Outfit Post: Velvet and Frills

Hey guys,

This is just a post showing what I decided to wear today, hope you enjoy! I am currently looking out my window however and its raining and very windy *sigh*. Yay Irish weather! Picture this with a long black coat, a hood and a thick scarf. Maybe with some fingerless gloves. Oh well, at least I know my outfit is pretty even if no-one else will really see it! 

I am wearing a frilled jersey top from New Look, a velvet skirt from... somewhere... patterened tights from Penneys/Primark, patent docs which you can buy in  most shoe shops or online and a sparkly cardigan from Bershka.

Spaaaaaaarkles.

I am also wearing this watch, the strap isn't that nice but I love the way the numbers are different sizes on the face.

I love this hair clip, it was around 3 Euro in Penneys/Primark many many moons ago.

I did my make-up using my Urban Decay Smoked Palette which i reviewed here. I used colours that were similar to my nails, which I showed here.

And throughout all the fuss of playing around with my tripod, angles, light and changing position several times Loki was dead to the world on my bed! I wish I could sleep like that.

Rebecca. 

Sparkly Nails!

Hey guys,

Something I am not very good at is nail art, I don't have a steady hand and I lack patience. However I want to try out some new things with my nails for a change and see if I can improve a little along the way. I've seen manicures done this way with black or silver sparkles which I think would look even better but I went with what I had just so I could try it out. 

Right is Sally Hansen Double Duty Strengthening Base and Top coat
Middle is Essence Colour & Go in Time for Romance (number 72)
Left is Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Black Platinum (number 340) 

These are the colours that I used but you could use whatever ones you have. The trick is that the sparkles are a good way to hide uneven French tips. 

So the first thing I did was apply a base coat and then I then did French style tips free-handed with two coats of Black Platinum. I was watching a movie at the same time so didn't bother applying the polish with my hand on a flat surface, as a result the tips are really uneven but it doesn't matter because... 

I then added two layers of Time for Romance. The above photo shows one coat, when I applied the second coat I concentrated on getting the sparkles on the uneven parts of the black tip. 

Lastly I applied a top coat for a nice gloss and I was finished. I like to do my nails at night and then the excess comes off in the shower the next morning so excuse any messiness because this was taken right after I was finished. 

Simple eh? Do you have any favourite nail art designs? Or maybe you know some tips and tricks to make life a bit easier when attempting a manicure?

I would love to hear back from you guys!
Rebecca. 

Urban Decay: Smoked Palette

Hey guys,

My sister bought me this gorgeous palette from Urban Decay for Christmas and since I have been using it for over a month now, I decided to review it.

Practical and Endurable

It is presented in a black box (not photographed) and the palette itself is secured in a small travel friendly zipped case. My boyfriend lives three hours away from me and so I do a lot of travelling on my days off, the small size means that it fits in my bag easily and the sturdy zip means that I do not have to worry about the shadows smashing. The colours are all what I would consider everyday since I wear a lot of darker shadows during the day.

Quality and Colour Pay-off

The shadows are pigmented, blend easily, are long lasting, soft and very versatile. There is a combination of matte shades and sparkly shades and they are all quite rich deep colours. As you can see you use the lighter shades for a more neutral look but then you have the jet black and the richer shades for something heavier. They come out almost exactly the same as they are in the palette and my favourites are 'Rockstar' (left row second from the top), 'Asphalt' (left row very bottom) and 'Muhsroom' (right row 3rd from the top). All of these colours are lovely together or blended with the matte black shade.

From right to left:
Kinky
Freestyle
Mushroom
Backdoor
Blackout 

From right to left:
Barlust
Rockstar
Evidence
Loaded
Asphalt

Extras
There is a little booklet included which shows you how to use the shadows to achieve a few different looks which is quite useful and a thoughtful feature. 

The palette comes with an excellent quality kohl eye-liner and of course the much raved about primer potion. I actually find Urban Decay shadows to be of such good quality that I rarely use the primer potion but instead save it for cheaper shadows and nights out. One irritating thing is that there is nowhere in the palette to keep the potion but that's not exactly a deal-breaker or anything. 

The words that come to mind with this palette are practical, versatile, high quality and beautiful. What more could a gal want? Of course at 35 Euro it is expensive but I honestly think its well worth the money.

The zipper

Nice tidy size

What about you guys? Anyone else tried this palette or something similar by Urban Decay? Or maybe you have a favourite palette or eye-shadow by a different brand?

I would love to hear!

Rebecca :)

My Kitty: 6 Months Later

Hey guys. I hope you are all keeping well and that 2013 has been a great year for everyone so far. 

Back in July I got a cat which I posted about here. He was sitting on my bed today and it reminded me of a photo I took the first week I got him. I have had him 6 months now and he has really come out of his shell and funnily enough his best friend is our little black and white dog, sometimes all you can see is a blur of black and white as they roll around on top of one another playing. When one is bored they'll go over and try and start a mock fight with the other one but they have never hurt each other.

Below is the photo that I took when I first got him. He really hated that collar! The light fell so beautifully on that picture, its one of my favourites. 

This is the photo that I took of him today, he's filled out a lot especially around his face and he has definitely grown. We have been through a lot together already, in August he broke his paw and he ended up in cage confinement for around 2 months which was quite stressful. I felt so badly for him being locked up like that but he healed very well in the end. He has been to the vets a few times but is on special food now and seems to have settled into himself very well so I am very proud of how well he has been doing. We have always had family pets making Loki my first proper pet! 

How about you guys? Any pets or animal related adventures or stories? I would love to hear!

Thank you for reading everyone,
Rebecca.

Irish Mythology Post: An Dearg-Due

I have a very interesting little story for you guys this week. It's an old Irish legend about a young lady with a penchant for the blood of those unfortunate enough to have wronged her...

Labelled for reuse. Click for source.

The story goes that she was a young maiden (whenever I hear the word maiden I always assume they're clad in white and go around with their hand to their forehead in a damsel in distress kind of way...) who found love with a peasant from her local town. Her father was less than impressed and decided to marry her off to a wealthy man who treated her horribly. 

What's a girl to do?

Why commit suicide and come back one year later to suck the blood out of your greedy father and abusive husband, what else! It is reputed that she is buried in a small churchyard in Waterford and rises from her grave a few times a year to seduce men and drain their blood. Some versions of the story say that she drains life breath, kind of like Demontors in Harry Potter, and others say that she can turn into a bat. 

Labelled for reuse. Click for source.

The only way to defeat an Dearg- Due (means 'Red Blood Sucker) is to pile stones on her grave in order to trap her in the earth. 

Hope you guys enjoyed this story.

Rebecca :)