Thursday 31 July 2014

July Lifestyle Favourites

What a great time of the month this one is! I love me some favourites, I really freakin' do. Let us check out what I have been loving:

On TV: The Honourable Woman - Maggie Gyllenhaal is my new spirit animal.
On Youtube: The amazing Emily Diana Ruth has had me hooked on her Letters To July series; just beautiful.
On my iPod: I have listened to Kygo's remix of Brother by Matt Corby endlessly since hearing it in this lookbook by the fabulous Sarah Hawkinson.
On my bedside table: I have been reading Abhorsen by Garth Nix and I will be finished any minute now!
On Bloglovin': It's been all about A Girl And A Beauty Blog, That Grace Girl and Citron and Guavaberry this month and brilliant they each are!

And on my end, I loved filming and editing my 7 Days of Makeup and 3 Things To Do This Weekend, and my Trying Some Style Classics post was one of my faves I've done ever!

I hope you enjoyed guys, and that your July was as wonderful as mine. Take care and see you tomorrow for an exciting blog project!

Wednesday 23 July 2014

Why I Love Lost In Translation

Image Source
There are few films I love more than Lost in Translation (2003).


Image Source

I love its grungy vibe.
I love its soundtrack.
I love how it encapsulates alienation in a foreign culture.
I love just about every shot could be a work of art.
I love how it represents a quarter and midlife crisis.

Image Source
If you haven't seen it, you should, then come tell me how much you loved it.

Friday 18 July 2014

Wardrobe Shopping Survival Guide


Trying to save some money? I know I am... With a year of being a student again staring me in the face, the need to spend sensibly is more apparent than ever.

You may thinking, Shopping Survival Guide?? If you're after constructive advice on how to avoid being eaten by your shopping basket or how to swerve falling makeup counters (I'd never had to imagine a shopping apocalypse until now) you will have to head elsewhere I am afraid... though it is an idea I may come back to...

But for questions that you should be bearing in mind when shopping with a budget, you may want to look this way.
  1. How will this wash? Sometimes buying cheap basics is a false economy... You wash them once and they're good for nothing but a life as pyjamas; sometimes you're not actually saving anything at all. For me, it's meant that I've bid farewell to buying from Topshop and Forever 21, unless pieces are massively reduced in the sale.
  2. Pale colours = high maintenance. I learnt this one the hard way last week; I bought a beautiful dove grey jacket from H&M and stained it on its first wear. Be careful; this one will lead you back to point 1...
  3. Is this a staple or a statement piece? I tend to reserve my statement pieces for special occasions; a bold, unique piece will definitely be worn less, whereas staples should combine with one another and form the backbone of your wardrobe; less exciting, but a lot more useful.
  4. Get savvy with separates. A few years ago, my wardrobe was full of garments that worked for one outfit but couldn't be combined across the board. I've since learnt my lesson and am a separates convert. I've never been so happy with the state of my wardrobe.
  5. Read your labels. Dry clean only is my worst enemy.
  6. Don't spend on a trend. A no-brainer here but a mistake lots of people seem to make; ripped jeans may be cool now, but they're not worth splashing out on if you're bothered about falling out of style. Especially important if you're keen on being first to try a trend: you may end up hating the look after a while.
  7. What's already in your wardrobe? Will this combine well? Or are you making a mistake that I have committed many a time - am I buying a carbon copy of something I already own?
These are genuinely the questions I ask myself when buying and I find it super helpful to take a moment, in my changing room, and imagine myself walking out with what I have in my hands or with nothing and deciding which I am going to do today.

Have you got some wardrobe buying thoughts that you feel like sharing? I am all about hearing more!

Sunday 13 July 2014

Trying Some Style Classics











Lately I've been far into my fashion than my beauty stash - though trust me, my makeup love may wane but never it truly dies out - so I'm here again with another style post to follow on from my Whistles jumper purchase confession, which can be read here. Today I'm telling you about the four classic pieces that I plan to always mix into my wardrobe.

Saturday 12 July 2014

VIDEO: 3 Things To Do This Weekend

In need of a practical demo of what you could be up to this weekend? Fear no more my darlings, it's right here - enjoy!

Wednesday 9 July 2014

If You Do One Thing This Month...




...book a facial!

I'll leave the counter choice up to you of course, but having had my first two facials this year,  I think it can be said that I'll be having a good few more. If anything my love for them is an incentive to get out there and get earning post-uni.

At some point I'd love to do a before and after photo and see how much of a difference they actually do make;  but what I will say is that at the time of writing, my skin has never looked better and maybe it is down to my treatments...

Failing that, the lovely feeling of being pampered has me totally hooked.

If you're not booking one for yourself, book one for a friend! I myself would love a facial as a present. Hint hint to any family members reading this post...

If a professional facial isn't in your budget at the mo,  get your pamper on at home!

Now there's an idea for a future blog post...

Sunday 6 July 2014

This Month's Finest... June Lifestyle Favourites



GOOD GOD it is July already... I couldn't feel any less emotionally prepared.  As before, this post may be a longer one (aren't they always though?! AREN'T THEY ALWAYS??)... but without further ado, Imma break down what I've been loving in the month of June yo.

I promise there will be no further efforts to be G from here on out.

My book choice for June has to be Sabriel by Garth Nix. This one is, for me at least, an oldie but a goldie; it's the first in a really good fantasy trilogy that I first read maybe ten years ago, but I still come back to in the spells when nothing else is doing it for me. Harry Potter fans, if you've not read this one already, I think you will love it.

My TV choice is Britain's Whale Hunters. I watched Blackfish at the start of this year and loved it; it's not an easy watch, but one that I recommended to anyone that would listen in the week or so after I'd watched, and re-watched, this powerful documentary. Mum was the one that spotted this on TV, and it made a fascinating watch: in two parts, we are shown the foundations of the whaling industries growing over the last century. Whale oil was used for all manner of unexpected products - it's again, an interesting but harrowing must-see.

My film choice was an obvious one; it's another old favourite that I've fallen for again, Memoirs of a Geisha. What strikes me most about this film is how beautifully it is shot: if you're into your filmography then chances are you've seen it already - but if not, get to it gang, get to it.

Music-wise there was only one choice for me this month; Itsuki has become one of my favourite artists and I've downloaded every track on his Soundcloud. You may recognise some of his tunes from being featured in this month's vlogs; his music is of course chill (what can I say, I like what I like!) and perfect for this time of year as it's so summery and upbeat. There's always a really innocent feel to each track that I find super charming. I can't wait to hear what's to come.

My blog highlights this month were: the Gimme 5: Face Masks which involved my first ever successful (ish) gif; my Sunday Wishlist which was inappropriately fun to put together and Raiding Momma B's Beauty Cupboards was easily the best research I've undertaken for anything in my life.

On my Youtube channel I was stoked about the Girlfriend Tag with Lizzie (it has loads of views, I'm guessing people thought we were actually a couple... bless em) and my chill Sunday Get Ready With Me was also super nice to make. I've got a load of videos planned to stretch myself this month so keep 'em pealed!

Wednesday 2 July 2014

A Week In Photos

I am all about trying to take more photos: it's one of my resolutions on the To-Do list I posted last week and, as last week was a such a shutter happy one, I thought I'd share it with you!

Monday: Scones with Lizzie