Reviews – Everything's a story.

April Books

May 25, 2017 giastark

Hmmm… I see a bit of a theme going on in my recent months books. I seem to be reading a lot of books from the same author. I wonder why? Maybe because I absolutely love what he does? That could be it, you know. In fact, I bet that’s what it is – he’s just THAT good! Yes, ladies and gents, it’s another month full of Brandon Sanderson. Wooohoooo! Ok, I’ll stop fan-girling and get to the books now. Oh, I almost forgot to say that I read 3 books, bringing my this year’s total to 13/30.

The first book I read in April was The Hero of Ages (Mistborn #3) by Brandon Sanderson. It was the last book in the trilogy and had me in complete tears in the end. My thoughts at the time were: ‘Absolutely brilliant. I don’t even have words… still bawling like a baby as I write this. It was just amazingly good. 100/10 stars. The ending… it’s just… I’ll go be incoherent somewhere else now.’ I was soooooo sad for it to end and the ending itself was very emotional as well. Just amazing. Oh, in case I wasn’t too clear – I loved it and would definitely recommend it to other fantasy/magic fans.

To shake things up a little I read The Choice by Nicholas Sparks next. It was in many ways predictable and unbelievable and in some ways surprising in a good way. Overall it was a nice change in between all the fantasy that I feel like I’ve been reading lately.

After reading that, I felt like it was time for a bit more of (what seems to be) my author of the year however, so I picked up The Alloy of Law (Mistborn – Alloy Era #1) by Brandon Sanderson. I must admit I wasn’t too keen on it to begin with, as it was slightly more modern than his previous books that I’ve read, but I got used to the new characters and the changes that had happened in the world and in the end I loved it. (Surprise, surprise…).

This concludes my April books. I’ll try to mix it up a little in the coming months, but with the amount of books the man has published, I see myself reading at least one of his books almost every month for a while going forward to be honest.

Anyway, I’m actually quite behind with my May books so I best go get cracking! Or you know, sleep instead as I’ve just noticed the time. Where have the hours since I got home from work gone?!

Beauty, Reviews, Unboxing

May Glossy be your day!

May 14, 2017May 14, 2017 giastark

Uhmmm… yeah, that was a bit lame. I’d apologise but it’s my blog so hahaaa! Aaaaanyway. Let’s get to it. This’ll be a short overview of what I received in my May Glossybox and what I think of (most of) the items.

Ruby, Powder Blush in Coral, RRP €14.99. I liked it a lot. I recently realised I had quite a few blushes, but only one powder blush and I don’t really know how to use the cream ones so this is a great addition to my makeup bag. http://shopruby.ie/

Lavera Naturkosmetik, Hand and Cuticle Cream, RRP £4.95 for full size. Good little hand cream. Doesn’t really smell too strongly, but what little scent it’s got is pleasant. Doesn’t leave my hands greasy either which is good. I also like the test size of 20ml. Means I won’t get bored of it before I use it up. Oh, and it’s vegan. https://www.pravera.co.uk/

Dr. Pawpaw, Dr. Pawpaw Original Balm, RRP £6.95. I haven’t opened it yet so I don’t know if it’s as good as it claims to be. But it can apparently be used almost everywhere on your body (on lips, skin, hair). I’m not sure where else you’d want to use a cream, so I think this covers pretty much everything. It’s also vegan-friendly. https://www.drpawpaw.com/

Scrub Love, Active Charcoal Body Scrub, RRP £13.95 for full size. Well, it is an excellent scrub – it’s very bitty and you can really feel it working. However, the smell of it isn’t for me. I couldn’t smell it much once it was on my skin, but when I first took a sniff as I opened the bag, I almost didn’t want to use it at all. Like I said, when I got over the scent it was very good, leaving my skin sooooo soft. It’s also 100% natural and vegan/vegetarian-friendly. https://www.drpawpaw.com/

ModelLauncher, Brow Duo Pencil, RRP £10.50. Well, for starters it didn’t look totally horrendous on me which is great. Even though the colour isn’t quite what I’d usually go with, it didn’t look unnatural. Not sure how it managed it, but go me! It’s also quite easy to apply. Will keep using it, I think. https://modellaunchercosmetics.com/

Overall another good box from Glossybox. Thank you! 🙂

Beauty, Reviews, Unboxing

Let’s try to Gloss over that…

May 1, 2017May 1, 2017 giastark

… I forgot! I completely forgot to tell you about my April Glossybox. I’m pretty sure that at one point I actually convinced myself that I’d already written about this but nooooope. Oh well. I still want to let you know what I got as this box contained one of my new favourite makeup products. Here goes!

Merci Handy, Love and Hand Cleansing Gel in Hello Sunshine, RRP £2.90. Another one of these little hand gels. You’ll hear no complaints about it from me though as I love them and they’re so handy! (No pun intended) Love it and definitely recommend. https://en.mercihandy.com/

ModelCo, ModelCo Contour Stick, RRP £17 for full size. So far I haven’t found much use for this as I really really really suck at contouring apparently. I understand the concept and watching the videos and tips it looks simple enough. However when I try it on my face I just can’t blend out the harsh lines. I’m probably not using the right tools for it and will be looking into it more. We’ll see. https://www.modelcocosmetics.com/

Elgon, Deliwash Cleansing Conditioner, RRP £14 for full size. This is a two in one conditioner. A conditioner that cleanses. Quite cool. It worked quite well for me but I’m glad that I read the instructions first – it didn’t lather almost at all so if I hadn’t known about it beforehand I’d have probably emptied the whole thing in one go and still not been any the wiser. It left my hair clean, soft and without any irritations that my scalp is so prone to these days. I’d consider buying it again. http://www.elgoncosmetic.com/

Sport FX, Definition Duo Eyeliner Pencil, RRP £9.99. I now own a brown eyeliner! Whoop! And it’ll be forever sharp! Another whoop! So many exclamation marks! Eeeeeeshk! So, yeah, it’s an eyeliner. You know how I am with eyeliners. Not so good. I quite like the idea of a brown one though. It’s not so harsh and is a bit more forgiving, I think. I have used it once and I still couldn’t really master it, but I’ll keep on practising. http://www.sportfx.com/

Rodial, Glamolash Mascara XXL, RRP £24 for full size. Here’s what I promised you in the very beginning of this box. My new (almost) favourite mascara. It gives me the longest and thickest lashes. Beauuuuuuuuuutiful. It’s perfect in almost every way. There’s just one minor drawback. It’s kind of difficult to remove. At least I had some trouble with it. It came off in kind of bits. Or maybe I’m just used to mascaras that are super easy to remove and they’ve spoiled me. Regardless of any issues I may or may not have with the removal process, I still absolutely LOVE it. It’s just so pretty! Would definitely recommend and buy again. http://www.rodial.co.uk/

To sum up – it’s another good box from Glossybox. Definitely worth it and I’m planning on keeping my subscription going for a while yet 🙂

Books, Challenges, My life, Reviews

My March Books

April 22, 2017May 24, 2017 giastark

I read 3 books in March which took me to 10/30. I’m 1/3 of the way there guys! Whoop! Anyway, I know there’s only 2 books on the picture and that’s because the third one has been travelling from person to person since I finished it. Having found it quite enlightening and useful, I’ve passed it on to two of my friends since and one of them currently still has it.

In fact, that’s the book I shall begin with. I’m a bit late to the bandwagon with this, but the first book I read in March was The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondō. I’m not claiming it was fully as miraculous as it claims, but I got quite a bit out of it. Overall this books is quite nutty in my opinion, you have to pick and choose what to take from it and it’s definitely not going to suit everyone’s taste. However I learned a few neat tricks to decluttering and better organisation. My wardrobe shrank considerably after I put some of those tips into use (like only keeping the stuff that makes me happy) and now I can wear anything from it, knowing that no matter what I pick, I’ll be happy wearing it. Such a simple concept but one that I never thought of myself. So I had piles of clothes that I hadn’t worn in years and a few items I’d never even put on. Well, not anymore! I also learned a few good ways to organise my clothes which I’ve actually stuck to as it just makes a lot of sense (like storing clothes side by side not in a pile). Anyway, long story short, I liked it.

The second book I read was Lying About Last Summer by Sue Wallman. Right, I’ve tried to start my review about this one three times now and nothing just seems to fit. I thought it was an OK book. It wasn’t amazing, but it was a nice read. It had its interesting bits and some crazy twists which were well done. Overall I’d say I enjoyed it and if you’re after a quick and easy read with some mystery then by all means go for it. Hmm… That doesn’t sound like a very good review. It’s just… You know how some books influence you more and some to a lesser degree or not much at all? Well, I don’t think all books can nor should be life-changing, some should just be simple entertainment. Which is what this books was.

Now then. I saved my favourite for last this time. The Well of Ascension (Mistborn #2) by Brandon Sanderson. I’m sure you’re all getting a bit tired about me going oooon and oooooon about the Mistborn series but it’s just that good. If you like fantasy books with magic but are tired of the same old wands and mages then pick this up. I’ve never known magic like this before and it’s just… And the characters and the story and it’s all just. Amazing. Absolutely amazing. I love it. Love it, love it, love it. That’s one of the life-changing books for me.

That’s it for now. If you have any recommendations for what I could read next, let me know! 🙂

Beauty, Reviews, Unboxing

A Fantastic beginning to April

April 9, 2017April 12, 2017 giastark

My goodness, the weather has been absolutely amazing! So sunny and warm and mmmmm. And I think that my April Lookfantastic beauty box design sums it up pretty well with a gorgeous sunny flower on it.

As usual, my Lookfantastic beauty box came accompanied with a travel sized issue of Elle magazine and Lookfantastic’s own little booklet about this box. The booklet also has a lot of beauty and skin care tips so if you usually don’t read the literature that comes with the boxes, I’d definitely recommend you read this one (it’s even got some healthy food recipes!)

Vitamasques, Pomegranate Sheet Mask. I’m pretty sure I’ve gotten this mask in most of my beauty boxes now, but as it’s a one time use thing I’m not really complaining. I love it that I don’t have to really venture to the world of face masks on my own anymore as I have my trusty suppliers who do the choosing for me.

Omorovicza, Cleansing Foam. I haven’t opened this yet as it’s sealed with a little foil bit, but I love the packaging and it’s supposed to be extremely gentle on the skin whilst thoroughly removing all impurities, ‘so your complexion looks just as good without having to wear an ounce of makeup’. Well, that sounds pretty amazing, doesn’t it? Let me know if you’ve tried it and if it works like promised.

This Works, Perfect Legs Skin Miracle. As the weather has been absolutely gooooooorgeous this weekend I thought it’d be the perfect time to try out this leg perfector (so I wouldn’t blind everyone with my blue/white legs). Well, I tried it out but I don’t think it actually did much for me. Maybe I need to already have a bit of a tan for this little guy to be able to do its job? At the moment however I didn’t notice any miracle wow effect.

Alterna, Caviar CC Cream. As I’m used to see CC face creams, I was a bit surprised to see they also do them for hair. I was a bit worried it may make my hair crunchy or greasy, but it did neither of these things. It left my hair soft and shiny and smelling* nice.

*About the smell though, I think it is nice, BUT it smells exactly the same as something else that I can’t put my finger on. And unfortunately that something else is something that I didn’t really like, I think, as it makes me feel rather unpleasant. So I’m just trying to tell my nose that this hair cream is a completely different thing and that I shouldn’t associate it with that other thing from years ago that I didn’t like, but we’ll see how that goes. Silly scent memory.

Merci Handy, Hand Cleansing Gel. I absolutely love these hand gels. They don’t smell as ‘alcoholic’ as some other hand gels and leave my hands feeling really nice and clean. They’re also a really convenient size for flying when you’re trying to bring as few and small liquid bottles as possible. Love it!

Madara, Mini Smart Day Cream. I’m really running out of ways to describe the subtlest differences between face creams. I’ve tried this one once and it was nice. Absorbed quickly and without leaving my skin greasy. It also only had the faintest of scents, so if you don’t like strongly smelling face creams, that could be a definite bonus.

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Laura Geller, Balance And Brighten Fair. Looks like I left the best for last. But going through all of these products again, I do realise this one is my favourite product from this box. I used this instead of my usual foundation this morning and it’s got surprisingly good coverage. All things considered (it’s only a light finish foundation), it did a fantastic job on my dark under eye area as well. Very impressed. Also, it’s sooooooo pretty! It looks like a planet.

That’s it and I have to say I absolutely loved it. The box itself is gorgeous and the products inside are absolutely amazing. Definitely worth getting! I’ll go out in the sun now to read my Elle 😉

Books, Challenges, My life, Reviews

February books!

March 21, 2017 giastark

Yes, there’s an exclamation mark. There’s a very good reason for that by the way. In February I read the first book from a series that has become one of my all time favourites already. And apparently the books only get better as the series goes on. Can’t wait!

So, the first book I read in February was The Perks of Being a Wallflower
by Stephen Chbosky. I really enjoyed it. It was sweet, yet bold, and kept me reading almost without stopping. I think it was the perfect book to kick-start February. I gave it 8.5/10.

The second book I read is the one I was so excited about in the beginning of this post. The Final Empire (Mistborn #1) by Brandon Sanderson. Oh. My. Goodness. Do you know that feeling when you’re reading a fantasy book and it’s got magic, but it’s the ‘usual’ kind of magic and even though you love it, you feel that it’d be so great if there’d be something different and new about it? Well, this book series would cover that quite nicely. It’s a fantasy book with the kind of magic that I’ve not read or seen anywhere else. And it’s so good. The author really knows what he’s doing with the characters and the twists and the world where it all takes place. It’s just brilliant. 10/10.

Lastly I read War Horse by Michael Morpurgo. I’d already seen the film adaption of this so I was preparing to cry my eyes out, but I was pleasantly surprised to see the book was quite a bit mellower than the film. So my tissue box remained untouched and instead I enjoyed the great little read about the adventures of a horse during war time. 7/10.

That’s 7/30 books read for my this year’s reading challenge. Going pretty well. And I’m soooooooo excited to continue with the Mistborn series. I’ll let you know what I think of the next ones from that series, but I have a feeling I’ll only have more good things to say. I have also already read some rather interesting books in March, so watch this space 😉

Beauty, Reviews, Unboxing

Unboxing #14

February 25, 2017 giastark

Hi all! It’s been a few days since my last post and I thought it’s about time for another beauty box unboxing. I’m going to call them something else soon as I’m not so much unboxing – it’s more of a reviewing. However I do have a whole little series thing going on here with the title. I don’t know what to do? Also, I’m sure I’ll somehow lose track one day and that’s when I’ll regret not naming these something else. Like, mentioning what I’m unboxing in the title. Or just naming them something more suitable. I’ll consider changing it in the future. All recommendation are welcome. For now however – I shall be unboxing February’s absolutely beautiful looking Lookfantastic box.

First things to pop out of the parcel were the usual monthly Elle magazine and Lookfantastic’s own beauty box magazine. I have to say I love the feeling that a lot of thought and effort has gone into this box and the little magazine. It just feels like it all works so well together. Great job. When diving further into the Runway Ready box, I found A Really Great Face Cream, Something To Help Me Get To Sleep, A Muddy Mask, Icy Magic, Metallic Magic and Something I’m Not Too Sure About And I’ll Tell You Why In A Bit.

The Ordinary Natural Moisturising Factors + HA. I like it. It smells nice, it leaves my face super soft and I love the design of the bottle/tube/thing. I’d buy it again and that’s saying something, considering I’ve somehow accrued a small heap of face creams which will take me a while to get through. It’s infused with Hyaluronic Acid (I’m still having some trouble saying), Ceramides and Glycerin. Oh, I forgot to say that it doesn’t leave my face oily or feeling like I’ve got a ton of stuff on. Just nice and soft.

This Works Deep Sleep Stress Less. I love This Works products. I do find that they actually work – I mean, duh, it says so in the name. This little guy (I don’t know why so many of my beauty products are ‘little guys’, they just are, ok?) smells gorgeously of Eucalyptus and Lavender to help you ‘feel at ease and without stress’. It reminds of koala bears. And what’s better to put you at ease than thinking about koala bears? Definitely recommend.

Borghese Fango Mud Mask. I’m not going to lie, I actually forgot this came in the box, so I haven’t tried it yet. I’ve had a super busy month and haven’t had too much time to think about thorough skincare. Or pampering sessions. I feel like one of those is in order very soon. I also think I’ll need to invite my sister-in-law-to-be over and do a little girls spa day in. So if you’re reading this, let me know when you’re up for it. Clearly I’ll be providing the face masks.

Polaar Icy Magic Roll On. It’s definitely icy. And perhaps there’s a little bit of magic in there too? To be honest, as I have super dark circles under my eyes, I’ve not seen a huge difference compared to my usual eye cream. HOWEVER, as it’s got a metal roll on applicator that’s really cold, it does actually wake me up a little. And I love the application process. It also sinks in super quick so I don’t feel like I’ve ever used too much of it. Overall I like it.

Model Co Eye Lites Metallic Shadow. Now, I don’t think I used it correctly haha. It says ‘use over your normal eye shadow for an iridescent diamond effect’, but I used it on its own and then grumbled because it didn’t blend. That’s a true ‘head – meet desk’ moment. Should’ve read the instructions first! It was still beautiful, just a little awkward to get to look ‘right’. I’ll try it over some eye shadow next time.

Myvitamins Catwalk Queen. That’s the one thing I’m not sure about in this box. As much as it pains me, I realise that not every box can be perfect and I’ve been super lucky so far as I’ve loved almost everything I’ve gotten. These vitamins are supposed to be the perfect blend of vitamins, minerals and extracts which boost the natural appearance of your hair, skin and nails. That all sounds great. There’s a big BUT however (as I’d written this sentence I realised that my fiance will probably start singing the big butt song when he reads it). They smell and taste like paint. I do just swallow them whole with water, but I can’t get over the smell of them. It’s like wet wall paint. Not sure if that’s how they’re supposed to smell or not, but I haven’t really been taking them and I don’t think I’ll be getting any more.

This concludes my unboxing/review of the February Lookfantastic box. Some really great products and my overall verdict is that I loved it and that it’s oh so worth it. Brilliant way to try out new products and brands. As I’m still fairly new to the whole beauty and makeup thing, I haven’t heard of most of these brands and I’m finding new favourites with every box I get. Can’t wait to see what March brings!