Wednesday 30 December 2015

Do Youtubers/Celebrities Deserve Privacy?

Hello, everyone. Sorry I haven't posted much but I wanted to just spend some time with family and just chill out over Christmas. Hope you all had a nice Christmas and are looking forward to 2016!  I have a long, serious-ish post for you today. I don't know if you've heard by now but there's been hundreds of articles about Zoe Sugg (aka Zoella) and Alfie Deyes (aka Pointlessblog), or Zalfie as people know them, tweeting asking for some privacy after seeing people outside their home. 





I wanted to talk about was whether Youtubers and celebrities deserve their privacy. Personally, I think they do. Of course they do! But other people don't seem to think so. Some people say that the couple are just moaning about the price of fame and others say that they should've known that this was going to happen considering their career choice. I don't think that justifies people peering into Zalfie's home or waiting to get pictures. It's a complete invasion of their privacy.

I've spoken before about what I think of YouTubers and them bringing out books and their so called fame. Apart from Mamrie Hart's and Shane Dawson's (which I reviewed), I don't like the idea of YouTubers releasing books because it's just making money off of their young audiences. For example, Alfie's Pointless books are just rip-offs of the Wreck-It Journal but it's what he wants to do. I appreciate Zoella's hard work because she is a role model for young children especially over anxiety disorders, she's also released a beauty range and a couple of books as well. 

I may not always agree with certain YouTubers becoming famous for the sake of it but I can appreciate that they work hard for their money but that doesn't mean I agree with them having wax figurines made of them. Of course, most aspects of Zoe's life are public but that's her job. But when she's at home, she shows us only what wants us to see and she doesn't want to be on camera all the time! 

Just because they document their lives through daily vlogging doesn't give people the right to come to their home and practically stalk them! It's happened to other YouTubers. For example, I watch Jenna Marbles and her boyfriend Julien Solomita and Julien vlogged about a moment when a parent actually brought their kids right to Jenna and Julien's front door and demanded pictures which left Jenna a bit shaken because it was at night time and the mother was very demanding and refused to leave without a picture.

It's the same with celebrities. They are constantly photographed everywhere they go and have ridiculous articles printed about them. I have seen at least 3 articles today about celebrities relaxing on holiday with headlines like "OMG SEE SO-AND-SO'S BARELY THERE BIKINI BOTTOMS!" "SO-AND-SO RELAXING ON HOLIDAY SHOWING OFF THEIR BELLY". It is so invasive and ridiculous. Yes, I can understand people's thinking that fame comes with a price; your privacy isn't private anymore. But that doesn't mean it's right.

I can understand it may be difficult for a young fan to know where to draw the line because they can communicate with their favourite celebrities via Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and other social media platforms. But I'd like to think that it's common sense to not go directly to a person's house and wait for hours/peer in the windows. Especially when it's parents who should know better. A home is a person's sanctuary, a place of safety and it's sad to see someone, like Zoella, feel unhappy in a home they've worked hard for.

At the end of the day, celebrities and YouTubers are just humans like us. They are lucky to be doing things that they love for a career but that doesn't mean their privacy should disappear alongside that. Like Alfie says, if you want to see your idol, go to a meet up, tweet them etc. Yes, there a few sacrifices that a famous person has to make but having uninvited individuals stalk you in your own home shouldn't be one of them.

What do you think about this? All opinions are welcome here.
Do you agree with me? Maybe disagree? Let me know!

Thankyou for reading.
Laura.

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Tuesday 22 December 2015

Top 5 Christmas Films!

Merry Christmas, everyone! 
I haven't done a Christmassy post on my blog yet so I thought I'd do one for you all today. I know alot of bloggers have done this but I've never done it before so I thought I'd join in. Here's my top 5 favourite Christmas films of all time!

5. The Polar Express
 
This film is a little weird and a bit out there but I do like it. I love anything Tom Hanks is in to be honest and he is heavily involved in the film, voicing nearly all of the characters. It's a heart warming film because a boy who doesn't believe in Santa ends up believing in him through his journey. I always tear up a little at the end as well because of the stark reminder of growing up when the adults can't hear the sleigh bell (which you can only hear if you believe in Santa) that Santa gave to the little boy because they don't believe in him anymore. Growing up sucks!

4. The Holiday
 
I love this film. Jude Law is such a stunner in this film, I love him! This is such a great film. I love watching it every year. It's a fabulous comedy that'll have you crying laughing and just plain crying! 

3. Home Alone (1 & 2)
The Home Alone movies (the only first two, mind you!) are a genuine classic in anyone's book, I think. They are great laugh-out-loud films that are perfect for watching with all of your family, all cosy in the living room, eating chocolate. Macaulay Culkin does annoy me a little bit now that I'm an adult but the two bandits completely make it for me. Marv (on the right on the bottom picture) is my favourite, his high pitched screams crack me up so much!

2. Elf
I personally don't really like Will Ferrell as an actor, he annoys me sometimes. But I do love him in this and Stepbrothers. This is a really funny film and I love watching it every single year. Such a heart warming story and has you rolling, laughing. 

1. The Grinch
This is my ultimate Christmas film of all time. Jim Carrey is one of my favourite actors and I can quote nearly every film he's been in with my friend! This is one of them, for sure. It is such a great comedy, made all the better because of Carrey. It's a unique, different twist on The Grinch story who steals Christmas, not because he just feels like it, but because of his backstory. It's another great laugh-out-loud film with a lovely ending. It's not hard to see why this is my all time favourite.

So there you go!
Those were my all time favourite films!
Did any of your favourites make it onto my list?
Thankyou for reading.
Laura.

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Sunday 20 December 2015

Skin Product Review: Origins Super Spot Remover.

Hey, everyone! I have a new skin product to review for you today. It's something a little new and nothing I've ever tried before. I've never tried anything from Origins so I was excited! I got this in the Black Friday sale amongst other things. I suffer from break outs all the time and have been particularly suffering from bad ones recently so I jumped on the chance of getting this, especially as it was on sale!


   First of all, I was very disappointed with the size of the bottle. I got it alot cheaper than it actually is but I still was annoyed. It's extremely small but you only dab the product on affected areas and it really spreads around so you don't need alot in one go. The original price is £15 and it contains all natural ingredients and essential oils.

 Origins state that this contains Salicylic Acid which apparently speeds up healing while their anti-spot technology helps "correct post blemish darkening". There is also "skin-calming caffeine and Red Algae" which relieves redness in your affected areas. It's apparently good for oily skin which I also have.

Personally, I don't think this product worked for me. I may not have used it daily enough for it to affect my skin though so I might give it another try. But for a 'super spot remover' it really doesn't do much. I think it may get rid of smaller spots or lessen their size a little but I find it doesn't affect the bigger, sorer ones or lessen the redness. 

The product does go a long way and spreads really easily so I have a feeling it'll last you a long time. But when the product actually dries though, it really dries my skin out. I do have oily skin as it is and when I dab it on my spots, it dries them out quite badly to the point where I can feel the dryness whenever I smile or move my face at all.

You can try it out if you want to and buy it here.

I may give it another try properly at some point but I'm not impressed at the moment.
Have you tried this out? What did you think of it?
Thankyou for reading.
Laura.

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Monday 14 December 2015

Music Monday: Music I've Been Loving #5.

Hey, everyone! So today, I have another post about the music I've been really into these past few weeks. Now, I haven't actually got many artists on here.. in fact there is just one band on here that I have become completely obsessed with. Like, I haven't listened to anyone else for the past three weeks. I will attach videos that I think you should check out and I hope you like my choices. Feel free to recommend me any other music!

Now, I don't know about you but I've seen this cover of Can't Help Falling In Love going around on Tumblr for a good couple of years and I loved listening to it like many others.
Finally, I decided to YouTube the cover and found it was Tyler Joseph from twenty one pilots singing it. Intrigued, I decided to go ahead and see what else this band sang and I was blown away. 

Twenty one pilots was originally a four piece band before becoming a twosome (Tyler Joseph - vocals, ukele, piano etc. and Josh Dun - drums). These guys are absolutely unbelievable and I am kicking myself for not having discovered them earlier. Their songs and lyrics may be triggering and affect alot of people emotionally because it does contain some dark stuff as Tyler has been through alot with depression, insecurities and suicidal thoughts. I thought listening to this stuff on repeat would really depress me but it hasn't, it's actually incredible. Having gone through emotional troubles of my own in the past, I really connected to the lyrics and songs and really felt Tyler's pain/emotion. He found words to describe things that I had felt in the past and did it better than I ever could. 

There aren't enough words to describe how talented Tyler is. He writes these songs, plays piano, ukulele and more while also being able sing AND rap. This music is incomparable to anything else. With emotional and depressing lyrics like theirs, you'd expect it to be all ballad-like or emo but it's really not. It is mixture of rap, pop, techno/dance, rock and screamo as well as piano ballads with just Tyler singing on his own. I have never heard anything like this before. With Josh's thumping drum beats, you forget sometimes what Tyler is actually talking about because it's covered your urge to dance to the incredible music.

I'll attach a few of their songs that I've really enjoyed and I think you will too!

Holding Onto You

Guns For Hands
   
Trees

Kitchen Sink

Jar of Hearts (cover)

Tear In My Heart

Stressed out

Car Radio
Those are just a few songs I love although there are tons more but this post would be incredibly long if I posted all of them! I can't express how much I have come to love these two guys. I've listened to every song of theirs, watched nearly every interview and I have fallen completely in love with them. They are incredibly kind to their fans and are really not at all smug with their increasing fame status. 

Their music is not something you can just listen to once and decide whether you love it or not. You have to give each album a really good few listens and let me tell you, these guys are worth listening to. They're nothing like what's on the radio today and they're very unique. Don't be put off by the fact it may not be something you usually listen to. I didn't think it was something I'd like either but because I decided to give them a chance, I now love them. You could too. 

I'm now proud to say I'm part of their clique! |-/  

Have you heard of these guys? Do you like them?
Do you have any recommendations for me?
Thankyou for reading.
Laura.

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Saturday 5 December 2015

Skin Product Review: Lush Bubblegum Lip Scrub.

Hello everyone, hope you're having a good weekend. I've certainly been very busy with uni work and Christmas shopping (I still have alot to do!). But I have a quick little review for you today for the Bubblegum Lip Scrub from Lush. I'll tell you what's in it as usual so you can see if there's anything you don't like and what my thoughts were on this product. Enjoy!

What's in it?
Caster Sugar, organic jojoba oil (simmondasia chinensis), alpha-isomethyl lonone, flavour, colour 45410, colour 45380.

My thoughts
This is probably the first time I've ever been really disappointed in a Lush product. Bear in mind, I haven't been using them long and I've only used their bath bombs and one face mask. But this was very disappointing, unfortunately.

First of all, the pot is very small for the price! It is over £5 I think for the UK and nearly $10 for America. This could easily be £1 for the amount you get. I suppose for those who actually enjoy this product, it is handy and you can carry it around with you in your handbag for whenever you need it.

 Lush says that this exfoliates lips and preps them before you apply lipstick or balm. It's meant to make your lips very soft and free of dead skin. However, this just didn't work for me at all. It is a fun concept because you wipe it all over your lips and you can lick off the excess and it tastes very sweet and sugary. So it's fun to that extent but I sometimes have peeling skin on my lips that I have a habit of biting off. I bought this thinking it'll help me through this problem especially through winter but it doesn't remove any dead skin or leave my lips smooth at all. If anything, it leaves them slightly sticky because of the sugar!

I know people have different experiences of beauty products but this is my own opinion and you might fare better than I. I just think there is better things from Lush that you can spend a fiver or $10 on!

Have you used this? Did you have a better time with it than me?
Thankyou for reading.
Laura.

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