Music Review: Selena Gomez - Same Old Love 9/10

"Same Old Love" is the second single from Selena's upcoming album, Revival. I am the hugest Selena Gomez fan and probably always will be because despite how critical people are of her, I feel like she can do no wrong. I honestly don't understand why she is so criticised in regards to her music, Revival will be her fifth studio album and I have loved almost every song from every album. 

She is often criticised for her vocals also and as someone who has seen her live, I can honestly say that she sounds great live. She's no Mariah Carey but she has a beautiful, unique tone that no other artist at the moment has and her vocals are improving with every album. 

All this being said, I don't feel that this offering is quite as good as the first single, Good For You. "Good For You" felt super unique and felt definitively Selena, it showcased a complete new direction for her as an artist while still feeling like her. It is important to pick out criticism along with the compliments in order to fully review a song and this offering does come with a few criticisms, first being that it doesn't completely sound like her. Both in vocals and in the feel of the song. 

Charli XCX provides backing vocals and she also contributed to the writing and development of the track. You can tell without even knowing this fact. Selena's vocals are beautiful but they have been heavily layered with Charli's backing vocals to the point that it sounds like it's Charli's song. With this fact and the fact that the whole sound of the song sounds like it could have being on a Charli XCX album is a real let down, I do really like Charli XCX so I do still love the song but I wanted a Selena song. Im not saying that it had to be typical Selena but I wanted to hear her vocal and her style not someone elses.

The piano and clapping instrumental back beat is inspired, it is truly unique and refreshing. My other criticism is that this great instrumental is ruined a little by the fact that it is literally repeated through the whole song and can feel a little repetitive. 

All this being said, "Same Old Love" is far from a let down. I think it is a great song and it really has got me even more excited for the album. I own every one of her albums and I've played them on repeat in my car for years so this album will undoubtably be no different.

The lyrics on the past two singles has been a lot deeper than her previous offerings also, which I'm really enjoying. It is nice to see Selena show us a little more of herself. So to finish i'll leave you with some lyrics to fall in love with...

Take away all your things and go

You can't take back what you said, I know

I've heard it all before, at least a million times

I'm not one to forget, you know

I don't believe, I don't believe it

You left in peace, left me in pieces

Too hard to breathe, I'm on my knees

Right now, 'ow

I'm so sick of that same old love, that shit, it tears me up

I’m so sick of that same old love, my body's had enough

I’m so sick of that same old love, feels like I've blown apart

I’m so sick of that same old love, the kind that breaks your heart

Pre-Order Revival Here

Listen to song Here

Wishlist: Copper Lamps

One      Two      Three     Four

As I have mentioned, my boyfriend and I are currently in the process of decorating our bedroom. We actually don't even have a lamp shade at the moment so it is a must to buy the most awesome one we can find and it obviously has to be copper. We are painting the room white and our furniture is white/will be white so we want a copper lamp shade and possibly some lamps to add a little more light and warmth to the cold white. 

I never noticed this before but lamps are expensive! It has taken me so long to track down a collection of gorgeous light fixtures that don't cost an arm and a leg, all of these options are less than £35.00

I am really being draw towards option four because it is so unique and trendy but options one and two would look great together and they are both from IKEA so I could get them both in one shopping trip/online order. But then option three is so shiny and pretty, would it just collect dust horribly though?

Let me know your thought in the comments!

Smokey Gold Eyes Tutorial

Some would say this is an evening look but for me, it's a Monday. 

I think you can rock a smokey eye anytime, my go to is usually a burnt orange or a brown but the other day I realised I had never used the shade "Brokedown" from my Urban Decay Vice 3 palette. It is a complex mix of gold and bronze with a slight green undertone, the pigment is incredibly intense and the metallic shimmer is amazing. I can't believe I have waited so long to use it!

The colour also complements my hazel eyes perfectly which is a bonus! This look would also look lovely with green eyes. 

Step By Step

1. First, do your eyebrows because they will provide a frame for your eyes and help you get the right smoky eyeshadow shape later. I used the Urban Decay Brow Box in Brown Sugar, a strong brow works best for this look so use an angled shadow brush to fill in your brows. You want your brows to be full but you also want them to look natural so make sure you use a lighter hand on the inner points. 

2. . Start the eyes by priming the eye lids all the way up to the brow bone, I used Urban Decay Primer Potion but any primer should do the trick.

3. Next, I used Nude Delight from Tanya Burr Cosmetics all over the lid. Nude Delight is a buttery nude shade, you can use any light skin tone nude shadow you have to hand. This provides a base to blend into. You can use for fingers or a brush for this.

4. Then the fun part! Start packing on "Brokedown" using the eyeshadow brush to pat the colour up to the crease of your eye. Add a little more colour to your brush and lightly blend the colour into the crease until it is smoked out and it blends over the crease. The shape of the shadow is dependent on your own eye shape so do what feel right for your face.

5. Dip back into your nude shadow with your cleaned makeup brush and continue to blend the "Brokedown" shade upwards. You should now have a gorgeous golden smokey eye.

6. If you need to clean up shadow fallout, do that now using a clean fluffy brush. To complete the look you'll need a little inner eye brightening, I used Urban Decay "Bobby Dazzle" and used my finger to press the shimmer into my inner duct. 

7. No smokey eye is complete without long, fluttering black lashes. Use a black mascara of your choice and add multiple thin layers until your lashes are looking fabulous. 

"Brokedown" has become my new favourite shadow! If you would like to see more looks using this shade, comment below! 

NYC Haul / Review

NYC is a well known makeup brand with tiny price tags. I make it my mission to try every budget brand I can get my hands on but for some reason, I haven't really tried many NYC products. But recently, while browsing through Superdrug, my hands went crazy and threw multiple products into my basket. It wasn't my fault, my hands have minds of their own. 

I bought a good variety of things, lips, eyes and face. I think this will be a great way to get a feel for the brand and know what I like and don't like for future purchases. Which I can already tell, there will be a lot of. 

NYC Big Bold Volume By The Lash Mascara

I have a love / hate relationship with this one. It is super lengthening and thickening, it looks really nice and has good staying power. It is an impressive mascara but my god is hard to apply, it is a very wet formula that often ends up smudged on my eyelids. The texture is almost watery, you need to be extremely careful when applying but it does look good. For this reason, I will definitely use up the tube but I'm not certain I would buy it again. But I would try another mascara from the brand to see if the others are any better. And hopefully thicker.

NYC Smooch Proof Liquid Lip Stain

I bought two of these, one dark shade and one light. They don't seem to have colour names which is the worst but the dark is a berry toned fuchsia and the light is a pink toned peach. I am a hoarder of lip stains because I am super lazy, I don't like to have to reapply lip products and I don't like colour transfer. So I jumped at the chance to try some bargain lip stains. 

The fuchsia is not good. It looks streaky and wears off on the inner lip after no time at all, I have only used it once and I don't think I will use it again unfortunately. The peach is a whole other story however, it looks very sheer on the lips which is the complete opposite to the fuchsia but the staying power is amazing. It is the perfect everyday shade that will look good with almost anything. 

NYC HD Color Quattro Eyeshadow

Let me start by saying that this little quad is only £2.50 and it is the quality of something a lot more expensive. I bought this because I wanted a dark khaki green shadow, the green is a shimmer though which is beautiful but I'm still searching for the perfect matte khaki shade. Despite this fact, I am still extremely happy with this purchase. The gold is a great all over lid shade, the champagne shimmer is a lovely inner corner highlight, the green requires a lot of building but is beautiful and I am yet to try the dark green brown.

NYC Smooth Skin Perfecting Primer

Call me crazy but I've never actually used a primer, as I've said before, I don't really look after my skin. The idea of having my makeup last longer did intrigue me so I decided to give a bargain version a go. Ill be honest, this stuff has a lovely texture and is moistorising but it smells pretty horrible and I'm not sure it works. I do for some reason like it though so I will definitely keep using it and ill let you know if I does start to work!

Overall, I am happy with this little haul! I've found a gem in the peachy lip stain and I am impressed enough that I will most certainly be buying more from the brand. I have worn the lip stain everyday for the past week!

Thanks For Reading!!!

Urban Decay Holiday 2015

Christmas time is of course prime time for amazing new releases and as usual it's Urban Decay that has me excited!

I have had a severe palette addiction for quite sometime and in the past few years, Urban Decay has been my drug of choice. Last christmas my lovely boyfriend got me the Vice 3 palette and almost a year later, I am still unbelievably in love with it! I could use the palette every single day, never run out of possibilities and never get bored. This christmas I will definitely be buying myself at least one thing from the holiday collection or asking for it as a gift. 

Urban Decay have truly spoiled us this year with not one but two new releases! Vice 4 was the obvious one, our fourth year in a row with a Vice release. Vice 4 includes 20 never before seen shadows which are inspired by the colours in an oil slick. I am really attracted to the orange shades and the khaki green shade, the whole palette looks amazing but I might get it just for those gorgeous shades!

Spectrum is the other release, as far as I can tell, these are mostly not new shades, they are taken from the previous Vice palettes and various other palettes. I do not have any of the palettes these shades are taken from so to me they are all new! Even so, I am not all that excited about it. I think the packaging is incredible and elegant, so understated and this alone makes me what it but I feel that there is nothing special about it. The shades don't feel unique, I don't think they are very wearable but none the less, it is a tempting release. 

Then another temptation on the market is the Naked Smoky..

This little beauty has been available for a while now but I still haven't bought it. Not because I don't love it but because I'm not convinced that I need it. As I've said before, i'm a saver not a spender. I love a dark smokey eye but how often do I wear it? Not very. Some of the lighter colours could be worn daily but they aren't as exciting as the dark colours. The greys are lovely though, its a hard one! I might have to get it anyway and just rock the panda eyes at completely inappropriate times just to justify the purchase.

I'm leaning toward the Vice 4, I think it will have to go on my christmas list this year! What palette catches your eye? Id love to hear your thoughts! 

Oliver Bonas Wishlist / Shelving Decoration

A few weeks ago I went to Ikea and I saw this really simple silver metal shelving unit and I feel in love with it, I felt like the possibilities were endless and that the silver would look great with the copper accessories I've been lusting after. However, at the time I just couldn't think of where I could put it so I begrudgingly left it behind.

For a while I've been thinking about how to decorate mine and my boyfriends bedroom, currently its a dumping ground full of piles of washing and general junk. We tend to just close the door and forget about it but it gets me down because I want every room to be beautiful. In the next couple of weeks we are going to commence in painting the walls in a crisp white and painting all our furniture to match, most of our furniture is already white so I am thinking that I would like it all to match and then add silver and copper accents to make it all look a little more sophisticated. 

This is the shelving unit...

Buy Here

It is a really simple unit but it is super slim which is perfect for our limited space and the silver colour in person is super metallic and lovely. I think it is the perfect basic piece of furniture that can be dressed up with decorative pieces to add a little glamour to a room. 

To decorate the shelves I am mostly looking to use items I already have but that aren't displayed to the best of their potential. Such as...

. Decorative Books

. Crystal Trinket Bowls

. Candles 

. Personal Photos

. Jewellery Tree

. Decorative Eyeshadow Palettes

I have a lot of things that just seem too pretty to be hidden away and would be great as display pieces, in order to fill the shelves I will need some new things too so I have been lusting after the decorative copper items from Oliver Bonas. Oliver Bonas is quite pricey but these 6 items are all reasonably priced and fantastically pretty and perfect to add a little bit of character to our boring bedroom.

One      Two      Three      Four      Five

How bloody amazing are these things?! I know copper is such an old trend but I just love how warm it feels and when your whole room is white, you need some warmth. 

Candle Holder, pretty self explanatory, I'm want to but a candle in it but I'll probably never light it so that I can keep it looking perfect. Duh.

A is my initial and L is my boyfriend Liam's, we both love initial stuff so these are so perfect for us. We love initial pillows, mugs, glasses, just everything. These would look awesome on the top of the unit I'm thinking?

The mirror would look great hanging on the wall in between the third shelf and the top of the unit, hanging slightly off centred with maybe the candle underneath? It is such a cute little mirror and being hung on the wall will give a bit more depth to the whole display.

The pot is actually meant for utensils but I'm thinking it would look good with some fake flowers sprayed silver inside it. Im not a fan of real flowers so this is a nice alternative. It would look awesome with a tall cactus in it but it wouldn't work when it came to watering the plant as the water would ruin the bamboo. 

Decorating our bedroom will be a long, painful and probably expensive process but I will keep you updated ever step of the way! Another element I would like to include is animals, we currently have a white and silver duvet set with little animal silhouettes which I love and want to keep so I will also be searching for some animals theme canvas for the walls. Wishlist coming soon!

Notes

Oliver Bonas can be rather expensive so as a cheap alternative, Sainsburys have some amazing copper homewares that are well worth a look!

Oliver Bonas have recently become the first high street chain to start paying employees working wage rather than the unrealistic minimum wage that other high street employers pay. As someone working for minimum wage, I think this is a fantastic and really admirable thing. You can read about it here.

August Favourites

August has felt like the longest month, I've been endlessly bored while being endlessly stressed and annoyed. I am so happy to say goodbye to this month, saying this though, I have managed to find some amazing favourites! 

Since it has been such a crappy month, I have mostly (actually all) comfort favourites and by that I mean favourites for lazy people who need cheering up. 

Movie: Kingsman - The Secret Service

Kingman was released on DVD this month and I just had to buy it since I loved it so much when I saw it in the cinema when it was first released. I never thought I would like this film because it looked quite boyish and I'm not a fan of secret agent/spy type films but it is from the makers of Kick Ass (which I love) so I watched it and was so pleasantly surprised! I will be re-watching this for a while! Great addition to my film collection.

TV Show: Gossip Girl

I seem to have watched everything on the whole of Netflix so I started watching Gossip Girl...again. I  was addicted to Gossip Girl when it was first aired but I missed the last few seasons so I thought why not just watch it all again. Im loving it even more the second time and I think I missed more than I released so I am so glad I decided to re-watch it. I have a major girl crush on Jenny Humphrey (Taylor Momsen)

Food: Cadburys Marvellous Creations Ice Cream

Too many times this month, my boyfriend and I have found ourselves sharing a huge tub of ice cream. These bad boys have been half price in our local shop so I obviously had to try every flavour, the popping candy flavour is literally incredible. These ice creams are so full of sweets, chocolate and marshmallows with toppings in every bite. I would go as far as to say that they are better than Ben and Jerrys.

Book: All The Bright Places

This is quite possibly the most incredibly beautiful book I have ever read and I loved every second of it. I posted a review of this just a few posts ago so have a look back on that for more information!

Youtuber/Blogger: Jim Chapman

I have seen Jim in so many other youtubers videos, mainly in his fiancé Tanya Burrs videos. But recently I have been watching Jims own vlogs and they are so cute! His new puppy Martha, is the main attraction in his recent videos and she is just the most adorable little thing. Jim is super funny and relatable, if you don't already watch him, you should. Like now.

Music: Melanie Martinez - Cry Baby

My main august addiction has been this album. It is the best thing I have heard in such a long time. I have posted countless posts on Melanie recently including an album review of this album so please, please, please look back over them so that you can also fall madly in love with her just like I have.

Random Favourite! Pym!

Last month our beloved hamster Bane passed away, he died of old age and he lived life pampered and loved. He did however, leave a hamster shaped hole in our hearts so welcome, Pym! This photo is not of Pym because he will not stay still long enough to take one but this little guy looks very similar. He is a Roborovski Hamster, he is unbelievably tiny, fast and playful. He loves to dig, throw his food everywhere and run in his wheel until he flips out of it. He is a little monster which we love because he reminds us so much of Bane with his cheeky nature, he will never be able to replace Bane but he is such a little cutie and already feels like part of the family! 

And thats everything for the month of August! It has been a hard month and I'm not sure September will be much better but he's hoping! I hope you all have had a great month, see you in September!