Halloween - The night when the veil between life and death is thinnest, and my psychic experience.

So it's the day after Halloween. This year I absconded from the usual go out and get dressed up plans to do something a wee bit different, and went to a psychic night with my friend Maxine. 

When it comes to the whole psychic thing I have to admit I'm a bit on the fence. I think there are people who definitely possess abilities and senses which perhaps not everyone does, but at the same time I think there's a lot of con people out there who use people's humanistic need to be guided as fodder to make some easy money.

First up, I thought that the lady was a psychic and the night was going to involve tarot card readings etc. When we got there it came about that she was actual a medium and would be channelling dead people to give us 'messages'. Aside from me and Maxine, the other 6 people there were all middle aged ladies who clearly made a regular habit of visiting mediums. Watching the way that the medium worked with them, there were times when it was clear that she was just kinda feeding back the info that she had given them, and most of the situations that she was giving information to them about wasn't in any way related to psychic abilities and more related to human emotion in general. For example, one lady TOLD the medium (surely it should of been the medium telling her this) that her dad had died because he had elected not to have treatment for a treatable heart condition. The medium then responded by telling her that the ladies dad was letting her know that he had known she was bitter and upset about his decision. But GUESS WHAT, that's the normal human emotion anyone would give in that situation so I don't think she deserves a clap on the back or has identified anything that any normal person couldn't.

And so to the point of the night that she came to me. Having watched the way that she was feeding the information other people were giving her into their readings I tried to say as little as possible. Some of the stuff she told me was accurate, she said she was getting messages from my grandad, who I had been close to and mentioned a couple of accurate things about the relationship I had had with him, although how much of that she had garnered from my reactions I don't know. She then started talking about how he was really annoyed at the way I had been mistreated by a man in my past, and how this man had not been what he seemed at face value (understatement of the year, because if we're going to go along with this and say she was genuine, then the guy in question was a sociopath who had actually given me a false name and an entirely false life story). She spoke about how as a result of this I had major barriers up but that I needed to let them down and go at my own pace. She also spoke about the naivety I hold within my character and how I shouldn't be hard on myself for it. I have to be honest and say at this point I got a teeny tiny bit emotional, not because I was like OMG MY GRANDAD IS SPEAKING TO ME, but just because I've had a hard time opening up to anybody about the experience I had, particularly within that relationship and have never really felt that I've had anybody to talk to about it. The way she was speaking to me was quite motivational telling me that the experience had made me stronger and there was a bit of a release I guess from having things bottled up. 

I suppose I have come away from this experience thinking that if you are looking for something you will probably find it. Although the stuff she said to me was quite specific and could definitely be applied to the situation sticking in my mind, maybe it is the case that she can say anything and if you're looking for a situation from your life experience to apply it to you will find one. Whilst it's nice to think my Grandad was looking over me, I'm still a wee bit too cynical to buy into that part of it, but I think that if people want to then good for them. It's not doing them any harm and if it gives them some peace or closure then regardless of whether it's true or not it's a positive thing.

So there it is. My first (and possibly last) psychic experience.

xox

Urban Decay Naked 2 Basics - I AM OBSESSED.

DUUUUDE. This palette is like the holy grail for me. Every colour is perfect, and as an extra bonus the darkest colour is like the exact colour I have been hunting high and low for to powder my eyebrows darker (since I inadvertently managed to dye my hair black...)

So a quick rundown of things for those of you who don't know. The UD naked palettes are a collection of five (and counting) palettes all of which have the most beautiful neutral tones and shades in. They're fantastic for wearing 'no make up makeup' but there's also a great range of metallics too in each of the big palettes (Naked 1,2,3) which you can use to make more dramatic looks if you so desire. I am a crazy naked Palette addict and it's very rare for the makeup on my eyes to have not come from one of them. In fact, in all honesty I can't remember the last time I used another brand of eyeshadow, they're just THAT good. The Naked Basic palettes are smaller versions, with all matte colours in and Naked 2 Basics is the newest arrival in the family. I have had this palette a couple of weeks and it's safe to say I am fully obsessed and tell EVERYONE to buy it, to the point that I'm running out of people I actually know in real life, and may need to start telling strangers on the street. Kinda like a crazy make up preacher, sent to spread the word to the masses. Ahem.

SO onto the palette. I should probably mention at this point, that if you've come to this blog looking for the kinda gal who blogs new products straight out the packaging, in pristine condition, before they've even used them, you've come to the wrong place. I get far too excited for that kinda restraint and am more of a 'rip the packaging open and turn my face into a clown trying out every colour at the same time' kinda gal.

The palette comes in a hard plastic case. As far as I'm concerned that's bloody fantastic cos I am very prone to dropping things and breaking them/sitting on things and breaking them/opening my bag to find I've some how crushed a palette in soft casing and all the eyeshadows have disintegrated into powder (Naked 1, I'm looking at you). It clicks open and closed and has a mirror inside. So far, so boring.

The colour's from left to right:

Skimp - Pinky toned cream

Stark - Neutral light pink

Frisk - Taupey Grey Beige (pale girls take note, this is great for cheek contouring)

Cover - Warm light brown

Primal - Warm dark brown

Undone - Dark Brown with red undertones (this is my eyebrow colour)

The powders have a great texture. The lighter colours feel a wee bit more creamy to the touch, and the darker feel a bit more chalky (but not in a bad way, if anything it helps as those are probably the colours you're going to be trying to blend in your crease, so it makes life a little easier that they're a bit more powdery). They last all day and have great staying power without primer - I'm super lazy and never use it - and they apply well with brushes, applicators and fingers (again, lazy).

Here's a video of me using the palette to do the my daily eye makeup:

All in all I am obsessed. I think I'm actually going to do a giveaway of one of these palettes when I hit 5,000 subscribers (side note: how did that happen?!) because I wanna spread the addiction.

Seriously, buy it.

xox

Hairspo

My hair, is too long. Unfortunately I'm not talking about the hair I grew myself, uttering the words 'my hair is too long' and meaning the hair that's actually attached to my scalp, is something which only exists in fantasies and parallel universes where I wasn't stupid enough to fry the shit out of my hair with bleach*. No, no, whilst I wish I was referring to my own hair, I'm actually referring to my white girl weave, the hair that I sewed onto my head around 6 months ago.

I've always been a fan of the looooong hair look. In my head I envisage Mermaid tresses. In life I actually end up looking either like I've been dragged through a hedge backwards (hair that long needs to be brushed about 10 times a day and will turn into rats tails approximately 10 minutes after you've brushed it) or when it's behaving itself like my life aspirations are to be in TOWIE and I've just forgotten to apply the fake tan. I lust after hair that I could put into pin up styles, and pin curl without ending up looking like a WAG going for the big bouncy curls look. The length of Bettie's hair in the above photo is my ideal length.

 So in two weeks when I go to get my weave tightened (who even says that)  I am going to take a good few inches off the length, and then I should be able to attempt all the pretty pin up hair styles. Emphasis on the word 'attempt' there people. I'll probably still have ratty hair...

*MY OWN ACTUAL HAIR IS GROWING SO FAST THOUGH. I think it's a combination of the weave protecting it so it's no longer snapping at the ends, and also the fact that I never see it as it's all plaited away helps as every time I do see it there's been a big leap. This is a pretty bad photo and it is SO difficult to actually find wee bits of my own hair to check the length but it's definitely getting there. I started wearing extensions when I was 16, and in around 6 months time I'll turn 26 so my aim is to be done with them by my birthday. I refuse to spend an entire ten years attaching hair someone else grew to my head.

xox

Style Steal - Stevie Nicks

There's something about Autumn that makes me want to start dressing like Stevie Nicks circa 1976. Queen of the batwing sleeve and cape backed dress, I don't know if it's because her style is so witchy and I just want to dress for Halloween through October but every year I find myself questioning why I have chosen to work in a job where it's not acceptable to swan around wearing a big cape back dress, lifting my arms up to show off the cape in a dramatic witchy fashion at any given opportunity (because trust me, in the same way that if you wear a big full swishy skirt you feel the need to spin until you're dizzy, wearing a capey dress means you impulsively lift out your arms without even thinking...)

The good thing is that every time Autumn rolls around fashion designers seem to also have the same notion, and provide witchy clothes for us all to buy and release our inner Stevie. With the comeback of the Kimono, things just got a whole lot better for those of us that way inclined. 

Here are a few gems I've spotted so far in my quest to dress like a full time witch/Stevie Nicks hybrid...

                 Religion, Miss Selfridge, Tosphop, Missguided, Topshop, Topshop, River Island, Topshop, River Island, River Island, River Island, Missguided 

xox

Glory Days

Today I made a wee jokey video about my old school photos, which you can watch here. It's a weird feeling looking at old school photos. I don't recognize myself in them at all, and I don't know whether that's down to age, hair dye, the full face of make up my insecurities sway me into applying everyday, or something under the surface, the life experiences I've had since that time irrevocably changing me.

 Whilst some people proclaim their school days to be the best of their life, to me that concept is so alien and bizarre that I can't even begin to comprehend how anyone could actually enjoy school. School for me, consists of a treasure trove of memories, none of them particularly good. I feel like to use the word bullying would be putting too fine a point on it, but I was definitely one of the strange kids that the popular kids took the piss out of or shouted abuse at on occasion. If you did enjoy school then I am insanely jealous of you for making it out alive, cos most of us didn't.

 On the plus side, hey at least these photos show I'm a slow ager and maybes when I'm 60 I'll have the face of a 30 year old. Here's hoping.

Happy Monday.

xox

The Beach Boys

A cloudy sky + A windy beach + Two crazy dogs = My idea of perfection.

xox

COATS COATS COATS

SO carrying on from the final point of my intro post, I would like to tell you about my life ambition. My life ambition is to have an entire room filled with coats (I jest, of course that's not my only life ambition. I also have the goals of growing my hair out mermaid style, having 10 dogs and winning the lottery. Hopes and dreams people, hopes and dreams). I LOVE COATS. We're just getting into Autumn, and every year at this time, I feel an incessant need to tell anyone who'll listen exactly how much I love Autumn, and exactly how much I love coats. I think one of the main reasons I love Autumn is because I love coats. Do you know how hard it is having an epic coat collection, and having to wistfully stare at your beautiful coats all confined to a wardrobe cos it's too hot to wear them? Not fun. So anyways, if I'm going to realise my dream of having enough coats to fill a room, I need to bulk up my collection a wee bit. Here are the coats I've been eyeing up so far since all the shops finally started to showcase their A/W collections (we're not even out of September yet, it's possible I have a coat related OCD problem...)


ASOS - £80 This is pretty high up on my need list right now. I've wanted a red coat for ages, despite the fact that I'm only 5 foot and it may make me look like the crazed tiny killer lady from the film Don't Look Now. But red coat, black fur collar, biker style, BE STILL MY BEATING HEART.

Miss Selfridge £79 I might have bought this today. Maybe. Needless to say attempts to save money are proving pretty futile. But I'm sorry, there was a leopard print trench coat shaped hole in my life. And with an all black outfit I will be happy as larry and money can't buy happiness (but maybe coats can) so fuck saving.

Miss Selfridge £89 I might have nearly bought this today. But finding the restraint that failed me with the leopard trench I decided not to (I actually decided to buy it next month, but c'mon same difference). I have a coat similar to this but it's black fur instead on the collar, and I wore it to death last year, so naturally I need to buy it a blonde haired sister.  This one when I get my filthy mitts on it will make me feel like some kinda Russian Princess 1950's Glamourpuss Hybrid. And that's clearly how every girl wants to feel.





River Island £90 This coat broke my heart a wee bit. I saw it online. I loved it, I resolved I needed it noooow and trotted off to River Island to buy it. I tried it on, and looked in the mirror to see that I actually looked like I was either in fancy dress as something from the Matrix, or else going for the uber long leather coated Goth look. It's a beautiful coat, just not so good for the short people. If you're a tall lady though it would be ace (and I'll try not to give you death stares as you pass me in the street as I dream of what could have been if I had an extra few inches). The idea of a leather trench coat does still appeal to me though so hopefully one day soon me and my stupid tiny bones will find one which has been made with the more petite ladies in mind.

       H&M - £34.99 H&M are always a great go to for beautiful coats at         low prices. This is the type of coat that's light weight enough to wear         on the days where the weathers still slightly warm, and then layer up         underneath as we get into colder weather. I'm a massive fan of basic         cuts and shapes (mainly cos I'm lazy and it makes getting dressed a           lot easier) and this is a fab wee basic wool jacket. Plus I bloody love           grey coats.

So that's all the coats that have so far been added to my 'to buy' list. And that's only covering the actual coat side of things, it's probably best if we avoid talking about my biker jacket obsession cos that one really doesn't need to be encouraged anymore. No doubt as we get further into colder weather the shops will release even more coats and I will cry at the fact that there is too much choice/that I don't have an endless supply of money/be so overwhelmed that I will have a meltdown in the outerwear section of any given shop. But rest safe in the knowledge that one day soon my friends, my coat room will be a reality*.

If you see any more good coats please send them my way. You can just never have enough.

*Please feel free to disregard the fact that I don't even have a spare room to make into my coat room. Technicalities don't make no difference to coat based dreams.

xox

Hello Dolly(s)!

So I'm going to assume that most of you have clicked through for a nosy from that small corner of the internet world known as Youtube. HI GUYS. I love Youtube, I really do. But do ya know what, I've been feeling a wee bit lately that vlogging and making videos is bloody time consuming that it's really hard to be consistent with it. I'm far too laid back (read complacent) with these things as it is, I think of videos I would love to make but the sheer amount of effort it takes to film, edit and upload a video and fitting that in around a full time job and being able to film in a house that other people who don't know I do Youtube live in, means they often fall to the wayside until I have the time, leaving sometimes weeks between uploads. So I decided that maybe I would like a blog to run along side youtube, because A) it means I can make silly posts on silly things that I would feel silly dedicating an entire video to, B) Taking photos of things is much quicker than filming things which hopefully means more posts C) I got a fancy new laptop which I actually want to use for stuff other than googling cute puppy photos and D) (and this may be the most relevant point) I can blog in pyjamas and unbrushed hair and no make up and NOBODY WILL KNOW. I mean technically I could also film like that but I'd rather not scare the world with my general crazy scarecrow look that I tend to style around the house on lazy days. 

If you haven't come from Youtube (then please go check it out) then HI FOR THE FIRST TIME. Nice to meet you. Please feel free to stick around and read my ramblings on life, lipstick and my need to have a whole entire room filled with coats.

Xox.