New Batiste Brit and Une Skin Glow Foundation repurchase

I'm about to go out, but thought I'd do a quick post before I do. I didn't feel like washing my hair tonight so I've just sprayed this all over the roots. It's Batiste's newest dry shampoo, and this one is called Brit. I'm not overly patriotic or anything but I do like the design of the British flag so thought this looked quite cool. The smell is supposedly quintessentially British, which I'm not sure entirely what that means, but when I smelt it, I can kind of see what they mean. It reminds me of walking into a trendy bar or something, if they smelt nice that is. It's quite a unique, fresh scent, which is very different from the other dry shampoo fragrances, I think Blush is still my favourite though. It does the same job as the others, just as well, but it makes a change having a different scent to it, it turns an otherwise dull, practical product into a more interesting one.

I very rarely repurchase foundations, or many things cosmetic for that matter since starting my beauty blog. I, like many other beauty bloggers and make-up lovers, find the need to always be on the hunt for something better, that holy grail product, that really you don't even want to find because you want to keep trying new things! This foundation though has thoroughly impressed me. I know I blogged about it before so you can check out that review if you wish to find out more about it. If anything, I've grown even more of an appreciation for this foundation after using it religiously every day. I rarely have break-outs and feel generally more happy about my skin. The coverage is now pretty much perfect for me since I don't have many blemishes I need to be covering up. I like the way it applies, it rubs in really well and only a little blob is needed. When I went back to by a new one since my first is nearly empty, I was a bit annoyed they didn't have my shade, G06, but luckily I bought G05 which when I got them home, realised there was virtually no difference in colour. I also have the reassurance that if I don't wash my make-up off properly at night, (which obviously I NEVER ever, ever do.......) it's not going to clog up my skin since it has a high organic content. It's worth a try in my opinion.

Enjoy your evening everyone.

xXx

The Techni-coloured Vase

Undoubtedly my favourite find today was this beautiful and unique vase I found in...wait for it... TK Maxx! It must have been lost. It was love at first sight, and I knew before looking at the price tag this was coming home with me. It was originally £16.99, it's about a foot and a half large so I thought that was great. Then I saw the back... it was practically coming apart with a crack around a quater of the way around and some of the pieces missing. From the front this is unnoticable so I was determined I would be able to fix this, I figured I'd try to get a discount to make it worthwhile. In the end it was knocked down to £12. Without a bag carrying this vase back to the car got me quite a few looks and was a bit of a conversation starter.

On first glance I thought the pieces were stones, it was only when I got up close I realised it was rolled up bits of newspaper or magazine and I loved it even more. It looks completely home-made and I've never seen anything like it. At least the missing pieces would be easy to fix.

So here is where the damage is. I whipped out my glue gun and got to work. I found an old newspaper and magazine, ripped out a couple of pages and was able to replicate the rolls already on the vase, I think it's worked pretty well.

I realise it's not to everyone's taste, but I'm drawn to things that look either old and worn or home-made and hey, what a great way to recycle.

Some January sales finds

I wasn't expecting to find too much when I went shopping today. The best things from the January sales are usually snapped up on Boxing Day, but I had some gift cards for Topshop that I wanted to spend and was pleasantly surprised by how calm and quiet the shops were today, perfect shopping conditions compared to the carnage before Christmas. I stopped in River Island first. The sale was surprisingly good, they had lots of decent things left, although unfortunately there was a lack of any sort of size organisation, but I had time to sift through and found these... Stripy t-shirt with pocket detail: £3.50. I've wanted a stripy top like this for a while. I found one in the non-sale items which had light blue stripes that I preferred slightly more to this, but for the price (£15) it was a no-brainer which to choose. The stripes are almost neon-pink whilst the base of the t-shirt is cream, it has a very nostalgic 90s feel to it which I like.

I was glad I eventually found my size in this as I was prepared to buy a bigger size and customise it. It doesn't look right unless it's tucked into jeans so you don't get to see the bottom bit when I wear it, but I can't change my shortness so I'll deal with it. I don't own that many graphic t-shirts but they always catch my eye when I'm browsing. Next I popped along to Topshop and found a couple of items. The shirt is current season so full priced, but I fell in love with the silky feel, the smart yet casualness and the sheer luxuriousness of it. Silk and silk effect shirts are big news this spring apparently, but regardless of that, this will be a lovely key work-piece.

I also found this cropped rolled sleeved top with a vintage style pattern which reminds me of 1930s art deco. They have this top in a bronze colour which is current season priced at £35. This patterned one which I much preffered was marked down at £10, bargainous! It's made from a material called "cupro" which I have never heard of before, but apparently it is similar to viscose, again it has quite a silky texture. I could probably dress this up, but since I'm a total jeans girl, I will probably just pair it with jeans, it's just a smarter alternative to a t-shirt.

Giveaway Announcement

Just a quick post to say well done to Lydia at Florabundance. You are the winner of my 250 followers giveaway! Can I just say again a big thankyou to everyone, old and new, who takes the time to read my blog, you make it so worth my while. :)

Happy New Year!

Happy new year everyone! So 2010 has reached an end, and I don't know what that means for you, but it was a great year for me. I feel like I've reached a point where everything has finally just clicked into place, and I'm exactly where I need to be right now, career, relationship and location wise. I am the sort of person who always likes to challenge myself, and not let things become stagnant. I guess I have a low attention span and can get bored quite easily! That's exactly why I don't make new year's resolutions, because I'm very unlikely to follow them through. I have begun this year feeling optimistic about what lies ahead and so have dug out one of my favourite quotes that meant so much to me a few years ago when I lived in the States. It's by Anaïs Nin:

"Throw your dreams into space like a kite, and you do not know what it will bring back, a new life, a new friend, a new love, a new country."

So I am hoping this year to move abroad for a little while. Not a resolution as such, but just something I hope I get to do.

And just in case it doesn't work out...I have also promised myself to hoard less! I'm pretty sure I can do this one as I literally don't have the room for loads of rubbish now, so some of it has to go!