MY FAVOURITE MAKE UP FROM 2019 - CHRISTMAS PARTY GRWM

Christmas gives us all the perfect excuse to go out celebrating at every given opportunity and I am taking great advantage of that. Along with partying comes the getting ready, some find it tedious but I love sitting down and spending too much time leisurely doing my make up. I used all of my holy grail products that I've been loving this year so if you're struggling for Christmas present ideas then maybe these could be something you ask for, or a christmas treat for yourself. I always find that around Christmas I can never think of anything I want, does anyone else find that? Like someone asks me what I would like for Christmas and I never know. Anyway, I filmed this look over on my IGTV if you'd like to see me actually do this make up.

Recently I've been really into eyeshadow, I was too scared to do cool things with my eyes before but I decided to teach myself and now I'm obsessed. The Alexis Stone X Revolution palette absolutely blew my mind when I bought it. I fell in love with the idea of the collaboration and knew that I needed all these beautiful colours but I wasn't expecting such a good quality eyeshadow! With the Revolution brand, with it being so cheap, I thought it would be a powdery, sheer formula but it's so pigmented and such good quality, I can't believe it was only £20! The purple eyeshadow I chose might have stained my eyelids pink but the colour is so vibrant and looks so amazing I can justify looking a little weird the day after. The colour set in the palette, with the multiple shades of the same colour, leave it so easy to create monochromatic looks with a perfect blend which is something I really struggle with so it's just a great concept and it's been pulled off incredibly well.

To add a dramatic cat eye sort of thing to the simple eyeshadow I tried out the LA Girl gel liner. I had never used a gel liner like this one but it was so creamy and, used with a tiny morphe liner brush, created a perfect flick so easily. I normally ruin my eyeliner by going back over it to try and even thing out but this time round it worked perfectly first time, it may have been a fluke incident but I hope this means I can put an end to my chunky, uneven eyeliner.  Once I had created these beautiful sultry cat eye flicks, I wanted to add to some more to the drama and used the LA Girl glide gel liner to my tight line and waterline which made me feel very sultry. Then I obviously used Maybelline Great Lash to finish off the eye look. I will never use a different mascara. You can quote me on that.

I bought the W7 Princess Primer Potion a while ago after hearing that it was a dupe for the Farsali Unicorn essence but, as I am sane and wouldn't spend £50 on such a gimmicky product, I can't make any comparisons between the two. The W7 primer makes my skin look really glowy and it does feel hydrating while smoothing out my skin so for £8 it's definitely worth it, plus it looks super 'Instagram Guru' when you let the pink sparkles drip down your cheeks.

As always I used the CYO Life proof foundation, it's just a solid, 'know what you're getting' choice for me. It's got great coverage and has a beautiful skin like finish while covering everything I need it too. I'm always cautious about trying out new foundations, mainly because I don't want my skin to hate a new product and retaliate back. When I find something I like I tend to stick to it, foundations are tricky. Another of my 2019 holy grail products is the ELF camo concealer, this concealer is £5, comes in a huge bottle and I'm pretty sure it's a 'dupe' for taste shape tape (another product I have never owned). Another product I haven't been able to top this year is the CYO all set fixing powder. I like this powder because it doesn't dry out my skin or make it look powdery, it just sets everything in place and looks like skin - well as much as this amount of make up can look like skin.

The NYX highlight and contour pro palette is my go to palette for bronzer, I wouldn't say contour because I'm not sure that's what I do, but I do use the two lighter bronzer shades to bring some life back to my face and I think it looks really nice. The highlighter in this palette is also amazing, it's the only highlighter that doesn't go patchy on my skin. Overall it's a great palette with a bunch of bronzers, powders and a highlight for a pretty decent price, I found mine in TKMaxx for £10 but I definitely think it's worth it's normal price of £19. One of my favourite blush palette is by Make Up Obsession. Make Up Obsession is a brand I haven't really explored yet, which doesn't make any sense because I am completely in love with their 'Isn't it peachy' blush palette. It is a product I am well and truly obsessed (not a pun) with. The shades are all beautiful and I use these blushes religiously, can't recommend the 'Isn't it peachy' palette.

Superdrug has a lot of 3 for 2 offers which I use an excuse to buy make up I don't need. Anyway, I got the MUA brow define micro eyebrow pencil thanks to one of these offers but I'm not sure I like it too much. Maybe it's because I got a shade a little too light for my hair, but the pencil is nice creates a 'softer'  look than I normally go for which I might like? I'm still undecided. I added some of the ELF lock on liner brow cream to create a darker, stronger brow that was actually the right shade. I love this brow liner because it's so creamy and easy to create a good brow with, plus it's affordable and you get loads of product. I always use the 'soap brows' technique to set my brows in place, so cheap and it holds the hairs in place forever. My brows always make me nervous because I feel like they're such an important part of your face and girls are always judging each others eyebrows - don't even lie and say you don't do that, we all do that.

For lipstick I put on an oldie but a goodie, the Maybelline Superstay 14hr lipstick in shade ???. I don't really wear lipstick much because I have dry, dry lips, but I like this one when I pop a little on my lips and then soften it out with my finger. Finally, to finish everything off I set my face with the I heart Revolution green tea fixing spray, I don't really know if setting spray actually works but it smells nice and makes me feel all fancy and that.

I wanted to look a little fancier than normal for my Christmas party thing so I wore this Nasty Gal dress that I bought on Depop, it still had the tags in it and it's super cute so I am very happy with that £6 purchase. It's a tad long for me so I kind of folded it up around my waist and then covered that DIY job up with a Primark belt, life hack right there. Obviously I wore tights because it's December, and I also put on fluffy socks before I put on these really awesome chunky platform boots I bought in the ASOS black Friday sale. I thought I was going to be cold but it turned out I didn't need a thick jacket as maybe I possibly had a little bit of a beer coat on that kept me nice and cosy. I have many handbags but I LOVE this adorable fluffy handbag from Primark, it's literally the cutest thing ever and I wear use it all the time.

I was really feeling myself in this make up and outfit, and ultimately that's all that's important. If you feel the need to buy any of the products I've mentioned I can't recommend the Alexis Stone palette and the Make Up Obsession blush palette enough, they're both products I don't think I could live without!

DYING MY HAIR A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT SHADE OF BROWN AND CUTTING MY FRINGE WITH KITCHEN SCISSORS

I've have been messing around with my hair for 9 years, I don't remember what my natural hair colour even is at this point. I murdered my poor hair by home bleaching and dying it so often so in an attempt to revive the mop, for the past year or so, I've be a brunette and have been loving it. I love dark hair on me, it makes me feel really confident and I think it suits me well. I documented this whole hair ordeal on my IGTV if you'd like to see me make slight changes to my appearance. 

My hair needs a lot of love and care to keep it nice and soft but since my roots are a lighter brown to the rest of my hair, I do have to dye them to keep up this deep brunette facade. Last time I dyed my hair I used the 'Schwarzkopf Colour Expert' and found that the 'omegaplex' (whatever that may be) made my hair feel so healthy and luscious, so I decided that I would dye my whole head to get that much needed anti breakage, anti damage goodness over all my hair. I also did this as I was scared the dye might be the wrong shade and would leave my roots a complete new colour and I was right, it was darker so thank god I did this. Another reason this dye is great is that you put it on dry, unwashed hair so you don't have to go through washing, and drying your hair to then dye it, wash it and dry it again. 

Whilst the dye was .... dying? Developing? Whatever it was doing, it took twenty minutes so I popped on a face mask and some of them under eye serum pad things. The 'by nature Brightening Clay mask' is one of my favourite masks at the moment, it makes my skin look so fresh and clean (clean). Whenever I have dye on my hair I get so nervous I'm going to lean up against or fall into the white walls of my rented flat and create a mess I'll never be able to clean up, it may sound far fetched but if you know me you will understand that I don't need something to trip over, I just topple randomly. 

After the twenty minutes was up I jumped in the shower and, after the dye was rinsed out, I used my Herbal Essences shampoo and conditioner to wash my hair. The only reason I use these products over another is because they're on offer like all the time. I like the smell of them both but if they're not on offer when I'm shopping and something else is, I will always go for the cheaper option. 

This mask is my favourite hair product in the world! It smells like those foamy banana sweets that everyone had as a kid, the perfect smell for hair. I use this stuff as a mask in the shower but you can also use it instead of conditioner AND you can use it as a leave in conditioning mask once you get out the shower! I love it. It's also cruelty free, vegan and full of natural ingredients. It makes my hair smell amazing, feel so silky and soft and I just love it - couldn't live without this stuff. 

Before my hair can dry too much I brushed it all through and combed through my fringe to get it all where it should be before I butcher it with my kitchen scissors. My fringe grows so quickly and I don't have the time or money to be trekking to a hairdressers every other week to get my fringe trimmed - so I do it myself, and regret it nearly every time but I'll never learn. I like my fringe to be quite short, not sure why, I think it looks cool. It's super hard to make it even so I always start by cutting it longer than I want then evening everything out before going in to cut more off. This takes me so long, probably too long but I'm scared to mess up. I also cut little upwards strokes, which I think it called feathering? It simply thins out the bottom of my fringe a little so it looks a little nicer and less like I cut it with kitchen scissors. I then blow dry my fringe and clean up any bits of fringe that I hadn't noticed when it was damp.

I then blow dry all my hair, I know you're meant to use as little heat as possible on your hair, but I read somewhere that the weight of wet hair pulling at the hairs root is really unhealthy for the hair and leads to more hair loss, which I don't want so I always dry my hair. I don't straighten or curl my hair too often but I do find that I have to straighten my fringe regularly to stop it flicking sideways, I just curl it under so it's all sitting straight and even. I don't use fancy hair straighteners, these are so old and I think they're from the Morrisons clearance section - we don't need to be fancy to look fancy. 

I'm not sure what the point of this blog post it, if anything it's probably that you don't have to splurge on fancy products to look kinda cute. Also you should take care of your hair, if you bleach it constantly for years on end it's going to come back to haunt you. And finally, maybe you should get hair scissors if you're going to cut your own hair, I'm going to ask for some for Christmas - great present idea. 

DAY OUT AT THE GERMAN MARKET

I love living in Birmingham, there's always something happening and at this time of year when the German Market is all set up the town centre looks beautiful. Where I'm from, the town centre isn't any different in December to the rest of the year and after moving to Brum last year I was upset that I never got the chance to properly go to the German Market so I wanted to make sure I got the full festive experience this time round.

To get myself fully in the Christmas mood, I started my day off with some classic festive music and turned on all of my Christmas lights despite the feeling in the pit of my stomach reminding me of the electric bill. As I had spent the entire previous evening watching Belle Jordan's Christmas make up tutorials, I wanted to look glam and feel super confident, plus I had been picking at my face and decide I needed to cover that up. Originally I put on a Christmassy red lip forgetting the fact I was going to be shovelling food and drink in my mouth all day, so that came back off pretty quickly. If you'd like to see my make up, outfit and a little bit of my day, I have an IGTV up on my Instagram!

The main reason to visit the Christmas market is for the food and the drinks - I'll be straight up. As lovely as the items some of the stalls there are selling, the main bulk of market is made up of bars and food stalls. All of the food smells absolutely delicious, I could've eaten literally everything if I was able to take out a small loan to pay for it. I bought a Bratwurst for £6 and it was literally the biggest sausage I had ever seen (please get your dirty thoughts out of your mind), I couldn't eat all of it but I gave it a good damn try. As much as I had planned to eat as much as possible, this hotdog filled me up and I couldn't even think about eating anything else all day which, on the bright side, my bank account was thankful for.

I also got a delicious hot chocolate after much deliberation about the price, £4 for this tiny mug! But it was super yummy so I guess can't complain, plus you're paying for the experience of 'having a hot chocolate at the German Market' which bumps up that price. I had to stop myself from attempting to steal the adorable mug, I can't lie that the only reason I didn't was because of my morals but instead the deciding factor not to take it was that I had to put down a £3 deposit on the mug before she would give the hot chocolate to me, and I couldn't part with that £3.

My boyfriend bought three bags of hand packaged sweets, they'd be the perfect little presents for friends at £1.50 each, I particularly liked the bag of gummy snakes, you know the ones with that foamy stuff on the bottom?. For £1.50 you got a lot of sweets which I didn't expect at the market. He also bought a box of donuts which weren't anywhere near as expensive as I thought they would've been! Maybe I created this image in my head that with pretty, christmassy commercial things like the German Market, it can't be affordable, which is true in a lot of cases but not in this one.

I thought that I could spend hours on end looking at everything the market had to offer, but after eating, doing a lap of the stalls and drinking something to warm up a bit, we had seen everything and ran out of things to do. I thought there would be music but maybe that's just on the weekends when the town centre is jam packed, I wasn't underwhelmed but I also wasn't overly excited by anything. Like I said before, the stalls are nice and all but they're quite pricey and, in my mind, a little gimmicky.

So do I think the Christmas Market is worth it? I think if you're coming to Birmingham specifically for the market then it's underwhelming but if you're going shopping in the town centre anyway, then the market is a nice little extra place to go to get something to eat and drink as well as mooching around to get a bit festive. It's something different than just sitting in a pub and it's always nice to have a change of scenery. I think it looks really pretty and gets everyone in the Christmas mood, the food and drinks are great and not too expensive but the stalls aren't my favourites - I'll leave it at that.

MY CHRISTMAS DECOR AND PLANS ON A STUDENT BUDGET

It is somehow already the last month of 2019 - how did that happen? Now we've reached December that means only two things are on my mind; cosy nights in with endless amounts of hot chocolate and, obviously, Christmas. Yes, it is the festive month and I am so incredibly excited. I have already decorated my flat and planned a bunch of Christmas activities that I can fill my December with, so  I thought I would share these with you to get you in the festive mood! Also, just a quick note to say, if you don't celebrate Christmas I apologise for the bombardment of festive themes that me and many other bloggers are probably hitting you with over this month.

(our beautiful Christmas tree ft the creepy snowman candle on the windowsill)

(another thing, the tree is a tad wonky because my boyfriend wanted his figurine of The Rock to be the tree topper, so poor little Dwayne is stuck to a kebab stick which is then in turn stuck to my star tree topper.)

Decorating on a budget! 

At first, I thought that using Amazon would mean finding a cheaper Christmas tree and decorations but when we started looking online the prices were still way more than what we wanted to pay, so we set aside a day to venture off into town and mooch about till we found some cheaper alternatives. First we started in one of the two charity shops in Birmingham town centre and found a load of little decorations including; the £1 star tree topper,  a £4 bag of multi coloured baubles, £1 strips of tinsel that I wrapped around out curtain poles, a kind of creepy snowman candle and some brand new 'Merry Christmas' banners. It was nice that whilst also buying cheaper festive decorations we were giving money towards something helpful, even if when we got home the baubles had no strings to actually hang them on the tree.

We also quickly looked around Primark, where we bought some more £1 tinsel (the silver strips on the tree) and the tiny, purple, orange, green and pink baubles that were only £1 in the reduced items section. At this point though, we still didn't have a tree to put all of these decorations on. Luckily B&M pulled through and we bought a 6ft Christmas Tree for only £12! I feel like an adult now I have my own Christmas Tree, it's odd. We also bought some fairy lights for the tree, I love fairy lights and I have already got lights strung around the whole circumference of the living room, these lights were only £5 but they flash on and off a lot making it a little intense but I can live with it. B&M also saved us from our stringless baubles and we bought a pack of 30 baubles that matched our Primark ones perfectly, plus they were half the price of the ones we nearly bought off Amazon - I'm a sucker for savings. I have to add a little disclaimer, the tree is a tad wonky because my boyfriend wanted his figurine of The Rock to be the tree topper, so poor little Dwayne is stuck to a kebab stick which is then in turn stuck to my star tree topper.

My Christmas haul cost just about £35 and we got more than we needed in hindsight really. It may not be pinterest worthy but, to me, it's absolutely perfect.

Plans for this month!

One thing I am really looking forward to is going to the German Market here in Birmingham. The whole thing just looks gorgeous and even though I've walked through it many times since it opened last month I haven't had the chance to actually properly look or visit any of the stalls there. I do have plans to go there this week to eat and drink there, I've been told they do alcoholic hot chocolate which is something I can't miss out on.

I'm also planning to do a lot of crying while looking at the 'Black Friday' sales, thinking of all them shoes and clothes that I don't need but want to buy. Even though there are sales, things are still so expansive and I can do some serious damage online shopping, plus people are being sneaky this year, like did anyone else see ASOS raising their original prices to make their sales look like better savings?

As well as spending money, I'm also going to be spending time with my family. I don't get to see too much of them now I live further away so I can't wait to see everyone and get down the pub because "why not, it's Christmas". I'm also really looking forward to the release of the 'Little Women' movie, I know it's not particularly Christmassy but the trailer has enticed me.

I'm also working on some Christmas and New Year party outfit blogposts as well as make up Instagram videos because I've actually been teaching myself some more exciting make up looks which I am quite proud of.

A friends Christmas!

Even though I'm going back home for Christmas I still wanted to do Christmas with all my friends here in Birmingham. We've planned a 'Friends Christmas' at our flat so we're having our own Christmas day like two weeks before the actual day. We will be eating a gourmet dinner freshly sourced from the Iceland party food section, and it will be a picnic style affair as my dinner table only just fits two people. Also we're all living off the last of out student loans so instead of buying each of our friends a present we're doing a Secret Santa so everyone still has something to commemorate this sure to be spectacular event.

I'm super excited for December and I really hope it meets all my Christmassy expectations. Wether or not you're celebrating Christmas, I hope you all have a lovely month with your friends and family!

CELLAR DOOR HEADLINE DEBUT AND MORE MUSIC AT MUTHERS STUDIO

(Cellar Door on stage at their headline show - 22nd November 2019 // photo credit - @rhysboylevisuals)

Sonic Gun Concerts presented Birmingham based alt-emo rock band Cellar Door's headline show last week, on the 22nd November. Obviously, I arrived late because I can't go anywhere on time, but despite that, I was welcomed into a bustling room full of fellow gig goers. Hugs and hello's were exchanged, drinks were bought and then in was time to do my job and focus on some music.

Idle Pilots Society
"With a summery outlook, and a wild sense of adventure, Idle Pilots Society touch down with the ultimate sound for your road trip playlist." - band bio. 

Straight away the band exude summer vibes and warm up the room during this cold November weather, not only with the indie inspired music but also with their summery attire. I really enjoyed the harmonies throughout their set, the two vocals complimented each other nicely and created a full and round sound without things sounding too busy. The mix of the acoustic guitar with the sound of the rest of the band works well to create the whole sound original to Idle Pilots Society. I also have to rave about the originality of the lead vocal, his voice is super strong and controlled, it reminded me heavily of Jack White.

While I did get a strong Circa Waves feel throughout the set they played, mainly due to the summer road trip lyricism and instrumental, I could sense a nod toward a little bit of country and also, oddly fitting into this list, Artic Monkeys. The effects featured on the guitar during some songs gave that more distorted tone that Artic Monkeys base their sound on. The only criticism I have for Idle Pilots Society is to maybe work a little on their stage presence as the confidence brought by the lead vocalist almost leaves the rest of the band feeling like his backing musicians, rather than one cohesive band.

Deafs Door
"In world full of avocados, anxiety ridden snowflakes and a burning urge to take offense and push personal agendas on others, one band seeks to address all with a heavy yet melodic injection of riffs and captivating lyricism. With songs written about a mix of life experiences and the mass dissatisfaction of todays' modern world, they strongly raise a middle finger up to society and its outdated structures. Time is running out. 'knock knock' you're on Deafs Door" - band bio

The first thing I assumed when listening to this band is that 'Bring Me the Horizon' must be one of their inspirations. The gritty and raw guitar tones work well with the heavy riffs that dominated their set and they had a good stage presence which injected some interest into their performance. Although the music wasn't bad, it didn't seem to connect too much with a lot of the audience, especially after they spouted their political views and I watched as members of the audience left to go smoke or play pool. Stating 'Fuck Boris, fuck Corbyn' might've been a political statement a while ago, but now it makes you sound a tad shallow whilst everyone one else is over the faces and now worrying about issues that run much deeper - issues you seem to undermine (or at least that's how it came across).  

I do get that in this political climate people want to make comments and that it's hard to say anything right about the shit storm that is happening, but on a night like this one, I think things are better left unsaid. On that note I would also politely suggest working a little bit on the wording of their band bio as it reads like they're saying a big 'fuck you' to a society of under-represented and struggling peoples rather than the society of judgemental assholes that I hope they're actually talking about. 

I didn't not like their music but personally, I didn't connect with what they played mainly because it didn't really feel particularly personal or unique. 

Kick The Clown

(photo credit to - @seven_months_in_79)

These guys are awesome. They have the look of a proper band, not like they're a bunch of random people thrown together yet they still all look individual and full of personality. They all came across so confident and their stage presence was immense. The guitar tone could've been a little better as it felt too clean and needed to be more gritty, in my opinion, to fit in with the whole 70's punk, 'The Clash' kind of vibe. The vocal mixed a more modern post-punk feel which brought the sound into something that is more than just an ode the pioneers of punk. 

These guys seemed to be the only support that actually fitted the genre of the headline. The line up of the whole evening was a little odd, lots of genres all pilled together that don't really fit or flow very well aside each other, the night was just a bit confusing and jarring. When coming to see a relatively emo headline band I didn't expect 'indie' music but I was glad that there was at least this band that worked well. 

Afterglow

You could tell that Afterglow are going for a 90's inspired grunge like sound, but for me it was overshadowed by the questionable choice of tones across the instruments. The guitar tones ruined the dissonant harmonies and left it sounding messy which was a shame as it was obvious that each individual is very talented on their respective instruments, it just couldn't come together as one cohesive sound. I don't want to be incredibly negative but I just didn't see anything that new or exciting about them, the indie 4 piece band has had it's time and now it's over used and tired if bands don't try to evolve a little more.

Cellar Door 

(Cellar Door // photo credit - @rhysboylevisuals)

Cellar Door owned the stage the minute they walked onto it. The vocals were raw and cut through the instrumental, he sounded so passionate and full of emotion, all super emo. The instruments all work perfectly together, nice, strong tones that create this harsh and in your face sound. There's a great mix of sad sounds and deep, full, angsty bass lines - I love.

The second song 'Headache' was a stand out from Cellar Door, its super catchy lyrics and melody have been in my head all weekend and I'm not mad about it. Everyone was having so much fun and jumping and dancing along to the emo-inspired lyrics. I also loved the cover of '102' which I was surprised by as I'm not the biggest fan of The 1975, but this heavier version of the song has way more feeling and fits their brand SO well. I think it's really cool that they've chosen to add in a cover that isn't necessarily a popular song, it definitely paid off for Cellar Door.

I really enjoyed the bouts of energy that each member of the band was giving off, they were all having so much fun and the audience were loving it. This was a huge factor through the whole set, the passion Cellar Door have for music is so infectious leaving it impossible not to dance, sing and cheer along. Each band member was so enthralled in the music, everything was very strong, clear and well rehearsed. Very impressive. 

I will say that there is a small element of 'indie' within the instrumental that I think could be dropped, not because it makes anything bad, but just so Cellar Door can reach their full sad boy potential which to me is much more fitting for them. Emo is having a come back moment, jump on that.

Towards the end of their set people were up on each others shoulders and everyone was smiling like crazy, just having a great time. Overall, Cellar Door pulled off a great headline show and made a lasting impression on everyone who attended. Check them out on Spotify and definitely get down to their shows if you can.

MY NETFLIX FAVOURITES

I've had a lot of downtime recently which means I've also been watching a lot of new series and films.  I spend more time scrolling through Netflix deciding what to watch than actually watching anything, there's too much choice and, to be honest, there's a lot of bad shows on there too. Before you say anything, no, I haven't started Stranger Things yet. Please forgive me, but I have found some really cool shows and films that I'm in love with and feel the need to shout about to anyone who will listen.

(face mask on, tea brewed, ready to spend my evening binging netflix)

The Good Place

Kristen Bell is wonderful, I want to marry her. The series is still on-going and I can't even guess what is going to happen next which is what I think I like most about it. The characters and the storyline have completely engrossed me and this is the only show I actually watch religiously every single week. If you've never seen it, the plot is kind of hard to explain but I'll try; a group of strangers find themselves in an afterlife that's a little different than expected. It's so real and human, you can see different aspects of yourself in each of the characters and what they go through is oddly relatable considering it's set in the afterlife.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

(This isn't on Netflix but it's up on loads of streaming sites like NowTV!) I put this on to have some background sound as I fell asleep and ended up watching the whole thing and absolutely loving it. The graphics are beautiful, the colours and the style of the whole film are just so gorgeous to watch, plus the storyline is really interesting! I don't particularly like superhero movies but I love animated movies and this one was just amazing.

John Mulaney 'Kid Gorgeous' at Radio City

John Mulaney has quickly become my favourite comedian which isn't hard because I don't really like many anyway. His show at Radio City is super funny, and as a little extra the staging is also absolutely gorgeous. Easy watching but it's just so clever and witty.

All of the BBC Earth Blue Planet and Planet Earth series on Netflix

Do I need to explain why these series and documentaries are so good? I watch these series or movies before going to sleep or while I'm doing assignments, I pretty much watch it whenever I need to be the calmest calm. David Attenborough is the most wonderful person in the entire world, his voice is the most relaxing sound and the visuals throughout the BBC series are stunning.

Dead To Me

This series is a friendship love story, two strong women going through awful things, brought together in less than ideal circumstances. Throughout the series I couldn't take my eyes off what was unfolding on the screen, there's so many twists and gasp worthy moments, just an emotional rollercoaster. I binged the whole season in two days and as much as I wanted more episodes the ending is just SO incredibly perfect! I still can't get over how well the show was written and again, the ending is just wow. If you watch anything I have suggested, it has to be 'Dead To Me'.

Oldies but Goodies

The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

Witchy, woman power is awesome. Even though this show is a little too 'teen drama' amid all the teen relationship plot lines, the main storyline is such a cool concept and the cinematography is so aesthetically pleasing. There is a great mixture of creepy stuff amongst the 'everyday' storylines which just works really well. Currently there's two seasons (i think) on Netflix but the show has reportedly been renewed for 2 more seasons which I'm super excited for.

Black Mirror

Black Mirror is the opposite of easy watching. The first episode I watched was the one with Miley Cyrus as I had never had much interest in the show as a whole, but after that one episode I wanted to see as many episodes as I could. The best part about this show, I think, is the fact that they're all stand alone episodes so you don't have to sit and watch a whole season to get the full story. Some of the stories are a little more intense than others and I will admit I didn't fully understand most of them, but they do make you think about some rather deep subjects that rattled me a little. My only tip is to not base your opinion on the whole show from just one episode, they're all completely different so find the ones you like.

Sex Education

I spoke about 'Sex Education' on my blog a while ago so I will pop in a link to that, but I still love the show and now that the second season has been announced I'm ready to re-watch the first season in preparation. The show is beautifully candid and shares some really difficult topics, the way some of the deeper topics are brought to light is done perfectly, which is hard for a lot of TV shows to accomplish. (https://listentome-baby.blogspot.com/2019/01/why-sex-education-is-so-important.html)

So before the Christmas movies start pouring in, well Netlix is already bombarded by them, maybe you'll enjoy some of these suggestions. If you have a favourite show or movie you think I'll enjoy, I'd love to hear recommendations. 

MAKE UP I HAVE BOUGHT RECENTLY

Before Halloween I started buying a bunch of new make up ready for the exciting looks I had planned for certain parties and other Halloween like things. Obviously, because I'm me, I never actually got around to doing fun make up looks for anything. So now I have a bunch of new make up that I thought I may as well use for a little post so I can feel like I spent my money for a good reason, rather than just buying stuff that I know I probably don't need. 

I start with the 'Prime Time Replenishing Make Up Primer Spray', not really sure if this does much for my foundation but it feels really refreshing on my skin, especially when doing my make up in the evening after I've had my skin care products on since the morning. 

I've been using the C.Y.O Long Lasting Foundation for a couple weeks now and it's working really well for me so far. I do feel like you have to use quite a few pumps of this foundation to cover my entire face but the finish if really nice and I colour matched myself really well so I'm proud. I do have  a couple of bad acne scars on my cheeks which just never get covered no matter how much product I put over them, if there's any recommendations for foundations or concealers that might help me please let me know - I need help.

As always, I used the Maybeline Eraser Eye Concealer under my eyes and on my chin, foundation never wants to stick to my chin for some reason but this concealer is literally a miracle in a bottle. The Eraser concealer is a product I don't think I could replace it's so good and I basically but it all over my face. If there is ever a foundation version of this concealer released, I would buy every bottle. 

To set my under eyes and the centre of my face, I use the C.Y.O Loose Powder. I powder my face with my beauty blender because when I use a brush I find that it drys my skin out and makes my foundation a little patchy but that could just be me not knowing how to do make up.

To bring back some life to my now pale, flat face I used the NYX Contour Palette. This was the first time I used this palette after I found it in TKMaxx for literally half the price it costs anywhere else, I've wanted it for a while but I'm not spending £20 on it so... I used the lightest shade to just bronze my face, I don't really contour because I don't know how. I also use the highlighter from the contour palette which is super cute and sheer which is what I like but I know lots of people do like to be blinding. My skin's been kinda funny at the moment and I have a lot of texture so I don't want to use a super intense highlight because I find it just enhances the texture underneath it and we don't like that here.

I used an E.L.F blusher, it doesn't say what shade but it's super sheer and just adds a tiny hint of some life to my cheeks, I just wanted to add a little bit of something. Normally I love really peachy blush but I've been wearing a lot of orangey shadows and when I do that I like to wear a more natural blush.

I've been enjoying a slightly more natural brow at the moment which is a big leap from the bushy, soap brows I love. I use the Revolution Cannabis Sativa Brow Gel to push my brow hairs up and then once the product has dried down I use a dark brown shadow to give a little more definition at the arch.  Unfortunately my brows are more like distant cousins than the twins I wish they were. I can't say that this product is any different to any other brow gel but it does hold them in place well and for a long time so I won't complain too much, but if you do use this make sure to wipe of excess product before putting it through your brows as I find it can be a little messy.

For some eyeshadow I used the Morphe 15N palette. My sister-in-law gave me this when she was sorting out her collection and I use it a lot, but I still don't know if I'd re-purchase it over a cheaper product. It's got great shades in it and the formula of the shadows is nice, but the palette isn't mind blowing or anything crazy special. I use a darker orange shade in my crease and a lighter orange shadow on my lid and on my lower lash line - I've been enjoying the classic 'autumn' colours I guess. It's nothing exhilarating but I do think it compliments my brown eyes pretty nicely, maybe one day I'll surprise everyone and actually do some exciting make up. 

Coming to the end, I curl my eyelashes and use the Maybeline Great Lash mascara. I don't think I'll ever find a better mascara, I love this one and have been using it for years. The formula is great and makes my eyelashes super long and dark without being clumpy and sticky. 

After wiping off any foundation off my lips, I use the Beauty Kitchen Love Me Wonder Balm in place of lipstick. I haven't been loving lipstick now the weather is getting colder as my lips are so incredibly dry, it just looks awful if I try to put any products on my lips. I like this lip balm in particular because it's oil based so gives an almost lip-gloss effect while nursing my dry, dry lips.

I'm not sure if this can be called a make up tutorial so I'm going to stick by it being more of a review type thing. I'd love to hear any recommendations for products that you love, I'm always looking for more stuff to add to my make up box because buying make up makes me happy.

MY FAVOURITE OUTFITS

If you didn't already know, I'm absolutely obsessed with clothes. I love putting together different outfits and looking all cute and cool but as the cooler weather approaches I'm struggling to stay warm while also looking bomb. I love midi skirts at the moment (as you'll be able to tell) and I'm wearing them all the time with tights to keep my legs cosy. I hope you can get some ideas and inspiration for your autumnal wardrobe from these outfits!

(Top - Monki / Skirt - NewLook / Cardigan - NewLook / Bag - Primark / Shoes - Dr Martens)

Monochromatic outfits always look so sophisticated in my opinion. This skirt has such a lovely zebra pattern which looks so cool but it's not a too much 'in your face' pattern. The long sleeve Monki top fits so nicely with the high neck, the material is the softest t-shirt material I've felt and it's the perfect dark, stoney grey colour that just looks super high fashion (think the Yeezy collection colours). This cardigan is a recent purchase and I'm so excited to wear it. The knit is so soft and the slouchy fit is perfect, plus it has massive pockets which is always a plus. This mini bowling style bag was only £8 from Primark! I have so many handbags but I just couldn't leave this one in the shop. Also, a quick winter tip that I always do when wearing boots is to swap normal socks for fluffy bed socks to keep them toes toasty.

(Jumper - Monki / Trousers - H&M / Shoes - TKMaxx / Bag - Charity Shop)

These Trousers!! I am actually in love with them, thank god for the halloween section of clothing stores in October. I originally bought these thinking I would wear them for my birthday party and maybe a couple other parties but I've worn these so many times! It's surprisingly easy to dress these down, my favourite top to pair with these trousers is with this gorgeous, velvety knit Monki jumper, it's incredibly soft and brings an autumnal vibe with the mustard yellow colour. The only way I can describe these shoes are half boot, half trainer but whatever you want to call them, they look awesome and are super comfy too. 

(Top - Urban Outfitters / Skirt - NewLook / Coat - BooHoo / Shoes - Dr Martens / Bag - Vintage)

We love leopard print, especially on (fake) fur coats. This coat makes me feel so powerful, the length, the fur, the print - everything about it screams 'girl boss'. The plain, silk midi skirt is perfect to wear with literally anything, so simple but still so cute. This print on the long sleeve top is an adorable design and the slight frill that runs along the hem is so pretty. When I wear the leopard print coat I normally also wear my platform boots to add to the bad bitch vibe. 

(Top - Miss Selfridge / Skirt - Charity Shop / Coat - BooHoo / Shoes - Nike / Bag - Charity Shop)

Again with the monochrome pairings. This skirt is so cute, originally from Laura Ashley which isn't very 'me' at all, but it fits very well and looks so flattering on my hips (which are barely there so we love an accentuating style). The only downside to this skirt is that it's basically a sheet of fabric only fastened by two buttons at the top hem, this means that with the slightest blow of wind, the skirt blows open leaving little to the imagination, if you get me. Anyway. This off-the-shoulder, long sleeved top is a go to of mine at the moment, the fabric is nice and stretchy so it doesn't restrict my arm movement - which is what has put me off this style of tops for a while. The coat I decided to wear on top is the thickest and cosiest jacket, it has a high neck which I can pretty much fit my entire face into to keep myself nice and warm. I love that it's a cropped jacket because when wearing loose fitting trousers or skirts, I still look like I have some shape. With this skirt I do normally wear my Dr Martens but I wanted to bring out the white in the skirt so I replaced them with my Nike Air Force but I also would pair the shoes with my Kickers boots (right corner of the above photo) which I think would look really cool too.

(Fleece - Urban Outfitters / Skirt - NewLook / Shoes - TKMaxx / Bag - Primark)

This skirt is a recent purchase, one I wasn't completely sure on. I have many midi skirts but none with the pleats, I wasn't 100 percent sure how I could pull of this look but with the chunky trainers I think it feels more relaxed and more my own style. I LOVE these shoes, they're so chunky and funky but also so comfy and wearable. They work with nearly every outfit I put on and just look awesome all the time - plus they were only £12.99! The fleece is expensive for a fleece, but after looking for one second hand and failing to DIY my own, I finally gave in to the extortionate Urban Outfitters prices. The drawstring along the bottom hem allows the bottom to be made tight and the high neck being zipped up keeps my top half cosy warm and also the deep green colour of the fleece complements the gorgeous, bronzey/orange leopard print of the skirt.

If you haven't already, head over to my instagram to watch me put all these outfitters together on my IGTV. I haven't done a video style post in a while but I really enjoy them so I hope you do too.

MY JEWELLERY COLLECTION

(photo in picture above - bohoo moon)

I love jewellery, it's bordering on obsession really. I recently bought some new pieces and sorted out my jewellery storage and I've so happy with my collection and how everything looks. I thought I'd share my favourite pieces and how I spend as little as possible on new jewellery.

Earrings.

To store/display my earrings I bought these earring stands from Ebay for less than £3 each! Each stand has 44 holes to hold 22 pairs of earrings and I tried to colour co-ordinate each separate stand, one for gold and one for silver. These stands make it so easy to see all my earrings and keep the longer pairs from getting tangled up with each other.

These little hoops are my favourite everyday pair of earrings. They're the perfect size and they're super comfortable to wear in my ears. Because they're gold, I don't need to worry about wearing them for a long period of time as I know they won't damage my ears or get ruined in the shower. I like wearing these in my second ear piercings with either a small stud or larger hoops in my first piercings. They're from H.Samuel and I believe they're currently half price on their website too!

So many hoops! I love the multi pack gold hoops from Primark, they're literally £1 and you get 5 pairs of hoops, all in different sizes. I don't wear these for long periods of time, I'll take them out as soon as I get back from wherever I have been because they're not the most comfortable earrings to wear but I can't complain for the price. I like wearings multiple pairs of these at a time, bigger hoops in my first piercing, one size smaller in my second piercing and then the smallest hoop in my third piercings. I've been told this makes me look a little like a pirate but I like the vibe.

I used to wear these earrings every, single day. I bought these earrings from Etsy a while ago and I am in love with them. They're so simple but they look so cute, the chain detail stops these looking too delicate but they're still not super chunky which I love.

Now, I know these look a little rusty and that's because I've had these earrings forever, but I love them so much. They're so cool! I've never seen a pair like these before and I wish I knew where I got them so I could buy a knew, shiner pair but I literally have no idea.

These earrings are one of my absolute favourite pairs! My boyfriend bought them for my birthday and they're beautiful, he bought them from an antique/vintage store and they're even real silver! The silver is so shiny and the simple detailing on them is just stunning, they look so elegant. I wouldn't have thought to buy these for myself but I wear them so much and they're super comfortable.

Tortoise shell is such a gorgeous pattern and the tan colour and black looks so classy. I really love the flat hoop which lets the pattern stand out, but against my black hair I think the colours get lost a little. I think these earrings would look even more beautiful on people with blonde hair as the colours could really pop.

These were so hard to get a good photo of, so I apologise. I love the near juxtaposition of the chunky hoop in the heart shape. The bamboo-esque detailing looks really cool but the clasp on the back of these is so hard to close! There's a latch back that is so stiff I could only just get them out the packet and when I'm trying to get them out my ears it becomes a right ordeal. But they look really cute so I still wear them.

These heart hoops came in a pack with the previous pair but thankfully these don't have the horrible clasp on the back and instead have a normal stud-like clasp. The detailing on these earrings runs along the sides as the hoop is flat and thin. I don't know what the detailing on these earrings is called but I refer to it as like a hammered effect? Where the surface is all bumpy but in a good way. Anyway, they're very delicate and easy to wear and they're surprising comfortable too considering they're from Primark!

More gems from Primark! These small, bamboo hoops are a simple way to elevate gold hoops with just the small extra details. These are a great hoop size but because they're quite chunky I have found that they look weird when paired with more hoops, but I just wear them with studs and they look great.

I fell in love with these earrings from TKMaxx but soon after I bought them my heart was broken, the clasps on the back broke meaning they fall out as soon as I try to wear them. I will find a way to fix them but for now I'll just stare at them as they're absolutely gorgeous. I liked to pair these with (fake) pearl studs and it looks amazing!

Necklaces 

I keep most of my necklaces in the little bags they arrived in, I bought a tiny plate to keep them all together and I also keep my rings here. I only have two rings; the gold, floral one I had to buy after it got stuck on my finger in a store, and the opal ring behind it was an 18th birthday present from my parents. Other necklaces I have are kept on little command strip hooks that I attached to the side of my wardrobe, it's the cheapest, easiest way to keep them all separated and in easy reach.

(photo from website)

Bohoo Moon is an online jewellery website that I recently had a little splurge on. They have mis-season sales where they reduce their beautiful jewellery down to only £5! This '1999' necklace is so cute and since it was my birthday I thought I'd mark the occasion by buying my birth year necklace. The material is super high quality and the length of the necklace can be adjusted from a choker style to a longer necklace. This one is really nice for layering, all the Bohoo moon necklaces layer really nicely over one another.

 (photo from website)

I also bought two chunkier necklaces from Bohoo moon, (the second and third from the top in the picture). Again, these two are length adjustable and look gorgeous layered with each other. I like the simplicity of the boxy chains and the chunkiness of the metal. The clasps are very sturdy and the necklaces feel very luxurious despite them being so affordable!

(photo from website)

I bought this necklace in both gold and silver because I've been looking for a T-bar necklace like this for so long!  I love the look of the alternative clasp and the simple chain, but the length obviously can't be changed and it is quite long.

This necklace is probably my favourite item of jewellery that I own, my mum bought it for me from an antique shop and I wear it all the time. It's a Japanese style dragon that matches a tattoo I have near perfectly. I think it just looks super cool and looks amazing with everything I wear.

Jewellery on a budget doesn't mean cheap, tacky looking items anymore. Places like Primark and online sites mean that, even on a student budget, we can look a little fancy and accessorise till our hearts are content. Antique stores, vintage shops, online market places and pop-up market stalls also provide a budget friendly way to purchase adorable, one-off items that you can use to add personal touches to your everyday outfits. I love dressing up more basic outfits by adding statement jewellery, it's so easy but it pulls everything together. If you know of any places, online or in store, where I can continue to add to my growing collection, I'd love to hear your suggestions! 

20 THOUGHTS ON TURNING 20

I'm nearly 20 and I have done near to nothing on BuzzFeeds '20 things to do before you turn 20' list. I am going into the decade of real world decisions and it's slightly daunting, but do I really care that I haven't done what BuzzFeed has decided I need to? Well, no. But also kind of yes. To me, my 20-somethings will be the decade that my adult life will begin, hopefully anyway. 

Such big things are going to happen in this next ten years, what if I never get the chance to learn a choreographed dance routine? Or finally master how to use chopsticks? The BuzzFeed list is a little bit silly but it did make me realise that I spent so much of my time in school and college just focusing on getting myself good grades so I could get a good job. And as good as that is for my brain, I feel like I let myself miss out on most of the fun stuff.

So now I want to look forward to things I can do in the future, mainly so I don't freak myself out over not being a teenager anymore. I found a list of 'feelings towards your 20's' that will hopefully get me excited about the years to come, rather than scare the shit out of me.

(I'm second to the left)

1 - I'm excited to ... travel! I've never left the country so I'm super excited to move around of see loads of gorgeous places.

2 - I can't wait for ... all of the little things. Moving and decorating new living spaces, fun night's out with friends, celebrations with people I love. Just making even more memories with the people that mean the most.

3 - I'm don't want to ... miss out on anything

4 - I'm wearing ... whatever I want to. I spent ages trying to look a certain way to impress people or I wore loads of make up because 'acne is ugly', now I just can't be bothered to 'keep people happy'. I'll wear what I want, if I want to wear loads of make up, I will and if I don't want to, I won't. Simple.

5 - Turning 20 represents ... starting my career. I know what I want to do after years and years of changing my mind, I might change my mind again and that's ok. But for now I will focus on getting myself out there and starting to work towards my goal.

(I'm on the left!)

6 - The best thing about being a teenager was ... the people I met. Though now I may not be as close to some, everyone I have met has taught me something that has helped me grow as a person. I feel very lucky to have the friends I do and I love them all very much.

7 - I'm excited to try ... and write a book. It's something I've wanted to do for a while but have always been too scared to share my writing with people. After starting my blog I feel way more comfortable putting my work out there.

8 - I'm inspired by ... Joan Didion and Caroline Coon. Two strong women who worked in journalism  at the time where it was pretty much entirely run by males (not too much progression here though). I love their work and they inspire me to stick to my guts and be confident in myself. If you don't know either of these ladies, please educate yourself because they're great.

9 - I'm trying to ... turn nervousness into excitement. Most things I get nervous about always end up being really fun and exciting, so there was no point being nervous in the first place. My dad has always told me I worry too much and it's not easy to not be nervous but I'm giving it a go. I'm not saying you should never get nervous, obviously there are things that it's natural to be nervous about but I'm talking about silly little things that just make no sense to get scared over.

10 - I'm worrying about ... leaving uni. I love my course and even though I obviously want to earn my degree I don't want a real job, I want to stay and live off my student loan forever.

11 - I'm thankful for ... my family. My parents have been so incredibly supportive of me in everything I've ever chosen to do and it's prompted me to work that much harder so I can make them proud.

12 - I'm loving ... writing things for my blog. Having a hobby like this gives me so much to do and helps be practice for my future.

13 - I'm listening to ... everything! There's so much music and I want to hear it all.

14 - I'm hoping ... that at some point in my life I can be in a position to help others who need it.

15 - I'm surprised about ... the amount my confidence has grown. If this time last year you told me the things I've had the opportunity to do, the people I've got to meet and the places and events I've got to attend after putting myself out there and meeting new people, I wouldn't have believed you, like at all. I was so shy and so self-conscious, I hated talking to people and always thought people didn't like me but now I've gained so much confidence and I go out and do things now that I never thought I would be able to.

16 - I'm proud of ... myself. Self love has helped me big time, I'm the happiest I've ever been and, comparing myself to me years prior, I'm making way more healthy decisions and loving myself like I deserve. Big steps for me.

17 - I'm thinking about ... how I'm not yet old enough to drink in America and how fun it'll be to eventually go to New York - but only when I can legally drink there.

18 - I want to learn ... how to do taxes. How can I be twenty and I not understand how tax works.

19 - I've realised ... that not everything happens for a reason, some bad things may lead to better times but most of the bad things just happen and we don't know why.

20 - I'm going to live my twenties ... day by day. I want to live in the moment and experience everything I can, cherish the memories I get to make and be happy.

I think I'm over the BuzzFeed list now. Happy Birthday to me!!