Music Monday | Top 5 Songs of the Week - 27/07/15

1. Tenerife Sea - Ed Sheeran

"You've got the kind of look in your eyes, as if no one knows anything but us."

I mentioned way back in my May favourites that I loved listening to this song whenever I was revising, but after that I couldn't listen to it without thinking about Spanish verbs or literary techniques. However, I've started listening to it again this week and, although it's hard to pick a favourite Ed Sheeran song, I think this is definitely up there as one of my favourites, it's so beautiful.

2. A Daydream Away - All Time Low

"I wish that you could see your face right now, 'cause you're grinning like a fool."

I've mentioned before that I'm going to be seeing All Time Low towards the end of August and as it's only a month until I see them (*happy dance*) I've been listening to them a lot more than usual - which is already a lot if I'm honest. A Daydream Away is one of my favourite ATL songs so it's obviously one that I've been listening to a lot. 

3. Hallelujah - Panic! At The Disco

"All you sinners stand up sing hallelujah."

 Panic! At The Disco are another of my favourite bands and I'm loving their latest single Hallelujah, which was actually released back in April. It's hard to predict what sort of music P!ATD are going to release next because they're always changing up their sound, which is something I love about the band! Their songs are never repetitive and there's an element of surprise. I love the new sound of Hallelujah and can't wait for their next album which will no doubt have a similar sound.

4. Where I Belong - Hometown

"When everything goes wrong, you're where I belong."

The verse of this song reminds me of the verse of All I Want by Kodaline, except more upbeat of course. Apparently it was actually written by Kodaline, and I love Kodaline, so it's no surprise that this catchy, upbeat tune is one of my favourites at the moment. 

5. I Do - Only The Young

"If I had the chance I would kiss ya. I'd marry you now if I knew, that one day they'd be out the picture & I'd say I do, I do, I do."

I haven't seen very many mixed groups since the days of S Club 7 and it's quite refreshing saying as there are quite a few boy bands/ girl groups nowadays. I think this upbeat song is really catchy and cute, and I love the 50s themed video. Although I didn't really watch X factor last year, from the few episodes that I did watch, Only the Young stood out from the rest. This is their first single and I hope that it does well!

What songs have you been loving this week? 

Sarah-Michelle x

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20 Facts About Me

I realised that I haven't really shared anything about myself on this blog, so I thought I would write a post with 20 facts about myself. Here goes!

1. I'm from Northern Ireland.

2.  My favourite colour is purple, and following closely behind that is every single pastel colour there is. 

3. I am the youngest in my family, with 2 older brothers and 2 older sisters.

4. I'm pretty short at 5ft 2.8in - the point 8 is very important, as I'm sure every short person will understand.

5. My most prized possession is my ring. It's not worth a lot of money, but it certainly has a lot of sentimental value. It has rarely left my finger since I was 11. 

6.. I can play the piano and I'm trying to teach myself to play the guitar. 

7. Autumn is my favourite time of the year. 

8. At school I study Spanish, English Literature and Moving Image Arts at A Level, and I'm anxiously awaiting my AS Level results. I'm terrified that I won't pass and will have to repeat lower sixth rather than continue into upper sixth. 

9. I have way to many nicknames to even begin to list.

10. In the fututre I hope to become a journalist...

11. ...But my ultimate dream job would be an actress, it would be such a cool job!

12. My absolute favourite song is She Will Be Loved by Maroon 5. I've loved it since I first heard it back in 2004. 

13. My first celebrity crush was Dougie Poynter from McFly back in the '5 colours in her hair' days.

14. My current celebrity crush is Luke Hemmings. He is beautiful.

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15. My brain is practically filled with movie quotes. I pretty much have a movie quote for everything.

16. A lot of people think that I'm quiet, but once you get to know me I never shut up!

17. My parents called me Sarah-Michelle because they wanted to name me after my godmother, Sarah, but they also wanted to call me Michelle as it's the name my granda suggested for me before he died, so they called me both! 

18. I love different accents and my sister and I often speak in different accents just for the craic (and maybe to annoy our brother). 

19. I'm very close to my family and I love spending time with them. 

20. I love blogging and I get so excited every time I see that someone has read my blog or left me a comment, so thank you! :-) 

Sarah-Michelle x

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Music Monday | Top 5 Songs of the Week - 20/07/15

Last Monday I was away all day and when I got home I was so tired that I completely forgot to write about my top 5 songs of the week! Here are the 5 songs that I've been loving recently. 

1. Chains - Nick Jonas

"Tryna break the chains but the chains only break me."

I used to love the Jonas Brothers whenever I was younger, but then again, who didn't? Now that Nick has gone solo I am loving his new sound! Admittedly, I didn't really like this song when I first heard it, but it has grew on me. Chains is a lot edgier than any of his other singles (especially the ones from his Jonas Brothers days!) but it's a really good song!

2. Marvin Gaye - Charlie Puth ft. Meghan Trainor

"Just like they say it in the song, until the dawn, let's Marvin Gaye and get it on."

I really like the 60s vibe of this song. Charlie Puth's and Meghan Trainor's voices sound really well together and I love the harmonies throughout. I love a good harmony! It's hard not to like this song, and, thanks to the Fiat advertisement, it's constantly stuck in my head. 

3. Let it Go - James Bay

"Why don't you be you and I'll be me." 

James Bay has an amazing voice and is an incredibly talented singer/songwriter. There isn't one song by him that I have heard that I don't like, and Let it Go is no exception. His voice throughout this song is full of emotion and he easily conveys his feelings through his mellow tone, unlike some other artists today. 

4. Oh My Love - The Score

"You're the only prayer I need to make me feel blessed."

This is such a feel-good song! Like Marvin Gaye, this song has been stuck in my head because of an advertisement. It's incredibly catchy and I can guarantee after listening to it, you will have the "oh oh o-oh" part stuck in your head for a long time!

5. She's Kinda Hot - 5 Seconds of Summer

"We are the kings and the queens of the new broken scene, yeah we're alright though."

On Friday 5SOS released their new single, She's Kinda Hot (which you can buy here). I have been listening to this on repeat since it was released, it's so good! So good that it jumped straight to number 1 in many countries all around the world! I love the riff and whenever I hear this song I just want to sing the lyrics at the top of my lungs, and I'm not gonna lie, I do. 

What songs have you been loving this past week? Let me know in the comments!

Sarah-Michelle x 

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My Everyday Makeup

For my everyday makeup, I don't tend to wear very much. I'll only wear eyeshadow, lipstick and contour my face if I'm going out or to a special event. But anyways, here's my everyday makeup routine!

Firstly, I use the Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Gel Foundation in the shade 51 vanille Clair and blend it all over my face using either the Real Techniques expert face brush, or a sponge. I prefer using a sponge if I'm in a rush because I find it quicker to blend the foundation using one. However, at the moment I am in serious need of a new sponge as my current one is falling apart! The Bourjois serum has been in my daily makeup routine for a while now and I wrote about it previously in this post along with some of these other products!

I then move onto concealer! Currently I'm using the Collection Lasting Perfection concealer, which is loved by many bloggers, in the shade fair as I'm quite pale. I dot this onto any blemishes that I have (which thankfully isn't too many at the moment!) and also under my eyes to cover up my dark circles.

Next, I use the Rimmel Match Perfection loose powder and, using the Eco Tools powder brush, lightly dust it all over my face to keep my foundation and concealer in place. I usually focus more under my eyes and on my nose as these are usually the areas that I notice my makeup disappearing first. I prefer to use loose powder simply because I always end up breaking my pressed powder anyway.

I will then usually fill in my eyebrows using the Barry M brow kit. I used to never fill my eyebrows in, but this is a step that I never miss now because I like my brows to be bold, especially when I'm wearing my glasses.

Rather than using black eyeliner, I like to use brown as it's not too dark and I feel as though it compliments my eye colour and skin tone better than black. At the moment I'm using the Rimmel Special eyes precision eye liner pencil in rich brown.

Mascara is another step, like the eyebrows, that I never miss. Even if I'm not wearing any other makeup I will always put a little bit of mascara on to emphasis my lashes as they're really short and quite light in colour. I use the L'Oreal Paris Superstar mascara to lengthen them and add volume.

To give my cheeks a little bit of colour I swirl my Eco Tools powder brush in my Benefit Hervana blusher. The Hervana blusher has 4 gorgeous pink colours that compliment each other to create a natural flush!

To finish off my makeup I swipe a bit of Burts Bees lip balm on my lips and I'm good to go!

What makeup products are in your  everyday makeup routine?

Sarah-Michelle x

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The Best Movies For a Girls' Night In

These are some of the films my friends and I always reach for (along with pizza, sweets and chocolate of course!) when we're having a movie night. Everyone's taste in films is different, but these are, in my opinion, the best for a girls' night in!

1. How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days 

My best friend and I have probably watched this way too many times; we can just about quote the entire movie, but oh well! It's our favourite film and it never stops being funny.

2. Mean Girls 

I couldn't not put Mean Girls on this list. Who doesn't love Mean Girls?

3. The Proposal

It stars Ryan Reynolds, Sandra Bullock and Betty White. Need I say more? The best scene is either the scene in the woods, or in the bar (Ramone is hilarious in this scene).

4. 10 Things I Hate About You

This modern remake of a Shakespeare play is simply amazing and my friends and I love it. I seriously think that Cat is my Spirit animal. Oh, and let's not forget Heath Ledger's iconic big musical number!

5. Easy A

I love this film, even though Pocket Full of Sunshine gets stuck in my head for days after watching it! Also, Olive's parents are the best!

6. What Happens in Vegas

This is another one of those films that I could quote word for word because my friends and I have watched it so many times. The best character is definitely Hater.

7. The Holiday 

Even though this is a Christmas-y film, no matter what the season, The Holiday is always a great film for a girls' night in!

8. Walking on Sunshine

Walking on Sunshine is a musical set to an 80s soundtrack. It's pretty cheesy but it's great for singing along to with a group of your friends. And how gorgeous is Giulio Berruti? He reminds me of an Italian Josh Duhamel.

9. The Fault in Our Stars

This is perfect if you're in the mood for a wee cry. Let's face it, we all get in those moods when all we need is a good cry, so why not surround yourself with all of your besties and look like raccoons together as you cry your eyes out?

10. Any Disney movie!

You're never too old to watch a Disney movie. A few of our favourites to watch are Mulan, The Lion King and Monsters inc. but all Disney movies are great! What's your favourite? 

There are sooo many more films that I could add to this list, so I might do another similar post soon. What do you think? 

Which films do you think are best for a girls' night in?

Sarah-Michelle x

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A 'Haul' lotta stuff!

I've been on quite a few little shopping trips recently and it's safe to say I'm probably broke now! I didn't think I had bought quite as much stuff (or spent as much money) in the past few weeks but I decided to share what I bought with you all in my first ever haul post. You may want to grab a cup of tea and a biscuit because this will probably - definitely - be quite a long post...

A couple of weeks ago I went to primark and picked up two pairs of these printed pom pom shorts - just in the nick of time too as, oh my word, it has been hot! There were lots of different patterns available to choose from, but these were the two that I liked best and thought I would get the most wear out of (and boy have I been getting the wear out of them this past week!). These were only £3 each which was such a bargain!

Also in Primark, I found these pyjamas. I have never related so much to a pair of pyjamas before - well except maybe my 'I am not a morning person' ones! There were so many cute pyjamas in Primark, but I knew I had to get these as soon as I saw the 'Eat, Sleep, Tweet, Repeat' top hanging on the rail. I love the cuffed pyjama bottoms because I hate it when they rise up my legs when I'm in bed. Does this annoy anyone else? My lovely mum bought me the other 'Tweet Me' top while we were on a different shopping trip. The 'Tweet me' top was £4, the other was £3 and the bottoms were £5.

Next I went to New Look where I bought these black Chelsea boots. I know, it's entirely the wrong season for boots but I can never find a nice pair of black chelsea boots whenever I'm looking for them, so I snatched these up before I missed the opportunity. These were £19.99 and they were a heck of a lot cheaper than others I had been looking at online!

As I mentioned briefly in my previous post, my cousin got married recently, so I was in search of an outfit. After months of looking online I finally found this Lipsy dress on Asos. I love the coral colour of the dress and the white pattern on the front. Originally, the dress was £40 but there was 20% off on the app so I only payed £32!

Of course I had to get a bag to keep my money, phone and a few bits of makeup in. I found this white clutch with a gold trim (at the last minute) in New Look for £9.99. It holds quite a lot of stuff and it went really well with my dress.

I wanted to pick up a wee notebook to write all of my blog post ideas in, so I went into Easons. There I found this cute little  notebook with L'Arc de Triomphe on it for £4.99. J'adore Paris, so I just had to get it. My favourite thing about it is the stamp on the pink pages of  La Tour Eiffel. When I was heading towards the tills to pay I saw a packet of 10 Bic coloured pens which were on sale at £2.45 (they're usually nearly £5). I bought them because I needed something to write with and these colours are a lot prettier than boring old black pens.

In my June favourites I mentioned that I have dry skin. I found the Garnier Moisture and Nourish moisturiser in Boots for £1.50. Yes, you read that right. £1.50! I've never tried the Garnier moisturiser before, but hopefully it works for my skin. 

Also in boots I bought these Eylure false eyelashes. I've never worn false eyelashes before and I want to wear them for nights out with my friends or special events. My eyelashes are really tiny (seriously, they're miniscule) and it'd be nice to have longer lashes for once. These were £5.29. 

Lastly, I stopped in at Lush. Can a shop smell more amazing than Lush? It was actually my first time in Lush. I've had the Butter Bear bath bomb and snow fairy shower gel before because I got them as gifts from my friend, but I was excited to go myself and pick up a few things. I ended up getting two bath bombs: the Avobath bath bomb and the Twilight bath bomb. I have heard good reviews about the twilight bath bomb and apparently it makes your bath look really pretty. According to the Lush website, the lavender in the bath bomb helps you to relax and aid sleep. When I bought the Avobath bath bomb I knew absolutely nothing about it apart from that it smelt amazing. It has a really strong smell of lemon which smells really fresh and is one of my favourite scents. While the twilight bath bomb is supposed to help you sleep, the lemongrass and bergamont oil in the avobath bath bomb are supposed to help you feel awake and refreshed in the mornings. It contains avocado and olive oil to tackle dryness as well! I can't wait to run myself a couple of nice hot baths and try these out. 

And that's all that I've bought recently. Phew! This is definitely the longest post I've ever written. Thank you for reading if you made it this far!

Sarah-Michelle x

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Music Monday | Top 5 Songs of the Week - 06/07/15

1. Black Magic - Little Mix

"Take a sip of my secret potion, I'll make you fall in love."

I'm listening to this song whilst writing this blog post and I'm finding it hard to sit still to be honest - I'm literally dancing in my seat! The melody is so catchy that it will stick in your head for days and I've been finding myself singing/humming it all week! Little Mix always release great pop songs, but 'Black Magic' is my favourite song they've released so far.

2. Worth It - Fifth Harmony ft. Kid Ink

"And if you don't have a clue, not a clue, I'll tell you what to do."

This is actually the first song by Fifth Harmony that I've listened to. Like 'Black Magic', this song is very catchy but the two are very different. It features a saxophone like other big hits by Ariana Grande and Jason Derulo, and it's no surprise that this song is currently number 3 in the UK iTunes charts.

3. Shine - Years & Years

"Don't leave me behind, can't you see me I'm shining, and it's you that I've been waiting to find."

My friend was the one who introduced me to Years & Years when they released 'Desire' and I think their music is getting better and better! I had to listen to 'Desire' and 'King' a few times before I properly liked them, but as soon as I heard 'Shine' I liked it.

4. Can't Help Falling in Love - Ingrid Michaelson

"Wise men say only fools rush in, but I can't help falling in love with you."

My cousin got married recently and this was the song he and his wife (it's so weird writing that!!) danced their first dance to. Since then I haven't been able to get this song out of my head, and so I've been listening to it - a lot! I like listening to Ingrid Michaelson's version of this song (although Elvis' will, of course, always be amazing!) and I love playing it on the piano because it's simple yet beautiful.

5. Falling in Love Tonight - The Tide

"We laughed, and danced, and sang along to the music in our heads."

Some of you probably haven't heard of The Tide before because they haven't actually released any music yet. They're a new band that are signed to The Vamps' label. I first heard them when they were supporting The Vamps on their arena tour and they were amazing! They have some really good original songs, but unfortunately there are no official versions of them on YouTube yet, apart from this one! I think it's a great song and I've been listening to it a lot this week. So, give it a listen and let me know what you think!

What songs have you been loving this week? Let me know in the comments!

Sarah-Michelle x

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You can find last weeks Music Monday post here

June Favourites

It feels like only last week that I was writing my May Favourites post. It's hard to believe that we're over halfway through 2015 already! Nevertheless, here are my June favourites...

•  Bleach London Silver Shampoo 

I've had ombre hair for a couple of years now and I use silver shampoo (which is  actually purple?) to cancel out any yellow or brassy tones in my hair and make the blonde at the ends brighter. I've tried various other silver shampoos, but none have worked quite like this one. After only one use my blonde ends appeared brighter and it brings out the slightest bit of blonde that I have throughout the rest of my hair. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who has blonde hair and wants to get rid of yellowy tones. 

•  Coconut Oil

This is a bit of a random one, but recently my skin has been feeling really dry. I decided to try a bit of coconut oil on my face rather than a moisturiser. The results were instant! Immediately my skin felt more hydrated and repeated use helped to clear up the dry patches on my skin. I've also been using it to remove my makeup and in my hair to keep it feeling silky smooth. Coconut oil is such a versatile product and it smells great too!

• Benefit Girl Meets Pearl

This summer it's all about dewy makeup! Who doesn't love the healthy glow that dewy makeup gives you? Generally, I'm all about matt makeup and contouring but I've fallen in love with highlighting. Girl Meets Pearl is a golden-pink liquid highligter that is perfect for creating the dewy look that we all crave. I pop a bit of this on the tops of my cheek bones, on my cupid's bow and my brow bones over my makeup to give me a perfect pearly glow!

• Pretty Little Liars

If you have read this post you'll know that I've been watching Pretty Little Liars. It keeps me on the edge of my seat the whole way through and I have so many suspicions about who 'A' is, but I can never tell with this show. It always keeps me guessing and questioning everything/everyone. My favourite PLL girl is probably Spencer. Troian Bellisario (how cool is that name?) is an amazing actress. I whizzed my way through season 2 and I'm now halfway through season 3. I can't wait to catch up on the rest of the seasons!

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What did you love throughout June? Let me know in the comments! 

Sarah-Michelle x

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