Fashion | Style Inspiration: CL of 2NE1 - Nan Nappeun Gizibe / The Baddest Female

For those who are unaware, I love k-pop. My favourite k-pop band by miles is the all girl group 2NE1, comprised of Park Bom (my absolute favourite member, whose hair I base mine on), CL (Chaerin), Minzy and Dara. I fell in love with this group a few years ago, and have been obsessed ever since with their music, reality TV show, and in turn the other k-pop groups (such as BIGBANG) belonging to the same record label as them, YG Entertainment (otherwise known as YG Family, which is freaking adorable).

For the past few weeks, YG have been teasing which groups of theirs will be making comebacks. 2NE1 haven't released anything since their one off single "I Love You" ten months ago, and before that nothing since their 2nd Mini Album in 2011 (not including their English-singing song "Gettin' Dumb" on will.i.am's album #thatpower, although I've been listening to that song non-stop for weeks). I've been just a tad deprived of personally, who I consider two of the most beautiful women in the world, Park Bom and CL, and have to make do with just following the group on Twitter and Instagram until they released some music.

I read in an interview about their upcoming comeback that CL was planning on launching a solo career, but since a date hadn't even been confirmed for the group's new album launch, I didn't think anything of it. That is, until I was in Spain and saw YG tweeting teaser pictures of CL for her new solo single?! Whilst I'm quite cross that CL went solo before the group released their album, I can't deny that she really is the baddest female. I have such style envy it's unreal. Check out her music video for her first ever solo single The Baddest Female below:


Can you see why I have style envy??? I was quite surprised by her new sound, I knew she was very into her hip hop, etc., but I was still expecting a bit more 2NE1 sound than there actually was. Her single sounded to me like a Korean Iggy Azaelia/Nikki Minaj, but y'know... better than both of them. Hey, I'm biased!

I actually just spent ages trying to recreate her pretty much all leather outfit from the video. I think finding equivalents to all her outfits is going to be my new obsession; at least until 2NE1 make their comeback.

Do you love k-pop? What did you think of CL's new solo single? Let me know in the comments below!

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Lifestyle | Barcelona Break!

Hello everyone! In a few hours I will be boarding a place and whizzing off to Barcelonaaaaaaa for a week :)

Of course I haven't planned ahead and scheduled posts in, so it looks like my weenie little blog will be taking a mini hiatus until I get back, simply because the Blogger app is awful! Can't use it :(

I hope you all have lots of fun this week and I'll be looking forward to reading all of your new posts when I get back :)

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Fashion | Zara Wishlist

I've fallen into the habit of only ever shopping at places I'm used to shopping in. The main culprit is, of course, River Island, in which I've easily spent a grand or two since my addiction at the age of sixteen/seventeen. I can honestly tell you right now that I have only ever bought one item of clothing from Topshop (not including a few pairs of watermelon print socks), and that was the blazer featured in my previous OOTD post; the blazer I bought years ago and genuinely forgot I owned.

A few years ago I loved Zara. The store in my nearest town was always really intimidating, whether I'm referring to the prices for a college student, or the stupidly pretty people working there, or just how big it was, so I only went in a few times, but managed to lust after pretty much everything. I've bought a few items from there and I still wear them now, five years on! Can't deny the quality of Zara clothing. When I was looking around for candidates for my perfect Spring/Summer jacket post, I remembered my old crush on Zara. Whilst I was disappointed that they didn't have any particularly nice coats or jackets, I kept on browsing a little further and, safe to say, my old crush has been re-kindled.

Floral Sweatshirt / Culotte Shorts / Ankle Boot w/ Block Heel / Everyday Shopper

I've put together a little outfit wishlist here, featuring the infamous skort (skirt/shorts) I've seen practically every blogger featuring in their outfit posts. I WANT ITTTTTTTTTTT :( Ideally, every one of these items would be in my wardrobe right now (although technically they'd be on my floordrobe, as my wardrobe sees no action nowadays). I've never really been a big fan of red, but I think it really does brighten up an outfit! I think I chose these items because you can wear this outfit for either spring/summer or autumn/winter, just add some tights and a nice smart coat and it'll easily be a perfect winter look :)

I'm getting a little addicted to making wish lists, and my bank balance has already taken a right beating this week getting prepared for Barcelona (OH MY GOD I'M GOING TO SPAIN ON SUNDAY), and then somehow I managed to add over 80 Korean make-up products to my wish list on Ebay, and then buy a bunch of them earlier this morning!! I'm supposed to be saving, I'm doing a terrible job ahahaha! At least when my Korean products arrive (in like, six months ugh) I'll be able to do a blog post that's a little bit different :)

Do any of you have too many wish lists for your bank balance to keep up with? Do you love Zara? Let me know in the comments!

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Beauty | Barry M Touch Of Magic Lip Paint Review

I've never owned a lipstick. There, I said it. Never owned one. I've never really liked anything to do with accentuating my mouth; my teeth insist on not being straight despite years of braces, my smile is wonky, and I've never liked how non-white my teeth are, although after years of smoking (quit almost a year ago now!!) and even more years of drinking at least two cans of Coke a day, that's nobody's fault but mine.

Now this purchase was both planned and a whim. I first read about the Barry M Touch Of Magic Lip Paint over on The Oxford Owl's blog as she was planning a giveaway with one, and the idea that a lipstick coloured itself to suit you sounded like it was exactly what I needed, especially as I don't even know what my skin tone is (don't judge me). Apparently it changes depending on each individual person, but I'm not too sure I bought that one as out of the three they had in the store there were two different shade numbers listed on the bottom. As you can see, I bought shade 249, but I'm pretty sure there's an original one which doesn't have a shade, and actually changes to suit you. I've saved the original one (I think) in my Amazon basket so I might buy that if I have any money left over when I get back from Spain and blog about the difference :)

I know the lips close-up one above is awful. I was trying to take a photo of my lips after applying the lipstick without flash, and each photo just turned out a blurry mess. Believe it or not, that was the best one I got. I always forget how shit my camera is! The one with flash directly above is probably the closest to the colour it is in real life anyways.

So the lipstick goes on pretty much dry. I wore it last night and when I woke up this morning I had to put on quite a bit of lip balm to get my lips back to their normal slightly nourished state. I also noticed that the lipstick REALLY stained my lips. Even after I used a make-up removed wipe on them AND had a shower. The little swatches I made on my hand (and one on my boyfriend's to test if it did go a different colour on him; we couldn't see much difference) are also still here now, while I'm writing this, despite the fact it's been like, fourteen hours, several hand washes and a shower later since I swatched. Impressive? Yes. Annoying? Slightly.

Have you tried the Barry M Touch Of Magic Lip Paint, or any other Barry M lipsticks or products in general? I'd love to know about your experiences! :)

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Fashion | OOTD #3: All Grown Up

Yesterday was one of those days where I honestly felt like a grown up for a second. Despite the fact I'm twenty two and expected to have it all figured out by now, I rarely honestly feel like an adult, and more like I'm still seventeen playing grown up.

Yesterday was my most grown up day of my life so far. It started with a trip down to Manchester for a job interview I had, which I'm 98% sure I absolutely bombed. It was my second proper interview of all time (not counting the one I had to go on full-time at the company I'm with now, as I technically already worked there), and I got so nervous right before it started, simply because I realised how much I wanted the position.

I present to you now the outfit I wore yesterday, which I stressed out over a little as the company I work for is so not arsed about dress code that I haven't bought anything smart since my first interview there a few years ago. The pictures were taken with my actual camera, but the quality still isn't that good, and for some reason it's made my pictures smaller? Sad face.

Blazer - Topshop (Old)

Playsuit - River Island (Old)

Belt - River Island Cat Skirt (Here)

Shoes - River Island via Ebay (Old)

After my interview I was super bummed out 'cause of how terrible I thought it had gone, but there wasn't really much time to dwell on it as we (my boyfriend and I) had to go straight on to Manchester city centre, as he also had an interview there. Immediately after his interview, which took over an hour, we had to rush to a flat viewing, and we were actually a little late because his interview had ran on so long (he got a call as soon as he got in the car though, he got the job!).

Within an hour we managed to view three flats a little way out of Manchester city centre, and we're today currently in the middle of talking with the estate agent about applying for the third one we saw, which we weren't actually planning on viewing, but we were asked if we'd like to see it as it was right next to the one we had booked to view. Ugh, it all sounds stupidly adult to me! Fucking estate agents and flats and jobs, and ugh. Where's Peter Pan???? I want to go off to Neverland!!

Equally scary and exciting at the same time. I'm currently awaiting a call from the recruitment agency that got me the interview to find out if I did as terribly as I think. Wish me luck that I didn't!!

Are any of you looking for work or places to live? Is it just me that finds it scary still?

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Fashion | OOTD #2: Holiday Clothes

I couldn't think of what to make the main feature of this Outfit Of The Day, so it's just my holiday clothes outfit! I love everything I'm wearing right now, I want each item to be the focus, so I think it's best to just make the whole outfit the main feature so nothing feels left out ;)

And in case you couldn't tell, I'm addicted to River Island...

T-Shirt - River Island (Here)

Dungaree Dress - River Island (Here)

Hi-Tops - River Island (Here)

This outfit is one that I bought purely for the purpose of my holiday in Barcelona. It's light, it's summery, and I love it! I bought the t-shirt at the same time as the dungaree dress because I thought the floral pattern on the t-shirt matched quite nicely with the little aztec print pocket on the front of the dress. I haven't yet broken in the hi-tops, in fact today was my first ever time wearing them, and because the back was so solid I had a nice deep groove wedged in the back of my cankle for about an hour after I took them off at the end of the day. Yum.

I wore the outfit above slightly differently throughout the day, as whilst I may have bought this for the hot sun of Barcelona (six days, bitches!), today the weather took turns inbetween glimmers of glorious sunshine and chucking it down, so I snuggled up in nude tights and two cardigans (there's a black cotton one underneath the knitted cricket one) as pictured below.

A little bit more suitable for England, don't you think? If you do OOTD posts link to them in the comments below, I'd love to read them! :)

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Lifestyle | Kilo Off Review

I blogged on the 23rd April saying that I had decided to lose the 10lbs I'd regained since I lost it all originally in 2011, with the aid of a little product called Kilo Off.

Kilo Off is a weight loss aid in the form of a citrus fruit flavour drink. It claims to help burn fat, drain water and toxins, and maintain a flat stomach, as well as reduce hunger pangs. I can't particularly confirm any of these as I don't have one of those big tweezers that measures fat, I can't tell you if I'm less full of toxins, and my stomach isn't exactly flat, but I CAN confirm that I am a lot thinner than I was, AND my stomach is the flattest it's ever been, but isn't flat as a pancake just yet. Hopefully that'll change when I cram in a quick dose of my 10 Minute Solution DVDs that target the stomach area.

You're supposed to take Kilo Off for twenty days, having one sachet mixed with a glass of water every day. Afterwards you're supposed to take another 20 days off from drinking it, and then resuming for another 20 days if you have more weight to lose. Today is my 20th day on the sachets, I'm due to have my last one in a couple of hours (the Kilo Off packet comes with an information pamphlet which has a test you can take to determine when you're most likely to snack, and then gives you a time slot to drink your sachet in around this time), and as of this morning I've lost 8 lbs.

I'm quite proud of that, but I still have 4 more to lose to get back to the weight I was for my Zante holiday in 2011 (I mis-calculated when I said I had 10 lbs to lose in my previous post, I had actually gained 12). 8 lbs in 20 days is about/just under 3 lbs a week, which is a healthy amount to lose per week, if not a little more than recommended (most diets recommend 1-2 lbs per week).

I combined the Kilo Off with pretty much no exercise, despite my initial intention to do so. Fact of the matter is, I was torn; I've had four assignments due in over the past three weeks so I've stayed at my parent's house to write them as my boyfriend's flat in Wales doesn't have internet, but the gym he and I are signed up to is in Wales. My education is slightly more important (although a hell of a lot more depressing) than exercise, so that's taken a priority, and has left me super tired recently so I haven't been able to wake up early enough to squeeze in some tummy toning, although that HAS to change this week for my new crop top!!

So essentially I've combined this drink with a diet, although I couldn't break my new vice of two cans of regular Coke a day. But, I did swap out toast for a banana for breakfast, lunch has become a chicken salad, and tea is a normal meal like spaghetti bolognaise or chicken curry with rice, or something along those lines, with no junk food (except for one or two really small and rare treats as I got all the sugar I needed not to snack from Coke), and at least three pieces of fruit a day to snack on. Oh, and lots of water, of course :)

I would definitely say it works. The first time I used it I got to my lowest weight almost within a decade, despite spending the majority of those years trying to do just that. I would completely recommend this to anyone trying to lose weight, although I can't stress enough that YOU HAVE TO DO ALL TWENTY DAYS. In a row. Even if you miss your allotted optimum time. No excuses.

I still have six days left until Barcelona, and with my rate of weight loss at about half a pound a day, I'm hoping to be at least super close by 1 lb or so off to my goal weight, and still lighter than I was a few weeks ago when I come back from Spain, in spite of loads of paella and beer.

You can buy twenty sachets from HQhair or Look Fantastic, who both have a nice little offer on! :)

Are any of you trying to lose weight for holidays or for summer? I hope this helps you slightly if you are!

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Fashion | The Perfect Spring/Summer Jacket

I've never really owned a jacket; not a proper one, anyway. I did receive an oversized DKNY denim jacket for I think it was my 12th or 13th birthday, but seeing as I lived in jeans and my mum always told me that double denim was a nono, I never wore it. When I did start to branch out of jeans, I did attempt to wear the jacket, although I've still never grown into it, and the buttons are clicky and the sleeves don't roll up properly for when it's warm, it doesn't protect against the cold, and the pockets on the back are upside down because someone (wrongly) thought that was a good idea... In short, though I want to like it, I don't.

Therefore, for years it has been my somewhat life mission to find the perfect summer jacket. One that's bright enough to look summery, dark enough to mix and match with my autumn/winter clothes, thick enough to keep me warm during a cold spell, thin enough so I won't overheat and die on a hot day, and just generally go with everything. Is that too much to ask??

I've decided to put together several collages on my favourite jackets from my favourite shop River Island, and a variety of others, some of which I've never bought from before, but which are aiding in my research in order to find the perfect Spring/Summer jacket (if I can also wear it on the slightly warmer days of Autumn, that'd be ace)...

Heavy Petal Bomber Jacket / Rose Tattoo Bomber Jacket / Flower Punch Bomber Jacket

Hard Day's Night Trench / Red Quilted Biker Jacket

Black Panelled Biker Jacket / Green Tiger Print Bomber Jacket / Beige Contrast Trim Smart Jacket / Cream Marl Soft Biker Jacket / Cream Satin Oriental Embroidered Biker Jacket

Unlined Parka / Chinoiserie Dragon Bomber / Notch Neck Throw On Coat / Sister Jane Wild Forest Jacket

Military Jacket / Navy Wax Hooded Jacket / Stone Peplum Mac And that concludes my list so far! Do any of you lovely people have a perfect spring/summer jacket, or have you seen one anywhere? Let me know, I'll be eternally grateful!! :) Bye! x Follow me on Bloglovin' by clicking the button below!
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Lifestyle | My Pinterest Red Sofa Addiction

As many of you won't know, I'm planning on moving to Manchester within the next month or so. I feel that at the ripe old age of 22, my time is far overdue to fly the coop, despite my parents insistence that there's no rush. However, there is a rush, 'cause all I want to do is move out and have a place to call my own (or our own, as it's going to be mine and my boyfriend Adam's, but shh)!

One of the benefits of having lovely parents such as mine (although trust me, I didn't always see them that way thanks to being an angsty teenager), and the benefit of having a very house-proud mother, is the fact that there's a spare sofa all for me as she's already bought a new living room set. They're getting the kitchen redone and knocking down walls and stuff so there's no room for two sofas, which is awesome, 'cause that means one of them is mine, and it's so comfy!!

The only issue is, I don't know how to style it. Whilst A is being all annoying and telling me to worry about deposits and council tax and the like, my main issue is whether or not I'll be allowed to paint the walls of our rented flat, and what cushions and rugs to match with it! Oh god... I've become my mother.

Anyhoo, the main reason for this post is because of my addiction to Pinterest, and my board entitled Houspiration (haha! Like Fitspiration? I though it was pretty clever...), which has become dedicated to millions (not really) of images focusing on how to style a red sofa. The more interesting the better! Green pillows? Grey walls? I'm so excited to move! Have a look at some of my favourite red sofa images (although surprisingly enough there aren't that many out there):

Do you have your own flat? How would you style a red couch? I'd love to know!

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Fashion | OOTD #1: River Island Cat Print Skirt

Welcome to my first ever Outfit Of The Day post.

I was a little nervous about it, and in fact I still am a little wary of it, but it seems to be quite a popular theme, so why not jump on the band wagon? :)

This post's main feature is, of course, the cat print skirt from River Island, which I mentioned in my last post. I LOVE cats. Always have. If I didn't have a boyfriend, I would most definitely grow old as a spinster with too many cats. As it happens, I do have a boyfriend (who very kindly took these photos for me), so it's going to be the two of us with lots of cats instead.

T-Shirt - River Island (Old)

Skirt - River Island (Here)

Shoes - River Island via Ebay (Old)

Excuse the photo quality, had to use my boyfriend's iPhone as my dad had taken the camera (which isn't really much better to be fair).

When it came to styling the skirt, I wanted to keep the rest of my outfit as simple as possible so as to give the skirt the spotlight. Layering multiple clashing prints may be a hot trend right now, but it's too busy for my taste. I tend to dress like an eight year old most of the time, so sue me. With this focus in mind (and I didn't realise this until this evening), I accidentally wore head to toe River Island. But if you read my last post, you know I love that store, so it was a happy accident ahahaha.

What do you think of the cat print skirt? Are you a big fan of River Island or cats? (If you answer yes to either of those questions, I think we can be best friends) Sorry if this post is a little awkward, I'm a bit camera shy haha.

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Fashion | Barcelona Clothes!

It's entirely possible I may have gone a little bit crazy over the past few days clothes-wise, as I decided that all of a sudden I had absolutely nothing suitable for summer or hot weather. Which is ridiculous, of course, because I do this every season, every year, without fail, so I know for a fact I have suitable clothes... I just wanted an excuse to go shopping! :)

I've treated myself to quite a hefty amount this year thanks to a little (a lot) of late birthday money from my mum. So this bank holiday I set out on the Saturday for a mega clothing haul! First off, there are two things you should know about me:
1. I hate real life clothes shopping
2. I LOVE River Island. Like, so much.

So those two things played a major part in how in a whole hour of shopping, I only bought clothes from River Island. Real life shopping is busy, tiring, annoying, and I end up feeling super grumpy about 10 minutes into it and lose all interest 'cause I just wanna go home. However, with a lack of internet, I was forced to get out of bed and, well, hang out in RI. Here's my little haul (excuse the quality, I had to pinch these pictures from my Instagram):

Dungaree Dress / T-Shirt / Skirt

Not a bad haul, if I do say so myself :) I'm wearing the cat print skirt right now so I might do a little OOTD post when I get home from college tonight if I'm not too tired. And also, the haul continues with four new items that I ordered last night!

Vest / High Tops / Shorts / Crop T-Shirt

There are officially only ten days left until I leave for Barcelonaaaaaaaaa!! Plus, I've lost seven of the twelve lbs I wanted to lose (despite the fact that I can't stop drinking two cans of regular Coke a day - sugar addict!), so considering how hard I've worked to look semi-decent on this holiday, I thought I deserved an uber treat. Plus, about 80% of the clothes I've ordered can be all year round, so they're totally an investment ;) ...Right??

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Beauty | Essays & Learning The Ropes

So for the past couple of weeks I have been inundated with a lack of internet, combined with essay deadlines looming ever closer, meaning every snatch of wireless I got was used to write another measly few lines before giving up and watching an episode of The Following or Broadchurch (I'm late to both parties, I know, but I brought snacks!). I haven't even been on Twitter in days, or Instagram, and instead have had my brain focused on either job work or college work. I've been a ghost.

Being so absent this early on led me to question why I even started a blog in the first place, seeing as I haven't been able to even post slightly regularly. However, I gave myself a kick up the backside inspiration-wise and have jotted down a few ideas so I don't get too deterred. This one in particular came about from reading a post about pore minimisers one day, and then getting hooked on this one blogger's entire make up process and every recommendation. As of now, my bookmarks folder is filled to the brim with links to an amazingly wide range of products, from the original pore minimisers, to kabuki (not to be confused with sepukku like I accidentally did) brushes, cream blushers, and everything else you can think of. This blogger is Kate from gh0stparties, and seeing as I know practically next to nothing about anything to do with make-up  for the past few days I have been avidly educating myself thanks to her blog and YouTube videos.

I went through that rocky patch as a teenager that a lot of kids do, content with only slathering my eyes in thick black panda rings of eyeliner and ignoring pretty much everything else, except for the occasional experimentation with concealer or neon green eyeshadow (yikes). I think I've come a long way since then, proudly buying my first ever foundation last year at the ripe old age of 21, and now my make up collection is only slightly embarrassing, although I still don't really know what a primer or toner is, or a contour brush. However, thanks to reading quite a lot of Kate's wisdom, I have compiled a lust list of both her drugstore recommendations, and an ultimate lust list of what else she recommends make up wise (the ultimate lust list is due to the high price, as the most expensive make up item I've ever bought is the £21 MAC face powder from Hayley Williams' Limited Edition Collection, and it was only because it was Hayley Williams).

1. Una Brennan's Anti-Shine Pore Minimiser
2. Real Techniques Core Collection Brushes
3. Rimmel Wake Me Up Shimmer Touch
4. Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer 5. Rimmel Nearly Naked Make-Up Foundation
6. L'Oréal Paris True Match Touche Magique Concealer

Whilst this may appear to some as a fairly boring lust list, given my lack of experience I can hardly blame you. I've kept it simple as these are products I'm seriously considering buying, which for me is a big deal in itself as I haven't changed my concealer since I was 14, and only started wearing face powder when I was 19/20.

I've never owned a primer, but as I struggle with dark bags and cloggy pores, I thought the two that she chose to use would be a good match for me with one as a pore minimiser and the other promising to "wake me up", as it were. A few face brushes would be ideal, as I only own one (bought at the same time as my first face powder), and one for eye shadow. I don't know what the other two brushes in that collection are for, but I'm willing to find out! Concealers are for the dark bags previously mentioned, and other sometimes occurring blemishes, etc. I chose to include the foundation she recommended as I've only ever used one foundation, which is the same first ever one I bought last year, so maybe a new one is needed by now... I always avoided foundation as I have extraordinarily pale skin for a non-redhead, and kind of wanted to avoid looking like an oompa loompa.

Kate used a couple of blushers in the video (which you can find here), and a lipstick I think, but as I've never owned either of those products due to the paleness and subsequent clown affect that can often accidentally be achieved, I'd feel more comfortable going out to the shop to find one in real life so I can test out shades.

Now, this brings me on to the ultimate lust list, compiled after watching Kate's Every Day Make-Up video, where she uses a vast amount of products that I'm going to have to accumulate over a many number of months, save for essentially breaking my bank.

1. Origins VitaZing Energy Boosting Moisturiser

2. Chanel Sheer Illuminating Base
3. Bobbi Brown Long Wear Even Finish Foundation
4. Sigma Beauty Flat Kabuki Brush
5. Clinique High Impact Extreme Volume Mascara
6. Laura Mercier Eyebrow Pencil
7. Dior Skin Shimmer
8. Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer Kit
9. L'Oréal Paris Rouge Caresse

And this concludes so far my lust lists for make-up. I've never heard of any of these products to be honest, but slowly I'm going to aim to collect at least a few items. It's good for us all to try new things :)

Bye for now! x

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