College Update

So if you have been reading my blog etc. then you'll know that I recently got accepted into an NVQ Level 2 in Beauty Therapy and I just wanted to do a quick update on how my first week went.

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My first week, unfortunately wasn't based around my course. Instead, it was an Employability week which helps to develop your team work skills and all the other skills employers want, you even get a certificate as it is an actual qualification which is cool.

So basically, we were split into groups, I was with four other girls, whom of which are really nice, and we had to find a solution to a problem. We were then given the task to come up with a make-up look which to go with a certain fashion trend - the look could be literally anything, and it had to be in a powerpoint which we then had to present to the class. A winner was chosen, and they now have to present their powerpoint to the board of the college, scary bickies. 

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The actually beauty course is starting this coming week so I'm SUPER excited. Overall I really like my classmates and tutors so, fingers crossed it all goes well

:)

Book Review - Elegy (Watersong Series) by Amanda Hocking

Gemma now holds the key to breaking the siren curse and the stakes have never been higher. She finally has the chance to have a future with the people she loves, and a romance with Alex is close enough to touch... but not if Penn has anything to say about it.

Penn is more determined than ever to have Daniel for her own and destroy Gemma and Harper along the way

Elegy is the Final book in the Watersong series, and I can definitely say, it did not disappoint! The main plot of the book is great. There is a lot of adrenaline and excitement throughout the entire book which kept me glued to the pages and dying to find out what happened next! 

The general storied revolved mostly around how to break the curse, but with the time slowly running out, I did wonder why they didn't come up with a plan of attack and kill the sirens? Granted they wouldn't know what that would do Gemma but still... they could've at least got rid of Penn - she's going after Daniel after all. 

The characters are also amazing - you see a lot more of Liv who turned up at the end of Tidal and you get a real understand of what a crazy/power hungry girl she is - which really peeved me off, I didn't like her. Lydia is also in it a lot more which I really liked - she's querky and fun and generally a nice girl. 

Harper and Gemma are their usual selves - trying to find a way to break the curse and juggle their social lives at the same time.

Alex is in this book a lot more which I loved - he's awesome not to mention the fact he's a hunk now ;) but him and Gemma work together to get their relationship back on track and you can;t help but root for them. 

Daniel is in it a lot also, but he is a bit aloof - mostly because of Penn but still, I begged him throughout the book to talk to Harper, but it didn't happen for a while which caused a bad reaction. 

The other characters were also really involved and had a big part within this book - helping Gemma and Harper along their journey.

Overall, I can't reall say much more, this book is just a great finale to the series and I guarantee if you read it, you will love it :)

Book Review - Tidal (Watersong Series #3) by Amanda Hocking

Gemma and Harper are facing the fight of their lives - Gemma has been cursed with extraordinary powers that have a terrifying dark side - but she's finally found what she needs... a way to break the curse and become human again. Though finding a way to do so will be her greatest challenge yet - and making matters worse - Penn has her sights on Daniel - the boy Harper loves - and Penn always gets what she wants. 

Tidal is amazing. There is so much that happens throughout the book and you discover and learn so much more about the characters and even new characters are brought in. 

Gemma and Harper are literally working their butts off trying to find a way to break the curse, as is Marcy and Daniel. They know that they're running out of time - in some way, shape or form and are trying everything they can to save Gemma. They even get the help of Marcy's friend Lydia (if you have read Forgotten Lyrics, the short ebook from Amanda, then you'll know who she is) she helps to share her knowledge of what she knows about sirens and the possible ways to kill them or break the curse - both of which are pretty helpful. 

The plot of this book is really captivating - mostly because you know they're racing against time and eventually something will have to happen to either lengthen it, or shorten it and you can;t help but want to know which. It's fast paced and really well written - like Wake and Lullaby, the POV changes throughout the book (which I love) but what really surprised me and made this book a whole lot more exciting was that Gemma finds herself and unlikely ally... but I'm not going to say who, you're going to have to read it ;)

Gemma has been maturing over the books which I love - over the short space of time she has accepted what has happened to her and at times, even enjoyed it - but she knows that eventually, she will meet her fate and she's ready to accept whatever that may be. 

Harper has also grown a lot and isn't being as motherly as she has been - which takes a lot for her - but she can see the change in Gemma and knows that she won't be able to fight her battles for her much longer - which is tough, but she knows that's what has to be done.

Daniel is helping Gemma and Harper the best he can - he's being surportive and researching on the curse - but overall he knows he just has to be there for Harper - even she needs someone to lean on, but with Penn's growing interest in him, things change. 

Alex isn't as involved in this book, mostly because of what Gemma done at the end of Lullaby - but you do see him from time to time and get a general understanding of what's going on with him which is good. 

The other characters were also really well developed and had a good part within the book :)

Overall this is a really good book and continues on really well from Lullaby which I like and so far I would highly recommend this series :)

Book Review - Watersong Series (Wake and Lullaby) by Amanda Hocking

The first book in the Watersong series in Wake. I was immediately drawn to this book because of the cover and also the blurb. I've never before read a book which was about any mythical water creatures such as sirens so it was very different and I was very interested. 

Penn, Lexi and Thea = Dangerous, Gorgeous and Fearless, these are the type of girls you envy and hate. They're new in town for the summer and have caught everyone's attention, but Gemma has caught theirs. Gemma is smart, carefree, pretty and falling in love with the boy next door, Alex, so when she takes a late night swim and runs into Penn and her friends she knows she's in trouble, what makes it worse it that she wakes in the morning on the beach , sore all over, with no recollection of what happened, but she's knows something has changed, and not something good. 

I loved this book. The writing style was amazing and I loved how Amanda had written it in a certain way that you got a view point from each of the characters throughout - it's not very often that a book would be written from all different perspectives so I really liked that. The overall plot was really good - it was fast paced and kept me 100% interested.

The characters were also amazinggggg. Gemma is smart, funny, kind and overall a great lead (ish) character. Harper, Gemma's sister is also great. She's mature, wise and funny - granted she is a bit over-protective of her baby sister but that's suspected considering the circumstances. Alex - the boy next door and Gemma's boyfriend - is funny and kind and very well suited for Gemma - he helps her when she needs it and doesn't ask any questions and then there's Daniel. Oh mummy - he's strong, funny, sarcastic, gorgeous and a real handy man. He help's Gemma and Harper throughout this book and becomes a real part of Harpers life with no questions asked, he'll do anything he can to help. 

Penn, Lexi and Thea are also great considering their meant to be the bad guys. They're strong, dangerous and drop dead gorgeous. They can make anyone do anything that they want and they aren't afraid to do whatever it takes to get Gemma to join them. The other side characters, like Gemma and Harpers Dad and their friend Marcy are also really well developed and play a big part throughout the book.
Overall a really good read!

Lullaby is the second book in the Watersong Series. Lullaby continues on about a week or two after Wake ends which I like because it helps you to keep track of the time in which things are happening. Lullaby is also more from Harpers POV which I also really like because you get to learn a lot more about her, and Daniel for that matter.

Gemma has no other choice to but run away with sirens - after she has inherited their gifts and is continuously getting stronger in her abilities - she doesn't think she has any other option. But Harper won;t give up on finding her - her and Alex work together to try and get her back - but she also recieves the help of Daniel - she has always been the strong one who everyone else depends on - but can she let herself depend on Daniel?

For me personally, I liked Lullaby over Wake. Mostly because it was from Harpers POV the majority of the time, which I liked. She was sort of in the background in Wake and you never really got a good idea of what her personality was like, other than protective and more mature than she should be. Then Daniel's there, stirring feeling that he shouldn't, he wants her to depend on him, but she's always been so busy being the dependent on everyone else and looking after everyone else.
The plot was also extremely fast paced - there was a build up were you knew something was going to happen but you just didn't know what, and that kept me glued to the book - I literally couldn't put it down. I liked how Amanda kept the main role switching throughout the book and I liked how the main characters had a more prominent role. I also liked how Harper, Alex and Daniel were struggling to understand the concept of sirens so began to dive straight into any books they could find to help them - I don't know why I liked this, I just felt as though I was apart of the team encouraging them to find something and cheering them on when they did. There was also a lot more blood and gore than I had expected there to be, considering it's a romantic mythological book - I was really surprised - but in a good way.
Overall I really enjoyed this book and I couldn't wait to read the next one!

Smelling Good

Now it's no big secret that everyone wants to smell good. I mean, who wouldn't? And for me, smelling good is part of my daily ritual - I have to smell nice - if I don't think I smell nice or have the right smell for a certain occasion - I won't leave the house, which I know it a tad dramatic - but still, it has to happen!

I'm a big lover of perfume - especially Benefits So Hooked on Carmella - but I also love body sprays. Impulse is an amazingggg brand for body sprays - they range from light and floral - to sweet and sexy which I really like. They have a good range for different occasions and also for day and night...but one day when I was in Boots, I came across their Natural Collection body sprays, I immediately fell in love. At that time I though I had only purchased one, the Vanilla scented one which I absolutely adore - but somewhere along the way I forgot about it until recently when I was in boots and seen the collection again it reminded me I had one, but this time there were so many other scents that sounded amazing so I decided to pick a few of them up. They were on offer for buy 2 get the third free so I thought, "What the heck."

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These sprays are my new found love. They smell amazing. The last all day. They go with any occasion and are suitable for any time of the day, or night. They're also really reasonably priced, they're only £2.00! 

If your like me and love to smell good, I would highly recommend these products! 

Book Review - Falling to Ash (Moth) by Karen Mahoney

Moth is a newly turned vampire and is struggling to find her place between the two worlds and her two different lives and her maker, Theo, Leader of the Boston Clan is making it very difficult for her.

You see, Theo turned Moth (or Marie, which is her human name) without the Boston families consent and therefore could face repercussions himself for his loss of control - he has to ensure he has Moth under control and doing exactly as he says in order to prove she is worthy of being accepted and staying in the family. 

Moth was turned at 17 - she was going through difficult times with her family - so it's only natural when an extremely attractive and dangerous man offers you affection, you take it. Moth has been dealing with this for nearly a year and is slowly loosing her sensitivity to the sun - soon she won't be able to go out in daylight at all, which is a problem when your younger sister always wants to see you and hang out. But another problem is the alluring Jason Murdoch (if you've read the short ebook Moth then you will know who he is.) 

When murders begin, Moth and Jace form an unlikely truce in order to find out who is behind the killings, but will they figure it out before someone winds up undead? 

I actually really enjoyed this book. The main plot is different to many other supernatural/vampire books that are out there which I really liked. It was fast paced and kept me intrigued and wanting to turn the next page in order to find out more, and the writing style was very good. There was a lot of humour which I liked but also a seriousness to it.
Having Moth as the lead character was brilliant. She's smart, independent, funny and really likeable - you can't help but fall in love with her story and cheer her on throughout her "quest."

Theo was also a great character. He was regal, strong, caring and slightly protective - but you can understand why. He needs to ensure Moth is under control in order to keep both of their heads - she is the first vampire he has ever sired so there is an underlying connection that they can't resist. Plus he sounds to be extremely pleasing to look at lol. 

Jace is a great character as well. He's funny, strong, independent and dreamy sounding. If you've read the ebook Moth, then you'll notice the dramatic change in Jace - he's much more mature and in a way, caring. He helps Moth and throughout their journey which makes an unexpected friendship - or maybe even more ;)

The other characters were also well developed and had a good input into the overall plot of the book. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I can't wait until the next one comes out! If you like vampire/supernatural books then I highly recommend :)

  

How Young is Too Young to Wear Make-up

I'm not sure about other places - but I know where I live and in my local towns and schools, the age were girls start wearing make-up is getting younger and younger.

I'm not opposed to wearing make-up - obviously - but at the age of 12 and having a full face, not even done correctly, is not something I personally agree with. There have been a lot of shows and reports where younger girls are wearing make-up and even the clothing that they were are seen as provocative and can put them in danger, so I don't understand why they're being allowed to do it - and sometimes it's the parents who are influencing them.

 I will admit I started wearing make-up around 14/15 because at that age I was so insecure about my freckles and my red cheeks that I just wanted to get rid of them, and I done that by layering my face in foundation - which wasn't even in the right shade.. oh the shame.. but eventually when I reached 17 I had finally perfected the art of "putting on my face" and could make it look natural and no one even knew it! 

I know that, when I was young being in a drugstore and seeing all the different types of make-up and tools and colours - it is really exciting and I couldn't wait to start experimenting with it.... so basically what I'm trying to say is.. wait to wear make-up until a good age - maybe 16/17 and try to make it as natural as possible, no one want's to look like they got gang banged by crayola lol- especially for school - but have fun with it too and experiment!

  

Natural is Beautiful but Make-up is Glam