An unusual brush cleaner fit for a Lord..

One of my most hated beautification things is cleaning my brushes, I hate hate doing it as I think they get messy way too quickly.

I give them a quick clean daily but they're properly washed once every two weeks.  I used to find removing the hair from my brush such an ordeal, then I started using a nail brush to get the hairs out and it worked perfectly.

I always wondered why someone didn't make a brush cleaner for this situation and then there I was, a few weeks ago in John Lewis looking at the shampoos and I saw this beauty from Denman..their very own brush cleaner!

How perfect is that?! You just slide it back and forth along the rows of "teeth" and it removes all hair and fluff.

It set me back about £4-ish and it's been a Godsend, it makes cleaning my brushes so easy.  And no, you don't need a brush cleaning brush cleaner as I find the hair just falls out of this.

PS the title is in homage to this guy..

(Time for a little lesson in law)..

Lord Denman..a name that every law student has etched on their hearts after doing first year contract law.  He gave judgment as Lord Chief Justice (along with Judge Patteson and Judge Littledale) in one my all time favourite cases..Williams v Cawardine.  A guy had been murdered, Mrs Williams was called to give evidence and she didn't tell the court everything that she knew (tut tut, perjury).  The defendents were acquitted.  Mr Cawardine (brother of the guy who got murdered) took out an ad offering money for any more evidence about his brother's murder.  Mrs Williams gave him more information and as a result, two more guys went up on trial and were convicted (one of whom was her husband..)

After that trial, Mrs Williams took Mr Cawardine to the civil courts and said that he was in breach of contract because she gave him the info but he didn't give her money.  During her trial, they found out that the reason she had come forward to give more info was because between the first trial (where she was hush hush) and the second trial (where her old man was convicted), he'd beaten her.  Denman and his cronies decided that your motives for entering a contract are irrelevant, if you enter a contract whereby you get something, you're entitled to it, regardless of why you entered into it.  Which makes sense to me, if I'm giving you something and you promised to give me something in return..you best honour that.

And I remembered all that off by heart *brainbox in the house*

Freak Like Me

This is the name of a programme that is currently on BBC3.

I don't know when the original air time is but I always catch it on Thusdays after Family Guy.  It's presented by Russell Kane who me and other tweeters think is a rather nice guy.

I never made a conscious effort to watch it when it was first advertised but since seeing it three weeks ago, I always end up watching it after Family Guy (and then struggling to get up on a Friday morning).

The basic premis of the show is things that people do which make them a "freak", basically things they do that no other person does..for example, there was a guy who collected bees, a girl who only ate stale food and a guy who spends all night dancing in his bathroom.  Members of the public are asked about their habits and it turns out we are all a bunch of freaks.

I thought I'd do a post about things that make me a freak..things I think that only I do.  So, here we go..

• Whenever I go to bed wearing socks, I never ever ever wake up wearing them.  I am 26 and have no recollection of ever waking up with socks on.  My parents verify this. 
• When I eat a KitKat Chunky, I have to eat the chocolate first and then the wafer bit..it tastes so much nicer.  They should sell the wafer on its own.
• When I eat Smarties, I have to take them all out of the tube and group them according to colour.  I eat them in descending order going on which colour has the most Smarties.
• Whenever me and Simon go and stay somewhere, he always sleeps on the side closest to the door..even in my parents house.  He says it's to protect me from intruders, the truth is that it's to protect me from falling off the bed (something I've done a fair bit in my adult life)
• I dislike using glasses to drink anything bar wines and spirits.  I drink soft drinks, juices, teas and coffees from mugs. 
• Whenever I eat food in a living room, I can't use a table.  I have to sit cross legged on the sofa with a cushion as a makeshift table.
• It used to take me ages to get neat writing out..e.g. when writing Christmas cards, only the last five I write come out in neat writing, the first however many look terrible.
• When I write messages whilst on the phone, nobody can read my writing..even I have trouble.
• When I'm home alone, I have to have all the lights on..this winds my dad up no end because he gets a massive bill and isn't impressed.
• I can never wear matching underwear.  I don't know why this is, I feel odd if they both match. 
• I hate eating peas, if I can see them, I won't eat them.  The only time I've eaten then is when they're mushed in samosas.
• Whenever I eat something, I eat the nicest bits first just in case I die before I get to them..
• I can't mix food when I eat, I eat everything individually. 
• My fork and knife have to be of the same set. 
• I leave every car I drive in gear, apart from my dad's.  I don't know why, I fear my mum more than I fear him.

PS...

What do you do that is unique to you?  

The Christmas Present Buying Guide: Haircare lovers

Every family has one, a person who is nuts about having really nice hair and making sure it's always hot to trot.  The sheer notion of buying them anything hair related fills them with glee.  This was me before a job and other menial things got in the way of me being able to spend hours and hours washing my hair and lavishing the attention on it that I thought it deserved.

One thing I have always made sure of is having a decent brush for my hair.  I personally think you can't go wrong with Denman brushes.

I remember I was working at TfL in Victoria and the Boots inside the station (downstairs) was selling Denman brushes for about £2 when their full retail price was £7 or something.  I got a bit excited with myself and bought five.  That was two years ago and four of them are still wrapped up in the spares drawer.  Denman have expanded their product range and any of these brushes would make a fine present/stocking filler.  I thought the scented brushes would be a bit of a gimmick but I have two and they have retained their smell for quite some time.  You can pick them up from Denman directly (click here).

Fear not as it's not all about post washing.  There are some really nice haircare sets out on the market at this time of year..

As I said in the post which explained these guides, I'm not suggesting you go buy something that I haven't used and I have used TIGI and Pantene items before, with very good results.

The TIGI products featured are free of SLS but the Pantene ones contain them.  I know a lot of people are making the transition over to SLS free but I have no problems with SLS ones, they don't make my scalp itch or anything so I'm happy to carry on using them.  You can buy the TIGI sets from Supercuts, ask them before you sit down to get your hair cut and they'll sort your set out whilst you're getting glammed up..ta da!  The Pantene Colour Protect range is fairly new and is something I know members of my family who dye their hair would find very useful..

The items on the left are a great budget buy and I've trialled them and my experience with them was very good.  They are available individually and will set you back £8.37.  They have a full range of products including an alternative shampoo and conditioner set (to protect your colour and give you some volume), a deep conditioning damage rescue treatment and a nourishing shine spray.  The whole range will set you back £16.35.

Review: John Frieda Root Awakening Shampoo and Conditioner

I used to love John Frieda.  I remember being 14 or so and seeing an advertisement for his Frizz Ease serum on TV.  For a girl with hair like mine, that advert was a dream come true.  I was too young to know that what happens in the adverts isn't what happens in real life.  I bought practically everything from that range, it worked..and then abruptly stopped.

When I first got the Root Awakening set, I thought they were a root lift combo.  Then I found out that their premis was to strengthen the roots so as to give your hair strength.

I have the set for dry hair as I know my hair isn't normal and as it has frizz at times, I assume its dry..

So..(I feel I haven't done this for ages!) what do John Frieda say?
Of the shampoo: "Refreshes and feeds the roots while restoring deep moisture for silky, soft hair that's noticeably more radiant and resilient with every use.  Infused with natural eucalyptus and peppermint oil, simply massage this formula into the roots for a cooling, tingling, and stimulating sensation."

Of the conditioner: "Deeply hydrates from roots to ends for soft, silky-smooth hair that's noticeably more radiant and resilient with every use.  Infused with natural eucalyptus and peppermint oil, simply massage this formula into the roots for a cooling, tingling, and stimulating sensation."


What do I/my mother/my brother say?
ETA: I've edited this from my initial review..
I took this shampoo to my mum's house when I went to stay with her and as you know, you leave something in the bathroom, the male of the species will use it.  My brother did this.  He said it smelt of minty stuff..but not polos or mint..kind of like if an apple had a bit of mint injected into it.  I echo that.

I didn't like the shampoo.  It made my head very dry and itchy.  My mum found the same.  It worked for my bother though and he really liked the smell and said it gave him that "time to wake up and get your arse out of sleep mode" feeling.  I don't think it made the roots feel any softer and there was no moisture as my scalp was very dry and itchy and my hair didn't look much more hydrated than it had done before.  The tingling claims are all correct though, it definitely tingles.

My brother has short hair and it worked fine on him, no itching or anything.  A few days later his scalp started to itch like mad and became really really dry, there were massive flakes of skin coming off and he had to oil it to stop the itching and get the moisture back..  Suffice to say, all bottles of the shampoo have been chucked out.

I really liked the conditioner but now I'm having second thoughts, if the shampoo is that bad, I worry that the conditioner will turn on me..

Would I repurchase? 
No..the shampoo will definitely not get a repurchase from anyone in the household.  I wouldn't really buy the conditioner either unless I was in a bind and couldn't find anything else that I liked.  It does work but I've used better.  Re. the shampoo, if it was the only one on the shelf, I'd dry shampoo it up.

MOTD: My haute couture mittens

These are indeed my very own pair of haute couture mittens.

The wool I used to make them for myself was the most expensive (why am I compelled to put an "est" on the end of that word?) wool I ever bought myself and I made them to measure my own hands.   Thus, they fully fulfill the HC criteria.

Check the midget thumb..I always get the piss taken out of me about it

They have a matching scarf which I have forgotten at work..in my desk drawer..you know what office thieves are like!

They're super soft, they feel like satin-y wool and are just as heavy duty as the ones already featured here.  I didn't follow a pattern for these really, I just knitted and measured against my hand and this is what became of them.

The Body Shop wishes Joy to the World

In a choir? 

Know someone who is?

Full of festive spirit? 

Well read on and see how you could win some goodies from The Body Shop!

The Body Shop want to bring Joy to the World this Christmas through one of my favourite mediums..singing.  I say one of MY favourite mediums as the soothing qualities of my singing voice are debatable.  Not by me of course, to myself, I sound like an angel.

They are searching for the best, most joyous choir in the land to feature in their Youtube montage..which will be released and promoted during the festive month of December.

They're not looing for a specific type of choir, if you can capture the joy of the festive season, you fit their criteria.  If you yourself are in a choir or you know someone who is, tell them to take part! 

All you need to do for a chance to feature in their montage is film your choir or group singing the infamous "Joy to the World" carol and send the video clip in mpeg format to joytotheworld@thebodyshop.com along with one representative from the choir's contact name, address and phone number.  Make sure that your videos are not longer than 2.5 minutes in duration (that's 150 seconds!)

Get all this in to The Body shop before 29th November this year and the winning group will find themselves not only featured on the montage but they will also recieve £200 RPP worth of Body Shop goodies.  Five runers up will recieve £100 RRP worth of The Body Shop products each.  Full terms and conditions can be found here.

Illamasqua Nail Quills

I first came across these when Nicola tweeted about them and we were both equally mystified as to what they did.

I thought they were like actual quills in that they'd be packaged like a fountain pen and you'd get little ink cartridges full of nail polish that you could use them with.  You know, like the old school fountain pens we used to use at school, the ones we'd piss ourselves with excitement over using.

When I found out what they were actually for, I felt a bit silly but also a bit let down.  They are, in essence, a set of sharp stick on nail.

They retail for £35.00 for two.  TWO!!

You can only get them in black and I think you'd look a bit silly wearing them over any other colour.

What do you think? The next best thing in nail art or something you won't waste your time with?  I'm in the latter camp, I can't see them being very practical and for £35.00, I'd have atleast expected a full set of nails.

The Christmas Present Buying Guide: For men

I buy more presents for men than I do for women so I am somwhat of an expert in this field as the men I buy them for are all very different..

For the man who says he doesn't want anything.
This is my dad, he always comes out with the same lines so I always try to find him something that either he doesn't have or something that he uses. 

All images courtesy of http://www.aquarterof.co.uk/

 He has a mean sweet tooth when it comes to liquorice (yuck!).  For Christmas a few years ago we bought him the biggest box of liquorice we could find..he'd polished it off come New Year's Day..apparently, it soaks up alcohol really well (the liquorice, not the father..though he does too).  I ordered it about two weeks before the big day and it came surprisingly fast.  They do all sorts of old school sweets on there and their prices are really reasonable.  Click here and you can see everything that A Quarter Of have to offer.

He also appreciates a fine drink, he's quite easy to please in that respect so a bottle of any of the bottles featured here always go down well..

And if you want to be extra nice to your dad, get him something that little bit better..when my dad recieved a bottle of Johnny Walker Blue Label, it shocked him into silence..this is amazing considering it's usually quite hard to shut him up (yep, that's where I get it from!)  It's quite pricey but it was more than worth the look on his face come Christmas morning.

And if after all that, he still wants nothing..give him nothing..

For the men you will always call boys.
This is the category where my brothers fall.  Despite both of them being upwards of 6 ft, I still see little boys when I look at them.  There was a time when I was their evil overlord, a day when I was taller than both of them and the saying "I'm older" actually held some weight.  These days, I have to look up to talk to them..something they always insist is admiration whereas I'm adamant it's just practicality.   These are some of the things I'd consider buying them..

All images courtesy of http://www.chargrilled.co.uk/

This is just a selection of the shirts they have on there, they have tonnes.  You can get them for women, made as a hoody etc..  You can buy them from Chargrilled directly by clicking here.  I have ordered from them before and their service is very speedy though you shouldn't really hang around to order Xmas presents.

Both are die hard Man U fans and these personalised products always get a good reception.  Getting Personal have these for most of the major teams in the Premier League.   The Stig poster is something I actually got my brother, as is the ball scratcher..

All images courtesy of http://www.gettingpersonal.co.uk

For the man who is your consigliere.
I tell him all the time that if I was Don Corleone, he'd be my Hagen which is odd because I'm the legal eagle.  You know you have a friend who you can speak to for hours about absolutely nothing? This is him.  I don't get to see him as often as I'd like but that's what happens when you live at opposite ends of the City.  When I was at law school he was always asking when he could mooch off me so I gave him a million dollars from my own private reserve..

You make everything personal on this which I thought was brilliant, e.g where it says "The United Bank of Crowther", you can change Crowther to your surname and the signatory on the left can also be changed to be your name and also the "Reserve" bit on the top gets the same treatment.  It comes pre-framed so that's another job done for you, just give it and they can display it on their shelves right out of the box.  It retails for £12.95 and can be bought on Getting Personal, yet again.

For the man who puts up with you 365 days a year.
A shag...and maybe even a blowie.  Come on now, it is Christmas.  The presents I've bought Mon over the years have varied so greatly but this is what I got him last year:

I think this set me back about £900 but he hasn't taken it off since he had it.  He didn't get this on Christmas Day because it wasn't available to buy so I got him another present to tide him over.  I finally bought it for him in April/May time.  I got it from the Tag shop in Westfields and guarded that bag with my life on the drive home.  It's the single most expensive thing I've bought which you can't easily lose (unless you could easily lose a fridge or a cooker).  I made sure it did everything he wanted in a watch, I researched this present more than I researced anything in my entire life.  Back when I was 16, I promised him that I'd buy him a decent watch because his Casio one at the time used to really annoy me.  This was the watch.  He has the metally strap but you can get it changed for rubber and for me, the best part about it is that the numbers glow in the dark but simple things please simple minds.  PS, I do hope we are noticing how long that nail was..RIP.

I know the people mentioned here read this blog and are hoping I will slip up and post what I'm buying them this year.  Well, dream on because I'm not that stupid!

I hope this was of some use to someone, took me an age to write!

ELF: Large Makeup Holder

I don't know how you can review a makeup holder, either it holds or it doesn't?

Before this came into my possession I was strutting around with my brushes in this less than sexy setup.  It was a right pain as it had a tendency to topple over whenever I took my foundation brush out, which was a daily thing as I use that every single day.

Then this came into my life and magical things happened.  I found myself with enough time to get ready in the morning and have some time to spare and actually get a cup of coffee down me.

Although the illustration on the box shows it as solely holding brushes, I've put the following into mine and it lets me just grab what I want with minimal fuss and set straight to work.

It's a great time saver and it's not as large as it looks which is good because you don't need too much space.  Simon quite likes it because I've managed to move all my "face stuff" to the bathroom so he can put his deodrant etc..on the old place and get ready in one room without me disturbing him.

However, it's not all sunshine and rainbows, I found that there were some scuffs and what can only be described as glue leakages..

Most of my smudges were on the back so you can't really see but I wouldn't be too happy if they were on the front and you were a stickler for good presentation.  The product itself isn't shoddy, the finishing just leaves a little to be desired.

You can get it from ELF for the princely sum of £12.00.

How much is your face worth?

Me and my cousins were discussing this the other day and all was going well until my aunt got involved.

Cousin 1 (who is 22) had a respectable total of about £30 (moisturiser, foundation, concealer and blusher), cousin 2 (who is 16) had a total of £15 (moisturiser, concealer and mascara) and I had a total of about £20 (moisturiser, eye cream, eyeliner and lipstick).

Then came the aunt..she well and truly put us to shame, below is an itemised list of what she had on her face and how much her face was worth..

Moisturiser: £122
Eye cream: £123
Serum: £68
Foundation: £21.50
Powder: £4
Concealer: £13

Lipstick: £35
Eyeliner: £10
Eyeshadow: £23

This is her "off work, low maintenance" face, I really want to know what her full on work face is worth.

You might say that all that stuff is fair given that she is of more mature years (heh!), but her sister who is about 3 years younger than her only had a total of £20..

As I dislike posts with no pics, this is what I had on my face that day (and what is my usual "too lazy to make an effort" face).

I was sent the lipstick before (swatch is here) and the eye cream was a GWP (review here).


How much is your face worth on any given day?

The perfect eye makeup remover for sensitive eyes

It's well known around these parts that I am against liquid eye makeup removers.  This is from bitter past experience where liquid ones have stung me silly or given me fuzzy vision.

Such was my dislike of them that I wouldn't even buy the infamous Botanics remover.

Then along came Purity Organic Skincare with the Conditioning Cleansing Lotion.  Their whole premis is clear in their name, they do pure, organic skincare.  This is something I never really paid much attention to in the past, if something worked, it worked..regardless of the chemicals it had it now but now, I'm rethinking this as it may have advserse effects that only materialise in the future.

I was planning on giving it to a cousin when I discovered that my beloved eye makeup remover pads contained the evil that is mineral oil.  You can see the bind I was in..I'd be damned if I'd use a liquidy remover and I'd be damned if I used mineral oils.  I bit the bullet and chucked the pads away.

The instructions advise being liberal with it but me having been scarred before started small and got bigger and bolder.  I was very apprehensive about using this so initially I put it around the outer edges of the eyes (the lids and the brow) and then I moved in nearer to the actual eye.

Did it sting? No.  Did I feel uncomfortable? No.  I added enough to take my makeup off and then some, just to make sure it wasn't a fluke.  I kept it on for ages.  I removed my makeup in the shower (I wanted to give it a thorough testing as I do with all things I call HG).  No adverse reaction at all.  AT ALL. 

I can't stress how brilliant this is for sensitive eyes, I've used it time and time again in the same way and each time it's been as gentle as a gentle thing.  I am so glad that this is another HG item I can tick off the list.  I used to think that if the area near my eyes was oily, it would help moisturise them, this however, manages to moisturise my eyes more, has no nasties in it and doesn't leave them feeling greasy.

It's budget friendly too, retailing at £4.99, you can buy it from Superdrug.

The Christmas Present Buying Guide: What it's all about

This year I'm doing a series of posts re. Christmas presents which will either help you find that special something for a certain person or will give you more items to whack on your Christmas wishlist. 

This is the premis of the Christmas Present Buying Guide.

I won't be recommending anything I haven't used myself before as I'd feel pretty shitty if you went out and bought something which was a total dud.

And now for something completely different..a massive Hula Hoop.

Me and my Mittens: A Love Story and an MOTD.

I dislike gloves.

The reasons for this are many..

1. No matter how long I wear them for, my fingers NEVER get warm.  They tend to go from cold to sweaty, I am unaware as to why they do this. 
2. My fingers are lovers, not fighters.  They have an "all for one" mentality and like to be nestled in warmly with each other.  Gloves enforce a life of solitude on them.  They don't like this.  They long to make like Freddie Mercury and break free.
3. If you want to ball your hands up to warm them up quicker, it's impossible.
4. The small finger on any pair of gloves is always too big for me.  The other day my mum found an old pair of gloves belonging to my brother from when he was 10.  He is now 21.  I tried them on and the small finger was yet again, too big.  I am 26.

There are many more reasons but that is more than enough crazy for one day.

What does a person who dislikes gloves do when the weather turns against them?

THEY BUY MITTENS!

My dislike for gloves is as immense as my like of mittens.

Mittens are the shit.

My fingers are all warm and toasty, the tyrannous rule of solitude imposed by gloves is but a memory.  The pinky finger has shook off any feelings of inadequacy.  My Oyster card can stay ensconsed in the mitten, rendered is the need to root through my bag every five minutes to locate the bugger.

However, the single best thing about them is the fact that Simon can get his hands in there for extra warmth if needs be.  He will be damned if he admits this to anyone but his hands have been in my mittens (ooh er) more times than he would like to admit.

This is just one pair of my mittens..

The photographs make them look like someone has puked in my hands.  They look much nicer IRL, I promise! Cost me about a tenner from Topshop and I bought them about three or four years ago when I was helping my best friend get over her bastard of an ex.

What you do when you're called into work on your day off..

I have two weeks off work, this is my last week.

My original plans were to do nothing.  They went well.  I then decided I'd start reading again and I attacked my local library as the bookshop had nothing I wanted.  I started reading a book on Monday and I have finished it today.  I quite enjoyed it, it's called Fruit of the Lemon and it's about a British born Jamaican girl who (after suffering a breakdown) goes to Jamaica to stay with her mum's sister for a bit.  Whilst there she learns all about her family and her family tree, tracing way back to when her family were still slaves.  I didn't like it too much at first but I really got into it when she was told stories about her family.  Part of that was because I've always wanted to research my own family history and I've decided that I'm going to.

Anyway, I got a phone call this morning from my boss telling me that they're moving offices a week early and that I had to go in and direct where to move my stuff to.  By office moving, I don't mean moving to a new block of offices, I mean moving individual offices within the building as they finally decided to move things to the basement.  So, off I went to work..

One of the mover guys (what is their technical name?) was rather handsome and spent more time trying to avoid my gay mate than he did actually moving things.  I'm not surprised that half the office were drooling over him, what do you expect if you're wearing a t shirt that's three sizes too small for you?

I decided to skip my lunch, get the work done and then just come home early..this is what came home with me.

I have been looking for cherry Carmex everywhere and when I saw them on 2 for £5, I picked up one standard one and one cherry one..despite the fact that I haven't even opened my mint one yet.

I needed some new toner and this was the one that smelled the nicest, I tend to try and avoid the strong, chemical-y smelling ones.

I couldn't find any Max Factor mascaras for love nor money so I decided to buy The Falsies instead, I hope it is as good as Colossal.

I also finally gave in and abought the Neutrogena Pink Grapefruit scrub and facewash.  I looked a right weirdo on the Tube, having a sniff of the bottle but they smell really nice and I hope they actually work!

I got this card for my best friend as his birthday is fast approaching, the more risque version of the word on the front of this card is one of my favourite words in the English language and the message inside is pure me as I'm a lover of a great pun.

Anyone else been hauling anything? The next thing on my list is cream blushers!

The Swatch Files: Collection 2000 Extreme 24 Hour Felt Tip Liner

Whenever I see these in my drawers, I laugh because when I was swatching them, a fellow swatcher decided to grab a green one and draw a wang on my hand.

We ended up spending about 20 minutes trying to get the wang off, it didn't work.  I came home, washed my hands many a time, had a shower and washed my hair and yet my hand was still adorned with the wang.  This alone should be testament to how long lasting these liners are.

I picked up two and the wang artiste picked two up as well.   Then, due to my general lack of direction knowing skills, we got lost..and it rained..and my umbrella broke..and I got water in my shoes..

Here are the swatchy bits..

They photograph a bit wimpy looking but they pack a lot of pigment.  Both dry very quickly which is a good thing for me because I do like adding some glitter over them when I wear them to parties.  The purple photographs a bit pinker than it actually is, it's a darker purple than shown here.

These deserve to be called Extreme as they really are.  I wore the black one to an Indian function (cue lots of dancing) and I fell asleep with it on and it was still on in the morning.  It hadn't budged at all.  I read somewhere (I can't remember where, sorry!) that these tend to stain.  They didn't stain me as whenever I've worn them, my makeup remover has taken them off with no hassle.

How do you apply yours?

Foundation.

The (supposed) cornerstone of getting a flawless application..

How to go about achieving the flawless application is an art form in itself.

I never knew how to apply foundation before and I bet I still don't have it cracked now.  I used to be amazed at how people got through their foundation so quickly but never looked like they had it caked on..was it the foundation? Was I buying the wrong type for my skin? Was it the application method? Was I messing around with the wrong type of brush? Should I be using my fingers?

Today, for the first time EVER, I decided to apply the foundation direct to my face and then buff it out with my brush and I think it came out ok.  I also, however, applied it in the bathroom.  I never do this, despite bitter experience with blusher telling me that bathroom application is the way to go.  I'm still not sure if I've done it properly..can you ever properly know?

How do you go about getting the foundation of foundation (lyrical genius in the house) correct? Is it the brush? The foundation? 

Let me know!

EOTD: Go Crease-d Lightning!

Many moons ago there was a girl..a girl with a mouth that wouldn't rest and eyes that (despite her internal protests) were definitely hooded.

For months she agonised over cutting the crease, how could such a thing be possible when the crease was something she needed a team of explorers to find?  Then, one day, she had an idea..

Why not use a pencil to mark out where the crease is and take it from there! 

This is the story of what happened..

(A story which is equally heavy in photos as it is in words)

It was a Monday evening, around about half 10 in cold, cold Southwark.  Due to the girl missing Eastenders at its usual time, she decided to watch it at 10 on BBC3.  Nothing decent was on afterwards so she decided to play around with her makeup..which was something she hadn't done for a while.

So, she dug out these items and got to working..

And this is what she got..

The first and fourth photographs show the colours in the most accurate real to life way.

The aforementiond girl is quite impressed with how this came out and thinks she may wear it to her work Xmas party..what say you?

Review: Revlon Grow Luscious mascara

I've had this a fair while now and I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't open any new mascaras until I finished at least ONE old one.  It was torture knowing I had this in my drawer and couldn't crack open the wrapping and get to using..but I held on and when my Collection 2000 mascara went to the great mascara cemetary, this baby was ripped open with an amount of excitement which bordered on derangement.

Grow Luscious was released by Revlon at the time when "mascara with benefits" was the in thing..no longer did we (apparently) want a mascara to just make our lashes look longer, stronger, curlier and sexier but we also wanted it to make our lashes grow.  I'm not sure how that works as a gimmick as I find that good old Vaseline usually helps mine grow..and some brands should focus on making sure their mascara does the basics first, let alone runnning before walking.

At first I thought this was one of those mascaras that you had to use continually for 30 days or so until you saw some benefits.  I researched it (who said beauty bloggers were lazy?!) and found out that it was a hybrid mascara.

It makes your lashes look longer and more luscious (see what they did there?) on a daily but also helps them grow stronger in time..the stronger the lash..the harder it is to break I suppose.

A lot of people want their mascara to be packaged in a black tube, I don't know why that is but surely how the product works is more important?  Different strokes for different folks, I guess.  I don't discriminate..I love the fact that tubes of mascara now come in bright colours because I often leave one in my bag and anything other than black is easy to find.  I've never lost my Maybelline Colossal before and I doubt I'll be losing this.

The wand is pretty long and pretty big, I wouldn't say chunky as it doesn't look cumbersome.  It looks like it gets the job done.  It's your standard mascara wand..no funny twig like bristles..it looks the way you'd expect a mascara wand to look.

And here's how it looks in the old lashes..I took the last two photos to show the amount of curl this mascara gives me but it's not entirely clear.  I've never used another mascara which gave me this amount of curl before.  Clarins managed it with this offereing but the Revlon one blows that right out of the water.  I never realised until I took those pics just how hard it is to take a photo of your eye at that angle, hence why they're not in the best focus.

This mascara has easily made it into my top 3 mascaras (the other two being this and this..the other third one was this by Boots No7 but it doesn't compete when this comes into the running).  The photos don't show how truly long it made my lashes..you can kind of see in the last photos but I was asked by about 10 different people if I was wearing false lashes.  My lashes are definitely thicker and longer.  You know sometimes when a mascara gives you these results and you touch your lashes and find they're rock solid? Not with this one, they stayed soft all day long.  When I open my eyes, my lashes hit the skin just under my brows..and that's just with one coat.  I had to steady myself when I imagined the results I'd get from two coats..or dare I even say it..THREE.

Another reason why I love this is because I've recently been doing the walking stereotype look a lot and I find that a lot of mascara don't highlight your lashes against the liner as much as you'd like them to..I like to see the lashes poking up over the liner and this is brilliant for that.

The mascara can be bought from the usual places and it retails for £9.99.

My first foray into mineral blusher..featuring ELF.

This wasn't originally going to feature on here..which brings me to something that someone said to me the other day.  I got an email from someone (some seems to be quite a popular word in this paragraph) who asked me if I blogged about everything I owned.  In short, I don't..I don't think anybody does because that would bore the pants off of me.  I have a lot of makeup that never makes it onto here.

This beauty however, was deemed worthy enough. 

I've always wanted to order items from ELF but my one "justification" product was never in stock.  It still isn't. 

This blusher is really nice..although a bit fiddly. I figured out a way to use it which results in minimal mess.  I turn it upside down, give it a tap and then turn it the right way up.  Open the lid and there is enough on there for me to squizz my brush around a bit.  My Revlon blush brush is a perfect fit.

The photo above was taken on an overcast day but the colour is true to life.  It is highly pigmented which is nice for such a budget buy and it works well against my skin colour.  I find it perks my skin up on days when I should have known better and exfoliated the night before.  I categorise blushes into two categories, the first being blushers that are obvious..colours that let people KNOW you're wearing a blush..then you get these, the not-so-obvious natural cheek enhancers.  On a day to day basis, you can't tell I have it on but people notice when I'm not wearing it.

I can't recommend this blusher enough, I really want to try Coral and Rose but they're out of stock so I'll have to wait until they come back into stock.  The ease of application, durability during the day (I touch my face a lot and it stays put) and pigmentation alone make it more than worthy of the £3.50 you spend on it.

Happy Diwali

Today is the first time that I, personally, remember Diwali falling on the same day as Guy Fawkes.

This means only one thing..double the amount of fireworks..which I love!

I'm off work today but you better believe that the second Simon gets home, we'll be rushing "home" as fast as the car can take us..

This night is one of my favourite nights of the year because it means two things..eating and drinking a lot and having a good old family get together.

To all of you who celeberate either, have a fantastic time!!

Lush Toner Tabs: ETC ETC

I saw these in many Lush stores before I finally picked them up from the one in Westfields.  The reason for this is simple..the Lush in Westfields is pretty big..you're not cramped and worried you're going to knock something over and you're not overwhelmed by smells either.

Now that I write this, I'm sure I wrote about my experience in this Lush branch before..with the SA who was stingier than Ebenezer Scrooge on a bad day.  I asked for a sample of the 9-5 cleanser and the amount he gave me barely skimmed the bottom of the sample jar.

These made the move from bedroom to kitchen (the plan was to watch TV and steam at the same time and we don't have a TV in the bathroom anymore because I like to douse myself in "boiling water" and it kept getting steamed up..but that's by the by), anyway, these made the move last week and I decided that a few nights ago, enough was enough.

I got out the biggest bowl we have and whacked some boiling water into it.  The instructions clearly say 40 degrees celcius is the best temperature to use and this was the original plan but I got waylaid on the phone and the kettle came to a full boil..

You take out one tab and whack it into the warm water.  I wanted the one which calms troubled skin (the Tea Tree one) because I was in outbreak city at the time.  I thought they would be same thickness as paracetemol tabs but they're a lot thicker.  Drop it in and watch it fizz away, the smell is released when it fizzes and I found that putting your face over the bowl at that time doesn't do you any harm..

I sat with the towel over my head for a fair while..it warmed my skin up and I could feel it getting cleaner and smoother.  It also opens your nose up too so it would be good if you've got a cold/are getting over one..

I sat like that for about 20 minutes.  I managed to remove about three blackheads which was three more than I thought I had.  It wasn't hard to remove them, I just ran my fingers over my nose (to get some water off) and they came off.

You can save the liquid and use it as a toner for your skin or as a nice wash for your hair.  I managed to fill two toner bottles with mine..well, I could have filled two more but as I had none left, it went down the sink.

The next day my skin did look a LOT better.  I find that if you don't extract whiteheads and blackheads, they will look more prominent the day after so make sure you get them all.  Plus, they're easier to get out whilst your skin is a bit steamy/slimy.

I feel my skin getting softer and cleaner as it takes the heat in and the next day it looks a lot nicer than it did before.  I used to use a steamer before this but the bowl method works a lot better so I'd say if you want a steamer, just get a big bowl and use that.

These retail for £4.25 and can be bought here.  When I finish my current packet, I am definitely going to buy some more.  The toner you get afterwards is a nice grime remover..although I don't feel it did much to my hair.

Cellnique Paramedical

Today I'll be rambling about the Cellnique Expert Series Amino-Collagen C Intense Set and the Cellnique Skin Action Sebum Gel.

The former is an anti ageing product and the latter is for those with oily skin.  As I'm now 26, I'm trying my best to get all the anti ageing goodness into myself whilst I still can.

Cellnique Expert Series Amino-Collagen C Intense Set
I feel it pertinent to point out that this came with no instructions whatsoever.  I usually don't mind if things have no instructions because it doesn't take a genius to figure out how to use most skincare items.  However, I have never ever used something like this on my skin before so some help would have been nice.  I didn't know whether you were meant to use them at the same time or individually, which step of the skincare routine they would come and or how often you were meant to use them.

The Cellnique website says the following:

"Use day and night after cleanser, toner and eye care.  Use Amino Collagen Intense I first, followed by Amino Collagen Intense II.  Apply to face evenly, in upward and outward circular motions."

When I first got this, I did a test patch on my arm.  I never usually do this but as I had never used a product like this before, I thought it best.

My first impressions of the product were slightly marred by the smell.  Both the products smell like an old school pet shop.  I say old school because I haven't been to a pet shop for ages and I doubt the chain shops smell this way.  I grew up with a pet shop on the corner of my road and we'd always go in there and marvel at all the animals.  I remember once my brother got scared by a parrot and he cried.  I laughed.  I miss that shop..

I used this for a fair while and felt that it did not do much.  I gave it to my mum and she felt the same.  Somehow my dad (who I am sure is the most metrosexual dad out there) got his hands on it and he too disliked it.

I asked them why they disliked it and they said:

• It smells funny
• The pipette tests their patience ( this was my dad, he is the one I get my impatience from)
• It stings near the eyes
• It makes your face feel as if you're wearing a mask and that if you smile, your face will shatter.
• It leaves your hands feeling like you've washed them in cement
• It's hard to get your hands clean afterwards

Going on all the above, they gave up with it.  I'm sure a lot of people would, if something like that after the first few times you've used it, you're not going to carry on with it, are you?

Skin Action Sebum Gel
This smells pretty strong and a bit funny.  One pump (ha!) gets you a tiny bit but you need quite a few to coat your face properly.

It soaks in very quickly and your skin immediately feels a bit more plumped out.  My skin was sticky to the touch for about five minutes but after that, we are all good.  My skin feels soft and normal.  I touched it frequently whilst trialling this just to make sure that my skin was still matte.  It was.  I applied it all over my face as I dislike faffing about with a million and one creams.

A few days into using it, I found  that it was the devil.  It made me matte in the morning but I was oilier than an oily thing come lunchtime, NOT GOOD.  Nothing has ever made my nose as shiny as this has, and I used to use a rich moisturiser..

A few days later I found myself breaking out all over my forehead and nose.  I have NEVER broken out on my nose before..NEVER!!

I tried to use it with powder on the top and that didn't work either, this just sucked the powder in.

It broke me out and I know my t zone is not the oiliest out there so I can't really give this a glowing reference.  I am not going to carry on using it for obvious reasons, it's going to go to an unsuspecting aunt or cousin.

Thus, sebum gel - bad, amino-collagen c intense set - also not good.

You can buy Cellnique from here.