Sunday 20 November 2011

Gel nails


I've always been a fan of the acrylic nails, and i cant say much has changed since having gel nails. Me and my mother decided to have gel nails applied, well because we just did. My grandma always has Shellac, which is just another brand of gel apparently, and she raves her little heart out about them, so we decided to give gel nails a whirl.

We got the beautician to come out to the house and do them, just because we were both having them done and we were aware it was going to take some time. But we weren't aware how long it was actually going to take.. She arrived at 3 and didn't leave until 6. Where we usually get our nails done don't do a home service so we'd never had this girl before. So it was the whole small talk thing, "going away?" "are they for a special occasion or just a treat?" and along with that came "I've got 7 years experience" when she later went on to tell us she was only 20.. started doing professional nails at 13 did you....

She had a small selection of colours, which non took my fancy, so i had a french.. if you couldn't already tell from the picture aha. It was a pretty long process, every time she put a layer on, my nails had to go under the UV light, and my thumbs separate, but you're never going to get away from that with gel nails. The one immediate bonus is that they are completely dry once completed, non of that waiting around in case they smudge... but then you don't get that with acrylic either..

My nails take a lot of hammer, i paint them every other day, sometimes every day depending on if they've chipped or not. So as a result of this my actual nail is stained, but with acrylic you can't see the actual nail whatsoever, where as with gel you could still see my stained nail through the gel, which i wasn't too happy about.

The woman explained they would last a minimum of 15 days, which we believed, as you do.. 7 years of experience and that.... She also explained that there was no other way of removing them other than her coming back to do it. My mum believed her but i just looked at her like, you bullshit. I'd already researched it, what with blogging and everything, acetone does the trick.. haha.

The day AFTER we had them done, my mums slightly chipped, she wasn't too impressed but got over it, it wasn't a large chip. After having them done 2 days, one of mine started peeling off, and within 4 days of having them on 4 had completely peeled off, and mum had peeled all of hers off. So much for 15 days eh? Turns out we didn't need or, or the acetone.

Maybe we just had a shit nail technician, but i can't say I'd ever have gel nails again, MUA nail varnish lasts longer than they did.

Monday 14 November 2011

the enjoyment of shopping?

As i was on the train returning home from London this weekend, i really got thinking about the 'enjoyment of shopping'. Is it even there anymore? Or is the happiness that shopping can bring a thing of the past? What with growing figures in the online shopping industry, is shopping no longer something we look forward to, but something we would do anything to avoid?

Arriving on Oxford Street Sunday morning, shops didn't even open until as late as 12:30 due to outdated Sunday trading laws. The likes of Selfridges, House of Fraser and Primark already had crowds of around 50 people waiting outside the doors ready to stampede in, to which we joined the Primark crowd, which opened its doors as 11:30, for half an hours browsing time.

I have been to London a fair few times, and first hand experienced Primark, Oxford Street, where-as my mum hasn't. A Saturday afternoon in Primark Oxford Street is like a war zone, not something to be taken lightly. However i stupidly assumed that going to Primark on a Sunday, just as doors opened would be less of an experience.

This makes my first point, the fact that planning had to be taken into consideration just to go into a clothing store. Whatever happened to 'oh i fancy nipping into Primark today' unless you are mentally prepared for the heat, stress and amount of people in London's Primark, you cannot just fancy nipping in.

Nearing 11:30 the crowd outside Primark grew larger, and eventually the fully kitted out security guard opened the doors. The immediate sense of rushing was comparable to a herd of animals, and the grabbing of baskets was so aggressive i had to look twice to check they were actually just baskets. All while this was happening, the security guards where shouting at the top of their voices "ensure mobile phones and valuables are in safe zipped pockets""keep bags closed at all times" "do not leave bags on the floor at any point". I just thought to myself, this isn't an enjoyable shopping experience, this is like a fucking army exercise.

In a shop in my local Westfields, if i saw something i liked, I'd probably compare a few sizes, look properly at the shape, look at the price, and then take it to try on. Oh no Primark Oxford Street is a whole different ball game. If you see something you like, it is a race to find any size that could possibly fit, and then it is thrown straight into the basket and you then quickly move on to find anything else you even remotely like the look of.

It took us 30 minutes of dashing around to fill our basket, and get into the already formed queue at the check out, that weren't even open to use yet. 10 to 12 the cashiers were ready at their desk, and there was a man in Primark uniform at the front of the queue who was just giving out orders. 5 to 12 and shoppers had been sent to cashiers and emptied their basket on the desk. The second it turned 12 the man at the front of the queue shouted "SERVE" and all the cashiers jumped and started scanning as if their life depended on it. All the while me and my mum were just looking at each other as if to say, what the fuck is going on.

We spent around £80 in 30 minutes, and after that ordeal, i could tell my mum couldn't wait to leave. We left the store feeling stressed, sweaty, and quite frankly relieved to be out. Going shopping is supposed to leave you feeling uplifted, and a sense of happiness that you brought something for yourself or others, those feelings where the last things we thought of.

Primark is notorious for being comparable to a war zone, so i assumed these brutal security guards were only in place on those conditions. But as we went into selfridges there were security guards on the doors there too, and i thought that was pretty reasonable, a hardcore thief could steal millions of pounds worth of items from a place like selfridges, but a thief in Primark? what would they actually achieve? A few tops that'll rip in a few weeks, some jewelry that will snap to pieces tomorrow? But then as we went in more and more shops along the strip, all of them had security guards on the door. From newlook to accessorize to Marks and Spenser's, they all had one. A security guard on the door of a high street shop is hardly inviting is it, and considering the large percentage of foreigners on Oxford street each day, its hardly an impressive representation of the country either.

Shopping used to be an exciting experience, something to look forward to, a treat. I just about do still enjoy shopping, but if i could only online shop or shop in stores for the rest of my life, i would happily choose online, every time.

Wednesday 2 November 2011

want it. need it. daddy?

There is always a million and 37 new things you need, when you're skint. And at the moment, that's me. I've usually got hauls flying all over the place with the latest bargains I've bought, but just recently, my spendings been cut, and I'm quite frankly skint.

With that aside, i always make little wish lists, of all the things i want at the particular moment, I've got thousands of word documents titled 'wish list' but this time, i thought I'd share it with you all instead. You'll notice I've really been getting into the Aztec theme just lately, i never thought i would because its not 'girley' enough, but in actual fact- I'm quite liking it.

Starting with no1, as you would... what better combination could i find other than burgundy Aztec leggings?! i don't think i possibly could. These beauty's are from Newlook and are reasonably priced at £12.99.

I haven't really numbered the picture orderly, but whatevzzz, no2 is possibly the most adorable necklace I've ever seen. I say that about the majority of necklaces, but what can i say? I'm a necklace junky. I don't actually like tea, just like the look of teapots, i also love clock jewelry, so together, i was sucked in. Its from Ark Clothing, which whenever i mention everyone questions "OMG whats ark?!" "I've never heard of ark" well, its the most amazing shop in the entire world, and i own a large percentage of their clothing and jewelery. After that tangent, the necklace a little pricey for what it is, at £11.99, but i like it.

No3 is something I've had my eye on for what seems like an eternity. I love it. Its from Topshop, and as you can imagine, is a complete rip of for a scarf. Its actually £16, Topshop and £16 never sounds too bad, but that scarf could quite easily be seen in primark, and if the price tag said £16 in there, there would be a mass outbreak of protesting shoppers.

Oh no4, I've been looking for some killer heels for a long time. I went into Newlook the other day actually and tried some on that were on offer for £15, i only had 20 quid with me, and i felt like i was just getting them because they were cheap, not because i had fallen in love with them. These are also from Newlook and i can safely say, i have fallen in love with these. They are £24.99, which i think is pretty amazing. If I'm getting heels, i always get ones that i know there is no possibility of falling out of, as I'm yet to fully master the art of walking in killer heels. I love the cut out detail, i think it would look so pretty if you had a different coloured pair of tights on under. If i remember correctly i heard someone talking about Newlook wining some sort of award for being the best shoe retailer on the high street, which i personally think is well deserved, their clothes may slack now and again, but the shoes make up for it.

Last, but no means least, no5. I adore the whole brightly coloured Aztec prints, however, the majority of people are sporting this through legging form. And for someone of a 'fuller figure' in other words, fat, that's not going to happen. I couldn't think of anything worse than wearing brightly coloured Aztec leggings, i can't imagine Gok would approve. So i thought the skirt form was a much better option, i actually have this skirt already in burgundy, and both are priced at £22.99, which i think is pretty good. This is also from Ark Clothing which will be linked somewhere or other, for all you people who don't seem have the common sense to google "ark clothing" ;)

So if anyone has a spare £80 that they'd like to lend me, that would be fantastic.