Exploring London // Regents Canal

Hello again guys; this post is a little more out of the ordinary for me and I’m hoping to start posting more photographs of the world around me as the weather improves (I literally cannot wait for Spring!) and I love the light of the sky as the seasons begin to change. I had to travel to the Regents Canal // King’s Cross area of London recently for a course after several years of just travelling through the area and never exploring. Even in the midst of the winter months, the view of the canal and beyond is lovely; I know not everyone likes an urban view, but personally I like the mix of the man made and the natural world. Since I was a child I’ve loved looking at buildings old and new alongside rivers and fields, although that’s probably because I’ve grown up as a city girl. The day that I visited this part of London it was pretty grey and dreary; typical of London actually. Using the app A Color Story, I then picked the filter May from the Seasons pack that was made by the blogger Rebecca from aclotheshorse which made a beautiful pink sheen across the skyline in each image and generally lifted each photograph with minimal effort from me. I would love to revisit this area in the middle of summer, all green areas and blue skies (hopefully). Sometimes it’s nice to simply walk around and enjoy the air rounding areas. What parts of London do you like to visit? Let me know in the comments :)

Book Review: I Let You Go

Having already read her second novel, I had high expectations for Clare Mackintosh’s debut; however, I’m pleased to say that I wasn’t disappointed in the slightest. The reader begins by following Jenna Gray move to a remote part of Wales, choosing to live off the beaten track, along the coastline where she can safely leave her life behind. Constantly haunted by nightmares of a car accident, it’s clear that Jenna is desperate to hide herself away and restart her life. The question is, why. I’m a massive fan of using multiple narrators to tell different sides to the same story, as long as it is executed well. Mackintosh delivers this perfectly. Just as Jenna is settling into coastal life, her past begins to catch up with her and her nightmares become reality. The novel begins by describing a hit and run involving a five year old and his inconsolable mother, alongside the ongoing police investigation into the crime, although there are no witnesses and no tyre marks to identify what car was used.

As the novel progresses, more details are laid out; although it is a slow read to begin with. As the events start to correlate, it definitely becomes more intense; it’s a total page turner. As the book is separated into two parts, it read like two different books, which I liked; it was a great way to find out which characters were going to be key players and those who would be a means to an end. A range of topics were explored, including infidelity, bullying, domestic violence and death, amongst many others. The descriptions of the Welsh coastlines were beautifully written, almost poetic and it contrasted well with the descriptions of grey, dreary Bristol. Using multiple characters as the narrator was a great way to explore different perspectives of the same event, although my favourite perspective was the police point of view. I loved how there was an insight into the investigation, but also some information about the investigators personal lives, how they deal with stress and difficult cases. Mackintosh having a police background was a strong point for this book as the investigation was described so realistically and worked well as a linguistic technique too; the investigation was always a couple of steps behind the action, which was both frustrating and terrifying at times.

One of the reasons why I found this book to be such an incredible read was that every single character had a flaw, or a secret waiting to be exposed. This made it very easy to see the holes in the turn of events, it made me determined to piece together what has really happened, although that was incredibly difficult because it was hard to know what characters were reliable, which ones were lying and which ones were trustworthy. Even the most seemingly sensible and level headed of characters seems to ever get on the edge of unreliability at times. Jenna is a very passive character, although I found myself concerned for her, there was something no quite right about any of the situations that she found herself in, but this book is so brilliantly crafted I was never able to put my finger on it, which always makes the want to finish a book that more exciting. It’s hard to describe this book without giving the plot away, but it’s a novel of multiple characters, where all of them feel realistically portrayed to the point where you start looking over your shoulder in case life and plot are somehow overlapping.

Overall, this one of the best books that I’ve read so far this year. Of the two novels Mackintosh has written, I Let You Go is definitely the better of the two, although they’re both outstanding. There’s just something special about the layout of the plot upon the pages, nothing feels overdone and it’s an incredible psychological thriller. I love a book that makes me think; this one made me realise that sometimes nothing is as it seems. Early on, I really thought I’d sussed out the whole plot but as the novel continued, it was clear that sometimes those who look guilty are in fact, victims in their own way. This book is split into two parts, the second part is completely addictive and worth the wait. This book is definitely one of my favourites, ever and it’s not one that I’ll forget any time soon. I didn’t want it to end, even as it came to a conclusion I was wishing, wondering for more. It was a fantastic read, it’s perfect for a long journey.

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!

January Playlist

Hello again guys; I’m sorry if it seems like I’m blogging less at the moment, but I promise that I’m not! Honestly, I blog for pleasure and make no money from my blog so my blogging fits around my everyday life, which is fine but it does mean that I upload really erratically at times. This month I’ve been loving (as always) listening to music on the go, to and from work. I find it super relaxing and it’s a good to get into the mood for work, or to wind down after a long day. I listen to whatever I want to, I’m not fussed about if it’s cool or not, I do love a cheeky guilty pleasure to listen to. None of the songs below are in any particular order, they’re just the fifteen different songs that I’m obsessed with listening to at the minute; I keep absent mindedly hummed the tunes to myself without realising, ahah!

1. Beautiful Trauma - P!nk

2. Something Just Like This - The Chainsmokers & Coldplay

3. One Last Time - Ariana Grande

4. Reggaetón Lento (Remix) - CNCO & Little Mix

5. Échame La Culpa - Luis Fonsi & Demi Lovato

6. Where We Go - P!nk

7. Where Do Broken Hearts Go - One Direction

8. Dusk Till Dawn - Zayn feat. Sia

9. Reggaetón Lento (Bailemos) - CNCO

10. Crying in the Club - Camila Cabello

11. Payphone - Maroon 5 (feat. Wiz Khalifa)

12. Still Into You - Paramore

13. Heart Skips a Beat - Olly Murs (feat. Rizzle Kicks)

14. Elastic Heart - Sia

15. Havana - Camila Cabello (feat. Young Thug)

New Year Goals // Bonjour 2018

Hello guys and Happy New Year! After Blogmas I got really ill (thank you christmas stomach bug, ew) so I decided after posting so often in December it was time for a break as I needed to rest, in all honesty. I celebrated the New Year in with my friends and boyfriend and it was actually lovely; however now it’s January I feel like it’s time to get back into blogging. Over the past few years I’ve actually done a couple of posts similar to this and ivone definitely learnt over the past couple of years that I’m stronger than I think I am; I don’t make New Years resolutions per se, but I like to have some goals, some ideas for what I’d like to achieve over the course of a year and that seems to work fairly well for me.

Relationships - for 2017 I wanted to really focus on keeping up old friendships, making the effort to see friends whenever possible and work through the fact we’re all busy people with different lives to rekindle some friendships. I achieved that in 2017 so for 2018 I want to continue that, I’ve been messaging my school friends and I’m due to see my uni friend in a couple of weeks, which is an excellent start. What I want to focus on in 2018 is keeping up with my old work mates, some of them I’ve known for six years and I’m excited to see where that goes. In terms of my boyfriend, I’m looking forward to spending another year together, exploring life and the world around us.

Hobbies - I’m proud that I now have a few hobbies, namely reading, photography and blogging which I’ve been able to utilise so much over the past year and I can’t wait to continue those over the coming year. This year I want to expand my hobbies a little more, through scrapbooking (I really want to collate my memories into albums) and maybe starting a YouTube channel, something which I’ve been debating about for the past few months. I’d also like to keep enjoying having hobbies, hopefully this year I’ll be lucky enough to meet some like minded people, for example I’d love to meet some other bloggers in person one day.

Adventure - I want to focus on exploring the amazing city that I live in; London is a city like no other and yet I feel like I’ve barely seen any of it. My boyfriend is Polish and so I have an excellent excuse to start making more of an effort and discovering new places. This is actually something that I had planned for 2017, but that never happened so it’s always good to reattempt a goal. During 2018 I want to discover at least 5 places in London that I’ve never been to before.

Holidays/Time Off - So far, I have three trips planned for 2018; to Rzeszów in Poland for Easter and Christmas with Piotr, to Amsterdam in the Netherlands for my birthday and to Valencia in Spain with my Nana in the Spring so I’m looking like a very busy bee for next year, which I’m really excited for as that means that I’ll definitely be living my life to full during the next year. I’m also hoping for a chilled out, stress free year.

Health - In terms of mental health, over the past year I’ve had one of the best years in a long time. I’ve finally started to feel free, to not panic so often and somehow manage to work my way through life with minimal stress. I’m hoping that 2018 will be just as good in that sense, as yes not every day is amazing but if there are more good days than bad then that is a win. Last year I was always meaning to join the gym and get physically more healthy, however this year I’m determined to get more active as I’ve started being more sensible with my diet.

Work - I’m in a job that I love, I honestly can’t believe I’ve worked there for a year already; here’s to another good year!

Beauty Review: Rimmel London Rita Ora Nail Polish

Hello again guys; it’s now day 18 of Blogmas and I missed day 16 because I’m an unorganised mess went out and was too drunk to post when I got home (honesty is always best, haha) so we’ll just leave that there and focus on today’s post. Since I left a job in the food industry, I’ve been really enjoying working a job that allows nice nails. Recently I considered paying to have false nails, but honestly I decided it was too much money to spend often, so instead I’ve been buying nail varnish and painting them myself. I don’t bite my nails, so they’re not too bad but I do have some pretty bad eczema on my hands, so painting the nails is a good way of giving the illusion that my hands are nice to look at, haha. I tend to buy my nail polishes from Poundland, and I was lucky enough to find the Rimmel London 60 Seconds Super Shine by Rita Ora one day on a random trip. From the drugstore it’s priced at £2.99, so still affordable but £1 is always a good bargain. The shade that I picked up, Bestival Blue is a perfect cornflower blue shade and really stands out beautifully on any skin tone.

The nail polish has a really lovely, glossy effect when dried and after wearing it for a week already, it’s hardly chipped and colour is as vibrant as it was when it was first painted. Which, for me is an absolute win as usually I’m chipped to buggery after only a couple of days. I’m not usually one for favouring the colour blue but I’m actually in love with this shade, I’m so happy with how it looks and I’ve actually had a lot of compliments on it. The packaging of the nail polish is also really nice, with the black lid and blue bottle with little daisies and Rita Ora’s signature on it. For £1 I’m really pleased with it and I’ll definitely be considering buying some of the other shades in the range as I’ve been so satisfied with this one. I’ve never tried Rimmel nail polishes before, but I definitely want to try more of them sometime in the future! See you again tomorrow, for the next blogmas post! :)

Christmas Gift Guide 2017 // For Him

Hello again guys! It’s now day 18 of Blogmas and I feel like I’m getting back onto some kind of level of organisation... It’s so cold and wet outside at at the minute that it’s hard to force yourself into some kind of routine as literally all I want to do is stay comfy and cosy in bed. Today’s post was actually a really difficult one to plan for, as I do kind that buying presents for men is much more difficult for me, even when I know someone really well. That being said, it was really satisfying to be able to come up with a few different ideas of things to buy for the male in someone’s life. Some of the items are affordable, some pretty expensive but I did want to try and cover different budget ranges as obviously we have different amounts that we’re able to spend. I do enjoy writing these kinds of posts, so please feel free to let me know in the comments if these kinds of posts are enjoyable for you, too.

iPhone 7 (Product) Red 128gb

This item is definitely the most expensive and ‘extravagant’ item on this list, but it’s arguably worth the money. The cheapest iPhone available on the market is around £400 and the most expensive is around £1000+ so this isn’t something you would buy for just anyone, but whoever you decide to gift an iPhone would be a very happy bunny for sure. I like that there’s a range of colours, sizes and styles to choose from, so whatever you choose for your loved one is something fairly personalised as it’d be chosen for them. If buying a phone is too much money, you could always buy a case or an accessory such as headphones as an alternative way of showing your love. There are so many nice phone cases from so many different brands available from various places such as Amazon and for all different prices and cater for all types of phones.

Ted Baker Leather Wallet Gift Set

This is a fairly average present idea, but everyone and anyone needs a place to keep their money and cards safe and this set is really good value for money I think as it’s good quality and comes with two options. Priced at £69, it is one of the pricier items on the list, but I’m sure there must be some more affordable alternatives available online or on the high street. The reason that this gift set looks like it could well for any man is that there is a traditional style of wallet alongside a card holder, so if you’re going for a night out, the card holder is great and for everyday, the wallet is perfect. Also, for a gift the set arrives in beautiful packaging in the form of a gift box so will look good if there’s somebody that you want to impress, or simply spoil over the festive season.

Fossil Grant Chronograph Men’s Watch

Again, I feel like a watch is a pretty standard gift idea, but as there are so many styles and designs to choose from, it is fairly easy to customise your decision based on the person who you have in mind to buy for. Fossil are a good, well known and reviewed brand and often have watches on sale at this time of year. The one pictured is currently on sale online for £90 which isn’t too unreasonable, but obviously if that is out of your budget (which it is for me) there are other styles and brands to choose from for as little as £15, a watch is something that the majority of people wear every day and it’s hard to choose that that someone won’t like. For men, I’d say that a darker colour, black or navy is a safe bet as most men wear a lot of darker colours and if they wear brights then a darker shade of watch will work better with their chosen outfit anyway.

iPad

Another slightly more expensive choice, for any gadget fan a tablet is a bit of a must. There are so many sizes, colours, and even brands to choose from. iPads start from about £300 at the cheapest model and roughly £900 for the most expensive, although that’s for the latest models, so the older models would probably be less than that. One thing I would say is that if a tablet is out of your price range for a gift, again you can always buy a case or accessory for your loved ones tablet instead. There are websites that personalise tablet cases with photographs or text, or you can buy a standard leather or Apple branded case for various prices, just make sure you’ve purchased one that fits the model that they have.

FiloFax Organiser

If any male in your life is in need of a little organisation, a Filofax is a slightly more traditional option to having an electronic organiser but more classic alternative to a diary. Priced at £30, it’s reasonably within a mid range budget but there are cheaper versions available from places like Amazon or Paperchase (amongst many others). What I personally love about the Filofax range is that you can also purchase optional inserts for the organiser, for events, etc. They’re super useful to have and it’s also nice to be able to keep everything all in one place. I love the look of the leather ones for men or women as they look really elegant and sophisticated.

Converse One Star Leather Mens

I feel like shoes are a really obvious option, but a good one as everyone needs a good pair of shoes. The Converse One Star range are a great alternative to regularly converse as they’re not as commonly seen and they’re also available in leather and suede, not only canvas. You can also choose from a variety of different colours so you can find a pair to suit anyone’s tastes, too. For £65 they are a fairly expensive gift, but that’s also likely to be because men’s shoes are usually more expensive than women’s as they’re usually larger. The only thing you need to find out before buying shoes is what size they need, which I did by looking at his other pairs of shoes, haha. 

Camper Van Mug

This is the cheapest item on this list of present ideas, but that doesn’t mean it’s of lesser quality in any way. Everyone loves a good mug and for £8.50 via Amazon, this is a really affordable, novelty but useful gift. There are so many mugs that are great to give as a gift, such as personalised ones with text or photographs, different colours and sizes or even a travel mug if the person you’re buying for is often travelling to work or elsewhere. You can never have too many mugs, they’re practical and a nice gift to give and receive.

Ted Baker Skinwear Limited Edition 

Not gonna lie, I’m one of those people who definitely judges how people smell; I love a good smell. Aftershave or perfume is always a good gift, although it’s probably good to find out what kind of smells your giftee likes before purchasing, just in case. I love the Ted Baker Skinwear aftershaves, I think that the bottle is super classy and stunning, the smell is always gorgeous, every year and every edition. It’s also incredibly reasonably priced at £20, it fits well into smaller budgets but looks very expensive. You can pick a more expensive version if you have the money, but honestly the smell is lovely and good value as it’s 100ml so will last a good few months, too.

Harry Potter Bathrobe

My boyfriend loves to be comfy and cosy, which I’m sure that we all do, to be honest. Therefore, something like a bathrobe/dressing gown is a great gift as it fits into both of those categories, particularly during the cold winter months. This Harry Potter themed version is an absolute steal from Primark at £16 as it’s so affordable and a lovely design, burgundy with gold stitched detailing and black piping, it’s definitely one for the Gryffindors, but it would work well for any Potterhead to be honest. As an alternative, Primark do have regular bathrobes for men, as well as other fandoms such as the Simpsons or Star Wars to choose from, so it’s easy to find something for everyone.

Festive Playlist!

Hello again guys; it’s the fifteenth day of Blogmas and I’m definitely struggling a little with the whole blogging every day idea. I’m one of those bloggers that’s genuinely so bloody disorganised, I never schedule posts and I rarely plan posts in advance so I’m literally writing a post a day and posting it on the same day, oops. This month I posted a stereotypical version of my monthly playlists, but I decided to wait until I had started to feel the Christmas spirit before posting a more festive version. Today, is the day for the festive version of a monthly playlist at last, as over the past week I’ve started listening to Christmas songs. I like a mixture of the older Christmas songs and the newer ones, for example the covers of traditional songs from Christmas adverts over the past few years and  Disney’s Frozen alongside the legendary Band Aid and The Pogues. I’m one of those people that enjoys Christmas but I have to feel it getting slowly closer before joining in with any festivities, haha. Are there any songs on this list that you love? Or have I missed off your favourite? Let me know in the comments! :)

1. The First Noel - Annie Lennox

2. Last Christmas - Wham!

3. Stay Another Day - East 17

4. All I Want for Christmas Is You - Mariah Carey

5. Christmas Time (Don’t Let The Bells End) - The Darkness

6. Your Song - Ellie Goulding

7. Il Est Ne Le Divin Enfant - Annie Lennox

8. Fairytale of New York - The Pogues & Kirsty MacColl

9. Let It Go - Idina Menzel

10. Somewhere Only We Know - Lily Allen

11. I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday - Wizzard

12. Stop The Calvary - Jona Lewie 

13. The Power of Love - Gabrielle Aplin

14. Let It Go - Demi Lovato

15. Merry Christmas Everyone - Shakin’ Stevens

A Family Christmas Present // 3 Years Old

Hello again guys; I’m really, really, really wishing that I was more organised in terms of blogging. This month I’ve been feeling super inspired to blog regularly (erm... everyday!) and this far, I’ve been really proud of the content and also the amount of engagement that my blog is getting. Today, I’m looking back to Christmas 2014, when I was at university and working part time. As a family, we decided to get a dog; although that isn’t so unusual, at the end of the day, many people get a pet every day, it was a massive step for us. At this point, we had 4 cats, a fish and a rabbit and were dealing with the loss of another dog. However, it had been 5 months and Scarlett looked perfect for us. A small dog, with fluffy hair and a big heart; we adopted her from a Spain through an animal charity. 3 years ago, we were suddenly told that she would arrive just in time for Christmas, which she did. As was a rescue dog, she did have some issues. As a young puppy, she had her tail chopped off and she can be very nervous, particularly around new people. However, three years later and she’s a happy and healthy little dog with a bad habit of barking whenever anyone knocks on the door. The main reason for this post is that, in 2017 we’ve now taken the steps to adopt another rescue dog, due to arrive in January 2018. As a family we now have 3 cats, a rabbit, a hamster and soon to be two dogs! It’s crazy in so many ways, but I love having so many pets, they’re family. I’m so excited to see how Scarlett likes having a sister, and how the puppy will fit into our household. Scarlett has been the best Christmas present to us over the past three years and she genuinely has all of us wrapped around her paws at all time! Do any of you have any furbabies? Let me know in the comments :)

MakeUp Review: Maybelline the Colossal Big Shot Mascara

Hello again; it feels like blogmas is taking over my life this December, haha. I really need to get myself more organised, I spent the majority of my days either writing non-stop to get posts ready in time for upload in the evening or taking photographs last minute, oops. Definitely need to step up my game, but I feel like despite this, I'm not doing a bad job of getting a post out each day. This post is another make up review, one that I'm really excited for as I genuinely love reading and writing posts like this; before I buy a product, I always read or watch reviews because I hate wasting money. I've always been a fan of Maybelline mascaras in general, so after seeing some good reviews of the Colossal Big Shot it was time to buy it and see how it worked for me. Priced at £7.99, I had high hopes that I would love this mascara as it is always useful to find another amazing drugstore mascara for a decent price, but that said, Maybelline mascaras generally average at a reasonable amount. I love pocket friendly make up products every day of the week.

The packaging is one that stands out in a crowd, shiny and gold alongside contrasting purple typography and a matching purple stripe along the lid. Staying true to the theme of the name 'big' is written larger than the other words which definitely draws your attention in. I do really like the design of the packaging, it's one that stands out even in a make up bag or storage even amongst other products. I took photographs that showed the mascara mixed in with other beauty related products to show how it looks in comparison, as well as demonstrate how it stands out due to the contrasting colour scheme used by the brand. Although the packaging is plastic, it feels hard wearing and it doesn't feel cheap, which is good as I'm always worried that make up is going to brake and spill all over the stuff in my bag (not something that I ever want to happen to me).

The wand is one that I generally like; on the whole I prefer to apply mascara with a large applicator, this is medium sized, with fiber bristles that are incredibly flexible. For me personally, I don't usually like fiber bristled wands because I'm a messy mascara applier and I find the fibers put little blobs of mascara all over my face, oops. However, this wand is a reasonable enough size that the fibers didn't do that as long as I was a little more careful (basically I had to apply the mascara slowly, not in a rush). It's a light wand, so that if you need to apply multiple coats it isn't too difficult and the formula is a fairly dry one, so the lashes don't stick together.

I love this mascara far more than I expected to, as on the whole I generally don't work well with fiber bristles wands, but this mascara definitely bucks that trend for me. The mascara applies evenly and nicely, with no excess mascara blobs anywhere on my face, plus the colour is a nice true dark toned black which is something that I love in any mascara. I know that I've mentioned on the blog before how much I love to have long, spidery lashes that pop and this mascara achieves that look for me with ease. The only downside that I can think of is that it takes about 3 coats before I'm satisfied so I'll definitely need to repurchase this mascara at some point because it won't last forever. I'm converted into trying out other fiber based mascaras now and that is saying something; even my boyfriend commented on my eyelashes, so it must be a winner as he never usually notices haha! My lashes look so volumised, lengthened and separated with only a hint of clumpiness. Honestly, I don't feel like I'll ever stop raving about this mascara, I love, love LOVE it.

Book Review: Tin Man

Another incredibly moving and beautifully written book by Sarah Winman. Having read her other two novels I had high expectations for this one, but I wasn't disappointed in the slightest. Her novels always have eye catching, intricately designed cover artwork and this one is no exception. The image of a lone man cycling into the distance toward a line drawing of a town is haunting and only foreshadows the content of what the pages inside entail. To begin with, we meet Mr and Mrs Judd, who in front of lots of friends and acquaintances, embarrasses her husband when she ignores his wish for whisky and instead picks a painting for a raffle prize. Heavily pregnant, that is the beginning of her standing up for what she loves; life and the arts. The novel expands softly, describing a man who is well and truly stuck in a rut; after his wife died he has lost who is he, where he is and what he is. Grief has completely and utterly overtaken him to the point that even day to day living has become a painful act of wake, sleep, work.

Ellis is the kind of man that everyone knows; as in, you all know somebody who resembles him. Constantly living but not to the full; forever pleasant, but always holding something back. He’s an unhappy man, having lived through too much sadness to the point that it is painful to dwell on the past but is unable to leave the past behind. Losing his mother affected him in many ways, but his lifelong love of the arts definitely suffered; he stopped sketching, stopped appreciating art. His mother loved art, often taught him about outside of the box and often, Ellis wondered where his mothers painting had gone after her death. There on the wall one day, off the wall the next and a new step mother instead. Michael was his long term best friend, the way that Ellis tells the reader about his memories of him, he sounds like the life and soul of any day, let alone a party. Flamboyant, confident and constantly by his side, Michael was as fond of Mrs Judd (Dora) as Ellis was. Both boys have their own story, their own struggles. I loved how they both helped out in Mabel’s shop, and that she treated both of them as grandchildren in the same way that Dora considered Michael a second son.

Michael has a sad life, there’s a reason why he’s being raised by his grandmother, although that isn’t fully touched on until the latter half of the novel. The development of the relationship between Michael and Ellis was amazing, it was easy to sense the chemistry between them, as well as understand that teenagers often experiment along the path of finding themselves. Annie, Ellis’ eventual wife was an excellent addition to the trio, it made the image of three being a crowd an absolute reality; there was a sense that she knew of their original relationship, although it was clear that her part in the trio definitely changed up the dynamic between Ellis and Michael. It is hard as the novel continues to realise that more or less every important person in Ellis’ life has passed away, other than his father (with whom his relationship has always been strained) and his step mother, Carol. Structurally, the novl begins with Ellis as the narrative voice, then around half way switches to Michael as the narrative voice, before ending with Ellis as the narrator. It sounds confusing, but it was clearly laid out and a great way to decipher the gaps in the memories of both boys as they turned into men.

In all honesty, I knew before I started this novel that I would love it. Sarah Winman is easily on a list of my all time favourite authors as every one of her books is something special; they always have a beautifully simplistic yet creative way with prose. For example, in this novel it was lovely to read the conversations between characters as there is no punctuation, encouraging the text to flow. Tin Man is a story of loss and love, the writing is so sensual and considered that each moment feels like your own imagination is running wild. In places it is fairly fragmented as it works the past and present of Ellis and/or Michael’s memories in together, however I loved reading the same memories from each mans perspective, how they lived their lives based on a series of decisions made by one of them. Ultimately there are a lot of subjects that are laid bare across the pages of this novel, I don’t think I’ll ever read a novel like it again. It’s a slow start, but as you delve in further you become engrossed. It’s a definite recommend from me, it is simply beautiful, I don’t know how else to describe it.

The Christmas Tag // 2017 Edition!

Have you ever had a white Christmas?

No, England (more specifically London) isn’t really a country (city) that really gets much snow, although at the minute it definitely feels cold enough for some snow... But next year I’m likely to be spending Christmas in Poland so I’m sure that I’ll be seeing a white Christmas, which is exciting as seeing a white Christmas is a bit of a dream for most people!

Where do you usually spend your holiday?

Always at home with my family and for the past couple of years, my boyfriend. I like a quiet, chilled Christmas with good food and hours spent watching the Christmas themed tv shows and films just because it’s always nice to get in the spirit of things and basically relax. A lie in is always key to having a good Christmas too, alongside all of the good foodie stuff like Yorkshire puddings and pigs in blankets!

What is your favourite Christmas song?

This is actually really difficult! I like so many Christmas songs although I do love the ‘Power of Love’; both versions, but I do prefer the Gabrielle Aplin version that was used in the John Lewis advert a few years back. I’ve always had a soft spot for ‘The Fairytale of New York’ by the Pogues and Kirsty McColl too as it’s my Nana’s lifelong favourite so it’s a Christmas staple in my household - I’ve lost count of how many she’s played it in the house already this month, haha.

Do you open any presents on Christmas Eve?

No, I never have, although that is likely to change if I do celebrate Christmas in Poland next year as they celebrate present giving on Christmas Eve. But in the UK (e.g. Christmas with my family) we always celebrate on Christmas Day and spend Christmas Eve preparing for the next day. I think generally it depends on what traditions you and your family uphold.

Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer?

Erm, no... I get stuck after Rudolph, Dancer, Prancer. Oops.

What holiday traditions are you looking forward to this year?

I’m so ready to open a box of Celebrations after Christmas Dinner and pudding... We always sit and watch crappy tv whilst eating chocolate and other naughty but nice food bits whilst relaxing and just enjoying having a day spent being happy and together as everyone in my house works different jobs and shifts so it’s a rare occasion to all be together. 

Is your Christmas tree real or fake?

Always fake, personally I find it easier to just whip it up and decorate every year, although real trees are beautiful and the smell of a real tree is gorgeous, let’s be honest I’m a lazy Christmas decorator and so fake is easier and cleaner haha.

What is your all time favourite holiday treat/food/sweet?

I’m a sucker for a pig in a blanket, although Lindt reindeer’s are definitely another item high up on my list of must haves for a good old Christmas Day dinner and treat. This tag is really getting me ready for Christmas dinner...

Be honest, do you like giving or receiving gifts better?

If I’m honest, I’m a bit of both person. I like seeing what my family and friends buy me as it’s nice to see how well that they know me, but I also like the process of picking out presents for those that I love. This year I’m being a bit more creative in terms of giving and I’ve had a wardrobe clear out with the intention of donating to my local charity shop, as well as donating some food to the local food bank. At the end of the day, I don’t care how many presents I get, I love spending the time relaxing with those I love.

What is the best Christmas present you ever received?

I’m a walking cliché but every year I get something Harry Potter related, for example the illustrated versions of the original series and I always love whatever book I receive each year. It sounds strange, but getting Harry Potter books as a gift was a massive part of my childhood and so I like that those gifts have carried on into adulthood.

What would be your dream place to visit for the holiday season?

Realistically, I’m really looking forward to going to Poland for Christmas next year; my boyfriend is Polish and I’ve fallen in love with the country more each time that I visited (even if learning the language is a nightmare for me) but in all honesty, I’d love to go to Iceland and see a proper wintery, snowy Christmas with the Northern Lights in the background. That is the dream.

Are you a pro present wrapper or do you fail miserably?

Hah, definitely a failure of a present wrapper... I absolute hate wrapping anything as it is, but Christmas is the worst as there’s so many gifts to wrap as in my household we wrap everyone’s presents for everyone altogether, it’s literally the most stressful part of the season for me. Luckily my mum is a pro!

Most memorable Christmas moment?

Last year was the first Christmas as a couple for my boyfriend and I, as well as the first time he had spent Christmas with me and family and I loved seeing his confused face at receiving so many presents from various members of my family. Neither of us expected it, but it was nice to realise that he was being properly included even if my Nana made millions of jokes about him being spoilt because he’s was a guest and not family... Generally Christmas Day for my family is really quiet so we don’t have any wacky moments as such.

What makes the holidays special for you?

I love being able to chill out, eat as much as I want with the excuse that I’ll start a diet in January (which never works haha) and just spending time with family and not stressing about work or anything. It’s great to just enjoy life and relax knowing that you’ve got a bit of time to yourself at home, all comfy and cozy in a crazy Christmas jumper and pajamas. I feel like it’s the only time of year that people noticeably care for one another, friends, family or strangers; a lot more love is shown at Christmas in terms of giving and I like that.

MakeUp Review: Max Factor 2000 Calorie Mascara

Hello again guys; so it's day 7 of blogmas already and I hope that it's not only me that cannot believe how soon the Christmas and New Year season is approaching? It seemed so far away and yet in a couple of weeks it'll soon be upon us! This post is all about a mascara that I've been using recently; the Max Factor 2000 Calorie. I was tempted to buy it after seeing hat felt like millions of bloggers and YouTubers rave about it. If we start by looking at the price of the product, £7.99 isn't unreasonable for a decent mascara, in fact that is fairly average in price when compared to the other options available in the drugstores. In all honesty, I was expecting this mascara to be at a higher price point as usually Max Factor products are more 'high end' drugstore so it was a bit of a pleasant surprise, no complaints for the price. For the price, I had high hopes to love this product as the price is good enough that I consider repurchasing if necessary in the future.

The packaging is nice and pretty understated actually; a simple bottle in black with gold typography and a matching gold rim around the top of the base, below the lid. It doesn't stand out in a make up bag when in comparison to all of the brightly coloured, glossy packaging of other products, but when in a line of mascaras from other brands such as Maybelline, it does stand out for being fairly plain packaging. That being said, it is more about what it inside the bottle than the external packaging in a way; but overall it won't be the most appealing packaging to everyone but personally, I really like it. I deliberately look photographs that showcased the mascara surrounded by other beauty related products so that you as a reader can see how much this mascara has the potential to blend in rather than stand out in a make up bag or collection. 

The mascara wand is much smaller than I'm used to using; on the whole I prefer large, thick wands that add a lot of volume to the lashes, but we can't have everything we want in every product. That said, this wand was really easy to use on the lashes, particularly on the lower lashes and I was surprised by the lack of smudges (generally I'm a very smudgy mascara applier, not even lying!) although that is likely because of the wand being much smaller than I usually would use. The prdouct is nice and dark black which is something that I always want in a mascara and separates the lashes really nicely. The lashes look really long, but no particularly separated. Although, there is no clumps or sticky lashes, which is really nice and very unusual for me, haha.

All in all, I was happy with the effect that this mascara had on my eyelashes. As you can see from the photograph, the eyelashes are beautifully separated and look insanely long, without being spidery or clumpy. I've said before that I love my eyelashes to look spidery, and I do. However, I feel like this mascara will be lovely for work or everyday life as they're noticeably different but not as obvious. The price is amazing, as you don't need to apply much mascara to your lashes, only 1-2 coats so a little goes a long way. When you remove this mascara you need a lot of patience because it doesn't seem to want to come off, although I've found that removing this mascara with eye make up remover gel fares much faster results than make up wipes did, so that is something to bare in mind. I will definitely be purchasing this mascara again (once this one runs out) as I do feel like this is fast becoming a staple in my everyday make up bag. I wouldn't recommend this for nights out, but to boost your natural eyelashes this is perfect!

December Playlist!

1. Échame La Culpa - Luis Fonsi & Demi Lovato

2. I’m Yours - Alessia Cara

3. Cying in the Club - Camila Cabello

4. Dusk Till Dawn - Zayn feat. Sia

5. We Can’t Stop - Miley Cyrus

6. Bad Boys - Alexandra Burke

7. Secret Love Song, Pt. II - Little Mix

8. What About Us - P!nk

9. Learn To Love Again - Lawson

10. Where Do Broken Hearts Go - One Direction

11. Shape of You - Ed Sheeran 

12. Stitches - Shawn Mendes

13. Let Me Love You - DJ Snake feat. Justin Bieber

14. River of Tears - Alessia Cara

15. Sorry Not Sorry - Demi Lovato

Hello again guys! It’s day 6 of Blogmas, which is insane! This month is disappearing so quickly! These are the songs that I’m loving at the minute, although I’m sure I’ll do another Playlist post later on this month which will be more festive. I love listening to my iPod on journeys long or short, as I do find that the battery lasts much longer on an iPod then my iPhone battery would. Plus, I don’t need a headphone adapter for my iPod which is a bonus. Generally I listen to a variety of different artists, genres and songs each day, but these are the songs that I make sure that I listen to at least once a day at the moment, I love putting a playlist on and sitting back to relax and think. I’m constantly making new playlists, to the point that I have so many to choose from, for different moods and different times of the year, etc. I’m starting to think that I need to invest in an iPod with more memory space, as 8gb isn’t really enough for the amount of music that I listen to, but we’ll see. What music are you listening to? Let me know in the comments! :)

December Beauty Haul

Hello again guys; I literally can’t believe how much of a struggle it is to somehow prepare for blogmas; I feel like an absolute mess in that I’ve never been the kind of blogger to organise my life enough to schedule or plan posts in advance so this is definitely a challenge for me. Although that said, I’m still not scheduling posts, definitely feeling like I need to though. This month I’ve been quite naughty and treated myself to some make up bits and pieces that I’ve been eyeing up for a while. I’ve been on the hunt for a decent concealer that’s pale enough for my ghostly skin and I’ve invested in the L’Oréal Paris True Match Concealer in the shade Ivory Rose which is the lightest shade with a blue toned match. Perfect for me and relatively purse friendly at £7.99. Another product that I’ve had my eyes on for a while is the Balmain x L’Oréal Paris Colour Riche Lipstick in the shade Domination which is a gorgeous ruby red shade and honestly, the packaging alone makes the slightly pricey £12.99 worth it. Plus, it smells divine! I also decided to bite the bullet and purchase the L’Oréal Paris Brow Artist Pomade in the shade Dark Blonde and the rose gold packaging is lovely, as is the included brow applicator, but for £9.99 it was definitely one of the more expensive purchases included in this little beauty haul.

I’m a bit of a mascara addict, not even exaggerating ahaha. It’s definitely the one beauty product that I would take on a desert island... For an everyday make up look I always need to have mascara on, it’s a must for me. I’ve repurchased the L’Oréal Paris Miss Baby Roll as it’s an absolutely amazing mascara, particularly for curling and volumising with a reasonable price of £7.99. I’ve always been a fan of Maybelline mascaras, so I decided to experiment with the Colossal Big Shot and Lash Sensational Limited Edition Rose Gold. They’re £7.99 and £8.99, both of them are well priced for good drugstore mascaras and come in lovely packaging, particularly the limited version, I’m excited to try them out, the brushes are very different to one another, so it’s likely to be interesting even so. The final item in this haul is the L’Oréal Paris Paradise Extatic mascara, which is more of an investment piece due to the slightly more expensive price point of £11.99, but that said the packaging is stunning and the brush looks extremely easy to use on any lash type, so I have very high expectations for this mascara after reading some rave reviews. Let me know in the comments if you have or want any of these products, I’d love to know your opinions! :)

Book Review: Sister, Missing

The stakes were high for this novel, being the second in a trilogy of which there was a seriously successful debut; however being written several years afterward I was curious to see if it could possibly live up to Girl, Missing as I couldn’t put that down until I’d read it. Recently I have been literally absorbing myself in Young Adult fiction and Sister, Missing had the potential to really grip me. Set just two years after the prime novel, as a reader we witness Lauren as a sixteen year old on holiday with her biological family in the UK. The families lives have changed considerably since Sam, the caring, protective father died suddenly and naturally Annie is struggling to handle being a single parent to three young girls who have already dealt with a lot in their lives so far. Lauren and Maddison are closer than ever, often visiting the beach together and despite their age gap, they have a lot in common. 

The writing style is very clever; it tricks the reader into believing that this novel is a copy of the first in the series. The same kidnapper, the same danger signs but this kidnapping is much more sinister, with a far more dangerous ulterior motive. Lauren has definitely matured a lot in two years, she comes across as much less whiny and entitled, however she still has a selfish streak, regularly putting her opinions forward and expecting her family to agree with her 100% of time; at times it’s obvious that she doesn’t believe that another opinion can possibly be correct. Rick, a kind of intruder into the family in the sense that he has become a comfort to Annie, seems to be stepping into the father role, however they family should be suspicious of how controlling and persuasive he can be, there’s something that doesn’t add up with him, but it’s hard to identify why. Sam was a really loveable father figure, particularly to Lauren and Maddison that it seems strange that he could be replaced so quickly. It was a nice surprise to see that Lauren and Jam are still going strong as a couple, Jam is a good source of support for all of the family, not only Lauren; he seems to have a good relationship with Shelby too, the sister who Lauren has a massive dislike for.

At the heart of this novel is the question ‘who is the kidnapper?’ due to the cyclical nature of the plot. However, this time it seems a lot more surreal, due to the twist at the heart of it, although realistically it was interesting to see how Lauren reacted to Maddison be kidnapped, rather than it being her in that position. Lauren doesn’t listen to others enough, that has always been her issue and it definitely made this novel far more complicated then it needed to be; she shits her emotions down a lot more than she did in ‘Girl, Missing’ and so it’s more difficult to decipher what is truly going on because she is less inquisitive than before. Her relationship with Shelby is very strained, which is hardly surprising considering how close they are in age, as well as how Shelby reacted to Lauren’s reappearance in their lives, although in two years it could’ve improved a lot more than it did. All three of the girls are in for a shock with regards to their parentage, which is not only unwelcome but also really unexpected. It added a whole new dimension to the story and was a great way of watching the sisters’ relationship develop.

Overall, this is an enjoyable sequel, but it’s crucial for me that a novel has something to stand out and this one didn’t really do that. I love the concept of a long-suffering family but two kidnappings borders on a bit ridiculous. That said, the way that the relationships between the family were explored was great and very realistically portrayed. I found this novel to be a fast paced but easy read; I literally whizzed through it in one sitting, although that just shows just how much I needed to know what happened to this family. The one thing that made me love this part of the series, was how Shelby and Lauren found each other; their much needed talk about how they both feel was both lovely and heartbreaking and so many emotions were pouring out at that point that it made the death even more poignant. This is a novel that I wish I could give 5 stars, but unfortunately it is a 3 not because I didn’t enjoy it or because I wasn’t invested in the story, but because I felt like there was a lot more to give, more to explore that was left untouched. But it is still an excellent continuation of an incredible family.