What's Your Take On Tights?

Patterned tights are nothing new or groundbreaking but lately it seems like there are more and more designs on the market.  I have never been that daring with my choice of tights and I tend to stick to black or dark grey.  There are some very risque bondage-style designs kicking around like the Wolford tights that Cheryl Cole wears in her latest music video for 'Promise This'.  There are also faux suspender ones sported by Pixie Geldof, Pixie Lott and Frankie Sandford from The Saturdays.   I think it would take quite alot of guts to wear these particular tights because they are quite overtly sexy so I reckon they are more suited to wearing at night time!  They would certainly get you alot of attention! I can't imagine nipping down to the supermarket in those babies!

I particularly like the two toned tights that Kylie is sporting above because they seem like they would be very slimming and flattering on the legs.  The paler panel down the front acts as an optical illusion to make your legs appear thinner...not that Kylie needs any help in that department!  This is probably one of the 'safest' variations to go for if you don't want to go too crazy.  I have to say that I'm still not sure about the lace tights though...if worn with the wrong outfit, they can almost look a bit cheap.  I think the key thing to remember is to dress them down slightly...i.e. don't wear them with a bandage dress!  These designs aren't for shrinking violets or the faint hearted but I think they are a really fun take on a piece of clothing that we will all be sporting throughout autumn and winter!  I often find that if you wear something with confidence, then it tends to look good but if you look awkward or embarassed, then people will probably question what you're wearing.  So this is definitely a trend that must be worn with pride!

So what do you think? Would you wear any of these designs or will you be sticking to your plain black tights?

What I've Been Loving Lately and A Disappointment

I was recently sent the brand new Gucci perfume, Guilty, from The Pefume Store to review and as you can see, Gucci have really pulled it out of the bag with the design of the bottle.  It just oozes luxury and style! It feels heavy and expensive...pretty much what you would expect from Gucci.  I'm not an expert on perfume but I know what I like and this perfume is a perfect light daytime scent for me.  It is described as being 'sensual and sexy' but I'm not sure I would describe it like that.  For me, I like my daytime perfumes to be slightly sweet and subtle, nothing too overpowering.  Here's a breakdown of the scent:

Heart Notes: Peach, Lilac and Geranium

Top Notes: Mandarin & Pink Pepper

Base Notes: Ambery Notes & Pachouli

It's a subtely warm perfume, that lasts all day without being over the top.  Love it!

This week I have really been trying to shop my collection and rediscover my old favourites that I have been neglecting.  I have always loved the French & Fabulous palette from Too Faced....

This palette contains the perfect shades for an every day look and also shades that will take you into a more dramatic, night time look.  My favourite combination is Totally Toasted Beige as a base and Totally Toasted Brown as a crease colour then to amp it up for night time, I just smudge Ooh & Ahh Black into my lashline for more definition.  Poodle Puff Raisin is also an amazing crease colour that is a gorgeous plummy taupe.

My skin is definitely in the best condition ever and I feel like this is down too the new Origins and Good Stuff products I have been using.  I never get spots anymore...not EVEN at that time of the month which is unheard of.  The Origins Brighter By Nature High Potency Brightening Peel which is just an incredible product has been a god send for my skin.  It's so clear, so smooth and really radiant and I have to credit that to using the Origins pads twice every week.  Another of the Origins products which has complimented the pads is the Origins Brighter By Nature Skin Tone Correcting Serum.  This compliments it so well because it  contains Vitamin C, Cucumber Extract, Japanese Basil Leaf and Salicycic Acid.  It's quite an expensive skincare product at £31.00 for a 30 ml bottle but you only need two small pumps for your whole face.  In my opinion, having the skin I always wanted is worth paying a bit extra for.  I will definitely repurchase this again and again because it really works. 

The disappointment for me came with the Origins No Puffery Cooling Mask.  It contains Yeast Extract and Hoelen Mushroom extract and is designed to reduce eye bags, redness and dark circles.  It can be used as a mask applied for 5-10 mins or as an all day treatment under your usual eye cream.  I have used it for around 3 weeks now as an eye gel and also as a mask and I just didn't feel like it did anything for me.  I didn't notice a difference in my dark circles or slight puffiness in the mornings.  I applied my usual eye cream over it and I just wasn't impressed by this product.  When you are spending £19.00 for a 30ml tube, you want it to be amazing and to blow you away.  But unfortunately, it just didn't do that. 

A great discovery for me in the past week was this Daniel Sandler Contour Brush which is probably the smallest contour brush I have ever used.  It's half the size of the Bare Minerals one I used to use every day.  The advantage of this brush is that you can be alot more precise with where you place your contour powder (I use Sleek's Contour Palette or Benefit Hoola).  I noticed a huge difference straight away and I can really create the appearance of more defined cheekbones, which I love! This brush has a short handle which means it is really convenient to use when you're on the go.  The bristles are soft to the touch but they have exactly the right amount of firmness to use in the hollows of the cheeks.  I never used to think that brushes made that much of a difference to my makeup but this is a fantastic example of why it's important to use the right tools.  

Jem!

As promised, here's a post to show you some pics from the 80's themed party on Saturday.  I went as Jem... 

Chris went as Bananaman!...my hero!?

Patricia, my good friend and maid of honour at my wedding, went as smurfette...

There was 80's style sweets/candy like Wham bars and flying saucers and we played Twister, did a bit of breakdancing, and tried to limbo...

Unfortunately I was crap at the limbo and I ended up falling over in a heap!...that could have been due to copious amounts of wine though! Glad no one got a pic of that! There was also a wall of shame where everyone had to guess eachothers child photos from the 80's! So funny! Some people haven't changed a bit!

It was a great night with lots of imaginative costumes like a Space Hopper, Smurfs, Top Gun, Miami Vice... The most important thing was that everyone really got into the spirit of things and didn't care about looking silly...after all that's what fancy dress is all about! 

Good Times/Bad Times

1) The No.1 spot in this week's update has to go to my wonderful dad, Dave.  He was discharged from hospital yesterday after having two stents inserted into one of the arteries in his heart.  He has been told to rest but my mum will definitely have to keep an eye on him because he finds it difficult to sit still! I'm so relieved that he's over the worst of it, I have been sick with worry over the past week.  We all feel very lucky to have him in our lives.

2) I tried to hide my secret and guilty love of trashy reality shows from Chris for a long time when we first got together.  When he spotted a Sky + series link on The Hills, he would comment "what's that doing on there???"...I would be all like "pfffft, I don't know, it must have been recorded by mistake!".  But finally I had to admit to him that although I know these shows are ridiculously staged and super cheesy...I just can't help but watch them.  It's like car crash tv and I just can't look away.  The new show on my radar is one I've heard about that starts on Sunday night called 'The Only Way is Essex' which is supposed to be like a UK version of The Hills:


By the looks of the show's trailer, I would assume that all the 'characters' in the new show will be stereotypical Essex cliches and not representative of what Essex folk are REALLY like!  BUT they need to create entertainment I guess so the fake tan, bling, drama queens and pretty boys are the order of the day.  I'm looking forward to seeing if this is going to be as annoyingly addictive as the likes of Jersey Shore and The Hills. 

Also, the new series of America's Next Top Model starts on Monday...let the makeovers, bitch fights and catwalk falls commence!

3) I am in LOVE with these sheepskin trim boots from New Look.  They will be perfect to go with skinny jeans and black leggings during the winter! I actually prefer winter fashion because there's more opportunity to layer stuff up and wear more things at once.  They're only £34.99 so I'm gonna pick me up a pair next week.  You gotta love the highstreet!

4) My fourth happy moment this week was seeing this video of Miscka the talking husky...she has a YouTube channel all of her own.  Watching this type of thing just makes me want a dog even more! I guarantee this will make you smile/laugh if you are a dog lover...

1) While everyone is out enjoying themselves tonight, I will be grouting our newly tiled kitchen floor...exciting! It took me 40 mins to do a 2ft squared area, so it could take me all night to finish it! Chris laid all the tiles a couple of days ago but he has developed a bad back (old man jokes weren't taken well) so I stupidly offered to finish the job!  I may regret that act of kindness...

2) You really know you have entered into the Autumn months when you get a horrible cold.  I woke up yesterday and it felt like I had swallowed a dozen razorblades! My throat is all swollen and is generally killing me! I am lemsipping it up at the moment in the hope that the cold will disappear before tomorrow night...the 80's themed fancy dress party! Don't worry, I will post pics of me looking silly in my Jem costume! I can't wait to let my hair down after the stressful week I've had.  We'll be playing musical jems such as the following...

Makeup Crush: Kelly Brook

As well as my new regular Style Crush of the week, I also wanted to start up a Makeup Crush post to show where I draw inspiration from.  I always find these kind of posts fun and sometimes they can encourage you to try something you wouldn't normally consider.  Over the time I have been blogging, I've started trying lots of makeup looks that I never thought would suit me...but sometimes you get a surprise and realise that it actually looks good.  I love seeing how celebs achieve their makeup looks and possibly find out what products they used.  I will try my best to find out what products were used in the looks I post but obviously it's not always possible to find out.  I personally avoid those 'promotional' pages in magazines where they only push one brand...diversity is the spice of life and I use both high end and drugstore/pharmacy products in my daily routine. 

Today's makeup crush is Kelly Brook who is sporting an almost Kim Kardashian combo of soft smokey eye and nude lip.  Now I know that not everyone is fond of the nude lip but I personally love it and I think Kelly looks amazing in this picture.  Granted there will have been some airbrushing as that's to be expected nowadays but let's just put that aside and concentrate on the makeup.

This look was created by Troy Jensen who's clients include Kim Kardashian, Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Lopez, Salma Hayek, Megan Fox and Nicole Scherzinger.  On his site he seems to punt one brand for each celeb look he does...not sure if that's to do with sponsorship or what but I'm sure there would be cheaper dupes you could use. 

In this particular look, he said he used Guerlain products so for the record, here's a rundown...

Guerlain Parure Aqua Foundation

Guerlain Glow Enhancing Perfector

Guerlain Tailor Made Bronzing Powder (Brunettes)

Guerlain Illuminating Perfecting Pressed Powder (Rose Frais)

Guerlain Mono Eyeshadows in L'Instant Nuit & L'Instant Prucieux

Guerlain Eyeliner and Eyeshadow in Smokey Metal

Guerlain Loose Powder in Noir

Guerlain Eyebrow Pencil in Brun

Guerlain Eye Pencil in Khol Me Black

Guerlain Two Brush Mascara in Noir 2 Noir

Sephora Collection Lashes

Guerlain Jewel Lipstick Compact in Gardenia

Guerlain Moisturising Sun Shimmer Gloss in Sable

Take that with a pinch of salt if you will because I'm never that convinced when makeup artists claim to use products all from the same brand.  But if there's something you see in the pic that you like, then maybe it will give you an idea of what to look at next time you pass the Guerlain counter.

I reckon you could use the Sleek Smokey Eye Palette to create the look above.  Urban Decay's 24/7 pencil in Zero would be great as soft definition for the eyes, with Bobbi Brown Longwear Gel Eyeliner in Black close to the lashes.  You could use one of the brown toned Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadows as a base to stop the eyes from looking too dark.  For the flawless skin, I think my current foundation would be perfect (Estee Lauder Double Wear).  He hasn't used any blush on this look, he just used a quad bronzer, utilising the darker shades as contour shades.  Any highlighter such as the one you get in Sleek's Contour palette would suffice, or Dior's Shimmer Powder in Amber Diamond would look amazing.  I think my favourite nude lipstick Estee Lauder Pure Colour lipstick in Vanilla Truffle would be perfect for this look with some Mac Cremesheen in Boy Bait on top.

This may not be everyone's cup of tea but I think Kelly looks stunning in this picture.  She normally rocks a retro red lip when she does red carpet appearances and that looks amazing on her too.  There's something very sultry and sexy about a subtely smokey eye and the secret is all in the blending to make sure there aren't any harsh lines.  Often you will find that layering the colours is the key to creating a really blended, effective eye.

On another note, how AMAZING was Natalie Imbruglia's makeup on the 'judge's house' episodes of the X Factor at the weekend?! I tried to find pictures of that look but they were all too blurry.  I heart that makeup though! She looked incredible!

Who is your makeup crush at the moment?

Rise Fashion

I was flicking through the latest copy of Look magazine and I noticed a new clothes brand/website called Rise. 

I have never heard of or seen this brand before so I was intrigued to see what they had to offer.  Beverly Knight is the face of the brand and apparently they supplied many high street stores until they decided to start up a brand all of their own.  Alot of the dresses look very similar to those you would find in Monsoon, French Connection, Oasis and Warehouse BUT with more affordable price tags. 

The sizes range from 8-16 and the good news is that they ship worldwide.  There's also an Outlet Store on the website where alot of the stock is sold at a reduced price.

They have alot of lovely dresses however they really need to expand their range of tops, skirts, accessories lines etc.  Most of the styles are right up my street...embellished and glam! These are a few of my favourite items on the website...

Ursula Grey Dress Price £35

I will definitely be picking up a couple of items from this site soon and I will do a post on that to let you know what the quality/service is like.

Have you bought anything from this website? What were your thoughts?

I just thought I would also give you a quick update on what's happening with my dad.  Me, my mum and my older brother were all at the hospital yesterday while dad got the stent procedure done.  They found out that the artery at the back of his heart was completely blocked so they had to clear that and insert two stents.  It all went really well and dad was fine when he got out.  They said that if all is fine today then they will let him go home.  I know he can't wait to get out of there and experience some home comforts again.  I am feeling a bit exhausted today to be honest, I think all the stress just caught up with me in one go.  I was on autopilot before but now I feel a bit rundown.  Nothing some rest and relaxation won't fix though! Thanks again for all your good wishes over the past couple of days.

I Am Gobsmacked...

I was catching up on my blog reading list tonight and after I read this post by Nicolavc86, I was completely gobsmacked to learn that there are forums dedicated to trashing gurus.  I had no idea such things existed! I am not going to post links to these sites because they don't deserve any more attention, but I am aware that this post is highlighting the fact that they are there BUT I felt so strongly about it that I just wanted to vent on here.

First of all, after everything that has happened with my dad this week, after realising how short life really is, I just can't get my head around the fact that there are so many people out there on the internet who waste their lives spewing venimous, absurd and slanderous accusations, commenting on the physical appearance of the gurus in an extremely personal and spiteful way and generally launching a full scale character assasination on their chosen hate victim. I actually became quite upset reading some of the comments and I closed the window down after reading a handful.

I became so upset because it's hard to fathom that there are people out there with such hate inside them, such bitterness and the audacity to post such awful thing about someone they have never met before. I mean, just because these gurus are bloggers and youtubers and give us an insight into their lives DOES NOT mean that it's ok to tear them to pieces. I'm all for free speech but there's a big difference between giving an opinion and picking someone apart unnecessarily. I've always been of the opinion that if you don't have anything nice to say, keep your mouth shut and if they don't like someone's YouTube videos or blog, then they can always unsubscribe! No one is forcing them to read or watch this stuff! That's what really gets me.

With that in mind, I can only come to one conclusion...that these people relish ripping people to shreds, in the vain attempt to "bring them down a notch or two". The only person they have brought down is themselves, because any decent person reading those forums would be as appalled as I was. These people take pleasure in critisising gurus who, on the whole, are doing what they do to help and advise people.  If you think someone is annoying, has no style or rubbish hair...fine, but keep it to yourself.  Why would you want to set out to intentionally hurt someone's feelings? You don't know what might be going on in their lives, they may have stress to deal with and you may be contributing to that....that's not big and it's not clever.

I can tell you something, if these people said the things they have to a REAL person in the street, they all would have been lamped by now! No one would stand for that kind of behaviour in the real world and that's why the majority of these people hide behind anonymous profiles, because they know what they are doing is wrong, it's not ok, it's not justified and they are scared of the backlash they may create if people knew who they really were.  Their inboxes would be full to the brim with protests and angry emails.  Hate breeds hate and that's a sad fact of life.  But these people should remember this famous quote about jealousy..."If malice or envy were tangible and had a shape, it would be the shape of a boomerang".

I am so sick and tired of seeing comments like "who does she think she is?"...."her face is lop-sided"..."she needs to get a better camera".  Well...if they think they are so perfect then why don't they start up their own channel? I'll tell you why...because not many people would follow a blog or channel that continuously trashes other people and encourages hate towards other human beings.  Who wants that kind of negativity in their lives? I have always believed that you get back what you give out.  If you are a happy and positive person, you will generally get that back.  If you are a jealous and hateful person, then you will wither inside and be a very lonely person. 

You're not going to like EVERY guru on here or YouTube but keep in mind that they are human beings too and they have feelings.  So people should think twice before they post a negative comment because their words could make a bad day worse for that person.

What I'm really trying to say is that I wish those people would just grow up, get a life and stop being so petty. 

Rant over.