Hey Guys,
I feel like a lot of you haven’t realised I have changed sites !
My new URL is https://gemblogonline.wordpress.com/
ENJOY!
All the Bright Places – BOOK REVIEW
This stunning contemporary novel of friendship and careful romance as well as serious themes of mental illness and suicide, has quickly become one of my favourite books of all time.
The story follows Violet Markey a popular girl at school who’s life crashes to a halt after the death of her sister as she is beginning to lose touch with reality – and Theodore Finch who seems obsessed with the idea of suicide as they begin to change each other’s perceptions of the world.
However don’t be deterred, this is not your typical mushy ‘boy meets girl’ romance, no it’s much more than that. The delicately played narrative of love and loss is heart-rendering and unique in style. I can’t help but compare this to ‘The Fault in Our Stars’, another tragic love story, but whilst TFIOS almost seems trashy in its commercialism and inevitability, ‘All the Bright Places’ does not. That’s right, this book makes ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ (the book that inspired the movie that made $300 million) look trashy.
The story is told in dual-perspective from both of the protagonists which allows the reader to feel very involved in the story and emotionally connected to a point where it can reduce you to tears and break your heart. That’s when you know it is powerful writing.
Violet and Finch are grouped together in a school project after they meet on the ledge of the school bell tower when Violet is about to jump. Together they travel around their state soon forgetting about their project and instead enjoying the company. But reality can’t be forgotten forever and with Finch’s struggle with mental issues and Violet trying to move on from the past, their relationship is fraught with highs and lows.
Without spoiling too much, I can tell you that our star-crossed lovers visit a ball of paint, a back-yard roller-coaster and a tiny mountain, all of which inspire laughter, love and a good dose of wanderlust.
Niven’s writing style in this book is not to be glossed over at all, the characters are shown in so much detail, through straight forward description as well as how they speak and act. There is some beautiful imagery and a number of amazing quotes, try “You are all the colours at once, at full brightness.” Every detail and plot point in this book is well thought-out and delivered with grace, even the website that Violet creates in the book exists in real life with a purpose to help give advice about style, life, pop culture and literature.
After reading the epilogue you can really tell why the writing in the novel is so good, Niven is writing from a personal, emotional place as well as trying to promote people to talk about mental illness and stop it being such a ‘taboo’, secretive thing.
All in all the book has, in my eyes, succeeded in all it set out to achieve and more. If you enjoyed book like ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ or ‘Before I die’, I would definitely recommend this book. Even I you’ve never even picked up a book from this genre I would strongly encourage you to read it. Even if it’s to learn more about mental illness or so you can say you read it before its made into a film.
Whoever you are, whatever your age, I implore to read this book.
Life in Noir
Hey guys!
It’s Alexandra (Alee) Morris and I will be talking about my recent change in fashion to the good old black and white photo days, with the help of my bf George….
Let’s get started, what particularly drew me to this style of clothing was that it looked classy at the same time as being a casual city style. It’s totally versatile and easy to match with other accessories, allowing you to pick one item of clothing that adds a pop of colour to your outfit.
So first let’s set the rules;
- Your shoes must match the colour of your top, and perhaps your bag too.
- Your jacket must match the colour of your bottoms.
- Your bag should feature at least one of the colours in your outfit.
- The colours must be black and white, perhaps a cream or a grey as well.
- Your make-up must be based on one of the colours in your outfit and can also feature a colour pop.
- You cannot add any colour that’s out of the black, grey to white spectrum (so literally 50 shades of grey).
Now on to make-up! I love changing products and shades/colours to suit your look that day, so here are my base products that I use to do my more dressed up make-up.
Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed looking into this style! 🙂
AM x (also with a teeny tiny bit of help from George)
Most Annoying Moments for Glasses Wearers
I’m short-sighted and I’ve worn glasses for long time and I’ve gone through all types of glasses in my time. If you wear glasses as well you’ll understand the #struggle that comes as a side-effect of wanting to see stuff in focus.
So here we go, the top 5 annoying moments for people who wear glasses!
1. TRYING TO DO YOUR MAKEUP (when you don’t want to wear contacts)
Often times I have to push my face right up against mirror to see whether my makeup is blended or to double check my eyeliner, I’m surprised my mirror hasn’t been chipped from banging my brushes harshly on the thing mid-contour.
In case it isn’t obvious trying to do your makeup with glasses on at the same time is nigh-on impossible if you don’t want to look patchy and you want to wear eye makeup.
However until I feel like wearing contacts every morning, the struggle continues.
2. STEAM
Whether you’re ironing, making dinner on the hob or making a hot drink it always seems that a burst of steam attacks right when you most need your vision – like for example when you’re trying to avoid ironing the delicate lace on your most favourite top but the steam blinds you! So much freaking anger!!!!!
3. PEOPLE ASKING FOR YOUR GLASSES TO SEE IF “THEY LOOK GOOD ON ME”
Why???? Like sure glasses are exciting at first and you might want to take a hipster selfie with your best friend but honestly this is the second most annoying thing you could possibly ask me! (The first being – “How many fingers am I holding up? )
4. EVEN WHEN YOU’RE NOT WEARING GLASSES YOU ALWAYS REACH UP TO ADJUST THEM
Please tell me I’m not the only one 😥 I think its just a force of habit but I cannot tell you the amount of times I have just ended up punching myself in the face because I forgot that I’d taken off my glasses.
I now it sounds weird but trust me it happens!
5. WINTER
Winter is practically the glasses wearers worst enemy – rain, snow, fog and worst of all when you walk into a warm room and your specs inevitably fog up and make you look like an idiot.
It alone is enough to make you want to try contacts.
What’s in My Bag?
PRODUCTS MENTIONED:
Headphones : http://goo.gl/oqb3M8
Beats Pill : http://goo.gl/8t4urP
Cancer Research UK : http://goo.gl/rmntJ
Sunglasses : http://goo.gl/DtJxHq
Umbrella : http://goo.gl/YtKUPx
Glasses Case : http://goo.gl/M8cmkD
Stylus : http://goo.gl/GnY8qF
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Red Queen – BOOK REVIEW
RED QUEEN BOOK REVIEW
It’s been quite a long while since I read for pleasure, what with school and coursework and YouTube and my new iPhone being great at distracting me in the evenings when I normally read.
HOWEVER since the holidays have begun I’ve been set on having a good reading summer. I’ve made a shelf on Goodreads and I’ve begun buying books. The first of which was Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard.
I bought this partly because it was on BOGOHP at Waterstones and partly upon the recommendations of Sasha Alsberg. I was not disappointed!
Set in a Dystopian style future where the Reds (those who have red blood and no special abilities) are treated as slaves of a lower status to the silvers (have silver blood and special powers which vary from family to family, they are the courts the royalty and the high up people) the story is brilliantly well developed. Mare, a red disgruntled worth the way things work for her people, is suddenly thrown into a completely different world from her own. Due to an interesting event she is stuck there and begins to learn the traitorous and scary world of the silvers is not all that it seems.
This story is extremely exciting and addictive. I could barely put it down in the two days I read it (couldn’t help myself 😁) and even when I could, I couldn’t stop thinking about it! Every character is thought out well and easy to remember!
Although there have been comments that this is a generic young adult book I would disagree. I feel that it plays a different spin on a common theme in the teenage category. Although it does have the broad general heading of a dystopian future with a teenage female heroine I think it is well worth reading even if you have read (like me ahaha) most of the well known books in the frame.
I have one minor complaint about this book – personally I found Mare’s character to have a negative character development at he very end of the book. I think she lost her strength and became more weak and whine-y at the very end. However as it was at the very end I can generally dismiss this as the rest of the book was so amazing!
OVERVIEW:
8/10 ~ worth a read if you’re a fan of books like, Divergent, the TMI series or generally the Young Adult dystopian category.
BUT BEAR IN MIND it is not a clone of these books, it is different but familiar in some of its minor details!
Dying my hair – PART ONE – My Experience
This will be the start of a very small series where I talk about my experiences dying my hair. I imagine it will pan out as follows:
1- My Experience
2- My Favourite Products
3- How I do It
So here is PART ONE
I’m not new to dying my hair bright bold colours, I’d say I’ve been doing it for about 4 years – always in the holidays, always bright, always semi-permanent, always either streaks or dip-dye, never my full head (so far ;p)
I have really enjoyed doing it, to me it is an expression of who I am and my creativity and also to celebrate the holidays!
In my experience it hasn’t ever necessarily dried or damaged my hair – my hair is reasonably dry to start with because I love to swim and sunbathe and I tend not to use a lot of conditioner because my hair gets greasy quickly. Furthermore the kits I use always come with their special sachets of colour conditioner – WHICH IS AMAZINGLY NOURISHING!
People have always responded well to my bright hair. I am greeted with “wow”s and many questions about how I did it. That is partly why I decided to create this series!
PLEASE COMMENT AND ASK ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE!!
My Obession with Tea Shops
Hello my name is Megan and I am obsessed with tea shops.
Ever since I was very little I have wanted to open a small tea shop and sell cakes and drinks on little quaint mis-matched vintage crockery. Aaaah the delusional dream of a little British girl. Although my aspirations have changed slightly, I still adore everything from Afternoon tea, to bacon pancakes served up in the local tea shops.
When my friends say they want to meet up in town it’s always one of my first thoughts! I mean why not?
– They’re fun and different from an over-priced starbucks
– They’re so cute and vintage ~ perfect for Instagram
– The food (and drink) is so nice
So therefore I thought I (with my refined tastes and local knowledge) would show you guys the best of the best places to get a very british taste:
My Top 10 ~ Nail Polishes
I am a very big fan of nail polishes, I have been since I was little. Now my stash is quite large and contains every colour possible! Since its now summer and I can go wild with colour, I thought I’d share with you my current top nail products.
1 ~ Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine in Guava.
I though I’d get this one out f the way because I am sure I’m definitely not the first person you’ve seen talk about this range of nail polishes. They’re thick creamy and very opaque as well as being super shiny once dry, this range is quite popular in the UK.
This particular colour is a favourite of mine because I love it looks with any and every skintone. Blue is my favourite colour and whilst this is bordering on green, the vibrant turquoise is an amazing colour for summer!
2~ Maybelline Colour Show in 553 Purple Gem
I think I originally bought this with my Mum in mind but seeing as she doesn’t particularly wear normal nail polish (she gets gel shellac at the nail salon place) I re-commandeered it. I’m wearing this on my toes right now and actually I’m realising now just how well its lasting! It’s barely chipped or cracked and is still really shiny – all that from a product that doesn’t claim longevity is pretty good!
This is a gorgeous deep purple colour and upon close inspection you’ll see super-fine amazing purple shimmer as well. It reminds me of a purple satin scarf or silk robe.
3~ KIKO Nail Lacquer in 331
I cant remember the exact price of this when it was purchased in an Italian airport but I remember it being reasonably inexpensive, and wow it’s stunning with or without taking into mind it’s price tag. The formula is quite similar to the Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine formula but possible I bit thinner or sheerer.
The colour is a rich pastel lilac hue that looks beautiful and elegant on one’s digits, it also works extremely well on the toes and in general is a gorgeous polish to own. Love this so much.
4~ KIKO rock top nail lacquer in 600
Sticking with the KIKO brand this nail polish is a blast form the past into 2011/2012 when crackle nail polishes were a big thing. Nail art back then was messy and unprofessional. However this colour pulls the more sophisticated crackle look and looks great over a massive range of colours.
The colour is similarly gorgeous to the previous one in that it is a vibrant pastel hue but this time in a shade of pretty easter-esque yellow. Trust me when I say you should definitely try this one.
5~ Stila Nail Shimmer in Nymph
This one I sneakily took from my mum’s collection a while back because I fell in love within moments of setting eyes on it. However because I took it from my Mum I have no idea if its still being produced or if it went out of production years ago.
Its a glitter top cat that makes any colour appear just -and there’s no other way to put this- magical. It’s pale orang in the bottle but is almost clear when applied and features magical fairy dust like shimmer. It’s orange-y silver but also shines hot pink in some lights. Its so hard to explain but I think its just so beautiful and it really will be a shame to find it’s discontinued.
6~ M&S Quick Dry nail polish in ULTRAVIOLET
I got his particular nail polish in a set one Christmas and it’s one that has constantly been in my top nail polishes. It isn’t as pigmented as I would have liked but the colour is so pretty I can forgive that. Its a light sky blue meets periwinkle type colour that looks so beautiful with any skin colour.
It has a very VERY small silver shimmer to it but its barely noticeable and this has the effect of delicate and pretty shine.
7~ M&S Glitter nail polish in PINK ICE
Another M&S polish but this time I got it full size in a magnificent heavy glass bottle. This is – as the name suggests- a chunky yet pretty glitter polish with an amazing mix of colours that JUST WORKS! Big pink metallic hexagons of glitter with a smaller amount of tiny silver glitter and an abundance of mini holographic bits mixed in! It makes any polish look amazing and is basically nail art in a bottle. Dot be scared away if you don’t like pink, it transforms whatever you wear under it and een if you just wear this on an accent nail it honestly looks so so good!
8~ COLLECTION 7 DAY WEAR nail polish in 23. Sonic Blue
This is the one I’m wearing on my fingers right now as I’m typing away! bought this one to ear to and top up in Istanbul because it reminded me of Topkapi Palace and it was a popular colour in summer. I went all around my local Superdrug comparing all the bright blues from all the brands and this one came out on top. I wanted a bright blue but one that wasn’t too neon or too dull. I was amazed to see this cost only £1.99 because it really is amazing value for this product. I love love love the colour but I would say that after a couple of days(3-4) it starts to lose its shine and turns almost matte- which is interesting…
But overall this polish is absolutely amazing and is the budget winner as well as being one of my favourite shades right now.
9~ M&S Metallic nail polish in Peacock
This nail polish is wonderful. In the bottle it looks like an oil slick, gold, green blue all marbled together like a molten metal. Its safe to say it looks slightly more conventional on your nails, like a rich opaque gold with a slight hint of colour when at and angle. I love this for summer especially when paired with a turquoise blue.
I was given this by a friend and honestly I’m so glad she picked this one out. I love this and suggest you try it out!
10~ M&S mien nail polish in LILAC (G0)
This final one is possibly my favourite for summer nails. Its a sheer topcoat-style polish with such luminescence and glow. Its a light blue-periwinkle but with a beautiful lilac shimmer throughout that possibly is the reason that it makes any nail polish 100x more stunning. It is a must for summer for me, making whatever I already have n look, prettier, more elegant, more eye-catching and generally more stunning.
So there you go, my Top 10 nail polishes this summer. I hope I didn’t bore you and hat you maybe found a new exciting nail polish that you perhaps wouldn’t have looked at before.
10 Underated Amazing Moments
Sometimes the simple things in life are worth noting
1. The feeling of clean, crisp new sheets.
2. Warm sand between your toes.
3. Seeing someone you love for the first time in such a long time.
4. Your first sip of coffee on a cold morning.
5. Walking in the grass without any shoes on.
6. Sticking to something ~ a workout regime, a plan, a promise .
7. Dancing till your feet hurt without any inhibitions.
8. Hearing your favourite song unexpectedly.
9. Getting something perfectly right ~ makeup, a drawing, a joke
10. Giving.
Gem 