Music Review: Mollie King - Back To You 9/10

                                   

                                            

Mollie King has been a fifth of the girl group The Saturdays since 2007. They have always been my guilty pleasure, I've loved every single, every album, loved seeing the girls in magazines and following them on Instagram. They are just captivating. So talented, so beautiful and musically so addicting. 

There strength has always been as a group so I was concerned that them going on a hiatus in order to persue singular efforts would be a flop. Vanessa released an EP not long ago and it didn't really make a dent in the music world and I didn't love it. The second Saturday to release anything is the lovely Mollie in the form of, Back To You. 

Back To You is a breathy. sexy, love song about not being able to leave an ex alone. Just wanting to be with them and no one else despite them not being good for you. 

On first few listens, the song felt repetitive and simple. I liked it but I didn't think it would make it onto my playlist but I kept listening wanting to like it and it worked because now I really do. Mollie has played it safe by sticking to the same fluffy pop sound that The Sats have been so successful with but she has given it her own spin, slowed it down, provided some emotion. 

Her voice sounds beautiful but I do feel the song would have benefitted from Mollie kicking the vocals up a notch in the final verse. It would have really added to the emotion of the song and the lyrics. This is the only reason I have given the song a 9/10 instead of a 10.

I love the single cover art, simple, sexy and the colour hue is very unique and gorgeous. She should have gone for a lipgloss instead of the matte lips she is wearing though because her lips just look dry and this song calls for a moist lip in my opinion! That sounds gross but you know what I mean!

I'm assuming this single will lead to an album and I am very excited to hear it! 

NYX Vivid Brights

Left: Vivid Envy   Right: Vivid Sapphire

I love coloured eyeliner. I love it because I have hazel eyes so brightly coloured eyeliners really bring out the different colours in my eyes. So when perusing my local NYX counter, I came across the most incredible collection of coloured liquid eyeliners and knew I had to try them. So far I have bought two shades. 

The first I bought was Vivid Envy and the reason I bought this is because they were sold out of Vivid Sapphire which was the colour I really wanted. I was too impatient to wait for them to restock so I threw this amazing green one into my basket and trotted merrily to the till. 

I will admit, these are quite hard to apply, they have long hairs as the applicator and they are rather hard to control. They would definitely be easier to apply if they had a plastic tip but I do think the hairs give a better application of colour despite the struggle to get it on. I used a piece of tape to get the liner flicks right, otherwise it would have been truly impossible. 

The green shade is a lot more demure than the tube would suggest. It looks like it would be a more neon colour so it is a little annoying to get a different colour than I expected but I do still realllllly love it. 

Youtuber Gabriella Lindley (VelvetGh0st) was wearing Vivid Sapphire in one of her vlogs and I couldn't stop staring at her eyes. For the next few weeks I kept visiting the NYX stand and the shade was always sold out! I was getting so frustrated because I needed it so badly! When I finally found it I nearly peed myself with happiness. It is the most incredibly intense amazing sapphire blue, it is no surprise that it was always sold out. 

It is just as hard to apply as the green but I love them both so much that I will most definitely be buying the rest of the collection and wearing them everyday until people start referring to me as the rainbow eyes girl. I am addicted! 

Do yourself a favour and give them a try! 

Natural Collection Highlighter Sticks

Left: Rose Glow     Right: Coral Glow 

I look around the makeup section in Boots so frequently that when a new product pop up, I noticed it straight away and if intriguing enough, it will end up in my basket. 

These Natural Collection Highlighter Sticks intrigued me because I'm pretty certain that Natural Collection didn't do a highlighter until now. I have used Natural Collection products before but i've never been too impressed because as the name suggests, everything is very natural and just not all that exciting. But these little guys looked so different from the rest of the stand, beautiful colours with intense shimmer and packaged in petite white twist up chubby sticks. 

I like the packaging mostly, they are very small at roughly 2inches tall, containing a decent amount of  cream highlighter. The diameter of the product is perfectly sized to run along the cheek bone applying just the right amount of product. 

Great for squeezing in a makeup bag and clearly labelled on the bottom of the stick, my only issue is that the lids don't seem to stay on very well. This could cause quite the issue should the lid come off in your bag. 

(Unblended)

As you can see here, the colours are gorgeous. Rose Glow (left) is a dusty pink with golden shimmers, it is a very wearable colour with a huge amount of pigmentation. I feel that it would suit most skin tones as it is a subtle light shade. 

Coral Glow (right) is a weird one for me. It is a strong coral shade with golden shimmer, my issue is that I don't feel that it is a highlighter shade at all. It is just too coral and bright, more of a shimmering blusher in my opinion. I just don't see how on anyone this could be a highlight. It is still wearable though, I like it as a blush but rather than using it on the apples of my cheeks, I blend it from my upper apple and pull it up along my cheek bone so that it kind of acts as a blush and highlighter combo. 

(Blended Out) 

My issue with these occurs when you start blending. You have to be so careful because it is so easy to accidentally buff away all of the colour and end up with just chunky glitter. I actually quite like the chunky glitter look because I'm a weirdo but I don't think many other people would appreciate it! 

These retail at £1.99 each and can often be found on a 3 for 2 offer in Boots which makes these bad boys a freaking bargain. They aren't perfect but I think they are really adaptable, you can use them as a highlight, a blush or even eyeshadow. Considering the price I really think they are pretty good! 

The Shallows Review 7/10

I went to see The Shallows the other day purely because the showing was at a convenient time. I didn't have high expectations.

The film centres around Nancy, a young medical student who recently lost her mother. Nancy decides to visit the secret beach her mother once visited while pregnant with Nancy, she goes alone due to a flaky friend. 

Nancy goes surfing and finds herself trapped on a rock while a shark circles her. She gains a deep leg bite early on in the film and spends the duration of the film sitting on a rock tending to her wound and thinking of a way to get back to shore unharmed. 

Very simple storyline, seems like just you typical shark horror and it some ways it is but in other ways, its was highly enjoyable! And I was in fact very impressed!

Nancy played by Blake Lively could have easily been an annoying heroine, lots of crying and too many sexy close ups but Lively acted her role impressively well and I genuinely felt a connection with the character. She played the fine line between fear and bravery which was a refreshing change from your standard horror movie heroine. 

The movie kept you hooked from beginning to (almost) the end. 

I feel that for the most part the effects and the shark itself looked really impressive, the movie featured some beautiful shots of the beach and the surf, there as also a scene that I found particularly terrifying which included a whole load of jellyfish. 

Little fact about me, I am extremely scared of jellyfish. This particular scene had me biting my nails and perched on the edge of my seat. I don't feel that this movie was particularly scary and I don't feel it was meant to be, it was more about the tension and the build up to the big reveal of the shark but the jellyfish scene really got me. 

My favourite part however which really set the bar a little higher for me was the seagull! Throughout  pretty much the whole movie an injured seagull sat on the rock with Nancy, it was a really clever way to give Nancy a more human feel, she spoke to the seagull and sympathised with him. I know it sounds ridiculous to explain but you'd need to see the movie to truly understand what I mean! 

Now for the criticism, the ending was just silly. The whole film had been solidly good until the ending where it felt like the film makers just didn't know how to end it so they just threw in a load of over the top bullshit. The ending could have been so much simpler and so much better. 

Overall, I really did enjoy The Shallows which was a nice surprise! 

Have you seen it? What did you think?

Do I Need It? Urban Decay Moondust Palette

I think by now you all know how much I love Urban Decay, I love it because the packaging is snazzy, the products are unique and quality is fantastic. I already own a single Moondust shadow in 'Solstace' and it is likely my favourite shadow in the whole world, it is just incredible.

When this palette was first announced I hoped it would be a collection of the Moondust shadows that already existed, I hoped this because I am in love with the majority of them but at almost £15 each I just can not justify buying them all separately. I won't lie, I was a little let down when I found out that this wasn't that case. 

So here my predicament... I still want it but now I just don't know if I need it. I feel like the singles collection were so much more wearable, less intensity in the colour but with unique glitters and duo tones. These shadows are incredibly beautiful, brightly coloured and the glitter is just ridiculously intense. I really want it! I want to strut down the street with bright green glittery eye lids but realistically, will I? 

I do like to experiment with my makeup and I certainly do like to push the boundaries but I own so many bright eyeshadows that hardly ever get used so would it just be a waste of money to buy eight more? 

This palette costs £35.00, its not going to bankrupt me but it also isn't cheap. Would that money be better spend on something more practical like petrol or rent, let be honest, probably just on makeup thats a little more wearable but you get the gist.

It is beautiful though. 

Help? 

Purchase Here

Amazon Brushes

Using a brand new makeup brush is heaven. It is one of the most refreshing, exciting things in the world to a beauty lover but they are so damn expensive that it is an experience that doesn't happen too often. I was reading DarlingJordan a few weeks back and she was talking about Ebay Brush Bargains. They looked just like the Real Techniques bold metal brushes but for a whole lot cheaper! With her recommendation, I had to buy them! 

I decided to get mine from Amazon because Ebay terrifies me but I'm pretty certain they are the same brushes, I will link both below. 

They look copper colours in my photos but they are actually a beautiful true rose gold colour with baby pink bristles. They really are gorgeous to look at! From far they look like the real thing, expensive and classy but up close not so much. They are so shiny that they show all kinds of marks, finger prints, dog hairs and scratches. The handles look and feel cheap which let me down but I wasn't too bothered because for the price I expected it but the bristles on the other hand feel great! They are all soft but with different textures for the different uses, the sculpting brush is stiff for contouring and the powder brush is fluffy and soft. Each brush is perfectly made to apply different products and most definitely work the same as a high end brush. 

While writing this post I am rubbing them on my face just to feel the softness. 

I did however wait almost two weeks for them to be delivered which drove me mad! Every day I ran to the front door hoping for a delivery and everyday, nothing! If you are an impatient person like me, it will annoy the hell out of you! 

Overall, these are good brushes. They apply well and will look fabulous on your vanity, they aren't perfect but for the price I say go buy some! I've also ordered the eye set which will hopefully come any day now!

Check out Darling Jordan.... Here

Buy on Ebay.... Here

Buy on Amazon.... Here