A SUMMER OF READING: "THEY BOTH DIE AT THE END"

One of my main yearly goals was to make more time to read which I have definitely been doing since I finished university. I thought I would write about the books I've read - maybe it'll inspire you to pick up a good book and get lost in it for a while too.

"They Both Die At The End" is a fictional story written by Adam Silvera. The reader follows the journey of two boys, Mateo and Rufus, who are given the notice by 'Death-Cast' that they will die within the next 24 hours, as everyone is given in this alternate world.
Mateo and Rufus couldn't be more different but upon being given the news they are going to die, they are both lead to an app designed for those looking for someone to spend their last day with - their last friend. 
Rufus and Mateo meet up to help each other live their best last day which is filled with both moments of elation and moments of fear, until the point in which they inevitably die.

There is no doubt this is my new favourite book - an easy but emotional read. The closer you get to the end of the book, the more emotionally attached to the characters you get - you really believe and want them to escape their inevitable fate even though the title tells you from the outset that that is not the case. It inspires the reader to appreciate their days and the time they have to do those things which they may be putting off. It is heartbreaking, yet thought-provoking - imagining what it must be like to receieve a notice like that, knowing you will die but not exactly when or how, instantly makes you realise how precious life is. Would you want to know you have 24 hours left to live? Although we may be lucky not to have the power to know when we will die, does it make us complacent?

THE MYSTERY OF DYATLOV PASS

I thought I'd do a bit of a different case today - I'll be telling you all about the Dyatlov Pass incident and the theories surrounding the deaths of the 9 hikers killed in this incident.

A group of 10 students/graduates from the Ural Polytechnical Institute set out on a 14-day expedition with the goal of reaching Otorten (a Northen Ural mountain) on the 25th of January 1959. At the time they set out on this expedition, the route was classified as a "Category 3" which was the most difficult but all of the hikers were highly experienced and felt they were able to complete it. Very early on one of the members of the group, Yuri Yudin, fell ill and had to return home. Diaries and cameras they took with them made it able to track their movements on the days leading up to their deaths.

You can view the diary online here

The hike actually began on February the 1st but the group only travelled 4km that day when they set up a base camp on a slope 10 miles from mount Otorten. Igor Dyatlov had said he would send a telegram to their sports club as soon as the group completed their expedition (which was expected to be by the 12th of february) but Dyatlov had told Yudin it could be a little bit longer than this so when no message came on the 12th, there was no immediate worry. Only after a few relatives of the hikers demanded action to be taken did a rescue operation commence.

On the 26th of February, the searchers found the abandoned and damaged tent of the hikers (which had been cut open from the inside and was covered in some snow with belongings such as shoes still inside). Footprints were found leaving the tent towards a nearby woods and it seemed that this had happened in a hurry as some of the hikers were barefoot, only wearing socks or only wearing one shoe as they left.

At the edge of the forest the search team found the remains of a fire and, very sadly, the first two bodies which were of Yuri Doroshenko and Yuri Krivoshenko, both shoeless and dressed only in their underwear. Above them, the branches of a tree had been broken up to about 5m up as if one or more of the hikers had tried to climb up it which was later confirmed by tests which found traces of skin on the branches. It was also pointed out that the bodies had been turned over AFTER the two hikers had died, indicated by livor mortis on the fronts of their bodies.

On the 27th of February, the remains of Igor Dyatlov and Zinaida Kolmogorova were found, followed by Rustem Slobodin 6 days later. The places these three hikers were found suggests that they were actually trying to make their way back toward the tent and post mortem examinations found no deathly injuries meaning they most likely died from hypothermia like the previous two hikers. After this point, searching for the remaining four bodies took over two months.

The final four were found on May the 5th under four metres of snow in a ravine further into the woods. These hikers were dressed better than the others and it seems that they had maybe taken clothes from those who had died first to try and stay warm. An examination of these bodies however changed the course of the whole investigation.

Thibeaux-Brignolles had major skull damage and both Dubinina and Zolotarev has major chest fractures which, according to a doctor, would require the force of something such as a car crash to occur but no outside wounds were found. Dubinina also had her eyes and tongue missing (which is thought to have been removed whilst she was still alive) and Semyon Zoloateryov had an eyeball missing too. Some of these hikers also had radioactive traces on the clothes they were wearing when found.

Theres lots of photos on this link that were found on the cameras of the hikers.

Theories

1. A Yeti...?

Lets get this first one out of the way as I don't think this is very probable... Some people believe that this yeti or 'snow-man' was captured on one of the photos taken by the group and that maybe this creature could have been strong enough to at least kill the final few hikers found who were deemed to have died because of immense pressure. Obviously, the figure in the photo could be anyone, even one of the hikers themselves and I don't think that this theory has any real evidence to it at all.

2. Mansi Native Hunters

It is also suggested that the person in the photo could be one of the native mansi people who were indigenous to the area and hunted very close to where the group had set up camp. Some photos from the group show some marking on the trees around the area they camped which were thought to have been done by these people. If they wished, this group would have had the skills to hunt down and kill members of the group. In terms of motives, its possible that the Mansi people asked the group to leave their area as it was there special hunting area but the group refused, leading to a feud. However, I don't really believe this theory either as the hunters cut themselves out of the tent from the one side and got away into the woods which I doubt would have happened if there was a group of people surrounding them. Also, the Mansi people had not caused any concern or committed any criminal activity for 30 years.

3. ALIENS

OF COURSE there is an alien theory surrounding these deaths, as there always is in cases like this. It is said that another group of hikers saw some orbs or lights in the sky around the same time the hikers were killed and if this was aliens, it could explain the radioactive resonance on their clothes and why hikers' eyes and tongue was missing. However, I think we all can conclude that it was probably not the work of little green men.

4. KGB AGENTS?

This theory suggests that three of the hikers, Alexander "Semyon" Zolotaryov, Alexander Kolevatov and Yuri Krivonischenko, were KGB agents (a large secretive spy organisation in the Soviet union) and that they were sent to deliver fake radioactive material to the CIA to gain footage and information on them. The theory states that the CIA basically found out about the plan and killed the agents, followed by killing the rest of the hikers and positioning them back around the camp and in the woods to cover it up, as they wouldn't have known whether they could trust them too.

The first bit of evidence to support this is the large amount of high-tech camera equipment they took with them on their expedition - why would they want to carry such heavy equipment on such a tricky hike? 

Zolotaryov in particular seems to be a very sketchy character - he was a veteran of the NKVD (a secret Soviet police organisation) who had joined the expedition last minute and archives from the polytechnic institute show that he had worked in Moscow in a very top secret scientific facility which was unnamed. He also had a weird tattoo which no one could translate into any language.

Also, Yuri's background is quite curious as it has been suggested that he may have worked in a very sketchy organisation where a massive nuclear disaster occurred in 1957.

Although these two hikers do have some interesting, possibly sketchy backgrounds, this still does not explain the pressure which killed the last few hikers found and why the footprints from the tent matched with the hikers and seemed to have been carried out in a very calm orderly way.

5. Avalanche

Another more believable theory, which I'm sure a lot of people have thought of, is that there was an avalanche. This theory suggests that the avalanche forced the hikers to cut themselves out of the tent and move away into the woods in quite a hurry, explaining why they left without shoes on. This could explain the pressure which killed the last few hikers found also. 

However, there was absolutely no evidence of an avalanche at this time in the area. The tent wasn't crushed, it was simply damaged from being cut from the inside and the footprints were deemed to be slow and calculated rather than hurried chaotically. It also doesn't make sense that experienced hikers would set up camp near a spot where an avalanche could happen. Also, the hikers who were killed by high pressure were actually found furthest away from the tent.

6. Evacuation?

This is probably the most likely theory - in a few of the photos, it is seen that an exhaust pipe was set up by Dyatlov to let fumes outside the tent when they would cook inside. However, if this was not successful, the tent could likely catch fire - it seems they did have trouble with this method as there is a photo of one of the hikers with a seemingly burnt jacket on.

This theory states that when they finished cooking around 6pm-7pm, they took the exhaust pipe out but some embers could have relighted and caused the tent to fill up with smoke. This may have been the reason for the hikers cutting themselves out of the tent and why they then walked away so calmly as they were outside the tent and away from the danger at this point. They may have then headed towards the woods to find a new shelter/find help as they had just damaged their tent. It could also explain why the hikers were trying to climb the trees - maybe to see if the campsite was okay or if there was anywhere else they could head towards. If they had deemed the campsite to be safe, this could also explain why some of the hikers were thought to be heading back towards the tent - although it doesn't really explain why the group had split up quite far apart?

It is thought that the first few hikers died of hypothermia as they couldn't survive in the freezing temperatures and then the other hikers moved away and tried to set up a camp elsewhere. However, at this point a small avalanche could have occurred which would explain the high-pressure injuries which caused the deaths of the final hikers and why they were covered in so much snow when they were found. 

But STILL not one of these theories can really explain why eyes were missing from two hikers and why the tongue had been cut out from one also. Also, who turned the bodies of the first few hikers over after they had died? and why were the clothes of the last hikers radioactive?

The following statement from the Junior Counselor of Justice and Criminal Prosecutor of the Sverdlovsk region, Lev Ivanov, basically suggests that Dyatlov (considered the leader of the group) made many mistakes when planning and carrying out this trip, ultimately leading to the death of the 9 hikers:

"The deaths of the expedition members were due to a series of mistakes by Dyatlov. On 1 February he began the ascent to the summit at 3 PM, even though he knew about the difficulty of the terrain. Furthermore – and this was Dyatlov’s next mistake – he chose a line 500 m to the left of the planned pass that lies between Peak 1079 and Peak 880. So the group found themselves on the eastern slope of Peak 1079. They used what was left of the daylight to ascend to the summit in strong winds (which are typical for this area) and low temperatures of minus 25 degrees centigrade. Dyatlov found himself in bad conditions for the night, so he decided to pitch his tent on the slope of 1079 so as to start in the morning without adding the distance from the forest (~1 km) to the remaining trek of about 10 km to the summit.

Considering the absence of external injuries to the bodies or signs of a fight, as well as the abandonment of all the valuable resources, adding the conclusions of the medical examinations for the causes of the deaths, it has to be concluded that the cause of their deaths was calamity or overwhelming force."

This is such a sad case and reading the diaries and looking at the photos the hikers took so close to their deaths makes it really hard-hitting and real. 

What do you think happened?

Thanks for reading,

Holly Amber x

Disclaimer: I will try to present the information as factually as possible and use information which I have found from credible websites/sources. In presenting the theories, these are merely speculation and do not always reflect my personal opinion. The main aim of this series is to raise awareness of cold cases and get people interested in speaking about them and keeping the story alive.

COLD CASES: WHERE IS NICHOLAS BARCLAY AND WHO WAS HIS IMPOSTER!?

Today's cold case is a really interesting one.
Nicholas Barclay was born on December 31st, 1980, the youngest of the family and known to be 'troubled' by other people where he lived in San Antonio, Texas. He was physically and verbally violent towards his mother meaning the police had been called to the family house on numerous occasions and participated in illegal activities such as shoplifting and underage tatooing. The fact he was considered 'troubled' probably contributed to the lack of attention people paid to his case when he went missing, deeming he was just a runaway or causing trouble again...

On the 13th of June, 1994 when Nicholas was 13 years old, his mother gave him $5 to go and play basketball with his friends. Nicholas later rang his mother for a lift home but, as she worked nights and slept in the day, his older brother Jason picked up the phone and told him he'd have to walk home and this was the last time they would hear from him.

Nicholas had a history of running away and considering this was the day before he was due in court to decide whether he would be sent to a rehabilitation group home for juveniles, it was assumed that he would return soon enough and that he just didn't want to attend his court date. Because of this, the police were slow to act but after a few days, it was clear that Nicholas was actually gone without a trace.

3 years passed...
In the October of 1997, the San Antonio police received a call from a man in a youth shelter in Spain claiming that he knew Nicholas Barclay. The boy stated that he has escaped from child sex trafficking in Europe and Nicholas' sister flew over to Spain and confirmed that he was, what she thought to be, her brother. She sat with him going over old family photos as the boy claimed to have forgotten near enough every from his past life over the last three years...

Soon enough, he started to 'remember' things about his family and was looking to travel back to Texas with his sister. Before this could happen, they required definite proof that he was who he said he was - to do this they got some photos of family members for him to identify which he did successfully except for one mistake meaning he was allowed to go back 'home'.

The family were overjoyed but you couldn't help but question how some of his features had changed so dramatically. How could his eye colour change from blue to dark brown? How had his hair colour changed from light to dark? 'Nicholas' tried to explain this away saying that the people in the sex trafficking ring had chemically dyed his hair, eyes and skin... and the family believed him again.

One private investigator noticed the major differences that had apparently occurred during the three year period and decided to compare the photos of Nicholas before he went missing to the person claiming to be Nicholas now by looking at their ears - apparently ears act just the same as fingerprints, they have strong identifiable features which differ from person to person, staying consistent throughout a person's life. The investigator found that they didn't have the same ears at all and therefore this person could not be Nicholas! Following much suspicion and the investigation by the private detective, the court ordered a DNA and fingerprint test which actually revealed his true identity...

Who was he?!
DNA tests revealed that the man was in fact 23-year-old French man, Frédéric Bourdin! Bourdin states that he claims the identities of missing people as he was raised without love and affection... not the best excuse for impersonating a missing child if you ask me. But what happened to the real Nicholas? Bourdin himself actually had his own theory on the case after the time he spent with the family...

Bourdin's theory behind Nicholas' disappearance...
The whole family seemed thrilled and eager to meet Bourdin when he claimed to be the lost Nicholas, except for one person... his brother Jason. When Jason finally came to meet him, Bourdin claims that he was not excited and didn't look at or communicate with him as a brother - he simply wished him good luck and left.
It wasn't just Jason who is now considered suspicious, in fact, the whole family is considered suspicious after Bourdin's experience. He claimed that it was obvious they knew he wasn't Nicholas but that they were very good at pretending he was. Here's a quote from Bourdin:

"They didn't believe a word that I said. But they were good at not showing it. I remember in Spain, Carey did everything for me. When I didn't know something, she told me. That's the house we used to live in. That's my daughter, your niece. Do you remember that? Remember that, remember that, remember that, over and over again. She wanted to put it in my head so I would never forget. She couldn't say that I wasn't her brother. Did she believe it or not? If you ask me, no. She did not believe for a second that I was her brother. She decided that I was going to be her brother."

There is also the fact that the family actually wanted to keep Bourdin as part of the family even after he has been found out to not be Nicholas! What logical reason could there be behind this other than they didn't want to be found out if they had something to do with his disappearance...? 
In particular, it is thought that Jason could have murdered Nicholas. Jason had placed a very peculiar call to police a few months after Nicholas' disappearance claiming that he was breaking into their garage but upon arrival, police could not find Nicholas anywhere. This type of thing, police say, is very common in murder cases to give the impression that the 'runaway' person is still alive. However, Jason cannot be questioned on this matter as he died from a drug overdose although its not obvious whether this was intentional or not.
Bourdin claims that someone in the family definitely murdered Nicholas, that others knew about it and actively try to cover it up and that the rest choose to ignore it. 

I guess we'll never really know what happened to Nicholas. Although he was considered a trouble-maker, his case should've got more attention from the very beginning and it's really sad that there doesn't seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel with this case.
As for Bourdin, he received six years in prison and apparently impersonated some other people before settling down and starting a family himself - he is not thought to be impersonating anyone at this time.

I'm sure you found this case really interesting, I personally think the family are really suspicious and hopefully one day we will find out what happened to Nicholas.
Thanks for reading,

Holly Amber X

Contact details for this case:
San Antonio police department telephone: 210-207-7484

Disclaimer: I will try to present the information as factually as possible and use information which I have found from credible websites/sources. In presenting the theories, these are merely speculation and do not always reflect my personal opinion. The main aim of this series is to raise awareness of cold cases and get people interested in speaking about them and keeping the story alive.

COLD CASES: WHERE IS ANDREW GOSDEN?

Andrew Gosden was a 14-year-old boy when he went missing on the 14th of September, 2007 from his home in Doncaster.

Andrew got dressed into his school clothes and left the house as he always did to catch the bus to school. However, this didn't seem to be his plan on this day as, when his parents had left for work and his sister was at school he returned to the family home, put his school uniform in the wash and got changed into a Slipknot t-shirt, jeans and some trainers before packing a bag and leaving his house with the intention to catch a train. 

On his way to the train station, Andrew went to a cashpoint and withdrew £200 worth of cash (his parents have put money into his account since this day but there have been no more withdrawals made). When he got to the train station, he bought a one-way ticket to London's King Cross station. The man who served him his ticket did ask Andrew if he'd like a return ticket for only a few pounds more but Andrew insisted that he just wanted a one-way ticket.

A man who was on the train to Kings Cross station from Doncaster recalls sitting near a boy matching Andrew's description playing on his PlayStation console, however, Andrew did not take the charger for his console which suggests he did not plan on using it after this time, but why?
The very last sighting of Andrew was on a CCTV image from Kings Cross station the same day at 11:20am so it is at least known that he got to London, but why was he travelling there?

Theories surrounding his disappearance

The first theory is a very sad one that I personally don't believe, that Andrew had travelled away from the family home to commit suicide. The situation could be interpreted in this way as he didn't seem to take many clothes(if any - his parents reported that they didn't notice any of his clothes to be gone except the ones he changed into), he didn't take his console charger and he didn't purchase a return ticket so it seems he didn't have any intention of returning back home. However, Andrew's parents don't seem to believe this theory - why would he withdraw £200 if that was his intention? Why would he travel all the way to London?

Some people speculate that Andrew actually intended to run away and start a new life in London, however, I don't believe this theory has much supporting evidence. How did he plan on starting over with such a small amount of money? If this was his intention, why wouldn't he have taken the £100 worth of birthday money in his bedroom? What would have made him want to leave his family home and go to London specifically?
The theory that I find most probable is that Andrew was actually travelling to meet someone in London who he had met online. In terms of the train ticket, he may not have purchased the return as the person he was meeting may have said they could drive him back home or that they would pay for his ticket home after they had spent the day together. Also, this may explain why he didn't pack a lot of things or take his console charger as he could have planned to go for a few hours/the day and then return home. In this case, it may be that Andrew ran into some trouble in London - that the person he thought he was meeting wasn't actually that person. Although Andrew was academically smart, was he street smart?
Although police could not find any evidence of Andrew speaking to someone online from looking at his computer at home, it is very possible that he used an internet cafe or school computers instead. This theory is also backed up by the fact that he only took £200 with him - why would he have withdrawn this amount of money if he had intended on committing suicide or never coming back? This was probably enough for his trip to London, whatever he had planned to do there and then his trip home.

Andrew's parents still hold onto the hope that he is alive and well 10 years on from the day he disappeared and that one day he will resurface which I don't think is completely out of the question. You can find the contact details for his case on this website. At the time of his disappearance, he was 5' 3" tall, of slim build with light brown hair and eyes. He also has a very unique "double ridge" on his right ear and wore very strong prescription glasses.
Thanks for reading,

Holly Amber X

Disclaimer: I will try to present the information as factually as possible and use information which I have found from credible websites/sources. In presenting the theories, these are merely speculation and do not always reflect my personal opinion. The main aim of this series is to raise awareness of cold cases and get people interested in speaking about them and keeping the story alive.

COLD CASES: WHAT HAPPENED TO DANIEL ENTWISTLE?

I've been wanting to start a new series on my blog for a while now surrounding cold cases which are yet to be solved. Some of these have really interesting theories surrounding them but the main idea behind this series is to raise awareness of the cases yet to be solved, of which there are A LOT, as it is really sad that their families and loved ones still don't have closure on their situations.

So let's jump right in with the missing person's case of Daniel Entwistle. 
Daniel, a 7-year old boy from Great Yarmouth, went missing from his home at Copperfield Avenue on Saturday the 3rd of May, 2003 which was the May bank holiday weekend. He had gone out on his red BMX bike in the day and then came home and asked for some money to get some sweets before going back out. His parents, Paula and David Entwistle, became concerned when he did not return home for tea later that evening when they began searching for him.

Daniel was identified on a CCTV image at 5:05pm at the local convenience store near his home called Blencowes. He was then thought to be seen on a nearby CCTV camera riding along on his bike. This was the only proven sighting of Daniel since he left his home earlier that day although there have been other possible sightings - he was possibly seen around 3:30pm that day playing with a group of other boys near the river at Trinity Quay. In the early hours of the next morning, Daniels' red BMX was found abandoned near the river as seen in the image of the area surrounding his home to the left.

There have been no clues or sightings of Daniel since this time which is really sad and makes this case really hard to pursue due to the lack of leads, espcially due to the lack of funds and coverage of his story. The media stopped reporting on him only a few days after he went missing and the case was closed only 3 months later.
He was last seen wearing a blue Adidas t-shirt, blue jogging bottoms and grey trainers and is described as being of pale complexion, 3' 2" with light brown hair and slim build when he disappeared.

Theories surrounding his disappearance

The first theory as to how Daniel disappeared is that he simply ran away. Some people, including one of his teachers, believes that this could be a possibility as Daniel had ADHD (Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). However, it is unusual for children even with this disorder to go for a long amount of time. It may be the case that he did run away and got into some trouble which links to the next theory.

This next theory states that Daniel could have been abducted which I think it the usual theory people jump to in missing children's cases and is of course very possible. With a child as small and young as Daniel, it seems that it would be easy to snatch him away, especially if he was alone around the area he lived.

Another theory states that he may have fallen into the river Yare off the harbour wall where he bike was found propped up and, if this had been the case, he would have experienced some trouble as he was not able to swim. However, there have been extensive searches in this river using various types of equipment and nothing has been found and no remains have ever swept up in the long time since his disappearance. In terms of the police, this seems to be the theory that they believe is most likely and the one that I also think is most likely as he may have been swept out to sea which is maybe why he has never been found.

Hopefully one day Daniel is found and his family can have some closure. Daniel's father actually died a few years ago which is really sad as he will never know what happened to him. I'll leave below the contact details of the Norfolk Police force who deal with any information people may have which can contribute to the case.

Thank you for reading as always, hopefully my writer's block has now ended.

Holly Amber X

Senior Investigating Officer: Detective Inspector Andy Guy
Cold Case manager: Mr Tony Deacon
Contact Tel: 01953424520
Email: coldcaseteam@norfolk.pnn.police.uk
Alternatively, you can contact crime stoppers anonymously on 0800555111

Disclaimer: I will try to present the information as factually as possible and use information which I have found from credible websites/sources. In presenting the theories, these are merely speculation and do not always reflect my personal opinion. The main aim of this series is to raise awareness of cold cases and get people interested in speaking about them and keeping the story alive.

REVLON COLORSTAY FOUNDATION REVIEW!

Hello lovelies!
I recently purchased the REVLON Colorstay foundation after hearing many good reviews about it and I've been testing it out for the past few weeks now.

I wanted a more full-coverage foundation which was too heavy on the skin as my skin has been quite dry lately meaning that foundations tend to bring out more of its texture. I'd heard a lot of good reviews about the REVLON colorstay foundation so I thought I'd give it a go - it's currently £9.99 in BOOTS but it is usually priced at £12.99.

I purchased the combination/oily version of the foundation which sounds silly considering my skin is quite dry but the formula is still quite dewy and some parts of my face can become oily throughout the day so I thought this would be the best option. I first tested the lightest shade in the range as I'm extremely pale right now (the name of this shade I can't recall) but this was much too pink for my skin tone. I doubted the next shade up with be pale enough but I was wrong and it was more yellow-toned so fitted my skin a lot better - the shade I ended up choosing is called "Buff" (number 150).

Formula
As I've said, although this foundation is for combination/oily skin, it is still a very dewy, hydrating foundation. It looks absolutely beautiful on my skin and really evens out the colour, especially where I tend to get redness. I'm not sure if others would class this as full-coverage if they use matte foundations regularly, but the foundations I use are usually dewier so, in comparison, the REVLON colorstay is much more full-coverage. 
I also have certain areas where my skin looks more blue-toned due to veins such as around my eyes and temples so the yellow tones in this shade of the foundation evens this out also. 
The only area I have a slight issue with the formula is around my nose and between my eyebrows where my skin is driest - around these areas, it looks slightly cakey but this is less of a problem if I use a really hydrating moisturiser or primer underneath. 

Long-wearing?
On the bottle, REVLON claim that their foundation can last for 24 hours (but is stated in small print on the back "UP TO 24 hours") which is definitely a big claim to make! I will say that it is very long-wearing compared to other foundations but throughout the day it wears off around my nose. However, this is a big problem area of mine with any foundation anyway so it may just be that, where my skin is drier, this version of the foundation isn't suited to stay put for a long amount of time.

Packaging
There's not much to say about the packaging! The product comes in a simple glass bottle with a pump. I think I've heard people say they have recently changed this product to having a pump which is really good as those without a pump really annoy me. The information on the bottle is simple and easy to read and I like the overall appearance.

Overall impression

Overall, this foundation has definitely become one of my favourites from the drugstore and is extremely affordable! The colour is perfectly matched to my skin which is a big selling point for me - it's so hard to find a pale enough foundation which isn't pink-toned. I will probably wear this foundation more so for occasions such as date nights, meals etc. because it looks beautiful for a few hours but I don't think it lasts over the course of a long day on my skin around my nose which really annoys me. But, as I said, it lasts beautifully on all other parts of my face!
I'm really impressed and really happy with this foundation! I may purchase the version for dry skin next time to test out how the coverage compares.

Thank you for reading, I hope this was helpful! I definitely recommend trying this foundation out if you're looking for a more full-coverage foundation which isn't too thick.

Holly Amber X

JANUARY GLOSSYBOX REVIEW!

Hello lovelies!
I know January is over now but I thought that late was better than never!

The first item I received in my January GLOSSYBOX was a sample size, NIP+FAB Kale Fix Moisturiser which includes ingredients such as kale (obviously), watercress, almond oil, shea butter & aloe vera - all ingredients which should really hydrate the skin in these winter months when skin tends to be drier! This product usually retails for £19.95 (now only £9.96 at BOOTS!) which is slightly pricier for a moisturiser but it is quite thick and intensely moisturising. The only thing I'm not keen on is the scent of this product - I'm guessing its the kale scent - and you can still smell it even after applying it to the skin so I'm not sure I would purchase this in the full size.

The second I received in the box was a full-sized eyeshadow from the balm in the shade "Matt Moskowitz" from the Meet Matt(e) Trimony palette - how exciting! I've always wanted to try out eyeshadows from The Balm but the palette retails for £39.00 at Debenhams so is a little pricey. I'm really impressed that they included this item in the box! The shade is a slightly purple-brown and the formula is velvety smooth so blends really easily - very happy!

The third item in the box was a full-size "Illuminate Milk Cleanser" from Unani which retails for £13.60. Although this is a good cleanser, it is very milky which I'm not too keen on even after using it quite a few times - I find that it maybe doesn't take off my make-up as much as I would like. I've also received a moisturiser from Unani in the past which was also very milky. However, I'm still happy with the product and it was a lovely addition to the box. I'm sure others would like this more as it isn't a bad product - just not for me!

The fourth item was a Vitamasques "Manuka Honey Face Mask" which usually retails for £3.99. I've received this type of sheet masks in the past and they really aren't my favourite - however, my skin is very dry lately and I think this product is going to be extremely hydrating and help me out with that. I also really like the packaging and "Manuka Honey" sounds like a very nice scent so I'm looking forward to using this on a pamper day!

The last item we received in the box was a "Deep Pore Cleansing Facial Brush" from Spa To You which usually retails for £6.99. I was really looking forward to using this as these types of face brushes seem to be really popular lately. However, as my skin is quite dry and sensitive at the moment, it was a little harsh and sore for my skin. Still, it cleaned my skin really well and I'm sure it would work well for others whose skin isn't as sensitive!

Overall, I'm really happy with this month's box and I think the products are perfect for this time of year when the winter weather has dried out my skin and it is in need of some pampering. Next month I hope to see more makeup products from GLOSSY and will update you on what I receive (at a much earlier time than this month!) If you are interested in GLOSSYBOX subscription, you can subscribe through THIS LINK and pay monthly (£10.00 a box) where you can unsubscribe at any time.
Thank you for reading!

Holly Amber X