NEWS: Selling clothes on eBay.

      

I am selling the above clothes on eBay. Most listings have started at 99p. A lot of these items are brand new (two of the dresses still have tags!) and never been worn, those that have are in VERY good condition.

As I have told you I am moving house and with that comes the need to downsize. This needs to start with clothing and books. There will probably be more items going up in the future and I will let you know when that happens.

You can see my listings HERE

As always follow me on Twitter and Facebook for more updates. See you soon!!

OOTD: Cranberry Tights

Dress; Primark
Tights: Primark
Necklace: Dorothy Perkins.

You’ll have to excuse the messy hair on these ones. Revision and lack of sleep are not conducive to good hair care. Needless to say, when this is all over (Next Tuesday) I will be indulging in a nice hot bath and a hair mask.

I took these pictures myself and I have noticed some things about myself when taking photos:

1. I get really serious when trying to take a good picture:

2. I do not know when the timer goes off:

3. I am more likely to do silly poses when I’m alone:

However, I enjoyed taking my own pictures. Even if they are dark-inside-badly-framed monstrosities. I will hopefully get better. I will have to because as of July I won’t be living with the Mr. and will have no one to take pictures.

As always, follow me on Facebook and Twitter for more updates! See you soon!!

NEWS: You can buy my book!!

I’ll admit this is a little off topic for a beauty blog. However, my efforts of late have been devoted to another subject close to my heart and I wanted to share it with all of you. I have written a book. It is a collection of three short stories and is my first foray into the field of being an author. I start my creative writing MA in September and I wanted to publish what I had written during my BA.

So here it is, Home Truths, available on Amazon Kindle for just £1.50.

Home Truths: A Short Story Collection by Victoria Ashman.

Victoria Ashman tells stories of ordinary situations and ordinary people and pulls back the curtain on some Home Truths.

The Early Adventures of a Twenty Pound Note – Jimmy. Darryl. Howie. Barry. Warren. With each new owner, comes a different story.

The Picture Frame – It was not a happy circumstance that brought me and my sister together after so many years. In fact, it took the demise of a mutual parent to bring it about, and the necessary dividing of her possessions.

The Truth about Elliot Rosenberg – Elliot is quiet. He values only three things; order, his wife, and his stamp collection. When his wife leaves him, and the order of his life is disrupted, Elliot has only one thing left.

This is my small Kindle debut. Home Truths consists of three short stories I wrote while at university. I wanted to explore the secrets we carry around with us and how they are expressed.

In The Early Adventures of a Twenty Pound note, we see the secrets and lies one twenty pound note is involved in in just a few short days; from innocence to experience and back again.

The Picture Frame depicts a family anguish and how grief and the associated activities affect estranged sisters. This story is about family secrets, even when it means losing someone you love.

Finally, The Truth About Elliot Rosenberg. Elliot was one of the first characters I ever wrote and his story started way back in 2007 in my first ever creative writing class. He’s changed alot since then but essentially, his is a tale of lies we tell ourselves and secrets we deny even exist.

If you would like to purchase my book for Kindle you can do so here. At the moment it is only £1.50 for all three stories.

You can also read my book on Kindle for PC which is a free download to your computer and allows you to enjoy Kindle books at your leisure. There is also Kindle for iPhone and iPad if you wish to read books on the go.

As always you can follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Also, check out my book blog if you would like more information about my writing as that is where I put it generally and do not want to fill up this space with all of that.

OOTD: Animal Print in a Mirror

    

Jeans: Fat Face (Refashioned by me)
Top: Papaya Via Matalan
Jacket: eBay via Mr.
Shoes: Schuh
Sunglasses: New Look

I really enjoyed this outfit today. Mr. bought a new dinner suit (tuxedo) for a function we went to (hopefully pictures to come soon) so I liberated him of this jacket that he’d gotten from eBay. It has satin lapels like a dinner suit and two back vents. I love it so much but the shoulders are a little square as they have padding so I may remove them once I get my sewing kit back.

These pictures were so gracefully taken in a bathroom mirror but my friend was on the phone so I took a few minutes to snap these in a full length mirror which I don’t have at home. I handed in my final assignment for university this week, of which this blog was a major factor. I was supposed to show a body of work I had written and edited and the magazine I wrote some content for didn’t publish my (sort of) controversial article so I re-jigged my project to make this blog the focus. Obviously I didn’t include any comments or anyone else’s content but my own but I am happy that this blog, which I do because I love it, actually came to my rescue.

I am still on hiatus unfortunately as I have two exams to go and moving and all that stuff but I thought I’d pop by with a outfit post. No tutorials or reviews for a while but here this is. Also, if you are interested, I have a book review blog at http://vashmanbooks.blogspot.com so feel free to check that out. It is also a little slow lately with everything going on but I hope to provide more content on there.

Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter for random updates.

See you soon!!

NEWS: Exams, Moving & Going forward.

I thought I would do a quick update to let you all know that I havent dropped off the planet. I don't usually do too many 'my life' posts but as what is going on is affecting the blog I thought it prudent to let you all know the details.

I am currently in the final stages of my English degree and that means alot of work and some exams. Its hard work but it will be worth it in the end. I have also been accepted on to a masters degree in Creative Writing which I will be starting in September. All this means that in 8 short weeks I will be moving house and unfortunately, no longer living with the Mr. Don't worry, we are still going to be together but our career paths are moving in two different directions right now so while I'm staying in this city he may have to move to find a job so its all a bit unpredictable at the minute.

On top of moving I'm looking for a new job. I will have finished my degree and I'm doing my masters part-time so that means I need to find a full-time job to support myself. its a little tricky in the current job market every job I apply for has hand over 100 applications by the time its been up for a little bit so its just a case of hoping that Im the best candidate.

Gosh, I sound like I'm moaning. I promise I'm not. It's all very exciting and I'm looking forward to going into the world and starting the new phase of my life.

What this means for the blog.

Well, hopefully after a breif hiatus over this stressful exam period I will be able to recommence blogging at the end of May. I really do love this blog and I don't want to let it fall into obscurity. However, once I return I am only going to be posting twice a week. I think that is enough posts really and with a full time job I may not have time to take pictures, write a blog post, proof read it and upload it to the blog all in one day as I have before. I will have to take it in stages in my free time. I am more than happy to do this but I dont want to promise you content I cant deliver.

I will probably be updating Facebook and Twitter more frequently as I can do that on-the-go and keep you all up-too-date with the goings on here at TNR.

For now, I shall say goodbye and that I hope to see you soon!

OOTD: We return after a few short messages…

Dress: Papaya at Matalan.
T-Shirt: Topman (pinched from Mr.)
Tights: George
Shoes: Schuh

Apologies for the little hiatus recently. I have had a very busy time with university as it is coming up to my final assignment and exams. My dissertation was due in recently and I have been working furiously to get it done.And again for these dark indoor pictures. The rain has been never-ending here and even during the day its overcast and gloomy. Maybe a close-up of the pretty dress fabric will help?

See? Pretty.

I assure you there will be much more content once I have finished university but expect sporadic posts for a while. I haven’t disappeared though, don’t you worry!

You can still follow me on facebook or twitter.

OOTD: @Matalan orange dress to a wedding.

Dress: Matalan
Belt: With Dress
Jacket: Primark
Tights: George
Shoes: Clarks

To be honest, I didn’t get a great picture of this dress so maybe I will get one at a later date. This is what I wore for Mr’s family wedding and I sure got lots of compliments. I am of the opinion that this dress is Orange. However, most people kept saying “oh, red really suits you".

I am also noticing I always have hair bobbles around my arm in these photos. In fact, I usually have one on all the time but I don’t think I ever noticed how weird it is.

In this picture I have had most of that bottle in front of me and stolen the bridesmaid’s tiara. Don’t worry it’s Mr’s little sister and she let me try it on. I feel like a princess!

I had a lot of fun and felt really comfortable in this dress. I didn’t buy it that long ago so it might still be available.

Remember to ‘like’ the Facebook page to find out about an upcoming giveaway i am having once I get enough people involved.

See you soon!

REVIEW: Garnier Simply Essentials Gentle Eye Make-up Remover

Today’s review is of Garnier’s Simply Essentials Gentle Eye Make-up Remover.

What they say:

Is the Garnier Simple Essentials Gentle eye make-up remover right for me?

• Yes, if fatigue and pollution make your eyes more sensitive
• Yes, if cleansing leaves the skin around your eye contour feeling delicate and you are looking for effective eye make-up removal.

I will give you a bit of a backstory about my relationship with this product before I do the usual good things/bad things. So, I bought this remover a while ago, put it in my bedside draw and forgot I had it. I pulled it out recently during the great make-up re-organisation 2012 and have been using it since.

The skin around my eyes is not necessarily sensitive. Unless a product is really harsh I don’t have a reaction except for my cheeks, slightly, with high-alcohol products or something. However, back in April 2011 I had sudden onset blurry vision. I went through a range of explanations of what this could be including whether or not the amount of make up I use had finally caught up with me. So, I started using less make up and products around my eyes (hence the drop-off in blogging). However, eventually the problem became so bad I went to my optician who referred me to the hospital. There was a long process involving a lot of needles and I was eventually given a diagnosis that had nothing to do with my make up use. (Thank god!)

While this was all going on I bought this product to remove my make up but once I stopped wearing make up for a while during the diagnosing process I forgot I had it. Anyway, after that little back story, on with the review!

Good Things:

• Not oily. I think this make-up remover must have some sort of oil in it but it doesn’t feel really oily and slippery when you use it.
• No perfume/alcohol. Since this product is for sensitive eyes it doesn’t have any of those horrible harsh ingredients.
• Not drying. I don’t find this product drying which you might expect for a remover that isn’t oily. In fact, I find this product so refreshing I want to cleanse my whole face with it. Don’t worry, I don’t.
• Don’t need to use alot of product. Unless your make up is REALLY heavy you don’t need alot to remove it. I’ve removed some really colourful looks with this product and only used one cotton pad and a squirt of this.

Bad Things:

• It can come out of the bottle too fast and end up soaking you if you’re not careful. Be gentle.
• Mine has a bit of a weird smell. It’s not bad but it smells a little like washing up liquid.

So there you have it, my little review of this product. Not many bad things to say about it and they aren’t things that would put me off buying it again. Although now my eye issues have been sorted out I don’t need a sensitive remover any more so I might try a new one next time.

Do you have any feedback on this product?

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OOTD: Mustard in the Country

Dress: Select
Belt: Matalan
Tights: George
Jacket: Primark
Sunglasses: New Look
Shoes: Clarks

I was out in the country staying with some of Mr’s family and to attend a wedding (outfit post coming soon). The day was lovely and so we thought we would take a stroll around the village and so, I was lucky enough to get to have my OOTD pictures taken on Mr’s fancy camera.

We took many silly pictures because the wind was blowing my hair and the sun was in my eyes.

I never really know what to do with my feet.

In other news, this blog has new layout images created by yours, truly. To celebrate, I was thinking of holding a giveaway in the near future. However, my blog stats tell me there are plenty of people viewing this blog but it is impossible to tell how many. So, I am going to hold the giveaway on Facebook so if you pop over to the page and ‘like’ it you will see information appearing there as to how you can enter.

See you soon!

REVIEW: MUA Eye Dusts (@MUACosmetics)

Today I am doing a review of my favourite eye dust from Make Up Academy (MUA). This is an inexpensive brand available from Superdrug as well as from their own website. Their products are very affordable as only £1 for most items. (Some are a little more at £3/£4.)

As in previous reviews I will do a list of good things and bad things.

Good Things:

• Affordable. As I said, this cost £1. Can’t really go wrong there.
• Blends out really well.
• Highly pigmented. You do not need to use very much product at all I applied the normal amount when I first used it and it took over everything. Be warned!
• Does not need to be used wet, just used over a base as seen below. You can use it wet of course if you want to, but I find it stays on all day with just a primer as I use daily anyway.

L: Over Urban Decay Primer Potion. R: Without Base

Bad Things:

• Packaging. I don’t like the sifter top thing in this pot. It has a tiny little hole and doesn’t come out very easily. As you only need a little bit of product it can sometimes make it difficult.
• Limited colours. As of the other day I think there are only 6 colours available in these Eye Dusts which is a shame. I really want to get a few more shades that are out but there aren’t many. If there were I would probably buy them all.

I think that’s it. There aren’t many bad things about this product at all. My main complaint seems to be that there isn’t enough of them. Do you have anything else to say about these products? Leave them in the comments below.

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