Victory at Last?? Hope So!!

http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/beauty/news-features/TMG9837467/Animal-testing-to-be-banned-in-Europe.html

So after 20 long years of campaigning, the powers that be have apparently agreed to make a FINAL and absolute ban on animals tested cosmetics products AND ingredients and the importing of any such things to the EU!!! HURRAH!!!!!

Lets hope there are no loopholes or smokescreens involved, and that companies such as L'Oreal and Estee Lauder really stick to the rules, globally, as well as in the EU, and dont just pussyfoot around for the sake of continued sales in Europe. I for one will still be sticking to the brands that NEVER sold out in  the first place.

But this surely is a victory for animals - no more suffering in the name of vanity. Hurrah!!!!!

URBAN DECAY DEMORALISED

I just found out that just before xmas, Urban Decay were bought out by L'Oreal, makeing this their parent company - this is BAD NEWS for anyone who loved Urban Decay products but hates animal testing.. whichever way you look at it, it means that some of UD s profits will be going back into a company that DOES conduct animal testing. U.D will apparently be keeping their policy on their own products being cruelty free, and PETA / BUAV will apparently be letting them keep the leaping bunny logo, but I for one dont want to feel like any of my money is going to end up in L'Oreals coffers so I wont be purchasing from Urban Decay anymore. Such a shame. Ditching their beliefs for quick injection of cashdollaz. Ah well they didn't even do pro discount. ILLAMASQUA all the way from now on ! Urban Decay you've SOLD OUT!!!!! They are gonna lose a LOT of loyal customers because of this.

Oink Oink

New Year arrives and my first job is sounding REALLY exciting! A gothic art-film feature teaser short by Director Lucy Campbell, called 'Pig Child', produced by Loran Dunn of Wearwulf Collective .. check out the synopsis and background of the project here - scary science!! http://www.filmworks.org.uk/the-pig-child/ 

Basically for me, it means that i can get stuck into doing some wigs, hair cutting and sfx make up - which is what I love best about my 'job title' of make up artist, being from the tomboy breed of females I find I fit in better to this kind of project than to the beauty and glamour based work, where i always feel like a really bad advert for what I do!! Wash n go .. out the house in 10 minutes after I throw my daughters and my clothes on and shove a brush through our hair... etc

Yep a bit of gore and Victorian macabre grimness is what I like to do.

BRING IT ON !!

PRODUCT REVIEW!! Neals Yard Frankinsense Hydrating Cream

Two Words. TOTES AMAZEBALLS!!!!

'Rejuvenating" is the main descriptive word in the catalogue text for this product and I can wholeheartedly say thats a TICK!! Ive literally used it twice - from a tester tube I acquired ( more on that later ..)
It smells gorgeous and its so refreshing.. I know it sounds cheesy but I can almost feel its anti- ageing properties working. Its packed full of anti oxidants and no nasty chemicals ( being made by Neals Yard Remedies thats pretty much guaranteed for all products ) Apparently the properties of the plant extracts in it, boost elasticity and it SMELLS GORGEOUS!!!!
Its ingredients are mostly organic and certified - its fair-trade, and it comes from the Baobab tree which is called the ' Tree of Life '

And Frankinsense is a very christmassey ingredient - so - perfect for presents... but like I said .. more on that later - stay tuned Im becoming a NYR Organics consultant but this review is nothing to do with that - i would have reviewed this product anyway coz it ROCKS!!
       

Look at what I won!!!

Ooooo how excited was I this morning!!! I won a competition with American Crew https://www.facebook.com/pages/American-Crew-UK/183309985056843  ( thats their facebook page ) I had to answer some James Bond geek facts. Now Im the proud owner of some lovely grooming products and a smart new bag for my clippers. Hurrah !!  and at the same time, the neighbours gorgeous velvet kitten wandered into our house and me and my daughter spent the next ten minutes trying to extract it from the house but at the same time wanting to catnap it coz its so gorgeous.Its like a little dark grey velvet ninja...EXACTLY the sort of cat James Bond would have, and would obviously name it Pussy Galore...anyway we were late for school but it was all SO worth it!

When Brow Bars turn BAD!!!!

BAD REVIEW ALERT!!!  I dont think Ive ever had call to write a bad review before - I dont normally let things upset me that much , and now tbh Ive ' let it go ' on the advice of my Buddist friend.. but I feel its my duty to enlighten you readers to this, so you dont have the same awful experience as I did, and apparently ( according to the Superdrug office lady I spoke to ) Im not the first to complain..about.. 'Super Brow Bar' - the in-store brow threading service apparently run by some franchise that isnt even linked to Superdrug, so this is NOT a complaint against the store.. although hopefully after these complaints they'll think twice about about keeping them there - bad rep and all that...

Anyway I dont normally go there.. I normally go to a cheap as chips and lovely lady in Chinatown called EyeWow - she is lovely and friendly..or Brazilian Waxing Co ( but theyre a bit pricey) and Ive never had a bad experience..   but today I had a tired daughter with me and it was a case of the quickest place, and as I passed Superdrug on our way to the bus I just nipped in - "a fiver!" i thought " that'll do, we'll be in and out in 5 minutes.. concerned about getting tired daughter home for a rest.. There were 3 threading girls there and no customers so they were having a chat, fair enough but it took a minute to get their attention..I was told  to pay at the counter and bring my receipt back, which I did, but that was as far as the conversation went. I decided myself that I should probably sit in the chair, and as the other chair was occupied by ne of the other threaders ( still chatting ) my 6yr old daughter had to sit on the floor ( because she was tired ) I sat in the chair and one of the threaders had her back to me but said ' Hold It !!" and i didnt realise she was talking to me.. why would i - she had her back to me, then she turned round and aggresively said ' HOLD IT!" I realised she meant my eyelid but i hadnt known she was ready to start .. so I did that then then before she moved on to the other eye she carried on the conversation with her colleagues ( I cant tell you what it was about because it was in Arabic ) then she started on my other eye and said "hold it" againbut then realised i was too low down in the chair for her and said " can you move up the chair please!!" in quite an aggresive tone once more. Then she plucked some last hairs out quite hard and painfully, then quickly shoved a hand mirror in my face so i could see theresult ( the result was fine, but I couldnt wait to leave. She didnt even attempt to put any soothing gel or soothing wipe across my brow. NO BASIC aftercare AT ALL!!! To be honest I didnt even think about that until I was on the bus and realised how sore my brows were . I had tried to complain to the checkouot staff asking if i could see a manager but she said they are not linked to Superdrug and Ihave to speak to the Brow Bar staff myself - well I think complaints should be made to a higher power, so I got home and put cucumbers on my brows straight away, then I rang Superdrug Piccadilly office and complained to the lady there - she said I was not the first complaint they had  had about the Brow Bar staff, and hat the Floor manager would have a word. So thats as far as it went but I'll be going back to Eyewow, or forking out more at Brazilian Waxing Co in future.

So in summary 'Super Brow Bar ' NO customer service, NO proffessional aftercare, Painful service, BAD attitude and RUDE staff!! Dont even GO there!!!

Things that are good!! Essie Nail Polish

I dont often review products, but when I do I have to really love it to be arsed with sitting down and writing about it.. but I really DO love Essie nail polish. I discovered it last week (in Superdrug I think) and having been drawn to the lovely display unit and gorgeous bottles of pretty colours, a pretty fabulous range of colours.. like a Pantone chart of Nail Polish!.. I decided to try a nice cappucino coloured one for myself.. ( its called ' Masterplan' ) and Ive been wearing it for a WHOLE WEEK WITH NO CHIPS!! I only put 2 coats on and a top coat that I had at home by Bourgois. Just to give you an idea of how hard wearing it is, Ive done loads of manual work this week, including dragging my kit bag everywhere, on and off buses in all weathers, making up faces including all the cleaning of hands and kit that goes with that,  domestic chores, cleaning up after a child and a cat and someone elses dog, walking said dog, washing up, riding my bike, and its still looking fine on my nails! Just started wearing off at the very tips today, but after 6 days I think its time for a fresh application anyway. I reckon its AS good if not better than more expensive brands like Nails Inc, and it comes in at about £7 - £8. And I think they do a good range of pro nail care products too, as its an American pro-manicure brand, not just a cosmetic colour brand.
The names of the colours are fab too. Go check out the site http://www.essie.com/latest-collection/  and hunt them down in high street stores.