January Favourites ’19

It’s officially the first monthly favourites post of 2019! Woohoo! Of course with that comes me talking about all the things I loved throughout the previous month, which of course was January.

I usually talk about beauty and lifestyle and it’s something I really enjoy talking about overall. I wanted to think of more things to add to my monthly favourites, what with there being a New Year and all but honestly, I couldn’t think of anything else worth adding! I thought about maybe adding like a favourite fashion piece, but my fashion sense isn’t everyone’s cup of tea… So I think I’ll leave that for now. 😛

As always I’ll talk about beauty first and lifestyle after! I hope you enjoy the first favourites post of 2019!

• Lush Christingle Naked Body Conditioner.

This was something I picked up in the sales just after Christmas. Lush in Birmingham had LOADS of these in stock still and for half of the price they retailed for originally. I’m not as big a fan of Lush as I used to be, but as I had some Christmas/birthday money I decided to treat myself to some of the Valentine’s Day Lush goodies! I use this twice a week at the moment and to be honest with you it’s such a fab little product. I do find it to be incredibly greasy and I have to actually wipe off the excess body conditioner with a flannel as it’s just far too greasy feeling for me. I won’t be repurchasing any of the body conditioners again due to this, but it’s nice to give a go for the money. It makes me feel soft and smell of gorgeous peppermint, so I can’t complain. 😛

• MUA Luxe Inked Lip Stain in Sangria.

If there is a lip trend I have been loving lately it’s the bitten lip look that has come over from Korean Beauty over to us! It’s been around for ages to be honest and is something I have done on and off over the years, but more so lately than ever before. I love these MUA lip stains as they’re super cheap, come in a nice selection of shades and are long lasting! I love to apply it into the inside of my lips to give that bitten look. It’s flattering too if I don’t want to have a heavy lip colour on and as it wear away quiet naturally, I don’t feel like I need to constantly top up. If you guys would like me to show you how I get the “bitten” look, please let me know and I’ll do a post about it!

• Cath Kidston Hand Cream.

I got so many of these hand creams in my advent calendar at Christmas and I LOVE them all so damn much! The Cath Kidston hand creams are really thick, which are a blessing for my eczema prone hands. I use them at work mostly to be fair and always keep a tube on my desk now to use on my hands as soon as they feel dry and sore. I do have some at home too, but I have other hand creams I tend to use here. I don’t know if you can buy the tubes that I have, but you can buy all sorts of versions from Cath Kidston in their permanent range, so if you’re after a luxurious hand cream but don’t want to spend a fortune, I definitely recommend giving theirs a go! The one thing I dislike the most about them is some of their scents. They remind me of scents that your gran would have on her vanity. They’re lovely, don’t get me wrong but they aren’t ALWAYS for me. 🙂

• The Body Shop Drops of Youth™ Youth Liquid Peel.

This is a product I LOVE so damn much and keep meaning to reveal since I bought it before Christmas. I’ll definitely get around to it sooner rather than later. This is a liquid you apply to the face and rub constantly all over your face to remove deal skin. It comes off in balls and chunks, which is gross to admit is your dead skin! 😛 I love using this liquid peel before my tea tree skin wash on my face, as well as before face masks. I use it once maybe twice a week if I feel the need to and it really does help my skin out! 😀

• Rio Sonicleanse Glo Silicone Facial Cleansing Tool.

My final favourite beauty product of this month definitely has to be this facial cleansing brush that my mom bought me for Christmas (which you can see here alongside all the other goodies I was gifted in 2018! I use this facial cleansing brush everyday and I can tell it’s made a massive improvement to my skin. It makes me feel like I’m getting deep into my pores and giving my skin a good clean, alongside getting rid of old and dead skin cells to reveal fresh skin. I’ve been using this for well over a month now too and haven’t needed to recharge the batteries which is amazing! I probably will over this weekend. Again, if you would like me to review this facial cleansing brush please let me know!

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

Favourite TV Show – Inside No. 9.

This is a show I was told about back in the day when the first series came out. I watched some of the second episode and liked what I saw, but never watched anymore of it. During my Christmas holiday time from work I watched ALL of The League of Gentlemen and fell in love. I always found it to be a “creepy” show but after watching it, it’s right up my street. When I wanted to watch more from Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton I stumbled across Inside No. 9 on BBC iPlayer and decided to give it a go. It has fast turned into one of my favourite TV series and I love it! It’s a dark comedy/horror series with episodes about what’s happening to people behind a door, house, room etc with the number 9 on it. It reminds me of Black Mirror but different. It’s not all technology based like Black Mirror is and I like that. Definitely give it a watch if you like this sort of thing though, you won’t be disappointed!

Favourite Film – Mary and the Witch’s Flower.

This is probably the only new film I’ve watched this month and in all honesty it’s the only film that I can think that I’ve watched at all this month! I picked it up on my birthday to watch as it was in the sale for £9.99 for the Blu-ray so I used some of my birthday money to treat myself (you can see what else I got for my birthday here). It’s about Mary, a girl who seems to have moved to live with her aunt and is due to start a new school soon. She doesn’t really seem to have any friends yet, is clumsy and doesn’t like her bushy red hair. One day she discovers a special flower and from there her life changes rather quickly! This is by Studio Ponoc, who are pretty much a sister company to Studio Ghibli. This is their first feature film and it did really well! I love it so much and really enjoyed watching it with Dane on one of our weekends off together.

Image taken from Wikipedia

Favourite Book – I Am a Hero.

This is a manga Dane randomly discovered quite a while ago and every birthday, Christmas and anniversary I’ll buy him as many copies of the manga as I can! Not only doe she read this manga, but so do I. I read a couple of he volumes throughout last month and it’s just getting better and better! I’m up to volume 6 at the moment and the story line is getting really juicy now! It’s about a zombie apocalypse in Japan and we follow Hideo Suzuki as he tries to make his way through it, meeting people as he goes. The art style is amazing as it’s so realistic and gives the zombies something a little different. I definitely recommend you giving it a go if you like zombie related films, shows, books, etc.

Favourite Song – “Promises” Calvin Harris Feat. Sam Smith.

Oh man I love this song so much, so much so whenever I hear it on the radio at work it just cheers me up so damn much! I only recently popped it onto my YouTube to listen to whilst I get ready in the mornings, do blog work, as well as any other tasks throughout each day. Sam Smith has a lovely singing voice and Calvin Harris is an artist I’ve loved since back in the day when he made that song and sang about the 80’s and what was acceptable. 😛 Yes Mr Harris I still dig the stuff you made back in the day! 😛

Image taken from GIPHY

Favourite Game – Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp.

I was going to talk about Style Boutique 3 this month and although I’ve played it loads, I feel like I’ve played Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp almost daily to be honest since I got my iPhone XR but over the Christmas period and the odd days off I played this game loooooads. I find I play it most before bedtime as I find it relaxes me. I mentioned it a post last month about games I find help anxiety (which you can read here). They’ve just added some new updates too, one which makes playing the game so much easier than it used to be! I also love playing this in the car at the moment as it deices, you know with how crap and cold the weather has been lately. 😛

So those are all of my favourites from January!

What do you have on your favourites list from last month? Make sure to let me know in the comments down below and even let me know what your favourite fashion pieces too. I know mine has for sure been my Lazy Oaf rainbow “boring” cardigan. 😛

Until next time, take care all and I hope you’re ready for a relaxed weekend.

The Opposites Book Tag

Image taken from giphy.com

I don’t feel like I’ve done and taken part in a blog tag for a while now (not going to lie, it was probably just last month… :P) so when I came across The Opposites Book Tag on Eleanor’s blog a month ago I knew I’d do it at some point.

Fast forward a month later and here we are! She tagged anyone who read her post, which I’m linking here because you need to read her answers!

I’m changing my answers up a little though and instead of talking about “normal” books, I’ll be talking about manga instead… Considering manga is the majority of what I read. 😛

I hope you enjoy this tag post!

FIRST BOOK IN YOUR COLLECTION/LAST BOOK YOU BOUGHT.

The first manga I ever bought was Azumanga Daioh and it’s one of my biggest manga books in my collection… So far anyway. 😛 I loved the anime of the same name so when I heard about a manga of it too, I knew I had to find it! It took me ages and when I finally found it online I ordered it to be told a month later that it wasn’t actually in stock as they’d said. I got a refund and headed elsewhere in search of it. I found it on eBay in the end brand new and ended up buying it for less money than I was intending to pay for it in the first place.

My most recent purchase is Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid: Kanna’s Daily Life Vol. 2. I LOVE this spin off series even more than the original due to how adorable it is and yet how hilarious it is at other times. I’ll soon be buying some new manga… I feel like I buy it monthly in all honesty. 😛

A CHEAP BOOK/AN EXPENSIVE BOOK.

This stands for both of the same series but I’ve spent an absolute fortune on the Nana manga in the past! It’s not really published anymore I don’t think so it can be such a hard manga to get hold of! It’s so worth it though as I think the Nana manga will be worth some serious monies in the future due to it being on a hiatus. ANYWAY I’ve spent next to sod all on many copies of this manga and other times I’ve paid through the teeth just to get a decent copy or even a brand new one.

Aside from Nana the most I have spent on manga for myself is £15.99, which I spent on the manga of Wolf Children. I regret spending that much on it, but 1. it’s hardback and 2. I picked it up in Waterstones… Of course it was expensive! 😛

A BOOK WITH A MALE PROTAGONIST/ONE WITH A FEMALE PROTAGONIST.

First of all, male protagonist! The first one that pops into my head is Hideo Suzuki from the manga, I Am a Hero. This manga is amazing and it’s thanks to Dane discovering it in Forbidden Planet that we started reading it together. He’s such a fanny at the best of times, but this is due to what appears to be a form of anxiety. He’s our hero during a zombie apocalypse in Japan and he’s such a great and real protagonist for that story. I cannot wait to see where the series goes and what the future has in store for him.

So a female protagonist eh? Oh man I could pick so many manga series with a legend of a female protagonist but I think the first one I can think of is Nana Osaki, from the manga of the same name. She’s the Nana who is a singer in a rock band and doesn’t stand for shit! Although she’s rock hard on the outside and appears untouchable, she actually has a heart of gold and is mending a broken heart throughout most of the manga. I remember when watching the anime, as well as reading the manga what a strong and bold woman she is, even though she isn’t real. I wanted to be like her as I got older and I like to think I am. 😛

A BOOK YOU READ FAST/ONE THAT TOOK YOU LONG TO READ.

If there is a series I found myself whizzing through and finishing quicker than any manga series I own to date, it’s A Silent Voice. I remember hearing about the manga thanks to the anime that came out as a film last year. I picked up a couple of volumes to read to see if I would enjoy it and I instantly fell in love. Even before me and Dane went to watch the anime I went into my local manga/comic book store and bought some more volumes! Later I bought the rest on Amazon PRIME so I could read them as soon as possible. To this day it is now one of my favourite manga series and I recommend it highly to anyone who wants to get into manga and see why it’s so amazing.

Fuck me, if there is one manga series that is taking me forever to get through, it’s definitely K-ON! and I honestly couldn’t tell you why. I think it’s because I enjoy reading it so much that I take my time to read it. I’m on my second to last volume now and I’ll be sad when I’ve finished the K-ON! series. This just means I need to find a NEW SERIES to get into. 😛

PRETTY COVER/UGLY COVER.

I don’t think I really own any pretty manga covers… If anything I love Nana for the story each volume tells about the two Nana’s and the same can go for A Silent Voice which shows off the two main characters together. I also really love A Polar Bear In Love for the adorable covers that their volumes produce! I cannot wait for Volume 3 to come out now as the cover for that looks amazing.

I can’t say I own any ugly covers though… If there are some manga covers I dislike it’s Dane’s Berserk series, as well as some of the Junji Ito covers which aren’t ugly, just very creepy. 😛

A NATIONAL BOOK/AN INTERNATIONAL BOOK.

HA they’re all pretty international when you think about it! 😛

No I joke. All my manga books are in English! Although once I nearly ordered Elfen Lied on Amazon, only to discover they were all in German. I dodged a very heavy and expensive burden there. 😛

A THIN BOOK/A THICK BOOK.

I don’t really own any thin manga… Some of my thicker books are Wolf Children and Azumanga Daioh.

FICTION BOOK/NON-FICTION BOOK.

They’re all fiction really.

VERY (WAY TOO) ROMANTIC BOOK/ACTION BOOK.

Oh man, the majority of my manga is romance related as that’s just what I’m into. I have read action style manga though before, don’t get me wrong! Those are usually ones that Dane has bought and told me to check out. I do like a bit of action in manga, but I’m a total romance girl. 😛

A BOOK THAT MADE YOU HAPPY/ONE THAT MADE YOU SAD.

There are so many manga series that make me happy! K-ON!, Azumanga Daioh, Nichijou, Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid and more, but if there is one that really cheers me up to read lately, it’s A Polar Bear In Love.

A Polar Bear In Love is about a polar bear who is in love with a baby seal. The story is about them exploring where they live together and learning more each day about one another, as well as about things around them. I remember reading volume 1 and wondering what the hell was happening, but it’s such a cute story and the artwork is also adorable. Give it a read if you love cute and yet weird manga. 😛

I feel like I’ve spoken about it so much on this post, but both Nana and A Silent Voice broke my heart. Nana is for many reasons, with the biggest of course being the story but also because it isn’t finished! The writer/artist of Nana has health issues and due to that she had to hiatus Nana. I need to know what happens and how it finishes for all the characters. 😦

A Silent Voice is just depressing for many different reasons and what makes it even more depressing? It’s so realistic that I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of stuff that happens in the manga, doesn’t happen on a daily basis to both children and teenagers. It’s about a deaf girl who is bullied by her classmate. She leaves due to the bullying, which results in the classmate being bullied himself for many years after. He learns sign language and goes to meet her to apologise before he attempts suicide… Which doesn’t happen thankfully! That’s all I’m saying! 😛 It has a lovely ending to it however and in itself, that makes me happy.

So those are the answers to the The Opposites Book Tag! I hope my answers aren’t boring due to me changing them to adapt to manga, but as I said before… I don’t read anything else other than manga these days…

Like Eleanor did, anyone who reads this tag post, I CHOOSE YOU TO TAKE PART TOO! 😀

Will you be giving the tag a go? If so let me know in the comments!

Until next time, take care all and I hope you’re ready for the weekend.

March Favourites ’18

Happy Easter everyone! I do apologise that this post is a day late (well I’m being naughty and putting it up as if it was actually on time… ;P) but it was my first Easter that I’ve had a 4 day weekend and not had to work! I also spent it chilling with Dane, as well as with friends and family which is the best way to spend it.

Now I’m finally getting the chance to work on my monthly favourites whilst I watch some gaming YouTube videos. Finally, here are my favourites for March!

• Palmolive Naturals Milk & Honey Shower Gel Cream.

Not long ago I picked up this HUGE pump shower gel cream and I only got it for £2.00/£2.50 from Morrison’s on a food shop and at first I regretted it but this was near to half price so I was pretty happy at the bargain I grabbed. ANYWAY I started using this at the start of the month and it’s lasting agggges! You only need a little and it foams up gorgeously as well as leaving you smelling amazing and feeling lovely and soft. The milk and honey Palmolive shower cream reminds me of Fuerteventura for various reasons, the main one being back in the day when we first had the house there we took loads of “home comforts” and this was one of mine that my mom bought for me, so the scent always reminds me of my younger years there. Now it’s coconut scents that do it for me! 😛

• Diesel Loverdose Eau de Parfum.

I’ve been using my Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet EDT for what feels like forever and halfway through March I decided it was time to start using something else, something that I love to the moon and back. Loverdose by Diesel is one of my favourite perfumes and this is actually my second bottle now! It reminds me of my best friend Jacqui as when it first came out she got a bottle for her birthday and showed me it. Now when I wear it it reminds me of her. It has a unique fragrance and reminds me of a mixture of liquorice (which is actually contains!) and tequila. If you’ve never given this gorgeous perfume a sniff, then get on it! Even if you don’t like liquorice, you’ll love this. 😛

• Collection Velvet Kiss Moisturising Lip Cream in shade Rosie.

Whilst on a quick shopping trip to Superdrug in March I was having a nose around the Collection stand for my staple eyebrow gel and noticed the lip creams. I used to use these back in the day when they first launched and during the summer months I used these to death! I decided it was time to pick up a new one, but instead of going to the shades I used to use (Cotton being one of them) I decided to pick up the red shade Rosie. I love wearing red lipsticks and I actually haven’t worn lipstick properly for months. Since buying this I’ve used it about a handful of times alone and with a lip liner and it’s so good! It lasts ages and feels so comfortable when wearing it. I’ll definitely be reviewing this in April. You can check out the review one of the old shades Fairy Cake here for the time being.

• Nails inc Nail Polish in shade Dream Dust.

I feel like I haven’t worn my unicorn Nails inc polishes for ages! So I decided to grab Dream Dust to wear every other week throughout the month and throughout Easter. I forgot what a gorgeous shade Dream Dust is to be honest with you. It’s a shimmer gold glitter with a mauve base shade. It’s so shimmery and is definitely an awkward shade to remove but whatever! It’s a shade you can wear throughout the summer, especially for holidays! This lasts a long time too so I’ll definitely make a habit of wearing it more often at work. I loved Nails inc polishes back in the day when I was a student but then I sort of fell out of love with them. Since picking up the Beauty of Dreams gift set before Christmas last year (you can read about it here!) I’ve realised that Nails inc are still an amazing nails polish brand, if not even better now than they used to be!

• L’Oreal Hair Expertise Sleek Smooth Intense Shampoo.

I recently started using a new shampoo and this is actually the same if not similar to one I use when I’m in Fuerteventura (which you can see here) as it’s just one of the best and affordable! When I came home I searched for this shampoo straight away and bought that as well as another type of sulphate-free shampoo. Since starting to use this shampoo my hair has felt so smooth and looked less frizzy too. I’m so glad I started being sulphate free with shampoos this past year as it’s really helped my hair and to be honest since finding budget friendly shampoos, it’s helped my wallet too. 😛 I really recommend the L’Oreal sulphate free shampoos if you want to give this type of stuff a go as they’re super cheap from Superdrug and more often then not, on offer too.

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

Image taken from GIPHY

Favourite TV Show – Violet Evergarden.

I feel like I’ve mentioned this anime on my blog in the past and I’m pretty sure it was when Dane wrote a post on here with me not long ago (you can read it here). He introduced me to this anime when it first started but like he always has a habit of doing, he got me to start watching it at episode 3. I watched a couple of episodes but I just couldn’t feel like I was getting into it. Then a couple of weeks ago he said he’d watched episode 10 and that I needed to as well. We started watching the anime together from beginning to episode 11 and oh man, I have fallen in love with the show. Every single episode is also heartbreaking and I was silently crying at most if not all of the episodes. I’ll copy and paste the synopsis as I’m awful when writing what stuff is about without worrying of ruining it!

Synopsis (source: Anime Expo) – There are words Violet heard on the battlefield, which she cannot forget. These words were given to her by someone she holds dear, more than anyone else. She does not yet know their meaning. A certain point in time, in the continent of Telesis. The great war which divided the continent into North and South has ended after four years, and the people are welcoming a new generation. Violet Evergarden, a young girl formerly known as “the weapon,” has left the battlefield to start a new life at CH Postal Service. There, she is deeply moved by the work of “Auto Memories Dolls,” who carry people’s thoughts and convert them into words.

If you fancy giving this anime a go you can find it over on Netflix where it’s in English. It’s being aired at the same time as in Japan, which is amazing. It’s such a beautiful anime both in the way it looks as well as the story line.

Image taken from GIPHY

Favourite Film – 10 Cloverfield Lane.

I remember going to the cinema to watch Cloverfield and all the rumours around it of people running out of the cinema to be sick due to the motion controls of the camera. FYI I was fine. 😛 I loved the film at the time and have since then watched it about a handful of times. When 10 Cloverfield Lane was announced I wanted to go and watch it, but no one else was really arsed. Years later it was put up on Netflix and me and Dane decided to give it a go. This is a film that really keeps you on the edge of your seat for various different things! You’re constantly wondering what is happening outside, as well as inside the bunker that the three characters are staying in. You have some awesome character development which is quickly snatched away from you by the time you start getting to know them and liking them. If you haven’t watched 10 Cloverfield Lane, then I definitely recommend it!

Image taken from Wordery

Image taken from Wordery

Favourite Book – I Am A Hero Omnibus Vol. 1 and 2.

This was one (well technically two) of the presents I got Dane for Christmas just gone and after he read Vol. 1 he gave it to me to show me some awesome scenes in the book. I checked them out and as it was halfway through the manga I decided to give it a read for myself and now I’ve ended up reading more than Dane has considering he’s only read the first volume and I’ve now read both the omnibus volumes he owns. It’s about a zombie apocalypse that hits Japan, with our “hero” being an anxious manga artist who sees things late at night and dreams of being a huge manga artist once again. It’s so well drawn and very realistic, you’re just hooked on it and want to keep reading. I actually finished the second omnibus volume in almost two hours… FYI it is a huge book! That and I’m a slow reader. 😛 Hopefully he won’t read this post but I intend to get Dane the rest of the omnibus volumes for his birthday.

Favourite Song/Album – Various…

Meh I wasn’t really sure what music to mention on my blog this month as I’ve just been listening to all sorts really… Mostly stuff I’ve heard on the radio at work, as well as some oldies I love. I’ll post above some of the songs I’m loving and quickly why below.

Dua Lipa – New Rules – I don’t know what it is that I love about this song and originally I was into an 80’s remix I heard on the radio first. I just find the song is really catchy and Dua Lipa has a lovely singing voice too.

Joyce Manor – Make Me Dumb – I first heard this game on Forza Horizon 3 as Dane bought it aggggges ago to play on his Xbox One and since then I’ve loved it! It’s such a catchy and upbeat rock song and due to that I just had to have it on my iPod for drives to and from places.

Paloma Faith – Crybaby – I don’t know what it is about this song but I love EVERYTHING about it! Paloma Faith is an artist I’ve listened to more of since 2016 and her voice is amazing, as well as her lyrics. This song is one that you’d listen to when you feel like crap and you need some encouraging words to listen to. It’s not a slow sad song, it’s an upbeat “pull yourself together, it’ll be okay” type song and I think that’s what I love the most about it.

Image taken from GAME

Favourite Game – Miitopia.

YES FOR ONCE IT ISN’T PERSONA 5 ON MY LIST! Sorry I love Persona 5 so it will come up a lot on here… In fact be prepared to hear about it next month as the anime series for it starts in less than a week now! 😀 Anyway… I got myself a new 2DS XL recently (which I’ll be writing about at some point on my blog) and I feel like since picking this up, I’ve been picking up my DS a hell of a lot more now I have a new one. I’m going to put it down to the screens being shit loads bigger and better at that! I picked up this game the day before I flew to Fuerteventura in September last year and Dane loved the look of it so much he got himself a copy too! Basically you play the hero and an evil guy has come and taken everyone’s faces, so you need to go and fight him and his minions to get them back. As the name suggests, it’s based on your Mii’s, the little customised characters you create on your 3DS and Wii, I don’t think the Switch has really bothered with it. I was close to finishing it before we came back from Fuerteventura but never did. HOWEVER, since picking up my 2DS XL I’ve played more and oh man, I forgot how much I love it! It’s an RPG game but it’s such a lax one at that, which is why I love it so much. Basically if you loved Tamodachi Life on the 3DS and you love RPG’s then you will love this! They do have a demo on the Nintendo eShop so check it out.

PHEW finally I have my favourites from March written down and done! I swear I can’t believe how quickly the year is going already and it’s my last day off of the Easter holidays too. SAD TIMES! 😛

I’m off to go and chill out, whilst attempting to eat some of my chocolate eggs. I bought myself one this year and received one from my manager as well as Dane’s parents. I’m not a massive chocolate person, so my chocolate eggs will probably last months. 😛

How many chocolate eggs did you get for Easter? Also, what are your favourites from March? Make sure to let me know in the comments down below!

Until next time, take care all and Happy Easter!