Comic Con London 2015

For my friends birthday, we went to MCM Comic Con in London on Sunday. If you didn't know, it's basically a massive convention for all things comic, cartoon and anime. There's one giant hall filled with loads and loads of stalls of merchandise and Japanese food you can buy. I didn't really know what to expect so for all you fellow newbies out there, this is for you ;)

Things to look out for:

-There are a lot of people in cosplay (dressed up) so bring a camera or phone with you which will take good quality photos fast so you don't annoy them. You'll want to look back at these photos later and not see a grimace or have it unfocused or blurry. 

-There's also a section near the back where you can get autographs of or photos with the creators or writers of a few of your favourite comics. If you want to go here, be prepared to wait at least half an hour in each queue. 

-When we went it was miserable weather and was raining outside so, naturally, I put on a hoodie and some jeans. Don't. With so many people inside and so much walking to do, it gets very hot very fast. Luckily, they were giving out free fans and I didn't have a top on underneath my hoodie so I survived, just about. If you're going to cosplay, don't get so carried away by the costume that you sacrifice not boiling away.

What I got:

I didn't bring much money as I wasn't sure how much stuff I would want to buy. It turns out there was a lot and most of it was overpriced! I bought 4 small, cute badges at roughly £1 each because there were so many badge stalls tempting me a Robin comic (book 2) for only 50p! If I ever go again, which I'd like to, I'd definitely bring more money!

Most of the stalls are also very kawaii, lots of cute, pink Japanese stuff with girls in pastel ponytails serving you. There are a lot of stalls selling Japanese sweets which you've probably never heard of but all of which look delicious! You can get loads of merchandise for all the comics and cartoons, etc., like T-shirts, badges or posters. A lot of the kawaii trends are also sold, like plush toys of seals, unicorns or rainbow llamas (?!), so be prepared to fall madly in love with all the cuteness!

I had so much fun last Sunday and I'm seriously thinking about going again in October when it's back in London! It's a shame I didn't get to go to BeautyCon and that I'll probably never go to VidCon either, but this was still a completely new experience. Sorry for the lack of posts but I promise I have a load planned for the summer!

Byeeeeeee! Natalie xx

 

P.S Sorry for the Retrica watermark and the bad-ish quality photos - I had to take them on my friend's phone in a rush! 

Creative Bloggers Award

So I was nominated by the gorgeous Everspark to do the Creative Bloggers Award. Let's ignore the fact that I'm freaking out about that so thank you so so much "Everspark" and let's get on with the award shall we?

RULES:
1. You must thank the person who nominated you
2. You must list 5 facts about you
3. You should nominate 15-20 blogs to complete the award too (but it's fine if it's less)

FACT 1:
I'm a Swiftie and proud. I got my first CD of hers for Christmas when I was in year 4 or around that time, back when she was still a country gal (secretly I'm one too). My first concert was one of her Red tours and I always rock out (if you can call it that) to her when I work. I know a lot of people don't like her and that's okay - just know 1989 isn't made up of Shake It Off's!

FACT 2:
I do figure skating once a week for roughly 6 hours and I love it. After each practice, my feet kill and I can barely walk but it really is worth it - especially in the winter! The only thing is, I'm possibly the least flexible person ever which is kind of an issue especially when I have to do this!

 

FACT 3:
The only way I will eat garlic is if it's burnt so badly, it's scorched black. I just don't like the tanginess or the sharpness (great word usage there...) and when it's burnt it has this extra edge to it... I absolutely hate overcooked toast though, even if it's the slightest bit too brown I will pick at it for ages!

FACT 4:
I've never been outside Europe in my life so far and I'm so so SO excited at the prospect of maybe, just maybe, going to China this Christmas! When I'm older, I'm definitely going to travel more and take loads of photos!

FACT 5:
I have a lot of obsessions and sometimes I will just ramble on and on about them. The long list includes: cats (aren't they just adorable?!), polaroids & polaroid cameras, fairylights, Lush (duh), black & white photography, fashion, Tumblr (follow me here) and baking.

So that's it for my go! I tag any of you reading this and the following people to do it too:
1. La Palette Magique
2. Holly Dickinson
3. Ooh La Luce
4. Holly's Beauty Secrets

5. Tea and Moon

6. Ella Rose 

7. Cristy Nottingham 

8. GabriellaLovesxo 

9. Emma Withers 

I actually really enjoyed this so I'm thinking of doing a Q & A / 20 facts about me post! If you've got any questions or want to know anything else, ask in the comments, Tweet me, ask on Instagram or on Tumblr! See you next week, byeeee!
Natalie xx

Pamper Day Tips

We all have those days where we're just too stressed out to cope anymore and where we feel like we're going to explode. It could be because of exams or school or even just people being annoying and I feel like it's way too easy for people to forget to treat themselves. Every once in a while it's important to relax and spend a little time and money on yourself. Treat yoself girl! I recently had a pamper night with my best friend and we did practically all of these - it's safe to say it was an amazing night!

1. Watch some Friends
You don't need to watch Friends specifically but I personally find that I just get distracted by the characters and the general funniness. My love for this show will never die out and I know for sure that it will cheer me up in no time. If you don't like Friends, first of all exCUUUSE me?! what are you doing with your life (jk) but you can also watch any other show or film you love. Anything as long as it can distract you from real life, that's what TV's great at!

2. Talk to some friends
Real life friends are great too and I know chummy chats can be my favourite time of the day if it's not been amazing before. And, you know, friends will be there for you! (hehe I couldn't resist, sorry)

3. Use a face mask
I never really find the time to put on a face mask, which I know really is bad, so I try to use this pamper night as an excuse to treat my skin too. I'm currently using Superdrug's detoxifying dead sea mud mud mask (try saying that 5 times fast!) and I can actually see a difference in my skin straight after I've used it!

4. Have a bath
As you guys all know, I love baths especially if the products are from Lush. We decided to run a shallow bubble bath with some of the Creamy Candy bubble bar from Lush and one or two squares from Zoella's fizz bar. My favourite for a full bath is Dragon's Egg - the citrusy scent just makes me so sleepy.

6. Do online window shopping
Although I wouldn't recommend splurging and wasting loads of money on things you'll regret buying later, but online window shopping is always fun. You can pour your heart out over the screen and wonder at how many pretty things there are in the world.

7. Listen to your jam (music)
Music is the perfect way to change your mood and when I'm at home, secretly, I like to dance along which is probably so embarrassing to put on the internet but ssshh don't tell anyone. I love Taylor Swift's 1989 or even soundtracks from musicals like Hairspray or even High School Musical (hehe don't judge) and have a playlist on Spotify full of my favourite dancing songs.

8. Make some jam (or cookies, whatever)
I find baking very therapeutic and if the end result is delicious, even better! I prefer cookies as they're so quick and easy to make and if you want, you can just eat the cookie dough! My favourites are chocolate orange cookies and Tanya Burr's chocolate chip cookies. If you're lazy, you can eat some take-away pizza or Sensations - just try not to eat bad food all the time you're not feeling your best.  

Yum!

Peanut butter & chocolate chip cookies!

I hope these little tips can help you, just remember that they might not apply to your perfect pamper night, you can adapt them to suit your own needs. I had so much fun with my chummy so be sure to check out her blog, Everspark, here. Don't forget to subscribe on Bloglovin' to keep up with my posts and I'll see you next Sunday!
Natalie xx