Mary Lou Manizer Highlighter.

All hail the worlds best highlighter. EVER.
If you watched my December Favourites video you'll have heard me have a little rave about this already. I had this highlighter before and unfortunately it smashed in my handbag after about a week; so unbelievably tragic, I've really never quite got over it.
A recent re-purchase has made me remember just how amazing this highlighter is and how I should never have gone so long without it! First of all I love the shade- like a pearly-champagne colour. This particularly suits my pale skin- as highlighters that are too gold in colour just don't quite match my deathly tones.
I will warn you that if you're in any way afraid of highlighters then be careful with this as its very intense. Its not packed with glitter or anything, just very shimmery, but in a nice way. As long as you're light handed with your brush this will make you look so glowy and healthy. It also looks fab on the inner corner of your eyes- it will make you look super perky and awake, trust me!
If you've never tried this and are in the market for a new highlight definitely check this one out- its not too expensive especially when you look at how much product you get- just please don't smash it in your handbag, ok?

& Other Stories Body Scrub.

I love a good body scrub. I also love rose-scented things. Combine the two and I pretty much turn into a heart-eyed emoji. So you can imagine I was excited to get my hands on this & Other Stories scrub.......

Since buying this I've been into an & Other Stories, however at the time I'd only shopped online. Eyeing up skincare online is so tantalising as all you want to do is swatch and sniff! I hardly ever buy anything like this without having had a good sniff of it first but I knew I'd like it when its described as beautifully as 'Pressed pink rose petals in an old cedar chest'. How fabulous does that sound?

I really enjoy using this scrub as it doesn't ever feel as though you are wasting product. Its very like a sugar scrub, made up of lots of fine gritty particles without much liquid holding it together, which I really liked,. Some scrubs are just far too gloopy and before you know it half of its down the drain before you've even started on your scaly legs. The texture of this is quite sticky-almost like a gel mixed with sugar so it really sticks to damp skin, which is exactly what you need in a scrub. I really like the smell- its not overly rose scented, so for any non-lovers there's still hope! I also love the packaging- its quite minimalist and slightly industrial looking but is somehow still very cute. & Other Stories have a whole load of bodycare and they offer this rose scent in lots of other formulas such as body sprays and moisturisers.

& Other Stories is opening in Dublin in 2015-date still to be announced- so I have a feeling I'll be stocking up on a lot more of this range!

2015.

You have no idea how tempted I was to title this post 'New Year New Me'- but out of terror that people would take it seriously I just went with '2015'. I genuinely do go around for most of January saying 'New Year New Me' in what starts out as a sarcastic manner and unfortunately begins to slip out in a somewhat more serious tone. Please do ignore if that ever happens. I mean well.

Ah 2014, it was actually a pretty good year for me, especially in comparison to 2013. I started a new job, hit over 1,500 subscribers on my You Tube channel, went away with my boyfriend for the first time in a long time and overall became a lot more settled and confident.
I'd love to achieve so much more in 2015. Sometimes the best way to help with this is to write it all down so here goes! (deep breath)....

1. Reach 2,000 subscribers on my You Tube channel by the end of January. This could be slightly ambitious, but I want to get the year off to a good start! I'd love to increase my subscribers by a lot more this year and grow my channel so I'm aiming for little goals like this each month. If you're reading my blog and you aren't subscribed to my channel then get over there and do it!

2. Start running. Last year I flirted with the idea of running. I was heading out with my brother 2-3 times a week for about two months until I started my new job and unfortunately running fell to the wayside. This year both of us are super determined to pick it up again and actually get good at it this time! We're hoping to do the Electric Run this Spring as its a short enough race, only 5k, so its a good place to get started!

3. Work on my blog. I used to love blogging and writing so much but I've neglected it so much the past few years. I really want to get back into the swing of writing a post every couple of days and keeping this blog updated.

I'd like to think this list is relatively realistic and something I can achieve this year. I'll keep you updated throughout with how the running is getting on and you'll see from my blog and my You Tube channel how everything else is going!

What are your resolutions this year? Are any the same as me?

Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine Nail Polishes.

I'm pretty sure I've mentioned here before how horribly weak my nails are. Years of working in retail and the fact that they aren't very strong anyway has left me with nails that peel and flake- gross I know. As they are so weak I find that no nail polishes have ever really worked for me, as when you have flaky weak nails the polish chips so fast! The only ones I've ever found to work are a recent discovery, the Barry M Gelly Hi Shine Nail Polishes. These did the rounds of the blogosphere last year and the year before, but I never thought they'd be that good on my nails.

These are really brilliant- they come in an amazing colour range, really bright and pigmented. They're easy to use, the brush is nice and straight and just wide enough that you can paint each nail in two swipes-meaning no streaks! They last really well on me- if I get 2-3 days out of my polish I'm lucky as normally I'd have chips after one day! I've heard of these lasting much longer on other people- but I'm happy with just a few days. They really are high shine polishes, I was asked the other day if I had gel nails on they looked that glossy. I do top mine off with a top coat but you could skip this step as they're so shiny already-I just do it to make them last that bit longer.

The colours I have are (from left to right): Kiwi, Coconut and Pink Punch.
Kiwi is definitely my favourite, I wore it on my toes over the summer and it lasted for ages and was lovely and bright! However, now that its definitely more tights and boots appropriate weather I wear it on my fingernails and I always get so many compliments on the colour.

If any of you have ever tried these let me know what colours I should get next!

Nightcrawler Review.

As a lover of Jake Gylenhaal I knew I was going to have to see Nightcrawler. My boyfriend and I went last weekend so I thought I'd let you guys know what I thought of it. 

From the trailer and movie posters it looked as though it had a bit of a Drive vibe going on- and I sort of had to get that out of my head quite early on as its a very different type of film. 

The movie follows Lou Bloom- whom at the beginning is a guy struggling to get a job and stealing from building sites to survive. Circumstances soon change as he becomes a Nightcrawler- something I had never heard of before. We see Lou driving at white knuckle speeds around L.A following police radios to try and get footage from the scenes of car crashes and attacks around the city. As that description suggests its a grim and morbid job that at times feels quite sickening, with other Nightcrawlers stating that "if it bleeds, it leads". They then sell this footage to the highest bidding news stations- the more affluent the victim the more they pay. The film is a very negative portrayal of the media, something that just keeps cropping up in films at the minute, as it shows the bloodthirsty ruthlessness of these stations. Possibly the best quip from the film is when Lou gets some advice on what to film;

"...the best and clearest way that I can phrase it to you, Lou, to capture the spirit of what we air is to think of our newscast as a screaming woman, running down the street with her throat cut."

 Although I did enjoy this film, for me personally I felt that something was missing. I'm a sucker for a film with a likable yet flawed character which is something you most certainly won't find in Nightcrawler. However, that is not to criticise Gyllenhaal's performance- he's fantastic. Lou is a manipulative, cold-hearted anti-hero. These traits are easily portrayed, Gyllenhaal excels at creating a character that is also chilling and borderline manic- he is superb.

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Overall, I would recommend you go and see this if you haven't already. Its a suspenseful and at times humorous noir,and Gyllenhaal will leave you on edge with his depiction of Lou. This film has left me excited to see what he'll do next, as I feel he keeps choosing more and more interesting and dynamic roles. I think we have a lot more to see from Jake Gyllenhaal.

October Favourites!

In case you missed it, I uploaded my October Favourites over on my You Tube channel this week! If you've already seen it you'll know that I'm off to Copenhagen in a few weeks and would love some tips on where to go/eat from any of you who have already been!

Gone Girl Movie Review.

If you also follow me over on my You Tube channel you might have already seen my review of Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl- I mentioned over there that I would also review the film once I'd seen it. Sorry the review is a little on the late side but the film is still on in cinemas so if you haven't seen it yet there's still time!

If you've already watched my video you'll know what I thought of the book. Although I did enjoy it, I was a passionate hater of the ending (along with most people) and felt it let the book down, so I was interested to see how this would translate into a film.

The story follows the marriage of Nick and Amy- a country mouse/city mouse combo that starts to turn ugly. The film shows us quite a negative and brutal portrayal of marriage, which is one of the most interesting aspects of the book. I was glad to see that their complicated and manipulative relationship came across so well in the film- its small nuances like this that can be lost in the transition from page to screen. Director David Fincher is more than used to this transition having already directed Fight Club and Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, both of which, much like Gone Girl, were hugely successful novels before their appearance in cinemas. Fincher's style works perfectly here as he creates yet another moody, intelligent and suspenseful film, with of course a killer twist!

There was an awful lot of hype and build up surrounding this film, as there always is when a popular novel makes its way onto the silver screen. When a book has been so widely read its really important to get the casting right, and in my opinion this movie was spot on. Ben Affleck plays a fantastic Nick- he was exactly how I had imagined. Rosamund Pike, relatively unknown until now- I had only seen her as Jane from Joe Wright's Pride and Prejudice- also gave a stellar performance. Amy is an incredibly multi-faceted character and she got every side of her across- something that can be hard to do on screen and in such depth.

If you still haven't made the trip to the cinema to see Gone Girl you definitely should! Although I wasn't a huge lover of the book, I think it made a far better film- something I never usually say! What did you think? Let me know down in the comments, especially if you've read the book too!

Drive In Cinema!

So this Bank Holiday weekend I went to a drive in cinema- something I've never done before. My friend and I went to Tattersall's out in Ratoath where all week they're playing horror movies every night up until Halloween. SUCH an amazing idea! 

The set up was great; Shake Shop, Tim Horton's if you feel like coffee and doughnuts, and an Eddie Rockets Van. We went for hot dogs and garlic fries in Eddie Rockets and ate them in the car- which resulted in ketchup all over my hands of course!

We went to see Friday the 13th- you can't have Halloween without some classic cheesey horror! These movies are so dated but hilarious- and we did did get quite scared at some parts I will admit!



This was such a fun  night and I can't wait to go back and see something next time its on! My one tip would be to bring lots of blankets and pillows, which is what we did so that the car was nice and cosy! You can bring as many people as you like but ideally only two is best so you can see the screen properly- also we wound our chairs right back which was super comfy.

Here's the link to where we went; check out what else they have on this week and I'd highly recommend going if you can! It makes such a difference to just heading to the cinema-its way more fun!


http://www.driveinfilms.ie/

Photo Credit: Anne Marie Kelly- thanks babes ;)

Kiehls Midnight Recovery Concentrate.

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So this review has been a long time coming. I bought the Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate about three months ago, it was my intention to use it for quite a while before giving you my verdict but I never thought it would take me this long to get around to it! At least you know for sure that this is a tried and tested review.

I bought this about one month into my new job where we have some intense air conditioning, At the time my skin was in a lot worse shape than it is now, it was really breaking out and dry. As everyone knows when a spot is healing its normal for the area to get a bit dry. However, when you have a really bad breakout it looks particularly awful when large areas are dry- and I hate to say this word but- crusty. There I said it! Its a gross way to describe it but the best description really, and anyone who's been there knows what I'm talking about, am I right?
So, this was a major skin emergency, working 35 hours a week with my skin just getting drier and drier- so I treated myself to the Kiehl's oil with my first paycheck.

I'd heard a lot of reviews of this oil so I knew it was going to be good, its not until the last few weeks that I can really see just how good. My skin hasn't been breaking out as much recently and it looks far glowier and less dry. I'd never used a facial oil before this as I didn't think my skin needed that much hydration and also I was worried it would break me out more.
Oh boy was I wrong. The texture of my skin since using this is so much more plump and radiant. I only use it at night (about 3-4 drops pressed into the skin) and my skin feels so healthy and nourished when I wake up in the morning, resulting in my make-up going on so much smoother. I still use my Body Shop Vitamin E Night Cream afterwards, giving the oil about ten minutes to sink in first.
I would highly recommend this to anyone, whether your skin is dry or just looking a bit dull and lacklustre as it really has improved the overall appearance of my skin!
The only downside is that it is quite expensive. It costs around €45 for the bottle, but after using it every night for three months I've not even used a fifth of the product- a little goes a long way.

Let me know down in the comments if you've used this before and what you think of it! Or do you have any recommendations for something similar that could be used as part of my morning routine?

The Goldfinch Review!

 

 

 

For any of you that may have missed my last video, it was a review of Donna Tartt's amazing book The Goldfinch. If you want an in-depth review of the novel then check that out, i'll leave the link below. Overall, I really enjoyed the book and something I forgot to mention in my review is the miniature print of the painting that comes inside it. I have the hardback version so I'm not sure if its the same with the paperback- inside the second page is a small colour copy of the painting 'The Goldfinch'. I think this is a really sweet addition to the book as the painting plays such a huge part in the story. Its really easy to take it out of the book too so you could use it as a book mark or stick it on your wall if you like it. Anyhow I just thought  I'd mention that here as I forgot to over on my channel!

As always if you've read this book let me know your thoughts down in the comments and give me some reccomendations!