Thursday 28 April 2016

Swimming with the fishes in the "Big Blue": Bath Bomb Wednesdays with Lush Cosmetics.

Hello my Lovelies, 

I hope you are all fine, well and having a lovely week so far.
Recently on my Instagram every Wednesday (or Monday/Tuesday if I'm working Wednesday), I've been doing something called "bath bomb Wednesdays" where I test out different bath bombs from Lush Cosmetics, Bath Bomb cosmetics, and online independent shops on ETSY or other recommendations, which are cruelty-free or vegan. It was with the greatest pleasure that to accompany these posts, I am going to be doing "Bath review Thursdays" All of the bombs I used in last months baths, will be reviewed on the blog the following month. In the shortest form, "Sneak peeks" on my Instagram of all the bath cocktails, bombs and more are available to watch and will be reviewed on my blog. So without further ado, the first bath bomb I gave a little glance at this month was "Big Blue" by LUSH cosmetics.


Big blue comes with a white top and all blue bottom, it literally smells like the ocean mixed with lemon citrus in a small ball making the bomb a very refreshing, relaxing experience and it looks divine.
The bomb fizzled very quickly as you'll be able to see on Instagram (@natiee_blogs), slowly releasing a very mild scent of lemon and ocean sea salts it was barely noticeable but calming enough. As it fizzled quite quickly, the water became a very beautiful bright blue and the seaweed slowly dispersed from the bomb the beauty of the seaweed is that it's made with a slow, dissolving gel so the seaweed slowly melts in the bath offering your skin more moisture and luxury treatment. The calming, aromatherapy effects of sea salt are universally known, which is why this bath bomb is used in the Lush Spa's and placed gently into some dry ice, where it slowly releases the blue mist and fragrance offering spa users peace, tranquillity and calm. If you're not the keenest fan on the seaweed you can use a sieve and place your bath bomb inside under the hot tap, whilst the seaweed gel melts and offers extra moisture, the use of lemon oil cleanses the body of toxins and helps the mind to unwind just as much as the sea salts and with this combination, as well as the light blue colour, psychology studies would 100% agree that you are in for a very relaxing, detoxifying bath.
I saved big blue for an occasion where I felt most stressed, pain and aches in my body to find that it did just as expected, with little extravagant performance this bath bomb quickly soothed all aching joint pains, headaches and with no foam or bubbles, it truly allowed my body to just be with the hot water, seaweed and blue peace.
My body was ache free and when I arrived downstairs, my sister and I both, could smell whiff of lemon sherbet from my skin which was caused by the bath bomb, my skin was left feeling soft, moisturised and thoroughly cleansed, I personally think this is a wonderful bath bomb and I would very much love to repurchase.
Rating: 4/5 



Saturday 16 April 2016

This is a "Cowspiracy!" Lush Cinema, Exeter!

Hello my lovelies,

I hope you are all fine, well and having a fantastic evening! I and my beautiful best friend, Chloe, attended a Lush cinema event a few weekends back now and we had the amazing opportunity to learn how agriculture is causing over half of the world's pollutions, on top of making "Big Blue" bath bomb! It was a truly fantastic experience and I want to say, thank you to the Exeter Lush team for being as lovely and welcoming as always, I really enjoyed the experience and I learnt so much about why it is people turn vegan, to save the planet. I hope you enjoy the video as much as we enjoyed the event, hopefully, there will be more of these to come. :))

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Friday 15 April 2016

Veleza App!

Hello my lovelies :)

I got a Veleza app account, you can follow me and find out whats on my shelf!! ^_^


Beating the Bad Book Blues or Good Book Comas: 8 Ways to rekindle your love for books.


Hello Everyone,

I hope you are all fine, well and having a lovely week so far.
Cast your minds to the runners wall, writers block, the urge to do something you thoroughly enjoy, however, reaching a block or point where you can not continue or you're struggling to enjoy it anymore, no matter how much you push. Readers get it as well ladies and gents, those of you who have a love for all things paperback, e-book or hardcover with beautiful plot twists, protagonists, and vastly varied authors know all too well what it is like to reach that "wall" usually happening after an exceptionally good read or in some unfortunate cases, some less enjoyable reads; both of these have a name, in my eyes, "The good book coma" is one I have been severely struggling with last month in March, upon finishing "Red Queen" by Victoria Aveyard, the review you can see on my YouTube or previous post, I found myself feeling empty without the story of Mare, the plot twists and the cruel world of Reds and Silvers so much so, it did not matter how many books I attempted to read not a single book kept me hooked or filled the void.
So, this month, as oppose to creating a video like I normally do each month expressing my new love and recommended read, this month I figured I'd give the readers who have found themselves in one of these predicaments a chance to break the good book coma or bad book blues, to explore a world of ideas to regain your motivation to pick up those books and fall in love all over again.

1) Re-read a classic, favourite novel. 


 
Re-reading a book series that you absolutely loved is a really clever and fantastic way of rekindling the love for reading. Reminding yourself of things you forgot that maybe happened in the series, revisiting old characters and story lines that feel like old friends, reminds you of why you got into reading in the first place. A personal favourite of mine and one that will never get old, no matter your age would have to be the Harry Potter series. Even sometimes revisiting childhood and reading former favourites such as Faraway tree by Enid Blyton, Michael Morpurgo, Jaqueline Wilson and Roald Dahl can be even more helpful and relaxing.



2) Reading short stories, poems or plays.

Sometimes we don't always have time to read as much as we would like to. I have often fantasised about gorging into the world of a paperback, but sometimes life just isn't on our side and the urge to just spend a week or month in a hut to read books rises (yes, I've been there too!). Alternatively, the idea of reading a big book can be daunting when you have no motivation or desire. Luckily, in these situations reading just one short story, poem or one act from a play can quench the need to read in our busy or hectic days and can remotivate us to read just a little more each day. Sometimes, a short story can be far more powerful and great than an entire series, never push it until you tried it. The beautiful part as well about short stories or poems is the fact you can find these anywhere, even by simply googling for a short story and poem, you can even come across new authors. An example is the collection of short stories by Neil Gaiman, on the right "M is for Magic" which has been on my reading list for a small amount of time since stumbling across it in Waterstones. At present for short stories, I'm reading "The Tales of Beedle and Bard" by J.K. Rowling.


3) Buy the sequel to that novel you can't get over! 
The good book coma began after finishing "Red Queen" by Victoria Aveyard, I fell in love with the plot twists, the characters, the uprising and the world or plot itself;Victoria's style of writing and everything she had created. To finish the novel left me feeling a sense of emptiness and a desire to read more of this story and characters, after having tried to read seven other books I realised I couldn't move on until I had the next book, Glass Sword, in my hands. So of course, I purchased the sequel and I have found that my love for reading has returned, there is that sense of dread and I will be honest, I have been rationing the book so I don't come back to the Good book Coma again, readers problems.

4) Read another book by your favourite author or by the same author of your favourite novel.

Often if you have fallen in love with what one author has written, you will fall in love with their other work even if it's not always along the same lines. Authors have a voice, some of them make you feel at home in the worlds they created, others make you feel intrigued, attachment or maybe the complete opposite, perhaps they fill you with emotions of rage, disdain and you actually continue to read to see if they meet the end you think they deserve. However, even within other works, you will tend to see their voice shine through and their unique style or ability to twist anything, make you feel everything. If you love one book, you may love a variety of other works by the same author, I know full well that I will certainly pick up more Stephen King, Terry Pratchett, Angela Marston, J.R.R Tolkien and many more authors other works (Of course!) etc.

5) Try a different genre. 

Sometimes you need a change of pace, theme, genre to spice it up and keep your interest. It's all fine and well to have one favourite genre, but to continuously just stick to that genre or the two same genre's can start to actually make you feel as though you're falling out of love with those genres altogether. In this situations, it's time to pick up a book you never thought you'd read, whether that book belongs to crime fiction or horror, as oppose to the usual Science-Fiction or fantasy. Perhaps by doing this, you'll even find a new genre or author that you can't help but fall in love with.

6) If you're not enjoying the book, just put it down. 

If you're simply finding that you aren't loving a book, you aren't falling into the world, as frustrating and upsetting as it maybe this book might not be the one for you at this present moment in time. It is totally ok to put a book down, do something else and then pick up a completely different book and come back to that one another time, never force yourself to read or do something you don't want to do because if it's not happening, you'll only enjoy the book a lot less than if you read it when you actually wanted to read it. Whether this book is a different genre to what you normally read or not, if it's not happening, it's not happening.

7) Watching film or media adaptations. 

Sometimes, a media or film adaptation can make the mind curious as to what the original text or book was like. Game of Thrones, for example, is of a similar nature to the show, George R.R Martin insisted on being on the set of the show to ensure it stayed true to the novels, although this meant that book readers spoiled the show for the TV watchers. A lot of media and films are based on the ideas from novels, even Mean Girls and sometimes, reading the originals adds more to the characters adventures and stories, the atmosphere of the setting etc. It makes the readers feel more involved and can really rekindle the love for TV or Books or both, and with rumours of "Good Omens" by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett being adapted to a 6 part TV series, Harlan Coben's "the Five" being another and "Time of Death" by Mark Billingham, reading could not be more important so you have an understanding of the show.

8) Friend recommendations or joining book clubs. 

A friend who reads is a friend indeed if that friend can recommend and lend you books they are worth far more of your time than you realise. Sometimes when you exchange books with friends, again you stumble into genres you wouldn't have stumble into, you save money as you switch and swap your books, bringing them back but at the same time getting new books to read as well. Alternatively, joining a local book club or starting your own can be a fantastic way to meet new people, find new books and enjoyment, as well as it's got to be a bonus right?

Thank you so much for reading, If you have any other types to rekindling the love for books, please feel free to share them by commenting below. I would love to hear from you, until next time my book lovers. xoxo

Thursday 14 April 2016

Watch Pretty Little Liars they said, it will be fun they said! Season 6 Pretty Little Liars finale. *Spoilers*

Hello Everyone,

I hope you are all fine, well and having a lovely week so far. OK, it's been a while since the finale of that carnival theme song, cryptic hoodie "A's" and the countless amount of over the top deaths, but I think I speak for everyone when I say I needed a few moments to process everything I witnessed of Season 6B of Pretty Little Liars. Thinking it ended with the grand revealing of "A" in the first half was a foolish mistake, as a fandom we should really know by now, yet perhaps I'm speaking for myself when I say I was lulled gently into believing it would just be one little lie and then they'd leave Rosewood happily ever after; perhaps I'm the fool.



So without further ado, I am going to mainly discuss the finale episode with our liars, a few references to episodes previously but I don't want to write essays and essays about these TV shows when there are other amazing things I need to catch up on (Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, American horror story is my addiction at the moment, to be honest anyways coming off topic.)
Pretty little liars is a TV series set in Rosewood, following the story of our 5 liars through the mystery-thrills that remain within the town in America, the series was based off the successful book series of the same title written by Sara Shepard. If you do enjoy this review, I have the collection of books and would be pleased to read the series and update you on the differences between novel and TV series; simply like this post, share with friends or comment below expressing your interest.
Season 6B begins 5 years after the grand reveal and "sentencing" of "A" the previous tormentor who held the girls hostage, tormented and caused more emotional, physical, mental and social torture for any one person to bear. Before I divulge any more information, if you haven't already seen the series and wish to watch then please divert away from this post now as the rest will contain spoilers. 
A lot has changed for the girls and within Rosewood, with the jury and Alison looking for the release of Charlotte DiLaurentes/CeeCee Drake, our Spoby, Emison, Ezria, Haleb all split up or with different partners, no longer in school and even a different "husher" in the opening giving Aria a break. However, we still have the same mystery "who killed Charlotte/A?" who is tormenting the girls? Are they the same people or different? Some of our questions were answered in the finale episode, with the grand elections of State Senator and all the votes being counted under way, of course, the main event would be the highlight of two extremes; the revealing of the New A and Spencers mum being State Senator. 
The finale saw the rekindling of the old relationships and flames, with Ezra and Aria seeming to be getting back together after the success of their book, Hanna and Caleb sharing a cheeky kiss in the finale after Hanna opening up to confessing that she always loved Caleb, Spencer and Toby going on an adventure with tag along Mona, Emily taking care of and still showing her loyal love to Alison and I have to say I felt all the joy escape my body with the couples as they teamed together again. 
We would all be lying if we didn't say that we were all as sad as Ashley Benson (Hanna) and Keegan (Toby) when we had no Hanna and Caleb babies or wedding when the season restarted, the rage that probably hit most of us when Spencer and Caleb began, in spite of how sweet they are together we have to admit, the tears and anger could not be contained.
So in this final episode of Season 6, when we saw the couples rejoin of course there was great happiness felt from my half as well as great sadness.
The main reason it's taken me a while to write this post? I've been in great, great mourning over the (potential) loss of one of our liars, Hanna. I know how "A" works, she faked Mona's death then dressed her up as Alison and locked her in a doll house, but this isn't "A" this is A-moji, the mother of A, Mary Drake (which I will get onto in just a minute) just as Charlotte's/A's/Charle's murder was done, we see our beloved fashionista Hannah with flowers taped to her hands and being dragged across the church tower floor. If we're being honest with a number of murders that occur there, you would have thought there would be security in front of the door asking for reasons why they were entering the church. Any event, I couldn't help but scream at my TV, wear black and pray to the Pretty Little Liar gods that Hanna is going to be ok, this is just another Amoji A stunt (like mother like daughter right?) but the reason in which Hanna "seemed to have been killed" is because Mary Drake is under the impression that Hanna killed Charlotte. This leads us to a question, who actually DID kill charlotte? We know it wasn't Hanna or do we? Assuming this is where season 7 will lead us and we'll be placed on another rollercoaster, firstly finding out whether Hanna really is deceased and the next person to be carried out in a casquet? Secondly, who the killer is? There maybe a few theories a lot would believe it is people who care about the liars, but I still have my suspicions on Sarah Harvey, because we still have no idea what her fascination is with the underground layer of Radley's, is she involved with Mary Drake and Elliot as well? OR, is Sarah separate and the reason for Charlotte's murder?
Onto the Subject of Mary Drake is it just me or is the DiLaurentes family tree the most far-fetched and complicated family tree ever? If this show has taught me anything, it's that anyone can lie to you including family and friends but it all comes out eventually in some big complicated mess that costs everyone their lives.

Mary Drake being the twin of Mrs. DiLaurentes and biological mother of Charlotte DiLaurentes/CeeCee Drake/A/Charles Drake (she has so many names it's actually exceptionally hard to keep up) and Elliot being the psychologist as well as seeming loving of Charlotte but also the husband of Charlotte's adopted sister/Cousin, Alison DiLaurentes. First of all, Where the heck has Mary Drake been hiding from seasons 1-6? Was she thought to be dead or was she lurking in the shadows as her daughter grew up with her sister? Radley being the home of both Mary and Charlotte, how is it that they never met or connected before now? I can not make sense of Mary's appearance or her history and I'm hoping a lot of these questions will be answered throughout the next season, but in a try pretty little liars way when one question gets answered, another 7 appear. We now know who was sending the texts, but we're left with even more confusion as to where she was for so many years.
Alison's story being one also of interest, assuming that her aunt Mary and husband Elliot made her feel crazy by dressing up as her dead mother and detective Walden, I'm guessing as revenge for everything that happened with Charlotte/A and for her being sent to psychiatry, even though it was clear she needed help. So what will happen to our precious Alison? I'm under the assumption seeing as she isn't actually clinically insane and there is not mental health issue although there might be trauma from the events of A, that perhaps she will be released with some luck and be rekindled along with Mona to crack the mystery of who killed Charlotte and the background of Mary Drake?

Pretty little liars although far fetched is probably the most entertaining and intriguing TV show I have watched for a while, still thoroughly enjoy it and the style it's presented it, continuously keeps up this style and flow throughout each season with more surprises through and through. Season 7 will be aired at the end of June 2016 and until then, we can continue to mourn.

Friday 8 April 2016

DIY Turning bath bombs/bubble bars into shower gels.




Hello Everyone,

I hope you are all fine, well and having a lovely week so far. Today's video is a little tutorial on how to turn some of your favourite bath bombs or bubble bars into shower gels. This is really handy if you want to enjoy your bath bombs or bubble bars in the shower on everyday use, if you don't have a bath or you wish to take your favourite bath bomb or bubble bar with you on your travels and is practically half the price of the usual bath bombs with more use out of them.

What you will need:
Bowl, Grater, Bath Bomb, jug, empty bottle & shower gel. The products I used in this video are totally cruelty-free with the bath bomb being from lush and the shower gel being Morrison's own baby wash.
I hope you enjoy this tutorial and I will see you all soon xoxo

Bath bomb used was Rose bombshell: https://uk.lush.com/products/bath-bombs/rose-bombshell

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Edited on final Cut pro by myself.
Music: Chvrches - Bury It (instrumental)