Review | benefit They're real push up gel eyeliner.

Now, I'm just jumping on a very full bandwagon with this review, I know. It isn't the first nor will it be the last, benefit are so good with their promo! However I thought id just chuck in my two penneth worth and give you my thoughts on the new eyeliner.

I probably don't need to tell you, but I'm going to anyway, they're real push up liner is a gel formula in a pen format. Genius. You just twist up from the bottom (for quite a while before first use!) and drag along the lash line to achieve the perfect line. Sounds so easy! And it is, it just takes a bit of practice to get used to the angled tip and formula of gel in a pen. 

The eye liner stays put well and more importantly, stays black! Nothing worse than faded cat flicks. Benefit do do a remover specifically for this product, but I've found my nars eye makeup remove to do a pretty good job. 

Whether you're an eyeliner professional or are just starting out, I'd be happy to say you won't go raring from adding this to your collection. Gel is my favourite type of eyeliner anyway and here real negates he need for a fiddly little brush and reduces the space in your makeup bag. 

Review | Limited edition pastel GHDs in lavender.

GHDs aren't a new concept, in fact I'd go so far as to say there the leading hair tool brand out there at t be minute! I don't know anyone who hasn't got a pair of GHD straighteners in their hair taming arsenal! Completely unrivalled in my opinion, the straighteners just keep on coming in more and more appealing shades and shapes.

My previous gold edition had lasted years without any signs of ageing. I've literally had  them since high school without a problem. I only decided I needed a new pair when my boyfriend snuck off with mine and refused to give them back!

Next day delivery is a wonderful thing, and when I opened the box I wasn't disappointed. The shade of lavender is so delicious your eyes just seem to drink it in. With their shiny exterior and contrasting black plates they really are perfect! I distinctly remember a little 'ooooh' of appreciation as I opened them! So shiny and new it was almost a shame to whisk them out and use them, but use them I did.

Trawling the GHD website this beautiful pair caught my eye. I'm a total sucker for anything pastel at the minute and this lavender pair had my heart at first click. Not cheap at £110, however I just knew that it would be a worth investment. 

Jack has an asos premier account which means free next day delivery so I was overjoyed to find the straighteners on their site! A few clicks later and they were winging their way to me. 

Luckily they're as perfect in use as they look and my thick and usually unruly hair was tamed in a flash. While my old GHDs were in great condition they weren't quite as smooth as they once were. Using the new model was a dream, they slid through my hair with ease. 

12 hours later and my hair is just as straight, just as sleek. I'm excited to curl with these too, their slightly rounded casing will make for easy waves and curls. GHDs really are so versatile and now they're branching out in design I'm sure there will be the perfect pair for you. I can't ever see myself buying a different brand of straighteners! Now I just need to get my hands on a GHD hair dryer and film star worthy mane will be mine! 

Life | how to clear your mind

I don't know about anyone else but I'm the sort of person that worries. I worry about significant and insignificant things with equal gusto, and I worry if I have nothing to worry about. I'm constantly thinking of what needs to be done and how I'm going to make things work. This personality trait also doesn't go well with the fact that I like to be busy...busy to a point where I have to plan a slot to do my washing in. 

Often this leaves me feeling panicky about getting everything done and sorted. That at horrid feeling of not being able to breathe and having a lump in my throat occurs regularly if I let things get on top of me.  Without jumping on the bloggers anxiety bandwagon i do let myself get anxious and over stressed about small things so I've had to develop some pretty fool proof coping mechanisms. I know I'm not alone in this so I thought it might be quite handy to do a little post on how I clear my mind and tackle the tasks at hand! 

Number 1, 

The first thing I do when I feel myself becoming stressed is call my Mum. She puts things into perspective and reminds me that every problem is solvable. It doesn't have to be your mum, a boyfriend or close friend will do the trick too but sometimes just talking through what is worrying me or what I have to get done helps me to sort it in my mind. 

Often it just ends up with mum reminding me that a misplaced earring is not a viable cause for a panic attack, but it works.

Number 2, 

Write a goddam list. Once everything you think you need to do is out of your head and down on paper I like to then rearrange the list in order of priority. If I've got a particularly busy week I'll plan each day, including space for food prep, washing and me time. Once i can see that actually, everything can be done, I find it much easier to actually start. 

I love crossing things off as I go as well. It makes me feel  accomplished and more productive. 

Number 3, 

Take a deep, deep breath. Do it now, breathe in for 3, hold it at the top and release for 3. If I really feel that an attack is imminent then this helps a lot. I like to lay down, shut my eyes and concentrate on nothing but breathing if I'm really letting things get to me. Sometimes I use visualization and imagine breathing in a happy colour like yellow or pink, and breathing out the stressful colours of black or red. I don't know if this is a legit technique but it works for me. 

Number 4, 

Crack on. Things aren't going to do themselves and, sadly, I'm now an adult and have bills to pay, food shopping to do and work to go to ,so as much as I'd like to spend an entire day in bed on Pintrest (and sometimes do) it's just not viable to do every day. Once you accept this, it becomes a lot easier. 

Number 5, 

Treat yourself. Whether this is the aforementioned duvet day, an episode of Suits or a new lipstick it's so worth doing once you've finished a good portion of your jobs for that day. My favourite treats are getting in a bath with some lush products, a magazine or the #bbloggers twitter chat (hi, I'm creepy naked tweeting girl). 

Books | The Silkworm- Robert Galbraith

 Robert Galbraith (JK Rowling's alias)  second crime novel, The Silkworm is a book I was really excited about reading. I thoroughly enjoyed the first, A Cuckoo's calling and was happy to see Galbraith continue the adventures of private detective Cormoran Strike's adventures! 

It's not necessary for you to read A Cuckoo's calling before The Silkworm, as although it does reference the former a fair bit throughout the book, none of the details are vital to the story. 

The Silkworm follows Strike as he tries to locate missing writer Owen Quine. I don't want to elaborate too much on the story, I don't want to give anything away! 

 I love a good crime book and this has all the ideal ingredients; a likeable rouge main character and an intricately woven plot line that has constant surprising twists and turns (which we know Galbraith is a master at, whatever name is on the front of the book!). Throughout The Silkworm you're drip fed little details and teasers of what's to come. Obviously the road ahead is not a smooth one for Strike and his secretary come assistant,  Robin, and I love the mixture of the professional and personal lives of these protagonists, and the stark reality they encompass. Things aren't tied up neatly or easily resolved and it feels quite gritty and true to life. Well, as true to live as a crime novel can be in my law abiding world! 

I recommended this book to my Dad, an ex policeman and avid crime reader. He blanched a bit when he realised Galbraith was Rowling's alias but once I'd assured him that wizards and dragons were nowhere to be seen he got stuck in, and finished it quickly with his seal of approval. 

I'd highly recommend this book for anyone who is a fan of crime and mystery! I wouldn't say it matters if you're a Harry Potter fan or not...I am and I can identify Rowling's writing style, but my Dad isn't and he enjoyed it just as much! 

Have you read anything by Robert Galbraith? Have you read any good crime books recently? Let me know! 

Travel | Malta

It's taken me a while to write this post as I'm in complete denial that my holiday is over! My boyfriend and parents recently made our way over to he beautiful Mediterranean Isle of Malta. My family used tog to Malta a lot but it was jacks first time and I was excited to introduce him to the beautiful country and it's wonderful people! 

We stayed in st.julians bay, which is a small town on the north east coast of the island a short half an hour transfer from the Airport. We had a pretty bad exerience with the hotel and travel company onthebeach.com, that I won't go into, I'll just say make sure you research your hotel and check trip advisor before you go! 

Despite this, it made no real impact on our holiday overall! The area we stayed in was pretty lively and seemed to have a lot of younger groups of friends on holiday together. Malta is in no way the next Ibiza but the MTV isle of music festival was the day we arrived so I suspect a lot of locals and nearby visitors had come for this  and stayed the week. My boyfriend and I enjoyed this, the atmosphere was always lively and there were plenty of bars in which to enjoy the balmy evenings. 

My parents didn't enjoy this aspect so much but luckily a short evening walk away led to st Julian's bay where there were plenty of relaxed restaurants and bars for them to enjoy. 

A couple of pool days later and we were itching for an adventure so we booked ourselves onto one of the many boat cruises to see the small island of como and the famous blue lagoon. Troy and parts of Game of Thrones were filmed here and you can see why- the scenery is  amazing. The lagoon was absolutely breathtaking, if a little more crowded than the times I've been before! It's definitely a popular spot so I'd advise going on a weekday as it would be almost unpleasantly crowded on a weekend! 

  

We also made the 40 minute journey on a hop on hop off sightseeing bus to the capital city of Valletta which is a beautiful city within stone walls, housing your normal high street shops and also a tourists market. 

After a wander round and some lunch we decided to get the most of our all day tickets and travelled a further 30 minutes to the small fishing village of Marsaxlokk. We'd been told there was a bigger market here, but in reality it was probably smaller and selling the he same type of touristy souvenirs that we weren't really after. Also,we went on a Monday which seems to be when all the main restaurants were closed! Despite this we had a lovely walk round, watched the fish in the crystal clear waters, dipped our toes in, took lots of photos and had some cooling drinks and the best ice cream I've ever had! There were a few restaurants open, literally right on the waters edge but I'm not a fish eater and we'd not long eaten so much to jacks disappointment we didn't get to sample to fresh catch of the day. He assures me it smelt good though! 

This photo makes me laugh because it reminds me of Joey and Chandler on the tour bus round London. I am Joey. 

I'd highly recommend Malta as a holiday destination. It has something for everyone and always has beautiful weather. The people are so, so friendly and whether you're after a bustling city, or a relaxing pool break (there aren't many beaches in Malta!) then you'll find something to interest you. Malta has stunning scenery and a rich history so there really is something for everyone. I wouldn't recommend onthebeach.com but apart from the false start it was a perfect week away that was exactly what we needed! 

Have you ever been to Malta?