Hola lovlies.

So yesterday I had my hair cut and coloured. I'm trying to grow my hair, as it has been the same length (just below my shoulders) probably for about the last five years, and I'm absolutely dying for long hair! Clipping in hair extensions for nights out is becoming a tedious process lol.

I was just watching a video by Imogen at FoxyLocks about how she cares for her hair, and it has inspired me to not only protect my hair more when styling with heat, but also to rest it from the clutches of my straighteners, as I'll confess to straightening every day. So we shall see what progress I make in the quest for long locks!

Had a relatively busy weekend so far. On Friday I was photographing childrens tv presenters Dick & Dom, who came to uni for a DJ set. They were actually really lovely! I was surprised, particularly after working with some divas (yes Scott and Abs from 5ive, I am talking about you!) but Dick and Dom were sweethearts.

I wasn't having a moment of outfit insanity either, for the record! It was a pyjama themed night so I opted for the 'I wear my boyfriends work shirt to bed' look.

Off to the library now to work on my dissertation proposal! Hope you all enjoy the rest of your weekends:)

Holly xx

Nails of the Day

Sorry for the poor quality of my integrated webcam! Also my pale hands kind of blend into my marshmallow throw rug...but it was either that for a backdrop or my bedsheets which are the same colour as my nails. That wouldn't have worked, would it!

Today I painted my nails with Nails Inc polish in 'Elizabeth Street', an extremely pale pinky nude colour.

I'll admit I'm not massively impressed with Nails Inc. There are some factors about them that I like; the packaging, the pretty colours, the cute names. However I am dissappointed in the quality considering the price tags that go with their products. Also chipping...this polish did not remain chip free for a longer period of time than any cheaper polishes I own.

I'd been excited to try a Nails Inc polish for a long time, so I was over the moon to see that my Cosmopolitan magazine were offering a selection of colours free. I rooted through the rack of magazines until I found this colour, and was delighted that I was able to try it out for free before actually investing any money into it.

I can't say I'd repurchase a Nails Inc polish again, specifically. If there was a colour I was desperate for, and couldn't find a dupe in another brand, then I would opt for Nails Inc, but other than that I think that plenty of cheaper brands offer just a lovely polishes that are not only cheaper but just as good in terms of quality, if not better! (Barry M for example!)

Holly xx

Tip of the Day

Just thought id quickly share a little tip with you that I picked up from watching a TV show (The Truth About Beauty, hosted by Martine McCutcheon...hope thats spelt right!)

Basically, one of the special guests who they were interviewing, her name escapes me, gave her top tips for healthy skin. She mustve been late thirties to fourties, and her skin was absolutely glowing! Her secret? Eating tomato puree on a cracker every single day. Not so strange really, as recent studies have shown that tomatos contain a specific chemical that has significant skin benefits. I think they are looking to produce this chemical in some kind of tablet form, if they havnt piloted one version of it already.

So yeh, I've purchased my tomato puree and my crackers, now to see if it's hello to healthy, glowing skin!

x

Happy New Year!

So 2010 is upon us. Let me start by wishing everyone a very happy new year :)

I havn't blogged in a very long time..since October infact..but a new year equals a new start so I resolve to blogging on a more frequent basis! I might even start afresh entirely, by reintroducing myself and giving a quick account of where I am as the new year begins.

So, I'm in my final semester at University, studying for my Masters in Marketing (largely the reason for my lack of posts, it is the most time consuming thing I've ever done)

I work as a sales assistant at New Look in order to fund my social life and addiction to pretty, material things:)

I also work as part of the promotions team for Flirt! (the UKs biggest student night) at my University, as 'Miss Flirt'. (I basically go around & photograph everybody enjoying their night out, as well as photographing the special guests that are booked for appearances, ie Matt Willis from Busted, The Saturdays, etc) It's by far the most fun job I've ever had!

Not very exciting, but that is where I'm at right now. Im hoping 2010 will bring a little more excitement with it!

Santa was extremely generous this Christmas...not only did he buy me a new camera for my promo job (my last one had beer spilt on it, was dropped, and was generally very battered!), but he also brought me my very first MAC products:

MAC Style, finishing powder, and bronzer.

These were some of the products that the makeup artist used on me during the photoshoot I mentioned in a previous post, and I loved their staying power so much that they had to go on the Christmas list.

As well as these, I also recieved some products by SATC makeup artist Victoria Jackson, who has recently launched her own line of cosmetic products:

Above: VJ Survival Kit, Shimmer Bronzer, Lipgloss Trio and Makeover Essentials travel brush roll.

I was a little dubious at first, as a quick peek on her website did not leave me too impressed; it seems out of date and vague, however the products themselves are lovely, and I will discuss them in more detail at a later date.

For now, back to my market research assignment, joy!

Busy Bee

Once again I have been slacking on the blogging front...

After a somewhat hectic week that flew by in a blur of difficult accounting equations and marketing strategics, I finally escaped to a little town not far from Cambridge, called Huntingdon, to spend the weekend with The Boyfriend.

On Friday night we went to the fair, which turned out to be so much fun considering we're both in our twenties and were therefore the oldest people there. We went on a ride called The Waltzer which spins you round so fast, and we were on it for a good ten minutes at £1.50 each which I thought was such good value for money!

Saturday consisted of shopping in Huntingdon. I was disappointed to find that the Huntingdon branch of Boots did not sell the Soltan tanning mitt. The woman behind the counter said 'we don't stock them at this time of year', which was a classic case of bad product knowledge.

I picked up a gorgeous gift bag in..wait for it...Card Factory! lol purely because I adore the print. If someone could tell me where on earth you can get the wallpaper that has this print then I would be ever so grateful!

(ignore my accounting coursework...and that there on the right would be my hippo keyring:P)

The print is felt and is raised from the rest of the bag..cute huh? and only 99p! As you can see i had to purchase :)

We spent the evening in with milk and cookies and the X Factor..perfect :)

Speaking of which, I am off to watch the results now.

I'm thinking Miss Frank and Rachel in the bottom two...with John and Edward sneaking in to stay for another week..shocking!

Holly

xo

Lets talk MAC

I am going to confess to being a total MAC virgin. My boyfriend bought me a set of MAC brushes for my birthday last year, but I do not own any MAC makeup, and up until the weekend I had never had the privalege of wearing any products by MAC.


So for my same birthday a year ago, my brother bought me a makeover experience day at DoubleTake Studios in London. Admittedly I felt like a bit of a plum about the whole thing and cringed at the thought of posing (akward, akward, akward!) for photos so I put off booking the shoot up until recently, a whole year on! If I'd known what was in store I would have booked it a lot sooner!


I basically had a wonderful makeover using all MAC products, and I fell in love. Here is a picture I took of my makeup at about 10pm, and considering I'd had the makeover at 1 o clock in the afternoon I think this just demonstrates the quality and lasting power of MAC products, as the makeup stayed firmly in place and was still flawless well into the evening.




Ta daaa!
Definately a MAC convert. When my finances are in order I plan on visiting my nearest store and purchasing some products as recommended by some of my favourite beauty bloggers.



Hope you're all having a lovely week:) will leave you with a teeny picture I scanned from the shoot!
(if you are thinking of booking a DoubleTake shoot, as a prewarning your photos cost £70 each..extortionate, yes?!)





Holly xo

Club Review; The Forum

Name: The Forum
Location: University of Hertfordshire, College Lane Campus, Hatfield, Hertfordshire


This new £38million pound venue was built to replace the existing student union club, Font Bar, which they are soon to convert into offices. The Forum is now the largest venue between Hertfordshire and London, and has already played host to some big names and acts despite being open for less than a month. It is the home of some of the UKs biggest and most renowned student nights, including Flirt, Bonk, and the newest addition, indie night 'Propaganda'. It also hosts Hertfordshires biggest alternative music night, F-Alt.






The Forum

In terms of layout, The Forum is quite similiar to Oceana clubs, in that it has several seperate rooms that party-goers can wander between throughout the night.

The Auditorium:



This is the main club room, that boasts an enormous dance floor, stage, three large bars, seating areas, and incredible lighting and sound systems. The dance floor is lined by two staircases that lead up to the Balcony Bar, the auditoriums fourth bar that overlooks the dancefloor.

Next to the Auditorium is the Style Bar, the Forum's very own cocktail lounge that provides a stylish and relaxing space to chill out with your favourite cocktail when you fancy a break from the dance floor. Not forgetting this is a student venue, it is impressive to have a cocktail lounge on campus, let alone one that stocks champagne for those students with expensive taste, and a bottomless student loan;p



Up another flight of stairs is the Attic, a much smaller club room than the Auditorium, with a dancefloor and bar, that plays host to a different genre of music than downstairs, depending on the night, to create even more diversity and choice for the students.



In the month that The Forum has been open, acts such as No. 1 artist Chipmunk, Wiley, Vengaboys, Britain's Got Talent winners Diversity, The Doves, Funeral for a Friend, Hadouken! and bigname Ministry of Sound DJ Joshua Roberts have graced the Auditorium stage, and acts such as N Dubz and Deadmau5 are booked to appear in the near future.



For nights such as Bonk and Flirt, the Forum has a student only policy, in which members of the public can only attend if accompanying a UH student, however on other nights the venue is open to the public.



It is definately a very impressive venue and a guaranteed good night out, but definately a young persons venue as it has a very prominant student vibe about it. As a UH student of three years, I must say I miss the homely and familiar feeling of the Font Bar (RIP!) but the Forum is definately what student unions are all about:)


Classic pre-Forum pose!
Dress: £20 New Look
Shoes: £60 Topshop
Wine: £cheap and cheerful Lambrini from Asda haha..poor student much?!

Hope you are all having a lovely weekend
x