The Liebster Award

The Liebster Award was something I'd seen many a time on plenty of blogs, but until Emma from Emma Bought What really kindly nominated me the other day, I wasn't entirely sure what the Liebster Award actually is.  In a nutshell, it's a lovely way to give some recognition and a little exposure to bloggers with a smaller following or who haven't been blogging for very long.  It's a web-based award, given by bloggers to other bloggers, and was started in 2011.  

Basically when you are nominated for the award you answer the 11 questions from the person who nominated you, then come up with another 11 questions to set to those who you then choose to nominate... So here are the questions Emma set me!

1. Why did you start blogging?

 I started blogging for many reasons!  Partly because I was so anxious last summer of having nothing to do for 4 months, partly because I wanted a way to justify my minor shopping addiction, and partly because I was in dire need of a creative outlet.  I used to write a lot of music before I came to university but once I started first year I stopped writing songs... so by summer I was clamouring to start writing again, just in a different form!

2. Do you prefer a city break or beach holiday?

I think if I'm being 100% honest I would have to say I prefer a city break.  I love beaches and being lazy and sunning myself to a crisp, but I just can't do it for the entire time I'm visiting somewhere.  I get really restless, and have these awful culture cravings!  For me the best holiday is a mixture of beach days and exploring cities. 

3. What's your favourite high-street clothes shop?

I have two responses to this - if money was no object, it would have to be Topshop or Zara (sorry guys, no points for originality from me here).  But otherwise H&M because I think although a lot of their stuff is poor quality, their sales are often gold mines of 70% off, as well as being h u g e - I love a good sale challenge.  I think they have some really beautiful fabrics and prints, especially some of the summery ones.  My only qualm with H&M would be their denim section... I've completely given up even trying on jeans there as I just find their sizing so mismatched.  Does anyone else find the same?

4. Which actor/actress would play you in a movie?

 I have to go with the obvious here and say Emma Watson as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter films.  I would've loved to be cast in those films, especially as Hermione as she was without a doubt my favourite character.  I can distinctly remember learning some of her lines and practising them in the mirror in the kitchen as a child, to try and work out if I had a chance.... ha.

5. Which three singers/bands do you listen to most?

 Another thing which has changed a lot in the past few years is my taste in music... I feel like unfortunately I rarely listen to albums now and tend to go more for playlists, and I listen to quite a lot of dance music but also popular, folk, 90s and 80s stuff.  Okay.  Artists I like at the moment are Jamie xx,  Flume (if you haven't heard his Lorde remix please for the love of God click here), and I have this lasting affinity for Sia at the moment.  She's just such a bloody good singer. 

6. What's your favourite animal?

Sloths.  No hesitation from me.  I am responsible for many of the views on this video.

7. When you were growing up what job did you want to do?

Ooh, I went through many different phases.  In vaguely chronological order, a mermaid, a baker, a novelist, a journalist, a singer-songwriter, unemployed,  a gold-digger... I also went through phases of lawyer, GP, actress.  Now I think I would like to go into advertising and marketing or PR, but in all honesty my main requirement is that I have a job which enables me to be creative!  As long as I get to do that, the rest doesn't matter so much.

8. Do you prefer a nude lip or a bold lip?

For me it's a bold lip, I think.  If I'm going to bother using lip products aside from a bit of balm, I tend to go for a dark brown lip, red toned or recently I've even been loving lilac or purple-toned shades.  

9. What's your favourite makeup product at the moment?

I would have to say the Smahsbox Step-by-Step Contour Kit I bought recently (read my full review here).  It's just a dream to use, I'm falling more and more in love with it the more I use it.  The brush it comes with is great, too. 

10. Do you prefer to straighten or curl your hair?

I am very lazy with my hair.  It's quite thick and misbehaving, so I can only be bothered to wash it around twice a week, and always just let it dry naturally with a bit of Argan oil in there.  I very rarely curl or straighten my hair, but if I had to pick it would probably be straighten as my hair is naturally quite wavy so it's nice to have a change!

11. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?

I would love to live in Tokyo for a bit.  Also New York, London, and I love the idea of living somewhere in the Med for a year or so and working from the beach, managing my own PR consultancy or advertising agency, perhaps.  I would like to live lots of places while I'm in my 20s, but once I get to my 30s I'll probably want to settle down a little - for me, that would be in South England as I'm such a family girl, I couldn't be away from them for too long!

Wow, well done for getting to the end.  I'm such a rambler.  

These are my nominations:

Sophie from DENIM MONDAYS

Kara from Kara Chelsie

Fleur from Fleurypops Blogs

Alice from Way to Wear

Cara from British Mermaid

Beth from Toasty

Katie from La Coco Noire

Here are my questions:

1) What is your favourite base product?

2) Are you scared of anything?

3) What song brings back a funny memory for you, and why?

4) Your favourite meal?

5) What's your biggest pet peeve?

6)What makes an ideal Sunday for you?

7) What celebrity would you take with you on a desert island?

8) Favourite drink?

9) Do you have a favourite novel, poem or quote?

10) What country(ies) would you like to visit in the next 5 years?

11) If you had to pick one pair of shoes to wear for the rest of your life, what would they be?

Thanks for reading guys, can't wait to see some of your responses.  All the love,

Ruby x

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