Tuesday 10 November 2020

Let's Pretend It Isn't Happening - Femme Luxe Review*

 Hey Lovelies,

First things first, we have entered another lockdown. I have to say, I'm not loving the fact that this blog has practically turned into 'The Lockdown Chronicles', but you'll be happy to know I managed to squeeze in a lot of fun in the last 2 months. Since my last post, I finished my year long placement (post coming soon!) and moved into my accommodation amongst other things! I am lowkey glad I'm in Leicester for Lockdown 2.0 because I can live in my own space and if I stress scream, my parents can't hear me. I can also order whatever food I want without having to give any to anyone else.

Another silver lining on this lockdown cloud is I can once again order an inhumane amount of clothes with the justification that I'll wear them all when we are released. At this point, I may just wear fabulous outfits when I do my 'essential shopping'. I can't be the only one who is skeptical about the one month time limit. I mean... the last one was meant to last 3 weeks and here were are 6 months later, COVID-19 still in our airspace.

Anyway, enough rambling, let's talk about clothes!


Tuesday 9 June 2020

Racism In The UK & How You Can Combat It


I have been at war with myself about whether or not I should write about recent events. It wasn't because I couldn't be bothered or I didn't want to "rock the boat", but because I didn't know if I could or even wanted to relay all my feelings in an eloquent manner. I am extremely tired of the racial injustice that continues to plague our societies. The plight of my community isn't going to change if I stay silent, so here I am laying it bare.

Let me begin by saying racism isn't dead nor has it disappeared. Racism isn't just saying 'the n word' or hate crimes. It's being told that your braids are unprofessional in the workplace. It's being denied medication because many doctors believe you have higher pain threshold than white people. It's having to add "black girl" when searching makeup looks because everyone that pops up first is white. It's having to check if a country is racist before considering going there on holiday. It's having enforcers of the law use excessive force that is out of proportion to the situation and no consequences coming of it. It's having to protest for your rights, for your very existence and being met with resistance. I could go on and on, but the fact of the matter is, racism is at every level of society. This means that it isn't enough to say you're not racist. You have to actively work at being anti-racist because the systems in place do not benefit black lives at all.

This is not any individual country's problem, it's a global issue. Just because our police officers don't have guns doesn't mean we aren't just as bad. The UK is not innocent. Even now, we are fighting for justice for many victims of racism who have been let down by the system. Belly Mujinga and Shukri Abdi are just two examples of national cases that have gained traction in the media. 

UK Facts and Figures

  • 50% less likely to receive pain medication (source: Singhal et al 2016)
  • Black women are five times more likely to die in child birth than white women (source: UK Confidential Enquiry into Maternal Deaths)
  • 95% of doctors who died in the first month of lockdown (due to COVID-19) were black and brown (source HSJ April 2020)
  • Black NHS staff report the highest incidence of bullying & harassment from their colleagues and leaders (source: NHS workforce eace equality standard 2019)
  • Black patients are overall less likely to receive care and support during their cancer care national cancer patient experience survey

What Can You Do To Actively Be Anti-Racist

  • Sign petitions

There are many petitions online demanding justice for those who have lost their lives or are incarcerated and your signature can help those people be heard. Never underestimate the power of unity. Below is a list of petitions that could use your signature.

  • Donate

Donations are very helpful against the fight for racism. Just recently, George Floyd's family were able to use donations to get an independent autopsy and found that he died from "asphyxiation from sustained pressure", which differs from the original report where his cause of death was a heart attack. Below is a list of donation pages.

If you don't have money to donate, you can watch specific YouTube videos and the ad revenue will be donated to the relevant causes (see below).

  • Protest

Protests show unity and solidarity. It is a way of proclaiming your opinion publicly and has been known to help causes make their voices heard by the government and often results in change. This is seen in America, where the case of Breonna Taylor - a woman killed in her sleep by the police - has been reopened as a result of protests.

  • Start or participate in hard conversations

Change has to start at home. It's all well and good supporting black lives on social media, but you also need to engage with your friends, family, colleagues etc and raise awareness of the microaggressions that contribute to racism in society. Call them out if they make racist jokes or say racial slurs.

  • Write to your MP
You have a lot more power than you believe. We have the power to pick our MPs and their job is to work for us. If you do not think your local MP is doing enough, write them and email asking them how they're tackling racism in your district. You can find your local MP here.

  • Research
We live in an age where information is readily available for us. Don't rely solely on information that you are fed. Go online and read articles, take out books from your library. As unconventional as it sounds, Twitter is actually a great place to gain insight into recent events.

  • Watch movies/series
There are many movies and TV series that recount some of the atrocities done to the black community. But beware, several of these movies white saviour movies. Below is a small list of movies/series you can watch.


Petitions

Donate
The Stephen Lawrence Trust - works with children from disadvantaged backgrounds to inspire and enable them to succeed in the career of their choice
Access UK - helps people from the BAME community with career advice and support

YouTube Videos

Movies/Series
13th
When They See Us
Dear White People
See You Yesterday
The Hate U Give
Fruitvale Station
Moonlight
Selma

Change doesn't come instantly, so we must keep fighting and keep making the government aware of the inequalities and the injustice that the system upholds.


In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends - MLK JR.


Sunday 24 May 2020

When Will I Be Released? - A Femme Luxe Review*

Aloha mes amies, 

2 weeks later and I'm back! Who would've thunk it? Since my last post, I have done more than I thought I would've. Between doing a course on The Open University, exercising somewhat consistently and actually doing my day job, I've also planned a list of topics I could write about in the coming weeks (months, if I being completely honest considering the length of time between posts), so that's something to look forward to. Obviously, I am not a complete workaholic. I have been taking (very) frequent rest breaks between tasks because who knows when I'm going to be able to relax again when we finally break out of limbo and society starts back up.

Since I still have loads of time on my hands, I have decided to do another review, courtesy of Femme Luxe who sent me another parcel. I didn't expect to do another haul so soon, but I enjoyed the dressing up and generally just being the centre of attention, so here we are. Also, the British weather has really been hitting lately, which is ironic since we're still technically in lockdown and our access to 'outside' is very limited. Who knows, maybe by my next post we'll be able to roam around again like the old days.

The pieces I selected this time around are all towards the classy end of the fashion spectrum which is refreshing since I've been lounging in shorts and oversized tops for weeks on end.


Sunday 10 May 2020

Getting through Quarantine with Femme Luxe!*

Well... here's a situation we never thought we'd be in. The whole world is basically under lockdown and I can't be the only one struggling. I had fun the first couple of weeks, but now I'm more than ready to get back to work (I know, I never thought I'd say those words).

Today is day 60 of lockdown and whilst my penchant for spending has decreased significantly, I have been getting a few items to keep me going. Needless to say, trying to save money for when 'the outside' is open again is a harder task than I first thought. So imagine my joy when Femme Luxe contacted me recently to talk about a collaboration! This honestly couldn't have come at a better time since I am slowly losing my mind in lockdown. I have found solace in creating wishlists on many of my favourite websites that I'm forcing myself not to buy, but this way I can still try and review new clothes without spending a penny. WIN-WIN! I also got to go outside for reasons other than essential shopping and my one form of exercise a day to actually have a little fun!

I haven't shopped at Femme Luxe before, so an opportunity to try a new store is always exciting. This collab also allows me to brush the metaphorical cobwebs off my fingers and get typing again, especially about clothes and fashion trends which I haven't done in a little while or fashion trends in a little while. Let's get into it!

Monday 4 November 2019

1 Year On...


I could apologise for my absence, but I believe that the best apology is changed behaviour. Now, I don't have a clue if I can be consistent again with blogging especially as I'm the busiest I've ever been, but I do know that I won't be completely silent.

I used to blog because I felt like I had something to give to the world. I shared my life and my knowledge and whilst it was fun, I felt like it was all a bit hollow. It wasn't 100% me. So, in this new chapter of my life, I will be consciously trying to show all the different sides that make up Neriah.