Designer Spray

Michael Kors Rose Gold Watch - Such a beaut!

2012-02-10T11:17:00.000-08:00

Say hello to Rose!

She's the new addition to my ever growing Michael Kors watch collection. They have me hooked with their sheer elegance and timeless designs. Looking at their website is like a tiny form of torture, teasing me with every new design that appears, begging me to buy more and more. The newest of my small collection was love at first sight. I love everything about it from the tiny cogs beneath the surface to the smooth, shiny trademark links. It is simply stunning.

As Michael Kors himself says: "A great watch can update any outfit and be sporty, luxurious and utilitarian all at the same time" and that is so true. It really does complete an outfit.

Rose Gold has definitely made a comeback recently. It's such an unsual colour and an alternative to the usual yellow gold or silver. It has such a vintage feel to it and compliments most skin tones.

This is the MK5331 and cost me £199 which isn't exactly purse-friendly. If that's a bit too steep there are alternatives out there! ASOS have a very similar watch to this but they've unfortunately sold out. I did have a quick scan on eBay, this seller has 4 available for £20 including postage so get in there quick dolls! LINK!

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY: Fish Eye View

2012-02-08T10:46:00.000-08:00

TOPSHOP Glacier Bow Shoes

2012-01-22T14:42:00.000-08:00

Hihihi, dolls!

As you may or may not know, I'm completely and utterly addicted to e-shopping. I just love trawling through page after page of clothes, shoes and jewellery flicking between one shop and another at the click of a button instead of traipsing back and forth in the real shopping world.

I enjoy going out shopping, but there are times where I just don't want to deal with wind, rain or coldness! There are other times where I stumble upon an item in the e-world and just need to touch and feel the real deal before I buy.

These heels from Topshop were one such item I needed to touch. On the website they looked so beautiful, it was love at first sight! They were on sale for a snip at £30, down from £60. Buy, Buy, Buy!!

These babies are from the 'Midheels' section at Topshop but they're not the easiest to walk in. But, as they say, fashion is pain kids.

I'm a sucker for pointy heeled shoes, the bow detailing looks cute, but the pointy heels give them an air of sophistication rather than a cutesy look *shudders*.

These are not one of those pairs that go with absolutely anything. Fortunately for me, my wardrobe is laden with various shades and tones of green to match up with them.

Stylish!

LOVE.

Pining for Burberry & (almost) getting it

2012-01-15T12:02:00.000-08:00

Hello m'lovelies!

I don't know about you, but ever since spying the Burberry Silk Satin Trench coat on BeautyCrush's channel, I've been pining for it! It has to be one of the classiest coats I've ever seen! The silk material just oozes femininity and the nude-mocha colour is so flattering on Asian skin-tones.

I love everything about it, except that is, the price. At a smidgeon over £1,000 it's waaay out of my price-range. If I had that sort of cash burning holes in my pockets I'd snap it up in a flash. But alas, my arch-nemesis 'Lack of Funds' emerges victorious in their quest to obstruct my pursuit of materialistic happiness.

The only thing to do then was to hunt down dupes. I've scoured the highest e-mountains and the deepest e-rivers in search of the perfect dupe. I found many along the way that fell short in one way or another, usually the wrong colour, but finally as my energy was beginning to sap I came across a promising find by RARE in their sale.

Now it wasn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination, it had ruched sleeves that had me holding back the vomit (they disgust me!). Nevertheless, I went out on a limb and bought it. Luckily, one of my besties is the best tailor in the entire world and made a few adjustments for me. And hey presto, I've ended up with a right beaut of a trench!

This is one's for Aisha, Nazneen, Tass, Sriya & Amina... The 'Halima' pose ;)

Hopefully this winter stays mild, otherwise I'll need to wait until the spring to make full use of the coat. Either way, I definitely owe my girl a lifetime supply of haircuts!

For those of you interested in the featuered coat, they've still got some left in their sale for £20! LINK!

Bargainlicious.

Stuck in a smoked out rut..

2012-01-14T04:05:00.000-08:00

Hello, dolls!

After another short break from the blog, I'm back and more determined than ever to get posting more regularly!

I like to think that, when it comes to make-up, I push boundaries and try new things all of the time. What I think happens and what actually happens are two very different things though.

I'm a girl that likes my sleep, I need my eight hours... minimum! So every morning I need to wake up as late as possible to make sure I get it. I have a little 'schedule' in my head and that schedule allows for 10-15 minutes to apply make-up.

How much room for experimenting is there in that space of time? Not a lot. So I fall into the trap of reaching for whatever is nearest and end up sporting the same look, with minor tweaks, day in day out.

The routine only changes if I get time in the evenings or weekends to tidy up the ol' dressing table. Morning make-up for me is a bit like a production line, making the same stuff over and over again until I buy something new.

One such look I seem to be churning out every morning lately involves smoking out my eyes, it's just so easy and requires zero thinking! Perhaps it's just a little too easy.

FACE

Nars Sheer Glow Foundation - Barcelona (Equivalent to MAC NC37 - NC40)

MEMEME Blush Me! - Coral

MAC Lightscapade Mineralize Skinfinish

EYES

Inglot Eye Make Up Base

Inglot E/S 458 /Lid/

Inglot E/S 63 /Crease/

Inglot 463 /Inner Corner/

Bobbi Brown Long Wear Gel Eyeliner - Black Ink

1 coat of L'oreal's Voluminous Carbon Mascara

Stila Kajal eyeliner - Topaz /Waterline/ (clearly worn off :)

LIPS

A dab of MAC's Ruby Woo :)

You may have noticed excessive usage of Inglot products, but in my defence there's no Inglot store in Manchester. When I came across it in Dubai I went a little crazy. What's a girl to do?! ;)

The Inglot Eye Base is an integral part of the production line every morning, the only problem is it is the worst eye base I have ever had the misfortune of using. The eyeshadow creases like a bitch and the formula feels a bit like extra virgin olive oil... but it's there so on it goes.

As for the eyeshadows. One word - LOVELOVELOVE.

The ultimate smoky kit - in case you don't know Inglot, you choose your eyeshadows, they stick them into palettes. In my case, I wanted to create a smoky kit, et voilà!

Left to right: Inglot eyeshadow 463, 458, 63

The star of the show has to be the highlighter. It's a vintage champagne coloured eye shadow with a delicate touch of shimmer to it. It works fantastically on the inner corners and the brow bone.

Suck it in! :)

Since returning from my travels my skin has been looking a lot clearer, it could have something to do with my newly discovered fondness of Green Tea and my freshly re-discovered appreciation of tap water, I just can't drink enough of the stuff!

I've also incorporated a toner into my skin care regime that I picked up in India by Ayur. My skin feels super clean and fresh every time I swipe it across. You can really feel it getting to work straight away!

Does anyone else need to shake things up in the morning? I hear two-tone lips are on vogue this year, not sure how I can squeeze this into my 15 minute slot..

TRAVEL: Delhi in pictures

2012-01-01T09:16:00.000-08:00

On the way back home from the truly wonderful Nepal I thought it would be mad not to stop off at my spiritual home, New Delhi, for a few days. I hadn't been for just over 18 months, but it felt like an eternity!

Getting off the plane and walking along the suspended pathway to the terminal, smelling the afternoon air in New Delhi brought back so many happy memories! We visited a couple of our favourite places: the near-perfect symmetry of Humayyun's Tomb, the wide-open expanses at Rajpath, the epic Jama Masjid in Old Delhi and of course the ever-lasting red walls of Lal Qila.

True enough, I couldn't visit New Delhi without doing some serious shopping! Whenever I go, I always stock up on beauty products! The quality is excellent and the prices unreal! So Connaught Place and Karol Bagh market were visited numerous times.

Marble Mughal art

Humayun's Tomb. it is believed the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan took inspiration from this for the Taj Mahal

The Red Fort

The India Gate

Fake MAC nail polishes. I bought like 10 of these, 10 rupees each! :)

Indian Vogue <3

I love this, a selling tactic for Waterproof watches, in a pool of water, amazing!

It may only have been a short stay but we managed to fit in quite a bit! Now I'm longing to go back again, this time for longer ;)

Hope you all had a lovely few days off. And happy new year! At midnight there I was lighting a pack of 10 flying lanterns and not one of them launched. FAIL.

I'm still thinking about what my new years resolution could be, something that's realistic. Have you dolls made any yet?

TRAVEL: Nepal in pictures, deuxième partie!

2011-12-27T14:44:00.000-08:00

Part 2 of the Nepal post sees us travel from the hustling, bustling city of Kathmandu to the jungles of Chitwan National Park to the picturesque Pokhara by the Himalayas back to Kathmandu and onto the plane towards New Delhi.

In Kathmandu there were many people walking around with masks to protect them from the awful air pollution. It really doesn't help that the city is in sort of bowl surrounded by hills and mountains, the bad air just has nowhere to go.

It had always been a dream of mine to ride on an elephant. And Nepal gave me the perfect chance to fulfil that dream. All we needed to do was drive for 5 hours through the hills towards the lowlands (Terai to the Nepalese) and on to the lush green jungles of Chitwan.

Our journey started at 7am and I was banking on catching some sleep in the car but little did I know that it would be the most beautiful, death-defying drive of my life! The hills were completely covered in dense forest, the only exceptions being some scars from recent landslides during the monsoon. The road clung to the edges of the hills, the only 'barrier' preventing us falling 500 feet to the deep blue river that meanders through these hill were some breezeblocks!

Suffice to say, I got very little sleep.

I wanted to cry when I first saw the elephants, they are amazing animals! I couldn't help but feel sorry for them as their owners/riders beat them with bamboo sticks and metal pokers..

The locals have a deep respect for the wild animals that roam freely throughout Chitwan and occasionally venture towards the towns and villages. During our stay, the hotel next door was broken into by a wild elephant in the night. He must have caught the scent of sugar and mustard seeds and got a bit hungry. There was a trail of sugar and mustard seeds strewn from the hotel leading out into the jungle..

Nonetheless, I am in love with these animals. After my majestic ride on one, I passed the elephant a 10 rupee note, she sucked up the money in her trunk and passed it to her owner! HOW CUTE.

The next morning we were up early for a stroll in the jungle at 7am. To say it was a little scary would be an understatement. It was misty and pretty eerie, and at the very beginning of the stroll we came across a fresh Tiger paw-print in the mud near our hotel. Ahhh!

Next up was a quick stopover in the wonderful Pokhara to take in a bit of fresh mountain air and some breath-taking sights, and stay at a top-notch hotel. From here, the views of the Himalayas and the sunrise at Sarangkot were simply stunning. Photographs could never do it justice.

We drove for 6 hours back to Kathmandu for a final rendez-vous with the happy couple and took flight for New Delhi. The flight was absolutely incredible. The plane hugs close to the Himalayas as it moves towards the Indian capital, for over an hour they take over the windows before fading away into the distance and the haze that surrounds Delhi...

In the jungle!

<3

We got very close to this Rhino and it's young daughter. The Elephant Guides surrounded them and the mother got very defensive, started moving around trying to escape but couldn't get free and began to charge a little.. The Elephants got twitchy and started blowing their trunks! All while we're on the back of them. Best time ever!

Unsuitable footwear for the jungle. Safe to say these were absolutely destroyed after our walk, haha. :)

Eeerie..

Tiger paw print!

A delicate web of intrigue

The breath taking Himalayas. One day, I will go trekking up these peaks. One day..

Keep a look out on your dashboard for the 3rd and final part - India :D

Hope you've all had a lovely few festive days off! I have eaten my own body weight in desserts. It's okay though, new year means new resolution! 'Cause I'm optimistic like that, haha :)

TRAVEL: Nepal in pictures

2011-12-26T08:13:00.000-08:00

Helloooo!

So, I kinda disappeared again recently. But now I'm back again! I have just been so busy planning and preparing for a friend's wedding. This was no ordinary wedding though, it was a Hindu wedding... in Nepal!

Yes, that involved me travelling to Nepal for 2 weeks in Decemeber! Along the way I also paid a short visit to my spiritual home, New Delhi, which will be featured in a later post (I have waaay too many photos for just one post!). Overall I took about 2000 photos in Nepal and India. Snap Happy? Errrm, maybe...

What can I say about Nepal? It was just bursting with life and colour at every corner. I was expecting it to be very much like India but these guys definitely have their own culture.

It's a massive fusion between China and India (in hindsight it should have been obvious what with it being a tiny country surrounded by these two giant global super-powers!). You'll find colourful Indian Saris on the women yet they'll be worshipping at temples that look straight out of China.

Something that really shocked me was the load-shedding. I'd experienced something similar in rural India, but I never expected it to happen in a capital city, a huge urban expanse. It was at times eerie when the hum of the power-grid would completely shut down followed by the roar of diesel generators starting up.

The wedding was a new experience for all present, a fusion of two different castes. When asking the families "What's happening now?" they didn't seem to know all that often! Nonetheless it was three days of fun, food, power cuts and walking through the dark alleyways of Kathmandu behind a band holding up traffic while wearing a Sari (me, not the band, obvs). Now that's an experience money can't buy!

Purification ceremony for young girls

The happy couple <3

The above photos are merely a small portion of the photos that were taken! So I've decided to split up the photos into 3 posts, so stay tuned, dolls! :)

TOPSHOP Butterfly Print Fabric Holdall

2011-11-08T05:39:00.000-08:00

At the risk of seeming predictable I wandered into wonderful, wintry Topshop the other day. Instantly my gaze was stolen. Not by a bodycon skirt, or by something burgundy or by some unusual looking jewellery.

It was stolen by a bag. At first glance my eyes were deceiving me. Why is there a Gucci Boston Doctor Bag in Topshop? Have Topshop gone designer? Has someone left this poor baby unattended and it's now seeking a good samaritan to rescue it?

The answer to all three questions was no. It was just a bag that looked like it's Gucci cousin. Oh but what a beautiful bag it is! If you take a closer look the butterflies seemingly appear as Gs.

Not only is this bag absolutely, fantastically beautiful but it also goes with everything. You name it, and it probably goes with it. Not only does it have style, it has substance too. It's really sturdy, built to hold everything you could possibly want to put in it.

If there's one downside to the bag it's that it's so huge! "Why is this bad?" I hear you say. Well it's great that I can fit all my stuff in but I find myself putting more stuff in than I actually need. As time goes on, I'll keep putting more and more and stuff inside it. Stuff that I err... need. Yeah. Need. Ahem.

At £45, this bag is a steal. There's still some left on the Topshop website, LINK!

The Ultimate Bodycon

2011-11-05T13:30:00.000-07:00

Burgundy. Definitely this season's colour, I've been obsessed with any shade even remotely burgundy: Oxblood, Maroon, Red Wine. You name it, I'm on it! There's something sexy about it that just oozes femininity.

As well as loving Burgundy, I've also been getting back into Topshop of late. I've never really got their spring/summer ranges, it's all a bit samey. But when it comes to autumn/winter they always seem to be streets ahead of the competition.

This outfit combines Burgundy with Topshop, it's a Topshop bodycon dress. The shape and the pleats really caught my eye. They had it in a teal, but the burgundy coupled with the pleats just blew me away! Trying it on sealed the deal for me. The pleating detail around the chest looked stunning and the cut is über flattering.

Despite this being such a simple looking outfit, I can see it is an outfit for all occasions. With this dress, less is definitely more. The dress is will be perfect for cold winter days, it feels so thick without really looking it.

I managed to get hold of it just before it sold out at £46, if you're lucky you might still be able to find some in your local shop, otherwise you'll have to make do with the Teal or Camel ones on the website. Maybe when payday comes around I might nab the Turquoise one if there's any left.

I adore this ring. It's a spikey, quartz-y looking little thing from the Dorothy Perkins sale. £2. Yes you read that right! Bargain! It compliments Topshop's Jewel In The Crown nail polish pretty darn well. I simply cannot put this colour down right now, it's a gorgeous turquoise, petrol blue-ish colour. Two coats of this stuff and you're good to go, application is a breeze too!

Ponte Pleated Bodycon Dress - TOPSHOP
Cropped Lace Cardigan - Divided at H&M
Spiked Quartz Ring - Dorothy Perkins
Nails - Topshop Jewel in the Crown

You may be able to tell that taking these pictures wasn't such a breeze, I'm testing out a 50mm 1.4f aperture Nikon Lens that works really well in low light situations. It is a great lens but it's so bloody difficult to focus! I will get there, one day.

And to those of you celebrating Eid tomorrow:

Hope you all have a great day! :)

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY: TOPSHOP Premium Acrylic Layer Ring

2011-11-02T15:00:00.000-07:00

RRP: £30

PRODUCT RAVE: Lush BIG Shampoo

2011-10-31T14:07:00.000-07:00

Lush - You either love it or you don't.

I like to be diferent though. I seem to have a love-hate relationship with them. I love their sweet, refreshing smelling soaps but I detest their perfumes and I'm certainly not keen on their Henna (literally spent hours chipping away at the block). Why go to Lush when you can go out and purchase packet Henna from your local asian convenience store for the fraction of the cost?

I found myself wandering into Lush a couple of weeks back as standard. Usually I find myself wandering back out again empty handed (unless I've ran out of Flying Fox!) But this time I'd read some raving reviews about BIG and thought I'd check out what all the hype was about and grab myself a tub.

PACKAGING

It is a bit of an odd shampoo, first of all the packaging, it comes in a tub which you have to scoop the product out of. As for the contents itself, it's packed full with salt mixed with a bit of gooeyness, you need to ensure you keep the water out of this or the salt will just dissolve into nothingness.. Okay, I lie, more like extra gooeyness.

THE SHOWERING EXPERIENCE

I was particularly concerned it would leave chunks of salt in the hair. Luckily, all the salt seems to melt away when it comes into contact with water. This stuff has a refreshing citrus-y smell to it which helps waken my zombie like self at 6.30am.

In terms of performance, it really does leave your hair squeaky clean as it lathers beautifully once you've added a bit of water to it. But then comes the killer question, is this dehydrating? It contains salt, so naturally it can be a tad drying and at first I found this problematic thinking it can't be good for your hair if it's stripping, but if you're after something seriously drying try 'Ditch the Dirt' by Umberto Giannini Glam Hair. It is drying on a horrific scale, my hair would get caught in my comb. In comparison with that, BIG is meek and mild.

RESULTS?

Now you may be thinking why bother using BIG if it's drying? Well, with the right conditioner it works and detangling is a breeze (Currently using John Frieda Luxurious Volume Thickening Conditioner which is super lightweight yet smoothens the hair). A quick note, you need to ensure you do not apply conditioner to the roots unless you want to weigh your locks down which would be a waste.

One of the big positives to note about BIG is that with my fine, combination hair my roots have a tendency to get oily during the day whilst my ends stay quite dry. Using this shampoo in tandem with a such a good conditioner gives the scalp a good, deep clean whilst nourishing my ends.

Above all, the very best thing about BIG shampoo is the results it gives post-blow drying. It really lifts the hair and I could tell a difference between using this and some other standard shampoo. On those lazy days where I CBA blow drying, using Big and just letting my hair air dry, it still has body and shine. Now that's what I call a RESULT!

WOULD I REPURCHASE?

Absolutely.

I would recommend this shampoo to anyone that has fine/combination hair. As my hair is quite fine I find that my roots get greasy quickly, this is a god send. Although please do bear in mind, it is quite stripping so I would not recommend this to those with long hair that wash it on a regular basis. This product is perfectly suited to someone like me with mid-length hair and a fair bit of product build-up that needs washed daily.

And finally, this stuff will last you an age! You only need a tiny amount for it to lather and clean all that gunk out of your hair.

BIG shampoo costs 10.95 for 330G. Also available in smaller sizes.

Have any of you tried BIG? How did it work for you?

Blazing a Velvet Trail

2011-10-23T12:05:00.000-07:00

Hello dollfaces!

Last week I promised you all I had a Velvet Blazer hidden away in a wardrobe that I wanted to show off to you all, I'm a woman of my word so here it is! It is a deep black affair with the most gorgeous drape pocket detail going on!

I've spoken about my hatred of the sales before, full of dross that is either unsellable or the wrong size for me, and of course the bargain-crazed shoppers using their elbows to unscrupulously gain an advantage in the race to grab the one golden nugget hidden within piles upon piles upon racks upon racks of tat.

So here's the confession: I bought this in a sale! It was £50 reduced down to £15. Bonus! I couldn't believe my luck, they had it in my size! I took it home and it's been squirrelled away in my wardrobe ever since...

For it's debut performance I paired it with an oversized burgundy blouse tucked into a mesh wrapped skirt.

I look evil.

Velvet Drape Pocket Blazer - River Island
Mesh Wrap Skirt - Topshop (last season)
Burgundy Oversized Blouse - Hearts & Bows @ ARK
Purple Stone Ring - Freedom @ Topshop

In other news I received my set of Macro Lenses for the SLR, that means I can start getting back into Face of the Days and product reviews... Watch this space ;)

Wordless Wednesday: The Curious Cat

2011-10-19T12:30:00.000-07:00

Velvet Dreams & Winter Nightmares

2011-10-16T14:19:00.000-07:00

It's been a struggle to depart from my summer threads. Goodbye crops, floaty kimonos and 20 denier tights. Now that Summer has left us, Winter makes it's speedy approach.

Over the past few weeks I've been preparing my wardrobe for the winter, and how I've hated it! My Twitter timeline is filled with tweets of people looking forward to it! Talk of chunky knits, fur coats and boots abounds. BLAH! I want my summer back!

The only thing I look forward to during this season is the make up: smokey eyes, defined eyebrows and sparkly nail polishes. It's all super glamourous, making up for the dull, cold, wet weather.

Anyway, away from the doom & gloom that is the Great British Winter and back to my wardrobe. This week I was casually browsing through eBay in search of something new and exciting and alas! I stumbled across the most gorgeous velvet dress from Topshop, and we all know how Velvet is theeee fabric of choice this season. Is there anything that feels more luxurious and cozy than a touch of this stunning fabric? I doubt it.

The dreadful thing about eBay though is the seemingly endless wait for parcels to arrive. The bitter disappointment on a daily basis for what feels like weeks of returning home from work to find nothing but junk mail and bills etc... But in these cold winter months, the feeling of warmth when you arrive home and see the glowing brown parcel with your name on it is almost unmatched.

Sooo... The dress! It's even more amazing looking in real life than the pictures could ever do justice. It's a bodycon fitting dress that hugs your body in all the right places with a sensuous lace trimming around the neckline and a scooped back... Lovely.

I absolutely love this ring, I can't decide whether it has a tribal vibe going on or an aztec feel to it, or even both! Who cares? It's chunky, it's gold, it looks unusual, it ticks all the right boxes for me :)

I'm not completely dreading winter anymore, I am kind of looking forward to the fashion. I would still rather it was 6 months of warmer weather coming up than cold, but I've told myself to make the most of what we've got. Speaking of which, I've got a stunning velvet blazer from River Island working it's way to a blog post near you.

On another note, I have really missed doing beauty posts but the lens on my camera isn't too hot on close-ups. Today I bought some macro lenses from eBay which should let me get some good close-up shots. Expect a barrage of beauty related posts appearing on your dashboards, CAN'T WAIT! :D

A Tartan Tale

2011-10-02T11:10:00.000-07:00

Tartan always reminds me of Scotsmen in their kilts, and in case you weren't aware already, my hubby is Scottish. I felt that it was about time I had a bit of Scottish in my overflowing wardrobe and it's currently (eeeep).... bang on trend <-- detest this term.

So I went hunting on good ol' eBay. I found this gorgeous Tartan wrap-around skirt by Topshop and snared it for £6. Six Quid! Bargain? Judge for yourself...

I'm not exactly the biggest fan of Primark rings, but this one has something about it. It has a sort of 'classic' look that I can't quite put words to! It only cost £2, definitely worth a go!

This unusual Penny Farthing necklace is a Gallibardy dupe I discovered on eBay. I only went searching on eBay as Gallibardy didn't have any more in stock. The original is £21 but this little beaut of a dupe set me back £10!

I love that this skirt is a wrap-around, I've never had one before... Let's just hope the wind doesn't blow..

Tartan wrap skirt - Topshop (From eBay)
Skinny black belt - ASOS
Ring - Primark
Purple longline cardigan - Primark
Necklace - eBay
Polka Dot tights - Topshop

And then it began chucking it down..

In other news:

A friend of mine has lent me one of her Nikon lenses, apparently it's super-good. Only problem is I'm not super-good with it just yet! I played around with it a bit at the weekend and still I don't fully understand how it works and what it's best for, but rest-assured I will be playing around and experimenting a lot more over the coming days! The picture above, summing up my Sunday, was taken with it.

Cool?

OUTFIT: THE MAXI

2011-09-25T12:46:00.000-07:00

Hello!

Recently it seems that not a summer goes by without wave after wave of maxi dresses hitting the high streets and convincing women of all shapes and sizes to part with their hard-earned. Not me though, never. Until now. Sort of.

In a move which will shock my regular readers to their very cores, I have purchased a Maxi skirt! Usually if it isn't leggings or tights then I'm not interested. But the other week I was in Topshop (again!) and I noticed a chiffon-type, sheer long skirt with a short skirt underneath to give some dignity, and it was CAMEL.

I had to have it. Right there. Right then. It screamed sophistication at me. And trying it on made me feel like the epitome of femininity.

Yesterday was the 20th Anniversary of Nirvana's groundbreaking 'Nevermind' album. To celebrate, I paired this with a black Nirvana tee wrapped up with my trustee ASOS skinny belt and threw on a mesh hoody.

Monroe-esque in the wind?

Sheer camel maxi skirt - TOPSHOP (this season)
Nirvana t shirt - H&M Divided (this season)
Black skinny belt - ASOS
Mesh hoody - TOPSHOP
Black suede shoes - Primark (this season)

Loving how comfortable maxi skirts actually are! I'll definitely be purchasing more in the not-so-distant future, plus it's great to come out of my comfort zone. Next on the list? Coloured Jeans! How very daring...

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY: Beauty can be found in the most unusual places..

2011-09-14T13:21:00.000-07:00

OUTFIT: Retro Green

2011-09-02T16:14:00.000-07:00

Hello Hello!

In my short time away from the blogosphere my addiction to eBay has heightened to critical levels! I saw an amazing retro style tea dress in the window of a second-hand shop here in Manchester called "Cow". I went up to the counter and they said it was reserved, gutted!

Ever since then I've spent day after day relentlessly searching for retro tea dresses on eBay. After many fruitless, joyless days I stumbled across that pot of gold I was searching for and it reared it's head in the form of a green polka dot dress.

The colour is a beautifully stunning shade of green with a massive injection of vibrancy and I just loved the fact that I've never came across anything like this before on the high street or in boutiques! And how much did this little gem set me back? £3. Yes, that's right, THREE of your finest English Pounds Sterling. Bargain!

Now that I had this awesome dress, me being me, I obviously needed to match it up with some jewellery, y'know a ring and necklace, that kinda thing. I found the perfect match in H&M, this green rock. My sister thinks it looks a bit like Kryptonite, of course I laughed nervously and told her that Kryptonite doesn't exist. I think she bought it. The plan for world domination is still on...

I paired it all up with a Pumpkin necklace I found completely by accident in my favourite clothing store in the world ever: Ark. It's made by a company called Junkshop. I'd never heard of them before but if they can keep producing little masterpieces like this they'll definitely be worth keeping an eye out for!

Retro Green Polka Dot Dress - eBay
Lace Cardigan - H&M Divided
Green Cluster Ring - H&M
Pumpkin Necklace - Junk Shop

Have you bought anything amazing off eBay at a ridiculously low price?

TRAVEL: Dubai in pictures

2011-08-30T15:42:00.000-07:00

Dubai...

What can I say about Dubai, that hasn't already been said?

I travelled there in mid-July, the temperature ranged from 32-38 Degrees Celsius att night. During the day it was an astronomical 43. Hot Hot Hot! British tourists temporarily migrate to foreign shores in search of Sea, Sand & Sun in their millions each year, most would find the temperatures of the Arabian summer unbearably hot. Not me! The hotter the better!

Dubai is a city of excesses, not just the weather. Everything. Skyscrapers, shopping malls, fast cars racing along Sheikh Zayed Road, man-made islands, amazing beaches and exclusive hotels. They have them all in abundance. It was evident after a day that this would be the perfect place to relax and get away from it all.

Amongst my favourite attractions were the insanely tall, completely unreal looking Burj Khalifa; the dancing fountains just outside it (they danced to Michael Jackson's Thriller... awesome!); the bizarre things they have in their malls: Aquariums, Zoos and Café's made almost entirely out of ice; the refreshing Mint Lemonade drinks that are sold everywhere and the fascinating range of architecture on display.

Everything is so clean, fresh and new! The Metro light railway opened 18 months ago but looks no more than a day old. A common gripe people have with Dubai is the 'strict' nature of the rules, in fairness though any rules are there for a reason. The place is safe and the people have respect for one another, it makes for such a calm, relaxed environment.

If you ever watched the program 'Women In Black' on the BBC with Amani Zain it showed the Emirati women living the high-life. Wow, she wasn't wrong! So many of them walking around with designer shoes, handbags and shopping bags. It was a fairly surreal experience considering the western media like to portray Muslim women as the oppressed.

It's not all sunshine and designer labels though. Most of the taxi-drivers and service workers work 12 hour days 6 or 7 days a week just to get by and send money back home to their families. Unsurprisingly, they don't enjoy Dubai quite so much.

Here a few out of the hundreds of photos (yes, really!) that were taken:

Hijabis on their Blackberrys :)

The huge Aquarium in the Dubai Mall!

Penguins from the mini zoo at the Dubai Mall. Say whaaa?!

Chillis!

The dancing fountains.

At The Top of the Burj Khalifa.

Mint Lemonade, oh how I miss that refreshing sweet drink!

Atlantis!

The famous Sheikh Zayed Road.

My first ever Pinkberry experience which has got me hooked to frozen yogurt!

The ice cafe - Chillout.

The tallest building in the world - The Burj Khalifa.

How unreal does the Burj Khalifa look?!

The super clean Metro Station

Dubai Marina.

Saving the best till last. The breath taking view from the top of the Burj Khalifa. Words cannot describe how amazing this looks.

Winners of the Barry M Peach Melba giveaway!

2011-08-30T15:28:00.000-07:00

Hello!

Just a quick post, I'd like to thank all of you that entered to win the gorgeous Peach Melba by Barry M, but sadly there are only 2 winners!

The winners were selected via random.org. The winners are....

MissShiv & Sherrie!

Congratulations guys! An e-mail will be winging it's way to you for your address so do check your e-mails ladies!

xo

CLOSED: NAILS & GIVEAWAY: Barry M Peach Melba

2011-08-14T10:46:00.000-07:00

Hihihi, dolls!

It's been a while, hasn't it? I've had a nice long break, but it got to a point where I was just itching to get back into the blogging game. So here I am... Back!

Earlier on this year, Barry M released their highly anticipated Peach Melba, and boy oh boy, the blogging world went mad for it!

Allegedly, It's a dupe for Illamasqua's Purity. It's a seemingly gorgeous milky peach colour with an orange base. I just love how it looks against my skin tone!

The formula was a bit of a pain, I found it a tad too streaky. After the third coat though, all was well. Three coats though? Sheesh!

GIVEAWAY:

Anyways, I'd noticed that some of you have been finding it difficult to get hold of this shade, so I went hunting in every Boots and Superdrug in Manchester and managed to pick up another 2 bottles for a flash giveaway.

To be in for a chance to win this giveaway:

*You must be a follower through Google Friends Connect*
*Comment below letting me know which nails colours you are loving at the moment along with your name and e-mail address*
*Giveaway is worldwide*

Giveaway ends on Sunday 21st Aug 2011. And the 2 winners will be announced the next day.

So there you have it, folks! Stay tuned for my Dubai post (Gosh I miss that place!) along with all the usual ramblings :)

OUTFIT: Come as you are

2011-06-26T14:24:00.000-07:00

How hot was it today?! BBC Weather tells me that Manchester reached the dizzy heights of 27° C! Where did that come from? And where have you been all 'Summer'?

Seeing as it was so sizzlingly hot outside, I decided to go all super casual and sport my new vest from H&M teamed up with my trusty staple of black leggings. I think I'm the only person I know that doesn't own a single pair of pants!

How awesome is this vest??

It's from the Divided section of H&M. I'm not really that keen on H&M, the normal stuff there is a bit blah, but the Divided section does have the occasional gem hidden away at a ridiculously cheap price. I'm a big fan of Nirvana, so when I saw this vest in the window I went crazy! Tis a shame I'll never see them play live :(

I love the fact that the vest is pretty long that an underskirt isn't needed when it's paired with leggings. If it was any shorter though, you wouldn't see me in it with just leggings! Camel toe? Err... No thank you!

Now, onto the jewellery. I thought the vest was a statement in itself so opted not to wear a necklace, shocking right?! Instead I thought I'd go for this awesome Acrylic Diamond shaped ring by Stolen Thunder. I purchased it from the Ark sale a few weeks ago for a bargain basement £11.

I'm told that Marina & The Diamonds has been seen wearing it a few times. It's a bit of an odd looking ring, the greatest thing about it though is that it's a different colour every time you look at it!

Nirvana Vest - H&M Divided
Mesh Zipped Hoodie - TOPSHOP
Diamond Shaped Acrylic Ring - Stolen Thunder

At the time of writing, I'm watching Beyoncé's Glasto performance. She is amazing! Her make up looks gorgeous, and the outfit?! Mental note: Never dress like that for a festival. Can't see it working!

Hope you've all had a great weekend! Until next time..

NAILS: Barry M Cyan Blue & Blueberry Ice Cream

2011-06-25T10:42:00.000-07:00

I looked at my poor little nails the other day and thought: "When was the last time my nails went au naturel?" I really had a good, deep think about it and just couldn't think of a time when I didn't have some weird or wonderful colour emblazoned on them.

This cannot be good for them. When I'm wiping off some nail polish every other day (yes, I change colour that often), I see how weak and withered away my nails have become! They are definitely in need of some kind of nail treatment, suggestions most certainly welcome!

Going back to nail polish itself, how bloody addictive are they?! You go into Boots or Superdrugs or any other shop and see the shelves full of every colour conceivable. They are so gorgeous and just a slick of it updates your style.

Hopefully you noticed there are two shades of blue in the photo:

Blueberry Ice Cream is the lighter, more pastelly of the two, while the darker of the two is Cyan Blue - such a fun mid-toned blue! I spent a few minutes trying to decide which one I liked most but then gave up and put them both on at the same time, on different nails of course!

As much as I love Blueberry Ice Cream, it looks very similar to Barry M's Turquoise, so if you already own Turquoise I wouldn't recommend you buy it unless you're a die hard Barry M fan like moi!

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love Barry M nail polishes, they are fun, opaque, fast drying, easy to apply and are a steal for £2.99! Perfect!

It looked so good the plant died!

One day I will own all of the Barry M shades, I feel so privilidged we have Barry M in the UK. You Americans may have your Make Up Forever & Sephora, but we've got our Barry, so ner! :P

I'm currently watching the Glastonbury coverage on BBC 3, on one hand I'm jealous but on the other it looks a bit dull this year. I've also booked a week in Dubai in July, I can't wait! As regular readers may know I went to Abu Dhabi last year and I so desperately wanted to hop over to Dubai but time prevented it, but there'll be no stopping me this time! Ahhhh, I CANNOT wait!

Have any of you tried any unusual nail combinations? What are your Nail Polishes of the moment?

OUTFIT: Summer Called, it's Gonna be Late!

2011-06-12T04:09:00.000-07:00

Hiya!

After an amazing April I was ready for a marvellous May, joyous June and a jubilant July. Unfortunately, I was to be disappointed. May was a complete washout, overcast skies every day, rain every other day and low temperatures. Sigh.

But you know me, I'm not going to let that miserable weather stop me from wearing my summery threads! This apricot blouse came from Topshop for around £35, can't remember the exact amount, d'oh! It's worth every penny. In these gloomy times, it seriously lightens up the atmosphere!

The blouse itself is short at the front and long at the back, giving it a ripply appearance. It's quite a sheer number and can be worn open or buttoned-up. Be warned though, if you do wear it buttoned up you may want to wear a nice vest-top underneath unless you don't mind showing off some flesh!

I told you it was cold!

Chunky Rings!

Little Ben

Sheer Apricot Long Sleeved Blouse - TOPSHOP
Black Bandage Bodycon Skirt - Ark
Black Basic Vest - H&M
Gold Plaited Belt - TOPSHOP
Black Skull Printed Cardigan - eBay
Om Ring & DJ Decks Ring - Galibardy
Little Ben Necklace - TOPSHOP

How cute is the Big Ben necklace? And it isn't exactly big so I call it Little Ben, tehe! I bought this last year, it came with a silver chain that looked a bit goth-esque, and I'm not too keen on gold and silver mixed together so I replaced it with a gold chain :)

Hope you're all having a great weekend so far. I've been at Parklife Festival, saw Two Door Cinema Club last night and I must say, I was quite disappointed, they mostly played their new songs that no one has heard of which is a big no-no for a festival! Highlight so far has to be Kelis & Katy B! I'm now up for round 2 today, looking forward to seeing Darwin Deez & Mark Ronson!

London city baybeh!

2011-06-05T09:27:00.000-07:00

Hello world!

This week I visited Laaaadan city for a few days. What can I say about London? I LOVED IT.

I was in need of some time away from wet and windy Manchester, somewhere not too far away and with better weather. So London it was! Conveniently enough I was able to meet up with a few of my blogger friends along the way too! Awesome!

As a tourist or visitor, I found London a great place to go. There are so many sights it's untrue. The taxi ride from Euston Station to the hotel was pretty much a sightseeing tour in itself, and it cost about the same £30! Unbelievable!

Our hotel was modern, cheap(ish) and in a good location just south of the Houses of Parliament. But we were in no mood to hang around, we wanted to get out into the city! We made good use of the 'Big Bus Tour' buses at £27 for 24 hours. A bit expensive, but gives you a good little hop-on-hop-off tour of the place with a live guide.

We stayed on the bus for a while, jumping off at the Tower of London. The main reason for that was to the see the dungeons or prisons and of course the Crown Jewels. I mostly wanted to see the Koh-I-Noor that is always at the centre of controversy between India and Britain. When we came out of the Tower the heavens had began to open. We jumped on the first tour bus that came along (packed, by the way!) and returned to our hotel!

We really wanted to go to Brick Lane to experience the markets, boutiques, the south-asian atmosphere and take in an Indian restaurant. But we were warned at the hotel as it is on the other side of London, the cab would cost £25 each way. It was only 4.5 miles!! WTF? The other alternatives were the tube or the bus (err no thanks!).

So we gave up on that idea and instead looked at decent places to eat in Westminster. We ended up going to a Bangladeshi place called 'The Coriander' in Vauxhall just over the aptly named Vauxhall Bridge from Westminster. We asked for it hot, and boy was it hot! LOVE.

On our second day we were due to meet my lovely blogging friends, but DISASTER. The weather forecasts promised me beating hot sun all day, but in the morning there was some heavy, heavy hail! Where did that come from?

Anyways we met up with the bloggers on Queensway, went to a seriously tasty little Persian restaurant that I forget the name of (it was damn good, promise!) then headed off to the Westfield Centre.

WOW. The Westfield Centre is über-cool! Living in Manchester I'm used to big shopping centres what with the Trafford Centre, but the Westfield far outranks it. It's so big, bright, modern and all-around clean. Plus, it has something extra that the Trafford Centre lacks: Mr Pretzels. They sell some amazing, fresh, sugary, sweet, fluffy, cinammon Pretzels... mmmmm.

In the evening we took a ride on the London Eye. The sun had only just set and we were the last group on it. They say cities come to life at night, and London sure does just that and we got to see it from the best seat in the house.

It was also the first time we really got to take our brand new Nikon D7000 somewhere and in all honesty we got seriously snap happy. Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Tourist!

The London Eye!

Inside the Eye!

Breath taking view from the eye!

Beach huts on the South Bank...

Ever get the feeling you're being watched..? MI6 HQ

Cool Graffiti on the South Bank

The houses of parliment

Gotta be done!

(L - R) - Nazneen, Aysha, The Mr & meee.

Amina and Sriya tuck into Mr. Pretzel. Thanks to Sriya I'm now converted, shame they only have one shop in Britain!

Somebodies feeling a lil' shy!

Nazneen & Aysh. Such posers :P

Hello, Pina Colada!

Love. Love. LOVE.

'cause we are cool.

Some serious groping & posing going on here!

(L - R) - Tass, Me, Nazneen, Aysha, Sriya & Amina.

♥

Mourning for Tass!

This photo is timeless. LARGE LOVE ♥

London. We'll meet again.

FACE: Minty goodness - Nars Habanera Duo Eyeshadow

2011-05-23T11:50:00.000-07:00

Hihihi!

Oh em geeee, Manchester, what is with this wind? I felt like Mary Poppins this afternoon battling with the wind to stay grounded. I did manage to make it home in one piece: Halima 1 Wind 0. Pwahaha!

ANYWAY, the minty obsession continues...

I wasn't really feeling content with my mint shirts, sheer blouses & nail polishes, so I've only gone and got me some mint eyeshadow too! Some people might say I'm mint crazy, and I'd probably have to agree!

I usually stick to my neutrals & smokey shadows, but I think it's time for me to step out of my comfort zone.

I actually purchased NARS Duo Habanera e/s with my ASOS groupon voucher about a month or 2 ago. SO glad ASOS stock NARS :D

The mint shade is a gorgeous mint sheen whereas the perfectly contrasting purple shade has beautiful microscopic, kaleidoscopic glitter particles. The only downside is the fallout. I mean, I put the eyeshadow on my eyes but after an hour, I've got glitter all over my face! Not cool.

The eyeshadows were having a deep conversation about the meaning of life...

What is also not cool is my cat walking all over my laptop's keyboard and sitting on it while I'm trying to type! Argh!

What is cool though, is how photogenic the Habanera Duo is. It photographs well in shade, sunlight, indoors, at night, up close and far out without losing any of it's glamourous colour!

Workin' It!

FACE:
NARS Sheer Glow foundation Barcelona
MAC Prep + Prime Powder
MEMEME Blush Me Coral

Glittery!

Minty Goodness...

EYES:
NARS Duo e/s Habanera
MAC Naked Lunch
Maybelline Gel Liner
Maybelline Black Drama Falsies mascara

The Maybelline Gel Liner is actually pretty decent, it's creamy and pigmented. But in my case, if you do big flicks, the liner goes for a wander around the eyes, panda eyes? No thankyou! I've just recently bought Clinique's Cream Liner which is basically a gel liner which has really impressed me. May do a review on this soon!

LIPS:
NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil Red Square

Could you see the fall out around my cheeks? Not good! However, it is a truly gorgeous shade. Shame about the glittery cheeks, GAH!

And yes, the bright lips is still going strong for me. NARS Red Square is a stunning orange based lipstick with a hint of red, I'd say this is definitely in between MAC's SO Chaud and Lady Danger. It is super pigmented making the colour appear opaque which is definitely a plus for me. And I just love how it just glides onto the lips and leaves a matte finish which isn't drying at all, yay! Can't actually remember the last time I wore nude lips.. I look at my nudes and feel nothing for them whatsoevar. :)

Have you tried Habanera? Stepped out of your comfort zone lately?

OUTFIT: Set On Fire

2011-05-14T15:10:00.000-07:00

Hello Hello!

You may have noticed that I've been absent for a while, I haven't really been feeling too well. And let's face it, there just isn't any point in blogging when you're not feeling it!

I feel miles better now, yay! I've also noticed that I've been losing a bit of weight as well. I'm pretty sure it's down to me riding the bicycle. I can ride poppy for miles and miles. It can get quite tiring, but when you're really enjoying it you don't tend to notice.

Anyways, on Thursday I went to see Friendly Fires at Manchester Sound Control just off Oxford Road. I'd never been there before, but I had walked past it a few times. Apparently it used to be a music store! My initial thoughts on the venue were good, it was quite small and had the capacity for about 400 people. It's perfect to get an intimate atmosphere with the band.

The thing I loved most about the place was a small platform at the side which I could stand on and overlook all the giants in front of me. Would you believe it, all the petite ladies were up there on it. I saw everything for once. And I'll tell you what, another great thing about being small is you can always make your way down to the front! This was really a band I actually wanted to see, not just hear. The lead singer's dance moves are just awesome!

Sorry I'm waffling on a bit, back to the topic... outfit!

Lately I feel a lot of the stuff in the high street is boring me a little bit, I've already got about 2,045,339 sheer blouses. I don't need any more no matter how many nice shiny new colours they come in! And all the florals look so samey. I decided to root through my wardrobe and find out exactly what I've got in there.

In amongst the chaos and carnage that is my wardrobe, I came across a golden nugget... A sheer, beaded tunic with scatters of flame red which I wore for Eid a couple of years ago. I just cannot believe I only wore it once, look how stunning it is!

I love the way the sunlight reflects off the beads, it looks so blingy! Obvs.

Chariot Tunic Top - All Saints
Basic Black Vest underneath - H&M
Michael Kors Watch MK5055
Red Leather Camera ring - Freedom, Topshop
Gold Binoculars necklace - Freedom, Topshop

Don't you just love it when you find something you adore and turns out you already own it? Haha.

Back to Friendly Fires:

Time flew by, felt like I was only there for an hour, it was incredibly fun, especially seeing the lead singer dance, he is outrageously energetic. Some people find his moves amusing, I found it electrifying.

They played a mixture of their old stuff along with the new album, Pala which is out next Monday. The new stuff got a bit of a queit reception from the crowd, most likely were hearing it for the first time, although this week, the whole album is available to stream via their website.

The most appealing tune I found was Hawaiian Air. It sounds fresh, vibrant, and is an obvious festival classic in the making.

Until next time...

A New Addition to the Family: Meet Poppy.

2011-05-02T10:35:00.000-07:00

Hi-dee-hi!

It may not have escaped your notice that the weather over the last few weeks has been absolutely gorgeous! I'd be going out all the time for walks with the boy & with friends. I'd come across a park every now and then and I saw so many people riding around on their bikes. I must admit, I was ridiculously jealous! Oh, how I'd love to have my own bike, to have the freedom to go wherever I wanted without relying on these blasted buses!

In Manchester we have a cycle shop called The Edinburgh Bicycyle Co-operative. I walked in through the automatic sliding doors and my eyes were instantly swept away by a pastel blue, retro-looking bike. I asked about it, it's called Poppy, and is made by a company called Pashley. As soon as I sat on it I fell in love. I just had to have it, there and then!

Only problem was Pashley make all their cycles to order, and this little baby was a show model that apparently been around a few of their stores. Hundreds of people had probably sat on it or took it for a test-ride. Damn. After getting over the disappointment of not being able to take my baby home with me that day, I put in my order.

And finally, she arrived today! I also ordered a basket, but that's still working it's way towards me...

Poppy!

Pashley!

Hand Built! Not in 1926 though... I hope

The Back half, obvs!

My not-in-anyway-annoying Bell! Brrrrring Brrrrrring coming through!

In all her glory!

I haven't rode a bicycle in years so at first I was a bit all over the place! But within half an hour I was riding her down Wilmslow Road alongside all the buses and cars, pretty scary. Especially the buses! We're quite fortunate here in Manchester, as Wilmslow Road has it's own cycle lane on both sides of the road!

Now the only problem I have is that I'd love to take her everywhere with me, but I'm petrified of leaving it outside (even with my two massive locks!) for fear of someone vandalising it or stealing parts off it... ARGH! What to do?

Action Shot!

I had this grin on my face the whole time! Ahhhh, SO happy! :)

Well, if you're ever in Manchester on Wilmslow Road and you see a Pastel Blue flash go by, now you'll know it's me! :)

Orange Lips? It's Good to Go.

2011-05-01T09:45:00.001-07:00

Hello Hello!

As my regular readers will probably know, I love bright lipsticks! I love corals, pinks, reds and oranges... what was that? Oranges? Yes, you read that right. Orange.

My most recent lipstick related posts about Lady Danger & So Chaud were nothing in comparison to this baby: MAC's Pro Long Wear Lipcreme in 'Good To Go'.

In all honesty I purchased this a couple of months back when MAC launched their first Pro Long Wear range. At first I used to dab it into the lips for a subtle, orangey hue lip colour. I just wasn't brave enough to wear this full on, I needed to be broken into it!

So after dabbling with the Corals and the Reds, I decided the time was right to wear this orange explosion full on. And I mean straight from the actual stick.

Orangey goodness

Clearly chuffed with the orange-ness..

The actual stick itself is not shaped like many a traditional lipstick, it can be a tad difficult to apply. My tip would be to simply slop (for want of a better word!) a load onto your lips and use a lip brush to curve it around the natural shape of your lips.

MAC describe this as a loudmouth orange, which is true but I would say this is a bright, vivid orange with a hint of red in it. It's quite similar to 'So Chaud' but with a stronger orange tone to it. As with all MAC lipsticks it's incredibly pigmented and totally opaque.

The first day I wore 'Good To Go' properly a friend of mine complained her eyes were hurting because of the brightness! Such a joker! Joking aside, it is bright but you won't look like your lips have been Tango'd!

The formula is super creamy, it glides effortlessly onto your lips and feels gorgeous! Once you've applied it, it does take a few minutes to dry onto the lips. Once it is fully dry you'll find it lasts a good few hours.

I tested it on a 7 hour working day and it was incredible how long it actually lasts. By the afternoon it was beginning to fade a little, but at the end of the day there is a nice stain on your lips. The only downside to the product is that it feels a bit drying on the lips during the day. It's definitely not as drying as MAC's Matte Formual lipstick though, so kudos to MAC for that!

To go with the orange lippy, I busted out some eyeshadows! I opted for Gold & a touch of black:

EYES:

MAC Antiqued e/s
MAC Black Tied e/s
MAC Naked Lunch
Bourjois Liner Pinceau in Noir
Maybelline Black Drama Falsies mascara

What do you think of orange lips? Have you found any exciting lipsticks lately?

Hope you're all enjoying the second 4 day weekend in a row. The weather has been lush. Altough today, it has been seriously windy. Oh boo!

NAILS: Urban Outfitters Matte Milk 1

2011-04-25T12:17:00.000-07:00

Hello!

You may remember a few weeks ago I did a haul post. In that post I mentioned a little gem of a find in Urban Outfitters' Matte Milk 1 nail polish. You'll notice that it's white. It's so wrong yet so right, all at the same time!

My "Om" ring is from Galibardy

The packaging is a bit err... different. It's unique, and catches the eye immediately!

Super white!

But you know what they say about judging books by their covers and all that. The formula is dreadful. It's so damned streaky it's untrue! I needed three coats to make this completely opaque. In between each coat, it took an eternity to dry. On the third coat I needed to wait even longer for it to dry thoroughly otherwise I'd have a serious case of the smudges on my hands.

In the end I gave up waiting, I used Seche Vite and let it work it's magic. Seriously girls, if you don't already have Seche Vite, WHY THE HECK NOT? One coat of this and within a couple of minutes, it's super dry!

The only downside to applying the Seche Vite is it didn't really provide the matte finish that this product should have given. But desperate times call for desperate measures!

I do love white nails, but I don't think I'll be hurrying to buy this again, however I did buy the Barry M Matte White nail paint today, I've got high hopes for this as Barry M has never let me down before.

What do you think about white nails? Yay? Or nay?

Hope you've all had an amazing Easter Weekend! Back to reality t'moro... for 3 days. Then we can do it all over again! (Only applicable to UK residents :P)

OUTFIT: Sheer Mint

2011-04-23T04:50:00.000-07:00

Hello Hello!

Welcome to my regular readers and first-timers alike! Those who have frequented my blog pretty regularly will probably have noticed my love for the colour mint. I've got mint nail varnish, a swallow printed mint kimono and even a gorgeous mint blouse with sheer sleeves. I felt pretty much complete with my mint collection.

And then it happened. Horror etched all over my face. I saw the video for Alex Gaudino's 'I'm In Love' and it just jumped out of my laptop screen and into the 'MUST HAVE NOW!!!' section of my brain (Yes, that section of my brain is labelled in CAPSLOCK!). One of the video girls was getting a bit erm... steamy with some bloke. She had an oversized long sleeved sheer mint shirt on. It looked perfect, obviously by now I'd already mentally tried it on and I must say, it looked far better on me in my head than on her...

I couldn't believe that I had never came across something like this before. I know that Topshop came out with one a few months back, but their's was an off-mint colour, short-sleeved and made of *shudders* Viscose. I hate Viscose, touch it and it creases. And off-mint? Short-sleeved? Sorry Topshop. Must try harder.

So after replaying the section of the video with the shirt of my dreams innumerable times, I lightly slapped myself in the face and told myself to snap out of it and find this sexy thing! I scoured the high-street, foraged through independent boutiques, trawled the Internet, scaled mountains, crossed deserts, circumnavigated the globe (OK so I didn't do the last 3, but you get the point!) and still my beloved mint, long-sleeved sheer shirt escaped my clutches.

My limbs ached from the mountains, my body parched from the deserts and I'd given up all hope of finding my beloved. I was walking through town, desperate and desolate. Yeah, there were nice things b..bu...but they could never compete. And then, like an oasis in the desert, a shock of gleaming mint attacked my weakened eyes... it was my beloved... on a mannequin... in American Apparel... American Apparel?! This was no mirage, this waas real!

I summoned all of my remaining energy, drank all of my remaining water rations and entered the store holding my beloved to ransom. They demanded £52 to release my beloved from their shackles. At first I thought it was expensive, then later I apoligised to my beloved for daring to think such a thing. It was worth it...

It's seriously oversized, they make it in only one size, around 12-14. Today it's such a beautiful spring day, I thought I'd let my mint, oversized shirt grace it with it's presence. I wore it over my cherished bodycon skirt. A match made in heaven.

At last! It's mine! All mine!

No-one will seperate us now...

I like to hold onto it, just incase...

My faux YSL Arty Ring, purchased from Etsy

Galibardy's Syringe, complete with Fly trapped inside! (not real obvs)

Sheer Mint Oversized Shirt: American Apparel
Syringe Necklace: Galibardy Boutique
Faux YSL Arty ring: Etsy
Bodycon skirt: ARK
Gold plaited belt: Topshop

And finally, on Thursday I attended the Gentry Grooming event in Manchester. Gentry Grooming are a Manchester-based Male Grooming company with Salons in the Northwest and a range of Male Grooming products. They held an event in Manchester showcasing their new range of products including Eye-cream and Styling Cream. For the record their products contain no Parabens, SLS, SLES and alcohol!

It was a great night, I took along my gay best friend and we met a few of the stars from Hollyoaks and some lovely bloggers. At first it felt truly bizarre to be meeting some of the bloggers, as I'm so used to reading their words and looking at their pictures on a screen. To come face-to-face was a bit surreal! But they were all so lovely, I'd do it again!

From L - R - The gorgeous Sinead from DaintyDollyMix, the absolute stunner that is Paula from Sweetcheeks1910 and meeee!

Have you ever seen something on TV, in a film or a music video you just had to have? Did you manage to get your hands on it?

Rockin' the quartz

2011-04-14T11:01:00.000-07:00

Hello hello!

You guys will probably know by now that I simply love my high street jewellery. But lately I'm not feeling them. Everything just looks so samey and blah and unoriginal. Yes, I do love a big chunky ring, but the big chunky ones out there at the moment are just crap.

I managed to go a whole fortnight (yes a fortnight!) without buying a single ring, so you can tell the high streets are in dire straits when it comes to rings. I started to feel withdrawal symptoms, so what did I do? I consulted Dr Google and he/she/it prescribed me a heavy dose of RubyRaeLove, the blogshop by Ella Masters. She does the most amazing rings, and I just could not believe she made these all herself! The one that really caught my eye was the handcut quartz cluster ring:

Rocky...

It looks massive on my hand!

You can even see Ella's fingerprint on this one!

On her website there's quite a choice of stunning rings! Another website to look out for is Etsy which seems to sell everything handmade and vintage, they have a large section dedicated to jewellery from a broad range of sellers, you'll be spoilt for choice.

It will take a miraculous recovery from the high street to tear me away from Etsy and RubyRaeLove. Unfortunately, a luck of funds is preventing me from going on one of my trademark sprees right now.

O' payday, payday! Wherefore art thou payday?

OUTFIT: It's a nice day for a white wedding

2011-04-03T07:30:00.000-07:00

As I write it's now Sunday. The weekend has came and nearly gone already. It goes by way too fast, though I hope you've all had as good a weekend as I had!

Yesterday it was the wedding of a Gujarati friend of mine, and I absolutely love Gujarati weddings! The food is just incredible, usually serving a dhaal chawal (lentils + rice). Mmmm tasty...

Anyway, I was told it would be a White Wedding so the only thing to do was turn up in a white Asian number:

White!

Heart the neckline! And all those little bits of diamantes :)

Check out this beast!

It was more than just a little chilly outside...

...but isn't this bracelet just amazing?

With the exception of the River Island ring, nothing that I'm wearing is labelled. The white dress is a kind of Indian versus Greek mix. The style is called Anarkali where the dress is fitted in at the waist, flares out and then goes below the knees. I bought it from a clothing store in Blackburn called 'Glamour'.

The clutch-bag is from a different shop in Blackburn, but I bought it so long ago I've forgotten which one! As you may be able to tell, I think that Blackburn is the place to go when it comes to shopping for Asian clothes, bags and shoes!

As for the Diamante Stretch Cuff, now I couldn't possibly tell you where I got it! But I am selling these for £15. I think they look fairly similar to the River Island ones, but maybe a bit better! :P

If anyone is interesting in buying them, let me know in the comments box below. I've got them in a few different colours (Gold, Silver, Turquoise, Red & Rainbow) and I'll be putting up a post about them when I open my new Blog Shop in the not-too-distant future! :D

This long week has finally caught up with me, so today I will mostly be sat around doing nothing bar drinking copious amounts of tea... Speaking of which, there goes the kettle!

Spring spree!

2011-03-30T13:29:00.000-07:00

Hihihi!

Today I headed into town after work in search of a new perfume, as it seems like most of mine are close to running out. And why on earth do they all start running out at the same time? Do perfumes have some sort of competition to see who can run out first? URGH.

It's been a while since I last went on the lookout for some perfume, and I was asking for suggestions on Twitter. I was kinda feeling Tom Ford Black Orchid would be something I would like. Rhamnousia reckoned it smelt of roast beef with an afterkick of bleach! Makes you wonder what kind of fare is served up in her household ;p

Needless to say, I avoided the Roast Beef & Bleach and ended up buying Chloe instead..

Pretty!

This smells gorgeous! If you love your sweet florals but want something that smells totally unique, this is the one for you. When I had a quick whiff of this, it smelt slightly of Shake & Vac? You know, the carpet sprinkler that you'd hoover up? Haha :)

Once I picked up the perfume, the buying didn't stop there. I headed down to Selfridges and bought NARS' "Red Square" on Zara's recommendation. There's a bit of a tale behind the purchase too!

I went to the counter and asked if they had any Red Square, the sales assistant must have been gone a good ten minutes when it hit me: I was at the Bobbi Brown counter!! WTF?! So barely seconds after realising this, the sales assistant comes back and says: "I'm sorry, but we've ran out of Red Square." I didn't have the heart to tell her that the reason she couldn't find it was because your company don't make it!

Now, feeling slightly embarrassed, I walked towards the NARS counter with tail firmly between legs and bought it. And check out how awesome it looks:

The clue should have been the big NARS stamped on it!

Just recently I've been feeling a bit bored of my current crop of eyeshadows. After trawling through blog after blog of shadow after shadow I felt that these three colours are the essentials that all women (and some men) really must possess. I was pretty shocked then to find that I didn't own any of them. Not a single one. Only thing to do then, was to bob over to MAC and rectify that, like now!

From L - R: Antiqued, Naked & Woodwinked. All from MAC

And here they are with their clothes off...

Antiqued. Up close and personal.

Woodwinked ;)

Naked Lunch. Reminds me of sandwiches. Looks nothing like sandwiches though!

Les Derriéres

Following from my mini-splurge at MAC I developed a bit of a taste for some nail polishes. I have quite literally hundreds of nail polishes, but a lot of them have gone a bit gloopy :(

So I wandered into Urban Outfitters..

Urban Outfitters Milky Matte 1 - Milky and Matte

Will there be a Matte Milk 2?

I'd tried a few of the polishes from Urban Outfitters before and really loved the colours, they certainly can't be accused of churning out the same old dull colours. I saw Matte Milk, which is just a Matte white. That looks like Milk. And I love milk, so I thought I'd own it :) I'm seriously digging the pale colours at the minute, white may be a bit extreme, but hey ho...

This is not the end of it. I craved more sweet smelling nail polishes. Yes, I like the smell of the fumes... but I'm not addicted... Haha! I fancied a bit of a change of scenery though. It can be a bit tedious routinely hunting down slight variations in colour at Boots and Superdrugs with the usual high street brands. I saw that American Apparel was only a few feet away, so I thought: "Why not?"

And here's what I ended up with:

American Apparel (From L - R): Butter, Rouge & Summer Peach

They look like those Mini Milk ice lollies from my childhood... mmmm Milky

So last but by no means least we have the wonderfully pastelly pale looking colours of American Apparel, I know the Rouge isn't exactly pastel but I didn't fancy going home with four pastel nail polishes. Three is acceptable, but four is just overboard, obvs.

This concludes my mammoth haul, now if you'll excuse me I'm skint so I need to go list some old junk on eBay. Well, either that or sit in my room rocking back and forth waiting for pay day...

OOTD - Check it out!

2011-03-28T12:35:00.000-07:00

Bonjour ma petites.

Hope you've all had a good weekend! I was gutted with the fact it was super sunny during the week, but in the weekend the sun decided to play hide and seek with the clouds, evil, evil sun! :@

At the weekend I was living in hope that the sun would come out to play. So I dressed kind of summery. I got out my brand spanking new Topshop Check shirt. It's turquoise, with a bit of pink and white. One word = belle. (Yes, that's 2 french words so far, please note I am not fluent in french. Obvs). I do love me a bit of check shirts. Although most of the check shirts that I've come across haven't really jumped out at me. But this, THIS is definitely incomparable. It must be the the blend of turquoise & pink, which is very distinctive. Topshop call it the "Ice Cream Shirt", can you see why? :s

Ice Cream Check Skinny Western Shirt - TOPSHOP (Current Season)
Gold plaited Belt - TOPSHOP
Black Basic Bodycon - H & M
Black Basic Vest - H & M
Gold Retro Cassette Necklace - Galibardy

I am seriously infatuated with the shirt. I can see me wearing this out in the summer. They had this in petite as well. I bought the standard one in a size 10, I do like my shirts oversized :)

And I ADORE the gold plaited belt. It goes with absolutely everything! And it looks exceptional over black.

ALSO

Last week, the new Friendly Fires song "Live Those Days Tonight" was premiered on Radio 1 and I was so hyped up about it. After hearing it, I thought, "Hmmm.. this is okay.." but it's grown on me since. SO happy they're back! And the song just screams SUMMER!

I remember hearing the song "Paris" for the first time in 2009 on the BBC's coverage of Glastonbury and instantly getting hooked on it, it just seemed so epic! Straight away I was on iTunes downloading the album, and that's where the love affair started.

So, Friendly Fires fans or for those of you interested in hearing sweet melodies, this is for you!:

Roll on May the 16th. BOOM.

NAILS: Gosh - Hot Coral

2011-03-25T17:31:00.000-07:00

Yes, I am coral crazy. First it was the lipsticks and now onto the nail polish. I bought GOSH's Hot Coral a couple of months back but didn't really wear it until a couple of weeks ago. I do own a fair amount of red nail colours, but when ever I wear them, I feel as if it's too grown up for me. Such as OPI Vodka & Caviar. Don't get me wrong, it's stunning, but a bit too 'old lady' for me if you catch my drift?

GOSH Hot Coral is probably the only red colour I feel comfortable wearing. It's red, but also has a fair amount of coral in it too, it's slap bang in the middle between red and coral. And I think it's the perfect red without losing it's sense of fun.

My only bone to pick with this is that it chips like crazy! AND you need to apply 3 bloody coats to make it completely opaque. I found this with GOSH Holographic as well. It applies like a dream but as for longevity? Absolute PANTS. It chips the very next day. GAH.

However..

I have discovered an amazing product that makes it last a lot more longer than it should. And yes, I have yet again jumped late onto the bandwagon:

Oh, hello you <3

GOSH's hot coral has a pretty shiny finish, but it's not as glossy as I would like it to be. But one slick of Seche Vite and Voila! I instantly have a glass-like finish and chip resistant nails. Although, it will start to chip away on day 3, which is not bad, considering GOSH's poor longevity. It makes me wonder, how on earth did I live without it? Hurray for Seche Vite!

Which nail colours have you been sporting lately?

P.S - I hope you will all join me in wishing Ben Duffy from Fenech-Soler a speedy and succesful recovery from Testicular Cancer. If you don't know who Fenech-Soler are, then do check out their latest single "Demons":

I was supposed to be seeing them playing at Manchester Academy 3 on Wednesday, but unfortunately, the news came out as a bit of a shock and they had to cancel their UK tour, naturally of course. Get well soon, Ben! Love. Love. Love.

Lady Danger in Istanbul Haulage.

2011-03-24T13:50:00.000-07:00

Hey hey!

On the way to Istanbul, I managed to get in some quality time with the duty free shops, any womans dream come true!

Usually I would go through just to browse and look for some tax-free bargains, but this time I already had an inkling as to what I was looking for:

LADY DANGER.

Isn't she bright?!

MAC describe this as a "Vivid Bright coral-red". I think it's more of a red shade as opposed to coral although there is definitely an orange-coral hue in it. And in different lighting, it can look like a variety of different shades ranging from coral-ish through to an intense red.

It's vivid. It's bright. It's stunning. Comes in a matte forumula which is a bonus for me as it's way more longer lasting than any other other MAC forumla I've come across. And what I mostly love about it is that it's one FIERCE colour.

In the sunshine, it looks more orangey and looks a bit similar to So Chaud just with more of a red tint to it.

I've been sporting this baby all week, yes, even at work. I can't remember the last time I wore a toned down, natural looking, nude lipstick? Haha. I blame my sister. She got me hooked to MAC's Impassioned and that's when the cravings for brighter lipsticks began. :D

Also, at duty free, I picked up Lancome's Hypnose Drama mascara as my L'oreal Voluminous had ran out.

I've tried the original Lancome Hypnose mascara and remember hearting it, too much. The only difference I've spotted between the two is that this has a tendency to clump! Don't get me wrong, I do love it, but what is up with those clumps?! Although, I do feel this gives you that false lash effect. It makes my lashes look thick and makes them crazy long, so long that it touches above the crease of my eyelids! Yay!

ISTANBUL SHOPPING

I didn't manage to do much shopping for myself in Istanbul. I did buy lots and lots of turkish delight :D Also, small gifts for friends and family.

In my last post I showed a photo of the grand bazaar. The word grand doesn't do it justice. It's MAD. It's just street, after street, after street of indoor shopping. I'm telling you now, haggling is not easy in there! It was nothing like Egypt's souks, the sellers were not really up for bargaining. And some of the prices were pretty steep! Although, I did manage to nab some bargains!

This bag is a beaut. I'm now using this as a make up bag and have popped it into my handbag. Loves it!

I love this ring! I've been asked by some if it's a mood stone. It looks like it, doesn't it? But naay. They had tons of rings from the old and battered to the brand spanking new, flashier ones. I got this from the old and battered section, haha! But after a little polish, it doesn't look too bad :)

Have you picked up any gems on your travels? Are you much of a haggler?

Hope you guys have had a great week so far and enjoyed the lovely sunshine. I bloody hope it lasts, but knowing Manchester, rain is just around the corner, haha!

My City Break: Istanbul in pictures!

2011-03-22T16:19:00.000-07:00

Hey hey!

Last week the Mr decided to take me away for a couple days to none other than Istanbul. I have been pining to go away for a while now.

When I got there, it was cold & wet. But it didn't really bother me (okay, I did moan... a bit) as there was so much to do and see :D

So anyway, I've decided that I'd like to share some of my holiday snaps with you guys. In a space of 2 days, I took around 350-400 pictures. Yes, I am most definitely snap happy. :)

Blue Mosque at night

Mmmmm.. Turkish Delight. Me & Aysh are obsessed over these!

Taksi!

Aaaaand strike a pose.

Kitty wanting a bit of Kebap action!

The Grand Bazaar.

Some of the vintage wares in the Antique Bazzar

Kitty thinking the boy has some food for him/her. SO cute. Wanted to take it home with me. :)

Inside the Blue Mosque.

Kitty!

That lonsome figure there is Mr DS :)

Sticking my finger in the "weeping" column. Apparently it will heal you? And if you manage to rotate 360 with your thumb inside, you will be granted one wish. I never managed to do it :(

Inside the Hagia Sophia. An absolute stunning view from the upper gallery.

After a hard day of sight seeing. :)

Overall, it was a great city break. I think it's good to get away just for a weekend, it is refreshing and you don't feel quite so jet lagged.

I usually travel to the middle east or onwards. So Istanbul was different. It felt very European, but also didn't lose it's sense of arabian charm, especially with all the carpet shops, mosques, the history and strong coffee. Also, I noticed that they call their kebabs, kebaps. Which I found hilarious. Oh, it really is the little things. :)

Now that I'm back, I'm already planning my next getaway. I'm thinking Abu Dhabi for the Grand Prix in November. I'm not really into the Grand Prix, but the boy is. I'm just interested in the shopping (Yes, I'm talking about you MUFE!). So it's win win all round! :)

Have any of you guys been away lately? Planning any holidays? Do let me let me know 'cause I'm just too nosey :P

SKINCARE: Out with the old. In with the new.

2011-03-15T08:17:00.000-07:00

Hello hello!

It's been a long old winter here in sunny Manchester, and my face has taken some punishment during it. Despite that, I feel that my skin has been behaving extremely well! Usually my skin is an absolute pain throughout the autumn/winter months, I always seem to get mini-breakouts and whiteheads! ARGH!

But as I said, this winter it has been very well behaved! Why? Well, I think it may have been down to my skincare regime. But you know me (and all other bloggers for that matter), I'm always on the lookout for something better. Even though my regime was working well, it just seemed to have something missing. So, I embarked on a mission. A mission to find a better routine...

First off, what I want my skincare to achieve is clear, bright, even skin. Who wouldn't want that? Now I have oily/combo: oily around the t-zone and pretty much normal around the cheek area. And I suffer from uneven skin tone. Mainly around the mouth and temples. Booo!

At the beginning of autumn, I had upgraded my skin care routine and picked 3 items for my quest for CLEAR, EVEN, BRIGHT skin. And here's my run-down on them:

(From left to right: Lumicen, Olay UV Fluid & Duac)

DUAC: As I had problems with whiteheads and literally NOTHING WORKED (Other than Alpha-H Liquid Gold & White Gold, which strangely enough, does not seem to work for me anymore :/), I visited my doctor as a last resort and alas, he prescribed me Duac which is a gel based cream. I actually blogged about my first initial thoughts on this back in September. I've still got just under half the tube left. I've been using this sparingly.

Mr Doctor instructed me to use this at night after cleansing, apply to areas where it's needed and to use a decent moisturiser as this would dry up my skin. So I applied this every night for first few weeks. At first, I peeled like a snake, my skin looked and felt dry and taut. My skin looked horrible! But I moisturied like mad with Olay UV Fluid which really helped soothe and calm down my skin. Over those few weeks, I noticed that most of my whiteheads seemed to have disappeared.

I then cut down usage of this to once or twice a week which explains why I have still have just under half of the tube left. This was definitely the corner-stone in my routine. I still use it now and again when I feel I'm about to get a spot coming on or see a bunch of those pesky whiteheads creeping up. Hallelujah for Duac!

Olay UV Fluid (Normal/Oily Skin): As I mentioned above, this was a lifesaver when I was shedding skin like a bloomin' lizard. It's a lotion and the consistency of this was light and easily absorbed into my skin without that yucky, greasy feel. This did not interfere with my make up, it did not make it slide around my face, it helped keep it put as you would expect from something that claims to be a great make up base.

Lumicen: I bought this after reading countless number of glowing reviews on this. it's supposed to be an overnight brightening treatment that helps reduce the size of your pores, help fade the appearence of discolourations and improve skin's texture and tone. Sounds perfect, doesn't it?
My main reason for buying this was to help me even out my skin tone and just to help it look much brighter.

I applied this every night religiously in hope of waking up to see some form of improvement. I'm sad to report this did absolutely NOTHING for my skin. No sign of brightness. No sign of even-ish looking skin. I couldn't possibly comment on the reduction of pore size as mine are quite small looking anyway, lucky me! Priced at £30.99, this was a big fat fail for me. :(

As a fickle blogger, I'm always on the hunt for something new, something way better than what i've already got. A couple of months ago, Spake NK held a 20% discount throughout the store. I hurtled towards the store and just went crazy and bought a load of products *guilty*. I've only just got round to using them a couple of weeks ago as winter is nearly over, it's time to upgrade my skin care regime!

Skin Doctors Accelerating Cleanser: So for cleansing, in the morning I'll use this baby. It is the only product I didn't buy from Space NK. I bought this from Boots for around £10. I was sold on this product when I came across Jo's review on this where she said it helped perk up her skin in the morning. It contains a form of Alpha hydroxy acid (lactic acid to be precise) which is supposed to help in getting rid of dead skin cells. So far I can't really tell much of a difference other than smoothness of my skin, it's not a massive difference but it looks like it could be working. Eeee!

Nude Cleansing Oil: I've been using this at night. I'd apply 2 pumps of this onto dry skin and massage and damp muslin cloth all over to remove the make up. After that, I'd rinse it off with water. This really does help melt off all the make up and grime. But occasionally, I feel like it's not enough and my skin feels like it has some form of residue on, it might just be me being paranoid so I end up using a bit of the Skin doctor's Accelerating Cleanser to double cleanse.

A bottle of this stuff will set you back around £24. But I managed to grab a few of these at the Space NK boxing day sale for £10! Although, it looked it like it could have been the old packaging but hey ho. Don't think I'll repurchase after I've gone through all the bottles, I don't see the difference between this and extra virgin olive oil. Can anyone tell the difference?

(From left to right: Sarah Chapman Skinesis Skin Tone Perfecting Booster, Sarah Chapman Skinesis Dynamic Defence SPF15, Sarah Chapman SkinesisOvernight Facial)

Oooh, don't the bottles look so posh?

At the 20% off Space NK sale, I knew I wanted Sarah Chapman's Overnight Facial after seeing Laura's skin care video. The promises of waking up to seeing glowing skin sold me. But seeing as everything was 20% off, I also purchased Sarah Chapman's Skin Tone Perfecting Booster & Dynamic Defence SPF15.

My initial thoughts on:

Sarah Chapman Skinesis Dynamic Defence SPF15: This is a day time moisturiser that comes with a built-in pump, suitable for all skin types. It's supposed to help protect skin from pollution and the sun. I've got mixed feelings on this though. It is moisturising enough for my skin, but I feel for someone with dry skin, this will not be enough. also, it's only SPF15. For something that costs a lot more than skin care off the high street, surely SPF15 is not enough to protect the skin through out a whole day? I don't know. Will see how this goes. If I find I start getting hyperpigmentated areas, this is deffo going to get a big thumbs down from me.

Sarah Chapman Skinesis Skin Tone Perfecting Boooster: After my crap experience with Lumicen, I thought I'd give this a go in my quest for perfectly even skin. Okay, I'm not expecting miracles. Just something that shows sign of improvment. This doesn't really smell of anything. And it comes with a pipette. And one drop is sufficient enough to cover my facial hyperpigmentated areas. So far, I've not seen any improvement but it's early days yet.

Sarah Chapman Skinesis Overnight Facial: This is probably the only thing I've used so far that has shown a difference. I usually use this when I'm having a late night or if I feel my skin is looking generally blah. It's basically an oil based serum, comes out with a pump and smells divine, mainly consisting of jasmine and rose. Mmmm! One pump is enough to cover the entire face and neck. In the morning, I find my skin has this natural looking radiance about it. Yay!

Obviously, this isn't a review on the Sarah Chapman products, more like my first thoughts on them. although I will be doing a follow up review on them in a month or two.

And finally:

Kiehl's Cryste Marine Firming Eye Treatment: I've tried the Creamy Avocado Treatment from Kiehl's which massively impressed me but it was far too rich for day time. So I purchased this one as it's more of a mousse texture. You need to really warm this up in between your fingers for it to turn to liquid-ish and then dab onto the eye area. Again, can't possibly comment on whether this works or not as I've only just got round to using it.

So yeah, there you have it! I will hopefully be putting up a more through review on these some time in the future to give you the full low down on them.

Have any of you used any of the products mentioned above? Do let me know how you got with them!

P.S - To the lovely girl that stopped me outside of Selfridges on Monday, HELLO! I'm sorry If I seemed quiet, I was just in shock that someone actually recognised me from my blog. Haha. I think you should definitely set up your own blog. Your make up was flawless, girl! :)

If any of you do spot me outside, please do come up and say hi, I think this time I will be more ready to talk, haha! :)

P.P.S - Thank you for all the birthday messages I recieved on Twitter. Yes, I turned 25 in the weekend. Shock horror! How did I get this old? Waaa!

OOTD - My Anniversary :)

2011-03-06T12:27:00.000-08:00

Hey guys!

What a weekend I've had. It involved lots of eating out, cinema, shopping, shisha & fun times! Haha.

Today is my first wedding anniversary. And I can't believe how quick the time has flown by. We went out for meal, the usual sort of thing to do for an anniversary :)

Mr Designer Spray bought me a nude swallow print blazer from H&M which I ADORE! And I'm quite impressed with his choice, I've never actually spotted this before in H&M or I'd have bought this as soon I I laid eyes on it. He just knows me too well. :)

Lo' & behold, here is the outfit:

Nude swallow print blazer - H&M (Courtesy of the Mr :D)
Gold plaited belt - Topshop
Black lace slip dress - Topshop
Heart tights - New Look
Diamante black panther ring - River Island

A bit about me & Mr DS

As most of you can probably tell, I am of Indian origin. And my husband is white. We've been together for just over 4 years. At first, it was tough with amount of abuse from random passers-by (mainly of Pakistani/Indian origin). It was hard to take at first. It made me really angry and upset. What kind of comments would I get? How about: "What happened? Did all the Pakistani men die?"

The obvious response in my head would be: "Well if they're anything like you, I wouldn't touch them with a 20 foot bargepole!"

Now, it does not really bother me much at all. I pity their shallow mindedness. And feel that I'm extremely lucky that I have the choice of being with someone that I actually love as opposed to meeting a stranger once or twice then get hitched. Not saying there is anything wrong with that, but I never understood it and don't think I could do it.

I also get the same kind of people tutting at me or even ask me as to why I don't wear "asian" clothes 'cause apparently that's not how "asian" girls are supposed to dress. To be honest, I find it quite humourous. Asking me questions like that will not make me more likely to start wearing what they want me to. I actually feel sorry for them. 1) Maybe because they're jealous they don't have the freedom of choice like I do & 2) If they're male, they're just shallow, sexist c**ts. HELLO! This is Britain. If you do not like the lifestyle here, please feel free to catch a plane to a destination which is more suited to your 'taste'. :)

Today we have reflected on the time we've been together. And the conclusion of it was, it was bloody worth it. I have the freedom of working, dressing how I please, going where I want, doing what I want and last but not least, actually being with someone that I LOVE. :D

Large love for the Mr ♥

P.S - The lipstick is So Chaud by MAC. Seriously obsessing over orange lippies at the moment. :)

OOTD - I'm too sexy for my mint blouse

2011-03-02T13:30:00.000-08:00

HELLO!

The title to this post actually makes me LOL. I was stuck for words when it came to titling this post so asked my lovely followers on Twitter, and that bloody Amina (:P) came up with this title. Haha, she cracks me up this lady. Bloomin' legend.

Right, onto the the actual post. I recieved a couple of e-mails from you lovely lot asking what sort of clothes I wear to work. I work in an office, so you need to dress all officey. But I find the box standard work kind of outfits are simply boring! And don't you just hate that plain black pencil skirt with a white shirt look? CRINGE.

I like to play around with colours and love the idea of contrasting brighter colours with darker colours. And I don't know about you, but personally I don't like to show my arms, I'm not insecure about them, I think they are slim looking but honestly do not have a clue what the reason is. :S

Here's what I wore today:

The boy making me larrf.

Sheer sleeved mint blouse - FM Boutique
Black bandage bodycon skirt - Ark
Gold buttoned cardigan - Topshop
Amour ring - Asos
Scissor necklace - Freedom, Topshop
Black leggings!

Yep, the sleeves are sheer but I don't think it's appropriate to wear to work. I'd save it for somewhere else such as going out for dinner or what not :) Also, leggings are actually allowed in my office, just as long it's worn with a long top or dress to avoid that dreaded camel toe look you see mainly teenagers sporting on a saturday in Primark.

Loving the colour mint at the moment. I wish I would come across a mint parka! Loving a bit of coral & peach too as you guys may know. Yes, the brighter, the better! :D

I also wear a lot of dresses too. If it's black, I'd wrap a gold belt around it and stick on a brightly coloured cardigan like turquoise or red.

And there you have it!

Also, I'd like to say I am gutted I couldn't make it to the National Beauty Blogging Event this week on Monday. I really missed my chance on meeting some fab bloggers. However, I am planning on going down to London this summer for a chance to meet a couple of bloggers. Man, I love networking <3

Happy Wednesday!

Love for my Coral Parka

2011-02-26T11:17:00.000-08:00

HIYA!

For the past week I've reeeally wanted to blog! I've got lots and lots of stoof to talk about but my laptop screen is flooked. So it's off to be repaired. But should be back with me by Tuesday, hopefully! Mental note: Never buy an Acer. They break waay too easily. I'm currently blogging via an 8 year old DELL pc, and it SUCKS! :(

I've been heavily relying on my crappy Blackberry to keep up with the world. And oh my, please do not get me started on Blackberry. Let's just say I am glad my contract ends in March. Hallelujah!

I've been dying to show you guys my new coral Parka from New Look. For weeks now, I've been eyeing up this Parka. But the brightness of the colour scared me. Yes, I'm a bright lipstick lover, but for clothes? TOO SCARED! But yesterday, I finally jumped into the deep end and went on an impulse buying mission. Yeah, I know, DANGEROUS!

At first, I was unsure if I made the right choice. So I took it home, tried it on and just thought "Bleh, DO NOT WANT TO KEEP THIS". So today I was on my way into town to return it, stupidly I didn't wear my coat outside and it was absolutely FREEZING. So I had no choice but to stick on the parka, and guess what, I began warming up to it. Cold wind a blessing in disguise? Maybe...

Just being me :)

Sorry for the shite picture. It was dark. Bleh. Roll on summer when I can finally take pictures in the sunshine. I'm sure most bloggers can relate.

In other news:

I would like to say a BIG THANK YOU to Asma from StyleFrost for declaring her love for my blog :P I am seriously flattered and honoured to be picked as one of her favourites. If you'd like to read her little feature on me, click HERE

Normal blogging shall resume next week, hopefully! :)

Serious Obsession: Vintage Handbags

2011-02-18T12:04:00.000-08:00

Hiya!

Anyone have the Friday feeling? Ooooooh yeah. It feeeeeels ohh sooooo goooood.

Recently, I've had this mad-crazy thing going on for Vintage bags. It all started completely by accident, I was wandering around in Topshop (as was usual at the time) looking for something to exchange with another failure of an internet purchase from their site. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a beauty of a bag. You may have seen it HERE...

It is a real beauty isn't it? But there's a problem with it. It stains real easily. If it goes within a metre of grass it gets a green tinge! Urgh! So I get this amazing bag and it's colour goes greeny/browny/blacky tinged!

I'd noticed the shop 'Cow' seemed to be a bit of a stylish second-hand vintage clothing and accessories shop . It's right next to the bus station in Manchester, and It feels like I spend half my life waiting for buses so I thought I'd go for a browse while I waited...

In there, they had a shed-load of vintage bags. Most of them were a bit rubbish but they had a few nice ones priced at about £15 - £20, bearing in mind these were second-hand cast-offs I thought it was a bit pricey. As it turned out, my bus turned up (on time for a change) so I had to make a mad dash accross the road.

While on the bus it occurred to me that these bags probably just came from a charity shop at a fraction of the price. All I'd have to do would be sift through all the mud to find a true gem. One bright sunday morning I went to my local charity shops, and found that I'd have to do a whole lot of sifting to find my gems!

But, alas! There was a rare gem. Check this badboy out:

This Burgundy bag stuck out like a sore thumb amid all the junk in the shop. This is uniquely coloured, distinct, stylish and smells amazing... or not!

It's like the Ferrari of vintage bags: it's red, it's sleek, it's sexy but it's got no room in the boot!

eBay

Another excellent place to buy old things. Ha! Type in "Vintage" or "Vtg" and a ton of items appear up, pages upon pages of the good stuff!

This white bag was also a stand-out number, but it came from eBay for £3. It's by a company called Shilton. I'd never heard of them but apparently they're expensive brand new.

Check out the pen and card holders!

It's quite roomy and ideal for everyday usage.

Primark

Next up is Primark's attempt at a vintage satchel. It's actually really pretty! And is selling like hot-cakes.

It's not used or second-hand, but it looks old-fashioned and a bit battered! Maybe that happened in transit between India, Spain and England though... (silence)

It's not compartmentalised at all, but i'd grab one while you can. A bargain at a mere £7!

And thus ends the vintage post. Technically they weren't all vintage, but nonetheless they give off a vintage appearance and look damn good!

Are you into vintage bags? Where do you go to find yours? Oh... and happy weekend!

OUTFIT & FACE: Lightning Bolt Sheer Sleeved Dress

2011-02-13T09:14:00.000-08:00

Hi-de-hi!

Some time last week, I stumbled across a clothing website which had me in complete awe. They had incredibly gorgeous dresses in abundance, blouses & tops which you would find in Topshop for double or even triple the price. What website I hear you plea?

Missguided.

Why didn't I know about them earlier?

Anyway, I ordered a dress that reminded me of a top I bought from Topshop. The dress has the most gorgeous embellishment on it shaped in the form of a lightning bolt, just like the top I bought from Topshop a few months ago which actually cost me £30+ where as this dress cost £28.99.

I received my parcel from them earlier this week and couldn't wait to wear it out. So yesterday, I wore it out for a meal with the boy :)

OUTFIT

The sleeves! Look at those sleeves!

Check out that embellishment! I swear, if this was sold in Topshop it would probably cost at least £50. In case you can't tell I'm having a real love/hate relationship with Topshop at the moment.

I am LOVING the whole sheer sleeve trend going around just now, and my wardrobe is quickly being crammed up with sheer sleeved anythings!

This ring is absolutely stunning. I'm not sure what's it's even supposed to be. But in my opinion, the bigger the ring, the better! Hehe!

And because it was pretty cold yesterday and I didn't fancy wearing my coat over the dress, I put on trusty cardigan from Primark which was around £8.

Lightning Bolt Dress - Missguided (Current Season)
River Island Grey Snake & Heart Gem Ring - ASOS (Current Season)
Polka Dot tights - New Look
Chunky Cream Longline Cardigan - Primark (Current Season)

FACE

The lipstick I'm sporting here in Barry M's Lip Paint in 'Sunset'. I think it's a pretty new colour. This is definitely a spring/summer colour, it had a mixture of Coral & Red. Lovely.

Foundation

Bobbi Brown Natural Skin Finish Foundation Natural Tan

Blush

MAC 'Warm Soul'

Eyes

MAC 'Sable' E/S (Lid)
MAC 'Beauty Marked' E/S (Outer corner & crease)
Bourjois 'Beige Rose' E/S (Highlight, inner corner & brow bone)
Bourjois 'Liner Pinceau' Noir
L'oreal Voluminous Mascara in Black

Lips

Barry M Lip Paint '151' 'Sunset'

And there you have it, darls!

Hope you've all a wonderful weekend. I've been super busy. And I've also been doing Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. Just completed Day 8. And I can already see a difference, especially on my waist. Last time I quit on Day 11, Level 2 played havoc on my wrists :S

A day in the life of my hair.

2011-02-12T13:53:00.000-08:00

HiHiHi!

It is finally the weekend and boy am I glad! Plus, the temperature seems to be rising outside which is definitely making me a very happy lady indeed. Oh yes, Spring is coming. I know, some of you must be sick of me banging on about the weather time and time again, I just love warmth and sunshine!

ANYWAY. I recieved a few requests from some of you guys asking how I style my hair.

My hair: It's fine, it's not abundant, it's not sparse, it's slap bang in the middle.

I haven't visited the hairdressers in over a year, I've just been chopping my own hair. I used to pay around £50 for a haircut at Toni n Guy, my regular stylist was an absolute gem. Out of all the stylists I've had in the past, she was the only one that knew what I wanted. But £50 a time got a bit too much. So I cut my own now. Back in the day, I trained to become a stylist which is the reason my haircut doesn't look completely botched (I hope) haha! My cut has lots of short, chipped layers, shorting at the back, graduations at the front, and a side swept fringe. Fine haired ladies, you need a decent cut with lots of short layers to get that volume. No point putting volumising products in because at the end of the day, your hair would look as flat as a pancake.

My roots have a tendency to get quite oily, and dry shampoo is out of the question. Mainly because when I get out of bed, my short layers stick up like I've got a mohican. Niiice. Or not. So I wash it every day! Unless I put in up into a bun which I do around twice in a week to give the hair a break.

I shampoo my hair with Dabur's Vatika Root Strengthing Shampoo & Conditioner which I bought from my local Asian/Desi store. I don't apply conditioner to my roots. That'd just make my hair limp.

I oil my hair 3 times a week. And when I mean oil, I apply coconut oil at night, massage it into my scalp and hair, then leave it on overnight then wash it out in the morning. This has really helped strengthen my hair and found I don't get much breakage after all the abuse I've put it through! Coconut oil is super easy to wash out in my experience.

Now here's what I use to style:

Toni & Guy Boost it Mousse (this is a spray on mousse)

John Frieda's 3 day style

A big round brush

Hair clip (forgot to picture, woops)

Lee Stafford's My Big Fat Texturised Hair Super Spray

So first of all, detangle your hair with a wide tooth comb. Then spray on a bit of Toni & Guy's Boost it mousse onto your roots in random sections.

Try not to apply too much. You want to avoid that crisp, stiff, hard looking hair. Yuk.

Next up, spray on some of John Frieda's 3 Day Straight onto the mid-lengths & ends leaving out the roots. I use about 4-5 sprays.

Then comb through to distribute the product throughout the hair.

Grab a section of the hair and section it off with a sectioning clip. Always start off from the back of the head.

Then begin blowdrying. Always lift up the hair with the round brush from the root to create volume.

Now pull your hair through with the brush until this section is dry.

Keep sectioning off chunks of your hair and repeat the blowdrying process.

When you come up to the crown area, pay extra special attention to the roots, lift up the roots with the brush at a 90 degree angle and blast it dry. You want maximum volume.

Do the same with the fringe. Remember, the higher you lift the brush, the more volume you get.

It should look something like this after blowdrying.

I then straighten the ends with my Corioliss straighteners. I never touch the roots with the straightners, otherwise I'll be undoing all the volumising magic!

To enchance the look and make it look more texturised and shattered, I spray on a little bit of Lee Stafford's My Big Fat Hair Super Spray through random sections.

Then scrunch up your hair to distirubte the product roughly through your hair.

PHEW!

RESULT?

LOVE!

As my hair is quite short, it does not take me long to do it up in the morning. It takes roughly 10 minutes. 15 at most.

How do you guys do your hair? Any other fine haired ladies with tips? Do share! :)

Wordless Wednesday: A typical day in Manchester.

2011-02-09T12:22:00.000-08:00

NAILS: Barry M Indigo

2011-01-31T13:43:00.000-08:00

Hello hello!

I'm a huge fan of Barry M's Nail Paints. And I do own quite a few of them of, priced at £2.95, you can't go wrong.

A while ago, my sister recommended Indigo to me. At first, it looked very similar to their Cobalt Blue colour which is a deep blue. But in the light, it had this hue of indigo which looks incredibly gorgeous! So it's really a mixture of blue & purple. Lovely.

Stunning, isn't it?

I'm hoping to own ALLLL of the Nail Paints at some point. These guys really do have a vast range of stunning colours includings neons & pastels. Get in!

What's your fave Barry M Nail Paint?

P.S - The ring is from Girl Props =)

OOTD - Hello Spring!

2011-01-23T11:41:00.000-08:00

Hey, guys!

Bad blogger alert! I know, it's been an eternity since I last posted. My excuse? Laziness mixed with busy-ness mixed with even more laziness.

Some of you may know about my never-ending infatuation with Summer. I have been receiving e-mails from the likes of Topshop and Miss Selfridge talking about their new Spring/Summer collections which made me literally jump for joy. I know it may be like 4 degrees outside, but Spring is nearly here! Kind of.

Anyhoos, I knew I had to visit Manchester's Arndale and have a look at the new collections. Topshop was a bit blah, the main theme seemed to be mustard coloured. New Look surprisingly had some really nice things in. Their shirts really stood out. I only went and purchased three of the same shirts but in different colours, haha =P

As today's been (another) lazy day, I threw on one of the blouses, which are chiffon so it's pretty sheer. I clearly am not brave enough to go bare so I wore a black basic vest underneath. Teamed with a bodycon skirt and a pair of tights, you can't go wrong.

LOOKBOOK

Sheer Chiffon Shirt - New Look
Basic Black Bodycon Skirt - H&M
Polka Dot Tights - New Look
Telescope Necklace - Zara Taylor
Leather Camera Ring - Freedom, Topshop

I bought the shirt in a size 10 as I LOVE the whole oversized shirt look that's going around at the moment. Same thing can't be said for the skirt which I also bought in a 10, it's a little loose, baaaah, should have got it in a size 8 =(

And there you have it you gorgeous people!

Have any of you bought anything from the new Spring collections in stores? Link me up to your posts! =)

REVIEW: Bobbi Brown Natural Finish Foundation

2011-01-15T04:58:00.000-08:00

Hello hello!

This foundation whore is back for another review of lets guess, errm, foundation! Ahaha.

I for one am SUPER GLAD this week is finally over. It's been one hell of a week. And for those of you that follow me on Twitter will know what's been going on...

But yes, it's finally over and I am going to have a seriously well earned chilled out weekend. :)

Through all my woes, there one thing that stuck by me. That's right, Bobbi Brown's Natural Finish Foundation. Ha!

It's true. This foundation is truly long lasting.

This was on my list to buy months ago. And I'm glad I finally got my hands on it.

So what do I want from a foundation? I want close to spot on shade, I want it long lasting, I want something that will make me look as shine-free as possible, and last but not least, I want to avoid that dreaded white cast you get in flash photography. *shudders*.

In my quest for my foundation Holy Grail, I've been through few a fair few brands, formulae and shades. While a few have raised my hopes and made my heart flutter momentarily, they have agonisingly ticked three of the boxes and just when I think: "I've found it!" they've delivered crushing blows and demolished my hopes. *sad face*

I expected Glam-X to give me a nigh-on perfect shade & prevent the flashback photo face. And it did, but the longevity was awful and it felt like crap on my face. At that point I was so used to MAC Studiofix, I didn't even realise that formulation was such a big deal.

MAC Studiofix fluid's forumulation was a dream! It lasted ages, I didn't need to apply much powder throughout a full working day and I'd still have a radiant 'glow'. Sounds perfect, no? Yeah, but the colour wasn't ME. NC37 was the closest match, but when I was tanned I'd use NC40.

In reality though, I feel I'm inbetween those shades. Why have MAC decided to just skip from 37 to 40? Where is NC38 & NC39? GAAH. Also, the colour is not warm enough. And as I've said before in my Glam-X post, MAC's NW range is waayy too orange. I want a bit of warmth, not orange, pfft.

Bobbi Brown was my last resort, I never paid too much attention to them as they didn't seem as fashionable as MAC or NARS. But I'd read that their foundations were yellow-based and more suited to Asian skin tones and formulations for all skin-types. What was there to lose? (Other than money!)

I did have some issues at the beginning getting matched at the counters. They initially matched me to a 5.5 Warm Honey but this was way too dark. Why do make up artists have a habit of doing this?! I asked for foundation, not a bloody bronzer! I say this time and time again. After much ado (long story), I managed to get hold of some samples of lighter shades. And within those samples, beaming out at me with it's golden aura, was 4.25 Natural Tan.

There were many forumulations to choose from, in the end I went for the Natural Finish Foundation as it was oil free which is more suited for my oily/combination skin.

Here is what Bobbi Brown have to say about it:

"Oil-free, all-day wear so you'll have soft-matte, even-looking skin without having to pile on powder throughout the day. Made with sponge-like powders absorb excess oil on the surface of the skin, while emollients lock in moisture to ensure skin remains perfectly balanced. Transfer-resistant formula helps create a barrier against heat and humidity for 8 hours of wear. Even in the most humid climates, makeup stays in place. And like all of Bobbi's foundations, the
shades are yellow-based for a natural look. Perfect for oily and normal/combination skin."

Sounds lush.

TONE, CONSISTENCY & APPLICATION

Looking at the picture above, it is immediately apparent it is warmer than NC37 and is clearly not orangey. The consistency is quite runny. But not as runny MAC's Face & Body, think NARS Sheer Glow. And it blends seamlessly into the skin easily.
Through trial & error I've came to the conclusion that this goes on much better with fingers or my MAC 109 brush. At first I used to use my ELF powder brush but realised I needed to use 3 pumps! and yes, guys, it comes with a pump, woop!

Can you see the foundation being soaked up? Which explains why the foundation didn't show up much on my skin. Big apologies to Nazneen to whom I recommended to use ELF's Powder brush for her BB foundation. Sorry, girl! The brush is great for buffing in powder :)

FORMULATION, FINISH, & LONGEVITY.

Two pumps was enough for me, one pump would have left me with sheer coverage. It is definitely buildable but it doesn't cover imperfections such as scars as well as Studiofox Fluid. If you do want to build it up, you'd need to let it dry first then apply another layer on top.

My skin at the moment is relatively clear (touch wood) but as I do have the odd scar on my cheek I dab on my Make Up Forever Full Cover concealer to cover any imperfections.

One thing is for sure, the finish does look natural like it says on the bottle. It dries to a semi matte finish so it doesn't look shiny, although throughout the day I notice my skin begins to look much dewier, probably due to my natural oils breaking through. But it doesn't get to the point of looking shiny. At times I get a bit self-conscious and just want to look flat out matt, so I'll dust a bit of MAC's Prep & Prime powder on top.

Another thing I've noticed with this is that it is probably the best foundation I've tried for hyperpigmentation. I've got quite a bit of pigmentations around my temples and around the mouth and this really helps even it out without looking grey.

It also contains SPF15. And you know SPFs can leave that horrid white cast in flash photography, but in this case, it doesn't!

Here's some cam whoring pictures for proof:

In case you're wondering, I'm wearing MAC's Chatterbox on ze lips, obvs. Laaav it!

My skin looks dewy & the foundation is still on even though the picture was taken at night. Just goes to show how long lasting this foundation really is. Also, doesn't it just look like real skin instead of looking 'too done'?

WOULD I REPURCHASE?

Absolutely. It cost £28 but I am happy to pay for a foundation that actually lives up to it's claims and matches my skin tone as close to real. And if my skin carries on behaving, then this is the foundation for me. I love that it minimises the look of hyperpigmentation without looking like you just shoved the wrong foundation shade on it. Is this holy grail material? Probably. I wouldn't say it's perfect but certainly close. The only downside is that it doesn't cover scarring as well as MAC's Studiofix Fluid.

I wouldn't recommend this foundation to anyone that has problematic skin, acne scarring or skin that needs heavy coverage. As this is a light foundation. But it's great for evening out skin tone.

And there you have it, dolls!

Have you tried this foundation? Have you found your HG foundation?

NAILS: Gosh - Holographic

2011-01-10T11:44:00.000-08:00

Hello, m'dears!

The other day I came across Milly's post on GOSH's Holographic nail polish and it reminded me that I had this little beaut lying around in one of my boxes of nail polishes (Anyone else store their nail stuff in a shoe box?). I dug it out and tried to remember myself why I stopped showing it any love?

The result?

Pretty! It definitely lives up to it's name.

But why did I decide to chuck this in my box and leave it to be forgotten about? The application was okay. I didn't find it steaky but I did find I needed to apply 3 coats to make it completely opaque and for the full holographic effect. It also chips like crazy! I usually paint my nails at night, I found the next day it began chipping away like there was no tomorrow. And by 4pm, it started looking like I've had this stuff on my nails for about a week. EWWW! And chipped nail polish is a pet peeve of mine.

*chucks bottle back into the unwanted box of polishes*

I'd love to try out another holographic polish that lasts. Any recommendations, darls?

Winter Sales Haulage!

2011-01-06T12:25:00.001-08:00

Hiya!

I'm not one to go to the sales. I'm not really up for fighting it out with battle-hardened, seasoned pros over some clothes and what not. Usually I go about 5 or 6 days later when all that's left is the junk that no-one in their right mind would even look at twice!

This year, I spotted that the sales started online on christmas eve! I never knew this happened! I woke up at 6:30am that day to check out the topshop online sale but most of the good stuff was already gone! OMG!

I really wanted to go to the high street asap to bag some bargains, but after hearing so many horror stories about boxing day I thought I'd hold out til the 27th.

Even then it was horrific, in the Topshop at the Manchester Arndale Centre there were just so many crazed women with fire in their eyes pushing, shoving and elbowing other crazed women out of the way in the name of bargain-hunting! At first I was all "Oh, excuse me, can I just have a look here..?" or "Can I just squeeze past you there please?" but no. No amount of politeness got me anywhere.

So what did I do? I rolled up my sleeves, upped my game and started putting myself about a bit. Ended up walking out of Topshop pretty happy in the end! I nabbed a few more bargains from Boots, H&M, Miss Selfridge and a special mention for my Space NK bargain bag!

So here's the goodies:

TOPSHOP

Cost me £3.00! I'm usually the type to go for smokey, neutral eye shadow. But seeing as turquoise is my fave colour, I'd love to see how I get on with this.

This bronze purse I nabbed for £8.00 is an absolute beaut.

I remember really wanting this a couple of months ago but could not justify buying it for £35. I was over the moon to see this for £15. Woop woop!

This glittery oversized kimono I bagged for £20.00. It was originally £45!

But this is my fave from all of the above. This camel toned mesh dress was once priced at £50 was dropped down to £25! I was one happy lady when I whipped it off the rails.

H & M

I'm really into minty colours at the moment. From nail polish to clothes. This went from £20 to £10. I had no choice to but to buy it!

HABITAT

I have no idea why I walked into this shop but I'm glad I did. I stumbled across acrylic storage boxes for £6. So I bought 2. And as you can see, I've already filled some of them up. :)

BOOTS

This was a neccessary purchase. My Toni n Guy hairdryer broke a few months ago so I've been living with a travel dryer which was rubbish! The hairdryer cost me £25. LoveloveLOVE the Zebra print.

MISS SELFRIDGE

Miss Selfridge had some stunning pieces of jewellery on sale. The store in Manchester city centre is pretty tiny and cramped and there was no way I was going in there. So I bought these online. Super glad they weren't sold out :)

& Last but not least..

SPACE NK

Yep, that's Frederic Fekkai! I seriously could not believe my eyes when I saw these were half price! So all together it cost me around £18.00? But apparently I had £5 on my Space NK card so I got another few pounds of the price to bring it to around £12!! BARGAIN! I'll start using these when my Himalaya Protein Shampoo & Conditioner runs out.

And that's it!

This has been the best sale EVAR. For me, anyway..

What did you buy from the sales? How was it for you? Aggressive? Or not too bad? Let me know, ladies!

Guest blogger - The little beaut (runt) that is my sister.

2011-01-04T12:06:00.000-08:00

'ey up my ducks :)

My little sister Sanah has been bugging me for aaaaages to to let her guest blog on DesignerSpray. She reckons she's better than her older sister (Moi of course) at applying eyeshadow. Pffft. I'll let you guys decide.. =P

Over to Sanah!

"Hello dearest followers of THE DesignerSpray....

This is I...Fellow sibling of the one you admire/hate ;P

Seriously... I’m meant to be revising.... January exams are coming up and I’m DEAD!!!! AARRGH!!!

I guess it’s time for me to guest blog on this blog! How many times am I gonna say ‘blog’???

Anyway let’s cut to the shizzles.....

The other day we had a big family get together and had a fab RAW ‘food poison inducing’ roast. Sorry the chicken looked amazing but turned out it was ‘RARE’ in the middle... by ‘rare’ i mean cooked on the outside and ‘pink’ from the inside. Kudos to the gourmet chef (older sister) who managed to accomplish the ‘rare’ essence of the food... But in my family, we simply would not accept ‘pink’ meat. So back in the oven it goes to turn into gorgeous rubber. Just kidding... lol... The veggies were amazing though.

Here’s a deceiving picture of the chicken that looked cooked:

Anyways, as i said... lets cut to the good stuff... OMG i ramble tooooo much

We started doing MakeOvers.... LOVE MAKEOVERS

It gives me a chance to practise my makeup skills and try out new colour combinations...

I used my older sister as my model and tried to see if blue and gold made a good combination and to see if i could blend them together without making it look like i just plonked on two colours.

Here’s the finished look....

Incase you wondering... the gold colour i used was a Barry M Dazzle Dust which i am in love with...shade #44 Bronze. And the blue colour was a dark royal/navy blue which i found in my recently purchased sparkle pallate by sleek. I mainly used the third blue (Galactic) on the top from the left...and i darkened that out with the darker navy blue, Twinkle (top row third from right). I know, sleek started naming their eyeshadows...Thats so useful for blogging purposes. :D

The funny thing was, it took me a long time to find out how to blend the colours together... i thought i blended it well until MsDesignerSpray comes to have a look and said, ‘Aren’t you gonna blend that’. I looked at her and said; ‘Yeah i am... duh’.... so i took a fluffy brush and lightly pressed in the lid of the barry m pigment (this allows me to get minimal amount of product on the brush)...and i placed the brush on the end part of the gold and swept it lightly over the blue. It blended beautifully.

I lined the top lash line with regular liquid eyeliner and I lined it the standard way with a little flick. Nothing too drastic.

I also attempted to do an arabic wing with the blue eyeshadow (this is the reason i didnt go overboard with the top liner). So I lined the bottom lash line with Glactic (from sleek palette) and extended the line upward following the lower lash-line.

You cant tell much with the picture but i used a light highlighter between the shadow and the liner to emphasise the gap.

I finally used Boujour’s kohl eyeliner pencil (black) to line the waterline (a good alternative to mac smoulder...in my opinion). Oh yeah and mascara lol...

A lil well known tip... set the eyeliner with some matt black eyeshadow, it will stay on all day... trust me... i use a stiff flat eyeliner brush and press the black eyeshadow on the lash line. Three pats required...one pat in the inner corner...one pat in the middle and one last pat on the outter end... pat pat pat... one lil step to long lasting eyeliner. :D

Further tip... I finished off with a nude lip with a bit of clear-ish gloss... I dont think i used blush... I just lightly contoured the cheeks bones and nose. :D

BTW... Im sorry about the picture quality and photography skills... I had to use my iphone camera... which claims to be HD... But not HD enough...

So thats the end of my break time... need to go and revise about gastric secretion... lol...

Any questions.... Please feel free to ask me!!!! :D

Good day

My little ‘Pineapple Chunks’ hahaha!!!"

Thanks for that, Sanah! I'm now starting to think she maybe better than me... Bah, I better get practising!

Hope you've all enjoyed yourself throughly through the festive season. We're now back to reality. Farewell bank holidays, see you in April : (

Oooh, I've also started the Dukan diet with Natalie. We will be skinny bitches in now time. :D

OOTD - Stethoscope Love

2010-12-28T09:02:00.000-08:00

Hello, ladies & gents.

To those of you that celebrate Christmas, hope you guys had an awesome day! I personally do not celebrate it but the family do a roast with all the trimmings. Mmmm... Plus, it's good to have a good few days off. Back to work t'moro. BOO!

Yesterday, I braved the sales. It was horrendous. I did manage to get some bargainlicious goodies. I will be doing another post on my purchases and experience.

Anyways, before I headed out for the sale, I decided to wear my beloved black bodycon skirt with a basic black vest, topped with a mint green kimono & last but not least, a stethoscope. Err.. what? A stethoscope? YEP!

Okay, it's not a real stethoscope. It's made out of solid brass. The boy surprised me the other week with this brand spanking gorgeous necklace. Which he cheekily ordered from Galibardy's Boutique. I love it SO much. I've been wearing this most weekends with a basic vest or dress just to jazz up the outfit. Ideally I would wear this everyday but I can't see me getting away with wearing this to work. :'(

Black Vest - Topshop
Black Bandage Bodycon Skirt - Ark
Mint Green Kimono - H & M
Rabbit Ring - Primark
Belt - Asos

And there you have it!

Did any of you brave the sales? And for those of you that celebrated Christmas, what pressies did you get? Tell meeee! I love hearing about what people got. I know that Rhamnousia got an Audi R8. I think I hate this lady. Too much :P

New bag, sunnies & rings :)

2010-12-20T14:12:00.000-08:00

Hello, lovelies.

I'm sorry I've been away for a while. I have been ill and just generally feeling mleh. And now we've got bloody snow now. It was -10 this morning in Manchester whilst I was on my way to work. To make matters worse, the door on the bus I was travelling on couldn't shut so we had gusts of bitter coldness coming in. Brrrrrr. Snow, bugger off already please? The novelty has worn off.

Amongst all the chaos, I'd like to thank Royal Mail for managing to deliver my parcels. I know they can be unreliable at the best of times but they've been pretty good in my area lately. Feeding my parcel addiction. NomNomNom Parcels...

Err... Anyway, the other week I placed an order with Girl Props. They do jewellery & sunnies for silly cheapo prices. The shipping charge is crap though, $9 or something for international shipping? Pah.

Anyhoos, whilst browing their website, I came across a couple of amaaazing looking rings, quite unique actually. I wanted most of them but meh, I'll buy bits from them once a month, ahaha.

Told you they were amaaaazing. I've already smothered it in clear nail varnish to keep them the way they are. Don't you just hate it when the colour of your rings start disppearing? Plus now I feel like Batman, just with sound-effect rings instead of real punches.

I also bought a pair of these Chanel look a like sunnies. Ya a know, it's winter but how could I resist? And what better way to get yourself through these dull, cold, short days than to do some early prep work for summer 2011? Srsly, the thought of preparing for Summer does really help to get through this crapola weather.

Cue cam whore :)

Mmmm... It feels like summer already. Sort of.

Who can resist these babies? Definitely Chanel looking and for a steal at $9.99. (By the way, I'm not affiliated these guys, I just can't get over how cheap some of the stuff is :D)

And last but not least, I treated myself to a new handbag. Not like I don't have enough as it is :P

I got this baby from Topshop. 100% real leather. I'm gutted that I've already stained it a little (yeah, thanks a lot MAC's Impassioned, urgh). it may look small but there are 3 slots in there so I can fit all kinds of unnessary things that girls like to carry around, you girls know what I mean? :D If you're a dude, you NEED to get this bag for your other half, I can't see no girl not wanting this bag, if they don't want it, I will be happy to take it off your hands, ahah! :P

Winner of the Sugababes Eau de Toilette giveaway!

2010-12-13T11:32:00.000-08:00

Sorry I'm late with this. I've been pretty ill for the past few days. Booooo!

I'd like to thank all of you that entered. And don't worry if you've not won this time, I will be sure to feature more giveaways on ye ol' blog. :)

The winner is:

AYSHA!

Congrats, lady! I've just sent you an e-mail asking for your address for the sponsor.

X

OOTD & FOTD - Faithless

2010-12-06T14:27:00.000-08:00

Hey, girlfriends.

On Saturday, I went to see the legandary Faithless at the MEN arena. So I thought I'd use this opportunity to make an outfit of the day post, just for you! Ahaha. But wait, there's more! I've also thrown in a complimentary mug shot, along with snap shots of my falsies. Err, wait, falsies? I've always been hopeless at applying them, but I am slowly getting to grips with them. More on that later. Onto the outfit :)

OUTFIT

Embellished Cream Chiffon Dress - Topshop (Bought off eBay)
Black Boyfriend Cardigan - Market stall in Manchester
Black Skinny Waist belt - Asos
Nails - Barry M Indigo

I love this dress, too much. The embellishment is beautiful with a capital B. I first spotted this dress in Topshop last year I think, but it was for a whopping £80!! I really, really wanted it but just could not justify buying it. I've been lemming for it since. And then a couple of weeks ago I spotted it on eBay and I knew I just had to have it. It's in a size 6 but it was still quite floaty so I wrapped a belt around to pull it together. :)

FACE OF THE DAY

*Face*
Bobbi Brown Natural Finish Foundation - Warm Natural (Review coming soon!)
MAC Prep & Prime powder

*Cheeks*
MeMeMe Blush Me! - Coral

*Lips*
MAC Chatterbox

*Eyes*
MAC Mythology e/s (lid)
MAC Black Tied e/s (crease & lower lashline)
NARS Abyssinia e/s (highlight)
Bourjois Liner Pinceau Noir
Korres Soft Eyeliner Pencil in White

Cheapo eBay lashes
L'oreal Voluminous Mascara

I first spotted these lashes on Abbie's blog. After seeing the pictures & the price (£3.58, including postage), I knew I had to have these. I used none other than Duo Adhesive which is also pretty amazing, love the fact it dries clear. I'm going to carry on practising with these lashes until I'm confident in applying them, then I'm going to venture out and try Eylure & Ardell.

I used these lashes for this look & I went completely falsies crazy and put on three layers! Yep, one on top of the other :D It felt weird at first, but hey, if Michelle Phan can do it, so can I, haha! :)

And there you have it, lovelies.

By the way, Faithless were amazing. I ended up at the front as per usual. I danced (badly), sang (screamed) along with songs & went home an absolute wreck.

This is Music Matters. One of my fave songs of all time.

Simon Cowell would never understand music like this. Because this is real music. Music is not all about making money. It's about going on a journey of discovery. Faithless have evolved so much from their first album in 1996. And with every album they just get better & move in different directions. In 14 years time, will we be able to say the same thing about any X Factor winners?

CLOSED - REVIEW: Sugarbabes "Tease" Eau de Toilette & giveaway!

2010-12-03T15:00:00.000-08:00

Hands up, who's a fan of celebrity perfumes? Anyone? No, me neither. I never have taken these celebrity perfumes seriously. Britney was the first I came across bringing out her own perfume, I tried about 3 different types and they matched expectations. Sickeningly sweet. They were probably more suited for teenagers in my opinion who like super floral fragrances.

The second one I tried was Sarah Jessica Parker's "Lovely", it smelt like it was trying to be sophisticated but failed miserably. Sorry, SJP!

Next up for me was J LO's "Live". A friend recommended it to me, I saw the bottle and thought it was worth a try. It's another floral scent but it was the most decent of the five. I didn't hurry back to repurchase. It was just OK. Nothing special.

So after my experiences with these celebrity perfumes, I've tended to avoid them at all costs. It probably doesn't help that all manner of low grade tabloid celebrities jump on the "Release my own fragrance" bandwagon (Yes, looking at you, Katie Price!).

I'd succesfully avoided these perfumes for a couple of years, until the other week when I recieved an e-mail from a representative of the Sugababes asking if i would like to try out one of their new range of perfumes.

There were 3 to choose from. At first, I thought "FAIL". I'm not even a fan, their music is debatable, but hey ho. I picked the most appealing of the 3. I picked "Tease". Here is what they have to say about it:

"Sexy and sultry, Tease is full of passionate tempo, an intoxicating cocktail of zesty lemonade and juicy pear with luscious jasmine and seductive magnolia."

I'm a jasmine girl. I adore the stuff. In India they can't get enough of it, those of you that love Lush's "Flying Fox" shower gel will know why. It's such an overpowering scent, and it's incredibly exotic and sultry.

Now, what did I think of the fragrance? Jasmine was the main scent in this which has a big thumbs up from me. I could smell a hint of zestyness but pear & magnolia were both conspicuous by their absence. Which to be honest didn't really bother me, more room for Jasmine =D.

It has to be noted that is an Eau de Toilette therefore the longevity of this perfume leaves a lot to be desired. After an hour or so, it's just gone! At first I thought it might just be my nose becoming desensitised to the smell. So I asked a few other people to catch a whiff off me, haha. But even they couldn't smell it! So I let them test out the perfume and they agreed, the longevity is pants. Period.

But then again, as this is an Eau de Toilette fragrance, let's not judge it by that.

Would I go out and buy this with my hard earned cash? Probably not. But do I like the smell of it? Absolutely. If it came out in Parfum, I'd be all over this like jam on toast. In my opinion, this is a really uplifting fragrance perfect for anyone looking for something quite fresh & youthful. This is nothing like Britney's pre-teen perfumes though, it is far more mature without losing it's sense of fun.

In the mean time, I'm keeping this in my handbag, the bottle doesn't seem to take up much room in it.

GIVEAWAY TIIME!

Okay ladies, now here's what you've all been waiting for! The ~~Sugababes~~ rep is giving away one full size bottle of one of their brand new fragrances. As this is a sponsored giveaway, I will be holding the competition and the sponsor will be sending out the prize. Here are your choices:

So, would any of you ladies (or gentlemen) like to get your mitts on a bottle of the Sugababes perfume? If so, then all you have to do is:

1) You must be a follower.

2) Comment below to let me know which of the perfumes you would like to win along with your name & e-mail address so I can contact the lucky winner .

3) Join this facebook page http://www.facebook.com/SugababesFragrances. The sponsor of giveaway will be checking this.

4) Must live in the UK. Sorry, guys!

This competition will run for a week, and will end on the 10th December 2010 22.00 GMT. I will announce the winner the following day.

Good luck ladies!

Sugababes Tease, Tempt & Touch are availabe in 100ml bottles at The Perfume Shop priced at £19.99.

OOTD - Lightning Bolt Tee

2010-11-27T09:23:00.000-08:00

Hello there!

So Friday night I went out. It was bladdy freeeezing. Luckily we've not had any snow here in Manchester or I'd be kissing goodbye to my social life. Let's just put it this way, me and ice have been arch-enemies for a long time.

When I'd heard that the weather was going to be extremely cold this week I was really dreading the prospect of icy pathways everywhere! Argh!

But then I saw this top in Topshop, and all the talk of cold weather was put straight out the window! I fell head-over-heels for it, there was also a nude version with bronze shiny bits which I also wanted badly. In the end though, sensible me won out and I plumped for the blue one. Though, there could be a rematch next time I'm in there. Watch out sensible me!

Anyhoos, here is the top with my trusty bandage bodycon skirt:

JEWELLERY

Lightening Bolt Tee - Topshop
Black bandage bodycon skirt - Ark
Black opaque tights - Primark
Blue crystal ring - From a souk in Cairo, Egypt. I bought this last year. Lovelovelove.
Black chain ballets - eBay

And there you have it!

Did any of you guys get snow? if so, ner ner :P

Lime Crime-ing it up with Countessa.

2010-11-24T13:19:00.000-08:00

Hey, lovers.

You won't believe this, but I'm always late for everything! Remember Lime Crime? I've only just went and bought one of their lipsticks from Space NK. Yeshyesh, I know, this was out a while ago and I've only just went and bought myself one years later. But there is one thing I'm not late for, velvets are on trend now and I've got myself a pair of lovely velvetty leggings, get in! :)

Back to Lime Crime. When I first spotted Lime Crime, I thought meh, think I'll give them a miss as they had blues and violets in the range, eeeek. But not until a few weeks ago, I saw a swatch of a particular colour that caught my eye. Countessa, the truest Barbie Pink you'll ever come across.

And it's totally opaque.

Hehe ;)

One swipe of this and you'll find you won't need to layer this like with other lipsticks. It is super opaque. As for the longevity, a big mother thumbs up from me. It lasts a good couple of hours until it begins to fade away elegantly. And wearability? You can dab a bit on and slick some clear gloss over this for a more subtle look. But you know me, the brighter the better. :)

Have you ever purchased a lipstick from Lime Crime? Did any of you go for the 'scarier' shades?

OOTD - Horse Print Playsuit

2010-11-18T13:58:00.000-08:00

Heyyy!

To those of you that celebrated Eid, hope you had an awesome time. I ate, ate & ate as per tradition. Unfortunately, I didn't get any of my outfit pictures done as it was a pretty hectic day with visitors and what not coming around. :) I'll probably be wearing my Eid outfit to another wedding soon so I'll be sure to take a quick snap.

The second day of Eid, me and the hubby went out for a meal. I chucked on a pair of tights & a horse print playsuit I bought from Primark a while back now. Here it is!

OUTFIT

You wouldn't think it was from Primark, well I don't anyway. When I did spot it, I was like ahhhh, have to have it. Now. And it cost around £15.00? They don't have it in stock in my local store but they do have the jumpsuit version if anyone is interested. :)

JEWELLERY

Opaque tights - Primark
Gem ring - Local charity shop
Magnifying glass necklace - Zara Taylor

And there you have it, lovelies!

What is your take on a playsuit? Own one?

Hope you're enjoying the end of the week. I'm seeing Harry Potter at the weekend, cannot wait! I know there will be scenes that will make me blub like I did during the Half Blood Prince, nooo Dumbledy, noooo. :(

Another haulage post featuring La Senza & Primark! :)

2010-11-15T07:22:00.000-08:00

On Sunday last week, I was craving a huge haul. I'm one of those type of people that like to do my shopping in bits. I won't go out and spend £££s in one go. Anyone else do that?

So as Winter has officially arrived, I felt I was in dire need for some comfort wear. The place I'm staying at the moment is pretty huge and no amount of heating can keep the rooms warm. Booo! So I popped into town and headed straight into La Senza. There was a big banner outside advertising cosy satin PJs for £15.00!!

I ended up purchasing 3 PJ sets. 2 satin ones and the other was more of a cosy pyjama set.

How cute is this? The satin feels luxurious & it's pretty good quality.

I bought another one in a blish colour. This one has tiny heart prints all over it. Lovelovelove it! All for £15.00. Wait, did I already mention that? Aha.

This feels SO soft. I've been wearing this today. And it really has kept me warm in this super cold house.

I bought a few other bits & bobs from La Ssenza but I think it's best not to take snaps of them, heh!

PRIMARK

I'm not a big Primark fan, I usually buy basics from here but I've found that they've got better within the past few months.

Slipper socks! They feel SO warm. These cost around £3.00. :)

Blankets with sleeves! I've wanted one of these for ages! There is a more expensive version of this online called a Slanket which costs around £25.00. But Primark's version is like £7.00. Bargain!

I desperately needed some of these. Most of my tights have ladders all over the place, very sexy. And it would be interesting to see if these actually do keep me warm when it's 'cool'.

Check out the rose print! I've seen similar prints in Topshop but you know their prices. Urgh, no thanks. Primark had these for £4.00.

I saw these wedges on the window display, I knew I had to have these. They're quite comfy and snugg as well. Yay!

And last but not least..

I am literally obsessed with pussybow oversized blouses. I own way too many. But this was only £10.00 so I had no excuse but to buy it, haha!

And there you have it, lovers! Have you been hauling lately? What did you buy?

Oh, and it's Eid t'moro. So Eid Mubarak to those of you celebrating it! :)

OOTD - Jumpsuits: Yay or nay?

2010-11-10T15:14:00.000-08:00

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Hey, lovers.

This week has been oh so cold. And it's been getting darker quicker which is a pain, especially when you need to take pictures for ye ol' blog! How frustrating!

So, I've jumped onto the jumpsuit bandwagon. I still have mixed feelings about jumpsuits but I'm slowly leaning towards liking them. What makes me cringe about jumpsuits is the dreaded 'camel toe'. And some of the prints I've found were well, meh.

But finally after much deliberating, I found a print which I kinda liked. A navy blue floral piece from none other than Topshop. Sadly, they ran out of size 6s so I had no choice but to purchase an 8. Which sucks 'cause it's not exactly the perfect fit. Mental note: Must get it taken in, pronto.

Nonetheless, here it iiis!

I was bloody freezing my tits off whilst posing for this shoot. Oh, Sun, where art' thou?

Floral Jumpsuit - Topshop
Woven gold hairband - Muse
DJ Decks ring - Galibardy
Mixed golden bangles - Freedom Topshop & Primark
Scissor necklace - Freedom, Topshop
White Watch - Michael Kors

And there you have it, dollys.

What are your thoughts on jumpsuits? Yay or a big fat nay? And what are your fave prints out there? C'mon, spiill! :)

Lovelovelove

NOTD - OPI My Private Jet

2010-11-05T14:55:00.000-07:00

Oh I am such a nail polish whore.

I've had this colour for months now, but never wore it. Now that we've turned the clocks back and the dark & gloomy days are among us, it's the perfect opportunity to bring out ye ol' dark nail polish, but with a twist...

Ooooh!

This is no ordinary dark nail polish, this is OPI's 'My Private Jet' nail polish. I guess it's supposed to look luxurious, glamorous and quite exclusive and in my opinion it's all three. The colour seems to be a mixture of dark grey and plum bespeckled with a rainbow of glittery bits which gives it a sort of holographic effect.

I'm sure this is the new formula. In the evening it dazzles! But during the day time, it looks a bit.. well, meh. It looks pretty flat and just looks like a murky grey purplish colour with glitter. Zero, zilch holographic effect!

Please excuse the messy application!

But yes, at night, it has the 'Ooooh ahhhh' effect.

I will probably cane the bottle the bottle this season. Let's face it, anything with glitter in is considered as 'festive'.

Do any of you guys own this nail polish? Thoughts?

OOTD - Halloween @ The Warehouse Project

2010-10-31T14:55:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween everyone!

This year I decided to ditch the pumpkins & cauldrons and opted for something more gruesome. More on the scary stuff later on in the post!

So last night I went to the Warehouse Project (WHP) to see a load of electro indie bands including Delphic who were the headline act.

I knew it would get pretty hot in there, the tickets were sold out! And I was aiming to be riight at the front, heh! So I digged out something pretty floaty and airy from my overflowing wardrobe to keep me as cool as I can be.

Sheer oversized pussybow lilac floral blouse - Topshop
Basic black bodycon (underneath to mantain my dignity) - H & M
Leggings -Primark
Turquoise Toywatch

I am seriously in love with this blouse, too much. No wonder it was completely sold out in stores & online. It's incredibly wearable. Pair it with leggings or to bring it all together, wear a slim belt around the waist. Ahh, love.

Onto Halloween

Okay, strictly speaking, today is Halloween. However, last night, the WHP was from 9pm to 4am so technically after midnight it's officially Halloween, muhuhahaha.

Here's Me & Mr Designer Spray after our bloodthirsty binge:

Srsly, how realistic does this look? The bouncers outside the WHP weren't sure wether it was real or not, ahaha!

Once inside, we did get a few people come up to us asking if we'd been in a fight, result! Most of the people I met were super friendly and the whole of the venue had a pretty good vibe. And yes, I did make my way right down to the front. However, one did get crushed. My ribs are feeling it today. Oww.

The highlight of the event was definitely Fenech-Soler. Even though I specifically went for Delphic, these guys really stole the show. To be honest, I wasn't really expecting anything particularly mind-blowing. Generally the perception of warm-up bands send majority of folk to snoozeville, but in this case, I couldn't be more wrong! They completely blew the roof off the place! With their eclectic dance moves and dirty, filthy electro synths, they stole my heart. And I probably won't get it back now.

I snuck home at the respactable time of 3.30am. What a mess.

Macro Lens - A Close Encounter!

2010-10-29T14:15:00.000-07:00

Some of you may know that all my pictures are taken by my beloved SLR. Which cost an arm & a leg. But in my opinion, was worth every penny. The possibilities with this camera are endless. After playing around with it for a few months, I felt it was time to invest in a new lense. But the proper ones cost wayy too much, and I'm talking like £400+ lenses *gulp*. So I opted for the cheaper option of buying a Macro Lens set. And they are freaking awesome for taking close up, detailed pictures.

I bought mine from eBay which cost around £10.00 for the set of four different lenses, bargainlicious!

Keep scrolling down if you fancy having a look at some of the pictures I took with the lenses. Enjoy!

Typewriter necklace. You can see the letters! :O

The swirls of pastels in MAC's MSF - Lightscapade.

The granules from MAC's Pigment in Vanilla.

Mahatma Gandhi on the 100 ruppee bill.

Bubblesh!

My kitty's enchanting eye. Can't say the same for the noobs in her reflection. Hahah :)

Kitty's paw. Awwwh.