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. 🙂

May Favourites ’20

It’s safe to say that May was weird and really shitty… For me at least anyway!

As many of you may or may not have noticed, I was quiet on my blog this past month and the reason for that being that I just didn’t feel up to writing any content… Which makes me feel incredibly sad. I wanted to write, but I just didn’t have the mental energy to. Most evenings after work I found myself crawling into bed (yes, even during the hotter days) with my laptop and Switch Lite and did nothing constructive. I binged TV shows, played Animal Crossing and that was about it.

Image taken from The Latest Kate

I’m not meaning to start off this months favourites with a sop story but I just want to be honest as to why my blog was so quiet this month. I’m hoping that June will be better and I can continue to bring you all the geeky, kawaii content that I know you all love!

Aside from May being rubbish, May was also a month that seemed to fly by and I discovered some new things, as well as remembering and enjoying some old.

• Molton Brown Fiery Pink Pepper Bath & Shower Gel.

I recently discovered that I had a bottle of this in my bathroom cupboard and was delighted! In May we had some water damage from our bathroom to the kitchen and I was and still am gutted. So, this has been lovely to rediscover and use every other day in the shower. The scent left behind on the skin is strong and lingers around for ages after you get out of the shower, which I don’t often get after I’ve had a shower. I know Molton Brown isn’t cheap, so I don’t know when I’ll ever buy a bottle of their bath & shower gel again. I think I might treat myself in the future, but it’ll depend. I highly recommend though if you love your showers and want a real treat!

• Nails Inc Ocean Ever After Nail Polish.

I have been blown away by this nail polish the last couple of weeks of May! It has lasted over a week without chipping and I am so pleased. I really miss having my nails painted with gel and I honestly can’t wait for my nail tech to be open again so I can go and get pampered. Whilst I wait for my nail tech to open her salon, I’ve been painting my nails again, which honestly I have somewhat missed. As I write this post I’m still wearing this gorgeous blue/green shade is still intact and I love it so much. It’s the perfect shade for summer due to the mermaid effect and whilst I’m not getting comments on it due to isolation, I know when I’ve worn this in the past, people have always commented. This was part of a duo set, which I have a feeling Nails Inc don’t sell anymore. 😦

• Nivea Blueberry Blush Lip Butter.

This is another product I recently rediscovered as I needed another lip balm. I used to use this one loads during a period when the corners of my mouth were prone to infections (I know that’s gross, but it’s true!), and for some reason I discontinued use. I think this was down to Vaseline working better at the time alongside the steroid cream I was given. However, it’s back out and being used daily and it is amazing! First of all, I love blueberry scented (and flavoured) things and this smells so fruity and yummy. This really is a lip butter, it’s thick and a little goes a long way. It feels really nice on the lips when applied and like it’s actually moisturising. I especially love to use this before bed, so I can wake up with soft lips in the morning. Although it’s pink in the tin, it doesn’t tint or change the colour of your lips, which is great too. I definitely recommend this.

• Sally Hansen Instant Cuticle Remover.

As I mentioned previously above, due to COVID I’m not able to go and get my nails done by my nail tech, so I’m doing them myself at home. I decided to buy myself a cuticle remover from Amazon so I could do my nails properly. I hadn’t touched my cuticles over a month and they were pretty bad. I couldn’t wait for this remover to arrive, as well as the cuticle remover tools I’d ordered too. This works amazing and it only takes 15 seconds for it to work it’s magic as well. A little goes a long way and it doesn’t hurt or sting when applied. I even did Dane’s nails with it too to see what it could do. The results were amazing. I use this once a week when I paint my nails, I don’t know if that’s too much or not, but it’s what I’m doing. 🙂

• The Body Shop Peppermint Cooling Foot Spray.

With us in the UK being graced with warm weather at the moment, both me and Dane have been using this cooling foot spray at the moment. It’s so refreshing to use throughout the day whilst we’re at home, especially when you’re feeling really warm! They always say if you’re feeling either hot or cold, you need to cool/warm your feet up for your whole body to cool/warm up. This definitely applies to me, so when I’ve been really warm in the day, I’ve sprayed some of this on both the tops and bottoms of my feet, let it dry and then gone about my day. It’s so quick drying and due to the size of the bottle it’s handy to take out and about with you if need be. I always forget how much I love this foot spray!

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

Image taken from GIPHY

Favourite TV Show – Jackass.

I’ve been binge watching a lot of shows this month, especially as I needed to cheer myself up after a few crappy things happening. I haven’t binged Jackass for a while now, so I decided now was a good time to do so. So far I’ve only watched season 1 and 2 of the show but I always forget how much I love it, certain scenes and how much I miss Ryan Dunn (who died almost 10 years ago). The guys are currently working on Jackass 4, which I am so excited for. I am wondering what will happen however, as this will be the first film without Ryan Dunn. Nonetheless, I am still really excited and will continue to binge watch the rest of the show, as well as the movies.

Favourite Movie – Unbroken.

This is a film that Dane popped on one evening for us to watch and I ended up finishing watching it on my own (as he had things to do). This film is amazing and I loved every moment of it. It’s directed by Angelina Jolie and is all about an American man fighting in the Second World War. He is captured by the Japanese and sent off to various prisoner of war camps. It’s all based on a true story and it’s a really emotional watch. It’s on Netflix and I can’t recommend it enough to watch. I might watch it again soon in the future, as I loved it that much.

Image taken from GIPHY

Favourite Book – Skinema.

Yes. I actually read a book! Well, part of a book anyway. I read and I haven’t done that for months… If not years at this point. This book was actually kindly bought for me from Estelle (go check out her blog over at Estellosaurus!) after sharing my Amazon wish list (which I’ll link here). I was so happy when it arrived as I have wanted this book for years! I actually bought it from Amazon before Christmas but it got lost in the post so I had to get a refund. I even tweeted Chris Nieratko telling him I’d ordered the book and he replied! Told me it’s probably going to be shit so to be prepared. So far, I love it and it was a mixture of what I did and didn’t expect it to be. I highly recommend reading if you’re a fan of Jackass, as well as have a dark sense of humour and open to anything.

Favourite Songs – Bush – “The Sound of Winter” and Institute – “When Animals Attack”.

I’ve been binge listening to Radio Bam since lock down began over two months ago and I’ve now finished it. Two of the songs I discovered years ago through the episodes and now love are my two favourite songs this month. They’re both bands fronted by Gavin Rossdale by the way. Out of the two I love “The Sound of Winter” the most as it has such a great sound behind it. These are just songs I’ve found myself listening to almost everyday whilst working and doing things in my own time (such as writing and playing Animal Crossing). Go and give them a listen if you like rock music and haven’t heard them before. 😀

Image taken from GIPHY

Favourite Game – Still Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

Is it really odd for Animal Crossing to be here again this month? I’ve not played anything else in all honesty and I think it’s obvious why. This game is going to be on my monthly favourites for quite some time now due to how excited I still am to play it. For the whole of June there will be a new event coming called Wedding Season Event, which I am really excited for! We haven’t yet seen Reese and Cyrus yet in New Horizons so I’m excited to see them both soon! It is getting to a point at the moment with Animal Crossing where I would like some more events to come, as well as the introduction to some old and very loved characters. I’m really missing The Roost and Brewster right now, so I hope we hear about it from Nintendo soon. 🙂

So there are all my favourites from May! I can’t believe we’re already in June. June is always a momentous month for me. It’s the month we got the keys to our house, but most of all it’s mine and Dane’s anniversary. We’ve been in our house for 4 years and together for 7 years. All that time has really flew by and I can’t quite believe it to be honest with you. I’m also excited for June to come along as May was shit. June will hopefully be the month we get things done and sorted… Which I may talk about more in the future. 😀

So, what were your favourites from May? Are you going to check out any of the things I mentioned in mine? Let me know in the comments! 😀

Until next time, take care and stay safe. 🙂

June Favourites ’17

It is now July and month seven of the year! 2017 is going by so quickly and whilst a part of me is somewhat glad about that, it’s also always creepy when we edge into another month. Soon it’ll be August bank holiday, then holiday and autumn, then Halloween and bonfire night, and then Christmas and New Year. Fuck. Stop time just for a bit. 😛

I loved all my favourites from last month as I discovered some new beauty products and was reminded how good some oldies are too. So I hope you enjoy this months favourites post. ^_^

• Imperial Leather Foamy Banana Hand Wash.

I’ve been eyeing up this hand wash for ages, but never bought it as me and Dane have had LOADS of hand washes to get through. Then towards the end of the month I was able to pick up a couple of these in Poundland. They smell amazing, just like the shower cream and bubble bath. So far since me using it my eczema hasn’t disliked it, so I’m hoping and keeping fingers crossed that I’ll be okay with it! If so I’ll be buying this and using it as our regular hand wash for as long as possible. 😛

• Nivea Blueberry Blush Lip Butter.

I picked this lip butter up randomly when on an alcohol run before going to a friends BBQ. I’d forgotten my tin of Vaseline in the house and I KNEW I would need something for my lips. I’ve mentioned a few times this past week that my lips are still playing up on and off so I need constant moisture to keep my lips soft and from splitting again. This lip butter is amazing! I love blueberry scented things so this smells divine, but it’s also a thick lip butter which actually feels like it’s working. I have it for around the house as well as for in my handbag when I want something thick on my lips. I recommend these though if you’re not a fan of Vaseline and want to try something different.

• L’Oreal Paris Hydra Genius Liquid Care in Normal To Combination.

I recently reviewed this (which you can read here) and I love it so much! June has been a pretty hot month and we had some of the hottest days of the year during the month. This liquid moisturiser was wonderful to use towards the end of the month and really is something that had to feature on here! It’s also helped my skin quite a bit with my oily t-zone. Can’t complain about that at all! 😛

• MUA Luxe Inked Lip Stain in Sangria.

This is a lip stain I bought months ago but hardly used, until recently. I tried blending this with the shade Dewberry to create blended look with my lipstick. Not only did it look great when I applied it but it lasted ages too, which I was really happy with! It’s so comfortable to wear especially in the warm weather. My only issue with it is it smells and tastes disgusting! >.<

• The Body Shop Oils of Life Twin-Ball Facial Massager.

This is a product I bought over a year ago and one I had hardly used until recently. With the warmer weather I thought it would be nice to use this massager on my skin after my serum and moisturiser. This has especially worked well teamed up with hydra genius! Due to the metal balls it feels lovely and cooling on the skin which I love the most about it. I don’t know if I’ve noticed any differences in my skin  by using it yet however. I also use this under my eyes after applying my eye gel to help with my eye bags. The Body Shop have in fact released one specifically for the eye area so I’ll be buying that one very soon!

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

Favourite TV Show – RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 9.

Oh my God what a season this one has been! It’s definitely been one of my favourites for a long time and that is just purely down to Sasha Velour, who in turn has become my favourite drag queen. At the time of writing this (21st June AKA 2 days before the final!) I am really rooting for her to win this season. She fucking deserves it to be honest. She’s funny, unique, beautiful and not to mention down to earth and not fucking fake. I hate fake queens so damn much!

EDIT: HOLY FUCKING SHIT MY GIRL WON! I am so damn happy that Sasha won season 9! She’s the only queen who wasn’t in the bottom two throughout the competition and I only realised that whilst watching it. That shit she pulled with the rose petals. Fuck yes my lady!!! I have to add that I also loved Peppermint’s performance too and I’m very glad that she came second! I’ve already said that as soon as Sasha Velour announces doing some dates in the UK I WILL be going! 😀

Favourite Film – Split.

After 5 months of saying we would watch it, me and Dane FINALLY watched Split and let me tell you, I loved it. I wanted more from James McAvoy’s character as I loved him so much. He’s also one of my favourite actors and has been since the start of his career when he played Steve in Shameless (the UK one of course, not the shitty American version!). I’ve heard a lot of mixed reviews about this film and how some people loved it and some hated it. I honestly can understand why people didn’t like it, but I felt it worked really well and the twist at the end was pretty awesome. It’s very mental health related and that’s something you find out at the end which is really interesting. It just worked so damn well and McAvoy’s acting was fucking perfect.

Favourite Book – Erm…

I’m not going to lie. I haven;t been reading fuck all this month. I keep meaning to take Bridget Jones Mad About the Boy to work but I always forget. That and I feel like I hardly get any time to even read a decent amount. I have ordered some manga recently so I’m sure I’ll be reading that soon. ^_^

Favourite Song – Persona 5 OST – Behind The Mask (Instrumental).

I feel like I do nothing but talk about this game and erm why the fuck shouldn’t I? IT’S AMAZING! I am legit spending my day off tomorrow by playing this and doing housework. That is so sad. 😛 ANYWAY! The soundtrack from this game is an actual God send for me and I’m fully addicted to it. I need to download it as I want it to listen to whilst on holiday. I’ve found in the past that it’s really good to listen to whilst doing blog work as it’s really interesting. If you love jazz music, you’ll love this album. There is also a version of the song with lyrics/singing but I prefer the instrumental version.

Favourite Game – Pokemon Magikarp Jump.

I so desperately wanted to talk about Persona 5 again, but I can’t possibly. I spoke about it last month. 😛 BUT I have been loving this iPhone game! It’s an official Pokemon game and has been out about a month now. You basically train your Magikarp to jump as high as possible so that it can compete against other Magikarp! It’s kind of addicting and I often play it on my lunch break at work. I know a lot of people who have given it a go and got very bored of it, often deleting it. I love it though! What I find is the best thing about it? You don’t need to be on a wifi nextwork or 3G/4G to play it. WIN WIN!

So those are my favourites from last month. What products were you loving? Make sure to let me know in the comments down below!

Until next time take care all and have a lovely weekend.