A mini break

21 December 2015

As you can see content has been lacking on here and that's just due to various reasons! I won't have the time to do any posts for the rest of this month, with it being Christmas and then me going away to Dublin, so I just wanted to wish all my readers a Merry Christmas and I hope you all have an awesome New Year :) xxx


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December Book List

6 December 2015

Whoops, so I am just a tad bit late with getting this up – but better late than never! As it’s December and this up, I can finally do a little victory dance, because I managed to keep this up for a whole year!

I finished up reading my books for November in early December; it took me longer than expected as there were just days that I was busy so I couldn’t read. I found all the books in November’s reading list so interesting. The first thing I read was The House Girl, this was SO good. I think I really enjoyed it because it was much more than I expected it to be. I kind of wish it had a sequel or just something because in a way I really want to find out what happened beyond the book but it did end in a satisfactory way of some sort. I’d really encourage anyone who’s interested in slavery to pick this up. It has the right emotions in the book and focuses on people who were white that were helping slaves too. It switches between two periods (the time of slavery and present day in the book) but is just so very interesting. The next thing I read was Island, you’ll already know from last month that I wasn’t looking forward to this but I really ended up enjoying this. I think it’s because, as it should be, it’s very different to a brave new world. One thing I remember thinking whilst reading this book is that it literally could have been written in the past ten years, what it talks about is just so current that you can’t really put a timestamp on it. I think I found it really good because it’s a world I can get on board with; I’d whole-heartedly recommend this to everyone.

November - music picks

26 November 2015

I thought I'd sneak this post in because I've found four song in November that I really love and have just been on repeat. I won't even try and make this a regular series, because most of the music I listen to is nothing spectacular but I think these tracks are just aaaamaaaazing.


Sephora Haul

22 November 2015

Now before we begin, my bestie got these from me on her recent trip to Dubai. Sadly, my feet haven't left London, let alone England since I got back from Ibiza :( So whilst she was there I got her to pick me up a couple of things that I've seen floating around on blogs and YouTube. I probably got this about two weeks ago, so whilst it's a haul post, I will also do first impressions on some of these.

I've heard so much about Sephora's own range through YouTube and I'm so gutted that when I lived in Italy about 3 years ago that I was not interested in make-up or skincare (I probably saved myself a fortune though). So I decided that I really wanted some of their own brand as it was something I certainly couldn't get over here. I know you can order Sephora online but I really don't want to - I don't even know if their own brand ships to the UK. 


Party season outfit ideas

15 November 2015

I have not blogged in forever! It's a combination of not having anything to blog about and not having the time to blog. My workplace has announced the date of the Christmas party and it has sent me into panic mode! First of all it makes me realise I need to stop inhaling all sorts of crap, but second reason for my panic is finding something to wear! So I’ve been doing some searching here and there but really most of these I have discovered because they’ve landed in my inbox from certain brands. I’m mainly looking for a dress because I find them easier to work with, but I have found some cute tops/bottoms.

November Book List

4 November 2015

This is a couple days late but I have been suffering since Halloween and could barely lift my head let alone type out a whole blog post.

So October has come and gone and I managed to read four books! *fist pump* I'm not sure how this happened, but I suspect it's due to the fact that I just seem to get through real books rather than the ones on the Kindle. I did however read a book on the Kindle because after I finished my last book, I remembered that I had purchased The Cuckoo's Calling when it was like 99p so I went off to read that before ordering some more books.

Happy Halloween!

31 October 2015


My ASOS saved items

25 October 2015

ASOS is my favourite place to shop online and even though I know I need to branch away and shop on other stores I can't help but still add things to my save for later basket. With pay day being a couple of days away I thought I would show some of the things I plan to pick up!



Book Review: Me Before You

20 October 2015

There's one thing I haven't done in nearly a year and half and this is write a book review. To be honest I made a conscious decision to stop doing them because they take a long time to execute. I think with book reviews you really need to structure your content well and it's just not something I'm great at. I also don't read that many books that make me think 'wow, I really want to write a review on that.'

I did however read Me Before You this month and I just loved it so much. I thought it was beautifully written and I could really relate to Will, although I still have all my limbs functioning it was Will's thoughts about life and his choice to die that I felt I really could relate to. So for that reason I thought I would write a semi review, whilst talking about why I personally found that I had to write something about this book. I want to see if I can bring to light some parallels between his story and my own battle with mental illness and suicide/assisted suicide. Warning: This does contain spoilers. 

Title: Me Before You
Author: Jojo Moyes
Genre: Fiction, Romance,
Length: 481 pages
Publisher: Michael Joseph (UK)
Publish Date: January 5th 2012
Format: Paperback

What's it about?
Lou Clark knows lots of things. She knows how many footsteps there are between the bus stop and home. She knows she likes working in The Buttered Bun tea shop and she knows she might not love her boyfriend Patrick. What Lou doesn’t know is she’s about to lose her job or that knowing what’s coming is what keeps her sane. Will Traynor knows his motorcycle accident took away his desire to live. He knows everything feels very small and rather joyless now and he knows exactly how he’s going to put a stop to that. What Will doesn’t know is that Lou is about to burst into his world in a riot of colour. And neither of them knows they’re going to change the other for all time.
from Jojo Moyes' website

Ole Henriksen - 3 Little Wonders Kit Review

12 October 2015


5 recipes I've tried and loved

7 October 2015


October Book List

4 October 2015

This month I read two very different books and rekindled my love for reading. Ghana Must Go by Taiye Selasi was a great read, she's an author that creates real lives right in front of you. All of these chaaracters felt so real, like people you would actually come across in life. The book is about the split of a family after their father leaves, and in the book it brings up an interesting point of black men and their families, it is not in anyway judgmental though. This book was a treat to read and I loved weaving through the pages of this one. I started Shoot the Damn Dog by Sally Brampton and loved it so so much. She's a wonderful writer and I don't think I've ever read a more acute description of what depression is like. I love the way she writes and her story into depression and into recovery was very interesting. I'm still in the process of reading How You Can Talk to Anyone in Every Situation but I am really enjoying it so far. 

So with that out of the way it's time to get on to this months books! This month I've decided to go for a varied genre in my book list. I picked up two books that were in my bookmarks and then one that had a lot of publicity early this year/last year. My amazon book list was looking pretty samey (all depression related), so I thought I would delve into other topics for October. It's that time of year when it gets cold and meh anyway, so what better way than to cheer yourself up with a book!



Headspace - Take 10 Review

30 September 2015



Let me start off by saying I have some pretty awesome friends and one of my friends pointed me in the direction of Headspace after I was talking about how my anxiety was getting out of control on Twitter. I'd heard of Headspace when it first launched, but really didn't care about meditation and back then it was bloody expensive. But when she mentioned it to me, I was like you know what it wouldn't do any harm to try it again. I've tried meditation apps and some of them have been great, I've just never been consistent with it.

What's on the wishlist

27 September 2015

It's that time of the year again in the UK when it starts to get cold and all you want to do is go home and crawl under your duvet for warmth and peace. Because most of my days are like that, I decided to take a look at my wish list/to buy list and then decided to put them together for this post. Because y'know, I have time on my hands people, even if I have no money!
Items to buy


Thoughts on what you are not

23 September 2015



Happy Hump Day all! I thought today would be the perfect day to share this post with you all, as it might get you over the last of the working week quicker and feel better about yourself.


Duty Free Shopping

19 September 2015


Aside from the excitement of being on holiday, I was really excited for my holiday because of duty free shopping in MAC! I had my list ready and was hoping to get my hands on a couple of bits. However they didn't stock the lipstick shade or highlighter colour that I wanted (I was in the Luton airport, so go figure). I did however end up with foundation that I wanted which is MAC's Studio Fix Power Plus Foundation.

I wear a liquid foundation at all times. I've tried a cream one from Sleek which I enjoyed but my preference really is liquid foundations for their ease of application. I think it Jackie Aina who said she used this MAC foundation as a touch up when she was on the go because it's a powder foundation.


September Book List

9 September 2015

So I'm quite late with this one, but in my defense I was on holiday and this isn't really the kind of post you can write in advance. But it's here and I am feeling quite confident in my ability to finish my goodreads challange, as I manage to finish two books whilst on holiday, leaving me only 2 books behind. I managed to finish 5 books in August, which was great because in I managed just one, and I think my disappointment was quite evident in my August Book List.

Ibiza 2015

6 September 2015

So on Friday I came back from a week in Ibiza. I had so so much fun and definitely would visit the it sometime again. I didn't take a lot of pictures out there because I couldn't be bothered to lug my camera there and my phone camera quality is rubbish. I did however manage a couple of snaps of the sunset and some beaches so I thought I'd share those!

I'm so sad to have come back to a cold, gloomy England but it makes me more determined to get away to somewhere sunny this time next year!


Empties #4

20 August 2015

Ahhha another empties post. I always say these are my favourite posts to read and write because only then do you really get to talk about you feel about a product. So I've stashed away another products that I've used up and I decided it was time to get talking about and throw them out!


New purchases - Revlon, NYX & Wet n Wild.

16 August 2015

This month I have been shopping like crazy, honestly I've ordered so much off ASOS and other sites and sent loads of it back but I've still managed to spend a ridiculous amount but it's all for my holiday.


One thing I haven't picked up too much of (but I do plan to after my next payday) is make-up. I decided I wanted some more lip colours and so I went out and got just that, and then some.

A London Adventure: The Beach - Brent Cross

11 August 2015

I know, I know, it looks like I'm totally milking this London Adventure thing, but hey it would seem I'm not as much of a hermit as I make out to be - and I like to share!

A couple of weekends ago I ended up in one of London's man-made beaches out in Brent Cross. If you don't know Brent Cross is famous for it's shopping centre, for some reason they decided to change some of the empty space into a beach and funfair area. I had no idea this existed until my friend told me and we went there with her younger siblings. This is basically a pop up beach and fun fair aimed at the little ones. 



August Book List

1 August 2015

Ahh so another month has gone by, and I this has been my most shocking month as I only managed to read one book. Although really two, I finally finished Overcoming Low Self Esteem so yaay. I’m not even sure why I only started and finished one book this month, yes The Goldfinch is a long book, but I’ve read books like that in a shorter amount of time. I have been out and about this month, so I guess I just have to put it down to that. I enjoyed The Goldfinch, it was well written and a great story that spans out across many years. I do however think, that had it not been so heavily publicised I never would have picked it up, but I am glad I did. You can see what a story like that takes time to write and it was just really refreshing for me to read.

I only just started Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock so I can’t comment about it, and I haven’t started my third book yet, so yup it's a very short and sweet summary for the month. This means for this month I’ve decided to pick up two books, I didn't read in July.  I have a holiday booked at the end of the month, so I may be able to squeeze in one more.


So my reads this month are the two books I didn’t managed to finish last month. I don’t have much to say about them as I said it all in my last month’s book list.

The Full Agenda

27 July 2015


So after posting The Incomplete Agenda and The Incomplete Agenda – Review, I am now back with my final six goals thus I present The Full Agenda. I’m still working on (I worked out this morning) and learning from the first set of goals, but I think it’s time for a new set just so things don’t stay stagnant in my life. I’ve been thinking about these since the end of June and as I’m starting my new job tomorrow, I thought now would be the perfect time to post these goals up.

A Birmingham Adventure: My Brother's Graduation

23 July 2015

So two weeks ago my wonderful, yet more than anything annoying, sibling graduated from the University of Birmingham. Yep we both decided to study in the city of Birmingham, except you know he went to the better uni. We actually had one year where we lived in the city together (different flats obviously) so we did see each other often. So after 4 years of what he would call hard work, he finally graduated and I took the day off, work up earlier than I even do for work (not that it made a difference, we still got there by the skin of our teeth) and went to see him graduate!

It was a great ceremony and the hall was beautiful. The hall actually belongs to the University of Birmingham, and with them being a rival to my uni (I jest) I did feel a little triumphant sitting there being an Aston Alumni. Anyway I do love graduations, I find they are a bit like airports, just full of genuine emotion. So many proud parents, cheers, and tears! I snapped some pictures, but truth be told I didn't actually get any good ones of my brother or anything else really, but I thought the hall was so pretty that I just had to share!


A London Adventure: New Look Wireless 2015 + Gender Pacific

20 July 2015

I thought I'd continue with the London "Adventure" series because I have gone to two London based events in the past two weeks. I booked to go to Wireless back in January/February and I could not believe how quickly it came around! So yep two weeks ago I headed there with some friends, and although we were late so I ended up missing Fuse :(  I did get to see Duke Dumont and had a really good time! I'm not the biggest Drake fan, so not gonna lie I did head to the back half way through the set as I was tired of being pushed. Aside from that it was so good and such a lovely summer day. I didn't get that many pictures though, I just ended up having too much fun.


The Incomplete Agenda - Review

16 July 2015



Back in January I posted The Incomplete Agenda, which includes six goals I set myself for the next six months. After six months I said I'd review them to see how I got on, I haven't looked at these in  a while although I've remembered them all, so it'll be interesting to see what I wrote and how far I've come in terms of progression for the goals.

These were the goals that I set myself:
1. Talk kindly to myself
 2. Put make-up on at least 2 times a week
3. Exercise in the morning at least once a week
4. Turn my laptop off at 10pm every day
 5. See a dermatologist and get a skin treatment
6. Save 12% of my income every month

A London Adventure: Borough Market + Patty & Bun

10 July 2015

So I've decided I need to see more of London and I decided to make Borough Market my first stop. I also made time to check out a burger place that's been on my 'to-eat' list for a while.

I don't have that many pictures I'm afraid! I didn't realise that Borough Market was only a food market, so once I did I decided not to snap as many photos. I did end up getting two bits to take away with me though -a spelt and cheese bun and a cheesecake brownie, both were absolutely delicious!


 We ordered some smoothies from here - I had the Pineapple, Apple & Mint one which was so refreshing. It makes me want to add mint to my smoothies now. My friend had the Acai one which includes Apple, Kiwi, Acai Berry and Banana.



 This wall was so lovely, but so hard to get a picture of because people kept walking past! It gave me all sorts of feels to read what people wanted to do before they died.

Next was Patty and Bun . I'm a burger gal through and through (and it shows). So Patty and Bun definitely had to be on my list.



I ordered the ‘ARI GOLD’ Cheeseburger which is/contains: Beef patty, Cheese, Lettuce, Tomato, Pickled onions, Ketchup, Smokey P&B mayo, Brioche. I also ordered the Chips with the Roast Chicken Mayo & Chicken Skin Salt and the Coleslaw.

My thoughts? It was good. I wouldn't go running back though. But I would go back to try some of the other burgers. The burger was juicy and the bun was soft. As you can see from the picture it's not the most perfect looking burger(which means it is meant to be perfect tasting IMO), everything is overflowing and just looks like juicy burger heaven. It was nice, but it just lacked any flavour. I also ordered the coleslaw which I thought was okay but nothing special. The chips were yummy though, although I did not enjoy the salt thing, I'm not a huge fan of salt so that was really a silly thing for me to order! I defintely do indeed to go back and try the chicken burger.

I still have a couple more burger places to check out, but could do with a couple more recommendations. What's the best burger place in London?



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Boots Haul

7 July 2015

 I know, I know - another haul?! But this is actually a recent haul as opposed to a bunch of stuff from last month!


I ran out of a lot of things in June, so for me it was about stocking up. Then I spotted some offers on the website and I just couldn't resist getting my hands on some more bits and pieces.

July Book List.

4 July 2015

Another month, another book list. So it has come to be expected that I always be one book behind. The book that has been left behind is Eats shoots and leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation. I did start to read it but truth be told, my mind was just not in a learning state when I picked it up.

I loved Eat. Nourish. Glow. it wasn't anything groundbreaking, although I did find the information about gluten interesting as I didn't really know why there was this sudden gluten free craze. The book just really made me remember how important wholesome food is and since then I've really been trying to incorporate more veg into my meals. If you want a light yet informative approach to healthy eating I would really recommend this book.  The next book I read was Brick Lane, this book was okay. It follows a female character from Bangladesh who moves to England, Brick Lane to be precise. There's a story but it's just not my kind of story. This book is one of those I can appreciate for the cultural theme that runs through it, but not much happens if I'm honest. It is interesting to see how the UK might be viewed from those who have just moved here. This book did make me want to see more of London though, so I definitely have to visit Brick Lane this summer (nope I've never been). The final book I read was Dare Me, I have mixed feelings about this book the suspense it created with what happened just wasn't enough for me, I didn't particularly care for what happened or the big reveal. I was mainly interested in the cheer leading and the almost warrior style approach the book displayed towards it. The darkness of the characters and I guess the darkness of teenage girls was also something that really interested me. This book had such a great theme of intensity running though it and it was very electrifying at times.

Superdrug Haul

29 June 2015


This post is long overdue because I actually purchased these bits about a month ago, but I'm still going to show it anyway because who doesn't bloody love seeing a make-up haul?!

A little update!

26 June 2015



Over the past couple of months, I've come to know my own strengths and I am so proud of myself. I've stood up for myself and I've sought help and just generally in everyday life I can feel myself becoming a lot stronger in all aspects of my life.

But the main reason I'm so proud of myself is that I've landed myself a new job! After all the turmoil I've gone through in my current job, I'm so proud of myself for persevering with my job search and landing this role. It's been a stressful two weeks. Last week I did the interview, along with other work they wanted me to submit and it was all last minute and stressful but just the next day I got confirmation that I'd got the job. 
Yesterday I got my contract and handed in my notice and I couldn't be happier. I won't go into details but let's just hope I'm going to a better environment. This week has been stressful simply because of the sheer amount I've had to do for a last minute deadline. I've been commended on it and truth be told I am so proud of myself as well. I'm suprise I didn't crumble or snap at anyone, in work and in my personal life. Now that these two weeks are over , I'm back to being less stressed but it has just  made me look back and review a couple of things. My mental health has been relatively stable over this time, so I'm even more proud of myself.

I've had so much help from people in the troubles I've faced, so I'm never going to be there singing that whole "I did everything by myself" in that bitter way. But I did transform into the person I always knew I could be to get through these past two weeks and these past couple of months.  That's me that's done that, I've had support along the way, but I still had to be the person to do it.

So that's just a my newest update, I don't want to sound like I'm bragging haha. I'm now looking to the future and I can't wait to put some of these things behind me. I have so much to look forward to in the next couple of months, I'm going to Wireless, my brothers graduation and I'm going to Ibiza! So very exciting stuff.

People are like tea bags - you never know how strong they are until you put them in hot water.

Go and conquer people and know that you are strong enough, and just enough period. 

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IKEA MALM drawers in white + Ikea Haul

18 June 2015

So ever since I got my new bed, wardrobe and dressing table last year, I’ve been itching to get the final bits I needed for my room. My room is a good size, but the one thing I felt I lacked was storage. For someone who basically wears the same clothes day in day out, I have A LOT of clothes and it was getting so annoying to keep my room clean because I just had nowhere to put my clothes. I also didn’t have much storage in terms for any other stuff I had in my room. Back in January I got myself a bookcase and threw out my table, I assembled it together and was super happy to get some of my books on there and use some of the space for storage. But something was still missing.

I decided a chest of drawers was the next step. It would give me more storage space for my bits and bobs and store my clothes. I ordered this from Wilko (never order from them, they gave me the biggest headache when I wanted to return it) but when it came it was too small. I really wanted to buy something I could afford but also something I didn’t have to assemble myself. But after seeing the size of that, and the prices of assembled furniture I decided I had to buy one to assemble myself. I knew that loads of people have the MALM drawers so I knew what they looked like and that they were a good size. I ended up going to Ikea with a friend one Friday and purchased the MALM 4 chest of drawers in white.


I was also dying to get my hands on the mini cacti pots that Ikea do, I think I found out about this through Linamar. I drove my friend crazy talking about it haha but I finally found it at the end of my trip. I don't even know why I wanted them so badly because I'm not a huge plant lover, but they have definitely made me very happy! I also fell in love in the candle isle; my friend was like “I’ve never seen you so happy.” I basically went mad picking up loads of candles and then remembered I’m not made of money and I just wanted to pick up the necessities. So I settled on these three and they just smell like chocolate and caramel and just so nice. I don't know what the actual scents are, as I can't find the translation for the title for some reason. I picked up the tea light holder but I actually wanted to put my rings in it. I did empty it out and put a tea inside and it was beautiful so I’ll have to pick another one up for that. I also got some organisers to go inside the top drawer which I’m really happy about, but I totally need more for my dressing table! 

Cacti pots - £4.50


Tealight holder - £2.25

I’m super happy with this the drawers and my mini purchases. I also purchased a garlic crusher and I’m totally in love with that too. Having the chest of drawers also means an actual place to photograph the products that I buy and I like the current set up I have going on with the cacti and candles. I also got to try the meatballs from Ikea and I concur with everyone else – they are yummy! 

I pretty much think my room is complete in terms of storage. I’ll probably pick up a bedside table at some point but I am super happy with what I have at the moment. For ages I didn’t want to buy anything because I thought I’d be moving out, but as it looks like that won’t be happening for a while I thought I’d make my stay much more comfortable. 

Have you picked up any furniture bits recently? Or even better any homeware?

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Walk this way

10 June 2015

For someone who has constant issues with her feet, I never really buy shoes or invest in a good pair. However in the last month I have purchased two bits of footwear. A pair of heels and some loafers. All shocking for me, because ankle boots are my footwear of choice even in the summer you’ll find me wearing ankle boots. I loathe wearing flats if I’m honest, I have really flat feet and a terrible left ankle and flat shoes offer no support. They also make my feet look huge. I own a couple of sandals for those really hot days and short walks. I thought I’d snap up these shoes as I think they are both stunners in their own right and might inspire you to get yourself a pair.


ASOS MIRIAM Woven Leather Loafers in Black - £36 (can't link as they no longer sell them sadly)

 The first are these ASOS Loafers. I’m pretty sure I saw Hannah for Cocobeautea wearing these, but I can’t be sure. I had these sitting in my ‘save for later’ bag for ages. They are not the type of shoes I go for so I really did um and ah about them, but in the end I was popped it in my bag when I was buying some other things. When I got it I still ummed and ahhed, I really liked it but I just wasn’t sure if it was ‘me.’ I sought opinions from a girl at work and my friend and in the end I kept it and I’m glad I did. I love just throwing it on with skinny jeans to smarten up an outfit, or just make it look like I’ve put some effort in. They are smart and casual at the same time. I ordered these in a size 7 so I could put my insole in by they are super tight with them in, so I’ve been working on stretching it out. But I’m in loooove with these and they have a good amount of support at the sides and the soles. 




Next is a pair of heels! I haven’t purchased a pair of heels in over 2 years. I just don’t go anywhere that requires them and my ankle is really bad that I can’t wear them unless they are block heels. For my birthday I wanted a whole new outfit. These I put these heels in my bag and didn’t think much of it, however when they arrived I was like these are seriously nice! Even my mum loved them and she really wanted a pair, so guess what she’s getting as part of her present? I love that gold detail on these and the fact that it’s a block heel means I am fully supported when I walk in it. I love that it’s black too because it goes with a lot things. I’m definitely happy with this purchase and I do just want to sleep with these babies next to me every night, but that would actually be kinda gross.

I think I'm all satisfied now for shoes. I probably will get myself another pair of black boots (I can't help it) but other than that I'm pretty satisfied. What shoes have you purchased and loved recently?

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Rimmel Eyeliners & Maybelline Dream Touch Blush in Berry

6 June 2015

Along with my skincare purchases from Feel Unique, I also picked up a couple of make-up bits. So I thought I’d show you them and tell you what I thought.


Now that we’re in that spring/summer season I wanted to change up my eyeliner game. It's summer and I just wanted to gravitate towards colour more. I always use black eyeliner in my waterline and after seeing Lily’s make-up menu with blue eyeliner I really wanted to just try something different. Also after seeing that I also saw my friend wear purple eyeliner and I thought “yeah, I’m gonna pick myself up some different coloured eyeliner.” It was also coincidental that a week after wearing the products, I read a piece in the Stylist magazine about being a bit more daring with your make-up and using different coloured eyeliners!

So whilst buying my skincare I spotted an offer from Rimmel on eyeliners. My favourite eyeliner that I use daily from Rimmel, so I thought I would stick with the same brand. So I ended up buying as the offer was 3 for 2. Although they are all from Rimmel they are from different lines within the brand.


The first one is this green eyeliner. In the swatch it shows up quite vividly but when I put it in my waterline it isn’t so vivid on me. Obviously on lighter skin tones this would show up a lot more. On myself it is noticeable but it’s not as bright as I wanted it to be. I also think that it fades away far too easily, I was a bit surprised considering my black one doesn’t budge all day. This has creamy formula though and glides on to my waterline smoothly. I do wish it had a bit more punch to the colour but I do love using this to switch up my make-up look. Out of the three I purchased, this is my least favourite just because it doesn't show up so well on me.

I find that this blue one just doesn’t pack enough punch for me. It does have a really good formula as it glides on easily and doesn’t tug at my skin but I really have to apply and apply to get it near the colour I want. I think perhaps for my skin it isn’t the right shade of blue, but it definitely is easy to work with.  I have the same complaint as the rest; the pigmentation just isn’t great enough to produce the same colour that is in product, on my waterline.

This is my favourite one to use as I think the purple really suits me and when I use it, I feel like my whole make-up application just looks softer when I wear this. I think this is the one colour I’m going to purchase from another brand; I’d like something that has a bit more vibrancy to it so that it can really stand out when I wear it. But for work this is actually perfect, it’s soft and gentle enough to wear to work but still look a bit bold and daring.


I’ve been wanting a cream blush for aaaaaages so I looked around briefly for something within my budget and decided to get this. Oh man I wish I had not. This has shimmer in it which I did not know, so I was not happy about that. But I’ve tried this on my skin with foundation on and without and I find it really hard to get a colour payoff unless I’m applying loads. Quite frankly I do not want to be applying loads of this product on my face, it just feels like way too much. It’s very sheer which I guess can be great for some skin tones, but on darker skin tones like mine it just does not sit well. I also had that it has shimmer, so yeah not a product I will be using any time soon.

So that is my mini make-up haul. I’m really glad I tried these different coloured eyeliners and I’ll definitely be going in store to try some higher end brands to find some with a high colour pay off. Are they are brands that you would recommend?

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June Book List

3 June 2015

Ahh, so guess who is behind on their Goodreads reading challenge? I’ve been super busy in May, it was also my birthday and I had a couple of days off work so I’ve just been up to all sorts. I only managed to finish two books. 

I loved The Year of the Rat, it was a really nice read and it really touched on some good themes. It wasn’t anything I could relate to as it was about a 15 year old girl and her mum dying but I thought it was very well written and I really found myself sympathising with Rose. The other book that I read was Last Man in Tower. I took me FOREVER to get through this, it was so so slow to begin with and I was like what on earth is going on. Once I got into it the book was okay, there’s nothing wrong with this book, it’s well written and focuses on a lot of themes such as community, money and greed. It’s set in India so you get to find out a lot about gentrification in this part of the world. As I mentioned in my May book list, I picked this up because I enjoyed the authors other book a lot. I wouldn’t have picked this up otherwise, but it was an okay read and highlighted how a community can be torn apart in the face of a “better life.” 

I started reading Pilgrim State last week but didn’t manage to finish it before the end of May. I’m currently reading it now and I’m really enjoying it. It was a tad bit confusing in the beginning, but now that I’m in to it I really like it. I’m tagging it on to this month's reading list because I’ll finish it this month, obviously.

So on to this month. I placed another Amazon order and selected some books that I’ve wanted to read for ages.



Eat. Nourish. Glow. by Amelia Freer - I’m sure you’ve heard about this book everywhere. I actually remember hearing about it at the beginning of the year when Hachette ran some sort of 30 day marketing campaign, I even downloaded the free recipe that came with it. Next thing I know every blogger was talking about it. It wasn’t until I saw what the book was actually like in Mary from anothergirlslife vlog, that I decided I wanted it. It has quotes! Health quotes! I love quotes. I thought it was just another recipe book like Deliciously Ella, but this actually has information and quotes to help promote a healthy lifestyle. I’ve already started reading this and I’m enjoying it SO much. It’s so helpful and not at all patronising.

Brick Lane by Monica Ali - This is a recent find for me. I found out about it from an article in on the Stylist website. It was to do with books set in London. I don’t actually think I’ve ever been to Brick Lane (I know, I know) but I read the blurb and thought that this actually sounded really interesting. I love books to do with young people moving to the UK, it’s so interesting to see how they possibly see things and just what London or the UK is like through their eyes. I loved Pigeon English, a book that has a similar setting to this.

Dare Me by Megan Abbott - I think I found out about this book from one of the pages in the Stylist magazine. Truth be told I can’t remember why I wanted to read it, but it’s young adult and crime fiction story and I am partial to both of those genres so hopefully I enjoy it.

Eats shoots and leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss - This book is going to be more of something I dip in and out of. I write a lot of content on a daily basis and I obviously write for my blog, but truth be told my grammar and use of punctuation can be awful. So I’ve decided to address this. I’ve actually heard a lot about this book and I think the title and the blurb is so witty. I like that this book is supposed to go into why things are the way they are, as I know that how I remember something, when I know why it’s being done.

So that’s my book list for this month. I only have one day booked off this month, so hopefully I’ll be able to get stuck into my reading list this month. 

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2 things I've learned this month.

30 May 2015


I haven't done one of these in months. That's not because I haven't been learning but because I forgot. But I wanted to bring this little series back, so I thought what better month to ressurrect it in, than the month I turned 24?

1. Fight your battles – Without going in to too much detail, I had a situation at work that required a lot of strength to fight against a really unfair case. It spanned out to about 3 weeks and half way through I was ready to give up. It was consuming so much of my energy and was getting me down. I think when you’re fighting a wrongdoing against you; you start off with all that energy to fight it because you know it's not right. Then it starts to drag on and when you’re in work daily, dealing with the people who put you through it, it kinda sucks and you kind of think "is this worth it?" "Shall I just give up?" I say remember why you started and don’t stand for injustice. Sometimes people will pick a fight with you because they don't expect you to stand up for yourself. Fight your battles. Although I felt like giving up, I thought “fuck it, I’ve come this far.” Lucky for me, I actually “won” in the end, but even if I didn’t I would have been glad to have fought the battle, if it meant standing up to bullies. I was super exhausted after, but I’m glad I can look back on that part of my life and know that I still fought even when I felt like giving up. It might be exhausting at times, but I've found that it's worth it. Standing up for yourself is an act of self love.

2. Say yes more often – I’m so used to saying ‘maybe’ or just ‘no’ to things. As much as I like trying new things, I’m not spontaneous and I feel like everything requires energy that I don’t have. Now, I haven’t gone around being a Yes, Man like Jim Carrey, but last week when my friend asked me if I wanted to join her in an obstacle run I said yes. Initially I didn’t, my head was like well when I’ve trained enough I’ll go and do one. Then I remembered what I’m like and thought “fuck it” say yes and then you will train. And now I’m doing the Colour Obstacle Rush on the 28th of June. And nope, I haven’t started training! But it has made me proud of myself that I've signed up because I've never done and run or obstacle course before. I'm also saying yes to a lot more things, that I wouldn't usually say no to, so hurrah.

What have you learned this month?

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Pull Down The Moon 2.1

27 May 2015



I’ve been blogging for years. Like seriously it’s ridiculous how much I like to share things and account for days in my life. Over the past year I’ve been toying with the idea of a blog domain. I convinced myself that there wasn’t much point as I wasn’t serious about blogging, so did I really need a real site? I also thought it would be super expensive, but 3 months ago I looked into it and I was surprised at how cheap it actually was for one year. I never actually got round to buying it but three days ago, whilst I had some downtime from babysitting my nephews, I purchased the name and got it set up. 

Previous my url has always read ‘pulldownthemoonarchie’ because ‘pulldownthemoon’ was taken. Now I finally get to have my full blog title in my address and hopefully that makes it less confusing about what the title of my blog actually is. 

So now I’m officially at www.pulldownthemoon.co.uk I’m glad to have another change to the blog. I was so happy when I changed my layout, but I'm even happier about this.  Although I can’t promise weekly content, I am taking blogging a little bit more seriously now. 

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Skincare Shakeup

24 May 2015



Over the past 6 months I’ve been working on choosing the best products for my skin, rather than going along with the hype. Quite frankly my budget cannot cater for the hype anyway. There are two products I’ve introduced into my routine that have completely changed the way I feel about my skin.


The first is La Roche Posay’s Serozinc. Yes this is a product that has been hyped up, so I fail on that front. But the only reason I’m talking about it, is because it works! When Escentual first delivered the news that we could finally buy it in the UK, I thought at under £9 I was willing to giving it a try. I mentioned here that I broke out using this and the FAB pads, but neither product has made me break out after further use. That was probably a hormonal breakout as neither product made me breakout again. Anyway I love this product, I feel that the one thing I always neglected in my routine was hydration, and now I realise that my skin is seriously dehydrated. This just added the perfect amount of hydration to my face, especially because I do use acids on my face. I really feel that it’s done a good job in preventing breakouts, and soothing any that do occur. It’s only water and zinc, but it’s just a great product. It’s a great toner and I’ve already repurchased it! I was without it for 3 weeks and noticed a serious change in my skin, it looked dull and lacklustre.



My next skincare saviour is Vichy's Normaderm Deep Cleansing Purifying Gel. I used a product from Vichy years ago and loved it (I can’t remember the name) and I know there are a lot of products from them that bloggers favour. I was hunting around for a good cleanser, I didn’t want to spend shit loads because quiet frankly I’m not spending £30+ on something that’s on my face for like 10seconds. I also wanted something targeted to my skin type. Without any research I just purchased this because of the good reviews I’ve heard about Vichy products and my own experience with that one product. This thing is perfect for me. At first I avoided using it every day, because I thought it would really dry my skin out and I was also using another cleanser at the time. After my other cleanser ran out, I decided to use this every day. It didn’t dry out my skin because I was using the above toner and oils every three days. This has Salicylic Acid and Glycolic Acid in it so it is good for pores, although you are washing it off your face so you’re not getting the full benefits. Nevertheless it’s a good cleanser for oily skin and I personally think it’s really helped to balance out my skin and the amount of oil it produces. I’ve already ordered another one as a back-up! 

So those are the two products I am crediting with changing my skin. I really felt the loss of Serozinc, and it’s only as am typing it that it’s been delivered to me. I cannot wait to get home and use it. I really want to make sure I source products that help my skin and that are affordable for myself. I’m happy to spend the amount on both of those products, as I feel they are worth the price tag. 

I’ve recently purchased the Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser & Olay Regenerist Micro Sculpting Serum, so I’ll let you know if these will make it into my skin care routine permanently. 

What product has changed your skincare routine for the better? 

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