You Beauty Discovery Box April 2015

I got home from Devon to quite a few packages which was pretty exciting and made my brother hate me for a bit as none of the post he was expecting including his driving licence had arrived. Amongst these was the April You Beauty Discovery Box.

I struggled what to pick this month as a lot of it was skincare and I've only just started getting my skin under control so didn't want to mess it up by trying something new but here's what I picked

Konjac Sponge - Made from 100% pure and natural fibre it is supposed to bring back the natural glow and softness of the skin with daily usage. It says its great for deep cleanses, exfoliating and hydrating and moisturising the skin. I haven't tried it yet but it sounds great and I will get back to you with hopefully a disney princess natural glow

Scentered Sleep Well Therapy Balm - As soon as I saw this I knew it would be one of my choices. I sleep really badly and thought this would be good to try. Its supposed to clear the head and quieten the mind helping you to relax and prepare for a good nights sleep. There was a sweet dreams bath oil as well but I can't bath that often so thought the balm was great for travelling. Fingers crossed it helps

Each box also comes with 

Linwoods Milled Organic Flaxseed cocoa & Berries - Im excited to add this to smoothies, yoghurt, cereal or in muffins as suggested. It's a good source of iron, zinc, fibre and antioxidants so helps with me trying to eat better

Yours Truly Organics Fix Me! Repairing Serum - Smooths, repairs and tightens the skin, reduces inflammation caused by blemishes and brightens the skin. Sounds pretty magical. My skin could use brightening. 

Have you subscribed? What did you pick?

Beth....x

Books// Taboo and Torn by Casey Hill

I'm back from Devon and had such an amazing time & have so many posts I need to write up for you and I also decided to rearrange the house so whilst I pretend I'm wonder woman here's a post about so amazing new books I discovered

I recently went into a Charity shop to see if they had any decent books when I saw Taboo by Casey Hill. The cover instantly drew me in and I know, don't judge a book by its cover but I couldn't help it, and I'm so glad I picked it up. I read it stupidly quickly whilst procrastinating and then bought the next 2 in the series.

Taboo

"Forensic investigator Reilly Steel, Quantico-trained and California-born and bred, imagined Dublin to be a far cry from bustling San Francisco, a sleepy backwater where she can lay past ghosts to rest and start anew. She's arrived in Ireland to drag the Irish crime lab into the 21st century, plus keep tabs on her Irish-born father who's increasingly seeking solace in the bottle after a past family tragedy. 

But a brutal serial killer soon puts paid to that. When a young man and woman are found dead in an apartment, the gunshot wounds on their naked bodies suggest a suicide pact. But Reilly's instincts are screaming that something's seriously amiss, and as more bodies are discovered, the team soon realises that a twisted murderer is at work, one who seeks to upset society's norms in the most sickening way imaginable.."

I love the fact that this series has a badass female as the main character - Reilly. She makes really good friends with the 2 detectives one of which is typical miserable cop and hates that an american women has come over to get the Irish forensic department up to date. They have such good chemistry and the friendship really works. They also work with profilers and there is a lot of trying to piece together abstract evidence that you're not quite sure is part of it.

This book keeps you gripped until the very last page and the twist in it is really good. I did work it out with the finding of one piece of evidence but learning why is just as interesting as the who. I love that this series follows the forensic department as well as the police investigation because you get to see both sides plus I'm so interested in forensics and the different technology they use.   

Torn

"Read the clues. Decode the science. Reveal the murderer. That's Reilly Steel's mantra. Find the answers, solve the crime. But the Quantico-trained forensic investigator is finding her skills aren't enough when a ferociously intelligent killer strikes Dublin. The modus operandi is as perplexing as it is macabre. What connects the two seemingly disparate, high-profile victims? Their corpses refuse to give up their secrets and the crime scenes prove a forensic investigator's worst nightmare. 

A journalist drowned in a septic tank. A priest crucified on a tree. The modus operandi is as perplexing as it is gruesome. What connects the high profile victims?

Reilly soon suspects that she may be dealing with a killer - or killers - who know all about crime scene investigation. The police are just as frustrated by the crimes' impenetrable nature and it's only when a third murder occurs - equally graphic and elaborate in its execution - that they discover that this particular killer is using a very specific blueprint for his crimes. Who is the killer's next victim, the real target? And what's his endgame?"

Okay I was not expecting the killer to be who it was in this book and I usually have a pretty good idea. Even thought I had worked it out. The murders in this book are pretty weird and a little bit disturbing but so interesting. The build up of trying to get one step ahead of the killer in order to catch them keeps you on your toes and the ending is just as tense as the first book.  

It's also interesting to follow the main characters lives and see where they go after the ending of the first book. I love Reilly and Chris' friendship and am intrigued to see whether it will go further. I also love that you get to learn about the other people working in the forensic department and their jobs. They get a pretty fabulous profiler to help out with the case and he sounds magical and just makes me laugh. 

I have the next book in the series which I am currently reading and I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to buy the 4th one. I love a good crime series and I'm seriously hooked on these. I love the way the Author's write (Husband/wife team) and I highly recommend them if you love the crime genre. 

Have you read any of them?

Who's your favourite crime author?

Beth...x

L'oreal Color Riche Exclusive Red by Blake

I'm a huge fan of a red lip. In fact it is my go to lip colour and I may have a slight addiction. Although now it kinda clashes with my hair but who cares. Pink hair, red lips for life. I have so many red lipsticks that my mum is constantly questioning my need for more but you can never have too many. 

For now I have found my favourite red. This is the one I reach for every time. It is the L'oreal Paris Color Riche Exclusive Red by Blake - Bit of a mouthful. I mainly picked it up to start with because I am obsessed with Red lipstick and I'm a huge fan of Blake Lively. I mean she's gorgeous, has amazing style and played Serena in Gossip Girl. 

I was not expecting to fall so madly in love with this lipstick. I love pretty much everything about it.  The packaging is one of my favourite out of all the many lipsticks I own. I love the black on gold and it looks pricier than its £6.99 price tag. It also smells amazing. It glides on making application easy and even though it is matte its not drying at all and even better, it doesn't cling to dry patches *magic*. So if you suffer from dry slightly cracked lips like moi but cant resist a matte lip then this is the product for you. 

I'm so tempted to pick up some of the others but I can't really justify more reds. My mum might take my card off me.

Have you tried any of this collection?

What is your go to red?

Beth...x

New Cid Eton Mess Nail Polish

As you are reading this I am away on holiday. Unfortunately nowhere tropical but I am hopefully getting some much needed relaxation in sunny Devon. Also wanted to tell you that I will hopefully be sticking to a posting schedule of Tuesday & Thursday and a weekend post if you're lucky. Was even super organised and scheduled these posts as you can see. It is a new me. Well for now anyway.

Anyways I saw on twitter the other day that Callie from From The Corneres of the Curve was going to be in this months comso magazine. I haven't bought a magazine for ages and I love Callie's blog and her style so I thought I'd treat myself. I then saw it had free nail polish and was even more convinced I needed a treat. 

This moths Cosmo comes with a New Cid Nail Polish in 4 different colours. I picked up Eton Mess which is a gorgeous burgundy colour. I am still into my darker autumn/winter colours at the moment so this is perfect.

I did find the consistency was a little runnier than Im used to but it applied easy enough. It took two coats to get good coverage which is normal and the best thing about it was it seemed to dry preetty quick. I usually end up smudging my nails before they're fully dry and I was in a rush whilst doing these but no smudges *hallelujah*. I've had it on for 3 days now and I have quite a lot of tip wear but I have been quite hard on my nails. No massive chips though so thats pretty good as I am the queen of chipping my nails.

Did you pick up one of the colours?

Beth...x

Sunday Summary

I've been a bit moany on Twitter recently due to my misbehaving body so I thought Id do a positive Sunday summary as I haven't done one for ages.
Here's a list of a few of the things that have made me smile in the past fortnight

1. I finally finished my 5000 word biochemistry report that seemed to be never ending

2. I also handed in a full draft of my dissertation

3. I made an epic lemon drizzle cake and drove down to Bristol to surprise my dad at work on his birthday. My home made lemon curd was amazing even if I do say so myself

4. I got an illamasqua lipstick for £6.95 as you can see in this post

5. I finally have an amazing blog button thanks to the gorgeous Olivia which you can find in my side bar

6. I made friends with the friendly guy taking my blood although he kept saying my hair was purple. It's clearly pink

7. Started having physio and my PT is so lovely, hoping to strengthen some muscles and build up stamina

8. Watched you brother play wheelchair basketball and our team won both games even beating a team who hadnt lost a game this season

9. Pissing about and having a laugh with my brother always brings a smile to my face.

10. Currently on holiday near Devon

What's made you smile recently

Beth...x

Watched in March

March seemed to fly and apart from my huge binge weekend as mentioned below I didn't really watch much. It's mainly been stuff on in the background whilst I work. Damn uni deadlines. So heres what I've been watching.

Hawaii 5-0

So me and my brother were left alone to fend for ourselves and keep each other alive for the weekend whilst our parents selfishly went away for their honeymoon (I joke they totally deserve a break from us two). Now as we are both so accident prone we decided the safest thing to do was make a nest on the sofa bed and not move for the whole weekend (except to get food obvs)

This led to a monster marathon of 36 episodes in one weekend. We were quite proud of our achievement. However I am now addicted and my brother has been at school & doing homework etc since so we havent been able to watch anymore.

If you are a fan of criminal minds and especially NCIS/NCIS LA then you have to watch this. It is amazing and has made us desperately want to go to Hawaii. They are a special task force called Five-O that solve crimes whilst looking fabulous. I mean how gorgeous is Kono and also Steve. Then theres the love/hate friendship between Steve and Danny that is more like a marriage. The crimes involve the big gun criminals and its always very dramatic. What are you waiting for go binge.

Criminal Minds

Top Daughter award goes to me as I bought my parents the series 1-9 boxset for a joint mothers day/dads birthday pressie. Mainly got it though because I want to watch it and a little bit to outshine my brothers cute teddy (shhhh). As mentioned in Watched in Feb post I am a little bit addicted. Downside is at the moment I can only watch it when everyone else is home otherwise they will kill me. If you love crime shows and behavioural analysis then this is the show for you. Also eye candy

Pretty Little Liars

I put this on the other day whilst finishing my horrific Biochemistry report and Im still not quite sure what all the fuss is about. I mean its alright but there are so many other TV shows I would choose to binge. It's all just a bit far fetched. However Im only on the end of series 1 and I do plan on sticking with it and slowly working my way through it because I am not a quitter. Except Breaking Bad I did quit on that (another one I dont get)

Three Rivers

As you can see I watch a lot of TV series. I was browsing Netflix the other day and saw this and noticed it had Alex O'Loughlin from Hawaii 5-O in and its a medical drama in a transplant hospital I thought I'd give it a whirl. I only got to the last 5 mins of the first episode before my internet decided to die on me but I really enjoyed it and Alex makes an amazing Dr. He can be my Dr any day. It follows a set of patients on the donor list and who need organs and it's quite good. Not quite Greys good but I'm gonna watch the whole series good.

Atlantis

Disney film in bed when you feel like crap is a must. Haven't seen this one in forever and I forgot how much I love it. Kida is one of my favourite Disney Princesses who becomes a badass queen. I started watching the 2nd one online but it's pretty bad so I gave up. Kinda reminded me of a Scooby Doo episode. If you haven't seen it and love badass sassy characters and super cool nerds then this is the film for you.

Princess & The Frog

As mentioned in my fave kids films post this is my go to film when I need cheering up. By far one of my favourite Disney films. I love Ray and will never get over his death *cries*. I had some editing to do on my dissertation but didn't want to sit in the quiet so I put this on in the background because I know it word for word and the soundtrack is pretty awesome. Plus it was there to cheer me up when I wanted to throw my laptop and scream at my graphs.

Next month is probably gonna be a long one because I plan on watching a lot of films next week whilst relaxing with my family.

What have you been wathcing?

Beth...x

You Beauty Discovery Box March 2015

I was on Bex' blog the other day when I saw her post on the You Beauty Discovery Box. I'm not normally one for subscriptions to beauty box's mainly because I'm a poor student but when I saw that the March box came with a gorgeous Illamasqua Red lipstick I became intrigued. I'm a huge sucker for a red lipstick.

So this box is £6.95 and you get to pick 2 products out of a monthly short-list of 6-10 products that you want and then you get the box with a few added extras. It's a great way to try products that you don't want to pay full price for in case you don't get on with them. It's also a pretty good bargain considering I got an Illamasqua lipstick for £6.95

Because I ordered this so late in the month this box is now unavailable. Sorry. Anyway here's what I got in the box

#LipGlam Natural Linolin Lip Balm - £9.99 - As most bloggers I am addicted to lip balm and this one is multi purpose. Magical. It can be used as cuticle ointment and lip & mascara primer and so much more. When you wear as much lipstick as me soft lips are a must. I tried this as soon as the box arrived this morning and it did make my lips feel more hydrated. I thought this would be perfect with the lipstick as it's a matte so probably quite drying. Will post a full review once Ive given it a test run.

Dove Youthful Vitality Shampoo & Conditioner - Im interested to try this as my hair probably isn't classed as ageing at the grand old age of 21 but it has been badly treated so it might help.

Nakd Cocoa & Orange bar - I am so excited to try this. I'm trying to eat healthier and this sounds delicious and may be a better alternative when I'm craving chocolate (written whilst munching an easter egg...my bad. I'm weak)

Illamasqua Lipstick in Sangers Blood Red - £18.50 - Oh my this lipstick is such a gorgeous colour and at £18.50 it makes the box worth it just for this and it's my first Illamasqua lippie. Red is my go to colour and I rock a red lip day or night casual or dressy and this is such a perfect shade. I will post a full review as soon as I've worn it more.

Have you tried the You Beauty Box before?

Beth...x