Primark Haul

Earrings and hair accessories. All very cheap and cheerful.

To experiment with hairstyles while my hair grows

For wearing into the place I volunteer at - they're learning about bugs

I love the 'tash earrings

Just adorable

    

(So that's 40 bobby pins, 300 hair elastics, 1 hair slide and 18 pairs of earrings for £7.50 - bargain!)

As you can see, a lot of 'cute' buys. Very girly. I had hoped to find a nice Union Jack necklace (maybe in a heart shape) to wear for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee next week but all they had were tacky T-shirts and that's not really me. I think I will make a crown hair slide instead.

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Bronze Shimmer Oils

I have really pale skin and I'd like a bit of colour this summer but I wouldn't say heavily tanned. For a wedding I need to 'glow' so I will be using St. Tropez Self Tan Bronzing Mousse as it's never let me down and gives a brown based tan rather than a red or yellow (or the dreaded orange) base.

(NARS Body Glow - image from http://www.narscosmetics.co.uk/)

On the day a shimmer would look amazing over the tan. I remember a few years ago I went for a NARS makeup lesson with the bride to be and I tested out their Body Glow oil. It had a wonderful tropical scent and gave a very wearable shimmer with a slight hint of colour. I loved it, but at £44 for only 120ml I wasn't going to be buying it!

(The Body Shop Honey Bronze Shimmering Dry Oil - image from http://www.thebodyshop.co.uk/)

So I've been on the hunt for something similar and today I found The Body Shop's Honey Bronze Shimmering Dry Oil. At £16 for 100ml it is a lot cheaper and based on the reviews, seems to be very similar to the NARS oil.

I have yet to test it out but when I do I will post pictures showing the comparison.

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DIY vintage wallpaper patching - part 1

We have a separate toilet from our bathroom and I noticed some wallpaper peeling. I couldn't control myself. Like an itch that had to be scratched I couldn't resist pulling on the paper. After I had peeled off an entire wall I discovered some rather pretty old paper hiding underneath the layers. (Sorry about the pictures, there isn't a window in that room so the lighting is very bad).

As you can see from the top picture, the paper isn't perfect. I think somebody tried to rip it off the wall, gave up then decorated over it years ago. It's a shame they did that, it's such a lovely pattern.

Here you can see the damaged section of the wall area we want to make a feature of:

What to do? How can it be fixed? I decided to peel off scraps of matching wallpaper and patch it into the damaged sections. I used a sponge dipped in very hot water, nothing else and peeled it off by hand.

It took a long time as I was being careful not to rip any of it. I did it though. Here are the scraps drying:

So far they haven't been added to the wall as we can't decide between two ideas for the room. I will store these pieces away safely until they are needed and I will post more pictures of the completed wall once we have finished.

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H&M Haul

Yesterday I went shopping in H&M to pick up a beautiful butterfly shawl (£6.99 mentioned Here). It is huge! I'm only 5 foot tall and I can wear it as a full length dress! It's also 100% polyester, so it won't be pleasant to use in very hot weather. Especially as a dress or headscarf as you risk getting all hot and sweaty. Nice. A cotton one would be better, but find a lightweight one.

While I was in there I noticed their cosmetics section and having never used their products before, decided to try out two of their lip balms.

Here you can see the two balms, both of which are in tins, with the butterfly shawl in the background. On the left is the 'Pomme Granate' balm (£1.99) which is in a vintage style black tin decorated with Art Nouveau peony flowers and what look like blue drapes. This balm melts quickly and is quite thin. It reminds me of melting coconut oil. It smells of sweets more than pomegranate - almost like Strawberry Candy Sticks.

On the right is the 'My Lovely Lipbalm' in coconut and mango (£1.50). This is a wonderful summer tin in soft strawberry and lemon colours, very cheery. Inside the balm is a peach colour and smells mainly of coconuts with a faint fruity scent. This balm is also thin but slightly thicker in texture than the other, so it glides onto lips better and stays on for longer. You get a very moisturised feel after using this one compared to the other. Not as pretty a tin but a better product inside.

Overall, both lipbalms are cheap, pretty to look at, smell delicious and most importantly, keep your lips looking and feeling great. There are many other flavours and styles to choose from.

I can't wait to reuse these these tins on my dressing table to store earrings or maybe I'll fill them with makeup to pop in my bag as convenient little pallets for touch-ups or holidays. 

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Half Head Hair Piece

I have quite short hair. Around Christmas time it looked like Frankie from The Saturdays' hair and now it's almost reaching my shoulders. Quick? Not nearly enough! I need very long hair for an upcoming wedding in August and I need it fast! My solution, should my hair decide to not be long enough? A half head hair piece. I did want to ombre my hair, but that will have to wait until after the wedding. So I bought an 'off black' (very dark brown) piece instead.

I think it will work as long as no one pulls it off. What do you think?

Here's a before - you can see how short my hair really is:

 

Here are the after pictures:

I think I like using the odd hair piece now and then. You can create some interesting looks very quickly. Let's hope it looks this good at the wedding!

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Lush Review: Space Girl

So the Lush Compounders visited one of my local stores and I popped in to meet them. We made a ballistic called Space Girl together and I decided to use this in my bath instead of keeping it as they had run out of special Compounder moulds and it just didn't feel 'limited edition'. Still, it made a wonderful bath.

Space Girl is a flying saucer shaped ballistic (bath bomb) that fizzes when you pop it into your bath. It is covered in glitter, which represent stars when they swirl around in the purple water and the ballistic looks like a cute little alien ship flying around you.

I must say it smells amazing. So delicate and soft, the parma violet scent perfumes the air and creates a relaxing atmosphere. It's not too softening for the water either, so you don't get that slightly slippery sliding going on. There's also vegan popping candy included in this one and I was told you can hear it popping underwater... I heard nothing. It was the only thing that let this ballistic down. Having said that, this one was free so I shouldn't really complain. I would buy one of these to use again and at £1.95 it's a good choice if you want a cheaper but pleasant candy bath.

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Butterfly Love

Image from H&M.

What a beautiful summer shawl. Perfect for the beach as a sarong, draped over a maxi dress for an evening BBQ or tied up into your hair to protect it from the sun. You could even tie it into a bag or present it as gift wrap using the Japanese art of Furoshiki just like Lush's Knot-Wrap gifts (see Here).


I will definitely be getting one from H&M for £6.99 whilst doing my summer shopping. You can get one for yourself online Here or pop into your local store.

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Freebie: Win a 'Glamorous eye essentials' kit from Bourjois

Bourjois are giving you the chance to win a glamorous eye essentials makeup kit on their UK Facebook page. Simply 'like' their page and answer a question to be in with a chance of winning a set.

The competition closes on May 17th and the winners will be announced on May 18th 9:30am (I suspect on Facebook).

The set includes:

• NEW Volume Glamour Max Definition mascara
• Liner Feutre eyeliner
• Smoky eyes Trio eyeshadow in #05 - gorgeous pinks, from creamy to an almost blush bronze

Here is the link to their Facebook page.

Good Luck!

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