A few of my favourite things from the month of May.

SOAP & GLORY EYELINER & LIP GLOSS

I'm a long time devotee to Soap & Glory's body products but even though I'd heard only praise for their makeup range, I never bought any to try. That was until just over a month ago when the Sexy Motherpucker gloss stick in 'Nudist' made it's way into my basket in Boots. It didn't take long at all for me to adore everything about it; both the formula & longevity are spot on, plus it's a shade I feel you could wear with any look.

Being so impressed with it and also in need of a new liquid eyeliner, I decided to go back and buy Supercat. Low and behold, it's amazing just like everyone says it is! Super pigmented, super easy to apply and truly doesn't budge until you remove it. Just like the gloss, it's quickly become a new favourite and now I'm eager to try more Soap & Glory makeup!

MAYBELLINE LIP BALM/CREAM BLUSH

Remember that time when Baby Lips were quite literally the subject on everyone's lips? I remember reviews for them being everywhere & most people at school would carry at least one in their pocket, myself included. I have four & go through phases of loving them then thinking they're overrated, loving them again and the cycle goes on.

Anyway, when Maybelline extended the range to include their take on a lip balm/cream blush fusion I thought that was a cool idea but I was in the not fussed phase so didn't bother picking one up. Around that time my pen pal Meg and I exchanged gifts. She included a Balm & Blush in mine and I'm so glad she did because otherwise I probably wouldn't have tried this! It's thinner in consistency to the original balms so I find it sits more comfortably on the lips & the cheeks; I love it for both. Innocent Peach is also the most beautiful shade, it's like it was made with Summer in mind!

SUNGLASSES

I think I should probably just preface this paragraph by declaring my true love for sunglasses. Having different choices to pick from is something I appreciate and seeing as they're only £3 a pair in Primark, I couldn't help but get these two when I was in store recently. They honestly make me feel fabulous. The blue mirrored ones especially seem to attract compliments every time I wear them which is always nice and I can't wait to take both pairs on holiday with me!





























WATER BOTTLE

I can't say I've ever raved about a water bottle before but that's because I never had this one in my life until now! It's from Marks & Spencer and it's bloody marvellous. In fact I credit it for being the reason I drink more than 2 litres of water everyday now. I love the inbuilt straw as well as the cute colour of it, what more can I say! I just knew I couldn't write this favourites post without including it.

THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL

This book was a 50p charity shop find from quite a while ago which I only got round to reading this month. The plot centres around a hotel in India for people to spend their retirement in and it follows the stories of the guests; how they came to end up there & how they get on once they're settled in. What I enjoyed most was how surprisingly relatable some of the characters were & the humour with which it was written. Funnily enough, the film was on TV a few days after I finished the book and I was happy to see that although there were major plot contrasts, the humour translated quite well.

That's it for my May Favourites, thanks for reading! Get involved in the comments below and let me know what you've been loving this month. I'd love to know!
Maeve

Five attainable goals I have in my sights to complete in the near future.

A short poem I wrote about new beginnings & starting afresh.

Beginning again with an open mind,
I've got back my inspired heart.
All that I wasn't, I'm leaving behind,
Looking forward to a new fresh start.

My enthusiasm has come back once more,
It's been reignited in me.
What's next for the future, what's next in store?
Just wait for a while and you'll see.


Top: Marks & Spencer // Sunglasses: Primark // Jeans: Topshop Leighs

Thanks for reading!
Maeve

All of the music I was loving throughout March, April & May 2016 in one playlist.

Probably the thing I missed most about blogging while I took a break away - aside from you & your comments - was curating & sharing my monthly playlists! To make up for lost time, I'm gonna share the artists, albums & songs I've been listening to over the past few months in one big go:

The 1975

The highly anticipated & ridiculously fabulously-titled second album by my favourite band was unleashed to the world a few months ago and I've been obsessed with it ever since. I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it is in my opinion a masterpiece from start to finish; it's unapologetically quirky, cynical & yet relatable and I won't be surprised if I'm still playing it in years to come.

If like myself you listened to their first album so much you could recite it backwards in your sleep, you'll notice clever references to it in the lyrics throughout this new record. To me, that's a really cool feature and I don't think I've ever seen self-referencing done to this degree of quality before. Definitely worth watching out for!

Stand out tracks are This Must Be My Dream and The Ballad of Me And My Brain but my personal favourite so far is Somebody Else.













Kanye West

Another long awaited album, The Life Of Pablo didn't take long to impress me either. I can't say I'd place it above The College Dropout but to be fair, it would take a lot to do that for me! It handles the theme of faithfulness in both a marital and a religious sense, served with a side order of topical issues & seasoned with the braggadocio we've come to expect & love from Kanye.

Ultralight Beam deserves to be named best song of the lot but tracks like Feedback and FML follow closely behind.

Drake 

Views is an album that came with a lot of hype. Now don't get me wrong, I love Drake and I've been a fan since way back, it's just that Views doesn't make me feel the same way I do about his previous bodies of work like Take Care and Nothing Was The Same do. That said, there's good lyrics and good production so credit where it's due, maybe it's just gonna take a while to fully grow on me. If I'd had any creative input on this album I'd have given The Weeknd a verse on Keep The Family Close. I get serious Abel circa the Trilogy album vibes from it!

Other songs I would recommend from Views are Feel No Ways and One Dance which pretty much feels like the sequel to Find Your Love!





















etc.

I've also had songs by Sia, Zayn Malik, Ariana Grande & Fifth Harmony on repeat lately. Their recent releases have been amazing!

LISTEN HERE: 


Thanks for reading! Get involved in the comments below and let me know what music you've been listening to recently. I'd really appreciate your recommendations!
Maeve

Back in January when I was in Cambridge for a few days, I took the opportunity to visit the MAC store there and get some eyeshadows for my palette!

I've bought a couple of things over the past few weeks - some makeup, some bodycare as well a little bit of skincare. It's also all very affordable & available at the drugstore so I'm sharing it with you today in this budget beauty haul!