August 2014 Monthly Favourites

Here are my favourites in the world of beauty, music and whatever else I've especially liked this month!

1. Body Shop Body Butters: These body moisturisers are creamy body moisturisers and a great alternative to lotions. I've been using the Shea Butter and Olive Body Butter this month and have been loving the moisturising power it gives to my skin. The containers also double has handy little organisers. I've began to use them as littler jewellery pots for when I'm travelling and don't want to take a jewellery box but want to keep everything protected and in one place.

 2. Aussie Hair Insurance Leave-in Conditioner: I've recently died the tips of my hair purple, which involved bleach. That being said, my ends get dry and tangled easily now, so what do I do? Use his leave in. Especially after washing my hair whilst it is still damp, this spray has magical detangling powers and makes my hair smell lovely! I can't say how many people have been sniffing my head since I began using this regularly.

 3. Origins A Perfect World Moisturiser with SPF 25 and White Tea Extract: I have dry skin that tends to get oily at times and contrary to popular belief, if you are black YOU STILL NEED SPF. Skin cancer and melanoma do not discriminate.  This has been my favourite moisturiser for a few months now and now that I've nearly finished the lot and am looking to repurchase it has to go into this post. A little goes a long way with this. A dime-sized dollop is enough to cover my entire face and it doesn't have a strong fragrance or leaves a white ghostly residue like other SPF moisturisers seem to at times. It also stays well under make up.

 4. Simple Moisturising  Facial Wash: Apply to a damp face, lather it in and rinse. I use this twice a day to cleanse and it does a really good job. When I have make-up on I just rinse and all of it is gone. I do rinse twice sometimes if I just want a really deep clean. It gets rid of dirt and gunk in your pores without drying your face out and leaving you looking like a raisin.

 5. Body Shop Tea Tree Oil: Lately I've had a few breakouts, but this little saviour in a bottle just kicks ass. After cleansing my face, I pour four or five drops on my  palms, rub them together and just pat it on my face, especially my cheek and chin (where I tend to get the most pimples). This not only dries up and gets the pimples to go away, but actually prevents them from coming up to fast and I also found it to even out my skin tone a bit where I had acne scars. Really a little miracle in a bottle. Thank you to my friend Abby who recommended it!!!

 6.  Nacidit Aloe Vera Treatment for Normal and Mixed Hair: Now, I ran out of my normal Organix Keratin Conditioner AND my It's a Ten Deep Conditioner (the latter being not the cheapest of hair products). I was in the Caribbean where getting those conditioners back would have meant spending an arm and a leg, and I quite like my arms and legs. My mom took my to a West Indian beauty parlour and where the Dominican stylist recommended this BIG pot of heaven ( which only costed about  ECX$30.00 which is only about USD$11.00). It's cheap, so I thought I'd try it out, and if not, just give it to my mum. Now I want it, and I found it on eBay  and Amazon so I know or a fact I'll use it again. It is a product from Santa Domingo and it smells heavenly. It uses Aloe Vera extract and is very nourishing to the hair. My hair feels moisturised after using it and breakage drastically decreased. Highly recommend.

7. G.H. Bass & Co.: The original maker of the penny loafer. I was looking for a pair of fun and funky flats to wear on vacation so I ventured to the DSW website and found these oxfords. They had in navy blue with peach soles which I really liked and a grey with yellow soles. However, they did't have it in my size in either of those. Instead, I got these taupe and turquoise ones instead, which are a brave look. Wearing them isn't as hard as I thought, good pair of khakis or black slacks and they look incredibly chic and fun.

8.  Twin Folks- Cross my Mind: I heard this song whilst watching a Drama called It's Okay, That's Love which in itself is a wonderful drama series with deep characters which make me laugh and cry many times per episode. The OST (Original Soundtrack) for this drama is on point! A mixture of English and Korean songs and all of them I love. My favourite was this one which plays whenever a happy moment like a drive montage or date happens. It's a really happy go lucky upbeat song that I just listen to on loop and dance in my bedroom.

And those are all my favourites this Month! See you soon!

Anna

xx

Oh American Airlines....

When flying from Antigua, I normally used Delta. However, Delta decided not to fly from Antigua to JFK anymore so I'm stuck having to deal with my love-hate relationship with American Airlines. I love American Airlines so far because every time I've flown with them I haven't died or been critically injured.  However, their customer service and sense sometimes annoys me.
I'm suffer from Chron's disease which is a form of inflammatory bowel disease. Eating the wrong foods results in bad stomach aches, headaches and just overall pain. My wrong foods include mostly  meat and dairy but white flour can do me in also. After reaching to reserve my in-flight lunch, I realised that only a chicken salad and teriyaki been entrées were available. So, like any tech-savy millennial I sent a cheeky little tweet to American Airlines.

No word on how to reserve my special meal, I resorted to the website which contained a few menu options such as Gluten Intolerant, Vegetarian and Halal (good on them). I called the 1-800 number to reserve a meal but the helpful, though sarcastic customer service member informed me that "special meal choices are not available for my flight"... I thought I paid so I won't have to smuggle food from the in-airport pizza joint in or risk getting my mustard-laden homemade sandwich taken away in accordance to airport security rules.

Sigh *American Airlines* Everytime I fly a "lunch-time" flight with you guys from Antigua I've got to buy a vegetable pizza at the airport and smuggle it in. It'd be nice if I could get a nice little tray with a salad and sit down with a glass of wine.

Fun times.... Dinner

Last night, my parents and I dined out with some family friends. We went to a local restaurant called The Larder in Antigua- a lovely out door stop. Their prices are aw bit steep by the island standards but when converted into USD or Sterling they are quite reasonable. The food is to die for and their sushi is comparable to any upmarket sushi restaurant in London or New York.

I started the meal out with some miso soup, had a rainbow roll from the sushi menu for a starter and some lovely tiramisu gelato for dessert. It was a lovely meal with family and friends.
I wish I could've photographed the sushi but I wolfed it down before I remembered (I was extremely hungry.. don't judge me ._.)

Fancy schmancy menu...

Gelato Yum!!

I've already begun packing in order to return to New York. Part of me can't wait but another part wishes that I could stay here forever. However, I've a  Black Keys  concert to go to in September so, the show must go on!  

My monthly favourites will be up soon.

Songs I've Been Into

This week I've been listening to some really good songs lately. Here are just five of them that I really like.

1. RHODES- RAISE YOUR LOVE

I heard this song at the Burberry Fashion Show in 2013. As usual, Burberry uses underground or Indie artist. This time it was a British singer/songwriter that goes by the name of RHODES. Wonderful performance of a wonderful song.

2.HOZIER - TAKE ME TO CHURCH

Irish Singer/Songwriter, Hozier is beginning to take America by storm. This song was featured in the end credits of the new HBO show The Leftovers. The song is a really good chill-out song and the music video is a haunting view of homophobia in Russia.

3. EDITORS - FORMALDEHYDE 

I first heard this song on XFM and instantly fell in love with it. It's a really good love anthem and really danceable. This song is forever playing in my car.

4.  JAMES BLAKE- RETROGRADE

Another gem I discovered from The Leftovers.  I heard this song in the trailer and nearly broke my Shazam.   It's a soulful Brit and a song that deserves horizontal head movement to the beat.

5.  WALK THE MOON - NEXT IN LINE

A dance song that is forever playing in my car. A feel good summer anthem for me (and hopefully you) to tap your steering wheel to.

The World Mourns Robin Williams

It has been reported that Robin Williams has died.

This man was an absolute legend. A figure of my childhood and one who shaped my sense of humour, Robin Williams will surely be missed.

Here's a snippet from "We Are Not Amused" where Robin Williams performed for the 60th Birthday of Prince Charles. A live performance, the finale of the night.

Really Good Days

These past few days have been fun.
I went melon picking with my mother (which culminated in more sore muscles than you could think of and sunburn) and also made biscuits and brownies with a friend ( very food-centric lately).

July 2014 Favourites

I've been asked to do a July monthly favourites this month and I hope I could do this regularly. It's great to share what I've been loving over the past month with readers in the hope they could give me tips on what they've liked and new things to try as well. This month, I've been trying a lot of beauty items because it's summer and the parties and outings have begun! I hope you like it!

**Disclaimer: All products have been bought by me and their places on this blog post are not sponsored in any way.**

1. Nail Polish: Sally Hansen. Shade: 370 I Lilac You

Not only is the name of the shade cute... but the shade itself. I normally shy away from pastel colours when choosing a nail polish but this one attracted me from day one. It's a nice pastel lilac that is not to white and chalky (which I love)! This has been my go-to summer colour on my nails.

2. Sally Hanson :  Insta-Dri Topcoat

I am a very impatient person. That is especially shown during manicures. I aways touch something or rub my fingers together or do something that makes it all go tits up. As a consequence, I've tried numerous quick-dry topcoats, each of which has had a shared Achilles' Heel: they tend to make your manicure chip within three days. I found this especially with the O.P.I. quick dry topcoat. However, I tried this one and just loved it! It applies really smoothly, dries completely within thirty seconds and does what a topcoat is supposed to do-- lengthen your manicure. I've had colours on my nails for upwards of  a week with this top coat and it has earned a place at the top of my nail polish collection.

3. INGLOT- Blush: Shade 67

 I'm black. If you haven't noticed that from the picture of my hand above then...sorry. As a result of my pigmentation I found it irresponsible for me to justify putting a blusher on knowing fully well it would look like an ashy, pink mess or not be visible at all... until I found this. This is a part of INGLOT's freedom system where you can make your own palette  of eyeshadows and blushes which snap into the casing magnetically. 

This blush is VERY pigmented, a little goes a long way. But, it blends in really nicely and gives a soft flush of life to the cheeks. 

4. Nyx- The Curve Eyeliner: Black

I love eyeliner-- especially cat eyes. This is an affordable, dark, liquid eyeliner that shows up jet black on my skin instead of a nonchalant grey. The shape is a little weird and you have to get used to it, but now I've become an expert at the cat eye. This is also good for just a line near to the lash-line to make your lashes look fuller.

5. Clinique: Eyeshadow Palette. Shade: 03 Morning Java

I rarely wear eyeshadow, but this had me as soon as I saw it in Sephora. This is what I consider a brown, nude-esque eyeshadow palette with as the name suggests, an array of coffee- inspired colours. It has a handy guide on the mirror for using all of the colours to obtain a nude smoke eye, but as I am lazy and prefer no fuss I use mainly number (the gold colour) on my lid and the brown in my crease for definition. 

 5. Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-on eye pencil- Shade: Perversion

This eyeliner is in my monthly faves for reasons other it's saucy name. It goes on smoothly and smudges really well for a more smokey look. The colour is really pigmented and really the blackest of the black pencil liners I've seen. Love it!

6. No 7 Mascara: Exquisite Curl. Colour: Black

I love this mascara. It is an oldie, but a good one.  It gives my eyelashes volume and definition without looking like  I'm wearing falsies, which is a look I aim for.

7. Chloé: Eau de Parfum

Whilst travelling I always pop into duty free now and then. After hearing buzz about this perfume for a while, I tried it and it's now my signature scent! It has a very floral scent without being too sickening or over bearing. The scent lasts all day without being obnoxious. With notes of Lilly of the Valley, roses and honey it's a sweet scent that I really love.

And that's is for my July 2014 monthly favourites! 

I hope I've introduced you to some gems.