VLOG: A (surprisingly) Sunny Day in Newcastle

 Hey everyone,

Since upgrading to my iPhone 13 (ya gorl has had an iPhone 6s since 2015...) I've been inspired to mess around making little vlogs.

Even after being home for a few months, I still sometimes feel like a tourist in my own city. 

 

Look at me, putting that Media degree to good use a decade later...

Muchos love,
Carla 

MITN: Newcastle Wine School

Hey everyone,

It's Valentine's Day tomorrow, and another one rolls around being very happily single.

And of course one of the joys is that I get to spend another GALentines Day with my fellow (sort-of) singleton Claire.
(Last year we went to a tea party at a cat shelter, then went back to her house for pizza and we watched The Simple Life into the early hours.)

We're going to Barcelona in May for my birthday, so when Claire discovered Newcastle Wine School was hosting a Spanish and Portuguese themed night so close to Love Day, we couldn't really say no.

    

Claire has been to a Newcastle Wine School event before (on a Tinder date!) so advised me to bring along a notebook, and something on my stomach.

Hosted in the conference room at Blackfriars, last time Claire reckons there was more of a mix of ages, friends, siblings and couples - but probably due to being so close to Valentines it was mostly middle aged couples apart from us and a couple in their early 30s - however everyone was very friendly.

Our host first of all gave a quick presentation about wine tasting - I've done coffee tasting before during my barista training, so I'm actually quite good at recognising flavours on different parts of my tongue:

(The only one you may not recognise above is 'umami' - which is difficult to describe but it's a savoury, almost drying sensation which causes salivation - making certain foods seem very 'more-ish.'

Food containing high levels of umami include green tea, shellfish, cured meats, cheese, soy sauce and Marmite/Vegemite.)

Watching wine experts like Jilly Goolden on TV sticking her nose into a wine glass always looked a bit poncey to me, but a lot of the taste is in the smell.
Every wondered when you have a blocked nose your food tastes a bit weird?
(Which I know all about - I have a sinus infection at least every other week.)

Our host demonstrated this by asking us to take a pinch of cinnamon, hold our nose and put the cinnamon on our tongue - and we couldn't taste it! As soon as we unblocked our noses, we all started coughing and spluttering.
At least my sinuses were happy! (First time for everything.)

For £25.00 per person, this bought us an evening of seven different themed wines: three white, three red and one sparkling.
We began with the Cava - I'm a huge fan of fizz and it was crisp, fresh and delicious.

The three whites were all very different - especially when you gave them a long sniff before.

The only one I wasn't too keen on, was the Vega de la Reina Verdejo 2014 which was very aromatic and fragrant.
However our host suggested it would be delicious with fatty tapas - rich garlicky prawns, chorico, cheese on bread, and I can certainly see her point.

I'm not a natural red wine drinker, so I did struggle a little.
However the last couple were full of delicious black cherry notes, and tasted similar to Port which I adore, and reminds me of Christmas.

Claire preferred the slightly paler red which was an El Chaparral De Vega Sindoa 2013, but for myself it tasted like I'd chugged a mouthful of pepper.
But as everyone in the room agreed, all tastes are different and nobody is every going to like the same thing.

While everyone is quite reserved and quiet at the beginning, once the wine starts flowing so does the conversation. Soon everyone is sharing tasting notes, what they like, what they don't - it's a very sociable, fun experience.

The host was kind enough to lay out jugs of wine which did come in useful - not only for cleansing your palette, but also to attempt to avoid a fuzzy head in the morning.

We were promised suitable snacks - however we only had baguette and a few bags of tortilla chips - it was definitely something to nibble at, but I would have preferred something a little more on theme, which is really my only critique of the night.

What I liked is that none of the wines were really out of our price range.
Real talk: me and Claire tend to stay around the £5.00 mark - bonus points if it's been marked down from a tenner.
But the wines were around the £10.00-£20.00 RRP mark - nothing that's really going to break the bank.

Other groups have been offered the opportunity to buy a bottle or two from the host, but this wasn't offered in our session. Perhaps we drank them dry!

If you have any interest in wine at all - whether you're deeply interested in the fine art of crushed grapes, or you just enjoy a bit of a knees up, I definitely recommend paying them a visit.

There are branches all around the country so do check them out.

The only dignified selfie of the evening. Just saying. 

Visit: www.NewcastleWineSchool.com to book your visit. Courses start from £22.50 per person.

Sessions are hosted at:

Blackfriars
Friars St, 
Newcastle upon Tyne 
NE1 4XN


Muchos love,
Carla

MITN: Game On 2.0

Hey everyone,

Game 2.0 is the world's largest exhibition of video games - ranging from the 1970s to the present day. There's over 100 in the collection, and best of all - you can play them.
All of them.
In the original format.

I'd been wanting to visit since it opened back in May, but then summer happened and by now you know I'm not the biggest fan of children - especially en masse.

So I decided to wait until the little darlings went back to school, and I went with my sister before she returned to uni.
We went for 3pm on a Wednesday evening and practically had the place to ourselves.

 

The £12.50 entry fee is pretty reasonable for the amount of gameplay you get - I remember feeding the best part of a tenner into arcade games over the course of an afternoon back in the 90s.

Walking into the exhibition you are greeted with the oldest arcade game - Pong. Which is surprisingly difficult.

We both felt rather overwhelmed by the sheer choice, so we did a full lap of the place before actually playing anything.

We spotted gems from our childhood - Sonic 2 (Sega Megadrive/Genesis), Tetris (Super Game Boy), Tekken (Playstation 2), Super Smash Bros (Nintendo SIXTYFOUUUUURRRR), Ridge Racer (Playstation), The Sims (PC/MAC), Super Mario Land (Game Boy).

So many feels.

The front of the exhibition is dedicated to consoles - old and new. The space nearer the back has a wonderful selection of original arcade machines including PacMac, Donkey Kong and Space Invaders.

There's even an area for 'Children's Games' where we actually spent quite a bit of time - games included Pokemon Yellow (Game Boy), Super Mario 3D Land (WiiU) and the original Animal Crossing (Nintendo 64).

My sister Nadia was born in 1993 and missed the magic of Pokemon Yellow first time around!

There's also a large collection of handhelds in display cases, including the entire Nintendo handheld family, an impressive number of Tiger games from the late 80s/early 90s and Tamagotchis.

A pair of bros loving life on the Daytona USA racer. 

Included in your ticket price is of course access to the rest of the Life Centre including the planetarium and the motion simulator ride.

We planned on having a good look around, but ended up spending nearly all of our three hour stay in the Game On 2.0 exhibition - leaving only to go on the simulator.

To see everything if you're a bit of an avid gamer, I recommend giving yourself at least half a day.
If you don't want to eat in the centre, you get a stamp on your hand and can come and go as you please all day.

     

Loving life on Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA,

Game On 2.0 runs at The Centre For Life until January 2016.

Open daily 09:00 - 18:00
Thursdays 09:00 - 20:00

Centre for Life
Times Square
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 4EP


Muchos love,
Carla

MITN: Mog On The Tyne

Hey everyone,

As mentioned in my previous first, this is going to be my first in a series of posts regarding really fun and different things to get up to in the North East entitled 'Meanwhile In The North.' 

It's official: Newcastle has officially peaked.

Because it finally has...a cat cafe! 
(Well technically at the time of writing it now has two, but we're going to be talking about the first to land.)

Tucked in the small wind-y street of Pudding Chare is the place on every kitten's lips...Mog On The Tyne!

You are allocated an hour's slot for your £5 entry fee. This is to avoid the door opening and closing and risking the cats getting out, or being trampled with foot traffic.

(My only suggestion for this is as per the cat cafes I visited in Japan, I would have liked the option to pay various amounts to stay longer - in Tokyo these options came in blocks from as little as 30 minutes up to two hours. However as the cafe is incredibly popular right now, I'm not sure how logical this would be.)

Upon entry, your party enters and you remove your shoes in the lobby. You are welcome to go barefoot, wear socks/tights and the cafe also offers free slippers to use.

You are then shown into the cafe, choose a table and are given a menu of the food and drink along with a copy of the house rules and pictures of all the cats and their names.

You can view the house rules online before you visit, but it's a lot of common sense: no loud noises, do not wake sleeping cats, do not feed cats, no flash photography etc.

As I've mentioned, I'd been to cat cafes in Tokyo (where they originally began), and the procedure is pretty much identical. 

FUN FACT: I'm a qualified barista (twice actually - one for the UK and one to adhere to Australian standards) and have a nose for a good coffee. 
I ordered a cattaccino (cute, right?) which was delicious and came with an adorable cat paw in cocoa dustings. 

My sister ordered the hot chocolate, which arrived very pink and girly with lots of marshmallows. 

Hot chocolate and Cattaccino.

With the £5.00 per person entry fee, the price of food and drink on top of this is incredibly reasonable.

Due to health and safety reasons, all food is brought in from outside sources - sandwiches and pastries from The French Oven and desserts from my favourite bakery in Newcastle - Pet Lamb Patisserie. Both of which are just a hop, skip and a jump away at the nearby Grainger Market.

The Pet Lamb treats were delicious as usual, however the scone was rather disappointing - it arrived as a single square, toasted (my pet peeve - please don't toast scones!) and with only a little butter - no jam or clotted cream which was a shame.

 

The cats were very cute, unfortunately most of them had curled up for a literal cat nap during out slot. 

However when they did stir, they looked very happy, well kept for and enjoyed playing with the toys provided by the cafe. (Outside toys and snacks are not permitted.)

All cats come from Westgate Ark shelter in Newcastle and receive regular check ups from Tyne Vets. At night, the cats sleep in the shelter and a monitor links them to the staff's phones in case there is a problem. 

Overall I did enjoy my experience.

The owner Katie (noticeable for her luscious Yorkshire accent and bright pink hair) is very sweet, welcoming and friendly. When my sister told her she was visiting from university, she gave Nadia a logo sticker to put on her laptop to remind her of her trip.

However I found the other two staff members ("the cat nannies") although polite, were a little withdrawn when we went. I did however go back a second time and they were a lot more chatty.

I would have preferred a little more interaction like you get at my local shelters. As a Tripadvisor review suggested, some introductions to the cats would have been nice - however to be fair, this is not standard in cat cafes.

In total, the entry fee, two hot drinks and two snacks came to £18.00. This does seem a lot for an hour's entertainment but consider it pretty worth it for something different to do in the city.

If we had wanted a quick £3 coffee and sit down, there is a Costa around the corner.

Check them out at the address below. Booking is necessary.

Mog On The Tyne

24 Pudding Chare 
Newcastle upon Tyne 
NE1 1UE

Muchos love,

Carla

MITN: Introducing Meanwhile In The North

Hey everyone,

I'm very pleased to announce the launch of a new series in these parts I've been planning for a little while now which is going to be called:

"Meanwhile In The North" 
(aka: 'MITN')

Newcastle Quayside. You are excellent.

(Credit: unknown. If this is your photograph, please let me know!)

I believe the North East gets a bit of a bad rap.

It feels like the mainstream media has no time for us unless it's a local celeb flashing their drawers on a night out after too many jagerbombs.
Or that tired picture the Daily Mail gets out every year of Christmas revellers in the snow wearing bodycon dresses, heels and not much else.

You've all seen it. They use it every December. Snore. Next!

And believe me we can take a bit of banter.
North East types are very self-deprecating folk who don't really take ourselves too seriously.

But what seriously gets my goat (and I love goats) is when people outside the region think that's all we have: binge drinking, punch-ups outside £1-entry-before-midnight nightclubs, drunken stag parties.

Aye it can be like that, but show me a student city in the UK which isn't.
And it's true that the North East promises a great night out. A great one, even.
But that's not all we're about.

And this is what the series is going to be covering: alternative things to do here, which you may not have heard of.


Oh and P.S:

  

There you are. Northerner in a coat.

Two different coats, even.

So there.

So I'll be very pleased to welcome you all to the North, soon.
Just please don't leave streaky San Moriz tanning mousse stains on the towels. It looks like something else.


Muchos love,
Carla.

Independent Newcastle: Nudo

Hey everyone,

As part of the campaign for Barclaycard's Freedom Rewards Card (a card that lets you earn points no matter where you spend!), I was very kindly offered £50 to spend at the independent boutique or eatery of my choice in Newcastle, as this card can be used in any independent retailer from a favourite shop to the local pub!

Now I was very tempted to ask for a voucher for a retail outlet, as I really needed some new clothes - however this was the week my sister, Nadia was going back to uni, and our favourite thing to do together is go out for Japanese food.
So since she hadn't been before, I took her to my favourite resteraunt in Newcastle - Nudo!

Nudo now has three outlets in Newcastle - Nudo Sushi Box which as the name suggests specialises in bento boxes. One is at the top of Northumberland Street, near Haymarket and another on Acorrn Road in Jesmond.

But my favourite is Nudo Noodles on Low Friar Street which offer hot options but still has a plethora of sushi on the menu, so as I work right next to Central Station we decided to go there.

My nickname for my sister is 'Nooboo' - so Nooboo at Nudo!

(Hello, edamame!)

A few cheeky beers to start!

 

Sakura Futomaki Rolls (Salmon and Roe)

Tuna Maki Rolls

 

Salmon Hand Roll (mine) and California Hand Roll (crab and avocado - Nadia's!)

Chicken dumplings

And to finish - my favourite Taro ice cream.

It's so funny as last time I was here with Claire and Bryden, we commented on how it tastes like malted milk biscuits - and now it comes with a malted milk biscuit!

So for two rounds of beers, all the above and some spicy edamame (which we polished off before I remembered to get a pictures) as well as the tip came to around £50 which isn't bad at all!

Everything was absolutely delicious - as always -  and we had a very friendly waiter (I didn't catch his name but he was a youngish guy with thick-framed glasses) who could not do enough for us.

I'm not going to lie though, it was hard choosing just one independent retailer!

This would have been trickier a few years ago, but lately there seems to be a bit of a boom in town for independent companies to get their foot in the door! 

So just a shout-out to some of my other favourites:

EATERIES: 

Quilliam Brothers: Purveyors of the Finest Teas (Open til 1am Monday-Saturday!) 

Barras Bridge, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE1 7RG 

Pet Lamb Patisserie

Unit 165, The Grainger Market, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE1 5QW

Fat Buddah 
55 Degrees North, 55 Pilgrim St, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 6BG

Scrumpy Willow & The Singing Kettle 
89 Clayton St, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE5 5HS

Ninety-Nine
99 Grey Street, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE1 6EG

Heaton Perk (Yes really, Friends fans!)
103-105 Heaton Park Rd, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear NE6 5NR

St Sushi 
114 Westgate Rd, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 4AQ

Blackfriars 
Friars St, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4XN

Zapatista Burrito Bar 
28 Ridley Pl, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8JW


FASHION:

Boutique Clearance Outlet (See blog post here)
Unit 8 Tundry Way, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE21 SSJ

Attica Vintage 
2 Old George Yard, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE1 1EZ

Kathman2 (Goth/Cyber/Alt)
7 Eldon Ln, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7JG


Thank you again to Barclaycard for treating us to a lovely night out - it was just what we needed!

Muchos love,
MessyCarla

MITN: Boutique Clearance Outlet

Hey everyone,

While I was in Glasgow visiting my sister I unfortunately missed the opening of Newcastle's new secret Aladdin's cave: Boutique Clearance Outlet in Blaydon.

However although I was away for the opening, I was very kindly invited upon my return to have a look around at their treasures.

Now I have to admit, I had my reservations.
The North East has a plethora of outlet shopping including Royal Quays and Dalton Park, and I never really find anything clothes-wise to my taste or in my size.

And set in the unusual location of a industrial estate in Blaydon - which could seem a little tricky to get to if you are unfamiliar with the area. However it's not that difficult to find by car.

Plus lots of buses leave regularly from Newcastle City Centre if you are like me and rely on public transport - see bottom of the post.

Adorable!

I was pleasantly surprised by the interior - it's beautifully decorated, and mostly grouped by colours.
You can tell all of the peices have been chosen with great care to match the tone of the shop.

There are recognisable brands such as ASOS, AX Paris and Lovedrobe as well as names that weren't so familiar to me.

Blues and pinks.

I was also impressed by the fairly large range of sizes available for a boutique shop.
Most I've been to previously seemed to be in the lower end of the scale.
But I spotted everything from a 6 to an 18, and the outlet has said on their Facebook page that they sometimes get stock in up to a size 26.

The staff were very attentive, as soon as I entered the shop I was asked if I was looking for anything in particular.

The shop was also rather bustling for a drizzly Tuesday afternoon - and the staff were being very helpful to shoppers; helping one customer pick out a necklace for a party and assisting another with choosing hair extensions.

When I asked, they told me it's been steady every day since they opened and very busy on weekends!

Prosecco and glitter? Singing to the choir, here.

I was very kindly given the chance to try on some pieces - and these were my three favourites:

The first dress is from ASOS was absolutely beautiful, and very similar to my favourite Red Herring prom dress. 

However like a lot of ASOS size 16 dresses this fit me everywhere except the bust! 

The second dress is from Lovedrobe and they only had it in stock in a size 18. 

This was sadly just too big for me on the waist and hips, but it's also gorgeous - black and gold is always a winner this time of year! 

And the final dress is also from Lovedrobe, this time I was lucky and there was a 16 in stock. 

Being that Lovedrobe have very generous sizing, this is also ever-so-slightly looser on the waist than I usually wear - but this will definitely come in useful during Christmas parties after one-too-many mince pies and cocktail sausages. 

I love the baroque print with subtle gold throughout making it look very festive. 

So I ended up buying that for £30, as well as this jumper which caught my eye and I couldn't resist trying on:

Yep, it's absolutely nothing like I'd usually wear - this made me think of Bethany and Hayley who would both look amazing in this! 

However I've been coming along a lot over the past month with my body image after struggling for most of the year. 

I've been wearing lots of separates lately, and this is light enough to be either layered on top of a collared dress, or tucked into a skirt with a cardigan on top.

Yes, it does make it look a little like the love child of Ariel and C-3PO - especially the way the light has hit me it looks like I've been dipped in gold. But it's actually incredibly soft, comfortably material.

And it was only £10 - such a bargain, and I'm going to get a lot of wear out of it during party season!

The brand is JCL Paris, and appears to be one-size but it fits me perfectly - it just goes to show, you should always try something on even if it doesn't necessarily come in your size!

If there's one thing Newcastle girls do well it's glitz and glamour.
And the thing we do even better? Glitz and glamour on a budget!

Check out Boutique Outlet before it becomes the worst kept secret in town.

Boutique Clearance Outlet
Tundry Way
Chainbridge Industrial Estate
NE21 5SJ
Blaydon

(Catch the 10/10A/10B/11A bus from Eldon Square or Central Station and it's a few stops after the Metro Centre.)

www.boutiqueoutlet.co.uk
Facebook
Twitter


Muchos love,
MessyCarla

Autumn Pending

Hey everyone,


Remember me?

I decided to take an unscheduled holiday from blogging in August.
Not for any reason in particular, I just felt I needed a little break.

However with Autumn pending I've been feeling very motivated lately, although I haven't posted in September yet as surprisingly I've been rather busy.

I think a lot of me feeling 'meh' is that I'm all summer-ed out.
I had an Australian summer from September last year, right through to when I came home in Feburary. And and although it was rather chilly until March, we had a surprisingly good Spring and of course a heatwave this Summer.

I'm not usually one to moan about the heat - but really, I'm done for a while with sun dresses and light airy cardigans.
Bring on the thick knitwear and snuggly coats! And hats to hide my roots.

I bought this coat ages go and hadn't had a chance to wear them until this this week.
You can really feel the seasons click.

COAT: George

JUMPER: George

TOP: George

JEANS: Dorothy Perkins

NECKLACE: eBay

SHOES: Uggs*

I've been after a cute, collared top I can easily put under a lot of things. 

It did have a peplum bottom however that I wasn't too keen on so I simply chopped it off. 

My personal style challenge for Autumn/Winter is to wear more separates. 

Dresses and belts are becoming my comfort blanket and I'd like more variation in my wardrobe.

SHOP THE LOOK:

I was sent these pretty sparkly shoes quite a while ago and I've been wearing them pretty much constantly. I can't believe they're Uggs - I didn't even know they made ballet flats!

They are easily the comfiest pair of the shoes I've ever owned. I have funny feet - it takes me ages to break shoes in and even then if I'm not careful I always end up with blisters. But these are lined with sheepskin inside (so will keep my tootsies warm in colder months!) and gum rubber on the outside.

I was also recently caught in a rainstorm in these shoes - and they look as good as new!

Usually I'd only spend up to £15 on flats, but these really are worth the £80 investment. 

They're also available in black glitter, and I'm going to buy another pair incase these ever wear out!

In other news after a few months too long, I finally had my hair cut and restyled. 

My lovely friend Chris is now working in The Birdcage Salon at Forever Long Hair, where I originally visited last year to have ombre/dip dye put in my hair.

I've been growing my hair for well over a year now, so didn't want much taken off the length. 

So Chris put on a treatment, gave me lots of long layers and because I was going out on the evening waved it to finish:

Channelling Ariel!

("Look at this stuff, isn't it neat?...")

If you're local to Newcastle please check out Forever Long Hair. 

They also have a large selection of products, tools, extensions and wigs - in store and also online.

Ask for Chris, and tell him Carla sent you!

The beautiful Birdcage Salon.

And finally after my haircut I met with my favourite local bloggers Claire and Bryden from Trebles and a Mixer for dinner at Nudo:

 I had tuna maki, salmon temaki and spicy edamame.

And for dessert we shared green tea and taro ice cream with chocolate jin deui.

Muchos love,

MessyCarla.

OUTFIT POST: Floral, Glitter and Bows

Hey everyone,

One of the most wonderful things about being back, is of course catching up with everyone I've missed.
And where do most of my friends congregate? At a drag competition of course!

My friend Shane (aka: Megan M'Dei) is taking part for the second year in Drag Idol 2013 in Newcastle, so I got dolled up to see him perform an Anne Hathaway inspired number (video at the bottom).

I did end up selling the majority of my party dresses and heels on eBay before I went backpacking, but a few weeks ago Simply Be sent me this amazing dress which is one of my new favourites.

(Sorry about the quality - I planned of getting ready earlier and taking a picture in natural light, but of course this didn't happen. But HOLA to my new lilac chest of drawers, non?)

DRESS: c/o Simply Be

BELT: Dorothy Perkins

CLUTCH: River Island

NECKLACE: Topshop. 

FASCINATOR: Edina Ronay

TIGHTS: c/o We Love Colors

SHOES: Dorothy Perkins

I think the fascinator makes me look more like I'm either heading to the races, or dressed as an elaborately wrapped gift for a costume party.
But if you can wear a ridiculous big bow with feathers on your head anywhere, it's Rusty's in Newcastle. 

Believe me, I was underdressed there.

The dress is absolutely lovely, although I believe it's currently sold out online - however there is something very similar in the same shape here and here (if you prefer long sleeves).
As always with Simply Be, I recommend sizing down a little as it is always a generous fit, especially with the elastane. 

Between last weekend being spent in Glasgow with my sister eating lots of delicious food and drinking uhhmazing cocktails (one was served in a vintage cup!) and job hunting I haven't a lot of spare money to spend on 'frivolous' things, as I'm currently living off my savings.

However, when I saw via Claire and Maria that Fragrance Direct was having a 50%+ off sale, I couldn't resist treating myself.

Plus the top four drawers in my new chest are supposed to be filled with makeup.
Surely it's bad karma not to treat them to new things, right? Right.

I got everything here for under £20 including p&p. Not bad, eh?

So in doing my makeup I used a combination of old and new favourites.

Mel tweeted the other day that nothing makes her happier than a new clothes day.
I completely agree, but a 'new makeup day' comes a close second.

FOUNDATION: Wake Me Up in shade 400/Natural Beige by Rime 

POWDER: 004 by Dainty Doll

CONCEALER: 003 by Dainty Doll

EYELINER (BLACK): from Daiso

EYELINER (GOLD): Baked by Urban Decay (eyeshadow applied wet)

EYELASHES: eBay

MASCARA: They're Real by Benefit

BRONZER: Golden Tan by Covergirl

EYEBROWS: Vamp Palette by HD Brows

LIPSTICK: Dolly Pink/146 by Barry M

I'm absolutely thrilled with the Dainty Doll products.
I've tried them before, but the shades I bought were too light for me and so got bequeathed to my sister who is more porcelain.

However with the prices being £3 and under, it was worth another go and I love everything so much. 

Rimmel 'Wake Me Up' already has teeny tiny little specks of sparkle in the formula, which some people love and some people hate.
I personally think it really makes your skin look amazing in photos, especially with the Dainty Doll mineral powder on top. It keeps you looking rather dewy, but very photo ready.

I think in the picture, my skin actually looks a little photoshopped - but honestly, apart from dodging the colour and adjusting the lighting and contrast I haven't touched anything else!

I also bought a lipstick and eyeliner from the range, which I've tried already and are wonderful to wear (the lipstick in particular is so moisturising!) but you'll probably see them cropping up in another blog post.

I also did my nails in leopard print again.
I sadly was not blessed with a steady hand, and am a little impatient for nail art. But if I have a spare hour or so and a few episodes of Buffy to get through, I'll give it a whirl.

Off the Shoulder and Cascade Cool (ring fingers) by Essie, with Grey Matter by Rimmel and Model's Own Nail Art Pen.

My sister collects Essie polishes and as they were going for around £2 each I couldn't resist trying them. So far, they seem to be very chip resistant with only my thumbnails coming away at the tips a few days later.

Righty-O so be sure to check out the Fragrance Direct website for some bargains.

(I promise this post is not in the least bit sponsored by them!)

And finally, if you would like to watch the drag show I went to (it was musical theatre week, if it couldn't get any more perfect) you can clicky-clicky below.
(Megan M'Dei is on around the 25:10mins mark)

Go Megan! Go Megan!  Muchos love,  MessyCarla PS: OH, I almost forgot to wish a Happy St Patrick's Day to my Irish followers.  I'm sadly not out tonight (and missing the St Patrick's theme of Drag Idol, le sob) but hope you'll all have a Guinness or three for me. Cheers!