Benefit Haul

I recently took advantage of the "buy three products get two free" deal Benefit were doing and spent some birthday money- I love Benefit but it's just a tad too pricey. However I'd wanted the Boi-ing concealer for a while so I decided I might as well.


The products I brought were the POREfessional as I have been using a sample tube for ages and decided to invest in the full sized tube, Rockateur blush, and Boi-ing concealer in 01 (Light). For free I got a make up bag (a bit sneaky of Benefit as I wouldn't really have picked this myself) and Chachabalm which is a tinted lipbalm. I also got free samples of the POREfessional agent zero shine which I don't know if I'll try and the Total Moisture facial cream which I actually will try!

Create your own kit here

I'll be using these products in the next few weeks so let me know if you want me to review any of them individually :) xxx

If I Stay: film review

I first read If I Stay before I knew it was becoming a film, which I'm so glad because I had no pre-expectations and I didn't picture the characters as anything other than from my own imagination. When I saw the trailer I actually was really surprised- I never pictured Mia as blonde!

When my friends suggested a trip the cinema I begged them to come with me to see If I Stay. They agreed, and it was only released in the UK on the 29th (the day I'm writing this review) so I know not many people will have seen it yet.

I actually really enjoyed this. It was pretty true to the book and I'm so glad they kept the ending and events the same (this probably had something to do with the fact that Gayle Forman was a producer) and I liked the casting. I feel like Teddy had a smaller role than in the book and Adam had a much, much bigger one.

I will say that the film was much more centred around Adam and Mia as opposed to Mia and her family. Ah I suppose that's Hollywood tho right? I also think because the book is relatively short, there was a few additions which avid fans of the book may not like.

Having said all this it was a beautiful film which really tugged on the heart strings. Fans of the books won't be disappointed and I also have to mention the soundtrack- I will definitely be downloading it from iTunes!

Rating- 4/5

Have you seen If I Stay? What do you think? 

xxx 

The Disney Tag

Nothing makes me happier than Disney and I’m feeling a bit rubbish so I thought I’d do the Disney Tag. I found these questions from around the internet J Enjoy!

1. A scene in any Disney movie you wish you could experience?

The surfing scene in Lilo and Stitch or the lantern scene in Tangled  

2. An unforgettable moment/experience in the Parks?

Meeting Peter Pan for the first time or watching Disney Dreams

3. If you could choose any of the characters to be your best friend, who would you choose?

Probably Rajah from Aladdin because I really want a tiger for a best friend but a human best friend may be more practical so probably Rapunzel or Anna

4. Who are your favourite Disney princesses?

Belle is my favourite Disney princess of all time as well as Rapunzel

5. Name a scene/moment in any Disney movie that never fails to make you cry?

Mufasa dying L Actually welling up just typing about it…

6. What is your favourite Disney movie?

I can’t pick just one! Aladdin, Tangled, Lilo and Stitch are my top three

7. Favourite Disney song? 

A Whole New World

8. Favourite ride/attraction at the Parks? 

The Peter Pan ride

9. Your most treasured Disney item? 

My Stitch that Beth and Meg brought me when they went to Disneyland Paris

10. Flounder, Sebastian, or Scuttle?

Flounder! Best friend EVER

11. Favourite Disney Soundtrack?

This is too hard. Probably Pocahontas or Beauty and the Beast

12. Favourite princess dress/outfit? 

Belle or Sleeping Beauty (I lived in my Disney princess dresses when I was younger)

13. What Disney film do you watch when you're sad? 

Lilo and Stitch or Tangled

14. Post a Disney related photo of yourself?

Buzz and I have so much swag 

15. Which drawf do you most think you are like? 

100% Grumpy

(Now I want to go watch a Disney film…or go to Disneyland. Someone take me please?)

xxx

18th Birthday Celebrations

I turned 18 on the 14th of August. Woo!

Unfortunately, my 18th coincided with A Level results day which meant that it was either going to be the best day of my life or the worst. (For the record it was the best) 

Once my friends and I all found out our results (they all did AMAZINGLY and I am so proud of all my little geniuses) we went out to celebrate.

My best friend's family brought me a birthday cake at pre-drinks. How cute?!

No idea who these boys are that gatecrashed our slightly drunk selfie...

This meant I didn't have much time at all to celebrate with the family, so on Sunday the 24th we had a big family lunch at our house with all our friends and family to celebrate and catch up. 

We were SO lucky with the weather, it was beautifully sunny so we could all go and drink champagne in the garden. 

The highlight of the day for me was hundred percent my beautiful cake which was made by the amazingly talented Debi (her website is here) which was modelled as a huge stack of books, my favourite novels, a student cookbook and my school's yearbook. It also had some MAC make up, two little kitty cats, and an iPhone made of chocolate that had my actual phone case printed on it. 

AH-MAZING. 

The older brother, parents and myself

Me looking embarrassed at my dad's cringey speech

 My dress is from New Look and cardigan is from Primark!

These amazing cupcakes were made by my soon to be aunt (who recently got engaged, yay!) They looked SO gorgeous and tasted amazing! 

My grandma's first selfie! Three generations :) 

So those were my birthday celebrations!

xxx

Bourjois Magic Nail Polish Remover

I spend a lot of time in Boots. It's getting a bit ridiculous, I'm pretty sure the people who work in the Boots at Waterloo station know me by first name.

Anyway! As I was browsing I saw this little tub...

I hate taking off nail polish. I can never find cotton wool pads when I need them and I always go through a bottle of nail polish remover ridiculously fast. So when I saw this I was intrigued. 

I actually used this on the train home and I was a bit worried because I wouldn't be able to wash my hands but it was fine! One second is probably an exaggeration but it really does only take a few seconds. I just put in my finger, twist and then after a few seconds my nail is totally clean. If you have glittery/textured nails I find it may take a few more twists and then wiping away any particles of residue. 

This also leaves an amazing smell on your nail. I know this isn't an essential part of the nail polish removing process but it leaves your nail smelling really fruity and sweet which is just gorgeous. 

This retails for £4.99 and I definitely won't be buying nail varnish remover again whilst I have this! 

http://www.boots.com/en/Bourjois-Magic-Nail-Polish-Remover-75ml_1253870/

xxx

"The books transported her into new worlds and introduced her to amazing people who lived exciting lives"

If you know that quote, I love you. It's from Roald Dahl's Matilda, which I first read about age 6/7 and is still one of my favourite books. A young girl who reads to discover amazing worlds and adventures so she could escape? Tiny Alex who was being bullied and was stuck in horrible primary school (which when you're little seems like the entire world) could definitely relate.

My parents used to nickname me Matilda as I was always reading. Pretty much anywhere we went anywhere I would turn to my Mum and ask for my book so I could bury my nose in that and ignore what ever was going on around me (yeah I was a joy to have at events). When I was at school and had no friends I would go to the library and read and pretend I wasn't alone.

Matilda taught me two very important lessons. 1) Books are basically the best thing in the world and 2) even if you're small you should still stand up for what's right (even if you're standing up to someone bigger and scarier than you). If you asked me today what book had influenced me most, Matilda would probably be my answer. Most importantly, it sparked my love of reading.

In Year 3 (so age about 7 as I was one of the youngest) my teacher used to read us Roald Dahl books like Danny Champion of the World and BOY. My brother loved Roald Dahl, and so I had already read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and a few others. I used to go home and read the rest of the book and then feel pretty smug as the rest of my class asked me what happened in the end.

I never really stopped reading from then on, Enid Blyton and Jacqueline Wilson were my main authors but I read pretty much any book I could get my hands on, whether this was from the library or from Waterstones. My reading helped me flourish at English, as I was always keen to read our set book (the whole reading a chapter in class thing meaning we took about three months to finish a book drove me crazy) and discuss it. The best teacher I ever had was Mr R in Year 5 who encouraged me to read and pushed me further, as he knew I was capable of handling stuff above my age range. When the year 8's were reading Mice and Men I was keen to read it and he lent me a school copy saying "don't tell anyone as I'm pretty sure I'm not meant to do this". Thank god for good teachers. This all led to me scoring the highest marks in the end of year English exams in both year 5 and year 6, and cemented to me that English was my favourite subject.

English in Secondary school was a dream. I had some amazing teachers and I was being encouraged to read around the subject and think independantly. I achieved A and A* in English at GCSE and went on to study it at A Level which was hundred percent my favourite class ever. The material was so amazing and being able to pick my own coursework title and develop it was just a dream come true. In Year 13 I was applying to Uni and there was only one course that I wanted to do- English Literature.

Then on the day of my 18th birthday I recieved the news that I would be going to Warwick to study English Literature. Throughout my whole life I've struggled to answer the question "what do you do in your spare time?" as the answer is mostly reading. Now I finally felt how I chose to spend my time was valid and I'm going off to study a degree in what I've been passionate about since I was five or six. Pretty cool stuff.

So what's the point of this post? I guess all I'm trying to say is a) Matilda is freaking awesome and B) if you love the arts (whether that be literature or music or art) don't let people scare you into thinking you can't continue those to uni, that you have to choose a "real subject". Reading has been my passion and my love since I was tiny and age 18 I still love it. And any parents reading this- encourage your kids to read. It is 100% the best thing my parents ever did, and I will never be able to thank them enough for allowing me to be an anti-social kid with her nose in a book as I couldn't be happier right now.

New York

The other night we had dinner with some family friends from California, and I met their 17 year old son. He asked if I had been to America and I said "Yeah I was in New York a few weeks ago!" "I'm sorry" he said which made me laugh ridiculous amounts. "No, no, I liked it!" "Oh really? Was it the warm and generous people?" *cue more laughter from my side of the table* "Or the clean streets?"

Okay maybe you had to be there.

But yeah I think he had a point. Mum and I were talking about New York after we were home and we agreed that whilst you were there it was busy and noisy and a bit overwhelming (and rainy- so. much. rain) but once you're home you forget all that and just remember the amazing sights and once in a life time views.

I would definitely head back to New York- I feel like there would be less pressure having seen most of the sights before and also hopefully less rain?! (Seriously, I'm from England, the land of rain and there was SO MUCH RAIN.) Anyway here are some of my favourite photos/moments from New York as I realised I haven't shared much from my trip.

New York Public Library. This was the first place we went, and it was so beautiful. They had an exhibit specifically about children's books, and the original Winnie the Pooh toys. How cute?!

The Statue of Liberty. The iconic statue was obviously a must see, and it's ridiculously stunning in real life. It's so much bigger in real life and seeing it on our first night just reminded me that we were actually in New York. 

9/11 Memorials. I was only 5 when the tragic events of 9/11 occurred, and I have obviously learnt more but being in New York and at Ground Zero taught me more than I ever knew. We will never forget. 

Central Park. I knew I wanted to see the John Lennon memorial, and my Mum wanted to see the Alice in Wonderland statue. The whole place felt like something out a film. 

Top of the Rock. Our photos came out not great due to the cloudy weather, but the view was incredible. Central Park is just a huge patch of green in the middle of a concrete jungle and you could literally see everything from there. 

Finally- New York City at night. It is just so bright. I'm used to a lot of lights in London, and it is NOTHING compared to New York. Again, it felt like being in a film. We were there when Germany won the World Cup, and the Empire State Building looked so cool.

Let me know your favourite places in New York!

xxxx

America shopping: beauty favourites

This is a very long overdue post considering I was back from America about three weeks ago..oops. But I wanted to use all the products I had brought and develop a genuine opinion as opposed to "I think this product I've used twice is really good!"

So here goes- my favourite beauty products that I brought in America!

First off, Wet N Wild lipsticks. I was in Walmart and was browsing all the American brands. I had heard of Wet N Wild a few times, but I was blown away by the prices. I brought two lipsticks for about a dollar each, and I honestly wish I had brought more :( They are really pigmented, give your lips an amazing finish and last for a pretty long time, I normally only have to touch up once or twice a day! 

The colour shown below is "Pink Ice" which is a pale pink with the slightest shimmer.

Whilst in America, I was keen to buy some MAC products as I knew it would be slightly cheaper (not by a lot but still) when I came across a shop called "Cosmetics Company" which is an outlet store that stocks MAC, Estee Lauder, and Bobbi Brown. I was so tempted by the other brands, but I knew I would end up spending way too much so I vowed only to stick to MAC. (However my Mum did buy herself some Estee Lauder goodie bags which I got some things she didn't want from- yay!) 

They had several beautiful mineralized eye shadows, which I just couldn't choose between, so I ended up buying two. Pictured below is "Tropica" and I also got "Dare to Bare". Tropica is such a lovely subtle purple colour. It is hard to get the blue to show up but I think with a more precise brush it could happen. It's so pigmented and stays on all day, and I am so pleased I got this! 

I also picked up a Mineralized Skinfinish in "Perfect Topping" after spending about an hour trying to decide which Skinfinish to pick. I am really pleased with this, and I tend to use it as a highlighter all over my face, and it gives a really soft peachy glow which is great for when you don't want really obvious highlighter all over your face. I also use this if I want a more subtle blush as it has really pretty pinky tones in it for your cheeks. 

Okay. I have completely fallen in love with Bath and Body Works, and I've already looked up overseas shipping costs. The entire shop smelled amazing and if it wasn't for the fact that I thought they would smash in my suitcase, I definitely would have brought some of their perfume and candles. Next time though! 

They had a deal on lip products, so I picked up the JellyPop in Watermelon, which I loved, until the lid came off in my bag and it went everywhere, leaving me to scrape the remnants into a small pot. Cries. I also brought this, which is a beautiful Marshmallow lipgloss. It smells SO GOOD. Like, I actually want to eat it. It smells like sweet, melted marshmallow mush. When you apply it to your lips it gives a nude shimmer with a glittery finish. It leaves your lips feeling so soft and I really want a Watermelon one of these. (I'm obsessed with anything Watermelon...) 

Finally, I brought a nail file. This probably doesn't sound very exciting but it is one of the best quality nail files ever, and it was only a few dollars from Walgreens. (also a store I fell in love with). As you can see it has a file, buff, shine and smooth, and I used this so much to get my nails back into perfect condition. It makes it super easy to get your nails filed to perfection and smooth. 

That's all my beauty faves from my America shopping, let me know if you have an similar favourites or if you've used any of these products!

xxx 

Day Out: Medea at the National Theatre

My mum is obsessed with Greek Tragedies. She says it's because they're really short and action packed. When she got £15 tickets to the National Theatre production of Medea, she wanted me to come. I read some reviews, admitted to myself that the ending would be grim, but was swayed by all the brilliant reviews. Soo on the 5th of August after a quick dinner at Eat, we went to sit at Medea.

Okay firstly- I love the National Theatre. Its such a beautiful theatre and the seats give all audience members a really good view.

The play starts with Medea's two sons on stage, whilst the audience files in. This made me so sad because SPOILER ALERT you know that in an hour and a half they'll be dead.

Quick summary of the plot- Medea's husband has left her for another woman, and she goes kinda batshit crazy at this. The King comes and tells Medea to leave, but gives her one more day (big mistake buddy) during which Medea murders the new bride and the king with a poison cloak, and then eventually cuts out her sons throats. Yeah, that's kind of it.

The set and acting were both amazing. Helen McCrory was outstanding and I think she is an incredible and powerful actress. I didn't really understand the point of the creepy outside gardens except for dramatic effect, but the upstairs wedding area worked really well.

Particular highlight was the actress who played the nurse. I'm not sure of her name but I hope I see her in a play again, she had so much passion and showed so much wisdom as her character. The chorus were a necessity of Greek plays, and they did offer an insight, but the dancing and rhythmic twitching got a bit weird.

In the lead up to the climax of the play, I was gripping my mum's hand. All the action happens offstage, but the horrific screams of pain from the children made me wince and I had to look away from the empty stage.

The haunting figure of Medea dragging the two sleeping bags with her dead children's bodies inside had the entire audience captivated in silence. The nurse came on and spoke a few final lines, before the lights dropped.

If you can get tickets to this sold out production and you're into intense drama pieces or just good theatre, I highly recommend it!

I also met James McAvoy, full story here (x)

Let me know if you've seen Medea or if you just agree with me that James McAvoy is gorgeous 

xxx