Author: ramblingmads

I am a thirtysomething from London, with a cat, a husband, bookshelves which keep threatening to crush me under their load and chronic health conditions. Basically your average over stressed millennial. Welcome.
movie night, reviews

Movie night – The Book of Life

ramblingmads

Sunday night is movie night and last night we watched animated film The Book of Life (rated U).

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Technically it’s a kids’ film but there was plenty for us big kids to enjoy. The film didn’t perform well in US cinemas and I don’t remember much publicity for it here, which is a real shame as it’s a funny, sweet and clever film.

It centres on Manolo and Maria – love struck heroes in a tiny Mexican town under threat from bandits.

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They are the unwitting pawns in a bet between two supernatural beings who rule The Land of the Remembered and The Land of the Forgotten.

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Mexico’s Day of the Dead is a time when families gather to remember their loved ones and celebrate life, and it is on this day that our story is set.

With echoes of Romeo & Juliet as well as the Orpheus & Eurydice myth, this is a sweet story about love triumphing over all.

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It’s also incredibly funny, the Mariachi band and the ancestors are particularly giggle-worthy.

The animation is beautiful, colours burst off the screen and it’s voiced by some big names (Diego Luna, Zoe Saldana, Channing Tatum and many more).

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I highly recommend getting hold of a copy (amazon has it for about £5) for watching with the family or just when you need some levity. The soundtrack is pretty cracking too.

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ramblingmads

ethics, fashion friday, lifestyle boxes

Who Made Your Pants?

ramblingmads

Most of our clothes are manufactured in dark, crowded factories, like Rana Plaza was, the sweatshop that collapsed, killing many workers.

We don’t know the names of the men and women sewing, dyeing and embellishing the clothes we love. We probably never will.

Shops like Primark or H & M are brilliant for affordable, every day bits, and most of us don’t even think of the human cost.

Who Made Your Pants? aim to change that.

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They make ladies underwear – in a range of sizes, styles, colours, fabrics and give them funny names like Hay Mears (camo print with a lace trim) or Lady Dynamo.

They send your pants out in a little brown box, which fits through the letterbox, lovingly wrapped and with a note telling you the names and a little bit about the people who made your pants.

You can order one offs or sign up for a year in pants – gorgeous pants selected for you by the team delivered once a month.

They are a charitable bunch and were involved in the Fashion Revolution earlier this year.

Follow them on Twitter or buy some pants and find out who made your pants!

ramblingmads

beauty, beauty boxes, glossybox, make up, reviews, skincare

Glossybox – The Festival Edit

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Sadly I think my days of sleeping badly in a collapsing tent in the muddiest field, trying to avoid needing the look and craning my neck to watch tiny figures on a distant stage may be behind me. I like a hot shower and a proper bed too much.

Glossybox is getting into the festival spirit in this month’s box. Which *spoiler* is a bit disappointing to me.

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There’s no special box or paper, just the standard pink and black.

Inside is a Hello Fresh voucher worth £25 – something that I probably won’t use as I can cook confidently enough and know how to shop on a budget.

The products themselves are a little disappointing.

Kueshi Anticellular Booster – what every woman needs, a reminder that you, like most of the population, might have cellulite. It’s a full size bottle too. Might use it just as leg lotion but I never believe the magically rids you of cellulite claims!

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Next up is Halo Fragrance Free Facial Wipes – these are quite useful as they’re handbag sized and claim to be suitable for sensitive skin.

Monuspa Rosewood Reviving Spray – I’ve never really been a fan of spray on face mists – I find they leave your skin a little greasy, although I like the concept. Will probably give this a try and see what happens.

Essence the gel nail polish – I wouldn’t have minded the mint one but I got a red/coral colour that won’t get much use. Essence is a bargain beauty brand found in Wilkinson’s, a lot of bloggers have been raving about it, but I’ve yet to test out their products myself.

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Finally, oh yes, more temporary tattoos – including the Glossybox logo should you want to brand yourself. I now have quite the collection of these, destined to never be used, as most beauty boxes seem to be flogging them this summer.

I’m fairly disappointed, Glossybox for me started out so promising but the last few have been pretty mediocre. Unless this improves, it may well be adios Glossybox.

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ramblingmads

adventures, life, music, reviews, theatre

Amanda Palmer at Union Chapel

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I love music, I believe the right song at the right time can change your entire perspective. As someone with partial hearing loss (it’s genetic and will get worse) I try to make the most of the music I can still hear.

Tonight I went to Union Chapel in Islington, a beautiful church that also hosts concerts, to see Amanda Palmer perform on her last tour before she becomes someone’s mother (she’s 6 months pregnant).

I saw Amanda there about 4 or 5 years ago and that was amazing, tonight was even better. The acoustics and ambience of the building add a certain something to the proceedings.

Amanda’s shows don’t feel like a gig, more like An Evening With , as she introduces acts and brings her friend on stage to sing with her.

Kicking off proceedings is the joyful noise of London band Perhaps Contraption – a combination of a brass band with a punk aesthetic. They are tremendous fun.

Then comedian Andrew O’Neill comes on and does some very funny one liners, reads out some hilarious rejection letters and introduces Amanda.

She stands in the pulpit and sings ‘The Wind That Shakes The Barley’ unaccompanied, it is beautiful.

Then she descends to the piano to kick things off with ‘Astronaut’ and ‘Ampersand’ from her ‘Who Killed Amanda Palmer?’ album.

She talks about the previous night’s show – webcast live to Patreon subscribers, soon to be free to stream to everyone. She tells us tonight will be better as she can relax more. She takes requests from the audience, I ask for ‘I Google You’, but sadly there isn’t enough time to do them all. She performs some of them with her ukelele.

She reads a random extract from her book ‘The Art of Asking’, selected by an audience member, she talks about writing and her infamous Kickstarter.

Her special guest is drag performer and cabaret star Le Gateau Chocolat, who is magnificent, funny, clever, joyous.

Then she brings her friend Whitney on and they do a Garfunkel and Oates song about how smug pregnant women are and a few Ask Amanda questions.

Then they do a Dresden Dolls classic – Delilah – I think I last heard her do this with Georgia from Bitter Ruin, it’s a great song.

There’s time for a Ben Folds cover and a riotous Leeds United featuring Perhaps Contraption, before the standing ovation.

The encore is a Kimya Dawson song and Ukelele Anthem.

Normally she stays and signs anything you like, but she’s pregnant, her feet are swollen and she hasn’t been off stage to pee once.

So, as this is technically a book tour, there’s a signing tomorrow evening in Waterstones.

I think it’s the relationship she has with her fans, old and new, that makes her shows feel more intimate, she’s joking and waving, knowing we’ll sing along, that we’re in on it, whatever it is.

I leave buzzing, music always seems to bring me alive a little more.

We walk to Kings Cross, down Pentonville Road, past the park where clown Joseph Grimaldi’s grave is sited, the evening faded and the wind picking up, talking about the show, about ideas it’s given us – things we’re mulling over.

The way you should be, electric from the crowd, from the rhythm. Not bad for a Tuesday.

ramblingmads

beauty, beauty boxes, reviews, skincare

You Beauty Discover Box – June

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My May box went AWOL in the post so skip forward to this month’s box.

This is one of the cheaper beauty boxes at £6.95 a month, so it doesn’t contain as much as others.

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You pick two of the items to be included.

I chose Sanctuary Spa’s Luxurious Body Butter and Amie’s Morning facial wash & moisturiser.

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The other items I received are ;

Urban Fruit Smashing Strawberry snack pack – this is something I buy quite a lot, dried strawberries, that taste yummy.

Clipper tea – red berries and green tea bags. Clipper teas are very nice but this is supposed to be a beauty box.

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Good to go anywhere wipes – sanitizing wet wipe, absorbent dry tissue, cleansing wet wipe trio.

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Inside their guide to your box are discount vouchers for each of the brands I could have picked from.

To be honest this wasn’t a great box – the items were a bit scatter shot and confused. Hopefully if my May box ever arrives it’ll be better!

ramblingmads

beauty, body positive, life, mental health

A reminder to be kind to yourself

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This is the kind of reminder I always need.

When you look at your body in the mirror or the bath,
It should make you smile, it should make you laugh,
Those stretch marks that you hate,
Remind you of the date your baby was born,
You grew an entire new person, that’s great,
That scar from falling off your bike,
Reminds you of being a little tike,
My broken toe never healed straight,
But I remember the fun I had the day it broke,
That weird lump or mark you’ve had all your life, that makes you self-conscious,
Marks you as an individual, as one of a kind,
So be kind to your body, be kind to your soul,
Honour your curves, or straight lines,
Stop worrying so much about what others think,
They’re all having the same anxious thoughts,
We spend all our time looking for flaws,
But you’re perfect just as you are.

Do something nice for yourself today. Remember that you are unique and wonderful, just like everyone else.

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ramblingmads

beauty, beauty boxes, lifestyle, make up, my little box, reviews, skincare

My Little Provence Box

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After a delay in posting (don’t ask) my May MLB is finally here. Here’s my thoughts.

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Provence in France is supposed to be a beautiful place. Blue skies, fields of lavender, so it’s no surprise that My Little Box has taken inspiration from it.

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However I have my reservations about this box.

Provence is the home of cult beauty brand L’Occitane and this box feels like an homage to that company, and having recently had a sample box from L’Occitane, this felt a little repetitive (although not everyone will feel this way).

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As always the box is beautifully presented (above are my unboxing pics). Inside is a slightly confused selection.

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There have been a lot of blogger and Facebook complaints about this box, and how MLB seem to be a bit muddled about who their box is aimed up – not for the first time.

The stickers in the My Little Super Box caused the same moans, this time it’s magnets. I will most likely give them to my friend’s little girls to play with, although they are very nice, I don’t need more fridge magnets.

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Most of the actual beauty items are L’Occitane, Verbena soap, Verbena body lotion, Mer & Mistral body wash, Rose hand cream. They also included a My Little Beauty eye shadow crayon. They come in a themed mini canvas bag.

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Eye crayon - a brown with a little shimmer

The lifestyle item is a gold cuff bracelet with two shades of blue thread so you can personalise it (check out their Instagram for ideas).

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MLB are always pretty generous with the box contents – for £10 this box is worth about £40. There is also a L’Occitane voucher (that ran out on May 31st).

There is, as always, a copy of their My Little World magazine. However they’ve changed the format and now it opens out like a poster, which makes it harder to look through. There’s also a cute illustrated quote card, which will find a home on my wardrobe inspiration wall.

All in all, not thrilled with this box, I prefer a wider selection of products, not an advert for one company. Hopefully June’s box will do better. Still fancy a trip to Provence though!

ramblingmads

adventures, challenges, charity, exercise, healthy, refuge, upcoming

Walk 4

ramblingmads

This September I am doing a charity walk for an organization I am quite fond of – Refuge.

They are the UK’s biggest domestic abuse charity and support women and children fleeing abusive situations. They receive no government funding and as the Government tighten the country’s collective belts, sadly organisations like Refuge are needed more.

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Terrible photo, sorry

I am asking, very nicely, if you could sponsor me. All of the money goes to Refuge, nothing will be in my pocket.

So click here and give whatever you can.

Thank you ladies and gents in advance. I’ll keep you posted.

ramblingmads

beauty, beauty boxes, birchbox, make up, reviews, skincare

June’s Birchbox – Step Outside with French Sole

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This month’s gimmick was select your box design. I went with the pick ‘n’ mix pattern.

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To be completely honest I am not impressed with this month’s selection.

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Temporary tattoos! I last wore these age 6 or 7. I am far too old and more likely to get a real one than wear these.

Another mascara – I think I get one of these every other month. I can’t even use them. There were other make up items hinted at, but no, another mascara.

Oil is an ingredient in much of the rest of the box.
Nude ProGenius treatment oil – applied after cleansing to boost skin’s hydration.
Beauty Protector Protect & Oil – hair oil that claims to protect against UV and heat damage.

English Laundry No. 7 For Her – perfume sample – adapted from a men’s fragrance, this is quite musky and a little too heavy for me.

Cowshed Body Lotion in Knackered Cow – contains essential oils of lavender and eucalyptus.

ModelCo Powerlash Black Mascara – another mascara, hot on the heels of the last one.

STYLondon Temporary Metallic Tattoos – nope, not even going there.

Bonus lifestyle item – a shoe bag designed by French Sole in matching design to the box. What a disappointing item – don’t see it getting much use.

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Not shown - temporary tattoos - they seem to have run away!

Birchbox seems to vacillate between good and pretty poor. This wasn’t my favourite by a long shot. I think they’re not entirely sure who their customers are – which is weird considering you do a questionnaire on the site.

ramblingmads