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Wednesday 22 February 2012

2012 Brit Awards Fashion

It was the 2012 Brit awards last night with all the best of UK music talent on the red carpet with their best frocks. So who looked hot and who looked a hot mess? My verdict...

 Rihanna - Hot! Can this girl do no wrong in the style stakes?!

 Kylie - Hot! Check out those shoes!

Adele - Hot! Great hair, great dress, though would love to see her in another colour beside black...

Fearne Cotton - hot! you can't go wrong with classic monochrome Black and white, and cute shoes too! 

 Jessie J - Hot Mess! Lace, red AND see-through? Sorry hunny, that is just not classy enough for an award ceremony like the Brits. Save experimental dress up for the stage NOT the red carpet.

 Alexandra Burke - the hair looks good and so are the earrings but the dress? Something not quite right with this outfit so sorry Ms Burke but it's a Hot Mess from me!

 

Saturday 18 February 2012

Love ♥ Want ♥ Need ♥ Wedding Special

As you well know, I am getting married next year and so I decided to dedicate this week's Love, Want, Need for a wedding accessories special!

After the bride's wedding dress the second most important thing is her shoes. Clearly.

These satin peep toes from Mui Mui are perfect heels for a bride. It doesn't take too much attention away from her dress but still won't go unnoticed. 
  
If you're bridesmaid dress is understated and simple then there is every reason to jazz up the accessories, especially with these Ileana Makri gem drop earrings. The 18 karot rose gold diamond earrings are the perfect look for a bride whose accessories want to do the talking rather than her dress.

Every bride needs a sophisticated clutch bag to store her makeup and tissues and I think the Bottega Veneta satin knot clutch is the perfect little bag for the job.

Neon Nail Crazy NYC Nail Review


 NYC Bright & Loud Nail Collection

Say goodbye to dull Winter nails and hello to vibrant colours for Spring/Summer with NYC Bright and Loud Collection!

Don’t hold back when it comes to making a statement, especially with your nails. I love nail art it’s a great way to show off your nails. And what better way to brighten up your wardrobe than with neo n nail colours. The neon nail frenzy is reaching fever pitch with celebrities like Katy Perry, Rihanna, Nikki Minaj and Lady Gaga just a few of the celebrities who have who have been spotted wearing cool nail designs and vibrant neon colours. 

 Katy Perry

Rihanna

Nikki Minaj
 
NYC, New York Color, have released the new bright and loud collection which comes in five different neon shades such as Water Street Blue and High Line Green and Spring Street (orange) available for £1.79 each at Superdrug.

I love the neon nail colors; they are fun and flirty and perfect for spring/summer season!  Even if at first glance you think the colours are too bright, try them on your toes instead. 

 298 High Line Green & 224 Times Square

My favourites were Water Street Blue in 296, Lexington Yellow 294 and High Line Green in 298 which I used to create my nail art.

 296 Water Street Blue & 294 Lexington Yellow

I used two coats and the coverage is excellent. The polishes contains intensely pigmented colour so you won’t have to apply layer upon layer of polish. It was easy to apply, no streaks, long-lasting, the colours are bright and the polish dries quickly, unlike most "fast-dry" formulas, I think NYC polish lives up to its promise. 


Monday 13 February 2012

RIP Whitney Houston

 Whitney Houston in the BodyGuard

One of the greatest singers in the world, Whitney Houston, died in a hotel room in Los Angeles in the early hours of Sunday morning.

There are reports that she was found in her bath tub, underwater and unconscious in the hotel room. 
Whitney as a young artist

One of the world's best selling artists, Whitney sold more than 170 million albums and singles worldwide over the course of her career. She won two Emmy awards, six Grammy awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards and 22 American Music Awards along the way.

 Whitney performing recently
 
But like most celebrities these days, her talent and beauty, were overshadowed by years of drug addiction and spots in and out of rehab.

Many stars left tributes on Twitter and spoke publicly at the Grammys held last night in Hollywood and Baftas in London. But the best tribute was by Barbra Streisand who said:-

"She had everything, beauty, a magnificent voice. How sad her gifts could not bring her the same happiness they brought us." 

 Whitney and her 18 year old daughter, Bobbi Kristina.

Whitney leaves her only child, a daughter with Bobby Brown, Bobbi Kristina.
Whitney Houston was an icon and her voice will always be  remembered for years and years to come.

Rest in peace Whitney, I will always love you!


My favourite Whitney album and cover - true beauty and talent that can't ever be replaced!

Monday 6 February 2012

Diary of a Budget Bride: The Beginning



I thought I had it all planned out. When I was a little girl, I thought all Brides got married to their Prince Charming, who whisks them off their feet, takes them to their castle, where they marry in front of their 300 guests, party all night long with drinks and food galore. Naturally. It all seems so much easier when you’re a little girl with all these ridiculous expectations to look forward to.

 Groom, "If she jumps, this is going to be a problem...."


What I didn’t realise was just how much weddings cost. We’ve all heard the average wedding in the UK costs £20,000. I couldn’t quite believe it myself, until I actually became a Bride-to-be and started the unforgettable journey of planning my wedding.

 "...Brain...check!"


Chair covers, favours, save-the-date cards. Does this sound alien to you? Me too! I had no idea that drinks packages included three versions of “drinks”. First there is the arrival drinks, then drinks during the meal, followed by the “toasting” drinks for the speeches. Not to mention having to make the decision of having pay bar or no pay bar?

 Decisions, decisions!


Even the term “wedding breakfast” threw me. A fry up for the main wedding meal? Never! It wasn’t until I visited a wedding forum that I was kindly given the run down by sympathetic B2B (Brides-to-be duh!) of these foreign wedding terms. It’s more difficult than trying to learn another language, this is an entire different world!

 Barbie Bride..Ken not included


So £20,000 is a lot of money - especially for only one day. Even though that one day is meant to be one of the most important days of your life. The pressure to have the perfect wedding is everywhere. The expectation that young girls should even know what a “wedding” is, happens in shape of the wonderful Barbie wedding “dolls”, although weirdly, Ken comes separately.  

 Follow Will & Kate with a low-key wedding. Less hassle.


But even last year you couldn’t get away from the media frenzy of the “Royal Wedding”. If it’s not Kate and Will shoving their perfect wedding fairytale down our throats then it’s celebrities flaunting their fabulous wedding deals in OK! and Hello magazines or reality stars like Kim Kardashian marrying their other halves in lavish weddings. Even reality shows have seen there is interest in budget weddings. Take, BBC3’s Don’t Tell the Bride. A show that gives a couple £12,000 to plan the wedding of their dreams. The catch? The groom plans everything and the bride has no say in the wedding. Ok, the couple is hardly on a budget, with £12,000. It might not be the wedding you’ve planned, nethertheless, you could still have a great wedding.   Still, there is so much pressure these days that brides are forfeiting the chance to plan this special one-in-a-life-time ceremony and leaving it in the (unsafe) hands of their husbands-to-be. Now that IS desperate!

 A couple from BBC3's "Don't Tell The Bride"

So once you have established a budget, and actually begin planning your wedding that’s when it hits you. That everything is so.unbelievably.expensive. Especially venues. So unbelievable, that you actually start contemplating running off to Las Vegas and getting married in the little white chapel made famous by the likes of Britney Spears etc. No stress of having to please all your guests because unlike normal weddings, the Little White Chapel you only need the bride, groom and two witnesses. So gone are the worries of catering costs, or bridesmaids dramas, or embarrassing speeches or having to deal with an annoying wedding co-ordinator. You even get the choice of having your priest dressed up as Elvis. Tempting. Not.

 If it's good enough for Britney...


Of course, this is not an option for me or my husband-to-be. Fortunately or unfortunately, however you look at it, we will have to accommodate our larger than life families. Although it is yet to be decided how we do it.  I will keep you posted.

So join me on my adventure as a Budget Bride as I attend wedding fairs, cake fairs, visit venues (the good, bad and ugly) and blog about my wedding dress (yes I have bought already!). It’s going to be one heck of a ride! 


Black Vanilla Bakery Review

Black Vanilla

On Sunday, I popped into Black Vanilla, the new coffee and ice-cream shop in Blackheath village to try their coffee and ice cream.

                                       Black Vanilla

The main counter displays a large selection of ice cream and frozen yogurt and I’ve heard they did good coffee which my other half was keen to try. But I was especially looking forward to trying out their cupcakes. The company follows a healthy food philosophy with 100% organic milk, no preservatives, artificial colourings, flavourings or hydrogenated fats used in any of their products. The guilt free way to indulge in cupcakes!


        Black Vanilla counter with cake slices for tasters - yum!

I picked the red velvet and black bottom cupcakes. They were light and fluffy, topped with thick rich icing in the style American cupcakes I love.

They were good sized cupcakes, perfectly made. The red velvet was moist but light and the black bottom was stuffed with gooey white chocolate filling. Delicious!

Coffee beans and cupcakes!


Red velvet cupcake

Another good point was that the service was fantastic. We got chatting to the guy who was serving us in the shop who asked us about coffee and recommended the brand they use, New Zealand coffee, All Press Express, which won Time Out best coffee of the year. We even got to try this fantastic coffee and was offered a shot of Espresso, which was very tasty.

All Press Express coffee

Black Vanilla is a perfect addition to Blackheath Village and there is also a new branch that has just opened in Greenwich too so if you are ever in South East London, it is worth stopping by and trying their great coffee and of course their delicious cupcakes. If my waistline could afford it I would eat one every day!


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