Favourites of 2013

I would do posts with specific topic favourites but there isn't enough time left in this year to do that so I thought I would put all of my favourite things from this year into one bigger post!

Make Up

BadGal Lash Mascara - Benefit 

I love this so much and always reach for it when I'm wearing make up. It makes my lashes look so much longer while still looking natural which I think is really great! It also doesn't give me panda eyes and only comes off if I rub my eyes so for a non-waterproof mascara, it's amazing! My new MAC mascara might overtake though because it's also amazing!

Bahama Mama - Essie

I know I didn't get this too long ago but I love it so much that I couldn't not include it! The colour is probably one of my favourite Essie shades that I've tried out to date and it's such a great colour for this time of the year. 

Alice in Wonderland eyeshadow palette - Urban Decay
I've actually had this for years and will do a proper review eventually, but I started using more make up this year and these eyeshadows are by far my favourites. The colours are all limited edition and they're so gorgeous, mainly shimmery which I love, and so long lasting!

Kate Matte Lipstick in 107 - Rimmel
I've already reviewed this here but I have to include it as I wore it so much this year. I love the colour, the smell, how long it lasts, just everything! If you only ever buy one red lipstick, make it this one because it's probably my favourite.

Whipped Creme Foundation in Natural - Max Factor
This is the first foundation I've tried that actually covers up the redness and dry patches by my nose so that says a lot. It's so light and the shade is perfect for me so I'm really happy to have discovered this beauty!

Baby Lips - Maybelline
These have been saviours on more occasions than I can count. They smell amazing, look amazing and give a subtle wash of colour if you aren't feeling too adventurous. They also make my lips super soft which is great!

Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss Stick in Nudists and Raplumzel - Soap and Glory
I love these so much. Both colours are fantastic, applying them is super simple and they last for quite a long time for glosses. I reviewed Raplumzel here.

Books

How To Fall In Love - Cecelia Ahern

I bought this for 99p on my kindle a few of days ago and I finished it yesterday. I'm not usually a fast reader but I tend to read faster on my kindle and when the book is good and boy, was this book good. I love Cecelia Ahern and the new book of hers is no exception. It's such a sweet story about helping someone else and inadvertently helping yourself at the same time. Cecelia definitely knows how to write a good character and a realistic storyline, I recommend this book 100%!

The Last Letter From Your Lover - Jojo Moyes

I read this book over my half term holiday as it was the only one that looked interesting in the sadly lacking selection of books that they had at the holiday home. I'm so glad I decided to pick it up though as I was, again, completely hooked! I didn't like how it was written point of view wise but once you get over that, it's such a great read and has a great ending that was unexpected and so heartwarming! There are a lot of lost memory, self discovery books out there but out of the ones I've read, this is probably my favourite one by far! It follows two storylines in different times and the ending brings them both together in such a great way! It's almost a love story mixed with a detective story and I found it so exciting, I had it finished in about 5 days, in between going out and doing holiday homework!

Films

Despicable Me 2
I loved the first one and this one was possibly even better! The minions are my favourite things in any film, they're so adorable! Apparently they're making a minions film so I'm super excited for that!

Monsters University
I saw this twice, once at the cinema near college who hold a free film night once a month and another later on. First off, it started with a short film called "The Blue Umbrella" which is honestly the sweetest thing on this planet. I loved this film so much, it was funny to see all of the characters we know and love earlier on and to see how they became that way (Randall anyone?!).

General

Costa
The mid-week saviour for me and a couple of friends. It's quieter than the Starbucks just down the road as less college students are there so it's perfect for chatting and getting on with work as it feels more relaxed and laid back. Another plus point is that their coffee doesn't make me feel ill which is always nice!

Car boot sales
I only really went to these in Summer with Mark as my mum doesn't like them but they were always so much fun! I got some amazing deals on a lot of books and just trawling through all of the stuff at each stand made it just that bit more satisfying when I found something great.

My Burgundy Crew jumper
I've only had it for a week or so but I love it and it's probably my favourite jumper I have. It's super warm, looks great and is a really pretty, neutral colour. Definitely going to be a firm favourite for 2014 too!

I hope you guys enjoyed looking through my favourite things from this year, it was quite hard to choose as I've changed a lot and have quite a short memory span so thinking back to Summer is hard, let alone January!

Jess xx

Cinema connoisseur

-I've just been on a week long holiday in Sicily and I didn't have time to post this before, sorry!-

In the last month, I've been to the cinema 5 times. That's more times than I usually go in a year! My noticeboard is covered in cinema tickets now and I love it! 

I saw The Great Gatsby with English last month which was just amazing - I loved it so much and thought it was so well done! Some things that were missed from the book annoyed me but mostly, it was a really good film! 

Next was Pompeii live which was a bit of a disaster. Our ancient history class should have been going to see the adult version that actually explained the exhibition being displayed in the British museum at the moment, but instead we went to the later version by accident and ended up in the children's version which was a glorified geography and year 4 history lesson combined with presenters as horrible and patronising as the people off Cbeebies and Newsround. It was painful to sit through mostly but it was more bearable because of our class' running commentary which was quite funny at points! When artefacts from the exhibition were shown, there weren't many, it was actually interesting so I can't wait to go at the end of August; it's going to be amazing to actually see it in person because it looks really fantastic!

The cinema in town where I go to college is a little old style, independent cinema that hosts free film nights for students once every month, and June's film was Monsters university! It was so great and funny and I loved it so much!! It was fun seeing monsters from the first film who are scarers and what they were like at Uni and also it was pretty cool to see why Randal turned out to be evil! Honestly such an amazing film, everyone must watch it! 

I then went to see Man of Steel with a friend at the same cinema that weekend and even though I'm not a huge superman fan, it was actually such a good film and I really loved it! It's directed by the guy who did 300 so I was expecting the worst so it was a really nice surprise that I ended up enjoying it! 

The last one was this last weekend (now actually about 3 weeks ago...sorry) when I saw Despicable Me 2 with Mark. I saw it in 3D and because I wear glasses it was slightly awkward at times when trying to keep them up, but it was such a good film! It was funny and sweet and I just loved every second! The minions and Agnes are still my favourites - I swear I'm more like Agnes than any of the other girls which is scary because she's only 6! That really says something about me I think....! The end credit minion mini clips were also amazing as per usual so if you watch it, don't leave the second it finishes because it's really funny! 

Mostly, the films I've seen have been fantastic and I've not seen any of them for the full price! (Thank you student card/college discounts...) All of the films are well worth the full amount though! 

Jess xx