Happy Things: #1

1. The ONE 5-in-1 WonderLash Mascara by Oriflame. I have only just discovered this mascara and I am already smitten. It builds length and volume beautifully without any clogs and it's a doddle to wash off.

2. I've loved the indian summer we've been experiencing for most of September in London. I think today might have been the nicest day yet and I made the most of it with a forest walk this morning. I feel very lucky to have a forest so close to where I live and it's one of my favourite spots for sorting out all the confuddle in my head and just taking a moment to appreciate fresh air and speckled light glittering through leaves. Today I was joined by my lovely boyfriend and his family's Chihuahua. I have a bit of an aversion to small dogs, but I have a bit of a soft spot for Alfie the Chihuahua.

3. My new shoes from Clarks are going to give me an extra spring in my step all autumn. They're real suede and a really unusual colour. I love the fringing and the fresh take on the much-loved brogue. I'll be wearing mine with skinny jeans and basic t-shirts, and maybe a duster coat if I can ever find one to fit a short gal. Clarks has got serious shoe game at the moment, I want everything.

4. I started my Masters in Social Work recently and had my first lectures last week. I had been so nervous about starting and worried a lot about whether I was doing the right thing. The fact that I've found all my lectures so interesting and inspiring has really reassured me and I've even written my first essay in two years. It feels great to be learning new things and thinking new thoughts again.

  
5. Our Girl on BBC1 has fast become my favourite new drama. I am a bit of a sucker for a good drama and this one has all my favourite ingredients: action, romance, and a bit of girl power. I've always thought that Lacey Turner was a fantastic actress and I think she really shines in this. It is definitely going to be an important feature of my Sunday nights for a while.

What has made you happy this week?

Beauty Box: Love Me Beauty September 2014

 “Don’t fix what isn’t broken,” is one of those sayings that I don’t always necessarily agree with. While I can accept that change for the sake of change is pretty pointless (and a bit of a mouthful to say), I also think that freshening up a tired brand or concept can really help companies reach a new audience, and make things more interesting for loyal customers. That’s why, when I heard about Love Me Beauty’s revamp, I was quite excited. Love Me Beauty has always been my favourite beauty box because I think they choose consistently good products and give generous samples. And I also really liked the way you chose your box from three beauty menus, so although you weren't getting surprises, you always got something you actually liked the look of. But, forget that, things are a little different now.

My Love Me Beauty September box was the first after their makeover. The principle remains quite similar, except we are all now given six credits and can choose our products from an online beauty boutique. Full-size products are worth two credits and for one credit you can get a sample size to try. This new way of doing things really puts the customer in control. Essentially, you can use your credits to get things you actually really need. That’s why I chose three full-size items. Swedish Spa’s cooling shower mousse sounds really refreshing and it felt like a nice treat to choose a more luxurious brand, rather than whatever-I-could-find-in-the-poundshop-gel. The same could be said for the reason I chose an Oriflame all-purpose balm for my lips and extra dry bits. I am a sucker for good branding and I love the shape of the tub. Finally, I am on the last dregs of my hair mask so I thought that a Percy & Reed foaming hair mask would make the perfect addition to my beauty box. And that was it. I’d run out of credits. Love Me Beauty does allow you to add more to your order and pay the extra but I didn’t really want to spend more than the subscription price. 

I am pleased with the three products I received because I will definitely use them but I do think this might have been one of those occasions where change really was a bit unnecessary. I like that we are now given the freedom to choose exactly what we want but I also think that it has taken some of the fun out of the beauty box, or should I say bag? Getting a subscription beauty box is always going to be a gamble but it’s a great way of discovering new brands and trying products we might have otherwise missed. Shopping in Love Me Beauty’s boutique and spending my credits didn’t feel much different from having a browse on any other cosmetic website and I was particularly disappointed my order didn’t include any extras or freebies. I have had boxes in the past that have included three large products plus more so the six credits do seem a bit measly. I think it'll be hard for bloggers to review the boxes now as there isn't really a theme or any uniformity - it's essentially just buying things with pre-paid credit. I was also unimpressed with the general presentation. It all felt a bit unfinished and stripped back. I received an e-mail today to inform me that Love Me Beauty’s new box packaging would be unveiled in October so maybe things will get more exciting then. But for now I’m undecided. And, like the grey clouds outside, feeling just a little bit blaahh.

Are you a Love Me Beauty subscriber? What do you think of their new concept?

Beauty Box: Birchbox September 2014

I can’t believe it is mid-September already. I really can’t explain where this year has gone. Anyone else having similar problems?

The September 2014 Birchbox is named Happy Days. I think that September is quite a happy month. I don’t know whether it’s the first signs of autumn in the leaves, the fresh air and sunny days, or the start of new challenges for many of us, but everything does indeed feel quite joyful and exciting. 

I have my own new challenge approaching as I am about to go back to university to train as a social worker. I haven’t been in education for two years now and I feel so excited and nervous. It feels good to finally be putting all my work experience to use, as long as I don’t drown in paperwork, essays and books. I think the contents of my September Birchbox will be super useful for my newly acquired student lifestyle. I reckon that my BeautyBlender will speed up make-up application in the mornings. I have been wanting to try this little make-up sponge for ages and I literally squealed when I found one in my box. I love that every blender comes with a solid soap – it’ll make keeping it clean so much more hassle-free. Skin & Co.’s day serum will hopefully help disguise any late nights I have cramming and/or drinking, and the shock of getting used to early morning starts after a long summer holiday. I can team it with my Benefit eye cream and pretend to be fresh-faced every single day. I think I'll tuck my ModelCo mascara in my bag for a little mid-day pick me up.

I was really impressed with this month’s Birchbox. I think I’ll be able to make use of all the products I was given, and the box had a good variety. I was especially impressed with the selection of brands I was given. Happy days.

What did you get in this month’s box? Are you starting something new this September?

Film: Lucy

It is fairly common in the world of all things superhero to develop your powers through some outside source – whether it is an accident, assault or even a radioactive spider. And then we have Lucy. Lucy (Scarlett Johansson) is a 25 year old student living in China who is somehow manipulated into becoming a drug mule for a particularly evil mob boss, played by Min-Sik Choi. The drug she is forced to carry internally is an extremely experimental synthetic creation designed to set the European party scene on fire. When the mysterious bag of blue crystals begins to leak inside Lucy she is quickly transformed into a kick-ass fighting machine with incredible logic and ability far beyond anything that has been seen in a human being before. We quickly find out that the drug has unlocked a level of brain capacity beyond which we are naturally capable of accessing, and as Lucy’s brain power increases, so too does the destruction in her wake.

Lucy is a film based on the idea that human beings only use 10 per cent of our brains. It is essentially an imagining of what might happen if more of our brain capacity was unlocked. While I believe the 10 per cent fact to be nothing more than myth, the film was still an entertaining 89 minutes that left me not only pretty satisfied, but also with the feeling that I may just have experienced some sort of group hallucination (in its stranger moments). If you can look past the slightly preposterous plot and accept that the film is what it is, you’ll find something that has some particularly thought-provoking dialogue and is stylishly filmed with, albeit some obvious, metaphorical imagery. Scarlett Johansson really pushes the action forward with some fantastic acting and Morgan Freeman (as a professor specialising in the brain) is likeable too – although we never really get to know him as much more than a kindly, intelligent man who tries to help Lucy as her brain power reaches breaking point. Lucy, in the end, wants nothing more than to pass on everything that she has come to understand through her arguably unfortunate experience and the idea that, despite being less (or maybe more) than human, her most primal instinct is still to help is a nice one.

While I wouldn’t rate Lucy up there as one of the best films of the year, the action/sci-fi/philosophical hybrid certainly held my attention, and is worthy of a cinema ticket.

Have you seen Lucy? What did you think of the idea behind the film?

Opinion: Why I Won't Look at Leaked Photos

Leaked, leaking, leak: it is a word that kind of revolts me in all its forms. It reminds me of a medical procedure gone wrong or an offensively smelling drain.

The ‘leaked photos’ of some female celebrities is one of the buzz news stories of the moment and I find the whole thing no less offensive than a drain that smells of other people’s poo.

Unless you have been living under a stone, you’ve probably heard that a whole host of female stars have had nude photographs stolen from them and leaked (ugh) onto the internet. I think a lot of people are under the misconception that once a photograph is in the public domain, it becomes public property and, therefore, it’s in some way ok to go and seek out these photos.

I would like to argue that it is not ok. I would like to argue that every time someone clicks on a stolen photograph of a person (no different from their daughter, sister, best friend or partner) it is endorsing the behaviour of people who think that going to great lengths to steal private shots is an acceptable thing to do. I would also like to argue that looking at these photographs is an absolute violation of the ladies involved and it only serves to further objectify the female body – to make it something x-rated, dirty or shady. I don’t see how this online assault is any different from someone trying to look up your skirt on a staircase or grab at your arse in a nightclub. 

Infamous celebrity blogger Perez Hilton was one of the first to post the stolen photos of one of the actresses involved on his site. In a candid confession he later posted to his website he admitted, “I posted the photos without really taking a moment to consider the repercussions of my actions,” and has since taken them down (after some pressure, I imagine, from his audience). I am pleased that many media outlets have taken such a negative stance on this situation, perhaps because of the sheer number of women who have had their right to privacy breached. I hope that it marks a step forward in ensuring that people's property is safe online as well as in real life. 

I truly believe that posting and passing on these photographs just facilitates whoever stole these pictures and encourages others to do the same. It encourages young boys in thinking it is ok to look at intimate, private parts of females without permission, and it has even encouraged some women to post their nudes on the internet in a form of warped solidarity with their idols. I would not do that. I will, however, stand shoulder to shoulder with females and level-headed members of society everywhere by refusing to hunt out photographs that were never intended for us. I will also continue to be a proud woman who believes that women have the right to express their sexuality without fear of abuse or harassment. And finally, I will remember that these ladies have talents that run far deeper than their flesh.

What do you think?

Beauty Box: MEMEBOX X Coffee with Dani

I’m late to the party. Again. But I have finally caught the MEMEBOX bug. The beauty box company is the leading Korean beauty retailer and it provides innovative and exciting boxes with products sourced directly from Korea. I am officially hooked.

I chose a collaboration box by Coffee Break with Dani because I always enjoy testing out products chosen by beauty bloggers with more experience and knowledge than me. Apparently Dani was one of the first bloggers to start reviewing MEMEBOX.

I have always wanted to go to East Asia. And visting South Korea’s capital, Seoul, is high up on my bucket list - especially now that I know how interesting the K-Beauty scene is. I think the area really appeals to me because the culture and lifestyle is just so different. It would be refreshing to visit somewhere that is really quite untouched by Western culture. A close friend of mine is currently living in Hong Kong and I am desperate to get over there for a visit before she heads home. 

Anyhoo.

Although a beauty box is a rather small, insignificant thing, I think it shows, on a fairly shallow level, just how different other parts of the world are. The Korean take on design and ingredients would definitely be considered unusual around here. I think it's great. I absolutely loved the small bottle of Hanskin Bio Origin Royal Ampoule BB Cream complete with a small pipette to release the small drop of cream that is apparently all that's required. I’ve also been intending to buy a new eye cream for ages, having reached an age where I feel preventative aging measures are necessary, and the tube of Chamos Acaci Snail Anti-Wrinkle Eye Cream will last me ages – if I can get used to applying snail slime to my face.

I really couldn’t fault this box. It was an absolute pleasure to explore all the goodies I received. I can’t wait to try out the tiny nail masks by Kocosar and to give myself a thoroughly good scrub with the Golden Glove Exfoliating Gloves. I definitely think that beauty boxes this side of the world could learn a thing or two from MEMEBOX – I can’t remember ever getting EIGHT full-size products in a box before.

Have you tried MEMEBOX? What unusual items did you discover?