November Favourites

Hey guys,

I can't believe that November is almost over! I thought that now would be a good time for a favourites post. Most of these things are a little random but I have been really loving them!

~Fireworks~

If you're not familiar with it, in the UK we have Bonfire Night on the 5th of November where we set off fireworks to commemorate the anniversary of the Houses of Parliament almost being blown up in an attempt to kill king James I. Fireworks are set off on the day itself and if it's not on a Saturday or Sunday, the weekends before and after too.

I really like fireworks but it is the only time of the year you really see them! I love all of the colours and even the loud noises, which is something not many people like! 

~Colder weather~

I feel it's been quite a mild winter in England so far but this past week it has been quite chilly! I absolutely love it when you wake up, look out the window and frost has transformed the world into a sparkling winter wonderland! Personally, I really like cold weather because it makes me feel really cozy and it means it's getting closer to Christmas (and my birthday!).

I've seen, on the news, the amount of snow that America has been getting and part of me is quite jealous since it hasn't snowed here for a few years but the rest of me hopes you are all ok and it's not causing too many problems!

~MUA Mascara~

I've actually been using this mascara for a while but it's finally made it into my favourites because I've really been noticing how long it makes my eyelashes! For a slightly cheaper mascara (£3, I think) I wasn't expecting much but it is now my staple make-up piece! 

~2true Eyeliner~

This eyeliner was actually a very recent purchase, I think I've only had it for a few days but I already use it everyday and it's a definite favourite! I really didn't like the last eyeliner I had and decided I needed a new one. This 2true one caught my eye because it is quite a dark brown and fits in with the colours I usually use but it also it was one you don't have to sharpen. 

You just twist the end and more will appear which I think is a brilliant idea for eyeliner! You don't have to carry a sharpener around and end up with the shavings all over your make-up bag! (You can buy this eyeliner in Superdrug for £1.99, again, I think)

~Supernatural~

Oh my days! How had I never watched supernatural before?! My friend lent me the first 3 seasons and I've already watched the first 14 episodes! I love the creepiness of some of the episodes but also the story in general! It has a very 'supernatural' feel about it and I do recommend it (if you're over 15 that is and don't mind being a little spooked). There is not much else I can say really! Just that I really really like it!

~Countdown to Christmas~

Obviously Christmas had to find its way into my favourites! I love the excitement beforehand and I've already bought most of the presents for my family! I love giving the presents and getting to wrap them and the other people don't have a clue I've done it or what it is! It's also nearly time for advent calenders, not that I'm partial to chocolate or anything! 

Well, I hope you liked my favourites post, do you have any items you have been loving this month?

Until next time

Grace

X

Confetti nail polish review

Hey guys,

For this post I decided to review a nail polish that I've had a while. The camera really didn't want to pick up on the strands but I gave it a shot anyway. It is quite pretty in the bottle, lots of little strands of something, I'm not entirely sure what, but I think it may be plastic. 

Once I put it on one of my nails I didn't like it quite so much. It went on very well and a lot of confetti strands ended up on the nail on the first layer, compared to some glitter polishes that end up putting nothing on the nail. The blue one was quite pretty but I felt both polishes looked a lot prettier in the bottles. I decided, after painting a bare nail, to try it on a few other colours.

The first colour was called bubblegum and I tried it on white, black and light blue. My personal favourite was the black because it made the strands stand out, but the white looked quite cool for the winter since it's quite cold colours. 

The light blue nail was probably my least favourite as it didn't make the effect stand out at all and it didn't really have a particular 'wow factor'.

The next bottle holds a confetti effect that has the name 'dolly mixture'. It is made up of very pretty colours but together I thought they were a bit of a strange combination and I didn't like it as much as the blue one.

I tried to find some colours that would compliment it the best but I could only find a nude colour and a bright pink. The nude just looked the same as my original nail colour but the pink didn't look too bad. The camera doesn't really do any of the nails justice as the light kept reflecting off the shiny surface!

Each pot of polish is £3.99 and there are other colours. I think that the black one would look quite cool but maybe not the pink. The other colours I used were: MUA - white; Collection - blackjack 2; Barry M - Gelly, sugar apple; Barry M 342 nude and Barry M limited edition 2013. I don't think the limited edition pink is being sold any more but there are other options that look quite similar. Barry M - bright pink 279 that is £2.99 or there is also Barry M summer matte 7 Miami that is £3.99.

I still love the quality of Barry M but I can't say I will be rushing to buy any new confetti polishes! I'm not sure they're really my thing, but if you like this sort of nail look then I do recommend them! It does leave a lot of strands and I think, with the right back colour it would look lovely.

Until next time

Grace

X

The Poppies in London

Hey guys,

I had a DIY post for today but I went up to London in the week and decided to do a post dedicated to the poppies.

If any of you live in the UK (I'm not sure if anyone anywhere else knows about them) then you may be aware that at the Tower of London there was a memorial made up of  888'246 ceramic poppies. Each poppy represented a British or Commonwealth death during World War 1. 

The last poppy was placed on Armistice day (Tuesday 11th November) and myself and my family drove up to London so that we could see all of poppies in their glory and before they were removed on the Wednesday. The whole memorial was so beautiful and made it really hit home just how many people lost their lives.

Whilst I was there I took a few pictures and thought you would like to see some of them. It was raining a little while I was there and my camera picked up some of the rain drops in the pictures, so that's what the little blobs are in some of them.

I hope you liked these pictures! If you didn't get the chance to see the poppies there are still parts that will be there until the end of this month (the weeping window and wave sections).

Until next time 

Grace

X

Book Review: Looking for Alaska

Hey guys,

So, for this week's post I thought I would do a review as I haven't done one for a while and I absolutely love this book!

Looking for Alaska is the debut novel by John Green (author of 'The Fault in our Stars') that was published in 2005. I think it was a very well-written book that, although it is sometimes seen as a very controversial story, it was incredible.

The book starts by counting down to an mysterious and unexpected occurrence that left me shell-shocked and with tears running down my face! You don't realise what it could be counting down to until you reach it and the mystery of it makes what happens even more hard-hitting! However, no matter how many times I read Looking for Alaska or The Fault in our Stars (and usually end up crying), they leave me wanting more and are a real credit to John Green. He has managed to write books that refuse to finish when you turn the last page, they keep playing on a loop in your mind and stay with you! This, I feel, is an amazing achievement! 

The story-line is a little different to the usual 'boy meets girl' books that you usually see because it has a very different message to it. 'Love isn't always as simple as it seems'. Friendless Miles 'Pudge' Halter, tired of his predictable life, convinces his parents to send him to the boarding school that his dad attended (Culver Creek) where he meets the gorgeous yet baffling Alaska Young. They, along with Miles' roommate The Colonel and their friend, Takumi, hatch plans to prank the Weekday Warriors and bond in the process. Then, an unexpected tragedy strikes and the group are left trying to make sense of the situation and pull off one last, great prank.

I really do recommend this book to any John Green fans who haven't read it yet or for anyone who likes some adventure and tragedy thrown together into one amazing story!

'The only way out of a labyrinth of suffering is to forgive'

Until next time

Grace

X

Side Messy Bun and Plait

Hey guys,

So, a few days ago I was just browsing through Pinterest when I saw this hairstyle.

I thought it was so cute and wanted to share it with you guys! I've done a few adjustments to make it more my style, I hope you like it!

To recreate this style you will need:
Hair bands and hair grips that match your hair colour (or are as close as possible)

A brush
Hair spray

A lot of patience!

First you will need to brush out any knots in your hair and do a french plait around the side and back of your head. Personally, I find this bit the hardest as you can't really see what you're doing and it can be a bit fiddly. 

To french plait you need to section off your hair into 3 parts, close to your ear. Then you need to pass the left strand over the middle and pass the right one over just after. As you are doing this you need to add small sections of hair and add it to the strands of hair you already have so that the braid is as close to your head as it can be. You need to carry on braiding until you are about 2 inches away from your left ear.

Once you have done this you need to collect up the remaining of the hair into a rough pony tail and secure with a hair band. To make it look a little bigger and 'poofy-er' you can backcomb it a little. It's a good idea to not do this hairstyle on newly washed hair but wash it the night/day before and let sleep rough it up a little!

Now you need to twist the pony tail (don't worry if strands come out) and then wrap it around the base, where the hair band is (into a bun shape). It can be as loose or as tight as you want but when it is in a bun you need to tie it up with a hair band.

You can leave it like this but you can also add some hair grips to hold it down a little more.

Don't forget to spray it with hair spray to ensure the 'do' is kept looking good all day.

Voila! A super cute messy side bun and plait that is perfect for everyday wear or a formal occasion.

Until next time

Grace

X