Becky Bedbug

Friday

FF LXVII

This is the greatest thing I have ever seen!

Dinovember is amazing!

Lauren's post about Hogwarts at Christmas makes me want to cry since Leona and I couldn't get tickets!

Oh God, I cannot get over how hilarious this gif is. Poor Elmo!

This video is absolutely heartbreaking but beautiful at the same time.

Ok, I lied earlier. This is the greatest thing I have ever seen! It actually made me cry- It's my teenage years summed up in 6 and a half minutes!

Other stuff
This very funny, and true, article about how Sky has ruined Christmas by stealing Elf from Channel 4.

I'm with Leona on this one- I never knew there were so many turtlenecks in Love Actually.

I want to visit all of these beautiful places!

Book review: A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian

A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian- Marina Lewycka

I'm not going to lie, I only bought this because I liked the name and the cover. It seemed to have a lot of positive comments too. I know you can't go by the quotes on the cover, since they only choose the best ones, but there were a lot and they all seemed to talk about how funny the book was.

It's not funny. It didn't even seem like Lewycka was trying to make it funny. The book tells the story of Valentina, a busty bombshell from Ukraine, who marries an elderly Ukrainian man living in England. He is initially caught under her spell and believes that she is truly in love with him, although his daughters, warring sisters Nadia and Vera, convince him that Valentina is using him for a visa. As Nadia and Vera put aside their differences to defeat the exploitative Valentina, the younger sister uncovers family secrets that she was never supposed to learn.

I found it difficult to really care about any of the characters. Nadia, our narrator, is very bland and lacks any depth. Vera is just irritating, Valentina is annoying and the father is just odd. I didn't care if Valentina was deported. I didn't care if Vera and Nadia made up. I was totally apathetic about the whole thing.

The real problem behind this is that there was no character development. Lewycka spent so long concentrating on the back story of fleeing Ukraine that we never really learned about why the characters acted the way they did.

Vera and Nadia's father (I've forgotten his name- That's how much I don't care!) is writing a book about tractors in Ukraine called, wait for it, A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian. Like the book. See what she did there. Clever, I know. There are frequent references to tractors and various long extracts from the book. I don't know why. There must be a reason. There must be some literary device at work here. All I know is, I found it irrelevant and I ended up skim-reading most of them.

The one thing the book has going for it is that it wasn't boring. I wasn't desperately ploughing my way through it waiting for the end. It kept me entertained enough. It just wasn't clever or relevant enough for me to have any real feelings towards it.

Thursday

Review: Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau so Fresh

I am a big fan of Marc Jacobs' Daisy fragrances. I'm building up quite the little collection, so when Fragrance Direct contacted me to ask if I'd like to review a fragrance, I chose Daisy Eau so Frresh immediately!

Of course, as is the case with most Marc Jacobs fragrances, the bottle design is absolutely adorable. It's got the gorgeous flower detailing on the lid and the liquid inside is coloured a dainty pink shade. Very cute!

If you're familiar with the original Daisy, you'll recognise the fruity strawberry and grapefruit topnotes. The difference with Eau so Fresh is the addition of pear, giving it a slightly fresher scent, although the musky dry down is also similar to the original. This version has a younger, more fruity feel to it than the other. It's also a little more delicate and subtle, so it's a perfect day fragrance.

The sillage is soft, which contributes to the daintiness, and the longevity is pretty good- It lasts a good few hours on my skin, but clings to fabric a lot longer so it makes my coat smell lovely!

I really recommend this scent to any fan of Daisy. It's absolutely perfect!

Giveaway: Clothes Show Live Tickets

Have I got some exciting news for you today! After years of being desperate to go to the Clothes Show Live, I am finally going to be making my way up to NEC in Birmingham to surround myself with fashiony goodness, thanks to the very lovely people at Echo Falls.

Of course, that's all great for me, but what does this mean for you? Well, I have also been given two tickets to the Clothes Show Live to give away to one of you lovely readers. You even get to choose the most suitable day for you. Awesome, right?

With fashion shows, appearances from celebrities such as Henry Holland and Amy Childs, and, of course, loads and loads of shopping opportunities, it's going to be the perfect day out for fashion lovers. I can't wait!

This giveaway is open to all readers of Becky Bedbug, so all you need to do is make sure you follow my blog. Easy peasy!

Good luck and maybe I'll see you there!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Small print: Prize is two tickets to the Clothes Show Live for a day of the winner's choice, courtesy of Echo Falls. Giveaway is open to all readers of Becky Bedbug, but you must be able to get to Birmingham on a day of your choice between 6- 10 December 2013. Travel costs and other expenses are to be paid by the winner.

Wednesday

Review: Lush Skin Drink Moisturiser

I popped into Lush specifically to buy a moisturiser as my horrible Philosophy one has finally run out! I was planning to buy British Nanny as it has SPF but I spent far too much on bath bombs and had to cut back a bit. Instead, I plumped for Skin Drink.

The packaging, as always with Lush, is made from 100% recycled plastic. There's also a little notice telling you that you can bring back 5 full-sized pots to receive a free face mask. Ooh yeah! I have to admit, I spent a long time trying to get the lid off the pot before I realised it was a screw lid. It looked like a pop-off lid to me, but that was just me being thick! The pot looks small but it contains 45g. It's just that old thing about volume looking smaller in differently shaped containers.

Inside the pot, the moisturiser is a clay grey shade. Admittedly, it doesn't look the most exciting but of course all the products are natural. It smells odd- a bit like peanut butter- which I found a little off-putting at first, but I soon got used to it. I assume this is the sesame oil, although it also contains rose and nerobi oil. At least it doesn't smell like sambuca. I'm looking at you, Philosophy!

Skin Drink has been designed for dry, sensitive skin and it's super moisturising. It's a very rich formula although it seems quite light in the pot, so I accidentally put too much on at first. A little goes a long way!

It applies really smoothly and is quickly absorbed by the skin, so I don't end up with a greasy face. My skin is left super smooth and happy. I definitely recommend it!

Tuesday

Sponsor Shoutout: November

Just a little shoutout this month to introduce you to my lovely sponsors of November.

Duck in a Dress

First of all, Louise has the most amazing blog name! I mean, who wouldn't want to follow a blog called Duck in a Dress? It has a cute little duck logo too. Although I might be a bit biased, as I love ducks!

Anna Nutall

Anna's blog is a mix of fashion, beauty and lifestyle which, if you ask me, is the best type of blog! She has the cutest balcony I've ever seen and stores her shoes on a bookshelf, like me. What's not to love?

Don't forget, if you'd like to see your blog or business on Becky Bedbug, head over to my sponsorship page.

Monday

Day in the life of Becky: November

Saturday was a crazy busy day for me! I had a press event in the morning and a local event in the evening so I was all over the place! Perfect day for taking a photo an hour.

6am This time should not exist at the weekend.