Lola Rocks #6... The Summertime Playlist

Lola Rocks #6... The Summertime Playlist

Tuesday, 19 May 2015

Read post

Technically it's Summertime here in the UK, if only the weather would act like it, and despite the fact that I'm still taking a hot water bottle to bed with me I'm really in the mood for happy, summery music. These are my favourite songs to get me ready for the (eventual) hot weather.

You Always Make Me Smile by Kyle Andrews



Accidentally In Love by Counting Crows

Ugly Heart by G.R.L 

Summercat by Billie the Vision & the Dancers

Love is Endless by MoZella 

I Wish That I Could See You Soon - Herman Dune

All these songs are really happy and summery and leave me with the biggest smile on my face. They're such good summer time songs.

What are your favourite summertime songs? Let me know on twitter, by commenting below or dropping me an email at lolarocknroses@gmail.com. Also check out my instagram, facebook, bloglovin, pinterest & snapchat - my username is lolarocknroses - for daily updates. 

Hope you guys are having a great week, I've got to get back to my essay but I'll be back soon. Hopefully Sunday but we'll see. 

Love love love xxx

*Disclaimer* I own none of the videos used in this post. All videos were used for entertainment purposes only. 

The Last Five Years: Movie Review

The Last Five Years: Movie Review

Monday, 18 May 2015

Read post

 

I was going to wait to talk about The Last Five Years until my May Favourites - where it will definitely be making an appearance! - but it's so amazing that I just couldn't wait. A musical obsessed friend of mine was pestering me to watch this for the longest time but I just never got round to it and then I saw the dvd in Asda on my lunch break and it was pretty much a no brainer. Anna Kendrick in a musical? Obviously I was going to love it!

Starring Queen of Everything/Every Woman's Girl Crush Anna Kendrick (all the hearteyed emojis! Seriously ALL of them!) as struggling actress Cathy Hiatt and Broadway Baby/Smash Alumn Jeremy Jordan (more hearteyed emojis) as aspiring writer Jamie Wellerstein, The Last Five Years follows Cathy and Jamie's relationship from the dizzying early days to their struggle as it ends. Cathy's songs begin at the end of their relationship and work backwards with Jamie's songs starting from the beginning of their story. The format of the musical is quite strange because it's constantly jumping from the beginning of their relationship to the end until they meet in the middle but I think this is part of the reason it's so good because it gives you both points of view. Another strange but good thing is that despite the fact that Cathy and Jamie are nearly always together they only sing together once, but it's so lovely when they do. I was in absolute bits by the end of the film, I cry at everything, but I think this film would melt the heart of even the stoniest of musical haters,  I just couldn't understand why they weren't together! I knew why but it just didn't make any sense to me! What can I say? I'm a hopeless romantic 'till the end (read more about that here, here & here)

As you can probably tell I absolutely loved this film. I was annoyed with myself for not watching it sooner, that's how good it is! Seriously! I don't have a bad word to say about it. The story is wonderful and happy and sad all at the same time. Jeremy Jordan is incredible, Anna Kendrick is even more so and the two of them have such amazing chemistry! Everything about it is awesome! It is shot so beautifully with some amazing shots of New York - all the heart eyed emojis! Side note: has the world ran out of hearteyed emojis yet? Because I keep using them all! - Anna Kendrick rocks some seriously amazing vintage clothes and the soundtrack is BEAUTIFUL! I'm obsessed with it, I downloaded it the second the film ended and have been listening to it constantly ever since and `yes before you ask I am listening to it right now. Overall it's a really amazing and sadly underrated film I love it!

If you haven't seen it then check out the trailer below.

Have you seen The Last Five Years? What did you think? Did you love it? Did you not? Let me know on twitter, by commenting below or even dropping me an email at lolarocknroses@gmail.com. Also check out my instagram. facebook, bloglovin, pinterest & snapchat - my username is lolarocknroses - for daily updates.

Sorry this was late, it was supposed to go up yesterday but I've got a lot of stuff going on at the moment - 2 assignments, a presentation for my dissertation, my brother's wedding, actual work... the list is endless - so I will be blogging as much as I can but some days will be missed because sometimes it's just unavoidable.

I'll be back on Tuesday if uni work permits.

Until then

Love love love xxx

*Disclaimer* I own none of the media - images/videos - used in this post, media used for entertainment purposes only. Images Via, Via

Liebster Award

Liebster Award

Thursday, 14 May 2015

Read post

I'd never actually heard of the Liebster Award until I was nominated by Emma from A Ginger Blondie but I actually think it's a really cool idea.  If you want to take part all you have to do is answer the questions, come up with 11 of your own questions and tag/nominate a fellow blogger via social media or through their blog.


Emma's Questions:

1. Who inspires you?

Fleur De Force! She is the person I aspire to be! The woman is a machine. I genuinely do not know how she does it. I watched April DeForce and she was just constantly on the go, and even though she gets to do some really incredible things she must be so tired! Does she ever stop? I. Love. Her! I'm also really inspired by Anna Kendrick because seriously is there anything that woman can't do? (Answer: no, there is not! She can do everything) And Emma Watson. And Jennifer Lawrence. And Taylor Swift. And Karen Gillan. And Mindy Kaling. Seriously guys the list is endless.

2. Tea or Coffee?

Tea! I don't drink coffee at all but I love tea. Particularly green tea. My favourite is Twinings Green Tea with Gingerbread. It's the Tom Hiddleston of tea: hot, sweet and absolutely gorgeous! I'm obsessed with it. Much like I am with Tom Hiddleston! Ehehehehe! (Hiddlestoners will get that! Normal folk not so much)

3. Dogs or Cats?

Dogs! Dogs are actually the best animal in the entire world. Fact! I have four Jack Russell terriers and they're so cute and funny and I just love them! And they love me too. That's why dogs are awesome.
I'm aware that I'm making myself sound like a crazy dog lady but I'm okay with it. 

4. Favourite Blogs?

I read so many blogs, it's in the triple digits, but I absolutely adore beauty blogs -which is why I have one just fyi -. I am absolutely obsessed with Fleur DeForce, Vivianna Does Makeup, Lily Pebbles and Essie Button, they're my fave youtubers too, but in terms of blogs they're pictures are stunning, their copy is on point and I just generally love them. I know this sounds weird but I trust them, if a product gets their seal of approval then it's got to be good. That and I have the same skin tone as them so I know that what works for them in terms of foundation and concealer should work for me too.  For all the fun, creative, DIY-y stuff I adore A Beautiful Mess and for baking I love love love Scarlet Scorch Droppers, which is amazing but I'll be honest not a great one to read if you're watching what you eat , which I am, because the things Jennie makes are just incredible! I also love HelloGiggles for it's general awesomeness!

5. Favourite Food?

ALL THE FOOD! I jest, I jest... except not really. My favourite food changes all the time and it kinda depends on my mood as well. Like right now I'd say my favourite food is Jaffa Cakes, because I'm really craving them but can't be bothered to drag myself off of my comfy bed to the kitchen to get them, which only makes me want them more, because I want them but can't have them (side note: just pretty much summed up my love life there :S)  Also, and this is quite a weird one, but I LOVE honey. I'm like Winnie the Pooh! Except without the excuse of being an adorable cartoon bear. Seriously though I love it. One of my mum's friends keeps bees (Don't ask!) and he gave me a huge jar of organic honey from his beehive for Christmas and I loved it and went through it so quickly. And I'm not kidding it was a massive jar. I don't eat it out of the jar but I always have a big spoonful of honey in my tea and I drink a lot of tea so I go through a lot of honey. 

6. Favourite part/post on your blog?

My favourite post on my blog is fairly recent. Let's Get Real: The Big Fat Truth. It was quite a hard post to write and it was really scary to send that kind of stuff out into the abyss of the internet but I got such a lovely response to it and it felt so empowering to get it all off my chest and open up about the harder stuff. 

7. How you found out about/why you started blogging?

I got into blogging during my second year at university. I've actually just had my second year blogaversary - me being me I didn't even notice. Typical - but a friend of mine had a blog and had been blogging for years and she suggested I start one. So I did. And I love it. 

8. If I was to give you £100,000 right now, what would be the first thing you'd do/buy?

Hmm this one is a four way tie between booking a very long trip to New York, getting a new laptop because mine is on it's last legs, buying a decent camera and buying a car/paying for driving lessons. I'd do all of them pretty much straight away but booking a trip to New York would be the first thing I'd do :) It's my happy place.

9. Friends you've made through blogging? 

Katy from Sirens & Bells is a really close friend of mine, we met at uni and were really, really good  friends before I started blogging, she actually got me into blogging but I think it's definitely made us closer. Blogging gave us something to bond over.

10. Best/Worst parts of blogging?

The best part of blogging for me is having my very own corner of the internet where I can write about the things I love and say what I think. The worst part of blogging is that it can take over my life sometimes and I always feel so guilty if I don't get posts up on time. Blogging can be hardwork but I love it so much. Nothing wrong with working really hard at something you love and are passionate about regardless of whether it pays or not. 

11. One piece of advice you'd give newbie bloggers?

Stick with it. Be consistent. Also learning to take a good photo is invaluable :) Write about what you love. Be honest. Write a blog you'd want to read - I'll be completely honest here I'm not entirely convinced that my blog views aren't just me refreshing the page ;) - But I think the most important thing is to do it because you love it. Don't expect anything to come of it, if something does that is beyond awesome but if it doesn't you're still getting to write something you love and that's a really good thing. That was way more than one piece of advice... oops!

I nominate Katy from Sirens & Bells but feel free to do the tag.

My questions are:

1. Why did you start blogging?

2. Bold eye or bold lip? 

3. Lipstick or nail varnish? 

4. Place you most want to visit?

5. Favourite blogs and why? 

6. Favourite thing to cook/bake?

7. Other bloggers you admire? 

8.  Which 5 people would be at your fantasy dinner party?

9. Beauty product you can't live without? 

10. Favourite food?

11. Favourite TV Show? 

If you do take part in this tag then let me know on twitter, in the comments below or by dropping me an email at lolarocknroses@gmail.com. Also check me out on instagram, facebook, snapchat - my username is lolarocknroses, bloglovin & pinterest. I'll be back Thursday 

Until then...

Love love love xxx

April Favourites 2015

April Favourites 2015

Tuesday, 12 May 2015

Read post

Okay I don't want to panic anyone but it's May. I'm not even sure how that's possible but  it's May! We're over a third of the way through the year people! Where on earth does the time go?! 

Now that the mad May panic is over let's talk about April shall we?April is my favourite month! It (usually) has Easter, the days are finally getting longer and warmer and most importantly it's my birthday month! I was utterly spoilt and got some fabulous beauty bits (read more about that here) but enough about that. Let's talk favourites. 

Haymarket by Nails Inc 

Spring has finally sprung here in the UK and that means pastels! I have been utterly obsessed with this gorgeous mint blue. It's one of those shades where you don't know if it's green or if it's blue but it's so beautiful that it doesn't even matter. I am so in love with the colour that I've been taking it off to put it straight back on again. It is so beautiful and because it's Nails Inc the formulas good too! I love it. 

Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque  

I am so obsessed with this mask (read more about that here), it is my go to mask for when my skin is looking crap (which is a way more regular occurrence than I care to admit) because it is awesome. It's a bright green clay mask that smells and kinda looks a bit like toothpaste but works wonders. It's as close to perfect as a clay mask can get. It's ridiculously cheap, it clears up any superficial blackheads, dries out whiteheads and leaves the skin looking so much clearer. The only thing I will say is that it does take some time to work it's magic, but it's so worth it. Just whack it on and leave it for half an hour and voila better skin. Obsessed!

Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water 

Honestly I've never been a major fan of micellar waters, they're okay I guess, but I've found that some of them can be quite drying. I have super sensitive skin that tends to lean towards the drier side of things so I normally prefer a cream cleanser because they're more moisturising. But this one seems to be designed for us sensitive skinned lasses and removes all my make up really gently without causing any irritation or dryness.  It's super affordable and lasts a really long time, 1 x 400 ml bottle works out to be about 200 uses so it's really good value too. It's just a really nice and effective cleanser. 

Real Techniques Expert Facebrush 

When I first got this brush I didn't like it very much, I thought that it gave really patchy coverage and it was just a bit meh but lately I've been absolutely loving it. I think I didn't like it initially because I'd been using it with the wrong formulas, but lately I've cracked it and my poor beloved Real Techniques Buffing Brush has been left all alone and lonely.  It just applies so easily, blending in effortlessly and when used with the right formula leaves a flawless base. Love it. 

Barry M Speedy Quick Dry in Road Rage

I have been obsessed with this gorgeous mint blue offering from Barry M's latest collection (read my review here). The colour is beautiful, the formula is awesome: thick, creamy and dries in seconds and the new brush is amazing too. On the days where I haven't been wearing Haymarket  I've been wearing this.  It's just so pretty. 

Glass Sweetie Jar by Tesco 

I have been buying so much homeware stuff lately. It's become quite the obsession. I think it's because I've recently moved back to my mum's and I'm already anticipating moving out again. I'll be honest it's not been the easiest of transitions. I spend a lot of time at my mum's anyway but still it's quite an adjustment being here full time. Anyway I spotted this pretty glass jar in the kitchen section of my local Tesco and I just couldn't resist adding it to my basket. It now lives in pride of place on my bedside table because I've been keeping cotton pads in it and I just think it looks so pretty. The best part though was the price, only cost me £4! Which is such a bargain. Loving it. 

 Awake  (Limeleaf and Grapefruit) Reed Diffuser  by Tesco

This is another Tesco find, they've been really upping their game lately! I've always been a bit wary of reed diffusers for 2 reasons. 1. I am the clumsiest person in the whole entire world and I'd definitely knock it over and 2. when I do  knock it over (it's inevitable) then the oil would definitely stain something but more importantly it's quite harmful to animals and I have a dog who I adore and I'd never want him to get hurt, especially over something so avoidable. Having said that I realised that my concerns can all be avoided. I only have to make sure that  the diffuser is kept well out of the way, which it is.  So once I'd accepted this I just had to pick this one up. Again it was ridiculously cheap - only £3! Whoop Whoop! - and has the most incredible scent! It's citrus based, and is so refreshing and zingy, I just love it. It completely fills my room  with this beautiful fragrance yet isn't overpowering at all. Not only does it smell incredible  but the bottle it comes in is really sleek and pretty too. I love it. 

Millie Marotta's Animal Kingdom

Those of you who read this post will know that I, and the rest of the world, have been having a bit of a moment with adult colouring books lately. Colouring in is so relaxing and just ridiculously fun. This book is so lovely to colour in. It's beautifully illustrated and I can just lose myself for hours in it. 

What are your April Favourites? Let me know on twitter, by commenting below or dropping me an email at lolarocknroses@gmail.com. Also check me out on instagram, facebook, bloglovin & pinterest for daily updates. 

I hope you guys are having a lovely week. I'll be back on Thursday.

Until then...

Love love love xxx

Trying again

Trying again

Thursday, 7 May 2015

Read post

Confession time: I've been struggling with Slimming World recently. I've been quite stressed lately and even though I'm feeling better about myself, I've lost weight and will continue to do so, when times are hard my first instinct is still to reach for chocolate... and cookies and crisps, basically all the really bad food and that's what I've done. When in doubt eat your feelings (don't really do that!)

It doesn't help that I'm not particularly organised. So when I haven't planned out what and when I'm eating then everything goes to shit. Last week I didn't lose anything, I didn't gain but I didn't lose, and I was really disappointed. I know I can do better. I tried to pick myself up and not to get too downhearted because I know that's not really gonna do me any good but some habits are hard to break and I have had another bad day this week. Now I know in the scheme of things one bad day isn't going to do much, one burger doesn't make you fat - I didn't have a burger but you get my point!- but it really has had such a negative impact on my frame of mind. I feel really down on myself about it and that sucks. I really want this to work for me, what I don't want is get to a certain point and give up. That's actually the last thing I want.

Basically the point of this post was to keep you updated on my progress and to be honest about it. It's easier on some days then it is on others and sometimes a girl just needs some pringles and/or chocolate, but the most important thing is to keep trying. To draw a line under it and carry on.

I believe it was the late, great Aaliyah who said 'if at first you don't suceeeeeeeed dust yourself off and try again. You can dust it off and try again. Try again!' - I bet you can't read that without singing it!

 

Has anyone else been struggling with this kind of thing lately? How do you pick yourself up when you're not at your best? Let me know on twitter, by commenting below, or even dropping me an email at lolarocknroses@gmail.com. Check out my instagram, facebook, bloglovin & pinterest for daily updates,

On that note I'm gonna go but I'll be back on Sunday with my April Favourites. Have yourselves a good weekend and I will see you then. 

Love love love xxx

What I got for my birthday

What I got for my birthday

Tuesday, 5 May 2015

Read post

Two weeks ago I turned 24 and I got absolutely spoilt. Not that I'm complaining ;) So I thought I would share what I got with you lovely lot. (Side note: I really hope that no one thinks I'm showing off. I just find these posts really interesting)

Pandora Charms

I've had my Pandora bracelet for nearly 3 years now and every Christmas and Birthday I get a new charm to add to the ranks. This year I got two courtesy of my lovely mama, a really beautiful hand held mirror because of my make up obsession, insert all the heart eyed emojis, and a pile of books with an owl in a graduation cap on it because I graduated last year. The reason I love Pandora so much  is because the charms kinda tell a story and everyone has something different. - If anyone would be interested in a post about my Pandora bracelet let me know, all the details are below.

Pandora Pendant

My Mama actually bought me this Pandora pendant just after Christmas and put it away for my birthday (that's how we roll in our family, she starts buying Christmas presents in July) It's really simple and understated but so pretty. I love it. Mama has good taste.   

Forage & Find  Necklace

This beautiful necklace was a gift from my bestest, girl always gets me such lovely presents. She's the greatest gift giver I know - apart from my mama! It's so unique and  pretty.  It's made from the mechanism of an old pocket watch and is absolutely gorgeous. I am obsessed with it.

Michael Kors for Estée Lauder 

OMG! This is just the most beautiful thing ever! My mum picked this up for me at Bicester Village and it's just one of the most beautiful make up collaborations ever. The collection is made up of a blush trio, a lipstick, lipgloss, mascara, eyeliner and a nail polish all wrapped up in a Michael Kors make up bag that I can only describe as heavenly. I'm seriously in love with it! The colours are beautiful, the packaging is to die for and the whole thing is just so beautiful that I almost don't want to use it (I will, obvs!) I'm gonna go into more detail in a future post so keep your eye out for that.

Fila  RunningTrainers

So if you read this post  you'll know that lately I've been going through a bit of a lifestyle overhaul. I mean total overhaul. As someone who is a bit of an exercisephobe - read total and complete coach potatoe - I've had no need for trainers in my day to day life... like at all. But having been spurred on by my change in eating habits and recent weight loss I decided that it was time to add some exercise to the mix and asked my mum for some trainers, causing her to literally emergency stop (on second thought asking her while she was driving was a bad idea) and she got me these, and I love them. They remind me of the Nike Free Runs, they're really comfy and they just look cool. I haven't managed a run yet (baby steps guys, baby steps) but I'll keep you posted. 

NAKED 2 

My very lovely cousins/besties got me the Naked 2 Pallet by Urban Decay because they are the sweetest people in the world! I can't even tell you how excited I was when I opened it. It is so beautiful I couldn't bring myself to use it for about a week because I didn't want to hurt it. I've been lusting after the Naked pallets for longer than I can remember but being a constantly broke student they've never really been a priority and I've made do with dupes instead. But now I have it and I'm so ridiculously happy about it. The Naked 2 is made up of 12 cool toned neutral shadows, with a mixture of shimmers, satins and matte finishes. The shadows are absolute perfection! A bold statement but it's so true. The colours are absolutely beautiful! They have a buttery soft texture with very little fall out, they're ridiculously pigmented and apply like a dream. I'm so in love with it. Insert all the heart eyed emojis!!! 

From my dad and step mum I got money and my sister took me out for a night of dancing and cocktails which only ended when both of us and a friend of ours fell into a taxi and asked the driver to take us to McDonalds, which he didn't!  

I had such a lovely birthday and got absolutely spoilt. Again I really hope no one thinks I'm being an unbearable show off/spoilt brat. What I got for my birthday posts are some of my favourite to read because I am one of the nosiest people in the world and I wanted to share this with my fellow Nosy Rosies out there. 

To my fellow April Babies, Happy Birthday!, what did you get for your birthdays? Let me know on twitter, by commenting below or dropping me an email at lolarocknroses@gmail.com. Also check out my instagram, facebook, bloglovin & pinterest for daily updates. Have yourselves a lovely week and I'll be back on Thursday.

Until then... 

Love love love xxx

Colour Me Calm

Colour Me Calm

Sunday, 3 May 2015

Read post

Lately Adult Colouring Books have become a thing. Ergh! What is it with adding the word 'adult' to things that make it sound so creepy and x rated? What with me being an overgrown child and already owning  a well used and much loved Disney colouring book - Not ashamed! - you can imagine how excited I was to hitch myself to this bandwagon.

My bestie recommended Millie Marotta's Animal Kingdom, because she'd picked it up and found it to be a great stress reliever. OMG was she right! It is the most gorgeous colouring book. It's absolutely stunning, full of intricately patterned animals and flowers. It is so beautiful. Each page is a work of art in itself and that's BEFORE I've taken my pens to it. I have been seriously loving it! It's so relaxing and calming I find myself losing hours at a time just colouring the stress away. 

There are absolutely loads of adult colouring books around at the moment, particularly on amazon, so I will definitely be adding more to my collection soon, along with some more snazzy pens. God save me I love good stationary! 

Have you tried colouring in as a way of relieving stress? What colouring books have you been using? Let me know on twitter, by commenting below or dropping me an email at lolarocknroses@gmail.com. Also check out my instagram, facebook, bloglovin & pinterest for daily updates. 

Hope you guys have had a lovely week and I'll be back soon.

Until then...

Love love love xxx