Britain's Brush

Taking care of your teeth is a big deal and making sure your teeth look and feel clean as well as maintaining the health of your gums should be top of your priority list.  

Your smile can brighten up a room so why not take care of it?

Oral-B have set a challenge to the nation with their 'cool Britannia' campaign, hoping to get us all on board using power brushes as opposed to a traditional manual brush. 

A Patriotic toilet bag for all my power brush bits and bobs :)

Power brushes are proven to remove twice as much plaque compared to a manual and 9 out of 10 people who have used a power brush would not want to go back to traditional methods.

I was chosen along with a handful of bloggers to take part in the Oral-B Power Challenge, trialling the PC 500 Power Brush for a month, brushing twice a day for 2 minutes at a time.  For your convenience, this high tech toothbrush even had a timer on it to let you know when you are done with each quarter of your mouth (30 seconds each) so you can't go wrong.

I am particularly excited about this as I have never used a power brush before.  A few years ago I had my teeth professionally bleached so it's really important I keep my teeth and gums healthy so they always look their sparkling best.   Your teeth and smile are a big part of your overall appearance and just as we dress nicely, like to do our hair and lust after that life changing lippie, we should pay the same level of attention to our bobby dazzlers ... makes sense. 

My new super duper power brush 

Oral-B's dental ambassador, Dr James Russell offers some tips for those taking up the challenge but also for general dental awareness:

FLOSS: You must floss once a day to achieve optimum oral health

BRUSH: Twice a day for 2 minutes

CURB SNACKING: Oucha! this is a hard one but by snacking on things like cheese, raw veg and breadsticks rather than sugary sweets this will be better for our teeth. 

AVOID: Fizzy drinks - high in sugar and very acidic which can lead to errosion of tooth enamel (bye bye diet coke :( )

If you too fancy joining in this power brush challenge, between March and May you can buy the Oral-B Professional Care 500 for a special half price offer of £22.50 at all major retailers. 

I will keep you posted how I get on with the power brush in a month's time.  

Anyone else use a power brush? Do you have any tips for use?

x

Diet Chic

This is not going to help my diet coke addiction whatsoever ...

Karl Lagerfeld for Diet Coke.

These pretty, stylish limited edition bottle designs will be available from June.

Who else is a sucker for these?

x

A haul post ... yes, really!

I haven't done one of these in a long long time.

After tiring of haul posts and feeling a little embarrassed by past haul posts (I mean really, the amount of money I used to waste on pointless products only to be thrown to the back of my make up drawer was ridiculous) -  I tend to stick to posting about products I know and love now or have been sent for review purpose giving honest opinion rather than a declaration of 'I bought this!'

Last week I was in need of some serious cheering up so I popped by my local Chanel counter where I was greeted by fellow blogger Sian.  I had been eager to try the new Vitalumiere Aqua foundation so I let Sian loose on me allowing her to make me over.  It's a well known fact now that I hate having my make up done and I am never happy with it so Sian had a lot to live up to.

Well, our girl pulled through ... not only did she make me feel and look lovely, she had me sold on most of the products although I only walked away with 2.

I had mentioned a while ago that as my skin ages it seems to require a lighter foundation rather than the heavy full coverage I had been used to.  Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua is described as an Ultra-Light Skin Perfecting Foundation with an SPF15.  It literally feels as light as a feather on the skin and creates a dewy, radiant finish.  Only a pea sized amount is required but it builds easily if you feel you need a little bit extra (for a night out for instance).  The finished effect is a radiant, fresh, glowing skin ... I don't feel the need to powder so I apply my blush and bronzer directly over it.  I haven't gone without powder in years so this is quite a personal achievement for me.

Sian matched me to B40 Beige which is perfect when I am wearing fake tan but will probably need to invest in a lighter shade for when i'm without.  When I say invest I mean it - £31 for 30ml is a lot of cash to part with but the flawless, light finish is worth it.  A word of warning for oily skin types however, I am not sure the dewy finish will work with oily skin so you may want to steer clear or pick up a sample first.

Sian also tried Chanel Bronze Universal on my skin ... a product I have always toyed with the idea of purchasing but convinced myself i'd hate it.  Well, it was just lovely on, it looked so naturally sunkissed and applied seamlessly over my new foundation.  Instead of opting to buy this, I decided to go for the lip colour Sian used on me.

It was Chanel's Coco Rouge in Camelia - a gorgeous medium warm pink with a slight sheen to it.  My usual lip shades go from nude to peach to orange to bright pink to red to berry.  I had nothing in my collection like Camelia ... a justified purchase don't you think? ;)

I have to say these are probably the best products I have bought in quite a while in terms of getting my money's worth.  I have worn both products nearly every day and I am sure this foundation will become a staple in my make up collection if not my holy grail!

Who else has fallen in love with this foundation?

x

Eyebrow Threading

It's true what they say, your eyebrows frame your face.  I love brows, thick ones, skinny ones, pencilled in or au naturale ...  as long as they are groomed well ... I am fascinated by all brow shapes and how you can alter your face based on how you choose to wear them.

Depending on how you shape your brows, it can radically change the shape or appearance of your face by softening your look or by creating an edgy angled brow for added oomph.  

I have always been quite lucky in the brow department as I have a fairly nice shape to start with and not much in the way of stray hairs although I would love them to be a bit darker so I didn't need to pencil them in every day.  This is not to say they don't look messy and need some TLC on a regular basis.

For the past 6 or 7 years I have been getting my eyebrows threaded.  Threading is traditionally an arabic/asian method of hair removal using thread rolled along the hairs of the brow.  It is neater and quicker than tweezing or waxing and in my opinion creates a much more defined brow than the more common methods of brow grooming.   It can be a tad painful the first time you try it or even if there is a lot of hair to remove but it is so fast and effective that it is definitely worth those 5 minutes of squirming.

Sourced from o5.com

In recent years, threading has become all the rage and you can now find threading areas in most major department stores.  I tend to stick to 2 of my favourite salons that are local to me.  They offer threading for £5 and one even offers it for £3 as long as you return each fortnight for a tidy up.  Bargainous!  It does make me feel slightly smug when I hear of others paying anything between £10 - £30 for their threading experience.

To give you an example here are photos of my brows before then after threading.  You will noticed the extra definition, shape and groomed appearance of my brows afterwards.  It literally feels like my face looks clean again.  I love getting them done!

Very tired eyes but you get the idea - unkempt brows

Very light pencil used on brows but a much more defined, sleeker shape

For any girls in the Glasgow area, I would recommend 2 salons, one on the South Side the other in the West End.

Farah's, 127 Albert Drive, Pollokshields, G41 2SU - 0141 423 9731.

Al Aisha, 441 Dumbarton Road, Partick, G11 6DD - 0141 533 5812.

No appointment is needed at either salon and both offer threading at £5 with Farah's offering a £3 fortnightly maintenance.  To be honest, I couldn't recommend any other treatments at either salon but threading is definitely their forte.

Does anyone else prefer threading?

x

When life deals you lemons ...

... Get a tattoo!!

Life has dealt me lemons this week.  After some lovely highs ... passing my driving test, some new work opportunities, my husband home from yet another lengthy business trip, a gorgeous family wedding ... I was feeling very positive, passionate and optimistic about my future and a new chapter in life coinciding with the excitement of my 30th next month ... then it all came crashing down.

So what do we do in a situation like that?  Well, I always find a change is quite good - like a new haircut that makes over your physical appearance but gives you an inner boost of confidence that is often needed in times of low energy.

I am considering something a little more drastic (for me, anyway) ... a tattoo.  Something permanent, something that will remain with me and remind me of where I've been and how I can (hopefully) overcome anything.

Tattoo wise - I like birds, feathers and especially love the 'trend' for handwritten tattoos

I've no idea where I would get my tattoo (can anyone recommend the least painful areas of the body please? I am a woose!) and still to decide what I should go for.

I may even visit some tattoo shops this weekend for some extra inspiration and encouragement.

What is your tattoo inspiration?

x

*All Images sourced from Weheartit.com

Girl About Town

This one is a bit of an oldie but it's still a goodie!

I remember MAC's Girl About Town becoming famous in the UK when it was worn by Cheryl Cole but many other celebrities have sported this shade before and after her including Beyonce and Kim Kardashian.

One of MAC's amplified shades, Girl About Town is a vibrant dark fuschia pink which has a glossy yet opaque full coverage on the lips.  It's really long lasting and feels creamy on the lips.

Thanks to it's celebrity following, it has become a bit of a MAC classic and although I have owned this shade for a long time it's only now that I have realised what a pretty colour it is.  I wear it during the day with minimal make up and at night usually with a golden subtle smokey eye.

I am sans camera this week so I'm afraid I have had to make do with my iphone and photobooth. This was the best of a bad bunch!

I am still adoring bright lips at the moment and find it hard to resort back to nude or paler lip shades.  I just feel like there is something missing without an eyepopping lippie these days.

If you don't want to shell out the price on a MAC lippie, you might find Barry M's Cerise Pink (144) a good alternative.  It differs very slightly but is hard to tell the difference on the lips.

x

VROOM VROOM ...

Toot toot! 

So today, after much stressing and an extreme case of the shakes ... I only blimmin' well passed my driving test!!

Delighted, over the moon, elated, flabbergasted, thrilled, overjoyed ... none of this covers how exactly I am feeling.

I was convinced I had failed my test,  I had made so many silly mistakes that never seem to happen on my lessons, so when the examiner announced this would be the last driving test I would ever sit - I burst into tears!!

Ugh, how cringeworthy ... especially since the tears were followed by me screaming and much jumping around in the drivers seat with excitement.

Anyway,  I am a bit restless now and I'm not quite sure what to do with myself so I thought I would google cars!!  I love retro/vintage cars and in an ideal world I would only ever drive them (albeit a pimped up version with power steering, ABS, electric windows etc ... not that i'm fussy!!) but they can be a little too expensive and hard to come by.  Luckily I already have a car waiting for me, a racing green soft top MX-5 ... Just need to get the insurance sorted and I should be good to go by next week :)

So here is my idea of car candy ...

Alpha Romeo Spider

The original Fiat 500

BMW Roadster

VW Beetle

Not an actual photo of my car but this is basically it - Mazda MX-5

Instead of lusting after brand new car models, I really do love the vintage styles and retro shapes. 

To be honest, I would drive anything, I am just so darn chuffed to actually have a license now!! 

What's your idea of car candy??

x