Exams, Star Wars, and Christ-Marx

one.
I went to a Poetry club with one of my house mates at this quirky coffee shop, the focus was on Sylvia Plath which was awesome. I had only previously read the Bell Jar and the night before read through some of her poetry with my house mate but her poetry is so well written, and it really interesting to hear it analysed by so many people.

two.
I did a couple of exams before breaking up for Christmas which, I think, went well. Funny story, I didn't know I had one of these exams (they were online ones we could do at any time in that week but yes) so I ended up doing one very last minute, it was weird because had I not checked my e-mail on that day, I would've failed that exam and about 15% of that module - cray.. Always check your emails kids.

three.
I did a movie marathon with a few of my housemates. We watched Star Wars: A New Hope (my fave Star Wars film), The 400 Blows, and then The Parent Trap - possibly the oddest selection, but it was nice all the same.

four.
Me and my housemates did our own Christmas activities before we all broke up and went home and all that jazz. We put our secret Santa presents underneath Margaret (look in this post to get what I'm referencing) and my housemate made us a chickpea curry, and we also got out all of our remaining alcohol to finish it up before we left.

five.
I went back to London with no delays or cancellations or anything which was big, I feel after my horrendous train journey where I was basically delayed for 3 hours in getting home and I ended up getting a cab (which I have been refunded for now, thank you delay repay), I appreciate when the trains function like they're supposed to..

six.
I met up with a couple of my friends to have a catch up and a coffee which was really nice, it had been ages since just us three had been together so it was good to have a proper catchup.

seven.
I visited my old high school/sixth form with most of my old Philosophy class to say hello to our old teacher which was really nice, he's probably the best teacher I've ever had so it was lovely to see him again. It was also strange seeing the school again, so much has changed, and it was just generally weird being there and thinking the school has continued functioning without me - this sounds really egotistical but it's weird to think the school is carrying on and me and the people I knew there are no longer a part of it, it was also weird hearing school bells again, made me jump every time they went off.

eight.
I went to see the new Star Wars film (on the day it came out, #nerd) with my brother and it was absolutely amazing. I literally cried in the cinema - if you've seen the film, you'll probably know which bit I'm talking about, but for those who haven't seen it I shan't talk about it. I thought it was so well made and had loads of links to the original trilogy (in retrospect, it was extremely similar to A New Hope and even Revenge of the Sith, but I don't think this was bad, I liked how it had a mix of the old films with a slightly new storyline and characters). It also felt like a big event for me seeing a Star Wars film in the cinema because that's something I've never done before, and for a long time I thought I'd never be able to do, at least not for a new film, and I did get a bit tearful just at the opening credits because of how much it meant to me to be seeing a Star Wars film in the cinema.

nine.
The last ever episode of Peep Show happened, that was a thing - I actually missed it when it was on because I took a nap (exciting stuff..) but I watched it the next day with my family and I thought it was a good end to the show, it is one of my top five TV shows so if you haven't watched it I definitely recommend it.

ten.
Nothing says Christmas like a picture of Karl Marx on top of the Christmas tree (or Christ-Marx..)

How have the past couple of weeks been for you?

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The beginnings of Christmas and activism

one.
We ordered an ironic Margaret Thatcher cardboard cutout for our Uni house Christmas tree and decorated her with tinsel and a hat that says 'Bah Humbug' on it - it's quite terrifying when you walk in the room and you just see Margaret grinning but it does add something to the room.

two.
I went out with a couple of my housemates to buy some Christmassy things for the house and we stopped by Brighton Pavilion for a little meal, and it was really cute - definitely started feeling a lot more like Christmas.

three.
I ended up watching Home Alone twice on two consecutive days because we watched it together and all fell asleep, so then we tried again the next day (and still fell asleep) - funnily enough, we didn't try a third time...

four.
I had my first tofu experience at a Japanese restaurant and it was really nice - veganism level up!

five.
I went ice skating with a couple of my housemates at Brighton Pavilion and then we got mulled wine/cider - I am not any good at ice skating, I never have been, but I had improved slightly since the last time I went (although that's not saying much)

six.
I went to a local protest against tuition fees and it was really nice to see so much solidarity between students and lecturers, nothing like a good protest!

seven.
Me and my housemates decided to binge watch Friends on the projector which was really cute, we did The One with Ross' Sandwich and The One with All the Thanksgivings which are two of my personal faves.

eight.
A couple of days later I went to Reclaim Brighton which was a march against sexual harassment and violence which was good, I'd never been on a march for anything that wasn't a direct screw you to the government so it was good to broaden my protesting horizons.

nine.
I've been able to finally open my Makeup Revolution Advent Calendar which my friends bought me for my birthday (which was last month) so that's been really exciting. I keep forgetting that it's there so when I remember I can have a new makeup bit everyday, it's always really nice.

ten.
I've come down with a cold and am hating life just a little bit (I rarely get sick, but when I do I literally hate everything and become the worst person to be with - even worse than usual believe it or not)

How have the past couple of weeks been for you?

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The return of Peep Show, my 19th birthday, and seeing Russell Howard

one.
I've listened to loads of Desert Island Discs recently, mostly because of the fact that I've been travelling to and from London and trains get cancelled and delayed and tingz, but also because it is one of my favourite radio shows. Listening to the David Mitchell and Morrissey ones had me laughing out loud at the station - probably not the most socially acceptable thing to do.

two.
As per usual, I made my own birthday cake (I don't mean this to sound at all bitter, I love baking!) but it was the first year I had to make a vegan cake! I think it actually turned out rather well, who needs eggs when you have vegetable oil and orange juice? (Yes, orange juice)

three.
I had a really nice birthday, I went out to a vegetarian restaurant (with a lot of vegan options) with the family and received a lot of lovely gifts (I did pick a lot of them out on a shopping trip with Mum a couple of days prior, but the thought was still there), the best present I received was probably a Gryffindor jumper - yes, I know I'm 19 now but I'd still like to delude myself into thinking I'm a student at Hogwarts and I'm bezzies with Ginny.

four.
Something that probably excited me more than the prospect of my birthday was the return of Peep Show! If you remember some of my vlogs (oh yeah, because I used to do YouTube before I started being unproductive and stopped uploading things) from earlier in the year, you may remember that I was obsessed with Peep Show and the new series has started off being just as funny as the last.

five.
For my assignment for Uni, I have to read some rather old articles on race and sexuality - it's strange how racist and homophobic they are like I've been reading them and almost thinking they're a joke because of how ridiculous they are. I find it really sad that despite the fact they're quite old, in the grand scheme of things it's all too recent and I do worry that there are still an alarming number of people who still think in the way the people who wrote the articles did.

six.
I went out with my friends to the same vegetarian restaurant I went to on my birthday and received some really lovely presents, one of which being a super cute photo in a frame of me and my friends from when they came down to Brighton to visit me, and another one being a Harry Potter Adult Colouring Book - just to mention a few.

seven.
I had quite possibly the most horrendous train journey of all time on my way back to Brighton - loads of cancellations, delays, and I ended up having to get a cab home because I couldn't get one of my trains due to it being super late (because of all the cancellations and delays). I'm certain I did something really bad to the trains in a past life because I have the worst luck with trains!

eight.
Dodie Clark from the YouTube Channel Doddleoddle (one of my favourites!) uploaded a cover of Happy Ending by Mika which is one of my favourite songs, she and two other girls did a beautiful rendition of it with lovely harmonies - well worth a listen!!




nine.
I went to a recording of Russell Howard's Good News and would you believe I got to sit in the front row like right in front of him (check the picture above and try and spot us)!! Me and my friends were in confusion for the first 20 minutes of sitting there thinking someone was going to ask us to move - it was such a surreal, amazing experience, I love Russell Howard and I like very happy knowing that I've been 2m-3m away from him ;-)

ten.
I brought my guitar back with me when I came back from London and it's been sorely missed, I've been spending a lot more time in my room getting reacquainted.

How have the past couple of weeks been for you?

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The October mix-tape

This post is a bit late - so sorry, I have been majorly slacking on the blogging front with this sudden influx of uni work and *attempting* to be sociable, but I am hoping to get back into the swing of things. Anyway, here are the songs I've been listening to non-stop for October.

Love Me - The 1975
I'm a big fan of the 1975, I think their music is completely different to anything else in the charts. Although half the time I can't tell what Matt Healy is saying, I still really love their catchy melodies. This song to me feels a little bit 80s and it's probably become one of my favourite songs by them in a very short space of time.

Hotline Bling - Drake
I kept on seeing everyone on Twitter and Tumblr talking about this song and quoting it, and it's hella groovy and chilled and catchy. Plus, I love Drake's dancing in the video.

Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? - Amy Winehouse
Not a new song by any means but one I've only just really discovered. I know Amy's version is a cover, so please don't get all pretentious with me about it I know this. I heard about this song because I read an article in the NME about Amy's top 10 songs and I hadn't heard her version of this song (which is odd because it's used in the second Bridget Jones film which I have seen more times than I can count), and it was the only song on that list I hadn't heard before so as a big Amy fan I gave it a listen. I love the instrumentation of this song (I think I've said this before, but the way to my heart is with a bit of brass) and I love the rawness of Amy's voice, it's just a really lovely song.

Anticipation - Esper Scout
Epser Scout are a band I had never heard of until recently, and in fact I only discovered them because one of my Facebook friends (actually, my childhood friend's older sister) has recently become their drummer so she's going on tour with them and tingz. They recently released an EP which has this song on it (which is the B side) and another one called In Foreign, which I also really like but I've probably listened to this one more.

When We Was Fab - George Harrison
Not a new song, but since George Harrison's solo stuff has been added to Spotify I've been listening to it loads and this song I really like partially for the references to The Beatles (I also love the video because it's one of those 'what the heck is Ringo doing?' sort of situations - check out his selfies on Twitter and you'll have the same sensation) but it's also really catchy with some really rad instrumentation and some nice harmonies.

What have you been listening to this month?

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Return of the Trews, the squad reassembles, and protesting

one.
Maddie from Dinner with Maddie launched her new Podcast series and from the first episode, I'm already loving it - talking about feminism, beauty and even Kim Kardashian? You can't really go wrong - listen to it here! :-)

two.
I watched Bridget Jones' Diary with a couple of my house mates and I just wanted to turn to you guys and ask, out of Hugh Grant and Colin Firth, who do you think is more attractive? We were all quite divided, whilst I love Colin Firth, I'm definitely more of a Hugh Grant girl (especially in the first film with his floppy hair)

three.
Very happy to hear that Russell Brand's Trews are returning to YouTube. Whilst I don't agree with everything he says or does, I do really enjoy the Trews and I've really missed watching them.



four.
Doctors has been so good at the moment! If you don't know what it is, it's a daytime soap on BBC about Doctors - it's the only soap I can tolerate, but it's been so juicy right now, in the saddest way but it's been so so good.

five.
My friends from home came to Brighton to visit me and it was so much fun - one thing I learned, do not buy £3 rosé, you can get a lot of alcohol on the cheap but don't skimp on the rosé.

six.
I've been doing more vegan baking and I made some cookies (which I thought were rather nice and so did my house mates) so I shall hopefully get a recipe up for them on the blog soon!

seven.
I went to the demo in London against tuition fees and actually made it into the Guardian, excitedly told everyone, then I was removed from the article just a few hours later (just my luck) but I did manage to screenshot it - my glorious 2 hours of fame.

eight.
I've become really obsessed with the band Screaming Peaches - I think I discovered the song Sad Kid on a Spotify playlist and proceeded to listen to basically everything they've done, really top notch. Sort of The 1975/Arctic Monkeys kinda vibe?

nine.
Speaking of being obsessed with music, I've been really into Elvis Costello & The Attractions too - I literally listened to Oliver's Army for about 3 hours on repeat!

ten.
I've come back to London for my reading week to spend time with the family and for birthday celebrations (yet to come, it's on the 10th if you want to give me virtual gifts) - quite the journey to get here though, my trains kept getting cancelled so I was about an hour and a half later than I originally was meant to be!

How have the past couple of weeks been for you?

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Back to the Future Day, vegan baking, and trashy TV

one.
I upgraded to Amazon student (y'know because student life) and I now have Amazon Prime, and I just don't know what my life was before. I think when the 6 month trial runs out I may need to keep it just because it's so great having so many movies and TV shows at my disposal and it's all legal. Especially as I don't have a TV license so I can't watch live TV, so any other form of entertainment is a yes.

two.
I tried my hand at some vegan baking, which is something I've been a bit fearful of doing in case it goes horribly wrong (y'know like GBBO when they're working with alternatives), and I made some vegan pancakes - they actually turned out really well!! Expect a recipe up on the blog soon . . .

three.
I've discovered just how amazing Aldi is, I don't know whether that sounds strange or boring but if you're a vegan on a budget, you've got to get down to Aldi - it's so inexpensive and there are so many vegan foods there (including dark chocolate digestive biscuits, like I've never found any other digestive biscuits that are vegan let alone chocolate ones)

four.
I went to the Feminist Society Mixer at my University and met a bunch of great people - it was really cool to meet some like minded people, and it was also great to go to the pub, it's always great to go to the pub . . .

five.
My friends from sixth form have all bought train tickets to come visit me around Halloween and I'm really excited to see everyone again, basically gonna be top notch #bantz.

six.
I'm very happy that George Harrison's solo stuff has been added to Spotify - out of all The Beatles' solo stuff (even Ringo's) I listen to George's the least because it's not on Spotify and I don't think Dad has any on solo, so it's nice that I finally give that a proper listen.

seven.
I've been watching loads of old episodes of Keeping Up With the Kardashians and I feel so trashy because reality TV *shudders* but there's some addictive quality with the Kardashians - I don't really get it.

eight.
The new Don't Hug Me I'm Scared video is out and as per usual it's wonderfully weird and strange.



nine.
I did a marathon of the Back to the Future films the day after Back to the Future day (annoying, wanted to do it on the day but I was exhausted and I couldn't really stay up all night when I had lectures the next day) - I love these films so much! I had a massive phase with Michael J. Fox when I first watched the films, like I went and watched all of his other less good films and got obsessed with Family Ties, he's just pretty dang amazing.

ten.
I watched Mean Girls with a couple of my house mates which was 'so fetch' - I'm probably the most annoying person to watch this film with because I've seen it so many times and I have a tendency to say the line before the character, whoops (but yeah that was awesome)

How have the past couple of weeks been for you?

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What I've been watching #10

In this post, we have quite a few films that 'every film buff should have seen' as well as one on Ian Curtis and Kurt Cobain (which I decided to watch in one night, great combo if you want to feel very sad afterwards).

THE WICKER MAN (1973)
★★★★
The Wicker Man starts with the protagonist, Sergeant Howie, venturing to an island to investigate a missing child. This island is predominantly Pagan, however, and Sergeant Howie is a conservative Christian so the commonplace pagan rituals freak him out a bit and get in the way of his investigation.

I feel like this is in that list of films that 'one should've watched' so I'm glad I've seen it now, I can definitely see why it is such a well known film. I did think it was quite an interesting film and the theme of apathy was quite interesting too, like your initial reaction with any film or book or whatever to empathise with the protagonist but Sergeant Howie isn't really a nice character so it questions that initial instinct of empathy. Something I found a bit disappointing (which I know wouldn't necessarily happen for me) but I guessed what was going to happen at the end and I think my brother did too - it could be a generational thing, because in the documentary we watched about it afterwards everyone said how the ending was such a shock and I feel like it wasn't much of a shock at all. Definitely worth a watch, it's a real classic horror movie and one every film buff should watch at least once.

CONTROL (2007)
★★★★
Control is a biopic about the life of Ian Curtis and Joy Division's rise to fame. It shows the leadup to Ian Curtis' suicide as his marriage is failing, the band is starting to become more famous, and his epilepsy is worsening.

I liked this film so much. I've always found Ian Curtis' life interesting and I'm a fan of Joy Division, but I think to enjoy this film those facts aren't even important. The film is so well made and it's really gripping. I loved how it was made in black and white, I feel like that makes the film so much more atmospheric and it just adds a whole other level to the film. It was very emotional, understandably, but such a great film. One I think any person would enjoy, but especially fans of Joy Division or people who are interested in Ian Curtis - top notch.

KURT COBAIN: ABOUT A SON (2006)
★★★
This film is a 'visual essay style documentary' about Kurt Cobain featuring interviews of Kurt Cobain with Michael Azerrad.

As you can tell, I had a themed movie night . . . In all honesty, I didn't think this was a particularly good documentary. Don't get me wrong, I love Nirvana and I'm really interested in Kurt Cobain so I, as a fan, enjoyed it but I don't think it was a particularly good film in its own right. I didn't really realise it was going to be a visual essay documentary so that in itself disappointed me a bit, but I also didn't think the clips used were all that relevant. I don't know, it was a all a little bit artsy, so I enjoyed it for Kurt but I think you'd have to be a fan to watch this.

PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE (1959)
★★
Plan 9 from Outer Space takes place in California's San Fernando Valley where flying saucers from outer space have started to attack. The aliens intend to conquer the world by resurrecting corpses in a Hollywood graveyard. At the same time, the living dead start spying on humans who are looking for UFOs in the graveyard.

This is another one of those films that every film buff should've seen, although probably not in a good way. I've been wanting to watch this film since watching Ed Wood a while ago (great film by the way, Johnny Depp's great in it!). If you don't know, Ed Wood is quite well known as one of the worst movie makers ever and this is one of his most well known films so I've wanted to watch it for quite a while. My brother chose it for his movie choice and whilst in its own right, it's a very bad film, and I mean very bad - the special effects are abysmal, the story's a little bit all over the place, and one of the actors, Bela Lugosi, died halfway through the making of the film but they still carried on making it so the way they covered up that up wasn't done too well. That being said, I really enjoyed watching it. I thought the fact that it was so terrible just made it even funnier, so y'know in its own right it's a 2/5 movie but in terms of the enjoyment I got out of it, I'd probably give it a 4/5.

AMELIE (2001)
★★★★
Amelie is a story about a girl (shock horror, she's called Amelie) who's a waitress and she's quite shy because she was misdiagnosed with a heart condition when she was younger, and as a result she was cut off from real people. This leads Amelie to become a girl with her head in the clouds. When she moves to Paris, she finds a long-lost childhood treasure that belonged to a former occupant of her apartment and returns it to him, and after seeing how much of a positive affect it has on him she decides to set out and make other people happy. She then realises that in doing this, she's disrupting her own quest for love.

My housemate and I watched this rather than going out clubbing (lots of movie nights is the best way to do freshers - #confirmed), and I actually wanted to watch it for ages because I really liked the soundtrack - I actually learned to play one of the pieces on the piano quite a while back, I also quite like foreign films and I feel like this is a film I really needed to watch given its popularity. I really liked this film, I quite liked the storyline but I also thought the way it was shot was really lovely as well like the use of colours was really aesthetically pleasing. I think even if you're not into foreign films this might be a good one for you to watch because it's not a complex storyline, and the aesthetic of it all and the music is generally enjoyable too - it's a good'un.

What films have you watched recently?

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First fortnight at Uni, film themed freshers, and freshers flu

one.
I've moved into my house for uni now and the way I've decorated my room makes it quite difficult to see whether I'm a student in 2015 or 1965 - #Beatlemaniac.

two.
I feel like I've become extremely corporate with the amount of Starbucks I've been having - you see there's a Starbucks on campus that my new #squad like to go to so to be sociable and not at all awkward I have to sit in there but I'm also like this is the most capitalist place to be in, what would Marx say??? (A question we all must ask in our day to day lives)

three.
I'm finding it strange having talks about my modules for my course because it feels like it's been a lifetime since I was doing education, I went onto study leave in about May so to suddenly be thrown back into this world where I have to read things and make notes about stuff feels a little bit strange.

four.
I'm really happy to say I'm getting along with my housemates really well (I already knew Meera, and you may know her from some of my vlogs, i.e this one) but my other housemates are really cool too - we're planning on getting an ironic Margaret Thatcher poster or cardboard cutout for our living room, I had to clarify it with them that it was ironic but it is indeed.

five.
Me and my housemates haven't really been out clubbing much (I say much, a couple of us haven't been at all y'know not about that life) but we have been watching quite a few films - we watched Amelie, Lost in Translation, Howl's Moving Castle (may have had a bit of input on this choice), and Jules et Jim and I'm generally really glad I'm living with people who would prefer a film to a club.

six.
Freshers Fair was quite the experience, I signed up to loads of societies (feminist society, music society, film society, literature society, anime and manga society, drama society and the Uni newspaper). I'm looking forward to going to some of the society meets, I feel like you're a lot more likely to meet like minded people through a society than going to a club where the music is frustratingly loud and you can't hear what anyone's saying.

seven.
I've been living solely on pasta-based foods since I got here, I feel like I really need to branch out and find some other things to cook but pasta is just so easy . . .

eight.
We threw a little house parties with all the hipsters and it was so much fun, it was a really nice housewarming sort of thing, and it's where our first house selfie was taken, although it probably wasn't the best photo because everyone was a little bit not sober.

nine.
I'm really enjoying my course so far, I'm doing Applied Psychology if you're interested. There's a lot more Philosophy in it than I thought there'd be and there's a whole unit on social inequalities and prejudice in society and all that jazz so I'm really looking forward to the year (famous last words I'll bet)

ten.
Inevitably, I ended up getting a cold and I actually ended up losing my voice (I've had laryngitis before so I knew what to do to sort it out, but it was a bit of a pain - fellow singers, you'll be familiar with the warm salt water trick, right?) so I've been a bit pooey on the whole blogging/uploading videos regularly thing, but hopefully things should resume to normal soon enough.

How have the past couple of weeks been for you?

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The September mix-tape

This post is going up a little late because I've been busy at University and socialising and having to allocate more time to buying adult things like fruit and pasta sauce rather than sitting down and doing a blog post, but despite that, I have found some time to tell you about the music I've been listening to. As per usual, it's a bit of an odd mix.

1. Bite - Troye Sivan
I loved Troye's first album and when I found out he was coming out with another one I knew I was going to love it, I think the whole album is really good but this is probably the song I've been listening to most on the album. It's got a somewhat ambient, chilled feel to it but it's also quite catchy with a good beat - basically, Troye is super talented and I think he deserves all of the credit he gets for his music. I think it's great that his album is good in its own right rather than it just being popular solely because he did YouTube already.

2. Cry Baby - Melanie Martinez
My friend Antoinette got me into Melanie Martinez, she recommended Pity Party to me a while ago and I really liked that, but then she told me to listen to the rest of the album and I did and this is probably the song I've been singing the most from it. It's really catchy and I think Melanie Martinez has a really interesting and unique style of music.

3. Young Volcanoes - Fall Out Boy
In all honesty I've never been too much of a Fall Out Boy fan, I've liked a few songs from them before and I can see why people do like them but they just don't really click with me for the mostpart. However, I watched Evan Edinger and Dodie Clark's cover of this song recently (I don't know why I hadn't seen it before given that I've basically seen all of Evan and Dodie's videos) and I've had the song stuck in my head the whole month, it's a really fun one to sing along to.

4. The Blackest Day - Lana Del Rey
LANA'S NEW ALBUM - CAN WE TAKE A MOMENT???? Okay, I love Lana so much, I think her style of music is different to all of other popular music that's out right now and I've been looking forward to the Honeymoon album since it was announced. I think I might like the Honeymoon album more than Ultraviolence (although, as generic as it is, Born to Die is probably my favourite album). This is such a chilled song with a good beat and it's probably my favourite on the album, although I also like Art Deco and Religion - basically, Lana is amazing and I love her unconditionally (okay, maybe not unconditionally because she does some problematic things but I like her a lot)

5. Isolation - Joy Division
This month I watched Control for the first time and it got me back into Joy Division pretty massively. I've liked them for quite a while but I tend to skip them when they come up on my Spotify (except for Love Will Tear Us Apart Again because that's one of my favourite songs ever and probably, however cliched it is, probably my favourite song by Joy Division) but after listening to the songs in the film I decided to listen to them again and I've rekindled my love for them, I think Ian Curtis' lyrics are literally like poetry, they're just so beautifully written and it's just generally enjoyable to listen to Joy Division songs - like they're beautiful but sad, so it's enjoyable but in a sad way . . . if you feel me . . .

What have you been listening to this month?

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Cacti naming, loving Lana, and the last supper

one.
I popped into my high school/sixth form for an awards evening that a few of my friends were invited to (me and a few other friends sat in the audience cheering them on - #squadgoals) and got to say a final goodbye to my favourite teachers, who were obviously my Philosophy teachers, which was nice - I still haven't quite realised that I'm probably not going to go back to that school.

two.
I went to Ikea with my friend Ma'Suma to buy some cacti for my Uni room (very important) but I'm having a bit of trouble naming them - at the moment I'm thinking Rob, Barry and Dick like in High Fidelity (which is my favourite book and one of my favourite films) but I'm also in two minds as to whether it's a good idea to name a cactus Dick.

three.
I went to Brighton to go drop off some stuff in my new house and I got to pick my room (pretty happy with my selection which is good), only downside would be that the wifi wasn't working - y'know what it's like being in a place without a TV and no wifi . . . I know that sounds very 21st century, but if I can't go on Tumblr to reblog gifs I die (seriously though, why does Tumblr eat up so much data? One of life's many questions)

four.
I'm loving Lana Del Rey's new album - think I might prefer it to Ultraviolence, it's really nice to hear some new material from her!

five.
I went to get my meningitis jab which I've been putting off since about Results day,  I'm really scared of needles and making phone calls so calling up to make an appointment was really daunting, but I've done it now so that's a small battle out of the way.

six.
I decided to do the most depressing movie night ever and watch Control and Kurt Cobain: About a Son. Watching Control has majorly gotten me back into Joy Division again which is cool because I've liked them for quite a long time but I've been listening to them pretty much non-stop since watching the film.

seven.
I met up with my friend Ma'Suma for a little Cafe Nero meetup which was nice, I'm still finding it strange adjusting to asking for soya milk in my coffee. I know it's just one extra step but I get worried I'm going to forget - #veganprobz.

eight.
I've been obsessively borrowing CDs from Dad's music collection before I go so I can rip as much as I can (like I know a lot of it is on Spotify, but I'm not paying for Spotify premium I need this shiz on my phone) so I've been constantly in and out of the music room with about 10 CDs at a time - my Dad's an avid CD collector, it's pretty fortunate that we like a lot of the same music.

nine.
I've been so obsessed with Bob's Burgers at the moment. I watched series 1 a while ago and I really loved it but I started watching other shows when I finished it, but now I'm back on it and it's literally all I can watch. I hate to sound really cliche but I am Tina, like I am Tina.

ten.
I met up with some friends for a cheeky nandos (the last supper) before I go off to University. Probably one of the best nights I've had in a long time, I was cry laughing the whole time (probably not a great idea when you're wearing quite a dark smoky eye). It still hasn't quite sunk in that I'm not going to be living in the same city as them for the next few years (they're all staying in London) but maybe that's good, means fewer tears I suppose . . .

How have the past couple of weeks been for you?

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Cruelty-free drugstore beauty haul

I decided to go cruelty-free recently so I thought I should buy some replacements for my makeup - if I'm wrong about the cruelty-free status about any of these, please feel free to tell me but don't shout at me, cheers.

The Superdrug goodies:

• Sleek Contour Kit in Medium - £6.49
• Sleek Brow Stylist in Dark - £5.99
• Makeup Revolution Iconic Pro Palette 1 - £6.99
• Collection Speedy Highlighter in Pearl Sheen - £3.99 (was reduced to £2.99 when I got it)
• Collection Fast Stroke Liquid Eyeliner - £2.99 (was reduced to £1.99 when I got it)
• Barry M Showgirl Extra Volumising Mascara - £4.99 
• Barry M Kohl Eyeliner in Black - £2.99 (was reduced to £2.00 when I got it)
• Barry M Speedy Quick Dry Nail Paints in Dragster and Sprint Finish - £3.99 each

The Wilkinsons goodies:

• Skin Therapy Cleanser - 95p
• Skin Therapy Toner - 95p
• Essence The Gel Nail Polish in Black is Back - £1.60
• Essence Make Me Brow in 02 - £2.50
• Essence Lip Liners in Satin Mauve and In the Nude - £1.00 each

The one thing from Savers (I had to create a whole section for just a lip balm fffffF):

• Carmex Classic Moisturising Lip Balm - £1.85

What beauty bits have you been picking up for Autumn?

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What I've been watching #9

I feel like this post has been boyband-centered (like we have a bit of a Beatles theme and then a One Direction movie), as well as a documentary on sugar - we're very versatile here on my blog.

THAT'LL BE THE DAY (1973)
★★★
This film is set in the late 50s and centres around the character Jim, who's a bit bored with his mundane life so he decides to leave home and work a few low-level jobs at a seaside amusement park, but in this job he discovers a world of cheap sex and minor crime. When this world comes to an end, he returns home but then the local music scene starts to explode, and Jim has to decide whether he wants to pursue this exciting world of rock 'n' roll or take on a world of adult responsibility.

This was my Mum's movie choice and she said she thought the sequel was better, this film is somewhat of an introduction to the sequel. I thought it was enjoyable, I do think the 50s was a pretty rad time for music (y'know being a Beatles fan and they were heavily inspired by a lot of 50s music at least in the beginning of their career) so I quite liked that being somewhat of a backdrop. I have to admit, the main reason I enjoyed this film was being Ringo Starr was in it, I think had he not been in it I probably wouldn't have enjoyed it quite so much but I found myself squealing a bit every time Ringo was on screen. Basically, this film's okay but I don't feel like a great deal happened? It definitely feels like the set up of a film, so I might wait until I watch the sequel to decide whether this is worth watching, but if you're a fan of Ringo Starr like me, you might enjoy him in this - he has a quiff and a rather snazzy outfit in it.

ONE DIRECTION: THIS IS US (2013)
★★★★
This film is a behind-the-scenes sort of documentary sort-of-dealio about One Direction and their 'Take Me Home' tour, and it basically documents their life on the road.

Okay, spare me the judgement here. Yes, I'm lowkey 1D af and I'm a little bit in love with Zayn and I really wanted to watch this for a while. My friend who's a big directioner brought it to a sleepover and forcibly got us to watch it, forcibly I tell you . . . Anyway, I really enjoyed this film. I think the 1D boys are quite funny and it was quite interesting to see how they were living on the road, plus you had their songs in it which are pretty catchy. Although, I have to be honest, if you don't at all like One Direction (even if it's only ironically like me . . . okay, maybe it's not ironic but . . .) you won't enjoy this at all. I think this film makes the boys seem a lot more down to earth and it's definitely meant to try and make you like them but I do think this film has a very specific target audience and if you don't fit it, you probably won't like it. I must say though, Zayn is one of the most beautiful men I've ever seen so even if you don't like One Direction, you get to stare at Zayn for an hour and a half - you can't go too wrong with that, can you?

BIRTH OF THE BEATLES (1979)
★★★★
This film is a biopic about the beginnings of The Beatles which goes back to when The Beatles went to Hamburg and it ends when they go on the Ed Sullivan Show for the first time. It's the only Beatles biopic to be made about The Beatles when John Lennon was still alive.

I feel like any biopic about The Beatles is going to get a good rating from me purely because I'm so interested in The Beatles (y'know if you couldn't tell already) so this may be a little biased. I really liked this film, I liked the period of time it covered because I feel like all the other Beatles biopics I've watched (I've not watched all of them, mind you) cover life after The Beatles got famous, or how The Beatles got started before they went to Hamburg, but this one heavily covered their life in Hamburg. It also covered Pete Best's period in the band, which I liked because you never really see it however (and I wonder if there's a slight bias because Pete Best worked on the film) I feel like it made Pete Best's departure overly dramatic and they made Pete Best to be a drummer with godlike talent, I don't know if that's just me but I just feel it was a little OTT. That being said, I think this was made to cater to an American audience which may explain why it was a little dramatic. I also liked how this film focused on Stuart Sutcliffe's time in the band because I feel he's often overlooked as well because he left and then died before the band became famous, but being the Beatlemaniac I am I want to know about everything to do with The Beatles even prior to the fame. The only thing that bugged me about the film is that I didn't actually think the people playing The Beatles beared much physical likeness to the real thing, this is only a minor deal and I think they nailed the accent, but I'm just being picky. Basically, this is a pretty good biopic and one I think any Beatles fan would enjoy. I also think it's interesting just because it was filmed before John died, so it doesn't portray him as some sort of saint like a lot of biopics do.

AN INSPECTOR CALLS (2015)
★★★★
This film is focused on the rich Birling family and how their night is disrupted when an Inspector comes to visit and starts to question them in regards to a young girl's suicide, and this leads them to question their responsibility in other people's lives.

I love the play An Inspector Calls, I did it for English GCSE and I've watched a couple of film adaptations, and my younger brother is actually studying it for his GCSEs now (but he couldn't be bothered to watch the film with me and my parents so we recorded it for him) so it was pretty cool to revisit it once more. I loved the cast for this, just because they were literally how I imagined the characters to be when I read the play (and that's something that's bugged me in the other adaptations I watched) and I thought David Thewlis played Inspector Goole really well. This film was a lot more dramatic than the other adaptations I've watched and even in the play I didn't think it was that dramatic, and there was a lot that was added on because in the play you are really meant to use your imagination, however I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. By itself, this was a great film. I think if you hadn't read the play, you would definitely enjoy this film. I think the themes in the film are really great like it's essentially about responsibility, duty, and helping each other out - coincidentally (or rather not so coincidentally) the play was written around the time the welfare state was created in the UK. I think the film was a pretty close adaptation of the play, however I would say if you're studying this play for your exam don't base your essays on this adaptation, there are a lot of lines and scenes that have been added in and dramatized that aren't in the actual play. If you can find it, I would watch the 1982 version because this one was pretty much word for word the play - I actually watched this before the exam rather than re-reading the play (whoops, sorry I'm hardly a role model) and I came out with an A. However, this film as a standalone piece is really good, it's basically pro left-wing so if you're already a leftie, you won't learn anything new but if you are right wing, this film may change your mind.

THAT SUGAR FILM (2014)
★★★★
This documentary follows Damon Gameau's quest to find out the effects of a high sugar diet on a healthy body, by consuming foods and drinks that are generally thought of as healthy such as juice or certain cereals.

This documentary is basically Supersize Me but with sugar. My half-sister sat us down to watch this because she's doing Nutrition in University and she's quite interested in food, but she also said this documentary has changed her and she hasn't had refined sugar in 2 months. I felt like the information in this documentary wasn't really anything new, it was basically saying that it's the quality of the food you eat rather than calories that affect your health and your weight and it also shows how much sugar is actually in the food we eat, that was a bit shocking - the average person has about 40 teaspoons of refined sugar a day, that's shocking right? I have to be honest, I don't really eat a hell of a lot of refined sugar anymore since going vegan so I feel like this was a bit lost on me but it has made me want to steer away from refined sugar, but not from my orange juice, I've got a special place for my OJ no matter how much sugar is in it. Basically, this was interesting and a well made, funny documentary but I didn't feel like there were many shocking revelations in this documentary.

What films have you watched recently?

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Primark haul

Have you come here searching for the most mundane Primark haul imaginable? Well, you've come to the right place - we have monochrome and basic tees, it's a world of boring clothes. If you just click on the video below, you'll get to see this array of monochromatics (okay, there's a Star Wars tee and some Harry Potter PJs too, couldn't go completely dull) and one lil purchase from H&M. Also, I'm trying to stop with the rambly videos so this video is under 10 minutes long - hurrah for short, snappy videos!

What are your favourite Autumn clothing pieces?

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August favourites

I haven't got loads of favourites this month, partially because I haven't been shopping in quite a while but I've still got a few to talk about. Heads up, I'm going cruelty free so this should be my last favourites post with products that have been tested on animals (disclaimer: I'm not going to be preachy about it, it's my decision and it's entirely down to you if you want to follow suit or not)

P.S Love Your Skin Gentle Facial Cleansing Wipes | I know face wipes have a really bad rep in the beauty blogger world and I don't use them everyday but y'know when you've had a late night, and I mean late as in you're not falling asleep until about 5am (I'm literally nocturnal at the moment) and you want to remove your makeup quickly, or if you're feeling really down and can't bring yourself to do the whole skin care routine, face wipes are useful k. You get two packs of these for £1 in Primark and they leave your skin so soft - something to bear in mind, I would use these only as a replacement for a cleanser/toner, they're quite gentle so they don't remove makeup (especially mascara) too well, but if you use a makeup remover, one of these, and a moisturiser  you're set, and if you're not wearing makeup it's even quicker.

Maybelline The Colossal Volume Express Mascara Cat Eyes | I bought this on the recommendation of my friend Isabella because her lashes always look amazeballs and I love the original of this mascara. I have to say, I don't like this mascara much on the top lashes as it doesn't give as much of a volumised effect as I would like but I love it on the bottom lashes. It gives a natural volumising and lengthening effect, and the curved wand means it fits round the eye perfectly which is really helpful for the lower lashes as I always find it difficult to get the ones on the outer part of the eye.

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer | An old favourite but it's been sold out in every shop I've been to for months and months and I finally got to repurchase it, and I remember how good it is. I have complained about the shade range so many times and I do think this is a bit pale and ashy for me, but I layer it on with a darker, warmer concealer and then I don't have so much of an issue. It's just super high coverage but not too drying, plus it's pretty cheap.

Rimmel Exaggerate Full Colour Lip Liner in Eastend Snob | OKAY, YEAH I BOUGHT INTO THE HYPE, LET'S MOVE ON . . . but after I've told you how great it is. This lip liner is a nice, muted pink - a sort of MLBB shade. It's creamy (but not too creamy) and you could definitely wear this alone. I prefer to wear a lipstick on top of it because I feel like pink can look a bit Barbie on me (not that there's anything wrong with that) but I do like a muted pink lip as I feel it livens up my face a bit.

Collection Deluxe Lipstick in Charleston | This lipstick is very similar to a lot of lipsticks I own - kinda brown, kinda pink, but just that has never stopped me from talking about a lipstick in the past. This lipstick is inexpensive, comfortable to wear, not super long lasting but I don't mind topping up every 2-3 hours. Plus, I love the names of the lipstick in this range because they're all kinda based around different eras like 20s, 30s, 40s etc. - it's all very nice and #vintage.

What have your favourites been this month?

New album releases, the final meetups, and #JezWeDidIt

one.
It was my friend's 19th birthday so we all met up for some drinks and some bantz, it was really nice to see some people from my sixth form who I hadn't really met up with this summer (and obviously we'll all be separating very soon) - it was my first time playing Kings, if you haven't played it, you really should, it's a heck of a lot of fun.

two.
My friend Isabella was the first to go off to University so she threw a little leavers afternoon tea kinda dealy at her house before she left which was really cute, still hasn't quite sunk in that everyone's leaving and moving on!!

three.
Ben Folds' new album was put online and I think it's so so good, the album is split into two parts so you have like ordinary songs and then the second half is all instrumental with an orchestra. It makes me wonder why more musicians don't use orchestras. Ben Folds is one of my favourite musicians ever so I do pretty much love everything he does anyway, but I'm generally just a big fan of a lot of instrumentation in music so this album is a winner for me.

four.
Troye's new album's come out as well and I like it so much, it's got that same Troye music aesthetic chilled vibe kinda thing he had going on in the last album but it's all new songs so it's not like he's doing the same thing again . . . if that makes sense. Basically, he's done some really catchy shiz, and I love Troye's music - I like that his music is good in its own right and not just popular because he's a big YouTuber, and I'm not trying to throw shade at any body but I think it's good when a person's work can to an extent be separated from the celebrity around them.

five.
I met up with a few friends for a sleepover which was really cute, I'm really enjoying meeting up with groups of people before we all split off because you don't know when it's going to be possible again. We watched the One Direction This is Us film which was surprisingly pretty good (okay, lowkey I'm 1D af but let's pretend I had to be forced into this one), 10 Things I Hate About You (which is a classic) and lots of episodes of Friends - I'm pretty certain the only reason anyone hangs out with me is because I have a Friends DVD box set.

six.
I've finally gathered the motivation to start filming videos again, I'm not sure if anyone noticed but I haven't uploaded in a month because I just haven't been in the right mindset, but I filmed a few in a day and I'm starting to feel it again which is good.

seven.
It was my friend's 19th birthday so we went out for a meal at a pub which was fun - it was nice to hang out with a bunch of people who I might not see again at least for a while.

eight.
Okay, vegan discovery - vegetable and houmous sandwiches are the bomb diggity. I haven't tried any vegan butter alternatives so I don't really have sandwiches anymore, but my Mum picked me up one while we were out and yes, they were very good, 11/10 would recommend.

nine.
I'm overjoyed at the fact that Jeremy Corbyn won the leadership election, and with nearly 60% of the vote! This is the most optimistic I've been about politics since before the general election - bring on 2020!

ten.
Laci Green uploaded this video to the MTV Braless YouTube channel about celebrities being problematic and it got me thinking about how problematic everyone was, I knew before that no one was perfect but I think it's important to remember this when criticising others and it's probably something that I needed reminding of.



How have the past couple of weeks been for you?

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What I've been watching #8

I feel like it's not been too long at all since the last time I did one of these but y'know I'm not really doing much at home and watching films distracts me from the fact that I'm going to be leaving the comfort of my family home in just a few weeks . . . okay yeah let's just get on with it.

48 HOURS (1982)
★★★
48 Hours is about a cop, played by Nick Nolte, that teams up with a criminal, played by Eddie Murphy, in order to track down a killer in 48 hours before the criminal has to be returned back to prison. 

This film was entertaining and had a few funny moments in it (as any film with Eddie Murphy inevitably would), but I don't think it was anything special so I'm not sure if I would watch it again.

THE BAD EDUCATION MOVIE (2015)
★★★★ 1/2
The Bad Education Movie takes place on a school trip to Cornwall that teacher Alfie Wickers, played by Jack Whitehall, takes his class on. One of the first problems that arises is that student Joe's Mother invites herself so she can make sure they're not getting up to any trouble as she has some sort of vendetta against Alfie. Whilst they're in Cornwall, they meet some of Alfie's old school mates and he gets involved with a Cornish Independence group which results in trouble for Alfie.

I thought this film was really funny - if you like the series, you'll definitely like this and I think it was such a good way to end the series. I also think Jack Whitehall is  hilarious anyway, but this film had so many laugh-out-loud moments and I think it would be one I watch again once it's out on DVD.

IN HIS LIFE: THE JOHN LENNON STORY (2000)
★★★★
This film is about John Lennon's life starting from his teen years following all the events up until The Beatles went on the Ed Sullivan show, such as John meeting Paul at the Woolton Parish Fete in 1957, John's relationship with his Mother, The Beatles going to Hamburg and coming into contact with Ringo Starr, John's new relationship with Cynthia, and the birth of John's first child.

I loved this, I think John's life was so interesting and I've watched so many biopics about him and I've read John by Cynthia Lennon so I knew I would like this. It's pretty historically accurate and I think the acting was pretty decent. If you liked Nowhere Boy, you would probably like this because it documents the same events (and more!). A must-watch for any Beatles fan or anyone interested in John's life. I loved how they included Cynthia in it because that was something that was missing from Nowhere Boy and I think their relationship was really interesting because they were so young and in love and all that jazz.

RUSH (2013)
★★★★
Rush is a biopic based on the intense formula 1 rivalry between English James Hunt and Austrian Niki Lauda who take different approaches to racing - Hunt living every day like it's his last and being somewhat of a thrill seeker, whereas Lauda is a perfectionist and trains all the time. This tests the women in both of their lives, and the rivalry becomes stronger and stronger until it inevitably causes an accident.

I didn't actually know much about the real life story of Lauda and Hunt, but my parents were quite interested in it and she bought the DVD for my brother's birthday a while ago and we got round to watching it for my brother's movie choice. I have to admit I didn't think I was going to like it that much, don't get me wrong I enjoy watching racing sometimes but I'm a bit indifferent to the whole thing so I wasn't sure how much enjoyment I would get out of this, but it was entertaining and fast moving, and it has actually got me interested in the real life story so I'd definitely recommend giving it a watch even if you're not interested in formula 1.

FIGHT CLUB (1999)
★★★★
Fight Club follows the story of an unnamed narrator who's an insomniac and is basically not in a great mental state, so he goes to support groups to help relieve this. He then meets a girl called Marla and his life becomes a little bit better. Then, he starts associating with a man called Tyler and gets dragged into an underground fight club and soap making scheme. However, trouble begins to arise when when Marla attracts Tyler's attention.

I watched this film after being recommended it so many times by my friend Lizzie (she also lent the DVD to me so thanks for that Lizzie), and I also just thought it was strange that I hadn't watched it given that I'm a bit of a film buff and this is so famous - I also just wanted some context for the 'first rule of fight club' quote. The film had some interesting themes like individualism and consumerism and it was just generally entertaining and fast moving. You can't go too wrong with Brad Pitt and Helena Bonham Carter (Edward Norton was pretty good too but I haven't really seen much with him in to compare it to). Basically, this was a good film and you should watch it - also Pixies' Where is My Mind? opens up the ending credits and I'm a big Pixies fan so that was obviously going to be a winner for me.

What films have you watched recently?

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