Happy New Year!!

I'm only two days late for this message but if you know Punjabis, you know we never run on time.

So, how was your 2012?  Was it the year that made you or the year you'd rather forget?

For me, it was just another year really..until the latter part. I was muddling through, working away at work, enjoying myself as you do..

Then two things happened, I had my appraisal at work and my boss told me that 'time waits for no man', this resulted in me going back to my desk and looking at houses online.  I found one that I fell in love with.  Now, I've wanted a townhouse for as long as I can remember and I told myself I would have one before I was 30.  So, with Simon in tow, we went looking at townhouses all over er..town.

There were some that were gorgeous on the outside and a tip on the inside, then there were estate agents who thought they could pull the wool over my eyes and charge me for things that I had never agreed to buy. Anyway, we found one that was perfect and it is now ours.  We're meant to move in in January but as Simon has the norovirus, that doesn't look likely.  The old owner however, is very nice and has given us until March to be fully moved in.  This house is further away from work than my flat but onwards and upwards as they say..  The brilliant thing is that it has also cut out our 'games room/study' argument as it has enough room for both!

The second thing was a party for my brother's birthday. A photo of me was taken and I died when I saw it. You couldn't tell where my chins ended and my chest began.  Having said that, I was sitting with my head tilted downwards.  So, I joined the gym and I am now 40 lbs down.  I've got a fair way to go but I'll get it done this year as I've managed to knock a bit off already so going to the gym isn't that daunting.

The funny thing is, I know another larger lady and we were discussing this yesterday and she said that she didn't like going to the gym as she was the biggest person there.  I only realised that I was the biggest person in my gym in the dying weeks of December but I don't really care..I don't go to the gym in the hope of having a quick bunk-up by the lockers.  I go there to sweat my arse off and get fitter. Plus, once you're working out, you ignore everyone around you and get on with it.

I know everyone who has lost weight always gives out tips but the two things I will say are this. Firstly, nobody can make you lose weight.  You won't get serious about it until YOU want to do it.  There's no point just looking at other people and wishing yourself thin.  The second thing is that it truly is a mind change..I used to eat a sandwich from Pret (too many added calories), crisps, Diet Coke and a chocolate for my lunch...and I thought that was healthy.  What I'm trying to say is,just because it is a sandwich, doesn't mean it is healthy..read the labels!

My resolutions for the new year are what a poser would call eclectic.  They range from losing another 10-15 kg (this will be topped up once I hit this target..I am looking at mid-March for the 10kg mark..) to learning how to play poker.

What are your resolutions?  I won't apologise for going on about the weightloss but it has spurred me to make resolutions because now I know I can achieve things!

My holy grail hair conditioner..

Never did I think I'd see the day when I'd find a conditioner that would please the demon that is my hair.

Before I tell you what it is, let me take you on the journey that ended with me finding and falling in love with this.

Many years ago now..and I mean many years, it was about 1997 in fact.. I used to love John Freida's Frizz Ease range.  I was amazed after using it that my fuzzy hair was nice and curly. That was, of course, until I brushed it.  I've learnt now that you don't brush curly hair.

Anyway, over time, that stopped working for so I switched to another one..and then another one and then I just went rogue and bought the first one that would catch my eye.

I've used nearly every conditioner out there, I went from L'Oreal to Aussie to Herbal Essences to Head and Shoulders and then back to Aussie..

The only reason I bought my HG one was because it was on offer.  I remember the day well, I bought another conditioner with it and finished that one months before I even opened this.

This conditioner is by Dove.  It's the Dove Nourishing Oil Express Conditioner. Now, Dove doesn't agree with me in shampoo or shower gel form.  In soap form, the normal one makes me greasy and the one for sensitive skin gives me spots.  The shower gel leaves me feeling 'smudgey'.  I'm telling you now that smudgey is an actual word.  I'm convinced that no matter how much I wash it off, there is still some left on my body.

Yeah, I've bought three because they were on offer..and then I have one in the bathroom here and two at my  winter residence/can't be bothered to cook residence.

So why do I love this so much?

• It mixes an conditioner with oil. What a fantastic idea!
• It is called an express conditioner.  You don't have to leave it in for ages!  It suggests that you use it every day but I don't wash my hair so this obviously doesn't happen. You can wash it out in just one minute.  The strange thing is, the usual conditioner that comes with this is to be left on for three or four minutes.  By the way, you don't use shampoo, standard conditioner AND this. You just use shampoo and this or shampoo and the standard conditioner. I welcome this express conditioner as a product because all you usually get it shampoo, conditioner and deep conditioner.  The annoying thing about Boots is that I haven't been to one branch (and I've checked in eight) that has the WHOLE range.  I have seen that they do a deep conditioner which I have also picked up.
• It doesn't grease your hair up.  I find that a lot of moisturising conditioners do this and that's not what I want at all.
• You don't need much.  My hair is currently midway down my back (I can put my hand just above my bum and touch it.  To clarify, I mean the hair, not my bum).
• It lasts for ages.  I have been using mine twice a week since they started showing The Secret History of Our Streets on TV.  Actually no, since the started showing that markets programme on BBC.  You know, the one when they went behind the scenes at Billingsgate, the London meat market (or as I call it, west London on a Saturday night) and the veg market.  The veg market was my favourite with the cockney Singh who used to work for the Krays.
• It makes very dry hair and hair with split ends look very healthy. My hair is horrendous at the moment and this conditioner sorts it out.  You can tell when I've used this conditioner and when I haven't.
• The packaging is very user friendly.  You can get every last drop of this out as it is in a squeezy tube.

Has anyone else tried this?

It costs about £3.00 or so from Boots, I can't be more precise because the Boots website is currently down.  Actually, I think I paid £1.60 odd for it so it's a bit more than £3.00.

Chanel Diwali

Chanel is a brand that has never really been on my radar, both for fashion and beauty.  I've never really been excited by what they have to offer when it comes to beauty and for fashion, I have never really fallen in love with their handbags.  It's probably because I see it as being quite a classic brand and I prefer my handbags to have a bit of 'life' to them..hence my love of Balenciaga.

Anyway, the other day, I saw a tweet which mentioned Chanel Diwali.  Now, with me being Indian, Diwali is a big thing in my life.  Basically, it's an evening where we let off shitloads of fireworks and eat and drink really nice things.  The reason that Sikhs celebrate it is explained here.

I thought at first this might be a new collection of clothes from Chanel and immediately my mind ran away with itself, imagining suits adorned with gems and Chanel branded mojeh.  Then I googled it and was a nail polish.  I wouldn't have minded some Chanel mojeh you know..

At first, I was bit let down by the colour.  If I was to make a Diwali polish, it would be a black (maybe matte) shot through with multicoloured glitters and those hexagonal pieces.  You know, so it looks like a firework in the sky.

What Diwali by Chanel actually is, is a shiny gold with some 'grit' in it.  To me, it looks more like the colour of a groom's sherwani at an Indian wedding.

I saw some swatches on Temptalia (which is where most of the images for this post are from) and when Diwali catches the light, it manages to sparkle in a way that I think catches the colour of Diwali, so good going Chanel!

 The more I look at it, the more I realise what it reminds me of..you know sparklers?  The second you light one of those and you get that instant whizzy explosion thing.

I showed the polish to my mum who now wants me to pick one up for her..fingers crossed I find one!  It's not on the Chanel website yet but I am going 'up West' soon so will ask on the counters and update this post.

The cheat's way to get rid of tired looking eyes in the morning..

Many a morning I wake up, look at myself in the mirror and wonder why I didn't go to bed earlier the night before.  Then I get distracted by what to wear and what the weather looks like outside and of course, the typical English dilemma of whether I should or shouldn't take a coat with me.

When I'm truly tired, I get puffy eyes that don't really look too sexy.  Until recently, I didn't really know how to get rid of them and to make myself look half awake.  I'd pile my makeup on and just get to work but you could see the underlying tiredness from a mile off.

I recently lost a lipstick and whilst searching for that, I came across a product that I haven't used since I got it as a freebie in Glamour magazine. And if you think it's a Benefit product, you'd be right.  Now I have never been Benefit's biggest fan and even now, I'm still not a fangirl.  I like some of their stuff but wouldn't go as far to call them must haves.  This might the closest I ever get to calling a Benefit product a must have.  Click here to see what else of Benefit's I have reviewed.

Anyway, the product I found was Benefit's eyebright.  I have used this a few times in the past as an inner corner highlighter but the colour was just far too stark against my skintone.  If you're white or Chinese, you can easily get away with using this as an inner corner highlighter but for us Indian, black and olive skinned gals, it's a no go.

I decided to try it on my waterline to see what it did and to my surprise, it managed to look quite natural.  I think Benefit are missing a trick not marketing it that way, I've read on their website and they say that you should apply it to the inner and outer corner of your eyes and blend.  Well, I say do that if you're not of a darker skin colour.  If you are of a darker skin colour then whack it on your waterline.

I team this product up with my trusty eyelash curlers (reviewed here and going strong on their second pad replacement), any mascara that is close to hand (I've been using the Prestige one as my other bottle finished and this is the last one I have left..and seeing as Boots have discontinued it, I won't be able to buy more, despite it being a fantastic thing and one of the first products I ever reviewed on this blog).  I also use this Natralift Firming Eye Roll On from The Body Shop which I feel makes a difference..and the ball is very cooling on the skin.

If you've got more time then you could always put a decent inner corner highlighter on too, but as I am yet to find this, I have a bare inner corner.  The other thing that I tend to do once at work is line my upper lashline with some black eyeliner.  No flick though, I'm at work, not out knocking back the finest cocktails known to man.

And here's how it looks in its most basic way..

I'm not apologising for my eyebrows, I'm growing them out after someone f**ked them right up...

Now you might remember me hyping up Stila's Kajal pencil which is still all well and good but in the Summer months, it tends to be a bit too soft.  Fantastic for Winter though!

Talking of cocktails, I must warn you that if you like a decent citrus-y mojito, don't go to the Smollensky's in Canary Wharf as the people working there can never ever get this right.  Every time I go and ask for more citurs than mint, I end up drinking liquid toothpaste.  It's horrible and I have now given up asking for mojitos and I just stick to a bog standard glass of Chardonnay.

The Monday Night Mash-Up

I know today is a Monday but due to it being a Bank Holiday in the UK, it feels more like a Sunday, hence this being the Monday Night Mash-Up.

Like many bloggers, I don't tend to write these posts all in one go..the main reason for this is that I just don't have the time.  I usually type it up as the week goes on and my excitements and annoyances come out.

The past two weeks have been a steep learning curve for me workwise.  I always knew that no matter how well prepared you are, the defence/prosecution can always throw you..but this defence team that we are working with are a right bunch of 'see you next Tuesdays'.  They know their client is guilty and are making us jump through hoops but the evidence will speak for itself.

Anyway, the excitements and annoyances over the past two weeks have been as follows..

Excitements

• MY BIRTHDAY!!!  Yes, the last SNSD you read was written by a carefree 27 year old and this one comes from a worldy 28 year old.  That last sentence could possibly be the biggest pile of bollocks you will ever read on here.  I was not carefree at 27 and I am nowhere near to being worldy now.
• PRESENTS!! Naturally flowing from the first thing of course.  I have been enamoured with a particular Hermes purse and scarf for a fair while now and that is what my BBT (bare buff ting) of a husband got me for my birthday.  I nearly wet myself when I saw the orange box..
• Finally being told that I can have both the Olympic weeks off - I work in Canary Wharf which will be a nightmare come the Olympics..we had to put our holiday requests in three months ago and I am one of 3 people who are able to have both weeks off.  I'm already planning my holidays, despite not having a passport..but don't worry!  I've got myself the renewal form and I am all about getting my eyebrows threaded so I can have a decent photo on my passport.  I have to get it signed by someone though becuase I look totally different now to how I did when I was 16.
• Harrods - I have not been to this place since I was about 11.  I just prefer Selfridges to Harrods which is strange because I think Harrods as a building inside is more 'true to how it was in the olden days' compared to Selfridges and people who read this blog and know me will know I am all about the old school.  Plus, I can just get the Jubilee line from my flat to Bond Street!  I went today as my brother has bought a flat about 5 minutes away and I wanted to have a quick look at some work shoes.  I didn't get any work shoes but I did pick up a navy Marc Jacobs purse.
• UGGS - I had a pair but gave them to my grandmother after she had knee surgery.  I had been in heels all week last week and my feet were seriously killing me so I went out and bought some tall brown Uggs on the way home and my feet were in heaven all the way from Bond Street to London Bridge.
• Losing weight - I'm at the stage now where clothes that were tight are fitting me.  I remember I used to have a lemon coloured lace dress that I couldnt get the zip done on it and now I can't find where it has run off to!  Does that happen to anyone else?  I know I have a lot of stuff but I have some sort of idea where everything is but I just can't remember where this dress could possibly be! 
• A husband - I was saying on Twitter the other day that I still can't believe I have a husband..when people asked about my husband, I still give them a blank stare but the man is a leg-end.
• Indian tea - This will forever be in my excitements list, nothing is as comforting on a warm day as a massive cup of boiling hot Indian tea
• Purple eyeliner - I've been showing this a lot of love recently, either the GOSH long-lasting one or a pencil one just run through my lashline
• Spending more time with mi familia - I have spent a lot of time with my family these past two weeks and I have personally had a whale of a time..I don't know if I can say the same for them.. It has been nice not having to worry about cooking stuff when I get back home and it's also been nice annoying my parents and brothers like I used to before I got married.  Plus, they live in leafy Surrey so it's nice to get away from the concrete jungle where I live.  It would have been more enjoyable had we had any sun! 
• Midget Gems - I saw these on offer in Tesco and picked them up and I have fallen in love with them.  They're really hard and chewing them is a chore but for someone who loves toffee, this are brilliant.

Annoyances

• Annoying people on the trains - I will say no more about this! 
• The rain - Anyone who lives in London will know what I mean about this.  It has rained constantly since my birthday.  It's so annoying because it's not like you get a bit wet on the way from the station to the office.  No no, you get soaked in the morning, at lunch AND on the way to the station at home-time.  I'm in court at the moment and even if you take a cab, you have to walk the long way round and you get wet again.  The worst thing about it all is that by the time you've got your umbrella out, you're in the office so it's pointless!  
• Returns - I have made far too many returns in the past few weeks and from now on I'm making a strict 'buy everything with cash' policy because then Simon can return stuff for me! 
• Tragus piercing - Plans to fit this in are NOT going well, neither are my plans for getting a haircut!

The Tragus Piercing..

For as long as I can remember, I have always wanted to get my tragus pierced.

Many things have prevented me from doing this..first I wanted it just before my finals and I thought it best to get them out of the way.  Then I finished those and got too busy with my LPC that I totally forgot about the piercing.  I promised myself I'd get it pierced after my LPC exams but then that Summer flew by and before I knew it, I was getting ready to start my lawyering..and a tragus piercing didn't really fit in with the grand scheme of things.

A few years down the line and I've decided that I am definitely going to get this piercing before I die..not that I'm looking to die any time soon!

It's not that I'm scared of the pain...  I've got a few piercings but they are all through fleshy parts and I am well aware that the tragus is that semi bone-y part.

Look how pretty this piercing is..

I've been looking for pics online and I quite like the look of this vertical(?) tragus piercing..and it wouldn't be so obvious..

Having said that, I really really like these piercings.. and the set of three above.

Also, another issue I have is the headphone thing.  I dislike over the head headphones and I know that normal headphones are hard to slot into your ear when you've got the tragus piercing..


If anyone who reads this has a tragus piercing, share your experience!  How painful is it?  How long does it take to heal?  What's the headphone situation?