I'm back, and I've grown up a lot.

I would like to take the time to announce that I am returning to my blog after an unforgivably long abscence. I could blame my broken laptop, but I replaced that back in November when baby ver.1 died. I would love to blame my job, but that seems like a huge cop out to me. No, what it comes down to is a mixture of laziness and writers block. So, what have I been up to, and what can you as readers look forward to?

Coming soon, the adventures of an english girl in Helsinki. I'm having a mini break in one of my favourite cities in June, just a couple of days to wander around. I'm also attending a GazettE live while I'm there, so you can expect a lot of excitement there too. Possibly an entire post dedicated to that day, as I have VIP tickets too!

Some interesting developments have been happening in my social life, more so in the way I view my social life than its changed dramatically. Alas, I'm still a single pringle but I'm also coming to terms with why that might not be such a bad thing...

I will also continue my love of fasion and makeup on a budget, and I have some makeup I would love to rave about, and hopefully I'll be having a little shopping spree soon before my mini break so you can expect a post about my haul. Unless of course I don't find any clothes I like, as often is the case. I'm picky because I have taste, or so I tell myself.

For now, the sun is shining, the skies are blue and I have a lunch date to get ready for, so dear readers, if you still remain, please don't give up on me. I will return.

Rei

A Small Update

Firstly, I owe anyone who reads my blog a huge apology. There are two main reasons I have taken a long abscence from writing. The forst one is I got a full time job. I work in a hospital pharmacy now, which is super scary and stressful and I'm so tired each day when I get home I barely have the energy to eat, never mind write blog posts.

The second, and sadder reason, is that my old baby died. My laptop, my companion at university and trips around the country amd abroad, was too old and beaten up to live any more, and finally he decided he was no longer for this world. Luckily, I had 99% of my files backed up, so there was no issue with that, and I've recently bought myself a new laptop which I've sorely needed for a long time anyway.

So please, I beg your patience, and watch out for a new post, hopefully very soon.

Rei ♡

How I went from Resisting E-readers to Loving my Kindle

As a child growing up, I loved books with all my heart. I loved nothing more than reading and would go once a week to the library and rent a stack of books. I would sneak a torch into my bed and read under the covers, no matter how many times it got me into trouble. 

As a teenager, when I started getting a small income of my own, my addiction to books became worse and worse. I would spend so much money on books I couldn't afford anything else, and as for reading, I could read a book in an evening if I chose to, so I often would. 

Now, as a young adult, I ended up with stacks and stacks of books. I had a 6ft long shelf, stacked upwards until books almost touched my bedroom ceiling, more on my desk, and even more under my bed. I had more books than I knew what to do with. But then I had to move away to university and I couldn't take all my books. To make matters worse, while I was moved away, my sister came to live at home, until she got married one year before I completed my degree. 

All of my books were send into the attic. Boxed up and stored away. The shelf was dismantled, my dyslexic sister has no love of reading and wanted to redecorate while I was gone. I chose then to carry on anyway, but university meant I was moving a lot. I couldn't have all the books I wanted, if have to throw them away in order to make room for more. 

It was my grandmother who gave me an alternative. My first Christmas after starting my degree, she and my parents banded in and bought me a kindle as my 'big' present. I had, until this point, resisted e-readers. I loved books. The smell of a new book compared to an old one, the feel of a hefty book in your hands, the satisfaction of cracking a spine (yes I'm one of those people). 

However, I saw the practicality of owning an e-reader. I could have an entire library of books in my handbag with no more weight than my phone. Later, when I got a smartphone, I could have that library on my phone using an app. So I was grateful. Though the kindle wasn't my precious books, it gave me back what I loved the most; reading. 

And then the day came when I started to love my kindle. I feel incomplete without it in my handbag. When on a 12 hour flight I had a panic attack, due to my claustrophobia and fear of flying, it prevented me from getting worse and kept my mind off my terror. 

When I've needed a break from the world, I take my kindle and pop in my headphones and lose myself in fictional worlds. And because it's so small and light, I take it everywhere. I always have books to read ready and waiting. I can buy more at the touch of a button, and one thing no one tells you is that e-books are significantly cheaper, so while I haven't saved any money because I still have an addiction, I have many more adventures to read for that money I've spent. 

Books. They have kept me sane in an insane world. And having an e-reader has made them even more accessible and portable. I still love books. If a day comes when the libraries and bookshops shut, the haunts of my childhood and teenage years gone, I will be sad. But we never have to lose the magic of reading. 

And of course, despite having an entire library to choose from, I will never find a day where I am not looking for the next book to read, or have a stack unread that I keep promising myself one day...

Rei ♡

Tips for the Cold Season

How to beat a cold:

1. Get into dressing gown and slippers (not pictured)

2. Make a nest with pillows and blankets

3. Get comfort food. Remember: feed a cold, starve a fever (also not pictured) 

4. Put on a soppy drama. I myself am currently watching the Korean drama, "My love from the star"

5. Grab any pets or cuddly toys you have for extra comfort

6. Take the time to let yourself recover

Of course, for those of us who cannot take time off work or school for a simple cold, never fear. You can do this in your spare time and you will be even stronger than the rest of us for managing to keep going through illness. 

Remember everyone, this season means that many of us will be getting sick. Take care of yourselves and especially watch over the young, elderly and disabled, who might not have the ability to care for themselves. 

Let's everyone have a wonderful and hopefully cosy winter. 

Rei ♡

Can Cheap Makeup Perform As Well As More Expensive Brands?

For this post, I have taken two standard items of makeup; mascara and eyeliner and tested two of each, one each by MAC and Collection respectively. These are all items out of my own makeup bag, that I use or have used extensively and not just for this test. Therefore we have a rubric:

1. Ease of application
2. Quality, eg. pigmentation
3. Durability
4. Ease of removal
5. Overall rating

So lets start from the top down. First we have the mascara.

The MAC mascara is the False Lashes Waterproof mascara that retails for £19.00. The Collection Mascara is Volumising waterproof that retails for £3.99. So lets go through our rubric;

Ease of application. Well, the MAC mascara has a very basic wand. Fairly dissapointing in all honesty. For the price you pay you would expect something a little fancier, but I suppose for this mascara they decided it was all about the formula. This does however mean that the MAC mascara is very easy to apply. The Collection mascara has a very chunky wand, which you'd expect from a volumising mascara, very satisfying to pull out as it makes a little 'pop'. This chunkier wand means that avoiding clumps is a little harder with this mascara but still not that difficult. So far pretty even.

Quality. I'm afraid to say the MAC mascara doesn't live up to its name. The formula is strongly pigmented black, and goes on easily, but the 'false lash' name makes me want an impact that isn't forthcoming. This mascara does lengthen lashes prettily, but in a natural and subtle way that was not what it claims to do. In fact, as it may be apparent, I buy mascaras for their volumising effects, as my lashes are natually long, and so for me, the MAC mascara is seriously lacking. The Collection mascara is a clear winner in this category, as it goes on black, makes an instant difference in volume and in some length and although of not applied carefully it can cause clumping, that can be avoided easily. 

Durability. In this category the mascaras are evenly matched. Once on, they both stay on strong and black and doing their thing all day. No complaints, no difference.

Ease of Removal. In this category, again the Collection mascara comes up trumps. It comes off much quicker and easier than the MAC mascara, which does require some rubbing; not good considering this is the sensitive eye area we are talking about.

Overall rating. Firstly, the MAC mascara is a nice mascara for use of use and pigmentation, but it doesn't volumise half as much as promised, therefore I can only give it 2 stars out of 5. The Collection mascara does deliver but with the risk of clumping means I can only give it 4 stars out of 5.

The second of the three comparisions will be eyeliner. These are two different types of eyeliner, one is gel and the other felt tip, but this experiment is not extensive or scientific, merely observations made over months of personal use.

The MAC eyeliner is their Fluidline gel eyeliner in Blacktrack that retails for £16.00. The Collection is Extreme 24H Felt Tip liner that retails for £2.99, also in black.

Ease of Application. Now with the MAC eyeliner, there is no brush included and the ease of application depends entirely on the brush you buy and how well you maintain the brush itself. This is rather poor show on MAC, trying to make more money by not including a brush when many other companies do. I reccommend not their own brush but a brand called Real Techniques. Their eyeliner brush meant this gel eyeliner went on easily and with relatively little fuss so long as the brush was kept clean. The Collection eyeliner as a felt tip is extremely easy to apply and requires very little skill to achieve great results.

Quality. The MAC eyeliner here shines. It goes on very pigmented black and doesn't need much drying time before its settled on your eye. There is a small tendancy to bleed a little in the corners during application however if care isn't taken. The Collection eyeliner for all its ease of application is not as high quality isn't as deeply pigmented as the MAC eyeliner and requires at least one more coat in order to be as black as possible.

Durability. I, more often than not, wear my eyeliner winged. This can lead to smudges and wear if the eyeliner I'm using doesn't stay on properly. Now with the MAC, more often than not I'd end up with ruined wings that I either had to abandon and wipe off or reapply. The Collection eyeliner is much more reliable, and generally stays put, even on hot days at work. Extremely durable.

Ease of Removal. Unfortunately, the MAC eyeliner is very difficult to remove. It takes quite a lot of rubbing to get this eyeliner to let go and come off the eye.usually I just give up and end up with panda eyes. Totally the opposite, the Collection eyeliner comes off with very little effort. 

Overall rating. I find the Collection eyeliner to be a better eyeliner overall, but my love for how rich the colour is with the MAC eyeliner leads me to give it 4 out of 5 stars. The durability and ease of application for the Collection eyeliner lends it to an equal score of 4 stars. 

Overall, I have found that in these two tests, cheap makeup can be just as good if not better than the expensive alternatives. So perhaps we shouldn't always be tempted by the nice name we all know, and instead save ourselves some money for nice clothes instead. 

Rei ♡

Why Oxford is Underappreciated

Recently, me and a friend decided as we hadn't seen each other in a while, we would go to Oxford. I thought that it would be a perfect oppurtunity to write a post, as Oxford is the kind of City that is perfect for both sightseeing and shopping.

I personally love Oxford, as my sister lives in a nearby town with her husband and I have had the oppurtunity to go with just my thoughts and have a wander and look around. On a day like that, visiting Oxford University is a huge must. You can walk around the historical architecture and let your mind just wander. I went there alone and took some pictures in the summer of 2014.

The next time I went on a nice enough day to take pictures, graduation was happening so I chose to not out of respect. Now, as I said before, Oxford is a mixture of this beautiful old architecture and shopping, which makes it an ideal location for a girl's day out. Add to this it is roughly half way (geogrpahically, travelling times may vary) between where myself and my best friend live, its becoming a regular haunt for me.

         One of my finer train journey shots                   Me and Amy on a previous visit to Oxford

Yesterday I had intended to take many more photos than I did but it chose to rain. By rain I mean torrential bucketfuls at times, which made even shopping a hazardous activty, so this idea was quickly scrapped. However this rain only added to the fun of the day I feel, as we had an impromtu early lunch in Nando's (cue cheeky Nando's joke). For the record, their chicken was a little dry and dissapointing, but that may have just been an off day, and the chip portion size was very large, more than double my usual. I'm an unabashed lover of the chip, so on that count I was very happy.

Luckily the weather abated enough to the point that with the exception of when we were already travelling back to the train, it was only showers at the worst. After our lunch, we went shopping, and aside from a minor incident with a forgotten bag in Primark, which was luckily returned to me, it was a carefree shopping trip. I treated myself to a few little treats.

From left to right: a bunny bolster pillow from H&M, a skinnydip phone case and a shrug from Primark

Who knew H&M did homeware? The bunny pillow is so soft and cute and I cuddled it all last night.

Personally, Oxford is for me a place to escape and be happy, and if it is possible and feasable for any of you who read this to ever visit, I have to reccommend it. You'll fall in love I promise.

Rei ♡

Is Micellar Water Worth the Sudden Hype?

Micellar water is an extremely old beauty trick. Originating in France and called eau micellaire, micellar water was used to combat the harsh heavy water as a more gentle way to cleanse the skin. Micelles suspended in the water, attract dirt and oil to gently lift away dirt and encourage healthy and happy skin. Micellar water has been the favourite of many people since, make up artists have used it as a gentle way to remove makeup, as it is free of harsh chemicals that can be damaging if used on the lips and eyes. And so on paper, it would seem that micellar water is a miracle answer that until recently stayed fairly out of the mainstream beauty regime.

Until recently. micellar water was only really popular in France, outside of more professional circles, but recently in the UK, it has been appearing more and more often. As a sufferer of mild but annoying acne, I decided to try micellar water. As a person who has a very limited budget, I was pleased to find a 400ml bottle of Garnier micellar water on sale for £3.50 in my local supermarket.

Now, I have hardly had enough time to test the long term effects of this product, as I have only been using it for half a week, However, I can say it does pick up dirt and most makeup very easily, without any harsh chemical feelings, or soreness that some products leave behind.

Secondly, I am a person that uses wax on their face regularly, However in recent months this has caused me to develop large and painful pimples on my chin that have left scars. These pimples would normally appear 1-2 days after I wax, and I was starting to look for alternative hair removal methods, after exhausting many different skincare products and regimes.

It has been 4 whole days since I waxed and not only have no pimples appeared, but the remaining spots and pimples from my last wax have been going away. The difference? Micellar water. Once in the morning and once at night. My skin is clearer, feels softer and fresher and my acne is apparently being held at bay. I use the micellar water as a cleanser twice daily, carrying on with exfoliating once a week and using a Lush face mask once a week also.

So...so far so good. I would definitely recommend trying this product for yourself to see how it works for you. And hopefully in a few months I will be able to say my skin is in tip top condition the way it hasn't been for a very long time.

Rei ♡