10 Things in 10 Years.

I know it's probably the most hated cliche in the entire world, but we do only live once. I'm determined to make my time on this planet worthwhile. To help me along with this, i've devised a list of objectives i'd like to complete by the time i'm 30. As I turn 21 in August, I really only have just over 9 years.

1. Visit the 7 wonders of the Modern World: Taj Mahal, India - The Great Pyramid, Egypt - Colusseum, Rome - Chichen Itza, Mexico - Great Wall of China, China - Christ The Redeemer, Brazil - Machu Picchu, Peru - Petra, Jordan.
2. Get a dog: I've wanted one my entire life but my mum hates them.
3. Watch all of the Harry Potter films in one day: I never said I had a life.
4. Confront a fear or two: Skydive/hold a spider/shark cage etc.
5. Get fit: Something I have been trying to do for the past 10 years.
6. Read more: It sounds a bit boring, but reading is supposed to make you more intelligent. I've already made a pretty good start on this one.
7. Go out more with friends: I'm getting far too lazy in my old age.
8. Be more adventurous and spontaneous: I need to stop making excuses to not do things.
9. Have my own space: I'm ridiculously excited to have my own apartment or house and make it my own.
10. Order a drink in Starbucks with a ridiculous name: This is something i've always wanted to do, but never had the balls to do it..

If i've even attempted half of these in 10 years, i'll be pretty damn happy.

My #1 addiction...

Probably one of my biggest obsessions is Soap & Glory. Their products feature pretty regularly in my blog posts which you can read here, here and here.

1. Big Vanity Bag, 2. Sit Tight, 3. Lipstick Super Nude, 4. Orangeasm Body Wash, 5. Sugar Crush Body Scrub, 6. Massage Glove, 7. A Brush With Greatness, 8. Supercat Liquid Eyeliner, 9. Mist You Madly, 10. No Clogs Allowed Facemask, 11. Hand Maid, 12. Smooch Operator, 13. You Won't Believe Your Eyes, 14. Scrub Of Your Life, 15. Glad Hair Day Shampoo, 16. Heel Genius, 17. Endless Glove, 18. The Fab Pore Facewipes, 19. Another Bag With A Name I Do Not Know, 20. Clean On Me, 21. Lipstick Pom Pom, 22. Face Massage Mini Mitt, 23. Eyes Cool Mask, 24. Face Soap And Clarity, 25. Scrub 'Em And Leave 'Em Body Buff, 26. The Righteous Butter, 27. Mini Make-Up Bag, 28. Bath Pillow, 29. The Daily Soothe Bath Float, 30. Smoulder Kohl Pencil Eyeliner (in various colours), 31. Lipstick The Missing Pink, 32. Hand Food, 33. Small Silver Make Up Bag, 34. Shower Puff.

And that's not everything. I also have a Nail Polish, Nail File, Kick Ass Concealer and 2 other cosmetic bags, so as you can see, I have a bit of a problem. It's got that bad that now I treat myself to 1 new S&G product every payday. I seriously just can't get enough of them. One of my favourite things about these products is that pretty much most of the names are puns or silly little jokes. It gives me a little giggle whilst i'm in the bath, but also makes them memorable. But of course, the main reason why Soap & Glory is so well known, the magnificent smells! Their products each have their own individual, unique and beautiful fragrance. Sometimes with cosmetics there are products who's scent can give you a bit of a headache (I'm mainly thinking of a popular high street bath bomb brand), but S&G find that perfect balance to make you smell like a goddess without causing migraines.

Choosing my favourite products is extremely difficult, but i'll give a good go at choosing my top 5:

1. Massage Glove with Breakfast Scrub or Sugar Crush Body Scrub

I did a review on these products last year which, if you like, you can have a read of here. I would absolutely recommend them to everyone. They make my legs feel amazing and it gives me that extra little boost of confidence if i'm going out and baring the legs.

2. Supercat Liquid Eyeliner

My most favourite eyeliner of all time. It's styled like a marker pen so it's literally like just drawing on your eyelid. The application is so easy and even. I've been using it for years and I will be until the end of time. It dries incredibly fast so there's no worries about it transferring to the top of your eyelid, which us girls know is a pain in the arse.

3. The Fab Pore Facewipes with Face Soap & Clarity and No Clogs Allowed Facemask

I love using these three together. The face wipes take make up off so easily, and just after using these my face feels so clean afterwards. Then I take to the sink and wash my face with Face Soap (also using the Mini Mitt which is number 22 in the top picture). The beads in the face wash and the bristles on the Mini Mitt really help clean out pores and leaves an incredibly fresh feeling afterwards. Finally, once a week I use the No Clogs Allowed face mask after my usual routine. It slightly warms up your face in a pleasant way, and also includes menthol (just don't put it too close to your eyes, I made that mistake). My face feels like a baby's bottom afterwards! I can't stop feeling my face after using this.

4. Hand Maid

It just smells so good. Whenever I use it I can still smell it on my hands hours later. It's handy to keep in my bag in case I touch something icky or I get chocolate on my hands etc (this happens a lot).

5. Mini Make Up Bag

I love to use this to carry round my make up brushes when i'm staying somewhere overnight. It doesn't take up too much space in an overnight bag and is just the right size to fit all of my brushes in.

So there you have it. My #1 addiction which shows no signs of wavering any time soon.

Little Lipstick Collection.

Recently I have become somewhat an avid collector of lipsticks. I just can't help myself.
MAC and Soap and Glory have become personal favourites, with a couple of Rimmel's on the side.
Let's start with the eau naturals.
MAC in 'Pink Plaid' and Soap and Glory's 'The Missing Pink' are both very similar shades and are perfect if you're going for that natural/pinkish look. I tend to use these for casual days out.
For a natural beige I can not rave enough about Super Nude by Soap and Glory. I wear this nearly every day, it's lovely and smooth on my lips and smells like vanilla. When I use heavy eyeshadow (usually with my Naked Palette by Urban Decay) I like to use quite a calm lipstick so I don't over do it, which Super Nude is perfect for. And to top it off, it's a perfect natural look too.
Next we have the lovely reds. MAC's Ruby Woo is a brilliant and rich crimson red colour. Because it's matte, it can be quite dry when applying to my lips so i'd recommend using a lip liner with this one, and maybe topping it off with a bit of lipgloss for a bit of moisture. As a nice dark red I really like 'Wine' in Rimmel's Kate Moss collection, and it smells really nice! At the moment, i'm on a bit of a purpley hype. My newest and most favourite is 'Rebel' by MAC. So far it's my only purple lipstick and I absolutely love the colour. Another close favourite is another MAC gem, 'Flat Out Fabulous' which I am wearing in the picture below (the filter makes it look pink).

With most of MAC's dark shaded lipsticks, Flat Out Fabulous, Rebel and Ruby Woo are nearly impossible to completely wash off your lips. I often find myself with a scourer and soap scrubbing my lips! If anyone has any remedies that helps them with this, I would be very thankful. Most of the lipsticks I wear are because they have been recommended to me by friends and family. I'm always willing to try out a new shade!

𝕒𝕟𝕟𝕒𝕓𝕖𝕝

25 Q.

A friend of  a friend posted answers to these questions on her blog (which you can read here) because she has a bit of writers' block. I feel like this too so I decided to do the same!

1. What is one of your biggest dreams? When I was younger my #1 lifetime ambition was to swim with dolphins. When I went to Mexico a couple of years ago I finally got to do it, so at the moment I don't really have one!

2. Name three things that are physically close to you. A spoon, my pencil case and a bottle of strawberry water.

3. What's an idea Sunday for you? Spending the day in bed, knowing there's absolutely nothing that I need to do.

4. Do you drive? If so, have you ever crashed? In May i'll have been driving for 3 years. Just a couple of weeks after I passed my test I had a super minor little bump. My cousin was in the car and we were messing about singing along to the radio and I wasn't concentrating properly. We were queuing at a roundabout and the car in front moved slightly, and I just drove straight into the back of him. We were going to slow that fortunately there was no damage to either f the cars and no one was even remotely hurt (just my dignity).

5. What time did you wake up this morning? Too damn early.

6. What's one thing in your closet that you couldn't live without? My ripped jeans from Topshop. I wear them far too much and i'd be completely lost without them.

7. What's the last movie you saw? Catching Fire.

8. What does your last text message say? "Check ya Twittah" (From my sister).

9. Something physical that stands out? Erm, what?

10. Have you ever been to a different country? Mexico, Spain, France, Belgium, Scotland, Finland, Wales, Jamaica.

11. Do you like sushi? I LOVE SUSHI.

12. What's a song you secretly love to blast and belt out when you're at home? 'Air Guitar' or 'Hate Your Guts' by McBusted.

13. Have you ever taken medication to help you fall asleep faster? Nope. I don't think I ever would, even if I developed a really bad case of insomnia. I'm kind of cautious that i'd get dependent on them.

14. How many siblings do you have? 1 sister, Emma.

15. How would you describe your style? I wear clothes.

16. How old will you be turning on your next birthday? 21 bitches!

17. Do you wear contacts or glasses? I've recently just been given my first prescription for glasses! I only need them for driving/reading etc so I don't strain my eyes.

18. Do you colour your hair? I ombre the ends blonde every now and again. The last time I did it it didn't work very well so it doesn't look that different.

19. Tell me something you are planning to do today. Going to order my first pair of glasses!

20. What's the drink you always order at Starbucks? Vanilla Hot Chocolate, mmmm.

21. What did you want to be when you were little? A Paleontologist (Google it).

22. What's a beauty rule you preach, but never actually practice? Man buns look ridiculous. I don't practice this because I am not a man.

23. Have you ever had an all-nighter? I've only ever had 1 successful all-nighter (I love sleep too much) and it was at my 13th Birthday Party. Our loft had just been converted and it hadn't been decorated with carper/paint yet. so Mum let me use it to have 5 friends over. We hung Hawaiian decorations everywhere. To say this was a completely sober party, it was a pretty hectic night.

24. Can you taste the difference between Pepsi and Coke? Personally I prefer Coke. Just the Diet one though. The full fat one makes my teeth feel funny.

25. What quote/phrase do you live your life by? "Everything happens for a reason"

TV Obsession.

When it comes to TV series, i'm one of those people that gets easily hooked. I don't understand how people can just casually watch an episode here and there. I watched the whole of Gossip Girl in two weeks. If I didn't have a job and University to go to i'd have done it in one. Half of the blame goes to Netflix. They're very sneaky with the whole 'automatically play next episode' business. It's very easy to get stuck in a Netflix hole. But thanks to the genius' behind it, we have Orange Is The New Black, which if you haven't watched, you should. It's absolutely hilarious.

Just some of the series I have watched (my favourites are in bold):

• The Vampire Diaries
• LOST
• Pretty Little Liars
• Game of Thrones
• Made In Chelsea
• Nashville
• 90210
• FRIENDS
• Black Mirror
• Orange Is The New Black
• This Is England
• Desperate Housewives
• The Originals
• Fresh Meat
• Misfits
• The Walking Dead
• Gossip Girl
• My Mad Fat Diary
• Once Upon A Time
• Heroes
• The Big Bang Theory
• Sherlock
• Doctor Who
• Revenge
• Hemlock Grove
• The Inbetweeners
• One Tree Hill
• Prison Break
• American Horror Story
• Scrubs
• Outnumbered
• Gavin and Stacey

I'm always on the lookout for the next series I can obsess over, any recommendations would be brilliant: but if you're going to say Breaking Bad, just don't. I tried it and I honestly don't see what all the fuss is about.

Freddie.

The other day I realised that I have failed to mention one of my most favourite boys on this blog. His name is Freddie, and he's more photogenic than I am.

Here he is the little poser.

We got him in September 2004 at just a few weeks old. If you don't count my first cat, Spud, who died before I turned 1, then Freddie was mine and my sister, Emma's first pet.
I still remember it like it was yesterday. Dad came to pick me and Em up from Primary School (which feels like a lifetime ago), and on the way home he said we had a big surprise waiting for us. My Mum worked nights back then so when we got home to see she was sat in the  conservatory we gathered that this was our surprise. Then we heard this tiny little squeak, and my Mum lifted up this tiny black and white kitten, who meowed again and hasn't stopped meowing for 11 years.

No comment.

Dad decided he wanted to call him Freddie, after Freddie Mercury (if you don't know who that is get off my blog now and Google it). Then we decided he looked like Fred Estaire with the white paws looking like he had spats on.
After we got to know him, we eventually decided on the fact that he was definitely named after Freddie Crougar.

A few people have told me he looks like Batman.

My sister and I thought it was ace. We tried to make obstacle courses for him but he just sat and stared at us with a blank look.

He just won't stop posing.

Just after the New Year, Freddie went missing whilst the rest of my family were away. I eventually found him right under the bush at the end of my garden, and it must have taken me at least 20 minutes to try and coax him out. As he ran into the house I noticed he was limping. After taking him to the vets, we found out he had been hit by a car and broken his paw. I felt incredibly guilty. The reason Freddie was out that night is because he had thrown up on the living room rug so I threw him outside.

Feeling rather sorry for himself.

After a month of having to stay inside wearing a pot and a cone, he's finally allowed back outside where he can go eat some lovely mice and bring them into the kitchen again.

Say cheese.

I understand this post makes me look like a crazy cat lady, make of it what you will.
I'll probably agree with you.

February Payday Book Haul!

Whilst on my exciting week off which you can read about here, I found myself looking at my bookshelf and decided it was looking rather bare. I then decided that I'd treat myself when it came to my next payday. Of course, as it came to spending money, I lived up to this promise to myself.

I wandered into Waterstones, purposely looking for The Hourglass Factory by Lucy Ribchester, and instead walked out with 5 completely different books.

The Perks Of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

"Charlie is a freshman. And while he's not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. Shy, introspective, intelligent beyond his years yet socially awkward, he is a wallflower, caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it. Charlie is attempting to navigate his way through uncharted territory: the world of first dates and mixed tapes, family dramas and new friends; the world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite. But Charlie can't stay on the sideline forever. Standing on the fringes of life offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor. The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a deeply affecting coming-of-age story that will spirit you back to those wild and poignant roller-coaster days known as growing up."

I've already watched the film and really enjoyed it (not just because Percy Jackson and Hermione were in it). A few friends have recommended the book to me so I think it's about time I see what the fuss is about.

A Murder Most Unladylike: A Wells and Wong Mystery by Robin Stevens

"When Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong set up their very own deadly secret detective agency at Deepdean School for Girls, they struggle to find any truly exciting mysteries to investigate. (Unless you count the case of Lavinia’s missing tie. Which they don’t, really.)

But then Hazel discovers the Science Mistress, Miss Bell, lying dead in the Gym. She thinks it must all have been a terrible accident – but when she and Daisy return five minutes later, the body has disappeared. Now the girls know a murder must have taken place . . . and there’s more than one person at Deepdean with a motive.

Now Hazel and Daisy not only have a murder to solve: they have to prove a murder happened in the first place. Determined to get to the bottom of the crime before the killer strikes again (and before the police can get there first, naturally), Hazel and Daisy must hunt for evidence, spy on their suspects and use all the cunning, scheming and intuition they can muster. But will they succeed? And can their friendship stand the test?"

I was stood in Waterstones looking at this and a lady who worked there recommended it. And also sneakily included the fact that I could get this and the sequel for £10. Bargain.

Arsenic for tea: A Wells and Wong Mystery by Robin Stevens

"Schoolgirl detectives Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong are at Daisy's home, Fallingford, for the holidays. Daisy's glamorous mother is throwing a tea party for Daisy's birthday, and the whole family is invited, from eccentric Aunt Saskia to dashing Uncle Felix. But it soon becomes clear that this party isn't really about Daisy at all. Naturally, Daisy is furious.

Then one of their party falls seriously, mysteriously ill - and everything points to poison.

With wild storms preventing anyone from leaving, or the police from arriving, Fallingford suddenly feels like a very dangerous place to be. Not a single person present is what they seem - and everyone has a secret or two. And when someone very close to Daisy looks suspicious, the Detective Society must do everything they can to reveal the truth . . . no matter the consequences."

As I said earlier, there was a decent deal for this book and it's prequel. I quite like murder mysteries so I'm looking forward to reading both of these.

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

"This is Susie Salmon. Watching from heaven, Susie sees her happy, suburban family devastated by her death, isolated even from one another as they each try to cope with their terrible loss alone. Over the years, her friends and siblings grow up, fall in love, do all the things she never had the chance to do herself. But life is not quite finished with Susie yet . . . The Lovely Bones is a luminous and astonishing novel about life and death, forgiveness and vengeance, memory and forgetting - but, above all, about finding light in the darkest of places."

I started to read this a while ago and for some reason (I can't remember why) I got sidetracked. My Mum keeps telling me how much better it is than the film (which I also haven't seen yet), and I quite fancy actually finishing it this time.

The Humans by Matt Haig

"After an 'incident' one wet Friday night where Professor Andrew Martin is found walking naked through the streets of Cambridge, he is not feeling quite himself. Food sickens him. Clothes confound him. Even his loving wife and teenage son are repulsive to him. He feels lost amongst a crazy alien species and hates everyone on the planet. Everyone, that is, except Newton, and he's a dog.

What could possibly make someone change their mind about the human race. . . ?"

I loved reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon, and this is said to be along the same lines.

I think I have plenty to be getting on with for now!