I’VE MOVED!

Hey girls & guys!

I have now moved over to Blogger (how exciting) so head over to here to continue following me!

Should I stay or should I go?

I have been thinking of moving to Blogger recently. I currently use WordPress which I have no fault with, but nearly everyone I follow seems to use Blogger and thus I’ve found I can’t comment on their blog. This lead me to open up a Blogger profile so I could leave comments, which is very frustrating for me. So I figure my life would be a lot easier if I just moved over completely. Hmmm, what do you guys think? Who else uses WordPress? It’s quite annoying that I cannot use Friend Connect on my blog either, so I can only follow my favourite blogs using Bloglovin.

Aside from that, Christmas is getting very near. I still need to wrap all of my presents and pick up a couple more things. It is my Grandad’s birthday on Tuesday so I went home today to have a family meal and give him his present. The weekends go by so quickly! I went out for a night of dancing Saturday with my friend Kate. I rarely go out these days, a mixture of saving my pennies and laziness but oh my, there are too many beautiful people living in Manchester!

This is what I wore today.

I crimped my hair last night and I actually prefered it more today as the style calmed down. I use to love this hairstyle when I was a child and it doesn’t take that long to do. I wore my jeggins which i’ve fallen in love with – although they’re not great after a hearty meal! The top was given to me by my old roomie, who wanted to throw it out – whaaattt! I wasn’t having any of that. I realised because I take my outfit pictures inside, I never really show what coats I have – and believe me I have A LOT. This is one of my favourites, bought from asos when it use to have reasonable prices. I love it. My boots are about 8 years old from River Island. I really need to get them reheeled but they’ve lasted so well over all these years! So simple and chic, I call this my Lauren Conrad look ;o)

I’m counting down the days to Edinburgh!

Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows – Part One MOVIE REVIEW

I have been a fan of the Harry Potter phenomena for what seems like forever.  I’ve grown up reading the whole series, and they in turn have grown up with me. Each book was a darker and more sinister read, and thankfully the films have followed suit. The Deathly Hallows Part 1 starts with the words “These are dark times”, to remind us that this is no longer a light magical children’s story but a great battle between good and evil – and oh does the evil have its fun.

As we know from the last two films, Lord Voldermort is now alive and killing pretty much anyone who crosses his path. As the facist head of the Death Eaters, he is quickly taking control of Britain and victimising muggles, squibs and those who value their freedom in a way that is reminiscent of Nazi Germany. Their fate is left in the hands of Harry Potter and his two best friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, who have been left to find and destroy the remaining horcruxes. I don’t want to go into “this happens – that happens” during this review, because by now I’m sure most of you have watched it and readers of the book are well aware of the plot already. I’m much more interested in the actor’s performances and how this movie ranks against the previous six.

Now like most people, I had a sudden nervous feeling when I discovered the last book would be split into two films. The part of me that was overjoyed remembered leaving the movie theatre the previous six times feeling robbed because certain scenes I felt were imperative to the story were left out. We were always given the same reason – not enough time.  Surely 5 hours instead of the usual 2 and a half would solve the problem, no? However, the other side of me remembered how long and sometimes tedious the first half of The Deathly Hallows is.  With no Hogwarts, we’re confronted with endless camping in fields and forests while the three main characters go on a mission of self discovery.  Of course we must add with each movie earning £1 billion globally, I’m sure WB did not need much persuading when the suggestion of splitting the book into two was put before them. Nevertheless, they had more time to play with and thus no excuse regarding missing the smaller but still important scenes. I must admit right now, I haven’t read the final book for a year so every itsy bitsy detail escapes me, but watching Part One I actually remembered parts of the story that I had completely forgotten – such as Voldermorts snake Nagini taking the form of Bathilda Bagshot (followed by my frantic whisperings to my friend that they were walking into a trap). This pleased me immensely as it showed the attention to detail in telling the story, and for once I noticed what scenes they’d put in – and not left out.

So what was good and bad about the first part of this story? Let me just put it out there straight away, the good vastly outweighs the bad. We’re immediately thrown into the action and the realisation that these main characters are no longer children but young adults with a lot of responsibility. There’s no way around it, the final book is dark and upsetting – which is why I get angry when those who have never read the book give me the “oh my you’re so sad, it’s a kids film/book” look whenever I mention the series. I’ve always been amazed at J.K Rowling’s absolutely fantastic imagination and the way filmmakers have been able to translate that onscreen. Putting the storyline aside, the special effects have always been outstanding and an area of the franchise I have never criticized. What I really enjoyed was the light humour within the film, which is needed despite the importance of the seriousness of the plot. The multiple Harry Potters, the fun loving Weasley twins and the endearing but laughable scene where Harry and Hermonie dance to a song on the radio in an effort to revive some fun into their surroundings.  It’s also great to see new and talented British icons join the cast, such as Bill Nightly and Rhys Ifans and they do the best they can with the little screen time they have. Being surrounded by generations of great actors has always shown what novices Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint are but it felt like the three of them really got to grips with their characters in this episode and their performances shined through. I must give a special shout out to Rupert Grint who played the jealous Ron tremendously, coming to terms with his long standing fear that his two best friends would unite and leave him out in the cold.

There is no doubt that this film sprints ahead of its predecessors, or more specifically the first two films. Some parents may not be happy with the increase in dark material, but then life isn’t a bed of roses  – as they say. Then again, J.K Rowling’s message is clear – life is an inevitable struggle, but with strong friendships and by accepting our responsibilities we can make that transition into adulthood. Harry Potter is the quintessential good guy, who battles his own demons to give him the strength to take on evil. The film is slow at times, as is the actual book but it is the attention to detail that really captured me during this interpretation. They have taken their time on it, really understood what needed to be in without change and what details they could change a little.

They ended Part One at just the right time and certainly left me wanting more. While I do feel annoyed that I have to wait until Summer 2011 to finish the story, I am greatly looking forward to it. Essentially this movie was the foreplay, and now we’re left gagging for the ultimate climax. While Part One will be undoubtedly slower and less action packed than Part Two, it was still necessary to get us in the mood. Here’s hoping Yates and his team can deliver, however there’s nothing to suggest they will not.

Run Rabbit Run

I hope you all had a great weekend! I didn’t, I spent most of it in bed ill. I’m still gutted that my cold came back to haunt me during my spare time. I’d been feeling much better all week and BAM! Ooooh well. I did go for a meal with my roomie on Friday night as i’d booked a table at one of the Italian restaurants in our local area that we wanted to try out. We’d both been looking forward to it all week, so dispite feeling like death I didn’t want to cancel. We actually had a great time, and a 3 course meal. Gutted that I couldn’t stay out as we planned, but we’ve promised we’ll do a proper night out soon.

This was my outfit today. Seeing as i’d spent most of the weekend in pj’s I figured it was time I ventured into the outdoors – at least to do some food shopping as I was living on cereal. To counteract how I felt on the inside, I opted to wear these red jeans I bought an age ago from Dorothy Perkins. They don’t fit well at all, although they haven’t fit me whatsoever in the past year (hello skinny again) but they’re a bad fit around the back and I have to pull them up all the time. Still, they’re BRIGHT and just what I wanted to be wearing in this horrid, dull and freezing weather. I bought that jumper from Urban Outfitters (I actually hate that shop – seriously overpriced) but it was one of those omg i have to have it moments. We all have them! (Some more often than others).

Finally! Make up. I used my red and dark purple eyeshadow today blended together and I must say I really loved the result! It’s so hard to get away with bold colours when you’re as pale as me – at least I think so anyway. It can just look too harsh and you look like a freaky zombie clown. I did use a wee bit of bronzer to try and compact this today but it doesn’t make that much of a difference. Meh, so screw it! Those two shades will definitely be forming a strong partnership in the future, regardless!

3 weeks until Christmas? Shocking. Thankfully, my xmas shopping is all complete!

Also, I want to get back on writing reviews – although I have only done the one so far on Sex and The City so I’ll be writing a Harry Potter one soon. I figure it’s been long enough that most of you will have seen it now and it’s something that i’ve been hooked on since I was 13. So watch this space…

Adjust your makeup.

As previously mentioned in my last post, i’ve been messing around with my makeup recently. I still have a few more ideas I want to try, but I cannot be bothered spending too much time (if any) on makeup during the weekday mornings before work. As a rule, I don’t care how I look at work and I’d probably wear a bin bag. Out of work hours however, I like to get more creative. So, to the point… but first! Let me just point out i’m no make up guru! I’ve only just started getting more into make up so this is really just an account of my attempts.

I used two purple and one pink shades here. All Barry M – 32, 34 and 88. I used the darkest purple shade on the outside corner of the lid and the lighest on the inside.  Then on the crease of my lid where my eye opens I blended in a dark pink. Before I use any eyeshadow, I use a Primer – I have one by No.7 – Stay Perfect Brightening Eye Base. It really does work! It helps the shadow stick to the lid and stops creasing. My shadow was still perfect at the end of the day when I took my make up off. Whenever I use eye shadow, I always use a very light shadow on my brow bone (is that the correct term? i dunno!) basically underneath my eyebrows to blend into the shadow so the colour doesn’t just stop suddenly at the top of my eyes. I hate being too dramatic! I always use Ivoy – Estee Lauder which is amazing and comes in a cute little box with a mirror. I love all the make up from Estee Lauder it’s always so well presented. I should have taken pictures of my make up really shouldn’t I? However my camera is dead because I forgot to charge it and my phone camera is rubbish!

Ivoy eyeshadow by Estee Lauder

As you can see? Anyway, I love purple eyeshadow mostly because that’s my favourite colour but I just feel so cute and girly. I don’t like feeling TOO girly so pink is normally out with me but purple is like a nice middle ground. I actually forgot to put on mascara before I took those pictures but I swear by False Lash Effect by Maxfactor! What do you think?

I kinda went a bit mental here and completely left my comfort zone. Lots of blue!!! Again Barry M 23 and 78 one very dark and light blue, with the lighter shade on the inside of the eye and in the crease blended with the dark blue on the outside and again Ivoy brushed across the top. This time I also put the two shades under my eye with some black eyeliner smudged around the lash line. I have blusher on here too which I think makes this a bit too clownish but I already had the blusher on before I opted for dark eyes. OOPSIE.

Finally, we have RED! Yes for realz. I don’t know what possesd me to buy red eyeshadow, I guess I felt a bit dare devilish because I really didn’t know how i’d work it. I gave it a try here with a dark pink eyeshadow with the red on the outside of my lid – can you see a pattern forming? Ha. I actually really loved this look but as strange as it sounds I didn’t have a clue what clothes to wear with it! In the end I opted for stripes and a blue skirt as you can see here just an array of colours really. Again, Barry M 84 and 32. Yes I do swear by Barry M – £5 for a pot that lasts forever? Cya MAC!

Anyway I have a few more ideas to try out yet so this isn’t the end but what do you think so far? I’ve had mixed reactions from friends and generally boys always say but girls look so much better with hardly any make up but that’s just boring and they’re lying. When it comes to make up I normally run things past my friend Laura because despite her protests she knows nothing about make up, she’s actually a genius and has tried double the amount of brands I have. So which out of the three is your favourite?

• Foundation – Estee Lauder in Ecru mixed with Revlon Photoready in Vanilla

• Concealer – Maxfactor Mastertouch (does me for now instead of Touche Eclat because i’m skint)

• Mascara – Maxfactor False Lash Effect

• Blush – Bobbi Brown shade Peony

• Eyeliner – Clinque

Inseparable, I think it may be love.

This is going to be mostly picture filled. First off, IT’S FREEZING in Manchester although I am thankful because everywhere else in the country has had snow apart from us. I know people go crazy over the snow, but it’s literally fun for a day before everything turns to dangerous slipperly ice and people start having accidents. I’m not a fan of anything that’s wet and cold.

I’ve been trying new things regarding my makeup recently. I’m very basic in what I normally wear and I’m bored of it so over the past couple of weeks i’ve bought some new eyeshadows including a red one (seriously!) so i’ve been trying them out. I’ll show you soon and you’ll have to tell me what you think. I don’t want to look like a clown, ya know?!

Here’s what i’ve been doing this weekend, including outfits – Friday to today:

I absolutely love that skirt from Forever 21! I still can’t express how pleased I am that we have that store in the UK now. You can’t tell, but i’m wearing patterned tights under those knee high socks which kept me so warm! I’ve finally figured out that doing that stops them from falling down. Also, as previously mentioned i’m inseparable from that scarf.

I bought The Sims 2 on Friday to give me something to do due to being ill and stuck inside. I forgot how addictive that game is, but I can’t play it for long because my laptop is rubbish and it starts crashing. I can’t even buy The Sims 3 because I don’t have the right specifications! Now if you’ll excuse me, i’m going to go and play it again….

Jampacked!

I’ve been very busy lately, except for the last couple of days because i’ve been ill with a cold :( But i’m slowly starting to feel better. First and foremost, I went to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 last Friday evening and it was amazing! The best movie so far and I have a feeling the last one will be even better! I really want to talk about my favourite parts but I don’t want to spoil it for you if you’re reading this and you haven’t seen it yet. On Saturday I got up bright and early to drive down to Birmingham to meet Laura so we could check out the new Forever21 store (you know, cause i’ve never mentioned that shop before…) and it didn’t disappoint me. I wanted so much! I kept putting tons of stuff into my shopping bag then I had to go through everything at the end and decide what I really wanted (I wanted it all). I keep going on the website to look at these boots which I tried on and really liked but I couldn’t really afford them. Hello payday tomorrow! Hmmm I should still be good though, with Christmas and Edinburgh on it’s way next month.

3 levels of goodness! That evening I went to see off two of my friends who are moving to Australia next month. We met up for a meal and some drinks, but I was so exhausted from being up so early and driving all day that I was home in bed by 2am. However, I wore my Warehouse dress I bought on sale last month and was DYING to wear at some point!

Then on Sunday I went dog walking on Crosby Beach with Chris and Kira, but not before seeing the new puppy Loki! Who definitely lives up to his name! Such a little cutie, he kept biting everything that went near his mouth. But he was so tiny! I can’t believe he will be even bigger than Kira when he grows up. I was also wearing my new Forever21 scarf that I never take off (seriously, i’m wearing it right now) and my grey trousers which I love and intend to buy more in different colours as soon as I can.

Kira <3 she is amazing. So friendly and funny, nearly everyone who comes into contact with her comes bounding over to give her a stoke.

The weather has really taken a turn for the worse this week and it will only get much much colder! I’ve spend the last two days off work with a cold, and had the heating on full blast with woolly pj’s, dressing gown and slippers and i’ve still been freezing. Endless cups of tea ahoy! I’m going to do nothing this weekend, just relax and try and kick off this horrid cold once and for all! I can’t wait.

Forever 21

As mentioned in my previous post, I’m off to the newly opened Forever 21 store in Birmingham this Saturday and sadly I am massively excited. I absolutely LOVED that shop when I was in New York City and went there 3 times. The online shop has also launched in the UK (which is even better as I can’t afford to drive down to the store all the time)  http://www.forever21.co.uk for those of you that haven’t had a look yet. So after trolling through the site for longer than I care to admitt, I’ve picked out what I’ll be on the look out for.

Obviously something with stripes had to make it’s way in there. It wouldn’t be a shopping trip otherwise! I loved all of the shoes in fairness, although the dresses didn’t really jump out at me. I’m also looking forward to getting myself some new jewellery and hats and scarfs for colder weather.