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