Trouble

"All I need to know if whether she's OK. That is all."

Hey Guys,
When I saw this book in Waterstones a few weeks back the first thing that intrigued me was the tag line, "A Boy. A Girl. A Bump." and the fact that I had never read anything like this before. It had me instantly thinking about teen pregnancies and maybe the fact that it was some weird alternate universe where the guy gets pregnant; it wasn't but that would have been good!

I have to admit it did take me a big longer to get through this books that some of the others that I have read but this novel has some serious plot twists and interlinking story lines that most young adult novels these days lack. All I can say is that the way it starts off is nothing like the way it finishes.

Non Pratt has split her book into two different points of view, one from the pregnant teen Hannah, and the other from her best guy friend Aaron. I normally don't go for books with split points of view but after reading Eleanor & Park I thought I would give this book a go. The best section of this book is about the last fifth of the pages but to get a feel of the characters and their lives you need to read the whole book; and please don't skip to the end! If you do I promise it will ruin the whole thing for you.

By the end of the book I did get really attached to the two main characters Hannah and Aaron, how realistic they were, like they could have been real people on an episode of Teen Mom or 16 and pregnant. (Not that the book reads across like that!)

As it is about a pregnant teenage girl and a lot of young boys, hopefully you can see where I'm going with this, I do not recommend it to anyone under the age of 14. However to anyone above this age I really think you should read this book as its both funny and sad, definitely one of my favourites!
You can find Non Pratt here.

I have decided to give this book 4 flowers. Tell me your thoughts and opinions in the comments below or on Twitter or Instagram.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson

“I am constantly torn between killing myself and killing everyone around me.” 

Hey Guys,

After reading Every Day by David Levithan I decided to have a look at what else he had written; now don't get me wrong, I had seen Will Grayson, Will Grayson before in bookstores but never thought of reading it as it didn't really seem like my "thing". However now that I knew that this novel was a collaboration between John Green and the guy that wrote Every Day (one of my new favourite books!) I just knew I had to buy it and read it.

I wasn't really sure what this book was going to be like, since the blurb said something about a musical I thought it was going to be similar to a novelized version of High School Musical, with lyrics and stage directions in between chapters. Instead I found a genuinely heartwarming book about two guys who both happen to be called Will Grayson, meeting each other one day outside a very questionable shop. 

The novel itself is split into two, not directly in half but in the way that both authors take turns writing a chapter from their Will Grayson's point of view. I really liked this way of setting out the novel as it was evenly divided between the two so people could get to know one Will Grayson just as much as the other. However as much of a fan of John Green as I am, I actually found myself preferring the Will Grayson written by David Levithan, as he seemed to have a lot more character development and John Green's Will Grayson appeared to lack a bit of depth in some places.

One of the points that I really liked about this novel is the fact that it does openly talk about depression, and in a way that younger people would understand. Also, the Will Grayson written by David Levithan is gay, which I think is a really good way of getting young people used to the idea of one of the protagonists being gay instead of some muscular hunk that gets all the girls. 

I definitely recommend this book but it does have some very strong language so I don't think anyone under the age of 13 should try to read it. If you have already read this book let me know what you thought of it in the comments!

You can find John Green here - David Levithan here - and you can by the book from here.
Come say hi on Instagram and Twitter!

Smoothies & Juices

Hey Guys,
Today I decided to share with you a recently bought gadget that I got to hopefully improve my health and diet, and I can tell you that it really does work. This morning I have already eaten four of my five a day in just one smoothie, which I think is very impressive!

I thought that this post would go well on both my Recommendation page and my Fashion & Beauty page as I am recommending you guys to try it but once you have tried it, it can vastly improve your diet and your skin; and everyone wants clear skin!

 The juicer/blender that I decided to go with was the NutriBullet as I had seen a teleshopping advert a while back and saw how good it was at pulverizing anything you put in it, including nuts and ice. Also the NurtiBullet can do a lot of different things such as smoothies, juices and soups (I never thought of using it to make soup before!) so it is definitely worth the money.
You can find the NutriBullet here.

However any blender or juicer that you have already in your home is perfect to use to make this smoothie, which I am constantly drinking at the moment and would love for you guys to try it at home!

Recipe:

• Two and a half large handfuls of raspberries
• One and half large handfuls of pineapple
• Half a small handfull of blueberries
• Several almounds (I used 6)
• Half a small handful of pistachios
• Around 7 or 8 strawberries 
• A handful of raw spinach

Obviously if you are allergic to nuts you wouldn't include them but even if you don't like them you can choose to whether you include them or not as you cannot taste them, but they do add fiber, vitamins and other nutrients to the smoothie.

I also made a smoothie for my lunch the other day using all of the fruit pictured below; can you imagine trying to eat all of that at once?!

Thank you guys for reading this and I hope you enjoy your smoothie if you do try to make it!
Show me your smoothies and tag me in the pictures on either Twitter or Instagram.
(This post is not sponsored!)

Eleanor & Park

"Eleanor was right. She never looked nice. She looked like art, and art wasn't supposed to look nice; it was supposed to make you feel something." 

Hey Guys,

I don't know about you but after finished The Fault in Our Stars I had an "okay" shaped whole in my heart that, I felt, needed to be filled. If I could award a book six flowers I would! This book is so delightfully heartwarming that I actually smiled the whole time I was reading it. I can see some people saying that you can't compare anything to The Fault in Our Stars, but these books, in many ways, are nothing alike. 

Rainbow Rowell has managed to effortlessly write from both a male and female point of view without it seeming too similar or feminine. The two main characters, Eleanor and Park, aren't the kind of people you would consider to feature in typical teenage romance novel, but that's why I believe this book is for anyone; so many people can relate to what Eleanor and Park are going through as they actually seem like they could be real.

Without giving too much away, I need another book to follow on from this one, simply because of the ending; the last four words leave the book on such a cliff hanger that you no longer know what to do with yourself after finishing it.

Eleanor & Park even has a quote from John Green himself on the front cover, stating his opinion on the book; he writes, "Reminded me not just what it's like to be young and in love with a girl, but also what it's like to be young and in love with a book."

On a side note I just wanted to mention that this book is written in third person, in case any of you guys prefer to read books that are in first person, as I know I do but I still recommend you to read Eleanor & Park as I think it will change your mind.

I seriously recommend you guys to read this book but unfortunately it is not for any young readers, (which I would consider to be under 12/13) so as much as I would love you to read this book, please don't if you are under this age.
You can find Rainbow Rowell here!

(You guys know how much I love to hear your opinions in the comments down below but please be wary of spoilers!)

Gossip Girl

"The problem with fairy tales is that they set a girl up for disappointment. In real life, the prince goes off with the wrong princess." - Gossip Girl

Hey Guys,

A few weeks ago I started watching Gossip Girl after recently getting Netflix, which I really shouldn't have been doing as I was in the process of doing my GCSE exams, and all I can say is that I was 100% totally and completely hooked!

In total there are 6 seasons on juicy, gossip filled episodes which each have their own mini cliffhangers, leaving you wanting. I think I ended up going to bed at about midnight on a weekday and around 2:00 am at the weekends (which I am not recommending you to do!) just so that I knew what was going to happen next between best friends Blair and Serena and how they were going to resolve this next problem.

I would have to say that my favourite character is Mr Chuck Bass, played by Ed Westwick who is my teenage crush, because of his sassy, unique attitude which makes him totally lovable in an unexpected way. If you guys watch this series you will find yourself loving him by the end! Honestly, I don't think I dislike any of the main characters (Serena, Blair, Chuck, Dan or Nate) but there are definitely ones that I like more than others. 

This show isn't just about the drama though, I fell in love with the clothes and the lifestyle! With their million pound penthouses and lavish balls I wanted to be one of them, to become one of those five teenagers who we, as an audience, follow for the next few years of their lives. I can't say that their lives are perfect, because their not and you will find out from watching the show, but I wouldn't exactly pass if I were given the opportunity to live like them.

With the sixth and final season airing in 2012 it made me want to watch it more as there wasn't going to be any waiting around for the next episode to come out in a few months. For those of you who have watched it you will already know that the identity of the "famous" Gossip Girl is revealed, but for those who are yet to watch it, pay careful attention as I bet you will be shocked at who "she" actually is, as I certainly was!

( I would love to here your thoughts and opinions on the show in the comments down below but please be wary of spoilers!)

The Fault in Our Stars

 "Okay? Okay."

Hey Guys,

The reason I started reading The Fault in Our Stars was not because I picked it up in a book shop or came across it online, it was because one of my friends recommended it to me in a maths lesson, having bought it the previous day at the supermarket. All she said to me was that I had to read it, so I did, and I fell in love; which is why I am recommending it to you.

There isn't anything you can't love in this beautiful story about a girl and a boy in what some people would say are unusual circumstances. I have to be honest, I was a little skeptical when I first started to read it as I thought it would be depressing, a little boring and have no reference to what someone with cancer would actually be going through. How wrong was I?! John Green is such a caring and loving writer, and you can see this in his novels, particularly The Fault in Our Stars, with his ability to mix humor and heartache into one without it being too forthright or unrealistic.

I am not a major fan of male authors writing from a female perspective, and vice versa, as I feel that they never seem to get the dialogue and thoughts quite right however by about the third line I was completely engrossed and forgot that John Green is, in fact, male.

My favourite character wasn't Hazel Grace but the charming and ever-real, Augustus Waters. If you were to ask me why, I couldn't say without ruining the storyline for you, but if I were ever to meet someone as delightfully raw as Augustus Waters I would never let go.

I went to go see the movie a couple of weeks ago for my birthday and have to say it definitely did the book justice and I am not ashamed to admit that I did cry several time throughout the showing! Let me know in the comments whether you cried a little, a lot or whether you were as dry as a bone.

I truly believe that The Fault in Our Stars deserves a 5 flower rating, and many books in the future will have a lot to live up to.
You can find John Green here!

Comment your thoughts and opinions down below but please be wary of spoilers!

Prom/Evening Makeup Tutorial

 Hey Guys,

In preparation for my Prom I tried out many different makeup ideas but this one was my favourite and the one I decided to wear on my Prom night. I wanted to show you guys to give you some ideas for your Prom or and evening out with your friends. Do what you will with this tutorial, change it up as much as you want but I hope you find it helpful. 

Now to do this tutorial you don't need the brands that I used and you could even decide to use completely different colours, as I have chosen to go with pinks and golds, but you could decide to go towards silver or bronze.

The first step in any eye makeup tutorial is to make sure you have your primer, concealer, foundation or BB cream on already before you start, as you don't want to cake your freshly stuck eyelashes with foundation. Personally I have very fair skin so I find it really hard to get the ride shade without it looking orange. If you have this same problem I have also listed the skin products that I use below, including moisturiser, primer, concealer and foundation.

 (Simple Clear Skin Oil Balancing Moisturiser, Rimmel London Fix & Perfect Pro Primer 002, Maybelline New York New Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser Lightweight Primer, Seventeen Stay Time Concealer in Extra Fair and Rimmel London Match Perfection Light Perfecting Radiance Foundation in Light Porcelain)

Okay so now you've got all your skin done it's now time to do the eyes. To start off you need to make sure there is no remaining mascara or eyeliner from the day before as this can create an uneven appearance. Now for the next step I curl my eyelashes to make them stand out more but some people choose not to or already have naturally curled lashes so this step is optional.

The next step is the first coat of mascara, I say first coat because I tend to put on a sort of base coat at the start to build up as I like my lashes to stand out and be thick and long. You will also need to put another coat on later to blend the fake eyelashes with your real ones.

I then put on a fairly thin coat of eyeshadow because I prefer it to be more subtle but the amount you chose to put on is up to you. For this I use the 17 eyes in Funfair with the detailer brush from realTechniques by Samantha Chapman, but if you don't have any type of brush your finger will work just as well.

This next step is a bit trickier because you need to cut and glue your fake eyelashes on. I only use the outer corner half as I usually cut them up so that they are more comfortable to wear and appear more natural. Hopefully on the photos below you can see where I stuck the eyelashes, which is the outer half of my eye, where my lashes appear darker and fuller. Also be careful with how much glue you decide to use as this can effect how hard they are to get off afterwards.

Now you need to grab your eyeliner and draw a very thin, dark line from where your lashes start to where they finish, and could could get thicker as you head towards the outer corner of your eye. This step is just to help hide the thick, black line that helps to hold the eyelashes together. After you've done the black eyeliner you can then use the Barry M Bold Bronze Waterproof Eyeliner to draw a line just above where you've drawn the black eyeliner line, be careful not to touch the black eyeliner line as it can easily get smudged!

The last step is completely optional as you may decide you like your eyes as they are but you can also use the Barry M eyeliner to draw a faint line underneath your bottom lashes, from the outer corner of your eye to about halfway through your eye, this just helps to add a little more sparkle.

And now your done! I hope you love your gorgeous eyes just as much as I enjoyed making this tutorial for you guys. I just want you to keep in mind that I have no training in beauty or makeup, it is just a hobby. Please comment down below what you thought of my tutorial and if you would like me to do anything else for you guys!