Monday's Good Stuff

Well I totally failed to post more than once last week, but if you follow my ramblings on Twitter you will understand my reasons.  I had the most ridiculously busy week.  It went a bit like this.

Last Thursday, the 15th, I just happened to call one of the course providers to ask a few questions about applying for next year's course.  It was lucky I called because I was told that they had a few spaces left for this year and if I wanted to apply there was still time.  A bit of a surprise!  So I spent Friday speaking to the headteacher to see if it would even be a possibility and getting started on my application and personal statement because it was such short notice it was done differently and everything that I'd written for next year wasn't any good. 

The weekend was spent perfecting said application and personal statement, which I was really happy with by Monday morning.  Just as well really because Monday was the latest I could apply- the interviews would be on Thursday if I was successful but by this point I wasn't even sure I could get the application in on time.  By lunchtime however I'd got everything I needed from the school and submitted the application, much to my relief.  Of course then the waiting starts, will it be successful?  I was absolutely terrified that it wouldn't be- I can't tell you how much I wanted it to be- so the next few hours dragged like nothing I've known before.  Just as I got home from school though, I got a call.  I had an interview!  I couldn't have been happier!  This feeling lasted until the next morning when I looked at the list of things I needed to do for the interview.  Eek!

I was in school all day Tuesday and Wednesday and spent my evenings furiously brushing up on the curriculum, government initatives, planning and practicing my 10 minute lesson starter and possible interview questions.  Although it was a whirlwind, I didn't have long enough to get very stressed and nervous.  Oh and the kids were told about my interview and sent me off with a big chorus of "Good luck!" so I was feeling pretty good.

Thursday morning was long and tiring though.  I completed an English comprehension exercise, did my lesson starter, the interview and a Maths test which took 3 and a half hours in total with a bit of waiting around.  By the time it was over I could have just fallen asleep on the spot.  But I managed to drive back to Lincoln and spend what left of the afternoon with the children.  It only took 2 and a half hours for them to call me but it felt more like 2 months.  And I don't think I breathed in that time. 

However, it was good news!  I'd got in!  I have a place for a GTP course to start immediately!  The course actually started at the beginning of September so I have some catching up to do but I'm beyond thrilled to have the opportunity to do it.  And all of this came out of a few questions a week past Thursday, incredible. 

I'm totally overwhelmed by the timetable I've been given and can't make head nor tail of it at the moment, I have no idea what to start with as I've missed the induction and it's insane to think how much I have to do in the next 10 months.  But I'm on top of the world.  I get to train a whole year earlier than I thought possible, I get paid to do it, I don't have to pay uni fees, I get to do it at the school I'm already in which I totally love and I'll tell you something- it's put a great big smile back on my face. 

So this has been a break from the MGS norm.  I hope you haven't minded my waffling on, but I'm so freaking excited.  It's been such a busy and unexpected couple of weeks that it's good to write it down, to make it more believable. 

Have a great week guys!

Monday's Good Stuff

Hi guys.

I'm afraid this is going to be really short and sweet today as I'm ridiculously busy.  Today's MGS goes a little something like this.  Blink and you may miss it.

1)  Downton Abbey's back, this makes me happy.  Oh and Glee starts again on Thursday-wooo hooo!

2)  I've had a great opportunity this week.

3)  My work night out was tres good fun on Saturday.

4)  Dinner at Handmade Burger Co was epic yesterday.

5)  My Mum is the best.

I'm too busy to even sort out pictures for any of these, so I'm making do with this.

Because it's so true.

Oh and I will do my best to find more time to blog this week.  I just don't seem to have any time at the moment!

NOTD OPI Ink - Best Polish Ever?

It's about time I posted this NOTD, having gone on about it incessantly since it was purchased.  I just can't help myself though, it's ridiculously stunning and has become my absolute favourite.  I've worn nothing else since I got it and it's currently on my finger and toe nails.  That never happens!

With flash

Artifical light, no flash

A close up of the sparkle in natural light

The beauty of Ink is that it changes in different lights.  The shimmer in Ink changes from pink to purple to blue depending on the light.  In bright light is looks blue, but in dimmer light it is more pink.  As it's pretty low key, it looks like a fairly normal deep blue or purple polish (depending on the light) and you don't notice its real beauty until the light hits it.

Oh I'm rubbish at describing things, but I love it, OK?  It's amazing, you need this polish in your life and if you don't have it then you should just go out and buy it now. 

So what do you think?  Does it live up to the hype that I have created for the last couple of weeks?

Monday's Good Stuff

Hey there guys, how are you today?  It's Monday again so you know what I'm going to do today :)

1)  Well if you follow me on Twitter then you'll know that Saturday was a really emotional day for me, as I had a big clear out on Facebook and deleted everyone and everything to do with Mike so that I can use it again.  I've also started making arrangements to go to his parents' house to pick up my furniture which will not be fun, at all.  But this is MGS so what's the positive?  The fact that I can do these crappy things and come through it stronger.  I woke up on Sunday feeling so relieved, after all the tears, I really felt free of him for the first time in weeks.  Good feeling.

2)  After that fairly downbeat start, let's make things chirpier.  I am totally in love with my new Monsoon Fusion blouse that I picked up recently.  It's so perfect with skinny jeans and nude heels.  Love it. 

3)  I absolutely loved my trip down to London this week and it was amazing to see some familiar blogger faces there.  I will be blogging about the new range of products as soon as I've had the chance to use them and give them a proper testing so keep your eyes peeled.

4) This last week was absolutely manic.  Being back at school was brilliant and the class are just fabulous- funny, fun and they have so many great ideas so we'll never get bored in there.  It was however exhausting.  Reception children take a little while to settle so there were a fair few tears but fewer than I thought there'd be actually.  I only worked 2 shifts this week which I'm so grateful for, it was a busy enough week as it was.  This week I have 5 shifts though so I probably won't be in school all day, every day.  As much as I love being in school, I need to earn money and I don't want to be staying up late every night and getting up early every morning and making myself poorly by the time half term rolls around.  This girlie needs her sleep!

5)  I got contact lenses this week and I'm loving everyone telling me how different I look.  Of course I take 99% of pictures for the blog without my glasses on so you guys wouldn't see any difference, but it's still fun to be told how great you look!

So how are you today?  Good weekend?

17 All About Nude Palette

Well I didn't mean to have that break this week.  I totally underestimated how busy and tired I would be, getting back to school and working as well so I'll have to be super organised from now on if I'm going to be able to keep up any sort of regular posting.  Anyway, I'm getting sorted now and I have lots of ideas for posts so let's get started.

I was shopping last weekend and picked up a new 17 powder and blusher (I can never resist a new blusher-post to come) which meant that I could pick up the All About Nude palette for free.  Now I hadn't seen this before I got it, there weren't any open on the stand, but I thought it was worth trying out as I can't remember the last time I felt let down by a 17 product. 

Here's what you get.

Outer packaging

The palette itself

The goodies inside. The top 2 are eyeshadows- Funfair and Walnut Pearl, the blusher is bottom left and on the bottom right there's Belle lipstick which is one of the 17 Mirror Shines which I already have and love. 

A closer loook

Swatchesof Funfair, Walnut Pearl, the nameless cream blusher and Belle.

I'm really impressed with this little palette.  The eyeshadows are both really soft and pigmented as well.  As you know from reading this blog you know that creating stunning looks with eye shadow is just not something I can do.  I love that both of these shades can be worn on their own, as a wash of colour, which is my preferred method of using eye shadow.

The blusher isn't as pigmented as the other products but it's a pretty shade and I can see why it's been included- it would suit most people.  It's a cream formula and more shimmery than I usually like in a blush but because it's sheer, the shimmer isn't over powering.  That said, it'll probably get a bit neglected compared to the other products in the palette.

I love the Belle and as with all Mirror Shines, it's more like a gloss than a lipstick.   This won't stay on my lips for hours but it's a stunning shade and a real "my lips ut better" one for me. 

As you can see from the above swatches the shades are all very neutral (but then I wasn't expecting neons, it is called All About Nude after all) so the "look" that I created is hardly going to rock your socks but here you go.

See, very wearable.  And as I only wear neutral shades to school, I can see this palette getting a lot of wear.  Not bad for a palette that I got for free.  It's also a real plus point that the lipstick and blusher can both be applied with fingers, as I did here, so you can use it on the go.  To be fair I'd apply a quick wash of colour with one of the eye shadows with my finger tip too, which makes it a great palette to have in my bag when I'm away and want to pack light.  It's all the colour cosmetics that I need.

Have you picked up the All About Nude palette?  What do you think of it?

Monday's Good Stuff

I know I repeat this every single week but how time flies!  How on earth is it Monday again?!  And it's September too, where did the last 6 weeks go to?  Total madness.  Anyway, enough of my rubbish grasp on time.

1)  I got to go back to school today!  I could not be happier about this.  I love the school I volunteer at- the kids are amazing, the staff are wonderful, it challenges me and excites me.  A lot of people can't understand why I choose to volunteer at the moment but I'm just in the most amazing position so why wouldn't I when the opportunity is so fabulous?  I wasn't going to get on a course for this September anyway but once I knew it's what I wanted to do I could not have contemplated carrying on in a dead end job.  I'd much rather earn less and be so much happier, there's just no contest.  I've said it before but if there weren't bills to pay and things I want to do with my life then I'd do it for free, for ever.  I love it that much.

2)  My Mum and Dad are on holiday this week so I have the house to myself.  I did end up with a whole day to myself yesterday with absolutely no plans so I came up with the idea of Selfish Sunday- a day of doing exactly what I wanted for the whole day.  Basically what I wish I could do all the time.  So I had a lush breakfast, went shopping, saw Friends With Benefits, did my nails, drank wine and watched trashy TV.  It was my perfect day and all the better for being on my own with no one to compromise with.  Bliss.  Ooh I almost forgot to say but I really enjoyed Friends With Benefits. Of course is an obvious storyline but I found it really funny and I think both Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis were great in it. If you like a laugh and a really good rom com then you should definitely take a look, it has some great lines.

Image

3)  I know I mentioned this before in a MGS post but I seriously freaking love OPI Ink and I will show you this in a NOTD this week.  So start getting excited now!  Sorry that's a bit of a family joke, but I hope my brother's reading this so that someone appreciates it.  To be honest, I love Ink so much that it may well feature in every MGS post for ever more and that would be with good reason.

4)  I had a couple of great nights out last week.  Far too many drinks were consumed on Tuesday and Friday nights with my friend Laura and then my friend Marianne but I had a great time.  I've definitely turned a corner now and am really enjoying some parts of being single.  Oh and Laura and I went to Aqua Sana at Center Parcs on Wednesday.  Anyone who knows me will know just how much I love a spa day so being able to spontaneously pop off without worrying about the money or whether I had time to do it was awesome.  What a week :)

5)  And lastly, but by no means least, I'm going down to London tomorrow for a TRESemme event and I'm super excited!  It's a huge bonus of volunteering that I can take off for a day and fit something like this in when I get an amazing invitation that's too good to turn down.  I have no idea who else will be there but I'm hoping to see some familiar faces and of course I'll be blogging about it when I get home.  I also get to stay with my lovely friend Tom and meet his new girlfriend so I'm doubly as excited.

What are you excited about this week?

NOTD Butter London Scoundrel

Well you wait ages for a NOTD from me and then you get 2 in one week. Ain't that always the way?

I've been meaning to show you this for ages, since I picked it up from TK Maxx as it's gorgeous but I'm really slow at getting posts up at the moment so please forgive me.

Scoundrel's a stunning purple with a grey undertone which stops it from being too girlie.  This means that it looks very different in different lights, so cue a few pictures.

Under direct light it looks much more lilac but I love it in dimmer light when it's more grey.  I just find Scoundrel a great balance between girlie and dirty (please don't draw conclusions about me from this haha!) and the grey tones stop it from being too bright, so I think it's a great work shade.

Butter London polishes usually retail for £12.00 and you can pick them up at Look Fantastic although I don't see Scoundrel there so it may have been discontinued, but have a root around at TK Maxx and see what gems you can find.

So what do you think?  Do you like it?

TK Maxx bargain - Revlon Super Lustrous Lipglosses

Just a quick post today but little lovelies, because I want to show you the Revlon lipglosses that I picked up a couple of weeks ago at TK Maxx.

I love the bauty section in TK Maxx, there's always something that catches my eye and this was no exception.  3 shades of lipgloss for just £6.99.  I love the formula of these Super Lustrous lipglosses and they're usually £6.99 each so this was a no brainer for me.

Now none of these shades are on the Boots website so they may well be discontinued, but maybe someone can help me out here. 

L-R Glossy Rose, Shine That Pink, Pink Pursuit

As you can see they're a neutral selection.  I haven't actually used Glossy Rose yet and it may be a bit brown for me, I'll have to see.  It's more brown toned than it looks here actually, even though I'd say the other two are pretty accurate. 

Despite the fact that these are very safe shades, I really did need some neutral glosses in my collection.  I tend to favour peachy nudes when I'm buying but they often have a great colour pay off and to be fair pink shades flatter my skintone more anyway.  The reason I love Super Lustrous glosses by the way is the colour pay off and that they're not sticky either.

I'd show you these on but my skin is terrible at the moment and therefore you don't get to see my face for now.  Trust me, it's for the best.  I will try and remember to take some pictures soon though and add them when I don't look disgusting though.

Anyways, back to my original point.  TK Maxx have fab beauty bargains- have you picked up anything from there recently?

One For The Boys - Vintage Shaving Company Exfoliating Face Wash

Well this is a bit different for Primp and Preen- today I'm featuring a guest review from my little brother. Well he's not all that little. He's 24 and as he was home for the summer holidays (he's a PE teacher) I thought he'd be the perfect tester for the Vintage Shaving Company Exfoliating Face Wash.

Say hi Simon...



Simon used this for a fortnight, both on its own and before shaving to test it fully.  The verdict?  It's a great consistency and not so runny or thin that it washes away quickly.  He was impressed that you got a few minutes to masage it onto the skin as opposed to cheaper offerings that he's tried in the past.  Because of this you don't need to use very much either.

It has a very masculine fragrance, easy to use pump packaging and left his normal skin smooth and not dried out.  When used before shaving he found that it did result in a closer shave although as a fairly low maintanence man, Simon wasn't actually aware of products that would do this.  I explained it all but I can't say he was overly fussed by this new realisation.  Boys eh?

You can pick up products in the Vintage Shaving Company range from Feel Unique and the Exfoliating Face Wash retails at £8.95.  It is a touch on the high side, but a little goes a long way and this would be a great treat if your man is a tad more appreciative of products like this than my baby brother is! 

*PR Sample*