A little Primark haul...

I went into Primark the other day mainly to get some Birthday presents for my sister, but couldn't resist buying a few bits for myself. I think I may have an obsession with sunglasses- no matter what time of year it is it's rare I walk out of Primark without a pair! I fell in love with these two, and they were just £2 each. I also got a pack of pastel hair pins as I use (and loose) them daily.

Finally I found this little gem in the bag section. It's a storage bag with an amazing junk food print, (which would also make a good lunch bag) but I'm using mine as a make up bag for my daily used stuff, which it's perfect for as it's so huge and it was only a £1- when I saw the price I couldn't grab it quick enough!

Lush Avobath bath bomb...

I got the Avobath bath bomb from Lush in a gift set from the Boxing Day sales, but as it's from their permanent line thought I would review it. I must admit when I originally read the name I thought it was Avobath as in 'av a bath, but it turn out it's because it has avocado in...oh well, I kind of prefer my version!

Firstly Avobath is huge, and you straight away get the smell of zesty lemon as soon as it's in the vicinity. Once you pop it in the bath is gently fizzes away turning the water a nice spring green. The bath bomb is a great pick me up as it filled my bathroom with it's uplifting citrus scent. I'd say this a good one if you want something that's going to wake you up, or make you feel more energised. 

I really enjoyed Avobath, and found it made the water nicely moisturising too, giving my skin as well as my senses a good pick me up! 

Book review: The Girl in 6E by A.R. Torre...

(contains minor spoilers)
The Girl in 6E is about Deanna Madden, a 21 year old who hasn't left her apartment in three years to protect other people from her murderous tendencies. She makes money by performing to webcams on sex websites. but when she learns a little girl has gone missing she begins to suspect one of her clients and leaves her apartment to find out.  

I thought this was going to be a good dark thriller, but for at least the first half of the book it was basically an account of a "cammer girl" as she calls herself. I felt like the writer was going out of her way to be as explicit as possible, but there was no relevance and it took forever to get to the missing girl part i.e. the story. I looked up the author afterwards and saw that she previously wrote 'erotic romance fiction' so maybe this is no surprise.

In terms of the thriller part of the book it was over before it had even started and was very clear what was going to happen, so in terms of suspense was disappointing. Also, whilst it was clear the writer had intensely researched the life of webcam sex workers it seemed little research was done into the mind of someone with psychopathic tendencies. That whole part of the book seemed so blasé, and unrealistic which was a shame as it could have made an interesting character.  

There was also a love interest in the book, a guy who was some perfect muscle man, completely boring, and didn't give a damn that Deanna had tried to kill him on their first meeting and was swiftly fooled by a bit of dry humping *eye roll*. Overall I found this book to be a style over substance type read, with very little below the surface.

It turns out this book is the first in a series, but it's probably no surprise to hear I don't plan on reading the next one! On Goodreads I gave this book a 2 out of 5.

Rilakkuma sticker and seals blind pack...

When I made my latest order with Oyatsu Cafe I couldn't resist adding this little blind pack to my basket, partly out of curiosity and mainly because I can't say no to Rilakkuma!

Inside the little pack you get a mystery card bookmark- I got this adorable macaron one, a sticker sheet- I got the cute honey themed sheet and a not particularly appetising square of gum. The gum tastes better than it looks though, and was ramune flavour.

I'm very happy with this little pack as I can never have enough bookmarks! 

There are 25 different bookmarks to collect, and 20 different sticker sheets. You can buy them here from Oyatsu Cafe, and right now they are in their flash sale for just 58p each!

(affiliate link)

Book review: The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer...

The Shock of the Fall is about a young man named Matthew who throughout the book slowly tells his story about the death of his brother when he was a child. Matthew has schizophrenia and he also shares his honest experiences of his illness.

The book is a very touching and sometimes sad read. Despite the subject matter there are a lot of humorous moments as well, as Matthew tells stories from his childhood, and talks about his family. I also found the book to be a very warm, and moving read. There were some parts where I had a tear in my eye and I just wanted to give Matthew a hug- he was a very honest narrator, and it was clear a lot of thought had gone into the details of his life and illness.

Interestingly the author Nathan Filer is a registered mental health nurse, so I feel like the parts that were set in a psychiatric ward and the parts discussing the main characters healthcare were particularly authentic.

The book was hugely enjoyable from start to finish, and I really recommend this as a heart warming read. 

Find me on goodreads here!

Happy Valentines day...

(The only Valentines card that matters)

Ebay picks...

Sailor Moon plush £4.41 here

Baviphat Peach All in One Peeling Gel £7.65 here

Little Twin Stars drawstring bag £3.70 here

Etude House Sweet Cherry Tint £5.15 here

Kitsch Bitch winged eyeball necklace £8.99 here

Batman mask £1.65 here

Today's Ebay picks are even more random than usual... For some reason I've had that Batman mask in my watch list for around a year. Every time I go to buy it I think "Why?! What would I do with it?" But it looks so cool. One day I will make that pointless purchase!

Book review: The Wicked + The Devine volume 1...

The Wicked + The Devine is a new graphic novel series from Image comics about twelve gods, who every ninety years return as young people. The gods are only alive for two years at a time and in those two years they are treated like superstars, who are loved and adored like rock stars.

The first volume is set in present day and follows Laura who is a god fangirl and goes to all their "shows". She get caught up with god Luci (or Lucifer) who is an androgynous, snarky and stylish David Bowie-a-like who's been imprisoned for murder.

The first volume is mainly laying the foundations and setting the scene, as through Laura we slowly meet the various gods. All the gods are actually based on various deities- so far Greek, Norse, Egyptian, Japanese, and Irish gods and goddesses.    

The artwork is stunning- all the gods have distinctive looks and styles that both match the gods they are based on and icons from modern pop culture. The story is full of mystery, and intrigue plus lots of humour (and a Buffy reference ;) ) and I can't wait for the next volume to come out so I can read more.

Let's be friends on goodreads!

Illamasqua nail varnish in Raindrops...

Illamasqua is one of my favourite cosmetics brands, but somehow this is the first nail polish of theirs I've tried. Still, I've started on a good one as Raindrops is a beautiful greyish blue with shimmery silver, and different sized flecks of glitter. On the nails it really does look like a raindrop sparkling in the light. I found this did chip on the edges quickly, but I don't mind as I love the colour!

Time To Talk Day...

Today the 5th of February is Time To Talk Day, where mental health charities Rethink Mental Illness and Mind are asking for everyone to take 5 minutes out of their day to talk about mental illness. The more we talk about it the more we end the stigma around it. 

Mental illness is sadly still seen as a taboo subject, where many people are scared to tell people, or get help for fear of judgement. The main cause of this is a total lack of understanding. I've been there myself, I can recall countless times I've had stupid or insensitive comments from people after talking about my illness. 

So if you know someone who is living with a mental illness take a few minutes today to talk to them, ask how they are. Just knowing you have people who care about you can be a huge help. And if you have a mental illness maybe share your story, or talk to someone about it.

Hi, I'm Shell. I live with bipolar disorder and anxiety. Today I am feeling ok. How about you? Let's keep the conversation going, and help end the stigma. 

Illamasqua Freak gift set...

I've been having a bad few weeks, and to cheer me up a friend (thank you Leanne if you are reading this ♥) bought me this beautiful Illamasqua gift set. It's so lovely I thought I'd do a post about it.

Housed in the usual stunning packaging the sent contains a 30ml bottle of Freak, a nail varnish in Raindrops, and a pure pigment in Furore.

I've never smelt Freak before, but I really like it, It's exactly what you'd expect from Illamasqua- rich and heavy but also warm with a sweet undertone. Furore is a shimmery gold pigment which can be used as a highlight or washed over the lids as I've been doing. Finally Raindrops is a dusky grey toned blue with silver shimmer and glitter running through it, it's a lovely shade and I will be posting a NOTD on it soon!

Recently watched...

Birdman (2015)

An insight into fading actor Riggan Thomson former superhero, in the days leading up to the opening night of his Broadway play. We see Thomson gradually fall apart as his former glories haunt him, and those around him are all unravelling in their own way. Dark and at times hilariously funny, this is a drama that makes you question what is real and what is going on in Riggans head. Michael Keaton is brilliant and Edward Norton is particularly amusing as pretentious theatre actor Michael Shiner.

4/5  

They Came Together (2014)

A rom-com that ridicules to 'same old' fairytale formula of rom-coms this is a really likeable funny film. If you hate rom-coms watch this, you'll be laughing out loud, and if you love them you probably will be too.

4/5

The Enemy (2015)

Jake Gyllenhaal is a mild mannered college professor who discovers he has a doppelgänger after watching a dvd and finding one of the actors is his exact double. He tracks him down to try and find an explanation and everything goes crazy. To put it bluntly this film is a total mind fuck! It makes you question everything, as every little detail is a puzzle piece to the story. It will leave you thinking about it long after you've watched it and cause many heated debates about the meaning (There's even a 25 minute YouTube video that tries to explain the meaning!) It's only after all that, that you realised just how warped and clever the film is.

4/5

Graze Box tasting....

I found this post lurking in my drafts so thought I'd post it...

Here's my thoughts on what I got in my latest Graze box...

Coffee and Walnut Cake
This contained chocolate covered coffee beans, walnuts, sponge pieces, and raisins. I love coffee and walnuts so was looking forward to tasting this one, but found it a little disappointing. The sponge pieces tasted like cardboard :/ 

Copacabana
This one was nice and simple, it was a mixture of dark and milk Belgian chocolate buttons and brazil nuts and was very tasty.

Brooklyn Bites

This is by far one of my favourite Graze box snacks! It's a mix of poppy seed pretzels, cheese cashews (which are more tangy than cheesy but still nice), and toasted pumpkin seeds. It's also started my new obsession with the deliciousness of pumpkin seeds. Everything in this mix goes perfectly together.

Toffee Apple

This is my all time favourite Graze snack. I could seriously eat it forever! Its dried Granny Smith apple pieces with a toffee sauce dip. It is delicious, there just needs to be more.. much more!