25 Jul 2013

Shade Attack | Tame Those Shades

 


 

 



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  I never thought I would complain about a lack of rain, but man it's hot!! I'm hooked up to a permanent drip of ice cold ginger beer, the backs of my legs are sweating so much that I keep getting suctioned to my chair. My mantle piece is littered with sunglasses of various shades and prints rather than my usual nick nac's which have now been tossed into the nearest draw, they look like shiny over sized exotic beetles some on their backs with their legs splayed out helplessly in all directions, not neatly put away in leather cases like they should be, cleverly resisting scratches and smudges.
 
 Oh well, I do have some thoughts on how to generate that mysterious, expensive aloof style that happens when you bring together the right sunglasses with the right look even if I am pretty careless with my own. Believe it or not, I think even expensive shades/sunglasses can look cheap and usually this happens when you choose a pair that totally over powers your look a bit like a bling ring. Even if you couldn't give flying frog about co-ordination think back to classic looks they become classic for a reason, they work with you. I've fallen happily in love with the classics over at shadestation.co.uk . 
 By now you probably know which shades work for your face shape, I wrote a guide here if not, the most important thing to remember when choosing and wearing sunglasses is the context needs to be right too, take the first image I chose, the models high blonde hair and bleached out features are the perfect back drop for these winged encrusted beauties she's wearing, because if she was minus these shades we all know that she would be wearing huge faux eyelashes to amp up her eyes.

14 Jul 2013

Bling Slippers And Venetion Palaces

 
 


 
 
So I have snuck back onto your screen, hoping you have not noticed that I vanished for a short time, I'm in the middle of some life changing stuff and it's been hard juggling everything so I decided to just focus on a couple of things, rather than do lots badly. I'm planning a trip to Venice on the 10th of August for five days with A, we have decided to be a bit posh and spend more on a shorter holiday, so we are staying at Palazzetto Pisani Boutique Resort an old small palace, there are quite a few palaces that have been converted to hotels in Venice. The hotel has a water door into the building which means if we want to arrive at our hotel entrance via the canal we can, I love the idea of stepping onto a boat and gliding up to the hotel door. 

 
 
 
 The first time I went to Venice was as part of our Honeymoon and even though we only stayed for three days, It really felt like more than just romantic, I liked the mix of tranquil canals and the bustle and mystery of Venice. I wore my bargain pair of silk ivory wedding slippers I picked up to go with my wedding dress, heavily embellished with beads and sequins.
 
 In Venice the concept of being over dressed doesn't really exist so me and my bling slippers blended right in and when a super stylish local Venetian women told me she loved my slippers and then wanted to know where I bought them, it made my day. I've changed my attitude to shorter holidays since my first trip to Venice, I decided I hate the whole packed itinerary of must see tourist destinations. So although I still make sure I know where the good stuff is now, I prefer to let the place I'm visiting reveal its secrets to me and then just wander aimlessly through the city streets, up and down alleys, pressing my nose against shop windows until something catches my eye.
 
 
 
 
One thing I'm not leaving to chance is where to eat, lots of visitors to Venice complain about the cost and bland nature of food, I had a laugh when when I came across a blogger that had dedicated a whole blog to her experience of breakfast in Venice, to help others avoid dodgy brioche and watery coffee, but thanks to her I can save myself hours hunting down a good coffee shop.
 
 
 I have done a little bit of research into favourite restaurant's and cafes where the locals go to eat and have discovered where you can get the best meatballs, pizza gelato (ice- cream) and Jewish pastries shaped like horns filled with a creamy almond paste. Are you off on a adventure this summer?     
 
 
 * Images courtesy of Palazzetto Pisani Boutique Resort *
 

1 Jul 2013

Sodium Lauryl Sulphate Free Options

Image courtesy of apartment therapy
 
So I'm on a bit of a mission at the moment to eradicate Sodium Lauryl Sulphates from by  bathroom, after trying all kinds of tooth paste and range of natural solutions that involves everything from sea salt and cooking oils like sunflower and olive oil, which nearly had a friend of mine throwing up on my shoe. I am finally happy to reveal the winning cheap as chips friendly flexible formulae is ta da! Baking Soda!
 
 Minty Toothpaste Not So Slick
 So how do I use it and have I found any other magical uses for these cleaning crystals? I shall reveal all the secrets of this humble product right about now - well in terms of use I like to mix about a half a teaspoon with a table spoon of warm water till it's dissolved and then dip my electric toothbrush into the liquid, swish it around and brush my teeth, I admit after covering your toothbrush in a thick slick of minty toothpaste it does feel a little lacking and there is no foam or dramatic frothing of the mouth, but remember that's because your not chomping on any nasty SLS and my breath is not minty fresh but just clean, which suits me. I'm sure you already know the gory details, but most oral germs live on the tongue so as long as you clean your tongue, floss and clean your teeth daily, your mouth should smell pretty fresh.
 
 
I Like The Ritual Of Using Dry Toothpaste - It's Like Cleaning With A Sherbet Dab
 Another big plus is you can give yourself a simple teeth whitening treatment to remove any stains about twice a week by dipping a damp clean tooth brush into a pile of this snowy whiteness, I keep it to about that other wise you can literally scour your tooth enamel to nothing which kind of contradicts things.  
 
 
 
 Victoria Secret DIY Hair Care
So what about any other uses I discovered, well as I have been looking at exchanging my shampoo, conditioners and hair dyes with SLS to SLS free options. I came across some possibilities, some really expensive and others tested on animals and finally I read this article that explains a Victoria Secret diy hair treatment that uses a combo of Baking Soda and Apple Cider vinegar as SLS free way to wash and condition your hair and leave it full of body and condition, it works well, if you can get over having no rich lather and spending under £4.00 for a healthy shampoo and conditioning treatment. Want to educate yourself about SLS products? Check this article