November.

November had the perfect start - I went to see Bastille in Leeds First Direct Arena. Last time I saw them was when they supported Two Door Cinema Club in 2013 (and I bumped into Dan in Baa Bar next door, feeling pretty smug). The gig was awesome. For the encore, Dan miraculously appeared right next to us on the tier 2 balcony and sang Two Evils and we pretty much just died right then.

Dan & Will on the balcony during the encore.

The night after I went out with my housemates for a few drinks. As i'm sure a lot of students understand, a few drinks never usually stays "just a few drinks". I went into town around midnight to meet up with a few friends from school, and we went to Key Club for a few hours. I ended up bumping into my cousin who I spent the rest of the night with. We then wandered down to Stone Roses where we danced until around 6am (I was wearing heeled boots and my feet started to hurt so I took them off at this point. My feet were soaked with what I can only assume was a cocktail of drugs, alcohol and piss. Bit of advice: don't do that). Needless to say those socks went in the bin and it took me over a day to recover from that night.

Me and my cousin Harriet stumbling home at 6:30am, lipstick half gone.

I had also been editing the annual backstage video for Showgroup. I think it's a great way to showcase all of the hard work that goes into the shows and it's a nice way to thank all of the helpers for everything they do. If you want to give it a watch, here it is!

We also started rehearsals for our annual Christmas Show, in which i'm going to sing The Power Of Love (not technically a Christmas song but it was on a Christmas advert) and my sister is going to dance to it. I'm also choreographing a routine to 'Carol Of The Bells' by Metallica (bet you weren't expecting that), so i'm hoping it will be an excellent start to the holiday period.

Towards the end of November, Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them was finally released, and of course, myself, Emma, Viv and Nathan went to see the midnight showing - we weren't going to wait any longer! The film was awesome and Eddie Redmayne was the perfect choice. 

Then on the Sunday, Emma finally got her 16th birthday present from me (11 months later), we went to the Harry Potter Warner Brothers Studio Tour in London. Although we had to get the Megabus at 6am, we had an amazing day and even got to squeeze in a quick visit to Madame Tussauds. I promised Emma i'd buy her a wand, so she chose Newt Scamander's from Fantastic Beasts, then we made the long journey back to Leeds.

Chilling on the Hogwarts bridge.

And of course, to finish the month off, there was lots of alcohol. I went out with my cousins for lots of shots and cocktails, then on the last night of November I went out for my housemates birthday, we had a great night but in true Annabel style I crashed and burned way too early.

Me and the cousins; Josh, Jordan, Sam, Chaz, Haz and Me.

Sian, Ellie and I in Canal Mills. I really need to get a longer lasting lipstick.

I wasn't going to write about this, but I always try to be honest when i'm writing my posts and one of the reasons I write this blog in the first place is for me to look back on everything in the years to come. Last week, I joined Slimming World, and to be honest, i've found it a lot easier than I thought it would be. it's a fantastic way to lose weight but still have little treats to enjoy! So after my first week weigh in, i've lost 4 and a half pounds and i'm on cloud 9 right now. Next month I may start a little weight loss counter on my round ups!

On a final note, it's Christmas in 24 days!

Annabel

#1 Christmas Gift: The Urban Decay Naked Palette.

My sister definitely topped the Christmas present charts when she got me the Urban Decay Naked Palette last year. It's the perfect palette to use for both casual and a perfect going out look. And the best thing about it; it all still looks so natural.

Another benefit of this palette, you get some free eyeshadow primer!

Virgin - This one is perfect to highlight the corners of my eyes and just under my eyebrows.
Sin - I like to wear this when I go out for a casual/slightly dressed up day out like shopping. It's a very plain colour with just the right amount of sparkle.
Naked - This is just a little darker than my skin tone and isn't shimmery so it's great for a casual look and goes perfect with Buck (also not a shimmery one) to create a natural smokey eye look without any sparkles.
Sidecar - This one is very similar to Sin and makes a very nice natural shimmer.
Half Baked - I love this one as it's a very nice golden colour and can highlight any shade on the eyes. I especially like to use it with Smog and Darkhorse.
Smog - I really like to use this with Darkhorse when I want to get really dressed up. The two together can make a very nice shimmery smokey eye.
Toasted - Slightly darker and pinker than Half-Baked, I love this one when I want a darker shimmer, and goes very well with Hustle.
Hustle - A very dark brown, perfect for creating those dark corners.
Creep - I haven't used this one yet as it's a very dark colour and at the moment i'm on a dark lipstick hype and I don't like to have both dark eyes and dark lips - it's either one or the other.
Gunmetal -  I haven't yet used this one either, I imagine it will go very well with Creep to create a heavy smokey eye.

I decided to get artistic and instead of showing a picture of the palette, I created a swatch on my arm!

In the end, my favourite shades have to be Sidecar, Sin and Naked.