JUNE FAVOURITES

                                                

As June has come to an end and we move into July, I thought I’d pick out and share some of my favourite things the month, new things that I’ve tried or loves that I’ve gone back to throughout the four weeks.

Music: I’m a lover of Spotify and creating playlists, but over the past months I’ve been finding myself sticking to what I know, returning to my go-to artists or albums and listening to them on repeat. While there’s nothing wrong with that, I thought I’d use this month as a chance to listen to some new music and test the waters with a range of artists. My favourite new album that I’ve listened to this month has to be Easy Life’s ‘Life’s a Beach’. I was aware of their music and singles previously, but this is their debut album and I love it. It’s easy listening, and his spoken word style is reminiscent of Jamie T, Mike Skinner or Loyle Carner… probably why I became hooked so quickly. Music that makes you think, zone out, let go and chill out. Frontman Murry Matravers reveals that being from Leicester, he’s far from the beach. The album’s about “dreaming big and getting out of your head”, and it is split into two halves. The first being a lot more jovial, while the second moves into murkier waters. But although they explore some dark moments and serious themes, they state “I definitely don’t want anyone thinking we’re seriously deep”. I love that despite making you think and feel, they’re a band that revels in having fun.

Podcast: I love to listen to a Podcast. Whether it’s when I’m travelling somewhere or getting ready for the day, it’s a great way to keep both entertained and educated. I’ll be writing a blog on my favourite recent podcasts soon, but one that I finally started in June was Louis Theroux’s ‘Grounded’. He began the series in November 2020, discussing the journey of life with high profile guests, looking at the highs, lows, controversial and mysterious. I love it because he is impartial as a host, he listens extremely well and as a result the conversations are always very interesting. I love an insightful podcast, I like coming away feeling like I’ve gained something, learning something new or being introduced to a new perspective. Despite his intelligence, it’s also very colloquial so it’s easy listening with a variety of depth and light hearted moments to. He’s very gentle and open when questioning, rather that harsh and probing, I like that. I particularly loved Episode 1 with actor, writer and producer Michaela Coel. As a huge fan of her work I was intrigued immediately. I really loved this listen, they’re both extremely wise individuals and it was very thought provoking. They discuss interesting topics including the creation of Michaela’s semi-autobiographical series ‘I May Destroy You’, sexual consent, speaking in tongues, religion and post-writum depression. I’d recommend it to anyone.

TV: A recent blog of mine covered some of my favourite recent series, so I thought I’d use this as an opportunity to delve into something new. In June I started the series ‘The Bold Type’ on Netflix. Five series inspired by the life of magazine editor and executive Joanna Coles, who serves as the executive producer. An American comedy-drama that follows the lives of three millennial women working for the fictional global publication ‘Scarlett’ in New York City. Initially I was questioning it a lot, it didn’t lure me in immediately and I found I was cringing at times. Despite being based in reality, I feel that some of the script is quite heightened. However, I stuck with it and I’ve now finished Series 1. Although I don’t love it, what’s kept me coming back for more is how easy watching it is. It’s amusing and that’s enough. I’m also quite invested in the characters now and their individual journeys. It has the feel of a ‘chick flick’ film, but as a series instead. You become attached to them and it is exciting keeping up to date with their latest ventures, particularly their journeys through work and of friendships, love and heartbreak. It’s a background type of show, despite the obstacles they face, it’s a relaxed, easy going watch. I also love the focus on feminism and equality, the series is focused on a female run magazine so it’s empowering for female journalists. It effectively tackles many important issues females face in both a working environment and outside. I’m not sure if I will continue all the way and watch all five series, but it’s an entertaining show nevertheless.

Make-Up & Skincare: Similarly to my music, I very much stick to what I know when it comes to make-up and skincare. I guess that’s not always a bad thing when I feel it works, why try and fix something that’s not broken. But I think at times it can be fun to try some new bits, just in case you prefer them and it becomes your new favourite. For Make-Up I have to mention the eyebrow products from ‘REFY’. Created by Jess Hunt, the brand now has an eyebrow range as well as a summer glow. I am yet to try to summer glow, but the eyebrow kits are a new favourite of mine. Coming in shades light, medium and dark, for £40 you get a brow sculpt, brow pomade and brow pencil. The three products all achieve different things. The sculpt is used first, a clear gel to brush the hairs into place, the pomade to add depth and shade, and then the pencil to fill in any gaps or create the illusion of little hairs in areas that may be thinner. I’ll definitely be sticking to this product for my brows. I also want to mention the brand ‘Glossier’, despite knowing about this brand for a while, this is the first time I’ve tested some of their products. Firstly, the cleanser. It’s really light, it’s clear and soft on the skin which I love as I find sometimes cleanser’s can be too thick or foamy and cause irritation or inflammation. I also love their blush cloud paint, I have it in the shade ‘puff’ a soft pink. I rarely use blusher, but this has become part of my routine. You only need the smallest amount, a little goes a long way with this and I just dab a little above my contour or bronzer on my cheeks. It really lifts it and gives you that extra glow and colour.

Book: I found myself coming out of the habit of reading towards the end of May, so I made sure June was the month to pick it back up again. I reread and have to talk about Sally Rooney’s ‘Conversations with Friends’. I cannot wait for this to be made into a television series next year. I was a huge fan of both the book and series ‘Normal People’, and this is the author’s first book. If you like ‘Normal People’ then you will love this, her debut book also delves into themes of love and vulnerability. I love Rooney’s writing style, it really takes you to another world and I feel as if I’m inside someone else’s mind. It’s great escapism. It follows Frances, a twenty one year old student and aspiring writer in Dublin. She performs spoken word with her best friend and ex-girlfriend Bobbi as the books opens, and they meet the journalist Melissa who is married to Nick- a working actor. As the story unfolds and the four of them share dinner parties and holidays, Frances and Nick get unexpectedly closer and their relationship blooms. It’s such a good read, you become so invested in their relationship and find yourself wanting it to continue despite the fact Nick is having an affair and there’s multiple years between them. There’s a lot of feeling involved, relatability and excitement. It’s an extremely honest and powerful take on contemporary relationships… and it’s addictive. I couldn’t put it down.

Food: Restaurant of the month is ‘Iro Sushi’. Of course, if you’re not a sushi fan then this won’t be for you. However, if you like sushi then this is somewhere I’d definitely recommend, it’s also on UberEats and Deliveroo. Sushi can be extremely expensive for what you get, it’s often difficult to feel satiated with Sushi I find personally. But this was very successful in leaving me satisfied and pleasantly full. There’s a huge choice of Poke, Nigiri (2 pieces), Sashimi (4 pieces), Maki and Futomaki (6 pieces), Ura-Maki (8 pieces), Rolls, Hot dishes, Noodles and Soups. I got a sushi box, it’s more cost effective to do it that way than buy different Maki selections. The sushi box range from £10-£25, 14 pieces up to 32. I got a 14 piece sushi box for £10 and some edamame beans for £2.50 from the selection of appetizers. £12.50 for sushi isn’t bad at all and it was very good quality! The selection of Maki was lovely to, with a range of raw fish, avocado, vegetable and even some spicy Katsu ones to. I’ll be sure to go back.

Accessorises: I’ve really got into my jewellery over June and building up my collection of necklaces and rings in particular. I’ve purchased a variety of homemade rings that I’d like to mention as they’re a good price and particularly unique, instead of buying from the popular online brands or stores. A lot of these have Instagram accounts and you simply purchase via a link in their bio or through direct message. You do have to know your ring size (a letter), as they need to know what size to make and you can’t try it on before purchasing. You can find this out in any jewellery store or by following simple measuring instructions online, measuring the diameter and circumference of your finger. Three of my favourite Instagram accounts for jewellery are @handmader1ngs and  @ellasjewelleryshop. Handmade rings make lovely clay and resin rings, a range of colours mostly clay and resin ranging from £5-£12. Ella’s are mostly wire or bead based, again a variety of colours. The wired ones are lovely as they swirl along your finger, these range from just £4 to £10. You can check their Instagram’s out on here.

I hope everyone had a lovely June and has a very beautiful July x