Blogosphere: Week 6

This week I have been mainly hiding my face. A funny suncream reaction on hols has caused a plethora of angry spots to set up shop on my face. I have a new found sympathy for the acne prone, it's horrible.

Luckily Grey's Anatomy season 7 has been keeping me entertained; I've just finished it. I think it's one of my favourite seasons, I love how the characters (especially Bailey and Sloane) have developed and there are just enough gripping moments to keep you locked to the screen.

The Grey's Anatomy motto in our house is 'Just one more episode!'

What music have I been enjoying this week? Perhaps unexpectedly, I'm a fan of post-hardcore and am enjoying 'Raised by Wolves' by Falling in Reverse and 'Hey Baby, Here's That Song You Wanted' by Blessthefall. If My Chemical Romance and Bullet For My Valentine had a baby, it would be called Falling in Reverse. I've hit the nail on the head with that comparison!

I also adore 'Sixteen Saltines' by Jack White and am also enjoying 'Black Heart' by Stooshe - very sultry and soulful and they have great voices.

I wasn't sure if this was a piss-take, but it's not. Yuck yuck yuck, Kate Nash, what is this?? *Ears bleed*

A massage to forget!

This is written a little after the event, perhaps it's taken this long for me to process the experience and feel able to commit it to text!Whilst reading Cupcakes and Cherries: The Queensbury regarding a Groupon voucher, I was reminded of the only time I've used a Groupon voucher. It was for 75% off an Indian herb oil massage and facial.  I've had mixed experiences when it comes to massages but thought I'd indulge myself one Saturday afternoon in March.

That particular Saturday passed with no massage as I was called on my way there to let me know the shop had had to close for the day and Could We Reschedule? Ok then.

Suffice to say all of the Groupon pictures portrayed a glossy, colourful and professional salon. I arrived at a dingy little office which could have done with a right old spruce up containing one little old lady receptionist in a big coat. She asked for my Groupon voucher and called the therapist out of the 'treatment room'; they proceeded to examine it for 15 minutes before making a telephone call to the owner to discuss it some more. I entertained myself by looking at the selection of products on display in a cloudy display cabinet, all of which were past their sell by date. Yum! The certificates adorning the wall had a distinct Microsoft Publisher feel to them.

I toyed with the idea of 'doing a runner', but I'm just too damn polite.

Eventually I was lead into a room and handed a pair of paper pants. 'No top', she replied when I enquired. I was sat on a wooden chair and warm oil was poured on my head for a scalp massage. Mmm, greasy! I was expecting an oil with a delicate aroma of rosemary, thyme, mint... in reality all I could liken it to was a chip pan.

The room itself had bay windows with blinds across. Blinds which were open. Again I was too polite to say anything but wouldn't be surprised if it acts as a meeting spot for a couple of local pervs.

The body massage wasn't all bad, as was the facial (if a bit 'scrubby'). Two particular points of the experience stand out:

1. Once the face mask was on it was relaxation time "Goodnight". Whilst trying to relax I heard the therapist going to the toilet in the small ajoining toilet. At this point I smiled wryly to myself and wished someone else was there to share the experience.

2. Once the face mask was wiped off, I was lead into said toilet and some facewash was squirted into my cupped hands so I could Rinse Off The Remnants in the teeny tiny wash basin. Now that's pampering for you!! 

I pulled my clothes back onto my greasy chip pan body, pulled my greasy chip pan hair into a ponytail and called my sister to pick me up (to spare the public my appearance and smell). I possibly left the salon more agitated than when I arrived.

Fail!

Jubilee Nail Art!

(L-R: without flash, with flash)

What do you think? I painted these bad boys last night when I should have been asleep. What can I say, I'm just too damn excited about the 60th anniversary of Queenie's rule.

Excuse the wonky brushmanship, but as I say, it was 11.30pm at night. Then I went to sleep and imprinted them with duvet cover patterns.

This is really easy to do - no fancy tools required:

1. Blue all over (2 coats)
2. Thick stripes of white vertical, horizontal and diagonal (I used silver in the abscence of white). Don't worry about making these perfect - most of it will be covered by the red.
3. Thin stripes of red over the white/silver.

I only used the brushes which came with the nail varnishes - I dound that by wiping them on the rim of the bottle, I could alter the width of the brush.

Enjoy the bank holiday weekend!!

Blogosphere: Week 2

Ok, I have well and truly caught the blogging bug. At the end of my second week I have reached 1,000 page views and am really chuffed that so many people have shown interest. Thank you! A couple of people have left lovely comments and I have found some great blogs to enjoy, particularly I Covet Thee, Emily Charlotte and Zoella. What's the antidote for Blogger's Addiction?

Yesterday I caught the bus from mine up to Oxford Street yesterday for a spot of shopping - had to take some bits back to Primark and John Lewis. Although I've lived in zone 2 for three years, I still get awestruck by the tourist sights and snap away merrily as the 159 crosses the Thames! Loser.

Beauty products I'm loving at the moment

We've come a long way since the days of Boots No. 17 Heather Shimmer lippie, circa 1996! For those who don't remember, it was the lipstick of the moment- a fetching lilac with a strong silver shimmer, which was enough to make even the liveliest gal look like she'd passed over.

Here are my must-have-holy-grail-can't-live-without products:

Dream Matte Mousse in Fawn 

I have been bestowed (cursed?) with terribly oily skin, which needs to be powdered several times a day to avoid resembling a highly reflective surface. I fear one day a bystander will use their reflection in my face to touch up their own makeup - “Can you hold still please? I’m nearly done”.

Though my own blogger-stalking, I know that DMM is definitely not for everyone, particularly those with drier skins - I imagine it would cake terribly and probably worsen the dry/tight feeling. Those firmly attached to liquid foundations might find it hard to get used to the very dry, almost powdery formulation.

I buff it into the skin with a Real Techniques stippling brush and find it gives me a flawless matte look, with good coverage, and is a perfect base for powdered bronzer/blusher.

Urban Decay Eye Shadow Primer

This is my best beauty find ever. EVER. Three cheers for Urban Decay!

I saw this product featured in a few magazines and thought it would be worth a try, as due to my said oil production (refer above), my eyeshadow would have migrated into my eyelid creases by lunchtime, requiring a complete reapplication for after-work activities.

Applying this creamy product before applying eye makeup creates a base for the shadow to cling to, in addition to absorbing oil from the eyelid. I’m not exaggerating when I say my eyeshadow lasts long into the evenings now and doesn’t slip or slide at all any more. I find it also improves the intensity of the colour, compared with application onto bare skin.

I’ve recommended this product to a number of my friends, who have then passed the recommendation to their friends, so the love seems to be universal for this one. Huzzaah!

Revlon Lip Butters - Cotton Candy and Strawberry Shortcake

The most blogged about lip products ever?

I initially rejected the hype and instead opted for L’Oreal’s Rouge Caresse range. I bought six of their colours because I liked the sheer but pigmented formulation. HOWEVER after a few weeks of use I started to notice my lips were really dry, peeling and sore. Since these were the only lip products I was using at the time (and I generally have quite robust skin) I had to deduce the Rouge Caresse was causing it. I have sent them back to L’Oreal, response pending. Shame!

So, I’ve joined the herd and bought lip butters in the two light-ish pink shades. So far, so good! I’m really liking them - they are much more moisturising than the RC’s and I really like a slight shimmer in my lip products, which the LB’s have and the RC’s didn’t.

Picture: Cotton Candy (left), Strawberry Shortcake (right)

 Miss Glamorazzi has posted a great comprehensive review of these lip butters.

Look Blusher in Flirt

This is a lovely corally-pink with some gold shimmer shot through. The blusher is super-pigmented and easy to apply (being careful not to o/d!).

 I bought this on Lily’s recommendation.

Famous by Sue Moxley Eyeshadows

I love the pigmentation, and the colour range is a gorgeous mixture of nudes and brights. I currently own the Café Culture palette, a shimmery taupe (Shade 3), browny purple (Shade 15), the bright bright purple (Shade 12) and the shimmery black (Shade 18).

For those who love a strong shimmer/glossy look to their eyeshadows (which I LOVE for a night out), these shadows are superb. Score!

Available from selected Superdrugs.

Urban Decay’s Naked Palette

Who hasn’t heard of this palette?? You can tell from the picture which colour I like best for everyday wear, but the matte browns are also great for eyebrows.

I wouldn’t say I’d repurchase this palette, as I just don’t use enough of the colours (the gold-y ones in the middle are too warm for me), however it has definitely persuaded me to buy ‘Sin’ as a single shadow (provided it’s stocked as one).

Avon Mega Impact a.k.a SuperShock Gel Eyeliner

I have a lot of love for this eyeliner - a gel in pencil form, as it’s the only one I’ve used which STAYS PUT all day and has fantastic pigmentation. It’s reasonably priced too - yay!

It was Pixiwoo’s recommendation on their YouTube channel whichencouraged me to first buy this a couple of years ago.

(Disclaimer: I’m no beauty professional, just a long-standing product junkie!)