Thursday 30 April 2009

TAG - '8 Things'

Good Afternoon lovely bloggers.

Just so you know what you're dealing with right now, ill set the scene for you:

I am currently blogging from my bed, with my ears pricked just in case i were to hear the clitter clatter of the postman making his way up my stair. Does anyone else have a really lazy postie who only turn up between 12 and half 12? Outrageous i say! Anyway i am really excitedly waiting on a few parcels.

1) a couple of bits from Illamasqua which i am beyond excited to try out!

2) my Lightening Love necklace from me and Zena as blogged about in Yays or Nays #3,

3)My swap parcel!Eee, they should all be arriving soon right?

4) My parcel of cheap and cheerful jewellery from Voodoo Pickle. To be honest i am not holding my breath. Think i may have been done! :0(

Anyway to keep me occupied in the interim, Laura from My Bloggy Blog tagged me to do this '8 Things' tag. Ta Laura! So here goes!

8 Things I Look Forward To:

1) The post arriving!! Come on Mr Postie, jut a wee bit faster!
2) Food times! Life to me, is the stuff that happens between meals.
3) Finally maybe getting the bills sorted out. Am currently waiting on the electricity man to come fix our metre.
4) Finding a new job. sigh.
5) Having money again!

6) Meeting up with my bestie.
7) Ending the day with a cuddle from lovely BF Fraser.
8) Saturdays outdoor gig - could be lovely or could be a washout!

8 Things I Did Yesterday:
1) Washed my hair and exfoliated. Still loving Lush's Buffy.
2) Had a lunch time meeting (and glass of wine) with a lovely lady.
3) gained employment for 1 day a week. Its a start!
4) Went to Mac with the boy where he helped me pick out (and payed for) a couple lippies. Huzzah!
5) Met my mum and auntie for tea and a few* more glasses of wine.

6) Ate a salad at dinner...
7)...then also ate leftover Chinese when i got home. Poor show!
8) Decided to join a gospel choir.

* maybe not a 'few'.

8 Things I Wish I Could Do:

1) Work. Ill never take it for granted again
2) Be gifted all of Macs lipsticks.
3) Do more with my hair.
4) Say no to takeaway.
5) Drive...I'm learning.
6) Play the guitar
7) Spoil my man for all the times he's spoiled me over the last 2 months.
8) Meet all of you bloggers!

8 Shows I Watch:

1) LOST
2) Goks Fashion Fix
3) America's/ Canada's/ Aus/ Britain's Next Top Model
4) Coleens Real Women
5) Ace of Cakes - check it out!
6) Girls of the Playboy Mansion
7) Snog Marry Avoid
8) Gossip Girl

I TAG 8 beautiful bloggers:

1) Rocaille (Rocaille Writes)

2) Natalia (I would go out tonight but)

3) Marie (I Love...the obsessions of a shopaholic)

4) Lazula (Lazula80)

5) Pinksealight (Pinksealight)

6) A Fashionable Affair (A Fashionable Affair)

7) Rebecca (Panda Does Makeup)

8) Lottie B (Pretty Geeky)

Wednesday 29 April 2009

FOTD - not one I'll try again

Evening bloggers,

I'll have to admit (I'm sure you'll be able to tell from the awful spelling!) that Ive had quite a full day! I had a lunch meeting with a singer who's gigs i am covering while she's away on holiday and we got to talking about jobs and my lack of (!) and it just so happens that she has been looking for someone with experience to take control of the booking of her band...needless to say i am now employed for 1 day a week. I know its not much but its better then nothing! So that's my big news of the day.


Also on the agenda was a wee drinking sesh with my mum and auntie. its not often we get together, and ill be truthful and say that we get on a LOT better when its outside of my parents home and so i am a bit squiggly! Anyway, here's the FOTD, looking back i think i should have gone for a more classic look, maybe winged liner would have made this look less 'done'. Ah well, live and learn!Im not loving this look. I think the problem is that the lippie is too pale to balance the eyes...?Anyway, heres whhat i used:

FACE: Lily Lolo Foundation in Porcelain with Lily Lolo Cover Up in Blondie,

Mac MSF in Perfect Topping along the cheekbones

Bobbi Brown Blush in Clementine

EYES: Mac Ricepaper all over the eyes

Mac silver tie on the lash line (top and bottom)

GOSH velvet touch eyeliner in Carbon Black

LIPS: Mac Saint Germain

Twitter

I'm sure this is not the most original post there has ever been...but come follow me on twitter anyway!Find me on

www.twitter.com/jigglysteph

x

Monday 27 April 2009

Yays or Nays, Hot or Not, Worth the Cash or Gash # 3

YAYS
1)Topshop cutwork sundress
Its love in an article of clothing. I'll be styling this with Gold jewellery, tan glads, a cornflower blue cardigan and the Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Sand and Sea Eye shadow Palette. Just bring me some bloody sun!

2) Me and Zena Lightning Love Necklace - This is a major lemming! MAJOR!!
3) Wedding season - Ah i love wedding season. Weddings = gigs = money for me! Huzzah!

4) Fish Suppers! I am loving a good old chippy at the moment. Cover it in salt n sauce (if you in England you wont be aware of chippy sauce. Its an amazing combo of brown sauce, vinegar and another secret ingredient.mmm) and i am ready to go! Why do things taste so much better when they're covered in batter and wrapped in paper??

5) Boys in baseball tops. Swoon. I'm not sure what it is about these tops but truly, I go weak at the knees.

6) Bright pink lippie. The last word in fun, groomed, youthful lips.

NAYS

1) Tv!

  • Hollyoaks - caught this for the first time in absolutely ages and it was RUBBISH! Who are all these new characters? Why did they get hired when they clearly cant act?? Its a mystery!

  • Britain's Next Top Model - Am i the only one who thinks that our version is just shoddy and cheap and that Lisa Snowdon needs give quit the Tyra imitations? Miss J makes a guest appearance on tonights episode so it may be somewhat more entertaining. Ladies lest ye forget, Miss J is FIERCE personified!2) VooDoo Pickle. I made an order for a few cheap kitsch jewellery pieces from this site nearly a month ago and STILL have not received my order despite emails back and forth promising that my order would be posted the next day, and then the day after the second email...Grr!

Friday 24 April 2009

My Not So Secret 7

Only last post i was saying how i felt that getting the skin right is the key to any make up look. And it is. But what if skin has never been your strong point?

When your skin is not feeling so great your confidence takes a great knock. And i know - Ive suffered plenty an eve when i should have been at some party or a night out with my school friends or biggest mortification ever: a date with the guy in the year above me that i had to cancel cos i was having a bad skin day. I suffered from acne as a teenager and I'll admit that i was painfully aware of it. The worst thing was that while all my friends grew out of it and sported glowing complexions, my skin stayed crappy into my adult life. Now don't get me wrong, It was never that bad but it was certainly enough for me to coat my whole face in a much too thick layer of foundation.

I'm sure you'll understand that when its you, it feels that the whole world is staring at any, even tiny imperfection. It was enough to make me visit the doctors and beg to be prescribed the pill, a cream, a medical face wash...anything that would make it better. And so i tried everything i was given, i ordered the Pro Active System from QVC, Ive sat in the house with some concoction of toothpaste or vodka or cucumber face mask on my face. But while somethings seemed like they might be making a difference only one thing truly did.

Now nearing 24 i can finally say that my skin is clear. Swapping liquid foundation for minerals was all it took to clear my skin up. Simple as that. But i don't take it for granted at all. I remain pretty meticulous about my skincare. I'm NEVER the girl that can roll in from a night out and fall into bed with a face full of make up.

When it comes to skincare, everyone is different with their own concerns and issues, needs and likes. My skin is oily and sensitive with some visible pores and what works wonders for my skin might be your idea of torture - But these are the products that really work for me.

1) LILY LOLO FOUNDATION

Yes I know, not technically skin care, but this is the single product that i attribute to be the 'wonder product' for my skin. I started using this about 8 months ago and the change in the condition of my skin was dramatic. From acne prone skin 8 months ago, within a month of swapping my usual Armani Foundation for Mineral Foundation breakouts are rare occurrence.

Before, i found that breakouts were overwhelming. Id despair (and I'm not being dramatic here!) at the state of my skin...yes there would be tears, but now i find that the odd breakout i do get (usually just hormones causing the odd blemish on my chin) is much more dealable because i am aware that this one will not just be replaced with three more by the time it clears up. I will NEVER go back to liquid foundation!

SKINCARE WILL NOW BE SPLIT INTO 2 DIFFERENT CATEGORIES

The 'BEFORE I GOT SKINT' Category

2) THE NEALS YARD SYSTEM

After seeing such dramatic results by simply switching from a liquid to a mineral foundation i realised the extent to which your skin can be negatively effected by unnecessary chemicals. And so I switched all my skincare products to Neals Yard. In case the pic ended up too small to read Neal's Yard have a No Animal testing, No GMO Ingredients, No Parabens, No Nano Particles, No Synthetic Fragrances or Colours, No Silicones, No Mineral Oils, No Phithalates, No EDTA, No Propythlene Glycol, No Cardomer and No Dea Policy.








CLEANSER - PALMAROSA FACIAL WASH- "A soft and gentle facial wash for all skin types that cleanses without removing moisture. " - £11.70 for 100ml bottle








TONER - LAVENDER WATER - "A skin toner for problem skin. Organic lavender oil creates this refreshing toner that removes the last traces of cleansers and refines pores to prepare the skin for moisturising. Lavender is restorative to the skin, helping to reduce redness or blemishes." - £7.80 for a 100ml bottle.




MOISTURISER - VIOLET DAY CREAM- "A pure face cream to help maintain a healthy complexion. Containing organic calendula, apricot and violet." - £14.65 for a 30ml tube.



These products are all part of the 'Purify Oily Skin' range and I found that the whole system was great for my skin. It was soft, blemish free and all the products were easy to use, fuss free and most importantly i felt happy knowing that i wasn't polluting my face with harsh chemicals. The only down side to this is that in keeping with the organic nature, the have pretty hefty (but i think reasonable) prices. All in all a great system for me.

The 'AFTER I WAS HIT BY THE CREDIT CRUNCH' Category

When my Neal's Yard products began to run out I found that i just couldn't afford to repurchase (note: if i could have, I definitely would have bought again!) so i began to introduce lower end cheaper skincare products into the routine. After successfully replacing one product at a time and not seeing any negative reactions i am now completely using drug store skincare. While i like the idea of using organic skincare and will probably go back to Neal's yard when i can, if I'm honest i don't see any difference in the condition of my skin and am more than happy with the results i get using these cheaper products.

3)EXFOLIATOR - Neutrogena Visably Clear Spot Stress Control Daily Scrub
4)EYE MAKE UP REMOVER - Oil of Olay Eye Make Up Removing Cream
5)MAKE UP REMOVER - Neutrogena Oil Free Make Up Remover
6)CLEANSER - Clearasil Ultra Depp Pore Treatment Lotion
7)MOISTURISER - Neutrogena Oil Free Moisturiser.
So there you have it, the 7 products that work for me - I hope you find what works for you.
x

Say No To Tango!

As the canvas to the picture, skin is in my opinion the most important aspect of beauty. Get the skin right and whatever else you do will look fine. Get the eyes and the lips looking incredible but leave the skin looking ruddy and dull...well lets be honest, noone's gonna die but the look just wont live up to its full potential.
There's lots that can go wrong when it comes to skin. My pet hate orange foundations or a thick laquer of fake tan on the face. It just looks plain wrong. Need I say more?
Valentino - like fine wine, he matured into a mahogony table.
Heather, 18 appeared on Snog Marry Avoid (Love it!!)
Fergie - not of the Black Eyed Peas
Frank Lampard
Really, Frank Lampard? Thought you were going for the natural look did you??Thought not. You may as well just go the whole hog. How about you take this picture to your make up artist (surely there cannot be a professional behind this!?) and beg her to lay this monstrosity upon your tangerine pus!?
But there's always one who goes out of their way to be different. Step up Paleface Johansson. Look at the difference between the colour of the back of her neck and her natural tan shoulders. Oops.
And it certainly doesn't stop there - overexposure to sunlight can leave you looking like this old pair of handbags. (Donatella Versace and Iggy Pop)
Bad times. No moral of the story here. Just a warning. Bad make up can happen to good people.

Thursday 23 April 2009

Nothing particular

Evening Lovely ladies! Just a quick one, just got back from watching I Love You, Man at the cinema (i have just been told "write treat from the lovely BF". there you go.) and still have pick n mix to eat therefore more time must be spent pickin and mixing than typing. But just wanted to update you on a few things:

  • Firstly, I LOVE the new products that you all recommended for me. Emma, the GOSH liner is definitely a winner and Rocaille, the Max Factor False Lash Mascara is awesome - love the brush! So yeah, ta!
  • I think i am not loving the new hairdo quite so much. The curls didn't last the night and i didn't want to wash it so i did something i haven't done in ages and straightened it. Hair looks pretty rubbish and fringey thing looks lank and weird...i hope its just the flatness i don't like and not the actual cut!? Will update.
  • I am now on twitter and am following a bunch of you...i think! So add me!

You can find me at www.twitter.com/jigglysteph

  • Posts coming up: Skincare as requested by Lovely Laura B, Following on from the very witty Marie Wilkinson http://marie-loves.blogspot.com/ (go check her out) Im thinking about posting up some more info about my band...maybe a demo? Also coming up are a pondering about asian make up and one about tattoos and beauty - do you reckon they go together or are they on opposite sides of 'pretty'?

That is all muchachos. Hope your having a fine old Thursday night!

x

Wednesday 22 April 2009

New Hair

As I really didn't have enough time to do the normal scouring of hair magazines (which oft result in a wailing 'I waaaaaaaant thaaaat oneeeee but my faaaaaaccccceee is tooooo rooound!') i just went to see the lovely James at James Alexander in Edinburgh and told him 'do with me what you please'. This is the result. I think i like it!



One of these days i'll get something completely different. It just seems that today was not that day.

The Scenario

Here's the scenario:

A phone rings in a darkened room. A single spotlight falls on a girl. She is dressed in pajamas, minus makeup and bedraggled of locks. She looks at the phone. Weighs up in her mind whether she can ignore it and go back to her Lost DVD. Decides she cant. Answers phone.

Mother McMakeup: Did I just wake you up?
Me: No, Ive been awake for ages. (brazen lie)
Mother McMakeup: Good. Will you be ready to leave the house in an hour?
Me: Emmm...maybe. Why?
Mother McMakeup: Your bedraggled flowing hippy locks are taking over the world. Ive booked you a hair appointment. Go forth daughter of mine, for thine is the appointment, the stylist and the glory, forever and ever amen.
Me: Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

What do you think of this??

See you in a while!xx

Tuesday 21 April 2009

The New Look UDPP! Look again...no, again!Subtle!

Sup Homeslices, I have news!
Whats your biggest complaint about Urban Decay Primer Potion? Surely it can be none other than the outrageous fact that the beautifully curvy packaging means that it is a physical impossibility to get to this much product without cutting it open. Not practical.

Quite frankly, I think that's just beedin criminal! Now i can understand that the packaging really makes the product stand out from the others in the market. Yes it is beautiful, yes the product works but NO! If this is the wastage then clearly the packaging is defunct and needs to be changed (or the company need to admit that if people run out sooner, or think that they have run out they will repurchase unnecessarily thus increasing sales. crafty/naughty UD!). So it seems that finally UD have realised the error of their ways and have indeed changed the packaging.

Behold, the new look UDPP. You better be beholding!
Riiiiiiiiiiight. Now is it just me but when the shape of the bottle has clearly been identified as the problem, surely the solution is to change it?? Apparently not. Now, to their credit, this new slightly bent wand probably WILL make a difference to reduce the wastage...but come on. No really, coooooome on Urban Decay, A bent wand? Are you taking the piss??
This improved version is in circulation in the states now but i cant see a date for release here in the UK yet. I am holding my somewhat baited breath.
Rant over. Taking a deep breath and reaching for the ferrerro rocher!

Monday 20 April 2009

A Scrubby Monday

Evening Bloggy Bloggers! I am having a fabulously indulgent Monday! To be fair it was started particularly nicely with a swiss cheese and bacon croissant brought to me n bed by lovely BF.Later I got stuck into a Quality Street Easter Egg (isn't there something special about egg shaped chocolate? It just tastes better somehow!?) and have just spent AGES pampering myself in the shower. I am now completely hairfree in all the places i want to be, scrubbed to within an inch of my life, facemasked, shea buttered and smelling delicious! God it feels GOOD! So i thought i would just write a quick blog about all thing shower things i am particularly loving right now:

First up is NEUTROGENA VISIBLY CLEAR SPOT STRESS CONTROL DAILY SCRUB.
Firstly let me just say that facial exfoliators are one thing that I have tried aplenty and this is far and away my favourite. I used to have teenage acne and its only in the last year or so since using mineral make up that i have gotten control of my skin back. Because of this i can be very particular about what i feel works for my skin. And this is one that i LOVE. I'm a fan of quite a gritty exfoliator which this is, but its not so harsh that i end up with pink cheeks. After using this i find that i am actually stroking my face because my skin is soooo soft (I know, quite a sight to behold!). An all round winner for me.

Next up is another exoliator, this time for the body...Can you tell that i love to scrub? Its LUSH'S BUFFY THE BACKSIDE SLAYER. This was the first time i have used any of Lush's exfoliator bars and i have to say that i loved it. Very stimulating and nicely packed with grit! The smell was slightly buiscuity but not in the fake tan, yucky way. The only downside is that I can tell this is not going to last long as the bar is already considerably smaller after the first use.

And lastly THE BODY SHOP'S SATSUMA BODY BUTTER
I'm pretty sure that everyone knows that for Body Butters, the Body Shop gets it right everytime...but i LOVE this one! The smell is seriously strong but so deliciously summery. Probably not recommended if your going to a picnic - it would be waspapalooza!

Anyway, in continuation of my indulgent day I'm away to make myself a baked tattie with masses of emmental!mmm.

x

Sunday 19 April 2009

REVIEW: Prestige Skin Loving Minerals Blusher - Great Dupe for MAC Love Rock?

PACKAGING - 4/5
QUALITY - 4/5
PRICE - 4/5
OVERALL - 4/5
WOULD I BUY IT AGAIN? Yes!
WHERE TO BUY? At Boots! easy!

ABOUT: Oddly enough, this is the one product that i cant find on the Prestige website (http://www.prestigecosmetics.com/, note: there is not UK website so everything is priced in US$) ,so there are no claims to be proved or disproved. The site does however say that all of their products are 100% free of talc, oil, fragrance, parabens and synthetic binding ingredients.This is always something that makes me take notice of a company and i find it really reassuring - after trying mineral foundation (Lily Lolo) and it working magic on my skin i definitely feel happier knowing that there are no extra 'baddies' lurking around.

COLOURS TESTED: 01 Pink (not particularly creative) , but it does do what it says on the tin! This colour is a cool toned pink shot through with shimmer veining. There are 3 other colours in the range, one is a lighter peachier colour and the other two are more browny based.

PRICE: Pretty inexpensive at £7.99 for 1.5g

DID IT WORK FOR ME? Definitely! I admit that i am a bit of a blush fiend but being so pale i tend to find that tons of blushers overpower my face and i can end up looking a bit like two cheeks with eyes...but i LOVE this.
Pardon the picture, this was taken after a LOT of dancing but it gives you an idea!

The colour is very buildable so I build up a great colour which just never seems to look like 'too much' and i think it would look great on pale or dark skin tones...maybe not so great on yellow toned olive skin. The shimmer is gorgeous. Especially with blush i think shimmer is VERY difficult to get right and it is soo easy to look fake and chunky. But this is the perfect combo of colour and shimmer and always looks really glowy. I tend apply it with a small Bobbi Brown face blender brush to place it on the apples of my cheeks and it looks great for creating a dewy looking flush...One that even the BF has commented on in a 'ooh, you look healthy, what have you done' kind of way. Winner!

PROS
- The overall look is soooo beautiful
- Minerals. They say this is like slathering your skin in shea butter as oppose to a bunch of chemicals
- no need for a separate highlighter

CONS
- The lack of added binding ingredients make this a bit powdery and i always end up with blush powder all over the place
- Because of this i tend to go through it quite quickly
- There are not so many colours in the range

It has to be said though that none of these cons bother me all that much. I'm on my second one and i reckon this is something i will repurchase again and again.
If you have any more questions just give me a shout!

Friday 17 April 2009

Just the essentials haul

So yesterday I finally admitted to myself that I had run out of too many things to not be able to justify getting myself to the shops! I thought i would LOVE being back at the tills... but actually i didn't get the rush i normally get from being handed a bag of new things. To be honest, i felt a bit guilty...maybe I'm just out of practice!?

Like i said in yesterdays blog, I was getting only the essentials and strictly drugstore only. So here's what made the final cut from your suggestions:

Mascara - MaxFactor false Lash Effect Mascara in Black, £10.76 (Boots £2 off voucher took it to £8.76!Huzzah!)
Liquid Liner - Boots 17 Liquid Liner in Black, £3.91

Blush - Skin Loving Minerals Blush in 01 Pink, £7.82

And swatched with flash. I'll do a full review on this for anyone who's interested.

Kohl Pencil - GOSH lets twist eyeliner in Carbon Black, £5.87

Thanks everone who gave me recommendaions in yesterday post. i had great fun swatching them all today and am pretty dam happy with my final decisions. And lastly as a special treat from the BF: Lush goodies!

BUFFY(the backside slayer) - on the left in the picture: "Lush's best seller in the Body Butters. Exfoliating scrub for the seating area" (but i assume i can be used all over the body!?) and AQUA MIRABILIS BODY BUTTER - "aqua is even more scrubby than buffy it will leave your skin smooth and silky giving you a great exfoliating shower or bath" . I cant wait to try these out!

Thursday 16 April 2009

Legwarmers and perms? Surely not!?

How do you feel about dusting off your leg warmers and singing into a hairbrush just like the old days? You'd better hope you're pretty damn chipper about it! Why i hear you ask? Coming soon in a cinema near you...GENERATION FAME!

Oh yes, Fame has been remade and will be released in cinemas this Summer.
I have to admit there is a part of me that does wanna (re)learn how to flyyyyyyy! You heard it here first folks!

What are your top rated drugstore...?

Afternoon Ladies of Blog. The time has come where, jobless as i am, i am going to have to spend some money. I have been living on a shoe string for the past 2 months meaning that unless it is food or bills ( or bought for me by lovely long suffering boy) i dont buy it...but i am going to have to change this habit tomorrow. I have officially run out of too many things.

So tomorrow i am going to head into town and i will be purchasing one each of the following items:

1) Mascara - currently using Loreal Collagen Mascara
2) Black Kohl liner - currently using Loreal Le Grand Kohl liner
3) Blush - currently using Prestige Skin Loving minerals blush in 01 Pink
4) Liquid liner - currently using Rimmel London Exaggerate

So heres where i need your help. The only thing i am dead set on repurchasing is the Prestige SLM Blush. This really is my perfect colour and shimmer combo. So, what would you recommend? I cant spend much on each item (a massive high end spree will take place when i get a job, or the one im waiting on gets funding confirmed!Grr!!) so for now it will be strictly drug store.

What are your recommendations??

xxx

Wednesday 15 April 2009

A few photos from the gammy eye day band photo shoot.

Ola! As promised here are a few of the photos that my band had taken the day before yesterday. We took over 160 photos and these are just the first 5 that i have been sent...I'm pretty sure that these one wont make the final cut though! Regular readers of my blog will know that I woke up the day of the shoot with a big massively swollen eye and although I iced it for ages and it went down significantly, you can definitely tell there's something funky with my face in these photos.

So like i said, just 5 random photos complete with various grimaces and awkward poses - certainly not the ones that we will end up using! I cant wait to get the whole 160 photos and to start marking off the good ones...Man i hope there are some good ones!!

Tuesday 14 April 2009

Not my usual make up look...!

Today is, as they say in the publishing world, a slow news day. Feeling a bit sorry for my jobless self so i had a look through some old pictures to cheer me up and came across a picture of questionable make up that i thought I'd share with you. Not my regular Saturday night party look but interesting none the less!



This was for a fancy dress party that i went to a wee while ago where the theme was 'alphabet dress up' and you had to come dressed as something beginning with the first letter of your name. Im standing next to lovely housemate 'Aslan' in the second photo

Black outfit, cape and some scary make up and i was...Skeletor! What would you go as and what would your outfit have consisted of?

Monday 13 April 2009

My gammy eye day

Isn't it just the case that as soon as you need to look good, you REALLY don't? Well, it was certainly the case with me today! My band were having some promo pictures taken to pass out to the agents and clients that might think about booking us in the future. The photos are supposed to be a visual representation of the product ie: we wanted to look bloody good...and today i woke up with a big swollen eye! Perfect!

I had been feeling a bit tender in the peeper but as a regular contact wearer I figured maybe my eyes were just a bit tired... but alas twas not the case as when i woke up this morning my right eye was about twice the size of the left one and seriously puffy. Needless to say I had a bit of a panic then as every good woman knows how to do, I went straight into damage limitation mode. Out came the ice pack, cold tea bags and frozen spoons. By the time I had to leave my eye was FAR less swollen.

A day of flouncing around Edinburgh and standing creatively in lines on rocks, against walls and in amongst thousands of daffodils with the band dudes was a great laugh. Short of wearing an eye patch and wearing a parrot on my shoulder, the tactic of dealing with the mutant eye was to do a 3/4 turn so the asymmetry wasn't as obvious... I hope I got away with it! Id better have!



Ill post up some pictures tomorrow when i get them back and you can let me know if i succeeded!

Sunday 12 April 2009

Fifty Caliber Smile and Janek Gwizdala

I did say at the very start of my blog that i would be blogging about alltypes of stuff that makes me happy. Thus far it has mostly been make up based so heres a post thats a little bit different.

Music is something that is very important to me. I went to a Performing Arts 6th form College and yes it was a bit like FAME, before going to the Academy of Contemporary Music to study Vocals. Since then i have been singing in a few bands and have even gigged as far away as Nigeria! So, like i said, Music is very important to me and this weekend i have had a most wonderful musical time!

First up is Friday nights Gig: Fifty Caliber Smile aka Boyfriends Band. Its quite Heavy Rock/ Metal and the guys work harder than any other band I know, rehearsing about a million times a week. For reference BF is the spiky haired guitarist on the left that doesnt sing. Funnily enough this song is about me...although i have to say its not very complimentary. It was written before we actually properly got together and is about how i kept saying that we would never work.Take a gander.



And then last night i went to THE JAZZ BAR to watch The Janek Gwizdala Project and all i can say is, if you like music, particularly groove based Jazz then you HAVE to check out this video! He's a world reknowned Bass player and last night shared the stage with legendary Drummer Jojo Meyer. Jazz moved into Drum n Bass then through to poppy ballads... The whole thing was awe inspiring...and Janek is a stone cold hottie. Doesnt hurt!

,

Anyway, a fab weekend full of great music. Good Times!

Saturday 11 April 2009

Question...?

Ok this is going to sound weird...but bare with me on this one! You know when your having a picnic (cos that's when everyone brings out the summer picnic food of course!) and someone bites into a big juicy slice of tomato and makes it look sooo delicious and juicy and fresh, so then you think 'hmm, i gotta get me some tomato to bite into and it will be fabulous and fresh and juicy too', so then you do...but it tastes slimy and yuck?

Ive been finding that this is the case with make up. There are a few looks that everyone else seems to love rocking lately that i just cant buy into on me. So,Question: Whats the one make up look or technique that you love on everyone else but you hate on yourself?

For me the answer is always Nude Lips. There are many of you who look incredible in this look. Its a great way to play up the focus to the eyes but I cant stand the way I look with nude or pale lips. I look dull and dead and really not at all attractive. Nude Lips + Me = Ick!

I don't so much mind my distaste for my face with nude lips. I can deal with it and have accepted that I am just a bright lips kinda gal, but i do mind this next one. I mind it a lot. I wish, I mean I REALLY wish i could do the whole black smudgy dark eye thing. Sooo uber sexy on anyone...except me.

Urgh just toooooo stunning for words. But on me, the second i take the shadow or smudgy kohl liner anywhere near the inner corner of my eye i look ridiculous. Less Rockchic Chic and more overdosed panda. Not a good look.

So Make me feel better, what look would you love to be able to pull off but just cant? Tell me dear people, that I am not the only one with a face that dashes my hopes for the best make up! Please say it ain't so!?

Friday 10 April 2009

Lily Lolo Easter Discount

Greetings lovely followers! I for one will be taking advantage of this 15% off full size products at Lily Lolo. Im definitely going to get a back up of my HG foundation. Just in case you know!?

I would definitely recommend the foundations and the cover ups. The are my absolute Holy Grail of skin saviours. These products have made such a difference the condition of my skin and i almost never get breakouts anymore...and let me tell you, that is nothing short of amazing!

Other than that I have to say that Ive only tried a few other bits and pieces from this line, the first being the Flawless matte which is a mattifying skin finish. I like this but i dont feel that im oily or shiny enough to warrant a full sized one. The second thing i tried was the Blush sample in Rosy Apple. In the sachet it looks BEAUTIFUL with a stunning rosy pinky brown colour with the perfect shimmer to it. Now i am a total blush fiend...but i hated this one. I am uber pale and i really couldnt see this on my skin. I got absolutely no colour payoff. AT. ALL. NOTHING.

So if you want my advice, Order samples now (99p) so you can get an idea of the great products that Lily Lolo have and then go back and take the 15% off on a full size foundation or Cover up. If you try anything else, let me know how you find it! Enjoy!

Thursday 9 April 2009

How far would you go?

The thing that unites us beauty bloggers is so much more than just make up. Its the feeling you get when you 'discover' a new product that works wonders on you or the happiness that comes from gaining a new follower, as if that extra person validates what you have to say and in turn means you cant be going too wrong with the way you put yourself together. Its the comraderie and the feeling that there are a bunch of other girls with the same interests just a click of a button away.

But how far would you go in the quest for beauty perfection? Is it a case of hair colouring? Of eye brightener, lipstick and contouring? Does it stop at electrolysis?

Or would you, like many others, consider having a nip here or a tuck there. Do you look down on the people who succumb to the pressures of looking good in such a dramatic and dangerous way? Do you think these people are insecure beyond the realms of how make up makes you feel? or do you feel that its perfectly OK to want to make the best out of what you have?

I guess all those questions can be streamlined a bit. So how about this: What I'm trying to figure out is: What do you REALLY think about Cosmetic Surgery?

When looking for an image to brighten up this post, (yes, I know its a bit provocative, i wanted to make it a tad less heavy!) I found it really difficult to find a depiction of cosmetic surgery that came without a heavy dose of bias.

Either the picture has strong negative correlations like this one:
Or alternatively, you just need to flip to the back pages of any magazine to see images like this one that evoke the notion that with just a little help, you too could be this sparkley and happy:

Reading back on this post I noticed that if you didnt know me, My guess would be that you would think I was very much AGAINST plastic surgery... So would you be surprised if i said that I had had cosmetic surgery and was considering more? Would you think less of me?

Have any of you had anything done? Would you consider it? Are you against it?

Id love to hear your views.