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Oh, hello there.

I’m transitioning from a snack to a whole meal. I feel like I’ve lost my voice. I haven’t used it in a while, so understandably it would go wandering off. This is draft number eight, fingers crossed this is the one I finally hit publish on. Blogging used to be so easy, so much fun…

Playlist of the Moment | Kpop Boygroups

Alternative title: The Kpop Boy Groups that won’t let me live. I was going to write a serious post. One full of philosophical quotes and deep thoughtful insights, this was going to be that post. Honest. But then you see, I got distracted, blinded if you will by the cute smiles, catchy lyrics and synchronised…

2018, Level Up

It’s been a while. A long while and I’m sorry. Before I go back to my irregularly scheduled posts, I felt like I had to explain why I’ve been away for so long. 2017 was a good year, I’ll go as far as saying that 2017 was an excellent year! I travelled all around the…

Brand Review | 23.5 °N Gel Masks

The best wash off masks are the ones with an interesting texture. These masks were provided to me by one of my sponsors, Moonimask. Read my full disclosure here. About the Brand Located at 23.5 °N, Tropic of Cancer passes through 16 countries in the world, covering mostly desert and grassland areas. Southern China and…

How I fell in L.O.Λ.E.

Don’t trust anyone but yourself with your faves. I like kpop. This is not a surprise to anyone who knows me or who has in passing read my blog on occasion. While I’ve liked idols and groups, I’ve never really been part of any fandoms. Sure I like EXO, but would I consider myself an…

First Impressions | Sunday Riley Good Genes & Luna

Damnit. The following is just a first impressions post of these two products, read more about my testing process here. The Power Couple kit was high on my list of things to purchase in Sephora during my #NYC2K17 vacation. Sure, $85 is steep for a deluxe kit, but at least I could try it, debunk…

Review | Son & Park Beauty Gel

Am I late to the party, because this product has been out for a while.. Packaging The packaging is simple, functional and sturdy, which is an aesthetic I personally love. Very simple and model chic. Texture & Smell It feels and smells like rose hand sanitiser, there’s no nice way to put it. Claims A…

2017, Be Adventurous.

When you write down your goals, you’ll have to be confronted with the realities of your successes and your failures. 2016 in Review 2016 was the year of Doing More. While the end of 2016 was a giant dumpster fire of sadness, I’d actually stuck to my goal! Sure, there’s always room for improvement, but nothing…

Four Netflix shows that I don’t understand.

I love Netflix, my whole family loves Netflix. I recommend the service to anyone who cares to listen, and I will keep my subscription for as long as I can. Every country I’ve been to and used my Netflix account on has been a new exciting surprise treasure trove of exciting content. That being said,…

Playlist of the Moment: In the Beginning

For things to begin, things have to end. The first Media Monday, and I thought it would be a good time to talk about the songs that currently motivate me to keep going. As always, onwards and upwards! I rarely listen to these songs together, but either I find myself listening to their radio stations (thank you…

Don’t be so hard on yourself.

How are you? Hi everyone, it’s been a while right? January is over, and the shine of 2017 seems to have worn off a little. Every year, I spend the first few weeks of January decluttering and planning for the new year. I make lists, set out goals and visualise all the wonderful things that the…

Comedy Special: Ali Wong Baby Cobra

Today’s Media Monday is a break away from music, instead, a comedy special. I didn’t expect to laugh so hard. I didn’t expect to laugh so hard and to find everything she said equally funny and relatable. I didn’t expect that I would almost miss my stop because I was laughing so hard, or that…

Doctor Strange Vol. 1: The Way of the Weird

Series: Doctor Strange (2015) Written by: Jason Aaron Art by: Chris Bachalo Publisher: Marvel Comics Prior to this year I didn’t know anything about Doctor Strange. I didn’t know anything about his lore, I didn’t know anything about his backstory, his associates, his powers, nothing. I am the kind of person Marvel was hoping to…

COEX Aquarium

A few weeks I was in Seoul, South Korea! While I did do a lot of shopping (Lord help my bank balance), the goal of the trip was to spend time with loved ones and to recoup. So while we party every day, we also made a point to do some sightseeing. High on the list…

Song of the Moment: Far East Movement x Marshmello – Freal Luv ft. Chanyeol & Tinashe

Moment of truth of has arrived. The title of this song is such a mess. Ask yourself, how do all these people even know each other?! Do they run in the same circles?! What? I don’t know how this happened, but I love it, I really do. It has the dreamy 90’s EDM vibe that…

SeoulMusic2K16

Hello there family! 지난 번 이후로 오랜만에 쓰는 것 같아. I’ve just returned from an amazingly epic adventure-time in Seoul. I was gone for 11 nights, and honestly it wasn’t enough time. Seoul is a place that will always feel like home to me, and I’m already planning my return. Song of the Trip There were…

Box Review | Inspire Me Korea x Whamisa

Inspire Me Korea is a relatively new UK based Korean Culture Box company, founded in September 2015 and launched in February 2016. From their website, their goal is to, ” provide fun items like food and beauty, but also provide a context to the products and an educational spin to subscription boxes, so each of…

The Joys of Streaming Music

A few weekends ago I ventured into the attic to retrieve a suitcase (because I’m going on an epic adventure that I promise to tell you all about soonish) and I discovered a box of CDs, old as time. Well, not time, but you know essentially ancient. This box of CDs was like jumping head…

Store Review | Sheet Mask Squad

This review is super late because all the pictures I took of me wearing these masks are now in a corrupted memory card, along with some of my favourite pictures from my vacation to France. *deep sigh* sorry team ❤ Skincare is not a beauty category that we spend a lot of time thinking about in…

Six terribad songs I love unironically

I like lots of different types of music. I am not a musical snob. I watched Glee (and prefer some of their covers), but I also love and appreciate classical music. It’s a spectrum yanno? Sometimes you’re in the mood for some Holst, other times you’re in the mood for some Skrillex! That being said, there…

Review | Atoclassic Real Tonic Masks

Hanbang your life. Atoclassic is a brand that caters primarily to those with sensitive skin and suffering with atophy (new word for me). So they’re like a Korean Aveeno, Oilatum and Dermaplex but with Hanbang (한방, Korean traditional medicine)! After months of reading Cat from Snow White and the Asian Pear (the Queen of Hanbang)’s posts on hanbang, I…

My A+Facial Cleansers

I think in product categories, which means I try not to get too attached to products themselves, instead looking at product function. So while I might have a favourite oil cleanser, or favourite acid toner, I have others that work well enough that I wouldn’t hate if I had to use them. That said, I…

yo, what up?

Hi! It’s 21:03, it’s been almost three weeks since I’ve written a post. I’ve missed you all and felt a little guilty that I haven’t posted any dope content. Sorry team, I let the squad down. Good news, I have a job! It’s essentially my dream job, I get to pew pew and talk to people all…

Star vs the Forces of Evil!

Good Media Monday to you lovely people! Yes, I am aware that it is Tuesday, but temporarily, till Game of Thrones ends Media Monday will be Media Monday.. Tuesday. Shh, shh, it’s fine. Just go with it. I feel like I was just telling you how .gifs almost exclusively influence my television viewing, and it’s…

Where are the shades, Max Factor?

As a darker skinned woman of colour, I learned the hard way that the majority of the brands selling affordable foundation (under £15) just didn’t see me. My only options were higher end brands which meant makeup was not an everyday product for me. Frustrated by the lack of options, I’ve just stopped looking, but it’s been…

Playlist of the Moment: Motivation 9000

Job searching is a job in itself. After almost a thousand revisions, my resume is looking pretty snazzy if I do say so myself. In the months after I left my old job, I’ve been scouring the job boards, sending off applications and meeting with recruiters to find meaningful employment. Not just any old job (I can’t go back…

If the darkest base makeup shade you carry is beige, you need to do better.

For a long time I didn’t wear makeup because I was acutely aware that to most makeup brands I was invisible. Then cushion foundations came along, and for someone who was pretty scared of makeup, they were an easy way to jump into the world of undertones, blending and contouring without feeling overwhelmed. Sure there…

What’s in my travel bag?

While my cousin is the true globetrotter my desire to always be prepared means for short overnight and weekend trips, I have three travel bags, all packed and ready to go. One for skincare, one for bodycare and another containing sanitary products, but you’re most interested in the skincare aren’t you? I knew it. Though,…

The .gifs that built Television

I am a big fan of television and the shows that I try to keep up to date with weekly are: Game of Thrones (obviously) Archer Elementary Once Upon a Time Mr. Robot There are others like Brooklyn Nine-Nine, New Girl, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Legends of Tomorrow, Flash and Orphan Black which I like, but I’m not…

Here is my skincare.. modesty?

Today in the blogparty we’re talking about vanities! Or.. lack of vanities. Turns out, we don’t all actually have those pretty vanities that we see in movies or on television! Laven does though, and I am currently pawing at the screen trying to find a way to make it mine. Soooo preeeetyyy *pawpaw*. What I…

Letting go of clutter: Skincare Samples

Hauling Responsibly is one of my most read posts. It blew up in a way that I did not expect, and inspired others (who then inspired me) in ways I could not have predicted. So I decided to do a little check up and see if I’m sticking to the guidelines I set out for myself….

Cheltenham and Beer Bottling

Last weekend was all kinds of fun. On Saturday we went to Cheltenham for a friend’s housewarming, ate a lot and played a lot of Mario Kart. Growing up is for suckers. The hotel we were staying at (her flat is super tiny) had the most amazing breakfast with the most enormous tea pots I’ve ever seen. Each…

Review | Superdrug Simply Pure Hydrating Serum

Ceramides, cera-what? I’ve been using this serum for about a year now, and gifting it to as many people as I possibly can. There are very few products that 100% deliver on what they promise, so finding one feels pretty awesome. It’s even more amazing when such a well formulated product is an own brand,…

Managing my Skincare Concerns

Yay, the first Blog Party content post! Today we’re talking about our skin concerns and how to manage them. Right at the top of my blog I have a page that talks about my Skin Type, Concerns and Shade, but the information is really minimal. So I’m really glad to be able to elaborate on those a…

Playlist of the Moment: Is it summer yet?

I am at my happiest when the sun is shining and when the heat is fierce, I can’t help but be optimistic about everything. Vitamin D all the things! What to do when it’s only April and it’s raining outside? Make yourself a playlist full of happy summer feel songs! DNCE – Cake By The Ocean…

The History of Cornmarket Street, Oxford

We’re the detectorists. What do you do when you’re killing time at a pub waiting for one more person to arrive? That’s right, you study the photograph on the wall in unimaginable detail in order to figure out when it was taken! Oh that’s not what you were going to say? Well, it’s what some friends…

Song of the Moment: I.O.I – Crush

Oh my gosh, 축하해! I started at episode four and instantly became super invested in the program, the group and the lives of the girls. This never happens, no really. While I love me some reality TV, I rarely get so invested that I make a habit of checking up on what they’re doing outside of…

My Favourite Sheet Masks

The first time I used a sheet mask, I was confused.. It probably didn’t help that I wasn’t ever really blown away when I used them. Others would go gaga over masks, having spiritual awakenings about the process and effects, yet I couldn’t understand what made them so exciting. “Sure masks are fun, but are…

Song of the Moment: Meghan Trainor – NO

My name is no, my sign is no, my number is no, you need to let it go. Remember when we used to have girl groups? No? Well, back in ye olde 90s and early 00s we used to have the most amazing R&B girl groups dominating the charts. Artists like TLC, (early) Destiny’s Child, Blaque, All…

Brand Review | Vivant Skincare

Today’s key ingredient is Mandelic Acid. I received all the products discussed below free of charge directly from Vivant Skincare in return for my honest and unbiased review. “Providing solutions and results, Vivant Skin Care has been creating innovative, medically proven formulas for over 40 years. Dr. James E. Fulton, who co-developed Retin-A, has been developing…

Brand Review | Eucerin ‎DermoPURIFYER

Back when my skincare purchases were based on flashy claims on packaging, Eucerin’s DermoPURIFYER white and green clinical boxes with simple promises did little to entice me, so I ignored them. Oh how wrong I was! I’ve found the products in this range to be simple, effective and cost efficient. Their website is a treasure trove of…

Interview with Amy from peepingpomeranian.

*enthusiastically bodyrolls* Hallo all! Welcome to another installment of the funtime blog party! Today, I interview the lovely Amy who blogs at peepingpomeranian. I was super excited to be interviewing Amy, as her reviews are so detailed and knowledge based, plus her instagram pictures are always so cute! Why did you chose the name ‘peepingpomeranian’ for your blog?…

Blogging with friends!

Hey look, I made friends! See Mom, I can do it! Sophie (who’s a fellow Brit!) reached out to all of us, wondering if we were interested in a blogging collaboration extravaganza. We all said yes, and here we are! In the following weeks, we’ll be blogging together, group reviews, interviews and all sorts of…

Donna Noble is the best NuWho companion. Disagree? Fight me, spaceman.

Happy Media Monday! It’s out on a Monday! Donna Noble is the best companion. This post should really be that one sentence so we can all go back to doing other things, but I can see that some of you are shaking your heads and crying out, “But what about Rose! What about Martha!” And…

Week 10: Fresh Start

Now I have no job to go to this week, hitting all my goals should be a lot easier to manage right? So much free time and so much to do! I still have a weekly tracker, but that’s all regular boring stuff. Let’s talk about other boring must-do stuff that I hadn’t had time…

I quit my job today.

Well, so that happened. I didn’t plan to walk into work today knowing that this was my last week, I actually wanted to wait it till the end of the month, but life happens and today was the day. Honestly, even though I know this is the right move I am sad to go. I’ve…

Ex Machina is potato

My love for you is potato. Happy Birthday to Mr.! As it is his birthday today, I told him that he could pick the topic he wanted for today’s blog post. He picked potato and told me to interpret that however I feel. Swell. So today, we’re going to be discussing the last movie we watched…

Produce 101: Pick Me Up!

Happy Media Monday Tuesday! Also happy Birthday Month to meee~! That’s right, it’s March which means a whole month of sunshine and happiness awaits (she says, as it pours with rain outside, huhm)! Right now, I cannot stop watching Produce 101. It’s a Korean survival style show where they start with 101 trainees from different…

Smarter Shopper: The Seasonality Heuristic.

This is the first installment in my Smarter Shopping series, unlocking the consumer science behind the ways companies try to part you with your money! Today we’re talking about Seasonality and how companies use it to motivate us to purchase. I’ve posted the introduction below, and if you’re interested in reading further, please click the…

Mr. Selfridge

Netflix is a wonderful service. It’s opened up a world of movies and television to me that I never would have even looked at before. What drew me in was this wonderfully rich world of fiction that mixed in some truth that aimed to dazzle and wow you at every turn. I don’t watch shows…