Tape by Steve Camden

Taped up

Yeah I read more than just fashion magazines :)

TAPE is the outstanding teen debut of 2014. Told with crackling prose, shimmering with humour and deeply moving, it will haunt anyone who reads it…

Record a voice and it lasts forever…

In 1993, Ryan records a diary on an old tape. He talks about his mother’s death, about his dreams, about his love for a new girl at school who doesn’t even know he exists.

In 2013, Ameliah moves in with her grandmother after her parents die. There, she finds a tape in the spare room. A tape with a boy’s voice on it – a voice she can’t quite hear, but which seems to be speaking to her.

Ryan and Ameliah are connected by more than just a tape.

This is their story.

Courtesy of Harper Collins, I was given the opportunity to review 'Tape' by Steven Camden- a time travelling adventure which is aimed at teenage girls, perhaps younger than myself. After reading the book I concurred that the book is suitable for pre-teen girls perhaps in Year 6 (11/12 years) years upwards as I didn't feel that the language wasn't particularly hard to understand for my age group (15/16 years) although the occasional swear word implemented- which I'm guessing is to blatantly project that this book is for teenagers. I didn't really like the swear words as it didn't correspond with the simple language. If the language was a tad more challenging, perhaps the swear words would've suited it more...

The characters themselves are very personable and each disadvantaged in their own right- which could give you a lightbulb moment in relation to the plot... Although this book has romance- I'm sorry to say that they don't hit up with each other. It'd kinda be impossible to date via a tape recorder (someone will probably try though). The characters themselves have relatable, amazing best friends and I think every teen/pre-teen will relate to their friendships. Especially the girls; where there's pressure to fit in- but this book is beautiful in the fact that nothing bad really happens with the friendships, we just get subtle hints of uneasiness around certain people- which in turn implies thoughts about those near. Every girl wants a best friend like Heather :)

The magical plot itself, well that's a secret which is subtly embedded throughout the story, without you even knowing... and the best part is that it's not inevitable as some other stories. The plot is deeper but don't worry, it's not too confusing :)

I also want to say how beautiful the cover is. Look how pretty the illustrations are; the colour's so bold and totally reflects the book and its plot. 'Tape' has recently been released through Amazon and it's set to be huge, so buck the trend now! Tape

One to watch!

One to watch!
UPDATE: GGC Clothing is now called 'Marbelle'

Okay so I've been dealing with my 'To Do List' today and right now I'm writing up a blog post which is probably late. I've been shooting a bit more recently (yayay behind the scenes piccies on the way?) so I would bring my tablet on the train with me to shoots, but who does that in London? If someone gets their iPhone out on the train- everyone eyes it up. 

Today I was asked to voice my opinion on the creativity of online British,clothing brand GGC Clothing. 

GGC Clothing definitely know how to showcase their clothes to a high standard in the images shown above. The fabric used to make the outfits looks luxurious, opulent and silkily smooth. The way the clothes hang shows how much skill and effort has been put into the clothes and they are presented almost, regally. The images remind me of regal, royalty and do project an aura of mystery to us the audience. I think that these pictures represent different moods and feelings. The jumpsuits look shows the comfort of  a Greek toga, but the colours symbolise the boldness of  a 60s/70s staple piece. And the blue lipstick shows this brand is daring and out there and I love that!

What a dress! I love the way GGC Clothing's fabric and material always looks so rich and luxurious in its photos. The blue is so vivid and it's not too bold, although after seeing the blue lipstick I thought some blue would've been used throughout the collection. This dress is hot but still looks comfortable and I could see it as a summer piece for when you're flowy, chilled and don't want to wear anything full on- but still want to look fabulous. I have to admit though, this shot could've been a bit more natural to suit the theme of the dress. The colour is for everything relaxed and the forced hand gesture is a bit too distracting and doesn't match the aura. Maybe some windswept hair could've added a more natural look to it? It could just be me, but in my opinion the pose doesn't match. But it is a good dress which I would wear myself! The colour doesn't immediately dictate one season either, it could be Spring as well as Autumn! It's also not age-restricted, an older lady could easily pull this off as well as a younger lady.

And third time lucky, 

Everyone likes a party dress and this dress is the life of the party! This dress just screams Cheryl Cole to me, I can just see her in it so clearly. This dress is definitely diverse to the others as this shows the more tight, body-con, almost sexier side to the brand. But the length shows that it's still within boundaries and oozes sophistication. I like the dress isn't patterned all over, but it works, it doesn't need to have a lot on it to shine. Less is more. After this, I am so excited for the new collection!

So what do you think of the dresses?

Found out more here (and the new collection details!):

https://www.facebook.com/MarbellleM?fref=ts
@Marbelle

A new Honey in this Hive

A new Honey in this Hive review

This week a new Honey arrived into my Hive, courtesy of Jasper Jewellery .This honey was of course the Honeybee Silver Pendant Necklace which includes beautiful, Swarovski and Preciosa crystals and is adored by Cara herself ^

Jasper Jewellery are a small website based in Ireland (yes home of Niall) and have a passion for classy crystal jewellery and Swarovski jewels at normal prices. Given the fact that they are in Ireland, Jasper Jewellery deliver worldwide and offer Free Delivery to any country :) Saying that, their delivery is super fast my parcel arrived in 3 days and I was in a different country.

As stated on their website, the jewellery comes in beautiful, gift wrapping- free of charge which is true. Although, I have to admit I did think the wrapping paper wasn't like I would've imagined. It was just striped, wrapping paper- but the nicely, tied ribbon bow helped make it work. The wrapping did make it look like a Christmas present, which I thought was cool as I did get a 'Kid at Crimbo' type feeling when opening it. The logo stickers were a nice touch as they were shiney and embossed- so it complimented the gift well.

The necklace itself is a reasonable size and can be worn with many different outfits. Like the one below...  and I'm eagerly awaiting to receive Valentines Day jewellery like these from Jasper Jewellery's Valentines line:

Here's an outfit I culminated to fit the necklace,

Went a bit too yellow, but hey who wouldn't with a buzz-tastic, honeybee necklace!

Jasper Jewellery still rock and I'm able to give my readers an exclusive $5 off any purchase from their store. The discount code is: totalpolichic5 

Plus, a giveaway to win an exclusive piece of Jasper Jewellery will be up this week :)

Follow Jasper Jewellery on all their social media platforms!

Twitter: @jasperjewellery

www.jasperjewellery.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JasperJewellery.comStore

Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/+Jasperjewellery00/posts

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/jasperjewellery/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCokQQ_7qP4EGHf-qyeiHOhg

Nail heart hero!

Nail heart!

Everyone has an annoying habit at one stage in their life. Biting nails, biting lips, sucking thumbs, a painful addiction to chocolate, procrastinating. You can outgrow habits, but I've had an annoying habit since I was little and it hasn't budged at all. I bite the skin around my nails. Gross you're probably thinking, but my teeth aren't strong enough to bite the actual nail. Weird but incredibly annoying. Might as well admit to you that I never model in my nail tutorials either. My nails are that bad. I have to get my sister to nail model for me! After like an hour of persuading she will finally agree. After a push from Mum we decided to find a nail biting varnish to put around the nail, which gives off a bitter taste when you try to bite it. After the raving reviews from Amazon customers we trialed 'Mavala STOP' varnish for three weeks.

The bottle is only 5 ml and I did think 'Three weeks? I'm not refilling if it doesn't work!' when it arrived. The verdict, I still continue my habit. The varnish does produce a bitter taste. But as I drink a lot of water, It's easy to drain the taste out. I shouldn't really have tried it, but as water is part of my routine I had to drink it. So the spray could've been a bit more, bitter and water proof. If that makes sense. Maybe I should've trialed it longer but as a nail biter, I could easily break those boundaries.

The next obstacle I faced with the varnish is mealtimes. As the varnish is completely translucent, I recommend ditching finger foods. As the taste can prevent the 'finger licking goodness' of your edibles. The unpleasant taste will wake you up. Well if a fight will break out for the last foods, I wonder how you could get your hand on them... :)

The point of this article is to say that habits can die down quickly for some people, or not very quickly for others. The varnish has worked well on young children but as I'm a teenager, I'll have to persist with more varnishes. The verdict is that I still bite my nails, but I haven't been doing it recently. So the varnish must be working. If you feel like taking the varnish challenge check out the product below:

This Babe's got butter

This Babe's got butter

As I was browsing through my phone, I came across some snazzy pictures of the products I won from a giveaway; which I hadn't reviewed yet (forgetful me). I did the interview with Tanina from Babe&Butter, but didn't get round to reviewing the products!

Well I won a contest on another blog (BlueEyedOwl I think) and I was over the moon as beforehand, I saw Babe&Butter's products and knew I had to own some. Down to the superpowers of social networking, I tracked down the contest and now own the 'Caked Up' make-up bag and the fashion art badges. The designs are: Balloons in the city, Magic Kingdom and Masquerade.

From behind

The badges

Make-up bag

The bag itself is white and made from thin fabric- so if I'm honest I wouldn't put a lot of make-up in there. My make-up box is a mess and with white, well it would show up. However, I'm sure I could use it for my jewelry :) But with the bag, the design is very eye-catching and different to the normal fashion shots. You can't really see it on the picture (first time the camera's let me down!) but the colours are very vivid and sharp. The bags come in a variety of designs from saucy 'Sex Pot' to cool 'Spray Paint Socialite'. These are all $20 and Babe&Butter do ship to the UK!  

The badges are a cute addition to my blazer and I shall be wearing the Masquerade one to my outfit; at a Masquerade fashion event I'm attending this year. Badges are an awesome way to 'Upcycle' an outfit, just by  wearing a badge. The badges are super cheap at $3 for a set of 3, making them a cheap way to upgrade anything. From a backpack to a blazer. 

Babe&Butter are the company for you if you're a heel-a-holic! Who isn't?

Check out http://www.babeandbutter.com/ to view the whole range and more :)