Fabulous Bargain Nail Polish Remover

Hi all!!!!

I wanted to share with you a nail polish remover I recently bought from asda.

It cost around £1 and it works wonders.

Here's a quick photo diary of it in use:-





Amazing. It literally takes one pad to remove ALL my nail polish. So it's going to last ages! And also, it has a slightly oily texture, meaning like unlike normal remover, it doesn't leave my nails dry yet still allows me to apply new nail varnish without any problems.

Result.

Its called Asda Skin System - nail varnish remover pads. You get 25 pads so they are perfect for holidays or when staying away from home (although I will just be using these full stop from now on!)

Restaurant OOTD

Hey all!! Hope your week is going well.

I'm not really able to post properly this week because I'm on a training course at a new job. But I thought I'd do a quickie post showing you what I wore last night at our meal out.





Hopefully it's clear enough for you to work out - although I'm doing it on my phone so who knows !?

Tops - h&m
Jacket - new look
Jeans - new look
Boots - boutique in Manchester
Handbag - next

Thanks for looking! I'm off to do my hair now and nails while I have a few free hours!!
xx

~*Giddy princess*~
From iPhone

Eeeek - I'm in a Rush (The 15 minutes to get ready look)

Anyone else like me and always rushing!?

These pictures are from a couple of days ago when I literally had 15 minutes to put my makeup on and get ready. I hate rushing so whilst it is manageable, I hate getting ready in this amount of time.

However, the result was kind of fresh and very very natural. It's only when I see my other makeup looks that people have referred to as natural that I realise how bare-faced this practically is.





Somehow I still liked it though and wanted to share!

I used:-
Face
Estee Lauder Double Wear - Shell Beige
Lily Lolo Flawless Silk
Bare Minerals Warmth
Coastal Scents mixture of blushes from 10 Blush Palette

Lips
Barry M Shade 147 Lipstick
Clarins Jolie Rouge - Papaya

Eyes
Revlon Fabulash
Miss Sporty Lash Building Mascara
Eyeko Graffiti Pen in Brown
Clinique Colour Surge Eyeshadow Duo - Buttered Bronze

This is more like what my daily/work makeup tends to look like as there just isn't the time to apply it without rushing!

Products I am loving right now...

Remember when I said I was being a geek the other night and taking pictures with the products I have been loving and using this past week. Well here is the proof...

Costal Scents 88 Warm Palette
Loving it because... It has the perfect range of everyday colours for me. There are matte shades as well as shimmers, so I can wear to the office without feeling like I have no eyemakeup on, whilst avoiding too much shimmer

Costal Scents Blush 10 Palette.

Loving this because... There are so many colours!! Finally all the blusher shades I fancy in one palette. Perfect for rushing to get ready and weekends away!

And finally Lily Lolo Flawless Silk.

Loving this because... it makes my skin look silky and divine and does an amazing job of evening out the nasty pore effect. I had a sample of this around 2 months ago and when it ran out I tried to go back to Mineral Veil by Bare Minerals and just didn't find it had the same effect. Lily Lolo therefore had to be purchased!

What products are you loving right now?

Boots Expert Hair Lightener Review - Before and After Pictures

Those of you who have been following me from the early days may recall I did a post on hair lightening, reviewing Jolene Creme Bleach.

I use this for the dark hairs on my face and have found it better than trying to find a suitable removal method.

Following this review, quite a few girls recommended the Boots version advising it was cheaper and didn't sting unlike the Jolene version.

So of course I gave it a try. It comes with what you can see below and then you mix equal parts of the formulas into a paste.



I found this product to be a little less effective than the Jolene version (picutres from Jolene review can be found here). The below pictures demonstrate that the hairs had been lightened but were not as light as they could be.

However, I was still happy with the result. Boots's version did still sting me though so I must have sensitive skin. Bleaching has always stung my skin though so it doesn't worry me, it just would have been nice for no stinging!

The downside to Boots' bleach was that the result did not last as long as with Jolene. I noticed the hairs going darker again within around a week and a half, whereas with Jolene it lasts around 3 weeks.

Therefore, I will continue to use the Boots version until I am finished, but after that I will be going back to Jolene Creme Bleach because the effects last longer. And lets face it, what girl wants to spend one night a week bleaching the hair on her face!

TRESemme Instant Refresh - Waterless Foam Shampoo

So this evening I have been a bit of a geek and took pics with a couple of the new products I have tried within the last week. This being one of them.

I was lucky enough to be sent the waterless foam and dry shampoo to try for review purposes last week and being used to dry shampoos already, I was itching to give the new waterless foam concept a go.

The product is for dry, frizz prone hair. Which mine is. I just put lots of serum on it to try and tame when wearing it straight.

I had noted that a couple of other bloggers had said the product was a little heavy for their hair so I made sure I was extra careful about application. The idea is that you apply 2-3 pumps of the product to mid length hair. I'd say my hair was around mid length but I stopped at 2 pumps, which looks like this...

For me this was plenty.

My hair looked like this prior to using the waterless foam shampoo...

YUK!!!!!!!!!!

The ends of my hair are always dry(ish)so I knew that to distribute this from the roots to the ends I wouldn't need any more. I basically ensured that the product was on both hands and then stroked it on my hair over the top layer to the ends and then the rest that was left on my hands I stroked through my hair - particularly at the hairline at the front.

The instructions suggest you should blast your hair with a hairdryer after use. I did this but with a large paddle brush so that I was also restyling my hair. Following this I straightened and voila!

Smooth looking fresh hair.

What I particularly liked was that the product did not make my hair greasy as it had with others, but it smoothed it down at the ends and made it look nice and sleek. My hair looked shiny and healthy as a result of using this and I now plan to use this instead of dry shampoo and dry shampoo leaves my hair feeling... well, dry I suppose!

I like this product because it does mean that I can freshen my hair (it smells divine) without having to wash it ALL the time. Which hopefully means that I can continue growing it and keeping it healthy rather than stripping all the oils away by washing it too much!

I would definitely recommend this product and would urge people to have a go with it because for me it worked wonders. If in doubt, I would start with less product than you think you need and build up to the required amount. If you have really fine "normal" hair then perhaps this product isn't for you. However, I don't know about you but I know plenty of girls with thick hair that would love this (one definitely being my sister), and besides - I have fine hair really, there's just quite a bit of it, so it definitely does work!

FOTD - Re-discovered L'Oreal Made For Naturals Lipstick!

Here's what my makeup looked like yesterday when I went to meet an old friend...







I used:-

Face
Estee Lauder Double Wear in Shell Beige
Laura Mercier Concealer Shade 2
Clinque Blended Face Powder - 03
Bare Minerals - Warmth
Coral shade Blush from Coastal Scents 10 Colour Blush Palette
Eyeko Cream (Ambassador Code E8679)
Red Herring All About Face 2 Tier Palette (top tier) (bought from Debenhams)

Eyes
Pale yellow beige shade from Coastal Scents 88 Warm Palette
Medium Metallic Rusty Brown Shade from Coastal Scents 88 Warm Palette
Dark Metallic Brown Shade from Coastal Scents 88 Warm Palette
Eyeko Graffiti Pen in Brown with brown eyeshadow over the top of liner
Miss Sporty Waterproof Lash Building Mascara
Revlon Fabulash Mascara

Lips
Sleek Lip Pencil all over lips in Bare Essential
L'oreal Made for me Naturals Lipstick for Dark Brunettes in 240 Dune

Also my hair was in its natural messy state and was so unruly I couldn't do anything with it but put it up, so I put in the cute peacock feather hairband you can see to add something. It was £5 from River Island.

Hope you like!

Revlon ColourStay (Combination/Oily Skin) - True Beige

Hey there everyone.

Hope your Wednesday is going well. I am SUPER busy this week as I start a new job in a few days and I have LOADS of pre-reading and tests to do, eeeeeeek!!

Anyway, it's always nice to have a break so I thought where better to relax than infront of my Laptop reading a couple of blog posts and quickly posting one myself.

So from the title you will have guessed it's another one of my foundation reviews. This time is a Revlon Foundation. Now I used to use ColourStay foundations by Revlon years ago, when I was around 17 and it did used to look great, but it was paired with an AMAZING moisturiser Garnier used to do that they stopped doing near enough as soon as I realised how good it was!

Even still, I had seen a couple of girls were using this and liking it so I thought I would give it a go. First thing I noticed was that I found it really hard to find the right shade. But that is always the case with drugstore foundation buying as you can't do much but put it on the back of your hand really.

Anyway, here is the result of the foundation on my skin:-




Thoughts???

Well I'll tell you mine. I think this foundation is a bit "meh". It's not bad, but it's not great either. When I put it on my skin it does even out my skin tone, but it doesn't lift or beautify my skin.

You can see if anything it looks a bit dull.

Another thing I found when at a wedding a couple of weeks ago was that it makes my face look a really weird colour in photos using flash. To try and explain the below picture shows how white my skin looks. From a distance it is more of a greyish colour. It's really not flattering on my skin tone for whatever reason.



So there you have it. Not one of my favourites and not one that I will be turning to regularly I don't think. Shame really, it used to make my skin look so smooth.

OOTD - Saturday Wedding

One of my beautiful friends got married this weekend. It was such a stunning stunning day. I had the best time ever, the sun came out so the wedding was outside in a bandstand, the food was amazing and she looked beautiful. It was perfect.

With it being a summer wedding I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to wear a more "weddingy" colour (i.e. a colour I wouldn't normally wear).

Here was the result...



Please excuse the child-like smile - I was very excited and nervous all at once haha!

The dress is £45 from Topshop and they have it in sooo many colours. I want it in red-orange next! Flower is from New Look - £3.



As I didn't do a full full-length shot all day I've taken a pic of the shoes I wore also. These are Karen Millen and were a gift about 8 years ago haha! They have had some use!!

Finally I had a nice shawl in cream to cover myself up which was £5 from Tie Rack.

Xen Tan Gradual Self Tan Review

I have been planning to do this review for at least a month, but I wanted to have used the product properly and provide pictures, but it's worth the wait I promise!

Now I'll be honest - I've never really understood the whole gradual tanners thing. To me if you want a tan get a self tan - not a moisturiser that gives you a hint of orange and makes you smell like curried biscuits!

However, the lovely people at Xen Tan sent this product to me to test and having heard soooooo many fab things about them I approached the product with an open mind.



What I found
Firstly, it smells divine. I mean I could sit there and smell it all day. It's kind of fruity and sweet but not too sickly. Even the boyf likes the smell. Result.

Secondly, it's so easy to apply. I just squirt a load into my hand and rub in. Like I would with moisturiser I suppose. It leaves my skin feeling a little tacky at first, but it dries quite nicely after that. I suppose it feels like a thick moisturiser on the skin.

Thirdly, it really is moisturising. My skin feels so much nicer for using this than my normal fake tans.

So, how it actually tanned my skin...
Hmmm, what can I say... AMAZINGLY! I am so impressed and a little shocked.

My first application was Saturday morning and then Saturday evening. On Sunday morning I reapplied, but seriously if you have fair skin I think you would stop there! Here is what my skin looked like after two applications:-



Definitely tanned!! Yipee!

I applied again on Sunday night and here is the result after applying last night:-

Amazing or what!? You can literally keep building the colour, but it's a nice colour too - not orangey or dirty looking. I love that my chest looks tanned for once! Usually self-tans don't work well on my chest or neck. My chest and neck are now a lovely tanned brown.

Also, I have been using it on my face which is now a lovely even golden colour, without the horrible blackhead effect you get from using brown based tans when it gets in your pores.

Conclusion

I am definitely not a gradual tan covert, but I am a Xen Tan gradual tan convert! This product can effectively be used like a self tan. As I like my skin to be quite dark, most tans don't show up to be the colour I want without a couple of applications in a row anyway.

My plan is now just to probably use this in winter alone and probably apply a self tan with this as a base or use it over the top the next day to prolong the colour.

Especially because by now I would normally be getting patchy skin as the normal self tan wears off!

I absolutely love this product and would recommend it without a doubt. I am now so excited to try other Xen Tan products, as I just think if the gradual tan works like this what must their self tans work like!?

If you fancy it you can purchase the gradual tan here for £14.95.

FOTD :) (yesterday)

Yesterday's makeup look..




I wanted a really natural look yesterday as I wasn't really doing too much, but I wanted to look nice for the boyfy when he got back from working in the morning. So despite the jogging bottoms I still applied my makeup hehe.

I used:-
Bare Minerals foundation, mineral veil, warmth and well rested.
Laura Mercier Concealer
Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat
MAC Viva Glam Gaga with Estee Lauder Vanilla Truffle over the top
Estee Lauder Signature Eyeshadow Quad in Spiced Peach
Revlon Fabulash Mascara
Eyeko Graffiti Pen in Brown

Weight Loss - How I lost 30 lbs

Finally, I have got around to doing this post...

Quite a few of you lovely followers requested that I do a post on my weight loss, following my post in which revealed that I had recently lost 30 lbs. Basically I put on 30lbs whilst studying 3 years undergrad and then working full time whilst doing postgrad for 2 years following this.

Rather than go into an essay like post about this I thought that I would basically outline what I did, how long it took and show you some before and after pictures.

If you want any more information at the end of this post you can email me at giddyprincess@gmail.com or leave a message in the chat box at the top right of my page.

How did I lose the weight?

I had on numerous occasions decided I was going to eat healthily in the past and the most I had lost was around 6lbs, as I wasn't really dedicated and didn't really know what I was doing.

This time was different. Basically I had seen quite a few pictures where I didn't recognise myself anymore and felt that my health was beginning to suffer due to me entering the unhealthy weight range within my BMI. (You can calculate your Body Mass Index here.)

I took myself off to a weight watchers meeting near my house and begun the Discover Plan. To do this I paid £17.95/month for an online plan which also allowed me to go to meetings each week locally and get weighed.

Many of you have probably heard of weight watchers, but in case you have not the plan allocates a you number of points per day, determined by your weight, height and lifestyle (ie. active or not). As each food has a points value, you are then to try and stick within your points allowance.

Things like many vegatables have a zero points value and as such I found sticking to this plan pretty easy once I got going. To be successful at the plan, I believe that you need to be quite organised with your meals. As I am often out and about I found that I had to stick to similar meals regularly, but this did not bother me as I always ate things I enjoyed and the weight loss each week kept me motivated.

Typically, I ate crumpets with weight watchers jam or weight watchers yogurt for breakfast, weight watchers soup some low point crisps (eg. squares, french fries, snack a jacks) and count on us chocolate mousse for lunch, then a stir fry or meat and roast veg or pasta and a tomato based sauce for evening meal. Not too bad eh!

How long did it take?

I began the journey in September 2009 and reached goal at the beginning of February 2010. I ensured that the weight loss was gradual, but also steady. I lost weight nearly every week and I did not put weight on at all.

This isn't easy and I saw many others struggle with losing a couple of lbs and then putting the same back on the next week, and repeating this cycle a lot. I do believe determination is key in embarking on a journey like this and I kept motivated by setting mini goals of when I wanted to lose so many lbs by.

What I will say is that for the first couple of months I barely drank. To me it just wasn't worth it and I believe this had a massive impact on me having steady weight loss. (Not that I drink a lot generally). In additon, I took up walking 3.5 miles a day, which is my walk from home to work. It takes me 50 minutes. It took me that long queuing in traffic so I was so glad I began walking in the end. And yes, I did it through all the snow and ice. Now that's determination

Tips I would give?

Enjoy it. If you don't see it as a chore and see it as a change in lifestyle, which results in you feeling happy with increased self esteem, you really will succeed. It's all about having a positive mental attitude towards eating better and losing weight. And of course the joy with weight watchers is that if you do have events coming up when you know you will be eating out, drinking etc you can save your points by eating well in the week prior to it. Therefore you don't feel guilty when you do have a bit of a binge.

Where am I now?

I am maintaining the weight loss and finding it pretty easy. I am around a size 6-8 depending on where I shop and wear petite clothes wherever I can. Previously I was around a size 12, which is course pretty average, but with me being small in height (5 foot 1) I was still overweight for my height.

I do eat healthier now but I also have treats most days but I make sure I remain active and if things start to feel a bit tight I don't buy anything new, I eat less and exercise more and find the next week everything feels a good fit again. It really is about changing your lifestyle.

Pictures

*Goal Weight*

*Goal Weight again*

Weight at Uni around 3 years ago

Weight a year ago (heaviest)

I would like to finally add that the reason I felt that this was a necessary path for me to take was because I was always petite and quite athletic in build training in sprints and long jump, whilst also being heavily involved in lots of other sports when I was younger. Therefore I feel much more like my normal self now and quick myself for not having done this sooner. But better late than never.

Hope those of you that were interested found this post useful or informative. I hope I didn't offend anyone and if you do wish to ask any questions about any of it please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sorry it ended up being an essay anyway!!

TRESemme Colour Protection Shampoo and Conditioner

I purchased Grazia this week and as I was flicking through I found a sample of TRESemme's colour protection shampoo and conditioner inside.

I didn't have high hopes for the products, only because I don't tend to steer away from Redken shampoo and conditioner because I have been left disappointed in the past. Also, because my hair is Afro-Caribbean it has a tendency to snap and get really dry which means I need to really look after it.

As I coloured my hair around 2 months ago I decided to give this a try anyway and see just what kind of effect it would have on my hair.

The first thing I noticed was that the shampoo smelt lovely although it was a little reluctant to lather. I had anticipated this and have experienced it before so I kept some shampoo back and once I had rinsed out the first lot, the second application of the shampoo lathered nicely.

The product is thinner in consistency than my normal shampoos and therefore I think I would have used a little more product than that supplied with the sample to know that my hair was really clean. That said, my hair was perfectly clean when I came to dry it.

In relation to the conditioner, I was happy with this. It was thick and my hair felt smoother and silkier as I rinsed it out.

Despite this I still felt that given my hair can require a lot of styling it would probably be unmanageable as a result of using this.

How wrong I was! Shocked. My hair dried as normal and straightened as normal if not better. It felt soft and smooth and looked shiny, richer in colour and healthy. Normally I am left with a frizzy unmanageable mess if I try something new!

Here's a pic of my hair after straightening it. (It's not the best at showing the shine because it was taken with my phone, but I am away from home at the moment and cannot use my camera). Still though, I think it looks good all the same ;D and 12 hours later it still looks good and and feels divine!

I would definitely recommend this product I feel that it left my hair feeling soft and manageable and also enhanced the colour highlighting the different shades of browns. I am definitely much more open to trying cheaper shampoos and conditioners after this little joy of an experience!

Do You Wear The Right Bra Size?

Morning ladies!

I know this is a slightly unusual post, but like a lot of you I am sure, I struggle with finding a well fitting bra.

So today I googled a few queries I had in relation to why my bra behaves in certain ways!!! In doing so I stumbled across a fabulous section on Bravissimo's website that I just had to share with you.

Basically there is a section on their website called the perfect fit. It's really really good. Gives you great information about what a bra should fit like exactly and information like why your straps dig into your shoulders.

It also gives you info on what bra style you should use depending on the type of neck line you are going to wear. Sounds obvious, but actually, it's not. Particularly when you use a one type suits all approach like me!

I have found it to be really useful and now know where I am going wrong, so I am off to try and find a smaller back and bigger cup!

Link to the website and all the info is here.

Autumn Winter Fashion 2010 - I'm excited!!!!!

Last week, after reading a couple of posts on Primark's autumn 2010 collection I was ready to don some ski boots and take a trip to the mountains!

There was a real wintery feel about it with the chunky knits and fur collars. I'm all about wrapping up in winter so I love it when fashion allows for stylish warmth.

Anyway, as a result I planned a winter trip to Center Parcs (I can't really afford skiing at this stage) and had a look at what the high street is offering my winter wardrobe this year.

Here is what I found:-

Primark




*my favourite of all*


Topshop






River Island





Miss Selfridge







New Look



See why I am excited!? I am absolutely loving all the fur look coats and chunky knits and then all the beautiful dresses at Miss Selfridge. I seriously cannot wait.

For me I am most impressed with Primark. They have more than out done themselves this year with looks that could compete with the other high street stores. We all love a bargain, and I know where I will be heading to pick up some bargainous woolies!