Gifts Galore…

Hope everyone had a lovely Christmas, I thought I’d do a quick post to show you some of the lovely pressies I got for Christmas. I know that some people don’t like these posts, in which case feel free to ignore the rest of this post :)

Surprisingly I didn’t get any beauty products and aside from a Lush box this Christmas was a smelly-free zone! The Mr’s mum and dad did give me a MAC gift card however, which will be spent in the next couple of weeks!

DVD/Book-wise I got Take That - The Circus DVD and CD, Russell Brand – Scandalous, The Complete Collection of Gavin and Stacey and a box set of the Sookie Stackhouse series which I can’t wait to get into!

…the lovely Mr got me this super snuggly Hello Kitty dressing gown, a digital photo frame and a Lovelinks Bracelet with five charms….

…my mum and dad got me these boots from Aldo which I’ve had my eyes on for ages and the best present in the world ever – a new personal plate for my car, eeek!! I know not everyone likes personal plates and some people think that they’re posey or whatever but as soon as I realised it was possible to get one this perfect I became obsessed with it! (Plus, driving round with my old plate which I recently realised said BLOB was wearing a bit thin!)

….and finally (also from the in-laws) I got a new camera, which I’ll try not to drop down the toilet!

Hope you all had a lovely Christmas and Santa was good to you, if anyone else has done a Christmas gift post link me as I always like a good nosy!

xxx

Questions, Questions, Questions

Before I get onto my Christmas pressie post (I hear these aren’t flavour of the month but I like being nosy and I’m sure other bloggers out there are just the same), I thought I’d finally finish my make up survey post. This was stolen from the lovely Jo about a month ago but I just haven’t got round to doing it until now. I’ve edited it down a bit, mainly because I have other things to do tonight and completing it was taking an absolute age!

Just some basics.

Name: Briony
Age: 24
Location: Sheffield
Birthday: 25th August
Single or taken: Taken
Height: 5ft 6
Weight: too much!
Skin Complexion: Fair
Age you started wearing make up: About 15/16

Eyes

Do you wear eyeliner? Yes
Liquid or Pencil: Both
Colors: Black/Brown
Brands: Urban Decay, No 7, Collection 2000, MAC
How many eyeliner pencils/liquid eyeliners do you own? About 25
Do you line your inner rim, bottom lid, or top lid? All of the above
Everyday use or only Occasionally: Every day
Do you wear eyeshadow? Yes
Everyday or just whenever you go out? When I go out mainly
Which colors do you wear the most? Neutrals
Stick, powder, or cream? Powder
Brands: MAC, Barry M, Sleek
Do you line your bottom lid and/or inner corner with eyeshadow? sometimes
How many sets of eyeshadow do you own? I haven’t got enough fingers or toes!
All together what colors? Mainly neutrals, golds and bronzes
Do you wear mascara? Yes
Color: Black and brown
Brand:Lancome, Maybelline
Waterproof? No
Top lashes, bottom, or both? Both
How many coats? 2-3
How many tubes of mascara do you own? 10 +  
Do you curl your eyelashes? Yes
If so, do you curl them before or after you apply mascara? Before
How many eyelash curlers do you own? 2
Everyday use (both mascara and curler) or only occasional? Everyday
Do you get your eyebrows waxed or do you pluck? Pluck
1st time you did your eyebrows, did you do them yourself or done professionally? Myself

Lips

Lipstick, lip gloss, lip balm, stains, or just chapstick? Lipstick
Colors/flavors: Nudes
Brands: MAC, Maybelline, Lancome
How many do you own? 30 + 
Everyday use or occasional? Everyday
Do you wear lip liner? No

Face / Cheeks

Do you wear blush? Yes
Brands & colors: MAC, No7, Maybelline, Bourjois pinks 
How many do you own? 15 ish 
Everyday use or Occasional: Everyday
Do you use tinted moisturizer or any other kind of moisturizer? Yes  
If so what kind? Soap and Glory 
How many do you own? 3
Everyday use or occasional: Everyday
Do you use bronzer? Yes
If so, what brand? Bourjois
How many do you own? 3
Everyday use or occasional: Occasional
Do you use concealer or foundation? Both
If so which brand? Maybelline / Rimell 
How many do you own? 6
Everyday use or occasional: Everyday
Do you use a highlighter? Yes
If so which brand and color? Benefit Moon Beam/High Beam 
How many do you own? 3
Everyday or occasional: Everyday
What kind of face wash do you use? Witch  
Any other stuff you use for your face? Like acne medication: No
Do you exfoliate? Yes
Method of exfoliation: Face scrub
Do you use any kind of mask? No
If so what kind/what's it called? Soap & Glory
Do you use any kind of pressed powder? Yes
If so which brand? MAC MSF Natural  
Everyday use or occasional: Everyday
How many do you own? 2

Fragrances

Body Spray or Perfume: Perfume
Favorite fragrance: Chanel Coco Mademoiselle 
How many do you own? 5 bottles (different perfumes)
Everyday or occasional: Everyday

Hair

What color is your hair? Platinum blonde
Is it your natural color? No
If not, what's your natural color? dark blonde 
Did you dye it yourself or get it done professionally? profesionally
If you did it yourself what brand of dye did you use? n/a
If done professionally what salon did you go to? a place called The Color (its the only salon I know that uses Paul Mitchell colours even though it is a 180 mile round trip!)
Do you have highlights? No
How long is your hair? just touching my shoulders  
Is it layered? No
Is your hair naturally curly, wavy, or straight? Curly 
If naturally curly or wavy do you straighten it?  yes
Which method, straightener or chemical straightener? my trusty GHDs 
Professionally of done yourself? done myself 
How many times do you wash your hair a week? 2-3
Which shampoo do you use? Paul Mitchell Platinum Blonde / Lee Stafford Bleach Blondes 
If your hair is naturally straight do you curl it? Sometimes
Which method, Curling iron or the whole scrunching thing? Curling iron
Which styling products do you use? Paul Mitchell Heat Seal, Daily Boost and Super Skinny Serum 
How many times do you get your hair cut a year? every 5 weeks

Happy Christmas!!

Hope everyone has a lovely Christmas and Santa brings you all lots of lovely things

xxx

Rating and Slating 21/12/2009

Rating

·         Only one more day left at work - and then 2 weeks of freedom!!

·         Festive Food - I love Christmas food, eating it, making it, and watching the endless TV shows on it!

·         Seeing my family - Living  away from my family is rubbish, but getting to see them over Christmas is great (especially the Canuck branch of the family!)

 

Slating

·         The Snow - ordinarily I love the snow, I just don't like the way the UK grinds to a halt as soon as we get a sprinkling

·         Sheffield Wednesday - I'm not sure if its dedication of stupidity, but something makes me turn out to a match when its -2⁰C and we're third bottom in the league

·         My Sky Plus planner being empty - recommend me some new shows please people!!

 

xxx

 

 

Feeling Festive

Now that I've got less than a week left at work, I've started feeling extra festive. So festive in fact, that I've been playing with my many glitter eye-liners. After all, if you can't wear glitter eyeliner at Christmas when can you wear it?? 

Given the fact that we're currently winding down, I thought that I'd try something a bit different for work. I didn't go for full on eye-makeup as I doubt it would have gone down to well, but I tried out a slightly more subtle look (Subtle? Glitter??), with just a flash of glitter/colour.

On Friday I went for purple, using Collection 2000 Glam Crystals in Shake It Up and GOSH Velvet Touch eyeliner in Purple Stain. Unfortunately I didn't have the foresight (or time) to take a picture, but I today I did….. I went for a green look, involving Urban Decay Heavy Metal Glitter eyeliner in Stagedive and Urban Decay 24/7 liner in Covet.

 As you can see its not too much at all, and I think that the little flash of glitter is quite cute and VERY Christmassy! I think tomorrow I might go for a gold/brown combo :) 

Let me know what you think xxx
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

Rating and Slating 14/12/2009

Rating

·         Only six days of work 'til Christmas - need I say any more??

·         The Aussie Event in Manchester - I was lucky enough to be invited by the lovely Sinead, and I'm pleased to report I had a fab night! It was great to meet some other bloggers :)

·         Winning a Christmas award at work - Apparently I make the office a better place to work. I assume its due to my baking and endless tea rounds…..

·         My Unlimited Card - I swear the cinema staff think I've moved in

 

Slating

·         Pre-Christmas Poverty - This is the first job I've ever had where I don't get paid before Christmas, and I'm not sure I like it very much!

·         My recurring knee injury - I'm not sure what's caused it but its seriously hampering my gym going

·         My spending ban - I struggle with ideas of what to blog about when I'm not buying anything new so any suggestions would be gladly received!

 

xxx

It’s here…….

X Factor final night!!

You know what you have to do – VOTE OLLY!!

….and a special treat, just in case we don’t get the button ripping action we all crave…..

…a gratuitous topless shot never hurt anybody!!

xxx

Golden Greats

I’m not the most adventurous person with eye shadows, in fact you could go as far to say I’m stuck in a bit of a rut! I always seem to reach for neutral/gold/bronze shadows and I’ve amassed quite a collection in the past few years.

As the Mr was having (yet another) afternoon of Championship Manager, I decided to have a bit of a tidy up of my eye shadows and decide which of them I am going to start with when I finally get round to the great pressing experiment. During the tidy up, I realised just how many golden-toned shadows I have so I thought I’d share my top 4 with you in a quick post. Surprise surprise, they’re all loose shadows!

Here they are with flash…: 

….and without:

Top to bottom we have:

• Barry M Dazzle Dust in Tan (39)
• MAC Pigment in Gold Mode
• Barry M Dazzle Dust in Bronze (44)
• MAC Pigment in Melon

Again, sorry about the dodgy pictures – not long til I get my new camera I promise!

xxx

All I want for Christmas….

Christmas List by BrionyLou featuring Disney Couture jewelry

I’ve been a very good girl, honest!!

xxx

A Storage Post....

I thought I’d do a quick post on where I chuck how I store my make up. I somehow managed to convince the Mr to turn our second spare bedroom into a dressing room for me a few months ago, and I’ve finally got a new floor in it (how middle aged am I?!) so here is a sneaky peek at where the ‘magic’ happens…..

….it’s come on a little bit since the plastic drawers! I’m looking for some white drawers to match my dressing table but I’m struggling to find anything for under £300, hopefully after Christmas it will be looking a bit more colour co-ordinated.

Anyway on to the storage (and my pitiful collection). I’m currently using a set of boxes I picked up in Next last Summer.

Lipsticks/Lipglosses:

Eye shadows/liners:

Mascaras/blush/face products:

I’ve tried to separate things out so that I don’t start slapping eye shadow on my cheeks when I’m a bit bleary eyed in the morning, but I’ve realised that my haphazard system needs a bit of an overhaul. I’ve been inspired by the cute drawers which have come highly recommended in this post by the lovely Toni. I’ve been to Meadowhall in search of them three times now to no avail, but I’m determined to get my sticky paws on them sooner or later.

As you can see I’m in desperate need of some organisation, I hear Anthea Turner is at a loose end……….

xxx

Bad Form

Just a quick post to say     sorry for being thoroughly rubbish for the past week or so. I haven't been keeping up with writing (or reading) blog posts as I've been stupidly busy with work, socialising (it’s a hard life), and trying to finish off my Christmas shopping / card writing.

 

At the moment it's looking like I have a relatively free weekend (my only commitment being a date with the delectable Mr Murs on Saturday night at 8 pm), so I'm hoping to spend the majority of it in my PJ's knocking back endless cups of tea and catching up on the important things!

 

xxx

Rating and Slating 3/12/2009

Rating

• New Moon – Still!
• Christmas party season – as if I need an excuse to crack out the Glam Crystals……
• My car’s quickclear windscreen – bye bye de-icer, hello an extra 5 minutes in bed!
• Hats, scarves and gloves – a necessity, but a very cute necessity

Slating

• Losing my River Island Panda hat – I’m not sure where it’s gone, but I’m gutted
• The cold – I’m getting to to point where I don’t think I’ll ever take my UGGs off (until March at least)
• Sky Plus dying, AGAIN – and taking with it about a million unwatched ANTMs. Boo.

xxx

Blog Award {part deux}

First of all I want to say a HUGE thank you to Catanya for nominating me for this award. There don’t seem to be any rules as such attached to this one, so I guess its just a case of passing it on.

So here are the lovely ladies I’m sharing the love with:

• Sinead - Ditzy Makeup
• Domanique
• Daisy
• Emma
• Sinead - Dainty Dollymix

The list could go on and on but I had to be quick as its almost gym time – wish me luck!!

xxx

Festive Giveaway

What could possibly be better than a giveaway I hear you ask………. Well HERE is the answer – a FESTIVE giveaway, courtesy of the lovely (and very generous) Sarah.

Get your entries in quick ladies, as the giveaway closes tomorrow

xxx

REVIEW: Soap and Glory Arch de Triumph Brow Crayon

 

I picked this up as part of my mini Advantage Card points haul last week. As is the custom with Soap and Glory products the packaging is cute and quirky, and this particular product comes complete with 3 eyebrow stencils. I didn’t think a huge amount to these as you had to detach them from the back of the packaging without ripping them (which wasn’t easy) and they were made of fairly flimsy card. In the words of my Nan, they were neither use nor ornament but it was a nice idea.

 

The product itself is a double ended shaping and highlighting crayon. It only comes in one shade which is a mid-brown hue, so it’s probably useless if you’re incredibly fair or dark. In all honesty I thought it was going to be too dark for me, but I was pleasantly surprised. The brow pencil is quite hard, meaning that to get a decent colour payoff you’d probably end up with bruised eyebrows, but as the colour is quite dark, the lack of payoff is no bad thing (for me at least).

 

For me though, the highlighter is where this product scores extra brownie points. Instead of being a shiny and glittery, it’s gorgeous and matte, which is exactly what I love in a highlighter. I’ve also used this on my cheekbones and it gives me a kind of glow, rather than the shimmer I’ve grown to dread.

 

Though this is probably not going to replace the Urban Decay Brow Box as my HG brow product, I’ve fallen in love with the highlighter and it’s pretty handy for chucking in my bag on a night out. Plus, given that it was free (sort of) I can’t really complain too much!

 

xxx

 

Rating and Slating 25/11/2009

Rating

·         Spending Advantage Card points - Its like getting presents from Boots!

·         Galaxy Cookie Crumble - yummmmmmmmmm

·         Using up the last little bit of foundation/moisturiser/body lotion - So satisfying!

·         New Moon - Round two tomorrow!!

 

Slating

·         Matalan never having the items I want - grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

·         Working Late - I seem to be being really unproductive lately, which means I'm having to stay later. Rubbish.

·         Dodgy Photos being tagged on Facebook - I have become the queen of de-tagging after Saturday's all day session!

 

xxx

 

Bag a Bargain!

As I'm sure you've noticed I'm a sucker for a bargain, and after seeing a 20% off all shoes and bags banner outside my local Matalan on Sunday I had to have a bit of a nosy!

The gorgeous ankle boots I had my eye on were only available in a size 3 so in an effort to appease my inner shopaholic I decided to have a quick look in the bag section to see what was on offer. The first things I spotted were these cute little quilted bags which I couldn't resist. I picked up both the black and the cream versions (at £6 each before discount it would have been rude not to) as I'm a firm believer that a girl can never have too many handbags!

All in all I'm pretty happy with them - they're pretty spacious and perfect for a night out. They're no Chanel 2.55 reissue, but until the day that the Mr feels particularly generous (or I win the lottery), they'll just have to do!

xxx

Soap and Glory Haul

After a stupidly busy weekend involving midnight showings of New Moon, 13 hour benders and an Arctic Monkeys gig, I thought I’d treat myself to a few goodies, and I can’t think of a better way to do that but to spend some of my hard earned Advantage Card Points (free is my favourite price after all!).

I’m completely out of perfume at the moment having finished off my beloved Chanel Mademoiselle at the weekend, and as I’m pretty much guaranteed to get some for Christmas I thought I’d give Soap and Glory’s eponymous scent a try. When I got to the Soap and Glory stand in Boots I realised that S & G products were still on 3 for 2 so I thought I may as well go the whole hog and pick up another couple of bits. so into my basket went Clean, Girls body wash and Arch de Triumph brow crayon / highlighter. The whole lot would have cost me £22, which was bargainous enough but because I paid with my points I left Boots feeling incredibly smug!

Stay tuned for reviews of Arch de Triumph and Eau de Soap and Glory!

xxx

To chop or not to chop?

I've finally got an appointment with my hairdresser tomorrow (after 8 whole weeks of waiting) but I'm having a bit of a dilemma. I have a bit of a skewed relationship with my hair in that I cut it short, I want it long, I grow it out and I want it short (repeat to fade). I know this is probably not an uncommon phenomenon for most of femalekind, but I think its time that I broke the cycle.

I'm growing out an inverted bob at the moment, which I absolutely loved (at the time), it took about 5 minutes to dry, was easy to style and saved me an absolute fortune in product. The only issue I had with it was at the gym as it was a bit of a nightmare to tie back, but a few snazzy hairbands soon solved that little problem. I can hardly remember what I looked like with long hair (as I have an aversion to cameras there is very little photographic proof), but here is the only pic I have on this laptop of me with long hair.....



I'm thinking short is still the way to go......thoughts???

xxx

Tonight is the night....

... of the much anticipated midnight showing of New Moon. Eeeeeeeep!!!
xxx

Giveaway……

The incredibly generous Shakespeare and Stilettos is having a giveaway here. Not only is she including the lush Sleek Graphite palette, but also Barry M’s much fabled Pink Flamingo nail polish – get it while its hot!!

xxx

I Hit Pan! [TAG]

Hello everyone!

Apologies for the lack of meaningful posts the last week or so, but I thought it would be a good idea to take a couple of long weekends. Turned out I was mistaken as now I’m completely snowed under with work. Oh well.

Anyways, I was tagged by the lovely Toni to do the ‘I hit pan’ tag that’s doing the rounds, so here goes……..

1. List 6 items that you have either 'hit pan' or finished the tub/tube bottle of etc. and have or plan to repurchase for even and ever! This can be makeup, skincare, haircare, bodycare or scent

2. Tag 6 people that you want to know their repurchases

3. Let those 6 people know by leaving a comment on their blog with a link so they know what to do
I’m sure most of you are well aware of my favourites as I tend to bang on about them incessantly, but here goes……

1. MAC Mineralise Skin Finish Natural

This is my daily staple. Even if I’m having a minimal makeup day this is the first item I reach for.

2. MAC Angel Lipstick

My favourite lipstick by MAC, Angel is nigh on perfect!

3. Chanel Coco Mademoiselle
My favourite fragrance ever. Love.

4. Too Faced Shadow Insurance
I tried UDPP, I didn’t get on with it. This on the other hand is fantastic.

5. Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner in Zero

I’ve currently got about 3 of these in stock. I use this everyday, its my favourite eyeliner ever.

6. No 7 powder blush in Petal

A pretty pink colour which is sheer and buildable. Great to apply in the car, at the office or on the run without worrying about looking like coco the clown..

I tag……..

Anyone who wants to do this, I’ve been so busy that I guess most people have already done the tag!

xxx

Rating and Slating 17/11/2009

Rating

·         Organisation - All my Christmas shopping is done and its not even the end of November

·         Jeggings - I hate the word but love the idea. One of my pet peeves is the way my skinnies bunch up when I wear my UGGS over them, not a problem with Jeggings

·         Getting my hair done on Friday - Its seven weeks since I last had my hair done, and its in desperate need of bleach!

·         Lypsyl - an oldie but a goodie.

·         New Moon on Thursday night - EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP.

 

Slating

·         Busy-ness - taking a long weekend means that I have a stupid amount of work to do when I get back to the office. More time spent in the office = less time to blog/go to the gym

·         Brittle nails - carrying bags of Christmas shopping has taken its toll on my nails, they're now scraggly stumps

 

xxx

Favourites (Revisited)

I thought it would be interesting (for me at least) to re-do this post as I first did it back in March when I started blogging. I know that some of my favourites have definitely changed (thanks in part to recommendations from other bloggers), so lets see how many………….

Shampoo: Paul Mitchell Platinum Blonde
Conditioner: Lee Stafford Bleach Blondes conditioner
Styling products: Paul Mitchell Heat Seal and Super Skinny serum
Shower Gel: Radox Shower Smoothies – Soul Soother
Body moisturiser: Nivea Rich Care Body Moisturiser
Deodorant: Sure Biorhythm
Fake Tan: St Moriz / St Tropez everyday
Cleanser: Boots No7 Soft and Soothed Cleanser
Eye makeup remover: Clinique Take The Day Off
Exfoliator: Make Believe Spa & Polish Exfoliator
Primer: Stoppped using it
Foundation: Rimmel Stay Matte Mousse
Foundation brush: MAC 187
Concealer: Benefit Boing
Powder: MAC MSF Natural
Blusher: MAC Tippy
Bronzer: Too Faced Pink Leopard 
Highlighter: Benefit Moon Beam
Eyeshadow base: Too Faced Shadow Insurance
Eyeshadows: Too many to mention!
Eyeliner: Urban Decay 24/7 Liner in Zero / Sleek Ink Pot in Dominatrix
Eyelash curler: still the same Ruby and Millie one
Eyelash base: Don’t use
Mascara: Lancome L’Extreme
Lipstick: Currently Natural Collection - Apple Blossom 
Lipgloss: MAC Underage
Nail Colour: Collection 2000 - Wham

xxx

Rating and Slating 10/11/2009

Rating

 

·         Boots Natural Collection Apple Blossom lipstick - the cheaper, less drying version of GOSH Darling, perfect in almost every way

·         Biffy Clyro at Rock City - Its been 5 years since I last saw Biffy and they didn’t disappoint. Fab band + fab friends + Jack = good times

·         Not working a full week for the rest of November - I'm in desperate need of some time off, I'm running so many files at the moment I feel like I'm running myself into the ground.

 

Slating

·         Our Firm's Christmas party being on the 28 November - Seems a bit early to me!

·         Chipped Nail Polish - Note to self, BUY SOME TOP COAT

 

 

xxx

Today is a sad day....

.... I FINALLY hit pan with my MSF Natural.

On the plus side, MAC here I come!!

xxx

They're back!!!!

Starbucks Gingerbread Lattes - NOM!

xxx

Boots/Superdrug Haul

Its been a while since I purchased any makeup items from Boots or Superdrug so I thought I’d give any one who’s interested a sneaky peek into what I bought this week.

GOSH is currently on 3 for 2 in Superdrug, so I picked up Black Passion nail polish, and two Velvet Touch eyeliners in Bananas and Metallic Brass. I really like the consistency of these eyeliners and they remind me a lot of Urban Decay’s 24/7 liners which I’m sure by now you all know I adore! I’ve heard a lot of good things about Bananas and I picked up Metallic Brass because its halfway between Stash and Lucky, which are two of the liners I wear quite often during the day.

Next I went to Boots, where I used my £5 No 7 voucher to but Wheatsheaf Stay Perfect Eyeshadow and Natural Collection Apple Blossom lipstick. I was intrigued to try Apple Blossom as I’d read a few posts about it and I’m always up for a bargain!! I picked up Wheatsheaf just because there wasn’t really anything else I fancied and it would have been rude not to use it!

xxx

NOTD 04/11/2009

GOSH Nail Polish in Black Passion



xxx

Rating and Slating 04/11/2009

Rating

Bonfire Night - I absolutely LOVE bonfire night - Jacket potatoes, cinder toffee, sparklers…….its possibly my favourite night of the year

GOSH Nail Polish in Black Passion - I bought this yesterday in the 3 for 2 GOSH promotion which is currently in Superdrug, its black with tiny flecks of silver - pretty! (Haul post coming later)

Sleek Graphite Palette (still)  - I'm not going to do a review on this as I'm sure lots of other bloggers have done a much better job than I would, but I'm still loving it

Nights on the sofa with the Mr - add Ben and Jerry's and NCIS LA and I'm a very happy bunny

Slating

Ignorance - How can people not appreciate the mid-nineties genius of Hole (and Courtney Love). About 3 people got my Halloween outfit, I was crushed!

Christmas shoppers - Meadowhall has gone from being my venue of choice for a Sunday afternoon mooch to bearing a (more than passing )resemblance to Hades.

Cheryl Cole's X Factor wardrobe - Sack the stylist - PRONTO!!

 

 xxx

Lee Stafford Bleach Blondes v Toni & Guy Platinum Blonde

 

I confess, I’m a shameless hussy when it comes to shampoo. I’ve done the rounds and given most brands a whirl, but for the last year or so I’ve been (relatively) faithful to Paul Mitchell’s Platinum Blonde Shampoo as my ally in the never-ending fight against brassiness. I’ve had a few dalliances with Superdrug Colour Effects which has impressed, but I’ve always gone back to the Paul Mitchell. The big plus of the Paul Mitchell product is that the toner in it isn’t too strong so I can used it on a daily basis, its moisturising and it smells delish!

Anyway, recently I’ve been playing away from home and alternating between Lee Stafford’s Bleach Blondes range and Toni and Guy’s Platinum Blonde range. Now that I’ve had a chance to put them through their paces I thought I’d report back with my findings.

Let’s start with the Toni and Guy products.

Packaging: Pretty much standard Toni and Guy fare right down to the annoying pump dispenser. Now I don’t have particularly long hair but I need a good 8 pumps of product to wash my hair which can get quite annoying – give me an old fashioned squeezy bottle any day.

Product: The products are OK; the toner isn’t very strong so the products can be used on a daily basis. The smell isn’t offensive and both the shampoo and conditioner contain moisturising ingredients which is a winner as my hair does sometimes feel a bit straw-like

Price: £5.49 each. Pretty standard for a mid-range shampoo – get them while they’re on offer.

….and onto the Lee Stafford products.

Packaging: I love the all of the Lee Stafford packaging, and this is no exception - it’s the usual hot pink colour and it’s in a wonderful squeezy bottle.

Product: The toner in the shampoo is quite potent, which I love. I’m a big fan of icy white-blonde hair so I like a stronger toner, but it may not be for everyone.  I wouldn’t recommend using the shampoo everyday unless a blue rinse is the look you’re going for! The conditioner is more of a lilac colour and is absolutely fine to use daily.

Price:  Much of a muchness to be honest, the Lee Stafford products are also £5.49 each – get them while they’re on 3 for 2, or when Boots are doing the £2 off professional hair care vouchers.

And the winner is………………………. (drumroll please…….)

Lee Stafford Bleach Blondes!!!

For me, the Lee Stafford products win hands down, I prefer (almost) everything about these products. The only thing I don’t like is the fact that I have to buy a non-toning shampoo to use on the in-between days, but I can overlook that.

xxx

Face of the Night – 30/10/2009

Friday was the night of the annual Law Society Halloween Party, it was held in a local industrial museum which was different. It worked out really well as the museum itself was quite spooky, probably due in part to the waxworks that were hanging around the place.

As it was a work do, I decided against all-out fancy dress and played it safe, as the ubiquitous witch. (I saved the real dressing up for Halloween itself and my interpretation of Courtney Love).

Makeup-wise, I went for:

• Maybelline Wonderfinish Foundation
• MAC MSF Natural in Medium
• Benefit Moon Beam
• MAC Tippy Blush
• MAC Blacktrack Fluidline all over the lid
• Urban Decay 24/7 Liner in Zero
• MAC Carbon e/s
• MAC Ricepaper e/s
• Urban Decay Uzi e/s
• Naturalash lashes
• Urban Decay Brow Box in Honey Pot
• Gosh Darling lipstick
• MAC Underage lip gloss

Hopefully I’ll get some pictures of the Courtney Love dress up posted later in the week.

In other news, the in-laws are buying me a new camera for Christmas, so you won’t have to put up with third-rate pictures for much longer – yippeeee!!!

xxx

An outfit post.....

Today I've decided to be pro-active and start my Christmas shopping so I'm headed to Meadowhall. Thought I'd do a quick 'what I'm wearing' post as its nice to have a weekend where I'm not at the football and bundled up like the Michelin Man!

Sequinned beret - Primarni
Dress - Next (I think)
Vest (under dress) - Topshop
Belt - Primarni
Tights - M&S
Grey boyfriend cardi - Oasis
Tall chestnut UGGs

Accessories - the usual (Tiffany & Co ring, bracelet and necklace, Gucci watch)

Hope you all have a fab weekend!!

xxx

REVIEW: Rimmel Stay Matte Mousse Foundation

Having recently had a bit of a fall out with my usual autumn/winter/spring daytime foundation Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse, I thought I'd give Rimmel's offering a try. I'm a big fan of mousse foundations as they don't seem to carry with them quite the same risk of getting cakey as I find with liquid foundations. 



The only other Rimmel foundation that I've ever used is Stay Perfect 16 hour wear. I bought Stay Perfect after hearing that the Rimmel product was a pretty good dupe for Estee Lauder Double Wear and I was pleasantly surprised. It was too heavy for during the day but was perfect for nights. 



My first impressions were that the foundation was ok, the colours were a good match for my skin, it blends out well and provides medium coverage. The name is a tad misleading as I don't think its particularly matte, but as I buff MAC MSF Natural over the top in any case its hardly a breaking matter. I've been applying it with my 187 (no change there then) and it gives me a nice, even finish with no cakey-ness. It has good staying power and, I've not experienced any major issues with transfer. 



The main issue I have with this is the packaging. Its in a small glass pot a la Maybelline Dram Matte Mousse, only there is a bit of a lip meaning that it can be a task scooping out the product when you're getting low. Another problem for some people may be the range of shades as the choice is pretty limited (5-6 shades if I remember rightly).



All in all, the product was ok, not exactly earth shattering but as they say, you get what you pay for!



xxx

NOTD 30/10/2009

Collection 2000 hot looks in intense

xxx

Rating and Slating 28/10/2009

Rating

• UGGs - I'm on my third pair now and I honestly don't know what I'd do without them. I've even resorted to keeping an old pair under my desk at work!
• Guinea Pigs - After a trip to Pets at Home for some food for devil-cat, I finally managed to convince the Mr that we need a Guinea Pig (or two) in our lives


• New Moon Midnight showings - got my tickets booked, eeek!


• Sleek Graphite Palette - I picked this up at lunchtime and I can't wait to give it a whirl!

Slating

• Leaving the office when its dark - I don't mind getting to work when its dark, but leaving the office in the pitch black is not good (It doesn't help matters that we share a building with the probation service). For some reason everything is so much more effort when its dark - going to the gym, going to the cinema, doing the washing...I just want to hibernate!!


• Not being able to get a hair appointment when I need one as my hairdresser's going on holiday - I'm sure if she saw the state of my roots she'd be on the first plane home.

xxx

Desert Island Essentials

While I’m waiting for the Mr to finish laying the laminate floor in my dressing room, I thought I’d do a quick post on my top 5 products. I’m quite flaky when it comes to products, and my favourite items change on an almost daily basis so these are my absolute failsafes, the products that I would take with me to a desert island – if ever I was lucky enough to find myself stranded on one!!

• Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner in Zero.

I’ve already sung the praises of these liners in a previous post, but they are so easy to use! They have a creamy formula that doesn’t drag, and won’t budge all day. This particular colour is a fab intense black, and gives an almost fluidline-esque line (and no panda eyes!). Its love.

• MAC Mineralize Skin Finish in Medium

I bought my first MSF natural in February and its still going strong, before then I tended to use whatever powder was cheap/on offer to set my foundation. I’m now a complete convert! The MSF natural is great over foundation, or even on its own -  in summer I barely wore foundation, I just used the MSF, buffed in with a kabuki.

• Lancome L’Extreme waterproof mascara in Noir

I love, love, LOVE this mascara. I suffer from stumpy-lash syndrome, and this mascara gives me both the length and volume I crave. After dabbling with pretty much every brand in Boots as part of operation clear debt, I’ve sidled back to the Lancome counter, wondering why I ever strayed. I love the fact that it lengthens, volumises AND curls my lashes without getting clumpy and nasty. The perfect mascara.

• Benefit Posietint

This might be cheating a bit, but I was rapidly running out of items, so I thought I’d got for a multi-tasker this time. I tried Benetint, and thought it was ok, but I wasn’t sure about the colour as I’m quite fair. Posietint gives me a pretty candy pink flush for everyday use, or is buildable if I want something a bit more dramatic for night time (not that I’d be doing too much clubbing on a desert island, but you never know when Captain Jack Sparrow may come ashore in search of rum!). Plus, it can be used as a lip colour – bonus!!

• Urban Decay Brow Box in Honey Pot

Again, I’ve blogged about this before, but I just can’t sing its praises enough! It may be cheating a little bit as it has the cutest mini tweezers you ever will see (and a mirror) included, but it would definitely be desert island must have for me. I know everyone bangs on about how your eyebrows frame your face, but it really is true, and this little box of tricks does a sterling job of keeping mine in check!

What are your top 5 products that you always fall back on??

xxx

My First Blog Award......

Hello lovelies!

First of all a HUGE thank you to the gorgeous Domanique for giving me my very first blog award. To be honest I didn’t really expect anyone to read this blog, it was just a place for me to talk about make-up as I’m pretty sure the Mr has got to the stage where he just smiles and nods to keep me happy (me talking to myself is nothing out of the ordinary as I’m sure my work colleagues would be willing to testify). Anyway I’m dead chuffed that someone has found even one thing on here that they want to read, so thank you again!!!

The rules for this award are as follows:

Thank the blogger who awarded you and link her.
Put the picture of the award in your blog.
Award 7 bloggers and link them.
Tell them you awarded them.
Tell us 7 interesting things about yourself!

Here are the 7 (equally fabulous) bloggers I will be awarding:

Sinead
Daisy-Faye
Catanya
CBethGlitter
Daisy
Marie
Miss Dolly Gal

And here's my 7 random facts:

1. I am a massive football fan and have held a Sheffield Wednesday season ticket for 13 years.
2. I am frightened to death of fish and snakes…..basically I don’t trust anything without legs.
3. I have a bit of an Anthea Turner complex, I love cleaning, tidying, cooking and anything else that is a bit house-wifey
4. I am possibly the least maternal person on the planet
5. I love reading, I will read absolutely anything. I can read a book in a day on holiday easily.
6. I’m a qualified snowboarding instructor. Sometimes I wonder where I’d have ended up if I’d followed my heart and gone to Canada to instruct rather than rushing straight into uni.
7. I talk to my mum on the phone every single day (yes I'm a bit soppy).

xxx

Arm Candy

Behold!!!!

 

I finally got my mitts on the Matthew Williamson bag that I've been losting over in Debenhams. If any of you saw my 'whats in my bag' post from a while ago, you'll know that squeezing all my crap into that tiny wee Radley bag was proving difficult. No such problems anymore - this baby is a Mary Poppins bag in the truest sense. Nevermind the kitchen sink, I can pretty much fit the tumble dryer in here too (and more importantly, my make up bag)!

 

Amazingly, I made it in and out of Debenhams without a second glance at the MAC concession - not sure what was going on there!

 

I generally seem to be drawn to brown leather bags. No particular reason, that just seems to be my preference. This one is a lush chocolate brown with  pink and blue stitching, and a gorgeous hot pink lining.  I'm not sure what it is about me and linings, all of my work suits all have crazy linings - I think its because my work environment is so conservative it’s the only chance I have to inject a splash of colour.

 

Anyway I was so excited about my new purchase I just had to share, as I'm not sure that anyone else in the office is all that interested :(

 

xxx

 

Rating and Slating 19/10/2009

The original plan was to put one of these together every Tuesday, but this week it’s a little bit early as I’ll be at the match tomorrow night cheering on the (not so) mighty Owls.

Rating

• My new blue woolly beret from Next – I’m very much a hat person, and I love my latest purchase, it’s a really pretty royal blue with little sequins (I’m a sucker for a sequin or 50).
• Sleek Storm Palette – This has been nestling in the bottom of one of my make-up boxes for too long. It’s had a revival of sorts over the last weekend.
• Windows Live Writer - Makes this blogging lark easy peasey lemon squeezy, and I’m all for making life simpler!
• Getting back in my kitchen groove – Baking, making soups, Sunday dinners, whatever. The thing I love most about winter is cooking up a storm (we’re very BBQ reliant in the summer!)
• Counting down to my holiday – I’ve already started ticking off the days to my mini snowboarding holiday in January. We usually go to Canada over Christmas to visit the rellies but this year they’re coming over here – they must be mad, why would anyone leave the snow for a wet, miserable Christmas in the UK?! I thought this had put paid to my snowboarding this year (aside from a few trips to Xscape), but the Mr surprised me with a 4 day break to Les Saisies on the 7 January - Yay!!

Slating

• The Rain – My hair doesn’t cope with humidity very well (think Monica from Friends), which is probably half of the reason I’m such a fan of hats!
• Being poor – Though I know paying my overdraft off is a good thing, I’m not loving the fact that it means I’m going to be living on a shoestring until February. This is NOT good for my make-up habit.
• Sky Plus being on the blink – Naturally, the Mr sees this as a blessing / a sign that we need Sky HD upstairs as well. I see it as a sign that I must spend the next weekend holed up in our bedroom watching the endless episodes of ANTM and NCIS I have recorded in case they’re wiped from my life forever.

First FOTW

So here it is, my first 'face' post. I'm a bit camera shy, hence it taking me so long to get round to doing one of these. Once again sorry for the slightly dodgy pics, I finally found my old digital camera as I haven't quite gotround to buying a new one......I've realised that I need to think about Christmas shopping so I've put a new camera on my list for Santa!

I thought I'd start with what I've been using this week. I work in a pretty conservative office environment so unfortunately its nothing too exciting, but it is something that I can chuck together in under 10 minutes (which is just what I need at the moment).


So here's what I used:

Face
Benefit Boi-ing concealer
Rimmel Stay Matte Mousse Foundation (review coming soon)
MAC MSF Natural
MAC Stark Naked blush

Eyes
Benefit Big Beautiful Eyes mini-pallette
UD 24/7 liner in Zero
Maybelline Pulse Perfection mascara (I've given up on the vibration, much perfer it without)

Lips
MAC Pink Grapefruit lipglass

Now I've broken my 'face' virginity I'll hopefully post a few more!

xxx

Rating and Slating 13/10/2009

Here's a quick round up of things that I love and things that I loathe this week…….

Rating

• Collection 2000 Fast Stroke liquid liner in blue The colour really makes my eyes ‘pop’ yet its just about subtle enough to get away with at work – winner!
• Lee Stafford Bleach Blondes Hot Shots My hairdresser used a slightly different toner on my hair last time I visited the salon which made me more white-blonde than the platinum I usually go for. After a couple of weeks I find I need to give my hair a bit of a boost, and this time I decided to try something different. I’m willing to turn a blind eye (or should that be nose) to the horrific smell of this, as it gave me an almost identical tone to the one I left the salon with.
• Bourjois Kabuki True to form, I managed to leave half of the things I took down to my brother’s there, and one of the casualties was my much loved MAC 182. I picked up a temporary replacement in Superdrug yesterday and I must say that I’m most impressed!
• The return of Gossip Girl to ITV 2 Now Chuck Bass is back on my TV screen the world makes sense again!

Slating

• Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse This was once my go to foundation in winter. I’m not sure if the formulation has changed or whether my skin has but for some reason the two just don’t seem to go together like they once did. The hunt for a replacement has started………..
• Work Just generally. I’m currently working in a very fast paced environment, and the amount of new files I’m opening per week is madness. Add to that pompous Respondents and clients who tend to do the opposite of what they’re told and its a recipe for disaster
• My car breaking…….AGAIN Believe me, you don’t want to be the person at Ford who is ringing me back tomorrow.

What are you loving/hating this week?

 

xxx

REVIEW – Soap and Glory Catch a Wrinkle in Time Moisturiser

Confession time…………

……….To be honest, I've always been a bit useless when it comes to cleansing, toning and moisturising. I'm really good at the cleansing bit but the rest sort of seems to fall by the wayside for me. I'm lucky in that I have relatively good skin (I get a few dry patches in the winter but nothing too major), I drink lots of water and (so far) am wrinkle free, so I generally would rather spend money on the more exciting things in life like glittery eyeliner than my skincare 'regime.'

Following the starting revelation that I am now in my mid twenties (thanks, mum), I thought that maybe I should make a bit more effort as I'm becoming slightly paranoid that one day I'll wake up looking like a Shar-Pei (no, not Ashley Tisdale, the OTHER one).

The first thing I decided to fix was the moisturiser situation. I generally pick up whatever's on offer/cheapest, and this time wasn't really an exception. I'm a big fan of Soap and Glory products generally, and this one came with 100 extra advantage points, so in the basket it went.

As part of my push to use up products I already had in stock, I had to finish my cheapy moisturiser (some forgettable one from Nivea) before I cracked this open. I started using it around six weeks ago, and to be honest I'm really happy with it. The formulation is nice and silky, and it is absorbed by my skin pretty much straight away which is great as I hate greasy moisturiser which just sits there I really don’t have time to hang around for 20 minutes in the morning waiting for my moisturiser to soak in! The smell is kind of orangey, which I really like - it reminds me a little bit of Gorgeous by Lush which would have been my moisturiser of choice did I not have an overdraft to pay off. I paid around £9 for the tube, which seems quite a lot as the tube is tiny (50ml), but it does seem to be lasting well, and £9 is definitely better than £35 for Gorgeous!

All in all I’ll probably repurchase this as I like the fact that its not greasy and I can pretty much chuck it on and get on with the most important part of my morning routine – the makeup!!

Next I’m going to reconsider my cleanser – any recommendations would be well received!!

xxx

Experiment Time....

Since I first discovered Barry M Dazzle Dusts, back when I was about 15, I've been hooked on loose eye shadows. Yes they can be a pain to work with and without a healthy swipe of translucent powder on the cheekbones disasters are inevitable (for me at least), but I'm drawn to loose shadows over pressed every time. Maybe its because I seem to find the colours of loose shadows more tempting, or because I always get a better colour pay-off with loose shadows, but either way I've built up quite a little collection over time..

In the past few years, I've tried pretty much every brand of loose shadows you can think of, from the dirt cheap (Sleek Eye Dusts and 17 Eye Dazzle) to the more expensive (MAC). Recently, I've realised that I should maybe at least consider pressing some of my loose shadows as I'm becoming over-run with them, and I'm trying to condense my collection so that I can actually find what I'm looking for during my daily mad dash to get ready for work on time. I'm also thinking that come holiday time its going to be much easier to take one palette than 12 little jars of shadow.

Having read a few blog posts and watched some YT vids, I've decided that today is the day to finally take the plunge and invest in some materials to press my shadows. Hopefully I'll be in a position to give them a whirl once I get back from my little jolly down south! Wish me luck.........

xxx

Autumn/Winter Essentials

Following on from my winter coats post, I thought that I’d let you all in on a few of my autumn/winter essentials. I’m one of those people who loves winter, but hates all the extra effort I have to make just to struggle through looking halfway decent.

 

First on my list of essentials is Helping Hands hand cream from Lush.

 

 

My hands are generally quite dry, but in winter they often get sore and chapped too. My nan bought me this hand cream after hearing me moaning one too many times about the state of my mitts! She's a bit of an avid gardener, and though she has the good sense to wear gardening gloves, she too struggles with sandpaper-esque hands. She swears by Helping Hands, and now I do too! Its packed with skin-softening oils like linseed oil and almond oil and is enriched with shea butter and cocoa butter. It also containes chamomile extract which is fab for soothing sore, chapped hands. It smells divine, and the best thing is that a little tub easily lasts me all winter as you only need a tiny little bit.

 

Next up is Boots Expert Soothing Lip Protector.

This is an absolute bargain at under 2 quid, and another product I couldn’t be without. It’s a really intensive lip treatment, it doesn’t taste good (it tastes more that a little bit like moisturiser) but its super-duper effective. To be honest, this isn't just a Winter essential - I use it all year round, but its something that definitely comes into its own when it gets a bit chillier. Again I have a bit of a problem with chapped lips, which is exacerbated by wearing drying lipsticks (I can't help it, if I like the colour I tough out the drying effect). This is especially a problem with the nude lipsticks I love so much (yes Darling, I MEAN YOU!! ) as the flaky look is most definitely NOT hot! Since I discovered this baby, I apply a slick of lip protector, let it soak in for a minute then apply lippy over the top - hey presto - baby soft lips!!

 

Nails Inc Victoria

 

Winter equals dark nails. Fact. Out go tropical hues, and in comes dark reds, blacks and inky blues. My current favourite (and the one I'm currently sporting) is Victoria by Nails Inc which is a dark cherry-ish colour.

 

The Sactuary Rich Rejuvenating Moisturiser

During the summer months, I use a pretty light moisturiser (current favourite being Soap and Glory Catch a Wrinkle in Time), but by winter I need something a bit heavier and more substantial. As you'll know by now, my skin is prone to dryness in winter, and this is the only moisturiser I've found so far that gets rid of the dryness and doesn't leave a greasy film on the rest of my face. It leaves my skin feeling moisturised and fresh, and smells good too! Oh and it has the added bonus of being spf 15!!

 

What are your winter essentials??

 

xxx