Thrifty Thursday - Busy Doing Nothing!

It's the 31st of January, many of the population will be getting paid today or would have been this week which will bring relief and joy to many! For 0.05% of the population who eagerly await the 7th of every month for payday (my colleagues and I) they are still hugely struggling through the end of this long month.

For me, the month of January has been about constant learning, motivation and giving up a lot of my sleep time to pursue something brand new! Thrifty Thursday, this week, was always going to be a real struggle because I literally have £000 to spend! What I'm going to do for TT this week is basically nothing!!

I've taken many a day off for granted in my time. Working a full-time job, then coming home to new freelance commitments as well as two blogs, interviews and grabbing any oppurtunities that come my way has taken its toll this month! Not to mention the adverse weather conditions complicating matters!

My lie-in got me out of bed just as the rain stopped, the clouds parted and the sunny blue skies appeared! Jumping out of bed after a much needed nine and a half hour sleep I went for a 30 min power walk through the woods with my little Bichon Frise, Princess, and came home for a healthy brunch.

Indulging in my guilty TV pleasure, Keeping Up With The Kardashians, for an hour followed and this afternoon will consist of a lengthy work out, Audrey Hepburn's 'Roman Holiday' and endless cups of tea.

Photo Source: Fanpop

No-one should feel guilty or ashamed of having days where they literally get nothing done, you look totally dull and you barely leave the house for more than 30 minutes, each time 100% make-up free. Check out the Celebrity Day Off post on Trendmill - that's enough to make you feel so much better!

Another really interesting post online is 'Why Time off is so Important' on LearnVest - it'll make you book time off in an instant!

With such busy lives and a lot of us having to juggle multiple jobs and oppurtunities to stay afloat and happy these days it doesn't come as a great surprise that most of us take our days off for granted without fully relaxing.

So for this Thrifty Thursday, stroll to your nearest Costa for a Cappucino and read Ok! Magazine cover to cover, get home and take a bath, finish your book, eat a whole share-sized Galaxy bar and have a candle-lit early night with Netflix!

For more tips of taking it easy visit 1000 Simple Ways To Enjoy Life - a fellow Blogger!

Photo Source - '1000 Simple Ways to Enjoy Life'

Happy resting everyone! I'm off for my workout! Where's my delightful Forever 21 training clothes?!

Layered Necklaces - Not Just For The Red Carpet!

Yesterday I Posted about layered necklaces and found some delicious pics of slebs such as SJP & Mary-Kate Olsen rockin' this edgy look.

SJP wore a huge layered statement piece on the red carpet to totally upstage her outfit, but I don't think a day inside a stuffy office is worthy of such fabulosity!

So I've opted to keep it a lot simpler, just like MK: Jennifer Aniston is also a huge fan of some necklace layering and is quite often seen in multiple pendants.

What I'm going to be wearing today: My Little Mermaid treasure box Disney Couture necklace, a DanFrank home-made statement short and the last addition is actually a chain I've unclipped off of an Ann Summers bra! I'm teaming it with my BooHoo Peace Maxi Dress, a vintage black jacket from the 90s & my ever-loyal Vans! All set for work... :(

I will add links to this post this evening after work as I haven't quite worked out how to do that on my iPad app yet!! The Jennifer Aniston photo is courtesy of stylebistro.com

Tweet me @sheldan2207 / comment below... Love your feedback xx Have A Good Dayyyy xx

Thrifty Thursday - Keeping The Old, Updating To New

Good afternoon Bloggers and welcome to this week's Thrifty Thursday! Hurrah!

This week I am looking into the feasibility of re-wearing all of your old jewellery again without looking like a hyper teenager in a Spongebob pendant!

 

The inspiration for recycling my jewellery came from the editor of the online magazine I am currently writing for, Britain's No1 Handmade Jewellery. My assignment was to put together a very short article on how you can recycle your old collections.

 

So, as you will see in the magazine when the next edition is out in March, this is my old necklace collection:

 

 

 

We've got some delightful hanging charms there, from a Claire's Accessories Spongebob pendant to a rather gorgeous Disney Couture necklace. Holiday necklaces, you know the ones with black string instead of chains? Yep they're up there too, along with items from Accessorize (balloon) and ASOS (diamond Mickey Mouse).

 

I've noticed some fashionistas on the red carpet rockin' a layered necklace look recently and thought it a vey easy (and cheap!) trend to pull off if you already have a million dangly things hanging around doing nothing (get it?! HANGING around...forget it..!).

  

You can opt for the all-out jumble ensemble like Sandra Bullock and Sarah Jessica Parker or take it a little easier like Mary-Kate Olsen.

 

 

I'm going to see how this goes for me tomorrow. I'll style out an outfit that includes at least 5 or 6 of my pendans and photograph the evidence.

 

Pic-post tomorrow!

 

 

 Tweet Me @sheldan2207 Your Cluster Collections!

 

Blogs & Sources

http://modecelebrity.blogspot.com

http://sengook.com
http://olsensanonymous.blogspot.com
 
 

 

January's Lust List

For most people it is the week before payday...for me it is the fortnight before payday. Either way I'm usually skint by now (I have a habit of leaving too much month at the end of my money) and have a long list of items that I'm lusting after! Every month I will share my 'Lust List'.

Being skint genuinely sucks. Especially so when essential household appliances blow up. Just like my microwave did yesterday. I can assure you, warming soup up on the hob is not only tedious, it is also extremely dangerous...I would show you my burn mark but it seems it is so small the camera lens can't focus on it...ANYWAY my first Lust Item is a state-of-the-art, big-shazam microwave!

Ok, so it's NOT state-of-the-art or the big shazam at all. But it is pink. And works! So it is my number 5 Lust Item of January! ( Available at Pink Princess for £70 )

Next on the list are new wellies! All his ice and all of this snow have done one thing for me - made me realise that my wellies are old, uncomfortable and are now a weird shade of faded pink. All-in-all they are gross and I need a new pair like these:

Dolce & Gabbana Leopard Print Wellies... They are just the dream aren't they?! ( Available at Far Fetch for £137.67 )

Number 3 on January's Lust List is actually a collection. A sunny little collection of bits I want and quite possibly NEED in my life to remind me of my Caribbean holiday...in Spetember (it's devastating everytime I remind myself how far away it is!) This collection comprises of handmade jewellery and swim items that have ridiculous price tags:

The triple strand parrot necklace is available at DanFrank Jewellery for £15 (barg!), the bikini, towel and case are from Agent Provocateur (£245, £135 and £895).

Number 2 is to satisfy my Kardashian Kraving. Khloe & Kim both announced via social networking yesterday that new Kardashian Kollection items were being launched in Dotty P's at the end of Feb (watch out for every item to be on next month's Lust List!) but it was Kourtney's revelation that got me excited..."Kardashian Khaos kandles!" - @KourtneyKardash

'How Expensive can candles be?' you may think...well let me tell you they are $40 EACH! Plus if you're outside of the US expect to pay huge shipping fees too! ( Available at Kardashian Khaos )

Last but not least on January's Lust List, I've gone extremely doo-lally for Dave...and wish to get my hands on everything Mr Attenborough has ever released (please note this is NOT a euphanism). The only man of his age who can keep me entertained AND learning is a marvel in himself. After watching his Africa & Galapagos series on series link this month and being blown away by the footage.. I want more! See David Attenborough on Amazon to buy his work.

What's in your Lust List this month?

 

Tweet me @sheldan2207

Comment below xxx

Out-Style The Snow

Buses are running, trains are going places, schools are open... has the UK finally realised life goes on with or without snow?! Craziness...

In the meantime, we also have to find ways to a) still look semi-decent smothered in 150 layers, b) stay sane when the snow day is done and c) avoid eye contact with the inconspicuous white sky...

Luckily for us all can be achieved...and pretty much all from the comfort of our own homes:

A) Looking semi-decent and keeping warm!
It plunged to -8 degrees pre-snowfall which is alarming when you're sat at work in leggings and a jumper and not much else << Freezing Fashion Fail!
Changing tactics, today I've opted for Black Jeans from Next teamed with a White Shirt and Jumper from H&M. Not only am I much warmer, I'm rocking that layered look that's hot right now with celebs such as Elle MacPherson, Kim K and Demi Moore:



Footwear is of utmost importance is such severe weather, but that doesn't mean we have to be super boring and wear the classic green welly or a pair of panic-bought snow boots from somewhere random like Aldi... It is 2013 and sexy booties are bang on trend! Simmi Shoes have some amazing pairs of wellies and boots of all heights on their site at the moment...there are even some still left in the sale:



Final features to complete your look are welly socks, gloves and, of course, a faux fur hat! Who said keeping warm had to be dull and dreary?!

B&C) The work day is done...
The commute home was a nightmare with delays running as long as an hour so you had to walk most of the way. Your perfectly prepared outfit from this morning is drenched, your hat covered in ice and your new boots have rubbed your feet. Time for some seasonal maths...

Options Hot Chocolate

+

Onesie

+

Cosy Slippers

+

Warm, Comfy Throw

+

Big Bang Box Set

=

The ULTIMATE Winter Wind-Down!

Photo Sources: 3am, Contact Music, Yahoo

The Ultimate Thrifty Thursday FAIL :(

When you have a free house what do you do? Nick a bit of Mum's rosé? Turn the music up loud and soak in a hot bubbly bath wasting the week's supply of hot water? Sit in pure silence taking in that new book you got for Christmas but haven't had a chance to even check the front cover out yet?

All of these things seem wonderful, but today I spent my free time in my free house mixing random household groceries together in a bowl then splatting it all over my face. All in the name of science... And beauty... And curiosity...

Researching the time-old classic of the home-made face mask was fun to do but proved difficult as most of the ones I found had something odd in it...like an avocado or almonds. Who the hell has this stuff at home? (Rhetorical question...)
I have a bunch of 'nanas sitting in the fruit bowl so I instead researched 'banana home made face mask'. Much better: I mashed one ripe 'nana in a bowl, mixed in a tablespoon of honey and then mixed it into a thick paste using Oat Burst Porridge Oats...the best I could do on such a stingy budget! Baring in mind it is -6 degress outside in Hertfordshire today I also added a splosh of boiling water from the kettle to warm up the proceedings. This, I'm sorry to say, is how it looked:

Smearing the mixture all over my poor face and lying there fighting the dog off made me feel like a muppet. After 10 minutes I was washing it off (it took about 3 minutes to ponder how I was going to get it all off without covering the bathroom).

To the recipe's credit my skin does feel ever so slightly tightened and, unless I'm going a bit mad, looks brighter. It is also baby soft. Looking a little further into it (and to question my sanity) I found out that bananas are a natural tightener for skin anyway (or 'an astringent' if you want the posh word), honey is a moisturiser and the oats would have been the exfoliant. All very woderful but I won't be doing it again in a rush.

So instead I need to find CHEAP alternatives from the shops...Here goes:

1) Body Shop Honey & Oat 3 in 1 Scrub Mask - £10
The ONLINE REVIEWS alone is enough to make me want to buy this; a 3 in 1 for a tenner?! Barg.

2)  APIVITA 2 Express Gold with Prickly Pear Masks available at Marks & Spencer - £5
Only 5/5 reviews for this and a description that uses the words 'exceptionally soft and supple'. Oooer!

3) Anatomicals Face Mask Pack x 3 at ASOS - £3
Erm did someone say £3 for THREE face masks AND FREE DELIVERY?!?! These, my friends, have been purchased. Let's see it the cheapies can do the job. Mmmm... chocolate! Reviews next week!!!
 

Bring The Sunshine!!

Yes, it IS snowing and yes, it IS below zero degrees... BUT bring a little warmth to your look this week by rocking bright nails!

The trend of the moment is supposed to be embracing nude and simple nails... Yet I'd prefer not to pay £25 for a boring high-shine, colour-free look that wont get noticed by anyone!

I've opted for this Essie polish in the lovely vibrant shade of Capri! It reminds me of my impending Dominican Republic holiday... I say impending... It is actually in September...Sighhhhhhhhhh...

At least my nails will shine bright this week... Even if I'm slipping and sliding all over this ice and snow! What are you wearing?

Happy painting!

Friday Night Fashion: Body-Con & Studs

Getting ready for a Friday night out is risky business for us ladies. You want to look your best but dress appropriately for the occasion all whilst making sure you're not too on show (if you know what I mean).

Last night my gal pal Lauren channelled saucy pop siren Katy Perry's red carpet style opting for a white studded dress from Missguided. Pairing the dress with coral peep toes and an OPI LDN:SKN tan she looked BEAUTS!


Inspired by Christina Milian's sultry ensemble I sampled the infamous Kardashian Kollection for the first time - I opted for the black bow-detail pencil skirt from Dorothy Perkins teamed with a navy cut-out corset from the ASOS sale rail!

According to Glamour, the number 3 trend for Spring '13 are 'Peekaboo Pieces' so I'm still surprised to see the ASOS corset STILL available in the sale for £18! Bargain!

See the top 10 Spring trends this year at http://www.glamour.com/fashion/2012/09/spring-2013-most-wearable-fashion-trends#slide=3

and buy the corset (currently only available in sizes 14, 16 & 18) at http://www.asos.com/ASOS/ASOS-Corset-with-Cut-Out-Angled-Sides/Prod/pgeproduct.aspx?iid=2364149&SearchQuery=Corset&sh=0&pge=0&pgesize=-1&sort=-1&clr=Navy

Shop Lauren's style at http://www.missguided.co.uk/flarie-studded-tailored-dress

LDN : SKIN By OPI - A Friday Fake Bake Special

As far as fake tanning goes I'm an amateur. I've had a bottle of Lauren's Way sitting on my shelf since last May, haunting my milky complexion from afar!

I've always relied on Sprays done by the professionals; they know exactly what they're doing!

Yesterday, I spent the morning shaving, exfoliating and moisturising (as instructed) then headed off to get my OPI LDN:SKN Fake Bake from local beautician Stephanie Anderson.

Not only was it NOT a messy spray tan, it was expertly applied by hand AND smelled amazing! Everyone always carries on about the 'biscuit smell' that is immediately associated with fake tan but this had a lovely sweet, musty smell which reminded me of the fragrance section in a department store.

Having to go straight to work from a tanning sesh is never ideal. The last time I did this I looked worse than Jodie Marsh on competition day. After getting the OPI tan though, the colour developed just enough and actually stopped getting darker after a few hours.

The morning after, I showered apprehensively as this is usually where it all goes wrong for me; being so pale the streaking can be extremely obvious! The tan I have from OPI is so even, natural and still streak-free! Hugely successful considering some of my previous experiences!

This tan comes highly recommended by me! It comes in 3 shades available in a mousse, lotion or a spray:
Tone 1 - An everyday application that comes out over a few days;
Tone 2 - What I had... Pics will follow in tomorrow's outfit review!
Tone 3 - A really dark application suitable for your cameo on TOWIE

If you're from Hertfordshire and want to contact Stephanie, follow her on Twitter @pupsydog
(Photo belongs to Stephanie Anderson)

Thrifty Thursday - Cleverly Customised Calenders

This week's post follows on from my ideas yesterday. It's all well and good having a delightful mood board but if you have nowhere to hang it, then you have a slight problem.

 

It's the 10th of January so we should all by now have our new calenders/filos/diaries on the go...so really this week's project shouldn't cost you a penny!

 

We look at our organisers every day and all we see are numbers and pages, but why should we stare drearily and count down the days until our next big thing? I'm going to customise my diary with images similar to those on my moodboard so I can be reminded of my goals and what in turn is going to make me happy this year!

 

That weekend away - the one that is going to be the first weekend away of the year and isn't until March:

 

 

(Excuse the terrible picture quality - blame my BlackBerry!)

 

That week before the super luxurious trip to the Caribbean - the one you've spent all year preparing for:

 

 

 

Inject a little fun back into your everyday lives. I used images from the Boots magazine I mentioned yesterday (only because I haven't had a chance to go and stock up on my glossies!) but you can also take your own pics to really pump some personality into your organiser!

 

These are some of my personal photos that could be used on my moodboard/in my organiser:

 

It can literally be anything that will help you see through the year happy and successful!

Give it a go, it's just a little bit of penny-pinchin' fun

 

xx



 

Get to your Goals!

That famous saying, 'New Year, New You' - it haunts every single one of us every year. It's all very well having aims and motivation for January but, there's 11 more months to go!

 

Boots Health & Beauty Magazine has an inspiring article in the current edition (on sale for £1.50 or free for Advantage Card holders!):

MOTIVATIONAL MOOD BOARDS

 

I looked at it for a split second and immediately started thinking about what would be on mine.

My main aims for this year are:

 

1) Feel and look fitter in time for my holiday in September

 

2) Discover my own sense of style and feel more comfortable in clothes again (goodbye leggings!)

 

3) Keep more up-to-date on the current affairs that don't involve celebrities (crime, health, politics, etc.)

What are yours??

 

They're pretty much the same every year and about the same time every year... I give up! Usually around end of January, beginning of February and my motivation has gone right out of the window.

Not this year!
I quicky created this one to give an idea of what I mean:

 

It's everything I'm aiming for but visually looks so much nicer than a boring old list!

I found some more awesome ones online - they're mainly for textile moodboards but they are really awesome:

 

 

It's a fun way to keep track of what you set out to achieve at the start of the year! Which leads me on to tomorrow's Thrifty Thursday post... Motivational Diaries - you don't need to go out and spend a fortune to get on track! Spend £1 on a diary and the rest is cut and stick!

x See you tomorrow x

Tweet me @sheldan2207
Comment below
xx

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thrifty Thursday - DIY Eyebrows: E.L.F Brow Kit Review

Afternoon everyone!

This week my Eyebrow Collection from E.L.F Cosmetics arrived prompting me to test the kit ASAP!

 

Ever since the likes of TOWIE, Desperate Scousewives and Keeping Up With The Kardashians hit our screens the Power Brow seems to have hit the faces of everyone worth noticing; from Rita Ora to Cara Delevigne to Camilla Belle:

 

 

 

Having never taken much notice of my little caterpillars before, the thought of them being the centre of attention is a little daunting. Usually, I'd prefer to wear a casual smokey eye during the day NOT huge eyebrows accentuating my every emotion; but I'll give it a go anyway.

 

So this is the kit:

 

 

 

£6 from E.L.F Cosmetics it is a wonderful bargain considering it costs me £6 a week/fortnight to get my eyebrows waxed. The kit comes complete with 4 stencils (which are a little bit flimsy so take care when taking them apart from each other), tweezers, eyebrow brush, setting mascara, eyebrow gel and powder.

 

If, like me, you're a D.I.Y-brow-virgin do not fear! The instructions on the back are pretty simple. The only other extra thing I'd suggest is having an eyebrow pencil which is the right shade for your skin tone as the gel and powder in the kit are extremely light. If you want the power brow I would suggest something much darker.

 

So what do you think? This is my attempt at at the very thick 'Full Arch' (excuse the duck face - it's a natural reaction when a camera appears):

 

 

 

It was Ok but didn't seem to suit my face. I have naturally large eyes which were automatically shrunk by the thickness of the Full Arch. So I tried again - this time with the 'Soft Arch':

 

 

 

Seemed a nicer shape but still a little too thick. So then I started improvising and reduced the size by a fraction to come up with my finished shape. To finalise the look I used the gel and powder to make sure the colour was slightly more natural than just black:

 

 

 

Altogether my eyebrow efforts took approxiamtely 45 minutes! Not very efficient if you're in a rush to get to work but seems Ok if you're getting ready to party - a LOT of wine can be consumed in 45 minutes!

Overall, though, the kit was the perfect first step to doing your own eyebrows. The stencils, like I said, are rather flimsy but there is an arch to suit most faces. The gel isn't dark enough for my colouring but the powder is the perfect shade and texture to make them look natural after using a dark pencil. Very pleased that I am now on the Brow-Wagon and it won't cost me an absolute fortune!

 

What do you think? Anyone got any brow tips for me?

 

@sheldan2207 or comment below

 

xoxox

Brazen Brollies

Tis the season to... get wet! Forget about dreaming for a white Christmas, what we really wanted this Holiday Season was for the rain to stop!

However hard we begged the rain to stop falling, it still remains an issue. Popping to the bank, running for a loaf of bread, taking the dog for a walk; it's all so much harder to handle in this incessant drizzle!

What makes me even more upset is the fact that I don't even own an umbrella. Until now...
Casually trapsing through my Twitter feed earlier today I realised how stunning an umbrella can be.
'Love Umbrellas' ( @LoveUmbrellasKlair ) have changed the way I see an umbrella; they used to just be an awkward tool that had to be used to keep your freshly ironed hair straight an your perfectly polished face perfect. Now, they are playful accessories available in a rainbow of colours and girly shapes:



Seeing these beauties I wondered what other hair-saving designs can be found online? Trust me, there is no excuse for any of us to have the standard black rain-tool with the brollies I found!

Lisbeth Dahl umbrellas do girly vintage glamour perfectly and one of these would be the perfect addition to a posh frock on a night out. These ones are available from Mollie & Fred from £16.99:



Another brilliant brolly guru is Lulu Guinness; taking the LBD to umbrella form giving each one an elegant twist. These are my top Lulu picks available on her website:



Anyone else planning a payday treat?