London: The Liz Earle Experience

I wouldn't usually go and buy an entire skincare range by any one company, and I don't subscribe to the thinking that products like cleanser and toner can compliment each other and if you don't buy them all from the one brand, well, you're missing out. However, I do place a lot of faith in user reviews, so before we jetted off last Thursday I had done my homework. Rave reviews on Make Up Alley and Beaut.ie? Check. Personal recommendation from someone I actually know who has also used Dermalogica and Eve Lom? Check. Sample of a product or two to test myself? Check, courtesy of my ever-generous manager who herself recently succumbed to The Lure Of Liz.

I have been using the Smoothing Line Serum and the Daily Eye Repair for about the last 3 weeks and I can definitely see a difference around my eye area. I've become a bit eye obsessed in the last few years so have tried my fair share of serums and the like; some of them stung like a mother, some of them didn't, but none of them did anything for my [admittedly very fine] lines and dark undereye circles. This is the first eye care system which doesn't irritate my not-actually-that-sensitive-so-what-the-hell-is-in-this-cream?! eyes and has made a visible difference after only a few weeks. I am so impressed with that I will probably purchase the full size products.

All these positive experiences, coupled with the status of the Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser and the Instant Boost Skin Tonic in InStyle Magazine's Best Beauty Buys [both have been inducted into their Hall of Fame, having been voted Best in Category by industry experts for at least the last 3 years running] meant I was sold on the line before ever setting foot in a store.

After my first use of the cleanser [so exciting!] my skin was comfortably clean, with not the tiniest flaky spot in sight - and my pores looked noticeably less humungous than usual. I also found that, despite using my Eve Lom muslin cloth and not being any more gentle with it than I usually would be, the skin around my nose looked far less red and my skin generally looked calm and felt soothed. The Instant Boost Tonic was very refreshing without being harsh, unlike some other toners I've been prescribed for my oily but sensitive hide [oh yes, Clinique Clarifying Lotion, I'm talking to you.] I was a bit apprehensive about my new moisturiser, since I've been using Dermalogica Active Moist for about the last six months and it seems to suit me, and in the past I've found moisturisers for combination/oily skin just not, well, moisturising enough for me. No such issues with Liz: her moisturiser was quickly absorbed and left my skin hydrated but not greasy. Result!

And Deni-O appears to feel the same. She has recently been quoted as saying: "Liz is a lege, I want to have her babies!!!! I have totally noticed the difference in my skin." Seems she's not entirely sure about it yet.

I'll update if any change, but first impressions are very positive indeed-y.

London: The Shopping

Well, Deni-O and I have returned from our brief sojourn in London. We began as we meant to go on and plundered Duty Free on our way out of the country. Here's my haul:

We didn't buy very much in the way of clothes since there was nothing we really saw that couldn't be got at home anyways. Do you remember how exciting it used to be to go to Boots and Miss Selfridge and [OMG] New Look?! Not quite the same when they're easily accessible in Liffey Val rather than just available on Oxford Street, sure it's not? My sole apparel purchase was two pairs of my beloved David & Goliath pyjamas, one emblazoned with "One Tough Cookie" and the other with "I only have ice for you". Observe the brilliantness:

What we didn't buy in clothes, we made up for in skincare. Liz Earle skincare. The staff in the shop in Duke of York Square must still be reeling, I mean this is just what I got:

Freebie with these purchases:

A trip to Portobello Market on Sunday furnished me with eight cut glass cabinet pulls from Chloe Alberry, where I was overcharged by £22 and didn't cop it because I was distracted by trying not to let my rapidly melting Mövenpick ice cream drip all over the place. I had barely set foot outside the door when it occured to me that "bloody hell... that was really frickin' dear..." On checking my receipt, I discovered that I'd be charged for ten items @ £7 each... but I'd actually only bought eight pulls that were marked at £6 each. Wheeling about, I went straight back in to the shop and very politely told the assistant that he'd charged me for ten pulls but I only had eight of them and, I said, they should have only have been £6 apiece. His response was a condescending "Noooo, you've ten. And they're £7 each". After my experiences earlier that morning [more of which anon], I was in no mood to be trifled with. The words "Mmm hmm? Bring it, b*tch!" flitted across my mind.

With a cocked eyebrow that would have put Glenda Gilsen to shame, I gestured to the sign relevant to the pulls in question which had a dirty great black unmistakable '£6' inked on it and responded "Well they're marked at £6." "Oh, yeah. So I owe you a tenner, is it" he said. "Well no" I said, "you've charged me for ten - I only have eight." His response? "No, love, you've ten." "Actually, I have eight" I countered. "I know because I have eight presses in my kitchen that I'm buying these for, so I counted them pretty carefully." He then made a big production out of taking the pulls from the bag, one by one, and counting them very slowly and theatrically. My eyebrow was becoming one with my hairline at this stage, and I'd a hand on my hip and the vaguest of "I Effing Told You So, Ha!" smirks on my face: I knew what was coming.

"Ooone. Twooo. Threee. Fourrr. Fiiiive. Siiix..." At this point it became pretty bloody obvious that there were only two more pulls left in the bottom of the bag. "Oh, right" he said. "So I owe you a tenner then." "Eh, no" sez I, "you owe me £22." He handed over the cash, simpered "Sorry about that" and I was on my way, vindicated.

It was only when we got to the other end of the market that I flipping realised I'd paid by Visa originally. What fecking use was £22 in cash to me in my last hour in London?!

To allay my annoyance, I picked up five "Happy Panda" acrylic tumblers from Artbox to replace the ones that I'd bought on my last trip to London, which Himself had loaded into the dishwasher a few months back in a fit of tidying up. The lovely decoration on them sort of faded and melted off, as is plastic's wont when faced with crashing gushes of almost boiling water *rolleyes*. Couldn't find a piccie of the exact ones I got, but this is a similar glass from their range so you can see the cuteness:

Here endeth the purchasing.

Stay tooned for more London-themed posts: an analysis of the Liz Earle stuff in action and a review of the place we stayed are in the pipeline.

Well now I'm glad I don't have a Nano..!

from Shiny Shiny

iPod saves soldier's life ¦ iPod tells soldier he was shot - the real story [via iLounge]

Spot the Difference

I'm currently on the hunt for The Perfect Light Fixture to illuminate our dining room. I have been coveting this particular contemporary chandelier since I first spotted in in Mikey in Dundrum S.C., but sadly I don't think it will co-ordinate particularly well with my rather traditional-looking cream kitchen presses and oversize vintage station clock. Needless to say, that hasn't diminished my lust. It's so sparkly!

Now, what do you suppose is the difference between the two versions of my luxurious light fixture above? I mean, they look flippin' identical, right? Both are suspension ceiling lights composed of a silver metal rod featuring no fewer than 9 [count 'em] lightbulbs with loads of pretty crystals draped along its length.

Well, I'll put you out of your misery: it's a "Splurge vs. Save" scenario [a good one, though, I'm not trying to convince you that some minging pair of Penneys' heels are the spitting image of the latest Choos.] The light in the top photo would set you back a whopping great €1,790.00 while the one in the bottom would only damage your purse/joint account to the tune of a comparatively teeny €362.00 [and personally I think it looks far nicer.] Sure for that price you could buy two and still have a wad of cash left over for a couple of pairs of Louboutins!

Some links to fab-u-lous-o sites

I have come across found some exceptionally great blogs & websites in the course of some recent Internet Travels and it is high time that I pushed them on you!

> Blogorrah A mix of Irish-themed pop culture, media and political gossip for Ireland and the rest of the world. Razor-sharp and deliciously wicked wit abounds. The well-deserved ridiculing appreciation of the Irish modelling/PR community is particularly delicious.

> design*sponge A "daily website" [I think that's a "blog" to the rest of us!] dedicated to home & product design, from the quirky to the sublime. Featuring work from the up-and-coming next-big-things, this is a site that counts mainstream style editors and writers among it's daily visitors.

> Better Living Through Design An e-zine dedicated to providing a resource to people interested in great design. Features furniture, gifts, accessories - both home and personal - and even stuff for your pets.

> Etsy The place to buy and sell all things handmade, from art to toys and anything in between. Some of the work here is really beautiful - and mostly very reasonable. Some of my favourite items on the site come from the stores of Alma B., haikubird and matthewstewart.

> Design Spotter Platform which affords designers and creators the opportunity to increase their popularity and product sales. By uploading images of their work and providing a short description and a link, their products are featured on the site free, gratis and for nothing.

> Moss Online home of the store that The Washington Post called "New York's most closely watched purveyor of industrial design". So now!

> Homebug Shiny new Irish blog about interiors, art and design run by self-confessed "house-proud design nut" Zee.

> MTeriors Irish interior design blog featuring Snippets Of Wisdom and Lovely Things available to Limerick and further afield. The editor of the blog also runs an Interior Design Consultancy of the same name based in Kilmallock, Co. Limerick.

That little lot should keep you going for a while!

My Favourite Ad

It's my current #1, and vying for a place in my heart as possibly The Greatest Ad Of All Time. It is, without doubt, the best of the new Lynx campaign [and a recent opinion poll of randomers conducted by moi has confirmed same]. All together now: Bom Chicka Wah Wah...

Adventures in Woodwork: Part 1

I recently designed/envisaged/dreamed up some integrated, pull-out shelving for my wardrobe on which my shoes could live out a happy [and neat] existence. I wanted flat shelves that could be pulled right out on rollers or something so that I could see everything, including those poor shoes that seem damned to spend all eternity stuck right at the back of the wardrobe and never get to see the light of day. When I told Himself about my vision, he had whipped out a tape measure and begun to size up the available space before you could say "So I was going to ask Dad if he would make them for me." Having only briefly perused Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus before casting it briskly aside and declaring that it was a load of absolute sh*te, I then made the fatal error of Questioning His Abilities.

Oh, the indignance that followed! Did I not know that Himself had done woodwork? [It was later revealed that "doing woodwork" in this instance consisted of a year long flirtation with same in his first year of secondary school. And since Himself no longer gets to tick the "18-25" box on forms, that was a bloody while ago.] I said oh really, I didn't know that, etc etc and made some vaguely conciliatory noises.

Several lifetimes in B&Q and a sh*tload of timber, lats, full extension brackets and sawdust later, I now have a very impressive bespoke† shoe storage solution without a Dad in sight.

Needless to say, now that Himself has proven to be rather a handy chap [and not just in a grope-y way] he is ab-sol-ute-ly f*cked. I have alcoves that are just crying out for some floating shelving across their width, an understairs cubby hole seeking a loving door or similar partition, and plans for a headboard-less platform bed. Oh, it'll be a long time before he gets to settle down in front of Questions & Answers in peace again. Mwwwwaaaaah hah hah hah haaaah...

† The favourite word of Grand Designs' Kevin McCloud, don't cha know [and mine du jour.]