Booklook: My Top 5 Holiday Reads

Now it's getting to that time of year where people prepare to fly off for a week or two abroad. If you're anything like me, you love reading a good book whilst catching some rays. Saying that, I'm pretty much a bookworm all of the time so I am starting a little series called 
'Booklook' where I can share my current favourites or anything book related. It can be difficult choosing a book though, so I thought I would suggest a few of my most loved books if you fancy a read this summer.

I always get the impression that people associate holiday/summer books with fluffy, easy-going stories. Not everyone is keen on the idea of depressing themselves on what's meant to be a relaxing break, but my favourite books are deep, thought-provoking novels. In my opinion, a holiday book can be any genre, just a great page-turner that is sure to keep you entertained as you bathe by the pool and sip on cocktails!

1. The Fault in our Stars - John Green

There may be a fault in their stars, but there really isn't a fault with this book. I would describe it as utterly perfect. It is about two extraordinary teenagers who meet at a cancer support group and fall in love. I have to say, the book is incredibly sad but also uplifting at the same time. I love how John Green combines comedy with such a serious and emotional 


topic like cancer. I thoroughly recommend this book to everyone and if you liked the movie, you'll love the book!

2. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold

The Lovely Bones is about a young girl who has been murdered and watches over her family and her killer from heaven. It is one of those books that I presumed would be scary due to the word 'bones' in the title and although there  are some dark and sad moments, there is a lot of positivity to be taken away as the book touches upon matters such as dealing with grief and vengeance. It was really interesting seeing it from a unique perspective such as purgatory and it is one of those books that will have you hooked from page one.

3. Spilled Water - Sally Grindley

Spilled Water is a powerful and compelling novel about a Mother encouraged to sell her young daughter into domestic service. I fell in love with this book from start to finish as I found it so fascinating learning about another culture and I especially enjoyed escaping to China when reading the book. I really enjoyed the alternating paragraphs from present to past and the story definitely tugged on my heartstrings. The book also won the Smarties Gold Award in 2004.

4. Ketchup Clouds - Annabel Pitcher

Ketchup Clouds tells the story of a teenage girl who has a dark secret she is afraid to confess to anyone but her pen friend who is in prison. Whilst reading this story, I couldn't help but feel completely involved which lead to me feeling quite sinister. It's one of those books that draws you in completely and  you are desperate to find out what happens next. This book is quite similar to The Lovely Bones in the sense that it plays on your mind for days on end once you have finished reading it because of the ever so intriguing plot.

5. The Shock of the Fall - Nathan Filer

The Shock of the Fall is a haunting but fascinating take on guilt, death and illness that recently won best first novel at the 2014 Costa Book Awards. The first-person narrative and the way in which Matt (the main character) writes really allows an insight into his mind and keeps the book incredibly raw and entertaining. The story is very gripping and a real eye-opener.

"The book to read is not the one that thinks for you but the one which makes you think." - Harper Lee

Lots of love,

Lily

OOTD: Getting Catty

I thought I'd mix things up a bit with a never before done 'Outfit of the Day' blog post. By no means am I an expert at this kind of thing, but the excited fashionista in me does come out when the weather starts to get a bit warmer.

I kept my outfit simple and comfortable but still appropriate for a girly shopping and cinema trip with my friend Becky. I also think the adorable heart-patterned burgundy skirt makes the outfit super chic and vintage looking.

The studs and tassels on my bag spiced up the classic skirt and top combination. I also had to sport my infinity ring along with all of my other rings as I was seeing The Fault in Our Stars that day. If you haven't already seen it, you have to, it's amazing! Have any of you seen it yet?

I apologise to those who have a phobia of feet!

I wore my adorable diamond panda necklace, which looking back now, slightly contradicts my 'Meoow' top! I kept things even more simple with some nude sandals too.

Just, ya know, staring into the distance

It was a lovely sunny day so I had my tortoise-shell sunglasses at the ready! 

Top - H&M

Skirt (includes belt) - Matalan  

Bag - Peacocks

Shoes - Primark

Infinity ring - Claire's Accessories

Panda necklace - H&M

Sunglasses - Next

Have a lovely week!

"Wherever you go, no matter the weather, always bring your own sunshine." - Anthony J. D'Angelo

Lots of love,

Lily

Kylie Jenner Makeup Look

So Kylie Jenner has recently re-vamped her makeup look and is looking hotter than ever. Whatever her makeup artist is doing with her face, I LOVE it and so I tried to recreate her classic look at the moment - full, beige lips with winged eyeliner and fluttery lashes.

I originally filmed a tutorial for this as I am thinking of starting a YouTube channel mainly dedicated to makeup and beauty. I'm not entirely sure about that at the moment though so I wanted to share the video on here in the meantime. Turns out it wouldn't let me upload such a large file anyway so I have screen-shot the video and decided to take you through step by step instead. I just wanted to point that out incase you are wondering why the image quality isn't so great or may be a bit blurred!

I started by priming by skin using Benefit's Porefessional to minimise the appearance of my pores and also prevent my foundation from caking.

I applied my favourite foundation Loreal's True Match onto my skin using a Real Technique's Stippling Brush.

I then brightened and highlighted my under-eye area, nose bridge and the centre of my forehead using M.A.C Studio Sculpt Concealer in NC20. 

Using a dark brown eyeshadow, I filled in my eyebrows to look more like Kylie's. Her eyebrows are highly arched and very defined. I then brushed them through with an eyebrow spoolie to keep them soft and natural looking.

As for contouring, I used Nars Laguna Bronzer to sculpt my cheekbones and jaw line for a sharper jaw. Kylie also has a very straight, narrow nose so I tried my best to make my nose a similar shape.

I also blended the same bronzer in my eye crease as it made for the perfect matte brown.

I then washed Naked Lunch, a shimmery nude from M.A.C, over my eyelid, in the tear duct and on the brow bone. 

For bigger eyes, I lined my waterline with the Nyx Jumbo Eye Pencil in Yoghurt.

I find it a lot easier to wing out eyeliner using a felt tip liner. This is Extreme from Collection 2000. All I do is line my lash line and draw a flick in line with my bottom lash line and join it all together.

For mascara, I used Soap and Glory's Thick and Fast even though I did apply falsies. This way, my eyelashes were curled and shapely, which made it a lot easier to fix the eyelashes. 

 Using the same bronzer I used in my crease, I applied it underneath my bottom lash line for some added drama.

The eyelashes I used were from Nyx and were called Golddigga. They were perfectly fluttery for a Kylie Jenner look! When applying lashes, I wait for the glue to go tacky and position them on my lash line using tweezers. 

To achieve the bronze glow that Kylie has, I used Bronze Pearl from Physician's Formula and Margin from M.A.C on the apples of my cheeks. I also further highlighted with Benefit's High Beam. 

Kylie's recent fuller lips have sparked a lot of accusations of her going under the knife. The truth is though, all you need is a lip liner and a lipstick! I used a M.A.C lipliner called Stripdown and a M.A.C lipstick called Yash over the the top.

And here is the finished look!

Trying to pose like Kylie!

Don't feel afraid to try out new looks or experiment with makeup! 

"In order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different." - Coco Chanel

Lots of love,

Lily

My Disney Charm Bracelet

You might remember that I did a Disney Tag not too long ago. I mentioned my Disney charm bracelet being my most treasured Disney item and I also remember saying how I may have to dedicate a blog post to it. Well, that's exactly what I'm going to do now.

For those wondering, this bracelet goes by the name of the 'Ultimate Disney Classic Charm Bracelet' and is an original jewellery design exclusively from the Bradford Exchange. It is individually hand-crafted and plated in 24k gold and features 37 Disney character charms, all of which are hand-painted. 

This isn't the most cheapest of items, but it is priceless to me as it is so special and I love it. I don't wear it a lot for fear of damaging it but it is kept in a safe place being something that I will treasure forever. This bracelet was actually bought for me for my 10th Birthday so it is just over four years old now.

I wanted to show close-ups of a few characters so that you can see how beautifully detailed each and every one is. You might be able to spot your favourite character!

 The Ultimate Classic Disney Charm Bracelet is still available for purchase from The Bradford Exchange.

"Sometimes, the smallest things take up the most room in your heart." - Winnie the Pooh

Lots of love,

Lily