Currently reading: the Divergent series by Veronica Roth

I know, I know, I know, there was no blog post this Monday. I felt slightly bad about it, but overall I didn’t because I was admittedly rather stressed out by my lecturers and my workload, and just needed some room to de-stress and relax with a book. And I did just that, but with a trilogy if you recognize the title of this blog post… Actually, I finished them all in two days, but thought I would write a blog post about them because the whole hype of the books and the movie.

My friend had recommended the trilogy to me, so to make it up to her for not reading the Hunger Games series I decided to read the Divergent series. I read the first book, Divergent, in under 3 hours before I had to go to bed and then took the two other books, Insurgent and Allegiant, the next day as I felt I needed to know what the hype was about (and because I am a fast reader).

This is probably a very unpopular opinion of the series, but they beyond disappointed me. Seriously, I am so disappointed and for the life of me can’t understand where all that hype came from. I am honestly not that critical of books, despite reading many ‘intelligent’ books as required by my education, and I am actually a huge fan of YA books in general, but these… I really don’t think they lived up to the standard of many other YA books I have read in the past.

The whole concept of the books of you being divided into fractions, society is build up differently and the rebels might not be better than those ruling society before is beyond fascinating and refreshing. I honestly really liked that, but sadly, it only worked for the first book, as the idea/concept was never further evolved. Why didn’t you evolve the idea, Roth?! It was such a brilliant idea! Tris is kinda on the border of unlikable and likable character, then tilts to the likable side, but I liked it was a fine line because it makes it rather interesting despite the main character has (at least in my opinion) to be likable.

However, the whole ‘let’s fight the people who has the power’ becomes so redundant as it literally happens over and over again without the details or the reason are changed, making the parallels too obvious and overused. Furthermore, the constant trust issues Tris and Four have with each other… It becomes annoying, despite actually liking them, and boring because it gets to the point where they only have trust issues and there aren’t any happy moments (not that they had many to begin with) that make up for it. It has to be a balancing act if it has to work… and it simply didn’t. Oh, and please don’t get me started on the ending… It was too out of character for me.

I really only liked the first book, Divergent, and I will probably read that one again and hopefully see the movie at some point (because Theo is handsome and Shailene is amazing), but Insurgent and Allegiant … sorry. I am not reading those again.

Have you read the Divergent series? What do you think about it?

Until next time,

Mia ♥

DIY: Print & Quote Pictures

… I am not happy with the title of this blog post, but seeing as I can’t come up with anything better at the moment I suppose I have to survive with it. It doesn’t please me, however. Anyways, this blog post is a DIY to make something decorative for your apartment/house’s walls without spending a lot of money or a lot of effort into the actual making step.  

Excuse the bead-heart decoration!

This first idea is a picture with the Danish word ‘hygge’ and below the word the definition of it that I looked up in a dictionary. I realize not everybody reading this is going to be a Dane or able to read Danish, but you can make this with any kind of word you like and in whatever language you prefer. I got the inspiration from a store called Inspiration (yes, that is the name of it) where I spotted a picture having some text about hygge. As I obviously didn’t want to spend a fortune on buying that picture and honestly thought I could do it myself, I turned to my computer, word and a dictionary. I have absolutely no idea what the picture from Inspiration actually said as I was a distance away and weren’t wearing my glasses, so really, it was just inspiration. I printed it out on my university’s printer and put it in an IKEA frame… and I am pretty pleased with the result.

Now the second idea… The quote has been all over Tumblr quite the amount of times, and every time I find it really entertaining and amusing. Obviously, I couldn’t just leave it at that. I could like with the ‘hygge’ picture just made something in Word and printed it out, but I felt I needed to do something different so they wouldn’t look alike. From my book clutch DIY project I had a lot of old book pages lying around, so I decided to reuse some of them (trust me, you will make mistakes) and wrote on them. It took some tries and it still isn’t the most perfect one, but it has a lot of charm. Instead of a new frame or in the likes of the IKEA frame, I found one of the old frames I have and used it instead as it makes the overall look even more charming.

‘Hygge’ picture – what you need,

-       A typing program (e.g. Word).

-       A printer (I used one of the printers at my university).

-       Paper (I used A3).

-       A frame (I bought one from IKEA that had been reduced in price).

Step by step,

1.     Open your typing program.

2.     Type whatever word and definition.

3.     Save it on your computer (just to be certain and/or if you want to change in it later).

4.     Print it.

5.     Frame it.

‘Home is where your wi-fi connects automatically’ – what you need,

-       Old book pages (books can be purchased for no money at flea markets).

-       A black marker.

-       An old frame (I bought mine at the local thrift shop).

Step by step,

1.     Rip out a couple of pages from an old book.

2.     Select the page you want to use.

3.     Write on the page, though perhaps practice on a couple of pages before.

4.     Frame it.

Would this DIY be something you would want to try yourself?   

Until next time,

Mia ♥

Midweek Post: Skincare & Make-up Remover

So, my package from eChemist finally arrived and thus I decided to make a blog post about it, even though it is Wednesday and not Thursday, meaning I am deviating slightly from my original schedule. But not to worry (I say this mainly to myself), I promise there will be a blog post up tomorrow – a DIY! I actually shouldn’t make this sound exciting as there is the possibility of people being disappointed with it… aw man!

Moving on with what I actually purchased at eChemist! First and most importantly, but also the reason I actually made an order, I bought my daily cream from Avène. I am really low on my old jar and honestly feared the worst, so the postman had the best timing by delivering the package today. The Rich Compensating Cream is perfect for my dry skin, and it has in general worked wonders by also improving my skin dramatically to the better. I love it, basically. I purchase the cream at eChemist instead of the local pharmacy because it is so much cheaper – I bought the cream when it wasn’t on offer, but I still saved 100 DKK (approx. 10 GBP) compared to the standard price in Denmark!  

Also, I decided to try the make-up remover from Bioderma as everybody seems to be raving about it. I am slightly skeptic because I don’t really like make-up removers as they make my skin feel either dry or oily. Yucky! But I will try to forget my bad experiences and give this a decent test-run seeing it is from the sensitive series. I believe I purchased the 100 ml bottle for 40 DKK (approx. 4 GBP)… I don’t know if this is considered cheap for the amount, but you can’t purchase Bioderma in Denmark yet. It is apparently coming to Denmark, but I don’t know when or at what price.

I promise I will do a review on both products, especially Bioderma as I have high expectations to it after all the reviews I have read on it.

What products do you use to take care of your skin? And what products to remove your make-up?

Until next time,

Mia ♥

Just in: Make-up, Computer & Tea Towel

Yes, I have realized that these things are quite the mix. Nevertheless, they have entered my life – some for a longer time than others – and will be considered a precious item to me until they mess with me. Obviously and undoubtedly, the computer will be the thing to mess with me at some point as computers always do that. Damn it! But hopefully that will be a good while away, so I shall shift my focus…

*shifts focus*

The deer printed tea towel isn’t going to stay in my apartment for long, as it is an intended birthday present for my little brother. Admittedly, there is some time till his birthday comes around, but it was reduced in price and I like being a little ahead of things as my brother is so difficult to buy presents for. Why are guys so difficult to be presents for? I really don’t get.

My old computer is still alive, but only barely… and barely means I will use it for Photoshop, even though it protests every time I do so. Sorry! So, I needed a new computer and was so lucky to receive a scholarship to pay for the costs of one. After many problems with the shop where I bought this baby (Acer Aspire S5 ultrabook) in, I finally got it with me home and it works like a dream. It is really fast… and it has a magic flip, which is so entertaining to play with *looks innocent* It will be used for university work and daily life (though not Photoshop as I tell myself) only. 

As for make-up products, I bought Revlon’s colorburst in number 040 rendezvous and Sleek Blush By 3 in number 367 Lace on Amazon. Both products are in such beautiful colours… *sighs at the prettiness* The colours make me super impatient to try them, although not so impatient that I can be bothered to put on make-up in the weekend just to try them out. Sorry, but my skin needs make-up free days. None of the products can be purchased in Denmark – Sleek is a UK product, I believe, and Revlon… yeah, why aren’t you coming to Denmark? So one is forced to turn to Amazon, although I adore shopping at Amazon… Products are cheaper than in Denmark and their customer service is seriously the best.

I had intended to include two more products, but my package from eChemist hasn’t showed up yet so I decided against mentioning them. Maybe at another point?

What have you purchased resently? Anything that makes you sigh contentedly by just staring at it?

Until next time,

Mia ♥

Allergy Season Essentials 2014

Hands up if you suffer from some kind of pollen allergy? *personally raises both hands*

I suffer from every pollen type (grass, etc.) and that makes spring and summer, well, not my favourite seasons despite the warmer weather and the sun making its appearance, offering the possibility of gaining a tan if you are lucky. The weather really tests me every year, annoyingly so! I have had allergies for 16-17 years by now, so I have l learned what works, what is great to bring along with you every time you leave home, what doesn’t work, what to do if the allergy symptoms get a good hold of me, and so on. It has taken a really long time to perfect with many try-and-fail rounds to get things right for me.

Some of the things below that I find essentials will obviously differ – what my symptoms are and what helps soothes them may not work just as great for you.

My essentials!

Medicine:

I have tried so many types and brands over the years, where many of them didn’t really alleviate the symptoms I had and caused me to stay indoors most of the time. I believe that the pros should outweigh the cons, always, and that just isn’t the case with a lot of the medicine for me. So in time, I have found that easily accessible Benadryl and a nasal spray from the local super market works best for me.

Sunglasses:

Sunglasses is an absolute must if you are in some way outdoors – tanning, riding your bike, taking a walk, shopping, eating an ice cream, etc.. It protects your eyes from not only the sun, but also from pollen.

Mine are from Mads Nørgaard’s 2013 collection and cost me 300 DKK (30 GPS), which I find is cheap for something that is extremely essential for me. I do have 2-3 other pairs, as I keep them for many years, but I like my orange ones best.

Gel masks:

I honestly look like a complete idiot wearing the orange one, I have been told that many and many times over. But when you pull one out from the fridge (it needs to be cold) and put it on, your eyes that are really beyond itches and red really appreciate the coldness. The coldness helps calming the itching down. I don’t care looking like an idiot if just my eyes don’t itch like crazy.

Cooling gel:

It comes in a very practical small tube (that seems to have endless amounts of gel in it) you can easily put into your handbag whenever you go. You put the clear gel under your eyes and it cools the area downs. It works just as a gel mask, but is something you put directly on your skin. Many differed brands make these – I just opted for one I could buy at my local pharmacy.

App (link to read more about; http://www.astma-allergi.dk/ditmobilepollental):

I am convinced there is/are similar apps in other countries, but seeing as I am a Dane it only makes sense that I have a Danish app. The app tells you every day what the pollen numbers of your favourite pollen type is and also, if there are any warnings, in Copenhagen and Viborg. It is so practical, and the best part of it is, it doesn’t cost anything to download.

There are obviously other things you can do (in Denmark there are some recommendations that would feel redundant if I were to mention them as well) and there are far more products you can use to help you get through the seasons, but these are simply what I have picked that helps me out immensely and what I consider my essentials.

Do you suffer from pollen allergy? What is/are your essential(s)?

Until next time,

Mia ♥