Guten Tag!!!

Lol I'm scraping the barrel with this one. Few songs with the word 'tag' in the title exist i tells thee. Funny song though...

Guten Tag - Wir Sind Helden


So I've decided to do the 'Most Worn' Tag, started by the gooooorgeous Zoe.

I know lots of people did this tag aaaages ago, but I'm still a newbie, so here goes...

My Most Worn:

Lipstick

I'm kinda bending the rules here since this isn't a lipstick, but this is what I wear most on my lips. I'm no fan of nude lips I'm afraid - I'm so pale that they just make me look dead, so I have to inject a bit of colour into my lips on a daily basis. Benetint is fab as it doesn't wear off easily, and it's very sheer and natural-looking. It gives your lips that almost-sore-but-not-quite 'I've just spent hours snogging' look, which I love.

Earrings

I got these about 4 years ago from Accessorize, but I think you can still get them. They go with pretty much everything. Love.

Dress/Top

These little topshop dress thingies are everywhere at the mo. I love my one - it's the one I've seen least out and about, which probably means most other people don't like it... But I do and that's what matters!

Nail Polish

This one's a tie.

Left: Mac Nail Lacquer Steamy

Right: No 7 Stay Perfect Nail Colour Vivid Violet 68

They're both just really pretty and eye-catching. I have sooo many different colour nail polishes so I switch my nails up all the time, but these are 2 that I come back to time and time again.

Shoes

My beautiful Oasis bargain shoes. I got them in the sale around Easter time, and they were only £25, reduced from £65.

These are my everyday shoes. I know I know, they are disgusting. But that's only because I've worn them so much! Both from Topshop. I think you can still get the gold sandals, they were £15 I think. The plimsoles I bought about a year ago, hence the grossness. I've been on the lookout for a similar pair to replace them but I can't find any I like as much!

Hair product

Simple and effective - Boots Maximum Hold Hairspray. Can't get enough. And is it weird that I LOVE the smell of hairspray?

Perfume

Chanel Chance. Feminine, classy, light, and a real classic. What more could you ask from a scent??

Bag

Standard black tote from Accessorize. Think it cost £25 in the sale. I've had it a while now and think I need a new one. I always go for black bags for everyday use, simply because they go with pretty much everything, but I'm thinking of branching out. What d'ya reckon? What's a good colour for a colourful bag novice?!

I love reading these sorts of things, so if anyone out there hasn't done this yet, then I tag you ;) xxx

Oooooooo That Smell!

Ohhhh yeah, love a bit of old school rock n roll. I'm just gonna post the link to the youtube vid for this one, rather than embedding it, mostly because the youtube windows look a bit ugly - i only want pretty pictures in my blog!

That Smell, Lynyrd Skynyrd

So yeah, THAT SMELL, and oh, what a smell.

I am referring to my new favourite shower gel, which smells fan-bleedin'-tastic.

And it is...

NIVEA WATER LILY AND OIL shower gel.



As you can see I've used quite a lot of it!

Nivea describes it as having a 'light, feminine scent of water lily', which pretty much sums it up IMO. It really is very light and fresh, and if you like floral scents then you will love this. It's quite similar to Dior J'Adore perfume, which I also own and love. I find it very feminine but not girly, if you know what I mean. For me, it conjures up images of a bright and airy country cottage with fresh flowers scenting every room, a lady dancing in a meadow with swathes of soft cotton and lace floating behind her, a gently trickling stream running through the hilltops on a warm sparkly day. Haha yeah I'm getting down with my poetic self.

But, ladies and gents, the captivating scent is not the only selling point here. I have crazy sensitive skin, and this stuff doesn't irritate in the slightest. It is so gentle I can use it all over (often I cant use shower gels on my arms and legs because they make me itch). It contains 'melting oil pearls' which kind of burst as you lather up on your skin, releasing the skin smoothing oils. Despite containing said oils, it doesn't leave you with an oily residue once you've rinsed off, which is defo a bonus, especially for me because this is another thing that can often make me itch.

So in a nutshell, I LOVE this gem of a shower gel. It's moisturising, gentle, and smells fab. And when I run out I shall trundle down to the shop to repurchase as fast as my little (ok quite long) legs can carry me.

xxx

I did it!

It's a real song!...


Raaaaaaa I did it! Customising blogs takes a bloody long time, but I did it! I changed my background, header, and font. I'll probably get bored again in a week or so and try to change it again and spend another few hours trying to work it out! anyways, let me know what you think peeps.
big love xxx

It's just a little crush

Anyways, this post is all about...

GIRL CRUSHES!!!

Now, I am, as I once informed my bestie, "as straight as a line... a straight line," but I am quite sure that I'm not the only heterosexual girly who succumbs to a girl crush every now and then. Before I share my current crushes with you, I would like to clarify that the type of crush I am talking about is not an 'phwoar I want me some of that" kind of crush, but more of a "*sigh* I wish I had her hair/makeup/skin/wardrobe/legs/boobs/abs/face (delete as appropriate)" kind of crush.

So let's get on with it.

Girl crush no. 1:
JESSICA STROUP



Yes, she is younger than me, and yes, I wish I was her. Nuff said. I couldn't find a pic of her with her new short hair, but if you haven't seen it then go have a little looky on thefashionspot, it looks really gorgeous on her.

Girl crush no. 2:
EMMA WATSON



Another one who's younger than me, but she's just so beautiful. Suffice to say, I am tres jealous of this girl!

Girl crush no. 3:
LAUREN CONRAD



I pretty much without exception love every outfit she has ever worn - on a day-to-day basis she is always cute and casual, and at events she manages to pull off an effortlessly classy and chic look every time. For a supposed reality TV bimbo, I think she comes across really well and I like her lots.


So they are my top 3 'ladies I'm loving' at the moment! Share the love people - who are your girl crushes?!
xxx

The 'song title as post title' challenge

Normally when I hear the word 'challenge', I roll over and go back to sleep. Far too much effort. But I had the idea for this one in the bath last night whilst washing with my Soap and Glory 'Clean On Me' shower gel, and I thought this one might actually be fun!

My self-imposed rules are:

1. Every blog post from now until the end of the month must be titled with a song title
2. The song title used must link in some way to the content of the blog post - i.e. it can't just be a random song I like!
3. I must provide some sort of link to prove that the song is really in existence, and that I haven't just had my composing hat on!
4. Plays on words are allowed (like Clean On Me), but nothing too obscure. You can tell me off if I make it too ridiculous.
   

I think this kinda covers it, but leave a comment if you can think of any other rules that I should include!

Join me if you can be arsed - I think it'll be fun!
xxx

Facing my fears...

The idea of leaving my house without a scrap of makeup on my face fills me with a feeling of stone cold dread in the depths of my innards - I'm sure some of you fellow beauty geeks can relate. Makeup is my security blanket, my shield against the big bad world. It allows me to change my facade with the flick of a brush - if I want to be natural and understated, no problemo... if I fancy being bright, garish and horrendously OTT (which, to be frank, I quite often do), well, easy peezy lemon squeezy. I would be much more comfortable painting my eyes with an entire array of neons, or daubing my lips with the brightest, vampest blood red lipstick in existence, than allowing the world to see my squeeky clean, makeupless face.

But last week I came to thinking... how awesomely liberating would it be to just be able to go out whenever I wanted without having to delay by 20 mins while I secure my mask for the day. If I could only conquer this fear, I could go wherever I want, whenever I want with my nudey face, without a constant nagging thought of "please don't look at me, please don't look at me, I know I look crap, just PLEASE DON'T LOOK AT ME!!"

So, in an attempt to rid myself of this actually somewhat debilitating fear, I hereby declare that all this week (well, until Friday, because I think I'm going out drinking/clubbing on Friday, and that is just a step too far) I shall be wearing absolutely NOTHING on my face, no matter where I go or who I am going to see. (Ooooohhh why have I committed to this, it's so very scary!)
I'll let you know how it's going as the week progresses - I'm kinda hoping it works miracles with my skin too!

DRUM ROLL PLEASE...
Ladies and gentlemen, on day 1 (I did it yesterday too but I didn't leave the house so it doesn't entirely count!), I present to you, MADDIE'S NAKED FAAAAAACE........
(Please be nice, this is very scary!)

Feeling the pinch... ouch

Ohhh I'm sooo broke. Above are some recent purchases which have caused said penniless status...

Back row: Illamasqua Satin Primer SPF20, Benetint, Charles Worthington moisture-seal shampoo and conditioner, mini Soap and Glory goodies ('hand food' hand cream, 'clean on me' shower gel, 'flake away' body polish, and 'the righteous butter' body butter)

Front row: Bare minerals SPF 15 foundation, Carmex cherry lip balm, Garnier nutritionist eye cream, Garnier caffeine eye roll-on, Lush bubble bars in 'ma bar' and 'creamy candy bath'


I have been using the Illamasqua primer for about a week now and will do a full review on it soon.
Also, yayyyyyyyyyy a new Benetint! I had my last one since 2004 and it's only just run out, but it was getting pretty minging, so I'm excited about this one.

Anyways, love and smooches to my favourite 4 followers ;) xxx

Face of the day before yesterday

Face: Benefit You Rebel Lite TM

Studio sculpt concealer

Benetint on cheeks

Laura Mercier loose powder in translucent applied with kabuki

Eyes: My Inglot freedom palette - serioiusly check this brand out, can't recommend the eyeshadows enough.

Rimmel sexy curves mascara

Lips: Benetint

Natural Collection Moisture Shine lipstick in Pink Mallow

OOTD:

White Vest Top (just seen): Gap

Denim Shirt: Primark

Grey leggings: American apparel

Blue wristband: Brazilets

Pink beads: From a market in Sevenoaks, Kent

The toenail saga leads to falsehood

So to begin with, a bit of background info on the toenail saga:

When I was but a wee 17 year old lass, back in the day, I went on holiday to Newquay after my A-Levels, and naively thought it would be a great idea to wear flipflops to a club. Long story short, I got trodden on by some stiletto-wearing bitcheroo, which damaged my nail bed and the nail turned black and fell off, and has been an iffy excuse for a nail ever since. But slowly but surely it grew back...

Then, back in 2007 when I was living in France, I went to a salsa club, again wearing flipflops, and the aforementioned toenail ripped off because my partner stepped forward at the wrong time and caught his shoe underneath my nail... urrrrrrrrrgggghhhh. So, it grew back all ingrown and minging and I had to have an operation on it and then it got infected, and I had to have 3 more operations on it, finally having the entire bloody thing removed last summer.

It grew back a bit dodge, but it was there all the same... until last week, when, without warning, it just fell off again.

So, to get to my original point, I decided I was fed up with having a splendiferously 'unusual' looking toe, and the time came to experiment with ye olde falsies.

The brand I used was Fingrs Dazzle Toez, mainly because they were the only ones I could find in Boots.

So the principle is exactly the same as false finger nails - whack yer glue on, hold it in place for a few ticks while it dries, file it into the shape/length you want it and hey presto. It comes with I think 3 different sized sets for different sized tootsies, and it does come with glue too, I just missed it out of the photo. So far so good...

Sorry for my gross feet, but you can't even tell which one the falsie is (it's the big'un on the left).

So at this stage I was very pleased. But then came the 'wearing shoes' test. Sandals were fine, there was no pain or interference of any sort. But the next night I wore tights and ankle boots and MY GOD did it hurt. It felt like someone had a pair of pliers to my nail all night, trying to yank it out! I left it to calm down overnight but the next day decided I couldn't bare that pain again, so headed for the acetone to soak and remove. And this was where the real trouble started...

After forty mins, yes, FORTY MINS, of soakage, the nail still wasn't budging... Another twenty mins later, I was able to peel off the corners, and the rest felt a little loose, so I pulled. WAAAAAAAAAAAAA I'm squirming just thinking of it. I won't show you a pic of the end result, but it ain't pretty. I'm missing skin, the teeny bit of nail that I had left around the cuticle is gone, and my toe seems kinda permanently dried up and shrivelled from its acetone bath!

NEVER AGAIN!!!

Having said all this, if there have been any good false toenail experiences I'd like to hear about them... this could of course just be my bad toe luck!

xxx

Shabby Chic Appreciation

I love the vintagey, homemade, girly, pretty frilliness of 'shabby chic'. It translates so well to fashion, interiors, craft... When I have my own place this is the sort of style I'd like to decorate in, albeit a more minimalistic interpretation of it than is typical. This is of course assuming I don't have a bloke tagging along - I'm not sure how much he'd approve of the overt femininity of shabby chic!. The floaty cotton and girly lace fabrics, slightly distressed paintwork and vintage furniture marry so nicely with the typical soft colours of this style - off-whites and creams with dusty pinks, cornflower blues and soft lilacs. The feelings this style evokes are all good ones for me - all soft and contented, and happily feminine! So here lies a post dedicated entirely to its charm.

Pictures found on photobucket.com

NOTD, OOTD, FOTD... AVENUE Q!!!

So I went to see Avenue Q last night and it was A-MAZING!!! I was laughing so much I was crying in some parts - a seriously funny show! Anyway, here's what I wore...

Scuse the mess, I was getting ready in a hurry. Ah who'm I kidding, my room is always messy!

The photos are pretty crapulous, but here's my hair and makeup:

Hair is tres uninteresting, just a lose bun at the back with some back combing to stop it being too sleek-looking.

Face: Mix of Benefit You Rebel Tinted Moisturiser and Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation

Mac Studio Sculpt concealer on blemishes

Laura Mercier secret concealer on under-eyes

Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder

Benefit Hoola Bronzer

Mac Blush in Pink Swoon

Benefit Dandelion Powder

Eyes: Too Faced Shadow Insurance

Mac e/s Blanc Type

Mac e/s Omega

Mac eye kohl in Smolder

Satin Taupe-esque colour from my Inglot Freedom palette

Vanilla-esque colour from Inglot also

Rimmel sexy curves mascara

Lips: Body Shop Guarana Lip Butter (LE 2007/08ish)

Aaaand, finally, nails:

Bourjois Rose Laque in 13 Rose Lounge

xxx

My new baby pussy cat!

This is Pumpkin. Isn't he cuuuuuuuuuute?! He was my birthday present, cos we always had 2 cats but we had to have one of them put down not long ago, which is was so sad about :( She was only 12, and she had kidney failure. She was such a lovely cat, and as anyone who has animals will know, it's always devestating when you lose one. But this little guy is helping us all get over the loss :D He's almost 3 months old and we've had him since he was 9 weeks. He's practically doubled in size since then! He is SUCH a little pickle, and I am totally in love with him already.

Also, excuse the gross carpet, we're redecorating :)

xxx

Vampires

Ok firstly - Twilight. I was kinda late on the Twilight bandwagon, and I watched the film a couple of months ago, which I absolutely loved, and, like practically every other red-blooded female in existence, fell head over heels for Edward Cullen (aka Robert Pattinson).

Yummyyyyyyyy.

And then after watching the film I went out and bought all 4 books, and devoured them all within a week. This would obviously lead one to believe that I enjoyed them, which would be correct - the story is fab and the characters are easy to relate to and likable (or detestable when appropriate!)

BUT... did anyone else think that in parts it was just really appallingly written?! Especially Eclipse - it just seemed towards the end that the author had run out of steam! It was like, oooo a big fight is brewing, oohh the tension is mounting... oh, no, they're all friends now and everyone lives happily ever after?! Seriously?!

Now don't jump down my throat here - I know that Twilight never claimed to be equal to the great works of Hemingway or Dickens or whatever, but it has been compared to Harry Potter, and IMO the Harry Potter books are MUCH better written.

This isn't to say that Twilight isn't fun to read, and if you're looking for something that's easy-going and doesn't take itself too seriously, has romance, action, the supernatural and teen angst all at the same time, then Twilight is perfect.

Secondly:

RAAAA WHAT A SHOW!!! I am totally addicted. I could go on forever raving about this show, but suffice to say, you HAVE to watch this, it really is tres good. It's set in a world where vampires exist openly and live amongst the normal human population. It's quite dark, there's death, sex, love, blood guts and gore, and it's sooo addictive. Check it out, you will likie.

That's all for now folks, see you soonies,

Maddie x

first blog post ever

hideehi campers. well, there are no campers there yet so saying hi is a little redundant, but maybe one day... anyway... here i am, blogging. this blog will be dedicated to my love of all things pretty, so makeup, fashion, interiors, etc, and my life in general. life has been a little rocky recently, so i guess i'll document the goings on. i'll probably start with some general 'me' info, and then i'll do some of the tags that have been going round on blogspot and youtube, just to kickstart things. so, that's what to expect for the time being. in a bit guys and girls.

maddie x