Short AF Series Review | Fate: The Winx Saga

 Hey guys, so today I'm going to be doing a review on the series "Fate: The Winx Saga". As usual this review is going to be short and sweet (like the title suggests) and spoiler free (however there will be the IMDB synopsis in this and sometimes they can contain spoilers, however 9/10 times they don't. It's just something to keep in mind if you're planning on watching the series.)

"A live - action adaption of Nickelodeon's Winx Club (2004). It follows bloom as she adjusts to life in the Otherworld, where she must learn to control her dangerous magical powers."

Okay, so I was really excited for this to come out as I watched the original Winx Club when it originally came out. Please note if you're going to watch this it is very different to the original series (even though it was written by the same person who wrote the original series). A lot of people have complained that it is different, but personally I loved it. I'm not going to comment on some of the social issues that have been brought up with this series (whitewashing etc) as I don't feel like it's my place as a white woman to talk over POC (please note whitewashing is very much a problem and definitely was within this series). The differences I'm going to be talking about are the creative elements and liberties they took with the series. I feel it's important to remember when watching remakes (especially if they've came out a good 17 years after the original) is that these remakes/reboots are not made for the original watchers. They're made for a new generation of kids (or for this series, teenagers/young adults) who have never seen the original. They need to modernise it to make it interesting to new viewers and I honestly loved what they did with the series. They definitely took a lot of creative liberties with the series and the changes they made but most of them honestly made the series a little more interesting. I also understand why people are annoyed at the changes, but once again I try and remember this movie was not marketed for people like myself who watched this as a child. It's marketed for people 10 years younger than me who wouldn't have seen the original. If you haven't seen the original, please don't let disgruntled adults stop you from watching it. It's a really good storyline and I personally love the direction they took the series.

My favourite characters in the series:

- Stella: So for some reason one of the reasons people don't like this series is because they've made Stella a "bitch" but personally I don't see her as such, I see her as someone who's very much trying to protect herself and has had a reason to. I love the character development for her so much and if there's a new series I'm excited to see how her character develops more.

- Musa: I love Musa so much and I honestly feel for her character so much. She's another character who had a lot of character development and I just think her character is lovely.

- Terra: I just love Terra so much. She's such a strong character and I definitely would like to see more of her if we get another series! 

My least favourite characters in the series:

- Bloom: Okay, so I understand why Bloom is the way she is but I have never seen a more selfish character within a series in a long time. My heart hurts for her, but it was just too much. Also why was she pushing out mansplaining a lot? (Like I am a feminist myself but some of it was just unneeded and didn't really set a good look for her)

- Riven: I just hate Riven's character so much. I wish he had some redeeming quality's about him but he really doesn't.

- Farah Dowling: I have a love hate relationship with this character but in all honesty I can't explain too much about her character without giving too much away about the series.

Overall, I can see why this series have had a lot of back lash. But once again, I feel like we need to remember the series was not created for people who originally watched it and is for a new generation of teenagers/young adults. (Once again, I am saying this about the creative liberties they've took with the series, not with the whitewashing they have very clearly done). If you feel like you could watch this as a stand alone series or even if you've not watched Winx before I definitely recommend watching it. Separating it from the original definitely makes it a lot easier to watch.

What did you think of this series? Who were your favourite and least favourite characters? Do you have any movies, series, podcasts or books you'd recommend for me to watch/listen to/read or would like me to do a short AF review on? Please let me know down in the comments below! 

As always, have a wonderful day.

Love, Lyndsay

xo

Long time, No see.

 

Hey guys! Long time, no see.

So as you can probably tell, I have not been on this blog in a while. I believe my last post on here was in February (I know I at least have a draft from February still sitting there, but don't worry that will be posted soon!). The main reason I've not been posting on here is a mixture of no motivation and my laptop physically not being able to handle it.

So my lack of motivation has not necessarily gone away, but the old laptop definitely has. I finally bit the bullet and bought myself a new one (which is actually the first time I've bought a new laptop in a good few years).

The first thing I wanted to do when I turned the laptop on was update this blog. I was so excited to start it up again, but I know I need to make a few changes first.

First of all, a posting schedule. Listen, for now I'm probably not going to have one but it is something I'm working on figuring out! I do have a full time job so I don't want to commit myself to a posting schedule until I get myself more organised

I finally changed my twitter handle, and luckily I now also have a separate account for animal crossing, which was something I was posting a lot of on my main account and it kinda took away from the blogging.

This blog will mainly still revolve around short AF reviews on things like books, movies, podcasts etc, however I will be including some of my own interests such as anime/manga etc. If you don't like these posts though please feel free to skip past them! Not everyone is into the same things. 

Animal crossing Mondays will not be happening any more. As much as I enjoyed making them I don't play the game as much as I did anymore, and even if I do I've restarted my island so I need to save those items for those sweet sweet bells. (If you play animal crossing, you guys know what I mean)

I will eventually be making a tiktok revolving this blog now they've introduced 3 minute videos. I've always wanted to make my blog into videos but due to the shortness of the reviews (and my lack of personality) I have never wanted to make a youtube series. I hope this will in turn also make the blog more accessible for people who cannot necessarily look at a screen, but are able to listen and hear the reviews. When I do I will post a link on my blog!

I do want to make more pop culture products posts as I really did love doing the Makeup revolution x Nightmare before christmas collection. However, this can take time and money! So this is something I will carry on doing in the future, but maybe not straight away.

So yeah, I'm back and I'm hoping to work on myself as well as this blog. I hope you guys enjoy what I'm going to be putting out and hopefully this motivation will last.

Is there anything you guys want to see? Is there anything you want bringing back or any book/movie/podcast suggestions? Please let me know down in the comments below.

As always,

Love, Lyndsay xoxo 

Short AF Series Review | Bridgerton

Hey guys, so today I'm going to be doing a review on the series "Bridgerton". As usual this review is going to be short and sweet (like the title suggests) and spoiler free (however there will be the IMDB synopsis in this and sometimes they can contain spoilers, however 9/10 times they don't. It's just something to keep in mind if you're planning on watching the series)

"Wealth, lust, and betrayal set against the backdrop of Regency - era England, seen through the eyes of the powerful Bridgerton family."

So I don't usually watch historical dramas as it's not something I'm usually interested in but boy there was a lot of hype around this one so I thought I'd give it a try. I'm glad there was so much hype because I binged the whole series in one day. I could not stop watching this and every episode definitely left me wanting more. I only found out afterwards that this is a book series so I definitely will be buying them for myself to read (so let me know if you want a review on those also).  The series is so good and I found a lot of laughter whilst watching this (as well as a lot of really sad moments). So many of the characters took me by surprise in how much I loved them and their characteristics. There's lots of character development and some very special twists throughout. 

My favourite characters in the series: 

- Penelope Featherington: Penelope is such a loveable character and is possibly one of the sweetest in the show. I can't say much about her without giving too much away but I adore her. 

- Lady Danbury: Lady Danbury is who I strive to be as a woman. She is not afraid to share how she's feeling and I love her so much for that.

- Eloise Bridgerton: Eloise was a character I could really relate too throughout the series. She is very much a fuck the patriarchy kinda girl and I adored her character.

My lease favourite characters in the series:

- Nigel Berbrooke: Okay so if you've watched Bridgerton you know exactly why I hate Nigel. He's one of the most awful characters in the series.

- Portia Featherington: Once again, I can't say much about Portia without giving away too much in the series. But the woman is evil incarnate and no one can convince me otherwise.

Overall the series is really good for a historical drama (coming from someone who usually doesn't like them) so if you do like that genre then I definitely would watch it! (Even if you don't, please watch it you won't be disappointed) 

What did you think of this series? Who were your favourite and least favourite characters? Do you have any movies, series, podcasts or books you'd recommend for me to watch/listen to/read or would like me to do a short AF review on? Please let me know down in the comments below! 

As always, have a wonderful day.

Love, Lyndsay

xo

 

Short AF Series Review | The Queen's Gambit

Hey guys, so today I'm going to be a doing a review on the series "The Queen's Gambit". As usual this review is going to be short and sweet (like the title suggests) and spoiler free (however there will be the IMDB synopsis in this and sometimes they can contain spoilers, however 9/10 times they don't. It's just something to keep in mind if you're planning on watching the series.) 

"Orphaned at the tender age of nine, prodigious introvert Beth Harmon discovers and masters the game of chess in 1960's USA. But child stardom comes at a price."

So the reason I wanted to watch this series is because a lot of people online were putting out a lot of hype regarding it. I didn't know anything about the series going into it other than it was around chess, so I genuinely thought I was going to dislike it. I was so wrong. Me and James ended up binging the series in the space of 2 or 3 days. We kept wanting to keep on (but obviously due to sleep and work we couldn't) so we looked forward to watching it after work every day. The series was so good and hit on so much more than chess! I loved it so much and was definitely well written as a stand alone series. The characters and character development in it was beautiful and there were so many twists and turns that I didn't expect.

My favourite characters in the series: 

- Alma Wheatley: Alma was such a troubled character in the series but was also honestly one of the best and sweetest characters throughout the show. She concerned me a little bit at the start of the series which you might see why when you watch it. Her growth throughout the series was beautiful and heartbreaking all at the same time.

Matt & Mike: So I'm going to group these two together as they truly are a spectacular pair. I love their characters so much. When you first meet them they come across as super cocky but they're probably my 2 favourite characters within the series.

- D.L. Townes: Townes is honestly such a lovely character and I can't tell you too much about him without spoiling at least some of the series but I love him and his character development so much.

My least favourite character in the series:

- Benny Watts: Okay, I say he's my least favourite character in the series but honestly it's only because I have such a love hate thought process with him. Benny is a really good character in some ways but in others he really is not.

- Harry Beltik: There's not much I like about Harry's character. He tries, but that's all I'm going to say on the matter.

Once again, this series is really well written! Even if you don't like chess, definitely watch "The Queen's Gambit"! 

What did you think of this series? Who were your favourite and least favourite characters? Do you have any movies, series, podcasts or books you'd recommend for me to watch/listen to/read or would like me to do a short AF review on? Please let me know down in the comments below!

As always, have a wonderful day.

Love, Lyndsay

xo

Animal Crossing Mondays

 Hey guys, so this is my weekly blog post where I give away all the DIYs & Items I have spare for the week! A usual this is a first come first serve basis and if it's not been collected by Sunday evening at 9PM GMT they all go to Timmy and Tommy. If you see anything you want on this list please message me on my animal crossing twitter @AstibasCrossing and i will send you a message with my dodo code so you can come and collect what you want! Here's a list of what I have available:

Recipes

- Cherry speakers
- Gold-screen wall
- Mountain standee
- Pansy table
- Natural garden table
- Wooden table
- Golden wall
- Oil-barrel bathtub
- Wooden-plank sign
-Armor shoes
- Shell fountain

Items

- Pull-up-bar stand (Blue)
- Modern office chair (Blue)
- Judge's bell
- Gas range (Silver)
- Punching bag (Red)
- Box sofa (Turquoise)
- Board game (Simple path game)
- Wall-mounted tool board (White)
- Kitty litter box (White)
- Fragrance sticks (Green)
- Light switch (Gray)

And that is everything I have to give away this week! I post these weekly so if you want to keep an eye out for this blog post and be the first to know give me a follow on twitter and bloglovin'! Once again, all of these will be gone at the end of the week. So if you want anything please feel free to let me know!

Who is your favourite villager on Animal Crossing? What is that one item you're absolutely in love with and trying to find? What do you do with your leftover items? Please let me know down in the comments below!

As always, have a wonderful day! 

Love, Lyndsay

xo

Pop Culture Products | Makeup revolution x Disney Nightmare Before Christmas

 Hey guys so I thought I'd start a new segment on my blog called "Pop Culture Products" in which I'll be buying products based on movies/tv series/books etc and reviewing them! I am very new to this type of review (I have tried to before but definitely was not my best work so hopefully this goes okay!). Today I'm going to be reviewing the Makeup Revolution x Disney Nightmare Before Christmas Collection. Please note, I did not get the whole collection due to reasons I will mention down below. So let's just jump straight into it.

This whole collection includes two 36 pan eye shadow palettes, 4 lipglosses, 2 highlighters, and 1 brush set. I personally only bought myself the eyeshadow palettes and lipglosses because I've only recently just purchased a new brush set from skinny dip in TK Max and both of the highlighters seem to be gold based on the website and because I'm really fair gold base highlighters do not suit my skin tone (They end up being very obviously too dark for me).

Top Palette: Makeup Revolution Nightmare Before Christmas Palette Sally | Price £15.00

So as you can see this first palette is full of more warm and neutral tones. What doesn't quite show on photo is the Shimmer shades in this palette. I love the colours and can definitely see me using this as more of a daily palette especially if I just want to feel a bit more glam that I usually look. The shades within the palette are beautiful and I love that they all have ghostly names such as "Play Dead" and "Trick or treat". The palette is really pigmented for the price of the shadows and I do not think £15 for 36 shades is expensive at all.

Bottom Palette: Makeup Revolution Nightmare Before Christmas Palette Jack | Price £15.00

This palette like the first one does have quite a few neutral tones in it still, but unlike the first one is more cool toned as well as having a few bright shades within the palette. This one will definitely more likely be used for cosplay makeup for me (or even day to day depending on how I'm feeling, sometimes I like to be bright!) Once again, I love the ghostly names an the nods to the movie in this one such as "Sandy Claws" and "Pumpkin Song". Once again the palette is really pigmented for the price of the shadows and £15 is still a really good deal.

(The lipglosses I'm listing are from left to right)

Makeup Revolution Nightmare Before Christmas Lip Gloss Sally | £5.00

So this lipgloss is a really cute pink shimmery lip gloss which could be worn on it's own or as a lip topper. I really love the shade on my skin tone and will definitely be using this a lot. It's not sticky which is a plus for me (As i'm not a big fan of sticky lipglosses) and smells really good. £5.00 is about £1-£2 more than I'd usually spend on a lip gloss, but to have it in my collection I didn't mind paying the extra for it being nightmare before christmas themed.

Makeup Revolution Nightmare Before Christmas Lip Gloss Zero | £5.00

So for me it's not very easy to see what kind of lipgloss this was on the photo so I didn't know if when it was going to come if it was going to be a shimmer lipgloss (like the others) or just clear. It is just a clear lipgloss. Once again will get a lot of daily use. The lipgloss is very moisturising and smells really nice.

Makeup Revolution Nightmare Before Christmas Lip Gloss Oogie Boogie | £5.00

So this is the only lip gloss I'm not to keen on out of the collection and it's not even makeup revolutions fault. As I said early the reason I didn't get the highlighters is because gold is just too dark on my skin tone and because this is very gold toned this just doesn't suit my skin tone. Definitely something to keep in mind if you're paler like me! But not to worry as my best friend is having it instead as it will suit her.

Makeup Revolution Nightmare Before Christmas Lip Gloss Jack | £5.00

When this Lip gloss came I was worried it was going to be the same situation as the previous lip gloss with it looking gold in the tube. However when on the skin this is more of a rose gold colour which I can get away with, especially if using it as a lip topper. I do like they've brought out different shades which will compliment most people's skin tones however! This gloss is really pretty and definitely will be using it a lot.

And that is everything I got from the Makeup Revolution x Disney Nightmare Before Christmas collection. Other than the one lipgloss, I really loved everything I got and I'm happy I spent the money to get it. I definitely think they have something for everyone and it's really nice to see that in a brand. I've bought from makeup revolution before (like 90 percent of my palettes are from there) so it was cool to see a brand I already love releasing products like this. If you see anything you like in this collection I'd definitely recommend getting it!

What is your favourite item in the collection? Have you tried out the highlighters, what are they like? Are there any other products you guys would like me to review? Please let me know down in the comments below!

As always, have a wonderful day.

Love, Lyndsay

xo

Short AF Movie Review | Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children

 

Hey guys, so today I'm going to be doing a review on the movie "Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children". As usual this review is going to be short and sweet (like the title suggests) and spoiler free (however there will be the IMDB synopsis in this and sometimes they can contain spoilers, however 9/10 times they don't. It's just something to keep in mind if you're planning on watching the movie.)

"When Jacob (Asa Butterfield) discovers clues to a mystery that stretches across time, he finds Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. But the danger deepens after he gets to know the residents and learns about their special powers."

So the reason I wanted to watch this movie is because I've been interested in reading the book for the longest time and I'm usually a book before movie kind of girl. However, me, James and our friend Stephen (keep in mind this was before lockdown started) decided we was going to have a movie night and watch it. This movie is truly magical and but is also relatively dark. It somewhat brings me that same feeling of nostalgia I get when watching movies such as The Labyrinth. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, and it has finally got me round to at least starting the book (even if I am reading it very slowly).

My favourite characters in the movie:

- Emma Bloom: Emma's character is honestly so lovely. I adore her character so much and she honestly just makes me really happy. Every time I saw her in the movie I just wanted to know more and more about her and the movie definitely gave us the chance to learn more about her

- Barron: Okay, so I promise Barron isn't my favourite character just because Samuel L. Jackson plays him, but it sure helps. I loved how creepy and eerie his character was and he plays the perfect villain

My least favourite characters in the movie:

- Miss Peregrine: So hear me out on this one, I appreciate that she's a good character and that she's one of the main plot points in the movie, however there just seemed to be something off about her character, and I wasn't the only one who thought so (Stephen and James agreed too). With this being the only movie out of the book series we didn't really get to find out if that was true or not which is another reason I've started reading the books so I can find out.

- Frank: Can I just say Frank is the most useless dad in the world. I mean he really does try and I love Chris O'Dowd. Just watch the movie and you'll see what I mean!

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and I hope that they end up making movies of the other books as well! I also hope the book brings me as much joy as the movie did!

What did you think of this movie? Who were your favourite and least favourite characters? Do you have any movies, series, podcasts or books you'd recommend for me to watch/listen to/read or want me to do a short AF review on? Please let me know down in the comments below!

As always, have a wonderful day.

Love, Lyndsay

xo