Sunday, 29 January 2012

Hi all,

I was browsing my favourite blogs and came across THIS one from a few weeks ago by Danielle (ablogfromblackpool) and decided to be a total copy-cat and take a few snaps of my bedroom, too.

I enjoy having a sneak peek into other people's houses and I'm pretty sure all of you lot do as well. So here is a little look into the room I have occupied for the last twenty or so years, and where I spend most of my time when I'm not out of the house.

As soon as you walk in the door of my room, to the left you'll see my fisheye vintage mirror. I took this home when we had to gut the studios at my old Uni. I couldn't let it be chucked in the skip, so here it is hanging, pride of place on my wall...and here's me in my Pyjamas, hi!


Next you see my bookshelves with my 'Junk Shop' laughing Buddha who welcomes you into the room. I always give his head a rub before I leave, for good luck because I need it. (Read on!!) Behind him, on the wall, are some mirrors which were from the World's Biggest Mirrorball on Blackpool Promenade. I was one of a team of artists who completely refurbished the mirrorball a few years ago. This involved stripping the old mirrors (seen on the wall) and re-gluing them on again. Think I may have several million years bad luck from smashing  thousands upon thousands of little mirrors while stripping the old ones off, hence why I need my good luck Buddha to help me through the day!


On my bedside table I have my trusty bedside clock/phone dock/radio, which I love, and my 'homemade' bedside lamp. By 'homemade' I mean I shoved a strip of fairy lights into a jar and turned them on. Easy peasy! You can also see here my work in progress crocheted bed cover. It's very small at the moment, but it's my first piece of crochet and I'm excited for it to grow!


You'll often find two little pussy cats on my bed, too.


Here is my photo wall with pictures of people and memories that I look at every day.


On my book shelf I have more fake flowers (they're all over the place!) and vases that I keep hair bobbles, headbands, hair brushes and everything else in. Mr Skull is from TK Maxx.


On the shelf above that I keep my hair, face and body products, more flowers, cotton pads, perfumes etc.


Moving on from there are my flat shoes which are in a shoe storage thing that hooks onto your door. I got it from TK Maxx. Also, hanging next to it is my Kigu :)


On top of my bookshelf are my two wooden friends called Boshay and Jamyang. I found them at a carboot sale and couldn't leave them behind. (In fact, I did leave them behind, got home and couldn't stop thinking about them so drove the half an hour back to the carboot and bought them!) Behind them is another fisheye mirror I bought from the same 'Junk Shop' as my Buddha.


This is the mirror I use to do my hair every morning and is decorated with more crap and fairy lights.


My chest of drawers sits next to the mirror and has (another!) mirror on top of it. I keep my dried roses in a vase on here. These are from various birthdays, Valentine's days and gifts, etc. I like to dry them so I can keep them forever. On here I also keep my watches, a box of odds and ends, some kirby grips and a few bits of jewellery that I don't want to risk losing!


To the right of the drawers are my bookshelf, desk and wardrobe. I keep my boots along the top and my favourite shoes on the top shelf of my bookshelves. I know I have a problem. You don't need to tell me!


On the bottom shelf of these bookshelves I have my earrings and bits and bobs. Here's my Graduation photo, aww!


And this is my windowsill where I sit and do my makeup every morning.


Phew. That's about it. Not much more that's interesting (or tidy enough!) to show.
Hope you enjoyed the sneak peek into my bedroom.
Would love to see yours. If you've done something similar, please link it to me in the comments section, I'd love to take a look!
Neeny x 

Tuesday, 24 January 2012

Hair nightmare!

Literally just woke up from a nightmare in which I let my boyfriend ombre my hair with a spray bottle filled with bleach. It turned out something like this and I had to pretend that I really liked it just so I wouldn't hurt his feelings.



Definitely going to go to the hairdressers to get it done now. This must be a sign.

Monday, 23 January 2012

Product Rave: Model's Own Nail Varnish in Nude Beige


Okay, so it's not the best picture in the world but this is my go-to-most-favourite-nailvarnish ever! Model's Own Nail Polish in the colour Nude Beige Number NP075

Doesn't look much in the bottle but it is the most beautiful, understated, delicate colour on the nails.
Dries fast.
Long lasting.

Get a bottle now! It costs £5 at Boots, bargain!

Sunday, 22 January 2012

Oopsie!

...may have made a cheeky Illamasqua order by accident whilst looking for Birthday presents for a friend. Everything was in the sale though so that's alright, yeah?

Friday, 20 January 2012

Hot & Not - 20/01/12

What's been hot and what's not this week? Whether it be a nice new purchase or something that made me smile, I'm going to start writing down what has been good and what has been bad about my week. Hope you enjoy.


What's been hot:

1. Free stuff! I ordered my FREE (completely free, to my surprise...no P&P charges or anything!) facebook/moo collaborative business cards. If you have Facebook Timeline, you can get your free 50 business cards by following these instructions on the Moo website HERE. They came within about 3 days as well, which was good! I didn't particularly need them...but they were free!


2. Harry Potter DVD Box Set. I'm onto Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince next. I've been enjoying watching them, too.


3. Putting my newly learnt crocheting skills into action. My mum taught me how to crochet a granny square over Christmas and it has just been getting bigger and bigger. Think I'm going to either make it into a cushion cover or a throw.


4. Liz Earle Hot Cloth Cleanser. The best makeup remover I have ever used, hands down. 

5. Getting a new lip balm and getting 50p off with a voucher. Yay!


What's not:

1. Getting to work after walking for half an hour and finding a pair of used false eyelashes stuck to my scarf.

2. Finding a hole in my favourite duvet cover.

3. Researching house prices; bills, rent, mortgage etc and seeing how much it actually costs to live.

Project "Use-Up-All-The-Crap-I-Have-Before-Buying-Any-More!"

Welcome to my new project. 
I named it.. 
Project "Use-Up-All-The-Crap-I-Have-Before-Buying-Any-More!"

I have piles of unused cosmetics sitting round my room ranging from makeup, hair spray, face wash, cleansers, dry shampoos, leave in conditioners and more. It's getting to the point where I just look at it and think, maybe I should use these up before going to the shop and buying another product that does exactly the same thing. 

So that's what I've decided to do. I'm going to try and get down to one product per need...because, let's face it, I don't need three dry shampoos, three hairsprays, countless concealers and mascaras, numerous face washes and cleansers and god knows what else stashed away in my drawers.


These are a few of the items I'm going to be actively using to use them up and de-clog my room. (I can't just throw them away! That's just out of the question!)

This is what's on my list so far...are you sitting comfortably?:

Tigi 'Let It Be' Cherry Almond Leave-In Conditioner - 90% Full
Toni & Guy Rapid Response Leave-In Conditioner. - 50% Full
Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser. - 30% Full
Glamour Dry Shampoo Original. - 30% Full
Mess Head Dry Shampoo. - 30% Full
Batiste Dry Shampoo Original. - 95% Full
Tresemme Ultimate Hold Hairspray. - 60% Full
Got2b 2 Sexy Collagen Lift Effect Big Volume Hairspray. - 40% Full
Tigi 'Free Ur Mind' Cherry Almond Firm Hold Hairspray. - 60% Full
Simple Moisturising Facial Wash. - 50% Full
Clean & Clear Blackhead Clearing Daily Scrub. - 30% Full
Clean & Clear Deep Action Refreshing Gel Cleanser. - 30% Full
Stila Sheer Color Tinted Moisturizer. - 90% Full
Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector BB Cream. - 85% Full
MAC Studio Finish Concealer NW25. - Pretty much full
MAC Cream Colour Base in Shell. - Pretty much full
No7 Eye Base. - Half full
Bourjois Illuminating Touch Rose Universel. - Full
Benefit Boi-ing Concealer in 02. - 10% Full
Benefit Lemon Aid Colour Correcting Eye Primer. - Half full
Benefit It Stick Concealer. - Pretty much full
Soap & Glory Trick and Treatment Under Eye Concealer. - 90% Full
Benefit Bad Gal Lash Plum. Getting there!
Rimmel Sexy Curves Mascara. - Full
Collection 2000 Illuminating Touch Light Diffusing Concealer. - Guessing half full.
Bourjois Coupe de Theatre 2 in 1 Mascara. - Brand new.
Garnier Eye Roll-on. - 80% Full

Weeeeeouw, that's a lot! Going through it like that and seeing how much product I've actually used and how many I've bought makes it even worse. Definitely going to try and use up some of my stash in the next few months, perhaps even re-discover some of my beauty must-haves.

Wish me luck! I've tried this before, last year or so, and did manage to use some stuff up, so anyone who wants to join me in this project then good luck to you, too! (Not doubting for a second that any of you are makeup hoarders like me!)

See you soon!
x


Tuesday, 17 January 2012

O.O.T.D - 17/01/12 & Allsaints Spitalfields Bargain

Good evening lovely followers! Just a quick post to show you the outfit and makeup that I wore today. I've been feeling very Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen ever since watching an old Pixiwoo makeup video last night. See HERE for the video that I watched which inspired my makeup for the day.


I decided to go for all black with my outfit - how adventurous! 
I wore the following:

Black leggings: Topshop
Camisole top: Primark
Slubby sheer fine knit jumper: Topshop
Rocco studded bag: Alexander Wang
Tundra leather boots: Ash


I've been longing to wear this top for months and months. I bought it last year (or maybe even the year before!) in Topshop sale but have never been able to pair it with anything that I found to look nice. Finally just decided to wear it plain and simple, thrown over a pair of leggings... and think it looked pretty cool, does it? Who knows?



I wore my hair in a centre parting for a change and ran my straighteners through to make some loose waves.


My watch is from Guess and the necklace is from an Etsy shop, I can't remember which but you can most likely just search "Sideways cross necklace" or something of that nature and you'll find something!

This is how my makeup turned out today anyway, my loose interpretation of the Pixiwoo makeup video.


I used Bobbi Brown Long Wear Cream Shadow in Burnished across the lids as a base and on top of that I applied Snakebite and Tease from the Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette. Along the lash line I used Darkhorse from the Urban Decay Naked 1 Palette.
The eyeliner in my waterline and on the lash line is in Corrupt by Urban Decay.
I then used my usual, Benefit Bad Gal Lash mascara in black.
Foundation is Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum in 52 Vanilla.
Concealer used was Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection in 2 Light.
Contour/blush colour is MAC Blush in Harmony.


On my lips I used a mix of Rimmel Nude Delight and Revlon Nude Attitude lipstick.



I was so excited to wear my two new rings today from FASHIONOLOGY. (The silver rings on my index finger and ring finger). I've been looking for this type of ring for years and they arrived yesterday, much to my delight, after ordering them earlier this month.
For sizing reference, in Topshop rings I wear Small on my index and middle fingers. Topshop rings are too big for my ring fingers, so I would class that as meaning my ring finger is an XS. The Fashionology rings I ordered are in a size XS (ring finger) and S (index finger), although M would fit my middle finger as S is too small.


Anyway, it was super cold today and I was going to meet up with the other half so I popped on my teddybear hat from Topshop (you can't really see but it's just a black knit hat with two purply-black pom poms as ears on the sides), my new gorilla jacket from Topshop featured in my HAUL post from the other day and my Kurt Geiger Isla Mittens to keep my fingers toasty!


While out and about with the boyf, I popped into TK Maxx for a wander (and to escape the cold) and couldn't help but notice these lonely shorts hanging on the Final Clearance rail. Much to my surprise, they were not only from Allsaints Spitalfields but also A FIVER. Absolute bargain. They are the Lourdes Kari WPK556 Boy's Short in Indigo and were originally £50 marked down to £14.99 and marked down further to £5. Day made.



Now that I know that TK Maxx sell Allsaints stuff, I will definitely be having a mooch through the clothing section next time I go in. I never give the clothing a second look in that place because I can rarely be bothered scouring through their heap system looking through endless isles of clothes. I normally head to the shoe, makeup or home departments to pick up some bargains, but I think I may have been converted now and will have to keep my eye open in future!

Sunday, 15 January 2012

Hair today, gone tomorrow!

It has been a year pretty much to the day that I decided to take the plunge and chop all of my hair off into a short do'. My hair had been annoying me for months and I was sick of it. I never thought I'd ever have short hair in my life but last January I booked an appointment and went for it. (Much to the dread of my boyf!) I went from this boob length number...


...to this short crop, the shortest I've ever had my hair. I absolutely loved it at the time and enjoyed playing around with the new style. However after a month or two I just began to get annoyed with the fact that I couldn't put it up into a bobble and couldn't go two days without washing it as I had no choice but to wear it down every day.


So I decided to grow it back. Short lived but I change my mind a lot! So, now a year on and about 3 trims later I'm at this stage. Still super short compared to what I long for now, but I'm pretty impressed with the rate of growth for a year, especially as I've had cuts in between.


So, as I've mentioned previously, I've been toying with the idea of ombré hair. Ombré is a transition from one colour to another, most commonly seen now with darker roots and bleached tips. I really don't want to damage my hair too much and also don't want to look like I've dipped my ends into a bowl of bleach and I've been scouring the net for the perfect style that I want. Unfortunately almost all ombré hair is on long styles which look lovely, but I want to incorporate it into my style of hair. I picked up this magazine yesterday for a bit of a browse through and was immediately drawn to Alexa Chung on the front cover. Alexa was one of the main people I'd been looking at for ombré hair inspiration and this cover photo is pretty much exactly what I want.





Her ombré is toned down and works its ay quite high up through her layers. I also like the colour pay off as it isn't too blonde and stark against her natural hair colour.


I'm going to go to my hair dressers in a few weeks to see what he can do for me. It's been a while since I've played with bleaching my hair and I think it's time for me to get creative with my hair again as this 'growing out' stage is so boring! This image below is the image I found a few months ago showing one of the nicest (in my opinion) pictures of Alexa's toned down ombré hairstyle.


What do you guys think? I'm a bit scared to attempt DIY ombré in case it ends up in disaster. Has anyone else tried out this style? Did you like it? On a quick side note, just LOOK at this amazing breakfast in bed I woke up to this morning thanks to the boyf! A glass of fresh orange juice and blueberry and banana pancakes topped with grated apple, blueberries, banana, strawberries and a sprinkle of sugar. Yum yum!