LIEBSTER AWARD 2013

I've seen the Liebster Award floating around a couple of blogs before, but it wasn't until recently that I actually realised what it was. I was nominated for this award by the blogger Euphoria-xoxo, so go and check out her blog if you haven't already (and I would thoroughly recommend that you do so!). In case you are unfamiliar with how the award works, here's what you have to do...

1. Each nominee has to list 11 random facts about themselves

2. Answer the 11 questions provided by the blogger who nominated them (the questions I'm answering can be found here: http://euphoria-xoxo.co.uk/348/)

3. Choose 11 more nominees (who must have 200 followers or less) and ask them 11 questions

Eleven Random Facts:

1. My birthday is on the 28th January and I am seventeen years old

2. I'm in my last year of school and I am studying English Literature, Psychology, and Geography
3. I am 5'6" (or approximately 1.67 m) tall
4. I am a published poet - I've written three poems that have been published in anthologies
5. I am a massive fan of Batman (the films, comics, video games, you name it!)
6. I am also very obsessed with the BBC TV series Sherlock - I think it's absolutely amazing!
7. I like listening to all kinds of music - at the moment, I'm loving film scores by Hans Zimmer, The Black Keys, Foo Fighters, and AC/DC - so a bit of a mixed bag!
8. I have three siblings (two brothers and a sister) and a dog called Kodi
9. Anyone remember the CBBC programme The Slammer? I was in it once - how embarrassing!
10. My favourite authors include F Scott Fitzgerald, Ian McEwan, Cormac McCarthy, and John le Carre
11. My favourite film directors include Christopher Nolan, Wes Anderson, David Fincher, and David O. Russell

The Eleven Questions:

1. What do you enjoy most about blogging?

At the risk of sounding hugely cliched, I have always enjoyed writing. When I was younger, I used to write short stories and novellas all the time, but nowadays I don't really have the time or commitment to do it. To compromise, I decided to start a blog because it still enabled me to write, but there is so much more flexibility when blogging - plus you don't have to write anywhere near as much!

2. If you could meet any celebrity in the world for a whole day, who would you meet?

I had to think about this one for a little while - but, as I mentioned earlier, I am a massive fan of Sherlock, so I'm going to say Benedict Cumberbatch. That way, I could also find out how the hell Sherlock survived at the end of The Reichenbach Fall!!

3. You have just won £1 million - what is the first thing you buy?

I could be boring and just say a mansion or a nice house, but I'm going to push the boat out a bit and say either an indoor swimming pool or a home cinema. 

4. Warm or cold?

Probably cold. Since my birthday and Christmas are both in winter, I have a bit of a bias towards the colder months anyway. That aside, I also think that everything looks nicer when its covered in snow or frost, and there's always a nice, cosy atmosphere about winter. I also went away to Iceland earlier on in the year (which was very cold, as you can imagine) and I absolutely loved it there, so cold it is.

5. How would you describe your style?
Smart-casual, I suppose - I love wearing shirts with any kind of collar (I am quite fond of Peter Pan collars at the moment), coloured jeans or trousers, nude ballet pumps, brogues, striped t-shirts... that sort of thing. It's worth a mention that I love printed t-shirts as well - the funnier the better!

6. Do you have a favourite make-up brand?
There are quite a few make-up brands that I really like, but if I had to pick just the one it would probably be Urban Decay. I use their Naked 2 palette on a daily basis, and from what I've tried of their lip products (which isn't much, I'll be honest) I like those as well. In terms of lower-end or drugstore brands, my favourites are Max Factor and Bourjois.

7. Lipstick or lipgloss?
Lipgloss - I find that it's a little more of a pragmatic choice, as I don't like having to have to reapply lip products with great precision, which is often the case with lipsticks. With both products I prefer darker colours, because they tend to stay on for longer and because they are much more noticeable.

8. Jeans or a dress?
Jeans - I do like wearing dresses as well, but jeans are much less hassle when faced with the notorious British weather. I mentioned in one of the previous questions that I love coloured jeans, and I think that a pair of burgundy or dark green jeans are so much more comfy and practical than a nice dress and can look just as smart.

9. What is the one beauty product you couldn't live without?
I'm going to be a bit cheeky and include skincare as a beauty product - the Clinique Clarifying Lotion is one product that I couldn't live without. I have quite dry skin that feels very tight around my face if I don't use skincare products regularly, and this product does the job marvellously. Granted, it is expensive and doesn't smell particularly nice, but it leaves my skin feeling wonderfully smooth and refreshed.

10. Do you have a secret talent?
I wish I could say yes to this question - but sadly, no. I have been told that I'm good at art, but I wouldn't say that that's a secret talent per-say, so I don't think it counts.

11. What is your dream job?
Since I'm feeling ambitious and elaborate right now, I'm going to say a film director. As it may be evident from the conent of my blog, I am a very keen film fan, and any job in the industry would be the coolest thing ever as far as I'm concerned. Failing that, I'd say that film journalism looks quite fun as well - visiting all of those film sets would be incredible!

My Eleven Questions:

1. If you could swap blogs with anyone, who's would it be?
2. What was the last film that you saw in the cinema? Did you enjoy it?
3. If you could switch lives with one person for a day, who would it be and why?
4. What is your biggest guilty pleasure? (if you have one, of course!)
5. You are only allowed to use three beauty products for the rest of your life - what are they?
6. If you could get free tickets to see any artist of your choice, who would you go and see?
7. Would you rather have the ability to fly or heal whenever you get injured?
8. If you could only watch one TV show for the rest of your life what would it be?
9. Describe your sense of style in five words or less
10. What are your top three books? (Both fiction and non-fiction count!)
11. If you found a £50 note (or the equivalent) on the street what would you do with it?

My Eleven Nominees:
- Lili and the Rox - Fearless n Fabulous - Phoebe Victoria - Films & Pies - PeanutJase - Beth-Stocker Blog - BelleJeunesse - Sophie-Ellie - Kirsty - Hanclarky - Small Contemplations -

I hope you've all enjoyed reading this post - it's a little more personal than most of the things I blog about, but I thought it would be nice to mix it up a bit!