My top 10 films

Hello everybody! Today I'm going to list my top 10 favourite films of all time., my favourite quote from each one and rate it out of 10. To be honest I'm varied in my film taste and I'll watch anything from comedy to RomComs to action films. I'm also very into feel-good films. But the 1 thing you will definitely not find me watching are horror films. I will never understand why people want to watch something that will scare them? What type of entertainment is that? Honestly. Anyway, moving away from horror films on each picture I will put a link to the trailer on YouTube if you would like to have a look at that. Onwards with the blog.

Number 10 is '13 Going On 30'

This is such a chick flick film. Recently me and my friend Jess have watched this film loads, and she cries at the end every single time! It also has Mark Ruffalo in it, for a bit of eye candy (yes, I did just say eye candy). Mark Ruffalo is also in a new film called 'Now You See Me' which was absolutely amazing in the cinema, I would recommend to go and watch it! Anyway '13 Going On 30' it so funny and I'm not going to give away the plot,, but the ending is very sad.
Favourite quote - '"Who's your daddy?" "Wayne Rink"'
Rate - 7/10

Number 9 is 'Tangled'

This such an amazing Disney film. Defiantly one of my favourites, it's hilarious. And this is going to sound really weird as this film is CGI animated, but the lead man, Flynn Rider, is gorgeous. Wow Ell. Me and my friends absolutely love this film, and we are forever quoting it and singing the songs. Mandy Moore voices Rapunzel and she is brilliant, as is Zachary Levi, who plays Flynn Rider and makes him so cheeky. 
Favourite quote - "I didn't want to have to do this, but you leave me no choice. Here comes the smoulder"
Rate - 8/10

Number 8 is 'Step Up' 1,2 & 3

I love all 3 of these films, the dancing is so impressive. It just makes me want to dance when I watch them, or wish I could. My favourite one is number 2 'The Streets', Chase is so cheeky and gorgeous. Number 1 has Channing Tatum in it, I never realised he could dance so well. He's fantastic in it. I would really really say to watch these if you haven't. If not for the story then for the dancing. It's honestly unbelievable talent.
Favourite quote - '"I like your teeth." "Thanks, I like your accent" "What accent?"'
Rate - 8/10

Number 7 is 'Gentleman Broncos'

This film is weird and it makes absolutely no sense, it's brilliant. If you have watched Napoleon Dynamite (which is also a wonderful, wacky film) then you will defiantly like this. This film also has Michael Arganano in it, and I am slightly in love with him. He's so gorgeous and awkward and I love him. If you don't mind an odd film with no purpose that will make you laugh loads, this is the film for you.
Favourite quote - "Cyclops there, cyclops there, cyclops there, turrets, moon buggies. Oh my holy crap! Surveillance does. I hate those. This is ridiculous. That's the most well-guarded yeast factory I've ever seen."
Rate - 8/10

Number 6 is 'John Tucker Must Die'

This film is such a chick flick and I really like it. It's defiantly one of my films that I thought were really grown up when I was about 10. It has quite a few well known actors in it and the 'John Tucker' is so hot. It also has Brittany Snow in it, who I think is quite a good actress. It's a real feel good film with quite a few unexpected hilarious moments in it.
Favourite quote - "I knew a guy like him... Skip"
Rate - 8/10

Number 5 is 'Pretty Woman'

Julia Roberts has to be one of my favourite actors and she is amazing in this film, as is Richard Gere (SILVERFOX). Everybody knows and loves this film. It's such a RomCom and I always watch it when I'm having a lazy day and I love it. Definitely recommend it to anybody.
Favourite quote - "In case I forget to tell you later, I had a really great time tonight"
Rate - 9/10

Number 4 is 'She's The Man'

This is a modernised version of Shakespeare's 'Twelfth Night'. I bet that sounds really boring and like something you wouldn't want to watch, but this film is anything but boring. It's absolutely hilarious. I think I know most of the words to it, not gonna lie. It has Amanda Bynes in it (before she got all weird and slutty, and in-amanda bynes ish) and she is amazing in it. It also has Channing Tatum (YAY) and Chase from 'Step Up 2'. It such a funny film and please please watch it if you already haven't.
Favourite quote - "My favourite's Gouda"
Rate - 9/10

Number 3 is 'My Best Friend's Wedding'

Yep, here's another Julia Roberts film. What can I say? I love her acting. This is such a girly film and I'm usually not into really feminine films, but I will always make an exception for this one. It's quite old and I always remember mum watching it (it's her favourite film) and singing along to the songs (the soundtrack is amazing and classic, and I know all the songs). The man lead is also gorgeous, which helps. And the story line doesn't turn out the way you think. Oh and it has Cameron Diaz in (love her too) and it's just all around brilliant.
Favourite quote - "I didn't but you a gift, but this is on loan until you two find your song"
Rate - 10/10

 Number 2 is 'Harry Potter'

I know technically this should be classed as 8 different films, but I'm going to count them altogether. If you haven't seen Harry Potter, where have you been? I've just recently got back into it, big time. As have my friends, resulting in multiple Hazza P marathons. They are all so amazing. My favourite is 'Goblet Of Fire' and 'Part 2' coming a very very close 2nd. They are all so amazingly made and I'm practically in love with half the characters. I mean there's Harry, obviously. Ron (ginger but cute), Malfoy (strangely attractive), Neville (when he got older, omg he's beautiful), Sirius (idek), Lupin (admit it, you think he's attractive too) and Severus Snape. I have a teeny bit of an obsession and love for Snape. In part 2 he is amazing. I'm going to stop now before I embarks myself further, but defiantly top films in my opinion.
Favourite quote - "'After all this time?' 'Always'"
Rate - 10/10

Number 1 is 'Hercules'

Anyone who knows me, will have known this was coming. It's also my favourite Disney film, and was made in 1997 (my birth year, just saying) so it was early enough not to be CGI animated. The songs are amazing and catchy. When they come on me and my friends get all gospelly and sing along. It's fabulous. If you haven't watched it already, please do. It's amazing amazing amazing.
Favourite quote - "Thanks a lot Herc, it's been a real slice"
Rate - 10/10

Thanks for reading y'all. Hopefully I'll be posting a lot more regularly soon :-)

ell kate x

Soap & Glory Favourites

So today I'm am going to blog my favourite Soap & Glory products. Also want to say thanks to Jess (jesswileman.blogspot.com) for the actual Soap & Glory stuff I've used to photograph in this blog. I'm going to ask my 2 friends Abbie and Jess what they think of the products aswell.

I really like to use Soap & Glory. But lets face it, who doesn't? These are just a few of my personal favourites of the brand, why I like them and how much they are according to Boots.co.uk.

 

'Calm One, Calm All' Bubble Bath 500ml (£6.00)

I love the smell of this bubble bath. It has the typical Soap & Glory smell which I think is delicious. Even though it is more expensive than other bubble baths, I thinl it is worth the extra few pounds you have to pay.

Abbie - "It proudces a substatial amount of bubbles and it smells lovely" 7/10
Jess - "It works really well to calm me and I use it alot" 8/10

 

'The Righteous Butter' Moisturiser 300ml (£10.50)

This, I admit, is a very high priced moisturiser. The smell is gorgeous but I do know of better moisturisers that are cheaper if your looking for a really high quality moisturisers (try Vaseline or Neutrogena).

Abbie - "Smells really nice. It's really expensive but worth in my eyes, espically because it's thick, therefore lasts longer" 8/10
Jess - "It's good, but because of the thick consistity it doesn't sink into my skin as well as I'd of liked" 7/10

 

'Clean On Me' Shower Gel 500ml (£6.00)

I really like this, because it's smells gorgeous and it foams well on my skin. It's also cheaper than some of the other products and I would definitely recommend it.

Abbie - "I like the soap pumper for easy use in the shower. I think it's very good value because amount of gel you get for your money" 7/10
Jess - "It smells nice, defiantly worth the money" 8/10

 

'Mist You Madly' Body Spray 250ml (£6.50)

This has the typical Soap & Glory smell and it's lovely. A lot of people I know use this, espically after a shower. It's not too strong. It's also a really nice scent to spray on your clothes for everyday use.

Abbie - "I use this all the time and it's subtle, but noticable enough" 9/10
Jess - "I agree with Abbie, it's got such a nice smell" 9/10

'Heel Genius' Foot Cream 125ml (£5.50)

This also has the Soap & Glory smell and it feels really nice to rub into my feet, although there are better products to use to moisturise your feet. This one would really be bought for the smell or the label.

Abbie - " I like it, but I wouldn't use it over other products that I know work better" 5/10

Jess - "Like Abbie, I like it, but not enough to use it as one of my must-haves and to keep buying it again and again" 6/10

Sorry that this was yet another rambly blog, I'm still trying to get the hang of this whole blogging thing. I probably won't post tomorrow as I'm currently in Wales visiting family with my sister, but I might be able to squeeze in my top films, or something quick. Thanks Jess and Abbie for your help on this, haha. I hope my future blogs will be a bit more entertaining than this one as I learn how to blog better, as I go on.

ell kate x

Summer Polishes

Today I thought I'd list my top summer nail colours. All of these polishes are available in most drug stores at fairly low, high-street prices. In the summer months I tend to go for softer, pastel colours. The prices on here are from boots stores in the UK. So here we go.

So my 1st choice is Barry M's 'Peach Melba'. (327) £2.99

Everybody that I know loves Barry M. The polish is long-lasting and gives a good, shiny finish. Aswell the consistity of their nail polishes are just right. I can't cope with gooey, thick polishes, but thin, watery polishes don't give a good colour and take forever to dry properly. This one, as I said, is a really nice thickness. The only problem I find with Barry M's is that they take a bit longer than some other polishes to dry. Other than that, Barry M's are brilliant for nail colour. This 'Peach Melba' in particular is a really pretty colour, especially for the summer.


My 2nd summer polish is the Model's Own 'Apple Pie'. (NP153) £5.00

The special quality about this polish is that it has an apple scent to it, though the smell doesn't last long enough to buy the polish purely based on that. Unlike the Barry M, this polish is a bit on the thin side. It takes a good few coats to get a full colour, and everyone knows the more coats, the gloopier the polish gets, and the harder it is to dry properly. The actual colour of this one is so pretty and summery, and I love it during August. I do think Model's own colours are good, but I don't think they are any match for Barry M.

My 3rd nail polish I've chosen is 'Blueberry' by Barry M. (249) £3.99

This polish is one of Barry M's 'Gelly Hi-Shine' collections. Lots of people have raved about these, and how good they are. I would have to agree. Although I don't think there is much difference between Gelly and normal Barry M, I think the Gelly is fabulous. It doesn't take that long to dry and it is a very good colour coverage, and I usually only have to put one coat of this on. Again it's a really nice summer colour, but not as subtle as some of the other polishes.

My 4th choice is Maybelline New York's 'Lavender Lies'. (554) £2.99

Purple is my favourite colour so this is one of my all time favourite polishes. Also Maybelline's colour show collection is really really great. It's a bit thinner than Barry M, but with about 2 coats it's really good coverage. The colour is really vivid and and leaves no brush strokes. Added to this, the colour show collection tends to dry quickly in my opinion. I also think lavender is such a summer colour, even though it's not a pastel as such. I would for sure, recommend the colour show to anyone. I'm very much in love with it.  

 And for the 5th summer polish is another Barry M in 'Station Road'. (304) £3.99

This is one of Barry M's famous special effect polishes. This one is 'textured', so it looks a bit like sandpaper on my nails. I'm not actually sure about what I think about the texture thing. Lots of people love it, but then again lots of people hate it. It's a bit like marmite. The reason that I bought this polish is for the really pretty yellow colour. It is a bit of a bold colour, I admit, but for every now and then it's a really fun, bright colour. It's so summery and vivid, and only takes about 2 coats to apply. Would recommend this to anyone who likes to take a risk with their nail colour.

Number 6 is Loreal Paris' 'Boudoir Rose'. (204) £3.99

This is my favourite nail colour of all time. It's such an everyday polish and it goes with most things. It's so pretty and subtle. It's part of Loreal's colour riche collection, which I'm always buying. The only problem with the colour riche is that you get so little polish for quite a bit more money. Though I do think it's worth it 100%. The colour is long-lasting and generally needs 1 coat for a good coverage. This colour is so beautiful, even more so on my nails. It's like musty rose and it's so prettily subtle. Would definitely recommend this, even for less girly people, it's brilliantey.

And the last colour is 17's 'Sweet Kisses'. (80229) £1.99

This one is not as good quality as the others, but it is significantly cheaper. It's a bit thin, but the colour is pretty for summer. It's a very pal pink and looks good on nails and makes hands look more tanned. I would tell someone to buy the lasting fix collection from 17 if they're looking for a cheaper polish, that lasts a long time. Like the bottle says, it is long-lasting. I usually apply about 3 coats of this one and it takes a normal amount of time to dry.



Thanks for listening to me ramble on. I hope you enjoyed it and I will post another blog tomorrow, :-)

ell kate x

Top 5 songs

Just a note before I start, recently I've been thinking about posting daily blogs. I don't know if they'll be really boring because I'll run out of things to say, but I think I'm going to have a go at it.

Onwards with the blog.

I'm going to list my top 5 songs of all time, just because I want too. I strongly suggest you buy all these songs. Trust me, they will make your life better. I'm also going to put a link on each picture which will take you straight to the song on YouTube so you can listen to them straight away. :-)

Numero 5 is 'Defying Gravity' from the musical Wicked.

I know, I know. I'm such a nerd listening to musicals all the time, but they make me so happy. It's like listening to a story but with music. If you haven't seen Wicked, or a musical for that matter, GO AND SEE ONE. Nobodies life is complete until they see a musical. I love this musical in particular because the songs are so catchy and well-written and the story is so unpredictable. Also its so weird and colourful it's actually a joy to watch. This song is so beautiful. It builds so much and the note at the end gives me shivers every time. Aswell, this song isn't about men or love, which most songs these days are. I'm going to stop rambling now, because I could go on about it forever. (I'm a big geek at heart)



Number 4 is Van Morrison's 'Days Like This'

This is probably a bit of an unexpected choice, because it's quite an old, unknown song. This is defiantly my go-to song after a tough day, when I need a bit of cheering up. Even though it's not exactly a happy song, it never fails to make me feel better. Would defiantly recommend this song to anyone. It's such a childhood song of mine and I love it. Plus you can't beat a bit of Van Morrison every now and then.

Number 3 is 'Zero To Hero' from my favourite Disney film 'Hercules'.
 

I know what everyone is thinking. Wow, this girl is sad. First off a musical song, now a Disney song. But trust me, this song is worth a listen. Or 2. Or 1,000. It's such a feel good song and never fails to make me sing along (even though that's not hard at all). Hercules is one of the less known Disney films, but it is my favourite film in the whole, entire world. It's brillopants. It's sassy, gospelly and fun. Please listen to it, hopefully it will convince you to watch the film. The other songs are just as great. If you are going to watch it, well, you can thank me later.
 





Number 2 is 'Black Horse & A Cherry Tree' by KT Tunstall.

 

I'm not actually sure how well-known this song is, but it's so so so good. Though I do advise to listen to this song live, as she creates her own backing track with a pedal, her voice and a guitar. It's so amazing to watch her create it. Also her voice is so perfect and flawless live. I could listen to it all day! It's not often you come across a song where the live is so much better than the studio recording. I came across this song in a movie actually. It's called 'Because I Said So' and it's quite a good film (may do top 5 films soon). Anyone, for sure I would say to listen to this song. It's effing good. Oui.





And my number 1 is 'Build Me Up Buttercup' by the Foundations.

 

Anyone who knows me, will have known this was coming. I have no idea what it is about this song, but it's so happy and full of life. I absolutely love it. I remember as a kid dancing around to this. It's just got so many good memories and it's been my favourite song since I was about 6. I recall it's music video being the soundtrack from 'There's Something About Mary' with a woman tonguing her dog, haha. Happy thoughts. If you've never heard this song, where have you been? You've been missing out BIG TIME. Please, please take the time to listen to it. It will brighten your day, guaranteed.

 

Sorry for the repetative comments, I'm a bit tired. Sorry, if you're not into my taste of music, but these are the songs that mean the most to me, personally. Thanks for reading if you did, and hopefully I shall be back for another pointless blog tomorrow. Also I'm going to be posting more photos on my 'Photography' tab, so have a mooch around there. :-)

 

ell kate x

 

Hair products: Non-bleach blonde

I really wanted to write another blog but I wasn't sure what to write about. Then I thought I could talk about my hair, how I maintain it (it's quite long and thick) and how I style it. Now don't get me wrong, I don't pretend to know anything professional about haircare, but I thought I'd share with everyone anyway. Because I'm always looking for hair products that lighten blonde hair without bleaching, I thought I'd post a list of my 3 favourites and which for me are the most effective.


So numero 3 is John Freida's 'Sheer blonde: Go lighter' shampoo and conditioner.

This stuff smells so so so nice. It's very hard to describe the scent. I would say it smells soapy and clean, but also a bit fruity. Anyway it smells gorgeous. When I first used it it really didn't make that much difference. The actual shampoo and conditioner were very good and made my hair really silky. But I do always find when you switch conditioners your hair always feels so much nicer and softer, I don't know if anyone else gets this? I found though after a few more washes my hair was getting gradually brighter, though saying this I do think it was such a minute difference it only made a difference to me. This does really apply to most non-bleach hair products that claim to brighten your hair. The difference is so unnoticeable, but if you like it and see a difference that's all that matters. I would recommend this, but not if your seriously looking to noticeably brighten your hair.



My number 2 is Creighton's 'Perfect Blonde' shampoo and conditioner

This one, I have to admit, doesn't smell as nice as the John Freida. It has a thicker, mustier scent which doesn't smell as clean and fresh. Although I wouldn't say the smell is nasty, I wouldn't choose this product for it's smell. This one, to me, made a difference to me straight away, unlike the John Freida which took a while to show results. But yet again I think it was such a small difference it was only me that noticed it. I would recommend this for an immediate difference but not for the smell or the quality of the actual shampoo or conditioner.






Number 1 and my favourite product is Timotea's 'Golden Highlights'

This is my favourite shampoo and conditioner of all time, never mind brightening. It smells amazing. Every time I use it I get caught sniffing my hair all the time. It's also one of those scents that gets really addictive. Also every time I use this my hair feels so healthy and actually stays cleaner for longer than it does with other shampoos and conditioners. Now with the lightening aspect of it, it is brilliant. It does take one or two washes but the difference is so noticeable. I was asked by more than one person if I had lightened my hair. I could rave about this all day. I absolutely love love love it. The only problem with this is that it's not available in many places and where it is available it's usually quite expensive for a very small bottle, so you would have to use it sparingly. I do think its worth it and very high value for money though, saying that. Definitely recommend this. If not for a blonde then they do brunette and normal shampoo and conditioner also. Again BUY THIS, IT IS FAB. Give it a go for sure. I would buy it all the time if I could but it seems to only be in stock at certain times where I get it, which is pants. (I get mine at the co-op, but they have a website where you can buy it online if you are that desperate for some)


Sorry for rambling again, please forgive me :-)

ell kate x

Holidaying in Italy

 

 This August I had the extreme pleasure of holidaying in Italia, lake Garda with my family and my bestest chummy Abi (aka Flabby/Top wench/Cake making extraordinaire). Although it was very hot and humid we had a brilliant time. Trust me, us milk bottles (otherwise known as Elise and Abi) even got a bit of a tan. Abi was so proud of herself, bless. Everyday we whipped out the factor 50, we are English and we burn, so the 50 was defiantly needed. At the start of the holiday after landing in Venice, we went to get our hire car. I'll just say our hire care was more of a hire bus. It was humongous. My dad purposely hired a big car because there were 6 of us going and we also needed room for all the luggage. But we were not expecting a car that was as big as we got. We had a huge, black Mercedes people carrier. The boot of it was about as big as my wardrobe, no lie. Immediately we wanted to give the car a name. After much intense deliberation we decided upon Hank the Tank. He served us well on holiday and we all miss him dearly.

After a long, hot drive in Hank we finally arrived in the holiday park looking lovely and sweaty.
After the longest 20 minutes of my life we were finally checked in and ready to go. Our Eurocamp rep was called Stuart. He was very English and very moist. It really seemed as though in the short time I spent with him had sweated out all of his bodily fluid. It really wasn't pretty. He also seemed intent on giving us a weather report for the week every 10 seconds. Constantly I was reminded of the 42 degree heatwave that would be hitting us on the Saturday (it never came, Saturday was 30 degrees and the coolest day of the week. Silly Stuart). Sweatiness aside, Stuart came with some perks. Eurocamp had a golf buggy and Stuart (being the #lad that he is) let us all ride in it. Abi was particularly pleased about this, and enjoyed herself thoroughly.


In Italy, like the proper British tourists we are, we had to visit Venice and Verona. First was Venice. As pretty and as quirky as it was I really didn't think its was all it cracked up to be. I loved the canals although I wouldn't do well as I absolutely hate boats. In Venice they are very into masked balls and fancy dress. Therefore pretty much every shop in Venice stocked creepy, decorated masks. Everyone else hated them and said they were uber creepy, whereas me, being the twerp that I am, loved them and bought 2 for my bedrooms. Call me a freak, but really think they're really prettily painted. Also in Venice are the famous gondolas. At first I thought they were really fun and authentic, with all the gondola mean dressed in stripey tops and straw hats. But the closer I got, the less authentic I realised they were. I saw the men on mobiles, in Nike trainers with tattoos and piercings everywhere. It kind of shows how much a place can change in such a small amount of time (my mum told me that Venice was completely different 10 years ago). So to sum up Venice didn't live up to my expectations, which was a bit pants really.

The other place we visited in Italy was Verona. Lots of people know of Verona because of  one Shakespeare's famous plays was set there: Romeo & Juliet. In Verona there is a place which claims to be Juliet's balcony from the play. (The play is completely fictional and her balcony was also. Therefore the balcony is just any old balcony in Verona chosen to cheat a load of tourists and make them spend lots of money on souvenirs) As fake as the balcony was floods of tourists still squeezed into a tiny space just to take a picture of it, shamefully myself included. Though in the small courtyard where the balcony was situated there was also a gate. On this gate people locked padlocks to symbolise their love, similar to the bridge in Paris. Although this is just a scam to sell padlocks for ridiculous prices, it was pretty cute.

Also in Verona was alley after alley of shops, ranging from designer to tacky crap shops. It was on one of these allies that I discovered Sephora. THAT SHOP IS BEAUTIFUL. It sells more expensive make-up and perfume. Some brands that it sells are Dior, Narz, benefit, Marc Jacobs and loads more. I walked in and I felt like I was in heaven. Shame I couldn't afford half of it (I spent half of it on Wi-Fi codes for the holiday camp, which I kept losing). I don't think they have a Sephora near me. If anyone knows of one please please tell me. (My email is in the 'About Me' tab)

Basically I could go on forever about my holiday in Italy. It was so hot, which was fantastic because back in England is was cold and rainy, haha. I had such a good time and took about 1,000 photos! I took all of the pictures posted in this blog.(I'm a bit of a trigger happy person) I'm going to post some of them in my 'Photography' tab at the top. Also I'm going to post lots of other pictures that I have taken very soon. I'm sorry that this blog was a bit rambly and boring but I didn't have much else to write about! If you took the time to read it, thankyou!!! I promise my next blog will be much shorter and hopefully more entertaining than this one! (Btw, take a look at my friend's blogs: bakingwench.blogspot.com, melissajadeb.blogspot.com and jesswileman.blogspot.com)

ell kate x