Red Coat

Do you ever buy things just because you love them but have no idea when you'd ever wear them or what you wear them with? If not, then I'm very envious of your discipline and refusal to be swept up in see, want, need-in-my-life-right-now moments. If yes, then read on...

I snapped up this vintage red short-sleaved blazer in a vintage market in Sydney back in December. It was $10 which is around £6 and I couldn't resist it despite the hot day making it near impossible to even try it on and the lack of space in my travel bag. It had since languished in my wardrobe - it's bright red and definitely a "look at me" piece, it's short sleeved so not idea for an English winter and what on earth would it go with so as not to make me look like a 1980s power dresser?



Blazer: vintage, Top: M&S, Jeggings: M&S, Socks: Claire's Accessories, Shoes: Jones

I wore this to London Fashion Weekend a few weeks ago as I didn't have a clue what to wear and felt like it was a good excuse for dressing up in the daytime. I really enjoyed wearing this outfit, especially with the red lips. I popped into Yo Sushi for some lunch before I met my friend at Somerset House and some tourists asked me if I were an actress - they thought I was Melissa Joan Hart of Sabrina The Teenage Witch fame. I don't think I look anything like her but it was flattering and embarassing in equal measures.

What's your latest "I have no idea when I'll wear this" purchase?

A Few Of My Favourite Things: March 27th

This week I've been loving...



1. Lunch at Drink, Shop & Do. I had a lovely lunch with a friend at Drink, Shop & Do - sweet potato and feta tart and salad. We played Scrabble and had a pot of Alice In Wonderland tea. I wish every Sunday afternoon could be spent like this.

2. Crepes at My Old Dutch. A naughty treat definitely makes Mondays a little better - this Nutella crepe was so yummy and on Monday every crepe is £5 at My Old Dutch. They do savory ones too and it's definitely worth a visit. Made a rather sweet change from my usual Pret salad or wrap!

3. The Museum of London. I can't believe I'd never visited the Museum of London before. It's in the heart of the City so not on the traditional tourist trail but its free entry and charts the history of London from thousands of years ago to the present day. Interesting and thought-provoking, I really liked the bits about Victorian London and the displays on 1960s fashion.

4. NOTD - Accessorize's Magical Mocha. I love these polishes, they dry fast and with a coat of Seche Vite on top last for a good 5-6 days.

5. Flip flops! I wore a new pair of shoes out this week and after a pathetic 30 minutes my feet were so painful that I had to dash into New Look to buy these sandals. Thankfully they were only £7.99 and I probably would have purchased them anyway but they saved my feet for the rest of the day and I've worn them everyday since. Really hope the nice weather holds up until my feet can tolerate normal shoes again. Does anyone else find that new shoes destroy their feet the first time they wear them?

Yesterday I went to The Vitality Show at Earls Court. I had a really fun day - there were so many samples of healthy food to try out (Nakd bars, 9 Bars, We Are Bear, Rice Dream - love the chocolate one, RAW...so much yummy food!) and my friend and I had a go on a Powerplate-esque gym machine, almost got convinced to sign up to bootcamp by an ex-marine and attended talks by Lowri Turner and The Sun's Dr Carol Cooper.

I came home with this pile of goodies:





Top Sante, Zest, Women's Running & Healthy magazines - all came with goodie bags, Sencha green tea powder, Cucumber and Grapefruit scented candle and lot of discount vouchers!



Lowri Turner



Warbuton's Gluten Free - sushi-style bread conveyor belt

Did anyone else go to The Vitality Show? And what have you been loving this week?

Lipstick-loving: Peach

Time for lipstick number three. I purchased this from Ruby and Millie with one of my £5 No 7/Ruby and Millie vouchers. I figured that as I always buy something from No 7 with my vouchers it was time to give Ruby and Millie some love too. Having never purchased anything from the brand before I decided to go for a lipstick. The brand has quite a different approach to lipsticks, a limited number of shades available in different finishes - the same shade varies a lot between the different finishes so it took me ages to decide on what to get. I eventually chose "Orange" in a cream finish. The cream finish is semi-sheer and feels soft and moisturising which makes it a great everyday lipstick.



The colour looks quite bright but when applied its much subtler. I'm not 100% sure about this, I think it may look better in the summer when I have a hint of a tan...the nude shade made me feel a bit washed-out, especially as I kept the rest of my make-up very simple (usual liquid liner and Clinique's High Lengths mascara). Maybe it will work better with stronger eye make-up.

Peach lipstick: yay or nay?

A Few Of My Favourite Things: March 19th

This week has passed in a busy/work-filled/exhausted blur but here's what I've been enjoying:



1. A Gossip Girl inspired "OOTD". This got me a few strange looks from those who have probably never heard of the show. I bought the top when I was in Australia but this was the first time I'd worn it as since getting back to the UK the weather has hardly been cropped-top friendly. The denim shorts are from George at Asda.

2. I blogged about my surprise delivery from Aussie last week and yesterday I used the Lusciouly Light, Luscious Long condition. Like all Aussie products it smells amazing - I think this one smells slightly less sweet than the Aussome Volume range which I've used in the past. The conditioner is a pretty egg shell blue colour and it instantly detangled my knotty hair. Unlike a lot of hair products I could still smell the fragrance while I was drying my hair and for the rest of the day. I've been wearing my hair in a messy/wavy look lately and this conditioner didn't weight it down or make my hair feel greasy (my ultimate conditioner fear as I only wash my hair twice a week so super rich conditioners are not for me!).

3. An amazing lunch at the Natural History Museum - chicken wrap with mixed bean salad and winter coleslaw.

4. I visited the Natural History Museum last week, hadn't been for about ten years and had a really lovely afternoon wandering around the museum. I did biology for A Level and back then it was my favourite subject so it was nice to get reaquainted with my inner science-geek! I really liked the exhibit on optical illustions and memory and the Earth galleries were really amazing, the earthquake exhibit felt particularly poignant in light of the recent Japan tragedy.

What have you been enjoying this week?

Don't forget to check out this post to find out how you can join in the Aussie fun!

Review: Maybelline Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner

I've been in need of a new eyeliner for a while and while I am fond of my L'Oreal Superliner I wanted to try something different. My Boots advantage points have also been building up so when I saw Maybelline's Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner in Boots I snapped it up and paid with 599 of my hard-earned advantage points.

I've never tried a gel liner before so I didn't really know what to expect with this one. The pot is quite small but it probably has more product in it than a typical liquid liner. I like how there's a brush provided - unlike most drugstore products this brush is actually pretty decent. I swatched the eyeliner using the flat side of the brush and the tip which gives a thick or thin line depending on your preferences (I like a thick-ish line).



The liner was really easy to apply and it dried instantly unlike my usual liquid liner. It isn't as black as my L'Oreal Superliner and not as glossy but for daytime it defined my eyes nicely.



Maybelline Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner, Clinque High Lengths mascara, UDPP, Elf Undereye Concealer

Lasting Drama?

Maybelline promises 24 hour wear and while I always take my make-up off before bed and don't quite make 24 hours I definitely want a product that lasts well and doesn't fade throughout the day. One of my favourite things about the L'Oreal Superliner is that it looks just as good at midnight as it does at 8am when I apply it (unlike the rest of my make-up).

I applied Maybelline's liner at 8am and by lunchtime it had transferred a little onto my crease but this was nothing that a quick swipe with my finger couldn't remedy. By 8pm, however, the liner had really faded and had smudged even more onto my crease. By midnight when I finally got round to taking my make-up off the "black" liner was now a dull, faded grey.

My verdict:

I loved the application of this product and the thick line it gave. While I was disappointed that it didn't live up to it's long-lasting promise I will continue to use this but will definitely keep it with me for touch-ups if I'm going out in the evening. For £5.99 I'm glad that I've now tried a gel liner but I think I'll be sticking with my liquid liner in the future.

Have you tried this product? And do you prefer gel or liquid liners?

Of ASOS and Angels

I wasn't going to post about the Groupon ASOS voucher as I think every female (and maybe some males) in the country have bought them, but, being the fickle soul that I am I've changed my mind and thought I'd show you the lovely playsuit that I've just purchased:




















With the free-but-takes-forever-to-arrive delivery option and my voucher this cost me £18.99 which I think it pretty good considering that I wore my last playsuit to death last summer.

I have a second voucher but I'm still undecided on what to spend it on...ideally I don't want to go too much over £20 as then it's not so much of a bargain for me and more of a win for ASOS (and I'm trying my hardest to save money at the moment - bargains are my downfall).

I'm quite tempted my this A/Wear tunic:




















And love this dress but not sure if it'll suit me:




















Or I may hold onto the second voucher for a couple of weeks. Decisions, decisions...

My blogger newsfeed has been full of the lovely surprises that Aussie sent to all of their new Angels yesterday (see my post for pictures of my hellium balloon!) and Aussie are offering the change for you to win one of ten opportunites to join in the Aussie fun as part of all the new 'Lusciously Light' range!

All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is answer the following question on your own blog and tweet the link to @yummyhair:

“Put a spring in your Spring! Tell us, how would you lighten up your life? #AussieLight”

I'd also love it if you left me a comment on my blog with your entry.

Winners will be chosen by the Uncover Aussie team based on the most creative response that reflects the Aussie spirit. This means videos, pictures, stories or even songs can be your blog post entry. The competition runs from today (Friday 11 March) until Midnight on Sunday 20th March 2011, you've got 10 days to get you (lusciously light) thinking caps on!

Good luck my lovelies - let me know if you enter! And did you take advantage of the ASOS/Groupon offer?

A Few Of My Favourite Things: March 11th

A slightly smaller selection of favourites this week, I've been quite busy with uni work but still have had some time to enjoy:



1. A Starbucks Petite salted caramel bar. Starbucks celebrated their 40th birthday yesterday and I had a voucher for one of their new mini-treats. This was so good but VERY sweet. I've been indulging my sweet tooth a little too much lately so I think this will be my last sweet indulgence for a while - can't wait to look and feel bikini-ready for summer.

2. My first Topshop make-up purchase. I've never purchased any Topshop make-up before but popped in on Wednesday before meeting a friend and tried out their lip/cheek tint as I wasn't wearing any lipstick and felt a bit blah after a long day at uni (yeah, I know testers are a little gross but I still use them...what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger, right?). I really like how it makes my lips and whole face look brighter and healthier without looking obviously made-up. Proper review to come!

3. Sister. The March book for From Gem With Love's bookclub - can't wait to start reading this. I really enjoyed February's book and it was great to read everyone's thoughts on it. Hopefully this will be just as un-put-downable!

I don't think I've mentioned it on here yet but a couple of weeks ago I became a new Aussie Angel. I'm in the Luscious Long tribe. I got an email yesterday from a balloon company saying that my order was on it's way. At first I slightly freaked out that someone had stolen my card details and bought balloons but then I remember that Aussie had said that they would be sending me something soon and a quick check on Twitter confirmed this! I got home to this...



Such a lovely surprise. I love the balloon and can't wait to try out the coniditioner.

What are you favourite things this week?

On a serious note: My thoughts are really going out to everyone in Japan this morning, I'm watching it on the news now and it looks so terrible. Thinking of everyone affected by it...my dad left Tokyo an hour before the quake hit so thankfully he's ok but feel so sad for the people there. I travelled around Japan a few years ago which makes seeing the devastation and knowing that people I know are there really horrible.

Lipstick-loving: Red

Next up in my lipstick-loving series is red. Red is probably the most classic of all lipstick shades and one that I personally love and wear quite often. I really like wearing red lips during the day - just putting on red lipstick makes me instantly feel like a real grown-up and (almost) ready to face the world.



Hairband: Miss Selfridge, Top: New Look

For daytime red lips I used my favourite red (Clinque's Red-y To Wear) with Avon's Sparkle Shine heart-shaped lipstick over the top. I used the Fabulous/Models Own duo eyeshadow and L'Oreal Superliner on my eyes for a simple smokey eye and used Natural Collection's bronzing pearls instead of blusher.

What's your favourite red lipstick?

A Few Of My Favourite Things: March 3rd

I'm still in shock that it's March already. March! Where is this year going? I'm already looking forward to warmer weather and summer days but until then, this is what I've been enjoying...



1. My weekly Graze box. Getting post = good. Healthy food = good. Healthy food in the post = perfection! I do have to admit that the flapjack was my favourite in this box and while not exactly "healthy" it tasted amazing! You can use my code M9V29253 to try a Graze box for free.

2. Another food favourite, I had this amazing salad at the Wellcome Collection cafe when I visited this week.

3. Giant jelly baby. This was also at the Wellcome Collection. Despite living in London all my life I had never been before and after reading about it on Lily's blog it went straight to the top of my days off "to go" list. I had a lovely morning wandering around and loved the "High Society" exhibition. I'll definitely be heading back for "Dirt" at the end of this month. Entry is free and I'd definitely recommend a visit if you haven't been (especially if you have science-geek tendancies like me!)

4. I snapped this picture of St Pauls which I was shopping at One New Change - doesn't the pink sky look pretty?

5. I won Gem's giveaway and one of my lovely prizes was this Accessorize nail polish in "Superstar". After reading rave reviews on the polishes on Leane's blog I couldn't wait to try it out - I love this shade so much and it's nice to have a change from my usual red nails.



I made a couple of purchases too this week after not shopping in quite a long time. I got the dress from Joy as I was handed a £5 voucher in store a couple of weeks ago - it seemed rude not to use it when they have so many lovely dresses. Can't wait to wear this in the summer. I also snapped up this denim skirt from Topshop as I'm now a student again so the 10% discount has suddenly made Topshop a lot more appealing. I haven't had a decent demin skirt for a few years now so I'm sure this will become a wardrobe staple.

What are you loving this week?