THE MARCH '18 EDIT // MONTHLY BEAUTY FAVOURITES AND POP CULTURE LOVES

MARCH…

After a chaotic February, i’ve been spending less and less time ‘online’ this month. Instead, i’ve been busying myself doing the house up, enjoying the sunny little window of spring we were treated to and spending time eating and drinking with my nearest and dearest. It’s felt really good too! My job demands a lot of my time to be spent online and so when I get home, plugging myself back in to mindlessly scroll Instagram and Twitter to see what everyone else has been up to has felt like the last thing i’ve wanted to do at the moment.

My ‘Watch Later’ list on Youtube has stacked up, my Pocket app is brimming with articles to read and my Instagram home feed hasn’t been refreshed in sooo long – I’m really at the point this month where i’m just not bothered what anyone else is doing. Who’d have thought ey?! Sometimes taking a break is good for the soul.

WATCHING. READING + MORE.

Netflix: I am quite literally 8 years late on this band wagon but this month I have two words for you, Black Mirror. Now, I know you’re probably rolling your eyes in exasperation, but it’s always the way with me – People say: ‘oh you should watch this‘ and I never get round to it because someones told me to, such a backward mentality. I did however decide to give Black Mirror a go because I liked the idea that every episode is different, you don’t have to have seen one to understand another, and each episode is crafted like a mini film.

I guess what i’m about to write will only make sense to anyone who has watched Black Mirror but I was deeply, deeply disturbed (no… genuinely) by ‘National Anthem’ – Controversial, but I don’t think ‘San Junipero’ is as amazing as everyone makes out, the lead male actor, Alex Lawther in ‘Shut up and dance’ is bloody incredible and my stand out episodes are: ‘Be right back,’ ‘Black Museum’ ’15 Million Merits’ and ‘White Bear.’ If you’re (very) late to the party like me, start watching Black Mirror now, it’s genuinely terrifying how close to the bone it gets to our potential future.

Another series i’ve been Netflix binging was a recommendation from the wonderful Franky aka Love Audrey. Franky recommended that all foodies should check out ‘Ugly Delicious‘ and she wasn’t wrong. The cultural documentary / travel diary style exploration of cuisine led by David Chang makes you want to reach for the phone to order food pronto. My favourite episodes are: ‘Pizza’, ‘Fried Rice’ and ‘Home Cooking’. I genuinely loved the whole series though, it certainly is an interesting food history lesson to discover the origins of why and how certain dishes are made the way they are and where they came from.

Reading: I often stumble across creators online who are familiar to what feels like everyone and they seem to be that pinnacle person who always appears on your newsfeed. For me, Sara Tasker is one of those people. Last week Sara opened up a Twitter thread for people to share what their friendship ‘green flags’ were. Sara invited her followers to describe which actions/words/behaviours make you think that someone is likely to be a good friend. Naturally, I threw my two cents in sharing my green flag which is: ‘When you ask someone a question about their life and they ask you about yours straight afterwards instead of just talking about themselves the entire time.’ And would you believe my comment and other snippets from the thread were shared on Stylist magazine online. Give it a read it’s a nice warm, fuzzy one!

For a bit of fluff, I recommend this article: ‘100 fascinating things you didn’t know about the Kardashians‘ from Glamour magazine online. One of my highlights was the fact that when our gal Kimmy meets someone she can apparently smell the specific (and I mean specific) scent of any undiagnosed dental cavities they may have. Mind. Blown.

Other things to read..

All the glamorous things I will do when i’m a rich old lady – The illustrations are also fabulous
The soul was lost somewhere: Inside the demise of NME – How the music industry has changed
Why we still love Tracy Beaker – Because according to Jaqueline Wilson, she’s coming back, as an adult!

Podcasts to listen to…

The Windsor Knot – A tongue-in-chic light-hearted podcast exploring all facets of the royal wedding
Happy Place with Fearne Cotton – stand out episode, Paloma Faith
Wobble with Lauren Mahon – What a woman! If you only listen to this ONE THING, Lauren beat breast cancer in her early 30s, this is her story.

BEAUTY + STYLE FAVOURITES.

Makeup

I feel like Glossier got it so right with their Cloudpaint formula, but so wrong with the packaging. I have used the ‘Beam‘ cream blush every day since I bought it a few weeks ago because it just makes my skin look radiant and healthy. My only qualm? How the product is distributed through the tube, it is simply impossible to get the right amount! If anyone has any hacks for this, please let me know.

And because it is good enough to eat, I have also been crushin’ on the coconut Balm Dot Com. It smells like NICE biscuits and helps dry lips come back to life after the long, cold winter. I apply this stuff everywhere because it smells sooo good.

Also on the lip theme, I have yet to find a lipstick that hangs around all day and all night if you wanted it to. Step forward the new Bourjois Rouge Velvet Matte Lipsticks. I have the shade ’05 Brick-A-Brack’ and it is my go-to lip shade of the moment. You can see me wearing it in this Instagram pic if you want to see how it looks on. Designed to last 24 (not so sure about that) the formula can be a little drying so I make sure to prime my lips with the aforementioned Balm.Dot.Com. The pigmentation is excellent and the packaging is weirdly satisfying because it feels expensive (it isn’t!)

Skincare

Being naturally dark haired, keeping unwanted and random hairs around the old lip area is a constant battle. In the past i’ve waxed, plucked and bleached the old ‘tash but sure enough it kept coming back. I wanted to find a solution that was painless and not too rough on my delicate facial skin. My previous dabbles with hair removal have left my skin red, sore and sometimes burnt!

Step forward the beauty gadget that has revolutionised my world. Big statement. The ‘Finishing Touch Flawless’ tool from JML is a gold plated hair remover that gets rid of those fine facial hairs instantly and painlessly. Working in a similar way to dermaplaining the tool removes hair from the lips, chin, cheeks and downy hair aka ‘peach fuzz’. A small blade rotates under a surface plate which means when you gently apply the tool in circular motions those pesky hairs are no more. There’s a handy light too for those lurking hairs that like to go uncensored under your regular bathroom light. No nicks, no burns just nice smooth skin, without the unwanted hair! Naw, I love JML, they’re always inventing these nifty little gadgets.

Hair

A fun fact about Adam and I is that we share a hairdresser. When my hairdresser moved away to Canada, I was looking for someone new to deal with my mop. Adam recommended his hairdresser *cue eyebrow raise* but I decided that I had nothing to lose. Since visiting Stefan, my balayage bronde hair is looking swish and healthy and I have spent more hours than I care to mention in his salon.To combat the brassiness within my bronde hair, I use a shampoo recommended by Stefan which is definitely doing the trick. The L’anza Healing Colourcare Silver Brightening Shampoo has been my go-to wash/treatment for the last few weeks. I like that the formula combats redness in the brunette areas of my hair whilst targeting the blonder strands also. Apparently the UV protection inside the formula helps your colour last for 107% longer too.

Brushes

I have always loved using mineral foundation, i’ve waxed lyrical about this one from Bare Minerals, but I have yet to find a brush that applies the foundation efficiently. Sure, i’ve tried the official Bare Minerals brush that they recommend you to use, but sadly the hairs just pour out everywhere and it is really difficult to wash and keep tidy. In short, I really wanted to like it, but I don’t. I recently discovered Younique when their team got in touch to introduce me to the brand. I explained my issue with mineral foundation application and they very kindly offered to send me their synthetic bristle powder/concealer brush and their natural bristle powder puff brush.

Both brushes are great quality and you can tell when you look at / hold the brush via it’s weight and also (more importantly) when you apply product. My mineral foundation is now able to be buffed in flawlessly in a mess-free way. And whilst these brushes are working a treat, I must add that the powder puff brush bristles are made with natural animal hair. I have seen Younique representatives online state that no animals are harmed in the making of their brushes, but of course this is something to research yourself if you want to learn more, but I think it’s quite important to mention so you can make an informed decision about the product.