September Favourites

Now for my favourites for the month of September. This is a segment where I discuss some of my recent purchases and favourite items. The only problem is I was meant to post this in August but forgot so I've lumbered everything from August in with September so there's a lot of favourite items to cover.

One purchase I've really loved has been "Breath of Fresh Air" from Lush Cosmetics. I've long been a fan of Lush Cosmetics as they are an eco-friendly company. Most (if not all) of their ingredients are fair trade or organic and they are staunchly against testing on animals.

"Breath of Fresh Air" is a skin toner that really cleans out your skin and is perfect for oily or greasy skin as it just clears that away and leaves your face smooth, cleansed and clear. I've started using it daily and it always seems to be able to strip grime and make up from my face that other products miss.

My most recent iTunes purchase was  from the wonderful Joni Mitchell.
Joni Mitchell has a strong, distinctive voice that I love to curl up and listen to in the evening.

My favourite songs off of this album are "Blue", "River" and "A Case of You"









I recently downloaded an audiobook of Maurice Druon's "The Iron King" from Audible.com.
I had it on my Amazon Wishlist but used my free Audible download to get it in audiobook format.

This book series served as inspiration for George R.R Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series.

If you haven't done so yet, why not try Audible to get a free audiobook downloaded to your phone, mp3 player or computer?






Speaking of George R.R Martin I gave him more of my money recently.
I bought "DreamSongs" which is a collection of George R.R Martin's short stories from throughout his life.
Don't worry - I'll write a full review of DreamSongs and post it very soon so I won't say too much soon.
All I'll say is that I really enjoyed reading it and I think you will too.

Oh!
And speaking of George R.R Martin I bought this necklace.

Why?

Honestly I only bought it because I thought it was something that Cersei Lannister would wear.
I'm a big fan of the Lannisters (well, not all of them) so it was a bit of an impulse buy but I love it.
Wearing it makes me feel so regal and not the slightest bit incest-y.




Another favourite this month?
Alpro Soya Chocolate Milk.
I've been keeping to my healthy diet which is practically vegan on some days.
This chocolate milk is absolutely delicious and I swear you'd honestly not even notice that it's not a dairy product.
Just trust me and try it if you can because it's scrumptious stuff.
I also love Alpro's hazelnut milk. It's kind of like drinking a Kinder Bueno and a great way of getting nut oils into your diet to support healthy hair and skin growth.

Last month I also treated myself to some MAC eye-shadows.
I like MAC as they made good quality, animal-cruelty-free products. I bought their white eye-shadow (as pictured on the left) and a silver eye-shadow. The two, since their purchase, have become staple items in my make up bag to create a quick but flawless smoky eye look in a way that most other eye-shadows seldom create.

I think the silver eye-shadow shade is called "Silver Ring" but I no longer have the box to check. Sorry!

I recently dug out some books from the back of my cupboards and found this gem.
I found Darren Shan's "Demonata" series as well as the "Darren Shan Saga" and you may have noticed that I made a recent post about how I'll be re-reading and discussing these books in upcoming blog posts.
Those should be coming along in October for some Halloween themed goodness so stay tuned. I highly recommend picking up these books so you can read along and maybe we can get into some discussion about the books. As a vampire literature fan the "Darren Shan" saga gave a new, cool perspective on the archetypal vampire myth: it made it dirty and boyish which, as a teen, I really enjoyed reading.







Well, that about wraps it up for my September favourites.
If you're interested in anything mentioned in this post and want to purchase it, click on one of the links below to find affordable products:


ALSO DO VLOG OF THIS.
 

Dashing David Wenham.

So last night my sister and I were having a movie night with films that I hoped would make her cry. I put on Moulin Rouge! and holy heck, guys.

David Wenham, well known for playing Faramir in the Lord of the Rings films, plays Audrey in Moulin Rouge! and I never noticed.
For like.... 12 years.
Never.
Even.
Noticed.

Same dude, totally would not have guessed.

And I've seen both films a billion times.
Thank you IMDB for pointing that out to me.
Let me know in the comments section - did you notice this before or is your mind blown?

Self Care

I think it's very important to care for yourself whilst you are still young. It sounds like a boring, unpopular opinion but it makes a lot of sense.
I find myself almost obsessed with my pre-bedtime routine of cleansing and moisturising my face and since doing so the quality of my sin has been a lot better. In the past 6 months I've drastically altered my entire diet; in some ways this is for ethical reasons, but it is also for certain health reasons. It'll help me avoid certain illnesses, complications and cancers in later life. I'm trying to get back into meditation so as to remain calm and find zen and inner strength.

It may sound a bit crazy. Sixteen year old me would probably think it was totally lame.

I suppose I felt really odd earlier when a girl responded to a post I'd made on a forum earlier about healthy lifestyles. I wanted to steer conversation somewhere sensible so the talk wasn't just about teenage nonsense. A girl commented saying things like how it was admirable that I was taking such interests at 'such a young age'. I was 8 years older than her but, whatever.

I suppose one of the reasons I'm really trying to focus on my health now is because I know that it will be much harder later. The older you are, the harder it becomes to lose weight. Old mistakes have long running consequences.

I try my best to not let my skin get sun damaged. I've given up coffee and meat. Soon I'll be getting back into swimming and regular exercise whilst also taking up weightlifting so that I can be physically stronger. I'm paying attention to the ways in which my body works so that I can provide it with nutrients that create more energy so it can run efficiently and in a healthy manner. Though I'm starting to wish I cared for myself sooner in life, I'm glad I have a better awareness of myself now. Becoming a pescetarian has really helped. I feel different. I feel better, like my body is running more smoothly. I've lost weight simply by cutting things like meat, butter and milk from my diets (I do drink milk sometimes, but I'm really into almond/hazelnut/soy milk right now)
Instead of buying lots of bottles of fizzy drinks I've been drinking a lot more unpasteurized pomegranate juice in recent months which, again, I've felt the benefits of. Also drinking more water, sometimes with a slice of lemon in it, helps. I've started taking off my make up at the end of the day instead of sleeping in it and waking to notice I look like a raccoon. I've replaced coffee with green tea, also with a slice of lemon for flavouring. In terms of my personal physical health I feel better than before. It's not a weight thing, it's feeling the response of my body resonate through me. Oh yeah, sixteen year old me would definitely think that last sentence was lame. After cutting out meat and improving my diet and simply taking care of my skin, my hair, my teeth etc. I felt more beautiful than ever before even though my physical appearance hadn't changed. I felt less sluggish and weighed down by previous unhealthy habits.

I suppose all I'm saying is that if you're reading this it's not too late for you to make changes in life to change the way yo live and to boost your health. I urge you to focus on yourself and your personal health now so that you can retain as much energy and youth as possible as you go on in life. Now is as good a time as any to question what you want from life and what you yourself can do to achieve it starting with your own body.
Take care of yourself because you're worth that care.

Click here to go to Kimberly Snyder's blog - she changed the way I see food entirely.