My week in pictures…
This has been a week of major work, major reading, major organisation and minor alcomohol.
This week i’ve been procastinating, a lot. I’ve increased my hours at work, but seem to be doing a lot more ‘home stuff’. How is this possible? In accordance with my procastination, I treated myself to Elle. I do this every now and again with Vogue as well. I can’t justify buying them every month so tend to only do so if I like the cover star. Enter Alexa Chung gracing January Elle. I’m so team Alexa it’s untrue. Does she need a team? Is that only in the case of Jen An? Hmmm. The fact it came with a free Soap & Glory mascara made me want it even more. I LOVE S&G. Capital love and everything. I think i’ve tried everything they make, it’s that good.
This week I also found the time in my hectic schedule (sarcasm) to enter the Company Casting Call competition. Vote for me here kind readers. I love company (buy it every month) so was ectatic when they opened it again. Missed the boat last year. FAIL. I bought a new dress too, Primark special. Got to love a shop so cheap you can pick upa pair of decent heels for a tenner.
I also decided to clear out my closet. It began with a major refresh of my so called life. A.K.A I finally did the christian thing and gave my god awful cast-offs to my local charadee shop. Hopefully someone will breath new life into them! No shoe’s though, I can never seem to part with a pair, however ugly/un-worn/broken they are. They are my children I love them all equally no matter what. I probably need councilling.
Many boxes later I could finally see the floor…underneath all the boxes which are now taking up more floor space. Damn.
I also decided to be kerazzy and turn my (broken) wardrobe on it’s side to use as a massive dressing table. Snazzy! Found a space for all the boxes too. Double organisational whammy!
Interesting things i’ve found interesting this week….
I’m buying these from H&M. This jacket looks so much better in real life. i.e amazing! It’s RRP £29.99. Bargainous (yes thats a made up word). I get a cheeky 25% discount and free online delivery, so hello jacket. Welcome to my wardrobe. The dress is £19.99 and so pretty. Thought I could wear them both on a gig/night-out i’ve got coming up with my black chunky heel boots and opaques.
Dress: £19.99 H&M
Jacket: £29.99 H&M
I started using face primer this week. It’s a must have in my opinion. I got mine from 17 at Boots. I literally haven’t felt more confident in such a long time. My make-up stays put all day, even during an 8 hour shift at work. All for the bargain price of £4.99.
Oh…and the minimal alcomahol. Of course.
Munich…
People are fragile things
you should know by now
be careful what you put them through
people are fragile things
you should know by now
you’ll speak when you’re spoken to.
Song of the day. See above. Links in perfectly with my blogging topic of said day. Don’t you just love a good ol’ cryptic message.
Focusing on the frivolous side of things…throughout my many Google searches with the title ‘free photo editing’ the best I have found out there is Picnik . Out of the rest this is definitely the best. You can do almost anything your imagination can produce on this site. I love it. Particularly because I am a picture editing junkie. I take a picture and ‘cross processing’ immediately pops into my head. A picture where I look ever so sligtly squiffy can be turned into an arty shot with the application of ‘Holga-ish’. Also with only a beginners knowledge of photography previously, the editing effects on this site made me develop a keen interest in photo developing proccesses, thanks Picnik!
So imagine my dismay when I found it was closing down. In April to be precise. Boohoo. The only thing that is redeeming this terrible news is the fact that now all premium features are free. Yay. I’ve been taking full adavntage of the textures and the collage features so far. Brilliant.
Yes i’ve got my eyes closed and it’s in my bathroom but it’s cross-processed!
So give Picnik a try it’s free till April after all. I’ve introduced a couple of friends to it and they swear by it too! Another brilliant editing tool is Pixlr o-matic. Easy to use and really good effects particularly on the blue section of the wheel. Try it out and you will see what I mean…
Photo editing, what did we do before it!
Nail attack..
Nail stickers are my new obsession. I particularly love the foils. They give your nails a really polished look but are suitable for day and night.
You might be considering getting them or already have them. So I thought I’d do a tutorial on them. I haven’t the patience for video so I figured photo’s with description would work just as well. They really aren’t that difficult so you should find it easy peasy.
1) Selection.
There are many brands out there. I haven’t used them all so I’m not going to attempt to try and find the best one with this blog entry. Ones I’ve found and have used are the brands ‘Nail Rock’ and ‘Technic’. We’ll start with the latter. Technic are pioneers of cheap make-up. In my opinion they are of a middle of the road quality but as a girl not acquainted with expensive make-up brands it does the job for moi. In fact I’m being a bit mean, I am a big fan of Technic. But I draw the line at their foundation. Foundation is the only thing I’ll blow the budget on. Anyway, nails. They do an amazing array of stick on’s. They also do fake nails, nail jewels etc but today I’m focusing on the stickers. As you can see from the pictures I’ve bought nail foils. They give a really interesting finish. The Technic ones are the monochrome wavy design. I thought they would look awesome on my nails. Very Jessie J. They are quite cheap £1.49 from Bodycare. You get 16 wraps in a packet and they are meant to last up to a week. However I’ve found they only really last for a night out and the day after. You remove these by soaking your fingers in hot water so washing your hair will make these disintegrate.
The Nail Rock ones I’ve got were bought as a present. I’ve seen them in New Look and Topshop but I’m sure most clothes shop stock them. They are the latest nail fad after all. Company did a beauty edit (February edition) and these were one of the looks. They mention Nail Rock in the article, maybe they are the head honchos of nail art…hmm. Price wise I think £6-8 and up. Depending on the style and where you got them from. They are supposed to last up to a week on your nails if applied correctly. Not bad, but I’m guessing washing up is out of bounds.
The polka-dot wraps are my favourite but not that great quality wise. They are by Elegant Touch. I’ve never heard of this brand before but that’s nothing new with beauty. I got these again from Bodycare. I heart Bodycare. These lasted me for one day and they cost £1.99 you get 60 in ten sizes. So even though very disposable, the fact you get 60 makes up for it.
There are many more brands out there so use whichever you like or have already. I’m sure like everything they vary on quality depending on the price. So just be wary of that.
2. Preperation.
It’s really important to prep your nails before putting these on. If you’ve got any residue on your nails they won’t last as long and your really just wasting your money. It doesn’t take very long and you’ll be grateful when you don’t lose one when your on a night out (Nightmare).
I use nail scissors and a nail buffer/filer. Not anything special, part of most girls nail care regime. Make sure your nails are trimmed and even. I like short nails so in case you were wondering no, you don’t need talons to get the most out of them. You’ll see in the pictures they look just as good. Saying that if you do have long nails then they will look fab too, that’s the beauty of nail stickers.
After trimming, file down any sharp corners and any other lumps and bumps. Then buff the top of your nail to get rid of shine and to create a perfect base for the sticker. Then your ready!
3) Preparing the nail stickers.
In the pack you will get your stickers and usually you will get a small wooden stick and a nail file. Useful! However disappointingly in my packet of Nail Rock wraps I didn’t get either. I’m not sure if this is true for all of their wraps….but if it is then for the price I’m disappointed! Technic and Elegant Touch do offer the extras (yay).
You’ll want to get them out of the pack and check the size of your nails in comparison to the stickers. Determine which ones you need and cut them out of the sheet. Making sure you don’t take off the backing paper just yet. Using the wooden stick provided (or a cocktail stick) peel the sticker from the backing and place carefully on your nail making sure you work from the side and smooth across. They do find their way onto the nail themselves and tend to even out but if it does go pear shaped i found I was still able to un-stick and re-stick. I wouldn’t do this too much though as they may become less tacky and just won’t last as long.
**Nail Rock**
With Nail Rock you have to apply heat. They are not your usual nail ‘stickers’. A hair dryer is perfect. You take the sticker using the wooden stick and apply onto one side of the nail apply heat to the sticker so it ‘activates the adhesive’ ( so say Nail Rock) then apply over the curve. Keep them hot at all times. When they are applied and your happy….continue as below. (Making sure you take into account they need to be kept hot!)
Once your happy with the positioning find the edge of your nail by folding the excess over the top of the nail. Then take your nail file and you’ll find if you start to file away the top of the sticker in a downwards motion the excess comes away very easily. I was shocked how easy this was the first time I did it. I’m quite heavy handed so if I can do this it really doesn’t take a delicate touch. Once your sticker is positioned and filed away your pretty much finished, now for the other nine!
5) After care.
It’s really important to paint your nails with clear nail polish afterwards. They will last a lot longer than without. I don’t really have a favourite, but I tend to stick to the make-up brands found in Boots or Superdrug. You know the ones, Rimmel, Loreal, Maybelline, Collection 2000 etc. Cheap nail polish is runny and doesn’t do the job as well.
There you have it! You should have bee-utiful nails that will hopefully last all night and if your lucky all week!
6) To be continued…..
New obsession to go alongside the current obsession. Lip transfers! I am currently getting everything together for my transformation into (hopefully) the one and only Katy Perry! For a fancy dress party of course. Although if I could get away with it in Wrexham, I would dress like KP all the live long day! So the transfers are a part of my outfit. Stay tuned for a tutorial (or a ‘how not to’ if it all goes wrong!) The whole KP thang is either going to be brilliant or deeply embarrassing for moi especially if no-one ‘get’s it’. Hopefully the blue wig will be an indicator….
Ta Ta.
Restaurant blouse…
Momma shakes on the highway
In her tight white driving gloves
Momma she was a demon
She got the devil moving
So upon listening to this song it got me to thinking. Although not a song particularly focused on restaurant attire the title really did….get me thinking. Oo. Special occasions. Dates, weddings christenings we all experience them but half the time we never know what to wear. Or at the very least, i don’t. I am atrociously bad at dressing for any occasion other than work, walking around aimlessly and gigging. Everything else I descend into blind panic, nay, rage at the mere thought of choosing a respectable outfit that still makes me look half decent.
Many a time iv’e wondered down the high-street looking for an outfit for the latest Birthday meal/meeting of parents/meeting of anyone not dead or four legged all the while thinking it is far too easy for the men folk. They have two suits, the suit their mum bought them when they were 17 (that miraculously still fits, voodoo) and a work suit. Pop on either one with a shirt, which frustratingly doesn’t even have to be ironed ‘all that well’ and a tie (available in varying degrees of pattern and colour depending on how kerazy the wearer is). Too. Easy.
Am I the only one out there suffering with P.O.M.B? Pre Occasion Mental Breakdown? When I get dressed I literally throw on what I can find that day. No on-going style just whatever I fancy. Is it easier for girls who have a ‘theme’. Vintage, rockabilly…goth?
Arrgh. Hopefully this eternal dilemma won’t drive me to murder. Maybe a wrong song choice?…So anyone with any advice help. Literally anything. Things you’ve read, websites, even what your Momma taught ya’. I’m in dire need of a restaurant blouse.
Answers on a postcard.
Predict the Day. 