vaguely in vogue

Can cheap false nails be good? - the Boots Clear Nails Kit

2011-11-05T13:50:00.001Z

Christmas is coming and the party season is looming upon us. That means new clothes, new shoes and that all important trip to the local nail technician. Well, seeing that I'm on one hell of a scrimp and save mission at the moment, all of this is going to be done very cheaply indeed!! My party dress was bought in the sale, my good ole Vivienne Westwood heels have been bought out of retirement, but what about that professional manicure? Well that's where these come in...

Yep, that's right...a bumper pack of 200 false nails all for the princely sum of £8.50 from my local Boots store. Pretty cheap huh? But are they any good?

In the box you get 200 nails which come in 10 different sizes. I'd say that my natural nails are fairly large and I sometimes find that a lot of false nails kits are a little bit on the small size for me. These fit pretty well though and I'd think that most people would probably find the size range OK.

You also get a small bottle of glue. Now how can I explain how I feel about this glue without resorting to profanity. I've used false nails kits since I was 16...some of them being bargain basement 99p kits off my local market. Of all the many brands I've tried this kit, hands down, has the worst glue I have ever used...EVER!! Is it too weak? Does it not stick? Nope, it sticks just fine actually...if you can get it out of the damn bottle. The bottle is so stiff that you need the mammoth strength of a sideshow giant to get the teeniest tiniest drop of glue out of it. I thought at first that I was being a complete weed, but even my other half (who has considerably bigger muscles than I) also struggled to get the glue out of the bottle. It's just not flexible enough to squeeze anything out, and if you're using this glue without the assistance of a big strong boy then you'll find applying them a bit of a struggle.

So the nails are good and the glue is very very bad...but what do they look like once you get them on? Here they are in all there in all their bare, unpainted glory!!

They're not half bad actually! They might not look as good as salon applied nails, but for the money I'm pretty impressed. The size range is good, you get enough nails for lots of applications, they're easy to apply and don't need cutting or shaping, and they last really well if you look after them them. The only thing that lets this kit down is the glue, but you can buy a separate bottle of glue for a few pounds and the total price of your kit will still only be around the £10 mark.

So what will you be doing for the party season? Do you prefer to splash out and go to a nail technician when you want false nails or are you a do it yourself kinda girl?

xXx

Keepon Blogging!

2011-10-28T15:43:00.000+01:00

I've been a rather bad blogger recently. It's the same old same old really. I've been ill, had family things going on, been busy at work, been rather poor and haven't really been buying anything etc etc Anyway...I'm still alive and as my head still isn't fully into blogging I though I'd share with you something rather random instead. Ladies and gentleman, say hello to Keepon.

Image from firebox

He's small, he's yellow and he's one hell of a mover! :) There's just something about watching a fuzzy little robot dancing (to an amazing song I might add) that always makes me happy when I'm feeling a bit blah.

These little guys will be available in the shops soon so 'keepon' your eye our for them! ;) You can enjoy a whole world of Keepon cuteness over at mykeepon.com

xXx

Do you go 'nude'? - NYX Pumpkin Pie

2011-10-04T11:51:00.000+01:00

It's been a while since I've showcased one of my many NYX lipsticks, so as it's almost Halloween I thought it only right and proper to bring out 'Pumpkin Pie'.

Originally you were going to get some rather more exciting product shots with props and everything. I had a very cute little mini pumpkin and can of pumpkin pie mix...but then I got hungry and ate them both, so instead here are some propless pictures showing the lipstick in all its bare glory! :)

Pumpkin Pie is a peachy nude shade that has a very creamy consistency but gives quite a sheer finish.

Most people go crazy for nude lipsticks but generally speaking they aren't usually my cup of tea. It's not that I don't like them, it's just that I've always preferred darker lipsticks as many nude shades don't really show up on my lips all that well. This one doesn't do to badly though and does give my lips a subtle hint of colour. This is definitely one to live in my handbag as a good everyday backup colour.

I don't think I'm truly converted to a 'nude lover' (ooh err missus!) yet, but I might need to buy a few more lipsticks to help me make a decision! ;) So how about you? Are you a true 'nudie' or do you feel more at home with a shocking pink or pillar box red?

xXx

You got all that for how much!?! - Some serious Boots bargins

2011-09-30T17:35:00.000+01:00

This afternoon, as I was facing an eyeliner crisis and craving air conditioning (28°C and it's nearly October...what's the heck's that all about?), I headed off to my local Boots store. Did I get just an eyeliner? Hahahahaha...of course I didn't! I did my usual trick and started filling my basket full of goodies. Little did I know that this was going to be one fantastic bargin shop...and being such a fantastic bargin shop I just had to share it with you guys so you can all go and grab yourselves some bargin booty too!!

So what did I get?

Well first of all, after my earlier 'Arrrggghhh I've run out of liquid liner' panic, I snagged myself an eyeliner. Rather than my staple Carbon Black L'Oreal Super Liner, I went for the new 'Luminizer' Super Liner for hazel eyes. I've not had a play with it yet but the colour looks gorgeous.

Having been tempted by Fee (Makeup Savvy) and then Sophie (Sophie Is Made Up) I grabbed the L'Oreal Studio Professional Universal Lip Glow. It was hidden all the way down at the bottom of the stand, but i'm so glad I spotted it because it's an absolute beauty to behold and it smells ahh-mazing.

Considering they had a 3 for 2 offer on makeup I thought it would be a travesty not to indudge, so I picked up the Lash Adapt Mascara from No7.

And because I bought that I got this little eyeshadow palette free...

It's actually a great little palette and there's some fantastic Autumnal colours in here that I'll definietely get a lot of use out of.

Last but not least I grabbed a packet of the 4 in 1 wipes from No7 because I had a £5 off voucher to use that I got from Boots a few weeks ago.

So how much did this little lot come to? Well thaks to the very lovely lady at the till telling me how to use my No.7 voucher in the best way, this little bag of swag came to just £18!! I saved £6.49 on the 3 for 2 offer, then used my £5 off No.7 voucher with the mascara instead of the wipes, and then using the £5 voucher I was given with that transaction, got the wipes for just £2. So that's £34.38 worth of products for £18...and I got a free eyeshadow quad! Not bad for 20 minutes work!

I didn't spot how long the 3 for 2 offer was running but the £5 off No7 voucher can be used up until 9th October...and considering that it's pay day and the sun is shining I think you definitely all deserve to go and treat yourselves! ;)

xXx

Possibly the best piece of jewellery ever???

2011-09-28T17:54:00.000+01:00

It takes a lot for me to get excited...well actually that's not technically true, I get excited about a cup of tea and a bit of cake most days...but anyway, this inconspicuous little piece of jewellery has got me even more excited than a tasty teatime pastry!

Picture taken from kinekt design

It looks pretty cool right? Nice looking ring with cute little cogs on it. But wait, there's more!! Look what it does...

HOW AMAZING IS THAT!!!! I come from a family of engineers so anything with cogs and screws on it is bound to get my pulse racing, but when I spotted this on If Style Could Kill I had a jaw on the floor moment. The 'Gear Ring' was created by Kinekt Design and is made from high quality matte stainless steel with 'micro-precision gears' that turn in unison when you turn the outer section of the ring. It is is available in a variety of sizes and costs $165 (£105 at the current rate of exchange) and shipping worldwide is free!!

I absolutely love unusual stuff like this and I'm very very tempted to treat myself to one of these! What do you guys reckon?? Are you a fan quirky jewellery like this or are you more of a traditionalist?

xXx

Hello Kitty comes to Liberty

2011-09-23T16:12:00.000+01:00

I know that I'm probably far to old to be a massive Hello Kitty fan, but I'm so excited about the latest kitty collaboration that I had to share it with you!! Liberty Art Prints have joined forces with Hello Kitty to bring you 5 very cute new fabric designs.

At £21 a metre this fabric isn't cheap, but it's definitely not something you'd see every day. I'd chop my left arm off for a dress made out this fabric, but with with my giraffe like proportions I fear that such a sewing project could get quite expensive. Maybe I could just about afford enough fabric for teeny tiny uber short mini skirt. Failing that my 1 year old niece would look very sweet indeed in an itty bitty kitty dress.

You can pre-order the fabric now and it goes on sale at Liberty of London on 26th September.

xXx

The Ojon Fairytale

2011-09-22T16:26:00.000+01:00

Once upon a time there lived a feisty lady called Ms Wedgie. She didn't live in a tall tower, wasn't bothered (much) by ugly trolls and she had already found her Prince, but alas she was still sad. Why was she sad? Well boys and girls, she was sad because an evil witch has cast the notorious 'overprocessing' spell on her hair turning it to straw. One day, as Ms Wedgie sighed on the magical Twitter portal, a beautiful Princess called Georgie (or GeorgieGirl1985 as she's known by the townsfolk of Twitter) came to Ms Wedgies aid and offered to send a vial of secret potion called 'Ojon Restorative Hair Treatment' to help save her hair. She used the secret potion and her hair was transformed into a flowing mane of loveliness. She fell in love with the secret potion and vowed to buy her own cauldron of potion as soon as she had sold her magic beans.

The End

OK so I may have fibbed a little there and you will be shocked and surprised to hear that I don't actually own any magic beans. I did however sell a load of stuff on eBay recently, so on a shopping ~~attack~~ trip to Cheshire Oaks retail viliage I thought I'd pay a little vist to the Cosmetics Company Store and finally treat myself to some Ojon goodies. You can buy everything individually but you can make a HUGE saving if you buy a bundle pack...which I did! Here's what I got...

Restorative Hair Treatment 100ml (plus cap and comb)

Ultra Hydrating Shampoo 250ml and Ultra Hydrating Conditioner 250ml

Hydrating Revitalizing Mist 142ml

All this cost a barginous £27.75!! Which is a saving of...errr....a lot!!

I was already in love with the hair treatment after Georgie very kindly sent me a little pot to try out (love you Georgie *blows kisses*) and even though I've only tried the other things out a few times I think I might just fall in love with those too!!

If you can get to a Cosmetics Company Store (there's a handy list of all the UK outlets over on Lipglossiping) then run like the wind to grab one of these fab Ojon deals now.

xXx

For all you gorgeous gorgons...Medusas Make Up

2011-09-18T17:46:00.001+01:00

Once in a while you accidentally come across a brand that completely takes your breath away. You're shopping for something in particular and because you have absolutely no restraint when it comes to buying make up (oh come on...you all know it's true! lol) you randomly pile things into your basket that look vaguely interesting. That's exactly how I came across the Medusa's Make Up 'Mineral Eye Dust'. If you're wondering how it caught my eye then just take a look at the colour!

It looked bright online but when it arrived I was blown away. Think about the brightest most vibrant eye shadow you own and then turn up the brightness all the way up to...11! Yes folks...you heard it right 11! If you're a fan of Spinal Tap then you'll know doubt already know just how crazy things can get when you crank things up that one extra notch! ;)

The shade I chose was 'Red Baron' which despite it's name is not a true pillar box type red, but instead a vibrant deep red pink fuchsia shade.

Now this is very heavily pigmented and a little goes a very long way. You can apply a small amount and blend it out to get a more subtle look or you can really go to town and pack this stuff on for a bolder look. If having full on pink eyes is a bit too daring for you then you could just apply it as an eyeliner instead. It has great lastability, but I would definitely advise using a primer to avoid creasing and staining.

Now for the best bit...the swatches!!

Top: applied wet over primer Bottom: applied dry over primer

Just an eye shadow? Awww hell no...the fun doesn't stop there! As well as using this stuff on your eyes and your face, this is also safe to use on your lips. I haven't tested this out on my lips yet, but as soon as I do you'll be the first to know.

So this is going to be expensive right? Nope!! A 1.5g container (which will last me a long long time) cost a mere £3.95 from Cocktail Cosmetics, my favourite UK supplier of all hard to find US brands. You can also buy this direct from Medusa's Make Up...who do ship across the globe as well as the USA and Canada! YAY!

For the full huge range of rainbow eyeshadows, lip glosses, mascaras and other fabulous goodies check out the Medusa's Make Up website. If you love bright colours you'll be in colour junkie heaven!! :)

xXx

Is Liz Earle's Sheer Skin Tint really 'mint'?

2011-09-14T12:26:00.000+01:00

You've probably been hearing quite a bit about the this little blue tube of skin tinting goodness recently and it's certainly seems to be emerging as the latest hot product to be doing the beauty blogging rounds. But (and this is a pretty large but) is it actually any good? Should you buy it, is it worth the £21 price tag and has it become my number one tinted moisturiser?

Now, this has been given a good few weeks of usage and has been the only skin base I have used during it's rigorous period of *cough cough* highly scientific testing! OK, so the testing wasn't exactly conducted under strictly regulated conditions, but having used it exclusively over the period of a few weeks I've had the chance to see how it copes with the many phases of my lovely face, from 'ooooh good skin day' to those spotty 'paper bag NOW' hiding behind the sofa days.

The Sheer Skin Tint comes in three different shades - Bare (the lightest shade that suits fair, alabaster complexions), Beige (the medium shade that suits the majority of Caucasian skin tones) and Beach (the darkest shade that works best with suntanned, olive toned and most Asian skin tones).

Being quite fair with 'Cullen-esque' (minus the sparkles) pale skin I tried out the 'Bare' shade and this is what it looks like...

When I first heard about the product I thought it would have a very lightweight airy consistency, but I was quite surprised to find that it had a luxurious rich and creamy texture. While it's not designed to give you full coverage, it does have the consistency of a foundation that would, which is why I was completely bowled over by how quickly and easily it blended into my skin. You can effortlessly blend this into your skin with your fingertips in no time at all. Perfect for those lazy mornings where you haven't got time to buff and blend...which for me is every morning that starts before 10am!

So when it comes to the crunch is this something I would recommend to all you lovely readers? Well for the majority of you, I'd happily say a great big yes! While you may need an little bit of extra bit of help from some concealer on those days where you have blemishes to cover, this will give help even out your skin tone, give you a healthy dewy glow and help to cover redness. Also, is worth mentioning that in the weeks I've been using it my temperamental skin hasn't broken out once!!

So, who would I not recommend this for? Well, I've asked one of my very pale friends to try out the lightest shade and it was way to dark for her, so if you're a porcelain beauty then even the lightest shade may be too dark for you. At the opposite end of the scale people with darker skin tones may find the darkest shade to light. It would be great to see the shade range extended in the future so more Asian and black women can give this a go. One plus point though (which I think is a great idea) is that when you order this from Liz Earle you get three sample sizes of each shade so you can make sure you have bought the right shade. If you find you have the wrong shade then you can just return the unopened tube and they'll send you the right shade free of charge!

If you are a tinted moisturiser fan like me, or you just fancy something lighter than your regular foundation, then I'd definitely give this a try. A 40ml tube costs £21 and is now available online from the Liz Earle website.

xXx

***PR sample sent for review***

Tattoo Diaries: Needles and Ink (Warning: not for the faint hearted)

2011-09-06T13:51:00.000+01:00

The final tattoo session has taken place and the whole thing is now finished!!! So...while I'm waiting for it to heal, here's a few pictures of Cesar De Cesaro (the Brazilian metalhead master of Body Garden Tattoo in Birmingham City Centre) in action tattooing yours truly. These pictures are from my very first session and you can see how he very cleverly conceals my original tattoo.

WARNING: VIEWERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED. THE FOLLOWING POST CONTAINS PICTURES OF TATTOOING, NEEDLES, BLOOD...AND MY LEG!!!! IF ANY OF THESE THINGS OFFEND YOU LOOK AWAY........NOW!!!

Outline done!

Lil' ole bloody butterfly!

Having your ass hanging out in a shop full of guys you don't know...just ever so slighty nervewracking!

Chinese symbol is now completely concealed!!

Hope that's not made any of you feel too queasy! There was a bit of blood and a few toe curling moments, but honestly it's not as painful as it probably looks! That said though I am very glad that it's all over! Well...for now anyway...I'm already planning my next tattoo! ;)

xXx

Dove Love - When good things happen with cheap products! :)

2011-09-05T15:53:00.000+01:00

In my life I have probably spent a small fortune on various high end lotions, potions and creams which promise to make you younger, thinner, smoother, softer...less prone to sitting on the sofa scoffing biscuits when I should be exercising. OK so maybe not the last one (we can but dream), but you get my drift. But what can we do when we can't afford our favourite high end brands...we head to the supermarket that's what!

Today's post is a two for one extravaganza featuring not one but two budget buys from Dove - the 'Intensive Repair' shampoo and the 'Nourishing Body Wash'.

Now...where shall we start? Lets go with the one product I usually spend the most money on...Shampoo!! My hair (as you may have guessed form some of my other hair related posts) is the one area that causes me the most grief! I dye it far too often, I struggle to do anything with it because I've had short hair all my life and long hair is just confusing and I stupidly overload it with products in a vague attempt to make it look half decent. How do I try and fix my poor locks? By spending stupid amount of money on shampoo. In the past I've spent *gulps* almost £30 on shampoo, but nowadays I spend on average between £7-£15. I was feeling particularly skint last month and when I spotted the Dove 'Intensive Repair' on a supermarket shelf I begrudgingly thought I'd give a cheaper brand a go.

After my experience with the last supermarket budget purchase (the Pantene Aqua Light shampoo) I didn't have high hopes for this, but for a cheap shampoo I'm pretty impressed! I've been using it a few weeks now and it's left my hair looking a lot better than it's predecessor did. Which incidentally was a £12 bottle of 'salon fabulous' strengthening shampoo that a hairdresser touted as being 'Aaaaaaa-mazing'! PAH! Did nothing, cost loads and smelled awful!

My hair is looking healthier, shinier and feels lovely and soft. I can't vouch for the '5x less split ends' claim at the moment, but after a few weeks of use I think my hair definitely seems to be getting stronger as I've noticed less breakage. My only minor whine about this shampoo is that it does have quite a strong (but not unpleasant) smell. It's not too overpowering but might put you off if you aren't too keen on strongly scented hair products. All in all if you're looking for a budget shampoo that will give your frazzled barnet a boost then this it's worth giving this shampoo a try!

OK...on to Part 2 of this 'Buy one get one free' review. The Dove Nourishing Body Wash. Now I already like Dove body wash, although if you remember my 'when bad packaging happens to good products' post you'll know that I had had a few minor grumblings about the bottles they come in. Am I about to whine and moan about the packaging for this???

Nope! The packaging is just fine and has not caused me any upset or packaging rage at all! :) The body wash itself comes in a variety of fruity and very tasty flavours, all of which contain the newly added 'Nutrium Moisture Technology' that was was only previously added to the Visible Care range that I already had a love hate relationship with. Now I'm not one for fancy names and most of you probably don't really care about the sciencey clap trap about what 'Nutrium Moisture' actually is. The basic principle is that it nourishes and hydrates your skin and doesn't strip away any of the moisture...which is does very well! :) It's also got a very mild formula and has been tested out on my week old (pretty sensitive) tattooed skin without any kind of irritation at all, so another thumbs up there. I like the fruity smell of the plum and sakura blossom body wash, but if you prefer something with a less obvious scent then you might prefer some of the other members of the body wash range. It just depends on what kind of smell floats your boat.

Two budget buys and two winners if you're short on those pennies....which leaves you more money to ~~splurge~~ wisely invest in shoes and handbags! :) So where do you stand in the budget vs luxury debate? Do you sometimes steer clear of budget buys because cheap can often mean rubbish or are you a beauty bargain queen?

xXx

Tattoo Diaries - The almost finished result

2011-08-26T10:24:00.000+01:00

So a few weeks ago you saw the first half of my tattoo. Well...after another 3 hours of work, may I now present to you the almost finished result!! I had this done two weeks ago, but I was waiting for it so heal and stop looking scaly before I posted pictures because I'm sure no one wants to see my flaky leg!

Here is the full thing in all it's colourful glory!

And here's a few close ups...

It's almost finished apart from a few touch ups, a bit of shading and the little naked bee you see below needs colouring in!

I'm going back for the last couple of hours work this weekend and that will be it!! All finished!! I can't wait to see the finished result. I will have gone through 8 hours of tattooing, a few moments of pain, lots of money, several tubes of Bepanthen...but it will all be worth it in the end! :)

xXx

Small but satisfying - the Yaby Palette! ;)

2011-08-24T12:44:00.001+01:00

When I first started blogging the only palette I knew about, or cared about, was the MAC palette. It was the one palette that everyone seemed to covert and everywhere I looked it was a constant stream of MAC MAC MAC. I became obsessed with filling my palette full of beautifully coloured MAC shadows and would spend many an hour stalking blogs in search of new shades. Then one day, when in desperate need of new eyeshadows that cost less than a tenner, I came across Yaby. My greedy little eyes lit up at the sight of all those teeny tiny colourful pans of loveliness...and here's what I got!! :)

I nearly had one of those 'I need to buy EVERYTHING' moments, but after calming down I settled on the 40 well palette and a small(ish) selection of the refill pans. You can buy some gorgeous pre-set palettes, but because I'm a fussy git I like I went for an empty palette. It's also more fun choosing your own colours...I guarantee you will happily spend a whole evening picking your favourites!

The palette itself is white, glossy, sleek and reminds me very much of a Macbook. If Apple were to go into make up (we can but dream) then this is what their palette would look like. It contains a large mirror in the lid and has a sturdy clasp which securely snaps shut. I've conducted that all important 'throw it in your handbag and bash it around all day' test and it remained securely closed and the eyeshadows stayed completely intact.

The inner pad is made of a soft foam so it's very easy to quickly pop in and pop out the shadows without fear of smashing them up. When I first starting filling the palette I fiddled about with how the pans were arranged for about an hour before I was happy and every single pan survived completely unscathed.

The size of the palette is 11cmx14.5cm and just so you can get a better idea of the size here it is compared to a mighty MAC palette.

Now to the best bit...the eyeshadows pans themselves! Hoorah!!! They come in a wide range of colours and in 5 different finishes...

Matte - completely matte shadows

Satin - from almost matte to light sheen

Frost - higher sheen without being super reflective

High Shine - shimmery finish, great for accents and highlights

Pearl Paint - creamy, dreamy and VERY pigmented

We've all heard the phrase 'it's not the size that counts'...well that definitely applies here! ;) These pans and teeny, tiny and tinsy. Don't let the size put you off folks. They are amazing!!!!

Left to Right - A 'Wedgie' plectrum, teeny Yaby pan, 5p coin

See what I mean...they're tiny. At 15.5ml they hands down are the smallest eyeshadow pans I have ever laid my eyes on. You might be thinking 'What's so great about an eyeshadow pan that small?' Well, here's the reasons why I love em...

- they only cost between £1.99-£2.50

- the reduced size means a reduced price...which means you can buy more of the little blighters!

- you can experiment with more colours. Think you might like green but don't want to splash out on a MAC eyeshadow you might never wear...then buy one of these. If you hate the colour then you've not wasted a lot of money and if you only use it once in a blue moon then it's not going to take up lots of room

- you can buy a larger range of colours without breaking the bank

- you can carry a bigger selection of shades in a smaller palette

- for the price they are excellent quality and even though they're small they will last a surprisingly long time

Not many things this small can give a girl so much joy! :)

So there you have it...the small but perfectly formed Yaby palette and eyeshadow pans. I bought my first set of shadows quite a while ago, but my 'want' list is already monumental and seems to be growing larger by the day.

I'll have to do some swatches of the colours I have for you...but until then, for all your Yaby related 'lustings' check out the Yaby website, Love Make Up or The Make-up Artist Boutique.

xXx

A hidden treasure - NYX 'Black Cherry' Lipstick

2011-08-18T13:41:00.001+01:00

Do you ever have massive spending sprees and then forget about the things that you've bought? I do it all the time! Spend a fortune on boxes of goodies, ~~hide it so that the other half doesn't find it~~ store it away somewhere safe and then promptly forget all about it. The great thing when this happens is that when you do eventually find your goodies it's like finding a chest of hidden treasure.

Today's pirate booty (that was discovered in a box under the sofa) is the very juicy Black Cherry Round Lipstick from NYX.

Black Cherry is a dark berry red shade that, on my lips, almost looks like a blood red.

Now this might look quite dark to some of you, but it's definitely not one of those dark 'goth reds' that is completely unwearable on most skin tones. As much as I love my gothy reds and burgundies, they're quite hard to pull off for that everyday casual/work look...unless of course your boss embraces that 'crazed vampire' look.

As dark red shades go Black Cherry is a really wearable shade and is definitely not something that will frighten the neighbours. Like all of the other NYX Round Lipsticks it has a lovely creamy consistency that applies very smoothly and evenly. You could smudge it across the lips to give a 'berry stain' look or just apply it in the old fashioned way for a gorgeous red pout.

I'm so glad I discovered this because it's a perfect shade for Autumn and Winter. Actually, scrap that idea. As the British summertime looks like it's pretty much over already, I might just start wearing it now...which means I then I have an excuse to buy more lipsticks when we really get to Autumn! Hoorah! :)

Have you got any favourite reds that you're just itching to whip as soon as we get to Autumn?

xXx

A BIG ole box of e.l.f!!!

2011-07-29T16:44:00.001+01:00

What could possibly be more exciting than a big ole box crammed full of make up arriving on your doorstep? :)

I've never ordered anything from e.l.f before but when a big juicy discount was dangled in front of my greedy little face, what better time to give it a try! The prices are already ridiculously low and with that extra discount on top, I just couldn't help filling my basket full of goodies. Here's what I got...

Translucent Matifying Powder

Complexion Perfection

Contouring Blush and Bronzing Powder

Mineral Infused Face Primer

Oil Blotting Sheets

Zit Zapper

Makeup Mist & Set

Royal Purple Nail Polish

Dark Navy Nail Polish

Dark Glitter Purple Nail Polish

Lip Lock Pencil

Matte Lip Colour - Natural

Conditioning Lip Balm - Peaceful Pink

Eyebrow Stencil Kit

Bronzing Brush

Angled Eyeliner Brush

Eyebrow Treat & Tame - Dark

Eyelid Primer Collection

Eyebrow Kit - Dark

Duo Cream Eyeshadow - Blueberry

Duo Cream Eyeshadow - Black Licorice

And that's it...for now at least anyway! lol I don't usually place orders this big with companies I've never used before, but this little lot cost me around the same amount of money that I've spent on just one product in the past.

Un...wait for it..........believable!! :)

I've not had chance to test it all out yet, so I can't tell you what I think of most of the products, but the few bits that I have tried out (like the Conditioning Lip Balm) I'm really impressed with. I was also pretty surprised at how quickly my order arrived as well, so that's another thumbs up.

To save a massive 50% (when you spend £30 or more) all you need to do is use the code SUPERELF50 at the checkout. Hurry hurry hurry though because this offer ends tomorrow at 1pm!!!!

Are you a fan of this budget beauty brand and have you already snuck in a sneaky little order while the 50% off offer has been running? *Ssh* I won't tell anyone if you have! lol Also...what other products would you recommend that I pick up next time?

xXx

A year without nicotine - my smoke free story!

2011-07-26T19:58:00.001+01:00

Today is a day for celebration folks!! It has been one whole year since I gave up smoking! It seems pretty amazing for me to be able to say this, but in those 365 days I have not had a single puff or drag!!

Image source

On the day I gave up I had been smoking for roughly 13 years. I started smoking when I was 17 when I started going to clubs and pubs with my friends. It wasn't something I was forced into doing...it was just something I thought I'd try. For me it was either Marlboro, Camel or my all time favourite Lucky Strikes! I smoked with a long Audrey Hepburn style filter when I went to clubs or bars and I smoked the most ridiculously expensive cigars imported from the Dominican Republic on special occassions. To say that I loved smoking was an understatement.

I loved sitting outside on a hot sunny day with a bottle of wine, a few good friends and a box of Luckys.

I loved that moment when a hot guy would offer you a light inside a dark smokey club.

I loved sitting on my own with a coffee, a cigarette and a good book.

I loved the release a cigarette gave me when I felt stressed...

I could write a list as long as my arm about just how much I loved smoking. So if I loved it so much why did I give up? There were a number of small reasons like the spiralling cost, the smell on my hair and clothes, my age and the way it made my skin look. But the main reason for me to stop smoking was the death of my father. The week after he died I smoked my very last cigarette. He hated me smoking and even though he never once nagged me I knew he didn't like it. I'd tried to give up before but strangely enough during what was the most stressful period of my life I found the motivation to stop. Smokers will always say how hard it is to give up and they're right...it is hard. The way I saw it was that up until that precise point in my life I had never ever dealt with anything as difficult as coping with the loss of my father...so in comparison to that, giving up smoking was something tiny, insignificant and easy. It might sound like twisted logic but after many failed attempts at giving up, this worked for me.

So how can I help you? I'm not saying that you need to experience the same thing to give up, but you do need to do it for the right reasons. Don't listen to other people wittering on at you about how you that you must do it for your health or that you are wasting your money. I'd heard all of it before and believe me it doesn't work. Find your own reason. It could be because you want to save money, you want to start a family or it could just be that you want to be more healthy. I went cold turkey and didn't use any quitting aids what so ever, but you try what ever you think will work best for you. There's all kind of options available to help you quit. If one doesn't work then try something else.

If you're currently trying to give up then I'll leave you with this 'motivational' *sniggers* video!

So are you a lover or a hater of smoking? Are you struggling to give up smoking yourself or have you successfully found your own way to quit?

xXx

Tattoo Diaries - The (half) finished result!

2011-07-23T14:19:00.003+01:00

The time has finally come chaps and chapettes! It's time to reveal my new tattoo!! I had the first half of it done last Saturday so it's now a week old. Despite my excitement and eagerness to show you all, it's took this long for me to write a post as I wanted to tell my family first before I plaster images all over the interweb!

I've tried my best to take some decent pictures but taking snaps of your own leg is actually quite difficult (who'd have thought it) so apologies for some of my slightly blurry attempts! Oh and apologies for forcing some slightly crusty shots of my leg on you. It's still healing and is in that itchy, flaky, scabby stage at the moment! Mmmmm nice! :)

So there we have it...that's stage one done and dusted! The outline is completely finished and all that's left now is the colour and shading. It might look a little odd to some of you at the moment, but once the rest of it is finished off and it's all filled in it will look awesome!!!

One thing I will mention is that because I'm not used to going through the process of seeing a tattoo healing on my own skin, every couple of days I'll freak out at Mr Wedgie. He keeps telling me to calm down because while it's healing and settling down it will go through various changes. I think he's a big sick of hearing 'Is this normal?' 'Why's it doing that?', 'Did he do it wrong?, 'But what about that!?! Is that supposed to happen?'. I'm probably driving him mad but I'm sure I'm not the first person to develop OCD after getting a tattoo! :)

My next session is in a couple of weeks time...the same day that Mr Wedgie starts having his new tattoo :) Let's hope they let us come back after having both of us in the shop all day! lol

xXx

Tattoo Diaries - Booked up and ready to go!

2011-07-14T14:27:00.000+01:00

It's booked, the deposit has been paid, and this weekend the first 3 hours of tattooing shall commence.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!

*deep calming breaths*

I might be just a little teeny tiny bit nervous about the whole thing! It's not so much that I'm worried about the pain...having a root canal without being properly anaesthetised by the 'fully trained' (PAH!!) dentist has given me a fairly high tolerance level for evil pain! I think I'm just nervous because it has been such a big build up to having the tattoo done. It was actually booked two weeks ago now so I've had a fortnight to get myself well and truly psyched up. If when I went to book it they'd said "right lets do it now!" my brain wouldn't have had time to go into panic mode.

The 'preperation tips' that I've been given by my tattooed mates are...

1. Eat a well portioned meal before arriving...not too large or fatty though

2. Drink plenty of water so you don't dehydrate

3. Take a sugary drink like Lucozade and some sugary snacks with you. If you start feeling a bit faint then you've got a fast pick me up on hand

4. Don't drink brown shandy booze for 24 hours before having a tattoo as it thins the blood

5. Don't take any painkillers beforehand

6. Wear comfortable clothing

7. Take slow deep breaths to try and stop yourself panicking

and a tip from one of the girls...

8. Drink lots of water and exfoliate like a 'mother lover' in the week leading up to having a tattoo so your skin is in tip top condition

I'm not sure how many these will be useful, but it all seems like pretty sound and obvious advice to me so I'm going with all of them! :)

So while I'm practising deep breathing techniques and drinking gallons of water, I shall leave you with some of the pictures that were used as inspiration for my tattoo design!

Wish me luck folks! :)

xXx

Tattoo Diaries – ’The Monstrosity’ revealed!

2011-07-10T10:23:00.000+01:00

I have referred to the monstrosity on more than one occasion now. For those of you that haven’t read my previous posts, the monstrosity is a tattoo that I stupidly had done when I was 17. There was no forward planning before getting the tattoo done and there is no real reason why I chose the tattoo I ended up with. I walked into a random studio (chosen for its proximity to a pub containing hot bar staff), picked a flash tattoo off a board on the wall (because a couple of my mates though it was ‘cool’), paid my £30 and that was it. So…in glorious Technicolor prepare yourselves now for a rare glimpse of the little beasty that is soon to be hidden!! I should also add a warning that you are about to see part of my thigh (*gasps*) so please be nice…no nasty comments please!

Some of you might be thinking to yourselves ‘It’s not that bad’ or even ‘I actually quite like it’!! Some of you might even have something similar yourselves, and if you like Japanese and Chinese symbols then please don’t think that I’m saying your tattoo is crap. It’s just that I hate mine with an all consuming passion.

It’s probably not that bad in reality and there are a lot worse tattoos in the world than my tiny little one. It’s just that when I look at it all I see is a meaningless, slightly embarrassing, scribble that means nothing to me what so ever. Which leads on to your next question…’what does the symbol actually mean?’. That is the most embarrassing thing of all to admit to. Do I really have to tell you? Oh OK alright…it means ‘Dangerous’! Yep, that’s right dangerous! I can’t even remember what possibly made me think that that word held any meaning for me what so ever when I had it done. If it said Mom, Dad, Sister or even Love, then it would have at least some iota of significance to me, but dangerous!?! What was I thinking? I’d probably been drinking beforehand (which may have something to do with my crappy decision) but mostly it’s do with youthful pig-headedness and an ‘I want a tattoo and I want one now!!’ attitude.

You might not think that it’s that bad, but I regret it and I wish that I’d have spent a little bit more time thinking it through. Also having it done when I was underage is something I now don’t really think was a terribly clever idea. One of Mr Wedgie’s 16 year relatives posted a message on Facebook a while ago saying ‘Does anyone know of any tattoo parlours that will do a tattoo if I’m underage’! I was told to bite my tongue but I felt like saying ‘Yeah quite a few actually, but anyone who’d tattoo a 16 year old is really not the kind of tattooist you want to be looking for"!! I know a few people that had amazing tattoos done when they were 16 and 17 but not everyone is that lucky. Call me an old fuddy duddy but if you’re under the age of 18 and you want to get tattooed…please don’t! Treat it like something to look forward to instead. Think about what you want, spend some time planning out where you want it, save up some money…and then when you’re 18 it will be one huge (and possibly painful) treat for you.

Depending on how things go this little blighter will either be completely covered over, or disguised so it can barely be seen. I can’t say that I’ll really miss it but it will be odd not seeing it there anymore. Have you ever had a tattoo that you regretting and would no consider having it covered over or even removed completely?

xXx

Ooh You Little Rebel - Benefit 'You Rebel' Tinted Moisturiser

2011-07-05T12:01:00.000+01:00

Summer finally appears to be here!!! It may take the occasional break, and the rain will more than likely put in regular appearances, but for now it's safe to say that we can all crack out our Summer essentials. Hoorah!!!! For me the warmer weather usually means that I have to buy a truck load of new stuff (any excuse to buy new make up folks!), the foundation goes back into the drawer for a few months, and out comes the tinted moisturiser!

Say hello to one of my long standing Summer favourites...my old pal 'You Rebel' from Benefit.

You Rebel comes in two different 'flavours' - original, which is best suited to darker skin tones and lite which is for paler skin tones. Being pale and interesting I have always used the 'lite' version, although a girl on a make up counter once thought I should try the regular version. Twenty seconds and one tangoed cheek later she changed her mind! :)

So what do Benefit say?

'A defiantly different tinted moisturiser that gives you skin coverage, moisture and SPF protection all in one.

The coverage you get from this is very light so if you've got a few blemishes that you want to hide then you'll need to dab on a bit of concealer first before you apply 'the rebel'. It's not so light that it completely disappears into your skin though...you still get a healthy wash of colour, which on my skin just looks just like I'm having a good skin day.

The texture is just like a moisturiser and is surprisingly easy to blend out. With some other tinted moisturisers I've owned I've had to apply them with a brush to get an even coverage but with this I find applying it with my fingers is much easier. The 'lite' version does look like it has a yellowish tinge to it but once you've blended it out this disappears.

A plus point of 'You Rebel' is that it contains SPF 15, which is excellent for lazy people like me that often skip applying sunscreen before make up. On days when I'll be out in the sun all day then I still apply a higher factor sunscreen, but on a day where I'll just be popping in and out of the sun this works fine for me.

As it contains an SPF it does also mean that it contains Oxybenzone, which is a chemical ingredient contained in many sunscreens. While this has caused me no problems whatsoever, some people have been known to have allergic reactions to this chemical. If you currently have to use hypoallergenic sunscreen, or have had a reaction to sunscreen in the past, then I'd recommend doing a patch test first to ensure that you stay looking beautiful and blotch free. My sister has very sensitive skin and she was fine when I used her as a guinea pig, but I'd still advise you to test it first just to be on the safe side.

So now to that all important question...will this suit my skin? If you've got dry skin then this would definitely be a great choice for you as it's very moisturising and doesn't dry out your skin at all. If you're skin is more oily then you might want to test it out at a Benefit counter before you buy it as after a couple of hours wear it could leave your skin feeling a little bit greasy. I've got combination skin and tend to have dry cheeks and an oilier forehead and nose. I wear tinted moisturiser all year round and in the colder months this is perfect for my skin as it gives it a much needed moisture boost. In warmer weather though I'll apply a bit of primer underneath underneath just to the problem spots.

I get through quite a lot of tinted moisturiser as I find it more comfortable to wear than foundation. Even though I enjoy trying out other brands 'You Rebel' always has a permanent spot in my make up bag. I'm on my third tube of this now so it definitely ranks highly in my top 5. Both shades of You Rebel are priced at £23.50 and are available directly from Benefit and from all rebellious make up counters :)

Are you an all year round foundation kinda gal or do you switch to tinted moisturiser when the weather hots up? Also, what are your top tinted moisturiser recommendations?

xXx

The Tattoo Diaries - So you think you want ink?

2011-07-01T14:58:00.005+01:00

As I mentioned in my last post, after many years of being indecisive I'm finally going to be getting a new tattoo in the next few weeks! :) I could just show you the finished thing once it's all done, but where's the fun in that? Instead I thought I'd share the whole process with you from start to finish, as well as throwing in a few bits of advice along the way for those of you that might be thinking of getting one yourself.

I'm not heading back to see my tattooist again until the weekend so, as I haven't really got anything to show you at the moment, today's post is going to be all about the things you might need to think about if you're going to get a tattoo.

OK, so the very very first thing you are going to be thinking about when you decide you want a tattoo is what you are going to get. This is something that only you can decide on and you should never let your decision be swayed by someone else. I speak from experience here because the monstrosity that currently resides on my leg was chosen predominantly because my friends thought it looked cool! Errrr...it doesn't! Remember that it's going to be stuck on your body for life so think about what you want for a long time before you commit anything to ink.

A portrait from the ridiculously talented Bob Tyrell

For a lot of people this is the easiest part of the process. It could be something you've been thinking about for a long time or something could just pop into your head whilst you're sat in the bath. You could want something that just looks good (but is completely meaningless) or something to commerate the life of a loved one. If it's a tattoo to represent someone in particular then you've got lots of options. One of my friends had butterflies inked on her leg for each of her children, another had a portrait of his mother on his back when she passed away and another has his children's names on his arm. Anything goes!!

If you have an idea of something you like then spend a few hours looking online, in magazines, or even at a library, for a bit more inspiration. In my case I knew what I wanted, but I also knew that I wanted to put a different spin on it so that it would stand out from other similar tattoos. I started looking at different art styles online and came across some Art Nouveau and Art Deco pictures that I fell in love with. By adding a different style it instantly stands out and looks a bit more unique!

This is purely my opinion, but the only tattoo that I would stay clear of is one of your partners name. You might love 'Rob' now but will you still love him in five, ten, or fifteen years time?

Don't make the same mistake as Katie P! (source)

My mates unfortunate ex decided to have her name tattooed across his chest in large black lettering as a surprise for her. A year later they split up. To be honest the guy was a bit of a tool and stole stupid amounts of money from her, so the fact that he now has 'HAYLEY' permanantly inked on his chest is a constant source of amusement! :)

Depending on the design you've set your heart on then this could be quite a simple decision for you. You may have even decided on where you want the tattoo before you've actually decided on what you really want. Some designs will look good placed anywhere on the body, where as others might look perfect on your back but ridiculous on your foot. This is an area that your tattooist will be able to advise on and if they think you're preferred place won't work then they'll tell you. You need to make sure you're realistic about the design as well. If you want something quite detailed then you need to make sure you allow enough space for it. Trying to squash something really detailed into a tiny space just won't work. I remember a friend of mine moaning that she couldn't find a single tattooist in Birmingham to do a pin up girl tattoo for her. As it turned out she wanted it to be no bigger than three inches and she wanted it on the bridge of her foot!!! All of my friends with tattoos have advised me to listen to the tattoists advice on placement and if in doubt always go bigger! My tattoo is estimated to be about the size of a A4 piece of paper - it's big but that space will allow me to fit in everything I want and have the level of detail that I want.

When I had my first tattoo all I thought about was getting it done. I was like a bull in a china shop. I wanted a tattoo and I wanted one NOW!! I went to the first tattoo shop that I came across and the first tattooist that was free was the one who carried out the dirty deed. Now admittedly it was a small flash tattoo and it wasn't exactly complicated, but now I'm a bit older and wiser and this time I have researched (to the point of obsession) different shops and tattooists. A large number of artists will have a specific style that they specialise in, so when you're picking a tattooist or tattoo shop it's worth finding out if anyone specialises in the particular style you want. At the studio I chose one of the artists specialised in black and grey and the other one in colour. Either tattooist probably would have been able to do what I wanted, but if someone excels in one area then that person is probably the best to carry out the work.

The best way to decide on a tattooist is to look at their portfolio yourself. Don't just make your decision based on a mate saying that someone is good. They might be great, but if you don't like their style then it's not the right person for you. Also, if possible, try to actually meet the person who will be doing your tattoo before you actually commit to anything. When I was on my 'quest' for a tattooist I saw some amazing work but when I met the actual artist he turned out to be a complete and absolute arogant douchebag!! I wouldn't want to sit in the same room as him for more than 10 minutes let alone have him drawing on my thigh for a few hours.

Ahhh...the sordid topic of coin. The cost of a tattoo can be as little as £30 or cost as much as a small car, with the price varying depending on where you go, who you see and what you want. A small 'flash' design can cost around £40 and will be pretty quick and easy for your tattooist to do. If you want something more individual and unique then this is where the cost will start rising. I looked at a few different shops when I was trying to find the perfect place and the hourly rate ranged from £50 up to £100, with the general average being around £60/£70. Obviously the larger or more detailed your design is, then the longer it will take and the more it will cost. You need to make sure you can commit to having the whole thing done, so find out first a rough estimate of how much you will have to pay before you start having the work done. It's also really important that you don't make you decision on either design or studio based on price alone. If you are told that the tattoo you really want will cost £300 and you only have £200, then wait and save your money. It's not like you're shopping for car insurance where you need to find the cheapest deal possible. If you love the work of a tattooist and the design they have done for you then stick with them. If you compromise your design, or go to another tattooist just because they're cheap, you could end up bitterly disappointed.

Would you want to be stuck with this for life? (photo source)

A friend of a friend wanted a Japanese dragon and was told that, given what he wanted, it would cost him around £500. Instead of saving his pennies to get what he really wanted, he went to a notoriously dodgy shop and had the same (pah!!!) thing done for £150. Putting it polietely it is one of the worst tattoos that I have ever had the misfortune to lay my eyes on. The lines are wonky, the shading is terrible and most 10 year olds could probably produce a better drawing. Moral of the story...never compromise for the sake of a few pounds beacuse you'll be stuck with it for life.

In my case I also had to pay for a design to be drawn up. I had a good idea of what I wanted but lacked the artistic vision to create a design myself, so I went to the studio with my ideas, had a chat about what I wanted and then paid £20 to have a design created for me. A couple of people I've spoken to thought that this was a rip off, but the way I see it is that you can't expect a tattoo artist to spend his/her time designing something for you for nothing, especially if there's a chance that you could just say 'nah, don't like it' and walk away.

If you've got a pretty good idea about what you want, but you still need a bit of help or advice on the more technical bits of tattooing (will it hurt, how should I look after it, how long will it take to heal) then you can find lots of great information and advice in a variety of different places. There are hundreds of books and magazines that feature useful guides, but the easiest place to start is the good ole interweb. A lot of tattoo shops now have their own websites with FAQ's sections to answer all the most common questions, so have a look online to see if your chosen tattooist has a site. One of the most detailed FAQ's that I've come across is on the 'Body Garden Tattoo' site.

There can be a lot of conflicting advice online, so if you have a really specific question that you can't find a consistent answer for then just pop into your chosen studio for a chat. Staff at a good studio will always be happy to spend a few minutes having a chat with a potential customer to address any questions or concerns they might have.

So folks...that's just a few bits of basic advice that, based on my own decisions, I think might be useful to other people. The main thing to remember is always think through all of your decisions carefully and if it doesn't feel right for you then don't do it. Hopefully in my next post I might have some pictures for you!!! I'm off to the tattoo shop tomorrow so I'm really excited!

Disclaimer

I wish to state for the record that I am not an expert in the field of tattooing and all information provided by moi is merely my own knowledge or opinion. You might not agree with my opinions..if you don't then that's fine! I have not, nor have ever been a tattooist. My information mostly comes from my own experience, the experiences of my friends, tattooists I know/have known (some *cough cough* more intimately than others) and from general wordage found in books and on the web. If you want professional advice before getting a tattoo then seek out an experienced, fully trained tattooist. And remember folks...you've got to be 18 to get tattooed!

Being a bad blogger, tattoos, work and other random rambles!

2011-06-25T15:52:00.000+01:00

I have been a very bad blogger recently. A very VERY bad blogger! I've not been posting very often, I've not replied to all my comments and I've pretty much been AWOL on Twitter! Everything has been a bit crazy in my life over the past few weeks and my poor blog has taken a bit of a back seat.

Lucky ole me got called up for jury service. Even luckier...I had it for almost three weeks when it was only supposed to be two. By the time I got back to work it was the busiest time of year and everything was going crazy. I work for a University and from June to September we are running around like psychos trying to get everything done. My team's job in a nutshell (are you ready for this) is getting students module grades sorted, awarding them, checking that all the classifications are correct, then making sure any resit grades are added, then making sure those students get their awards, then sending out all the letters, then making sure all the graduation information is accurate, then checking who is coming to the graduation, then doing the graduations and when allllllllllll of that is done we get the new intake of students to look forward to. What a lot of jolly fun! If you hear me mumbling on Twitter, please just pat me on the head and point me in the direction of some rum! :)

As for the jury service...for those of you that have never had the good luck to be called up, it basically involves sitting around a lot, listening to posh barristers repeating themselves and praying for freedom for 7 hours a day. I guess it was quite interesting to find out how some of the more 'colourful' members of society live...who knew that taking heroin and having 30 convictions is considered normal!

It's not all been bad (phew) and I have managed to squeeze in some fun. Over the last 3 or 4 weeks I've been planning my new tattoo which, for someone as fussy as me, has been a very time consuming process! I was thinking about doing a series of blog posts on the whole process from start to finish with lots of pictures, tips and my general thoughts on the whole thing. It will probably be quite a big tattoo so it's definitely going to be ~~scary~~ an experience! Let me know if there's anything in particular you'd like to hear about! :)

Thanks for sticking with through this temporary lull...as soon as my brain has regained normal functions I'll soon get back into the swing of things!

xXx

Welcome to 'Sin City' - Lux de Ville Leopard Tote Bag

2011-06-22T11:11:00.000+01:00

There are many things that set my pulse racing...red lipstick, tattooed men, shoes, Japanese food and (most of all) handbags!!! Now I don't claim to own a ridiculously large number of handbags (more than 10 less than 100) but each and every one I buy is very carefully selected. I enjoy the thrill of the chase and will happily spend hour upon hour trailing the net in search of the perfect bag.

Over the last few months I have, to the great disgust of Mr Wedgie, developed a mild crush on Pauls Boutique bags. Yes, I know everyone and his dog has one and they are considered to be rather tacky, but they have leopard print lining and nautical themed designs!!! Like any aspiring rockabilly dame I have an unexplainable physical reaction whenever I see such things and I can't help myself! But...late one night whilst contemplating buying a PB bag, and thus facing the wrath of Mr Wedgie calling me a chav for ever more, I came across a brand called Lux de Ville. It was love at first sight!

This is the 'Sin City Motor Tote'!! It's rock n roll, is retro and it's LEOPARD PRINT!! Ahhh, be still my beating heart! I placed an order within seconds of spotting it and after an agonising wait (of two days) it finally arrived on my doorstep. Since the very moment that the packaging was torn away it has been permanently glued to my arm.

This is one of those deceptive bags that doesn't look all that big on the outside, but once opened becomes monumentally cavernous!! Mary Poppins' bag has nothing on this! Seriously though, you can cram a surprising about of stuff into one of these bad boys. You get a flat pocket at the front, a large main central compartment and a smaller zipped pocket on the inside of the bag. The size is perfect for me because I have a tendency to leave the house carrying pretty much everything but the kitchen sink. I like to be prepared for all eventualities - you never know when carrying 3 shades of red lipstick could end up being a total life saver! :)

In case you forget who made the bag in the first place, the lining is there to give to a helpful reminder!

Just like the Pauls Boutique bags you get a detachable charm which you can either leave on the bag or use as a keyring. There's none of your namby pamby girly fluffiness here though. Oh no...this is 100% pure Rock n' Roll. The charm consists of two large metal dice with card suits etched into each one.

I could have stopped there and been happy with just my bag, but being ~~a stationary fiend~~ me I had to have at least one matching accessory to go with it. So I got a shiny black notebook which will soon be covered in a load of pin up girl stickers!

I've got to admit that I am utterly in love with my new bag and I am already stalking the Lux de Ville website to plan my future few (and by few I mean 10 or 11) purchases! The one item that I've decided that I definitely can't live without is the train case. It is, without doubt, the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my entire life!! Ever!! Ever, ever...EVER! I try to limit myself to looking at it just once or twice a day online, but once pay day comes around it will be mine!! :)

Behold its beauty!!!!

There aren't that many UK stockists of Lux de Ville, but there is a good selection of styles available from Miss Fortune and Ozone Clothing, which is where I bought my bag from for £57.99. If you want to do some serious drooling over the entire collection then you can also head on over to the main Lux de Ville website for a spot of casual ~~perving~~ window shopping.

Do you play it safe and prefer more simple classic looking bags or have you been tempted over to 'Sin City'? :)

xXx

And now for something completely different...Roger and Gallet Fleur d'Osmanthus

2011-06-17T10:33:00.000+01:00

Chanel, Dior, DKNY, Ghost, Nina Ricci, Versace...we've all heard of these perfume brands but how many of you have heard of Roger & Gallet? Well I for one hadn't up until a month ago, so today may I present to you a review of my first ever Roger & Gallet fragrance - the Fleur d'Osmanthus Fresh Fragrant Water Spray.

Now, not being the most poetic of people when it comes to describing scents (I can just about manage 'Ooh that's nice' most of the time) I shall shall begin this review by imparting on you the more perfumed prose of the experts over at escentual .com :)

"A scent of a modern-day Eden, Fleur d'Osmanthus captures the rare and beautiful Osmanthus flower in full bloom

The elusive plant grows in the quiet hills of the Guilin Valley in China... across its terraced hills the Osmanthus plants thrive with their tiny clusters of apricot-coloured flowers. This riotous explosion of colour brings the serene gardens to life, while a cascade of gourmand floral notes capture the senses. Let the Fleur d'Osmanthus envelop you in utter happiness, and let your mind drift away to that small slice of Eden in the East."

And for those of you that might be wondering "What the heck is Osamanathanathus?". Here is the exotic little beauty...

Image Source

Lets get down to the nitty gritty. Here is what the perfume is made up of...

Top Notes: Mandarin Essential Oil, Orange Zest
Heart Notes: Osmanthus, Grapefruit Essential Oil, Neroli
Base Notes: Tonka Bean, Sandalwood, Benzoin Essential Oil

The first time I tested it out I was initially really impressed. It has a really subtle citrus smell that is soft and delicate rather than being sharp and tangy. As it warmed on my skin the other ingredients in the perfume started to shine through and after a short while it seemed to transform into a beautiful soft summery scent.

Although I really loved it 'on first spritz', I was concerned that such a delicate smell wouldn't last very long on me. Usually with a softer scent my skin has an uncanny ability to absorb it completely within an hour leaving no remaining traces whatsoever. I was actually really quite surprised with this though as it lasted well into the afternoon before I felt I needed to reapply it.

This is floral, summery and very feminine and a little goes a long way. I've never heard of Roger & Gallet before receiving this perfume to review, but after enjoying using this scent I'll definitely be investigating some of the other scents that are available. The range is quite impressive and includes Green Tea, Rose, Vanilla, Citron and my all time favourite scent of all...Ginger. As well as perfumes there are also matching soaps, shower gels and body lotions. Perfect for those of you who like to match top to toe! :)

'Roger & Gallet Fleur d'Osmanthus Fresh Fragrant Water Spray' is available from escentual.com - the 30ml bottle is £15 and the 100ml bottle is £30.

xXx

Red, Red and more Red - NYX 'Eros' Lipstick

2011-06-12T15:00:00.000+01:00

When it comes to lipsticks I have a teeny tiny obsession with anything red. I was doing a bit of make up organising this morning (great way to spend a Sunday morning) and every other lipstick was red. Matte reds, glossy reds, old reds, new reds...you name it, I probably had it! I seriously can't get enough of them!

To liven up what is turning out to be a very drab and rainy day, here is one of my newest and brightest reds. The very daring 'Eros' by NYX.

As with most NYX Round Lipsticks Eros is really highly pigmented and has great colour pay off.

Red lipsticks are often the worst offenders when it comes to being drying, but this applies very smoothly and has a really soft creamy texture.

The colour is definitely not for shy retiring wallflower types. It's like a shining beacon that will stand out for miles. It's a very very bright fire engine red with a slightly orange undertone.

You probably can't pick it out in the picture but it the slightest hit of golden shimmer in it. I usually avoid shimmery lipsticks like the plague, but this is so subtle that it's barely even noticeable. In fact I didn't even notice until I had a really good look in the mirror.

All in all I'd say that this is a great addition to my ever growing collection and costing only a couple of pounds it's great value for money. It's not a red that I'd wear every day, but it's a good one for a night out when I want something a bit brighter.

What do you think about rockin those red lips? Are you a red fanatic like me or is it something you only reserve for special occasions?

xXx

Being Nosy is Fun - An A to Z of me!

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

Photo Credit - Perry McKenna

Well everyone else has done this so I figured I might as well give it a go!! I read the lovely Liloo's A to Z post (which featured some very pretty pictures) at the weekend and I thought it would be a great way to pass away an hour before Dr Who started - for those of you that saw the episode last Saturday, OMG wasn't it amazing?? I would have posted this earlier but Blogger refused to play nice and kept messing up my formatting. So lets kick this thing off, starting with...

A. Age

Do I have to say? Let's just say I'm not in my 20's anymore. I still occasionally get asked for ID so buy booze so it's not all bad.

B. Bed size

Errrr...big? No idea but I think it's a double. In all honesty I probably need a king size as I like to sleep diagonally across the bed taking up as much room as possible. As you can imagine the other half loves this! :)

C. Chore you hate

Ironing!! I would rather wear creased clothing than spend 10 minutes of my life mucking about with an iron. They're far to much of a faff and I always burn myself on them!

D. Day

If I'm being really specific then that would be Christmas Day! I love Christmas dinner sooooooo much! Turkey and roast parsnips rock!! I was ill last Christmas so I'm looking forward to Christmas dinner already and it's only June!

E. Essential start to your day

I don't really have an essential start to weekdays, but at the weekend it's eggs benedict and a strong cup of tea.

F. Favorite colour

My two favourites colours (I couldn't possibly pick just one) are black and red. I could quite happily have an entire wardrobe filled with just black and red clothes! :)

G. Gold or Silver

Gold...but it would have to be white gold. I do wear traditional gold but it tends to be special jewellery that I've inherited.

H. Height

I'm a teeny smidge short of 6ft which I guess is fairy big for a bird.

I. Instruments

I've played a fair few to varying levels in my time - recorder, trumpet, baritone horn, clarinet, organ and the keyboard.

J. Job title

Student Office Assistant!

K. Kids

None currently but I'd like one at some point in the future.

L. Live

Wolverhampton which is in the Midlands. For those unfamiliar with this beautiful (hahahaha) city, it's about a 15 minute drive from Birmingham which is pretty handy as the Bullring is ace!

M. Mom’s name

Brenda or Mumsy

N. Nicknames

Wedgie, Wedger, Wedgewinder, Little Wedge, Bunter, Bogbot, Fooey

O. Overnight hospital stays

None so far!

P. Pet peeve

I have many but the first one that comes to mind is people with no manners. Particularly those who don't say thank you when you hold the door open for then. I like to shout say 'NO THANK YOOOOUUUUU!!!' at these ignorant people!

Q. Quote from a movie

Waaaaaay to hard to pick just one, so here's a few of my faves...

"Have you ever wondered whether there is more to life than being really, really, ridiculously good looking?" - Zoolander

"They're coming to get you Barbara" - Night of the Living Dead

"Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the Goblin City to take back the child that you have stolen. For my will is as strong as yours, and my kingdom is as great...you have no power over me!" - Labyrinth

"Beneath the clothes, we find a man... and beneath the man, we find his... nucleus" - Nacho Libre

"I can count to Potato" - The Ringer

R. Right or left handed

Right...although I eat like a left handed person would. This baffles my family who all say that I eat 'cack handed'. Randomly my other half is also right handed but eats like a leftie.

S. Siblings

One older sister

T. Time you wake up

Around 7:30am most mornings

U. Underwear

OK...why you need to know this I'm not quite sure. Black and anything as long as it's not huge granny pants or those g-stringy thongy things.

V. Vegetables you dislike

I don't actually dislike any veggies, but I don't see the point of courgettes and fennel.

W. What makes you run late

Not being able to find my glasses, car keys, house keys, bag, money, bank cards. I have a habit of putting things in safe places that I'll remember...and then forgetting where that place is!

X. X-Rays you've had

My feet (several times most notably when a massive concrete slab was dropped on my tootsies), my ankles, my forearm, my face and my elbow. The elbow one was particularly fun because the x-ray guy forced my arm into an agonising position causing me to black out with pain!

Y. Yummy food you make

Lasagne (from a secret family recipe), mascarpone cheesecake, Eton mess and fish pie!! Mr Wedgie is an amazing cook so he is the main 'yummy food' maker in our house but I try my best! The one thing I really want to learn how to make is proper Sicilian canolli!! Nom nom noms!! :)

Z. Zoo

I LOVE Zoos!!! When I lived in Bristol I was a 15 minute walk from the zoo and I'd go all the time! Me and the Red Panda were like best friends after two years of visits! lol

So there you go folks, I hope you found this insight into my life truly...errrr...gripping stuff! lol I might not be posting that much this week as a combination of jury duty and crazy work times means my blogging mojo has temporarily left the building. I'll be back soon though with some really amazing purchases that I can't wait to share with you!

xXx

My New 'Mistress'!! ;)

2011-06-04T13:04:00.000+01:00

Wow there...now calm down for just a second! Don't get too excited folks! I've not left Mr Wedgie for a Go Go Dancer. There is a new love in my life though and that would be the very beautiful 'Mistress' intense lipgloss from Illamasqua.

Illamasqua is one of those brands that I always seem to have problems with. Not because I don't like their products (oh no no no!!) but because they have a tendency to never stay in my possession for very long. An 'Ooh that's pretty can I borrow your lipstick?' here and a 'I'll give it you straight back' there, and my little collection has spread itself across the Midlands never to return. Needless to say I was very happy when I won this in Caroline 'The Beauty Mouth' Hirons' competition, so a HUGE thank you to Caroline for that.

Mistress is described as being a bright orange coral and when they say bright they mean bright. When I squeezed the first little blob of product out of the tube there was a lot of 'oohing' and 'ahhing'.

I'm usually rather wary of coral toned products because they have a tendency to make me look a little washed out and haggy. Bright reds and pinks always seem to look fine on me but coral is usually a huge no go colour. You can breathe a sign of relief though as this is definitely not one of those scary corals that makes me want to cower behind the sofa.

Like all of Illamasqua's Intense lipglosses it's very pigmented and the colour in the tube is the colour that you get on your lips. My big pet peeve with glosses is that so often they can look beautiful in the tube, but once on just look wishy washy and crap.

Top - one swipe straight from the tube

Bottom - a lighter swipe blended out

It applies smoothly and once on lasts for a surprisingly long time. The glossy look (on average) wears off after an hour or so, but you lips will still have a hint of colour for a good four or five hours afterwards. When it does start fading it transforms into a gorgeous subtle pinky tone which I love just as much as the super bright coral colour.

This is definitely going to be something I constantly reach for over the Summer months and even if the few months of Summer that we get here in the UK are drab and rainy this will definitely help me brighten up the dullest of days. You can find these gorgeous glosses online, in all of the sexiest department stores and direct from Illamasqua themselves.

I've only got a couple of these fabulous glosses...are there any colours that you think I absolutely must add to my collection?

xXx

Girl meets NYX...and gets carried away!

2011-05-25T12:09:00.000+01:00

This is what happens when one gal arms herself with a credit card and goes browsing for NYX lipstick swatches....

Don't they look all look pretty? :)

I may have got a little bit carried away here folks. Would you believe me if I said that I initially only intended to get a couple not *cough cough* 22!!! I started looking at swatches and before you know it my short list turned into an epic essay. My list was actually much much bigger, but I just picked out my top favourites for now. See...I can be restrained sometimes!!!! lol

Left to right - Narcissus (LSS505), Chaos (LSS511), LaLa (LSS612), Sierra (LSS568), Castle (LSS601), Snow White (LSS569), Thalia (LSS529), Paris (LSS620), B52 (LSS565), Herede (LSS538), Summer Love (LSS617)

Left to Right - Eros (LSS536), Fig, (LSS640), Tea Rose (LSS628), Heather (LSS623), Spell Bound (LSS644), Black Cherry (LSS575), Milan (LSS621) Pumpkin Pie (LSS630), Power (LSS629), Flower (LSS619), Electra (LSS513)

You can buy these from the UK NYX online store, but I ordered mine from 3 other stockists...

www.cocktailcosmetics.co.uk

www.love-makeup.co.uk/

and of course good ole eBay

There will probably be quite a few posts coming up on these soon, so keep your eyes peeled for that. If there's a particular colour that you're dying to see then let me know and I'll try to get it swatched sooner for you.

Now...where did I put the list of the eye pencils that I want?!? ;)

xXx

Whatcha been doin Wedgie??

2011-05-24T14:19:00.001+01:00

Last weekend was an action packed fun filled two days, so I thought I'd share with you all of the fun things I got up to via the power of pictures! I'm sure you'll no doubt all be thrilled and enthralled by my antics (hahahaha) so here we go...

1. Scoffing sweeties!!

I've rediscovered an AWESOME sweet shop in Birmingham called 'Cyber Candy' that specialises in sweet treats from across the globe. I could very VERY easily have gotten completely carried away but I managed to restrain myself and only managed to spend £8! I bought some Cinnamon Mentos, a few packets of Big Red (I LOVE this stuff sooooo much) and enough Jolly Ranchers to keep me going for...errrr...a few days. Of course because I'm so lovely I also bought an Australian Cadburys 'Furry Friends' bar for my other half because I always joke that he looks just like a grumpy Tasmanian Devil! I know, I know...I'm so Kind! :) lol

Mr Wedgie was very upset that he only got one chocolate bar!

2. Visiting tattoo parlours

Image Credit

I have mentioned this before, but I have a very small but very bad tattoo that I want disguising. After being indecisive for an obscenely long period of time I have finally decided on the cover up design that I want and found the artist that I want to do it. It's only taken 10 years folks! lol

The lucky tattooist is Cesar De Cesaro who is based at Body Garden Tattoos in Birmingham. My other half walks past the studio every morning on the way to work so we both thought we'd pop in and have a look at the weekend. We talked placement and design, and once I've gathered together some pictures and solid ideas about precisely what I want I'll be going back so he can draw up a design! Hopefully this will take me a few weeks rather than a few years as I've now got a pretty good idea of what I want!

3. My nephews 4th birthday

My small, but very VERY loud, nephew was 4 on Sunday!! Celebrations included reading his new book 'Little Stinker' several times, eating cake and playing 'aeroplanes, boats, horses and tanks' very loudly! :)

A quiet moment before chaos and screaming resumes!

4. Colour B4(ing)

I spent most on Sunday morning rubbing and rinsing to try and remove the remains of yet another evil dark hair dye. I've used this stuff before (read all about that here) but as I'm incapable of learning my lesson first time round, I started using dark hair dye again and my luscious lock were once again starting to look rubbish. The results are much better than before so it was all worth it in the end.

5. Endlessly searching for dresses

I dragged the other half around Birmingham city centre for hours on Saturday, much to his great pleasure, so that I could find a dress for a snazzy works doo. After 3 or 4 hours I worked out that all the dresses I really liked were from Ted Baker. Success!! Unfortunately after an additional 2 hours I realised that all the ones I liked were in the £200/£300 price range! RATS!! Fear not dear readers...when I got home I had a bit of a nosey on the Ted Baker website and in the outlet section I found this beauty which had been reduced by almost 50%!!! HOORAH!! Now I just need to find accessories! :)

So that was my weekend of fun!! Hope you have a great time as well.

xXx

A cautionary tale about why you should ALWAYS read instructions first!

2011-05-19T11:14:00.005+01:00

Instead of a normal review where I just tell you what something looks like and if it's any good, I thought I'd try something a bit different. Today will be part review (and ramble) and part warning. The product is the Deep Cleansing Mask from Liz Earle and the warning??

Always read the instructions before you use a product!!!

"Is that it???" you all cry out in horror! It seems pretty obvious doesn't it? But how many of you have bought a product and in a excited 'I've got something new' frenzy, slapped it all over your face/body/err other?? (ooh err) and not bothered to look at all that teeny tiny boring information on the box first? When it comes to technology I am an avid instruction fan. I get everything out of the box, check everything is there, check it all looks OK, read the instructions several times and only then will I turn it on and use it. I kid yee not...it took me 3 hours from the moment I actually opened the box of my iPhone for me to turn the damn thing on!!!

So, over a month ago a little box landed in my garden (because my postman sometimes likes to sign for parcels himself and then throw them over my fence) and inside was the Liz Earle Deep Cleansing Mask Starter Kit. The kit consists of a 75ml tube of product and two sponges.

I read the front of the bottle, which confirmed (as suspected) that it was indeed a face mask, the small portion of text on the back of the tube that said 'leave on for 5-10 minutes' and off I went fully armed with all the knowledge I needed to use the product. What a silly Wedgie. I slathered it all over my face and sat waiting for miracles to happen. My cheeks went a little tingly, but that's not usually anything to worry about with face masks. Then my cheeks felt a bit tight which again is not usually something to worry about. Finally it came to wiping it all off and when I looked up into the mirror I was presented with a reflection that looked a little like this...

Image from weheartit

Don't worry, it didn't turn me yellow...but I did have incredibly red cheeks and the same confused expression on my face. My poor cheeks were red and blotchy and not at all happy that I had subjected them to 10 minutes of hell. So there was me not thinking the best of this and wondering which member of my family I could give it to until...

Mr Wedgie: What's this green stuff?

Me: Face mask...it made me look like a blotchy Pikachu!!

Mr Wedgie: Why don't you just use it on the oily bits like it says on the back then?

Me - Errrrr!! Huh?

You see...I have particularly evil combination skin and tend to have dry sensitive cheeks and a very oily T-Zone. Had I read the instructions on the tube I would have seen the words 'Use as often as needed; as an all over treatment or on specific blemishes or problem areas' and 'Not suitable for sensitive skin'. Facepalm moment! I had just bodged it all over my face when really I should have a teeny bit more selective about where I put it. So I tried it again...and actually realised that this did work and I did like it.

It's a really light mask, but you don't actually need to use a lot to get decent layer of coverage. This time I applied it just to my oily bits (forehead, nose and chin) and avoided my cheeks completely.

After 10 minutes my greasy bits were oil free, smoother and my pores looked much better. Success at last!! Considering that I initially hated this product I now think that it actually does a pretty decent job. If you've got really oily skin then this would work brilliantly for you. If like me you've got combination skin with some sensitive areas then this would be great for just your problem areas. If you've got sensitive skin, or have skin that is prone to reacting to certain skincare products, then I would avoid it completely.

The mask is available from Liz Earle with prices starting from £4.85 for a 15ml trial size.

So time to fess up...have you ever had any minor mishaps or major catastrophes because you didn't read the instructions first?

xXx

Dare I say the word haul??

2011-05-17T13:50:00.001+01:00

I don't do hauls very often. In fact I think I've only ever done a couple in the year and a bit that I've been blogging. So dear readers, just for a change here is the swag that I have accumulated in the last couple of weeks! :)

I've done quite well for myself really, but if anyone asks (like my mother or my other half) then it all came from the pound shop...on buy one get one free!! ;)

Hair Swag

Tigi 'Bed Head' Self Absorbed shampoo

Lee Stafford Hair Growth Treatment

Scott Cornwall Colour B4 Extra

Loreal Paris Sublime Mousse Permanent Dye in shade 60 (Pure Light Brown)

Ojon Resorative Hair Treatment

I'm on a bit of a mission to improve the current sorry state of my hair. While Boots were having a 3 for 2 on haircare products I thought I'd stock up. I've gone back to the trusty old Colour B4 to get rid of the colour build up and then once my hair has recovered I'm going to dye it a lighter shade. Inbeween all this stripping and dying I'll be using the Lee Stafford treatment which came highly recommended by the lovely Rosalyn at Primp and Preen. I'm also trying out the Ojon Resorative Hair Treatment which the equally lovely Georgie sent me to try out after I had a good old whinge on Twitter about how rubbish my hair was. I'm still scared of the smell but so other than that I'm VERY impressed...that will definitely get it's own post!

Book Swag

Angelology - Danielle Trussoni

I Am Number Four - Pittacus Lore

The Crimson Petal and the White - Michel Faber

I've been called up for jury duty! Some people have told me that it's really interesting and I'll love it, where as others have said it was the most boring two weeks of their life. To ensure I am fully prepared to cope with potential boredom I have stocked up on a few books! Being the stationary lover that I am I also got some new Moleskine notebooks. I needed them because....errrr...because...the woman in the shope made me buy them! ;)

Skin Swag

Sanctuary Polishing Hot Cloth Cleanser

Sanctuary Pore Refining Toner

Body Shop Shea Body Butter

Figs and Rouge 'Rambling Rose' Lip Balm

Dark Circle Reducer Eye Patches

Deep Cleansing Pore Strips

I did particulary well with the skin swag! The two sanctuary products were bought with those Boots '£5 off skincare' vouchers, the Body Shop body butter was a magazine freebie and the eye patches and pore strips were only £1 each from my local warehouse store 'Hooty's'! Having sucessfully managed to finish a whole lipbalm I thought I'd treat myself to a new one and the packaging for the Figs and Rouge one suckered me in because it's so girly and kitsch.

Nail Swag

7 Way Nail Block

Sally Hansen Manicure Clean-Up Stick

Barry M Nail Polish in Coral and Bright Pink

My nails, like my hair, are having another toddler fit so they're getting a bit of extra TLC at the moment as well. My old 5 in 1 nail buffer died a death so I've got a new 7 in one buffer from Boots...I'm not quite sure what the 7 sections do yet (7 bits seems a bit excessive) but it's curved so it should make it easier to use. As I am very envious of Liloo's super neat and tidy nails (see pictures to make you jealous here) I got myself a nail polish remover pen (another £1 bargin from Hooty's) to try and make my messy polish application look a bit neater. And as for the nail polish...well that was bought because I needed it! :)

So that's it folks....that was a rare Ms Wedgie haul. They'll probably be a few individual reviews on some of these products if they are deemed blog worthy, but if there's anything that you're particulary interested in then let me know and it will definitely make it onto the list.

xXx

It comes from a land down under - Australian Organics Shampoo

2011-05-14T17:06:00.000+01:00

I'm going to get straight to the point today. My hair is knackered!! It's dry, frizzy, overloaded with product and dye and you only have to breath on it at the moment and it will break. A military style operation has now been launched. One of the first things I thought I'd try was a shampoo that didn't contain all the nasty chemicals that are meant to make your hair shinier than a robot's derrière. The lucky shampoo to form the first wave of my 'attack on evil hair' is Australian Organics Hydra Stabilizing Shampoo for Normal Hair.

What they say...

'Suitable for normal hair types, this gentle ph balanced shampoo is formulated with wheat proteins, 6 provitamins, organic plant extracts and pure essential oils. Stabilises moisture levels as it cleanses and nourishes the hair and scalp. Salon developed and tested to meet and exceed professional standards. A unique formulation that gives your hair exceptionally improved appearance, condition and shine.'

Before I even tried this shampoo for the first time it was already looking good on paper in comparison to the last shampoo that sat in my shower. It contains no synthetic colour or fragrance, no PEG's (Polyethylene Gylcols), no parabens and very importantly it is also not tested on animals.

The actual product itself has a lovely lime and lavender scent which smells really fresh, clean and natural rather than being strong and synthetic. In terms of cleaning power it faired pretty well with my hair but unfortunately it didn't do so well with the other half's. My hair is medium thickness and it was left feeling soft and clean. Mr Wedgie on the other hand has thick curly hair and no matter how much he used it never left his hair feeling completely clean. I don't necessarily think that this means that the shampoo doesn't do it's job...it's just best suited to fine to medium hair rather than thick hair.

One thing that I did find a bit odd about the shampoo was that it seemed to have quite a watery consistency. Now I'm not 100% sure if it was supposed to be like that or whether I just bought a duff one. One of my friends said that she used it and didn't think it was watery, while another friend reckons that all organic shampoos are more watery in consistancy then their regular chemical filled cousins. I'm new to organic paraben free shampoos so if any of you guys can shed any light on my confusion that would be great.

Overall I would give this a slightly wonky thumbs up! I liked the way it made my hair feel and despite it's slightly watery consistency I would still repurchase it. I wouldn't recommend it if your hair is fairly coarse or thick as it might not do the best job of thoroughly cleaning your luscious locks. If your hair is fine to medium though it should work just fine. Another thing worth mentioning is that Mr Wedgie has a very sensitive scalp and pretty much everything makes it dry and itchy. Even though it didn't make his thick mop of hair feel clean, it didn't make his scalp itchy. For this it gets a big thumbs up.

There are few different products in the range which I will definitely be looking out for. They all contain exotic sounding ingredients like Desert Peach, Lemon Aspen and Kakadu Plum...I have no idea what they are but they sound very tasty! :) I bought mine for around £4 from Waitrose but they are also available from Holland & Barrett and John Lewis.

Do you prefer to use more natural shampoos with fewer chemicals or are you not concerned about the ingredients as long as it does the job?

xXx

Give and Make Up...they don't want your money honey, they want your scrub!

2011-05-10T10:56:00.000+01:00

A few weeks ago I mentioned a great cause called 'Give and Makeup' and I'm back today just to give you another reminder about it. For those of you that haven't heard of it before, Give and Makeup is a non-profit initiative that supports Refuge and Womens Aid, two amazing charities that help women and children that have suffered domestic abuse. Their aim is to gather unwanted toiletries and cosmetics so that they can be passed on to women and children who really really need them.

I hope that you are lucky enough never to have experienced domestic violence yourself. If you haven't then chances are that will know someone who has. That quiet women who lives down the street, one of the moms who you chat to at the school gate, your work colleague, even your best friend. Domestic violence is everywhere. I myself have never directly experienced it but one of my best friends has. She was brave enough to get away from a man who beat her, belittled her and verbally abused her. When she walked away she had nothing apart from the clothes on her back, a couple of pounds in her pocket and a few broken ribs.

Everyday items like makeup and toiletries are the last things you would think about when you make that brave decision to get out and this is what Give and Makeup want to give back. It might not seem like a big thing, but for someone who has nothing a bottle of shampoo and some shower gel will be much needed and very much appreciated. All of the things that Give and Makeup need (you can find the list here) are all items we have sitting around at home. After a few hours of searching though mine and my sister's house this is what I came up with...

In my shoe box I've got items that were sent for review that have barely been touched, magazine freebies, items bought on 3 for 2 offers that have lain unloved in my bathroom cupboard, hair dye that I've changed my mind about, things I have bought and just don't like and even a few things that I am horribly allergic to! Just because you don't want something doesn't mean that someone else wouldn't love it.

It would be fantastic if you could spend a little bit of time having a look through your cupboards to see what you can find. This is a great way to support a very worthy cause and all it will cost you is a few pounds for postage.

For more information on how you can help then all you you need to do is head over to http://www.giveandmakeup.com/

xXx

Calling all vintage fashion fanatics!

2011-05-09T12:34:00.000+01:00

Some men play it safe and go for perfume, flowers and chocolates for their 'womans' birthday presents. Over the last 5 years my other half has developed an uncanny knack of buying me the most amazing books. I have definitely got him trained well! ;) This year he's picked another winner and for my birthday a few weeks ago he gave me this gorgeous book on vintage fashion.

If you're a interested in vintage style and fashion then this book will be right up your street. 'Vintage Fashion' starts at the beginning of the twentieth century and covers each decade by focusing on all of the key trends to have emerged, from the Flapper dress through to 80's streetwear. The book contains beautiful photographs of all the key looks and also provides a lot of really interesting historical and cultural information about the decade and its styles. Once you've finished drooling over all of the amazing pictures there is also a really useful guide to buying vintage clothing with a list of clothing museums, stores and organisations.

There are hundreds of great photographs but here are just a few of my favourites...

This book has really rekindled my interest in vintage fashion (especially from the 1950's) and ever since I started reading it I've been searching for stores that sell both old and new vintage trends. There's some great stores out there like Dollydagger and Get Cutie...but if you know of any other good ones then you'll have to let me know! :)

'Vintage Fashion' is from Carlton Books and is available online and in all good book stores.

xXx

Funny Friday - Baby Bieber and some very 'Bad Lip-Reading' :)

2011-05-06T09:37:00.001+01:00

My lovely other half has three very interesting hobbies...

1. Playing on one of his many guitars

2. Cooking

3. Watching daft videos on YouTube

Mwah hah hah ha ha! :)

Image credit

Today (as a break from the usual beauty related posts) I would like to share with you the latest find from Mr Wedgie...the side splittingly funny 'Bad Lip-Reading' channel on YouTube. I could explain what it's all about, or you could just watch...

May I present to you 'Hot Jumping Beans' by Justin Bieber

Or if Bieber isn't your thing, how about 'Everybody Poops' by The Black Eyed Peas? Advance apologies now if you start singing this at work! :)

Hope I've managed to put a little smile on your face! :)

xXx

My Precious - Olympus PEN E-PL1

2011-05-04T15:16:00.000+01:00

I've been meaning to show you my blogging camera for a while now, but it's one of those posts that always seems to go to the bottom of the pile. So finally here it is...my beautiful new(ish) black Olympus PEN E-PL1 camera.

All in all I probably spent about 3 months trying to decide which camera to get. The main question I pondered over was 'should I save my money and get another point and shoot or should I save my pennies and get a massive great big swanky DLSR?' After agonising over this for a very VERY long time I eventually decided to get neither (typical 'woman' decision according to my other half! lol) and I got an in-between compact system 'Micro Four Thirds' camera instead.

You can change the lenses like you do with a DLSR but the camera body is a lot smaller and more compact. Although the DLSR's were very tempting I just felt that they were a bit to large for me to carry around everywhere. As my Dad always used to say "the best camera is the one that's with you".

I've been using the camera for almost 5 months and even now I'm still getting used to all the settings. Like a DLSR it has a lot of fancy schmancy sophisticated settings, but it's still really easy to get beautiful shots just using the 'Auto' setting. It's definitely a step up from it's predecessor...my tiny little Fuji Z20fd.

In the future I think I'll definitely make an investment and get a larger DLSR camera. In the meantime though my Olympus PEN is a great step up to help me get accustomed to all the different settings I'll need to master in order to get the most out of a more expensive DLSR.

If you want more info on Olympus PEN cameras there's loads of snazzy stuff on their website or if you're thinking of investing in any kind of new camera then the 'Photography Blog' and 'What Digital Camera.com' are both great sources for in depth camera reviews.

What camera to you use? Are you a DLSR maestro to you prefer to use a smaller camera?

xXx

A very British bag - The Cambridge Satchel Company

2011-05-02T12:57:00.000+01:00

Since the birth of the beautiful Mulberry 'Alexa' satchel the whole world has gone satchel crazy. Unfortunately not many of us have the kind of budget to grab one of these beauties. You know what though, there's no need to worry because there is a bag out there that is *gasp* even better. That bag is a 'Cambridge Satchel'.

Here's my beautiful purple 13" satchel which I treated myself to last year.

I first discovered 'The Cambridge Satchel Company' a few years ago when I was looking for an old school satchel like my friend's lovely old vintage bag. I lusted after them for a couple of years, but it was only when I clapped eyes on this purple beauty last that I decided to unleash my credit card.

Each satchel is beautifully made from thick high quality leather and has a large main compartment and a smaller front pocket. They have two front buckles to securely fasten the bag and a long adjustable buckled strap.

The strap loops at the sides of the bag are perfect for attaching charms so that you can personalise your satchel and, being the big kid that I am, I've attached a few fluffy charms.

I absolutely love my bag and now I've got one I can't wait to get more. They might be more expensive than some similar bags on the high street but they will last you a lifetime and you'll definitely get a lot of compliments! :)

You can buy a variety of different sizes from the 11" handbag sized satchel right up to a laptop sized 15" bag. Prices start from £74 and you can choose from of a wide range of colours, including the gorgeous new fluorescent shades. If you're not too cool to look like you're going back to school, then check out the range of bags at The Cambridge Satchel Company.

xXx

Giveaway winners!!!!

2011-04-28T11:33:00.000+01:00

Right folks!! The time has finally come for me to announce the winners of 'Ms Wedgie's Fantabulous Giveaway Extravaganza'. I was completely overwhelmed by the number of entries and it's took a lot longer than I thought it would to get all the valid entries into some kind of order. I did originally collate them all on a beautiful spreadsheet and was planning on using random.org to pick a winner, but a technical hitch (me not pressing save) but the kibosh on that plan.

Anyway...we are now using the old fashioned, tried and tested 'name out of a (cowboy) hat' method!

From over 180 entries the name that was picked out (by my mother) and the winner of the grand prize is.....................

CONGRATULATIONS KONNI!!!!!!!!

I'll be sending you an e-mail shortly! :)

Moving on now to the winner of the 'Best Nickname' prize.

There were a lot of really great nicknames and we had a really hard time picking a winner. Me, my other half (Michael) and my best mate (Ruby) whittled all the entries down to shortlist of around 20 contenders. For it to be 100% fair I handed over the final round of judging to my mate and other half. I felt that it would be fairer all round to let these none bloggers and none tweeters choose the winner.

After over an hour of arguing and debating (and quite a lot of wine)...it proved to be too darn difficult for them to choose just one. They were both refusing to back down on their favourites, so to solve the bickering there is no longer now one winner...but two!!!!! :)

And here they are...

WINNER 1

Jane from Modesty Brown aka 'Marmot'

And here's Jane's entry...

This one was Ruby's instant favourite as soon as she read it because of the way the nickname came about and also the way in which Jane told the story. She also thought that calling somebody marmot was "so daft that it borders on sheer genius".

WINNER 2

Sultry Red aka 'Crumblestein'

And here's Ms Red's entry...

This one was Michael's favourite. The reason why? Well, it's because it made him titter like a little schoolgirl for hours. For some reason he found the words 'Crumble' and 'Crublestein' absolutely hilarious...which explains a lot because he calls me 'Crumb Bum' and then laughs at how funny he is. He's very easily amused bless him! lol

Congratulations to Ms Red and Modesty Brown! An e-mail is on its way to both of you and I'm keeping your prizes a secret for now so it's more of a surprise when you get them.

Thank you so much for all of your entries. I hope you've all had as much fun as I've had reading them all. I'll leave you with some honorable mentions of some of our other favourites...

Rosalyn from Primp and Preen who (according to her other half) is a 'sausage pea'! Why? Nobody knows!

Hannah from Betwixt Beauty who is also a bit meaty and is either sausageface or sausagehead

Michelle from Made by Littlefoot who is a little bit of a muppet

Laura Wheat from So Far So Chic who has so many shoes in her collection that her friends call wheatfeet

And finally...

Georgina whose family very kindly pronounce her name with an 'eye-na' (like vagina) at the end instead of an 'ee-na' (like Gina)

xXx

A Yankee Candle Summer Haul!!

2011-04-27T15:48:00.000+01:00

I'm a creature of habit and every time the season changes I develop an all consuming urge (which is driven by an excuse to shop) to update my candle stash with new smells. Here's my latest little Summer haul which is filled with lots of fruity and flowery flavours.

I went a bit crazy and bought over 20 Yankee Candle samplers!!! My local outlet store (Boundary Mill) sells them for a bargainous 77p each and on top of that I also had a 10% off voucher. Here are the 10 different flavours I chose...

L to R - Fresh Cut Roses, Sweet Strawberry, Mango Peach Salsa, Vanilla Lime, Vanilla Cupcake

L to R - Orchard Pear, Kiwi Berries, Garden Sweet Pea, Tropical Fruit, Cherry Blossom

All of them smell absolutely amazing but if I had to pick just a few to recommend as my top 3 Summer smells then I'd go for Mango Peach Salsa, Fresh Cut Roses and Kiwi Berries.

What are your all time favourite Summer candle smells? Are there any amazing ones that I'm missing out on?

xXx

The unbelievable has finally happened to the wasteful Ms Wedgie!

2011-04-26T11:09:00.001+01:00

That's right folks. Today something truly amazing has happened.

Image source - weheartit

I never thought it would come, but this momentous day has finally arrived. I have finally managed to finish an entire lip balm!!!!

Look...it's all gone!

OK so I know this is something rather silly to be proud of, but I have honestly never managed to completely finish an entire lip balm. In all of my 30ish years this small task has never before been accomplished. I've bought many lip balms over the years but I've always done the same thing every time...

1. Buy lip balm

2. LOVE the lip balm

3. Use the lip balm every day

4. Week later...become bored with lip balm

5. Lip balm becomes buried in bottom of bag and starts attracting fluff

6. BUY NEW LIP BALM!!!

And so this pattern repeats itself again and again...until recently! I decided to see if I could use a whole lip balm and not even contemplate buying a new one until every last scrap has been used. It took a few months and I nearly caved on many occasions, but I finally did it!

So...this little experiment has got me thinking. How many of us get into the habit of constantly buying the same type of products when we never actually finish anything? We buy something, love it, and then the second something new catches our eye we ditch the old one in favour of a new 'must have' product. We get into this cycle of buying but never finishing and then eventually throwing half used products away because they're old or out of date. Go and have a quick peek in your beauty cave. Truthfully, have you got a cupboard filled with 3 or 4 half used face washes, body butters and (gasp) lip balms? Is there a mini mountain of half empty bottles lurking at the back all covered in dust?

When I first started blogging I was obsessed with buying and trying as many new things as possible and that meant that unused products were starting to pile up everywhere. Over the past few months I've really had to tighten those purse strings and all those products are now slowly being used up. I thought I'd hate this process but secretly I've been finding it a lot of fun. Every empty bottle means I can treat myself to something new. What I now find myself doing is reading lots of blog posts and reviews and making a note of all the products I like the look of...then when I need something new I've already got a handy list of replacement products to choose from. I've also got to add that this note making process is really fun to do if like me you LOVE writing (and rewriting) lists! :)

Have you got any shameful stockpiling secrets you'd like to share or are you a closet hoarder?

xXx

My BIG new addiction - Boots Extracts Body Wash!!

2011-04-22T09:36:00.000+01:00

WARNING - THE PRODUCT YOU ARE ABOUT TO READ ABOUT IS HIGHLY ADDICTIVE!

When shopping for essentials like shower gel and body wash I usually spend my money in one of two ways. I either buy cheap supermarket 'what ever is on offer' products or the more expensive coveted products that are used very carefully and sparingly - I don't really go for that somewhere in-between range of products. When my friend said she used a Boots body wash that smelled amazing and cost around £4 I wasn't all that excited...not cheap enough for everyday and not expensive enough to be a luxury treat. She raved about it for months and it's only when she bought me some for my birthday that I finally tried it.

Ladies and gentlemen. May I present to you a product that I now consider to be more addictive than heroin...'Boots Extracts Brazil Nut Body Wash'!!

OK so I might be exaggerating slightly, but this is one seriously addictive smelling tube of loveliness. How could I not have been made aware of its greatness sooner? I've heard other bloggers mention it, but when you look at the packaging it doesn't look very exciting does it? I've walked past this range of products so many times and now I feel like such a fool!! I've been missing out on months of blissful sniffing!

What does it smell like?? Ahhhhh...it is divine. Like cake mix from the gods! It has a rich, luxurious, sweet, buttery, honey and vanilla infused cake mix kind of smell. I had one sniff I was instantly hooked. It was quickly passed round all my mates and everyone had exactly the same 'oh my goodness' reaction...even the guys liked it!!!

Now often with products like this, they smell great in the tube but are completely useless in the shower. I'm happy to say that this is not one of those offenders. It's rich and creamy and you get a really luxurious thick lather that will leave your skin feeling soft and smooth. That lovely smell doesn't disappear straight away either and you will still be able to smell it on your skin a few hours later. As an added bonus it also contains Fairtrade ingredients, so that's an additional thumbs up.

As with any new obsession, I had to go and check out the rest of the range and as a result I am now the proud owner of these...

I'm saving these two until I've finished my brazil nut one, but they both smell just as amazing...especially the mango one which is really fruity and summery.

These 200ml tubes are all £4.19 each and there is also a range of body butters. As I'm trying to save money for a wedding I had to take a few deep breaths, calm down, and stop myself from going completely crazy! :)

Have you tried this range or have you recently discovered any products that have made you think 'why the heck haven't I tried this sooner!?!'

xXx

A Summer scent...and some Summer snaps! :)

2011-04-20T12:26:00.000+01:00

We all have that epic (and in my case often stressful) wardrobe switch around when the warmer weather eventually reaches the cold shores of Britain. We pack away our comfy jumpers and whip out Summer dresses and shorts. Well...for me it's also time to pack away those heavy wintery perfumes and break out the light summery scents. The latest smell to waft its way into my life is 'A Scent' by Issy Miyake. Over the years I've tried many different Issy Miyake perfumes, so when I was asked to give this one a try I was curious to see whether it would like it as much as the others.

Now...accurately describing a perfume is always a very difficult thing to do. A scent will develop if different ways on different people and what can last all day on one person, will only seem to last a few hours on somebody else. It also doesn't help that I lack the ability to use beautifully poetic language (I blame my Black Country upbringing for that) so, before my clumsy review begins, here's what the clever perfume chaps have to say....

'A fresh floral and woody Eau De Toilette. A unique fragrance from natures essentials: leaves, flowers and wood. Fresh notes of Hyacinth and Galbanum provide the fragrance with a green, floral heart, enhanced by uplifting Verbana and a hint of Jasmine'

Initially I thought that this smelled quite strong and at first I wasn't sure whether I would like it. I am a diehard L'Eau d'Issy fan and this is a very different type of scent - L'Eau d'Issy is warm and quite rosy, where as this is much leafier, fresher and greener. After a few minutes the smell seemed to change and even out as it warmed up on my skin. It became more subtle, balanced and the intial strong tangy leafy green smell turned into a lovely woodier scent.

In terms of lastability this fared better than I thought it would. On average the smell would start fading around lunchtime if I applied it at around 8 in the morning. It didn't linger for most of the day like my favourite Chanel perfume Coco Mademoiselle, but it also didn't disappear completely within an hour like Marc Jacobs Daisy.

Although I don't love this as much as the iconic L'Eau d'Issy, I still think that this is a great addition to the existing range and as long as the sun continues to shine (fingers and toes crossed) then I'll continue to wear this fresh summery scent. Just to entice you further, Escentual currently have an offer where you can save over 45% off the 30ml, 50ml and 100ml sizes!

Now...onto the Summer snaps! If flowers and cute babies offend you, please look away now! :)

My Mom's beautiful apple tree

My Niece enjoying playing with (and tasting) her new trike! :)

xXx

Anniversary of Birth Funtimes and giveaway reminder!!

2011-04-15T08:58:00.001+01:00

That's right lovely peeps...
IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!
And this is the cake I want!

Image Source - weheartit

This year I've decided I'm going to be 24! I made up the rule that once I hit 30 I am then officially allowed to choose how old I want to be each year...and this year it's 24! LOL ;)

Being a very indecisive person I've not actually made lots of plans for fun birthday type things that I want to do...apart from filling my face with Thai food! Hopefully the day will involve some kind of shopping. I'm off work until the beginning of May anyway so there's plenty of time to plan other fun belated birthday activities.

While I'm here, I'll also remind y'all that my giveaway closes tomorrow, so you've still got time to enter.

To be in with a chance of winning, all entries must be in by the stroke of midnight (GMT) on Saturday 16th April and you can enter HERE.

Hope you all have a fun and sunny weekend! :)

xXx

Batiste - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

2011-04-13T11:30:00.001+01:00

Howdy partners! Hope y'all are feeling fine and dandy on this fine mornin. Today I'm gonna wet you whistle with a gander at them there rooting tooting Batiste Dry Shampoo sprays. OK, OK...enough with the cowboy talk! I'm getting a bit carried away with 'The Good, The Bad and The Ugly' theme. Shall we continue in regular city slicker speak? :)

Now all of the Batiste Dry Shampoo sprays do essentially the same thing. They refresh your hair between washes and add that much needed body boost when your locks are looking a little limp. The only difference between the 12 sprays that are currently available, is that they all have different smells and colours. Some are great...but some are worse than finding a snake in your boot. ;)

The Good - Batiste Fresh

*inhales deeply*

Ahhh, this smells lovely and it is exactly what it says on the tin...fresh!!

Of all the Batiste sprays I've tried this is by far the nicest one! It's not over the top and smells really light, fresh and clean. Unlike some of the other sprays in the range, it's not heavily perfumed and it's exactly the kind of scent that you would want to use to make your hair feel clean and refreshed. Even the other half, who in the past always refused to use dry shampoo, will use this one because he likes the smell.

The Bad - Batiste Blush

It may be a little harsh to call this particular one bad. It has served me well in many a 'greasy fringe' emergency...my issue with this devilish little can is the smell!

Batiste say...

'The essence of femininity, Blush is the floral, flirty way to turn heads'

It turns heads because people can't work why someone under the age of 70 smells like an old peoples home. It's floral!! Oh dear lordy it's floral!! The only problem is that it's not floral in a tasteful subtle way...it's full on cloying, old lady perfume floral, that makes breathing a most unenjoyable task. Sure it carries out the task of getting rid of those greasy roots just as well as the 'Fresh' spray, but my hair just didn't feel very clean afterwards and the smell just seemed to linger around for far too long. Even a good spray of my favourite Chanel perfume couldn't mask the smell! Obviously everyone likes different smells, and what I find revolting might be heaven to you. Just smell before you buy if you're not a floral fan.

The Ugly - Batiste Shimmer (Gold and Silver)

Oh goodness!! Where to even start with these two. They are truly the black sheep of the Batiste family.

Bastiste say...

"They add a glamourous shimmer, so you're guaranteed to glisten whenever you want to catch the eye."

I can honestly say that there is nothing about these two two bad boys that could be described as being even remotely 'glamourous'. While once again it did do it's usual degreasing job, it left my hair looking like I'd been attacked by a bunch of drunk teenage girls and just looked like a shimmery horrible mess.

What I fail to understand is why on earth anyone whose hair is in need of 'refreshing between washes', would want to draw attention to their head by coating it in a layer of fairy dust!! To make matters worse if you make the fatal mistake of touching your hair and then touching your face, then you end up looking something like this...

Glimmery, shimmery skin might look good if you're a hot teen vampire, but it doesn't look all that great when you have to sit in a board meeting with everyone looking at you like you've gone a little bit 'special'!! I thought at first that I'd really end up liking this, but alas I was very sorely dissapointed. I guess I'm clearly not the target auidience for this particular spray. But...if you're under the age of 16, or if shimmery hair is your 'thing', then you'll go nuts for this. As for me...I'll pass thank you very much.

Do you have any favourites from the Batiste range and are there any that you avoid at all costs?

xXx

But wait...one final thing!!

What am I going to do with those unloved cans of spray? Bin them? Use them as weapons? No siree. Just because I don't like them doesn't mean that they can't go to a much better home where someone will like them. They will be going in my special shoe box of goodies which will be going to Give and Make Up...a very worthwhile cause which helps women and children who have experienced domestic abuse.

This is definitely a cause that all of us can very easily support. All you need is an empty box, a few products and a couple of pounds for postage, so please go and take a look at the site to see if you can help.