Book Review: Me Before You-JoJo Moyes

In my spare time, I do read quite a lot, ranging from teenage fiction to more adult titles, so I thought it might be a good idea to write reviews on some of my favourite, and least favourite titles. If you have any book suggestions to read, comment either below the post or in the guestbook, and I will do my best to write about them.

Will Traynor is a highly successful businessman who travels, makes lots of money and has a pretty girlfriend. He is used to having money, girls and being in charge, but when he is on his way to work one day, he gets hit by a motorcycle- his life is about to change forever.

Lou Clark is a young woman in her twenties who lives at home with her Mum, Dad, sister and nephew. She is happy working shifts in the local cafe, and hasn't really ventured out of the small town she lives in. She has a pretty quiet life, and, apart from problems with her long-term boyfriend Patrick, she is fairly happy in the routine she is in.

But when the Cafe shuts down and Lou is out of a job, she ends up down at the job centre, and after considering the few options she has, she gets an interview to be a carer for a paralysed man for a 6-month period. Although this isn't what she was expecting, she gets the job.


When Louise meets Will, they don't get on well at first, due to Will's consistently negative and rude attitude, however when they realise they have a similar sense of humour, it breaks the ice between them and they begin to warm to each other. However, as they get closer to each other, Lou soon finds out about Will's past, and the shocking reason why she will only be working for him for 6 months.

Will she be able to change Will's mind, or will she support Will's choices?


-What I thought- (Spoilers)

I first picked up this book, as it was highly recommended by Tanya Burr, another Blogger and Youtuber. Honestly, I hadn't read anything about what this book was about, and assumed it was another generic romance novel. But once I had started it, I realised that although it has a fair amount of romance in, it deals with the much darker subject of assisted suicide, that is not often talked about.

There is also a lot of humour in this book, and the sarcastic jokes between Lou and Will are funny. The characters play off each other very well, and despite coming from very different backgrounds, have a lot in common with each other.

Although a few of the characters personality traits sometimes annoyed me in this book (Patrick- Lou's boyfriend, and occasionally Will's Mother), generally I think all of them came to life and their personalities were well written. My favourite character was probably Will's other Carer, Nathan, and I enjoyed the chapter of the book that was written from his point of view, as it gave you a chance to find out how he viewed Will and Lou's friendship from someone else's perspective. Will's Mother also has her own chapter from her point of view, but this I found less interesting,

The ending of the book where Lou has to decide whether to support will's decisions or not is pretty emotional, and despite how she tries to change his mind, he still wants to travel to Switzerland and go through with what he has planned. Although it is one of the saddest things she has gone through in her life, I think her choice in the end to support Will and accompany him to the Dignitas clinic was the right one.

I think lots of people hoped for a happy, romantic ending - but the Epilogue I found enjoyable and moving, as it shows how Lou is trying to move on by doing lots of the things Will had wanted her to do, to experience more from life.


-Overall-

I will definitely be buying the follow up novel to this when it's released, as this is one of the top books I have ever read and I wouldn't hesitate recommending it to others. Don't judge it by the slightly girly front cover- this is an emotional book that deals with a dark, controversial subject
that can be read and enjoyed by anybody. I wouldn't hesitate in recommending Me Before You by JoJo Moyes to people who enjoy weepies- and I'm not surprised it's been given 5/5 stars online.

9/10 Highly recommended.

Glorious Mud body mask

Around a year ago, Lush Cosmetics decided to start up the Lush Kitchen to replace the 'retro' section of their old website. The Lush Kitchen is a project run by Lush to unearth long-ago products, and make fresh, limited-edition batches of them to offer customers who may not have shopped at Lush long enough to remember their old, discontinued products.

Personally, I think there is good and bad points to the Lush kitchen, but overall it is a nice way to have a chance to try something out that you may not have been able to buy before. The products are also at their peak of freshness- which is the best condition to use them in.

The problem that is caused by releasing limited amounts of products, is that there often isn't enough for everyone to buy-leading to lots of disappointed customers. As well as this, customers who do manage to buy something such as a limited-edition shampoo, might want to use it as part of their regular routine- which they can't do unless the Lush Kitchen decide to bring it back.

It is generally a total lottery what Lush decide to stock in the Kitchen range, so it is worth checking back every week when the new menu of products is put out.

Glorious mud is a rhassoul-mud based body mask released by Lush in their Kitchen range. It's presented as a large, cubed, brown slab, which doesn't look immediately appealing. However, with products such as these, it's important not to judge the look of them before they are used.

The scent of Glorious mud is part of Lush's Creme Anglais scent family- a strong, layered scent with lots of vanilla. But for those who are into plain vanilla scents, this is a little different. There is also a large helping of Frankincense in here, and this adds a smokiness to the scent which makes it quite heady and overwhelming. The Glorious mud scent is a little weaker than the Pot O' Gold shower jelly, but it't still pretty strong. Personally, I am not a fan of this scent, and I didn't realise they shared the same scent until I had already bought the product.


To use this body mask, you can do one of three things.

You can crush the mask up in a pot and apply it as fine grains. This may be the easiest way for some people, as the slab of Glorious mud contains sodium bicarb and can therefore dissolve easily under water.

You can also cut a piece off. I think this would be the most difficult method as the mask is quite grainy and crumbly, and I think a lot could be wasted this way.

Or you can do as I do, use the mask as a scrub by rubbing it into your skin by holding the cube in your hand. As long as you keep it out the stream of water, this is a fairly easy method and is ideal for when you are applying in the shower or standing up.



As I previously mentioned, Glorious Mud is quite a grainy scrub- although it has oils and gentle skin-softening ingredients, it can feel a little harsh when applying, if like me, you have sensitive skin. However, when you run it down your skin a steady trail of body mask melts onto your skin and you can then massage it in, either with a scrub mitt or just your bare hand. This body mask is also quite messy as it is rhassoul mud-based, so be careful not to get it on the walls, and if you do, rinse it off right away.

Unfortunately for me, the smell of this mask (which I didn't like from the start), elevated in the shower and became overwhelming almost unbearable. It became richer and quite strong and sickly- something which fans of the scent would no doubt love- but I hated. In fact I had to rinse it off quite quick and then rinse the shower and open the window too, just to try and get the smell out of the bathroom.

The one positive thing I can say about this body mask is that for the brief time after I had rinsed it off, my skin did feel really soft after all the oils and butters had sunk in. It obviously does it's job well as a product- but the scent just doesn't agree with me and the mask made a lot of mess, which I wasn't too happy about.

I have read lots of reviews from people who love this body mask, but for me, it seems to be a love or hate product, and unfortunately I am in the latter category. I just wish Lush would come up with the product in a different scent and then maybe I would be willing to overlook the mess problem. Overall, it made my skin feel nice- but I won't be buying Glorious Mud body mask again.

2/10

Butterball bath bomb

I was given one of these bath bombs as a gift yesterday, and although I vaguely remember buying one a few years ago, it was nice to have a fresh one so I would be able to analyse it in more detail. I've heard lots of great reviews of this particular bath bomb from other bloggers and vloggers that I looked forward to using it right away.

When you go into a Lush store, you will see a colourful array of bath bombs and bubble bars sitting on plates ready to be bought, and Butterball may seem a little dull and uninspiring in comparison. It's a bit smaller than your typical bath bomb, and is a white shade, speckled with creamy patches of cocoa butter. Butterball is one of Lush's cheapest bath bombs, but it works as well as most of the bigger ones.

The scent of this bath bomb is quite creamy and reminds me of fresh vanilla, with a little added musk and mild floral notes to help it seem less cloying and lot more fresh. You can also smell the cocoa butter in there, which adds an almost chocolatey element.

Although all Lush bath bombs are water softening, this one tops the list of being the most moisturising bath bomb offering from Lush. Despite the small size and lack of added extras, such as glitter and colour, this bath bomb is stuffed with chunks and flakes of cocoa butter, which moisturise your skin and leave it feeling soothed and softened. Although it doesn't claim to be made specifically for it, I think Butterball would be an ideal choice if you suffered from sensitive skin, or sunburn.  I generally do have quite dry skin, and I can't always be bothered to moisturise, so I hope the oils in this would be ideal for that.


Using a bath bomb is easy. Just run a hot bath, and throw it in the water and watch it fizz away. This bath bomb does not make much of a change to the water colour wise, except turning it a little more cloudy. But the golden chunks of cocoa butter inside float on the surface and around the sides of the bath. These are the best bit of the bath bomb, and can even be scooped up and rubbed into particularly dry skin if you feel like doing so.

As this bath bomb has got a lot of oils in, be careful getting out as it can make the surface of the bath quite greasy. However, this is a minor problem and doesn't take away from it's performance.


After use, my skin felt really smooth and silky, and the musky vanilla scent remained on my skin. I topped it up with a little of my Demeter vanilla ice-cream cologne, which went well with the scent of Butterball.

Overall, although this bath bomb is not showy in any way, I think it's one which is really well-suited to my skin, and I understand why so many Lush fans adore the Butterball scent. I will definitely be picking it up again and has been good to be reintroduced to it.

8/10

Ciaté Paint Pot Nail Polish in Morning Dew

Out of all the makeup products I try, nail polish is one of the ones that I tend not to spend a lot of money on. I have tried a lot of budget, drugstore brands of nail polish that I have really liked, and didn't really see any reason to invest a lot of money in something which might potentially just be really similar to the cheaper, yet good quality favourites that I already own.

After browsing in a branch of T.K Maxx in Edinburgh, I came across a shelf full of higher-end cosmetics, some of which were brands I recognised from Youtube beauty vloggers' videos. As well as this, a lot of the products were reduced in price, so after looking at the nail polishes and quickly trying to decide which colour I should choose, I opted for one of Ciaté's polishes.

Morning dew by Ciaté is part of their Dragonfly Collection, and is a pale, pearlescent grey-blue, with iridescent sparkles shot through it, which, although minuscule, are in their thousands here. Although the colour of the polish is a light one, I think it would work particularly well in winter-time. The shade really reminds me of the light frosts and has a real ice-theme to it. However, it works equally well in summer due to it's lightness, and can be paired with all sorts of outfits and makeup looks due to it being a fairly neutral shade.

The packaging of this nail polish, like all Ciaté's other bottles, is so pretty that it almost seems an indulgent treat. It would make a nice gift in itself if given to someone, and is much more decorative than the other nail polish bottles I own. Amusingly, the bottle is ergonomically shaped to fit better in the palm of your hand, but whether this really works or is just a gimmick, I am not too sure on. Personally, I thought the shape of the bottle looked elegant, but it felt no more-or-less comfortable than any other polish bottle I have held. The bottle is also adorned with a black mini satin bow- which, although elegant, is sadly quite cheaply glued-on, and fell off the cap after only a couple of uses.

The polish applies quickly and easily. Although it's not my favourite nail brush I have tried, it is up there with the best. I needed around 2-3 coats until I was satisfied with the pigmentation of the polish, and I allowed sufficient drying time in-between coats to ensure the polish wouldn't peel or smudge afterwards.

The polish stayed on my nails for a good 3 days before starting to chip slightly. I am aware this doesn't sound like a great result, but taking into account that I used no base or top coat (I always forget)- I was pleased with the result. I'm sure that using a topcoat would allow the polish to stay on for longer, and I plan to trial it out soon.

Overall, I would not pay full price for this nail polish, as I feel it's on a par with some of the good quality drugstore ones available. However, for the low price I paid, I wouldn't hesitate on picking up some more in other colours.

7.5/10
R.R.P: £6.30
Sale Price: £2.99

Sleek Powder Blush in Pixie Pink

Sleek is another brand that has come to my attention, due to the many bloggers and vloggers I am a fan of recommending the brand as being a cheaper alternative that is as good as some of the more expensive ones. I wanted to try out a product for myself, and as I've heard so many good things about the blushers in particular, I chose one as my first purchase from the Sleek brand.

The shade I opted for is pixie pink, a beautiful, flushed blue-based pink that looks pretty bright in the compact, but can be used to achieve any look, whether that's a natural blush, or a cheekier, more pigmented application on the apples of your cheeks.


The packaging of the blush really reflects the name of the brand- it certainly is sleek! The compact is smaller than the size of your average credit card, and has a beautiful matte, black finish. I love matte packaging, as it's anti-fingerprint and I think it looks more chic than a shiny finish.  The compact has a built in mirror too, which is useful and an added bonus. The only criticism I can make is that opening the compact proves a little difficult. It's quite stiff and difficult to prise open without bending your nails and chipping nail varnish, which for me is quite annoying. Whether it will get easier to open with more usage, I don't know, but according to others who have bought this compact blush- it is unfortunately a common problem.

Onto the product itself; As I previously mentioned, the blush looks very pigmented in the compact and comes up just pigmented on your skin, so a little really goes a long way. It applies very well with a fluffy blusher brush, and blends to create any look you require. For me, the formula was non-drying and gave a pleasantly matte look. I also found that it was long lasting, and stayed on for a whole day without any need for reapplication. I didn't use primer either, so I imagine if you used a proper primer base then you would get even more hours out of one use.

Sleek is a drugstore brand of makeup, however I managed to pick their blusher up off Ebay for around the £3.50 mark, which makes it excellent value for money. I think it will also last a good few uses, as whilst I do enjoy using quite a generous amount of blusher, the pigmentation in this one is strong and you really don't need much.

Overall, this will be a repeat purchase for me, but I would like to check out the other shades in the range as I do enjoy swapping blush colours from time to time. I am tempted to invest in one of their 3-blush shade palettes as I've heard they are popular.

Sleek blusher, for me, has lived up to the 'hype' surrounding it over the past few months by lots of people, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants a good-quality product at a low price. They just need to make their packaging easier to open and it would be pretty much perfect to me- but I can't fault the product!

9/10