The last day of 2013!

It's difficult to think of something original or innovative to tell you on the very last day of this year.

I started the year first of all with an injured back that has finally pretty much healed

Planning for my sisters Hen party

I fell sick a lot, my immune system and I.. we have our ups and downs

I got a Furby!

I gained hundreds of subscribers to my YouTube videos

I visited Italy

I moved house

I stopped biting my nails

Being maid of honour for the first (and maybe last!) time

And hopefully a few other things happened, but I can't remember

I blogged 233 times this year including this very post, and thank you for reading them, who knows, maybe someone has read all 233 of them, aside from me!

I know it's so easy to think that 'new year, new you' but honestly, if you swear 2014 will be the year you lose some weight, or learn to sew and by January 3rd you have already faltered, don't get hung up on it, today, tomorrow, every day following January 1st is as good as the day before it to try again.

2014 is going to be a really exciting year for us all, 2014 even rolls of the tongue so much better than 2013! If your 2013 has been not so great, maybe you thought your New Years would be entirely different to how it is now- well that's just fine, it's opened your life into a whole new direction that is right, you are exactly where you need to be and you will only get even better than where you are now!

This year has been sparkly and wonderful and I have so many parts of it that I will treasure forever, but I just can't wait to see what next year brings, and where it will take me!

Candy Yum Yum

This is a little peek at the candy stash that I was bought for Christmas. Sweets in the UK are becoming increasingly influenced by the states which is of course lots of fun! Pop tarts in the UK becoming a mainstream snack or even choice for breakfast? Who thought that day would ever come?

There are still some specialist shops in a few areas, mostly large malls or cities that stock imported American candy and it is always priced at around four times more than what is 'reasonable' but the novelty makes it feel worth it.

I am honestly not too sure which of these are UK or USA, but I'm pretty certain the Hershey's are a USA exclusive, I am reluctant to eat them yet as their packaging is too awesome, and I think to start my day on a bowl of anything that is cookie flavored would just send me into a sugar melt down.

I also have this fun Hello Kitty lollipop (the Hello Kitty theme is strong across every Christmas and Birthday of mine) and it is covered in sugar crystals, it looks way too cute to eat!

Sweeties like this are more and more common in Supermarkets which is fun as a treat, but also a little depressing as the UK is #1 in Europe for obesity, that in itself is worrying, everything in moderation- even Pop Tarts!

This is mostly irrelevant but I am making it relevant, Candy Yum Yum is the trickiest lipstick from Mac that I have ever tried to get my hands on, three different stores have been out of stock and one Mac girl actually said 'We cannot keep it in stock! That and Ruby Woo'

So who knew? It's not a classic shade, or a neutral that is Macs best selling lipstick, but good ol' highlighter pink Candy Yum Yum

Popcorn PJs and Christmas Candle light

I know that it probably would sound much more glamorous to say that I fall asleep between crisp white sheets wearing Victoria's Secret pajamas, but the truth be told my PJs go a little something like this...

They are from Topshop and I got them for Christmas! I think that they are so hilarious and fun, I can't get enough of them, I wore them to sleep over at my Aunties house and she cracked up at the sight of them, they have that effect on people as they just make people smile, what more could I want from PJs??
Plus... I think that they will look even more brilliant when combined with my very over sized unicorn slippers, although those are waiting for me back at my uni house.


I finished off tonight with studying for exams  in January *woohoo*

but also secretly burning my festive candles, I don't think it's too late to be burning candles that smell like Christmas trees but there is a strict -no candle- rule in my mums house, so I convinced her to let me keep these candles for 'decoration', they have been decorating my bed side table for around 10 months in anticipation of Christmas, I secretly smuggle the candle lighter thingy from the kitchen drawer when my mum is around, yes I am older than a teenager and having to sneak around the house and abide by my mums rules.

Christmas kisses as I see in the new year with festive candles and revision!

Let it go

In the spirit of the end of the year, I felt it was relevant to talk about letting go of bad feelings. They might have built up over a long period of time, or perhaps tensions were created over Christmas that have still left you feeling wound up.

It can be tough when dealing with people that you feel will penalise or criticise no matter what, a sort of 'damned if you do, damned if you don't' situation.

I have certainly felt this all throughout the festive period and there's really nothing that I can do about it. People unfortunately can be manipulative and enjoy hurting others with their words. It can be sad and isolating, particularly around this time of year but some people just have hearts that are unkind.

Would a person truly happy in themselves enjoy dragging others down?

We know the answer, which is even more important as to why we have to let go of the bad feelings and be kind in your words, for it is them who need to be shown virtues such as kindness and respect more than most.

Take a deep breath, and exhale the bad feelings in your heart because carrying them with you into the new year will only hurt you.

Give 4th, 5th, 6th chances to be proven wrong and never stop forgiving. Maybe one day change will sweep them off their feet, and lift them into a better place, to be a better person.

Forgiveness is such a tricky thing to fully do, but do it if not because they deserve to be forgived but because you deserve peace.

I've had some downs this Christmas that have left a bitter taste in my mouth, but it's just added fuel to the flame in my heart to do better, go further and change my situation, move away and fill my life with those who lift my spirit and help me to be a better person.

When all else fails, look like you are having a jolly good time to the rest of the world

The joy of Christmas

Tinsel and truffles and turkey 'oh my!'

Now I am totally ex-haaaaaaaaaaausted, my make up is a little worn by this point and my hair is all frazzled, but it sort of doesn't matter at this point.

I know that Christmas can be tricky, you are thrown together with friends and family, even some people that do not like you  and perhaps want to make a point of not liking you, or even enjoy pointing it around other large groups of people, that is always a hoot.

It's just important to realise that your tolerance has new levels that you did not even know existed, and to be as gracious as a person can be, not biting back to rude or snide comments. Just focus on yourself and knowing that you are not hurting or making others feel bad, but are another sparkle in their Christmas Day.

Now onto the more fun and interesting parts-

My outfit of the day looked like this:

Red plaid dungaree shorts from ebay

Black, low back top from Topshop

and a cute little pin of a geisha holding Hello Kitty that I put on my dungarees!
I wore a pair of black leggings and then knitted tights over the top and then my slippers, I get chilly...


My makeup looked like this but a little fresher:

I used half baked from the Naked palette all over the lid, and a matte black in the crease, a little liner and a highlight on the brow bone and inner corner.

I ate a lot of Roses, watched 'The Snowman' and played racing with the wind up toys won from our crackers, and all the other traditional things that people do on Christmas day like napping, eating some more.

I can fall asleep content now, and thumbs up to me for being a dedicated blogger, posting real-life in time snaps from Christmas Day!

It's not too late!

...to look fabulous on Christmas morning!

My last makeup tutorial before Christmas, and it has certainly led me to rediscover the beauty of my Naked Palette #1

It's all gold and bronzes and understatedly glamorous with a subtle eyeliner flick and diluted metallics!

I use a combination of shimmer and matte colours and finish off my lining my upper and lower waterlines with an eye kohl by Mac in Smoulder (a deep, dark black)

So if you're stuck thinking I just don't know 'what' to do on Christmas day then this is a safe bet to look glamorous and 'put together' when the eyes do not take any more than five minutes to throw on.

New Video: Grungy 'slept in' eyeliner makeup tutorial!

Not living the 'Rock and Roll' lifestyle but wish that you were?
Want it to look like you were out partying all night with a glass of low inhibitions?
Girls, wish that you could wear 'the walk of shame' every day?

If that sounds like you, then why not try the grungy eye makeup look!

For whatever reason, this look has really caught on so I thought that I would share it with you guys

I created a video that teaches you how to master that in under a minute!

I am more a fan of 'polished' looks myself, but I figured that there is no harm in trying new things and sharing new tips and trick with you.

I used Macs eyeliner in 'Smoulder' which is a really smudgy formula so pretty much ideal for this kind of thing- I thought I would mix it up a little this week to take a little break from all my glitzy gold holiday makeup tutorials!

Fuji Instax - Be still my beating heart!

Oh Polaroid photography, what a thrill.
My memories of people using Polaroid cameras are somewhat foggy, I can remember them a little, I can see a cool artsy type in the 90s holding one up to my face telling me to smile, maybe it's a memory from a past life, but I am pretty sure it's this one.
I am no photography enthusiast, I like a pretty picture the same as the next person, if I'm feeling particularly artsy I might ramp up the 'contrast' setting on a photograph for a thumbnail on YouTube. But that is as artsy as I get with this sort of thing.
Two weekends ago, at a party I saw a big white camera that looked like a marshmallow on the counter, picking it up in curiosity the owner retrieved it and told me to 'Smile', I grabbed a pal, the owner looked through the viewfinder and there was a flash and a clunk.

Several seconds later a credit card sized photo churns out the top.

It begins white and takes a few full minutes to come through- What a dream! How exciting! What fun!

Yes I was quite enchanted by this little clunk-o-matic and I kept thinking that I might like to own one. I have a rule with shopping (usually for clothes) that if I am still thinking about a garment that I put back a week ago, then I should go back and purchase it, and if it's out of stock then our relationship was not meant to be.

These cameras however were coming up pricier than the average dress, jumper etc so I'd need to think about it a little while longer...

I was browsing through ebay and by stroke of chance a white Fuji Instax was up for auction, ending in under a day. I pondered about what to do, and whether it should be mine to have and to hold!
I thought about what my top bid should be and shortly before the auction ended I placed a bid.
To my delight, the camera was sold to me for the humble price of £30-ish
I was delighted!
Coming from ebay it was second hand, but I decided that I didn't mind too much if I didn't have a new one. (that's what a hipster would think, right?)

So here it is! All mine!

The film is not cheap, maybe £12 for 20 shots and that's the cheapest I could find. So I am quite determined not to waste a single one on 'test' shots and go all 'snappy happy'. I will just have to test and experiment with different settings as I go along. So far it seems very self explanatory, I have taken two lovely photos. The first try was with my friends and it was such a treat to take it, and we all sat waiting as it slowly, slowly developed.

The next photo is taken in front of the Coca Cola truck, I had to ask a stranger to take it and she looked a little baffled by the prospect of having to 'look' through a viewfinder in this day and age.
The photographic result is very forgiving of imperfections. The photo effect is completely and utterly charming!

I am not the cool-artsy type but I do hope that the novelty of this doesn't die and that I continue to hold it up in peoples faces and tell them to 'Smile'

Coca cola truck comes to town!

Television adverts are all trying their mighty hardest to step it up this year to create emotive and memorable adverts in the hope that they may go viral and be the advert of that season. John Lewis has had some great ones and I love the Alice in Wonderland themed advert from I believe...M&S but nothing will beat the festive feeling like seeing that big coca cola truck, surely?

I happened to be out when I saw the Coca Cola truck had rolled it's way up into the high street as part of its 'tour' around the country and I am totally delighted to tell you that it was very magical, albeit smaller than it looks on TV... They had a coca cola gospel choir nearby too which was hilarious and entertained while I queued to have a picture with the truck. There was only a little queue, they handed out mini cans of coke which I do not and never have drunk, so I just held it in the picture to look festive before spilling half of it down my winter coat!

I present to your the most festive of festive photographs!!!

It's not the most flattering of photographs - but I guess that's not the point

My coat that I love and adore is from Next, it has ruffle cuffs and collars which are irresistible and make me feel regal. It was in the kids section which goes up to a generous age 16 which fits a size 8/10 Although I have had to sew back on a button or two!

Pinterest non-fails

Sometimes great things happen when Pinterest and I collide - aside from procrastination, daydreaming and 'oh look, another impressive skylight'

I decided to take my Pin dreams to make them into a reality, and what a productive time that it has been!
Until this point, the only things that I have tried are all food creations and an abundance of makeup looks, but today we are just sticking to food.

First up:



The Veggi fingers- I'd like to point out that mine looked basically nothing like this, the crisp - oh the unattinable crisp



The mashed potato stuffed bell peppers - These were pretty good, but my goodness so filling, it's surprising hoe much potato can fit into one little pepper. I also added two cloves of garlic all crushed up to the mash to kind of give it a little 'zing' I served with roasted carrots cut into little match sticks.


Pasta with fresh tomato sauce, courtesy of Martha Stewart.
 This dish and I were onto a loss at the start really, as I accidentally bought tinned plum tomatoes as opposed to fresh, so the fresh element of this dish falls out the window at about that point. However, I put it in the food processor with a lot of basil, 3 cloves of garlic and heated it over a stove, slowly adding cornflour to thicken it up a little. A few twists of pepper, and this and I were a match made in heaven.


Sweet and Sour chicken - At no point do I pretend that this is good for you, but my goodness, it tastes really good. The tangy vinegar, the sugar. It's a mountain of flavour- I skip out battering the chicken just because it's an extra fiddly and adds more grease and more time. This is one of those twice or three times a year dishes. Mostly I just like the sauce and would pour it over a vegetable stir fry to give it a kick.

So there you have it, Pinterest pins that really do work.
Keep in mind that I have had plenty of Pinterest fails too.
For more fun visit www.pinterestfail.com One of my favourite procrastination destinations (aside from Pinterest)

Simple Subtle Smokey Eye Makeup Tutorial

Now that it gets darker a little earlier, and it feels acceptable to pull on warm, dark knits - it's also a time that we can get away with wearing darker makeup in the day time!

Here, I present to you the subtle smokey eye, something totally simple and easy, with a wintery bite to it.

If you're looking to update your look for winter- but feel that you don't know where to start, cool tone brown eye shadows look good on everyone!

The Lumie Clear: What IS this?

Well, that's a really great question, and the very same one that I was faced with when looking for a way to put an end to all this acne nonsense on my face.
Light therapy, that brings two thoughts to mind one being 'that sounds a bit hippyish' and the other being 'that sounds a bit 'overly medical'

As far as I understand it is a mains powered, combined light therapy treatment for the skin with the red lights doing one thing (attacking the spots, killing bacteria) and the blue lights doing another (healing the skin) I may have got those in the wrong order...
Combined it creates a violet coloured light that yes IS harmful if you look directly into it, beyond just dazzling my eyes and hurting, it can cause serious long term damage so it is absolutely best that if any light can and is getting into your eyes to use the gorgeous goggles provided (they are horrific).

So, this is what you do:

• Press the one and only button on the side of the machine

• When the light illuminates decide if you want to target it at the whole face, or pick it up out of the stand and hold it against a particularly troublesome area (I prefer the second option)

• Wait for the light to automatically switch off after 15 minutes

• Repeat daily

I've been using this for a week now, of course video recording my progress to compile into a YouTube video at some point to let you guys know if it is worth it's £100+ price tag *gulp*

I have not noticed any difference at all, but it's not fair to judge this properly without giving it at least 4 weeks to work it's light magic.

From ASOS with love

Woopsy I accidentally went shopping for one single blouse and instead came away with 2 blouses and 3 pretty little dresses!
I must say, I was bedazzled with the quality of this end of season sale, reflected in my purchases which of course never look as sassy on camera as they do on a person...

I couldn't resist the print of this dress, it's fabric is soft like rose petals and it's colours bold like summer, I think that there's a certain femininity with thin straps on dresses  that can't be found on strapless or more vest style dresses. I'll have to save this little gem as a treat for summertime!

 This is my absolute guilty pleasure dress, it is so Betty Boop with it's dropped waist and sweetheart neckline, I just cannot get enough of it. It's a bold black that the flash has washed out a little, it's also made from that comfy and stretchy jersey fabric, forgiving fabrics are always a favourite.

 What I came for.. a beautiful blouse, an even bigger bonus is the adorable colour and button accents- but the very best part is the cape affect that carries through from the sleeves to the back of the dress, I love little capes on clothes it adds instant fun!

 And then another perhaps less practical blouse, but the gold tipped collar was what sold it to me, but it has a front and back cut out which is great because with long hair back detailing never gets noticed but now it looks pretty from the back too. The connecting collars with a button create a 'bow tie' look from afar which is never a bad thing.

 Finally, a classic and comfortable (comfort is a recurring theme with me and dresses) jersey dress, it has a little bit of back detailing but it fits nicely, swishes around the hips and flatters the waist, it's casual style makes it great for afternoon and evening, shopping and parties and will probably become the most loved of all.

Urban Decay Festive Gold Sparkle Makeup Tutorial!

Woohoo,
Getting my Christmas groove on because lets face it, winter makeup is about 100 x more fun than summer makeup which is quite often 'no' makeup makeup looks (I have a few on my channel, just in case you were interested...)
I've created a very very glittery eye, golden glitters for that matter- and added some brown glitter and brown eyeliner accents to keep it all very warm.

On my lips I am wearing Mac lip liners in Cherry and Chestnut, I only ever use these liners together- No exceptions! It creates a velvet lip look with a whole lot of festive POP
There's plenty more where that came from...

My Magical Primark Finds

Primark and I, our relationship isn't good.
It's not that we have had any particularly bad experiences in the past, I just find that a suggestion of visiting a Primark strikes fear into my heart because once I walk through those doors and the flourescent lights I just find a maze of chaos laid out before me, shoes and vest tops and dresses and blouses strewn from left to right with poor over worked staff running around trying to piece the store back together.

Every single branch that I have been to quite frankly always looks as though it is in a state of utter despair and a mini earthquake has made it's way around the store. The whole experience from the moment that I walk through the door is one of urgency to get around quickly, squeezing past obnoxious prams left in the middle of aisles and getting on my hands and knees to rummage for my size.

It has had one or two brand makeovers which have included a paper carrier bag opposed to plastic, and a new brighter blue font.
But the inside is still the same as ever, with the corners of changing rooms crammed with torn off tags from sticky fingered shoppers.
I won't even get into how Primark considers it's 'relaunch' of a brighter blue font to justify the 50% increase in prices for the same quality product...

Anywho, one fine day (today) my friend suggested that we nip into Primark- looking through those oversized glass windows to see the Christmas chaos inside and the queues stretching all the way to the pyjama department at the back of the store.
I took a deep breath and agreed, and I'd just stick to the main aisles, follow around my friend and not look at anything and try not to get involved in any eye contact confrontation with angry mothers.
As we pushed through the doors the warmth, lights and familiar sound of screaming toddlers filled the air.

I traveled around, in Primark you are essentially swept around with the general flow of people, if you miss your turning off into the knitwear or blouses, then you'll have to go up the escalator, come back down and try again. To my surprise, I saw some lovely little gems crammed on wall hooks that I didn't think I'd be able to get to.

I came across some cute designs for the winter collection including a baseball jersey with coca cola on, very seasonal I know.

A distressed tee with roses and little gold detailing

and finally, a Disney princess castle tee!

I did end up getting them all but I am well aware that after one wash, they will never look the same again and with each additional wash slowly fall to pieces.
More fool me, but I probably, hopefully won't make another trip for a year or so.

Zing-a-ling teeth!

I know that this is a strange one, what could possible justify dedicating a whole blog post to how I brush my teeth. Well, I'll tell you.
Nothing has ever made my feel quite like this before, not even the dentist!
This is the:

Philips Sonicare HX5350/02 CleanCare Rechargeable Toothbrush

Using this honestly feels like a completely different experience to other electric toothbrushes. I never enjoy using the manual ones and when I have to for long periods of time, I swear, I feel my teeth loosening in my gums, and my teeth kind of ache too after a while, or maybe it's all in my head!

I got this very toothbrush for my birthday as I missed having an electric toothbrush once I had moved out from my home.

What makes this brush so special (to me!)

-It doesn't have the small circular heads that rotate round and around, this brush buzzes backwards and forwards with such force and speed that you feel like bees are buzzing in your brain

-It self times and switches off automatically after 2 minutes, and if you're not done, you can switch it back on and brush for another 2 minutes

-The battery lasts and lasts and lasts without the power dropping for at least a week, and that's using it every day, twice a day for at least 4 minutes.

-It has a plastic brush guard which is overwhelmingly important to me, especially when traveling around with it

-The feeling afterwards is like a fresh Atlantic wave just swept through your mouth

The drawbacks:
It's in no way something that I would consider 'affordable' However... This model should last me many years, changing the heads every three months of course.

Buying replaceable heads is annoying, as annoying as buying ink for your printer or batteries for your camera, but there really is no way around it. They are not as cheap as other replaceable toothbrush heads but what you get isn't your standard 'end', it's like a mini feat of engineering! Using a freshly opened toothbrush head is the same sensation as sleeping in freshly washed sheets, really really good.

Cooking with F.R.I.E.N.D.S

I think I have a bit of a problem, most people before they go to sleep would read a magazine or check Twitter, or read a normal novel, but all I keep doing lately is poring over cook books, pictures of cakes and pies and soups and sauces which is not so ideal because I have to try and drop asleep with images of warm plates of food rolling around in my head.

My most recent cook book gem is the hilarious cook book based off the TV show 'Friends' I hate writing it as F.R.I.E.N.D.S but it seems to be the only way to type it without people assuming that it is a cook book about cooking in groups with a generic set of friends, no no no, every dish is based on some 'Friends' reference from the show, and they quote it along the side of the recipe to prove it!

It is such fun if you have seen every episode and really get every single reference, so for me it has made for some very light reading before I drop asleep too. The only real down side is that instead of having pictures of the dishes, it has pictures of scenes from the TV show, so that's a shame, I think.

So far I have made:

Brocolli stir fry with Lemon-Garlic sauce, which was really really good, I made my own egg fried rice to serve it with.

Mrs Gellars Simple spaghetti, it was indeed simple and tomato based, but tasty.

Mr Gellars Pasta with sun dried tomatoes, I added olives to try and differentiate it from Mrs Gellars dish above and it was a lot more smokey and interesting in flavour but generally a drier sauce.

I am really enjoying working my way through it, although I think that the sad part is that the book was produced too soon. It came out long before the series ended so there are a lot of missed opportunities for some great dishes and ingredient references in the later episodes.

Some dishes that could have been really fun to include!:

Joeys Peanut Butter Fingers - TOW Cheap Wedding Dress
Not-Rachel's Salmon au croup - TOW Rachels new dress
Rachel's Surprise Sneezers - TOW the joke
Phoebe's 5am Chinese Food - TOW Chandler gets caught
Chan-berry sauce - TOW the late thanksgiving
Jam Good, Custard Good! trifle - TOW Ross got high
Greatest Meatball Sandwich in the World - TOW the ride along
Monica's Get-a-room cake - TOW Chandler gets caught 
Fried stuff with cheese - TOW the truth about London
Chandlers #3 macaroni with cut up hot dogs - TOW Unagi


Buckets of brownie points to you if you 'got' all of my references!
I had probably more fun than I should have thinking up references and fun names for all of these!

Creating a pretty and glamorous up-do in 2 minutes or less!

I have no real flair for hair, which is why as soon as I had the chance, I* took a pair of shears to my hair and cut it all off so that I could get back to the short and sassy hair that I love, and the impact that it has had on my on a day to day basis is just astounding.
Call me vain, but it has made a difference to my life.
Having to grow my hair out for a wedding meant that for the last 6 months leading up to the big day I just came to hate my hair, I didn't feel like myself, I never knew what to do with it, washing and drying it was such a laborious task - it's cut and uniform length really made me feel very dowdy at times, now I feel like I am fueled on helium, my hair is light and moves and has such a lot of natural volume that I don't really have to do much for it to look polished.

I'm not super sassy with hair styling, or even hair care. Caring for long hair is a hell of a lot different to caring for shorter/medium length hair. So the only real problem with my hair is now that it looks pretty much the same every day (which it did when it was long, but I suppose I had the choice of hair up or hair down). It's too short to go properly into a ponytail, which is hardly the height of fashionable hairstyles anyway, so I decided that I would give it a try to essentially randomly pin up sections of my hair, twisting some into pin-like curl formations on my head.

I got better and quicker with this as I'd do it and I loved how it looked a lot more intricate than it was. So I figure this is just ideal for situations when I'm looking for something a little more dressy than 'hair down'

*it wasn't actually 'I' but a trained hairdresser, thank goodness