Adamina Spa Manicure

Hello all

Sorry for my Monday Manicure becoming a Wednesday post! I don't where this week is going, I feel like it's still Monday yet it's already halfway through the week.

On Saturday, I went to the beautiful Adamina Spa in Kensington for a manicure with a friend. I never usually get manicures unless given as a gift as I feel, with my years of practice, I'm pretty good at painting my nails so why pay £20 and upwards for someone to do something I can do myself. However, I thought I would treat myself.

The day spa itself is beautifully decorated, very chic with Victorian-esqu wallpaper and features, an interior that I really like.  

On arrival, I was led to a stunning hallway that lead to the female changing rooms where I was given a robe, slippers and a locker. Even though I was only there for a manicure, they like to make you comfortable and really relaxed, into the 'spa' mode, hence the robe. The changing room was as lovely as all other rooms, and they offered several lotions, Q-tips and cotton pads so all guests could pamper themselves.

The manicure & pedicure room was separate, and best of all they play Sex & The City whilst you have your manicure! How amazing is that?! You can sit back, relax and be pampered whilst watching the iconic series. 

 The manicure itself was 50 minutes long and included shape, cuticle work, arm and hand massage & paint. It was incredibly luxurious and relaxing. All the polishes they use are by Essie, so there was a vast colour choice. But, being me, I played it safe and went for red to match my hair! The shade I chose was 'Rock the Croc', a dark yet vibrant red. Please excuse my boney claw-like fingers! Just focus on the nails.

 

Sorry for the grainy image. 

 My first time at Adamina Spa was lovely & I am definitely planning to go again, next time perhaps for a massage or facial.

The best part of the spa is that on your first visit you receive 50% off your first treatment. Then, if you introduce a friend, not only do they receive 50% off, but you receive 30% off your next treatment. There is no limit to the amount of friends you can introduce, so you can enjoy 30% off and having a lovely day at the spa with as many friends as you wish!

I really enjoyed my manicure at Adamina Spa, and would definitely recommend this spa for girlfriends or Mums and daughters as its a lovely way to bond and in such a nice location too!

Urban Outfitters store opening in Camden

Hello all

Last Thursday I was invited to attend the opening of the new Urban Outfitters store in Camden with the lovely Millie, who blogs at She Hearts The High Street, and Georgina from Georgina Goodman. I love Camden anyway so heading there for an event was even more appealing to me, and with such fabulous girls too!

 

 

 

 

The building that houses the store has a very eclectic history and has been host to an array of purposes. The building was originally made as a bakery, then became a theatre, a cinema, and finally a market, and there’s evidence everywhere of the building’s former past, from theatre/cinema chairs to comic page flooring to symbolise it's once home to a comic book stall.The exposed brick walls and industrial interior I feel perfectly sums up the aesthetic of Urban Outfitters, always cool and 'hipster'.

 

Along with a live DJ and free beer all night, there was also a temporary tattoo station, at which I chose a keyhole/eye tattoo, and Millie picked a snake design. There was also a competition to win a £500 UO gift card involving a pinata competition! How fun!

 

There was also a photobooth, something that I've always wanted to go in but had never had the chance to...until Thursday! We had 2 goes in the booth, as the first time we really weren't ready. I also loved the fact that Georgina, Millie and Myself each have a different hair colour, visually I think we look very good together, don't you think? I think we should form a girl band ;)

We then went to The Diner for dinner and oh my, it was lovely! As a vegetarian, I found that I actually had a lot to choose from and went for the Mushroom burger that was amazing. Unfortunately I was so hungry I didn't do the mandatory foodie pic, but trust me, it was lovely!

I'd like to thank Millie for inviting me & for the pictures used in this post and the wonderful UO team for putting on such a great night!

The Skin Care Tag

Hello all

image from hercampus.com

 

Recently I have really taken an interest in my skin care regime and perfecting a routine that really works for me. Once I have found the products that I feel really work for me, I will be sharing them with you. But until then, I thought I would do the 'Skin Care Tag'

Describe your skincare routine in 5 words. Double Cleanse, scrub, tone, moisturise.

What's your skin type? Dry. I always get told by MUA’s that my skin is very dry and one once said that I have baby eczema on my forehead, so hydrating my skin is an area of focus in my skincare regime.

What's your favourite skin care product? I love scrubs because I suffer from blackheads on my nose really badly so a good scrub that leaves my skin feeling clear is a lovely feeling. I also love treating myself to a face mask on a pamper evening. I love Lush masks, at the moment Cupcake is my favourite for yumminess or Oatifix for my dry skin!

Top blemish zapper. I, luckily, don’t suffer from spots so I don’t have any tips regarding blemish treatments!

Face wipes yay or nay? Yay, if it was an option between sleeping in makeup or taking it off, but they are so bad for your skin so I try to avoid them, especially as I have dry skin anyway. Overall, Nay.

Toner yay or nay? Yay. I mostly use toner to remove any cleanser/scrub residue. I have extremely elasticated skin so I guess toner will help in the long run to stop my face sagging (that’s my aim anyway)

High end skincare or high end makeup? I strongly believe that ‘drugstore’ products are just as good! I love simple and boots or superdrug’s own brand skincare and my skin is still in good condition. I’ve used Crème de la Mer and it’s really thick and I didn’t feel it did anything more than my Simple one & Crème de le Mer is £100 for 30ml! I would say stick to what’s works for you, don’t let the brand/price sway you!

What's the most unusual skincare product you've tried? I usually play it quite safe, but I’ve seen cleansers with black diamond in and moisturisers with 24carat gold.

You're in a French pharmacy and can only pick one item - what is it? Probably Bioderma Sensibio H2O micelle solution makeup remover just to see if it’s worth the hype

Tell us your top skin care tip. Try not to touch your face too much as your hands carry so many bacteria and germs. Also, try to look at the ingredients list of your products. The longer the list means the more nasties, and do some research on the ingredients so you know what you’re putting on your skin!

Describe your skincare routine in 5 words. Double Cleanse, scrub, tone, moisturise.

What's your skin type? Dry. I always get told by MUA’s that my skin is very dry and one once said that I have baby eczema on my forehead, so hydrating my skin is an area of focus in my skincare regime.

What's your favourite skin care product? I love scrubs because I suffer from blackheads on my nose really badly so a good scrub that leaves my skin feeling clear is a lovely feeling. I also love treating myself to a face mask on a pamper evening. I love Lush masks, at the moment Cupcake is my favourite!

Top blemish zapper. I, luckily, don’t suffer from spots so I don’t have any tips regarding blemish treatments!

Face wipes yay or nay? Yay, if it was an option between sleeping in makeup or taking it off, but they are so bad for your skin so I try to avoid them, especially as I have dry skin anyway. Overall, Nay.

Toner yay or nay? Yay. I mostly use toner to remove any cleanser/scrub residue. I have extremely elasticated skin so I guess toner will help in the long run to stop my face sagging (that’s my aim anyway)

High end skincare or high end makeup? I strongly believe that ‘drugstore’ products are just as good! I love simple and boots or superdrug’s own brand skincare and my skin is still in good condition. I’ve used Crème de la Mer and it’s really thick and I didn’t feel it did anything more than my Simple one & Crème de le Mer is £100 for 30ml! I would say stick to what’s works for you, don’t let the brand/price sway you!

What's the most unusual skincare product you've tried? I usually play it quite safe, but I’ve seen cleansers with black diamond in and moisturisers with 24carat gold.

You're in a French pharmacy and can only pick one item - what is it? Probably Bioderma Sensibio H2O micelle solution makeup remover just to see if it’s worth the hype

Tell us your top skin care tip. Try not to touch your face too much as your hands carry so many bacteria and germs. Also, try to look at the ingredients list of your products. The longer the list means the more nasties, and do some research on the ingredients so you know what you’re putting on your skin! 

I hope that gave you an insight into my skincare routine and my skin type. 

It is so important to look after your skin. No matter what makeup you put on top, having a healthy, clear base to work on makes things so much easier! Plus, if you have clear skin you are less likely to feel the need to use heavy foundation, which can lead to problems!

 

Red Hot Summer: I dyed my hair red again!

Hello all!

I am so excited to share my new hair with you. Last Friday I finally decided to get my hair cut and coloured for summer & I went for red again. 

You may remember that last year I had really bright red hair for about 7 months

 This was at its brightest. Although I used to get it done about every 6 weeks at the salon, I topped up in between with semi permenent colours by Crazy Colour, most often the shade 'Fire' which was a lovely bright pink red. I really did love my red hair however after 2 summer holidays it was in awful condition. It had faded to an orangey colour and was as dry as straw! So then I decided to go to a very dark brown with still a hint of red. You can see my 'Autumn Hair Change' post here.

So since September, I had been dying my hair various shades of dark red/brown, both at home and at the salon when I had money. I most often went for shades that were called something like 'Black Cherry'. Although I did colour my hair at home, I know how bad it is for your hair.Home hair colourants aren't good for your hair, they are very drying and leave your hair in terrible condition. Unfortuntaley I wasn't in the position to get my hair dyed professionally regularly, but with the help of hair dresser friends, I was able to be hair model on several occasions.

 This is my most recent hair colour and the colour I went to the hair dressers with

You can still see the red tones to it, but it is definitely darker, plus I grew out my fringe and started wearing my hair in a centre parting.

However I really wanted a change. My Dad really takes pride in his hair, he has perfected the rockabilly quiff for some time now and seeks out really talented hair dressers who specialize in 'alternative' hair styles. He took me to his hairdressers in Uxbridge; Horsepower. Unlike many people, I really dislike going to big brand hairdressers. I find they often don't listen to what you want and the results are usually natural looking, which isn't the look I generally go for! So I was excited to try this independent hairdressers and barbers. Even more so when I went for a consultation with the owner, Adam, who was rocking a white and purple Mowhark inspired hair style and some awesome silver jewellery and was covered in tattoos. My Dad's hair always looks perfectly quiffed (also if you're reading this Dad, that will be the first and last time I ever admit that!) so I was more than willing to trust the team at Horsepower with my dramatic hair change and could tell that they would help me to reach the colour and style I wanted, as opposed to doing whatever they wanted!

Firstly, they took 2 strands of my hair to conduct a strand test which was really reassuring as it proved they wanted to achieve the best results for my satisfaction, rather than hoping for the best. As my hair was fairly dark, they wanted to test putting the red dye straight on one strand, and bleaching the other strand and seeing the difference in result. The bleached strand went a shade of ginger fading to blonde, which was actually really nice albeit not the desired result. Surprisingly, the unbleached strand picked up incredibly well, a really rich yet bright in the sunlight red. So the decision was made and last Friday I went in for my restyle!

The Final Result!

 On the left is the picture I first took straight after I left. I had a good 3 inches cut off and got a full fringe re-cut. My hair felt in such good condition and I loved the cut and colour! I've heard that you should leave your hair for 3 days after dying it so the colour can 'sit' so I did so and washed it on Tuesday morning. The picture on the right is after the first wash and I styled it to be curly. The colour did run but there wasn't much noticeable difference, although I have used an instagram filter just to enhance the colour. I can promise that in person it is as vibrant as this, just my room has awful light!

I am so happy that I have returned to being a red head. I will be doing some 'Red Hair Care Routine' posts plus a review and how-to with Crazy Colour and Directions semi-permanent colours to keep the red looking vibrant and shiny!

Thank you to the Horsepower team, and I will definitely be heading back there for root touch ups!

 

Manicure Monday: Leather effect & Skulls

Hello all!

Another Monday, another manicure! This week I used the Nails Inc 'Bling It On, Leather and Skulls' kit & I love them!

I was sent this kit and it is so me! The polish itself is a really interesting texture and its matte grainy effect is really cool on its own. But I thought I would try the skull embellishments too. The set comes with glue so it's so simple to create. I put a skull in each middle finger. I'd suggest taking the glue out with you in case they fall off as mine did in the night.

I've used these once before and I looked after them so you definitely can reuse them. If I can keep these tiny embellishments safe then anyone can!

In other news, I finally have an iPhone! With this comes better pictures and....instagram. I am so excited about getting instagram.Please follow me: jadorejadex.
If you do so, you'll get a preview of my new hair too, post coming soon. I am a red head again!

Club to Catwalk: Music and Makeup with Steve Strange!

Hello all,

Sorry for the quietness over the past week, I've been planning and sorting out lots of things so look out for some more posts.

The V&A are currently holding the 'Club to Catwalk' Exhibition that looks at how the London club scene in the eighties impacted and influenced fashion. It celebrates the iconic styles such as 'New Romantic'  and 'High Camp' with focus on musicians like Adam Ant. On Monday I got the chance to speak with Steve Strange from the band Visage, who was one of the founding fathers of the New Romantic movement.

Having looked at his music videos and performances, and also on the Visage album art, I could tell he was a very creative man. We spoke about a range of fashion, makeup and music topics and he is an incredibly interesting man. When asked if the concept of what comes first the fashion or the music his answer was certain. "Music comes first 100%. The music industry is a very visual industry so the relationship between music and fashion is natural. The video's and cover art will affect the fashion, but music is the important part."

Steve Strange is still hugely in the music business and mentioned Goldfrapp and The Hurt as bands he is currently listening to. I asked him if, like in the eighties, the clubbing and music scene are still as as much of an influence on fashion and he rightly pointed out Lady Gaga "Lady Gaga is mad, but her looks are very striking. It draws the attention and is a form of art to accompany the music she creates."

If you look at the Visage album art, they are incredibly visual and artistic. Steve Strange has worn makeup all his career and often in very theatrical manners. "My makeup artist (who I believe is called Lara) and I collaborate and work together to create very theatrical, photoshoot makeup. Wearing or buying makeup has never bothered me."

He has had tattooed, or permanent makeup, such as eyeliner in recent years and would definitely recommend it. "If you're in this business and are creative then I would definitely recommend it. It's so easy. But do your research. I had mine done by the top cosmetic permanent makeup artists in London, whose done the likes of J-Lo. I had mine done 5 years ago and it's still perfect."

Finally I asked him if he didn't have the successful musician that he is today, where would he be? I discovered that he has another impressive talent. "I would have been an artist. At art school I had a brilliant portfolio and my teacher told me I had exceptional talent. I was offered a place on Malcolm Maclaren (ex-husband of Vivienne Westwood who he co-founded the shop S.E.X with) I had no money, but it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. So I got the train to London, not knowing for certain if I had the job, because how could I not?!"

My talk with Steve Strange was so interesting and I'd like to thank him for the opportunity.
 Make sure you check out the new Visage album 'Hearts and Knives' that's out now and pop down to the 'Club to Catwalk' Exhibition at the V&A to see amazing clubbing costumes and designers inspired by them!

Summer Series: Festival Fashion

Hello all

Welcome to the second of my Summer Series posts. You can read the first installment on Barcelona Beach here.  This time I've created a festival look. Unfortunately this year I'm not going to the festival I wanted, which was Download back in June. However I have created an outfit that I would have worn there! Unlike other festivals like Glasto or V, Download is different music, from rock to metal and indie, so the fashion too is very different. You probably wouldn't see the fashion forward looks you my see at more mainstream festivals (no neon here!), but because of this, the fashion is very much 'me', channeling my gothy teenage self!

So here is my 'Festival Fashion' outfit:

Clockwise from top left: Backpack- River Island | Dress- H&M | Bandeau's- TopShop | Maybelline- Eye Studio Master Smokey in Black | Boots- JuJu @ New Look

I actually picked this 'Thorn of a Rose' dress in the H&M sale this weekend and I love it! It is so easy to throw on and paired with a smokey eye, it really gives the effortless rock chick look. The back of the dress, as you can see, is very open with twisted straps. I hate when bras are on show, I think it's so tacky, so these lace long-line bandeau's from Topshop look great underneath. I couldn't decide which colour, nude or a pop of red so included both!

For a festival, you probably won't want to take too much makeup with you, so this eye pencil with smudging tool on the end is perfect to create the messy smokey eye that's almost essential at a rock festival.

Festivals are notoriously muddy, so a pair of wellies or cheap boots are very much necessary. Although a great pair of Doc Martens would look amazing with this outfit, I have made this mistake before and they were utterly ruined. So opting for a cheaper pair of biker boots is a great alternative to still look rocky, but no ruining £70 worth of shoes!

Finally, a studded backpack is perfect to carry all your daily musts into the festival as it keeps your hands free to dance or mosh to music, but is big enough to keep a jacket for the evening and definitely some sun block!

I hope you are enjoying my Summer Series as much as I am enjoying making them. I am thinking of doing a separate makeup series on what to pack in terms of beauty and skin products for different locations, so let me know if this is something you would want to read!

 

Manicure Monday: Newspaper Print Nails

Hello all

This weeks Manicure Monday was so fun to do and I have received so many compliments because of them. They definitely catch peoples attention, but are subtle enough not to take over an outfit.

This week I tried the 'Newspaper Print' nails I've seen on the blog and YouTube sphere. After first hearing you needed to use vodka or rubbing alcohol I was put off a bit (who wants to dip nails in vodka when you could drink it...). But then I discovered that you can use anti-bacterial gel, as it contains alcohol too. This was a lot easier as it was a thicker substance than liquid vodka and made less mess.

So here is how I created my newspaper print nails:

 

You will need: cut up strips of newspaper (text only) | anti-bacterial gel | base/top coat | a neutral or white nail polish

I used Barry M's 'Basecoat, Topcoat & Nail Hardener' and Gelly polish in 'Lychee'. This shade is a perfect 'greige' with a shiney, gel-like finish. Alone, it is a beautiful neutral shade, but it also worked amazingly for this as it is light enough for the text to come out on top.

Once you've painted your base colour, you have to wait until it is completely dry. In fact, I painted the base colour the evening before I wanted to do this so I was positive it wouldn't smudge. Then you pour a small amount of anti-bacterial gel onto a shiney/ wipe clear surface (I used a plate). Because it is anti-bacterial, be careful what you use as it could strip paint or damage surfaces. Working with individual nails at a time, dip the nail in the gel so it has a thick covering. Then press the newspaper onto the nails, with quite a bit of pressure and hold for 10 seconds. Peel off to reveal you're fabulous, literary nails! Apply a clear topcoat to seal the pattern, then repeat with your other nails.

So here is the finished manicure! I'm pretty impressed with my first attempt. The neutral colour pairing of greige and black meant that it will go with anything I wear, plus it does look very cool! As a writer, I feel this is the perfect manicure to me as it reflects my personality and love of words.

'Manicure Monday' is definitely encouraging me to be more creative with my nails, but also staying true to my own style and trying new things without going too far out of my comfort zone!