Easter Bunny Shirt | Outfit

Hope everyone has had a happy Easter to begin with, I'm here to share my Easter themed outfit for the week. For starters, if anyone knows me they know I love rabbits and patterned shirts, so rabbit patterned shirt was a huge yes. The dungarees just make it look cuter.


   


   

   

The shirt is from H&M, patterned shirts are so fashionable right now, I've seen so many amazing ones recently and I want them all. They're so casual and professional. The dungarees are from River Island and I just thought they'd look super cute together, even though it makes me look five years old. Oh well. I will admit it looks a little like a school uniform though.

Does anyone else wear patterned shirts and what did you wear over Easter?

Film Reviews | March 2016

Another midterm month means I get to go to the cinema much more than normally I would, which is a great thing. I'm becoming more and more a movie fanatic as I am a book one, my future house is going to be full of collections of books, films and CD's. It's the dream.



(Yes Ben & Jerry's is the best ice cream)

10 CLOVERFIELD LANE
I actually knew nothing about this film at all before going to see it, other than it is closely related/a prequel to the 2008 thriller, 'Cloverfield' which was probably my favourite film when I was eleven, I know strange choice. With that I was expecting a follow up of the alien attack on Manhattan in some way; I guess I wasn't entirely wrong. It takes a different twist on the 2008 blockbuster.

Most of the film is spent within the captivity of a Bunker built by a man called Howard who has suspected an alien attack of sorts for years. He is joined by Emmett and Michelle, who have been taken in and told that the air above them is contaminated and that they cannot leave the bunker, they are unsure of the truth of this. Set in a small enclosed space, I felt as if I was back watching 'Room' again and didn't see the resemblance to 'Cloverfield' until the very end; it's very eery, chilling and haunting.

I was genuinely scared for the majority of the film, I'm trying not to give away too many spoilers as it's better like that but I was kept on the edge of my seat throughout; it was like you never really knew what could happen. It was really interesting and definitely worth a watch. The cast and their dynamics were very interesting and I think it was just as good as its predecessor but in a very different take and way.

ZOOTROPOLIS 
Another Disney film that has failed to disappoint me. This film revolves around a rabbit, Judy Hopps has a dream to become the first rabbit police officer and works hard to get it despite everyone else's harsh comments that she'll never be a cop. She is always underrated and misunderstood and always looking for the chance to prove herself. She takes on a case that would have otherwise been overlooked and enlists the help of a sly fox, Nick Wilde and helps to solve one of the biggest cases of Zootropolis.

Like every Disney film, it has a thoroughly well thought out and executed plot line, likeable characters, good music, humour and emotion. The film shows the strength of friendship and unlikely companions and also the message simply of just being non judgmental in general. The plot was somewhat predictable but very fun and enjoyable. There were a lot of on going jokes and humour being used throughout the film and of course always link their way back to the end in true Disney film style. I would say this film is more for adults than children though, it just felt more complicated but would definitely be enjoyable for both adults and children. I'm hoping this film gets more recognition as I feel that a lot of recent Disney films don't get the credit they deserve, they're definitely getting better over time. 

SING STREET
I love the amount of really great Irish films being created recently. There is so much talent in Irish acting, film making and music and I'm really glad that there's an increase in really big productions, like my favourite film, 'The Stag' staring Andrew Scott, who is also my favourite actor. Sing Street is set in the 80's in Dublin and is about a boy who starts a band and pursues a career in music and tries to win the love of a girl who says she's a model in the process. Set in a small Catholic school the band struggle to get through the struggles of forming a decent band and also school bullies and complicated love.  

To be honest, I didn't think I was going to enjoy this film, it looked really cringe worthy in the trailer, but I was pleasantly surprised. The cast was so likable and I loved all the characters, they were all quirky and the film had a lot more in it than I had expected. The making of the band was more complicated than I thought, I originally didn't understand how they'd get a full film out of the plot I'd seen in the ads. I'd highly recommend this film, it's light hearted, funny, heart warming and the sound track is amazing. If you're a huge movie music nerd like me then you'll love all the original 80's style songs like my favourite 'The Riddle of the Model' and you'll also love all the other featured songs for the soundtrack like The Cure and Duran Duran. Definitely a really good, easy watching film you could just watch again and again and probably still like it. 

BATMAN V SUPERMAN
This is proper first hyped up film I've been waiting to see for the year. I had no expectations for the film because I thought it was just going to be made for the sake of it and not going to be made very well, but I was pleasantly surprised again. The film follows after the last Superman film, which majorly disappointed me, where people begin to question whether Superman is actually for the good of humanity and it becomes Bruce Wayne/Batman's mission to take him down, as well as nemesis Lex Luther. 

I enjoyed the first half of the film and it felt like the film was actually going somewhere with good dynamics. Then as it began to end with, spoiler alert, the alien formed by Lex Luthor just felt like every other superhero film I've ever seen and thought the battle between Superman and Batman could have been executed better without this strange other life form. Also the introduction to Wonderwoman just didn't feel like it was needed other than to introduce her into further films. The performance that made the film worthwhile was Jesse Eisenberg's interpretation of Lex Luthor. I found his performance to be the height of the film and very similar to Heath Ledgers Joker performance, I do like a good eccentric villain. He's tied with Gene Hackman as my favourite Lex Luther, and Henry Cavill is also a close second to my favourite Superman; Christopher Reeve will always be top. Overall, the film did bring something new and exciting to the franchise but I feel like it could've been more and that it's missing something.

Has anyone seen any of these films this month or anything else? What did you think?

Recent Reads

As I study English I have a lot of books to read for college and even more to come and I've not enough time to read recreational books just because I want to. I really wanted to get back into reading the kinds of books I wanted to and have picked myself rather than just being prescribed them. So over my midterm I've read a few books that I thought I could review on a new series of blog posts, if it works out. Anyway on to the books.



   

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon:
   The first book I finished this year was The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon, one I've been dying to read for a long time. I've hear so much about this book, especially from my boyfriend, who says it's the best book ever, so that gave me high expectations from the get-go. I also saw that it has become a play, which really interests me so I wanted to read the book before hopefully seeing the play soon.

The book wasn't quite what I expected it to be. I expected it to be more of a murder mystery Sherlock Holmes type novel, but it was different than that. The book follows a little boy with Asperger's syndrome which I actually had no clue what it was like until I read the book so it was teaching me on the way. The plot is about the boy, Christopher who finds his neighbours dog has been murdered and is on the hunt to find the culprit. Christopher has a practical and mathematical way of interpreting the world and I enjoyed being inside his head and seeing and learning all the things he thinks. The story itself is enjoyable but also kind of sad. It's written in a way that it feels less emotional and the narrative is lighthearted and humorous at parts. I felt angry and sad at parts as I got really involved in the book and I finished it within three hours of starting it.

I really did love the book but I feel it had been over hyped for me and I don't know what I was expecting from it, a little like how I felt with John Green's The Fault in our Stars. In my head I saw the storyline going a different way than it did so I guess the story left me pleasantly surprised at what it was really about. Overall it is definitely a great read and a really well thought out and written story, it's easy and fun to read and is going to be a great classic for years to come I think.




All My Sons by Authur Miller:
   This book/play is yet another recommendation from my boyfriend, who'd previously studied the book and told me that I would enjoy it and it'd be something I'd like. He was right, he'll love reading that. I don't usually read plays but it's something I could definitely get into the habit of doing, recommendations would be welcome. Also this play was the top of my reading list due to the fact my favorite band Twenty One Pilots got their name from this play, fun fact.

The play revolves around the Keller family who have lost their son Larry who has been missing for three years. The mother refuses to believe the son is dead and refuses to let her other son, Chris marry 'Larry's girl' Ann Deever. Ann's father was sent to jail for allowing damaged cylinders to be used in aircrafts which killed twenty one pilots. The father Joe had been part of the same company but did not take any responsibility for it, this causes tension between the two families.

The play was short and very entertaining. There's a lot going on and all the characters are very strong. I loved the plot line and the way the story unraveled. It had a really nice progression, climax and ending. I would definitely love to see this play live too, another one on my bucket list. I felt like I knew the characters really well even in the short space of time it took me to read it, I was engrossed in the story and could imagine them all performing on a stage really clearly in my mind.



All I Know Now by Carrie Hope Fletcher
   For those of you who might not know her, Carrie Hope Fletcher is the sister to Tom Fletcher from McFly and a Youtuber.  She was up until the past month Epoinne in the West End production of Les Miserables, my all time favourite musical and dream role. I'm a huge fan of everything Carrie produces and when I saw she was releasing a book I knew I had to get it, she's actually working on a new book right now too.

The book is basically an autobiography filled with little tips on how she survived certain situations and also giving out general tips like how to survive bullying and break ups. The book is interesting as her life has been quite interesting and she writes in a way that draws you in and makes you feel like part of the story. It's humorous and generally light-hearted even when dealing with deeper issues.

Although I enjoyed reading it, it wasn't really the type of book I would read again. I enjoyed it because I love hearing about her life but the advice section of the chapters weren't really any help to me, probably because I'm much older and not in school anymore. Some tips were helpful but I feel like they would be better use to someone else rather than me, even though she has a really great advice section in each chapter and as the book goes on I do see myself relating to all of them throughout my life and not just now.



Overall, I would recommend all of these books for different reasons. 'All I know Now' for the suvival and advice aspect, 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime' for it's creativity and emotion and 'All My Sons' also for emotion, truth and suspense. My favourite is probably 'All My Sons' but the other two are much easier and lighter to read.

Has anyone read any of these books before? What do you think?


Troubles Fade Out in the Open | Outfit

Hey guys, I'm back again with another outfit post.
  I'm really enjoying making them recently, I feel like I'm going to continue doing a good amount of them, hopefully that's a good thing. Right now the weather is between sunny and slightly warm and then absolutely freezing. There is no in between so you have to dress for every weather which is slightly annoying.



   


I saw this wall while venturing around shopping one of the days last week and couldn't resist taking pictures in front of it, I do love a good slogan wall. My jacket is from Forever21 and is actually ridiculously heavy and warm even though it doesn't quite look it. I also thought you can never go wrong with a simple plain jumper and jeans, so cozy. I've also been wearing these red boots too little compared to how often I should wear them, I can never match them with anything and they hurt my ankles but I still love the colour and style of them a lot.

Whats everyone else been wearing this month? 

Benefit 'Life of the Party' | Review

I received this Benefit make up set for Christmas and completely forgot I owned it. I've revived it now and am going to do a review of the contents within the set. It's the 'Life of the Party'/'Beauty Blowout' set and it contains Porefessional, Dandelion blush, Rockateur bronzer, eyeshadows in 'Call my bluff', 'Nude Swings' and 'Taupe it Off', They're Real mascara, and Benetint. Although it's called 'Life of the Party' I think it's a more of a neutral faced set.


Dandelion is one of the benefit products I always thought looked super cute and always wanted to try. It's meant to brighten your face as a finishing powder and meant to leave a soft pink glow. I do think the product is a cute coral pink but because it's so light it doesn't really come out on me. It does leave a little glow on my face to make it feel more awake looking but other than that I don't think it does that much to my skin which is disappointing.

On Benefits website it's called a blush and bronzer but I'd more likely say it was a bronzer over a blush. It definitely leaves more of a mark and pigment than Dandelion but again I don't think it was pigmented enough and literally didn't come out on my skin. Plus the small one doesn't look as good as the bigger one with packaging. I think it's just the fact they're not full sized which limits their quality, which sucks.

Eye Shadows; 'Call My Bluff', 'Nude Swings' and 'Taupe it Off'
I never see anyone posting about Benefit's eyeshadows so I'm not sure what to make of them. Again like Dandelion and Rockateur they are very opaque and not very visible on at all which is a shame. In the swatches below they actually look darker than they do on my eyelids, they're almost unnoticeable on it. I really do like the colours though if they were more visible. 

(Swatches are left picture; Eyeshadows 'Call My Bluff', 'Nude Swings', and 'Taupe it Off'. Right picture 'Dandelion' and 'Rockateur'.)




This product is the Holy Grail of the set and the reason I like the set. This mascara is a life saver and probably my new top mascara. It made my lashes look super long in one coat and in literally one brush stroke. It leaves them really nicely separated too. I know it's only a mini version but the brush is so long and just fits around my eye perfectly. I really want to buy the full size version now because I don't want it to run out.

To be honest I had no idea what to do with this product at the start, It comes with a brush inside almost like a paintbrush and I didn't know how to use it. I applied it on my lips and cheeks to try out as it's a lips and cheek stain and I think I'd rather use it on my cheeks. It really irritated my lips to put on with the brush and also made them really dry. The colour was a nice pale red-pink but it wasn't worth the weird feeling it gave me. I applied it on my cheeks then and it worked much better and nicer. It gave my cheeks a nice subtle glow.

I was so excited to try this product. I've heard so much about it and really wanted to give it a go. At first I was super impressed with it, it minimalised my pores and left my skin smooth and very clear looking. I do think it works really well. After a few uses it seems that the product has separated in the tube and a lot of water comes out instead of the actual product and I can't seem to mix them back together which was really disappointing. I'm not sure if this has happened anyone else? If there's anyway to fix it please let me know. 

Overall, I feel like the products would be much better as full size versions but I did enjoy testing them out and I will use them. I just expected them to be higher quality but it could also just be my set that has a problem since the products are super hyped anyway. I am obsessed with the They're Real mascara though and would definitely recommend it along with Porefessional!

Has anyone else tried these products before? 

Ocean Salt | Lush

Lush and their skincare products have become my savior. I've only recently ventured into their skincare range rather than their bath products and I'm loving them a lot if not even more. I bought this face and body scrub mainly to use as a face wash to replace the ones I own which do nothing for my skin.


   

I actually really wanted this product because of its smell, am I wrong? It smells like limes and citrus and also smells really clean like the ocean. It has a huge amount of salt in it which I've heard is good for your skin. The product is said to 'soften your skin' and I do feel like it does this but it is a bit harsh on your skin at first. The salt particles against your skin cleanse the dirt and get rid of all the dead skin cells and you need to do it gently in order to not hurt your skin in the process. It leaves your skin feeling super super soft and clean and it's very refreshing.

I love this product and it leaves you and your skin feeling fresh like you've just after coming from a refreshing swim in the sea, which I love. It helps me feel closer to the ocean when in reality I live miles away.

Has anyone tried this product before? 

Frosty Mornings & Starbucks | Outfit

For March it is ridiculously cold out this week. Last week you could go out in a simple t-shirt and not be cold but this week is the opposite, in fact it snowed today. Climate change is scary folks. Anyway this week I've been living in sweaters again despite the fact I've been loving not having to wear them. It's the days where hot coffee and tea are a necessity once again.


   

  

 

This is one of my favourite jumpers I own, it's from Topshop. I love how neutral the white and grey are and then there's just a sudden splash of bright orange. I don't know why I liked it but I'm so glad I bought it as I wear it all the time now, the inside of it is so soft. I get a lot of compliments on the jumper too so that's always a bonus. 

Is anyone still loving the cold weather or wearing similar jumpers lately?

February Favourites | 2016

It feels like this month flew by, even though it's the shortest month of the year it definitely should not feel so short. I haven't had too much time trying out new things but I'm here to show you a few things I've been loving this month anyway.

      

   

Provoke Touch of Sliver Brightening Shampoo
I actually bought this shampoo during the summer when my hair felt really dull and have been using it on and off since then, so not that much. I recently re-dyed my hair, so it's basically blonde now, and decided to try it again since I had it to keep the blonde bright in my hair. It's very pigmented purple and leaves anything it touches with a purple stain so definitely keep it away from anything other than your hair. I feel like it does work really well and my hair does have more of a bright shine after using it. The best part about it is that you only have to use a tiny bit of it every time you wash your hair so it's really handy and you don't waste it quickly at all.

Essence Long Lasting Lipsticks
I've been loving the Essence range of lipsticks lately, they're not the best quality but for some reason I'm really liking that right now. There's only one in the picture above but I've been loving the shades 'Come Naturally' and 'On the Catwalk' which is the one above. They're not very pigmented but I like the really subtle look about them recently I've fallen back in love with minimal effort things again and I like these lipsticks for just that look, plus they're super cheap and affordable. The downside is they don't stay on too long but I like to use them as more of a lip balm/butter rather than a lipstick. 

   

Maybelline New York Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser
This has been one of my favourite products over the last few months and I keep forgetting to post about it. I had loved the Babylips products in the past so I kinda knew I would love this product. This primer is for 'smooth, poreless looking skin' and I feel like it does make my pores look smaller and skin clearer. I use a tiny amount of it and rub it in the area around my nose, where most of my pores are. It makes your skin ridiculously soft, literally like a baby, as it suggests. I use it for priming my skin before makeup everyday and I do feel a difference with and without using it. It helps keep my makeup on all day and also helps blend makeup easier as my skin is smoother. It's definitely worth a try. 

Topshop Nail Varnish's 
Summer is on it's way and I've been feeling the need to buy more bright coloured nail varnish as I only usually wear dark colours. I picked two very pastel summer colours up in the shades 'Tickle Me..', the pink and 'Breakfast Club', the yellow. They're really light shades and need at least three coats before the colour looks as it does in the bottle. I love the yellow one the most as it's a matte shade and I'm really loving matte nails, even though my nails are a disgrace. I find that they chip a lot but I'm bad at keeping nail varnish on for ages anyway so it's hard to tell if it's just me or not.

   

Urban Decay Eyeshadow 'Sin' 
My last favourite is Urban Decays eyeshadow 'Sin' which was gifted to me by a friend. I feel like I have this eyeshadow in another palette somewhere but I've not checked. I've been so minimalist with my makeup this month that I've rarely worn eyeshadow or eyeliner, college life. This eyeshadow is so easy to pop all over your lid minimally and easily and still look like you've put more effort into it, perfect. It's not very noticeable on the eyes but adds shimmer.

My last favourites are music and film and this month I've been loving, obsessed whatever, with Zayn Malik's 'PillowTalk'. I've not been a One Direction fan in the past but maybe I could be a fan of them all once they've gone solo, looks good so far. Plus Gigi Hadid is in the music video and she looks stunning. My other music favourite is Disney, which is usual for me, I've been listening to the soundtrack to the Hunchback of Notre Dame way too much. It's such a good movie and I listened to a female version of 'Hellfire' and got completely stuck into the soundtrack. The composition of the whole soundtrack is so beautiful, it's mixed with old style church dies irae music and current holy songs and movie soundtrack beats and it's just mixed so well. 
The movie I've been loving this month is Zoolander, I saw it for the first time this month. I didn't think I'd like it I don't usually like 'funny' movies like that but I genuinely did enjoy it surprisingly.

What's everyone else been enjoying this month?