This is a new monthly feature I've decided to do this year. I'm not a monthly favourites kind of gal because, while they're one of my favourite posts to read, I don't always have enough favourites for a post and so I thought instead I would start this kind of monthly round up post where I don't only round up what I've posted on my blog this month but also share some of my favourite blog posts from the month, a monthly playlist and what I've been lusting after as well as included something I've loved for the past month whether that's a product, book or TV show- it will vary. I'm also going to include what's install for my blog the following month as well as what I plan to read. Being the first of 12 of these posts over the year, this will really be an introduction one to show you what they'll each entail.

What's been going on my blog for the past month? 
Well it's a new so year so I started the year off with my favourite books, music etc from 2014 followed by a letter to 2014- a post I really enjoyed writing to reflect on the year. Writing my letter to 2015 post was also fun to write as it was nice to see written down what I already had planned and to see what else I need to do to make 2015 a good one. I also posted a heavily delayed Recently Read. I was really slacking on the reading in 2014 and so I'm hoping to step it up a gear this year. A Currently Loving also went up as well as A Body Shop haul. I finished this months posts off with a birthday haul as it was my birthday on the 24th and I went on a little shopping trip with a friend and spent a little bit of money as well as getting some great presents.

What blog posts have I enjoyed this month?
Like every January of a new year, people are on top of their blogging game and there has been some great posts this month.One of my favourite posts came from a new blog I've been following- Fragmented Splendour by Annabel who wrote a post entitled "Blog like Nobody's Reading" . This was a post I could really relate to and really enjoyed. Another post I loved was Fashion and Beauty Tribes post about The Perks Of Being A Smaller Blog; a really relate able with  being a small blog myself and it was such a simple nice post to read and one other small bloggers will enjoy reading.

One Thing I've loved this month: My Olay Day Cream as well as this YouTube video.

What I've been lusting after in January: Mac Lipstick in Twig

What's coming up next month? 
I talk about the thing I've loved the most this month in a lot more depth as well as talking about whether a niche is really necessary. Hopefully there'll be another Recently Read(fingers crossed I get my reading hat on!). I also think I'll be talking about why I love film photography and how to get into it if you're interested. If you have any posts you'd like me to include in my blog next month or if any of these sound like something you'd like to read then let me know.

My February To Reads: In making a promise to myself to read more I feel setting myself reading goals would really help I thought you might be interested yourself to se what I'll be reading as well as what reviews will becoming up on my blog.So, in February I hope to read We Are Completely Beside Ourselves, Ayode on Ayode and I Was Here*

I will leave you with this months playlist- it's a good one to start the year!
                                              


I hope you enjoyed this new feature on my blog and I hope you're doing great,
Twitter // Instagram // Bloglovin' // Tumblr  

Products that have a (*) have been sent/gifted to me to include or review on my blog. Please take into account that I only accept products I know my readers would be interested in and I always give my honest opinion.

Yesterday was my 17th birthday. Wow. Typing that feels weird- I'm seventeen already and I can't believe it. This year for my birthday it was a quiet one like most years because that's how I like it really. I opened a few cards before going shopping with a friend into Manchester to spend some of my birthday money and came back to find even more cards and presents for me to open so I thought I would share most of the things I got with you!

The present that probably stands out the most is my ukulele; I've been wanting a ukulele for ages and I'd kind of forgot for the past year that I would live to learn to play but when my sister surprised me with this present I was over the moon. It wasn't something I asked for but she definitely chose well because I haven't stopped playing it since yesterday. There is also a lot of CDs I asked for as I didn't get many for Christmas and Christmas and birthday are the time when I stock up one CDs or artists that I love. The CDs I got were Alt-J This Is All Yours, Fall Out Boy Save Rock and Roll, Catfish and The Bottlemen The Balcony, The Smiths Louder Than Bombs, City and Colour Sometimes and Bombay Bicycle Club So Long, See You Tomorrow; these will last me a long time now and I'll be putting them on to my Ipod as soon as possible!

My mum also picked up a Fruit Fusion Yankee Candle for me. It's not like the usual candle scents I go but it would be a nice one to burn during the day to leave a nice tropical smell in my room! My god mother got me some Topshop socks and a Topshop Nail Varnish, a family friend bought me the cutest book called "To My Future Self"; it was so strange that I opened this after going into Manchester where I had  spotted this is Urban Outfitters and fell in love so it was so funny when I opened it to find it was the same this. Inside it basically has letters to write to your future self for certain things such as places where you want to go and what you want to accomplish; I love it! 

Ayode on Ayode is a book that has interested me for a few months and since getting it yesterday, I've already started reading it even though I have so many other books on the go right now which probably isn't the best idea! Richard Ayode is someone I love and admire the work of and as well as sharing a love for films which is a lot of what the book's about, I think I'll enjoy it. For the rest of family and friends, I received money which is going to be really helpful when I start driving lessons as well s putting towards some spending money for China at the end of the college year. 

I did take some of the money into Manchester with me and so I thought I'd share with you the few things I bought. I received a Topshop voucher and so I thought I'd put that towards some purchases so I bought myself the Check Embroidered shirt which has an aztec kind of print. I love y shirts and I had nothing like this so I picked it up as I know I'll get lots of wear out of it. Also from Topshop, I bought myself a new cardigan called the Box Stitch Cardigan which is a dark mustard/camel colour; my photo really doesn't do the cardigan justice but so I'd check the Topshop website out. It's so comfy and so warm, I put it on as soon as I bought it and wore it for the rest of the day; I seriously love it.

In Waterstones, they have been doing this stamp system where every £10 you spend, you get a stamp and once you get 10, you receive £10 and so I thought I used it before they decided to stop the offer and I picked up two books the first of which I haven't heard anything about but I loved the story line; "The Manifesto on How To Be interesting" by Holly Bourne. I've not heard of this author before so I'm excited to see if she's any good. I also picked up The Disreputable History of Frankie Landou-Banks by E.Lockhart. Most people in the book blogging world will have heard of We Were Liars by now and this is the second book I've come across by E.Lockhart and I loved her first offering so I can't wait to read this!

The last thing I picked up was a new notebook from Home Sense. I'd never been into Home Sense before but I was looking for a small plate for some rings but soon saw these amazing notebooks and fell in love with this "Make Things Happen" notebook. It's not a size a see very often so for £8, I picked it and I can't wait to scribble some ideas down in it!

So that's everything! I'm so grateful for everything I was given and I hope you realise that in no way is this post me bragging about what I've got but, personally, these posts are ones I love reading so I thought may be you would too.

Hope you're doing great,


Twitter // Instagram // Bloglovin' // Tumblr  


 I haven't posted some of my photography in a while and seeing as I just had a film developed I thought I would share my favourite shots with you. The first lot of the sea are taken at Formby beach when I went for photography with college. Even though it was winter, we went on a great day as he sun was out and so was the tide so I managed to get some photos that I'm really happy with. 
There are a few from my holiday on this roll of film as well. I didn't take many photos on y film camera till I got to Austria as I wanted to practice my landscape photography on a film camera. I really like how they turned out but I need to get the lighting at a good time otherwise they look a little dull. The last four were taken in autumn when me and my dad decided to go for a work round a reservoir that we used to go to a lot when I was younger. 
These are just a handful of my film photos but I have lot more over on my flickr if you want to have a look here. 
One thing I want to this year is shoot more film because I really enjoy it and if you'd like me to do more posts similar to this sharing my photos let me know!
Hope you're doing great,
Twitter // Instagram // Bloglovin' // Tumblr  


I ,along with any other avid reader, come to a point when they just a break from reading- I seem to have breaks more than others but I feel when I get into that reading rut, I don't want to read a book that I might have enjoyed if I wasn't in the slump. My reading ruts can last for sometimes a few days and sometimes a few months- it just depends but over the years I've noticed the reasons for my reading ruts and what I can do to get out of them and back to my usual reading self so if you're in the same position as me, this might help you out!

Find the source of the problem. This is the first thing to do to get out of a reading rut. Sometimes it might the book I'm reading; it might just not be captivating enough and I'm trying to force my to finish a book for the sake of reading the book rather than for the enjoyment which should be the case so sometimes it's just best to leave that book. Sometimes it might just be my mood in which case I need to wait to be in the mood which leads me on to the next step.

Take A Break. Sometimes after a bad book or a bad mood I find it hard to get back into reading but I force myself to try and get though my very long and ever growing "To-Read" list. However, I've realised I need to just take a break because, sooner or late, I'll want to read again and I'll be happy to.If I've got exams approaching I know that if I read a book I won't be concentrating and will be too stressed to enjoy it so I'll leave it for the moment and return to it when I'm ready.

Ease yourself back in. I've never been one to read more than one book at a time but recently I have and it's not the best way to start back reading. One book at a time is best so you don't become overwhelmed. Re reading my favourite book or an easy read to get myself back into the swing of things always. I always gravitate toward The Fault In Our Stars or Where Things Come Back to get me in the mood; even by reading a few chapters of my favourite book seems to help!

Stop it from Happening. Then all that's left to do is enjoy your books and try and stop it from happening. Maybe find a spot or time of day when you find yourself concentrating most; for me it's before or on the train coming home from college but everyone's different! Don't overwhelm yourself with 3 or 4 books that are hard to read all at once and find books you'll know you'll enjoy and not ones that people will think you'll enjoy.

This is a bit of a different post for me I feel but let me know if you enjoyed it!
Do you have any tips yourself for getting back into reading?
Hope you're doing great,
Twitter // Instagram // Bloglovin' // Tumblr  

When Body Shop has an offer, it's a hella' good offer and with 35% off everything and free delivery for purchases over £20 how could I not treat myself! I have bought a lot from body shop in the past, mainly there shower bits, but it's been a while since I've purchased a lot of new bits and with the New Year's goal to sought my skin out I thought I would venture into there skincare ranges. I already had an idea of what I wanted but I took their skin test as well which also proved helpful.
The first thing I bought was the Tea Tree Oil. I have used a lot of different blemish treatments in the past and I remember when I first started getting spots, tea tree oils worked well and so I thought I'd try this Body Shop offering. I think it's an expensive 10ml of product but I know this will last me forever.
Another Tea Tree product I picked up was the Tea Tree Blemish Fade Night Lotion. I've used something similar to this this from Clean & Clear and loved it but I thought I would give this a go as well.Online, it also said that it hydrates so I thought that was an added bonus as blemish skin products in the past have just dried my skin out. With both these tea tree products, I think it will take sometime before I see results but I'm going to carry on using them in my skincare routine to see if there isn't a difference. I will say though, that since buying these, I haven't had another breakout so it must be working at least a little already.
I have been using a day cream from Olay (a blog post coming soon!) morning and night and while I don't see much of a problem with this as it hasn't caused me any problems, it's £10 a pot. I only bought it before Christmas and it's already nearly run out. Even though, the Blemish Night Lotion is for night and does say it hydrates, I wasn't convinced it will hydrate my skin as much as it needs too so I picked up the Aloe Soothing Night Cream. This product is for sensitive skin and while my skin isn't the most sensitive, I don't like having a heavily perfumed night cream. This was only £2.50 and, in other circumstances I would complain about the size but, at that price, I really can't! The few nights I've used it, I've needed only a small amount and while it does leave my skin very shiny, I don't find it greasy and it gives my skin enough hydration to last me through until the next morning when I apply my moisturiser.
This next product was the talk of all bloggers back last year and as always I was late on the Camomile Silky Cleansing Oil band wagon. While I had read reviews, I didn't really know what to expect from this but I was excited to try something new to take off my make up. When I first used it and pumped some product into my hand I didn't have high hopes because of how greasy it feels which I didn't really like but once I applied it to my face, I could tell it was getting all my make up off and after patting my face dry, my skin felt the smoothest it had felt in a while and I didn't even feel the need for cleanser. Having said that, I did cleanse any way but I felt it really help moisturise my skin a little more. While I know there will be days I just want to use my Garnier Micellar water, I really think I'm going to love using this!
The last thing I picked up was something I've been meaning to get in a while and while it isn't the most exciting purchase of them all, it's one I'll know I'll use every time I shower and it's the Body Polisher. It's a long piece of material that helps exfoliate and smooth skin and it's great for exfoliating and cleaning those bits of my back I just can't reach without injuring myself in the shower. I've used this only once but I know it's going to be a great extra to my shower routine.

So that's all! Body Shop offers are always great and there's always some kind of sale on so definitely keep an eye out!
Let me know whether you'd like to see more hauls!
Hope you're doing great, 
Twitter // Instagram // Bloglovin' // Tumblr  

Over the past few months I've discovered some great new products and I thought it's about time I share them with you so let's get straight into it starting with a new favourite shower gel. I not fussy when it comes to shower gels and I just use whatever there is available but after receiving the Lush The Olive Branch Shower gel from a friend at Christmas I can't stop using it. The sent is like nothing I've used before but it just makes me feel super clean; to me, smell is what I smell mostly when I walk into a lush store.

Over the winter/Christmas period there have been two nail varnishes I've been loving the first of which is the Barry M Vintage Violet Nail Polish. Shock horror, it's not one of the Gelly collection but when I saw Lily Pebbles talking about it I fell in love as it's a colour I've been trying to track down for a while but after writing Barry M nail varnishes off as streaky and needed about 4 coats before it looks OK, I'm pleasantly surprised by how quick this drys and it only needs two coats. I'm glad my opinion has changed because they're so affordable and will be picking some more up in the future!

I decided to step out my Barry M Gelly Shine comfort zone and decided to see what Maybelline had to offer because I've always seen them and the cheap price tag and been tempted but it wasn't until I spotted The Maybelline Colour Show Nail Varnish in Brick Shimmer that I tried them out and I loved it. I wore it all through the Christmas season and I love it. I'm not a massive fan of shimmery nail varnishes but this is a perfect shade and shimmeryness(that's not even a word) for me!

When it comes to mascara, every time I get a new one I fall in love with it and it's no different to my new find which s the Soap & Glory Thick & Fact Mascara. I actually bought this in a set for my sister for Christmas as it's her favourite but after buying her a better Soap and Glory Set with the mascara also include, I decided to keep it for myself and I'm glad I did. While the name suggest volume, which it does give, I think this gives more length than anything as it gives my lashes a false lash affect and when wearing this my eyelashes have never felt longer! This is a perfect going out mascara for me and I think I prefer to any other mascara I've tried including Maybelline the Falsies. The only downside is that it's not waterproof but as long as I don't cry I'll be fine.Another Soap & Gory shout out to the Sexy Mother Pucker lip gloss in Charm Offensive. I say it all too often on my blog that I'm not a fan of lip gloss and after being a little disappointed by a Tanya Burr lip gloss I was reluctant to try another but I'm so glad I tried this one. For me it's not sticky at all and the colour is a beautiful sophisticated, mauve/pink. I find it great over the top of my Kate Moss #09 lipstick and it's great on it's own as the pigmentation is fabulous!

I have never included a foundation in a favourites post; I've wrote reviews and said I liked them but they've never made a favourites but that's a bout the change as over the best part of six months I've been using Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation in 010 Light Porcelain. I have dry skin and while to start with it did cling to certain areas, it didn't show as much as if it had been any other foundation I've tried. It isn't the most coverage but it's great for every day wear and since starting college I haven't gone a day without it! With foundations, I always find it useful to know someone's whole opinion so while I've been maybe a little vague here just to summarise, if you'd like a full review then just let me know! It's also worth mentioning ho affordable this is and the shade range! It' light enough for me!

As for music favourites, over the past few months I haven't really managed to stick to one artist really and have just been finding odd songs I like but one band I've been loving is Tenterhook. They're fairy unknown but they are perfect for when I'm wanting to be productive, read and just relax. There song "Chemicals" features on this months Spotify playlist which I'll post at the end of this month but if you want a listen now the link is here.

I'm in between books at the moment but I'm trying my best to put up more Recently Read more often because a lot of you seem to enjoy them.

It's just a small Currently Loving post today but they're all things I love and will be carrying on using.
Hope you're doing great,
Twitter // Instagram // Bloglovin' // Tumblr  

Dear 2015, 
Hi. You don't know me but I'm Sarah. It's nice to meet you; well. I think it is, I mean it's only been a few days so I don't really know you or if you're any nice. I hope you are as nice if not nicer than 2014. I felt I accomplish a lot last year and I hope it carries on into this year. I'm thinking this year be a continuation from the last.
I'm going to carry on pursuing the things I love such a reading. I try to read as much as I an because, well I enjoy it. During 2014, while I discovered some great books and authors, I didn't read as much as I would have hoped to so I've set my a target of 30; not too high just doable and a number that doesn't seem unrealistic and put me off.
Another challenging I'm setting myself to do is to write more. I have these ideas and I never stick at them because I never really feel they're going to end up the way i'd like them to or I spot what seems to be an unsolvable plot flaw. I feel I have so may ideas that I just want to spill on to the pages but I just need to write them down in a fathomable language that I can be proud of. I don't expect to have a finished, pristine novel done in a year because these thing take time and I'm slow but I do hope to have a found something to write about that I've managed to stick at.
One thing I felt 2014 was slightly lacking was live music and so I hope to find new music this year that comes with concerts to go to and enjoy myself. At this moment I only have one set of tickets for the year ahead but I'm just waiting for the right opportunities to arise to see artists that I love.
I started college back last September an that continues till June when I have my exams It's been going well so far and I hope it carries on that way. With mock exams n just a few weeks, I need to start knuckling down to make sure I stay on top of my revision and work.
One of the highlights of 2014 was the two week of travelling with my parents and, this June, I'm stepping it up a gear and heading to China for 10 days going from place to place. I don't really know what to expect but going with college (which includes a teacher who lived there for a few years) makes me feel a little at ease. I'm so excited to head out on my next adventure and to experience life in China.
I'm not sure what else to expect from you 2015 but I plan on making it a year of growing as a person and a year of making decisions for my future as well as some extreme money saving to fund my life in a few years as well as to help pay for my China trip.
While no year is ever perfect, I hope you will help me try and make it a close to perfect as I've ever been.
It's nice to meet you,



"Oh, it's been a while since my last recently read": a sentence I seem to write at the start of everyone of these posts but I'm trying my best to improve on my reading speed as these are actually one of my favourite posts to write and they seem to be your favourites as well. I have been in a little bit of a reading slum for a while which seems to happen every few months but I've now read a sufficient amount to share with you and review for you.

I'm a sucker for a sequel and after reading If I Stay I had to pick up the story again even though If I Stay wasn't my favourite book. The only way I can review this book is to ruin the end of the story so skip the next book if you hate the spoilers. At the end of the last book Mia wakes up after being in a coma and if written in the perspective of Mia. This second book follows her boyfriend from the first book Adam. It picks up years after in New York where Adam is in an extremely well known member of a  band and Mia is a famous cello player. It takes place years after the accident and after Mia decided to leave Adam but it seems they both end up in New York City and it gives Adam the opportunity for Mia to answer his questions that have remained without answers for years. Just like the first book, it's a typical teen novel romance and so very predictable in my eyes and, while I'm a sucker for a sequel as I've said, I didn't really see the point of a sequel due to both books ended on a happy note so I'd rather just be left with the idea that they lived happily ever after of the first book.Having said that, I loved the rockstar aspect to the book. It would be a good book for an extreme fangirl to read as it would help them remember that famous people are humans too an there has to be boundaries. It also gives an idea of how fame can actually affect someone in a negative way- I'm sure a few celebrities could relate to this book. Overall it was a nice read but not one I'd recommend unless you absolutely looked the first book.

When this was released I was so excited because I didn't realise he was releasing a new one until it popped up on my twitter feed one day. John Corey Whaley is always so imaginative and it's the same in this book starting with a boy named Travis waking up five years after he had his head chopped off and frozen in a freezer until it was reattached to another boy's body. When he wakes up he's still sixteen (the same age he left) and he thinks everything will go back to how it was but he soon realises that everything has changed; his parents, friends and girlfriend. John's books seem to always carry a slight hidden meaning and from this one I get that it's about the fact that things change and a lot of the time it's out of our control. I am planning a post dedicated to John's two books in the next few months as I've been promising a review of his first and my favourite book "Where Things Come Back" for a year and so I will be including a more in depth review of Noggin' as well. But, for now, I'll just tell you how much I recommend this book to anyone. It has such a good message and one that you can fall in love with some of the characters and really invest yourself in the story.

Now, this book took me a while! It wasn't a hard book to read and the actual writing was as simple as any other book I would read but I just found this book a real chore. While the writing itself was in no way difficult the story line was hard to follow from the get go. It's about a boy named Matt whose brother Simon who had down syndrome dies (no spoiler, it's on the blurb and happen within the first few pages) and it's basically the brother writing an autobiography of his life when he's 19 and struggling with schizophrenia. It tackles bereavement as well as mental illness which is similar to some books I've read in the past but this was a hard read. I get that it was supposed to be written like a first draft but I felt it was a bit all over the place and inconsistent. For me, the concept didn't really work at telling the story as well as getting the message of the book across to the audience however it must just be me as it has been awarded Costa's Book of The Year in 2013 so people obviously like it! If you've read It's Kind Of A Funny Story I would suspect you may like this book yourself. I also will mention the English references it makes which is something I love in book as it's nice to have books set in England and be able to picture the scenes a lot easier. 

After coming across this when I was cleaning my book case and remembering giving up with in the first chapter, I thought I would give it another go. It's about a boy who's just split up with his girlfriend and a girl who happens to be said's girlfriends "friend" pretend to be in a relationship for five minutes before they end up spending the night together talking and going to concerts. It's a very short book and wasn't for me. In my opinion, it was just one big cliche of a book. I couldn't find much originality to it really and I didn't connect all that much to either of the characters. I've tried reading one of David Levithan's book before and having little success in finishing it as he seems to like the whole love-at-first-sight approach which can get very repetitive and isn't something I'm all that keen on. I'll say though that if you like David's other work than you'll probably love this and being only a short book I didn't feel I wasted too much of my life away but I know I will not be putting myself out there to recommend it. I think David's writing one last chance before accepting me and his books don't work so if you've read any of his other books and recommend them please let me know!

So that's all! Seeing as though it's been Christmas and is nearly my birthday, I have a shed load of books to get through so expect more frequent recently reads!
What books have you read recently? Have you got any recommendations?
Hope you're doing great,
Twitter // Instagram // Bloglovin' // Tumblr  

Oh, you've been a weird one. A good one but a weird one I can't seem to comprehend how different I've felt this year. While I feel it's gone just as fast as any other year, I feel I've done more in the last 365 days then the previous 365 days.
The first half of the year seemed to be taken up mostly by revision for my GCSE exams which came with a lot of stress and worry. I really wanted to do well in the exams in April so I made sure I started revision early. After feeling as though I really hadn't done well at all, I was overwhelmed on result day when I found I got 2Bs 7As and A*. I felt so happy that my hard work paid off an didn't go to waste. While I was happy and ready to leave high school, I started to grow nervous for college in September.
Once the exams were over it was a long summer and I had one of the most active summers in a long time starting with my end of school prom. I spent the weeks leading up to the night preparing my dress and checking final arrangements for the vintage bus I'd organised. I wanted to have a really good time and, apart from a few hiccups, I really enjoyed myself including the after party. After being a shy introverted girl who spent her dinners reading numerous books, 2014 gave me the confidence to go to a party and be surrounded by friends and have a good time.
An after results party followed a few weeks after where our year gathered, really, for the last time all together. I found it a little ironic  how I'd rejected invite after invite to parties an d gatherings for the past five yea and then in the space of just a few weeks I'd been to three parties.
Then came the two weeks I'd been looking forward to for most of the year. London, Paris, Switzerland and Austria. While there were days that we hardly did anything and days where plans were rained off, it was such a great experience and one that I learnt a lot from and will remember for a ever.
My long summer was soon over and off the college I wet where I'd chosen Photography, Sociology, Psychology and English Combined at AS level. I really didn't know what to expect but going there with people I know including two of my closest friends really helped me feel at ease. I really surprised myself bu making new friends fairly quickly in my lessons as well as people who I sit with every day at break and dinner. I've noticed myself being more confident to talk to new people as well as being more confident with in myself. While change isn't always for the best, I feel the change I've gone through this year has been a good and well needed change. 
However, this year hasn't always been amazing and it's had its low points. With moving to college, I have lost people I classed a friends and even bestfriends. Sometime I make myself laugh at my naivety- thinking that we'll always be friends. Sometimes I actually feel glad that I'm not having to waste my time on false friendships that don't bring me the happiness that it should but sometimes I'm saddened by the numerous broken promises of staying in contact after high school as we went on to different things. I do have a little bit of hope that one day we will reconnect in some way; for now though, I just have to cherish the fun and embarassing moents I've had with them and focus on the year to come. 

So it's goodbye from me 2014-you've treated me well and hs probably been one of my favourite years due to the amount of good change and growing up I've done throughout the whole year. I hope 2015 treats me just as well as you have!

Thankyou,

Happy New Year! Here's the last installment of my yearly favourites and this is basically everything else apart from skincare and beauty which you can see in the previous two posts.

Nails. Lets get right into it and start with my nail polish pick of the year which will come as no surprise; the Barry M Gelly Shines. These are one of the easiest nail varnishes to apply and the colour selection is great! I think these will carry on being a favourite for years to come as I carry on collecting more colours as new ones are released.

Haircare. I also have to give a mention to my John Freda Frizz Ease Serum. I only started using this for the last half the year and I noticed a real difference with less frizz and flyaways going on. I now don't go a hair wash without applying this to my wet hair before I step out the shower.

Perfume. I have a few perfumes I rotate between but this year I've been using my Vera Wang Princess perfume the most. It has such a sweet subtle smell that I love. I've always thought the name and the bottle is a little childish but that doesn't take away from the product as a whole as I absolutely love the smell and it's been a staple perfume for many years now.

Fashion. On to fashion and there are just two things to mention starting off with my White Low Converse (which seem to be a more dirty cream now). I don't know how I coped without these before this year- they just go with everything and, yes, while they do get dirty fairly quickly, after a quick whiz in the washing machine they're pristine clean again. These really are one of my favourite purchases of the year. My other fashion favourite is the Topshop Joni Jeans; they are the comfiest jeans I've ever worn and they are a perfect skinny fit as well as having a high waist. While I don't show them as being high waist, I found them much more comfortable that way. I will mention though that after a while the stretch does tend to go and so I have to repurchase them and at £36 thy aren't the cheapest but I justify paying that as I do wear them every day for college and being the est pair of jeans I've found. I will be on the hunt for a cheaper alternative next year but for now they are the best jeans.

Films. There's a few film favourites I have to mention all of which were released this year and all of which I've reviewed. That is the Fault In Our Stars, Mocking Jay and The Maze Runner. I have linked you to all the full Book To Big Screen reviews I'e done so I'm not repeating myself other than saying that I really enjoyed all of these films and I recommend you go and watch them.

Books. Along with the film, a book favourite of mine is The Maze Runner series all of which I've reviewed in Recently Read posts. The series, for me tops The Hunger Games and Divergent- I really enjoyed the whole concept and had me on the edge of my seat. I am currently reading the Prequel to the series "The Kill Order" and  review will be up in a long awaited Recently Read in the New Year. A book that will be mentioned in that post and I will have to mention now is Noggin' by John Corey Whaley. John is one of my favourite authors; his ideas are so simple but utter genius. I'm planning a whole post on John in the new year with in depth reviews so hopefully I can make you fall in love with his work as much as I have! The last book I will mention is Paper Towns by John Green. I read this while on holiday and I thought non of his books would top how I felt about Looking For Alaska and while it still stands that he hasn't topped how I feel about that one, this comes a close second and I can't wait to see the film when it's released next year.


Music. This is been a big year for music for me and while I've been loving Ben Howard's new album, it only came out in the last few months of the year so, to an artist I haven't stopped listening to for years is Dallas Green also known as City And Colour. His music and lyrics are breathtaking and not enough people have heard enough of his music and if there's one thing to do after reading this post it's to give him a chance and listen to him on YouTube or Spotify. I also have to mention 1975 and Catfish & The Bottlemen who have been my bus journey anthems since starting college having a new favourite song from them every week. Also a mention to Saint Raymond who I loved since last year but it wasn't till around my GCSEs that it became my productive music. While I now have the bad memories of revising when listening to his music now I still love it and can't wait to see him live at the start of next year! A new music discovery of this year is Hozier. His album is perfection and I know I'll be listening to him for a long time now.

So that's it for my yearly favourites round up! I hope you enjoyed all three of these post as well as all the posts I've posted over the last year and I can't wait to see what this next year brings. 
Hope you're doing great,