A little day trip

I wanted to make the most of the fact that Sunday was supposed to be the nicest day of the week. So me and my mummy took a little drive to the seaside town of Rye we actually didn't go quite as far as Rye itself, we went to Rye Harbour Nature Reserve so as to make the most of the nice weather, get some fresh air and sun.

The weather wasn't that great but there were still some sunny intervals. It was bloody freezing walking back up from the coast and at one point I lost all feeling in my ears! Anyway, here are some photos documenting the day.

I wont bore you too much with pictures of scenery. It was a really lovely place though and I'll definitely come back during the warmer months to make the most of it. I loved just getting out and about. We didn't do the big nature reserve walk, just the 2 mile one, which was plenty when you're getting your ears frozen off by the wind!

Have you got any nice places near you for walks and the great outdoors?

Short but very sweet review on the Sigma F80

I had to share my love for the Sigma F80 brush. In short it is my absolute must have favourite foundation brush ever. It's amazingly soft, like velvety soft and blends even the most stubborn of foundation into skin flawlessly, seamlessly and beautifully. I can't recommend it enough. If you want skin that looks airbrushed to perfection with minimal effort then you must buy one! I bought mine from here, it came really quickly in the post and was packaged really well.

Mine is presently covered in foundation and was proving a little hard to photograph (camera flash + silver brush head bit = massive glare!) so I borrowed this photo from good ol' Google.

There are so many reviews and tutorials out there on this brush so I really don't see the need for me to go into it anymore. But I really cannot vouch for it enough, if you use liquid foundation then you neeeed one of these in your life!

What do you use to apply foundation? Have you tried the Sigma F80?

Easy peasy step-by-step flapjack recipe

I love flapjacks. They are kind of good for you naughty treats, I mean there's oats in there amongst all the sugary, buttery goodness!

For this recipe you will need the following:

225g of oats, 75g of sugar (ideally brown), 100g of butter and 75g of golden syrup - see simples! You will also need a square baking tin, a medium saucepan and a stirring implement like a spoon or a spatula. Your oven should be preheated to 180 degrees.

In a medium sized saucepan melt the butter, sugar and golden syrup until combined. Next add the oats and stir until they are fully coated in the syrupy mixture.

Then you need to make sure that your square baking tin is greased, you could line it also with baking parchment but I couldn't be faffed today.

Add the oats and spread them out so the tin is evenly lined. Then press the oats down, I prefer to use a pallet knife for this because it's easier but you can use whatever you like, you just need to make sure the oats are nice and compressed so the flapjack doesn't fall apart when it's baked.

... and voila a very smooth surface.

Then pop them in the oven for approximately 20 - 30 minutes, depending on your oven. Aww poor Shaun the Sheep, baking for 30 minutes doesn't agree with him!

30 minutes later and... brrriiing! Shaun is much happier the right way up!

I usually leave the flapjacks to cool in the tin for a bit before cutting them.

Yum yum. Now I am going to make a cup of tea and settle down with a flapjack and read the new issue of Instyle magazine. What a lovely way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

Happy baking everyone!

Book review : The Secret Shoppers Revenge by Kate Harrison

I borrowed this book from the library so I'm sorry but I don't have a proper photo. There are two further books in the series The Secret Shopper Unwrapped and The Secret Shopper Affair, which I am eager to get my mitts on!

So if you know anything about the books I like by now, they have to be easy to get to grips with from the outset. This wasn't completely one of those. Initially I found it hard to relate to the main character and then the other women but I stuck with it and really enjoyed the outcome.

Its about... new mum Emily wants revenge on the stick-thin assistants who laugh at her post-baby tummy and post-baby budget. But frumpiness has its advantages when you're wielding a secret camera - and sending the footage straight to head office. Store manager Sandie has a lifelong love of the world of retail - the glitz, the magic, the stockroom. Then she's fitted up by an ambitious assistant and secret shopping is the only way to keep her one passion alive. And glamorous widow Grazia can't leave behind the high life, despite her chronically low bank balance. The more she's buying - and spying - the less time she has to mourn her husband or her fair-weather friends who've dumped her. They're Charlie's Shopping Angels, controlled by a mysterious figure who sends them on assignments...and the occasional assignment from hell. 

It follows the stories of the three women which to begin with I found a little hard to follow because as I say I couldn't relate, but then it became one of those books I couldn't put down and I now want to read the other books in the series desperately! It's great how Kate Harrison intertwines the women's relationships and yet that also have completely separate storylines in their own right, and she doesn't lose you along the way. Don't you love it when you find an author that you really like.

If you've noticed, I've added a "currently reading" section to the gadget panel of my blog so you can see what I'm reading at the moment and see what reviews will be coming up.

Have you ready anything by Kate Harrison?

Red nails and NOTW featuring OPI

Whatever your view on red nails you can't fail to notice it's the colour of choice for many young women. I love red nails. They are effortlessly chic and ladylike. I'm not sure the same can be said when painted on mega long talons but I'm not going to rain on anyone's parade if thats your style! 

I heard that Olivia favours Revlon Red. Does anyone know whether this is true? I have to say Revlon aren't my favourite nail polish brand but if it's good enough for Olivia then it's good enough for me! So I'd love to know whether this story has any weight to it if any of you ladies know.

Lauren is often spotted wearing red polish. She really seems to be a chameleon when it comes to nail polish she likes to try out varying colours whereas Olivia tends to stick with the tried and true red, thus becoming her signature look.

My red of choice is OPI Red by OPI. It's a gorgeous true red, it photographs with a vague bluey tinge but this doesn't show in real life. It's really smooth to apply and two coats are enough to give a really shiny finish and a true red colour. 

What's your view on red nails? Yay or nay?

Spring kitchen mini haul

I had a big spring clean of my kitchen at the weekend. I found so much food that had passed it use by date amongst other random things (coins, pegs, receipts, hair bands and pens) and I had a move around of the cupboards which made me feel like I'd really achieved something and I felt much more in control of life in general by having clean and organised cupboards!

To spruce up the kitchen I decided to get some new accessories. I was after some new tea towels and had a brief  look online on the Next and John Lewis website but none really caught my eye that weren't silly prices. I would have looked on the TK Maxx Homesense website but they have taken this offline for some reason. I really love their home bits and their website had some gems. Luckily I have a TK Maxx about 5 minutes down the road from me so I went for a mosey on Sunday morning.

I found out that they have their delivery first thing on a Sunday so if I go in at around lunchtime then they've had time to get everything out and you get the best pick of the bargains. They had a bid selection of different tea towels, cute red apple ones, green spring ones and cute shabby chic ones. I settled on a pack of three pink ones for the bargain price of £3.99.

I had a quick look for some new tea and sugar jars but they didn't have anything quite suitable so I decided to have a look in Next and found these cute pink polka dot jars for £6.00 each so I got one for teabags and one for sugar. They match the tea towels really well I think and really brighten up the kitchen.

While in TK Maxx I also found some Goober's Grape and Peanut Butter. I'm not a huge fan of peanut butter but oh my god this was yummy!

Do you like TK Maxx? Have you tried Goober's?

OPI My Private Jet - NOTW

I've been wearing OPI's My Private Jet for a week now (7 days and no chips that's how much I adore OPI!) and I thought I'd give you all a quick peek at my NOTW "nail of the week". These photos were taken after it was applied last Saturday, they are two coats of the OPI and Seche Vite over the top. Also as a base coat I applied OPI's Chip Skip which is basically a nail varnish remover in a bottle with a small brush, it just ensures that the nail plate is as clean and oil free as possible I believe. It's definitely not an essential but hey I need to use it up.

When I initially applied this polish I wasn't overly impressed. Honestly it reminds me of speckled kitchen worktop! But it lasted amazingly well throughout the week and I even got a few compliments on it when I went out for some appointments for work!

I need to try some of the new Texas Collection polishes, and the lovely Stina has posted about a couple of these this week so go and check her blog out! 

What have you been wearing on your nails this week?

Anne French Deep Cleansing Milk

One of the girls I work with mentioned recently that she swore by Anne French Deep Cleansing Milk. Quite noticeably she has very good skin and often doesn't wear foundation (she really doesn't need to), so I had a look online to see some reviews.

Well I was very pleasantly surprised at what I found. Chemist Direct (who also stock cheap OPI) had 113 4.5 star ratings and so I read on. It seemed like the majority of the women reviewers had used the product for years, and I mean YEARS some even 40+ years and had recommended it to their daughters and granddaughters. Some even had to send it to their daughters who had emigrated to Australia they were so in love with it and couldn't bear to use anything else. They all said they had clear, blemish free complexions and that it removes all traces of makeup effortlessly. It's reputed to... gently lift away make-up, dirt, excess oil and other impurities that may not even be visible. This original milk contains a light moisturiser, to leave your skin feeling soft, clean, healthy and radiant.

I thought I definitely want in on the action so I set about using up my Time Delay cleansing lotion with gusto! I bought my bottle today in Boots for £4.07 but it is much cheaper if you buy it online. I showed my mum and she instantly recognised the iconic tear-drop bottle from when she was younger and said that she didn't realise they still sold it (in Boots it was on the bottom shelf next to Ponds Cold Cream).

It has a very perfumed smell to the product, which could be overpowering to some people. It doesn't smell very "modern" if you catch my drift, it's a more powdery, old fashioned scent, but honestly it doesn't bother me, and the scent fades pretty quickly once on the skin.

The container lid unscrews (I think it would probably be easier with a flip top) and there is a nozzle to control the amount of product you use. It recommends that you use it on cotton pads and I can see why, it is very very runny. It really is like watery milk! It doesn't absorb completely into the cotton pad, which I was surprised by, it stays very wet, almost as if you have a toner or eye makeup remover on the pad.

I found that it took one pad to completely remove all my face and eye makeup and then I used another pad just to make sure that everything was off. It didn't sting or irritate, even around my eyes, and it left my skin feeling clean and moist and looking healthy and radiant. It took a lot of willpower to just leave it at that though, I am so used to using water to cleanse with, but I stayed strong and just used Cetaphil lotion afterwards and my eye cream and I was good to go to bed!

The next morning I woke up with no irritation on my skin or blocked pores so it seems to have passed the initial reaction test, but I will continue to use it and let you know how I get on over a prolonged period of time.

Have you heard / seen this product? Does your mum / grandma / auntie remember it?

Current OPI wishlist and a NOTD

My absolute favourite brand of nail polish is OPI. I love the names of the colours, the colours themselves, the bottles, the brushes, the consistency. Everything. They never fail to impress me. While browsing Cheeky's Beauty Blog the other day (I really love her NOTD posts) I came across some new polishes to add to my wishlist.

I've still got the major urge for No Spain No Gain, regardless of my possible dupe I found the other day, also Yucatan If You Want, Parlez Vous OPI, Mrs O'Leary's BBQ and Dulce de Leche. I'd also like to invest in Cajun Shrimp (all Tali's fault!), and Strawberry Margarita.

At the moment I'm sporting Ate Berries in the Canaries which is one of my all time favourites and a gorgeous bright fuschia pink. It's a dream to apply and I believe it is a crème lacquer, opaque, solid colour. It's great on fingers and toes.
.

Here you can see it with ze flash and without ze flash. 

What's your favourite nail varnish brand? Do you like OPI?

No Spain No Gain... I think I found a dupe!

If you caught my last weekly recap you will have seen that I was still after the perfect raspberry coloured nail varnish and OPI's No Spain No Gain had caught my eye.

Well my usual Sunday night ritual involves a face mask and nail painting in preparation for work the following day so I was rummaging through my basket of nail varnish and stumbled upon Rimmel Urban Purple.

It's pretty far from purple, I'm not sure what the folks at Rimmel were thinking when naming this nail varnish! It's a gorgeous berry colour and I think is the perfect dupe for what I was after.

Obviously I can't say for certain because I don't have the OPI to compare it to in the flesh but it's what I was after and I didn't have to whip out my purse because it was already in my collection!

Sorry for the shoddy iPhone picture making it look more red than berry! It's going to become a firm favourite so I'm sure you'll see much more of it! I love the brush, it is a bit on the large side in particular for my smallest fingers but because the brush is oval it makes for a very clean line to the cuticle which I like.

What do you think to my dupe? Whats your favourite nail colour at the moment?

Book review : I Heart New York by Lindsey Kelk

I'm probably the last person to have read this book. Just goes to show how far I am behind on this reading malarky! I could really relate to the character in this book, being strong (albeit a little scatty) after a break up. There are a few funny moments. Not as laugh out loud as say the Shopaholic books but still enjoyable.

Fleeing her cheating boyfriend and clutching little more than a crumpled bridesmaid dress, a pair of Louboutins and her passport, Angela jumps on a plane, destination - NYC.

Holed up in a cute hotel room, Angela gets a Hollywood makeover from her NBFJenny and a whirlwind tour of the city that never sleeps. Before she knows it, Angela is dating two sexy guys. And, best of all, she gets to write about it in her new blog (Carrie Bradshaw eat your heart out). But it's one thing telling readers about your romantic dilemmas, it's another figuring them out for yourself …

Angela has fallen head over heels for the big apple, but does she heart Hollywood more than home?

I enjoyed it up until the Angela started to date two men, I felt she needed to be single for a bit longer and I just wasn't keen on the male characters, it didn't play right in my mind with what the book had been up until that point. I also found the change in her friends behaviour a little strange. She became quite unhinged!

I did however enjoy all the New York references. Having been there for my 21st, I loved all the name dropping and recognising places she went to.

All in all I'm glad I read it, and I would like to read I Heart Hollywood and Paris but in my mind it didn't live up to the hype.

My favourite quote however was "You just got out of a long relationship that ended badly. You need to be spoiled, wooed and screwed six ways from Sunday." - love it!

Have you read I Heart New York? What are your views?

YSL Parisienne

What's your favourite perfume? My current favourite is Parisienne by YSL. It's feminine without being too sweet and cloying. It's a very distinctive scent, and is instantly recognisable. I get a lot of compliments when I wear it.

Other notable favourites are; Nina by Nina Ricci, Secret Wish by Anna Sui, Clinique Happy Heart, DKNY Green Apple and all / any of the Escada summer scents.