My Top Five Musicals

I am a huge musical enthusiast, and I love everything theatre related. There's something about the atmosphere of being in a theatre, and there's something very raw, emotional and powerful about each actors performance in a show. Especially as the actors skills are put to the test, physically, emotionally and vocally. I think it's very impressive to translate a story into music and how every individuals performance varies from another playing the same role, it's magical. I thought I'd suggest and discuss my favourite musicals today, as I don't think I have ever discussed it but I'd love to hear recommendations on ones I may not have given the time to. I also might do my least favourites later on as I have a lot of thoughts and a lot to discuss. Also all of these favourites which I have added to my list have been ones that I have seen so I can judge better.

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• Number five on the list, which was a hard list to compile, is Waitress. I feel like this musical has a very different tone than a lot of others. A lot of the songs are slow and there's not as many characters and intricate routines as a lot of other Broadway/West End shows. I love the simplicity of the routines in this show. The ensemble beautifully joins into the songs and harmonies while not taking away from the main characters. The emotions are very strong in this and there are also a lot of power ballads. Plus this was I believe, the first fully female produced Broadway production, plus three strong female leads is amazing. I would recommend this, like everything on the list, if you like upbeat rhythms but also slow and emotional songs.

• Number four - Hamilton, I feel like I'm growing away from this musical slightly, which might anger people. This seems to be the most popular musical on the planet at the moment and tickets are like gold dust. I was lucky enough to see this and it does live up to the hype, everything about this is beautifully calculated. Lin Manuel Miranda is a musical genius. The story has taught me a lot about American history for sure, and the music is very mainstream and different to that 'typical' musical music style, which is why I think it's so popular. Every song in this musical is so catchy and it's definitely not going to loose its momentum anytime soon.

• Number three - Miss Saigon, I love historically based musicals, they're just so emotional and powerful that not much else can compare. The composers of this are my all time favourite and if you didn't know it's based off a picture from the Vietnam war. The story is so powerful and the details within for all the character's is just crazy. The staging for this is the best I've ever seen. I don't want to give spoiler's for anyone who doesn't know what happens but there is some really crazy and intricate stage piece moving and some cool pieces all together. I would recommend seeing this live.

 

• Number two Heathers - This musical again has gained so much popularity recently due to the recent production starring Carrie Hope Fletcher. This, like Waitress is based off a movie, and it's a very teen based musical. I don't love the story line too much for a musical but the upbeat and quirky nature of the music makes me love it. The staging isn't as great as other musicals I've discussed but I love the style even though admittedly it took me a long time to get into it. It's very comedic compared to a lot of others and it shouldn't be taken as seriously as something like Miss Siagon. 

• Number one Les Miserables - This has always been my top musical. I think maybe most people's favourite musical for so many reasons. The score is just so beautiful, done by the same composers as Miss Siagon, you can see why I like it. There's so many interweaving storylines, variations in characters, a powerful ensemble and so much emotion within every song. There's been so many versions and I've seen so many productions, some better than others but I never get tired of hearing any of the songs, and I will never skip one on a playlist. If you have never seen or heard this you need to ASAP.

Honourable mentions that i have include, Anastasia, Six, Beetlejuice, Sweeney Todd, The War of the Worlds, Into the Woods. These are all musicals I enjoy but I haven't seen all of these live before so maybe my top few will change when I can appreciate these fully, although Six may be the only one on at the moment.

Let me know what your favourite musicals are and why I'd love to hear!

February Favourites | 2018

I love the alliteration of the title of this post. I have not done a favourites video in a long time, usually because I'm that person who uses the same products all the time. Yet, over Christmas I've gathered a lot of new products to try out so I thought I'd share the things that I've been loving for the past while. 

I'm going to start with beauty favourites, so during Christmas I had the NYX lipstick calendar, which contained 24 NYX mini lipsticks, which I love, there's only about two or three that I would never wear. I decided to pick my three favourites from them to share with you. The first one is a butter lipstick in the shade Root Beer Float, which is a purple toned pink, but it's a dark nude colour when  on the lips. This is like a regular lipstick with a soft finish. The next lipstick is the NYX lip lingerie in the shade Exotic, which I have had a full version before and loved, this is a dark pink/red liquid lipstick, and these are my favourite liquid lipsticks I own. And the last NYX lipstick is the soft matte lip cream in the shade Copenhagen, which is a deep purple red, matte lip colour. I love that they are all minis too, so easy for travel.

The next beauty products are from Tanya Burr, I'm not too sure if they're only from her Christmas range or not. The first is a lip gloss in the shade Cranberry Melt, I'm not massively into lip glosses, but recently I've been into more subtle shades, of which this is although it looks a deep red colour. Also her nail varnish in the shade festive red, which I think the two are a good combination.

The next few things are perfume and scent related. The first one is from Zoella's Christmas range, it's a body mist aptly called Snow'ella. This body mist is very calming and smells fresh, floral and minty. I like it because it's a little subtle. The other perfume I've chosen for my favourites is Lady Million, this is the female branded version of One Million, which I love. I'm very bad at describing scents but you can click on the link if you're interested in a proper description. It's always one of my favourites and a staple scent.

   

On to other non-beauty related favourites over the past month. If I did a favourites in January my top favourite would be the Greatest Showman film and soundtrack. If you haven't seen or listened to anything from this yet, what are you doing with your life? I know there's a handful of people that dislike it, but they're wrong. The only thing I disliked was a few of the plot structure and flow, but overall, the experience, atmosphere and the production of the film was amazing. Also I absolutely love all the cast, Hugh Jackman being my favourite. The composers and lyricists who made La La Land and Dear Evan Hansen created the music for this film so you'll know straight away it's amazing. If you want to check out my cover of This Is Me, you can watch it here.

Another favourite is watching films and TV shows from DisneyLife rather than Netflix recently. If you don't know what DisneyLife is, it's a Netflix purely for Disney productions, and who doesn't love a good Disney film? It's also safe to say over the past few months that I've more than likely watched them all.

My last favourites are the Malteasers mini Teasers, which I didn't have any left for the photos, ooops. These are small versions of the Teasers bar, I think they originally come from the Christmas celebration tins. You could get these in little chocolate boxes for Valentines for which I happily received, and they are amazing and so cute.

What's everyone else's favourites been over the past month? Let me know!

Current Favourites | August 2017

I haven't got that many things in the line of favourites this month mainly because I lost my bank card and spent most of the month without access to money, which was super annoying but there are a few little bits I've picked up throughout the month that I'd like to share!

The first thing I picked up was the Body Fantasies Signature in Pink Grapefruit Fantasy from Superdrug and I didn't need a new body spray but I sprayed it in the shop and I knew I needed it. It smells like it should be a Victoria Secret scent except it doesn't last as long. Obviously it smells like pin grapefruit and although I'm not a fan of the fruit I love the smell. It's very summery and fruity and very good for the price.

The next things I got are from Disneyland Paris, they're two collectible pins. I'd never bought any Disney pins before but I decided that I'm going to start collecting them every time I go to Disney, so I picked up two to start my collection. The first one I got is the 25th Anniversary pin as I thought it was cute and it's a good commemoration of me being there then, plus I won't ever be able to get it again so. The second one I bought is the Thumper one, where he's holding a flower in his mouth, I love rabbits so Thumper has always been a favorite of mine, I just think he's so cute. Don't forget you can check out my Disney vlog here.

   

The last two pieces I got from Kiko which I always get stuff while away as we don't have any in Ireland. I didn't need anything in particular though so I just picked up two small items, I got the Smart Colour Eyeshadow 09 Metallic Moonstone in a light grey colour. Although I wouldn't normally wear grey I got this one because it swatches more silvery and light than it looks and I think it would look nice in the corners of your eyes to finish off a look, as I haven't any other colours like it.
The second thing I bought I bought because of how cute the packaging was as opposed to the colour, not great I know. I got the Mini Divas in 01 Practical Rose which is a really pale light pink which probably doesn't suit my skin tone the best but it's such a tiny lipstick and the packaging is so cute I thought I'd just get it anyway. You get a good bit of lipstick for the size and it's so easy to bring around with you.

The above swatches are of the Smart Eyeshadow 09 and the Mini Divas Lipstick 01.

Another thing I've been loving recently is the Addams Family musical. I got to go see the UK tour live twice in the past few weeks and I am obsessed with it. It's one of the funniest musicals I've ever gone to see and the cast and production are amazing, definitely try to get tickets to this tour while you still can. The soundtrack is very hard to find to listen to as there isn't many recordings of it anywhere, although I'm hoping they do a cast recording and put in on Spotify as soon as possible. If you're interested and want to check out a few songs you can watch the full cast perform When You're an Addams here and Carrie Hope Fletcher who plays Wednesday's version of Pulled here, they're both two of my faves.

What has everyone else been loving from the past month?

Current Favourites | January 2017

I've been meaning to do favourite posts for so long. I've had multiple photos shot to post, but they're long overdue and not relevant to the months they're from anymore. I thought I'd do a little recap on the things I've been meaning to post as they're still my favourites and they don't need to be confined in a certain month. So I'll most likely be doing current favourites in the future unless I can stick with keeping up monthly. 

Zoella Beauty - My first favourites come from the Zoella beauty range. The first product is the Zoella Candy Cream Softening Body Lotion. I love this body lotion, it doesn't have a very strong smell, but it quite sweet and very soothing. The part I love the most about this bod lotion is the little microbeads in the lotion. The beads aren't made of plastic like most face wash ones, but are made of a more moisturizing substance prefect for blending into dry skin. The second Zoella product is the Kissy Missy lip balm. I'm not a huge fan of lip balm as I find them messy and not great to use. This lip balm is a little tinted and moisturizing at the same time, it reminds me of the Maybelline Baby Lips Cherry Me. I use a lot of lip products in the colder months and I've been reaching for lip balms a lot. 

Victoria's Secret Fragrance Mist - The last time I was in London I picked these two body mists up, as we don't have Victoria's Secret in Ireland (except there's one coming soon wooo!) so I can't get these products easily. They all smell so good, but I couldn't buy much due to carry on restrictions. I bought them in Pure Seduction and Aqua Kiss. Pure Seduction smells so sweet and dark while Aqua Kiss is fresh and light. I'm trying to make them last as long as they can as I love them so much and have to wait til the new store opens in Dublin to buy some more. 

Les Miserables - I went to see Les Miserables in the Queen's theater in October, and it's like my favourite musical of all time, it was like a dream come through. Also it's been so long I don't know whether to blog about my London trip and review of Les Mis, but if you're interested let me know. I bought this bracelet at the show and it's adorable and it's very special to me, and reminds me of such a good trip and time. I need to see this musical live again soon - I love it so much. 

La La Land Soundtrack - I recently posted a review of La La Land on my blog, and I'm still obsessed with the soundtrack even after a month of viewing it. The soundtrack has a wide variety of high energy dance sequences and sad sappy love songs, perfect for every mood. If I'm in a bad mood or need something to bop to Another Day of Sun is such a perfect dance, strut your stuff down the road song. City of Stars is my favourite, it's a duet that's just so beautiful. Lovely Night is also a perfect song to duet with a friend or boyfriend with, even you can convince them. The jazz and piano solos are soothing and everything about the soundtrack is perfect, there's definitely something for everyone. 

Has anyone ever tried any of these things before? What have you been loving recently?