Dating Yourself / #BeautyandtheBeast Review

If you follow me on Twitter, you'll know that this week, I went out for a three-course meal (complete with cocktails!) at Zizzi, followed by watching the new Beauty and the Beast film. "But what was the difference between this night out and any other?", I hear you ask. Well, as a matter of fact, I went ALL BY MYSELF. Yep, I took myself on a solo date, and I had a great time! I enjoyed it so much that I've decided to write a post encouraging you to do the same! So read on to find out all about the joys of MASTURDATING (creds to my friend David for introducing me to the term).

Why date yourself? 💏

(P.S. You don't have to be single to date yourself - you ladies in relationships can embrace the solo dates just as much!)
  • Because you're freakin' awesome! You deserve to be treated and you don't need someone else to be there as an excuse! You wanna do that thing? You go, girl!
  • Less pressure, no worries! You wanna mull over your menu choice for the 45th time? You wanna read through the movie synopsis again? There's no time pressure when you're by yourself, so take it easy and relax!
  • You know what's awesome? And powerful? And sexy? A girl who has the confidence to stroll into a restaurant, sit down by herself, and have a damn good time.
  • It gives you a great opportunity to unwind and enjoy your own company, with no small talk or effort necessary. 
  • No compromise. You want Italian, they want Chinese. You want to see Beauty and the Beast, but perhaps they want to see the latest King Kong movie. *Snore*. This isn't an issue when you're dating yourself because you can do whatever you like!
  • You can truly savour the taste of your meal and the ambience of the restaurant because nobody is distracting you with chatter!
  • You don't have to share your snacks at the movies. Because waiting politely for someone else to have their fair share of the Maltesers is totally overrated.
  • Nobody can see you stuffing handful after handful of popcorn into your face. (COME ON, we all do this! Popcorn only tastes good if you have an enormous mouthful!)
  • And last but not least - it's fun! I found the experience surprisingly liberating!

"But I feel self-conscious!" 💏

Girl, you needn't be! There is absolutely no shame in going anywhere or doing anything by yourself. I took a book along to the restaurant (see what I'm reading on Goodreads) and lost myself in the story whilst waiting for my food to be brought to my table. I also had a lovely chat with the waiter who was a really friendly and funny person that I wouldn't have had the chance to talk to normally! You may feel like all eyes are on you, judging you, when you sit down at the table by yourself, but if anyone does give you a second glance, I can guarantee that they'll have forgotten all about you by the time their pizza is put in front of them! The only person who will worry about you being there alone is you.

Beauty and the Beast 💏

Now, on my solo date, I booked tickets to see Beauty and the Beast, the brand new live-action remake of the 1991 animated Disney flick. The original won a couple of Academy Awards, so the updated version, featuring Emma Watson as Belle, had a lot to live up to! However, I thought that the movie was pure magic! I've come across quite a few people on Twitter saying that they didn't like Emma Watson in the role, but I thought she was the perfect Belle, portraying a fantastic mixture of believable bookishness and inner fire. Her singing voice was stunning too! With it being live-action, the beastiality vibes between Belle and the Beast were a liiiiittle weirder than in the animated movie, but if you immerse yourself in Disney's world of make-believe, it's all ok! Belle had a funny one-liner at the end which made reference to the Beast's former appearance that really made me chuckle - I won't spoil it for you but listen out for it during the final dance scene! Another aspect that I adored was the costumes - they were incredible! Belle's red winter outfit, trimmed with white fluff, was beautiful, and seeing her in the yellow ballgown gave me goosebumps! I loved the design of some of the characters in household object form, such as Plumette the featherduster and Lumiere - they were gorgeous! But I didn't really warm to Cogsworth - I felt like he could've had a more expressive face! Overall, the film was super nostalgic and I totally didn't shed a tear at the end *cough cough*.

Have you seen Beauty and the Beast? What did you think? Let me know down below!

Until next time,

A x