Thursday 31 January 2013

Glasses to fit

I love Gok Wan and I love his new range over at Specsavers. The big, thick frames have avoided the 'nerd' glasses cliche. Which I absolutely hate. If you don't need glasses but just think it's a nice accessories then fair enough. Get some cute glasses and style them. But if your going to just be completely blatant and wear them without lenses. Well you look dumb. If you really want to look good in glasses or just hate the idea of contact lenses and want to look good. Then the key is getting the right shape, thickness of frame and design.

Wednesday 30 January 2013

Things I want

Seems like everyone is doing a post about things they want, wish lists and stuff! So, there must be some kind of secret magic behind it right? I'm going to post this then all of them are going to turn up on my door step :) woo! No. But I'm going to do it anyway. Just so you can see what may or may not be featured on my blog. What are you wishing for this Jan?

Tuesday 29 January 2013

Top 5 bad beauty habits - Over exfoliation #2

We all know using a sea sponge and a bit of rock salt to remove dead skin leaves you with an amazing glow. But think about what your actually doing, pulling away skin from your face. If you do this too often your not only irritating and damaging the fresh new cells. But your also leaving your skin more vulnerable to the sun and whatever make-up products your using. 



In the winter you should be keeping it to a max of once a week. The summer twice, maybe up to three times. Whats your favourite way of exfoliating? Personally I love the smell and feeling from the natural sea sponge pads.
Until Next Time xo

Monday 28 January 2013

MUA Constellations Review

I got this little beauty along with some other MUA items from a blog sale by Aqeela, she has an amazing make-up blog click here to see the sale. This bad boy normally retails for £3 but I got mine for just £1.50. I saw people pinning this everywhere, I had no idea what it was. But I wanted it! I love how the feel, they're like hundreds and thousands on a 99 ice-cream! Well that was a weird metaphor.. anyway. To apply them, you need to have a wet coat of nail polish and immediately sprinkle over the caviar using the nozzle. Do this over folded paper so you can pour any excess back into the tube. What do you think? I love the look, this is Libra. But I also got a cheeky Gemini too. So I'll post that soon.


Sunday 27 January 2013

Racism On The School Bus...

My 11 year old brother came home today with some fabulous scones he cooked in home ec, he was very proud and they looked great. We praised him and gobbled down some delicious chocolate chipped scones, with a slather of butter. But I could see something wasn't right. The conversation quickly diverted to a young girl a few years above him that had recently joined the school. After messing around with his friends on the school bus, just being silly as kids do with unusual noises and such, this girl quickly span around and told them of her cousin with disabilities. They quickly apologised as we've always taught him to appreciate how fortunate we are. He'd never make fun of anyone. But she was determined that he was in the wrong, the situation quickly escalated to which she called him a Chinese c*nt! Can you believe a girl of 13. Naturally my heart raced, my hands became sweaty and I was unnerved. This immediately brought back my memories of high school and how quickly most of us forget the hell that goes on. It seems that once your out of that 11-17 age range we just all remember the good memories and how we'll miss the people we've met as we move forward.

I thought I'd use this post to speak to my teenage readers, older siblings and possibly parents. There were some days I hated high school and others I loved. I consider myself quite fortunate that I wasn't subjected to some of the very harsh and severe bullying that my peers suffered. But for you reading, if someone is putting you down, belittling you or making you feel uncomfortable. Don't stand for it, stand up for yourself and make it a point. I thought if I kept quiet that they'd get bored or just leave me alone. But it didn't. I've been called nigger on the bus, had food thrown at me and a few times stabbed in the leg with sewing needles from textile classes. This is bullshit. I'd never take this crap now and if I could go back to high school and do it again, I'd be more confident with myself and quite bluntly not give a shit about the clicky popular girls that I always wanted to look like. Or get drunk with. Or be a girlfriend to a popular boy. It really doesn't matter. I wasn't one of those because that wasn't my personality, I wish I had known. Too much time spent keeping up with the Jones', trying to diet and slap on make-up which most of, I didn't even know how to use. 

I remember one incident where a new boy had transferred to the school. He's Indian and this didn't sit well for some boys in the year above. I had finished my lunch and was heading to our area, suddenly there was a surge of people. Kids were running all in one direction and it seemed a fight was breaking out. Usually this is a rare moment and everyone is jeering and ready to watch the entertainment, which when you think about it is absolutely sick. It wouldn't have been so bad if both boys were ready for a fight, but it seemed nearly half the school had turned up to surround one boy. The new boy. Everyone was shouting at him and it was just surreal. I hate to see things like this and there have been other times where I've stood up for people. But this was unreal, I was literally frozen watching, without a clue as to what to do. Luckily, a new friend he had made came and supported him and pulled him away. How does stuff like this happen? Why? Some children are brought up in very old fashion environments and that's where they learn to act this way. But where were the teachers at this time? 

I always wished I had an older brother or sister that I could tell and would speak to these people for me. I didn't know what exactly they would have or could have done. But just knowing they had been warned seemed like a good option. If something happened to my friends at school they'd always tell their siblings and then that situation was quickly diffused. My parents were always there but I thought that was just bringing too much attention so I always told them not to bother and I just dealt with it myself. Now I have two younger brothers and this has happened. I'm not taking it, I will be speaking to the girl and her parents about the situation. Hopefully it will be nipped in the bud and end well. 


Here's a picture of the delicious scones to lighten the mood a little.
Until Next Time xo


If your a blogger reading or just anyone. I'm tagging you. Speak out to bullying.

Friday 25 January 2013

Claires False Nails Review

I got these when I was just looking around up in Birmingham. I've been hearing a lot about these pre-glued nails, so all you have to do is just find the right size nail and press onto yours. It took me about what 2 minutes! Very quick. But I normally take an hour to get used to fake nails and normally it's a french manicure. I wore these for about 8 hours before I was dying to pull them off. Because they weren't using nail glue it felt like my actual finger nail was being pulled off every time I touched something! I couldn't pick up my phone. I couldn't scratch my nose properly. After about 4 hours they started to fall off anyway. The colour is amazing though, I love neon yellow! But I think I'd look like less of a transexual if I painted the colour onto my natural nails. I'll be sticking to simple falsies from now on. 




I need to find this colour in a polish! For some reason the pictures aren't showing the colour properly. If you can imagine like neon, yellow glow sticks?! You've got it. Yeah, in your face yellow. Luckily I only got these on sale for £3 so I guess no harm done.
Until Next Time xo

Thursday 24 January 2013

Valentines Day Cupcakes

I'm not sure if I believe in all this commercial Valentines day stuff. But I do think its great to have a day with your partner and just chill out and be romantic. This really doesn't mean being romantic, making time for each other and buying gifts should be limited to one day. But for all you gooey, loved up ladies. Here's a cute recipe to make for your loved ones this February. 

Wednesday 23 January 2013

FIX by Neäl & Wolf

I got this gorgeous hair spray, FIX, from the Birmingham Blogger Meet Up last Saturday. I couldn't wait to get this one out and see if it really was going to do it's job!
"FIX is designed to give maximum long-lasting hold whilst intensifying shine. Spritz onto a finished style to create all-day hold with radiant shine." Ok Neäl & Wolf, lets see if this worked. I styled and finished with a sprinkle of FIX. Wow, the packaging is so romantic and indulgent. The product lives up to expectations. Normally, I find it so hard to get an all day hold because my hair is so thick and heavy. The curls normally drop beyond recognition. I admit it didn't quite last all day, but the longest hold I've found yet! I love the smell of this product too, it's very warm and just an added bonus. It's not teeming with chemicals, so you don't have to hold your breath, do a massive spray, run out of the room and cough the shit out of your lungs! It's quite the opposite actually, it's gentle and subtle. The spray itself isn't a continuos generic spray, it's pumped. I think this gives it more control which is great.  

Tuesday 22 January 2013

Sugar & Vice Giveaway!

This has been a long time coming, I've been chatting with the lovely girls over at Sugar & Vice since October. Finally I've sorted myself out and giving one of you lovelies a chance to win a gorgeous aztec necklace, who doesn't love some aztec? It's been a summer obsession of mine and luckily, the trend hasn't gone away over winter. Still rocking the patterns. I love the designs you can grab for very reasonable prices, they're so on trend. Yet they offer something so much more than on the high street. Quirky and different. So here's my little collection, my top picks, a personalised piece... and what your entering to win!



I love this! Thank you Sugar & Vice!
Here it is, a gorgeous Aztec Arrow Necklace. This competition will run for 2 weeks. It's open internationally, so please feel free to enter! If you'd like to pick up some other things now and like me are really, really impatient! Click here to go shopping. (They've got a massive sale on right now, so head over for some great bargains!)





a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday 21 January 2013

Birmingham Bloggers Meet Up!


A few months back I was invited to meet up with a few beauty bloggers and some from other niches. I didn't know what to expect! I'd never been before, but from this alone I will never turn down another meet up. It's great to speak to other bloggers, especially since a lot of them were still in or leaving uni and around my age! I was very nervous initially, but as soon as I was on the train it all went away and I was just left with pure excitement. 


Gemma from button's blog put on the most incredible day, from shopping to free cocktails to a gorgeous meal. She was so stressed and worried we wouldn't make it from all the snow, but there was no way I was going to miss a free cocktail. I mean, come on! I love cocktails! 2 hours later, I arrived at New Street, grabbed a hot choc and we all got chatting. With the help of Clare from a teenie bit of this and that  and Sara from Pretty In Pink I think it was a great success!
After our coco, since it was freezing and I had to ignore fashion for once and stick some wellingtons on, we headed out shopping around the Pallasades and the Bullring. Unfortunately I have nothing to show you as I didn't buy anything! But I got convinced to put another hole in my person, I've wanted my tragus pierced for ages, now it's done and I love my new baby! From this to the free cocktails I mentioned ;) Wow. They were strong, I had two and I was nearly off my chair. But nevertheless they were delicious and refreshing, perfect afternoon tipple from Rodizio Rico. 

Click to enlarge.

Sunday 20 January 2013

Plus Size Ranting

After I saw thousands of posts about London fashion week, Milan, Paris... even Cardiff! This is a first.. British Plus Size Fashion Week. Oh yes. Finally with all the TV shows about how 'normal' models who actually have a BMI of an anorexic person, there is a show promoting curvy women. Its fantastic that its in London, the centre of British attention. 


This I believe, will always be an on going debate for the fashion industry and high schools a like. What is fat, what is skinny and what is normal? For me... Normal is having no rib cage poking through the skin and having a healthy amount of bum. Everyone loves a curvy bum! But I saw an interesting photo online of a woman in the 60's with massive hips and a large set of front bumps. She was strikingly beautiful and had a little podge, a man had typed over.. "Since when is this not sexy?" He was right, how can a woman who is naturally designed to have bigger hips than a man be almost like a stick figure. I've seen so many girls out shopping where their legs are the width of my wrist! And I'm curvy, big whatever but my wrists are not that big! It's alarming to wonder what they look like under all the winter layers, are they going to snap? My mum had given me one of her old beauty books a few months back, it read 'Don't let them call you skinny.'

Saturday 19 January 2013

Top 5 Bad Beauty Habits - The Dirty Secret Behind Your Brushes #1

Who knew the cause of most zit break outs (after puberty of course) could be your make-up brushes? When you buy your brushes your told to clean them but who ever does? Cleaning your brushes not only removes bacteria, but improves the finish of your make-up. It's how the companies intended them to be, fluffy, soft and light. Giving a glowing, air brushed finish.


Your make-up brushes collect cosmetic particles and dead skin cells. This is a perfect breeding ground for bacteria, that are transferred from your face or air born. For those of you with acne, washing your make-up brushes will help a lot. Ideally you should be wearing as little foundation as possible, but if this is your confidence blanket, make sure your washing them every single night!
If you don't suffer from acne, you still should be washing them nightly. Obviously this can become tedious, but when your doing your facial skin routine just add this on as an extra and soon you won't even notice it.

I normally use the shampoo I'm currently using on my hair or more often Johnson's baby shampoo. It's gentle enough to protect the hairs, but strong enough to get out the dirt. Please keep in mind my foundation is very dark and that isn't just muck! Click if you'd like to read a tutorial with my red double headed Smashbox brush. If you'd like to know anything about my brushes just leave a comment.

Until Next Time xo

Friday 18 January 2013

Ice Ice Baby

The UK is getting hit with a 'snow blizzard' today and the past few days leading up to it have been unpleasantly cold to say the least. (I write this from midnight, so we may have snow right now... we may have been lied to) It came out of no where and it's absolutely freezing. The pavements are slippery and the puddles have frozen over. I have so many plans, but the UK is terrible with snow, any amount and the country comes to a stand still. Unwanted snow - is any time of the year that is not Christmas. My Bulgarian friend laughs at our thought of 'snow'! But the news usually over exaggerates the weather... so we will see.


Thursday 17 January 2013

Make Yourself Cosy

There's been a massive media flux over 'sexy' bedrooms. I have no idea why you would want a sexy bedroom but I would love a dim lighted, soft and elegant room. One which is easy on the eye and very relaxing. Since I've finally found a nice uni house for next year (yay!) I've been going interior crazy. Next has some brilliant solutions if your an affluent student, just splashing out or just not a student really! But I'll also be picking a few gorgeous designs to DIY. I'll keep you posted!


I love the bare woodwork and draping canopies over the bed, very romantic and girly. But I'm torn between a bohemian room filled with deep, rich purple and gold coloured fabrics. And lots of Moroccan lanterns, filled with scented candles. I'm getting carried away, back to the basics. Dainty fairy rose petal lighting and some cushy pillows. Because really, a girl can never have too many pillows and pointless soft, snuggly things covering the bed!

Click item for link
Lantern - £50/ Rose Lights - £25/ Novelty Love - £14

Pillows - £8/ Throws - £25
What do you think? I'm determined to DIY that Reserved pillow. So I can have one either side of my bed. But I think having a pack of mints to lay on top every day would be a step too far...

Until next Time xo

Wednesday 16 January 2013

Introducing Ji Ji KiKi...

Online shopping is huge, everyone is raving on about the effortlessness that comes with shopping from the comfort of your sofa. So for you, here is Ji Ji KiKi. A gorgeous company bringing you simply stylish clothes and some cute and kitsch Jewellery. Personally I'm a big fan of they're Vintage range, classy and charming. If you put something cute in front of me.. I have to own it. And they have many! Click here to go shopping, but first here are my top picks!

Click item name to view on website
Giraffe - £16/ Grey & White - £27/
Forest Green - £25/ Rabbit bag - £4.50

Mr Octopus, you shall be mine.
Fiesta - £12/ Octopus - £12Rocking Horse - £6.50/ Globe - £12

This amazing indie retailer offers free shipping over £30 and standard for £1.65 around the UK. So whats not to love? They even have a great home ware section but I'll get to that on my bedroom interior posts coming soon! You should be hearing more from Ji Ji KiKi in the near future, starting in 2008 as a small business looking from the website you can see Emma the founder has had huge success. And we can see why!
Normally with this dainty jewellery I find that after a few wears the chains fade and snap, but with the following they have received this seems to be a promising purchase! We will see!

Until Next Time xo

Tuesday 15 January 2013

Charity Find and Super Short!

As you all know, I love a bit of Charity shopping. I found this gorgeous grunge knit jumper from Wallis for £4.75. I was going to buy one from Republic last month at £45! This is just an outfit that was really comfy and actually very warm.. since the weather has decided to start snowing! Plus it was really snuggly for my exam, urgh. But to brighten up the day I had a few vouchers to spend on the high-street and I found the shortest, well what I think was a skirt! What do you think it is?



Gorgeous faux fur, mini mini - H&M
( I did not buy this skirt. It wouldn't even work as pants for me. A belt maybe?)


Jumper - Wallis/ Jeans - Primark/ Boots - Zara/ Coat - Superdry
Scarf - Dorothy Perkins

Also here's a bunch of pictures of me being awkward.. I'll get used to these outfit posts one day! What do you think? This outfit works a lot better with the scarf to add a bit more colour.
Until Next Time xo


Monday 14 January 2013

Pina Colada Procrastination Cupcakes

Happy New Year to all my readers! I've been away revising for exams... or not. But I'm back with the first post of 2013! I'm going to save you the cliche 'here are my resolutions'. Along with many of you, I've spent the majority of my days procrastinating. I mean to an extreme! But here's one that turned out worth while... Pina Colada Cupcakes.





Mango... because I forgot to keep some pineapple! 


Recipe:
300g flour
230g soft butter
220g sugar
4 eggs
200ml coconut milk
40ml dark rum
140g pineapple, into chunks
Icing:
230g soft butter
90ml coconut milk
1tsp vanilla extract
580g icing sugar
20ml dark rum
100g desiccated coconut

Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees.
1. Cream butter and sugar
2. Add eggs and mix well after each addition
3. Mix in flour and coconut milk in thirds alternating
4. Fill a third of each cupcake case, top with pineapple chunks
5. Cover pineapple with more cake batter
6. Cook for 20 minutes or until stick comes out clean
7. Mix all icing ingredients together in a clean bowl
8. On a low heat, gently toast half the sprinkling coconut 
9. Wait for cakes to cool before piping
10. Pipe and sprinkle half non toasting and half toasting coconut

If anyone was wondering what tip I used for this, Its just a plain open tip. I will get a photo soon! I apologise in advance for all those who have started their New Years 'diet'. Give up and join us on the dark side!
Until Next Time xo