10 Things… That We All Learned The Hard Way

You can get all the well-meaning advice in the world but sometimes, the only way to really learn something is to learn from your own mistakes. From man drama to beauty disasters, here are a few lessons that we definitely learned the hard way...

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Never, ever overpluck your eyebrows Long before Cara Delevigne arrived on the scene and opened our eyes to the virtues of full eyebrows, we thought that having perfectly groomed thin ones were the only way to go. However, our dodgy tweezing skills usually left us looking something like this. No, Gwen Stefani, a ton of facial jewellery will not distract from those monstrosities. A leopard never changes his spots Be it a cheating boyfriend or a backstabbing frenemy, sometimes you have to go through the pain a few times before you realise that this is a cliché for good reason. NEVER buy the cheapest vodka If you're anything like us, half of your college photos show your mates with stranger facial expressions than Jim Carrey after sampling the latest bargain vodka that you could get your hands on. There's a reason you always end up sick in the bathroom at 1am after drinking it, that extra €5 on a branded bottle is the wisest investment you'll ever make. Your mother was right... about everything Infuriating as it may be, this one is definitely true (apart from maybe those dodgy fashion choices when you were a child). She's gone through pretty much every experience that you have so when she's offering some words of advice, then sit up and listen. No good can come of checking your sent messages after a night out A dose of 'The Fear' can leave you compulsively checking all your recent calls, sent messages and Facebook history but our mantra is 'the damage is done, leave it be'. Same goes for looking at post-night out credit card receipts. Just don't do it to yourself. You will never be rich on payday Ah payday, a sizeable chunk of money straight into your bank account, leaving you flush and able to afford all sorts of nice things.... except this NEVER happens. Between paying off that aforementioned credit card and all your bills for the month, you're back to feeling like a pauper about an hour after the payment clears. Sex is never like it is in the movies Yes, it looks erotic and sexy and wild in your favourite chick flick but speaking from experience, we can attest that sex outdoors/on the beach/in the shower is usually more of a logistical nightmare. And, if you're not careful, can leave you will all sorts of embarrassing injuries. Just trust us on this one. Leaving things to the last minute never makes things easier An assignment is even more of a nightmare when you've only got two hours to do it and those friendly favours are a real pain in the a*s once they pile up. This is especially true when it comes to break-ups, leave it too long and you could be left doing the 'it's not me, it's you' speech at the alter. Major awks. No matter how much you drink... you cannot dance/sing like Beyoncé We've all fallen for this one and shamelessly busted our best moves to a nightclub full of people before being mortified by the resulting Facebook video the following day. Know your limits. Some clothes only look good in magazines Yes, it looks amazing on the 6ft, rail-thin model. This does not mean it will look good on you. Also, ironically, cullotes do not make you look cool. Who knew?