FRIDAY FAVES: Myths, Matte Lips, And Masks

Wow it’s been a while since I’ve done a Friday Faves post! But don’t worry, I’ve been keeping track of the things I want to share with you, so this is a summary of the best things I’ve found over the past eight weeks. I’d love to hear what your favourites things are at the moment, so feel free to leave me a comment below!

As always with my Friday Faves, this is a bit of a mish-mash of lifestyle and beauty. I had a few comments over new year from people asking me to start doing my book and podcast reviews – ask and you shall receive!

I’m going to say something shocking: I have a podcast recommendation and it’s not about murder. Well, not entirely. I discovered the Myths and Legends podcast by clicking around on Spotify (who knew that you could listen to podcasts on Spotify? And why didn’t you tell me?) and am now fully obsessed. As the name would suggest, it’s all about… well, myths and legends. The host has the most amazing easy-to-listen-to voice (if you listen to Criminal, he’s like the male version of Phoebe Judge) and is hilarious. I’ve always been fascinated by Greek mythology but this podcast really brings it to life, while also covering fairy tales and stories from all over the world. If you want to listen to one episode to see if you like it, I recommend starting with THIS episode (which covers The Little Mermaid).

I’ve set myself another GoodReads reading challenge this year. In 2017 I aimed for 50 books and ended up reaching 48 (so close!) so I set myself the same amount to read this year. So here are some quick thoughts on some I’ve read recently.

As I’m obsessed with murder and crime, the two books here won’t be a surprise to you: ‘Mindhunter: Inside the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit’ by John E Douglas and ‘Whoever Fights Monsters: My Twenty Years Tracking Serial Killers For The FBI’ by Robert K Ressler. They are very similar, which is fair as they cover the same time period, cases, and project. But I found they shared negative features as well: both men are incredibly self-involved and give us a lot of information about them that I don’t think adds anything to the story. I want to hear about the FBI work they did, I don’t want to hear about Douglas’s college football career or awful way of treating women. They both treat the books like autobiographies which I was not interested in. ‘Mindhunter’ doesn’t even really mention the serial killers project until 25% into the book! If you have an interest and enjoyed the Mindhunter series on Netflix then they are worth reading because you do get a lot of information, but for those with only a passing interest… it’s probably best to skip them!

I absolutely LOVED the ‘Year Of Yes’ by Shonda Rhimes and have been recommending it to everyone. If you have watched Grey’s Anatomy or Scandal then I think you will really enjoy this book as her tone of voice is so similar and really draws you in. This book is funny, poignant, honest, and makes you feel inspired to change aspects of your life that you aren’t satisfied with. I would say it’s a self-help book for those who hate self-help books!

My next Friday Faves addition is so niche that a lot of people will probably be baffled… but if you’re like me and hear the words Civilization 3, you will be very excited. When I was younger I spent so many hours playing Civilization and so when I saw that it was £2.99 on Steam I knew I had to have it. I find it very hard to switch off from blogging – I often spend my evenings on social media, or editing photos. And so I needed something to take me off my phone and work laptop (yes I have a gaming laptop, don’t you judge me) and Civ 3 is fully ticking that box!

And now we’re getting into the beauty part of Friday Faves. The Trilogy Very Gentle Hydra Mask* is flipping wonderful: I’ve spoken about the Trilogy brand a lot on the blog as they do so many incredible products for sensitive skin. This mask is fragrance free, vegan, and very soothing on the skin. According to Trilogy ‘the maqui berry protects and reduces cell damage, sweet almond helps with pH and moisture levels, while calming botanical complex SyriCalm® works to reduce redness and inflammation and strengthen the skin’s natural barrier function‘ – which all gets a tick from me! I have been using this when my skin feels tight and sore, but also to calm flare ups of which I’ve had a few this month (proof HERE!)

The new Pixi MatteLast Liquid Lipsticks* are so pretty and I’d describe them as having a comfort matte formula – they’re not drying, and don’t set to a powdery finish but stay a little bit creamy on the lips. The colours are all in the nude-pinky area but I’m hoping they’ll extend the colour range soon. I’m holding out hopes for a lovely bright red… In the post below I’m wearing ‘Evening Rose’.

The last item in my Friday Faves is an ongoing love for me: Pinterest. I first joined Pinterest when I was planning my wedding, which seems like a very long time ago! I had boards for flowers (which I then sent to my florist to give her ideas), hairstyle inspiration (to show my hairdresser), and DIY wedding decoration ideas (which I ran out of time to do… standard!) But after the wedding was over, I found that I really missed Pinterest. It’s such a fun way to find beautiful, inspirational images but also ideas of things to try: recipes, make up looks, hair styles, fashion styling, home decor… you name it, I have a board for it! I would love it if you followed me and please do let me know your Pinterest name so I can follow you too, I’m always looking for fresh blood for my timeline 😉 You can follow me HERE.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this return to my Friday Faves – I have been wanting to give you these recommendations for a while but this year is running away with me already! Don’t forget to let me know all of your favourites at the moment: TV, beauty, podcasts, books, places, people… I want to hear it all! You can see my previous Friday Faves posts HERE.

Lex

*PR sample. Links may be affiliate. For more information, please see the Disclaimer tab at the top of the page.