2010; The bloggers come out

2010 was the year my blog went viral.

Erm, well maybe not quite, but it is the year I made it known to my friends. Believe it or not I had blogged for a whole year before my bestest had any idea, with only about 5 close friends being vaguely aware through Twitter.
I'm lucky enough to have made friends with people who are proud of my blogging (yes Daisy, I'm talking about you) instead of those who wonder how I can devote my spare time to a laptop.

Blogging has come into its own this year, it's an accepted hobby and not an underground world for 'computer geeks'. With that said, here is the who and what to follow for 2011

Fashion

Baby Is A Sinner

Le Blog De Betty

LLYMLRS

Topshop Princess

Don't Dance Naked

Where Did U Get That

Julest

Beauty

Kelanjo

This Is Caz

Pearls And Poodles

Lipglossiping

Lifestyle

Drollgirl

My Labyrinth

Snob

With Love Freckles

Found anything new? I hope so. Let me know your recommendations and here's hoping that blogging can remain stylish in the new year.

Oh, and as a shameless plug, you can now 'like' Peluxe on Facebook. Just to keep blogging relevant of course.

The Dreaded 31st

Is it me, or is New Years Eve highly over rated? I'm not saying all my new years have been terrible, but there isn't any that I think back with "OMG that was the best night of my life."

The pressure to have a great new years is probably the only thing that I hate at this time of year, you're always going to get asked "good new year?" by all your nearest and dearest, my answer is always "not bad." Because that's just it, just another night, summed up into a ten second countdown. Personally, I don't see the fuss.


New years resolutions have never been a priority either, if you're going to do something new, why wait until another notch is added to the 4 digits? Just start tomorrow!

Plans for tomorrow night consist of a night in with friends and the obligatory booze - skittles & jelly baby vodka, egg nog, rosé wine spritzers and a night of no expectations, in the most positive of ways.
This year the boy has abandoned me for New York, so there will be no midnight kiss, which is perhaps one of the reasons I'm being so bitter right now. There's always the dream Marissa/Ryan smooch at midnight, in the exact same fashion of course. Got to love the build up.

That has actually cheered me up.

For all you crazy folk out there who actually enjoy New Years, I hope you have a brilliant time, hopefully with a kiss at midnight in there for you as well!

Despite what I just said, I have mentally prepared resolutions, so why not write them down;

• Be myself in all aspects (mainly style here..)
• Don't buy just to buy.
• Spend more time with the boy.
• Take more of an interest in everything around me.

Would love to have more specific ideals, so a Lily Loves Lola style follow up could be done next year, but I just don't seem to have the same goals!

Images taken from various Tumblrs

So, is it just me or is New Years overdone? Please say it's not!

Blixz Nails

Minx nails seem to be the height of trendiness for nails right now. But for those among us that always seem to attempt a DIY version first, then Blixz nails are stepping in.
These were nestled among my Christmas presents - including Barry M's 'Indigo' which is possibly the most beautiful nail colour i've ever seen - and they are what got the first play with.

Source

They are stickers that come in packs of 8, so you can attempt to get the best fit for each nail. Some need to be trimmed, but for the most part, using the smallest five were ok for my nails. When laying it on the nail, I've learnt you need to really stick it down as the edges are already beginning to peel up. You then just file off any overhang, which is easier with nails that have grown past the skin, as it becomes difficult to neatly file off the excess when there is a finger directly at the end of the nail!

Gives me the chance to show off my new ring, courtesy of the boy :)

I'm quite happy with the result, for a first attempt, some tips for any of you thinking of giving it a go;

• Measure up the size before sticking, by holding it above the nail as close as possible.
• Push cuticles back (and trim if necessary) as much as possible to give the rounded edge a neat base.
• Use a fresh nail file, that isn't too course to minmise risk of leaving a jagged edge to the sticker.
• Start with the little finger and work towards the thumb as that's always going to be the smallest.

It's day two of wear and some edges are beginning to peel, but to a tolerable standard. I can see them lasting three of four days if I don't play with them. I'd love to try some other designs, I feel they would last better a second time as you know what you're doing.

Mother believes she got these from Miss Selfridge, but as they're no longer on the site I can't give you a price point. The official Blixz site has an RRP of 8.95 euros, which is steep for just one application, but I'd be willing to pay for it again. After all, it's on par with the price of a professional manicure, which is only one application!

Let me know your experience with these types of products, they seem to be everywhere at the moment, with an array of different designs to adorn your nails.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

It's taken a while, but as I write this at thirteen minutes past midnight, I can finally say I'm feeling festive.
Christmas eve(ning) has wisely been spent in front of Peep Show, it has got me obsessed and the Christmas special may have just tipped the scales into my festivity.
The family is together for the once a year it happens, my brother arrived without Heathrow disruption, although they did lose his back and Manchester have still failed to deliver it two days later - as of yet this is my only quibble.

I'd like to take this time to wish all my readers a brilliant Christmas day whether you celebrate or not! No harm in wishing a good day on others... Maybe we should do it more. Thank you for sticking with me through a University lead hiatus, new followers please make yourself known!

Masquerading as a Christmas bauble

Lauren's cat in a fetching Santa outfit.


A Christmas eve day walk along a frozen reservoir with the sibling.

"Oh Christmas treeeee"

A gift of piggy slipper socks from the bestie.

I hope you all get what you want today! As Christmas is the day to be greedy.

Phoebe xx

No7 Brush Collection

When No7 vouchers were still in their novelty phase, I used to collect as many as I could and reap the benefits on their brushes. Prices range from £4.89 to £17, so you're looking at a good saving off the priciest and even a free brush or two in the cheapest. I was sent the full collection to trial.

No7 have a brush for everything and while I could go into raptures about them all, I'm just going to share my favourites. The ones that I really recommend you go out and invest in.

First up is the No7 Blusher Brush. It's small, which is just what I like to avoid having too much blush spread over my cheeks. It's great to concentrate the colour on the apples and even better to blend it out because of the light bristles.


Now, a concealer brush is never something I really used. I rarely use concealer other than under my eyes which I prefer to blend out with my fingers, but when I was sent the No7 Concealer Brush I decided to cover up a bit more, applying it the inner corners of my nostrils, around my mouth and any blemishes. The bristles are stupidly soft which makes blending thick concealer out easy, the slightly pointed tip means getting into all the points of the face is easy.


For those that struggle with creating a smokey eye, then the Smokey Eyeliner Brush is perfect for adding colour under the eyes. The domed tip means it can get right under the lashes without looking too Taylor Momsen and if used clean is great to smudge out anything you've already applied.


To add to the smokey eye, you'll need some slick eyeliner, or even just a light flick on a bare eye for some Christmas glam! The Precision eyeliner brush is great for this. I found it difficult to create a point on the wing, as the brush isn't fine like the MAC 210, but it's great for doing a line along the top of the lid to add to an eye full of shadow.


Why not add a bit extra to the stocking and throw in a few brushes to create make up that looks 'done'? No7 brushes are available exclusively to Boots stores, make sure to add a few to your basket while finishing up your Chrimbo shopping!

Done.

I have just completed an exam, 4 assignment hand ins, a professional radio recording and a mountain of hours searching through the library. My first semester is over!


It has honestly flown by, which scares me as before you know it I'll be writing my dissertation, I've yet to find anyone who has had any significance of 'fun' there.


TGI with the girls, secret Santa, a night out with nothing hanging over me and catching up with all the oldies. I can't wait.
Hopefully with that will come more blogging action, because I think it's pretty obvious it hasn't been my first priority recently.

Happy Christmas everyone, it's relaxing time!

A different kind of review: Hotel V Amsterdam

Amsterdam...
After a 4.30am wake up call, three trains, a 7 hour plane delay, a lost airplane pilot, a late plane fueller and a plane full of rowdy stag parties, we got a snowy welcome into Amsterdam. You can't say we weren't determined.

I had a great time, even if we did only really manage one full day in Amsterdam, it was the definition of a relaxed weekend - once there of course.
As always mother was in charge of picking the hotel and she outdid herself once again. She chose Hotel V, located on Frederiksplein. It's about 10 minutes walk from the city centre, with tram connections right outside, with even more just around the corner.

If you're not familiar with housing in Amsterdam, then I think the only shock you'll get is the stairs and the size of the rooms. The stairs are steep and the higher you go, the twistier they get.

Our room was in the building across from reception, which is down a sloped path outside, this meant noise was minimal despite being located next to a main road.

Amsterdam seems to work in as many rooms into a building as possible, so if you're looking for huge areas to move around in while in the room, don't go looking here. While the rooms are small, they are perfectly formed and space is really utilised. The decor is tasteful but minimal which means you're not at risk of being over faced.


Each room comes with a safe, TV, small wardrobe, en suite, hair dryer and minimal amenities. There's no in room mini bar, but the bar in the lobby has half price drinks for their 5.30pm to 7.30pm happy hour and it's more than comfortable.
The bathroom is separate to the room, however our room held the basin inside, instead of being in the bathroom.

Rooms get a basic clean daily, with towels only being washed at your discretion, to go in hand with the eco ethics of the hotel.

The room keys are stored on an artistic tree, behind reception which means you have to hand in your key every time you leave the hotel, they have a 24 hour reception, so there was never any problem getting it back, however I do like the convenience of having the key on me.


The hotel is quite literally 'trendy' personified. The staff were more than friendly (but didn't cross the line into annoying or pushy) to help us in every aspect.
We paid 119 euros for two nights, with breakfast and wifi included (there is also MAC desktops available to use in reception). While I'm usually one obsessed with freebies, this hotel more than made up for it in character and the great staff always on hand.
They're on all the social networks, only lending to the trendy, but for more information go to the Hotel V site.

If you're looking for a stylish base for your Amsterdam get away, then this is definitely one to try.

Aussie for the day

For the most part Aussie like to the welcome the angels in style, to a lavish evening affair topping up our drinks until we can't take anymore, so I'm sure you can imagine my confusion when they'd organised a day time event!
Just as the snow was taking over Northern England, Aussie took over The Loft in Leeds city centre, for a day of market stalls, tips and tricks of the trade and a few other sessions thrown in. In true Aussie style, the drinks were flowing, with a Christmassy mulled wine and scrumptious barbecue we could help ourselves to.

The aim of the day was to display your talent and hobbies, through Aussie's Market Stalls. These were teamed with hair stylists for different tribes and various mini seminars on flirting, photography, blogs as a business and vintage shopping. The stalls were a mini success, each Aussie Angel had the chance to showcase her talents, whether it be baking, make up or vintage clothes;


The day was filled with running into all the other bloggers, sipping a mug of mulled wine and taking in all the information from the various speeches. I was in charge of the SLR, in an attempt to develop my photography skills, I'd like to say this was my contribution to the event, however I didn't get snapping until the latter half... These are my initial shots mixed with the 1000 Head's more capable photographer;



There was also a really cool photo booth, with instant developments for us to play with. Let's just say we didn't really get the hang of it...

Before leaving, the Sexy Santa showed us into his beachy grotto to give us our presents... We left with a goody bag filled with Aussie's Take the Heat range, a Gilette razor and various treats to keep us happy on the snowy trip home.


I think everyone in attendance will agree that Aussie does the day just as well as the night!

John Frieda Precision Foam Colour

I've got a bit of a cowardly admission, I was recently asked if I'd like to trial the innovative hair dye from John Freida. This was in my hair turmoil I was going through. I honestly didn't know what was going on with my hair or where it was heading. However, since then I have decided to go for the 'roots' look, with a hint of ombre. My natural hair colour is either a very dark blonde or a very light blonde, which to me, looks good with my highlighted tresses finishing off the lengths. It was this picture that was the nail in the coffin of a bit of roots for a while;

Supplied by lovely Carla.

John Freida's new at home hair colour promises salon quality results, without the harsh chemical smell or the mess that comes with the majority of DIY dye jobs.
Fair enough, I didn't apply it to me whole head, but while doing a strand test and a patch test on the skin, the normal peroxide scent that comes with blonde dyes was definitely present and to me, hadn't been masked in the slightest.

It promises flawless colour from the 20 shade range available, with only 20 minutes to have to prance around with a foamy head of developing colour.

Once my 'roots' have grown out fully, I can see my investing the £5.99 to continue the ombre colour to my hair. It is a great price and from the reviews I've read, you're not going to be left disappointed with this range. For those avid home dyers, I would recommend giving this a try.

Let me know what you think!

For more information visit their Facebook page.