In Stitches || November 2014

    November has not been a disappointing month in the world of comedy, the month kicked off with a blast bringing us Toast of London series 2. The first series of Toast was aired last year on Channel 4 and received more than a warm welcome. With the brilliant Matt Berry playing the main character, Toast who is a struggling actor, we follow him through his adventurous lifestyle while meeting some quirky characters along the way. Toast is definitely tailored towards those who're previous fans of Berry's work such as Garth Marenghi's Darkplace, Snuff Box, The IT Crowd and The Mighty Boosh due to its surreal and satirical material. I for one am a huge fan of Berry, so I found the second series to be just as funny and entertaining as the first, definitely search this out if you've got half an hour to kill. 

© Channel 4

 
  This month we've surprisingly got two lots of Toast related news, as fans of the show are now able to begin buying related merchandise to decorate their humble abodes. Smart Giant Design have released four prints starting from £20 each, featuring the main characters; Steven Toast, Jane Plough, Ray Purchase and Clem Fandango. You could equally purchase all four for £50 to show your dedication to the show. The prints themselves are really simplistic showing the key features of each character, and I personally wouldn't mind purchasing myself one for my flat. You can click here, to have a nosey at the prints, treat yourself!

© Smart Giant Designs

    
     After a good couple of years, I was able to go see Noel Fielding again, and this time it was on the third row for his latest stand up gig. Renowned for his work as Vince Noir in The Mighty Boosh with his partner in crime Julian Barratt, Noel went on his own and produced two series of Noel Fielding's Luxury Comedy. The show, being more outlandish and surreal to the Boosh seemed to tighten his fans but still had huge success. A few months after the end of series two, Noel released tour dates around the UK, which are still currently running into 2015. I'm tempted to do a full review on the gig as it was so mental, but if I say anything its that Noel Fielding has not lost his comedy touch! With modern references to Tinder and other 2014 nonsense, Noel pulls it out the bag once again and proves his brilliance in the field. 

© Love Southend

    
   Questionably the most surreal and controversial man in comedy, the likes of Chris Morris the creator of The Day Today, Jam and Brass Eye graced our radios this month. BBC 4extra broadcasted a three hour long documentary called Raw Meat Radio in dedication to Morris, featuring interviews from those who've worked with him over the years including the man who suspended him from Radio 1. Alongside this is also clips and unheard scenes from his shows unfortunately there is no actual input from Morris himself, who tends to stay out of the media's limelight due to his shows. You can still listen on catch up here, its definitely something not to miss out on if you're a Morris fan. 

© Pix Good

    

Soap & Glory || Body Buttercream, Rosy-Radiance Blush and Super Colour Lipstick

    My obsession towards Soap & Glory clearly hasn't died out as I've been buying more of their products and I'm still head over heels for the brand. It also doesn't help that Boots keep putting on 3 for 2 offers in stores either as they send me into overdrive. I've had all three products for just over two months now, so I'd like to say I've got a fair judgement on all of them.

Soap & Glory™ Super-Colour Fabulipstick™ Collagen Boosting Lipstick

   

    The first product on the list is this beautifully cherry coloured lipstick called 'Man Trap'. As you can see from the link below the photo, the name for this lipstick is quite the mouthful, but exceptionally good. It has a very heavy colour pigment on my lips, which is a benefit as you don't need to repeatedly go over your lips for an opaque and matt effect. The staying power is quite impressive as well, I've noticed it doesn't rub off as easily when drinking and eating, I'd approximate 4 hours wear without reapplying. The lipstick itself might be considered quite pricey for a drugstore brand at £9, but I'd argue that so far its highly worth the extra few quid.

Soap & Glory™ Love at First Blush™ Multi-Shade Blushing Powder

    

    Now this second product is used by myself every single day and its Soap & Glory's brilliant blusher. What appeals to me so much about this blusher it the variety of rosy tones, which contrast with the two white sections that create a wonderful luminous glow. This powder is also very build-able for either a subtle daytime look, to a more dramatic night time look so its essentially a 2 in 1 product. Over the course of experimenting with this product, I've found you can get away with using this for contouring, if you angle your brush into the darker tones. The only downfall I've found is that the blusher has a lot of fall away product, so you do have to top it up quite regularly, especially if you're on a night out but thats a minor detail that can be easily sorted out.  

Soap & Glory Sugar Crush Body Buttercream

   
    Finally, the last product in todays post is the well talked about 'Sugar Crush Body Buttercream'. This product has been raved about by numerous bloggers, so I ended up caving and buying it even though I've never been a body moisture fan. If you can go into Boots and just smell this, I urge you to because it smells absolutely divine (I swear I'm not smelling it as I'm typing, honest!). The lime and kiwi juice water give it a sharp scent which stays on your skin afterwards for a good couple of hours. This product just honestly feels so lovely when rubbed into your skin, the consistency is rather thick and luxurious which is a plus! I suffer with dry skin on my legs but after applying this my skin is restored.

One Month Into University & Tips

    Following on from my previous post on A-Level results nerves, a month (or just over) has passed and I'm no longer living at home with my family, surrounded by everything that has been familiar to me over the last 18 years. Those of you who're readers of mine won't know that on results day I was actually put through clearing, this is when you don't get the required grades for the course. This resulted in me choosing another university (thankfully they were my backup uni) and got onto my desired course as well, two weeks later and one of my grades had risen but I was still going to my clearing option.

    I'm now located at the University of Huddersfield doing Broadcast Journalism, which is just under two hours away from home. I will admit, I am extremely happy that fate played out so that I ended up in Huddersfield because so far I've made a lovely group of friends and had some really fun experiences. A month into university, and I'm in classes Monday to Thursday as well as being part of a 2 hour radio show on Fridays called 'The Friday Warm-Up Show'. Whether you go to a town, city, small or large university I honestly think university life is what you make of it as I've had a cracking time so far! Obviously I'm sure a third year student could give more valuable advice than me, but these are the things I've picked up on over the last few weeks. If anyone reading has recently started university or returned to the next year, why not leave your experiences or tips below in the comments section to help those who're gonna be freshers next year. 

• Make friends with your flat mates, course students and with others across your accommodation.

• Keep on top of your readings, no matter what course you study there's gonna be extensive reading behind it.

• Don't do your main shop at a chain supermarket unless its Lidl or Aldi if you wanna be money savvy. 

• Speak to your family, although you want to revel on your newly found freedom, don't shut out your life from back home, you'll need them again.

• If you go drinking the night before an early class, be home and in bed by 3am (latest!) so you can at least catch 5 hours to sober up (or you risk falling asleep in class or even missing it altogether).

Soap & Glory || Pressed Powder, Concealer & Liquid Eyeliner

Very recently I decided that I was going to venture down a few makeup brand paths that I've never really tried out before. First on the list was of course Soap & Glory, I always thought of that brand having its strengths in its bath and body products but I was pleasantly surprised to see its success in makeup. My usual makeup routine was very minimal and basic, so I decided to pick up a few products that I've hardly bothered with in the past such as powder, concealer and liquid eyeliner. I've had all of these products for roughly two weeks now and used them more or less every day, so I think now is the time to go into reviewing them!

How To Reduce A-Level Result Nerves

If, like myself you finished your A2 year at college this summer and are anticipating collecting your results next week, to move onto the next stage of your life this post might help those nerves. Whether or not you're going onto university in September, I'd like to think everyone finishing their A-Levels is quite anxious to find out how well they did. I'll admit now, I'm rather anxious myself purely because I'm hoping to go onto a rather prestigious university for the subject I'm studying. I thought I'd put together a little list of tips that can help you calm down that stress, as the days get closer and closer more people are gonna be feeling the pressure.  

1. Don't look back at your class notes now

I'm guilty of this. As a precaution of having to redo any of my exams from this year (hopefully not!) I've stored away all of my class notes for each topic and put them into a huge box until it's actually results day. As the day comes closer, more people start to go over the exam questions and if you've got your notes to hand, it's tempting to notice things you've missed out or not explained fully. This is a one way ticket to unnecessary stress, there's no way for you to change your answers now so please don't start uprooting your notes.

2. Surround yourself with your college friends

By now most people have finished their holiday breaks, due to the fact that results day is so close. Now is the time to start rekindling with your college friends, the likelihood is after results people are going to be extremely busy sorting out university bits and bobs. I've already started the process of throwing away old things and slowly started to make mental notes of things I'll be taking for my halls room, but some people wouldn't of started this yet which can be quite lengthly. Try and squeeze in a few days with various friends you've made from the two years (and your high school friends)  and do exciting activities together, to ensure you've got some good memories left together before you all depart. 

3. Finish that book you've had for months

After being a huge English Literature nerd throughout high school and especially during my two years of college, I've naturally adapted myself into a book worm. For that same fact, I think it's going to be quite a shock to my system when I transition into university and won't be studying/reading period texts anymore. I have quite a few physical books to hand as well as on my kindle, that I've never had time to fully enjoy so why not read them now. We all know the abilities a good story line can hold over people and if the pressures are too much you can always distract yourself with a new book. So far this summer I've managed to read two books completely, I'm half way through another and just last night started one other too.

4. Figure out who you want to be

I'd like to clear up first, that I'm not talking about completely abandoning everything your stand for and embody to become fake but instead try and fine tune yourself. I am a strong believer in figuring out who you want to be, in aid to better your life and those who you meet. Obviously the older you get, the more opportunities you're faced with that help you grow and develop as a person. But I think the transition from living in your hometown to a new town/city is the perfect time to start asking yourself who you are. Personally over the last two years I've changed not only in appearance but how I portray myself to others along with my personality and I tend to push myself to perfect this 'new way' the best I can. The easiest and most distracting way to start this off is to clear your wardrobe and room out, figure out what best represents you and run with it.

I hope these little tips can help you all distract yourself for a couple of hours in the build up to the biggest day in your lives so far. I'd like to remind anybody reading that no matter what grades you get on the day, that they do not define you as a person and there is plenty of time to experience the student lifestyle at university. If you've got any other tips then don't hesitate to leave them down below in the comments, good luck everybody! 

Aesop Sage & Cedar Scalp Treatment

    In order for me to tell this review fully, I need to give you some backstory as to why I ended up purchasing it. Some of you may know from some of my original posts, that I've previously bleached my hair numerous times and applied a variety of colours. And as you probably guessed my hair became pretty damaged as a result, I haven't bleached my full head of hair since July 2013 so its not had time to be restored. From last year I dyed my hair back to a dark brown which is my natural colour and used various hair masks and expensive shampoos/conditioners to treat the damage. My hair started in its own self destructive method against me and started rejecting different brands of shampoo, causing my scalp to go into overdrive with dandruff (yuck).

     After suffering this for a few weeks, I decided to start researching products that could reduce if not clear up my scalp dryness and this is when I came across Aesop's scalp treatment. I've always been really interested with the brand but as many of you will already know, it costs a bomb! At this stage however I was willing to pay how ever much to sort out my scalp, the reviews on this product were absolutely outstanding! People who were diagnosed with severe scalp problems were seeing progress from this product, so I paid the hefty (but so worth it) £23 and waited for its arrival. I want to slightly digress and talk about the package I received for this product; not only did I get the scalp treatment but I got a handwritten note, free drawstring makeup bag, three face care samples and a swatch of one of their scents!! I like to think all those little contributions make up for the price tag.

    After using this treatment twice, my dry scalp has completely cleared up, I tend to use this fortnightly as I do get some dandruff returning but a fraction of what I did originally. When you open the bottle you get hit with scents of rosemary, almond, cedarwood and sage which are so complimenting of each other. The recommendation for application is five drops across your scalp, but I just tend to put how ever much is sucked up by the applicator, so to ensure everything is covered. Once you've done that, you need to allow for it to soak for 15 minutes during this time I usually start running a bath and maybe watch a youtube video too. Then you simply wet your hair and go straight in with your regular shampoo to wash any access away, and then you're free from a horrible dry scalp. I'm hoping to purchase something else from Aesop in the future, and luckily I'll be equally as impressed!

Battle Of High Street Products || Dry Shampoo (Garnier vs. Lee Stafford)

    After hearing a lot of hoopla about Garnier's latest 7-in-1 dry shampoo I decided to put it up against the test with another new product, by a well loved hair brand Lee Stafford. To cut the battle between both of these high street products short I'm going to talk about them both individually, with their strengths and weaknesses.

Garnier Ultimate Blends 7-in-1 Dry Shampoo:
    When Garnier launched this product I never heard the end of it all over Youtube and on various blogs. I happened to be in Tesco around the launch and it was on offer so I thought I'd give it a go. From the get go, I wasn't impressed with this product compared to a lot of people who were very pro Garnier. Personally I believe the sole purpose of a dry shampoo, is to substitute washing your hair for a day or two, covering up an extra grease and grime. In fact the whole idea behind this dry shampoo, is it performs 7 actions (cleansing,absorbing grease, lightweightness, suppleness, detangling, fragrance all with no residue). Out of all the actions, the fragrance is the most prominent, its a rather sickly vanilla scent which isn't pleasant but I can handle it for a few minutes. The only positives I found was that on freshly washed hair, it does add some body but on greasy hair it has no effect and just leaves your hair feeling even worse.  

Lee Stafford Dark For Oily Roots Dry Shampoo:
    Now onto a dry shampoo product that I highly recommend and it's the brilliant Lee Stafford. I only very recently picked up this product, compared to the Garnier thats been sitting in my room for a few months now, and I've instantly fell head over heels for it. In the past, whenever I've tried Lee Stafford products I've never been disappointed, and I'd honestly put this dry shampoo above the traditional Batiste range. For a dry shampoo, it's a little pricey at £5.99 but I think it's worth the extra bit of money. A huge difference I found was as the one I chose was specifically for dark hair, it doesn't leave dark pigments on your skin, which was a huge problem with the dark brown Batiste dry shampoo. It does however have the annoying white residue instead, but luckily it rubs/brushes in very evenly and doesn't leave little bits attached to your hair which is a plus! Whatever condition your hair is in, whether it be freshly washed or greasy it takes away all the unnecessary bits and adds in texture and volume, and just looks overall really impressive.