You gotta bat your eyes, like this...

Hey chums!

Now, if any of you know Disney, you will have noticed that the title of this is actually a Sebastian the crab quote from 'The Little Mermaid' - I love that movie!

Recently, a local salon was doing an offer on their LVL lashes procedure, as I have always wanted to try getting my lashes permed, I figured I would give this a go!

LVL Lashes work by the specially trained therapist using a silicone shield on your upper eyelid and essentially sticking your eyelashes to the shield so that they are pretty much lying flat up against your eyelid.  A setting lotion is then used to set the lashes in place and then a tint is applied to emphasise the lashes even more.  I'm sure there is more to the process but as the specially trained therapist didn't tell me what she was doing, I couldn't tell you what the other steps are!

The process took an hour and I was really surprised and pleased with the results!

Before              

Straight after      

Mascara on right

Mascara on right

My eyelashes are quite long usually but they point downwards which just makes them look a bit lifeless! A week in and I'm still looking at my lashes everytime I pass a mirror! The effects are supposed to last for upto six weeks and the website claims can be longer if the aftercare serum is used however, I was given no aftercare info and no serum! 

There are a few cons to this procedure though, the first one being that it is pretty pricey! I got this for £35 but in this particular salon it is usually £65 and the salon where I go to get my HD brows done, can charge upto £100 if you want the tint! Totes Cray Cray! Secondly, it feels weird, your eyelashes are essentially at a right angle compared to their usual and so it feels a bit like you are wearing false lashes.  Thirdly, putting on mascara proved to be slightly tricky, I tried a few and couldn't get it on my lashes without also getting it on my eyelid as the lashes were so close to the lid once the mascara was on, it came off again onto my upper eyelid where the ends of the lashes were touching! Lastly, you cannot wear mascara or get them wet for 24 hours after you get them done, so don't do it the day of your big night out! 

I would certainly recommend these if you can find a special offer and they do brighten up the whole face (great for distracting from a spotty chin too!)

Oh, and don't forget to get a patch test done at least 48 hours before!

Hugs,

Jodi 

xxx

I made an Owl! :-)

Hello Interwebbers!

So last weekend, we didn't do very much - similar to this weekend- due to the fact that my partner has  busted his knee and can't leave our second floor flat very easily! I have been getting back into my reading and decided I was going to do some crafting!

 Ages and forever ago, I read on the wonderful Sprinkle of Glitter blog, which is a lovely blog by a girl called Louise who seems super nice, about a craft kit on the ol' bay of E.  The kit was to make a shabby chic style owl cushion and I thought it looked so so cute that I had to snap one up! I got one from this Seller, although I'm sure there are others similar.

The kit arrived and in it were some offcuts of material and a thick paper 'cut out and keep' template.  The good thing about this is that once you have this, you can make as many owls as your heart desires! Sweet!

So, in the picture above, is the cut out bits of the template (there is an extra one for the eye as I didn't have any buttons suitable), the instruction sheet and what is left of the material.  the material was measured pretty precisely so there wasn't much room for error!  The instructions to start with weren't as easy to understand as I had hoped but I think that was more to do with the way they were worded as opposed to the technique required! I would highly recommend a sewing machine for this as there is a lot of stitching, that said it only took me a few hours to do the whole thing and I haven't sewn in yonks, certainly if you are going for neatness a sewing machine is the way forward (try Gumtree for a cheap one)!

I did a basic running stitch but in retrospect, I would have been better off with a back stitch, details of both can be found here and I am sure there are a gazillion youtube videos about sewing too! To stuff it, I just used the inside of an old cushion that I had saved when my grandma moved house, I wish now I had saved her flowery curtains that no-one could think of a use for! D'oh!

And here he is, I haven't thought of a name for him yet but I am rather proud of this cute little chap and I am super keen to make more and give them away as pressies! I know a few people who are just moving home etc so I may do some investigating as to what their decor is like and see if they have room for a brother or sister of Owlie!

Hugs,

Jodi
xxx

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E45 Bzz Review

Hello, Hi and Happy Monday!

Recently I discovered BzzAgent, which is a social marketing company.  They send their members products based on the answers that they give to certain surveys.  There is no money involved, they send you items in return for your honest reviews.  For each review that you do, it helps build up your Bzzscore which in turn, makes you more desirable for testing up and coming products.

One such campaign that I was lucky enough to be selected for was the E45 body lotion campaign.  I was sent loads of sample packs of E45 sachets for me to give out and spread the Bzz, which also had 50p off coupons inside! I was also sent two bottles of E45 body lotion - full size bottles!!

The bottle on the left is a 200ml E45 Moisturising Lotion, this will probably be the most familiar packaging to shoppers.  This is the unperfumed, hypoallergenic formula which E45 claim can be used on face and body.  On the right is the 250ml Nourish & Restore Body Lotion, it is lightly fragranced however it is still sutiable for sensitive skin.

Myself and my partner have both been using these and testing them out and can happily say that they do exactly what we need them to do. We are now both rehydrated after the long Scottish winter! Seriously though, although I was a tad perplexed why I, at the ripe old age of 28 was sent the Nourish & Restore Lotion enriched for Mature Skin, I have still enjoyed using it.

The lotions both absorb in really quickly and easily and I like the light, slightly floral fragrance of the Nourish & Restore.  They are both great for slapping on in a rush and are super as a daily fix of moisture and I have used it on my face with no adverse effects - Woop! 

The top one is the unfragranced E45 moisturing lotion

The bottom on is the Nourish & Restore.  The Nourish & Restore is creamier than the lotion

These lotions are also pretty inexpensive and a little can go a long way and so should last you quite some time.

There are several different varieties, next on my list to try is 'Silky Radiance' as it has a subtle shimmer added, perfect for the summer! 

The one thing I would say is that, if you have had a bath and put a face mask on and generally had a bit of pamper, you may want to try a body butter which is a bit more luxurious than a lotion.  

Hugs,

Jodi 

xxx

Puss Cats Great and Small!

Hi,

As the description of this blog promises there will be cats, I figured its as good a time as any to show you my babies!! 

At the moment I have 3 puss cats which can keep me and my partner surprisingly busy!

These two handsome chaps are Binx (the nearly all black one) and Neville. They are brothers and they are going to be 4 years young this year.

They are cheeky little monkeys and I love nothing more than coming home and seeing them snuggled up together as usually they are like chalk and cheese!

This gorgeous gal is Honey and she is approx 13 years old even though she is the size of a 6 month old Neville!

Honey is staying with us just now as she was needing looked after and a bit of TLC and she is slowly adapting to having the boisterous boys around.  They are not particularly interested in her, more her food bowls!

I wouldn't be without them, even though I may say differently when Neville jumps on my head at 4.30am looking for his breakfast.

Hugs,

Jodi

xxx

Autism Awareness nails and a quick comparison

Helloooo!

Today I thought I would just do a quick nails post.

April is Autism Awareness month and the colours for the ribbon associated with this particular cause are your standard primary colours; Blue, Yellow and Red. Together they make the Puzzle Ribbon.

As I am not particularly 'arty', I'm sticking to block colours but with this cause in mind.

This is Essie's 'Butler, Please' for the mani and the super colourful Nails Inc. 'Camden Lock' Graffiti topcoat. Its amazing! 

I treated myself to a manicure and picked 'Butler, Please' as my colour only to find that less than 24 hours later several nails had chipped quite badly :-(

I managed to improvise with Nails Inc. 'Baker street' and so here is my challenge... Can you tell which is which in the picture below?

The middle and pinkie fingers are 'Butler, Please' and the ring finger is 'Baker Street'

As you can see, they are pretty similar, so if you can't get one, get the other! They both look awesome fun with the Nails Inc. Graffiti over the top, I was rocking that combo for ages on my toes and it made me smile every time I saw it!

Hope you like!

Hugs

Jodi

xxx

Batiste for Brunettes

Howdy!

So today I am here to express my dismay that Batiste seems to have changed something about their formula for the Brunette Dry Shampoo - Sad Face! 

I have pretty dark, brown hair and so when Batiste finally took out a brunette version of their cult product I was thrilled, however, I bought a replacement bottle the other week and it had a different lid.  I didnt think too much about it until I got it home and used it the very next day.

I sprayed it on as usual, from the appropriate distance, left it for a wee minute and then brushed my fringe to style it, this is where it went wrong... it went all over my forehead and my face, I looked like a chimney sweep! Argh! 

I've never had this happen before, have any of you experienced anything like this recently? 

Jodi 

xxx

Being Sensible...

This year, I decided that I, at the ripe old age of 28 and a bit, should really start acting like a grown up and try and start saving some pennies!! Booooo!

Now, this doesn't necessarily mean that I'm not going to buy anything ever but I am going to try and be more money savvy.  This includes things like checking for cashback offers, nectar points or clubcard points when buying things online.

Shopping for cheaper alternatives is also included in this attempt and so, I have purchased my first M.U.A products.  This is a brand that you can order online *here* and via superdrug and is really good value for money, I have yet to see a bad review of any of their products.

For ages, I have been wanting to try out the Naked and Naked 2 Palettes from Urban Decay but with prices around £36 each, I couldn't justify it.  Even if they are gorgeous!!

 

The Naked palette also comes with a small bottle of Primer Potion and the Naked 2 palette comes with a small Lip Junkie lip gloss in 'Naked'

My cheap and cheerful alternatives are from M.U.A and they are the Heaven and Earth Palette and the Undressed Palette.  Both contain very similar neutral colours but have enough variations to buy them both, especially as they were only £4 each! Bargainious!

 Both Palettes - 'Undressed' is the top one and 'Heaven and Earth' is the bottom one.  I also purchased a cream concealer and a clear mascara for taming my eyebrows.  All this for £10, not to be sniffed at!  

'Heaven and Earth' in the daylight

The shades in this one are all shimmery but not too much so.

'Undressed' in the daylight, the third and fifth shade

 from left-right on the top row are gorgeously matte

All the shades are pretty well pigmented and blend really easily, they are not as silky smooth as the Urban Decay shadows but for a 'wear to work' look, they do the job just fine.

As someone with green eyes, I would have liked maybe a wee smokey green but there are purpley mauve shades which work well with my colourings.

I hope this has inspired you to go shopping!! Hahaha!

Jodi 

xxx