My Lipstick Collection - 14 Everyday Lip Colours

Hi all!

I have way too many lipsticks for someone who barely wears any and when I do, I tend to stick to the same shades. This post is going to be on the small percentage of lip products I have with me, the rest are still sitting in my flat at Uni. I can't help it, I'm addicted ok??

1. Maybelline New York Vivid Matte Liquid - 35 Rebel Red

2. Rimmel London Provocalips - 550 Play With Fire

3. Loreal Paris Infallible Matte Max - 004 Oops I Pink It Again

4. Bourjois Rouge Edition - 13 Rouge Jet Set

5. Loreal Paris Infallible Matte Max - 007 Say My Name

6. Rimmel Moisture Renew - 360 As You Want Victoria

7. Maybelline New York Colorsensational - 338 Midnight Plum

My favourite in this selection is number 2 and number 6, I'm a big fan of Rimmel lipsticks!

8. Rimmel Moisture Renew - 380 Dark Night Waterloops 

9. Maybelline New York Colorsensational - 547 Pleasure Me Red

10. Bourjois Rouge Edition - 07 Fuchsia Graffiti

11. Rimmel Moisture Renew - 660 In Love With Ginger

12. Rimmel London Lasting Finish - 066 Heather Shimmer

13. Bourjois Rouge Edition - 10 Rouge Buzz

14. Rimmel Moisture Renew Sheer and Shine - 400 Good Mauve

My favourites here are number 9 and number 13. They all have really good staying power, honestly I tested these on my arms yesterday and I've scrubbed them off and they're not budging!

Anyway, there are some swatches of my favourite lipsticks! I hope you enjoyed this slightly different post from me. Thank you for reading!

Until next time,

Jo.

25 Food Questions Tag!

Hi all!

I know I've done a couple of tags in a short space of time, but I love them! I think they're a really good way for people to get to know the person behind a new blog. I also really love food so this is a perfect one for me! If there are two things I talk about most of the time, it is books - which I've already done a blog tag on - and food. So here we go!

1. What's your favourite breakfast?

You can't beat a good ol' crispy bacon sandwich on soft fluffy white bread with lashings of butter, but as I know that is pretty unhealthy, the breakfast I most enjoy is boiled eggs and avocado on seeded toast. I post it so much on Instagram that my friends laugh about it now.

2. How do you drink your coffee?

I'm sorry but I don't. So many times I have attempted to get into coffee but I just can't. I went through a phase of drinking really milky, sugary cappuccinos when I worked in a restaurant just for the caffeine boost, but I am a tea gal through and through, and I take that with just a splash of milk and no sugar.

3.What's on your favourite sandwich?

Ooh that's tricky! I'm not really a sandwich person for the most part, but I do like a Mediterranean sandwich, with mozzarella and pesto. Ooh and I love the bacon, brie and caramelised onion toasties from cafe nero. 

4. Soup or salad?

I would have to say salad. I do like a good soup, but it has to be home-made, I don't like tinned soup at all. I am leaning towards salad right now because it's really muggy and humid as I right this,and anyone who'd eat soup in this weather is MAD!

5. What's your favourite cookbook?

I tend to buy all the cookbooks ever, and then get all my recipes online. I love the BBC Good Food website, but if I had to pick an actual book, Clean Eating Alice's new book is amazing for some healthy and tasty ideas!

6. No more sweets, or no more hearty foods?

I'd definitely say no more sweets. I don't have a sweet tooth at all, apart from the odd treat, but I do love good wholesome comfort food, especially in winter. I'm discovering that what I eat is definitely determined by the weather.

7. What's your favourite cuisine? 

I would have to say either Italian or English, I love pasta but not pizza, but I also love - as I've just said - traditional English comfort food such as a roast or fish and chips.

8. What's your favourite food movie?

I didn't even know that was a thing! I don't really have one.

9. What's your most guilty pleasure?

Probably some form of takeaway. I try not to order them very often, but maybe once every couple of months I'll have a Chinese takeaway and I love it but I also hate it. Bloating is not my friend.

10. What's your greatest inspiration source?

Recipes online or dishes I've seen on menus in restaurants. I love to cook, it's calming to me and I just love it. I will always try recipes I like the look of. They don't always turn out really well but sometimes they do. This is a fish burger, oven-baked chips and salsa I made, and it was really good!

11. Cooking at home or going out for dinner?

I'd probably say going out for dinner just because I HATE the amount of washing up that making a complicated dish produces. I do love to cook for my boyfriend - he once said my risotto was better than any he's made, which is a HUGE compliment from him, he loves to cook - and I often cook for my nan. But you can't being waited on hand and foot when you go out.

12. High end or low profile?

Probably a bit of both. I don't really know what that means in relation to food tbh.

13. What's your favourite restaurant?

Ooh so many! I love Marconato in Hoddesdon and Bite east in Stirling. Marconatos is an Italian which does a ton of different and interesting meats, and Bite East is - obviously - an Eastern restaurant which does REALLY weird foods, but I just get the simple stuff. 

14. I do my grocery shopping at:

Anywhere nearby. Usually Tesco or Sainsburys.

15. The tastiest food I've ever eaten was:

Oh my, I've eaten so much tasty stuff in my life. My Nan and my boyfriend are great cooks, as is my sister and her partner. I've also eaten at a lot of amazing restaurants but I think the blue cheese and chicken risotto my boyfriend makes is fabulous.

16. What's your favourite cocktail?

All of the cocktails that include gin. Love me some gin. I used to be OBSESSED with a cocktail from Monterey Jacks called a Jam and Gin, which was just gin with soda and raspberry coulis. 

17. Coffee with George Clooney or Heston Blumenthal?

I'd have tea with Heston. He just seems kind of interesting.

18.What should not be missing in your kitchen?

A fridge. Even if you don't have anything to cook on, you can buy stuff which is ready to eat and you'll be fine.

19. What's your favourite snack?

It changes depending what mood I'm in. Right now I'm loving Jacob's salt and vinegar cracker crisp things. I don't know what they're actually called, sorry!

20. What's on your pizza?

Ham and pineapple. Lots of both. It's the best and I will argue this to the death.

21. What food do you really dislike?

I'm not a fan of rice or mince. Chilli is my nightmare. It feels like baby food to me.

22. What's your favourite food blog?

It's not really a blog, but I get inspiration from Clean Eating Alice's Instagram.

23. What's the weirdest thing you've ever eaten?

I've eaten quite a lot of interesting stuff, but I have such a bad memory. I did have reindeer not that long ago, it was really nice! 

24. What's on your food bucket list?

Just to cook all the recipes I've screenshotted, but that is going to take a long time! I also really want to go to a really fancy restaurant where you have to dress up one day.

25. I couldn't live without:

Meat! I have a dream of becoming vegetarian/vegan, but I just don't think I can do it!

There we go! Thank you for reading this, I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know any of your answers :)

Until next time, 

Jo. 

Stalker by Lars Kepler - Book Review

Hi all!

Today I have finished reading Stalker by Lars Kepler and I thought I'd write a little review about it. It is the fifth book in the Joona Lina Detective series, and I absolutely loved it. "Lars Kepler" is a pseudonym for the Swedish writing duo Alexander Ahndoril and Alexandra Coelho Ahndoril. The other books in the series are called The Hypnotist, The Nightmare, The Fire Witness and The Sandman. I have read all of these titles and they are just brilliant. Extremely well written, and it does make me wonder how writing as a team actually works. It flows so beautifully and is such a captivating book, you really do not want to put it down. 

The thins I love most about these books are the short chapters. It makes it very easy to read and does not ramble on and on. It is packed full of action without going too quickly to make sense of what is happening. The changing perspectives keep it fresh and interesting, and although the book is 523 pages long, it never felt like it was dragging. The main character - Joona Lina - is back after being presumed dead, and this book revolves around his struggle to readjust to normal life, along with trying to save the public from a stalker while he is not officially employed in the police force. There are many brilliant twists and turns in this story, and I am usually one who can predict the outcome of these types of books, but it sure surprised me! I just can't rave enough about this book, you have to read it! 

The only thing that did slightly disappoint me with this story was the ending. I won't spoil anything, but it felt rushed after such an action-packed 500 pages, and the injustice of the ending just left me feeling a bit sad and disappointed. The only thing I hope is that they write another one in the series, and soon! But having waited 2 years for this one, I'm not holding out much hope. It is a bit of a shame when you love a book so much to be left feeling a bit glum about how it is left, but I might just try and forget the last couple of pages! But please don't let that put you off, it is such a good book, and I 100% recommend it. 

Thank you so much for reading!

Until next time,

Jo.

Get To Know Me Tag: 21 Questions

Hi all!

It's been ages since my last blog post! I'm just getting into the swing of working again after finishing uni, it's taking me a while 🙈 I thought today I'd do a personal tag just so you could get to know me a little bit better, and I'd love to hear some of your answers too! Here goes! 

1. Are you named after anyone?

My name is Joanna, and although I'm not named after anyone, my Grandad was called Joseph and my Nan is Joan, so I guess there's some sort of "Jo" theme going on.

2. When was the last time you cried?

A couple of days ago when I got incredibly stressed about my lack of money and my extraordinary expensive month.

3. Do you have kids?

Nope. I don't think I want them either.

4. If you were another person, would you be a friend of yourself?

I'd like to think so, but I a, incredibly shy so if I was someone else I probably wouldn't be approached. 

5. Do you use sarcasm a lot?

Not as much as I used to. I don't really find sarcasm particularly funny anymore, and it can cause so much hassle when people don't understand it or it gets lost in communication that it's not really worth it.

6. Will you ever bungee-jump?

I hope so, I'd love to. I always have these greats, exciting ideas that I never follow through on though, so it may never happen.

7. What's your favourite cereal?

Depends on what time of the year it is. I like weetabix with hot milk in the winter, and Special K in the summer. 

8.  What's the first thing you notice about people?

Probably their chest, because I'm so short haha! In actual fact it's probably their hair, it's the first thing I notice about anyone and I think it's important. 

9. What is your eye colour?

Brown/ nearly black.

10. Scary movie or happy endings?

Neither. I hate horrors and I'm not a fan of anything cheesy or gooey. I like thrillers or crime mysteries, and they usually don't have a happy ending, but they are not particularly scary either.

11. Favourite smells?

Coconut and vanilla. I like summery smells.

12. Summer or winter?

If I had to pick one it would be summer, but I really prefer Spring.

13. Computer or television? 

Television. I'm not particularly tech-savvy and I like an old fashioned night in front of the tv.

14. What's the furthest you've ever been from home?

Erm. Cyprus? I guess? I have no idea.

15. Do you have any special talents?

Really not. I have no interesting or exciting talents. I do like to sing and write but I'm not really good at either.

16. Where were you born?

England.

17. What are your hobbies?

Like I said, I like to sing and write. I also love to read and watch films. I also ADORE shopping and vintage fashions.

18. Do you have any pets?

I don't, but I like to pretend that my boyfriend's pets are mine. His house has two Italian Greyhounds, a bearded dragon and a tortoise. 

19. Favourite movie?

I loved The Gift recently. I also love films like Before I Go To Sleep. The films I can watch over and over again, however, are the Christian Bale Batman films. I love them.

20. Do you have any siblings?

Yes, I have two older sisters. 

21. What do you want to be when you grow up? 

I still have no idea! Which is really bad as I've just finished uni! I want to be something in magazine editing I think, but it's still up for debate! 

And that's it! I hope you enjoyed reading this little blog post, and let me know any of your answers ☺️

Until next time,

Jo.

'Lost In A Book' Tag

Hi all!

I hope you're having a great evening (or morning/afternoon/night, depending where you are)!  Today I'm doing the 'Lost in a Book' tag. No one has nominated me to do this, but I look reading and all things literature and I really wanted to do this! I don't have any of my books with me as they are all in my student flat so I won't be able to take pictures of any of my favourites, but I'll do my best to discuss the answers fully. Ready?

1. Do you have a certain place at home for reading?

When I was younger I could read anywhere - lying in bed, on a sofa, in a car etc. But now I find it really hard to concentrate on reading sitting anywhere other than an armchair. I know that's really strange but I just can't read when I'm not sitting with a straight back and arm rests. I can also read on trains but not buses for this reason. I know, I'm odd. I just think chairs get me in the right frame of mind for reading.

2. Where do you like to read?

I travel a lot - part of my family lives in North Scotland, and the other part live near London, so I'm often on trains with terrible wifi, and so I really like to read on train journeys. Yesterday I had a five hour trip and I started and finished a book in that time. 

3. Bookmark or random piece of paper?

I never use a random piece of paper. I do have this bookmark which I love from the V&A:

But this is usually stuck in one book while I'm reading another. I am mainly - whisper it - a corner folder! Please don't hate me! 

4. Can you just stop reading or do you have to stop at a chapter?

I tend to just stop reading. Obviously not in the middle of a sentence, that would be madness! But I don't have a problem with just finishing a sentence and folding over the corner. Unless I am particularly hooked, but in that case I'll probably finish the whole book in one sitting!

5. Do you eat or drink whilst reading?

I never eat while reading, but I usually have a cup of tea for the ultimate relaxation. Although it's usually gone cold by the time I remember it if I get too involved in the story.

6. E-reader or real book?

Nothing will ever beat a real book. The smell, the pretty cover, the browsing a book store for something new, and I love seeing my book collection grow. It is, however, very handy sometimes to have the kindle app on my iPad. Sometimes I can't get to a book shop if I'm desperate for a particular book, or it'll be much cheaper on Amazon. Also, reluctantly, I guess I am running out of space for all my books.

7. Music or TV while reading?

Neither, I like silence when I'm reading. I can't read words and hear words at the same time without getting the two confused.

8. One book at a time or several at once?

I'm someone who can't not finish a book, even if I really don't like it. Recently, I was reading Luckiest Girl Alive which I was definitely not a fan of, and so I started another book. I did go back and finish LGA, but I was not happy about it haha. But usually, I would only want to read one at a time.

9. Reading at home or everywhere?

Mostly I'd say I read at home, As I've already said, I do read a lot on trains, but I guess the majority of times I read at home. I don't really get the opportunity to read anywhere else.

10.Reading aloud or silently in your head?

Definitely silently. Sometimes I find myself reading the same sentence over and over again, and if that happens I'll read it aloud so it sinks in, but that's only if I'm not concentrating. 

11. Fiction or non-fiction?

Definitely fiction. I was just thinking earlier that I really wish I read more non-fiction books, like sciencey or psychology ones, but they don't interest me all that much. I read as a form of escapism, to get away from reality!

12. Do you read ahead or skip pages?

I hate it, but I can be a bit of a skipper! I'm like it with films and TV shows too, I'll often be watching something and Google the ending. I don't care about spoilers that much, and I usually find it easier to concentrate if I know roughly how it'll turn out. Weird, I know!

13. Break the spine or keep a book like new?

Oh gosh I wish I could keep a book like new! I am a spine bender through and through! I can't read properly if the book isn't flat in my hand, and it usually doesn't get enough light if the spine isn't bent. My best friend is very particular about not bending spines, and I remember I didn't know this, I was looking at her book and just bent the spine right in front of her! She looked like she was going to kill me!

14. Do you write in your books?

Never. It feels so wrong to me, I used to hate it in school when we were made to do it, I know it is good for revision, but there's never enough room for coherent notes anyway so I don't see the point.

15. Your favourite book?

That's such a difficult question! My favourite genre is crime/detective books. There are obviously lots of books which I love, but my favourite author right now is Lars Kepler and his Joona Linna series: The Hypnotist, The Sandman etc.

It's the perfect mix of grit and crime and mystery and I just love it. My other favourite book right now is Under the Skin by Michel Faber. I wrote about the sexuality in this book for my dissertation and I just loved all the political and social discussion and implications.

The concept is so bizarre but there are so many interesting cultural observations on today's society that it makes for such a fascinating read!

And that's it! I really enjoyed writing this, I love books and literature and this was something really fun to do to reflect on my life through the books I love, Let me know some of your answers, or do this tag yourself.

Until next time,

Jo.

The Best Day In Woodbridge

Hi all!

It's been a while since I last wrote a post, I'm sorry! I've been really busy applying for jobs (and mainly getting nowhere) and I haven't really done much besides that. On Tuesday 10th, however, I went to stay with my boyfriend in Ipswich for a couple of days, and it was such beautiful weather. It was so nice to spend a few quality days with him, as - as I've written about before - we do not get to see each other as much as I'd like. On Thursday it was such a lovely day, and so we decided to go to nearby Woodbridge for lunch.

Woodbridge is such a lovely harbour town in Suffolk, with many cute little boutique shops and bars. I love to have a stroll around there on a sunny day, it's a beautiful place with a real mix of people. We went to The Riverside restaurant, which is an adorable place right next to the harbour. 

In this picture, James is wearing my sunglasses, don't worry they're not his! I had a refreshing Pimms and he had a pint of beer. We had wonderful service, the man and woman working that day were extremely friendly and accommodating.

We had an oyster each to start, which was my first ever experience with oysters, and in all honesty probably my last! They were nice enough, but just tasted too much like I was swallowing sea water, and I don't understand the point in spending money- £3 for two oysters - on something you don't even chew!

For main, I had the Seafood Stew and oh my gosh it was amazing! It included a piece of cod, mussels, scallops, prawns, potatoes and spinach! I'm sure there was some other kind of seafood in there too but I can't remember exactly. It was honestly delicious and I would definitely order again, even though as I have mentioned in a post before I am someone who likes to try a different dish each time. It was £17, which may be a little steep, but I do think it was worth it for such excellent cooking, I was definitely pleased! James had fish and chips and he said his was lovely too. All in all, I would definitely recommend The Riverside if you are looking for a really tasty meal; people sitting near us ordered tapas and the selection looked wonderful and they all commented on how delicious everything was.

This is my favourite picture of the day, I think it's hilarious! There is a little ice cream stand in the seating area of the restaurant, and I had mango sorbet and James had raspberry ice cream - still wearing my Willy Wonka sunglasses! Again, it was lovely and refreshing to have this on such a hot day, and we ate these while strolling along the harbour and sitting watching the water. It was so lovely to just have a relaxing afternoon, and I'm so happy when we get to have these days because it is great quality time. We then went back to his house and laid in the garden and chilled out.

Until next time (which hopefully won't be so far away),

Jo.

Bo Drake Review

Hi all!

Today's post is a review of Korean restaurant Bo Drake. Bo Drake is located in Soho on Greek Street, and is a inconspicuous but raved about eatery. Described on their website as 'combining sweet and pickled influences from East Asia alongside slow cooked BBQ methods from the Americas and Europe', it is just the kind of food I adore. On a recent trip into London, my partner and I were keen to try this restaurant as we had heard great things.

On entry into the dining area, the first thing we noticed was the atmosphere. Darkened and quiet, it is a nice place for a calm meal. As we went at lunch time, it was fairly quiet and we were seated by the door, which was fine, but we could see a further set of maybe twelve tables through into an alcove, which I can imagine would be a lovely place to sit for an evening meal. 

The waitress was lovely and accommodating. I ordered a lemonade (£3.50! London prices are steep!)  which we lovely and fresh with a very sharp lemon taste, and James ordered a beer, which he enjoyed but was not his favourite. We then ordered a selection of foods to share.

 

This was the Smoked Rib Stack, and this was amazing! It was wonderful and sweet with a slight spice, and the meat fell right off the bone. One of my favourite things to order in a restaurant is ribs, and these were some of the best. However, for £15.50 for maybe 5 or 6 ribs is very pricey. Once again though, it was quality food and in London you are not going to get quality for a cheap price.

This was the Bo Ssam, or rather Smoked Pulled Pork.This was also a really nice dish, served with Ssamjang, Kimchi, Spring Onion Oil and lettuce. I sometimes find pulled pork can become rather dry, but this was lovely and succulent, and the sweet and spicy ssamjang sauce was my favourite, whereas James really liked the kimchi. Again, at £14.80 it was quite expensive for a small lunchtime dish, but you get what you pay for.

These were amazing! This was the Korean Fried Chicken, with soy garlic, grapes and rosemary. Thet were delicious and sweet, and as a lover of all things chicken this was favourite dish. It was beautifully cooked and the flavours all complimented each other fantastically. At £9 for 6 or 7 chicken wings, it was probably the most reasonably priced dish as well. A favourite of both myself and James!

Along with this, we ordered boiled rice, which was tiny portion for £3, but was a nice addition. Overall, we had a lovely lunch at Bo Drake, but a lunchtime meal for two for nearly £60 was a bit too much for our liking, especially as the portions were very small, and this was not made clear on the menu. However, it was very good quality, and I would definitely consider returning for an evening meal. I am a bit of a food explorer though, and I think I will continue searching for the perfect restaurant which is not as pricey.

Until next time,

Jo.