January Favourites 2014

My, did January fly! I can't believe it has come and gone in what feels like a matter of seconds. Since starting back on the 2nd Jan, I have been a very busy bee at school and feel like a big Wendy-shaped sponge soaking up tonnes of info and absolutely loving it. My Drama School really is AWESOME. Anyway, after Christmas and December shopping, I have quite a few favourites to share with you, so let’s get started!

Seche Vite

First on the list is an old favourite of many bloggers and YouTubers alike: the amazing Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat. Like I say, for fans of beauty blogs and YouTube channels, this is old news and a long-time Holy Grail nail-product, but after requesting one for Christmas, this is my first time using it. And I don’t actually know how on earth I managed without this for so long!! I’m one of those people who has their nails painted all the time, and I re-do them every 2-4 days. Usually, I’ll do them just before bed to wind down (painting nails is so relaxing!), but of course that isn’t great when you’re about to get under the duvet, risking spoiling your bed sheets and – more importantly – your nails!! It dries so incredibly fast (rock-hard within a few minutes), and leaves your nails feeling so strong and shiny. I love this stuff and hope to never be without it ever again!

Nails Inc polishes

Staying on the subject of nails, I got a whopping 14 Nails Inc polishes from my sister for Christmas, bringing my collection to 32 (all from gifts!). I have been working my way through them and realised that they are definitely my number 1, favourite nail brand. Every single colour I have is wearable, its formula is fantastic making it last for ages before chipping, and most of the time I only need to use 1 coat as it is so pigmented, ultimately meaning that the bottle will last longer!

<< Here are 3 of my favourites Nails Inc. polishes: (l-r) King Edward Street,Trafalgar Crescent and Brompton Place.

L’Oréal Micellar Water

I only learnt about Micellar Water a few months ago from reading about Bioderma, which, at the time, was not available to buy in the UK. Recently, brands like B. (at Superdrug) and Garnier have brought out dupes for this hyped-about cleanser, so I picked up the L’Oréal version from Superdrug a few weeks ago. Basically, I really, really like it! It cleanses my skin without feeling like it’s attacking my pores (like many non-rinse cleansers do), it removes most of my make-up thoroughly and it leaves my skin feeling soft and clean without feeling dry. The only downside is that it seriously struggles to remove my waterproof mascara, but I’ll just continue to use my trusty make-up wipes for that!

Soap and Glory Pulp Fiction

This was another gift at Christmas. This is by far the best body-scrub I have ever used. It smells lovely and fruity; its super-thick formula means that it almost clings to your skin so it won’t be wasted by slipping down the plughole before you’ve got the benefit of it; and as I have naturally oily skin (on my body as well as my face) I really like how it hasn’t got any overbearing oils in it but still manages to moisturise. My skin feels lovely, soft and fresh after use. I highly recommend!

Lee Stafford Breaking Hair Treatment
I generally use this about twice a week, and I think it has done wonders for my hair! When I was given it, I thought it was a leave-in conditioner but it’s actually a treatment that you leave on your hair for 5 minutes after your shampoo, before rinsing off and applying your conditioner. My hair naturally gets split-ends quite easily, so I always use tonnes of conditioner and a bit of  serum in attempt to avoid getting so many so quickly. But even without tonnes of conditioner and serum, this stuff makes my hair look and feel like I’ve just come back from a cut and blow-dry at the hairdresser’s! I see no split-ends, like they’ve been cut off or actually repaired, and the rest of my hair is soft and shiny. Really impressed.

Disney’s Frozen

If you’ve read many of my past posts, you’ll probably already know that I, like many, am a big fan Disney. I saw Frozen a couple of weeks ago, and have been pretty much obsessed ever since. I listen to the soundtrack on YouTube every morning before school, then I sing the songs all day, then listen to it even more when I come home! I can’t wait until the DVD comes out (supposedly in March/April) as I hate not being able to afford to go to the cinema to see it every day!

(Taken from Google Images)

Shakespeare!

I have learnt so much Shakespeare at school this month.
I posted about how much I was getting into Shakespeare just from reading a few of his plays almost a year ago (read the post here), and now I’ve actually been taught a tonne about him, I love him even more! The man was a GENIUS. Now I am starting to fully understand why his plays are so incredible and put on so much. I have just finished working on and performing in Macbeth (of course one of his best-known tragedies) where I played the infamous Lady Macbeth in a couple of scenes, the role of which I would love to play fully in my future professional career. Apparently, another film-version of Macbeth is to be released this year, so I’m excited to see that. I started work on The Comedy of Errors this past week, and am already having a great time with it! Looking forward to seeing how the whole thing will turn out. And to magnificently top all of the Shakespeare-ness off, 2 weeks ago I got up at 4.20am (on a Saturday!) and made the journey to the Barbican Theatre for 6am to wait in queue for 4.5 hours to get a £10-ticket for the matinee (and penultimate) performance of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of Richard II, starring David Tennant. Well… words cannot describe how much I enjoyed it, but to give you an idea of how good it was, once it finished and the applause started, I was so overwhelmed, I automatically rose to my feet and burst into tears. The company was incredible and David was OUTSTANDING. I am so glad I managed to see it; it was well-worth the effort!

Here's a great modern version of Brush Up Your Shakespeare from Kiss Me Kate (by Cole Porter).

So those are my favourites from throughout January. What were yours? Have a wonderful February, everyone! :)

Wendy xxx