Favourite Friday Track - The Boomtown Rats - Rat Trap!

Evening!

A late favourite today - been feeling a bit rough this week - dragged myself into work (as you do) but this morning went to bed for a couple of hours to try to recover some energy - sleeping in the daytime! - taboo in my world but needs must (my mum said I need to rest now that I'm not a spring chicken any more - and dad told me I'm taking out more than I'm putting in!). But still feel like I've wasted the day and not accomplished anything (by 'anything' I suppose I mean not charged around like an idiot all day!). Anyway load of useless info there...here's todays tune...

The Boomtown Rats - Rat Trap

Released in November 1978 Rat Trap knocked 'Summer Nights from Grease off the No 1 spot and tells the story of Billy who feels a bit p***ed off with life in his depressing home town which he calls a 'Rat Trap'. Anyone remember the ritual on Top of the Pops of the 'ripping up' of  John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John posters?

"Billy take a walk ..... with me!" 

My husband has actually met Garrick Roberts (guitarist) from the Boomtown Rats - well, went on a training course with him in 2000 and went boozing with him every night! Small world eh...?



Jen  x

Emma Hardie 'Amazing Face' Moringa Balm - Review

Bonjour!

I've been intrigued by Emma Hardie Moringa Balm for a while. Early this year my skin had been playing up good style- oily t-zone, large open pores, de-hydrated cheeks - so when QVC had an Emma Hardie TSV (Today's Special Value) back in May, I jumped straight to it.

To my mind this is a range that nurtures rather than challenges, enveloping your skin in nourishing botanical treats and surrounding your senses with decadent, uplifting aromas! Moringa Balm can be used not only as a cleanser but a facial oil, hydrating mask, lip balm - the list goes on...to me it's like a luxury salon treatment - pure indulgence at the end of the day!

Some information directly from Emma Hardies's own website:-

Key Ingredients and what they do:

- Moringa seed extract, Wild Sea Fennel and Vitamin E:Balance, purify and help to minimise the appearance of open pores
- Orange, Neroli and Mandarin extracts: Rejuvenates and revitalises the skin.
- Jasmine, cedarwood and Rose:  Helps to recondition dull, dry, dehydrated and mature skins

I use Moringa Balm as my evening cleanser, it removes all traces of make-up, including eye make-up.  You can either mix with a little water to emulsify first or apply in it's balm state.  I prefer to apply the balm directly and massage into my kite as it melts into a lovely aromatic oil - feels like it's giving my skin a thorough and deep cleanse.  I then apply a little water to loosen everything up and buff/rinse off with either Emma's own micro fibre cloth or with one of my millions of Liz Earle muslins which - I have say still do a grand job! Skin is left soft, cleansed and comfortable - I don't feel the need to use a toner afterwards and just follow with my night cream.

I think this balm has turned into one of my desert island products - it's had a balancing/calming effect on my skin - although it is expensive at around £32-£34/100ml it's worth it if it performs so well (I'm willing to cut corners in other areas). I'm  now on my second pot which I bought whilst on special offer at QVC (the first lasted a good few months as you only need a small amount to cleanse).

I've enjoyed every product I've tried from the Emma Hardie Amazing Face range so far and have just discovered that good old QVC have another Emma Hardie TSV on 12 December so hoping to bag another bargain!

Have you tried out the Emma Hardie Moringa Balm? What's your favourite night cleanser?


Jen x

NOTD - Maybelline Forever Strong - Extreme Blackcurrent

Bonjour!

I actually bought a couple of Maybelline Forever Strong Polishes last winter before my blogging days occurred and never got round to opening them - can you believe it? This is one of them...

Extreme Blackcurrent is probably the darkest nail polish in my possession, I was a bit worried it may be too deep a shade and too sophisticated for me (I am far from sophisticated - even at my age!) but now that I've finally cracked it open I'm loving the richness of the colour - it's  intense and glossy and reminds me of a well-rounded, full-bodied red wine!  I found the brush made application dead easy and it dried fairly quickly too. The polish didn't last for 7 days unscathed - but I only received my first 'chip' after 3 days (with top and base coat) so I was pretty pleased with that!

Anyway as it's Saturday evening why not? Cheers everyone!

Huge glass or what? 

Maybelline Forever Strong is priced at £4.09 from Boots or Superdrug - even better if bought whilst any of the current offers are on I think!  I'll be checking out some of the other colours in this particular range very shortly!

Have you tried out any polishes from the Maybelline Forever Strong collection?

Jen x

Favourite Friday Track - Ray Charles - What'd I Say!

Bonjour.

Felt a bit fed up this morning to be honest - don't know why because Christmas is a-coming and all that - bit of low mood or whatever..... Anyway, I always want to listen to jazz/blues/soul of some sort when I feel like this - just find it therapeutic...so today's track is from one of the 'all time greats' who really needs no introduction...

Ray Charles - What'd I Say...

Released in 1959...and according to Wikipedia...

 "It was improvised one evening late in 1958 when Charles, his orchestra, and backup singers had played their entire set list at a show and still had time left; the response from many audiences was so enthusiastic that Charles announced to his producer that he was going to record it."

How fantastic is that?

I love the way this tune builds up and up and gets your foot tapping and hand banging on the table as it goes on .... and then when the brass section get going and the band all stand up at the end ...love it! ... maybe that's just my Dad's old school jazz influence coming out in me!

Feel a bit better now after listening to that - thanks Mr Charles! What would you play for a bit of musical therapy?


Jen x

Phase Eight Collection at House of Fraser!

Bonjour!

So - the main topic of conversation floating around our office (as well as work-related dribble of course!) is - what are we all wearing for the Christmas party? The star-studded event of the year - where everyone (well, mostly everyone!) gets dressed up to the nine's (to the extent that some colleagues are barely recognisable) - is once again upon us! And although there are other more 'low-key' gatherings planned, this is the one where you need to get your 'glad-rags' on...!

With all of the above in mind I was particularly interested to browse through the Phase Eight Collection at the House of Fraser (both in store and online).  My friend at work (well - one of them - I actually do have more than one!) is really into the 'classic' pieces, she has a voluptuous figure (ie good bum and boobs - in no particular order) and goes for well-cut, structured dresses that enhance her lovely curves and keep everything in it's place. I, on the other hand am small and skinny (think not-quite-developed teenager!) and have to be careful not to 'swamp myself'.  I ain't bragging - I'd love some curves but they seem to have disappeared since having kids - my good friend once likened hugging me to 'hugging a sparrow'!  Ah well - have to make the best of it and all that jazz - so no more complaints!

Anyway - have a look at some the dresses from the  Phase Eight range here which grabbed our attention...

Lolita Lace Panel Dress

NOW £ 99.00

WAS £ 110.00

Cobweb Sequin Dress
£ 140.00

Lovely lacy affairs here - now would it be full on 'red lip job' and simple on the eye front or 'smoked-up to the nines' eyes and nude lip and then would you do gloss or not - decisions eh? ... (I think Lolita and Cobweb are my favourites by the way!)

Dido Pleated Dress
£ 110.00

Teresa Floral Crush Dress
£ 150.00

Love these pleated frocks (would have to dig out my trusty old padded bra mind!) - very elegant with adequate heels and a good pair of sparkly earrings? - there's something about Teresa which I'm particularly drawn to - not that I would turn Dido down!

Rhona Lace DressNOW £ 59.00WAS £ 99.00

Vanessa Dress

NOW £ 75.00

WAS £ 150.00

A couple of juicy brights to move away from the LBD syndrome - very mouth-watering are Vanessa and Rhona - I can imagine some exotic lippies coming out to party-on with these two... and maybe a messy up-do!

Vida Silk Dress

NOW £ 49.00

WAS £ 89.00

Wilma Belted Jumpsuit

NOW £ 69.00

WAS £ 99.00

Gorgeous jewel colours to be had here- you could really go to town with the eye make-up! Wilma has a definite Charlie's Angels vibe going on - bring on the big hair and heels! I love floaty dresses like Vida with heavier footwear ie boots or shoe-boots to toughen up the whole look!

Claire Cable Top Dress

NOW £ 45.00

WAS £ 79.00

Diamond Rib Dress

NOW £ 49.00

WAS £ 79.00

Slightly off-topic here but how cute are Claire and Diamond for Christmas Day perhaps - with a good old pair of opaque tights (with not too tight a waistband to accommodate a huge dinner of course!)? Although - heavy duty aprons advised for those who will be kitchen-bound (such as myself) for obvious reasons!

So....those are our favourites from the Phase Eight Collection at the House of Fraser - you can check out the full range of dresses here if you wish....(and just to clarify I am aware that Cobweb and Diamond aren't girl's names but I like a bit of consistency!) let me know which ones you're partial to....! 

What will you be wearing for your Christmas Party?

Jen x

Glossybox - November

Bonjour or should I say Bonsoir!

November's Glossybox arrived at the end of last week...the 'Stocking Fillers' box ...presumably filled with 'stocking filler' type things then? Here it is...

Burberry Body Eau de Parfum 4.5ml Orig Product £75/85ml

Gorgeous little weighty 'cut-glass' type bottle - and the stuff inside smells good too. I'm useless at describing fragrance but it smells musky and of vanilla to me - lovely for this time of year. I'll enjoy this if I keep it for myself because I'll not afford the £75 for the full size...!

Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant 13g Orig Product £38.50/75g

I'm a newbie to Dermalogica products - a pretty good sample size to start off with - looking forward to trying it out as this is well-liked by Claire over at Another New Day Blog- you can check out her review here.  Don't think this will end up in anyone's stocking!

Alison Claire Natural Beauty Mango Body Butter 50ml Orig Product £15/200ml

I love mangoes and butter so this body butter from 'new brand' Alison Claire is right up my street, an ideal travel size,  not that I travel many places on a regular (or even irregular) basis mind! Smells good too!

Wei Beauty Royal Ming Firming and Hydrating Cream 4ml Orig Product £74/50ml

A small sample of a very luxurious face cream! It sounds fantastic - purifies, energises and replenishes - what more could a girl want? Unfortunately I wouldn't be able to pay the £74 for the full size - may give this to my mum - although she couldn't afford it either!

Nails Inc Notting Hill Gate 4ml Orig Product £11.00/10ml

Cute little Nails Inc Polish - lovely bright neon pink - a good one for summertime (may put this in my little girl's Xmas stocking - on the understanding that no nail-painting is allowed in her bedroom - more to come on that subject in due course!).

So that's the 'Stocking Fillers' Box for this month. A good one I think - looking forward to December's box! You can check out Glossybox subscription details over here if you fancy a nosey?

What did you think of November's Glossybox? Will you be filling up stockings or keeping the goodies for yourself?


Jen x

Rimmel Kate Moss Matte Lipstick 110 (My first!)

Bonjour!

I've bloomin' done it - gone and bought my first Kate Moss Matte Lippie and I have a feeling it won't be the last...!  I've not been very good on the bold lip front of late - got into a bit of a gloss and balm rut but have been feeling ready to break free ....  I was going to re-introduce myself gently with a couple of subtle creations but what the heck - jumped right in with the gorgeous 110 shade from the Rimmel Lasting Finish by Kate...(Moss of course!).

I saw 110 first swatched by Sam over on Honey Go-Lightly blog (which you can check out here) and instantly fell for it ...

This kite shot doesn't do the lippie justice don't think 

Ok let's talk about the 110 - I did apply a little balm beforehand - the lipstick went on easily, great texture- almost velvety and not so matte that it dried up on my lips and also has a really pleasant, fresh aroma!  I love the orange tones in this lippie - it has gorgeous vibrancy to it and great pigment - it's verging on fluorescent but in a totally good way and I found it had a brightening effect on my dull old kite! So much so I wore it to do the weekly shop down at Sainsburys - it's a cheery pop of colour on a dull day!

Apologies for the messy hair btw - am in need of a cut but trying to hold off until December - you know how it is! Further apologies for only half a face - it's all I can manage at the moment (still feel like a bit of a dork and all that - plus my nose is huge and spreads across the entire blog post - if any friends or family are reading this you can stop laughing now!!).

Anyway - long and short I'm glad I trusted my first instinct and went for this beautiful bright lippie - love the Kate Moss 110, think this may be my 'Xmas do' lip colour this year! Would love to try out some more colours from the range - any recs?

You can buy your very own Rimmel 'Kate' Matte lipstick from Superdrug or check out the range from Boots - here . 

Will you be trying out any lippies from the Kate Moss Matte Collection?

Jen x

She Said Beauty Box - November

Bonjour!

November's She Said Beauty Box was delivered last week. This will be my last She Said box for a while as I was subscribed for 6 months - anyway ... here it is...

So...? Brit Body Spray - 50ml - Full Size £1.99/50ml - 75ml - smells a little pink and powdery but will be handy to slip into my gym bag for after a sweaty workout!

Weleda Wild Rose Smoothing Night Cream - 5ml - Full Size £14.95/30ml - I do like the sound of Weleda products so looking forward to trying this out although it is a teeny tiny tube so can't see it lasting more than a few uses?

Redken Smooth Lock Shampoo and Conditioner - 10ml sachet of each - Full Size Smooth Lock Shampoo - £11.85/300ml  and Full Size Smooth Lock Conditioner - £13.40/250ml - this looks like a duo which would be really beneficial to take on holiday as it claims to cleanse, refresh, nourish, ease de-tangling and help improve manageability - see what I mean? If I can I'll save the samples for next year!

Makebelieve enhance Shimmer Lip Gloss - Full Size £10.00/15ml - this actually looks ok, clear lipgloss with shimmery bits - however - it is a bit sticky and glupey so maybe one to avoid on windy days or my hair will be stuck to my lips!

Yardley Royal English Daisy Eau de Toilette - 1ml - Full Size £9.99/50ml - quite a pleasant fresh fragrance but definitely more of a summertime scent.

Murrays Manicure Matchbook Nail Files - Full Size £1.99 - a bonus product - a cute little bundle of 15 tiny files - will be ok to pop in one's handbag.

So that's my last box from She Said Beauty for the moment - can't say I'm blown away with it to be honest but it's not the worst I've had either. It's probably a good thing that my subscription has come to an end as I've got so may small samples of products to try out and really need to make a dent in them.

What did you think of the She Said Beauty Box this month?


Jen x

Favourite Friday Track - Kajagoogoo - Too Shy

Bonjour!

Happy Friday everyone!

Ok so some of you may remember this with a certain fondness, some may be cringing and some may be just downright perplexed ....

Kajagoogoo - Too Shy

Released in 1983 from the album White Feathers - it got to No.1 ... I was reminded of 'Too Shy' earlier in the week when a young beauty blogger tweeted about who on earth Limahl was? I explained he was the lead singer of Kajagoogoo - 80's pop band,  she didn't have a clue who I was talking about - why would she ... ?

Yes - I know there are some dubious hairstyles in this video - dare I tell you that I had a slight crush on Limahl back then for a while? Only a slight crush I say because I was also in love with Luke Skywalker (Star Wars) and Danny Zuko (Grease) - and yes we all had super-big hair like the lovely (shy) girl in the video...


Who was your teenage crush...?

Jen x

Ginvera Green Tea Nude Cover BB Cream - Review

Bonjour!

I received this sample of Ginvera Green Tea Nude Cover BB Cream in my She Said Beauty Box back in June.  Been meaning to try it out for ages as so decided to give it a go during the half-term week.

Some information directly from Ginvera -

Enriched with premium Green Tea, Ginseng, Chinese Angelica and Hyaluronic Acid, Green Tea Nude Cover BB cream provides the benefits of blemish free concealing, sun block effects, whitening, moisturising and reduction of lines, providing a long lasting smooth and ultra light feel to nourish and perfect your skin.

Pre-blend

Blended

The product is almost milky in texture and gives surprisingly good coverage for such a lightweight lotion  - I didn't need to use too much extra concealer. It was pretty easy to apply and gave a dewy effect to my skin's appearance although it did 'sit' in my pores a little - but not too much of a problem.

However, Ginvera claim this BB to be suitable for all skin tones, in my experience this was simply not the case.  I consider myself to be of a paler olive complexion (in winter particularly). This did not suit my colouring at all - from the moment I applied it I felt really pale and washed out - I thought it may adjust to my skin tone after a while but it didn't.  I just looked 'like me' but with whiter skin as if I'd actually taken some sort of whitening preparation.  Just couldn't seem to make it work even with bronzer and blusher applied. (Even my husband commented and he doesn't usually notice anything like that!).

It is a shame because the Ginvera BB does seem to be beneficial to skin on many levels, I'm sure it's ideal for paler skin tones and I have read many rave reviews ... just not for me I'm afraid.

What's your favourite BB of the moment?

Jen x

Half-Term Haul!

Bonjour!

Me and my gal did a bit of shopping over half term - we went to Boots and Superdrug (there's a surprise) and I picked up a few items ...

Boots had their 'Buy 1 Get 2nd Half Price' offer on ....

Maybelline Dream Touch Lumi Concealer in nude - £6.99 - I was actually after the Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer as I've read so many good things about it - but Boots never seemed to have the colour I wanted (having been in a few times) so thought I'd give this a go - feedback to follow.

Bourjois Intuitive Liner - £6.99- I've been wanting to try out the Clarins 3-Dot Liner ever since I heard it creates the look of a thicker lash line but just can't justify spending £20 on it at the moment.  Bourjois Intuitive is meant to be a pretty good dupe (and obviously far more purse-friendly) so lets see what happens.

Batiste Dry Shampoo (dark and deep brown) - I can't live without my dry shampoo, particularly when my colour is growing out and dark roots are coming through (as they are at the moment). My hair seems to grease up so much more at the roots and this is a little life-saver.  Also adds texture and body without looking like I've tipped a tub of talc all over my barnet. Got two as they were reduced from £3.99  a can (rather expensive but it works for me) to £2.66.

Dove Heat Defence - have to admit I did just grab this as we were running out of time, thought I may as well try it at £2.99 as I'm  running low on heat protection spray being a regular user and all that!


Superdrug had 3 for 2 across cosmetics ...

MUA Lipstick - from left to right Shades 11, 13 and 1.

Just could not resist - £1 each and 3 for 2 for crying out loud! We went for the reds initially because my daughter wanted me to create a 'blood effect' around her mouth for Halloween (in the end we ended up using some red lip gloss!).  The dark nude/tawnyish shade 13 looks ideal for everyday wear.


MUA Nail Varnish ...

.... in Stormy Skies and Plum Noir - also a quid each, (picked up an extra lippie in shade 13 for my mum to make it up to 3 products) - a couple of lovely colours here with an Autumnal vibe - can't wait to get these on!

Not strictly 'half-term' - I actually popped back to Superdrug the other day and noticed these on offer at 2 for £3.79 which I thought pretty good.  I'm a terrible lip balm addict and re-apply throughout the day - can't stand the feeling of dry, chapped lips.  I've not tried Carmex Moisturising Lip Balm before but it's raved about by lovely Claire over at Another New Day so looking forward to trying out!  The tube will be ideal for shoving in my bag and the cute little tub for bedtime!

All in all quite a few bargains to be had at Boots and Superdrug - could easily get so carried away! Have you picked any bargains up recently?


Jen x

Favourite Friday Track - DJ Fresh ft. Rita Ora - Hot Right Now!

Bonjour and TFI Friday!!

Been a mad week this one - all over the place (although try telling that to 'that bloke' at work!). When I got in from a stuffy day at the office (not all bad because I do actually get to sit down whilst at work) but stuffy none-the-less, just felt drained and a bit spaced out and actually considered NOT going to the gym. Anyway, came round a bit (after a few domestic chores) so dragged myself down and this was the first tune that greeted my ears once positioned on the 'old faithful' cross-trainer...turn it up - it'll get you going...!


DJ Fresh featuring Rita Ora - Hot Right Now

"Put your hands in the air if you want it right now...!"

....and that was it...! This track is absolutely pumped full of endorphin-friendly vibes, the drum and bass just gets inside one's fibres (if you're into that sort of thing!).  Think I may have mentioned a while ago that I once sang the vocals on a garage dance/drum and bass type track in the 90s ... so clearly I am into 'that sort of thing'!

I got carried away and had to play it twice - first time just used my core to balance and peddled slow and controlled to the bass (no hands allowed and resistance turned up on the cross-trainer) and second (hands allowed and less resistance) just had a blast to the full upbeat tempo! (probably got all the musical technicalities wrong there - should have consulted my brother Mike first!).


So - which tune gets inside your fibres....there must be one or two....?


Jen x

Glamour/Nails Inc Offer!

Bonjour!

Couldn't resist a quick post on the latest Glamour offer of a free Nails Inc Polish worth £11.00! Thanks to Sasha over at Ramblings of a Beauty Bird who reminded me in her blog post last week - I'd totally forgotten!

I don't buy magazines too often but now and again I can't resist when there's a good offer on and Glamour mag usually comes up trumps! Plus - you can't go wrong with a Nails Inc Polish now can you?

There are four 'hot-right-now' (love that tune!) colours to choose from. I imagine a complete nail-polish junkie may well end up with all four options.  I just went for the one on this occasion - St James - a classic 'pillarbox' red.

Strictly speaking I don't really suit 'classic' nails.  Much prefer the quirky thing - be it clothing, footwear, make-up or manicures!  However, I was completely drawn to this colour over all the others, just thought it would be nice to try out a smart red polish with my usual un-polished (no pun intended!) attire, just to mix things up a little.

And here are the old painted nails - still in my usual haphazard fashion with cuticles all over the place I'm afraid! That aside - I really like the colour, it's easily opaque after two coats (although if needs be one coat would do). It's glossy and vibrant and just makes a nice change for me -  fitting for this time of year too and a complete bargain!

Did you pick up any Glamour mags? Which Nails Inc polish did you go for?

Jen x