Action and Reaction

[Image Source: Pinterest]

Yesterday my friends and I were discussing regret and the question was asked; "Would you change anything in your life so far?" 

All of said that we wouldn't change anything that we'd done so far in our lives.

My reasoning was that I believe the choices I have made and will make in my future have and always will be, for a reason.

There are some situations in my life where I would have like to have changed how I got in to that situation but I don't think I'd like to chance the what happened. 

In my teens I made some silly choices, as I'm sure we all do, which did lead me to some parts of my life that I'd rather forget.

However much I do feel like that about those moments, inevitably all of my experiences have shaped me to the be the person that I am today.

I think, personally, the same applies to everyone. 

I'm uncertain if I'd put it down to 'fate' because I'm not sure if I fully believe in the idea. 

I do put it down to every action causing a reaction.

It may not be as opposite and linear as the scientific theory that was written, sometimes the reaction caused might be a on a completely different level  and might skew courses depending on other elements of other actions.

During our discussion a friend said that he thought none of us had any regrets because he thinks we generally make good, well-thought out decisions in our lives.

I'm not too sure that I fully agree with what he said, as I know I've made some stupid decisions in my life but I completely honor those decisions I made and think that those decisions will be reflected somewhere in my life as the reaction. 

Conversations like this make me feel a little nostalgic and do make me think through some of those memories I'd rather not. 

Would I be the same without those experiences?

Who will ever know.

Toodles.

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Inspiration

[Image Source: Jo Lewis]

Inspiration is a huge motivator in my life. 

I'm, luckily, feeling rather inspired at the moment.

YouTube is a wonderful site with hugely motivating people and content, sometimes you do have to dig deep to find it. But recently I seem to have transitioned to watching Vlogs more than anything else and really seem to have streamlined the content I am watching.

There are a few key players who are inspiring me, it is those creators who use their space to be creative, the ones who are so evidently in love with creating interesting and relevant content. The ones who push the boundaries of video editing and utilise their creativity.

I love watching people who are passionate, the ones who are clearly thankful for all the opportunities they are offered and the ones who still, despite their audience size, still work their arses off to constantly improve and evolve themselves as creators. 

There are obviously people with small audiences who don't get the recognition they deserve, but with time their audiences will grow too.

I appreciate their efforts and am thankful they inspire me.

Toodles.

To Kill a Mockingbird

  

I've been planning this post for a while and then, rather sadly, Harper Lee passed away last week.
To Kill a Mockingbird is one of those 'classics' that you simply 'have to read if you're in to reading' and it has been on my list for many years but I've only just got around to reading it at the age of 27.

In short, To Kill a Mockingbird is the story of a lawyer living in Deep South America in the 30's who is defending a black man who is charged with the rape of a girl. 
The story is told through the view of Scout Finch, the daughter of Atticus, the lawyer defending Tom Robinson.  Scout and her elder brother Jem spend their lives growing up throughout the book and the change in their relationship from being young children, through adolescence is well documents and very relateable, having lived through the same sibling situation myself.

The telling of the story is compelling, especially being told through the eyes of a young girl in 50's America, a girl who doesn't particularly understand the point of racism and why women are expected to act differently to men. 
Scout is a vivacious character, who struggles to control her emotions. She isn't afraid to speak her mind and is regularly repremanded for her actions. 
The affection and respect shown towards her father is touching and makes my heart swell while reading it. 

There are so many ideas and issues addressed in this book that was written in the 1960's that are relevant today, it's no wonder that Lee was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for the book with such innovative writing and ideas.
Writing them through the eyes of a child who doesn't understand the point of people being treated differently makes it a humbling read.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and for once a, to me, is a classic that really stands up to the grade of being called a classic. 

Have you read the book? If not, what is your favourite classic piece of literature?

Toodles

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Revisiting Old Favourites - L'Oreal

It has probably been well documented on my blog that I am partial to a bit of L'Oreal - I purchased a few old faves recently and remembered why I fell in love with them.

Lumi Magique Highlighter Pen

This is a product that when I initially bought it, I instantly fell in love with it and when it ran out I was always lusting after it. I'm not too sure why I didn't just repurchase it, but absence makes the heart grow fonder and I am hooked once again. It has the air of Touche Eclat as more of a highlighting pen rather than a concealer, it adds a subtle luminosity to the high points of the face when applied and does wonders for brightening under the eye. 

The longevity is great, it seems to last all day on me and never starts looking dry or cakey, I'm sure this will be down to the light, watery texture of the product.

The colour range is virtually non-existent and would only suit lighter toned skins, which is a shame and the only down point in my opinion.

The packaging is up there with the more luxe packaging on the high street and only makes me love it that bit more, you can't go wrong with a bit of rose gold. 

L'Ombre Pure Mono Shadow in Breaking Nude

I wrote a full review of this specific shade here, so I won't bore you with all of the specifics again.

My last one fell apart, as did this one when I got it home, but I managed to smush it all back together as it's so creamy in texture and it has held up so far. 

*fingers crossed*

That is an unfortunate side to this eyeshadow, the texture makes it so susceptible to crumbling apart to no fault of your own.

But I keep going back for every positive reason mentioned in my review!  

Infallible Eyeshadow in Amber Rush

I'm sorry, I'm going to be sneaky and put this one in here as well even though it's not actually for sale in the UK. 

Which is one of the biggest beauty travesties going. Sort it out, L'Oreal. 

I bought this particular beauty when I was in Toronto, Canada last year, I'd heard so many bloggers and YouTubers raving about it that it was the first thing I purchased when I was there (after petrol, but you know...priorities...) 

The colour is just lovely, it's a shimmering pot of rose gold goodness which works well all year around and I wear regularly for both day and evening looks.

I just can't get enough and I still haven't even really made a dent on the amount of product in the pot.

These shadows, sadly, seem to be on the verge of a very slow discontinuation. The range seems to decrease in size every time I visit a Boots or Superdrug. 

My first purchase of these shadows was the silver one, which surprisingly, I didn't wear an awful lot!

I hope you enjoyed my raving about L'Oreal products! Do you have a favourite L'Oreal product or do you prefer another high street brand?

Toodles.

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Manic Monday #102

[Image Source: HostelWorld]

Today went past at quite an alarming rate, it was midday before I knew what was happening and then I was rushing out of the door home to meet a no-show estate agent.


It seems that when the children return to school all hell breaks loose in the workplace, it's like a sea of people returning and problems manifest themselves in the time they have spent out of the office.


...I'm not too sure what my point is to be honest...


I've been thinking about different cultures quite a bit today and marvelling at how different cultures differ from one another. It is my main motivator for travelling, discovering little traditions or sayings that different places have compels me to go back and explore a little deeper if I'm able to.
It is obviously something that I have been more than aware of throughout my life, and I'm not too sure why it's playing through my mind today more so than others, it may be down me constantly watching the video for Hymn for the Weekend by Coldplay which is set in India during a festival which I'm assuming is based on Holi.


Celebration is vastly different in each country and I think by many comparisons Britain lacks in the celebratory ranks. Birthday's, weddings, festivals and certain holiday dates are celebrated to an extent in the UK but nothing in comparison to how America celebrates Labour Day, how Indian's celebrate Holi Festival of Colours or even how the Swedish celebrate Midsummer.
I'm rather envious of these huge gatherings had by other countries and wish there was something that made me want to club together with a load of Brits and actually say, you know what, I'm proud to be celebrating this together for this day.
The London Olympics in 2012 were wonderful, it really reminded Brits that we do live in an amazingly diverse country and that we are lucky to do so. Its about time we stood together a little more and stopped being afraid to say we are proud to be from the UK and for what it stands for.


I sometimes feel like the government is so overly worried about being P.C all the time that they forget they are allowed to celebrate where they are from.


But that is a whole other kettle of fish for a whole other day!


What are your views on celebration? Is there a specific celebration that you prefer over all others? Or do you prefer to steer clear of celebrations?


Toodles.


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Bourjois 123 CC Cream

The Bourjois base does it again. 


Bourjois seem to have the answer to great, affordable bases and the 123 Perfect CC Cream is no exception. As it's a CC cream its supposed to counteract redness, fatigue and general discolouring of the skin. Bourjois aren't selling it from the view point of being a foundation and are targeting it at every day usage.


The cream is lightweight, with a nice watery fluidity and glides on to the skin relatively seamlessly; sometimes it does have a habit of sitting on the surface of the skin and moving around while trying to blend, I tend to put this down to me not allowing enough time for my serum sink in to my skin before applying.
Personally I find a damp Miracle Complexion sponge blends it really well or I start applying with my fingers and finish off with an Expert Face Brush to get the airbrush finish.  


The application provides a light to medium finish and does provide noticeable reduction in redness and fatigue. It gives a healthy, glowing complexion when applied and after a few hours is when this cream seems to have worked in with the oils and created a lovely veil over the skin.





It contains SPF 15 which is great for me, it's always something I forget and love it when it's mixed in with a cream or foundation that I'm using so I'm technically not forgetting to put any on at all!


The colour range fully lets the side down and have a very limited colour range, even for Bourjois. This particular base comes in 4 shades, yes, four.
Bourjois need to step up their game in colour ranges and not just release 4-8 colour ranges that are all very close in range.
I'm using Ivory and the moment which is the lightest CC shade. Even Ivory is slightly too dark for me with very yellow undertones; which does surprise me as yellowish tones don't normally feature in Ivory tones across the high street. I can just about get away with it through blending! If you're a couple of shades darker than me this would be a perfect fit for you.


For £9.99 I would recommend giving this CC cream a try, if you can find a shade to suit, obviously...I am really enjoying using it and wear it during the week at work for a quick, flawless base.


Have you tried any Bourjois bases? Which is your favourite?


Toodles.


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Head Space

[Image Source: Indulgy]

You're in cosy PJ's, snug under a warm duvet, head resting on a pile of clouds and you want nothing more than to find the comfy spot, close your eyes and drop off in to a blissful sleep...

But no, your mind wants the daily debrief before it lets you switch off for the day.

Why does our mind leave it until the end of the day to get in the nitty gritty? 
Things you may have noticed during the day but not given much thought to are suddenly at the forefront of your mind being dissected and evaluated.
That stupid thing you said in front of a group of colleagues, that thing you want nothing more than to forget, plagues any ideas you might have had and you end up burying your reddened face in to your duvet. 
The actor you couldn't remember the name of, that drove you mad a few hours earlier, suddenly pops in to your mind, making you sit upright in bed, delighted and infuriated all at once. 

Why does it all come out once you're ready to go to sleep?
Is it that these minutes are the only time we allow that connection with our subconscious and give it our full attention?
So much so that everything comes rushing all at once?

It is something that interests me grately, I do have a running comentary in my mind of everything throughout the day, but the night time thoughs are practically battling amongst one another to be heard and paid attention to.

I wonder if it is possible to shift that focus and time frame to pay a little more attention at different times of the day.

Maybe meditation is the key...

Toodles.

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Skin by Mo Hayder - Review

 

Skin by Mo Hayder was the first book to break my non-reading habit that I'd got in to recently.

Ben's mum left the book on my shelf after she'd stayed with us and recommended giving it a read, she can read books in an afternoon and will read anything but I thought I'd give it a shot as the blurb intrigued me. 

On to the actual review...

This is the fourth book of Hayder's to feature Jack Caffery who is a Detective Inspector, there were a few points whilst reading where I was a little lost, but they may be covered in the previous three. I wouldn't say you have to read them...I haven't and we got on just fine.

Mo's writing is very clever, she keeps you hooked and desperately wanting to turn the pages faster than you can to find out what might happen next. There are twists are turns at every point in this book, it kept me on my toes, always wondering what might happen next. I'll be honest and say that I did feel lost on the odd occasion, but it may be down to picking up a book series on the fourth installment!

The characters are all interesting in their own rights, they're all completely different which makes them utterly compelling. They all have something going on in their lives that made me feel invested in them as individuals and left me craving to know more about them. 

Flea is a strong, independent female character, who only wants to do right by what she stands for a police woman. I felt her pain at her morals being tested by her emotions and family ties, the love she has for her brother is strong and you will want to punch him for his actions. If you read it, you'll know what I mean!

Jack, as a DI, is always second guessing and constantly noticing how people handle themselves in situations, spotting the little things that might go unnoticed by others. His past still haunts him, I'm guessing they're probably things mentioned in previous books, but the information you do get leaves you wanting to know what has gone on in his life. 

The story itself is quite a gruesome one, some parts did make me feel slightly queasy due to the nature of the criminal that was being hunted, the gory details are skimmed over nicely but Mo definitely makes sure you get a full grasp of what is happening. Other parts are downright creepy and had me checking under my bed and feeling like I was being watching during my time reading it. 

It doesn't take much to prompt me to check under my bed, but always worth a note...!

Overall I really enjoyed my first experience of Mo Hayder's books, I will definitely be picking up some more in the future. The reading was easy, the book never stood still and I used to read multiple chapters in one go and find myself a couple of hours later being surprised at the time. 

Have you read any of Mo Hayder's books? Which do you recommend?

Toodles.

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Manic Monday #101

[Image Source: Meadow Mania]

 

Today has been a relatively quiet day but seems to have disappeared really quickly. It was a frosty but sunny day and I decided to take a walk around some local gardens, all the spring flowers are coming out and everything looked just...lovely. 

I'm eagerly anticipating the arrival of Spring, lighter evenings are something that I am craving in my life. They are coming slowly, last week when I left the office I had a good 15 minutes of glorious natural light before the sun disappeared for the evening. 

I saw a sneaky squirrel sat in a group of flowers, looking rather cute...it took me a few minutes to realise he was pulling the petals off the flowers and was eating them. 

I had a bit of a fail week last week with regards to the blog posts, to be honest I wasn't in the greatest of places at the end of last week. I really didn't want to be that person who projected their ridiculous gripes in a blog post. I definitely didn't want to be that person, so I thought it best to avoid the keyboard until I was feeling a little better!

Recently I've been getting really in to watching The Late Late Show with James Corden YouTube channel, I didn't realise how naturally funny he was, he seems like such an approachable, easy person to get along with. Best of all he doesn't seem to change his personality when faced with huge stars like Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Morgan Freeman etc, etc. 

The carpool karaoke videos are so great, they've managed to bag some incredible musicians who seem to open up more than they might do if they were just having a standard interview.

James Corden also has a pretty great voice that seems to shock everyone who gets in the car with him, if you haven't checked out the channel yet I would recommend having a look through!

You can find the channel here. 

 I think I'm going to grab a cup of tea and spend some time perusing YouTube, the perfect way to procrastinate about washing my hair.

I hope your Monday has been a good one! Let me know what you've been up to.

Toodles.

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Sunny Stratford

 Today we took a wonder around Stratford-upon-Avon, it was sunny but absolutely freezing! Stratford is a beautiful, quaint Tudor town which was home to William Shakespeare. 

It's a perfect place to take a walk down cobbled lanes or down by the canal and discover all the hidden treasures that Stratford holds.

 

 

Toodles

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Swings

Do you ever have those days where you're inexplicably overcome with a case of the 'grumps'? 

Today is that day for me. 
All I wanted to do is get home, have a shower and eat a whole jar of Nutella.
But before all of those wonderful plans, I had speed bumps and pot holes in my way to deepen my sense of grump even further; traffic, general clumsiness, having to cook dinner and so on...

Trivial things seem so much worse and I know I definitely have a habit of 'spiralling' about the most ridiculous things in my life. 

I am fully blaming the hormones for this particular grump day, there is absolutely no reason for me to feel the way I do. 

Being a woman is a hoot sometimes, right?!

What do you do to get over a case of the grumps?

Toodles.

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Pre-Planning

 [Image Source: Pinterest]
 
February, also now know as, Bloguary...

I know, keeping it original!

This is only the second blogging month I have attempted, October was my first, I started off well and then I seemed to struggle towards the end and felt like I was scrabbling around for content and ideas in the last week or so. 

Instead of posting things I wasn't pleased with I missed a few days out, but I still thoroughly enjoyed the experience of posting more regular content. 

First things first - Lists;

You can't really go too wrong with a good list. I generally have quite a hectic thought process so actually getting ideas down on a page benefits me as; a) I don't forget the little gems that come in to my head and b) it actually helps to plan posts for certain days.

Notebook;

The past few weeks I've started carrying around a cute little notebook from Tiger that I'm currently jotting down ideas or little reminders to myself. I'd rather carry a light notebook in my bag than a huge filo-fax type or organiser as I generally get fed up of the bulk and ditch them.

Time;

Make time to pre-plan, if you're taking on something like a blogging month, setting some time aside one or twice a week if you work full time like myself to get some ideas down on a page. I've dedicated some lunch hours to planning, I take myself off to a cute tea shop in my town, leave my phone in my bag, order a posh tea I've never heard of and start scribbling down ideas. 

Setting aside a couple of hours on a weekend or week day off to take pictures will always help, as we're currently still in winter *boo* it is dark when I leave work and nobody likes yellow lighting for pictures. 

Flexibility;
Lift happens, be flexible with posts and don't feel you have to stick to a regimented routine of the posts you have planned for specific days. I am not a forward planner with my social life and tend to plan things about 30 minutes before going to meet friends to do something.
I do write shorter posts from my phone if possible, but it really isn't the end of the world if you don't manage to get a post up.

These points may seem simple but I have found really are key to keeping things organised and feeling ready to take on a blogging month!

Toodles.

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