Primp and Preen

L'Oreal Youth Code Luminize Day Cream

2012-02-16T09:00:00.000Z

Two beauty posts in just 2 days? My you are lucky! :)

Today I wanted to tell you about my new day cream which I am pretty much in love with. This is L'Oreal newest addition to the Youth Code line- Luminize.

I picked this up because it was reduced in Boots when it was launched but for some reason it doesn't appear to be on the website. Anyway, I think it was £15 at full price and on offer for just £10. There is also a serum in the range that sells for £25 and was reduced to £15 at the time as well.

I'm not fussy when it comes to moisturiser really. I don't have sensitive skin, I still have quite young skin (despite being the grand old age of 27!) so I don't worry too much about paying out for products. I don't usually spend more than £5 on a moisturiser but let's just say I felt like splashing out and was more than a little swayed by the lady letting you test it in the aisle. OK, it's a massive ploy to get you to buy it, but seriously- how useful is it to be able to try out the stuff, just like you can with premium counter brands?

I plumped for the day cream over the serum because I don't think my skin needs something that rich. I have to say that I'm pretty impressed with the cream after using it for 2 weeks now.

The "luminizing" effect comes from the fact that the cream is slightly iridescent but let e reassure you that this isn't one of those disco ball creams. See?

As soon as I rub the cream in, this is the effect.

So you can see that it's not over the top at all. In fact my boyfriend used this at the weekend and it's totally suitable- no sign of shimmer at all and it just makes both me and him look more awake.

You get a 50ml pot for your pennies and I think it's a great product. It's definitely got me thinking about investing slightly more money into my skincare now that I'm in my late 20s.

What moisturiser do you use? Any recommendations for good, but not crazy expensive, skincare for me?

Sephora Goodies

2012-02-15T10:00:00.000Z

I have been meaning to post this for weeks but the lack of daylight to take pictures has thwarted me. These are the goodies that my brother and Kat brought back from NYC at New Year so this post really is overdue.
The only thing that I said to Simon before they went was that I was really into glitter nail polishes so I think he did pretty well with very little guidance. These are the 3 that I got.

L-R Sugar Plum Fairies Gone Wild, Only Gold For Me topcoat and Sparkle Me Silver topcoat.

Sugar Plum Fairies Gone Wild is a glitter polish while the other 2 are definitely topcoats with a lot less sparkle in them. They can be built up with a couple of coats though and Only Gold For Me looks incredible over a very dark red polish, and I have used it over Midnight in Moscow quite a bit. I will do NOTD posts with these soon but for now, have a little close up look.

Can you see how the larger chunks of glitter (especially round the bottom of the bottle) are more blue? This is how it looks in bright sunlight.

SPFGW is an amazing shade and I own nothing like it already. It changes colour depending on the light and as I look at it now, the glitter all looks the same colour- purple- but in some lights the larger chunks of glitter look much more blue. It's basically gorgeous, if ridiculously girlie and a little trashy, but that's exactly what I fancy sometimes.

I was also given this wand of lipglosses and I can see from the packaging that it's colourway 07 Sacred Heart although I can't find it on the Sephora website. Isn't this just the cutest packaging? I love the fact that I have 6 lipglosses in my bag at any one time and such a range of colours. As you can see, the tube unscrews so you get into each colour like this.

The pigmentation is better with some but I'm not bothered that the purple isn't too bright. I've swatched the colours in order from top to bottom.

My favourites are the shades 2nd and 3rd from left, which also have the most pigmentation.

The last time I had a Sephora lipgloss (also brought back from NYC by my brother, I'm a lucky girl) I found it far too gloopy and almost clear so these are much better. They're slightly sticky, but not uncomfortably so. I suppose the downside is how little you get of each shade but I have so many lipglosses that I never use them up so that's not a problem. If you get really attached to a shade though it would be more annoying, especially as I have no idea what these 6 are called.

The products Simon and Kat brought back were definitely a big hit though and I'm thrilled that these made up part of my Christmas present. I'm a lucky girl and I also got a Macy's bag, Central Perk apron and some Dylan's Candy Bar chocolate (long gone I'm afraid). It was a bar of the Cookies and Cream Chocolate and it was ridiculously good. Ta for that guys!
So, what do you think? Are you a glitter fan?

Monday's Good Stuff

2012-02-13T16:28:00.000Z

Well hello there. I usually start MGS posts by saying how quickly the week has gone but that would be a big, fat fib this week. I suppose it was the week before half term and it was bound to go slowly but my goodness, I thought it'd never end! It makes a difference to all those super speedy weeks though.

1) So yes, it is half term! I have a lot of work to do and in fact I'm just taking a little break from work to write this. The good thing is I have a week to get caught up so I'm can give myself 2 free weekends which makes a lovely change. 2 whole days of relaxing have suited me very nicely indeed.

2) It'll come as no surprise to you that I spent the weekend in Leeds. And apart from seeing my brother and Kat to watch football on Saturday and heading to his parents on Sunday, we did very little, it was fab. If you know me in real life you'll know that I'm happiest when I have food, drink and am all snuggled up and that was basically my weekend. Nice.

3) Speaking of Sunday I got to meet the boy's brother, sister in law, niece, nephew and sister on Sunday which was great fun. They're a great family and I especially enjoyed playing with his nephew who is hilarious. I ended up staying over last night which gave me the perfect excuse to keep accepting glasses of wine! After he left for work this morning, I stayed and had breakfast with his Mum and chatted away- I would have stayed loads longer if I didn't have work to come back to, she's so lovely.

4) It's Valentine's Day tomorrow and although the boy isn't a fan (I suppose I can't blame him, everything is over priced and busy) I do love sending and getting cards, I always have, whatever the occasion. So I ended up traipsing all around today trying to find something suitable. I get so fed up with how many are overly gushy but after having a look in Paperchase I found something super stylish and fairly masculine too. Job done.

5) I forgot to include this in last week's MGS which is so silly of me but my Mum finally got round to booking our holiday to Egypt at Easter, woooooo hooooo! I'm off here in 6 weeks and 6 day (not that I'm on countdown at all.)

I hope you're all having a great Monday!

A Little Promise

2012-02-10T18:02:00.000Z

Well hello there lovelies.

I am happy to report that I have just got in from work and that it is half term! I might seem a little over excited about this but let me explain. The teacher that I usually share a class with, and who is also my mentor, has been away all week this week on training. I have therefore been on my own (with our fantastic TA I must add) and that has been hard work and stressful. Also, I've been doing all the planning for the class for the last 3 weeks which was incredible for learning from it but also exhausting, stressful and nail biting. So yes, very tired right now.

Oh and another reason to celebrate? Well this marks the halfway point in the year too and quite frankly I'm happy to know that I'm well on my way.

So what's this promise I speak of? I promise- absolutely, 100%, Girl Guide promise, that I will write some beauty posts this week. I have a few lined up that I want to write and having some daylight to take some pictures will be such a novelty. I still haven't shown you my Christmas Sephora goodies, I really need to post about my new day cream and also I have a ton of NOTD posts to do for you so check back soon!

Have a great weekend everyone! This is what I'm hoping my week will entail. Let's just forget about all the work I have to do for now eh?

Monday's Good Stuff

2012-02-06T18:35:00.000Z

Hello there lovelies. This is going to be a rather quick MGS because of the list of things I have to do which is quickly becoming a tad scary.

1) I was up in Leeds again at the weekend and thoroughly enjoyed relaxing. I didn't take any work with me so from the second I left school and headed up to meet the boy from work, it was a great break. I let work spill over into far too many days so sometimes I need to force myself to switch off and not taking my laptop with me is a good start.

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2) Speaking of Leeds, we went to see The Descendants and I loved it. I cried at least 10 times during it (I know, I'm a total sap) but it's such a moving film and so fabulously under played. And at least all those tears meant lots of hugs ;)

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3) I thoroughly enjoyed the snow on Saturday until it disrupted our plans (we were going to get all dressed up and go to Sky Lounge for cocktails dammit) and we ended up staying home to eat fish and chips and then watch Take Me Out and then the Hangover Part 2. Oh wait, that ended up being a perfect night in. Never mind!

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4) I went to spend a day at the school I'll be working at after half term on Thursday. My mentor there is absolutely fab and I can't wait to start. I'll be teaching a year 1 class so it's a different key stage (I teach reception at the moment) so it's all a bit daunting but up for the challenge at the same time. I'm a little scared at how much I have to do over the next couple of months but I'm on with most of it and I'll get there :)

5) Speaking of school and hard work, we had lots of exciting news at our staff meeting tonight. It was a lot to take in and will mean big changes but it's all going to mean great things for the children and (let's face it) that's why we're there.

So, I hope there aren't too many typos in this. I typed it in about 3 minutes and now I'm dashing off to get through at least a few things on my to do list. I hope you all had a fab weekend and a great Monday too- let me know what you're happy for today!

Not Bad For A Tuesday

2012-01-31T20:23:00.000Z

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This is basically the crux of Monday's Good Stuff; life isn't perfect but there's so many good things to focus on.

I'm pleased to report that I feel much chirpier than I did yesterday. I was pretty gutted that things went so badly and it didn't help having to tell loads of people at school how it went today. Luckily I always feel a million times better after spending time with the children, they're so sweet and funny and always put a massive smile on my face.

Also I can't say how grateful I was that my boyfriend came to Lincoln last night. It was just what I needed and we had a lovely dinner at Brown's Pie Shop which is one of my favourite restaurants in town. He had said he'd take me to my absolute favourite restaurant (Gino's in case you're wondering) which is also where we went on our first date, but it was closed. Oh well, they say it's the thought that counts and he remembered how much I love it so he still gets the Brownie points :)

So anyways that was a bit more of a ramble than I intended, but suffice to say I'm much happier tonight than I was yesterday and that is all I can ask for. Not bad for a Tuesday!

Monday's Good Stuff

2012-01-30T17:34:00.000Z

Goodness me Mondays come round so quickly. How is a week since the last one?! I know I always say it, but I swear that wasn't a full 7 days.

Anyhoo, it is Monday and I have news...

1) Well it was another fab weekend, and I absolutely loved seeing Anton and Erin in their Let's Do It show in Sheffield on Saturday night. The dancing was amazing, her dresses were just stunning and I laughed a lot too. Anton should totally replace Bruce at the host on Strictly, he's far more funny, but to be fair- who isn't?
2) After the show I jumped on a train and headed up to Leeds to see my boyfriend and his friend who were out and even though we didn't stay out long, it was a good laugh. While I was in Leeds I got to see my brother and his girlfriend for a cuppa and pass on his belated birthday presents after a quick dash to the White Rose Centre. I love my trips to Leeds :)

3) Oh and speaking of the boy he drove me back to Lincoln yesterday and met my parents :) It all went rather well, quite thankfully, even though I was a tad nervous. It's nice to have met each other's parents now, I'm such a family person and I like seeing what other people's families are like.

4) I had an observation at school today which was pretty rubbish (of course that's not part of MGS so I'll move on) but there something that has redeemed my day. I told the boy that it'd gone badly and he said that he'd come over to Lincoln and take me for dinner at my favourite restaurant- how lucky am I?! I am shattered after an awful night's sleep so I wouldn't have got any work done anyway, so now I just have to hope I can stay awake for dinner :)

5) Today might have been a bit crap but regardless, I do still love my job. And this sums up my mood now...

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I hope that you're having a lovely Monday and all had fab weekends. What are you up to this week?

This Weekend

2012-01-27T22:23:00.000Z

This weekend I am...

Lesson planning.

(This is how it makes me feel)

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Being happy at my grades from last term's work.

Painting my nails.

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Driving to Sheffield.

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Stressing about how to fit my overnight stuff into a handbag.

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Shopping and eating with my Mum.

(A girl can dream right?!)

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Watching Anton and Erin's show with my Mum.

Jumping on a train to Leeds.

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Having cocktails with my boyfriend and his mate.

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Enjoying breakfast being made for me.

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Debating whether to introduce my boyfriend to my parents.

Hmmm....

Monday's Good Stuff

2012-01-24T20:49:00.000Z

Well hello there lovelies. How are you today? I hope you are well, I definitely am! I did however start drafting this post on Sunday and have only just noticed now (it's Tuesday) that I haven't posted it. Oops. I have, yet again, neglected to notice that it's Monday until it's been and gone.
1) I spent the weekend in Leeds seeing the boy. Well from now on I'm going to be referring to him as my boyfriend, because he's started referring to me as his girlfriend. It's a really nice feeling.
2) I met my boyfriend's (I may also refer to him as R in these posts, just so you know) parents on Sunday! I was a tad nervous, but luckily they're the nicest people ever so it was a great afternoon. Also, his Mum is a great cook and makes the most delicious pear and almond tart. I'll happily go back for dinner again if they'll have me!

3) I've planned and have started to teach my own Scheme of Work in school and I've planned it around an Under the Sea theme. It's going well so far and although it's proving to be quite full on planning it all, setting up the areas of the classroom differently and all that. It's all worth it though, I do love this job.

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4) Speaking of work stuff, I had a fab day today. I visited a primary school in Hull which was just amazing and learnt so much from looking around. I'll be back in April for another visit, to learn more about numeracy and literacy teaching and I can't wait already.

Oh I'm so sleepy tonight, I'm afraid that's all I have right now. In fact number 5 could actually be the very early night I'm about to have. Oh I love bed.

What are you up to this week?

Pink Thursday

2012-01-19T16:37:00.001Z

It's been ages since I wore lipstick and I do kind of miss it. However when I'm busy I just don't think about full make up. I've worn the same foundation, concelaer, powder, bronzer, blusher and mascara for the last 6 weeks with 2 lipglosses on rotation and nothing more.

But this morning I had a thought. My fairly new NYX Salsa lipgloss would look good over MAC's Pink Plaid and you know what? I think I'm right.

L-R MAC Pink Plaid, NYX Salsa, Salsa over Pink Plaid. This looks a little more nude, they're both a lot more pink, but hey- winter light is crap and I ran out of it. Have a look at swatches of Salsa and Pink Plaid if you want though.

So this is combo, badly applied, it seems. It makes Pink Plaid look so much more wearable on me and I love it for a day time pink. It's bright, but not too bright.

Oh and a silly pose just because I fancied making you giggle. No need to thank me!

What's your perfect pink combo?

Is is the weekend yet?

2012-01-19T07:20:00.000Z

So tired.

Need a weekend.

Roll on Friday.

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I'm up to Leeds to see the boy again and plan to do very little apart from eat and sleep. How is it possible for a week to go so quickly but be so tiring at the same time?

Monday's Good Stuff

2012-01-16T20:21:00.000Z

Well hello there you lovely lot. It appears to be Monday, yet again and it's a flipping freezing one at that. I thought I wrapped up warm enough for school but it seems I was wrong. Having the door open all day so that children can play outside is so chilly- I think I need thermals. Anyway, enough about my under garments; let's look at the Good Stuff.

1) I have discovered a love of gin and tonic. (These aren't in order of importance by the way). Indeed I am sipping one at the moment and I'm very glad I realised I liked them.

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2) I discovered the above on my trip to London. (See I told you they weren't in order). My trip was amazing, as they always are. I love seeing my uni friends and had a fab time eating, drinking and catching up so I was always so sad to leave. We did however plan an amazing meet up for next time, even if that isn't until May, so I have that to look forward to!

3) As well as a lovely time with my friends, this weekend was also fab as I had a little trip to see the boy. I wasn't planning on it, but I headed off to meet him as soon as I got back from London, as I just couldn't wait until this weekend :)

4) I had such a good day teaching today. It was a lesson about melting ice cubes and I just loved how excited they were by it and how much they got from it. I've had lots of moments like that recently, when I just think "You love this don't you?" and "I need to do more of this." Obviously I love helping children learn, or I wouldn't be doing this job, but some days it just amazes me that they get so much from what I do with them.

5) I'm just really happy the moment. Everything's just rather lovely- career, friends, family.

How has your Monday been? And did you have a good weekend? Spill please!

Monday's Good Stuff

2012-01-09T22:01:00.000Z

Ooh, I nearly forgot that it's Monday! I told you this would happen. Oh well, better late in the day than never. This will need to be quick though as I am totally shattered. Here we go.

1) The reason I'm tired is I was up a little bit too late last night because I had a deadline at 9am today. But I made it, everything was indeed uploaded last night so all is good.

2) And the reason I was up late last night because I hadn't done it soon? I had too good a time in Leeds this weekend so I really had to force myself to get back to Lincoln. Friday was lovely- I went out for dinner with the guy I'm seeing and then for drinks with my brother and his girlfriend. I was nervous but luckily everyone got on well. On Saturday I was out with my brother, his girlfriend and their friends which was nice and then Sunday was a chill out day with the boy, hence why I really didn't want to leave. Ah, I'm a soppy cow. Oh and I met his friend too, so that was good. All in all, it was a good one and definitely worth being a bit sleepy tonight.

3) I'm watching Coppers on Channel 4 as I write this, and I love this programme. It's just such a good insight; I love anything that shows you what a job's really like. Anyone else watch it?

4) I'm off to London this weekend to see my lovely friends Tom and Neil and to go to La Soiree which is the most awesome show ever. Cannot wait!

This guy was the highlight for me last time. So amazing, hope he's on the bill on Saturday night!

I think 4 points will have to do for tonight my lovelies, I am so tired and writing number 4 has just reminded me that I need to book my train ticket. I hope you've had a fab Monday and have a great week!

I'm Flushing!

2012-01-05T17:32:00.001Z

Regular readers know that I love cheap, "drug store" make up. We have some great brands available to us for next to nothing and I love trying them out to see what works. I particularly love 17 from Boots; I don't think I've ever tried something that I didn't at least like and I quite often love the products.

Well we have one of each here.

I won't spend long talking about the Pressed Powder (in Neutral) because it's just OK. An OK product which isn't cakey on my skin but doesn't last amazingly well. It's a little orange so I apply carefully, but I don't like caking on powder anyway. The fact that I've nearly used it all says something.

However, I am in love with the Blusher in First Flush.

OK, it does look scary in the pan. And in real life it actually looks brighter than this. Eek! I love bright pink blushers though, they instantly make me look awake, so I couldn't resist this.

As you can see when you use it lightly, as I have at the top, it's a pretty flush of colour. I've swatched it heavily on the bottom so you can see how the colour could be built up, if you wanted to. I think this shade would look amazing on darker skin and as it's so pigmented, it would certainly be bright enough to show up.

I only apply a tiny amount of it so I think it'll last forever. In fact, I lightly dust the blusher brush over the top and I still tap or blow the excess of just to make sure I don't apply too much. I love the result, as I always think a bright pink blusher makes me look wide awake and anything that has that effect is a winner with me.

Sorry about the blurry picture, but this was the best one for showing the great glow it gives me.

See how natural it looks? It's definitely possible to use this really strong shade and avoid a Coco the Clown look.

I've posted before about my love of bright pink blusher and MAC Dollymix remains one of my favourites. In fact whenever I pack a make up bag to go somewhere, I always pack one of these two. That way however much I drink or however late I stay up, I can look human in the morning!

Do you have any bright pink blusher recommendations? Go on, enable me ;)

Renew You - Skincare for the New Year

2012-01-03T11:55:00.000Z

I was sent this kit a couple of months ago and of course I wanted to test it out thoroughly before I posted about it but I also thought that it was a good time to post this now. After all, many of us will have over indulged over the last few weeks and I know my skin could do with a boost at the moment. Which is where this Renew You set may be able to help out.

The kit is 1 of 2 that are available from Renew You (part of the Montagne Jeunesse company and I already love their face masks). This is the Intense Hydration Kit and there is also a Pure Radiance one. Both make pretty amazing claims about the effect they will have on your skin. they say that 94% of women reported a dramatic improvement in their skin's hydration after using the programme but of course I wanted to test this for myself.

First of all, I'll talk a little bit about the packagaing. The box is very compact for a programme of 19 treatments. When you pull the tab at the bottom, it pops out like this.

The tab on the left is a description of the 4 types of products in the programme, what they contain and what they do. The information on the right is a day to day chart of what to use and when. Very useful to keep you on track. It looks like a lot from this but actually every morning you just use the moisturiser and the evenings are for the treaments so it's not onerous.

Also in the pack is a tick box sheet so that you can keep up to see where you are with the programme. If you forget to do a day, don't worry, you can always catch up the next day. I didn't actually use the tick box but I think if you're not as used to a regular skincare regime then this may prove very useful indeed.

I think it's packaged really well and I was impressed up to this point, but what about the products?

The box opens up and there are various sachets contained within it.

In the pack you get 1 Hydrogel Masque.

2 Red Clay Tonics.

2 packets of Brightening Treatments. Each of these packs has 7 little sachets in, one for every day of the week.

And also 1 Active Firming Masque.

It seems like a lot but it's actually just a morning moisturiser and then 5 evening treatements spread over 2 weeks.

I found that each sachet of the morning moisturiser- the Ultra Luminous- had a hell of a lot of product in it. Even when I used some for my neck and décolletage, I found that each sachet did 2 days and I still have some left over. It's a lovely cream though, rich but light if that makes any sense.

What really impressed me was the evening treatments though, especially the Revive & Uplift Red clay treatments. The cloth that is impregnated with the red clay is so relaxing to apply- I didn't want to take it off! My skin was so refreshed from using them.

The Intense Hydration Hydrogel Masque with Q10 and Hyaluronic Acid was my absolute favourite though. It really made such a difference to my skin at the end of the fortnight's programme. My skin looked the best it has in months but frustratingly my camera didn't do a very good job at picking this up. I suppose this is probably because my skin was OK to begin with. The hydration effect will be fairly minimal to look at because the few wrinkles I have are fairly new and not that easy to see. However I do think it's a great programme that my skin got a lot from. I could certainly see and feel the difference for myself.

At £34.95 (from Boots and I wil put a link up as soon as the Boots website is up again) I think this is great value. Yes, it's not as cheap as other Montagne Jeunesse products out there but this is an intensive 2 week programme of skincare that gets great results. I will certainly be investing in this again, quite possibly when I get paid to give my skin a much needed boost. I'd certainly recommend it if you know you'll see the fortnight through and enjoy treating yourself to face masks. After all a salon facial could cost double this, which I really can't afford, so this is a great option for me.

Have you tried this? And how much would you spend to treat your skin?

Monday's Good Stuff

2012-01-02T13:25:00.000Z

Well this gets the year off to a good start. I am posting a MGS post, which lets face it have been few and far between recently, on the first Monday of the year. I wonder how long this will last. Probably until next week when I'm all busy and forget that it's actually Monday. I do that more often than you'd think. I do confuse easily.

Anyway, for now I'm aware of the day and ave enough time to blog so I'm going to make the most of it.

1) I still have a couple of days before term starts again, which I'm trying to make the most of . I must admit that I'm glad this week is only a 3 day week- after 2 and a half weeks off it'll be a bit of s shock to the system, as much as I do love what I do. However I haven't done any work over Christmas so I have quite a few things to do so that I'm organised when I go back. Last term was hard as I started part way into the course and didn't really know what I was doing, so this term I want to hit the ground running and not end this term in such a crazy rush.

2) The last 2 weeks have been pretty good, certainly better than expected. I had a lovely few days up in Glasgow with family (although that seems so long ago now), a couple of trips to Leeds to see the guy I'm dating (our dates have definitely been a highlight of the holiday), I caught up with my friend Lucy on Friday and then popped over to Nottingham for NYE with the boy.

I don't feel like I've been at home much over the last couple of weeks, it's definitely not been a normal Christmas for me. But I've definitely made the best of it- it's been fun :)

3) I decided not to do a post about my Christmas presents, but this was mainly because I was so busy/lazy over Christmas. I love reading other people's (I know some people think they're showing off but I like them) but, even though I got some wonderful gifts which will no doubt make appearances in future posts, I will not be doing a round up of them. That said, I do need to find a place for them all, Christmas was over a week ago and they're still sitting on my bedroom floor... The best thing about Christmas presents is that I have been able to wear new things, use new toiletries etc every day recently. I won't lie, I love new things.

4) The Christmas decorations may be done today but the place does look bigger and brighter for it. I'm trying to see this is a positive (it is MGS after all) but I do miss them, I won't lie.

5) And lastly, my brother and his girlfriend will be back from NYC today. I won't lie, I'm rather jealous that they spent NYE there and it's got me thinking that I'd love to do that some time but it'll be great to see them and hear all about it. I might go up to Leeds at the weekend, if they're free. Well, they will have brought me a present back (which will more than likely have come from Sephora-WIN!) so it'd be rude not to :)

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Well that took me longer to write than usual. I am definitely out of practice at these, as they used to be the easiest posts to write by a long way. In fact, I'm going to make that a mini New Year's Resolution- I will do a MGS every week, even if I don't have the time or energy to make it the full 5 things.

What are you up to on this Bank Holiday Monday?

Neglected Products

2012-01-02T09:00:00.002Z

I was loathe to call this "Products I Regret Buying" because I actually like them all and do get some use out of them. I do however look at them and think "I really don't get enough of use out of you to warrant the money spent/hype/excitement" so hence the title and as well as all the posts about great products that tend to be around at the end of the year I figured this may be useful. Or at least fun for me to write.

I don't suppose any one will be surprised to see these up first.

Sleek's Pout Paints were hotly anticipated and I was one of many to rush out and pick up a couple. I also have Cloud 9, not pictured here. Now I have nothing against these, I think they're great shades, they mix well and if you had them all you could no doubt mix up any shade you want. But you actually have to mix them and that is where I fail. I never remember or have time and it's just easier to use a product that you can bung in your bag and go out with, without needing a lip brush and a couple of tubes.
Next up, the Naked palette.

I don't want to sound like I'm totally changing my mind as I have posted favourably about this in the past but as I say, this is just a product that I don't use as much as I thought I would. In fact I lent it to a friend, for quite a few weeks and when she gave it back, I'd forgotten she even had it. I don't know if you can see but the only shade that I've made a dent in is Sin. Having said that, I reach for my cheapy Sleek Storm palette just as much as I use this, so I could have done without this. And despite my initial excitement I hardly ever use Urban Decay's Alice in Wonderland palette. I don't wear bright eyeshadow and so many of the neutral shades are glittery in this. I only ever use 5 of the shades in this palette (Oraculum, Muchness, Mushroom, Vorpal and Drink Me, Eat Me in case you're wondering) and out of 16 that's pretty crap. Especially for the 30 odd quid it cost me.

Speaking of eye shadow, I've just dug out Sleek's Bad Girl palette and I seriously think I've used this twice since I got this a freaking year ago!

I'm going to leave this on top of my dresser for a while though because it seriously deserves some love.
Face wise, there are fewer maligned products in my collection. In fact I'm a bit obsessive about going through them and rotating blushers, highlighters and bronzers. Sleek's Rose Gold blusher is too warm for me however unless I have a tan in the summer. And even then it can be a bit much so all I ever do is occasionally swatch it. Pretty pointless really.

Lip products though? Hmm. I buy so many of them and they don't all get used. Let's have a nosy.

I have 2 Lancome L'Absolu Creme de Brilliance and for £18 each I should wear these all the freaking time. But no. I've worn the Orange Sacree shade about 3 times a summer and the Rose Nu shade hasn't been used much more often despite it being the most perfect my-lips-but-better shade. I must stash this in my handbag to get some use out of it because I can't bear to think of wasting that much money. They're hardly the most expensive lip products out there but for me, these cost an absolute fortune.

Is there anything worse than lipgloss with absolutely no colour to it? Yes, there is. A lipgloss with no colour that just coats your lips in sticky glitter, that's what. Sephora's Apricot Souffle smells delicious, like sweeties, but that doesn't save it from the bottom of the make up bag.

I'm spoilt for choice in the lipstick category too. I went through a phase (as do plenty of beauty bloggers) of collecting MAC lippies. Now I don't regret buying them as such. They're great- stunning colours, stunning pigmentation and they smell like royal icing. However I do not use the majority of them and Myth and Blankety are all but forgotten. I don't favour the pale lipped look any more so they are gathering dust. Oh and while we're on the MAC topic, I can't remember the last time I wore Russian Red either and that used to get worn all the time. I went through quite a phase of wearing it every day and felt fantastic. Red lips do take a bit of getting used to but I do feel so glamorous when I go to the effort.
OK, you're probably flagging now, so thanks for sticking with me. This is the last one, my Inglot palette.

As with so many of these products, these lipsticks are great and all 3 are beautiful shades. And I'd be tempted to buy more if I found myself in Inglot again, but the fact remains; I don't use them! Just as with the Pout Paints, it's a faff to have to use a lip brush and as I don't have a little one in the palette, it's difficult to take out with me.
So there are some of my neglected products. What do you have lurking in your make up bags and drawers that doesn't feel your love? Spill the beans!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T16:28:00.000Z

Well hello there. Look at me, writing a blog post on the first day of the year. Wonder how long I'll be able to keep this up for eh?

I just thought I'd do a little post about my NYE and my resolutions, because I love to see what people did and what you're resolving to do in the New Year.

I have to be honest and admit that I forgot to take my camera out with me. I did manage to take a quick snap before I popped out so this is the best I have, scuse the crappy BB quality.

You can't see the dress well here but it's this Warehouse one and I love wearing it.

So NYE was a pretty good night. I spent it in Nottingham with the guy I'm dating and it was great to get a bit dressed up, have dinner and a few cocktails and to show him a bit of Nottingham which is where I went to uni. We thought it'd be fun to stay somewhere for a night and it was a great night so it worked out brilliantly. Oh and when we go out, I only have a few drinks so I don't even have a hangover today. Bonus.

Oh course the start of a New Year is making me reflect on the past and on the future, you all know what I'm like. I'm excited about 2012 though and intend to make the most of it so these are my resolutions....

1) Carry on dating and having fun.

2) Eat, drink and exercise in moderation- it's time to stop being lazy but not get obsessive.

3) Work hard and qualify as a teacher.

4) Organise myself better so that I have more time to blog and a little more time at weekends to myself.

5) To stop worrying and over thinking things.

6) Keep in touch with friends and family better.

Yes, number 5 is the same as last year because I never got to grips with it. I really need to though because it irritates me and everyone around me. I have no doubt that it will be the most difficult one to achieve but I will give it a go because I know I'd be far happier if I could stop over analysing every. last. thing.

I hope you had a great NYE whether you partied or relaxed with friends and family and here's to a fantastic 2012!

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2011 - Looking Back

2011-12-30T18:43:00.000Z

So 2011 has been quite a year for me. I started the year living in Nottingham, engaged and working in a boring office job. I now live in Lincoln, I'm single but dating and I'm training to be a teacher. I might not have seen it at the time but all of these changes have been positive and the year has been an amazing one.

So I thought I'd have a little look back the year and a few of the highlights, month by month. Admittedly my memory isn't the best (12 months is a long time) and some months weren't the best, but I have looked for the silver linings so here goes...

January
I had a low key start to the year, still in Nottingham and working out what I wanted to do with life. However a massive highlight of the month was my first blogger event and the trip to London with Remington was well worth the trip. In fact, I'm off to see La Soirée again in a couple of weeks because it's just that fabulous and of course it was amazing and very exciting to meet up with bloggers who I've chatted to on Twitter in the actual flesh.

February
Despite me wracking my brains and looking through my Facebook timeline, I am seriously struggling to find anything for February! For that reason, I'm going to say the highlight was discovering the Remington Pearl Wand and how easy it is to have lush curly hair. Shallow yes, but you know me by now!

March
This is when the year started to get really good. I spent a week of holiday from work volunteering in the school I now work in and loved it. From the minute I set foot in the classroom, I knew it was for me and I was so upset when I left at 3pm on the Friday that I cried my eyes out. The following Monday I handed in my notice at work so I could move home and volunteer full time. The wheels were in motion...

April
I moved back to Lincoln, happy to be finished in a job that bored me to tears, and straight away we all headed up to Glasgow to see family- especially my cousin's new baby Orran. Whilst we were in Glasgow we celebrated the Royal Wedding and I was surprised at just how fantastic a day it was. Of course it helped that it was the most glorious day and we spent a lot of it lazing about in the sunshine because, in Glasgow, you need to make the most of any hot sunny weather that you get quite frankly.

May
I started to volunteer full time in school and immerse myself in more aspects of school life like staff meetings and doing more with the children. I also started a course, taught by my Mum, to give me a qualification in children's communication.

June
Not the best month of the year, I admit, but there was something that was such a massive highlight of my year- my friends Lucy and Olly got married! It was such a beautiful day and just looking at that post makes me so happy.

July
Whatever happens in life, there is a silver lining. I saw this in the summer when my fabulous friends kept me sane and together at a difficult time and some of my best memories from this year involve people dashing round to see me at massively short notice. I even managed to see my elusive friends Tom and Neil with less than a week's notice. Sitting in a park, eating chips and glugging wine with them, is a special memory because even then I knew it would all be fine.

August
My first taste of the 6 week holiday since I was at school myself! I spent most of it at work however earning some pennies- not the most exciting way but at least I was able to spend time with my lovely friends.

September
I only went and got a place on a freaking teaching course! It was by far the biggest highlight of my year and also the beginning of a stupidly busy term. I am so lucky, I had no idea that getting on a course this year would be possible. I also went down to London for a TRESemme event (my second blogger event).

October
The month started with boiling hot weather and sunbathing, included a trip to Leeds to do an Otley Run with my bro, Kat and Marianne (top night) and ended with me going to London with my Mum to see Wicked! and go to BINTM Live. It basically rocked.

November
Feeling much more like myself I started dating again, as utterly terrifying as this was at first. I celebrated my 27th birthday in Leeds with my brother, Kat and The Boy (yup, still nameless) and worked so hard at school that blogging became non existent.

December
My favourite month of the year didn't let me down. Preparations for Christmas at school were wonderful, I went to Lincoln Christmas Market twice, have been on various lovely dates with The Boy and spent a few days in Glasgow before Christmas. And I'm putting this post up tonight because if I don't do it now, I'll run out of time. I'm seeing in the New Year in Nottingham, with The Boy so 2011 will end and 2012 will start very nicely indeed :)

I hope that 2011 treated you well and, if it didn't, I hope you came through smiling and stronger for it. A new year is about to begin and I hope that 2012 is wonderful for every one of you. I'll be posting about my New Year's Resolutions over the next couple of days (this may well be hangover dependant) but in the mean time, what are yours?

Wishing Everyone A Very Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T12:36:00.001Z

I just wanted to take the opportunity to wish you all a fabulous, happy, merry Christmas before my day starts to get really busy. I hope that everyone reading this is celebrating with loved ones and has a wonderful time. However I know that isn't the case for everyone and so I'm touched that the lovely Kellie from Big Fashionista has put together this list of contacts.

If you are alone, depressed, troubled or in need of help then please use this list to seek advice at a time which can be really lonely.

MIND

www.mind.org.uk

0300 123 3393

Samaritans

www.samaritans.org
08457 90 90 90

Alcoholics Anonymous

0845 769 7555

www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk/newcomers

Stonewall

Info line 08000 50 20 20
www.stonewall.org.uk

London Lesbian and Gay Switchboard

0207 837 7324

SANELine

0845 767 8000

www.sane.org.uk

Preventing young suicide

www.papyrus-uk.org

For people in Northern Ireland

www.lifeline.info

0808 808 8000

Childline

www.childline.org.uk

0800 1111

Depressionalliance

www.depressionalliance.org

Refuge

www.refuge.org.uk

0808 2000 247

Eating Disorders Association

www.edauk.com

0845 634 1414

Shelter

www.shelter.org.uk

0808 800 4444

NHS Direct

www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk

0845 4647

No Panic

0808 808 0545

www.no-panic.co.uk

Thanks so much to Kellie for compiling this list. Stay well and safe over Christmas. Love to you all.

Monday's Good Stuff

2011-12-12T18:36:00.000Z

Monday's Good Stuff posts have been somewhat absent recently. I keep forgetting what day it is though so it's not really my fault. I know from my stats that these are popular though so if anyone still actually reads these posts then I hope you enjoy a little MGS comeback.

1) We all remember how much I love Christmas right? Have a look at some of last year's posts if you're not sure. Well, this year has been even more amazing! I'm so lucky to work in an infant school, I genuinely think I have the best job in the world. The last few weeks have been crazy- carol concerts, Nativity plays, school fun day, class parties, Christmas cards, decorations, calendars and a dozen other things all require a lot of preparation and work. It's a total festive whirlwind but I love it, there is nothing better than working away on their projects with them, with the Christmas carols playing in the background. It really is awesome.

2) As well as working hard to meet deadlines I am of course making time to watch my favourite Christmas films, as I work. I have watched Nativity! a couple of times already and I love it even more than last year which I didn't think possible. Of course working in a school makes watching it even more fun- our children are that amusing too!

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3) I have a ton of work to do before I get there but I cannot wait until Friday- I'll have 2 and a half weeks off! I do have quite a bit of work to do over Christmas though (so don't hate me!) but it will be so nice to have a few days off. I worked through most of October half term so I could catch up, so I can't wait for a few days off. I will spend most of it eating, drinking and watching TV but that's how Christmas is meant to be, right?

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4) Speaking of time off, the first thing I'm doing is getting in the car and driving up to Glasgow with my Mum and brother on Saturday. We're taking our family their Christmas presents up and it will be so great to see everyone, especially my cousin and her 2 little boys. Can't wait!

5) Oh and lastly, *mumbles* you know I said I was dating? Well it's still all going well... Our Christmas Market date was fab and lots of mulled wine was consumed. It's still really early days but I like him and he likes me. Tis very nice indeed :)

So there you go. A whole heap of Christmas excitement and a little bit of a romance too. Life really is quite fabulous at the moment.

So how are you doing? And what are you doing? Excited about Christmas or a bit fed up of it already?

Things I Miss

2011-12-08T20:15:00.000Z

I really miss...

Having time to paint my nails

Having time to do a home facial

Reading for pleasure

Blogging

Reading other blogs

Commenting on other blogs

Getting enough sleep

Weekends to do fun stuff

But I do love having the best job in the whole wide world so I suppose all of this (otherwise known as having a life) can wait a little bit :)

I can't wait to meet my deadlines next week and relax a bit over Christmas- bring on the mulled wine!

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An Update!

2011-11-29T20:01:00.000Z

Well hello there strangers. As you have probably noticed, I've not been posting very much at all recently. I've been putting almost all of my energy into my GTP course and teaching in school. Although it's really hard work, it's also fantastic; I am seeing progress in my teaching and I just love it.

I will however be very glad when I've met all the deadlines that are fast approaching and have some time to relax over Christmas. So I'm dreading and eagerly anticipating the 16th of December at the same time.

You know me, I love Christmas, but I don't think I'm going to feel all that festive until after the 16th (despite my Michael Buble CD and Christmas Yankee Candles) because the stress is a little overwhelming at the moment. Luckily I've managed to fit in some fab times with my brother and his girlfriend. They came down to Lincoln last weekend and we had a great catch up over the most ridiculous amount of Dominos pizza- sometimes you need a Friday night pig out. We ordered the pizza online because I'm a massive geek and love to see the thing that tells you when the pizza's being prepared and when it's in the oven! I know, such a div. I actually had my camera ready to capture the awesomeness that was our feast including 4 different types of pizza and the cookie desert things but immense hunger got the better of me as we didn't eat until 10pm and I took none, fail.

Speaking of Kat and Simon, I went up to Leeds this weekend to celebrate my birthday and decided I'd combine that trip with something else... I have taken a small step to having a little bit more of a life outside studying and teaching and if you follow me on Twitter then you'll already know that I'm dating someone. We've been on 4 rather fabulous dates now and it's so nice to be out enjoying myself and having a little bit of time away from the books. It's very, very early days but he's lovely and made my birthday weekend in Leeds (that's where he lives) rather awesome indeed. Oh that and the dress I wore is totally lush and made me feel amazing.

Date number 5 is on Sunday and we will be going to the Lincoln Christmas Market. I won't lie, I'm looking forward to it- the market is amazing and it'll be lovely to have a mooch around with him. Ooh it's lovely to have a smile back on my face!

My Weekend - London Baby!

2011-11-04T21:45:00.000Z

Well it's all kinds of ridiculous that it's taken me this long to write this post. In my defence it's been a mental week and better late than never right?

I'll start at the beginning. As you know I went down to London with my Mum on Saturday for a wander down Regent St and Oxford St, a trip to see Wicked and then BINTM Live on Sunday. The perfect weekend? I think so. We had an amazing time and I wanted to share some of my pictures with you but looking back at them now I didn't take as many as I remembered, isn't that always the way? Well, it is for me anyway so here's what I did remember to take pictures of...

We were heading to Leicester Square to pick up some Wicked tickets when we went past the M&M store and I had to pop in, tourist that I am.

Yup, it had to be done.

After Leicester Square we headed to Oxford St, via Regent St and we popped into Liberty for breakfast.

It was beyond lush and just a lovely spot for a quiet bite to eat even though you're in one of the busiest shopping areas in the country. Expensive, yes, but worth every penny for sure. Neither of us had been to Liberty before so we spent quite a while looking round and (I'm sure this won't surprise you) I spent ages looking at the perfumes, they have such a great range.

We then had to head to our hotel (we stayed at the Hilton Canary Wharf) where we were ungraded to a lush room. However there was a downside; we were upgraded because they'd run out of twin rooms so we got a deluxe double room and I had to share a bed with my snoring, wriggling, semi insomniac mother. Oh and she got a bit confused by the clocks changing so despite agreeing she wouldn't wake me til 8am on the Sunday morning (early enough right?) she woke me at 7. Ta Mum!

OK, rant over, where was I? Back to Saturday night, we went to see...

WICKED!!!

OK that's a tad overexciteable, I know, but OMG I loved it. It was hilarious, everyone was just freaking talented and the songs blew me away. Defying Gravity made me cry for goodness sake!

So we headed to the Excel Centre bright and early on Sunday morning for BINTM Live which was a fab day. I seem to have taken quite a few pictures that came out badly but here are a few.

I really enjoyed the talk that Tanya and Ruth did about skincare and make up for models. It was aimed at models going to castings-not my area of interest at all- but it was great to hear these guys speak after watching so many of their videos. I popped over to say hi at the end and it was lovely to meet them, they're very sweet.

This advice to models was displayed at the side of the talk and it made me smile; I just think it's great advice for life really. Well, perhaps not the g string part but you never know I suppose.

Mum and I did some shopping, had manicures and massages and generally had a lovely day. I will be posting a separate post on what I picked up because this is getting long already (congratulations if you're still reading quite frankly). The highlight of the day though was the catwalk show, it was superb. It was fab seeing the BINTM girls, the dancers were great, the music rocked and the show was put together brilliantly.

The girls with the lovely boys.

Bluey Robinson.

For some reason Blogger isn't letting me upload in the right order, but this is the way they revealed all of the BINTM girls, it was great.

This year's winner, Jade.

Again, good advice. Which I should really take.

Well that ended up being a lot more picture heavy than I thought.

It really was a fab weekend and it was so lovely to spend so much time with my lovely Mum. I'm now totally obsessed with Wicked and have been listening to the soundtrack on repeat for days now. I'm sure those of you who have seen it will understand- isn't it fab?

I'll try and do my post on my goodies that I picked up as soon as possible, but by my current standards, that could be any time in the next fortnight. I'm just chuffed I got this post up before this weekend kicks off. What do you have planned? I'm off to see my fabulous friend Lucy tomorrow and I can't wait. I don't see anything like enough of her so it will be fab to catch up.

Hey there

2011-10-27T15:51:00.000+01:00

Hey there strangers. So it's half term and I had hoped that I'd get the chance to get caught up on blog posts, but that hasn't quite happened.

I spent the weekend in Leeds with my brother, his girlfriend Kat and my friend Marianne having a few drinks on an Otley Run. (If you know anything about the Otley Run you'll know it wasn't just a few drinks but it sure was fun!) I'm down in London with my Mum this weekend for shopping, a show and the Britain's Next Top Model Live show so I had no option but to work my butt off from Monday to Friday.

Well I started on Monday morning and I'm still going strong. I'm getting there, ticking things off the do list and making some real progress but it's certainly been a busy week. I'm trying to get caught up. Because I started the course late I felt like I was getting further and further behind all last half term. It was really frustrating and I said to myself that I'd go back after half term up to date so I could finally forget about starting late and just get on with it like everyone else. I'm well on my way to that being possible now so feel quite relieved.

This week I've also taken the time to get back to various people by e-mail, quite a few of which relate to products you'll see reviewed on here. Over the next few weeks I will (I know, I say it all the time but this time I mean it!) get in the habit of scheduling posts at the weekend so you'll have at least a couple of new posts a week to read.

Thanks for sticking with me guys. I'm surprised that my reader numbers haven't dipped massively and am pleasantly surprised to see a few new followers so thanks very much!

Hugs and kisses to you all! xxx

Monday's Good Stuff

2011-10-17T21:15:00.000+01:00

It's half term next week.

That's all I've got right now *falls asleep*

Boudoir Prive Box

2011-10-16T09:00:00.001+01:00

I'm going to make this post fairly snappy because I'm sure you seen a ton of posts about this box already, but as the lovely people at Boudoir Prive sent me this to review, I will be adding my thoughts on it.

So, most people will be familiar with the beauty boxes that have become so popular over the last few months. Boudoir Prive is becoming firmly established as one of the leaders in this field and offers a box of 5 or 6 sample sized products for £10 a month which includes postage.

I received a Glossy Box back in May so I will be making some comparisons- after all they are both similar services and I will only be subscribing to one ultimately.

The box is really cute and really similar to Glossy Box. Although they're both pretty it's a shame they aren't a little more distinct.

So, please excuse the slightly out of focus picture, these were the contents I received. I was happy to see my first Zoya polish in here, along with Macadamia hair oil, a electric blue Cargo eyeliner, Colbert MD Nourish Eye Cream, Tropic body exfoliator, a sample of Agent Provocateur perfume and a bronzing blotting sheet.

This is Marina and it's seriously lush. To be honest the box was worth it just for this in my opinion- it's a lush shade. This was just 1 coat of it too and it covers so beautifully. I'm in love and after looking at the other shades that come on the fab little chart thing (I'm sure it has a proper nail but hey) I want almost all of them. Apart from the green shades. I think this is such a clever thing to put in with a box like this as I'm sure lots of people bought more than 1 as a result.

So, out of the other products I received (I'm not sure why the eye pencil isn't in this picture but to be honest blue isn't my colour so I won't use it and it's a shame it didn't come in a more neutral shade) there are 2 that I really like.

The Macadamia hair oil is lovely although pricey. The sample size retails at £5.95 and a larger 125ml size is around £30 I think (I've cleverly put the info in the bin during a big tidy up) which is way beyond my budget at the moment. It's lovely stuff though and I'm already halfway the bottle I have. The Colbert MD eye cream is gorgeous too and I really like it. I've passed it onto my Mum though as this is seriously good stuff and a bit wasted on me. The full size of 15ml sells for £90 so I thought she should give it a proper test out. The Agent Provocateur perfume has also been passed to Mum, it's lovely but not for me. The exfoliator is OK but hasn't wowed me and the blotting bronzer sheet just seems a bit pointless.

So over all it was a mixed bag. I love the Zoya polish and the hair oil and my Mum's done well from it too but I wasn't bowled over by this box. Looking back at the Glossy Box I received, which I loved at the time, I realise how little I've used the products in it. I suppose the problem with boxes like these is that you don't choose the products yourself so you may well end up with products that you're not fussed by and don't use.

If I was to sign up for one now, out of Glossy Box and Boudoir Prive, I'd go with Boudoir Prive and I'm not just saying that because I'm reviewing it now! It's because the postage costs are included in the £10 so it's cheaper and also on the strength of the Zoya polish which I'll get much more wear out of than the NARS Illuminator (it was the older formula which is pretty flawed) and the lovely but very bright All About Eve lipstick in the Glossy Box I received.

I will however be looking for reviews of the Feel Unique box before I commit to anything and weighing up my options. I love the concept of these but you could ultimately spend £120, or more, a year on products that you don't like or won't get use out of and I don't want to through money away unnecessarily.

Do you subscribe to Boudoir Prive? Or any of the other beauty boxes? Do you think they're good value for money?

VO5 Instant Oomph Powder Review

2011-10-14T20:34:00.000+01:00

I've had this for ages and really should have posted this review yonks ago. You'll see from the following pictures that I've used it since the summer, before I had the side fringe cut in! Anyway, better late than never eh? This is VO5's Instant Oomph Powder and it's supposed to do exactly what it says. That is, give your hair oomph, much like the TRESemme Sky High Plumping Powder that I've also tried.

I love the bright pink packaging, it's fabulously girlie and the small pot is great as it doesn't take up much room when I'm packing to head somewhere.

It's easy to shake into my roots and you don't get too much out in one go. The TRESemme one is slightly harder to control but it's not really a problem.

In order to show you the effect I took before and after pictures and as you can see, it's a little flat at first.

With a sprinkling of the Instant Oomph Powder and a quick massage of the roots, this is the effect. Bearing in mind this was on straighten hair and without other volumising products, I think the effect is pretty good. Certainly you can see there's more height in the crown.

It works even better in conjunction with other volumising products and for this I used the TRESemme ones. Also, as you can see, this was taken after I had a side fringe cut in and I was wearing my hair in a centre parting which really suits this look.

I love wearing my hair like this on a night out. It's so easy to do but bigger hair just makes me feel glam.

I really like the Instant Oomph Powder but there's really nothing between this and the TRESemme one. Both of the powders give me the same effect with good hold. With both of them you can revive the style by massaging the roots again which is great when you're out as you don't need the product with you.

It gets a big thumbs up from me and I'll buy it, or the TRESemme one, in future when my current ones run out.

Do you use the plumping powders? What'd your favoured method of getting a bouffant barnet?

*The product was sent to me as a PR sample but all reviews are 100% honest.*

TRESemme Split Remedy - A Rave Review

2011-10-11T07:00:00.002+01:00

I imagine this range of products to target and repair split ends is going to attract a lot of interest. After all, 93% of women suffer from split ends at some point according to TRESemme. Quite frankly I'm surprised that it's not 100% of women, what with heat styling, forgetting to use a heat protecter, tugging brushes through wet hair and the other horrible things we do to our tresses.

So, first of all- what is this range supposed to do? After all, we've long been told that we can't fix split ends, you just have to prevent them and get them chopped off when they, fairly inevitably, occur.

Well, TRESemme claim to have created a range of products which does just that. The products all contain a reconstructing complex which is a microgel and gets into the split. This contains oppositely charged polymers, the positive ones are attracted to the split end and then the negative ones are attracted to them. Hey presto the polymers bind the split back together.

Now, I was sceptical when I heard about this. As I say, we've long been told that you can't mend split ends and let's face it, we do get told all sorts by beauty brands. But I was happy to try the range and here's what I had a play with.

That would be the Split Mend Shampoo, Split Mend Conditioner, Split Mend Intense Recovery Masque and Split Mend Sealing Serum.

I started by just using the shampoo and conditioner as TRESemme claim that use of these 2 together will reduced split ends by up to 80% after just 3 uses. I have to say that I was overly impressed after these 3 washes by any improvement. My hair "liked" them certainly, and I really like the shampoo lathers, but I wasn't blown away. I always prefer intensive treatments though- my hair's pretty dry and usually requires more than a normal conditioner-so I introduced the masque.

And this was when I really started to be impressed. This stuff works. And I'm sure of this because I had quite a lot of split ends when I started using it and after 5 weeks of using it, my split ends are far better than they were, despite my continuing to blow dry and straighten my hair every 2 days. I usually use the shampoo, masque and serum together (I told you, dry hair) and seriously, the results are great.

I'm still slightly sceptical of how it can possibly work, but all I know is that it has worked for me. As I say, my split ends are far less split than they were 5 weeks ago and no, I haven't had my hair cut. I'm really thrilled because this means I can go longer between hair cuts as split ends are my number one reason to head to the salon. I'll still need to go for a tidy up of course, but anything that means I have longer in between visits to help it grow is a winner with me.

Of course ladies (and gents), prevention is still important. Make sure that you use a heat protection spray and lay off the heat styling when you can. Oh and always be gentle with your hair when it's wet; you can do some serious damage if you brush wet hair. Instead, use a wide tooth comb and comb the very ends first before combing all the way through. Your hair will thank you for it!

Have you tried out the Split Remedy range yet? Let me know if you have, and what you think of it. I gather the products are in Tesco already, in Boots at some point this month and will be available all over the shop in November.
*These proucts are PR samples. As always, this does not affect my opinion and my review is entirely honest.*

Monday's Good Stuff!

2011-10-10T17:20:00.000+01:00

Well I remembered that it's Monday, so I think I'm doing a little better this week. It's a start at least.

At risk of repeating myself yet again, this will be a short post as I'm short on time and determined to write a review post (the TRESemme Split Remedy range, in case you're wondering) and that should be up tomorrow. I really miss doing my reviews and other posts, so I'm determined to set aside some time this weekend to blog. I did have the same intention this week though, although GTP stuff crept into my time.

OK, so my good things this week...

1) I had a great night out last Monday with my friend Marianne. I absolutely love our meet ups- wine, Chinese food and a good chat. Oh and last week was extra awesome because she was on holiday when I found out I got on the course so I got to tell her face to face. :D

2) I'm really starting to get my head round the course now. I really do mean "starting," there is still loads to get sorted, and if you follow me on Twitter then you'll be aware of how freaked out I get. There's so many things to do and it doesn't feel as though there's anything like enough time, but I'm muddling through and ticking things off my list so I'll get there.

3) I still feel down sometimes but I keep reminding myself- I'm out there, I'm doing it. At a time when it'd be far easier to sit at home and not push myself, I'm doing it and it feels great. That feeling definitely sees me through when I'm feeling blue.

4) I'm totally obsessed with Educating Essex at the moment. I missed the first 2 episodes when I was still working at the shop so I've been catching up this week, as well as watching the third and I'm just so into it. I'll be really sad when it finishes this week.

5) My bedroom is now all organised. After a trip to Wycombe to pick up furniture (oh so fun) I now actually places ot put things. Plans to redecorate have slowed because of getting on the course and because I'm doing it a year earlier and getting paid at the same time, I don't actually know how long I'll be at home for now. I'm still weighing up if there's any point in going to the expense of redecorating now. Hmmm.

So there's my usual muddle of thoughts- slightly more muddled and rambly than usual, as I'm pressed for time. But it's been another great week, and I will leave you with this as it's great.

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Wednesday's Good Stuff?

2011-10-05T16:05:00.000+01:00

I feel like all I do is apologise at the moment. But here we go again. I'm sorry I'm still not able to post often at the moment.

I'm in my element, loving the course and being in school (oh and paid for it too!) but it really isn't leaving me any time to blog. In fact I feel guilty about writing this quick post as I have a ton of things I need to do right this second.

Rest assured I will still blog. I have products that I've yet to review and I'll get them up as soon as I can, but it's going to take some time for me to find the time and get in a routine.

I hope it doesn't sound like I'm moaning because I'm really not. I have the most amazing opportunity- I didn't think it was possible for me to train to be a teacher *this* year and I'm totally thrilled-but man is it going to be a tough and busy year.

So (before I run off to get some work done), my 5, very quick, good things are...

1) Meeting new people and making friends on my course.

2) Studying and challenging myself.

3) Buying new stationery for my course.

4) Friends who make me smile when I feel down.

5) Fabulous, perfect days in school when the sun is shining, the children are having fun and being hilarious and learning so much. Last Friday was without a doubt the best day I've ever had in school. I taught all morning and it totally reaffirmed why I'm working so hard to qualify as a teacher. It's the best job in the world.

Keep your fingers crossed I find time to post soon!

Monday's Good Stuff

2011-09-26T07:00:00.000+01:00

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

2011-09-19T08:00:00.002+01:00

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?

2011-09-13T08:00:00.002+01:00

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

2011-09-12T12:00:00.002+01:00

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

2011-09-10T20:04:00.001+01:00

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

2011-09-05T08:00:00.002+01:00

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.

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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

2011-09-04T21:23:00.000+01:00

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

2011-09-02T17:48:00.000+01:00

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

2011-09-01T17:57:00.001+01:00

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*

NOTD Rimmel Urban Purple

2011-08-31T21:40:00.000+01:00

First things first, the shade name annoys me. Because this, quite simply, isn't purple. It's slightly more purple toned than it appears in these pictures, admittedly, but of course the camera had a difficult time catching that what with purple being a beauty blogger's nightmare to photograph.

Urban Purple is a safe shade though. A rich, burgundy red cream that is pretty opaque in one coat and dries mega quickly. Oh and it has that thick brush which is great when you have huge wide nails like me. This is just one coat and for that reason it's one of my favourites when you need to do your nails really quickly and head out. That's what I did before taking this pictures which is why application is a little messier than usual.

It's difficult to get excited about a shade like this and I don't which is why I've had it for a year or more and not used it in a NOTD post but named it as one of my favourites shortly after starting the blog. It gets loads of use but is a pretty dull shade, is that weird?

Do you have a go to shade regardless of the lack of excitement?

Monday's Good Stuff

2011-08-29T16:07:00.000+01:00

Hello lovelies. I hope you're all having a good Monday, especially those in England and Wales because it's...

1) Bank Holiday! I love Bank Holidays, even though I don't have much on this weekend. I've slept lots, been shopping and worked too. Thankfully I've just had 2 evenings shifts to do and I've not had the energy for big nights out, so that's worked out nicely. I bought quite a few nice things today so I'll do a haul post this week.

2) Speaking of work I'm so glad that my manic 2 weeks is over. Working for my Dad, at the shop and house sitting and looking after my friend was a lot. I'm glad I could help everyone out but it left me pretty exhausted and I'm glad to be back home, in my own bed now.

3) I spent yesterday sorting things out in my room and having a big clear out in my wardrobe. While I was at it, I did the summer/autumn clothes swap so I expect summer to start anytime now I don't have my dresses to hand! I did it so that I could see what I need, where the gaps are and what I already have. I'd completely forgotten a few blouses from last year that are still stunning. There are so many similar ones in the shops this year so I'm glad I didn't go shopping without checking out what I've already got.

4) You may have seen my very excited tweets but I will be going on holiday to Sharm el Sheikh with my family next Easter! Woo hoo! I'm helping my Mum look for a hotel at the moment so if you've been and loved where you stayed then comment below please.

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5) And finally, because it's sometimes the little things, I'm fully, totally, 100% head over heels in love with my bed. There's nothing better than getting back into your own bed after a few nights away. <3

What did you spend the Bank Holiday doing?

A Little Yankee Haul

2011-08-28T18:17:00.000+01:00

Regular readers of Primp and Preen will already know of my love of Yankee Candles. Whilst I might dabble with other makes occasionally, Yankees are definitely my favourites. I'm yet to come across any candles that burn for so long with such strong (and gorgeous) fragrances.

I was in our local Co-op yesterday and saw that various summer scents were reduced by 30% so who was I to refuse?

This Island Spa medium jar was reduced to £10.80. I love Island Spa, it smells like holidays and cocktails so I'm buring this as I type to make the most of the very last of the summer.

The only other jars weren't particularly appealing so I picked up various samplers for the reduced price of £1.12 each. I have had Farmer's Market and Water Garden in the past and loved them but Island Guava and Fruit Salad are both new to me. I also bought Orchard Pear but gave that to my brother who also loves Yankee Candles. They're not just for girls!

As soon as I get through these beauts, I'll be buying up the Autumn fragrances and also a few Christmas ones too. Top of the list will be Cranberry Chutney, Home Sweet Home, Welcome Christmas, Winter Wonderland, Mulled Wine, Sparkling Snow, Sparkling Cinammon and Macintosh. It's a pretty long list, I know but I tend to buy samplers that burn for approximately 15 hours or the small jars that burn for something in the region of 25-40 hours without costing the earth. And I love to have the whole house smelling of warm, welcoming scents like these through to the Autumn and in the run up to Christmas.

Last year I got a great festive set with 3 small jars candles that worked out as buying 2 and getting 1 free so I'll be looking out for something similar this year.

Are you a fellow Yankee fan? What do you have on the go at the moment? And what are your favourites for autumn?

Hello!

2011-08-25T16:24:00.000+01:00

Hey there my neglected blog lovelies.

I am sitting at my Dad's garage, bored because it's really quiet and I wanted to do a quick post on what's on my mind at the moment - treating myself!

I've worked so much over the last couple of weeks and have the perfect reason to treat myself to something lovely/pretty/fab as a result. After all, Dad always said that working this hard is like earning double because you don't have any chance to spend it and that is so true.

So these are a few of the things that I'm considering. As I'm being much more organised and disciplined with my money at the moment (and paying off pesky credit card bills from way back when) I will be good and only treat myself to one of these things, as much fun as it would be to splurge and get them all!

My nails are in desperate need of some TLC so a manicure would be indulgent yet practical.

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Speaking of indulgence, I would do pretty much anything for a massage. In fact I can feel myself relaxing at the thought of it.

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My wardrobe is in desperate need of some updating so I have my eye on a few items, mainly from Warehouse and Oasis who are excelling this A/W.

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To be honest 90% of what Warehouse has in stock at the moment is just stunning, but this is my absolute favourite item. I love the rusty shades but can't usually wear these close to my face as they drain me. However as the blouse has other shades which break it up, this looks great on. Yes!

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It's fair to say these trousers are very different from my usual choice in trousers. I don't remember the last time I wore anything other than leggings or skinny jeans but that will change this autumn as I decree it the season of my wardrobe revamp.

I really should make sure that I either buy something useful or treat myself to a little pamper. I always feel guilty buying clothes because of the cost but yet I'll happily spend £30 in Boots on things I don't really need.

What's your favourite way to treat yourself? And what are you looking forward to buying this Autumn?

Guest Posting at A Beauty Junkie in London

2011-08-23T09:12:00.000+01:00

Hi guys. I just wanted to let you know that I'm guesting over at A Beauty Junkie in London today so pop over to take a look at the FOTD I've been rocking for many days now.

Given the crappy grey weather, I've been using products that give me a summery glow and make me feel great. The weather may think it's Autumn already but I'm holding onto the last of summer.

Make sure you go take a look!

Monday's Good Stuff

2011-08-22T08:00:00.001+01:00

Hello again my little lovelies. Thanks for stopping by! It appears to be Monday again, or at least I think it is. I've worked every day for the last week and I'm not entirely sure of the day most of the time because they all feel the same. Anyway, working on the assumption that it is indeed Monday...

1) I love getting lots of shifts at work. Lots of shifts equal lots of money. Awesome. It is the reason that I've been a bit absent on here though and I hope at least some of you have missed my posts :) I've got lots of things I want to post about though so hopefully I'll get the chance to sit down with the laptop soon.

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2) I'm currently house and kitten sitting for my friend. I'm loving it- Harry is adorable, as many of you will have seen on Twitter. He's a cheeky little thing but we're getting on really well. I don't know the faintest thing about cats, I've never had pets you see, but I totally love looking after him, especially the way he settles down to watch Gossip Girl with me. The cat has good taste.

3) I went to see The Inbetweeners Movie on Saturday and really enjoyed it. I thought it lulled in places because it obviously couldn't be like the laugh a minutes TV programme for 90 minutes but it was great nonetheless. Will's dancing got the biggest laugh from me.

4) Sometimes it's the little things. Lasgane, garlic bread, wine and chocolate ice cream with raspberries for my dinner last night. Truly amazing.

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5) And sometimes it's the nail polish related things. I popped in to Sally's yesterday to pick up a new hairbrush and I somehow managed to buy OPI Ink. I can't actually explain how much I love it. I'm all excited just writing this, how stupid! But that's the effect of pretty things on us, right? I will of course debut it in a NOTD soon but to be fair my nails are even worse than usual so some TLC is required first.

Have you tried Ink? And what's your favourite comfort food? Spill!

My Week So Far

2011-08-19T09:17:00.000+01:00

My week so far has required a lot of this.

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I have a load of posts that I want to write but no time to do them at the moment so please bear with me!

I totally agree with this by the way.

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And this was my favourite of the coffee related pictures I found whilst searching.

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Back soon!

Current Conditioners

2011-08-16T08:00:00.000+01:00

It is completely my fault that my hair is looking a little lacklustre at the moment. It needs a trim and also, I'm the first to admit that I use more heat on it than is ideal. The problem is that my thick hair takes 4 or so hours to dry naturally so this very rarely happens as I generally want to look presentable before I leave the house.

So I rely pretty heavily on conditioners to give me sleek, shiny hair and usually have a fair few on the go at one time. These are products that I have in the shower at the moment.

I'm still using the VO5 Gloss Me Smoothly* conditioner, which I really still like as a conditioner but as much hair is in need or a haircut, it's not as intensive as I need every day. I rotate this along with the other products tio make sure it does get enough moisture and probably use this every couple of washes.

I reviewed Dove Intensive Repair Express Treatment Conditioner in April and am now onto my second tube of the stuff. Which is a good sign in itself. This is an inbetween sort of conditioner for me; it's not intensive enough to use as a weekly treatment when my hair's dry so I use it more regularly. It's lovely and silky and I love that it's easy to get hold of as opposed to...

TIGI Love, Peace & The Planet Eco Awesome Cranberry Orange Mint Moisturizing Conditioner (longest product name ever?). I picked this up from TKMaxx the other day for £4.00 and whilst I love the smell (the mint comes through pretty strongly but the fruitiness is a great combination with it) it's not as effective as the Dove treatment. I'm guessing from the amount that they had in TKMaxx that it's been discontinued so it's probably a good thing that I haven't fallen in love with it. I'm planning on mixing this and Gloss Me Smoothly together for a richer treatment.

My love for Lee Stafford's Hair Growth Treatment is well known around these parts and I'm still using it. I need to stock up again as this is my last pot and it's halfway used up now *gulp*. I've just had a look on the Boots website and seen that there's a 3 for £12 offer on at the moment which is a saving of £11.97 when you buy 3 of these as I do. I must stock up soon! Ooh and thinking about it, that post I've linked to is well over a year ago now. Although I haven't been using this every wash since then (far too skint at times) it still continues to leave my hair looking lovely and continues to grow at a better rate than it ever used to. I'll have to do an updated one soon.

And I still haven't found a better intensive treatment than VO5's Treat Me Right*. I leave this on when I'm in the bath for ages and it knocks the socks off other conditioners. I use it all the time and I'm still only halfway through the pot, I seriously think it might last forever.

Writing this post has really made me want to go looking for other conditioners though. What do you swear by? What's your HG conditioner?

Products marked with a * were PR samples. As always, I'm 100% honest.

Monday's Good Stuff

2011-08-15T08:00:00.003+01:00

Seriously, where do the weeks go?! I swear it's been 7 minutes since I last posted MGS, not 7 days. Does anyone else feel like this or is it just me hmm?

Anyway, enough rambling. Onto the good stuff.

1) I am really, really enjoying work. I work shifts a week and so far all of those have been evenings. I really like closing up- there's lots of jobs to do and the shifts go really quickly. I just like having some money for myself again, to be able to pop out and buy a couple of pretty things and to go for a drink and not have to ask my parents for the cash. It's great :)

2) Speaking of going out and about, I've got so many plans this week! I'm seeing my lovely friend Marianne for a drink and a Chinese tonight and my brother's coming too. On Wednesday I'm going for a drink with Sarah from Knickers and Nail Polish (by the way, she has a great blog and not nearly enough followers so pop over there sharpish!) and then on Thursday I'm seeing my friend Denise for a drink. Can you tell I'm still trying to keep my mind occupied?
3) Onto more superficial things again my lovelies- I've spent hours this weekend looking online for inspiration for my bedroom makeover. I've currently got loads of ideas but they're all over the place. I'll probably do an interiors inspiration post when the ideas become a little more streamlined, but for now I'm just excited to be changing things up here.

4) This has just occured to me because I'm watching it now, but I am seriously obsessed by the new TV channel Really. I've watched so much of it the last week or so. It's got so many programmes that I've loved in the past like Spendaholics, The Bank of Mum and Dad, The House of Tiny Tearaways and What Not To Wear and I've finally got to watch The Rachel Zoe Project too- I die! (If you watch it, you'll know what I mean!) It's on Freeview channel 20, Sky 248 and Virgin 267 is you haven't seen it yet.

Oh and I've changed my laptop background to this, which makes me smile whenever I see it. Words to (try and) live by.

Red Magazine with free Balance Me Body Wash

2011-08-14T08:00:00.000+01:00

I love Red Magazine. It is, without a doubt, my favourite magazine and the one that I read every month without fail. I don't like nasty celebrity gossip and nonsense stories so I love the stories in Red. They're positive, uplifting and have helped me through some difficult times. It always seems to have the answer!

I'm still making my way through the September issue but I just had to let you know how fabulous the free Balance Me Body Wash is.

I picked up the Rose Otto scent (which has won a Red Best of Beauty Award in 2009) and I am beyond impressed. This isn't an old woman rose scented shower gel. The body wash contains 3 types of rose, along with clary sage, ylang ylang and bergamot so it's a deeper, more exotic scent. The 125ml will last for ages and is worth £8 so what are you waiting for? Get to the shops now!

*I bought Red myself and am not affiliated with Red or Balance Me*

NOTD Orly VIP

2011-08-13T08:00:00.002+01:00

I love Orly VIP. Almost as much as I love Models Own Juicy Jules. This pink glitter is just fabulous, and although I love wearing it on its own, I thought I'd layer it over other nail polishes to see whether I had any other options.

Oh by the way- please try to ignore the state of my cuticles. I'm giving them some TLC at the moment as they have been much neglected.

Just 3 coats of VIP

2 coats of VIP over 2 coats of Ciate Sugar Mumma

2 coats of VIP over 2 coats of 17 Parma Violet

2 coats of VIP over 2 coats of Rimmel Purple Reign

2 coats of VIP over Natural Collection Hibiscus- I really must do a NOTD with it soon.

I only did the multi coloured thing to see how VIP looked with various shades but I actually really liked this! I'd redo the order if I did it again and create an ombre effect by starting with Sugar Mumma, then VIP on its own, followed by Parma Violet and Hibiscus and finishing with Purple Reign. Yes it's a bit blingy but I really enjoyed wearing it and got a lot of compliments.

But, what say you? Fun or offensive?

24 Hour Body with TRESemme

2011-08-12T08:00:00.002+01:00

Are you bored of the TRESemme posts yet? I hope not because here comes another one!

I have been testing out some of the 24 Hour Body products to see that came in my goodie bag- the 24 Hour Body Shampoo, Conditioner, Blow Dry Lotion and Amplifying Mousse.

I really loved the Shampoo and Conditioner and could feel the volume effect before I even dried by hair. My already thick hair felt boosted but not heavy with product and as always, I love the smell of them. At around £4 for 500ml of each product, they are great value and I will be buying full sizes after I've used up other products in my stash.

The Blow Dry Lotion was my next step. Admittedly it is difficult to tell whether this had any impact on my barnet, given that the mousse and shampoo and conditioner were probably doing most of the work. I suppose I could have used all the products individually to test their effectiveness but I don't have the patience for that. I don't rate this any more or less than any other product I've used for the purpose though and (surprise, surprise) I love the way it smells. A full sized 250ml bottle sells for around £5.50.

Finally I put the Amplifying Mousse to the test. The instructions recommend you use 2 or 3 applications of the mousse and work it all the way through your hair. I usually only use mousse on my roots for a volume boost but I followed the instructions for the purposes of research! Luckily this didn't make my hair feel heavy or weighed down. The combined efffects of the shampoo, conditioner, blow dry spray and mousse did seem to give my hair a bit of oomph. My blow drying skills leave a lot to be desired and my hair needs a trim but this was the effect.

There's definitely more volume around the roots than usual and my hair was left lovely and shiny too! Bonus.

I can't comment on the 24 Hour properties though. My hair is always an absolute state in the morning and certainly looked nothing like this after I slept on it. Perhaps if you don't roll around like a lunatic in the night you might retain some of the volume though.

I think it was the mousse that had the most effect (but I said above, difficult to tell). The mousse sells for around £6.39 for 225ml and will definitely be a staple in my product drawer. I'm really looking forward to trying this with a curly style and seeing how well it holds curls.

What do you use for volume? Have you tried the TRESemme 24 Hour Body collection?

My HoliDAY

2011-08-11T14:07:00.000+01:00

If you saw my excited Tweets on Monday you will have seen how much I enjoyed my HoliDAY (that's a 1 day holiday) to Woodhall Spa with my brother. We took the opportunity to head off for a night of camping and had a great time.

The funniest little (being the operative word) shoe shop.

I totally loved the Kinema in the Woods. I don't know if I can go back to going the generic Odeon now.

I mean look how old school it is inside, with painted walls.

Man's work.

Burgers for dinner.

Not the most flattering picture of me!

And BBQed bacon baps for breakfast! The BBQ was all we took with us, and everything is great BBQed.

I may have been camping but I still had magazines and glittery nails! (NOTD post coming soon)

I had a great time, it was just what I needed, lots of fresh air, time to chat with my brother and food too. Unfortunately it was too cold to swim in the outdoor pool so we'll have to go back soon. What a shame!

I've also decided that HoliDAY will become an annual thing so I'm already thinking about where we can go next year to fit in as much holiday as possible into 24 hours. Time to put my thinking cap on!

Monday's Good Stuff

2011-08-08T08:00:00.002+01:00

Another week has gone by! I can't believe how quickly the summer holidays are going so far. We're already a third of the way through them which just seems crazy. Anyway, I've been making the most of them, especially the last week, so this post is going to write itself this week.

1) My brother is home for a few weeks at the moment and I seriously love having him around. He's a great guy to have around and we always have such a laugh. Most of those laughs involve us watching silly You Tube videos or people falling over You've Been Framed style and laughing until we cry. Or, as happened on Friday, until tea streamed out of my nose. Good times!

2) He's also a really good influence and yesterday I started exercising again for the first time since the break up. It felt great- I ran for longer than I've ever run before and it was all down to his encouragement. And after that, we did some core exercises in the garden.

I'll be in great shape in no time!

3) And one final good thing that includes my brother, before you get sick of the mention of him, we're off camping today! We've packed up and are heading to Woodhall Spa for a day and night away. I don't have enough time what with working at the shopand for my Dad to get more than a night away but rather than feel gloomy about it, we're just taking the chance that we have to do something different.

We're staying at Woodhall Country Park, will be popping for a swim in the outside pool, catching a movie at the cute cinema and scoffing ice cream in the old fashioned ice cream parlour as you read this. Great day huh?

4) I had such a good time seeing my gorgeous friend Marianne for a yummy Chinese on Thursday and then I popped over to Derby on Friday to have a much needed catch up with the most fabulous couple I know, Lucy and Olly. It was a great night- pub dinner, lots of pink wine, a lot of chat and I also got to watch the first 6 episodes of Series 4 of Sex and the City. I haven't seen those in years as I lost the disc so thanks Lucy :)

5) After posting about my growing nail polish collection I've been totally incapable of choosing one to wear! It's getting silly now! I'd forgotten so many of them that I haven't managed to choose a shade and actually paint my nails all week. Oops!

So how are you this Monday? How was your weekend?

Don't forget to pop over and Like the Primp and Preen Facebook page by the way. I will be running the odd Facebook only competition and you have to be in it to win it!

TRESemme Ultimate Hold Hairspray & Instant Refresh Dry Shampoo Reviews

2011-08-05T14:33:00.000+01:00

More TRESemme reviews for you lovelies today and I'm happy to say, I'm impressed again!

First up, the Ultimate Hold Platinum Shine Hairspray.

I've used this daily since I got it in my goodie bag. It smells delicious, makes me hair really shiny, holds brilliantly and comes out in a really fine mist so it doesn't leave your hair looking flat and crispy. Because it's so fine, it also brushes out really easily when you want to change style.

The 500ml bottle has a huge nozzle and disperses the spray really well. For all of these reasons, this hairspray is the only one I've been reaching for- the others are going to get chucked away. Great product and £4.79 for 500ml is more than reasonable.

I've only just got round to trying the dry shampoo in the last day or so. As I'm not out first thing in the morning these days, I don't have the same need for the stuff- I actually have time to wash my hair!

The Instant Refresh Volumising Dry Shampoo smells as delicious as the hairspray, which I immediately approved of. I much prefer it to the Batiste fragrances that I've tried in the past. Also, unlike Batiste, it isn't a dusty white colour. In fact it is completely colourless which makes it much easier to use when you're in a rush, and let's face it, that tends to be when we reach for dry shampoo!

I didn't notice any volumising effect but that could be because the product is formulated for fine hair and mine is pretty darn thick. I really rate it anyway, even though, at £4.38 for 200ml, it's a little more expensive than Batiste which I generally pick up for about £2, but worth it to avoid the old lady, white roots nonsense.

Hurrah for fab haircare products that deliver results!

*Both products are PR samples. As always, my reviews are 100% honest*

My Nail Polish Collection

2011-08-04T17:27:00.000+01:00

Get yourself a cuppa girls, this may take a while. Not because I have a huge collection (I have 93 polishes at the moment after picking up a few new ones this week) but because there are lots of pictures and I tend to ramble. But I don't know why I'm telling you that- you're the ones who read my ramblings!

Nails Inc reds- (L-R) Victoria, Selfridges First Floor, Aspen, Unknown-old and lost label, Hampstead Heath, Diet Coke Milan

Nails Inc pinks and purples- Diet Coke New York, China Town, Shoreditch, Diet Coke Paris, Kings Road

Nails Inc blues- Belgrave Place, The Serpentine

Nails Inc neutrals- Berkeley Square, The Thames, Belgravia, Diet Coke London, Elizabeth Street, Whitechapel

Nails Inc miniatures- Henrietta Street, Saville Row, Union Street, Monmouth Street, The Hurlingham, Candy Street, Stables Market, Bruton Street

Leighton Denny miniatures- Rebel, Vamp, Provocative

Orly- VIP

Natural Collection- Cosmic Crush, Black Cherry, Burgundy, Hibiscus, Antique Coral

Ciate- Sugar Mumma, Dangerous Affair

Butter London- British Racing Green, Scoundrel

Inglot- 346, 179, 319

Barry M- Nail Effects Black, Dusky Mauve

China Glaze- Ruby Pumps, Evening Seduction

Essie- Fifth Avenue, Mod Squad, Fishnet Stockings

MUA- Shades 1, 9, 3, 16, 4

Models Own- Top Turquoise, Juicy Jules

Accessorize- Goddess

Revlon- Blue Lagoon, Minted, Pretty in Papaya

Sleek- Poison Ivy

GOSH- Golden Brown

No7- Totally Teal, Night Silver, Betty Blues, Vivid Violet, Spun Sugar, Queenie, Beanie, Poolside Blue, Cherry Tang

Rimmel- Azure, Blue Me Away, Purple Reign, Coralicious, Urban Purple

Sephora by OPI- BYOBoy

OPI- Dutch Tulips, Midnight in Moscow

Sinful Colors- What's Your Name, San Francisco, Love Nails, Dream On

17- Sphinx, Exquisite, Peacock, Knockout Red, Sherbet Lemon, Parma Violet, Coral Pop

Sally Hansen- Fairy Teal

Nina Ultra Pro- Royal Purple

Are you still reading? Well done if you are! I wanted to put names to them all in case there's anything which piques your interest. I'm quite disturbed at how many of these I know the names for- I didn't have to check half of them!

To some people this will be a teeny collection and to some it will look hugely excessive. I don't think it's really that many by the way. I can't help see the "gaps"- like I have 2 OPIs and lust after dozens of them. to be fair I could say the same about Barry M, Models Own, Sally Hansen and China Glaze to name a few ranges. There are still dozens, if not hundreds (!) of polishes that I'd like to get my hands on so my storeage will have to improve. They currently live in a basket and it's a huge pain in the ass to find what I'm loooking for.

Writing this post has realllllly made me want to paint my nails but I've got to rush out now. I think I'll have a hard time choosing which one to use tomorrow though, now that I've reminded myself of how many pretty shades I have.

I haven't used loads of those yet and probably half of them are yet to be featured in a NOTD post so if you have any requests, let me know! I'll gladly swatch them for you lovelies :)

The Cosmopolitan Blog Awards 2011

2011-08-02T12:23:00.000+01:00

Many of you will already be aware that nominations have now opened for the 2011 Cosmopolitan Blog Awards and this post will come as no surprise. However, I know that not all of my readers read tons of other blogs so if this is the first time you've heard of the Blog Awards then you won't be alone. After all they only started last year.

If you enjoy reading Primp and Preen and fancy nominating me (we're only at nominations stage right now) then head over here. I would need to be put in the Established Beauty Blog category as I've been blogging for a little over 18 months now (how time flies!). Just to let you know, I don't expect you to, I won't be offended if you vote goes elsewhere and I know how difficult it is to decide on a favourite when there are so many great blogs out there. However, if you don't ask then you don't get and today I'm asking ;)

Thanks forreading lovelies!

Review - TRESemme 24 Hour Body Sky High Plumping Powder

2011-08-02T08:00:00.000+01:00

Those of you who read my post on the TRESemme and BINTM event I went to last Sunday will remember that I said I'd post reviews on all the products in the goodie bag and I'm starting with the 24 Hour Body Sky High Plumping Powder.

I don't usually have big hair- athough I have a lot of hair, it's fairly flat and I've never yearned for a big bouffant. However, I was intrigued by the Plumping Powder as it seemed like such an easy way to inject a bit of volume into my locks.

I forgot to take a before photo, but this is what it looked like anyway. I'd straightened it and not applied any other products.

I decided a side parting was necessary and then sprinkled the powder along the parting, rubbing it in as I went. I then parted the hair a couple of times on either side of the parting I'd just made and sprinkled in a little extra powder. This was the result.

Not the tidiest side parting. As you can see, the front was rebelling from my usual centre parting but you get the gist.

I'm sorry this photo is a bit blurry but it was the best to illustrate the way the Plumping Powder gives your hair serious volume. This held for about an hour, with a squirt of TRESemme Ultimate Hold Hairspray, and when it started to drop, all I had to do was rub the roots and my hair was magically volumised again.

The only downside for me was the sticky texture. It feels a bit odd when you use it but it doesn't make my hair look or feel greasy and the day after, it didn't look full of product or weighed down. I was able to put it up as usual when I had been worried that it would need washing out straight away.

I really rate this but have the VO5 equivilent to compare it to- let the battle of the plumping powders commence!

Monday's Good Stuff

2011-08-01T14:29:00.000+01:00

Can you believe this is my 61st Monday's Good Stuff post?! I suspect that I've written a few more but forgotten to tag them so 61 will have to be the figure that I work with. I know I've been writing them since April 2010 but I'm still surprised by the overall figure. They are my favourite posts to write though, despite the fact that looking back over old ones, with countless mentions of Mike, is difficult and painful at the moment. I know the feeling will pass and I'll be able to look back fondly at some point, but right now I could happily delete all mention of him and probably would if I hadn't written 556 posts, with dozens that mention him.

The last week, the first of the school holidays, have been extremely difficult. I have far less to do and keeping my mind occupied has been near on impossible. But this is Monday. When I focus on the good stuff. So...

1) I popped to TKMaxx on Saturday and picked up some beauty bargains. These Butter London and Ciate polishes were in a little pack for £12.99 and having never tried either brand (bad beauty blogger) it just jumped into my basket. There was also a fab Leighton Denny set, but I couldn't justify 6 polishes in one go (I must have been having an uncharacteristically restrained moment) so I talked my Mum into buying that one and putting it away for my birthday. Yes, it's not until November but this way I will forget all about it and have a lovely surprise later in the year!

2) This flies in the face of what I've just said about keeping myself busy, but I'm thoroughly entertained by watching Gossip Girl from the beginning at the moment. I'm currently watching Series 1 and am halfway through, and as always, watching it makes me want to wear dresses and have better hair.

3) Speaking of what I've been watching, I saw Easy A for the first time yesterday and totally loved it. Emma Stone is freaking hilarious in it, along with, well, pretty much everyone else in the film. If you haven't seen it and like quirky films then I highly recommend it.

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I've seen Emma with blonde hair recently and I really don't like it, I think she's gorgeous with her reddish brown hair, so I hope it's just for a part.

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4) At risk of sounding like I'm gushing, my friend Neil has, yet again, been a very Good Thing this week. His lovely messages have put a smile on my face when I've felt at my very lowest. I've leaned on him heavily for the last few weeks but he's always there for me.

5) I'm really enjoying my new job. The people are great, I'm picking up plenty of hours and it's just fun. I'm working tonight and I'm already looking forward to going in which has to be a good sign.

How's your Monday going? And what did you get up to this weekend?

OOTD - Out For Coffee

2011-07-31T14:54:00.001+01:00

Ask and you shall receive. I asked whether there was anything you'd like to see more of on Primp and Preen and Steph and Jen both said they'd like to see more OOTD posts. Well here's another one for you all!

As I've said before, I don't claim to be particularly stylish and I certainly don't follow trends or buy a lot of clothes, but you guys seem to like the OOTD posts I put up so who am I to refuse? :)

This is what I wore yesterday for a trip to Starbucks and a wander round the shops with my Mum.

Jeans- Old, crap, need replacing desperately, but Red Herring nonetheless

Vest- Topshop

Chiffon top- Primark

Handbag- Accessorize (old)

I love the line of the chiffon top, it's obviously really light and easy to wear and it falls in a really flattering way so it's a great cover up on warm days.

The shades and the pattern of it are really pretty too- although not what I usually wear.

Earrings- Oasis Sale Current Season

Ridonculous ring- Accessorize Sale Current Season

This was far too simple for me to do a separate FOTD post but I wanted to show you my current, lazy day makeup. Lots of mascara but no eyeliner and a lip stain. I featured The Body Shop Rose Pink Lip and Cheek Stain in my most recent Favourites post and realised that I hadn't shown you it on. It's a really pretty shade. It does wear off in the centre of my lips after I've eaten but I've never found a lip stain that doesn't so I can put up with that.

Please do let me know if there's anything else you would like to see more of on Primp & Preen. I've also had more FOTD posts requested so look out for more, coming up soon.

What would you like to see on Primp and Preen?

2011-07-30T11:06:00.000+01:00

Happy weekend everyone! I hope the sun is shining where you are and you have lots of fab weekend plans.

I just wanted to post this quickly, to see if there's anything you'd like to see more of on Primp and Preen? I haven't done many FOTD posts recently- would you like to see more? Or do you prefer an OOTD post? Maybe you missed my neglected NOTD posts?

Please comment below to let me know and remember to check my Facebook page to see who won my little Juicy Jules giveaway!

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A Mini Facebook Giveaway

2011-07-29T00:18:00.000+01:00

If you'd like the chance to win a bottle of Models Own Juicy Jules nail polish (which is my current obsession) then pop over to Primp and Preen's Facebook page to enter my mini giveaway.

You need to "Like" the page and comment on the photo- just guess how many nail polishes I have for your chance to win!

The giveaway is open internationally but is only on until 11.59pm BST today (29th July) so what are you waiting for?

Best Blog Award

2011-07-28T15:51:00.000+01:00

I do love a blog award so thanks so much to Lisa from MyButterfly63 for awarding me the Best Blog Award!

I'm afraid I'm a bit tired and lazy today so this will be a little edited, but here we go...

The rules:

1. Link back to the person who gave this to you - already done!

2. Share 7 random things about yourself...

I wear my hair in a high bun 90% of the time at the moment, partly because I'm lazy and partly because I work with kids and they get nits sometimes. Glam, I know.
I have an irrational hatred of Scouting for Girls.
I haven't read the last 5 magazines I bought so I have no idea why I buy more of them.

I drink tea from a huge mug, which I refer to as having a "Mega tea". I don't think tea tastes as good in smaller cups.
I have watched every episode of Sex And The City 10 times or more and it would be my specialist subject on Mastermind if I ever went on, and lowered the tone quite considerably. Charlotte is my favourite character.

I have started writing a novel.
The only pet I have ever had is a goldfish when I was little.
3. Award 15 blogs

This is where my laziness and tiredness kick in. I'm leaving this open to anyone who wants to do this tag- please comment below to tell me if you do it!
4. Answer the following questions:

* Favourite colour: Purple

* Favourite song: Black Eyed Peas- I Gotta Feeling
* Favourite dessert: Lemon Tart
* What is p*ssing you off: Nothing right now :)
* When I'm upset: I drink tea, have a bath and muddle through with help from my friends.
* Favourite pet: I really want a kitten.
* Black or White: Black but not very often, as it does nothing for me.
* Biggest fear: Birds
* Best feature: My bum or legs.
* Everyday attitude: Everything'll be OK in the end. If it's not OK, it's not the end.
* What is perfection: A sunny day in London, with my friends and lots of wine. And shopping.
* Guilty pleasure: Cheesy dance music- it always makes me dance!
Ooh I do love these kind of posts. I hope you enjoyed reading a few random things about me and please let me know if you do this tag yourself!

NOTD 17 Parma Violet and Models Own Juicy Jules

2011-07-27T07:00:00.002+01:00

It's been 7 weeks since I did a NOTD post which is just weird. They may not be my favourite posts to do (mainly because I always feel guilty because of my awful cuticles but yet I never sort them out) but still, that's a long time.

Juicy Jules is such a childlike polish and that's why I love it. It's fun and looks great over any bright colour that I pair it with. This combination was chosen especially for the class end of term party last week because I knew the 5 year old girls I work with would love it. And boy did they love it. At least 10 of them asked me where it was from, they're mini beauty bloggers in the making!

Ah yes, my cuticles are still a mess. They're even more of a mess now actually, having been neglected recently.

This is 2 coats of Parma Violet and 2 coats of Juicy Jules over the top. It doesn't cover brilliantly. The polish is quite thick and you can see that the 2 coats are patchy in places but once the light hits the glitter, you don't notice the gaps anyway.

I intentionally included this out of focus shot because it shows the multi coloured glitter brilliantly. I just love it, and fully intend to pop this over all the bright colours I own. I am currently wearing it over Revlon's Blue Lagoon on my toes.

Of course, the major downside is taking it off, but that doesn't seem to stop me!

What's your favourite glitter polish?

TRESemme and BINTM Event

2011-07-26T17:46:00.001+01:00

Ooh I do love a little blogger get together so I was over the moon to head over to Nottingham on Sunday to meet up with Jemma and Asma at Miss Selfridge as part of BINTM's Strike a Pose tour.

Very excitingly we also got to meet Matthew Curtis and have our hair done. Now I am a bit of a div, as I'm sure you've all gathered by now, and I am really bad at remembering to take pictures at these things. So I will just say that both Jemma and Asma looked gorgeous with their curly styles which really suited them and I'm sure they will both be trying to recreate them at home.

When Matt asked what I fancied having done with mine, I said it was totally up to him so he decided that a fake bob style would look good and got to work. I cannot overstate how much I loved this style. I was so reluctant to go to bed and mess it up!

This is so far removed from anything that I would try for myself. I don't have very much confidence when it comes to styling my hair but I am going to check out TRESemme's You Tube channel for hints and tips and try to be a bit more adventurous with my hair- I have been inspired!

To help me in my hair quest, I also have a few new products to try out.

I'll be trying...

Ultimate Hold Hairspray

Instant Refresh Volumising Dry Shampoo

24 hour Body Amplifying Mousse

24 Hour Body Shampoo and Conditioner

Heat Defence Styling Spray

Salon Shine Glossing Spray

24 Hour Body Blow Dry Lotion

24 Hour Body Sky High Plumping Powder

As well as Revlon's Pretty in Papaya scented nail polish and Miss Selfridge Luscious Lipbalm

Please let me know if you want a review of anything in particular and I will prioritise the reviews.

Thanks so much to TRESemme, BINTM and Gleam PR for inviting me. Make sure you check here to see if BINTM's Strike a Pose team will be coming to a town near you and get entering the amazing competition for your chance to win the most incredible prizes including a VIP stay in London, a photoshoot and haircut and a shopping spree at Miss Selfridge!

*I was invited to this event and received PR samples but am in not paid for my time or affiliated with any of the brands*

The World's Smallest Haul

2011-07-26T07:00:00.000+01:00

I fully embrace the concept of retail therapy and this has led to me acquiring 3 pairs of shoes in the last 3 weeks, all of which have an animal skin effect so although they're all very different styles I'm obviously on the look out for something in particular.

My latest acquisitions came from Aldo, somewhere I regularly lust after shoes, but until Sunday none have come home with me.

These are called Gwenda and were £75, down to £34.98 in the sale. They have a whopping great heel and platform and I am 6 foot 2 inches in these shoes. Ridiculous, I know. Any future boyfriends will need to be very tall indeed. I am willing to ignore all shorter mean for the sake of these shoes though :)

They're mega comfy though due to the platform and the wide straps on the front of the foot. I seriously love them.

Do you like my Revlon Blue Lagoon toes with Models Own Juicy Jules over it?

As well as my beautiful shoes, I picked up another floaty cover up, cardigan thing. I really like things like this at the moment, what with the weather being warm one minute and freaking freezing the next.

I love the drapey effect, perfect for when you want to be covered up but not heated up. The huge sleeves are split along the bottom as you can see here and help create a long, lean silhouette which I always appreciate!

I think it's seriously fab and only £15 from Primark. They had other prints as well so I'll be going back for more. I'm going through a phase of jeans, vest tops and something other the top but cardigans can look boring and blazers can be overly dressy so I think these fall somewhere in between.

What do you guys think?

Monday's Good Stuff

2011-07-25T10:58:00.000+01:00

Morning everyone! It's weird to be in bed, writing MGS when I'm usually in school and busy, busy, busy already. I seriously miss it, already, but I have a ton of jobs to get sorted today and I'm sure the next 6 weeks will fly by.

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Enough of my no school moaning- what's good this week?

1) I had *the best* time yesterday at the TRESemme and BINTM event in Nottingham yesterday. I've already drafted a post about it but I want to get some pictures of my fabulous hairstyle before I post it. Hopefully I'll have them later today and I'll pop it up as soon as I can. Thanks to TRESemme, BINTM and Gleam PR for a great day!

2) Speaking of my trip to Nottingham, it was the first time that I've been out like that, on my own, since the break up. It was a bit difficult given that we used to live there and had a lot of happy times there, but still- I did it.

3) The training for my job went well last week. The other people who will be working in the shop seem really nice, although only half of them were training at the same time as me. I've got a bit more training to do tomorrow night, none of us have seen the shop yet as it's brand new, and then it should open on Thursday. I'm really looking forward to getting started, and hopefully I'll pick up lots of hours and be able to buy lots of pretty things.

4) My friend Neil is back from his holidays and selfishly, I'm very glad of this. He's a total sweetheart and has been amazing over the last few weeks, always knowing what to say and cheering me up. I'm making plans to head down to London at some point in the holidays to see him again.

5) I have more new shoes. I know, yet more. I'll post pics soon!

I hope everyone had a great weekend and that Monday treats you well!

When I Need A Lift

2011-07-23T18:31:00.001+01:00

When I need a lift, there are fail safe things to put a smile on my face. I have been reminded of these this week.

Friends are amazing, especially ones who send you something sparkly to cheer you up with notes like this. Love you hun!

And friends who talk to you in the middle of the night and leave you with a big smile on your face are fab too. The perfect distraction from rubbishness.

Buying pretty, sparkkly things. I bought all of these today- Oasis Stone pendant £5, Oasis Flower earrings £5, Accessorize ring £4.20- I love sale shopping!

Underwear that makes you feel great is quite literally a lift, and it's even better when it's pretty colours. I have my eye on so many bits from Boux Avenue at the moment so I need to get paid ASAP!

Harry Potter! I loved Neville in the Deathly Hallows pt2. Not the best picture of him though, bless.

And my all time favourite pick me up? That'd be SATC, hands down.

This is my favourite scene from all 6 series and appears in An American Girl in Paris Part Deux. By the time Candi Staton's You've Got the Love kicks in, I am always in tears, without fail.

Oh I feel good just writing about my pick me ups. They've meant that I've had a pretty fabulous week this week even if I am sad that term's over.

What are your fail safe pick me ups?

Phil Smith Brunette Products

2011-07-22T07:00:00.000+01:00

I seem to be constantly on the look out for hair products that work for me and so I often get given sets of haircare products for presents- this was one that I got for Christmas and have only just got round to using.

I really like the shampoo and conditioner. I took them to the Cotswolds with me and was seriously impressed by how my hair looked. Phil Smith say "Phil Smith Be Gorgeous brunette super shine shampoo revitalises brunette hair by adding moisture and shine. The result.....radiant tresses." And you know what? I thoroughly agree for once.

My hair did look extremely shiny and it felt fantastic, even though I wasn't using any kind of other conditioner or treatment on it all week and that doesn't usually happen. I will definitely be putting these on my shopping list soon. They're only £3.99 for 250ml and worth every penny.

The big let down for this gift set was the Hair Glitter Spray. I mean, why would you choose a glitter hair spray as the third product in a set-surely no one over the age of 13 uses glitter spray? I haven't used, I would never use it and as such I was a little disappointed with the set. I'd have much rather had the opportunity to try a normal hairspray. The Mark Hill set I had for Christmas had a great hairspray but I didn't rate the shampoo and conditioner so I suppose at least I ended up with 3 great products across the 2 sets.

Nonethless, I'll be checking out other products from the extensive range which I know is available in Sainsburys. I remember hearing about the heat protection spray so I'll have to check that out soon.

Have you tried any Phil Smith products?

Ins and Outs - July 2011

2011-07-21T07:00:00.000+01:00

Another post that I don't do very often, but I used to really enjoy doing them. And why not do what I enjoy?

In

Baths
I'm a bit obsessed by baths at the moment, I have at least a couple a week. I absolutely love spending an hour in the bath with a cuppa or glass of wine and a murder mystery book, it's just such a great pampering time and so cheap to do. I have also been working my way through a stash of Lush products which my Mum has built up but isn't keen to use and I'm more than happy to take them off her hands!

Friends
I struggle to see as much of my friends as I'd like- they're so spread out and I'm not the best at calling people. However, I have been amazed at how fabulous my friends have been recently. They rock!

Glitter Nail Polish
As well as being in love with Models Own's Juicy Jules I am also becoming obsessed by Orly's VIP and I really need to feature this in a NOTD soon.

Geekiness
Like many, I am very excited about The Deathly Hallows Part 2, but, and I'm a bit ashamed to bit this, I haven't seen it yet. Don't get me wrong, I will but I'm actually putting it off to make it last a bit longer. After all, Harry Potter will be over once I've seen it and that will make me so sad.

Holiday Dreaming
I've been having a think and a look online to see where I'm going to head off on my holidays. I'm not going anywhere soon but I'm desperate for a bit of sunshine so I'll be getting a break as soon as I can afford one.

Outs

Painting my nails
And that would be why I haven't had any NOTD posts recently. See, I love the idea of doing my nails and having a bit of a pampering evening but I still keep neglecting them. It just seems like a lot of effort at the moment and even my toenails are chipped. Eurgh.

Lipstick
Every morning that I get ready and do my makeup, I keep staring at the pot of lipsticks- they're all so gorgeous and feeling guilty. I should be wearing them and I know that a bright lip usually cheers me up but I massively CBA. Nude lipgloss is the only thing I can be arsed to use for now.

Sleep
Unfortunately. And it really sucks. It's just as well I have good concealer and good books to read at night.

Do you guys like reading In and Out posts?

Oh and this is an oldie but a goodie as I don't like naked posts, have a gander at this.

Current Favourites - July 2011

2011-07-20T08:00:00.001+01:00

I don't write monthly favourite posts as I don't change the products I use often enough- I'd bore the pants off you all as I'd simply be talking about the same things for a few months at a time. I do occasionally feel the need to share though and this was my last one, back in April.

Well I feel the time has come again for me to show you what I've been reaching for a lot recently- these are my current favourite, non makeup, products.

Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish

This needs no introduction, as I am one of dozens, if not hundreds of bloggers who love this product. I've found my skin has massively benefitted from this product. I've not used anything more abrasive and it has worked wonders for my complexion. I've nearly finished this bottle and I'll certainly be stocking up once I have.

Palmolive Shower Milk Almond and Milk

I love a bargain and as I get through so much shower gel, this huge bottle 500ml bottle for just £2 makes a lot of sense. It's also really moisturising and smells gorgeous- I love the very subtle almond and milk fragrance. As I've said before, I use shower gel or milk to shave with and this is great for that as it doesn't dry out my legs at all.

Clarins Pure Melt Cleansing Gel

I reviewed this here so I won't repeat myself. I still love it for all the same reasons and that a tube seems to last forever and it leaves me skin feeling very clean but not stripped. I don't go in for many high ends brand when it comes to skincare as I can't afford them, but this is worth every penny.

Mark Hill Gorgeous Brunette Fabulous Finish Hairspray

I had this in a set of miniatures for Christmas and whilst I don't think very much to the shampoo or conditioner, the hairspray is very good. It holds brilliantly, like nothing else I have tried, and although a full size is going to set me back about £5.61 which I consider to be a helluva lot for a hairspray, I will definitely by buying another when this runs out.

Yes to Tomatoes Totally Tranquil Facial Hydrating Lotion

Another product that I've reviewed already but that I've come back to recently. I suppose we just switch up our products to suit what our skin needs and this is certainly doing the trick at the moment. My skin feels very soothed by this moisturiser and it even plumps it up and leaves it looking fresh after I've had a few too many wines ;)

And now onto the makeup and nail products.

DKNY Be Delicious perfume

I was lucky enough to win this from Laura and it's still going strong. The apple fragrance suits warm, sunny weather perfectly so I've worn it a lot recently. And even if the weather hasn't been as sunny as I would have liked recently, at least I've been smelling like summer!

The Body Shop Lip & Cheek Stain Rose Pink 01

Speaking of summer, I love easy to wear products when temperatures rise. There certainly isn't any time to be touching up my makeup when I'm with the kids so a stain works fabulously. This does fade in the centre of my lips after I've eaten but a little touch up at lunch sees me through the rest of the day and it's a gorgeous shade.

Nails Inc miniature nail polishes in The Hurlingham and Candy Street

These shades just scream summer to me and I have worn them to death recently on my finger and toenails. I love Nails Inc minatures, as I find the brushes very easy to use for a miniature and they are also far more easy to hold than the full sizes. I also really like them with Models Own Juicy Jules worn over the top, the shades really suit the multi coloured glitter and also it makes my polish last so much longer than usual. Oh and it's an added bonus that the little girls at school love glitter and are thoroughly entertained by my sparkliness!

Benefit Eye Bright

This is actually the one that came free with Glamour magazine last year and it's been largely untouched until now. I also have a little pan of it in my Sha La Lovely set and it's been a revelation to me. Just a tiny touch in the inner corner of my eye really does make me look bright eyed and bushy tailed when I certainly don't feel that way.

What are your current favourites?

Project 10 Pan Update

2011-07-19T07:00:00.000+01:00

Ooh I've been a bit (read very) slack on this front recently. I refer you back to this post for the last update and a little reminder on what I'm doing in case you haven't heard of Project 10 Pan. I'm basically trying to finish 10 products and I was supposed to be doing it before I bought any new makeup, which has obviously not happened.

I had finished 6 prior to this update though, 5 of those being full sized products. Here's my recent progress.

This is a slightly disappointing picture. The Dandelion portion of the Powder Pop was a mini, as was the Estee Lauder sample, but I did set out to use them up and at least I have.

The most annoying part though is the fact that I have lost both an empty MAC MSF pot and an empty High Beam pot. So the tally is now actually at 8 full sized products and 2 minis so I suppose it's kind of 10. That said, I'm still trying to use up a few more full sized products, both because I've set my mind to it so I feel like I should and because I'm still skint and really should stop shopping.

But hey, that's never going to happen, right?

Monday's Good Stuff

2011-07-18T12:00:00.002+01:00

Hi there you lovely people. How's your Monday going so far? I'm sad as it's the last Monday of the school term- Monday's used to be a bit crap but since I started volunteering in school, I love them. Coming back to school and seeing all the kids and hearing their tales of the weekend is wonderful and I'll miss that over the next 6 weeks. I'm already looking forward to September!

1) I had a good weekend and saw my friend Jess in Sheffield. Going out was really difficult, and anyone who read my tweets from Saturday night will be aware of this, but I'm feeling much more settled now. I let myself have a very lazy Sunday which was what I needed. I'm very hard on myself. I have to accept that this is a difficult time and that my feelings will not go away overnight, that it's OK to be upset, let down and confused by all of this. The best advice I had was from a lovely Twitter follower who advised being good to myself and I am trying to do this as much as possible and not ask too much of myself.

It was an incredibly busy week last week and I managed to complete the course I've been studying, when it really didn't look as though that was going to be possible. I somehow managed to attend 4 sessions of the course and complete 5 sections of homework, almost half of a 10 week course in just 1 week. The things I can do when I put my mind to it! It felt really good to take control and do something for myself.

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2) I've been pondering my future (gosh it sounds very serious when I put it like that) and what I want to do now that I'm single (even scarier to say) and I'm seriously looking into spending next summer at an American summer camp. My brother had the most amazing summer at one a few years ago and I think it could just be what I need. I'm researching all the options at the moment and there's nothing I love more than research! Has anyone worked at a summer camp before? Let me know if you have.

Image (Obviously it'll be just like it is in The Parent Trap!)

3) I start the training for my new job tomorrow- I'm going to be working part time at a Spar shop round the corner from my house and the school I am really looking forward to meeting some new people and earning some money. I'll be nice to have something to do whilst the schools are on holiday as well.

4) Glittery nails rock.

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5) I'm so happy to be back to blogging but I've also started writing other things as well. I love writing, I find it takes my mind off everything so well. When I write I'm totally absorbed and it's a great feeling. I suppose it's nice to feel like I'm creating something even if it's just something that only I will see!

Image I so want this laptop!

Not a bad week then, all things considered :)

Hair Rehab

2011-07-17T18:57:00.000+01:00

I've posted about VO5's Treat Me Right Deep Conditioning Treatment when I first received a PR sample of it but I wanted to post about it again having used it again today.

Don't get my wrong, I've been using this on a weekly basis since I received this in May, but I have always left it on for around 5-10 minutes in the shower whilst I shave my legs. However today I used this whilst I relaxed in the bath with a book and left it on for around 30 minutes as my hair was looking rubbish.

I've been left with such sleek and smooth locks that it feels as though I've been to the hairdresser- I love it!

I think the reason that it's so good for this purpose is its thick consistency.

As you can see, it's really thick so you can really pile it on whilst you relax without it dripping or running at all. I applied this far more liberally than I normally would and paid special attention to the ends, but after leaving it for 30 minutes, there was hardly anything to rinse out at all, so my hair definitely needed it!

At just £4.28 for a huge 300ml tub, this really is a great value, hard working product and I really recommend it.

What's your favourite hair treat?

Saving Face

2011-07-14T17:30:00.000+01:00

I thought I'd do a little post today about the life saver products that have enabled to me to look vaguely human over the last few weeks. I'm grateful for their "magic" abilities, otherwise showing up every day at school (I didn't miss even a single day post breakup, which I am really proud of) would have been scary for all concerned.

So these are my current favourites for saving face. They have been worn day in, day out for the last 2 weeks- this really hasn't been a time to be experimenting and switching things up. I have been relying on...

L'Oreal Glam Bronze Brunette Harmony Duo Sun Powder bronzer

Maybelline Lash Stylist Waterproof mascara

Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer

No 7 Skin Illuminator

Benefit Posie Tint

I don't it's necessary to explain why a good waterproof mascara was a staple product at first, and was the only item of eye makeup that I used in case of tears but thankfully the need for that has now receded. The mascara itself is good but unexceptional. I have also relied heavily on my Brunette Harmony bronzer and Posie Tint to put a bit of colour back where it's been missing and the Skin Illuminator to give me a glow.

Top of the heap though is the concealer. Annoyingly the packaging lets it down; the writing has all but rubbed off and this makes it look like the budget product that it is. However the actual concealer is very good and deals brilliantly with my dark circles. It doesn't crease and can be layered depending on the severity of such circles and it lasting for ever. I bought this months ago and it's still going strong. For just £4.19 it is a brilliant buy.

Now that things have begun to get much better, I have started wearing full eye makeup again. To keep things simple, I have dug out this little kit; Benefit's Sha La Lovely, which has been neglected since I moved.

The Eye Bright and Boi-ing products at the bottom brighten and conceal and the RSVP Creaseless Cream eyeshadow is brilliant as a base or on its own. I do usually use the darker, liner shadow to line my lower lashes as well and a brown liquid liner of some kind on the upper lashline. It's simple but it defines really well and makes me feel groomed and pulled together.

Sometimes going back to basics works really well, especially when you rediscover little gems like this in the drawer. It may only be a teeny good thing to come from this whole but hey, I'll take it!

What are your essentials when you need perking up?

Giveaway winner!

2011-07-12T07:51:00.000+01:00

Thank you all so much for entering my Remington Pearl Wand giveaway, it's lovely to have gained some new followers through it and I hope you all enjoy reading my ramblings.

Anyway, onto the important part- the winner.

Drumroll please....

I had my Mum pick a number between 1 and 153 and the winner is....

Shelleyti!

Well done hun! If you email me your address to primpandpreen@gmail.com then I will get your prize in the post this week.

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Monday's Good Stuff

2011-07-11T16:11:00.000+01:00

Hello my lovelies! It really is so lovely to be back to doing my Monday's Good Stuff posts-even a week off feels weird. Things may be topsy turvy at the moment but even with that, I haven't had any difficulty coming up with my 5 good things which is a very good sign. Life does indeed go on.

1) You have already seen my haul post from yesterday but Frankie and Style Me Up both suggested that my purple L K Bennett shoes should feature in today's MGS and I can't help but agree. They are the most fabulous shoes I own.

Must get a better picture and wear these ASAP. I'm on it.

2) I also had a suggestion, this time from the lovely Ulrike that I should be including my beautiful, fabulous and all round wonderful readers and followers who are "happy to see you posting regularly again" and how could I say no to that? It's one of the things that I am most happy about at the moment- your tweets, blog comments, support and general page views has always meant a lot to me but right now it's amazing. You don't know how happy it all makes me- mwah!

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3) I did Race for Life yesterday! I would say I ran it, but no, that would be a fib. I walked round with my Mum, enjoying the sunshine and chatting about the future. The hopeful, exciting, varied, wonderful future. I have an ever growing list of ideas for myself at the moment and once I get my act together, I will post the list on here.

4) I put a little scrap book of my holiday pictures together to take into school today and the kids loved it- it was a great talking point. I had some help from a few girls in the class who helped create a front cover for the book which we simply called "Holiday" as well as a contents page and a "blurb" for the back cover. They've recently been learning about non fiction books so I thought it'd be a great opportuity for them to use what they've been learning. By the way the girl with the blue hair on the cover? That's me, apparantly.

5) I'm going for a Chinese tonight with my friend Marianne and I can't wait for a catch up. Also, I think Mondays need a bit of a lift sometimes and what's better than a drink and a Chinese with a good friend? Nothing.

Oh and by the way, I will be picking and revealing the winner of the Remington giveaway tomorrow so please check back to see if you win. Thanks so much for all the entries!

A Holiday Haul

2011-07-10T21:15:00.000+01:00

That's right, I'm back again- 2 days in a row! Today I wanted to show you the bits and pieces that I picked up whilst I was on holiday. You may be able to tell that I take retail therapy very seriously ;)

I also think it's a sign of a good shopping trip when you can't remember if you've managed to include everything in a haul post.

In real life these shoes are a bright, bright Jade and 1 is not slightly darker than the other. I love these and will have to feature them in an OOTD post soon to show off their amazing brilliance soon.

I am seriously in love with these stunning beauties. The heel is just high enough for me to feel sexy in but not so high that I can't walk properly in them. The violet colour is just gorgeous and these are going to get so much wear. Both pairs are from L. K. Bennett and from the Bicester outlet store. I was a bit overawed by the selection in the outlet and next time I'm in that neck of the woods, I will definitely be back for me!

Most of the clothes in the Missoni store were still far above my price range but luckily there were some bargain jeans and silk tops. I can't wait to wear both of these and I promise they will also appear in an OOTD post soon. I hated getting changed back into my usual jeans after I'd tried these on and I think I've been totally converted by designer jeans.

It's getting a bit more casual now. I picked up some Jack Wills Warlaby Slim Fit Sweatpants in a stunning Poppy shade and I pretty much haven't stopped wearing them since. At full price, they are so overpriced so I was glad to pick up a bargain pair.

I picked up this Ralph Lauren Sport cable knit sweater (as well as a pink polo shirt that's currently in the wash) too. I could happily that bought them both in every shade but managed to rein myself in.

I didn't buy anything from the CCO (most unlike me) but did snap up this pair from L'Occitane. I seriously love the Cherry Blossom fragrance, it's so pretty and light and even just a teeny touch of the Shimmering Body Lotion around my decolletage smells lovely for hours.

This River Island cardigan was such a great buy, it goes with everything and has been worn to death already. The scarf was from a little shop in Chipping Norton that I can't remember the name of. Anyway, it's a gorgeous fine cotton scarf that also goes with everything- I don't buy enough new things for my clothes to only go with a few things.

So as I say, I think that's everything I picked up but I can't be sure. If I remember anything else, I'll certainly add it in later.

What have you been buying recently?

I'm Back!

2011-07-09T15:02:00.000+01:00

Hello my blog reading lovelies! It feels ages since I posted on here (I'm not used to such long periods between posts) but I am back from my holiday and I have lots of things to be posting about.

As you can imagine, it's going to be a long time before I'm 100% back to normal and although I had a pretty good time on the holiday, all things considered, I'm still all over the place. The cottage we stayed in had barely any signal at all so I found it difficult not being able to speak to my friends as much as I'd have ideally liked, but I've certainly proved to myself that I'm a hell of a lot stronger than I thought I was. I'll get through this.

So, back to the holiday. The cottage was stunning, the weather was amazing for much of it, I loved seeing my family and got to pop into London to see Neil and Tom which was exactly what I needed- well them and all the wine I drank!

I also went to Bicester outlet and will be posting a haul post on my goodies tomorrow but for now, I thought I'd post some pictures of my trip. Enjoy!

Sculpture in the garden of Nash's House, Stratford upon Avon.

Afternoon tea!

My own little living room in our cottage.

Moody skies over the cottage.

Broughton Castle

The garden at Broughton.

I indulged in a few Lush baths.

My brother in the stocks. I can't remember which village this was in.

Out for a walk.

The bit with the ivy all over was my little separate wing. Lovely!

Kat outside the cottage.

It really was a stunning cottage and I think pretty good value for the standard. If you're looking for a really quiet break then I can't recommend it enough. Here's the link.

Oh, and I will be pcking the winner of the Pearl Wand giveaway tomorrow at 10pm so if you haven't entered yet then pop over here and comment to enter. Good luck!

Out of the Blue - Please Read :)

2011-06-30T16:03:00.000+01:00

Well this isn't a post that I ever thought I'd write. The reason that I've not been blogging over the last few days is that Mike and I have broken up. This has come as a huge shock to me and so it's going to take some time for me to get back to anything resembling "normal" and that includes blogging.

As many of you will be aware, Mike and I had been engaged for a couple of years and were planning on getting married in May, so part of the upset is in connection with cancelling plans and letting people know. That extended to people who follow me on Twitter, as I felt embarrassed to say that Mike had changed his mind given all the wedding planning related tweets of the past weeks. I was hugely relieved and emotional to read the dozens of messages that I had back from people. It just goes to show what an incredible community Twitter is. Your support means a lot to me at a time when I'm living in a city where I know very few people (it may be my home city but I haven't lived here for a long time and people move on) and that can be lonely. My friends and family are wonderful and will do an amazing job of looking after me but it's not easy to see as much of them as I'd like.

I am going on holiday tomorrow and will be away for a week, luckily surrounded by my fabulous family, and I won't be blogging in that time. I hope that when I return and things have settled down a bit, I'll be back at the laptop with a heap of ideas for posts. At the moment I'm too focused on packing up all Mike belongings for him to collect (never a fun task) and cancelling the wedding and to be honest, I'd only be a miserable cow, as those of you on Twitter can confirm!

Thanks for reading anyway lovelies (and following too- I just logged in to see 3 new followers!) and I hope you stick with me- onwards and upwards from here!

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I'm not sure what "it" is yet but I'll get there.

Inecto Haircare Reviews

2011-06-25T07:00:00.000+01:00

Another day and another haircare post from me. I do seem to have done a lot of these recently but I wanted to show you this range of coconut (yum!) based products that are such a bargain.

I was sent a range of haircare products which includes shampoo, conditioner, intensive treatment, serum and glossing spray so lets have a look at what you get for your money.

Moisture Infusing Shampoo £1.99 for 500ml

A huge bottle of shampoo which is a little too runny in my hands. This lathers well, and leaves me hair really clean but I don't feel that this conditions well on its own. However it leaves me hair looking lush when I use this in conjunction with a salt spray for a summery look.

Moisture Infusing Conditioner £1.99 for 500ml

I liked this better than the shampoo, it's not too runny and is pretty good for an every day conditoner, especially given the very low price. I find that although I can smell the coconut in the bottle, it starts to smell more like chocolate when I'm using it in the shower which is odd, although just as delicious!

Hair Repair Treatment £2.99 for 150ml

This is the standout product for me. I love the thick consistency, and although it says that it's a weekly treatment, I use this a couple of times a week to keep my hair in tip top shape. It doesn't leave my hair weighed down and it also smells lush. This is definitely a product that I'll be picking up again.

Hair Serum £2.99 for 50ml

This is much runnier than other serums that I've used before but it works really well and I just have to be careful when I squeeze a little out of the tube. A little goes a long way, as with most serums and it leaves my hair looking silky and smooth.

Glossing Spray £3.99 for 100ml

Although this is the most expensive of the products that I tried, I couldn't get it to work well for me. Used on dry hair, it left my hair looking greasy when I spray it on, as the nozzle concentrates the product too much. I had no problems like this using it on wet hair but I didn't like the results as much as the serum and as that's a little cheaper, that'll be the one I go back to in future!

The full range is huge and contains 18 hair and body products, all coconut based. The packaging is basic but feels sturdy enough and although it's not beautiful, it's practical. The best thing is the prices for me- all the products are under £3.99 and most are under £1.99. The products are available from Home Bargains, Superdrug, Savers and Bodycare and I will definitely be trying the Body Butter and Body Oil- I love smelling like coconut so these could well be right up my street and they're both worth a try at only £1.99 each.

Do you have a favourite bargain range?

*All products were sent as PR samples, all opinions are honest*