Like piercing a new jar of coffee, the pleasure of removing cellophane from new things is a sick pleasure that never gets old. From my sega master system, a sony walkman with rewind feature through to this latest plaything, the sound and sensation never gets old. Perhaps there’s a market in that. Hmmm.

Anyhow last time I had a mac was back in my college days in the late 90’s, I had a top of the range 400mhz imac with dvd functionality,  watching the matrix in letterbox format on a 13 inch 4:3 ratio crt monitor was nothing short of outstanding. I also used it for its original purpose, graphic design, page layouts, typography, that sort of thing.

Over the years I’ve seen my beloved mac brand turn into a fashion accessory, a pretty thing that young people beg their gullible rich parents for, a prop of many a hipster in starbucks. Having a mac nowadays I feel as though I have to justify owning one, like a soccer mom doing the school run in a Chelsea tractor.

However the intention is to get back into my design work, and the Apple Mac Mini
appears to be the ideal choice, rather than pay rather a lot more for a regular Imac to get this and plug into a tv or monitor.

Grand Opening

As with most mac products, opening the box reveals the mac, a power lead, a monitor cable adapter, and thats it. Remarkably simple. Build quality is excellent, the cold metal feels amazing. Stroking it i feel like Doctor Evil stroking his cat. mwahaha. anyways…

A poundshop hdmi cable later (seriously, you will wonder how currys/comet can keep a straight face selling £40+ hdmi cables to gullibles!!!) and you’re away, setup is a doddle (providing you have an apple ID), pop in your wireless password and you’re away.

You’ll know the specs already so theres no need to bang on about that, the quad-core intel i7 processor will keep you going for many a year. It will handle games quite adequately, however If you’re a serious gamer, get a pc.

Verdict

At the moment i’ve got it wired into my telly, and it will make a great media centre. I would recommend this to anyone fancying something a bit different.  I hope I can steer away from its many distractions and get on with some serious designing. wut wut wut.

When you wear as much make-up as I do on a day-to-day basis, it’s really important to make sure that it all gets washed off properly in the shower, or you will be in a whole world of spots.

I was staggered to learn via this infographic from the guys at AllAboutMoney, that keeping clean is an expensive habit, with the bathroom being the most expensive room in the house.

Appliance costs infographic is provided by All About Money

After a particularly long and tiring Tuesday, I thought it would be lovely to have a nice meal out at somewhere within walking (rolling) distance of my bed. We had heard some wonderful things about the new Jasmine Cafe on Barlow Moor Road in Chorlton.

We arrived expecting the place to be packed out and expected to wait for a table, however there were lots of immaculately laid tables waiting for us – great stuff. We picked a table and sat down and had a look at the menu. We were offered a plate of green and black olives on a bed of pickled cabbage. A really nice touch whilst waiting for the food to arrive.

The first thing I noticed  on the menu was the price – every single dish on the menu was under £10, and most were around £6 – brilliant!

We decided at this point that we were most certainly going to have a starter and a main.

I opted for the Halloumi (which looked like little pairs of trousers) and James opted for the Sujuk (spicy sausage commonly eaten in Turkey and the Middle East). These were both served lovely and hot, accompanied by hot bread, puffed up straight from the oven. Delicious, could not fault any of it.

The starters came with a little bowl of tomato based chilli sauce, which was absolutely delicious, almost curry flavoured – I asked the waiter what the name of the sauce was but I couldn’t quite decipher what he was saying and being typically English, I politely nodded and pretended to understand…If anyone has ANY idea of what this sauce is I would be so grateful!

When we had polished off the starters, we were brought our mains. I decided upon the lamb shawarma, served on a bed of onions with tahini sauce, and James had the mixed kebab (pictured at the top of the post.).

Both of these dishes were lovely, especially the moist chicken and cubed lamb on the mixed kebab. The lamb literally melts in your mouth.

This was a delicious meal in quiet relaxing surroundings with an excellent price. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone who likes excellent quality Middle Eastern/Arabic food. This is a brand new restaurant and these guys deserve to do well.

• Do you leave your bag on the seat of your car whilst you go inside the petrol station?
• Do you just chuck your make-up bag in the bottom of your hand bag and let it jostle around in there all day?

I’m guilty of all of those things – which is why I was so shocked when I read this research by Escentual, about how much the average make-up bag is worth. The research discovered that a quarter of people spent £30-60 0n their make-up bag in a month. I reckon my make-up bag is worth a whole lot more than that – so I went to work finding out exactly how much all those products I am throwing round in my bag are worth.

Lancome Hypnose Drama Mascara – £22

I love this mascara, I always make a point of stocking up whenever I go through duty free, or if I see it on Buyapowa. The forumla is perfect and goes on really easily. It’s perfect for daytime-work with just one coat, but builds very easily for dramatic lashes for a night out.  It doesn’t smudge, but comes off very easily with a swipe of cleanser or a quick Hot Cloth Cleanse (which is the last thing on my mind after a few bevs)

MUA Pro-Brow Ultimate Eyebrow Kit – £3.50

I bought this as a stop-gap before splashing out on Benefit Brow Zings – to see if it it would be a sound investment. It was a choice between this and the Sleek Brow Kit, and this was in stock and cheaper. I really like this brow kit. It’s got three shades, a brush, fixing gel and some really cute little tweezers. I find this very good at filling in the sparse area near the middle of my eyebrows, without causing the dreaded mono-brow/scouse brow effect. I love a strong brow, but I know where to draw the line. I find that the lasting power is pretty poor with this – but for the price what more could you want.

Estee Lauder Double Wear – Fresco – £27.50

The most expensive item in my make-up bag – but the most important. I think it is so important to have a good base – and I like the full coverage look, so Estee Lauder Double Wear is the best all round foundation for me. I have dehydrated with oily patches type of skin, so I have trouble keeping my make-up in place. I toyed with primers and different methods of application – but still by 11am, the foundation was a distant memory!

I find that the double wear had great staying power, I dont feel the need to touch up during the day and I can go from office to drinks without having to worry. The Estee Lauder sales assistants are great too – they are great at giving out samples (10 days supply of the DoubleWear) – I went through a couple of different shades before settling on Fresco.

The only downside of this foundation, is the packaging. WHY the glass bottle? It’s so difficult to use, and I end up wasting loads by pouring it onto the back of my hand, and I love to be able to cut open the ends of tubes to get the last few uses out of them. If anyone has any suggestions on how to get a pump to fit without smashing the damn thing – then PLEASE let me know.

MUA – Undress Your Skin Shimmer Highlighter – £2

I’m a relative newbie to highlighter, and I never saw the fuss about the Benefit High Beam after getting a sample with a magazine. Im a big fan of this Highlighter, I use a tiny bit on my finger on the top of my cheekbones, and a little bit under the arch of my eyebrow to define my eye socket. Im saving up for Guerlain Meteorites (AKA magic balls) or the Nars Illuminating powder.

Kate Moss Lipstick in shade 101 – matte – £5.49

I hate the taste of this lipstick, and the smell of it drives me mad, but.. I love the colour, it is perfect for day wear so I can put up with the smell and taste because it looks so nice on.

Collection Lasting Perfection Powder £2.99

This is just a bog standard powder, which I use for setting my foundation. I go through this quite quickly – so I buy cheap.

Collection Concealer £4.19

Rimmel Soft Khol £2.99

MUA Blusher shade 5 £1

La Roche Posay Effeclar Duo – £11

MUA Undress Me Too Palette £3

So, thats my make up bag, which rings in at a whopping £85.66 – which puts me in the upper bracket! How much is your make-up bag worth?

I had just finished my bottle of the Organix Argan Oil - when I saw the Percy and Reed products being given away with March’s edition of Glamour Magazine – so I quickly snapped one up.

I love the packaging, and the drawings of the cartoon girls on the website are really cute.

I have heard loads of differing opinions when it comes to the method of actually applying – wet hair, dry hair and towel dried hair. I personally don’t think it makes a lot of difference. I like to apply to it towel dried hair, as I feel it makes my hair dry quicker, so im not exposing it to the harsh heat of the hairdryer for too long.

I dispense a small amount of the product into the palm of my hand and rub together to warm it up. I then apply it to the ends of my towel dried hair first – (the driest bit of my hair) and then stroke the excess over the rest of my hair. I then dry my hair with the hairdryer until about 70% dry, then use my Babyliss big hair to give bounce and volume. Im absolutely rubbish at using a hairdryer and brush to dry my hair, I’m sure hairdressers are born with superhuman dexterity to be able to blow dry hair with a brush in one hand, and a heavy hairdryer with the other.

I find that the No Oil Oil is really good on my ‘fine but lots of it’ hair type. It helps define layers in my hair, and keeps the hair shaft smooth when using the Babyliss big hair styler.

Since having my microdermabrasion treatment at Skin Health Spa in Manchester, I have been much more conscious of my skincare and beauty regime. I have been doing a lot of research on the best thing for my skin (dehydrated with oily patches, congested with a few breakouts) and the Effaclar Duo by La Roche-Posay kept being mentioned again and again.

French Pharmacy Brands

French pharmacy brands, like Avene and Bioderma had never been on my skincare radar before now. Maybe its because I can’t instantly read and understand the packaging – it takes a bit more time to pick up the box and find the english bit to actually understand what the product actually does. Since reading the Sali Hughes beauty columns in the Guardian – I have become obsessed with finding out about all of the different French brands, and how these reasonably priced products can help my skin look it’s best.

I have seen different views and opinions on how this cream should be used – some people say it should be used as a spot treatment, but others say to use it like a light moisturiser, all over the face, before applying make-up.

I do the latter, applying it to my still warm face after Hot Cloth Cleansing.

I have been using this product for 3 weeks now, and I have noticed a real difference The texture of the product is really nice, slippery and gel-like, but doesn’t slide off your face. It soaks in really quickly and feels really fresh. You only need a couple of pea sized blobs to cover your whole face.

I haven’t found this product to be drying, as I have quite oily skin, but it might be a different story for someone with dry skin.

This has really opened my eyes to the world of French Pharmacy brands, and Escentual have made it really easy to find them and buy them here in the UK. Im really looking forward to trying Bioderma Sensibio H20 – Micelle Solution and the Avene Cold Cream.

La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo – £11.05 - escentual.com

This is a small restaurant/cafe on George Street in Manchester. It is slap bang in the centre of China Town, so it was really easy for me to find.

It was an absolutely freezing day in Manchester, and i’d just spent the best part of an hour umming and ahhing over some shoes in TK Maxx so I was ready for some serious comfort food.

You walk down the stairs into I am Pho, and are greeted by friendly staff who wave you to your table. Its an unassuming place, with tables set out like a canteen. I really like places like this as I don’t feel intimidated sitting and eating alone.

Vietnamese Food

I am Pho serves simple Vietnamese food like:

Pho

Which is a traditional Vietnamese dish made out of broth, with various noodles and vegetables in it. The most popular types are Chicken and Beef, and is normally served with beansprouts, lime, chillies and thai basil on the side.

Banh Cuon

These are rice noodle rolls filled with minced pork, mushrooms and shallots. The rice noodle rolls are made by spreading fermented rice batter on to a cloth, which is stretched over a pan pf boiling water, so the steam cooks the batter.

Bahn Mi

Baguettes were introduced to Vietnam by the French in their colonial time – and this has worked it’s way in to Vietnamese culture – in the form of a Bahn Mi. This is a single, small baguette filled with Pork Belly, Fried Eggs, Cheese, fresh cucumber, Coriander, pickled carrots and daikon – covered in mayonnaise

There are absolutely loads of others – but these are the only ones I am confident to say I know about!

I was invited by the lovely people at the Manchester branch of SkinHealthSpa to have a treatment done at their lovely new premises in St James’ Square.

I arrived for my consultation looking a bit rushed and disheveled, but all that disappeared when I walked through the door into the reception area of the spa.

The Nail Bar – £5 for an OPI File and Polish

When you first walk in you are greeted with a smile, and invited to sit down in the waiting area in front of the impressive wall of products.

Bottles of GlamGlow, XenTan and Janmarini

After a little wait and a short form to fill out, I was invited into one of the treatment rooms for my consultation.

My make-up was cleansed off and my skin thoroughly inspected – I was a bit embarrassed, because I had a really big spot in the middle of my chin (cleverly hidden with some concealer). I had nothing to be embarrassed about, all the girls who work in the spa are lovely and put you completely at ease.

It turns out that I have pretty good skin, apart from some congestion around my chin, nose and forehead – so Microdermabrasion was recommended for me.

I had heard of Microdermabrasion before, but I wasn’t too sure about what it actually was so here is what I found out!

What is Microdermabrasion and how does it work?

Microdermabrasion is where a jet of fine crystals are vacummed across the skin removing blackheads and dead and dry skin cells. It is really good for congested skin (like mine) as it exfoliates all the dry skin off that can make you look sallow and ashy.

The Polaris Microdermabrasion Machine

My Treatment – The Before Picture

This picture was taken immediately before the Microdermabrasion started. My skin looks really pale and washed out (please excuse the massive chin spot) and if you look closely you can see all the lumpy bumps of congestion on my forehead and around my nose.

Laura (who is lovely) began the treatment by running the Microdermabrasion vacuum over my forehead. It doesn’t hurt at all it just feels like a very gentle sandpaper being run over my skin. The vacuum was worked methodically around different areas of my face, with more attention paid to the worst areas (forehead, chin and nose areas).

My skin felt a bit hot and tight straight after the treatment, but when the cooling gel mask was put on this went away really quickly and felt amazing.

Some crystals are left on the skin, which are exfoliated off with the rehydrating mask at the end of the treatment.

 The After Shot

As you can see my skin looks a little bit red, but that redness went down in about half an hour.

The Verdict

My skin feels so soft and smooth, the congestion lumps on my forehead have completely gone and my chin and nose feel so much smoother and my pores look tighter and less noticeable.

This morning, it was an absolute breeze to put my make-up on. The foundation and concealer that normally goes dry and cakey after about 2 hours stayed smooth and glowy. My pores are SO much less noticeable, and my make-up doesn’t sink into them as much now. I didn’t need to use my usual make-up primer, which is one less product on my face in the morning.

Upkeep

Skin rejuvenates every 28 (or so) days, so its vital that this treatment is repeated on a regular basis to keep the positive effects looking great.

Exfoliation is the key to keeping blackheads away, so I decided to buy the GlamGlow Tingling and Exfoliating mask to keep my promise to my skin. No more blackheads allowed on THIS face!

I would definitely go back to the Skin Health Spa in Manchester, it is a lovely clinic and all the people who work there are really nice, and discreet about any skin worries or problems that you might have.

A quick note about Milia Removal

I sometimes get really stubborn white lumps under my eyes and at the top of my cheeks (Milia) which are really painful if you try and squeeze them. The Skin Health Spa offer a really unique service – they have a nurse who deals with all these kind of skin problems.

Skin Health Spa Manchester

7 St James’s Square,

Manchester,

M2 6DN

Telephone: 0161 833 4224

Email: manchester@skinhealthspa.com

W: http://www.skinhealthspa.com/manchester-clinic 

Download the price list here

MUA Undress Me Too Palette – £3 – Superdrug

I’ve been lusting after the Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette, but priced at an obscene £36, it’s not something that I can afford at the moment. So when I popped into my local Superdrug and saw that they had the MUA Undress Me Too palette in stock (which I think is a pretty good dupe for the Naked 2) I couldn’t resist it!

I’ve tried to line the swatches up as best I can – apologies if you have to tilt your head a bit to see it properly!

There is really good colour payoff with these eyeshadows, the only one that doesn’t show up well is the quite aptly named ‘Shy’ (top row, third from the left). I think its is quite a close match to my own skin tone (milk-bottle white), so will be a nice base colour washed all over my eyelid to even out and conceal veins and redness on my eyelid.

I’m really looking forward to testing out all of the different possible combinations with this palette – like I have done with the Heaven and Earth palette I bought about 2 years ago.

I know a lot of people don’t like MUA as a brand after the whole 50% off twitter and facebook *thing* – but I don’t care – they make nice  make-up at a price point I can afford and that makes me happy – so there!

I would love to have graceful, long and ladylike piano player fingers, with beautifully manicured nails sitting perfectly at the end of them. But I dont. I have stubby salamis with hats on.

I have tried pretty much every nail treatment under the sun:

• Acrylics
• Gel Nails
• Shellac
• Sculptured Acrylics

And do you know what….you can keep them!

I have decided that a short, clean and natural nail, is the nail for me. It might not be the most glamarous, but its professional, tidy and suits my chipolata fingers.

sallybeautyblog.com

Nail Care Tips and Tricks – Talons in No Time

Cuticle Care

Do you ever get those weird thin bits of skin that decide to start growing up your nail bed? To be honest, I think they are really creepy, and I like to get rid of them as soon as I spot them. I never have the confidence to cut them back to I tend to push them back.

How to push cuticles back

1. Apply a really good cuticle oil every day (I apply mine at night before I use my Flexitol nail cream)
2. Use an Orange or Hoof Stick to gently push back the skin.
3. The cuticles will soon get the message that they are no longer welcome, and they will start growing more slowly.

 Nail Clipping

SAY NO TO NAIL CLIPPERS – really – they are bad for your nails.

I have found that my nails split, peel and break much more easily when I have cut them with clippers. My nails seem to grow much better if I keep the free edge smooth with a nail file.

Nail Filing

When filing your nails you want to file in one direction, rather than in a see-saw action. I don’t know how or why this works, but it seems to make the edge of my nails much smoother, so they are less likely to snag and catch on things.

I really like my Margaret Dabbs glass file, they are a bit more expensive than your average emery board or metal file, but see it as an investment – these files don’t go blunt or dull and just take a quick rinse under the tap and they are as good as new!

Nail Painting

• Any residue or oil on your nail will make it more difficult for the polish to bond with your nail, so a quick wipe with nail varnish remover will get rid of that.
• A really good top coat and base coat are essential for making the nail polish last – I use a cheap base/bonding coat and Seche Vite for the top coat.
• Don’t forget to wrap your tips – hold the brush at a 90 degree angle to the free edge of your nail and wipe it along. This will seal the edge and make the rest of the polish on the nails last loads longer.

The Sticky Sandwich

I know it sounds like a a rude film from the 1980′s, but I promise you that it’s not.  I’m a huge fan of the ‘Sticky Sandwich’ nail painting technique.

What you will need

• Nail file
• Buffing Block
• Nail Polish Remover
• Bonding Base Coat
• Top Coat

Method

1. Prepare your nails in your usual way – file, buff and shape how you like
2. Wipe your nails with nail varnish remover to get rid of any oil or residue
3. Apply a light layer of the bonding base coat – wrap this around the tips and a little bit under the nail if you have room (let dry for 5 mins)
4. Lightly paint your nails with your colour (let dry for 5 mins)
5. Add another layer of colour (if you need it) and let dry
6. Apply another light coat of the bonding base coat
7. Apply your top coat, whilst the last layer is still wet (hence the name Sticky Sandwich)
8. Sit back, relax and let your nails dry for 10-20mins

I know it looks really time consuming, but it works really well for me and makes the time and effort that goes into nail painting last much longer and prevents chipping.