E.L.F.?

The '?' is because I have never used this brand before FYI! However, as a devotee follower of Lollipop26's youtube videos I have heard a little about this brand (if you are as addicted to make up as me check out her channel http://www.youtube.com/user/lollipop26?blend=1&ob=4 or her E.L.F. specific videos for more on the brand http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfhP385xq_M&feature=channel_page and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuRzsu_67X0&feature=channel_page).

So, firstly E.L.F. stands for eyes, lips, face and is originally an American brand set up in New York (where else!) by Scott-Vincent Borba, the man behind Hard Candy's cosmetics line. The UK arm is run by Welsh brother and sister team, Neil Phillips and Jo Westlake and has been endorsed by beauty editors from GMTV, This Morning, Hello!, Marie Claire, Glamour, Grazia, The Times.

But like I said Lollipop26 (aka Laura) is the one who got this brand into my brain through the power of her awesomely addictive videos (when I first found her channel I sat and watched her entire back catalogue in one go!). Not only has she raved about about E.L.F.'s product quality but after recently ordering from their website has found that delivery time is quite frankly ridiculously speedy (http://lollipop26writes.blogspot.com/).

E.L.F. is only available online which is how they keep their prices so low. They offer anything and everything that comes under the header 'cosmetics' - eyes, lips, face, brushes, kits and gifts, tools, elements (pre-designed and cutomisable eyeshadow palettes), cases, mineral products and their more professional Studio line.

So, they offer everything under the sun, their products are being raved about from all angles but the best bit for me (as you will have seen with my Barry M polish collection I can never buy just one) is the prices - Shimmering Facial Whip for cheeks, eyes and lips £1.50, Nail Polish £1.50, Shielding Hydro-tint Spf 15 er £1.50! The part I'm really excited by is the customisable lipstick palletes (surprise surprise just £1.50 for the pallette) with all of the lipstick patties at only 75p for a limited time. Minus the on sale products you may have noticed a bit of a theme - everything really is just £1.50 and no, they're aren't sample sizes. The blurb on the site says that it's because they keep they're packaging minimal and their overheads are low due to internet trading and marketing (though the Studio range, for obvious reasons is a little more expensive though by no means pricey).

The site looks sleek, clean and professional - what I think any woman wants a beauty brand she uses to convey - and incredibly easy to use (my mother could probably get herself around it and that's really saying something). They also have extra sections which create a community feel to the site plus a Facebook fan page if you're that way inclined.

Standard UK delivery is £2.95, next day £6.95. They are currently offering free p+p with a £30+ spend (and I think that could be easily done).

So I love the site, the look of the products and of course the prices but can't say anything personally about the products themselves until I've tried. So I feel after this loooong blog post it is only fair to go and have a little splurge (for reasearch purposes of course lol).

xoxo

*EDIT* Have just started shopping and just wanted to say that while the colour swatches are tiny if you hover over them they do appear bigger on the left-handside in the product container!

And The Decorating Of The Bathroom Goes On

Seriously? Still Decorating the bathroom?

Er, yeah! Much to my annoyance we are still powering through with getting this room sorted (FYI it will be the only room decorated to our taste when its finally finished which is why every spare second is going on it).

So why the hell-i-o has it taken so long? Well first there's the two full time jobs we hold down (mine with random retail hours and his with overtime). Then there was the painting - I swear that the previous decorators had mixed glss in with the emulsion used on the ceiling and in the end we both found we got better coverage with mini paint rollers and the sponge heads meant for gloss work. Then the tiling - I have no idea how to tile but so as not to spend £150+ on getting someone in, and so I'd learn how to do something new in the process, I decided to give it a go. Unfortunately, thanks to uneven walls, I got to a point where I was really rather stuck so Mummy came to help (she also taught herself to tile and is where I get my 'well of course I can do that' attitude). However, in the process I may have inadvertently given her swine flu - I was really the only person she's seen in the last 7 days as she spends a lot of time at her allotment and while I have no symptoms I could be a carrier (I do have a rockin' immune system).

Dear Daddy has fitted the shower and shower rail, which included a little physical manipulation to get it to work with our angled loft ceiling (the kitchen and bathroom having their own little roof, seperate from the rest of the house).

We then decided to pull up the lino after a massive cleaning frenzy in which I even took the toilet seat apart to clean in thoroughly. We where going to do this anyway, especially after seeing what fab condition the floorboards where in, but sooner rather than later seemed the best option when faced with 30 mins of removing tile adhesive blobs from something we didn't even want.

So, now its just a waiting (and careful bathing) game while the grout dries before we can put silicon sealent on, and while the gloss on the shelves dry before we can do another. Then there'll be a little drilling action while we fix everything on to the wall. And then it will be, to all intents and purposes, done with just a few weeks wait until my next holiday when I will be paintng the floor.

Colours Of The Rainbow

So the boy thinks I have too many Barry M nail paints however he is wrong! Ok, so I have 22 of them (plus a small selection of polishes from other brands) but they're cheap, cheerful and mean I can match my nails to any outfit:

(left-right) Crystal Clear. Matt White. Baby Pink. Pale Purple. Mulberry Pink. Shocking Pink. Bright Red. Red Glitter. Raspberry. Red Black. Yellow. Spring Green. Vivid Purple. Navy. Grey. Gold. Chocolate Brown. Black. Mint Green. Bright Purple. Coral. Limited Edition Pink.

If you've never bought anything from the Barry M range pop to Boots or Superdrug where there is often some kind of offer on one part of the range (eg 2 nail paints for £5). You can also buy all of the products from the Barry M website - I recommend that anyone who has a large collection of Barry M, whether it be nail paints or dazzle dusts, makes one purchase from the website so that they are sent a catalogue which has more realistic colour swatches than the site. I have made one order from it but found the delivery time to be quite long. However, I did receive the limited edition polish free with this purchase thanks to a promo code so it is possible this slowed it down and so at some point I will be trying out the home delivery service again (they have a new polish called Pink Flamingo which I feel I must have).

EDIT* Have just gone back on to the site and realised you can create wishlists of products that you want, which would not only be a great way for the boy to get me something as a gift without me having to pick them out myself (Barry M products where my Easter present) but also means I can save any colours I like so when I go to make a purchase I can easily pop them in my basket without spending 20 minutes searching. Genius!

Introducing...

...our gorgeous kitten Charlie

Leeds Shopping Day......Hip Hip Hooray!

So, I'm now on the 2nd day of my week long and much needed holiday as is the boy. After spending 6 hours negotiating the mine field that is painting our bathroom we decided to spend today in Leeds partaking in some good old fashioned retail therapy. While Hull does have a vast array of shops we are both always drawn to leeds for shopping - probably because of its cool mix of high street, vintage and boutique plus Urban Outfitters which we unfortunately do not have :(

Im always excited when I'm heading in UO even though every single trip lets me down. This isn't because of the fare it has to offer but because my first trip into one of these hallowed stores was on Broadway in New York City when the dollar was at its best for a Brit shopper like myself. In England I generally go straight for the sale section knowing that atleast I'll be able to afford something from there. Tried on a couple of skirts (I really do need to do a post on my love affair with jersey fabric) but neither fit great so I plumped in the end for a vintage-style sexy nightie/slip and white patent purse, £20 & £10 respectively

I also hit up a little cosmetics and clothing boutique which sits in the gorgeous Victorian Quarter called Rose Apothecary. As the name suggests it is focused around the old fashioned but holds modern gems that some how still sit really well. Upstairs the bulk of the stock is pretty soaps and cupcake shaped bath bombs along with a little Paul £ Joe make-up and some Tarina Tarantino jewellery. Downstairs is a treasure trove of newly made clothes based on 1940s and 50s designs as well as a substantial underwear department housing vintage style garments and pretty panties. Having more than enough underwear myself I decided to purchase a pair of black sequin and bead nipple patties -no idea why but I've always wanted some at at £5 in the sale I wasn't exactly breaking the bank.

Since the boy decided to add a third scent to his growing collection with Ralph Lauren Blue, I felt I should do the same. Please note I will still pledge my allegiance to Coco Chanel, and shall probably wear it every day until I die, but occasionally I want for something a little lighter (plus at 50 odd quid a bottle and the way I spray it, its probably more prudent to having something to help spread out its life span). After smelling a few I opted for Stella McCartney's Stella...not a new kid on the block but the rose scent made me feel nostalgic and reminded me of my grandma's talc (though I will note you don't get very much for £30)!

I had a quick sneak into Accessorize while the boy perused the bargain bins in a record shop, hoping to find a few gems in the sale section. Unfortunately for the purse strings the only things I was taken with where full price...damn. After seeing a fellow blogger's purchases from this store via their YouTube video I really wanted the ribbon and chain bracelet with the big gold anchor charm. First dilemma being that I couldn't decide between the red, blue, or stripe ribbon. Second being that my tiny hands and wrists made it look as if it was going to fall off at any minute. So instead I went for a £12 chain, navy ribbon and pearl necklace and a £5 gold chain and black ribbon ring picked up last minute at the till


Surprisingly for me there where no Barry M purchases in Boots - though I do have three new nail paints due to arrive tommorow, ha! Other buys today where a massive gold skull ring from a trashy shop called Culture Vulture which is half covered in topaz rhinestones and half covered in clear. Plus the allusive stripy tee has now been found in the Gap Body section (for a bargainous on sale price of just £8). Also picked up a little Urban Retreat styling cream from TKMaxx which will only come in handy when we get a shower and I can finally put conditioner in my hair and actually use my straighteners to give my hair some wave (you can tell I'm missing the curly can't you?).

Right, being the good housewife that I am I'm off to await my beau's return from football practice and check on the roast gammon joint in the over. Who know's I may even wear the patties tonight ;)

(Apologies for the cut + paste pictures, I am still without a digital camera boo hoo!)

Half Way House

So, for some reason I thought painting the bathroom would be a one day, one coat job! Foolish me. I've done abut half of it (and FYI am hoping to get the boy to help out with a little roller action this afternoon!) and it's definately going to take two coats. Then there's the tiling to do so we can finely get a shower and then the finishing touches...and after over 2 months of living we will have one room completed lol.

Aye Carumba

I can't believe it's been a month since my last post. We've been moved in for about 4 weeks now, got unpacked pretty quick and put the flatpack together. We only got the internet set up yesterday as we had to wait like two weeks just for a regular phone line. We're both on holiday in a couple weeks which means unpacking those last few bits, putting up a lot of shelves (to house said last few bits) and getting everything looking pretty. I imagine (or should I say hope) taht there'll also be a little decorating going on. Which is what I need to get back to.....I'm furiously trying to cover the wishy washy 'is it blue, is it green' of the bathroom with a sexy sand colour and am getting angry at whoever last decorated that room (what have they done to make the woodword and wall kinda meld into one...gggrrrrr??????)