25 facts about me

I have had this blog for quite a few weeks now, and I thought maybe it was about time you got to know me a little better.

I've rummaged through my photo albums to find some pictures, and racked my brain for some random facts about me. So here is a post that's just a little bit about me.

01. I'm an 80's baby.
02. I live in Nottingham, and I love the city very much.
03. My favourite book is probably American Gods by Neil Gaiman.
04. This week I am starting to learn how to fence (as in the sport, not stolen goods)
05. I have a degree in linguistics.

06. I love tea. I love tea a lot.
07. I am a huge fan of Lord Of The Rings, and was obsessed with it when I was at school.
08. I managed to read Lord Of The Rings in two and a half weeks; a fact I am immensely proud of.
09. I constantly drink cordials. I especially love Elderflower because it's so delicious.
10. I can speak some Japanese. I have taken two levels of it, and hope to go onto the third.

11. I love to play board games, and frequent a monthly games night in Nottingham.
12. I once superglue'd one of my eyes shut, and the hospital had to get it open by cutting through my eyelashes (don't worry, they've grown back)
13. I prefer sorbet to ice cream. Sorbet is ridiculously delicious, and I particularly love raspberry and mango flavours.
14. I didn't learn to ride a bike until I was 24.
15. After going to Holland, I have become addicted to Stroop waffels.

16. I have a passion for baking. My speciality is cupcakes. Though, I've not been able to find the time recently to bake as much as I'd like.
17. The books that I have read multiple times are the Harry Potter series. I may even start reading them again!
18. David Tennant is my favourite Doctor.
19. I am beginning to gather a bit of a mug collection. If I see a cute one, I can't help but buy it.
20. I've tried to watch Titanic once in my life, but got bored and wandered off until the ship started going down.

21. When in Holland, I cracked my head on a beam, and fell off my bike, scratching up my leg quite nastily. It was a very eventful trip.
22. I have a fear of immersing my head in water.
23. I enjoy walking. Whether it be a hike, or just a simple stroll along the canal.
24. I love archery so much. I really want to take it up, but every time I try all the courses are full.
25. My most embarrassing moment is when I was in year 3 at school. I got my finger stuck in a radiator during assembly, just as everyone else was sitting down.. I still have visions of my teacher running towards me to the rescue.

Primer vs. Primer

A couple of months ago, I got accosted by a lady from the Benefit counter, who offered me an impromptu make-over. It was here that I discovered some of my favourite products.

One of these was the Benefit Porefessional. I fell in love with it straight away. It mattifies, smooths and blurs my face; everything I want it to do. I love the consistency of the product, as it just glides on so easily. It seems perfect. Unfortunately, it does have one, quite big, downside, and that is the price. At £24.50, it may not be feasible to purchase it every few months.

Because of this I have been out looking for a possible dupe. One which is much kinder on my bank balance. I like really into primers which blur. Because I've got oily skin and large pores, they suit me the most.

One that I have tried is the L'oreal Blur Cream. As soon as I used the product I was a bit dubious. It just sort of spluttered out of the tube. I'm not sure if I just a had a dud tube, or if it just does that anyway. Needless to say, that didn't impress me. The cream itself is light and smooths easily onto the skin, but it doesn't have that mattifying texture, which is something I'm looking for. It's certainly not a bad product, but it doesn't have the effect I desire. Though at £9.99. I shouldn't grumble.

The most recent addition to my collection in The Body Shop Instablur. And I do like this one, a lot. It was a little a bit of a surprise at first, as the product is clear and looks a little gel-like. Despite this, it actually has a nice texture on the skin. It blurs my pores and imperfections, and, importantly, it is mattifying. I think it is certainly a contender for my favourite primer, and at £14, it's a much more justifiable.

What is your favourite primer?

Autumn Wishlist

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I love autumn. Not only is it my birthday season, but there's Hallowe'en and Bonfire Night, plus Nottingham has the Goose Fair. You know when the air gets crisp that it's almost time for the fair.

With autumn on the way, it's time to start changing my wardrobe around. With the weather dipping so much lately, I've already hunted put my jumpers! To me, autumn is a time for deep colours like purple and navy. It's all about jackets, and jumpers and boots. With the chill in the air it's time to start covering up. It's not quite hat and scarf weather yet, but long sleeves are a must.

I'm actually looking forward to autumn. I'm hoping for lots of good things in the next few months.

What would be on your wishlist?

August Favourites

Here it is again; the end of another month. August has gone so quickly, it's just been a blur!

It's not been a bad month, but it has been tiring. I spent much of the beginning exhausted and feeling incredibly unmotivated. I think I got some post-holiday blues, and I had some serious life thinking to do when I got back. I don't think I'm fully sorted, but I feel much better than I did.

But once the blues had subsided, I ended up doing some good things, even if we've not really had the weather for it. I had a lovely picnic with my friends last week. It's always fantastic to spend time with good company, and many of them I don't get to see as much as I'd like. I also spent a day out in London, having the opportunity to see the wonderful Mat Baynton in Holes, which was a bit of an odd play, as well as visiting Bodeans for some delicious BBQ food.

One of the other highlights of my month was going to the cinema to see Peter Capaldi's first episode of Doctor Who, along with many other fans.

But enough of what I've been up to, here are the things I've been loving this month

Beauty

As mentioned in my last post I am loving my new Essie polish. The colour is called Naughty Nautical and is absolutely gorgeous. It's a glittering, turquoise shade and it's just beautiful. I normally only wear one colour a week, but I'm thinking of refreshing this one for longer.

I am also loving High Beam from Benefit. I love highlighters as they just brighten up your entire face. This one has beautiful shimmer to it and looks great on my cheekbones, and under the arches of my eyes when it catches the light.

My last beauty favourite this month is the Urban Decay De-slick. I bought this as I was finding my make-up melted away so quickly, and wanted a good setting spray to keep it in place for as long as possible. I really love this. I bought the travel size a couple of months ago, and it's still going strong. I find it keeps my make-up looking fresh for much longer, so it's just what I needed.

Skincare

I generally don't buy expensive showergels, and, to be honest, I usually just get what's on offer. I normally end up with something different with every purchase. This month I bought this limited edition Imperial Leather showergel in 'enchanting romance' and, oh my, it smells amazing. I was so drawn to the scent, that I may continue to repurchase it for that alone. But the showergel is pretty good too, and it keeps my skin soft. I love it.

Homeware

I love candles a lot, as they're quite atmospheric, but I do have to be in the mood to actually light one. I wanted to keep the fragrance going for longer, so I decided to buy a reed diffuser for my bedroom. I bought this Wax Lyrical one in the scent red cherries, and it smells so good. I love getting home from work, walking into my room and it smelling like cherry bakewells. It's so strong and long-lasting. I love it!

Film

There is no doubt about what this month's favourite film is. I don't normally care for a sequel to a film, as I like things to be standalone, but with Guardians Of The Galaxy I was left wanting more. It was hilarious and adventurous from start to finish. I found myself swept away with it. It's excellent and I can't recommend it enough.



Television

So before Lee Pace became an evil overlord in the film above, he was a sweet pie maker in the wonderful Pushing Daisies. It is quite simply the most adorable programme ever. I have seen the first six episodes multiple times, but never seemed to go any further. Suddenly I have found myself binging on all the episodes this last week. If you've never seen Pushing Daisies, you really must as it's such a brilliant show. It is about a pie maker who has the ability to bring the dead back to life. But there are catches. And then he finds out his childhood sweetheart has died... I'll let the trailer explain it better.



Music

I have been listening to a lot of random things this month. For the first time in a long time I know what some of the current hits are (or at least what they were a month or two ago).Though, this is due to only having two CDs for the entire journey to and around Holland, so a lot of songs grew on me. It's been really hard to choose one song this month. I really love Ed Sheeran's Sing, Iggy Azalea's Fancy, Charli XCX's Boom Clap but I decided to go with something slightly different and chose Sia's Chandelier. I really like Sia's music anyway, and this one has continued to be played over and over. I love the intensity of it.



What are your favourites this month?

Some things I bought

This month I tried to save up a little bit more. Unfortunately it didn't quite work. Although I didn't buy as many beauty products as usual, I made up for it in clothes. But that will be a post for another day.

I spent some time this month wandering around Boots, scouring the make-up and skincare. My local Boots has started to stock some Sleek products, and this made me decide to buy some products by brands I've not purchased from before.

Like I mentioned, I really wanted to try something from Sleek. I decided upon this Gloss Me lipgloss in the shade Angel Falls. To be honest, I am undecided about the product. The formula is sheer and moist on the lips, but quite sticky. Also, the applicator makes it difficult to apply. It is a lovely colour though and I don't even mind the glitter as much as I thought I would. I think I need to give this one a few tries before making up my mind.

Secondly, I bought a NYX jumbo eye pencil in Yogurt. I have wandered into Next a few times, staring at the small display, trying to decide what to buy. I mainly bought this to use on my waterline and in the corner of my eye to brighten it up a little. I love the formula as it just glides on so smoothly. I'm not sure if I got the right shade for what I wanted, so I might end up using it for my eyelids. Either way, I really love the product.

I also decided I wanted to try an Essie nail polish. I've never used anything by Essie before, but I've heard a lot of good things about them. I picked the colour Naughty Nautical, and it is such a beautiful shade. I call it a mermaid colour, as it's a gorgeous turquoise shade, with some sparkles thrown in for good measure. I am wearing it this week and it still looks great. It's also super easy to apply. I managed to do it with minimal mess and it dried quite quickly. I think I will be buying more of their products.

Next up I bought a Maybelline Master Shape eye pencil in soft brown. I've been trying to get my brow technique down recently. The majority of the tutorials I found, I didn't think were suitable. I don't need to shape my eyebrows, as I think they have decent shape, but I just wanted to define them. I found a really nice tutorial that I thought would suit me, and so now I think my eyebrows are really beginning to look great. This pencil was a good price and makes a good addition to my make-up collection. It's really soft and blends in well.

I received the Molton Brown Replenishing Hand Cream in my first ever Birch Box and I fell in love with it then. I finally decided to just go for it, and purchase it in a full size. I bought it in Rhubarb and Rose, which just smells divine. It sinks so easily into the skin and leaves them smooth with no stickiness. I'm loving using this on a daily basis.

Lastly, I picked up a mini Benefit collection from boots. I went to repurchase the Benefit They're Real mascara, and sitting next to it was this Benefit VIP Spree which includes sample products of the High Beam, Bad Gal lashes and Sugarbomb lipgloss. I won't go into detail on these as I plan to do a separate post on all of this in the future, but they are a mixed a bag. I particularly love the High Beam though as it gives such a beautiful glow.

What new products have you tried this month?