So, how was it for you?

Hey, how was your Christmas? I had a great time, got lots of nice pressies from my family and loved ones, been spending some much needed time relaxing, eating and sleeping (bliss) hence the delay in posting to my blog!

I was really organised this year, two days before the big day I was up and out at 5.45am to do the Xmas food shop. Yes I know you all think I'm crazy but there is a method to my madness, you see I usually shop online but given the weather I had to go to the mad house, I mean the supermarket so thought it best to go when it's quite and they are more likely to have everything I want in stock = 6am.

I've ascertained that the sane people go out at this time because they are the organised ones, who make a list, know what they want and can get in and out the shop in an hour flat, its much more productive and you don't encounter the insane ones (top tip!). The insane ones creep out of bed much later, they don't make a list, don't know what they want so walk at 2 mph to scan everything on the isle with the trolley that is demon possessed so it hits into everything and everyone (including me) along with 3 or 4 screaming kids and a partner in tow (who is usually just as badly behaved as the children). Why on earth it takes both of em and the kids to go to the shops I don't know, can't one of em stay at home and not unleash the whole entourage to persecute the sane folk such as I? That's why I shop online, yeah it's anti-social, but at least I get to keep my sanity!! Anyways I got it all done and dusted early so I spent Xmas eve just pottering around, sampling my cooked delights and of course having a festive drink from the mini-bar that I had created in my kitchen.... well it's not an actual mini-bar, just so many bottles of drink stocked up that it looked like a shelf in the off-license lol

I did however join the mad folk on boxing day to see if I could get a bargain in the sales and indeed I did! I indulged meself on shoes, clothes but the best was all the make-up in Boots that was now half price!!!! I picked up loads of Ruby & Millie Goodies  (more blogs on those to come soon) as well as some Strictly Come Dancing Look Books which I was itching to try out but held off until I got some Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion. This product has been raved about in every beauty magazine and blog going and whilst I'm not one to believe in the hype I thought I'd give it a try just to see. It's £12 a pop which is pricey for me but it's not everything you can get on the cheap and now I've tried it I'm so glad I invested in a pot



Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion

 I was a bit apprehensive when I saw the shade of the primer as it looked a kind of chalky pink but it blended right in once on the lids and now I had the base in place, I thought I'd try out one of the Strictly Look Books I picked up at the bargain price of a fiver!

Strictly Stunning Look Book

These Look Books are great, they teach how to achieve a 'look' in line with a theme, I picked the 'stunning' theme which is inspired by the Samba and Salsa, the colours are aqua greens and blues, simply gorgeous. I couldn't wait to try it out

A step-by-step guide instructing how to apply the various shades

Strictly Stunning Pallet with three eye shadows in green, light blue and dark blue
with blusher & brush , three lip glosses, eye& lip applicators

I didn't use the applicators included, I used my own Jemma Kidd brushes as they feel so smooth on the skin. They soaked up the shadows perfectly and on top of my primer the shadows smoothed over my lids like silk.  The consistency of the powder was very good , it didn't just fall off the brush all over the place (or on my face) nor get lost in the brush or creases of my eye. I applied the shadows in the order described in the step guide however without a highlight for under the brow, it felt and looked a bit naked so I added a little white highlight powder just to finish the look

The final look

I was really pleased and pleasantly surprised with the final look, Lisa Armstrong, the make-up artist for Strictly Come Dancing, really did put together a gorgeous pallet with blue and green shadows and I'm looking forward to doing this again for a night out on the tiles. The instructions are basic and simple as well, so if you're not so good at doing eye make-up, this really is a good helping hand to achieve beautiful eyes. Plus as it all comes in a little book with a mirror and brushes , it's perfect to put in your handbag for a quick transformation if you're going out straight from work. My tip for you is to grab one of these if you still can, they are great.

Time to take it all off (make-up that is!), night all!

Santa came early

Yes folks, Santa paid me an early visit, he was supposed to be secret but in my bosses attempts to work out who to expect a 'secret' present he let on to me that he had got my name in the office secret Santa?!

I wasn't too disappointed to be honest, like everyone over 7 I worked out when I was about that age that Santa wasn't real when I woke up one Xmas eve night, popped into the kitchen and saw my dad munching down on the salt pork and hard dough bread I had left out for 'santa'!! Sod that I thought, I could've eaten that myself if I'd have known! So the next year I boycotted Santa and lo and behold I still got pressies so that was the end of that malarkey for me.

However, I've always been a bit excited by Xmas and with the snow around it seems all the more festive for me so I was looking forward to the secret Santa present giving session that was scheduled for my last day in the office until 2011!!

Well my heart sunk when my boss came in with what looked like a wrapped tin of quality street?! what kind of present is that?! I mean I know he's mr last minute.com and had to pop out during the day to get it but he couldn't be that stuck for ideas to resort to a tin of chocolates could he?! I was bit apprehensive when I was unwrapping the paper BUT to my delight, it wasn't chocolates (I'm really not that keen on the stuff), it was a nice pink tin of Soap and Glory Wait on Hand & Foot!!!!

Soap & Glory Wait On Hand & Foot Gift Tin

This tin contains Heel Genius Foot Cream, Hand Food Hand Cream, Cotton Gloves, Cotton Socks and Nail Buffing Board, all the stuff you need for gorgeous feet and hands.


Soap & Glory Fast-Acting Heel Genius
and
Soap & Glory Super-Softening Cotton Socks

Soap & Glory Hand Food Hydrating Hand Cream
and
Soap & Glory Super-Softening Cotton Socks





Soap & Glory Double-Sided Nail Buffing Board

Now what it says on the tin is that you're supposed to use the double-sided board to shape your nails and after a rinse, rub the heel cream on your feet, hand cream on your hands (duh?!) and slip the socks and gloves on over the top then jump into bed. By morning, your feet and hands are moisturised and soft.

I guess they are assuming that you'll be in bed on your own and only have the intention of sleeping when you go to bed as the socks and gloves ain't gonna do nothing for your love life. The socks and gloves are pink and white polka dots, very girlie and cute but not seductive in the slightest! But in order to give these a full review I did give it a go with and without the gloves and socks.

Yes it did the trick, both of the creams are smooth on the skin, hydrating, moisturising and softening but it did feel a bit odd wearing gloves and socks to bed, especially as they are cotton, it felt like a bit of friction with the bed sheets every time I moved, I guess they would've felt better in satin? It is however just as effective without the gloves and socks as both creams work well on their own and give an instant moisture boost and and glow to both your feet and hands.

So the heel genius and hand food make my 101 tip list, if you can bear to wear the gloves and socks to bed then do so, at least when you do get down to business, your partner won't feel as though a reptile has replaced your hands and feet in the middle of the night! Plus the tin is just the right depth to house your nail polish, I've managed to fit 26 bottles in and there's still enough room for the creams, gloves and socks (and yes I will be trying to fill the whole tin with polish, why not eh?).

Think it's time for me to turn in, so with gloves and socks on, goodnight!

PS thanks for my pressie DG :-)

Worth the fuss

Hey there!  I did a bit of shopping at the weekend, picked up some pressies, cards, wrapping paper etc. and in the process I stumbled on a little gem which was definitely worth the fuss - Beyonce Heat Perfume...

Beyonce Heat Eau de Parfum 30ml

I really did just stumble on this perfume, as I was walking through the store I got a whiff and just had to know what that smell was, it was intoxicating and addictive. When I was told it was Beyonce Heat, I was totally shocked!

Generally, I avoid celebrity perfumes like the plague as 1) they usually smell like the zoo and 2) celebs have got enough money, they don't need mine as well, however this perfume is simply magnificent and I just had to have a bottle, 10/10 to Beyonce and a round of applause!

According to what I've read it's a mixture of red vanilla-orchid, magnolia, neroli, peach, honeysuckle, almond, musky cream, sequoia wood, tonka and amber but seeing as I haven't heard of some of those items let alone smelt them before I can't say whether or not it's truly reflective of those scents BUT I can say that it smells gorgeous, makes you feel sexy and irresistible! I hear the advert for this fragrance can only be shown after the watershed as Beyonce gets a bit raunchy and if she had her perfume on while she filming, I totally understand why!! Its made me strut around in my patent leather stilettos all week too!

This is gets a top tip from me so add it to your Xmas, birthday or just because you want it list, this fragrance is definitely worth the fuss.

What a day :-(

What a day to return to work eh?! First of all it was -3 when I left home, then it looked like I had the Arctic circle on my car windscreen! So after scrapping that off, doing the school run and getting to work just about on time, it felt like I shouldn't have bothered working from home last week as I still had a mountain of work to get through, the heat was on....


Literally, an electric heater caught fire and the whole building had to be evacuated, so back to -3 outside for half hour (or at least if felt that long) just as I had started to thaw out. Wouldn't have minded if I got to see a few firemen in action but no, just the miserable fire wardens in their hi-vis jackets, surrounded by miserable looking jobsworths, who claim to have a ' bit of a cold' but sounded more like whooping cough or bronchitis at best to me, contaminating the rest of us who have strategically avoided the germ ridden ones. Wasn't gonna have all my good efforts to waste, so wrapped my scarf over my mouth and nose and looked at the 'ill' ones in disgust, huh.


Then to top it off, I sat in a traffic jam for just over an hour and a half on the way home, got pain in my thighs, calves and back, felt like the tin man by the time I managed to hoist myself outta the car, probably walked like one too, or John Wayne for that matter!


So I had to treat myself to a nice long soak in a hot bubble bath and I went for my favourite ever luxury bathing, Soap and Glory Calm One, Calm All

Soap and Glory Stress-Battling Softening Bubble Bath - Calm One, Calm All

And it totally did the trick, from the minute I ran the bath. This thick pink bubble bath just slowly oozes out the bottle like when you bite into a piece of Cadbury's caramel. You can't help but stop and stare at the pink lotion as it takes its time to flow, makes you feel like time is slowing down. It looks and feels luxurious when it starts to bubble up and once you step it, you feel like you've gone to another planet, pure heaven!


It doesn't take long for the product's title to ring true 'stress-battling softening bubble bath' and after a few minutes laying there with all those super cute pink bubbles and it's beautiful smell, I was indeed de-stressed and most definitely calm. I could just close my eyes and drifted off into my own little world and it soothed away my aches and pains. Before I knew it, half hour had gone by and I came out the bath a different woman, calm, collected and pampered.


It also has body lotion built in so when when got out, my skin wasn't dry, it was soft and supple. Better still I followed it up (once dry) with Soap and Glory The Righteous Butter Body Lotion and WOW!!! Baby soft skin in an instant! This rich (but not too rich) moisturising, soften and smoothing lotion is divine it left my skin feeling like velvet and it smelled lovely too

Soap and Glory - The Righteous Butter Body Lotion

So bad day gone and looking forward to a good nights sleep, I thought I should share my tip on Soap and Glory before I dream the night away. If you're ever having a bad day and just want to soothe your stress away, a soak in Soap and Glory Calm One Calm all is what you need! Yes it's probably a bit more pricey than your average bubble bath (the Calm One Calm All is about £5 for 500ml & Righteous Body Butter is £6.75 for 250ml) but the end result both mentally and physically is priceless. They also have funny retro labels on their bottles so it will look great in the bathroom.

AND at the moment Boots is doing 3 for 2 on all Soap and Glory Products so go shop!!! or drop enough hints to get some of their stuff for Xmas as they do great gifts sets at the moment too!!!

Night, night xx

PS they do miniatures too if you just want to try it and not commit yourself to a big bottle! Alright alright, I hear ya enough of the Soap and Glory PR but I can't help it - I Love You Soap and Glory! (did I just say that out loud?! whoops?!)

"It's beginning to look at lot like Christmas....

...everywhere you go" so the song says and so true it is at the mo. Snow and ice everywhere, got most of the country looking like Lapland and it's only the first week of December! I don't mind the snow to be honest, love to watch it falling (from inside in the warmth of course) and love to see snow covering the grass like a blanket, absolutely gorgeous.

BUT I don't like how it causes the country to come to a stand still and more importantly my boiler to a stand still too???!!!! So after a great Xmas party at the weekend (big shout out to TH, girl you know how to throw a party!) and managing to walk on Monday morning, I was not impressed when my boiler decided to stop working, I like my house hot like the Sahara on a good day.

So after 3 days of working from home, waiting on the boiler engineer and school closures, I had cabin fever and needed to get out for a treat = pop to Boots and see what make-up they have in store ;-)

At the moment Boots 17 range has an offer on, spend £6 and get a free 'Glam Rocks' Eye Palette which is worth £6.29 on it's own, thought I'd top up me nail varnish collection in that case and bought



L-R; 17 Smokey Marble Fast Finish
17 Nail Xtras Matte Top Coat
17 Fast Finish Peacock

And picked up the Glam Rock Eye Palette with six 'sultry' (their words not mine) shades for free!

Top Row, L-R; Glitter Style Queen, Darkness & Night Sky
Bottom Row, L-R; Mardi Gras, Glitter Spirit & Punky Purple


I tried them out individually and combined and was really disappointed. They didn't feel smooth when applied and they all kind of looked the same on the lids apart from the black and the purple. There was only one combination of shades worth taking a picture of

Glitter Style Queen on lids and under lash line
Night Sky on edge of socket
Mardi Gras under brow


Looks OK but not 'wow' in my book it just looks shiny and you can't really tell the different shades but hey it was worth a try, ne'er mind though, better luck next time eh?!

My tip on this? Well this palette really ain't worth running down to the shops for, maybe one to keep for recycling/re-trying with some other shades? or with a glitter on top? If not you could just pass it on as a stocking filler for a teenager.......



The party season has begun already?!

Ok it's late November, Christmas ads are on the TV and the shops are full of '3 for 2's' and 'buy one get one free' for all those annoying super dooper organised people who do their Xmas shopping really early (not me obviously) but I really didn't think I'd have an invitation for a crimbo knees up already but alas I do!


So I'm off to a friend's work Xmas party at the weekend, already got the outfit sorted, a black and red strapless dress and a gorgeous pair of killer Kurt Geiger shoes to set it off. I say killer because how I haven't managed to break my neck and kill myself wearing those sky scrapper platform heels only god knows but I keep telling myself every time I wear em that if I do end up on my back waiting for an ambulance, at least I've got some pretty shoes to focus and not die of embarrassment instead!


Anyway, for my eye make-up I thought I'd do a shimmery glittery red and off I trekked up the high street to see what the stores had in store for me which was a complete waste of time. The only thing that came close to the kind of red I was after was a Barry M Dazzle Dust pot in cerise but on my skin tone, it looked an awful pink! Stuck for time and lack of strength to trek anywhere else I thought I'd rummage through what I already had at home to see if I could improvise and to my surprise I found a bright red Constance Carroll blusher (no.41) which was far too bright for my cheeks but could it work on my lids with a splash of Barry M Dazzle Dust in Mushroom (no. 51) to give it a glittery effect?! Time for an experiment me thinks.....

Constance Carroll red blusher 41

Barry M Mushroom Dazzle Dust 51

So a put a lil Vaseline on my lids (to stop the powder from creasing), dabbed the red on my lids and just under the lower lash with an eyeshadow applicator, then covered it with a layer of the mushroom dust all over the lid and the rest of the eye area including under the eyebrow arch with a small brush.  Then I finished of the look with pencilling my brows, liquid eyeliner on the top lid and mascara for my lashes and this was the final result

Et Voila!

I'm quite pleased with my result, simple technique with only two shadows and only took a few minutes to do. Let's hope its that quick when I have to do it on the night!

I've Done It!!!!!!!!!

Finally after five hours, half a bottle of rose wine and a messaging session with my good friend, I have finally created my blog spot and this is my very first post!

I guess you're wondering what this blog is all about? Well it would appear that I'm full of useful knowledge and tips on all sorts. My brothers and sisters nicknamed me the '2000 year old midget' for that very reason! They reckoned I knew stuff beyond my years as a kid and as the years have gone on I've picked up a few tricks along the way. I'm always being asked for advice by family and friends so thought I'd share my little gems with the masses......

So what do YOU all out there wanna know? Anything from make-up tips, outfits on a budget or how not to fall in your new killer heels - drop me a line and I'll give you a tip!

PS Spread the word, I really wanna get to 101 tips!