Trebles and a Mixer : UK Lifestyle, Fashion and Beauty Blog.

Jolie Box February 2012

2012-02-24T11:08:00.001-08:00

Another month... Another Jolie Box! This is the second box since Boudoir Prive converted to Jolie Box UK.

You may have seen from my previous beauty box posts that I am a massive fan of Jolie Box/Boudoir Prive. I'm always looking forward to this box hitting my door mat (or rather landing into my hands via the post lady as the box can't fit through the post box!!). As usual this box didn't disappoint. Another wonderful selection of products from brands I wouldn't normally see wandering the aisles of Boots and Superdrug. I was also very excited to see the products now nestling in a Jolie Box drawstring bag rather then resting on top of shredded paper packaging - A nice touch.

Jane Iredale - Just Kissed Lip and Cheek Stain in Forever Pink
I was searching around my drawstring bag frantically trying to locate my fifth item before I finally found this cute little tube of stain. I was actually hoping the product was going to come out more like the coral colour it appeared to be in the tube before I tested it realising it was one of those 'magic' colour changing stains. This product claims to adjust to the colour to your mood and temparature. Now temperature I can believe... but mood... HAWAY MAN...No way. It's not the darkest of stains but it's pretty nonetheless. I already use the L'oreal colour adapting lipstick (very similar in colour but more glossy) and the Barry M touch of magic (this product is a must have! The colour is much darker and lasts agggges) so I'm not sure if I'd re-buy.

Lavera - Basis Sensitive Organic Hand Cream
Always nice to have another hand cream for my bag...

Macadamia - Deep Repair Masque
I love Macadamia Oil and I'm currently trying to use up all my serums and oils so I can buy a full size of it. Very excited to try out the masque!

Kimia - Rejuvenating Facial System
I think I've seen this included in another box before (Maybe Glossy Box?) but I didn't get it. I love the idea of a two step system and I can't wait to try it out. I had a little go of it on the back of my hand and it seems wonderful!

Taaj - Himalaya Micellar Water
When I saw this it immediately reminded me of that Bioderma Water that people rave about. Anyone have any idea if this is similar? Currently trying to use up a Clinique and Botanics make up remover so I wont be opening this until they have been done with.

Verdict:
Really happy with my box! The only 'hmph' product was the hand cream but these little tubes always come in handy for a hand bag so I can't be too unhappy about it. I noticed on my card that they are now listing what other variations of products people might get and I have to say I was a little down in the dumps that I didn't get the RMK cleansing oil instead of the Taaj water! But... that's the luck of the draw! I'm already excited to see what March has to bring!

Did you get a Jolie Box this month? What did you think?

Double review: Glossy Box February 2012

2012-02-24T05:24:00.000-08:00

Claire's review.
I've never really been fussed by the whole beauty box thing to be honest, it's always been more Bryden's territory. But, after seeing a discount code to receive a Glossy Box for half price I thought I'd give it a go. I received an email on Friday saying that my Glossy Box would arrive within the next 2-3 days, when the pink and black package arrived on Monday morning I was pretty excited. That's until I looked inside that was.

After seeing previous boxes I couldn't help but feel let down by what was inside. Now I know that the contents won't always be to everyone's tastes and this months box wasn't going to be as exciting looking as last months Valentines edition, but I just felt so disappointed. It also didn't help that one of the products had leaked all over the inside of the box and the products. After some whinging on Twitter, Glossy Box have offered to replace if I send them a photograph of the box, I can't really be bothered or care enough about any of the products to do this.

I thought maybe even if the products didn't look up to much they might actually work well, so today I've given them a test.

Du Wop- Venom Gloss
Most people will have heard of this brand for their lip plumping glosses. This shade goes on quite sheer and the gloss has a nice scent/taste. I don't really have much else to say. It's ok, but there are so many other glosses I would pick over this one.

Dr Bronner- Magic Liquid Soap
I received this in the citrus scent, which is pleasant enough. This is apparently has 18 different uses and you do get quite a good lather from a couple of drops. I'll probably end up using this to clean my make up brushes.

Paul Mitchell- Super Skinny Relaxing Balm
This was the only products I was really interested in. Sadly it didn't live up to my expectations. My hair felt smooth after using it, but I own plenty of other products that do a better job.

BM Beauty- Pure Mineral Eyeshadow
I haven't heard of this brand before and this kind of eyeshadow isn't really my kind of thing or colour. The shadow wasn't particularly pigmented, but I did find applying it wet intensified the colour more.

Como Shambhala- Invigorate Body Lotion
This body lotion according to Glossy Box will 'put you in a perfectly uplifted mood', it just made me want to rip my own nose off. Not too bad at hydrating, just smells horrible.

Swatchy swatchy

Verdict.
On the whole I'm disappointed with my first Glossy Box. There isn't anything in the box I'd buy again, in fact most of the products will probably be passed on. having said that, I'll give you another month to impress me Glossy Box, otherwise it's over.

Bryden's Review

As soon as I got the text from Claire telling me her Glossy Box had arrived and she wasn't impressed I was scared! In my lunch break at work I was frantically trying to look through twitter to see what everyone else was saying without actually slipping up and finding out what was inside the box. I'm not one for spoilers. When I got home the box was waiting for me. Time to see what all the fuss was about!

I opened the box and I was a bit like hmm yeah ok... Fair enough. It's not as good at the last couple of boxes. However, the last couple of boxes was the Christmas edition box and the Valentines edition box so are bound to be a little more special.

I got some slightly different products to what Claire got and I got the Peppermint Dr Bronner's soap and the Paul Mitchell Round Trip. Everything else was the same as hers.

My thoughts:
Duwop - Venom Gloss (Buttercup) - Nice size! This product had me excited. I'm always looking at the Duwop products on Asos but I've only actually bought one product (The Mattillume powder)from them as they're quite expensive I don't want to buy without testing and being very disappointed.

Dr Bronner - Magic Liquid Soup - This is something I've had a look at in the past on the American Apparel website. I love the idea of only having to time one product to a friends house if I needed to stay over night. Saves space! I had a quick go of this the other night and it lathers up lovely! Leaves a nice smell on the skin afterwards too.

Paul Mitchell Round Trip - At first glance I was really excited about this but I'm not really sure how I'll be able to use this.

BM Beauty - Pure Mineral Eyeshadow (Storm Cloud) - At first I thought this was a grey pigment but on further inspection its a dark-ish moss green (quite a muddy colour). I first swatched it as it was and I was sooo unimpressed. Where's the colour pay off? I can't find it. I did try it wet afterwards and it did intensify the colour but wetting an eyeshadow every day isn't something I want to deal with.

Coco Shambhala - Invigorate Body Lotion - In all honesty I haven't smelt this yet as I am currently using up another lotion at the moment. Claire mentioned the smell wanted her to rip her nose off - Absolutely howled at this! I'm not too bothered on smells and as long as it moisturises nicely I'm ok with that. I'll use have to use it at night.

Bryden's Verdict:
An 'OK' box. I'm not overly excited but there's a few things I'm looking forward to trying (Duwop gloss, Dr Bronner and Paul Mitchell).

Pay day wish list...

2012-02-16T13:19:00.000-08:00

Dress- Boohoo
Blush in Flush
Clarins Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch
Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish™ Hot Cloth Cleanser
Lancôme Teint Idole Ultra 24H
China Glaze Nail Lacquer- Knockout Neon Orange

Lanolips lip balm
Lana Del Rey's hair colour.

ROLL ON MIDNIGHT!

Claire
x

Boy you got my heartbeat runnin' away...

2012-02-14T13:32:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentines Day everyone! I hope everyone had a nice day regardless of being in a relationship or not. Being the sad, lonely spinster I am, I decided to treat myself. I've been working like crazy lately and I thought I deserved some treats for when I got in from work tonight.

These Nicki Minaj Minis are the first OPI nail varnishes I've bought and I'm pretty impressed. They took about 3 coats to build up the colour, but I really like them. My favourite has to be Metallic 4 life which is a lovely black packed with silver glitter.

l-r: Metallic 4 life, Fly, Did it on 'em, Pink Friday.

Well, I'm off to eat chocolate and watch Big Fat Gypsy Weddings. Did anyone get anything nice for Valentines Day or treated themselves to anything lately? Does anyone have any must have OPI nail varnishes they can recommend?

Claire
x
P.S. Apologies for the rubbish lighting in these photos, roll on summer!

Beauty Box - Feel Unique February

2012-02-06T04:14:00.000-08:00

I was checking my e-mails on my phone this morning and saw that Feel Unique had sent me an e-mail telling me that my box was dispatched so imagine my surprise when 10 minutes later there was a knock at my door from my postman with my beauty box! Now that's fast service... ha ha!

I'm not going to lie, the Feel Unique beauty box is not one of my favourites (I get Glossy, Jolie and Feel Unique). I am never excited by the contents and I think this is because it never includes any products/brands which I haven't heard of before. To some this could be a dream come true as there's no risk taking involved and you'll always expect something that readily available and probably something you've seen before which makes the box 'worth the money'. To me, this isn't what I signed up for. I want to hear about new products that could possibly become my 'holy grail'. I don't really want to hear about products which I've seen/heard about before.

I've been thinking about cancelling this box for a while now and I'm going to give it another couple of months before I decide what to do. I'm liking the look of the She Said Beauty Box and may subscribe to that one instead. I was debating about subscribing to Carmine instead as well but I'm unsure at the moment.

Enough rambling... Onto the box :

First Reactions:

Decleor Phytopeel Face Peel Cream - Promising to exfoliate and smooth. Interesting to see how this compares to the Dermalogica Thermafoliant as I'm loving using my sample at the moment. I think I got the Thermafoliant from Glossy Box.

Phillip Kinglsey Elasticizer - A pre-shampooing treatment to moisturise. Again, Interesting. I've looked into buying this in the past from raves from other bloggers but the feelings past. I hope this going to be something I'll end up raving about. I'm currently blogging with this on my hair at the moment!

Nuxe Hulle Prodigleuse Multi-Usage Dry Oil - Oil for face, body and hair. I love oils at the moment. I don't know why but the term 'dry oil' doesn't make me want to put this in my hair. We'll see...

Elemis Lime and Ginger Hand and Body Wash - Exactly what it says on the tin - A hand and body wash. Smells lovely! I always see Elemis products as something of a treat and I wouldn't normally buy from this brand as it is a lot of money to shell out for something you may not like. Really happy to see this in the box!

Leighton Denny High Performance Colour Nail Varnish in Steel Appeal - A nail varnish is always a welcomed product. I don't have anything like this colour so I'm happy with this to try out.

Bonus item:
Jean Paul Gautier Kokorico perfume sample - At first spray it smells like PERFUMECOFFEE but now its worn off its just your bog standard stinky bearing on granny-ish perfume. Nothing exciting.

Id like to know...
What do you think of the beauty boxes out there?
Have you subscribed to She Said Beauty?
What do you think of the Carmine box?

Help me decide what to do about my subscription to Feel Unique!

Bryden x

Back in the game.

2012-01-30T07:36:00.000-08:00

It's been a while eh?! I don't think I've done a post in over six months, luckily Bryden has been holding the fort while I've been busy with college work. I've had my head stuck in books so much over the past few months I've hardly taken any photos at all. Here's a few of my current favourites as a sort of rubbish, apologetic catch up. I promise to be a better blogger from here on in....

1. Finally being able to read fashion magazines again, instead of English Language text books 2. A nice lady in Fenwicks gave me loads of these mini Rituals shower foam gels, they're so good! 3. I've become so bored with dark winter nails lately, breaking out the pastels and bright shades again 4. I felt like a bit of an arse buying a band t shirt from Topshop, but I love Fleetwood Mac too much not to 5. My faux fur addiction spiralled out of control this winter, prompting my lad mates to start calling me 'Roadkill' 6. I finally got over my fear of faux leather and bought this H&M skater skirt, I've since bought various other faux leather items and probably started a new addiction 7. This hat was only £3.25 from Internacionale! I've wanted a hat like this for a while now but could never justify paying Topshop etc prices in case it didn't suit me 8. I'd bought this dress from Primark months ago, but took it back and regretted it. I spotted it in the sale for £10 and snapped it up. It looks way too nice to be from Primark 9. I've wanted some gold hoops for a while, but was worried I'd look a bit tacky if i got the wrong size. This pack from Primark for a measly quid is perfect for testing out different sizes 10. The ring on the left was another Internacionale bargain at just £3.99, it goes great with my (now sadly battered looking) YSL arty ring 11. I love this H&M orange suede effect bag, I just wish it was double the size or I could learn how to down size my crap I carry around on a daily basis 12 & 13. Now I've got more spare time on my hands I can actually do things with my family and friends. These photos are actually from a while ago, they were taken in my favourite Vietnamese restaurant in Newcastle that I always go to with my parents. I have major cravings right now!

Claire
x

Girls Day Out Part 2!

2012-01-09T10:47:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

This is a bit of a late post in regards to this but better late then never, yeah?

The wonderful Katie (Twitter @ladyfromatramp)and Kat (Twitter - @kittyfairy) organised a wonderful blogger event which took place 26 November 2011 (I told you this was a late one!). We all met at 2pm at the Grey Street Hotel for some drinks and chatting.

Me and Claire met some lovely girls and we hope to see everyone again soon! Katie mentioned trying to organise another event in 2012.

Katie and Kat were very kind to give us a wonderful goodie bag with some very exciting products inside!

I nearly did a little squeal when I saw the Sheercover concealer as I'm always catching myself watching their infomercial on TV in the morning!

Bryden x

Jolie Box December

2011-12-29T11:04:00.000-08:00

I've been subscribed to Glossy Box, Feel Unique and Boudoir Prive (now Jolie Box UK) for a while now. The first box I subscribed to was Glossy Box back in June. There's always mixed reviews of these boxes and I totally understand that - Not everyone has the same taste! I personally would love to see a lifestyle product in the boxes, perhaps maybe every now and again? I loved the tea which was included a couple of times in Boudoir Prive and I would love to see products such as candles or room sprays to be included aswell. I see these as a luxury product I only buy every once in a while so I wouldn't mind testing a few out before buying something expensive.

I was excited to see that Boudoir Prive was becoming Jolie Box UK as this is my ultimate favourite of the boxes I have subscribed to and I can see this as a great opportunity for expansion for them. I've always felt that Boudoir Prive in the past has provided brands which aren't necessarily well known and I like this! It gives me a better view on what products are out there besides the ones that are commonly raved upon in the blogging world. I hope this carries on in Jolie Box UK.

Low and behold - JOLIE BOX UK!

The Low down:
OPI Gold Shatter Nail Lacquer - VERY exciting. I love shatter nail varnishes and I haven't got a gold one.
Mitchell and Peach Shower Wash - Smells expensive!
New CID Cosmetics i-gloss in Babydoll (Mid toned pink) - Lovely! Not sure on the light as I nearly blinded myself with it on first application. Non-sticky.
Jane Iredale 24-Karat Gold Dust in Rose Gold - Described as a multi-use shimmer powder for cheeks, lips, body, eyes and hair. Not sure about using this in my hair but I think I'll really enjoy using this on my eyes and cheeks.
Yon-Ka Vital Defense - An anti-aging cream. Many people moan on about getting anti-aging products in their boxes due to their age. I don't mind. I believe in prevention and many anti-aging products contain exfoliants which are great for a mild exfoliation without scrubbing away at youself.

Very excited to see TWO bonus items this month!
Kusmi Detox Tea - This is my favourite product from the box. I love tea! I love the packaging and I will definitely be taking advantage of their offer codes included in the box. I'm nursing a cup of this now and its very refreshing.
Jolie Box Concealer Brush - I've never used a concealer brush before and this gives me the perfect opportunity to give it a go. Seems very soft but yet still stiff enough to apply product evenly.

I've seen a few different variants of products on some other blogs with the colours of some products.

What do you like to see in you beauty boxes? Whats your favourite?

Bryden x

November - Mobile Montage

2011-12-13T04:41:00.000-08:00

Left to Right - Top - Trying out a new hair style - Good Ol' Sunday Roast - Tom Hanks (my friend Sarah's cat)
Left to Right - Bottom - Cigar Shack at Hotel Du Vin, Newcastle - Starbucks Red cups! - Jeremy Kyle

Bryden x

Urban Outfitters - Newcastle Upon Tyne

2011-12-13T04:13:00.000-08:00

How exciting is this!? An Urban Outfitters in Newcastle Upon Tyne!

When I first heard about the store opening I didn't know whether to believe it or not. Urban Outfitters is one of those places which I'd go out of my way to pop into if I was in another town.

Women’s brands in the store will be:

TBA

CHEAP MONDAY

EVIL TWIN

MINK PINK

PETIT BATEAU

SOMETHING ELSE

VAUDEVILLE & BURLESQUE

I'm a massive fan of TBA, Cheap Monday and Mink Pink so I can see that the arrival of an Urban Outfitters is probably going to have a negative effect on my bank account!

I wasn't able to visit the shop on its opening day (9th December) but Urban Outfitters were kind enough to contact us and provide some images of the store and their Summer Look Book. I have to say - It looks exactly how I imagined it to be! The store mirrors the style of clothing exactly.

Favorites from the Summer Look Book

Do you have an Urban Outfitters near you? Do you shop there very often?

Bryden

ALL OF THESE PHOTOGRAPHS WERE PROVIDED BY URBAN OUTFITTERS AND USED WITH THEIR PERMISSION

Big up the bloggers!

2011-11-25T05:51:00.000-08:00

Here's a few of my favourite reads at the moment:

Sandra @ Niotillfem

Sandra's blog is mostly in Swedish but she does offer some translation at the end of her posts. My link should come up using Google translate into english.
Wonderful blog and such a pretty girl. Her posts are mainly about her adventures in life. I particularly love reading her posts where she posts a picture every hour. I would describe her blog as more of a lifestyle blog.

Sarah B @ The Stylish Heart

Sarah's wardrobe is to die for! Lovely outfit of the day posts.

Kate @ Gh0stparties

I challenge you to find a girl with a more interesting voice! Kate is such a lovely girl and I look forward to seeing her posts. A blog dedicated to outfit of the days and make up.

Jenn and Sarah @ Clothes Encounters

I feel like these girls need no introduction! Two pretty girls making the most of thrift shops. Great inspiration!

Who are you loving to read at the moment?

Bryden x

Christmas Wish List - Bryden

2011-11-25T05:20:00.001-08:00

If I could have everything...

Christmas Wish List - Bryden by treblesandamixer featuring print dresses

Winter Saviours

2011-11-25T03:34:00.000-08:00

So it's that time of year again when the weather gets colder and your hair gets up in a frizz! Using my usual products just weren't cutting it and switching up was the only option. I've been using these for just over a month now and they're working quite nicely!

John Freida Frizz Ease Shampoo and Conditioner - Smooth Start
I was getting very frustrated at coming home every night from work and returning with a ball of frizz for hair knowing fine well that earlier in the morning my hair had been straightened within an inch of its life! The quest for a new shampoo and conditioner began - It actually didn't take too long as I remembered that Claire had used this a while back and said it made her hair too flat. So I thought I'd give this a go and it was perfect!

John Freida Frizz Ease Serums
The purple one is extra strength and the orange/yellow one is the heat defense one. The consistency of these products are very different. The extra strength one is much thicker than the heat defense. The heat defense one is more like runny honey in consistency.
I have two of these for two different weather/event situations. For example if the weather is particularly damp I will use the extra strength one. If the weather is ok I will just use the heat defense one. Easy!

Vaseline Deep Conditioning Cocoa Butter Lotion
I bought this on a whim because I needed a body lotion quick. Works well and smells wonderful. I can't find any faults in this product however, there is always a part of me that strives for more prettier packaging or unusual scents.

Climate Control Hairspray by Lee Stafford
This stuff is super crunchy on the hair BUT it does work. Sets the style and helps create a barrier against the elements.

Hand Creams - Soap and Glory Hand Food and FC5 Swiss Ultra Hydrating Hand Cream
Hand Creams are a must in the winter for me. I suffer from dry hands all year and they get a little worse in winter. I have used Hand Food for just over a year now and its lovely. Melts into the skin easily and doesn't leave that awful residue you can find with some other brands. It also smells out of this word! The little tube next to it is the FC5 cream. I only got this a couple of days ago in my glossy box and I am already in love. In my opinion this is much better than the Soap and Glory one as it leaves even less of a residue. It also smells wonderful. The smell reminds me of something but I can't think of what it is. Very fresh scent!

Aveeno Positively Radiant Moisturiser
I have very oily skin down my t-zone and I am constantly having to touch up using oil sheets during the day. Saying that though... I can also suffer from dehydrated skin. My solution was to try a light moisturiser under my usual oil control lotion (Murad Oil control) and it's working well soo far. The Aveeno cream has tiny TINY little sparkles in. They're actually soo tiny I can't see them under natural light and I only actually noticed them after catching a glimpse of my hand under a lamp after applying. This cream really brightens the skin without any visible sparkle.

Lip/Cuticles/Dry patches - Lanolips and Lucas' Paw Paw
I use both of these products to sort out dry lips, cuticles and any other dry patches. Both work well. Quite a difference in consistency within the product - Lanolips is a clear thick balm and the Lucas' Paw Paw is more of a 'spreadable' balm (more like Vaseline). I tend to use the Lucas' Paw Paw on my lips before bed as I can find the texture of the Lanolips quite irritating when I'm trying to sleep.
I've found that the Lanolips is more effective on cuticles then the Paw Paw.

So there we have it! Sorry we haven't posted for soo long. In all honestly we've both been very busy at work and Claire has recently started a college courses.

What are your winter saviours?

Bryden x

Leader Of The Pack.

2011-07-27T06:03:00.000-07:00

Like most little girls, when I was younger I was obsessed with clothing and styles from different eras. For me it was always the '50s and '60s that appealed to me the most. Since I've grown up this hasn't changed. I don't know if it's the recent death of Amy Winehouse (Which despite her personal problems, I cannot deny how talented she was and how much her music meant to me. 'Frank' was the soundtrack to my later teen years. R.I.P.) but lately I've been listening to a lot of '60s girl groups, who were a clear inspiration to her music and personal style.

My friend Kaite and I have been fantasising on Twitter lately how AWESOME it would be to be in a '60s girl group. Imagine- the hair, the matching clothes, the attitude! In the words of Kaite-
"Girls were so much better before spray tans, Primark & techno."

Here's some of my favourite girl group looks...

Girly lace from The Crystals.

The Marvelettes rocking the stripes and ridiculously sized hair bow combo.

My number one '60s home girls- The Shangri-Las.

'Colour blocking' pioneers.

1st prize for girl group style goes to, without a doubt, to The Ronettes.

BEST HAIR EVER.

Is anyone else obsessed with '60s girl groups? Does anyone have any suggestions of girl groups '60s or modern for me to check out?

In other news, it's my 26th birthday on Thursday, so I'll probably be a bit drunk this weekend to forget how old I'm getting. Expect some messy photos to follow!

Claire
x

Festival Survival - A More Realistic Guide.

2011-07-23T07:26:00.000-07:00

I have went to Leeds Festival every single year since 2004 so I like to think I have my festival 'procedures' down to a 'T'. After seeing a few videos and blog posts about festival style and beauty I thought it was time for someone to do a proper guide to a festival and what to expect, along with some recommendations for packing etc. There are only soo many videos/blog posts where the person has waved their hair and bunged in a flower headband and It just isn't a good representation of what to expect or to do. My guide will be mostly referring to Leeds Festival as I have only ever been to two other festivals once and these are Glastonbury, Somerset on a guest pass (which isn't a good representation) and Connect Festival at Inveraray Castle, Scotland.

Setting the festival scene - FIELD. PROBABLY MUD. MAYBE RAIN. PERHAPS A LITTLE BIT OF SUN. DIRT. HANGOVERS. STODGY FOOD. LOUD MUSIC. Expect everything, Don't assume it's going to rain/be sunny/be muddy all weekend (or however long the festival is) or you won't be prepared. Pack for sun, rain and severe cold. The nights are always freezing when you're trying to sleep so bring a thick jumper and some thick socks. Remember your wellies as you will probably end up wearing them the entire time but remember to take some shoes like plimsoles as well (traveling in wellies isn't the most comfortable).

- FIRST WORRY. The hair! How am I going to clean it? Can I wash it there? Should I just put a hat on?
I remember it was my Nana who told me about Batiste Dry Shampoo. Batiste Dry Shampoo wasn't as widely known at that time so when I brought some along to my first festival there was a chorus of 'Ohh whats that? Can I use some?'. The truth is though, this stuff doesn't satisfy my need for clean hair so I don't feel comfortable (I cannot take dirty hair at all and I have to wash it every day. Yeah yeah... Apparently its bad for your hair to wash it everyday. My hairs fine, In fact its in absolutely top notch banging condition so I think it just depends on the person). Since day one, I have also brought a pair of Braun gas powered straighteners. They're not THE best but they've been a life saver in some situations. I couldn't be without them at a festival and you'll find out why a bit further on. I used Batiste Dry Shampoo until 2006 when I just decided 'Bugger this, I'm going to wash my hair' and washed my hair at the camping site sinks. BEST IDEA OF MY FESTIVAL LIFE. I had some hair serum in my wash bag so I bunged some of that in and waited for it to dry naturally making sure I brushed it regularly so it didn't go into a frizzy mess. After it was dry, that's when the straighteners came into play to tame the leftover frizz and shape my fringe. I can imagine that washing your hair at a festival isn't feasible for someone who has the nightmare hair but it's worth a try. You could even put it in a plait until its dry and let it out then tame the frizz with some serum. Even if your hair isn't as perfect as you wished then at least it's clean. I'd rather have a slightly frizzy or messy head of clean hair then a stinking grease ball. I bring Dry Shampoo just in case but I hardly ever use it. Bring a hat for the days where it all goes wrong and it rains. Bring a headscarf to keep your fringe out of your eyes if you need it, to keep the sun off your scalp and to hide under when it rains. You can also sit on it if the grounds a bit dirty!

Freshly washed, dried and straightened.

- SECOND WORRY. Oh My GOD, I'm going to be camping for 3 days. I'm going to stink! Can I wash? Is it worth it?

You can wash at a festival as most of the camping sites have showers. The only time I have showered at a festival was when my friend Sarah and I went to Glastonbury. She was playing Glasto on the John Peel stage and she took me along as her guest. At a result of this we had backstage camping with showers and nice toilets. We showered every day and it was fantastic but I don't think I would in the usual camping situation but the option of showering is there if you need it. My solution is...you guessed it... BABY WIPES. I don't mind a 'baby wipe shower' and my skin always feels lovely by the end of the festival! Obviously bring an antiperspirant and a mini body spray or something similar to keep any bad smells at bay. You can even try out one of those anti antiperspirant's that temporarily reduce the amount you sweat like Driclor.

- THIRD WORRY. I don't know how to put up a tent!!!!
Get the tent out of it package and practice. It seems so obvious for me to say this but you'd be surprised on how many people you see frantically reading the instructions to their tent and struggling to set it up. On the subject of tents, if you're interested, my tent style of choice is dome tent with a porch so you can put your camping chair and wellies in the porch. If 2 of you are sharing a tent buy a 3 man or 4 man tent. A 2 man tent is basically for 1 person as you have to take into account your camping bag.

- FOURTH WORRY. THE TOILETS.
Right, I have quite a strong stomach so I don't really mind them but I know some people can't stand the toilets at a festival.
You'll find two types of toilets:
- Long Drops - These are the outside toilets which are more commonly found in the camping areas. These are the toilets that set people off for moaning and 'ewwing' and there's nothing worse then hearing it. My advice is very blunt - Don't assume there will be toilet roll and remember to bring your own, hover and get it over with. It's just a toilet and you're only there for one purpose. Get it done and get out.
- Portaloo's - These are normally found in the music venue. Don't expect these to be the best option every time. They stink to high heaven on a hot day. You will more likely find some toilet roll in these toilets but again, don't assume there will some.

Important things to remember:
- Hand sanitiser
- Toilet roll
- It's a toilet. Stop moaning and just get on with it.

- FIFTH WORRY. What about make up?

Follow these rules and you can't go wrong:
- Don't bring a high coverage foundation. It'll look cakey on your face under the natural light and it just looks odd. Try a medium coverage or a tinted moisturiser if you can get away with it. Rely on some concealer to correct and not a mask of foundation. It just looks weird.
- Don't bring anything in a glass bottle. If they search your bag on the way in for glass say bye bye to your expensive bottle of Chanel Matlumiere.
- Waterproof mascara is good if you can be bothered to remove it on the night. I normally just bring one which isn't waterproof just so I don't have to fight with removing it later on.
- Keep eyes simple. A full done up eye looks out of place and who frankly has the time? My staple is liquid winged eyeliner or kohl pencil in my waterline.
- Bring a good lip balm. Bring two in fact in case you lose one.
- Remember your eyelash curlers if you want to look awake and alive.
- Bring a blush to make sure you look alive after a night of too many mini bottles of shiraz from the arena bar.
- Bring a lipstick.
- Keep some blotting sheets and a powder compact with you for touch ups.

- SIXTH WORRY. What should I pack? What do I need?
After years and years of packing too much and too little I've finally created a master list which I have been using for the last 4 years.
Here it is:
Camping Stuff:
Tent
Sleeping bag
Chair (or buy when you're there)
Blanket (for the cold nights)
Inflatable air bed and pump (trust me, it's worth it)
Bin bags (for rubbish and dirty clothes)
Torch

Clothes:
Underwear (duh!)
Socks and tights
1 leggings
2 skirts/shorts
1 dress
3 cardigans
5 tops
1 pjs
1 flannel shirt
2 hats
1 scarf
Wellies
2 pairs of pumps/plimsoles
Pack a Mac
Parka

Toiletry bag:
Moisturiser
Baby wipes
Face wipes
Toilet wipes
Pocket tissues
Sanitiser
First aid kit with plasters, Resolve sachets and painkillers etc
Bobbles
Hair grips
Batiste mini
Impulse mini
Hairband/scarf
Suncream
Mini shampoo and conditioner
Hair towel
Razor
Small spray bottle for water or facial spray (Good for hot days and nice for when you take your make up off at the end of the day)
Toothbrush and paste
Mouthwash mini
Contacts and Glasses (If you need them)
Insect repellant
Straightener and spare cells

Handbag:
Tickets
Make up bag
Mobile and portable charger (Try ebay)
Purse with money
Deodorant
Sunglasses

- SEVENTH WORRY. Should I bring a stove? What about alcohol?
After years of yo yo-ing with whether I should bring a stove or not. My final answer is NO. Don't bother, just save up some extra cash and budget for food. There are a great selection of food vans throughout festivals so you'll be able to find something you like. I do take a few bits of food with me that doesn't require any preparation though for snacks. If you're old enough to drink bring your own alcohol for campsite consumption. Buying from the festival shops is expensive. Leeds festival has a shuttle bus that goes from the site to Asda if you run out of anything. Most festivals will not allow you to take your own alcohol into the music venue and will be confiscated if found. My advice - Don't risk it.
I don't tend to bring soft drinks with me and I normally just buy a couple bottles from the surrounding food vans when I need it.
Food and drink wise I normally take:
Vodka
Apple sours
Babybel's
Tuna light lunches
Cereal bars

FINALLY - HAVE FUN AND STAY SAFE. Try not be split up from your friends and arrange a meeting place for if this does happen.

I hope this is a bit helpful then some of the other posts I have seen so far. Let me know if you have any other questions and I'll try to help you out.

Bryden xx

Nowhere to run.

2011-07-10T08:38:00.000-07:00

It's been a while hasn't it? It's been a bit crazy round here lately. Sadly the tenancy on our house came to an end, so Bryden and I no longer live together. Sad face! The past few weeks have been filled with packing, cleaning and moving; that on top of work, we haven't had much time for blogging. I'm currently living with my friend for two months, which will hopefully give me time to sort out my life a bit! I'm starting to get itchy feet to go travelling again and last weekend I did a TEFL course which will hopefully help get me on my way again.

I've spent today lazing around my room and catching up on my favourite blogs (Any suggestions for blogs for me to check out would be appreciated, self promotion is totally welcomed!). I saw this post over on Tavi's blog , who I'm sure you're all aware of, about inspiration for redecorating her bedroom. I'm always fascinated by other peoples rooms, I did various pieces of work centred around this when I was at college and university. She has some seriously good inspiration going on there.

I thought I'd share my current bedroom with you; it's a slightly steamlined version of my usual room, as I didn't want to unpack all of my things when I'm only living here for two months. I actually have a ridiculous amount of belongings, there's currently around twenty odd boxes of books and magazines residing my my parents garage. I'm like one of those crazy old people that horde so much stuff, the council have to come and dig them out.

A previous tentant had put nails into the walls (some in really odd places), this has been handy for displaying my jewellery and current favourite clothing- such as the yellow Topshop top, which thanks to sale discount and my 'mad haggling skillz' I got for £13.50 instead of £36. I'm used to having more storage space, but I'm currently making do with the shelving unit which is serving as a dressing table come library.

Normal blog posts should resume this week as things start to settle down, thank you for bearing with us! I'm off to spend the rest of my Sunday riding out my hangover by watching films and eating pizza in bed. Heaven!

Claire
x

I see it in the Nars!

2011-07-10T03:54:00.000-07:00

When I noticed that ASOS were offering 20% of Nars products a while back I jumped at the chance to buy some. At first glance I assumed that the least popular products would be discounted leaving the most popular products at full price but I found the exact opposite after having a more thorough look.

I've had my eye on the Orgasm blush(peachy pink blush with gold shimmer) for about 3 years now but never bought it until now due to the price. After trawling the internet for dupes I bought a Wet n' Wild blush in Pearlescent Pink instead. After finally getting the Orgasm blush I can see now that the colour comparison wasn't as close as I dreamed but it is still a great dupe. I prefer the Nars Blush as its a little darker and the gold shimmer is more apparent.

In addition to the Orgasm blush I also bought the cream blush in Cactus Flower (a warm orange/red with flecks of gold). Again, this is another blush I've been lusting after for a long time (along with Penny Lane cream blush aswell) but wasn't prepared to shell out the cash. Cactus Flower is a lot brighter than Orgasm and the shimmer isn't as chunky. It's very easy to apply (I use a flat top kabuki) and the texture is very smooth. The colour itself is quite scarily bright in the pan but once applied sparingly it looks wonderful and gives me a natural flush. The colour itself is quite similar to the colour of my natural flush/blush.

After shoving these blushes into my virtual shopping basket I decided I wanted to try something different, something I hadn't been lusting over and something I needed. I had recently ran out of my Eyeko Graffiti Liner so I decided to have a go of the Nars equivalent, I mean, It had to be good? ITS NARS? WRONG WRONG WRONG. What an absolute waste of money. The product doesn't flow well, the product itself isn't dark enough and it smudges like hell! Soo disappointed. Just shows that however high a reputation a brand has it cannot reflect the quality of every product.

Two photos just to show the colour of the products. Apologies as they're not the best photographs:

Colours are true to life in this photo.

Swatchy swatchy. See the thinner line from the eyeliner is very 'wishy washy'. The thicker line was only more pigmented as I was able to apply pressure from the side of the pen nib. Left to right - Nars felt tip liner, Cactus Flower blush and Orgasm blush.

I'm still happy with my purchases and I will use the eyeliner when I need to go somewhere quick and don't need my eyeliner to stay on for any certain length of time. Maybe a quick walk to the garage? The blushes are lovely I'm still thinking of buying the Penny Lane cream blush as it looks lovely. I also want to have a look at the Nars eyeshadows but it would have to be a pretty one of a kind colour before I invested.

Bryden xx

Cupcakes, cocktails and jewellery.

2011-06-23T14:24:00.000-07:00

You may have seen us mention the Newcastle based jewellery company Scarlett Hearts here before, a couple of weeks ago we were kindly invited to their launch night. The invitation stated that there would be cocktails, cupcakes and jewellery- we were sold!

Here's me and Bryden with Charlotte of Scarlett Hearts.
If you think I look a bit smug/drunk, it's because I just drank a drink that came in a pineapple.

We both picked up a few items as well as the lovely free gifts included in the goodie bags we were generously given.

Bryden got key and feather necklaces, some mustache earrings and a fry up ring (Scrabble ring was a present from Becky)! I decided to branch out into silver jewellery as they had so many nice pieces.

Scarlett Hearts have given us a discount code which can be used until the 30th of June to get a 10% discount off orders of their lovely jewels, just pop LAUNCHPARTY2011 in at checkout.

Claire
x

North East Blogger Meet Up UPDATE!

2011-06-22T14:15:00.000-07:00

Just a quick final update about the North East Blogger Meet Up we're organising in Newcastle this weekend.

We'll be meeting on Saturday the 25th of June in Newcastle Central Station between 11.30am-12pm outside Burger King, which is in the station itself. If anyone gets in earlier or later, just let us know and we can sort something out. You can contact us via our Twitter.

Once everyone has arrived we'll be going for some drinks/food/chat. After we've all got to know each other ,we'll have a look round town and do a spot of shopping. If you have bags with you, don't worry as I've got some storage sorted whilst we're in town.

We'll then all pop back home/to hotels etc to get all tarted up for a night out on the toon! We've come up with a few ideas of places to go, to make sure there's something for everyone. If anyone has any suggestions or requests for places to go in either the day or the night, just let us know.

It's not too late to come along, just let us know before the day so nobody gets left behind! If you're under 18 you will only be able to attend the day time part of the meet up.

We can't wait to see all of you lovely ladies! I hope you've all been watching Geordie Shore in preparation!

Claire & Bryden
xxx

No dollaz for Mac Palettes!

2011-06-14T13:55:00.000-07:00

The situation is that at the moment I'm trying to downsize my make-up collection. This means trying to use up what I have, making space and making careful decisions when purchasing new items. I have a lot of eyeshadow's from different brands including a handful of MAC items. I was contemplating in buying a MAC eyeshadow palette so I could make more space but I knew fine well if I had done this I would end up buying more MAC eyeshadow's (probably in similar colours that I already own from different brands) to fill the darn thing up! But I wanted something I could use to store my eyeshadow's in one place so that I could use my MAC 4 pan palette for traveling (interchanging the eyeshadow's when I needed to). I was having a look at the Z palettes as a solution as they have no pan spaces and can hold any shape/brand of eyeshadow once they have been depotted and fixed with a magnet. I still wasn't too hot on the idea of shelling out cash for this so I carried on looking for a cheaper option. After a couple of weeks of researching into different palettes I could use I realised that I had the perfect solution staring me right in the face at home.

Behold! My metal cigarette tin palette:

Obviously, I'm not asking you all to take up smoking and run out to buy some cigarettes in a 'posh-ish' tin. But maybe an old pencil tin could work if you have one lying around. I'm just using what I had to hand and it beats just throwing it in the bin. I actually have two more tins as I picked a couple off the floor (trampy?) at last years Leeds festival in order for my (very sad) father to store his metal detecting finds in. Looks like he won't be getting them now! As the tin was magnetic all I had to do was depot my eyeshadow's and place some magnetic strip on the bottom (which I bought off Ebay for incredibly cheap).

It's not the most prettiest of tins and I'm thinking about covering it in some decorative sticky back plastic. Again, I am definitely NOT asking you all to run out and start smoking to pick up a tin. Merely suggesting that if you're unable to buy a MAC palette or are reluctant to buy one then have a look around your home and you may find something which could be used in the same way I have used my tin.

Bryden x

Skin Care Diary 2.

2011-06-14T11:12:00.000-07:00

As you may have read in the first part of my Skin Care Diary, I went to see the dermatologist just over a week ago about starting the isotretioin treatment Roaccutane for my long standing acne problem. Luckily all my tests came back fine (including the pregnancy one!) and I was given my first months prescription to start very soon. I'm really excited to start the treatment, but not for the side effects! I spent an absolute fortune in Boots buying skin care items in preparation. The skin care lady thought I was insane when I told her I was planning on having extremely dry skin in the future!

In the mean time I thought I'd share with you a few techniques and recommendations for covering acne with make up. I stumbled across this video my the amazing Lisa Eldridge on You Tube in which she uses a very similar technique to the one I use for covering up my acne. This way you get to look at a pretty model instead of my ugly mug.

I always start off by preparing my skin before foundation as my skin currently tends to be a bit greasy and shiny during the day. I love Good Things Miracle Mattifier to moisturise with, followed by Murad Oil-Control Mattifier over my T-Zone for extra help and then finally a thin layer of Clarins Beauty Flash Balm all over my face.

Like Lisa I use a lighter foundation over the majority of my face, Bourjois Healthy Mix foundation (shade- 51) in my case. I love this foundation. I'd used MAC for years but had found recently my usual shade was looking a bit orangey and I ended picking up this Bourjois foundation on special in Boots. It's light, easy to blend and even smells nice. I then use the same Vichy/Dermablend corrective foundation Lisa uses in the video (shade- 15 Opal) over the worse areas on my face. For me this tends to be around my chin and jaw line, I also apply some of this over my permanently red nose! For any areas still looking a bit red and for my under eye shadows I use Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer (shade- 1 Fair), which is another amazing cheap buy. I then usually set my make up with MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural (Shade- Light), but I'm really interested in trying the setting powder Lisa talks about in the video.

Does anyone else suffering from acne have any tips or product recommendations to help cover up bad skin?

Claire
x

Some like it hot.

2011-06-12T11:37:00.000-07:00

Long time no blog, sadly work has been preoccupying our time (maybe a bit of partying too!). Both Bryden and I have a million planned blog posts to do but so little time to fit them in. Please bare with us!

This weekend was pay day for me, so today I popped down to Royal Quays Shopping Outlet with my Mam. I find Royal Quays to be a hit and miss, they don't have as good a selection of shops as they used to. However I happened to be looking around Pilot (Where I don't think I've bought anything from in about 10 years!) and I happened to spot these shoes. Months ago I'd seen a similar style shoe in New Look, but never got round to buying them. Months later I was typing 'wedge desert boots' into Ebay every few days in the hope of snagging the shoes that got away. I finally tracked down a tan brown pair just last week and they have barely left my feet since. I was so surprised to find an identical pair in black in the middle of a rack full of diamante flip flops and tacky platforms. They were only £20, so I now have two colour options for about £5 more than the original New Look pair.

I picked this peace sign necklace in the Claire's Accessories outlet for £4, I was impressed with the standard of some of the jewellery in there. They've got some nice things amongst the other tacky crap! I also bought a new purse as the knock off Anna Sui purse I bought in the Sydney Market in Australia last year is on it's last legs. Tan tooled leather of course.

Finally I bought this book about one of my favourite films- Some Like It Hot for £4.99 from a discount book shop. If you haven't seen this film, you have to watch it! I'm not a huge Marilyn Monroe fan, but I think she plays her character perfectly in this film.

I've also got a couple of tip offs for some free gifts that are available (only in the UK) at the moment. As you probably already know Glamour magazine are currently having their annual Benefit giveaway. There's three different gifts to choose from and at only £2 a magazine there's no reason not to snap up a few! You can choose from High Beam, Posie Tint or Benetint (which I didn't get as I've had it in the past and I'm not a huge fan). I love PosieTint, such a pretty pink.

I visited the Clarins counter again this month (more on what I actually bought in the next installment of my skin care diary) and saw that if you bought two products (one to be skin care) you get to pick three travel sized products from a selection of ten. These are decent sized products and I found I'm still using the tiny sample sized products I was given last month, so these are going to last me ages.

I went for the Multi-Active Day Cream (which will apparently correct my early wrinkles!), HydraQuench Cream (I love this already) and the cult Beauty Flash Balm (ideal for hangover days!). I'm not totally sure how long this offer runs for and no doubt Glamour magazine will sell out, so get in fast!

There's under two weeks to go before the North East Blogger Meet Up, which is taking place on the 25th of June in Newcastle, more information can be found in this post. If you would like to come please let us or Carla know, we don't want anyone to get left behind or lost! You can email me and Bryden at treblesandamixer@hotmail.co.uk, tweet us or fill in this form. Anyone is welcome to come along, we can't wait to see all of your lovely faces!

Claire
x

Skin Care Diary 1.

2011-05-25T14:31:00.000-07:00

I wanted to do a post about my current skin care routine which has probably worked the best for me out of anything I have used in a long time. My skin is, in a word, rubbish. Ever since my early teens I've had trouble with spots and in more recent years, fully blown acne. In the past year I've suffered from cystic acne which leaves me with huge scars, usually around my jaw line. No fun at all.

I know my acne isn't as bad as some poor people get it; but still at 25 years old, it's frustrating to suffer from bad skin. I have tried pretty much every antibiotic, wash, cream, lotion available. None of which have fully cleared my skin.

A couple of months ago I visited the doctor about something else and happened to mention my skin (for about the millionth time!) and FINALLY they suggested I go and see a dermatologist. I had my first appointment a couple of weeks ago and it's been suggested that I try an Isotretinoin treatment, which is basically an extremely concentrated form of Vitamin A for four months. This isn't something I've decided without a lot of thought and research before hand. Isotretinoin is known for a vast range of side effects and I'll have to go to the hospital once a month for blood and pregnancy tests (It is extremely harmful to pregnant women). I'm thinking of doing updates every now and again to monitor my progress and hopefully help anyone else considering the treatment. Sounds pretty savage huh?!

Anyway enough of the serious stuff, lets look at some lovely skincare products...

Bryden and I were in Boots a few weeks ago and were given some samples from the Clarins counter from their new Daily Energizers range, which in their words is 'A range of gentle yet super effective plant-based skin care products exclusively for 18 to late 20's skin'. After using the samples for a few days, I could already see the difference to my skin. My skin was a lot more balanced and redness had been reduced.

I decided to purchase the starter kit which, for £19.50, contained a full size Daily Energizer Cream and sample sizes of the Cleansing Gel and Wake Up Booster. I also bought the Clarins Gentle Exfoliator as Boots had an offer on where you got Advantage card points worth £10 when you bought two items. The sales assistant also very kindly gave me some samples of the Daily Energizer Cream-Gel (To use on my skin now while it's still oily, I'll use the normal Daily Energizer Cream when my skin starts to get drier from the Isotretinoin treatment) and some eye balm and gel.

I've never used any products from Clarins before and I'm really impressed. My skin can be quite sensitive and react badly to a lot of products, but nothing but good things has come from using this!

In addition to my new Clarins regime I've been using Murad Blemish Target Formula on any spots that have sprung up (I got this in a blemish kit from ASOS, but my skin reacted badly to the rest of the products in the kit. Hello puffy red tomato face!) and the Murad Oil-Control Mattifier SPF 15 to control my grease fest face during the day.

The ironic thing about starting the Isotretinoin treatment is that my skin is the best it's been in ages, in fact the dermatologist didn't even believe I had acne until I removed my make up! But, due to the scars I've ended up with in the past I don't want to run the risk of another cystic acne break out.

I know this has been a very long winded post, but I'd love to hear from anyone else that has either suffered/is suffering from cystic acne, has had the Isotretinoin treatment or has any other tips or advice. The main side effects of the Isotretinoin are extreme dryness of the skin, hair and eyes, so if anyone knows of any products that will help with this I would be extremely grateful!

Claire
x

REDRUM.

2011-05-23T15:32:00.000-07:00

I returned from my weekend away working in Durham today; although Durham is a lovely city, I'm so glad to be home! I managed to find some time when I wasn't working to explore the winding streets, vintage shops and even a typical tourist trip to the amazing cathedral.

I was without a tripod or my official photographer (a.k.a. Bryden) this weekend so I had to resort to some good old fashioned Myspace mirror poses.

By the end of the weekend I seemed to be matching my outfits to the lovely 1970's decoration that was a running theme throughout the creepy flat I was staying in. I never thought turquoise sinks would count as fashion inpsiration!

Tops- Primark, Skirt- Warehouse, Belt- Found in my room after a night out!

I picked these little feather earrings for a mere £3, an absolute bargain.

Just a little reminder that the North East Blogger Meet Up is just over a month away. We're so excited about seeing our 'internet fwends' from the Sheffield meet up and making new ones! Just let me know if you'd like to come along; everyone is welcome, don't be shy!

Claire
x

Scarlett Hearts.

2011-05-20T04:07:00.000-07:00

It feels like forever since I did a blog post, sincerest apologies but we've been working like mad women lately! Don't worry though, we have loads of blog posts in the pipe line! Sadly work are shipping me off to Durham this weekend, to a pub that resembles the hotel from The Shining and has no internet (photos of the horrific decor to follow!), so they'll have to wait until next week.

For now I'd just like to show off my new favoruite necklace which I bought from the lovely Scarlett Hearts a few weeks ago. Bryden had won one in a competition they had on Twitter and I got major jewellery envy and had to buy one for myself!

It's a little typewriter key with a 'C' for Claire on it, how canny! If you'd like to get one for yourself just head on over to the Scarlett Hearts and check out the lovely items they have on offer. For all you North East bloggers, Scarlett Hearts are having a launch party at Florita's on the 2nd of June. So get yourselves down there!

Hopefully I'll survive this weekend to post next week!

Claire
x

Screen Style: Sedmikrásky (Daisies) 1966.

2011-05-05T14:41:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to start a series of blog posts about films that I've found style inspiration in for a while now and after watching this 1960's Czech new wave film the other night I thought I'd start with this.

This bizzare film follows two young girls- Marie I and Marie II; who have decided if the world has gone bad, then why shouldn't they. Cue the girls conning older men into buying them dinner, getting drunk, eating excessive amounts of food and generally causing mayhem (Girls after my own heart!).

What I really loved, of course, was the clothing and accessories used throughout the film. Block colour shift dresses, perfect gingham bikinis and floral headbands- perfect summer style inspiration.

Claire
x

North East Blogger Meet Up!

2011-05-03T08:11:00.000-07:00

Hiya everyone,
I hope you've all had a lovely time over the past two weeks; with all the bank holidays, royal wedding celebrations and what not. I think we're definitely on a royal wedding come down, Bryden is obsessively googling Kate Middleton and I could seriously watch the whole thing over and over again!

Anyway... Just a quick post to confirm that the date of the North East Blogger Meet Up in Newcastle will be Saturday the 25th of June.

We'll be meeting at Central Station between 11.30am and midday. The day time will probably include food, getting to know everyone and maybe a spot of shopping. We'll be meeting up later on to go out for a few drinks and a dance. Any suggestions on where to go/things to go are welcome! It would be so nice to see everyone, we've having a day time meet up and a night time meet up so people can choose if they want to go to just one or hopefully both!

The meet up is open to absolutely everyone. It doesn't matter if you're a blogger/you tuber/subscriber/follower/friend, the more the merrier! I know from when Bryden and I went to Sheffield it can be a bit daunting going to meet random people, but I can promise you all the girls we already know that are coming are lovely and it's going to be a great day.

If you would like to come along if you could let either me or Carla know, just so we have an idea of the number of people coming. You can either pop a comment down below, tweet us or drop us an email (treblesandamixer@hotmail.co.uk).

If you're coming from out of town and need somewhere to stay, just let us know and we'll try to help you out in anyway we can. If anyone under 18 years is coming please let us know; this isn't a problem at all, we just need to know for organising where to go.

I'll keep a running list in this post of confimed attendees, so you can see who's coming along. It would be great if you lot could all blog/tweet/make a video/generally spread the word about the meet up, even if you can't make it.

Carla, Bryden and I are so excited to see you all and we've got a few suprises up or sleeves for the actual day, so get yourselves along!

EDIT:
Here's the list of possible meet up attendees. Just give me a shout if you need to be added or taken away, don't be shy! Haidee has also set up this form, if you're coming along can you please fill it out, it's so we can get a better idea of who's coming along.

Me and Bryden.
Carla- http://messycarla.blogspot.com/
Haidee- http://beauty-is-funny.blogspot.com/ and http://www.youtube.com/user/haideeandkatie
Helen- http://dirt-style.blogspot.com/
Becky- http://wasitthecure.blogspot.com/
Klee- http://wakeupbuttercup.blogspot.com/
Jay- http://constantlyginger.blogspot.com/
Charlotte- http://scarlettheartsxo.blogspot.com/
Maxine- http://maxinecassidy.blogspot.com/ and http://www.youtube.com/user/maxinecassidy/
Helen- http://areyoudressingupordressingdown.blogspot.com/
Lizzy- http://ea-beauty.blogspot.com/
Maxine- http://maxinebutton.blogspot.com/
Jessica- http://jessica-ex-oh.blogspot.com/
Yasmina- http://yasminaamagdyy.blogspot.com/
Katie - http://iheartkatiecakes.blogspot.com/ (Night time only)
Emma - http://emma0m.blogspot.com/
Tally & Nicky- http://female-boss.blogspot.com
Steph- http://buttonsbowsandbrogues.blogspot.com/
Rachel- http://monpolkadotcheri.co.uk/
Amy- http://youtube.com/Amydixon08
Zoe- http://zoerandomlywrites.blogspot.com/
Rebekah- http://disfordangerous.co.uk/
Bethany- http://stylefashionvintagebaby.blogspot.com/

Claire
x

Newcastle Fashion Week.

2011-04-26T13:32:00.000-07:00

Living in the North East of England we sometimes tend to feel left out or forgotten about when it comes to things like fashion events, but fear not Geordies- Newcastle Fashion Week is on its way! The first of its kind, Newcastle Fashion Week will see a number of events running throughout the week beginning the 14th of May until the 21st.

I’ve selected what I think could be the highlights of the week, but obviously there’ll be loads more going on.

Running all throughout the week.
En Vogue: Fashion from the Stack- The City Library will be housing a large number of fashion magazines including vintage copies of Vogue from 1945 onwards. City Library, free.

Where beauty begins- Beauty workshops showcasing various products. John Lewis, free.

Saturday 14th May
The Official Newcastle Fashion Week launch party. Tup Tup Palace.

Sunday 15th May
Make and Mend Market. Star and Shadow Cinema, £1 entry 12-5pm

Venus in Furs vintage and craft fair. Settle Down Cafe 11am-4pm.

Official Fashion TV Party. Tup Tup Palace, £10 entry 8pm-3am

Monday 16th May
An hour with Wayne Hemingway. Northumbria University, free (tickets need to be booked in advance) 11am.

Tuesday 17th May
Eldon Square Pamper Day- Free beauty treatments available.

Fashion Front Row: Newcastle’s Design Talent.- Showcasing Newcastle’s up and coming talent. As You Like It, free. 7.30-9pm.

Wednesday 18th May
Independent Shop Crawl- A tour round the city’s finest independent shops, featuring special discounts. Starts 9.15am, free (tickets to be booked in advance).

Thursday 19th May
Northumbria University Catwalk Show. The Baltic, £10.

Daisy Green’s Great Big Swap- Swishing fun. As You Like It. 5pm onwards.

Eldon Square VIP Shopping Night- Free, 6-9pm.

Girls Night In Out- Beauty treatments, boutiques, cupcakes, jewellery etc. Tiger Tiger, £5. 7-10pm.

Friday 20th May
Newcastle Vintage Guide- Learn how to discover great vintage pieces. City Library, free. 2-3pm

Saturday 21st May
Charity Shop Challenge- 5 contestants get the chance to compete to find the best look for under £15, racing to shop and unearth a brand new outfit which will be revealed at the Monument with the winner picked by the crowd. Monument, free. 1pm.

More information about the events throughout the week can be found here.

In addition to Newcastle Fashion Week there’s also Newcastle’s Affordable Vintage Fair at Northumbria University on the 7th of May , the lovely ladies over at Scarlett Hearts having their official launch party in June (Check out their shop out for some super cute jewellery) and of course the upcoming Newcastle Blogger meet up. Get those diaries out!

Claire
X

Happy Easter!

2011-04-25T15:50:00.000-07:00

I finally got a day off work today, so I decided to go home for Easter Monday. As usual when I go to my parents house, we end up going to somewhere along the coastal route. Today we ended up in Warkworth. It was so pretty there, bunting was hanging everywhere for Easter and all the flowers were in full bloom. Summer is well and truly on its way...

Look at me taking outfit photos on location like a real fashion blogger, shame I haven’t figured out how not to look awkward yet! My hair is also looking a bit wild thanks to the wind.

Jacket- Primark, Top- New Look, Skirt- ASOS, Belt- Primark, Bag- ASOS (Bought with my Groupon voucher), Brogues- Primark, Sunglasses- Ray Ban.

I’m very excited to announce we’re currently trying to organise a Blogger meet up in Newcastle with Carla, the provisional date is Saturday the 11th of June. We had such a lovely time meeting everyone when we went to Sheffield and would really like to see you all there. Are any of you up for this?
EDIT: The meet up date is now more likely to be the Saturday the 25th of June, so we don't clash with the Manchester meet up, confirmation coming soon!

Claire
x

Eyeko Like - yo!

2011-04-25T15:46:00.000-07:00

I've been eyeing up Eyeko products for a while. I remember bugging my Dad to buy me the Shimmer cream and sparkle powder when I was little from House Of Fraser and I felt like I had THE MOST fancy pants make-up ever! I wish I still had the packaging still because it was SOO much nicer back then.

I decided to get a few items in and here's what I choose:
Eyeko shimmer cream with extra glow, Eyeko Bronzing cream, Big Eyes mascara, Resort Nails polish, Raspberry Fat Balm and Graffiti Liner in Black (Not pictured).

No, I didn't order two of the same nail varnishes. I played my orders quite sneakily and split them into two so I would get two free polishes (Resort nails) as I knew I'd love the colour and would want to buy a back up anyway! :)

After hearing good things about the Eyeko Mascara - I was pretty dissapointed. The formula seems too wet and leaves your lashes a bit sparse and stiff. I'm going to see if it gets a little better once it dries out.

I'm totally loving the shimmer cream though! I went for the one with extra glow which is more pink toned than the original one. I've also tried this as an eyeshadow cream and it looks lovely! - Especially under the brow bone as a highlight too. I'm yet to try out the bronzing cream properly but it looks lovely and thick! Can't wait to have a go at using this on my cheeks once I've caught the sun a little.

I don't know how I managed to do this - But I left out my Graffiti Liner in black from the picture. I absolutely LOVE this stuff and I have been using it every day since I got it. I tried to use my Illamasqua Liner the other day and it was like I had forgotten how to apply it! The Eyeko one is soo easy to apply. I do find it not to be as dark as other brands but I just apply some more over the top and it looks great.

Here's the results:

I also got the Fat Balm in Raspberry which turned out to be a little more on the brownish side - But thats ok! It looks lovely!

I'd definitely buy Eyeko Products again, What are your faves?

Bryden x

Recent nails

2011-04-25T15:33:00.000-07:00

Just a few nail's I've been sporting of late:

OPI - The IT colour and Black Konad bows

OPI - Glow up already (glitter) and OPI - Take the stage

OPI - Take the stage, A Maybelline Silver polish and Barry M shatter polish

Bryden xx

Oops, I'ma go, nails like whoa.

2011-04-18T12:19:00.000-07:00

Both Bryden and I have both had a love of nail art for a quite a while now. I first started getting into it after discovering Wah Nails, after they opened their first shop in London. They have unbelievable skills when it comes to nail art. I have a ridiculous amount of nail polishes (Not as many as Bryden though!) and I thought I'd share some of my current favourites.

This is a very simple glitter gradient technique where I built the glitter up over three coats- firstly on the tips, then mid way down the nail, then a final coat all over the nail.

Saffron 'Colour 05'

I know jade green was everywhere last summer, but I still really love it. This is one of my favourite shades.

Marks and Spencer 'Jade Green'

I've been looking for a pastel yellow since last summer. It's hard to find one that has a buildable colour. I hate both the Barry M and Topshop versions, but I love this Models Own shade (It is really hard to get off your skin though, hence the messy fingers!.

Models Own Lemon Meringue with Sally Hansen Baby Pink nail pen dots.

I found this photo lurking on my computer of some nails I did ages ago after reading Gem's Tuesday Tip showing that liquid eye liner could be used as a nail art pen. I haven't rocked the leopard print in a while, I might bring it back after I'm done with these bad boys....

Bryden pinned both me and our friend Julia down yesterday when we were hungover and did our nails. I opted for nails inspired by the Eek nails from the Giles catwalk show. They are too cute, even if people have looked at me like I'm mental when i've been paying for things in shops today!

Finger friends!

Models Own 'Baby Blues' Nails Inc 'In Style Candy', Models Own 'Lemon Meringue', Barry M 'Mint Green', Topshop 'Art School'. Eyes- Konad 'White and Models Own/Wah Nails Black nail art pen.

Claire
x

Mam knows best.

2011-04-11T13:52:00.000-07:00

When I went to my parent’s house last weekend I forgot to take any shower products with me so I ended up borrowing some of my Mam’s. I have to say, I really like what she’s using at the moment. I was really impressed with the Kerastase Bain Age Recharge Shampoo and Kérastase Complexe Vita-Resource conditioner. My hair hasn’t been in the best condition lately, but this left it feeling really soft and nourished without being weighed down. My Mam says it’s worked really well to thicken and strengthen her hair.

Another product that she’s been using lately, after she bought some of their stuff on holiday in Spain, was from the brand Rituals. I’d never heard of them, but since I’ve seen they have a stand in Fenwick’s in Newcastle and I’m definitely considering buying some of their products. I started in the shower with the Sakura Scrub, which is an organic sugar body scrub with rice milk and cherry blossom. This scrub is perfect, I hate scrubs that only have a few scrub particles floating around in them and don’t end up doing much. My skin felt so soft after using this and it smelt lovely. Once I got out of the shower I used the Magic Touch body cream with organic cherry and rice milk, this was a really thick cream that melted into my skin leaving it silky soft and smelling amazing. The Imagine ultra caring hand cream is also a new favourite of mine. My Mam better hide her stash!

We’ve been having some lovely weather in the UK lately, but this time of year always leaves me with two predicaments. Firstly- What to do with my milk bottle pale legs? And secondly- How not to look like a shiny faced mess 24/7? So ladies, I need your help. Can anyone suggest a good fake tan (I’m very pale; so I’m going for a natural look, not to look like I’m off Snog, Marry, Avoid) and an anti shine primer to stop me looking a right state this summer!

Claire
x

P.S. My Mam says can everyone please draw their attention to her ‘statement’ orange towels in the background of the photos ha ha.

I'm just second hand news.

2011-04-09T18:31:00.000-07:00

I had a few days off work last weekend, so I thought I’d go to my parent’s house for a few days to relax and get out of the city. They live near the coast in Northumberland, which in my humble opinion is one of the prettiest places in the UK. On the Saturday we went to the market town of Morpeth, where I went to school. I haven’t been back in years, so it was really nice to visit places and reminisce. Morpeth has also changed a lot in recent years, which loads of new shops having been added. Luckily there is also still loads of really well stocked charity shops, The residents of Morpeth don’t give crappy stuff away, no we’re talking some top quality stuff here. I found this out when I picked up a 1980s vintage cream bag which me and Bryden are 99% sure is genuine YSL. It was 3 quid!

Saturday night was spent getting drunk and eating tons of Indian food and cake for my Dad’s birthday. We got up early on Sunday morning (feeling slightly rough from the night before) for a day trip up the coastal route. We do this quite often in the summer. We just tend to drive and see where we went up. I always try to make sure there’s a stop off at Barter Books though, which is one of England’s largest second-hand book stores. If you like books you will LOVE this place. I could spend hours in here; staring at all the antique books in cases or sat on the floor in front of the film and photography sections leafing through pages.

So, here’s my weekend in photographs...

I introduced my Mam to sushi (she was bang into it).

I bought some locally produced beauty products, the lip balm is amazing.

We all ate far too much cake.

I drank beer with my Dad and we had a sing a long.

Book lovers paradise.

The books I bought.

We stopped for a pint next to the beach at Newton by the sea.

Chips and a walk along the prom at Seahouses.

We finished the weekend off with a film and some popcorn.

Both Bryden and I would like to say a big thanks to all of our new followers on both here and twitter. It really means a lot to us and we’re thinking of doing a little giveaway soon to show our appreciation. So keep an eye out!
Claire
x

Sheffield Blogger Meet Up (INTERNET FWENDS)

2011-04-04T14:21:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went down to Sheffield to a blogger meet up arranged by Lauren of Laurens Dressing Room. We were a bit worried to begin with but we shouldnt have been as everyone was lovely!!!

This is what happened on our lovely trip away:

The train ride. NATURALLY WE HAD TO GET SOME SNACKS (Just a few......)

Kate Middleton rings

Attempting to eat a Fenwicks lasagne with some chopsticks.

Taxi to the hotel with our ridiculous amounts of baggage.

Getting ourselves aquainted with the hotels facilities

The sink of doom

Our romantic meal for two

The next morning we woke up nice and early to take advantage of the all you can eat breakfast.

Bryden was PRETTTYYYY EXCITED about the all you could drink Costa Coffee.

We met the ladies at the train station after breakfast and headed to the pub for some cocktails and bonding.

Dionne and Lizzy

Lauren kindly held a improntu giveaway! We were both very lucky to win one of her lipstick prizes!

After a spot of shopping with the girls AKA BOOTS THE CHEMIST TAKEOVER. We went back to our hotel to put some more slap on and get ready to party.

Brydens outfit.

Claires outfit.

Naturally... Claire put her whore clogs on.

After speaking to Claire (Jazzpad) in the pub about boy repulsion techniques, We decided to practise what she had taught us.

We all met at Emily's house for some drinks and practised some gymnastics.

Then we stomped into town for some more drinks and dancing!

Kavita and Emily.

Haidee and Lauren.

Bryden.

The night was over when we realised that Brydens phone (THE HUB OF COMMUNICATION) had died. We got a taxi home and stopped off at Mcdonalds for a quick cheeseburger take out.

Claires hip hop trendz pjs.

CHEESEBURGER TEA.

We had a lovely time and met some fantastic lasses. Hoping to see them all soon. There was talk of a Newcastle based meet up in the summer.

The girls can be found here:
Lauren
Haidee
Kate
Claire
Kavita
Chloe
Lizzy
Dionne
Helen
Emily
Nikki
Maxine
Claire

Bryden and Claire xx

Make up Haul - MAC and Chanel

2011-04-04T10:26:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to try the Chanel Mat Lumiere for agggges. After seeing a couple of review videos popping up youtube on my recommendations, enough was enough, I NEEDED this foundation (the downfalls of being a youtube and blogger addict...). I had also been looking at the Chanel Vitalumiere so I decided to check them out at the counter to make sure I was making the best choice for my skin type (dry cheeks, oily t-zone). I decided to get the Mat Lumiere. I haven't been using it regulary as I have some other foundations on the go at the moment aswell so I can't give it a full review at the moment. I can say at the moment that I love the finish and it stays on quite nicely throughout the day.

I also went over to the MAC counter to buy myself a palette, Blot sheets, some Mac Matte and 3 eyeshadows. I got Petina, Espresso (for my brows) and Vex. I love the blot sheets, I've used them many times before and they're excellent. I wish I could buy these more regulary but they are quite expensive so I tend to buy the Superdrug Clarity blot sheets more often. The Mac Matte is ok...I need to try this more.

I was tempted to buy only a 12 pan palette and put all my eyeshadows in this but on a friends recommendation (Thanks Georgia!) I realised it would cause problems in transporting them around (Example - If I wanted to take one single eyeshadow on a night out). She pointed out that it would make more sense to buy the 4 pan palette (for transporting them about) and depot all my others into a 12 pan palette. Meaning I would be able to switch them about when needed. I haven't actually bothered buying a 12 pan palette and I'm storing them in a more purse friendly way (Will explain this in a later post).

Without flash. Clockwise from top - Petina, Vex, Shroom (I already had this) and Espresso.

With flash. Clockwise from top - Petina, Vex, Shroom (I already had this) and Espresso.

Bryden xxx

100% off American Apparel!? EDIT - NOW CLOSED.

2011-04-01T10:24:00.000-07:00

EDIT - SALE NOW CLOSED TO HIGH DEMAND

At first I thought this was an April Fools joke! ITS NOT. It actually works! There's not that much choice but they have their pencil skirts in the 100% sale. I got 4 of these and some of the dotty tights.

EXCITING STUFF!!!

Click here to enjoy the sale!

Use the code APRIL1ST at checkout and this only applies to certain products with the yellow banner on them.

ENJOY!!

Bryden xx

Daywalker.

2011-03-22T16:53:00.000-07:00

Finally after ten months, I am finally getting my hair cut tomorrow. In the ten months since my friend cut my hair into a bob with kitchen scissors; I have bleached and dyed my hair about a million times, spent three months in the hot Australian climate and generally not taken very good care of it. It’s disgusting I know, but from now on I promise I’ll change!

I’m not sure if I’ll have any sort of style cut into it to be honest, I think I just want to keep it simple so it can grow and repair a bit first. I also need to sort the colour out, which I’ve currently been using a combination of Nice and Easy in Natural Light Auburn and dye from the goth shop to ‘achieve’.

Hmmm.... time for some GINGESPERATION.
Some of my favourite celeb gingers...

Clockwise from left: Jenny Lewis, Karen Gillan, Karen Elson, Neko Case, Paloma Faith, Christina Hendricks a.k.a. Joanie and Nicola Roberts.

And of course we couldn’t forget the Queen of all gingers...

Zig-a-zig-ah indeed.

Claire
x

I'm a carpetbagger baby, I'm coming to your town.

2011-03-21T14:11:00.000-07:00

Today I popped into Primark under the pretence that I was only going to buy one thing. I was looking for a hair donut as I’d overheard a customer at work telling her friend how she’d bought one from there. I already own one, but I wanted another so I can create a giant donut, which will result in the world’s biggest hair bun (I know Boots sell them but I bought mine for a measly quid a few months ago and they’re now charging £4.60!).

So off I went to Primark. Bad idea. Twenty minutes later, £40 less well off and still without a hair bun I emerged. Primark just have so many nice things at the moment. I needed a large bag for carrying all my various bits and bobs when me and Bryden go down to Sheffield for the Blogger meet up this weekend. I spotted this carpet bag style weekend bag for only £12, which was perfect. It even kind of matches the vintage vanity case I bought a couple of months back.

I’ve been after some new denim shorts for a while and at £8 with the added bonus of a belt I liked the look of these. Sadly they’re a bit on the tight side at the moment (Nothing a few more weeks at Slimming World will hopefully sort out). I also picked up some over the knee socks (£2 for two pairs) and this straw boater hat (£4), which was kind of bought as part of a personal joke between me and Bryden but I’m thinking it’ll be more wearable if I change the ribbon to a plain black one. The rest of my £40 spend was spent stock piling my favourite tan brogues, size sevens in Primark are like gold dust!

I got myself a couple of lip treats today too. I had a £5 voucher for No 7 at Boots, I don’t think I’ve ever bought anything from that range before apart from some anti shine primer (which is average at best), but this lovely bright orangey/corally/reddy lipstick (Which ended up costing £5 with my voucher) caught my eye. The shade is the very camply named ‘Gay Geranium’ and I’ve had it on all day at work. It’s lasted really well and I have another £5 off voucher so I might try out another shade. I also bought a Bonne Bell Lip Smacker at Primark, so I can moisturise my lips like its 1996!

Also today, I wore my new dress from Matalan I showed you in the last post for the first time and received loads of compliments. An old lady in the street even told me she liked it and that I looked very summery! Has anyone else had any bargain buys lately?

Claire

x

Summer dreaming.

2011-03-15T14:24:00.000-07:00

This weekend I went to stay at my parent’s house and on our way back to town we popped into Matalan at Killingworth (I know, I visit such glamorous shopping destinations). I’ve been shopping at Matalan for years, I remember when they used to sell designer stuff and I went wild for my mam to buy me some Calvin Klein jeans, but I haven’t really bought much from there recently.

I was actually really impressed with what they had to offer. Firstly they had a cracking sale on with 50% off; containing items that are current too, not just old winter stock.

I tried on a few things, in particular I really wanted a denim shirt I’d picked up. Sadly they didn’t have any size 14’s in stock (Which was the case with quite a few items I looked at. What’s with that Matalan?), but I did however try this daisy print dress on by chance and ended up loving it. I’m pretty sure Topshop did dress similar to this recently I’m guessing it’ll have probably cost around three times as much as Matalan’s £14 price tag. I can’t wait for summer to wear it with bare legs, a denim jacket and my beloved new clogs.

I also picked up this little red stone necklace for £2 in the sale, which goes really well with the turquoise jewellery I wear most days.

Finally I bought this rucksack for £10, another purchase for the summer. I can’t wait to use it on trips to the beach and the park. The woman on the till commented “Eee that bag is dead canny. You could put sandwiches in there”. We’d only just met, but she knew me so well!

This week I’ve also been rediscovering Barry M nail effects. I’ve been wearing it over Barry M nail paint in Mushroom for a few days and it’s lasting pretty well thanks to Seche Vite top coat.

Bryden and I also received our train tickets today to go down to Sheffield next weekend for the Blogger meet up. We can’t wait to meet some fellow bloggers in real life. We’re already stressing over what to pack! Is anyone else going?

Claire

x

Blast from the past.

2011-03-14T16:08:00.000-07:00

Having grown up in the 90’s and early 00’s Bryden and I are always reminiscing over things from back in the day- music, fashion and lately make up and beauty products. After fondly remembering things such as the kids range from the Body Shop, Hard Candy nail varnish and hair mascara (!!!) I had a look on Ebay to see if any of my favourite products from my early teen years were still knocking about.

If you were a girl in the 90’s/early 00’s you almost definitely used Impulse body spray. I remember the P.E. changing room at school was practically toxic with the smell of it after lessons and once me and a friend once got thrown out of a branch of Superdrug for testing all the different scents (I think the shop assistant thought we were solvent abusing in the aisles). The main ones we remember were Zen (Which kind of smelt of Parma Violets) and Vanilla Kisses. There was even a limited edition Spice Girls fragrance (Which is selling on Ebay for crazy ‘Buy now’ prices.)

My personal favourite was o2, which was a citrus fragrance. I managed to buy one from Ebay for £1.60, an absolute bargain for bringing back those teen memories! I actually still really like the fragrance and it’s a bit of a shame they don’t make it anymore.

My second blast from the past came in the form of an R U lipstick. R U was part of the Rimmel brand, but was focused more towards the young market. There were lots of brightly coloured eye shadows and nail varnishes which all had labels on them with things like “R U READY?” and “R U UP 4 IT?” (Ahhh the early days of text speak). I remember that they were always giving away free gifts with the products like those fluffy photo frames everyone had in their rooms at the time and for one of my friend’s birthdays I bought her a bright orange eye shadow and nail varnish combo from the range (Lucky girl!).

I got this lipstick in Amaze for £1.85 from Ebay and it’s actually a really nice bright pink.

Does anyone else remember these brands or any other ones you loved?

Claire
x

Woah woah woah wait a minute...

2011-03-04T06:38:00.000-08:00

We realised that there is only one picture of us on this blog and there's nothing worse than not being able to put a face to the bloggers.

Here's some little snapshots to help you on your way:

This is us in our local rock club (Which Claire HATES) Bryden is looking particulary smug here

This is us in our local rock club probably after a couple of shots

This is Claire with her beloved Newcastle Brown Ale

This is what we like to do in our local clubs. Claire drew this on a boring shift at work. Skillz.

We do like the odd cheeseburger aka MANY cheeseburgers after a night out. Here's Bryden trying to convey her sheer happiness at the sight of the wonderful McDonalds haul.

We cook a lot for each other. This one was a joint effort.

So there we have it! A little insight to our lives. Bryden is thinking about posting a few cooking/recipe posts as she loves cooking. Watch this space!

Bryden and Claire x

Oh Alexa

2011-03-03T14:32:00.000-08:00

Well hello there! Unfortunately this may be the last post you will see from me in a couple of weeks as again, I have left university work until the last minute and this time its not a quick 2000 word essay I've left to the last minute, its a 10000 word dissertation!

On the subject of bags, I think the most coveted bag in recent months has been the Mulberry Alexa bag. Unfortunately, I do not have the money, nor the time and patience to save up for one. I have a real Balenciaga First Bag which I'm terrified to take out as I don't want to ruin it. Buying a real Mulberry and doing the same to the Mulberry seems like a waste to me (personally). So when I saw the best dupe of a Mulberry Alexa I've seen for a while in a recent trip to TkMaxx. I had to snap it up!! The RRP price of the bag was noted as £56 and I managed to get this for a cool £24.99. The brand is Marina Galanti if anyone is interested in trying to find another on the interwebs. I'm not sure if the material is leather but it does feel decent, not the best of course, but very decent. It has kept it's shape quite well and is the PERFECT size.

Here it is!

I added the scarf myself. I like to do this with a lot of my bags. I suppose it's a bit like a bag charm that can be taken off and used as a hood if it starts raining (at least that's how I look at it!).

If I ever see the same bag in brown/tan I'd be soo happy to pick up another one of these!

What do you think? Are you a fan of the Alexa style bags? Would you fork out on a real one?

Bryden x

Xposted to http://missbryden.blogspot.com/

Clog on the Tyne.

2011-03-02T14:22:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was the first sunny day, in which feels like years, around here. I decided to do a spot of charity shop shopping (Sorry, I really can’t bring myself to call it ‘thrifting’) so I hopped on the Metro to North Shields and then South Shields via the ferry. I was sat with my sunglasses lapping up the nice weather as if I was on a Caribbean cruise, not crossing the Tyne!

How exotic.

Sadly I didn’t really see anything particularly nice, so I decided to pop into Newcastle city centre on the way home and picked up a few bits and bobs.

Clogs- H&M £29.99, Tights- Primark £2 each, Lace trimmed socks- Internacionale £2.50, Frankie magazine £5.50. Oh Comely magazine £4.

I’d seen these clogs at around Christmas time, but because I haven’t worn heels since damaging the ligaments in my ankle last summer, I’d put off buying them. I saw that there were only two pairs left, (one being in my size) decided that it was fate and that I MUST spend £29.99 that I can’t really afford. Luckily due to the sturdy shape of the shoe and the wonder of modern medicine (God bless painkillers) I think my stupid ankle might be able to handle these little beauts. I’ll be wearing them with tights for now, but I can’t wait to pair them with summer dresses and shorts. Roll on summer!

I Noticed on Twitter the other day (Shameless plug alert: You can follow Trebles and a Mixer on Twitter @treblesandamixa. It’s mainly just me talking about celebs and what we’ve had for tea.) that Frankie magazine was coming to the UK. I spent last summer in Australia, most of the time I looked sweaty, sunburnt and wore pretty much the same pair of shorts for three months. I started reading Frankie Magazine while I was over there and was reminded that fashion and nice things still existed, even if I was living in a scummy hostel. It kind of reminds me of Bust and Nylon with a bit of Lula’s romanticism thrown in. Basically it’s a lovely mix of fashion, illustration, crafts. Yes, it ends up costing £5.50 because it’s imported, but it’s a delightful little read.

While I was buying this at WH Smith’s I spotted Oh Comely magazine and picked it up. I’d never heard of it before but I’d say it’s quite similar to Frankie and well worth a look.

Some images from Frankie...

And Oh Comely...

Does anyone have any other suggestions for magazines that are a bit different from the normal celeb trash (Don’t get me wrong I love celeb trash) you find in newsagents?

Love

Claire
X

P.S. Its dissertation time for Bryden at the moment, don’t worry she’s not dead or anything. Luckily I only have a job I don’t really care about occupying my time so I’ll have plenty of time to blog!

Currently...Claire...

2011-02-28T10:40:00.001-08:00

Currently...Claire...1 by claireellenharmer featuring a leopard dress

Not a proper blog post as such. Just me, belatedly discovering Polyvore.
What are you currently obsessed with?

Claire
x

A very late January Favourites

2011-02-20T14:01:00.000-08:00

Claire's Favourites.

Lee Stafford Treatment for hair that never grows past a certain length
£7.14
Back in June 2010 I decided it would be a good idea to let my friend chop my hair into a bob (with kitchen scissors nonetheless) and since then I’ve been lusting after long locks. I saw a review of this on a beauty blog and after reading rave reviews on the Boots website I decided to buy it. First the downside - The tub which comes priced at £ 7.14 doesn’t last all that long, it’s suggested that you use an egg sized application between every shampoo and condition (I probably only use a 50p sized blob) until the condition of your hair improves then cut back to just using it once a week. I’ve been using this for about 2 months now, I’d say my hair has definitely grown more than usual and it’s in amazing condition.

Good Things Miracle Mattifier Moisturiser
£8.16
My skin has been disgusting lately; we’re talking Grease Fest 2011. This moisturiser has been an absolute saviour. It mattifies my skin without drying it and it smells amazing. I need to check out other products in this range.

Mac Lipstick in Dubonnet
£12.50 (I actually got this free through Back to MAC)
Bryden wore this on a night out; I loved it and copied her. I can’t say much else!

Max Factor False Lash Effect Waterproof Mascara
£10.99
This is one of those products that despite hearing so much about and being told repeatedly by Bryden “That mascara is bloody amazing man!”, I’d never got round to buying. After feeling pretty let down by Rimmel’s Lash Accelerator I finally got round to buying this. I should have listened to Bryden sooner, I LOVE this mascara. It makes my lashes look super long (To the point that people think I’m wearing false lashes), doesn’t clump and keeps my lash curl in for hours. The only down fall is that this stuff is tough to get off, I’ve taken to wearing the Rimmel mascara underneath (As not to waste it) to create a sort of barrier between my lashes and the Max Factor mascara to make it easier to take off.

Cosmopolitan Blend Perfection Sponge
£4.99
I haven’t used a make up sponge since I was about 14 and I didn’t know that foundation brushes existed. I hate make up sponges, they’re just rubbish, but I’d heard good things about this. This little bit of pink sponge has changed my life (Ok, slight exaggeration. It is amazing though.), I’d usually spend ages blending with a brush. This gets in the job done in 30 seconds. I also use it for applying concealer, highlighter and cream blush. Amazing.

Bryden's Favourites

Avril Lavigne Black Star Perfume
30ml £20.43
I am rubbish at describing fragrances. The Perfume Shop's website describes this as ''a fusion of vibrant floral, fruity and gourmand accords, each with a distinctive, lively appeal. The notes blend to create a swirling, sparkling cloud of fragrance, for a truly energetic scent''. Well... I have no idea what that means but in my words I'd describe it as a sweet, fruity floral scent. It's lovely!

CHI Silk Infusion
Prices vary
This is something I have re-discovered. I used to use it all the time and it got shoved to the back of my chest of drawers because I was too scared to run out of the product after Sally's stopped stocking CHI products. I recently found a bottle of CHI Silk Infusion in my local TK Maxx so I retrieved my old bottle from the back of the drawer. I can't believe I stopped using this stuff. It truly is amazing. It cuts down drying time and leaves my hair soft as silk. I'm still dreading running out of the stuff but there's always ebay for when that day comes.

Illamasqua Precision Ink
£17.00 Illamasqua
This stuff lives up to the hype. Amazing colour pay off, easy to apply and the staying power is outstanding. What more could you want from an eyeliner? This eyeliner ticks all the boxes and is well worth paying a little bit more then you would for a drugstore brand eyeliner.

Rimmel Lash Accelerator
£8.99 Boots
Claire hates this and so did I at first. The first time you will open the tube you will find that the product itself is too wet and therefore the only look you will get from this product is the natural look. Give it some time...After a couple of weeks into the product the wetness has gone and you're left with the perfect consistancy to build up your lashes.

Earrings
£3.99 (I THINK) H&M
After seeing a girl in a local pub wearing these I had to track them down and grab myself a pair. They're very heavy to wear but I absolutely love them. Very Edie Sedgwick.

x

Newcastle’s Affordable Vintage Fair.

2011-02-13T14:58:00.000-08:00

Two Sundays ago (Yes, I'm a bad blogger) saw Newcastle’s Affordable Vintage Fair being held at Northumbria University Student Union. I’ve been to the fair a few times now and I’ve picked up a few nice pieces in the past, including a Laura Ashley dress for a tenner. Despite feeling a bit worse for wear (Not as bad as Bryden, she stayed at home due to her hangover!) I made my way to the union about twenty minutes early for the midday opening of the fair. Standing in the queue I was amazed how many young girls were there, all with amazing style. At their age in my early teen years, I was probably still rocking an Adidas tracksuit, not a cute vintage dress and Vivienne Westwood/Melissa shoes!

Once I got in I adopted my usual ‘Shopping at a vintage fair, whilst poor’ routine- 1st lap: Quick browse to establish which stalls were selling what, general prices and what I want to go back to look at in more depth. 2nd lap: Look at my favourite pieces in more detail, check for quality, any loose stitches etc. 3rd lap: Make purchases. I didn’t have a great deal of money that I wanted to spend so giving myself 3 laps of the fair made sure I wasn’t making any impulsive purchases.

I’d spied this vanity case on my 1st lap, but on the 2nd time it had gone from the spot where it was on display so I assumed someone had snapped it up and I felt kind of disappointed that I had been so restrained. Then on then on my final lap I saw that it was still there, it had just been moved. I picked it up to inspect it and had a few girls hovering around me admiring it; I knew if I put it back down it would be gone forever so I held onto it with a death grip and went to pay for it. It was £22, which I thought was a bit pricey but I’ll be using it as both for storage and as a handbag. It’ll probably come in handy for whacking people out of the way to the bar when I go to the clubs (Disclaimer: Trebles and a Mixer do not actually condone handbag/vanity case based violence).

Here's a photo taken of me by one of the girls running the event.

Dress- Topshop, Coat- H&m, Bag- New Look, Belt- ASOS, Brogues- Primark, Puffy tired face- Numerous vodkas and little sleep.

Although there was loads of items for sale at the fair, I didn’t think the selection was as good as past fairs I’ve been to. There was only one stall selling jewellery, which is mainly what I tend to gravitate to at fairs. Despite that I recommend popping along to these events, you never know what you might find. The Facebook group can be found here and the up and coming fairs around the country are as follows-

Oxford
Saturday 19th February 2011
The Old Bookbinders, No 9 Green Street, Oxford, OX4 1YB
Opening Hours: 12:00 - 17:00

Cardiff
Sunday 20th February 2011
Cardiff University Student Union, Park Place, Cardiff, CF10 3QN
Opening Hours: 12:00 - 17:00

London
Sunday 27th February 2011
York Hall, 5 - 15 Old Ford Road, Bethnal Green, London, E2 9PJ
Opening Hours: 11:00 - 16:30

Edinburgh
Saturday 5th March 2011
Out Of The Blue - The Drill Hall, 36 Dalmeny St, Edinburgh, EH6 8RG
Opening Hours: 11:00 - 16:00

St Andrews
Sunday 6th March 2011
St Andrews Student Union, St Mary's Place, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9UZ
Opening Hours: 12:00 - 17:00

Cambridge
Saturday 12th March 2011
The Cambridge Guildhall, Market Square, Cambridge, CB2 3QJ
Opening Hours: 10:30 - 16:30

Southampton
Sunday 13th March 2011
Southampton University Garden Court, University Road,
Southampton, SO17 1BJ
Opening Hours: 12:00 - 17:00

York
Sunday 20th March 2011
The Hospitium, Museum Gardens, Marygate, York, YO30 7DR
Opening Hours: 10:30 - 16:30

Oxford
Saturday 26th March 2011
Oxford Town Hall, St Aldgates, Oxford, OX1 1BX
Opening hours: 10:30 - 16:00

Vintage Furniture Flea
Sunday 27th March 2011
York Hall, Old Ford Road, Bethnal Green, London, E2 9PJ
Opening hours: 11:00 - 16:30

Leeds
Saturday 2nd April 2011
The Corn Exchange, Call Lane, Leeds
Opening Hours: 10:00 - 18:00

Sheffield
Saturday 2nd April 2011
The Workstation, 15 Paternoster Row, Sheffield, S1 2BX
Opening Hours: 12:00 - 17:00

Newcastle
Saturday 7th May 2011
Northumbria University Students union, Newcastle, NE1 8SB
Opening hours: 12:00 - 17:00

Glasgow
Sunday 8th May 2011
Queen Margaret Union, 22 University Gardens, Glasgow, G12 8QN
Opening Hours: 12:00 - 17:00

Chester
Saturday 14th May 2011
Chester Guildhall, Watergate Street, Chester, CH1 2LA
Opening Hours: 10:30 - 16:00

Brighton - Vintage Fair and Vintage Furniture Flea
Sunday 15th May 2011
Brighton Racecourse, Freshfield Road, Brighton, East Sussex, BN2 9XZ
Opening Hours: (Early Bird 11 - 12) 12:00 - 17:00

London
Sunday 22nd May 2011
York Hall, 5 - 15 Old Ford Road, Bethnal Green, London, E2 9PJ
Opening Hours: 11:00 - 16:30

Claire
x

Whats in Bryden's make up bag?

2011-02-13T14:26:00.001-08:00

Whats in my make up bag by treblesandamixer on Polyvore.com

This is what I've been using for the last couple of weeks. I like to switch up my make up bag quite a bit so this will probably change in the next couple of weeks. I've realy been loving the MAC Viva Glam Cyndi at the moment and I think I'm going to pick up a couple of back ups. I've also been very impressed with the Illamasqua Precision Ink too. I managed to get it for £10 from ASOS a while ago and I wish I had bought two!! In addition to the items above I've also been using Miss Sporty So Clear translucent powder. It's not the best powder in the world but it was something I had to pick up on the cheap when I forgot to bring my powder to work one day. I like to keep my make up quite low key during the week so MAC's Shroom eyeshadow is perfect all over the lid for week days.

Bryden x

A Bryden review - Primark Nail Foils.

2011-02-02T12:19:00.000-08:00

I've had my eyes on the nail foils by Nail Rock for a while now but at a £6.70 price tag I wasn't quite sure that the price was worth it. To me, they seemed almost like glorified 'kiddie' nail stickers and I could buy a nail varnish (Maybe even a couple depending on the brand!) for the same price. So when I noticed at a recent trip to Primark that they had a cheaper version of the Nail Rock foils in stock I jumped at the chance to try them! There were 3 designs to choose from and they were all priced at £3. The designs are - black and white skulls, shiny gold leopard print and black and white polka dots. I am unsure if there any other designs at present. I grabbed them in two designs - Polka dots and Leopard print.

I decided to try the polka dot design at first as the leopard print design was more suited for a night out. The instructions on the back were easy to follow and the foils themselves weren't that hard to cut to shape (My nails are tiny!!). The instructions said to buff the nails slightly at first so that the foil was able to adhere better to the nail. When applied, I 'sealed' them with a blast from my hair dryer as per instructions and filled off the excess foil at the edge of the nail using a nail file.

Here's the results:

Excuse the photograph, I had to take this on my Blackberry.

I was happy with the initial results but was unsure on the look of them - They do look very fake!! I wore the foils for 3 days when I was off work ill. During this time I did not undertake much activity. On the third day they started to peel at the edges and I decided to remove them. The pack doesn't actually say how long they are expected to last but I gathered from a quick google search that the usual time can be from 1 - 2 weeks (some search results showed 4 weeks!).

I think I would actually purchase these again for a night out or special occassion but I definitely would not rely on them for my everyday nails as they are £3 per set.

Bryden x

My addiction to tan leather continues.

2011-01-31T13:02:00.002-08:00

It’s reached that point in the month when money is a bit thin on the ground for me but I was in desperate need of some new shoes for work so I headed off to Primark. I haven’t really bought anything from Primark in a while; I’m not the biggest fan of the kind of stuff they bring out over the Winter season. The store in Newcastle has a lot of Spring/Summer stuff in at the moment, I wasn’t too sold on any of the clothes (Might be due to the fact it’s still absolutely freezing outside and days of wearing summer dresses and cardigans seem too far away), I did however purchase a few accessories.

Loafers-£10, Brogues-£7, Floral Hair band-£2, Bags-£7 each, Vanilla scented Candle-£1.50, Foundation/Concealer brush-£1.50

I love loafers and seeing as my beloved pair from Peacocks (My 5th pair to be precise) had finally given up on me, I couldn’t help but buy this pair for only £10.

They also had them in tan, which I would have preferred, but as usual with Primark they only had tiny sizes left so I settled for this bluey grey pair.

Both Bryden and I had seen this bag on other blogs and we’re lusting after it, so I picked one up for us each.

I know everyone and their granny is bound to have this bag, but it’s a perfect size and I'm addicted to anything that involves tan leather (Or fake leather in this case).

Bryden has also bought the Foundation brush and loves it. I gave it a go this morning, but I found it hard to back to using a foundation brush after using the Cosmopolitan Make up Sponge (I’ll be talking about this more in a January Favourites post soon) and ended up giving up after one cheek.

I also stopped by Newcastle's Affordable Vintage Fair yesterday, but more about that soon...

Claire
x

Follow us on Twitter!

2011-01-27T07:30:00.000-08:00

We have set up our Twitter account and we can found under the user name treblesandamixa.

If you click here, hopefully this will take you to our profile!

Bryden

x

A trip to Tynemouth

2011-01-24T14:05:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday was one of those rare mornings where we hadn't been out the night before. Feeling fresh, we decided to head along to Tynemouth market.

The entrance to the market from street level.

Tynemouth market is held in Tynemouth Metro Station and is well known across the North East as a place where bargains can be found. I have been told that the market is better for vintage clothing and accessories on a Saturday but we have yet to visit on that day as Harmer is often at work.

Inside the market (excuse the slightly out of focus picture, Harmers camera ran out of battery!)

We walked around the market for a good 2 hours and found a handful of items to take home. I picked out a Sarah Coventry vintage cameo ring for £2, some homemade chocolate orange truffles for £3.50, a slice of chicken and leek pie for £1.10 and a rocky road cake for £1. Harmer managed to find herself a 'Claire' bracelet (which is her christian name) for 50p, a beautiful turquoise brooch for £5 which she plans to make into a ring, a slice of chicken and leek pie £1.10 and a toffee and chocolate muffin for £1.

After building up a large appetite we decided to walk along to the sea front for some fish and chips.

As we were walking along we popped into the Green Ginger shopping mall which is situated in an old church. It was here where I found myself a new cup and saucer for £2.49. We were shocked when we discovered the set for soo cheap and had to double check that the saucer and cup weren't priced separately!!!

Harmer pointed us in the right direction of Marshall's Fish and Chip shop and we decided to sit inside as the weather was not the nicest.

We both ordered cod, chips and mushy peas and shared a pot of curry sauce.

After filling our bellies we decided it was time to head back home and admire our purchases:

The cakes! With an extra two for our other housemates.

My WONDERFUL cup and saucer. It looks quite small on this picture but it is MUCH bigger then a standard size set.

Our small jewellery haul.

We're looking forward to this coming Sunday and we are hoping to attend a vintage fair at Northumbria University's student union. We shall report back with our finds and next time we'll make sure to take a few snaps of our faces.

Bryden

x

Who we are.

2011-01-23T16:31:00.001-08:00

Left - Bryden
Right - Harmer

We are Harmer and Bryden, two Twenty something lasses from Newcastle Upon Tyne. We’ve finally started this blog, after talking about it for ages, due to our shared love of reading other peoples blogs.

We don’t really want the blog to have a set theme, but it will generally include beauty, fashion, local events and general rambling. We hope you enjoy reading ‘Trebles and a Mixer’ and we look forward to any feedback.

XXX