A Field in England, A Beach in Wales.

Or what I did this summer when I wasn't working heh.
(really, really appreciate my free time these days)

I went to Latitude festival with my favourite people, the highlights included...

It being so hot that my lip balm melted (I then used it).

Being nude and proud like Amanda Palmer in the showers.

Getting to the front for Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Hot Chip and Kraftwerk. Right on time.

Stalking Alan Moore, David Shrigley and Carol Anne Duffy.

Eddie Izzard, Dylan Moran, Richard Herring and Tim Key lulz. Everyone needs a good larf!

The flock of multicoloured sheep.

My 'cookery'.

Then we went to Wales for a week, the highlights included...

Swimming in the freezing sea with my lovely man.

Visiting all the castles. History is a story of humans being shitty to each other.

Reading Trainspotting and A Clockwork Orange like the cool kids we are.

Folly Farm (and zoo) which definitely isn't just for kids.

Not being at work/staying in bed all day.

Other people's cookery.

Everything.

I've also been on a couple of protests, written lots about beauty/babies for a household name and generally been too busy (one way or anuzzer) to blog on here.

I need to write and make time for myself more -- I'll try! :)

LUSH! And the way it smells…

A post for Abi, who has been accepted as a minion into the ultimate temple o' smells.

My first experience of Lush was back in sixth form, when Retro products were still on shelves and generally a lot cheaper heh heh. I remember being blown away by the friendly staff (most of them hippies), how edible everything looked and most of all...The Smell. It became my obsession.

You can literally sniff out a city's Lush shop from the next street, or enchant/offend your entire office with their unmistakable whiff. Here are my three favourite perfumes by the great fragrant one:

Icon

Icon is the ultimate goth perfume. It smells like a Victorian funeral procession, Lord Byron's tears, and fresh orange incense all rolled into one. It also contains Jesus' fave myrrh  which gives it a mysterious eastern edge. You could use it to disguise the smell of that corpse you've been hiding.

Lust

Oh my! Lust is the big, bold whore of the Lush perfume counter. It's like a cat on heat, rolling around in a sweaty pile of jasmine and rose petals, and is known to make men's trousers explode. It smells warm and sexy, but also very playful and young. My fella loves this one because I used it to seduce him. Purr.

Karma

This smells like a spicy orange who's found himself transported back to the 1960s. It starts off sharp and almost medicinal, but deepens into a patchouli, pine and citrus festival in a forest. Your liking of this perfume probably depends on your liking of hippies. Like all Lush perfumes, it lasts bloody ages.

While I'm at it, here's a brief sniffing of my errr, modest collection...

Grass -- funnily enough, this smells like freshly cut grass

Popcorn -- smells like sweet buttered toast

Dream Cream -- smells like herby porridge

Smitten -- smells like it's gone off (must chuck)

Each Peach -- smells like a hula hula dancer

Candy Mountain -- smells like a happy toddler

Silky Underwear -- smells like a jasmine ghost

Shimmy Shimmy -- smells like strawberries and cream

Sex Bomb -- smells like a lovely day in bed

Snow Fairy -- smells like Princess Bubblegum

Snowcake -- smells like Smitten should (almondy)

Colour Supplement -- smells like nothing really

So there they are! I'm a whopping fan of Lush's skin and body products, but I'm slightly cautious as my skin is very temperamental (or just mental), so fragrance and essential oils aren't always the best thing for it. Paula's Choice does however just sound like a bitter nag.

Below is a perfume I would never want to wear, but I'd rather like to smell it just the once. 

On that note, there are a few Lush soaps that smell a bit cummy (I'm looking at YOU Fresh Farmacy), but we'll just ignore that won't we.

Ceci n'est pas une blog beauté.

I heard somewhere about a gynecologist who got sick of vaginas because he saw enough of them at work. Oh yes, it was an episode of Friends.

My job involves lots of writing about beauty products, so I thought I'd get sick of all that make-up and skincare stuff by the time I got home. But no, I find myself wanting to write about it in my spare time, like an actual girl.

So instead of the usual pretentious bollocks, here are my TOP 12 BEAUTY FAVES!

Frontcover Eyeshadows and Shadow Liner
I can see a rainbow? A colourful selection of baked bright eyeshadows, plus a clear liquid liner so you can line your eyes with them too. Genius!

Revlon Just Bitten Lip Balm and Stain in Twilight
Twilight is an appalling book, but this lippy shade leaves a lovely stain and has a nice softening balm to boot. The name 'Just Bitten' reminds me of Hannibal Lecter or a bad case of bedbugs.

Max Factor Clump Defy Volumising Mascara
This lasts all day without doing that annoying greasy, smudgy thing that some mascaras like to do. And indeed, no clumps in sight!

Rimmel Clear Complexion Transparent Powder and Concealer

Cheap, cheerful and pale as Kate Moss, these are great for touching up my face throughout the day. Ooo, ooo yes. Sorry.

Bourgois Little Round Pot Blusher in Rose D'Or
One of my absolute faves, I've been loyal to this for years. It's easy to apply, looks and smells beautiful (what IS that smell?), and gives a radiant, English Rose glow.

Simple Kind To Skin Hydrating Light Moisturiser
Sometimes the simplest things are best. This takes care of my dry patches, makes a great base for make-up and has no irritating ingredients. A true bargain!

Quinoderm Cream
It's not very glamorous, but neither's the facefull of spots I get if I don't use this stuff religiously. The bleached towels and initial dryness are totally worth it.

Maybelline Lasting Drama Gel Liner in Ultra Violet
A new find but already an essential. This stays put all day, so I don't have to keep sneaking off to apply it every few hours to avoid the dreaded "no eyes" look. 

Max Factor Facefinity Compact in Pale as Fuck
Max is a real man don't you know? This foundation is one of the only ones that stays put on my oily skin, without it looking mask-like. 

sk:n Vitamin-Rich Cleanser for oily skin
I saw a massive improvement in my skin after switching to this cleanser, it really helps to keep 'monster' zits at bay. Skip washing your face at your own peril!

Bravura Glycolic Acid 15% Night Treatment
My trusty miracle cream. My boyfriend says this stuff tastes salty (that'll be the 15% glycolic acid) so remember to warn people before you snog them.

Could this below be my number 13? Oh I hope so. The colours, the rubbish puns, the 1970s Mystic Meg packaging, the ridiculous price...

Next time, Power Dressing for the Office! It'll probably include cardigans and boring shoes.

Here are some blogs that do beauty better than me: my friend Camilla's blog IDEA YOU GAVE ME A FRIGHT DEAR, my workmate Emily's Nail Files, the inspiring Katie's Beauty Blog and the Boots Beauty Blog (which I write for sometimes, guh).

P.S. Cloud Atlas was amazing. See, I had to stick something pretentious in there.

Books and writing and stuff.

Do I buy a Kindle? I literally can't fit many more books in my room, my shelves are bordering on ridiculous and 'Book Mountain' next to my bed has three peaks now.

I'd estimate that I have about a zillion books. But I NEED them all. They make me look way smarter than I actually am.

Kindles are very practical and I'd probably really benefit from one, but at the same time I can see myself moaning "oooh, it's just not the same" on my first digital purchase and then sniffling over a gorgeously battered second-hand copy that I'd found. I know, I'm such a cliche -- my lifestyle is like, totally analogue.

Currently reading Brave New World, which I've been looking to get my hands on for years. Dystopian novels are a personal fave (congratulations everyone for surviving the apocalypse by the way); I like a good reminder of how bad things could get/why we should be preventing them.

If I haven't told you IRL, which is unlikely as I've been telling everyone, I now work for Boots.com as a copywriter. Daisy from Spaced much.

Have a New Year's Eve wedding to attend too, should be lovely! So until my next blog post about books and writing and stuff (to be fair, all my blogging seems to fall into these categories), have a good 'un. In the meantime, here are Mum's wacky words for things...

Baldy-no-nose = Lord Voldemort 

Cotton-wool Pringles = Make-up removal pads

Broomhill Sculpture Gardens.

(above) “Watchers” by Seth Orion Schwaiger.

(above) “Welcome To The Third Millennium” by Mike Roles.

Your winter newsletter.

Hello out there! A wee bit chilly isn't it. I haven’t updated this properly in a while, so here’s a thrilling lowdown on what I've been up to…

In October I went to Whitby with my fella, to see how the real goths celebrate Halloween. I still live in hope that one day, I’ll move there and live in nautical/Bram Stoker bliss.

In early November, I tried my hand at door-to-door sales. Needless to say, I was shite — I’m much more suited to typing from the safety of my bedroom.

Earlier this week, we buried our family cat of 15 years. Missing him terribly, I’ll have to post some photographs on here; he was beautiful.

In the last couple of days, I’ve been worrying (more than usual) about the direction our government seems to be headed. Universal Jobmatch is actually Orwellian.

Adam Curtis’ documentaries are also a huge eye-opener.

Would very much like to stop being underemployed (I love my copywriting, but I’m so dreadfully POOR), and have a nice little home of my own with ample bookshelves/useless antiques/a vast collection of cats.

Buuut, I am going to see Alanis Morissette tomorrow night! FOR FREE.

Spectacular news. Thank you Jake for having access to free tickets (and for making the last 6 months the best ever), thank you India, thank you terror, thank you disillusionment, thank you frailty, etc…

P.S. I still haven’t finished Crime and Punishment. Fail.

Summer holiday photos, Devon.

These were taken back in August around Ilfracombe; only just finished posting everything from that holiday on Tumblr, so here they are in a big ol' chunk (sorry Blogger)! I also have a bunch of photos from Broomhill Sculpture Gardens -- I'll be uploading them in a separate post.

Lovely weather!

Ilfracombe Museum.

On hot days, this beautiful harbour smells like rotting fish.

Valley of the Rocks, and Hillsborough.