Tuesday, 19 March 2013

Two New Additions To Our Family...

Hi Everyone,

Slightly different post today. I wanted to introduce you to the two new additions to our family...

Dan & I 'adopted' two cats yesterday. Freya & Mylo, a sister & brother duo. So as this is a beauty, fashion & lifestyle blog I thought I would tell you about them, being part of my life & all now!

Some of you may have seen pics of them on my instagram (taniad5786) already but if not here they are:





  Freya                                                                                                                Mylo

They have settled in really well. They arrived with all their things, which would have helped, but they did have the ordeal of an hours drive in the dark, which can't have been pleasant for them.




Last night was spent exploring the house. Mylo appears to be the least timid of the two, jumping on top of the book case & our glass cabinet! Freya went behind the TV & got herself stuck. She could have got out herself but was meowing in a distressed way so I intervened.




They seemed happy this morning, although wanted to go out (even though it was raining!). We are keeping them in for four weeks to get them used to their new environment. After that they are free to explore (but will probably avoid next door's dogs! lol). Dan has told me that when he got home from work they were both waiting for him! :) They have been purring & giving him cuddles while I'm writing this between my teaching jobs.

I can't wait to get home to see them again! It hardly seems real as I was never allowed pets as a child because of mine & my sister's allergies. 

Do you have any pets? Any tips for a first time owner? If you can't have pets, what would your ideal companion be?

Much love,

Tania x

Sunday, 24 February 2013

Urban Decay's 'Oz the Great & Powerful' Glinda & Theodora Palettes

Huge apologies - this post has taken a long time coming.

I was so excited when I saw the 'online exclusive' banner for Urban Decay's 'Oz the Great & Powerful' Glinda & Theodora palettes on the Debenhams website. Although combined the two palettes cost £70, I decided to treat myself and order both.

Unfortunately both palettes arrived faulty - at least one pan from each palette was not seating properly, this is shown in the videos below (included in the accompanying YouTube video - http://youtu.be/cm0elS6g6j8).


Glinda Palette


Theodora Palette

It took three purchases to get a set of palettes that didn't have this problem. Both online orders had the same issues so I took a journey to my nearest Urban Decay counter (a train journey away) to exchange the faulty palettes. Unfortunately, since I received and tested my palettes, the top and bottom left pans of the Glinda palette and the top and bottom right hand pans of the Theodora palette have started to do the exact same thing so it'll be another trip to Debenhams!

As can be seen in the video clips above, the palettes both come in the same packaging as the new UD eyeshadow '6 pan palettes'. This allows you to take out and move/replace eyeshadows at will. I was rather pleased UD decided to use this method of packaging as opposed to their previous palettes. This is because I can see myself running out of some of my favourite shades from palettes like Naked2. I already have a (rather large) number of UD palettes and as a result, I have duplicates of some eyeshadows. But for those I don't, for example Pistol, it will be useful for me to be able to purchase a single shadow until I have used a significant amount of the palette in question to warrant repurchasing. Having these two 'pan palettes' will give me greater freedom for travel and organisation of my favourite shades without me having to purchase the '6 pan palette'. However, now that I have to take my fourth set of palettes back, I am wondering whether this is indeed a good method of packaging!

The palettes each come with six brand new removable eyeshadow pans (two of these are 'dual shades', so you are getting eight colours in a six pan format), a 24/7 glide on eye pencil, a character specific super-saturated high-gloss lip colour and a 'get the look' card, with step-by-step instructions on how to recreate the witches' looks.

left to right: Theodora & Glinda palettes


Theodora box


From top to bottom: Glinda 'get the look' card, super saturated
high-gloss lip colour in Glinda & Glinda palette


Eyeshadows top l-r: Tornado, Aura, Magic
Eyeshadows bottom l-r: Illusion, Oz, South
24/7 glide-on pencil in Rockstar
Super saturated high-gloss lip pencil in Glinda


Eyeshadows top l-r: TornadoAuraMagic
Eyeshadows bottom l-r: IllusionOzSouth

Super saturated high-gloss lip pencil in Glinda


Top l-r: Tornado, Aura (top: violet iridescent, bottom rose iridescent), Magic
Bottom l-r: Illusion, Oz (top: shimmery golden, bottom: silvery blue), South
Far right: Super saturated high-gloss lip pencil in Glinda


24/7 glide-on pencil in Rockstar

So I decided I would have a go at recreating Glinda (played by Michelle Williams in the upcoming film) using the 'get the look' card included. I was pleasantly surprised as to how easy the instructions were follow. The only thing I would say is to read carefully - I misread the section referring to the 'dual shade' Aura and as a result used a mix of the two colours rather than just the violet iridescent section. I liked the use of all but one of the eyeshadows and was surprised I had the ability to create what I would have thought of as a more complex look. So here is my interpretation of Glinda:





Other products used: Garnier BB cream, Estee Lauder Disappear smoothing creme concealer in 02-light, UD eyeshadow primer potion (original) UD Naked Flushed palette, Clarins brow pencil in 01 Dark Brown, MUA clear mascara (for brows), L'Oreal Paris Super Liner in Black Crystals, Eyelure Naturalites Evening Wear false lashes in 107 & UD Big Fatty Mascara (for bottom lashes).


And now let's take a look at Theodora...


Theodora box


From top to bottom: Theodora 'get the look' card, super saturated
high-gloss lip colour in Theodora & Theodora palette


Eyeshadows top l-r: Broken, Beware, Bewitch
Eyeshadows bottom l-r: West, Spell (top: black with gold sparkles, bottom: yellow gold with sparkles), Jealous (top: moss green, bottom: light green)
24/7 glide on pencil in Zero
Super saturated high-gloss lip pencil in Theodora


Eyeshadows top l-r: BrokenBewareBewitch
Eyeshadows bottom l-r: WestSpell (top: black with gold sparkles, bottom: yellow gold with sparkles), Jealous (top: moss green, bottom: light green)

Super saturated high-gloss lip pencil in Theodora


Top l-r: BrokenBewareBewitch
Bottom l-r: WestSpell (top: black with gold sparkles, bottom: yellow gold with sparkles), Jealous (top: moss green, bottom: light green)
Far right: Suer saturated high-gloss lip shine in Theodora

24/7 glide-on eye pencil in Zero

I also wanted to recreate Theodora (Mila Kunis) for you, again using the 'get the look' card included with the palette. I was less impressed with this look. Of the eight possible shades only four were used, none of which being a 'dual shades' that UD makes a feature of on the back of the box. The thing that most impressed me about this look was the lip colour. I am not someone who wears bright/red lip colour but this really made me feel confident! I don't know what it was, the specific shade maybe or the ease of application for such a bold colour. I personally wouldn't wear it teamed with an eye look this bold, but that is my own preference. So here is my interpretation of Theodora




Other products used: As for Glinda palette

I love these palettes, but if you are planning on purchasing them I would suggest checking them out in person and keeping your receipt just incase you run in to any problems.

Are you a Glinda or Theodora girl? I'm a Glinda, with a touch of Theodora thrown in for good measure ;-)

I really hope you like this post and feel it has been worth the wait. Please do let me know if you have any questions about either of these two palettes or anything else for that matter in the comments below.

Tania x

Friday, 22 February 2013

Our 'Getting Together' Anniversary

Hi everyone!

It's been a while since my last post - the last week of term is always a busy one & then I went to visit my parents. But that's no excuse. With being away it has taken longer to get my Oz palette post written but it should be up shortly. So now to today's post.

February is the month of love. Couples are declaring their love for one another and get all smoochy, while singles are either bonding with other singles of the same sex or tearing up pictures of their exes. Retailers take advantage of this to the max. You can't move for cards, chocolates, balloons, jewellery and all sorts of other paraphernalia! Not that I'm cynical or anything! lol

My husband Dan and I don't celebrate Valentine's day. We 'got together' on 22nd February 2007. When it came to celebrating our first Valentine's day together we decided we would prefer to mark our 'getting together' anniversary. That way we would be able to eat out without having to book months in advance, pay extortionate prices and be sat in a room with so many people it is impossible to compete with the noise in order to talk to each other. Once again, please don't think I have anything against Valentine's day itself - it's the way i has been commercialised within an inch of it's life. A bit like Christmas really!

Originally we had planned to go to the cinema to see Les Miserables with Dan's Mum. Dan was teaching a private clarinet student in the evening and, unfortunately, there were no afternoon showings. In addition, I came home from my parents' full of germs and not wanting to spread them so we decided to re-plan our day.

So our anniversary has ended up consisting of a slow morning and afternoon with a takeaway Domino's (wheat-free for me), Dan's homemade scones and a Harry Potter fest - starting with The Philosopher's Stone.

Although we didn't go out, I wanted to make an effort with my appearance.


#OOTD
Black Long Sleeve T-shirt (Matalan)
Dark Denim 'Straight' Jeans (2 for £25; Dorothy Perkins)
Jumper (£18; Matalan)
Faux Pearl Necklace (£3.99; New Look)
'Heart" Ring (£35; Pandora)


 #FOTD
Maybelline 24hr Colour Tattoo in Light in Purple on lid
No. 7 Eyeshadow in Good Earth:
lightest colour on brow bone, middle colour in crease
GOSH Velvet Touch Eye Liner in White Pearl
L'Oreal Paris Super Liner (liquid liner) in Black Crystals
Dior Diorshow Lew Look Mascara in 090 (a black colour)
Clarins Brow Pencil in No. 1 Dark Brown
MUA Clear Mascara (used as brow gel)
Estee Lauder Dissapear Smoothing Creme Concealer in 02-Light
Dr. Jart+ Water Fuse BB Cream
MAC MSF Natural in Light Plus
Nars Bronzer in Laguna
MAC Powder Blusher in Peaches
MAC MSF in Soft & Gentle
Elizabeth Arden 8hr Lip Balm in Blush

So we have had a lovely day marking our 6 years spent together and here's to many many more.

Do you celebrate Valentine's Day or do you have an alternative like Dan and me? Let me know in the comment's below what you got up to this year, I'd love to know!

Tania x

Sunday, 3 February 2013

Word of the Week

I was watching Pride & Prejudice late late last night on ITV and was unable to remember the plot (Kate Winslet in Sense & Sensibility kept coming in to my head!).  My husband Dan was explaining it to me but I kept getting confused as to who people were & what was going on (in fairness to me it was VERY late and we hadn't watched from the beginning).

Dan commented that it was a convoluted plot, which received the response "Oh right, thanks darling. But what does convoluted mean?" It turns out the meaning of 'convoluted' (con-vo-lu-ted) and Dan's use of the word are the same - a complex way of explaining an idea or concept!

So in order to better myself, I intend to adopt the word convoluted into my everyday language for the next week (in the style of Emma/Cher from Emma/Clueless).

Tania x

Sunday, 27 January 2013

30 Random Facts!

So I thought a great way to start this bog would be to tell you 30 random facts about myself to help you get to know me. Also because I like randomness! Hopefully you'll stick around for more posts :-)

I've also included some pics to break up the potential monotonousness of 30(!) random statements about myself. These pics are from the YouTube meet up I went to in Birmingham with:

Brogan (http://brogantatexo.blogspot.co.uk/)
Becca (http://lilmisstuttyfruitie.blogspot.co.uk/)
It was here, spending time with these lovely girly, that I was inspired to start my YouTube channel and now subsequently this blog. So this post is dedicated to the ladies mentioned above - thank you!


Birmingham meet up - time to shop!


1. I am one of five children, with 20 years between the eldest & youngest

2. I'm VERY allergic to strawberries & horses

3. I'm a perfectionist

4. I was married in Lincoln Cathedral

5. I taught myself bassoon & passed my grade 3 with distinction

6. I used to have straight hair until I started my migraine medication!

7. If I were a boy I would have been called Christopher

8. I used to be a saver, now I'm a spender!

9. I wasn't diagnosed as dyslexic until I was 23

10. I have a husband called Dan (this wouldn't normally be a random fact but   
     he is random so i thought I'd include it!)

11. I was a goody two shoes at school

12. My Mum is my hero

13. I loose consciousness with my migraines

14. I didn't get into makeup until I was at music college

15. My migraine medication affects my weight - at my lightest I was 7st 7lb



These feet are about to do a whole lot of walking!


16. I have a marquise diamond in my engagement ring

17. I have had my tonsils taken out

18. I can play all the instruments in the woodwind family

19. I am 5ft 3inches

20. I played netball in school, my position was Wing Attack (WA)

21. I have my tragus pierced as well as two holes in each ear

22. My Mother-in-Law is my makeup guru

23. I lost consciousness on the first date with my husband. No one stopped to 
     help :-(

24. My migraine medication affects my weight - at my heaviest I was 10st 7lb

25. I can only read black text on a white background

26. I want to be able to afford a for anglais (only £3,250 - £6,625 then!)

27. I have a permanent headache

28. I may have too many Urban Decay eyeshadow palettes! Is that possible?

29. I'm left handed but my stronger side is my right - go figure!

30. I wear precision tinted lenses (dark green at the moment)

Cream British Heart bracelet - Brogan brought one for each of us from 'The Beauty Closet'
Beads - my own

I really hope you've enjoyed my blog post and are looking forward to future musings & ramblings.

Tania x