Bloglovin', that wonderful website that can be used to track your favourite blogs and keep up to date with their posts apparently requires that you post a post with the following link in it in order to claim a blog as your own, so here you are Bloglovin', and here is the link for all of you lovely people. 

I would love if you could follow me over there

:) xo

Bloglovin', that wonderful website that can be used to track your favourite blogs and keep up to date with their posts apparently requires that you post a post with the following link in it in order to claim a blog as your own, so here you are Bloglovin', and here is the link for all of you lovely people. 

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

I would love if you could follow me over there

 :) xo

NOTD: Rumples Bones

Excuse my dehydrated cuticles!

This look is actually off my nails now, as it started to chip yesterday when I was taking Blog Sale photos.

(That should be up later today, lots of highstreet and higher end brands in case you are wondering)

Anyway this is OPI Skull and Glossbones, from the Pirate's of the Caribbean collection  

with OPI Rumples Wiggin, from the Shrek Collection, as the tips.

I am really glad this has shown up in pictures because in person it didn't look that obvious, which disappointed me slightly. Though the negative is that in this picture the Skull and Glossbones looks much more khaki then it is, its actually much more grey. 

I did like the combination though!

xo :)

Top Pout: Clinique Black Honey

When I am deciding which of these posts to write next I have a list that I refer to and try to pick my favourites, and today I was going to post about Clinique Baby Baby. 

It occurred to me though that recently I have mentioned this lipstick several times, and as it is an autumn/winter shade on this particularly rainy day I should maybe post on this one instead! 

(Don't worry, Baby Baby will be featured once it warms up a bit)

I have been a fan of this shade from Clinique for a couple of years now and it becomes an immediate staple in my handbag as soon as the weather turns cold. 

I was initially introduced to it by Lisa Eldridge in her original plum lipstick video where she demonstrated several ways to use a deep lipstick (the new version of this video features a Tom Ford lipstick, but the original was Chanel Rouge Noir) and Lisa used Black Honey as an easier way to achieve the tinted/stained softer way to wear a deep shade than faffing about with lightly applying the deeper coloured Chanel. 

I saw it in the video and loved it, swatched it in store the next day bought it immediately and I haven't regretted it since.

Black Honey looks really quite scary in the tube, especially if you don't think about the fact that this is an almost lipstick. It applies like a gloss or a balm, really softly, and provides a beautiful healthy sheen while still providing a little bit of a deeper autumnal colour.

Because it is so sheer it doesn't require a mirror to reapply, and surprisingly lasts a reasonable amount of time. It lacks the slipperiness of a true gloss so it doesn't slip right off, but it does need to be topped up every couple of hours.

This past autumn Clinique released a limited edition set of eyeshadows and blusher to match this shade, and I am absolutely gutted that I missed out on the blusher, so if they re-release it I will be snapping one up. 

For now though I am content keeping my Almost Lipstick safe as I will always fall back on it during the colder months.

Currently it is priced at £16 and I picked up mine from Boots, but you can get this from any good Clinique Counter.

:) xo

Review: It has EARS!

Ok, so I know I have tumblr-ed and tweeted about this bag already, but come on! Look how adorable the thing is!! I just had to do a proper post about it.

I grabbed this from a little shop in Lincoln called Ruby Red Boutique which is up The Strait if you fancy a bit of a hill climb. The shop was really lovely, the staff friendly, and it had some nice clothing items and gifty bits. Definitely worth a look if you are in the area. 

I spotted the bag as soon as I stepped into the back room on a table full of purses, and literally grabbed it to give it a squeeze, it was just so darn cute and very me. 

It is made by Cheeky Budha, a brand I had never heard of before but a quick Google has shown it is stocked alongside higher end brands. The bag cost £10 which at first I thought was a little much considering I already have lots of makeup bags, it wasn't something I actually needed. I think it is actually supposed to be a purse (it would be a really big one though, with very little organisation) so it doesn't have a wipeable lining, but for something which is a bit out of the ordinary I didn't mind spending a bit extra. 

Once I realised exactly how much stuff would fit in this thing though I really thought I had got a bargain. Tardis is most definitely the word. Currently inside it I have a blusher, nail polish, a mascara, my Garnier eye roll on, two concealers, lipstick and lipgloss, a paint pot, an individual eye shadow, two single eye shadows I am planning on reviewing (both in pot like containers) my MSF natural, kabuki and eyelash curlers. AND THERE IS STILL ROOM!

One of the main reasons I don't carry makeup around with me, even if I think I will need to touch up during the day, is because it is such a bother trying to get everything I need to carry to fit into a bag, and usually I have to slot them all in perfectly to get the thing to shut. This just happily zips closed. Perfect!

I have a feeling this little guy will get a lot of use. 

:) xo

A Periwinkle Problem

I don't think I have mentioned it yet, but recently all the volunteering I have done at my local library has started to pay off and I was offered a place on the relief panel for the library service (and hopefully this will lead to permanent hours!) 

Naturally being a knitter and a bit of a clothing addict, my first thought was the uniform. The corporate colours for the service are black and purple, I have plenty of black clothing, but inexpensively finding something purple for my outfit struck me as a problem, as I really didn't want to just go to Primark and get something really cheap. It occurred to me yesterday that I probably actually have some purple yarn that I could turn into a shawl or scarf or something to give me that pop of purple that I need. 

After a little Ravelry browse and then a rummage I found this Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock Solid in Periwinkle. Now periwinkle is a bit of an odd one, being almost purple, almost blue, and this yarn does look more blue in person then the picture suggests but I think it will be fine for work. 

Now what to knit with it! I really haven't a clue at the moment. I had planned on turning this into socks originally, so I have two skeins, but I am sure I can get some more (probably not the same dye lot but I will manage) so do I go all out and knit my first cardigan, or stick to a little shawlette/scarf? 

Hmmm choices choices!

Top Pout: Natural Collection Rose Bud

 

I haven't written one of these in a while, a multitude of reasons for that really, mainly lighting and things, but I am hoping to keep up with them this year as I eventually want to profile all of my favourite lipsticks (i.e. most of my collection) on here so that I don't have to do a lipstick collection video!

So this is Boots Natural Collection Moisture Shine Lipstick in Rosebud.

 

 For me this is one of those my lips but rather a lot better shades, it generally works well to make me look better put together and generally healthier. It is a deep enough pink to be bold, and doesn't have a dusky tone which would mute the colour, instead it manages to be both deep and bright, with a subtle gold shimmer which you can't really see on the lips but which adds a healthy shine and keeps the lips looking plump and pretty.

The formula is slightly glossy in a soft way as opposed to an in your face shine way, which also generally means that they are a little bit moisturising, though personally I would wear a lipbalm under them as over time they can dry the lips out a little. 

They make no claims to be long lasting, and I do find that if I want to maintain a solid colour on my lips I do need to touch them up every hour or so, or when I remember, but to be quite honest the next point means that I really don't care about that.

These bad boys are £2!! TWO POUNDS for a decent wearable lipstick in a range of lovely shades, some of which have shimmer some of which do not. It is really impressive that we can now find these items at these prices on the high street. The price also means that I can have these thrown in my bag and I don't care about if they get damaged, or if they melt next to the radiator, or if they get lost when I am rooting around for my purse. There is something to be said for a lipstick that you would miss if you lost it, but not for long because you can cheaply and easily replace it. I actually couldn't find a link on the Boots website, so I really hope they aren't discontinued, but they were definitely in my local store the other day.

Next time you walk past the Natural Collection display grab one for a swatch, it will be worth it!

:) xo

NOTD: Girly Glittery Nails

 

These pictures are after a couple of days of wear, but I wanted to post this after I had uploaded my 

2011 favourites. I chose OPI Teenage Dream as my favourite nail polish of the year, and I thought I should show you some of the ways I wear it.

The colour is a translucent pink with a range of glitter, including holographic sparkle.

This is quite possibly my favourite way to wear OPI Teenage Dream, with a coat over two coats of the much more subtle glittery polish OPI Princesses Rule. Together they make me smile whenever I catch a glimpse of them, or get ever so slightly blinded by the sparkles.

What was your favourite of 2011?

xo

A Messy Operation

I spent a couple of hours swatching all my lipsticks today, I took 117 photographs! 3 of each lipstick. 

They're for my top pout posts, first one of 2012 will be up on sunday, and some bad lippy posts too as lord knows there are a good amount of those out there too.

As you can see it was quite a messy operation, and it did require a lot of lip balm, 

but now all the lip swatches are done it will be a lot easier for me to get the posts written 

as the lip swatches are always the most difficult. 

I also may have had a little play with photoshop this evening.

 I used to know how to do so many great looking tricks with it but haven't really tried for several years, but after following Pugly Pixel for ages I started watching her tutorials and got a few of her web design bits and had a go! 

I think it looks quite fun.

:) xo

B is for Brilliant ★★★★

 

A couple of years ago I had never heard of Tom Robbins before, and the few times I have mentioned him to fellow readers I always get asked "Tom who?" so you are forgiven if you yourself have never heard of this fun author.
According to Wikipedia, he is American, and his novels are generally funny whimsical stories about current affairs, often approaching them from a new direction. His most well known story is 'Even Cowgirls Get The Blues' mainly because it was turned into a film in the early nineties, though the previous work I have heard of (and have on my bookshelf, though haven't read yet) is 'Still Life With Woodpecker'.

B is for Beer is his latest story, and is touted as a "Children's Book for Grownups - A Grown-up Book for Children" which really is the perfect description of the story. Robbins has in this short little ditty managed to perfectly capture the essence of children's fiction, and then approach an adult topic which is both fun and serious. Something which I am personally very impressed by.

The story follows Gracie Perkel, a young girl aged six who is curious about the great god that is Beer. Gracie is inquisitive, as all young children are, and observes beer's effect on the adults around her and wants to give it a go herself. After a particularly disappointing day she does, and gets a visit and a lesson from the Beer fairy. The story goes on to not only tell the reader all about the creation of beer in an approachable way, but also discusses the social effects beer has and the negative aspects of the behaviour that can be caused by the substance. 

In essence, Robbins has managed to approach quite possibly the worlds favourite drink in a similar way to Dickens's 'A Christmas Carol' and he does so marvelously with a great sense of humour.

 

While I certainly wouldn't give this book to a six year old, a teenager would find it interesting and fun, and adults can read and reminisce about their first taste of beer (mine was from a tiny tankard that said "for little boozers" on it, I kid you not!). The story also focuses upon several morals, as the beer fairy tells Gracie "Bravery that comes from a bottle...lacks the full strength and purity of bravery that comes straight from the heart" we are provoked into thinking about the effect that Beer has on society. The book also manages to be quite informative, providing basic information about the fermentation process and history of beer in a lighthearted and easy to grasp medium. While the tone is obviously geared towards giving an adult a giggle, the illustrations throughout are bold and simple, and remind me of sixties illustrations from books I have inherited from my parents.

I definitely think this is worth a read, and if you are ever stuck and want a quick story to brighten your day I say pop to the local bookshop or library and grab this from the shelf, you might just find yourself with a smile on your face :)

★★★★ and a good dose of chuckling!

December 2011 Favourites

I posted my December favourites on YouTube on Monday!
I actually wasn't sure whether or not to film one, as I have also filmed a 2011 favourites which should go up some time soon, but this one is only small this month so I figured why not.

I also posted my December empties yesterday here on the blog, which I would love for you to check out. I am hoping to keep that a regular monthly thing from now on so all your Project Pan cravings will be satisfied.

:) xo

December Empties

So I announced in my final update on Project Pan on my YouTube channel that I would from now on be writing blog posts about which products I had managed to finish in each month.
The main reason for this is that it will be a lot easier to do then actually film a video at the moment. Lighting is a nightmare in my house, and filming a video takes a long time, where as snapping a picture will only take me a minute or two.

I wanted to still keep a record of what products I am using up though because I often forget these products when I make favourite videos and then you don't get the full picture of what products I am reaching for.

Without further ado, here are my December empties!

 

I know, pretty poor effort there, but as I explained in my December favourites I haven't been using a lot of different products lately, though I do desperately need to start downsizing my make-up again so hopefully more will finished soon!

La Roche-Posay Physiological Micellar Solution

£11.50 from Boots

I discovered Micellar solutions in 2011 and I think my make up removal technique will be changed forever now, they really are great. I have tried this La Roche-Posay one and the Vichy one, and I have to say I think I prefer this one. I don't know what it is about it but I don't seem to have to work as hard to remove things. When I use the Vichy I feel like I may not have got it all off, but with this I am confident my skin is makeup free. It isn't cheap, and I am hoping to give the Bioderma a go this year, but for now this will be a definite repurchase!

Ahava Deadsea Water Mineral Body Lotion

£22.00 for 250ml (size shown is a 40ml Sample) from Ahava 

This was a sample from my August GlossyBox, and was probably the best item in the box that month. It is definitely the only one I have finished. I used this primarily on my legs after shaving and it didn't irritate or give me a rash like many body lotions can, even though it is mildly scented. The scent itself isn't particularly offensive either though it is muskily floral.

I wouldn't repurchase this currently, purely because of the price, but hey if I all of a sudden start earning more then I would possibly give the full size a go!

Caudalie Quenching Sorbet Creme

£20 for 40ml (size shown is a 10ml sample) From Caudalie

Another beauty box sample, but this time from my first Carmine Box. This moisturiser is truly beautiful, it smells gorgeous (made from Bordeaux grapes) and really leaves teh skin feeling fresh and healthy, something which I find a lot of moisturisers fail to achieve. The consistency is a light almost foamy mousey texture which helps it to smooth onto the skin nicely. 

I would repurchase this in a heartbeat, but unfortunately I think it may have caused me to get those tiny little blemishes which are common when I react to a product, I highly recommend it though!

So there you have it, my first empties post, I hope you enjoyed it and let me know if you have tried and rate any of these products 

:) xo

A nook of one's own

It occurred to me the other day that while I have been talking about how I have been slowly getting myself back into both knitting and reading since last September I haven't really discussed how I am going about it. There is really one change that I have made which has helped the most so I thought a blog post about it might be interesting to you.

I am talking about my little nook. No I don't mean a Barnes and Noble E-reader, I mean a little space specially reserved for specific activities, in this case reading and knitting (though it sometimes becomes storage for cardigans and the like too).

 

Now I will apologise, because I have recently moved this, I rearranged my bedroom and have swapped which corner this chair is in, but I am using it in exactly the same way so I shall give you a little history.

I have had this chair since university (it was a cheap Ikea tub chair, cost around £35) and since moving back home it had lived on the landing, not a very reader friendly place to sit let me tell you. When I decided I needed to get back into reading I found initially that reading in bed simply didn't work for me any more, and neither does knitting there. My desk chair is incredibly uncomfortable for long lengths of time (which is why I am writing this in my nook actually) and so I decided I would squeeze my chair into my already crammed bedroom, and I managed to fit it in front of some bookcases, not entirely practical, but that's why it has now changed. 

I happily used the space to sit and get back into reading, and now that I am reading up a storm and knitting so fast my needles might catch alight my nook has also become just a general lounging spot. The cushion on the back of the chair actually becomes a foot rest, I don't keep it on the chair, and I have the blanket there not just to cover a massive coffee stain that my sister kindly added, but also for if it gets a bit chilly.

 

I use the chest of drawers to the left to keep stuff on, and a bookcase with my favourite crime books, and all the classics I aim to read is located to the right (though I may...and it kills me to say this...mess up my cataloging system and have that bookcase full of my to be read books, shock horror!) and I have space for a lamp and a mug of tea and my review record books. Where the chair is now located is also conveniently angled towards the new television I got for Christmas, perfect for when knitting! 

Really it is a very simple idea nominating a small space for a specific task, and we do it with so many other tasks which we do each day, desks are for working, vanities are for makeup, kitchens are for cooking. But taking the time to create a comfortable peaceful space where I can take some time for my hobbies has helped me to realise again just how much I love them, and I think everyone deserves a little nook of their own.

2012

Image via weheartit

I hope you all had a great New Year, I have debated whether to set myself any challenges for both this blog and my YouTube this year, as I set some for myself on my other blog and have decided on these two:

Shop my stash
I have so far managed to downsize my makeup collection since my storage video, but I want to do that even more. I really don't feel like I need as much makeup since I successfully completed Roaccutane treatment and I find myself wearing less. Shopping my stash of products should help me to eliminate the products that really don't suit my needs any more, which should show itself in the monthly posts I am going to try and keep up with. I should also be able to identify which of my products are true favourites, and potential holy grail items. I suspect I will always want more lipstick and blusher though!!

Regularly use The Cometics Library for more then just video updates
So far this blog has mainly been for updating my video list and posting the odd nail of the day but I really want to move some of the focus into blog posts as making videos regularly is difficult and time consuming. I have always been more of a writer too so it suits me I think. I will still keep making regular videos, but I aim to shift my empties/project pan continuation to the blog with a post each month, and regularly review items currently in my makeup collection like my lipsticks and blushers. I will probably keep the hauls and the favourites on YouTube though.

So here is to a productive 2012 hopefully! I hope you all share the ride with me.
:) xo

A Bank Holiday

It's bank holiday Monday and although I didn't have a huge amount planned I thought I would snap a few pics of my day seeing as it was mostly book and yarn related :)

a/n: most of these are iPhone pictures, so excuse the quality

The day started as it often does with some reading.

I've been picking this up and putting it down for a couple of weeks now, it's only a little book but a fun light read so I find it easy to grab when I'm not really awake yet.

Rapidly followed by breakfast (tea and a chocolatine, nom), IM-ing and some YouTube beauty videos from my subscription box

 

This is a pretty regular sight all day, but I probably first opened it during breakfast, it's Tiny Tower, a free game on the iPhone/iPod where you build a skyscraper. It is seriously addictive!

 

While the rest of the family put away Christmas for this winter (I wasn't being lazy and not helping, I had to put it all up because my mum fractured her arm and my sister was away at Uni and it was rather stressful and tiring, so I said my sister could take it down while she was home) I sat and wove in the ends of my Bon Temps Marina Shawl now that it is all blocked and pretty. (FO report coming soon!)

 

 After some thorough cleaning of the house I sat down to watch a film from a favourite series of mine, and one which is often shown around Christmas and New Year, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. It seems so strange seeing the stars so young every time I watch and it definitely isn't my favourite of the series, but it is always fun, I love when Ron gulps before valiantly sacrificing himself in the chess game, such wonderful acting ;)

And as the day began to draw to a close I realised I had missed one of my traditions, I am a HUGE Agatha Christie fan, and watch the Poirot or Marple that is shown at Christmas every year but this year I missed it and so instead watched on ITV Player. It is a bit confusing though, as this is the first episode of season 12, and we have already seen all the other episodes, this one wasn't shown last year. Not sure why, it was still great though!

After some telly watching I did a bit of knitting on this lovely pattern, and then realised I had gone wrong somewhere and decided to frog and start again. When I did frog though I had the genius idea to wind the yarn and chop out the horrible khaki colour bits in the Noro Kureyon Sock I was using, god knows what Noro were thinking including such a muddy shade amongst such lovely vibrant blues and pinks!

 

So now I have some lovely bright balls of yarn (left, bad picture doesn't really show how yucky the other ones are) and some horrible shades which im sure I will still find use for (right) all ready for casting on, which I think I will do right now!

 

I hope you all enjoyed your bank holidays if you had them off :)

xo

Happy New Year!!

I hope everyone had a great time last night ringing in the new year, and that everyone was safe.

Image from We ♥ It

I thought a new challenge setting post for 2012 would be appropriate.

I clearly failed terribly at project 2011, though the beauty challenge became something else entirely and what was originally just going to be an attempt to use up all my old products became a new hobby, a new blog, and a venture into YouTube! It has certainly been exciting.

The reading and knitting challenges were not quite so successful, and ultimately I think it has been obvious that I decided to take on a huge challenge during a year where I already had far too much going on. I managed to read and review only 12 books for the entire year (though for some I reviewed the whole series), along with a couple I didn't get around to reviewing. I read a couple more library books, but I really did lose my reading mojo last year.
For 2012 I still hope to read and review 52 books, but I am not going to pressure myself, and I am going to include library books because books should be for enjoyment and if something fluffy from the library takes my fancy then I am not going to enjoy the books already on my shelf. So, hopefully I will manage to read a nice range of books over the next year and provide lots of reviews for you to read. I will have a post about using a filofax to keep record of those reviews soon too!

Knitting definitely got moved to the back burner in 2011, and I am just glad to have managed to finish my only remaining 2010 project in the last week. I really wanted that Marina Shawl finished before 2012 started, so look out for  a finished object report on that.
For 2012 I am hoping to finish the projects I currently have on the needles and possibly knit a few more. I would love to finish at least 12 items, and I don't want to buy any more yarn still as obviously my stash hasn't been reduced.

So, Project 2012 shall now be declared started, but I wont be setting myself any limits, they are more of a guideline :)