about serial killers: October 2011

Monday, 31 October 2011

100 Things That Make Me Happy: Part One

When I was writing up the post regarding the winners of the Cosmo Blog Awards, I found myself very drawn to the Sofia's Journal Blog. Perhaps because I have a bit of a soft spot for cute drawings, and I absolutely love Sofia's header, and overall design.

So, whilst having a little snoop around, I spied her 100 Things series, chronicalling 100 Things that make her happy, and considering the nature of my blog, I felt that this was make a great feature. So, I hope she doesn't mind, but I've decided to do one for myself. Not sure, how long this series will last before I run out of ideas, but here is part one!!

One.

My Cat: Patch

Patch turned 18 back in May, so it's fair to say that he isn't a young bean anymore. But, for a long time since we've had him, Patch has not been the friendliest cat in the slightest. In fact, I'm amazed that my Primary School teachers didn't call my parents regarding self-harm issues, due to all the scratches I had on my legs at one point, caused by the ever-so-darling cat!!

Nevertheless, over the past few months, Patch has really softened up, and he's become a really loving and affectionate cat. And, despite his often nastiness, I wouldn't change him for the world.

Two.

Quotes

Image found here.

Anyone who reads my blog regularly, might already have a good idea that I am a HUGE lover of quotes, especially ones that are inspiring and/or make you think. It doesn't matter if they are from an amazing piece of literature, a song lyric, or a line from a quote. They might just be from the mind of someone "normal".

Three.

Having something to look forward to.

You have to admit that unless you work in certain industries, life can get pretty boring at times so it is really great to have things to look forward to. At the minute, I'm looking forward to going to a Final Fantasy music concert next weekend, as well as seeing Bill Bailey the day before (hurrah!)

Four.

Bubbles

I don't if this is a "reverting to childhood" kinda thing, but I love bubbles, and popping them always inspires a huge smile on my face :-D

Five.

Swimming

This is something that I don't do often enough, but I absolutely love going swimming. It's so relaxing, and invigorating.

Six.

Finishing a really good book

There is something amazingly satisfying about closing a book that you have really enjoyed, for the last time.

Seven.

That feeling, in a cinema when the lights go down

I don't think I can really explain how or why this makes me happy, but as long as I'm not surrounded by baboons who insist on talking through the entire film, I'm content :D

Eight.

Writing

Image found here.

Writing is my whole life. I live it and I breathe it. I even did my Degree in it. If I was told that I couldn't write anymore, I don't know what I'd do with myself...the world would just stop!

Nine.

Steam Trains

Image found here.

I may try to deny it on a regular basis, but I am a huge lover of steam trains. I grew up visiting the Ffestiniog Railway, in North Wales, and I don't think that I will ever get bored of going there :)

Ten.

Exploring the United Kingdom

Beddgelert, in Wales. Taken by Kat M

The United Kingdom is such a beautiful collection of countries, and I never get bored to visiting some truly amazing places.

Part Two coming soon ;)

A Halloween Poem

To "celebrate" the fact that today is Halloween, I've been mildly encouraged (by the other half) to share a poem that I wrote a few months ago.

I should point out that I am definitely not a poet. As a writer, I am more comfortable writing prose than poetry, so it isn't particularly a great piece. I should also point out that the poem is not finished, so it's very "sketchy", if that makes sense.

Image found here.

There once was a house that sat high on a hill

Lonely and quiet, it gave all of the locals quite a chill.

With it's darkened windows, and unused chimney

It took great joy, in watching the small children flee.

But the house was not as empty as some might think,

For inside the house, was an animal all covered in pink.

The last of his kind, Hickleberry is an oddly happy soul,

Spending his nights, dancing around an old washing line pole.

He isn't a mouse, and he isn't a cat

He most certainly is not a Vampire Bat

Hickleberry is proud to be just that

For he is nothing more than a little Pitter Pat.

With his great big ears, and his teeny tiny nose

Peeping through his long pink fur, are ten tubby little toes.

Whatever would they say, if only they knew

That Hickleberry is quite soundly asleep inside the loo.

What the neighbours may think are the cries of a ghost or a ghoul

Are actually the sounds of Hickleberry attending School.

He likes the big books, up high on the shelf

With Maths, and Science and things for him to teach himself.

Okay, so it's not very scary, but I'm a fan of writing short stories that start out as one thing, and turn into something else, because nothing is ever as it seems, so this is very in keeping with that style ;)

What do you think? :)

Sunday, 30 October 2011

November, November

Hey Ladies (and guys too ;P),

I hope that everyone is well, and enjoying the cooler weather :D I just wanted to do a kind of talky post to let you all know that I may (or may not) go a little bit quiet over the month of November. I am so amazingly busy this month, that blogging is just going to have to take the back bench, but I promise to blog as often as I can, and I'll still be injecting lots of positivity whenever I can.

I also wanted to take this opportunity to remind you all about two very important events that are coming up in November, that I would love it if you could get involved with.

NaNoWriMo

I've blogged and tweeted about this goodness knows how many times, but in case you missed it, throughout the month of November, I am undertaking the NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) challenge of writing 50,000 words in 30 days. This is a huge challenge for me, and I'm really looking forward to sinking my teeth in it. But, as you can imagine this is going to be taking a great deal of my time.

However, I'm not doing the challenge purely for myself, I'm also doing it for Charity. The Cats Protection to be precise. So, please support me, my challenge and the cute little furballs, by sponsoring me as much or as little as you can afford, because every little counts.

Everyone who donates will receive a little bit of recognition on my NaNoWriMo blog.

NiN

Image by Katie

Wow, I look like I'm obsessed with abbreviations, but this one is actually a huge coincedence!!

Again, I've mentioned this before, but on November 26th, Katie from Ladyfromatramp and I will be hosting our second Northern Blogger Event, this time titled: NiN (Newcastle in November), so as you might guess, this one is being held in Newcastle.

For more details, check out Katie's Facebook Event, and please RSVP so we know that you're interested in coming (even if you're not 100% certain that you can make it, it really helps to have a rough figure :D)

We look forward to seeing as many Northern Bloggers as possible :)

Recap:

Follow my NaNoWriMo Challenge here.

Sponsor my 50,000 Word Challenge here.

RSVP Newcastle in November here.

Thank you all very kindly :D

Sigma F80 Kabuki Brush Review

As you can imagine, I own a fair few make up brushes. But, I've never really felt that compelled to write a review about them. Maybe it's time I did, I dunno, what do you think? Anyway, I decided to review this brush mainly because Sigma is a brand that I've heard so many other bloggers raving on about, and I've noticed a fair few that have been affiliated with the company over time of reading blogs. Plus, when I was lucky enough to win the Sigma F80 Kabuki Brush, in a giveaway on Hannah's blog, I was kinda excited about it.

So, anywho, here ya go:

Brand: Sigma
Number: F80
Type of Brush: Flat-topped Kabuki Brush
Bristles: Synthetic
Price: $16 (I'm not sure if you can buy them in the UK, but as far as my small knowledge goes, you can't.)
Ideal for: Predominantly, this brush is for applying foundation, but it can also be used to apply products such as concealers and moisturisers.
Sigma Despcription: "This exclusive flat top synthetic kabuki was designed to deliver a flawless makeup application. The Sigma Makeup F80 is a buffer brush that can be used to blend powder or liquid products. The short and dense bristles make it easy to buff your liquid foundation. The long handle adds comfort to your makeup application. The synthetic fibers are ideal to be used with liquid products and can be easily cleaned. Made of Synthetic Sigmax HD filament."
Initial Thoughts: When I heard that I was receiving a Kabuki Brush, I will be honest and confess that I wasn't really very excited, because I'd just forked out £8.99 buying one from GOSH, literally weeks previously. And, as a result, I was expecting a brush that looked similar in design to this, which is short and stubby with quite a large area of bristles:

Image from Superdrug.

So, when I did a little bit of research and discovered that it was more like what I would perceive a foundation brush to look like, I was a little more intrigued.

Image by Kat M

Needless to say, the brush is not what my pre-determined knowledge of a Kabuki Brush tells me. But, it still fits the Kabuki "ideal" because in my opinion it has a thicker consistency of bristles than a lot of foundation brushes, if that makes sense.

How I used the brush: I'd been told that the brush provided excellent coverage, so I initially tried using the brush with my mineral-based powder foundation, and I don't know if it was because I had too much product on the brush, but I ended up looking ridiculous, and the powder was difficult to blend. Whether this was my error, or a problem with the powder, or even the brush, I'm not too sure. But, I'm not too sure that I'll be using the F80 with a powder again, anytime soon.

Second time lucky: I have to confess that I abandoned using the brush for quite a while, feeling disappointed that it hadn't lived up to the immense hype that I'd read about it. But, when I found myself testing a new liquid foundation, I decided that this was the perfect opportunity to give the brush another try.

I started out my squeezing a small amount of product onto the back of my hand, and kind of dabbed it with the flat edge of the brush.

Image by Kat M

I then attempted to apply the foundation in a dabbing motion for coverage, but I found that this didn't really have the kind of effect that I was going for. Plus, the fact that this seemed to take forever to do. So, I started applying it in longer sweeping motions, and that seemed to work better for me.

I gradually built up the coverage using small amounts of product, until my face was covered and well blended.

Result: The overall result was perfect, with excellent coverage. This could have been contributed to by the foundation, but the brush certainly blended the product out nicely.

Would I buy more Sigma Brushes? As much as I was happy with the result of this brush, I do think that $16 is a lot of money, that I don't necessarily have, so on price alone, I would have to say no. But, I also have to take into consideration that when it comes to make up brushes, I am also a believer that you get what you pay for. And, I say that as someone who owns some very cheap brushes, not just in cost, but also in quality. For eye shadow brushes, cheap can sometimes be fine, but I've never been able to find a cheap foundation brush that had the same effect as a more expensive one. Hence, why I was happy to pay £8.99 for a GOSH Kabuki Brush.

But, if I'm going to spend more money on a brush, I definitely expect them to last a long time, so I'm hopeful that this one will.

Have you tried Sigma brushes? What do you think? As good as the hype? Over-priced? Worth every penny?

Saturday, 29 October 2011

Positive Saturday: 29.10.2011

Image found here.

NB. I found this awesome image on WeHeartIt.com, but there was no reference to where the image came from. So, if this brilliant artwork is yours, I would love to credit you with it :)

Friday, 28 October 2011

What is Beauty: Revisited

Way back in March, I wrote a post titled What is Beauty. I don't remember what was written in that post, but following the success of my Positive Beauty Pledge, and how far I have come emotionally in the past seven or eight months, I've decided to revisit this topic, as an experiment to see how my opinion of beauty has changed.

So, what is Beauty, to me?

The notion of beauty, as I now see it is an incredibly difficult one. I know that I wear make up in a vain attempt to make myself feel beautiful, as I am positive that many other women do, but I do not think that make up is what truly makes a person beautiful, by itself. I think a lot of things contribute and compliment each other.

I believe that beauty is a smile, but not a fake "for the camera" type of smile. I mean a genuine smile, that comes from deeper inside the body.

Beauty is dressing how you want to dress, and being the person that you want to be, and not caring about the doubters or the people who try to put you down.

It is believing in yourself, and having confidence.

Image found here.

Beauty is a pair of shoes that make you feel ten-foot tall. It is a lipstick that suits your skin tone, or an eyeliner that makes your eye colour pop. It is a foundation that doesn't hide who you are, but disguises the things that dent your confidence.

Beauty is knowing that you are wearing an outfit, that might follow the latest fashion, or it might not, you don't care, because it looks amazing on you, accentuating the body that Mother Nature gave you.

But, beauty isn't just appearances, because it also exists all around us, but so many of us don't take enough time to stop and really appreciate it.

Image by C. Jacklin

Beauty is a sunset, shared with someone you love. It is watching a cat loved you unconditionally, as you tickle his chin. Beauty is walking to the top of a really steep hill, feeling absolutely knackered, turning around and seeing how far you have actually come, physically and emotionally.

What is beauty to you?

Thoughtful Thursday on a Friday

Thursday, 27 October 2011

Cosmo Blog Awards Winners

So, the winners have been announced, the awards handed out, and the nominees I'm sure are all partied out. Yep, I'm talking about the 2011 Cosmo Blog Awards which took place yesterday. For anyone who might have missed it the winners, for each category are:

New Fashion Blog

Winner:

What Olivia Did