MOTM: November

Another month is almost up, so I'm about to share with you my favorite songs of November. I have changed the format of these posts slightly to incorporate videos to make it easier for you guys to listen to the songs/watch the videos. Please let me know in the comments if you prefer this format or my old format! 


Tom Odell released his music video for his new single "I Know" yesterday. "I Know" is one of my favorite songs off his album and I love the video that now goes with it. I am pretty certain that this song is going to go far on the charts when it gets released! I was lucky enough to see Tom Odell live last month and he was featured in a post on my blog a few weeks ago which you can read here.

Since I purchased their debut album 'If You Wait' in September, I have been listening to London Grammar almost every day. I just can't fault them. Their lyrics are honestly like therapy, they are so powerful. London Grammar released their music video for their next single 'Nightcall' only a few days ago too, and I absolutely love it. If you've not listened to London Grammar before then I recommend you do so because they are about to become huge!

My next choice is by someone who has caused a stir in the media a lot lately. I did a huge long post on all the controversy surrounding James Arthur, so please do have a read of it by clicking the link here. His next single 'Recovery' is one of my favorite songs ever. It is such a powerful, relate-able song to me. It is on his debut self-titled album which I personally don't think has been given enough credit. The video for 'Recovery' has not yet been released so instead, I have linked an acoustic version of the song.

McFly have been one of the very few bands that I have loved since I was a kid, and carried on loving as I have been getting older. They are 4 of the most genuine, loving and talented men in the music industry. They are also absolutely hilarious, if I'm ever having a bit of a rubbish day then I will usually always go and youtube videos of them and be laughing within minutes. Their latest single 'Love Is On The Radio' was released last week, and I adore it. It has a bit of a country/folk edge to it which compliments their pop/rock style really well. And the video to go with it is just amazing! See for yourself.

Finally, I have an artist who a lot of people won't have heard of. Carrie Hope Fletcher. Carrie is actually Tom from McFly's sister, but I didn't know that until after I'd spend a few months watching her on youtube. I was catching up on youtube videos the other day and came across this video of Carries where she had invited some of her close friends over to ignite their problems. It was such a sweet video and the music playing to it was a song called The Way We Were sung by Carrie. This song is available on iTunes so download it if you like what you hear. Click the link here to be taken to the iTunes page.

I hope you've enjoyed listening to some of the music I have been loving this month. I'd love to hear some of the music you've all been listening to so please leave me a comment below!
Thank you for reading,
Charlotte x

Umberto Giannini Haircare

If you spend a lot of time browsing in Boots like I seem to always be doing, then you'll probably have heard about the brand Umberto Giannini. 

I used to have such lovely, curly hair when I was younger. I always had the most perfectly formed ringlets, which I totally destroyed through my teenage years by straightening my hair EVERYDAY. Now I'm left with a mass mess of hair that will go curly if I try really hard but it still makes my hair look matted, thick and scruffy and about a million miles off what my hair used to be!

The silky curls intensive mask helps my curls/waves to be less frizzy and more defined if I let my hair dry naturally. If your hair is hard to contain then I'd definitely recommend trying this out. 

This is a gel like substance that I regularly use in the summer if I wash my hair in the morning and go out with my hair soaking wet still! It just helps to keep my curls intact and it smells divine! 

This is one of my favourite hair care products ever! It does the job of a very good salt spray and I use it all year round. It smells amazing and it really does make my hair a lot curlier. (Note; the bottle in this image is a travel sized bottle!) 

I'd love to know your thoughts on these products if you've used them or if you've used any other Umberto Giannini products! Thank you for reading, Charlotte x

Chelsea Wives by Anna-Lou Weatherley

Like I said in my last book related post, this isn't a book review because I have no idea how to write an effective book review... but I've just finished reading "Chelsea Wives" and I thought I would share my thoughts with you all!

I never actually bought this book; I picked it up on holiday last year in a book exchange at the hotel I was staying in. I never even got round to reading it until a full year after I'd landed back on English soil. 

From reading the blurb and judging the book by its cover (naughty, I know) I'd come to the conclusion that this was just another really trashy, tacky book. Hence why it took me over 365 days to actually be bothered to read it.  

Now I've read it; I'd honestly say it's one of my favourite books I've read. It's a mix of romance, drama and friendship; with the backdrop being Chelsea in London. I found this very fascinating because it was almost an insight into other peoples lives, because in reality; there are many "Chelsea Wives". 

The book is about 3 women: Imogen, Calvary and Yasmin/Stacey who get revenge on their husbands. Calvary's husband for cheating on Calvary with their sons fiancée, Yasmin's husband for murdering Yasmin's ('real' name is Stacey) sister and Imogen's husband for deliberately publicly humiliating her and making sure she is unable to re-launch her once successful modelling career. A lot of this book is very "action" based; telling the story of how the three women plot and carry out a robbery of a very high profile diamond. There's also a few unexpected moments in there which I just loved! I won't mention those as it will give everything away. The book also tells a few real love stories and there's a good measure of sex involved, like any perfect poolside companion book. 

I loved this book and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone.. well any female reading this! I do have to agree with the front cover though, it's definitely more of a poolside read. Full of sass, sex and scheming, it's definitely worth a quick read! 

If you've read it then I would love to know your thoughts; please leave me a comment below!
Charlotte x

Dr.Organic Moroccan Argan Oil Night Cream

Say hello to one of my new favourite products!

I purchased this from Holland and Barrett (a UK store) for just under £10. I also have the Moroccan Argan Oil skin lotion which I adore... but I'll save that for another post. 

I love everything about this cream. The scent is absolutely divine, it's not too over powering whilst it's on your face and it's not too sickly like a lot of night creams I've tried. The texture is very different to anything I've ever tried before; it's quite thick but it soaks into my skin very fast and doesn't feel heavy or greasy at all. It also has a light feeling of ex-foliation to it (I realise that is awful explaining but I hope you get the jist!) This cream is packed full of vitamins, anti-oxidants and essential fatty acids. It's been recommended as a good anti-ageing cream, however at 17 that isn't the reason why I've been using it! 

To anyone reading this, I'd definitely recommend purchasing it because it really is an amazing product. My skin tone and texture is pretty much near perfect now, and has been ever since I started using it. 

From coming across the cream, I've found that Dr.Organic has a lot of other products being sold at Holland & Barrett, and some of them look incredible so I will hopefully divulge more into the range and will be sure to report back to you on what I find!

Lots of love, Charlotte x  

Liz Earle Lash Definition Mascara

Quick little review type post for today (round of applause for my excellent writing style there). I don't usually wear higher brand products like Liz Earle, because my budget doesn't stretch that far. So when my mum gave me the Lash Definition mascara (as she didn't like it) I was pretty happy! 

I've read mixed reviews about this mascara. My own conclusion is that yes it's not the best mascara out there but it's definitely still very good! It does what it says; gives lash definition. This mascara makes my eyelashes a lot longer than most of my other high street mascara's (which are usually Maybelline or Rimmel). The only downside to getting this length is that it takes me about 2 or 3 minutes of coating it on to get the desired effect. Now, I'm not used to spending this long on just my mascara as my cheap high street brands do the job pretty quickly. I also found myself always going over my eyelashes in a different mascara, because the Liz Earle Lash Definition mascara was lacking in volume. 

 

If any of you have tried this mascara before then please let me know what you think! 

Hope you've all had a wonderful week! 

Charlotte x

Elemis Fresh Skin Moisturiser

I recently got a free sample (25ml so it's a pretty decent size) of the "Elemis fresh skin softly softly daily moisturiser". (Please note: this was not sent to me and this isn't a sponsored post!)

I cannot tell you how much I've fallen in love with this product!! It is amazing. The scent is literally so perfect. I'm not sure how to describe it apart from therapeutic and herbal. Sounds weird I know, but trust me; it's not! Some of its main ingredients are: english chamomile, geranium, lavender, rosehip seed oil, seaweed extract and sweet almond oil.  

I apply it most mornings and it doesn't leave that greasy feeling that a lot of "non grease" moisturisers end up doing, it absorbs really quickly and it always leaves my skin with that fresh, clean feeling. I just love it. 

I am definitely going to repurchase this product and after having looked at the rest of the fresh skin range here, I'll hopefully pick up a few of the other products too. Please let me know in the comments below if you've tried any of their fresh skin products and if you've done a post on it, then leave the link too! Thank you for reading, Charlotte x 

Mini Yankee Candle Haul

At the beginning of September, I picked up 3 mini Yankee Candles to test out the scents before I went ahead and purchased the large jars, so I thought I'd share what I bought with you all!

  

Individually, they all smell AMAZING. They were all priced at under £2 (I can't remember the exact price, sorry!) and when I lit them I put them in this jar/glass: 

 

The only downside to this was because the wick was quite small and went directly down the middle, by the time its completely burnt out, there was still some wax left that could not be used. I don't see this as a major problem because I feel like I definitely got my money's worth. Lemon Lavender and Turquoise Sky are both definitely more Spring/Summer scents, and the Black Cherry is well suited to now, when we're coming into Autumn. The Lemon Lavender and Turquoise Sky candles aren't as strong smelling as the Black Cherry. I will definitely buy a larger jar of the Black Cherry in the next few months and I'm excited to try some of the new winter candles Yankee Candles have brought out! 

What is your favourite Yankee Candle scent? Would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
Hope you all have a fabulous weekend, Charlotte x