Aussie Girls Night Out – Manchester!!

You always know you’ve had a good night when you wake up in the morning with a banging headache and several photos on your camera you cant quite remember taking. Last night was a prime example of this.

I was lucky enough to be invited to the Aussie Girls Night Out Party in Manchester last night. I don’t often get opportunities to go out drinking that often, so when the lovely Nicola invited me to go along I said yes straight away.

I havn’t previously been involved with the Aussie Campaign, but wowee what a way to get on the wagon. Last night was genuinely not only by far the best Bloggers Event I’ve attended, but it was the best night out me and Karen have had for a long time.

The party was held at The Hula Bar and Tiki Lounge in Manchester,  which was a little tricky to find considering Karen and I have only ever been to Manchester once haha!  After walking around trying to use my satnav on my iphone  for an hour and asking several passers by we finally found it. Then the fun really began.

We were the first to arrive and were greeted my the gorgeous people at 1000 Heads, Lisa, Lauren and Emma. The evening started with champers, but I’m not a huge fan so proceeded straight to the raspberry vodka and lemonade complete with a real raspberry! Shortly after lots of other girls arrived and the amazing Lina from Illamasqua arrived to do our make up (she was also at the Illamasqua Event) We got false lashes the works. I absolutely loved what she did with everyone’s make up, she was lovely to chat to and super talented.

The gorgeous Lina chatting to Sinead!

Not long after this Simon the butler arrived, dressed in a lifeguard get up he did a fabulous job of supplying us with cocktails and shots ALL night. I kid you not girls I’m not quite sure how I managed to drink so much! There was also a magician who was completely freaking everyone out with his crazy skills! Pulling cards out of his mouth?? Yeah that’s what I’m talking about haha!

Simon our Butler for the evening!

The cocktails were also out of this world, I’ve never seen anything like it! By the end of the night I was sat hugging a barrel and drinking it to myself haha.

Volcano Cocktail, yes that’s right its a cocktail!!

Another Coctail in the form of a Barrell and some yummy nibbles

Yep… More Cocktails!!

 

It true Kelanjo style we were the first to arrive and the last to leave. I met so many amazing girls who I maybe wouldn’t have had the chance to speak to and get to know if it had been a larger event, or maybe based in a different location. Everyone was truly lovely, and the focus was on bloggers having a nice time, chilling out and getting to know each other. There was no product pushing of any sort, we received a cute vanity case with a few bits and bobs in, and there was just a real feeling of having a “Girls Night Out!”

Pheobe, Karen, Me.

Me and the lovely Lauren from 1000Heads

Phoebe, Emma from 1000Heads and Me.

Phoebe, Me and Kat.

The gorgeous Lisa from 1000Heads, Sinead, Me and Briony.

Evidence of the food/cocktails/shots we left behind haha!

So in the end Me, Karen, Kat and her fella Mark left and went our separate ways, Karen and I staggered to the train station (at this point  may I add we had absolutely no idea where the hell we were going) and tried to find our boyfriends who had come to pick us up thank god. However once we actually got to the station, it took us a further 25 minutes to find them, and in the end up it was a lovely police man that helped us to track them down. Oh lordy it was so funny!!

I finally got home at around 2am and proceeded straight to bed. This morning once I came round a bit I spent 20 minutes on the phone with Karen remembering how amazing the whole night was. Thankfully I didn’t make too much of a fool of myself…  I hope ;) and as I type I’ m sat in bed nursing a terrible hang over thinking what a brilliant night.

I really hope there are more events like this, it was absolute perfection!

       xoxo

Remington Style Therapy – Wet2Straight Slim Straightener Review.

Here is my two cents on the new wet2straight straighteners by  Remington.

I owned a pair of these when they first came out about 3 years ago. To be totally honest I didn’t really rate them then, so when I was asked to review them, I wondered how much they have improved since the original ones.

I should say I will not be able to review the wet2straight aspect of these straighteners. As many of you know I had a huge hair trauma not so long ago, and subsequently have to avoid heat treatment as much as possible. Therefore using 230 degree heat on my wet hair is just not an option.

I can however review the straightener aspect of them and whether the design has improved.

Pro’s

1. Quick Heat up – Approximately 15 seconds
2. Adjustable Heat Control and wide temperature range from 150-230 degrees
3. Comes with Heat Proof Pouch for Storage
4. The ceramic plates are longer in length than other straighteners I’ve used
5. They come with a 5 year guarantee – that's pretty amazing!
6. The actual cosmetic design is a million times better than the previous ones – lovely purple colour and digital display
7. Can be used just as a straightener

Cons

1. Unfortunately for me, I think the entire concept is fundamentally flawed from the word go. Using heat from 150-230 degrees on wet hair is an absolute no no, well it is for me anyway. It follows though that you don’t have to use the steam part, you can just use them as straighteners, but doesn’t this flaw the entire purpose of the product in the first place?
2. The curved design on the top handle is really rather tricky to get used to at first. I’m not entirely sure why its curved if I’m honest?

On a final note, I have used the Remington Shine Therapy Straighteners for approximately 2 years now and I think they are fantastic, if I was to recommend which style of Remington straighteners to go for – purely from  a straightener aspect though, I would say the Shine Therapy win hands down.

Hope this has been useful :)

xoxo

I just sussed out what is causing my problems – The Depo Provera Injection.

Fore warning - This is going to be a long post, and I can not guarantee that all of the information is medically 100% correct, as it is information I have found on the internet and is obviously not as reliable as going to a GP. Also I am fully aware that different things effect people differently.

Excuse Cheesy Photo haha

When I was younger I was on the Depo Provera Contraceptive Injection for a couple of years. From what I can remember, I had no side effects.

So when I restarted the injection around 4 years ago after a spell of trying different contraceptives, I assumed like before I would have no side effects, I also didn’t think to do any research on the drug as I hadn't had problems previously.

As many of you know, I have been on a weight loss journey for a long time. Over the past 12 months I have found it incredibly difficult to lose weight despite eating healthily and exercising. I’ve  not always been perfect, but I’ve slowly gained nearly 20lbs over this 12 month period.

This was the first thing that started to ring alarm bells with me about the depo. I however dismissed it and thought I didn't have problems when younger, I actually lost 30lbs over the first 2 years I was on it thanks to diet and exercise, so it couldn’t be that.

After several thyroid tests etc there was still no reason I should be finding it so difficult to lose weight.

Roll on my Acne. Until the age of around 18 I had perfect skin. That may sound slightly big headed but no joke all through my teens I NEVER had spots. Ever. All of a sudden I hit 18 and develop Acne? Again I dismissed the fact it could be the Depo, as I’d been on it before. It wasn’t until a meeting with my GP a couple of months ago that I discovered the most likely cause for my Acne was the injection, as it has a tendency to cause Oily Skin. After I was told this I already planned to stop taking the Depo and maybe switch to the pill.

For the last few weeks I have failed to lose any weight whatsoever. Despite my best efforts…. You just know in yourself when something isn’t right.

Tonight I went to my Weightwatchers Meeting and raised the issue that I thought the Depo is making it more or less impossible to lose weight. I was shocked by what followed. My leader told me EVERY single member she had that was on the injection found it incredibly difficult to lose weight.

She then announced it in the meeting and around 10 women all said the same thing.

So I came home, and for the first time ever I Googled the side effects of the Depo Provera.

I have spent the last 2 hours reading Medical Studies and several chat forums, mainly caloriecount , about.com and the comments section of an American medical study.

I am absolutely astounded that I have NEVER been informed of the side effects of this injection. The only thing I have ever been told is that it increases the appetite and can cause loss of bone density.

After reading what I have tonight I am 100% sure that the Depo has been causing pretty much all of my problems.

Namely, Bad Skin, Weight Gain or Inability to lose weight, Fatigue, and others.

I have only read 2 of about 100 comments that have not experienced weight gain whilst on it, with the majority of women gaining approximately 30lbs within the first 6-12 months of taking the contraception.

I have read several comments of women experiencing shocking skin trouble after the first couple of months of taking the Depo.

The biggie that I was not expecting was the Fatigue. Just this morning I tweeted about how no matter how much sleep I got, I always feel tired? I have been saying this for some time, and now I know why…

Most importantly, there were lots of comments from women who have been on the injection for several years before experiencing any side effects. Which to a certain extent is what has happened with me.

It seems everything points to the Depo, and there is  far too much for it just to be a coincidence. I think the main reason I wasn’t aware that this is what has been causing my problems is because I do not see a GP for my contraception. I go to a Sexual Health Clinic, and because they are not a GP they are just Nurses, they cant really identify and associate Medical Conditions with Contraception. ( I found this out when I asked about my Acne at the Clinic.)

So what happens next? I am coming off of the Depo (I was due to have it at the beginning of December) and I will not be going onto any other type of Hormonal Contraception until my periods resume naturally. ( I should mention I havn’t had a period the whole time I’ve been on it, so for nearly 4 years.)

When it comes to contraception in the future I will be seeing my GP.

You know when you just know something? When you just have that gut feeling inside? Well I just absolutely positively know that when I come off of this injection I am going to get back to my natural weight, my skin is going to return to normal, and I’m going to  be energetic again. I just know it.

On the other side I do know some women who have no problems whatsoever whilst on the injection, but believe me, after what I have researched tonight, they are in a VERY small minority.

Like I said, I only started having noticeable side effects over the past 12 months, after being on the Depo Provera for nearly 4 years.

So what would I advise if you were thinking about going on the injection? Personally I would not advise it, and I would say if you are seriously considering it, do your research beforehand, because although its very convenient, the side effects really are not worth it.

What have been your or your friends experiences with the Injection? I very much doubt I’m the only person in this position.

       xoxox

Its an Oldie but Goodie :)

As beauty bloggers and beauty junkies in general, we are always trying to find the next best thing when it comes to cosmetics and beauty products.

However we all have a a few faithful friends who we always come back to, who never let us down, So why the hell cant we just stick to the notion of “Better the Devil you know?” Instead of spending time and money testing new products always looking for something with that little something extra. Well I’ll tell you why… We wouldn’t be beauty bloggers if we did haha!

So here are a select few of my faithful friends, I like to call the “Oldies but Goodies” I would love to see yours.. Lets make this into a bit of  a tag and spread some Oldie but Goodie Love haha!

These babies have been repurchased more times than I can remember over the years. I pretty much NEVER deviate from these 3 products.

Good old Sal’ I think we all know and love her miracle working nail polishes. Then we have Maybelline Express Finish in Red Seduction, my all time Go To Red Nail Polish. Perfect for the winter months, looks so striking on the nails. I always get compliments when I wear this polish.

Gucci by Gucci Perfume, I have several favourite perfumes but I seem to wear this all the time in Winter. I love it :)

These two bad boys have been making an appearance in my beauty routine since I was about 14. Seriously.

On another note, I’m feeling rather Carrie Bradshaw with my new set up… Haha I got a new desk a couple of weeks ago to help me with my studies. I think its also because I’m in front of my window, I always picture her with a fag, sat at her laptop at her desk in front of the window and saying “ I couldn’t help but wonder…” I hope you know what I mean ;)

Cant wait to see your Oldie but Goodies :)

          xoxox

Fancy a bit of Chanel in your life?... Kind of :)

I've always fancied myself looking down at my wrist and seeing a Chanel J12 Watch. As lovely as this would be, I very much doubt it will ever be a reality due to its heavy price tag.



Cue good old Argos and Sekonda :)

I found these little beauties a few months ago and purchased the white one first. I also know a few other bloggers who have this watch. Well last week I went and bought myself the black one too because I love them so much :) The resemblance really is uncanny, and I am more than happy to have this until the day comes I have a real one. Hell I suppose I don't even need the real thing now I've got these bad boys!


Sorry for the rubbish photo - I used my iphone to take it.

They cost £19.99 each is a currently an offer on too, where you can buy one and get one for half price! Even better so you can get yourself one of each colour, and Argos will even remove links for you if its required - for free! Good Times!!

I can't recommend these watches enough :) You get the lovely look of the Chanel Watches without breaking the bank!

xoxo

Sunday Summary

Its that time of the week again :) Here's my Sunday Summary!

1. Rejoining Twitter and getting to chat with the lovely people I missed whilst I was away. Life's too short thats what I say, my break away did me some good :) This time round Im going to make sure I dont get addicted though ;)

2. Huge clean up of my bedroom today :) Tidy Room Tidy Mind thats what I say!

3. Drunken Harry Potter Cluedo on Saturday Night :) Yeah you heard right, we had a mean game of Harry Potter Cluedo and Cranium on Saturday Night, paired with raspberry vodka = good times :)



4. Buried the hatchett and made friends with Adams Mum. We had a fall out a while ago and this week I made the effort to make amends, thanks to my new positive attitude :) I'm glad I did, feels great!

5. Listening to Paulo Nutini's Pencil Full of Lead amongst other "happy" songs :) Nothing changes my mood like music can!

How has your week been? Would love to here 5 great things from your week!

Thats all for now lovers!

xoxo

Bad Romance

I cant quite put my finger on why - but it think this is a pretty amazing music video. Granted its weird as hell.. but thats kind of what I love about it?

What do you think?