Sunday 29 August 2010

So Ling, where are all these videos you keep promising us??

(Long post warning...)

Sorry guys... things are way busy here. I'm currently at my parents house but my laptop and both my cameras are at my flat in Southwest London (yep, I moved!!) and so I haven't filmed anything this weekend. We still don't have net at our flat yet (I'm sharing
with two other girls - you might get to meet one of them! the other is shy about being on camera XD) so even if I had made a video, I wouldn't be able to upload it :(
I have planned various tutorials and some reviews (maybe? wow. I haven't reviewed a product in a looooooong time) and also this months faves (Toffee's Top Ten).

But for now, if you don't mind playing along with my excuses and checking out some rubbish iPhone piccies, then be my guest and enjoy my little post for today!

A cute outfit I LOVE! FYI that's not my room :P I'm not THAT tidy!

I've totally been loving the blue and pink French manis lately!
Top: Eyeko Rain Polish and Eyeko Punk Polish on the tips
Bottom: O.P.I. Nail Lacquer in Dim Sum Plum and Eyeko Rain Polish on the tips

This was me this morning around 7am! I was up bright and early to hop along to a carbooty sale with my father after we had dropped mother to work! My eyes look a bit puffy from little sleep and I have no lip product on.

This is a dress I found in this little boutique store called Oxygen in The Peacocks Centre in Woking. It was the only dress I liked from my little shopping trip and I didn't buy it! LOL

So finally got my hands on this little gemstone! A 7 day sample of Lancôme Teint Miracle liquid foundation in shade number 3.

It was quite late (about 4.40pm and Boot's was closing at 5) but I managed to ask one of the Boots assistants to help me! No Lancôme counter ladies were working today, not in Debenham's either! But nevermind!

The SA wasn't sure what she was doing (she seemed quite young and new at the job) so she let me look at the four shades and guesstimate my own shade and test it with a cotton bud. Which was fine, since I knew what I was doing. I tried shade 1 first, but that was too light and then I picked out shade 3 to try and it matched perfectly. Shade 2 seemed a bit too pink toned!

So the SA filled up the teeny tiny glass bottle of shade 3 for me to wonder home with, and it was happy days! She even gave me back my voucher! Mother is going to take it in with her tomorrow to get a sample for herself :P

The bottle is very cute, but I wasn't sure if it would last the whole 7 days. However, it was free and from Lancôme, so I didn't kick up a fuss.

Here is a nice little dollop of the stuff, which I took from my bottle which actually comes with a little plastic paddle thing inside the lid. Almost like a spatula thingy :P (I forgot to take a pic, sorry!)

I spread the dollop out (blended a little too) and to my amazement, there was a LOT of product! Let me tell you, that little dollop probably could've done one of my cheeks! Maybe there is hope for this little sample after all!

It blends out beautifully, covers well (from what I can tell since my hand doesn't have any blemishes on it...) and has this really nice scent! Possibly perfumed? But it's not an over-powering scent and it seems gentle enough that it wouldn't harm sensitive skin. Maybe it's just there to cover up the nasty chemically smell?

All in all, I would urge you to get one yourself to give it a go! I got my voucher from their Facebook site and all I had to do was fill in a simple form and print off my voucher at the end! The bottle is super cute and made of glass! So if all else fails with the product, you could just reuse the bottle for holidays and travelling! I have high hopes for this foundation. I feel I may be on the cusp of my new favourite base... I'll try to keep you posted :P

Okay, so whilst I've got you, I was tagged! It's the 'this or that' tag which I had actually not come across until today when two sweet girls (Jenny and Claire) tagged me! Jenny told me via my Twitter feed and if you ever want to know what's going on with me, I'm there. On Twitter. Constantly. Well, almost ;) Anywhere I have an internet connection! And I'm not unconscious...

Basically, the tag is to answer questions in each category asking which you'd rather use/have! These are my answers:

Makeup
blusher or bronzer
lately, I've been a bronzer girl
lip gloss or lip stick
stick for day, gloss for night!
eye liner or mascara
easy! mascara :) people seem to think my eyes are lined anyway...
foundation or concealer
I find that my foundation covers pretty much everything anyway
neutral or colour eye shadow
colour! I love to change up my look and I've been favouring light pinks lately. They really bring a sparkle to the eyes :)
pressed or loose eye shadow
I think pressed is always easier, but there is major fun in loose pigments!
brushes or sponges
Brushes, hands down.

Nails
opi or china glaze
It HAS to be O.P.I. I own two China Glaze polishes because they were on sale in my local Sally's and I never felt such disappointment with any other polish... O.P.I. rocks!!!!
long or short
Long, but not too long! One should be able to type with relative speed! We'd all be sat in front of our computers for hours if not! Oh wait... I DO sit in front of my computer for hours...
acrylic or natural
Natural!
brights or darks
Brights, but I do like darks occasionally :)

Body
perfume or body splash
Perf. Hardly use body splash since I growed up!
lotion or body butter
I think body butter, but I don't really moisturise my body... I know! Such a bad influence XD
body wash or soap
Body wash because soap totally dries out my skin and leaves it feeling super ICKY!
lush or other bath company
Well, I use my Lush Snow Fairy shower gel practically everyday, but I love my The Body Shop stuff that I use on my face... so its a tie?

Fashion
jeans or sweat pants
For fashion, it's jeans of course but sweat pants (or joggers as my friends like to call them) are SUPER comfy for lounging around or working out!
long sleeve or short
Both? It's starting to get cold around the UK again and I've pulled out a few long sleeve shirts to wear.
dresses or skirts
Dresses!!!! There's nothing like putting on a dress! I always feel so dressed up :P DRESSed up! Get it?? Haha... shut up, Ling. You're not funny. And now you're talking to yourself. Let's hope no one's reading this bit...
stripes or plaid
ummm plaid! I don't own a lot of stripy items. There was a big craze over stripy clothes a few years back and I really disliked it.
flip flops or sandals
Sandals because flip flips hurt my feet... I can't deal with that bit that goes in between the toes. Major owwie!
scarves or hats
Scarves! gosh those things take me through winter and back again! hats just don't really suit me.
studs or dangly earrings
Studs are my go-to and I do have loads of pairs of those, but dangly are so elegant and (for me) only used when I need to feel extra special!
necklaces or bracelets
That's tough. I think I would remember to pick a bracelet before a necklace though!
heels or flat
Heels! This girl needs all the height she can get! Although flats are much more practical and comfortable (most times!).
cowboy boots or riding boots
Um, cowboy? I don't really own a pair of either but I think cowboy ones are more stylish? Is that right? Err... moving on...
jacket or hoodie
Jacket, but I do have a ton of hoodies! Same situation with the jeans/sweat pants conundrum!

Hair
curly or straight
Straight, but only because that's my natural hair. I love my hair curly too!!
bun or ponytail
Ponytail, unless I'm doing ballet, in which case I'll whip up my amazing bun skills! (Click me for a ballet bun video hair tutorial)
bobby pins or butterfly clips
Er... kirby grips?
hair spray or gel
Spray! But I don't mind gel :) Gel and I have had a good long standing relationship!
long or short
Long!!! I had short hair once (insert bad picture of me aged 12 or 13) and I hated it! Couldn't wait to have long again.
light or dark
Dark! I'd look so weird with light hair!
side swept bangs or full bangs
Side swept fringe
up or down
Down, most of the time. It looks profess when its up though!

Random
rain or shine
Shine! I really dislike rain... it gets all up in my face!!!
summer or winter
Summer. I like to feel the warmth on my skin and the vitamin D soaking up in my veins!
autumn or spring
Spring. I was born at the end of Spring and I love seeing all the little baby aminals! (Haha yeah sometimes I say it like that - aminals!)
chocolate or vanilla
Oooh vanilla. I've always found chocolate (on it's own) not sweet enough for me.

And now, I have to tag some cute girlies!


I think 5 is enough, eh?

If you made it this far, congratulations!!!!!! And, I love you :) <3

Love love and BIGBIGlove!!
Toffee xXxXx

Tuesday 24 August 2010

*Updated* What I am currently using #

Hair Care
Shampoo: Herbal Essenses Seductively Straight Shampoo and The Body Shop Rainforest Shine Shampoo
Conditioner: Herbal Essenses Seductively Straight Conditioner and The Body Shop Rainforest Shine Conditioner
Styling Products: Aussie Luscious Long Leave-in Conditioner

Skin - Body & Face
Shower Gel: Lush Snow Fairy (yes, I still have lots of this :P I managed to stock up on two huge bottles and I got two medium ones from a friend!)
Body Moisturiser: none... I know its bad, but I've never really used one except when I had eczema
Deodorant: Garnier Mineral Deodorant in Fresh
Face Wash: Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish and Superdrug Tea Tree Foaming Face Wash
Exfoliator: Boots Botanics Purifying Face Scrub

Today's Make-Up
Primer: Laura Mercier Foundation Primer
Foundation Brush: I didn't today...
Foundation: Maybelline Dream Mousse Foundation (not sure what shade) - this is the only foundation I had at my parents house (where I stayed last night) but I find that it generally dries out my skin and doesn't last... I think it holds up better with the primer though!

Current Make-Up Reaches
(the ones I've been reaching for the most - I didn't think my title really made much sense XD)
Concealer: Max Factor Mastertouch Concealer
Powder: Maybelline Pure Foundation Mineral
Blusher: none!
Bronzer: The Body Shop Baked-To-Last Bronzer in Golden Bronze or Warm Glow - I love these both and will be using them until they run out, I'm sure!
Highlighter: none :)
Eyeshadow Base: none - I don't tend to use one as I find it creases but if I just apply eye shadow, its fine! How odd.
Eyeshadows: Sleek iDivine Palette in The Original
Eyeliner: not a big fan of eyeliner, but the last one I wore was Eyeko Graffiti Eyeliner Pen in Navy
Mascara: Eyeko Big Eyes Mascara and Collection 2000 Magi-Length Mascara
Lipstick: MAC Sweetie
Lipgloss: Revlon Super Lustrous Lip Gloss in Pink Afterglow

Nails
Nail Treatments: O.P.I. Matte Nail Envy
Nail Base: O.P.I. Matte Nail Envy
Nail Colour: O.P.I. Dim Sum Plum (from the Hong Kong collection)
Top Coat: 17 Double Gloss Top Coat

If you would like to read a blog review of any of the products above (except maybe the Maybelline Dream Mousse Foundation) I will be happy to provide! Just leave me a comment!!

Oh, and don't forget to do this too!

*(all pictures sourced from Google, except the two giant monsters of Snow Fairy - that one is mine :P)


Love love and currentloves!
Toffee xXxXx

Thursday 19 August 2010

A little bit of nail art #

Please excuse the bad quality piccies, as these were taken with my breaking 2G iPhone! (I'm on the lookout for a white iPhone 3GS so if you know someone getting rid of one, please let me know!)
I recently received a blogger sample pack from Viva La Nails and some of the things I was sent were adorable! I wanted to try a few of them out straight-away so here are pics of me wearing the 3D flower stickers that came in my pack!

Nail art stickers are great for a quick design that will get noticed and complimented!

(My little finger isn't missing a flower, the design is just leaves! I thought a smaller design looked cuter but it kinda just looks like the flower dropped off! Incidentally, one petal has come off both my first fingernail and my ring fingernail!)

(a blurry close-up shot!)

I used a different one for the thumb :)

I used Eyeko Tea Rose Polish as a base colour and then sealed over the top of the sticker with Eyeko Petite Polish!

So after applying two layers of Tea Rose Polish, I added a sticker to my nail, using my nails on my other hand! Ideally I would've used tweezers, but I didn't have any to hand and couldn't be bothered to go hunting for them at the time... Then applied a thin layer of Petite Polish (which is quite a sheer colour but the pigmentation shows up more obviously on other colours) to seal the sticker onto the nail.

3D nail stickers do look cool but I'm not sure I like the effect. I don't like feeling bumps on my nails and the fact that they are easily peeling off (another petal is peeling from my first finger) even after sealing it again last night with a thick layer of my favourite top coat (17 Double Gloss Top Coat) is really not ideal for me! However, I do like the flatter stickers and I hope they will last a bit longer :)


This last pic is just to show the difference in colour when Eyeko Petite Polish is layered over Eyeko Tea Rose Polish :) It added a light touch but doens't look washed out and actually rather lightens up the polish quite nicely!

I'm sure I will have some other nail designs using Viva La Nails products, but check them out here if you want to see the other designs they have!

Also, if you wanted to get some Eyeko products (I love their Big Eyes Mascara and the finish on the nail polishes - which is weird since I'm a bit of a snob with polishes and mainly only buy OPI) then you can use my code E2034 at the checkout at eyeko.com and receive a free gift when you spend over £10/12Euros/$15!

Hope everyone is well!

Love love and nailstickerlove!
Toffee xXxXx

Tuesday 17 August 2010

Mini Update & Tag!!

Hello!

Okay so first of all, just to say that my giveaway will be sorted out soon, but I am leaving it open for now as I still haven't decided on the prizes. BAD LING. Anyway, you can still enter here if you like!

I'm currently in the process of moving house! Moving to London town so will be nice to be back into lively action again!

So the reason for this post is that I was tagged twice and I need to do it! Once by Vicky (vanity-fashionista) and once by Helen (cherrychan108) who are both lovely girls who I follow regularly :)

The Rules:
~ answer all 8 questions given by the tagger
~ make up 8 of your own questions
~ tag some people to answer your questions

Vicky's Questions:
1. Twitter or Facebook?
Twitter... it's the first thing I check on my phone because its so addictive and instant! But I couldn't give up Facebook... too many friends I can't contact otherwise!
2. Tea, coffee or hot chocolate?
Hands down hot chocolate! But tea is definitely second and coffee last (bleurgh!) unless its a white chocolate mocha in which case it beats tea! And white hot chocolate beat everything! Sugar > caffeine anytime!
3. iPhone or Blackberry?
I'm in iPhone girl. I don't really know how to work Blackberries and I love my 2G despite it being super slow! It's so indestructible being aluminium! Dropped numerous times and never smashed :D
4. Words or Pictures?
Tried to answer this last time and even though pictures are so cute and you can stare at them all day etc and they're worth 1000 words, 1000 words is MUCH better :D I fall in love with song lyrics and you can be left thinking the same phrase all the time! Also its so much easier to pass messages through words. Although, communicating with pictures would be cool (like cartoons?) and great for language barriers... all in all, WORDS!
5. Cinema or DVD?
DVD - you can pause, adjust volume, move about, lie down (if you want to), come back to it later and watch in bed :P Cinema is fun on occasion too!
6. Still or Sparkling water?
STILL. I dislike fizzy drinks.
7. Toy Story 2 or Toy Story 3?
Toy Story 3 ^^
8. Windows laptop or Apple Macbook?
Windows laptop! I love my Dell (Molly) and even though she's breaking, she's the best thing that happened to my online presence! Without her, I would not have a YT channel :)

Helen's Questions:
1: What's your earliest memory?
My family took a trip to Scotland because my dad was working there and my brother told me about the Loch Ness Monster. Bad times for Ling as I get very easily scared and I was very impressionable as a little girl (I still am rather impressionable...). So we drove up to Loch Ness where there is a huge statue of Nessie, a MONSTER, and of course, being scared of something that could eat me, I'm crying. No one knew why so my dad put me on the car bonnet (stood up) and took a picture of me crying. (The car is parked next to the statue) We still have this picture somewhere in the house :P
2: What's the meaning to life?
Live to reproduce? Not sure. I dunno. Have fun, I guess!
3: What would you do if you found out that the sky was actually pink all this time?
Make sure everything else was the 'right' colour too and then you know, rejoice because I like pink! And when the sky actually is pink (from the sun) its gorgeous!
4: Little Black Dress or Little White Dress?
This is a toughie for me! Because I have dark features, I love wearing white dresses! They make me feel so summery but I have to go with the LBD. Works with every occassion, any time and any where!
5: Who's concert are you dying to go to next?
No ones? I'm not a big concert go-er so I think I'll stay home and make videos instead!
6: I'm a genie and I grant you a wish, what shall it be?
The best video making equipment in the world and time to make videos!
7: Cosmopolitan or Glamour Magazine?
Glamour :)
8: What's your worst habit?
Probably being an annoying person. Being a little sister, it comes with the territory but it's not only my siblings that I can annoy...


My Questions:
1. What's your opinion on Hello Kitty?
2. Newton or Darwin, and reason?
3. Gold jewellery or silver?
4. When was the last time you used a desktop computer that wasn't at work?
5. Have you ever been on the Southern Hemisphere (south of the equator)?
6. Peanut butter, jelly or ice-cream?
7. Butterflies or flowers?
8. What's your good deed of the week?

Beautiful Bloggers that I'm tagging:
2. Claire (fashion teller)
3. Sophie (sophie rose)
4. Carla (missrandomesss)
5. Carly (millmo7)
6. Gemma (gemsmaquillage)
7. Zoe (zoella)

If you want me to answer my questions too, just ask :)

Early in the morning, just as the day is dawning, Pat feels he's a really happy man. Everybody knows his bright, red van. All his friends will smile as they wave to greet him. Maybe, you can never be sure, they'll be knocks *knock knock*, rings *doorbell*, letters through your door :)

Amazing song.

Love love and taglove!
Toffee xXxXx

Tuesday 10 August 2010

No post today as blogger decided to kill my spirit

ARGH. I just wrote a whole blog post and clicked post but then it said my request could not be fulfilled and now I am filled with rage.

Not fun times :(