Casual Ramblings & Other Thoughts

Review: Chantecaille Just Skin Tinted Moisturiser

2012-02-03T15:09:00.000Z

I'm going to begin with the obvious, this is the most money I have spent on a single cosmetic product. At the purse stinging price of £55 it is something that you hope will give you amazing dewy skin while not turning you into a big greasy mess and clogging your pores. Fortunately this product delivers.

It is my first venture into the tinted moisturiser realm, so now I will be expecting everything else to match up to it. I've been applying it with a few different brushes, but my favourite is either a MAC 106 or an Everyday Minerals Long Handled Kabuki (which I highly recommend, I've had this brush for nearly 5 years now and it's just as hard working and soft as ever). The coverage, in my opinion is very similar to Chanel's Vitalumier Aqua but just a tad sheer-er but slightly a creamier consistency, if that even makes sense?

I find that the longevity of this product is much better on my skin that some 'dryer' foundations like MAC Studio Finish, and it doesn't go greasy just dewy. These are some pictures of me just after applying the Just Skin, the first picture is un-powdered the second is with a light dusting of Chanel's Poudre Universelle Libre. Obviously different lighting and please excuse the eye luggage, I wasn't wearing concealer nor had I discovered Origins Ginzing - but that's another story.

So my final conclusions are yes I love this product. Yes is is worth £55 but no it's not a habit I can afford to keep it up. You get a fair amount of product for your money 50grams to be exact but I find I like to build up the coverage which means I use a fair bit of product. I bought this tube in early December and am about 2/3 of the way through. I think when this is gone I will go back to the ole' Chanel Vitalumier Aqua, previous to this venture I'd just been through my second bottle of this and although it is also very expensive I can justify the money for it - just about.

You can find Chantecaille in Space NK and Liberty. For 55 of your English pounds and FYI I'm wearing the shade Alabaster because I am crazy pale.

NOTD 004

2012-02-01T09:00:00.000Z

Hello lovely readers! Hope you are all revelling in the 1st of the month pinch punches?

This week I wore OPI's Russian Navy for the first time, and I love it. I must admit I was a but phased when I opened the packaging containing said polish as I had researched for swatches which all promised a gorgeous beep navy blue with a slight shimmer. In the bottle however it appears very purple with pink and purple reflects. needless to say I was a tad concerned I had received some 'new'version of Russian Navy (a la the tale of two bubble baths) but my worries were unfounded as once applied this polish was everything I hoped, dark, glamorous and a little bit dramatic.

Last Monday I had the day off and decided to attempt to make the much famed 'Slutty Brownies' as created by Rose from The Londoner and they were delicious. They were so easy to make that unless for some medical reason you shouldn't everyone needs to make them at least once in their lives. Just look at the gooeyness!

Taken on instagram, you can follow me at - lipton00

Happy February!

Haulage 006: Top Nail Shop

2012-01-30T14:42:00.003Z

Afternoon all, hope everyone is as happy as I am the January is finally coming to an end, it is me or has this month gone on for flippin' ages? I was promised snow today and although Portsmouth got some in the wee hours this morning this side of the Sussex downs has stayed clear of it. I must confess I'm a bit disappointed as I've seen no snow at all this winter. Anyway, I digress, the point of this post is a simple haul review from the current favourite USA polish eBay importer, Top Nail Shop. Bargainous compared to the crazy price of OPI over here. So here's the latest members of my collection:

L-R: Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat ($3.99/£2.50 compared to £9.85 feelunique.com want for it!), Seche Vite Clear Base Coat ($3.49), OPI Gargantuan Green Grape, OPI Russian Navy, OPI Atomic Orange, OPI Do You Lilac It? (OPI polishes are $5.99/£3.80 normally around £7/8 over here.) I paid $17/£10 postage and they arrived in just over a week.

I shall leave you with some close ups with and without flash. Expect NOTD's on these coming soon - I've already used the Seche Vite top coat and it's love.

2012 Resolutions

2012-01-02T17:38:00.002Z

Right now as write this post I am sipping on possibly my new favourite concoction: Malteaser hot chocolate mixed with Clipper's hot chocolate. Malty and chocolatty, lovely. (Mug from the Hershey's Times Square store.)

Today I have started to put into practice some resolutions that I have made. Simple tweaks to my day-to-day life that hopefully will make me a bit healthier, even if I don't stick to them, I'm a sucker for making a good list!

#1 Drink more water. I literally drink half a glass to a glass a day, maybe an extra one if I've been to a Zumba class. I'm sure I don't need to lecture you on the importance that water plays in our bodies but I feel I need to start treating mine a bit better and give it a good watering.

#2 Stick with the Zumba classes. I started going to Zumba in the summer with my mum and a friend and it was the first exercise class I'd been to in 2 or 3 years. I love it, it's fun and gets my heart rate going. Unfortunately I was very sporadic with attending the classes in the winter - using the excuse that I'd been at work all day. My mum has kept up going 3 times a week and has lost a lot of weight she was struggling to shift for years. Although my work schedule means I can only make 2 out of those 3 classes I really want to keep up with it not only to support her but I really need to keep up my fitness levels as I don't really do much else activity other than work.

#3 Take my vitamins! I'm awful at remembering to take my vitamins so I aim every morning to have a multivitamin, vitamin C tablet (mostly for the taste!) and glucosamine for my joints as I suffer with joint pain - at the grand old age of 21!

#4 Dry body brush as often as possible. At least a couple of times a week, I used to be really good at doing this before every shower and my skin was much better for it - no more horrible bumps on my upper arms. It's great for cellulite too and getting the blood flowing.

#5 Take more walks. Having a dog definitely helps this and Honey being a spaniel means that she needs to be taken for longer walks as they have a lot of energy and need plenty of mental stimulation. I'm really lucky that I live within a 5 minute drive of many lovely walks near the Sussex Downs so I need to not take them for granted and enjoy them!

Today we walked up to Slindon Folly which gives amazing views of the local farmland and villages. We even saw a couple of deer in the woods, it's always so magical to see such big wild life out in their natural home.

#6 Save money! I'm getting to that age where I'd like to be able to move out on my own in the near-ish future. This means no more unnecessary buys, well at least not so many.

Hopefully I can stick to these, or at least try. Whatever your resolutions are, I really wish you the best of luck in reaching your goals.

2011 Highlights

2012-01-01T18:50:00.000Z

2011 was a rather uneventful year for myself, however as the sky news advert keeps reminding me 'the world has changed entirely since the beginning of 2011.'

In a lot of ways I am grateful for this I am in the same living/career/romantic situation as I was last at the end of 2010 and I find a very strange sort of contentment in this.

There were only a handful of notable events in the last 12 months for me. In March I upgraded my car after saving for many months to a lovely Renault Clio (vava voom), it's only now writing this post I realise that I've not taken a single photo of it (nor have I washed it) since buying it. I also started the process of dying my hair blonde after being a brunette since 2006.

In June I went to New York for the second time to see my best friend. I only went for a week but after doing the major tourist stuff on my trip in 2010 it was great to be able to get into the 'propa' New York stuff - let me tell you though it was BOILING! I can see why the New Yorkers migrate out to the Hampton's if they can in the summer. My three highlights - going to the Alexander McQueen 'Savage Beauty' exhibition at the MET, eating a chili cheese dog on Coney Island and seeing 'Measure for Measure' at Shakespeare in the Park.

One of my best friends got married this year, Playboy was the theme for her hen night in July - I'm in the red, the bride to be is in the purple.

The day after this night of debauchery we welcomed our first ever pooch to the family. A cocker spaniel who is called Honey, for obvious reasons. She is amazing (mad as a box of frogs!) but amazing.

In August I turned 21, I haven't got many pictures, I spend the day in London with my parents who took my on a boat ride on the Thames (complete with champagne) and for the first time I went on the London Eye which despite the rain (seriously without fail it rains every year on my birthday) gave lovely views of our fair capital.

In September my brother turned 18 and my friend got married - this was my first wedding and it was very beautiful and tear-jerking. (That's me sporting my Kate Middleton inspired blue dress.)

For Halloween I was Tim Burton's Corpse Bride. I have such an obsession with everything that man creates that I was bound to be her one year. I made my costume from scratch (almost, I bought an old wedding dress from eBay and painted and re-stitched it how I wanted.)

Which brings us to Christmas, a very standard year. I'm fortunate enough that we don't really have any estranged irritating family members to put up with so my Christmas's are pretty stress free (that's jinxed it). I'm currently nursing a heaving cold so spent last night tucked up in bed - though I did stay awake to see in the new year - then watched some Family Guy!

So here's to 2011, may 2012 kick it's ass!

OOTD 001

2011-02-04T11:57:00.003Z

Just a quick couple of snaps of what I wore last night. I went to see Black Swan at the cinema, what a head-mess that was! A really good film but I'm not going to lie a had nightmares last night. Portman deserves all the recognition she's getting for this role, she was amazing.

Leather Jacket: Muubaa
Scarf: Alexander McQueen
Top: Miss Selfridge
Jeans: Hollister
Boots: Ugg
(Not the most fashion forward shoes but my local cinema has killer air con and my feet always get cold!)

NOTD 003

2011-02-03T12:32:00.003Z

OPI 'I'm Indi-a Mood For Love'

(Perfect for valentines)

MAC Peacocky

2011-02-02T16:02:00.004Z

Is now available on the UK site. There's a couple of the mega-metal shadows that are sold out already so get in there quick if there was anything you really wanted.
Personally I got just 3 of the shadows and skipped the lipglasses altogether, I'm all about the lipstick these days :) check out temptalia's review of the collection for great swatches.

Review: Macademia

2011-02-01T15:42:00.004Z

Hello beauties! Today's post comes in the form of a review. I've been testing these products for about a month now and I am so happy with them.
I first heard about Macadamia oil products after watching Allthatglitters21's video on hair extensions where she was raving about them. At the time the beauty world was all about the Moroccan Argan Oil and this was a similar product. I crossed paths with Macadamia oil again when I got a new hairdresser last November, she used a tiny amount to smooth the ends of my hair and said that apart from obviously making my hair smoother, it was a great protector too. So when feelunique.com had their january sale I took the dive and bought the 'Deep Healing Set' which gets you a 250ml Deep Repair Masque and a 125ml Healing Oil Treatment for £30.60 (now full price at £34 but to buy the two separately would be £46.44).

Since purchasing these I've been using the masque and oil combined as a treatment once a week and the oil every time I blow-dry my hair and I'm so happy with the results. Firstly the smell is amazing - I'm dreadful at describing smells but it's almost fruity, a little bit like vo5 shampoos but nicer, and the oil has a musky hint to it. (Told you I was dreadful.) The smell lingers in your hair which is always great.
My favourite way to use the masque is after shampooing with 'Big' by Lush, this shampoo is really cleansing (so cleansing that it's not recommended for use on dark/red coloured hair as it rinses half the colour out!) this gets my hair cuticles all nice and open ready to drink up the macadamia treatment. I then pop a generous helping of the masque with one pump of the oil all over my barnet and leave on for 20 minutes and rinse off. Now I think this may be a bit too much for people with oily hair so I'd avoid the roots is that's the case. But once dried your hair feels so soft and smooth.

The oil needs to be used very sparingly, about half a pump rubbed the in the palms and then run through the mid lengths to ends of damp hair makes a great blow-dry smoothing serum. Avoid the roots with this one, I found out the hard greasy way.

All in all I'm really pleased with these products, the trouble is no matter how good something is I get so restless with hair/makeup/skincare that I'm always wanting something new and by the looks of the bottle of oil it's going to take me a while to finish it because the product goes so far, I'm going to have to start giving away all my half used lotions and potions.

What's In My Bag?

2010-10-19T16:07:00.004+01:00

Okay so you may remember me mentioning a self presented 'congratulatory present' in my last post. It was a good few weeks back to you are forgiven if you have no idea what I'm on about.
Anyway I bought myself a new bag, but not just a new bag a proper grown-up bag, a Mulberry Bayswater. I adore her, she goes everywhere with me. I think it's a new addiction, I'm already craving the Lily in black.
So I've decided to give her, her blogger debut in conjunction with a very well known and loved blog post, the 'what's in my bag tag'. Personally I love a cheeky gander at what other people tote around...

Mulberry Bayswater in Oak: mulberry.com

Makeup bag: Free GWP from Clinique this past summer.
Vera Wang glasses & case (I'm short sighted in case you were wondering): tescoopticians.com
Pen from Q hotels (when I went on a trip for work)
Purse by Chhabria (my mum bought this in Tenerife for me)
iPod Nano in pink 16gb: apple.com with Exspect leather case: play.com
iPhone 3G: apple.com with Exspect leather case: play.com
iPhone ear phones
Tesco ibuprofen
Mulberry pocketbook diary (I got this one at the outlet in Bicester Village): mulberry.com

Mini tube of Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream: elizabetharden.co.uk
About a 1/4 of a roll of polos
Sanitary towel holder: glitzyglam.com
Nail scissors
Nurofen
Crystal nail file: marksandspencer.com
more ibuprofen
MAC lipstick in Creme d'Nude (right): maccosmetics.co.uk
MAC lipstick in Myth (left): maccosmetics.co.uk
Hairbands
Korres Colour Cherry lip gloss in 33 Nude: bathandunwind.com
Tissues
Hand sanitizer

Review: Clinique Makeup Removal

2010-09-18T17:43:00.003+01:00

Hello! It's been a busy month so far, lots of birthdays and lots of work. I got a promotion a few weeks ago so I'm really excited for when my new salary kicks in (I already bought myself a congratulatory present, to be featured in my next post)! I also bought a Cloud Nine styler about a week ago - so far it's love but I will do a more thorough review in the next couple of weeks when I can test it properly.
The following is just my two cents on a couple of Clinique makeup removers that I have been using daily and love.

Left: Take The Day Off Cleansing Milk & Right: Rinse-Off Eye Makeup Solvent
Prices: £16 for 200ml & £14 for 125ml

One of the main reasons I love Clinique is because they don't add any fragrances to their products. Now don't get me wrong I adore fancy smelling hair or body products but on my face, no thanks.
Previously I've always use MAC's Eye Makeup Remover, but my nearest MAC store/counter is in Brighton and I don't get over there much :( Most of the time I order online but I couldn't justify an order (and the P&P) just for eye makeup remover. So I was looking for something that would be easier for me to get hold of so I popped to boots and bought the Clinique Rinse-Off Eye Makeup Solvent. I'd done my research, read the online reviews and picked up a bottle. For me this is just as good as MAC and it's cheaper by about 1.8p per ml, who am I to argue with that in these tough economic times! This product does just what I need it to, remove all my heavy eye makeup with minimal rubbing and no burning, just cooling and soothing.

The cleansing milk is brilliant at removing makeup and it's really calming on my face. You don't have to use loads of product either just 2-3 pumps will be enough, if I've used heavy makeup on a night out then I'll double cleanse just to get everything off, then I follow with my Step 2 Clarifying Lotion to get any residue off and ensure my face is totally clean. My face doesn't feel dry and it hasn't given me any reactions or spots, hurray!

Autumn Fever

2010-08-29T16:06:00.003+01:00

So yes, I'm jumping the gun a bit but I'm so ready and exited for autumn, it really is my favourite time of year.

I just read this list from Listmaker Collective: amazing things to do in autumn. It reminded me of so many things I love about autumn.

I especially love thick woolies. I recently ordered this woolen cape from ASOS after seeing it in their latest magazine and can't wait for it to arrive:

My next favourite thing is Halloween! Hopefully this year I'll be going to Tulleys Farm Shocktober Fest, I've never been before but have heard really good things. I also really enjoy the local pumpkin festival and scarecrow week!

Right now my window is open and it just smells 'autumny' I'm really in the mood to watch 'Practical Magic' or 'Hocus Pokus'. I think I might just go grab a Horlicks and do that.

MAC's Venomous Villains

2010-08-15T19:20:00.003+01:00

Venomous Villains Holding Site

So very, very excited for this. I'll admit they could have done so much better with the packaging but I'm a sucker for anything Disney/Makeup (Alice palette, hello?).

Click here for pictures on Temptalia

So far loving the pigments, nail polishes and mineralize shadows.
International release date Oct 2010 - hopefully in time for Halloween.

Although am I the only one who had to google Dr. Facilier?

Review: Clinique 3 Step Skin Care

2010-08-15T18:46:00.006+01:00

So I've been absent for most of July & August, been very busy at work - but hopefully some good news on the horizon.

But over the last few weeks I've been using the Clinique 3 Step skin care routine. I really am loving it, my skin's really never been better although I'll admit it's a pain in the arse doing all the steps. Previously I was just a remove all makeup with a wipe (usually Soap and Glory's Off Your Face) and moisturise with whatever's at hand (quite often Simple's light moisturiser.) While I didn't have any real problems with this my skin had a few dry patches here and there and I was never through removing makeup at night, however I would never leave all my slap on.

Now my routine is:

Morning
Wash with Liquid Facial Soap
Swipe over some Clarifying Lotion
Moisturise with Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion

Night
Remove makeup with Take The Day Off Cleansing Milk & Rinse-Off Eye Makeup Solvent
(separate review to follow)
Swipe over some Clarifying Lotion
Moisturise with Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion

Yes I am lazy and don't do step one at night but hey, it works for me.

Pros: As a set works very well, I love the Clarifying Lotion, I can see why some people say it's a bit harsh for them (it smells very alcohol-y) but this makes your skin feel REALLY clean. The Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion is lovely aswell no greasy residue but still very moisturising - funny enough. Also finding that these products are lasting ages, bonus.

Cons: Not a huge fan of the Liquid Facial Soap. The smell is very...odd. Can't really explain it very well. But it's nice to use and doesn't leave my skin feeling tight like some soapy cleansers do.

On the left of the picture is the freebies I got. So far loving the Even Better Dark Spot Corrector. Not loving the All About Eyes cream, well that's a lie. I love the product - very hydrating, made my makeup go on smoother, ect. However it just doesn't like me, after about a week of use I came out in an allergic reaction (St Tropez flash-backs) and had to give the rest of the sample to my mum, who also loves it.

So for the meantime it would seem I have found a routine I like and one that likes me. I'm sure by the time I finish the bottles I'll be bored and looking for something else - isn't the grass always greener? But I guess only time will tell :)

NOTD 002

2010-08-15T18:36:00.003+01:00

OPI 'No Room For The Blues'

(really like how this one applies, thumbs up!)

Haulage 005: OPI

2010-07-09T17:36:00.006+01:00

I placed an order with 'Enchanted Beauty Spot' on eBay last week and my new OPI additions just arrived!

New Top Coat, I usually use Jessica but lately I've been getting lots of air bubbles and gloopiness so I feel my current bottle might be a wee bit past it.
'No Room for The Blues'
'Flower to Flower'
'You Don't Know Jaques!' (I can already tell this will be a forever favourite of mine!)

Very excited to try these out :)

Haulage 004: MAC

2010-07-09T17:22:00.004+01:00

Afternoon lovely people, the weather's gorgeous right now the mercury was hitting 30 degrees earlier this afternoon. My little black box of goodies arrived on Friday from MAC, I didn't get anything from the 'In The Groove' collection simply because I was trying to just get essentials. So don't expect anything too exciting.

Fluidline in 'Dipdown' a lovely warm, dark brown, less harsh than the 'ole 'Blacktrack'.
'Painterly' Paint Pot
MSF Natural in 'Light' (now my third, or possibly my forth...)
Eye Shadows in 'Parfait Amour' and the much-loved 'Sable'

'Dipdown' & 'Painterly'

Bargain Watch 002

2010-07-01T18:29:00.003+01:00

Free skin care kit with any two purchases from Clinique!

clinique.com

I was going to embark on the 3-step skin care routine anyway and this just gave me another reason. You can choose from:

De-Aging Kit - Worth £27.50
Blemishes Kit - Worth £20.05
Redness Kit - Worth £18.45
Radiance Kit - Worth £20.06
Uneven Skin Tone Kit - Worth £33.03

All contain 3 trial size products in a gift bag, I worked the prices out based on per. ml cost of the full size products.
Additionally Clinique also throw in two free samples of a choice of four with every order. Unfortunately only one code can be used per-order so no free delivery which is £3.95.

I took the online skin consultation and was deemed 'level 2'. So I have ordered the 'Liquid Facial Soap', 'Clarifying Lotion' & 'Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion'. As my freebie I got the uneven skin tone one as it seems to have the products which would be most useful to me :)

Hopefully my order should arrive tomorrow, so expect a follow-up post on this soon.

Sam
xx

Oh to be tan...

2010-06-29T17:30:00.004+01:00

So up until recently my faux tanner of choice was always St. Tropez Whipped Bronze Mousse.
Good buildable colour, no streaks, was okay on my face but occasionally settled into pores.
So as per my usual routine before a night out I try and build a bit of colour a few days before, applying a layer of my good old whipped bronze every day for about 4 or 5 days until the night.

Unfortunately I have now developed a reation to this tanner. I came out in a really painful rash all over my face, neck and chest. Very red, very bumpy, very tight, lasted about 5 days. Just not pleasant.
After doing a bit of googling I have self-diagnosed myself (seems to be a growing trend) and have concluded that I am in fact allergic. Turns out sometimes the 'allergen' in a product can be so low that sometimes it's not until weeks/months until you've built the allergen up on your skin after continuous use that the allergy appears.

Now I am on the hunt for a replacement product and have chosen Xen Tan to be my first victim. After all those lovely reviews on the blogospere how could I not try.

I ordered from feelunique.com as they had a deal on where you buy two products and get the luxe face tanner free. The down side is when I received my package I realised I'd ordered the luxe transform gradual tanner for the body rather than the straight up tan-me-dark-now one. So I think I'll order the real tanner and use the transform one as a top up, I'll give it a go in the meantime anyway. To make up the two products I also got the Xen Tan exfoliator. They all smell really good so I'm looking forward to using these.

Sam
xx

Why do I need 3 Glamour Magazines?

2010-06-19T15:36:00.002+01:00

To get these bad boys of course!

In case you where unaware, the UK Glamour magazine has given away these three full size Benefit products with their magazine, supposedly worth £45 at usual RRP. So for £6 you get the three products (if you can find them and I'd just about given up until I found these three on the shelf at Tesco's this morning) and three magazines :) and if you do what I've done and give the spare copies to your local doctor and/or dentist waiting room you get a warm fuzzy feeling inside too, ahh.

Good luck on the hunt ladies and gents,
Sam xx

FOTD 002

2010-06-19T15:27:00.002+01:00

Face
MAC Studio Fix Fluid in NC15
MAC Select Moisturecover in NW15
MAC Prep & Prime Translucent Powder
Benefit Hoola bronzer
NARS bronzer in Laguna
MAC Powder Blush in Well Dressed

Eyes
MAC Eyeshadows in Woodwinked, Retrospeck, Aquadisiac & Freshwater
MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack
Max Factor 2000 Calorie mascara

Lips
MAC Lipstick in Lazy Day

FOTD & NOTD 001

2010-06-02T10:35:00.004+01:00

Face
MAC Studio Fix Fluid in NC15
MAC Select Moisturecover in NW15
MAC Prep & Prime Translucent Powder
Benefit Hoola bronzer
NARS bronzer in Laguna
MAC Powder Blush in Fleur Power

Eyes
MAC Eyeshadows in Retrospeck, Tempting & Gazette Grey
MAC Kohl Power in Feline
Max Factor 2000 Calorie mascara

Lips
Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream Lip Protectant

Barry M Nail Paint in Grey 293

Smells & Shoes

2010-06-02T10:14:00.005+01:00

So I came home from taking my cat Widgit to the vets for what we call his weight watchers meeting. He's gone from 7.6kg to 7.2kg in 4 weeks so we're very proud of him.
Anyway, when we arrived home there was a box from ASOS sitting on my step and this was what was in it:

I decided to treat myself and bought the Juicy Couture, Couture Couture perfume. I first smelt this in Sephora in New York and I regretted not buying it (mainly because it's so much cheaper out there!) I bought this for £28 down from £35 for the 30ml bottle and I love it. It's a bit of a stronger scent than what I usually wear but I just have to be a bit more light-handed with it. Also how pretty is the bottle!? I'm such a sucker for packaging.

I also got a pair of Betsey Johnson shoes for £56 which were supposedly £179rrp. I really wanted a pair of brown leather heels to wear with these white shorts I bought a few weeks back and these fit the bill :)
The soles of these shoes are what make them special, I love how BJ shoes have the pink hologram and the little gold bow.

Sam xx

The Newest Addition

2010-06-01T16:59:00.002+01:00

Meet Wilson.

He's the newest chinchilla to join our family. I adopted him 2 weeks ago after his last owner had to give him (and her giant house rabbit) up due to a messy divorce. He's just over a year old and is a wilson white aka mosiac mutation. He's also the calmest chinnie I've ever met he'll happily sit on my shoulder and watch TV with me, he's never had a cage mate so even though the two girls are in another cage I think he likes being able to just see and talk to them.

So welcome home to Wilson

Sam xx

Haulage 003: MAC

2010-05-31T22:06:00.011+01:00

I've been pretty much missing all of May for some good reasons and some not so good reasons. My 'net went down for about a week at the start of May, I had to go away for some training for work and my grandmother died last week, so between one thing or another I've been pretty busy.

Still amongst all the bits and bobs I managed to get out and do some shopping, a couple of weeks back I went to Gunwharf Quays which is a shopping outlet I'm lucky enough to live near which among other things has a CCS.

I got a few things, all MAC. I found some pro glitters, I got 'Reflects Very Pink' & 'Reflects Blue' which are both beautiful, I love a good bit of glitter, they came in handy last weekend when me and my friends went out for a birthday dressed as fairies. These were £9.25 and are the old-style 7.5g jars rather than the new 4.5g (They also had a fair few pigments in the old-style jars if y'all are interested)

I also got studio finish concealer in 'NC15', I normally use select moisturecover but I've always wanted to try it. I'm really happy with it, I still love moisturecover for uner my eyes but this takes the crown for hiding redness on my nose and chin and for covering spots. This was £8.75.

Lastly from CCS I got the 227 brush for £15.50 (saved £5 there) I really like this brush for all over blending when I've applied all my shadows it's so big and fluffy I love it.

I also went to the MAC store this month because I had 12 empties to back to mac, yay! So for my two free lipsticks I got 'Creme D' Nude' which I adore, for me it's a more wearable 'Myth'.

For my second freebie I picked 'Lazy Day' from the To the Beach collection. I really like this, it's like a muted version of 'Viva Glam Gaga' (I so very nearly went for 'Vegas Volt' instead but I figured this one was limited edition and I can always go back for the other.'

Creme D' Nude top & Lazy Day bottom

Lastly I got 'Gazette Grey' eyeshadow from the Prêt-à-Papier collection. I bought this on a whim because I loved how it looked in the pot but I must say I'm a little disappointed with how it applies. Although it's a lovely muddy-grey the gold sparkles don't come through very well outside the container. Still I don't regret buying this because it's still a really nice colour for using in the outer corners of the eyes and works great as a liner too.

I also bought some more Urban Decay Primer Potion but I won't bore you with that.

Sam xx

Lash Stash Review #2 - Urban Decay Scyscraper Multi-Benefit

2010-04-30T16:47:00.004+01:00

Description from Sephora:
Reach new heights with Urban Decay's all new Skyscraper Mascara. This monumental breakthrough will lengthen, strengthen, separate, curl, brighten, and thicken your lashes sans clumping or flaking. The state-of-the-art brush features a flexible shaft and multiple rows of tapered bristles to comb through lashes from root to tip. Achieve that "come hither" look that gets 'em every time.

Price:
£14.50 for 12ml
approximately £1.20 per ml

Packaging:
I quite like this packaging, it's slightly rubbery, almost like NARS' containers. The design on the tube is pretty, but would you expect less from Urban Decay. Thankfully this is a better design than the old Primer Potion bottles.

Wand:
It's somewhere between brush and a comb, it's nice and narrow so it's good for getting to the corners but I find it doesn't separate very well and you get a slight clump going on.

Formula:
Very thickening, a bit sticky feeling when you apply it. This lengthens well and does give what I would call the 'false lash' appearance which I love, especially with a smokey eye. You just have to be careful not to over apply it or I get the feeling you'll cross the line into 'spider's legs'.

Wear:
Not great after 4 hours this started flaking on me. Which hurts like a mother when you get some in the eye.

Removing:
Funnily enough, despite the flaking when it comes to getting this off it removes really smoothly, no flaking into my eyeballs.

Overview:
I loved the look this mascara gave my lashes, it would be perfect for a night out but I question it's ability to withstand nightclub conditions. Price is pretty average.

Rating:
6/10

Lash Stash Review #1 - Hourglass Superficial Lash

2010-04-30T16:11:00.008+01:00

This is the first in my 'Lash Stash' series of reviews, I am going to make this as fair as possible, all will be applied after prepping with just concealer and powder. No other products or primers will be used and they will all be removed with MAC's eye makeup remover and a cotton pad.

Description from Sephora:
Hourglass Superficial Lash creates thick, long, and lustrous-looking lashes to highlight the depth and intensity of the eyes. The enclosed brush applicator sculpts with precision and separation, coating lashes in weightless volume and sheen that accentuates and defines the lashes with a remarkably hydrating, color-rich formula.

Price:
$26 (£17) for .28oz (7.9ml)
approximately £2.15 per ml

Packaging:
Not very inspired. Really boring actually.

Wand:
A very narrow brush, not very bristly. I found it separated my lashes really well making them look very full. Being quite narrow it did a good job of getting into the corners.

Formula:
I liked the formula of this mascara, not too thick, not too watery. Dries pretty quick though, so if your applying more than one coat make it snappy. I found this mascara really lengthened my lashes. It didn't thicken them much as it's quite a light formula but as I said above it did make my lashes look full.

Wear:
Didn't smudge or budge all day. No flakiness. Awesome.

Removing:
Came off well, a wee bit of flaking (which is a pet hate of mine, I just hate it when your removing something and it gets all in your eyes).

Overview:
I really liked this mascara, it made my lashes look naturally long, pretty and fluttery. However for the price I think I can do better.

Rating:
7/10

April 2010 - The In's and The Out's

2010-04-30T15:15:00.003+01:00

Ins

Bonus'
This month's pay packet included my annual bonus, our store worked really hard to earn what we did and so it's well deserved for everyone I feel.

iPhone
I finally took the plunge and got one on a Tesco Mobile contract. I adore it, it's so nice to have a phone that functions properly (my last phone would randomly delete words as I was typing a text. not cool.) not to mention all the cool stuff you can do with it.

St Tropez Bronzing Mousse
The weather's been pretty amazing at the moment, I however am one of those poor people who rather than tanning a lovely olive brown goes red. This product is my answer for that plus who wants to get all that sun damage and look like a teabag at 35. Not me, cheers.

Sewing
My mum's always been a big textiles person and lately I've been using the sewing machine alot. I was taught at a young age how to use one - although I still cannot master loading the damn thing, and I think it's just the nifftiest thing. This month I've sewn myself some new curtains (to match my room) and re-hemmed two pairs of trousers. Next project it making a tooth fairy costume for my friends birthday...this could get interesting.

Outs

Insurance
Or rather the whole process of claiming from another persons insurance. To make a long story short: On the way to get my phone some crazy lady in a mini loses control smacks into the central reservation of the road coming from the opposite direction showering my car in rocks and dirt and probably some roadkill too. Busts my windscreen, ruins my bonnet and drivers side doors.
3 calls to my insurance company, 3 to the police, a meeting and interview with the fuzz, one windscreen replacement and 5 missed calls from the garage to get my car fixed later and my car's still a mess, I have to pay my £400 excess and forfeit my no claims bonus, that is until my insurance company can get the other party to admit liability. So long bonus money.
Just so much hassle, at least nobody was hurt, could have been worse I guess.

Diversions
Last sunday I had to go up to Cheshire for a 3 day training course for work. Should have taken me 4 and half hours maximum.
Oh nooo Sunday's are great days for smashing bridges and closing road and diverting people to London putting them in the slowest traffic since I don't know when, adding about 2 hours to their journey time.

My Hair
The colour is so, blah these days, I'm getting restless and might have to head to Sallys. or 'Salon Services' as it's now called.

Currently's 11th April 2010

2010-04-11T17:49:00.004+01:00

Just a fun little post to share a few random 'currently's'. Yes I know it's not a real word.

Listening To: Glee: The Music Vol 1. Such a fun album and a awesome sing-along, anyone can convince themselves they sound good when singing to this album.

Watching: Lost! It's getting so good! I'll admit is gets confusing with the two time lines and who's been kidnapped by who but I've been watching this show since the beginning so I'm sooo eager to see how they end it.

Reading: Club Dead by Charlaine Harris. The third book in the Sookie Stackhouse series. Like Twilight, so easy to read and just really enjoyable. We're only on season 2 of True Blood here and I have to say I prefer the TV plot line compared to the books. I really like Lafayette and Tara on the TV show and they don't even really exist in the books.
Shutter Island is next on my list, I want to read it before I see the film.

Smelling: Vera Wang Princess. I got this last Christmas and I love it, such a real springy girly smell.

Wearing: My Tiffany necklace. It's so pretty it makes me feel special, even if I bought it for myself lol.

Applying: 'Hue' Lipstick by MAC, perfect natural lip colour and a lovely texture.

Eating: Olives and feta cheese, always a winner.

Drinking: Orange and mango smoothies. Fruity.

Loving: Bonus time at work, high five team!

Hating: Holiday blues. Humph.

Wanting: An iPhone. However I don't use my phone much as it is, why pay for something I won't use? Or will all those lovely apps and free texts encourage me to use it? Mmm.

Needing: An eye test and to moisturise my hands. Who knew car shampoo was so drying?

Favourite Picture:

Feel free to steal and do on your own blog, I like reading little Q&A's :)

Honey, I'm home!

2010-04-10T15:40:00.010+01:00

Afternoon beautiful people! I'm currently typing this from my mum's laptop in the garden where it is currently...17°C and the ice cream van has just been by. Lovely.

I got back from New York last weekend. It was amazing, I could happily live there. We stayed at the Travel Inn New York, which wasn't half bad, if your planning a trip there and are doing it on the cheap but want a decent accommodation I really recommend it.
We did so much despite having two days of solid rain. A tip if you ever plan on going up the Empire State Building, allow at least 3 hours for queuing. That was insane, even if you bought your tickets in advanced it didn't cut much off your queuing time.
As well as seeing my best friend for the first time since Christmas and doing lots of sightseeing I obviously found time to shop... so for my first 'post-nyc' post I will share my beauty purchases. All of which came from either MAC or Sephora. By the way, how many MAC's or Sephora's does one city need! At least if the first store doesn't have what you want there's at least 5 others that might have it in stock.

So from Sephora I bought the Last Stash, a box set of 10 sample sizes of their 'most sought-after' mascaras. I plan on doing a review series of these mascaras, I've already tried a couple one of which I will say is the WORST mascara I have ever applied to my lashes. It's the Tarte 4 Day Lash Stain. Now when I first applied this I didn't realise it was a 'lash stain' so I applied it as a normal mascara and it was pants, very clumpy not lengthening or curling, just very black and clumpy.
When the time came to remove my makeup I could not get it off! I used so many different removers and scrubbed my poor eyes. It's been three days and it's still not completely off.
Now this would be fine as a 'lash stain' (now I know that's what it is) but it's very clumpy so although my lashes are still black and thick they look clumpy and feel uncomfortable. It's starting to wear off but boy it's tough stuff.

I also bought the 'Legally Bronze' kit from Benefit, as both Hoola and High Beam are both products I've always wanted to try and it was freakin' barganzanious $35 which is about £23. Hoola alone is £23.50 in this country. Crazy.
So far so good with this kit.

And lastly I got the always popular NARS Laguna bronzer. Yes it is as good as they say :)

From MAC I bought: 'Satin Taupe' shadow in a pan refill, 'Underage' Lipglass, 'Hue' Lipstick, 'Shell' Cream Colour Base, Prep & Prime Finishing Powder and Studio Fix Fluid in 'NC15'.
I am adoring 'Hue' it's my first glaze finish and it's lovely. Until now Myth was my favourite but this has overtaken it.
The P&P Finishing Powder I decided to get after reading about from Lollipop26's blog and it is a really nice powder, not chalky or drying but sets everything and makes my face colour look seamless.

So far I'm happy with all my purchases, money well spent I feel. I will update as my usage progresses. For now I'll leave you with a few choice picture from my little trip. New York how i miss you, even the sirens.

I'm leaving on a jet plane...

2010-03-24T08:54:00.004Z

Morning, beautiful people just a quick farewell post and a FOTD. I'm meant to be packing right now but I'm really procrastinating, I leave tomorrow at 11AM and get back on April 1st. This is what I'll be wearing for work today, nothing special :)

.
Face
MAC Mineralize Satinfinish in NC15 (yes I'm THAT pale)
MAC Select Moisturecover concealer
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Light
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Soft & Gentle

Eyes
UDPP
MAC Woodwinked E/S
MAC Coquette E/S
MAC Brulé E/S
MAC Kohl Power in Feline
Korres Mascara

Lips
GOSH Darling

Also, not naked just wearing a strapless top.

Have a lovely week and I'll catch you beautiful people when I get back

March 2010 - The Ins and The Outs

2010-03-21T17:54:00.004Z

I'm aiming to do these posts in the last week of every month but since I'll be in NYC next week I'm posting this now, which brings us nicely onto out first 'in' of the month:

Holiday Excitement
I love planning holidays, airports, packing, just everything to do with going on holiday. I get so happy just from changing my currency. I love to travel and love learning about different cities and countries. I can't wait to fly off on Thursday - thank God I'm not traveling with British Airways!

Club Eyeshadow
I'd never heard of this until I saw it used in Pixiwoo's video on youtube and it looked so good on Sam I wanted it immediately, I've been using it most days for the last two weeks, swatchy swatch:

You really can't capture just how duo-chrome this is but it's really beautiful going from reddish brown to a teal kind of blue. Love it.

Hey Soul Sister by Train
Beautiful song!

Alice-Mania
I will confess I totally bought into the marketing for this movie, and lets face it they pimped the hell out of it. I got the OPI polishes, the Urban Decay Palette, The tee-shirt from Miss Selfridge, The Disney Couture jewelery and I've seen the movie. Twice.

Outs

The 'Skins' Finale
So pants! I really liked this series, of course it had nothing on the first series but I was sooo looking forward to the finale last Thursday and it was so unsatisfying! Did Cook kill him? What about Effy? In the words of Zoe 'Skins you fail.'

March Rinsed My Bank Account
This month has been so expensive, not only have I had to pay for my holiday obviously but I've also had a lot of birthdays and mothers day, my car needed a new tyre which was £70 new tax which was £150 and MOT which was £30. Redecorating my room cost at least £200 I think. Plus petrol ain't cheap these days...

Gloss Paint In My Hair
Over a week later and it still won't come out. Ladies and gents just never do it, if in doubt as to your ability to not get in in your barnet, wear a shower cap!

Viva Glam Gaga

2010-03-21T17:30:00.007Z

Bonjour beautiful people! Hope you've all had a lovely weekend, I don't know about the rest of the world but the weather had been beautiful today.

My little package from MAC arrived Friday containing my Viva Glam Gaga lipstick. I already love it it's such a true bubblegum pink, it just makes me feel happy to even look at it. this is my first lustre lipstick and I'm impressed I thought it would be quite sheer but it's very vibrant. So here's my swatches to add to the millions of others (please excuse the lack of foundation/hair straightness, I've been having a lazy day) :

Shameless Plugging

2010-03-18T17:16:00.005Z

The lovely Libby over at Darling Makeup is having a little giveaway. The prize is a MAC lipstick or lipgloss of your choice. Entrants must be a follower of her blog and make a post similar to this on their own blog. So head on over for more details on how to enter:

click, click,

My Shiney New Room

2010-03-17T09:51:00.010Z

Last week I finally finished re-decorating my bedroom. It's taken about two weeks and I have paint everywhere but I'm really pleased with how it turned out. My room is really difficult to work with because I'm actually in the loft space we had converted, so I have lots of slanted walls and stuff.
One thing this has made me realize is how much of a pain in the butt painting is, and how expensive all the 'finishing touches' are. (Sorry mum and dad for the many times I've made you guys do this for me in the past.)
Just for an idea this is what my room used to look like (several years ago, check out the vintage computer monitor):

How my vanity top used to look:

and now...

Also look how sunny it is! I'm feeling like it's actually springtime!

Hope you have a beautiful day!

Viva Glam Gaga & Lauper, & Updates

2010-03-16T10:00:00.003Z

They have finally arrived online!
After numerous reports that they were available yesterday I was there credit card in hand at 10AM ready to try my luck but they were nowhere to be found. (Debenhams de ja vu much?)

However right now they are there, in stock ready to ship.
Just ordered my Lady Gaga lipstick as well as some more brush cleanser and MSF in 'Soft & Gentle'.

I shouldn't have done it really because I'm trying to hold off buying anything until I go to New York in...9 days. Excited, moi?! I really want to go to the Tim Burton exhibition at MoMA, it's just finding the time and convincing mum and our friend who's coming with us to go too.

Have any of you guys been to NYC? Any recommended eats or shops?

Also I finally finished my room this week, I'm so pleased with how it turned out. It's nice to not have it in a complete disarray. I find I can never think clearly when my room's a mess, sometimes I think it's directly connected to my brain. Messy room messy thoughts.
So expect some pictures soon.

Hope you have a wonderful day.

Today is a good day!

2010-02-25T08:34:00.005Z

First off, I have the most awesome Dad in the world. After yesterday's debacle I spent alot of the day refreshing the screen trying to add the Alice Palette to my basket, then I had work at 4PM and asked my Dad if he would continue my mission for the evening, just in case by some miracle they got it back in stock. Well they did! At about 4PM (so 15mins after I left for work). He got one for me and one for a friend who would have been trying to fight the crowds on my behalf on Sunday if we couldn't get it online. So thank you Dad!

Funnily enough I just checked on the site when I got back home at 8PM and low and behold it was out of stock again. However it is back in this morning, so if you want one go grab it!

Good news report No. 2: Jolie Beauty is back on eBay!
Yay for cheap OPI! I was devastated when the original store had to come down because of copyright issues, but I was assured that a new site would be up under the new name enchanted beauty store, needless to say I have been watching that eBay shop like a hawk and today we have life!
I was also simultaneously reading Laura's blog and she had made a blog post about it too, so I think there are many people welcoming the return of Jolie Beauty Store or now as it is now called enchantedbeautyspot.

Good news No. 3:
My and mummy finally booked our Mary Poppins tickets for when we go to New York (concrete jungle where dreams are made of) next month. I'm so excited about this trip, I've never been to New York before and I can't wait to hit up MAC Pro and see all the sights. Most of all I can't wait to see my best friend who now goes to acting school out there and I haven't seen her since Christmas, which is a long time for us.

Also, I get paid today. How conveniently well timed with the return of the above store.

Just because I don't like leaving a post without a picture...Baby Chi wishes you a good day and a pleasant tomorrow!

Debenhams, how could you?

2010-02-24T11:42:00.004Z

So as many of you probably know Urban Decay collaborated with Disney to bring out this beast:

I'm a HUGE Alice In Wonderland fan, and naturally I wanted this bad...
I knew from reports this was popular in the US and i was expecting similar results this side of the pond so I carefully monitored the release date on Debenhams so imagine my surprise when instead of March 1st this was released Feb 22nd! It sold out online in under 12 hours.
It'll be in stores on the 28th, I however can't get to a store until Tuesday.

This sucks so I sent an email asking if there was any otehr way I could get my mits on it, i was told to call home delivery to see if they could do it. So after calling up and chatting to 'Holly' she said that that it would be back in stock at some point today online, unfortunately she couldn't give me a timescale but I'm not too bothered about that.

So there is hope yet.

On another unrelated note my room is finally getting prepped for it's big make over next week, I'll be sure to post the results.

Hope you all have a lovely day and remember just when it seems like everything is going a bit pants there's always a little hope.

Me, Me, Me

2010-02-03T09:22:00.002Z

Me: Sam

Nicknames: Sammy, Little Sam

Birthday: 20th August 1990

Place of Birth: West Sussex, UK

Zodiac Sign: Leo, Rawwr!

Male or Female: Female

Occupation: Retail

Residence: West Sussex

Screen Name: Miss Lipton

Appearance:

Hair Colour: Brown

Hair Length: Long

Eye colour: Blue

Best Feature: Eyes

Height: 5ft 1"

Braces?: Nope

Glasses?: Reading/Computer Work

Piercing: Ears

Tattoos: None

Righty or Lefty: Lefty.

Your 'Firsts':

First best friend: Hard to pick the one.

First Award: Baby medal in dance, when I was 4

First Sport You Joined: Dance class, ballet and tap

First Real Vacation: France 1997

First Concert: B*Witched - the little * is very important

First Love: Makeup ha.

Favourites:

Movie: The Nightmare Before Christmas

TV Show: True Blood

Colours: Turquoise or Pink

Song: Vindicated by Dashboard Confessional

Candy: Not sure, something fruity maybe.

Restaurant: Smith and Western, mah-hoo-sive portions.

Store: River Island

School: Secondary.

Book: The Stand by Stephen King (also twilight but shhh)

Magazine: Glamour

Shoes: Rocket Dog Sugar Daddy's

Currently:

Feeling: Content

Single or Taken: Single Pringle

Eating: Nothing

Typing: This

Online: Holy potato skins Batman, maybe I am!

Listening To: The men digging up the road outside.

Thinking About: Work later.

Wanting: To spruce up my bedroom.

Watching: This screen.

Wearing: PJs and dressing gown.

Future:

Want Children?: Not something I want really, but everyone says I'll change my mind in a few years.

Want to be Married: I do.

Careers in Mind: Not too sure.

Where do you want to live?: Oceanside, CA or Australia.

Have you ever:

Kissed a Stranger: No

Had Alcohol: Yes

Smoked: Nope, I like my lungs clean.

Ran Away From Home: No

Broken a bone: No.

Got an X-ray: Yes.

Broken Someone's Heart: Yes

Broke Up With Someone: Yes

Cried When Someone Died: No

Cried At School: Yes

Do You Believe In:

God: No

Miracles: No

Love At First sight: No

Ghosts: No

Aliens: Something like that.

Soul Mates: Yes

Heaven: Yes

Hell: No

Kissing on The First Date: Why not?

Yourself: Every now and again

Return to Blogging.

2010-02-02T17:41:00.002Z

Hello beautiful people!

I can't believe it was September that I last posted. I kind of lost enthusiasm and inspiration for this whole blogging thing, offline life got a bit busy. But I've been reading some of my favourite blogs again and I feel inspired so I think I'm going to give this another whack!
I do enjoy writing - not being in school or college anymore I feel it's important for me to do something literary otherwise I'll just turn into a vegetable, and that my dear readers would suck.

Expect many more posts soon. Sam x

Bargain Watch 001

2009-09-03T15:52:00.004+01:00

Amazing deal on halfpriceperfumes.co.uk 5 piece makeup kit from Korres for only £6.99, normal price £29.50. All the products are full size. I've ordered perfume from this site before and they do have some really good deals. I've bought two of these one for me and one for my mum for christmas.

It includes:
* Korres Mascara 01 Black - 10.5ml Rich in provitamin B5 and rice barn Korres Mascara 01 Black strengthens the eyelashes. The easy to layer creamy mascara makes it simple to create volume, extra length and deep colour.
* Korres Soft Eyeliner Pencil 01 Black - 1.13g The Korres Soft Eyeliner Pencil in 01 Black is ideal for use on the inside of the lid. Apply it along the lash line from inner to outer corner. Leave as it is, or blend for an eyeshadow or smokey eye effect.
* Korres Soft Eyeliner Pencil 06 Golden - 1.13g Just as the Black Soft Eyeliner Pencil, use this Korres Golden Eyeliner from the inner to outer corner of the lid and leave as it is, or blend for an eyeshadow effect with a golden shimmer.
* Korres Cherry Lip Gloss 33 - 6ml Korres Cherry Lip Gloss is a sheer, high shine colour gloss with cherry oil that hydrates the lips while vitamins E and C offer antioxidant protection.
* Korres Sunflower Shimmering Eye Shadow 24 Gold - 1.8g Brighten your eyes with the Korres Shimmering Eyeshadow in Gold. A velvety soft golden shimmer with bright colour and moisture retaining sunflower oil to provide a long lasting sheen.

This offer is today only I think. So grab a bargain, quick!

Inspired by Queen Beeuty

2009-09-02T11:55:00.004+01:00

I love Kalel she's one of my favourite people on youtube. A couple of days ago she posted a video on how she gets organised at school. Her organiser is freekin' awesome. So awesome I decided to make my own.

I'm a huge organisation freak and my diary just does not meet my needs, theres bits of paper jammed in everwhere in it. I've started my planner, I got to the end of October before my Dad kicked me off his computer (his one is next to the printer and I am not running backward and forward from my room to keep printing).

So her is my Queen Beeuty inspired planner:

Mine's an A5 size rather than a A4, more handbag friendly. It also has this cool flap on the inside cover, which im using to store receipts.

So at the top of the page I've got the day of the week and the date. Underneath I've got events, i.e. birthday's, holidays ect. The day's agenda and reminders. Underneather tasks to accomplish with tick boxes and at the bottom how much money I spent that day, handy for keeping an eye on how much I spend, how often I buy petrol and phone credit ect.

I even decorated some pages like the 31st, halloween.

Haulage 002: Clothes & More

2009-09-02T11:24:00.009+01:00

You what one of the best feelings in the world is? When you realise you have way more money in your bank account that you thought you had.
That happened to me this week so I dragged my poor mother all the way to Southampton (mostly because that's the place nearest to me with a Hollister store) after driving round the city centre for half and hour and spending 20 minutes trying to park we made it :)

So here is my plunder:
Black dress from some random shop, good for casual wearing.

Hollister hoody, because you can never have enough nice warm hoodys in the autumn/winter.

Green vest top from Hollister, £7.50 from £20 bargain!

Cardigan from Zara, I saw this on Feline's blog and had to do a copy cat and get it myself. That girl has amazing taste in clothes.

Stuff from Accessorize, two necklaces and a silver ring :) Excuse my teeny nails, I split them all at work at the weekend and so I've filed them all down so at least their a uniform length.

Soap and Glory goodies. I read about the Fab Pore mask on Zoe's blog I haven't tried it yet but going by her post I will love this. I also bought a bottle of Clean Mary because I conveniently ran out the other day. I use Tesco's Sensitive skin makeup wipes to remove my makeup (they do a suprisingly good job) and then cleanse my skin with this, making it all clean and pretty.

Next on my wish list a trip to MAC to buy goodies and I really want some tan leather boots.

It's My Birthday!

2009-08-26T10:37:00.009+01:00

Well, It's not any more. But it was last week (the 20th). I had a wonderful time and recived lots of lovely things. On the wednesday my parents took me up to London for the day to see We Will Rock You. It's an amazing show, I love Queen so much and I thought this might ruin the songs but it totally does the opposite and I have a new appreciation for them. We saw the matinee performance so we could have dinner at a normal hour. We went to an italian (my favourite) restaurant in Horsham on the way back home, it was beautiful I had a gorgeous pizza and shared a chocolate desert with my mum. Then on my actual birthday which was the thursday I had to work in the morning - how harsh is that! Then in the afternoon me and two of my best friends, my mum and her friends went to Ladies Race Day at our local racecourse. It was so fun to get all dressed up and bet on the horses, not that I ever bet over £3.00 (kinda makes you feel cheap when the guy after you places several bets over £700 each). After the racing finished they had... wait for it... a TAKE THAT TRIBUTE BAND! Oh yeah! They really weren't that bad and nothing beats singing along to Rule The World after a couple of glasses of wine.

So here are some pictures from those couple of days:

I've been to London so many times in my life and not once had I ever been to Buckingham Palace, so I made sure I did that, and we got really lucky beacause it was the changing of the guard right when we got there, so that was cool to see. There were soooo many people though.

At the races I won a whole £18 and dissapointingly I never got a picture of my whole outfit.

My beautiful pressies from my parents and friends, I few DVDs I've been wanting for a while. It's not often I'll ask for or buy DVDs when they're newly released because I know in the two months after that they'll be half price. (The exception to this rule will be the special edition of Coraline in 3D!!!)
I got a sexy new camera, a Nikon Coolpix S560 in black. A beautiful martini glass with olives on it - I LOVE olives. A gorgeous bracelet from my friend Emma and that photo frome filled with pictures from my best friend Mai, she leaves for drama school in New York next in 3 weeks I'm going to miss her an insane amount, but at least I get to visit :)
Lastly, The Suspicions of My Whicher, I've been wanting this all summer, I love a good murder mystery.

Update: Look at the stars, look how they shine for you.

2009-08-09T20:29:00.010+01:00

I've nearly completed my list of things to do :) Unfortunatly theres another list in the making...

So... buy phone credit, check!

Return jeans, check (after getting to River Island and then realising I FORGOT THE DAMN JEANS!)

Bake cupcakes, check (kinda)! I made sure I had the ingrediants alright, what I didn't have was cake cases! So I made rock cakes instead. Not very exciting, but I thought they tasted good :)

Sort race day tickets, check! I'm going to ladies evening race day for my birthday and I had to book the tickets.

Buy InStyle, check! Yay for free eyeliner!

Blog some more, check!

Buy Pure lippie in 'Nude', not so check, turns out my local boots doesn't stock Pure so I bought Revlon lippie in Nude Attitude instead.

Colour hair and get cut, check! Almost I've booked in to have it done at Rush because I got a deal where you pay £40 and you get a cut and finish, colour, hi-lights, hair treatment and a blow dry and finish. I don't have to use all those at the same time but I'll be using all but the last treatment on wednesday.

So all in all I think I've had a pretty productive few days.

The weather yesterday was lovely we had a BBQ and cracked out my dads telescope to see the moon up close. Nobody believed me when I said I bet you can take a photo through the telescope, but I proved them wrong, observe:

Thats the moon as we can see it with the naked eye from our garden, with the patio heater in the shot too.

And this is the moon as taken with a camera through a telescope.

Yes that is the moon, not a potato as my brother seems to think. I told you all I was a nerd, I bet none of you believed it until now.

Haulage 001: MAC, Benefit, Perfume & More

2009-08-09T18:14:00.010+01:00

So even though I've been working all the hours God sends I've been spending rather alot of money this week but all justfied purchases I swear!

So first off I ordered the Bobbi Brown Makeup Manual (£13 from amazon.co.uk) and it arrived on Friday :) Lots of pretty pictures and really informative, I'm looking forward to having a chance to read it properly.

Then I ordered some goodies from halfpriceperfumes.co.uk. I got another bottle of Ralph by Ralph Lauren for £17.99 for 30ml. This is now my third bottle of the stuff, it's usually what I wear on a daily basis. I also ordered Beyond Paradise by Estee Lauder £19.99 for 30ml. This one I've been wanting for quite a while is a bit more of a 'grown up smell' at least thats what my dad says. But I got a sample of it years ago and I loved it so I finally got a round to buying a full size.
And lastly the steal of the friggin' week Benefit's 'Justine Case' £11.25 when it usually retails for £22. It's an adorable little handbag collection of 'mini beautifiers', these include California Kissin', Eyecon, Benetint and Some Kind-a-Gorgeous I love this, I'm a sucker for miniture anything.

I also visited by local CCS for the first time ever on friday! For ages I had no idea there was one only half an hours drive from me in Gunwharf Quays. They had some pretty good stuff there a few bits left from the Hello Kitty collection and a few from the more recent Style Warrior. I got an eyeshadow quad in 'Tempting' from the Cult of Cherry collection for £20 which includes 'Next To Nothing', Tempting, Sharp & Dark Edge.

I also got 'Pandamonium' shadow from the Naughty Nauticles collection for £6.85 which is a sparkly grey, like Knight Divine but a teeny bit lighter.

Lastly mineralize blush in 'Moon River' which I absolutly LOVE, it's so pretty.

I also got the new issue of InStyle magazine which comes with two free eyeliners from The Body Shop (thanks to Lollipop26) I got the black and silver ones. They're good quality and retail for about £7 each so it's worth it even if the magazine is £3.00ish and in my opinion a bit sucky.

And lastly I purchased Revlon matt lipstick in Nude Attitude - although I bought this with my wonderful boots points so really this doesn't count as 'spending' I'm crazy about the colour but not the formula, I still have to put gloss over this to make it work - which defeats the point of it being matt but hey ho :)

Also on a not-completely random note only one more empty before I can back to MAC yay!
I've probably rambled long enough now, Hope you all have a wonderful day/evening depending on where you are :)

xx

p.s I apologise for the SHODDY quality of my pics :)

Todays Mini Missions

2009-08-05T10:21:00.004+01:00

Morning!

Well yesterday I got inspired by Dolly Is Glitter's list for the day post and decided to make myself a list for today. I do love a good list.

So here is my list and a quick 'outfit for the day' - really not very exiting I might add...

Introductions

2009-08-04T21:16:00.000+01:00

Bonjour!
Well I'm really new to this blogging lark but I've been 'blog-stalking' several blogs and youtubers now and finally decided to quit being such a watcher and become a do-er.

This blog will simply be a collection of my day-to-day ramblings and thoughts. Like an eco-friendly diary that the world can see. I may try my hand at a couple of makeup looks/hauls in the future.

So to get more acquainted her are a few essential facts about myself:

I'm 18 (19 in 16 days, not that I'm counting).

I live in the south of England, I love it here.

Makeup has always been a passion of mine, I have way too many books on it & too many drawers full of the stuff.

I'm a nerd. I huge nerd. I love computers, although I hate twitter (I'm a facebook girl) & am a huge horror movie fan. I really love watching how they do the makeup for horror movies on the special features of DVDs.

I'm old at heart, my friends say I was born at 30 years old & I'm only getting older.

I have a slight tendency toward OCD characteristics, I love being organised & making lists & I hate being in messy rooms, I'm a bit of a germaphobe - to the point I have disinfectant wipes in my bedroom &I'm terrible for pointing out spelling mistakes

I love Italian food.

My user name comes from my love of a particular brand of ice tea - I could drink that stuff all day for a year and not get sick of it.

I hope you enjoyed this little introduction, I know I enjoyed writing it :) maybe I'll see you around on this little blogging world.