HUGE Shop Small UK Guide – Christmas 2020

Can you believe there is only 18 days until Christmas? Have you finished your Christmas shopping yet? I’m awful this year and I’m not done. I usually have all my gifts bought by now, but alas I still have my parents to buy for.

This year I wanted to do a gift guide, but not my usual one aimed at the geeks, otaku and kawaii fans, beauty, fashion etc etc. I wanted to instead focus on small companies/independent artists/businesses who need our support more than ever due to COVID and it’s affects from lockdowns here in the UK.

First of all, I’m only speaking about the UK as with a Twitter poll a couple of weeks ago, it’s what you as the readers voted for. However at the end of the post I will mention who you can shop small with all over the world too.

I’m going to add all sorts of categories here, not just geek, kawaii, otaku related. I’ll be talking about beauty, home, geek, Japan related, food and more! I want to try and talk about as much as I can, so when you need ideas for Christmas gifts you have lots of choice. I will also mention the last date to order for Christmas too if you’re in the UK. Please bear in mind with the COVID situation and Christmas on the horizon, Royal Main is struggling a little, so if you want to order, order as soon as possible!

Let’s get started! I really hope you guys enjoy this post. 🙂

Image taken from GIPHY

Geeky/Kawaii

Image taken from Jennifairy Illustration

Jennifairy Illustration – Creating cuties to make you smile. Enamel pins, stickers and keychains, all inspired by cute animals, video game characters and more.

Last date to order for Christmas – 14th December. However, if order after this date it could still get there but that can’t be promised. If you want to guarantee item(s) to arrive for Christmas order as soon as possible.

Jennifairy Illustration is an independent artist/store I have spoken about on my blog since 2017 and I knew they were one of the first places I wanted to speak about today! Jennifairy has a range of products – enamel pins, stickers and keychains. Her style is incredibly cute and kawaii and the designs make me smile whenever I see them, both on her store and in my home. If you know someone who loves cute animals and certain characters from popular video games, then they will love to open a cute design from Jennifairy. Christmas wise you can pick up some gingerbread friends or even a Christmas Pikachu, with a Santa’s hat and a cup of coffee. There are loads of different designs to choose from, there is something for everyone.

Image taken from Littlest Spook Shop

Littlest Spook Shop – We put the Oo in spooky! Cute spooky ghost prints, mugs and other items to choose from!

Last date to order for Christmas – Currently Littlest Spook Shop is looking to close 9th December.

Halloween isn’t just once a year with Littlest Spook Shop. I discovered them around Halloween this year and I love their spooky ghost designs. They’re so damn cute and spoopy and I’m down for that. I regret not ordering some of their Christmas cards this year to be honest, but there’s always next year. If you know someone who celebrates Halloween all year around then a print (or two!) from Littlest Spook Shop may just be for them! Not only do they sell prints but they also sell mugs, tote bags, enamel pins and patches so that spooky friend or family member can show off their love of ghosts and all things spooky all year around! The Always Cosy Club spooky print shouts out to me so much. During the colder months I’m like that little ghosty.

Image taken from FoxLeap

FoxLeap – Kawaii designs inspired by Disney and Japanese characters from films and video games.

Last date to order for Christmas – Not known at time of writing post.

FoxLeap is an independent artist/store I love buying enamel pins from. They’re adorable and there is always something in the store I want to pick up, including the Jiji enamel pin which I may need to order myself as a treat for writing this post. 😛 There is something for everyone when it comes down to FoxLeap including designs inspired by Disney (especially The Lion King series!), Pokemon, Studio Ghibli, Wolf’s Rain, Okami and more. Anyone who loves enamel pins will really love to receive a FoxLeap design and honestly they probably already know of FoxLeap’s existence. Not only do they make and sell enamel pins but they also sell prints, t-shirts, stickers, enamel pin flags, tote bags and more so there is plenty to choose from!

Image taken from NaomiLordArt

NaomiLordArt – A freelance artist who creates adorable prints inspired by animals, magical creatures, witches, Goddesses, Critical Role and more!

Last date to order for Christmas – Orders will be shipped until the shop closes for Christmas on 20th December. If you want to guarantee item(s) to arrive for Christmas order as soon as possible.

Guys you know me I love kawaii animals, especially foxes and that is something NaomiLordArt does so bloody well! I mean, look at them cute seasonal fox designs! I feel anyone of any age will love a little stocking filler that involves one of the many designs that NaomiLordArt has on offer. Plus if you and your friends are fans of Critical Role, she’s drawn all of the gang and put it onto a print, which you can find here. I feel NaomiLordArt would be perfect as items to gift children, teenagers and anyone who loves prints and stickers. I’ve gifted my best friend goodies from there before that were surrounding Star Wars and Harry Potter. There are also RPG class animal stickers and prints too, so if you play in a D&D group and are taking part in a D&D themed Secret Santa, these would make perfect gifts alongside some dice.

Image taken from GIPHY

Japanese Snacks

Image taken from Something Japanese

Something Japanese – UK based online shop that sells the best things from Japan! Chocolate, Candy, Collectables, Otaku Goodies and much much more.

Last date to order for Christmas – December 21st. If you want to guarantee item(s) to arrive for Christmas order as soon as possible.

Something Japanese is a store I have bought from for about five years now and they are really good! I especially love to pick up the Japanese snack boxes from them as they’re always an amazing price for how many Japanese sweets and treats you get. I ordered the Halloween one and it was amazing and I’ve ordered the Christmas Japanese Candy Box too. This might make for an amazing gift to someone who loves Japanese sweets and treats and who may also miss Japan or want to visit Japan. COVID has prevented travelling to Japan for a lot of people and I know a lot of my friends who missed out on their trips this year. This would make for a nice treat to open Christmas Day. Something Japanese does sell other items too and separate sweet treats so make sure to check that out too.

Image taken from Tofu Cute

Tofu Cute – A UK kawaii shop that sells all sorts of cute and unique Japanese snacks, plushies, accessories, stationery and other goodies.

Last date to order for Christmas – Not known at time of writing post.

Tofu Cute is a store me and my boyfriend often order our Japanese sweets from as they’re great prices and they always seem to have the goods that Japan get at the same time. Not only do they stock sweets but also drinks as well! We’ve bought many bottles of ramune and Pokemon fizzy drinks from Tofu Cute and they’ve all been enjoyed! Think my favourite thing I’ve ever bought from Tofu Cute are the Melty Kiss chocolates. They’re to die for and would make an amazing gift for someone’s stocking this Christmas. 🙂

Image taken from GIPHY

Home

Image taken from Cushty Co Twitter page

Cushty Co – Handmade home fragrance. Scented soy wax melts beautifully crafted with sprinkles of glitter and careful colouring. Vegan friendly.

Last date to order for Christmas – Monday 14th December – Store will close at 5pm. If you want to guarantee item(s) to arrive for Christmas order as soon as possible.

Cushty Co are my go to for wax melts and I’ve ended up buying so many this year! Their autumn/Halloween collection being my favourite to date. If you know someone who loves burning candles and wax tarts like me, Cushty Co are a great place to check out. They do LOADS of different scent varieties and three different sizes of wax so the choices are huge. They currently have their Christmas/winter scents in stock and I have all of them! They’re absolutely amazing and if you know someone who loves Christmas and wishes it could be everyday, then some of the Christmas/winter scents will be right up their street. Not only do Cushty Co sell wax tarts, but they also sell room sprays too, which I’m yet to try. If you know someone who loves Lush then they’ll love Unicorn Dreams which smells exactly like Snow Fairy and Nightfall which smells exactly like Twlight.

Image taken from Bubble Baskets UK/Books Baths and Beauty

Bubble Baskets UK/Books Baths and Beauty – Lovingly Custom made 3D printed Bubble Baskets.

Last date to order for Christmas – 17th December if ordering a pink, black or ombré bubble basket. 14th December if ordering a custom colour. If you want to guarantee item(s) to arrive for Christmas order as soon as possible.

I recently decided to buy myself a bubble basket from Books Baths and Beauty as I’ve wanted one for over a year now and as my bathroom was redone in the summer, I’ve finally been indulging in bath products and having bath cocktails more. It arrived over the weekend I’ve used it a few times since. It’s really good and if you’re like me and use bubble bars, shower gels and more to create bubbles, then this is for you! They’re made with a 3D printer and are sturdy and amazing! 😀 If you know someone who loves taking baths and using the same products as I do, this will be perfect for helping them create lots of bubbles! Teenagers will love this, as well as mermaids.

Image taken from GIPHY

Beauty

Image taken from The Bath Bae

The Bath Bae  –  Handmade bath treats to make you glow inside and out. Vegan and cruelty free!

Last date to order for Christmas – Monday 21 December at 3pm Royal Mail Tracked 48 or Tuesday 22 December at 3pm Royal Mail Tracked 24. If you want to guarantee item(s) to arrive for Christmas order as soon as possible.

I recently made my first order with The Bath Bae and honestly – I have zero regrets. They focus on bath bomb products in various different varieties and scents so there is plenty to choose from! So far I’ve only tried the bath cubes and they are amazing, perfect for anyone of any age. You can pick up bath sparkle, sparkle rocks, bath cubes and bath soak. These would make great stocking fillers for teenagers and anyone who loves a good soak in the bath. My favourite scent from them so far is Oh So Slushie, which reminds me of Tango Ice Blast slushies from the cinema.

Image taken from Happy Melon

Happy Melon – Handmade beauty products made in small batches and packed with cuteness, colour and yummy fragrance. Cruelty free!

Last date to order for Christmas – Restock this Sunday (13/12/2020) and as items sell out quickly, there isn’t really a last date to order for Christmas.

Happy Melon is a brand I discovered this year and bought from during their last restock. If you know someone who loves their beauty and bath products and for them to be as colourful as possible, Happy Melon is a good indie brand for this! They have a wide variety of products including bubble bath, lip sugar, perfume oil, bath soak (snuggle soak), sugar scrub and more! One of the bubble baths I own is a Lush Snow Fairy dupe (Sabrina bubble bath) and it’s one of my favourite products to use after a long day. Plus a little goes a long way and this stuff lasts AGES! One of the products I am excited to try soon is the Pop Kei Snuggle Soak, which smells just like Tango Ice Blast slushies! It would work so well with the slushie bath cubes from The Bath Bae. Again this is a great brand for teenagers due to how colourful everything is and maybe even children too due to how colourful and sparkly the bubble baths are.

Image taken from Hex Bomb

Hex Bomb – Divine handmade gothic beauty products for dark sweets hearts. Creator of the first black bath bomb! Cruelty free and vegan!

Last date to order for Christmas – 21st December. If you want to guarantee item(s) to arrive for Christmas order as soon as possible.

Hex Bomb is a brand I have always wanted to try since the Black As Your Soul bath bomb came out. I’m yet to try it still and plan to buy it in the near future! I’ve mentioned some colourful and kawaii beauty indie brands so far, so I wanted to through a gothic, dark brand in there for good measure. I love me a dark bath, it reflects who I am inside and this brand would be perfect for any goth friend or relative out there! Not only do they make bath bombs but Hex Bomb also sell shower gel, soap, scrub, lip balm, perfume oil AND even wax melts for your home. If you aren’t sure what to buy that gothic beauty in your life (because Hex Bomb have a lot of variety!) you could always pick up one of their gift boxes which contains a variety of products. If you want to see a review (or two) of Hex Bomb make sure to go and check out my great blogger friend Raiin Monkey’s blog posts here.

Image taken from GIPHY

Honourable Mentions

Geek/Kawaii – Quirkory – Due to being based in Italy, they didn’t qualify for this shop small post. However, I couldn’t not mention them! They sell enamel pins, stickers and prints inspired by Japanese video games and cute animals.

Geek/Kawaii – Claire Likes To Doodle – The reason I didn’t mention my friend Claire and her store is because she got a post allllll to herself recently! Which I am going to link here. 🙂

Geek/Kawaii – 1 In 100/One In Hundred – A local Brummy like myself, Alex over at 1 In 100 has some amazing designs on her store and you can buy items from clothing, badges, keyrings, stickers, prints, stationary and more. I keep meaning to pick up some of her Japan inspired prints. Check them out here and here.

Geek/Kawaii – Chibi Shibby – May have bought a Christmas present from one of my favourite artists… 😉 Shibby recently reopened her store and has filled it was gorgeous kawaii goodies! There’s also some Christmas related goods in there too.

Geek/Kawaii – Lunaticgumis – Due to being based in Gran Canaria, they didn’t quality for this shop small post. However, I am planning to write about them on my blog very very soon! 😀 They sell stickers as well as amigurumis (Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small, stuffed yarn creatures). They stock Bee and Puppycat designs WHICH I LOVE!

Geek/Kawaii – Taiyakiblue – This store is joint owned by tattooists senseoftheterrific and tubbybeartattoo. They stock clothing, prints and even some keyrings and pins made out of resin. They’re both inspired by geeky/kawaii themes such as D&D, Studio Ghibli, Dragonball Z, Moomins, Adventure Time and more. I’ve purchased a Christmas present from them and plan to buy prints in the future! I love their style so much.

Bath – Bath Bake Love – No restock until after Christmas where there will be lots of enchanted teasers for the New Year Wonderland and plenty of goodies in January!

AND THERE WE HAVE IT! My HUGE shop small Christmas shopping guide for the UK!

What do you guys think? I wanted to try and cover as much as I could and I like to think I’ve done that quite well. In the future I may pop up with some of these after Christmas, just as good shopping guides throughout the year for birthday’s and more!

Honestly guys, I hope you enjoyed this post today as much as I enjoyed writing it. I’m off work for the week and the first thing I knew I wanted to do was to write this post.

Are there any small shops in the UK that you feel I should know about? Make sure to let me know and I’ll take a look for next time!

Until next time, take care all and I hope you had a lovely weekend. 🙂

September Favourites ’20

Wow, did September fly by or what?! I can’t quite believe it’s October and I’m still saying and writing September down when referring to this month.

As I mentioned this time last month, September is my favourite month of the year, for autumn and it’s always the month I have associated with as a “fresh start”. This is down to starting education in September and preparing myself for that. I was one of those teenagers who started a new year of school with a “new year, new me!” approach… But never really changed much. xD

However, September 2020 for me has been… Shit. Due to lockdown I haven’t been able to do stuff I usually would in the run up to autumn, which sucks, but without saying too much, I’ve been grieving during September and I can only see October being the same. This is also why there wasn’t a blog post last week.

Aside from that September was just bland really. I had to “take a stand” and look after my mental health. I’d found being part of group chats and Discord chats to be too much for me and I’ve ended up muting them for the foreseeable future. That “new year, new me!” stance I’ve always had since the age of 13 appears to have been used this year for sure! xD

This months favourites are strange. I found that a lot of beauty related items I’ve loved have been holy grails for me, especially for my hand, which flared up with my dermatitis. SO, I hope the one product mentioned may help others out there who have dermatitis like myself, or eczema.

Image taken from The Latest Kate

Anyhoo, enough of me waffling and being depressing (ha! xD), on with the monthly favourites for September!

• Happy Place Cosmetics Wild Child Body Scrub.

I got this body scrub towards the end of July/start of August in my Happy Place Cosmetics monthly box. This is my favourite item that was in the box, but I was wary I wasn’t going to like the scent after reading the description on the website. It’s described as being a dupe of Lush’s 29 High Street scent. This is a definite dupe, but back in the day when I was a Lushie, 29 High Street wasn’t a scent I particularly liked. However, it’s really grown on me and actually reminds me of Christmas! It’s a warm foral, but fruity scent! Lush say that 29 High Street is said to be the scent of a Lush shop when you walk in. I think this has changed the past 8 years however…

Honestly though, the Happy Place Cosmetics body scrubs are AMAZING and by far the best I’ve ever used. They’re really scrubby, but they also foam up too depending on how much water you add. I don’t feel like I’ve had a body scrub work as well as these do. I use them once a week and they make my skin lovely and soft. At the time of writing this post (evening of 30/09/2020) there are some body scrubs available on the Happy Place Cosmetics website, so if you’re interested in them, go and check out the website.

• Lyonsleaf Calendula and Marshmallow Balm.

When I say this product has been a lifesaver, I really mean it. I’ve mentioned on and off on my blog how my eczema/dermatitis is really bad on my hand the past year and at one point over the past month it got so bad and uncomfortable. So much so, it was waking me up in the night due to how itchy it was. I decided to research what products I could buy and use on it after washing my hands and in between the ointment my doctor had prescribed me. Lyonsleaf came up and after doing a lot of reading and watching of reviews on YouTube, I decided to order myself a little tub. It’s honestly amazing stuff! It’s greasy in consistency but a little goes a long way. It doesn’t have a scent or taste when applied to the skin, but in the jar it does remind me of a Sunday dinner/gravy sort of smell, which is so odd! I really do recommend this though if you have really dry skin and need something to soothe it, especially if it’s just patches like what I have.

• Doll 10 Doll Skin Perfecting Treatment Powder.

This is something my mom bought me as a gift quite a while ago. I’ve only really started to use it during lockdown whenever I’m popping out for the day, or fancy wearing doing myself up as if I’m going out for the day. Lately I’ve been venturing out a little more, whether it’s going for a shop, getting my nails done or running errands out and about. This is a light translucent powder which goes on pretty straight forward. It’s been my go to really to remove any excess oil on my t-zone. I couldn’t say if it actually keeps the oil at bay all day but it works for me enough at the moment during “lockdown” and whilst I’m working from home. I’m never usually a fan of loose powders as I find they often don’t get picked by the brush (if that makes sense?) which can wind me up a little as I feel like I’m constantly trying to get an even coverage on my face. This being said, this powder is pretty good for that!

• Nivea Blueberry Blush Lip Butter.

I mentioned this a couple of months on my monthly favourites and I’m mentioning it again! This lip butter by Nivea is so lovely to use and as sad as it sounds, it’s a treat for me to use throughout the week during work. It’s buttery, creamy and a little goes a long way. It feels really nice and moisturising on the lips and it smells absolutely gorgeous! I love blueberries and especially love blueberry scented things so this is right up my street. I usually go to Vaseline when it comes to lip balms, but I’m really loving the Nivea lip butter lately, so this is definitely a product I’ll repurchase in the future. I highly recommend it is you want a good lip butter/cream. It’s not greasy or sticky, yet it lasts ages on the lips!

• Bath Bake Love White Cocoa Fluffy Whip Soap.

The final product I want to talk about for the beauty side of my monthly favourites is Bath Bake Love, an independent beauty brand I have fallen in love with during lockdown. I’d like to write a blog post about them in the future, but I don’t know when it’ll be. Anyway, this is the first and only fluffy whip soap I’ve tried by them and it smells of white chocolate/white hot chocolate. It’s divine and it isn’t just me who loves it too, my boyfriend has really taken to this and has been using is everyday to wash with in the mornings. It’s a thick creamy soap, it looks more like a buttercream than soap and it smells like it too. A little goes a long way and when used in a sponge or a shower puff it really foams up and leaves you with loads of lovely smelling lather/bubbles. This can also be used in the bath, which my boyfriend has done. Bath Bake Love has definitely become a must have for our shower and I cannot wait to try and own more of their products in the future. They currently have their Halloween range on their website, so make sure to go and check them out. 🙂

So now my beauty favourites are done, time to talk about the miscellaneous favourites of the month!

Gif taken from GIPHY

Favourite TV Show – The Boys.

First of all, sorry for the C word being used on the gif… Butcher is one of my favourite characters for the way he is, so I had to include that gif. 😛 We are already six episodes into season 2 of The Boys and so far I’m really enjoying it! There’s been loads happen since season 1 finished last year, which is always good. One of the episodes so far felt really slow and I know I wasn’t the only person saying this. Monday morning meetings are spent with my team discussion the episode of The Boys from the weekend and what we thought of it. We’ve all had the same feelings about it and so far we are all loving it! I really do look forward to spending Friday night or Saturday morning watching the latest episode with Dane. The Boys reminds me of Preacher, which ended last year, just after The Boys began. They’re both based off of comics of the same dark comedy, so they’re good in my books! I definitely recommend checking out The Boys and Preacher if you have Amazon Prime, as that’s where they’re hosted.

Favourite Movie – I’m Thinking of Ending Things.

Although we watched this film at the end of start of September it’s the only film I’ve really watched lately that I could think of adding to my monthly favourites this month. This is one that Dane had watched the trailer for, heard about online and really wanted to watch. We popped it on and I swear throughout we were constantly questioning what the fuck was going on. It’s a psychological drama about a young woman who is contemplating ending the six week relationship with her boyfriend as they drive to his parents house so she can meet them for the first time. It spirals from there, but I don’t really want to say much in case it reveals any spoilers but it’s based off of a novel and is directed by Charlie Kaufman the guy behind Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. If you have Netflix or are able to watch it another way I highly recommend it. 🙂

Image taken from GIPHY

Favourite Book – Oops…

Oops indeed. I didn’t read anything this month. I really need to just have an evening off of my phone, Nintendo Switch and laptop and just read! Sometimes though I just don’t feel like I have time. I’m always trying to make way for everything and reading takes a back burner. Earlier today I ordered Aggretsuko Vol. 1 comic book! I love Aggretsuko so I’m rather excited for that to arrive tomorrow or Friday to read over the weekend… If I’m able to! Honestly though, I have so many manga volumes and comics to read. I really need to get on it!

Favourite Music – PVRIS – Use Me.

PVRIS new album Use Me came out at the end of August and it’s one I’ve been listening to on and off throughout September, but I definitely need to listen to it a lot more. I wanted to share one of the songs from the album that I’ve already fallen in love with, starting with “Loveless”. This song is clearly about a breakup but it’s got such a lovely acoustic melody behind it, as well as powerful lyrics that a lot of people who have or are going through a breakup can relate to. I just love it so much and after I heard it for the first time, I replayed it a few times and got the lyrics up to read as it played and sing along to. Who else does this? 😛

Overall I really love Use Me but I think it’s one that will have to grow on me. I love PVRIS’s previous two albums so much, but that isn’t it. I think due to the fact 5/11 songs on the album have come out gradually the past year as singles and EP’s, nearly half of the albums isn’t a “surprise”, if that makes sense? Even so, I still love it! PVRIS has fast become one of my favourite bands the past year and a half and that’s not going to change.

Favourite Game – Not Tonight: Take Back Control Edition (Nintendo Switch).

I only bought this game about a week ago but it’s already earnt it’s place on my monthly favourites for September due to how much I’ve played it already! The week I bought this was when I received some bad news and I looked on the eShop for something simple to play, but not for a lot of money. I picked Not Tonight up for a BARGAIN price of £1.94! I think it was 90% off so the game was roughly £19? Crazy how cheap this was, but totally worth it! It’s set after Brexit and you’re playing a bouncer with European in their blood. You live in a dump, work for shit money and have loads of bills and taxes to pay. You have to check the ID of people coming in pubs, clubs, festivals, events and even on the border of the UK. I love it, it’s such a “relaxing” game to play which has a dark sense of humour about it. Some people I’ve spoken to about the game said it sounds depressing. It’s really not. If it’s still on offer on the eShop I highly recommend it, I’m sure you won’t miss £1.94 eh?

So, there we have it, my favourites from September. I’ve had to write this post the day before it’s due to be out and I honestly can’t believe tomorrow is going to October. This year has flew, even with the circumstances of COVID. I wish September hadn’t gone by so quickly and I wish myself and my family hadn’t received the news we did… I’m kind of glad for a new month due to that, but at the same time, I don’t know what October will bring. Fingers crossed something good, eh?

What have you been loving throughout September? Are you excited for autumn, the nights starting to draw in and Halloween? I’m excited for Halloween! I’m going to try and use October as the month to watch Halloween movies I’ve always meant to. 🙂

Speaking of, what’s your favourite Halloween movie? Let me know in the comments!

Until next time, stay safe and take care all. 🙂

July Favourites ’20

I can’t believe it’s August already, can you? I for one am glad as July was so bloody stressful and it drove me mad due to that fact. I just couldn’t wait for it to end to be honest, it started to affect my mental health, which is never good so to have a new month will be good. Plus, September is my favourite month of the year and I want to make sure to have a relaxing month before that favourite comes up. I could write a post every year as to why I love September… Maybe I’ll do it again this year? Let me know if you’re interested.

July wasn’t just a month of being stressed out however, it was also a month of getting good things done, including our bathroom and my nails. We had some issues with our bathroom in May with water damage and decided instead of just getting the water damage repaired, we would look and see if we could justify getting the whole bathroom done. Alas we did justify it and a couple of months later the work was completed and we now have our gorgeous new bathroom! We’ve had the work completed for two weeks now and I have loved it so much. I was going to show off the completed bathroom on my blog, but I have since gone against that as I’d like to keep some privacy.

As well as my bathroom being done, nail technicians were able to open their salons again, so I went to get my first gel manicure done in almost 4 months, which I was very happy about. Yesterday I went and got them done again and I went for black and holographic silver, because why not. 😛

Image taken from The Latest Kate

As always I like to share a positive photo here from The Latest Kate as I find her images are really sweet and the message behind them meaningful.

Here’s to August being a relaxing month, before my favourite comes. 🙂

• Bath Bake Love Cherry Lime Sugar Whip.

I have know about Bath Bake Love for quite a long time now through Instagram, but I’ve never bought from them until now. I feel like I’ve been missing out for a long time as I honestly love their products. So far I’ve bought quite a few of the sugar whips (including Frosting Fairy, Billionaires Shortbread) and some other items they create and sell. The one sugar whip I have fallen in love with is Cherry Lime, it smells just like it and it makes me so happy. I haven’t used it as much as Frosting Fairy, but that’s because I’m savouring it a little. The sugar whips are really creamy in texture and like a mousse, which make it really easy to lather them up and wash with. They make you smell really good and feel soft! The Cherry Lime scent is very zesty and summery, hence why I’ve loved it so much this past month. I can’t wait to use it more and I’ll definitely buy it when it’s restocked next. PLUS look how pretty the product is with the bright pink and green foil inside! It’s actually inspired me to potentially get my nails painted in these shades towards the end of the month.

• Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau de Toilette.

I decided to use some of my “older” perfumes up that I’ve had for quite some time. Years ago my mom bought me a set of mini Marc Jacobs perfumes and I’ve never used them… Until now! These bottles are TEENY and they aren’t the easiest of bottles to work with, but I just dab some of the scent on my neck, wrists and inside my elbows. For an EDT this scent lasts ages! It’s really light and I rather like it, although I doubt I would buy the full sized bottle. I’m not a massive fan of the Marc Jacobs scents, although I really do love Decadence.

• Revolution Skincare Blemish and Pore Refining Serum – 10% Niacinamide + 1% Zinc 30ml.

My good friend Claire recommend this serum to me a while ago, so I decided to buy myself a bottle of it back in June and since then I have on and off used it. I do really love it and I ended up buying some more niacinamide items from Revolution Skincare too, which I’ve been using alongside the serum. Niacinamide is good for oily skin types as it balances oil production and improves texture by making pores look smaller. Considering how warm it’s been towards the end of this week, after using this on my skin in the morning with my moisturiser, my skin hasn’t been as oily on my nose as it usually is! I’m going to keep trying this though, as I do feel like it’s starting to do something for my skin.

• romand – Juicy Lasting Tint Autumn Fruit Series Shade Cherry Bomb.

In June I ordered some goodies from Yes Style and it was a mixture of regret and happiness. I was happy to finally own some more Korean lip tints but regretted it due to the fact it took a whole month to arrive and I was paranoid about customs charges. However, looking back I don’t really regret it and I think I was just on edge and anxious. I’ll happily order with Yes Style again, especially as I’ve seen some stuff I would love for the future. That aside, I ordered two lip tints by romand and out of the two, Cherry Bomb has been my favourite. It’s a gorgeous cherry red lip tint that really does last ages on the lips. I’ve found myself wearing it on the rare occasions I’ve left the house, but I’ve mostly worn it whilst working from home. I recommend these lip tints to everyone and I already know I’ll be buying more romand products in the future.

• The Body Scrub Peppermint Candy Cane Body Scrub.

This is one that I received a couple of Christmases ago and have FINALLY gotten around to using! It’s one of The Body Shop scrubs and I honestly wish I had used it sooner as it’s amazing. It’s a very thick sugar scrub which really does scrub away! I’ve been using it on the tops of my arms, bum, thighs and even my feet. It’s worked amazingly on the latter but has left me feeling a little smoother than usual everywhere else. This was only a small pot as it was part of a set, but if I ever see this pop up in sales on the website in future, I may have to buy a bigger pot. It also smells AMAZING by the way!

So now my beauty favourites are done, time to talk about the miscellaneous favourites of the month!

Favourite TV Show – I May Destroy You.

First of all, this TV show is amazing and I cannot recommend it enough to you right now. In all fairness this does have some warnings due to scenes of sexual abuse/rape. The show is written and stars Michaela Coel (who also wrote Chewing Gum) and is about a writer who goes for a night out to take a break from her work. The next day she can’t seem to remember what happened during the night out, or how she even got home. Everything begins to unravel and she soon grows to realise she’s been raped during her night out. With the help of her friends she gains support, as well as tries to get justice for what happened to her and more. I definitely recommend watching it, it’s an amazing show.

Favourite Movie – A Whisker Away.

This film was an absolute delight to watch and after a takeaway me and Dane snuggled together and watched it on the sofa. It’s about a girl who is in love with a boy and the only way she can get close to him is by turning into a cat. We watched it dubbed, but it is subbed on Netflix as well. The story itself is adorable and we have all been there at some point in our youth with lusting over someone but not being able to get them to like you the same way! My only gripe with this film is that both me and Dane felt like it went on for a little bit too long… Which started to ruin the film for us. This being said, I would happily watch this film again as it did make me smile and the kitten that the girl turns into is adorable!

Image taken from Tumblr

Favourite Book – Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid manga.

FINALLY I HAVE READ SOMETHING! Can you believe it?! I had a quiet weekend in July and decided to start making my way through some of the volumes I haven’t read yet in my manga collection. Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid was a priority to me as it’s one of my favourites and I know quite a few volumes have come out for this and the spin off volumes (Kanna’s Daily Life and Elma’s Office Lady Diary) too. I feel so much better for catching up on my manga series but I do need to read more! I feel like I need to just assign myself two evenings a week to just read, as I’m terrible these days for reading and I don’t know why? I’m going to blame gaming as I feel since I bought my Switch Lite I’ve neglected reading, which is a shame. Not only do I have manga to read, but comics and even “normal” books to read too!

Favourite Music – Dai Numo – SUITED.

Years ago on Soundcloud I discovered Dai Numo and I have never regretted that day. I LOVE his music and keep wanting him to release more. I listened to his album on and off to and from Japan, whenever I visit Fuerteventura and when I really need to knuckle down with work of any type (work or personal). I thought I’d share a couple of songs above, but I’d highly recommend you go and check out his Soundcloud AND Bandcamp where you can download the album. I can’t describe what kind of music this is… It’s like chillout hip hop? I love it either way and I definitely recommend it for everyone to check out.

Image taken from GIPHY

Favourite Game – Aggretsuko: The Short Timer Strikes Back.

First of all guys I just want to say, I am still playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons, however I am not on it ALL the time. It has began to “bore” me a little, but lately I decided to sort out my island and redo parts of it, so every other day I’ve clocked onto Animal Crossing a couple of hours. However, recently an Aggretsuko game came out, ready for when the third season hits Netflix at the end of the month. This isn’t an in depth game in anyway shape or form, but towards the end of July I got addicted to it! It’s a free game and I can’t recommend it more if you want a puzzle game to play.

So those are my favourites from July! Again, I can’t believe it’s August already, the eighth month of the year! Next month will be my favourite month of the year and then before we know it we’ll be in autumn, Halloween, Bonfire Night, winter and then Christmas before we get a new year!

2020 hasn’t been amazing due to COVID, but we’re over halfway through this year now.

How has July been for you? What were your favourites? Make sure to let me know in the comments!

Until next time, stay safe and take care all!

Life Lately – March – July 2020

Just over four months ago the UK was told to lock down and stay inside. It was scary but at the same time I was relieved that the UK FINALLY did something about it and was happy to stay inside for a while and hermit away. I wanted to share with you all how lock down has been for me, as well as how things have been throughout July so far. Not going to lie, it’s been good but very tiring! You may want to grab yourself a hot drink as this post mayyyyy be a long one.

To get this out there swiftly, I’ve been working from home since the lock down happened in March and I don’t have a date set yet for when I’ll be heading back to the office. Working from home has been amazing to be perfectly honest with you, but I do miss seeing my colleagues five days a week and having a laugh with them all.

Working from home has made me think more about adding an addition to our family… One with a wet nose and grey fur… No babies here I’m afraid! As well as that, working from home has also made me think lots about how much I loved our trip to Japan in January and just how much I’m craving to go again. I already want to look at going again late 2021 OR early 2022 for Dane’s birthday this time around. Try and visit when the cherry blossoms are out and travel to Hiroshima, Kyoto, Osaka, Nara and of course Tokyo! That will be a big trip, may even go for three weeks if we can justify it!

Although I have bought loads of shit over the past four months, one of the best things me and Dane bought was a new bathroom! Back in May around one of the bank holidays we discovered a leak in our kitchen ceiling, which had come from the bath. We called our insurance and called someone in for a quote. Two months later the work has been fixed and our bathroom COMPLETELY redone. We are both over the moon with it! Sadly I won’t be sharing it on my blog, which I had contemplated before. I want some privacy for us two from my little space on the world of the internet. I know my readers will understand. 🙂

As we all know, Animal Crossing: New Horizons came out in March JUST BEFORE lock down happened in the UK and I know so many people who have loved and enjoyed it, and who still are. I also have a couple of friends I helped source Switch and Switch Lite consoles so they could get their hands on Animal Crossing to play. It’s amazing having more of my close friends playing the game than ever before and that makes me so happy! I’ve calmed down a little of late with Animal Crossing, although I have picked it up of late to redo parts of my island.

I’ve done some baking during lock down and more so of late I’ve REALLY stepped out of my comfort zone to make something I hadn’t before, Millionaires Shortbread. I added a twist by adding salt to the caramel, to of course make salted caramel. 🙂 It was amazing and it was so simple to make. I was just worried about the caramel more than anything as I’ve never made it before. It took 30 minutes, which felt like too long, but it was worth it. Instead of milk chocolate, I put dark chocolate on top instead. They were amazing and really went down a treat with Dane, as well as my family.

As I mentioned previously how I’ve bought loads of shit, mostly shit I don’t need but has cheered me up during lock down and passed the time. I happened to save money too, even though I’m not 100% sure how I’ve done it! There are many brands I have wanted to order from for years and I finally have during the lock down, including Happy Place Cosmetics, Bath Bake Love, Cushty Co, Kittynaut and Jenni Illustrations who is pictured above.

I have been showing off the bath and home products on my Instagram pages stories (theremightbecoffeeblog) so if you’re intrigued by this, make sure to go and check out those stories highlighted on my profile.

I’ll be talking about the goodies I bought from Jenni Illustrations very soon, as well as when the enamel pins I’ve bought from Kittynaut have arrived. I for one am excited to share those with you. 🙂

Another item that I am planning to talk about in the future is my Yapfrog Isabelle ita bag! I’ve recently filled it full of enamel pins and although I may change them around in the future, I’m really happy with how I have it at the moment! I bought a piece of green gingham cloth to fabric to keep inside the bag so it looked a little more like Isabelle. So far I have enamel pins in there by Yapfrog, Quirkory (which you can read about here), Appleminte and Illustrator Jake. By the way guys I have a 10% discount code you can use on Illustrator Jake’s website which is – THEREMIGHTBECOFFEE10. 🙂

I honestly can’t wait to share this bag with you, but I want to make sure to spend plenty of time on it, as I’ve been excited to share it for God knows how long now! 😀

I’ve missed many things during lock down, including seeing my friends, going for coffee dates, sushi, spontaneous geeky shopping trips to town with Dane and my friends and getting my nails done! The nail salons opened up again recently and I finally went and got a much needed manicure. The last one I got was just before Animal Crossing and I got blue and green similar to the joy cons that came out for the limited edition Switch.

It was amazing to go and get my nails done against though and I went for this gorgeous creamy purple colour and a holographic blue/purple on the ring finger and thumb. I love them so much and have felt myself again in regards to feeling pretty. I’m getting them redone next week and I’m already torn at what I’m going to have. I get them done every three weeks, but I am a bit tempted to go every fortnight… We shall see! Any suggestions of what colour(s) to get, pleased let me know!

One of the last things I’m going to natter on about on here is how I have started reading manga again! 😀 Been too bloody long, I swear to God! I’ve been reading all the volumes in the Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid series, including the two spin offs too about Kanna and Elma. I plan to read and catch up on all my manga series I have to buy more in the future. I need to continue on with it, but lately playing games or watching crap on my iPad have taken place.

So, that is everything I can think of lately and that I wanted to share with you all.

Throughout July my blog feels like it’s been quiet, but that may have just been because I had a break last week as I had a lot going on. The bathroom took a while to get started and finished, but now it’s done we are so happy! That was stressful though, which you can only imagine why.

Alongside that I’ve been busy at work, as well as personal matters. For some reason this week I have been so tired throughout the day and especially in the evening after work. I don’t know why, but I hope some lie ins this weekend help sort it all out.

I’m excited for August now to be honest with you. I want to be able to go out and do more. Me and Dane treated ourselves to a McDonald’s last weekend as we really needed food and that was the easiest thing to get at the time. I’ve missed their fries and milkshakes so much! We also popped to Homesense and The Range to get some house stuff we needed and for a while I felt a little bit normal, even with a face mask on.

Eventually the world will be back to some normality and we’ll all relax a little again.

For now however, make sure to let me know in the comments how you have been during lock down, what have you been up to and most of all what you have missed and can’t wait to do again!

Apologies for what may feel like a rambling post, but I wanted to get a lot off of my chest onto this post today. 🙂

Until next time all, take care, keep safe and can’t wait to speak to you all soon!