Typecast

Yesterday I ran out of things to watch on YouTube so headed on over to the 'Recommended' section and spotted a Zoella video which saw her challenge her boyfriend to apply her make-up.  I started watching (don't judge me just yet). (Side note: Zoe Sugg, aka Zoella, is the 'It Girl' of YouTube. She's the bench mark for apparent success and the role model for many a tween and teen who are into YouTube. Her boyfriend of a couple of years is another popular UK YouTuber personality, Alfie Deyes, aka PointlessBlog) On her channel, Zoe Sugg has countless Get Ready With Me (GRWM) style videos which are basic make-up, fashion and styling tutorials so you can all achieve the "Zoella look". Hell, she's even launched her own make-up and beauty product range but that's all part of the 'branding' she's now achieved. Anyway... there's a number of interesting points in this video that are worth noting.  Here's the video in question ...

It takes about two days for a postcard to travel from Barbados to the UK.  Impressive!! Thanks to Tanya for my pretty special message in the post. If I held a fancy dress party and took pictures of all the guests, I'd still have more look-a-likes than  this agency  ( h/t to Popbitch ).  My favourites change on an almost hourly basis but today they have to be Katie Price, Hugh Jackson and the fact that there's an "Ant" listed but no "Dec". Us commuters relish the last couple of weeks of July because there's no school traffic on the roads. We get fairly complacent during August and then somewhere around the 3rd or 4th of September we wonder where all the traffic has come from... The word "Bronde" can completely and utterly knob off.  When you mention to Buzzfeed and one of their staffers that a particular recent article looks awfully like one of yours from a couple of weeks ago, they go very, very quiet and don't acknowledg...

I'm always interested in the notebooks that other people use and, for a long time, I have been balancing out using analogue and digital note-taking methods to keep me on track during the day.  As mentioned during my  Time Management  Keynote session at  BlogOn  earlier this year, I use Google Calendar, synced to my phone, for on-the-go reminders. Everything else is analogue - or handwritten. Recently, I've had a few questions directed to me about notebook choices (I've no idea why people are asking me * innocent face *) and it's really hard to advise someone because notebooks are most definitely not a one-size-fits-all type of purchase. In fact, Rachel (aka  Rachel In Real Life ) goes as far to say as there is no such thing as the perfect notebook. Full stop.  I have a feeling that Klair (aka  RhomanysRealm  on YouTube) would agree because she recently told me that there is no such thing as the 'right notebook' - only the one that wo...

I have fallen out of love with my Filofax again. I know, I know, but there is not one road down the planner highway. Whilst a Filofax suits me very well with it's loose-leaf pages and total personalisation and adaptability, I still miss using a notebook. Even though I  incorporated my Bullet Journalling into my Filofax  I was still lugging a very heavy planner around with me for many reasons. I recently bought two *Hobonichi-style notebook style covers (aka a 'fauxbonichi' - both from Etsy, one hand-made in the UK and one from Japan) but the planning system didn't work like I had it in my head (no surprise there then...).  Then, after watching a few quite a lot of YouTube videos, I realised that I was after a *Midori traveller's notebook style set up. *For those that have never heard about Hobonichi and/or Midori planning systems, please see the notes at the end Now, for me, trying out new planning systems is all about dipping a toe in the water and no...

Not so long ago I reviewed my new glasses . They are lush - my first ever pair with light-reactive lenses which makes me more inclined to wear them as I've always struggled when wearing glasses whilst driving when it's sunny. But this review made me think a lot about something I've been meaning to talk about for a while. Why am I so hung up about wearing glasses? I grew up in a time of NHS plastic gender-led pink/blue glasses and dreaded the annual eyesight test as I knew I was borderline for being issued with the coloured monstrosities. I managed to get away with not having to wear glasses until I was about twelve or thirteen - I certainly don't remember having to choose a pair whilst in primary school - and the selection was poor.  I probably didn't wear the glasses as much as I should have done because... well... vanity. Plain and simple. Glasses hold a lot of power in modern (media-led?) society.  Glasses wearers are always portrayed in a specific w...