Book Review: A Song Of Ice and Fire by George RR Martin

Morning All

Hump day is here already. I love Wednesday's as it's my mega gym day and I always feel strong after it.

I've done a few book review posts now so thought it was about time I shared my current addiction. I'm a huge fan of reading. I love getting lost in a book and this year I seem to have gotten back into reading and finding the time again. (Goodbye reading the metro daily hello books!).

I thought I'd talk about the first 3 books in The Song of Ice and Fire series as I've currently just started the fourth. The first 3 are a Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings and A Storm of Swords.

I feel I should start by saying if you asked me my preferred reading genre 100% it would be chrime thiller, second to that chick lit and thirdly classics (mainly as I want to read them more lately!). On multiple occasions I was told to watch Game of Thrones. I refused point blank for ages. I would go as far to say I hate Lord of the Rings (I am now determined to read the hobbit!) And I thought Game of Thrones would be alone those lines amd I wasn't interested.  If I watch or read fantasy it's more teen things like Harry Potter,  Twilight and Hunger Games.

In February I was finally persuaded to give it a go and agreed to try watching and reading it. I had already set myself up not to like it as everyone said it was good but a really hard read and complicating as there are lots of characters and it goes between them all. For me I watched two episodes of the first series then started reading the books. I think watching a few episodes first really helped me to have the characters in my head and understand the relationships linking everyone before I got stuck into the book. (One helpful thing is at the back of the books there are character lists and family tree type information).

It's been 9 weeks since I watched the first two episodes and I can honestly say a book has never gripped me so much yet taken me sooooooo long to read. If I love a book it's not unknown for it to take me 2 days to finish it. I'm a fast reader and probably scan read a lot. With A Song of Ice and Fire you can't do that as you'll miss things so I pove that it's got me reading properly again.

For two solid months I've read everyday except for two (I was horrifically hungover!) and I'm still hooked and not bored of it yet. I always want to read more. There are a few characters I don't enjoy so when I have their chapters ( the book is set into chapters where a chapter is a different characters story! Probably should have mentioned that sooner!) I am a bit slower reading them.

The books are long but don't let that put off. They are a great read. From someone who doesn't usually like the fantasy fiction genre I'm hooked.

I will give one bit of advice that was given to me. Don't love any characters George Martin is fond of killing them. It's great for keeping you on your toes and the end if every book has you reaching the next. I've been so gobsmacked sometimes I've text L in disbelief!

Have you read any of the books or watched the tv show? Even if it's not your thing seriously give it a go. But be prepared to lose a good few months to these books!

love M

xxx

Lush Love Lettuce Face Mask

Evening All

Hope you had a great bank holiday! I got totally distracted yesterday reorganising and totally forgot to post. My skin has been really misbehaving lately so I've been using face masks weekly to try and help it.

Lush are some of my favourite face masks, I love that they are natural and that they are kept in the fridge so feel nice and cool on the skin. They are also buy 5 get 1 free technically. I'm working my way through trying them all out. I love oatifix and cosmetic warrior! Don't be put off by the use by date. I tend to keep mine 2 months and they are fine as long as they are kept in the fridge. I did check in store before and they advised that as long as they smelt and looked the same they were probably ok.

Love lettuce is one I've been meaning to try for a while. I love how useful the assistants always are in Lush and they try a few out on your hands so you can get a feel of the differences between them on the skin.

Despite the name it doesn't contain lettuce. It contains lavender which is great for calming the skin (and my angry spots at the moment) it also helps with sebum control. It has a slight gritty texture from almond shells which gently exfoliate the skin as you remove the mask. I like to apply let it sit for 15 minutes then use a small amount of water to lightly wet the mask and use it as a scrub before I was it off. Honey helps to sooth and moisturise the skin.

It's a great mask for oily combination skin to control sebum while moisturising too. 

I love that so many of Lush face masks suit my skin so that I can mix it up. Another plus is that Lush as always don't test on animals!

Have you tried Love Lettuce?

Love M

xxx

Urban Decay Event

Happy Easter All

Hope you're all enjoying some tasty Easter treats! I'm currently waiting for a tasty pizza to be delivered as there has been no Easter roast for me this year :(!

I've been given some tasty Easter treats though and they've been tucked into.

On Friday we went to an event for the launch of the new Electric Palette from Urban Decay. I was really intrigued to see how they'd use the palette as for me (and I'm sure many others the palette looks really scary at first!)

The ladies from the Cardiff Urban Decay counter are brilliant and so helpful. I love that we all had face charts of the looks that were going to be created so we could remember all the products used. We also had a pen so we could easily write down any tricks! (like you can use the pore perfecting primer to turn an eyeshadow into a long lasting lipstick!)

L absolutely loves Naked Skin at the moment and did purchase it after the event. At the moment my skin is too bad for such a lightweight foundation. 

So here is the beautiful Electric Palette. The packaging is gorgeous!! I absolutely love it. The colours are pressed pure pigments so are super pigmented and can be used in a variety of different ways as was demonstrated!! They convinced we I totally need it but I don't know if I'd actually use it so I've resisted for now. The palette contains 10 eyeshadows and a brush and retails for £38. The shadows are all a decent size too and will last forever! And at only £3.80 a shadow it really doesn't work out that bad!

The first look created was one to show how to subtlety use the palette for everyday wear. The slight bit of pink through the crease looked so pretty on and subtle. I'd also love to use the amazing blue shade (Chaos) and the purple (Urban) as coloured liner!

The next look was a more full on look for a night out. I love that they used the jilted pigment on the lips. It makes such a gorgeous colour. The eyes remind me of a parrot in a good way. I'd love to have this look done on me for a night out. It really did look amazing. I'm not sure I have the skills to recreate it.

The final look included coloured brows, a pink contour and using the shadows as hair chalks!! I'm totally in love with coloured brows. As I have pink hair at the moment I'm so tempted to try this. I'm not sure I'm confident enough to pull them off. This would be amazing counter/stage make up!

There were lots of products to play with. Myself, L and Nina (from the little nomad!) were swatching everything!! The new glitters look amazing. Some of these were used on the lips and the eyes in the final look and really finished it off.

Thrash (the yellow green shade) looks really scary in pan but really looks great when used a little on the inner corner. It was also used where you'd use highlight to bring out the cheeks!

Here is Chloe at stage too prior to false lashes!! The colours really pop and she makes it look really wearable!



And the final look. Look at those brows!! I'm in love!! The eye make up is so stunning. I love how creative the girls are!!

Such an fun afternoon. L and I enjoyed some shopping after and we will be sharing our purchases soon!

Thanks Ladies!

Love M

xxx

Una Brennan's Super Facialist Range

Happy Saturday lovelies!

Hopefully the weather is shaping up to belong to this time of year and everyone is out and about. i do love the first pub garden visit of the year! If not....at least it's EASTER BANK HOLIDAY WEEKEND! Hurrah! Chocolate galore!

You've probably heard of Una Brennan's Super Facialist Range by now. I picked these up quite a while ago during a 3 for 2 deal as I'd heard such rave reviews about the range and for some reason they've just sat in my drawers.
I've decided to be good and rotate my products a lot more to get the best use out of everything so I've recently rediscovered them and here they are!

Her ranges are designed to give you the opportunity to give yourself an at home facial without expensive products and so you can get salon skin without the price tag.
It's quite a big claim and I do wonder if anyone at all can succeed in this!

First up, the Rose Hydrate Intense Moisture Mask. This has been created so that it is even suitable for sensitive skin and is a thick white cream that you apply to dry skin for 5 minutes before removing it.

This allegedly boosts skin moisture levels and radiance by utilising white willow extract, vitamin U and urea with marshmallow to hydrate and replenish skin.
Applying this once or twice a week this should save my skin from the dehydration issues its been having lately.

As my skin has been that temperamental I was initially worried it would irritate my skin or make it extremely oily. I'm glad to say that this didn't happen at all and my skin more nourished after use. I've even applied it as a moisturiser at night and left it on until the morning which was great too, no irritation and baby smooth skin!

Definitely a thumbs up from me!


Next up is the Miracle Makeover Facial Oil from the same Rose Hydrate range.



This pre cleanse treatment oil contains many natural oils including raspberry, carrot and avocado to eliminate impurities from the skin and encourage cell regeneration. It also contains brown algae and Calendula oil to soothe even the most sensitive skins leaving it feeling supple.
Sounds quite a lot from a little oil used before cleansing doesn't it??

It's directions state you apply a generous amount to your hands to warm it up before applying to your facial skin and massage it in circular movements to dissolve impurities and open pores before cleansing as you normally would.

I've used this a number of times and you need a few pumps (3/4) for a normal face of make up but if you've got heavy eye make up on you'll probably require an extra 1 or 2 as it can be a bit stubborn when the oil is absorbing into your skin. Having said that I really like it and it does a great job of dissolving make up and has become a fixed part of my skin routine. I sometimes use a face wipe to remove the make up from my face before cleansing to dissolve some of the crap but this is definitely a less harsh alternative and works well without irritating my skin or coating it with oil. I just wash my face with my cleanser of choice as normal and I'm good to go.

The Mask retails at £8.99 but is currently on offer with £3 off, and the Miracle Oil retails for £14.99 but is currently £9.99 both from Boots.

Will you be trying either of these products out? What products have you tried from Una Brennan before?

I've heard so much about the Vitamin C brightening products I'm going to have to give them a go!

L xxx