Instead of my usual Monthly Favourites, I decided to switch things up a bit this month because it's all about variety, right? So here is a new kind of blog post summing up my month. I'm not sure if it will take over my Monthly Favourites or if I will keep both types of blog posts on the go perhaps every second month, but I'll see how it goes. It's a bit more personal than my normal beauty/fashion/music favourites posts so I hope you enjoy it!

This Month I...

Listened to Ed Sheeran's interesting new album "X" (or Multiply). I say interesting because, like his first single off the album, SING, I'm not quite sure what I think about it as a whole yet. A lot of Ed's new songs are completely different to his soft and lyrical numbers that made me fall in love with his previous album. However, I do feel that in "X", he has proven his songwriting diversity and branched out to even try his hand at rapping in "The Man". I have to admit though, I do prefer the tracks "Photograph" and "I'm A Mess" which bear more resemblance to the Ed we all know and love.

Watched the perfection that is The Fault In Our Stars. I waited for weeks on end with hungry anticipation for the day I could finally see the movie realization of John Green's heartbreaking novel. After all the hopeful waiting, a tiny part of me was worried that the movie wouldn't live up to my immense expectations. Boy, was I wrong. The Fault In Our Stars captured and then broke my heart. I will be posting a full review soon as I can't do this outstanding movie justice in the space of a few lines. In the mean time, if you haven't already, go and see it!

Read Paper Towns by John Green. I couldn't put this book down. It grabbed me from the very beginning with it's believable characters and distinct element of mystery that kept me guessing throughout. Another great piece of work from John Green. Check out his quirkily thought-provoking YouTube channel VlogBrothers as well, which he shares with his brother Hank.

Bought a very pretty little floral top from Penneys. This peplum-style, denim coloured top is adorably girly and sweet. I've worn it casually with skinny jeans and flats and I can see it looking lovely paired with high-waisted shorts and sandals. I'm looking forward to experimenting with different looks, both casual and dressy, using this gorgeous printed top. 

Wore summery clothes of course! Printed playsuits, high-waisted shorts and colourful tops to complement the equally sunny weather. In terms of makeup, I've been wearing the Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum which is a lovely, lightweight foundation that's ideal for those summer days when you don't want to feel caked in heavy makeup. The first thing I noticed about this foundation is its delicious fruity fragrance. Yummy. The only thing is, I have oily skin so it seems to slip right off my nose in particular. Because it's quite a dewy foundation, I would recommend it to people with normal/dry skin. 

Ate way too many homemade icecream sundaes. To make your own refreshing sundae, put a few scoops of your favourite ice cream into a glass (I used a mason jar), fill with Sprite to see the fizziness commence and add a bit of food colouring to make it even more appetizing. Finish off with sprinkles and cut a slit in a strawberry to slide it onto the rim of your glass. Trust me, it tastes as delicious as it looks and this tempting ice cream sundae will keep you cool during hot summer days.

That's all for this month, I hope you are all enjoying the summer. Here's to another month of blogging! 

Don't forget to follow me on Instagram here and on Bloglovin here.

xxx

May Favourites

It's officially summer, my absolute favourite time of year. Cue a chorus of joyful singing and celebratory dancing! As you can tell, I'm pretty excited at the prospects of embracing all that summer has to offer. And you should be excited too! Anyway, this isn't a "seize the summer" post, I'm here to talk to you about what I've been enjoying the past month. Let's get cracking!

Beauty: If you've ever visited Lush, you'll know what I mean when I say that a trip to one of their stores is a feast for the senses. From bath bombs to makeup, all of the products from Lush are handmade and smell absolutely incredible (no exaggeration). My most recent purchase there was the deliciously fragrant Creamy Candy Bubble Bar which, judging by the smell of it, is going to be amazing when I use it. This pink bundle of sweetness can be used to turn any old bath into a heavenly, bubbly, delightful treat by crumbling the Bubble Bar under the flowing water of your bath. Described as delicate vanilla candies, the Bubble Bar also has little pieces of cocoa butter inside it as well. I can't wait to use it!

Fashion: More of an accessories favourite than a fashion trend this month but as the sunny season is here, I had to feature my new retro-style shades with you. They're pretty glam with the diamantes on the arm and such a bargain from Penneys/Primark. Last year, I was all for the bright and colourful sunglasses from Penneys but this pair grabbed my eye last weekend so I just had to buy them. Penneys have really stepped up to the mark in recent years when competing with other high street stores and, even if the quality isn't at a par with the likes of Topshop, you really can't go wrong when shopping for seasonal items like casual summer dresses, playsuits and accessories. So I'm delighted with my cute new sunnies and I shall be sporting them proudly when the weather permits, or even just to keep my hair back on windy days! It's Ireland after all, isn't it?

Music: Stay With Me by Sam Smith is one of the few beautiful and meaningful songs being played on the radio at the moment. Unfortunately though, it's played among the many, many (too many) poor excuses for music consisting of two words sung on repeat for three and a half minutes wasting air time and brainwashing people into thinking that this is what music is all about. It's not. But I applaud Sam Smith for using his gorgeous voice and writing wonderful songs like this. Have a listen here.

March/April Favourites

Here its is! My latest monthly favourites post, this time with a Spring theme. The season of cherry blossoms and daffodils is upon us so sit back and enjoy my monthly roundup of beauty, fashion and music.

Beauty: Only because it was on sale in Boots did I purchase Maybelline's new priming product: Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser. Maybelline promise to give us a "baby smooth and matte finish" while erasing all traces of pores with this lightweight primer, but in terms of priming; it didn't really excel. It did however give my skin a lovely dewy look and it did smooth out my skin considerably with it's clear gel-like texture (that could be a nuisance for some as it tends to make your fingers a bit greasy on application) . It's certainly not a phenomenal breakthrough for Maybelline but at the same time it does what it claims to do and it does it pretty well.

I also tried Collection 200's Cream Puff Lip Cream in Fairy Cake which I really like. The colour is a beautiful deep coral and the lip cream (a moisturising matte lip gloss) stays put for longer than most lip products.

The final product in this month's beauty section is the Natural Collection Blushed Cheeks blusher. The shade I bought was Peach Melba which is a darker shade than I would normally wear on my cheeks but it's a great bargain blusher.

Fashion: Flower crowns and floral hair pieces have been on my radar during recent weeks and, with images of floral fashion at Coachella pouring onto my Instagram (@lifebeautyblogger) feed making me extremely jealous, I went out and bought myself a bunch of flowers. Just kidding, I actually bought some pretty, floral accessories in Penneys/Primark. It wouldn't be spring without florals, would it? I'm not yet brave enough to pull off one of the larger flower crowns but I bought a pink, rose entwined hairband which I think is adorable. I also bought a pair of orange flower earrings with a diamond in the centre. Both the hairband and the pair of earrings cost a mere €2 each so my Coachella jealousy was eased a little.
Flower power all the way!

Large flower earrings on the far left and pink rose
hairband on the right, both €2 each  from Penneys.

Music: I absolutley love Ed Sheeran's music. His unbelievable lyrical talent is proving to the music world that he is one of the best songwriters of our generation. I'm counting down the days until I get to see him in concert (170 days in case you're wondering) and I've played his debut album "+" (plus) so often on my iPod that I know almost every song by heart. The official audio of the new single off his second album "x" (multiply) was released a week ago. The song is called SING and I didn't like it at first but after a few good listens, it started to grow on me. It's very catchy but so different to his previous songs which had a much calmer vibe to them. I'm still not sure about it but I'll trust Ed on this one as there is no doubting his talent. Listen to it here: Ed Sheeran - SING and let me know what you think.

I hope you all have a lovely Easter.

xxx

Music of the Month: March

Just a quick post but I felt I had to share these artists and songs before some new great tunes start playing (on repeat) in my constantly singing mind. Here are my top songs at the moment, each by very individual artists all of whom I really enjoy listening to. Do check out their other songs as well if you're in the mood for some good music. I have featured a couple of these songs in other posts before but here are the links to the Youtube videos:

John Newman - Out Of My Head 
Paloma Faith - Only Love Can Hurt Like This (not the official video as it hasn't been released yet)
Sam Smith - Money On My Mind (clever lyric video)
Kodaline - One Day
Avicii - Addicted To You

Special mention to Let It Go (from Frozen) performed by Idina Menzel.
A gorgeous song from an even more gorgeous film (you really can't beat Disney) and it most definitely deserved the Oscar. Just had to add that one to the end of the list because I literally can't stop singing it!

Paloma proves that she's not only capable hitting the high notes
with her new track "Only Love Can Hurt Like This"
but also with her edgy style proven here at London Fashion Week.

February Favourites

February is almost over and I haven't had a monthly favourites post in a while so here were my highlights this month in the worlds of beauty, fashion and music.

Beauty: My lips were in dire need of a bit of hydration this month with the dropping temperatures; there was even a bit of snow! In February! So I bought a new Maybelline Baby Lips in Mint Fresh as Cherry Me was a bit bright for everyday wear. I have to say I really prefer Mint Fresh. I've been applying it several times a day and it seems to be more moisturising than Cherry Me. It has a delicious minty fragrance and, because of its sheer appearance, can be worn under lipstick. Not as moisturising as the likes of Carmex but a great budget lip balm with cute packaging.

Fashion: With Anna Wintour, Bradley Cooper and Harry Styles in the front row and Cara Delevingne taking the limelight on the runway, the Burberry Prorsum Autumn/Winter 2014 show was a tasteful, colourful and artistic success. An earthy toned collection of floaty materials, high waisted coats and beautiful hand painted floral bags graced the runway at London Fashion Week. Layering was prevalent with long flimsy scarves and large blanket ponchos in nature inspired motifs. As a Paloma Faith fan myself, her powerful rendition of 'Only Love Can Hurt Like This' added the perfect accompaniment, I feel, to the rustic and autumnal collection.

Music: One word. Kodaline. When the Dublin-based band released 'All I Want' and 'High Hopes' a year ago, I definitely took a shining to their music. Since I started listening to 'One Day' about a week ago however, I've been hooked. Like all good songs, it sounded both new and familiar at the same time. Touching and truthful, listening to this tune is a must.

Intro and October Favourites

So I’ve finally gotten around to starting a blog. A few months ago, the “fabulous” idea came to me to start writing one. I was imagining flawless posts, high quality photos and lots and lots of people reading my “incredible” writing. Now that I’m here though, in the glamorous blogging world....Well I’m not really here yet, am I? It’s going to take quite a bit of work to decide what theme my blog will adopt.  I’m not sure what layout/design I want for Life Beauty Blogger (still not 100% happy with the name, I’ll have to keep brainstorming on that). Anyway, enough about my thoughts, I think it’s best to get stuck into this thing so I’ve settled on the idea of starting this with an October favourites.

Here it is, hope you like it:

October Favourites

Beauty: This month I tried out a few new great beauty products. Standing out most prominently for me was however, my gorgeously soft Real Techniques Multi-Task Brush which sat alongside two other Real Techniques in the compact Travel Essentials set. This pink blush brush is the perfect size for applying blush and bronzer but I also use it for translucent powder which keeps my foundation in place. Overall, a fantastic brush with multiple uses.

Fashion: With winter quickly approaching, comfort and warmth is equally as important as style. You really can’t go wrong with a pair of fluffy boots (personally, I'm not a fan of the UGG kind though) to keep those cold toes at a cosy temperature. At the moment, I’m loving a cute grey pair I bought last year. They were a bargain and look pretty with skinny jeans.

Music: Lorde’s Royals is a lyrically brilliant tune constantly playing in my mind. It’s a no fuss, powerful and catchy song with emphasis on the strong words. What’s more, the talented songwriter from New Zealand is just 16 years old!

As for the whole blogging thing? I’ll get there in time. Fingers crossed.