The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini | Book Review

So this is one of those books; you know the ones I mean. Everyone's read it, everyone loves it, everyone thinks it's amazing. Now don't get me wrong, I'm glad I've read it, but to be perfectly honest, this was one of the saddest books I have ever read (and the Noughts and Crosses series put me off reading, thank you very much Malorie Blackman). It just seemed that nothing good at all ever happened; at every turn everything that could have possibly gone wrong, did go wrong. Or as soon as something vaguely positive did happen, it would be drastically brought down by  devastation of some sort or another.
It follows a man called Amir sharing his life story, starting back when he was a child growing up in Afghanistan with a Hazara boy called Hassan. The relationship between these two is something which a part of me longs for; as a friend said of Hassan: 'He is such a beautiful person'. Various events unfold resulting in Amir and Hassan being separated. Amir ends up moving to America with his beloved, Baba, who throughout the entire book he strives to earn the respect and love from him which he believes he lacks.

The book was very well written, and at times I really did find myself captivated by the story, however a book such as this would normally take me days to get through. This took me around a month simply because I struggled so much to keep picking it up as it was depressing me so much. I would definitely recommend this book to those who absolutely adore reading, but word of warning: it is not for the faint-hearted.  

(Note: I apologise for the lack of proper photo; the problems of travelling back home for reading week...)

Next Up: The Wolf of Wall Street - Jordan Belfort

What are your thoughts?

xoxo

A Day In The Life #3 | Birthday Goodies!

So some of you may be aware that it was my birthday a couple of weeks ago and I was completely spoilt by my family and friends. I wanted to blog all of the lovely things that I received, it has just taken me some time...
Get ready for a picture heavy post!

So here are some bits; as you can see it is a mixture of amazing beauty products and percy pig...
From left to right: keyboard stickers, Mac lip gloss, Moleskine Diary, Percy Pig sweets and cake mix, Nail Art Set (buzzing to try!), Bicycle necklace, Hello Kitty Sweets, Sisley eyeshadow and eyeliner pencil and of course some stickers.

My sister also sent me a box of lovely goodies! Most of which were Moomin related; if you follow me on Twitter, you'll probably know that I love Moomins.

From Mother... this beautiful gold Claddagh ring which I have been wanting for years

And of course my lovely kitty cats sent me this Vaseline pouch as they know I am always losing it.

I hope that you found this interesting; if you're nosy like me then I love seeing what people receive for birthdays and Christmas etc! 

xoxo

Box Swap | 2013

That's right, my friend Emily and I went a did a box swap. And it was such a good idea! We both really loved what we got the other and so of course, as it was beauty related, I needed to blog about it. It is also a really good idea for birthdays or even Christmas (that's right, get organised for this year!)

Emily's Box:

For Emily I chose some products that I really love and wanted her to also love! I went with the MUA Undress Me palette, an Essie Mint Candy Apple dupe which was by Sinful Colours, the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer, Burt's Bees Mango Lip Balm and some of her favourite sweets: Percy Pigs.

I re-used a Glossy Box for Emily's box.
Sorry for the poor lighting here as well!

My Box:

Emily got me some lovely things; I was really pleased! Mine included some thermal socks, a lovely purple throw (so cosy!), a Barry M lipstick in 151; a beautiful red coral shade, a Glitter nail varnish, some earrings from River Island and the AMAZING L'Oreal Skin Perfection Water Cleanser. 

I hope this gives you some ideas for a box swap!

xoxo

Reading Challenge 2014

Last year, using Good Reads, I set myself a challenge to read 50 books. For me, I thought that this was quite a small amount and did consider setting it as 100. However, I only managed 35 and am quite disappointed with myself to be honest! I know that to a lot of you this may seem a lot and for some hardly anything!
This year though I am really motivated to get that goal reached and I hope that some of you will also set yourself a reading challenge. I have applied for the third year running to be a World Book Night Volunteer and this will spur on my motivation! I'm also going to be blogging about the books I'm reading/would like to read etc so I am going to be on top of my reading.

Currently I'm reading Divergent by Veronica Roth; it's looking to be the new cult classic after The Mortal Instruments series.
So far: 157/487 pages.

For some ideas on what books to read, take a gander at my Good Reads profile (nice sly little plug there...)

What will be your goal?

xoxo

Party Season Make Up

As my lovelylovely friend Lucy said, we all need to know how to nail that perfect party look 'without looking like a drag queen'. As it is the Festive Season, it is also the time for all that sparkles, glitters and twinkles. This can only mean one thing: shimmer eye shadows and lip gloss.

1. First thing's first. The Face. Think of your face as a blank canvas; making that first mark is always the hardest and so you need to prep the surface first. One of my absolute favourite products is concealer; seriously, the right one works wonders. I have been loving Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer. I use it in the colour '2 Light". I personally blend this into my skin using a Real Techniques Foundation Brush (I know, I know, the wrong brush but it's so good!), or even sometimes I just use my fingers. I apply this under my eyes, around my nose and wherever else I might have blemishes or any redness.
2. From here, foundation. As it is a party look, I think that a foundation which has illuminating features makes your face have that little extra glow and means that you are left looking even more radiant. The Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation is perfect for this; it has a slight shimmer with it, which not only wakes up but does also give your skin a lovely complexion.
3. At this point I would move on to eyes. If you have an eye shadow primer/base, now is the time to use it! If not, don't worry just take a bit of extra care when applying. If you're going for a sparkly finished look, I would use a matte shade as a base; this will enhance the shimmer and help the top layer blend better. I am currently really loving he MUA Undress Me palette; it is very similar to the Undress Me Too Palette which is a Naked palette dupe, however  I feel that the Undress Me palette could quite easily be a dupe as well! For all eye shadow needs I absolutely adore the MAC 217 brush, (it has served me better than any man ever could!) Blend your shimmer eye shadow from the inner corner of your eye to your brow bone, blending into the crease of your eye. 
4. Over the top of this I would then advise, not even suggest, advise, you to apply a little of MAC's Vanilla Pigment into the inner corner; this really opens up your eyes. Also apply this to your brow bone; it works as a wonderful highlighter. At this point fill in your brows however you wish!
5. Now Mascara. I have absolutely been. loving Avon's Mega Effects mascara so will be applying lashings of that. don't forget to curl them beforehand! This means your lashes will look even fuller and longer once mascara is then applied. 
6. As it is Winter, I also like to give my cheeks a bit of sparkle with a slightly shimmery blusher. I go for reds/pinks during this time as it gives you a nice natural outside glow. I would use either a Sleek blush or Avon Face Pearls. 
7. During this process I would have applied some lip balm of some sort (the amount of lip balms I own is beyond ridiculous; didn't stop me buying two more today though...). This just means that your lips are really ready for lipstick/gloss. I would go for some form of red; I'm really liking Sleek's Rioja Red Matte Me Lip Gloss; it is a very vibrant red. If red isn't for you, maybe try a shimmer gloss such as Soap & Glory's Sexy Mother Pucker. Whack one of these on and you're ready to go!