Friday 29 March 2013

Be a yummy Muffin Without the Top!

Spare Tyre, love handles? Muffin tops? And no, i'm not talking about your favorite treat. A lot of us have them but it doesn't mean we actually want them and actually they are quite simple to get rid of! So you can be a yummy muffin without the top! For those of you lucky or ignorant people who don't know what the muffin top is, its the overhanging fleshy bit that spills out over your waistband to put it bluntly! They are mainly fat but the muscles surrounding it attaches to it to giving you those undesired little muffin tops!You must remember when working out you can't always just focus on one area and expect to see results there, you have to do a rounded workout, you will lose body fat and reduce area's in size quicker that way but that doesn't mean there aren't some useful tips to help.
Summer is fast approaching with clingy dresses and small tops the staple diet in our warm wardrobes so here are some amazing tips to banish those muffin tops for the summer!

  • Eat citrus fruit such as lemons, oranges, grapefruit or tangerines. According to FatFreeKitchen.com, these fruits are rich in vitamin C, which helps the body speed up the ability to burn fat by diluting the fat.
  • Eat banana's! Banana's have potassium, one banana gives you roughly 25% of your recommended daily amount. Potassium is important because it helps boost and improve your metabolism so you can bur calories and fat. Also potassium helps regulate your water balance so you wont have to worry so much about water weight!
  • The Plank and side plank are fabulous exercises that tone up all the muscles there, so when the fat is stripped away you are left a toned and tight mid section!
  • Drink green tea! a nice green brew will boost your metabolism and give you energy so you feel hydrated and renewed. No excuse not to exercise now.
  • Drink lots of water. A tip we all know but don't seem to do as much as we should!
  • Exercise! Cardio is important it will shrink you all around your body and generally tone you up. The best exercise I find for loosing the love handles is jogging. Try and push your self by doing a long slow jog, keeping your heart rate elevated constantly for more than half and hour and try and use long strides that will keep your hips moving.
  • Avoid processed foods (take aways, ready meals) these contain amazingly high amounts of fat and salt which makes you retain water and just generally makes you pile on the pounds, especially in area's where you are most susceptible to weight gain quickly (i.e muffin tops)
There are millions of tips and tricks so get started with these ones and see what works for you! You can be A yummy muffin, without the muffin top!

k.



Wednesday 27 March 2013

Peplum Trousers, a Leg too Far?


Peplum. Not just an amusing word I assure you. The Peplum has swept our planet this year and pushed itself to the forefront of fashion in such a small space of time. But what is a Peplum? Basically it is a short over skirt that is attached to usually skirts, jackets or dresses. It's sleek and sophisticated and makes the waist appear thinner giving you a fuller hourglass figure, a favourite with most celebrities but bought into the spot light a lot by none other than Kim Kardashian.
Kim Kardashian - Peplum Skirt
The Peplum was first brought to our attention as a dress. At first I thought this was a wacky, useless design that wouldn't catch on but the more I saw it, the more I started to think it was really flattering and encouraged people to look curvy and embrace their curves instead of trying to hide them! Peplum dresses are the perfect casual chic dress but can easily be worn as the perfect office dress, party dress, night out on the town dress and so much more! I rather liked the Peplum by this point and its popularity was sky rocketing, so inevitably along came the Peplum skirt. With its throw back connotations of the classic pencil skirt, the Peplum skirt was still up there in the fashion stakes. It's still sophisticated and structured yet had more of a laid back (and depending on what you paired it with) a girly look to it. It could go with an array of outfits, a staple in any closet.
Peplum - Trousers
But then they took the Peplum a step to far (or should I say a leg too far, rather literally!) and Peplum trousers were born, and in my opinion should be destroyed. Peplum's are good and trousers have always been a plus in humanities books but the two should really not be mixed together. The idea of the peplum is to flatter the shape, the skirt or dress tapers in at the waist and knee's for an ultra-feminine shape that covers the hips and lower stomach where any lumps and bumps may be, scoring top trumps on the amazing things to wear list. Whereas Peplum trousers are rarely flattering, this is because it draws a lot of attention to your thigh area which is smoothed over on a skirt or dress, it's a lot going on in such a small area and it subtracts all the femininity. It's like its missing the point of itself!
So overall, I am a fan of the Peplum if it's worn correctly. It can be a fashionable statement piece that complements your shape but my advice to most people would be to stay away from the Peplum trousers. They don't really do anyone any favours, if you're going to go Peplum, go for a skirt, dress or even top for that feminine, sleek look!

k.



Monday 25 March 2013

DriveChain and Zoltar Speaks at TCAT

When: 23rd March
Where: TCAT Tiverton
Who: Drive Chain + Zoltar Speaks.


The Venue, a warm, amazingly lit hall with a large stage worthy of any big band. A huge drum kit sat on a high rise surrounded by white Gothic-esq, Victorian lamp posts. The scene was well and truly set for the highly anticipated return of DriveChain. But the biggest surprise of all? We were in Tiverton high school's school hall and the lead singer of this Heavy metal band taught English here for 4 years and the bassist was a student! This really was their Home ground show.
And first up to bat was Zoltar Speaks, a Minehead based, female fronted melodic rock band, boasting their high energy shows and they did not disappoint.  From the word go Zoltar Speaks engaged the crowd, instantly wowing. Their heavy melodic, almost funk sound went down well with everyone head banging and dancing. They played a mixture of old and new songs showing of the full range of their talent but what really stood out was when they played the track from there new video release titled 'Last man standing'.
All of them pushed it and played their hearts out to this song, very impressive with the front row stood in awe. The drummer and the bassists played what seemed to be a well rehearsed  carefully placed marriage of skill and ability to create a sturdy foundation on which the guitars built there chunky yet melodic phrases. All tied together, you had a catchy and powerful sound that any metal lover would bang their heads to. The lead singer, Louise, fully commanded the audience's attention, making full use of the stage and showing of her powerful vocals with one innocent bystander commenting that it was "mind blowingly good"
During the changeover I caught up with an excited Zoltar, all buzzing from the performance they just gave. Lead singer Louise told me, almost literally bouncing from the walls, "I love the Venue, definitely the best venue we've played in a long time and the crowd was amazing! It's been a while since we last gigged and the crowd just accepted us amazingly!" With Drummer Ben adding "We really appreciate everything, the venue is amazing and the crowd was really welcoming especially compared to the Minehead crowds"
When asked what they were up to for the rest of the year, they kept it close to their chests with guitarist Ollie stating "We definitely have lots in the pipe-line, the video's just come out, loads of PR is getting done, keep watching!" And I agree! This band is absolutely one to watch in the future, they have so much energy and showmanship they really opened up the gig, getting ready for the main event.

Now for those of you who don't know, DriveChain is a 4 Piece Metal band that disbanded 2 years ago, their influence still lingered around the local southwest music scene though, with many bands looking up to and learning from them, hoping to fill their shoes whilst they were gone. But no longer it seems.
Ascending the stage they leapt straight into their set, with the song 'First to this Fire' as if they had never left before. Instantly it was seamless even with their new, female bassist, Chrissy Slevin, who was not only performing live for the first time with the well-known rockers but was running the whole gig, being the promoter!
One of the highlight songs was 'Salvation' which took all fans back to the old days and had everyone singing along. One thing I really like about this band is their sound is raw and basic. It takes you back to the classic, simple, no fuss metal days of bands such as 'American Head Charge' and 'Drowning Pool'. Impressive really in this day and age with everyone striving for a new sound. They make old school cool. Yet they still have an edge, keeping current and fresh. Fair enough they haven't got a highly technical edge but they are still thoroughly melodic and strong, with clear and seamless vocals, backed by memorable, fast paced guitars. A well oiled-machine grinding out those pounding rhythms.
I caught up with lead singer Matt after the show who told me that it was really good to be back here, especially in the place that he once taught. "It's good but strange, I walked through these doors every day for 4 years and then just stopped." On Stage he gushed to the crowd about how amazing the crowd were, adding after, "Tiverton is the place to gig, even better than Exeter!" And it's true, the crowd at this gig welcomed them back like heroes, singing along and moshing best they could. So it looks like the infamous Drive Chain are back for good, when asked about what's different now to how it was, Matt replied;
"There's not as much pressure anymore, it's much more relaxed, it's not like I'm turning up to the third practice in one week and thinking 'I have to look at your face again!'

As the crowd fell out the hall at the end of the gig, overall the consensus was that everyone had pretty outstanding night, the first of its kind in Tiverton's own TCAT, and not the last with hopefully a regular metal night to be hosted in the venue. Its community run, so all of the profits go back into the venue to improve the facilities and to get more decent entertainment in! So definitely keep your eyes peeled for more face melting metal coming Tiverton's way!

k.

Go check the Bands out!

Drive Chain: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOZ6ZcCp-DM

Zoltar Speaks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiTC8j84bmM

Friday 22 March 2013

Nail Foils

Nail Painting and decorating is something that women have been doing for hundred's of years and yet there is always a new trend around the corner, French manicure's, Heart tips, alternate colours, jewels and now nail foils have caught my eye although they are far from being new! I first noticed nail foils when I worked for Claire's Accessories, they were rather basic and un-imagenitive and also quite pricey, around £7. We never seemed to sell a whole lot of them, but why would you buy them when you could buy an amazing coloured nail varnish that was sparkly or magnetic and half the price?
No, when I first found the nail foil I wasn't particularly impressed, however recently I have been noticing them everywhere in all sorts of patterns and colours. Anything you can think of really and they're far from boring! I know there are lots of different types of nail foils about but these ones are really simple easy and work so well!
Having a general search on the internet I found these fabulous leopard print foils for 99p on Ebay and they arrived less than a week later. I was very spoilt for choice as there were thousands to chose from!They are easy on your pockets, quick to apply and leave you with amazing and trendy nails in a flash!
And I will show you how!

Step 1: Make sure your hands and nails are oil free and clean! Don't put any moisturizer or creams on your hands and then (even if you don't have nail varnish on, which you shouldn't to apply the foils) Rub nail varnish remover over the nail to make sure it is smooth and clear.

Step 2: Chose which foil best fits the nail your doing and cut it out of the pack! My nails are awkwardly thin and small so I have to cut into the foil a bit more to get the right fit, but they do provide you will good sizes!

Step 3: Put the foil in the nail and make sure everything fits and aligns, you have to be careful but with these foils you can keep removing them (peeling them back gently) and reapplying them if you need to cut them down to size anymore.

Step 4: When your happy with the shape and size, smooth down the foil making sure there are no creases or air bubbles! you will be left with a long bit of excess at the top (unless you have already trimmed it).

Step 5: Trim that top excess bit, leaving a small ledge to tuck under the nail and then file the top to create a smooth perfect line! And wa-la! funky, stylish nails quickly!


If you are worried about them peeling or chipping you can seal them to make them last a bit longer with a clear nail varnish, that's the only downside to them they can be damaged quite quickly! I use Sally Hansens Hard as Nails, because it also protects your nails!
At the moment i'm a little bit obsessed with painting my ring finger on both hands a complementary colour, as you can see, It's a new trend that has come in and I love it, it's just something quirky, fun and draws attentions to your nails!
So there you go! cheap, effective and easy, something were all looking for so definitely try these cool nail foils!


And I have even found you some good places to get your own!

Amazon has a wide range of reasonably priced, stylish nail foils starting at £1.99
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=me%3DANFYV56DHPFBH&field-keywords=nail+foils

This site has a wonderful range of all things nail including funky foils starting at £2.15
http://www.naildelights.com/foils-c-18.html

Although this is a fragrance site it has some amazing nail foils really cheap! check them out!
http://www.fragrancedirect.co.uk/make-up/nails/icat/nails

Have fun and get creating!

k.

Wednesday 20 March 2013

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

By Mark Haddon
The Curious Incident of the dog in the night-time. First page and I was confused as It starts on chapter two. After making sure I hadn't bought a faulty book and that yes, the whole things starts on the second chapter, which is really the first chapter, I read on. The beginning of the book jumps around a lot, starting with you seemingly randomly being shown the dead dog from a young boy's point of view, then a page later goes on to tell you about the protagonist Christopher John Francis Boone who knows all the capital cities in the world and every prime number up to 7,507.
The style of writing is rather illogical and unemotional which completely throws you off because of the subject matter but as you read on you realize, This is perfectly normal for the young boy Christopher as this is how he processes things normally. What's normal for him may not necessarily be normal for others. And that's because he has Autism.
Now being exposed to autism and knowing of it in the past, reading this novel I realized that I was quite ignorant and this really opened my eyes to what it's really like and how people with autism really think and perceive things. And from then on the whole book becomes logical and is really a fascinating read! The character is written amazingly and really draws you into the book, he was not written to evoke sympathy but he really teaches you how life is really like for him.
The book takes you on a Journey with Christopher as he goes out of his comfort zone to try and logically solve the case of the murdered dog and learns a few hard to accept home truths along the way. Although its not written in an emotive style you definitely will feel an array of emotions that top of this remarkable book.
Its positively superb, funny yet bleak. Definitely give it a read and see what you think and what you can learn from it.

k.

Monday 18 March 2013

Keep your House Clean. Keep your Body Lean.


The dreaded housework. Hours slaving away to make your home clean and tidy. It's not really my idea of fun and sometimes it really does feel like a chore but it is actually rather useful in other ways than just keeping a lovely home. Exercise  Exercise is up there on my list of things I can't be bothered to do but I do anyway it often feels like a chore but recently I found out by cleaning your house you are actually killing two birds with one stone! (So to speak). It turns out that housework is a very rewarding form of exercise and you can burn an awful lot of calories this way and work on toning your body whilst you're at it!

House Work
Calories Burned on average
Laundry
73 calories
Making the bed
68 calories
Cooking
85 calories
Washing the dishes
78 calories
Ironing
78 calories
Hoovering
119 calories
Washing the floor
129 calories
Washing the windows
102 calories
Washing the car
102 calories


And those calories are burnt with very little movement! Turn on some music and get funky whilst cleaning, move more and you can burn twice as many calories! It all really does add up.
You can even burn more calories by doing things such as;

  •  Leaving the laundry basket on the floor so you have to keep bending over! (almost like standing crunches)
  •  Carrying things up the stairs one by one so you have to keep running up and down them.
  •  Use wax polish instead of spray polish, you'll have to work harder to rub it in.
  •  Clean out your cupboards, constantly reaching to the back.
  •  Moving the furniture about to hoover under things.
  •  Dusting all top shelves and high places to flatten that tummy.
Of course everybody is going to be different and lose the calories at a different rate but hopefully now you can see that it really is simple and effective. So there really is no excuse not to clean the house now! Pick up an apron, grab a cloth and start working on your clean house and lean body!

k.

Saturday 16 March 2013

Carbonara for Idiots.

Carbonara is one of my favourite meals, although I never used to make it myself. I always used to get it at restaurants or in a ready meal thinking it was too hard and expensive to make! Bit of a posh dish! And yes, carbonara for idiots, apt'ly named because if I can make it, you surely can! Now for those of you who don't know, carbonara is an incredibly yummy pasta dish with a creamy sauce made with bacon or ham, eggs and cream, Its simply amazing and thanks to a little secret cheat from Tesco (or probably any other supermarket, that's just where I buy it from) it's incredibly easy and cheap to make and that is coming from me! The girl who can burn water!

You will need:

  • 1 sachet of schwartz spaghetti carbonara (recipe mix) -90p
  • Bacon - £1.70
  • Mushrooms (any will do, I use button mushrooms) -75p
  • (3/4 pint) semi-skimmed milk -84p
  • Spaghetti. - 30p 

Step 1: First of all bring the spaghetti to the boil, the whole meal should be done by the time the spaghetti is cooked, it really is that quick! (Salt if needed)

Step 2: Fry the bacon until it's nice and crispy. It really doesn't particularly matter what bacon you get, I tend to go for the cheapest I can find in this dish, it's going to 
be diced up anyway! 

Step 3: Chop up the mushrooms and throw them in with the bacon to fry.

Step 4: Mix the carbonara sachet with the milk and then bring to the boil, (make sure you don't burn anything during this stage, it wouldn't be the first time I have.)

Step 5: Drain off the pasta and add to the sauce (sorry I haven't got a picture for this stage but if you don't know how to drain pasta, I would strongly advise not even trying this dish, for your own safety)

Step 6: Cut up the bacon and mix the bacon bits and mushrooms in 
with the spaghetti and sauce. Heat through for a few minutes altogether 
and you should be done! 

You can serve this dish however you like and with whatever you like! A few good tips would be to try adding or serving with chicken, use sausages in the mix too, Serve with cheese, mix and match with whatever you can find in your cupboards, the list is endless, it truly is a versatile dish. Traditionally carbonara is served with a red wine but since I'm not much of a drinker, I like this dish with 7up (classy I know). So hopefully now you can see how cheap and easy this dish really is, you will try it yourself! It's perfect for students, couples and families and takes less than 15 minutes to make! Happy cooking!

k.

Finished Carbonara.

Wednesday 13 March 2013

BB Creams. What's the Point?!


BB Creams. Every time we turn on the TV or even flick a page of a magazine there is another advert for the 'magic' cream. They seem to have exploded into all of our lives at the end of 2011 but even though they have such a large following and coverage I still found myself asking, several months later, what are they? Well BB means Blemish Balm or in some companies Beauty Balm. OK that’s what it means, but what do they do and why are they so big!? As well as making your skin look fabulous, BB creams are supposed to be good for you as well! The creams were developed by dermatologists for patients who had gone through laser surgery, it’s supposed to be beneficial, nourishing and all around amazing for your skin. The Overall idea of BB creams are that they provide you with SPF protection
(Always handy to have in a skin care product), moisturization
And sheer coverage also the products boast soothing and healing properties! To me it does sound like a tinted moisturizer but BB creams are supposed to be that and so much more! One of the main reasons BB creams 'cover' so much in one product is so that you can use 'one product' it eliminates the need for having a hundred and one products (although I don't think it’s going to stop us from owning 101 products!)
MUA (make-up academy) light BB cream
My first run in with the cream, apart from through the television, was when I decided to see what all the fuss was about myself. I bought a MUA (make-up academy) light BB cream for £4 a very reasonable price I felt. What interested me about this cream was that not only was it cheap so ideal for testing the product but it boasted 'a multi-functional formula that conceals, brightens and evens out skin tone for a perfect complexion' which is what most women are trying to achieve by wearing make-up every day. The coverage and tone was really really good, I can just whack on a bit of the cream where it's needed and be done for the day. The only down side to this particular cream was that in some places it made my skin appear a bit dried out but this cream say's nothing about moisturizing or anything of the sort on the packaging so I'm not going to hold it against it.
There are a million and one BB Cream's out there and a million and one articles saying 'chose this one!' 'Pick me!' but honestly if you want a BB cream, reviews and others opinions will only get you so far. You need to get out there and try some, have a look through a selection of creams and determine what you want yours to do! Don't forget there's always tester's you can try so you can see the type of coverage you’re getting and how it will affect your skin. That's another reason why I'm not saying which one you should get because everyone's different. Everyone has a different budget, different needs and most importantly, different skin types what may be good for one, may not be good for another and products like this can affect people very differently so be pro-active and go out and test them ourselves! Take a friend for opinions and who knows you may even have a bit of fun testing them out!

But in general if you are looking for a quick, easy and amazingly good product for your skin I would definitely recommend looking into BB creams. You can wear it as a primer, under foundations, as a foundation or just on its own and still look fabulous with all the benefits of an SPF moisturizer that looks after your skin and makes you glow!

Monday 11 March 2013

Wedding Fares for Novices


Wedding fares are often exciting, daunting and confusing. Most people think they are just a good way to hike up the already astronomical price of their wedding. But they can come in useful even if you are on a budget!
Recently my fiancee and me (plus a couple of tag-a-longs for moral support) visited a wedding fare in Taunton just to see what it was all about and get some general ideas. As soon as we had arrived and starting heading in we were bombarded in the car park by wedding car companies! They all really do jump on you the second you get there! After reverently insisting that we are only looking and hadn't even set a date they finally backed away swooping onto the next victim! and all before we'd even got into the door. A quick sigh of relief, through the door and back into the frying pan with an amazingly perky sales lady shoving an incredibly detailed questionnaire into my arms. Then we were herded through a corridor of table settings and harpists and into the main room.
Now as a woman, this room was bright and attention grabbing with things I wanted to look as far as the eye could see but a quick look at my paling Fiancee and I realized this may have to turn into a reconnaissance mission. Grab as much info, idea's and get out before the intensity of the cheery room ate us all and never returned us to reality! (you may think i'm exaggerating but i'm really not.)
Wedding Rings
Purely on the mount of information that you will receive from each stall alone is worth the trip, you just have to be willing to put on a brave face, smile and wade through everything until you get what YOU want to know and need. Instead of just letting them talk and explain what they want, have some questions ready, this way they don't really get a chance to go off on a rant trying to sell you all sorts and you can move around the room quicker getting really good advice and ideas.
Another good reason to attend a wedding fare is you can get to know local traders and shops. You can chose who's products you would like to use and what kind of price range different people offer, all in one place! If its a local and independent trader/shop you might be able to bag a bargain to. Say you have found a dress shop you particularly like, if its an independent business you can haggle the price, asking for a discount. A good way to do this is to buy in bulk, say you will buy a dress, shoes, and jewellery or hair piece all from their store and ask if you multi-buy can they slice a bit of the price off? Another way is, If you find a dress with any small defects or problems (stains, loose stitches, missing beads or something) mention it and ask for a discount, you can always fix the dress yourself later!
Me and my Fiancee found the fare helpful, we are in very early stages of planning and basically just looking for idea's. How to decorate, what dress, what venue? etc. All the way around the room we were finding things we like and asking ourselves, how can we make that? how can we use that? This way we cut the cost by hugely and still could create something amazing and personal, which is what weddings are supposed to be about. YOU and YOUR personalities.
Goodie Bags
So all in all I think wedding fare's are worth going to (especially the free and local ones) you can learn a lot and get a lot of your own ideas. Have an open mind, ask lots of questions and pick up lots of leaflets, they usually give you a handy goody bag to hold all your new leaflets (sometimes with free sweets in them!). Just be prepared to be metaphorically jumped on and to have your personal space invaded for a few hours and everything should go smoothly!
Here's a handy sight for up and coming wedding fares in the UK, have a look or keep your eye's peeled for local ones near you!

k.

Friday 8 March 2013

Primer Time.

Primers. Most women don't even bother with them. Some even don't know what they are. And no, I'm not talking about something you whack on your walls before painting!
Basically primers are used underneath your make-up to smooth, reduce oiliness and even out your skin. They help the state of your skin but they're main job is to make your make-up stay properly and for much longer! You can get all sorts of primer's for different parts i.e. eye primers, face primers lip primers etc.
You don't necessarily need a primer but I find they are very helpful and make your face appear almost smoother and almost flawless whereas wearing no primer can make it really obvious you wearing make-up and make your skin appear crumbly and flake-y  which is the last thing you want! Also Primers are widely recommended by make-up artists (which is always a plus!)There are tiny little silicone balls in primers that fill your pores which is why they are so effective at creating that oh so desired smooth surface ready for your make-up.
Now for the reason we are all here. Primers usually cost £10 and upwards which is all well and good but that's money you could put on your electric bill, which is where I come in! I'm going to share my wisdom and show you all how to make your own Primer-esq product using pieces you all probably already have, so you get lasting, professional looking make-up on the cheap! The one i'm going to show you is mainly a tinted moisturizer but can double up as a primer) I wore it all night at work under my make-up and it hadn't moved an inch!

You will need:
  • Foundation - a liquid one that matches your skin tone
  • Concealer - a liquid one that again matches your skin tone
  • Body butter - Preferably unscented but it doesn't really matter. Or you can use really think moisturizer such as the Lush's 'Dream Cream', it just has to be thick and a good consistency!
  • A little pot to mix and put everything in, preferably with a lid. (I've used an old Vaseline lip tin just washed out)
  • A spoon
  • Toothpicks for mixing.
  • Also you can use any aloe Vera gel, but I didn't have any handy!

Step 1: Making sure you have a clean tin, pour some foundation in, you don't need a lot, just about an almonds size, depending on the size of your tin and how much you want to make.

Step 2: Add the same amount of liquid concealer, this makes it mix well with your skin tone, provides even coverage and helps keep everything light and bright.

Step 3: Using the back of the spoon start adding the body butter to the pot. Aim for the same amount as the concealer and foundation but once you have mixed it, if you feel like you need more you can keep adding to get a nice thick consistency.

Step 4: Using a tooth pick mix it all together, careful not to spill any. Once you're happy with how it looks, and how much you have then you're ready to go and now you can try it out!

It really is that easy, takes less than 5 minutes and can save you a lot of money. I know it doesn't sound like much but it really is useful and really does work, I didn't quite believe it would do anything till I made it myself and now I live by it! I even told my best friend all about it and she didn't believe it until she saw it! So give it a go! Experiment a bit and hopefully you'll love it too and save a bit of cash in the mean time!

Here I have out eye shadow on my hand on it's own and on top of the Primer. The eye shadow on it's own is really smudgy and weak looking almost like it's watered down and it's not consistent, it's bolder in different area's whereas the eye shadow over primer is instantly bold and strong, the colour is much more prominent too and it will last 3x as long as the shadow without the primer!

 k.

Left - Eye shadow on its own
Right - Eye shadow with primer.

Wednesday 6 March 2013

Mother's Day Gifts for Every Kind of Mum.



Mother's Day 10th March
Mother's day is fast approaching and most years I seem to have loads of brilliant idea's in February but then forget until it's too late and Mother's day arrives. But not this year.
Mother's day gifts are notoriously hard, I find. You want the perfect gift that shows your mum just how much you appreciate her and everything she does and has done for you but do you want something sentimental? Something practical? Something random? Or something she'll just love? Clothes? Jewellery? The possibilities are endless and you don't want to break your bank. So how do you go about finding the right gift?
First think of your mum. Is she a creative, arty mum? Is she fashion forward? Is she always on the go?
Now think about what she like's. Has she dropped any hints or recently said 'ooh that would be nice'? If you can think of something she has said then you can't go wrong although I would suggest adding something extra and personal for a special touch. She won't expecting it and will be pleasantly surprised (especially if she is the hinting kind of mother!)
Non-Hinting mothers may be a little harder to shop for. My first suggestion would be to do something for/with her. Mother's in my experience just want  to spend quality time with you, especially as you get older, creating memories with her is important so perhaps grab your camera and take her out for the day!
This year the National Trust are hosting different events at their properties up and down the country from Lunches, dinners to creative days out. And a lot of the events you can just turn up to!
Have a look: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/article-1355770775493/


Mother's day cake!
If you're creative you might want to try cooking for your mother or even the whole family so she can have a night off. Every mother appreciates a bit of help so cooking an amazing meal possibly even desert will definitely go down a treat (and make sure you clean after yourself to top it off.) Make sure she doesn't have to lift a finger and you'll have a happy mother. You might even want to bake her a mother's day cake to finish the festivities that will have her laughing and smiling for the rest of the week! Here are some brilliant recipe idea's to help create a posh meal at home and to make you dinner go off without a hitch!
www.bbcgoodfood.com/content/recipes/occasions/mothers-day/

Nowadays personalized gifts are king, with hundreds of companies at hand to help you create your personalized product. I love the idea of this because you can take a decent product that's well made (and there is such a variety and make it your own so you have something amazing to give that will surely be sturdy and last and you can chose from the useful to the unusual to the sentimental. One site that I really like is gettingpersonal.co.uk they let you customize just about anything and cover almost every gift you can think of and some you even can't!
www.gettingpersonal.co.uk 


Make-up Bags
If you're thinking about make-up or something fashionable for your mum I would suggest either knowing exactly what she would like, in the right colour, the right shade, the right lipstick or you could go very wrong. My suggestion for the fashion forward mum would be to get something like a casual piece of jewellery that she can wear every day and that would go with most of her outfits (think about the colours and styles she wears and jewellery she already has and loves) or getting her something like a jewellery box, make-up case or some nice make-up brushes. These presents are handy but thoughtful as it shows that you have acknowledged her and what regime she may follow. Check out Debenhams for a great range of fashion/make-up accessories.
www.debenhams.com/beauty/accessories

Or just simply make her something. She is bound to love the sentimental value. A picture? A painting or even perhaps a photo of you, you and her, or the whole family in a lovely frame. It's very easy you just have to have a good idea! If she is an animal lover perhaps even get her a hand drawn picture of a family pet or her favourite animal drawn by Devon based artist Alima Dove.
http://www.facebook.com/AlimaDovesAnimalPortraits

Hopefully this helped you on your quest to the perfect mother's day present without harming your bank account and whatever you chose to do or get her, I hope you all have a lovely Mothering Sunday!

k.

Monday 4 March 2013

Run Fat B**** Run!

No i'm not being rude, Run Fat Bitch Run is an inspirational self help book by author Ruth Field, that's supposed to encourage you to take control and motivate you to start running (and keep running once you have the hang of it!)
Usually I don't even bother with self help books because you hear the same things over and over, 'love yourself', 'its easy','what could be quicker?' but this book doesn't look at it like that, it's very down to earth and realistic although sometimes it seem's a bit harsh.
The book starts with what I found to be a rather amusing 'pointless pledge' where it get's you to solemnly swear to accept how you are and want to do something about it. Straight from the beginning, your introduced to 'the inner bitch' someone deep inside all of us that we have to unleash. 'She' or 'he' will kick your ass into shape, motivate you and tell you all the things even your best friends wouldn't say to you. This book really does take the tough love approach, it's amusing yet vicious which I feel will be good for some but not so good for others but if you read between the lines there is an awful lot of good advice there we can all take on board!
Now as much as I like her approach in giving us all a realistic view of ourselves and a good kick up the backside, there are some parts where she may take it too far and in the long run could upset quite a few people. The book encourages you to basically hate your body so that you have the motivation to want to be pro-active and do something about it. One part tells you to stand in front of the mirror naked and chant to yourself 'I'm a fat bitch,' it even tells you this should be your mantra but surely if your buying this book then your more than likely highly unhappy with your image and feel like everyone's putting you down anyway, so surely you shouldn't add to it and continue to put yourself down?
Overall there are some plus and minus's to this book. I really do think it's helpful and can really help you achieve realistic goals but you do have to take what she say's with a pinch of salt. I know people buy, read and follow some self help books like its a religion but this one is a lot more relaxed. Follow the advice but don't let the negativity get into your head or you'll find your goals a whole lot harder to achieve. Find it amusing and you'll find it helpful.

k.

Friday 1 March 2013

How to do the Glamorous Wave

Straight or curly. The only two ways' I ever used to wear my hair. Straight during the day (I have naturally straight hair) or super curly for occasions. One day though after majorly curling my locks, I threw a hissy fit deciding that the look didn't go with my outfit, so in hopes of regaining my pin straight look I took to the hair brush to brush it out but what I achieved was 100 times more stylish and so my 50's inspired, chic, mermaid-Esq hair was born!
And here's how you can achieve it, step by step:

1. First off, make sure you have clean and preferably conditioned hair to make it smooth and sleek. Usually it's best to do this style in the evening/afternoon after you have washed it because it lets your hair settle and makes it easier to manipulate to exactly how you want it and make it stay put!

2. Now I know this may sound strange seeing as were creating a wave but step two is to straighten your hair. I always run my straighteners through my hair before curling it, I find it tames those fly away hairs and also makes the curls much more prominent and bouncy!

3. Make sure your parting is clear and exactly where you want it (you don't want to be shifting it about once you start curling).


4. Clip up your hair so that you have a thin layer left at the bottom.

5. Now the fun part. CURLING! Curl small strands of the hair quite tightly so you are left with tight little ringlets. Looks strange at the moment but trust me it's worth it!

6. Let down another layer of hair and repeat step 5. Just keep working your way up your head until your hair is completely full of well-defined ringlets.

7. Now here's how to achieve the wave. I find spraying it with a tiny bit of Vo5's smoothly does it or any product that helps achieve sleek hair is useful as it helps with the texture and make's it stay put, but it's not necessary, but I really do recommend using a paddle brush for the next step.


8. Holding a clump of the curls slowly brush the hair. First underneath and then on top pulling the brush slowly through the hair. Repeat this all over your head, careful not to over brush it as you will lose the definition of the wave and probably turn it to frizz!

9. SPRAY! Spray, spray and spray some more! Make sure your hair is fixed so it will stay glamorous for your day/night ahead!

10. And finally pin, accessorize or just style to your heart's content or you may just decide to leave it as it is for a natural look!

So now everyone can achieve this quick and simple look and make it their own! The model I used to do this on in the photograph had rather long hair and it still only took about 35 minutes from beginning to end (with a cup of tea in between) so there's no excuse not to try this glamorous wave!


k.
Pinned to the side.
In a side pony tale.
Natural with just a head band.

         Thank you to my
         model Charlotte!