What I’ve Been Up To: Princess Ida

Right, it’s been a month and a half since my last post so I think it’s about time to get back on it again! Things got so hectic towards the end of rehearsals and the performances I was in during March and April, so unfortunately the blog had to take a back seat. So, I figure it might be nice to actually fill you in on exactly what it is that had taken over my life for 8 weeks!

I was in an operetta (like an opera/musical) called Princess Ida by Gilbert and Sullivan at the Finborough Theatre, London. Gilbert and Sullivan operettas have a major following so it was very exciting for me to get to be in another one 7 years after my first G&S, the very well-known Pirates of Penzance, up in NE Scotland. There had not been a professional production of Princess Ida in London for over 20 years, so Phil Willmott – very established theatre director and former artistic director of the Finborough – revised the libretto (all the dialogue and song lyrics basically), characters and general storyline to work for a modern audience (the show having not been that successful when it first came out).

Taken from the Finborough Theatre website, a very quick summary of our version of Princess Ida went like this:

Containing some of Sullivan's catchiest melodies and Gilbert's wittiest salvoes in the battle of the sexes, this sunny, funny musical comedy concerns the marriage of two royal babies.

It's twenty years later and Prince Hilarion is keen to be reunited with his now adult wife, the Princess Ida. Unfortunately her quarrelsome father has hidden her away in a women's only university where even the morning cock crow is managed by a talented hen.

So Hilarion is forced to don a dress and even wield a sword to win his wife.

Revising a G&S is dangerous in itself as there is such a following of G&S ‘traditionalists’ who like it done exactly how it was written, so we expected there to be very split feedback. To be honest, there were only a couple of reviews that were clear on the point that they didn’t like the revisions, but other than those, the feedback we got was incredible. All my friends who came loved it of course (they are slightly biased though!), and the reviews we got were mainly 4 stars, from even national papers like The Express and top theatre magazines like WhatsOnStage. As well as that, we’ve been nominated for 2 Off West-End Awards (a.k.a. ‘Offies’, which is the biggest off West-End awards in the country): Best Ensemble Acting and Best Choreographer. So that’s super exciting as well!

The best thing about this experience, however, was the group of people I got to work with. I don’t even know where to start… I made some fantastic relationships: life-long friends. It was like working with family or a group of best friends who I’d known for years. The show finished a week and a half ago (though it feels like a lot longer!) and I still speak to them every day. I feel so lucky and privileged to have gotten to work with such a lovely, talented group of people and to have had the wonderful experience I had. I sometimes have to remind myself that this is my job. What?! When you have so much fun, that’s very hard to remember.

Anyway, here are a few professional shots of the show. Credit to Scott Rylander.

The female characters started the show as Victorian servants (I'm on the left - very attractive ha!)

The formidable Simon Butteriss as Lord Gama

One of my favourite scenes: our first scene as the ladies united in a female university (I'm on the right)

When a few of the men first enter the university

Solo shot of me as Lady Beatrice, woop woop!

These men are going to be killed for trespassing, but I'm in love with one of them and another is my brother... hence the expression!

We will defend ourselves against the other men who come to fight us, but the prospect isn't tempting...

Defiance! We WILL fight them!! (Another favourite scene of mine.)

Of course it all works out well, we all pair up and enjoy a happy ending :)

And some photos from off-stage...

Photobomb = success.

The girls backstage.

Bridget (Ida), me (Beatrice), Georgi (Ada).

The servants and Ida!

They made me feel so special on my birthday (though I couldn't actually eat any cake until 2 days later because of Lent!) :)

Cast and MD's. The most wonderful people.

And that's it! What a random post. I hope you've enjoyed reading :) Do let me know if you'd like to read more about future productions etc - it's not really something I thought I'd ever go into detail on here, but I've quite enjoyed writing about it!

Wendy x

Get Fit Log #8

Happy Mother’s Day! (I will be Skyping my mum this afternoon, yay!) Apologies for the lack of posts this week: it has been the busiest week yet as the show starts to really come together. And this week is going to be even busier as we open a week on Tuesday. I am absolutely loving it though: I’m getting to do what I love in a great show with some truly wonderful people. Life is pretty good right now! So in terms of keeping fit, I’ve been pretty good at keeping up the gentle exercise but not so much the stretching and cardio stuff. I’m not worried though, as his show works me out better than probably anything I could do myself! I might start posting these logs every 2 weeks now as it’ll be getting pretty boring for everyone to just read log after log when I don’t have time to write other posts in between! :)

Sunday

Activity: 10-minute workout

Stretched: Yes

Monday

Activity: Walked 2.7 miles

Stretched: Yes

Tuesday

Activity: Walked 3.1 miles

Stretched: No

Wednesday

Activity: Walked 3.2 miles

Stretched: No

Thursday

Activity: Walked 2.8 miles

Stretched: No

Friday

Activity: Full-day dance rehearsal and walked 3 miles

Stretched: Yes

Saturday

Day off.

Hope you’ve all had a great week!

Wendy x

Get Fit Log #7

Another busy week for me, but I’m fairly happy with my efforts! I only went for a mixed run/walk once, but I’ve been finding that my shins have started to hurt a bit during and afterwards. My friend Lucia (a.k.a. Twinny) mentioned Shin Splints to me yesterday so I’ve just researched it and I am certain I have the beginnings of shin splints. So I think I’m going to try and swap the running for another cardio exercise until I get new (i.e. the correct) trainers and have a soft surface to train on. (I got these tips from NHS Online.) I may have to join a gym after all, but at least if I’m paying for it that should make me keep it up more regularly?! Hmmm, will need to have a think about it. Until then, I think I might try and turn my stretching into proper yoga sessions. (I know there will be tonnes of tutorials on YouTube I can follow!) So the format of my Get Fit Log will probably change from now on.

Sunday

Activity: Walked 2 miles

Stretched: Yes

Monday

Activity: Ran/Walked for 11.5 minutes and walked 2.8 miles later on

Stretched: Yes

Tuesday

Activity: Walked 2.6 miles

Stretched: Yes

Wednesday

Activity: Walked 1.7 miles (not bad considering I was on a 12-hour shoot most of the day!)

Stretched: No

Thursday

Activity: Walked 2.5 miles

Stretched: No

Friday

Activity: Walked 2.8 miles

Stretched: No

Saturday

Day off.

I hope you’ve all had an active and happy week! :)

Wendy x

My ‘Twinny’ Necklace

*Cue mushiness*

Real best friends are like family: no matter how often you speak to them or see them, things never change and when you do see or speak to them, it’s like you only just saw them yesterday and you pick up from where you left off. That’s how it feels for me with my bestie, Lucia. Even though we’re 2 years apart in age, we call each other our ‘Twinny’ as we’re so similar. (I’ve written about Lucia in this post from ages ago if you want to know more.) I got a set of ‘Twinny’ necklaces made and gave one to Lucia for Christmas, a bit like a grown-up version of those ‘Best Friends’ matching necklaces that everyone had at school! The necklaces are sturdy silver chains each with 3 sterling silver polished textured charms, all of which I chose personally. You can see that one charm has engraved a heart, one charm has an initial and the large charm in the middle has ‘Twinny’. (I'm not going to mention where I got them from or how much they were as I know Lucia reads my blog, but if you really want to know, you can ask me on twitter!) I wear this necklace almost every day and it reminds me that, far or near, my best friend is never really too far away.

Sorry for such a mushy post: you know when you just randomly get overwhelmed by how much you appreciate someone and just have to share it?! (Love you Twinster xx)

Wendy x

Get Fit Log #6

I’ve been busy with rehearsals and learning music for most of this week, so I’ve really had to push myself to do any kind of activity and stretching, but with that considered, I think I haven’t done too badly! When I have been out for run, I’ve really tried to push myself, so I think that as long as I can make each run really count – even if they are few and far between – that should be fine.

Sunday

Activity: Walked 1 mile (not great!)

Stretched: No

Monday

Activity: Walked/Ran for 8 minutes

Stretched: Yes

Tuesday

Activity: Walked 3 miles

Stretched: Yes (for a whole hour!)

Wednesday

Activity: Walked 4 miles

Stretched: No

Thursday

Activity: Walked 1.5 miles

Stretched: No

Friday

Activity: Walked 3 miles

Stretched: No

Saturday

Activity: Walked/Ran for 12 minutes!! (Including putting out the rubbish, so probably closer to 11 minutes)

Stretched: Yes

In general, I'm happy and pretty proud of the place I'm currently at. :)

Wendy x

Easy and Delicious Roast Veg Recipe

I’ve been super busy this week as I’ve just started rehearsals for a new show I’m in, so I haven’t had much time to dedicate to blogging (writing or reading!). I had planned to write a February Favourites post today, but I’ve realised that most of my favourites are the same as last month’s, and if they’re not the same, I’ve probably already mentioned them in a previous post, so I didn’t see the point. Instead, I thought I’d write a quick post on my favourite roast veg recipe at the moment.

I personally find it difficult to make veg really tasty and interesting, so this is great as a side or on toast or even to freeze as individual portions and use when I haven’t the time to cook from scratch. Amounts of each ingredient vary, depending on what you like, but this is generally how I do it.

Ingredients

2 small onions

3 peppers (I get the multipacks which have 1 green, 1 red and 1 yellow/orange)

1 standard box of cherry plum tomatoes

½ standard box of mushrooms

6 cloves garlic

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp brown sugar

4 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tsp dried oregano

Method:

Preheat oven to 190°C.

Thickly dice all veg (I make each piece around 2cm x 2cm, and only cut the tomatoes in half) and put into a big mixing bowl.

Add all the other ingredients and mix until each piece of veg is coated.

Put into deep oven tray and put onto middle shelf of oven.

Roast for between 1 and 1.5 hours, occasionally taking the tray out to stir: by the end, the mix should be very juicy, the veg having shrunk somewhat and clearly much softer, but with a few crispy (almost burnt) edges.

Enjoy.

I hope you like this recipe – let me know if you try it out! It’s so yummy.

Wendy x

Get Fit Log #5

I had more auditions this week which makes it harder to go for runs etc (not only time-wise, but also because running affects my throat and chest which obviously has an effect on my voice too, so I need to be careful), so again this week hasn’t been wonderful activity or stretching-wise. I start rehearsals for a new role tomorrow, so it’ll will only get harder to keep it up. But I think that as long as I make sure to stretch regularly, I won’t mind so much if I can keep as active, as I’ll be active in rehearsals anyway!

Sunday

Activity: Walked 3.3 miles

Stretched: No

Monday

Activity: Walked/Ran for 5 minutes and 35 seconds

Stretched: A little

Tuesday

Activity: Walked/Ran for 5 minutes and 55 seconds and later walked 2.5 miles

Stretched: Yes

Wednesday

Activity: Walked 3.5 miles

Stretched: No

Thursday

Day off.

Friday

Day off again!

Saturday

Activity: Walked/Ran for 8.5 minutes!! And also walked 1.7 miles

Stretched: Yes

Note for this week: stay motivated and don’t let yourself become any more complacent, Wendy!

x

5 Shades of Grey

As we’re in those few weeks which can’t really decide whether they’re in winter or in spring, I’ve found myself struggling to decide which nail colour I feel really suits this time of year. I’m over the whole red or glittery nail-look of the festive period, but I don’t feel like it is nice enough weather to start forking out the pastels to match the inevitable floral trends coming up in spring. SO, more often than not, I’ve been using my trusty old grey shades which often tend to get neglected throughout the rest of the year, so I thought I’d share my favourites with you.

Nails Inc FOIL Range: Chelsea Bridge Road

I actually do tend to wear this polish a bit less than others as it’s pretty blinding, but I do enjoy it on nights out and days when I’m feeling more adventurous. Nails Inc is definitely my favourite nail polish brand, and this formula is fab. I have found with other similar polishes that it can crack and have an almost aged look, but this one just glides on and looks like it could actually be nail foils as opposed to polish. It does have that warm tone in it so, depending on the way you look at it, it could be classed as gold as opposed to the greyer silver, but from experience I know that it can go with both gold and silver jewellery so everyone’s happy!

Barry M Magnetic Range: Dark Silver

Magnetic pattern nails seem to have been on the way out for a while, which I think is a shame as they can be so pretty! This one is lovely and understated: you can only just see that there’s a pattern there. I usually prefer the Nails Inc polishes but in this case I actually think that the slightly thinner formula of this Barry M one works better for the magnetic pattern.

Nails Inc: The Thames

The Thames is the perfect name for this shade I think! Like the muggy water of the river, this is a lovely opaque, almost gel-like polish which goes on and stays on a dream! This is possibly my fave out of the 5: I definitely wear this one the most. Works for everyday-wear, but I have also put a little glitter on top which jazzes it up and works for a night out too!

Nails Inc: Pelham Street

I think this one looks almost mystical. Maybe it’s the shimmer in it. Anyway, another great formula and shade from Nails Inc. Not much else to say about it really!

Nails Inc ‘Colour & Care’ Range: Brook St Mews

I really like this one. It is grey, but I love how it is almost black, but not quite as harsh as proper black can look (I think anyway). I think it has the same formula as The Thames shade, as it’s really pigmented (you only really need one coat) and stays on for ages. Really fab.

What kind of shades are you wearing at the moment?

Wendy x

3 Incredible Movies

I am a massive film fan so am super excited for the Oscars which are just around the corner. I can't wait to watch it online (so annoying it's not aired on TV here): this year's is hosted by Neil Patrick Harris, who I think is wonderful! Of course there are 8 incredible movies up for the Best Picture Award. Personally, 5 of the films appeal to me: Birdman, Boyhood, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Theory of Everything and Whiplash. So far I have been able to see 3 of them, and as I enjoyed each one so much, I thought I would share my thoughts with you!

Birdman

I saw this a few weeks ago for a friend’s birthday (possibly the only reason I’ll go to the cinema on a day other than a Wednesday! Why must you finish next week, Orange Wednesday?!). It is wonderful. It’s about an actor who was famous for his role as Birdman in a series of movies, who is now trying to put on a play on Broadway and all the trials and difficulties that come with that, professionally and personally. I do feel that you need to see something in order to get the best idea of what it’s like, so I won’t go into too much detail about the actual film, but I can say the script is fantastic, the cinematography (basically, how it’s been shot) is extremely clever and the cast is outstanding: in particular Michael Keaton, Edward Norton and Emma Stone (who really are the main 3 anyway). The film is hilarious and touching and thrilling and catches you off guard and is just a great experience to just be watching it.

Boyhood

Now this film is completely different. It’s pioneering and has broken the mould of how films are made. Basically, it has been shot over the course of 12 years, following the story of a family as the kids are growing up and going through puberty up until leaving home, mainly centring around the son. It’s so exciting to know that the actors used for the earliest shots are the same ones used throughout the rest of the film: that’s never been done before. The cast is incredible: the parents, played by Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke, are just so grounded and so touching and a really strong core for the story, whilst the children (Ellar Coltrane and Lorelei Linklater) are so honest and believable from the very first scene. Although the storyline isn’t particularly action-packed, it is so easy to get sucked into these people’s lives and not only does it feel like these are real people who you know on a personal basis, but it feels like you’ve actually have known for years and years. A simple storyline paired with a ground-breaking idea which has changed the history of cinema has resulted in one of the most moving and poignant films I’ve ever seen.

Whiplash

I went to see this last night so still have the post-viewing adrenaline running through my veins. And believe me, if you go to see this, you will understand exactly how I feel right now! A thriller like I’ve never seen before. I don’t even know where to begin with this one... Wow, I’m really struggling to find the words…

Again, it’s a complete contrast to the other two films. I went into the cinema anticipating a good film, as I’d read reviews and heard the adverts on Classic FM throughout the previous weeks, and I knew it would be about music so of course it automatically appealed to me. However, I did not expect the rollercoaster ride I went on last night! It’s about a drummer at Music College who wants to be ‘one of the greats’ (Miles Teller) and his relationship with his new conductor/teacher (JK Simmons) who pushes him to be the best. That’s all I can say about it without giving the plot away. But I can say that it is by far one of the best films I’ve ever seen. The script is insanely good, the music is just amazing and Miles Teller and JK Simmons are INCREDIBLE. Whilst watching the film I felt moved, annoyed, shocked… Usually, I get a bit irritated when someone says they were on the edge of their seat the whole way through something, but literally from the very first to the very last scene, I was on the edge of my seat, curled up inside my seat, holding onto my seat for dear life… This is an absolute masterpiece.

And that’s about it! I want to see all of these films again. Literally, Whiplash was that good, the second the end-credits started rolling, my friend and I turned to each other and said “I want to see that again right now”. And of course, I’d really like to see the other 2 films on my ‘Best Picture’ list, although it’ll be harder after next Wednesday (on which I’m going to see Into the Woods) which is the last Orange Wednesday. However, apparently Vue cinemas are continuing the 2for1 Wednesdays throughout March at least, so if you (like me) can only afford to go on the offer-days, then definitely check that out!

Have you seen any of these films? What did you think? Can you recommend any others?

Wendy x

What I’m Giving Up for Lent

So today is Shrove Tuesday, a.k.a. Pancake Day! As I was super naughty last week and had quite a lot of bad food during my meant-to-be-junk-food-free­ days because my mum visited (it’s all her fault), I am not allowing myself to have any pancakes today. Of course tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, and for the first time in forever (cue the Frozen soundtrack) I have decided to give something up for Lent. I don’t remember having ever done this before, even though I’ve been brought up a Christian (I was even born on Easter Sunday!) and have attended church most of my life. But most people I know who give something up for Lent aren’t even religious.

I’ve decided that I’m really going to challenge myself: I have already given up sweet junk foods (i.e. sweets, cake, chocolate, pastries, ice cream) through the week, so – with the exception of my birthday, which is near the end of Lent this year anyway – I am going to extend this and completely give up sweet junk foods for the whole of Lent. I am still allowed alcohol and chips and cheese and crisps and takeaway etc on the odd occasion I fancy them (which isn’t often) but I’m going to cut out the naughty sweet stuff altogether.

Even whilst writing this right now I can see myself failing fairly quickly, which isn’t a good start, but at the moment I just feel that my body needs a bit of a detox and I seriously need to do something about my sweet tooth. It is going to be such a big challenge, but (at the moment anyway) I really want to succeed. My flatmates are all quite big sweet-stuff fans, which will make it all the harder, but I suppose it’s good to really test yourself once in a while!

What are you giving up for Lent, if anything? I really hope that in 40 days’ time, we’ll be able to say “WE DID IT”!!

Wendy x

(Picture taken from Google images.)

Get Fit Log #4

So the busier I get (i.e. as busy as out the door at 7.30am and home at 11.30pm) the harder it is to keep the fitness and stretching up! At least when I’m busy, I’m walking as much as I can but I hardly find time to do stretching most days at the moment. I think I need to work on my willpower and make myself wake up slightly earlier to go for my short run then do a quick stretch while I’m in the shower or something but I’ll have to figure that out.

Sunday

Activity: Walked/Ran for 4 minutes and 50 seconds

Stretched: No

Monday

Activity: Walked/Ran for 5 and a half minutes! (Big achievement for me!)

Stretched: No

Tuesday

Activity: Walked 3.4 miles

Stretched: Yes (finally!)

Wednesday

Activity: Walked over 6.5 miles

Stretched: Yes. (It was a really good one too.)

Thursday

Activity: Walked 3 miles

Stretched: No

Friday

Activity: Walked 2 miles

Stretched: No

Saturday

Activity: Walked 4.5 miles

Stretched: No

Diet-wise, it’s been harder to stay healthy when I’m out all the time, especially as my mum visited on Tuesday and Wednesday and wanted to treat me to cake while she was here. I’m back on the health-kick this week though. :)

Wendy x

Valentine’s White Chocolate and Raspberry Cheesecake

I got a pair of fab heart-shaped spring-form cake tins for Christmas and as Valentine’s Day is round the corner, I thought it was about time I put them to use! Raspberry and White Chocolate are a killer combination, so I thought I’d make up a cheesecake recipe which anyone can manage! I haven't put in measurements as it all depends on tin-sizes and personal taste (e.g. some people will like more icing sugar than others).

Ingredients

For the base:

Digestive biscuits, bashed up

Unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:

Ricotta soft cheese

Mascarpone soft cheese

Double cream, whipped to stiff peaks

Raspberries (frozen or fresh)

White chocolate, chopped

Icing sugar

White chocolate, melted (optional)

Method:

Mix the crushed digestive biscuits and melted butter until all biscuits are clearly coated.

Spoon the mixture into the tins then press down with fingers or spatula.

Mix the whipped double cream, icing sugar, ricotta, mascarpone, chopped chocolate and raspberries.

Spoon into the tins and level off the top.

Cover the top with melted white chocolate.

Put into the freezer for a few hours.

Allow the cheesecake to thaw for 30 minutes-1 hour before serving.

And it's as easy as that! Tried and tested on my flatmates who all love it, so if you're at a loss for something sweet tomorrow, give it a go!

Wendy x

Girly Understated Valentine’s Day Make-Up

So I was rather bored yesterday and decided to play around with some make-up. I thought it might be nice to experiment with a pretty Valentine’s Day look, but nothing too classic-or-should-I-say-same-old-red-lip styley, especially as I’ll be spending another year without a Valentine date but going to support a couple of my friends in a musical/dramatic performance instead.

My phone isn’t great at showing good detail in photos, so you can’t see the eye make-up too well, but here are a couple of pics anyway! (Hurray for the furry-looking chin!)

I used a mixture of new make-up, firm staples, old favourites and old stuff which I probably shouldn’t be using anymore, so there’s no point in me listing exactly which products I used. But I will say that the mascara and blush are both mentioned in my January Favourites post!

What’s your favourite Valentine’s Day look? Let me know if you have a Valentine’s make-up post: I love seeing them!

Wendy x

Get Fit Log #3

It's becoming harder to push myself to keep up regular activity and stretching, but I'm not surprised at all. Now that the excitement of my new fitness goal has subsided a bit, like with anything, the real test is to keep it up!

Sunday

Activity: 5-minute walk/run

Stretched: No

Monday

Activity: Walked 3 miles

Stretched: No

Tuesday

Activity: Ran/walked for 4 and a half minutes and (separately) walked 3.5 miles

Stretched: Yes

Wednesday

Activity: Nothing – ill. :(

Stretched: Nope.

Thursday

Activity: Walked over 6 miles!

Stretched: No

Friday

Activity: Walked 4.3 miles and taught performance arts to a group of 4 – 7 year-olds, including a super energetic warm-up: I was exhausted by the end!

Stretched: No: I’m really struggling to keep this up this week! I have been very busy with auditions prep though.

Saturday

Activity: Walked/Ran for 4 minutes and 40 seconds

Stretched: No! Aaaargh.

So as you can see, this week has definitely been more of a struggle. It’s mostly down to being busier, which in itself will be making me more active anyway so I don’t feel too awful about that, but I do feel a bit disappointed in myself that I’ve been so slack with keeping up my stretches. I’m going to make more of an effort this week with it though, especially as I’m going to be quite busy again, so it’ll be a test of my willpower!

Wendy x

Breville Blend Active Smoothie Maker

Earlier this week when I was making my daily smoothie with my old hand-held liquidiser, which is stained from liquidising various soups and which has a big crack up around the setting numbers, I decided it was time to invest in a smoothie maker. I’m the kind of person who will wait until something is literally unusable before replacing it, so the fact I invested while I still had something which sufficiently would do the job is new to me!

I did some online research and shopped around for the best deals, and decided to get the Breville VBL062 Blend Active Double Bottle Smoothie Maker. (As I make smoothies so often, I thought the double [2x600ml] bottle would come in handy, though it is available with just the single bottle too.) Generally, this came up at somewhere between £20 and £30, often with a P&P charge on top, so I eventually went with the one for £24.99 and free delivery from www.coopelectricalshop.co.uk. When it came to the delivery details section of the order, I was pleasantly surprised to find that you could pick the day you wanted your item delivered, including the very next day, for absolutely free! I of course chose this option and was very happy to receive the box early the next morning.

As for the smoothie maker… Well, I love it. It is so practical and handy to use (especially when in a rush!). You just chuck all your ingredients into the bottle, screw on the bladed base, twist it into the machine, hold down the blend button for 10-20 seconds and *voila* your smoothie is ready to drink. The bottle can be used for travel as well, as each comes with its own cap, saving on washing up! The bladed cap, bottles and lids are all dishwasher-safe, though from my experience it’s wise to rinse all items before putting in the dishwasher to avoid build up or dried-on food in hard-to-reach places. Very happy with my purchase, and if you’re thinking of investing in one of these, I highly recommend it!

This post is not sponsored by Breville or the Co-Op; it’s just my opinion of an item which I purchased with my own money! :)

Wendy x

January Favourites 2015

Well I know it sounds bleak, but I am glad that January’s over. It’s been a really tough couple of months, and I hope that February is going to give me a whole new burst of energy and motivation to get on and make stuff happen. Although January was generally a bit rough, there were the odd few things that managed to make me happy, so I’m writing about them!

Meridian Almond Butter

I’m loving nut butters in general right now (I’ll probably write a post about it!) but in particular the Meridian Almond Butter. It’s literally 99.5% almonds and 0.5% sea salt and that’s it. And it tastes amazing. I like to have it on unsalted rice cakes and it is such a tasty, healthy snack, particularly for when I’m craving something sweet. If you like peanut butter, chances are you’ll love this too!

Pistachio Nuts

Sticking with the subject of nuts (well that sounds weird), I just have to go on about how amazing pistachios are. Lidl is just wonderful and has these box things filled with various nuts, and you can just serve yourself however much you want, so I go to town on the roasted-salted pistachios. I eat them as a snack, especially if I’m feeling actually hungry when it’s too early/late for a meal, and just a small handful will fill me up for a good while.

Rimmel Accelerator Endless Mascara

I bought this a couple of months ago (in fact, I think I got it free when I spent however much on other Rimmel products), and have only started to use it regularly in the last few weeks. I’d read some mixed reviews about it so wasn’t sure what to expect, but I really like it! I’d been using mainly waterproof mascaras as I would find that, with my oily skin, after a few hours regular mascaras would have left some lovely black smudges under my eyebrows, above my eyelids! Not a great look. But even though this mascara isn’t waterproof, the formula is such that it lasts much longer before this happens, yet is still really easy to remove at night. It goes onto my lashes really easily (you know how some mascaras just don’t seem to want to apply?!), and it thickens and lengthens really well. My lashes always seems to agree with this type of silicon(?) brush, but I know a lot of people prefer the more bristly brushes (great terminology there), so might find it less agreeable, hence the mixed reviews perhaps. Other than the slight difference in the shape of brush, I reckon I’d go as far as to say this could be a dupe for They’re Real mascara by Benefit. The Rimmel brush is narrower and doesn’t have the fab spikey end that the Benefit mascara has, but in terms of formula and applyability (is that a word?!) I reckon they’re pretty close.

The Body Shop Shimmer Waves Blush

My best friend Lucia gave me this as part of my Christmas present and I love it. When used all together, these shades produce a lovely, subtle, pinky shade that – with the high shimmer factor throughout – really brings out the apples of my cheeks. As well as this, each shade can be used separately as an eyeshadow or highlighter which I think is great: 3 uses in 1! Overall, it’s great for these wintry months, as well as when it starts to get warmer when Spring shows up!

The Body Shop Lipstick shade 13

Making up another part of my Christmas gift from the lovely Lucia, this lipstick is just beautiful. I would probably best describe it as the perfect daytime red lipstick. It’s like a browny red colour and once applied it appears actually quite sheer and shiny, but the hint of shimmer throughout gives it that little something extra. Perfect if you want to brighten up a simple daytime look, but also good for a laid back going-out look. (It only says shade 13 on the bottom, and I can’t seem to find it on the website so maybe it’s been discontinued.)

Herbal Essences Naked Shine Shampoo

Now I’m pretty fussy with shampoo, and have to say that the last Herbal Essences shampoo I tried (the limited edition Herbally Ever After shampoo) left my hair heavy, dull and getting greasy very quickly. However, the Naked Shine couldn’t be more different. It leaves my hair exceptionally clean-feeling, really light, shiny and – most importantly for me, as I only wash my hair every 2-3 days – it doesn’t get greasy quickly after use. It has a light minty fragrance, which I personally think could be a little stronger to compete with the other incredible Herbal Essences scents, but perhaps it’s all part of the feeling ‘naked’ idea. I do have the conditioner as well, and it’s fine, but nothing for me to rave about. If you have very fine hair, I reckon it would be really good for you as it’s so light, but with my long, thick, often frizzy hair, I think I’m going to keep shopping around for a conditioner that my hair really loves.

And those are my January favourites! What are yours? Let me know if you have a post on your favourites too: I love reading them.

Wendy x