I have never done a favourite’s post before but there are so many things that I have been loving recently that I thought I would do one this month. I cannot promise to do a post every month, but perhaps the months where there are particular items that I am really liking.

First Year at University

I thought I’d start with this one. I know it isn’t an item and it’s an event that spanned many months, but May was the month that I finished my first year studying English in Southampton and I had a great time. I’m not going to say too much about it here, but I may do other blog posts about it so check out the university category on my blog.

Books

Now that I’m home from uni, I have time to read properly and for pleasure again. Of course, I do also need to get reading some books for next year at uni but I’ve decided to try to alternate my books over the summer, so read one for pleasure and then one for uni. In May I managed to read a couple of books but there was only one real favourite.

Still Me by Jojo Moyes

This is the third book in the Me Before You trilogy and I really enjoyed it. I’m not going to say too much about it here because I’m aware of spoiling the other two novels, but I am hoping to do a review at some point. Me Before You is still the best of the three books by a long way, but I enjoyed continuing the story and I’m enjoying reading Moyes’ books as I like her style and tone. I’ve also been listing to some interviews with Moyes and hearing her talk about the books and why she continued the storyisinteresting.

Beauty

This month I have a couple of new beauty favourites and one that I have been loving for ages and just have to talk about.

Balancing facial oil

I bought this from Superdrug a while ago but this month I have really enjoyed using it as part of my skincare. One or two drops goes a long way and the oil has a lovely scent and I have noticed it really helping my skin to calm down which has been super useful during essay season.

 

Barry M ‘on point’ eyeliner

This was a purchase that I made towards the end of the month and I bought it because I needed a new liquid eyeliner (I tend to go for a pen) and I wanted one that was also cruelty free. I found this one and thought I’d give it a try. I’ve only used it a couple of times but I love it already. The nib of the pen narrows to such a small point that this is an amazing product for creating a really fine line, so if that is what you want, definitely check this one out.

 

Barry M ‘Matte me up’ liquid lips

I first bought one of these about a year ago when I began turning to cruelty free make up. I now have 5 of these, 3 nudes, 1 red and 1 purple, and I love them. Firstly, the nude colours that the range has are excellent and I really recommend them for that. I have three because one is a darker brown nude, one is a pale brown nude and the other is a more pink nude. Secondly, these are so easy to apply and are really long lasting which is the main reason I love them. Lipstick comes off so quickly, whereas these sit on your lips much longer. I would recommend prepping your lips with a lip scrub or a lip balm before use though, as these will show up any dryness on your lips. This is a product that I think I’ll be sticking with for a long time.

YouTube

There are so many individual videos and channels that I love, but this month I thought I’d just talk about one series of vlogs that I particularly enjoyed.

Carrie Hope Fletcher’s Disney Vlogs

In May, I really enjoyed watching Carrie documenting her most recent trip to Disneyworld in Florida with her family. She began with a Primark haul that I just adored as some of the products she bought were great. She then documented her trip in a series of vlogs and I love watching Carrie’s videos anyway so I was bound to enjoy this series. Carrie’s videos are usually on the shorter side, which is good as it means I always find time to watch them, but these vlogs were a bit longer and I really enjoyed that as something different. At uni, I found myself making my lunch or dinner and then putting the newest vlog in the series on to watch as I ate. Carrie has an extraordinary amount of Disney knowledge which adds to the videos and her happiness and excitement is contagious.

Music

I’m a big fan of music and usually I’ll listen to the same music for ages, I haven’t ever really dramatically changed my tastes. I still listen to music I loved as a child like Mcfly and Busted. But this month I have adored a new album and also went to a live concert.

Carrie Hope Fletcher’s album – When the Curtain Falls

On the last day of March, my sister and I went to see Carrie live and she was outstanding. I had ordered the CD hoping it would arrive before the concert, but sadly due to Easter post it took a little while. So when it arrived I was so excited, largely because I had ordered the signed special edition. I uploaded it onto my phone straight away and began listening and wow, what an amazing album. I’ve been listening to it for a couple of months now and I still absolutely love it. Carrie has an outstanding voice and she has chosen some amazing songs to cover. For any theatre lovers or Carrie fans, this one is for you.

The Shires’ Accidentally On Purpose Tour

At the end of May, a few days after I came home from uni, I went with my mum and sister to Oxford to see The Shires live in concert. I was really excited about this, and The Shires are a group that I really like. They’re a UK country duo and have been doing really well over in Nashville in America. Their hard work is clearly paying off and this tour was a huge success for them. As performers they are amazing. Their voices blend beautifully and the songs they write are great. I knew most of the songs that they performed and had a brilliant time. If you’ve never heard of The Shires then I recommend giving them a listen.

Stationary

Mildliner pens

I first saw people using these when I was watching videos about bullet journaling on YouTube. I didn’t buy them until my friend at uni was using them and they looked so good that I couldn’t resist. I’m so glad I got them because the colours are great, there are 15 of them (they are bought in packs of 5) and I love that they have a classic highlighter shaped end and then the other is a fine pen which is great for highlighting smaller text or for underlining.