Books in August

August has been a much more successful reading month than July. Although I didn't love them all, they didn't feel like a chore to get through. I have also been slowly making my way through the first Game of Thrones book (I have read it before but it was such a long time ago that I felt I needed to read it again before I dived into the second book). I have also put Fire and Blood on my Christmas book list because I hate the thought of having to wait until 2026 to find out what happens next in House of the Dragon (we're all Team Black, right?) So here is what I read this month:

The Road by Cormac McCarthy | I had high hopes for this book but I just don't get the hype? I love an end-of-the-world, dystopian novel but there was just not enough going on in this book. The story follows a man and his child who are trying to navigate a world in which almost everything has been destroyed. That's essentially the whole story. This quote: "If you break little promises you'll break big ones" was the only thing I remembered when I finished the book.

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas | I was unsure about this book when I first started it but it got better as it went along. I will have to read the rest of the series now that I have started it and I'm hoping I get more into as I work my way through them. 

Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer | This one has got to be the most irritating one of the series so far. Edward's possessive personality is so inappropriate and it often made my physically cringe. He is so much worse in the books than they portrayed him in the films. One book left in the series now though so nearly at the end... phew.

Sidesplitter by Phil Wang | I love a good memoir and although I don't read comedian's memoirs exclusively, they do make up a big proportion of the ones I do read. This was my favourite read of the month. It had me laughing from the get go. I love Phil Wang's style of comedy so much and his humour came across so clearly in his writing. He has such a refreshing outlook on culture and belonging and it was often as insightful as it was funny.

I am away for a couple of weeks in September so I'm not sure how much reading I will get done. My plan is to get through a couple of books on my kindle that have been on there for literally years. I'm guessing it will probably be a slower reading month though!

What have you read recently that you've loved?

Dr.Jart+ Cream Mist Moisturiser

 

I'm sure you are tired of hearing me say that I have perpetually dry skin on this blog but I'm here to tell the truth, not to sugar coat the hardships. The struggle is real.

For a while I was having issues with layering my makeup because my skin was so dry. I could get my foundation on fine but when it came to adding any concealer or blusher, it didn't tend to sit well on my skin and I struggled to prevent my makeup from pilling.

Enter the Dr.Jart+ Cream Mist. I had wanted to try a hydrating mist for a while and this one seemed to have good reviews on ASOS so I bought it on a whim hoping it would solve all my life's problems. Ok, maybe just the dry skin issue.

This product works wonders. I spray it on top of my foundation before I put any concealer or powder products on and it works perfectly to add a bit of extra hydration to ensure my makeup sits nicely on my skin. On the first spray, it tends to come out quite patchy instead of being a fine mist. To stop me from ending up with big splodges of cream on one side of my face, I always spray the first spray onto my arm and then do 3 or 4 on my face. 

It's also a great product for those days when you are wearing makeup all day and want to refresh it at some point. A few spritzes of this before you go in with any other makeup just makes it easier to apply and stops it looking cakey.

I imagine this would be great for a holiday too - pop it in the fridge and use it in an evening when getting ready to go out. It would be so refreshing! 

It's around £26 for 110ml and you can buy it from a huge selection of retailers including Selfridges, Space NK, ASOS. 

The Eras Tour - Wembley Night 4 (Thursday 15th August)

When the codes were released for UK Eras Tour tickets last year and neither me nor my best friend received any, we were devastated. We registered for every date and every city across the UK and got NOTHING! We knew that this would be a once in a lifetime opportunity and we didn't want to miss it. So after we wiped our tears and stopped feeling sorry for ourselves, we decided we would keep checking the resale site for tickets. By some sheer stroke of luck, I stumbled across some tickets whilst I was browsing in the dentist's waiting room. The only time in my life I've ever been happy about being at the dentist.

We planned and schemed for the whole year leading up to the show and yet still managed to leave it until the week before to sort our outfits out. Part of the fun was the lead up to the actual event and knowing that we were going to see something amazing. We had a movie night last October to watch the Eras Tour movie and make our bracelets. We have shopped and switched eras and then switched back again, sending countless Whatsapp messages of potential outfits and accessories. We listened and relistened to Tortured Poets and sent each other lists of our favourite songs. We tagged each other in unhinged friendship bracelet videos on Insta. We then stayed up until 1am the night before the show panic making even more bracelets so we had plenty to trade. It has been a very Taylor-filled year. 

The whole night was incredible from start to finish. First of all, the whole Swifty community is just a dream. Everyone was so friendly and sweet and we had some lovely conversations with people we approached to trade bracelets. I have never felt safer or happier in a big crowd of people - it was just a beautiful thing to witness.

Of course for the most part we knew what to expect. By this point we knew the setlist in our sleep but knowing what was coming took nothing away from the magic of it all. It was still an absolute joy to sing along to all the songs and try to guess which outfits she was going to come out in for each era and secretly hoping she would announce Rep TV while we were there (a girl can dream, right?)

One of the many many highlights of the evening was when she brought Ed Sheeran out to sing Everything Has Changed, End Game and Thinking out Loud (!!!!!!!!) I was recording the surprise song section and the footage of my screaming and waving my phone around when I realised she was about to bring him out is hysterical and a video I will both treasure and be embarrassed by for the rest of my life. The video had its premiere in the hotel room at 2am as we ate McDonalds and talked about what an amazing night it was, laughing and crying into our cold fries. It will never be seen by anyone but me again. 

The day after, we went to the V&A Museum to see the Songbook Trail. We had a train to catch in the evening and we didn't really account for the queues of people that would be waiting both outside and inside the museum, so we didn't see everything. But what we did get to see was well worth it. My favourite was the dress from the Fortnight music video - wow!! 

I am so sad it's all over and knowing she will never do a tour like this again breaks my heart a little bit. I am so grateful I was able to attend one of the shows and I will let you know once I've stopped rewatching the videos and staring at all the pictures I took. Oh and if anyone was wondering, I live in my grey Eras tour sweatshirt and Bejeweled bracelet now. 

Charlotte Tilbury Foundation Stick | Review

 I went on a cruise recently and knew that I would end up getting sucked into buying something in duty free. I didn't even try to fight it and went straight to the Charlotte Tilbury counter (or did the universe drag me there, who's to know?) I was initially hoping to buy a powder highlighter but they didn't have any so my next choice was the foundation stick. 

I love this product. I was sceptical on seeing the reviews online and because of the fact that it is marketed as a 'sheer' coverage foundation. I have clear skin now (which is a whole other story... it took me the best part of 15 years to achieve clear skin) but I still have some scarring and a few marks.

My mum kept commenting on how 'fresh' my skin looked and it was perfect for the hot weather because it didn't feel like I was wearing any product. I tended to wear it on its own during the day with a few dabs of concealer here and there but in an evening when it was a bit cooler, I wanted a bit more coverage so I used a small amount of my regular foundation on top of it. It is marketed as 'hydrating' and this is a claim I absolutely agree with. I suffer with dry skin but this went on like a dream. 

I bought a shade darker than I would usually buy (4 Fair) because I tend to use tan on my face during the summer and I was hoping to catch a bit of sun whilst I was on holiday (every time I deceive myself into thinking I'll get a tan knowing full well I won't and will ultimately return home disappointed... it's a vicious cycle of unfounded hope and inevitable disappointment). I think I will probably buy the lighter shade but maybe not until next Spring when I will get more use out of it. 

Another Charlotte Tilbury product that just hits the mark. I just love the gentle bit of shimmer and highlight it gives you without being overwhelming. It costs £35 and you can buy it directly from the Charlotte Tilbury website. 

Books in July

July seems to have been a bit of a slow month for reading. It probably didn't help, however, that I was reading multiple books side by side and kept getting distracted by important things such as the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader documentary on Netflix (has anyone else watched this yet?) It also didn't help that I wasn't overly into the books I chose to read so they were a bit of a chore to get through. There was only one I really enjoyed!

The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley | I have read a couple of Lucy Foley's books before (The Paris Apartment, The Guest List... I also have The Hunting Party on my bookshelf). That being said, I always find her books just 'ok'. I always find the premise of her books really appealing but they are just never quite as good as I hope they will be. The Midnight Feast was no different. This novel is set during the opening weekend of a new resort which was once the grounds for an unfortunate incident 15 years prior. I struggled with this one because I didn't like any of the characters and it's really hard to care about what happens to them when they are so unlikeable. The chapters were short so it wasn't overly taxing but I think I can say with some confidence that I'm not a huge fan of Lucy Foley.

Mrs England by Stacey Halls | This is the second Stacey Halls book I have read and I loved it as much as the first. The good news is that I already have The Foundling on my shelf waiting to be read next and I can't wait! Mrs England is about a children's nurse in 1904 who goes to work for a family in West Yorkshire and uncovers all sorts of secrets about them as well as confronting some difficult situations from her own past. I love a good piece of historical fiction and Stacey Halls hasn't let me down yet. 

Lock in by John Scalzi | This is about a virus which causes some of the population to 'lock in' i.e maintain their awareness but be unable to move. It's got a few hints of a crime/thriller novel as the main characters begin to solve a murder which, on the surface, makes no sense. I have had this on my kindle just about since it was released 10 years ago. I love a bit of sci-fi but this just seemed to miss the mark. Again, I didn't really care for the characters. I don't think all of the technical jargon was never well explained so I had to re-read parts and in the end I just thought 'well if I don't understand it now, I never will'. It got more enjoyable towards the end but it took me a while to get through because I wasn't crazy about it.

In August I am planning to read The Road by Cormac McCarthy (my brother and I both unknowingly asked for this book for Christmas and decided we would read it at the same time). I also want to read The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah and A Court of Thrones and Roses by Sarah J. Maas (although I'm unsure how this one will go down, despite the rave reviews!) So hopefully a better month of reading next!

Maybelline Sky High Mascara | Review

 

You know that question people ask about which beauty product would you keep if you could only keep one? Well, I've thought long and hard about it. Mine would without a doubt be mascara. I can never get over how having a mascara that lifts and defines your lashes can make such a difference to your whole face. Plus, depending on whether you opt for a brown or a black or a blue (I know!!), your whole look can change.

I have always gone for a black mascara. My philosophy has always been to play up the lashes as I am fortunate enough to have naturally long lashes (as my old hairdresser used to comment on every time she tinted my eyebrows!) and I just wanted to enhance what was already there.

Then, in true internet-age fashion, there were a lot of posts cropping up about wearing brown or burgundy mascara if you are red-headed or have blue eyes to really make your features pop. So I wanted to try something other than black for a change and see if there was a noticeable difference. Then I saw the range of shades from Maybelline's Sky High Lash Sensational mascara and knew that was going to be the one to drag me away from my trusty waterproof black.

I love Maybelline's mascaras anyway. I am sure I have tried almost all of them at one point or another and Maybelline are a brand I trust to have good quality products without a hefty price tag. I tried the brown first and enjoyed the formula: it went on nicely and didn't clump which is always important. It was easy to build up and gave a natural, almost no makeup kind of look. But you know me and my lashes - that's not always going to cut it! So I decided to try the Burgundy Haze shade (a nod to Taylor, perhaps? I would like to think so) and I love it. It's a much deeper, richer shade than brown but just a bit less ordinary than the black. I think I would like all of my mascaras to be burgundy from now on. 

It comes off easy with makeup remover. Sometimes mascaras can linger on the lashes even after a double cleanse but there is none of that with this product. 

Also, just to clarify: I loved both mascaras. Although the brown didn't give the dramatic effect I originally wanted, I found it is great for work days when I don't want to look like I am wearing lots of makeup. The burgundy is most definitely my go-to night out mascara, especially now that it's summer and it's still light and sunny (occasionally) when I go out so you can really catch the burgundy in the light.

You can buy different shades of the Maybelline Sky High mascara from Superdrug and Boots for £12.99. I really want to try the pink or blue one next!

Have you tried any of them yet? What did you think?

Books in June

Don't ask me what condition I was in when I made this decision but over New Year I told myself that I could not buy any books in 2024. I know - what was I thinking? Who even am I? I told my family and they all but laughed in my face, not believing for a single second that I was capable of going a whole 12 months without buying a single book. I was in a habit of buying books and then leaving them on my shelf unread for, in some cases, years. So I'm on a bit of a mission to get through as many of the books I currently own and I've done reasonably well so far. I've read 23 books so far this year and have purchased (through book vouchers or Waterstones points) only a few. I've also been gifted some books too and who am I to say no to free books? So here is what I read in June! 

Twilight and New Moon by Stephanie Meyer | I can't tell you exactly what made me what to re-read the Twilight series but here we are. I rewatched the films last year and mostly enjoyed them. I forgot how different the book was to the film and I'm aware that there are a lot of problematic areas so this was for nostalgia more than anything else. I was curious as to how they would read as an adult compared to a 14 year old who was so adamantly Team Edward (can I be Team Charlie now?) I've always loved Jasper and Emmett but they are so much better in the books than in the films. Anyway, it's just one of those easy-to-read, familiar series that fill the gap between other books. 

Questions I am Asked about the Holocaust by Heidi Fried | This was fascinating. I studied History at university but haven't had a whole lot to do with the subject since graduating so it was refreshing to spend some time delving back into it. I also read a few other WW2 related books this year which I have loved. Fried's book is only around 150 pages and it is incredibly interesting. She basically just talks through common questions she gets asked about the Holocaust and answers them in simple terms. I've spent a long time learning about the holocaust throughout various stages of my education and there were still things that she discussed in this book that I'd never even considered about people's lives in the camps. Definitely recommend! I read this on the free BorrowBox app which connects to your local library card and lets you 'borrow' digital copies of books - I would highly recommend downloading it if you don't already have it as, if you're like me and can't resist buying a book, this is a great way of finding something new to read without having to buy anything. 

Bones and All by Camille DeAngelis | I actually saw the film trailer for this a while ago and was intrigued by the premise. I won't lie, I had to re-read the opening paragraph about 4 times before it made any sense to me but once I made it past the first page (always a good sign) I really enjoyed it. Well, enjoyed it as much as a person can enjoy a book about cannibalism. It has some touching moments of friendship and loss and heartbreak in there too and it makes you feel for the main character despite her tendency to self-sabotage. 

In July I will probably read the next book in the Twilight series (Eclipse) and I have a couple of thrillers on my shelf that have been recommended to me too. I might also reread the first Game of Thrones book again as I'm watching House of the Dragon at the moment and I just want to be in that world again.