Winning

So as anyone who follows me on instagram may have seen,  I recently won a piece of jewellery from Scarlett Hearts through the wonderful Irish blog WildChildStories.com. You may have read in my post back in Aprill - Jewellery Is Fantastic - that  Scarlett Hearts is also fantastic. While I think having previously featured this Big Cartel in a post may have helped my winning of it and boy am I happy that it did!

Ciara contacted me a while ago to say I had won, thus beginning the impossible challenge of picking just one lovely piece from all that Scarlett Hearts has to offer - trust me, it was a seriously tough decision. In the end, I settled for the both beautiful and intricate Fancy Spoon. When I was a kid, my grandmother had two little wooden plaques mounted on the wall of her sitting room and on them hung little spoons - just like this one - from various countries and decades. Seeing this beauty reminded me of them which is why I choose it - that and it reminded me a little of Carey Mulligan's Prada frock for the 2010 Oscars for which I have previously expressed adoration! And when I opened that little package I was delighted that I did chose it.

I was particularly delighted to see that the necklace arrived with a little hand-written note on a pink heart shaped - of course - note. Also very impressed with the little red heart bobble at the clasp of the chain which certainly is a sweet little added touch!

So I haven't actually worn it yet but in the name of posting, I grabbed my camera and took a few photos of my highly, ahem, beauty spotted chest.

Isn't it gorgeous?!

The necklace, I mean. Obviously.

Anywho a massive massive thank you to Ciara at Wild Child Stories and Charlotte at Scarlett Hearts.

Cheers for reading,

Jane

P.S. I'm fecking off to Zambia for a little bit with Habitat for Humanity so I'm afraid you won't hear from me for a while. Expect lots of Zambia themed posts though on my return!

How To Be An American Apparel Model

... if you're sure you want to be.

In which case you'll need to throw any self-consciousness or body qualms out the window because that uneven skin tone you have or extra pounds you can't shift are not going to be photoshopped. Frankly you can ditch pretty much any body shame you have because at American Apparel, they embrace your flaws, you bulges and even your unsightly underarm stubble. Absolute freedom with appearance you may be thinking? Well... kind of.

While the over stylized methods of Testino and Demarchelier are shunned in favour of something a little more Jurgen Teller, Dov Charnay (CEO of the brand) makes up for in sex what his campaigns lack in glamour. American Apparel has always been surrounded be some controversy. It is not the use of underweight models that lands AA in the naughty corner time and time again. In fact the majority of the models that feature in the campaigns are healthy looking curvy girls with hips and bums and boobs but the brands eagerness to present these hot commodities to us is the subject of this post. In terms of fashion drama, Charnay does for sexualisation controversy what Galliano did for anti-semitism.
The American Apparel campaign photos do, I'll admit, have a realism that is refreshing to see in an industry where the vast majority of pictures are stylized, edited and photoshopped beyond recognition. Shot on basic film and in not unusual settings, it is of course not the format of these pictures that have been causing such a raucous of the past few years but rather their preoccupation with nether regions.

Just take a look for yourself.

I know.

These are actually ads to sell clothes. Not condoms, hair removal cream or the latest website specialising in amateur porn. Apparently the items (or item in most cases) of clothing are supposed to be the focal point of the photo which is generally the basis of every clothing related campaign. Not in the opinion of Mr. Charnay though. His formula seems to work like this.

Clothing + amateur model - the majority of the clothing + awkward pornographic pose + uninspired setting = AA's next controversial campaign

So there you have it. Now that you have the formula, you needn't just settle for AA model, be the photographer too!

Then just sit back, relax and wait for a bit of controversy to be dropped into you suggestively spread lap.

While I know that there are much more risque adverts and editorial shoots floating around in the fashion stratosphere, I think the fact that the vast majority of these pictures look like they could have been shot in your bedroom or sitting room makes them a little more daunting. While Tom Ford's saucy perfume ads of 2007 caused quite a stir at the time, they only exist in a world of impeccable red pouts and oiled up models makes them at least kind of acceptable. The AA ads really try to nail the point that if you buy American Apparel underwear you too could look like you just had anal sex on the arm of a couch.

Cheers for reading me sounding like a prude,

Jane

Ps. Just for the record, I do not have a problem with AA clothes. They make undoubtedly great basics - albeit sometimes slightly overpriced - that are adored the world over. I just don't agree with the heavy sexualisation of girls who could pass for 14. I also know that not all of their ads and campaigns are laid out like this but you cannot deny the controversy surrounding those that are.

Images via here, here, here and here.

In my hunt for AA images I came across this Puma one too. Scandalous. 

Five Reasons Why You Should Cheer The Hell Up

Reason One: You are (probably) not the person who okayed this

This little gem was featured in the May 4th edition of The Irish Times. Not that you get many opportunities in Ireland to wear a bikini anyway, but it least now everytime you do you can think this.

Reason Two: You are also probably not this person either.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/9304001/Jeremy-Kyle-thief-skipped-community-service-to-appear-on-ITV-show.html

Oh what a great idea.

I don't know which is worse: the story or the article itself.

"He had been convicted a string of items including a television, an Xbox console, a train set and even a lavatory seat"

Reason Three: Apparently spagetti and fried eggs is now a thing

We all love pasta and we all love eggs, so why not combine the two! According to Food 52, this is a great home alone dinner and I'm pretty sure that's because few are brave enough to serve it to others.

Reason Four: This shit just got cute

A tiny, insanely adorable baby puma was unveiled in Berlin Zoo on Wednesday and his adorableness needs to be seen to be believed. Missoula - born in April to mummy Cheyenne and daddy Gary - is the only surviving cub of a litter of three and was the first Puma born in Berlin's Tierpark zoo in 22 years.
Now how can you not be happy when big cats are giving birth and stuff?!

Reason Five: People can be pretty cool

If some asshole has pissed you off, just remember that not all people are assholes. Some people are pretty damn cool.
These men.

Fair play.

And this woman.

This is my granny, even with a cast on her arm, she still insists on being useful!

If none of this is working, just be happy (Irish readers) that it's not raining.
You could be in Montreal.

And if all of this fails, just go home and wrap yourself in a blanket.

Cheers for reading,

Jane

Images via here, here, here and here.

Cosmetic Consumer

Here is a little update on some makeup that recently made its way into my life.
So last month for the first time I tried gel eyeliner. Afraid it would be a disaster and because I am a sucker for cheap beauty products I picked up the Essence Gel Eyeliner in Midnight in Paris (I'll admit the name is one of the reasons I bought it) in Penneys (Primark) in Sligo. I have nothing to compare it to but I will definitely be ditching my pen eyeliners as it is very very good.

taken with Instagram

taken with Instagram... Oh ya, that's my face. 

It stayed in place all day which of course meant that it was quite difficult to remove but I suppose with every liner you either get easy to remove but smudges a lot or doesn't smudge but is harder to remove. I know which one I prefer so I'm willing to work with that. It is much easier to apply than liquid eyeliner - which I was never pretty good with anyway - so it wins extra browny points for that. To apply it, I use Bobbi Brown's eye definer brush as unlike the Maybelline Eyestudio Lasting Drama gel liner that first made me curious about trying gel eyeliner, it doesn't come with a brush. The gel is really smooth but you need two coats to make it really black, which may be why it's quite hard to remove. I would definitely recommend it and for €3.49 sure where could you go wrong?! Verdict: Will definitely be repurchasing.

So next up, if you are from Sligo and familiar with buying beauty products in Sligo town, you'll know that Cara Pharmacy in Quayside Shopping Centre stocks - what I can only assume to be - last season or discontinued products because they sell stuff for just ridonkulously cheap prices. I picked up a €5 "pack" which contained a Stila Sun Gel, a Stila glitter eye liner and two eyeshadows, which for €5 is pretty ridiculous.

Stil Sun Gel, Stila Glitter eyeliner in Silver Lilac, Collection 2000 colour intense trio in (11) Mocha Choc, WetnWild USA mono eyeshadow in Plum Silva

some swatches

Included in the package was Stila Sun Gel, which was kind of the main reason I bought it as I have really started to prefer using a gel bronzer on my neck and décolletage instead of a powder bronzer because powder rubs off on everything but once gel has dried in, it doesn't. It's not quite as good as the Honey Bronze Gel from The Body Gel that I wrote about HERE back in January but it's still quite good. Verdict: I'll probably just stick to The Body Shop's Honey Bronze.

Also picked up in my little makeup round-up last week were two Rimmer products including the Wake Me Up foundation in 103 True Ivory - which I strongly recommend because it really is an exceptional foundation - and some Stay Matte pressed powder in 001 Translucent as I have never tried pressed powder before; and some MAC Pro Longwear concealor in NW20 and an Impeccable brow pencil in Taupe.

I won't do a review thing on the Wake Me Up foundation because the internet is rife with them but I will tell you that it's worth a try. Not sure how I feel about the pressed powder yet but I'll continue to use it because it does minimise the shine. Verdict: Wake Me Up foundation, I'll probably buy it again; Stay Matte powder, undecided; Pro Longwear concealor, I want to be buried with this stuff; also preferring the brow pencil to the usual Rimmel eyebrow pencil in Hazel which I've used for years.

Here are also some pieces of clothing that I recently bought to try to make my wardrobe a little more summery as the vast majority of my clothes are black.

 - New Look top - River Island sweater - Penneys (Primark) two-toned skirt 

Cheers for reading,

Jane