Helix Piercing - My Experience

This is only a short post I'm doing in order to help anyone considering getting a helix/cartilage piercing, hopefully I will convince you that it's worth getting! I had mine done on the 18th and I will go through where to get it done, the pain and the after-care.

I decided to get it done after my last exam as a treat to myself for my hard work, so me and my friends went to our local tattoo shop and signed up for the piercings we wanted; I got my left helix and my friend got her belly button pierced. I would say we went to probably the most expensive place in our town (mine cost £20) but I think it was worth it because we knew the hygiene standards and overall way they carry out the piercings would be safe and worth the money. The place was called Ashford Custom Tattoo and I would recommend it to anyone local. It's better to be safe than sorry so go somewhere that has good reviews and that people would recommend, its better to pay a little bit more and avoid infection in my opinion. 

We had to fill in some forms and then that was it! I was nervous to get it done but the people there were so great and talked us through everything. First, he sterilised all the equipment he was using then he cleaned my ear. He then felt my ear to find a suitable part of tissue to pierce through. I obviously couldn't clearly see what he was doing unfortunately, but he told me to take a deep breath in and a deep breath out, and on my exhalation he pierced through with the needle. It was more painful than I was expecting but that's only because I've only ever had my lobes pierced which doesn't hurt at all! The most uncomfortable part is when he slides in the jewellery in because it feels so strange.

I wasn't totally sure how to clean my piercing after I got it done so I looked on Google and asked friends with the same piercing. The conclusion was that warm water with a bit of dissolved salt helps soothe and heal the piercing. So now every night I use a cotton wool bud (Q-Tip) and apply salt water around the piercing. As you can see from the photo, the back of the piercing is long so that you can clean it easier, so I push it forward, clean around the jewellery with the bud and then push it back and do behind my ear. 

Watch this if you want to see the process in more detail and also how to clean it.

In conclusion I would say to anyone considering it to go for it because it won't be as bad as you think. 

Rihanna - My Fashion Icon

Hello! Since I haven't posted in 3 months (I'm sorry!) I thought I would try and make up for that by doing a post I have been promising you for a while now - my style icons. I have decided to just narrow the celebrities whose style I love down to just one: Rihanna. I will talk about why I love her style and pick out specific outfits from her. Enjoy!

I love everything about this campaign. I
especially love the symmetry of the S shape of
her body and how the pink shade of her glasses
clearly contrasts her red lips which clashes so hard
it actually works.
 Can I also add that this is my personal
favourite of all her hairstyles.

Rihanna

Probably one of the most influential celebrities with regards to style, Rihanna is in my eyes the most versatile woman going (I mean, is there a hair style she hasn't rocked?). A$AP Rocky wasn't wrong for using her in his Fashion Killa video (it's old I know but the point is still valid - link here) because that's exactly what she is; she takes a trend and blows it up and exaggerates it so much it suddenly becomes the coolest thing ever. 

Her appearance is just timeless as she's always bringing something new to the table - showing how she can pull off just about anything and make it work, which is what she has been doing for 3 decades now - making her a fashion icon for all generations as she is conscious of the current styles and aware of how to carefully contradict them or to bring a bit of her personality into it, which her and her amazing stylist Mel Ottenberg (whom I also adore as he is one of the main ridiculously talented back-stage genuises of the icon that is Rihanna) find no problem with.

A look by Rih that made me speechless from her beauty was from the Met Gala 2014, when she stunned everyone in a beautiful Stella McCartney cropped top and skirt. Everything was perfect about this for me, even the tiny hint of a tattoo emerging from her top and the sleeves which added some classic "Rihanna Identity" to tastefully juxtapose her white beauty elegance and grace. 

A more recent wow moment I've had as a result of her effortless style and eternal beauty and basically just her overall absolute coolness that makes her Rihanna, was a couple of days ago when I saw her cover for i-D magazine. If this doesn't scream the words modern, 2015 and simply awesome to you then I honestly don't know what will because I can hand on heartedly say this is an aesthetic I have never seen before and to me it gives a whole other meaning to the word "beauty". Instead of me waffling on about how cool I think she is, I think you should take a look at this article by Maeve Keirans for MTV who summarises perfectly the reasons I love this and adds some more weird and wonderful photos from this shoot.

  Please don't resist the urge to applaud when you see these photos - I know I did.

And finally, the last Rihanna moment I wish to discuss is the fun and quirky pop art inspired video for Rude Boy, which is basically just a visual mood board of colour, randomness and sex being combined to form a work of art masterpiece of a music video. Even if you (like me) are not a fan of the song or it's meaning - you have to admit that the video is new and each one of her outfits just fit with the video, and all of this just makes the rubbish lyrics and overall terrible song 100x better and acceptable to love 5 years after it has been created. 

And that, is why Robyn Rihanna Fenty and everyone behind the scenes with her fashion, is my number one style icon and goddess and always has been (and always will be as she continues to wow and impress). I say good luck in finding a 26 year old with a more impressive and original style portfolio! 

thanks for reading