8.26.2015

Did I Mention I Love You (DIMILY #1) by Estelle Maskame | Book Review

8.26.2015

First of all, how stunning is the front cover of this novel? 

Pretty gorgeous in my opinion.

It is rare for me to come across a novel that is both inspiring, emotional and likeable. There are a tonne of books that can be categorised in the former but lack youthful exuberance in all the seriousness.

At just 13 years old, from a wee fishing town in Scotland, Estelle Maskame started to write a trilogy that would come to be loved by millions on the online writing platform, Wattpad. 

Perhaps that's why DIMILY (published by Black & White Publishing in Edinburgh) seems to hit all the right notes; its author -  just sixteen herself - clearly understands some of the struggles of a young girl in the West today. 

Synopsis:


It sounds a little cliche at first, a girl who falls for her step-brother? A little too Mortal Instruments but then of course everything seems cliche unless you actually give it a chance. Every story is derived from somewhere, inspiration comes in all shapes and sizes and while the blurb seems as though it gives too much away, prepare to be blown away.

It's not so much what occurs in the novel that is impressive, but the way Maskame has managed to convey the voice of the main character, Eden, that is. The narrative reflects the emotions of Eden perfectly, as the reader you start a rollercoaster ride thinking you know exactly what to expect but end up finishing the journey feeling all emotional and questioning.

The personality of a somewhat average teenager is written to perfection. The language isn't absolutely awe-inspiring but it is a very reminiscent and realistic voice of a 16-year-old girl trying to go through life whilst also being true to herself. 

This novel is not just a love story, I mean it is that but not to the exclusion of everything else. There is Eden's rocky relationship with her father who seems a little too nice, her step-mother who is a little too laid back, the new friends who don't seem like friends at all and then of course there is Tyler, standoffish and reckless, a complete enigma, who seems to utterly loathe her.

Eden isn't the perfect teenager. She makes mistakes just like the rest of us and I think that is what makes this book so enjoyable to read, it is far from predictable.

It's emotional, real and ultimately about a young girl who is trying to find herself amidst the chaos. This series is definitely one to watch out for and I truly think its going to become a bestseller very quickly. If there is one novel you need to have on your summer reading list then this is a must-read!

Verdict: 4/5 stars

Why should you bother? 

It's very different to the normal YA Contemporaries most people are used to.

Grab your copy for only £6.09 (normally £7.99) at Amazon.co.uk

Which YA novels are you all reading at the moment? 
Let me know in the comments below.

Love, ZAZZLES©

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Best Mascara of the Moment! GUERLAIN | Maxi Lash So Volume Mascara


Ask any girl this: which beauty product can she not live without? And the answer will always be the same. 

Mascara. 

It brightens up your still sleepy eyes, makes you look more sultry and just altogether improves your appearance. But the difficulty is finding a mascara that does what you want it to do. Do you want more volume? To give your lashes a little curl? Maybe longer lashes? Or just to darken them slightly?

What you definitely don't want is spidery, clumped together, flaky looking eyelashes. 

And so the search for a decent mascara starts in your teenage years (I assume). Believe me I have tried several mascaras, both drugstore and high-end, hoping that one of them will volumize and thicken my lashes. Recently I tried the Clinique High Impact Mascara, which was my favourite so far; the L'Oreal Volume Million Lashes and the Rimmel Accelerator Endless Mascara. All of which are very good but leave something to be desired.

Then I stumbled across this little beauty and I fell in love!

At £24.50 Guerlain's Maxi Lash So Volume Mascara is far from cheap. And so I made sure to read other reviews and see if there were any first impression videos on Youtube. But there wasn't much info out there and so I bought the mascara, really hoping it lived up to my expectations. 

Verdict: 4/5 stars

This mascara adds drama, thickens and lengthens my lashes all in one go. The key is to wipe off the excess formula before applying to your lashes. This ensures you get no clumps. You can build it up and after adding roughly 2.5 coats of mascara, my lashes still felt soft to the touch and half a day later still held some curl. It isn't super difficult to remove either, any makeup remover should do the trick!

It still isn't as black as I wanted it to be and for the price I did expect it to wow me a little more but I'm not complaining. 

I'd recommend buying it from Debenhams when they have either their 10% or 20% off beauty promotions, that's what I ended up doing anyway. Trust me, it takes the sting out of the price that little bit more.

Let me know what your favourite mascaras are.

Love, 
ZAZZLES©
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8.12.2015

Healthy Breakfast Idea #1 - Avocado Toast with Sliced Peaches

8.12.2015

Avocado; you either love it or love to hate it. I think you can guess which category I fall into. 

After finding out that Avocado has a lot of benefits for the body I definitely wanted to try it out. But I never knew how I could fit it into my regular diet or how to eat it aside from the norm. 

I soon stumbled across several YouTube videos showing how I could use a breakfast staple such as toast and add some avocado to liven it up.

It is delicious!



Ingredients:
  • 1 piece of bread
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1/2 an avocado
  • 1 tsp margarine/butter (optional)
  • A pinch of chilli flakes
  • 1 peach

*Method:
  1. Pop your slice of bread into the toaster for roughly 3 mins. 
  2. Rub your garlic clove over the now toasted bread.
  3. Spread your margarine/butter on top.
  4. Cut one avocado all the way around the middle, then twist. Take one-half and scoop out the contents into a bowl. Using a fork, mash the avocado till spreadable but make sure to leave it slightly chunky. 
  5. Take 2 tbsp of the mashed avocado and spread onto the toast.
  6. Add a pinch of chilli flakes - not too many, you don't want it to overpower the taste.
  7. Take 1 peach and cut into 2cm slices.
  8. Cut the toast in half and add the peaches. 
You can add any topping you like such as honey or bananas, whatever floats your boat.

Voila! Simple and tasty. Perfect for a quick brekkie.

*Check out Fifteen Spatulas and Popsugar Food on YouTube to see where I got the basic recipe from.

Love, ZAZZLES©
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6.20.2015

Anastasia Beverly Hills | Contour Kit in Light/Medium

6.20.2015

Everyone who keeps up with the beauty industry knows about the Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit.  And I seriously mean everyone! It's considered the holy grail of makeup products and with everyone obsessing over it, I was curious to try it out.

Anastasia Beverly Hills as a brand is not as readily available to those of us in the UK as it is in the US. You can't test it out in your local Sephora because we don't have one of those. It's also a lot more expensive on UK websites. I know so many people who have bought ABH makeup from the much cheaper US website to suddenly being hit with huge customs fees when the post finally arrives. So it really worth all the hassle?

  Everything we know about the makeup ABH produces is by reading blogs, watching youtube videos (which are probably sponsored) and our own personal experiences. After launching an incredibly successful brow makeup range, they decided to expand their range and voila, what does everyone suddenly think they need... a contour palette! 


At £39, the palette is not extortionate by any means but for something that is not really necessary for your average makeup user, it does seem a little much. Unless you are a makeup artist, and this really is the ideal product for MUAs as it comes in Light, Medium and Dark palettes specifically for different skintones, you will not use every shade in the kit.

I currently have the Light/Medium Palette. Inside the kit are 6 different powders: 3 contour shades, 2 highlight shades and 1 highlight shade with a slight shimmer. The contour shades can seem a little orange on fairer skin tones but just seem bronze on my darker skin. I prefer the slightly grey shade in the bottom centre. It is the perfect contour shade. I also like to use Banana (the yellow shade) to set my under eye concealer but it is by no means a substitute for my Ben Nye Banana powder. While the powders feel very buttery, they do not seem to blend as quickly as other contouring powders I like, such as MAC Sculpt. 

It takes a bit more time and effort to get everything blended in so there are no harsh lines. (But then again I am a little picky as in my humble opinion nothing beats MAC Sculpt. Nothing!) But the end result is beautiful and my cheekbones look infinitely sharper and my under-eyes a little more brighter without giving my Indian skin a dull, ashy look which a lot of highlighters do.

6 shades for one person does seem like more than needed but if you are a major makeup enthusiast like me and you like to try different looks daily, then this is a palette you NEED! But if you want to save up for something that will be not be one among many, then go for a few individual contouring products such as MAC Sculpting Powder in 'Sculpt' or the Ben Nye Cream Contour products, Illamasqua's 'Hollow' Cream contour is pretty fab too. 

The Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit can be bought from Cultbeauty.co.uk or Beautybay.com

Love, ZAZZLES©  
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LUSH | Mint Julips Lip Scrub

We all know the feeling - dry, flaky lips that physically hurt when you smile, especially in the winter. The usual, temporary remedy... some Carmex lip balm on the go.  While Carmex does make your lips feel baby soft, it doesn't seem to remove the dead skin that forms when your lips are chapped. 

The look isn't particularly attractive when you're wearing your favourite matte red lipstick (FYI, it's MAC Retro Matte: All Fired Up) where your lips look like they would look better on Frankenstein instead. There is nothing worse than dry lips preventing you from rocking your matte lipstick which as we all know lasts a heck of a lot longer than normal, glossier lipsticks. But alas there is a cure! Or at least a temporary, more affordable one. 

The LUSH Lip Scrub is the perfect on the go remedy for lips that need a bit of rejuvenating.



My favourite of the collection is Mint Julips, the other flavours are Popcorn and Bubblegum. With a consistency akin to wet sand, it is perfect for gently exfoliating your lips while not too harsh on an already sensitive part of your face.

I usually dip my finger in once, making sure to get a decent amount of product (about a pea-size) and then rub my make-up free lips with the same finger until it feels baby soft and flake-free, ready for some lippy. You can then either wipe away the scrub or lick your lips together - sounds disgusting I know, but I assure you according to LUSH the scrub is edible. 

At £5.50 its not exactly affordable, at the end of the day it is just a lip scrub but considering that Lush always make wonderful products, its a no brainer. Contained in a glass jar it may seem quite fragile however I have had no problems with it whatsoever and I'm very accident prone. The product is inside a jar so not the most hygenic of packaging however it only takes a tiny amount of product to get smooth results. I highly recommend this, it is a must-have for your make-up bag.

Mint Julips Lip Scrub can be bought from Lush.co.uk

Love,  ZAZZLES©
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