Book Review: Just Listen by Sarah Dessen

"Music is a total constant. That's why we have such a strong visceral connection to it, you know? Because a song can take you back instantly to a moment, or a place, or even a person. No matter what else has changed in your or the world, that one song says the same, just like that moment.”

Hello Readers!

This is a book review for Just Listen by Sarah Dessen

I have owned this book for nearly ten years and never picked it up, and I am so glad I picked it up now, as I relate to the main character so much, and I understand much of the different conflicts the character goes through now that I'm an adult.

First off, I am terrible at giving synopises for books without spoiling it, so here is the synopis from goodreads: 

Last year, Annabel was "the girl who has everything" — at least that the part she played in the television commercial for Kopf's  Department Store.

This year, she's the girl who has noghitng: no best friend because mean but exciting Sophie dropped her, no peace at home since her older sister became anorexic and no one to sit with at lucnh. Until she meets Owen Armstrong. 

Tall and dark, and music obsessed, Owen is a reformed bad boy with a committed to truth telling. With Owen's help, maybe Annabel can face what happen the night she and Sophie stopped being friends.

Firstly, the writing is great; it is simple and easy to read and I didn't have any problems with it. At first, I was having trouble understanding what time it was; there are many flashbacks, but as I contiuned on reading, not only does it get easier in determining what is past and what is present, I also found the flashbacks helpful in understanding Annabel's character and her character devolpment. 

Secondly, I related to Annabel so much, I was rooting for her from the start. She's a very introverted character who has a problem with confrontation and holding things in to spare others' feelings. Owen is very different but he is not your stereotypical bad boy. He is very honest, but realistic. He comes from a normal family and has problems that many authors I dont think touch on when it comes to the 'bad-boy' trope. 

In conclusion, this is a fantastic book about growing up, family, friendship, and the simple act of just listening. 

**Trigger warning for depictions of rape/sexual assualt**

I gave Just Listen by Sarah Dessen, 5/5 stars 

 

Eye Makeup #4: Soft Blue Smokey Eye

Hello Readers!

This is a quick eye makeup look with some products that I've been testing out.

The first product I used is an eyeshadow palette by Lorac that I got for Christmas last year I believe so I don't believe it is available anymore, BUT have no fear,  I only used one of the eyeshadows, so you can very easily find a dupe. The shade I used is a medium blue that can be used very lightly for a soft look, or much heavier for a makeup look that can be worn at night. And because it is a simple matte blue shade, you can easily find a good dupe from Mac or ever a drugstore brand like Covergirl, since the look is not complicated.

I apply the blue eyeshadow to the outer part of my eyes just to add more depth and make my eyes pop from behind my glasses. And then I apply Jordana's Fabu Liner in black which is not the blackest eyeliner, and the applicator is not as flexible but it does allow you to create a very nice, sharp flick. The mascara I used was Rimmel Scandalous Mascara. I've had this for a while and I got to say, my final opinon is that it is not that great. I think because I'm used to  the amazingness and have complete love for Mac's Zoom lash mascara, any other is just not as great.

So, this was a very quick blog post, I hope you enjoyed, and next week, I'll have my second blog post about books! : )

Thank you for reading : )

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August Favorites

Hello Readers!

I only have four makeup items to share with you, so this is going to be a very quick blog post.

My first favorite is Rimmel London's Match Perfection foundation. I usually use Revlon's Colorstay foundation, but I've been finding that a bit too heavy for summer and so I decided to re-try this one and I love it! It feels slippery a bit more than the Revlon one, but is much easier to blend, and does not look cakey. It matches me perfectly and can give light to medium coverage. And on top of that, I've been loving an old fave and that is Rimmel London's Stay Matte powder. I vary between using the translucent shade and the next shade after that, but this powder is perfect and I like to dust that everwhere on my face and then spritz a makeup setting spray (I've been using E.L.F's setting spray recently).

I ran out of my NYX eyebrow powder, so I tested the Wet 'n' Wild Brow Kit, which comes with two brown shades: a warm medium brown and a darker, more cool-toned brown and a wax (which I have not tried). I mix the brow powders on my brush and then use the lighter one to fill in the front of my brows and the darker one to define them more near the arch, and then comb through them with a spoolie. I love this product and I think it's much better than the NYX one because it comes with two distinct shades that can be used very well together.

Lastly, I've been loving Urban Decay's Naked Cheek palette, particularly the highlight shade. Its a beautiful pink-toned with gold shimmer and is the perfect everyday highlight. The blush and the bronzer are great too, but this past month, I've been using the highlighter much more often.

As for Non-Beauty favorites, I made a post all about the books I read in the summer which you can read here. I don't have a favorite book this month as I finished The Martian on the first of August and the book I read after that, I gave 3/5 stars; it wasn't my favorite but I liked it. I am currently reading a very good book and so that will probably be in my September favorites.

As for TV and movies, since its summer not much as been on but I did catch up with Pretty Little Liars and I enjoyed the finale very much; I think it was very well tied up and resolved and I did like the ending but I just wish they didn't continue with the show. I think if they just ended the show with the girls going off to college, that would've been a nice ending for the entire show.


So, that is it for my August favorites! Thank you for reading : )

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Books i read this summer

Hello Readers! 

I've decided to change things a bit on this blog; along with posting makeup reviews, I want to start including posts about books, and soon, some fashion as well.

So for the first post that's not about makeup, I'm going to go through all the books I've read this summer! : )

May - June

I'm starting with May, because my school semester ended right in the middle of May, so technically that is when summer started for me.

The first book I read in May actually was the first in a series, and I did start it in March, but because of school, it took me a while to finish it, and that was Across the Universe by Beth Revis. This is a YA science-fiction novel, set in a dystopian society and is about a 17-year old girl named Amy who decides to become frozen along with her parents and put onto a spaceship called Godspeed, which will take 300 years to get to the new planet, however things don't go has planned and Amy wakes up about 50 years too soon and has to figure out this new society aboard this ship and solve the mystery behind all these secrets that are being kept. I really enjoyed this here 

book, I really liked Amy as a character and the romance suggested is very subtle and doesn't appear as much until later on in the books. I really liked
all the other characters as well, and the plot was very well written. For a more in-depth review, go

The next two books I read were the last two in the Across the Universe triology, and they were  A Million Suns and Shades of Earth. Since they are part of the series, I don't want to spoil anything but if you want to, you can read my review for the second book here and the third book here, but just be warned, although the reviews don't contain spoilers, the plots mentioned in the synopsis are technically spoilers. : ) 

**Content warning for this series as it does contain sexual assault and mentions of past rape**

I gave Across the Universe a 4 out of 5 stars, A Million Suns a 4.3 out of 5 stars, and Shades of Earth 4 out of 5 stars.
 
And the last book I read in June was Two-Way Street by Lauren Barnholdt. Since Across the Universe was incredibly emotional for given its a series and I seriously get invested in characters and their lives that I hate it when a series ends, I wanted to read a summer-y, contemporary read and sadly, Here is my review for it on goodreads.
this did not do that for me. This is about a high school graduate who goes on a small road trip with her ex-boyfriend. It sounded fun, cheesy and cute but the characters ended up being very dull, immature, self-absorbed, and there was way too much slut shaming in this book. I really can't say much else about it, since I read it two months ago and really did not like it.

I gave Two-Way Street 1 out of 5 stars.

July  
The first book I read in July was Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli. I was really looking forward to this book and it did not disappoint. This is about a not-so-openly gay teenage boy who communicates with a fellow student via email, but he does not know this person's real identity, nor does the boy, who is called Blue, know that he is talking to Simon. Simon's emails with Blue are then found by a bully and Simon is then blackmailed. This book is not as serious as you may think, but is the cute, contemporary read I've been wanting all along, though I think it would be really fun to read around Autumn/Winter time, as that is when the novel is sort of set. 

My goodreads review here 

I gave Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda 4.5 out of 5 stars. 

The last book I read in July, I actually started it before Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda, but was having difficulty at first so I put it down, read the other one first in about two days, and then picked this one up again and I'm so glad I did! The Martian by Andy Weir is about an astronaut who gets stranded on Mars and the whole book is told from his logs that he enters himself, along with the perspective of the people of NASA on Earth. This book is filled with some science stuff that I didn't understand and was why I was having trouble at the beginning, but the character, Mark Watney, was so incredibly funny that it made reading it much more enjoyable. For my review about my thoughts on this book, go here

I gave The Martian 4.5 out of 5 stars.

August
The last book I read this summer was Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour. This is about a recently graduated high school student who, because of her brother, as an internship with a production company and helps design movie sets. She lives in Hollywood/L.A, and upon finding a letter of a recently deceased film star, she ends up on search for answers and this novel deals with heartbreak, love, friendship and little bit of mystery. I was honestly a bit disappointing with this novel. The characters seemed a bit flat to me, and there wasn't really any noticeable character development, in a positive way anyway. Not to spoil anything, but a certain character I loved instantly actually developed a bit odd and I ended up not really liking them at the end. It was really the plot that kept me going because I wanted to know all the answers and so that why I gave Everything Leads to You 3 out of 5 stars.

Goodreads review here

Currently Reading  
I am currently reading a contemporary novel that I had hoped to include in this post, but school started today, and I had been working the past three days, so I didn't get much reading done. That book is Just Listen by Sarah Dessen, and I'm really enjoying it so far! : )


And that is all I read this summer! I read a total of 7 books this summer, which I'm really happy about! Let me know in the comments what you read this summer! : ) 

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Top 5 Favorite Lip Glosses

Hello Readers!

Now, I'm not the biggest fan of lip glosses for the main reason that they can feel heavy or sticky on the lips but there are a some that I have grown to love. ^.^

Basically, I'm rather picky when it comes to lip glosses, but that's okay, lets get on with my top 5.

Revlon Super Lustrous Lip Gloss in Belly Allure is a bright purple-pink that feels great on the lips and wears off nicely within 1-3 hours, depending on what you are doing. There is not obvious or annoying smell which is nice and the application is easy.








Revlon's Colorburst Lip Gloss in Peony is a very shimmery, coral pink lipgloss, that is great for summer. Its a beautiful shade and feels nice on the lips. There is a slight more obvious scent to it.







 

Tanya Burr's Lip Gloss in Enchanted Forest is a very dark red-purple shade, that feels great on the lips, does not have any shimmer to it, but it does have a very strong scent that I'm not a fan of, but the payoff of the color is gorgeous, so I'm not completely bothered by it.







Laura Mercier Lip Glace in Opal  is a beautiful nude shade with slight shimmer in it. Its neutral and looks good with every makeup look. It smells like sugar cookie, which is nice and to me, its not obnoxious.









Covergirl Colorlicious Lipgloss in Berrylicious is more of a neutral pink shade rather than berry but its still very nice and neutral, just with no shimmer. To me, its a 'my lips but better' shade which is great.

So those are my top 5 favorite lipglosses, I hope this was helpful.

Thank you for reading! : )

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July Favorites

Hello Readers!

This past month, I've been loving a few beauty products as well as two books, and a TV Show! : )

Makeup

First off, I've been loving E.l.F's Maximum Coverage Concealer. Since its summer, I don't really want to wear foundation, so this concealer is a great alternative. Its easy to apply, great at concealing my redness, and doesn't feel heavy on the face.

And since it is summer, having glowy cheeks is always good, and this sample I have of theBalm's Hot Mama blush is the perfect summer shade. Its a bright coral-pink shimmery shade, and I apply it along my cheekbones and on the the apples of my cheeks as both a blush and a highlighter.

For the eyes, I have been really loving Rimmel London's Scandal Eyes in Rich Russet. Its easy to apply, and it being cream, it lasts very well in hot, humid weather. The only primer I've been using is E.L.F's white eyelid primer, which applies sheer, with a faint shimmer to it, so if it were to be worn alone, it simply but beautifully brightens the eye, so you don't necessarily need to add an other eye product.

Lastly, I've been loving Essie Nail Polish in Naughty Nautical.  Its a beautiful teal shade, and lasts very well for 3-5 days. : )

Non-Beauty Favorites

This past month, I've been loving season 3 of
NBC's Hannibal. The cinematography has been beautiful, its been written amazingly, and I'm quite upset its been canceled, and this will be its last season.
(Keep in mind it is dark and may not be suitable to everyone.)















For books, I've read two this month.

Simon vs the Homosapeians Agenda, which was a very cute read, and you can read my review for it here.

The Martian was the second book I read this month, though technically I finished it on August 1st, I'm still including it, because it was so incredible, and funny, and I cannot wait for the movie! You can read my review here. 





That is all for my favorites for the month of July, thank you for reading :)

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Vacation/Holiday Makeup

Hello Readers!

I'm going on a vacation for a few days and thought I'd quickly show what makeup I'll be bringing. : )

Because it will be rather hot out and I'll be staying on a boat, I decided to forgo foundation, and just bring E.L.F's Maximum Coverage Concealer because it feels light on the skin, but is great at covering up my redness and any blemishes I may have. I'm bringing my Rimmel Stay Matte powder to set my makeup, and The Body Shop's liquid highlighter and Honey Bronzer to have a very summery glow. To had a very warm coral color to the cheeks, I'm bringing a small sample size I got from Birchbox of theBalm's Hot Mama Blush.

For the eyes, I'm keeping it simple and just bringing an e.l.f eyelid primer, and Rimmel's Scandal Eyes Shadow Paint in Rich Russet, which is a warm, shimmery brown/mauve shade.

I'm also bringing Maybelline Pumped up Colossal Mascara for some volume and Jordana Fabu-liner because it's cheap, and easy to use, and it's not the blackest eyeliner, so it won't be very dramatic looking while lying in the sun. : )

For brushes, I keeping it simple with just a Real Techniques powder brush.

And that is all I'm bringing on my vacation, I hope you all have a lovely weekend.  : )

Thank you for reading!

 

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