Years ago when I started my first ever blog, monthly favourites were a done thing, everyone did them, but since starting up this blog again & actually reading my favourite bloggers again, they've changed up a bit. Monthly favourites have become more personal and less niche.
I'm gonna talk more about niches & my dislike of them nowadays in another post, but I'm really enjoying the monthly 'edits' or 'wrap-ups' bloggers and youtubers are doing now where they talk about anything and everything they've liked or enjoyed that month.
So, of course, I thought I'd follow suit...
May hasn't turned out to be nearly as interesting as it was intended to be - a horrible way to start a blog post, but hear me out? - due to illness. I had many more plans, but one week I had some sort of stomach bug, the next, I really hurt my back, and now this past week I've been down with the worlds worst chest/throat/ear infection. I think it's been my bodies way of telling me, not so subtly, that I need a damn rest.
My job in hospitality takes up a lot of my time, and it does become mentally & physically exhausting. And I always seem the learn that the hard way, usually through illness, that I'm due a rest.
I cancelled my plans of going to Slam Dunk festival in Leeds this past weekend, as I'd been off work all week & just still was not well. I'm beyond gutted I didn't get to go, the line up was so good, I'd been looking forward to it for at least 6 months, but it would've just exhausted me & made my illness worse, I know I made the adult, logical decision, but that doesn't mean I'm okay about it.
But as a result of being under the weather, I've spent a lot of time at my parents, spending quality time with my doggos & catching up with my brother who's home very briefly between his last stint working out in France, before then heading out to New Zealand in June.
However, I did make it to my cousins wedding on Tuesday, which has been a long time coming for her & her family. It was something I wasn't about to miss, because it's a part of my family that I don't get to see anywhere near as often as I'd like to.
Ah, this is a throwback, having once being a beauty only blog! Thankfully though, I will no longer feel the pressure to find a whole long list of products I've been loving this month (even, if I'm being totally honest, going out & buying new ones I didn't need, just to have more to include.)
I've talked about my love of the Garnier sheet masks in the past, over in this post; 6 Skincare Products for Tired AF Skin. And once again, they've been saving my skin! Like I've said I've just been feeling constantly exhausted this month, so I've been doing everything I can to combat the effects of that on my face! And I just find both the de-tiring & moisturising mask so soothing for my skin after a long ass day at work.
Hand cream is a necessity for me in a job where I'm constantly using & washing my hands, and recently the skin on my hands has become so chapped & dry that I genuinely think some of the dry patches are just gonna be here to stay! This Garnier restoring hand cream is delightful, it smells incredible & sinks in quickly so I can use it during shift without it bothering me too much.
The Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheat in Pillow Talk is something I've been after for ages, remember all the hype around it when it first came out? I've been coveting it ever since. Finally I bought it about a month ago, and it is totally worth all the hype. It's the perfect pinky-nude shade for me, I've been using it daily just to define & fill out my lips a little with my usual lip balm. It's barely there, but does an awful lot to enhance your look somehow. I'm just obsessed.
Another thing I've finally ended up purchasing recently after coveting it for aaages is the Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer. I actually found this on eBay going a fair amount cheaper than in store, although I was very dubious as to wether it was legit, I'm like 99% sure it is. Even if it isn't, it's a damn good concealer. I first bought the shade Chantilly, which is the palest, which is usually right for me, and it's great for my undereye area & hiding those dark circles, but it's far too pale for covering anywhere else, so I went back onto eBay, found the same listing & got it again in Vanilla which is much better for covering any redness or spots I've got goin' on.
About two months ago I picked up two books by Phillipa Gregory in Tescos usual two for £8 (I think?) deal. The Last Tudor was the one that caught my eye, I'm an absolute history buff & have always had an interest in that era, so obviously the title caught my eye & then next to it was The Lady of Rivers, and it made sense to me to get both.
When I got home I realised they were both part of a series which can be read in chronological order, The Lady of Rivers happened to be the first one in the series, so I started on that one first.While I've not quite finished it yet, I've been really enjoying reading it! It tells the story of Jacquetta of Luxembourg, who was a real life person with a real life story that I would assume has been adapted for the sake of a good story, but the majority of it seems to be historically accurate (because I'm the type to put the book down & google things to see how true to life the story is *geek*) She was a fairly prominent figure during the War of the Roses having firstly been married to Henry Vs brother and then being the mother of Elizabeth Woodville who married Edward IV and became Queen of England.
I was hooked from the start, as it actually starts out with Joan of Arc who after being captured spent time at Jacquettas childhood home (/castle) before going to trial and eventually being burnt at the stake. And it's all from Jacquettas point of view who witnesses the trial & execution of someone that'd actually become a friend even though they were on opposing sides.
There's a lot in the book about being a woman in a mans world, and how women were persecuted & usually named a witch, for simply marching to the beat of their own drum, there's a really great feminist undertone going on throughout the story.Also there's a lot about witchcraft - for lack of a better word - not that Jacquetta identifies as a witch at all, but there's a lot of beliefs she has surrounding Tarot cards & herbal remedies as well as her family descending from a Melusina who in mythology was a female water spirit, similar to a mermaid, who passed down to the females in the family the gift of foreseeing, supposedly.
I feel like there's so much I could say about this book, so I may do a full review on it when I'm finished, because it's so in depth with history and meaning that I'm finding it really difficult to keep my explanation brief!
It's called Sketchy Muma by Anna Lewis and it's basically a series of sketches describing in hilarious & meaningful detail the process of becoming a mother & the ups & downs of motherhood.
Even as someone who doesn't have a child, I thought it was brilliant & I think my friend, who gave birth about 6 months ago, will absolutely love it!
Now I'm a huge music fan, and my taste is getting more and more eclectic as I get older, so I'm always going to have a lot to talk about when it comes to music, but I'll try and keep it brief & just create a little playlist what I've been listening too this month at the end.
May saw the release of the new Frank Turner album, Be More Kind. I've been a huge fan of Frank for many years now, he's one of my absolute favourite musicians & I'm always excited to see what he does next. I had the vinyl version of his album pre-ordered from the moment it became available, and while the sound is very different in comparison to some of his older albums, the sentiment is so on point.
As a lyricist I think he's just brilliant, and his return to making political statement - although notably in a much less furious tone - has come at a time, for me, when I myself, am much more political than I used to be. His tone is kind of disappointed, but kind of hopeful for better things. And everything he's trying to say with this album, I just wholeheartedly agree with.
He also sounds happier, like he's sorted out some of his demons between albums, for example, to quote Frank himself at a charity show I saw him at in Lancaster he's "actually written a happy love song" called There She Is, which is just all kinds of lovely.
Again, I'm struggling to keep this brief, but it's just something I just love so much that I could go into so much detail with!
To mention a few more names & songs that I've been listening to a lot this month; Ziggy Alberts album Land & Sea, which is just a lovely folksy, acoustic chilled kinda vibe; The Kinks, they have some of the greatest summer-y songs ever!; C'est La Vie by Stereophonics, it came on my shuffle one day & I immediately stuck in on repeat; Jack Johnson, In Between Dreams, again summer-y, chilled out vibes, excellent driving soundtrack when it's super warm & I have the top down (that's right, I own a convertible, it makes my inner child so, so happy); The Black Mist EP by Paper Cranes, again folksy, chilled, I'd never heard of them until a workmate was playing them on shift one time; and finally, Izzy Bizu, A Moment of Madness, I was obsessed with this album all last summer, and it's been finding it's way back into my driving playlist recently, again it's got a super summery kinda vibe going on
There're also a few other songs at the end of this playlist that've either caught my attention randomly or have been songs that I've loved for a while that I always listen to when the weather get nicer again. Some of which them are totally not my usual taste, but like I said, my taste has been getting more eclectic recently.
So, I genuinely thought doing a kind of 'wrap up' post would keep my ramblings to a minimum. Apparently not. But in my defence, I'm talking about some of the things I absolutely love, so I do have a tendency to just ramble excitedly.
I'd love to know if anyone has similar feelings about any of the things I've mentioned in this post!
Also, any recommendations based on these things would be awesome, I always love checking out new music/films/books/etc!
No comments:
Post a Comment