//BIG NEWS//

So this week actually turned out to be pretty exciting!

I went on a school trip to Les Mis (AKA my fave show ever) on Thursday. I am a huge musical theatre geek and I think it's pretty safe to say that, during those two and a half hours, I was LIVING. By the end of the first act, I was just about ready to stand up, leap on stage and join in the revolution they'd been singing about for half an hour! This would have been pretty interesting, given that I was in the upper circle and would have probably fallen off the balcony.

The beautiful chandelier at Les Mis- we were in love!

We got in about half midnight, and as someone who doesn't function with much less than eight hours sleep, I was definitely pretty unimpressed by my half six alarm the next morning. I just about crawled into school and managed to stay awake during assembly, but on the way back I was woken up by the news that I'd just been given a conditional offer to study medicine at university! HOW MENTAL IS THAT?!?!?

I've got to get certain grades, which is pretty terrifying, but this has increased my motivation by about 1000%! I spent the entire day in a complete blur and was very overwhelmed by the entire thing (I'm still preparing myself for the email saying it was a glitch in the system!). My brother had to log onto my UCAS track and check it for me, my hands and legs were shaking too much! That evening was the night of our sixth form social, and I went to my friend Sophie's house to get ready before hand! She runs an awesome beauty blog that you should definitely check out. The evening itself was pretty good, although I was super tired at work the following day! 

At the party (I'm on the right!)

The last few days were pretty insane, and I'm in definite need of some downtime tomorrow to do the crucial things in life: finish my book, clean my room & plot some reaction rate graphs.

Mac Paint Pot in 'Vintage Selection'

I thought I'd tell you all about a product I only discovered this weekend, but I've been really loving. As a contact lens wearer, my eyes get very sensitive and irritated, particularly when I'm tired. What I've noticed is that they get especially uncomfortable when I'm wearing powder eye shadow. This was kinda crushing, as I'm completely in love with my Urban Decay Naked 2 palette (tricky to use - boo!), so I'd been on the hunt for a creamier eyeshadow to avoid the powder falling into my eyes.

'Vintage Selection' colour, as shown on the Mac cosmetics website.

Whilst I was out shopping with Mum at the weekend, we popped into the Mac store for a quick look. I stumbled across the paint pots and was immediately in love. They're cream based eyeshadows that are easily applied with a brush (I use my Real Techniques detail brush for control).

I picked 'Vintage Selection' after trying a couple; a pale pink with a shimmery undertone. It looks great for daytime or evening and is quite subtle, which I love.

Best of all, it doesn't irritate my eyes at all, so I'm thrilled. Have you tried these paint pots? What do you think? If you've got any recommendations I'd love to know! x

'The Theory of Everything' Review

Happy New Year!

As a quick revision break, I popped to the cinema last Thursday to see the new Eddie Redmayne film, 'the Theory of Everything'. Since the trailers first came out I'd been eagerly anticipating the release of this film and it really didn't disappoint! I'm a huge fan of Eddie Redmayne and as a bit of a scientist (although definitely not a physicist), it was awesome to see the life of someone massively influential in the science world playing on the big screen.

The poster for the film

I loved the use of colour saturation and varying shades in order to add both mood and a sense of time period to the movie - this was useful as the only date given throughout was 1963, right at the beginning. As Eddie Redmayne wasn't actually ageing that much whilst shooting the film, it was a tad confusing trying to estimate where we were in history!

Personally, I enjoyed how the science in the film was kept to a minimum, and it instead focused on his personal life. Obviously Hawking has made some huge contributions to physics, but concentrating on his struggles and personal determination gave the film a human note that everybody could relate to. As he played Hawking in the later stages of his illness, Redmayne did an incredible job with even the tiniest nuances in his movement and eye expression, which captured the wry humour and awkward charm of his Hawking, despite his restricted movement. He perfectly played the character from awkward, gangly young man to husband and world-renowned lecturer, and the progression of his personality was clear to see.

Ok - anyone else seriously in LOVE with this dress?! WANT.

The score was also beautiful and really added to the most poignant and dramatic moments of the film. As soon as I left the cinema I downloaded the movie score, and it was honestly perfect for revising to! It blocked out all the background noise but was soothing enough to not be distracting, and it's all I've listened to for a week!

I've linked the trailer here, and I strongly recommend running to see this beautiful film whilst you still can!

Have you seen it? What did you think? I'd love to know! x

2014 Round Up

I've seen a couple of these floating around on blogs, and other various social media places, and it seemed like a fun thing to do! I thought I'd look back on all the cool things that have happened this year for me as it's been a pretty good one. I've learnt so much this year and as my final, whole year of 'childhood' (before I hit 18 in February), it's been a great jumping off point for an exciting, new chapter ahead of me. Ok, there's now an overload of cheese and it's only the third sentence so I'd better just get into it.

• The year started off with entering the extended essay competition at school. I wrote an essay on a subject close to my heart; being a twin, and was lucky enough to be awarded second prize. I was so happy to be picked and I actually had a ton of fun writing the essay.
• My birthday was in February and my friend kindly arranged a surprise party for my brother and myself. It was such a lovely gesture and it was great to get all our friends together and have some fun!
• Just after my birthday, I saw Wicked in the West End which was amazing! I love musicals and it was awesome to see it again, I think this must have been the third or fourth time I've seen it!

Our view of the stage of Wicked

• This year,  my mum turned the big five oh, and to celebrate, we threw her a surprise birthday party. Her family live about 300 miles away so it was amazing to have everyone here for a party in our garden, although I was surprised that we could all fit!!

My lovely mummy's amazing birthday cake! 

• After the exam period, I was awarded the Upper School Musician cup at the Celebration Day! It was a really lovely surprise.
• I finally finished my gold D of E this summer - I NEVER have to walk up a hill again. If someone asks me, I can just refuse! But seriously - it was my fave D of E so far and it was such an achievement to have.
• After D of E, I went along on my second cub camp. It's great helping out there and I honestly feel that helping out with the kids has made a massive difference to my maturity, but also my communication skills!

Cheesing on a lifeboat in the summer

• A week after I came back, I took my driving theory test and passed! Yay! That evening, I saw the European premiere of 'Dogfight', one of my favourite shows, and my comment on this was my first post on this blog!

• After a successful but nerve wracking results day, I embarked on a week's work experience in a GP surgery. This may not sound like a thrilling highlight to many people, but it was amazing. I'd never even entertained the possibility of being a GP before but all of a sudden, a whole world of opportunity opened up and it was fascinating to see firsthand the quality of care in the community, which is becoming especially important in today's society. 
• I then had my last first day back. For someone who's been going to the same school since they were four, it was a pretty momentous occasion, but I'm excited for 2015's first days in new places to roll around, all the same. 
• It was pretty quiet through September and October; I did a bit of work experience (including scrubbing in on some surgery!) and finished my UCAS application, attended a few parties, but I performed my last ever school show in November. That was quite emotional, having done them since year 10, and it was lovely to go out with a bang and perform with some of my friends!
• Near the end of November, I took my grade 6 exam in musical theatre and to my utter astonishment was awarded a grade 6. Like, what even. I'm so happy and have honestly come so far from being a tone deaf ten year old.
• November and December also brought other things for me - two interviews for medical school, and an offer for my fifth choice of biomedical sciences! I feel so lucky to have gotten this far and I can't wait to do my final interview at the end of January and show them what I'm made of.

All in all, the year had some pretty cool points for me. But undoubtedly my favourite thing was spending it with my family and close friends. I'm so proud of everything they've accomplished, especially my two brothers and my mum, and I can't wait to see them go on being wonderful in 2015.

Bring it on!