Summer 2016 Favourites: Beauty & Lifestyle.

I'm a creature of habit. I tend to stick to what I know and love and don't often venture out into the wild world of new and novel products. Which would probably explain why there hasn't been a favourites post up on lilyolivia since last September - I truly didn't realise it had been that long, but here we are almost a year later. Recently I compiled a collection of things I've been smitten with over the past couple of months and can't wait to share them with you all. 

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BEAUTY

For me picking new beauty products to rave about is always easy. It's the one thing I love switching up however whether or not they become staple items in my makeup bag is another question. The two I wanted to mention have definitely done that and more! 

Firstly, I'm aware that everyone and their mum has been raving about the NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams since the brand first dropped in the UK. I even threw my own two pence into the mix back in July with a Beauty Review of two shades however since then I may have accidentally bought more. I know, oops. The one I wanted to talk about today was 02 Stockholm which is a stunning warm brownish pink nude. Unlike one of the shades I originally tried, the formula of this is so thick and creamy with wonderful pigmentation that stays put for days. Like all NYX lip creams it smells utterly delectable and has become a firm favourite when I'm looking to wear something a little more understated. 

Onto the nails... If you know me, you might be aware that I'm Essie obsessed. Off the top of my head I reckon I've got about fifteen Essie nail polishes and I'm nowhere near done with my collection. And like with most things, when I find a winner, I tend to stick with it. But when my mum came home from the spa with this amazing Leighton Denny nail polish I thought it was only fair, I'd give it a go. Working in retail often means that my nails chip within hours of having them painted however I can vouch for the fact that they lasted at least a week without any major signs of wear and tear. The colour is gorgeous - perfect for summer - and the durability is second to none. I'm highly impressed with this brand and will definitely look to expand my colour range in the future. 

MUSIC

I've never really been the sort of person who obsessively listens to the charts and learns every Top 10 single by heart. I like some super popular artists and I like some smaller ones and that's fine. But since passing my driving test and going to work everyday I tend to pop on the radio to fill the void. Which was how I discovered the song Heathens by musical duo Twenty One Pilots. It was a band I'd heard of many times, mainly on Tumblr, but never one that I'd especially listened to. But I adored the song! So I downloaded it and their latest album Blurryface in quick succession. And then I just couldn't stop listening... Every song is completely different to the last: different vibe, different sound... It really just shows how talented and versatile they are and from a listener's POV, its almost like listening to a playlist of different artists. If you're on the fence or like me have heard of them but never listened, I would highly recommend giving it a shot! Some of my favourite songs include Heathens, Tear In My Heart and The Judge. 

Image Source: here

TELEVISON 

Netflix and I have been best pals recently. Every evening without fail me and one of my best friends synch our Netflix and watch TV together. It may sound a bit weird but we've got a really good system going on, and let's be real, watching shows whilst having top banter is just way better than watching them by yourself. 

The first thing we started watching was American Horror Story. Now this is something I've seen only about a million times advertised everywhere. I'd heard great things about the acting, storylines and general creativity that I thought I  might as well give it a go. And boy am I glad I did, because THIS SHOW IS INSANE. And I mean that in both the crazy sense and the amazing one. It definitely comes with a warning though: if you're not into gore or generally things that make you go "WTF that was so messed up, OMG my eyes!" I don't think this is the show for you. But if you can handle that then I'd seriously say give this a shot. Personally I'd say season 2 is my favourite, then season 4, then season 1 with season 3 being my least fave. (*Patiently waits for season 5 to come onto Netflix*) For anyone who has watched it I think I may be slightly in love with Tate, okay bye. 

Image Source: here

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After finishing AHS I decided I wasn't quite over my horror phase and thought it would be a good idea to watch Stranger Things at 11pm in a pitch black house essentially by myself. Lol. If you haven't heard of this show I'm not really sure where you've been as it's taken the internet by storm this past month or so. It really works on bringing back all of those essential horror themes: the dark, flickering lights and monsters that live in walls. For anyone totally clueless about what I'm going on about, Stranger Things is a Netflix original show that's only eight episodes long (perfect binge watching material!) about a boy who mysteriously disappears after a evening playing with friends. This coupled with a secret government lair and terrifying sightings of a 'monster' make for a really enticing show. I'm only on episode 6 so no crazy spoilers please! 

Image Source: here

BOOKS

Whilst Harry Potter and The Cursed Child was in no way the greatest work of literature to fall upon our generation I still thoroughly enjoyed it. I can still remember back in 2007 heading to Waterstones the day HP&TDH came out to pick up my pre-ordered copy and feeling simultaneously giddy with excitement and gutted that it was all over. When I heard J. K. Rowling was going to be doing a play version of 19 Years Later I can't say I was over the moon. I mean, yeah great, but can't we just have another book?! Am I being really ungrateful?! So when it was announced that HP&TCC would be released as a script book I was thrilled. I bought it at midnight and utterly devoured it in about three hours. 

The reason it's in my favourites isn't because it's an incredible book (I'm not gonna lie it was a bit weird and I'm having troubles accepting it as canon) but more to do with the fact that it's Harry Potter. I grew up on this stuff, I was obsessed. I've been on the Warner Brother's tour three times. And TCC just brought back so many of the feels for me.

If you want to read my review of Harry Potter & The Cursed Child, you can click here. 

Let me know in the comments what you've been loving recently!