27/02/18 21:03 (Tuesday Zzz)
Going to keep this brief, as I'm not wanting to go too much in depth with this one... you never know who's reading, or might read in the future! (Hello, future employers..?)
This book was recommended to me by GoodReads*, which by the way is a fab website if you like to read. On there you can give a rating of 1-5 stars to all of the books that you've read and from that they recommend new books that they think you'll like, and if you're interested they also show you where you can buy them fairly cheap. You can also link to your Facebook and see what your friends and family are reading, and create a 'want to read' list, so if you spot a book that your aunty Barbra is reading and you think it sounds good, you can add it to your list and not forget about it, like I always used to do.
Surprise surprise... this book is about a serial killer, although this is falls into the 'Erotic Thriller' genre. Thrillers in book form I'm all about, the Erotica though... not particularly my cup of tea. (No, I've never read 50 Shades and no, I don't plan to. Although I did watch the first film and it made me laugh really hard.)
So now that we've glazed over the genre, let me tell you that this book was so up my street, I picked it up on Monday and I had finished it by Thursday night. I wasn't sure whether I was confident enough to read it in public, but after the first few chapters I couldn't put it down, so I gingerly read it on the metro, I cautiously read it on my lunch break at work, and I got home and brazenly read it for half an hour after my dinner each night.
The book centres itself around Deanna Madden, a serial killer who locks herself away from the world and works as a camgirl under the pseudonym Jessica Reilly. Jessica has a number of clients, a lot of them absolutely bizarre and hilarious to read about, but has one who reveals a dark fantasy about a 6 year old girl named Annie. One day, Deanna hears on the news that a young girl of the same age and name has gone missing close to where this particular client lives, and she's faced with a moral dilemma when the authorities don't take her seriously.
One thing that I really loved about this was that within the first 1/3 of the book, there are a few short chapters (a page or three at most) which are from 6 year old Annie's perspective and in each she is interacting with an older male figure who would fit the description of Jessica's disturbing client. Torre keeps you guessing as to who the guilty man is - father, uncle or best friend's dad, and I found it very interesting that reading the short chapters with the premonition of one of the men being guilty, I straightaway presumed that each man was the antagonist, but once I found out who it actually was, I took the time to read each chapter back, and realised that a prejudice can go a long way in making someone seem evil.**
I'm struggling to find a critique for The Girl in 6E. The book was so well written, the plot was gripping and... wait for it... NOT PREDICTABLE. I hate so much when I get halfway through a book and everything from there goes down the predictable 'lovey-dovey, everything is perfect, love conquers all' direction, and honestly at one point around the halfway mark, I did think this book was going down that route, but thankfully it didn't (not too much, anyway). I didn't find it too gory, though I will say it's not for the faint hearted, especially the chapters about Jessica's cam sessions.
It's got a 4/5 from me, I'm so impressed and I found out thanks to good old GoodReads that there's a sequel, which I may well add to my want to read list.
L x
* #notsponsoredjustgood
** Life lessons from Laura x
Peel Off Eyebrows? Maybelline Tattoo Brow ~ Review
06/02/18 21:10 Tuesday (my least favourite day of the week)
From Marlene Dietrich to Cara Delevingne, when it comes to makeup, eyebrow trends are and have always been a bit of a talking point. Think of all of the extreme 'trends' over the past few years: remember the slug brow? How about the more recent feather brow? My first documented attempt at penciling in my brows came at around early 2012, and I've never held back since - though thank our Lord and Saviour J Christ, I can confirm that they look significantly better now than they did in High School*.
So I picked up this product from a Superdrug in Middlesbrough while visiting my boyfriend's wonderful family because I was running out of my Revolution Brow Kit which was out of stock (credit where credit is due - this is a fab palette, it lasts forever and is so inexpensive). I figured I may as well try something new rather than something I knew I wasn't a huge fan of, so although I was hesitant in buying the Tattoo Brow, I was looking forward to trying it.
I ended up not actually running out of my old kit as soon as I'd thought, and didn't need to use TB until we'd come back home, which suited me fine - I had a feeling sleeping with no makeup on other than some dark brows would probably look a little strange and there's no fun in trying to explain what I've got on my face if I bumped into any of Ben's family on the way to the loo in the middle of the night!
Right, so here are the steps that Maybelline advise:
"Step 1:
Clean your brows and apply over existing brow hair. If any mistakes are made or you need to reshape, use a cotton bud to easily remove before it sets."
The formula dries really quickly, so you have to be fairly quick while working with it, and if you make any mistakes you better have a makeup wipe at the ready!
"Step 2:
Leave your new brows to set for at least 20 minutes. For super long wear, set the product for up to 2 hours."
I dunno about you, but I don't have 2 hours to
hang about waiting for my brows to tint on a daily, so I decided if I was going to use it, I'd just leave it on overnight.
"Step 3:
Peel off by starting at the inner corner of each eyebrow. The tint will be revealed underneath, giving you naturally fuller looking brows.
Please note: To make the most of your long-wear tint, try to avoid exfoliating or harsh cleansers."
So, I've had this product for about 3 months now and it's not something that I use every day but I do like to use it on a Sunday night when I know the next morning I'll be knackered when I get up for work, so I feel like I've got some pretty conclusive results about this product. For an early start like a Monday morning, this stuff is really handy if you want an extra 10 minutes of kip - I want to look made-up and presentable for work but I want that to happen in the least amount of time possible because I value my sleep way more than my appearance, especially before 8 in the morning! It's simple to apply, dries quickly and believe it or not, it actually does come off easily too so long as you don't put it on too thin.
The problems I'm having with this product is that yeah, it will last up to 3 days... but only if you try extra hard to not put your face under the shower over that time, and regardless you'll have to touch them up on the second day. By the morning of the third day, my brows are always significantly more orange than I'd like them to be, so I tend to keep them on for the 2 days, and on the second night I exfoliate my face and make sure to get the tint off. Then it's easy to re-apply again if you fancy it.
Another problem I struggled with in the shop was choosing the right colour for my face - they only provide three brow colours, Medium Blonde, Medium Brown and Dark Brown. As I have quite dark hair, I figured that dark brown should be my colour, and I think it's the closest I could get, though to be honest, it does seem to be a little on the grey side.
Something to note is that Maybelline & L'Oreal (who are the parent company of Maybelline) test on animals. I've recently been trying to switch all of my makeup to brands that are cruelty free and I encourage everyone to do the same if you are so inclined. I was fooled into thinking that Maybelline had joined the fight against animal testing, however upon looking further into it, I found out that they still sell their products in China, where animal testing is mandatory for all imported cosmetics. If you're interested in learning a little more about which brands are and aren't cruelty free, you can look on Cruelty Free Kitty's website, where they have a list of brands who have confirmed that they don't test on our furry friends.
I'm slapping an overall score of 3/5 on this product - I love that it saves me time on a Monday morning when I can't be arsed to put anything on but some concealer and a swipe of mascara. My advise would be to make sure the eyebrow goop is distributed evenly before it dries or there'll be patches when peel-time comes and your 10 minute potential lie in will be wasted.
* Bonus pic of how I honestly used to do my eyebrows in High School. Highly embarrassing seeing as it was easily found on Google Images just a year ago by typing in the name and location of the school. (Sorry about the quality, it's since been deleted and this was the best I could do).
From Marlene Dietrich to Cara Delevingne, when it comes to makeup, eyebrow trends are and have always been a bit of a talking point. Think of all of the extreme 'trends' over the past few years: remember the slug brow? How about the more recent feather brow? My first documented attempt at penciling in my brows came at around early 2012, and I've never held back since - though thank our Lord and Saviour J Christ, I can confirm that they look significantly better now than they did in High School*.
So I picked up this product from a Superdrug in Middlesbrough while visiting my boyfriend's wonderful family because I was running out of my Revolution Brow Kit which was out of stock (credit where credit is due - this is a fab palette, it lasts forever and is so inexpensive). I figured I may as well try something new rather than something I knew I wasn't a huge fan of, so although I was hesitant in buying the Tattoo Brow, I was looking forward to trying it.
I ended up not actually running out of my old kit as soon as I'd thought, and didn't need to use TB until we'd come back home, which suited me fine - I had a feeling sleeping with no makeup on other than some dark brows would probably look a little strange and there's no fun in trying to explain what I've got on my face if I bumped into any of Ben's family on the way to the loo in the middle of the night!
Right, so here are the steps that Maybelline advise:
"Step 1:
Clean your brows and apply over existing brow hair. If any mistakes are made or you need to reshape, use a cotton bud to easily remove before it sets."
The formula dries really quickly, so you have to be fairly quick while working with it, and if you make any mistakes you better have a makeup wipe at the ready!
"Step 2:
Leave your new brows to set for at least 20 minutes. For super long wear, set the product for up to 2 hours."
I dunno about you, but I don't have 2 hours to
hang about waiting for my brows to tint on a daily, so I decided if I was going to use it, I'd just leave it on overnight.
"Step 3:
Peel off by starting at the inner corner of each eyebrow. The tint will be revealed underneath, giving you naturally fuller looking brows.
Please note: To make the most of your long-wear tint, try to avoid exfoliating or harsh cleansers."
So, I've had this product for about 3 months now and it's not something that I use every day but I do like to use it on a Sunday night when I know the next morning I'll be knackered when I get up for work, so I feel like I've got some pretty conclusive results about this product. For an early start like a Monday morning, this stuff is really handy if you want an extra 10 minutes of kip - I want to look made-up and presentable for work but I want that to happen in the least amount of time possible because I value my sleep way more than my appearance, especially before 8 in the morning! It's simple to apply, dries quickly and believe it or not, it actually does come off easily too so long as you don't put it on too thin.
The problems I'm having with this product is that yeah, it will last up to 3 days... but only if you try extra hard to not put your face under the shower over that time, and regardless you'll have to touch them up on the second day. By the morning of the third day, my brows are always significantly more orange than I'd like them to be, so I tend to keep them on for the 2 days, and on the second night I exfoliate my face and make sure to get the tint off. Then it's easy to re-apply again if you fancy it.
Another problem I struggled with in the shop was choosing the right colour for my face - they only provide three brow colours, Medium Blonde, Medium Brown and Dark Brown. As I have quite dark hair, I figured that dark brown should be my colour, and I think it's the closest I could get, though to be honest, it does seem to be a little on the grey side.
Something to note is that Maybelline & L'Oreal (who are the parent company of Maybelline) test on animals. I've recently been trying to switch all of my makeup to brands that are cruelty free and I encourage everyone to do the same if you are so inclined. I was fooled into thinking that Maybelline had joined the fight against animal testing, however upon looking further into it, I found out that they still sell their products in China, where animal testing is mandatory for all imported cosmetics. If you're interested in learning a little more about which brands are and aren't cruelty free, you can look on Cruelty Free Kitty's website, where they have a list of brands who have confirmed that they don't test on our furry friends.
 |
| Naked Brows for reference. (I didn't actually have any eye makeup on, it's the Snapchat filter that makes it look like I do) |
 |
| Brows with the product on (tongue out to hide the spot on my chin, ayy lmao) |
 |
| This morning at around 8am - no other makeup on my brows. |
I'm slapping an overall score of 3/5 on this product - I love that it saves me time on a Monday morning when I can't be arsed to put anything on but some concealer and a swipe of mascara. My advise would be to make sure the eyebrow goop is distributed evenly before it dries or there'll be patches when peel-time comes and your 10 minute potential lie in will be wasted.
* Bonus pic of how I honestly used to do my eyebrows in High School. Highly embarrassing seeing as it was easily found on Google Images just a year ago by typing in the name and location of the school. (Sorry about the quality, it's since been deleted and this was the best I could do).
Sally Hansen - "No Chip" Super Acrylic Top Coat ~ Review
01/02/18 19:47 (Thursday)
Evening!
I recently discovered Simply Nailogical's YouTube channel, and before anyone says it - yes, I know I'm late to the party but I've binge-watched hours worth of her videos in the last 2 weeks to make up for it.
I've never been too mad on doing my nails or watching tutorials of stunning girls (or stunning boys, lets not assume any genders) doing some tiny intricate nail art designs, mainly because I bite my nails when I'm stressed so they always look stubby, but also because I just don't have the patience or precision for it. Since discovering the always hilarious and relatable Cristine however, a fire has ignited within me for holographic nail polishes and peel-off base coats. As the fire in my belly grew over the past two weeks, so did mywant need for more nail polishes. So, on my work lunch break I ventured out into the center of Newcastle, steering myself through the crowds of Geordies and trying not to get too visibly annoyed when I caught myself stuck behind a group of slow-walkers.
I got to Northumberland Street, slipped into Superdrug, and I suddenly felt an all-too familiar sensation come over me... "go on, treat youself... you deserve this". I hadn't done anything worth a reward, but haway, once the thought is in your head, we all know it's too late to stop it. I wandered over to the Sally Hansen display and I saw sitting there the holy grail: Sally Hansen's NO CHIP, SUPER ACRYLIC PROTECTION Top Coat. It was priced at £4.75, and it seemed like a dream. You don't get much stronger than acrylic when it comes to nails, and as for 'No Chip', all of my problems were solved.
I rushed home from work and painted my nails a royal blue colour with a silver holographic glitter accent nail, then put on this all-singing all-dancing top coat. I made sure to not do a single thing until it was completely dry: we're talking almost an hour, I wasn't about to take any risks.
Next morning, as I was brushing my teeth, I held up my nails to the light to examine my handiwork* and noticed that every single nail had multiple vein-like cracks running from the cuticle to the tip! Absolutely dumbfounded as to what I'd done to cause this, I went to work, bearing in mind that I have an office job, which is hardly strenuous on my hands - within 3 hours of being there, I noticed that on two of my fingernails, large chips in the middle of my nail had completely flaked off. By this point, the polish had only been on for around 15 hours and I was fuming.
By the time I returned home from work, the majority of the nail polish on several of my fingers had come clean off, and it looked worse than any regular nail polish would look without the top coat after about 4-5 days. Just in case there was something that I had done which had caused the nail varnish to chip off so quickly, or if perhaps it was the blue polish underneath which hadn't mixed well with it, I tried again with another polish I had. I tried to do the thinnest coat I could possibly do in an attempt to give it a fighting chance, and this time around the polish stayed on for a full 24 hours before it started chipping off. Wow, what a drastic improvement (!).
The one and only use I've found for the crappy top coat is putting it on my nails before I go in the shower - if there's anything I've learnt from Cristine, it's how fragile your nails become if you shower when they're bare, so the crappy top coat has now become a strange pre-shower habit. I suppose it's better than showering with a pair of marigolds on!
Overall, I'm giving the Sally Hansen No Chip Top Coat a -3/5. That's right, minus 3. I've included a picture of the bottle and packaging below, you'll see that the largest piece of font on the bottle is the text that states "No Chip" so as a rule, you'd expect it to do the opposite of make your polish chip off within hours of the first application.
Generally, Sally Hansen is a great brand for all things nails and has a superb reputation for dishing out top-notch products, so I was really disappointed that I not only wasted money in buying this, but also that I wasted my time in applying my other beautiful new nail polishes. Do yourself a favour and on this occasion spend your money on something else instead - may I suggest one of these Barry M Molten Metal nail polishes?
That's all for now x
* Pun absolutely intended.
Evening!
I recently discovered Simply Nailogical's YouTube channel, and before anyone says it - yes, I know I'm late to the party but I've binge-watched hours worth of her videos in the last 2 weeks to make up for it.
I've never been too mad on doing my nails or watching tutorials of stunning girls (or stunning boys, lets not assume any genders) doing some tiny intricate nail art designs, mainly because I bite my nails when I'm stressed so they always look stubby, but also because I just don't have the patience or precision for it. Since discovering the always hilarious and relatable Cristine however, a fire has ignited within me for holographic nail polishes and peel-off base coats. As the fire in my belly grew over the past two weeks, so did my
I got to Northumberland Street, slipped into Superdrug, and I suddenly felt an all-too familiar sensation come over me... "go on, treat youself... you deserve this". I hadn't done anything worth a reward, but haway, once the thought is in your head, we all know it's too late to stop it. I wandered over to the Sally Hansen display and I saw sitting there the holy grail: Sally Hansen's NO CHIP, SUPER ACRYLIC PROTECTION Top Coat. It was priced at £4.75, and it seemed like a dream. You don't get much stronger than acrylic when it comes to nails, and as for 'No Chip', all of my problems were solved.
I rushed home from work and painted my nails a royal blue colour with a silver holographic glitter accent nail, then put on this all-singing all-dancing top coat. I made sure to not do a single thing until it was completely dry: we're talking almost an hour, I wasn't about to take any risks.
Next morning, as I was brushing my teeth, I held up my nails to the light to examine my handiwork* and noticed that every single nail had multiple vein-like cracks running from the cuticle to the tip! Absolutely dumbfounded as to what I'd done to cause this, I went to work, bearing in mind that I have an office job, which is hardly strenuous on my hands - within 3 hours of being there, I noticed that on two of my fingernails, large chips in the middle of my nail had completely flaked off. By this point, the polish had only been on for around 15 hours and I was fuming.
By the time I returned home from work, the majority of the nail polish on several of my fingers had come clean off, and it looked worse than any regular nail polish would look without the top coat after about 4-5 days. Just in case there was something that I had done which had caused the nail varnish to chip off so quickly, or if perhaps it was the blue polish underneath which hadn't mixed well with it, I tried again with another polish I had. I tried to do the thinnest coat I could possibly do in an attempt to give it a fighting chance, and this time around the polish stayed on for a full 24 hours before it started chipping off. Wow, what a drastic improvement (!).
The one and only use I've found for the crappy top coat is putting it on my nails before I go in the shower - if there's anything I've learnt from Cristine, it's how fragile your nails become if you shower when they're bare, so the crappy top coat has now become a strange pre-shower habit. I suppose it's better than showering with a pair of marigolds on!
Generally, Sally Hansen is a great brand for all things nails and has a superb reputation for dishing out top-notch products, so I was really disappointed that I not only wasted money in buying this, but also that I wasted my time in applying my other beautiful new nail polishes. Do yourself a favour and on this occasion spend your money on something else instead - may I suggest one of these Barry M Molten Metal nail polishes?
That's all for now x
* Pun absolutely intended.
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