Milly meets Mally

Ok, hands up nice and high if you have heard of Mally Beauty?

No, me neither. It was an entirely new brand to me, so when I was approach to give two of their eye products a whirl, after some quick snooping on the internet, ensuring they don't test on animals, which they don't, I was keen to see what this brand had to offer.

The two products I was sent were:

Volumizing Mascara £16

Evercolor Shadow Stick in Bronze £20

I used these two products today for a very quick and simple eye makeup look, and was pleasantly surprised and impressed with both the products, the mascara more so than the eyeshadow stick.

I expected quite a lot from the mascara for £16 and I believe it has earned its price tag commendably. The plush brush wand really grabs each lash and the formulation is thick and doesn't dry too quickly. I often find when applying mascara that by the time I have done one coat on each eye, I want to go back and apply a second coat, but the mascara has already dried, so further application just leads to it looking clumpy and brittle.
But this mascara allowed me to go back and apply a second coat to achieve the lashes below. It is a gorgeous darkest of black colours, and gives the over-the-top false lash effect I yearn for! 

The evercolor shadow stick was quite an experiment for me, as I am an eyeshadow phobe. I just don't use eyeshadows, don't like the powdery nature of them on my eyes and haven't got enough skills or patience to achieve some of the amazing eye looks I see on various blogs.
The shadow stick could be likened to MAC's shadesticks, which I haven't tried so cannot pass a comparison, but I do know they retail at £7 cheaper than the Mally shadow stick.
What I really liked about this product was the creamy, rich formulation and the strong colour payoff I could achieve. It left a lovely shimmery, metallic finish to the eyelid. It felt very soft as I was applying it, and I liked the fact you could easily template where you wanted the shadow to go.
The only let down with this shadow stick was where I had been wearing it all day, it began to crease quite a lot and felt rather drying on my eyes. 
I therefore don't think I would wear this during the day as I would feel conscious of it's lasting power, but for a night out, I think it would be ideal, as I do love the bronzy sheen it gives and it may have converted me to being more daring with my eye makeup!

Mally Beauty products is available here on their website and is also sold via the QVC channel and website.
Let me know what you think.

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Eyeko - Get in the Pink

Hey gang!

Just a really swift post for you all to quickly showcase the two new limited edition Eyeko polishes to hit the website.

My opinion on these dinky pinks: -

Chi Chi "for girlie nails" looks gorgeous in the bottle. A lovely antiqued dirty-pink glitter polish. Unfortunately, the formulation is slightly watery for me, applied quite sparsely and the picture above required 3 coats. I think the polish would work best when applied over another bright colour, or possibly just used on the tip of the nail to add a bit of sparkle.

Punk "for neon nails" is fab! I adore the bright fluro-pink, and the consistency of this polish is much nicer to apply; the picture above is after 2 layers.  This one definitely gets my thumbs up!

These nail polishes are limited edition, £3.50 and are now available on the Eyeko website.

Are you in the pink??

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Liz Earle Hair Care Launch

So last week, I was invited to skip along to a Liz Earle event, held at their flagship store in Chelsea, London.

I had never been to this store before so was looking forward to having a little nosey, and I can concur that it is a gorgeous store, decked with glazed wooden floorboards, marble top counters and shiny wash basins.

The event was in aid of the launch of Liz Earle’s new (and first) hair care range.

It was an intimate affair, with 10 or so fellow bloggers (and cacti) huddled around the show and tell area, smoothie in hand, listening to the impressive timeline of how these products finally made it through the rigorous testing and were eventually met with the team’s seal of approval...6 years later!

Liz Earle has listened to their customers and developed their carefully edited hair care range - one shampoo to suit all hair types, and three conditioners: dry/damaged, oily and normal. They are described as the "Cleanse & Polish for the hair"

The products are packed with naturally-derived ingredients and promise to be gentle on the most sensitive of scalps and are all colour-safe too. The hair care range boosts to be SLS and SLES free, which are those added chemicals which makes your shampoos and soaps "lather up", foam, and create bubbles. This is usually a rather satisfying and desirable result when using shampoos, but Liz Earle proves you still can still achieve this effect through natural botanical ingredients.

We were treated to a detailed overview of how these products have manifested over 6 years, from a mere seedling in Liz Earle's and the consumers' imagination, to the fully fledged range that will soon be available to the masses.

And then, just as I was merrily sniffing some Yangu seeds, we were graced with the presence of Liz Earle herself. It was rather splendid to meet the lady behind this magic, and I believe she is a great ambassador for this hair care range particularly, as her hair did look rather radiant!! 
After her casual fleeting visit, we all had time to mingle, ask any questions, chat to the ladies and flirt with the products and the fluffy towels over at the basins.

Upon leaving, we were proffered with a goody bag containing the shampoo and our chosen conditioner. I went for the dry/damaged one as this suited my hair type most appropriately after all the colouring it has been battered with of late.

I have used the products for about 3 washes now and I can state that I am enjoying them greatly.  I really like the smell. It is quite earthy and mature, and is reminiscent of log fires in the winter and freshly vanished wood. They purposefully developed the scent to make the products unisex, and I do believe they have achieved that. It makes a pleasant change from many of the hair care ranges that intoxicate you with sickly floral and fruity aromas.
I did feel they made a really difference to the condition of my hair, especially the conditioner. I can pretty much take or leave any shampoo, but for me, it's all about the conditioner, due to the dry, frizzy, thick, unruly nature of my hair. 
It felt like a real treat to my hair, and did leave it feeling nourished and smooth and smelling divine.

The shampoo and conditioners are priced at £7.50 each for 200ml.

They are not currently available but they will be launching online and at the Chelsea and Isle of Wight stores on 2nd September 2010, and then rolling out to John Lewis stores on 6th September 2010.

I'd like to say thank you to Andrea, Laura, Louise and the rest of the Liz Earle team for allowing me the chance to have a sneak peek at this new range, and I have no doubt it will be another huge success!

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Festival Fashion and Fun

As many of you may have been aware, this weekend, my fellow groupies and myself descended upon the V music festival which is a mere hop, skip and a jump away from my abode, for a weekend of music-watching, cider-drinking, dad-dancing, fun, mud and noodles!
To say I had fun would be an understatement, it was a fabulous weekend spent with chums.
I took a few snaps, naturally, because I thought it would be nice to compile my festival fashion over the two days and I have also thrown in some other random pics for your amusement.

SATURDAY OOTD

Short cowboy boots - River Island
Lace ankle socks (just seen) - Miss Selfridge
Denim shorts - H&M
Skinny belt - H&M
Lace top - H&M
Bangles - Accessorize
Earrings - Miss Selfridge
Necklace - River Island
Flower headband - Miss Selfridge

Hair - just messily pinned up as per...

Sunnies - Jackie O inspired Ray Bans.
Tipple of the day - Bacardi Breezers - classy!

Geekily excited about the day's festivities!!


SUNDAY OOTD

Boots, shorts, jewellery as before
Denim shirt - Topshop
Vest top - H&M

Headscarf - Accessorize
MAC St Germain lippie...

Claire and I ready to rock! :)

Oh hello MAC tent!! :)


So there we have it lovers, my V weekend in a nutshell. 
It was truly spectacular with some fierce acts performing - my particular favs were:-
Florence, Calvin Harris, Jamie T, Kings of Leon and Prodigy!!


Let me know what you think chicks, and have any of you attended any festivals this year?

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My Friday Festivities

Good morning ladies

Yesterday was Friday, and it was a day filled with frivolities.

This weekend I am rocking up to the V festival which is held very conveniently close by to where I live. 

I have been twice before and it is a fabulous weekend (preferably lavished with sunshine) to spend with your chums listening to live music and slurping a cider or three!

Friday lunchtime I popped out to peruse the shops and witness the hoards of excitable teens and adults alike, clutching their sleeping bags and crates of beverages, heading field-bound for a weekend of festivities.

Here are a few treasures I picked up, not necessarily to adorn myself with at the festival, but maybe possibly, dependant on the weather...

A flower for my hair - Miss Selfridge

Earrings - Miss Selfridge

Lace top (check out them shoulder pads!) - H&M

Floral oversized shirt - H&M

Brown plaited skinny belt - H&M

And then a final detour to pick up a birthday card for the boy and some much needed sugar to propel me through the final hours of a sluggish Friday afternoon in the office.

So as you read this, I am immersed in one of the following scenarios...

a) clutching a cider and dancing in the sunshine with daisies in my hair, feeling a whole lot of love

OR

b) standing in a puddle of mud, cold, wet and fed up, cursing the natural elements, clutching a cider for comfort.

Let's pray for option a!

Right, off to do my sun dance!

Let me know what you think of my purchases and if you are up to anything spectacular this weekend?

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Butterflies and beehives

Hey kids

I hope you are all hunky dory and looking forward to your weekends, whatever you may be getting up to.

I just thought I'd do a quick post before I indulge in a Friday night film-fest.

I went to London yesterday after work to attend an event. It was an ever-so interesting evening, but the particular highlight was meeting up again with some of the darling girls I have met through blogging.

This was my outfit of the day/night as I didn't have time after work to change my attire, due to precious 5 minute slot I had between finishing work and the departure of my train!

Harem pants - a boutique near moi

White vest - H&M

Pumps - Primark

Jewellery - Accessorize

My hair was down which is such a rarity for me, but by the time I had mad-dashed it up to the station, humidity and rain was not on my side and I was sporting a rather fetching frizzball. 

So en route I pinned my hair up in my custom twist and go style with a slight beehive "poofy" crown.

This is dead simple to achieve with merely a few kirby grips and nimble fingers, and I am endeavouring to put a tutorial up very soon to demonstrate.

I wore my spangly sequin H&M jacket with this outfit but sadly forgot to feature it.

Thank you as ever for reading, commenting, and following.

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Vintage for a Vegetarian

After our gallivanting escapades at the Aussie party on Saturday night, there was only one thing on our minds as we arose on Sunday morning, weary-eyed and not-so bushy tailed.

FOOD...or more precisely BRUNCH!

I fully admit I am not a breakfast girl one bit. I can quite happily poodle the morning away in anticipation for lunch, but for once, I was rather excited at the prospect of a mountainous plateful of food, washed down by copious amounts of hot tea.

And to Soho we limped, blistered feet and rumbling tummies, we could not get there quick enough!

We were heading to the Breakfast Club, a highly recommended Brunch-oriented cafe, serving everything from sausage sarnies to piles of pancakes, ladened with cream and berries.

And yes...that was the queue/masses waiting to be seated. In two minds whether to stick it out or grab a cheeky chocolate bar en route to Oxford Street, we decided to be dignified and joined the queue with hopeful anticipation.

Well, I was so thankful we did...

Once inside we were confronted with such welcoming oddities. A wall plastered with polaroids and postcards, and a giant carrot casually hanging from the ceiling.  An old-style specials board was posing in the corner and plastic-covered checked cloths adorned the tables.

And then the food arrived. A veggie fry up, with pancakes and maple syrup on the side! 

Yes please.

It was blissful. Good quality, freshly-made, delivered-with-a-smile food!

I had never really had a fry-up before,  a) because I am vegetarian and b) I am just not that into my breakfasts...but I believe I may have been converted if I could dine like this every morning.

Now, suitably fuelled and watered, we made tracks around the corner and couldn't help but pay homage to Beyond Retro and see what we could forage.

If you haven't heard of Beyond Retro before, they are a stream of vintage clothing stores, stuffed to the rafters of one-off, hand picked garments, often spanning centuries and all harbouring a story to be told.

They are infamous for their tutus, proffering a kaleidoscope of  colours. The stores are so alluring, laced with dusty sentiment and trunks of silken fabrics.

We spent many a moment lingering over the quaint mix of vintage clothing and accessories, wigs and hats, and reverted to school children, trying on the unique and bizarre pieces they had to offer, stifling giggles away from the sale assistants. 

We left empty handed, but solely inspired and went to enjoy the rest of the day in the sunshine, and watch the world go by...

A perfectly poetical and whimsical way to spend a Sunday if I do say so myself.

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Aussie Colour Mate Party

Here is myself and Claire en route to the club in the taxi that rescued us from a pre-party hair disaster as the heavens open! 

Hot-stepping in down the cobbled streets, we eventually ventured upon the club and were met with Moet daaaahling! And Emma's beaming face... :)

Smooches and obligatory introductions done, we settled down to have a little introduction to the night's festivities from the lovely Emma.

 The gorgeous PR ladies and stylists were so warm and welcoming and it was just great having a natter about our hair woes and revealing the occasional hair colouring disaster!

After the formalities, the stylists set up camp in the corner of the club and we were invited to go lounge in front of them, and have our hair plaited, straightened, backcombed, volumised or curled! Or whatever else took our fancy...

The stylists were fabulous and achieved some auss-some looks! 

 Voila! A really cute plait with added oomph with some back-combing on top! I loved it.

The party was in full swing now, hairspray stung the air and mojitos and chocolate pots were arriving at a pace of knots! 

So there was only one thing missing to make the night even more epic...

Enter Lady Gaga and Beyonce!

This duo were flamboyantly  fabulous - such a hoot! And really made the night extra AUSSOME!

And just to finish off, here are some random piccies of the lovely ladies I cavorted about with during the party. They are all wonderful and made the night so much fun!

Moi, Claire, Ling (my other guest), Rachel and Nicola.

Darling Carly and myself, and Kelly with her friend Annie.

If you would like to nosey at some more photos of the night, you can check out Aussie's flickr account here...click!

It would be fair to say we all had a brilliant time and I would like to thank everyone involved for putting on such an amazing, cocktail laden and hair-swishing fun filled party for us all!

We left clutching our fantastic little goody bag with the dulcet tones of Lady Gaga and Beyonce ringing in our ears... 

Fun times!

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