the little curly girl

I couldn't stay away

2012-01-26T19:30:00.001Z

Super glittery nails - this is Nails Inc The City. It's actually a crackle effect polish, but I layered it up because I've gone off crackle polishes a bit. There is so much glitter in this though, it's so sparkly!

Despite the fact it's now the end of January, I still occasionally burn my Christmas Cookie Yankee Candle. I just couldn't wait a whole year to use it again, it smells yummy!

Decided to jump on the BB Cream bandwagon so bought this with a £5 No7 voucher. So far so good - it does make my skin look a lot better, but it's very, very subtle - you can't tell that you're wearing anything on your face.

Bought myself a Denman Dressing Out (backcombing) brush after months of wondering why, when Liverpool is the backcombing capital of the world, the big Boots here doesn't sell them. They have every other kind of Denman brush ever made, but not this one, so I got it from Amzon for about £3.50

New FAVOURITE top from Primark. Minnie Mouse, Peter Pan Collar, Bows. Perfection.

Another Primark purchase. I could live in these, I really could. Fleece lined, super snuggly tights are just so much more enjoyable than regular tights.

Felt like a bit of a hair change so I bought a much darker-than-usual hair dye. I figured I'd get a semi-permanent one first, just in case I didn't like it. Fortunately, the Botanics range do both semi and permanent dyes so I can go back and get a permanent one if the mood takes me.

New hair! Really pleased with how this has turned out. Obviously, my hair has always been brown, so you might not be able to see much of a difference, but it's a lot darker than it was and I think it suits me more than the previous kind of browney-red colour that I had.

Hope you're all having a lovely week! Yay it's Friday tomorrow! What are your plans?

Dressed up to the Nines

2012-01-22T19:00:00.000Z

I've said it before and I'll say it again - I. BLOODY. LOVE. DRESSES. Which is why, when awards season comes around each year, I get quite excited. As I've STILL NOT managed to accomplish my goal of being an actual Disney princess; wearing gowns, attending balls, befriending adorable talking animals and leaving shoes all over the bloody place, the closest I'm likely to ever get to those gorgeous princess dresses is by obsessively browsing through the red carpet images on IMDb and madly pawing at the screen crying "WHY CAN'T IT BE ME?!" Anyway, now that I've branded that disturbing image into your minds for the rest of the day, let's get on with it, shall we?

So it was the Golden Globes last week and aside from the fact that the dresses were excellent as usual, the celebrities have disappointed me. Not because of their lack of effort, oh no, if anything they've made too much effort. Because this year, practically everyone was wearing custom-made gowns! They're not satisfied with just picking a dress from a recent Couture collection, oh no, they've got to have them specially made for them. As if Vera Wang doesn't have enough to do.

"Why is this such a big deal, Franki?" you may ask.

Well my little daisies, I'll tell you. Every year, when awards season swings around, I sit in my pyjamas, go through all the red carpet photos, pick out my favourite dresses, find out who designed them and then track down a photo of the dresses when they were originally shown on the catwalks. It's just something I like doing, ok? I think it's interesting.

If a dress has been custom-made, however, I can't do this, because it was never shown on the catwalk. Some people are so selfish. Of my seven favourite dresses, only one was actually first shown on the catwalk. Not happy. If the celebs decide to pull the same crap at the Oscars, I'll be writing a very strongly-worded letter to the Academy...

Rooney Mara in Nina Ricci (Pre-Fall 2012). Still kind of channeling the stark palette of her Lisbeth Salander character, I love how this is both quite revealing but still understated. She's kept it edgy with very minimal hair and makeup and no jewels at all - this look is all about the dress. Glad she steered away from the elbow-length gloves as I think they look like overkill in the original photo.

Zooey Deschanel in custom-bloody-Prada. I think this is a very unusual choice for the red carpet and for Zooey herself, but she looks gorgeous nonetheless. It's miles away from her usual quirky-girl style, though she has kept her signature hairstyle the same. Love the unexpected pop of acid green (acid green on the red carpet - who'da thunk?) and the high neckline. Lovely lovely lovely.

Reese Witherspoon in Zac Posen. I can't help but love Reese; she always looks so cute and smiley. I've read some reviews slating this look, saying that it looks like she's not made much effort with her hair and the fit of the dress looks weird, but personally I like that she's kept her hair quite laid back and I think the shape of the dress is cool, although it does look like the fishtail could do with having a bit more structure to it... it's gone kind of floppy. Either way, she's gone for a kind of modern all-American girl/blonde bombshell type thing and I think it's fabulous.

Michelle Williams in Jason Wu. It's interesting that, having recently played the ultimate screen-siren, Marilyn Monroe, Michelle wasn't tempted to emulate her look on the red carpet. A lot of celebs go all in for that old-Hollywood glamour when it comes to awards season, but Michelle has jumped straight back into her signature style - pixie crop and unusual gown. While it would have been nice to see her really upping the glamour - we know she can pull it off as she looked stunning as Marilyn - I guess she's found a style that she likes and is sticking to it. I think this Jason Wu gown could look absolutely horrendous on the wrong person, but Michelle makes it look chic and elegant.

Heidi Klum in Calvin Klein. I'll be completely honest here, I'm going to take all the credit for this one. If you've red my previous red carpet posts, you'll know that for the past couple of years, I've been trying to show Heidi that her recent efforts have been way off. Obviously, she's been paying attention to my words of wisdom because she's really looking gorgeous here. Understated hair and makeup, simple but elegant dress and beautiful jewels. Well done, Heidi, well done.

Emma Stone in Lanvin. Some redheads don't like to wear certain colours for fear they'll clash with their hair, but Emma is clearly willing to take risks and they've really paid off here. This Grecian-style Lanvin number (with an EAGLE belt) is super sexy and fashion-forward. It's a very different look to the one she went for last year - she's really upped the sex appeal this time around - smouldering eyes, plunging neckline, thigh split - you go ~~Glen Coco~~ Emma!

Charlize Theron in Dior Couture. Oh beautiful, beautiful Charlize. You're just so... beautiful! Despite the fact that this has an uber-low neckline and massive thigh split, it's still feminine, pretty and elegant. I don't think you can ever go wrong with Dior; it's just the perfect red carpet label. Love the hair, love the rosey complexion, LOVE THIS!

So who do you think looked the best? And I have missed anyone out? Can't wait for the Oscars!

Je voudrais s'il vous plaît - clever beauty tools

2012-01-21T16:00:00.000Z

There seems to be more and more clever and exciting beauty tools and gadgets being released all the time and, quite frankly, I want them all. Now. Please. Here's a few that are currently at the top of my wish list (note, some of these aren't actually newly released products; they've been out for a while, it's just that I've only recently released how much I need them in my life.)

Curlformers I think some people would see these as completely pointless, but I reckon they look like fun. I suppose they'd fall into the same category as bendy rollers, but instead of wrapping your hair around them, as you would with a roller, each curlformer is actually a curly tube that you thread your hair through... it's hard to explain. Tanya Burr used them in a video so it's probably best you go and watch that if you can't picture what I mean. They'd probably be quite time consuming, especially if you have a lot of hair, but I like how you can get different sizes in a pack, to create different types of curl and they'd be a lot more hair-friendly than using heated rollers or tongs to get the same effect.

Clarisonic Mia If you've never come across one of these before, it's basically an electric toothbrush...for your face. The Clarisonic is a clever little device that you can use morning and night as part of your cleansing routine. The idea of brushing your face may seem mad, but I've read some very positive reviews on this, with people saying that their skin has never looked better and the Clarisonic really does remove every single molecule of dirt. It has a timer in it so that you only actually use it on your face for sixty seconds, and every ten seconds it makes a beeping sound to tell you to move onto another area of your face. See? Clever!

Tangle Teezer Not a new product at all, but something I've just never gotten around to buying. A Tangle Teezer is a special kind of plastic hair brush that is designed to gently de-tangle and smooth hair without damaging it. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has this problem, but pretty much every time I comb my hair after washing it, loads of it seems to fall out. It is natural to lose a certain number of hairs every day, but personally I'd like to keep that number to a minimum! Because the Tangle Teezer is so gentle, you're less likely to pull out a lot of your hair when you use it. This is another one that has fantastic reviews - it's right at the top of my list.

Real Techniques Core Collection I mentioned this in my Christmas wish list post too, but I really want some lovely new makeup brushes and these ones are designed by the genius that is Samantha Chapman, so they're bound to be good. To be perfectly honest, I'm not even that fussed about the other brushes in the collection, I just really want to get my hands on the buffing brush (the big flat-headed one in the pic) and you can't buy it separately. When I had my Illamasqua makeover, the lovely makeup artist told me that he always buffs foundation onto the skin with that kind of brush, rather than use a flat foundation brush, as you end up with a much better finish. I have to say, my foundation looked flawless and lasted really well after he'd applied it that way, so I'm dying to give this a go.

Enrapture Encode Totem Styler Ok, so it may seem silly to include curlformers and a curling iron in the same wish list, but I just think that this is an absolutely genius gadget. Unlike other curling tongs, the barrel of Encode Totem Styler is split into three different sections, each with their own heat control, meaning you can create lots of different curls and waves. For example, you could set the top part of the barrel on a low heat, then the other parts on a higher heat to create a loose curl at the top of your hair with a tighter curl at the bottom. The possibilities are endless!

Travalo Again, not really a new concept, as perfume atomizers have been around for years, but the Travalo is so dinky and cute! Last year I had a really handy solid perfume from Lush that I could just toss into my bag without worrying about it breaking but there's no way I'd take the same risk with my current perfume of choice - Illamasqua Freak. Joe bought me it for Christmas and I've been wearing it all the time, but the bottle is so gorgeous (and it was expensive!) so I never take it out with me for fear of it smashing. This means I can't top up my perfume throughout the day and I'm one of those people whose skin just seems to absorb scent - I can never smell it on me! A Travalo is the perfect solution - tiny enough to chuck in my bag, plus it re-fills really easily, so I could just keep decanting some Freak into it and keep my lovely big bottle safe at home. Excellent.

So that's my beauty gadgets/tools wish list done and dusted - I think the Travalo and the Tangle Teezer are the two things I'm most likely to purchase first, as they're the most affordable; some of the other items on the list are quite pricey and will have to be saved up for a special occasion...

Is there anything on the list you like the look of? Or have you got some other clever beauty devices in mind? Share the love and tell me!

Between those gaps and the holes

2012-01-14T19:15:00.003Z

Wahey! Two blog posts in two days? I'm back baby! Having a very chilled out Saturday today, which is nice - tidying, catching up on TV and doing a bit of blogging. Might even film a video later, depending on how the light in my room is. Hope you're all having lovely weekends whatever you're up to!

I'm currently loving;

Downton Abbey. I've been majorly slow to jump on the bandwagon with this one, as it's been out for ages but it was just one of those things I never got around to watching it. Anyway, my Mum got the first series on DVD for Christmas and I am ADDICTED. It's so good! Even Joe's enjoying it and he really didn't think he would as he's not a big fan of period dramas. Give it a go if you've not done so already!

2012. I've decided that this year is going to be the year I finally sort my life out and become a proper, real grown up. I've already got a new job lined up (starting in a few weeks!) and Joe and I have been house-hunting like crazy. It's all very exciting but quite daunting at the same time, part of me thinks I'm Peter Pan and will never really grow up but I think it's time to accept that. actually, I'm 24 now and need to take on some responsibilities instead of procrastinating all the time. Aimée, who writes The Lost Girl, posted four new year's resolutions and one of them really stood out to me - Be Pro-active. This is something I really need to work on, so I've decided to ~~steal~~ borrow it and make it my resolution too! Thanks Aimée!

My babies. I know I said in my last post that I'm not feeling particularly inspired when it comes to nail art at the moment, but I'm still loving painting my nails as much as ever. I realised recently that I've always loved collecting things - throughout my childhood I went through phases where I was obsessed with, in no particular order, Pogs, Polly Pockets, Puppy In My Pockets, My Beautiful Horses, Beanie Babies and, for a while, I had absolutely loads of those weird alien toys that came in Frufoo yoghurts - anyone remember them? Anyway, now the collecting obsession seems to have moved on to nail varnishes and I can only see this getting worse before it gets better...

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. I was a bit hesitant to go and see this, because, having read the book, I was scared that it was going to be very hard to watch. To be fair, it was quite horrible in parts but I knew what to expect so was prepared when those bits came up. I did enjoy it though - Rooney Mara is absolutely brilliant. They did change a few details, but for the most part, the film stays very true to the book, which is always a major concern of mine when a book is made into a film. I know a lot of people think it's mad that the Swedish films were only released in the past couple of years, so it's silly to do a remake already, but I guess it means that all of those people who don't like to watch films with subtitles can still see it? Obviously, it's really just another example of Hollywood cashing in on a successful foreign film (Vanilla Sky, The Ring, Let The Right One In, etc etc) but I did actually think it was very well done, so I can't criticise the Hollywood bigshots too much!

This video. Joe's band, Man Get Out, are launching their new single at the end of the month and they've just done a music video to go with it. I think it's rather bloody good, if I do say so myself! If you're based in or near Liverpool and fancy seeing some very lovely live music, the launch is taking place on January 28th at Mojo and is being presented by BBC Radio 2 DJ, Janice Long, who's a big fan of the boys. (shameless plug over...)

I'm currently hating;

Erm... nothing really! Happy days!

Just some pictures of nail art really...

2012-01-13T19:30:00.001Z

Hello hello!

Thought I'd share some images of nail art I did before and during Christmas but didn't get around to uploading until now. Over the past couple of weeks I've not really been in a very arty frame of mind - I still paint my nails religiously (at the moment I'm sporting Nails Inc Victoria, AGAIN) but I've been mainly wearing one colour and SHOCK HORROR absolutely no design, not even an accent nail or a bit of glitter. Nothing. Nada. Eeek! Despite the fact I bought the new Topshop nail art pen before Christmas, I've been all about the plain nails lately. Hopefully some of these designs will inspire me again.

Also, if you're a fan of the WAH Nails blog, you should check out the absolutely AMAZING Boom Nails - this girl has some ridiculous talent when it comes to nail art.

Enjoy!

I've spotted (hahaha) a lot of people wearing this lately and thought it was super cute so had to give it a go. Unlike a regular polka dot pattern, dalmatian spots have to vary in size and are a lot more haphazard - you'd think that'd be easier to do but I found it quite tricky! Colours used are Models Own Snow White and Barry M Peach Melba, then I used the Models Own x WAH Nails nail art pen for the black details.

Spots and stripes - pretty standard really. I used a striping brush for the stripes (duh) and the end of a hair grip for the dots. Colours used are Models Own Bloo Boo and Snow White.

I fancied going a bit OTT for our Christmas night out so used my absolute favourite Models Own Pink Punch, covered it with Models Own Juicy Jules for a bit of sparkle then decided to add some leopard spots as well using Models Own Snow White and the nail art pen for leopard spots. My Models Own pen is currently not working, (I think the nib is blocked) so I can't do any leopard designs for the time being... sniff...

Basically copied this design from WAH nails but used two shades of blue instead (H&M's Blue My Mind and U Must Have This). This looks a lot more complicated than it actually is - I started off painting my nails with GOSH Holographic for the silver stripe (I figured this wouldn't layer very well over the other polishes so thought It'd made sense to make it the base) then used a striping brush to create the zig zag shapes - easy!

Products of the Month - November & December

2012-01-08T16:00:00.003Z

Wahey! Happy New Year! 2012 is upon us and all we can really hope is that that rubbish John Cusack film was nothing more than nonsense...

Anyway, thought I'd get my POTM video up first and foremost and then do a catch-up post in the next few days; I've got so much to tell you all!!!

Products featured;

Models Own Red, Red Wine

BeneTint

Boots Ingredients Cocoa Butter and Mallow Body Lotion

Sleek Blush in Rose Gold

Clinique Brush-On Cream Liner in True Black

Sleek Eye Dust in In The Nude

Illamasqua Transformation

2011-12-06T16:05:00.000Z

Can't believe how late this post is! If you watched my Products of the Month video for October, you will have seen me talking about my Illamasqua 'transformation' that I had done at the new Liverpool store. I thought I'd share some photos as you can't really see the makeup very well in the video. It probably would have made sense for me to post this straight after I posted the video, but I never do things sensibly... ah well, better late than never, right?

In the same way you do at MAC, you can book in for a makeover at Illamasqua that costs £30 but is redeemable on products (ie you pay £30, they do your makeup and then you get £30 worth of products), however, in the week or so after the new Liverpool store had opened, they were doing makeovers, or 'transformations' for free. Since I never, ever get my makeup done professionally, I decided to book in for a half hour session one Saturday afternoon. I had my makeup done by the very lovely Patrick (who also did my eyelashes at the launch event) who had a quick chat with me first about what I wanted. I told him I was going out that evening, so the makeup could be quite dramatic, but I hadn't actually decided what I was wearing so it needed to be in colours that would go with most things. We decided brown would be the best option and Patrick got to work...

To be honest, I wear browns and golds quite a lot anyway, so was a little bit worried that Patrick might end up doing something similar to what I'd do myself, which would have been a bit pointless; I wanted a completely new look. Fortunately, I got just that. I never ever wing out my eyeshadow as much as this, and I never wear that much shadow under the eye either. I also tend to stick to very light/neutral colours on my eyelid and usually only use darker colours on the outer corners, however Patrick went quite dark all over, then used some lovely shimmery pigments over the top of the shadow, which I loved.

He also used the new Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation, which is amazing and left my skin looking flawless. I don't normally feel the need to wear foundation - I currently don't own a single bottle of the stuff - however, now that the weather's so horrible, I feel like my skin needs a bit of extra help and I'm very tempted to buy some Skin Base when I've got some spare pennies.

As my appointment had been quite early in the afternoon, I was a bit worried that it wouldn't last right through to the evening, but I was pleasantly surprised. Patrick had used a primer on both my eyes and skin which helped everything to last for ages. The lipstick and lipgloss that Patrick put on me lasted a couple of hours then I had to apply some of my own before I went out in the evening, but I think that's to be expected really; lip products never last very long on me anyway.

Even though I was under no obligation to purchase anything as it was a free makeover, I couldn't help but leave with a little something.

Illamasqua Pure Pigment in Ore

This is one of the products that Lucy and I went bananas over at the launch event - it's a very gorgeous browny/goldy/khaki-ish colour (don't I describe things brilliantly?!) that would be very flattering on any eye colour and is exactly the sort of shade I love. Also, I don't think I can emphasise how sparkly this product is; I own shimmery and glittery shadows and pigments but honestly, this is just something else altogether! As soon as the light hits it, it just glistens! So beautiful, I LOVE IT!

The top one was blended, the bottom was patted on with an eyeshadow brush

I've probably said it before, but I HATE doing swatch pictures, so apologies that this isn't great, but I did take loads and this was the best of a bad bunch. I honestly don't know how some beauty bloggers have the patience to swatch every item they review - it takes such a long time to actually get a good photo! Anyway, the sparkliness isn't actually showing up enough in this picture - imagine that level of sparkle multiplied by about a thousand. It's amazing. The Pure Pigments cost £15.50 each, which may seem a bit much (especially when my beloved Sleek palettes cost about £6 and you get twelve colours in them), but it is such a lovely product so I think you can justify that kind of price for an occasional treat. Plus you do get a lot of product and a little bit goes a long way, so I've got a feeling this will be in my makeup bag for ages.

All in all, I'm so glad I went and had a transformation - it was so fun having someone else do my makeup and give me a look I'd never do myself and I received some lovely compliments that evening! I think there's a good chance that any money I get at Christmas may just go on another trip to Illamasqua!

Have you ever had a makeover? Would you do it again? Are you keen to experiment with makeup or do you tend to stick to the same looks?

Je voudrais s'il vous plaît - Christmas

2011-12-01T18:00:00.000Z

Now that December is here I figured I could justifiably post my Christmas wish list. Obviously not expecting to actually get all of this stuff, but I wouldn't mind finding a couple of these goodies under my tree on Christmas morning ;)

Florence & The Machine Ceremonials - Love a bit of Florence; I used to listen to the last album, Lungs, obsessively and I'm sure I'll be the same with this one.

Illamasqua Freak Eau De Parfum - I made a mental note to put this on my Christmas list as soon as I smelled it at the Illamasqua event I went to. Such a gorgeous fragrance and the bottle is so unusual. Fabulous.

Lush Christmas Tweets - Lush is one of my favourite brands for lovely bathtime goodies and their Christmas gift sets are adorable. I really like the look of the Tiny Hands hand serum that comes in this one.

Topshop Faux Fur Collar Swing Coat - Desperately need a new coat and for once I fancy something quite classic. Normally I go for 'statement' coats (the one I'm currently wearing has a mix of leopard, zebra and dalmatian print on it) but I think I might try and get something a bit more toned down this year. The white fluffy collar on this looks super snuggly!

Chip & Dale Jumper H&M - There seems to be loads of Disney stuff in the shops at the moment, which is great for a crazed Disney fan like me. I once danced with Chip & Dale in Disneyland Paris (true story) so I need to get my hands on this jumper.

Ted Baker Roverz purse - I love my Shin & Company purse but I think it's time to admit defeat and get a new one as it really is falling to pieces. This Ted Baker purse is a proper grown up one (it's so shiny) but the silver clasp thing at the top is two doggies! Grown up AND fun - perfect!

Office Norman chelsea boots - Really wish I'd managed to get my hands on the Topshop Allegras but they're gone gone gone (although I am watching a few pairs on eBay). However, these Norman boots from Office are incredibly similar, I think the only real difference is that the heel is a bit higher, so I would happily get these instead.

Caitlin Moran: How To Be A Woman - I've been meaning to buy this for ages - Caitlin Moran is brilliant (follow her on Twitter).

Real Techniques Core Collection - When Samantha Chapman announced that she was releasing her own range of makeup brushes, I got very excited because let's face it, she is a genius. The Core Collection contains four fabulous face brushes (the buffing brush in particular is supposed to be amazing). I need this in my life.

Soap and Glory Big Splendour - Soap and Glory always bring out loads of gorgeous gift sets around Christmas and this is the biggest one available, containing ten of their most iconic products. To be honest, I'd be happy enough with just a tub of the Righteous Butter, but I wouldn't say no to all the rest!

H&M Snoopy Pyjamas - You have to get a snuggly pair of jammies for Christmas, it's practically the law. Love Snoopy, love the patterned bottoms, so cute!

So that's everything - I don't want much really, do I?!

Eeek Christmas is just a few weeks away! Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? And what's on your wish list? Tell me things!

2011-11-23T18:30:00.000Z

I think we've well established by now that I am a BIG FAN of nail art and nail painting in general. On the rare occasions when my nails are naked, I think they just look so boring and I'm desperate to re-paint them again. I've realised that even though it can be frustrating and time-consuming, I actually really like the process of painting nails; selecting a colour, wiping off the brush, placing it against your cuticle and making that first stroke... oooh that's my idea of fun!

Anyway, I think I've mentioned it before but I'm getting a bit sick of the same old nail art designs - leopard print, polka dot - and have chosen to go for a plain nail a lot more frequently. I thought I'd share some images of my recent nail escapades...

If you read this post, you'll know that I had the Shellac treatment at the Spa where I'm currently interning. The manicure is supposed to last for two weeks without chipping. I didn't make it to two weeks, mainly because a) I didn't like the amount of re-growth that was showing - the picture above was after nine days and although I loved the colour, I hated having that big chunk of bare nail at the bottom. b) I'd just bought the new issue of Glamour magazine that came with a free Nails Inc polish and I couldn't wait to try it out. You're supposed to have Shellac removed in a salon with proper CND nail wraps, but I did it myself using this guide and it was fine, albeit a bit messy. (the polish flakes off into lots of little pieces, which go EVERYWHERE)

Nails Inc polish in Victoria (free with Glamour Magazine). This is the polish I couldn't wait to wear. I'm LOVING dark reds at the moment, I think they're perfect for Autumn and very flattering. It's difficult to get a nice even finish with this polish; as you can probably see, some nails look darker than others. Still a lovely colour though.

Barry M Nail Effects in 314 Pink, Models Own x WAH Nails Smash Up Silver

and Models Own Black Magic

Had a bit of a play with my two crackle polishes, but didn't like this effect at all and took it off pretty much straight away. I tried layering the pink over the silver, expecting them to crackle in different ways, but actually it just cracked in all the same places. I change my mind about the crackle effect all the time; sometimes I love it, sometimes I hate it; I think it depends what colours you use The black base I used here made it look a bit too grungey for me, which I'm not a fan of.

Nail Polish by H&M in U Must Have This, 17 Lasting Fix Nail Polish in Tropical Island, Collection 2000 Hot Looks in Spangles, GOSH Special Edition Nail Lacquer in Lavender Love and Barry M Nail Paint in 317 Blue Moon

I had a bit a of 'shopping the stash' moment (if you're not familiar with this term, it's a blogger way of saying going back through your makeup collection and re-discovering some old faves) and found loads of polishes that I'd not worn for a while. Only problem was I couldn't decide on a colour to wear!

Chanel Nail Colour in 505 Particuliere, Models Own Purple Grey, Models Own Red Red Wine, Nail Polish by H&M in Blue My Mind and ASOS Paint by Ciate in Lily.

Right hand. I eventually settled on a combination of the blue (H&M Blue My Mind) and red (Models Own Red Red Wine), which I think go really well together.

I then saw this image on the WAH Nails blog and had to give it a go; which resulted in this...

Nowhere near as good. I just can't master tribal print designs! Even though they're quite simple - dots, stripes, zig zags etc - they have to be very precise for them to look good. I'm good at doing stuff like leopard print because you can get away with being a bit messy with it. Anyone have any tips for getting these designs nice and neat?!

So that's how my nails have been looking over the past couple of weeks. I'm currently sporting the red from the image above with glittery tips (Models Own Juicy Jules), which I'm sure I'll photograph at some point.

What nail looks are you currently loving? Got any ideas for easy but striking nail art designs? Am I the only one whose hands get tired posing for nail photos?

War paint against Mediocrity

2011-11-21T16:14:00.001Z

If you watched my most recent video, you will have seen me talking about the new Illamasqua store that's just opened in Liverpool. I was lucky enough to be invited to the launch event for the store and had a lovely evening that mainly consisted of playing with some of the most beautiful products I've ever seen.

I have been aware of Illamasqua for a while, mostly from reading about it on blogs. It's only been around for the past three years so it's still a relatively new brand, but it has become well known in the beauty community as a brand that takes risks, both with the products it releases (green lipgloss anyone?) and the incredibly beautiful, theatrical images it uses when publicising new collections. In the words of M&S, this is no ordinary makeup brand! It's a brand that embraces being different, standing out in a crowd, putting as much colour and sparkly stuff on your face as is physically possible and being bloody fabulous. This is a brand that has been missing from Liverpool for far too long.

The event took place in the new Illamasqua store (which, if you're from Liverpool, is in the Met Quarter) and was a super-glamourous evening featuring flamboyant performers, yummy cocktails and fabulous free lash and lip treatments. I was excited to meet fellow Scouse blogger, Lucy, of Lalalucy, as I've been reading her blog for a while now and it meant I wasn't just wandering around on my lonesome all evening!

Oh so many pretty colours...

The store is absolutely packed full of gorgeous things to look at; I was like a child in a sweetshop! Lucy and I spent a lot of our time just moving from product to product, sticking our fingers into pots of sparkly things and going "oooh!" The lovely Illamasqua team were constantly on hand to demonstrate all of the different products and explain more about the brand. After practically drooling over the amazing display of lashes, we were treated to a lash application of our choice and Lucy and I, being serious magpies, went for the gorgeous Decadence lashes, which are decorated in tiny little crystals.

Lucy and I with our amazing lashes!

Also, did I mention that ALEX BOX was there?! Argh! For some reason I didn't expect her to be there, so when I saw her in the store, all green and fabulous, I got a bit star-struck. Also there was the MD, Joseph Corré, (Vivienne Westwood's son - seriously, how awesome is this brand?!). Both Joseph and Alex just looked far too cool for me to actually go up and speak to, but I did shoot a few awe-filled glances their way, which I'm sure they appreciated and weren't freaked out by at all...

After a quick speech from Alex, thanking everyone for attending, (any time Alex, any time) there was a performance by La Fleur Mecanique, which was basically a very beautifully made up lady dancing inside a big mechanical flower; very intriguing! This was to celebrate the launch of Illamasqua's new perfume, Freak, which has definitely made my Christmas list (the bottle has a SNAIL on it!).

Myself, Lucy and Hayley, who looked after us all night.

What a fab evening! As we were about to leave, we were given ridiculously good gift bags - I would have been happy with just my sparkly lashes! Here's what was inside...

Bronzing Duo in Glint & Writhe, Illumine Oil in Pulse and Intense Lipgloss in Femme

Lashes in 017 and Decadence (these are the ones I had on at the event - they're reusable so I was given the box to keep them in once I'd taken them off. LOOK HOW SPARKLY!)

I can now officially say I am in love with this brand. I was so impressed, I went back to the store the following Saturday for a 'transformation' (makeover). Will probably do a separate post on that soon (I bought something amazing). I now have a list as long as my arm, of products that I desperately need in my life!

What do you think of Illamasqua? Got any products to recommend? Are you jealous of my lashes? You should be ;)

All photos courtesy of the Illamasqua Facebook page, apart from the one of me and Lucy and the ones of my goodie bag, which are my handiwork.

"The prettier the flower, the farther from the path"

2011-11-14T17:00:00.000Z

Bonjour my little chickens! How are you all? Good weekend? I certainly hope so! This weekend I mainly did a lot of eating (surprise surprise), some singing and dancing (at Into The Woods rehearsals) and plenty of snuggling up with Joe watching stuff on 4OD/BBC iPlayer. Now that the nights are getting darker so much earlier and it's SO DAMN COLD there is literally nothing better than a good snuggle I say!

So this is my November Love/Hate post, I've completely given up trying to come up with monthly pun titles, my brain just isn't as good as it used to be...

I'm currently loving;

Hollyoaks. I'm not even embarassed to admit this. Yes, it's mainly just a lot of stupidly pretty people whose acting skills leave A LOT to be desired but OHMYGOD how good was the Halloween episode?! The whole Silas-is-a-serial-killer storyline went on for way too long, but by golly they did end it very well. If you don't watch it, you won't have a clue what I'm talking about, but in a nutshell; there was an old man called Silas, who was secretly a serial killer and on Halloween he accidentally killed HIS OWN DAUGHTER because he thought she was Lyndsey because they were both wearing the same Halloween costume!!! Dun dun dun!

ANTM. Season 17 of America's Next Top Model (yes, that's right, there have been SEVENTEEN seasons of this show and it only started in 2003) is absolutely brilliant. Basically, Tyra "I'm literally completely mad" Banks has brought back contestants from all the previous seasons and is forcing them to take part in just the most ridiculously bizarre tasks ever. The best one was when all of the models had to write a song about themselves and then Tyra told them they also had to incorporate the lyrics "Pot Ledom, that's Top Model backwards" into their songs. Just... so very mad and so very wonderful.

Glamour magazine freebies. Even though it meant having to buy a magazine with Old Misery Face on the cover (I don't know why she irritates me so much, but she really does), I managed to get hold of a free Nails Inc polish. There are four to collect; Picadilly Circus - a dark plum, Basil Street - a nude beige, Tate - a dark red and Victoria - a red/black (oxblood?) which is the one I got. I LOVE FREEBIES!

A blast from the past. I spotted these in Poundland last week and couldn't resist. Please don't think I'm some kind of baking heathen (I know how bloggers are supposed to be excellent bakers, but quite frankly, I'm just not) but these reminded me of when I was little and used to go to my Nan's house every Saturday. She'd buy My Little Pony cupcake kits and I remember how amazed I was the first time she explained that the little stickers you decorated the cakes with were made of rice paper. Paper you can eat. PAPER YOU CAN EAT!

Beyonce's new video. How flippin' gorgeous is this woman?! I think the styling for this video, and the makeup in particular, is just stunning. Apparently everything she's wearing in the video is from American Apparel, so if you wanted to recreate the video, look for look, you literally could do that. Not that that wouldn't be a weird thing to do, but if you wanted to, you could do it.

I'm currently hating;

My hair. I feel like I desperately need a new 'do, but I'm so darn indecisive. It's a tricky one because it's naturally curly, which limits what styles would really work (for example, I can't have a fringe because I'd either have to straighten it every day, or clip it back, which kind of defeats the point). Also, I don't really want to lose much of the length, because I like that when it's straight, it reaches really quite far down my back. I'm also a bit scared of hair dye, because once you start dying, you can't really stop. Basically, I need a style that works for long, naturally curly hair, that can be worn straight or curly and doesn't require much maintaining at all. Does anyone have the answer? No? Right, I'm off to buy a selection of wigs instead...

POTM - October

2011-11-07T21:57:00.002Z

Believe it or not, it's actually a whole year since I did my first ever Products of the Month video! Doesn't time fly when you're having a laugh?! This month's video is a bit of a short one as I really haven't bought much new stuff of late. Also, I don't understand why the quality doesn't look as good in this video as it has done in previous ones. I swear, technology is trying to slowly kill my soul...

Products featured;

FCUK Polished Sugarscrub
Garnier Fructis Curl Definition Styling Mousse
Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nail Polish Strips in 340 Girl Flower

Right, off to catch up on last night's TOWIE. Apparently it's a dramatic one. Has anyone heard about the Liverpool version, Desperate Scousewives? I'm preparing myself for a whole world of cringe...

Winning

2011-11-04T20:00:00.000Z

So this is a post I've been meaning to do since about 1986...

Way back in August, the very gorgeous Dani, of polkadani, had a giveaway on her blog. And you know what? I flippin' won it! I never ever win blog giveaways so it was a really lovely surprise when an email landed in my inbox informing me that I was the lucky winner! The prize was a really gorgeous pocket watch pendant from Urban Outfitters and a MeMeMe lip and cheek tint.

Winning. Now I know what it feels like to be Charlie Sheen...

If you're not familiar with MeMeMe, it's a brand that's quite Benefit-esque (but much cheaper) and is available in Superdrug. I've used one of their blushers before (which I reviewed ages ago here) but had never tried the tints so was excited to give one a go. Dani was actually kind enough to let me choose which tint I'd like as MeMeMe do two different ones; Pussy Cat, which is a dupe for BeneTint and Poppy Tint, which, you've guessed it, is a dupe for Posie Tint. As I've been LOVING the mini Posie Tint I got with Glamour magazine a while back, I went for Poppy Tint and have been really impressed with it. I'll be honest, I tried to photograph some swatches of it alongside Posie Tint, just to show how similar the two are, but my camera was having none of it and I just gave up out of sheer frustration. I do however, now have two lovely pink smudges on my hand which will not budge. Excellent.

Here's a close up of my pendant, it's so pretty and ornate! I've worn it loads since I got it; I'm really enjoying clicking the little button at the top to make the door open to check the time! It makes me feel like a Victorian gentleman. I just need a monacle now...

So a very belated THANK YOU to Dani for my prizes - I love them both!

Have you tried any MeMeMe products? What did you think? Also, should I get a monacle???

Purple-tastic

2011-11-03T15:29:00.004Z

So, I have had yet another ridiculously long blogging absence, even though I'd promised after the shambolic effort I'd put in in September, that October would be much better. In actual fact it was worse. I. AM. CRAP.

Ah well, I think we all go through these good blogger/bad blogger phases - sometimes, for a variety of reasons, you just don't manage to get down with the blogosphere like you should. Anyway, I'm back now, with absolutely bloody loads of posts planned, so let's forget about the past and move on.

I'm currently doing an internship at a beauty spa in Liverpool, which I'm loving; it's exactly the sort of thing I want to be doing as a career - online marketing, PR, social media etc but specifically in the beauty industry. Anyway, I've had a few complimentary treatments since I've been there (hot stone massage is A.MAZ.ING) and this week I decided to try out a Shellac manicure. If you've not heard of it before, Shellac is a nail system that lasts for up to two weeks without chipping. It's produced by CND who do lots of lovely nail products and are used by salons worldwide. Shellac is applied like a normal nail varnish; there's a base coat, then the colour, then a top coat, however, the difference is that each time a layer of the product is applied to your nails, you put your hand into a special UV lamp which sets the product, making it completely chip-resistant.

If you're a regular reader of my blog, you'll know that I change my nails quite frequently - I must have a very short attention span as I tend to get bored with the same colour after a few days, so while I thought that Shellac was a good idea, I didn't really think I could hack having the same colour on my nails for two weeks. Recently though, I've been getting so sick of my nails chipping really quickly - I think it's down to the Sally Hansen topcoat I'm using (it's rubbish), so I thought I might as well bite the bullet and try Shellac. Also, I went to an Illamasqua event last night (I'll do a separate post on that at some point over the next week), so I wanted to make sure my nails were looking lovely for that.

I had my nails done on Tuesday evening and it probably took around 35/40 minutes. The other great thing about a Shellac manicure is that there's no drying time; normally once your nails have been freshly painted you have that really annoying period afterwards where you can't touch anything or they'll smudge. With Shellac there's no waiting around at all - the product is applied, treated with the UV lamp and you're ready to go. AMAZING!

As it's still a relatively new product , there's only about thirty colours in the range at the moment and most of those are reds and pinks, however, six new, edgier colours have been released recently, including a turquoise and a slate grey. I decided to go for one of the new colours, Purple Purple, as I loved the shimmer running through it and thought it was the perfect unusual shade for the Illamasqua event.

Purple Purple - sooo pretty!

It's been two days since it was applied and so far there's absolutely no sign of chipping and my nails still look as glossy and perfect as they did on Tuesday. So far so good! I'll keep you posted on how long this lasts (and whether I manage to stick with it for the next two weeks without getting bored...)

Products of the Month - September

2011-10-09T09:30:00.000+01:00

Gosh I'm such a video-er lately! I'm really enjoying making vlogs at the moment (hope you enjoy watching them!). If you've noticed that this video is a much better quality than the last couple I've uploaded, it's because I have an HD video camera, and when I upload to Youtube it takes HOURS. So I've been experimenting with reducing the size to make the uploads faster, but obviously that means the quality is reduced too, boo. So I didn't bother with this one (it took about five hours to upload though - does anyone else have this issue?!)

Also, after all the trouble I went to attempting to keep my videos under fifteen minutes long, or editing them if they went over, Youtube have now informed me that I'm allowed to upload vids that are longer than fifteen minutes! Oh Youtube, you are a wiley devil. I'll probably still try and keep them below fifteen, because any longer than that and it gets a bit boring, but at least now I won't have to worry about my horrendous editing skills!

Products featured;

Models Own Pink Punch

Models Own Bronzing Powder in Sun Goddess

Models Own Eyelash Curler

No7 Eyeshadow Blend and Contour Brush

Bobbi Brown Corrector in Light Bisque

Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer in Warm Ivory

Topshop Powder Blush in Pop

I am 24 going on 30

2011-09-27T22:19:00.003+01:00

So, last month (31st August, to be precise) it was my 24th birthday. Yep, I'm properly in my mid-twenties now - I can't pretend to be on the cusp anymore, let's face it, it's all downhill from here. Anyway, I finally got around to making a haul video of all the lovely goodies I got. (Not that I'm materialistic or anything...)

I realised, after I'd finished filming, that I didn't mention the present my boyfriend got me. This is not because his present was rubbish or weird or anything, it's because I am foolish and forgetful at times. You see, everything I talked about in the video was a physical thing I had in front of me, whereas his present wasn't. He took me to see The Sound of Music in Manchester and because I am foolish I didn't think to keep the tickets or buy a program as proof. Anyway, it was marvellous, I'd really recommend it to any musical fans out there. Verity Rushworth (who used to play Donna Windsor in Emmerdale) was absolutely brilliant as Maria and Jason Donovan was supposed to be playing Captain Von Trapp, but we saw the undertsudy because he was ill. Fab show though... "the hills are ALIIIIIIIIIIVE with the sound of music!" Thanks Joe!

Remember September

2011-09-26T16:17:00.003+01:00

So, as seems to be the case with all of my blogging lately, this is another very late post. I always aim to do a monthly 'update' post at the start of the month, but here we are, 26th September, and I've only just managed to find the time to do one. I think we're just going to have to accept that September has been a month of lateness. Hopefully October will be better...

So how've you all been? Good weekend? Good!

I'm currently loving;

Rehearsals. As I've previously mentioned, I'm a musical theatre obsessive and a member of an am-dram group in Liverpool that frequently puts on shows. We've just started rehearsing for a show called Into The Woods which we're doing in December and I'm having so much fun! I'm playing Little Red Riding Hood, so have to do a lot of skipping about and acting childish, which, for me, isn't much of a stretch. We had a dance rehearsal yesterday that wasn't even particularly vigorous, but it's been a long time since I did any dancing and today my legs are aching like mad! Ow ow ow.

Autumn sortin'. I had a big tidy out last week, put a load of stuff I never wear into charity bags, stuck all of my Summer clothes back into storage and brought all my Winter out from the depths of my wardrobe. I know it's not officially Winter yet, in fact today the weather's actually been quite nice, but I thought I'd try and be organised for once. I'm looking forward to stocking up on some nice chunky knits and a new Winter coat!

This nail varnish. Of all the polishes I got in the Models Own sale, Pink Punch has to be my favourite! It's just so beautiful! It's turned out to be the most difficult nail colour to photograph - it's actually a lot more pink than the pic suggests, it's quite similar to Coral Reef, which is another of my faves, but it's more neon and vibrant. I'm sure this'll make it into my September faves video (which I'm going to film this week and get it out on time, I PROMISE!), but I just wanted to post a pic too, because it's hard to see things in videos sometimes and this is just too lovely not to show off.

A Fine Frenzy. Not a new artist at all, I think she's been around for a good couple of years, but she's not very well known in the UK. You know how I'm a fan of quirky girl singers and this lady is no exception. Her music is lovely and cheerful and she's so damn pretty! I want her face/hair/style.

Delete This At Your Peril. You know those really annoying emails you get in your spam box claiming to be from African princes or Eastern European girls looking for love? This is a book about someone who decided to respond to those emails and the ridiculous conversations that followed. An absolutely hilarious book, I can't recommend it enough!

I'm currently hating;

Glee on Sky One. What fresh hell is this?! I'm really not happy about Glee being moved to Sky One as it means I can't watch it on my TV anymore (I only have Freeview and Sky One isn't a Freeview channel). It's not the end of the world because I'm sure I can watch it online or Sky Plus it downstairs or something, but still, not happy. E4 what are you playing at? You get rid of Friends, then you lose Glee?! How crap are you?!

Have you had a good September? How's school/uni/work treating you? What are you loving and hating at the moment?

Products of the Month - August (and July)

2011-09-22T20:15:00.005+01:00

Ok, so originally my Products of the Month for July was meant to have two parts because it was too long for one video. I published the first part here but never got around to doing the second part, so this is Products of the Month for July Part 2 (Franki Returns) and Products of the Month for August all rolled up into one horribly edited little package. Hurray!

Products featured;

Collection 2000 Cream Puff Lip Cream in Powder Puff
Barry M Nail Paint in 318 Peach Melba
Oilatum Natural Repair Face Cream
Benefit Posietint
Schwarzkopf got2b 2 Sexy Collagen Hairspray

I'll be uploading a 'birthday haul' video in the next day or so, so keep an eye out for that. Yes , that's right, two videos BACKTOBACK! I'm a video-making-machine!

Fiddy (per)Cent

2011-09-04T18:24:00.001+01:00

As you probably know, last week Models Own held another 50% off everything sale on their site and I, along with the rest of the blogging population got very excited. I was actually a bit worried that the sale would go live while I was away on holiday in Herefordshire and I'd miss out completely, but fortunately, due to technical problems, it actually got delayed for a couple of days, which meant that I could still snap up plenty of half price goodies when I got home. Happy days. My package arrived on Thursday and I'm so pleased with what I bought.

Don't you just LOVE getting packages???

Top; Powder Duo Bronzer in Sun Goddess, Eyelash Curlers and Lipstick in Pinky Red. Bottom; Smash Up Silver, Pink Punch, Blooboo, Snow White, Top Turquoise and Cream Eyeshadow in White Pearl.

I know that Models Own is most well known for its nail polishes, but I decided to get a few other makeup products too. I've not tried everything out properly yet, but I'm LOVING the bronzing powder, the darker shade is perfect for contouring and the lighter one makes a lovely blusher. Of the nail colours I bought, so far I've only tried Pink Punch and Blooboo but I'm looking forward to giving Top Turquoise a go too, as I know it's a very popular one. Pink Punch is probably my favourite product so far, it is the most ridiculously bright pinky/coral colour I've ever owned. I've been dying to find an obnoxiously bright fluorescent pink for a while now and this is definitely it!

What did you buy in the sale? Have you tried any of the above products? What did you think?

Pretty pretty very pretty

2011-09-02T23:23:00.000+01:00

You may remember, many moons ago, that I mentioned I was going to the Jacques Townhouse and that I would blog about it in the following days. Well, the days which followed turned out to be impossible blogging days for these reasons; firstly, my laptop got a killer virus that was so clever and so evil that whenever it realised I was running a virus scan it actually made the laptop automatically shut down. I shit you not. I eventually managed to beat the bastard, but it did prevent me from blogging for a few days. Then I went on holiday to Herefordshire, where they don't have t'Internet apparently and that prolonged the non-bloggingness even more. So here is my much belated post on the Jacques Townhouse, which was lovely and fun and glamourous.

If you've not heard of it, Jacques is a brand of fruit cider that is specifically marketed towards women. The Jacques Townhouse is basically a big townhouse where you can go (for free) and drink Jacques and eat cakes and look at lots of pretty things and get made over and play dress up. Fun fun fun. It was initially set up last Summer in London but this year they very sensibly added a second Townhouse in glorious Liverpool. I went along with my friend Nicole, neither of us really knowing what to expect as the description on the Jacques Facebook page was quite vague; it mentioned make overs and photoshoots but apart from that it all seemed a bit mysterious. I was intrigued...

Now, if I was a good blogger, I'd have taken my camera along with me, because that's what bloggers do isn't it? They go to events and they snap away and then post lots of pretty pictures for all to see. Sadly, I got to the bus stop and realised I'd left my camera at home and really couldn't be bothered to go back, so that was the end of that really. Fortunately, the Jacques Facebook page is absolutely full of photos, so I thought I'd ~~nick~~ borrow a few to give you an idea of what it was like inside. (if you had gotten to this point in the post and assumed that I'd taken these photos, God bless you, but I am RUBBISH at photography...)

It's hard to fully describe what the Townhouse was like inside; Nicole and I went in and were lead to the reception area, where we were greeted by lots of very attractive maids and butlers and a very excitable man named Mr Flowers who just kept telling us how beautiful we were and how much he liked our shoes/outfits/jewellery. It was pretty good for the confidence! We were then each given a 'key to the bar' (which entitled us to two free drinks, sadly not the whole bar) and were told what we could do in the Tonwhouse, which included, cupcake decorating, games in the 'Enchanted Garden', makeovers in the Beauty Parlour and a mini photo shoot in the Photo Studio.

Myself and Nicole chilling in the Enchanted Garden

We managed to get around most of the rooms - we decorated (then ate) cupcakes, chilled in the garden, had mini makeovers and then went and had a photo shoot (which included wigs and props).

In the Beauty Parlour, you had the option of getting your hair, makeup, lashes or nails done, or you could have a massage. They had absolutely TONS of Models Own products so I was a bit overexcited, however I evenutally opted to get my hair done, as I very rarely wear my hair in an updo and wanted to get some tips on how to do it. This did mean, however, that I couldn't try on any of the wigs or hats in the Photo Studio. Gutted! Nicole looked lovely with a red bob though!

It was such a fun way to spend an afternoon and my only real criticism was that it was slightly overcrowded and too short. When we first went into the Townhouse we spent a good few minutes going from room to room, attempting to get in but with no luck as they were all too full. We eventually settled on sitting out in the garden for a bit, then went back into the house a little while later, which was fine, but a bit frustrating! Also, there was loads to do but limited time; you were only allowed in for an hour-and-a-half-long session and then you had to leave, to allow the organisers to set up for the next batch of people. This meant that people didn't get time to do all of the activities that were on offer - we weren't able to go into the Wardrobe of Wonders, which was a shame because it was full of gorgeous vintage dresses and I'd have loved to try one on. Hopefully the organisers will have picked up on this so that if they run the event again next year, they'll maybe make the sessions longer and have less people attending each one.

Even so, it was definitely worth a visit and I really like that this is an event that's aimed at the public as so many brands tend to run events solely for celebrities or press. While I understand why that's the case, I do think that Jacques are onto a winner here. If you want to get people interested in your brand, what better way to do it than treat them to some pampering and glamour? It obviously worked as Nicole and I had never tried the drink itself before, but after having two bottles of Jacques at the event (and a third in our goodie bags) we both agreed that it's something we'd drink again on a night out.

Did you get a chance to visit the Jacques Townhouse? What did you think? Would you go again next year?

All photos (apart from the Instagram one of Nicole and I) courtesy of Jacques.

Out of this world

2011-08-30T17:19:00.004+01:00

I've been seeing a lot of pictures of 'galaxy' nails recently and when Lily posted hers, along with a link to this tutorial, I had to give them a go.

From left to right - Models Own Black Magic, Natural Collection Nail Tip Whitener, George Quick Dry Nail Varnish in Buttercup Shine, Barry M Nail Pain int Peach Melba, Topshop Nails in Stolen Sapphires, Models Own Juicy Jules and Rimmel Pro Super Wear Ultra Shine Topcoat

As nail designs go, while this one looks a bit complicated, it's actually pretty easy to do, as it's a completely abstract design so you don't have to worry about being really precise with your application.

I'm aware that this is a very short post and therefore not really like me at all, but I wanted to get something posted today as I've not blogged for about two weeks and this is all I've got time for (SERIOUSLY, if anyone has a Time Turner, I could really, REALLY use it right now). I've got a few longer posts, plus the second part of my July favourites video (at the end of August... yeah...) to follow over the next few days, so keep an eye out for those!

Products of the Month - July

2011-08-14T20:37:00.003+01:00

Finally, finally uploaded this video to Youtube. I really enjoy vlogging but it is SUCH a faff at times! I actually filmed this right at the beginning of August but when I uploaded it to Youtube it was removed straight away for being too long (by a minute and a half grrr!) - why can't I upload videos that are longer than 15 minutes but other people can??? Anyway, I decided to have a go at editing it down, rather than filming it again so I downloaded some video editing stuff and then spent about five hours editing (would have been so much quicker to just film the video again...) Anyway, here it is, in all its glory... well actually, it's just the first part, I've still to film a second part because I've got loads of lovely products to talk about.

I've never edited a video before so if it's a bit jumpy in places, that'll be why - hopefully it's something I'll get better at...actually hopefully it's something I just won't have to do again because it took far too long.

Products featured;

Topshop Skin Glow in Light
Veet Hair Minimising Body Moisturiser
VO5 Miracle Concentrate
Sanctuary Polishing Hot Cloth Cleanser
Barry M Nail Effects in Pink Fizz

I hope everyone's had a lovely weekend, I've been mainly chilling today, had some time to catch up on returning blog comments and read some blogs, which is nice. As I mentioned in my last post, I went to the Jacques Townhouse yesterday and had such a good laugh, I wish I could have stayed there all evening. I'll do a full blog post about it soon, but if anyone is in/around Liverpool over the next few days, I'd really, really recommend going - you can register for tickets here.

August-us Gloop

2011-08-12T19:00:00.000+01:00

I can't believe it's Friday already - this week has flown over like a flaming bat out of hell shot from a catapult (that's fast!). Hope you've all got nice things planned for the weekend! I'm off to the Jacques Townhouse event in Liverpool tomorrow - I can't wait! Has anyone else been/is anyone else going? I know they've done one in London too, it looks so fun! I'll probably write a post about it next week. This here is my monthly update post for August (it's very difficult thinking up punny titles each month - this one is rubbish, I know, because it's not really a pun, but seriously, the word August is a tricky one! If you can think of something better, please tell me!) I'm aware it's a bit late, and my Products of the Month for July is VERY late :( I've actually filmed the vlog, just haven't uploaded it to Youtube yet, I promise I shall do so very, very soon! (Maybe even now...)

Anyway, with all the nonsense that's been happening in the UK over the past week, I'm not going to do a "currently hating" section this month, as it seems trivial and silly. It's just going to be about love this time. "All you need is love, la la la la la...."

I'm currently loving;

This video. I was tempted to write a separate blog post about the riots but to be honest, I don't even know where to start and so much has been said already. My lovely friend Jay is a singer/songwriter/genius and has written this cover of the song Made In America (from the new Kanye West/Jay-Z album Watch The Throne) as a response to the riots. I think it sums up how most of us are feeling pretty well.

Milka Chocolate. As a chocolate fiend, it's hard for me to say which brand I like the best - Cadbury? Galaxy? Lindt? At the moment though, my bar of choice isMilka Happy Cows. Look at it! It's patchy, like a cow! Cow print chocolate, bloody brilliant. I physically can't stop buying it. If you haven't tried it, seriously get some, it's yummy!

Twinings Revive & Revitalise Lemon and Ginger Tea. Another food-based one. I randomly found one bag of this in our kitchen cupboard (Lord only knows where it came from) and I liked it so much I went out and bought a box. I've had a cold this week (damn rainy weather) and this has been the perfect remedy to help soothe my throat and clear my head. Lemony gingery goodness.

The Killing. My boyfriend and I have really gotten into this series on Channel 4. It's an American remake of a Danish series and follows the aftermath of the murder of a teenage girl. I don't normally care much for crime dramas but this is seriously addictive TV; it's full of unexpected twists and turns. I thought it was just going to be a three part drama type thing, but I checked on IMDb and there's actually thirteen episodes, which is a bit frustrating as I really want to get to the conclusion!

Sudoku. This is an incredibly geeky admission to make, but I've actually become obsessed with Sudoku! My Dad buys The Times most days so is providing me with a constant supply of puzzles to feed my habit. I like to think it's making me smarter...

I've been making a bit more of an effort at finding new blogs to read lately, as quite often I tend to just stick to my favourites. If you have any blog recommendations let me know! I always check them out. Here's some I've been enjoying recently;

Lucy Boots
Laura-Lurahh
Amy Acorn
All Swamped In Flowers
Head Over Heels

A big picture of my face

2011-08-10T19:30:00.000+01:00

I don't normally do these 'Face of the Day' posts as I feel a bit weird posting pictures of myself on here, but I went out for a meal with my boyfriend on Saturday night and saw it as an excuse to make a bit more effort than usual with my makeup...

Skin
Topshop Skin Glow in Light
Guerlain Terracotta Bronzing Powder in 20
17 Hide and Chic Eye Brightening Concealer in Light Beige
Sleek Makeup ONE Finishing Powder
Benefit High Beam
Sleek Peach Gold eyeshadow from the Paraguaya palette worn as blusher

Eyes
Colours from the Sleek Paraguaya and Storm palettes
Topshop Liner pen
Rimmel Lash Accelorator Mascara in Black
Sleek Eye Drama Mascara in Blackout Waterproof
Tweezerman Brow Mousse

Lips
Barry M Lip Paint in 53 Coral

Think that's everything - seeing everything listed like this just made me realise how much makeup was on my face that night! WHOA!

The best things in life are free

2011-08-09T19:00:00.003+01:00

As someone currently on the tightest of budgets, I find myself constantly justifying even the most basic purchases and convincing myself to only buy products that are reduced, on offer or just very cheap. I've gotten used to this, but every now and then, I still get the urge to leg it into the John Lewis beauty department, grab as many beautiful things as I can get my hands on, and stick them all on my credit card, all the while shrieking and laughing like a madwoman. Fortunately, I normally manage to fight this urge and have been pretty darn sensible lately. (NB It is my birthday at the end of the month and it's likely that a significant portion of birthday money will be spent during a burst of the aforementioned madwoman behaviour...).

Recently though, I've managed to get my hands on quite a few lovely things, without actually having to spend any money at all. No, no, I've not taken up shoplifting, don't worry, I've just been taking advantage of freebies. You're probably already aware of this, but Lush will give you a fresh face mask for absolutely nothing if you bring back five of their black pots! Last week, after finishing off my big tub of Dream Cream, I realised that I'd finally managed to acquire five pots, and headed to Lush, ready to grab a freebie.

Since I'm STILL being plagued by the little blocked pores around my chin, I decided to go for something really deep cleansing, in the hope that it'd shift the buggers once and for all. The guy in Lush recommended Cosmetic Warrior, so I snapped it up, handed over my pots and off I went, happy in the knowledge that not only had I just gotten a face mask that normally costs about £5.50 for nil points, but also, that I'm being a good recycler and that is very important.

Contains garlic, tea tree oil, honey and eggs to name but a few. Does not smell pleasant. I'll do a review at some point soon.

Later that same day, I randomly ended up going back into town to meet some friends, but as I got to town a bit early, I went into Superdrug for a nosey. Thank goodness I did because I then picked up my second excellent freebie of the day! I noticed near the entrance of Superdrug, there were lots of lttle makeup stations set up, each with what looked like a goodie bag next to them. I was obviously intrigued by this (gotta love a goodie bag) and as I went for a closer look, one of the girls who worked there asked me if I'd like to go to the Superdrug Beauty School? "DO I?!" I thought, "HELL YEAH IF I GET A GOODIE BAG... what is it?" The girl explained that basically I just had to sit at one of the booths and let her instruct me on how to apply makeup to recreate a specific 'look'. Easy. So I did. The look I had to to recreate was called 'Pop Lips', which consisted of bronzed skin, defined lashes and a bright coral lipstick - right up my street! I had to use Miss Sporty products, which I've not used for years, but I was pleasantly surprised, especially by the lipstick, which I think was called Bubblegum and was a lovely sheer pinky coral. The class took about ten minutes and I think was probably aimed at younger girls who aren't used to wearing makeup - the other two girls doing the class at the same time as me were both 15... I felt a bit silly when I told them I was 23... but ah well, any opportunity to mess about with makeup is fine with me!

I was really impressed with the goodie bag I got at the end of the class; while it is mainly just Superdrug's own brand stuff along with some samples and vouchers, they're all items I'd actually use, plus I literally had to do nothing to get it, just play with makeup for ten minutes!

Products in the goodie bag included a Nail Shaper, Delicious Body Spray (which smells lovely!), Dry Shampoo, Miss Sporty Disco Tech UV Topcoat, The Little Pink Tin lipbalm, Self Heating Smoothie Mask and a Self Tan Applicator Mitt, as well as samples of the new VO5 shampoo and conditioner and Vera Wang Lovestruck perfume, plus loads of money off vouchers. Not bad eh?

The Superdrug Beauty School is happening in larger branches of Superdrug all over the country - you can see the full list of participating stores here. It looks like the next class will be using 2True products, which I've never tried before, so I'm tempted to go back!

Had any good freebies lately? Has anyone else been to a Superdrug Beauty Class? What did you think?

Loverpool

2011-08-01T22:25:00.004+01:00

Back in June, the very gorgeous Lucy of lalalucy1000 tagged me in a blog award and I've been meaning to pass it on ever since, but due to a mixture of being forgetful, busy and generally a bit shit, it's taken this long to do it...

The Liebster Award is designed to be awarded to blogs with less than 300 subscribers to spread the blog love and get them out to a wider audience
The rules:
1) Post displaying the award, linking back to the person who awarded you.
2) Pick 3 blogs and let the know they are awarded

Whoop whoop! How exciting! Thank you Lucy! I was really pleased to discover Lucy's blog as she's a fellow Scouse blogger and I was under the impression that there wasn't very many of us out there in the big wide blogosphere. That was until the genius that is Hayley who writes Ceriselle came up with the idea for the UK Blogger Map. If you've not come across it yet, it's basically a way for you to find other bloggers in your area - how clever! Anyway, since signing up to the map, I've found LOADS of other bloggers from my neck of the woods. I've picked three of my favourite new discoveries to pass on the award to. They are;

Penelope Teapot
the lost girl
DaisyLovesYou

Be sure to check them all out because they're marvellous! And if you've not checked out the UK Blogger Map, do it now!

Love is strange...

2011-07-31T12:10:00.004+01:00

Eeeep! I feel like my blog's taken a bit of a back seat in the past few weeks and I really wish this wasn't the case! I've always said that one super power I'd love more than any other is the ability to stop time and this applies now more than ever as I'm ridiculously busy. If anyone knows where I can get myself a Bernard's Watch or even a Time-Turner, please let me know!

Anyway, I felt like getting a bit creative on Thursday night when I had a rare couple of hours to myself so I decided to jazz up my nails. I'm not sure whether you can tell, but the blue nails you can see in the photos are actually falsies. I never, ever wear false nails but as these ones are so short, I thought I'd give them a bash (they were actually given to me free along with some Eylure lashes at an event in New Look a couple of months back). They're Elegant Touch Limited Edition Matte Nails in Mint Green (although I really think they're more blue than green...)

Once I'd stuck the false nails on, I realised they looked a bit too plain on their own so I rooted out all of the decorative bits and pieces I bought on eBay ages ago and got a bit carried away with the nail glue. I'm sure I've mentioned her before but Selina from The Flying Saucer always has amazingly decorated 'kawaii'-style nails and these were very much inspired by her.

I wish I'd had the good sense to decorate the false nails before I stuck them on, as it all got quite fiddly (and gluey) and using your left hand to pick up tiny gems with tweezers is really bloody tricky! Gem Fatale had a really good Tuesday Tip a couple of weeks ago that suggested using a cotton bud with some sellotape around the end to hold a false nail in place while decorating/painting it and if I were going to do this again, I'd definitely use that method. Got there in the end though and I'm really pleased with how they turned out, plus I've had loads of compliments on them, which is always nice :)

The one thing I would say though is that they snag on everything! Every time I try to do my hair, one of the bows will catch in it and so paranoid that they're going to pop off! Selina, how on earth do you cope?!

[Elegant Touch Limited Edition Matte Nails in Mint Green, Glitter - Models Own Juicy Jules, bows, gems and flowers all available from this eBay seller]

July noted

2011-07-19T15:18:00.003+01:00

Somehow, we seem to be over halfway through July and I've yet to do my monthly update post - bad Franki! Anyway, here it is, better late than never, right? RIGHT?!

I'm currently loving;

Festival funsies. You may have noticed that I've been holidaying a lot lately - Glamping in May, Lanzarote in June and I got back from Lisbon in Portugal last week. I'm really not the sort of person that normally goes on loads of holiday, it's just how things have worked out recently. Obviously, I'm not complaining though! Lisbon was fab - I went with Tash and a few guy friends and we spent the first couple of days checking out the city (and lounging by our hotel pool) and the rest of our time was spent at the AMAZING Optimus Alive Festival. We were actually a little bit concerned that when we got to Portugal, we'd discover that the festival didn't really exist because nobody had heard of it, fortunately though, it did exist in a massive way! I'm pretty much the worst person ever when it comes to music and bands (I'm a musical theatre girl through and through) so I'm probably not the obvious person to go to a massive music festival, but I had loads of fun and saw some amazing bands including Foo Fighters, Primal Scream, Bombay Bicycle Club and Fleet Foxes. I'm so up for going back next year - Glastonbury and the other British festivals look like fun, but a festival with guaranteed sunshine and no mud whatsoever is far more my cup of tea :)

Churros. Being the foody that I am, I had to make the most of all the different food stalls at the festival - most of it was pretty standard - burgers, pizzas, kebabs etc - but there was also a waffle and churros stand which sold the most amazing chocolate filled churros. I had one every day and I'm not even a little bit sorry.

My new vintage skirt. I bought this at a vintage fair in Liverpool just before we went to Lisbon and I think it's fabulous. The label inside it is BhS and it's in really good condition so I'm not sure just how 'vintage' it really is. Saying that though I'm definitely getting a very 90s vibe from the pattern, so it could be at least 11 years old - who can say for sure?

One Day. I've been meaning to read this for ages and when Tash offered to lend me it last week, I said yespleasethankyouverymuch. The basic premise is that Dexter and Emma meet on the day they graduate from uni and stay in touch, despite their lives going in very different directions. Each chapter in the book takes place on the same day (15th July) but a year later, so we basically see how their lives unfold over twenty years. I've been reading it for the past few days and sat down on Sunday night to read a few more chapters before bed but then got to a really good bit, couldn't put it down and stayed up until 1am to finish it. I'd definitely recommend it, though I must warn you, it's a bit of a weepy one. It's been made into a film starring Anne Hathaway and comes out next month, though I'm not sure I'll bother seeing it as, having just watched the trailer, it's really annoyed me how Anne Hathaway is doing a really bad generic British accent, even though her character is meant to be from Yorkshire. Hey producers! Crazy idea - why not just cast a British actress who can actually do the correct accent in the first place?!

This video. I've still not seen the final Harry Potter film as I'm planning to go with my sisters but Liv is away on holiday this week. Fortunately, this video has provided me with some much needed Potter brilliance. Wizarding kittens? Yes please!

I'm currently hating;

Not fulfilling my tanning potential. Ok, 'hate' is probably a strong word, I'm just a bit miffed really. After two holidays in lovely hot countries, I was expecting to spend the rest of the Summer looking like something from a St Tropez ad. Sadly, this is just not the case - I am tanned, just not as tanned as I could be. I think it may be because I've not actually been abroad for the past six years and my skin had just forgotten how to tan. It was like "what the HELL is this?!" - it got to a certain level of brownness and then refused to go any darker. It could also be that I should have used a lower SPF - I used SPF 20 both times, but I think I could have gotten away with 15 in Lisbon - maybe that's where I went wrong? Either way, while it's nice to have a bit of natural colour for a change, I'm feeling drawn to the bottle of St Moritz currently at the back of my cupboard...

Ok, normally now I'd link to some blogs I've been enjoying lately, but to be honest I've been mainly reading all my usual faves and not come across any new ones - if you have any suggestions of new or lesser known blogs that I should check out, please let me know! I'm planning to do a favourite blogs post at some point soon.

So that's this month's update over and done with - hope you're all well and enjoying graduations/holidays/other exciting things that tend to happen around this time of year. Peace out, eight town.

"...and I dance, dance, dance and I dance, dance, dance"

2011-07-06T18:30:00.000+01:00

This is the Sleek haul video I promised a while back when I posted about my order with the Sleek 50% off voucher code.

Featuring;

Contour Brush

Pan Tao Blush

ONE Finishing Powder

Eye Drama Mascara in Black Out Waterproof

High Shine Lipgloss in Sweet Sixteen

Paraguaya iDivine Palette (click here for my review of this)

This is a scheduled post as I'm away on holiday (again)

Violent Lips

2011-06-30T22:18:00.005+01:00

Special thanks to my gorgeous friend Lydia for bringing the subject of this post to my attention!

I may have said this before, but one of the things I love most about the beauty industry is that there's always some amazing new product to get excited about. Whether it's the latest 'it' nail polish from Chanel are another fabulous MAC collection, there's always a buzz surrounding something. While it may not be good news for our bank accounts that Estee Lauder have brought out a new 'miracle' foundation or skincare product, it certainly is fun to lust after such things.

One of the things I've noticed though, in the past couple of years, is that these new products are becoming more and more "out there". I suppose this is down, in large part, to celebs such as Katy Perry, Beyonce and Lady Gaga, whose theatrical/quirky/fabulous approaches to fashion and beauty constantly challenge the 'norm', while inspiring their fans to embrace the fun side of hair and makeup. With the huge increase in popularity of nail art, multi-coloured hair dye and even temporary tattoos, it's clear that we're in the middle of a beauty revolution! For once, it's not just about lash lengthening and skin perfecting, it's about having fun, being different and getting creative!

Jessie J's spikey lips in the Do It Like A Dude video, Katy Perry sporting Russell Brand nails and multi-coloured hair streaks and Beyonce's leopard print eyes and nails in the Kitty Cat video

The latest in a long line of fun new beauty products is Violent Lips; temporary lip tattoos that are available in designs such as polka dot, leopard print and stripes...

Violent Lips, from what I can gather, are pretty much exactly the same as traditional transfers. Using guidelines on the back of the design, you have to cut the transfer so that it matches the shape of your mouth and then hold a damp cloth against it so that it adheres to your lips. Cool eh?

They come in packs of three and retail at $14.95 per pack, although there are some currently on sale on the Violent Lips site for $9.99. The company ships internationally and some of the designs are also available in the UK at Harvey Nicholls for £12. I've read some reviews online and the general consensus is that they're tricky to apply - it's difficult to get them to line up perfectly with the corners of your mouth and you have to make sure that your lips are stretched when you're applying the transfer, as otherwise it'll crease. They also flake a bit, I guess in the same way a normal temporary tattoo would after it's been on for a while. However, most reviewers have also said they love how the tattoos look as they're so different to any other lip products that are currently available. What I like about Violent Lips is that there is such a huge range of designs, so you can go as subtle or as whacky as you like. They're perfect for a night out or a party, though I'm not sure I'd want to wear them for longer than a few hours, as I'd imagine a temporary tattoo on your lips would be quite drying. That being said, I definitely want to give them a go! I've got my eye on "The Coral Cheetah" in particular...

Violent Lips in The Coral Cheetah, The Rainbow and The Black and White Stripes

So what do you think? Will you be trying them out? And what other crazy beauty products would you like to see next?

Things things glorious things

2011-06-27T20:13:00.007+01:00

I pretty much never do 'haul' posts, mainly because I very rarely go on massive shopping sprees that would warrant a haul post (oh woe is me...) but also, on the rare occasion when I do buy a lot of stuff, I've usually opened all of the packaging/cut the labels off/put it away before I actually remember to take a nice picture. Anyway, I'm off to Portugal in a week (I'm going to the Optimus Alive Festival - it's going to be AMAZING!) so I headed into town on Saturday to pick up a few things, and for once, I actually remembered to take a photo when I got home.

What I bought;

Boots Essentials Cucumber Cleansing Wipes - I use these almost obsessively as a) they're VERY gentle and b) they're always on offer (three for £3). I had been using Johnson's wipes which I've definitely used before, but I seem to have become a bit allergic to them as I've been suffering from really sore, dry skin around my eyes and forehead and they're the only things that might have caused it. So back to the old reliables it is!

Oilatum Natural Repair Face Cream - I've talked about this before, in fact, tons of people have talked about it before, so I'm sure you're already well aware of this product. Even though I'm still LOVING my Clean & Clear Dual Action Moisturiser (mentioned in my recent vlog), I've been feeling the need for something a little more gentle due to my aforementioned dry skin attack. This stuff does the job nicely.

Lee Stafford Treatment For Hair That Never Grows Past A Certain Length (catchy name, eh?) - I've heard so much hype about this and have been desperate to get hold of it. I really want to have ridiculously long hair, like a mermaid, and while my hair does tend to grow fairly quickly, I also lose quite a lot in the shower/during brushing. The treatment claims to strengthen hair follicles, which means they stay "anchored to your scalp" (that's actually what it says on the tub) better and therefore don't fall out as easily. I've only used it twice so far, so haven't noticed any massive changes yet, but Im keeping my fingers crossed. Also, it smells heavenly. I got it for £5.99 instead of £7.99 as Boots are currently doing £2 off Professional Haircare vouchers. Score!

17 Lasting Fix Nail Polish in Tropical Island - I didn't need another nail polish. I know I didn't and you know I didn't. But there was an offer of a free concealer pen with any 17 purchase so I got excited. I still haven't fully lifted the makeup ban, but I figured that getting two products for the price of one was a good plan, especially when I needed a concealer anyway and the concealer on its own would have been more expensive. I've been wanting a really bright orange polish for ages as I think its a great summer colour and this one is almost there, though it's not quite bright enough for me. I want obnoxiously vibrant nails! You can't see in the photo, but it has tiny flecks of gold running through it, which is pretty, but not noticeable unless you look very closely.

17 Hide & Chic Eye Brightening Concealer - This was the free concealer. I've only used it once or twice but so far so good; it's just a typical highlighting concealer - it has a brush/pen applicator like Touche Eclat and a creamy, blendable consistency. May review this at some point in the future when I've used it a bit more.

Ambre Solaire Clear Protect Transparent Body Protection Spray (SPF 20) - I just started writing my reasons for buying this, but it turned into a bit of an essay, so I think I'll save it for another post. This was about £6.50 in Wilko's, which is one of the cheapest prices I've seen for sun care.

25 Allura Emery Boards - bought these in Poundland, I always need nail files so this seemed like a good idea. I'm actually pleasantly surprised by these as not only are they different shapes and sizes (the mini ones are ideal for your handbag) but they also have different levels of courseness (not sure if that's the techincal term, but you know what I mean, don't you?) some are really course for nail re-shaping while others are finer, so are better for tidying the edges. Not bad for £1!

Turquoise tribal-style ring - I've seen these rings EVERYWHERE lately, so when I spotted this one in Primark (£2.50!) I had to have it. Love a bit of turquoise.

New sunnies - I never, ever buy expensive sunglasses as I almost always lose them or break them and I just don't see the point. I really liked the ones I took to Lanzarote but the lenses are really badly scuffed and scratched as I've had them for about a year now. I can only really wear over-sized sunnies, as I've got such a massive face. I really like the Wayfarer and aviator styles but whenever I try them on, they just look ridiculous. The size of the sunglasses MUST be proportionate to the size of the face. It's a scientific fact.

Skinny belt - Think this was £1. I love the colour and I think skinny waist belts like this add a really nice detail to an outfit. I've got a black vest-tunic-dress thing that I can't wait to wear this with.

Pink and brown satchel - Normally when I go on holiday, I spend a lot of my time at the beach or pool so I'd just buy a big beach bag that can hold a book, suncream, money and lots of other "essential" bits and bobs, but as I'm going to be at a festival this time, I figured a heavy shoulder bag wouldn't be the best plan. I only really need my suncream and money, maybe a lipbalm etc, so this little bag is perfect. Plus, it's pink!

So that's everything - mostly cheap and cheerful stuff, which is good. Right, off now to watch the final episode of Made In Chelsea - I hate to admit it, because I said I wasn't going to watch it, but I've really gotten into it. I love Ollie!

Are you off on holiday this Summer? What are your Summer essentials? Why can't it be Summer all year round?!

And the winner is...

2011-06-24T14:07:00.003+01:00

Just a quickie to let everyone know that the giveaway is now closed and a winner has been selected...

The winner is...

MIM!

Yaaay, congratulations to you! (This is pretty much the most exciting thing I've done all day.) The lovely Mim has been emailed so as soon as she gives me her address I'll get her prize sent out to her.

Thanks to everybody who entered (and hello new followers!), I'm sorry you couldn't all win, but you'll always be winners in my eyes, every single one of you. And who knows, I may just have another giveaway at some point in the near future...

Pow pow

2011-06-23T12:29:00.007+01:00

You've got ONE DAY left to enter my giveaway!!! Quick, before it's too late!

So I *may* have lifted a tiny corner of my makeup ban this weekend when I spotted the new Models Own/WAH Nails nail art pen in Boots. To be fair, the black nail pen I already had is broken, so I did need a new one - this was clearly a very necessary purchase.

The Models Own/WAH pen has been out for a good while now, however, they seem to have improved upon the original design as the one that I bought is a bit smaller than the first one they released. Like I said, I already had a black nail art pen (I bought a random 'Flags of the World' nail art kit on sale in Debenhams ages ago) but the Models Own one is definitely superior - the nib is so fine, perfect for drawing really tiny details. I tried it out on a few of my favourite designs and came up with this;

Colours used - Nail Polish by H&M in U Must Have This, Collection 2000 Hot Looks in BMX, Models Own in Pink Blush and Natural Collection Nail Tip Whitener. Black detail done with Models Own/WAH Nails nail art pen, pink and yellow details done with random nail art pens.

I love a bit of mix 'n' match goodness, though I wish some of the lines were a bit smoother - it's just so darn fiddly though. I'm right handed, so when it came to doing my right, my left hand was SO shakey! (which is why I've only shown the one pic - the other hand is shockingly bad in comparison...)

I used the images below as inspiration - they really do put me to shame though - how on Earth do they get everything so neat?!

WAH Nails

Effiesmakeupbox

What do you think? Have you got the nail art pen? Any tips for getting everything super neat? I need to know!

Products of the Month (I have a new camera!)

2011-06-22T09:55:00.003+01:00

Whoop whoop! New camera new camera!

Products featured;

Nail Polish by H&M in U Must Have This
GOSH Special Edition Nail Lacquer in Lavender Love
Collection 2000 Lock N Hold Lipgloss in Rock Steady and Break Dance
Clean & Clear Dual Action Moisturiser
Sleek Makeup Dip It Liquid Eyeliner

June know who I am?!

2011-06-20T18:30:00.004+01:00

WHOA! It's been a while hasn't it? Really didn't mean to go this long without blogging; I got back from Lanzarote on 7th June and since then it feels like I've not stopped!

Anyway, thought I'd do a little update post (these seem to be happening monthly now and I'm really enjoying them!) and I filmed a video today with my shiny new video camera so, youtube Gods willing, that'll be up in the next couple of days too. Blogging-a-go-go!

I'm currently loving;

Cheeky holidays. As I've just mentioned, my boyfriend and I decided to book a little last minute break in Lanzarote. I realised it was the first time I'd been properly abroad for about six years - how did that happen?! We ate and drank lots, discovered some pretty beaches and even hired a car for the day to drive around the island and see some sights (driving on the wrong side of the road is scary. And I was only navigating!) It was lovely. Got another holiday lined up for July with Tash - I'm getting a bit of a taste for this jet-set lifestyle ;)

Magazine freebies. I'm sure most people are already aware of this, but just in case you've been hiding under a rock for the past few weeks - Glamour magazine are currently giving away one of three Benefit products with the July issue. You can get your mitts on a mini High Beam, Benetint or Posie Tint absolutely free! Since the mag only costs £2 and the freebies are worth £8-£10 each it's a pretty bargainous offer! I was a bit greedy and got all three, but I'm sure lots of other people have done that too - it seems silly not to! Also, Elle are currently giving away a free Reiss vest top designed by Garance Dore - couldn't help but get myself one of those too!

Dr Faustus. Not the play by Christopher Marlowe, but my sister's new kitten! Yes, that's his name - God only knows why, but Liv has always been a bit *different*. Did you ever see anything as flippin' cute as this?! We're going to be cat-sitting when Liv goes on holiday and I absolutely can't wait - I've got A LOT of snuggles planned.

This video. Anyone familiar with Auto-Tune The News will have seen this sort of thing already, but when my friend Liam posted this Jezza Kyle remix on my Facebook wall last week, I knew I had to share it. Absolutely brilliant.

I'm currently hating;

Insane weather I know that British folk spend their lives complaining about the weather, so this is an extremely mundane thing to mention, but my issue isn't so much that it's too cold or rainy, it's that every day seems to bring with it three different types of weather for the price of one. This sort of mix and match weather is a right bastard because you know that at some point during the day your outfit is going to be rendered completely impractical. I actually walked to the bus stop swearing at the weather last week because the clear blue sky and lovely sun had provided a cunning disguise for what was actually an insanely windy day and my flippy skirt/jersey blazer combo was just no match for it at all. Weather, make up your mind what you want to be and stick with it. Nobody is interested in your identity crisis you little bugger!

Rubbish sequels. I went to see The Hangover 2 last week and thought it was absolutely horrendously bad. It's the exact same story as the first film except with a few tiny details changed and a lot of less funny but more offensive jokes. Sadly, it seems that I'm the only person who thought this because everyone around me in the cinema laughed uncontrollably all the way through. Apparently all a film needs to be considered funny these days is a drug dealing monkey in a denim jacket...

So how've you all been? Have you bought this month's Glamour yet? What did you get? And what did you think of The Hangover 2?

Also, don't forget! My competition to win the Sleek Paraguaya palette ends in a mere few days - if you've not entered yet, get to it, pronto!

Je voudrais s'il vous plaît - Makeup

2011-05-31T19:45:00.000+01:00

[Don't forget to enter my giveaway here to win the Sleek Paraguaya Palette and some secret goodies!]

Clockwise from top left - Sleek True Colour Lipsticks in Papaya Punch and Coral Reef, Topshop Nails in Zenith, Barry M Nail Paints in Peach Melba and Blue Lagoon, Topshop Lipstick in Rapturous, Maybelline Eye Drama Gel Liner, Topshop Cheek Duo in Desert Sun

I mentioned back in April that I had been spending far too much money on unnecessary makeup purchases and had decided to go on a spending ban. It's been nearly two whole months now and I can honestly say, that apart from my Sleek sale items, I haven't bought any new makeup at all. It's killing me. Sadly though, I'm not even close to running out of anything, so the ban looks set to continue for the foreseeable future. Yuck. Such self-restraint is made even more difficult when there happens to be absolutely loads of gorgeous products out at the moment. Not only have Sleek released the new True Colour Lipsticks, but Barry M has brought out two pretty new colours (Peach Melba and Blue Moon) and don't even get me started on the Topshop Sandstorm Collection. I'm in physical pain here, guys.

Ow!

Bought anything pretty lately? Please tell me about it! I need to live vicariously through your makeup purchases!

This is a scheduled post as I'm currently in Lanzarote. La la la!

GNASA

2011-05-28T21:58:00.014+01:00

[Don't forget to enter my giveaway here to win the Sleek Paraguaya Palette and some secret goodies!]

So, last week I went on holiday. A glamping holiday.

Glamourous + Camping = GLAMPING

Myself and a group of lovely friends (Tash, Lauren, Dot and Nikki) headed across to Berridon Farm in Bradworthy in Devon where we stayed in a luxury tent, played A LOT of Pictionary, learned how to cook on a wood burning stove (here's a little hint for you, cooking anything on a wood burning stove takes a LONG TIME. You want a cup of tea? You're going to be waiting about two hours), met a seriously badass goat and saw literally THOUSANDS of gnomes, but more on that later.

Basically, glamping, as you've probably guessed, is a much fancier form of camping. You stay in a tent, but it has a proper floor, beds, running water and a toilet. There's no electricty, so you do have to go right back to basics when it comes to entertainment (board games are a must), and with no lights apart from candles and torches, it gets seriously bloody dark at night, but it's A LOT of fun.

There was an episode of TOWIE where some of the gang went 'glamping', however, apart from them having a pink floral tent, I don't really understand what made it 'glam'. At one point Joey Essex and Harry tried to make a toilet in the ground by hitting it with a stick. I don't care how you look at it, that is just not glam.

This isn't glamping

THIS is glamping;

On arrival at Berridon, Farmer Dave warned us about Barclay, a "rogue goat" in the field. He proved to be something of a handful...

Our tent.

Inside the tent. Fancy! You can just about make out the door to the loo (on the left), then, at the back of the tent (through the sort of doorway bit in the middle) there was two "bedroom" areas - one with bunk beds, one with a double and then on the right you can see my cupboard bed!

Cupboard bed! It was VERY cozy.

Told you he was troublesome. He climbed onto the chicken coop and it broke. He looked guilty for about five minutes and then just climbed back on. The little scamp.

Pigs! No idea what their actual names were, but Lauren christened them Alfred and Hitchcock. Just because.

One of the first things we spotted on our way to Berridon Farm was a sign that read "Gnome Reserve". We knew that we couldn't leave Devon without finding out exactly what a "Gnome Reserve" was, so on our last day, we took a little trip. Oh, the things we saw...

We discovered that a "Gnome Reserve" is a place where there are more gnomes than you can possibly imagine. And they're all doing different activities. Here, you can see some gnomes who are doing a classic gnome activity; fishing. We also saw gnomes at the fair, gnomes in planes, gnomes at the beach and gnomes on the toilet. Really though.

Wearing our obligatory (fabulous) gnome hats. From left to right, Tash, Lauren, Me, Dot and Nikki.

Apparently, Gnomes drink "Blue Gnome" and their rockets fly from "GNASA". It's all about the little details.

I don't think I can emphasise enough just how many gnomes there actually were. The woman who ran the Reserve said that on the last count she had over two thousand. TWO THOUSAND GNOMES. That's a lot of gnomes.

After the Gnome Reserve, we went to Westward Ho! which is the only place in the UK that has an exclamation mark in its name. That's pretty special. It was lovely and beachy.

The whole gang at Westward Ho!

So that's glamping. If you fancy spending a few days getting away from civilization, but don't want to sleep in a cold, cramped tent, then I thoroughly recommend it! The company we used was called Featherdown Farms - they have loads of glamping locations across the UK, but I picked Devon because I've never been before and like beaches.

Have you ever been glamping? Would you consider it? How do you feel about gnomes?

Moi, j'ai une pêche, moi, j'ai une pomme

2011-05-24T19:43:00.001+01:00

If you’re already sick to death of me yammering on about Sleek Makeup, you’re probably not going to like this post. It’s ok, you can go, just please make sure you close the door properly as you leave; we’ve had trouble with cats walking in off the street lately and I just can’t be doing with it...

Right, now that all the riff raff have left us in peace, I’ll get on with it.,

This is a quick review about the Limited Edition Paraguaya iDivine palette, which is part of the Avoir La Pêche collection. Now I know that this is a bit late as the palette came out, I think, in March, but there’s a reason why I’m writing about it now, read on for all to be revealed...

Paraguaya is a typical iDivine palette; a mixture of shimmer and matte shadows, a couple of dark shades for definition, a couple of light ones for highlighting and a nice selection of unusual colours in between, all housed in the classic sleek packaging we’ve come to know and love. The colours are mostly varying shades of peach, pink and coral, with a couple of browns and golds thrown in too. As with all the palettes, the colour pay-off is fantastic and they all blend really well.

I’m very much in a peach/coral state of mind at the moment , so I knew as soon as it came out that I had to buy it. As a general rule though, pink and red-toned eyeshadow is quite hard to wear (because it can make you look like you’ve just been punched in the eye), so I can understand why some people may be unsure about this palette. However, really bright, zingy eyemakeup was all over the Spring/Summer ‘11 catwalks, so if you’re feeling a bit daring, some of the brighter orange shadows that Paraguaya has to offer are absolutely perfect. Plus, there’s enough pale, muted colours in there to keep the less outrageous amongst happy too. And, at £6.49 for twelve shadows, even if you only like some of the colours, it’s still great value!

Top row, L-R - Parfait, Blush, Cameo. Bottom Row, L-R - Bellini, Redstone, Persimmon

Top Row, L-R - Persian Orange, Peach Gold, Sandstone. Bottom Row, L-R - Tangelo, Bittersweet, Stone.

Anyway, another reason why the Paraguaya palette is so flippin’ marvellous is that a lot of the colours double up as blushes! I’ve found myself wearing ‘Blush’ (good name), a very pale pinky coral, obsessively over my Topshop Cream Blush every day since I bought it.

All in all, (surprise surprise) I’m a big fan, and of the four Sleek palettes I currently own, this is the one I reach for the most. Lovely colours, fantastic quality and amazing value, what’s not to like?

...Well, actually there is one problem with Paraguaya and that is that it’s Limited Edition and as far as I can tell, is no longer available in Superdrug or on the Sleek website. Not good. You can still get hold of it on eBay, if you’re willing to pay more than RRP, but who wants to do that? Nobody, that’s who.

Don’t worry though, because I know a way you can get one for free! By entering my giveaway, hurrah! Yes indeed, to celebrate me FINALLY reaching 100 readers, I’m giving away one brand spanking new Paraguaya palette (and maybe a couple of other goodies, too)! How exciting!

All you have to do to enter is;

Be a follower on Google Friend Connect or Bloglovin’ (please let me know which one so that I can check!)

Leave a comment below. ‘Enter me’ is fine, but feel free to say other stuff too – quote Shakespeare, write a haiku, whatever :)

Make sure you have a way for me to contact you – email address or Twitter name would be good.

For one extra entry, tweet about the giveaway and leave a SEPARATE comment telling me you’ve done so.

Right that’s everything! I’m so EXCITED! I will draw the winner next month using random.org and then let everyone know who the lucky person is.

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY! GIVEAWAY!!!

"They like me, they really like me!"

2011-05-23T18:30:00.000+01:00

I can't believe how long ago I wrote this post! It was intended to go up last week while I was away on holiday; I was super organised and wrote this and a second post the week before last but then Blogger went crazy and I couldn't access them and then I went on holiday - SO RIDICULOUSLY ANNOYING! So, for once, lack of blogging genuinely wasn't my fault, it was Blogger's. DAMN YOU BLOGGER!!!

Now I should have done this AGES ago, but, because I pretty much fail at life, I've only just gotten around to doing it. The very lovely Catherine, of Catherine's Loves tagged me with this award last month - thanks Catherine!

Here's what to do if you are tagged -

Link back to the person who awarded you

Share 10 things about yourself

Nominate 10 other bloggers and contact them to let them know

Now, back in January, I received the Versatile Blogger Award, which is actually quite similar to this one, in that it asks you to share facts about yourself. Not a lot has happened to me between January and now, so I doubt I'll be able to come up with ten shiny new facts about myself, so I'm going to link to the previous award post, here, which has seven facts, so that leaves me... if my maths is correct (come on brain, don't fail me now!)...with three more facts... here goes;

1. I'm 23 (24 in August) and STILL can't drive. I've never had a single lesson and I actually think now that if I got behind the wheel of a car, I'd be absolutely terrified. My parents offered to pay for driving lessons when I turned 17 but then they said they wouldn't buy me a car or put me on their insurance once I passed my test, so I didn't see the point in learning (FOOLISH girl!) Since then there's never really been a convenient time (and I haven't had the money) to give it a go. I really wish I had learned because driving really does make life so much easier, plus it opens up loads more job prospects for you. So any teenage types out there, learn from my mistakes - if your parents offer you lessons, just take them!

2. I'm a massive wimp. I hate horror films - literally can't bear to watch them at all and on the rare occasion when I'm forced to, I spend a good few hours in bed afterwards jumping at every tiny sound, convinced that something's going to come and 'get' me. I can just about deal with thrillers or really tame horror films that are more jumpy than gory, but I refuse to watch anything to do with ghosts/exorcisms and don't even get me started on 'slasher' movies! I just don't see the fun in watching people be murdered - is that so bad?!

3. When it comes to supermarkets and 'everything under one roof'-type stores, I go mental. Seriously, set me loose in Wilkinson's and you won't see me for a good few hours. I just get so excited by all the things and offers and oh look that paint is buy one get one free, maybe I should paint something! (I've never painted in my life) I swear, it's a genuine problem.

Ok, so those are my facts done and dusted, now time for some linkage. Last time I did one of these, I didn't really bother with this part as I couldn't remember who had or hadn't received the award already, but this time I'm going to do it - it's nice to share the love after all.

I tag;

Shortiee's Beauty Blog

Mozzypop

Apologies if I've tagged you and you've already received this award or a similar one, but hey, now you've got two! Yes, they do take up a bit of extra space on the mantlepiece and yes, they do require A LOT of dusting, but in all honestly, I think everyone needs at least one unusually spelt blog award in their life!

"so that people don't walk over you"

2011-05-12T21:21:00.002+01:00

This skirt is £6.99 from H&M - I want it. (maybe in the black and the peach)

I've not been shopping in a while, so I wouldn't have even known that this skirt existed had I not spotted it, in its various colour options, on three or four different blogs. That's one of the things I love about fashion blogs - they do the same job as magazines when it comes to keeping you in the know about all the lovely things that are currently in the shops. And, unlike magazines, most of the items of clothing or beauty products that I read about on blogs are things I could actually afford to buy (my fashion magazines of choicIe are Elle and Sunday Times Style, both of which seem to assume that all of their readers are millionaires. Believe me, we're not).

'm sure I've mentioned it before, but when it comes to fashion and beauty, I'm very easily influenced and pretty much want to buy every lipstick/dress/skirt/cagoule I see, especially when it's being shown off to it's full fabulousness on several different blogs. I've already seen this skirt here, here and here and no doubt it's been featured on loads more, because it's super versatile, flattering on pretty much any body shape and crazy cheap. Excellent skirt all round I say. Plus it's available in loads of different colours (and there's a very similar patterned one too). Well done, H&M , well done.

What do you think? Will you be buying this H&M lovely? Have you already bought it? What colour should I go for?!

May day, mayday!

2011-05-02T10:11:00.003+01:00

Wow, it's May already, this year is flying by like crazy! Thought I'd do another summary type thing, the last one seemed to be quite popular...

I'm currently loving;

Royal wedding-o-rama. I think it was hard to not get caught up in all of the excitement on Friday. I'm not particularly fussed about the Royal Family at all, but let's be honest, what girl can't resist a good wedding? Plus, it's nice to have something that we can all 'take part' in as a nation. Usually the news is full of depressing stuff; naughty politicians, celebs having affairs, Katie Price existing, so it made a pleasant change to turn on the TV and see coverage of a genuinely happy occasion. I think Kate looked beautiful, though I've only just made the connection that she wore a McQUEEN dress - hahaha! I went to a house party where muchos cake and tea was consumed. My very clever friend Jenny made this lovely Union Jack cake (above) - it was amazing!

Chocolate chocolate chocolate. Although Easter was a week ago, I've still got A LOT of chocolate left over. I have quite a big family and all of the aunts/uncles/grandparents etc buy Easter eggs for all of the kids. Fortunately for me (unfortunately for my waistline) at 23, I'm still considered one of the kids, so I received SEVEN eggs. So far I've eaten three. I've still got two more Cadbury eggs, a really fancy Marks and Spencers one and a Green & Blacks one to eat. I should probably do something sensible and use loads of the chocolate for baking, rather than gorging myself on it over the next couple of weeks, but let's be honest, I'm probably not going to...

WAH nails. The very clever people at WAH got me all inspired yesterday as I was having a browse through their blog and decided to do a mix of drippy and two toned leopard print. I find drips really difficult to do - does anyone have any tips? Also, can anyone recommend a good topcoat as I'm currently using a Sally Hansen one but it takes about twenty five years to dry.

Summer Heights High. If you've never watched this show, I seriously recommend it. Basically, the idea is it's a documentary (a bit like The Office) filmed in a school in Australia, but the creator of the series, Chris Lilley, plays three different characters - a ridiculously camp drama teacher, a spoiled, bitchy girl and a Tongan boy who's always getting into trouble. It is hilarious! My friend Liam put the series onto DVD for me, so I've been re-watching it all recently, but you can probably find it on youtube. Here's one of my favourite clips;

I'm currently hating;

When it feels like your razor is punishing you. I bought a pack of BIC Miss Soleil razors a couple of weeks ago and oh my goodness I coudn't recommend them less. I've used BIC razors before; I imagine most people have, but I've never tried this particular line. They're a pretty standard disposable - three blades, moisturising strip etc, but for some reason every time I use them, it feels like I'm shaving with a particularly malicious cheese grater. So very, very painful! I hate shaving my legs anyway because it's such a faff, but these razors make me want to do it even less. I think it's time I took up waxing...

Blogger's formatting issues. I'll hold my hands up and say that I'm a bit OCD when it comes to paragraph formatting in my blog posts. I hate having big gaps between paragraphs and I always make sure that everything is fully justified because I just think it looks neater that way. For some reason though, Blogger seems to have gone mental and whenever I write a post, I have to spend ages battling with Blogger to make it look nice and neat. Why are you adding unnecessarily massive spaces between lines, Blogger? Can you just stop please? Has anyone else been having this problem? And how do I make it stop?!

Continuing with my aim to keep sharing the love through the mystical world of the blogosphere, here's five ladies whose work I've been enjoying of late;

Couture & Crumpets

ghostparties

being little

Writer Extraordinaire!

Sophie Isobel

moving fast and bright as a firefly

2011-04-27T19:30:00.000+01:00

There was a time in my life, say between the ages of about 4 and 13 ahem 9, when cartoons were pretty much the only things that mattered to me. The Care Bears, My Little Pony, a lesser known cartoon called Maxi's World about a teenager with her own chat show, they were what I lived for. Saturday mornings were a time for scarily bright colours, ridiculous theme songs and fighting with my little sister over the remote control.

Bearing this in mind (pardon the pun), I couldn't help but get a bit excited when Bargainista Fashionista blogged about these Care Bear tees from Uniqlo;

I hardly ever wear t-shirts, but I can never resist a bit of 90s nostalgia and at just £7.99 each, these are too cute to miss out on. There's 10 designs in all and each one comes in two different colour options. The Tender Heart one at the top of this post is my favourite - I had a teddy of Tender Heart when I was little, he was wonderful.

Uniqlo is a brand I pretty much never bother with, but after investigating the Care Bears tees, I had a little browse around the rest of the site and I'm now really liking it. It's a shame there only seems to be stores in the London area; Uniqlo, listen up, THE PEOPLE OF LIVERPOOL WOULD LOVE YOU!

For some annoying reason, all of the Care Bears videos on Youtube have had embedding disabled - grrrr! However, if you click on the image above, it'll take you to a video of the theme song, which is brilliant and features the wonderfully optimistic lyric - "if you can dream, just send a wish out in the dark" - making it worth a listen, even if you're not familiar with the little balls of fluff.

Oh sweet baby Jesus...

2011-04-23T20:56:00.005+01:00

Opulence Corset Ballet Dress, £165 Rare

I have no need or occasion to ever wear this dress, nor do I have £165 with which to buy it, but by golly, it is a beauty so I just had to share it.

As I've already mentioned about seven million times, I'm a big fan of anything tutu/ballet/tulle related so this really is just perfection to me. I'M IN LOVE.

In other news, despite my promises to the contrary, I went a bit AWOL again for the past couple of weeks. This was mainly to do with a musical theatre cabaret I was rehearsing for, which took up a lot of my free time. We performed the show last week, so it's all over and done with now, (SOB!) but our director, has been uploading some footage onto Youtube so I thought I'd share one of the videos. I know I'm always going on about how I don't like to put too much of *me* on this blog, but I'll make an exception for this because musical theatre is good for the soul, plus it's always entertaining watching my attempts at even the most basic of dance routines... (just in case you're not sure, I'm the third person to sing at the beginning)

Also, I figured that this song was kind of appropriate to post on the blog, as it very loosely connects to the beauty genre by referring to washing your hair. Just keeping it on topic, guys!

Happy Easter for tomorrow - please try not to overdose on chocolate...

tutti frutti

2011-04-18T21:11:00.007+01:00

As the weather has gotten to the stage of being pretty bloody gorgeous (dear Mr Sun, please don't leave us, ever. Please.) I've been trying to stick with my plan of embracing colour when it comes to putting an outfit together. However, as I've previously mentioned, my wardrobe is full of darker colours and as I've not had the chance to go on any crazy spending sprees lately, I'm currently having to make do with the very limited stuff I already own, plus a couple of new Primark bits and pieces, to get my fix of Summer colour. Fortunately though, due to the abundance of nail polishes I own (seriously guys, I have a problem), I can at least display my new-found colourful leanings on my talons;

Colours used - GOSH Special Edition Lavendar Love, Models Own Coral Reef, Collection 2000 Hot Looks in Spangles, 17 Fast Finish in Catwalk Couture and Pink Grapefruit

Not my most imaginative mani to date (or neatest - I smudged about four nails after applying my top coat - grrrr!) , but I'm obsessed with these vivid brights; every time I catch sight of them, I think of Summer fruits, ice lollys and tropical beaches... sigh...

Anyway, I've been really enjoying all these zingy, summery colours at the moment; I know 'colour blocking' and brights are big trend this season anyway, but I'm thinking specifically about 'fruity' colours if that makes sense? They're the sort of colours that make me crave fruit and I don't even particularly like fruit. I thought I'd put together a wish list of some of the brightest, zingiest stuff currently available on the High Street so that we could all feel fruity-licious...

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Ok, ok, I know there aren't actually any turquoise coloured fruits, but still, that really bright turquoise has somehow fallen into my category of fruity colours... so live with it. Also how beautiferous is that Coral Bow Dress from LOVE?! And how have I not realised how fabulous their stuff is?! Definitely going to have to do a wish list for LOVE at some point, because that website is just too good.

Are you embracing bright colours now that the weather's gotten all totally tropical? (mmm Lilt) Tell me things, go on! I love to hear from you!

I heart Sleek

2011-04-01T13:29:00.003+01:00

One of my biggest pet peeves in life is bad customer service. I'm sure we've all experienced inattentive or rude sales assistants in store, but for me, the kind that is REALLY annoying is bad customer service online. I'm talking about when you send an email regarding an online order or even just a general question to one of those 'contact us' address but then wait days, sometimes even weeks for a response, which, when it does arrive, quite often turns out to be unhelpful or rude. I don't see the point in having one of those "got a question? email us!" addresses if the company doesn't actually respond to the emails! Grrrr! Quite often, bad experiences like that really make me not want to bother with shopping online as I just don't think it's worth the hassle. At least if you go into a store and have a problem, you can deal with actual people rather than just a faceless email sender!

Anyway, I think as Brits, we're always quick to moan and complain about things but not so quick to show gratitude or praise someone for doing a good job, which is why I felt I should write this post.

Back in November, Sleek Makeup held a 50% off everything sale, which ended up being a bit of a nightmare as the huge amount of traffic on their site caused problems and meant that some orders weren't processed properly, resulting in a lot of unhappy customers who were hoping to take advantage of the bargains actually ending up with nothing at all. Fortunately, (as I mentioned in my last post) Sleek promised to honour all those people who had attempted to make an order but were unsuccessful, by sending them (at some point in the future) a 50% off voucher code. Although it did take a few months, Sleek have kept their promise and over the past few weeks they've been emailing out voucher codes to everyone who attempted to make an order during the sale, myself included.

I received mine about a week ago but didn't get around to using it until this Tuesday. I selected the items I wanted, went to the checkout page, entered the voucher code, all was fine, clicked 'continue', but then, shock horror, something went wrong; my basket got emptied and I had to start all over again. Annoying, but ok, no harm done. Unfortunately, when I went back to the checkout and re-entered the voucher code, it came up as 'voucher expired' - I assume because each code could only be used once, and technically, my code had already been used when I attempted to make the order the first time. So I sent an email explaining what had happened to both the general Sleek help address and also to Alice, a member of the Sleek Web Team, who had sent me the code in the first place. Within about an hour, Alice responded, saying that she had reset my code so that it could be used again. I tried again, but there was still a problem so I emailed her once more, and this time, she responded within minutes saying that it was definitely working now. And lo and behold, it was! Hurrah!

Anyway, I figured that, since a lot of people had recieved voucher codes, Sleek would be swamped with orders and I didn't expect to receive mine until some point next week. So I was very pleasantly surprised when the postman brought me a lovely parcel earlier today, just two days after I put my order in! I'm honestly so pleased with this whole transaction; Alice's quick response and the fact that she sorted out my voucher code with no messing about, plus the super fast delivery time, have left me really impressed! Maybe I'm making a bigger deal of this than is necessary; I think my expectations have been lowered due to bad experiences with other online stores, but I just think it highlights how much of a difference it makes to the overall shopping experience when the customer service is good. Other online retailers, take note! Thank you Sleek, you rock!

I'm super excited about my purchases, and will probably do an in-depth review once I get a new video camera (I'm getting a replacement for my broken one, whoopa!), but I thought I'd include some photos of what I bought, because everything is so new and pretty!

Fixx London individual lashes (with adhesive AND remover - which I think is a very good idea!), ONE Finishing Powder and Pan Tao Blush (to go with my Paraguaya palette)

Eye Drama Mascara in Blackout Waterproof, Mini High Shine Lipgloss in Sweet Sixteen (which was a free gift) and the double ended Contouring Brush (complete with a little black pouch - useful!)

Marvellous. I can't wait to use everything! I'm off out to a gig tonight so will definitely be trying out the mascara and possibly the eyelashes too.

Have you had any good/bad customer service experiences lately? And what are your thoughts on Sleek? Let me know!

an April fool

2011-04-01T12:53:00.005+01:00

So, in terms of blogging, I think we can safely say that March, for me, was a bit of a write-off. I just got into one of those slumps and I really didn't feel inspired at all. There was a couple of times when I sat down to write a blog post, but just wasn't really feeling it, so I knew that whatever I wrote would be a bit pointless and rubbish. I don't want to blog just for the sake of it so I didn't blog. Anyway, moan over, April is here so it's time for me to (in the words of Sister Mary Clarence, aka Deloris Van Cartier aka Whoopi Goldberg in Sister Act 2) wake up and pay attention. I promise I'll be better this month, I've already got plans, big plans, the biggest bloody plans this side of Kentucky, oh yeah!

I thought I'd do a bit of a summary type thing today; quite a lot of other bloggers do them, and I always enjoy reading them, so hey, let's give it a go.

I'm currently loving;

Polka dot nails (as seen above) The genius that is Gem Fatale did a marvellous Tuesday Tips post all about how to create perfect polka dot nails. Following her advice, I used the end of a hair grip to create mine. Still not absolutely perfect, but they're getting there. Sometimes I find it hard to decide what colours I want to put together - I have a stupid number of nail polishes but obviously, can't use them all, so this was a good opportunity to get lots of my favourites involved in one design. I was also inspired by this image;

Source

Sleek makeup. I managed to get my hands on the Avoir La Pêche palette and I'm loving it. I showed it to my sister, Izzi, and she wasn't a fan (pink eyeshadows can be a bit hit and miss) but I think it's beautiful and a lot of the colours can also be used as blushers, which is fine by me! Also, Sleek have gotten themselves into my good books this week, by FINALLY sending out the voucher codes they promised months ago after a lot of us had difficulties in the 50% off sale. I'll be treating myself to some super cheap goodies (as long as everything isn't sold out - eek!)

This video - I don't feel I need to really say anything about it, just watch. This guy is AMAZING.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. I bought this book on a whim; it's really not the sort of genre I'd choose to read, but I'd heard a lot about the films and thought I'd give it a whirl. It's a bit of a slow-starter, but boy, once you get into it, it's hard to put down. I spent a good portion of yesterday afternoon reading it and have only got a couple more chapters to go until the end. I'd quite like to watch the film but am a bit worried about how violent/disturbing it is. We've already established that I'm a massive wimp and this book deals with some really dark and upsetting stuff, which I imagine would be pretty unpleasant to watch on screen. Even so, it's definitely worth a read if you haven't done so already.

Primark jewellery. I bought this ring a week or so ago and I absolutely love it! The majority of my rings are from Primark nowadays. At £2.50/£3.00 a pop, you can't really complain, especially when the equivalent in Topshop would be at least £8, probably more. Bloody love Primark.

I'm currently hating;

Paper cuts. Yes, this is pathetic, but the other day I reached into my bag for my house keys and caught my finger on an insanely sharp bit of paper. I couldn't believe how much it hurt and my initial (clearly quite illogical) reaction was "oh my god, there's a knife in my bag". I just wanted to include this story to emphasise firstly how ridiculous I am when it comes to even the smallest injury and secondly that my brain works in the strangest ways.

My spending habits. I've decided that I am very naughty when it comes to spending and therefore, for the next month, I'm not allowed to buy any makeup at all. (once I've bought my Sleek stuff, obviously...) I realised this when I went into Superdrug last week, saw that Collection 2000 was offering a free Hot Looks nail varnish if you purchased £4 worth of products and decided that I HAD to find something to buy because I NEEDED another nail polish. Now I know that £4 isn't a lot of money at all, but I do this sort of thing way too often. Not only that, but I definitely did not need another nail polish. I have about 40 already. It took me ages to decide what to buy (because I really didn't need anything) and in the end I went for two Lock and Hold lipglosses, which are lovely, but completely unnecessary. Bad Franki. No more spending for you.

When stuff breaks for no reason. You may have noticed that I didn't do a POTM video for February. This is because my Flip Mino video camera broke for seemingly no reason whatsoever. It just won't turn on. I'm not happy, it was a birthday gift, so it's not even a year old yet. I don't know if I can get it fixed, but I certainly can't afford a new one, so for now, my vlogging will have to be put on hold, which is a shame, because I really enjoy doing those videos. Gosh this has turned out to be a lot longer than planned!

I thought I'd end with some blogs that I'm really enjoying at the moment - I'll try and make this more of a regular thing because there's so many amazing bloggers out there and it's nice to share the love. So, without further ado, five to follow;

Stuff and nonsense

2011-03-19T15:55:00.005Z

This could possibly seem a little desperate but yesterday I listed some stuff on eBay - if anyone fancies donating a few pounds to a pauper, click here to check it all out.

Buy my wares, children?

Things I realised when embarking on my eBay adventure;

- I am a ridiculous hoarder; some of the stuff I've listed has been in my wardrobe literally for years and the majority of it has hardly been worn. I didn't even have any intention of wearing most of it again, I just hate parting with stuff, plus, a weird part of me always thinks "oh it could come in useful for fancy dress" - you know how I love fancy dress. Even so, when your wardrobe is busting full of clothes you had when you were 17, you know it's time to start getting rid.

- It is incredibly difficult to take good photos of clothing, or at least, I, with my extremely limited photo skills, think it is. Seriously, how do online stores manage it? I spent the best part of an afternoon photographing my stuff and it still mostly looks rubbish!

- Listing stuff is boring. So very, very boring. Anyone who manages to make a living just from selling stuff online must have the patience of a saint. I only listed ten items and by the time I'd finished I wanted to kill myself. (not literally, of course, but it was seriously bloody boring).

Do you ever sell things on eBay? How did you get on? Good/bad experiences? Let's share!

On a separate note, I went into Superdrug today to check out the new Sleek Avoir La Pêche collection - I really want the Paraguaya palette. Sadly, it had either already all sold out or they hadn't got it in yet as the shelves were completely empty. Not impressed. However I did mosey on over to the GOSH section and bought the absolutely gorgeous Special Edition Lavender Love nail polish. Oh my days, this is such a stunning colour! I know a lot of people were trying to find a similar cornflower blue polish to the one in the Rihanna "What's My Name?" video and I really think this could be it!

Rihanna's nails - not keen on the length, LOVE the colour! Also, does anyone else think "What's My Name?" sounds like a song about someone with amnesia? "Oh na na, what's my name? No really though, what's my name?!"

GOSH Lavender Love, in Superdrug right now for £4.99. Eeeek it's so gorgeous! Imagine it with a matte topcoat too, perfection!

Right, I'm off to start getting ready for tonight - got Open Mic Night with my Glee club (yay!) then a bit of a night out on the tiles afterwards. Hope you're all having a lovely weekend, whatever you're up to!

oh boy oh boy oh boy

2011-03-14T20:36:00.003Z

This is just a quickie really, just in case you haven't already seen. Something wonderful has happened;

Barry M Instant Nail Effects in Black Magic, Pink Fizz, Blue Print and White Frost, £3.99 each available NOW here

Models Own Smash Up in Yellow, Blue, Purple, Pink, Orange, Turquoise, Silver, White and Black. £6 each, available online from April and at Boots (Black and Silver only) from April 20th

Just THINK of the possibilities! I'm so excited, I just did a little dance of joy. I've definitely got my eye on Smash Up in Turquoise, but to be honest, I want them all.

What do you reckon? Models Own or Barry M? Or both? Which colours are you lusting after?

Dresses to kill

2011-03-11T17:00:00.000Z

Jeepers creepers, where has the time gone? I can't believe it's been two weeks since I last blogged, this is massively unacceptable, sorry! Regular posting will commence from this point onwards, pinkie promise.

If you've not already bought yourself a copy of th April issue of Glamour, I suggest you get to it quickly, because not only can you get one of TEN awesome Clinique freebies (I've got two - the Dramatically Different Moisturiser and the 7 Day Scrub Cream - both of which are awesome), it's also their tenth anniversary edition so the magazine is packed full of competitions, offers and marvellous features galore.

One of my favourite features in the April issue is this shoot featuring Jameela Jamil (from T4) modelling a selection of dresses, which Glamour have helped to create as part of a collaboration with ten high street stores. Jameela looks beautiful as always (I WANT her hair) and I'm loving how each dress has been styled so differently. What's also cool is that each of the stores involved in the collaboration are offering special discounts and competitions for Glamour readers (see the magazine for full details). I've picked out a few of my favourite dresses below.

Lara Fit and Flare Dress £169, Reiss

Lace Prom Dress £59.99 (reduced to £44.99 online), New Look

Shelby's Summer Belted Dress, £125 French Connection

How gorgeous is this?! I particularly love how it's been styled too - they've taken such a simple, elegant dress and really toughened it up with the bowler hat and trainers. It's also available as a maxi dress, which is equally as pretty.

RSC Grace Dress, £49.90, Mango

Which is your favourite? And have you bought the new Glamour? What Clinique freebie did you get?!?!

It ain't necessarily so

2011-02-26T12:35:00.007Z

While I know that it's perfectly normal for bloggers to post photos of themselves on their blogs (indeed, a lot of blogs are made up solely of photos of the blogger), those of you who are regular readers may have noticed that I very rarely do this. This isn't because I'm particularly self-conscious; I just feel that there's more interesting things for me to write about than 'what I wore today'. That's not to say that I don't like seeing what other people wore (those of you who do post photos of yourselves, please don't see this as a criticism, because it's really not!) - there are loads of bloggers whose outfit posts I love reading - Gem, Fritha, Emma plus tons more, but, quite frankly, I just don't think that inundating you all with photos of me would make this blog a more interesting read.

I do think though, that outfit photos can be a big contributing factor to blogs becoming successful. I guess what it comes down to is that we're all a bit nosey - we like to see what other girls our age are wearing and where they shop etc. Plus, personal style blogs can be great inspiration; I can't tell you how many times I've seen items on other blogs and then gone out and bought them myself. I can't help but wonder if my blog would be more popular if I posted outfit photos? I'd be interested to know what other people thought about this; those of you who do write blogs, how do you feel about outfit or 'face of the day' photos? Do you do it? And when you're reading other blogs, do you like seeing lots of outfit/FOTD posts? Let's get a discussion going on this one!

The reason I've been thinking about all this is because today, shock HORROR, I am posting a photo of myself! Foundation-free-February is coming to an end, and while Dani has done quite a few posts on how it's going and what she's been doing to makeup-wise to combat the lack of foundation, I feel like I've not really embraced the challenge as much as she has. So, without further ado, here is my foundation-free face;

(still in my pyjamas)

This is the makeup I wear daily - lots of mascara and eyeliner, some concealer and highlighter under my eyes, a bit of blusher and bronzer and (I think) Rose Vaseline. I've never really had particularly problematic skin; I do get the occasional blemish and have a big patch of blocked pores around my chin that I just can't shift (grrr), but apart from that, the main reason why I'd choose to wear foundation is to even out my skin tone - as you can see from the photo, I have quite a few freckles and a bit of sun damage here and there (probably from being a naughty sunbed user when I was a teenager). To be perfectly honest, I can't say I've noticed a great deal of difference in my skin since starting the challenge; the blocked pores are still there and I've currently got a spot on my cheek, so maybe this suggests that foundation isn't actually guilty of causing skin problems? Even so, I'm sure my skin has appreciated going without a daily layer of foundation for the past few weeks. Also, I haven't missed foundation much and I've kind of gotten used to not wearing it now, so I think I'll probably just stick with my new routine and not bother with it unless I really feel I need it. All in all, a positive outcome I'd say! Do you wear foundation daily? Reckon you could go without it? Try it, I dare you!

Slightly weird photo I know, but I completely forgot to photograph this nail art so this is the only image I have. You can't really see, but some of the leopard spots are actually different coloured rhinestones! I got really inspired by Selina's fabulous nails and bought some rhinestones, bows and flowers on eBay a little while back. They were from Hong Kong, so took over two weeks to arrive, but they're here now and I'm very excited! Expect lots more crazy nail art in the future, both here and on my nail art page!

You can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man

2011-02-21T17:59:00.005Z

I've probably said it before, but one of the main things I love about blogging is the community aspect. While it's pretty much impossible to read every single amazing blog that exists at the moment (there must be thousands), with lots of bloggers now doing 'Follow Friday'-type posts, linking to their favourite blogs, I'm constantly discovering previously unexplored blogs. I also love clicking on new commentor's and subscriber's profiles to see if they also write a blog (which they usually do, because, like I said, there are THOUSANDS of the little buggers!) and it was this ~~nosey~~ endearingly inquisitive habit that led me to discover Dayner's blog, which in turn, led me to her adorable jewellery store, Mozzypop, thus giving me something to write about in this here blog post! It's the circle of blogging and it moves us all... (cue lots of elephants, giraffes and Elton John)

There's a real trend at the moment for quirky, unusual jewellery and online stores such as Etsy and Folksy make it that bit easier to seek out really unique items that nobody else will have. However, as with anything, with more and more people jumping on the handmade jewellery bandwagon, (which, to be fair, sounds like quite a fun bandwagon... what exactly IS a bandwagon?!) I find that a lot of the jewellery on sites like Folksy is starting to look a bit samey; perhaps a lot of sellers use the same suppliers for their materials, or they just realise that certain things are more likely to sell than others, whatever the reason, while there are still oodles of fabulous items on there, there's also quite a bit of rubbish.

Thankfully, Mozzypop is NOT rubbish at all, oh no; Dayner's designs are super cute and unique! I love that Dayner clearly has a bit of a sweet tooth, as some of her designs feature goodies such as donuts, ice cream and even a gingerbread man. I am completely sold, as I would go so far as to say that I don't just have a sweet tooth, I have a whole mouth full of sweet teeth, yes indeedy. A watch made of donuts? Don't mind if I do!

Rainbow Donut charm watch bracelet with Swarovski Elements - £17

Gingerbread Man charm necklace with gumdrop buttons - £8

Ghostie ring with Swarovski Elements - £6

Ice Cream bowl and wafers silver plated ring - £5

See? Cute! What's also really cool about Mozzypop is that, because Dayner makes the little charms herself, a lot of the jewellery is customisable, so for example, you could request different colour combinations for the Gingerbread Man's buttons or the donuts. Plus, it's all really reasonably priced and delivery in the UK is free! What's not to like? As it's Pay Day on Friday, I've already prepared a fairly massive wishlist in my head (I can't help it!), but that Ghostie ring may have just jumped to the top of it - he's so flippin' cute and sparkly!

Have you visited Mozzypop yet? Has anything caught your eye?

Je voudrais s'il vous plaît - H&M

2011-02-18T22:35:00.000Z

There is very rarely an occasion where I'll go into H&M and not want to buy something. Unlike Topshop, where I'll pick up something gorgeous but then feel my stomach turn as I read the price tag, H&M is home to fabulous, wearable fashion that is super affordable and, quite often, a lot cheaper than you'd expect. Take, for example, the blue dress above; super cute, could be worn in so many ways AND is only £14.99. FOURTEEN NINETY NINE! When I saw it in store a couple of weeks ago, I expected it to be around £30, and I reckon most people would be quite happy to pay that. I actually tried it on but decided to get a different dress instead (sadly couldn't justify buying both, despite the cheapness, as I'm still very much a pauper) but I do think it's lovely.

The tiny glimpses of sunshine we've had this week prompted me to start thinking about Summer, hence my slightly more colourful choices for this wish list. I realised that a large portion of my wardrobe is made up of black or dark colours, although this must be subconscious thing, as I don't necessarily prefer dark colours, I just seem to end up buying them. This will change; I want to be colourful and wear pink and look cheerful and girlie this Summer and there's not much doubt that I'll be end up with more than a few pieces that hail from H&M, so it seemed like a good idea to start picking some stuff out, even if it is only February.

What do people think of the H&M online store? I can't say I've really used it, as there's actually two H&M stores in Liverpool anyway, so I don't really need to shop online. It is quite good for a browse, although I do find the layout a bit confusing; it's not quite as straightforward as other online shops. Also, it's a bit weird, because when you click on an item, it doesn't take you to a specific product page, it just opens up a viewing window thing (I'm very good at technical-speak, aren't I?) so I can't actually link to each item like I did with my New Look wish list. I'll still list the items with prices, but if you actually want to look any of them up, you'll have to just visit http://www.hm.com/ and search them out yourself, sorry!

Donald Duck tee - £9.99 - also available with Garfield on it!

Chiffon tunic - £19.99 - available in powder and pink

Butterfly top - £7.99 - available in turquoise and powder pink

Tiered dress - £14.99 - available in bright blue and yellow

Lace up pumps - £7.99 - available in floral, leopard print, blue, white and black

Skirt - £14.99

Ring - £3.99 - available in black/gold and coral/silver

Are you an H&M fan (how could you not be?!) Bought anything good lately?

Happy Val Day, Sab

2011-02-14T19:17:00.003Z

Yes, I'm a singleton, but my nails are supporting the cause anyway.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

(and Happy Anniversary Mum and Dad! Yep, married on Valentine's Day, how ~~gross~~ romantic)

Hope you're all having a lovely day, whether or not you're loved up at the moment.

I saw these on Facebook today and they made me laugh so much, I thought I'd share them;

"Roses are red, violets are blue. I've got a gun, get in the van."

"Roses are red, violets are blue. I'm a schizophrenic and so am I."

The schizophrenic one makes me laugh every time I read it. Maybe I've just got a weird sense of humour...?

You're so vain

2011-02-09T14:50:00.002Z

Bleurgh, I'm still feeling ill and therefore very sorry for myself. My eyes are hurting! Why are my eyes hurting?! That can't be good, can it? Also, I've got glee rehearsal tonight and our monthly open mic on Saturday so I could really do with NOT being ill right now dammit!

Anyone got any quick-fix cold remedies? I've mainly been having lots of Lemsips (I actually really like the taste of them, is that weird?) and drinking lots of fluids etc, but seriously, if anyone's got any crazy concoctions that will cure me, please let me know. Ha, that's just reminded me, remember that episode of Keenan and Kel where they make a cold remedy that actually works but then they forget what they put in it so they can't make it again? Haha, I used to love that show...

Last week I realised that it was time for Vanity Fair's annual Hollywood Issue, which I love, because every year Annie Liebovitz shoots these incredible covers featuring some of the hottest and up-and-coming movie stars of the moment. I don't know why I find this so exciting; I'm not that bothered about "celebrities" overall, but I love films and there's something about getting all these hugely talented actors in a room together, dressing them in fabulous clothes and creating gorgeous images that I just think is really cool and exciting.

This year's cover wasn't shot by Liebovitz, but by Norman Jean Roy - not really sure why, but there you go. It features Anne Hathaway, Ryan Reynolds, James Franco and Jake Gyllenhaal on the main cover and then the inside panels (they always have a folded part with the rest of the photo) feature Mila Kunis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Andrew Garfield and lots of other shiny, beautiful types. The Hollywood Issue has been running since 1995 and it's really interesting looking back through them, as the general idea is that the photos feature actors who Vanity Fair have selected as the "next big thing". For the most part, they get it very, very right, but every now and then, you spot someone in a photo and think "who the HELL is that?!" I thought I'd select some of my favourite covers from the last fifteen years and share them with you;

2011 - from left to right - Ryan Reynolds, Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway, James Franco, Jennifer Lawrence, Anthony Mackie, Olivia Wilde, Jesse Eisenberg, Mila Kunis, Robert DuVall (randomly), Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Andrew Garfield, Rashida Jones, Garrett Hedlund, Noomi Rapace

1995 - (how awesome is this?!) Jennifer Jason Leigh, Uma Thurman, Nicole Kidman, Patricia Arquette, Linda Fiorentino (WHO?!), Gwyneth Paltrow, SJP, Julianne Moore, Angela Bassett, Sandra Bullock

1996 - Tim Roth, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matthew McConaughey, Benicio Del Torro, Michael Rapaport, Stephen Dorff, Johnathon Schaech, David Arquette, Will Smith, Skeet Ulrich

1997 - Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslett, Claire Danes, Renee Zellweger, Alison Elliott, Jada Pinkett, Minnie Driver, Jennifer Lopez, Charlize Theron, Fairuza Balk

1999 - (this is one of my faves - they're so 90s and angsty-looking!) Adrien Brody, Thandie Newton, Monica Potter, Reese Witherspoon, Julia Stiles, Leelee Sobieski, Giovanni Ribisi, Sarah Polley, Norman Reedus, Anna Friel, Omar Epps, Kate Hudson, Vinessa Shaw, Barry Pepper

2002 - Kirsten Dunst, Kate Beckinsale, Jennifer Connelly, Rachel Weisz, Brittany Murphy, Selma Blair, Rosario Dawson, Christina Applegate, Naomi Watts

2003 - (hardly 'up and coming' stars at that time, but still a very cool cover!) Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise, Harrison Ford, Jack Nicholson, Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Jude Law, Samuel L Jackson, Don Cheadle, Hugh Grant, Dennis Quaid, Ewan McGregor, Matt Damon

2008 - Emily Blunt, Amy Adams, Jessica Biel, Anne Hathaway, Alice Braga, Ellen Page, Zoe Saldana, Elizabeth Banks, Ginnifer Goodwin, America Ferrera

2010 - Abbie Cornish, Kristen Stewart, Carey Mulligan, Amanda Seyfried, Rebecca Hall, Mia Wasikowska, Emma Stone (SEE, red hair suits her so much better than blonde!), Evan Rachel Wood, Anna Kendrick

Which is your favourite? To see a slideshow of all the covers up to 2008 (2009 didn't do a Hollywood cover and 2010 and 2011 aren't in the slideshow), visit the Vanity Fair site.

All images from Vanity Fair.

Bit o' this, bit o' that...

2011-02-08T16:14:00.007Z

There I was, all smug because everyone around me was getting ill, going on about how my daily Effervescent Vitamin C Tablets have made me completely invincible, when suddenly I started feeling a bit grotty...

I'm not even THAT ill; just a bit snuffly/sore throat-y but I HATE it. Whoever the sneezey bastard was who gave me this cold, know this, you're on my list you germ spreading little monster!

Anyway, that's enough of that. This is just a quick update really as I slipped off the radar last week. The mean reason behind that was this;

Remember how I said I'm in a glee club? Well the glee club is a part of What We Did Next; a Liverpool-based theatre company, and last week I was helping backstage during their production of Spring Awakening. What a fantastic show! It was so much fun to be doing something theatre-y again and to get to listen to lovely live musical theatre songs! If you've not heard of it, search for Spring Awakening on youtube, it's amazing. Lea Michele starred in it on Broadway!

In other news, Operation Foundation-Free February is going ok-ish. I'm not finding it quite as difficult as I expected to, although I am spending a lot more time on my concealer than I usually do. I did kind of cheat on Saturday night as I went out to celebrate the last night of SA and decided to put fake tan on my face. Does that make me a cheat? It was only a bit... mixed with moisturiser... I won't do it again... probably... :P

Two weeks ago I bought series 3 of The Mighty Boosh on DVD and I've been watching it a little bit obsessively ever since because it's mad and brilliant. I've watched all the episodes (there's only six in the series) plus all the special features and possibly one of my favourite things on the DVD is this music video for the Blue Song by Mint Royale;

Oh Noel, how I love thee, you are so attractive in an odd way. I was talking to my friend about people we fancy and by the end of the conversation, her general opinion of me was that I have seriously STRANGE taste in guys. I'd agree with this to an extent; I have been guilty of some weird crushes in the past, but come on, I'm not the only one out there who fancies Noel Fielding am I? AM I?!

Products of the Month - January

2011-02-02T12:24:00.005Z

Wahey, joy of joys, it's monthly vlog time again!

Products featured;

Blistex MedPlus

Blistex Lip Massage

Oilatum Natural Repair Face Cream

No7 Purifying Sauna Mask

Models Own Juicy Jules

Models Own Purple Ash

After reading this post yesterday by the lovely Dani, I decided to join her in her foundation-free-February challenge - eek! My skin's been really rubbish lately and I think that slicking on a layer of foundation every day probably isn't helping, so for the next month I'm going to try and go without. I'm not wearing any in the video above and you can't really tell, but I'm certain that when I'm getting up for work tomorrow morning and my skin looks all dull and tired, it's going to be a struggle not to reach for the Revlon PhotoReady. I won't be giving up my bronzer though, oh no, I'm not brave enough to make THAT much of a sacrifice yet!

A girl who turned into a swan

2011-01-30T17:23:00.007Z

Unless you've been hiding in some kind of underground bunker for the past couple of months, you've probably, by now, heard some talk of the film Black Swan. Every blog post, Tweet and Facebook update that I've seen lately, seems to mention something along the lines of "went to see Black Swan yesterday, it was amazing!" which is fair, because it is seriously bloody good; I thoroughly recommend it.

[Images from imdb.com]

Ballet is one of those things I really wish I'd done when I was younger - it's so amazing to watch and I'm very jealous of people who are able to dance like that. And the costumes are so beautiful! I've always had a bit of a thing for tutus; anyone who's read some of my older posts may remember this one about my favourite photograph of all time, Les Pointes, by Isabel Munoz. There's just something about the movement of all those layers of tulle that is so magical and lovely.

I was particularly excited to discover that Kate and Laura Mulleavy, aka the designers behind the label Rodarte, designed and made all of the ballet costumes in the film. You can't really tell from the two images above, but the costumes are insanely detailed and covered in hundreds of feathers. I think it was a brilliant idea to have the Mulleavy sisters design the ballet costumes, as they're renowned for producing intricately detailed clothing which is often beautiful with a dark or gothic edge; perfect for Black Swan. I've had these images from their Fall 2008 collection saved on my laptop for about a year but never actually used them for anything - now seems to be the perfect time as there's definitely something ballet-like in the full skirts and tight, pulled back hairstyles;

I WANT those tights.

[images from style.com]

*SIGH* It's all so beautiful!

Back to the film - I'm not going to go into the plot or anything like that - there's plenty of reviews out there on t'Interwebs (especially here!) and like I've already said, it seems most people have seen it by now or are planning on going. All I'm going to say is, it's absolutely stunning and the performances are incredible (Natalie Portman is surely a shoe-in for the Oscar). However, if you haven't seen it yet, and you're as wimpy as me, be prepared to be a bit freaked out in parts because there are some seriously dark, gruesome moments!*

*To be fair, I really am a MASSIVE wimp - I'm too scared to watch 127 Hours, even though I love James Franco, because I don't want to sit through the arm cutting off scene - so maybe the stuff in Black Swan isn't actually that bad. Have you seen it? What did you think?

Marvellous marbling

2011-01-26T12:10:00.006Z

Colours used - Barry M Nail Paint in Fuchsia and Bright Purple, Models Own Pink Blush, Topshop Stolen Sapphires

In my ongoing quest for crazy-amazing nail art, I decided to give water marbling a try. I'd been meaning to do it for ages, but it looked quite messy and time consuming so I kept putting it off. However, after MJ posted her amazing Topshop-inspired nails, I knew I had to give it a go, so after watching a couple of Youtube tutorials, I got to it.

I think the results look cool, (my favourite is the middle finger of my left hand - look how swirly it is!) but it really is quite a massive faff. There are absolutely loads of tutorials on Youtube, so if you do want to try this for yourself, I'd suggest checking those out, but basically, you take a bowl of water, drip some different colours of nail varnish into it, swirl them around with a toothpick (I actually used one of those mini umbrellas you put into cocktails because we didn't have any toothpicks...) then press your nail onto the surface of the water, so that the design sticks to it.

The most difficult thing about this method is that you have to work really quickly. The nail varnish dries on the surface of the water and forms a kind of film after about a minute, so you can only do one or two nails at a time, then you have to clear the water of any remaining varnish (using a toothpick/cocktail umbrella) and start over with more drops. Also, I found it really tricky to actually get the drops of nail varnish into the water - they just wouldn't drip! I ended up sort of waving the brush over the surface of the water to encourage a drop to fall from it, but in my panic and/or enthusiasm I managed to throw the brush onto my bed, thus resulting in a massive blue splodge on my bedcover. Doh!

Also, as you can imagine, it gets quite messy. You can't really avoid putting your finger into the water, so you end up having to do a lot of clean up afterwards with nail varnish remover. You can wrap sticky tape around your fingers as a guard, but I couldn't be bothered with that because I'm silly.

All in all, I really like the effect, especially because every nail looks different and unique, so I'd say it's definitely worth giving it a try, but only if you've got a lot of time, patience and tape on your hands.

"I'd like to thank the Academy..."

2011-01-25T18:00:00.002Z

In keeping with the theme of "awards season", I thought it was about time I did this. Two very lovely blogging sisters, Dani and Nats, have both tagged me in The Versatile Blogger Award recently, which is super exciting as I've never, ever had a blogging award before (cue the tiny violins).

Firstly, we need some rules;

1.Thank and link back to who gave you the award.
2.Share 7 things about yourself.
3.Pass it on to 7 beauty blogs you've recently discovered and enjoy.
4.Leave your recipient a note, telling them about the award.

I actually did one of these things on Facebook ages ago, but you had to share 25 facts about yourself, so you'd think I'd find this easy. Sadly, I'm having a massive mental block at the moment, so this should be interesting... (or very probably not interesting at all...)

1. I was born in Liverpool and have spent all my life here (apart from 8 months in London when I was a baby and three years at uni living in Coventry/Leamington Spa). It's going to make me sound like I've got a chip on my shoulder, but I get really angry when people make Scouse jokes, firstly because I've heard them all before and secondly because it's actually really offensive! Since when was it ok to insult someone because of where they come from?! I couldn't believe it when I started uni and about 50% of the people I was introduced to felt the need to make jokes like "oh you're from Liverpool? I'd better keep an eye on my wallet..." After the first couple of times, it gets seriously old, believe me...

Sorry! Rant over!

2. I did Philosophy and Literature at uni and now I work as a Marketing/Events Assistant in an arts and community centre. Clearly nothing to do with my degree. I'm really envious of those people who've grown up just knowing what they want to do in life. It makes it much easier when choosing A Levels/degree subjects/work experience if you actually have a certain job that you're aiming for at the end of it all. I'm still not entirely sure what I want to be when I 'grow up' (23 is DEFINITELY not 'grown up', honestly.)

3. You may have noticed from my "about me" section, that it says I'm a musical theatre geek. This is not a joke. I am obsessed with musical theatre in a massive and frightening way. I was a member of MTW (Music Theatre Warwick) when I was at uni and performed in lots of shows and concerts. I LOVE IT. I don't get to do as much performing as I'd like in Liverpool, as there really aren't many opportunities to get involved with am-dram groups, however, I recently joined a glee club (yes, that's right, an actual GLEE CLUB!) so I'm finally getting my musical theatre fix again. It's so much fun!

4. Probably my biggest pet peeve is people who make noises when they eat. Bad table manners in general piss me off too, but listening to people chewing loudly is just horrendous. I don't understand why anyone would do it. JUST CLOSE YOUR MOUTH!!!!! I can't even verbalize how much I hate it. I just... can't...

5. I'm definitely more of a cat person than a dog person. I like dogs, but they're too boisterous. Cats are lazy, like me. When I eventually get my own place, I'd like to get two kittens.

6. I've actually had this blog since 2006; it used to be called "Alice Bands, Mary Janes and the bits in between" (because I really liked Alice bands and Mary Janes) but I thought that was a bit of a mouthful, so I changed it. I very, very rarely posted, I mean, I must have done about four posts in two years. I actually deleted the oldest posts recently because they were so rubbish and made me cringe! It's only over the past two years that I've really gotten into blogging frequently and interacting in the 'blogging community'.

7. I have always been a bit of a TV addict. Once I start watching a TV series, that's generally it - I'm hooked. Even if the show starts going downhill, or gets really confusing, I have to know what happens at the end! I'm one of the few people I know who actually watched every season of Lost and my main reasoning was that I'd already committed so much time to it, I just couldn't give up halfway through - I HAD to know the answers! I love all the American stuff like Glee (obviously), Desperate Housewives, Gossip Girl etc, but I'm also a sucker for quirky UK shows like Misfits and Being Human (news series of Skins on Thursday, anyone?). I also have a bit of a guilty Hollyoaks habit...

Well, there you go, seven things about me (and it took a lot longer than you'd think)

Now it says in the rules that I have to give the award to seven more bloggers, but I can't remember who has and hasn't already received it (I've seen it on quite a few blogs over the past few months) so I'm just going to be naughty and tag EVERYONE! If you read this and you haven't been tagged before now, then congratulations, you just got tagged! Yaaaay! Blog joy and love and happiness!

Gowning around

2011-01-21T15:13:00.003Z

Now, as we've already established, many times on this blog, I'm a sucker for a pretty dress. My inner princess is literally screaming to get out, swathe herself in layers of tulle and silk and dance about singing "someday my prince will come". Sadly, when you live in merry old Liverpool, there's not a lot of opportunity for that kind of madness (at least not that I know of...). So I tend to spend my days, living vicariously through the people who do get to dress up all fancy-like on multiple occasions; celebrities. Which is why, when awards season comes around, I start getting a bit bloody excited. Couture gowns, sparkly, sparkly diamonds and plenty of preening and posing? This is my heaven.

You may remember that last year, I did a post about my favourite picks from the Oscars and, where I could, I tracked down the original catwalk versions of the dresses that the various stars wore. Well, I've decided to do this again, because I think it's really interesting to see how things are styled differently, and also, it makes me feel like a special fashion detective, trawling through images of dresses on style.com until I find the correct one. I wish I was a real detective...

First up we've got the Queen B herself, Leighton Meester in a Burberry Prorsum dress from the 2011 pre-Fall collection. It took me a while to work out whether this was the same one as the dress on the right, but it definitely is, they've just pushed the sleeves up and teamed it with a thick black belt. I prefer the way Leighton's wearing it though; the long sleeves and high neckline make her look positively demure, while the sheer fabric and thigh-high split keep it youthful and the right side of sexy. Very pretty.

Lea Michele has fast become one of my favourites on the red carpet, but I'm assuming she's got a seriously good styling team behind her as she ALWAYS looks perfect. Seriously, go to her IMDb page and look at the photos of her from different red carpet events, the girl has never once hit a bum note. (pun intended!) This pink Oscar de la Renta gown from the Spring 2011 show is super girly and by teaming it with gently tousled curls and soft, feminine makeup Lea is definitely channelling her inner princess. It may not be the 'edgiest' gown on the red carpet, but she looks beautiful and, honestly, what girl WOULDN'T want to dress like this for a day?

Lea's co-star, Dianna Agron, is another lady who always gets it right on the red carpet. This Grecian-style J Mendel dress from the 2011 pre-Fall collection is a subtle but glamourous choice, and I love how she's glammed it all up with a vintage-inspired hairdo and lots of diamonds. Is it just me, or is the model in the second photo actually quite terrifying? Smile!

Pink and champagne seemed to be the hottest colours on the night; aside from those I've already mentioned, we also saw Megan Fox, Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman, Clare Danes and a whole load more sporting pale, feminine shades. The stupidly beautiful Mila Kunis, however, went for a vivid jewel green Vera Wang gown. I searched for a while to find the original version and I'm guessing that it's this one from the Fall 2011 Bridal collection; the bodice and shoulder detaling are the same, but it's been made in a different fabric, so the draping is a lot looser. I don't really know how it works when a celeb wears a "custom" gown; did Vera just offer to make it? Or did Mila give her a call and go "hi Vera, listen, this dress, I mean, it's great and everything, but I was thinking, could you do one in green? Yeah, thanks!" Either way, the green is a perfect choice against Mila's skin and dark hair and provided some much needed relief from the sea of pink/champagne. (oooh! A sea of pink champagne! Yum!)

Looking a lot less frilly and flouncy but still bloody gorgeous, was Easy A star Emma Stone in a very simple peach Calvin Klein dress. This is another dress that I simply could not find in the Calvin Klein archives, so I'm guessing it's also custom or a secret dress that nobody knows about. Emma's become famous for being this cool, indie chick, so I think it's quite fitting that she wore something a lot more modern and edgy. It's ultimately a very long t-shirt, but I think it works! Though I do prefer her as a redhead.

I know we shouldn't poke fun at other people's fashion choices, but I feel that I had to show this because it serves as further evidence that Heidi Klum is completely and utterly mental. Heidi, listen up, ok? Last year, we thought "oh Heidi, so what if she's dressed as a mermaid? It's ok, she's still beautiful. Maybe she's gone for a whole underwater motif, because her husband's name is Seal." But now, Heidi, we're all really starting to worry. You can't just drape yourself in some old curtains, tie a sash around your waist and call it a dress. That's not how it works, not at the Globes. And asking your kids to do your makeup was silly, wasn't it? You know better than this, Heidi. YOU'RE better than this. There, I've said what I needed to say, now let's move on...

There's only one way to end a post like this and that's with a photo of a man in a suit. I was torn between who to pick but ultimately settled on Joseph Gordon Levitt because he's adorable. I don't care what designer he's wearing, you don't care what designer he's wearing, let's all just have a good, long stare...

Who do you think was the best dressed? Even better, who do you think was the worst dressed??? Is anyone else REALLY excited for the Oscars now?!

Red carpet images from IMDb, catwalk images from Style.com, Vera Wang image from the official Vera Wang Facebook page.

Je voudrais s'il vous plaît - New Look

2011-01-18T16:33:00.007Z

I have decided that I don't do enough 'wish list' posts and this must change, so from now on, I'm introducing a new feature; "Je voudrais s'il vous plaît", which is French for "I would like please" (doesn't really make sense, but neither do I). Each post will focus on a different store, thus keeping us all up to date with what's currently in stock in various places and also meaning that I won't be spending HOURS clicking from online shop to online shop, trying to compile wish lists and simultaneously weeping with sheer materialism and greed for all the beautiferous items. I have no idea how frequent these posts will be; in a perfect world, I'd say weekly, but I don't want to make promises I can't keep, so I'm not going to specify any kind of time frame at the moment. (but in my head, where the secrets and plans are kept, I'm aiming for fortnightly... we shall see...)

I've been majorly unimpressed with New Look recently; it used to be one of my favourite shops, but seemed to go really downhill over the last few months, so I stopped bothering with it. That is, until last week, when I had some time to kill in town, and having exhausted all my other favourite haunts, I went to New Look for a nose (not an actual nose - you can't buy noses there. With all the advancements in cosmetics and stuff, it's probably only a matter of time before you can, but at the moment you definitely can't.) What a sight I was greeted with! So many beauties! I rushed about like a child with a severe sugar dependancy in a sweet shop, slightly overwhelmed but very excited! Sadly, as I'm currently on another "no more buying things until payday" stint, I didn't actually get anything. But that's not the point, this visit served a far more important purpose - it's rekindled my love of New Look. Hello, old friend, how I've missed thee...

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

Now I know there's some stuff going on here that we've all been seeing A LOT recently; leopard print, crop tops, Peter Pan collars (why are they called Peter Pan collars? Did he even have a collar? This is the boy who tried to stick his shadow back on with soap - I think it's safe to say that he'd have no idea how to fashion himself a collar...) but I think, if you're onto a good thing, why change it? I think my favourite item is the pink top (which is mad, because I don't even really wear pink), but I also love the slouchy black jumper and the leopard print satchel. So much good stuff!

One thing I have noticed is that the prices are a lot higher than I'm used to. Is it just me or does £21.99 seem a lot for a top from New Look? Normally I'd expect to pay about £15 maximum. Is this to do with the VAT increase? Or have New Look just upped their prices massively? What's happening here?!

Which items do you like? Do you think the prices have gone up or is it just me being stingy again? And what store shall I feature for my next "Je voudrais s'il vous plaît"? Tell me, s'il vous plaît.

Product review - Nail Rock nail wraps

2011-01-11T18:19:00.002Z

It is safe to say that nails are the new black. (ok, it may not make complete sense, but it's still safe to say it)

With Chanel now in the habit of bringing out a couple of 'must-have' nail colours every season (hello Black Pearl), and brands such as Konad, Models Own and Barry M launching products to help you create quirky nail designs, it is now easier than ever to have on-trend, fabulous nails.

While there are plenty of nail salons out there, for me and many other folks, it's all about the DIY. When Gem posted her leopard print liquid eyeliner tutorial back in April, I think a lot of us suddenly realised that actually, while it might look complicated, nail art doesn't have to be that difficult to achieve. Fast forward a few months and every blogger under the sun has posted their own versions of leopard print nails, not to mention countless other amazing designs. DIY is definitely where it's at!

Enter Nail Rock wraps:

It was only a matter of time before someone came up with a way for people to Minx their nails DIY-style, and these are the first ones I've seen that do just that. They're £6.50 and were available from Topshop but I think they're sold out at the moment, however, you can also get them from ASOS. I actually posted about them in October and I've had a pack sitting in my cupboard for ages, but I kept telling myself that I had to wait until my nails grew to a reasonable length before I could actually use them. Sadly, being an ex-biter, my nails are fairly weak and tend to grow to a certain length before they just give up or snap ~~or I accidentally bite them~~. Anyway, this weekend I decided that most of my nails were long to enough to justify me trying them, so I armed myself with a hairdryer, a cuticle stick and a whole bunch of patience and got to it.

This the 'studs' design. I really wanted the snakeskin ones, but they were sold out.

They come with fairly detailed instructions on the pack, but I thought I'd give do a kind of step by step tutorial, adding my two cents along the way.

1. Start by ensuring that there's no shine on the surface of your nail by using the 'smoothing' side of a nail buffer. (You can get a really good multi-sided nail buffer from Primark for about a £1). Easy.

2. Select a wrap from the sheet which most closely matches the size of your nail. There's a variety of different sizes and you can trim them if there isn't one suitable.

3. Place the wrap at one side of your nail, so that the edge lines up with the cuticle. It's much easier to start from one side of the nail and work across, rather than starting at the bottom of the nail and working up.

4. Apply heat to the wrap from your hairdryer (on a low setting). On the instructions it says for a few seconds, but I'd say do it for as long as you can bear. The wrap softens with the heat, and the softer it is, the easier it is to manipulate, so the more heat your apply the better. However, please don't take this to mean that your should burn yourself. That is not my intention. I don't want any hairdryer related injuries on my conscience. I just don't need that.

5. After applying heat, take the flat end of a wooden cuticle stick, and smooth the wrap onto the nail, going from one side to the other, ensuring there are no bumps and creases on the surface of the wrap. (if you do get a crease, apply more heat, lift the wrap off your nail and start over).

6. Rub the cuticle stick over the entire surface of the wrap, to ensure it is fully adhered to your nail. (you can apply more heat here if you want)

7. Trim most of excess wrap with nail scissors, leaving a couple of milimeters above your actual nail. File the remaining bit away, by filing your nails gently, in a downwards motion. This for me was the trickiest bit as you want to get the end of the wrap to line up smoothly with your actual nail. Just take your time with it and don't be too rough. I used a nail file from Boots that had different sizes of grit on it; use a really rough grit to remove most of the wrap, then a finer grit to neaten it all up at the end.

Voila, you're done! I just read back through those steps and realised it might be better to do a video tutorial to show exactly how to apply them. There could already be tutorials online, I've not looked, but if anyone would like to see one, let me know and I might just do it!

It may look like a lot of steps, but it's really not too difficult. You do need to be patient; it took me a least an hour, though I did take a break after doing the first hand as I was getting bored. As with anything like this, it would be easier if you had someone helping you, but it's certainly not impossible to do it on your own. The bits you've got to really be careful with are making sure there's no creases in the wrap as you smooth it onto your nail, and filing it all away neatly at the end. As you can see from the photo below, creases do happen, however this was my first try and after doing that one I got much better!

I've had the wraps on for a couple of days now and they've stayed on quite well; the corners are starting to lift on a few nails, but I'd be lying if I said I haven't picked at them a bit... I think I'm going to just wait and see how long I can leave them for before they start looking crap. I hope they last until the end of the week because I'm going out on Friday night, but we shall see...

IMO they're really cool and it's nice to have an intricate pattern on my nails for once, rather than my standard leopard print or stripes. I'd definitely be up for using them again and, having looked on ASOS I've noticed there's some other exciting new patterns available now which I'd love to try. For the price, they're definitely worth it, as you potentially get two applications out of a pack (there's 24 stickers of varying sizes).

Have you tried the Nail Rock wraps? What did you think? Are you into DIY nails or do you think nothing beats a professional manicure?

Weird and wonderful

2011-01-09T16:10:00.002Z

I'm loving these images of Helena Bonham Carter from last week's issue of The Times Magazine, I think she's absolutely beautiful. I know HBC is one of those people who always appears on 'worst dressed' lists, but I get the impression that she really doesn't give a monkey's (hahaha 'monkeys' - coz she was in Planet of the Apes!. Get it? Hahahaha!) about that sort of thing; she marches to the beat of her own drum and that makes her very cool in my book.

What a fittie

Speaking of Helena, I finally went to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows last weekend. I can't believe it's taken me so long to go, as I'm a MA-HOO-SIVE HP ~~geek~~ fan, but it was just one of those things I didn't get around to doing. I really enjoyed it; out of all the films I'd say it's probably the one that stays most faithful to the book, although, that's to be expected really as they've done it in two parts which means they couldn't really get away with missing stuff out. Obviously there's a few bits that are changed (I HATE how Bill Weasley isn't introduced until the seventh film. Ridiculous), but they do manage to keep in most of the really important stuff.

HBC is back to her usual psychotic self as Bellatrix LeStrange. She really was just the perfect choice to play that character; she's exactly how I'd imagine her to look, plus she's got the whole evil and unhinged thing down to a T.

Yes, ok, she's a psycho. But look at her hair! She's a curly girl after my own heart!

I decided to re-read the final two books before I saw the film and they've completely re-awakened my love for the whole series. They're just so brilliant. Anyone who's only seen the films but not read the books, please, I urge you, just bloody well sit down and read them. The films are good, but they miss out so much vital information (and also add some really random stuff). The books are amazing and JK Rowling's brain is just magical. Seriously, just read them. Please? PLEASE! Once you've read them, you will thank me, I promise ;)

Another Helena film that's out at the moment is The King's Speech, which also stars Colin Firth. If you've not heard about it, it's about George VI, who suddenly became King after his brother abdicated the throne. He had serious difficulties with public speaking as he suffered from a stammer - kind of problematic when you're the King and are expected to be all speechy - so he hired a speech therapist to help him out. Had I not known anything about this film and just read the description, I probably wouldn't be that fussed about seeing it, however, I've already seen so many good reviews of it and there's been so much hype about Oscar nominations etc that I'm dying to see it.

What do you reckon? Does it sound like your cup of tea? And what do you think of Helena? And Harry Potter? Tell me things! Go!

[first three images scanned from The Times Magazine, Harry Potter image from IMDb]

Next year, baby

2011-01-07T16:26:00.007Z

Yesterday was January 6th, (the traditional day for people to take their Christmas decorations down) and our house is now looking distinctly less festive. This saddens me, because even when Christmas day itself has been and gone, you've still got a couple of weeks when you can keep up the Christmas cheer by eating leftover turkey and mince pies and gazing happily at the twinkly, sparkly Christmas tree. However, January is well and truly here now, bringing with it nothing but empty pockets and a nagging feeling that, should I decide to step onto a set of scales, I will be thrown into a pit of despair and ~~snakes~~ horror. Yes, that's right children, Christmas is officially over.
While I appreciate that the new year is supposed to be a time of looking forward, making plans and generally being all good and action-y, I feel like I haven't quite wrung every single last drop of joy out of the proverbial Christmas dishcloth, so I thought I'd share a few snaps from the past couple of weeks before I finally put Christmas to bed.

Mmmm scenty

I managed to catch the end of Mary Poppins on TV one night. Dick Van Dyke's "cockney" accent is just so terrible that it's actually brilliant. "Elloaw Mayree Bohbbins!"

Lindt Father Christmas. He's gone to a better place now.

My new polka dot piggy bank! I've decided to name her Penelope. I've wanted a piggy bank for ages, firstly because I need somewhere to put the stupid amount of change I seem to accumulate and secondly because they're so kitsch and cute! This was a Christmas present from my mum, (from Next) and then weirdly, my auntie also bought me a mini one (also from Next) so now I've got the beginnings of a little piggy family. Hurray!

So that's it, Christmas is definitely over (I know, I know, it's been over for two weeks, stop living in the past, Franki!) and it's time to look forward. I've got lots of plans and ideas about how to make 2011 my best year yet, I just need to start putting them into action. (eeek!) The very lovely Gem, of From Gem With Love, has added a list of "Goals for 2011" to the sidebar of her blog and I'm tempted to do the same thing, as I'm thinking that, if they're written down in a place where other people can see them, it might just encourage me to get my arse in gear and actually make things happen. Why not eh?

What are your resolutions and goals for 2011? Have you got any clever plans for helping you actually stick to them? Care to share them with me???

Norma-lly

2011-01-04T23:14:00.008Z

I know this is all a bit redundant now because the snow is well and truly melted, but I think we've all come to realise by now that basically, how this blog works is that something happens and then about six years later I do a post about it. It's just how I roll.

I'm not sure what happened in the rest of the country, but in Liverpool, it snowed a bit and things were slightly difficult for a while, but then the snow melted and we all breathed a collective sigh of snowless relief and got on with our lives, and then suddenly, out of nowhere (well, not nowhere, it came from the sky. But what is the sky, really though?) the snow came back, bigger, angrier and even, somehow, whiter than before and ballsed everything right up.

This was when the snow got scary. Look at our car! It's literally drowning in snow... can you drown in snow?

This is Norma. (Look at her face! I did that) She was built by my Mum, Dad and me at about half ten at night because we're weird and were ~~probably~~ possibly drunk. Have you ever built a snowman? It's really difficult! The snow wouldn't clump together properly and it was really tiring. At one point I put too much pressure on her head, and part of it exploded. Snowwoman massacre. She was ok eventually. Bit skinny though.

The weird thing about Norma was that, once she was built, she spent the following days getting more and more horizontal. She was like a snowier, more terrifying version of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Every day I'd get up and look out of the kitchen window and go "bloody hell, look at Norma now! She's practically doing a sideways limbo!" It was amazing though, because, no matter how horizontal she got, she managed to keep her head attached. It got to a point where she was less snowwoman, more snowbridge, but by God that head stayed on. I think that's probably all down to my excellent snowwoman building skills. It's all about the internal structure.

One night, about two weeks after her birth, it rained. When we came down the next morning, this was all that was left of Norma. I felt exactly like that little boy in The Snowman. Except I didn't get to fly anywhere. And, you know, I'm not a cartoon boy.

RIP Norma. I will always love you.

POTM - December

2011-01-03T15:24:00.002Z

Happy New Year! This video was supposed to go up on the 1st but for some reason my videos take five or six hours to upload to Youtube and this one kept failing halfway through (grrr!) Finally, after muchos messing about, I've managed to get it up here. Technology, you will not beat me! (see after the video for a full list of products with links to where you can buy them)

Purity Organic Skincare Conditioning Cleansing Lotion
MeMeMe Blush Me! in Rouge (see Halima's review of all the different colours here)
Rimmel Pro Matte Topcoat
Sex and the City Look Palette - Miranda (currently in the Boots half price sale for £4!)
John Frieda Precision Foam Hair Colour in 5B Medium Chocolate Brown

2010-12-11T21:44:00.006Z

This is what my laptop screen currently looks like;

I have no idea why or how it has happened, but I'm having to write this post with my laptop plugged in to an external monitor, which kind of makes me feel like some kind of techno-whizz-kid-hacker type. I'm not though, rest assured.

Anyway, from tomorrow onwards I'm not sure how much Internet access I'm going to have, as the laptop is being sent away to the technical people (wherever they are) and our home PC is so horrendously slow I'm not sure I can bring myself to even attempt to use it.

Just thought I'd let you know that if I'm absent from blogging for a while, for once it won't be because I'm being a lazy little bugger, it's because I'm sans technology.

Peace out homiez, see you on the other side...

Products of the Month - November

2010-12-06T20:00:00.001Z

New video. I am a fluffhead.

This is the pixiwoo video using the Sleek Graphite Palette that I loved so much. Like I said, the colours in the Bad Girl Palette are very similar, so you could definitely recreate this;

TOO GORGEOUS.

The Uggly Truth

2010-12-05T14:00:00.004Z

If you're from the UK, then no doubt you've been having to deal with snow recently (even if you're not from the UK you've probably had to deal with snow recently - it's everywhere!). Fortunately, Liverpool didn't have quite as much as some other parts of the country, but there was still enough of it to make life that bit more difficult. Now, there's something you should know about me before I go any further; I'm not a fan of snow. Actually, that's not true, I went to Lapland once and had a lovely time leaping about in the snow, but I was wearing the appropriate snow-gear; a massive snow suit, big heavy boots and these cool penguin mitten things (I looked AWESOME). But, here, in the UK, where I don't own snow clothes, then yes, I hate snow. When it's snowy/icy I spend all my time worrying about falling over (when I worked in Scotland last year, the snow was insane and I fell over four times. FOUR TIMES. It stops being funny, believe me). And being cold. Being cold makes me want to cry. Seriously, cry. If I had a choice, I'd just stay inside the whole time and wait for the snow to melt, but as I have one of those annoying things called a "job", that isn't really an option.

I'm sure it's been the same for a lot of you; the combination of slippy ice and bitterly cold weather has had quite a big effect on what I've been wearing. Mainly my approach is; wear any outfit I'd usually wear, but then pile a whole load of knitwear/coats/shawls/hats etc on top of it. Despite my addition of six thousand extra layers, I think I still look ok ("snuggly chic" I like to call it), but even if I didn't, I wouldn't really care, because my main concern is getting to work without dying of hypothermia (which is clearly a possibility). However, there may have been one part of my outfit that a lot of you would have been, quite frankly, disgusted by...

Oh God, I'm scared to say this.

All week long, I've been wearing...

Ugg boots

Argh! I feel like I've just confessed to some kind of dark, seedy fetish...

Ok, ok, I know, you're horrified and appalled (don't look at me! I'm too ashamed!). The thing is though, maybe I'm becoming an old woman, but (shock horror!) there are times when looking good isn't actually my main priority when I get dressed. This past week was one of those times; I still factored style somewhere into the equation, but keeping warm and not falling over were far more important to me.

You also have to understand, if you've never worn a pair of Uggs, that they are SO comfortable and SO warm. I know there are other options out there for warm winter shoes, hell I even did a whole post on shearling boots, but as I'm still waiting to get some of those for Christmas, Uggs are currently the only thing I own that are suitable for this kind of weather.

I understand that a lot of people hate them for a multitude of reasons; the uglyness of them, the fact that they're the footwear of choice for so many irritating people (WAGs, chavs, Katie Price) and also that they just won't seem to go away (overkill isn't the word). But I want to make it clear; I've never seen my Uggs as a fashion thing, they're simply a practical thing. I don't wear them all year round, in fact they've been in my cupboard probably since January, and I don't own hundreds of pairs of them in different styles/colours, I've just got the one pair.

Katie, Colleen and Kerry - does this mean I'm guilty by association???

Maybe it's because I'm not a big shoe person. Dresses, coats, jewellery makeup, yes please, but shoes just aren't high on my agenda. So wearing a pair of Uggs doesn't feel like that big of a fashion crime to me. Also, I genuinely don't think they look THAT horrible (I've got the short, grey ones like in the first picture); whenever I'm wearing them, they always remind me of a teddy bear's feet, and really, what could be bad about that? There are other versions of Uggs that I truly think are grotesque (have you ever seen the metallic ones? WTF?!) but I think mine are pretty minimal in the ugly stakes. This could be to do with the fact I'm from Liverpool, where seemingly every single person with feet owns at least one pair of Uggs - maybe I've just been conditioned into accepting them...?

I'm well aware that, once you start to sacrifice style for comfort when it comes to shoes, you're just a few steps away from throwing any sense of fashion out of the window and wearing those 'sensible' velcro sandal things you always see old people wearing on walking holidays. I'll make you a promise right here, right now; this Ugg situation is a one-off thing - I will NEVER wear velcro sandals for as long as I live.

Thoughts please, people - where do you stand when it comes to Uggs? What have you been wearing in the snowy weather? And are there ever occasions when you're happy to sacrifice your style for comfort? I need to know the answers!

[NB. This post has absolutely nothing to do with the comments Lily recently made on Twitter - I've been planning to talk about Uggs for a while now. And for the record, I think Lily is awesome.]

a horse of a different colour

2010-12-02T23:38:00.002Z

So I haven't blogged since about nineteen-dickety-two (we had to say "dickety" because the kaiser had stolen the word "twenty". I chased that rascal to get it back, but gave up after dickety-six miles) - sorry about that. Have you missed me terribly? Have you? HAVE YOU?!

Anyway, regular posting will probably recommence over the next few days; it's a bit late now, but I suddenly had an urge to say a little hello and make sure you hadn't all died on me (you haven't? Oh good!)

Last weekend I went to London for my friends Tash and Bob's birthday fancy dress-o-rama. The theme was Rumble In The Jungle, which meant lions, bears, monkeys, characters from Jumanji, parrots and even toads were all in attendance. As I'm the sort of person who never likes to do things easily, I decided to be a zebra. With a mohican mane and a face full of stripes. Yeah yeah yeah.

Wearing Pamela Mann Zebra tights (on legs and arms, also used a bit of the left over tights to make a tail) bought on eBay, weird Primark towel dress thing, black flat pumps with gold leopards on them from Topshop (you can't really see them in the pic, but I feel I should mention them as the leopards represented the constant threat of predators that we zebra types have to face. My costume had so many levels to it!)

From left to right - Tash (monkey), Nikki (parrot), me (stripey horse), Lydia (AMAZING leopard - look at her eyes! Will you just LOOK AT THEM!)

What a wonderful, ridiculous night. I also won best fancy dress. Now, last year, when I won best fancy dress at a Halloween party, I was given a plastic skeleton trophy. However, Tash and Bob don't like to do things the traditional way, oh no. So this time around, I won...

A "nautical beard".

I know what you're thinking; how can one person be THAT attractive? Trust me guys, it's all natural.

Dans le sac

2010-11-13T15:28:00.006Z

Last night I was bored and decided to make a "what's in my bag" video. I warn you, it's extremely rambly, I'm just kind of talking nonsense for most of it.

Also, I'm such a nob; I say at one point in the video that I don't remember what Cowbiscuits' name is; actually, it's not that I don't remember, it's that I don't know because she always goes by Cowbiscuits, lol. I'm so silly...

Also also, I don't think I explained myself very well when I was talking about the Twilight books - I don't hate them, I just don't think they're anywhere near as good as everyone makes out (like I know people who say that they're their favourite books - WTF?). However, I read the first one to see what all the fuss was about, and like any trashy novel, it was quite readable, and once I'd read the first, I kind of wanted to know what happened in the other books. So I'm up to the third one now, and I still don't get what all the fuss is about, but I'm sticking with it because I still want to know what happens. Does that make sense? I feel like this is some kind of shameful secret!

Also also also, I know I've said this before, but it seems like every time I post a photo/video of myself, I've straightened my hair. It's making me look like a bit of a fraud, since my blog's called "the little curly girl". I promise I do have a whole head full of mental curls. Next time I do a video, I'll make sure my hair is curly, to prove it ;)

I don't believe you, you're not the truth

2010-11-09T22:20:00.002Z

You know how sometimes, you'll watch a film you've not seen in ages and it suddenly hits you just how good it is? I did that this weekend with Pretty Woman; I've always loved it, but I think it's been such a long time since I last watched it that I'd forgotten how wonderful it is.

Ok, yes, Pretty Woman is hardly a life-changing movie, in fact it's schmaltzy and a bit silly and the way it glosses over the seedy world of prostitution is actually kind of horrible (never before has the world's oldest profession been made to look so appealing - "come and be a hooker; you'll have all kinds of fun and probably end up being whisked away by a handsome millionaire who'll take you shopping and give you diamonds and stuff. Oh, just ignore that dead body they're pulling out of a bin... well yes... she was a prostitute too but umm... So how's your knowledge of cars?") but still, it's one of those ultimate chick-flick types that you just can't help but watch and enjoy. I think this is thanks, in large part, to Julia Roberts, who is impossibly lovely throughout. Don't get me wrong, Richard Gere is alright, but it's all about Julia really, isn't it? Also, I've just found out that she was only 22 in Pretty Woman, which seems mental to me and makes me feel old, because I'm 23 and, last time I checked, I hadn't starred in an iconic rom-com. FML.

Believe it or not, it's actually twenty years since Pretty Woman first came out (to be honest, it's not that difficult to believe - check out Julia's lovely big hair and massive eyebrows) and in honour of its 20th Anniversary, Elle.com interviewed the costume designer, Marilyn Vance. Did you know that, unlike today, where costume designers in movies often do more of a stylist job, sourcing various different clothes and then putting them together, (eg Sex and the City - the costumes are usually a mix of designer and vintage clothes that Patricia Field has specially selected and styled up to reflect each character's personal tastes) Marilyn Vance and her team actually designed and made the majority of the costumes in Pretty Woman?! Read the full interview here, it's really interesting.

Vivian: You work on commission, right?

Shop Assistant: Er... yes.

Vivian: Big mistake. Huge. I have to go shopping now.

SO GOOD! I hate snooty sales people. When sales assistants have their staff training, I think this scene should be played, along with this voice over -

"This is what happens if you're rude to people - Julia Roberts comes in and embarasses you. True story."

For me, possibly the most memorable costume from the whole film is THE RED DRESS. It's just amazing, honestly, I love it. Sexy but elegant, structured but soft and drapey (I know drapey isn't really a word, but I'm tired and it's the best I can do right now, OK?!), the colour, the shape, the little sleeves, argh it's perfection! I think it's probably my favourite ever dress from a movie.

When my Mum was younger, she'd quite often get a dress professionally made if she was going to a fancy event, and she once even had the pink dress that Madonna wears in the Material Girl video (which of course, is actually the Marilyn Monroe dress from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes) made for her, but in black. Now, I never really have any super fancy events to go to, and even on the rare occasion that I do, I'll just buy a dress from a shop, because, it would never even occur to me to come up with my own design when there's already countless dresses just waiting for me to buy them in French Connection etc. But, maybe when I'm a proper grown up, and I've got somewhere seriously fancy to go; say if I was going to meet the Obamas or something, I would think about getting a dress made, and if I did, I would want it to be like the red Pretty Woman dress. It's my dream dress. In the interview with Elle, Marilyn Vance says that, initially, the dress was going to be black, but she managed to convince the studio to go with red. Imagine if it had been black! It still would have been lovely, but just not as special somehow. Well done Marilyn, you're very, very clever.

The perfect dress.

Beautiful, beautiful Julia. Look at that face.

What's your favourite costume from Pretty Woman? And are there any other films that you love with fabulous costumes?

[images - IMDb, hotflick.net and screen grabs from my DVD]

click click

2010-11-07T22:30:00.002Z

It's a bit pointless me posting this now, because Halloween was a week ago, but I really just wanted to share these pics of Anjelica Huston as Morticia in the Addams Family, because she, or at least her makeup, was my inspiration this year.

Gothic fabulousness to the max. I love her cheekbones.

Sadly, I didn't really end up doing anything for Halloween; I was a bit rubbish last week and just couldn't be bothered moving! Seriously, two days for the weekend isn't enough - five days at work really take it out of me... (or I'm just very lazy...)

I did have a bit of a makeup practice the night before Halloween, because I was undecided about whether I was going to go to a party or not, so figured I should have a costume on standby just in case. Anyway, using the photos above as inspiration, I created my version of Morticia Addams;

Notice how I managed to incorporate the white face powder from last year? I bloody love that stuff. Sorry for the slightly moody face in the first photo, but this was the best of a bad bunch; I was trying to get that Morticia sneer, but I ended up looking like an idiot...

Although I didn't end up getting all fancy dressed up for Halloween, I am going to get the chance to make up for it as two of my most wonderful friends have just announced that they're having a joint birthday party in a couple of weeks in London and the theme is Rumble in the Jungle! Which means everyone has to come as some kind of jungle animal! Obviously there's a lot of possibilities for crazy costumes and I spent a couple of days changing my mind about what to go as, but I've now settled on an animal; I just need to work out how I'm going to do it. Hair and makeup is going to play a big part though...

Did everyone have a good weekend? And more importantly, did you see X Factor?! I can't believe we were so close to getting Katie out and the judges saved her again! I put this on Twitter too, but seriously, if a singer forgot their lyrics and then sat down on the stage and had a little temper tantrum, people would be calling them an unprofessional idiot. Katie does it and Simon says it makes her an 'interesting' performer?! WTF?!