Halloween Faves

Autumn is officially here and as the end of October nears, so does the fabulous holiday of Halloween. Now, my family and I have never been the biggest supporters of this holiday but over the years, with my friends, I have grown to enjoy it more and more. I also have compiled a list of my favourite films, TV shows and books which are perfect to get you into the Halloween spirit.

Firstly, films...

1) All of the Disney 'Halloweentown' movies are my top favourites ('Halloweentown', 'Halloweentown 2 Kalabar's Revenge', 'Halloweentown High' and 'Return to Halloweentown'). I kid you not, these films were my childhood and I watch all of them each Halloween without fail.

2) Keeping with a Disney theme, I also watch the two 'Twitches' movies because they are super fun witchy ones that give me all the nostalgia feels,

3) Another Disney film has to be the ever classic Hocus Pocus.

4) An obvious one is 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' that has to be watched by everyone, if not already.

5) 'Fun Size' is a crazy good film set all around Halloween and is a nice and easy film to watch that's super funny too.

These are my favourite films leading up to Halloween and I know none of them are particularly scary but these are the classic ones which I love.

Next, TV shows...

1) 'Stranger Things' is a must-see show that would be perfect to satisfy your creepy Halloween cravings and can definitely be watched in just one day.

2) 'Bates Motel' is another super weird and creepy TV show (just get past the first episode, I promise it's better after).

3) And the 'Scream' remake is definitely on my list to watch on Halloween night.

Any other especially creepy or dramatic TV shows or ones with a holiday special would be awesome to watch too.

Lastly, books...

1) The 'Mara Dyer' trilogy by Michelle Hodkin is super good for an eerie vibe, that will actually creep you out in some places, while staying moderately realistic.

2) I am desperate to read 'The Girl on the Train' by Paula Hawkins before I see the film, so that needs to be read super soon.

3) Another book I really want to read is 'Gone Girl' by Gillian Flynn, another creepy mystery-type book.

4) Finally, 'Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children' by Ransom Riggs is certainly a weird and creepy book that will definitely remind you of Halloween.

And that's it! Of course there are many others and some that are specifically Halloween themed, but I wanted to show you some films, TV shows and books that are my favourite for the Halloween season and can still be super creepy and put me in the Halloween mood.

Love Imi xx

Get Ready With Me ~ Festival Look

Even though technically the summer and festival season is over, that doesn't mean we can't still throw a festival themed party and dress up with glitter and all and decorate with flowers and an awesome bouncy castle. And last weekend I did just that, so here is exactly how I created my festival-type look.

Makeup

To start off with makeup, I did my everyday simple makeup routine (posted 4 weeks ago) with a little bit of extra bronzer to contour my face and make it more defined.

Then I added some silver glitter from Topshop onto my cheekbones on one side of my face to add some extra sparkle.

Hair

For my hair, I washed it and left it in plaits throughout the day so it came out with a curly/wavy, bohemian-type look, perfect for festivals.

I then just pinned back a small bit of hair with a tiny gripper on the side where the glitter was.

Outfit

And finally onto my favourite part: the outfit. I created quite a dark look but still kept up with the festival vibes thanks to the style of the top, and it was perfect for jumping around all night.

Bell-sleeved cut-out top~H&M, denim high-waisted shorts~Topshop, thick black belt~Next, slightly opaque black tights~Next.

So overall quite a simple look that worked effectively with giving off a festival-type look and it was super comfy also and made jumping on the bouncy castle to be no bother. Festival themed parties are definitely a good one because you can dress up as little or as much as you want and not have to go too far out of your comfort zone.

Love Imi xx

Back To School ~ Cute Hairstyles

To go with the running theme of back to school, I decided to do my first ever hair post. I've always been one to play with my hair too much and attempt different styles, so I decided to show you 3 of my favourite half-up, half-down ones which are super easy and quick to do, as well as looking really cute. Therefore these are the perfect looks for back to school.

Firstly, I have a very school-girl inspired look, where instead of doing the classic half-up, half-down hairstyle, I went with pulling back 2 separate parts, making them more into cute bunchies and tying them tightly with hairbands and then pulled some bits of hair forward to frame my face.

Next, I have another style quite similar to the classic half-up, half-down but this time with a plaited effect. I took a small section from the middle of the front of my hair and started french plaiting it backwards with really small chunks of hair, just adding them to the 3 original parts of hair. Then I tied it with an elastic hairband and pulled it tightly upwards to create a messy, textured look.

Lastly, I chose a more unique style involving space buns! To do this I separated the 2 top back parts of my hair (like in the first one) and plaited them normally downwards. Then I just wrapped them around themselves into a bun and tied it off with an elastic, and pulled down some wispy bits at the front also.

So there you go, 3 really easy and quick half-up, half-down hairstyles. These literally took me less than 5 minutes each and are great for messy hair days when you still want to look nice, making them the ideal looks to try out for back to school.

Love Imi xx

Book Talk ~ 'Soundless' by Richelle Mead

I'm giving a go at reviewing more and wanted to start off a post series of book talks with one of my favourite authors, Richelle Mead and her book Soundless. This book is about a Chinese village atop of a mountain that is controlled by a town below them as they send up their food in return for the villagers' metals from their own mines. There is also no way of them getting down to the town that controls them as their food is sent up by a zip line. The story follows a girl called Fei who lives in this village of deaf people who communicate through sign language and her journey to find a cure for her sister Zhang and the rest of the villagers that are going blind and losing their ways of communicating.

I was super excited when I heard about this book as I've read all of the Vampire Academy books and the Bloodlines series by Richelle Mead (which is actually my second favourite book series). Also, considering that both these series have 6 books in them, it was amazing to hear that this book would be a stand-alone one. I had also never read a stand-alone fantasy-fiction book before this one. As you can tell, I had quite high expectations going into this book.

Fortunately, it didn't disappoint. I've read many bad reviews about this book and only a few very positive ones, but I'm clearing my mind of them and going straight in with my own views.

Firstly, what an amazing concept! I thought the idea of this was so original and different to anything I'd ever heard of and anything I'd ever read. It was so interesting to read it from this deaf characters experience and when she did begin to hear (not a spoiler, it literally says it on the back cover) the way she described the sounds were so unique and made me think about having the ability to hear. The fact that Fei was a type of artist was also nice, as it gave something more to her character and it was an interesting way of her describing things.

The Chinese folklore was very cool as well. A lot of people are saying that it's not accurate or isn't "realistic" at all, but I wasn't looking for accuracy in this fantasy book and as someone who's never read even any sort of folklore-type book, I don't feel like I can judge this factor fairly.

The few main characters (Fei, Zhang and Li Wei) in this book I enjoyed thoroughly as I thought they were clearly focused on and well built up, with a lot of character development from the protagonist, Fei. However, many other characters are introduced shortly, but you can tell the difference between the depth of the main characters and them as you didn't connect to them like you did with Fei and Li Wei and therefore didn't really connect to the village as a whole. I did enjoy Fei and Li Wei's relationship as I became connected to their stories and their progress, despite some of their super sappy moments.

Onto more of the setting of the book, I really enjoyed both the journey up and down the mountain as they were adventurous but not quick, so you did get as much detail as you could for them. The lower town bit wasn't my favourite though, as I thought there might be more action that Fei was involved with but it was really just a lot of "talking". Another factor which is probably the main criticism of this book is that it did lack in world-building. I felt that some areas didn't include a lot of descriptive detail, particularly about the village, and this could've been fixed as the book is less than 300 pages long. This didn't really take away from the excitement of the book as I read it though, it only made it a bit confusing when trying to imagine the setting.

Overall, the book was fun, interesting and a super fast read. I did get invested in it but maybe would've liked a longer book with more world-building or possibly a dual or multiple-perspective book so that you could hear from Zhang's point of view back in the village. It was a very enjoyable and certainly unique book though. I rate it at about 3.5 stars and urge fantasy readers to give it a try as it's a short read that is so different from any other book.

Love Imi xx

Back To School ~ Drugstore Makeup Look

Back to school is officially upon us which means the horror of early mornings and being late is also here. I've always been one to spend maybe a tad too long on my makeup and then end up skipping other more important things, but I think it's nice to make sure my makeup looks good, especially when going to a place which might not always make me feel good. So I decided to show you my go-to makeup look for school that is all drugstore brands and super simple and natural looking.

1) Firstly, I use my "Radiance BB Cream" from 'Rimmel London' in the shade light as my base. This BB cream is my absolute favourite and it's much nicer than foundation because it feels a lot lighter on the skin but still has a lot of buildable coverage and isn't too oily, unlike most other BB creams.

2) Next, is the matching 'Rimmel London' "Wake Me Up" concealer in 010 Ivory for covering up any blemishes and imperfections.

3) Then, my other concealer, "Lasting Perfection" by 'Collection' in the shade 01 fair, is used for under eye circles and any red patches or other discoloured areas.

4) Brows are next and for these I use another product by 'Collection' which is their "Eye Brow Kit" in brunette to just lightly fill in any bald spots.

5) For my eyes I also use a 'Collection' product which is their "Eyes Uncovered" eye-shadow nude palette to make a natural, golden-eye look.

6) Then for lining my eyes I use the "Exaggerate Waterproof Eye Definer" by 'Rimmel London' in my tightline and lightly smudge it out on my lid.

7) And finally for my eyes is the "Miss Hippie Mega Volume" mascara by 'Loreal' which makes for super fluttery lashes that still look quite natural and not clumpy.

8) Next is contour and highlight and for this I use the "Define and Conquer Contour Palette" by 'Seventeen' which is nice and subtle.

9) For an overall glow I use a fluffy brush to lightly dust "Gorgeous Glow" by 'Collection' all over my face. This adds for an extra shine and blends the contour and highlight in nicely.

10) Finally, I use the "Matte Maker" by 'Maybelline' to set all the makeup and get rid of any shine.

It looks like a lot of work and a lot of products but it's actually super quick and all the makeup items feel nice and light on my face. Plus, all of these products are my top favourites right now which means I don't get bored of wearing this look. This makes it the perfect back to school makeup look which I definitely will be wearing on my first day back.

Love Imi xx

Back to School ~ Essentials

So it's come back around to that time of year again when shiny new shoes are purchased and kids and teens quickly attempt to finish their summer reading. Yep, back to school. I used to be a massive fan of back to school because it meant seeing my friends again, starting a fresh new year at school and lets not forget, cute new school supplies. As the years have gone on, the back to school feeling has kind of worn away, but I'm still willing to do all the back to school preparation so that I at least start off my last year at school in a good way.

I decided to put a list together of back to school essentials which I think EVERYBODY needs to survive, including myself.

Firstly, backpack essentials!

1) Obviously you're gonna want your school supplies like binders and notebooks, but don't fret if your school gives you ugly and boring ones because stores like WHSmith and Paperchase always have the cutest folders and such.

2) A planner is an absolute must for me as I need to have somewhere to write down homework, clubs and any other notes, websites or useful information my teachers might give me. If your school doesn't already give you one, I would highly recommend buying one for the sake of organisation.

3) A water bottle is pretty self explanatory, but I would always forget to drink throughout the day and was too lazy to go to the water fountain, so having your own water bottle with you to carry around definitely helps.

4) A pencil case filled with all your pretty new stationary.

5) A little coin purse or something to hold several, very necessary items, such as lip balm, gum or mints, tissues and hair ties. Of course you could always keep this in your locker either but it's handy to have with you.

6) Headphones! I can't tell you how many times I've left my headphones at home on my bedside table meaning I had to suffer through study time in absolute silence. A way to always remember them
is to buy another pair of headphones and always keep them in your bag, that way you don't have to keep taking them out and risk forgetting them.

Next is locker essentials.

1) From the first day we got lockers, all everyone does is just throw their books in there and that's it, but using a locker divider could seriously help as you are then using the full space of the locker and it keeps it more organised and tidy, which is perfect for a neat freak like me.

2) A hoodie or cardigan is always good to have in your locker or sometimes even a larger jacket if you have the space in your locker room. This is good for those days when your school just randomly gets chilly.

3) A little purse of makeup and a mirror is also an idea. I've never brought makeup to school and still never do but most people I know usually bring a little bit and a lot of people like to have a small mirror with them just in case.

4) Deodorant or perfume, because it's always nice to smell sweetly in a stinky locker room or school.

5) A small hairbrush has seriously helped me out at certain desperate times so it's nice to have just in case.

6) A snack (and lunch)! My school supplies lunches and also has several places to buy really cheap snacks throughout the day, but sometimes they can be quite unhealthy or it's too much effort to queue up, so bringing your own small snack is handy.

7) A charger! This is obviously a big one for me and my friends who spend most of our free times staring at our phone screens. It's easy to plug your charger into the computers when your on them and it's important to remember a charger for your laptop or iPad if you use them.

There you go, 13 essentials for your time at school. I know some of these are pretty obvious, but most people are bound to forget at least one essential every day unless they're all written down. Back to school is also approaching nearer and nearer, meaning it's time to get these essentials sorted out and prepare for the new school year.

Love Imi xx

Bomber Jacket Bliss

Trying to style my way out of slightly cold but not too cold weather is super difficult, but my 3 handy bomber jackets have show their worth by being easy but stylish jackets to throw on over staple items in my closet. The following outfits show different aspects of my style and include the amazing bomber jackets which have proven very versatile in this annoying hot/cold weather.

Nike bomber jacket~ASOS, grey maxi dress~Topshop, white runners~New Look, black sunglasses~Forever 21

Bomber jacket~Topshop, black crop-top~Forever 21, white denim skirt~Topshop, navy frilly socks~Topshop, white sandals~New Look

Pink bomber jacket~New Look, white ruffled shirt~New Look, ripped skinny jeans~Topshop, beige booties~New Look.

There we are; three different ways to style bomber jackets! The first one is super casual which is nice because generally maxi dresses look too fancy on me. The second bomber jacket is probably my favourite as I've never seen one like this before and Topshop certainly have the best material for these jackets. Finally the third outfit is much girlier and classier, I would probably wear it for an evening dinner out or something like that.
Love Imi xx

Imi in Spain

Jetting off to yet another country to explore and this time it was all by myself. Well not exactly, but I did fly out from rainy old England to hot and sunny Spain on my own for the first time, 

and that was certainly an adventure. I actually stayed for a week with one of my best friends and her family in an apartment out there, and had the best time. This wasn't so much of an exploration type holiday, more a lying by the pool and trying to get a suntan type holiday.

 Although, we did venture down to the beach one day and discovered all the tourist shops and we went to a ridiculously huge town market on Thursday morning. I also spent my Birthday out there, yay! I'm finally 17! I was spoiled rotten this day and taken to a fantastic pizzeria for lunch in Alicante called "Sale and Pepe" (Salt and Pepper). Then we were treated to ice-cream and went to see Suicide Squad in the biggest cinema ever! The movie was awesome, and for someone who definitely isn't the biggest fan of superhero films and has never seen a DC movie before, I actually loved it and would highly recommend it.

 I had the best time in Javea/Xabia in the gorgeous 30 degrees weather everyday and here are some photos showing just how much I loved it.

Floral playsuit~Topshop, brown sandals~New Look, black sunglasses~Forever 21.

See how lovely and hot it was? Well if our "Summer" here continues to be one of zero sunshine then I'll be heading back to Javea/Xabia as soon as possible!

Love Imi xx

Imi in Cornwall

Another break from school and another time to travel, this time to Cornwall! I've only been here once before, a good few years ago when I went to St. Ives with my school on an art trip. This time I went with my parents on the Bank Holiday weekend to the beautiful town of Newquay.

We travelled down there at night, lucky for me as I slept practically the whole way and never got bored. When we arrived, as we had booked this little getaway very last minute, I didn't think we'd have the nicest place, but I couldn't have been more wrong. Our home for the weekend was a huge (by my standards) apartment that looked out at the sea and was surrounded by many other apartments and cottages. We spent our days there strolling along the beaches and exploring the town.

On the second day, we went a bit further out, to St. Michael's Mount by the town of Morazion near Penzance. It was lovely to explore yet another town and beach, but this place was extra amazing as St. Michael's Mount is actually an island that you can walk out to when the tide is low enough.

The time spent there was so nice; we got away from the busyness of normality for a while and spent the couple of days basking in the sun. Even though they don't do the place justice, here are some photos from the trip...

Cornwall is such a lovely place and I can definitely tell why people go there on their holidays. In the future I would love to explore even more of Cornwall, stay in different places, walk along other outstanding beaches and hopefully get the same sunny weather.

Love Imi xx

Outfits of the Weekend ~ OOTW

Recently here in the UK, it has been uncharacteristically warm and I have spent the last few weekends basking in the pre-summer sun with my family and the weekdays sitting on the field at lunch with my friends. This meant I also got to pull out some spring/summer clothes from the back of my wardrobe and I decided I'd share some of the pictures from my past weekend.

'Barbie' top~H&M, Hayden jeans~Topshop, white runners~New Look.

Striped t-shirt dress~H&M, black leggings~Jack Wills, Over-sized denim jacket~Asos, pale yellow converse~Office.

Since that weekend I've also taken out shorts, playsuits, crop-tops and even a maxi skirt, which I think shows just how excited I am for summer and the hot weather to properly start.

Love Imi xx

A Magical Day

If I thought I was a Harry Potter fan a couple of years ago then I wouldn't believe how much I love it now, with this being my fourth time to the Harry Potter Warner Brother Studios! I went with 3 of my friends for one of their Birthdays and I couldn't have picked a greater group to go with as we are all avid Harry Potter fans. We spent 6 hours in there, when the average tour time is only 3, and my friend spent well over £60 in the gift shop! Clearly we had one of the best days and here are some of my favourite photos that show just how much we enjoyed it.

Outside the studio

Dumbledore's office

The potions classroom

Hagrid's hut

The Hogwarts Express

By the train

The Knight Bus

The Wands

Hogwarts Castle

This time going was just as amazing as the other three times that I had been there and yes, I still want to go back there in the future. I really took my time when we went and noticed things that I hadn't seen before and I particularly enjoyed getting to see the train, as I hadn't seen that part before. Also, of course the amazing Hogwarts Castle at the end took my breath away as per usual. It was literally a magical day that I thoroughly enjoyed and the experience has made me want re-read and re-watch all of the Harry Potter's for another time.

Love Imi xx

New Years Resolutions

Every year I pretty much have just ignored the idea of New Years resolutions and I've never felt inclined to be excited about the New Year, however this year it's different. Now don't get me wrong, overall I had an amazing 2015 but it went kind of downhill towards the end for several reasons that I want to put behind me now, and what better way to do that then with the start of a New Year. So with my excitement for 2016 I decided to actually write up a proper list of New Years resolutions and hopefully stick to them this year. Here they are:

1) Exercise regularly and eat healthily! I know this is a typical one but I had to put it on here for the sake of it and the truth of it :p

2) Work hard and achieve good exam results! This year and the next, I'm pretty much just in exam mode for the whole time and these exams actually count for University purposes so I really want to work my hardest this year and do well.

3) Have a journal/ diary thing and actually use it! I started keeping a journal type thing part way through last year and I really enjoyed it for just giving me some piece of mind and diary wise, every now and then, when something important happens I like to write in my diary (I've done this since I can remember) so that I can look back when I'm older and remember all the stuff I did.

4) Read as many books as possible! I am a major book nerd and I feel that I didn't read that many books last year but I sure have a lot that I'd like to read this year so want to read as many as I can.

5) No Drama In 2016! Although a bit of drama is inevitable, I would like to avoid it as much as possible this year so I can get down to work and stay happy with my true friends.

Overall my main goal of this year is to work as hard as I can because I'd really like to achieve the grades that I want so 2016 is all about the work and yes it does kind of sound scary and no fun but that's what I'm going to try and fix, so that I really enjoy the work I'm doing. I know I don't have that many resolutions but I feel like short, sweet and simple ones are the ones that people truly stick to and that's what I'm going to try and hopefully knowing that this post is out there will keep me motivated enough to keep up with these resolutions.

Love Imi xx