Tuesday 30 March 2010

15. Fake It

Hmm, I found myself going shopping again. God knows what for, I seem to make an excuse to go shopping out of anything! This was an important shop though because I'd run out of false tan for my face. This is enough to stop traffic in my world.

My tan of choice? Clarins Intense Bronze Self Tanning Tint which I've been using since it came out a few years ago. It costs around £16 and mine has lasted 8 months using it every other day. But bad news.....Clarins are discontinuing this product! I'm so annoyed so I bought two to last me :( Apparently they're bringing out a mousse instead in April so I'll have to see if that compares. Humph.


Applied with cotton wool, the tan is a dark liquid so you can see exactly where it's going which means no streaks or dodgy white bits you've missed. It soaks into my skin quite quickly so I don't need to worry about tanning my pillow too! And it doesn't have the usual biscuity false tan smell. The colour is fairly dark so I wouldn't advise fair skinned ladies to try this (Clarins Liquid Bronze would be better) but it doesn't clog your pores or get caught up in your hairline.

I couldn't recommend this enough and stocks are depleting! I use Fake Bake on my body (the best body tanner IMHO) which I used to use on my face but it would give me false tan blackheads (eugh) and it felt so greasy and sticky that I would never do that again. And as the weather is getting a bit more Spring like, there's no excuse not to start whipping out the false tan (I'm such a hypocrite, I use false tan all year round!).

Do you have any great facial tanners that I can try when I've run out?

Naomi
xx

Saturday 27 March 2010

14. New York Haul

I arrived back from New York on Tuesday morning and have spent the rest of the week trying to sleep as much as possible! A combination of jetlag and non-stop shopping and walking around NYC has left me exhausted. I need a chilled out holiday now to get over this one!

NYC really is mad. It's so busy and noisy and everyone is always in a rush but it has some amazing shops and department stores. What I like is that you always get a paper bag instead of a crappy plastic one when you buy something. I'm funny about that.

We stayed in a hotel just off Madison Avenue called The Surrey. The decor is a mix of art-deco, modern and antique which works brilliantly. Here are a couple of photos of the room.


So, what did I buy? Well, I tried to keep my purse as well hidden as possible so I couldn't spend too much but I did anyway, so here are my goodies.

I knew I was going to buy MAC Viva Glam Gaga lipstick which is gorgeous and so much cheaper than over here!


I know a lot of people have already reviewed this but it really is to die for. The vanilla smell is gorgeous (I love that MAC lipsticks have a yummy scent), the texture is smooth and moisturising and you can wear this with or without a lipgloss. The colour is buildable too so you can have a sheer pink with one sweep or a more intense Barbie pink with a second.


I also purchased two MAC make-up brushes; the 129 and the 239.



The 129 is great for applying blush to the cheeks and has super soft bristles. The 239 is a great eyeshadow brush and what I've noticed about MAC brushes is that you hardly need any product on the brush. I've realised how crap my old brushes really are since using a couple of MAC ones.

Jeans are a lot cheaper in the US so I took advantage of this and bought a pair of skinny jeans called "Senora" from Tommy Hilfiger for $70 (about £49) and some skinny bootleg jeans from Levis for $40 (about £27). The Levis fit so perfectly. They're the best fitting jeans I've ever had and they're really comfy.


Check out these sexy little cowboys from Steve Madden.


These were $200 reduced to $79.99 and then an additional 50% off so these only cost $39.99 (about £28.50). Amazing. And they're real leather and very well made. I love the stud detailing. I've been wearing them with skinny jeans and a long cardi.

I was after a new perfume and stupidly walked into Saks on 5th Avenue. The store is beautiful and looks sumptious and inviting but the people who work there are so pushy. Before you know it, you've handed your credit card over and you have no idea how much you've just spent until you walk out and look at your receipt! You've been warned. Anyway, I bought this very cute exclusive perfume from Guerlain called La Petite Robe Noire which translates to Little Black Dress.


The bottle is adorable and the scent is described as romantic, fruity, floral and sexy - well hello! The scent is really unique which I find appealing as I don't like smelling like everyone else.

The piece de resistance is my new bag. A bag was one of the main objectives of my trip so after visiting Macys, Barneys and Saks, I finally found what I was looking for in Bloomingdales. That place is like a maze. Introducing the Aidan bag by Marc Jacobs. (Please excuse the messy unmade bed!)



I'm in love with a bag. The leather is soft and the cream colour means this will take me right through the year. The inside looks pretty cool too and there's bags of room (haha).

Here's a silly photo of me surrounded by bags (and in my PJs!).


So there are my purchases after a successful trip. NYC was amazing but I'm not in a rush to go back just yet as there are others places I'd like to visit too. I also need some time to recover from the trip and so does my bank account!

Naomi
xx

Thursday 18 March 2010

13. The Big Apple

I'm off to New York for a few days to try and spend as much money as possible and be a complete tourist so I won't be posting until I get back. I'm planning on buying lots of make-up and possibly a handbag so I'll update next week with my purchases!

Naomi
xx

Sunday 14 March 2010

12. A Bit Of Bling

My mum buys most of her wardrobe from a gorgeous boutique shop. The shop's aim is to "...bridge the price gap between the designer independent boutiques and the High Street multiples, whilst offering a very high level of personal service...". The shop is laid out beautifully; not only by brand but by colours too so it looks incredibly appealing when you walk in. They like to encourage customers to mix the ranges to create an individual look.

At the beginning of each season, they hold a fashion show in the shop. It's something really lovely and girly for my mum and I to go to and a great chance to look at all the new clothing for the upcoming season. We went to the Spring 10 show on Wednesday evening.

I've bought a few pieces from there before but I was particularly interested in the jewellery this time. I wish I had more of an eye for accessorising but I'm really quite rubbish and never know what to buy so I don't end up buying anything! They have a great range from delicate silver pieces with diamantes and pearls to chunky wooden bangles and statement necklaces.

I went a bit bling and bought this beautiful heart necklace with diamante detailing and a pair of Swarovski crystal earrings.



The necklace can be worn sparkly side round or plain side round but I suspect I'll be keeping it on the bling side. The earrings are seriously WAG-tastic but I love a bit of that sometimes!

Where are your favourite places to buy costume jewellery? Do you have any tips on how to get into accessorising with jewellery more?

Naomi
xx

Friday 12 March 2010

11. Trashy TV

Does anyone else love trashy TV? I'm thinking Katie Price, Snog, Marry, Avoid? and Extreme Makeover to name a few. Some evenings, there's nothing I enjoy more than sitting down with a suitably sugary snack (Custard Creams being my number one choice, closely followed by Galaxy chocolate but it must be smooth oh or Wine Gums) and watching back to back trash that I've Sky-Plussed.

What do I learn from these programmes? Well, not a lot really but after a long day at work, I think a girl needs to switch off and enjoy some easy entertainment.

One of my favourite trashy programmes is Hotter Than My Daughter on BBC Three hosted by ex Atomic Kitten, Liz McClarnon. The gist of the programme is that the mother, who has usually had her daughter quite young, dresses way too young for her age and will often go on nights out with her daughter and attracts more attention but not in a good way. It's hilarious but of course the daughter hates her mother's "fashion sense" and finds it all incredibly embarassing. One mother was wearing an outfit which wouldn't have looked out of place at Spearmint Rhino. The boob and leg rule goes out the window in this programme!

What are your favourite trashy programmes? I'm always looking to add more to my Sky Plus list!

Naomi
xx

Monday 8 March 2010

10. New Shoes?

I'm a little bit addicted to browsing the Kurt Geiger website (http://www.kurtgeiger.com - no, don't click on it!!!) at the moment. For my birthday, which was in January, I chose a very weather appropriate (not) pair of wedges from Carvela.

I absolutely love them and I can't wait until the weather warms up a bit so I can step out in these babies.

I can't resist a bargain so I often find a pair of Kurt Geigers/Carvelas I love and then wait for them to go into the sale. That way, I end up with a £150 ish pair of shoes at a fraction of the price and that's how I justify buying more shoes!

I decided I wanted a pair of shoe boots about 3 weeks ago when all the Autumn/Winter shoes and boots had been cleared from their shelves ready for Spring/Summer footware. Silly me. So off I went to the Kurt Geiger website where I found a pair of Solea shoe boots which were reduced from £200 to £69. How could I resist?

Is it possible to be in love with a pair of shoes? Oh yes. These beauties are so comfy despite their towering heels. I wore them on Saturday with a pair of black skinny jeans and they're shown here with black tights.

Do you have a secret shoe obsession or an amazing shoe website you can't stop browsing (and buying from)?

Naomi
xx

9. Clothes Customisation

Take one standard blazer, some pretty buttons, needle and thread et voila, a brand new look.

Here's a lovely dusty pink blazer which I purchased from New Look for £25, complete with boring brown buttons.

I love the colour and the style but the original buttons looked a little cheap and tacky. So I popped over to House of Fraser and purchased some pretty flowery style gold buttons which I thought were cute. I bought 2 smalls buttons and 1 large button (plus a spare) which cost about £3 in total.

I whipped out a needle and thread and set to work removing the old buttons and sewing on the spangly new ones. And here is the final result.

I think the gold buttons look gorgeous against the pink and they've given this otherwise slightly ordinary blazer a unique twist. This is the first time I've done something like this and now I want to get needle happy with my whole wardrobe!

So, do you have any items you've customised? Do you have any tips or ideas for other sorts of customising other than changing buttons?!

Naomi
xx

Thursday 4 March 2010

8. Blog Posts

I'm confused. My blog has randomly deleted all my blog posts! I just wanted to make it clear that I haven't gone mad with a blog cleanse and thank you to everyone who had left a comment!

Naomi
xx

Monday 1 March 2010

7. My Hair Has It's Mojo Back

I have fine hair so I'm always lusting after thicker and fuller hair. I use American Dream clip in extensions which do help to a degree but I always want bigger hair! I've tried a lot of products that are meant to give you volume including Bed Head Superstar (I'm not impressed with this. The product smells gorgeous but does nothing for my hair) but I've never found one "the one" (or "ones"). Until now.......

Introducing Mr John Frieda and and the "Luxurious Volume" range, well a small part of a range.


I've always thought that volumising shampoos were a con. How can a shampoo add bounce and volume when you wash it out? Well, I've been proven wrong with John Frieda's Luxurious Volume Thickening Shampoo. You hardly need to use any of this shampoo as it lathers up beautifully.

After two washes, I slaver on John Frieda's Luxurious Volume Thickening Conditioner from mid lengths to the ends and leave for a couple of minutes to work it's magic. What I like about John Freida's conditioners is that they actually work. They manage to untangle my hair whilst leave my locks feeling super silky. This conditioner is no exception.

I comb through my hair and then use around 6 sprays of John Frieda's Luxurious Thickening Blow Dry Lotion at the roots before drying with the hairdryer.

When I first used the products last week, I noticed how much fuller and thicker my hair was. In the words of Cheryl, my hair had it's mojo back! I also noticed that my hair looked and felt incredibly clean and if anything, my highlights looked blonder. I was able to acheive the volume I'd desired for so long.

I'm definitely sold with this range of volumising products and I take back everything I thought about volumising shampoos being a waste of money. This one certainly isn't and Boots are running a 3 for 2 on all John Frieda products at the moment (well they have been for the past week) so I'm stocking up!

Do you have any volumising wonders that you can't live without?

Naomi
xx