Film Review : 50 Shades Of Grey

First things first. I've wanted to start reviewing films on here for a while and since revamping my blog, I feel now is the best time... though the choice of the first film isn't ideal as it is not to my taste, it is one that is a huge talking point right now and I wanted to share my opinions on it.

So 50 Shades of Grey.

The reason and only reason I watched this film is because of the hype about it. I haven't read the books and knew virtually nothing about the plot other than I thought the two main characters hooked up in a sexual way.

I didn't really have any intentions to watch this but everyone I knew was talking about it and there are controversies surrounding this film, both of which I wanted to form an opinion on.

So I watched it yesterday and... I really did not enjoy it.

It was so bland and really poorly written. Also, the characters, particularily the girl made little sense.

!! Oh, I better say this now THERE MAY BE SPOILERS! Probably no major ones, but some minor plot details may be shared. !!

Anyway, the whole film was so poorly written it felt like something a 14-year old fantasizing girl would write (minus the whole BDSM thing), like some serious fan fiction about a teacher or something. It is so awful.

It was one of those films were you knew what dialogue was going to go down before it happened, word for word. It was that bad. 

It just felt so unoriginal and boring. 

Also, I didn't watch the film for the sexy scenes but prior to watching it I imagined it would just be the occasional boob shot and shadowy sexual positions, which I was mostly right about, you see a lot of butt too. So nothing too bad if you find yourself like me wanting to see what the fuss is about but not really wanting to watch a bloomin' soft porn!

As for the characters, I felt Anastasia Steele, the leading lady, her personality made NO SENSE. At all!

Okay, so you get the impression she's this virginal hopeless romantic who is waiting for the right guy to sweep her off her feet but is still an intelligent independent woman who doesn't feel the need for a man, which is unoriginal, but fine for purposes of this story. The problem begins when she meets this Mr. Grey and then her personality goes out the window and on a long holiday. She becomes some super horny seductive tease who is fine with rampant casual sex with a guy she met like 10 minutes ago?! It's not like it's an impossible scenario, it just felt so random when watching it and so badly written (I'm sorry that I keep saying it but it's the truth!).

It just doesn't feel natural at all.

As for this Christian Grey....

First... for casting A+. Jamie Dornan has a nice face. Good job.

But Mr. Grey is just your typically (female) written dominant male who a leading often more timid female pursues. Also throw in the stereotypical main characters dynamic of the dominant male admitting that something he does with the leading female character he has 'never done with anyone before, EVER.', YAWN!

He is clearly a character that's only purpose is to be desirable to women. He's super rich, he's hot, of course he plays the piano... blah blah blah.

Nothing to keep you truly interested if you ask me.

Except Jamie Dornan of course... with his nice face and all that.

As for the controversy surrounding the glorification of abuse... I didn't get that vibe.

Yeah he's 'punishing' her and whatever, but everything in they did was entirely consensual for what I saw and she even told him what she thought wasn't okay.

Sure there was a little manipulation and bribing with gifts but I don't see that as something that she felt she owed him for.

Though I'll admit he was super possessive over her with other men, that was a bit much.

Overall it is NOT a film I would ever usually watch and is certainly not one I would recommend you waste your time on. The hype is over absolutely nothing.

LAST THING!! As I was finishing this post up I checked the 50 shades Wikipedia to see if I missed any points I wanted to make and I saw that this whole series actually started out as a TWILIGHT FAN FICTION!?!?! 

I totally get it now! It's all come together! The awful unoriginal writing all makes sense! We can pack our bags and go home satisfied that the mystery is solved.

Well except the mystery of...

How on earth did this series get so darn popular?!

One of the true mysteries of this modern age.

Anyway...

Have you seen the film or even read the books, any thoughts?

Are the books badly written too or is that just how it's portrayed in the film?

Do you think it glorifies abuse?

As always, thanks for reading!

Birds in Blossom x

P.S. this was a really weird post to write, never thought I'd actually end up watching that film, never mind writing about it... ever.

Lush Easter Collection!

 

Okay so by now you've probably realized I am a HUGE Lush fan, and when I saw their Easter/Mother's Day collection I fell in love, it's all so CUTE! You may also have noticed that this collection came out a few weeks ago so I'm slow of the mark with this post, but I did take these photos literally the day after the line was released, but university has been swallowing up all of my free time so this is the first time I've had an hour (I'm having a break from revision) to write a post. 

When I walked into the Lush shop it truly felt like spring had arrived with gorgeous floral bubble bars and a variety of egg shaped bath bombs. Some of my favourite aesthetic products are the 'Mum Tulip' because my favourite flower is the Tulip and I think the 'Bunch of Carrots' are super cute. 

As for the ones I actually purchased, I chose 'Brightside Bubble Bar' (£4.50 each), it has a lovely citrus-y scent, which is more tangerine/orange rather than lemon or anything, and it turns your bath really bright orange (here's an instagram vid of when I used it). I also bought the 'Golden Egg' (£3.50 each) I got this one purely because of its smell, it's SO delicious, it smells of chocolate, honeycomb, toffee and all that yumminess, very reminiscent of a crunchie bar! 

However I have yet to use it because I'm scared of how glittery myself and the bath tub is going to be, and I've mentioned in a few of my reviews how much I detest glitter... so buying this one may have not been the best idea, but I'll have to wait and see once I've used it. I'll probably say how I felt about it on twitter and then post a video on twitter of what it looks like in the bath, so if you're interested keep an eye out for that!

That's all for now, my breaks up and I have to get back to work. Hope you enjoyed this post!

Keep smiling!

Birds in Blossom x

Tanya Burr Lips and Nails!

Most of you probably heard about Tanya Burr releasing her lip gloss and nail polish range on the 30th of January. But if you've been living under a rock, at least by bloggersphere standards, Tanya Burr is a top beauty, fashion and lifestyle Blogger and Youtuber, and is actually one of the first blogs I started reading regularly. Then when she released her products just over a week ago I couldn't wait to order a few of them to try them out!

I decided to buy one of each product type. So for lip gloss I chose Aurora, as it's such a flattering colour for my lips as it's only a shade or two lighter than my natural lip, and I had just run out of a similar coloured gloss so the timing was perfect. It smells delicious, just like strawberry sweets and has glitter in it to make your lips sparkle. It's not very sticky either which is good because I hate it when lip glosses almost make your lips stick together! They retail at £6.99 each, so are very reasonably priced. 

As for nail polish I chose Little Duck (what a sweet name!) as I am really into mint greens/blues at the minute and it's one colour I don't have in my nail polish collection. When applied to your nails it is true to the bottle colour and like most polishes, only needs two coats to achieve the perfect colour. These guys retail at £5.99 each, so again, they're super affordable.

Definitely going to invest in a few more of each product when I get paid next week! You can check them out on feelunique.com!

Keep smiling!

Birds in Blossom x

LVNDR Rings!

Hey guys!

You may have noticed I've not posted for a week and this has been due to having a lot of really important university assignment and presentation deadlines coming to a close these last few days, but now that's done with I can get back to posting!

So today I just want to show you a little purchase I've made!

This sweet little package arrived yesterday from an online shop called LVNDR. They do lots of really cute and not to mention super affordable jewellery, definitely worth checking them out here - lvndr.co.uk

 I love how personal the package feels with the hand written card, and rustic materials (I'm a sucker for a twine bow!). 

Once you open that package you get another super cute bag with links to their twitter and instagram (i highly recommend you give them a follow, also how cute is that mini-peg?!).

Anyway, here's what I bought, and as Valentine's Day is just around the corner I thought I'd buy two rings with a bit of a romance theme!

They are exactly what I wanted and are just as they appeared on the website I couldn't be happier with them.

This ring is the Baby Heart Ring (£3.49) I thought it looked so dainty and cute, and it would be complimentary with a combination of rings as it isn't too overbearing. 

Next is the Love Ring (£3.49) I just adored how the cursive font wraps all around your finger. This particular ring comes in three colours, bronze, silver and gold. I specifically chose silver to go with the baby heart ring, and another ring I have (the one in the photo below with the purple gem), but all the colours are gorgeous, I may just have to buy one of each in the future!

This is my favourite way to wear them, they really compliment the ring my boyfriend bought me for Christmas, and are a perfect choice for Valentine's Day (you may want to hint to your other half to buy you some for V-day! Definitely a apt gift!), I just love them!

When buying rings from this shop, they do only come in one size that will be stated on the products individual page. 

For example the Baby Heart Ring comes in UK size P (US 7.5) so is on the bigger side, but I like to wear it with the Love Ring on my index finger or on it's own on my middle finger. The Love Ring is UK size N (U.S 6.75) and for me is on the smaller size but as I just said I wear it as a midi-ring on my index finger or on my little finger on it's own.

Delivery is very reasonably priced, in my case it cost something like 89p (I think) and they arrived quickly and in perfect condition!

Lvndr don't just do rings though they have a great selection of all sorts of beautiful jewellery, I even have my eye on a few more necklaces and bracelets! I definitely recommend you check them out!

Keep Smiling,
Birds in Blossom x

REVIEW | LUSH The Comforter

So here it is, my all time favourite bubble bar from LUSH, The Comforter (£4.50 each). If you go into a LUSH store you'll see this one right away, it's much bigger than many of their other products, so though it is more expensive than the other bath bombs and bubble bars, you can get quite a few uses out of it so I suppose it is pretty justifiable, well at least, I think so. Personally, I tend to split it into quarters (see below) and as I reckon by using that amount you can still get the full effect of the bubbles, scent and colour. 

As for the scent, a strong blackcurrant fragrance instantly hits you, it's so fruity and sweet, I just love it! Even when you use it the scent stays strong in the water and you can smell it in your hair and skin for hours after your bath. Also, it does its job really well, by that I mean, when you crush it under a running tap it makes bubbles instantly and in vast quantities (even when using a quarter of the bar). Lastly it turns your water a lovely bright pink colour (as you can see quite well in the photos below) which I adore as I love all things pink!

So yeah, I definitely recommend The Comforter, it smells lovely, it creates plenty of bubbles and easily gets at least 4 uses from just one bar. If you're ever in the store you should check it out!

Okay, so that's it with LUSH products for now as I've run out (I doubt that will be the case for long though!) but I am going to review some other bath products soon and maybe a few make-up items, so keep a look out!

If there's a particular product you would like me to review from lush or anywhere else, leave a comment below and I'll see what I can do!

Keep smiling,

BirdsinBlossom x

REVIEW | LUSH Creamy Candy Bubble Bar

This lil' cutie is the Creamy Candy Bubble Bar (£2.50 each), it actually smells very much like a product I have recently reviewed, the Mmmelting Marshmallow Moment, by that I mean it smells just like a sweet shop! (though you do get more of a hint of vanilla with this one, especially once used in the bath)

Now this product, as it's name suggests, isn't a bath bomb or even a bath melt but it is actually a bubble bar. So to use this you crumble it up under the running tap water when filling the bath, and then leave it to work its magic, which just happens to be creating lots and lots of bubbles! Even though it doesn't turn your bath a funky colour like others it does smell amazing and obviously bath colour isn't that important but sometimes I do like the novelty! Oh yeah, it also contains cocoa butter and almond oil so it leaves your skin moisturised, refreshed and feeling silky smooth! 

It comes in as a close second favourite bubble bar from LUSH (I'm going to review my all time favourite next, so look out for that!), mainly because I only get one use out of this one whereas with the other one manages about 4 uses (and the fact that the other one makes my hair and skin smell so, so good for hours).

I absolutely love this product as I am a sucker for bubble baths and definitely recommend it for those with a sweet tooth, though I suggest you don't try to eat it! 

If there's a particular product you would like me to review from lush or anywhere else, leave a comment below and I'll see what I can do!
Keep smiling,

BirdsinBlossom x

REVIEW | LUSH Butterball

This is the Butterball (£2.50), if you read my last LUSH review you'll know that I got this particular bath bomb in the 'Baby Frosty' Christmas set, but I have bought this on its own before. You wouldn't notice it for it's smell or it's looks but if you've used this, you would know that it does amazing things for your skin. 

It's full of cocoa butter and moisturiser, so it's super good for dry skin. There's not much more to comment on with this bath bomb, it doesn't transform your bath like other ones do (just see the pictures below, it's hard to tell which is the before and which is the after), though when it first dissolves the cocoa butter melts and looks like actual melted butter on top of your water, which is weird the first time you use it, but you soon become accustomed to it.

So obviously I recommend this one, especially if you have dry skin, it's a great addition to a pamper session, leaves your skin feeling moisturised and refreshed.

If there's a particular product you would like me to review from lush or anywhere else, leave a comment below and I'll see what I can do!

Keep smiling,

BirdsinBlossom x

Seventeen Complete Collection

This is the Seventeen Complete Collection, which I picked up from Boots yesterday as they were having a 70% sale! So the box says £35 but I picked this beauty up for £10.50 an absolute bargain! Lets take a look what you get for your moolah...

On the first 'page' are a variety of beauty products from brushes to gel eyeliner and on the other 'page' you have a few make-up tips and advice and then there are a couple of windows that give you a glimpse of the eyeshadows and other goodies that are concealed in a sort of pull out section.

Firstly, the brushes. You get five in this set, they're all super soft and I've tried each and every one and they work really well! As you can see there is one 'Cheeks' brush, three 'Eyes' brushes and one 'Lips' brush. I think the design is really simple and sleek, they just look really cool. I've been after some brushes for a while and these are perfect for what I was after.

Next up, the beauty items. So here you get a 15ml tube of 'Photo flawless' skin primer and I must say I've never used a primer before so I was a little skeptical but I put it on today and it really did work, my foundation lasted a lot longer than usual. I have yet to use the Limited edition black mascara, but I have looked at the brush applicator and it's a thick one so it is the type I usual go for, so I will probably get around to using it at some point but I do love my usual mascara a lot so I don't know when that would be. You get two eye pencils, in black and coffee, I've only used the black one but it was easy to apply and the colour was bold and didn't run/fade like others I have used in the past. The Limited edition metallic eye cream can be used as a eye cream as the name suggests but also as a highlighter, though it has a slight gold tinge so I personally would only use it as a highlighter for nights out. Lastly the Limited edition gel liner, I don't know if I would use this as I am too in love with my Rimmel glam eyes liquid liner as it's so easy to apply and lasts all day, but I suppose when I run out I'll give it a go but I think I would need to buy a thinner brush to apply it with.

You also get an Eyelash curler and a Pencil sharpener, I've yet to use either of these so I can't really comment on them. I don't really use eyelash curlers as I had a bad experience with one once where it sliced all my eyelashes off from one of my top eyelids and so I've not trusted them since. As for the sharpener I 'm sure it works perfectly well but I have several around my room and in my bag so I don't think it will get used extensively.

I adore the range of colours you get in this collection! The eye shadows are actually taken from the Metallic toffee trio, Funfair, Peepshow eye palette, Vengeance trio, Style Queen, Spirit, Regal and Mardi Gras sets (quoted from the back of the box) so far I've used the pink, white and grey/silver shades, the colour transfers really well and you don't have to apply much to get a bold, bright colour, I can't wait to try them out more and find loads of amazing combinations! As for the lip gloss the shades you get are Peachy, Pink Ice, Fuzzy Yellow Petal, In The Nude and Very Berry, I wore Very Berry today and only had to apply it once and the colour lasted all day, I even ate and drank and the colour didn't falter in the slightest and kept it's vibrance, I was really impressed. I tried the Limited edition bronzer but for me it was a bit more shimmery and gold than what I was used to, so I went back to my usual bronzer, I'll have to try it again another time though as I don't really have an opinion yet. Finally the Blusher in Bramble Frost, again another product I have yet to use, but I will definitely be using this in the spring when I want a lighter pink glow, as at the minute I use a deeper berry shade for blusher with it still being winter.

Overall I was really pleased with this purchase, well worth the money! There were a couple in the store I went to so if you're lucky they may still be in stock, I highly recommend this collection, everything is of high quality and there isn't really anything in it that won't be used at one time or another.

Keep smiling!
Birds in Blossom x

REVIEW | LUSH Shoot for the Stars

Before I review the bath bomb itself, I want to comment on the gift set it came in, the 'Baby Frosty' (Original price £9.75, sale price around £4.90) this is a Christmas exclusive (no shocker there) and I bought it in the sales for half price. There are two bath bombs in the set, Shoot for the Stars (Also a Christmas exclusive) and Butterball (Available all year round, I think). I would never buy this at full price as one bath bomb is £3.25 and the other is £2.50, so you're paying £4 for a cloth to go over them, and though it is adorable, unlike some of the other cloth wrappings you get at lush, it isn't something you could use again (unless wrapping bath bombs for a Christmas present of course) and as it wasn't a gift, but for myself I don't really care about the wrappings. However the sale price was reasonable, so I thought I'd try it out. 

Anyway to the first bath bomb in this set...

So this one is obviously Shoot for the Stars (£3.25 each) it's a super cute bath bomb that's only available around Christmas. I didn't pick this one out for it's looks or scent as it was in the set but when I opened the cloth up I immediately recognised a very subtle 'Honey I washed the kids' scent coming from this bath bomb (which is a honey-caramel kind of smell), but it does smells a little fruitier than the soap to me.

Like always I just popped it in my bath and waited for the show to unfold, and it didn't fail to deliver! Straight away there were bright blue and yellow streaks fizzing out, and as it span around vibrant pink bubbles also started to come out of the bath bomb in all directions. It left the water a very beautiful dark indigo colour.

I must say, once the bath bomb had fully dissolved I was disappointed to find that there was virtually no scent coming from the bath, which is not what I have come to expect from LUSH products. Then,when I was finished and out of the bath I noticed my skin was covered in glitter, which usually I am not a fan of, but they weren't particularly large pieces of glitter so it wasn't too bad and I suppose if I was going on a night out it does leave a nice shimmer.

Overall I've decided that I wouldn't purchase this particular bath bomb again. I like ones that are greatly fragranced and leave your skin smelling lovely afterwards but Shoot for the Stars didn't do that in the slightest, also I  personally don't like having glitter in my bath and it didn't really leave me feeling like it benefited my skin like other LUSH products do.

I'll review the second bath bomb in this set, butterball, next and then I'll comment about the set on a whole.

If there's a particular product you would like me to review from lush or anywhere else, leave a comment below and I'll see what I can do!

Keep smiling,

BirdsinBlossom x

REVIEW | LUSH Mmmelting Marshmallow Moment

This one, the Mmmelting Marshmallow Moment (£3.95 each) literally smells like you've walked into a sweet shop, you're almost tempted to take a bite out of it! Though it isn't a bath bomb but a bath melt, however you still use it in the same way (by just popping it into your bath when it's ready). 

Marshmallow moment creates a sort of foam on the top of the water which is more like lathered soap than normal bubbles so I actually use it to clean my skin, it also contains cocoa butter which is really good for dry skin and I definitely find that it moisturises my skin really well.

Most of the times I have used this product the water has turned a soft pink colour but this time (I don't know how well it comes through the pictures) it was more lilac than pink, it still smelled the same so I figure it may have just been the lighting in the room or something.

I highly recommend this bath bomb if you love sweet smelling things and due to it's scent it would be great for children, I've given a few as gifts to younger relatives and they've gone down a treat (and according to the website it's perfect for young skin).

If there's a particular product you would like me to review from lush or anywhere else, leave a comment below and I'll see what I can do!

Keep smiling,

BirdsinBlossom x

REVIEW | LUSH Dragon's Egg

I had never used the Dragon's Egg (£3.25 each) before but I bought it as it smelled so fresh and lemony, though the exterior didn't really look like much, except for a few bits of confetti poking out, but you can never judge a book by the cover (lame cliche, I know) so I thought I'd give it a go!

So I put it in my bath not expecting much but I was actually pleasantly surprised, it fizzed white at first and released a few bits of confetti, which was what I was expecting, but then a glittery golden core emerged (go look at the website images to really see what I mean), but I will add it doesn't make your skin glittery or anything, which is something I am definitely glad about. 

After a while I kept hearing crackling and I thought the tap was just dripping or something, but I soon realised it was the bath bomb, it has a sort of popping candy in it, a unusual but cool touch!

The pictures below showing the colour change of the bath don't really do this bath bomb any justice, it is a much more vibrant gold in reality. I will definitely be purchasing this one again, the citrus fragrance was enticing and for some reason I always feel even cleaner with lemon scented soaps and shampoos etc., probably due to years of using citrus kitchen cleaning products!

I would definitely recommend this one if you aren't really into sweet or floral scents, I have a friend who doesn't like those kind of scents and she absolutely loves this bath bomb!

If there's a particular product you would like me to review from lush or anywhere else, leave a comment below and I'll see what I can do!

Keep smiling,

BirdsinBlossom x