Book Haul - Historical Fiction, Murder Mysteries, Classics, Biographies and more

Okay, so I failed miserably at my 2015 book challenge of reading 2 books a month. I think I got up to April and my enthusiasm just fizzled out. But I am back at it again (there are bets up against how long this will last). 

I Am Malala By Malala Yousafzai 

I feel like this is a book, or at least a story, that every woman should know about. The 21st century is the age of women and female heroism. Malala is an inspiration and the face of a current movement fighting for our right to education. 

The Complete Fairy Tales By The Brother Grimm 

The Brothers Grimm, I have heard, have rather "grimm" style to their story telling and "happily ever after" was a concept developed by Disney.  But as a devoted Disney fan, I am curious to see how my childhood favourites brush up to their original counterparts.

All The Light We Cannot See By Anthony Doerr 

I've always found history incredibly interesting (ancient in particular but modern is still great too), however history books always look very daunting and rather boring. Historical fiction is a genre that I love to dabble in as it gives me small does of my history fix with an intriguing plot twist. In this case we are being taken back to the throws of World War II to Marie-Laure, a blind girl and Werner, an orphan boy, to see the effects that this pivotal moment in history had on their lives.

Hercule Poirot's Christmas By Agatha Christie 

Just like Disney, I kind of grew up with Agatha Christie. My parents, my mum in particular, were absolutely mad for and collected both the Miss Marpel and Poirot series - and oh boy there's a lot of them! So I think it was only a matter of time before I finally delved into reading some of her works, and who doesn't love a good Christmas murder mystery. 


All My friends are Super Heroes By Tom Percival 

If there was ever a time to judge a book by is cover I feel like this book would be it. With a title like this I have rather high expectations. It's a chic-lit book about, you guessed it, a man who friends (and even his fiance) all have abnormal super powers.

Wuthering Heights By Emily Bronte 

If I am being completely honest with you (and myself), I haven't really enjoyed many of the "classics" that I have read. I don't know if its an inability to relate to their worlds, the writing style or the subject but they just don't seem to tickle my fancy.

However after reading a review by Stacey from theprettybooks.wordpress.com  on Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights I am actually really excited to start reading.  Stacey describes the romance between our protagonists and "almost demonic" - if that doesn't sound intriguing, then I don't know what does. 

View Post

February Favourites 2016

Co Lab Extra Volume Dry Shampoo in Tokyo
Over the last 3-4 years my hair care regime has most definitely changed (for the better). 18 year old me would religiously wash my hair (and by wash I mean shampoo) everyday. I absolutely detested the feel and look of unwashed "day old" hair. Since discovering the method of co-washing (through the Curly Girl Method) I have slowly relaxed my shampoo obsession. The next big hurdle for me was dry shampoo. 

Customarily I am not at all a fan of dry shampoos, its only when I straighten my hair and want it to last a couple of days that I need to use it. 

I started off using just plain baby powder, but I hated the smell and my hair still looked pretty greasy after using it. I then moved on to using the Batiste dry shampoos - there are a lot of different scents and effects to choose from but still nothing floated my boat. Finally after spying a bottle of Co Lab in my friends bag and quizzing her on her experiences with it, I worked up the courage to by a bottle myself. 

Co Lab is fantastic, not only as a dry shampoo  but is also great to use as a texturising spray. Spray this into your roots give it a little floof and boy-o-boy have you got some volume! My only draw back with this product is that it does made my hair feel kind of thick, dry and stiff (almost like a less intense version of hair spray). As a dry shampoo I find that it does a wonderful job a soaking up any visible oil without making my brown hair look too dull or powdery. 

Personally I am a Co Lab convert and I am never going back! 

Wacoal Embrace Lace Soft Cup Bra

I am ready to admit it, I have problem - I am a lingerie-aholic.  These sorts of soft cup/bralette style bras a right up my alley as I find the other alternative of "sexy bra" (the push up) rather uncomfortable. My only issues with this style is that they often come in only small, medium and large sizes, which does not cater at all to the various shapes and sizes of boobies around the world. 

Although they didn't expand into a range of cup sizes I was happy to see the Wacoal had at least expanded the back size of the bra, ranging from size 10-16.

Lush Blingy Toothy Tabs
Lush have recently come out with a new wave of flavours for their Toothy Tabs range as well as revamping the packaging. Blingy has to be my favourite flavour yet! It has a really fresh orange zest taste and it SPARKLES(mind you can't actually see the sparkles on your chompers). Using these takes me back to eating Fruit Tingles as a kid, minus the sugar rush. 

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder Radiant Light 
From looking at this pressed powder you really wouldn't think that it would work as a bronzing powder - it just looks much too light. But for us pale-ass women (and men) out there it is probably the best find! Whilst it is not at all a shimmery product, Radiant light has a beautiful warm glow that illuminates the skin and screams summer. 

Lush Rosy Cheeks Fresh Face Mask 
I only started using this product half way through February so I haven't got the most in-depth review you will ever read. But so far I have really been enjoying it. Its one of the nicest and gentlest clay masks I have used, as I often find clay masks to be really drying and aggravating on my skin. It is incredibly smooth to apply (which helps it to dry evenly) and does a good job of cleansing my skin without completely stripping it of hydrating oils. On top of all of that I actually got this product free! Lush has a fantastic system I place that encourages people to recycle by offering one free fresh face mask for every 5 empty containers returned to the store! 

View Post