Review: Avon's Line & Lash

I ordered this after seeing it come through for a couple of my customers.

I love a bit of glitter, and I adore silver.

The liner side is a liquid liner with a brush to apply and a mascara wand at the other side.

I love the glitter liner. It's not overly in your face and will lend itself to different coloured liners although I've only used it with black so far, plan to pair it with either a blue or a teal one next.

However, I'm not so keen on the mascara. It does have some good points. It's brush has a good bristle wand to it. I don't like the product's consistency, it's rather thick and doesn't do my short lashes any favours. I need a product that lengthens and thickens, probably why I use 2 mascaras.

Family Christmas Make up and Hair

Family parties are rife this time of year. We spent ours with my inlaws.

So I donned a shiny smokey eye, a hot pink lip and a textured top knot for some extra height. Plus, I find when I have to bend over to see to my kids that having my hair down is a bit of a hindrance.

To make this look I used the following products:

Avon's BB cream in Nude, MUA blush in Shade 01, Avon's Lash & Line, Glimmerstick eyeliner in Blackest Black, Color trend lipstick in ???? and GOSH's eyebrow palette, the wax is a god send.

For my eyes I used the MUA Immaculate Collection Palette, I covered the eye in the white, the bottom lid with the silver and smoked out with the darker grey. For more depth I added the teal to the inner corner.

I love this palette so much, the only thing that would make it better would be to have more matte shades in there. There is only so much glitter a girl can cope with. 

Getting Ready For Santa

What are your traditions at Christmas?

As a child, mum and I used to spend Christmas at my grandparents house. So when mum finished work we would dress our tree at home, wrap our gifts then go down to their house. Where we would decorate their tree and wrap some more gifts. Then we'd go to a Christingle service in town.

I would wake up Christmas morning, mum and gran would have already put the turkey in the oven. There would be a selection of cold meats and pickles on the table for breakfast. Pork pie and pate for breakfast how decadent can you get?

My uncle would arrive later and we would all have dinner. Not a lot changed over the years, first my uncle got married, so my aunt, cousin and later 3 cousins would also come for dinner. As we all grew the venue changed to my uncle's house in a nearby village. When I became a teenager I no longer slept at my gran's house and the traditional breakfast changed into bacon sandwiches at home with mum.

One year we even had Christmas in a pub, that one I approved of - even though I was driving.

Then things changed again, mum died. I lived with my mum, Christmas 2001 I got engaged and my now husband moved in. Gran and grandad began to spend Christmas day with my Aunt and Uncle and their great-grandchildren.

Then at Christmas 2005 I was poorly, and pregnant, and on a ward in a hospital in York. My first son was born December 28th. Pretty much against his will. As I recovered he got sicker. Surprisingly not my favourite Christmas in memory, that is still when I got my roller boots.

By 2007 we had 2 baby boys at home and the urge for tradition stuck back in, after years of having turkey curry and turkey and bacon sandwiches for Christmas dinner.

Christmas 2009 was the first one without Grandad. Gran continued to have her lunch with my Aunt and Uncle, I started to do a buffet on Boxing Day for my in laws and my gran.

This year is my first one without my grandparents. The first one where I won't step inside the house I visited every Christmas for 36 years where ever I lived in the country, the first one that the new family living there will spend in that house. I won't be doing a Boxing Day buffet.

However, this year I am taking the boys to see Santa, the boys are going to their first pantomime in York, I have dodged the is Santa real questions and watched some of my favourite Christmas films. I have had my Starbucks Red Cup, taken part in making another Christmas special magazine, and gone to Christingle... it's all about the orange, a candle and the sweets you can burn (okay not the definitive meaning of the Christingle, but it's a selling point for getting some into church). There have been works parties, parties with cubs and scouts, sneaky pub visits and familly get togethers.

All I have left to do (at the time of typing) is the Santa Spruce up. The big clean you do before the big guy in red arrives. If you don't have a tidy house/bedroom/clear floor Santa won't come. It's a health and safety issue don't you know! If he can't see the plate of mince pies on the table how can he eat them?

Happy Christmas Everyone.

Christmas Nails

I bought these nail stickers from Avon quite a while ago when they were on offer.



Question is... did mine look like this after I stuck them on? How easy are they to apply? How long will they last and look good for?

So far I have had mine on for 5 days. They've not exactly been looked after... That is once I got them on.

As directed I cleaned and dried my nails. Chose the appropriate-sized sticker for each nail and trimmed them to fit. I peeled the strong plastic backing off and attached the thin sticker to the nail. They went on easily with little bubbling and smoothed out well. Then as directed, I smoothed it over the end of my nail and then filed the ends of to shape to fit.

I did this for both hands. It was quick and easy and looked really good.

Then I had a couple of problems with the left hand. It appears that on the batch I got there was a lack of glue. Some of the stickers just slid off my fingers. So I cleaned my nails with acetone and did a little buffing/scuffing up of the nail bed and reapplied 3 stickers. This seems to have done the trick they've not budged much since then.

So what sort of wear have I had? Well, there was the party on Saturday night, not counting the accidental scorching the palm of my right hand on my turning tongs. Ouch... lots of holding under cold water ran over that hand, followed by drying then repeating, I washed up (without the aid of rubber gloves) after a party for 20 children! I've done the usual mum thing of picking up, cleaning and other generalness.

Now they look like this...

I've really enjoyed this style of nail covering. No drying time, no clean up afterwards. Even better no fumes, I have a highly sensitive nose.

I already have some other nail stickers added to my next Avon order, not to mention some others I have found on eBay too.

You can buy these stickers here in the current campaign

Christmas Party Time

'tis the season to be jolly... faa la la la la la la la
So we go out and look like wallies.

Yes Christmas Party season is upon us. This weekend alone I have been to two, and have another three this this week.

By the time we reach the big day itself I'll not only be serving Christmas Pudding, I will be looking like one too.

The first jaunt of the weekend was my office's event at Aspire in Leeds. It was a fabulous venue, we had the whole of the downstairs, check out their tree. 

With a hot buffet & pudding platter, a night of dancing and some The Mighty Boof photo booth action.

My make up was a mix of MUA's Undressed Palette, Avon's Cashmere foundation, Supershock mascara and No17 Lasting Colour in Red Chilli. Lashes from eBay.