new flats, old habits, and broken bones

Hello all!

I know that I have been rather quiet on the old blogging, tweeting, product reviewing, fashionista, geekiness front recently, sorry!

The reason?

Well, as the title suggests, I have just moved into a new flat. It is lovely! One bedroom, reasonable wardrobe space, gorge kitchen, huge bath etc. Plenty of space for me to do my thing, be it rugby writing, studying dead guys, playing with make up, or cat walking in new outfits. I love it!

And the great thing is that my dad owns it, so I have had a reasonably large say in the furnishings and decor; the living room is massive, and fairly neutral with clean oat colours against stained pine furnishings and colour wise we have gone for a teal blue with mocha accents which contrast the neutral colour of the carpet and sofa really well.

The kitchen was already fitted, and is pine cupboards with chrome fittings against a dark marble effect on the work tops, add in my kitsch teapot, tea-cosy and matching tea towels and aprons and the effect is quite charming!

The bedroom is where I have had most say, and I have gone for rich purples and dark woods, giving a persian/Arabian feel to the proceedings. We have broken up the monotony of the plain light walls by creating a feature wall, only with curtains and not paint. Continuing with the opulent persian theme I have hung a curtain rail from one end of the wall to the other and arranged on it 6 aubergine coloured voile curtains, which are sheer on their own, but because I bought treble the amount I actually needed they are layered up and look quite lovely hiding the window and a soon to be added full length mirror.

I also want to see if I can purchase a mosquito net frame and a length of material, and create a bed hanging.

Taking pride of place on the windowsill is a real find from TKMaxx: an eastern influenced lantern. Normally I would not shop in TKMaxx, as when I lived back in London with my parents our nearest store was a real mess, and to find anything you had to rifle through everything. It was very unorganised and it really put me off of the shop, however, according to my mother, it has been tidied up and is now great. So when she was up visiting me she took me into the store on Sauchiehall Street and we found some vases and this lantern. I was very impressed with it, even more so when I saw that it was only £10, it was both a find and a bargain! Now all I have to do is find a candle or incense with the right scent (anything too strong or cloying gives me a fearful headache) and it is all set.

 

Aside from decorating and being a DIY goddess, (I built a bookcase, the drawers for my under-bed storage, and the drawers for my bedside cabinets,) I have also been sorting out the practicalities of moving: council tax, utilities, tv licence and of course internet, which took the longest to do, so I have been without internet for nearly 2 weeks, which when you have things to write and blog about is not helpful.

 

Then, as moving in and settling in comes to an end I went off to see TAKE THAT on their stadium tour: Progress Live 2011. I have loved Take That since I was young: their single ‘Pray’ was the first cassette (retro!) that I ever bought, they were also my first album and first cd. Mummykins was also a fan of them, but would not take me to see them live as I was too young. And then they broke up (sob!) and then they got back together (yay!) And I finally got to see them live, as a four piece, in 2009 at Wembley Stadium for their Circus Live tour 2009. It was AMAZING!

THEN Robbie rejoined the group, and they announced the current tour. I queued for a long time in the rain outside Ticket Scotland for these tickets, and I have been counting the days ever since that I would see all five members of the band together on stage again…my childhood ‘crush’ as it were. Once again they were fantastic! I urge anyone, regardless of whether you are a fan or not, to go and see a Take That concert, as they put on a visually spectacular show.

 

And then on top of all of that, I fractured my cheekbone last weekend! Clumsy am I not?

What started as a normal night out with a work friend for her birthday, soon turned painful when a lace from my boot unbeknownst to me, came undone and got tangled in the heel of my other boot. I realised when I tried to take a step and over balanced, face-planting firmly onto the cold, and wet, pavement.

One of those moments when you have to laugh, because if you do not, you are going to cry.

It was so painful that I was slightly dazed before I got up, laughed a bit and then tried to carry on with the night, thinking that a few medicinal shots of whatever would take the edge off of the pain. Waking up the next day with a hangover and a rapidly swelling cheek are not something I would recommend for anybody!

 

So after a long, and painful, 8 hour shift at work (seriously Scotland, it is called Sunday Trading Law!) I went along to A&E, where an x-ray and prolonged, painful, prodding by a doctor, (she was really nice and did apologise for the pain, but she held my head in a vice like grip when I kept trying to pull away,) confirmed that there was a fracture. They recommended painkillers and time, as it is in a place where there is little they can do to aid the healing process.

This week has seen me nursing that as well!

 

I have no internet for a few weeks, and apparently my life takes a turn for the exciting! Typical!

 

Cx

product review: Chanel Mat Lumiere Foundation

Hello all!

Foundation and box

It is time for another product review, and this week I am looking at make up. Particularly Chanel’s mat lumiere foundation.

On the box it claims to be “long lasting, luminous matte fluid make up” promising “a perfect complexion for 12 hours”

My colour? 30, Cendre

I received a free sample sachet in Glamour magazine, and I liked the way it felt and applied to the face. So I decided to pop along to the Chanel counter after work and find out some more.

It costs £30 which is a little more than I normally pay for foundation (I usually spend £20-£25) however so far I do think that it is worth it.

According to the small booklet that comes with the foundation you should apply it with your fingers for a natural finish, or with the Chanel foundation brush for a more sophisticated finish. Well I do not have the Chanel foundation brush, but certainly the smoothness you get with a foundation brush is very nice.

When applying with my fingers however I am not so sure, I do find that I end up using more than normal and whilst the look is indeed very natural I prefer the look I get with a sponge or brush.

The finish is very nice, matte without being dull, but not shiny, nor is it obvious that you have foundation on which is something I personally love in my make up. The coverage is a medium coverage, so sometimes I do find that I have to add a touch more to problem areas, or use a concealer to aid in the hiding of blemishes.

It is long lasting, I still look human at the end of a 9-6 shift at work, no matter how stressful the day! And it contains SPF 15, so you are getting some protection from the sun (not that we get any in Scotland!) whilst wearing it….although I would recommend using a sunscreen too if you are somewhere that requires it: yes a tan can be slimming, but sun damage is also very ageing.

I like this foundation, and think that I would definitely buy it again, once this one has run out.

Chanel Mat Lumiere: a nice thumbs up from me!

Cx