The LookFantastic Beauty Box, which I have reviewed every month for slightly over a year now, contains some of the most amazing products. Unfortunately, the ones that I tend to absolutely adore are the ones that cost £29274, a remortgage and selling a kidney on the black market, but here's a round-up of products that are completely worth the money spent.

1. Eve Lom Balm Cleanser £55 for 100ml

This is probably the best product that I have seen all year, and it did work noticeable wonders for my skin. But the price, the price, the price! I walked into Liberty when I visited London the other week and was immediately drawn to the Eve Lom counter, and I *nearly* spent £60 on a bloody balm to wash my face with. I will crack at some point, I just know it.

2. Christoph Robin Cleansing Volumising Paste £42.50 for 250ml


This is a divine smelling paste, that although seemed a little weird at first, did a truly amazing job of clarifying my hair and lifting at the roots. My hair can sometimes feel a little flat, as it has a lot of weight in the ends that drags it down, and this did a fab boost at the roots... but the price, the price.

3. Scrub Love Coconut Body Scrub £12.50 for 3ish applications


I didn't know whether to include this, as I couldn't work out if it was particularly steep, then considered the fact that one of my favourites, Soap and Glory, do a big tub of scrub for £8. Whilst I thought that this smelled divine and was a good scrub, it did only last for a couple of applications, so would only repurchase if I was feeling spending-happy.

I recently went down to London to catch up with friends and got to see Francesca, who had been *trying* to get me down in order that I could receive my birthday present (all the way from October!).

It turned out to be tickets to go and see Young Marx, a play that opened this autumn (actually on my birthday!) at the new Bridge Theatre, by the river. It was such a fab gift idea, as I love the theatre, comedies and a bit of Karl. It followed a fab day of eating nice foods, strolling around the Christmassy shops and markets (including John Lewis, where I spent rather a lot of money on a giant Ferrero Rocher as a gift) before she at last revealed where we were heading.

The Bridge Theatre itself is a brand new commercial theatre in London, and it has a beautiful and ambient foyer, that can be seen in the picture below. There was no time before the show to get a drink, but the box office was an open table that seemed friendly, and there was some lovely ice cream at the interval.


The play itself is a dramedy featuring a revolving stage, interchanging accents and a lot of climbing into cupboards. There were several jokes that made me giggle, and I did find it very enjoyable. In terms of a critique, I think I would give it 4 stars, as although there were many positives, some aspects were a little under-acted. I adored the set, the theatre itself, jokes and the play, although perhaps would have seen it tightened up a little dynamically, in order to maintain its wit.

Particularly this seemed to be noticeable at the point of the death of one of the main characters, who was grieved over for one scene, but Marx, in particular, didn't seem to be... sad for much time at all. My main problem is with this character, as his genius also seemed a little curtailed by the content crammed into the play, and although I loved parts such as his meeting with Darwin, it did appear a little underwhelming.

Rory Kinnear, as Marx, did show him to be a flawed character indeed, however: made all the more effective by the juxtaposition of the more restrained Jenny (Nancy Carroll) and Nym (Laura Elphinstone) - especially when they did unleash their justifiable anger.

After reading Klara's post about the coil (linked here), I decided to get a slice of the action myself, and post about my experience with the Mirena coil. I had mine fitted at the beginning of September, and thus far have been very pleased.

A few things to note: the Mirena coil is supposed to be used for women who have had children, and since I have never been pregnant, it is likely that some of my symptoms were worse than for those women who have, particularly the insertion. Also, it is 99% effective (according to the Mirena website) and suitable for people like me who cannot take the combined pill, as it only contains progestrogen. There are some health risks, so talk to your doctor first!

1. It fucking hurrrrrttsssss. Seriously, had I have known how much, I might have not gone through with it. It also will hurt for a while afterwards, but almost three months in and I am having absolutely no pain or cramping.
2. Prior to the Mirena, I had horrific periods, and had previously tried a range of things, from Mefenamic Acid to the mini pill, with no success. For me, the IUD has sorted everything out, but this may not occur for all people.
3. You might stop your period altogether, which is completely normal, and I'm personally very very glad about. Don't worry, you're almost certainly not pregnant!
4. You might want to get the string length shortened, even if you're not having sex. You're supposed to be able to feel it, and it's important to keep it long enough that your doctor can remove it at the end of the 5 years, but if you're concerned about it, go get it cut a little shorter. Not only this but they do soften a lot after the first couple of months, and often curl up, especially if you use a tampon.
5. If you're susceptible to things such as UTIs, you may want to choose a different contraception type, as there's a link between the coil and increased urine infections. 

Finally, I return, after a little messy hiatus where I was stressed af. Here is this month's playlist, full of new stuff that I'm enjoying, and there's lots for you to enjoy!


I had to include a few standard songs, but particular standouts this month include Khalid, Mondays, Gabriella Cilmi, and the return of Macklemore (on his own, too). Old, returning favourites also include Scouting for Girls, and Ellie Goulding, as I listened to 'How Long Will I Love You' on a bus through London and had the indie little tear rolling down my cheek.

On a day when it rains, you don't have much to do or perhaps have not had the greatest day it is very easy to become very inward looking and sad. What we often don't realise is that by being sad and projecting that into the world without any resolution/ way to improve our mood that is what we get back and therefore get stuck in the spiral of sadness. Nobody is happy all the time, and everyone has a bad day, however it is absolutely vital to make yourself happy and positive as often as possible to simply keep going. Here are some of my ways when it comes to dealing with a bad day ( or a bad time more generally).

1. Realise that you are not feeling great, and don't try to suppress it.
I feel like the mistake we all often make is trying to suppress how we feel with the words of "Oh, it will go away". Sure that might be true in theory but you simply putting it into a far away box isn't going to solve it nor will it ensure that you start feeling better. On a day when you are not finding things interesting, keep saying no, look sad and angry it is important to recognise that you are experiencing those emotions and deal with them appropriately to make sure you are not faced with a huge explosion later on. If writing helps ( it has saved me many times and has stopped me from pushing my emotions back) note how you feel down, and explicitly state what you are experiencing. Note, nobody is saying that you should be telling all of your friends about how bad you feel or constantly moaning about your bad day. What tends to be more productive is having some time to yourself and thinking about your personal experience.

2. Identify what is making you feel upset.
Now that you have recognised how you feel it is important to think of the factors which might be impacting you. If it's a sad event in your life, a person/people, grade, experience, whatever else it might be - note it down. When you clearly identify the causes of your discomfort you can find ways to deal with them or eliminate them fully. However, before you have any kind of solution in mind it is absolutely vital to identify what is making you upset because you will be able to deal with all of those individual factors one by one and eliminate their impact in the long term.

3. Think of solutions to deal with the things which are making you upset.
Following the previous suggestion it is important to find rational ways to deal with the issues you are faced with. Sometimes it is easier and other times it is harder, but nothing is impossible. If it's a person or maybe you've been in an argument with someone try and think of ways to have a conversation with them and maybe adjust to how they prefer to communicate whilst also expressing your concerns in a reasonable manner. If an unpleasant experience is making you feel uneasy try to think of the positive things you managed to do that day or with that person and leave the negative aside ( clinging on to unpleasant past memories will do you absolutely no good, so it's better to leave it behind and keep smiling).

4. Fill your life with positive reminders.
What I particularly enjoyed doing was making an inspiration board which I filled with fun photos and reminders of positive experiences. All it takes is a piece of cardboard, glue/pins and some photos/ things you can pin to the board to remind you of the good times you've had with your friends and any other people you value. Another way in which you can use a board like that is to put up your aspirations in the form of pictures of the things you would like to achieve in your life. Having that in front of you will act as a powerful motivational tool and will fill your life with a much more positive outlook.

5. Do something fun/ something you enjoy.
When you are having a bad day it is incredibly tempting to stay in bed all day, not do anything and just feel sorry for yourself. As much as I think that staying in bed is fantastic, I don't think that it takes you anywhere when you are already not feeling like doing much. It is therefore very important to do something to stimulate yourself. If you enjoy art  - draw something, play some funky music and dance to it, dress up, express yourself via makeup and colour or read a book you have been wanting to read for a long time. When you really aren't feeling it on a particular day it is absolutely vital to get up and going even if you have no plans for the day as it will give you energy and will fill up your life with happiness.

Hello friends, and welcome to the 1 year anniversary post of this series! Sorry for the deelay, but I have recently returned to state-mandated education (sixth form) and it's been a little hectic. Anyway, here's this month's LFBeautyBox, which I have had even longer to test out before this post, so I hope you enjoy.

I think this might be my *favourite box ever*. Yes. I loved every product in this box and thought it was utterly fab. The theme was 'the birthday box' which is interesting, since it's the birthday of the blog and also mine is coming up in the next month!

• Decleor Hydra Floral Anti-Pollution Hydrating Gel-Cream

• Hikari Eyeshadow Quad in Tonya and LookFantastic Unicorn Eyeshadow Brush (which I can't find a link to - apologies)

• Illamasqua Contouring Gel Sculpt in Silhouette 

• Eve Lom Cleanser

• Christophe Robin Cleansing Volumising Paste

About a week ago I decided to go on a stationery shopping trip to buy everything I needed in order to stay organised and encourage myself to keep working. On my trip I went to both Ryman and Muji in central London and below are the things I have purchased. Enjoy.

Aside from my pens I have also decided to purchase some other stationery which I would categorise as "the usual" as those are the supplies everyone purchases before the start of every new academic year; pens, rubber, ruler, you name it. I also decided to purchase a clear pencil case for this year as I feel like that is what works best for me due to the fact that I can see all of my supplies and easily get what I need or identify what I need to put into my pencil case. I purchased this particular pencil case from Ryman, however you can get it from Ebay or Amazon too.





 Lastly, I also purchased some folders before the start of this new academic year alongside some dividers which I find very useful at helping me separate information within my folders and therefore make the large ring binders easier to navigate. I purchased both my folders and dividers from Ryman as their folders tend to last a long time period and look nice and presentable. I purchased the regular folders sold at Ryman, all in different colours in order to assign them to different subjects and therefore make my system of organisation easier to navigate.

My relatively busy Tuesday consisted of a little trip to one of the Muji stores in London. Apart from the stationery being absolutely stunning, all of the Muji stores tend to have a very nice, minimalist atmosphere which is absolutely perfect if you want to relax a little or simply want to look at/buy gorgeous stationery you might have encountered on Tumblr.

Here's one of the most scintillating, beautiful and suspenseful stories you will ever hear, from the unlikeliest of sources: Pret a Manger's Lemon and Ginger Pure Pret Still.


First we have to accept the fact that this is the holy grail of non-alcoholic drinks. It is spicy, it is sweet, it is zesty. It comes at the low low price of £1.75 (semi-low) and is 500ml of utter gorgeousness - the only *slight* problem being that occasionally it leaks in my bag, spreading its radiant spice across all of my belongings.


How did I find this wondrous drink? It is a love story almost as exciting as my love for the Pret juice, where on a sunny London day (who am I kidding, it was overcast and a bit chilly and I was only wearing a skirt and short sleeved top) I was introduced to it at the Pret just off Leicester Square. I *almost* went for a still water and could have missed out, but the particular person I was with recommended it when I asked if it was nice, and thus the addiction was born.

The next exciting twist came when they decided our *thing* was no longer a *thing* and then I didn't know if the zesty drink would be too tragic to drink. Luckily I met up with Ana the following Sunday, and we decided to reappropriate the delightful lemony goodness together.


Update: I went to London this weekend and there were NO PRET JUICES. NONE. They'd been recalled apparently, I don't know and frankly don't care, because this was horrific and I couldn't deal with technicalities. I had to message the thus-far-anonymous enabler of my Pret habit with my shock, and they were equally horrified. I think it is back now though, have no fear, you can sleep easy in your bed tonight.