Sales fail.

I'm on a bit of a self-imposed Internetz hiatus this Christmas - and frankly I'm a little disappointed to see that it hasn't collapsed in my absence - but I hope you've been enjoying the festive break!

Have you hit up the sales yet? Myself and Himself headed into Dublin town yesterday to check out what was on offer, so I thought I'd show you the loot from that epic trip.

(Brace yourself, Betty.)

Yes, that's right. With gift cards burning a hole in my wallet and every intention of bringing home a new Marc by Marc Jacobs bag, I bought:

- a pair of black Topshop tights
- one of my everyday foundations
- a Topshop blusher
- a pair of River Island earrings

And no, none of them were actually flipping discounted.

Talon-tastic Tuesday Double Bill

Without further ado, here's that nail double-whammy I promised earlier!

It is ridiculous how many compliments this manicure has received. Straight blokes who haven't actually been trying their hand at nail varnish-related chat-up lines have commented on it. This is that random Tenerife glitter again with freehand leopard print that I drew on with a nail art pen, topped with Seche Vite. 

Today's its fifth full day in situ, so it's lasted really well. And even after a weekend in London and all the lugging of suitcases and bags that goes with that, there are just three damn near invisible chips to report!

Now, please excuse the quality of this next pic. And the hack of my cuticles in it.

I have a serious soft spot for Marc Jacobs. My Petal To The Metal pouchette (I managed to nab it in tan, thanks to a tip-off from Kirstie) is one of my absolute favourite things, and I have my eye on a lips print scarf. And, er, a larger Petal To The Metal bag (it's the birdies. I just can't get enough!)

MJ nails inspired by these by WAH

Tried & Tested: I Can Has Cook's Sausage and Bean Bake Thingy

There'll be a nail double-whammy coming up this afternoon to make up for missing Talon-tastic Thursday last week, but in the meantime I just wanted to take a minute to direct anyone looking for an easy and delicious wintry dinner to the sausage and bean bake thingy over on fab foodie blog I Can Has Cook?

I made it last week and it was ridiculously NOM, so I'm happy to personally vouch for its tasty ways.

And let's be honest: it's a rather more sophisticated way to combine sausages, bread, and tomatoes than my usual saussie sambo with ketchup effort.

Image source: I Can Has Cook?

You can't take it with you: Blog sale

Well, the process of sorting through all my worldly posessions has begun.

Rather than mucking around with eBay, which has been frustrating me lately, I've decided to have a blog sale instead. So if you fancy having a nose at what I can bear to part with from my wardrobe/make-up case, just clicky here for a goo!

UPDATE: New items added 14/12/2010.

I can haz Big News?

No, not the Big News that everyone expects anytime any woman of any age anywhere in the world says that she has news... sigh...

HimselfhasacceptedajobofferinLondon!

Apologies about the lack of spacing there - I've been experimenting with different ways of telling people and I'm really feeling the "get it all out there in one go, like ripping off a plaster and accidentally waxing yourself" approach today.

As news goes, it's simultaneously exciting and absolutely terrifying.

source

X Factor Frock Watch: Week 9

Forget about howling that Mary wuz robbed or hissing that Cher wuz just turning on the waterworks to grab a sympathy vote or hatin' on Cowell for changing the rulez at the last minute in last night's X Factor semi-final results show. 

Let's focus for a minute instead on the truly important issue, on what X Factor is really all about: the judge's frocks!

Dannii rocked my favourite look of the weekend on Saturday night, in a full-length nude dress by fellow Aussie Aurelio Costarella. I wasn't mad keen on the zip-through front and thought she was wearing half a fox across her shoulder when she arrived on stage initially, but once I realised it was a supersized gauzy corsage I was sold. 

No prizes for guessing that Dannii's earrings were Annoushka (well, Selim Mouzannar for Annoushka)...

source: Annoushka via Facebook

 source: Christie's

I also really liked Dannii's hair; that quiff thing that I can't pull off for love nor money, much to my despair, looks so good on her.

Cheryl, meanwhile, opted for a white smushed origami mini-dress yoke by Stéphane Rolland on Saturday night - she still has legs, I see - which is actually a pretty nice bit of kit if worn properly and not crushed into oblivion. Still, her hair is so much better since she got rid of that manky plum colour. She appears to have ditched some or all of the extensions, too, and I think the shoulder-length length suits her so much better than extreme Rapunzel-stylee locks. She has a petite little face and it's inclined to look a bit swamped when she wears her hair mad long.

Sunday night was, frankly, disappointing, as both ladies went back to black. 

Dannii's dress wore her: what should have been a sexy little black number veered dangerously towards mumsy despite its corset-style bust, peekaboo cutouts and sheer lace overlay simply because it was too long for her petite frame. On the runway, the hem of this Jasper Conran dress hit models right on the knee rather than mid-calf as it did on Dannii.

Cheryl's Zuhaid Murad dress kind of looked like it'd been hacked at by a 5-year-old, with its one shoulder and multiple trains, but I didn't completely hate it. 

Probably because it's precisely the kind of dress I used to draw aged, well, 5 years old, when I imagined I might be a fashion designer.

Must try harder, ladies.

Talon-tastic Thursday: RRRrrawwr with a not-quite-Riva-alike

I was trying to conjure up a Chanel Riva lookey-likey the other day by layering various shimmery sheers over warm turquoise polishes when I remembered that light blues are really not best flattering on my fingers. Rather than start again from scratch, I decided to try and make the most of my For Audrey/Sally Girl iridescent glitter combo by leopardising things up a little.

As Hamlet himself was fond of saying, there are few things in heaven and earth that cannot be improved by the addition of a bit of leopard print.

I splotched some Milani pink neon and Sally Girl magenta neon from the States on my thumbnails, whipped out a black nail art pen, and got to work...

Ahhh. Much better!

French Connection produce the perfect party frock... Almost.

Himself's 30th birthday is coming up, and I was full sure that I had found the perfect party dress for the occassion.

This here is French Connection's "Samantha" frock. It's covered in sequins, which obviously thrills my magpie instincts, and its full back and long sleeves nicely offset the super short length, making it appropriate for dinner and drinks and dancing. They also mean that it's warmer than other sparkly offerings (ideal for wintertime bling), and can cover a multitude (pasty skin that I couldn't be arsed to tan, bingo wings that I can't be arsed to tone up).

Available in black or this midnight blue, I tried both colours on yesterday and the blue was only bleedin' gorgeous. If I do say so myself. 

However, those gorgeous sequins added inches and the draped wrap front of the dress was actually mega unflattering: even the most concave of stomach would look like they had a proper pot belly going on in this dress. You can kind of see in the picture below how the model's waist has been damn near completely oblitorated by the cut of the dress, and she's slinky out.

If I'm totally honest, it was way outside my budget anyway but that doesn't help much with the disappointment. Blub.