OCTOBER FAVOURITES

I apologise for not having posted anything in over a week - I have been really rather busy, and I confess that I have been lacking in ideas for posts. However, since October has drawn to a close, I've compiled my favourite products and miscellaneous items together for my monthly favourites list. 

MAX FACTOR MASTERPIECE MAX MASCARA

I bought this mascara at the very beginning of the month, so I have had quite some time to road test it. Unlike some, I am definitely the kind of person who gets bored of using the same products and like to shop around for alternatives where possible. The same can be said for my experience with this product - I have used other mascaras by Max Factor before, but never this one. Compared to the other mascaras by Max Factor that I have used, I would say that this is one of my favourites. I apply this mascara by holding a mirror just below my face and looking down into it. By doing this, I find that there are fewer clumps in my eyelashes while remaining voluminous. While I wouldn't say that this is the best mascara that I have ever used, it has definitely been a favourite over the past month at least.

VIDEO GAME - BATMAN: ARKHAM ORIGINS

Technically, this hasn't been a favourite of mine throughout October, since it was released on the 25th. Nevertheless, any new release from the Arkham franchise is worth mentioning on my list of favourites, as the two previous games in the series are both sublime. Although I have yet to finish Arkham Origins, I think that I can safely say that it is as good as the others despite the changes in voice actors and developers. In this installment to the franchise, Batman is in the earlier years of his career as a vigilante. Set during the night of Christmas Eve, Batman must track down the villain Black Mask, who has promised one of eight assassins a fifty million dollar prize - if they can kill Batman. I agree with some other people who have said that the gameplay is very similar to the two previous games, but I feel that this is no bad thing.

L'OREAL PARIS SUPER-LINER PERFECT SLIM

Checking the Boots and Superdrug websites, I'm not sure whether or not this product is actually still available to buy any more. If that is the case, it's a shame - I would say that it is one of the better felt-tip eyeliners that I've used. As the name of the product suggests, you can create very thin lines with this eyeliner pen. I find this preferable to chunkier pens, as I think that thinner pens have more versatility, which works for me because I change the thickness of my eyeliner on a daily basis. On some days, I wear my eyeliner in a very thin and more natural line while on others I like to wear much more thick and dramatic eyeliner. In the photo above, I tried to show the variation in thickness that can be created with this eyeliner - if the picture proves one thing, it's that I can't draw very straight lines.

THEATRE - MACBETH AND FRANKENSTEIN

October has been a month full of theatre - at the very beginning of the month, I went to London to watch a performance of Macbeth at the Globe Theatre and yesterday I watched a recording of the 2011 production of Frankenstein. Both of these performances had to make it into my monthly favourites simply because of how amazing they were. Unfortunately, the performance of Macbeth is no longer running at The Globe - but if you live in the UK and would like to see the recording of Frankenstein, there is a second showing on the 5th November in Showcase Cinemas across the country. To cut a very long story short, both performances were highlights of the month because of the superb acting from all of the casts and creative production design - Frankenstein in particular was outstanding in this area.

I hope you've enjoyed reading my monthly favourites, and if you have any ideas for future posts (I admit, I am lacking in ideas at the moment) please post your suggestions in the comments below!

- Kate Shortt -