All That Glitters......

At the age of 27, I’ve lately been wondering if I’m too old to be a fan of glitter? I have to admit that when it comes to anything that sparkles, chances are I probably love it! I am a total magpie! I am drawn to it and it instantly cheers my day up!

I think as a child my obsession began when watching The Wizard of Oz with Dorothy’s red glittery shoes. Luckily, when I was growing up, there were a huge range of options to add glitter to our existence. It was almost necessary to sparkle at all times and not because we were vampires. My friends and I stocked up on body glitter during weekly Saturday trips to Claire’s, where we also picked anything else that fitted with this trend. Anyway, I had glitter eye shadow and glitter eyeliner, so it was just never possible for me to be matte. I never wanted to be matte. What was the point of wearing makeup if you weren’t going to sparkle and shimmer?

 

And now a days? I love glittery Shoes, bags, nail polishes, eye shadows, tops......... You name it!

Yes on some occasions I will admit that glitter can be tacky and tasteless. I know many think glitter is only for little girls or Katy Perry. I have found that there are ways without going over the top with your glitz, still adding that boho glam you crave. Glitter or sequins (much like color) can brighten up any outfit.

My recent interest in all that sparkles, comes from a weekend away I had a couple of weeks ago to Cornwall. I stayed with an old friend who I grew up with, who is a complete free spirit. Her idea of getting ready for a night out is covering herself in glitter. I love this so much, and always join in when I stay. See pic below for the evidence! I was a little restrained but I used Barry M’s Glitter Dusts in Gold and Green to achieve this look.

 

 

Finally Glitter is the universal symbol for awesomeness and parties and fun. I love this video for Dog Days by Florence and The Machines, I love the glitter fight and I love the song in general. I think it sums up how visually the use of glitter and sparkles can really cheer you up. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Motivational Monday #5

 

I think this quote sums up nicely my view on life. I like things that are unique and im going to use this quote to look for beauty in all things this week. 

Lovely Lashes

If you were stranded on a desert island and could only have one product with you what would you have?...If you were only allowed to own one piece of makeup for the rest of your life what would it be?...

Well my friends my answer to any question like this would have to be Benefits They’re Real Mascara. It is my must have / can’t live without product. I’m often complemented on my long lashes and asked if I wear falsies, and as I’m sure I have previously mentioned I have the shortest stumpiest eye lashes going! I used to hate them and a lot of so called lengthening Mascaras just added thickness rather than length.

 

 

I have been a covert of Benefits They’re Real Mascara for about a year now. Here is my reasons for loving it.... it applies really well, doesn’t clump and makes my lashes look nice, long and natural without making them super thick hooker looking.  It creates definition and doesn’t smudge. It also lasts all day, and doesn’t go flat. This Mascara doesn’t come cheap at around £16 a go but it lasts a lot longer than cheaper Mascaras and I would definitely recommend it to all!

I now can’t leave the house without it on and can’t sing its praise it enough!

Me and my Lashes :)



Friday afternoon doodles x

Pretty green toes

On this cold grey day I thought I'd cheer myself up by inserting a bit of spring colour into my life by painting my toes this gorgeous green colour.

I used Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine Nail Paint in Greenberry. It's the first time have used Barry M's Gelly range, and I have to say in quite impressed. It's quite fast drying, applies very smoothly and is a fab colour! It's most definitely Hi-Shine, leaving a gorgeous bright Finnish, which reminds me of gelish nails which i previously blogged about. At a quarter of the price of having that done, I will definitely be purchasing more of this range in the future.

The Lonely Fly

I found this video on another blog, its by Tom from McFly and its very sad and romantic. Its all about a er...... Fly! Enjoy x

RAWR!!!

I have a slight obsession with Dinosaurs! I think they are ace! Yes I do declare myself a geek. I love reading about them, I think there fascinating and I have slowly began gaining socks and mugs etc with dinos on. My all time favourite Dinosaur acessory is this necklace, I found it on Etsy.com from the shop Friendly Gesture. If you have not visited etsy before, then go do it now! Its full of fab little finds.

Line them up!

I am a huge fan of eye liner  for my dark eyes I feel it really opens them up and I could at a push go without most products except mascara and eye liner. Without both I would feel naked!

I use a pencil for the inside rim, top and bottom – My favourite is Channel ………………. It stays on well and doesn't end up underneath my lower lashes in a smudge/smeared fashion like some do. I was recommended it by a friend and was a bit apprehensive about the price tag, but on a bit of splurge one day I thought I’d give it ago.

 

I then use MAC gel liner to line my upper lashes. I've only recently been introduced to gel liner (yes I know! Where have I been?!) I was out one evening and after a few drinks was chatting to some random girl in the loo's, as you do, and I noticed her eye liner was still perfectly in place even though she was slurring her words. I was insanely jealous as usually after a night of cocktails and hard core bad dancing my eye liner tends to give me a severe case of panda eyes. So it was all thanks to random drunk girl that I was introduced to the wonders of gel eye liner  So at 3am I went home and jumped straight on-line to order my MAC gel liner. Sadly I have no where that sells MAC nearby, Boo! The joys of living in a small seaside town.

 

So a few days later it arrived and all I can say is its bloody fab! I've had my little tub for a while and it lasts ages, it applies smoothly and doesn't run or smudge. You do need a good stable hand in order to apply but with a little practice and the right brush you soon get into the swing of it. The right brush is key here! The first one i tried was cheap and nasty didnt apply well and was just damn right annoying. I then found Topshop make up brushes and I would highly recommend Topshops Liner brush.

 

What it says....

I found this postcard and it made me laugh. Sometimes you just need to be told straight...

Day 1 of Lent....

Before anyone asks I'm not religious in the slightest, I like and appreciate certain elements of people’s different beliefs but I don’t follow a certain religion and if my views had to be labelled I would probably be found under the heading of Atheist. However that being said I have decided to embark on the tradition on Lent. I am useless at giving things up, I am already expecting to fail miserable but I do like a challenge and what’s 40 days, it will fly by! (I really, really hope it will anyway). I've never even attempted to give up something for Lent before so I am intrigued to see how I handle it and if I crack, what will be the cause!

Here is what I am giving up….

<!--[if !supportLists]-->1)      <!--[endif]-->Crisps – They are my comfort food! I am so naughty when it comes to crisps! I am not a sweet tooth so chocolate and sweets don’t bother me, I can take them or leave them. Put a bowl of crisps in front of me and I can wolf them down in seconds, I just can’t stop. So I hereby declare that for the next 40 days not a single crisp will pass my lips. I have decided on these as I just want to prove to myself I can do and crack a habit!

<!--[if !supportLists]-->2)      <!--[endif]-->Bread – If I was only allowed one thing to eat for the rest of my life I wouldn't have to think twice, my answer would be Bread or more specifically Toast with a nice cup of Tea.  Yummy! I know it’s not good for me, and I'm pretty sure I have some intolerance to wheat as feel bloated whenever I have bread. My issue is I like it too much to care most of the time! So I feel by giving it up by body will thank me, hopefully I will feel much better and I even view it as cracking an addiction.

<!--[if !supportLists]-->3)      <!--[endif]-->Facebook – I think this will be the hardest thing to give up. Like most people I use Facebook  A LOT. I use it to keep in touch with people who live away and to arrange my social life etc. but more and more recently I find myself on it when I'm bored. I don’t even remember clicking the button on my phone to access it, it’s just there and I'm passing away time browsing at people I don’t even know or care about. I also hate the social implications around Facebook, you are scrutinising other people’s lives and comparing them to yourself (Not everyone admits that but it is soo true). It’s definitely not good for my fragile self-esteem! So I feel if I can give up Facebook I can concentrate on myself, I won’t lose hours of my life looking at other peoples and I might start improving my own!

These things may all seem trivial to most people, but I am really hoping each will make a difference to me and more importantly I can actually last the 40 days. So here goes, I'm half way through day 1 and it’s kind of going OK so far….

I promise to keep everyone up dated with how I get on. I would also love to hear if anyone else if partaking in lent and what the are giving up? 

Supermarket Shopping Rage!!

I love shopping for Make Up, Clothes, Bags, and Shoes etc. Hell I even went on a shopping holiday to New York and it was heaven! However send me to a supermarket and I turn into an evil trolley bashing troll. I HATE IT!

I used to think it was where I was single and whenever id go grocery shopping it would be full of loved up couples in the aisles pashing. Who would have thought, if you’re looking for a top romantic spot head to your local Asda! It gets worse, these loved up lumps then have to stop and kiss every few yards in the centre of the aisle so you can’t get pass or right in front of the item that’s right at the top of your shopping list so you have to wait for them to get over themselves and move on. NIGHTMARE!

Next up is the old people, who when there is one of those trolley blockages at the end of the aisle and the one hot single guy moves to let you through, they barge past you and knock you out of the way! Then to add insult to injury they then have the cheek to turn and say than you to you! Err for what?! Allowing you to be intentionally rude! Yep sure it was my pleasure!!

So by this point my stress levels are sky high and I've totally forgotten the reason why I entered the store and am aiming for comfort in the chocolate or alcohol aisle, whichever one is closest. Its then at this moment I usually encounter what I like to affectionately call ‘The Brats’ (all right, it’s normally something a bit ruder but my mum might read this!). They are the spawn of the devils kids and are running around like they've stepped out of a loony tunes cartoon and eaten a crate of blue smarties. They bash into you and your trolley and send you flying and are screaming louder than someone who’s being tortured in a SAW movie.  ‘Dear Parents, if you cannot control your children please don’t take them out in public to rein terror on everyone else!’ Oh and then throw in the tantruming toddler with the chav mum shouting abuse at it because you know that’s bound to calm them down. Yes kid, I understand your pain, if someone was talking to me like that I’d be taking it out on the floor too.

Having nothing in my trolley that I came in for, and am instead laden with a ton of impulse buys that I don’t need, I head to the checkout. After waiting ages while the checkout assistant chats a load of rubbish small talk to the person in front of me, I eventually am at the front of the queue.

Check out Lady: “would you like a hand packing?”
Me: “Oh no thank you, I’ll be OK”

Thinking I'm doing her a favour saving her from the job, its then like she’s taken offence to me and scans my items through at lightning speed! She then makes a big show of having to wait for me to finish packing!
 

All I can say is thank the lord for the wonder that is on-line supermarket shopping! My stress levels are eternally in your debt. As for those items I need there and then I bask in the joy that my local supermarket is open 24 hours a day so I only venture in late at night to eliminate any of the previous mentioned dangers.

 

 

Stressed out Gem! Attractive!

Tinted or Tainted

 I am a giant wimp! I love trying new products out but anything you can’t wipe away with a good old make up wipe I am a bit more cautious of. Those who know me know I hate my eyebrows. I also have dark hair so they need to be regularly waxed and kept in check, they also start off quite dark and thick and then fade out and go super thin. This leads to me often getting asked if id over plucked them, err nooo I didn't  Why would you ask someone that?! Perhaps I'm too polite?

Anyway a few people had suggested that I get them tinted and I was unsure at first as I had visions of myself with a full on scouse/mono brow. Not a look I want to be walking around with! So with a little bit of courage plucked out of nowhere off I went to my lovely beauty salon to get them tinted. They basically paint dye onto them, you wait a little bit, and they then wipe the excess off and abracadabra! I have amazing eyebrows! I'm really pleased with them, they are so subtle that not many people have noticed but to me it’s quite a difference. I have been told they should last around 3 weeks and perhaps longer if I'm gentle with them. I can be a little OCD and use a gentle face scrub every day so we shall see how long they last. I definitely will be getting this done regularly now as I love the way it looks!

 

Monday Inspiration...#4

This sums up my life right now! I'm currently in the position where all my friends are settling down and having babies, buying houses etc and I'm so proud of them all, however that couldn't be further from my radar if I tried! Yes I would love to meet the right guy, have a place to call my own and to have a family, but right now I want to travel so badly and I want to see what else is out there before i settle down. I want to figure out my place in this world, what I like and what I don't, what I'm good at and what I'm not. I want to try numerous career paths, I want to spend nights dancing till I drop and laughing till it hurts. Therefore I do declare I want to live my 20s to the full!

Rimmel London Apocalips

I have heard a lot of hype around Rimmel London’s Apocalips Lip Lacquer which comes in a few different shades so I wanted to see what it was all about. I purchased my usual bright pink colour in Stellar and a gorgeous light pinky purple colour Celestial also caught my eye. Both are fantastic colours and a cross between lip gloss and lipstick. They go amazingly smooth and are not sticky like a gloss, my favourite thing about them though is that the colour stays put! Hurray!

These have excellent pigmentation and one swipe gives a good coverage. The product is creamy and the foam applicator makes it easy to apply smoothly and evenly on the lips leaving a glossy finish. If you like full on opaque bold lips then you will love these, if you like a more sheer wash of colour you could still use these but just dab a little onto your lips and blend out with your finger. The applicator is really nice and I love the packaging, really sleek. I don't think you can go wrong with these and at a great price.

I definately will be using the Celestial shade as my new daytime shade and the hot stellar will suit my going out style!

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If you still need help to put a smile on your face check out this video.. I need to pick up some of his moves!!

Monday Inspiration....#3

Its the begining on the week yet again, and if your needing a pick me up to get over a fun filled weekend and help you get through to friday then thats what my Monday Inspiration post is about. I find an awe inspiring quote to cheer me up, get me thinking and put a smile on my face.

Happy Monday my Luverlies and I hope everyone has a fab week!

An inkling for inking.....

After hearing an interesting debate on tattoos on my local radio station this morning I have decided to air my views on this blog as it really got me thinking. I will openly declare I have a love/hate/middle of the line attitude when it comes to tattoos.

Let me explain, a women on the radio called them 'disgusting' another said it was 'de-facing yourself'. Some kind gentleman then joined in saying 'women who have tattoos are ugly and trashy'. My back was officially up! I have 5 tattoos myself and would not class myself in any of the above categories.

These are my lot:

• My first design was the butterfly, it is placed just above my hip. I had it done on a lovely hot summers day around 7 years ago. I had just been dumped and my ex hated tattoos so in a moment of madness, throw in a best friend hyping me up and the decision was made!
• My second, a few months later was the stars around my feet. I love the stars and am often complimented for this inking. Originally it was only around my ankle but around 2 years later I have it extended all the way down my foot. I do declare this is my favourite!
• The dragonfly on my wrist was a result of my doodles. I was apprehensive about getting it done on my wrist as all my other designs are easily hidden. It is on the outside of my wrist so I often forget its there. It often gets mistaken for a treble clef, squiggle etc but I kind of like that! All art is interpreted differently by the viewer and why shouldn't tattoos?
• Next up is the word 'believe' interlaced with a paper aeroplane. It is just on the side of my ribs and I had it done to remind myself to believe in myself and believe in my dreams. I strongly feel that if I believe in those 2 things I can achieve anything. I am currently looking at expanding this somehow and am looking for a good quote with the word 'believe' in. Nothings really grasped my attention yet but I will keep looking! If anyone has any suggestions please let me know?
• Last but not least, my final piece of ink was done last year, its just above the inside of my ankle and symbolises 'Hakuna Matata'. My sister got exactly the same design in the same place. We had both been looking to get something for a while and this just suited us perfectly.

I love all my tattoos because they are just 'me'. I have heard people say 'Oh you will regret those when your older', well to those people I say no as they are personal. They are just as a part of me now as my right thumb, and they each have a story and meaning to me. I have no doubt I will expand my collection in the future.

So the hater of tattoos in me.... where shall i begin? I hate, I hate teddy bear tattoos! WHY WHY WHY?!!!! I am not a fan of people getting boyfriend/girlfriend names, kids I can understand, but people who can disappear from your life or break your heart, why would you want a constant reminder?! Love Hate tattoos = so Tacky! Also I don't believe many women can get away with sleeves, don't get me wrong I have seen a few who really pull off the look and its a really cool look. However I have not seen many. Also tattoos on the face and across the jugular...Horrendous!!My personal motto is will you see if when I'm in my wedding dress?! Yes to those who know me I am ridiculously single at the moment but if or when that day comes I don't want my tattoos to be a focal point, I also love that mine can be covered up and It often surprises people that I have tattoos as apparently I don't seem 'the type'.


On a flip note, men with Tattoos.... well in my opinion its a definite plus! I am a huge Home and Away fan, yes when I visited Oz I did make a trip to summer bay. Well my love of the show just escalated when the Braxtons moved into town, their hot bodies helped but throw in a few tattoos and id be happy to help them dry off after a surf any day! Oh and how can we forget David Beckham, Yummy!

Am I a Hypocrite?! Yes probably, like most people I can be quick to judge others but looking at my own (OK yes small) artwork I am reminded that each to their own. One mans trash is another mans gold. Most importantly what you do to your body is a personal choice.