Mid Year Non Beauty Favourites

Welcome back to my Mid Year Favourites Round Up. On Monday I shared with you my Mid Year Beauty Favourites and today I'm back with my five favourite Non Beauty Favourites of the year so far.

I feel like I need to write about this first non beauty favourite all in capitals. My favourite thing of the year so far has to be the night me and Jasmin spent stood in the O2 singing our hearts out to Shawn Mendes. Jasmin so kindly surprised me with tickets back in January and in April we sang like our lives depended on it. I hadn't been to a concert in a good five years and whilst I was initially nervous to be surronded by so many people but as soon as Alessia Cara and Shawn Mendes came on, I lost all my inhibitions and let my inner teenage self out. I want to say nothing will top that night but I'm finally, finally seeing Carrie Underwood on the 4th July and to say I'm ridiculously excited is an understatment. Having waited ten years to see her live, I think it's safe to say it's going to be just as good if not better than that night at the O2.

Oh how long I'd been waiting to see this film. I was already a huge fan of Taron Egerton from the Kingsman's franchise but after watching Rocketman I'm a even bigger fan. Taron Egerton absolutely smashed it as Elton John, capturing every little eccentric flair of Elton's perfectly as well as portraying his rise to stardom, coming to terms with his sexuality and then his slight downfall due to addiction smashingly. And don't even get me started on the soundtrack. I knew Taron Egerton could sing but damn that man can sing. To this day I still like to belt out the soundtrack to help me get through life's most mundane tasks. Bennie And The Jets, Pinball Wizzard, Take Me To The Border, Rocketman and Tiny Dancer are sung so beautifully by Taron. If you haven't already seen the movie or listened to the soundtrack, I highly recommend checking them out. You won't be disappointed.

When it comes to Ariana Grande's music I find it to be very hit and miss and that's all due to my personal taste but when I heard Thank U, Next in it's entirety for the first time I was hooked. I can't say I have a favourite song but I do have several that I can listen to a million times a day without getting bored. I was going to list them but I can't because as I try, I remember another that I love and essentially I'd end up giving you the whole track list. I'm dying to see her live in October but I have a feeling that it's not going to happen and I'm really sad about that.

I couldn't do a Mid Year Favourites and not mention the record breaking film that was Avengers Endgame. Well I easily could as I spent three hours alternating between sobbing my heart out, cursing the Russo Brothers, gasping in shock or laughing my ass off. There was a reason that Endgame was the Number One movie in the world. It ended this particular phase of the MCU beautifully. Set up the many of new phases well and gave us all a chance to have a movie with many a memorable moment with all of our favourite characters. I'd love to go and watch the rerelease that's coming up but I don't think I can go through all that heartbreak for a deleted scene and a post credit scene. Thank god for the internet.

I feel like this last one's a cheat but they go hand in hand and I couldn't talk about one without the other. Cinemax's Strike Back reboot came back for a second season and it was the best season of Strike Back I've ever seen. It was obvious that the whole cast and crew put so much effort and work into making it the best season yet. And alongside Strike Back, two amazing women called Kelsey and Debs started the Sit Rep Podcast. Packed with an amazing breakdown of the episodes, hilarious behind the scenes facts and cracking interviews with the cast and crew, Sit Rep became the need to listen companion to Strike Back Silent War. And another amazing thing that happened in conjunction with Strike Back and Sit Rep was that I was asked to be a guest on the season wrap up episode of Sit Rep. I was nervous as hell but it went so well and I'm so proud of myself for taking a step out of my comfort zone. All the episodes of Sit Rep are available on Apple Podcasts so if you're a new fan of Strike Back and want to learn more about the show, I'd highly recommend giving them a listen. 

Monthly Favourites: February

Can someone please explain how the hell it's going to be the first of March on Friday? Like where on earth did February go? It's like I've blinked and missed it but I can't complain as it means I'm just that little bit closer to two amazing trips to London I have planned with Jasmin in March and April. But before I bore you all with them, let's get into this month's favourites. Now there aren't as many as January but there's still a fair few.

The first of only two beauty favourites this month comes from Loreal. Their newly released Magic Essence Drops have changed the way my make up looks and feels on my skin. These ultra lightweight hydrating primer drops smooth, hydrate and prep skin perfectly for any base you apply over top. They don't cause foundation to pill on the skin and really help with longevity. What I like the most about these drops is that they're extremely cooling on the skin and help to reduce the appearence of any redness that I may have. Plus a little goes a long way so this bottle will last for ages.

The only other beauty favourite I had this month came from a brand I'm so glad I can get my hands on. Flower Beauty has finally been released in the UK and after watching an interview with Drew Barrymore, I knew I just had to pick up at least one product from the range. The one I chose was the iconic looking red liquid lipstick. In the shade Scarlett Letter, their Miracle Matte Liquid Lipstick has been the only liquid lipstick I've worn this month. Sure it's more of a powdery matte finish but it's still ridiculously comfortable and I've loved pairing it with flawless skin, big lashes and big but natural looking brows. If you've been trying to decide on a product to try from Flower Beauty then I highly recommend their liquid lipsticks, I've even brought another one for a wedding I've got coming up in June.

 The only style favourite I have for you this month is this pair of jeans from Marks and Spencers. One thing I wanted to do this year was buy more bottoms. I've grown bored of just wearing plain black jeans and wanted some blue ones. I thought it was going to take me forever to find a decent pair but M&S sure know how to impress a girl. These are their super skinny, high waisted jeans. I love them so much. I haven't worn black jeans apart from when I'm at work since I brought them. They go so well with so much of my wardrobe and fit like a dream. I do have to roll the bottoms up ever so slightly to stop them from cutting my ankle off at the wrong point but apart from that they are the best £19.50 I've ever spent.

A show I haven't quite finished but have been/am absolutely loving is Umbrella Academy. I was intially drawn to it as I love Tom Hopper but after watching the advert I didn't think I'd actually watch it. It didn't seem to be my cup of tea but on a whim last week I watched the first episode and I was hooked. I still have three episodes to watch but as you can tell I'm stringing them out for as long as possible. I adore Tom Hopper's portrayal of Luther, it's so different to his usual roles and I like that whilst he's still the brawn of the operation, he's also got a gentle side. Robert Sheehan kills me as Klaus and whilst Ellen Page looks a little out of place in it, I'm intrigued to see what happens to her character Vanya in the last few episodes. If I go MIA on social media in the next few days then you know I'm binge watching the end of this series.

I have only listened to one album this month and it comes from the goddess that is Ariana Grande. When I first heard Thank you, next in it's entirety I was so unimpressed. I didn't think the album would grow on me and I'd like a couple of songs if I'd heard them repeatedly. Oh how wrong I was. I gave the album a second and third listen and I was hooked. It's literally the only album I've listened to for the whole of February. It's particularly good when I'm baking even if it means I have twice as much mess to clear up afterwards. Ariana is spilling that tea and it's shocking to think of everything she's been through lately. I have so much respect for her since she released this album and can't wait to see what the live performances look and sound like. When I first added this to my favourites list for the month there were only a few songs I picked out as favourites but as times gone on the whole album has become one big favourite and whilst I still have my absolute favourites from it, I don't dislike any of the tracks. Fake Smile, Bloodline,  Needy, NASA and In My Head have to be my absolute favourites, the ones that I turn it up that little louder for. I can't promise that there will be another music favourite for a while as this album is such a bop, it's going to take a lot for me to stop listening to it.

Last month my inner fangirl came out as Strike Back returned and whilst I desperately wanted to include it as a favourite again this month, I restrained myself. However this season, there is an amazing and I mean amazing podcast that is released every Saturday after the latest episode has aired. Hosted by Kelsey and Debs, Sit Rep is a fan made podcast for fans of Strike Back. Alongside a deeper look into the episode it features behind the scenes facts from showrunner Jack Lothian as well as amazing interviews with the cast and crew. Dan Macpherson, Bill Eagles, Jamie Bamber, Victoria Smurfit and Varada Sethu are just some of the amazing interviews so far with even more insightful brilliant interviews to come. I'm keeping everything crossed that Strike Back gets renewed for another season so that there will hopefully be another series of this brilliant podcast hosted by two lovely ladies who didn't have to go out of their way to do this but did because their love for the show, the cast and the crew is just as big as the rest of us fans.

Monthly Favourites: August

It's the end of the month and frankly, I'm quite happy to say goodbye to August. September is shaping up to be a good month for me and I have tons of new content that I can't wait to share with you all. It also means Autumn is one step closer and my Autumn/Winter baby heart is going into overdrive. This month has been a weird month for favourites, I've spent most of it make up free because of the weather and haven't really deviated from usual skin products. I have however added a couple of new additions into my routine but the majority of my favourites have been more lifestyle related this month.

I'm going to start with the beauty bits as they're what I have less off. The first favourite is a bit of a problematic favourite. I absolutely adore it but it doesn't always seem to agree with me. It's the newly released Nip And Fab Glycolic Fix Extreme 6% Scrub. This makes my skin feel so so soft, it's unbelivable. It doesn't dry my skin out or leave it feeling tight and any texture I have is pretty much non exsistent. However everytime I've used it, the day after I wake up to find a new friend on my face. Which is where my dilemma lies. I love how it makes my skin but I don't want to have to fight a blemish or two every time I use it. I thought my skin would get used to it like it did with their 6% liquid toner but I don't think it's going to get better with time and I don't really feel like putting my skin through that repeatedly when I could easily just use another scrub that agrees with my skin.

My next two beauty favourites both centre around the eye. The first is the Garnier Moisture Bomb Under Eye Masks. These are fantastic under eye patches/masks that have changed how my under eye area look completely, well these and my next favourite. Both eye masks leave my under eye area looking hydrated, puff free, with a great reduction in the appearence in my dark circles which as a combination makes my whole eye area look more awake and alert. I've gone through numerous packets of these already and have a good two or three packs as back ups. I haven't repurchased my holy grail Rodial under eye patches since I started using these and that's saying something as normally I'd need at least one pack of those in my possession at all times.

My last beauty favourite is again focused on my under eye area but is definitely less budget friendly than the Garnier. I recently recieved a sample of the Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye Cream to try and I instantly fell in love. From the first use, my under eye area looked smoother, hydrated and my dark circles look/ed reduced but not completely eradicated. I had a feeling I'd like this as I love the Advanced Night Repair Complex from them and I wasn't wrong. It's extremely thick for an eye cream but I find that it doesn't leave my under eye area feeling greasy and actually sinks into skin quite quickly but obviously works a lot longer than you'd think. I'll happily buy a full size when this runs out.

Now for the non beauty favourites I don't even know where to start. Actually as I type this and look at my notes for this post, I have a good idea of where to start. BAKE OFF IS BACK! Now I know it hasn't actually started tonight (Channel 4 8pm, if you've forgotten) but I don't even need to watch it for it to be a favourite this month. Bake Off is one of my absolute favourite programs of all time and I always find myself waiting impatiently for it every year. It is the only show that will get me to put my iPad down for an hour and fifteen, I won't even reply to Jasmin's texts until afterwards, and that's saying something as she's one of the only people I reply to quickly. Ir's what inspires me to continue baking and one day I'd like to maybe even apply even though a lot of my friends and family think I should apply for next year. So for the next twelve weeks I'll be curled up in my pjs at 8pm with a snack and a hot drink, enjoying Bake Off to it's fullest.

My next favourite is somewhere I went at the beginning of the month and loved every second of the day, even if I didn't manage to stay awake past half nine that night. At the beginning of the month me and my mumma had a week off together and one of the days we went to the zoo. Marwell Zoo to be more precise. And it was beautiful. I went last year with my friend Lauren and her little girls but I'd completely forgotten how beautiful it was until I got there. The big cats were my favourites (crazy cat lady in the making) but every animal we saw was beautiful to see in the flesh rather than on a TV screen. I took over three hundred pictures that day and still to this day can not whittle it down to a favourite. I post ten of the best over on my instagram so I'd suggest going over and checking them out.

I have a new favourite YouTuber and her name is Brogan Tate. She is an amazing lifestyle, beauty, Disney vlogger who I discovered when I stumbled across her Florida Disney vlogs and I've been hooked ever since. Not only is she a lover of Disney but she's extremely down to earth and shows exactly what day to day life even if it's not the greatest. There's something extremely calming about her videos and I love watching them after a long day at work. She creates amazing content and I find myself prioritising her videos over anyone else's new uploads and I'm excited for her next batch of Florida Vlogs. If you haven't watched any of her videos, I highly recommend you do. I can guarantee you'll be hooked just like me.

A song I've been hooked on this month is God Is A Woman from Ariana Grande. I wasn't too sure about it when I first heard it but then I watched her perform it live and I found myself listening to it over and over again. After Carrie Underwood, it's one of my most played songs this month. I love everything about it. Her vocals kill it, the beat is amazing and I love the message she's putting through the lyrics. I'm not a big fan of what I've heard of Sweetner so far but I think if I listen to it again, I could be hooked on the rest of the album as I am on this song.

My last favourite this month will not be to everyone's taste but I absolutely adore it and that's all that matters. I'm a huge fan of the Disney film The Nightmare Before Christmas. I've loved it from a young age, with one of my earliest memories is of me sat in front of the TV watching this on repeat, literally rewinding the video (I'm a child of the nineties) back to the beginning as soon as the credits started rolling. I apparently did it that much, my mum had to hide the video. But even twenty odd years later I'm still a huge fan of it so when I saw what Disney had released to comemorate the twenthy-five year anniversary of it's release, I just had to have it. This beautiful purse with Lock, Shock and Barrel on the front was one of the easiest purchases I've ever made. I absolutely adore it, it's the type of purse I like, it has plenty of room inside for cards, cash and coins and is just the softest material I've ever felt. It was definitely the best twenty quid I ever spent.