No to Photoshopped women on Magazine Covers!

Julia Bluhm, a young girl from America, started this petition specifically for Seventeen Magazine to stop using photoshopped covers on their magazines as it is affecting young girls body image and self esteem and also health.  I personally agree with this petition and hopefully if this succeeds, not only Seventeen will start publishing unaltered magazine covers but also other magazines will follow suit.  If you want to sign the petition then click here.

The GOOD

... that Zooey Deschanel is now a Pantene Spokesperson.  I am huge Zooey Deschanel fan ever since I saw her in Failure to Launch (she was the only good thing about that movie, apart from Bradley Cooper) and have been following her ever since (mind you, not in the stalkerish sense).  Zooey will be part of Pantene's Beautiful Lengths Program where wigs will be donated to those women who have lost their hair because of chemotherapy.

ASOS CURVE Blazer In Floral Print Review

Recently I have bought this lovely Floral Blazer from ASOS.   Unfortunately for me I have paid full price, when a few days later it can be found on sale for about half the price.  You can buy it by clicking on this link: Asos Curve Blazer in Floral Print

Colour: The main colour is black and not navy blue, which was my first impression when seeing this picture.  The floral pattern is really lovely and colorful, and there are basically 6 main colours in the pattern; orange, pink/fuchsia, lavendarish blue, periwinkle blue, white and gray.  Therefore, one can wear this jacket with many different combinations of colours.  Also I think it is important to point out that there is no purple in the jacket, unlike what the picture seems to show.  The purple seen is in fact pink, which is lighter than as shown in the picture.  

Material: Although it is a blazer and one would expect that the material would be similar to those tailored suit jackets, it is not.  For me it is a pro, as the jacket is not uncomfortable as the material allows you to move better and it isn't as heavy.  Also the material is matte, so you don't get so much shine.  Considering the lightness of the material, it can be worn mostly during spring.  However, if you experience hot weather like we do here in Malta, I don't suggest wearing this jacket during the summer months. In the case of winter, if one dresses some heavier clothing underneath, the jacket can be wearable.  

 

Style:  Unlike other blazers, this one has NO buttons and NO collar. The sleeves are long and the length of the jacket is just right not too short and nor too long. Therefore it has a slightly more casual feel to it.  In the ASOS catalog one can also find matching capris and a matching skirt as well.  I only bought the blazer, so I cannot comment on this items.

Fit: Since this Blazer doesn't come with any buttons, then it can only be worn in one style as it is shown on the model.  Therefore, since there isn't the problem of having to button the blazer one can play a little bit with sizing depending on the look one is going for. In my case I bought a size 26 as usually when it comes to blazers I always have to go a size up in order for it to fit nicely and for me to feel comfortable.  However, I found that the sizing of this blazer runs a little bit large and personally it would have suited me more if I went down a size or even two.  The sleeves aren't tight at all, which is sometimes a problem I experience with blazers as they are usually too tight in that area.  Therefore, I would suggest going down from your usual Blazer size. 

Conclusion:  Even though I paid full price and it looked slightly big on me, I am not disappointed with this purchase.  I wore it with a black dress to a wedding and I got loads of compliments of how lovely the blazer is and how it gave my simple black dress that extra edge.  Therefore, depending on the nature of your outfit I think this blazer can look great either for a special occasion or even for a causal or night out look.  However, I personally do not suggest this as work attire, as it is too fun to wear to work.  

 

I hope you enjoyed this review, feel free to ask me more questions about this product that I haven't answered or feel free to add some styling tips. 

The BAD ...

... that MANGO doesn't cater for plus-size girls, their collections are too beautiful to only be shared with non-plus-sized girls, we deserve some of their gorgeous stuff as well!

from the Mango pre-Fall 2012 collection

from the Mango pre-Fall 2012 Collection

from the Mango pre-Fall 2012 Collection

You know summer is nearing when ...

... companies are coming up with such lovely and fun nail polish colours.

Orly Mini Trio Summer 2012 Collection

Essie Summer 2012 Collection

Dior Summer Mix Makeup 2012 Collection

Listen to this ...

If I ...

lived in a fantasy medieval everything you think comes true kind of place, I would so get a dragon as a pet.

The Bad ...

That in my beloved country, i.e. Malta, we do not have an H&M store or at least an H&M+ store, as plus-size girls here barely have any decent shops to buy fashionable clothes from.

from the H&M Shades of Summer 2012 Collection

from the H&M+ Summer 2012 Collection

Listen to this ....

If I ...

... end up alone when I'm old, I would so become the old owl lady rather than the old cat lady.

Listen to this ...

The BAD ...

... that none of those lovely monthly gift boxes services send to Malta. Le sigh.

I have always wished to subscribe to a monthly gift box service whether they consist of makeup, food or anything else which I might fancy.  Here is a list of those monthly gift boxes which I really wish to subscribe to (in no particular order of preference), but as cruel faith having me live in Malta, I cannot;

1. Conscious Box - Who wants to pamper themselves with food and makeup goodies and at the same time save the planet? I do.  According to their site, they hand pick their products from small and large businesses, which is a good thing as normally I wouldn't dare to try a product from an unknown company.  This box can be yours at just $12 (+$7 shipping) per month.  However, for those of us who live outside the US we cannot get this as of yet, but soon they will extend their services to other countries as well including Europe (hopefully they don't forget about Malta, as funnily enough even though we are part of Europe we are usually not included)

 

As you all know I love my makeup and unfortunately I cannot find some very popular brands like Benefit or Mac in Malta and I wouldn't risk buying off the internet as I usually would want to test shades to see if they match my skin colour (as in my opinion I think I have a very weird skin tone colour), but through such beauty boxes I would be happy to try such brands and taking very small risks since you don't pay a lot.  

2. Birch Box - For $10 a month you get a 4/5 deluxe sample products from well-known brands like Stila and Smashbox.  Unfortunately this only ships to the US and also people have been complaining that they are sending repeats from previous boxes, which isn't a good thing if you have been a long-time subscriber.

3. BeautyArmy - The great thing about this box is that you get to choose the samples you want to be sent to you, which is great in my opinion, especially since you are paying for such products.  You get to choose six samples every month for just $12 a month. The downside, only availabe in the US. 

4. Glossybox - This is a UK box and they send up to five mini-beauty products for just £10.00 per month.  Again unfortunately for me this only ships to the UK and a number of countries, such as Germany, South Korea and Italy.

Hope you enjoyed this post, if you know of any good monthly boxes which ship to Malta let me know ;D

If I ...

... knew how to walk in very high heels, I would wear this pair of Charlotte Olympia shoes.

from the Charlotte Olympia Fall 2012 Collection

... a Hollywood starlet, I would so rock this Shady ZeinEldine dress on the red carpet.

from Shady ZeinEldine's Spring/Summer Collection

and
If I was filthy rich, I would definitely buy this Alexander McQueen clutch.

from the Alexander McQueen Fall 2012 Collection

Rimmel SpecialEyes Duo Eye Shadow - 383 Budding Star Review

Hey everyone,

So I apologise if it has been quiet a long time since I posted something on my blog but unlike other bloggers out there I test products over a period of time and do not base my views on just a first impression.  

Today's review is on a Rimmel Eyeshadow.  This eyeshadow has been out for quiet some time, but it is still available for purchase online.  I had the eyeshadow for a while and I decided to throw it away, but before I did I have decided to write this review.

As you know I usually write my reviews by comparing the product to what is advertised by the company, but for this one I couldn't find what Rimmel claims that this product achieves, so will base it on what one normally looks for in an eyeshadow.

Packaging:  It comes in a small compact, with two decent sized eyeshadows and an eyeshadow applicator.    The compact is easy to carry around in a handbag, but the applicator is rubbish in my opinion, so either buy a new good applicator if you are on the go or use a brush if you are using at home.  

Colours: From a quick google search, this product does come in a variety of colours, but I will only comment on the one I have - 383 Budding Star.  Budding Star comes in a white shade on the left side and a pale minty green on the right side.  

Pigmentation:  Pigmentation is the absolute worse I have seen, it is very poor and the pale minty green looks white when applied, which kind of defeats the purpose of having a duo compact as the colours look too similar.  Also when I went to apply it on my eyelid, barely any eyeshadow was transferred on my eyelid, I thought it might be the applicator the eyeshadow comes with as it seems it absorbs the powder, but when I tried with my fingers still very very little product showed up.  In order to achieve a decent colour on my eyelid I had to reapply for several times!  Also the eyeshadow didn't last for 8 hours as the packaging claims at the back.  The eyeshadow didn't crease, but how would you expect an eyeshadow with barely any pigmentation to crease!?

However, I would like to point out that the product can also be applied wet, which I did not try so maybe pigmentation pay-off is better when applied wet.  

Would I buy it again?

Definitely NOT!  I personally prefer to apply my eyeshadows dry and was really disappointed with the pigmentation on this one.  I wouldn't recommend this eyeshadow. Maybe the other shades in the range have better pigmentation but after the bad experience with this one, I wouldn't even bother test the shades at the beauty store, let alone buying it.

I hope you have enjoyed this product review, feel free to share your views on this eyeshadow or any other eyeshadows and don't forget to subscribe ;D