Chanel bashing

Chanel has been my brand of choice for foundation many years now. In the summer I love Vitalumiere, in the winter I wear Pro Lumiere (I was gutted they discontinued it, and am yet to try out there replacement cause I'm still in mourning. It's like how I haven't watched the bat man film cause of Heath Ledger), and I have a bottle of Mat Lumiere which I only use every once in a while. 

However, Chanel is really pissing me off at the moment. First of all I think they are overpriced but I am willing to cough up the extra moolah for such great quality, secondly I hate the packaging of the foundation as there is always a fair amount left over that no amount of pumping will retrieve, thus forcing me to painstakingly pick at to get at. But my biggest bug bear of all is they NEVER have what I want. I have been on the hunt for a bottle of Vitalumiere Aqua foundation in 20 for over a month now. Ever Wednesday I pop down to House of Fraser and without fail they don't have it and tell me to come back in a weeks time when they are getting a new shipment. The girls behind the counter are lovely, and always give me a sample size to keep me going, but this is really beginning to piss me off. I have also been going to Peter Jones, but they too have been out of shade 20. 

This exact same thing happened the last time I wanted to buy a foundation, in the end it took me 6 weeks to get it. And don't even get me started on the disappearance of the Bronze Universel. The trouble is though I've convinced myself that if I buy a different foundation (Chanel aren't getting my money after this nonsense), the Vitalumiere Aqua will be fully stocked up, and I'll kick myself. So for now I will just have to keep going back on a bi-weekly basis. Sigh.

Have you had these problems with Chanel? What foundations would you recommend?


Kat x

Pictures from google image search & weheartit.com. Clink to go to original

Are you asking? Then I'm (watching) Dancing!

As I mentioned yesterday on Tuesday night I went out to the theatre with a lovely friend from my halls. We didn't go to see anything normal like a play or musical but went to a dance show starring Strictly's Vincent & Flavia.

Midnight Tango at the Aldwych Theatre was a wonderful show, with beautiful live music. I happen to love dancing (though am remarkably un-gifted in that area), and I know quite a bit about it so I knew I would like it. But Deb (my friend) never ever watches SCD or any other dace shows, so I wasn't sure how much she would like it. I was actually worried she would be bored. But she loved it too, I think it's hard to see such visual beauty without getting wrapped up in it. 

Vincent & Flavia have a wonderful partnership, and her body put was so incredible I instantly regretted getting the rustic platter at Jewel before the show (though it tasted sooo good). The rest of the cast were also great, however it's really hard to ignore Flavia, who can't but help stealing the show, even when she's simply just sitting on a chair. There was an underlying plot which linked all the dances together. It all took place in a bar in Argentina, which is run by an older couple. The bar is frequented by dance loving couples and the cream of the crop are, of course, Vincent & Flavia. But, oh no, a dark and sinister man in a hat comes in and sweeps Flavs off her feat. What will poor Vincent do? It was a slight case of art imitating life, which did make me giggle, and I do hope that at some point Vincent & Matt Di Angelo did a good old fashioned homoerotic fight dance! There were plenty of group dances, a wonderful tango waltz from V&F and the highlight was a wonderfully poignant dance where the old man mirrors a young couple dancing in order to portray his memory of dancing with his wife in his youth.

All in all it was a wonderful show, with great choreography from Arlene Philips. I would highly recommend it, especially to anyone with a love of dance. And it's an extremely sexy show, so I even think it would make a wonderful date (and what bloke wouldn't want to watch Flavia do her stuff for 2 hours).

My Rating:   8/10 

Do you guys love SCD as much as me? Have you seen Midnight Tango? What did you think of it?

Kat x

My Tried & Tested Cure

Urgh. I feel like death, and it was completely self inflicted. I never ever learn. Last night I went to see Midnight Tango (more on that coming up) with a really good friend last night, and we hit the wine. So today I have been feeling less than fresh. Most people's hang over cures include coke, a fry up or some other fast processed food. However, when I'm feeling like my "mouth had been used as a latrine by some small creature of the night, and then as its mausoleum" then heaven on a plate looks like this:

A gorgeous Greek Salad a la Kat. This is literally all I ate for a month when I went island hopping, & I still haven't grown sick of them. Really quick to make, super tasty & am now feeling slightly more human.

But seriously, back to bed. Try again tomorrow.

Do you have any hangover tips to help me in my time of need?

Kat x

The Colour of Royalty

from weheartit

A major downside of being blonde haired (helped along with bleach) & blue eyed, apart from the obvious thick-o jokes, is that you're constantly told that you can't pull off coloured eye shadows. For years I have been told to stick to wearing brown smoky eye on nights out, and spend the day sporting a light taupe. 

Well, I've had enough 

Blondes of the world unite

IT'S TIME TO EMBRACE 

THE WHOLE RAINBOW

(Sorry, I've had a lot of sugar)

This is probably just a late onset rebellion to compensate for my sweet & innocent teenage years. But this attitude all stemmed from Halloween when I dressed up as a pumpkin. To add to the costume I wore a green smoky eye & orange lipstick. Obviously I wasn't afraid to look like an arse & I assumed the make up would look stupid. But it came to the night and guess what? It look perfectly fine, possibly even good (but I'm biased). So this got me contemplating other colours...

 

It just so happened that when I subscribed to Look magazine I got a free Urban Decay deluxe palette, which had lots of colours to play with. So, after years of avoiding colour like the plague, I followed Dorothy's lead & stepped into a world of technicoloured glory!

From weheartit

OK I'm really bigging this up to much, all I did was buy 5 mac eye shadows (and even that's a lie as 2 of them were gifts) but here they are:

From left to right: Signed Sealed, Trax, Nehru, Sketch, Graphology

Trax

This looks really beautiful in the pan, and is also stunning on the lid. It is a burgundy purple which shines gold in the light. It goes on very light, so needs to be built up to achieve a purple colour. I think it'll be gorgeous over a gold/brown lid base.

Sketch

Again, another stunningly beautiful colour. It's a deep and warm burgundy colour with a lovely sparkle. This would be perfect to smoke up an eye in the evening.

Nehru

I definitely didn't need this one, but I wanted it. The website describes it as a "muted bluish black", and it does look like this in the pan. However, I think it takes a careful eye to distinguish it from any dark black/grey colour! I do like it to add lash definition to my upper lash line though!

Signed Sealed

This is part of mac's Matte² range and has been discontinued for a while now. Again, it is a softer alternative for using carbon to define an upper lash line, and I think it would be great to add definition for a purple smoky eye. 

Graphology

This is another discontinued dark purple matte shadow! Though this is more eggplant. This is definitely a shadow that needs steady building and blending to get the most out of it, but this process creates a lovely crease colour, for a captivating defined eye.

From left to right: Trax, Sketch, Nehru, Signed Sealed, Graphology

So, yes I know that purple isn't the most flattering colour for blue eyes, and yes I should really wear some green or brown contacts, but as I stroppily said in the beginning I DON'T CARE!! In fact, I'm already getting slightly excited about purpling my eyes up tomorrow, hopefully without looking like I've been beaten up. Though that may get me a seat on the tube, so it wouldn't be too bad!

So what are your favourite purple eye shadows? How do you wear a purple eye?

Kat x

All unlinked photos are my own

A Year of Smelling Like Cinderella/Ariel/Jasmine/Belle

So as I said in a previous post, my lovely boyfriend buys me a new perfume every year for Christmas. I waited this long to post a review so I could make it as fair & truthful as possible!

So this year the perfume selected for me was:

Vera Wang Princess

And the lucky girl that I am, I was not just given the bottle. I got given alot of varioius Princess products, all presented in this rather fetching box

I need to find a use for this box, as I think it's too pretty
to end up being recycled into loo roll.

Inside the box was two bottles of perfume, a Foamy Body Polish & a Satiny Body Lotion. Even though I appreciate getting the assorted paraphernalia along with my annual perfume, I never really see the point of them. I think it's overkill to have a body wash, moisturiser & perfume with the same scent. But this year I quite liked it as I love the little itty bitty version. I will treasure it forever & clutch it in my hand whilst pretending to be a giant (old school reference to Monica from friends).

Please excuse the nails, no nail varnish in hospitals!

Now to the perfume (can't believed I've rambled this long without talking about it).

I think the bottle is cute (maybe even a bit too cute), it is heart-shaped bottled with a gold embellished crown for a lid. I do think it's pretty, though it's quite teeny bopper. It has grown on me a lot though as I'm quite a girly girl and now I think it looks quite pretty on my stand. 

The scent is very vanilla-y. My friend who is quite the perfume conoseur says it also has "strong notes of dark chocolate with just a hint of guava", I'm sure she's right but I just think it smells sweet! It is definitely not a sophisticated scent, but it is ideal for day wear. It also has very good staying power, so if you're a multi-sprayer be cautious! 

Conclusion:

I would never have chosen it though I have grown to really like it. Even though I would not reach for it on a sophisticated night, it is suitable for every other occasion. I do like it, but I don't love it as much as last year's perfume, though I can't see myself loving anything else that much! So, all in all, I would recommend it for girls who love sweet smelling perfumes. 

I'm such a loser I'm already excited about what I'm getting next year. Only 326 days to go!!

What perfumes are you wearing at the moment? What are your favourites?

Kat x

Photos: All my own

Apologies

I have to apologise for my absence,

No I haven't given up on this whole blogging malarkey, but I have been in & out of hospital this week & really didn't feel up to giving my fingers a keyboard workout!

But just to let you know, I will be back in action from now on & have a few ideas for upcoming posts.

Thanks for putting up with me

Kat x

Image from weheartit.com

Book of the Week

One of my New Years Revolutions this year is to read a book a week, and write a quick review! Quick because I haven't done English since GCSE, and thus have lost any skills I may have once posessed. Also I will give no spoilers, though will hint at general themes.

So this weeks book was Gillespie and I by Jane Harris.

Yep I do judge a book by it's cover.
Though actually not so much since getting a kindle!

This is Harris' next book following the critically acclaimed The Observations, which I am ashamed to admit I haven't read (though will soon do, as have heard nothing but good things). The book is narrated by an elderly Harriet Baxter in the 1930s writing her memoirs about her time in Scotland in the 1880s (that sentence got away from me). From the first page, even the first paragraph, you get a glimpse of the dark and sad times yet to come. You are however eased into the story which appears at the beginning innocent and light. However, this seemingly pleasant tail is smattered with cryptic forebodings of things yet to come. I won't give any more away, but this book is full of unexpected twists, that kept me guessing til the end. I genuinely did not know what was going to happen. It is a sad book, mainly about love & loneliness, but I really enjoyed reading it. Thinking about it now, I think it gets better with hindsight, which is a trait I definitely like in a book.

The book was definitely enjoyable, going from being funny to depressing to full of suspense all within a few pages. If you are looking for a new book then give this one a go, and let me know what you think!

What books are you reading at the moment? Do you have any recommendations for next weeks books?

Kat x

Pictures found on Google search