August Favourites

Monthly favourites time! The nights are already getting darker, which means no more summer, but I'm already excited for the colder weather...

Adventures of an Agoraphobic: liveblogging from a train

Usually when I write an Adventures of an Agoraphobic post, it’s about travel. This one is still travel themed, but is also a little bit different.

Many people have different ways to cope with their mental health. My Mum was telling me about two people with anxiety that she works with – one of them avoids calling people on the phone at all costs, and the other copes by planning his day down to a tee so he always knows what he’s got to expect. I don’t know what my coping mechanisms are. Probably going everywhere with someone I can trust, or staying in close contact over the phone. Today is different. Today I’m doing a long distance train journey on my own for the first time in two years. No-one to sit with me and no-one to talk to on the phone (well, depending on how good my signal is).

I am an awful daughter, and don’t visit my Dad as much as I should. Not because I don’t want to, but because I’m scared of the journey. I’ve done it a thousand times on my own, but since I started to have problems with my mental health, it’s been near impossible. I’d always wait until Kris could come along with me too. But Kris is at Reading Festival this weekend, so here I am on the train by myself. I’m trying a new coping mechanism – live blogging my journey. So here you go – adventures of an agoraphobic, on a train from Manchester to Durham on Friday the 26^th August 2016…

Red Lipstick Alternatives (+ swatches)

I am guilty of being unimaginative with my makeup. For a night out (not that I really go out these days) my attitude is "if in doubt, red lipstick". Daytime nude, nighttime red. 

However, I was looking through my stash recently and realised I have so many other colours that don't get enough love. 

So, in this post you'll find four lipsticks that aren't too out there, but a nice change from pillar box!

Review: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

I've been putting this post off for weeks - I've been finding it so hard to get my feelings down on paper. My brain is just a jumbled mess of feelings! But here it is, my thoughts on the Cursed Child!

The release of this book has just been such a surreal experience for me. In all honesty, I don't think I was that excited about it until a few days before 31st July. When they announced the play, I didn't try and get preview tickets - I don't live near London and at the time I was totally skint! When they announced the script I was relieved - who needs to go all the way down to London when I can just read the book? I used to pre-order Harry Potter books as soon as I was able to, but with Cursed Child I happened to be in Waterstones buying something for my Dad and and thought "why not?". That was in June, so in my opinion, I left it quite late! 

It was only when it reached late July that I started to get excited. I think it was seeing other people get excited that helped - it felt like I was back in the early 00s. Almost ten years we went without a Harry Potter book, and yet the whole buzz surrounding it hasn't changed. After reading this my boyfriend and I actually queued up on 4 devices to book tickets to see the play - November 2017 here we come!

However for me, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child felt familiar whilst being a completely new experience. Enemies of the heir, beware (of spoilers)...

Real Techniques Ultimate Base Set Unboxing and Review

On Wednesdays I always go on the Superdrug website to check out their Star Buys. Last week I was lucky enough to snag the Real Techniques Ultimate Base Set for just £13.99! I needed a new sponge and this felt like a perfect deal - you can never have too many buffing brushes!

Aging Pop Culture: Does popular culture have a sell-by date?

Recently I feel like I've travelled back in a time machine. The Harry Potter craze has taken hold (did it ever really go away?), Pokemon is popular again, and I've been reading The Princess Diaries books. Looking at clothes in shops currently, I could quite easily put together an outfit that my mum would have worn when I was a kid. This whole 90/00s feel has been around for a while - I remember a few years ago actually debating whether to buy a pair of jelly shoes (I thankfully didn't waste my money).

Popular culture seems to be so fond of nostalgia. Already the "millennial" generation (urgh, still kind of hate that phrase) seems to spend a lot of time looking back at memories from their past, in a way that makes us seem like old grandparents in their armchairs talking about the Blitz. But I wonder, does pop culture have a sell by date? At what point does it stop being trendy and start becoming dated?

Adventures of an Agoraphobic: Hay-on-Wye

It's been a while since I've done a travel post! This is a long one, so I apologise for the ramble!

Am reusing this old photo, because I realised I hadn't taken any outdoor shots! Fail.