What's on My Desk?

The Next Instalment in the "What's in My...?" series.

The table I had lovingly prepped and  painted earlier on in the year to save a bit of money got nabbed by the 11 year old for his homework and laptop time! So, taking pity on me as I had been relegated to sitting on the bed with my laptop and a pile of papers yet again, my husband had this delivered.....

The Desk Arrives!

 A lovely solid wood , deep grey , beautifully large and brand new desk. Love it. At the moment it is positioned in the big bay window in our bedroom until we have the work to the house done next year when hopefully I will have a corner in the kitchen to base myself. I have taken two photos of the desk, one at the beginning of the day and one at the end with my mess!

I have a lovely view out of this window over the rooftops to the rolling hills beyond. I feel very thankful each time I sit here.

What's on my desk:

My Mac
My ipad and Kate Spade cover
A purple note book for writing thoughts
My Cannon Camera
A small purple vase
A cup cake pot with a pin cushion in it
A Cath Kidston empty cup of tea
A pot of pen, pencils and scissors
Nail varnishes
A camera lead
Papers and letters from the kids schools
A Jolie Box with some freebies in ready to giveaway.
A wooden 'in' tray with bills to pay and products I am about to review - My ' to do ' pile.
A note book and pen
The home phone
My Samsing Galaxy S 2 ( The iphones better relation )
Some flyers, card and leaflets to look at.
A light
A wireless mouse
Screen cleaner
Pritt Stick.
Some new CDs to listen to.
On the floor :
My sewing machine
Photo frames ready to fill
A pile of clothes ready to list on e.bay

Nice and neat!

My miniature filing cabinet!

What could you not do without each day - your Phone? Your Laptop? Your Coffee!!?

Wednesday Beauty Buys

Stila

Stlla Eye Shadow and Shimmer Duo

I had a good child free browse around the Benefit and Stila counter in our local Boots last week. I was looking for a darker brown than the phloof Mac shadow and wanted to take the opportunity to try something different. I don't know whether this is me showing the signs of middle age setting in, but on this occasion, I found the packaging and Benefit display utterly confusing. Nothing is particularly clearly labelled and for most products an explanation is needed as to what it is for.I think once you are really familiar with all of the products it becomes easy, but the reality is not many of us are. It seems to me that some of the labelling and packaging for Benefit has gone down the gimicky route for the sake of it and I think it detracts from the fantastic quality of the products.

 Now, I love a bit of fun in products - I like the way Soap and Glory label and package some of their product, but I also like to know what I am looking at. It took me forever to find an eye shadow and then the products were in a pot that was difficult to rummage in and I couldn't find what I was looking for. Usually the Benefit lady is hovering ready to impart advice and makeovers, but today was no where to be seen, so I headed off to the smaller Stila display. This was clear, simply set out and I found what I was looking for straight away. I was a bit gutted that I had missed the £1 offer at pound land on some Stila products, but maybe that will teach me to be quicker off the mark!

Firstly a lovely eye shadow in a lovely brown with a gold sheen in it called 'Golightly'. Very pretty and has a lovely depth of colour especially when used with a primer, but also is a great colour alone. I am very pleased with it's ability to stay put too. A little cheaper than the Mac products at £13.

I also picked up an all over Shimmer Duo called 'Kitten'. I have used this on it's own or as a highlighter with my blusher. It isn't as apparent on your skin as the 'Watts Up' highlighter from Benefit which I have and love, but is more of a subtle shimmer for daytime use. I mix the colours and use this mostly on it's own as it gives just a lovely peachy glimmer which is ideal on my fair skin. I think for darker skin tones you may want to use it as a highlighter with your usual blush. A really versatile little product and I paid for this with my points at Boots so an extra little gift. Price £18.

You can buy the Stila eye Shadow here for £12 and free shipping, and the Kitten Shimmer Duo here for £15 and free shipping. The same site.  This is cheaper than the Boots prices.

One of my favourite Stila products are their smudge sticks - very easy to get addicted to these and to want one in every colourway!

Wednesday Beauty Buys

Multi Tasking Make up- the lip stain.

One of the things I am increasingly looking for in my make up products is items that have a dual purpose . Getting make up to multi task is a sure way of saving money and time in the mornings. A lip product that can be used as a blush, an eye pencil to fill in brows,  a lip balm or Vaseline that straightens stray hairs and can be used to highlight. Mascara that can be used as an eye pencil by popping a bit in your hand and applying with an angled brush. Macs cream colour bases that can be used on eyes , lips and cheeks. I could go on...

My go to product for this multitasking is the lip stain, but you have to be careful to get the right one .  The stain that you can use on both your lips and cheeks is perfect to have in your handbag to top up tired make up later in the day. My favourite of all time is this beautiful deep rose lip and cheek stain from the Body Shop. It does not come out as red as it looks like it might from the picture. It costs £10, but check out some of the deals and vouchers available for the Body Shop as you will be likely to get it for less. ( See Recommended Sites in my side panel)

It is not too vibrant , yet gives colour that is lasting and is easy to reapply when needed. It can be simply dotted across the cheeks and quickly blended with your fingers for that gentle glow . A quick slick on the lips quickly soaks in to give colour - if you want a bit of shine then I add a clear gloss on top - ideal. I would suggest practising at home first as a stain is a stain and you don't want a Bridget Jones make up moment! I think this brings back memories of my mum's simple , but effective style of make up , bringing elegance to her outfits with a quick dash of rose to her lips and cheeks and lashings of black mascara . She embodied the 'less is more' principle.


I'd not, until recently, found another product that was really comparable to this Body Shop stain as it is an actual liquid stain and many of the others are more of a solid stain and gloss or balm. However, I've found that Soap and Glory do a similar stain in their make up range in an adorable little tube.

 It comes out a little more of a cherry colour, described as Rosy Glow and the only negative about it is the initial taste - a little sour I would say, but this instantly disappears. It is recommended for use on cheeks and lips. I didn't find it lasted as long as the Body Shop product, but lovely as an alternative. Boots have an offer on this range . If you buy two products you get the second product half price. Ideal. Of course I picked  the Trick and Treatment Under Eye Dark Circle Concealer.

The other stain I enjoy at the moment which is more creamy in texture, is in Revlon's " Just Bitten Kissable" range - a Chubby crayon like lip stain/balm . This comes in a variety of colours which is another bonus. See Boots for a good selection and £2 off.

 Revlon also do a lip stain in this "Just Bitten"range with a separate balm at the other end of the product. I found the stain in this one quite strong. When I first tried it out on my hand it wouldn't come off until I took a wet wipe quite firmly to it! That of course means  it should have staying power, but felt a little too harsh for what I was looking for!  The applicator looks like the tip of a felt pen making it easy to apply to lips - good as you wouldn't want to make a mistake in the application with this !  See here for details. £2 off again at Boots.


One of my other favourites of course has to be a Mac product. They do a range of pro longwear lip colour that has two steps to apply.The first is the colour, the second the gloss. This is not really a stain, but acts like one in that it leaves a long lasting colour on your lips that has a lovely deep pigment. Again , although fabulous as a longlasting lip colour I would be hesitant about using this on my cheeks unless you are very good or professional at applying make up in this way. It doesn't come off too easily if you make a mistake! See here for details.

My Winner!

I think there are many products that now will label themselves a lip stain, but for me few that live up to the simplicity that I would associate a lip stain being. For me it needs purely and simply to be a product that stains , nothing fancy like a gloss or a balm. It becomes a different product then. So, the one that still ticks all the boxes for me is :

The Body Shop Lip and Cheek Stain

What Multi tasking product do you have in your make up bag?

Don't forget with all of your Beauty and Fashion purchases to check out the recommended sites at the side of my blog. These sites offer money off products and latest vouchers to claim. Worth checking out.