NOTD: half and half (plus sneak peek elf nail polishes)

Hi Guys!

A nail of the day for you all; probably nail of the week since the glitter is a b*tch to get off (sometimes I'm too lazy to use the foil method and just pick away at the polish naughty naughty)

Since it is my birthday week I've gone for a half nude and half glitter look.

I started off with a base coat and then once dried applied 3 layers of my new Elf nail polish in 'innocent'.

Once everything was dry (you need time and a lot of patience for this look as in total I've got on 8 layers of polish on) I painted half my nail freehand with a glitter polish (my fav sparkling diamonds by LA Colors).

On my left hand I painted the right side of each nail and on my right hand I painted the left side of each nail.

And that's it, really easy to do if you've got the time, and a festive look if it's not your birthday week ;)

Also!! A sneak peek at the polishes I got in my big elf haul the other day:

Innocent

Nude

Desert Haze

Mod Mauve

Smoky Brown

and

Mango Madness (shock horror it's not from the nude/beige/brown family!!!)

I shall slowly introduce them to my blog via NOTD's as I'm a bit too lazy to paint my nails, blog, clean my nails, paint my blogs etc etc

Ok..........bye!!!

Plaits!

Hi Guys,

A post about plaits. Or braids; whatever you wanna call them.

And this post guest stars my friend A who has the most gorgeous long and thick hair. I mean, the plaits pictured is just plaited using half her hair and look how thick the plaits are!!!

I don't know how me and her ended up plaiting but x factor was on and anything is more entertaining than x factor (but thank god Janet is gone!! - not a fan).

So what I did was put her hair into two pigtails because I knew that I couldn't handle all her hair and we were only messing around so she wasn't about to rock pigtails in public or anything like that!

First up we had the two strand plait aka fishtail braid:

(sorry about the washing in the background lol)

Kelly Rowland was also rocking the plait on X factor. I don't know why I typed that. Mine was better :)

Next up I attempted the 4 strand plait:

What do you think? At first glance doesn't look like anything special but I think you can tell there's something funky going on....

....which leads us to the 5 strand plait:

This took a while (understatement) for me to get the hang of but really excited I've added this plait to my skill set - very very cool when done properly (as opposed to my slap dash attempt).

As I hope you can see, it gives a really cool weaved effect (weave like a basket weave, not like fake hair weave!)

Below is an earlier attempt but because I didn't braid it tight enough the weave effect isn't quite so obvious.

A's hair is soooo thick and long my arms were aching after all the plaiting and dealing with so many strands is mind boogling but a massive THANK YOU for A for being my life sized Barbie and also for letting me post her on my blog :)

Let me know if you've tried any of these plaits, or share with me more plait ideas!

xoxo

A post fur you all :)

Hello!

More faux fur!!!!

Was in Westfield's for a dinner to say bon voyage to my brother as he has gone to Thailand and ended up in a random store selling accessories and jewellery.

The 'cat hat/scarf' (?) is super cute but obviously not a viable purchase even for me.

But [below] OMG how amazing is the muff?!

I've wanted a hand muff for years and years and years but never seen one in a shop before and the ones on ebay look a bit too handmade (because they are, but you know what I mean). But this one is gorgeous. A long hair black faux fur with a hidden zipped pocket in the muff which is a clever addition, and the nicest thing is the chain. The ebay one's have what looks like giant shoe laces but this one has a nice 'gold' chain. I didn't get it becuase it was £25 which I thought was expensive for basically pimped up gloves but online research shows that it's....not a bargain, but a good price.

Really really tempted. Maybe a birthday present or something?

Apart from the price the other thing stopping me is the fact that.....I hate things on my hands. Unless it's a hard hard hardcore snow storm I don't wear gloves so I am a bit worried that I'll end up spending £25 on a oversized furry necklace!!!

Prior faux fur, me, J and C went to Pizza Express and I ate (all to myself) a Padana Romana which is a veggie pizza but I of course asked for pepperoni :) It's my fav pizza express pizza: goats cheese, spinach, red onions and caramelised onion.

*drools*

Let's have some face time

Hi Guys!

A post about some boring face stuff.

Almost out of my current eye cream (Avon's Anew Clinical Eye Lift) and was on the market for a cheaper eye cream (both the Avon and my usual Clinique are around the £20 mark) so I picked this up from Boots, 2 for £4!!!

It's just your bog average eye cream with spf15. And I love it! It's moisturising and doesn't sting. Been using this for about a week and very tempted to buy another 1340295693 tubes. Any product which awakens my bulk buy mentality is all good to me!

I've been wanting to use up my random products so I'm back on the BB cream but as you know colour match isn't great so I have to mix it with a (much) darker foundation. The above is the colour 'caramel'.

I just stick a few blobs on my hand and mix and ta da!

Erm, that's about it really. But had to share the eye cream with you. Share the love and all that :)

Jamie Oliver is Crusty

Hi Guys!

Random post but I wanted to rave about this product.

Before I start though, just wanted to say, I love Jamie Oliver. And I do not think he is crusty!

Basically medium size pots of "crust" that you can use on chicken, fish, whatever you want! The red tub is piri piri crust and the yellow tub is a lemon herb crust.

I've used the piri piri curst on some chicken breast and it is really yummy and so easy! What I do (a few trial and errors) is get my chicken and season it with all purpose seasoning and pepper, and a tiny tiny bit of salt. I then pop it in the oven (covered in foil) for about 25 mins, I then take it out the oven, flip the chicken oven and pat the crust on and then put it back in the oven under the foil for 10 mins, and then take the foil off and finish it off in the oven for another 10 minutes. It's not the quickest way to cook chicken I know but this is a fail safe way for me. I'm not a great cook, but a bit of patience means I don't get food poisoning, and the chicken isn't nasty choke choke dry!

Boi-ing!!!

Hi Guys!

I wanted to share my recent purchase with you all. I got this concealer (Benefit's Boi-ing) from the Boots counter in Westfield Stratford City.

It was £16 but I have been wanting this forever and I've run out of concealer (my clinique's line smoothing concealer) so I thought I'd treat myself and try this out.

This only comes in 3 shades, shade 2 was too light for me (cos you know I like my bronzer!) so I got shade 3 which is dark for me, but once my foundation is on I'm totally fine. I think this is the case because I'm not using this for my under eye area but for my blemishes (pizza face) and most of that crap is around my cheek and jaw area.

The big question - was it worth £16? No. I've only used it two days and though it's not awful it is NOT industrial strength. I appreciate my skin is on the extreme side of bad but any clinique concealer works it magic, as does Laura Mercier's secret concealer.

It has got a lovely creamy consistency which makes it a joy to blend and there's no dragging (which is really important if you are using it on the eye area) and the coverage is really good - for about 5 minutes. Ok, 5 minutes is a lie but it really doesn't last. I am not one of those people who expects their make up to last 16 hours/24 hours but seriously, this lasts a few hours which is not good for a product this price.

So? I've put Clinique line smoothing concealer on my birthday wishlist and....I don't know. Obviously I am not going to chuck it, I will use it up eventually. Hopefully before I turn 50 years old!!!

DIY: studded bag

Hello hello!

Another DIY post from me featuring studs.

Bag is really old (but unused) from Next, it's a soft 'leather' unstructured bag, kinda reminds me of a pumpkin handbag.

I just started studding around the base of the bag and it was looking quite cool....

.....and then it kinda went wrong.

I admit I started getting lazy so instead of sticking to my 'pattern' (keep going round and round and round) I ended up with an uncool sunburst type pattern. Not cool. I might try to save it over the weekend and stick studs in the gaps and revert back to the original 'pattern'.

Lesson learned: be patient it pays off!

Addicted to studs and furs

Hi Guys!

OOTD 1

*Dodgy face pic*

I wore my DIY studded shirt again, and this time I tied a black ribbon to keep the neck closed (ribbon from ebay 99p). I wore the shirt tucked into a black mini skirt. I looked like a jazzed up waitress.

First day wearing my fur! FYI The colour I got was 'black racoon' and I'm really happy with my choice, it complements my colouring and wardrobe really well. I wore it every day this week. (Also got a black faux fur on the way!) Both £11.99 inc p+p from ebay.

Worn with a black elbow sleeved jacket from dorothy perkins. You can wear the faux fur like a collar (opened) but there is also an elastic on the underside that you can tuck the end in (as pictured).

OOTD 2

Leopard print, raccoon and rabbit skin - I kid I kid!!

Outfit basically the same as yesterday but with a leopard print blouse and my greenish gap jacket.

XXL volume

Hi Guys!

A long while ago Superdrug had a promotion on the Batiste Dry Shampoo so I stocked up on the usuals and also added one can of the XXL Volume version. It costs a tiny bit more then the original version (various scents) but wow you get your bang for your buck with this product!!

I use dry shampoo often and I am definitely a fan. I'll be honest, I have no idea if it is terrible for your hair or not but in my mind it's better then washing my hair every day and torturing it with the hairdryer and straighteners.

******

How I use it:

I use it on day old hair (I wash my hair every other day) but only if when I wake up it's not tooooo greasy and ....crinkley (that's the only word I can think of!). If it's medium greasy and limp but kept straightish then I am good to go!

So I brush out my hair and then using a rat tail comb I spray down the chosen parting and then section spray section spray....hhhmm maybe i'll try photograph this bit next time I do it!

And then I leave it for a bit (like 30 secs, 1 minute) and then I gently rub it in with my fingers (touching your scalp makes it produce more oil so you don't want to aggravate your scalp too much), and then I brush through again.

I think most people stop at this step, but because my hair is not naturally straight and very frizzy I then blow dry any damp bits (when I shower I put my hair into a bun, my big head doesn't fit in a shower cap!) and then run my ghd's through the front and top areas.

*********

And this is what my hair looks like after a spray! This XXL Volume version is some hardcore stuff. Please be careful not to spray it into your face cos....ouch!

Do be sure to rub it in properly and check yourself before you leave the house in good light, I have been known on numerous occassions to leave home without rubbing it in properly and it's only when i get into the lift at work that I realise why everyone on the street were staring at me! lol

There is a version for dark hair but tbh laziness aside this white stuff isn't so bad. And this version really works and soaks out any oil. Even when I went to bed I could still feel the powder in my hair!!

Film CLub

Been watching loads of films over the past few weeks. Here's a quick review:

Friends with benefits - I really enjoyed this, and much better then its counterpart No Strings Attached. This was actually quite funny and the characters actually had a character as opposed to cardboard actors.

Cars 2 - You need to have watched Cars 1 to enjoy Cars 2. If you loved Cars 1 you will enjoy the sequal. Just a good movie to have on, not going to change your life. (OMG I am an almost 27 year old woman passing judgement on an animation about talking cars!!!)

Thor - I enjoyed it, but probably because of the Ppppwwwoooaaaarrrr factor! A very easy film to watch and suitable for the whole family. Despite how bloody fit Thor is there's no hanky panky so no cringe factor.

What's your number? - Def don't watch this with your parents. This movie made me fall in love with Chris Evans (not the ginger one!) because he spends a lot of time topless (and bottomless - hands/towel covering his modesty). It's a stupid film but funny, just as you would expect from Anna Faris. I wouldn't pay to watch this film, and I wouldn't watch it again but I did enjoy it. Nothing to love or hate.

In Time - OMG!!! I loved this film so much. I can't believe the reviews it got weren't good. The acting was fine, the storyline was amazing. I really enjoyed the premise of this. A must see film!

Bad teacher - Another Justin Timbalake film (he must be raking it in this year!) and another film which didn't get great reviews but I really enjoyed it, I was laughing loads. Cameron Diaz doing what she does best, sexy and silly, a bit rude and crude. It's not an oscar winning movie but it's great for a saturday night armed with pizza and diet coke.

Harry Potter (half blood prince, and deathly hallows 1 and 2) - Hhhmm. Don't really know what to say. I watched all 3 one after another, this might have been a mistake - Potter overload. I don't think a franchise like this can be critiqued to be honest, if you've followed the films then you have to watch them all don't you? Even if the last three was a showing of a black screen for 12 hours you still have to watch lol

Abduction - As a dedicated member of Team Jacob I had to watch Taylor Lautner's newish film. Def a film for the teens, but I enjoyed it. A teenage action film. Also, I am in love with Lily Collins, she is beautiful!

.....i think that's it.......!? Wow, that's 10 in the past 3 weekends!

Chitter Chatter

Hi Guys!

Hope everyone is having a nice weekend. I've got a cold and was feeling terrible but feeling a bit more alive now. Just an update post really.

My wardrobe is bursting and so is my shoe cupboard. I am a hoarder and am trying to get rid of my crap. The pumps above are finally going to heaven.....but now i need replacements in case an outfit needs a red patent gold chain pump!

Not been cooking too much because my food cupboards are empty (its obvious which cupboards make a priority!) But I made the above dinner in about 15-20mins and didn't have to buy anything apart from the greens! Lamb chops have been frozen for ages, mash came out of a packet (add boiling water) and then just steamed the green beans and mange tout. Yummy :)

What is that? It is my sock :) I just woke up today and it hit me that 'omg its winter and it's nearly christmas' so that meant I had to wear my christmas socks. I'm sure i blogged about my socks last year but i love them. Purchased a pack of christmas socks in 2003 when i went to university and i am still wearing them every winter. They make me happy :)

Also in preparation for winter, my winter faux furs!!!

[ABOVE] A fur small fur collar, £3.99 from ebay, it's a small fur with black ribbon tie. It's cute but not great for me to be honest, I think my neck and face are too fat. Oh well.

[BELOW] A biiiiiig fur collar, £11.99 from ebay in the colour black racoon. I love this, it is so gorgeous!! As soon as i took this out the package I went online and ordered a plain black one too. Def my winter fashion crush of 2011 :)

Other things:

Remember my Natural Collection haul? Not happy. Products still work as my reviewed said but unfortunately it broke me out really really bad :(

I've been lazy with taking my vitamins (vitamin c and the all important calcium) and it's really taken a toll on my nails. Not sure if you could see in yesterday's ring post but my nails are really long at the moment but there's one finger nail which (from yesterday) has started dying on me. It's weak and flaky. I've never experienced this before. Gonna cut my nails today and get back on the calcium wagon.

My friend at work got the tan focco and i want one. Or to be honest if I had the spare money I would buy another black one. I remember the days when I did that without thinking twice. Oh to be young and irresponsible again. At least I am still vain, shallow and materialistic :) lol

I did my first ever online grocery shop about a fortnight ago! Gonna be a long one.......shall post seperately i think. Tesco Haul ;)

Takecare everyone xoxo

I smell Posh

Hi Guys!

A product rave/repurchase post.

I've just finished my bottle of the Beckham's intimately perfume and repurchased another one. I can't really smell it and hav eno idea if I smell posh or not lol but from the times I've caught a whiff it is 'nice' and I have had compliments on it so can't be too bad.
And it's a bargain! Was £14.99 for 75ml from perfume shop online!

eBay rings

Hi Guys!

Ordered two rings off ebay a while ago and they've finally arrived!

And how cute are the boxes?

I can't remember how much I paid but definitely under £2 each including p+p and possibly nearer the £1 mark :)

I'll be honest - these were purchased in a hazy mist of madness. I am not a ring wearer at the best of times. And these rings are kinda tacky. Oh well, they will make my dresser look pretty :)

OOTD: Studs and leopard print

[Pic 1]

Hi Guys!

Outfit of the day for you featuring my DIY studded white shirt from ebay. Apologies for the crappy photo's but I wanted to show as much as I could and was running late for work!

What I'm wearing:

White shirt -ebay (DIY Studded collar)

Beige mini skirt - Dorothy Perkins £5!

Leopard print skinny belt - Asos

Over sized blazer coat - Primark (a long time ago)

[Pic 2]

[Pic 3]

And just one more photo (sorry about the mess) from a different day but to show you the coat in more detail:

[Pic 4]

The coat is...coat material (!) with cropped sleeves (past the elbow). It is literally just a big blazer jacket (with the most lovely grey leopard print lining!). I bought it maybe two years ago and never wore it. It was too big and just a bit blah. But then I cut off the buttons and when the winter is mild I just wear it open like a blazer [picture 2] and if I want a bit more shape and coverage I belt it [picture 4]. I think it's really cool and laid back and an interesting piece to throw on over skinny jeans.

Thanks for reading :)