What I Got for my Birthday 2016

Birthday cake from my Dad

Hey!


On the 3rd of April it was my 19th birthday. The day before I had a meal with my friends at Las Iguanas and went out down town with my boyfriend. Then on Sunday I went for a meal with my family and boyfriend (at the same place!) and we all hung out in the garden afterwards playing with my niece. For my birthday I mainly asked for money, however I did get a few presents! 

• Lush The Experimenter Bath Bomb- My friend Emily bought me this which I'm excited to use as I did have one before but it turned out to be a faulty one!

• Kiko Milano Water Eyeshadow 229- Another one from Emily. She just knows me too well! This is a beautiful high-shine, glittery silver which can be used dry or wet. Will definitely have to review this.

• Paddle Hairbrush- I forgot to note down the brand of this paddle brush before I took it out of the packaging but I asked for a paddle hairbrush as mine has gone manky! This is from my Mum and I find them best for keeping my hair straight.

• Diesel Loverdose- My boyfriend bought me this. I hadn't asked for it but damn that boy knows me. He knows I like perfumes that look alternative like this and it's beautiful. I can't wait to try it!

• Essential Amethyst Tear Drop Necklace- My boyfriend also got me this necklace and I love it. It's a beautiful tear drop amethyst which are purple and has a kind of vine-type swirl going over it. 

• Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare- My fellow book lover Ruby got me this one! I didn't know Cassandra Clare had brought out another book but now I am pleasantly surprised. It is a big book which I love and the cover is quite artistic. I'm a fan of Cassandra Clare's books so I'm sure I will enjoy this.

• Denman Large Paddle Brush- My sister Kelly got me this. I don't think Mum and Kelly knew they were both getting me one! Not a problem though, as it means I have a spare brush when the first one goes a bit yucky. 

• Schwarzkopf XXL Live 'Ultra Violet' Hair Dye- My sister Lisa bought me these because this is the hair dye I have been using for years. I'm trying to save money at the moment so this is helpful as it saves me buying my next batch of hair dye.

• Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer- Lisa also got me this as again, she knows I use it religiously and it saves me from having to buy my next concealer. Very helpful!

• Soap & Glory Sugar Crush Body Scrub and Buttercream- Kelly bought me these and I love Soap & Glory so I was grateful. Every birthday and Christmas I'm always on the look out for body scrubs, creams and gels to save me from having to buy them through the year. The sugar crush smell is incredible too!

• National Book Tokens Gift Card- I received this from my Mum's ex-boyfriend. Even though he is her ex he was in our lives long enough to still keep in contact with my siblings and I. Anyway, he thought I could use this to buy some books or to help with anything I need for University. 

• Disney Cheshire Cat Cushion- My friend Antonia bought me this. I have an undying love for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. I love the films, the books, the video games, merch..the list goes on. I even want a Cheshire Cat tattoo. But anyway, she bought me this cushion and I love it. It goes well on my bed with my Pikachu!

• Cheshire Cat T-Shirt- Another gift from Antonia, a t-shirt with the Cheshire Cat on. I will never get over the artwork. 

• Osprey Sirrus 26 Purple Backpack- My sister Kimberley and brother Jamie bought me this for when I plan to go interrailing around Europe with Antonia. I'm super thankful for this as I hadn't thought much about how I was going to carry everything and it seems super versatile. Nice colour too!

Birthday cake from my Mum

I'm very thankful to everyone for what they got me and I had a nice birthday. 19 seems like a weird age to me as 18 is big, 20 is out of the teen years but 19 is just a random age in between. Do not feel like I'm going to be 20 next year! To see what I got for my 18th birthday you can click here.

Books | Face Paint: The Story of Makeup by Lisa Eldridge

This is Face Paint: The Story of Makeup by Lisa Eldridge. If you haven't heard of Lisa (why not?) she is an amazing professional make up artist who works with the likes of Kate Winslet, Emma Watson and other major celebrities and magazines. She also works with Lancome and produces the most incredible and informative make up tutorials on YouTube. If you love your make up tutorials, I promise you that you will love Lisa Eldridge. 


Aside from doing make up, one of Lisa's other passions is the history of make up. She has so many classic pieces and knows so much about the history of make up that she decided to turn it into a book! As soon as I knew she was releasing this I wanted it and finally I got it from my boyfriend at Christmas.


The book is a beautiful hardback with such a vibrant cover, illustrating the colours of make up. The first page and back of the book show various antique pieces from brands such as Max Factor and Chanel. The contents is split up into 2 sections: 1) 'The Ancient Palette' which covers the colours red, white and black, their history and how they've been produced. 2) 'The Business of Beauty' shows us how media has influenced make up and advertisements, the beauty pioneers of the years and how folk remedies have turned into global brands. Lisa also gives us an insight into the future of make up and certain ingredients. 


What I love about the book is that you learn so much that you never knew before about make up. It's one thing knowing how to apply foundation or how to blend eyeshadow, but to actually see how over the centuries how make up has been viewed and made is incredible. It is so interesting to read how make up has changed from being frowned upon to loved, to be applied discreetly all the way to being applied in its masses. 


Another thing I love about the book is that Lisa has included pages in between different paragraphs which names someone in history, shows a photo of them and how they somehow influenced make up in their time. There are some real names of the past such as Marie Antoinette, all the way to Marilyn Monroe and Amy Winehouse. We also see women from different cultures so it isn't just a singular Western view on make up. 


My favourite part in the book was reading about the history of well-known make up brands, particularly Max Factor. I never knew that Max Factor was a man and influenced the make up industry so much! I also really enjoyed seeing how the first ladies of beauty Helena Rubinstein and Elizabeth Arden fought each other within the industry to be on top. As well as being super interested in the brands, I also really liked seeing what kind of ingredients were in make up in various centuries. Some of the recipes sound like a witch's spell for her cauldron!


If you watch Lisa Eldridge's videos then you will see how her personality shines through the book. The way she writes actually sounds like her and you can hear the words being read in her voice as if she's reading it to you herself. I enjoy this as it gives the book her personality and you can really hear her passion for make up throughout. Furthermore I love seeing the photos of what she has in her collection or what others have in their collection so we can see how make up packaging has evolved.


With vibrant photography and intriguing facts one right after another, this is a book to read. If you have a passion for make up I cannot recommend this book enough. Lisa is such an expert in her field that she is certainly one to listen to and she really has chosen the most gripping and thought-provoking topics to talk about. Her expertise really shines through and I can certainly assure you that you will come away knowing way more about make up than you did before and you will see it in a completely different light. I constantly had facts to tell the people around me! Additionally I really think this makes a good gift to give someone you know is enthusiastic about make up and it looks beautiful in the bookcase. I do hope Lisa Eldridge writes another book because I will buy that without a single doubt!


I would love to know if you have read this book and what you think about it. 

My Christmas Wishlist 2015

Hello!


As with every Christmas, me and my family will all make a little Christmas list for us to share out with one another. Mine tends to be slightly larger than the other member's because I have more family members than the rest of them (complicated family alert) so they need more items to spread out amongst themselves. Anyway, here is my Christmas list for 2015:

Make Up

• Urban Decay Moondust Eyeshadow 'Intergalactic'
• Urban Decay De-Slick Make Up Setting Spray 
• Rimmel The Only 1 Lipstick 'One-of-a-Kind'
• NYX High Voltage Lipstick 'Feline'

Skincare

• Exfoliating facial scrubs, e.g. Superdrug St Ives Gentle Apricot Scrub
• The Body Shop Coconut Body Scrub (or any other body scrub)

Clothing

• Attitudeclothing.co.uk- Spiral Direct Witchy Familiar Racerback Lace Top
• New Look Black Check Buckle Side Skater Dress
• New Look Black Bandage Strap Bodycon Dress

Nails

• Essie Nails Top Coat 'No Chips Ahead'

Lush

• Peeping Santa Bubble Bar
• The Experimenter Bath Bomb 
• Let The Goods Time Roll Cleanser

Other

• The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
• New Look Dark Red Contrast Zip Pocket Structured Bag
• Argos Spirit Ladies' Stone Set Bracelet Watch (for work, I don't wear watches otherwise)
• Lady Gaga Fame Perfume
• Money for gap year savings
• Voucher ideas: Boots, New Look, H&M, Topshop and Blue Banana

What's on your Christmas list?

Currently Reading #1

I have been an avid reader since my childhood where I would visit the Library every week. Because I have such a love of reading I have decided to begin 'Currently Reading' posts to let you guys know what I am reading at the time.


At the moment I am reading the classic Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. I am massive fan of Alice in Wonderland and I admire all the films, the stories, the quotes and the illustrations. In fact, I am planning to get Tim Burton's Cheshire Cat tattooed on me when I have the money and confidence to book a consultation. I also love the videogame Alice The Madness Returns.


This book can be a little hard to understand at times because of the time it was written, but once you get past that the story is nice. It is technically a children's book but the beauty is that it can be loved by anyone at any age. 


I recommend giving this a go, and if not, just look at the illustrations! I think they're wonderful!



What are you reading right now? Let me know!

Book | Magisterium: The Iron Trial

Today I bring you a review of Magisterium: The Iron Trial, written by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare. Both authors are bestsellers. Cassandra Clare is what immediately made the book catch my eye because I am a big fan of her series The Mortal Instruments. I wasn't sure I knew who Holly Black was at first and after googling her I flipped out. She is the author of the Spiderwick Chronicles! I LOVED them as a child and I felt kind of ashamed I didn't realise she was the author. So knowing that I already have their books in my collection, it was an absolute privilege for me to be sent this book and have a chance to read and review it. 

I don't want to spoil the book for anyone so I will vaguely describe it. The book begins with a prologue; one that definitely leaves you confused and asking questions. The book then follows the likeable character Callum Hunt. It starts in typical high school fashion: Boy is naughty in school and drives away substitute teachers. He has noticable features such an injured leg with a bit of a limp. The book is based about Callum going to a magic school called 'Magisterium', where they learn to perform magic with the elements of fire, water, earth and air. The plot is certainly full of twists and turns and there is a meeting with an enemy. 

So what is my opinion? For starters, I really like the illustration of the book cover. The blues really stand out against the white and it is overall quite pretty. There are also illustrations at the beginning of each chapter which is good at helping you to visualise certain characters or aspects of the story. As for the contents, I actually quite liked the book. Some aspects remind me of Harry Potter (magic, two boys and a girl who are a team and stand by one another and an enemy) and the style of writing also reminds me of Cassandra Clare's The Mortal Instruments. By the middle of the book I was completely hooked and couldn't put it down for hours. You know a book is captivating when it makes you stay up until 3 o' clock in the morning! I think my favourite part of the book was the school itself. The authors did fantastic at describing the Magisterium in a detailed manner and I could really picture how luxurious and eye catching it was. I wish the school I went to was as cool as that!

The book itself is 295 ages so it isn't a super long book but isn't necessarily short either. I think it is a nice read and it would one of those books you could easily carry around in your bag to pull out whenever you have a spare moment. 

Overall, I enjoyed the book and look forward to the sequel coming out on the 3rd September called Magisterium: The Copper Gauntlet. I really want to see how Callum gets on after his first year learning magic! I would recommend this book to people who enjoy the Harry Potter series, The Mortal Instruments and the Divergent trilogy.

You can buy the first instalment of the Magisterium series here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Magisterium-Iron-Trial-1/dp/0552567736/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Have you read this book? Let me know!

*This book was sent to me. However, all opinions are 100% my own and I would NEVER lie about liking a book. 

Waterstones | Book Haul

Hey!

On Monday I went shopping (alone which wasn't half as fun) and one place I stopped off was Waterstones. I have loved and adored books as far as I can remember and they've always played a big part in my life so my boyfriend and sister knew what they were doing when they bought me gift cards for Waterstones. In total I had £30 to spend in Waterstones so I had fun spending an hour in there picking out 4 books to get.

First of all I spotted 'The Bane Chronicles' by Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan and Maureen Johnson. For those of you who don't know, Magnus Bane is a character from The Mortal Instruments series and The Infernal Devices series by Cassandra Clare. I absolutely loved The Mortal Instruments and Magnus Bane is a flamboyant, bubbly character everyone loves from the books. The Bane Chronicles is a mix of stories from his life which I completely forgot was going to be published until I spotted it in the shop. So as a fan, I quickly picked up this book.

Next I picked up 'Dark Places' by Gillian Flynn. I was originally looking for 'The Girl on the Train' by Paula Hawkins as I heard it was similar to the famous and popular 'Gone Girl' by Gillian Flynn which turned out to be one of my top favourite books of all time. I couldn't find 'The Girl on the Train' no matter how hard I looked which was frustrating but I did see 'Dark Places' which, as you can see, is also by Gillian Flynn. Because I loved 'Gone Girl' so much I decided I would pick this one up to see what it was like instead.


Then I found 'Annie' by Thomas Meehan. You may all know the musical Annie with the famous song 'Hard-knock Life' and this is the book it is based on. I have loved the musical from a very young age when my Mum bought the DVD and it had been on my bucket list since to see it at the theatre. And luckily, I finally am going to see it at the Bristol Hippodrome at the end of the year. So I thought I would read the classic book in the mean time whilst I wait to tick seeing the musical off of my bucket list. :-)


Last of all I picked up the famous classic 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' with 'Through the Looking Glass' by Lewis Carroll. For many years I have been in love with quotes and illustrations from the book. I can't quite put my finger on it but I am so inspired by 'Alice in Wonderland' to the point where I want an 'Alice in Wonderland' tattoo and would quite happily have a 'Alice in Wonderland' themed wedding! When I was younger I used to cover my bedroom wall in quotes and would learn them off by heart. The films are pretty great too. But anyway, I didn't actually have the book in my possession so thought it was good time to get it so I can read it and gaze at the beautiful illustrations all day.


So there we have it! Even though I've got a million books to read already, you can never have too many books...even when your bookcase is over flowing like mine!

What book are you reading right now? Let me know!

March Favourites

Hello!

I haven't done a favourites post in a while, simply because nothing was my favourite. I have put myself on a spending ban for the past few months so I wasn't getting anything new in that I could put as a favourite: all my old favourites had already been in favourite posts!

But I finally have some favourites of the month!


1. Zoeva Graphic Eyes+ Eyeliner in Good Karma: For my birthday my wonderful friends bought me two of these eyeliners, one in Good Karma (a mermaid teal green) and the other in Mr Mavelous (a dark purple with purple glitter). However, my favourite is definitely Good Karma as the colour is stunning! They are so smooth, beautiful and waterproof. Reviews will be up soon!

2. BareMinerals Prime Time Primer Foundation: This is a generous sample I got from the BareMinerals Bloggers event which I posted about here. It is a lovely primer that controls oil. However, I won't talk about it too much here as I have a review coming up soon!

3. BareMinerals Marvelous Moxie Lipstick in Break Away: This is also another sample I got from the BareMinerals Bloggers event. This lipstick is a beautiful nudey-brown lipstick great for when you don't have time to do a full on look or have bold eyes so want a nude lip. Review coming soon.

4. If I Stay by Gayle Forman: Because I've been quite busy this month this is the only book I have read. It is a good, short book to read that may bring you to tears. It has also been made into a film! I am going to start the second book soon hopefully. 



Have you used any of these products or read the book? Let me know!

The Best of 2014 | Books & DVDs!

Hey guys!

I thought I would share with you my favourite books and DVDs from 2014 as well! To view my favourite make up and skincare from 2014, click here.

>Books:

• Looking for Alaska- Because I have been a fan of the author John Green for years as he is a YouTuber, I knew I wanted to read every book he had written. This book is my second favourite after The Fault in Our Stars. It is written beautifully, makes you ask questions and may make you cry a little. An excellent read!
• Divergent (and the rest of the series)- I fell in love with Divergent and the rest of the series. They are absolutely gripping with some fantastic characters that draw you into their world. I recommend it to those who are a fan of The Hunger Games and City of Bones!
• Shock of The Fall- As someone who is extremely interested in Psychology and working in a mental health unit this book was definitely for me. Furthermore the author was someone who went to the school I went to and this book is based around the area we live in! It is a great read that takes you into the mind of someone and the book even won the Costa Book Award in 2013. 

*I couldn't find my collection of them amongst the many books that I own but I would also include City of Bones and the rest of the series here. Likewise to Divergent it is absolutely gripping, full of twists and full of thorough and wonderful characters.

>DVDs:

• The Fault in Our Stars- As a huge fan of the book I couldn't wait for the film. In fact, I saw a pre-screening of the film because I couldn't wait for the release date! I absolutely adore TFiOS and I cried my eyes out. A lot. 
• Divergent- Because me and my friends love the books we went out the day it came out (which happened to be the day after my birthday) to go and see it. It was action-packed, stuck true to the book and was quite frankly amazing.
• Chicago (musical)- Although the film for this musical came out years and years ago, I put this in 2014 because I had finally gotten the DVD of it for my birthday. Chicago is one of my favourite musicals and I am not afraid to say I know every word to every song. It is on my bucket list to see this musical and the film is definitely a must see. I highly recommend it! If you've ever heard of the song 'And All That Jazz'- it's from this!

What were your favourite books and films from 2014? Let me know!

#BigBlogmasProject2014 | 3 Books I Want for Christmas

Hey guys! 

Usually on my Christmas list I have about ten books that I want. I am a huge fan of reading and have been from a young age. However, all the exams and stuff that I have going on now means I don't get a lot of time to read like I used to which is a shame. Because of this I already have lots of books to get through so I have only put down 3 books on my list this Christmas. All three books have been made into films but I have not watched them as I am a strong believer in reading the book before you watch the film! You should never judge a book by its film. So what are they I hear you ask? Well, I'll tell you!

1. The Maze Runner by James Dashner- A book that all my friends have read but me. I've heard that it is perfect for those who like The Hunger Games and/or Divergent. I really like The Hunger Games and I LOVE Divergent so I am quite looking forward to giving this series a go.

2. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn- I do like to read/watch a good thriller so this seems perfect for me. Apparently full of twists and turns and recommended by my Dad, I've got to check it out. What happened to Nick's wife? Well I'd like to find out.

3. If I Stay by Gayle Forman- I have seen this book around for years every time I go in to Waterstones and had even read the blurb once or twice but never bought it. My book-loving friend who is in to the same books as me recommended this one and I very much trust her judgement! However I've seen the trailer for the film and I think I am going to be crying reading this one.

So that's it! Have you read any of these books? If so, what do you think of them? Let me know!

January Favourites!

Hey BumbleBeas!

These are my favourites from the month of January:

1. Cheatwell Skeleton Bookmark which moves to make the skeletons dance!

2. Snow Fairy Shower Gel from Lush that smells like bubblegum!

3. Black Delaware Chunky Cut Out Boots from mr-shoes.co.uk

4. Frankenstein leggings from Blue Banana: my new favourite leggings!

5. 461 L'oreal Lipstick a luscious royal red that stays for hours!

6. Allegiant and the books previous (Divergent and Insurgent) which have me completely hooked!

7. Ultrabland facial cleanser from Lush makes your skin so soft!

8. Regal Rose Andromeda Blue Lapis Stardust necklace I have worn every day of January!