Book Review: The One Memory of Flora Banks

Over the past few months I’ve started reading more and more regularly; the cover of this book really caught my eye, with the ripped white paper effect against the metallic blue background and so I decided to give it a ago as generally I love Young Adult fiction. As the title suggests, Flora is suffering from Amnesia and so although she is seventeen years old, she believes that she is ten as that’s the only part of her life that she can properly remember. She can do basic tasks, like cook, clean, wash etc. But her short term memory is nothing short of abysmal, often forgetting events that have happened only hours before. Her best friend, Paige is constantly her companion and to an extent, her carer aside from her parents. Although this is a YA novel, a lot of the time it seems like a child’s book because the writing style is very simple. I suppose that is due to Flora believing that she’s ten years old as she is the sole narrator, but it was slightly irritating at times.

Flora has a sudden shock when she has a memory, a recent memory that seventeen year old Flora can remember; a memory that is able to remind her of her true age, rather than how old she remembers being. This is an incredible thing because Flora doesn’t remember things, that’s the whole point of the story, really. Due to her terrible short term memory, Flora writes notes to herself all over her hands and arms but one thing stands out; ‘FLORA be brave’ as that reminds her of her name (and therefore who she is) as well as take risks and live her life. She also carries a notebook around that is ‘her story’, written by her mother and it is a way for Flora to remember who she is. However, when she realises that she is a seventeen year old, rather than a ten year old due to a memory, she also loses some friends. Her parents go away, leaving her alone as her friend doesn’t visit so Flora does a reckless thing; she manages to travel across the world in search of finding her memory.

I loved Flora’s drive to overcome her disability; she also had some excellent relationships with family and friends, even if she didnt always remember their names or when they last met which were really nicely portrayed. Her parents didn’t seem like the best at times, although as the novel progresses it is explained more in depth which actually resulted in sympathy towards them in some way. FLORA be brave is an excellent way of describing her lust for life; her journey of self discovery and her reasons for living day to day. By reading from her perspective it really does hit home just how difficult an illness amnesia is; forgetting friends, what you did an hour ago, what you were saying earlier (as a few examples) must be the most frustrating things to experience within a loved one, as well as within yourself. On the other hand, having events, conversations and ideas constantly forgotten and repeated meant that it felt like the book was one big circle at times; which I suppose foreshadows the repetitiveness of her illness but it was also slightly confusing to read as it felt like there were many parts that I’d already read when in fact it was a different situation with the same issues surrounding it.

Overall, I did enjoy this book but unfortunately there were a lot of flaws in the telling of the story, but the plot was great. As I said previously, the writing style was a little too simplistic for me, even for YA fiction which was a shame. However the characterisation was good and using Flora’s amnesia to describe the same person from a different perspective every time she ‘met’ the person again was a lovely quirk that showed the issues with that kind of illness very well. I also liked that Flora’s strength was shown alongside her vulnerability; how she was capable of being wild and loved by many people whilst struggling to be independent; there are many coming of age themes explored in this book and as much as I found Flora infuriating at times, her character was so interesting that it was impossible to dislike her once the novel was complete. Parts of this story felt unrealistic to me, which is why it’s only a 3 star read to me, but it is worth picking up as it does make you think and the twist was pretty unexpected and that is always a good thing in a novel. I’d recommend reading this with an open mind, which is why this review is carefully not giving any of the main events of the plot away!

February Favourites

Last month, when I was thinking more about the kind of content I would like to post here on my little corner of the internet, I decided that as I like to read through other bloggers favourite things during the month I would try writing one myself. I realised through taking the photographs below for this post, just how much your tastes change throughout the different months. Last month I was loving so many perfumes and lots of different make up pieces. This month, I feel like I've been concentrating more on caring for myself, giving myself a pamper and trying to focus on positive things rather than solely on material possessions. For example, a current favourite of mine that I haven't pictured is actually a new hobby; I've reignited a love for reading books, which has become a means to focus on keeping busy, not overthinking and simply enjoying having some time to myself.

 

I snapped up a Garnier Skinactive Micellar Cleansing Water for sensitive skin from Poundland of all places! I'd seen it for far more than that in some other shops, so naturally for the bargainous price of £1 I bought 3 of them! I love its small size as it's great for having stashed in a make up bag on the move and it clears the make up off my face so quickly and it doesn't feel rough afterward. After using the cleansing water I've been indulging in the Simple Kind To Skin Hydrating Light Moisturiser all over my face which for the price of £4 it is not only affordable but it also seems to last for literally ages. Moisturiser is a must for me as I have such dry and sensitive skin. I've spoken about the Zoella Beauty Ginger Cream in other blogposts and I feel like I can't rave about it enough; I've fallen in love, which was a massive surprise as I'm always sceptical about non-sensitive creams on my skin, but this one is nourishing and smells divine. Recently I've been careful to not wash my hair excessively so I've been relying on the Batiste Blush Dry Shampoo to keep my hair looking volumous and fresh between washes. A bonus is the gorgeous floral smell it gives my hair.

 

I was amazed to find these beautiful storage pots from Lidl for £3; I naturally bought two packs for two green and two pink holders. They're designed for candles but I've been using them for items like nail varnish and make up brushes. They've really cleared up the sides of my room as they fit a lot of things inside. They feel extremely hard wearing too which also great. I've been loving the Real Techniques Berlin Brushes this month, not only because they look lovely but they're super soft and clean up so nicely. The duo fibres work really well and feel nice against my skin, too. Priced at £20, I feel like for five brushes that was really reasonable. I've been pampering myself a lot this month and so I've been enjoying getting use out of the Body Shop Pink Grapefruit Body Butter on my wrists and elbows which not only smells incredible on the skin, it's incredibly hydrating, costing only £6. The Zoella Beauty Hungry Hands smells amazing and soaks into the skin really well whilst on the move; I often use it at work. However my absolute favourite is the Body Shop CHANGE Hemp Hand Protector which is simply fantastic. 

 

Throughout February I've been pleasantly surprised with the quality of the Zoella Beauty range; I've been loving the Shower Glaze to the point that I've been using it every time I have a shower, without fail. I love the smell of gingerbread and it feels fantastic and frothy against my skin. I feel like the smell of gingerbread really sticks and makes my skin smell amazing too. My favourite of the body mists is definitely Let's Spritz! From the tutti fruity collection; it's so light and summery, I can spray it a lot and it seems to last for ages considering it's only a mist. The smell feels delicate against my skin and the bottle is really pretty too. However, I've also been enjoying getting use out of the body mist Blissful Mistful; not only so I adore the name of it, I also love how it looks. All of the Zoella Beauty range is visually pleasing, but the body mists have become a firm favourite of mine. Priced at £8 each, they're affordable and long lasting, a must for anyone who wants nice beauty products whilst living on a budget.

This month I've been pleasantly surprised by the quality of products from Make Up Revolution. The strobe highlighter in Ever Glow Lights was such a fantastic investment at £3; it is literally an amazing everyday highlighter as it's insanely pigmented but is nice and light. I've not stopped using it throughout this month and feel like it gives my skin a lovely healthy glow. I'd been desperate to get my hands on the Fortune Favours The Brave eyeshadow palette ever since I'd been spotting it all over instagram; at £9.99 for 30 gorgeously cosmic shades, I have no regrets. It's a naive day to night transition palette and I feel like it's going to be a favourite of mine for months as it's got a great range of Matte and Shimmer shades. It's got such a massive mirror too so it's great to use for topping up make up whenever necessary. Another highlighter that I've been obsessed with is the Sleek Midas Touch palettes, which I feel is an absolute bargain at £10 as you get four beautiful shades for that price. I only recently realised that it's a limited edition, so I'm really worried about using it too much now as it's so pretty if you want a lovely nighttime look that's really glowy and fresh. The shades are literally perfection for anyone with pale skin and the size of the palette is great for travelling.

I've been in love with the NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams in the shades London and Saõ Paulo; the perfect nude and the perfect berry pink. What I like about them so much is the fact that the have amazing lasting power, as well as their wearability. I feel confident to wear the two colours both day and night, they're very transitionable. As I get older, I prefer to invest in make up that I'll get a lot of use from and these lip creams haven't been off my lips since I first discovered them. I would happily recommend these to anyone, I even apply them without a lip liner. An added bonus is that they look very expensive but they're totally affordable, priced at £6 each! Back in November 2016, my boyfriend bought me the Maybelline Eraser Eye Concealer from duty free and I loved it so much; the lightest shade was perfect for my skin tone. However I kind of forgot about it, until a few weeks ago. I just love it's consistency and the way that it covers any areas that don't look as great as I'd like them too. I'd say it's fairly high coverage, but for me personally if I wear make up I don't care if it looks like I am, as if I've made the effort to apply it, you may as well make it noticeable! I've found that during February I've loved a lot of different products which have made me feel a little more confident about myself in different ways. What products have you been loving recently?

 

Zoella Beauty Body Mist Collection Review

Hello again! A few days ago I was having a quick browse in a Superdrug for some nail varnish remover and basically... I was super distracted by the prettier items in store and so I (somehow!) noticed that all of the Zoella beauty and lifestyle products were 3 for 2 and I'd been thinking about the body mists for absolutely ages. I was a bit disappointed that I couldn't find the Christmas gingerbread fragrance, but I did pick up three scents that came to the bargainous price of £16. Which is great when you consider the amount of perfume you're receiving for that price point, but I have to admit it was a bit of a struggle to limit myself to only 3 things because budgeting is where my life is at right now!

 

The first scent released by Zoella beauty was Blissful Mistful back in 2014; it appealed to me visually as I really love the rose gold/copper accents. However I feel like it could've been a bit more pretty, it's boxy, square bottle shape is nice with the white polka dots spread out but I have to admit, I would've liked a lacy design, similar to the later scent bottles. The scent is really cute, floral and fruity and definitely appeals to a range of audiences, but I'd say particularly teens and early twenties which no doubt are the targeted audience. In terms of smell, this one is definitely my favourite with the most lovely mix of strawberry, grapefruit, violet, jasmine and gardenia. Priced at £8 for a 45ml bottle it's not only affordable but also a lot of mist for the money. Body mists are great as they're lighter to wear then perfume so definitely more of an everyday purchase, but with the amazing price you can afford to buy another if necessary.

 

I was debating between getting another fragrance or getting one of the body creams, but in the end I knew I'd regret not getting all of the fragrances as there are so many amazing reviews of them online. Let's Spritz! was released as part of the Zoella Beauty Tutti Fruity collection in 2015. The bottle is physically designed similarly to the first fragrance, so deliberately looks like a sister fragrance. The boxy design is more flattering with the two fragrances as a set; this time in metallic green with white lace accents, polka dots and a pale pink fragrance. The fragrance is really fruity, smelling of raspberry, cassis and red berries. It's smells fresh like long summer days and definitely is a summer scent for me; considering it's a mist, it lasts really well on the skin; which is an added bonus. The price is again £8 so nicely priced for those on a budget and would definitely suit a flirty, feminine person. It's the kind of fragrance I would wear throughout the summer months.

 

The last fragrance of the three, Sweet Inspirations was released in 2016 as a part of the latest Zoella beauty range. Visually, it looks incredible in my opinion; it seems like the perfect match for the boxy style bottle shape. A gold bottle cap with a pink and gold 1920s style pattern alongside dark purple typeography it definitely is my favourite of the three, looks wise. However I'm just not so keen on the scent. Smelling of macaroons, honey, almond, cacao pod and vanilla, it's marketed as sweet, oriental style scent but I just can't find a way to love it, which is a shame as I adore how it looks and I did want to take advantage of the 3 for 2 offer, so... I did, but this is definitely not my favourite smell. It doesn't last as long on the skin as the other two, either but it is very strong which is a good feature. Pictured together, I'm sure you can see why I indulged in all three fragrances as they look amazing together, but scent wise my favourite has to be Let's Spritz! which was a surprise as I'm not usually mad on fruity scents. Which one is your favourite?