1. MAKE YOUR PREDICTIONS
The 2014 awards season kicks off with the Golden Globes on Sunday January 12th, which means tons of celeb pictures and acceptance speeches are on their way in the coming month or two. We’re already planning our sofa snacks and starting to make our predictions! Oscar nominations will be announced on January 16th while the BAFTA nominees (announced today!) include Jennifer Lawrence, Cate Blanchett, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Lupita Nyong’o, Bradley Cooper and Leonardo DiCaprio.
2. FINGER PAINT
Shorten your AM make-up routine or your day-to-night switch with Laura Mercier’s Caviar Sticks – I love them because you can apply them quickly and easily with your fingers. No brushes required! See US editor Meredith’s smokey eye tutorial right here.
3. GET LOST IN A MOVIE
For once, you won’t be short of choices of must-sees at the cinema – our top pick is Spike Jonze’s Her (Jan 24th – trailer above), starring Joaquin Phoenix, Rooney Mara and the voice of Scarlett Johansson. Also out, likely Oscar contenders The Wolf Of Wall Street (Jan 17th), Inside Llewyn Davis (Jan 24th) and 12 Years A Slave (Jan 10th). We’ll be seeing all of them!
4. TINY TWEAKS
Now that those massive resolutions we made for Jan 1st are just memories, we’re focusing on more attainable changes. Small tweaks to our routines that will make a big difference by the time 2015 rolls around! TINY TWEAKS is the theme of our January box and we’ll be encouraging you to take part on Twitter and Instagram – stay tuned! Not a subscriber yet? Sign up now!
5. GIRLS, GIRLS, GIRLS!
We’re so excited that Girls is returning to UK screens. Look out for the new series on Sky Atlantic on January 20th. Other TV we’re excited for? Brit actor Russell Tovey goes Stateside with Glee star Jonathan Groff in new series Looking (also on Sky Atlantic) and Skins heartthrob Luke Pasqualino teams up with the new Doctor Who Peter Capaldi in The Musketeers on BBC One. One of my favourite shows is starting on E4 on January 16th too – Andy Samberg stars in cop comedy Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
6. FIND SUPER REDUCED SALE BARGAINS
The first rush to the sales might be over, but late January is the time when the final reductions are made. Time to recheck those discounts and see if the unaffordable suddenly appears in our price range…
7. PRESS PLAY
All the cold, wind and rain in January makes curling up with a DVD super appealing. Luckily, there are some gems out this month. Our picks? Lake Bell makes her directorial debut starring as a female voiceover artist in In A World… (out Jan 20th). Meanwhile, season 4 of the wonderful US sitcom Parks & Recreation is out on DVD on Jan 13th or – if you’re after some #drunkSherlock – season 3 of Sherlock comes to DVD on Jan 20th.
8. FEEL THE BENEFIT
Yes, EVERY subscriber will get a sample from Benefit in their January Birchbox and you’ll be able to use your Birchbox Points towards adding to your Benefit beauty collection as they make their debut on our e-shop mid-month! We’re SO excited!!
9. TURN IT UP
What are we listening to this month? I’m anticipating Warpaint‘s self-titled record (Jan 20th) while Marketing Exec Aleks is excited for the UK release of Sky Ferreira‘s Night Time My Time (Jan 28th). Tell us what you’re listening to in the comments below!
10. CELEBRATE!
We’re so excited to be celebrating our first anniversary at Birchbox UK! We’ve had a fantastic year with our wonderful subscribers and want to thank you all so much for your loyalty. Stay tuned – 2014 is going to be even better!
– Beth
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