at university as a fashion society. I got a list of members together and we were going to organise meetings and events,” James says. “I contacted the Students’ Union so that I would be able to use the rooms in university to hold the meetings.

However, in order to become a society the Students’ Union would have some control into how the society was run - being the control freak that I am, I just couldn’t handle that.”

After this disagreement, James decided it was time to take things into his own hands and step it James Nugent up a notch. “The people who originally signed up kind of just forgot about it, so I then decided to make a blog under the name ‘The King Is Dead’,” he says. “I started to make accessories which I wanted to sell, so I decided to launch an online store.”

However, the launch proved difficult for James who was finding it hard to sell his products. “It never really did very well,” he explains. “In fact, I had no sales at all.

I even tried to use eBay to sell the products.”

As the online store failed to gain any attention and sales, James decided he needed a new plan in order to sell his products. “During the summer of 2012 I started dying

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sweatshirts for some reason, I can’t remember why I started doing it,” he says. “I thought these would be good to sell, but I had nowhere to sell them given the flop of the online store. I got in contact with my friend Josh Brown telling him about my venture and he suggested I do a photo shoot of my tie dye sweatshirts using his friend, Megan, which we eventually did in October 2012.”

James decided he needed to take a new path after he realised the potential that his tie dye sweatshirts had.

“I decided to relaunch the website in early December of that year but again, nothing was selling. I realised that it’s actually really hard to get people to buy online,” James explains. “I decided then that the only way to shift these sweatshirts was to sell them physically; I approached Bohemian Finds in the Market Walk shopping centre and The Wardrobe.” However, he had no luck with either of these. “Bohemian Finds said they make all their own stuff and don’t buy anything in, while The Wardrobe shared interest but the money they were willing to pay per garment was borderline insulting; around £6 per garment,” he says.

Then, James remembered a shop which had previously passed his mind. “I had completely run out of ideas; I then remembered A Most Marvellous Place To Shop, on Kettering Road, who loved the garments and gave me a wardrobe at the shop there and then,” he says. “So, it’s been a slow process of about four years. I don’t think I ever thought of having my own stock in an actual shop as one of my options. The King Is Dead has been completely changing and it was only early last year when it became an actual clothing company.”

Pictured: Megan O’Sullivan-Day modelling The King Is Dead’s latest clothing and accessories range, available while stocks last

At present, all of The King Is Dead’s clothing are tie dye sweatshirts and accessories that consists of necklaces, wristbands and hats.

With tie dye being a popular fashion trend over the past few years, James decided to emulate this in the hope the company will reach a wide audience. With almost 200 likes on its Facebook page, the popularity of the range is evident.

James’ tie dye technique took some trial and error to start off with but now he has perfected his technique.

“Basically, let’s say I need to order some new garments before I dye them - I’ll order some from an online wholesaler, usually from Fruit of the Loom, and I’ll buy ten at a time,” he says. “The dye I use is Procion MX. I will then tie up the garments using elastic bands then I’ll mix the dye, the dye requires a fixer called Soda Ash. I will fill a bucket of hot water, add the Soda Ash and then finally the dye. The garments are then placed in the bucket and I leave them in there for 24 hours.

When the day has passed I squeeze the excess dye out and place each garment individually in a plastic bag and leave for another day. This fixes the dye into the fabric. The next day I will then remove the rubber bands and wash the garments in cold water; this removes any excess dye. Finally the garments can be machine washed and they are good to go.” Tie dye can be a tricky business and if the garments come out wrong then the whole process must be repeated again. The dye has a high failure rate and James

estimates that 80% of his dyed garments are unsuitable for sale and must be dyed again. James recommends that you wash dyed garments at no higher than 40°c on a cottons setting as so the dye doesn’t run.

Since the clothing company has been stock at A Most Marvellous Place To Shop, James has noticed a change in the business. Four years of hard work has finally paid off. ”I feel as if since I opened at Most Marvellous the business has been taken a lot more seriously,” he says.

“Being online compared to actually having a physical presence are two completely different things. I finally feel like it’s being noticed. Due to my studies in my final year of university, I’ve not really had the time to market the business. However, I feel with the right ideas it has the possibility to go really far.”

With the business proving to be a success at its current base, James has already started thinking about future plans for the company. “The most current plans are to release a small run of screen prints that will be available mid-summer of this year,” he says. “Screen prints are prints that appear on t-shirts and the like.

The desired graphic is printed onto the screen using UV light. It’s put on the garment, then ink is put on one side of the screen, the ink then seeps through the bits that were printed with the UV light.” James plans on approaching retailers such as ASOS and Abandon Ship Apparel to stock these screen prints.

James is currently collaborating with illustrator Jack Emmons on the rest of his collection, allowing to launch an online store for The King Is Dead. The collection is expected to be completed by this summer.

The King Is Dead clothing is available for purchase at A Most Marvellous Place To Shop, located on 22-36 Kettering Road, Northampton.

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SPRING/SUMMER‘14 When a new season comes in to play that can only mean one thing - NEW CLOTHES! Now that the dull and wet days are slowly fading off, lolita brings you the hottest trends happening this spring season and what’s to come when the summer begins...

The biggest trend of the spring/summer ‘14 season is undoubtedly pastel colours. Pastel colours are soft and delicate shades. The most popular colours are the primary colours: red, blue, green and yellow, as well as pink. The best thing about pastels is you can pick your most flattering colour and wear it with whatever silhouette flatters you best. Available in all major retailers, pictured is the pink slub raglan sleeve t-shirt from New Look, priced at £9.99.

Clashing pastel colours together is a key look this season, so teaming up a pastel skirt and a pastel top together in different colours is on point at this time of the year. Decorated pastel prints are also a big trend coming in this season. For example, floral prints or polka dot patterns on a pastel skirt or top accentuates the pastel colour, with the prints popping out. Pictured is the light blue rose print tube skirt, exclusive to New Look’s online store, priced at £9.99.

Although the months may be getting less windy and more warm, we all know that the English weather is always unpredictable so a jacket will come in handy and still serve you well in the spring. The boxy silhouette of a cropped jacket can come in a variety of prints and textures to pair easily with a bodycon dress, smart skirts and tailored trousers. Pictured is the black and white embellished cropped jacket from River Island, priced at £50.

Almost like a dressy, more longer version of a t-shirt, the shift blouse is an easy wear as well as being more sophisticated. The elbow length sleeve and a boxy silhouette keeps the look flattering and versatile. The lightness of the blouse is also perfect for the spring/summer season, ensuring you don’t get too hot or too cold in the day. Have fun with those with extra details such as exciting prints and textiles. Pictured is the mix spot shirt from Topshop, priced at £38.

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Photos courtesy of New Look, Topshop and River Island

PROCRASTINOTION Now is the time to put the no in procrastination. We all know the work load at university can get too much at times. And what do we do best? We procrastinate!

But this isn’t the best thing to do. Sitting at home on Facebook or going out boozing and putting off your work only leads to last minute stress, your work not up to your best ability and not getting the results you want. LOLITA gives you tips to beat procrastination...

Set yourself small goals

Break down tasks into a manageable amount. Whether it be to read one chapter, write a page or work for 45 minutes, take a 15 minute break and go back to work. Don’t tell yourself to overdo it; you soon realise it can’t be done and this is when the procrastination sets in.

Boost your motivation

Don’t think ‘I can’t do this work it’s too hard for me’ - dwell on your strengths. Managing to get into unversity itselfmeans you ARE good enough. Think about good grades you have had in the past and feel good about in order to remind yourself that you can be successful.

Flexible planning

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Sometimes when you procrastinate you assume that the work will be done. While it is true that you will get the work done, there is no magic wand that will make it brilliant. Once you accept that doing nothing will achieve nothing, the more you realise you have to start it.

If you get stuck doing your work, instead of giving up and stopping, try a different way to work. Start a different section to your work so that you’ve still done something accountable.

You don’t have to work from start to finish, dipping in and out of different sections is fine.

Have the right equipment

Planning is very useful, however don’t do one of them extremely detailed plans. Once something in that sort of plan doesn’t work out, you disregard everything else in the plan. Leave spaces and unplanned times to allow for things that take longer than expected and for breaks.

Accept there is no magic wand

Try a different strategy

It always helps before you set off doing your work that you’re equipped with the right programmes and information.

Before you start, set your ideas into sections so you know how the structure of your work is going to go. Make sure your laptop is fully charged as well!

Reward yourself

While it is important that you get the work done, it is just as important that you reward yourself along the way. Don’t completely seclude yourself, it will only end up in you going mad! Set yourself a word count to reach at the end of each day, when you hit it, treat yourself.

Make snap decisions

Don’t um and ah about whether you should choose that word or this word - just write whatever first comes to you. When you proof read (which you definitely SHOULD do), you can always decide then whether you want to reword something or phrase something better.

NICK PETFORD right or wrong?

© NorthamptonSU

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Nick Petford, the Vice Chancellor at the University of Northampton, has come under fire recently for his actions at the university’s awards ceremony.

The ceremony, celebrating the university’s sports teams achievements over the past academic year, saw Petford partake in a dance off with students, drink with them and even crowd surf. But, lolita asks were his actions right or wrong?

he University of Northampton sports awards, which took place on March 30 at Northampton Saints Rugby Club, saw all the sports teams who represent the university come together for one last time to celebrate their achievements in sport over the past academic year. Vice Chancellor, Nick Petford attended along with other highly placed members of staff such as Jane Bunce, the university’s director of student and academic services, as is tradition every year. Comedian Lee Nelson hosted a brief stint at the awards ceremony where he encouraged Petford and Bunce to down their glasses of wine, which they did with © Charlie Trotman no second thought.

Later on in the evening, Nelson then asked Bunce and Petford to perform in a dance off with students; Petford against a member of the rugby union team and Bunce against a member of women’s lacrosse. After this is when Petford was pictured crowd surfing amongst the student crowd, with the students happily obliging all being in good spirits. It has been reported he was later seen drinking with students at the bar, as well as buying them shots and joining in with them. The day after the awards, students who attended the ceremony started to write about the night on their Twitter pages, referring to Petford as the #WolfofNorthampton, a reference to latest Martin Scorsese film about a rich man who leads a hedonistic lifestyle. Two weeks after the ceremony, the national media caught the story and his antics have now been posted on The Guardian, The Daily Mail and the BBC, as well as Northampton’s local newspapers.

After news broke of the night, the Northampton branch of the University and College Union (UCU), released the following statement: “We are deeply concerned about the disrepute this sort of irresponsible behaviour by our senior managers brings to an institution we work hard to support and promote... some staff and students will be deeply offended by behaviour which promotes a laddish culture at the expense of Northampton’s reputation.”

Meanwhile, Haviour Chen, the president of Northampton’s Students’ Union who attended the awards ceremony, stated that the university have a responsible drinking police and “it is fantastic that members of our staff and our Vice Chancellor joined us to celebrate successes as they did at the sports awards.”

Students from the University of Northampton have flocked to support Nick Petford after the criticism he received. Andrew Buckley, member of the squash team, was also present on the night. “Whoever is kicking up a fuss seriously needs to get a life, the man is allowed a drink,” he says. “How on Earth does drinking a glass of wine and crowd surfing ‘promote laddish culture?’”

Max Ramsell, member of the university’s football team, tweeted Petford: “you have the entire student body’s backing. You’re a credit to the university, a Vice Chancellor who cares about his students.”

Nick Petford’s reign as Vice Chancellor has seen him guide the University of Northampton to a place in the top 50 universities in the country in various outlets and saw the university achieve the place as the number one university for employability.

“The Wolf of Northampton”

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THE RISE OF DIRTY FAIR Dirty Fair are an indie-rock band who formed whilst at the University of Northampton. The four piece have gone on to release their own EP and perform gigs all over the country. LOLITA gives you the low down on them..

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irty Fair formed in 2012 at the University of Northampton. The four piece met after they were all on the same course, popular music studies, in the same year and became friends. As music was obviously their shared passion and interest, the four decided to form a band together. Dirty Fair consists of Jason Craig on vocals and guitar, Steve Birkett on vocals and bass, Omar McKay on guitar and vocals, and Stuart O’Mahoney on drums.

Steve replaced former bassist in the band, Harry Burridge last year after he left to pursue other ventures.

It was Harry and Omar who first thought of the idea of making a band and asked Stuart and Jason to join.

“Myself and Harry were, and still are, really good friends. After our lectures we’d often jam together at one of our houses and make up riffs to play together,” Omar says. “It just came natural to us. As we were already making up riffs together, it came naturally that we should start writing songs together too. When we jammed I’d often sing the lyrics that we’d created but it was obvious to us that we needed a vocalist who could play guitar and a drummer.”

It was then when they recruited fellow course mates Jason and Stuart, with whom they were already acquainted. “When Omar asked me if I wanted to form a band I was well up for it,” Jason says. “Music has always been a big part of my life, even when I was a kid as my Dad was part of a band who gigged at pubs when I was younger.

I’d always go along to the gigs he played and would pick up his guitar and start playing the air guitar when I was only about 3 years

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old. I was kind of hoping that when I came to uni that I’d get myself into a band as my other mates had managed to do.”

The feeling was mutual for Stuart too, who jumped at the chance to be in Dirty Fair. “I knew the lads pretty well before we formed the band and thought they were decent guys,” he says.

“On our course, a lot of the time we have to play in front of the rest of the class so I’d seen what they were capable of many times. They were the best musicians in the class - and no I’m not being biased! Like Jase, I too was hoping to join a band when I came to university as it just seemed like the next natural step. I’ve always wanted to be a drummer and what job can you do with that aspiration if it’s not to become an actual drummer in an actual band?”

The boys quickly started rehearsing, with Omar and Harry performing their two new recruits the songs they had already written. Stuart and Jason immediately loved the songs and their parts were added in to the mix. After a few more songs had been perfected, the band decided it was time to start playing gigs to get themselves noticed. “As a band, your number one ambition is that you want as many people to hear your music,” Omar explains. “The more people that hear you, the more they talk about you and in turn the more opportunities we have to get more gigs and get ourselves recognised by serious music heads.” The band’s mutual friend Jimmy Bowman, a student at the University of Northampton studying popular music studies and journalism, suggested that they start off by

playing at his work place, the University of Northampton’s Students’ Union.

“When Jimmy told us this, we thought it would be the perfect platform,” Omar says. “It just made sense to us that we should start playing to other students.

We thought that it was just the right size area to start off with, not too intimidating yet not too small that we would be performing to a ghost town. Local bands are regularly performing at the Students’ Union, particularly the one in Avenue, so Jimmy said it shouldn’t be a problem for us to get a slot some time. He put in a good word for us to his manager, who agreed that we could perform the following Thursday.

It felt great - our first proper gig rather for jamming in one of our garages for the last few months!”

This run at the Students’ Union continued, they managed to pick up a regular slot every Thursday fortnightly as their music was considered a success to the SU by the manager.

“Every time we played there we realised that more and more people were coming,” Stuart says. “Word must have got around about us and people would bring their friends and so on. We even had regulars in who would sing along word for word some of our songs.”

After this success, Dirty Fair decided that it was time to start recording their songs. Using the university’s music rooms, the boys would professionally record, edit and finish their songs by themselves and would sometimes stay until midnight to get them finished.

“We recorded all of our songs that we perform at our gigs,” Omar says. “We started off just wanting to do it so we could hear what it was like professionally, as when we’re on stage obviously we can’t take in all the sound that’s going on around us. But the crowds loved the songs so we knew we must have been doing something right. After we finished recording, we

decided to collate them together to make our very own EP.” An EP is a shorter version of an album, but longer than a singles disc. The EP, Dirty Fair EP, was released in February 2013 and available to download off their website. The songs included are Martin’s Fever, Annie’s Boy Part I, Annie’s Boy Part II, I Keep Getting Told and All The Queen’s Dogs. “Making the EP also meant that we had something professional to showcase to agents and the like to get ourselves noticed,” Jason adds.

The band approached Dreaming In Colour Productions, based in Leicester, in the hope of gaining an agent. “We got into contact with them after hearing from a friend who knew of the production company,” Jason says. “We sent them our EP and asked them to contact us if they thought we were good enough and relevant for them. They got back after about maybe three hours saying they were definitely interested and we arranged a meeting for a few days later. We met with Elisabeth Barker-Carley and outlined to her what we wanted; as many gigs as we could and however far as we could go. She agreed and we signed up to Dreaming In Colour, with Elisabeth as our agent.”

Since signing up with the company, Dirty Fair have played on the same bills as the likes of Jake Bugg and Peace, and have headlined Chris McCormack’s Jubilee Club Night at the Camden Barfly. They have also received a great amount of airplay on shows such as BBC Introducing, Absolute Radio and Amazing Radio. The band even placed as number one twice on the national student radio chart, produced by the Student Radio Association. The band are now regular guests on the University of Northampton’s radio station.

For more information on the band, including upcoming gigs, visit their Facebook page /DirtyFair or their website www.dirtyfair.bandcamp.com.

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CONFESSIONS! As students, we’ve all had those crawl-ina-hole embarrassing moments we’d much rather forget. Lolita have compiled the best of a bad bunch from entries sent in to the editor. Hands over eyes - check!

Toilet confusion

It was a typical night out with my housemates on a Wednesday night and when we left the club we headed to McDonald’s for our standard after partying cheeseburger. We bumped into one of our male friends there who explained he had nowhere to stay as he’d lost his housemates and his keys. I told him he could stay at ours as he was obviously very drunk and he slept on my floor. In the middle of the night I heard him get up - I assumed he was leaving. Then, I heard a loud sound of trickling water - he was having a pee on my desk chair! “What the fuck are you doing?!” was my response and all I got was a mumble and he passed out again. Neither of us have ever lived it down since and the stench has stayed with me forever.

Kaitlin, 21

Gossip girl

I was on the train to London with my best friend after a heavy night at a house party. There was loads of gossip to catch up on so we spoke in our mother tongue, Polish, so we could go in depth. We started talking about a girl at the party who I caught do something rather naughty with a boy who was taken.

A girl sitting opposite us kept looking at us angrily and I knew I wasn’t being paranoid. I turned to my friend and said in Polish, “What’s her problem?” only for the girl to look up again and say, “That’s my friend you’re bitching about so shut up and stop,” in the same language!

Magdalena, 23

Too close for comfort

In my first year at university, I got a bit too drunk and ended up going home with a guy who I’d seen around a few times. We had a good night together and ended up chatting for hours afterwards. In the morning, he said he’d drop me off home as he and his housemate had to go and meet their rugby mates at the SU. As I came out the room his mate was standing there ready to go. I was mortified - it was a guy I’d slept with just a month before! We spent the whole

car ride in complete silence, even after being introduced (or should I say reintroduced) by his unknowing friend. Cringe.

Laura, 19

Family emergency

On a drunken night out I went home with a random lad I’d met during the night. We got back to my flat and he was raring to go but I had second thoughts and rolled over to sleep, leaving him to pick his own feathers.

When I woke up in the morning he was still there and wouldn’t leave. I text my friend begging for help, she said she was going to ring and make sure to put her on loud speaker. I was wary but did what she said, she rang saying, “Hannah it’s your sister, Mum’s had a stroke. You need to come to the hospital right now.” I felt bad we used an excuse as bad as that but it did the job at least as he left without hesitation!

Hannah, 20

Caught in the nude

I normally sleep naked (don’t judge) and I woke up in the middle of the night feeling quite peckish. I knew all my housemates had gone out for the night so I went to the kitchen in the nude, thinking they were still out getting drunk, and popped some bread in the toaster.

Next thing I knew I heard some footsteps approach. I panicked and there was nowhere to hide - my friend’s boyfriend came in! We still can’t look at eachother the same to this day.

Tanya, 21

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HAIR WITH...

FARRAH HUSSAIN Farrah Hussain, 28, is a hair and beauty expert hailing from Northampton. While holding a full time job at Northampton General Hospital and working part time in retail, Farrah dedicates her free time as a mobile hairstylist. She talks to LOLITA about her venture into hairstyling, the hair trends currently in fashion and gives us some tips along the way...

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ike most girls, Farrah Hussain is conscious of making her own hair looking sleek and pristine.

As a young girl she was interested in hair and was constantly creating new looks on her hair through boredom. “I became interested in hair and beauty from a very young age,” she says. “I started to do my family’s and friends’ hair and make up and got a lot of positive feedback.”

Due to the positive feedback she received from those closest to her, when Farrah got older she decided she wanted to pursue this ambition. “The older I got the more I realised how much I enjoyed making women feel beautiful whether it be for a special occasion or just a small gathering,” she explains. “Everyone woman should feel glammed up to the nines for such events and I want to make them look the best that they can.”

“Once people started asking me ‘where do you get your hair done?’, I would reply that I did it myself, so people recommended me to do theirs as well,” she says.

“A few of my friends recommended me to their friends and it all started from there. I am now doing bridal hair as well as bridal make up. I like to be creative and have lots of different ideas and styles and I think my clients appreciate my involvement in their whole look as opposed to just doing their hair, I like to offer different ideas.”

“This particular hairstyle (pictured, left) was done for a bride, I had to make sure it would hold in place all day and also be able to support the weight of a heavy veil,” Farrah

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explains. “I also used false hair in the bun to give extra volume and height.

I created a very neat pony tail and wrapped the hair around, pinning it into the pony tail as I went along. Once the body was achieved, I wrapped in the remaining hair in various different ways to create a more versatile look rather than just a plain, round bun.”

Farrah’s top tips to keep your hair healthy is to keep it conditioned first and foremost. “The products I recommend are the Herbal Essences range but especially its hydration collection,” she says. “It’s also important to drink your daily amount of water as it really does make a difference to your hair and skin care.

Never over wash your hair either as this can dry it out quite a lot. To get a big body and volume for your hair I recommend you get styling powder and Schwarzkopf volume hairspray. Also, let your hair dry naturally rather than using a hair dryer as this causes less damage to your hair and adds texture.”

Farrah plans to pursue her hairstyling skills by learning more creative hairstyles and hopes to build her own website to showcase these styles. “I would like to start styling for magazine covers and more theatrical events,” she says. “I need to promote myself a lot more and dedicate more of my spare time outside of my work at the hospital and retail towards my passion to really achieve the goals I have set for myself and also to test my abilities as a hairstylist.”

Photos courtesy of Farrah Hussain

I LOVE TOUR? Over the Easter holidays, sports teams from all over the country will unite for a five day ‘tour’ abroad. Hosted by ILOVETOUR.co.uk, the majority of these teams will head to Salou for Saloufest 2014, with plenty of booze and debaucherous intentions involved. Mostly seen as a bit of harmless fun, is tour all it seems?

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riginally established in 2000, ILOVETOUR.co.uk was created on the principle that no student should have to miss out on the opportunity to travel. Over the last 14 years ILOVETOUR.co.uk has been providing students with what they call their own special brand of ‘Essential Life Experience’. The company works with universities all across the United Kingdom and even branches out into other European countries.

Their most successful and talked about ventures is the tour they hold with the universities’ sports teams.

The most popular festivals are Saloufest, Festival Italia and Damfest, held in Salou, Rimini and Amsterdam, respectively.

Held over the Easter holiday period, the tour experience appears to emulate that of American colleges’ sping break, where college students over there also go to a warmer climate to relax during the Easter. While ILOVETOUR.co.uk has the intention of innocently offering students a chance to travel abroad, there have been concerns about the way British students conduct themselves whilst abroad. Last year, an estimated 9,000 students from the UK alone attended Saloufest, which is held in three five day blocks across April. In order to reach the Spanish resort, students travel by coach through England and into France before finally reaching Salou, taking the time to travel up to a staggering 30 hours for some.

Hannah Burge, a member of Leeds Metropolitan’s netball team says: “I’ve been to Saloufest for the past two years and I’m going again this year. It’s my final year at university and tour is definitely one of the highlights of my time here. It’s mental, everyone just gets smashed all day and all night when we’re out there and there’s no boundaries. I’ve seen some bad things like strangers having sex right in the middle of the street but it’s all a bit of fun, without the alcohol they’d never do it.”

The drinking culture of tour is the most worrying part. The teams usually start drinking on the coach journey to Salou and each university’s girls team is paired with a different university’s boys team for the journey. Just searching through #Saloufest on Twitter you can see the extent of no boundaries. For example, there is an explicit image of a York St. John’s netballer performing a sex act on a member of Sheffield university’s football team to a packed tour bus whose residents are laughing and cheering them on.

Last year, students horrified locals by partying and causing havoc until the early hours in fancy dress costumes, such as cavemen, nuns and army men.

Over the last few years, local residents and businesses have repeatedly complained to the town hall about Saloufest due to its disruption. However, the town hall dismissed the complaints saying: “we know the residents complain but we are in favour of the wealth their tourism brings to the town.” The town makes big money through the sale of alcohol and cigarettes, as well as from hotels. The students have also been defended by their peers, who simply believe they are letting their hair down after the stress of assignments and exams and before they start all over again after Easter, and deservedly so. However, the extent to which the students drink is serious; drinking for over 12 hours is a real danger to the body.

Saloufest is expected to run from April 5-11, April 12-18 and April 21-27 this year. For more information about the festivals, visit ILOVETOUR.co.uk.

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CHASING THE

A-List

Mr Showbiz and celebrity expert Dean Piper has been paid to party for the past 13 years through his job as a tabloid reporter. Picking up some famous friends along the way, Dean tells LOLITA about his rise to the top and what it is like entering the harsh, yet fun, world of entertainment and showbiz journalism.

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ean knew from day one that he wanted to be involved with the media, having always had a thirst for knowledge when it came to celebrities and their lifestyles. “I always wanted to have something to do with celebrity,” Dean says. “I was obsessed with the most random people - Michelle Pfeiffer, Madonna and even the cast of Eastenders. I just used to look at them and think they must have the most fabulous lives.”

After a stint at his local college in Richmond, where he studied a BTEC in media production, he found himself at his first job in Teddington working at a post production house. It was during his time there that he realised his ambition to become a journalist. “I duplicated Madonna’s music videos there and I would see her music videos weeks before they were released to the public,” he says. “Then I decided to risk it all by selling one of the videos to Matthew Wright at The Mirror. Luckily the risk paid off and I was offered work experience there.

When it ended, I carried on with my studies by studying newspaper journalism on a NCTJ course and got a place at one of my local papers. I was there for just six months when Piers Morgan contacted me offering me a place at The Mirror under his reign working on the 3am column. It was a complete game changer!”

A year after joining the team, Dean was placed into a purgatory between friendship and his job. During a vodka-fuelled night out with a famous friend at London club haunt, Funky Buddha, they both ended up drunk and puffing on Benson & Hedges cigarettes when she dished some dirt. The friend in question was describing to Dean how she had recently met with some former colleagues she hadn’t spoken to since a falling out back in 1998. With the two of them being firm friends, she didn’t hold back and gave him all the juicy details about their tiff and the reunion. “I quickly excused myself and

typed the © Dean Piper notes into my Nokia phone,” Dean says. “Yes I was friends with her but I was also a showbiz reporter at The Mirror. That friend was Emma Bunton.” The following day Dean ran the story under the headline ‘Spice Girl Emma On THAT Spice Reunion Dinner’. After the story broke, Dean received a furious email from Emma’s PR, stating that Emma had classed him as a friend and that she was furious. “I was mortified and apologised immediately by sending her a bunch of flowers,” he says. “It took years to regain her trust before we could laugh the whole thing off. It was a lesson learnt the hard way.”

When Dean started his career back in 2001, papers were selling in big numbers; there was no social media around at the time like there is today. Online news websites were also in their infancy so it was the daily papers that people would flock to in order to get their slice of celebrity gossip. “Four nights a week I would blag my way into the Chinawhite club in London, which back then was the hangout full of celebs,” Dean says. “My job was to party alongside them, with eyes on stalks to get a killer story - while beating our rivals The Sun to it.”

It was a real fight to get the story first, with papers being the only source to get showbiz stories. “We [journalists] were hardwired to think celebrities were the enemy. We were bitchy, catty and expected to stitch up our own mothers if it meant getting a story first,” he explains. “I was never comfortable with talking my way into parties only to be the guy everyone wanted to avoid, but I quickly learnt it was a two way street.

Celebrities want publicity when they have a film, TV show or album to promote, or they want to raise their profile. Just as well, we journalists had a column to fill.”

“It took years to regain her trust”

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© Dean Piper Dean with Gwen Stefani, 2001

© Dean Piper Partying with Sienna Miller, 2004

Despite some celebrities’ reluctance to talk to Dean in fear that he will dish the dirt on them, he has interviewed some of the most famous faces in the world, including his idol Madonna. “The best interviews I’ve ever had have been the big celebrities; Madonna and Britney Spears were both extraordinary people to snap up,” he says. “I like the big names. They have more integrity and are often easier to deal with. I interviewed Britney in her younger years and I thought she was a really sweet girl. I’ve heard stories that she can be a pain to try and interview now, and quite often when she comes to the UK she requests that journalists only have pictures with her and no interviews. So, I’m glad I caught her at her best. The worst person I’ve interviewed was probably Gillian Anderson, she really lacked social skills which is surprising for a heavyweight actress.”

Dean’s job has required him to travel all over the world, from London to Australia. With so many areas covered with so many years of experience under his belt, surely he’s had some bizarre meetings? “Oh god yeah!” he starts. “The weirdest was when I met Courtney Love. It was during my time at The Mirror at the 3am column - she dragged me into a woman’s toilet for an interview where she talked about life post-Kurt Cobain and she told me to do her make up. I couldn’t believe it; I was doing Courtney Love’s lippy in a grotty toilet!”

One place Dean travels to every year is Los Angeles, mainly for the awards season which runs through January and February of every year. “When I was younger it was a dream of mine to be in LA during the Oscars. It’s true glamour,” he says. “I’ve also managed to meet every celebrity I’ve wanted to there, apart from Al Pacino. I always miss him! I’ll get him one day.” It was during one awards season a few years ago where Dean managed to get a pass to the ultimate party - the post-Academy Awards Vanity Fair party. “I somehow

“Courtney Love dragged me into a toilet and told me to do her makeup”

© Dean Piper Meeting Idris Elba in LA, 2014

managed to blag my way into the Vanity Fair party about four years ago. It was a proper highlight that will stay with me for the rest of my life,” he explains. “I pretended to be Alec Baldwin’s friend so I could get in as he was the first person near me and I hugged him. I convinced him that we’d met in London a few months before during one of his promotional visits and got him to walk me inside. Much to my surprise, he did it! He thought we were firm friends by the end of the night.”

Having been in the industry for over ten years now, Dean has been around to witness the rise of technology and how it effects the working day, particularly for a news outlet. The way we source our news is very different from how it was back then; the majority got their news from the newspapers and magazines, as well as the radio and television broadcasts. However, these days every major newspaper now has a website which is updated throughout the day and social media such as Facebook and Twitter have broke news to us quicker than ever before. “Nothing can replace the joy of having a newspaper in your hand but Twitter has changed everything,” Dean says. “It’s an exhausting industry to be in now and it’s even more hard to catch the breaking news before your competitors do. Twitter breaks news so fast that sales were dropping at my former workplace, the Sunday Mirror and I was disillusioned with the showbiz stories focusing on reality television stars.”

After resigning from the Sunday Mirror in 2012, Dean now works as a freelance journalist. “You need the energy of your early twenties to go out partying to get the front page headline, but I’m 33 now which in showbiz years is like106,” he says.

“So, I became a freelancer, where there’s no confusion what’s on or off the record. But I look back on it all very fondly. I got to party like a rock star for 12 years with the most famous people and have made some great friends along the way. In the words of Madonna, I have absolutely no regrets.”

“I pretended to be Alec Baldwin’s friend and hugged him”

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NO MORE EXCUSES Justifying why you shouldn’t do something is too easy. You could start running your errands but oh, wait, you’ve not checked your phone for half an hour. LOLITA has one dare for you: stop the excuses. Here are our top tips to give you that motivational kick up the backside to stop slobbing about and to start taking control of your life ...

“I’ll do it tomorrow”

If your fridge needs a good clear out or the bathroom needs a good clean as it hasn’t been for weeks: start being a do-er. Write three categories for the priorities in your life: urgent stuff (payments), medium-sized (phone parents this weekend) and big (try and nab the job). Then crack on with it. Still putting it off? Think of it this way - saying “I’ll run a mile in five minutes” isn’t easy, but imagine having to run a mile in five minutes to save a life. You would definitely do it then. Don’t think because it’s not an absolute must that you therefore shouldn’t do it. You do have the potential.

“Really sorry, I can’t come out tonight...”

If you can’t be bothered to socialise or you’re on a low ebb, remember this: if you don’t go you’ll never know what could have happened. Equally, if you’re not feeling confident about the way you’ll look or act you, don’t know what other people are thinking. Even if you did, their views don’t matter; they won’t affect your life. The fact is we’re all a little self-conscious and a bit shy, some of us are just better at hiding it. So get that party skirt on and live a little before it’s too late!

“It’s less hassle if I just stay quiet”

Tell people what you want. If you want that seat on the packed train that’s pre-occupied with someone’s luggage, just ask to sit there. A polite “excuse me, can I sit there please?” won’t do you or them any harm. And what is the likelihood of them really saying no? You won’t get that seat by tutting and giving a dirty look, it’ll only leave you feeling angry. Think this way about everything in life - go for what you want.

“I don’t know how I’m so skint”

Money is actually pretty simple, contrary to what you might believe. Don’t spend it on a load of rubbish that you don’t need, for example, that weekly McDonald’s or that pointless summer hat bought in winter. If you see something you like the look of, ask yourself if you really need it and if you can afford it - the answer will almost everytime be no.

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“I don’t have time”

Many household jobs and chores can be done in ten minutes; if you’re a regular hitter of the snooze button you’ll know how short a time that is. Would you really say you don’t have the time to speak to your best friend for ten minutes? Of course not! Treat time equally to everything in your life.

“Sorry I’m late... [insert lie to cover yourself]”

It’s tough to get yourself up and out of bed, we’ve all been there, but you manage it when you need to. For example, how many morning trains home have you missed? Absolutely none. So schedule appointments early; tell your lecturer you’ll be in your lesson for 9am and mean it. Nothing beats ticking off something on your accomplished list at 9am!

“I can’t decide”

Start being decisive with your choices. If you’re at a restaurant and can’t decide which meal to have for dinner, look at the options and simply pick one with no second thought. There’s always time to try something else at a different time. Give yourself a time limit for choices, such as pick an outfit for tonight in under 30 seconds. Don’t look back and stick with your choice.

“That’s just my pot of luck”

Sometimes in life, things get a bit crap. But this goes for everyone, not just you. Don’t think “the world hates me” and fight back saying “I’ll show you!” and carry on. You can’t control what happens in life but you can control how you deal with it and how it affects you.

IS ONLINE DATING THE WAY FORWARD? With an estimated one in every five relationships beginning online, it is clear to see that online dating has hit an all time high. It seems that every year we see more and more adverts for dating websites than ever before. But, is this the way forward for students to find love instead of a fling? Or does it strictly belong to professionals?

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uring your time at university, who’s dating who and who your friends are dating are the focal points in your daily gossip. However, it is hard to find anyone of student age who actively uses dating sites such as Plenty of Fish or Match compared to those in their twenties and thirties. This is probably because being young and at university, you are never short of meeting new people every week when you are out and about. Many couples who got together during their university years are more than likely to have met either on their course or on a student night out, which then led them to dating and soon saw them become a fully fledged couple.

Hannah, a sociology student at the University of Chester, admits to having joined an online dating website, albeit for a bit of fun. “Basically, me and my two friends had gone for a meal for one night and after a few bottles of wine we were more than tipsy and we began talking about our single lives,” she says. “The topic got on to online dating and we drunkenly signed ourselves up to Plenty of Fish as a bit of a laugh. We didn’t do it seriously, there was no thought that we’d meet the love of our lives on there. We just wanted to see what the experience was like. Within minutes of joining, we all had the same guy trying to chat us up on there! It just made me think that some people only have one thing on their minds when joining these sites and it certainly isn’t love.”

However, the experience couldn’t have been more different to 24 year old Toria, a nursery nurse from Bristol. After a couple of unsuccessful relationships in the past and flings that failed to amount to anything, she signed up to Match to find something more worthwhile. After about a month of being on the site, she met David, a Coca-Cola sales rep also from Bristol.

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“I know it sounds cliché, but we just clicked on our first date,” she explains. “After the third date something was telling me this was the man for me. I’d never met anyone like him before but it felt like we’d known each other all our lives.” Sure enough she was right; two years after meeting they were married and a year later their first child, Arabella, was born.

The latest online dating craze is Tinder, whose tagline is ‘Tinder is how people meet. It’s like real life but better.’ The app, available on iPhone and Android, uses your Facebook profile to test your compatibility against other users. You can see your shared interest and mutual friends through the app, without being outed on Facebook itself as being a member of Tinder, and can decide the radius in which you can see people in kilometres. You simply look through a few of their pictures, then swipe left or right; left means you are not interested, while right means you are. If they also swipe right you match each other and the app enables the two of you to talk to each other.

Many students have taken a liking to this app, yet it is more for conversation or a few dates rather than a long term relationship.

When you see online dating adverts on television, the actors are normally over the age of 25 which correlates with its target audience. They aim at them for a reason; students are more concerned with having fun and freedom rather than searching for a serious relationship.

Photo courtesy of Tinder

FASHION AT UoN The University of Northampton is one of the best unversities in the country for the department in fashion.

Third year students are currently working on their final collection, which are set to be showcased in London at the end of the academic year. LOLITA catches up with some of the students while their collections are finishing...

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he last year of university is always a tough one.

While you go through second year thinking that’s hard you have no idea what hard really means until you enter your final year. Not only is there the dreaded dissertation to contend with, students are also required to do a final major project in whatever field of study they are in, which takes a lot of time and effort.

We’re talking not talking days, we mean months.

The University of Northampton’s fashion department is a very full on course even in the first year. While the academic side is the same as any other course, imagine having to tackle that whilst also being on a course which is so practical heavy. Having had to make their own designs into actual pieces over the last two years, the focus is now on their final collection.

“We have to make three pieces for our final collection, so as you can imagine it’s pretty hectic at the moment,” fashion student Ira Garcia says. “At the moment I’ve made two pieces and I’m in the process of finishing my last one, which is a very detailed cut out dress. It does take a long time to make each piece which is why I’m thankful what we had practical pieces to make in first and second year. The last two years Ira’s dress have given me enough practice for me to nail my final collection.” Ira’s other two pieces have been finished and modelled by other students for her lecturer to see. The first piece was a green, detailed dress with cut outs similar to the one pictured, modelled by Lizzy Drewett, whereas the second was a crop top with tassles, modelled by Lydia Gonzalez.

Fashion is one of the most expensive courses you can choose. Whilst we all have to spend money on printing and getting work bound and what not, the fashion students have to buy their own materials to make their own designs, which can cost hundreds of pounds.

For example, Amber Taylor spent £300 on tartan to use for her final pieces, however she doesn’t regret it as she knows “that’s what it takes to get a good grade.”

Aimee Sacco, also a final year fashion student, has so far produced two coats for her final collection. Originally intended to be worn for a woman, her Aimee’s coats lecturer suggested that they would be more suited to a man. “When Jane my lecturer said this, I modelled them on two of my friends, Alex and Richard and she was right; it looked much better on them as they are quite big and the material is heavy,” Aimee says. “My coats are made from thick cotton and I’ve used the colours burgandy and grey for both. One is very long that goes to just above the feet and is sleek, whereas the other is shorter and buttons up to the left corner of the left shoulder. I thought it was best to vary the coats to show off my versatility to my lecturers.”

The fashion course is not just about clothing though; there’s a special module for footwear and accessories. Helen Kirkum is a student that specialises in men’s footwear, a move she hopes to carry on in to her professional career.

“My main design at the moment is a very complex men’s shoe that Helen’s shoe designs is made from see-through plastic material, it’s going to look great!” she says.

For more details about their final collection show in May, visit www.northampton.ac.uk where more information will be released in due course.

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EAT WELL ON A Living as a student can be tough at times when money is concerned. The student loans come in, then go straight back out again. While it is tempting to order in the cheapest fast food you can come across or pop to the shop for a microwave meal, the results often leave you gaining weight. Here at Lolita, we have found some top tips for you to make decent, healthy meals without breaking a hole into your bank balance.

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he biggest pitfall when it comes to students and eating is one thing - snacking. Whether you’re having a lazy day in bed or vigorously typing in the library to get your assignment finished food always enters your mind. At university it is so easy to quickly pop off to the canteen or to Gregg’s to get a quick bite to eat, but that’s the problem - it is quick.

They don’t call it fast food for nothing, it’s normally gone within four bites and let’s be honest does that steak bake or portion of chips really fill you up? The answer will almost always be no it doesn’t. While it is a quick fix, you forget how much money you spend on it. Say if you had an extremely busy week at university and you popped off to get a steak bake every day, you’re spending around £7 a week. Turn that into a monthly figure and that’s almost £30, not including the sneaky packet of crisps or chocolate bar you might throw in there too.

A yummy snack that takes no time at all would be a piece of fruit. Or, if you want to jazz things up, try chopping up a banana into even numbers and wedging some peanut butter in between every two pieces. Almost like a banana style sandwich if you like.

Alternatively, if peanut butter doesn’t take your fancy, try using Nutella. This way with either of your options, you will be getting your nutrients from the banana as well as a cheeky treat for yourself wedged in the middle.

It’s true what they say - breakfast is the most important meal of the day. By having breakfast, your metabolism aligns properly leaving you needing food at appropriate times of the day, decreasing snacking.

This way, your body will want food again at lunch and dinner time with the temptation of snacking keeping you at bay. So, while it might be easy to skip breakfast and get something unhealthy, think again.

Give yourself time to have breakfast before you leave the house. The best breakfast options are those full of wheats or oats, such as Weetabix or porridge. These

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will give you a good source of fibre, keeping your digestive system intact for the rest of the day.

They can also last you for up to month, so you are getting the most out of your money. To add extra flavour, try chopping up bananas into your Weetabix or adding strawberries to your porridge. Delicious.

It can be so easy to change your diet into a healthy and balanced one. Just simple changes such as buying wholemeal bread instead of white can make a difference to your body. Wholemeal is a complex carbohydrate, meaning that your body releases its energy slowly throughout the day, which in turn keeps you fuller for longer causing you to not snack.

As this energy is being gradually released, it means there is less fat for your body to store unlike simple carbohydrates which releases the energy in one go and stores it as fat. If cereal does not take your fancy and you’re eating on the go, try having brown bread toast for breakfast instead with a light butter.

A great nutritious breakfast to have is brown bread toast with a little butter, topped with scrambled eggs and smoked salmon. Eggs are a great source of protein and scrambled is one of the best ways to make them - fried eggs made with oil are not healthy. Scrambled eggs have a good source of nutrients, such as high quality protein and lutein, which helps prevent eye problems. Smoked salmon is also a great source of protein and fish is not called brain food for nothing; it contains omega-3, which is good for a healthy brain function, as well as being good for the heart, joints and general well-being. All these nutrients will leave your body to slowly release nutrients and regulate your metabolism, meaning your cravings for food will be at mainly meal times, putting said cravings at bay.

STUDENT BUDGET Mackerel with salad

Pasta with courgettes, tomatoes and basil

When money is limited, for lunch the best option is to bring a packed lunch for wherever you’re going. Yes, it does sound childish but this doesn’t mean the classic school sandwiches packed lunch with a cheesestring.

It could be anything you like - whether it be leftovers from your dinner the night before or something you make before you leave. Bringing in your own lunch means you have no excuse to go off and snack on a slice of pizza or chips from the canteen. This saves you money and saves you from a huge calorie intake.

Try making yourself a healthy sandwich. Use brown bread as this slowly releases energy throughout the day and fill in preferably with something filling such as ham and chicken along with salad, or if you’re a vegetarian, try egg and cress for a good source of protein. While you may try and sneak off to get something unhealthy just remember - that lovely lunch you prepared earlier will still be there, eventually rotting in your bag. If that doesn’t swerve the temptation then I don’t know what will.

Another simple and cost effective lunch is to make pasta. Packets of pasta pieces, whether it be penne, fusilli or farfalle, can be kept for a while in the cupboard so again, you are getting your money’s worth. In the morning, cook your pasta until soft and add in some healthy components such as tomatoes, basil and courgettes. If you’re a meat lover, try and add in pieces of chicken to give your dish more flavour. The great thing about pasta is that it’s just as delicious cold as it is hot, so it’s great to store in some Tupperware for your lunch. As pasta is a carbohydrate it will slowly release energy throughout the day, making you feel more full for longer. It also contains fibre, helping you to digest your food easily. If you wish to decide to add chicken to the dish that’s even better - chicken is a great source of

Packed lunches swerve temptation

Homemade pizza

protein, giving you more energy throughout the day.

The salad you add is low in calories, nutritious and tasty meaning you can enjoy your food without piling on the pounds.

After a long day doing work and the late nights it brings, the last thing you feel like doing when you get home is making dinner. This is why it is so easy to pick up the nearest takeaway menu or visit JustEat for your quick fix. But, there are fast and easy ways to have an enjoyable dinner for times like these. For example, try making your own salad consisting of lettuce, onion, peppers, celery, cucumber and tomatoes (mix and match these as you please) - it will probably take you just five minutes to throw all these together in a bowl. You could even maybe do it in the morning or the night before as it will last for a few days in the fridge, saving you preparation time when you come home after an exhausting day. Add a fillet of mackerel or a tuna steak into the salad for extra flavour and to satisfy your appetite. As an oily fish, it is a rich source of omega-3, which improves bone and skin health. A tuna steak roughly takes 25 minutes to oven cook, whereas mackerel can be fried in five minutes or grilled for up to 15 minutes; a quick dish to make when you have had a long day.

A fun dinner to experiment with is to make your own pizzas. You can readily buy the bases for the pizzas at any major supermarket at a low cost, and again, they last a while so you’re getting value for your money. All you need to add is tomato paste to spread across the base and any ingredients you want to add. This way you can make your pizza as healthy and as filling as you want. Try adding a few pepperoni slices, along with sliced tomatoes, sliced onions and basil.

Create your own meat feast by adding extra meat.

Experiment making your own pizzas

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ASK LOLITA...

Although university can be a lot of fun, it can also be a very stressful time for students for many reasons. Main issues revolve around relationships, work load and money. As a third year student who has witnessed many problems students face first hand, I aim to help students with their problems by giving them the best advice I can as a veteran.

Me and my boyfriend have been together for a year and a half. We go to the same sixth form together and plan on going to university in September. I’m planning on going to Westminster whereas his first choice is Liverpool. I’m worried that we’ll split up when we go to university because of the distance. How can we make it work?

games night, this way you can all spend time together and have a laugh without spending money.

Leigh-Anne, 18, Whitchurch

I live with four girls and we are all very close. The other day I heard a rumour that one of the girls’ boyfriends had cheated on her. Although it’s just a rumour and not confirmed, it’s killing me because she doesn’t know a thing about it. Should I tell her?

This is a common worry with couples when it comes to going to university. First of if you haven’t already, talk to your boyfriend about these worries - he’s more than likely thinking the same. Distance doesn’t mean that you will end up splitting at all, I know many couples from school who are still together whilst attending different universities. The best way to think is that you will see each other during the holidays which will be quality time together. I also suggest you alternate in visiting each other at your prospective universities every three or four weeks. This way neither of you are denting your bank balance on a one way visit.

As is the case at most universities, especially Northampton as its relatively small compared to most, all sorts of rumours circulate and it spreads like wildfire.

As you’ve said it’s just a rumour and it’s not confirmed I don’t think you should tell her - yet, at least. Talk to the boyfriend first and tell him what you’ve heard and ask him if it’s true. Whether he says yes or no tell him that he should tell her about the rumours; after all it’s an issue involving them, not anybody else. If he admits and doesn’t tell her, that’s where you should step in and tell her incase somebody else does.

I’m a fresher and while I want to enjoy my first year, I feel like I can’t as I’m always broke. I get the minimum amount of loan which barely covers rent for my halls. All my friends go out two times a week and I’m lucky if I can afford to go out twice in a month. I feel like I’m missing out on the full uni experience. How can I get more involved?

Pippa, 19, Northampton

I started university doing a course I thought I’d love doing - history. However, after two years I’ve come to realise more as the time goes on that this isn’t the right path for me. I’ve always been interested in music too and sing and play guitar at my own gigs. Part of me just wants to quit university and pursue my dreams of being a singer/ songwriter. What should I do?

Money is a very frustrating issue at university and unfortunately it works out that people get different loan amounts. If your studies have eased off, I suggest you try and look for a part time job, there are lots of retail shops who will offer flexible hours. This way you can earn extra money. In the meantime, suggest your friends come over for a pizza and movie night or a

As you’re two years in it would be such a waste of time and money to quit now. I definitely think you should carry on gigging in the meantime as well and, if after graduation you still feel like history isn’t for you, then pursure your dreams. Having a degree sets you above the rest, don’t give up on it now with just a year to go!

Rebecca*, 21, Northampton

Kristie, 21, Northampton

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STAND OUT NAILS A woman’s biggest accessory whether it be night or day is her nails; the colour and shape can bring out the best in your outfit. Anyone can wear jewellery, but not everyone gets their nail game on point. Lolita brings you the hot trends from the S/S14 season...

A big trend we’ll see this season with nails is stripes. Models at catwalks shows at New York Fashion Week were pictured with various types of striped nails, from a simple French manicure-esque stripe at the top of the nail to an all out there multi-coloured look. Simply paint on your desired colour for your base coat, we’ve used peach, then apply the stripes by using a nail art pen, readily available at Superdrug or Boots.

With the spring months in full bloom, why not accessorise your nails to embrace these sunny and bright months? Red is always a great colour to base your nails; it’s a colour that goes with almost anything. Here we’ve decorated our red nails with a white polka-dot theme to it to correlate with the brightness of the season. For the feature nail, on the fourth finger, we created flowers using trusty nail art pens in hommage to the spring.

If you’re a girl who is more into visiting nail salons to get your nail fix, a stand out look for this time of year is the stiletto effect. This is done using powder and liquid acrylic shaped into a point, much like the stiletto of a woman’s high heels. This fierce look will have you standing out at any event. The darkness of purple accentuates the sharp tip even more, whilst the pink featue nail conforms with the light colours for the S/S14 season.

Beauty UK’s nail range offers a variety of colours for just £2.49 per varnish.

They are available in most beauty shops and all major supermarkets. Here, we have used Beauty UK’s no.83 ‘wow that’s pink’ varnish for a fun, playful and girly feel. The thickness of this make means you only have to use one layer and it is very easy to apply with a quick drying time. Add some dots from its no.29 ‘metallic silver’ varnish to jazz your nails up if desired.

As is obvious in the spring and summer months, bright and vibrant colours are on trend at this time every year. When applying nail varnish, always apply a clear base coat before applying colour as this will ease the varnish off when you want to remove it and lessen the stain marks left on your nails. Yellow is a great colour to go for this season as it stands out.

Alternate your nails with a dark grey colour for a stylish finish.

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MAKE UP MUST HAVES LOLITA presents you the best and most affordable make up products on the market...

The most essential of all make up products has to be foundation. It can still leave you looking fresh faced, just without those pesky blemishes which it hides perfectly. Max Factor’s Miracle Touch Liquid Illusion Foundation has a solid-to-liquid formula to give you flawless base with just one easy application giving you a natural glow. The foundation ranges in colour from creamy ivory to bronze so you can choose how dark to go. Miracle Touch is available at all major beauty and health retailers for £12.99.

Applying eyeliner is probably the trickiest make up trick of all, no matter whether it be pencil or liquid. Max Factor’s Kohl Eye Liner has an ultra soft pencil for application on your gentle eye area yet is firm enough to create eye-defining shape. Avaiable in black, brown and charcoal grey for £4.99 in all major retailers.

The perfect make up accessory is one thing: lipstick. Lipstick adds that bit of glamour to your outfit, whether it be on a night out or for that killer interview or presentation. Kate Moss’ Lasting Finish collection for Rimmel is available at all major health and beauty retailers for just £5.49. Her first lipstick collection is infused with black diamonds, reflecting light like never before, giving your lips that extra plump and glow you want. The lipstick even lasts for up to 8 hours. There are eleven shades available, from classic deep red, to eccentric purple, to nude for that natural look.

Mascara is the best tool for helping your eyes look more open and awake. The lashings accentuates your eyelashes upwards, widening your eyes. Max Factor’s Masterpiece Max mascara is a high impact, volumising mascara that creates smooth, bold, sleek eyelashes with up to four times more volume than your bare lashes. Pefect for no smudges and sensitive eyes. Available in black, brown/black and blue from all major retailers for £9.99.

A big trend over the last few years, thanks to the likes of model Cara Delevingne, is defining your eyebrows using an eyebrow pencil. Rimmel’s Professional Eyebrow Pencil fills in gaps or lengthens the arch of the eyebrow for a natural look without smudging. The built in brush helps groom and shape your brows for a long wear. Available for just £2.99 at major retailers.

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STUDENT OFFERS New Look currently offers a 10% student discount both in store and online. Simply present your student card or student number when you’re at the checkout for this exclusive offer. Other retailers offering a 10% student discount includes H&M, Topshop, ASOS and Miss Selfridge.

We all dread that food shop not knowing how much we’ll end up spending - not anymore. The Co-operative Food are offering a 10% discount on your groceries when you show them your student card.

You can download Spotify for free for six months before a weekly music limit is put on. With a 50% student discount, you can buy the premium version for cheap - which also means you won’t get them pesky ads.

Trips to the cinema these days if it’s not an Orange Wednesday are always a little pricey, and that’s not even including the food and drinks you want to buy. Odeon cinemas are offering a 25% student discount when you present your NUS card.

Exclusive to your NUS card, former The Only Way Is Essex star Lucy Mecklenburgh is offering a 25% discount to students when you sign up to her Results with Lucy online health and fitness programme.

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ASK Italian and Prezzo both offer a whopping 25% student discount off your entire food bill. Show your NUS card to the waiter or waitress when you’re presented with the bill and they’ll do the rest.

Pssss! Don’t forget to claim your free cheeseburger or McFlurry with your McDonald’s meal!

Photos courtesy of NUS