A Picture Paints A Thousand Words: James @ Castlefield Bowl, Manchester, 7th July 2017.

A Picture Paints A Thousand Words: James @ Castlefield Bowl, Manchester, 7th July 2017.

Tuesday, 18 July 2017

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Book Review: Miss You by Kate Eberlen

Book Review: Miss You by Kate Eberlen

Sunday, 16 July 2017

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Opening the front door to book post from the postman is my absolute favourite thing to do. Opening the front door to UNEXPECTED book post is even better. I was treated to a copy of   Miss You by Kate Eberlen, all packaged up and delivered to my door on publication day by Mantle at Pan Macmillan and I absolutely loved falling in love with Gus and Tess and their delightful tale. The cover claims that lovers of One Day by David Nicholls will find themselves equally pleased and I commend the comparison. I loved One Day and I loved Miss You. Arguably, equally as much. Here’s why.

Miss You takes the love story behind One Day- boy and girl meet, boy and girl fall in love but are kept apart by fate and other tragic circumstances- and twists it completely on its side. Boy and girl meet- albeit incredibly briefly- and then, for the rest of the tale, live their lives separately, neither of the two aware that their meeting one another properly has been stopped by some greater force. Gus and Tess meet briefly whilst holidaying, separately, in Italy when they are teenagers. Their conversation lasts all of seconds, and neither of them thinks much of the other. Over the course of the next 16 years – the duration of the novel- the two characters continue to brush past one another without officially ‘meeting’ one another properly.

Each of the two characters falls in love, has life experiences, suffers loss, completely independently of the other. We follow Tess as she loses her mother to cancer and puts her plans to go to university to one side to take care of her younger sibling, contrasting with Gus who attends medical school to please his parents who are still mourning the son they lost to a skiing accident. We see Gus marry and have children. We watch as Tess’s relationship with her sister unfolds. Two separate stories which you find yourself willing to come together as one. Of course, the two characters DO eventually meet one another, but I’ll leave it to you to discover how and when, and what comes of this inevitable meeting.

I absolutely LOVED this story. I hadn’t heard much about it prior to receiving my copy of the book so I went into it with absolutely no expectations at all. I devoured every page, feeling all sorts of emotions for the characters. I loved both Gus and Tess’s chapters equally, which is quite unusual for me. I normally find myself more attached to a single character, so to speed through both character’s chapters with no qualms is indeed quite rare. I saw a little old lady reading this on the bus and was quick to let her know just how good the story is (she was enjoying it a lot) and I’ll definitely be passing my copy on to my mum at the next possibility. I’m really, really excited to see what Kate Eberlen comes up with next. A writer to keep an eye on, for sure.

Beauty: A (much needed) Makeover from Vogue Hair and Beauty, Liverpool*

Beauty: A (much needed) Makeover from Vogue Hair and Beauty, Liverpool*

Saturday, 15 July 2017

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We all love a good pamper session, right? I know I do. The last few months of my life have been hectic, full of sleep deprivation and a lot more stress than is healthy for a girl of my age. I have to admit- I’ve really let myself go. I’ve skipped putting on my makeup on a daily basis to benefit from that extra 20 minutes in bed. I’ve let my brows go, to the point where they’re as far away from en fleek as possible. I have EYE BAGS. At 23!!!!

When one of my favourite PR ladies got in touch with me on behalf of Vogue Hair and Beauty Lounge in Liverpool, I honestly felt like all my prayers had been answered. I was offered the choice of a complimentary curly blow or makeup application. As I had a leaving do for one of my jobs coming up, I thought I’d get my makeup done so I could feel like the belle of the ball for once rather than the ugly duckling that teaching has turned me into.

  

Vogue Hair & Beauty, situated on Old Hall Street right in the heart of Liverpool, is a little gem. Hidden away in a old-fashioned building, the salon itself reeks of style and sophistication and everything you look for when aiming for glamour. When I arrived, I was offered a drink by staff and seated comfortably. Beth, the lady who was doing my makeup application, was a lovely and attentive member of staff and I felt at ease from the word go. The salon was beautifully furnished and decorated, bright and full of light, and really felt welcoming as you entered.

I’ve had makeup applications before where I’ve had to spend a LOT of time post-application dabbing off excess product and toning down what had been done to me. That most definitely wasn’t the case here. The makeup was applied with precision and care, and Beth took the time to ask me about my thoughts before applying. The products that she used were of a high standard and complimented my skin tone perfectly. I opted for a lash-less look as I’m not really all that used to wearing them and I have pretty long lashes anyway. I also opted for nude shades on my eyes- I’d bought a gorgeous skirt from Topshop to wear and the makeup really matched with the look. Beth finished off the look with a gorgeous coating of a matt lip version of the infamous MAC Velvet Teddy lipstick and I was good to go, after taking a few selfies of course!

I would definitely go back to Vogue for a makeup application- and I’m planning on booking in for when we take a trip to the races. I’m quite a safe makeup user- I use the same products, in the same way, every single time I put makeup on, so it was nice to go out of my comfort zone and spice things up a little. I felt confident after application and got SO many compliments on the amazing job that Beth did on my makeup. Thank you so much to the guys at Vogue for the treatment, it really was much appreciated!