As Miss Golightly was saying.....

2012 Recipe Challenge: Week One - The Best Bread and Butter Pudding

2012-01-08T10:36:00.001-08:00

First of all: Happy New Year!

Any of you who follow me on Twitter will know that the lovely Amy came up with the idea of cooking a recipe a week from her shiny new Marks and Spencer Kitchen Diary. As an aspiring domestic goddess I jumped at the chance to get involved, along with Kat.

First up was The Best Bread and Butter Pudding. Now with it being the first week of January I (along with most of the UK population) am trying to be more healthy so I was a bit disheartened to find that the first recipe was a stodgy pudding! I didn't let this put me off though and dusted off my pinny and rolled up my sleeves.

Recipe

Ingredients:

60g dried fruit
4tbsp brandy or sherry
400g slice panettone
70g unsalted butter
150g chocolate
300ml double cream
300ml whole milk
2 eggs, large
2 egg yolks
75g caster sugar
40g nuts, chopped

Method:

Place the dried fruit in the alcohol and soak overnight {if you’re short on time you can gently heat the mixture in a pan for a few minutes and leave to cool}

Take a large knob of buttter and grease a shallow 1.5 litre ovenproof dish.

Spread the remaining butter over both sides of the panettone slices.

Arrange the slices in the dish in overlapping layers, sprinkling the dried fruit and nuts between layers.

Break the chocolate in small pieces and put in a heatproof bowl. Sit the bowl over a pan of barely simmering water and let the chocolate melt, stirring ocassionally. Remove the bowl from the pan and leave to cool slightly.

Pour the cream and milk into a clean pan and warm gently, then whisk into the melted chocolate until evenly blended and leave to cool.

Place the whole eggs, yolks and sugar in a bowl and beat until pale and creamy.

Whisk in the chocolate mixture and then slowly pour over the panettone.

Use your hands to press the panettone into the mixture to ensure they are completely immersed.

Preheat oven to 180c or gas mark 4 for 20-30 minutes whilst the panettone soaks up the custard mixture.

When ready to bake the pudding, place the dish in a roasting tray and pour boiling water to come halfway up the side of the dish.

Bake for 40 minutes, remove from the oven and let stand for 10-15 minutes before serving warm.

As with most recipes I tweaked it slightly and opted to use dark chocolate instead of milk (just because it's my preference), Warbuton's sliced fruit loaf in place of Pannetone and Demerara sugar because my New Years Eve cupcakes obliterated my stash of caster sugar. The recipe didn't specify which type of nuts to use, so I went with hazelnuts as chocolate and hazelnuts are a winning combination in my mind!

All in all I was happy with how the recipe turned out which is a bit of a miracle as I'm not really a fan of bread and butter pudding but it's not really the kind of thing that I would make in the future.

A Touch of the Green Eyed Monster

2011-10-10T03:45:00.001-07:00

As most of you know I’m on a perpetual diet - a quick shifty through my old blog posts will tell you that much. I’ve tried everything, from Slimming World to Slim Fast and calorie counting to cutting out carbs. Unfortunately I have the attention span of a goldfish so nothing ever lasts more than a couple of weeks at best. In August I decided that enough was enough. No more faddy diets, just sensible eating and unholy amounts of exercise. I even roped a couple of friends in for moral support, thinking that if we’re all in the same boat there will be fewer suggestions of a pub meal and a few drinks on Friday night, and cinema trips won’t have to come with a visit to the Ben and Jerry’s counter.

To my surprise it actually worked, we all signed up to My Fitness Pal and made a point of logging everything that passed our lips. This time nothing was negligible, not a cheeky midweek trip to Starbucks or a slab of cake that someone had brought into the office to celebrate a birthday. Everything was logged, everything. A cuppa in the morning? 11 calories. A gin and slimline tonic? 57 calories. The best (or worst) thing about the iPhone app is that it has a built barcode scanner, so I’d often find myself wandering round Sainsburys, scanning things and shouting “943 calories?!” and hastily replacing whatever I’d picked up. I’ll admit I got a few funny looks, but I bet most people in the vicinity thought twice before putting that pizza in their basket.

So far I’ve lost just over a stone by sticking religiously to my 1200 calories per day and taking up residence in the gym. A stone doesn’t sound much but I’ve been told time and time again that the best way to shed some timber is to lose it slowly – a pound of two a week is the way to lose it and keep it off. Now I was quite happy with this – I could feel my jeans becoming a bit looser and wasn’t as concerned that the buttons could pop on my work shirt at any given moment – until one of my friends started to drop two pounds a week, every week, without fail.

I should be happy for her (which I am), but at the same time its soul destroying when the needle on the scale just won’t shift. I know I should have taken measurements before I started, and I know weight isn’t everything but I’m jealous. There, I said it. I’m a terrible person. I go tot the gym 6 times a week for at least an hour at a time, I sweat like Homer Simpson in a Krispy Kreme shop at spinning twice a week and I log every last morsel and some weeks the scales just don’t move. I get up at 6 am to go to the gym for goodness sake – what kind of crazy person behaviour is that?!? My friend does a Zumba class once a week (if you’re lucky) and its absolutely falling off her. I just don’t know what I’m doing wrong. If one more person says “yeah but maybe [friend] has more weight to lose than you” I think I’ll scream.

The old me would deal with this by heading straight to KFC for a Wicked Zinger box meal, but not this time. This time I’m not giving up, I just really wish I could shake off this green eyed monster.

B xx

Product Rave: Molton Brown Protecting Vitamin Lipsaver

2011-09-05T00:28:00.001-07:00

Hello lovelies

Hope you're all keeping well?

I've just got back from my jollies in Spain and I'm not acclimatising at all well to this horrible autumnal weather - I guess summer is now officially over!

I thought I'd share my latest favourite product with you all - Molton Brown's Protecting Vitamin Lip Saver. I honestly cannot say enough lovely things about this little tube of wonderfulness! My mum gave me a sample size that she got on a BA flight a few months ago and I was impressed from the first use. The tiny tube was packed with moisturising ingredients including beeswax, honey and vitamin E and is more of an intensive lip moisturiser than normal lip balms.

Before I used the Lip Saver, my lips were chapped to within an inch of their lives, but with one use (really, just one was all it took), they were soft and smooth. I'm not sure if its just me but my lips often become used to products after a while and they stop being as effective as they were to begin with, but this just hasn't happened with the lip saver, my lips feel as good after 6 months of religious use as they did after two uses.

I really like the fact that it comes in a tube as I'm not a fan of lip balms in pots for hygiene reasons. I'm also impressed at just how long it lasts - I apply it religiously and the tiny freebie tube (7ml) lasted me about 6 weeks. The full size (15ml) tube costs £10 and lasts me around 3 months with regular, liberal applications.

Prior to trying this out, my HG lip balm was always Clinique Superbalm, and though I'd definitely use Superbalm again (and regularly do), the Molton Brown product has just pipped it for everyday use. Price-wise they're much of a muchness, however this product differs from Superbalm in that it's not glossy but rather is a more traditional kind of lip balm, which is why I prefer it for everyday use - I don't wear a huge amount of make up at work so the matte look is a bit more in-keeping.

In short, I'd say that this is the best £10 I've ever spent and I'd recommend it to everyone!

xxx

(image courtesy of google - the tube didn't photograph very well)

Desperate Times......

2011-08-02T07:14:00.000-07:00

… call for desperate measures.

I'm not sure how its happened but my holiday has somehow crept up on me. It doesn’t seem 5 minutes since I was getting on a plane to Dubai so I have no idea where the last two months have gone! I've now got two weeks until I have to wear a bikini again, and the thought is filling me with dread to say the least. I was doing really well with the whole diet/fitness thing until a couple of weeks ago when I fell off the bandwagon in spectacular style. Since then I've persevered with the salads for lunch (only these salads have incorporated potato salad, pasta, pesto, cheese and lashings of Caesar dressing) and I've been going to the gym sporadically at best. If only one spinning class and one Zumba class a week was enough!

A weekend away with the girls last weekend pushed me over the edge. We did far too much eating and drinking, though a LOT of shopping was done and that counts as exercise, right??

Anyway, now that I have only two weeks to go, I've decided to take up the Special K challenge for the two weeks before I leave. You know the one, you have a bowl of Special K for brekkie, one for lunch and a normal dinner (obviously 'normal' doesn’t include a large Domino's pizza, mores the pity). Plus you can have two 100 calorie or less snacks per day. I'm not really a snacker so I think the snacks will be a massive bonus as they'll be like treats.

I'm not expecting miracles, but if I can shift about 7 pounds I'd be very happy. I know that this is not the healthiest way to lose weight, but I don't plan on being on the diet for longer than two weeks (…if I even last that long). When I get back I'll be going back to the good old myfitnesspal app and regular gym sessions, but I thought it only fair to warn you all that there will be a lot of whingy food-related tweets coming from my account - I won't be offended if you tell me to shut up!

xxx

Puppy Love Part Two: The Sequel

2011-07-26T02:43:00.000-07:00

As if last week's puppy pics weren't achingly cute I'm back with more! Turns out my mum is just as much of a soft touch as I am, and when she went to visit Toby on Sunday she ended up agreeing to take another one too.

The puppies are Working Cocker Spaniels so mist of the litter are going on to be trained as gun dogs, but unfortunately one turned out to be gun-shy, so no-one wanted him, poor little sausage!

Luckily mum and dad couldn't resist, so ladies and gents, meet Bailey......

I don't like Mondays.....

2011-07-25T04:00:00.001-07:00

.... but then again who does??

Why is it that Mondays are always so much harder when you've had a good weekend? This weekend has mostly been spent gambling (York Races), listening to music in the sun (Tramlines), and getting mushy over puppies!

Living in Sheffield we're very lucky that we have an amazing 3 day free festival in July called Tramlines. This year was its third birthday an its safe to say that its growing in size and variety every single year! Unfortunately I missed Saturday as I'd already been signed up for the races but I made Sunday and had a great day (as always)!

There's literally something for everyone, from folk to house and pop to hardcore and the festival showcases both local talent (from Toddla T to Rolo Tomassi) and also favourites from outside of South Yorkshire. There's even a buskers bus to ferry you round toen, which given Sheffield's famous hills ia definitely a fab idea. This year's headliners were Ash who were absolutely immense - it's been a fair few years since I've seen them and I can confirm that they're as good now as they were 10 years ago (saying that makes me feel REALLY old). The organisation and effort that goes into pulling such a huge event together is amazing and it really makes me proud to be a Sheffielder! I'd definitely recommend it to everyone so get yourselves down next year!

Luckily it's only a 4 day week and I have a weekend at the seaside with the girls coming up - is it wrong that I'm already packed??

Hope everyone has had a fabulous weekend and that this week isn't too painful!

Puppy Love

2011-07-18T15:02:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

Meet the latest addition to the family, Toby....

Unfortunately he won't be coming to live with me as he's my mum's but still isn't he gorgeous??

All together now: Awwwwwwwww!!

xxx

Mission: Possible

2011-05-12T09:11:00.000-07:00

Hello Ladies and Gents!

I know, I know, I’ve been neglecting you again! Sorry about that but it’s been a horrendously hectic few months in Sunny Sheffield. I won’t bore you all with the deets because, well, it’s boring, but hopefully I’ve got past the worst of it so I’m back to ramble (for the foreseeable future at least).

Those of you who follow me on Twitter will know that I’ve set myself a ~~little~~ massive challenge – next year I’m going to run the Sheffield Half Marathon. Its not until May, but I figured that in a year I should be able to build up to run it in a (half) decent time so as not to embarrass myself.

I’m telling the world this so that there’s no way of me bottling it at the last minute, and also so that people can shout at me through Twitter if I fall off the wagon.

I like to think that I’m reasonably fit as I’m quite religious about going to the gym, but running is something that I’ve never quite got into. I thought that by setting a clear goal it might give me the push I need to actually get my backside into gear and do some training. Also, I vaguely remember someone somewhere telling me that running is the best thing for weight loss – whether it’s true or not remains to be seen, but I’m certainly going to give it a whirl!

Also, very luckily for me, this little challenge fits in beautifully with the latest phase of the Aussie Angels project I’m involved in – Aussie Lighter Self. The project isn’t necessarily to be taken literally (though that is the way that I’m choosing to interpret it as it’s the most applicable to me) and can cover anything from de-cluttering your life to de-stressing and getting healthy in time for the summer. I’d thoroughly recommend that you all hop along to Uncover Aussie and check out the three videos that have been posted to help you all lighten up!

xxx

Aussie Angels - your chance to get involved!

2011-03-17T02:02:00.001-07:00

Hi lovelies

I'm sure that you're all aware of Aussie Hair products (if you aren't - why not??), and most of you will be aware of the Aussie Angels. If you aren't click here and be enlightened! To celebrate the fact that spring has sprung, Aussie are offering 10 of you lovely bloggers the chance to join in the fun at an Aussie event. So far the events have included Australia Day parties, Aussie to the Rescue evenings, (where a crack team of make up artists, stylists and hairstrylists whipped us angels into shape), and an awesome Blogger's market which the snow ruined for me (boo). I can vouch for the events being not only heaps of fun but also a great chance to meet other bloggers and pick up lots of tips!

To be in with a chance of attending an event, all you need to do is answer the following question on your blog: “Put a spring in your spring! Tell us, how would you lighten up your life? #AussieLight” and tweet a link to the post to @yummyhair - couldn’t be simpler really could it??

Winners will be chosen by the lovely Uncover Aussie team and they're looking for something creative so think outside the box! The competiton closes at Midnight on Sunday 20th March 2011 and winners will be chosen based on the most creative response that reflects the Aussie spirit. This means videos, pictures, stories or even songs can be their blog post entry

Full T’s & C’s can be found here.

xxx

REWIEW: China Glaze Nail Strengthener & Growth Formula

2011-03-10T03:04:00.000-08:00

Hello Lovelies!

As you will be aware from a previous post (found here), I'm a complete Nail Envy junkie. Unfortunately, last time I went to Sally's to stock up they were completely sold out of Nail Envy of all descriptions. Before I descended into a complete state of panic, the Sales Assistant pointed out China Glaze's alternative to Nail Envy , the snappily titled "Nail Strengthener & Growth Formula". I've previously been impressed with the China Glaze product range and decided to give it a whirl. The packaging is nice enough, and I definitely prefer the bottle to the Nail Envy bottle as I like that its frosted and I find it’s often a bit of a pain getting the dregs out of the Nail Envy bottle. I think that I paid about £6 for it (with my trade card), but I've helpfully thrown out the receipt so I can't be more precise I'm afraid.

I've been using this product for the last few weeks, and I'm sorry to report that the results aren't great. I often used Nail Envy as a basecoat for other polishes, however the box of the China Glaze product explicitly states that it should NOT be used under polishes. "When I read this I didn’t pay much attention and thought "Meh, what's the worst that can happen?" How naive was. It turns out that the reason it shouldn’t be used as a basecoat is because it peels, and not just a little bit - so far I haven't survived a day with my nails intact!

The directions also state: "Apply two coats to clean, bare nails every other day (good luck with it lasting that long) for four weeks. For best results, use with Orange Cuticle Oil". Now I'm a bit lazy at best, and this sounds like FAR too much of a palaver. Especially when I'm used to the Nail Envy Way of thinking (2 coats, then one coat a day for a week. Repeat). Confession time: I'm not one for taking off my nail polish every other day, and I often 'rock' chipped nails (I know, I know, for some of you that is a cardinal sin, but to be quite frank, if it's good enough for Juliette Lewis, it's good enough for me).

There are a couple of good things about this product: it certainly makes my nails really hard (for the time it lasts) and its (slightly) cheaper than Nail Envy, but I'm afraid that it comes nowhere near knocking Nail Envy off its pedestal.

(image courtesy of Google - I still can't find that pesky camera lead!)

B x

Fringe Benefits

2011-01-30T07:47:00.001-08:00

Can you believe that I schedule ONE post and it doesn’t work?! Typical.

For those of you who don’t follow me on Twitter and missed my post-drastic-cut-wobbles, between Christmas and New Year I was feeling particularly ‘meh’ about my hair so I decided it was high time that I went for the chop. I was planning on going back to my trusty chin-length bob but somehow my hairdresser managed to convince me that a fringe was the way to go. Considering the fact that I haven’t had a fringe for about 12 years I was surprisingly easily led and a 40 minutes later there was no going back.

I wasn’t entirely sure about it to start with but I think I’m just about getting used to it now, so much so that instead of growing it out immediately as I originally intended, I’ve become quite attached to it!

xxx

Here We Go Again…

2011-01-30T07:28:00.001-08:00

Well where did January go? Seriously, it seems to have absolutely flown by. One minute its New Years Eve, the next its (almost) payday. I should start by wishing everyone a rather belated Happy New Year – I hope 2011 has got off to a great start for everyone. Secondly, I should apologise for being MIA….again. I’ve not really got an excuse this time, I just didn't have anything to say and rather than boring you all to death I thought I may as well keep schtum. Anyway, I’m hoping that 2011 will be a good one so I’ll have plenty to say this year!

All has been quiet on the beauty front recently, mainly because I’ve been trying to use up the stockpiles I have before buying anything else, firstly because my dressing room can’t take any more, and secondly because I’m determined to stop spending money on things I just don’t need so that I can spend it on more exciting things (like holidays).

Usually January is my cue to jump on some diet bandwagon but this year is different. Instead of trying (and failing) to stick to some rigid plan and depriving myself of all the things I love I’m trying to re-educate myself and make myself more aware of what I eat so that I make better choices by keeping a food diary. So far so good! As well as this, I’m seriously stepping up my gym game too, so brace yourself for lots of incredibly boring gym / fitness / diet posts in preparation for the wedding season – three invites this year all ready, is there something in the water?!

Here’s to a fabulous 2011!

xxx

Snow is Falling…..(still)

2010-12-03T01:48:00.001-08:00

Autumn Treats

2010-10-22T11:37:00.000-07:00

Hello Lovelies

Brrrrr, its freezing outside! Funnily enough, autumn is my absolute favourite time of year – there’s nothing I like better than wrapping up warm and going for a long walk through the crunchy autumn leaves. Plus I love bonfire night and Halloween! In honour of the seasons turning and my impending trip to New York (well, in January….) I decided to treat myself to some new winter boots.

I’m a big fan of my UGGs in autumn/winter but I find that they’re a bit of a death trap as soon as the ice hits, so instead of buying yet another pair of classics, I decided to mix it up a bit and went for some UGG Kensingtons which are more of a biker style. I had to size up which is a first in UGGs (I usually have to size down!) so I was a bit worried my feet would look huge, but as soon as I tried them on I didn’t care – it’s love!!

I also invested in a replacement for the famous River Island Panda hat, which will barely (no pun intended) be off my head until spring – whether the Mr likes it or not!!

What are your favourite autumn essentials?

xxx

Paul Mitchell Haul

2010-10-20T11:21:00.001-07:00

Hello Lovelies

I've had such a busy October that despite my best intentions I've lapsed on the blogging front somewhat! Anyway, I finally plucked up the courage to get my hair cut which, given my hairdresser trust issues was a massive step (more on that to come), but also gave me licence (in my mind at least) to place a little order with Lookfantastic. Most of you will know I have a bit of a fixation on Paul Mitchell products, so along with a couple of old favourites, I also picked up two products I haven't yet tried.

The Old Favourites:

Platinum Blonde Shampoo

Super Strong Daily Conditioner

The New Kids on the Block:

Super Strong Liquid Treatment

Thicken Up Styling Liquid

Reviews coming soon!

xxx

REVIEW: No7 Radiance Boosting Hot Cloth Cleanser

2010-09-28T09:33:00.000-07:00

Hello lovelies!

I have a very weird relationship with No7. Every so often I’ll find an absolute gem (like the Cleanse and Car eye make up remover which I absolutely swear by) but I only ever have a good look at the display when I have a £5 off voucher burning a hole in my purse.

I’ve read mixed reviews about the Radiance Boosting Hot Cloth Cleanser, however at £3.75 with a voucher (£8.75 normally, for anyone who’s maths is as terrible as mine) I thought it would be rude not to give it a whirl, as by this point I’d bought enough eye make up remover to fill a child’s paddling pool.

The product comes in a box with a small muslin cloth, however the one I picked up was without a cloth, so I can’t pass comment on the cloth that comes in the box as I had to pick up a pack from my local cook shop. I assume its the same thing, apparently muslin has a LOT of uses!

The directions on the box / bottle tell you to massage the cleanser onto your face then soak the cloth in very hot water, wring it out, lay the cloth over your face to open your pores, remove the cleanser off using the cloth in a circular motion, then splash your face with cold water and pat dry. Now most of you will know by now I’m always in a rush, I much prefer an extra 5 minutes in bed to sitting in the bathroom with a lukewarm cloth on my face, so when I read the instructions I was less than inspired. It all sounds like too much effort to me.

When I actually used the product, it was much easier and much less effort than I expected. The cleanser is really thick and luxurious feeling, and a couple of pumps is plenty for each use. I tend to use it in the shower after I’ve slapped conditioner on which means that I’m probably not getting the cloth as hot as I should, but it seems to be working fine for me. I’m not sure my skin looks any more radiant, but it definitely feels softer, something which is probably more attributable to the cloth than the cleanser - I’d be insterested to try out the cloth paired with different cleansers. I’m not sure I’d buy this product again at full price, but I’d definitely re-purchase with another £5 voucher.

xxx

REVIEW: Inika Mineral Foundation Powder

2010-09-26T10:21:00.001-07:00

Hello ladies (and gents)

This review is the second product I received in the September Mypure Bloggers Parcel, Inika Mineral Foundation Powder. This product is available here and retails for £24.99 for an 8g pot. I was lucky enough to receive not only the foundation, but also the Inika kabuki brush which is available here and retails for £22.99, and a cute little gold make up bag to stash the brush and foundation along with a few other handbag essentials.

I was really excited to try this product, as I'm a big fan of mineral foundations. I like the way that the coverage can be built from barely-there to medium coverage without feeling mask like or heavy. I also like the feeling that my skin can breathe, which is something I sometimes struggle with when it comes to liquid and creme foundations.

Having read up on Inika, I learnt that the company are Australian and have a firm belief that women should be aware of what goes into their products and therefore goes onto their skin. I was also pleased to find out that this is one of the few 100% natural mineral foundations on the market at the moment.

When I cracked open the packaging I was pleased to find that the colour I was sent was a good match to my skin tone, and that the packaging incorporated a sifter – I've had many an accident with loose products which don’t include a sifter (Barry M Dazzle Dusts, I’m looking at you).

My favoured application method is to tip a bit of product into the lid and swirl the kabuki in the lid to pick up the product. I then tap off the excess and buff the foundation into my skin in a circular motion. I used the Kabuki supplied with the foundation and I was really pleased with the results. My skin tone was evened out and there was no cakey-ness or heaviness. The kabuki is fantastic, 100% certified vegan and 100% certified cruelty free. As it is retractable it is perfect for your handbag/makeup bag and the bristles won’t get damaged.

I’d definitely recommend this product to anyone who like me, doesn't like heavy foundation or anyone who is looking for a lighter foundation than they would usually use, perhaps during the summer or on a holiday.

xxx

REVIEW: Lovea Tahitian Monoi Moisturising Hair Mask

2010-09-21T11:09:00.000-07:00

This is the first of the two products I was sent by Mypure for review this month. It is priced at £7.99 for 300ml which I think is a reasonable price for a conditioning mask.

Once again, apologies for the lack of photo. There were no camera issues this month, but rather product issues, which will become clear as you read on.

I’m a big fan of deep conditioning treatments, they’re a product that I’ve been well acquainted with throughout my various degrees of blonde-ness. My absolute favourite is Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Reconstructor. I’m fairly confident in saying that there is no product on the planet that will ever come close to it – its perfect (for me at least). That said, I’m a bit of a product tart and I’m always open to trying out new products so I was eager to give this a whirl. To say I was disappointed is an understatement. I loved the smell, but unfortunately the product did nothing at all for my hair. The packaging recommends leaving it on the hair for 20 minutes, and as the packaging said for normal hair, I decided to give it an extra 10 minutes. I could tell as soon as i started rinsing my hair that the product wasn’t for me – my hair felt worse than it had before I’d put the conditioner on! Luckily my 3 Minute Miracle saved the day once again!

Having had a look at the Mypure website, perhaps I would have fared better with Lovea Burkina Shea Moisturising Hair Mask as it seems to be more geared towards my hair type – maybe next time?

In the interests of fairness, I gave the product to a friend who has completely untreated hair to see if she had any more luck than I had. (This is where the photo issue comes in – in my wisdom I completely forgot to take a photo before handing it over!)

Here are Amy’s thoughts:

“I have long-ish, naturally dark hair. I don’t really use much of anything on my hair and apart from a quick blast with the dryer I barely use heat on it as my hair is completely poker straight. I use a deep conditioner maybe once a month, mainly because I like to have a pamper night, though I’m not really sure my hair needs it! So here goes with the ‘review’. First of all – the smell is lovely, I'm not exactly sure what it is, but its a definite plus! I left the conditioner on for an episode of Gray’s (about 45 minutes after I’d skipped through the ads), and though it took quite a lot of rinsing out, I was pleased with the condition of my hair afterwards. I rough dried my hair with the dryer but left the majority to dry naturally, and the next morning it felt really silky. The only complaint I would have is that it did not rinse very well.”

So there you have it – the product is great for normal hair, but not so great for bleached/damaged hair.

xx

2010-09-19T04:52:00.001-07:00

Hello lovelies

Sorry I’ve been so rubbish lately but I’ve had a lot going on both at home and at work and unfortunately my blog is always the first thing to slip – sometimes there just are not enough hours in the day! Things seem to have calmed down a bit now (either everything’s going to be ok or its just the calm before the storm!), so from this day forward I’m making a concerted effort to get my blog groove back.

Stay tuned!

xxx

TAG: It’s all about me!

2010-08-19T11:34:00.001-07:00

I’m sure you all probably know more than you wanted about me, however the gorgeous Rosalyn tagged me

1. What's your favourite make up brand and why?

Urban Decay, because I've yet to find a product I don't love.

2. How many nail polishes do you own?

*counts* 36. I don't think that's too many…….is it?!

3. What is your greatest achievement in life?

Probably getting my degree/LPC. Its a boring answer but its the truth!!

4. What job did you want to do when you were a kid?

I always wanted to be a doctor, up until I was about 14 and I discovered a hidden talent for arguing. From then on I decided that I could probably carve a career out of it and decided I wanted to be a solicitor.

5. Do you have any other hobbies, apart from blogging?

Snowboarding, football (watching, not playing - if you’d seen me kick a ball you’d understand this), travelling and cooking/baking

6. What's your idea of a perfect weekend?

My ideal weekend is generally a 3/4 day weekend to be honest! I'd start by going to the cinema on Friday night with the girls, and maybe for a few cheeky cocktails afterwards!

Saturday: a lie in, followed the football (I'm lost without football!), then home for a night on the sofa with the Mr, with a take-away curry, bottle of red, a dvd and some Ben and Jerrys

Sunday: A Sunday lunch cooked by the Mr (with me as sous chef), then a nice long walk in the peaks

7. What's your favourite item of clothing?

I don't really have a favourite item of clothing, I don't really get to attached to clothes. If I had to choose one I would probably say my signed 2004/2005 Sheffield Wednesday shirt (not that I wear it, its currently framed and hanging in my spare room). Or my Mulberry Bayswater.

8. What's your biggest beauty problem and what do you do/use to combat it?

My biggest problem is probably my dry hair, which, admittedly is due to the bleach! I tend to combat it by using Aussie 3 Minute Miracle once a week – I love that stuff!!

My questions are:

What are the 3 beauty products you couldn’t live without?

What is your favourite nail polish brand?

Do you dye your hair?

What is your favourite clothing shop?

Who is your style icon?

Where is your favourite holiday destination?

What is your favourite TV show?

What is your favourite song of all time?

What is your most prized possession?

Do you have any pets?

I tag:

xxx

Toner Fail: A Cautionary Tale

2010-08-11T13:41:00.001-07:00

Those of you who follow me on Twitter may well be aware of a teeny tiny hair disaster I had a couple of weekends ago. I'm a great fan of toning my hair at home in between bleaching sessions, and I've been doing so successfully for well over two years. My current toner of choice is L'Oreal Luocolor P01, which thanks to my Sally's Trade Card I get at a bargain price.

I was down at baby brother's this weekend and my mum had kindly offered to slap the toner on (I have a tendency to miss patches at the back when I'm doing it quickly) so I took her up on her offer. The only problem was I hadn’t realised that I was all out of Luocolour releaser - oops. As I didn’t know where the nearest Sally's was, I thought that I'd pop into the local boots to see what they were offering toner-wise. I spotted this Jerome Russell toner which came in two colours - champagne blonde and ice blonde and chucked the Ice Blonde version in my basket. If I remember rightly it was about £3.

THIS WAS A MASSIVE MISTAKE.

I toddled back to my brother's flat, changed into my PJs and got mummy bear to slap it on. I wasn’t too alarmed when it looked yellow on my hair as the Luocolour toner applies as creamy yellow colour and then gradually turns lilac once applied to the hair. I left it on for the recommended 20 minutes and shampooed it off as normal. When I left the bathroom my mum dissolved into giggles - I thought It was something to do with the mascara halfway down my face, but oh no it was my hair. I didn’t have the foresight to take a picture of it, but I looked very similar to this chap:

Yes, Big Bird. My hair was less ice blonde, and more sunflower yellow. After rolling on the floor with tears of laughter running down her face, my mum went off to locate a Sally’s to try and rectify the disaster. Luckily there was one less than two miles away (typical) and she came back with a bottle of releaser. Twenty five minutes later, my hair was back to its former glory (PHEW).

The moral of the story? Steer clear of dodgy 3 quid toners, unless you’re looking for a banana-coloured barnet!!

xxx

REVIEW: A'kin Jojoba & Lavender Conditioner

2010-07-26T11:57:00.001-07:00

This is the second of the products sent to me for review by Mypure, it is billed as providing light conditioning and natural lustre to fine or oily hair’. Now my hair is quite fine, but oily it ain’t. In fact its very, very dry so I wasn’t really expecting too much from this product!

All in all I was pleasantly surprised, the conditioner was definitely very light but it did put enough moisture back into my hair for it to feel more like hair than straw (which is its usual texture), but not quite enough for it to feel as soft as I’m used to. I really liked the lavender scent too (which again surprised me) especially when I applied the product and left it to work its magic while I read a book in the bath as it was wonderfully relaxing.

The main gripe I have about this product is the packaging, the bottle was extremely difficult to squeeze one handed, due to the narrow oblong shape of it.

I wouldn’t buy this product again, as it wasn’t really right for my hair and I can think of lots of other products that I could buy for £7.49 which are more suitable for me, though I’m sure that for those with oilier (is that a word?!) hair it would be a great buy.

xxx

Lovea's Tahitian Monoi Moisturising Body Lotion (pics to follow)

2010-07-25T01:53:00.000-07:00

This was another product sent to me for review purposes by MyPure. This retails on the MyPure site at £6.99 for 200ml.

My first impressions of the product were that the packaging is great - I'm a big fan of pump-action dispensers, as they're much cleaner, more hygenic and its easier to regulate how much product you are getting than it would be with a squeezy bottle. Also the smell is lovely - very similar to the scent of the Moroccan L'Argan Brilliance Shine Shampoo, which is no bad thing! I'd be interested to know whether this is a scent which occurs throughout the Lovea range, or whether it's a coincidence that the two products I've reviewed smell very similar?

Consistency-wise, I found the moisturiser to be light and great for throwing in my gym bag, however I do have quite dry skin, and I found that it wasn't really rich enough for me to use on its own and I needed to top up my moisture levels with a body butter every couple of days. It soaks in very quickly (so ideal for use in the morning) and doesn't feel at all greasy.

I'd recommend this as a light moisturiser for people with normal skin, but for my slightly drier than average skin it wasn't quite moisturising enough.

xxx
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

Too little, too late? MAC/Rodarte - an update

2010-07-20T04:51:00.000-07:00

Following on from yesterdays post, things have moved on somewhat. After the furore caused by the naming of the products in the Rodarte collection and the countless blog posts/articles which ensued, MAC and Rodart have issued further statements on the subject:

MAC:

"We understand that product names in the M·A·C Rodarte collection have offended our consumers and fans. This was never our intent and we are very sorry. We continue to listen carefully to the comments we have received and have the following plans to address concerns:

· We are committed to donating $100,000 to a non-profit organization that has a proven, successful track-record helping women in need and that can directly improve the lives of women in Juarez in a meaningful way.

· We are changing the product names in the M·A·C Rodarte collection.

As we have done in the past, please be assured that we will communicate details regarding our progress in this matter."

Rodarte:

"We recognize that the violence against women taking place in Juarez needs to be met with proactive action. We never intended to make light of this serious issue and we are truly sorry.

Helping to improve the conditions for women in Juarez is a priority for us and we are thankful for all the comments calling attention to the urgency of addressing this situation."

As I said in my previous post, the cynical part of me feels that a donation to the people of Juarez was never even considered until the inspiration behind the collection was called into question, and I can't help feeling that all MAC is doing is papering over the cracks by throwing money at a situation and hoping that it will go away. I am very happy to see that MAC have acknowledged the fact that the names of some of the items in the collection are controversial to say the least and that they will be changing the names of the products, and I hope that a lesson will be learnt from this debacle and put a bit more thought into the naming of and inspiration behind future collections.

On the other hand, I'm shocked by the statement from Rodarte, which to me suggests that they were well aware of the controversy/publicity that this collection would cause and seem to suggest that the collection was intended to help the women of Juarez. Funny then that there was absolutely no mention of any proceeds going to help the town or its people until the blog posts started to be published……..

All Publicity is Good Publicity……..or is it?

2010-07-19T11:28:00.001-07:00

Well here it is, my two'penneth on the whole MAC/Rodarte debacle.....

I held off posting this at 8 pm last night when the bulk of the posts on the subject went up because, firstly, I hadn't read up on the subject to put together an informed post and, secondly, because I was conscious that other bloggers would put together a much more eloquent post than I could. Having given more thought to the collaboration I decided that I would write a post on it, not because I want to jump onto some bandwagon, but because I’m genuinely shocked by what I have seen and read so far on this subject. I’m sure most of you have read countless posts on the subject, and if you don’t want to read another one I fully understand that, however I felt that I had to acknowledge what was going on, and put forwards my views on the subject.

When I initially read about the collaboration between MAC and Rodarte I thought "oh great, just what the world needs - another MAC collection". I'm not a massive MAC addict as my massive 3 purchases in the last 7 months is a testament to, so generally the collections just wash over me. However after hearing about the 'inspiration' behind the collection from various bloggers on Twitter, my curiosity got the better of me and I decided to investigate.

First things first, we all know who MAC are, but for those of you who aren't 100% sure who Rodarte are, let me fill you in. Rodarte are a clothing and accessories label who have been around since 2005. According to Wikipedia: "Their style includes gothic and distressed designs, and layered gowns".

I first heard about the hoo-ha surrounding this collection when I spotted one of Mizzworthy's tweets. Being the nosy parker that I am I decided to investigate a bit further, and went straight to every-internet user's best friend: Google. Basically, the bottom line is this: though the collection was supposedly inspired by the Mexican landscape (which to me would scream warm, earthy tones), the chalky, deathly palette and the names of the products in the collection suggest that it was inspired by something altogether more sinister - the infamous Mexican border town Juarez and its recent history.

Juarez, as you may or may not know, is an industrial city in the Chihuahua region of Mexico which is famous for both its 'maquiladoras' and its staggering number of 'femicides'. A maquiladora is essentially an export assembly plant/factory set up by foreign companies to secure cheap labour. These are mainly located along the US/Mexico border. The average maquiladora worker will earn around $3.40 per day, which is approximately 33% lower than the American HOURLY minimum wage. The majority of maquiladora workers are female and though the legal working age is 16, it is not uncommon for 12, 13 and 14 year olds with false documents to be put to work.

The 'femicides' is the name given to the shocking number of violent deaths of young female students and factory workers aged between 12 and 22 in Juarez. Many of the bodies found showed evidence of rape and torture. There is some inconsistency between the 'official' figures of 400 deaths since 1993 and local estimations of more than 5,000, but whichever way you look at it the numbers are overwhelming. If the numbers weren’t shocking enough, the local attitudes to the killings is even more stomach churning. The police have become so blasé about the situation in Juarez, it is estimated that they only actually file one report for every eight missing women reported. Further, it has become a common belief, not only among law enforcement but also locals that the women who go missing (and worse) have brought it on themselves. One quote which particularly sticks in my throat is this: "Unfortunately, there are women who are in danger because of their lifestyles. After all, it's very hard to go out on the street when it's raining and not get wet." It is very hard to believe that these abhorrent words came from the mouth of the then attorney general of the state of Chihuahua, Arturo González Rascón. These shocking comments, along with a rapidly rise in the rate of murders and disappearances, led to the formation of Nuestras Hijas de Regreso a Casa A.C. ("May our Daughters Return Home, Civil Association") in 2001; a group of family members of the victims of femicides who have tirelessly been campaigning to raise awareness and lobby the Mexican government to recognise the extent of the problem in Juarez.

Taking all of this into account, it seems in unbelievably bad taste that MAC and Rodarte should see fit to release a collection where the products are given names such as “Factory”, “Ghost Town”, “Juarez” and “Sleepless”.

The official line:

MAC:
"We understand that product names in the MAC Rodarte collection have offended some of our consumers and fans. This was never our intent and we are very sorry. We are listening carefully to the comments posted and are grateful to those of you who have brought your concerns to the forefront of our attention. MAC will give a portion of the proceeds from the MAC Rodarte collection to help those in need in Juarez. We are diligently investigating the best way to do this. Please be assured that we will keep you posted on the details regarding our efforts."

Rodarte:
"Our makeup collaboration with MAC developed from inspirations on a road trip that we took in Texas last year, from El Paso to Marfa. The ethereal nature of this landscape influenced the creative development and desert palette of the collection. We are truly saddened about injustice in Juarez and it is a very important issue to us. The MAC collaboration was intended as a celebration of the beauty of the landscape and people in the areas that we traveled."

I appreciate that Rodarte are a brand which appear to take inspiration from the macabre, and also that MAC is a brand which has a huge focus on artistry and expressing yourself through make-up but I strongly believe that there is a line which has been crossed by this collection. I don’t see anything artistic about glamourising this type of tragic situation, and it is to me ghoulish (for want of a better word) to attempt to justify the collection and its inspiration as art. I am shocked and saddened that such a huge brand as MAC would wish to produce a collection which is in my eyes in such bad taste, especially after all the good work that has been done by the Viva Glam line. I understand that an argument could be made that this collection has raised awareness of the atrocities in Juarez, but I firmly believe that this could have been done in other, less offensive ways, and I feel that MAC have made a token gesture by offering a percentage of the profits to the people of Juarez. Call me cynical, but I can't help but feel that this would never have entered their conscience without the outcry from bloggers.

For more information on Juarez and the femicides, please click here.

To see some other bloggers' take on the collection please click on the links below:

www.beautymouth.com
www.mizzworthy.com
www.britishbeautyblogger.com
www.bangsandabun.com
www.ladyofthelane.com
www.big-fashionista.blogspot.com/
www.vexinthecity.com
www.sofarsochic.co.uk
www.londonmakeupgirl.com
www.lesalondebeaute.com
www.getlippie.com
www.londonbeautyqueen.blogspot.com
www.kraseybeauty.com
www.makeuploveer.blogspot.com
www.sparklesandbows.blogspot.com
www.healingbeauty.co.uk
www.reallyree.blogspot.com
www.just-nice-things.co.uk
www.musicalhouses.blogspot.com
www.liloo.blogspot.com
www.ditzymake-up.blogspot.com
www.perfectly-polished-nails.com
www.makeupsavvy.co.uk
www.sparkleandshade.blogspot.com
www.makeupadviceforum.com

REVIEW: Paul Mitchell Instant Moisture Daily Treatment

2010-07-15T13:13:00.000-07:00

As you have probably noticed I absolutely LOVE Paul Mitchell products – so much so that I should probably be on commission! The reason I’m so enamoured by them is that I’ve yet to come across a bad one. I’ve tried about 15 products from the range and I can safely say that I would repurchase each and every one of them.

The product that I’ve chosen to review today is one of the bargains I picked up in Debenhams a few weeks ago when the in-store hairdressers was closing. I believe that this product would usually set you back around £11, but I managed to snaffle two for the princely sum of four English pounds, much to my delight.

As my hair is bleached I do struggle with dryness – often my hair bears more resemblance to a haystack than golden tresses, but I persevere in the never-ending quest for silky locks (usually with more than a little help from Aussie’s wonderful 3 minute miracle).

The product is billed as a daily treatment, which seems like a bit of a contradiction –I mean who uses a conditioning treatment on their hair daily?! Surely you’d end up with a head like an oil slick?! I think that the product is sort of a halfway house between a treatment and a conditioner – its light enough so that I find I can use it 3/4 times a week without ending up with a greasy mop, or alternatively I can slather it on, and leave it to do its magic for 5 -10 min minutes and be left with gorgeous silky hair.

I don’t really know how to describe the scent other than clean – it doesn't have a stand-out scent like some of the other PM products, so it would probably be a good product for someone with a sensitive scalp too.

Its not going to replace my beloved 3 minute miracle as my go-to treatment, but I love it all the same (especially for 2 quid!)

xxx

Cutest. Thing. Ever.

2010-07-14T13:25:00.001-07:00

If you follow me on Twitter you’ll be more than aware of my teeny-tiny crush on Iker Casillas, the Span/Real Madrid goalkeeper, also, unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you’ll know Spain won the World Cup on Sunday.

What you may not know, is that Iker’s current squeeze is a Spanish sports journalist called Sara Carbonero (a.k.a Pastasauce – think about it). I thought I’d share with you all a little clip of the interview between Sara and Iker after the match as it makes me go all wibbly everytime I watch it! All together now……….AWWWWWWWWW!

xxx

Buy of the Week

2010-07-14T12:50:00.001-07:00

I couldn’t resist this super cute sequinned cushion from the Colin & Justin Influence range at Matalan, at £12 it was an absolute bargain!

xxx

Versatile Blog Award

2010-07-14T12:46:00.001-07:00

THE RULES:

♥ Thank and link back to the person who gave you this award

♥ Share seven things about yourself

♥ Pass this award to ten bloggers who you have recently discovered and who you think are fantastic for whatever reason!

♥ Contact the bloggers you picked and let them know about the award.

First of all, a huge thank you to ShannenLove for giving me this award :).

Seven things about me:

♥ I am petrified about turning 25. I know its more than a little bit irrational but there is something about being closer to 30 than 20 that fills me with dread.

♥ My mum is my best friend in the whole world. When I was growing up we didn’t exactly see eye to eye, but since i moved out to go to uni 7 long years ago we’ve grown closer and closer, and now we have the best relationship I could wish for

♥ I desperately want a beagle puppy. I know I can’t have one right now as I don’t think its fair to go out to work and leave a dog home alone all day but I still spend hours trawling the internet looking at cute pictures of puppies! Example:

♥ There’s nothing I love more than curling up on the sofa with the Mr watching trashy American crime shows – yet another possible indicator that I’m getting old!

♥ I would love to learn to speak Spanish. I go to Spain quite often as the Mr part-owns a villa out there with his family (everyone loves a cheap holiday) and I find it really frustrating that I can’t speak the lingo. One day, when I have time its definitely something I’d like to do.

♥ I’m a clean freak and I have an unhealthy obsession with bleach, especially in the kitchen and bathroom!

♥ I love driving, I find it really relaxing. Luckily, living in Sheffield I’m close to some really great drives, my absolute fave being the Snake Pass.

Sorry they aren’t very interesting but I struggled to come up with some things that you didn’t already know!

I TAG:

♥ Rosalyn

♥ Carla

♥ Sinead

♥ Liloo

♥ and anyone else who wants to take part!

xxx

The waiting is over.........

2010-07-02T01:11:00.001-07:00

Tonight is the night……. full review coming tomorrow :D

eeeep!

xxx

June Favourites

2010-07-01T13:32:00.000-07:00

This is pinched from the lovely Rosalyn, if you haven’t already go and check her out!

Haircare
Shampoo: Paul Mitchell Platinum Blonde
Conditioner: Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Daily Treatment / Paul Mitchell Instant Moisture Daily Treatment
Styling products: Paul Mitchell Hot Off The Press thermal protection spray, Mark Hill Holiday Hair serum, James Brown Scandalous Flaunt It hairspray

Skincare
Shower Gel: Soap and Glory Clean On Me
Body moisturiser: Nivea Rich Nourishing Body Moisturiser
Deodorant: Nivea Calm and Care Roll On
Fake Tan: St Moriz
Cleanser: No7 Soft Soothed Cleanser
Exfoliator: Witch Exfoliating Face Wash
Moisturiser: Dove Summer Glow face moisturiser
Spot Treatment: None

Make up
Primer: None
Foundation: None if I can get away with it, if not Bare Minerals SPF 15 foundation in Medium Beige
Concealer: Benefit Boi-ing in 02
Powder: MAC MSF Natural in Medium Plus
Blusher: Bourjois Lune D’Or / MAC Springsheen
Bronzer: Bobbi Brown Bronzing Powder in Medium
Highlighter: Benefit Moonbeam
Eyeshadow base: Too Faced Shadow Insurance
Eyeshadows: Urban Decay Half Baked / Baked
Eyeliner: Urban Decay 24/7 liner in Zero / Stash
Curler: None
Mascara: Max Factor Lash Extension Effect / Maybelline The Colossal
Lipstick: MAC Viva Glam Gaga
Lipgloss: Urban Decay Pocket Rocket in James
Lip balm: MAC TLC (whichever is in my bag)
Nail Colour: Collection 2000 Hot Looks Fruit Salad on my toes, Tutti Frutti on my fingers

xxx

Bloggers Book Club June (Twenties Girl – Sophie Kinsella)

2010-06-30T13:04:00.001-07:00

First of all a big thanks to Amy who has gone through the trouble of organising the blogger’s book club. I’ve still not posted my review of May’s book (LA Candy) because I’m a bit useless, but as I finished June’s pick at lunchtime I thought I’d get on and give my twopenneth while it was fresh in my mind.

This month’s book is Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella.

The blurb (taken from Amazon):

“Laura has always had an overactive imagination. Now she wonders if she is losing her mind. Normal twenty-something girls just don't get visited by ghosts! But inexplicably, the spirit of Lara's great aunt Sadie - in the form of a bold, demanding Charleston-dancing girl - has appeared to make one last request: Lara must track down a missing necklace Sadie simply can't rest without. Lara's got enough problems of her own. Her start-up company is floundering, her best friend and business partner has run off to Goa, and she's just been dumped by the love of her life. But as Lara spends time with Sadie, life becomes more glamorous and their treasure hunt turns into something intriguing and romantic. Could Sadie's ghost be the answer to Lara's problems and can two girls from different times end up learning something special from each other?”

My thoughts:

I wasn't really looking forward to reading this book to be honest as I generally go for historical / crime books - I've never really been one for 'chick-lit' but here goes....

When I first started the book I struggled with it a bit, I found the ghost idea to be rather silly and the characters to be a bit, well, annoying really (Lara especially grated on me as was very wet and a in my opinion a bit spineless in the beginning). However I persevered and I really warmed to Sadie (who you would expect to be old fashioned and a bit of a grandmother like character but is actually very funny, vivacious, and much more street-wise than Lara).

I liked how there were a number of twists in the story and how there was a bit of mystery in there to keep me interested (and guessing!) I also liked the character development of both the main characters - how Lara grew into herself after starting out as quite naive and a bit of a mess and how Sadie's story gradually unfolded as the search for the necklace went on.

All in all I was pleasantly surprised by the book, despite having my initial reservations. I wouldn’t say that it was a real page-turner but it was engaging enough to wind down after a busy day in the office.

Thanks Amy!!

Summer Days…….

2010-06-29T12:28:00.000-07:00

The are many things I love about summer: barbeques, beer gardens, picnics, huge sunglasses to name just a few. My absolute favourite thing about summer though is not wearing foundation. I hate the feeling of foundation when the weather is warm and sticky, as I'm not a fan of feeling like my face is about to melt so I tend to skip it altogether. I thought I'd do a post on my top make-up products for the summer months to share:

Dove Everyday Sun facial moisturiser - a light, easily absorbed moisturiser which is great for topping up your tan (or giving a bit of colour)

Max Factor Lash Extension Effect Mascara - gives lovely natural fluttery lashes - perfect for summer days/evenings in the park or beer garden

Benefit Moonbeam - I much prefer Moon Beam to High Beam as a highlighter when I have a tan, it gives a perfect golden shimmer just where you need it

Bourjois Lune d'or blush - this is my absolute favourite summer blush, its a pretty peachy hue with a subtle gold shimmer, which again looks fabulous with a tan

Bobbi Brown Bronzing Powder – This is the most natural looking bronzer I’ve ever found, I generally find that bronzers either make me look dirty or orange but this one is perfect.

Urban Decay 24/7 liner in Stash - a gorgeous olive green which is perfect when you don’t want to look too ‘done’

MAC Tinted Lip Conditioner - in any colour! I like to make sure that my lips are protected by a balm/gloss which contains SPF. MAC TLC’s are perfect as they give a sheer wash of colour but also protect and condition your lips – I always have at least one in my bag at all times!

Collection 2000 Hot Looks nail polish in Fruit Salad – I can’t sing the praises of these polishes enough, they dry so quickly that they’re perfect a quick touch up between the office and the beer garden! This one is a gorgeous vibrant summery coral colour!

xxx

Brownie-licious

2010-06-28T11:31:00.001-07:00

Most of you by now will know I love to pretend I’m a bit of a Nigella. Though I love cooking and trying new things for dinner, I have a massive soft spot for baking. After a rubbish day at work there’s nothing I love more than shutting myself in the kitchen and whipping up a batch of cupcakes or cookies - and I can’t say I’ve ever heard the Mr complaining either! I thought I’d share with you one of my absolute favourite recipes for the best chocolate brownies I’ve ever tasted – they’re perfect warm with a big scoop of Ben and Jerry’s Vanilla Ice Cream.

250g unsalted butter
200g dark 70% chocolate broken up
80g cocoa powder
65g plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
360g caster sugar
4 large eggs

Optional extras: 75g dried sour cherries or 50g chopped nuts or 75g chocolate chunks (dark, milk or white) (or any combination of the above!)

1. Preheat oven to 180 / gas mark 4

2. Melt the chocolate and butter in a bain marie (a bowl over a pan of boiling water)

3. In a separate bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, flour, baking powder and sugar, then add to the chocolate/butter mixture

4. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl, then add too the chocolatey goo and add mix well

5. Add any extras you fancy and fold in

6. Pour the mixture into a baking tin lined with greaseproof paper

7. Bake for 25 minutes

8. Cool in the tray, then slice up and eat!

Enjoy!!

xxx

Bag Love

2010-06-26T03:02:00.000-07:00

I did it, I finally caved in! After months of should I, shouldn't I to-ing and fro-ing I finally succumbed to the lure of the Bayswater. Recently, due to a sudden surge in my workload I've been taking work home on more occasions than I would like, so I decided I deserved a treat, and what better treat than a shiny new handbag….especially one which can hold a file (or two)?!

xxx

I’m back…….and an apology…..

2010-06-25T12:56:00.001-07:00

Hello lovelies

First of all, I should say a massive sorry - I know I've been a bad blogger of late *slap on the wrist* mainly because I was on my jollies until last week, and have returned to a massive bout of the post-holiday blues.

Anyways, to start off I thought I'd do a quick post on what I got up to on my holiday. I say a quick post because to be honest it was so hot that I didn't do very much at all, apart from sunbathe and shop! As some of you might already know, I went away with my mum for a few days in Dubai. I've never been before, but my mum is a bit of a seasoned pro with this being her 6th trip. We stayed in Atlantis The Palm, which is right at the end of the man-made palm island. Closer to the mainland on the fronds there are some beautiful villas, with David Beckham and Freddie Flintoff being some of the owners. As you can imagine, they are slightly out of my price range unfortunately!

The view from our roomMe and the Dubai skyline – its there, honest!!

The hotel was absolutely beautiful and all of the staff were so friendly, you really were treated like royalty. On top of its 12 restaurants, including Nobu, the hotel itself housed a small shopping centre known as the Avenues - including an in house Tiffany & Co *heaven*. Toni Terry and Joleon Lescott were also staying in the hotel, so for a football geek such as myself that was really exciting - especially when they came to watch the England match in the beach bar on Saturday night (not together, I don’t want to start any rumours!).

(dodgy paparazzi style shot!)

The temperature was between 42 and 46 degrees so hot, hot, hot which meant that the days were mainly spent lazing around the pool sipping cocktails or zipping round the rapids in a rubber ring at the on-site waterpark Aquaventure.

One of the many cocktails we drank!The Leap of Faith at Aquaventure – yep I survived it!

At night we decided to leave the hotel and head first for the Mall of the Emirates (which houses Ski Dubai, an indoor ski slope not unlike Xscape as Castleford, the only difference being that naturally as it was in Dubai it was three times the size!) and later in the holiday to the Dubai Mall. Out of the two I preferred the Dubai mall - you could easily lose a week just wandering around the 1200 shops which included an amazing sweetshop called Candylicious, a Sanrio shop *eek*, yet another Tiffany & Co, a Bloomingdales and British high street favourites such as Marks and Spencer and Debenhams, which was surreal to say the least!!

I’m just crazy about Tiffany’s…. …..and Hello Kitty!!

So that was my holiday – relatively short, but very very sweet! Where are you all going on your holidays?

xxx

P.S Sorry about the slightly dodgy quality of the photos, I took hundreds but it was so hot that every time I whipped my camera out it steamed up – I have more soft focus shots than a 1980’s issue of Playboy!

REVIEW: Lovea Moroccan Argan Brilliance Shine Shampoo

2010-06-03T01:06:00.001-07:00

This is the third and final product sent to me for review by Mypure.

The first thing that hit me was the smell of this product, I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it reminded me of to begin with, but then I remembered – Refreshers!

I didn’t use this product every wash as I like to use a toning shampoo every other wash to keep any brassiness in check, but overall I was quite impressed by the results I saw. I didn’t hold out too much hope as my hair is generally quite dry as its bleached, however I found that the product left my hair feeling soft and shiny, with the added bonus of extra bounce!

The only teeny tiny grumble I have is that the shampoo didn’t lather quite as well as my usual brand, however this didn’t seem to hinder its cleaning prowess in any way.

All in all I would recommend this if you’re looking for an organic shampoo (at £4.99 its even priced competitively), however I don’t think that I will be re-purchasing as it would take a miracle to tear me away from my beloved Paul Mitchell products!

xxx

If you want to try it out for yourself, Lovea's Moroccan Argan Brilliance Shine Shampoo can be bought here

REVIEW: A'kin Pure Rose Hydrating Facial Mist

2010-06-01T01:04:00.000-07:00

This is the second of the products sent to me by Mypure to review. Though billed as a facial mist, the blurb states that this product can be used all over the body as a light moisturiser. The product contains hyaluronic acid, which is a natural ingredient which helps skin cells retain moisture. I’ve never used any type of mosturising mist product before so I was very interested to try this out.

Again, this product has a rose-scent, however this is a fresher scent and not as overpowering as I found the Kosmea product. I have been using the product post-gym and also used it on my travels to Bournemouth over the weekend due to a combination of slight sunburn and the drying air conditioning in my car. I found the mist to be moisturising but non-greasy and my skin felt pleasantly fresh after each use. I haven’t tried it out over make-up, but the packaging suggests that it would be fine to use in this way, and I’ve read reviews from other bloggers who have not had a problem with this.

I'd love to try it out during air travel, however as the bottle is 150 ml I won't be able to take it in my hand luggage! I will however, be decanting some of the product into a smaller bottle as I think that it will be a great product for a medium/long haul flight.

So onto the price: the mist is available on the mypure website for £12.99 for 125ml which may seem a bit pricey, however this is by far and away my favourite of the mypure products, and though I’ve been using this constantly for almost 3 weeks I’ve hardly made a dent in the product! Given that Evian’s La Brumisateur costs around £6 for 150ml of glorified water I think that the A’kin product is very reasonably priced

xxx

If you want to try it out for yourself, A'kin Pure Rose Hydrating Facial Mist can be bought here

Mmmmmmmmm……

2010-05-31T04:40:00.000-07:00

…Banoffee Pie – one of life’s great pleasures!

I threw this little beauty together after my brother gave me possibly the easiest recipe ever. As I’m feeling very public-spirited today I thought I’d share the love (and recipe) with you as its the perfect bank holiday treat!

Ingredients:

For the pastry

500g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
100g icing sugar, sifted
250g butter, cut into small cubes
zest of 1 lemon
2 large free-range eggs, beaten
a splash of milk

For the filling

2 ripe bananas
50g grated dark chocolate
300ml double cream
1tsp camp coffee
1 tin carnation caramel

First of all, make the pastry:

Sieve the flour and sieve the icing sugar into a large bowl. (You can do this straight onto a clean kitchen surface and not bother with the bowl but I find that a bowl stops things getting too messy) Using your hands, work the cubes of butter into the flour and sugar by rubbing your thumbs against your fingers until you end up with a fine, crumbly mixture then mix in your lemon zest. Add the eggs and milk to the mixture and gently work it together till you have a ball of dough. Flour the dough lightly. Pat it into a flat round, flour it lightly, wrap it in cling film and put it into the fridge to rest for at least half an hour. Once the pastry has had chance to rest, roll it out on a floured surface and line a flan tin (preferably with a loose bottom), fill the pastry case with baking beads and bake for 20 minutes at 180 degrees, Remove the beads and bake for a further 10 minutes. Leave to cool.

Alternatively you could dispense with this step entirely and buy a pastry case from the supermarket!

Then for the filling!

Spread the caramel on the base of the pastry case, then slice the bananas and layer on top. Whip the cream with 1 tsp of camp coffee and spoon on top. Sprinkle with chocolate and enjoy!!

xxx

REVIEW: Kosmea Eighth Natural Wonder Revitalising Facial Serum

2010-05-31T00:23:00.001-07:00

Some of you will already be aware that skin care is not really my forte. I religiously remove my slap and cleanse, tone and moisturise but I have never paid too much attention to fancy-schmancy skincare brands, I mean why would I when there are so many eyeliners and so little time?!

This means that serums are not high no my list of priorities, in fact the only time I have ever used a serum is when my mum gave me a sample of Boots' famous Protect and Perfect Beauty Serum to try out. I quite liked the serum, and loved the way it made my skin feel however I have never re-purchased as I was of the opinion that during my early twenties I didn’t need to concern myself with anti-ageing products. However now that 25 is looming round the corner I've decided I need to take a few more pro-active steps than just wearing my sunglasses at all times to try and stop the onset of crows feet!

This product was sent to me for review purposes by Mypure, a site offering the best in natural make up, haircare, skincare and organic products. Kosmea is an Australian brand which has been at the forefront of natural skincare since 1993, with this latest product being one of the first natural skin care products to use patented anti-ageing ingredients.

So, on with the review:

My first impressions were that the serum smells VERY strongly of roses (funny that, as it contains Rosehip oil). I don't mind gently scented products but I found this a bit overpowering. I’m not sure how strongly scented the rest of the range is, but as all of the products appear to be formulated using rosehip oil it could well be a recurring theme.

The consistency wasn’t at all what I expected – it was more of a cream than the slightly more gel-like serum I was expecting, and the product took an age to sink in. Though this wasn't a problem at night I'm generally in a bit of a rush in the morning as I like my bed, so I can't really afford waiting around for 15 minutes for the serum to sink in.

Also, immediately after application I found that my skin came out in bright red patches all over it! I don't know if it was the serum 'working its magic' or what it was, but the patches did fade out when the product had soaked into my skin

The packaging recommends wearing this under moisturiser during the day - as I found the product to leave my skin feeling quite greasy I think that if paired with a moisturiser my face would literally slide off!

I found that though it did leave my skin feeling soft and kind of plumped, I didn’t feel that the results were any more than my usual moisturiser gave. Perhaps this product would be more suited to mature skin, and I'm considering passing it on to my mum to try as I think I’ll be sticking to my good old soap and glory!!

If you want to try it out for yourself, Kosmea Eighth Natural Wonder Revitalising Facial Serum can be bought here

xxx

NOTD 23/05/2010

2010-05-23T03:54:00.000-07:00

London from the Nails Inc for Diet Coke collection. I think this is officially my polish of the summer and I’m really glad I picked up a couple of back-ups when I got the chance!

xxx

Reasons to be cheerful….

2010-05-22T03:49:00.001-07:00

All in all I’ve had a pretty rubbish week this week, what with falling off the gym wagon due to a heinously busy week at work, the Mr being away all weekend and silly fall-outs with one of the besties due to incompatible diaries. I was planning on sitting on the sofa all weekend and wallowing in self-pity but I realised not only is that a complete waste of a weekend but its also counter productive, so I decided to head off on a little road trip to my brothers and count my blessings instead – which made me realise that I need to give myself a good shake and get on with it.

I thought that I would share some of my reasons to be cheerful, so that the next time I’m feeling sorry for myself I can re-read this post and realise how silly I’m being!

Three weeks to my holiday - I absolutely can’t wait, In under a month I’ll be topping up my tan here:

The besties – like any group of friends we have our ups and downs, but I know that they’ll always be there for me – whether its to tell me to man up and stop moping around or with a shoulder to cry on complete with Ben and Jerry’s.

My family – I haven’t lived with my mum and dad for almost 7 years now, and my brother is currently exiled at the other end of the country but I know that I just need to pick up the phone to be cheered up by any one of them.
The Mr – there's not really much that needs to be said here, I love him to pieces
Millie – she’s always there for a cuddle (even if I don’t particularly want one!)

So there you have it, my reasons to smile! Sometimes I just need to remember not be such a miserable sod an shake myself!

Hope you’re all enjoying the sunshine :)

xxx

NOTD: Nails Inc for Diet Coke in Paris

2010-05-16T11:50:00.000-07:00

I'm sure you are all aware of the fab promotion that Diet Coke and Nails Inc are running in Boots, but it you don't spend half of your life in Boots or have been hiding under a rock for the past week or so the deal is that if you buy two 500ml bottles of Diet Coke you get a free limited edition Nails Inc Polish. There are four colours to choose from: London (a gorgeous mink-y nude, which is also my favourite), Paris (a deep pinky-purple), New York (a bright fuchsia pink ) and Milan (a firey hot red). So far I have picked up Paris and 2 bottles of London, but given that I'm a Diet Coke addict I'm planning on getting my mitts on New York and Milan this week.

Have you picked up any of these polishes, and if so which is your favourite?

xxx
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

Bargain-tastic Haul

2010-05-14T12:46:00.001-07:00

Hello lovelies

I thought I’d do a quick post on some of the bargains I have picked up this week.

First up are two of the Special Edition Nails Inc polishes in London and Paris. I’ve had some issues with Nails Inc polish in the past, however I pretty much run on Diet Coke and figured that as they were free it would be rude not to get involved. I’ve fallen completely in love with London and am planning on picking up a back-up over the weekend.

Next, I put my No 7 vouchers to good use for once. Usually I use them on eye make-up remover as I’ve never been very taken with No 7 products, but after a glowing reference from Rhamnousia I picked up a couple of the Metallic Eye Pencils, in gold and green. I’ve been really impressed by these so far and may have to pick up some of the other colours, turquoise and blue in particular have been screaming out to me!

Finally, my favourite bargains of the week were 3 full-size Paul Mitchell conditioners for £6 in Debenhams – yes, you read that right SIX POUNDS!! All in, they should have set me back somewhere around the £30 mark. As regular readers will be aware I’m a Paul Mitchell junkie and (after concealing a squeal of excitement) I picked up a Super Skinny Treatment and two Daily Moisture Boost conditioners. I found out the reason that they were on sale at such a knock-down price was because the in-store salon was closing down, if only I’d realised this earlier in the week I’d have cleaned them out!!

p.s Sorry about the dodgy picture quality, I’ve lost my camera lead – again!!

xxx

REVIEW: Paul Mitchell Hot Off The Press

2010-05-09T07:24:00.001-07:00

Regular readers will be aware that I’m a bit of a Paul Mitchell devotee. I’ve tried out hair products from almost every brand going, but I usually always come back to Paul Mitchell. Though they are slightly more expensive than the products you would pick up in Boots, I’m a firm believer that its worth splashing out on professional products as they are so much more effective, and generally last much longer too.

The latest Paul Mitchell product I’ve tried is the Hot Off The Press Thermal Protection Spray. I picked this up last time I was at the hairdressers, and I believe its a relatively new product. Because my hair is bleached it needs a bit of extra protection, and my hairdresser has always drummed it into me that drying/straightening my hair without first using a a heat protection spray is a cardinal sin, akin to lying by the pool without wearing sun cream. I generally use Heat Seal as my heat protection spray, but my hairdresser sold this to me as it’s part of the Express Style range, and anything that makes drying my hair quicker is worth a try in my book.

Hot Off The Press is much more than just a heat protection spray, it also acts as a flexible hold hairspray which means that I don’t need to overload my hair with products – one will do. According to the blurb, rice hull extract acts as a barrier between the hair and heat and wheat proteins strengthen the hair. The spray is an aerosol and gives a lighter mist than traditional heat protection spray. I find that a light spray before drying/straightening and also immediately after leaves me with perfect straight hair that holds its shape and volume for a good couple of days. The hold is very natural so it doesn't look like you’ve piled on the products or make your hair crispy like some hairsprays. I’d liken the hold to Soft Spray, and the smell to Hold Me Tight (which to the uninitiated is lovely).

The thing that I really like about this product is that it is as effective on dry hair as it is on wet hair, meaning that it is great for touch-ups, or straightening naturally dried hair.

I haven’t yet tried this before curling my hair, but from past experience with Paul Mitchell products I’m sure that it will be fabulous. I’d definitely give this product a massive thumbs up!

xxx

…and the winner is…

2010-05-05T11:48:00.001-07:00

Thank you for all of your entries – I was really happy to get so many, but in this case there can only be one winner and that lucky lady is….

The lovely Laura at Lollipop Loves!!

Congratulations sweets, email me your address and I’ll get your goodies posted out!

xxx

Product Rave: OPI Nail Envy Natural Nail Strengthener

2010-04-29T02:48:00.001-07:00

Unluckily for me, along with stumpy eye lashes, I also have another beauty affliction – weak nails. My mum suffers the same problem, but she has always put hers down to the fact that for years she was a hairdresser, so spent a lot of time with her hands in water, unfortunately I have no such explanation! I religiously had nail extensions for 5 years which gave me great looking nails but cost me a fortune and left my real nails in a worse state than they were in the first place.

Since I stopped getting extensions I’ve tried every lotion and potion going to try and coax my stumps into becoming beautiful talons, but I haven’t been having too much luck. I found that a combo of Soap and Glory Hand Cream and Boots No 7 Nail and Cuticle cream gave me a kick start growth-wise but they didn’t do anything much for the strength of my nails – they were still bendy and brittle.

I’ve been a fan of OPI colours for a long time (mainly because I can get them cheap with my Sally Trade Card) and I’ve picked up Nail Envy on a few occasions only to balk at the price of £15 and put it back on the shelf. Having tried Hard as Nails by Sally Hansen and been unimpressed I decided to take the plunge and invest in Nail Envy. This is one of the first products I’ve picked up without doing any research online first and I’m happy to say I’m really impressed, my nails are in the best condition they ever have been!

The instructions say that you should apply two coats of OPI Nail Envy strengthener on the first day, and then one coat every other day for one week. After a week, you remove the strengthener and try again.

I’ve been using Nail Envy for 3 weeks and I can’t stop singing the praises of this product. Within a week I was already beginning to see results, my previously soft and bendy nails became strong and flexible, and they have stopped peeling. I’ve also used Nail Envy as a base coat and I’m pleased to report that it works really well.

The verdict: If you have soft nails that are prone to breaking I couldn’t recommend this enough!!

xxx

Last Orders!

2010-04-28T05:00:00.000-07:00

Just to let everyone know that you have until Friday at midnight to enter my giveaway. If you haven’t entered yet what are you waiting for?!

Enter HERE!

xxx

Aussie Goodies

2010-04-27T14:51:00.001-07:00

I’m sure you’ve all read lots and lots of posts about this already but I thought I’d put my two penn’eth in!

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by Emma at Aussie to ask whether I would like to be part of phase II of Aussie Angels and of course I jumped at the chance (special thanks to Sinead for recommending me!) I attended a couple of the Aussie events during the first round and had a fab time so I was really excited about being more involved during phase II. The first this to d was to decide which tribe I belonged to – I identified with most of them (except Luscious Long) but given that my hair is generally flatter than a week old bottle of bubbly I plumped for the Aussome Volume tribe.

Being a bit lazy, when the postman knocked on my door at 6am on Saturday morning I grumbled a bit and rolled over for another hours beauty sleep – I regretted that decision when I spotted what seemed like half of the world tweeting about their Aussie welcome packs later in the day! Turns out my laziness meant I had to wait until Monday morning to pick my treats up from the Post Office, that’ll teach me.

So On Monday morning, I toddled off to said Post Office to pick up this little bundle of joy:

Which contained:

Aussome Volume Shampoo and Conditioner
3 Minute Miracle (I love this stuff)
An Aussie Mirror
Comb
Badges
and a Crunchie (slightly irrelevant but who doesn’t love free chocolate?!)

I was really surprised to receive this, so I want to say a massive thank you to Aussie!

I haven’t tried out any of the Aussome Volume range as yet so stay tuned for reviews!

Shout up if you’re in the same tribe as me – I can’t wait to meet up with everyone at the party in July!

xxx

Figure Envy / Gymspiration

2010-04-25T02:07:00.001-07:00

I’m pleased to report that my gym going has been going pretty well, I thought that it may have been a short-lived flash in the pan (as these things generally are) but I’m consistently going 4 times a week. I’m not good at self-motivation so I find that classes work best for me and I’ve found 4 that I really enjoy – Boxing, Spinning, Power Step and Zumba. I’d like to try Body Pump but my gym buddy isn’t quite as keen and I’m not brave enough to go on my own yet!

I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I’ll never be skinny, I’ve got an boobs and hips and I’ve finally decided to embrace them! So instead of aspiring to a figure I’ll never achieve I thought I’d put together some pictures of girls with the kind of proportions I could realistically (with a bit of work) have.

xxx

(All photos courtesy of Google Images)

REVIEW: Skin Wisdom All Day Light Moisture Cream

2010-04-21T10:37:00.000-07:00

I picked this up during a recent trip to Tesco (I must stop sneaking things into the trolley while the Mr is not looking) as I was looking for a cheapy moisturiser to use every day. I should probably be considering a more hardcore moisturiser, but at the moment I don’t think my skin needs anything heavier. Maybe I’ll rethink when I hit 25!

The Skin Wisdom range has been created for Tesco by Bharti Vyas (who is a holistic beauty therapist) and the range of skin care is designed to bring all of the benefits of professional therapies to your own bathroom. The Skin Wisdom range sells all manner of other skin care products, from cleansers and toners to exfoliators and eye cream.

The packaging lists Spring Sea Water, Green Tea and Chamomile as its active ingredients -the spring sea water helps to boost moisture levels in the skin and the Green Tea and Chamomile promise to soothe the skin and protect against the ageing process.

The cream itself is white in colour and it has a fresh scent to it which I wouldn't think would irritate even the most sensitive of skins. The product is very light, so you only need to use a very small amount as little goes a long way. Once applied, I find that the product sinks in very quickly and leaves my skin feeling refreshed.

For anyone with normal/combination skin I would recommend this product, but for anyone with dry skin it may be a little bit too light. I’m not sure that this will replace my Soap and Glory Catch a Wrinkle in Time (which is my usual moisturiser), but for under £3 is a bargain!

xxx

NOTD 20/04/2010

2010-04-20T12:14:00.000-07:00

Boots Natural Collection - Hibiscus.

This is a much brighter fuschia pink/hot pink in reality, but for some reason it didn't photograph well at all. I'd thoroughly recommend it along with pretty much all of the other Natural Collection polishes - they're amazing quality for under £2!

xxx

“I’m Just Crazy About Tiffany’s….”

2010-04-19T10:36:00.000-07:00

…..so said the fabulous Audrey Hepburn in my favourite film of all time, Breakfast at Tiffany’s. I spent many an afternoon on the sofa with my Grandma watching Paul Varjak’s pursuit of “that daring, darling” Holly Golightly, and I think that has to be where my obsession with the little blue boxes (and Audrey Hepburn) comes from. I have quite a collection of Audrey memorabilia which I’ve built up over the years, but until I met the Mr that little blue box had eluded me.

The Mr isn’t the best at buying presents but he knows me well enough to know that if its shiny I’ll probably like it! I thought I’d do a little post on my day-to-day jewellery, as though I love costume jewellery I don’t wear it all that often and tend to stick to the same staples. All of the items I wear on a day to day basis are presents from the Mr – yes, I’m a very lucky girl!!

So here we have it. I’m not a gold girl at all, I think gold can look lovely on other people, its just not for me!

The Items I wear everyday are: Gucci watch, Tiffany & Co Interlocking Circles ring, Return to Tiffany double heart pendant and Return to Tiffany bracelet.

Next on my wish list are earrings and a Tiffany Key, but I can’t decide which one!

Do you have any items that you wear every day?

xxx

Derby Day NOTD

2010-04-18T00:35:00.001-07:00

The nerves have been building all week and here it is – derby day! Had my nails been longer I’d have gone for the full blue and white stripes, but given that this was a bit of a rush job I went with Wednesday blue – the polish I chose is True Blue from Boots 17 Fast Finish range.

Wish us luck!!

xxx

Long, Short or Choppy?

2010-04-17T13:57:00.001-07:00

…..decisions, decisions!

xxx

FOTD: Sunny Saturday

2010-04-17T08:07:00.001-07:00

Hope everyone is enjoying the sunny weather today, whether you’ve spent it in the garden, in the park or in a beer garden (which would have been my choice!)

the sun must have sent me a bit dolally as I thought I’d be brave and share my FOTD with you all. I went for a coppery, lightly bronzed look today. Given the fact that I’m as pasty as a Cullen, my bronzed is probably a lot less tan-tastic than other peoples idea of what bronzed should be but here it is……

What I used

Maybelline Dream Creamy Foundation in Nude
MAC MSF Natural in Medium
MAC MSF in Redhead
Maybelline Dream Sunglow Bronzer in Light/Medium
Too Faced Shadow Insurance
Barry M Dazzle Dust in 44 Bronze (all over lid)
17 eye shadow in Yeah Baby (highlight)
Natural Collection eye shadow in Asteroid (crease)
Urban Decay 24/7 liners in Lucky (lower lashline) and Zero (waterline)
GOSH Velvet Touch eye liner in Bananas (inner corner)
Maybelline The Colossal Mascara
Urban Decay Brow Box in Honeypot
MAC TLC in Feelin’ Good

I tried to take a close up of my eye but unfortunately my photography skills aren’t up to that much yet!

Hope everyone is having a lovely weekend

xxx

REVIEW: Skin Therapy Eye Make Up Remover

2010-04-14T13:32:00.001-07:00

No fancy names here, but then what can you expect from 79p? Yes you read that right – seventy nine pence. Although I’m a sucker for a bargain I don’t make a habit of picking up my skincare in Wilkinsons (though they do sell other brands at bargainous prices), however I was about to be late for my spinning class and I realised I a) had no eye makeup remover, and b) had exactly £1.17 on me. I popped into Wilkos expecting to come out with some paint stripper-esque baby wipes but lo and behold I spotted this beauty. Naturally I picked it up and left the shop feeling very pleased with myself for getting eye make up remover AND a Twix for the princely sum of £1.17.

So onto the review. The packaging is nothing special, I'd prefer a pump dispenser than the hole-in-the lid which you get but again, its 79p, you can't expect too much!

The product is very much water-like, its runny, clear, and is fragrance-free. I generally prefer liquid/oil based eye makeup removers as I find gel ones a bit slimy and cream ones leave too much residue. It promises to gently moisturise with conditioning agents, though I'm not entirely convinced by this claim. I didn’t notice any moisturising qualities what so ever, but then if you want moisture buy an eye cream!

So onto the burning question…..is it any good? I'd say for 79p, yes. It shifts my daily eye makeup (currently Max Factor Lash Extension mascara, UD 24/7 liner in Zero, Too Faced Shadow Insurance and whatever eye shadow I happen to have picked up), though I'm doubtful that it would do a job on anything heavier than that.

Would I recommend this? For my gym bag, yes - for 79p you can't really go wrong! But if you wear heavier make up than that described above I'd probably say save your pennies and go for something like Boots No7 Dual Action Eye Makeup Remover which is my usual staple. Having said that, its such a bargain that its not the end of the world if you buy it and don't get on with it. Plus you'll have enough cash left to buy another (much needed) lippie!

xxx

Slightly Belated 100 follower giveaway - CLOSED

2010-04-09T10:53:00.001-07:00

Here it is – my not-so-long-awaited 100 follower giveaway. Thank you to all of my lovely followers, I do read all of my comments, though I can be a bit slow at replying to them and appreciate each and every one of you!

Without further ado, lets get to the good stuff – THE PRIZE!!

The giveaway winner will win everything pictured above. I decided to make up the prize of some of my favourite products, and hopefully there’s something for everyone.

One lucky winner will win:

FCUK Make-up bag (perfectly handbag-sized)
A bottle of St Moriz Instant Self Tanning Mousse
Lush Snow Fairy Shower Gel
Collection 2000 Hot Looks Nail Polishes in BMX Bandit and Siren
Urban Decay Heavy Metal Glitter Eyeliner in Midnight Cowboy
Boots Extracts Almond Body Butter
Boots Natural Collection Moisture Shine Lipstick in Apple Blossom

Obviously all products are brand new and have never been used!

The Rules (Thank you to the lovely Rhamnousia who let me pinch her watertight giveaway rules):

Follow this blog and be an active blogger, either in the beauty or fashion community. This giveaway is to say thank you to my genuine followers. Its not for the 2000 people who will suddenly decide to follow me because they see the “G” word then disappear back into the ether. Obviously I welcome new followers, but I’d rather those followers had a blog and/or had something to say and aren’t just in it for the ‘free lunch’ so to speak.
For 1 entry: Leave a comment below telling me what your favourite type of blog posts are (e.g. reviews, FOTD, OOTD, Hauls)and of course, the obligatory "enter me".
For 2 entries: Post on your blog or tweet about the giveaway
For 3 entries: Have a link in your sidebar about the giveaway

If you post about my giveaway on your blog, tweet about it or link back to it, let me know so that I can give you your extra entries

This giveaway will be open for 3 weeks from……………….NOW!!(Closing on 30 April at midnight)

Good luck ladies!!

xxx

Middle-aged Post Alert – My Kitchen

2010-04-08T12:51:00.001-07:00

Yes, its yet another off-topic post….

Now you’ll probably know that I’m a bit middle-aged and there’s nothing I like more than watching UKTV Food and pottering about in my kitchen. So I thought I’d share a few pictures of my beloved kitchen. There are a few things I’d still like to change, but it’s just about getting there now. Not quite sure how I managed to talk the Mr into the hot pink (I think she was up to his ears in circular saws and decking at the time) but believe it or not he’s grown to love it – result!!

I tried to do this as a 360 degree tour round my kitchen, only I’m waiting on my new sink so I omitted that area as it’s not finished (we do have a window – honest!). I’ve gone for a slightly kitsch/retro theme as you can see (I’m still waiting for my Dualit Kettle/Toaster combo though *hint hint Mark*)

Enjoy…..(or not, as the case may be)

So that’s my kitchen! Don’t worry, normal service will be resumed soon :)

xxx

REVIEW: Aussie Dual Personality part 1: Curl Definition and Soft Feel Serum

2010-04-06T13:37:00.001-07:00

One of my staple hair products is serum – I’m never without the stuff! I use it both before and after styling to tame the frizz and eliminate any flyaway static-y bits of hair that I always seem to have. I’m a bit of a Paul Mitchell devotee, and have always used Super Skinny serum, which I absolutely love. I recently went away for the weekend and somehow forgot to pack serum, so in a mad panic I picked up this Aussie product in the supermarket. I think that it cost me about £4.50 for 75 ml which is slightly cheaper that the Paul Mitchell product (£14 for 150ml). To be honest I’ve not really tried all that many Aussie products, in fact the only one I can remember using is the ubiquitous 3 Minute Miracle but I was drawn by the name of the product – since having shorter hair I’ve been dabbling with curls instead of the poker straight hair I’ve had for as long as I can remember. I’m quite impressed by this product and will probably use it alongside my Paul Mitchell staple so I thought I’d do a little review on it.

The serum claims to revive and separate each curl, giving defined but bouncy locks with a soft feel. Ever the cynic, I was a bit dubious about the statements made but I’m happy to report that the product lives up to most of them.

The Serum contains Australian Jojoba Seed oil which acts as a built-in conditioner aid for your hair – which is definitely a bonus when you have slightly straw-like bleached locks like mine.

The product is clear (as expected) and slightly runnier than the Paul Mitchell product (which is the only other serum I’ve used) but this doesn’t cause me any problems. Oh, and it has the standard Aussie scent which I happen to love.

I prefer to use this on dry hair than wet as it makes my hair feel beautifully soft and shiny. When used on wet hair it gives plenty of definition but not so much softness. Having said that, its a great product for putting on your hair and leaving to dry naturally if you can’t be bothered with drying and straightening.

The Verdict? I’m not going to abandon Paul Mitchell yet but I’ll definitely use this product when I want curly locks or I’m giving the straighteners a rest.

xxx

Spring Wishlist....

2010-04-05T02:00:00.000-07:00

I’m starting to think that maybe I should rename this blog as its evolved from being purely a beauty blog, but as you can tell I’m not too imaginative when it comes to blog names so for the time being at least I’ll leave it be!

As I’m still trying to scale my make up collection down to a manageable size I’ve been more into clothes shopping than make up shopping in recent months, and at the moment I’m absolutely loving Oasis! I’ve only ever really bought from Oasis during the sales, but at the moment there are so many new items I want to splurge on! I thought I’d share a few of my current objects of desire through the wonders of Polyvore, so here goes……

Spring wishlist by BrionyLou featuring Oasis

Which is your favourite store at the moment?

xxx

Hi, my name is Briony

2010-03-31T06:58:00.000-07:00

I've spotted this on a few blogs and thought I'd get involved. This was pinched from the fabulous Nicola.

Never in my life have I been: sky diving!

The one person who can drive me nuts is: My mother. Not all the time, but she has her moments!

High school: was fair to middling. I definitely made up for it at uni though!

When I’m nervous: I fidget and feel sick

The last song I listened to was: The Razor - Head Automatica

If I were to get married right now my best man/maid of honour: my bestie

My hair is: bleached

When I was 5: I spent my school holidays in France, skiing in winter and playing on the beach in summer.

Last Christmas: was great, I love Christmas.

I should be..: working

The happiest recent event was: a lazy Sunday with the girls, filled with roast dinner, wine and gossip.

By this time next year: I will be free of my horrible Professional Development Loan

There’s this girl I know that: has the sunniest disposition in the world and never fails to cheer me up

I like you when: you comment - a nice comment never fails to make me smile

The world could do without: ignorance

Most recent thing I’ve bought myself: another LBD

Most recent thing someone else bought me: A Hello Kitty Easter egg

My middle name is: Louise

The animals I would like to see flying besides birds are: Pandas

Once, at a bar: I drank the place out of Jack Daniels. I can't remember much else……

Last night I was: At spinning class

There’s this guy I know who: knows me inside out and outside in.

Tomorrow I am: going to eat curry, drink too much and probably fall over - not necessarily in that order.

Tonight I am: going to visit the Mr's newborn baby nephew

My birthday is: August 25th

Review: Maybelline Dream Creamy Foundation

2010-03-26T15:10:00.001-07:00

I’ve been using Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse as my daytime foundation for almost as long as I can remember but recently I’ve been considering a change as my skin has been feeling a little dry. Unfortunately dry skin and Dream Matte Mousse is a bit of a recipe for disaster as it seems to enhance the dryness and make my skin look flaky and generally awful!

I picked this up in Tesco while I was browsing the make up section during a break from doing the food shopping (I hate food shopping with a passion so little breaks are a must). I considered Dream Satin (another foundation I have meant to try but never got round to) but this leapt out at me because the packaging had the magic word “hydrating” on it. I think I paid somewhere around the £5 mark and it was on offer at £2 off.

I usually use ‘Cameo’ in Dream Matte Mousse but the shade range wasn’t so wide in this foundation so I went for the lightest on offer which was ‘Light Porcelain’ which was a pretty good match for my Cullen-esque winter pallor.

The first thing I did was throw away the sponge applicator which came with the product in favour of my trusty MAC 187 (which incidentally is my absolute favourite brush for foundation application). The product itself melts immediately on contact with the skin to a silky liquid consistency making application and blending a doddle, which is great when I’m in a rush in the morning! All I need is a quick sweep of MSF Natural on my T zone (which is sometimes prone to being a little shiny) and my base is done. I find that the product has great staying power however if you have oily skin you may want to give it a miss as the hydrating effect would probably mean that it slides straight off your face.

This product has been great for my dry skin great during the winter and I will definitely repurchase for the colder moths, however I think in summer when my skin is less dry I’ll stick to my trusty Dream Matte Mousse.

xxx

Rating and Slating 25/03/2010

2010-03-25T13:40:00.001-07:00

Rating

Sunny days - its not exactly scorching, but the sunshine we've had this last week has definitely lifted my mood
Looking forward to a fun packed weekend - one of my besties is coming up for the weekend and we've made lots of exciting plans including going to play in the snow at Xscape on Saturday - yay!
True Blood – I held off watching season 2 online but I’m loving it on FX HD! Alexander Skarsgard in HD = doubly delicious!

(it had to be done!)

Slating

Car Insurance - turns out my insurance has shot up since getting my new wheels, which means even less cash to splurge on fun things :(
Running out of reading material – now I’ve finished the Sookie Stackhouse Mysteries I’m all out of books. Think a trip to Waterstones on payday is required!

xxx

Review: Max Factor Lash Extension Effect Mascara

2010-03-24T10:34:00.001-07:00

OK, I'll hold my hands up: My name is Briony and I am a mascara junkie. I just can't help myself, I must have about 12 mascaras on the go at any given time. Everytime I walk into Boots/Superdrug/Debenhams/Sainsburys I have an overwhelming urge to pick up a new mascara because I'm fickle like that. As you may be aware, my all time favourite is Lancome L'Extreme but I still have a strange compulsion to try any and every mascara available. Maybe I'm still searching for 'the one'! I suffer from a severe case of stumpy-lash-itis so I have a bit of a predeliction to grap anything that promises length, so when I was lucky enough to get a tube of Max Factor Lash Extension Effect mascara at the Aussie Event in January I was chuffed to say the least.

I held off trying this out for a month or so as I was in the process of whittling down the mascaras I already had on the go, but I've now been using the product for about 3 weeks and thought I'd do a quick review on it.

The brush is a rubber affair with tiny little bristles, which is fine for me - I don’t really have a preference either way when it comes to brushes, in my view if it works, it works, whether the brush is a traditional one or high tech one makes no odds at all to me! The only grumble I have is that the brush isn't purple as in the promotional pics - though that's fairly irrelevant given that the brush is usually coated in mascara!

The mascara itself gives me great natural looking length without clumps, but the down side is that it gives no volume at all. I haven't experienced any flaking but find it easy enough to shift at the end of the day. I don't mind the defined seperated look during the day, but I prefer my lashes with volume AND length of an evening (greedy? maybe.)

I'm not sure I'd repurchase this as I think there are other mascaras which are cheaper and do more or less the same job, but all in all it is a decent mascara for the price and it does what it sets out to fairly well.

xxx

My Baby

2010-03-16T14:54:00.001-07:00

The wait is over...... its finally here and I can safely say its love ♥ ♥ ♥

xxx

Sunshine Blog Award

2010-03-16T13:42:00.001-07:00

What better way to return to the blogosphere than with a blog award?? Thank you to the lovely Charley for nominating me for the Sunshine Award.

The rules:
Post the award on your blog.
Pass the award on to 12 bloggers.
Link the nominees within your post.
Let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blogs.
Share the love and link the person who gave it to you.

I'm sure that most of you have already received this award so I'd like to nominate all of my fabulous followers! Well, they do say rules are made to be broken don't they?!

xxx

2010-03-16T09:13:00.001-07:00

As you might be aware, this LOLcat has been me for the past couple of months, but my internet access has FINALLY been restored!

In between catching up with salacious celebrity gossip, LOLcats and despairing at the sight of my bank account I will be posting my little heart out so expect a sudden influx of posts (maybe with my belated 100 follower giveaway somewhere in the middle!)

xxx

OUCH!!!

2010-03-08T11:03:00.001-08:00

WARNING: This is probably not the most glamorous post you're ever going to read, but I need to share.

I'm one of those people who NEVER get ill, or spots (not that ill and spots are anything like similar, but you catch my drift). I'm one of those annoyingly healthy people who laughs in the face of sniffles and pimples. Today, however all that has changed. I'm the (not so proud) owner of a stye. And it hurts. Muchos.

I'm not entirely sure what a stye is, why I have one, or indeed why is hurts so bloody much when I blink, all I know is its on my waterline and has prevented me wearing eye makeup/contact lenses. Oh, and did I mention it hurts?!

Following a quick Google search I'm not much the wiser, apparently they come on when you're tired/stressed (check and check) and to get rid of it you rub the little blighter with a gold ring (the last bit sounds a lot like an old wives tale to me!). I thought better of taking a photo as there are much nicer things to look at such as new MAC collections, but if anyone has any tips/miracle cures/hokey witch doctor remedies to get rid of it PLEASE let me know!!

Ta muchly :)

xxx
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

Happy Belated Birthday...

2010-03-08T09:44:00.000-08:00

...To my blog!

I can't believe that my blog is one year old already!!

Thank you to all my lovely followers, and here's to another year!

xxx
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

Review: Lee Stafford Matt Fat Powder

2010-03-02T08:58:00.000-08:00

I recently picked up this little pot of wonderfulness when shopping for products to give my newly-layered hair a bit of oomph, and I thought I'd do a quick review on it.

When I bought this Boots were having one of their 3 for 2 on professional haircare promotions, but I believe that it usually retails for £8.99. The packaging resembles a salt shaker and is the standard hot pink Lee Stafford fare that we all know and love.

The blurb promises to give you volumised film star hair but I personally think that this product offers so much more! Not only does it deliver the promised volume, which is something that I previously only got through the use of rollers and LOTS of backcombing (which obviously isn't ideal) but it also does the job of a dry shampoo and mattifying product to boot. Plus, it smells absolutely divine!

Magic fairy dust may be high praise indeed, but I can honestly say that this product fits the description… I have no idea how it works but all you have to do is sprinkle a small amount of product onto your roots, rub the powder into your roots, jujj up your hair a bit and your good to go! I find that the product lasts well throughout the day but if I'm going out anywhere straight from work I tend to sprinkle a bit more product on, ruffle my hair up and I'm good to go.

xxx

NOTD 02/03/2010 - and a little moan!

2010-03-02T06:03:00.000-08:00

Today's NOTD is Elizabeth Street by Nails Inc which is a pretty pinky peach colour. I fancied something a bit more neutral and as soon as I spotted this in Debenhams I had to have it.

Now I love the idea of Nails Inc polishes (the colours are lovely and the names are quirky) but I personally find that they chip almost instantly. I've tried all manner of base coats and top coats, from Nails Inc to OPI and everything in between but nothing seems to work. Normally I wouldn't mind but when I'm paying over £10 for a polish I want it to last more than 24 hours! This time I've learnt my lesson and I'm sticking to China Glaze and my beloved Collection 2000 Hot Looks.

Does anyone else have any products that they just can't get on with or is it just me?!

xxx

NOTD 23/02/201

2010-02-23T04:57:00.000-08:00

Rimmel Wear Maxx in Celebrity Bash

Rating and Slating 23/02/2010

2010-02-23T02:04:00.001-08:00

Rating

· The return of the internet - tomorrow hopefully!

· Having nails - having read Leanne's blog posts and seeing the wonderful world of Konad I want it!

· Having nearly 100 followers - I'm still surprised anyone reads this drivel, but thank you one and all!

Slating

· Having the urge to splurge - the spending ban has been going quite well, however the last few weeks I've been having to try extra hard to curb myslef - I've even resorted to taking my switch card out of my purse and giving it to the Mr to look after!

· Mini delay - looks like its going to be another couple of weeks until I can pick my new car up, which makes me sad.

· Bad news - it seems to have been a week filled with bad news and its only Tuesday - hopefully things will get better towards the end of the week.

xxx

NOTD 21/02/10

2010-02-20T16:10:00.000-08:00

Collection 2000 Hot Looks in Button Moon

xxx

Lee Stafford Haul and quick review

2010-02-20T03:01:00.000-08:00

Hello Lovelies

As many of you will be aware I recently got my hair chopped, and as is customary with a new haircut I popped to Boots to pick up some new products to try out. I was drawn to the 'designer' hair care ranges and after a quick nosy at the James Brown and John Frieda displays I found myself drawn to the unmistakeable pink of the Lee Stafford stand. I've always got on quite well with Lee Stafford products since my first dalliance with the dry shampoo and dehumidifiers from the range about 5 years ago (plus I love the packaging) so I thought that I'd stick to what I know.

I ended up picking up another Dry Shampoo and Dehumidifier along with some new additions - Double Blow Mousse, Matt Fat Powder and Messed Up Light Spray Wax. I haven't had chance to try out all of the new products yet, but I have given the light spray wax a whirl. My hairdresser recommended using wax to separate the layers, which frightened me slightly as I'm a hair wax virgin, and always thought that hair wax would automatically result in me having a nasty, greasy mop. Having tried spray wax however it turns out that isn't the case! The layers on the top of my hair are quite short and this spray does a great job of giving me slightly messy, bed-head style hair. The spray itself is quite fine but its not easy to direct so its a bit all or nothing. If you're looking for something to make your layers appear more piece-y and defined I'd probably say go for a more traditional pot of wax rather than this product. Obviously you need to be quite sparing with the spray as too much will turn your head into a bit of an oil slick but overall I'm pretty impressed with the spray and for what I want it's great.

Any other recommendations for layer-friendly hair products would be more than welcome!

xxx
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

NOTD 13/02/10

2010-02-13T00:53:00.000-08:00

Yay my first NOTD post of 2010!

Now that the stumps have grown a bit I thought I'd add some colour. Today I went for Boots Natural Collection Nail Polish in Cosmic Crush (a gorgeous deep purple with a bit of shimmer) which has the honour of being my all time favourite bargain nail polish!

Hopefully there will be many more NOTDs to come :)

xxx
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

Thank You Soap and Glory....

2010-02-10T03:05:00.000-08:00

...for rescuing my non-existent nails!

I've been using Soap and Glory's Hand Food religiously for the last couple of weeks to try and turn my shameful nibbled stumps into something paintable and hey-presto it worked!

They're hardly into talon territory but they're a definite improvement on what went before, plus my hands feel gorgeously soft (and smell pretty good too!) - winner!

I'm sure my Soap and Glory bubble will burst soon (there has to be at least ONE product that isn't perfect), but until then I'll keep singing its praises.

What are your fave Soap and Glory products (and which are the ones to avoid??)

xxx
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

New 'do

2010-02-09T05:46:00.000-08:00

What's this?? Two posts in two days???? I must be getting a bit carried away or something.

As a few of you will know, I got my hair did on Saturday - to be honest it was in desperate need of a cut (and colour) as I've been struggling to fit an appointment in due to general busyness and my hairdresser being 90 miles away. I really should consider getting a hairdresser in Sheffield, but I have serious trust issues when it comes to my hair.

I was umming and ahhing for about a week before my appointment (as seems to be the custom), toying with going dark or keeping it blonde, going short or keeping it long, so much so that when I walked into the salon I had absolutely no idea what I'd come out with! I made the decision to stay blonde, which was probably for the best as I currently have a Cullen-esque pallor (minus the sparkles) and I think that going dark would have washed me out completely. Plus, I'm generally much happier as a blonde as I find it gives me a bit of extra confidence.

Once I had made the big decision about the colour, it was on to the style. My hair has been every style from long to a short inverted bob and everything in between. In the end, my hairdresser persuaded me to have some layers put through my bob to give it a bit more movement and texture which I was initially unsure about but now love! I'm at a bit of a loss how to deal with layers as the last time I had them I was about 15, but after a smash and grab raid on Boots, I'm thinking they might not be as much of a pain as I initially thought. The good thing about it is if I straighten it all out you can hardly spot the choppy-ness (so its perfect for work) but with a bit of wax/some waves its easy to funk up.

Hopefully I'll get a few more pictures up once Sky sort out the horrendous mess that is my phoneline/broadband situation, but here are a few (very dodgy) photos from the Blackberry :)

xxx

Rating and Slating 08/02/2010

2010-02-08T07:23:00.000-08:00

Rating

· T minus 3 weeks until I get my Mini - EEEEEEEK

· Still enjoying the gym - I'm still looking forward to going to the gym and an actually starting to see some results - go me!

· My new 'do - its different but I love it! Plus it gives me the perfect excuse to try out all manner of new products.

· February being a short month - I may actually manage to make my pay packet stretch the whole distance for once

Slating

· No internet access at home - STILL! You don't realise how dependant you are on something until its taken away! On the plu s side it does mean that I've got about 6 posts drafted and ready to go!

· Valentines Day - call me miserable but I just can't be arsed with it all. To be honest I'm of the opinion that if you can't be nice to each other everyday, why bother on one day…just because Clinton Cards tells you to?? (The Mr thanks his lucky stars about this!)

xxx

TAG: Happy 101

2010-01-28T07:35:00.001-08:00

I wasn't tagged to do this, but I borrowed it from the lovely Sinead.

The idea is to list 10 things which make you happy (not qute as easy as it sounds!)

I'm sure that most of you have already done this, but here's my two penneth:

J Sheffield Wednesday - Now they may not be the most glamourous team on the planet, and they're certainly not the highest achieving but I love them nevertheless. Why else would I spend every Saturday afternoon bundled up like the Michelin Man screaming obscenities at our ineptitude up front??

J The Mighty Boosh - No matter how crap my day has been, Howard and Vince never fail to raise a smile

J Music - Anything, literally! From Britney to Brand New and Hole to Head Automatica, I'm not sure that I could function without my trusty ipod.

J A good brew - I drink far too much tea, especailly at work. I'm trying to wean myself off Tetley's finest by replacing it with green tea with lemon as part of my health kick. Its going ok so far but I still don't think you can beat a proper cuppa.

J The Mr - He's not perfect (far from it in fact), and I'll never understand his love affair with his xbox but I love him to bits!

J My Cat - I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with my cat given that she's a bit of a tearaway (I put it down to rescuing her from a chav riddled estate) but theres nothing better than sitting on the sofa watching cheesy TV with Millie curled up on my lap.

J Cooking/Baking - I secretly fancy myself as a bit of a Bree Van Der Kamp / Nigella Lawson hybrid and could spend absolutely hours cokking up a storm in my beautiful kitchen (very dull post on this to follow shortly). I absolutely love baking in particular, and my Chocolate Brownies and cupcakes are always a hit at work.

J A good pampering session - Who doesn't love being pampered?! Either at home or at a spa, I'm not fussy!

J Driving - I love driving, especially after a rubbish day at work. I find that it clears my head and gives me time to think. I'm desperate to have a go on the Nurburgring but my dad doesn't quite seem so keen…. wonder why?! I currently drive a 2009 Fiesta Zetec S (which I adore) but I'm getting a new Mini Cooper in March - can't wait!!

J Family/Friends - I know, I sort of cheated by putting them together but some of my friends I consider my family, and I count the majority of my family as my friends. They've been there for me through thick and thin and I love all of them unconditionally (yes, even my little brother).

If anyone else has yet to do this but wants to please feel free (and comment me with the link to your happy list!)

xxx

I spoke too soon.......

2010-01-28T03:40:00.001-08:00

…..my broadband is still knackered.

At this rate normal service will resume at some point around March time.

xxx

Zumba-lievable!!

2010-01-21T04:51:00.001-08:00

Hello Everyone

Sorry for the lack of beauty-related posts recently but I've been taking my spending ban VERY seriously - I think this is the longest I've been without spending money on make-up in about 2 years!

Instead of spending my evenings mooching round Meadowhall or online shopping I've been hitting the gym and using the membership which I've been neglecting for the past few months! As a result I feel much healthier, I have tons more energy and actually look forward to going to the gym (which is an absolute miracle for me)!

Since Christmas the timetable at my gym has changed, which has given me the chance to try out some new classes. The same old Boxing, Spinning, Step routine was getting more than a bit old, so I was excited to see a new class called Zumba on my timetable. I've only been to two classes so far but I can safely say that I'm hooked!

The class is essentially a dance-based aerobic class built around segments of different types of dance (from merengue to rock and roll) which promises to tone and burn calories without you even realising that you're exercising.

I have to say that though I usually get a bit of a rush after exercising its very rare that you see me with a smile on my face during a class but somehow Zumba gives me a perma-grin as soon as I step into the studio! The description 'Prozac in disguise' hits the nail on the head!

I'm sure lots of you have already tried Zumba, but for those who haven't I would definitely recommend it!

You can read all about it here!

xxx

The Usual Suspects

2010-01-20T10:38:00.000-08:00

Hello Lovelies

Hope you're all having a good week, and if not its not long til the weekend!

Thought I'd do a quick post on the products I tend to reach for on a daily basis. Unfortunately I'm in a job which requires my makeup to be minimal and professional so you won't see any outlandish eyeshadow shades in this post I'm afraid!

I try to avoid wearing too much foundation during the week and usually just use MAC's MSF Natural buffed in with a kabuki. If I feel that I need a bit more coverage, I'll generally use Bourjois 8 Hour Sleep Effect Foundation as its not too heavy and evens out my skintone without looking cakey or 'too much'.

As I'm a bit pale I tend to use bronzer more often than not, and usually go for a pink toned blusher, My current flavour of the month is Tippy from the MAC Hello Kitty collection.

I always use an eyebrow pencil or powder as my brows need a bit of help definition-wise and apart from a bit of mascara (currently L'Oreal Double Extension Renewal Serum Inside Mascara) and Eyeliner (the ubiquitous Urban Decay 24/7 in Bourbon) I'm good to go!

The only thing that I'm missing from the picture is my favourite product of the year so far - MAC TLC in Feelin' Good.

What are your make up staples?

xxx

It's love.....

2010-01-19T12:05:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone

Sorry its been a while since I last posted, but as some of you will know from my Twitter updates I've been having some broadband problems! thankfully they're all sorted now so hopefully normal service will resume.

As you may have noticed from my recent posts I've been on a bit of a health/gym kick (like he rest of the UK) since the beginning of January. I've been doing really well with going to the gym etc but my massive weakness for sweet things has been letting me down. When I was in Sainsburys at the weekend I spotted some new Mullerlight Yogurts with chocolate sprinkles and thought "why not??" so I picked a multipack up and haven't been able to put them down since!

My personal favourite is the orange and chocolate ones - make no mistake, its no Terry's Chocolate Orange but its a pretty yummy compromise!!

xxx

100th Post!

2010-01-12T04:59:00.001-08:00

Well here it is….my 100th post!! Its not interesting (why break the habit of a lifetime?!) but it’s a milestone nonetheless. Hopefully once I get some internet access at home I'll get my mojo back and there will be many more to come!

xxx

I love, I want, I need.....

2010-01-12T04:55:00.001-08:00

….the gorgeous Particuliere nail polish by Chanel.

The only problem is that its sold out EVERYWHERE :( Looks like I'll have to stick with OPI's You Don't Know Jaques *sob*

xxx

That Friday Feeling.........

2010-01-08T08:28:00.001-08:00

Having had what seems like the longest week on record I didn't think Friday would ever come, but finally its here!!!

Between snow and the back to work blues this week has been far from a barrel of laughs but lo and behold, this morning there was a moment of brightness (unfortunately not accompanied by angels playing harps and the clouds parting, but you can't have it all I guess) - I've lost 3 pounds. And no, not 3 pounds stirling!!

I'm quite surprised about this in all honesty as the first week of "operation lose some timber" hasn't quite gone as smoothly as I would like. In fact that's a massive understatement - its been about as smooth as a white-water rafting trip. I started off so well, with back to back boxing and body pump classes on Monday night at the gym, but it turns out that my over-enthusiastic start was the beginning of the end. I've been eating much better (apart from the odd sneaky champagne truffle - well I can hardly WASTE them now can I?!), and I've even laid off the fizzy pop (Diet Cherry Coke is my ultimate downfall), but unfortunately I've only made it to the gym twice due to the lethal combination of snow and DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness to the uninitiated). I've now learnt that I'm far from being capable of doing back to back gym classes so body pump is being put on the back burner for a while.

I haven't disclosed my starting weight on here because a) I'm ashamed, and b) I can't quite bring myself to type it, but suffice to say I'm the wrong side of 12 stones. I don't have a target weight as such, but I'm hoping to lose somewhere in the region of 2 stone by next Christmas. I considered joining Slimming World or Weight Watchers but I'm not sure I could face the humiliation (and I just can't get the thought of Marjorie Dawes and 'Fat Fighters' out of my head), so I've decided to go it alone, armed only with a food diary and a Virgin Active membership card!

Anyway, just thought I'd share my little bit of good news with you!

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend, and the snow doesn't scupper your plans too much :)

xxx

Rating and Slating 04/01/10

2010-01-04T09:21:00.001-08:00

Rating

· MAC's Warm and Cozy collection - I've only bought two items from the collection, btu the more I've seen of it the more I want! This is not good for my spending ban.

· Getting my gym mojo back - 4 days into January and I've realised I actually quite like going to the gym…its just the getting there that is the hard part!

· Nights in as opposed to nights out - Cheap, cheerful and who says you can't get dressed up??

Slating

· Being back at work - I've realised that I'm not cut out for this working lark, I should be a lady of leisure!

· Snow/Ice/Crap Weather - All this snow has resulted in my car beong stuck on the drive, and means I have to use the dreaded peasant wagon. I don't get on well with public transport.

· Taking the Christmas decorations down - the house always looks so bare in January :( Maybe its time to redecorate??

xxx

Oops I did it again…..

2010-01-03T10:15:00.001-08:00

Seriously, that song could have been written for me! As some of you will be aware, I’m currently on a self-imposed spending ban. This is meant to mean no purchases at all, however I got a couple of Debenhams gift cards for Christmas, so what did I do?? I went to the MAC concession of course!

As soon as I spotted posts about the Warm and Cozy collection springing up I knew I had to investigate further, and investigate I did. Though I slightly overspent the value of the gift cards, I’m not feeling any buyers remorse whatsoever as I’m completely hooked on the two bits I picked up….so much so that I may have to got back to pick up the other TLC (I know, I know!)

I came away with Feelin’ Good Tinted Lip Conditioner and By Candlelight Mineralize Skin Finish. I tried to take some swatches but the lighting is terrible so I gave up, instead, here’s a pic of Feelin’ Good on my smackers. First impressions are that I love both products, Feelin’ Good is probably going to be my new staple lip product for during the day, and I might just have to go and pick up a backup. By Candlelight is a gorgeous peachy/pinky tone with gold reflects which has re-ignited (no pun intended) my love for MSFs!

Did anyone else pick up something from the new collections? If so link me to your posts!

xxx

In 2010 I resolve to……

2010-01-03T05:51:00.001-08:00

Go to the gym more than twice a week (4 times is my target)
Cut out the Diet Coke and drink water instead
Stop buying things (cosmetics, clothes, accessories) that I don’t need and won’t use/wear
Overhaul my makeup storage
Learn to budget!

I’m as bad at keeping New Year’s resolutions as the rest of the world, but I though in an attempt to guilt myself into keeping at least a few of them I’d make them public. At least this way they’re out there for the world to see! If anyone sees me breaking them, either through a blog post or on Twitter, please feel free to give me a virtual slap on the wrist!!

xxx

A bit late...

2010-01-02T14:04:00.001-08:00

...But I want to wish all of my followers a happy new year, and say a massive thank you for reading!

Stay tuned for my new year's resolutions post :)

xxx

Gifts Galore…

2009-12-27T13:52:00.001-08:00

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

2009-12-27T13:10:00.001-08:00

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!!

2009-12-25T00:44:00.001-08:00

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

xxx

Rating and Slating 21/12/2009

2009-12-21T10:33:00.001-08:00

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

2009-12-21T05:58:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-14T09:20:00.001-08:00

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…….

2009-12-13T10:06:00.001-08:00

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

2009-12-13T09:58:00.001-08:00

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