Things I Loved In 2018

Song
Billie Eilish - When The Party's Over
Billie Eilish is one of the freshest new artists around right now. Her sound is unlike anything else in the music charts & I find her completely captivating as a person. She released 'When The Party's Over' late last year & it immediately struck a chord with me. Her vocals are so hauntingly beautiful & the lyrics are filled with raw emotion, which is even more impressive when you consider that she's only 17 years old. I get the feeling that she's been through some shit & I like the way that she expresses that through her songs. This song has such a sad, melancholic vibe to it which is only amplified by the accompanying music video. It's visually arresting & a welcome change from all the boring videos that most musicians keep putting out these days. I can't wait for her album 'When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?' to be released as I'm sure it'll end up being one of my favourite albums of 2019.

Other Faves: Nicki Minaj - Chun-Li / Smashing Pumpkins - Silvery Sometimes (Ghosts)
RuPaul - Call Me Mother / BTS - Idol / BMTH - Wonderful Life


Album
Nicki Minaj - Queen
I've always loved Nicki Minaj but she really cemented her status as the true queen of rap with her latest album, aptly titled Queen. I'm a huge fan of Cardi B too but Queen is just that bit more cohesive as a full body of work than Invasion Of Privacy. As soon as Nicki released Chun-Li as a single I knew she had totally stepped up her game & I was definitely here for it. The rest of the album certainly didn't disappoint as Nicki is spitting rhymes harder than ever. Her lyrics are full of that signature Nicki charisma & attitude while her flows are equally aggressive & animated. Some of my favourite tracks on the album are Barbie Dreams, Good Form & Coco Chanel but Majesty is simply on another level. Nicki's collabs with Eminem are always a treat for the ears but their chemistry on Majesty is better than ever & I could quite happily could listen to this song on repeat for hours. In fact I probably have done seeing as my iPhone decided to delete all 45GB of music I had on there & this was one of the few albums left!

Other Faves: Smashing Pumpkins - Shiny & Oh So Bright / Cardi B - Invasion Of Privacy
Christina Aguilera - Liberation / Ariana Grande - Sweetener / Eminem - Kamikaze


Film
Mandy
There are few things I enjoy more than watching Nicolas Cage lose his shit. He's one of my favourite actors & if you don't agree then I suggest you watch Leaving Las Vegas, Face/Off, Vampire's Kiss, The Family Man, Con Air, The Rock, Matchstick Men or Lord Of War. He's delivered some brilliant performances over the years but to be honest I've sat through some pretty awful films starring him, in the hopes that he'll freak out & give us a classic Cage moment. More often than not, I'm left feeling disappointed & annoyed at myself for wasting time watching them but last year Cage finally came through. Mandy is a psychedelic action horror film directed by Panos Cosmatos. It's set in the Shadow Mountains where a couple, Red & Mandy, are living peacefully in the woods. One day, a cult called The Children Of The New Dawn pass Mandy on her way to work & their leader is enamoured with her beauty. He kidnaps her & it's up to Red to get her back. One of the best scenes in the film is when Red locks himself in his bathroom, downs a whole bottle of vodka & starts screaming for several minutes. It's a great performance from Cage & definitely something that needs to be added to those YouTube compilations. As a film, Mandy is quite a surreal horror. The cinematography is eerily beautiful with intense lighting & colour techniques. The soundtrack is also fantastic & the film starts off with King Crimson's incredible song Stardust. It's quite an odd choice as my favourite film of the year but Mandy was just so different to anything else I've seen, especially when it comes to the horror genre.

Other Faves: A Star Is Born / Coco / The Incredibles 2 / Teen Titans Go! To The Movies / Ralph Breaks The Internet


TV Show
Westworld
To be completely honest I didn't pay much attention to season one of Westworld until the very end. The whole robot cowboy theme park thing seemed kinda interesting but it wasn't until the true nature of Bernard & the identity of The Man In Black were revealed that I considered it to be worth watching. By the time season two rolled around I was stoked to see the outcome of Ford's new narrative & the aftermath of Dolores' uprising. This season the characters have become fully formed as the war between Delos & the hosts takes place. There's even more secrets & mysteries behind Ford's true intentions as well as William's journey through Westworld to The Valley Beyond & his relationship with his family. We also got to see some of the other parks, Shogun World & The Raj. The different timelines in season one were confusing enough but it gets even worse in season two, especially as Bernard has scrambled his memories & even he doesn't know which timeline we're following. This allows the show to flashback & flashforward in a Lost-esque fashion which reveals some truly crazy shit. Personally I found the scenes with Jim Delos, William & their families even more interesting than what was going on in Westworld itself. I can't wait to see where the story goes now that the hosts have the possibility of existing outside of the parks.

Other Faves: The Circle / Dragula / Atlanta / Better Call Saul / RuPaul's Drag Race
American Crime Story: The Assassination Of Gianni Versace / American Horror Story: Apocalpyse


Animation
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
I've been meaning to start watching JoJo's Bizarre Adventure ever since I saw a couple of guys cosplaying as Jotaro & Kakyoin at Majikkon but I struggled to find a decent stream for it. There were so many different series & I wasn't sure where to start. I also wanted to understand all the Jojo's memes & references that the Internet is so keen on pointing out. Last Summer it was announced that Part 5: Vento Aureo was going to be adapted into an anime & some people on Reddit were doing a rewatch of the whole series before it began. I decided to join in & soon found myself completely obsessed with the Joestar family. I couldn't stick to the one episode a day rewatch schedule & started getting through at least five episodes per day. The show tells the story of the Joestars, whose various members discover that they are destined to take down supernatural foes using the unique powers that they possess. There are many different parts, each following the story of one member of the Joestar family & all of their names can be abbreviated to 'JoJo'. The first season is set in England during the 1880s when Jonathan Joestar takes on his evil adopted brother Dio Brando after Dio uses an ancient mask to turn into a vampire. Part 2: Battle Tendency is probably my favourite part & features my favourite Joestar, Joseph. Things really take off in Part 3: Stardust Crusaders with the introduction of Stands, which are physical manifestations of mental strength & fighting spirit. The Stands get even more inventive through Parts 4 & 5 so the battles get really crazy & the villains are even more iconic. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is one of those rare shows that just keeps on getting better as it continues plus the songs are so damn good! It's impossible to choose a favourite. I often stick on a JoJo soundtrack compilation before doing any housework as the songs really get you hyped up! It's fast become one of my favourite anime shows of all time (tied with Attack On Titan) & I've even started reading through all the manga parts that haven't been adapted yet. I'd say it's worth getting into for the memes alone but that would be selling it short. If you're into anime at all, you owe it to yourself to start your own Bizarre Adventure with the Joestars.

Other Faves: Steven Universe / Yokai Watch Shadowside / Adventure Time / Summer Camp Island / Apple & Onion


Game
Octopath Traveler
JRPGs are my favourite genre of video game & when I heard that the team behind Bravely Default were working on something for the Nintendo Switch, I knew it was gonna be good. That something turned out to be Octopath Traveler, a turn-based role playing game with a gorgeous 'HD-2D' aesthetic. You play as eight different characters, each with their own jobs, skills & tragic backstory. Each chapter reveals more about their individual stories as they travel together on a journey to defeat those who have wronged them in the past. Some of the stories can get extremely dark, especially Primrose's which has a lot of references to brothels & sexual abuse but I found all of them to be really compelling. The characters are great fun to play as & I loved the combat system which expands upon the 'brave' & 'default' mechanics from Bravely Default in a really cool way. I started off as Therion the thief but you can team up & switch between each character to progress further in their individual storylines. Unfortunately they don't really link up at all but there is a final boss at the end that has had an impact on each of them. The soundtrack is amazing, as you would expect from Square Enix & it was just a blast to play. I really hope they come out with a sequel as I would love to spend some more time exploring the world of Orsterra with these eight travelers.

Other Faves: Pokemon Let's Go, Eevee! / Super Smash Bros Ultimate
Undertale / Hyrule Warriors / Super Mario Party

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Things I Loved In 2017

Song
Katy Perry - Swish Swish
Katy Perry is undoubtedly one of the best pop stars that we have today but I know a lot of people weren't really feeling her latest album, Witness. A lot of the reviews were very negative & slammed Katy for trying to stay relevant by making 'purposeful pop' & being 'woke'. I for one absolutely love this album & every single she has put out. Chained To The Rhythm & Bon Appétit were both fab but I became truly obsessed with Swish Swish. The combination of the club beat & scathing lyrics is perfection. It's so much fun to sing along to & makes me feel like a sassy queen haha! Nicki Minaj's rap just makes it even better, she's the best part of the music video too. Apart from Nicki's appearance I'm not a huge fan of the video, the performance she did on SNL is so much better especially as it features Vivacious from Drag Race & Backpack Kid! One of my goals for 2018 is to learn how to do his dance...

Other Faves: Big Shaq - Mans Not Hot / Pharrell Williams & Trey Parker - Hug Me
Taylor Swift - Look What You Made Me Do / Little Mix - Power


Album
Steven Universe - Soundtrack: Volume 1
Steven Universe is one of my favourite cartoons. I wish people wouldn't dismiss cartoons as something that's only for kids because if anime has taught us anything, cartoons can be very adult. There are many things I love about the show, from the animation style to the way it tackles adult themes in a way that's suitable for children. But the music is what first got me hooked. Rebecca Sugar, the creator of Steven Universe, has such a wonderful way with lyrics & has composed some incredible tunes to go along with the show. Aivi & Surasshu came up with the rest of the music and helped to develop Rebecca's ukelele demos into grand productions filled with emotion. This is definitely the album that I've listened to most this year. I love so many songs on this soundtrack but my favourites are Do It For Her, Stronger Than You, What Can I Do For You & It's Over Isn't It.

Other Faves: Billy Corgan - Ogilala / Katy Perry - Witness
Taylor Swift - Reputation / Lana Del Rey - Lust For Life


Book
Sharp Objects - Gillian Flynn
Even though Sharp Objects came out in 2006, I only just got round to reading it this year. Gillian Flynn is such a brilliant writer, Gone Girl & Dark Places were so damn good. Sharp Objects was her debut novel but I read this one last & it's actually my favourite out of the three. It's about a newspaper reporter called Camille who goes back to her home town in Missouri to cover the murder of a young girl. Camille was hospitalised for self-harm & obviously has a lot of demons but when she reconnects with her family it's easy to see why. Like Gillian Flynn's other novels, it's full of twists & turns. She's a master when it comes to writing thrillers & I honestly couldn't put it down. HBO are currently turning this book into a TV show starring Amy Adams as Camille & I cannot wait to watch it!

Other Faves: Behind Closed Doors - B A Paris / Hunger - Roxane Gay
Body Positive Power - Megan Jayne Crabbe / Final Girls - Riley Sager


Film
Mother!
Darren Aronofsky is well known for his psychologically disturbing films & Mother! is no exception. This film is seriously fucked up but I think that's probably why I enjoyed it so much. The film starts with a happy couple who are doing up their house in the countryside. The house is in quite a remote location so things start to get a bit strange when a random man turns up one night & asks to stay. More people start turning up at the house & everything basically goes to shit. It soon becomes clear that this film isn't your standard home invasion movie but is actually a biblical & environmental allegory. It really makes you think about the way we treat the Earth & the impact of organised religion on society as well. I wouldn't recommend seeing it if you are religious or easily offended as there are some truly horrible scenes that even I found hard to stomach. This is one of those movies that will stay with me for a long time & it was definitely the most interesting cinematic experience I've had this year.

Other Faves: IT / Star Wars: The Last Jedi / Despicable Me 3 / Beauty & The Beast


TV Show
Mr Robot
Mr Robot is the best show on TV right now by far & it saddens me that more people don't know about it. I think it's mainly down to the fact that it's on Amazon Prime rather than Netflix but if you're looking for something new to binge watch, look no further. Mr Robot is about a guy called Elliot who works in cyber security. He also happens to be a hacker who hates society & often acts as a cyber-vigilante. Elliot suffers from anxiety, depression & has an addiction to morphine. One day when he's riding the Subway he meets an anarchist called Mr Robot who founded fsociety. They are a group of hackers wanting to get rid of all debt records by destroying the financial data of a company called E Corp or 'Evil Corp' in Elliot's mind. Of course erasing all financial debt has a lot of societal consequences that Elliot, Mr Robot & the rest of fsociety couldn't have predicted, especially when a group of Chinese hackers called the Dark Army get involved. The hacking is well researched & seems realistic which is refreshing to see & helps the authenticity of the show. There are so many compelling characters in Mr Robot & there are a lot of twists as to the real identities of certain people. The plot runs much deeper than you would expect & every episode is a wild ride. I love the cinematography & all of the actors on the show are brilliant. I've always been a Christian Slater fangirl & he is exceptional as the titular chatacter. Sam Esmail has created a masterpiece & I fully expect Mr Robot to become one of those shows that everyone loves as it draws to it's final conclusion, much like Breaking Bad.

Other Faves: American Horror Story: Cult / Vice Principals / Game Of Thrones / Better Call Saul / RuPaul's Drag Race


Animation
Attack On Titan
The first season of Attack On Titan came out in 2013 & it took them four whole years to bring us season 2. There was no way I could've waited that long without finding what happened to the Survey Corps so I've kept up to date with the manga ever since. Some crazy shit has happened in that time, this month's chapter alone was extremely wild so I'd definitely recommend reading the manga if you like the show. As a result of reading the manga I knew everything that was going to happen in season 2 of the anime but that didn't stop me from being incredibly hyped up about it. I took great delight in singing 'Sasageyo! Sasageyo! Shinzou wo sasageyo!' along with the theme tune every week & it was so thrilling to finally see many of the scenes animated. They even dropped in some more recent manga scenes featuring Ymir so that was super cool & unexpected. Yūki Kaji's performance as Eren was astonishing & even though I don't understand much Japanese you can really feel the emotion he puts into his voice. The only bad thing about season 2 is that they only made 12 episodes instead of 25. Season 3 is supposed to be two cour again so I'm really looking forward to it & now there's only six more months to wait!

Other Faves: Yuri!!! On Ice / Steven Universe / Kakegurui / Teen Titans Go!


Game
The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild
I have spent an inordinate amount of time playing video games this year. I bought a Nintendo Switch as soon as it launched because I needed to play Breath Of The Wild right away. The Legend Of Zelda is one of my favourite game series of all time. I've played nearly every Zelda game so of course I had to get this one. Despite maintaining many of the things you would expect from a Zelda game, Breath Of The Wild is completely different to anything else. The freedom you get to explore & do things as you wish is remarkable. You can go straight to Hyrule Castle & kill Calamity Ganon if you want. You can spend hours doing little side quests for people or collecting all 900 Korok Seeds. Climbing up mountains & flying about on your paraglider is great fun on it's own. I loved killing the mini bosses dotted around the world & battling against the Divine Beasts. The Champions were all such interesting characters & I enjoyed regaining Link's memories of them. Finding & completing the puzzles in all 120 shrines was really challenging. The only thing I missed from the old Zelda games were the traditional dungeons but storming Hyrule Castle at the end was beyond awesome. I love this game so much, Nintendo did such an amazing job & it was well worth waiting for. The Switch is easily the best purchase I've made this year. Since beating Zelda I've played Fire Emblem Warriors, Stardew Valley, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe & Super Mario Odyssey for hours on end. My TV is too old to support the Switch so I can only play it as a handheld but the graphics still look breathtaking on the small screen. I can't wait to see what games Nintendo come out with next year. There's rumours of Pokemon coming to Switch but I'm hoping for a new Fire Emblem game & Project Octopath Traveller looks like it will be another fantastic RPG.

Other Faves: Fire Emblem Warriors / Stardew Valley / Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows Of Valentia
Super Mario Odyssey / Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp

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Christmas Presents

Peppermint Treats
Whilst chatting to my mum on the phone I briefly mentioned that I was planning on making some peppermint bark for Christmas. I was just gonna look for recipes on Pinterest but she got me this awesome cookbook filled with all sorts of recipes for making bark & ways to use it in other desserts. The peppermint bark brownies are currently top of my to-do list! She also got me some gourmet treats from Williams Sonoma. The hot chocolate is utterly divine and the pretzels are that perfect combination of salty & sweet, yum!



Tom Ford Black Orchid
I've been wanting a Tom Ford perfume for ages but they're just so expensive! I could never decide whether I preferred Black Orchid or Velvet Orchid either. Luckily my mum made that decision for me & I was delighted to receive this bottle of Black Orchid for Christmas. Black Orchid smells unlike anything else in my collection. I normally go for girly floral fragrances but this is more of a spicy oriental scent. It's luxurious, sophisticated, sensual & I love it! I think I'll probably save this one for special occasions as it's just too good for everyday wear.



Real Techniques Filtered Face Set
You can never have too many makeup brushes & this set from Real Techniques has it all. You get loads of brushes, three sponges & a cute pot to store them all in. When this set went down to £35 in Boots I decided to treat myself & wrapped it up as a present from Chloe haha. Real Techniques brushes are some of my favourites so I think it's always good to have a few backups. I've never tried the pink & purple sponges so I'm looking forward to giving those a go.



Elemis Pro-Collagen Hydra-Gel Eye Masks
My sister got me these eye masks. I love sheet masks & the hydrogel ones are often the most effective. These ones are just for the eye area & sound really good. My eyes often look puffy & tired so I'm sure they'll be of use to me. I love Elemis products & have heard such great things about their Pro-Collagen range so hopefully they'll work well!



Makeup Geek In The Nude Eyeshadow Palette
She also got me this Makeup Geek eyeshadow palette that I've lusting after for quite a while. Makeup Geek do such brilliant eyeshadows but no one really talks about them anymore. I have a custom palette that I made using their single shadows that I absolutely love & use all the time. The In The Nude palette features a gorgeous array of neutral colours. MUG's matte formula blends like a dream & their foiled shadows are simply stunning. It took me longer than most people to get into the warm brown trend but now I'm fully on board & I can already tell that this is gonna become my new everyday go-to eyeshadow palette.



Kylo Ren Funko Pop
I've had a huge crush on Adam Driver ever since the very first episode of Girls so I was super excited when he joined the cast of the new Star Wars films. Kylo Ren's relationship with Rey was my favourite part of The Last Jedi & I'm a shameless Reylo shipper. The store that Andy manages sells Funko Pops so he got me a little Kylo Ren! I love it so much & he has already earned a permanent place on my desk.



Topshop Goodies
Andy also bought me loads of things from Topshop. I was really surprised because I wasn't expecting him to spoil me at all & I love everything he bought! The only thing I asked for was some gold jewellery & he got me three long layered necklaces. The one with the stars & moons is my fave. He also got me this lovely pink scarf & polka dot wrap dress. I hate to be one of those people but the boy did good!



Rifle Paper Co. Stationery
I always treat myself to a new diary & some stationery at the end of the year. For 2018 I decided not to go with my usual Frankie Diary & ordered some items from Rifle Paper Co. instead. I'm a huge fan of Anna Bond's design style & having pretty stationery to use always makes me feel more productive. I never normally spend so much on calendars but this one is beautiful, absolutely massive & features some great inspirational quotes.



Modalu Pippa Bag
My mum is one of those weird old people who are obsessed with the Royal Family. Even though Pippa Middleton isn't technically a Royal my mum still likes to follow her fashion trends. This bag from Modalu was designed & named in honour of Pippa so my mum went out & bought one for all of us. Personally I couldn't care less about Pippa but I do really like this bag. Anything black patent & gold is right up my street. I like that it has both a shoulder strap & a grab handle. There's tons of space inside but it isn't too big & heavy to carry about every day.



Canon 70D
I've been using my Canon 650D quite happily for the last five years but I'm finally upgrading to something more professional! My mum actually bought this camera for herself as she wanted to get into photography but she was completely overwhelmed by all the controls & couldn't figure out how to use it. She knows that I love photography so she asked me if I wanted to trade my 650D for her 70D & of course I said yes! There isn't a huge difference between the two cameras but it's still an upgrade & a chance to further improve my photographic skills. It's been sitting here for the past month all wrapped up for Christmas & now I'm beyond excited to start using it!

Despite not feeling too festive this year, I actually had a really lovely Christmas. Normally I end up feeling a bit deflated by the end of it but for the first time in a little while I just felt perfectly content all day. I'm sure that has absolutely nothing to do with all the Snowballs I drank! I got such a wonderful collection of presents & I'm so grateful for everything I received. I'm especially fond of my little Kylo Ren! We watched loads of films on Christmas Day & played with some of Chloe's new toys. We always get a couple of new board games and this year we chose Monopoly Gamer & Cluedo. I put together a cracking Christmas dinner as usual but I'm definitely ready to get back to eating healthily now. I hope you all had a brilliant Christmas & got everything you wished for!

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Things I Loved In 2015

Album
Melanie Martinez - Cry Baby
I first heard of Melanie Martinez on Vine of all places but I was soon drawn in by her songs & alternative aesthetic. You have no idea how tempted I am to copy her hair! She's not very well known in the UK yet but she was a contestant on The Voice USA before releasing her album Cry Baby earlier this year. It's a concept album about a character called Cry Baby which is partly based on Melanie's own childhood traumas/experiences. All of the songs combine childhood themes with adult situations & they're all incredibly catchy. My favourite tracks would have to be Soap, Dollhouse & Sippy Cup but I actually really like all of them. It's rare for me to find a record where I don't feel the need to skip any of the songs so this is definitely my favourite album of the year. I really hope that Melanie tours in the UK soon as I would love to see her perform live!

Other Faves: Lana Del Rey - Honeymoon / Fall Out Boy - American Beauty/American Psycho / Little Mix - Get Weird


Song
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - Downtown
For some reason the first time I heard Downtown I decided that I hated this song & made Andy turn his car radio off! Then I saw the music video & somehow I fell in love with it. Who knew that singing about mopeds could be so much fun?! Eric Nally's parts really make the song for me & I wish I could pull off his crazy dance moves in the video! I keep finding myself singing random lyrics from it out of nowhere. Right now it's the tiramisu line... Anyway this was my favourite song of 2015 because it's such an earworm & I can't help but sing along.

Other Faves: Drake - Hotline Bling / Little Mix - Black Magic
Fall Out Boy - Uma Thurman / Jack Ü feat. Justin Bieber - Where Are Ü Now


Book
The Life-Changing Magic Of Tidying Up - Marie Kondo
January is the perfect time for some spring cleaning so if you haven't read this book yet then I highly recommend checking it out. Marie Kondo is a Japanese cleaning consultant and this book guides you step by step through what is known as the 'KonMari' method for tidying, simplifying & organising. Some of it I find to be a bit excessive but it does deliver some very helpful tips to get your home & life in order. One of the main things that I took away from this book is the idea that the things you own should 'spark joy' & if not you should throw them away. I do tend to hoard things that I never use so it does make you think about your belongings differently. It's an especially powerful message if you need to clear out your wardrobe or makeup collection. I'd love to lead clutter-free existence & while I doubt that will ever happen, this book has definitely helped to steer me in the right direction.

Other Faves: Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn / Among The Shadows - Various Authors
Only Ever Yours - Louise O'Neill / A Head Full Of Ghosts - Paul Tremblay


Film
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
I was so incredibly stoked to see the new Star Wars film. I'm someone who didn't actually mind the prequel trilogy (in fact I loved Revenge Of The Sith & have it on DVD!) but I really hoped that The Force Awakens would be a return to the former glory of the original films. Episode VII was everything I could have wanted & more. Of course it was brilliant to see Han, Leia & Luke again but I completely adored all of the new characters. Rey, Finn & Poe were amazing and had great chemistry. BB-8 is the cutest droid ever! I have huge weird crush on Adam Driver though so seeing him as Kylo Ren was just exhilarating. I really wanna go see it again on a 3D IMAX screen this time. The last time I bothered to see a film more than once in the cinema was LOTR: The Two Towers but I think Star Wars is something you really do need to see a few times to take all of it in. Plus you know... Adam Driver <3
Other Faves: Inside Out / Ex Machina / Birdman / A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night


TV Show
American Horror Story: Hotel
There's been so many brilliant TV shows this year but the programme I most look forward to every week is American Horror Story: Hotel. I've seen all the other seasons of AHS & this one is my absolute favourite. I thought Edward Mordrake was such a cool character in Freak Show so I was really glad they brought back Wes Bentley this season & as the main character, no less. Chloe Sevigny is my bae so even though John & Alex are terrible people I love seeing them together. Lady Gaga's acting has been great but Evan Peters is really knocking it out of the park as James Patrick March. He's such a creepy yet intriguing character. I could watch a whole show just about him! I only hope that Hotel doesn't suffer the same fate as Ryan Murphy's other shows where they start off really well before crashing & burning at the end (Popular, Glee, Nip/Tuck, every other season of AHS!).

Other Faves: Game Of Thrones / Better Call Saul / This Is England '90 / Humans / Transparent / RuPaul's Drag Race


Animation
Steven Universe
Chloe always seems to find cool new shows to watch on her iPad & it's because of her that I started watching Steven Universe. It's about a young boy called Steven who hangs out with three aliens called the Crystal Gems. Steven is half-gem so he's figuring out his powers as they go on adventures & save the world. I love the animation style & the songs are ridiculously catchy but what makes Steven Universe stand out from other cartoons is that the show explores many adult themes in a way that's understandable for kids. It touches on things like feminism, gender & sexuality. The gems take on a female humanoid form & can 'fuse' together to create stronger gems. One of the characters, Garnet, is a fusion made up of Ruby & Sapphire and is said to be the 'physical embodiment of a lesbian relationship'. I think it's really great that there's a show with such strong LGBT references for kids these days. I'm sure most of it just goes over Chloe's head but it makes me enjoy the show so much more.

Other Faves: Death Parade / Sailor Moon Crystal / Teen Titans Go! / Tokyo Ghoul √A


Game
The Legend Of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D
The only current games console that I own is the Nintendo 3DS & there hasn't actually been many good games out for it this year. The only one I purchased was Majora's Mask which I was really excited about as I never got to play the original on N64. I love Zelda games & I have to say that Majora's Mask is one of the best in the series. The story is quite dark but the whole collecting masks & resetting time mechanics made it very enjoyable. There are tons of RPGs coming out in 2016 though so I already know that next year will be fantastic for gaming. I'm especially looking forward to Fire Emblem Fates, Hyrule Warriors Legends, Bravely Second & Project X Zone 2!

Other Faves: Pokemon Shuffle / Pokemon Rumble World / The Legend Of Zelda: Triforce Heroes

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Things I Loved In 2014

Song
Taylor Swift - Shake It Off
Prior to this year I never would've counted myself as a Taylor Swift fan but Shake It Off is easily my song of the year. Even if you hate hate hated this tune you can't argue with how catchy that chorus is. The music video is probably my favourite of the year as well. Taylor just looks too cute!

Other Faves: McBusted - Sensitive Guy / 5SOS - She Looks So Perfect / RuPaul - Sissy That Walk


Album
Smashing Pumpkins - Monuments To An Elegy
Smashing Pumpkins will forever be my favourite band and despite the varied quality of their material since Machina I always look forward to hearing their new songs. Monuments To An Elegy is a brilliant return to form for the band. Tommy Lee from Motley Crue joined them for the recording & his drumming is fantastic although I wish Jimmy Chamberlin would come back. The album itself is really short, it only lasts about half an hour but the songs pack a punch. My favourite tracks on the album are Tiberius & Monuments. Lyrically I don't really connect with the new songs as much but the music is still awesome. As long as Billy Corgan is singing & playing guitar I'm a happy bunny.

Other Faves: Arctic Monkeys - AM / Brody Dalle - Diploid Love / Lana Del Rey - Ultraviolence


Book
#GIRLBOSS - Sophia Amoruso
Back when Nasty Gal was just a small eBay shop I used to love checking out their vintage finds & seeing how they would style different pieces. Sophia Amoruso, the founder & CEO of the company, brought out a book earlier this year documenting her rise to success through sheer hard work. #GIRLBOSS is such an interesting read and it was so cool to find out about how much effort used to go into that eBay account. It's part biography, part self-help book with a whole lot of advice about business. It makes you want to work hard & be as successful as Sophia. It almost seems achievable after reading through her experiences. If you're lacking inspiration or motivation then this is the book to read. When you're done you'll just want to go out and leave your mark on the world.

Other Faves: Party Monster - James St. James / Brunette Ambition - Lea Michele / Yes Please - Amy Poehler


Film
X-Men: Days Of Future Past
X-Men has always been one of my favourite superhero franchises but I didn't have much hope for X-Men: First Class. I finally got round to seeing it earlier this year and as soon as I saw how incredibly badass Michael Fassbender was as Magneto I was hyped for the next instalment. The collaboration between the current X-Men and their younger selves was so well done and I liked that it basically retconned X-Men: The Last Stand. My favourite part was Evan Peters as Quicksilver. That whole prison break segment was so amazing to watch!

Other Faves: The Grand Budapest Hotel / Non-Stop / 22 Jump Street


TV Show
RuPaul's Drag Race
I've been fully obsessed with Drag Race for the past couple of years and season 6 was as entertaining as ever! There were so many talented queens this year. Adore Delano & Ben De La Creme were my faves but Bianca Del Rio was a deserving winner. The challenges were hilarious as were Laganja Estranja's many breakdowns. The season 7 contestants were revealed recently & I cannot wait for the show to start up again. Party!

Other Faves: American Horror Story: Freak Show / Orange Is The New Black / Game Of Thrones / Workaholics


Anime
Tokyo Ghoul
With the announcement of the long awaited Sailor Moon Crystal I really got back into anime again this year. As much as I love the new show I don't feel that it matches up to the original series despite the immense lack of filler episodes. Instead the anime I liked the most this year was Tokyo Ghoul. This show got a lot of flack for not following the manga but as someone who hadn't read it beforehand I really enjoyed it. It follows the story of Ken Kaneki who lives in a world populated by humans and 'ghouls'. The ghouls are very similar to regular people apart from their need to consume humans. Ken gets in an accident after which he ends up with ghoul organs transplanted inside him and he picks up a lot of their traits. Of course as someone who was born a human he really doesn't want to eat other people & he joins up with a group of ghouls who just want to live a normal life. It's a pretty violent anime but the story is very compelling & I'm extremely excited for the second season to begin next year!

Other Faves: Monster / Sailor Moon Crystal / Zankyou No Terror / Ao Haru Ride


Game
Fantasy Life
My favourite kind of video games are RPGs and I was really excited about Fantasy Life coming out on the 3DS. This game is really quite different to a lot of RPGs because if you just wanted to spend your time fishing, sewing or cooking then that was totally acceptable. You can choose from 12 different classes and change between them whenever you like. They each come with different quests such as killing dragons, creating armor, mining ores and building furniture. It kinda reminds of me of the old MMORPGs I used to play such as Ragnarok Online, especially the fighting style. It's very cute & funny with some rather unique characters. This is such an addictive game as there's just so many quests to complete. I've spent countless hours playing it!

Other Faves: Professor Layton Vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney / Bravely Default / Hyrule Warriors

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Christmas Presents

Charlotte Tilbury Makeup
What can I say? I've gone a bit Charlotte Tilbury crazy lately! I guess it's because it took so long for a counter to open up North and as soon as I visited one I was instantly hooked. Everything is just too pretty! I've wanted the Filmstar Bronze & Glow for ages so I got that with the Powder & Sculpt brush. I've really gotten into contouring lately & that sculpt shade looks gorgeous. I also purchased the limited edition Fallen Angel eyeshadow palette which is absolutely stunning. The buttery soft texture makes these a dream to apply & blend. They are super pigmented and have a wet to dry formula so you can amp up the colour even further. I'm a blush fiend so I got the Cheek To Chic Love Glow blusher. It's a soft peachy pink with a beautiful golden shimmer running through it. I also got the Rock 'N' Kohl eye pencil in Bedroom Black. The texture of this is fantastic, it glides on and stays put all day. I've heard so many good things about her lip products so I bought the Pillow Talk lip pencil & Bitch Perfect lipstick. Nude pink perfection! I love everything I got & I've already started planning my next Charlotte Tilbury purchases. I'm even considering replacing most of my makeup with her products. This is gonna be an expensive addiction!





Makeup Brushes
Illamasqua make some amazing makeup brushes. I bought their Highlighter Brush a few months ago & now I use it every day to apply my foundation. It makes my base look flawless. I saw this cute mini brush set on their website which comes with a little makeup bag & thought it be great to travel with. The brushes feel so soft & I'm so happy I finally got my hands on one of their Angled Brushes as I've been on the waiting list for it for months! I still love my Real Techniques brushes & really liked the look of the Nic's Picks set. Plus it was only £20 in Superdrug so I thought I'd treat myself! I especially like the two face brushes as they'll be great for bronzer & blusher.



Caudalie Products
My friend got me this cute set of miniature Caudalie products including a shower gel, body lotion, hand cream & Divine Oil. Caudalie remain one of my favourite skincare brands so I'm always excited to try some more of their products. You can never have too many bottles of Divine Oil! The pattern inside the bag is really cute too.




Sarah Chapman Facialift Massager
I didn't show anyone in my family my Sarah Chapman wishlist nor did I even mention any of her products to anyone & yet my mum got me this facial massager! Is she psychic or what? I'm really pleased with this as I have the worst double chin ever. Even at my thinnest it still didn't look great. I'm sure I'll have gained a few more after Christmas too! This scary looking contraption is supposed to help tone your face, reducing puffiness & sagging. I'm gonna roll it over my jaw every night & hopefully it'll get rid of my many chins. I gave it a quick go earlier & it definitely packs a punch. Despite it's appearance it actually feels really relaxing to use.




GlamGlow Masks
Although I wasn't a huge fan of GlamGlow Youthmud, earlier this year I fell completely in love with their Supermud. For Christmas I got a cute mask sample set as well as Brightmud Eye Treatment & Powermud Dualcleanse Treatment. I love trying out new face masks & I can't wait to give these a go!



NutriBullet
My family bought me this at the beginning of December & said it was my Christmas gift. I think they're paranoid things won't arrive in time for some reason! I've been using it a lot & it's such a cool blender. I've always loved making smoothies but I hate washing everything up afterwards. The NutriBullet makes the whole process a lot easier as you blend & drink everything in the same cup so there's only one thing to wash up when you're done. It came with some of their Superboost powder & a huge book of recipes. I normally go for kale, banana, pineapple, coconut water & chia seeds. I think I might start drinking two NutriBlasts a day to kickstart my fitness regime in 2015. I highly recommend getting one of these, they're simply amazing!



iPhone 6
This is another present that I got at the start of December but that's just because my phone contract had expired. I was desperate to upgrade from my iPhone 5 because of the 128GB capacity of the iPhone 6. I have a huge iTunes library of about 9000 songs and there just wasn't room for even half of them on my old phone along with all my photos, videos, apps etc. Now I can fit everything on with ease & I love how thin the phone is. I wish it was slightly smaller though as it no longer fits in my bag zip pocket! There aren't many nice cases out for the iPhone 6 yet so I just got this pink gel case from eBay. It was only £3 but it seems to do a decent job of protecting it from scratches. Anyway I think the iPhone 6 is an incredible phone & it's definitely worth upgrading to.

I had a really great Christmas this year. I got such lovely presents & we all had lots of fun on the day. Andy didn't get me a material gift but he's booked a little trip for us next month so I'm really looking forward to that! Christmas dinner was totally delicious, if I do say so myself haha. We got Chloe so many presents this year and pretty much all of them were My Little Pony related. She was really happy to get some more of the Equestria Girls dolls & we all played My Little Pony Monopoly Junior. I'm glad she's at that age where we can play games that are enjoyable for adults too. The day didn't drag on like usual as we were just so busy having fun. I hope you all had a brilliant Christmas & got everything you wished for! If you've done a Christmas presents post then please feel free to link it in the comments below as I would love to see it!

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