Wednesday 29 August 2012

Limecrime - Parfait Day Review



Along with D'Lilac (review here) I also purchased a nail polish from Limecrime, I wanted to try another of their products and seeing as how my pastel pink polish from Barry M had just run out I thought I'd give 'Parfait Day' a go! I'm going to review it in a slightly different way though, so I hope you like it:

Packaging

I've mentioned this about a gazillion times on my blog recently, but I LOVE the packaging of Limecrime's items, it's the main reason why I wanted to buy from them and not just opt for a cheaper or similar brand. The nail polish is no exception, it came in a cute little box and the bottle itself is frosted glass with the pretty little Limecrime logo on it, the only complaint I have is that the bottle is a bit smaller than I expected, it's kinda diddy but that doesn't bother me too much as you don't need more than 2 coats. In the box both my purchases arrived in, I got a holographic sticker (third photo) which I was almost as excited about...I think someone needs to calm me down over here.

Colour

Arghh I'm so annoyed by the way this colour photographs! In reality it's waaaay more of a neon pastel pink, it's seriously bright and definitely makes more of a statement than you can see in the photo. Overall, I love the colour and really you can get away with just one coat which is awesome for pastel shades - I always ended up applying around 4 of my Barry M one!

Overall Performance

As much as I love the colour and packaging of this 'Parfait Day', it's performance is kinda average. I found that it dried really fast, like super super fast which was a bonus, I hate waiting around for my nails to dry, only to smush them and have all the polish crease up! The only downside I found to this polish is how easy it chips! The first time I applied it I didn't use a topcoat or base coat and it had chipped within a few hours...it is a bit better with a topcoat, I managed to go 2 days with only minor chippage but still...I kinda expected more.

Mark out of 10
 8!

Have you tried any Limecrime products yet? Which ones are on your wish list?

Love Ellen xx
SHARE:

Monday 27 August 2012

My rook piercing...



This was my little present to myself for my AS and GCSE results - after panicking and stressing over them I decided to go straight away and get my rook done - after all, how could anything be as bad or as scary as awaiting my grades? That was my logic anyway.. So, as I did for my Tragus (which has healed up now, boo) I thought I'd do a little review on my experiences with this piercing so far :)

I know this type of post isn't to everyone's taste so you don't have to read on, I just noticed that there's a great lack of information about this piercing online and of what there is, most of it is really dramatic and scary! I get a lot of people finding my blog because they've searched for 'Rook Piercing' so I thought I'd tell you about my experience...

  The first question you get with any piercing is 'Did it hurt!?',  in my opinion every piercing will come with some degree of pain but with pretty much all ear piercings it lasts all of about 3 seconds. The rook did hurt me more than the tragus but even so, it was a really quick pricking pain and then it was all over, afterwards I just had a slight throbbing for around 10 minutes and a weird feeling in my temple, not a pain, it was just uncomfortable (I don't know if that's normal or not!). My ear stayed red for a few hours and I was advised to leave it a couple of days before cleaning, I'm now just cleaning it once a day with salt water, as was recommended by the piercer and I can hardly even feel it, there's no pain or anything, just a bit of discomfort if I sleep on my right side.
Once again I can't recommend Kazbah in Leicester enough, they're so friendly and the piercing guy does everything he can to calm your nerves and talks you through everything - I was in and out within 5 minutes and he's really skilled at what he does so there's minimal discomfort.

Before I went and had my rook done I'd been researching it online and found stories that made me really nervous so I just wanted to clear a few things up...
  • It is not the worst pain you've ever felt in the world! I know it's all relative, but seriously, it's super quick!
  • IT SHOULD NOT BLEED! Much anyway. If you find a reputable piercing place your ear shouldn't bleed - mine didn't at all so God knows what those other internet people were doing!
  • Do not watch piercing videos on youtube! The guy at Kazbah told me how much of a bad idea this is - he said half the time they use piercing methods in those videos he wouldn't even think of using! So it's best not to scare yourself :)
  • Rook piercings take around 10-12 weeks to heal so just be patient, clean it regularly and obviously, avoid touching it when you can.
  • Usually they should use a slightly longer bar for the initial piercing to allow for any swelling, you can always get a smaller one put in later but it's better to be safe than sorry.
All in all, I love this piercing! I think it's quite unique and I haven't seen many people with the same one. It cost me £20 and I think it was well worth it for the quality of service I recieved!

Love Ellen xx




SHARE:

Friday 24 August 2012

GCSE Results!


ARGHHHH!! I got my results today!! I'm so happy! I got 12 A*s (plus my B in AS French) and I'm so proud of myself - I've cried so many times today it's unreal, phone calls to family keep setting me off again! I can honestly say I worked my butt off for these grades and I'm glad all the hard work finally paid off :) I don't quite know how I'm going to celebrate, I got taken out for lunch by my boyfriend's family this afternoon but apart from that, who knows!

I hope everyone who got their results today is pleased! I'm so happy for all my friends, they all did so well and my college had a record breaking year! 

Love Ellen xx
SHARE:

Wednesday 22 August 2012

Limecrime - D'Lilac review


Say hello to my new favourite thing in the whole wide world! I've wanted to try some products from Limecrime for what feels like forever, so when I was in America this summer I ordered a lipstick in the shade D'Lilac and a nail polish in Parfait Day (review coming soon!) I was so excited to receive the pretty purple parcel and rightly so, over 2 weeks on and I still haven't thrown away the packaging! I love this lipstick, everything from the sparkly purple unicorn case to the versatility of the colour. I love wearing it mixed with a pink Barry M shade (no idea what number, sorry!) just to make it more wearable - but on it's own, D'Lilac really makes a statement! It fades to a nice pink colour and the only problem I have with it is that it goes a bit gunky after you've been wearing it for a while...but I get that with most pale lipstick shades so I was expecting it to happen. I would definitely purchase from Limecrime again and can't wait to see what they bring out in the future - have you tried any of their products yet?

Love Ellen xx

P.S. The nose ring is still fake...you can see it a lot clearer here though!
SHARE:

Sunday 19 August 2012

Following the sun from west to east


Jacket - Gift
Sunglasses - DIY
Floral headband - Aldo
Lipstick - Limecrime and Barry M

I may be 16 but oh how I love playing dress-up! I wanted to show you my DIY sunglasses properly because I love them to death, seriously you're going to have to tell me when you all get bored of seeing them because I have a feeling they'll appear in quite a few outfit posts to come...there's just something about those teeny tiny pastel flowers that makes me all happy and fuzzy inside (awww)
Anyways, I've managed to create the kind of look I would gladly wear to a festival, unfortunately I'm not going to one in the foreseeable future so ya know, Tesco better watch it!

Love Ellen xx

P.S. If anyone noticed the nose ring I'm wearing here, it's fake! I was just playing around with it and took some photos so it'll probably appear in a few posts!
SHARE:

Thursday 16 August 2012

DIY Sunglasses


After posting my look for the Redrock Vintage Blogger Competition I've been dying to do this DIY, it's such a cool way to make any old pair of sunnies look new and just generally more awesome...I decided to make my plain black New Look ones look all prettiful and got these 3D flower decorations from Michael's (a US craft store) along with some stick on pearls and rhinestones. All I did was simply arrange the decorations how I wanted them and then stuck them on with super glue - tweezers were my best friend in this operation! I'm so, so happy with how they turned out - I've been wearing them whenever I go outside (even in this miserable English weather) and I've taken some photos with them so they'll be posted soon!  

I'm still trying to film a haul video for you guys...it's taking forever because I'm having some problems with photo booth software on my mac :( Hopefully it'll get fixed and I can post my haul this week - if not I'll just borrow my boyfriend's laptop and film on there!

Love Ellen xx

SHARE:

Wednesday 8 August 2012

New York - A Shopper's Guide


Helloooo :) I wasn't too sure about how to organise my NYC photos and how to split them into different posts but I knew I definitely wanted to do a post like this. I'm not in any way saying I'm a New York expert, in fact, I've only ever been there once - but when I was researching the best places to shop and where I could find quirky shops or vintage boutiques I really struggled to discover anything but the obvious, I mean everyone knows there's a Macy's in NYC right? Soo I turned to you guys and I got some really cool responses, I didn't get to visit every single place that was recommended but below are my NYC faves for those who love a good shop...

Brooklyn

Brooklyn is an area of New York known for being trendy and it's where a lot of the artsy people moved to when central Manhattan became increasingly expensive, we went to Williamsburg which was really quick and easy to get to from the city. In short, Williamsburg is an awesome place if you want vintage, quirky or secondhand items - every Sunday there's a flea market on the waterfront and although I thought it was kinda expensive, it's cool to hunt around and maybe discover something you fall in love with. From the flea market you can also get an amazing view of the Manhattan skyline across the water, so although I didn't make a purchase it was definitely worth a visit.


After visiting the 'Brooklyn Flea' we decided to have a bit of a wander around the area, on most streets there were people selling their one-off items or creations and the whole vibe was just really cool and inspired. The next store we came across was 'The Artist and the Flea' - it was basically a really quirky inside market, there was everything from vintage stalls to people selling handcrafted jewellery and art pieces: I managed to like the only rare vintage item in there, a t-shirt that cost a mere $175, yep bargain I'll have 3!
The best store we discovered in Brooklyn (in my opinion anyway) was Crossroads Trading - it's huge secondhand shop that buys clothes from people who no longer want them and then resells them at a really affordable price! I stumbled upon a really cool grey flannel shirt in the men's section that only cost me $9.50! I'm still debating over whether or not to cut the shoulders out or to just keep it as a basic, wear with anything shirt. Also in Crossroads I found a dark denim jacket that was so similar to my Topshop one that I didn't buy it, despite it only being $13!! (face palms) I am absolutely kicking myself that I didn't have my creative head on that day, why didn't I just buy it to customise!? It would've looked awesome bleached...ho hum, hindsight is a wonderful thing..


Soho

Soho is another Manhattan district known for being ultra fashionable and artsy - here you will find the likes of H&M, Topshop, Urban Outfitters and other well known mega stores. My favourite shop however was one recommended to me in a previous post, Brandy Melville houses a cool range of basic, edgy items for really great prices. I did have some issues with this particular store though, for one, the sales assistants were terrible - using the changing rooms to change into clothes from the store so they could wear them and then put them back for people to buy, whilst there was a queue of about 8 customers waiting to use the fitting rooms (cheeky or what!) and also that's 'one size fits most', the clothing did fit me but I just think this makes the shop less accessible to anyone over a UK size 10 or 12. Having said that, I did love the whole aesthetic of the brand and the way all of their pieces could be incorporated into almost any wardrobe, I liked that it wasn't just your usual Topshop, AA or UO - I wanted to discover something different in NYC and Brandy Melville allowed me to do just that! I purchased a floral print vest for $18 that was really similar to a print I'd seen on Nasty Gal, I was also tempted by a cream and black repeated skull print jumper that was really cute - if you're off to NYC I urge you to check it out :)


Other

I found that the main shopping corridors in central NYC are Fifth Avenue, Broadway and Madison Avenue, although just wandering around the city it's almost inevitable that you will stumble upon an Urban Outfitters or an American Apparel, so don't worry so much about finding big name brands. Times Square is such a surreal area to visit, walking through there you will find a Forever 21, Levis and a ton of venders selling the iconic 'I <3 NY' t-shirts for around $5 - I have to admit I did purchase a grey one that I plan to cut into either a crop top or a sleeveless muscle tank...it's a necessity when you visit for the first time right?
On the Sunday that we arrived there was a huge Summer Street Fair on Madison Avenue that spanned over 10 blocks! It was really cool to see the contrast between market tents and the out-of-this-world sky rises that stood immediately behind them, it was also interesting to walk down a New York street without any traffic! My Dad bought me an antiquey looking silver ring with a purple stone from one of the stalls so they're definitely worth checking out for some unusual jewellery; if you're planning a trip to NYC you should definitely find out if there's any street fairs or markets on around where your staying, I think they occur fairly regularly in different areas :)


Tax and Tips

  • New York doesn't make you pay tax on any clothing or footwear item under $110 - accessories however are always taxed and I think it's an additional 4%.
  • If you plan on buying a touristy type t-shirt, for example the 'I <3 NY' ones, don't be pulled in by actual shops or tourist destinations that sell them for around $20-$25: you can buy the from as low as $2 from a street vender (as dodgy as some of them look!)
  • Now I don't want to sound like your mum or anything, but something as simple as crossing the street in NYC can mean taking your life into your own hands - green lights, red lights and the fact that cars are quite capable killing machines seems to mean nothing to people! During my stay I was almost hit by a motorbike twice because the driver just wasn't paying attention to us on a crossing...so be careful please, I'd like you all alive to read my next post.
  • It may seem really obvious, but British brands are likely to be more expensive! Yes that means Topshop, All Saints, Lush and Jack Wills all raise their prices in their US stores - some more than others, yes Topshop, I'm looking at you. So it's probably best to wait til you're home for those ones.
  • Having said that, take advantage of Forever 21, American Apparel, Urban Outfitters and other American type brands - they're likely to be a lot cheaper than in the UK. Disco pants for £52 instead of £70? Uhm, yes please!

I hope this post was vaguely helpful to anyone planning a trip to NYC, I'm clearly not an expert I just wanted to share a few of my favourite places with you from my trip last week!
Thank you to anyone who actually sat and read all of that...I know it was a bit of an essay.

I will have an America Haul coming up, I might do it as a video because taking photos of everything will just take ages - I'm currently awaiting 2 parcels though so fingers crossed they arrive before I leave on Saturday!

Let me know if you'd like shopping guides for any other cities or areas (UK ones preferably!). I'd love to do more, maybe of places I go to often and can properly review, maybe more concisely, NYC is rather large! Shopping destinations I'm thinking of now are Nottingham, Leicester, Birmingham, Derby and London...so let me know!

Love Ellen xx

SHARE:

Monday 6 August 2012

New bedroom inspiration!

Both from notonthehighstreet.com
Notonthehighstreet.com | Urban Outfitters
tumblr | dotcomgiftshop.com
Urban Outfitters | Notonthehighstreet.com

  A couple of weeks after returning from America I will be moving house! We'll be staying in the same village, just downsizing and starting afresh - I've been getting really excited about planning my bedroom decor and decorating from a blank slate, so far I've decided that I want my walls to be white and my carpet to be a greyish colour: everything else will be pastel shades of pink, lilac and blue with fairy lights, cute trinket boxes and pretty prints! I'd really like to fill my door with inspirational quotes and photos, plus, my bedroom will have a little Victorian fireplace so I'd love to fill that with lanterns and flowers :) Obviously this is a long term project that won't all be done overnight, I'm just going to collect things as I go and start some money-saving DIYS - bunting can be homemade and £650 for the lilac chest of drawers is maybe a bit steep! I'll have to get my paintbrush out...

I was also wondering if anyone knows where I can get bed linen like the design shown in the tumblr image above? I'm really struggling to find any bedding I actually like!

I'll be posting some NYC themed posts soon! I'm just unsure at the moment about how to organise my ideas :)

Love Ellen xx
SHARE:
© Ellen Atlanta | All rights reserved.
Blogger Template Created by pipdig