Walk like an Egyptian

While most of the UK is probably now covered in snow ... (or so the weather forecast led me to believe) ... I am avoiding the cold and instead sunning myself in Egypt :)

A well deserved break that I have been waiting an age for ... I have taken plenty of trashy books to keep me occupied and hope to spot a camel or too .... and maybe even a pyramid.

Posts may be few and far between in my absence but I will be back shortly to share a snippet of the sunshine with you all.

x

Another year, another winter

I found this set of drawers lying outside my old flat just as I was moving out. It looked like it had been placed their deliberately as someones idea of an art installation.

Whatever the case, it almost seemed a little haunting and somewhat deep.
Winter has arrived.

x

Olay's Big British Beauty Poll - The Results!

Back in September I blogged about Olay's Big British Beauty Poll here ... and 20,000 female, beauty obsessed opinions later, we have the results!

Some of the opinions are quite an interesting read.

When it comes to skincare, 50% of women placed importance on youthful looking skin and less than 10% voted for toned body, bright eyes, shiny hair, good teeth etc. So good skin prevails.

Therefore it's not surprising that Botox no longer has the must have appeal it once had with the popularity of anti-ageing facials reigning supreme followed by microdermabrashion and facial peels.

And when it came to your all time beauty icon, hands down winner was everyones favourite classic beauty - Audrey Hepburn. She was followed by the likes of Marilyn Monroe, Sophia Loren and Grace Kelly. With Chery Cole, Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie featuring as the most popular new faces.

Jessica Rabbit didn't even feature in the top 10!! Tut ;)

To view the full results click on the link

http://www.olaybigbritishbeautypoll.co.uk/

And of the 13,000 women who tried and tested Olay Regenerist 3-point super serum, a whopping 98% would recommend to a friend. Now that's a result!

It's proven to firm skin and contains the highest levels of penta-peptides and vitamin B3 complex to deliver maximum firming and hydration benefits.

So not only have Olay listened to and understand the views of the buyer they are also hosting their first live wavecast - an interactive q&a with a panel of leading beauty experts.

It takes place tomorrow (Thursday 25th November) at 4pm.

To take part all you need to do is go to http://www.olaybigbritishbeautypoll.co.uk/ at 4pm tomorrow and have all your beauty questions answered.

x

Guest blogging at Social Tailor

I was asked recently if I would do a little guest slot on fab fashion blog Social Tailor.

Find out what my ultimate festive party dress is ... You can view it here.

It was such a pleasure and honour to be asked to write for such a great site. Why don't you hop on over and check it out :)

... Enjoy!

x

The best way to spread christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear...

This Christmas, The Body Shop are looking to bring 'Joy to the World' through singing.

They are on the search to find the most joyous choir in the country to feature in a YouTube Christmas montage which will be released in December.

The competition is open to amateur and professional singers, school choirs or even just groups of 'Glee'ful friends whatever their age, ability or style may be. The winning group will not only feature in the YT film but also receive £200 of The Body Shop products with 5 runner up choirs winning £100 worth of The Body Shop products each.

All you need to do to feature in the montage, simply film your choir/friends/Glee Club singing the carol 'Joy to the World' and send (in mpeg format) to joytotheworld@thebodyshop.com with a contact name, address and phone number of your choir representative. Films should be no longer than 2.5 minutes duration. The contest closes on 29th November so not long left so make sure you get your groups together spreading that Christmas cheer on camera.

You can find more info on the competition T&C's here.

Good Luck!

x

Product Review Rewind - MUFE Smoky Lash

Way back near the start of 2010, I blogged about my disappointment at a recent mascara purchase. Make Up Forevers Smoky Lash. You can see that post here.

Boy, am I eating my words now. You see I have purchased this mascara 3 times since that review. 3 times!!

Let me explain. Each time I open a new Smoky Lash mascara I still feel exactly the same way I did when I wrote my first review. It's clumpy, wet, messy and doesn't give me that polished look I am eager to attain.
Fast forward a week or 2 later and suddenly the texture and consistency of this mascara is just perfect. It is still as pigmented as when freshly open but much less wet and much easier to define, lengthen and thicken my lashes.

Gone is the clumpiness and untidy finish and instead we have a clean but full set of lashes that have wow factor. The finish is so close to a false lash effect that I am often asked if my lashes are real! Result.

It just goes to show that opinions can be changed and that really a product has to be trialled much longer than just a couple of weeks before you can make an unbiased judgement on it. A lesson learned.

x

Lanvin Loser

Lanvin for H&M hits the UK stores tomorrow. There is chat of budding fashionistas camping out overnight and it is without doubt they are set for a stampede of stylish shoppers come 9am tomorrow morning.

Since my initial excitement at the Lanvin announcement I have avoided blogging about the Lanvin H&M collaboration. In fact, it depresses me ever so slightly to read about it.

Why you ask?
Well, tomorrow at 9am I will be stuck in a dreary office nestled on the River Clyde and my husband will no doubt be mid-air hovering over Europe somewhere. Neither of us anywhere near an H&M store, neither of us within reach of this gorgeous, to-die-for collection.

I could head into town after work but chances are all the good stuff will be gone and certainly all the sizes I require will be out the door in a flash. Hmmmph :(

So, I guess I couldn't put it off any longer. I did eye up the promo images, I did pick out my favourites and I might as well live a little bit of Lanvin through my blog even if I won't be able to bag one of my top picks.


From the faux fur jacket to the 1950's esque full skirted dress, everything in the collection is feminine, elegant, gorgeous and just a little bit edgy. Frills, puffs, nipped in waists and a gorgeous colour palette ... getting in on the action would be a little bit of Heaven but alas I will need to make do with living vicariously through the many bloggers who will manage to hot foot it down to H&M tomorrow.

So go on, tell me ... what are your top picks and what will you be racing through the aisles for?

x

My Vintage Wardrobe ...

It's been a while since I delved into the realms of my wardrobe and pulled out some of my most treasured items.

The most treasured items I own are mostly those that are designer - I have worked damn hard to afford them, or vintage finds that stand the test of time and add a bit of retro magic to any outfit.

Today's show and tell is a bit of both but it is also a fairly new addition to my closet.

I didn't even buy it myself, my gem of a Husband stumbled across it while on business in LA (where he was also smart enough to pick up some Mulberry for Target bags).

When I got this bag I was initially a little bit excited despite it being quite a tired looking bad. In a good way, of course, it looks like it has a story to tell and it certainly lights up any outfit being of a classic Gucci monogram design and shape. However, I then started to worry that it might be fake.

After all, my other half doesn't know the signs and markings to look for in a bag. He spotted it, he liked it, he bought it ... assuming it was genuine. So I decided to have it authenticated and through the knowledgeable ladies on twitter, I was directed to the purse blog forum.

I posted pics of the bag along with all its marking and branding and much to my joy, the experts of the forum came back to confirm it was indeed an authentic Gucci bag. I also found out it was more than likely to be from the 70's (love!) with someone advising it could even be from as far back as the 60's. A true vintage.

To be honest, this bag does have such a chic and stylish presence I probably would have been happy enough to wear it even if it was fake but now I can walk confidently with my vintage Gucci on my arm :)

x

DKNY Be Delicious ... Winner!

Just a quick post to announce the winner of DKNY Be Delicious eau de toilette ...

drumroll please....


The

Winner

Is ...


INDIGO_DAISY

Who was the 16th entrant as chosen by Random.org
Thanks for entering Amy ... email me at Saskiathesalsafairy@yahoo.co.uk with your address details so I can get the perfume to you :)

x

Shop ... Made by Girl

One of my favourite interior blogs is MadeByGirl. It is a fantastic source of inspiration and ideas for your home whether it be a big project in the home or a small room refresh.

MadebyGirl is run by Jen Ramos, a Graphic Designer who also runs her online business side by side with her blog.

Jen designs her own canvasses, posters and prints as well as showcasing other artists work. I thought I would show you what I have been eyeing up recently from Jen's shop and will hopefully treat myself to shortly.

Love in different languages canvas. I mainly love this as this was the theme for our table names when I was getting married. It's a nice little memento of that day. Jen also sells this in 'hello' in different languages which I would love too but that can wait until we finally buy a house and can be placed proudly near the entrance of our new home.

I also adore these prints based the original Famille Summerbelle hand paper cut of Manhattan and Paris showing all the neighbourhoods and districts of each city. I should really choose one but they are both so adorable and both such wonderful cities it's just too difficult.And heres one for the Bloggers out there. I don't like coffee so I wonder if Jen would customise it to read, 'I love you, blogs and ..... shoes' perhaps?

Pricing on Jen's website is so reasonable too, shipping to the UK doesn't seem too bad either. In fact there are a few other lovely prints and posters that I might have to purchase as gifts for friends and family so I will keep schtum about those :)

Have a wee look on Jen's site, it really is quite lush!

x

Bright , Bold, Beautiful

This autumn/winter I am loving bright, bold lips.

From Mac Impassioned to Illamasqua intense lipgloss in Indulge to Estee Lauders Extravagant Berry ... bright and/or bold lips is definitely the look I am favouring at the moment.

This is actually a look I favour more for daytime, sticking to my usual smokey eye for nights out. With a bold lip, I do try and keep the eye as clean as possible although I do occasionally smoke it up with neutral shades.

My absolute favourite bright lip of the moment is from The Body Shop. Their colourglide lip colour in Cherry Sparkle (60) is a gorgeous cherry red with hints of orange. It's a sophisticated and fun colour that goes well day or night.

(an old & v blurry photo of me wearing cherry sparkle)

Body shop lippies can sometimes be a bit drying so I try not to wear this too many days on the trot, giving my lips time to recover in between wear.

What are your bright lip faves?

x

Cheek of the Week - Accessorize Diva

New to Superdrug in the last month is Accessorize own brand of cosmetics. Instead of just concentrating purely on costume jewels and bags, the accessory brand has branched out into the world of make up.

Prices are beyond reasonable with blush priced at £5 and bronzer at £6. It seems the vast range of nail polish is very popular as they were completely sold out in store, so that left me with a choice of blush, eyeshadows and bronzer.

I decided to go for this blush in shade Diva. Diva is a shimmery dusky peach/pink shade that gives a warm glow to the cheeks and pretty for winter. Although the colour is lovely, the pigmentation is a little on the weak side. I had to layer on the blush to achieve the level of colour I wanted but I found the more I layered the more shimmery it go .... shimmer over colour rather than colour over shimmer. It just looked a little messy as opposed to a polished glow.The packaging is pretty cute, it's quite sturdy and has little gold embossed butterflies over it. I quite like that they haven't really tried to copy anyone elses packaging, they have come up with their own design that reflects the nature of the brand.

I would compare this blush to Nars Orgasm in terms of colour and shimmer although Orgasm has far better pigmentation therefore offering a little less glitter than Accessorize's offering. It is slightly warmer and more pinky than orgasm but side by side they are not too far off one another and is certainly a cheaper alternative.

You can see from my fotd that it offers quite a glow but notice the lack of pigmentation ... hardly any colour pay off but still a fresh enough daytime look.

Has anyone else tried out the new Accessorize make up range? What products do you rate and recommend?

x

Halloween .....oooooohh!

This year for Halloween I went to my friends party in Newcastle. Jen dressed as Ursula from The Little Mermaid and I went along as Queen of Hearts. If I do say so myself, our outfits were pretty cool but I was mostly impressed with our make up which I did myself for us both.

I had tweeted a lot about this over the weekend so I thought I would show you the results.

Meet Ursula and Queen of Hearts ...
Depending how you look at it either Jen is teeny or I am massive. I am sticking to Jen being teeny, okay?! ;)

The unfortunate thing about going as Queen of Hearts and having loveheart shaped lips is that I looked permanently p****d off the whole night. Oh well, I guess it made me look a little scary in the spirit of Halloween of course.

Onto the make up ... ahhh I was so pleased with the make up...
I will give you a quick summary of the products I used:
FACE: EL Doublewear foundation in Al Fresco (this shows up a little pink on my skin and doesn't photograph too well), MAC select cover up, MAC MSF Natural
CHEEKS: Nars Laguna, Illamasqua blush in unrequited, MAC pearl highlighter
EYES: Bourjois pale blue shadow over the lid, Teal from EL Blue Dahlia collection under eye and in crease, Alice from UD AIW palette over lid and under eye, illamasqua sadist in crease, illamasqua roulette blended out at crease along with Queen from UD AIW palette and FINALLY illamasqua immortal on browbone. All this teamed with MUFE smokey lash mascara, Nadine Girls aloud lashes, Mac fluidline in blacktrack .... phew!
LIPS: Illamasqua lip pencil (unsure of name), MAC russian red

The heart gems above my eyebrow and on my cheek placed as a beauty spot was from a set of Broadway nails, nail & body art kit. I also used these on my nails. Nails in China Glaze Ruby Pumps, NYC white polish in manhattan and a glitter polish over the top.

This kit really deserves its own mention, the gems are still on my nails 4 days later and they show no signs of budging.
Now onto Ursulas make up. Ursula in the movie is obviously purple but I didn't want to paint Jen's face purple otherwise we might lose the effect and we also still wanted her to look attractive despite playing the role of a villain for the evening.
Make up summary
FACE: MUFE HD Foundation in 125, MAC MSF Natural
EYEBROWS: Lined with MAC carbon
EYES: Urban Outfitters blue eyeshadow all over lid, Zara purple duo shadow blended into crease and underneath the eye, MAC fluidline in black track to line the eye, a purple glitter liner underneath the eye, Sarah Girls Aloud party lashes (not shown in this photo)
LIPS: Lined with an illamasqua pencil, Gosh red lipstick
I then shaded and contoured Jen's face with the zara purple duo eyeshadow. This doesn't show up so well under the flash but looked fantastic on the night. Ursula's beauty spot was filled in using Urban Decay liner in zero.

Thats the finished look. I have to say I was a bit gutted to wash all that make up off after the effort that went into creating it but it has definitely got me in the mood for being more creative.

Did you dress up for Halloween?

x

MAC Tartan Tale

Last night Ann from Girlinthecityglasgow and I hopped down to our local MAC for a preview seminar of their Christmas collection, Tartan Tale.On the surface this looks like a lovely collection with shades that are suited to all seasons and not just winter. There are eye & lip palettes, as well as lip and liner sets. This years brush sets are also better than the last few offerings from Christmas sets.

I guess I have an added interest in this collection as it is a nod to Scotland but is the collection really any good?

Exlusive to Tartan Tale is the plaid embossed eyeshadows but nothing else about the packaging points to Scottish inspiration other than product names and the make up bags which comes in a set. There are 2 blushes, a bright pink very similar to dollymix and another pale peach. These didn't stand out to me as being unique or special enough to merit a purchase. I also didn't give the nail polish a second look simply because I am not a fan of MAC polish.

Let me show you what I picked up.

First up is Glamora Castle eyeshadow. This is a lovely grey blue with a lovely sheen to it. It's quite an unusual shade, not quite grey or silver and not quite blue, just a lovely blend. I usually shy away from shades like this but I am loving blue for the eyes just now and I think this will create a muted, wearable blue eye for daytime.

I also picked up the Violet My Love liner bag set which comes with a fluidline in Macroviolet - a lovely plummy colour, a liner brush, Zoomlash Zoom mascara and Violet pigment. I chose this set ultimately for the fluidline and the fact I was determined to pick up one of the tartan bags. I adore the crest on the bag.
Some swatches below of the pigment, shadow and liner. Left to right; violet pigment; glamora castle shadow; macroviolet fluidline.I also didn't take much notice of the lippies but there is a very nice dark berry in there which I think would be lovely for winter and also a very blah nude which is just .... blah!

If there is anything I would go back for it is the pearlglide liners in a dark blue and emerald green (unsure of actual names). They are utterly gorgeous and smooth and creamy on application.

MAC are also selling tartan christmas cards this year with profit going to Mac Aids fund. They are £5 for a set of 5 cards, I recommend any make up loving girl picking them up for friends and family. As Mac say themselves, Tis Noble to Give :)

What do you have your eyes on from this collection? Any must have lust haves?

x

OOTD & Celeb Slim update

As usual with any of my (rare) OOTD posts, they are never actually todays outfit .... this was from Saturday.

I would really love to do more OOTD photos but alas I hate posing, it takes at least 60 shots to get a decent photo, it's difficult to photograph yourself, I am quite body shy and at least 5 days out of 7, I wear nothing of much interest.

However I am tempted to start them up more regularly thanks to a new found confidence that has only been assisted by Celebrity Slim.

Back at the start of Summer when I started Celebrity Slim, my progress was steady and pretty quick. In around 8 weeks I had lost a full stone in weight. For the last 4-5 months I have managed to keep the weight off which is fantastic.

But I don't want to stop there, I want to lose at least another stone and a half so thats why this week I will be re-starting the celebrity slim process. Back to my 2 shakes a day, protein snacks and healthy dinner.

It's been easy to maintain the weight but I have got a little lazy and I know it would just take an extra bit of will power and perserverance to lose a bit more. I go on holiday in 4 weeks and would love to lose another stone but I will be a little more realistic and would be happy with at least 7lbs. Wish me luck!

In the meantime though, I have regained confidence in my appearance now that I have lost a little of the blubber. I still have my moments when I literally feel like nothing looks good on or moments when i look at photos of me and think, Urgh! But for the most part I am feeling pretty good again, hence why I am happy to start posting more Outfit posts.

So here is Saturdays ... I was doing a little shopping, going for some lunch then heading down to Newcastle for a party. There was a slight chill in the air but quite a sprinkling of sun ... LA was what I thought of when putting this outfit together. (excuse the messy dressing room in the background)

Here we have:

Grey zara t-shirt (with embellished shoulders)

H&M Fur stole (favourite winter accessory EVER!)

Aldo Aviators

Primark Jeans (shameful you may think but I should really do a seperate blogpost about these)

New Look wedges

If only I were in LA. I was actually in Newcastle for a Halloween party so I will posting some photos of that later to show you what my finished Queen of Hearts look turned out.

Anyone else trying to lose some extra lbs just now? How are you all doing?

VOGUES FASHION NIGHT IN

Just a quick post to make everyone aware of Vogues Fashion Night In.

Vogue has teamed up with a huge array of online fashion stores to make a night in curled up on the sofa top of the agenda.

Collaborations on this project include my-wardrobe.com, ASOS, and net-a-porter who will be offering up an evening of shopping hedonism and luring you in with fantastic offers and discounted prices. In fact, today I have already received emails from Kurt Geiger and Glassworks Studios informing me of their involvement reminding me to log on and check out some of their superb deals.

There is nothing more indulgent than joining in on an evening of online events, offers and shopping discounts from the comfort of your own home. This event is the first of its kind and with so many designers involved; I dare you to bag a bargain! So get the fluffy dressing gown on, stick the kettle on and cosy on up to your laptop for the evening.

Enjoy your stylish night in! J

x