SavE my SoUl...

This is the second of my Halloween looks and I think the one I'm going to go with on this spooky evening. I had begun thinking about being a nun after watching the legendary makeup artist Rick Baker  YouTube video for his Sister Stigmata look last year.

I have been looking at lots at pintrest images trying to find the right amount of evilness and came across a lot of inspirational images.

My costume came off eBay for £6.99 which was actually cheaper than a thought and cheaper than my usual routine of going to charity shop. I've added on an extra bit of fabric to completely cover my hair, its an old white T-shirt but I think it does the job.

I used a selection of Snazaroo makeup and fake blood, I'm going to need to use more fake blood within the inverted cross I think. It needs to look more burnt into my forehead for an authentic look.

Let me know what u guys dress up as, I look forward to seeing some pictures.

Happy Spooking!!

Time to cleanse the spirit

sCaRe me into the 1960s

As its Halloween on Friday, two of my close friends and I went to scare ourselves at the cinema. We went and watched Annabelle, which is the prequel to 2012 The Conjuring.

It takes a lot to scare me, I tend to find the Japanese horror films are scarier but this film was pretty good, I did jump in a few places so it did its job. The film centres around a very creepy posessed doll, firstly  I will never understand those people who collect porcelain dolls ( if you see the film you will see what I mean), ugh all those tiny eyes following you around a room - no thanks. So anyway horrible occurrences happen and a soul is needed for the said demon but one of my favourite things about the movie is the fashion, mainly the lead character. Its set in the late 1960s, baby doll dresses, cute Capri pants, peter pan collars all in muted pastel colours. I need all the dresses the main actress wears throughout the film.

Lead actress -Annabelle Wallis as Mia

I've realised over the last few years these dresses suit my frame best, even though I'm rather tall, I possess some hips. I'm a classic pear shape and any dress that clings to my small boobies and skims my hips is the most flattering shape also I'm kinda obsessed with collars on items aswel.

Over the next few weeks I'm going to try and find myself a few of these dresses, the archetypal Mary Quant style. I've seen some patterns so maybe I will get my sewing machine out and attempt to make one( or speak to my mother in law who is a rather impressive seamstress and ask her very nicely).
Let me know what era is your favourite, or what you think if the film.
Laters xoxo

hOw MuCh diD yOu sAy!

This week I have discovered through reading one of the weekly trash mags that Poundland has launched themselves into the world of makeup by releasing their own makeup range. From blusher, eyeliner, eyeshadow and nail varnishes.
Now the reviews aren't that glowing for most the products, they were as expected - not very good, hardly any colour pay off, basically irrediscent tones. That is all apart from the nail varnishes all 39 of them yes 39 different shades! Now personally I dont see the point I  paying any more than £5 (£7 at a push) for a bottle of nail polish especially in my line of work ( as a screenprinter Im constantly in contact with white spirit). My nails are never perfect they are chipped, as any of my friends will vouch for me my nails stay nice for about 30mins before I scuff them.

chipped in all their glory

Jess nail polish

Dragonfly is very sparkly with flecks of green and blue,  not that fantastic on its own but ontop of a green colour( I used a shade by Salome- a french brand ) Its a pretty effect.
Calypso is a midblue shade with good coverage( 3 coats was plenty) it does contain a bit of shimmer aswel but not too much.

The brush is of good size and makes application easy, I found 2 swipes covered my nail. For a pound I think they are definitely worth a try, im going to go back a purchase a couple of their various red and pink shades as Im forever on the search for the perfect red. So if you find yourself near a PoundLand store with a spare few quid I would recommend purchasing one of these polishes, for only a pound you arent losing anything if you dont like them. Let me know what you think...Laters xoxo 

CosTuMe IdEas

So as Halloween is only in a few weeks away that big decision is upon me again, it's time to start thinking about a costume. What devilish creature from the underworld will I become - Demonic nun is winning at the moment but I'm trying out a couple of different looks over the next few weeks.

God Hater

I've been thinking about maybe a more classic costume in the form of a She Devil - Lucy in Bram Stokers Dracula which is a cinematic classic or maybe a creepy broken doll.Looking at Pintrest has given me the idea or maybe being a creature, I have been a dead cat before ( although I ended up looking like the drummer from Kiss- quite scary ) so thought maybe becoming Frida Kahlos fawn Grazia

Or becoming A Black Widow.

The last couple of years I have done a mix of Pop Art and death.

So this evening I decided to try out the fawn look, If I was to do this look I would make some ears and a furry costume. This is more the cute side of Halloween, I prefers a bit more gore.

This look was achieved by using a mix of MAC Face and Body  Snazaroo in white/black and yellow, brown eye shadow and paintbrushes.

HallOwEEn LuSh TrEats

Its my favourite holiday of the year...HALLOWEEN!!! I love it so much, the sweets, dressing up in a grotesque costume, drinking scary themed drinks and working at Lush means spooky bath treats.. This year they have released a super selection of bath treats and a soap, firstly a bubble bar in the shape of a pumpkin
- Sparkly Pumpkin..Not the most imaginative name but a gorgeous fruity smell with lime and grapefruit oil and lots of glitter.
Northern lights (my fav)once dropped in the bath the colours are based on the amazing natural spectacle you can see in the Norwegian skies, lovely and relaxing bath bomb with jasmine and ylang ylang.

Northern Lights in action

Sparkler is the same shape as Northern lights ( cylinder) also a bomb with the amazing scent of Rosejam ( best shower gel) full of rose oil, uplifting Sicilian lemon oil, little bit of sparkle and some fun popping candy. Also makes me think of mermaid hair

Back again is the winter warming, spooky Lord of Misrule bomb, based on the Pagan Feast of Fools. Green and ghoulish red with spicy,earthy patchouli oil , warming black pepper and comforting fair trade vanilla. This bomb gives an amazing bath- get one while you can.

And last but not least the super cute Fairy Ring soap, this soap is simple in smell with mystical jasmine absolute, cleansing shiitake mushrooms which improve blood circulation and have antibacterial properties make this an effective hand soap. Also reminiscent of one of my Lush old favourites in scent - Alkmaar :).

These items have a limited life so get to Lush before they get sent to eternal damnation !!

sTudiO GhiBli CupCakes baby ShoWer

Today we held my best friends baby shower at my small house (managed to fit 14 people into my dining room) and it was lovely. So many cute cat related gifts, clothing with animal ears attached and tiny shoes- I knitted some kitten booties.

• We ( me and the other girls ) all made some delicious cakes, I made some vegan chocolate cupcakes with Totoro and Sootball designs.

• It was the first time I've made vegan cupcakes and they weren't too bad. It was a really simple recipe aswel.

Chocolate Vegan Cupcake

2 cups soya milk

2 tsp cyder vinegar

2.5 vanilla essence

2 cups flour

3\4 cups rapeseed oil

3\4 cups coca powder

1.5 tsp b.powder

1 tsp b.soda, 1\4 tsp salt

Whisk soya & vinegar in a bowl and set aside to curdle.

Add sugar, oil and vanilla to soya mix and beat till foamy.

In a separate bowl sift flour,cocoa, soda,baking powder and salt 

Add in 2 batches to the wet mix and beat until its smooth batter with no  lumps. Pre heated oven 180c for 18-20 mins.

To make the vegan frosting it was so simple and super tasty. I got the recipe off my friend Lucy.

Vegan Frosting

1\2 cup Trex

1\2 cup vegan margarine

3.5 cups icing sugar

1.5 vanilla essence

1\4 cup soya milk

Beat trex and margarine till fluffy then add the sugar 1 cup at a time - beat for 3 mins.

Add vanilla and soya milk then beat for 5-7 mins.

I also added food colouring ( animal friendly) .

These can be made by hand by I used our Kenwood food mixer which made it quick and simple.

I made the Totoro from fondant icing, definitely worth trying if you or your friends like Studio Ghibli.

Let me know how yours turn out :)

its Me AgAin..weDdiNg FEver

I'm back....

Wedding cake topper

Sorry its been so long since my last post, I got married :). It kind of took over my life for most of August and September as we did it rather D.I.Y. Making decorations, the new husband (still sounds funny) made all the food and amazing cake. Its taken me a few weeks to get back to normal but hopefully this blog will become a regular feature again

Just thought I would also add a little pic of the new super cute shoes I purchased in the H&M sale for £7, Disney and stacked!

BeinG kiNd tO aniMals and Still HaviN a PrettY fAce

Anytime I find makeup brands that aren't tested on animals I embrace them, also finding products I can recommend to Vegan friends is always about the joy.
I work at Lush and we have an amazing range of makeup products called Emotional Brillance which consist of  highlighter, mascara, loosepowder, skin tints, eyeshadows/liners and lipstick.
Highly pigmented colours made with synthetic and natural colours, these lipsticks have great staying power, and lovely base ingredients.

The two lip colours I love from LUSH are  Decisive and Passionate, both are made with organic jojoba oil for moisture and candelilla and rose wax which both lock the colour in and soothe your lips. Decisive is an amazing cherry red tone which reminds

of MACs Russian Red, you can pat it on for a light stain or build up the colour till its really bright fantastic  red.

Passionate Lips

Passionate is a brillant Barbie pink, its a real pop of colour, fantastic for Summer days and nights.This colour suits all hair colours and skin tones and looks fantastic when wearing no other makeup.
The other lipstick I tried is by a Australian brand I recently discovered via POMLTD.com website.

Its called LippyGirl they do a mixture of organic and vegan based products, none of it tested on animals. The lipstick is a "vegocentric organic vegan" product, made with organic castor seed oil, jojoba oil, carnauba wax (an ingredient also found in the Lush eye liners) and shea butter. Lots of lovely moisturising and nourising ingredients.

I tried the colour Boss Lady which is a spicey orange/red colour very warming on the skin. The lipstick is matt yet not drying at all and  like the  Lush makeup the packing is recyclable, its 100% aluminium
 :-) .
Im going to do a blog on skincare suitable for vegans and not tested on animals soon I think, I will look for things that aren't just available from LUSH .
Let me know what you guys use and can recommend thats animal friendly:-D

if you Go down To thE wooDs toDay....

Recently I saw D&Gs Autumn/Winter 2015 Collection and I'm obsessed with it. Its based on fairy tales and is full of rich colours, amazing capes and most fabulous appliqué animals.

Im feeling a craft project in the making, just need to buy a cape and then decide which animal to create.

Suzy ♥♥ best cape

Mini ShoPinG tReaTs

Hallo everyone, what a glorious summer sunshine we had last week and it was payday this week...woo (mini celebratory dance), my monies is going on wedding stuff at the moment but I thought I would treat myself to a few things.
I bought a few bits, I will be doing a full review and look with my new products but thought I would share what I bought.

 I've been eyeing up L'Oreal Liquid Lip forever, it has the most gorgeous gold packaging,making it look a lot pricey than it is and the prettiest selction of colours.. Its a mix between a lipgloss and stain, you may know this already but for those who dont L'oreal is part of the YSL family this means when YSL bring out something in their makeup range you can guarantee in a year or so L'oreal will produce something very similar ( probably all made in the same factory) but for fraction of the price, the lipglosses are proof of this.
YSL lipstick is amazing but at £24 each my pocket isn't a fan, at 8.99 I can justify getting more than one. I chose Rose Melody a  beautiful pink shade, the smell is DIVINE very fruity with good applicator.
I also purchased L' Oreal  Lumi Magique (Boots have a 2 for £15 deal at the moment on L'Oreal so it's a good time to buy). This is a highlighter pen, again its got that YSL Touche E`Clat vibe going on and comes in 2 shades, I chose light and it works really well on my pale complexion.
My third purchase was NYC Best of Broadway Quattro eye shadow, 5 lovely colours for producing a smokey eye look.
I had  seen this mentioned on Lily Pebbles you tube vlog and she said  it was a dupe for a Chanel Christmas set, so I went a found it and it seems really good, the two taupe colours are really pretty and it has good staying power and for £2.99 is a good buy.

The ET tablet case was a  bargain in H&M, even though the girl mocked me slightly for buying it, she was clueless-  it was £2!!!
The baby wool is for more booties :) which I'm starting this week (I'm a knitting machine :) )  and finally a standard vest for working at Lush. Lush is like a green house at the moment so its vests all the way.
As I said above I will do a look with my new products, till then Laters x

Not JusT for NannAs

       Crafting times!

 I've recently been getting back into doing more arts based fun so thought I'd share with you guys on todays blog.
Some of you may know that my main job is as a screen printer, this means I get covered in ink most days, so when at home I tend to pick crafty based projects that don't get me too messy.
Don't get me wrong I like a bit of mess but I also enjoy doing my art in front of the television now and again, this is why im choosing to share my love of knitting with you.
Im not a very good knitter, I try but im easily confused by the patterns and so far in my repertoire is afew chunky scarves, a very loose hat(not worked out tension yet) and a baby blanket.
Two of my close friends are pregnant and I've chosen to make their tiny humans small knitted booties to wear on their teeny feets(both are going to be winter babies).
I spent ages trying to learn how to knit, my mum tried to show me years ago but it never sunk in not till I was given the best beginners book - Knitty Gritty.

I cannot recommended this book enough if you are just starting to knit or just can't get your head around knitting and purling (technical terms don't cha know). This book makes knitting possible to understand, I can actually make things!
I've nearly finished my first pair of booties and  I will be starting the second ones very soon and then maybe I will begin on some mittens. I will post some pics once the girls have seen them.
Also I've discovered a really cool site called Wool and the Gang (woolandthegang.com) they make knitting fun, they have a wide selection of patterns and different blogs definitely worth checking out.

Its not only wool I have been playing with but paper crafts, my wedding is in less than 8 weeks! ( starting to get a little stressed) and we are making the decorations for the village hall. We have decided to make paper hearts from maps/ vintage and coloured card, to then make garlands and the chairs prettier.
Hopefully we are starting  construction of these this week
  (photos will follow).
Let me know what arts based fun you have been up to recently or if there is something you would like to try.
Laters ...

holiday TiMes Are a GoNe

Hai everyone sorry I haven't written a blog in a few weeks, I've been away on me  holidays.

Firstly we went to Bruges/Belgium for bber and bike riding, then me and the boy went to Glastonbury for beer and bands. So basically I've been drinking far too much fruit beer and cider and eating a lot of cake and burgers, my poor skin :(.
Its been lovely but kinda glad to be back home, also I have been missing Professor Periwinkle, the large furry beasty.
I was actually feeling so unfit that I have rejoined the gym! I had a little bit of gentle persuasion from my lovely friend Sherrie who is coming with me, I have no motivation if I'm not with anyone else so she will make me go for longer than 10 minutes. We went last night and it wasn't too bad, I was promised a gin at the end of the session which helped power me throug ( shock horror). While on the running machine I  began to wonder what people would think if I  were to bring one of those e-cigs with me? Would this be a gym faux pas ?? You can smoke them in most places these days. Another thing I can never understand is people in full makeup in the gym, if like me your face gets very red and beetroot like makeup will not be your friend but the exact opposite you will encourage the spots.
Sweat x Makeup = breakout city. Maybe this is why I don't venture to the gym very often.
Apologises for not doing my third installment about festival wear, I just ran out time needless to say if you saw the weather last weekend my wardrobe consisted of wellies, poncho, leather jacket and either a vest or tshirt. It was muddy, rainy ( some electrical storms) and extremely sunny, classic Glastonbury.
One of my highlights was seeing M.I.A (little preview below)

In other news I've been using some new Lush treats that came out a few weeks ago African Paradise and Million Dollar Moisturiser. I will begin with the product I was most excited about using, Million Dollar Moisturiser and it is my new fav.

 You all know I like a face cream to have SPF - its my main requirement. I could never use British Nanny SPF 30 from Lush as it was far too rich for my skin and made me breakout but this is perfect and SPF 30! It soaks in quickly and doesn't leave a greasy feel, my skin feels matt yet hydrated. Its full of honey and Shea butter to soften your skin but has lavender and rosewood oil which will balance and tone your skin and it smells amazing because of the tonka absolute in it. I'm so glad they cracked making a sunscreen that is fantastic for combination skin, its a little pricey but as with all Lush products its worth it as you know no animals have been harmed.

The second is African Paradise which is one of Lushs body conditioners or as I call it "lasy person moisturiser". You smooth the fabulous smelling lotion all over your body after washing and then rinse it off, you are left super soft, I'm incredibly lasy and this is the solution for my dry skin. Perfect especially as summer is here, use it after shaving your legs and they stay soft all day. It's full of almond oil, aloe gel, Shea butter and moringa oil which is an amazing African plant  full of vitamins and protein. One of the fantastic things about this product is the moringa oil sourced is supported by the SLush fund, which means the money Lush pays for the product goes back into local based projects around the area and in this case it helps a women's refuge in Ghana. The women  who live here are feed and know they are safe it also has a project that involves the women who wish to work getting involved with growing Aloe Vera plants ( which Lush also buys). So its great that instead of just giving people who need help cash they are giving them the opportunity to make a sustainable living and regain their independence back..

I really like the idea that as well as having the most glowing, softest skin you also get a sense of well being with your purchase, a nice added bonus I think :) ...till next time, laters x 

GlaStoNbUry MakEup TimE

Trying to keep yourself looking as non zombie after spending afew days in a field, drinking far too much and not washing is difficult, you can easily end up looking like an extra from Dawn of the Dead.

Not the best look

Partying starts to take a toll on your complexion, hair and sanity.
When going to a festival you don't want to pack too much as you have to carry it across a field, so I've thought of the essential makeup I will need.
Firstly I will apply  a SPF enriched moisturiser ( as seen in my previous blog). I will be covering the dark circles with the amazing Mac Studio Finish, SPF 35 concealor in NW15. To bring some colour back to your face blush is your friend, my tip is to use a cream based one ( no need for tools- just fingers), Bourjours mini pot creme blush shade no2 is a lovely peachy flush or Daniel Sanders Watercolour blush in acid which is an amazing bright pink, both blend into the skin beautifully  and you can build up the colour.

On my eyes I'm going to use Mac paint pot in Paintly as a base which is a lovely pale colour, when hungover (as I will be) the last thing I want to do is mess around with brushes (also its less to pack) this is easily applied with fingers.
At festivals I think the more glitter the better, you can go big,bright and bold or keep it light and sparkly.
 I am taking a gorgeous eye shadow by Nars Baby Peach which is a bronze/copper/gold colour and a Mac pigment pot in Blonde's Gold which is an amazing bronze/gold.

By the evening I will probably use eyeliner for a cat flick, just to make my look more party. I've also bought a purple mascara by Miss Sporty (only £2.99! ), coloured mascaras are big at the moment and a really fun alternative to usual black lashes. Brows as usual, then finish with either Vaseline or a really bold lip colour, I'm thinking a deep purple.

My makeup kit

 To be honest I think all rules are out of the window at a festival, its time to experiment and have fun!
What I'm wearing is tomorrows blog...my main rule will be don't over pack...we shall see.
Laters

GlAstonBury TinGs - pAckiNg For feStivals

Festival season is upon us and me and the boy are off to GLASTONBURY!! I cannot wait, in less than 2 weeks I will be wearig my wellies waiting to watch Dolly Parton (one of many playing).

Festival Essentials

Its my first time going to Glastonbury, I've done Reading Fest afew times but from what I've seen and heard Glasto is a whole new level of fun times. With this in mind this blog is going to be a three parter, part 1 - what skincare essentials to take pt 2 - makeup and haircare and pt 3 -  what to wear.

The most important thing is sun protection.
Ive spoken afew times about my need for spf in face products, I think its the most IMPORTANT thing. But its even more important when you are going to be spending most of your day in a huge field with not much shade. I like my skin to be goth like; pale and interesting, I also see this as hopefully my key to staying wrinkle free longer.
For my face its factor 50 all the way, in the past this meant thick cream that clogged pores and left a ghostly, greasy residue on the skin but no more, my two faves are-
Garnier Ambre Solaire sensitive advanced SPF 50 and Alpha H Daily Essential Moisturiser SPF 50 both lightweight.
 Ive found that the Alpha H works better on my combination skin and stays mattifyed for longer it contains vitamin e and aloe vera so its very soothing on the face.Garnier is slightly richer and takes a little bit more work to soak into the skin but both are fantastic bases for light foundation or CC cream.
 In terms of body I use either SPF 30 or 50 and at the moment Boots Soltan range is half price so thats what I purchased, the  bottle is only £5 which I think is rather good, in the past I have used Superdrug own brand which I also rate. My bottle also contains insect repellent as mosquitos love to bite me and the nice thing is the lotion doesnt contain the odd fragrance that most insect sprays have.
While spending 4 days in field I've found in the past its a rather water free( in terms of washing) zone, so this means wipes for face and body. Now I would never chose a wipe over warm water and face wash/cleanser but at festivals I find its the best and quickest/most convenient way to get clean. Ive chosen fragrance free baby wipes for my body, I prefer them fragrance free as I find them gentler on the skin, these were £1 from Wilkinson.
Face wipes can be extremely drying and astringent so I've selected 2 that I hope will be gentle yet effective on my face, for the evening Simple Clear skin Oil Balancing with zinc ( which gently absorbs excess oil) these wipes are great for oily/combination skin. They will take all my makeup off including mascara and leave my skin feeling fresh. For the morning I've bought Loreal Age Perfect cleansing wipes enriched with vitamin C for mature skin, as im gettin older I need a wipe that is gonna to feed my skin and keep it soft. Its going to be feeling dehydrated from all the alcohol and sunshine so any extra moisture I can get in I will take, I tried to remove my makeup but found they weren't very effective.
My main tip is just keep hydrated by drinking as much water as you can, I'm going to carry a bottle with me everywhere I go, its the best thing you can give your skin.
The next blog will be about which makeup to take, you don't want lots of products weighing you down and also some essential haircare ideas.
Laters  x

AsoS TimE

I had a lovely little delivery from Asos this week, these always make me happy :-D
Me and the boy are going to Glastonbury in less than a month!!! ( so excited as I've only been to Reading Fest before) .
I've started to think about things I need.. a poncho is one of these. Glastonbury is one of those festivals where it will be ridiculous hot yet you can guarantee at least one day of rain so I need something I can slip on at a moments notice and is easy to carry round with me.

I hope it doesnt rain but if it I does I now own a poncho in a bag and its polka dot.

I will be doing a few blogs on my preparations for Glasto, both skincare and clothing.
We are also off to Bruges in Belgium so thinking about what to take there so I  bought the most amazing black velvet ballet pumps, for only £20 which shall walk me round the city.

ColoUr cHaNge

Time has come to dye my hair, I had been a lovely sea green up until February and when I decided to dye it I thought getting it back to brown would not be a problem- I was wrong.

Crazy Colour - Pine green

Firstly the green wouldnt lift so I had to go really dark brown, something I really want to do. After two washes I noticed the green was beginning to return in the ends but in the form of a swampy green, not a good colour.

I thought I would leave it a few months before dying it again, just to give it a rest and hope the green wouylkd eventually wash out- it hasn't. So today was the day.

Ive bought a medium copper brown colour, a mousse dye colour by John Frieda. Last time I used a mousse dye was one of my first hair colouring experiences, it was a Wella mousse in shade plum and it was messy. Maybe this was done to inexperience(I was 13) or maybe the mousse was just very difficult to control, it went everywhere much to my mums disappointment.

This experience was much easier, you mix the two products together and then just squeeze the bottle and foam magically comes out, it isnt messy, doesnt drip,  it stays in a neat pile for you to disperse through your hair then just leave 30mins and rinse. I would definitely use this product again as it was so mess free, with no stained skin and the end colour is a beautiful reddy brown. I'm just hoping the green has gone ( fingers crossed) . Next is time to get it cut!!