#and they put that most wonderful unhinged thing in a TEASER

[naranjapetrificada]

My favorite thing about making predictions for an upcoming season of a show is being wrong.

This goes double for a show like Our Flag Means Death.

Odds are we'll get to be wrong because whatever does happen will be absolutely unhinged and I cannot wait to see how wrong I am.

[xoxoemynn]

tag your most hard working fic writing mutuals uWu

Oh, buddy, I am friends with SO many extremely talented writers who work their absolute butts off to give us incredible fic and I know I'm going to miss people, so I'm going to cheat a bit and rec some recent-ish fics written by beloved mutuals. Would 100% encourage you to check out the linked story and then their entire collection of works because they are all fab. 💕

The Detectorists AU by @monksofthescrew. Two-part metal detecting AU. It is so atmospheric, so rich and tender and nuanced with some really incredible timey wimey stuff intertwined. I'm a little biased because I beta read these, but I think of them so often. Just a master class in story telling.

Respawn by @glamaphonic. This is SUCH a fun AU where Ed and Stede are both streamers. The concept works SO well, and the flirting and banter is top-tier. I know next to nothing about video games and I've still been able to follow along easily, squeezing my cheeks and kicking my feet the entire time.

wanna fly away (I don't know where my soul is) by @ghostalservice and @petrichorca. Speaking of fics I love where I know nothing about the concept, this is an Animorphs AU where Stede is just the most precious alien whom I would 100000% die for. It's such a fun, rich, layered story and I'm eagerly awaiting to see where it goes. Also just love this description of it: Our story is about finding one’s place in the universe (actually and figuratively), plays with the transformative nature of morphing and the power to change one’s body, and explores two individuals from wildly different backgrounds falling in love.

Moonstone Mage Championship by @blakbonnet. Holy crap, the WORLD BUILDING. Meow's mind is a wonder. I truly don't know how she does it, but I am literally in awe of her work on this fic. One of the most creative and detailed stories I've ever read.

Different Names for the Same Thing by @oatmilktruther. I have been rotating this fic in my brain ever since it was posted. I don't even have proper words to describe how gorgeous it is. It's basically my soul now. Abs' gift for blending humor and tenderness and making you feel the love between Ed and Stede is unparalleled.

My Father's House by @trans-top-stede. Owen describes this as "a t4t theatre au (kind of)" because it is about theatre, but it's mostly about gender and families and the healing power of queer art" and YES. It's beautiful and tender and hot and that last line has stuck with me ever since it was posted.

Gold Rush by @abigailpents. Potentially the sweetest AU I've ever read. Just pure love and romance. Just let yourself get swept away. It is lovely.

Tree Change by @clairegregoryau. I am constantly in awe of all the work Claire puts into her fics. She is operating on a whole other stratosphere and it's incredible to watch. Tree Change is a little teaser for what promises to be an incredibly unhinged Kinktober and I am just rubbing my hands with glee for what's to come. (ba dum tss.)

Matching spark and flame by @bizarrelittlemew. My current read that I am devouring, it's so fucking good. Everything Ida creates is just pure magic, and this one is no exception. Also extremely excited for the OFMD Fic Club discussion on this one later in the month, so be sure to read and join the server so you don't miss out.

I know I'm missing a bunch, but this list is already getting long and I need to get back to some beta work. Kissing all my writer mutuals on the forehead and giving them all the good writing vibes. May your muses be ever loquacious and cooperative. 💕

[justmenoworries]

New HB teasers mean new theories from me!

Yaayyy!

So I’m theorizing that the next episode is gonna be a Moxxie-backstory. Possibly revolving around how he met both Blitzo and Millie.

Analyzing the teaser gifs one by one also gives us a pretty good idea what to expect.

First things first: I think this is Moxxie’s dad. We don’t see the guy’s face, but he has the same clothing style and is smoking a cigar in a pretty stereotypical absent dad fashion. Everybody in Hell having shitty parents is a running theme in the show, so Moxxie Sr. keeping up the trend doesn’t seem too far-fetched.

Then again, in the pilot Moxxie refers to a dream he had of his parents being murdered (”parents”, plural, meaning both of his guardians) as a nightmare, so maybe their relationship is more strained than outright bad.

Still, the way he’s framed in this shot as turned away, dismissive and preoccupied makes me believe he wasn’t exactly Parent of the Year.

Another interesting thing: In “The Harvest Moon Festival”, Blitzo mentions that Moxxie was born in the Wrath Ring, but if this is a shot of Moxxie’s parents’ home, it doesn’t look like Wrath at all. For one, the color scheme is all different: Green and black instead of red and orange. Plus. Wrath is more of a country area, more rural. This looks like it takes place inside a manor.

Was Moxxie’s family some kind of landed gentry? Not gonna lie, Moxxie being a sheltered rich kid would explain a lot. He seems a lot more cultured and well-read than the other Wrath-imps. (Plus, it would explain why he falls so hard for people who are wild and unhinged. Probably an exciting change from having stuffy uptight rich people all around you.)

And here we have the guy from the season 2 teaser! Fully animated and in color. By this point it’s pretty much confirmed that he’s Moxxie’s ex. We also got a name: Chaz.

So, seeing as Chaz is telling Moxxie to pretend like it’s a salesman at the door, it’s probably safe to say that Moxxie’s dad didn’t approve of the relationship. It could just be classism (Chaz doesn’t seem like he’s part of Hell’s upper class, his clothing and appearance are pretty shabby) but to be fair, it only takes one look at Chaz to gather he’s bad news. Just about everything in his design screams “shady af, do not trust”.

We know from the season 2 teaser trailer  (timestamp: 0:24 - 0:26) that he convinced Moxxie to do at least one robbery, which Moxxie was deepy uncomfortable with, but went along with anyway, presumably because he didn’t want to disappoint Chaz. And to no one’s surprise, it appears to have gone horribly wrong.

Which brings us to the next gif.

I think this is the first time Moxxie and Blitzo met.

Seeing the stroyboards, it’s easy to tell that the robbery didn’t go well and Moxxie was most likely arrested and thrown in jail.

The tail disappearing into the lower bunk is very likely Moxxie’s. My guess is that Blitzo started the conversation here, probably asking something like “So, what are you in for?”

And the rest is history.

I also think that Chaz threw Moxxie under the bus to get away. He’s nowhere to be seen in this gif. Of course he could just be out of frame or in another cell, but with all we’ve seens so far it’s way more likely that he dumped Moxxie to save his own skin. That would also leave Moxxie in an emotionally raw and vulnerable state. Perfect for Blitzo to cut in and invite him to his new assassination business, presumably after hearing that Moxxie is pretty good with guns and firearms.

It would also serve as a foundation for Moxxie’s more cynical personaility in the present. Your (mabye even first) boyfriend stabbing you in the back and leaving you to face the heat all by yourself is a pretty hefty cynicism catalyst, I’d say.

And last but not least:

It’s Millie and she’s pissed.

Now what could have gotten her so riled up, I wonder. Well, what’s the one thing guaranteed to make Millie go apeshit?

Hurting Moxxie or putting Moxxie in danger.

It’s no wonder she wouldn’t like Chaz, Moxxie probably told her about the whole robbery-thing.

Interesting thing to note here: The person Millie is yelling at in this scene is Chaz. Pay attention to the frame before the zoom-in on Millie’s face: That’s Chaz’ suit. It has the same bone-pattern and the heights match.

So my speculation here is: This episode won’t just be purely flashback, it’s gonna be interspersed with a present-day plot.

I think what’s gonna go down is: Chaz reappears in Moxxie’s life and asks him for help with something that’s probably, most likely, definitely illegal and dangerous.

Moxxie, who is way too kind-hearted for his own good agrees, despite knowing deep down that Chaz shouldn’t be trusted.

Predictably, things go wrong again.

And surprisingly, Chaz doesn’t leave Moxxie to fend for himself like last time, but seeks out Moxxie’s friends and wife for help.

And Millie is of course none too thrilled that Chaz pulled her husband into his bullshit. Again.

I’m not sure what’d happen afterwards, but that’s what I got so far.

Can’t wait for 2023 relase to make this age like milk, lol.

[happymetalgirl]

Rammstein - untitled

As soon as it was confirmed for 2019, Rammstein’s seventh studio album was always going to be one of the biggest metal releases of the year, if not the biggest, and it was actually nice to see the band use that to their advantage and give the album a worthily ceremonial roll-out. The promotion alone was a welcome return to times when big artists generally put more effort into their album promo cycles. I get that it got a little overdone in its time, and I get that not every artist has at their disposal the means to give their upcoming records the kind of red carpet treatment that Rammstein has given theirs. And sudden/short-notice, unprecedented album drops have been a cool way for artists to show their confidence in their work and reputation to build their own hype on exactly that suddenness. But in a day and age where sudden project releases carry much less surprise factor now and seem more to be symptomatic of short attention spans and capitalizing on a trend, Rammstein's more magnificent promotional phase for their first album in a decade was a nice change of pace, for me at least. From the incrementally released trailers and teasers for each song, the big broadcast of the single "Radio", to cryptic early social media messages and the delay of the very reveal of the title (or lack thereof) and cover art, Rammstein did a lot to take advantage of their ability to give their album a more committed old-school promotion when few else were doing so. Whereas the once brave, sudden nonchalant album drop has now grown dejected and taken on a possibility to be interpreted as nervousness to hype what might not live up to such hype (it can't disappoint and not live up to the hype if you don't give it any hype), a big roll-out like this has once again become a real sign of confidence in one's work, and based on their seventh album’s roll-out, Rammstein knew they had put together a hell of a comeback album. And that became incredibly clear as soon as the band released their most monumental combined visual and auditory statement to date with the music video for the first single and opening track "Deutschland".

The song itself is a sobering, grand, sorrowfully heart-wrenching cry for the band's homeland and its long, tumultuous struggle to overcome its infamously dark history. It's the kind of tough, honest, and well-timed critical look that I must give Rammstein respect for making, and the huge production and ambitious concept of the music video directed by Specter Berlin do justice to both the song and its uneasy (to say the least) subject matter. It's the kind of biting commentary that the video for Childish Gambino's "This Is America" was so revered for last year, though I honestly think that the Childish Gambino song itself has been largely overrated outside the context of the video and that "Deutschland" is an even more fearlessly convicting song and its video and even more artistically accomplished national critique (as it should have with its evidently bigger budget). But to get into the song itself since it’s on topic, “Deutschland” is a conflicted cry for the band’s homeland and the aftermath of its darkest days it is still struggling to overcome. The lyrics highlight Germany’s pride in its achievements and its unyielding ambition, but how that pride and ambition has been twisted into a kind of malignant narcissism to produce some of history’s most despicable atrocities (with the band not at all coy about the history they bring up, with the reference to Übermensch and the former national anthem line “Deutschland Deutschland über allen”). The instrumental of the song is dynamic and rides in tune with the lyrics’ heaviness perfectly all the way through, and the resounding bellow of the chant, “Deutschland”, provides the burst of sonic and poetic intensity that makes the song such a standout track. And the sorrow and sincere wish to love this complicated and slowly healing Germany is conveyed magnificently in Till Lindemann’s subtly heart-wrenching vocal performance. If it’s not already obvious from the preceding verbiage in this paragraph, “Deutschland” is undoubtedly going to be near or at the top of my song list at the end of this year.

Moving on from my favorite song of 2019 so far, the second single and second track on the album, “Radio”, which had a similarly big release, is possibly the catchiest song on the album with its groovy guitar riff, its keyboard sprinkling on top, and its fittingly infectious chorus. The song is another example of what I think is one of Rammstein’s most overlooked traits, and that is Till Lindemann’s lyricism. The song deals with an escape from life and a finding of pleasure through radio, as is pretty apparent by the title. The lyrics carry a good deal of sexual overtones, and though the line translates to putting one’s ear up to hear the radio, I’m pretty sure Lindemann chose the wording of “Mein Ohr ganz nah am” to resemble “my orgasm”. To possibly look way too deep into this and link it to German history, the band members grew up in the part of Berlin in East Germany, which was basically an impoverished hell hole under Soviet rule, and the band have expressed before their frustration with the forced insulation of the old regime. The radio referred to in the song is specified to be one the picks up international broadcasts, the wonders of which I imagine Rammstein and other Berliners in East Germany were depply inspired by and longed desperately to get any taste they could of (which the voracious appetite the women had for the radios in the music video and the revolt it led to supports).

Third in the track listing is the song “Zeig Dich”(meaning “Show Yourself), whose orthodoxical introductory chant opens the heavy quick-rhythm-driven guitar riff base of the song and its religious critique excellently. The quick calling cards the lyrics bring up to identify the subject of the song as the Christian church aren’t really much more than that, but the fact that the invocation of child abuse and the forbidding of contraception immediately brings to mind an organization meant to promote moral, Godly living is reflective of so many things wrong with the church. But the song seems to be a flustered insistence for the church to reveal its true and conflicting intentions: for its own sustenance through its authority over its followers and their passing down and around of the doctrine. The poetic technique is audibly impressive, but lost in translation, as the verses are loaded with mantras all tagged with the prefix “ver-”, which doesn’t really have an English equivalent, but serves to make more extremein some way the verbs being modified, which could be interpreted quite a few ways in the context of the song’s religious critique.

The fourth track, “Ausländer”, was a bit off-putting to me at first for its dancy beat and pitch-shifted backing vocal sample, but its lighter attitude compared to the surrounding tracks was probably a good move by the band and its cheeky fun has helped it grow on me a bit. The song is a kind of comedic suggestion to travelers to learn to speak native languages because the opposite gender loves to hear a foreigner speak their tongue, with Lindemann dropping all these overly dramatic romantic pleas in Spanish, French, and Russian. It’s kind of tongue-in-cheek, but the concept of cultures mingling and the language through which it happens is certainly something that could be read into even deeper here, but I feel I might be getting in too deep to this album’s lyrics as it is. Fun song! It strikes me as this album’s “Haifisch”.

The sixth song is called “Sex”, and it is one of those universally understood words that needs no translation. Rammstein have never been shy about putting all the raunchiest and most intentionally provocative aspects of the universal pleasure into song (Till Lindemann’s 2015 solo album also was largely about his many sexual fantasies and aspirations). But on this song, Rammstein finally tackle the queasy feelings of rising sexual attraction and the intense urge to bask in its pleasure with another. The lyrics come off, not so much as creepy or filthy, but rather as profoundly horny (a phrase I never thought I’d type, but here we are), with Lindemann singing “Wir leben bei sex”, which means “we live during sex”, which could be interpreted as an ode to the pleasure of the act of reproduction. The boisterous vocal delivery of the titular refrain gives the already heavy, groovy, and provocative song a different primal energy, and it makes the desire spoken of in the lyrics evident and real. And speaking of powerfully primal vocal performances...

The song “Puppe” has justifiably gained a lot of attention for Till Lindemann’s scathingly rough and chillingly tortured vocal delivery in its second half, which was the first thing that caught my ear too when I gave this album its first spin. Delving into the lyrics the song reveals itself to be about a child who is kept comforted (or even medicated to a degree) by a doll while this child’s sister goes off to work, which is revealed to be only in the neighboring room and is likely to be prostitution. The song eventually reveals that the child finds the sister dead at the hands of an assailant during her work, driving the child to bite the head off the doll, which could have a variety of interpretations regarding this already unhinged character’s stability, killing the assailant, destroying the comforting object and thus shedding all childhood innocence completely at the sight of such trauma, or simply a deranged, destructive breakdown. Personally, I think the lyrics suggest that the child rips the doll’s head off in an act of traumatic realization of the world’s cruelty and a refusal to accept being sheltered from it, with whatever actions following being very up in the air. Either way, how the band builds up the the climax of the child biting the head of the doll off and explodes into vibrant heaviness provides the perfect backing for Lindemann to play this character phenomenally.

The soulful metallic ballad “Was ich Liebe” is probably the most flat-out depressing song on the album, and despite the simplicity of its lyrics, its conflict with its speaker wanting to love but also feeling that doing so is futile and that all pleasure is fleeting is well expressed, and an interestingly stark contrast to “Sex”, wherein the raw, physical lust brings about divine, life-affirming pleasure and whereas “Was ich Liebe” details perhaps the comedown from the high of sexual fulfillment to a life viewed through the most hopeless lens in which all pleasure eventually rots and everything loved dies. The song itself doesn’t actually reference sex at all, but it is perhaps its very absence and the vagueness concepts the speaker laments over that suggest that perhaps the speaker doesn’t even know how to find the lasting forms of love sought through sex. Then again, I could just be reading into Rammstein’s trend of often writing about sex. Sonically it provides a break from all the extreme energy leading up to it,which is nice in the track listing, but the woeful lamentation makes it come off as a bit overly dramatic. Given the whiny, defeatist subject matter though, perhaps that was intentional.

The very next song, “Diamant”, is an even more stripped back acoustic breather track supplemented with weeping vibratto strings for an intentionally melodramatic effect. It's a somber love song in which Lindemann compares his allure to a beautiful person to that of a diamond, struggling with an infatuation that he knows is soul-sucking and something he should avoid, concluding his comparison of this beautiful person to the beautiful jewel in dejection, saying it’s only a stone.

The song “Weit Weg” is probably the album's low point both lyrically and musically, being a less tangibly performed song of unfulfilled longing for a far away woman with some juxtaposition between feeling close, but oh so far away too, which Lindemann has written about before much more convincingly. And the somewhat slow pace and minimal energy of the whole band's performance kind of just makes it drag on. It's not the worst song, but by Rammstein's standards and this album's standards, it's only distinction from the other songs on the album is its lack of much melodic or lyrical distinction.

“Tattoo” thankfully brings back the energy of the band's signature industrial metal groove for the album's last minutes. It definitely hearkens back to Reise Reise musically, and it's a fine offering of their more groovy old-school style. The song is about the literal act of tattooing a lover's name and contemplating the pain and permanence of it all to express the significance of their love in the speaker's life, ending on the somewhat tongue-in-cheek contemplation that if they ever split up, then the speaker will have to find someone else with the same name. Lyrically, it's very direct, but also colorful and a fresh angle for this topic.

The album closes on perhaps the most haunting and unsettling note (rivaled only by "Puppe") with “Halloman”, a song about the luring of a young girl by the titular "Hallomann" (who is suggested to be part of the Catholic church when the girl is revealed to be dancing while wearing a rosary) into a life of sexual servitude. It's a disturbing and genuinely mournful song, and the band handles the seriousness of the subject matter well both lyrically and musically with the pleading sorrow in Till Lindemann's performance conveying the gravity of the all too common story of childhood stolen and butchered by depraved opportunists who prey upon the vulnerable. I'm glad Tue band saved this song for the end because I can't imagine its eerie realism anywhere else in the track listing. It's an incredibly emotive, but chilling finish to the album, and it does a fantastic job bowing out for the album.

And that's it; that's Rammstein's long-awaited seventh studio album. In many ways it is Rammstein simply getting back on track after their long creative break after Liebe ist für alle da, but it does also feel like a well-rounded set of songs that take a lot from the band's whole career, and the songs do mostly seem very well nurtured. And while this album probably didn't need ten years to make, I'm certainly glad it's here now and I hope it helps Rammstein get back into a more consistent creative cycle. If there’s one thing that dampens the album’s experience, it’s perhaps the decrease in energy and the reversion to some of the band’s more typical tendencies without supplementation during the second half. But the brightest moments on the album definitely outweigh the duller ones, and the dynamic excitement of the album's experience certainly stems from Rammstein smartly placing their confidence in the progress they had made with their sound rather than trying to make a disingenuous rehash of Sehnsucht or Mutter alone (though the elements they bring in from those albums do serve to bolster this one). And through it all, Rammstein stays true to the focus on tight, efficient composition that has made every album of theirs so engaging and digestible. I'm glad they're back.

Willkommen zurück/10

[anneedmonds]

Drop Everything: My Beauty Boxes have Landed! | AD

I wasn’t actually intending to keep these amazing beauty boxes under wraps for quite so long – there were supposed to be lots of cheeky little hints, advance-warning teasers, annoying “I have a secret announcement coming up but I can’t tell you what it is!” videos. But life got in the way and I only managed minimal amounts of nudging and so here we are, on the launch day with a hint, teaser, annoying announcement and “reveal” all in one. (I expect some of you, if you’re anything like me, will be mildly relieved to be getting it all in one hit.)

But I digress, as usual: let’s get straight to the point. Do not buy any presents, especially beauty presents, until you have read this post. In fact, if I may be so bold, do not buy any beauty whatsoever until you have read this post. (In all fairness, the likelihood of you suddenly clicking away to buy an emergency cleanser whilst you’re madly engaged in my excellent writing is low, but just in case you have some sort of compulsive beauty-buying habit: stop. Put down the mouse.)

I have launched two new beauty boxes with Feelunique and they a) have amazing things in them and b) are incredible value for money. They are my very carefully considered edits of The Best In Beauty; one – the Rescue box – is a sort of beauty “SOS” kit for time-poor, results-driven people, the other – the Indulgence box – is a beautiful collection of the most decadent treats. The Rescue box is worth £70 and costs just £30, the Indulgence box is worth a huge £105 and costs just £45! Either – or both – would make the most perfect gift, whether that’s for mother’s day (it’s next Sunday!) or a birthday or for a friend of relative who’s had a new baby…

Oh, I forgot to mention the baby thing! The whole idea for the boxes actually started almost a year ago, when Baby Ted was just a newborn. In my addled, harried state, I got to thinking that it would be a thing of great convenience if there was a beauty box that pulled together the kind of hard-working, visible-results products that new mums need. Skin soothers, face brighteners and perhaps something for fixing crazy, flyaway hair.

(Sadly my Colab Dry Shampoo, which is a staple for pretty much anyone with – er – hair, couldn’t be included as it can’t be shipped worldwide. But you can get it here if you fancy a little box add-on. It’s £3.50, smells amazing and doesn’t leave any white residue.)

And so the Rescue box was born, closely followed by the Indulgence version, which is basically a fabulous, relaxing treatment session in a box. Everything you need to unwind and reboost.

It has taken almost a year to put these beauty collections together and make sure that they represented what I initially wanted them to be – I do hope that you love them as much as I do. I’m going to do a full breakdown of what’s inside each box below, but if you’re keen to grab one (or two) before the rush then you can find them at Feelunique here. There are limited numbers, so get them while stocks last!

The Rescue Box (£30, worth £70 – buy it here)

This is the SOS beauty kit of dreams – fast-acting, hard-working products that don’t require any real thinking and are completely faff free.

I’ll start with the Balance Me Restore and Replenish Cream Cleanser, which was one of my favourites when I was pregnant with Angelica. It’s soothing, gentle but removes makeup well and can either be removed with cotton wool pads or with a flannel and warm water. The box contains a full size tube worth £18.

Then there’s a full size tub of the excellent Glycolic Fix exfoliating pads from Nip & Fab, worth £14.95. These little discs of acid-soaked wonder help to brighten skin overnight with just one quick wipe. They’re like the world’s fastest facial, really, and this version – the new “Gentle” formula – is great for more sensitive, temperamental skin. If you’re postpartum and wondering what the hell to do with your knackered, dull, blotchy face then these might just be your wonder fix.

More good stuff for tired, dull, compromised skin: a full size tube of L’Oreal’s Revitalift Cicacrem, worth £12.99, which helps to soothe and repair whilst doing the anti-wrinkle magic at the same time. It’s a great cream to have to hand when your skin feels tight and just a bit battered and raw. (Again, wonderful for postpartum skin, if you’re a new mum or you want to find a good present for new mums.)

Then for the lips, what is possibly one of the most effective lip balms in the world: Lanolips 101 Ointment. This forms a very hardy barrier over the skin and is almost unbeatable in terms of long-lasting moisturisation. Use on cuticles, dry patches, chapped lips – the version in the box is the Strawberry one and is worth £7.99.

There’s a little bonus “skincare” item in the Rescue box, and I have to say that I was sceptical about it before I tried it out. It’s the Magnitone Wipeout microfibre cleansing cloth, which promises to remove makeup with just warm water. And does it? Er, yes! It’s nothing short of miraculous and a massively convenient thing to have next to your sink or inside your travel bag for quick, easy makeup removal. I am a stickler for a proper cleanse, but sometimes when time is short (or supplies are lacking) it’s fine to cut corners – I’ve actually been using the Wipeout cloth to remove my makeup (especially eye) before I go in with my proper cleanser! I’m a total convert.

And then one rather spectacular product for taming wild, uncontrollable hair. (Or just hair that is normal, but you’re useless at styling it. I’m with you.) The One Minute Transformation Cream from Colour Wow can be worked through damp hair before blow-drying to give a sleek, smooth finish, or added to the ends of dry hair to tame flyaways and frizz. In what is quite the extra perk, it can also be used on dry hair and then blow-dried in, which means that you can refresh hair that’s not recently washed. A true multipurpose hair rescuer. There’s a 30ml tube in the box, worth £9.

So, you can see that this is a brilliant gift for anyone who lacks the time to make sensible beauty decisions, or needs comprehensive, no-nonsense products that work quickly and easily. I’m so pleased with this box – it’s a proper little emergency number!

Buy the Rescue Box here

The Indulgence Box (£45, worth £105 – buy it here)

This decadent collection of luxury beauty will have you cancelling all social engagements (ha! what social engagements?) and barricading yourself into the bathroom.

Start by winding your hair into the Aquis Turban (worth £30); whether you’ve applied a hair mask and want to let it soak in, or you just want to keep your hair out of the way whilst you do your skincare routine, it’s more comfy than a shower cap and doesn’t feel all sweaty and rank. It’s actual purpose is to help to dry hair after washing, because it wicks away a load of moisture and dramatically reduces drying time, so this is the sort of indulgence you can use again and again. A useful indulgence. A usedulgence. An indulful. Shut me up.

Then light your incredible NEOM Tranquility Candle (worth £16); the scent will have you completely relaxed (if not asleep) within minutes. This one-wick candle is a great size for travelling with, if you like to “take your scent with you” (I used to do this in the days when I stayed in hotels constantly and didn’t fall asleep the minute I lay on the bed) and the smell is so powerful. In a small bathroom space, you only really need to light it once a week to have the room constantly scented.

More aromatherapy from the brilliant Aromatherapy Associates: I’ve featured these Bath and Body Oils so many times over the years that it is a great joy and privilege to be able to include them in my Indulgence box. This is the Essentials trio (worth £28.90) that has the Revive oil, De-Stress Mind and Deep Relax – all of them incredibly potent. Just a capful into the bath, or patted onto skin pre-shower and you have an instant spa experience!

And then to skincare and two luxurious treats. The first is the Darphin Rose Aromatic Care, a glorious little oil that softens, smooths and hydrates. Massage it in before moisturiser for plump, dewy skin – I also like to apply a little before foundation if I want a beautiful, natural glow.

The second treat is the 48HR Moisture SOS Rescue Mask from NUXE. This packs hydration into the skin, whether you leave it on as a thin layer overnight or apply a thick layer whilst you’re enjoying your aromatherapy bath… Non-greasy, nice and soothing, this mask is too good to save for treat days – I’ve been using it almost daily since the weather turned cold. (Which was, when? 1988 it feels like.)

So there: the ultimate indulgence package, worth over a hundred pounds, yours for £45. You can find it at Feelunique here. Run, run, run like the wind! And if you want to hear me chatting through the boxes and saying things that potentially make me look slightly unhinged, my “reveal” video is below!

Buy the Indulgence Box here

  The post Drop Everything: My Beauty Boxes have Landed! | AD appeared first on A Model Recommends.

Drop Everything: My Beauty Boxes have Landed! | AD was first posted on March 3, 2018 at 10:08 am. ©2017 "A Model Recommends". Use of this feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this article in your feed reader, then the site is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact me at contact@amodelrecommends.com Drop Everything: My Beauty Boxes have Landed! | AD published first on https://medium.com/@SkinAlley