Hiya!
I thought I'd start this year with a bit of reminiscing, and sum up last year in a whopping great favourites post :)
♥
Hair:
I don't usually use products on my hair, apart from shampoo and conditioner. I like the feeling of a clean product-free scalp, and besides, I find after using hairspray my brush gets really gunky - gross!
However, when the time comes to refresh my hair, I have been liking
Batiste dry shampoo. It smells great (I use the original, though I might test a different fragrance next time) and adds volume to my fine hair. It also helps with styling as it gives hair more hold. However, I do get annoyed with the white residue it leaves, but spending a bit more time rubbing it through gets rid of it.
Skincare:
Neutrogena Visibly Clear moisturiser has been my one and only this year. It's a great oil-free moisturiser for those with acne, doesn't dry out skin at all, and sinks in quickly leaving skin that feels unclogged and clear. I've been using the pink grapefruit one, which smells wonderful and fresh too. I've tried many moisturisers, but this one has been the best for reducing my acne and keeping my oily skin under control.
I've been using
No7 Beautiful Skin BB Cream for normal/oily skin when going out, it does a ton of wonderful things, though what I love most about it are the SPF 15 and the light consistency. This has been my go-to product for coverage (I'm not a fan of foundation), and I love it very very much.
Rimmel Kate Moss lipsticks are brilliant, especially the Lasting Finish collection. There are some gorgeous colours in there which last long (I'm in love with 05, a pretty pink), and as weird as it sounds, they taste really good. A quick swipe of lipstick is the best (and easiest) way to go from casual to formal!
Finally, I can't have a favourites without my best friend
Bourjois Khol and Contour. This eye pencil is so smooth and soft, and produces a lovely line without having to scratch at your eyelid. I like to blend it a little so it's not too sharp, but it's amazing without smudging too.
Bershka Blue Neoprene Coat - I don't think they're selling this anymore, but nevertheless, this is one of my favourite coats. It's a light blue coat made out of neoprene, which is really strange (and not really suitable for rainy days, lesson learnt!), and I remember when I got it I was unsure whether I could pull off that colour and texture or not. But it turns out I could, judging by the compliments I received for it, and it became my everyday coat. I love the fact that, though it's thin, it's also warm due to the neoprene.
My
Uniqlo scarf deserves a mention here too, as I've been wearing it religiously these past few days. The definition of cosiness and warmth, massive blanket scarves are the best thing in my life.
QI is a game/quiz show which I can depend on to always be there on BBC iPlayer, and you've no doubt heard me rant about it before. As dull as it sounds, it's the complete opposite. I mean, QI stands for Quite Interesting, and it is, as well as being funny and cool :D
YouTube: (I used to add this section to TV/Film or Person, but I've decided it needs a section for itself).
My two obsessions (and role models) are
Markiplier and
Jacksepticeye. They're both so enthusiastic and in love with what they do, and genuinely care about their fans. And as successful as they are on YouTube, they don't let it get to their heads and are still down-to-earth guys who are grateful to everyone. Also, their commentary is the best, with so much hilarity and passion put into each video.
I love them so much and wish I could be as enthusiastic about my work as they are.
Music:
2015 for me was all about All Time Low and The Killers. I guess if I were to pick a song by each, I would say '
Therapy' by All Time Low (with '
Lost in Stereo' as a close second) and '
Human' by The Killers.
I'm someone who likes to listen to a song on repeat until I get sick of it, so my favourite song changes very often. But, I'll share some of the songs that I can never get bored of:
We Are Young, Fun. - I would say that this is my all-time favourite song and one that I've been listening to since the beginning.
Demons, Imagine Dragons - This song is just gorgeous. 'Nuff said.
Build God, Then We'll Talk, Panic! at the Disco - I have no idea why, but I'm always humming this song. It's so bad now that I'll start humming it without even realising what I'm humming... The thing I like most about this song is that it's catchy, and halfway through when it goes 'raindrops on roses and girls in white dresses...' it sends chills down my back every time. Anyway, I don't suggest watching the music video, it's almost porn...unless...NO!
My beloved,
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, AKA, the best book in the world. It's what made me fall in love with Greek mythology, and for almost half a year I slept with it on a pillow beside my head (not weird at all...). This book it so well-written, well-paced, well-everything-ed. It's hard to put down, the characters draw you in and the little details Miller adds just make it all more special (and magical!).
I also enjoyed reading
The Martian by Andy Weir. Such a clever, sarcastic, gripping book... Every time something goes wrong and I lose hope for Mark Watney, the protagonist, he's there to solve his way out of it. Some of the solutions he comes up with are incredible and so so
clever. That, in my opinion, is the best thing about this book. Mark Watney, you are amazing!
I'm a great fan of having cereal after school...try it out! Cereal is much much better when you have it at any time but breakfast time - there's something about 'breakfast' that makes me just go *uuuuugh*. I mean, it's the start of the day, too early in the morning to function properly, and my taste buds are still asleep. Everything tastes better when your taste buds are actually awake...
And here's another love - white chocolate with cranberry. Not everyone's cup of tea, but I love white chocolate and this gives the perfect balance of sweet and fruity.
And, BUTTERCREAM!! I'm constantly craving this...imagine your favourite cupcake with a dollop of vanilla buttercream on top...mmmmmm...
I'd say that NCS The Challenge was the best thing I did this year, I had an amazing time, especially in the first week in Devon. I also felt pretty proud of myself - I was dropped in the middle of nowhere with 14 or so strangers my age, and we were left to our own devices. I'm glad that I became friends with some wonderful people during the Challenge, and had an awesome time doing it.
If you ever have the opportunity to do it, I would recommend it!
The view from the top of the Sacre-Coeur in Paris was gorgeous, so I have to mention that. Also in Paris, the Louvre gave me so many feels as I gawked at the Greek statues - a statue of Thetis almost made me cry and freak out! But by far my favourite place is that little crepe takeaway shop I visited twice during my stay, they made the best crepes, fresh right in front of you.
You know what, just go to Paris - there are so many cool places it's hard to choose the best ;)
YouTube, hands down, is my most used and favourite app. I hardly ever go on YouTube on my computer, I find it much easier being able to walk around with a video on full screen on my tablet than being fixed to a desktop.
Wattpad is another love, it's where I do most of my reading. It's basically a website where anyone can create and read stories for free, and there's a wide variety of different genres, from romance to science fiction, to poetry and even random things like bucket lists and life hacks. I'm not writing anything myself, but I love reading so much that any spare time I have (and I will 'create' spare time if I have to...) I'll spend it reading something on Wattpad.
Warning! Some books aren't very well written, and it gets very annoying when you come across these, especially if the description gets your hopes up. However, finding the gems is a great skill which comes with practice (and trial and error), and the ones you can find are good, I promise.
Onwards, with your quest to find the hidden gems!
I'm not a game player myself, but I've watched many videos of people playing games in the last year. Also, I just really wanted to mention Undertale <3
Undertale is amazing. I don't even know where to start in my praise for it because there's too much to say. It's an RPG which breaks the fourth wall, contains the best/most cringey jokes, and it remembers your actions even if you start again, which leads to much more awesomeness... Also, the characters have so much personality and life - they're the best!
Life is Strange, one of the most mind-boggling games I have come across. It's an adventure RPG which relies heavily on the butterfly effect. The player makes choices and the outcome changes according to these, though there's also the awesome time travel feature included. The music and graphics in this are so pretty, the style is one of the things that drew me in.
Until Dawn is a horror PS4 game, where your decisions determine who survives and who does not. It's a bit like Life is Strange, with the whole butterfly effect thing, but, well...scarier. I'm actually terrified of the horror genre, but again, the graphics in this game are gorgeous so I thought I'd give it a shot. I'm glad I did.
As cheesy and cliché as it sounds, my friends are the best people in the world. They've always been there for me and I, in turn, would do anything for them. I love them so much, for making my life a million times better.
As well as those numpties, I'm also in love with Hannah Hart and Ingrid Nilsen - otherwise known as Hangrid (who came up with that name?! It's not a very flattering ship name...). As individual people, they are amazing themselves and make inspirational role models, but together they are just the cutest of all patooties.
I hope you enjoyed this massive favourites post and my loss of all things normal at the end where I spiralled out of control.
