My Hen Weekend

OMG...what an amazing, crazy, fun, silly weekend I had in Edinburgh with all my lovely friends and my mum!Unfortunately Chris' mum couldn't make it over from Ireland because there was a death in the family. I was really gutted about that because I love Chris' mum, Madeleine, but we toasted her many times over the course of the weekend.  I wanted to post some pics to give you an insight into what we got up to, but obviously I didn't want to put any pics up of all my friends as they might not want them to be posted online! So, I stuck to pics of me, my mum and random people we met along the way.  These are by no means very flattering as I'm generally pulling stupid faces but hey, a hen weekend is no place to be taking yourself too seriously!

First off, I will let you know the itinerary for the weekend:

Friday: Lots of Champagne, Comedy Club, Bar, GHQ

Saturday: Exploring Edinburgh, Group Makeup consultation with MUA, Meal at an Italian restaurant, Party bus around the city

Sunday: Hangovers

The Highlight Comedy Club - this place was 90% stag parties so when we walked in, we got a standing applause from the first table of guys! That was fantastic because we were all tiddly on champagne and felt like we were the bee's knees! I just remember thinking "don't fall over laura, don't fall over!" The first comedian wasn't great but the next two made up for it.  One of them had a guitar and since we were sitting right in front of the stage, he took it upon himself to pick on me and my friend, Nassim.  He ind of reminded me of Jack Black, not by the way he looked but just his style of comedy.  We both had embarassing songs made up about us, complete with suggestive innuendo...I think my face was bright red at that point!ha ha.

GHQ - We headed to a bar where the girls surprised me with a mystery cocktail that tasted a bit dodgy...they eventually told me it was a rather interesting mix of Vodka, Whisky, Peach Schnapps, Grenadine and Lemonade.  Then we headed to GHQ, which stands for Gay Head Quarters and we had such a great laugh there.  The music was brilliant, I loved the style of the club and we danced until our feet were red and swollen!

Group Makeup Consultation - I arrived back from having a wander around Edinburgh to find that one of the apartments we were staying in had been set up for a consultation with Judith Campbell of Feel Brand New and she does:

• Colour Consultations
• Style Consultations 
• Seasonal Fashion Update
• Wardrobe Weeding
• Personal Shopping

I thought Judith was really fantastic at going through all the basics when it comes to makeup.  She said she fet a bit nervous as the girls had all told her about my blog but I reassured her that I'm by no means an expert! There are always things you can learn from other people and I was excited to be able to play with makeup for the afternoon! Judith is such a lovely, warm person and she made the whole afternoon really enjoyable.  All the girls enjoyed looking through all the makeup and trying different looks.

Meal - During the meal, I was given a pink sash with flashing lights on it saying 'Bride To Be', a flashing L plate, a necklace with the cutest picture of Chris, aged 10, dressed as Superman and a tiara/veil.  I was quite happy to wear all of that stuff since I got to wear my own clothes underneath.  The girls also presented me with a Photobox album called 'Guide To The Bride'.  This was a collection of photos of me growing up, complete with witty captions, then pics of Chris growing up, and then finally pictures of us as a couple.  It actually brought me to tears as I turned each page and I thought it was such an amazing, fun and imaginative gift that we can keep forever and show our kids in the future.  Even though some of the pics of me as a teenager were soooo embarassing! Cringe! That wasn't all though, they also conducted a 'Mr & Mrs' quiz where I had to answer questions about Chris (his first pet's name, his dream car, what he would have for his last meal etc) and I'm proud to say that I got almost all of them right.  Everyone was surprised that I knew so much about Chris and I guess that maybe shows that we spend WAY too much time together!ha ha.

Party bus - This was hands down the best part about the whole weekend and all the girls agreed.  Basically, it's just a double decker bus that plays very loud party music, drives you to each bar and there are other stag and hen parties on there.  As you can see from the pics, we were on the bottom floor of the bus with a stag party consisting of PE teachers from Glasgow! They were all dressed as superheroes and luckily for us they were genuinely nice guys who were fun but never crossed the line with us.  You are allowed to drink on the bus which made things a bit messy (sorry about the diet coke spillage mum!) and as it was so busy, it's not easy to hold a drink, dance and hold on to the safety bar in the aisle at the same time but somehow we managed it!  I'm not sure about the safety aspect of all of that but hey, we survived!  The other good thing about this was that we didn't have to walk anywhere in our skyscraper heels.  We ended up at a club at the end of the night and danced until we couldn't stand anymore!

I really couldn't have wished for a better weekend for my hen party.  It was definitely my wonderful friends and my mum that made it so special for me.  We laughed so much and I know we will remember that weekend forever.

I still have my hen night in Aberdeen in July so I'm really looking forward to that too!

danny kass -- pirate snowboarder....

DANNY KASS .... pro snowboarder, style master & all round dude.....
check out his new 'pirate' pro model board ... all ovr it with his designs & graphics !

Pending Hen Weekend,Nars and Philosophy

Hello ladies! This will be my last post until Monday as I am heading off to Edinburgh tomorrow to embark on my hen weekend.  I have a loose itinerary of where I need to be and what time but I have no idea what the girls have planned for me! I'm really looking forward to having a proper girly weekend with all my fantastic friends.  I am very lucky to have a lovely group of pals to spend my time with. 

No doubt there will be cocktails galore...bring it on! I really want to have a Mai Tai (or three) because I first tried them when I was on holiday in Barcelona and they are soooo yummy.  They are really refreshing!  Basically, a Mai Tai contains the following:

White Rum

Dark Rum

Amaretto De Saronno

Apricot Brandy

Orange Curacao

Lime Juice

Pineapple Juice

Ok, so it doesn't sound yummy when you write a list of the ingredients but believe me, they're lush! That reminds me, I better take some Ibuprofen with me! I was in Boots today stocking up on Scholl Party Feet and blister plasters for my skyscraper heels! (I'm still on the look out for that product in stick form that you can rub on your feet to prevent friction...).  I will give you guys all the goss from the hen weekend when I return...I'm sure I will have many a story to tell!

On another note, I finally got my hands on Nars blush in Silvana and Nars Sweet Revenge Lipgloss, which is a new shade.  Silvana is a terracotta with soft gold shimmer and it would make a perfect contour shade for when I'm paler and a great blusher for when I'm a bit more tanned for a really sunkissed look.  The shimmer is so subtle as you can see from the pan and swatch.  Sometimes Nars blushes can be a hit or a miss, but this one is smooth, extremely blendable and really pretty once applied.

Sweet Revenge lipgloss is described as a sheer pink grapefruit, however I would say it's slightly darker than you would imagine.  It's more of a peach with slight shimmer in my opinion.  It will look really good with a golden eye look and lashings of bronzer.  I've heard about Nars lipglosses developing a strange smell after a few months but I must say that I haven't noticed that with my Turkish Delight one as yet.  It's a shame because there are so many pretty shades.  I use so much lipgloss that I will probably use it up before it gets to that stage anyway.  I love the look of the Striptease shade which is described as a candlelit nude...sounds like my kinda gloss!  I do think these glosses are a bit overpriced given that alot of the shades are dupe-able. 

I also wanted to share with you an AMAZING hot salt scrub from Philosophy called Pure Grace.  I like my scrubs to come in copious amounts because I use so much of it on my body.  This is one heavy duty scrub and it made mincemeat of the fake tan remnants I had on my elbows (I was having a lazy moment and didn't apply moisturiser before tanning...cardinal rule broken!tut tut!).  Usually nothing would remove it and I would have to wait a few days for it to subside.  But this scrub removed all trace of it in one go although I would only use it once a week as it's too much to use daily.  I just scooped up a little scrub whilst wearing my exfoliating gloves and quickly went over my body in circular motions in the shower.  This scrub is oil-free, glycerin based, with a very light clean fragrance and leaves my skin super duper smooth and soft, without any oily residue left behind.  I like this so much because it's amazingly effective and it's great to use before fake tan.  Oil based scrubs leave a film of oil on your skin afterwards which means that it's harder for the fake tan to adhere to the skin evenly, so you end up with patchiness and streaks.  This stuff is definitely the best scrub I have used in preparation for self tanning.  Thumbs up!

On a completely different note, I caught on to Tanya Burr's vids on Youtube (the girlfriend of Pixiwoo Sam and Nic's younger brother).  I'm sure everyone else is already a subscriber and I'm just the last to know!  But in case you don't know...she is a freelance makeup artist in her own right and up until a couple of days ago, I had only ever seen her being used as a model for Sam or Nic to demonstrate makeup looks.  I have really been getting into her videos...I don't know about you but when I find YT channels I like, I tend to watch about 10 vids in one go, I'm excited to go through them all.  This is one of my favourites of hers:

I also just subscribed to her other channel which is a mixture of Vlogs and Hauls.  I always like to get to know the people behind the YT channel and I was watching a vid of Tanya and her boyfriend, Jim, where he does her makeup for her at the request of lots of subscribers.  Can you imagine your bloke doing your makeup???ha ha.  It's really funny, incredibly cute and they just come across as a really sweet couple who like to take the mick out of eachother:

The bit that made me laugh the most is how he rubs the primer into her face quite roughly and also the poking of the eyes.ha ha.  Let's be honest, more often than not, our other halves are usually so clueless about what it takes to apply makeup and the fact that there is actually skill involved! I know guys always say they prefer girls without makeup but I seriously think that they often aren't sure what is and isn't makeup! Chris looks at pics of Scarlett Johansson or Cheryl Cole and he's like "they look so much nicer au naturel"...I have to interrupt him and politely point out that their 'au naturel' look is all skillfully applied makeup!ha ha.  Boys...

Right, that's me off for now...time to plan my outfits for the weekend! Yahooooooo!

Ramble

Yes it's another ramble from yours truly...I have lots of random thoughts so often it's just good to have a ramble post and get them all out at once!

1) First of, I just want to draw your attention to a blog which I have really been enjoying.  This girl is laugh-your-ass-off funny, I love her stories, her posts about her life and I am convinced that we were friends in a former life (we even agreed to Blogger-stalk eachother!).  Check out her blog But Enough About You.  She is so lovely, you can't help but warm to her!

2) I was reading a section on MSN yesterday that really made me laugh, it was called Top Ten Lies Women Tell Men.  They included:

• "It wasn't that expensive"
• "Nothing's wrong, I'm fine"
• "I don't know where it is, I haven't touched it"
• "It was on sale"
• "Oh, I've had this for ages"
• "I didn't have that much to drink"

I have definitely uttered these words MANY times to Chris in the past!  God knows how many times I have thrown shopping bags into the wardrobe when he gets home...although I'm never sure why because I always buy clothes with my own money.  I guess I just don't want to justify why I bought yet another pair of shoes when I have 5 unworn pairs in my wardrobe! And I think we have all told a guy nothing is wrong when there is quite obviously something wrong.  We always want them to figure it out for themselves though!ha ha.

3) I remember when I first started watching Kandee The Makeup Artist and I didn't know that much about who she was and her history.  Then I watched this video and it actually brought me to tears! If you havent already watched this and you like Kandee, then give this a watch.  I know that some people may find her cheesy or too sugary but I really do think she is a lovely person.  God knows how she ended up so positive and happy after everything she has been through...


4) I have just been reading up on what vaccinations I need to get before going on honeymoon to Malaysia and it's SCARY.  Apparently I will have to get injections for Hepatitis A, Typhoid, Japanese encephalitis, Hepatitis B, Rabies and Measles/Mumps/Rubella.  I'm not terrified of needles but that's a heck-of-a-lotta injections!

5) Me and Chris were talking about inspirational/poignant songs the other day and whenever I get onto that subject, I always think of The Verve 'Bittersweet Symphony' because I heard it one day when I was alot younger and in a very bad relationship.  I was in so deep that I felt hopeless.  I won't go into it too much as it's hard to talk about but when I heard this song one day, I had an epiphany and I suddenly decided to do everything I could to save myself.  I really do believe that music can be a powerful thing.  What songs do you find inspirational?

6) Blog Sale and Ebay items - My blogs sale is still on so please let me know if there's anything you want...I will close it on Thursday at 12pm.  The Ebay items I mentioned in my last post are closing at around 3pm today.

7) I'm really getting into this Green Tea thing, although I prefer the one with Lemon.  I have been drinking two cups a day for a few days now and I feel brilliant! My skin looks so radiant and I'm guessing that's because of the Green Tea's super anti-oxidants! I like to add a little bit of honey to mine just to make it a little easier to drink.  Even Chris has started drinking it too!

Our sunny weekend, some reviews and raves

Hello my lovelies! I hope you all had a fantastic weekend, the weather was amazing (we had it sunny and 25oC!) so me and Chris decided to go on a little road trip to enjoy the weather on Findhorn beach and walking around the grounds of Fyvie castle! We had a really lovely, romantic day together and I have some pics of what we got up to (nothing dirty though!you lot...you have to bring everything into the gutter...)

And now on to the reviews which are for Givenchy Photo Perfexion Foundation, Givenchy Phenomen'eyes Mascara and Givenchy Rouge Interdit Shine Lipstick in Sweet Shine (no.1).  First up is the foundation...

I hadn't heard much about this foundation on other blogs but the name always enticed me...anything that boasts 'perfecting', 'flawless' or 'radiance enhancing' properties always catches my attention.  This foundation is designed to provide 100% natural flawless fluid coverage with SPF20.  It is apparently inspired by digital imaging and is supposed to correct, conceal and smooth your skin.  The foundation description mentions 'a flowing, lighter than air texture' to create a 'healthy glow'.  I'm all for natural looking foundations that actually do the job in the coverage stakes! I would describe this foundation as medium coverage, akin to the likes of Nars Sheer Glow or YSL Teint Resist.  It evens out the skintone nicely without looking heavy or cakey.  The consistency of the foundation is very fluid and light and it doesn't takes alot of effort to blend it into the skin (I just used my fingers).  I liked the fragrance to the foundation and the packaging feels expensive (loving the holographic logo on the top of the lid!).  The foundation has a pump dispenser which reduces mess and wastage - always a bonus.  This foundation does contain SPF20 and as we all know, the higher the SPF, the more chance of a white cast effect on the face with flash photography.  The pic I took above was in daylight.  Because of this, I probably wouldn't wear this foundation if I was expecting alot of flash photography i.e. a wedding or special occasion.  Overall though, I really like the effect the foundation gives on my skin, it's a great everyday product that gives the skin a natural texture and look without skimping on the coverage power.  I found that the foundation lasted a good 8 or 9 hours without having to retouch at all. 

Next up is a product which I have definitely been dubious about for a long time.  The Givenchy Phenomen'eyes Mascara.  It's the spherical shaped wand that always made me think...how can that work effectively???On first impressions, the tube is alot smaller than your usual mascara, obviously to accomodate the wand.  I really like the chic packaging with embossed silver lid.  The wand is, well I won't beat around the bush, but it's weird when you first see it.  You have to pull quite hard to remove the wand from the tube.  The ball-shaped wand is made of flexible elastomer and it takes some getting used to! It definitely takes a few goes to master the technique of applying this mascara but once you do, you get a really nice result.  The ball really lengthens your lashes although you won't get alot of volume from this mascara.  I do, however, like to use one coat of this mascara for it's lengthening properties, whilst using a volumising mascara like Rouge Bunny Rouge's Amplitude to create the perfect lashes.  I often combine mascaras to create the look I want.  To conclude, this mascara is certainly not the best I own - that would definitely be my YSL Singulier Mascara - but Phenomen'eyes does what it says on the tin.  If you're after a great lengthing mascara, then this is a great option.  I personally need something that provides more volume as I have fine blonde lashes that needs a huge amount of ooomph. 

Last on the review list is Givenchy's Rouge Interdit Shine Lipstick in Sweet Shine which is a really pretty pink based nude shade.  First off, I absolutely looove the packaging, it's so innovative and just plain gorgeous.  I love pulling this lippy out of my bag and waving it around for people to see.ha ha.  It looks so luxurious and what girl doesn't love luxury??? This lipstick is designed to be an ultra shiny, iridescent lip product and that it is.  It's very comparable to YSL Rouge Pur Shine lipsticks in that it's a sheer wash of colour so don't expect crazy colour.  I personally prefer lipsticks like this for summer because it's a lighter ans fresher way to wear colour.  I don't want really pigmented colour on my lips in summer because that often screams that you're trying to hard.  The formula of this lipstick is very smooth, creamy and soft.  Obviously, being a sheer lip colour, it won't have amazing lasting power but to be honest, that's a pitfall of sheer lipsticks.  Personally, it doesn't bother me because I love the effect they give.  This lipstick is a perfect example of a product that creates that "my lips but better' effect.  The lipstick itself smells really nice, apparently the scent is a blend of floral and exotic notes like Rose, Jasmine and Ylang-Ylang.  It almost smells relaxing, if that makes sense??? Anyhoo, I really like this lipstick and it will be used non-stop this summer because I love me some shiny, sheer lipstick! 

I wanted to do a little section on two skincare products that have really stood out for me in the past few weeks.  One of which is YSL's Natural Action Exfoliator that is designed to be used after cleansing.  It's completely free of abrasive particles, instead using natural exfoliants like bark extract of Enantia Chlorantha, fruit sugars and ultra fine oils break down dead skin cells.  I would normally prefer skin scrubs like St Ives Apricot scrub to really give my skin a good exfoliation, but sometimes these kinds of products can be too harsh on sensitive skin and also if you have been in the sun.  This product is so much more gentle but you can really feel the difference after you have used it.  The honey-coloured gel is applied to dry skin and worked into the skin in circular motions until the gel becomes liquified, you then apply a small amount of water to turn it into an emulsion then wash off with tepid water.  My skin feels so gorgeously soft after using this product and it definitely looks more radiant.  This is a brilliant product to use if you have sensitive skin! It exfoliates whilst maintaining the natural moisture of your skin, so it never feel 'stripped' or tight.  Another skincare product I'm loving is the Avene Anti-Redness Rich Moisturising Cream.  I only use this moisturiser at night because it's a little too rich to use underneath foundation (although it does contain SPF10).  I suffer from redness in my cheeks and also around my nose, hence why I always need medium coverage foundation! This moisturiser definitely calms the redness I have and it's brilliant at smoothing any dry patches.  My skin is in fantastic condition at the moment and I think that is partly due to this product.  This product has a green tinit to it, I assume to conteract the redness.  It's rich enough to really feed your skin without blocking your pores.  Love it!

Just how cute is this Mister Mascara Travel makeup bag and Tweezers???I love the design! By far my favourite thing is the tweezers though with the little 'Mini Mai', a japanese beauty expert.  The tweezers have an ingenious suction cup that comes with them so you can stick that on your bathroom mirror! I'm always losing my tweezers so I thought this was a great idea! How cool!  I love the little lady at the head of the tweezers, they're just really kitsch and different.

The last thing I wanted to share with you guys is Jennifer Hudson's weightloss. Now, for us UK ladies, I don't really think we have seen many pics of Jennifer in magazines for quite a while, probably due to her toning down tv appearances etc because of her pregnancy. So last time I saw a pic of Jennifer Hudson, she looked like this.....

I just saw a picture of her recently and she has gone from a size 20 to a size 10! That's an amazing effort and I'm so glad to see that she hasn't lost her luscious curves (I don't like it when girls starve themselves down to nothing).  She still looks healthy which the most important thing.  I always thought she was beautiful when she was bigger and she is as beautiful now she is slimmer...check out those legs! Yowza!

What did you guys do at the weekend? Have you tried any of these Givenchy products? Any skincare products you want to recommend?

YSL, Philosophy, Green Tea & a Tag

Hello my lovelies! Zip-a-dee-doo-dah-zippety-ayyyyy, my oh my, it's a wonderful day! Oh my god, how amazing is the weather at the moment? It's so gorgeous and sunny and warm!  Long may it continue! It's the simple things in life that make me happy and nice weather is one of them.  Me and Chris are going to head up north tomorrow to Findhorn (a lovely little place with a really nice stoney beach) so we can have a romantic day out together and make the most of the sunshine.  The longer days always make me feel like I'm getting more time in a day to do everything I want to...does that make sense? I kinda feel cheated in winter and I'm sure I must suffer from that SAD thing!...doesn't everyone though!? I have that Jason Derulo song stuck in my head today (Sowlo, I'm ridin sowlo) and yes I am doing the accent thing as I sing it.  I think I'm slowly driving Chris demented because I only know some of the words so I just make the rest up!hee hee.  Brace yourselves...this is gonna be a long post!

First up, I just wanted to rave about some YSL products that I mentioned in a previous post.  All three are from the Summer 2010 Solaris collection: Bronzer in no.2, Nail polish in no.42, Rouge Pur Shine Lipstick in no.93.

The bronzer is beeyootiful! The consistency of this is divine, non-powdery and really smooth and I love the sleek packaging.  No bulky boxes here, just a lovely slimline case that will be super handy for travelling or carrying around in my bag.  The shade no.2 is the medium colour available and it's perfect for when I am more tanned as it gives a natural, non shimmery glow to my skin.  The bronzer is matte on the skin, however if you look REALLY close at the pan, you can see miniscule particles of shimmer but that doesn't show up on the skin, it just stops the colour from looking flat once applied.

The nail polish is a really pretty rich purple colour with no shimmer.  It's a really glossy formula and I only needed one coat to get an intense streak free finish.  I love the fact that YSL nail polishes always have a lid that lifts off to reveal a more practical lid to the polish.  It's alot easier to open when you can actually grip onto the lid.

The lipstick is absolutely perfect for summer because it's a sheer formula that looks more like a light gloss.  It's so lightweight, moisturising and the colour is really flattering and pretty.  It's a soft pale pink with an ever so slight tinge of lilac (but not like those weird coloured lipsticks that make you look dead).  This lippy is the kind that you can just apply without a mirror and not have to worry about having to be precise.  I am in love with the packaging, it's something about the baby pink colour with the gold YSL case that does it for me! 

One smell I love in summer is coconut and I have been using two products with the most amazing scent...Philosophy's Coconut Frosting Body Butter and Shower Gel.  As you can see...Munkay loves it too (that may be lost on non-UK followers...I had to prize them from his dirty little mitts after these photographs were taken!).  I find myself having showers JUST so I can use the gel! Saddo much? It has such a heavenly scent though, I love it...it smells good enough to eat! I have used the shower gel (which can also be used as a shampoo or bubble bath) about 6 or 7 times already but you only need the tiniest amount to create a really rich luxurious lather.  It leaves the most beautiful scent of coconut on my skin that lasts all day and Chris had commented on how good it smelt! 

The body butter is super moisturising and I like to apply it just before bed so I wake up with really soft, smooth skin.  The Philosophy packaging has been copied by quite a few brands and I can see why.  I really like the recipes they print on the front, it's a really fun idea that really does make you feel like you are bathing in Coconut Frosting!

I looked around for some authentic Japanese Green Tea but it ain't easy to find in Aberdeen so in the meantime, I found the purest, most potent one available...Clipper Organic Green Tea.  I can't say I was really looking forward to my first cup after it had been likened to pond water but you know what, it ain't all that bad.  It doesn't taste amazing but it's certainly drinkable.  It has an earthy taste to it, almost like normal black tea.  I can put up with the weird taste though because I know how many amazing benefits this has with regards to my general health.  It may not taste great but it's for the greater good!

Now for some tags! The first one is one that I actually wasn't tagged in but I thought it might be fun to do just to let everyone in on some random facts about me.  I read it on Jo's blog, But Enough About Me so if you haven't already checked hers out, please do...she is one funny girl!  Due to our mutual love for eachothers blogs, we have agreed to stalk eachother on blogger!

The first rule is to post the 8th picture from the 8th folder in your documents:

This pic was taken out our engagement party/bbq at my parent's house in August 2009.  It was before I lost alot of the extra weight (for reference, I was a size 16 there and I'm now a size 12 but I still maintain that 70% of my weight is boob!That's still the case!) My mum had ordered a huge cake from Costco for us and we all know how delish those cakes are! We were feasting on left over cake for the next week! I love my family so much and they made this such a special day for me and Chris.  All our friends were there and it was a fantastic chilled out day.  Good memories.

And now for the questions for the tag...

1. What shoe size are you?

I am a size 7 and I've always hated having big feet, it means that certain flat shoes make me look like a clown! No ballet pumps for me unfortunately :(

2. Where do you work?

I can't divulge too much on this at the moment as there are changes afoot but I will update on this soon :)

3. Favourite piece of clothing you own?

It has to be my Monsoon Originals Hot Pink minidress pictured here underneath the black sequin blazer, it has a heavily beaded neckline and also under the bust.  I always get compliments on it:

4. Your favourite blog?

Ahhh I can't name just one because there are so many great blogs out there, although my favourite ones are But Enough About You, Bubble dreams...,  Alpha Blonde, The Gloss Goss and Bubblegarm.  I read every single post these girls do and if you aren't already following them, you should be!

5. Do you have any pets?

Oooooh yesh! His name is Wolverine, he's a long haired Syrian hamster and he is a Legend! The coolest hamster that ever walked the face of the earth!Word.

My mum and dad have two Golden Retrievers called Hamish and Findlay but I think of them as mine as well since I still lived at home when my folks got them 5 years ago.  I adore them and every time I go home, which is pretty much every weekend, I just want to take them away with me! I miss having dogs around the place.  Once me and Chris move to somewhere with a garden, we are definitely getting two dogs! (note- Findlay is trying to do his "I'm not aware of the camera so I'm looking upwards" pose):

6. How many siblings do you have?
I have one brother, Gary.  He is going to be 30 in July...and yes I have been winding him up no end.  It's too easy!

7. If you could live anywhere, where would it be?
First I was going to say somewhere exotic but whenever I'm away, I always miss the UK (crazy but true!) so I think I would be happiest somewhere in Cornwall.  I love the vibe there and the lifestyle...beach, great weather, great nightlife, surfing, beach parties, amazing scenery and wildlife.  It pretty much has everything, I used to visit there alot when I was a kid and I always loved it so much.

8. What were you doing before this?

Cooking up some of my special Chilli Con Carne for dinner tonight...I like to cook it in advance to let the flavours develop a bit!

9. Your favourite food?

I tend to like spicy foods, the kind you find in indian, mexican and thai cooking.  I do love a big fat fillet steak as well though with Dauphanoise potatoes..mmmmmmmm.  Healthy!  To be perfectly honest I love my food and I really enjoy trying new recipes, I'm not the kinda girl who chooses a salad on a date!ha ha.

10. Do you have a middle name?

Yes, it's Jayne.  Although I never really like it because when you team it with my forename, it always makes me sound like one of the Waltons..."good night Laura-Jayne". 

11. Your favourite websites?

Blogger (obviously!), Ebay, Temptalia, Dune, Monsoon, Makeup Provisions, You Tube, my wedding website.

12. Who do you tag?

Alpha Blonde

The Yummy Mummy's Beauty Blog

Missmascara1983

Lastly, I just wanted to share a song I'm loving at the moment...Vampire Weekend - Giving Up The Gun (and no, not just because the gorgeous Jake Gyllenhaal is in the vid!..ok, maybe that's part of the reason! I even fancy him in 70's tennis gear...Sigh...)...

As you can probably tell by now, I have VERY eclectic music taste...from indie to rock to R'n'B to dance.  Variety is the spice of life afterall!

This is the song that has me shakin my thang around the kitchen whilst making dinner, it makes me feel summery!...

Have a fandabbydosey weekend girlies! Enjoy the sunshiiiine (Oasis stylee!)

My Favourite Lip Glosses

What's not to love about lip glosses? I always get mesmerised by the shine and shimmer of these products and I'm a total sucker for pinks, peaches and nudes, especially when they are shot with gold particles.  I like my lip glosses to be non-gritty, a nice consistency, reasonably long lasting and nicely fragranced.  All of these lip glosses live up to these specifications and I love them all.  I won't ramble on too much in this post as the pictures speak for themselves.  I hope you enjoy the post!

Sure, alot of the lip glosses I have are similar but as us girls know, each one looks slightly different on!  You will have to excuse the tatty condition of the Chanel lip gloss, but I've had it for a year or so now and since it's always rattling around in my handbag, it has taken a beating over time!  If I had to pick my top three glosses out of all the above products then it would have to be Mac Fashion Scoop, YSL Golden Gloss in no.10 and L'Occitane Rose Petale Lip Gloss.  I would highly recommend all of these!

What are your favourite lip glosses?  Do you have any recommendations based on what I already have?

Randomness

Another random post from me! I just wanted to share a few things with you guys and get your feedback because I love hearing from fellow bloggers!

1) Two women who's looks and style I would like to steal!....

I want her luscious thick hair and amazingly gorgeous face...Petra Nemcova...

I have been watching a couple of films featuring this actress lately (I Think I Love My Wife and Lakeview Terrace) and I couldn't help but notice how beautiful Kerry Washington is! When I thought about it, she is a regular in the best dressed section of magazines and I really like her sophisticated style...

Who are your current makeup/style crushes?

2) My mum has been using a Vibrating Plate (you can get them from places like Argos for around £100) and after 3 months of using it every day, she is in amazing shape! She has lost inches off her whole body and constantly gets compliments on her new trim figure.  Mum has been doing various exercises on the vibrating plate mainly for her upper body and it really shows.  She was determined to get in the best possible shape for my wedding in August and she didn't want any 'back fat' ruining her lovely strapless dress! She offered it to me for a few weeks before my wedding so I could have a go and fine tune my figure for my big day.  I will definitely be trying it out and will let you guys know how I get on!

3) After hearing various recommendations for Japanese Green Tea as an all around healthy supplement to daily life, I am definitely going to try and stock up on it next time I go shopping.  I want to find the authentic Japanese variety to make sure I am getting the most potent and pure version of it.  If you didn't already know, the benefits of Green Tea are as follows:

• The anti-oxidant found in Green Tea (Epigallocatechin Gallate) is 100 times more effective than Vitamin C and 25 times more effective than Vitamin E.
• It reduces high blood pressure
• There have been studies to show that it is very effective at preventing cancer
• Studies have shown that it lowers your cholesterol
• It benefits and strengthens your immune system
• Increases Thermogenesis (the body's rate of burning calories)
• Enhances Fat Oxidation (stops your body holding on to as much fat)

With all these amazing benefits, I'm wondering why it has taken me so long to catch on!

4) Now that me and Chris have booked our honeymoon to Kuala Lumpur, Borneo and Hong Kong, I would love to hear anyone's recommendations on where to visit if you have been there before? We want to make sure that we don't miss anything amazing while we are there.  I think I am most looking forward to the 5 star hotel in Borneo that we will be staying at:

I don't get the chance to stay in 5 stars very often (actually...never!) so I am probably going to be such a geek over there oooohing and ahhhing over everything!  Our room will open right out onto the beach! I will have to take loads of photos because I have a feeling this will be the holiday of a lifetime.  I am really looking forward to seeing the Orangutans as well, they have a sanctuary on the resort.

What is the best holiday you have ever been on?

5) YSL Summer 2010 collection - After seeing the new lipstick from YSL on a couple of blogs recently I have found myself lusting after a few things from the collection! I am properly lusting after the baby pink lipstick, the matching lip gloss, the bronzers and a couple of the nail polishes.  Feast your eyes on the gorgeousness....

Is there another collection you're drooling over at the moment???

My Favourite Lipsticks!

Its another 'Favourites' post! I always find it helpful to see other people's favourite lippies, it's good to see how different shades compare against eachother and that makes it easier to choose the right colour for your skintone.  I am not THAT adventurous when it comes to vibrant hues because, well to be frank, bright lippies don't suit me and tend to make me look like a fool.

I love the fact that Mac lipsticks are available in such a great range of colours but the formulas aren't always the best.  However, these are the ones I reach for most in my collection and Hue is hands down my must have lipstick for something that you can just slap on without a mirror...

Angel is a great way to wear a stronger pink without looking too obvious.

Shy Girl is a dark peach toned lippy that looks great with a sunkissed tan.

Pretty Please is a gorgeous sheer wash of pale pink loveliness.

Creme De Nude is a classic neutral that suits most skintones.

I love YSL lipsticks and I tend to find that they always have loads of shades that flatter my skintone.  I am a sucker for peaches, pinks and nudes! Frozen Mango (no.32) has to be my absolute favourite.  It's so easy to wear, has a great sheen to it and looks really pretty.  Note - the other shades have photographed slightly darker than they are in real life.

My ultimate lipsticks out of everything I own are my Rouge Voluptes.  You know, you've heard about them so many times.  But they are so creamy, smooth to apply, moisturising and I adore the heavy luxurious packaging that makes me want to keep taking it out of my bag all the time!  They are everything you could possibly want from a lipstick and I love the two shades I own.  The only small downside is that you have to make sure you have smooth lips before you apply the lippy, they don't apply well to flaky lips (but what lipstick does?)

Lastly, here are my last three fave lippies...Estee Lauder Pure Colour in Vanilla Truffle (it holds a special place in my heart...my favourite nude lipstick and I would choose this ahead of Mac Creme De Nude because the consistency is alot creamier).  My newest edition, Clarins Joli Rouge in Pink Blossom, is a lovely wearable pink nude.  Definitely the prettiest peach lipstick I own is Jemma Kidd's Duo Lipstick in Wendy which also has a lip balm/lip primer on the other end (you can't argue with that!). 

I just wanted to do a quick update at the end of this post on what's happening with me at the moment.  My hen weekend in Edinburgh is at the end of the month and I have been looking at what I am going to wear.  I still have no idea what the girls have planned for me...I'm getting slightly worried! I really don't want a stripper because:

a) The idea of a sweaty, sylvester Stallone lookalike dripping in baby oil gyrating in my face ain't my idea of fun! (why are strippers NEVER hot??!)

b) I would be generally mortified if my mum had to watch me spraying whipped cream on a semi naked man!

I'm cringing just thinking about it! ahhhhh! It's the stuff of nightmares!

There's a really good group of girls going so it's going to be a hoot! I have already decided that I am going to wear my Monsoon Fusion mini dress for one of the nights (I figured all out glamour is required for my hen weekend!):

Now I just need to find shoes to go with the dress....

Travis Pastrana backflips off Bondi Icebergs

Intro by A-Trak

New A-Trak mix tape 'dirty south dance 2' ... giv a listen (atrak rap dance mash up)..

Wedding Hair Inspiration!

So you guys know that I decided I am going to wear my hair down on my wedding day and that I bought real hair extensions to create more volume.  Well, I found the perfect picture of the supermodel, Petra Nemcova, to show my hairdresser what I want on my wedding day.  These pictures demonstrate what kind of curl/wave I want in my hair on the big day (although I would have a side parting rather than have it swept back). 

It looks like she has had it styled with rollers which gives a less contrived and more natural, laid back curl to the hair.  I don't want anything that looks stiff or overly styled.  With my new hair extensions in, they will give my fine hair slightly more length and loads more volume! I will just be back-combing the crown slightly so that my comb and veil can sit comfortable there.  I can't wait for my next hair trial!!!