NIGHT TIME SKIN CARE ROUTINE

In the evenings, for me at least, it's super hard to convince myself to do my night time skin care routine. I normally leave it right to the last minute before I go to bed and that means I half ass it or just don't do it at all. Oddly enough, I'm really good at taking my make up off and applying my skin products when I'm a little tipsy after a night out - I won't question it, drunk me takes great care of her skin.

I do notice a difference in my skin when I religiously do this routine, sometimes I have a couple lazy days where I just can't be bothered but it is super important to give your skin some love in the evening after wearing make up or exposing your skin to the outside environment. Here's what I do to remove my make up, clean my skin and treat it a little over night, it's super simple because again, I normally can't be bothered.

Super Facialist Skin Renew Cleansing Oil

This oil is amazing. It removes my make up so incredibly well and it's perfect as I don't have to scrub the make up off my face and irritate it. There's no harsh chemicals in this product like you'll find in make up wipes, and make up wipes are so bad for the environment, just don't use them.

The Cleansing Oil literally breaks down the make up on your face, you can see in my IGTV that even my mascara just melts away as soon as swipe across my eyes, it's just great. First I use this product without wetting my hands or face and just let the oil work it's magic, then I wet my fingers a little and massage the product until it turns into a milky consistency.

W7 Magic Make Up Remover

I wash off the cleaning oil with this make up removing towel thing - I'm not 100% sure what to call it. The packaging tells you this make up remover will take off your make up simply with water but when I tried this I just didn't feel as fresh as I wanted to. Instead, I use the W7 towel to remove my make up and the oil and it works perfectly. The texture of the towel is way softer than your average flannel and everything comes off super nicely.

Soap and Glory Vitamin C Facial Wash

After all my make up is off I use the Soap and Glory facial wash to get into my pores and really get my skin clean. After watching some skin care specialists on youtube, I found that you should have a double cleansing routine. This just means that after you've removed make up, wether that be with an oil, balm or wipe, then it's really important to use a face wash to actually clean your skin. Make up removers only clean the surface so by using a second cleanser you're actually getting into the crevices of your skin and getting all that dirt out, plus it's an insurance that all your make up is actually gone.

ByNature Brightening Clay Mask

Sometimes I'll use a face mask of some sort after washing my face. I don't do this too often but if I've worn a tonne of make up or my skin is looking a little worse for wear I'll pop a mask on the areas that need it. I really like this clay mask but I tend to just mask my breakouts with this as the dry spots on my face do not like the clay formula at all.

Sometimes I use a Manuka Honey mask when my skin is feeling really dry, other times I use this clay mask but I use The Ordinary Peeling Solution regularly about 3 times a week in the evening to help exfoliate my skin and keep it looking healthy.

The Ordinary Lactic Acid 10% + HA

Once my face is clean and dry, I use this serum all over to exfoliate my skin as I don't use an exfoliating face wash in either my morning or night time routine - don't put this around your eyes though!! The exfoliating face washes just don't agree with my skin for some reason so I opt for a chemical exfoliator to make sure there's no dead skin cells on my face. This serum also helps to keep my breakouts at bay and gives me that fresh faced, clean feel.

I used to use the Revolution Niacinamide Tonic before I put this The Ordinary serum on but the tonic was so soapy despite being a 'toner' and felt painfully cheap. I used it for 2 weeks and it irritated my skin leaving it looking a little bloch-y every single time. I don't recommend it, at all.

Mario Badescu Ceramide Eye Gel

I like the gel formula of this eye cream as I feel it gives me so much more hydration and it doesn't feel heavy on my skin. Ceramide is just an amazing ingredient that gives your skin so many benefits. Ceramide's in skin care mainly help your skin to retain moisture reducing redness and irritation - something my eyes used to struggle with a lot. Your skin naturally creates ceramide to help lock in moisture but as we get older - I say older but I really mean your 20's and 30's - it stops doing so and some people just have less natural ceramide than others, leaving skin drier. Ceramide creates a barrier across your skin, protecting it from pollution, infections and other bad stuff whilst also plumping the skin.

Ceramide products are made synthetically or using plant extracts and they're identical to our skin ceramide molecules so we can buy products such as the Mario Badescu eye gel to keep the balance of ceramide in our skin.

Cocoa Butter

I finish off my evening routine by using a liberal amount of cocoa butter on my lips as they're constantly dry as hell.

And that's me ready for bed. I like to keep it simple in the evenings as, again, I get tired and don't want to spend ages doing skin care. I still haven't found a night cream that I like so that's the main reason I don't use one, also I don't feel like I need one when I have these products on my face. I'm down to try a night cream, if there's one you recommend then let me know!

Head over to my IGTV to see me do my night time routine and take a shot every time my boyfriend leans into the shot.

BERMUDA - BRISTOL LANE

Birmingham alternative rock band 'Bermuda' offered up their first song of 2020 and released the bands third single 'Bristol Lane' last week on the 27th of March.  

This single shows a diversion towards higher production, more intricate song writing and a focus on refining their genre and individual sound. When announcing Bristol Lane's release they shared, "This is by far the most effort we’ve ever put into a song and it’s one of our best received at gigs". 

'Bristol Lane' is structurally more interesting than the previous two single releases we've seen from Bermuda. The instrumental 'changeup' at the end of the track keeps the song interesting, it doesn't feel out of place or simply 'thrown in' but keeps the pace of the song moving instead of dragging.

One place where this track unfortunately falls down is in the dynamics. With the heavy instrumental, I expect impactful dynamics to emphasise the instrumental drop into the heavier parts of the single but here that doesn't happen. The actual instrumental hits harder in parts but with no dynamic changes the sound falls flat and looses that oomph it should have. It's a shame because the written music has that power but it just hasn't translated too well in the recording. 

Carrying on the dynamic short fall, the whole track sounds almost muted - like someones put a little too much compression on it. This muted sound doesn't seem to affect the vocals or the lead guitar but this is what makes the dampening effect that much more prevalent. To me, this is more of a production issue than a band issue but the lacking of dynamic differences in the sections that really need it, such as the solo and the big finale, ruin what should be these dramatic, hard hitting transitions.

The song overall sounds rather grande, again would sound bigger if it was less muted but I digress. There's some really nice layers that really fill out the sound. The backing vocals and harmonies are something we haven't got to see from Bermuda before and in this track you can hear the difference they make in their music, though subtle, it creates a fuller and more round sound.

I think that my favourite part of this song is the line, 'he died of a drug abusion'. Now, I did google this word before I stated here that it is, in fact, not a word. But technically it is and was used until the end of the 17th century. I'm pretty hung up on this, you'd think that the more universally used word 'addiction' could've been used since it sounds the same as their choice of 'abusion'. Maybe Bermuda just vibe with 17th century vocabulary, so take from that what you will, not sure where I'm going with this.

Still on the lyrics, they seem like a bit of an odd fit for quite a grande sounding song. The rich tones across the instruments and the (admittedly very quiet but still very nice) synth strings in the choruses, leave the lyrics to fall flat in comparison. The song sounds more mature for Bermuda yet the lyrics still have that angsty, teenage feel to them. I like this richer, fuller sound that they've bought to the table this time but the lyrical content hasn't developed at the same rate as the instrumental.

The instrumental really is where these guys shine. After seeing them live a couple of times before, I can safely say that they always knock it out the park during the instrumental parts of all their songs in fact. They consistently play with so much energy and passion, everyone who's listening has a great time and they've translated this into their recorded music well.

This track also gives us a little more bass than the previous two singles and we all love a bit more bass whenever we can get it. The drums are rock solid, super strong and the actual tone of the drums is really nice and adds to the grande-ness of 'Bristol Lane' as a whole.

Bermuda have recently been nominated for the Rising Star/One To Watch award at the 2020 Birmingham, keep up to date with what they're up to on their Facebook and Instagram!

MY FAVOURITE PRODUCTS TO CLEAR AND COVER BREAKOUTS

I was not blessed with clear skin. Even people who do have that blessing get breakouts now and then but when I say I'm breaking out, I don't mean I got one, cute little spot because I'm on my period. I have struggled with my skin for as long as I can remember, if you want to know more about that journey, I did a blog post last year about what I went through to get my skin to where it is today.

(Peter DeVito - #AcneIsNorma)

So, currently I'm breaking out due to stress; thinking about assignments and now covid-19 is kicking about and my skin is showing some signs of wear. I tend to break out around my chin and my temples, not sure why there but, I get huge, under the skin spots that tend to make a home on my face for about a month and then leave me a souvenir scar so I can always remember they were there. This is just a long-winded way of saying that when I get breakouts, I sometimes like to cover them up so I feel better about myself.

Obviously I'm not saying that you must cover up breakouts, I don't normally because I'm often too lazy and in the end breakouts are natural and it's not exactly a scandal if they're on show. But sometimes, you want to look a little glam or you just want to cover them up for yourself, and that's fine! Girls are often ridiculed no matter what we do, too much make up, not enough make up, blah blah blah - do what you want, no one really cares that much.

Anyway, after that long intro, I'm going to talk about the make-up products I use to cover up my blemishes and redness and I've also thrown in some skin care products that I think have really improved my skin and helped to clear up my beloved spots. Head over to my IGTV if you want to see my go to routine!

Primer

To prime my face I use the BECCA First light Priming Filter. I haven't heard many people talking about this primer and the only reason I even bought it was solely because I found a pack of two BECCA primers in TKMAXX for £5 and this was one of them. The First Light Primer has a purple tint to it which neutralises redness but this isn't it's built-for purpose. The primer gives you a dewy glow which is just beautiful, on it's own it looks gorgeous and when used under foundation the natural glow it gives off makes your skin look really nice and healthy. The ingredients in this primer are also wonderful for your skin, 'pear flower, hyaluronic acid and ginger' re-energise skin, help the skin retain moisture and give a healthy plumping effect. All around a lovely product that I enjoy greatly!

Foundation

To create my blank canvas and cover everything that I desire to, I use my absolute favourite foundation, the CYO Lifeproof foundation and mix it with EX1 Invisiwear liquid foundation. Now, I hate the EX1 foundation on it's own, the formula is streaky and just plain weird, BUT when mixed with the CYO foundation, which I love, the two match my skin tone perfectly and create a great level of coverage. This foundation combo gives a lovely dewy finish and it hasn't let me down yet. I use a flat foundation brush to mix the two foundations on my face and then use my real techniques complexion sponge to blend the foundation out. 

Concealer 

To conceal under my eyes and around some dark blemishes and acne scars I use the ELF Camouflage Concealer. I've used this concealer for a couple months now and I can't see myself using anything different. The coverage and finish are just beautiful and, even though it dries down very quickly, blends out super easily.

Contour 

Before I set my face, I use the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in a colour a couple shades darker than my skin tone to bronze/contour the areas I wish to look slimmer. I place the concealer underneath my cheekbones, the sides of my nose, under my bottom lip and across my forehead and blend the concealer out first with a small buffing brush and then my real techniques complexion sponge. I don't know if I actually use this to contour as it doesn't really 'chisel' my cheekbones but it definitely does bring some colour and life back into my skin after using such a high coverage foundation.

Powder

To set everything in place before going in with powder bronzer and blush, I use the CYO All Set Fixing Powder. I've tried not setting my face with powder before as I have quite dry skin but this leads to my powder bronzer and blush looking patchy as it clings to certain areas of my foundation. I used to set my face using this powder and my sponge, but recently I've been using a very dense, flat powder brush to set my face as I find it gives more coverage and a smoother finish.

Bronzer - again

To bring back some colour to my face, I use the NYX Highlight and Contour Pro Palette and just bronze around the usual areas with a medium sized, fluffy, angled powder brush. I don't swipe or drag the brush against my face but instead stipple the powder to blend it out, this ensures the foundation and concealer underneath the bronzer isn't disturbed. 

Blush

The Make Up Obsession Isn't It Peachy Blush Palette has and always will be my favourite blush palette, all the shades in the palette are just gorgeous and the formula is buttery and blends out beautifully. For this dewy look, I used the shimmery blush which gave a beautiful sheen, that looks especially beautiful in the photo above. I use the same brush to apply my blusher as I use for my bronzer, and again I stipple the product on instead of dragging anything across my skin.

Setting Spray

To finish the make up look off and set everything in place, I use the I Heart Revolution Green Tea Setting Spray. I don't think this setting spray is any better than another but it smells nice and stops my face looking powdery - plus it's cost effective.

Spot Concealing

If I have a particularly large spot, or a blemish that doesn't want to be covered, I will use my BodyShop star stamp liner or a rhinestone or sticker of some sort to just cover the spot. This always looks super cute and always covers a stubborn spot.

(Peter DeVito - #AcneIsNormal)

As well as covering imperfections, we do want to try and get rid of the root problem. I've got a couple of products which I think have actually helped reduce my breakouts and make my skin look fresh and glow-y.

The Ordinary AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution

This product is just plain cool. The red liquid really makes it look like you're dripping blood on your face and even better, the product actually works. I use this solution 2-3 times a week, as recommended, but instead of using this as a mask across my entire face, I only put it on the areas which I feel need it. I will say that if your skin is super sensitive, maybe don't use this. I never put the mask on my forehead as my skin there is so dry and gets irritated by the solution.

The product exfoliates the skin, removing dead skin cells and encouraging skin cell rejuvenation - this is what gives your skin that fresh, glowing look and also helps to heal imperfections. Do remember to be careful with this product as the chemical percentage is very high, read and follow the instructions! 

Neutrogena Clear and Soothe Moisturiser

I use this moisturiser everyday and I love it. The gel formula isn't greasy feeling and because there are no oils in the moisturiser, it keeps your skin looking clean and fresh whilst also being super hydrating. The product is full of antioxidants to soothe irritated skin, reduce blemishes and the presence of turmeric helps balance out the appearance of redness. For £5.99 you can't really go wrong. I'll definitely be trying the rest of the 'clear and soothe' products from neutrogena so let me know if you want to hear my thoughts!

(Peter DeVito - #AcneIsNormal)

As much as we all wish for clear skin, perfection does not exist. Blemishes are a part of life, there's no easy fix to get 'perfect' skin but there are some product which can help us clear and cover our imperfections if we wish. These products worked, and continue to work, wonders for me and I wanted to share them to those looking for something similar! 

There are a bunch of skin care products I've seen and would love to try, such as BeautyBay's new range and also those blemish stickers that I think are very gimmicky but you never know. I hope you're all staying safe out there, have a lovely week and let me know if you're interested in seeing more posts like this one! 

WEEKEND IN BRIGHTON - ARCADES, VINTAGE SHOPPING AND BIG LIFE CHOICES

It seems like a lifetime ago now but the weekend before last, me and my boyfriend went down to Brighton so I could take a look at a University Masters course that I'd been looking to applying for. Since we are all distancing ourselves from each other and panic buying toilet roll and hand wash, I wanted to reminice on the simpler times of two weeks ago where I wasn't sacred to take ibuprofen or simply cough in public. 

I thought since we were going all the way to Brighton anyway, we may as well stay for a couple days and take a look around, drink, sunbathe and so on. Surprisingly,  the weather didn't permit any sunbathing and, on top of that disappointment, I was forced into asking myself the existentialist question of what I want to do with my life - a perfect, relaxing getaway. 

Back to the start of my weekend away. As I was going away for a whole 2 days, I had to pack at least 3 outfits as well as both my morning and night time skin care products plus some make up just incase I felt like wearing it. I call it being prepared, my boyfriend calls it being excessive.

I packed my skin care products in this gorgeous Body Shop bag that I got for Christmas, this included my face wash, make up remover, serums, toners and various different creams for my variety of problem areas. I also put my birth control pills in here, I always get so worried I will forget my pill with me when I travel because let's be real, missing a pill is up there as one of the most nerve racking things for a lot of ladies. I like to keep all my belongings separate when packing to travel somewhere so I use different travel bags to contain the plethora of things I feel that I can't survive without for a weekend.

The second small bag in my suitcase was for make up. This make up bag was only £4 from the charity shop and it makes me feel very fancy. I normally wouldn't have bought make up with me on a trip where I knew I wouldn't be going out anywhere fancy but my skin had been playing up all week and I was feeling a tad self conscious. I wanted to bring the make up 'safety blanket' with me so I was feeling my best for my little holiday.

I also have a little travel box for my jewellery, I love jewellery and I like to change up my earring game daily so I had to bring choices with me. This box is great, I know the middle part is for rings but it holds my studs perfectly and if it works, it works. Whenever I'm transporting necklaces, I always use these little net gift bags to stop the chains from tangling and knotting together, it works perfectly and most times you get these bags when you purchase the jewellery in the first place, so they're free!

I packed more outfits then I knew I would need and then also packed another one last minute just in case. I separated my clothes into one half of the suitcase and then put all my other belongings, like my hair straighteners etc, in the other side. And before anyone says anything, my boyfriend and I shared this suitcase so really I didn't bring THAT much stuff with me - I would've bought more if we didn't have to get the tube in London. And with the packing done, it was time to travel.

(the hotel was so close to the beach!)

I was pretty impressed at myself when we got onto our train, without knowing it, I had managed to book us on the fast train to London. We went from Birmingham to London in less than an hour and a half which is mind boggling, we are living in the future. But as lovely as that train journey was, the second train from London to Brighton was a stark difference, what some may call a nightmare. As I had booked the train in advance, we had to catch a specific train but of course, it was cancelled. Everyone that we asked for help told us to do something different so after having a mini meltdown, we ended up having to get a train to some other place and then get the train to Brighton, which to normal people isn't so bad but since I had gotten myself so stressed about the situation it just made it so much worse. 

Also, side note, people in London are on a different level of 'in a hurry', our train was about to leave and some old man pried open the doors to get him and his wife into the already packed carriage, like seriously, just wait 10 minutes and get the next one man.

After a change over of trains, we were in Brighton and I was finally feeling relaxed. We got to Brighton a little later than expected so we went straight to the hotel/BnB we were staying at as we were late to check in but graciously, the man was wonderful and didn't mind at all. We stayed at the wonderful 'Nineteen' which is essentially the house of my dreams. The townhouse had been repurposed as a hotel and my god, it was gorgeous. The room that we stayed in was so dreamy, the bed was the comfiest thing I've ever slept on in my life and the bedding was the softest material I have ever felt in my life, just a perfect start to this experience all round.

That night we went for an average pub meal after wondering around a bit and then had a drink at The Blue Room - I think that's what it was called anyway. The place was very cute and quaint, lots of African decor pieces lined each flat surface and teapots lined the ceilings. After two drinks I was practically falling asleep so like a retired couple, instead of going out on a Friday, we wondered home, watched Night at the museum 2 and fell asleep. To be honest, I didn't watch most of the film because laying on that bed felt more like laying on a cloud, I couldn't keep my eyes open whilst feeling so comfy and relaxed, like honestly what was that bedding made out of?

For some reason, maybe the while going to bed at 10pm thing, I woke up at 8am raring to go. I took 30 minutes to put some make up on, it definitly shouldn't have taken me that long to look so mediocre but whenever I have to do makeup outside the comfort of my home it throws me all kinds of off. Once I was ready we still had a bunch of time before we were scheduled to get the train to my masters open day so we went for a walk around the town, popped into a couple of charity shops and then I ate maybe the best hotdog I've ever tasted. 

Now, the open day. This part didn't go exactly as I had expected. As soon as I saw the Uni I was already doubting it. It looked so much like my secondary school, not good off the bat, and the place was so huge it made me feel tiny and intimidated - and not in a 'face my fears' way but more like an uncomfortable, out of place, don't want to be here at all way.

I registered and had a look through the programme they'd handed us as we walked in. For staters, the course I wanted to look at wasn't even on the list and when I asked around I was told to just look at a different course, not great first impressions.

I'm one of those 'trust your instincts' people, you can think what you want, but I knew that deep down I'd already decided I wasn't going to this uni to do my masters. After 20 minutes sitting silently trying to talk myself into going to the presentation, I just felt so uncomfortable and wanted to get the hell out of there. After calling my mum and my boyfriends mum for advice, I got my free cup of tea, and headed back to Brighton. To be honest, it wasn't just that I didn't like the uni. After being in Brighton the past evening and that morning, even though it was a very short time, I couldn't picture myself living there. Everything is a little too pretty and holiday-esque, plus I'd be so far away from everyone I love. I think I like Birmingham too much to leave it yet.

When we were back in Brighton we went for a walk around the town again and, unfortunately for my bank account, we happened upon a plethora of vintage clothing stores, record stores and antique shops. I ended up only buying two skirts, both midi skirts obviously because I have an actual obsession with them - they just look so freakin' cute on me okay? In one of the antique stores we went into there was a photo booth so me and my boyfriend had to do that annoying couple thing where you be cute and kiss in a photo booth, because were in love and whatnot. 

We also went to the pier and I spent WAY too much money on the claw machines. You see, I won the first time I put money in and therefore felt I was the BEST claw machine grabber person to ever exist. I got greedy, but won no more cute dog teddies. Once we'd spent a sufficient amount at the arcade we grabbed some dinner, some people thought the toy dog I had won was real because I was carrying it like my baby, and then we went back to the pier to buy the classic pier desert of eight sugar donuts. We would've eaten them on the pier if it was not March but it was March so we ate them in bed and then felt very sick because we had just eaten four sugar donuts each. 

Clearly on a sugar crash from the night before, I woke up on Sunday needing food. After we'd packed up our stuff and handed over the keys we found a crepe place to just really add to that health kick we'd clearly been on whilst in Brighton. Before going to this crepe place, I didn't know that crepes are just pancakes. I thought they were a completely separate entity but, of course, these were still delicious - anything with that much Nutella on it is going to be perfect no matter what.

After breakfast, we walked around a beautiful park for a while but, being weighed down by the suitcase and yesterdays shopping bags, we decided that it would be best to get an earlier train than planned. As much a Brighton is lovely, in March especially, there's not a bunch of stuff to do plus I was already nervous about the trains home after the stress I'd gone through on the previous journey.

Almost like we'd planned it, we got to the train station right on time for a London bound train. We got seats and I'd even remembered to download a movie onto Netflix so I could watch it on the train without getting interrupted by a lost signal. 

The London Underground wasn't busy at all and we even managed to fit in a quick lunch on the floor when we got to Euston train station. We got the fast train back to Birmingham and just like that the weekend was done and dusted. 

I may not have had the perfect weekend, it didn't really go how I expected it to but I still enjoyed the rest I got to have away from the pressure of assignment deadlines. If you ever find yourself in Brighton, I highly recommend staying with 'Nineteen' and I also recommend taking a spare suitcase so you can shop till your hearts content - honestly I could've spent forever in those vintage shops. 

I hope you all stay safe and have as happy a self-isolation as you can. Though we are stuck indoors, don't cut yourself off from the outside world. Talk to your friends, make sure everyone you love is doing ok - both physically and mentally. 

INSURGENT GOING OUT WITH A BANG - 'COLOURS BLEED'

Insurgent caused a wave with their first single release ‘counterpart’ late last year and have since performed multiple shows across Birmingham. On the 5^th of March 2020, they came back with their second single “colours bleed” that hits with the same intense sound and mind-blowing vocals that make the hairs on all parts of my body stand up.

After hearing ‘Counterpart’ upon it’s release, I was nervous that Insurgent wouldn’t be able to carry on banging out singles that could hold any weight when comparing them to the first release, but ‘colours bleed’ has set my mind to rest and made me question why I was ever worried in the first place. If you meet any member of Insurgent you can immediately tell how passionate these guys are about making good music, they carry this feeling throughout everything they do and it makes for some pretty outstanding sounds. 

The reverb-y vocals give this almost ethereal sound - which I think I also said about the previous single if I remember correctly – I really enjoy this sound though, the reverb isn’t thrown in your face but adds this really nice layer in the background that gives the sound a little something more. The backing vocals in the breakdown are just super cool, Katie has this way of screaming with so much power but still managing to sound insanely beautiful at the same time, absolutely in love. Just watching Katie sing so many words with so much power and then also perfectly execute these gorgeous vocal runs made me feel out of breath.  

I do think that the sound of Insurgent relies on the sound of Katie – don’t get me wrong, I know that obviously they’re all incredibly talented musicians in their own right but Katie’s vocal tone is so unique and intense that now, the contrast between the heavy, deep instrumental and Katie’s ‘musical theatre’ trained vocals is what defines their music for me and I wouldn’t want it any other way. 

I’m not sure where or who the deeper (male?) vocals came from but they give a slight contrast that isn’t enough to chop up the song but noticeably works to extenuate the deeper tones throughout the song.  I like the deeper instrumental tones that have been used through this song, it gives an angst-y feel without letting any instrument get lost in another. It can be hard to stop heavy instrumentals from sounding muddy when they’re playing such similar deep tones but the guitar and bass both work alongside one another perfectly and blend to create a really complimentary sound. 

Now, do I think metal bands knocking out music videos of them performing in the woods is maybe overdone by now? Yes. But I actually did like this video a lot. The visual of the silhouettes performing in front of that jaw-droopingly beautiful sunset is so gorgeous and perfectly works alongside the single’s title ‘colours bleed’ as the warm shades melt into one another with the sun set. This video might not be something super new and exciting but it serves it’s purpose graciously and creates a really beautiful visual for a great song. 

‘Colours bleed’ is unmistakably ‘Insurgent’, even after only two singles they have a solid sound that is distinct and unique to them. Unfortunately, they announced that this will be their last release and as of today are going their separate ways - at least they're going out with a bang.

WEEK IN MY LIFE - HOT CHOCOLATES AND CHARITY SHOPS

 (didn't notice how choppy my fringe is until now whoops)

Through out this blog post you will notice I drank a lot of hot chocolate this week, I'm not sure why or how this happened but it did. I don't normally drink this much hot chocolate but when I'm with my mum, we always end up going to nearly every cafe we walk past to get a hot chocolate - we just like hot chocolate. 

This week was a tad different to my normal weeks so I thought it was a good week to do a 'week in my life' just so it's more interesting than me doing nothing but work and stressing about university assignments.

Monday

I started my week by going out for a wonderful breakfast date at The Social in Digbeth, where I had a simple sausage and hash brown sandwich (the hash browns were just perfect - the photo doesn't do it justice) and my boyfriend had a full english - I also had a delicious hot chocolate that started off my week long hot chocolate cravings. As well as the food being delicious, the interior of The Social was just gorgeous. I loved the industrial vibe and eclectic decor, the huge windows let the sun shine in and created the perfect environment in which to start my day. For my breakfast and drink I only paid £6.50 which is such a bargain, I will now struggle to walk past The Social everyday on my way to and from University without going in.

After my breakfast, I waddled into town with my full belly with the intention to scout of some sustainable fashion/food businesses that I wanted to write about for a couple of articles I need to do for my work placement (that I start on Wednesday!!). I wanted to wow the company with some cool ideas but this backfired on me and literally EVERYWHERE I wanted to go was closed on Mondays, and Mondays only - of course I couldn't have checked this online before I walked there but oh well. To cheer my sorry ass up, I had a mooch around the charity shops and bought a brand new Urban Outfitters top (that still had the tags on it!!) for £6 and a super cute Dior make up bag for only £4! This cheered me up a bit but I still felt bad as I slowly moped home, so I cuddled up in my blanket and watched Grease Live on Netflix whilst eating a bunch of chocolate. The day wasn't salvaged after my boyfriend cheered me up with a load of those gummy pizza sweets that I love. 

Tuesday

Tuesday is my full day at university which isn't the most interesting thing to talk about unless you want to hear about music history and research methods. I also had a pretty disappointing hot chocolate from the drinks machine so that was a waste of 25p and I had to walk home in the rain with no umbrella - so I wasn't in the best of moods when I got home. 

To remedy my bad mood I had a steamy shower, lit a candle and used The Ordinary AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution face mask whilst I listened to the Boy Genius album. I use this face mask twice a week and it always makes my skin super soft and glow-y. I also tried out some new hair products after my shower, I used the 'Got2b volumanic mouse' and the 'VO5 volume blow dry spray', my hair is quite fine so I'm always on the look out for anything that's going to give me some more volume. I really liked both of these products and they definitely gave me a tonne of volume, the spray made my hair look SO shiny and healthy and the mouse smells delicious and made my hair feel thick and luscious - this little pamper definitely elevated my mood.

Wednesday

Wednesday was a really exciting day for me because I was starting my work placement at BABMAG. Wednesday's are my early start anyway, I have a lecture 9 -10.30 but this morning I woke up a little earlier than usual so I could look a little more presentable as I normally turn up to university looking a little worse for wear this time in the morning. 

I had a great first meeting with BABMAG and we planned some really interesting articles for the magazine that I'm super excited to write so you should definitely keep an eye out for them over on their website! I got to work on some writing as soon as I got home and had planned to carry on working throughout my evening whilst I drank a load of tea and ate a load of biscuits. Almost perfectly timed, as I finished writing I got an invite to some evening plans and a bunch of us ended up going down to MaMa Roux's to have some drinks and watch some bands, so it was a lovely way to end a good work day. 

Thursday

On Thursday I stayed inside all day to do a bunch of writing as I normally do each week. This didn't quite go to plan as I decided to put Netflix on for some background noise and ended up watching 6 consecutive hours of 'Mind Hunter' after a friend recommended the show to me. If you're into true crime or anything like that, this show is amazing! So that's literally all I did all day, which isn't great for work but the show was definitely worth the binge.

Friday

On Friday I had two uni lectures before I headed to the train station so I could spend the weekend with my parents. On the train I wrote some blog material for the up-coming week and moaned about how busy the train was. Trains always make me feel so tired and cranky so I bought my 3rd hot chocolate of the week and the guy at Starbucks very nearly cheered me up a little with his barista-costumer small talk.

On the way home I popped into my parents antique shop, The Old Bakehouse Antique Centre, and couldn't resist buying a couple of things. Birmingham city centre has a noticeable lack of antique shops which is fine but it means when I go back home I'm allowed to splurge a little.

(trinkets from The Old Bakehouse Antique Centre, Northampton)

I also went for a lovely meal with my parents, my dad accidentally ate a whole slice of butter thinking it was cheese which will now be a life-long family joke and I had a fancy steak because I wasn't paying for the food so decided to indulge. I was excited by the 'cookie and ice cream' desert but when it arrived the cookie was not warm and the cookie to ice cream ratio was all out of whack but still it was okay.

Saturday

Saturday was wonderful. I hadn't seen my mum since new years and our last planned visit had to be cancelled because of the badly named Storm Dennis. We started off our day out as we do all of them, at Costa for hot chocolate and some breakfast, and then we drove to Market Harborough. Market Harborough is a small town near my hometown that is known for being a little more upmarket, the houses up there are pricey and the people who live there have a bit more money than me and my parents at least. The sole reason me and my mum go up there is for the charity shops. There are a bunch of charity shops in Market Harborough's town centre and there is always great stuff in all of them, the theory is that they're richer so therefore donate better stuff for us to buy. The charity shops didn't fail me today and me and my mum found a bunch of amazing clothes and trinkets to take home with us - I even bought a £3 suitcase so I could get it all back to Birmingham on the train. 

The best place we found is called 'The Attic Dress Agency', we'd never seen this shop before and mainly went in to shelter from the rain but I ended up finding two absolutely gorgeous coats and a NastyGal dress with the tags still on it! The Attic is a second hand clothing store and everything in there is beautiful, they stock high street and designer brands and the prices were so reasonable I could have bought everything in there. I ended up purchasing this Mango blazer style jacket (£27) and an amazing black, shaggy fur coat (16) which is lined with what can only be described as dressing gown material -and who isn't always looking for ways to wear a dressing gown outside?

To finish off my evening, I sat down with a Chinese and watched crappy TV before falling asleep. I also tried to pack my suitcase but ended up having to use an extra bag so I could actually get my shopping haul home.

Sunday

My week ended with me holding a baby for the first time ever in my whole life. In my 20 years I have never had the confidence to hold a baby because they are fragile and I am prone to dropping things but I didn't drop this baby and I had a lovely time looking at her tiny face. I also had a pleasant train journey home and stopped an old lady falling over when the train broke suddenly - all around a great day.

Even though I didn't get as much work done this week as I would've liked, I had a really great time. I missed my parents a bunch so seeing them was lovely and I've had enough hot chocolate to satisfy me for a while. I might do a charity shop haul but I don't know if that's something anyone would be interested in? If you would, let me know! 

MY BOOT COLLECTION AND HOW I STYLE DR MARTENS

I love a good, solid boot. My family have always been big 'shoe' people, my dad used to work in the industry so this has fuelled my love of footwear. Shoes are so important, I think people often forget how important it is to wear shoes that support your feet as well as looking good, with my dodgy knee I always need to wear something solid so I don't further irritate my old lady joints or fall over, which is something I do more than I'd like to admit. 

Anyway, Dr Martens are my favourite shoes in the entire world, I absolutely love the chunkiness and they just look awesome as well as being super comfy (once broken in). I pretty much am always wearing a black boot of some design, these four boots are my footwear staples at the moment so I'd thought I'd share them with you as we come into rainy season here in the UK. 

(Dr Marten 1460 original boots)

These were the first pair of Dr Martens I ever had. I'm pretty sure I got these when I was in year eight, so I was maybe 13? Yes, my feet have't grown since then, neither have I as a person - not mad about it at all. Any way, uou can definitely tell they are worn but at 7 years old they're still going strong. They're just a solid pair of boots, like how can you go wrong?

How I style - I can't wear these with most of my trousers, only because all my trousers are too long for me so I have to wear a show with some height but there's no reason a person with normal length legs couldn't wear these with trousers. I normally wear these when I have something 'loud' on to leave most of the attention on my outfit, so if I'm wearing a lot of glitter or something with a busy pattern on it. I like to wear these also with prettier looking clothing if I want to dress an outfit down, these are my most worn shoes so I feel like adding them to a fancier outfit makes it a lot more my style - whatever my style actually is, who knows? Not me.

(Dr Martens Molly glitter boots)

I call these my dressing up shoes because I wear them to 'fancier' events instead of trying to walk in heels. I'm pretty sure these are still to this day the most expensive things I've ever bought but wow, just look at them. I never intended to actually buy these shoes but when I tried them on in the store I felt so happy wearing them that I didn't want to ever take them off, so home with me they came.

Because I'm me, glittery platform shoes are an everyday staple, not just an occasion show and I actually get a lot of wear out of these. Oddly, with all the glitter, my favourite thing about these shoes is the eyelets, it's such a small detail and it's just so cute. When I bought these I thought that I was going to change out the ribbon laces but I actually think they look so much better than your average laces do, especially with the glitter. The only downside of the glitter is that you're 'advised' to not wear them in the rain because the material can get damaged and the glitter can fall off, they'll try to sell you some sealant stuff but in reality it's just shoe hairspray so save your coins and buy normal hairspray instead.

How I style - Like I said before, these are my dressing up shoes so I do wear these a lot with dresses and skirts. I mostly wear all black when wearing this pair of shoes because it allows the glitter to really stand out where as when wearing these with a lot of pattern or colour I think the shoes get lost in the outfit.

(ASOS chunky platform boot)

I bought these in an ASOS black Friday event while I was trying to not to buy more platform docs. These boots are a really flattering height, they go higher up my calf than any of my other boots so this winter I've been enjoying wearing them with midi skirts and fluffy socks to keep as much of my leg warm as possible. Again, I wear these all the time even though these platforms are big, like maximum platform-ness. These are way less chunky than my platform Dr Martens so they give a completely different vibe and if you don't like the Dr Martens platform style then I'd definitely recommend these. Because these boots are ASOS's own brand, when I bought them I didn't think they'd last very long or be that great of a quality but so far they're holding up but I've definitely jinxed it now.

As I said before, I bought these strategically to stop myself buying another pair of Dr Martens. I thought that if I already had a pair of plain black platform boots then all my platform dreams would be fulfilled but no. I had had my eyes on the Dr Martens Sinclair boots and I just couldn't not buy them.

How I style - These boots look really cool with skinny jeans, I'm not a big jean wearer but, because these are less chunky on the ankle than the rest of my boots, they make my legs look way longer than they actually are with there being less attention to where the skinny jean ends and the boot starts.

(Dr Martens Sinclair platform boots)

I am literally in LOVE with these boots, like actually in love with them. They make me so happy and I don't care if that makes me sad. Now, these are definitely an expense but they're so incredibly worth it. Because these boots come in this beautiful soft leather, they didn't hurt my feet at all when breaking them in, which is the only downside to Dr Martens in general. These are so cool and chunky and they just look so good no matter what you wear with them.

How I style - I like to wear these with the girliest of dresses and skirts to create a really heavy juxtaposition with the chunky boot. It's a look that just can't ever be beaten. I wear these shoes to my boyfriend's gigs a lot because they all crowd kill and wearing these shoes means that if someone gets in my way or hits me I have a thick ol' sole to kick them back - you've been warned.

I wrote this post because I saw 'It's Sophie' did a post on her Dr Marten collection and I really enjoyed reading it so I wanted to have a stab at it and do it myself. I know Dr Martens are expensive but they literally last a lifetime and you can wear them all year round plus they just look so good with everything, I love them.

TRYING NEW MAKE UP - EX1 INVISIWEAR FOUNDATION

Today was a rare occasion where I had left myself a bunch of time to get ready, because of this I decided to try out some new products I had been hoarding and see what they were like. As always I was skeptical they wouldn't work because the beauty industry likes to exaggerate some (most) of the time, so today was a good day to try things out as I had time to take everything off if I ended up looking dreadful. 

If you want to hear my uneducated opinions on some new products then please keep reading! And if you don't want to read about it then you can simply head over to my IGTV and watch me struggle over there instead.  

I've had the Revolution colour book palette's for a while now but haven't gotten around to trying them out, there's so many different colours and it seemed a bit overwhelming to be honest, plus I never really have enough time to sit and play with make up recently. I fell in love with the idea of these 'Colour book' palettes when they first came out and I bought all the different colours because I'm indecisive and my student loan had just dropped so I was feeling boujie.

For this look,  I started with my eyes because I wanted to use loose glitter and inevitably I would get it everywhere and ruin my foundation. I used the 'Colour book' palette in shade CB02, which is full of both matte and shimmer bronze and brown shades, to create a really blown out, bronze smokey eye. 

(www.revolutionbeauty.com)

I really liked the palette, the pigment was great and the shadows blend out so easily. I used a bronze-y, orange shade all over my eyelid and blended it into a winged out shape before adding a golden shimmer shadow and a gold loose glitter on the middle of my lid. I was expecting the shadow formula to be quite powder-y and dry but they were all really creamy and lovely to use. I was super impressed that the shimmer shade showed up so well over the darker matte shadow on my lid as I didn't think you'd be able to see any shimmering going on there. I really hope that the other colour book palettes hold up to the standard this one has set because the other colours are gorgeous and I now have high standards. After mascara, to finish my eyes off I glued some tiny gems, that I think came with some nail kit I bought a while ago, to the inner corner of my eyes to add a little something extra. They were a lot smaller than I had hoped but it still looked cute so I guess it's ok. 

Now for the star of the show, the 'EX1 cosmetics Invisiwear foundation'. I have been seeing this foundation everywhere online, everywhere. I see adverts for it all the time and the algorithm clearly worked because I caved in and bought it. After seeing other people use this foundation, and seeing how much the adverts hype it up, I had extremely high hopes that this would cover everything  I need it too and make me look flawless. It sounded too good to be true and unfortunately for me, it was. 

(www.ex1cosmetics.com)

My first impression was great, while dotting it around my face I loved the undertones of the colour I picked and it matched me perfectly, the EX1 foundation is meant for neutral/olive skin tones which now I think I am, maybe. The website said that this foundation applied better with a brush, I never use brushes to apply my foundation but I tried to use one this time and unsurprisingly, I hated it. It took so long to buff out the product, I do not have that kind of time on my hands and after buffing for a while it still looked like a streaky mess, so I switched over to my sponge. After using my sponge it looked okay but the coverage was so sheer and I'd already used nearly double of the amount of my normal foundation. I had to apply even more to get enough coverage and even out my complexion but the foundation just wasn't looking very nice, you could still see some of my redness and it felt very dry on my skin. I will say that the foundation didn't look cake-y at all which is impressive as I had to use so much of it, and after I'd applied my concealer it looked pretty fine. 

After wearing it out for about 6 hours nothing had wiped away or separated at all and it almost looked better than when I had first applied it? Nothing had settled into my skin or gotten oily at all so it was okay but there's just something about it that I'm not liking. I have since used this foundation one more time and it looked SO bad that I had to take all my makeup off and start again with a different foundation. The EX1 foundation was so drying and it seemed to almost create texture under the skin that wasn't there on my bare face, literally baffled mate. I will try this out some more and see how I feel about it but so far I'm not having a good experience. 

To bronze up my face I wanted to try a technique I saw LinaBugz share on her YouTube to keep coverage whilst cream contouring. I've been enjoying using cream products lately as my skin is quite dry but I find that cream bronzer sticks tend to take away some foundation and at the moment all my skin troubles are in the areas I normally bronze so I need that coverage. I bought a cool toned concealer a few shades darker than my skin tone and used a small amount in the areas I normally bronze. I ended up having no choice but to buy the Collection lasting perfection concealer as it was the only cool toned shade I could find in the shops - the shade ranges of most brands is absolutely appalling, not anything we all didn't already know but like come on guys. Anyway, the formula of this concealer is horrible, it wasn't creamy at all and I found it so hard to blend out, even with a super damp sponge, so everything ended up looking a little muddy and patchy as hell. 

The idea behind this hack is great but I just didn't execute it well, most of my acne scarring and breakout is on my cheeks so the idea of bronzer giving extra coverage is great. I tried to use some powder bronzer over top of the cream to see if it would fix anything but nothing really happened. In the end it didn't look bad enough to warrant starting all over again so I just sucked it up and carried on. To be fair, I did forget that I wanted to do cream bronzer and added a little bit of powder before cream contouring which could've been why it didn't blend out too well, thinking about it that's definitely why it didn't look good - I should try this again and do it properly next time.

Once all the was all on my face, I didn't mind how I looked. Make up is a process and it always looks slightly odd until it's all done. This look wasn't my best but I was going to a gig where it'd be dark so no one would see if my foundation was a little dry or that my bronzer was patchy, even if it was, I don't think anyone would care anyway. 

I'm always wanting to try new makeup products so it doesn't get boring to do but I hate the idea of buying something and then not liking it - wasting money makes me incredibly nervous. If anyone has any products they love that you think I might like, let me know! There's so much make up out there it's impossible to choose one thing.

Also, I changed my blog branding - I guess that's what you call it - this week! I'd love to know if this header is any better than my last or if I've just made it worse, let me know!

NUSTOCK 2 - NUSTOCK STRIKES BACK

On the 30th of January Nustock struck back and bought us their second event which should've be called 'Nustock 2 electric boogaloo' in my opinion, but aside from that, the line up looked promising and if this show was half as good as the last one, I knew it was definitely going to be a good night.

As with all of my event reviews I didn't catch many song titles, so each song will be called, 'next song'.

Rhianna Keane

'Rhianna Keane brings an RnB, neo-soul and pop approach to her catchy melodies combined with her meaningful lyrics to create a chilled and vibe atmosphere'

(photo credit - @brandpphotography)

Rhianna Keane kicked off the night creating a chilled atmosphere with her smooth RnB style. Before she even started singing she gave off pop star vibes with her gorgeous sparkly outfit and a confident flair that made the stage her own. The first song she performed, 'Coffee', bought a jazzy, soul like sound with her powerful vocals that blew me away from the outset. 

The band behind Keane were all super clean and the tones of the guitars were so perfect for the genre of music. Everything works so well together, I wasn't expecting the vocal harmonies but they added this beautiful deep but subtle layer underneath her vocals that complimented the songs so beautifully. 
Throughout the set there were a couple of really pretty guitar solo's that were so smooth, melt worthy. The bass was so strong across the songs, I don't know how everything sounded so powerful but so relaxing at the same time, it's all so impressive.

The stand out song of the set was her first single 'Fool' and I love this song. I already knew I loved this song since she released it last year but it sounded that much better live on stage, I've been singing it non-stop for the past 2 days. This song is super sexy, the guitar tone was so smooth and I have no shame in admitting I audibly moaned during the bridge, it sounded so good! I literally saw the whole crowd just melt at how perfect the mix of powerful vocals and soul-y pop instrumental sounded. The sexiness is further amplified by how gorgeous everyone standing on the stage is, how is it fair that attractive people can be so talented.

Keane knows her genre and my god does it work well, everything sounded perfect and I was literally blown away, I need to see her perform again ASAP. Her music is the perfect 'date night' soundtrack, if you want a good night then I'd definitely recommend listening to her upcoming EP 'Blooming' which will be out soon. Everyone needs to get on this because Rhianna is a superstar in the making. 

Bermuda 

'BermudaOfficial have had an eventful first year as a band. From supporting names such as Big Country, to releasing two singles that were met with appraisal. Taking inspiration from bands such as Highly Suspect and Nothing But Thieves, they’ve managed to combine the two sounds to create their own. 2020 holds big things for Bermuda, including several more releases and bigger gigs than ever before.'

(photo credit - @brandpphotography)

Bermuda started their set with Conor screaming "Nustock, are you ready?" which fired up the crowd and started this incredible exchange of energy between the band and the audience. The moaning vocals created an angsty kinda vibe that was added to by the powerful drums that the crowd was bobbing along to. The light show that accompanied Bermuda fucked me up a little, the lights and sound were a big contrast to the smooth, relaxing sounds of Rhianna Keane.  The sound would benefit from a second guitar, the bass is so deep (which I love) and the guitar is a whole lot higher playing the melody. If you added in something between the two, everything would sound rounder and more full. The bass and guitar solo's didn't seem out of place which I think is hard to accomplish as many bands like to just throw them in to show off but Bermuda made it work well.
Towards the end of their set, the band were sweating so much that the lights were reflecting off the shine of their faces, they were giving their all and it showed. 

Atticomatic

'Four party crashers arrive with nothing but a Naive soul and a misjudged talent for dancing. High off of gallons of lactose free milk and prawn toast we venture off into the sunset.'

(photo credit - @brandpphotography)

Right off the bat the synth sounded so good giving a very different feel from both the previous bands.  The vocalist sounds so much Declan Mckenna which threw me back to college when I was obsessed with him, this similarity was only emphasised by the similarity in both their genres. I don't know what genre you could call these guys but it's almost indie/psychedelic/synth like. The evening was made up of a really weird genre mix, it was kind of nice to have some variation but it was maybe a bit too much.

In the third song, where the guitarist isn't playing, the instrumental still sounds full because of the beautiful layering of vocals. All of their voices work so well alongside each other and they're all clearly incredibly talented musicians.

The next song 'Coconut' was my favourite from AtticOmatic, the drummer vocals were stunning throughout this song especially. They change so cleanly between the heavy to relaxing parts creating a contrasting sound that was pulled off so well by the sudden clean changes, it was crazy how much the guitar tone changed the feel of the chorus.

At the end of their set, AtticOmatic used a really interesting sample throughout the chorus which added a different aspect that created a super unique layer into their music. The instruments all have great tonality and I think this is what really pulls this band over the line, they're amazing at writing and performing and they sound incredibly professional. Their set actually made me excited while listening to it which isn't easy to do because I'm super judgemental. 

The Pines 

'We are the pines, a Birmingham based 4 piece atmospheric indie band with sing-along worthy songs and the presents of 4 people that love what they are doing and wants to strive for the best, which is showcased through our gigs and music.'

(photo credit - @brandpphotography)

For some reason I didn't quite get, The Pines were introduced by some guy dressed as Ali g. I didn't hate it I just wasn't drunk enough to laugh but the rest of the crowd loved these guys. The whole set, no-one stopped dancing for a second. The Pines make great up-beat indie music that's perfect to dance to with your mates and just have a good time. The band gave off so much infectious energy making it impossible to stand still. 

I felt like I was watching 'Catfish and The Bottlemen', not just because the music sounds so much like them but because it features the same witty lyricism that is maybe the only part of 'indie' music that I enjoy. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed The Pines set but indie music isn't my cup of tea as they say, I can appreciate the solid song writing and the great dance inducing sound but it's just not my thing. If Oasis made music in 2020 this is what it would sound like. The crowd loved it but I don't like Oasis.

Halfway through The Pines set I was pulled away from note taking to dance and then I seemed to completely forget I was reviewing the evening and just danced away. If you want to have a good night of dancing and hearing music so loud you can't possibly worry about any looming Uni deadlines, then these guys are perfect. 

I had a really great night but I knew that I would before I even got to the venue, Nustock 2 showed that the first event wasn't a one off and that future Nustock events are going to be the perfect night out for everyone.