Barry M Nail Paints I Own So Far

Sometime ago I wrote about Barry M Nail Paints here. Today I'm showing you the 4 colours I own so far.

Shades from left to right:
- Pink Flamingo (NP305)
- Block Orange (NP301)
- Turquoise (NP295)
- Vivid Purple (NP161)

I bought the Block Orange and Turquoise ages ago, and won the other two on a Barry M competition. I don't receive any remuneration for writing about it and I don't get any commission for providing a link to their website. Why am I telling you this? After the recent online brouhaha about bloggers and companies, I felt compelled to write this, just to cover my backside, in case anyone ever accuse me of being one of the "sold-out bloggers". Hehehe...

Shoes and More Shoes

I seem to collect shoes wherever I go. It's not a disease, it's a necessity. Surely there's no such thing as having only one pair of shoes that's perfectly suited for every occasion in life?

To me "functional shoes" = shoes that are designed to serve a particular purpose. To this extent, all my functional shoes have travelled the world with me.

Here are some examples:

a pair of sturdy walking boots to tackle muddy fields (walking in Auckland, NZ)

a pair of slinky heels to match my eyeshadows (indoors in England)

a pair of sneakers to walk around Taj Mahal (on a trip to India)

a pair of ballet shoes (standing on a parchland in Kenya)

a pair of shoes with chunky heels (attending a wedding in Bali)

See what I mean? There's always a time and a place for every shoes! :) Rest assured I have a pair of ankle length boots to wear with jeans, a pair of comfy espadrille to walk around town, a pair of sensible black shoes (not sure what they are for, yet), a pair of knee-length boots to wear with my dresses, plus some more. Oh, alright, I confess: plus many, many, many, many more pairs... (blushing)

Most of my shoes are in the storage place as I'm sort of "in-between country" at the moment, staying at PIL's place. I do have my favourites with me. I'm an organist by trade, so I always carry a pair of modified jazz shoes with me to play the organ. See whether you can spot my tiny organ shoes on the picture below.

Can't really see the shoes, I know... at least you can see me in action! :)

Back to more shoes. Amongst my summer acquisition is a pair of satin Monsoon shoes, RRP £65, acquired for the sum of £1. I couldn't believe it when I saw the price tag. I asked the sales assistant whether there was something wrong with it. She said, "Nope. Only because it's the last pair left-over from last season." Huh?! Last season or not, I fell in love with them straight away. The next picture shows the Monsoon shoes from different angles. Bear in mind that I do not use them for organ playing, the spiky heels make them almost useless for playing the pedals properly. They're just there for a show, in real life they're worn before and after playing the organ. Such is the life of an organist...

Red and Blue

When I was a toddler I had a pair of red shoes. My mum said that was the time when I went through the stage of loving all things red: red dress (with red fluffy-feathery scarf to go with it), red jumper, red bag, red lunch box, red plastic chair, red lego bricks, and little red train toy. I think I never really grown out of my love of anything red. The only thing I don't normally wear is red lipstick. I guess I'm not brave enough to sport it.

Talking about all things red brings me to one of my favourite perfumes: Lancome Magnifique. The nutty scent never fails to bring smile to my face. It's the perfume I turn to whenever I'm feeling blue. The sweetness of the scent is just right, I get headache whenever I smell perfumes that are sickeningly sweet (eg. Kylie Minogue's perfumes).

My love affair with Magnifique started when a sales assistant in Perth gave me a "sneak whiff" and a sample vial a few weeks before it was launched last year. She sprayed some on my arm, asked me to go around the shop before telling her what I thought about it. The scent was so gorgeous I couldn't stop smelling my arm afterwards. I was hooked! Later on that day, a lady who lived on the same apartment block complemented me on my choice of perfume and asked for the perfume's name. That same day hubby said he loved the scent. Obviously the perfume suits me really well. :)

Since then I've received many complements everytime I wear it. I don't use it daily as I don't want my nose to get used to the scent. I use it for special occasions or when I need an instant mood-lifter.

Givenchy Absolutely Irresistible is another perfume with red packaging that I like. The smell reminds me of Magnifique. Not quite the same scent, but similar enough. I can't remember exactly why I haven't bought this one yet.

So those perfumes are amongst my favourite red things. What are yours?

L'Occitane Clarifying Rice Mask

Today I'm writing about L'Occitane Clarifying Rice Mask as it's the first mask I've encountered that really mattify my skin. The mattifying effect is so good I could see noticeable difference in my combination skin. Everytime after I used it the oily parts of my face looked matte, as if I've just been airbrushed! :)

I guess the magic ingredients could be the 3 types of natural clays used in this mask. According to the webpage, it contains "white clays (to promote the elimination of impurities), green clay (known for its absorbing and rebalancing properties) and pink clay (known to soften and improve skin’s radiance)."

The blurb on the webpage says: "This mask, recommended for combination to oily skin purifies the skin and ensures a long lasting matte and velvet finish." I'm not sure about the purifying part, as I haven't noticed any improvements to the congested part of my skin. Generally I like to use mask in the evening before I sleep and so far I've never consciously made a note of how long the matte effect last. All I can say is I really, really like the result - look at how many times I used the word "matte"! :)

I love the gentle almond scent and the texture of the mask. I'm using muslin cloth to remove the mask, I find that it's too slippery to remove it with water alone.

Verdict: a good mattifying mask.

P.S. For those who are interested in pore-reducing products, try Biotherm Biopur Pore Reducer lotion, it worked wonders on my pores. Obviously the Pore Reducer mask isn't as good as L'Occitane's Rice Mask as I'm not writing about it today. LOL.

Ingredients: aqua/water, kaolin, glycerin, hydroxypropyl starch phosphate, Cl 77891/titanium dioxide, vitis vinifera (grape) seed oil, oryza sativa (rice) powder, sodium pca, sorbitol, butylene glycol, illite, oryza sativa (rice) bran oil, parfum/fragrance, maltodextrin, bentonite ethylhexylglycerin, tocopherol, xanthan gum, red rice vinegar, zinc pca, benzoic acid, dehydroacetic acid, oryza sativa (rice) extract, citrus media limonum (lemon) peel oil, spiraea ulmaria extract, polyamonipropyl biguanide, sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate, phenoxyethanol, limonene.

'Dear Diary' week: 5-11 Oct

Thought I'd start the week by joining the 'Dear Diary' week. Here's what Lauren said about it: "... a week-long collaboration between myself and Sharon of My Passport to Style. We have a jam packed week in store for you, including interviews, guest bloggers, fun stuff and more – and it’s all to help raise funds for cervical cancer.We’re urging you to make that date in your diary and book that all-important cervical smear– as well as helping us to aid such a worthwhile cause."

The reason I'm joining this campaign is because personally I don't really know much about cervical cancer. I've lost a very good friend to breast cancer and earlier this year I lost my grandad to prostate cancer. What's more, FIL's mum died of breast cancer, his sister is in remission from one, and the sister's daughter had a cancer scare not long ago.

With this kind of background, I think anything that raises awareness about any type of cancer is brilliant. If you're still reading this, I'm hoping you'd like to join me in spreading the word about this campaign. Simply grab this button and display it on your blog for this whole week.

Now to a little update about my 2 weeks break in Devon & Cornwall. Hubby & I ate loads of Cornish pasties, flavoured fudge (I especially love chocolate and rum & raisins), cornish ice cream (chocolate one, of course!), Domino's chicken tikka pizza, and some yummy Indian curries made by hubby's cousin who is a trained cheff. Pure indulgence. :)