002 Saturday matinee....

I had nearly forgotten how much I loved this film until I watched it during the week. Baz Luhrmann's attention to detail made this the best Shakespeare adaption I think I have ever seen. The fact the background marketing and adverts in the film are based on other William Shakespeare plays is a subtle touch of dare I say it genius!

The costumes are beautiful and simple, the two styles to denote the two different families is a great visual statement. Clare Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio have great chemistry for playing the young star crossed lovers. The on coming (real) hurricane in Mercutio's death scene I guess is just luck but it looks utterly amazing.

I can't believe this came out in November 1996, I was only 12, I sort of remember watching it at a friends house when it came out on VIDEO!!!! gosh I feel so old!

Anyway I highly recommend this as a Saturday movie, especially if is raining where you are today!

Happy Saturday! I am off to continue my exploration into mixes for wheat free cake/cupcakes/muffins, it is a journey that I can only see making me fatter :-)

FIrst Impressions.....

Please excuse this crappy picture but I was just too excited about this product to keep it to myself! I had previously used the serum by Garnier but like everything I got a little bored with it, although it felt refreshing and uplifting it didn't seem to have any long term benefits.

This new product however is a different story, now I have only been trying it for a day and a half so I can't vouch for how long this is going to last me or whether it will dry out over time. For the last 3 months I have been testing concealers looking for something that was light, easy to blend and covered my dark circles without caking, forming lines or wearing off after 10mins. You see my problem is I rub my eyes either when I am stressed or sleepy which tends to budge most makeup from where it was carefully placed.

Which is why this product us so nice, it seemed to last up until lunch time when I could easily grab the little tube from my bag and touch up. Applying it was refreshing (most be the caffine!) especially for all those early mornings before work and it feels so light it is like I have no concealer on, which goes great with my new foundation routine.

I purchased this from boots for the princely sum of £10.20 in the colour fair, well worth it!!!

Lusting after DP!?!

I haven't lusted after the clothes in Dorothy Perkins in quite literally forever!! But I happened to wander in at the weekend, my incredibly tall little sister had to get some new jeans and no one does tall jeans like DP, and this little number caught my eye...

And then these two caught my eye on the website while I was browsing through to check the price of the first one.

It really is a dangerous business this website malarkey! Thankfully my proportions are too bizarre to be able to order any dresses straight from the Internet they all have to be tried on before buying or I would constantly be popping to the post office to send things back. The first and last dresses are very Prada but at a slightly more attainable price tags. Anyway all the dresses are £40 and each would make a perfect addition to my work wardrobe. I simply love dresses for all year round, they are so easy to throw on in the morning and to dress up if I am going out after work.

I think this weekend I shall be calling into DP to try these on. Also if you have a smaller bust I would suggest checking out some of their "Closet" dresses, especially their shift dresses, so chic!!

Fresh faced and wild eyed...

 

So I am not really that wild eyed but this little product certainly has me looking a lot more fresh faced these days, which probably wasn't that hard seen I have spent the last 3 months constantly breaking out and looking very grey. But it has trumped all the Revlon, Bobbi brown and clinique foundations that I have spent the last 6 years of my life regularly using. I have been using the new(ish) Chanel foundation, Vitalumiere Aqua, for about a month now. As I haven't used any other Chanel foundations it is difficult to compare so I will just have to compare my views to their views:

A new-generation texture. An unprecedented sensory experience. A unique makeup result. Rapid and easy application. VITALUMIÈRE AQUA. Apply your makeup without thinking about it.

Its soft and evanescent ultra-fine fluid texture is a real surprise. Although it is exceptionally delicate and light, an incomparable “second-skin” perfecting result is achieved. The complexion appears amazingly even, fresh and energized. The skin glows with seemingly nude beauty. As if glowing from within. Bathed in light…

Its formula, endowed with a UVB sun filter and mineral sunscreen, protects the skin from damaging sun rays (SPF 15). Its crystalline fragrance accentuates the sensation of freshness and pleasure on application.

So yep it has an ultra fine texture that glides over my skin, i like applying it with my fingers so it just blends right in. The coverage is probably light to medium which is OK for me at the moment as I have been working really hard on my skin to eliminate breakouts before they occur. It is a matt foundation and I am finding that (in winter at least) I can get away without powdering my t-zone, but this seems to make it a little less glowy than the website description says. In order to achieve the glowing from within look I find blending a little Benefit High Beam onto the high points of the face goes a long way to matching the description. 

I am not too sure about the smell but at least it isn't a clay smell! The SPF factor is great and doesn't seem to affect flash back in any way when taking pictures. I had to buy the B10 and B20 colours to get a good match for my skin, which I was happy to do as it is such a good product that lasts all day with very little need for touching up. It was interesting to see that in John Lewis it cost £31.33 and in House of Fraser it was £31, it seems that House of Fraser have buried the recent VAT increase in their profits?? or maybe in other products?

In short I LOVE this foundation it makes me feel more human and less ill when I apply it! :-)

Sorry....

I feel bad for everything at the moment, not bad I guess more guilty. After the doctors decided I didn't have endometriosis they have sort of left me in a state of limbo as to what is wrong with me and how to make me better. All of which is rather depressing, hence the resurrection of the Happy List except right now I am not so happy and I know i have so much to share and be thankful for but I can barely keep a smile on my face. The pain I am suffering is completely unbearable and I have no means of controlling it! enough moaning!

002 This weeks happy list......

So I wasn't too successful in completing last weeks list as I only managed to tick off the top two!!! Which means I am going to have to carry over the bottom 3 for this week.....
1. Boyfriends Chili - I know this is going to happen this week as I have bought all the ingredients that he needs, unfortunately last week we where out of his secret ingredient which is sun dried tomato paste.
2.Tulips - This week I WILL buy fresh flowers!!! Or I could hope for some tomorrow from the BF?!?
3. Flapjacks - Again it is going to happen, the oats, sugar, butter and golden syrup are all sitting in my recently (yesterday) reorganised baking cupboard. A nice sugary treat while I am on this wheat free diet is just what I know will bring a smile to my face!!!
4. Perfect Skin - I always strive for good skin but while I have been it ill it has been a really tricky balancing act to keep it clear, but I am feeling good about this week mostly due to a new purchase I have made this afternoon.
5. Rose flavouring - Whether it be tea, cakes or macaroons, I find something really relaxing about Rose.
6. Pink Nails - This is an easy one and always makes me feel a like more girlie.
7. My FAMILY - I haven't always got on successfully with both my parents but I do now and well this is cheating to put something you already can predict on the happy list. But I know it will make me so happy! They are coming to visit me at the end of the week, for the first time since I have had my flat remodelled! So exciting!!!!

Hope everyone is having a good weekend! I have just had the most amazing day, lunch in Tampopo with my bf followed by a visit to the cinema to see the King's Speech. I has been so lovely!!!!

001 Saturday matinee....

This was never a highly rated film by either the critics or anyone else I know, even I have been a little sceptical of the story line and dialogue. Considering myself a true costume drama aficionado having watch nearly everything produced including some utterly terrible made for TV films, I am happy to say I have gotten over the lack of historical accuracy and the limited explanation as to why she took to living in a separate house and "playing" on a farm.

Now I can truly appreciate Sofia Coppola's pastel canvas, so soft sugary and sweet that puts an innocent edge on what should be a rather sad tale. There are two highlights of this film for me and they are:

Costumes

Kirsten Dunst alone had over 60 different gowns in her role as the queen, and you can see exactly why the Italian designer Mileno Canonero won her third Oscar for her amazing designs. The colours and fabrics have really given me inspiration to get on and complete the interior of my little one bed flat.

Food

Utterly drool worthy created by Laduree for the film, it takes me right back to a trip to Paris in 2009 where I enjoyed a Rose macaroon filled with raspberries. So yummy! It might also have inspired me to try my hand at making some macaroons this week, especially seen as these little gems do not contain any wheat which will really help cure my sugar cravings that I have been having recently on my new (revisited) wheat free diet.

Happy Saturday!!

001 This weeks happy list......

A few years ago after a really crappy break up with an ex-boyfriend I discovered "the happy list", during a particularly sad, stressful and dull period I write a very simple list of things that make me happy and then each day I try to tick off something from my list. This blog was started as one of those things and even though I haven't been as dedicated as some others might be to ther blogs it still makes me happy. I hadn't done a list in quite some time and I thought it might help me through a particularly dull period I am having at the moment, so on a weekly basis (ideally on a sunday night) I am going to draw up the weeks list and then maybe tick it off on the next saturday.

So here is the HAPPY LIST:

1. Midsomer Murders - I am so sad that John Nettles will no longer be in this tv series.
2. Earl Grey Tea
3. My Boyfriend makes a mean bolognese/chilli con carne all from scratch.
4. Tullips
5. Flapjacks

I think those are enough items to take me up to the weekend!!