Review: Topshop Lip Marker in Hot Shot

I put a lot of Topshop clothing on my birthday list this year and, when a lovely lady on Twitter passed me a code for a free lip marker, I sent it on to Rich. Just in case. Turns out, he got the hint. I got a fair few clothes from Topshop and a new lip product too. Woohoo!

I was insanely excited to try this. When I sampled it on my hand, I got a real surprise. It really is just like a felt tip. It was a cute colour and lasted forever too, so I couldn't wait to try it out for real.

The packaging, like all Topshop packaging, is super cute. It's the exact size and shape of a pen, so it's really convenient and it has the bottom is completely coloured in the shade. Just in case you buy loads of them and need to know which is which straight away. Not that I'll ever do that... Ahem...

The nib makes it so easy to shape your lips. I have absolutely no definition in my top lip (It actually resembles a castle turret!) so I rely very heavily on lip liners. This makes it an absolute doddle. I shaped my lips and then coloured them in. It really is like using a colouring book. Just more three-dimensional. And on your face.

The shade is gorgeous- A subtle coral-red. It reminded me of a Chubby Stick in terms of the sheer subtlety, only with a matte finish. It applies evenly and I managed to build it up a little, although not a huge amount. I'll be keeping this for low-key looks. 

I noticed an odd smell. It smells almost like the play make up that children are given- Very sweet  and synthetic but not at all unpleasant. If anything, it's very nostalgic and I liked that. 

As it wears on, it fades evenly. The durability isn't fantastic- it was at its peak for about 3 hours before starting to fade- but it does leave a faint stain for hours after and doesn't rub off on glasses or food! 

All in all, I'm pretty impressed. It's perfect for a casual look and, since it's so easy to apply, top-ups are easy peasy. It's ideal for slipping into a handbag! Plus, it's only £8 (although not actually available on the Topshop website, for some reason. It's sold in other places though, such as John Lewis and Selfridges). I think I'm going to have to buy another! 

FF XLIV

Becky of Milk Bubble Tea bought this gorgeous bedding set from Asda for £11. I might have bought some for myself too...

I've developed the need for a home office but I don't have a huge amount of space. This Ikea drop leaf table is perfect! I'm also going to get a couple of these shelves and have a similar set-up. Very exciting! 

I don't actually drink but Kaelah's blueberry mojito looks so good!

Gemma Correll has the cutest illustration and I totally agree!

Doesn't Mandy look adorable in this photo! 

K&Co Jeans

I've been meaning to buy a new pair of jeans soon. I've had a fair few pairs over the past year or so but I tend to wear them until they wear thin. They're perfect for lazy days, quick trips to the shops and, of course, gigs and festivals. I never set foot in a mosh pit without a pair!

So I've checked out the jeans selection on online retailer K&Co. They have a whole load of different brands, including Oasis, Superdry and Miss Sixty so there's plenty of choice. I've chosen my three favourite pairs to highlight today. I'm not even lying when I say there were so many cute pairs that I really struggled to choose just three. I had twelve pairs on my shortlist! To get around this problem, I've chosen one pair from three different budget bands: Below £50, £50-100 and £100+.

Below £50

Motel Floral Jeans
I absolutely love these! I actually had a pair just like this when I was 4. I wore them to my nursery school production of Sleeping Beauty, where I had the very presigious role of... a tree. Yep. I'd love to crack out my long-buried tree-acting skills in a new pair of these babies! 

£50-£100

G-Star RAW Midge Skinny Jeans
They're pink! Look how pink they are! I love the acid wash and the fit. They'd match everything in my wardrobe.

£100+

Diesel Skinzee Skinny Jeans- Red
Back in 2008, I had a pair of red skinny jeans that I absolutely lived in. They were amazing and absolutely perfect for me. Plus, they were red which is clearly the best colour! Unfortunately, they met a dramatic, and heartbreaking, end. These would be the perfect upgrade. I want them! 

The other thing I love about K&Co is their jeans fit guide which highlights the details of each different fit so you can find the one that suits you best.

Which pair should I go for? 

This was posted in collaboration with K&Co but I genuinely love these jeans. All funds earned from these posts go back into my blog, making it the best blog in the universe (or at least, a pretty good one!). If you're interesting in sponsoring me, check out my sponsorship page. 

Lomography Miscellany

Time for the final installment of the rolls of film I had developed at the beginning of the month. These are the rest of the ones that came out well but couldn't fit into the other two themes, so they might seem a little inconsistent next to each other. Just think of it as a jumble sale for lomography: There's no logical order but it's pretty awesome nonetheless!

Book Review: Dance Dance Dance

Dance Dance Dance - Haruki Murakami 

A couple of years ago, I read Murakami's The Wind Up Bird Chronicle. I absolutely loved it so I followed it up with Kafka on the Shore and always intended to return to his novels. I find his surrealism and philosophical outlook on Japanese society interesting and his stories are so intricate and intelligent. So the trademark monochrome spine called out to me when I saw Dance Dance Dance in the charity bookshop and I couldn't resist.

Dance Dance Dance tells the story of a 34-year-old divorcé tracking down the high-class call girl he briefly lived with. His search leads him to an array of unusual characters including a nervous, uptight hotel receptionist, an angsty 13-year-old and her negligent separated parents, a clean-cut film star. As our narrator (who remains unnamed) makes sense of the complex ties that link the characters together, he begins to uncover the truth about the call girl who seemingly disappeared. 

As usual with Murakami, the novel features all manner of surreal experiences: A hotel that suddenly transforms into a dark, dank parrallel that houses the Sheep Man, the controller of the narrator's life. Eventually, it dawns on us what has happened to the call girl Kiki, a fraction before the narrator realises. It's almost like Jonathan Creek, set in 1980s Japan!

The only slight problem I had was getting a little confused when events or characters were mentioned that I didn't recall happening earlier in the book. This only happened a couple of times so I didn't think much of it and assumed I'd just switched off when I read those parts but, when looking up others' reviews on Goodreads afterwards, it emerged that this is actually the fourth book in a series. The fact that I haven't read the others didn't cause any problems in terms of following the story but perhaps it would have been nicer to start from the beginning. 

Murakami's writing style is engaging and draws the reader throughout the book. Even when characters are walking through brick walls, we don't doubt the authenticity of events. He has a way of making the most improbable of experiences seem likely. Some have found this book a bit same-y, compared to Murakami's other novels. It certainly does follow the same structure but, as I enjoyed the other novels anyway, I'm happy with this. 

A Day in the Life of Becky: June

9am Wakey wakey, Fluffy!

 10am Time to put my face on! 

 11am Taking photos for my birthday haul post. 

12pm Rich decided to pick up some light reading. Yeah, War and Peace. 

1pm Lonely-looking swings at the summer fayre. 

2pm It was very, very rainy at the summer fayre so I had a bath to warm up and treated my hair to some loving care.

3pm Surprise visit from Myles and my mum

4pm Planning for my brand-new home office! Exciting! 

5pm Cheeky afternoon read in bed.

6pm Pringle snacks!

7pm Twitter and a film. I'm a prime multitasker! 

8pm Working out the budget for my home office. 

9pm Catching up with Cosmo. 

10pm A bit of bedtime reading before snuggling up to sleep. 

Sponsor Shoutout!

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Would you like to see your blog or brand on Becky Bedbug next month? I'm now taking sponsorship for July, and prices start from just $10/ £7 so check out my sponsorship page if you're interested.