Getting To Know Your Blogger!! 50 Facts About Me.

Helllooooo!! 

I thought I would do a different post today enabling you guys to find out a little more about myself and the person behind the words and pictures. 

If you don't want to know about me, that is totally cool, but if you do want to get up close and personal with me then carry on reading! 

Enjoy :) 

P.S. There ended up being 60 facts. Whoops.

•   I am 26 (27 on the 7th August), some of you may already know this but a lot of people that don't know my age actually think I am around 18-20. Without makeup I look about 10. One Chinese lady said to me once " you have magical powers". Too funny.

• I LOVE curry & hot food. Most of my food has to have chilli added to it. I have to have my food with a kick, whether that is in a salad on in baked beans, chilli is a must. I am the curry queen, I love the stuff and my favourite restaurant so far is in Worcester.

http://myfancypantry.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/chicpizza-04385.jpg

•  I am a singer/performer and I have appeared on the X Factor (UK)and I have been an extra in Skins 3 & 4 (for those of you who don't know what this programme is, it's a teenage drama series and it's awesome.) 

• I am a massive animal lover and will do anything for an animals' welfare. I rescue animals if I see them injured and I have a few pets myself (Cody my poorly Guinea Pig, Darla & Keiko my Chinese Dwarf Hamsters and Bear (real name is Saffi my Yorkshire Terrier). 

• My idol is Michael Jackson, he always has and always will be my idol. He is a genius, the master of music and the greatest man to ever live in my eyes. R.I.P.

• I am a big believer in the Illuminati & conspiracy theories. I believe in the New World order and the Mayan Prophecies, it really interests me and it's so fascinating.

• I am a hoarder when it comes to shopping. I buy new things and keep it in the bags for weeks until I decide to put it away. Usually by then I have forgotten what I have brought and get excited all over again.

• My favourite colour is red.

• I have a double jointed thumb. 

• I have met Adam Lambert (American readers will know who he is)! 

• My favourite band EVER is Placebo, oh my, I couldn't even begin to say how much I love them. I have been an avid fan for almost 10 years.

• My biggest crush is on Brian Molko (Placebo's hot lead singer, he's not everyone's cup of cha but for me he is IT)! 

• My first car was a silver Corsa called Rusty. Go figure. 

• I hallucinate often when dreaming, I will be semi-awake and semi-asleep and I wake up in the dream still but in the real world thinking it's happening. It usually involves spiders, where I hallucinate that they are on my walls. 

• I have a massive fear of spiders, flying, sunbeds, lifts and being involved in a car crash. 

• I am a nervous passenger in the car. 

• My favourite actor is John Travolta.

• My favourite actress is Sandra Bullock. 

• I have a girl crush on Kristen Stewart & Lana Del Rey.

• I would love to marry Brian Molko(obviously). I am still waiting for the proposal. Any day soon!! Ha.  

• My favourite film of all time is Labyrinth. 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6b/Labyrinth_ver2.jpg

• My favourite Disney film is Beauty and the Beast. 

• I am a natural blonde. 

• I bruise really easily. One tap on my leg and a big, purple bruise will appear. 

• I love making video's of me miming to songs. 

• The sound of a glass nail file on nails makes me cringe.

• I have a B12 deficiency (a blog post about this will be up soon.) 

• I suffer with anxiety which I have learn't to control. 

• I get real bad stage fright and get real nervous before I go on stage. When I am up there though I am fine. 

• I love writing lists and have a million note books.

• I wish I lived in Hogwarts and was friends with Hazza Potter. 

• Fall & Winter have rapidly become my favourite time of the year thanks to my hay fever. 

• I LOVE CHRISTMAS & HALLOWEEN.

• I am attracted to anything shiny.

• Watching movies is my favourite past-time, especially with loads of food and in comfy clothes. 

• I have never been taken on a 'real' date. :(

• I used to want massive boobs but now I am glad I have the one's that I have.

• My favourite smells are the beach, hot chocolate, cinnamon, vanilla, burning wood, Christmas Trees, wood shavings, new catalogues and carpet shops. 

• I can't swim. 

• My favourite flowers are Roses and Bluebells.

• I have 4 tattoo's and will soon be getting more.

• My body rejects most of my piercings. I had to take out my belly bar and tragus piercing. The tragus I was gutted about as I tried so hard to keep it. 

• I watch my Friend's boxset on a daily basis. 

• The wind (in the sky) is the worst element possible.

• I am allergic to dust. 

• I don't like the cold.

• I would like to have a brace when I finally get a job.

• My eyes are my best feature.

• My favourite time of day is early evening.

• I never wash my face and it brings me out in serious spots. So I always clean it daily with a cleanser.

• I have a fear of the dentist.

• I am a bit of a tomboy.

• I find it hard to sleep at night and wake up every couple of hours which is almighty annoying. 

• I have dreams that movie makers wouldn't be able to conjure up.

• I have a degree in journalism.

• My bottom lip is actually bigger than my top lip, so when putting my lipstick on I have to even the top lip out with my lip liner. 

• I don't like my feet being touched.

• I've always wanted to be vet.

• I can predict/see things sometimes before they have happened. 

and finally...

•  Everyone used to say I looked like Avril Lavigne!!

I hoped you liked reading through those and have got to know me a little better. I am a bit unique but "hey" who want's to be a carbon copy of someone else?

Not me! 

♥

   

Makeup Must Haves // What's In My Makeup Bag?!

I love makeup. 

Period. 

I never used to wear much at all, especially when I was at school. Back then it was "FORBIDDEN"! Gradually, through the years I experimented more and more with different foundations, concealers, eye shadows, eye liners, lipsticks, you name it I was trying it out. Now that I am a little older, I have come to find that I know what I like and don't like in a makeup brand or product. And I find that a product doesn't have to be 'high end' for it to be of value to your face. In fact a lot of high-street/drugstore brands work just as well. I don't like to spend a lot of money on each product unless it's truly worth it, and even then it makes me cringe! 

Put it this way I am a drugstore queen, I like deals, value for money and accessibility of a product.

 If you are either looking for some must-have products that are bank balance friendly, or someone who only uses high end brands but you are intrigued by what else the makeup counter has to offer you, then you have come to the right girl!

I am going to show you what I carry in my makeup bag on a day to day basis. I have split it into sections for you.

. Face

. Eyes

. Lips

In each category I don't always carry everything within my handbag, I tend to mix it up a bit each day. But those shown are my HG (holy grail) goto products.

Here we go. :) 

FACE

 

FACE.

1. I LOVE this concealer, I have been using it for years now. I use this around my eyes, especially the dark circles, blemishes and on spots. I always put this on before my foundation, and I know a lot of other people put it on after, but in fact I find it works better my way round. It acts as a base for the foundation so it doesn't allow it to sink into the dark circles and emphasise it more. Give it a go and see the difference.

2 & 3. I will then apply either foundation depending on what I am doing. For instance, if I am just wanting 'natural' looking makeup that day I will apply (3) as it is lighter and illuminates my face. If I am going out or have a job interview (which is a rarity at the moment) I will apply foundation (2) as it is a little thicker and has more of a matte finish. Both equally as good, just for different occasions.

4. I love this product by MUA. It is the 'Undress Your Skin' illuminating powder. It is soooo nice to use and I LOVE using it when I am wearing foundation (3) as it enhances the illuminating effect. It doesn't apply really thick, and is even on application. It gives a natural glow and makes my skin look healthy. I will always have this in my makeup bag and in my daily makeup ritual. 

5. The Collection blush is another favourite of mine. I use the shade 'Trouble' and it lasts for like FOREVER!! Seriously, I use it every time I have makeup on and it hasn't even hit pan yet. Again, it applies really nicely and evenly and leaves you with natural looking flushed cheeks. Winner!!


EYES

  I love my eyes, I regard them as my best feature, so I like to emphasise them as much as I can. I am currently loving the smoky eye look so these are what I have been carrying around with me.
I don't always wear this amount of eye makeup as I have bad hay fever and I just end up rubbing it off but when I can this is what I use. 

1. I start off with pencilling my eyebrows in, they are naturally really light so it looks like I have none. I look like an egg, a hard boiled egg. The colour I use is 'dark brown' and I love the Rimmel one as it has the staying power, easy to apply and it has the little brush on the lid to tame the strays. 

2. I have recently used the Eyeko eyeliner pen and I really enjoyed using it. It is smooth to apply, it doesn't drag like others I have used, it doesn't scratch the skin and it creates great cat flicks. I ALWAYS have a cat flick and I am pretty on point with creating them, but this pen makes it easier because of the nib. The only downside I feel this product has is that it sinks into the skin and the colour fades quickly. This is when I use product (3).

3. I will use the Rimmel 'Exaggerate' liquid eyeliner over the top of the applied pen to bring back the depth of the black that was lost. I love using this liquid eyeliner as again it's easy to apply, there is enough liquid on the nib to cover but not smother. It stays black and dries really quickly. I have been really reaching for the Rimmel products recently, especially their 'Exaggerate' range as they are richly pigmented, great value for money and the colour pay off is awesome. 

4. Next I will apply the Rimmel 'ScandalEyes' Kohl pencil to the inside of my waterline and tightline. Both upper and lower. This defines my eyes even more and I love to use it on the outer corners of my eyes so I can smudge and blend downwards. Hello smoky effect. 

5. Mascara's aren't a big deal for me as my eyelashes NEVER curl. It's so frustrating as I always have poker straight lashes and I always envy the girls that have amazingly spidery lashes. I just grab the cheapest mascara to hand and the Miss Sporty one is like £2. It's nothing special, but it does the job. 

6. And finally for the eyes, if I want to create the smoky, sultry effect then I will grab my Front Cover Eye kit. I brought it a few Christmases ago and it was quite pricey at around £35 but it was totally worth it and it's so pretty. It comes with the palette shown, and loads of different eye shadows and little accessories.

LIPS

When doing my make up it can either go two ways as far as my lip colour is concerned. I am currently loving either bright red lips or nude. 

If I have done heavy-ish eye makeup then I usually go for a nude lip and let the eyes do the talking. If the eyes are still dark but lighter in appearance, I will then go for the red. Red lipstick makes me feel glamorous, as stupid as that sounds. If I have that on, I feel good no matter how crappy I do actually feel that day. 

I always use a lip liner and matte lipstick, I just like the feel and appearance and these are always in my makeup bag. 

I didn't go into detail on my lip must-haves as I have touched on those before. 

I hope you have enjoyed finding out what I carry in my makeup bag and that there might be some products you would like to try out yourselves.

♥

MUA Luxe Matte Lip Lacquer Review // Is it all it's cracked up to be?

Hey guys!

Today I have decided to review a product out of the MUA Luxe Range!

 They have not long brought this new range out in their collection, which you can find in Supedrug (UK) and I want to give you my honest opinion on one of their lip products. 

The said product is the 'Velvet Lip Lacquer' in the colour 'Criminal'.

I find MUA as a brand can be a little hit and miss at times. Some of their products I really love, whilst others can be a little disappointing. If you don't have this makeup brand available to you across the pond, then I will give you the low down. 

In short, they are a 'budget brand' a lot of their products such as the nail varnishes, eyeliners, eyebrow pencils and lipsticks are like £1 which is super cheap. And to be honest, even though their products are a steal some of them are actually really good. 

How I see it, is why spend a lot of money on a high end product when a budget brand can give you the same results? 

It is total logic. 

Now, this new 'Luxe' range, is a little more expensive than their usual £1 bracket. And most of this range start off at £3 which is still a good deal. I have brought a couple of products from this range, one of which I am yet to try out. 

The packaging is a lot more fancy and I would say kind of expensive looking. They have really put a lot of effort into the appearance of this range and I suppose that is what caught my eye. And I LOVE the frosted glass packaging the product is encased in. Very original. 

This lip lacquer comes in 9 different 'vampy' colours ranging from neutrals to popping bright's, you can see for yourself here. I couldn't decide between 'Kooky' or the 'Criminal' but went for the bright pink because I like my lip colour to stand out. The purple would just make me look like a goth, which I will repeat I am not. :)

This is what the product claims to do. 

A lot of lip products claim to do the whole "kiss proof" thaaang but very few come out of it alive. This lip lacquer however survived the test of fate. Now, when I say "survived the test" I don't mean I have been going around kissing boys, because lets be honest, I have been a lone ranger when it comes to guys for a few years. So of course I had to do the 'blotting' test on my hand for signs of transfer. Nada, zilch.

"Awesome" you say?

Not so much! 

The product may not transfer easily off the mouth but it dries on horrifically!

Urrgghh, even thinking about it makes me uncomfortable, and that is the correct adjective I will use for this product. Uncomfortable. 

Yes, like the company say's it "glides on effortlessly" which in fact it does. I will give it that, it is one of the best lip products I have used for that side of thing. The initial application is brilliant, but where it states that it quickly dries into the matte finish, I think that is where the problem lies. 

It dries onto your lips far too quickly leaving you with an extra dry texture, where your lips feel really tight and you end up with that annoying dried lipstick rim on the inside of your mouth. 

Girls, you should know what I mean when I explain that,where you have to scrape it off with your nail (well I do anyway)and it hasn't blended in. It just dries into the ring of lipstick death.

LIKE THIS!!! 

  

When you apply the lip lacquer initially it seems on application to glide on evenly and you think "la lala leeeelaaa" I am liking this product. 

But then it dries. 

And it is patchy.

And I am like "FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!!"

I am sorry MUA but this is not I wanted as an end result. It applied thick in some places and thin in others. 

This is obviously a close up and doesn't look as bad from a distance, but please, this is a tad nasty on the finale!

So basically if you are wanting a flawless looking end result from your lip lacquer, this isn't the product to go for. 

It was £3, what was I expecting really?! 

Ha, I will just edit the photo to show you how I kind of thought it would turn out. 

The overall turn out isn't super bad for this product as the colour is highly pigmented and doesn't change in tone when applied. But it isn't the greatest lip lacquer I have tried to date, it makes the 'Rimmel Apocalypse' lip lacquers look amazing compared. 

Oh, hello ye old dead hand...We meet again!! I am going to stop doing swatches if this is what happens every time.

I really do have normal hands with blood running through it!!  

I am sorry if this swatch offends you. It does me. Ha. 

Someone please enlighten me to why it does this?!

All in all, for me, it's a 'slate' not 'rate' product I am afraid. Yes it does most of the things it claims to do, but by'eck does it leave you with a gross feeling mouth, "velvety texture" nope, more of a "I need to get this off instantly" feel! Oh, and another thing, when removing it, it leaves you with a non-budge stain AND it crumbles and falls off your lips. What the?! 

I am glad I didn't get another shade from this collection as it turns out this product is quite disappointing. It would be okay left on for an hour or so, but throughout the day. No way hosay. 

The packaging is deceptive. It is still a cheap product!

 I suppose you get what you pay for in this instance.

I don't know if any of you ladies have tried this product and liked it? But let me know what you think if you have. 

I will leave you with a few 'selfie' snaps to have a look through.

 ♥

After the colour wore off. Not so vibrant. :(

I am loving the no eye makeup & lipstick look at the moment.

Guinea Pig Attachment.

My fluffy monkey Cody.

This is a LONG one...

Okay guys, I know I haven't done a blog post for a few days now, but there has been a genuine reason. 

And this reason is pictured above,

and this is my Cody.

I write about and photograph all things fashion and beauty related right?! But I also have 'life' attached to the end of that little heading. And this right here is part of my life, it's real.

I wanted to take the time to write a post about something that effects my every day life in the most stressful ways, but also in the best ways. 

To most people, yes, he is "just a guinea pig", but to me he is regarded in the same manner as if he were a dog or a cat. He is still a living creature, he has feelings and he has the most awesome personality.

Cody hasn't been an easy ride, let me tell you! You would think just by going into a pet store to buy an animal it would be easy as pie, yeah? 

No. No it wasn't.

What was about to hit me like a tonne of bricks was something I had NEVER anticipated when homing this monkey. In a way this post is telling you my story (in short as it is majorly long) but also advising you readers out there that are animal lovers. 

I got Cody at around 8 weeks old. He was teeny, alert and most of all he was cute and already had a quirky personality. 

I fell in love instantly.

Unfortunately, after this picture was taken (the day I got him home) I noticed something wasn't quite right with him. He was sneezing constantly and scratching like a maniac. 

I love to research, especially when it is to do with animals as I have a major passion for them and their care, and I concluded by his symptoms that he had a URI (Upper Respiratory Infection) and Ringworm. Now, the URI needed to be dealt with straight away, as guinea pigs go down hill very rapidly and they hide their illnesses well until the last minute. And well, the ringworm was contagious as hell and it must have been hurting him.

Ha, no word of a lie my mum was cleaning everything like a dog on heat, she wouldn't leave anything untouched.

Bleach became our new best friend!!

The next day, he went back to the vets and this is where my hell began. He stayed in their care for months, it was horrible. I didn't really get to see him and I felt so helpless. I was even suggested that I "swap" him for another one or "given back". These remarks made me furious. He isn't a mobile phone that you can just send back because it's faulty. He is a living creature. Just imagine if I had given him back, I would have never of forgiven myself. 

I believed in Cody and I knew he would make it. He was strong.

He was however in a bad way. He was on antibiotics for months and even to this day he is still on them. My knowledge on guinea pigs, their care, medicines, diet, warning signs and illness is above average and most of the time I have diagnosed him before the vets have even figured out what is wrong. 

That is the shocking thing, I am untrained yet I spotted all the signs and symptoms! (That is is a WHOLE different story on its own.)

I won't go into major details as this post would be going on for weeks, ha.  But yeah, I eventually got him back like this.

He had grown LOADS and was sooooo long. I was a little shocked. Obviously, now he is quite the chunk but it was still strange and he was so tame too. 

I thought my ordeal was over. 

He was on continuous medication but when I brought him back on this day, I noticed a scabby patch on his right ear and some on his nose before that and it wasn't again picked up. So he had another trip back to the vets. I literally spend most of my time there these days. They suspected ringworm on his ear and took him back in. It was then confirmed a week or so later that it was a bacterial infection.

From the very beginning of me taking Cody to the vets I complained about his ear scratching and head flicking but nothing was really done about it. 

And now, we come to the present day. For over a year Cody has been on various different types of medication; Septrin, Baytril, Metronidazole, Loxicom and Emeprid. It's got to the point now where I indistinctly know when to give him medicine and what type. Oh, and another thing I learnt, just like humans, guinea pigs very much dislike having to take their foul tasting medicine. It is a daily struggle, but I have been doing it for so long now I am a pro. 

I now know all about GI Statis, bloat, rhinitis  when he becomes what the professionals call 'Anoretic' (stops eating and drinking), I have to deal with seizures, him almost dying from poor advice. You name it I have been through it with this guinea. I know A LOT. 

And now chronic middle ear infection. 

I would just like to point out that, I have tried SO hard to save his life because I had a gut instinct and knew he was too healthy to be put to sleep. And that if at any point he was severely suffering I would NOT of kept him alive for my own benefit.

 Cody had gotten over his persistent URI and stubborn Ringworm but was left with Rhinitis (which is rare in guinea pigs) that makes him allergic and sensitive to a lot of things. He cannot have wood shavings as his main bedding so now his cage is made of fleecing, he is allergic to grass (his favourite) and his hay irritates him. 

It's a lot of hard work. I never did think when I brought him that both me and him would be going through all of this stress. 

He is worth it though. :) 

Last week, I had to take Cody to Bristol (UK) for a CT scan. It is a long way from where I live but I needed to know what was going on with his ears. As I mentioned earlier from the beginning he had been constantly irritated by his ears and on Christmas day  13' he developed a 'head tilt' which becomes present when an animal has an ear problem. He lost his balance and began having mini seizures which was so upsetting to watch. Again, I researched and I concluded he had signs of a middle ear infection. He also had green matter being brought up his ear canal which showed he had some sort of infection that just wasn't budging. Cody isn't an ordinary guinea, he is a moody piggy and dislikes being touched and held and is very anti-social that way.

With what he has been through I am not surprised. 

I wouldn't have him any other way though, he isn't boring that's for sure. 

Codes loves to travel and often sleeps. 

So, yeah the results came back yesterday and it wasn't great news. I was told the bone structure in both ears had severely thickened and there was fluid stuck down there. The vet also said that he is almost definitely completely deaf but otherwise he is healthy and happy. And it was confirmed this was all down to the URI he had in the beginning and that it is common knowledge that middle ear infections result from a URI. The first signs were the patch of skin on his ear, that I noticed in the beginning. The bacterial infection. 

Speaks for itself really. 

I was told they wouldn't recommend surgery after all as his ears are so small and to drain the ears could do more harm than good. 

So it is now a case of trying the last few antibiotics to try and alleviate the symptoms but he will at some point become immune to them and the day will come where I will have to make the decision to put him to sleep. 

I was and still am devastated. I have battled so hard, and apart from his ears he is a healthy and happy guinea pig. He has hair that I am jealous of, he popcorns (a jump they do when they are happy) eats like a horse (he costs me so much money) and is so funny I could watch him for hours. 

I have spent months looking after him, a lot of money, so much stress and heartache but I wouldn't change him for the world.

When you fall in love, you fall in love. 

I don't know how much time I have left with him and I am hoping we can defy the odds like we always have and I can make him better. But whatever time we do have I will make sure it's the best time he has. 

He is my little buddy and I will not give up on him. 

I hope you liked this post and at some point I will be doing an advice post on guinea pigs from my own personal experience. 

If anyone would like to ask me anything regarding this post just drop me a comment. :) 

I will now leave you with a few pictures as the vids won't upload so I will put them up at a later date.

Enjoy.

♥

This is a state of total relaxation. 

Love this picture!

What guinea pig even does this?! Look at his little frog legs! Ha ha.

Cuddles ♥

He actually puts his head on the pillow to sleep. He even moves it
to where he wants it. Too cute. 

His favourite place to 'chill'.

All of my babies :)

♥