Quote Me On It #12

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Make it highstreet | People's Choice Awards 2014

Helllo!

So it's award's season hurrrah!! Award's season is my third favourite season of the year - following Christmas season and birthday season and way above exam season! It all kicked off to a leisurely start with the People's Choice Awards. I'll be honest the People's Choice are never my favourite award season...mainly because I don't really understand the point of them. But any excuse to lust over pretty shoes and men in tuxs is a winner with me.

I wasn't blown away by the dresses on show but there were definitely some that caught my eye. My winner of the night had to be Naya Rivera. Every morning I wake up a little sadder that I do not look like her - the woman is a goddess and she looked beyond goddess in a gorgeous Michael Kors block mullet dress. Honourable mention has to go to Anna Faris for breaking the red carpet mould and going for a chic Naeem Khan trouser suit. I love it when leading ladies get away from the stereotypical dresses.

There were some lovely pops of colour on the red carpet too, a lovely counteraction to the miserable grey skies we've been seeing at the moment. Jillian Rose stood out in her lovely coral dress and Lucy Hale really brought that summer vibe in a Gabriela Cadena floral piece. Jennifer Hudson, who pretty much always looks awesome, shone in a form fitting and gathered white dress by Kaufman Franco.

Of course there's always some dresses you're not going to love. Heidi Klum was way way overdressed in Armani for what I always think of as one of the more 'casual' award ceremonies. For me, Kat Denning's rose patterned dress by David Meister Signature was just a little too old fashioned especially when compared to her co-host Beth Behrs who was looking really great in Guilietta monochrome. There's something about Kat Denning's style that just doesn't suit my palette...I honestly think it might be because I went to school with a really annoying girl who looked just like her. Fickle I know!

So if you wanna create your own little red carpet at home I've found a few dupe-like things on the highstreet. I know it's January and we all got no place to go...but we can still get all dressed up!

Hope you like these! What was your favourite red carpet dress? Are you excited about award season?

L-R: Naya Rivera looking hot to trot in Michael Kors // Block Dress, Asos, £82.50

L-R: Bandeau Midi Dress, Missguided, £29.99 // Jessica Alba in Jason Wu // Zip Front Skater, Asos, £55

L-R: Crochet Collar Dress, USC, £26 // Sara Bareilles looking preppy in Jill Stuart // Lace Collar Dress, Littlewoods, £29

Pu Leather Dress, Nelly.com, £39.95 // Shaun Robinson rocks texture mix // Leather Skater Dress, Dorothy Perkins, £32.99

Not so knot? | Review - Tangle Teezer

Hello,

If you've ever caught a glimpse of my hair (perhaps in my hair dye post or in an OOTD) you may have noticed it's a tad on the curly side. By that I mean it's pretty much out of control. My mum calls it my "dog hair" because it grows in thick, knotted layers like a dog's waterproof coat does.

Well, with bad hair comes great responsibility. A responsibility I am extremely reluctant to take on and I will admit I am the worst curly haired owner in the world. I really neglect it, I don't use the right kind of products or even bother to brush it because whenever I try it turns into a massive task and I end up hating it.

This Christmas I think my mum got fed up of it looking a scraggly mess, so she gave my step-dad strict orders to buy me a Tangle Teezer for Christmas - The Original one in an alarming traffic cone orange shade. I remember when these first emerged on the highstreet years and years ago and I've been meaning to try one for a while. In case you're not familiar with the Tangle Teezer it's a kind of revolutionary hairbrush. It promises to detangle and glossy hair without any tugging, pulling or yanking.

I was so excited about using the Tangle Teezer, especially after all the great reviews I'd heard, but to be honest it left me a little bit meh. The first time I used it it tugged on my hair a lot, admittedly not as bad as a normal comb would but still enough. My hair is less knotted than it used to be however I still can't run my hands through it without getting stuck on knots. I understood that with hair as mental as mine it might take a little while to get used to but considering I've used it everyday since Christmas I expected slightly more progress.

Another slight problem I've had with the brush is when to use it. This may be very specific to us curly haired lasses but I for one cannot brush my hair when it's dry without ending up looking like Cousin Itt from the Addams Family (not the look I'm going for). This means I have to use the brush as soon as I get out of the shower when my hair is still very wet. Then as my hair dries...it gets knotted again. Has anyone else had this problem or is it just my bizarre locks?

Overall I wouldn't say the Tangle Teezer is a bad brush at all and I bet if you have straight or wavy hair it'd work a treat. The amount of gleeful reviews I've read means it must work for some people. But, like most hair products it seems, it doesn't work nearly as well for thick or curly hair.

I'm definitely going to keep using it and hopefully one day I'll have flippy hair like one of those ladies in the shampoo adverts. If I suddenly have a eureka moment with it I'll definitely write another post.

Have you used the Tangle Teezer? Did you like it or did you have a few teething (geddit?...comb...teeth...just me?) problems with it too? 

Quote Me On It #11

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2013 Ear Worms

Hello,
So 2013 has drawn to a close. How did that even happen? I don't know if I'm just getting older but the years seem to actually fly by these days. Anyway, for me 2013 was a year of change and one thing that definitely changed was the music blasting on my headphones. So I thought I'd share my fave albums of 2013. I'm not a music know-all but I does knows what I likes.

I don't really read loads or watch many films but music is something I tend to keep on trend with a bit more and I thought there were some really standout albums this year so here were my top 5 and little taste of each.

5. Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die - Panic! At The Disco
Panic are my leftover guilty pleasure from my greasy haired scene kid days. As much as I try to let go of them (I don't try very hard to be honest) I can't seem to get over how catchy their songs are. This album definitely wasn't their best and I don't think they'll ever get back to their emo glory days but it's got songs that'll make you want to dance and that's most important really...

4. Save Rock And Roll - Fall Out Boy
Ok maybe Panic aren't the only leftover from my scene kid days but really how many people can honestly say they weren't excited when Fall Out Boy announced they were releasing new stuff? I ran through my flat screaming about it...only to find none of my flatmates cared. Humph. Whatever! This album was good. Different enough for new fans, samey enough for die hards and it had Elton John on it. Literally nothing not to love!

3. Magna Carta Holy Grail - Jay-Z
Since this album was released in July I have listened to at least one song from it everyday. My friend recently moaned that "it's not as good as The Black Album". Well duh but you can't always compare someone as long-lasting as Jay-Z to their finest album. To get all pretensh up in here I feel like this album has so many different aspects to it, it's got pop-rap like Holy Grail to catchy club tracks like Tom Ford stopping off at a bit of social commentary (Somewhere In America) along the way. My fave Jay-Z release for a long while.

2. Matangi - M.I.A
This album is da bomb. Literally. I can't even explain how much I love it! I heard Bad Girls ages ago and then when I found out the whole album was being released I was so excited. M.I.A is just amazing, her rhymes are sharp and she just sounds so sassy all the way through the album. Some of the songs (especially Exodus) are just ridiculously sexy whereas others like Bring The Noize make you wanna party and start a fight all at the same time! I love this and I can't recommend it highly enough. Even if you've never been into M.I.A or rap or anything before you should give this one a go.

1. Beyoncé - Beyoncé
Up until the beginning of December, Matangi was without a question my favourite album. M.I.A had it sewn up. Then Beyoncé got all Beyoncé up in here and released a secret visual album. Only a queen can get away with that. Mrs Carter's secretive offering is my favourite from her for years - especially after the slight disappointment of 4. This album is too sexy for it's own good, it makes me want to dance and cry and get married and eugh. To me, Beyoncé is just incredible, she makes me proud to be a woman and this album reflects that. After years of making unquestionable hits this album feels way more honest and powerful. LOVE IT!

So those were my favourites of 2013...how about yours? Got any recommendations for me? Swear to God if anyone else says 'Yeezus' is the album of the year I will kick off! 

Quote Me On It #10

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This Blogpost Will Save Your Year

Ok so that's a bold statement...and it probably won't. But maybe it will save mine.

2013 was rubbish wasn't it? It started off really great and full of clichéd promises that this year would "be different" and this year would "be your year". None of them came true, the year is over and everything is just as pitifully rubbish as it was before. Just me?

For me January started off really awesome. University was great, there were super exciting new people in my life, everything was perfect. But I don't really think life ever works out like that and cracks always begin to show no matter how pretty you paint over them. I struggled a lot during the summer. I had been told to make friends and get along with my classmates and fall in love and then it was suddenly whisked away from me for a very long 5 month summer. I know that seems like such a tiny problem but I noticed that life away from home probably wasn't as pretty as my rose tinted glasses had told me they were.

When I moved back to Uni in September I was miserable. Miserable like I'd never felt before. People who I had valued the most in the previous months were now the one's who were nowhere to be found. Look through my drafted (but thankfully never published) blogposts and there are many a whiney ramble. I sat there and I thought 2013 has taught me things. It has taught me:

1. There is no such thing as being in love

2. You can't trust anyone

3. Everyone will leave at some point

4. Even your best is never good enough

For at least a month, I was ridiculous. I cried. A lot. I thank my flatmates a million times for not slapping me when I was so downright rude and ungrateful and full of my own wallowing sadness. 

I don't really know what snapped me out of my miserableness. I think one day I was trudging somewhere in the rain and I just thought "God, this is boring. All this being miserable, all this being angry at people and refusing to move on in my life is so incredibly boring". I carried on trudging through the rain (my walk home from uni is particularly grim) and thought about the things I thought 2013 had taught me and I thought about all the brilliant things that had happened whilst the rubbish stuff was distracting me. All the times I laughed until I thought I was going to die, all the interesting conversations I'd had, all the essay marks that had made me proud, all the nice food I'd eaten, all the songs I'd sung along to, all the books I'd read, all the friends who had picked me up when I'd drunkenly fallen over in the street. I started to rewrite my 2013 lessons:

1. There's no such thing as being in love (I kinda stand by this) but that doesn't mean you can't show someone kindness and friendship and caring when they need to see it. That's way more important than being in love with them. 

2. You can't trust...everyone. Yeah some people are arses who will break all their promises but trusting someone isn't a conscious decision and before you know it you'll be sharing your secrets with someone you least expected. Roll with it. The quiet bit of my brain always knows best.

3. Everyone will leave at some point...but that just makes room for super fun new people. And hopefully they'll stick around a bit longer. 

4. Even your best is never good enough for some people. But from now I'm going to measure my best by what's good enough for me not what's good enough for everyone else. It's MY best...not theirs. 

So Facebook keeps nudging me to look at my "Review of 2013". Well I don't want to. I don't care about it anymore I just want to look forward. I've got new places to go and new people to make laugh and the places I felt I didn't belong last year or the people who made me cry last year...they're just blips on my map of brilliance. I was always too good for them anyway!  

Maybe none of these words will make any sense to anyone else, really this is just a note to future me. Please future me, remember to be happy in yourself because you're alright sometimes - you've never needed anyone else to tell you that.

2014's gonna be fucking awesome mate.