Some pretty things i have my eye on...

Annoyingly my camera has died on me, which has limited what i can blog about (i don't like to post an entry without a picture, it seems too bare) so instead i thought i would be very self indulgent and post a list of the lovely things that have been catching my eye lately...

The beautiful Estee Lauder and Michael Korrs Hollywood collection

This oversized Amy bag from Paul's Boutique

Floral vests

The lovely Paul's Boutique jewellery on ASOS (which is in the sale)

Pastel and bright skinny jeans

Mac's Give Me Liberty collection which i think is out in Spring

Mac By Candlelight MSF

Anna Lou of London headbands- so cute!

Paul & Joe Alice in Wonderland collection

Korres lip butters

For anyone off to the IMATS at the weekend, have a wonderful time! (^_^)

Go Flo!

Lately I have been very much admiring the style of Florence Welch a.k.a Florence & the Machine. As well as making amazing music she has great style. I love her beautiful flame red hair for starters!

She mixes vintage, with a bit of retro, goth and rock 'n' roll to great effect. She has created a style that is full of personality and very much her own... and i am jealous of those legs of hers!

A little review of Pond's Dry Skin Cream...

During the Snow 'chaos' earlier this month i ran out of moisturiser. My current moisturiser of choice is Lancome, but the Boots by me is very small so just has a small skincare section. I decided to just get a cheap one to tide me over till i could get to a bigger shop, and opted for Pond's Dry Skin Cream which i think was the cheapest at £3.98.

The texture of this is very thick and heavy, i personally prefer a lighter formula. But after even a couple of uses my skin felt so soft- like velvet! The cream was so rich though that it felt almost like i had a sheen to my face- so if you have oily skin like myself i wouldn't recommend it.

I've long had a problem with being allergic to body moisturisers that have a scent- they bring out rashes, so the absolute only one i can use is E45. My face isn't usually so sensitive, but having said that this moisturiser is perfumed. The smell isn't that nice, quite an overpowering old fashioned kind of scent. I'm sad to say after a week of use this brought out eczema along my jawline and i had to stop using it. So, if you do have sensitive skin this one is a no go.

Staying positive, it was great value and did soften my skin hugely!

So overall i give it 2/5

(^_^)

A (not so) little review of Anatomicals…part 1

While the rest of the world seems to be obsessed with Lush and Soap & Glory i have been falling in love with a brand called Anatomicals, after getting some lovely gift sets for Christmas. I've been putting the products to the test and here are my thoughts:

The Seven Deadly Skins Body Scrub
This body scrub does a lovely job- i was very impressed with the lather it built up and it was very thick and velvety. It's been leaving my skin very soft, and i like it a lot. My one and only complaint with this is the smell, there's a very faint citrus smell, but i would love it so much more if the smell was much stronger! 4/5

That's When I Fell For the Leader of the Hair Pack
I'm a big fan of using hair masks, but this one initially worried me. Mainly because it smelt of conditioner mixed with salad cream and was yellow...hmm. But after leaving it in my hair for a few mins, and washing out my hair was looking and felling supersoft & had a lovely 'clean' smell rather than the less desirable ea de salad cream! 4/5

Glow, Glow, Quick, Quick Glow Brightening Face Cream
"Theres no dancing around the subject,your skin's more of a disaster than your dad's Justin Timberlakeimpression. Brighten it up with this face cream and waltz off to work: still drunk, still nauseous, but now glowing." I liked the idea of this, but i found this one a bit strange. It seemed to have smallglitter particles in it, which is not the kind of thing i really want on my face on a daily basis. But on the plus side i find this a good product to use as a primer.Much in the same way as Mac strobe cream, it lifts the overallfinish of the foundation and this has moisturiser in as well so it's an added bonus. I also love the message on the tube! 3/5

Snog Me Senseless Minty Lip Balm
This very much has the consistancyof a lipgloss, and a lovely fresh mint smell. I'd say this would be a good one to carry round for a night time/going out natural lip, and could be mixed with colour. The packaging is a toothpaste like tube, so you need to apply with the fingers, which makes it a bit tricky. I'm not sure this feels hugely moisturising but i like it all the same. 4/5

No Old Bags Allowed Eye Gel

This is another treasure! I've tried so many eye creams over the years, and i've never found one that i've been impressed with... Until now- and it's unbelieveably cheap. I put this on morning & night and it feels so refreshing. My eyes just feel a lot more awake. I (unfortunately) have quite bad shadows under my eyes, and although it would take nothing short of a miracle to get rid of them they have definitely decreased with constant use of this gel. Woo! 5/5

Puffy the Eye Bag Slayer gel mask
This mask is really cool. Laying with this on for ten minutes or so is an instant pick me up for my eyes, leaving them nice & refreshed. I recommend this for contact lens wearers, if like me when you take them out at the end of the day have very dry eyes, it gives them a real boost. 5/5



Stop Cracking up Lip Balm
I like this lip balm very much! In a doe foot tube for easy application, this somehow feels a lot more moisturising than the minty one. Because it appears as a lipgloss it's a great one to wear during the day, especially in this cold Winter weather, it isn't too sticky and feels really nice. 5/5

I've still got a few things to try out, but so far overall i'm very impressed with this brand. Very affordable prices, and great products. Lots of choice, and perfect for everday essentials. The fact they have fun names, and come in bright and colourful packaging makes my bathroom a lot brighter too :) Anatomicals: i love you!

(You can get Anatomicals stuff at

www.asos.com or www.anatomicals.net )

(^-^)

Spend Vs Steal: A Mascara Overview!

Mascara is one of my favourite and most used make up item. In fact if i could only have one make up item to use for the rest of my life, would certainly be mascara. I'm always on the look out for a good one, and have tried many, so here's my views on a few of them....


1. Avon- Supershock (£10, often £5 on offer)
The brush for this one is plastic, and massive. Because the 'bristles' are so short i find this one quite awkward to use. The effect is nothing special, and certainly not as the name suggests, but i do find this a good one for the lower lashes. Overall nothing special. 4/10

2. Boots 17 Va Va Voom (£5.99)
This mascara is kind of marketed as the cheap dupe for Benefits BadGal Lash with the oversized bristle brush. I actually prefer this to BadGal! Althought it's nothing amazing, i quite like this as a reliable daytime mascara. It gives a nice amount of volume without being too obvious. 5/10

3. Boots No.7 Intense Volume(£10.50)

I have fond feelings for this one, as it was my hg mascara for a long time when i was younger. I think this is a good all rounder- giving a nice bit of volume and curl and a lovely intense colour. The brush is a nice classic size and shape, a good one if you don't want to go for the expense of high end. 7/10

4.Lancome Hypnose (£20)

Put simply, this is my favourite mascara i have ever tried! The way it transforms my lashes is amazing, massive volume, a nice curl, and the right amount of seperation. It really gives lashes the wow factor. The formula gives an intense colour, and doesn't dry out all crispy like most mascaras do. The brush is just the right size, and the bristles are the perfect length, so as to stop the liquid going all gloopy. Love it! 10/10

5. Benefit BadGal Lash (£14.50 Boots, ASOS £15.50 Debenhams)

I know this is a really popular one, but i just can't get on with this myself. I must admit to not being a huge fan of Benefit make up, but i really did try. I find the brush to be crazily big, and it just doesn't really do much for me... 2/10

6. Sleek Volume & Curl (£3.70)

Amazingly good value, and a great daytime mascara. Nice and subtle, it does a great job at giving a nice pretty curl, and a little bit of volume. I really like the brush on this one-very easy to apply. Great for everyday. 6/10

7. Rimmel Sexy Curves (£4.99 Superdrug. Prices vary)

This was another one i've heard a lot of good stuff about, but i was really disappointed. I must admit to preferring the bristle brushes to the plasic ones like these. The brush is useful for getting right to the root of the lashes, but i have naturally long lashes so the brush was rubbish for coating the length. It didn't deliver on volume or curl for me, and the result was underwhelming. I tend to only reach for this for my lower lashes, as the brush is very good for that. 3/10

8. Clinique High Impact (£14.50).

This one is another favourite. A nice classic brush, with a lovely formula that can be layered to create a pretty daytime look or vampy dramatic night time lash. Great all rounder but particulary good for volume. 9/10

9. Chanel Exceptionnel De Chanel (£20)

This was the first mascara to combine the bristle and plastic brush into one. I really like this one, as you can use the plastic part to get to the roots for seperation and use the brush part for volume and curl. Really nice dramatic effect. This is a favourite night time mascara for me. The downside is it is on the pricey side, and tends to go gloopy fairly quick. 8/10

So that's my humble opinion on the mascaras i've most recently tried. Any good ones i've missed out on?

(^_^)

My Favourite Songs of 2009

Something a little different from the usual make up stuff. Here in no order are my favourite songs of 2009:

1. Tigerlily- La Roux

2. Sex Bomb- Spinnerette

3. Fast Fuse- Kasabian

4. For the Glory- Ian Brown

5. Drumming Song- Florence & the Machine

6. Mathmatics- Little Boots

7. Warriors Dance- The Prodigy

8. Loose You- Peaches

9. The Stupid,The Proud- IAMX

10. Forever Young- Madness

11. Frisk- The Big Pink

12. Until We Bleed- Kleerup

13. Splitting the Atom- Massive Attack

14. Pretty Visitors- Arctic Monkeys

15. Russian Roulette- Rihanna

16. Heads Will Roll- Yeah Yeah Yeahs

17. No You Girls- Franz Ferdinand

18. I'm Not Sorry-The Cocknbullkid

19. You've Got the Love (Jamie XX Rework)- Florence & the Machine

20. Exogenesis Part 1- Muse

There! (^_^)

I'd love to hear what everyone else's musical highlights were...

A Style Icon... Siouxsie Sioux

When i was growing up a huge hero of mine was Siouxsie Sioux. I used to be the 'goth girl' of my school and as far as i was concerned Siouxsie rocked the goth look the best.

I was and still am a big fan of the banshees and remember in my teens going to the indie record shop in my town and buying all their albums. The songs were like nothing i'd heard- dark, eerie, passionate... and siouxsie's voice- wow! I'd look through the album artwork and try my hardest to copy her style.

I remember first seeing her wild black hair and bold almost cleopatra like make up. I'd never seen anything like it before- and i grew up in a time when the female icons of popular culture were the likes of the Spice Girls and Steps, so she impressed me even more.

The thing that i admired most about her style was the fact that she was so different and interesting. She didn't conform to a stereotypical pretty or sexy look. Her style was strong and empowering. It was fierce!

Although my goth days are long over i still love Siouxsie and still see her as a style icon for alternative culture, and i still think her shockingly beautiful looks are amazing. She is one of my style icons for the simple reason that she had her own look, and never tried to follow fashion- she made her own, and still does :)

(^_^)

Christmas Pressies

Ok, ok i know Christmas is sooo last year and all that... but as i've been enjoying seeing what others have got for Christmas i though i would do a quick post on some of the lovely beauty related presents i got...

A very pretty Paul & Joe set which has a lip conditioner, cleansing milk, toner and cream

A beautiful Body Shop 'Japanese Cherry Blossom' gift set which contained a perfume, body butter, shower gel, and bath scrunchie, in a super cute box which i've already chucked a load of bits and bobs in!

A Beautilicious seven liplocking lovelies lipgloss gift set, and an Anatomicals lips and eyes set, which had an eye cream and lip balm.

And this baby! An Anatomicals 'I will survive (the 21st Century non disco mix)' which contained in the super glittery box a shower gel, brightening facecream, headache relieving balm, and an eye gel mask... How cool?!

I also got some rather lovely heated rollers, which i am obsessed with as they are bloody amazing! And a very very cute Hello Kitty glitter lamp (^_^)

And Lastly, heres one of my favourite pictures i took this Christmas- the pups have over done it with the Christmas celebrations! Ahhhhhhhhh

The 'Acid' Look

This one's just a quickie to firstly say Happy New Year. This one sounds cooler, because we can say 'twenty ten' instead of 'oh nine' which is boring!

Anyway, as a contant crusader for the infamous Sleek palettes i have made a new convert. Using the Acid palette, and creating the very simple look they have on the stands in Superdrug my sister went out and bought one.




The eyeshadows have amazing pigmentation... i love them, and look forward to seeing what Sleek have in store for us this year (^_^)