What's In my Travel Make-Up Bag?!

By the time this post uploads I'll already be in Greece working my way through the UD Naked Palette, but I just thought I'd show you what I brought with me.  Going away really makes me realise what make up I can't live without!

The Kit

I managed to squeeze it into this little bag!

I also brought this of course! And a few sneaky eyeliners - I don't want the lovely velvet getting damaged so it's in it's original box! How sad!

The brushes - don't worry, I gave them a good wash before packing!

The brush roll is from Coastal Scents and it came with the red brushes

I Love Make Up Store!

Nicer bags than MAC - I got this monster for a tiny blush!

Make Up Store is a Swedish brand that I've recently discovered.  They opened a branch in Westfield in Shepherd's Bush a while ago and I ducked my head in a few times but never really had a proper look and the store didn't immediately strike me as a high-end brand.  However I did some research and on finding out it's of Swedish origin I headed back to see if they did any seriously pale foundations.  They do have a few but they're not as light as I'd hoped for, but better than any at MAC or my other favourite, Inglot.

Make Up Store has something of the MAC about it, all bright lights and slick black packaging, but the colours are along the more exciting lines of brands like Urban Decay.  There is a LOT of glitter!  They have some really unusual blushers and the most gorgeous cream highlighters I've seen.  I spotted a very unusual pale pinky-peachy-gold flecked blush called 'Lust' - now I'm not convinced how much the blush suits me, but it was such a fab colour I had to have it, and it could almost be used as a highlighter as well.  Sadly it was sold out in Westfield, but I tracked it down in their Carnaby Street store.  It is finely milled and highly pigmented and does seem to lift my face.  As for the store itself, The staff are very friendly and helpful, unlike some who shall remain unnamed!  Can't wait to go back!

Its true beauty shows up on the skin :)

Have you been to Make Up Store yet?

Pretty Bow Ring

I've only ever come across jewellery in the small Boots near Oxford Circus and recently I spotted this cute bow ring.  I've been wearing it almost constantly since I got it and thankfully it hasn't been catching on things like I thought it would as it's quite raised up.  I expected the pearls to fall out within days but I've been wearing it for about three weeks now and all are still intact despite going through countless hand-washings (I never take rings off and leave them on the sink after losing too many lovelies!).

Until about two years ago I hated gold and thought it looked chavvy-cheap, but since it's been somewhat reclaimed by normal people, I've come to accept that it suits my colouring better than silver, which can look a bit hippy-ish.  This ring of course isn't real gold!

It cost £5 and I think it's well worth it!

Gone on a Greek Odyssey - Back in Two Weeks!

I decided to stay at home during the summer months to enjoy the English summer, ya know...lazy picnics and boating in Hyde and Regent's Parks, long summer evenings, pretty summer dresses and sandals...well, that was the dream, the reality... well the weather took care of dashing it!  I can feel SAD setting in already so I'm delighted to be jetting off to the Greek sun.  I'm flying to Athens tonight, staying a few days, then ferrying it down to Santorini, chilling there for a few days and then ferrying it over to Rhodes.

I'm going to try to schedule a few blog posts to pop up while I'm away before I head to Terminal 5 (I hope the Victoria's Secret counter has been restocked!) as two weeks is too long to neglect my blog! I'm hoping I can find some Internet cafes in Greece or I'll get serious withdrawal symptoms.  I don't think any of the places we're staying at are swanky enough to have a computer in the reception :(

It seems like I've been packing for two weeks, but I'm trying to keep to my medium-sized case (there is a pile of stuff waiting to sneak into my boyfriend's case when he comes over to collect me later!)  I was going to take a picture of all the toiletries I'm bringing, but it's too embarrassing - they would fill a good-sized backpack!  But look out for a post on the make-up and brushes I packed - I was relatively restrained here for some reason.  Pride of place is taken up by my Urban Decay Naked Palette which I'm relying on to  get me through any type of eye-make up required!  And of course, as it is with most Continental hotels, there will be no kettle in the room, so I've got my travel kettle, mugs, Twingings, Canderel and powdered milk!

Back in two weeks!

Kat xx

Discontinued: John Frieda Luminous Color Glaze in Radiant Red

Sticking with my recent hair theme, I've been waiting hard for the blonde highlights I got last summer to grow out so I can go back to being a full-on ginge and possibly even dally with Little Mermaid red again. One of my favourite products when my hair was au naturel was John Frieda's Luminous Colour Glaze from their Radiant Red range.

I like playing about with my hair and changing my look, but don't particularly like dyeing it as it's so much glossier when I leave it alone. This red glaze allowed me to feel like I was at least doing something with my hair colour (it doesn't contain peroxide or ammonia however) as it made it noticeably more vibrant, while at the same time boosting shine. Perfect! It was easy to use - just slap it on in the shower after shampooing and conditioning hair and leave it for a few minutes before rinsing out. A few years back I died my hair a very vivid red and this glaze was part of my kit in the battle to maintain vibrancy.

So I was in Superdrug at lunchtime yesterday and decided to see if there were any offers on JF, as there often are, and my plan was to stock up on the Radiant Red shampoo, conditioner and of course, my beloved glaze! I drew a blank in the first Boots and after a frantic search in two other branches and a Superdrug, all I was met with was a WALL of JF products for blonde and brown hair in all the stores, but only one had a few dusty bottles of Radiant Red shampoo and conditioner in the corner of the bottom shelf. GREAT.

Imagine my utter despair when I got home, hit up Google and found that the glaze has indeed been discontinued! The website still shows the Radiant Red shampoo and conditioner as part of the range, but suggest using the clear glaze if you have red hair. How boring! The red one actually deposited colour - which was the main reason for using the glaze! The blonde version of the glaze is also being discontinued, but I would imagine the clear one will work just fine on blonde hair. JF are continuing to produce the brunette glaze. 

Now JF probably discontinued due to the rarity of redheads - real or fake - compared to other hair colours so the Radiant Red range is probably their least profitable, but at around £7 a bottle it wasn't exactly cheap and they'll lose some loyal customers. While there aren't so many natural gingers, there's tonnes of bottle-reds who I'm sure would catch onto this product if only JF marketed it more aggressively - I don't ever recall seeing an advert about the colour glazes. I'll continue to use the shampoo and conditioner - if I can find it - and hope another company come out with a similar colour-depositing glaze for red hair soon.

Heat-Free Curls - The Results!

So I kept the Boots sponge rollers in for about 3 hours.  I started out with dry hair and used a lot of mousse.  Here's the result:

My hair normally curls very easily, but since it's been getting longer the curls don't come out as tight as they used to.  I wanted it a bit curlier so I spritzed it with hairspray, flipped my head upside down, and scrunched...

So I'm pretty happy with the rollers considering that 10 of them only cost £4.20 and I don't have to use heat on my hair.  Next time I will use them on damp hair and use a setting lotion/gel type product rather than mousse. 

Heat Free Curls? Boots Large Cushion Rollers

I was doing some last minute holiday shopping in Boots this evening when I spotted these sponge rollers. Now I have dallied with spongies before, but they were only about 1.5cms in diameter and left me looking like the lovechild of Shirley Temple and Mick Hucknall.

However, I'm a big fan of washing my hair at night and curling it for the following day. I normally use heated rollers to achieve this, but after a few months of doing this 3-4 times a week my hair was like a haystack. I had to get a good bit chopped off which was annoying as I'm trying to achieve Rapunzel-like locks.

These rollers are about 3cms in diameter and they're setting my hair (I hope!) as I type. If the results are anything other than hysterically funny I shall post the results tomorrow.  A pack of 5 rollers costs £2.05, so I picked up two. I managed to get all my hair curled with the 10 rollers but I might pick up another pack if they work out well. I don't mind if the curls turn out a bit tight at first as they will fall out and stay in shape for longer. I applied Shockwaves Heat Defence Curl Mousse to dry hair and I will give it a spritz of Ellenette hairspray before and after unrolling. I will also try out the roller on damp hair and let you know how I get on!

'Let the good times roll'

I just bunged them in very sloppily!

It's quite difficult to get the rollers to stay put close to the scalp

The offending Temple-Hucknall mini sponge rollers! Eugh!

Check back in the next few days to see the results!

Have you found a way of curling your hair heat-free?

Back from Prague

Well hello!

I finally recovered and was able to enjoy my long weekend in Prague. The city is as beautiful as ever, I'd been before so five days was a bit long. You can see everything you need to in 2 to 3 days. I have a ginormous amount of things I want to do and looks I want to post, but will show you a few snaps of stunning Prague first!

I managed to squeeze in some beauty shopping and actually hunted down three Sephora stores. I adore Sephora and always make a bee-line for it when I'm on the Continent or in the US. First off though I picked up a few bits in MAC and Victoria's Secret at Heathrow Terminal 5 (reviews/swatches to come). I found Sephora very expensive in Prague, but I did pick up a nice Sephora-brand matte bronzer and handbag perfume.

I'm going on a Greek Odyssey next weekend so I'll try my best to pre-write some posts to keep my wee blawg ticking over while I'm away.  And of course I need to find a moment to launch my giveaway! I have all the prizes bought for months now (since I hit 100 followers on my birthday in July) but this summer has been manic.

I bought some sponge rollers from Boots on the way home from work this evening and have them in, check back for a post about them later this evening!

AKA Mecca

View from Petrin Hill

View of Prague Castle from Petrin Hill

View from Charles Bridge

Sorry to be bitchy, but how tack-tastic is this wedding dress
 and his shiny suit? Wouldn't mind her figure though!