Thursday 28 February 2013

Beauty Blog

I have annoying, combination skin, so find skincare products difficult to shop for; I usually opt for products designed for sensitive skin, followed by a water-based moisturiser with aloe or camomile.

However, I'm also addicted to GlossyBox, so when an offer popped up in my inbox for a Flash Box containing luxury Darphin skincare goodies, I had to have it!

GlossyBox

List of Products

Gorgeously packaged products in a lovely little make-up bag - a girl can never have too many make-up bags!

I try and stick to a 'cleanse, tone, moisturise' regime each day, and I usually manage it about four days a week! I used these products this morning in place of my usual brand (Simple, in case you were wondering!) I liked that these products contained chamomile, as it is a key product to look out for in sensitive skin products.

Darphin: Intral - Cleansing Milk with Chamomile
I was a little surprised at the strength of the fragrance of this cleanser - it wasn't unpleasant however sensitive skin products are usually unfragranced or very lightly at least. The cream worked well and felt luxurious on my skin while removing grime (nice...)

Darphin: Intral - Toner with Chamomile
Following the richness of the cleanser, the toner felt lovely and light and removed the last traces of cream.

Darphin: Intral - Redness Relief Soothing Serum
I was quite disappointed with this product - the texture was extremely runny and I had difficulty even applying it as the consistency was more like water than serum! I also had to use quite a bit more than the recommended amount as the three pumps suggested barely covered my forehead! However once I had managed to cover my whole face, I did feel the benefit of using a serum and once I've found one I like I may incorporate it into my regular routine.

Darphin: Intral - Soothing Cream
This felt lovely and rich, and several hours later my skin still feels smooth and moisturised.

I know Darphin are a bit of a cult, or luxury brand, but I can't honestly say I noticed any difference between these products and my usual combination of Simple and Nivea! However the product size is handy for popping into my suitcase on my travels and you can never have too many beauty bits!
xx

Tuesday 26 February 2013

Blast From The Past

This weekend has mostly been about strolling down memory lane, and my new talons... 

Fierce...

On Saturday I performed at Proud Cabaret for a bonkers audience that was at least 90% hen parties! Around 200 screaming women! I seriously worried for Jonathan Finch's life, especially after he received several requests for his underpants!

Mirror Picture! With Jolie Papillon, Aurora Starr, Chrys Columbine, Kai Hoffman, Jonathan Finch and Hayley Coppinger

It was a fabulous evening, with a wonderful cast - it was great to see Aurora Starr again after many years, and I got to hang out with the gorgeous Chrys Columbine too!

With the gorgeous Chrys Columbine

On Sunday I journeyed up to Chester for Dr. Sketchy's - I love shows in Chester as it's my home town so it's a fabulous excuse to stay with family and be spoiled for a while!

Alexander's Jazz Bar ** Chester Town Hall ** Godstall Lane

I had a lovely Sunday dinner at home with my family, and had a blast from the past as I got myself ready for my night out at my teenage dressing table:

Getting ready for a night out

I then popped into town with my two besties for a lovely evening meal, a catch-up and a good old fashioned gossip.

With Hayley and Jade - besties!

I love Dr. Sketchy's shows - they're always chilled out and have a really nice atmosphere. I especially loved that this one was held at Alexander's Jazz Theatre: I worked at this venue for four years while I was in college, and it was the place I first watched a Burlesque Show!

 
With the fabulously named Titsalina Bumsquash!

With Titsalina Bumsquash and Madame X

The night was lots of fun, and the art on display was fabulous too:

Some of the pictures of Titsalina

 

These were my favourites of the evening

On Monday I travelled across to Liverpool to see Pamela, my housemate from college, and her gorgeous baby Alex, my godson.

Baby Alex!

In the spirit of 'blast from the past' we hopped into a taxi and went across to Aigburth, where we lived together for three years, and even popped into college to say hi!

Liverpool Theatre School ** Palladium Studio Theatre ** College Year Portrait

It was so lovely to visit, and chat with the few teachers who are still there from when I was training. Adam, the head of Musical Theatre, showed Pam and I around the college and it felt like I'd hardly been away, even though it's been almost six years! Where does the time go?!
xx

Tuesday 19 February 2013

Life Is Too Short To Eat Pizza With A Knife And Fork

Blog Title, courtesy of the gorgeous Bettsie Bon Bon!

While looking back through previous blogs, I realised that this time last year I performed at Proud and Volupte - and that's just where I was this weekend too! History repeating!

On Friday I was at Proud Cabaret for their Murder Mystery themed night, hosted by Joe Morrow and Vicious Delicious alongside a stellar cast of Mat Ricardo, Abi Collins, Kitty Devine and Beau Rocks.

Mirror Picture! With Vicious Delicious, Joe, Taz, Mat, Beau, Abi and Kitty

Despite the audience being quite quiet to begin with, they soon got into the swing of the night and were dancing til 3!

Abi Collins...

On Saturday I had a long but wonderful day performing at Volupte Lounge. It is such a beautiful venue and the audiences are always lovely. For their 'Voluptease' afternoon show I was performing alongside Jaz Delorian - a fabulous, Tom Waits-esque pianist and singer, Peter Antoniou - who describes himself as a psychic comedian, and was absolutely fabulous, the wonderful singer Beverley Stone, and Bettsie Bon Bon, who, bizarrely, I had never seen perform solo before, and is completely and utterly captivating, to the point that I couldn't really speak after watching her acts!

Peter Antoniou on stage at Volupte

As I was staying at Volupte for the evening show, Bettsie, Beverley and I took ourselves to a nearby pub for a lovely relax and a pub lunch! I was tempted by the pies but thought better of it seeing as my costumes are quite fitted!

Mirror Picture! With Beverley and \Bettsie

Back for the evening show, I was performing with the gorgeous Scarlet Cuffs and Miss Kingsley - a lovely jazz singer. I was excited to watch a comedy duo perform; Men In Coats, and they were brilliantly funny using physical comedy and quick music changes in a fabulously bonkers act. The show was hosted by Leanne Stott, who is a complete force of nature and had me in stitches all evening!

Mini Me!

Mirror Picture! With Scarlet Cuffs, Miss Kingsley and Leanne Stott

After a well deserved pyjama day on Sunday, I was extremely excited to attend the premier of Lady Rizo's show at the Soho Theatre on Monday night. I met Lady Rizo when I was at the Edinburgh Fringe and she completely blew me away so I was desperate to see her London show. It was completely sold-out and only a couple of late returns meant our entire group could get in! I'm not going to say too much about the show as you need to go and see it, but we had a truly fabulous evening, and I think she even performed two encores as the audience wouldn't let her leave the stage!

Lady Rizo at The Soho Theatre

Tuesday 12 February 2013

Sparkling Diamonds

Another busy weekend in Burlesque Land!

On Friday I was privileged  to be joining The House of Burlesque as a guest for their new show 'The Love Show' at Madame Jojo's in Soho. It was a wonderful evening, with a truly fabulous group of ladies and a bonkers audience, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself!

*Bad* Mirror Picture! With Fillie J'Adore, Jolie Papillon, Gracie Disgrace and Tempest Rose (myself, Leonie Soprano and Audacity Chutzpah are in there somewhere too I think!)

On Saturday I took a long road trip with Constance Peach (who I was excited to meet at long last!) to Lincolnshire for a Valentines Ball hosted by the lovely Storme Chaser. The venue was gorgeous and the whole night was lots of fun!

Gorgeous hotel venue

 
Heidi Bang Tidy as Budgie ** Mirror Picture with Heidi and Constance

After a long trip home the same night, I was relieved that I had no plans on Sunday, although that evening I ended up toddling to Claridges to watch a fabulous band in gorgeous surroundings, which was particularly wonderful!

On Monday, the Boy and I celebrated our one year anniversary (I know, where does the time go?!) After a lovely meal in London we went to watch 'Les Miserables' at the theatre - one of my all time favourite musicals! And yes, I cried my eyes out!

Les Miserables

Finally, on Tuesday I took myself to the gorgeous Swarovski Lounge on Great Marlborough Street for the Swarovski Crystallized Press Party, where I was assisted the lovely Catherine from Kiss Me Deadly (one of the most gorgeous lingerie ranges around!) by demonstrating how to cover underwear in Swarovski Crystals! A lovely, glamorous way to end a particularly glamorous few days!

Sunday 10 February 2013

Beauty Blog

I realised as I was writing this that it is exactly a year since my very first Glossybox Beauty Blog! Where does the time go?

Valentines GlossyBox

GlossyBox Brochure

MicaBella Cosmetics: Mineral Blush Powder
While I'm not sure about the colour of this blush, as I usually prefer a slightly pinker shade, I like the texture and slight glittery sheen. I would probably use this more for contouring than blush and for a very natural, daytime look.


MeMeMe Cosmetics: Beat The Blues
I was very excited to find this in my GlossyBox - I *love* MeMeMe! This skin illuminator works to highlight cheekbones or temples, or can be mixed with foundation for a natural glow. The texture felt quite thick, however I'm looking forward to using it as part of my regular make-up kit.

Helen E Cosmetics: Moisturising Lipstick
When I saw the colour of this lipstick in the tube, I was a little bit disappointed as it appeared quite similar to a shade I had received in a previous GlossyBox. However, once I had applied the lipstick, I was pleasantly surprised - it is much more natural and flattering than I had expected, and is actually a nice daytime shade. And yes, my lips felt nice and moisturised too.


Narciso Rodriguez: Foe Her l'eau
This is a 'first look' exclusive of a new fragrance launching this month. The blurb states that this is a 'modern and sensual fragrance' which 'forgoes the traditional citrus and blends a symphony of floral top notes with a heart of musk.' I'm never usually a fan of the fragrance samples in GlossyBox as I have my usual favourite perfume - this is slightly too musky for my personal taste, but it is a nice, sensual fragrance and lasted a long time.

Docteur Renaud: Raspberry Soft Cream
Yes, I like this a lot. The cream is formulated for dry and sensitive skin, which I have, and has hydrating properties and all natural ingredients. The cream texture was thick and luxurious so a little went a long way and it smelled divine. My skin felt instantly moisturised and still does, several hours later.

If you liked reading this Beauty Blog, why not have a look at some previous GlossyBox reviews?

Monday 4 February 2013

Every Day's A Sunday

This weekend has been quite lovely.  On Saturday I was presented with these gorgeous roses - sparkly!

Sparkling Roses!

On Saturday I was back at the beautiful Proud Cabaret alongside a typically wonderful line-up. Once again the show was fabulous and the audience comments were amazing!


Despite not having made any plans for Sunday, I ended up heading out to Portobello Road to one of my favourite little bistros 'Goode and Wright' for brunch with Taz, Joe Morrow and Emma Hook. We had a truly lovely meal, accompanied by gorgeous Cremont Champagne!

Sunday Brunch

The four of us then headed to Soho to meet Millie Dollar and Bettsie Bon Bon for cocktails and a girly gossip, where Millie mentioned a show she was attending that evening, so to round off a lovely day, Taz and I joined Millie and Ed Muir in Brixton at Kaff Bar watching a lovely little show which included the fabulous Abi Collins and beautiful Dolly Rose.

All in all, a wonderful weekend!