mini makeover

As you have probably noticed I’ve changed my site a little bit. I don’t think I like it but I’m still learning about the design and editing side of blogging so hopefully will get better and better.
Would love your comments and tips though. If you know of any useful websites that teach or even better have ready layouts you can customise easily ;-)
I know in my head how I would like it to look but just need to catch up with the tech side to it first!

Peach Faced

Having spent a hugely unproductive day playing with makeup rather than job hunting I have a number of posts coming to you of reviews/tutorials over the next few days. In the mean time I thought I would provide you with an idea of whats coming up.

My face of the day included a combination of everything I have brought in the last week. My eyeshadow was all from the new Sleek palette and gel eyeliner from saffron used with ‘the flick’ eyeliner stencil (may I add, first attempt!), sleek pout polish and mememe blush in rouge.

Be sure to check back for more detailed reviews, swatches and tutorials soon! 

Sleek Avoir la peche pout polish

I mentioned in my last post that I didn’t find the pout polish for the collection at my local Superdrug store, having popped into another store I was lucky enough to find it. Again like the eyeshadows, I have not tried their pout polishes. They are described as a tinted lip conditioning balm and contain a number of natural oils in order to lock in moisture. They also contain SPF 15 which I think is a great bonus. Having worn it all day I am surprised how conditioning it is, and would opt to use this over a tinted lip balm.

The colour is Sugar May and is a beautiful light peach shade. As you can hopefully see from the swatches above, only when you apply a thicker layer of polish do you see the colour through, with a thinner layer it does end up looking more like a lip gloss particularly over my lips. I apply with a brush since the consistency is half way between that of a lip balm and a lipstick. It is not particularly long lasting either but overall I am not disappointed since it is so moisturising.

Flower Power Outfit Post

I decided to take advantage of the good lighting and a wider mirror when trying on a top in Marks and Spencers today, (which was a complete bargain I might add), to take some photos for an outfit post.

I was able to wear this top which is great for intermediate weather, any warmer and I would have got overheated but colder and I would have been too cold. As it worked out my feet were a little cold in the pumps since it started to rain but this outfit could easily be paired with boots.

The top is last years from Primark when the big shoulders were briefly on trend, I tried to give it a bit more structure and definition with the belt and chunky necklace. On my bottom half I wore black jeggings and pewter cuffed pumps.

Pretty casual but also tidy and you gotta love the puffy shoulders!

Sleek Avoir la peche Paraguaya palette

I love eyeshadow palettes, in fact I have never brought a single eyeshadow, always opting for at least a trio so I don’t have the responsibility of putting colours together!

Although typically I am a dark/brown smokey eye look girl I was immediately drawn to this palette when I saw it at the Sleek stand in Superdrug.

Avoir la peche collection. Paraguaya. 

A beautiful selection of peach, orange, coral and brown shades in both matte and shimmer finishes. I love the femininity of the peach shades and although there are a few more orange tone shades which I don’t see myself wearing, I hope that this palette will act as a first step in encourage me to go for bolder eye looks. Having done the swatches on my arm I think that most will suit my skin tone. I also think a few of these would look lovely as a blush and may even try to use it that way although the size of the pans will make that difficult. I imagine a lot of people think Sleek should make a blusher palette and I agree.

Accompanying the collection there was a beautiful peach ‘pout polish’ which was sold out at my local store, so I will be on the look out for that, and a blush which was more of an orange shade than a peach.

Top Row

Bottom Row

As you can hopefully tell from the swatches above, the pigmentation of the shadows is great. I have never owned Sleek eyeshadows before and having now brought these I can see why they have had such great reviews. My only issue has been opening the palette, maybe I am just being to delicate with it since it is my new toy? Minor issue I know. The palette is limited edition so I would suggest getting to your closest Superdrug or ordering online if you are interested, at £6.49 for 12 shadows you will not be disappointed.

Good Things…..We’ll see…..

I picked up a selection of the GOOD THINGS skin care products in Boots. Having recently also purchased the Organic Surge skincare range I am looking forward to a comparative of the two. GOOD THINGS gives across the impression that it is natural and potentially a competitor to Organic Surge but I do not think that this is the case and possibly just misleading since every product mentions the use of a superfruit extract, however on closer inspection these are all found pretty low in the list of ingredients. On the positive side, the products are all free from SLS, mineral oils and parabens, but I will have to do a bit more research before I can comment on the ingredients. 

I purchased the cream cleanser, dream cream night cream, day cream and bright eyes, all based on positive reviews on the Boots website. With regard to first impressions, I love the packaging and in terms of price, both brands are comparable. The creams feel light and absorb into the skin well but I am not loving the scent. All products smell quite artificial to me, and although it is not off putting, so far I prefer Organic Surge. 

These are only my first impressions, I just need to decided which to start with now! At the moment my skin is not particularly bad, but is not improving either so I am hoping to find something which will encourage this.

If you have tried any of these products please let me know and be sure to check back for my review. 

Sunday Night Thoughts #3

This week I thought I would share something that crossed my mind today.

I have a long face.

'and what?’ I hear you think. 

I have lost count of the number of times that I am casually standing by and someone thinks it’s constructive to tell me to 'cheer up', or to ‘smile’. Most frequently this is at a bar or club, having spent a bit of time getting ready, doing nice hair and makeup and generally feeling quite good about myself. Even my own family would comment when I was younger. At this point I do then become a bit sad, and I am the sort of person who’s emotion shows all over my face and I have always found it a little difficult to pick myself up after that. That’s my face, I’ve learnt to deal with it, so why can’t you hold back on your comment? It is funny thinking about it, and it is something I have got used to now. I can only put it down to the fact that my face is long, or that somehow all my features happen to come together in such a way that I look miserable. I am just the sort of individual who when I am not smiling and lets face it, when you think about it most of the time doing our general daily tasks we aren’t, I look sad. It is something that I am very conscious of when I meet new people though and more recently at interviews, it is a strange thing to think about your facial appearance so deeply and be so aware of how you may appear to others.

Writing about it now however I do find it comical, I guess with age you do just accept these things about yourself and realise there is nothing that can be done. So just for the sake of other people out there who have the same issue, please, don’t make a comment if you think they look sad, maybe like me they can’t help it.

:-) 

Super Simple Smokey Eye

This will be my first beauty post!! Please excuse the photographs I know they are not great but hopefully you can get an idea of the look and how achieve it.

The key to this look is a smudgy black eyeliner which creates the ‘smokey’ part.

Other things I used;Urban Decay Book of Shadows Volume II, Rimmel liquid eyeliner, eyeliner pencil (all the details are smudged off!), concealer brush, eyeshadow brush.

First off, prime your lid if you want to, then thinly line your eyes with the black eyeliner, extending this to your crease and a little into the corner. At this point this can be messy since you tidy it later and it all comes together in the end.

I use a concealer brush, but any stiff brush should work as well to smudge out the eyeliner and get the shape of the arch of your smokey portion. If you like a deep dark colour you can repeat the above two steps but I find that this usually is fine.

Then take your eyeshadow colour of choice, I am using urban decays book of shadows palette (volume II) and the colour YDK, half-baked works just as well but any brown/bronze shade you have should work. Load this onto a brush and apply all over the lid as well as where you have applied the shadow in the crease. Then blend.

I usually take a clean brush as this point and tidy up any harsh lines, just making sure everything is blended out well.

I like to finish off by adding a highlight colour, I use sellout from the same palette and like to apply a little in the inner corner too.

Finally, apply eyeliner and mascara however you normally would.

The completed look! I love this for in a rush as well as a good way to make use of an eyeliner which you may not particularly like.

Vitality Show Haul

I wanted to get this post up as quickly as possible for anyone attending the show tomorrow, I know I found it helpful to get an idea of things to look out for.

Overall the show was a really fun day out. I think it was bigger overall than last year with a mixture of stands. Considering how repetitive the ideal home show can be this is refreshing. I thought the beauty section was great as was the food section, I skimmed over the fitness and healthy mind/spirit area, finding some of what was on show a little uncomfortable considering the type of event.

Anyway onto what I purchased. There were a lot of really good deals to be had with discounts on Bare Minerals and Benefit products which were very tempting!

My first purchase was from Organic Surge, I had seen these previously in Boots and had been wanting to try them. They were offering buy one get one free and the assistant was extremely knowledgable about the products and helped me to decide what was best to go for in terms of skin care. In the end I decided on the moisturiser for dry skin and eye gel as well as shampoo and conditioner for dry hair. My sister and I then split buying of a cleanser each, with my sister opting for the cream based one and I for the wash. The testers all smelt amazing, and I am looking forward to trying all of these out since they are meant to be 95% natural and would like to switch to using more natural based products to exclude the more toxic and irritating components.

WITCH were also present and again were very helpful and knowledgable about the products. They offered two for £5 and I chose the primer and concealer. The primer is meant to be suitable for all skin types, obviously with the intention of helping with any problem skin. Although I do not use a primer often I hope that this will help to improve the condition of my skin and prevent breakouts with use. The concealer only comes in one ‘natural’ shade, after swatching, the colour and consistency seemed very similar to my ELF studio concealer so I wanted to try this as an alternative. The face powder was also added in although I did not hear why!

My more questionable purchase in terms of a bargain/good idea was ’the flick’ eyeliner set. The set consists of a gel eyeliner (including a brush) and an eyeliner stencil allowing you to achieve the perfect flick of any thickness. All the sales assistants had the product demonstrated and demonstrations on other customers made it look very good, unfortunately our sales assistant was doing it in a rush but we purchased anyway so fingers crossed it doesn’t turn out to be a bad idea.

Other things I picked up were brush guards on promotion from justbeautydirect.com, crystal nail files, some stencils for my nail stamping kit and a selection of HALO wipes also on promotion.

I also picked up a few drinks goodies including the neuro drink and coconut milk. Expect reviews of all the products above in due course. If you attended the show please let me know your thoughts as well as if you have used any of the products mentioned.

Makeover Time!

A virtual one that is! Sorry to be misleading if any of you thought you were going to see me looking dramatically different but I felt I had to blog about this since it was so much fun and also very clever.

I went to Superdrug today in Westfield and noticed that the Rimmel counter had a virtual mirror. This is the first time I have seen one of these virtual mirrors so I don’t know if they are new or only in larger stores. How they work is that after scanning a product and taking a picture of yourself, you then get your image with your chosen eyeshadow, blusher, lipstick, etc. You could then proceed to build up a whole look of different products and choose the level of intensity of each, making your look more subtle/natural or dramatic.

As you can hopefully understand me and my sister decided to be completely ridiculous with it and combine the most outrageous colours and combinations of products we could all on the dramatic setting. Having played around a bit, we then had a member of staff approach us and half expecting to be told off like teenagers messing around in the make-up aisle (which we were acting like to be fair) she told us that we could actually email the results to ourselves!! Classic.

Before I show you the result I think it is worth mentioning that this is actually a very clever idea and a very clever computer programme, the fact that an image can be taken, detect your eyes, lips etc and apply product accordingly is very impressive, you will see that I even had mascara added! You could also scan foundations, and after deliberately picking a dark one the programme actually recommended a more appropriate shade! One thing I did notice was that for the lipgloss, although we had picked a dark pink colour it looked more purple on me and the recommended shade of foundation (ivory) I can’t imagine would have been a good colour match. Whether the colours in the programme are accurate representations of the shades I could not say since I did not end up purchasing anything. However, for an overall idea of how a shade might look against your skin tone if you are trying it for the first time I think it would be really useful.

Ready for the make-over?

Ta-Da!! Hopefully this makes you laugh half as much as we did in the store doing it!

Primark Haul Spring/Summer Lovin'

I think all should have established now that I am a Primark Girl, I remember them ‘getting big’ around the time I started university. Although some seasons they are a big hit and miss, this spring I have really liked their offerings.

This recent spree sparked from me seeing one skirt on the fashion segment of ‘This Morning’ and heading out immediately to find it. Surprisingly I did, but it was stitched badly and didn’t sit well on the waist without making me look like I had very oddly shaped love handles. I didn’t find another in my size so I will continue looking out for it whenever I do pop in, but I have a feeling the problem will be the same. I haven’t actually seen many skirts of a same style, high-waisted/maxi with a floral print. I think maxi skirts are so flattering and I could picture the skirt looking very boho with a loose vest top, a big belt and flat shoes.

I can’t wait for the summer or at least some warmer weather to arrive so I can get out more skirts and dresses! Anyway, here is what I picked up instead.

I love this blue maxi, since last summer I wanted a black one for the purpose of adding lots of bright accessories to but I love this blue so much, and since it is plain, I should still be able to add lots of bold accessories to it and make it look different each time.

This summer dress also works well layered making it suitable for spring and even winter when it’s colder. It has more of a beige base with the black spots and then flower print. I don’t particularly like the belt attached, so will possibly end up ‘Gok’ styling this once I get some inspiration for it. 

I love this playsuit, as you can see I am liking the floral trend this year, but the black base means that it is not so bold for me that I would feel uncomfortable wearing it. It fits very well and is more flattering than others I have tried. I am really looking forward to wearing this in the summer, I may even wear it with tights in the spring time here but we’ll see how brave I will be! 

I love the colour of this coral top, although I don’t tend to like the look of the asymmetric cut it has, tucked into a skirt/trousers this actually looks very nice since it ends up being very loose and flowing. You can make out slightly in the image that the front and back are actually two different materials, although this is quite subtle and I don’t think it really adds anything to the top overall. 

Last but not least clothing wise, these wide leg trousers. I love the print, again a black base with large colourful flower print. This looks great teamed with the coral top above, and I can picture it looking well with a large belt, wedges, and an oversized cardigan, topped with an oversized hat and sunglasses (well that might be a step too far but hopefully you get the picture!). At the moment as much as I love to look at them I don’t want them to be something that end up sitting in the wardrobe because I am not brave enough to wear them!

Finally some accessories. I brought a black and a tan, skinny waisted belt to keep as wardrobe essentials, at £1 each I can’t really feel guilty about not having a need for them yet! I also went for a standard belt covered in coloured studs, again a slim style since I occasionally need something more discrete to hold my trousers up! I never usually go for ‘fashion socks’ but being inspired by some other blogs and people on the street I wanted to style these peaking over my shorter boots. Will hopefully post the result and get your impressions! Finally another purchase of something I may or may not be brave enough to wear, a feather headband. I think the feathers poking through my curls will give a nice look, especially since there is a trend for feather hair extension/accessories. 

I am headed to the vitality show this weekend and have promised myself to only potentially purchase anything new there and then hold off with the spending for a bit so this should be the last clothing haul for a while! 

Let me know your thoughts of the clothing choices from Primark this spring.

Montagne Jeunesse Sensuous Spice Mask Review

A real-time face mask review (not quite brave enough to take a picture and show you but trust me!). I have used this a number of times now and overall really like it. For me the experience of wearing a face mask can influence my opinion of it a lot. The self heating quality of this mask is what I love, along with the strong smell of cinnamon.

A little information about the mask itself as found on the bottle. 

‘exotic spices of cinnamon and ginger, this sensuous treat gently warms to open pores and draws out impurities to leave your skin radiant and deep cleansed'. 

The warming sensation lasts strongly for less than minute but then after that is far more subtle. I have found with some face masks/scrubs in the past that the warming feeling is uncomfortable but is not at all.

The mask itself is orange in colour and although thick is not the typical consistency you get from clay based masks, even though after a quick check of the ingredients this contains all the typical clay component you would expect, namely kaolin. I am not entirely sure why this is, the colour doesn’t really bother me but I would prefer a more creamy consistency.

Following cleansing you apply for 15-20 minutes, I generally opt for the longer time. Although the warm feeling does pass in the whole time the scent of cinnamon is strong, considering I love the smell, I really like that, but I assume for anyone who doesn’t, it may be a bit overwhelming.

As you can see from the image, the bottle provided is meant to hold about 10 applications. I have used this about 5 times now, however I cannot tell how much is left since the bottle is covered. Trying to judge from the weight however I imagine I will get 10 uses.

I like that Montagne Jeunesse have their masks in tubes now, the pouches are great for one off treats and as testers but typically there is more than one treatment worth and storage just becomes difficult. Overall though I like the pouch format so I wouldn’t want them to get rid of it completely but it is good that the favourites are available to buy as a tube.

Washing off is not difficult with warm water, although you do have to be careful to get it all or you get orange stains on your towels! Not permanent, just a bit unsightly. Where I would usually wipe off face masks with a muslin cloth for the same reason I just stick to rinsing with my hands.

I have dry skin and the mask does not make it feel tight after use. My skin feels fresh and clean (and slightly softer) which is essentially the purpose of a deep cleanse mask so I do not really notice any other additional changes in it.

I have to admit the first time I used this mask it wasn’t an instant favourite, I have used the body shop heating mask which also has a similar scent and really liked that. Although this is different in a lot of ways the outcome is the same and I know my skin benefits from a deep cleanse every so often. The directions do not suggest how often to use but I would say 3 times a week since that seems to be the standard for similar masks.

I feel like I need a summary so, overall;
Smell - 5*
Consistency - you get used to
Use - easy!
Result - as it says on the tube!
Experience - 5*

This or That TAG!

Late night blogging……..

I saw this tag on the lovely Little Miss Vintage Beauty’s blog and thought I would take the liberty of doing a response. 

First off I tag UnLeeshd! (you should go check out her blog) and any one else reading this who wants to participate, please do!  Just make sure you leave a comment so I can check you out! 

Since I love to write, I will elaborate on my answers in some places…..but that’s just me! 

MAKEUP:

blush or bronzer: Blush 

lip gloss or lipstick: Lipstick

eye liner or mascara: i love eyeliner, but it doesn’t look right to me without mascara!! i feel forced to say mascara with this question! 

foundation or concealer: this is a bit of a cheat for me since my foundation doubles up as a concealer (bonus!!)

neutral or color eye shadow: Neutral

pressed or loose eye shadows: Pressed, loose is too much mess

brushes or sponges: Brushes

NAILS:

OPI or china glaze: Neither!! Barry M!  <—— hehe, I agree!! 

Long or short: I used to like long but now I go for shorter.

Acrylic or natural: Natural (after a very bad acrylic experience!)

Brights or darks: both

Flower or no flower: Flower (but on the thumb only!)  

BODY:

perfume or body splash: Perfume

lotion or body butter: I like butters but i always end up buying lotions……I only realised that now and I don’t know why.

body wash or soap: body washes, I know all the stuff they use to make it foam is bad but they have made me believe thats what makes me clean too!! 

lush or other bath company: what are other bath companies?! I wish I loved Lush but I just don’t! :-s  

FASHION:

jeans or sweat pants: jeans (unless I’m having a lazy day at home and then it’s all about the sweatpants!)

long sleeve or short: long, since I am so easily cold, ideally mid length! 

dresses or skirts: Dresses since I love the fact you don’t have to think about a top to go with it! 

stripes or plaid: stripes

flip flops or sandals: sandals, I don’t like feet and I hate the sensation of putting my toe through that thong thing!  

scarves or hats: I love both but I wear scarves more.

studs or dangly earrings: dangly earrings, since I always wear my hair down and I like them to show through

necklaces or bracelets: again I love both but I probably go for a necklace more

heels or flats: heels!! 

cowboy boots or riding boots: don’t really like either, but if I had to cowboy boots. 

jacket or hoodie: a jacket

forever 21 or charlotte russe: I have never shopped in either

abercombie or Hollister: as above!! 

saks 5th or nordstrom: and again! 

HAIR:

curly or straight: CURLS!! I love that I have the option of both with my hair type, but straight hair makes me look sad 

bun or ponytail: bun (just for sleeping at night!)

bobby pins or butterfly clips: Bobby Pins

hair spray or gel: gel

long or short: long

light or dark: dark

side sweep bangs or full bangs: side sweep bangs look so pretty

up or down: I wear my hair down 99% of the time. 

RANDOM:

Rain or shine: Shine (rain can be nice when your indoors snuggled on the sofa though!)

Summer or winter: Summer

Fall or spring: I think fall, sometimes the weather here is actually nicer in autumn than in spring! 

Chocolate or vanilla: vanilla

East coast or west coast: I liked the west coast more when I visited. 

Hope you all enjoyed 

Sunday Night Thoughts #2

I mentioned last week that I wanted to begin a 'Sunday Night Thoughts' series, speaking if things on a slightly deeper level. I always intended to explain the name of my blog with this post but as the week has gone on particularly over the weekend I have changed my mind. That particular story comes with a lot of bad memories and although I am in a far better place now, the story is not something I have shared with many. Without over dramatising I won't continue, the story is nothing particularly tragic, but I am in a far too positive mood than to risk dampening it!

As you may know I am a graduate struggling to find a job, I know what I want to do I just can't seem to land a training position due to lack of experience or just falling short of other candidates. I have managed to stay positive about it on the most part but earlier this week I found myself really deflated with the whole process. There is very little to apply for at the moment and chances are with a lot of applications I will hit the same obstacles until I find that one employer who is willing to give me a chance. So it is just a case of perseverance and patience!

My week did turn around though with the positivity I got from this blog, in particular this weekend having found a number of new followers and reaching over 800 hits. I started the blog because I wanted to share my love of fashion, make-up and beauty related things in general and tried not to set any expectations and more to just enjoy it, so it is that much more of a bonus to know there are a number of people out there who take the time to read the things I write, follow me so as to continue to hear from me, as well as comment on my posts. I can’t express how much that means to me so I really wanted to take this chance to say a very big thank you. I hope that my sincerity comes across in this, the positive feeling I have got since doing this is nothing short of amazing and it is great to feel connections with people whom you haven’t even met.

Thank you again so much, and hopefully there will be a few more milestones to mark with this whole process and you will continue to enjoy what I do.

With love,
Ayshe (discovering beauty)
xxx

Nails of the week- Rimmel Cranberry Zest

I wanted a summer vibe with my nails this week so went for ‘066 Cranberry Zest’ by Rimmel. I picked this up along with a peach/apricot colour last summer because they are very pretty colours but also because I needed to see if the advertised‘fruity scent once dry' was true.

Once dry there really is a fruity smell to it which is a nice gimmick! Although the addition of a top coat did dilute the smell. The colour is a red with a pink undertone (or the other way round, I’m not going to pretend I am good at describing this stuff!) Unusually the image I took with flash actually gave the truest colour. I needed two coats to get a good coverage, and the drying time was average. It did bubble up a little but I think that was down to my impatience with waiting for the coats to dry!

Babyliss Waving Wand The Review

If you have read my previous posts you will know I purchased the babyliss waving wand (look here). Having used it a number of times now I wanted to do a full review.

Overall I really love it, the look is very unique to a curling wand, essentially due to the shape of the barrel. Typically for curling wands these are round, or more recently you can find conical ones, but for this waving wand the barrel is oval shaped. Although other curling/waving wands claim that you can achieve a waved look from their product (which I have seen can be done), they seem to require a bit more of a technique that simply wrapping your hair around and I personally have not been able to achieve the look easily. With this product you simple use the same way as you would any other wand.

The styler is a deep purple colour and has a swivel cord which is always more convenient. It is actually surprisingly light, but not in a cheap way and of course this just means that your arm doesn’t ache half way through doing your hair! Aside from the on/off switch there are 5 heat settings depending on your hair type. I am able to use the 4th on my thick curly hair and achieve a long lasting result. Inside the box also came a heat protective glove, which is also worth talking about. I no longer use any gloves when I style my hair since I have got used to the products, but for a beginner these are a must. In the past however the gloves have been cheap and difficult to work with since they are always oversized and do not allow you to hold your hair firmly. The glove provided with this is much more fitting and lets you have better control.

Having curly hair I typically just take the strands as they are already separated, which means that I get different thicknesses and styles of waves. The thicker the strand of hair, the looser the wave. I personally like the mixed look, but you can of course make everything more even. I do not take any special care in making my hair all lay flat on the wand as I have seen done with curling irons, so essentially, grab the hair and wrap. I hold for approximately 10 seconds and release. For my entire head I needed about half an hour and I do finish off the style with a medium hold hairspray.

The wand itself heats up extremely quickly, within a matter of seconds. There is a cool tip at the end of the barrel which never heats up acting as an additional safety feature. Since the wand is ceramic from what I have understood you still need to use a heat protectant. Other handy safety features are an automatic switch off function after 72 minutes, incase you have forgotten. The function I think is very clever is the integrated heat rest, so you don’t have to think about heat mats or worry about ruining your dressing table.

The waves last a very long time. Having done my hair in the morning they lasted all day and through to the next and fell out to looser waves.

I rate this product very highly and cannot think of any negatives. Usually the price would count as a negative for a lot of styling tools but I managed to get mine for £21 online at Amazon and they retail for £30 in most other shops. I think it is great value for money, I have paid more for other styling products and have not rated them as highly as this one.

                                           

If you were in two minds about this tool, I can’t imagine you will be disappointed. Although I can’t speak for people with straight hair, I cannot see why it wouldn’t work just as effectively, and as for my fellow curly heads, it’s a great way of changing up your look.

Deep waver (toni and guy) launch? SS11 LOOK

I have just managed to get myself very excited and very disappointed in a very short space of time. I have only just read through an old copy of LOOK magazine (7th March) and came across this picture.

A DEEP WAVER. I love these, I own one. Having searched high and low on eBay and online I managed to get a second hand one and use it at least once a week. I love the look it gives me straight on my messy curls, in fact you will have seen this in a previous post.

I never chose to review the tool thought since I know they cannot be found. I thought Toni and Guy (or hair tool manufacturers in general) weren’t making them anymore, you can find them from US sellers but with the postage and duty as well as the need to buy a power converter it would end up being quite pricey. I even went as far as to email Toni and Guy directly over a year ago to ask if they had any and where, but I never got a response. So I counted myself lucky to have one and have my fingers crossed that mine does not break (I have actually broken the catch to keep it locked already).

So after I saw the picture in LOOK magazine I was really excited. There are no details as to when it will be launched, but there was a link to a video showing how to achieve the look, with the tool being used. What I found funny was that there is a list of products used to achieve the look which omits this most crucial tool! I have searched over the internet to find a link to a possible launch date, I don’t even know what it will be called, big crimper? deep waver? I can’t find anything up to date. Maybe a beauty or hair insider would know more but I do find it frustrating that LOOK have been so vague with it and yet featured it. I would be SOOOOO grateful to anyone who has any insight since I would be desperate to get my hands on another.

The link to the stylist look featured in the magazine is here. The LOOK Show SS11 Hair How-To Video: The Catwalk Crimp | Look I think I am the biggest fan of this hair tool so I hope that it does appear to buy soon!

Bargain of the week!! #2

So I ended up making my trip to the ideal home show today, and I have to admit I am quite proud of myself for being extremely good with my spending. My one and only purchase was a complete bargain in my eyes having seen others around the show retailing for a lot more. They are handbag hooks, I first saw these ages ago on YouTube and thought they are a very clever idea. They basically allow you to hang your bag off a table/ledge at restaurants, bars or where you wouldn’t want to hang it behind you or place it on the floor.

I got 2 for £5 which is excellent value. These really are ingenious accessories which I imagine once you start using you won’t want to go without. There are plenty of different styles and designs available which you can find reasonably priced on eBay if you are interested.

the dangers of beauty blogging

Currently being unemployed I have to consider each of my purchases carefully, even lots of items at a few pounds each eventually add up. Although I have always read blogs, with the whole process of starting my own and posting regularly, I catch more of others blogs that I was already following, as well as finding more great bloggers. Of course with this comes a bigger wish list of products I want to try and buy!!

I won’t start to list them since I will only upset myself (yes I am being overdramatic) but my main reason for saving at this time, is that at some point in the next 2 weeks I plan on heading to the Ideal Home Show as well as the Vitality Show. For any of you which have not heard of these they are both consumer shows essentially, with various companies pitching up stalls and showcasing their products along with tempting special offers, overall they are just really fun days out with the opportunity to see and try new things and sometimes be a bit pampered. The Vitality Show is predominantly aimed at women with health and beauty being the overall theme, whereas the Ideal Home Show (as implied in the name) covers the home overall, furniture, carpets etc as well as (kitchen/electrical) gadgets and more recently beauty and fashion. I have managed to get some very unique pieces in the past at great prices, for example, pashminas from an Indian seller who came especially for the show, and other scarves which I haven’t seen anything similar since.

I also purchased my Miche bag last year at a great price and hope to see them again this year to add some covers to my collection. I have also picked up other very unique handbags.

At the vitality show I also picked up what has become my favourite night out purse as well as loads of beauty products from both big named and smaller London based sellers. The bargain for me at the vitality show last year was 4 Bourgeois products for £12!!

I feel this post has been a little like a Simpsons episode, starting with one point and ended on another completely. Of course I always planned on storing the pennies for these two events but the temptation to pick up other things is that much more having seen so much I want!!

Let me know if you have ever been to either of these shows and your thoughts, or if you have already been what to look out for!

Vintage Fair Inspiration Customised Hats

I went to a vintage fair back in February, and I have to admit I am not a convert to the vintage thing. As much as I like what I see on other people and even at the fair, I saw some people holding some really lovely buys but I just never seem to find anything and I am not one for rummaging around in the dark. I suppose in this case they were trying to create an atmosphere but it just isn’t my thing, maybe it will grow on me.

There was one thing I liked though, unfortunately I lost the womans’ business card, but she hand-makes vintage/60s inspired hats/berets. I debated over the colour and style for a long time at £12 they weren’t unreasonable but I was a little put off by the fact that all the berets (which I think suited me best) were covered in sequins. I just don’t think I could or would pull off wearing a hat like that on a daily basis. Each of the hats had some form of flower or feather on them, having a quick peak at how it was made, essentially these were just stitched onto the hat. So I walked away and decided that I would make my own.

I pulled out a few of my old hats/berets and picked up some nice flowers I had seen in ASDA and voila my one of a kind hat at half the price. Unfortunately I didn’t have the foresight to match the colours of the flowers with the hats I have but seen as they are multifunctional it isn’t a big deal! The flowers were £3 and £4 although I can’t remember which was which. They have both a brooch pin and a crocodile clip attachment they are easy to add to any hat temporary and removed so that they can still be used as a hair accessory too.

Sunday Night Thoughts

Having returned from a lovely weekend break, I can’t say I am happy to be home but I am glad to be back to the internet and of course to write a new post!

First of all I want to send my heartfelt thoughts and good wishes to all those involved both directly and indirectly with the devastating disaster in Japan. It did not feel right to continue posting without mentioning this.

I have been thinking about my blog a lot recently, I always intended it to be a mixed bag of fashion and beauty, but very personalised. I have never claimed to be an expert, more just someone who has a passion for these things and wants to have an interaction with others interested in the same. I would like to take an additional angle though, probably sticking with the Sunday Night Thoughts title and writing anecdotes of things that have happened to me, as well as things I have heard/read essentially that have sparked my interest on a deeper level. Everybody has a deeper level to their characters and interests and I think it will be nice to share that will all who are interested also. Unless I get any overwhelming objections I will start this as of next Sunday, I already know what my topic will be but I know with each post they will require a little more attention than usual and didn’t want to rush that tonight.

I hope that you will all join me next week.

Weekend Away!

Just a quick post to let you all know I will be away this weekend so I won’t post anything before Sunday!

I am only going away for 2 nights and I would say 70% of what I am taking is cosmetics!!

Hope you all have a lovely weekend and I’ll be back soon :-)

Outfit of the Day and Face of the Night

A quick outfit post, including a makeup/face of the night. I am so glad the weather has started to get better and I can start wearing dresses in particular again. I love the simplicity of dresses, the fact that you do not have to think about what to wear with it a lot of the time. Particularly with the bold print I chose today, all I needed was a scarf, earrings and my boots and done!

When I go out I tend to put more emphasise on my make-up to look like I am ‘going-out’ rather than outfit. I picked to go a subtle smoky eye, however I added purple eyeshadow under my eye for a bit of a twist. I was really pleased with the outcome.

Products I used;

NYX One night in Morroco palette for the smoky eye (including their primer)

Urban Decay palette (purple shadow under the eye)

Bella Pierre Foundation

Bourgeois Mineral Radiance

Benefit Coralista

Naturals Lipstick caramel

ELF pink kiss gloss