After books, my second favourite form of escapism is DVD box sets, or more recently, Netflix. Today I thought I'd round-up five of my favourite shows for you. If you haven't seen any of them, do yourself a favour and watch them. They all offer something a bit different, I'll try to touch on that below and are all pretty darn fantastic. Of course I am biased here but seriously, they are worth watching and re-watching. 

Parks and Recreation: Or Parks and Sparks, as it is known among some of my family. Don't ask. This show is described as The West Wing meets The Office (the US version) and I believe it is created by some of the people responsible for the latter. Leslie Knope works in the local government's Parks and Recreation department along with a cast of less than motivated, somewhat disinterested employees. They don't quite share her enthusiasm and aspirations to be the next Hillary Clinton but they sure bring the humour. This show is hilarious and it is so well-written. There's also fantastic improv too which is to be expected when you have the likes of Amy Poehler, Nick Offerman, Chris Pratt and Aubrey Plaza among others in the cast. I'm re-watching this at the moment and am thoroughly enjoying it all over again.

New Girl: One quirky twenty-something shares a loft apartment in LA with three other guys. Of course hilarious chaos and moments occur. I know some people think New Girl has lost its luster and I've only just started S5 so I can't really comment but I'm still liking it so far. Zooey Deschanel as Jess is just so loveable and relatable. Actually she's scarily relatable at times. I also love Max Greenfield as Schmidt. He's amazing. 

The Crown: Yes I am mentioning this Netflix gem again. I finished watching this a second time recently and loved it just as much another time around. I can't wait for Season Two which will be partially, if not totally set in the sixties. My favourite decade, particularly fashion-wise. There's more to this show than fashion of course. It's a thoroughly interesting look at the Royal Family and an insight into the sides of them we don't really see. 

Gilmore Girls: Who would have really expected this show to be here? Ahem. There's something so comforting and likeable about this show. I cannot quite ever put my finger on it but I think a lot of it comes down to the relationship between Lorelai and Rory at its simplest. That and the plethora of references plus it's just really fun to watch. I love it a lot and will always have a special place in my heart for Gilmore Girls.

A Series of Unfortunate Events: Netflix is blessing us in the original series department at the moment. I've been a Lemony Snicket fan for as long as I can remember so I was really looking forward to this series. It really delivered and was extremely faithful to the books. At times there are even subtle references to later books and little nuances from the series as a whole. You don't necessarily need to have read the books first to follow this one though. If you like dark humour and less than happy tales, this is for you. Shout-out to Neil Patrick Harris for his amazing performance as Count Olaf and his many different characters. 

-What shows do you love?

*Throwback time! If you've been sticking around long enough you will know I used to sign off my blog posts with life rambles, on occasion. Maybe I will revive them this year because I used to like doing them and I think some of you liked reading them too. I just wanted to let y'all know I will be a bit MIA from the blog over the next week as I have an exam soon for my Summer School paper and will be in full on nerd mode. I will be back at some stage next week (hopefully) with a beauty post I have been working on for a little while. Otherwise I'll no doubt still be around a bit on the 'gram and things. Have a great week and weekend! x

I'm sounding the monthly favourites klaxon, reference c/Anna . This month's been a bit of in with the old and the new when it comes to beauty. I've rediscovered just how good a certain concealer is and found my new favourite bronzer. There's also my monthly book favourites and a DVD which I am sure will come as no surprise to many of you.. 

Beauty

Real Techniques Bold Metal Brushes, #100 and #300-My brushes are dirty so yep, I have not cleaned them. *taps wrist for being a bad blogger* On the other hand, that just shows how well loved and used these gems are. I've already written about these here but in short, the powder brush is amazing for setting makeup down. Its density means it doesn't pick up too much product so you aren't left looking caked in powder. The blush brush is ideal if you find application scary. Its tapered edge fits perfectly into the cheekbone area. Lovelovelove. 

Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer in Vanilla-My concealer of choice for blemishes and whatnot offers great coverage but I find the heat just makes it slip off my face way too fast. I rediscovered this Nars one this month and haven't looked back. I love that I don't really need to touch up concealer with this on because it just stays put. The colour range is fantastic as well and it provides decent coverage without being too thick. 

Soap and Glory Solar Powder-Aside from its cardboard packaging, this bronzer is perfect. It's matte so there's no shimmer if that's something you like to avoid. These two shades are perfect for paler complexions as there's no orangey tones to them whatsoever. If you can get your hands on this bronzer, get one asap. 

Mac Lip Pencil in Soar-This seems to be sold out everywhere online but try in stores because they may be floating around there. You've probably already seen this liner online a lot. According to Kim K, it's little sister Kylie's liner of choice. This mauve-pink liner is such a flattering colour. It'd complement a range of skintones. It makes your pout look fuller, regardless of whether you overdraw your lips. I like to wear this on its own or under my more brown based nudes. 

Fairydrops Quattro Mascara, a gift-Fairydrops is notoriously difficult to find unless you're in Japan or can easily access a BeautyMart. One of my friends bought this back for me from her travels recently and I'm not gonna lie, I was quite excited. The wand on this one is quite bizarre, google it to see what I mean. The effect it has on the lashes however is stunning. It's not the most dramatic of mascaras but it really separates the lash and holds a curl.

Extras

All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven*-This has to be one of the best young-adult novels I have read in a long, long time. The way it presents mental illness, dealing with grief and the multi-faceted role that is being a young adult is fantastic. In no way does this book romanticise any of the serious issues at hand which some YA books/films tend to do. I found this book really touching and beautifully written. Read it. 

New Girl Season One-As always, I'm a bit late to the bandwagon with this one. I freakin' love New Girl though. It's one of those shows that never fails to put me in a good mood. The hilarity and awkwardness of Zooey's character, while a bit too relatable at times, is brilliant. Not gonna lie, I think Schmidt is rather fit as well. 

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell-I couldn't pick one book this month so you're getting two. Again, Eleanor and Park deals with some heavier issues. It also unites two outcasts who bond over pop culture and their different upbringings. It's a sweet story but be warned, it will make you feel all the feels. 

-What have you been loving during February?

*PR Sample