Monday 30 April 2012

Reached another level!

I think I've hit a bit of an all time low with my food obsession.


My cousin was once told that gluttony would be her downfall when she was eating in a lesson at school but I do believe that this now applies to me... I have acquired a rather delightful scabby chin as a result of my piggish ways! How I hear you cry (well I don't but hey I'll imagine) I had a doughnut that was a day old (this is the levels of my doughnut addiction) so I thought I'd pop it in the microwave for a few seconds.  This is usually alright, but on this occasion as I bit into it the molten lava jam shot out and literally stuck to my chin - it was agony and I just couldn't get it off!  So now I have this disgusting scabby chin to live with.  This will look delightful at college tonight when I have to have my make up done! 

Am I the only person to come a cropper as a result of a sugar fix?

x

Sunday 29 April 2012

Heaven on a plate.


Now I love my mum just because she's my mum, but when she brings me things like this meringue I love her because she knows me so well! 

This meringue was actually the size of my head (and that really is only a tiny bit of an exaggeration), but because of it's exceptional size I was expecting it to actually be all dry and quite likely to choke me if the dust was inhaled, I was however, proved 100% wrong.  Inside it was all gooey and delicious.  I just can't describe how nice it was but I would happily eat it every day so maybe that's a little indication?!  I ate it with fresh English strawberries and whipped double cream and (reluctantly) shared it with my brother and we were both in food heaven...well until we ate so much we felt beyond sick, but if it wasn't for our gluttony the experience would have been perfect! 

Who would have thought that egg whites and sugar could bring a girl so much happiness? But inventor of the meringue I salute you and am your biggest fan! 



Friday 27 April 2012

Real Techniques Stippling Brush


It was love at first stroke with this brush I'd say.  In fact, I think it was love at first sight because I think I knew I'd love it before I even got it.  I love watching Nic and Sam's YouTube videos and last year I got a bit obsessed with everything Pixiwoo and Real Techniques and I just knew I needed some of the brushes in my life!  I asked for this for Christmas and it was an absolute delight to see it there in my stocking on Christmas morning, and even more of a delight to feel it's beautifully soft caress (yes, I appreciate that talking this way about a brush might be a bit wrong, but trust me, if you've experienced it you'll know it's oh so true)! To be perfectly honest the rest is history really, and for the past four and a bit months this has been the only brush i've used to apply my foundation and I love it.  It claims to give an airbrushed finish, and I really didn't think it was possible because I've never really been wowed by a foundation brush in the past as I find they leave marks or seem to drag the product around, but this stippling brush really does just buff the product onto the skin leaving a flawless finish that looks really natural.  

I recently bought the Buffing Brush and I'm yet to try it.  I've heard such great things about it but I just don't know how anything can be better than the Stippling Brush, I'm almost scared to try it!! I don't want my love affair to end! 


I have quite a few other Real Techniques brushes (that's a bit of an understatement) but I'm yet to give them all a proper trial so I will have to wait a bit before I declare my love for them (although the Blush Brush is definitely a firm favourite as well - seperate post to come).

So far I've used this brush with Mac Pro Longwear, Max Factor Lasting Performance, Bourjois 123 Perfect and Lancome Teint Miracle and it has applied all of them like a dream.  I did however get a sample of Estee Lauder Double Wear Light and for some reason it seemed to be quite hard to apply with this brush, I felt like I was having to drag it around my face and use a fair amount of product, I don't know why this was, if it was the brush or the foundation or me?! 

I also love that the larger Real Techniques brushes can stand up on their own, because you don't want to have to lay your brushes down on unhygienic surfaces. 

These brushes are 100% cruelty-free which is also a massive positive, and because the bristles are synthetic it means that they can be used with a massive range of products, from creams to liquids and mineral products so the stippling brush could also be used to apply a cream or powder blush or bronzer...the wonders never cease! 

Can you tell I'm a bit of a fan?
Have you experienced the joy of this brush? Which is your favourite foundation brush?

x


I passed!

I did it, I did it!! I passed both the practical assessment and the exam that I had on Monday!  It feels like it has been so so long since I achieved anything or could feel an ounce of pride, and boy oh boy does it feel good to have that feeling back in my life! 


This doesn't mean I'm not scared to death about my next exam (on Monday) but hey I bloody well did it this time, so I can jolly well do it again...I must keep telling myself that! 


And yes, I did do a celebratory punch in the air on finding out I'd passed my exam, then do a crazy dance, then run into the lounge shrieking with excitement to my housemates...over reaction? - I think not! 


I'm sorry if this comes across as me just basically bragging or showing off or anything but I really am not meaning to do that, I am just feeling proud of myself and this is a massive mile stone for me so I'm sharing it! It's the little victories! 


xxx

Thursday 26 April 2012

As if it wasn't bad enough in the first place...

So the fact that I've decided to join a dating website isn't exactly an indicator of a flourishing love life (in case you're wondering if I only joined out of interest, I didn't, things are getting to desperate measures) I have recently had a bit of hilarious interaction via this dating platform - I have to laugh otherwise I might cry!

So my picture for the site is me with one of my friends.  Now maybe this is a rookie mistake but another friend of mine has one similar and I thought it was better than half cropping somebody out so I thought I'd be ok.  Wrong.  I got an email which started with an apology (never good from somebody you've never spoken to before), and they said they thought my friend looked intriguing and that they'd like to get to know her.  It wasn't even sugar coated, like 'you're profile looks great, but I've got to say your friend blah blah blah', nope this person didn't feel like softening the blow at all!! I mean come on, this is why I've had to resort to using a dating website because clearly I'm never going to be in the same league as my friends, yet even in my desperate bid for romance I'm still being used to get to them!! I replied, agreeing that my friend is gorgeous, nothing more, but he persisted, asking if she was single...!! I'm afraid I gave a pretty blunt reply along the lines of 'there's a reason I'm on a dating website and she isn't'...this is also a bit of a white lie, she isn't on the dating site, but she is single.  I know I am a terrible person for not telling the truth, and I was hardly going to pass on her details to this man anyway, but I just didn't want to deal with the humiliation of being bottom of the pile on yet another level!! 

I'm beginning to grow tired of this dating website malarky, at first it was fun reading all the emails and replying to a few but now the emails are fewer and further between and I'm a bit over it all.  I'll let you know if anything else of interest occurs (like a date  -  if only!) 

xxx

Wednesday 25 April 2012

What's not to love?!


I was just looking through my photos and I came across this little gem. 
What's not to love about trying to make yourself look like a bear in the middle of a busy John Lewis?
  Photos that haven't made it on here are 1) me in a deer-stalker pretending to be Sherlock Holmes, 2) me in a fishermans hat 3) and me wearing far too many hats at once...I really do feel for those forced to be seen with me in public.  

I quite like this look, and would like to try being a eskimo so I could legitimately wear this.

Tuesday 24 April 2012

NOTD: Indigo

After a weekend of moving my friends into their new flat and being a DIY goddess my nails are looking utterly horrific.  Only my little finger nails have survived to tell the tale, the rest gave up and jumped ship at the mere sight of flat packed Ikea furniture!  I decided that the best thing to do with them was hide them.  I really should give them some real tender loving care and apply base coats daily etc to give them a fighting chance, but I just don't want to have to look at them so they are well and truly hidden now! 









I don't often go for this colour Barry M shade 312 Indigo, but I'm really glad I have, I love it and I think it actually looks good on my very short nails.  It seems to have smartened them up and makes me look, dare I say it, sophisticated and perhaps professional?! 


I have included so many photos (too many most probably but oh well you can pretend you haven't seen them) because I really do think that this nail varnish is magic.  It looks so different depending on the light, sometimes it looks midnight blue, verging on a blackblue and other times it looks a very royal blue with a hint of purple.  


The application of this colour is lovely, it glides on and in two coats it looks rich and shiny and just generally lovely. And at £2.99 from Boots or Superdrug there really isn't any reason not to go for it, once again I think Barry M has produced a nail varnish that looks far more expensive than you'd expect for such a bargain!


I'm off to the cinema tonight to see 21 Jump Street, I really hope it's as good as it looks in the trailer as I'm in the mood for a good old laugh! Have any of you seen it and thought it was worth a watch?


xxx

Monday 23 April 2012

Decleor Aroma Cleanse.



I am an absolute sucker for beauty products and I am a salesman's dream, I will literally buy whatever anybody tells me to buy, or sign up for any charity I am stopped by much to the dismay of my bank balance.  I was asking my lovely beautician friend about which cleanser she would recommend (I was running dangerously low on my Clinique three step program), and this is what she uses and sells in the salon, and of course she only had to wave the muslin cloth in my face and I was sold, I think it was £25, which is pretty steep but I buy first think later where these things are concerned! I also bought the Aromessence Neroli oil (which I didn't really need but can't say I'm surprised I did it!).  Once I got home I was filled once more with shopping remorse and guilt, but now I can look back over the past ten months or so that we have been in face washing harmony for and think it was money well spent! 

So some product info for you: 
Full product name: Hydra-Radiance Smoothing & Cleansing Mousse 
Volume of product: 100ml
Comes with: 2 wonderfully soft muslin cloths and a nice little bag to keep it all in
Price: £26 from Decleor here or for £22.50 from feelunique here (so if I were you I'd get it from Feel Unique and check out the Decleor site for more product information)

I might be a big beauty spender but I need to eek everything out and get my moneys worth, and with this product this is made so so easy. You really do only need a pea sized amount, (which is about half a pump) I squeeze a little out onto wet hands and rub them together to get a velvety lather and then really massage it into my skin (although lets be honest here, sometimes when I'm tired all massaging goes out the window and I just slap it on, but the results are just as good!).  I then rinse the muslin cloth under warm water and squeeze it out so it's only damp (but still warm) and use it to wipe away the mousse, it really does feel like you are stroking your face with the softest combination of things imaginable!  I like to kind of smooth the cloth upwards to get every last bit of grime off my face (if you only stroke downwards you might not get under all the little hairs).  Once you do this you are left with baby soft skin, you truly are, and it just makes you look all radiant and glowy.  I feel properly clean after using this cleanser, and it's so lightweight and fresh. It's like the getting into a freshly made bed feeling but on your face if you know what I mean...and we all love getting into a freshly made bed!! 

Because Decleor use so many lovely ingredients this is a really natural and nurturing thing to put on your skin which I like because my poor old skin doesn't half get a pasting, I love the sun, I love make up, and I am forever touching my face (if I have a spot I can't leave it alone, I just can't) so there must be so much dirt and damage done to my poor little moon face that it just needs this twice a day as a breath of fresh air and a reminder that I love it and really do appreciate everything that it does for me! 

I also use the Tonifying Lotion, Aromessence Neroli oil, Hydra Floral Anti-Pollution - Flower Nectar Moisturising Cream and Neroli Essential Night Balm (crikey I am in love with Decleor).  But don't worry I bought all these things over a long period of time.  When I bought the Neroli Oil, it came with minis of the night balm and moisturiser so I used these until I'd saved some more and then I bought the moisturiser in full size, and I got the night balm for Christmas (lucky me!) They are all available from Decleor online or Feel Unique, alternatively if you like to see products first and speak to someone in the know then there are Decleor counters in many big department stores, John Lewis and House of Fraiser for shizzle (well ones that I've been to anyway!). 

I'm going to do separate reviews on the other items at another time as this is pretty long as it is...I hope I haven't bored you to tears.

The blanket/throw that my product is sitting on is made by the amazing Gabrielle Vary, and you really should check out her stuff if you're life is lacking a bit of handmade luxury knitwear http://www.gabriellevary.co.uk/ or on Not On The High Street - she happens to be one of my oldest friends and I love her dearly but her pieces really are beautiful, we have three of her cushions and the throw all in the same design and they bring our lounge to life! She doesn't know I'm writing about her (none of my friends know I blog!) so please don't think I'm just mentioning her out of duty, I'm not, she's just ridiculously talented! 

What is you favourite cleanser of the moment? Or you favourite soft furnishings for that matter?

xxx



Friday 20 April 2012

What I'm loving...

Don't get me wrong I love make up and products of all kinds but to be honest, sometimes writing about them takes more effort than my brain is willing to cough up (taking and uploading photos, trying to construct sentences that are remotely understandable etc) so today I thought I'd give my brain a break and just fill you in on bits and bobs.  


So without further ado, what I'm loving at the moment:


- Song -  Sail by Awolnation my brother kept playing this a couple of weeks ago and I simply got hooked, so I like to listen to it often.  The louder the better! 


- Drink - Aero Hot Chocolate, I know it's naughty but boy oh boy this stuff if gooooood! So so creamy and delicious! 


- Food - The Good - Pink Grapefruit, I love them, so sour but yet so sweet and a wonderful way to wake me up when I feel like a zombie (and they taste better when someone else cuts around the segments for you - fact!)
           - The Bad - doughnuts I am in serious danger of getting some form of restraining order dished out by bakeries nation wide...I just can't control myself!


- Nail Varnish - Barry M Berry Ice Cream see my blog post on it here

- Moisturiser - Body Shop Body Butter in Raspberry it truly is the stuff dreams are made of, and I'm going to have to do a separate blog post on it! 


- Random thing - Ice - I am addicted to ice, which might seem like the craziest thing to be addicted to, but I really am.  Like properly addicted (I will eat the ice left at the bottom of my friend's drinks, and I once just started eating the snow on top of a hedge when walking to uni with my friend (rightly so, she slapped me, called me a freak and then walked 10 paces in front of me)) Oh, this really has made me sound like a right mentalist, I'm not always like this I promise.


Anyway thanks for reading my random post, I hope it was interesting (and if not interesting then console yourself with the fact you're probably a lot more sane than I am!)




xxxx

Thursday 19 April 2012

NOTD: Tropical Temptation

                               Left - Without Flash. Right - With Flash                                     


Another perfect spring/summer colour that I'm embracing despite the torrential rain! This vibrant reddish-pink coral is a gorgeous bright, that really does look lovely with a tan (I'm delving into my memory here!).


With Flash on. Sally Hansen Mega Shine Top Coat.

It takes a bit of work to get a bold, streak free finish - after the first two coats it really does look like it's never going to come good, but persevere with a third and a top coat and it will!  


I'm sorry because I don't think that any of these photos do the colour justice, I think it's got a more creamy peach finish to it that is visible here (the first photo is closest to it I'd say).


What colours do you reach for when you need a bit of a pick me up? 
xxx

Wednesday 18 April 2012

The Red Lip

I think it is safe to say that the red lip is a bit of a classic.  It's sexy, it's sophisticated, it's empowering but in all honesty, I think it's bloody scary to wear. Whenever I want to wear the red lip look I always seem to find a reason it would be better off not bothering, such as; my lips aren't smooth enough to pull it off, I won't have the chance to touch it up and it'll look crap within hours, it won't go with what I'm wearing.  But whenever I pluck up the courage I think it's well worth it, it does make me feel more confident (I think!).  I'm not a massive fan of the shape of my lips, they aren't a uniform colour or smooth around the edges and they are always dry, but is that enough to stop me from going for red...like hell it is!! 


 As they come 

 Lined and filled in with Max Factor Colour Elixir Lip Liner in Number 10 Red Rush

Then painted (is that what you call colouring in your lips?) with Rimmel Lasting Finish By Kate, in shade 01. With a coat of Max Factor Lipfinity Top Coat.


I know Max Factor say not to use the top coat with other colours, but I need a bit of gloss on my lips as otherwise the dryness really shows through, so you know what Max Factor can just thank their lucky stars I've chosen them as my top coat brand of choice!! 

Despite saying that it makes me feel more confident, I just walked past my brother with this lipstick on and he thought I looked disgusting, and asked if it was a joke or would I seriously wear that out...bye bye 'it's ok I can pull this off' confidence!! 

What do you think of the red lip? Am I the only one who's scared of it sometimes? 

xxx

Monday 16 April 2012

Silky Smooth Hair


When I was about 14 I was really into hair serums, but by 16 I'd pretty much given up on them altogether.  A couple of months ago there was a deal on John Frieda in Superdrug so I thought I'd give this serum a go and see if I could reconnect with what I used to love about them.

  I fell straight back in love after the very first time.  I proceeded to blow dry and straighten my hair, and I was left with the silkiest, shiniest locks (one of my boy mates, a rugby playing, floppy haired boy at that, even commented on how lovely it looked!).

I've been using this product a couple of times a week since then, applying it at the very end of my shower while my hair is soaking wet (just smoothing one pumps worth through my mid lengths to ends), before getting out and whipping it into a turban. 




John Frieda
Frizz-Ease
Original Formula  Hair Serum
For medium to coarse frizzy hair



Sunday 15 April 2012

Another Perfect Sunday

Reading Post Secret with a cup, for me, is the perfect way to start a Sunday.  In fact, I wish I could start every day like this...maybe I should buy one of the books and then I could (although lets face it, I'd sit down and read it all and then I'd be back at square one again).  


I had my 95 year old friend (yes, that's right I'm 22 and I've got a 95 year old friend) over for lunch today, which was really special and lovely.  I gave her a manicure and she was in heaven (not literally - God can you imagine if I'd killed her with some fatal cuticle nipping exercise!), the look on her face as I was giving her a massage was enough to keep me topped up with goodness for a long while, it was the innocent face that I think only children and old people can have - her eyes closed and she had a grin on her face that I've never seen before.  As I was massaging her hands I was a little bit overwhelmed by the thought of just how hard those hands had worked over the past 95 years.  Just trying to think of 95 years of anything seems like a long time, but to have been alive for that long, to have lived through two world wars, two husbands and two broken legs seems pretty awe inspiring.  She brought over some old photographs of her as a child (she was one of 11, but one sister died aged nine) as well as ones of her in her 30s and it was just an incredible portal into another world.  I'm sorry, this is probably a really boring post because none of you know Grace, or the relationship that she and I have forged over the years, but I really did just feel compelled to write something down about it because I think she's amazing even if she does tell me I've got fat and sometimes sends me horrible letters!! She talks of death so easily, really she is wanting and waiting for it to come, but I will miss her so much that I can't even consider her going just yet selfish as that may be.


Everyone deserves to be pampered hey!

My lovely Mum, Grace and myself. 




The sun was shining and the sea was so so sparkly that I just wanted to dive in today and I just feel so lucky to live in such a beautiful place. I was driving along with my music blaring (in a non-antisocial way, and obviously not when Grace was in the car) and I just felt that 'inner smile' for a little bit - I wish I could bottle that feeling and take it as easily as Nurofen! 


I hope you all had a lovely Sunday too!


xxx

My First Try of Mii Cosmetics

I was so excited when the gorgeous lady who does my waxing (who doesn't love the woman who can do that for you?) text me to say she was getting Mii Cosmetics for the salon, and today was the day that I got to play with them!! 


I got to try the Illuminating Face Base SPF 15, and I'm shade 03. It really is a gorgeous lightweight foundation, that gives more long lasting coverage than a tinted moisturiser but it's still really sheer (I could still see my freckles but I felt comfortable in it, which I think is a good sign).  I know it says it's illuminating, and I'm never so sure about those claims because I sometimes look plain old shiny not nice and glowing, but this truly did make me glow, and it's not until you see it in sunlight that you really get the true effect.  In fact I was meeting my dad in town just after I'd had this applied and without knowing I'd had my make up done he told me I was positively sparkling from half way down the street.  I felt sparkly too, all healthy and nice looking!! I was really gutted that they didn't have my shade in, but I am going to make sure I get my hands on some before summer because I think it'll be a summertime essential! 



NOTD: Berry Ice Cream









I adore this Barry M shade (308 Berry I/C).  I think it's a fantastic colour for spring and summer, and it really cheers me up when I look at my nails and I see this shining back at me.  Usually I find this polish glides on like a dream but today it wasn't going my way (I don't know if it was me or the nail varnish...probably me, lets face it) so to get a nice even coverage it took three coats but the finished product is worth the wait in my opinion.  I finished it off with a thick layer of Sally Hansen Mega Shine and now I have super shiny bright mauve/lilac nails - just what I need to make it feel like spring even though the weather has taken a turn for the worse!! 





Saturday 14 April 2012

Product Junkie

I have seriously got to curb my addiction to spending on beauty products, it is getting utterly ridiculous.   I tell myself that because I don't buy clothes (I am repulsed by the sight of myself and changing rooms only reinforce this, so I look like a tramp most of the time) it is totally acceptable to spend elsewhere instead. It isn't, and I'll tell you why - because I don't have any money.  It wouldn't matter if it was clothes, shoes, food or bloody bay leaves I can't afford any of it.  I know this, but when I am around products I literally am like a woman possessed and I simply can't help myself, I just go mad!! 


Here is a nice example of my total inability to control myself... Yesterday I was in boots (to collect a prescription so I needn't have even looked anywhere else for starters) and I decided to see if they had any OPI Nail Envy because I'd been recommended it and I really am trying to look after my nails at the min, see this post They did, they had Sensitive and Peeling from the Nail Envy range so I thought I'd go for it, then, like a mad woman I quickly grabbed OPI Avoplex Nail and Cuticle Replenishing Oil (I already have cuticle oil so definitely don't need it), and I scrabbled around for a few other equally unnecessary products! Today however, I went in to town to have a wax and oh no I couldn't just pay my money for that and leave, I had to buy something (it's like some people 'see red' I just 'see product') so I picked up Jessica Fusion and Jessica Phenomen Oil as well. Now correct me if I am wrong but I do believe they are exactly the same products that I bought yesterday just by a different brand. So why, oh why did I feel the need to purchase them all?!  My beautician even asked me if I was sure (she knows I'm skint) and I still went ahead and did it. What is my problem?! 


I don't know how to make this stop, but it literally happens all the time.  Any suggestions on what to do if you are incapable of controlling your beauty buying would be greatly appreciated! 

xx

Friday 13 April 2012

Hand Cream, Oh Hand Cream You Wonderful Stuff!!


My hands used to be lovely, they were soft and my nails were strong and I looked after them because they made it worth my while.  But times have changed and my hands and I have been going through a rocky couple of years really, they let me down and went all dry and my nails went all weak and decided it wasn't worth sticking around so the peeled off and split at the earliest opportunity.  As a result and a bit of an 'up yours' to these turn coat hands I decided to stop showering them with love and attention and gave them the equivalent of the silent treatment - rarely painting them, and never moisturising them even if they felt as dry as the Sahara. 

Despite this, I have come to the conclusion that something has got to give.  And it seems increasingly likely that my hands and nails are not going to cooperate of their own accord (I"ve given them a couple of years to change their ways but no, they're stubborn creatures) so it's down to me, and I am going for a military style attack.  If I place enough hand creams in enough easily accessible places then surely I will have to give my poor paws the loving they need to be my silky strong friends again?!

So the plan of attack is going to go something like this...

In My Handbag


Cath Kidston Honeysuckle Hand Cream

At 30ml, this is the perfect size for your handbag.  I got this one for Christmas (they come in a set of three, and were split between three of us as stocking fillers which was a lovely idea) and at first I thought it was going to be a bit too floral for my taste, (I don't think it really smells like honeysuckle, but my sense of smell is a bit sketchy at the best of times) but I actually think it's fine, quite delicate and light. It's quite a thick cream, almost paste like, but it glides on really nicely and soaks in well leaving no greasiness at all, and your hands really do feel soft and lovely after using it (is it wrong to stoke your hands in public coz you like the way they feel?!)

In The Bathroom


Soap and Glory Hand Food

I love the signature Soap And Glory scent so this is a winner for my nose, and luckily it's a winner for my hands as well.  Again it's quite a rich formula so you really feel like you're doing some good when you slather it on.  It claims to be a 'non-greasy hydrating hand cream with shea butter, macadamia oil and marshmallow' and to be honest I'll roll with that...except the marshmallow bit (can't smell them and thankfully don't have sticky melted marshmallow fingers either!).

On My Desk


Vaseline Healthy Hand & Nail

This was the first ever hand cream I purchased (obviously not this exact one) when I was about 13, and I have loved it ever since.  It has keratin and vitamin E in it, both of which are amazing for skin and nails.  I really do feel like this is doing good when I put it on, no faffing around with fancy smells, just pure goodness for our hard working hands! I like to put a blob on each nail and cuticle and really massage it in and leave it to soak through and then apply a bit more and give it a good rub.  It leaves your hands feeling really smooth (again, stroking my hands just because I love the feel of them). 

In The Kitchen


Cath Kidston Intesive Hand Cream

What this product has to say for itself - 'This specially formulated cream with shea butter, cocoa butter, glycerin and sweet almond oil, will intensively moisturise and protect your hands.  Fragranced with a bouquet of green fruity floral with cherry blossom, honeysuckle and amber wood.'
I only recently got my sense of smell back (after 8 long years without it!) and when I smelt this in the Cath Kidston shop in Cardiff it was love at first sniff.  I literally wouldn't care if it made me feel as if I'd dipped my hands in tar, I'd still slather it on!! It's a really fresh and fruity smell and I simply love it! Thankfully it doesn't feel like tar, quite the opposite in fact.  It takes slightly longer to soak in but then it's and intensive moisturiser so that is to be expected and in no way does it leave your hands feeling greasy once it's been absorbed, just soft and smelling divine (smelling and stroking your hands...much weirder!)

And finally...

By My Bed



The Body Shop Almond Oil Hand Rescue Treatment

I have had this pot of hand cream for years and years but it's still going strong which has got to be a good thing! It's got quite a strong nutty smell, which I like but I guess if nuts aren't your thang you might not be such a fan.  It really is a 'rescue treatment', it's quite a greasy, heavy duty product but it really does work, and seems to penetrate the layers of hideous dryness!! This is why I like to use this at night because to be honest it doesn't really matter how much you've slapped on it's not going to cause you any trouble.  And also, it's not too oily, it does absorb well to leave lovely soft little mitts! 

Blimey, who knew you could waffle on about hand cream for this long?! 
I hope this hasn't been insanely boring, and that some of you made it all the way to the bottom of this post! 
I really hope that with all these hand creams strategically placed about my house I will finally give my hands the care and attention they need and they will show their gratitude by glowing and being the best looking hands out there! 

Here's hoping! 


Also - the gorgeous blanket that these photos were taken on is made by the incredibly talented Gabrielle Vary. Check her out, she truly is amazing. http://www.gabriellevary.co.uk/ or at Not On The Highstreet here.



xxx








Thursday 12 April 2012

NOTD: I Pink I Can

Sally Hansen - Complete Salon Manicure - Shade 510 - I Pink I Can




Top left - With Flash. Top right and bottom - Without flash.
This finished product of this nail varnish looks lovely but I think you have to put a bit of effort in to get it looking like that.  The first coat goes really streaky, and then to be quite honest so does the second (there are definite dark bluish tones in steaks after two coats). So I think a third coat is a bit of a must, and after that it looks lovely with Sally Hansen Mega Shine top coat.  So it's a bit of a long process to get the finished look but I was happy to watch beauty videos on YouTube (as I do for far too long each day) so I wasn't in a hurry.


This colour is very much a Barbie pink, and a little bit too 'little girl pink' for my usual tastes but something came over me in boots and I was drawn to it! And despite me saying it's a little bit too plastic pink for my me my only other nail post has been a bit of a bright girly pink (although I think Pink Flamingo which you can see here is more of a peachy/corally pink) so maybe I'm more into them than I let myself think!


On my toes I've gone for Rimmel Pro Finish 295 Fancy Fucshia.  It really is just a gorgeous deep but vibrant fucshia.  The 'maxi brush' claims to give 'mistake free application', which it probably does on your finger nails (I can't remember) but on your tiny toe nails it just makes it a bit of an ordeal to try and get a good covering without painting half your toe as well!).  I love having bright colours on my toes, in fact I usually only go between two or three nail varnishes for them because I'm just a bit set in my ways.





























I'm not sure that either colour comes out very well in the photos. I'd say that I Pink I Can is actually less of a baby pink and more of a bright, and less of a coral/peach than the pictures show, and I'd say that Fancy Fuchsia is actually deeper than either photo portray.  I realise this isn't very helpful, but I'm afraid there aint a lot I can do about it! 

Wednesday 11 April 2012

There's No Place Like Home

There is nothing like a weekend at home.  I am so so lucky to have such amazing friends in my home town. I've made friends since leaving school (it would be a bit sad if I hadn't), and don't get me wrong I have made great friends since school. Yet it is only at home that I have so many lovely friends, and we meet up en masse and slot back to exactly as we've always been, we all have our own space and place within the little family we've created.  Obviously there are some within the group that are closer than others, but we all gel and love each other (although you wouldn't think it if you heard us - I think we take 'banter' to the next level!!).  You can laugh with them but they'll be there in full force if you need them too.


I love the fact that we have all dispersed to the far corners of the county (and at times to other countries too) but we all make such an effort to get together when we're home, or we just make our own home elsewhere!! 


We're a big fan of traditions, we have an annual Christmas dinner at my house and this has been going for about five years now.  Any excuse for another feast is greatly appreciated so we've taken to having tea parties (we had one for the Royal Wedding last year but decided we didn't need a wedding to eat cake and catch up so we had another) and flipping heck the spread was incredible.  



A wild night 2009



Our own royal wedding 2011


My annual Christmas Feast 2011




Afternoon Tea Easter 2012

I really am a lucky lady!! 

xxx

Tuesday 10 April 2012

The simple things!



Would you believe it but this is how the broccoli naturally fell into the pan?! 

Yes, I did stop and exclaim in wonder at the sight of broccoli forming a perfect circle, complete with centre, of it's own accord and then rush to take a photo.  Mad as I might be, it made me smile and that's good enough for me! 

x

Monday 9 April 2012

Easter Egg Hunt!

Every year since I was little we've had an Easter egg hunt and instead of stopping it as we got older (I always come home for Easter so there is no excuse not to do it!) my mum and dad have just made it harder and my lovely dad writes us a set of riddles to find each little egg.  For the past three or four years either my brother or I have been ridiculously hungover (almost to the point of being brain dead) but we soldier through and use our last reserves to do the hunt (luckily for me this year it was my brother who was turning green with the mental exertion the riddles were causing!). Today the weather is foul and I assumed on account of the gale force winds and driving rain that the hunt would be a house based one this year... how foolish am I?! Oh no, it was on with the rain coats (and flip flops for the impractical summer feeling) and out into the down pour in the quest for chocolate, and I can now say, as I devour a pack of mini eggs, how much it was worth fighting the rain for. 

I love that we have such cryptic clues and I really wouldn't have it any other way. I feel like I have earned each and every calorie!  I wonder, at what age are you really too old for this kind of thing?

Oh and we had our hunt today as opposed to yesterday (Easter Sunday) because mum and dad were away yesterday and I didn't like the thought of missing it! 

I'm off to put myself in a chocolate induced coma...bring it on! 

xxx

Thursday 5 April 2012

Hello, readers, are you out there?!

I genuinely have no idea whether anyone is reading this. It's unlikey that anyone will be as nobody knows that I write a blog... if you are reading this, don't be shy, say hello and maybe I'll try to write more interesting things if I actually have an audience!! 


It is weird that the thought of people reading this actually makes me feel a little strange.  I'm quite a private person, 'so why on earth have you created a blog?' I hear you cry, well my honest answer is that I don't get to talk about my love of make up with many people or feel I can share many of the random happenings in my brain so I thought the interweb would be a good outlet for these very things!! 


So a big hello to you if you are reading this!! 


This also just made me think of the bit in Titanic where it's like 'is there anybody out there' (shouted in a booming voice out over the icy water littered with people and bits of boat)...me and my housemate for some reason quite often put on the voice and shout this out - we're odd but we're fine with it. 
I just watched One Born Every Minute (Episode 14 of the 3rd series - I've watched each and every single one) and for once didn't cry.  This is pretty impressive for me because I usually sob, sometimes uncontrollably, in happiness for people I don't know who have just grunted, groaned and screamed on tv for an hour - what can I say, I'm easily pleased! 


I often wonder if I should go into midwifery.  In a way I think it would be the perfect job for me because I love to care for people, I adore babes and I really want to be important and make a difference and to be honest what higher accolade is there than bringing new life into the world? ! On the other hand I'm scared I wouldn't cope very well with the pressure and I know that I would find it very difficult to detach myself.  I think it would break my heart to see babies being born into families that you just know aren't going to treat them right, or give them the life that they deserve, to be loved and nurtured.  And of course there are not always happy endings in delivery suites, not all babies make it and I can't think of anything worse than losing a little life.  Gosh this has got a bit sad and deep all of a sudden!! Back to midwifery as a career...obviously I'm not pursuing it at the moment - I'm doing a make up and manicure qualification which isn't really about delivering babies at all!! In my little life plan I'd like to think that I will progress from being a make up artist and a beautician, a mummy and then a midwife... so far I don't have a job, I'm not qualified in anything, I am as single as the day I was born and I have incredible debts from a degree I spent three years paying for and won't graduate from...not shaping up too well is it?! I'd like to think my dreams are not just the wishful thinking of a mad fat girl -  I really do want to be all of those things.  A mum especially.  I can't really put into words how much I want to be a mother and create my own little family.  One step at a time hey, better trap a man find a loving boyfriend first - I joke, I joke, I'm not a maniac out on the hunt for a sperm donor! I hope that one day I will feel ready to go back to university and I'd like to think one day I will be able to do a degree but until then I will carry on as I am and try to take each day as it comes and feel proud of the little things. 


Anyway away from this rather strange jumble of words from my head and onto lighter and more fun things ... 
What I would love to be eating right now - a massive slab of chocolate cake
What I am listening to -  SailAwolnation (literally on loop)
How I've spent my day - watching Sprinkle of Glitter's videos...so so many of them. I'm meant to be doing anatomy and physiology but I'd rather watch videos on lipsticks than write about lymph - and that's a fact! 







Wednesday 4 April 2012

Pink Flamingo


I am officially addicted to nail varnish. I will willingly admit that I have far too many shades of pink that are not different enough to warrant having so many of them, know this as I might it doesn't seem to stop me from wanting (and buying) more more more!!  I literally think I have a problem, sometimes I wont even look as I pick them up and throw them in my basket like a crazed nail polish junkie! 


Funnily enough though, since I started doing manicures in my course and therefore have to practice, I don't really like painting my nails any more.  I used to paint my nails all the time and now I really have to force myself! It's a bit like when I did English A Level I guess and I suddenly seemed to lose the ability to read even though the books were novels I would have ordinarily wanted to read!


I love this Barry M shade, 305 Pink Flamingo, it's just really fun, bright and girly.  I love it in summer and I think it really enhances your tan and even though I only have a tiny bit of colour at the moment (it's only April I guess!) it made my tan seem nicer somehow! 



Listening to - Under The Driftwood Tree, If Only If 
Reading - The Girl on the Cliff by Lucinda Riley

The Month of March

I'd like to take you back to New Year's Eve 2011.  My lovely friend Becca and I were sat (with other lovely friend Claire) talking about the year to come, and we decided, that March was going to be our month for romance.  I'm sure Becca wont mind me saying this, but our love lives have been a bit of a joke of late, so we decided to pluck the month of March out of the New Year's Eve air as our lucky month! 


It is currently April, and I've said my last goodbyes to March so I thought I'd reflect on the month as a whole! 


March started very well with glorious weather and ice creams in Roath park with my friends on the 1st.  Life progressed as normal, and I genuinely expected that because it was March men would suddenly leap out at me (in a non violent or creepy, murderous way) and wish to marry me there and then.  Quite shockingly, this didn't happen, and March carried on with little regard for my love life.  By mid-March I was beginning to lose faith in the month I had pinned all my hopes and dreams on, and it was time to take matters into my own hands! Becca suggested that if the men weren't coming to us that we should at least meet them half way... we joined a dating website and what an experience and eye opener that has been!! I could write a book on the experience, or indeed devote and entire blog to it but trust me when I say you really do get all sorts on there! Maybe I will at least write a blog post about the world of internet dating so I wont spoil it by saying too much here, but so far I haven't actually met up with anyone (I was ill and missed the boat with one guy so to speak!) but I do wonder if this venture, which began in March, may lead to the romance I have been after?


March wasn't only about my love life.  The weather was exceptional and that made me happy beyond words.  It's like every year I forget that we have a summer and when the sun shines I just get so excited and fall in love with it over and over again.  I worship the sun, it really does mean the world to me. I know a tan is a bit of a true reflection of 'soaking up the sun' but I truly do drink it up, and I feel full of its goodness for days, it's like my body smiles from the inside out because of it.  I have loved eating as many meals as I can outside in our sun-trap of a garden, going to the park for picnics or just for a stroll around to see the beautiful flowers and going out without a cardigan because you know it is going to be beautiful all day long! 


It is now April, and the April showers are officially upon us and it is cold and horrible but I am going to keep thinking of the sunny days of March and look forward to many more. 


So in summary, I liked March. I made a conscious effort to do something about my love life, which if nothing else, has proved to be funny and a confidence boost. I've lapped up the sun and basked in its rays, so thank you very much March, I'll look forward to seeing you next year!