Panda Eyes

Does anyone have any tips on how to make sure your make-up stays in place?

No matter what eyeliner I use, I always seem to have the same look... yes, that of the Panda!... after several hours of wearing it.

I've heard that spraying hairspray on your face helps, but surely that means you have a horrible lacquer film across your face for the rest of the day/night!?  Has anyone tried and tested this theory?  Verdict?

I met my friend today for lunch.  I first put my make-up on at around 10am.  I got home at 3:30pm, and when I looked at my reflection in the mirror, I looked as if I'd gone ten rounds with Tyson.  God only knows what my friend must have thought of me - she clearly did not have the heart to tell me I looked ridiculous, so I therefore had to find out for myself...and that was after walking through the city centre and then getting the bus.

Help!

I cannot go on like this!

Christmas is coming...

Hang on! It's still August??!!

Every year, it seems to get earlier and earlier when the Christmas items start hitting the shops.

Today, I saw some Christmas cards in a card shop.

The kids aren't even back at school yet.

However, cards aren't too bad. It's when the decorations start to emerge that you know we are entering into the countdown to Crimbo!

Has anyone seen any Christmas items in shops yet? Informing us of the date you saw them will also be a great indicator as to how early shops are setting up for Christmas...

It will also be great to know when you hear your first Christmas song!


- Loulabella posting from her iPhone

English Weather

Ahh, we're at that time of year again when the British are reminded how rubbish our weather really is.

It's heading towards the end of August and we can all most likely be able to count on one hand just how many hot - yes, hot! Not warm - days we have had this year.

Climate Change is a bitch!

However, in two months' time we will be heading towards the end of October, which means Halloween, Bonfire Night and Christmas are just around the corner.

We will then be faced with that awkward period in, what should be, Autumn when it seems a little too warm to wear a coat.

That's when we get a freak day of 25 degrees when the people at the MET Office get very excited and bang on about...you probably guessed it...

Global Warming!

Ah, so, the world is getting warmer. We may not have hot summers, but we certainly have much warmer winters.

Three days later...

It snows!

Not just snow! Blizzards! Snow that most of us haven't seen for a decade...or decades, depending on their age...

It's not that crappy wispy snow that looks like something you've scraped off your freezer, it's fluffy snow! Fat snow!

The MET Office boys are back!

This time, they don't refer to our freaky weather as 'Global Warming'. Nope, we're back to...bingo...

Climate Change!

So, the next warm day we have starts the whole thing off again. Global Warming/Climate Change/Global Warming/Climate Change etc etc etc

Both terms should be scrapped and our freaky weather should be given its true title:

British!


- Loulabella posting from her iPhone

Toddlers and Tiaras

Oh...my...Goodness!

What is this hideous programme I have stumbled across on the Sky channel DMAX.

I'm horrified to see parents pushing their children into beauty pageants and convincing them that the way they look is so important.

Children, yes CHILDREN, are being smothered in fake tan, make-up, false nails and hair spray. They should not be wearing such cosmetics until they are at least in their teens - NOT three years old!

These very young children are being forced to wear false eyelashes. A cosmetic item that I, at twenty-five, was only introduced to last year!

The reactions of the mothers expresses who these pageants are actually benefitting, and the way the children are encouraged to want to be there is with the prize of a puppy! Which child would not want a puppy?

They are being groomed to believe pageants are worthwhile. It's disgraceful!

Let these children enjoy their childhood with toys, play areas and cartoons!

Why do their parents need other people to tell them their children - who look like mini hookers - are beautiful? I am infuriated that these types of events are legal!! It's not right!

Stop pimping your children!!


- Loulabella posting from her iPhone

Bed Head - Small Talk

Blah Blah Blah...

That's actually the slogan associated with this Bed Head product, I'm not actually dismissing it!

In fact, after several days' use of this product, I would recommend it to anyone who has a hair type similar to my own (fine, a bit fluffy at the ends, and in desperate need of a volumising lift).


Bizarrely, there appear to be no directions as to how to use this product. I took a chance and applied a generous amount to my damp hair before blow drying it. I'm still not sure if that's what I was supposed to do, so if anyone can enlighten me I would very much appreciate it. However, so far it seems to have worked...

Did it provide a beautiful mane that cascaded down my shoulders like a movie star?

Erm...no!

So, I probably would not say 'Small Talk' did what it says it should on the tin, but it did make my hair feel softer and less knotted, which it usually does as the day goes by.

Also, it has a very sweet blueberry smell to it that certainly can seem a bit sickly - you can smell it all day. BUT, it's not too bad, and certainly smells better than most other products. It will certainly capture the attention of that guy you've got your eye on, as his super sniffing snout won't be able to ignore that pleasant smell that wafts by as you walk past! (Remember: you may have to smell it all day but he doesn't!)

Loula's verdict: Recommended! It's worth a buy if you want a product to soften your locks and supply an attractive smell to your barnet! It's also a very cute purple bottle that brightens up your dressing table...

Loula's Tip: Don't purchase this product from your hair salon! It will cost a fortune!! Instead, get it from eBay. I managed to nab two for the price of one.

Don't buy this product if you are expecting miracles!!


- Loulabella posting from her iPhone

The X Factor

Surely I can't be the only person who is not missing Simon and Cheryl (and Dannii) from this year's X Factor.

Surprisingly, the new panel of judges actually works! I think Kelly Rowland's American sassiness is quite refreshing. She is rather excitable, a bit like Cheryl was, but we can understand her.

Tulisa has impressed me. I was concerned she would be overpowered by Kelly and Gary, but so far she's done brilliantly. The way she handled that hostile guy from ... Triple Trouble... Have I got that right? ... was brilliant. She remained so calm. I had a lot a respect for her at that moment in time and I am certainly going to be watching out for her decorum in the weeks to come.

I mentioned Gary Barlow a moment ago. I've heard he is the replacement of Simon. Well, we all know he has some very large shoes to fill, but he certainly has a stubbornness about him. Obviously it's hard to tell from the first episode but even Simon would have an initial moment of weakness where he crumbled under the pressure of the first few hopeful auditions, recognising that nerves had got the better of people. Not Gaz! He's tough... I like it! It's empowering...

And as for Louis?! Well, as much as we would miss him if he wasn't there, we still forget that he is...


- Loulabella posting from her iPhone

The Inbetweeners Movie - Review

*** Spoilers Alert ***

Hurrah!  The film we have all been waiting for, and anticipating, for so long is finally here!

Yes, there was much scepticism that a film would not match up to the classically cringe-worthy show about four teenagers who are very uncool, but incredibly hilarious.

So, was it any good?  (I hear you cry!)

Yes.  In my opinion, it was.  It just seemed like an extended episode from the series; which I suppose it was really.  And where better to set the scene than on a lads' holiday in Malia (or Magaluf, apparently, as most of it was filmed there...)

So, it started with that awfully moody 'mare, Carli, breaking up with Simon (so they did get together at the end of series 3 then) as she considered the distance for them while they are uni would be a problem...and she was going on a girls' holiday...  Slut!

Of course, the lads then come up with the plan to go on their own holiday.  God knows why!  Surely they realise by now that they are each a liability to themselves, let alone the rest of the world.

However, it happens, so off they go.

Now, you may think that Neil's body-popping dancing, Jay's vulgar names for lady parts, Simon's stalker streak, and Will's...well just being Will...would be a bit much for a one hour and fifteen minute film (yes, short, I know!), but it's not. They are all accentuated brilliantly!

As a girl, I did not like the gross-out moments, such as when someone is vomiting, there is a pooh in the bidet, and a character gets Jay's pooh on his nose (even if he did deserve it).

But, the good parts outweighed those moments; such as Jay being bullied by a young boy and then throwing him in the pool, the comedic group dancing, Simon swimming to the shore from the party boat, but drowning halfway there and having to be air-lifted out of the water, and of course all of the boys finding love...sort of...

Yes, these are just to name a few of the genius moments that occur in the film that was worth the wait.

Loula's Verdict: Recommended!  Go see it!  Brilliant!

Horrible Histories

For most over the age of twenty, you will be forgiven for believing that I am referring to the wonderfully graphic books that offered much literary entertainment during your youth.

In a sense, yes I am referring to the Horrible Histories series of books.

However, I am particularly referring to the new, up-to-date, magnificent television series that is an adaptation from the books.

It is shown on CBBC (don't let that put you off) and is truly marvellous and clever.  I urge you to give this show a whirl as I think most of you will find it very appealing.

The actors involved are tremendous in delivering a history lesson that is fun, funny, and...fundamental for a pub quiz(?)!  (What better way to remember historical events than with a sketch or a song?)

Ah, talking about the songs...

These are primarily the best factor of the show.  It is difficult for me to express just how fantastic they truly are, so I have offered some links to a few YouTube videos which should convince you much more than I possibly can:

 Dick Turpin - Highway Man

Vikings (Literally)

King Richard III

As an added bonus, the guy who plays Dick Turpin is incredibly hot, and becomes more so the more you watch him...

Enjoy!

Disappearance

Apologies to all my lovely readers!

I've been a little busy lately so have not had much time to blog.  I believe it's been a couple of weeks since my last blog, which is very much unlike me - I usually have a lot to say and have a bombarding of blogs on a daily basis.

However, I have a few things to get off my chest (most of them trivial, of course!) so will offer a few blogs today, and hopefully that will be a gateway for me to blog more often again...

As with most things I have to put on the back burner in life, I blame work!

Swagger Jagger

Is Cher Lloyd's 'Swagger Jagger' supposed to sound like the old classic 'Oh my darlin, oh my darlin, oh my darlin Clementine'?

Forget getting some of your own swagger jagger(!?) Cher, I think you should be getting your own music!

P.s. Anyone else think she might regret this song in ten years' time? Even if it gets to number one, it will still be an embarrassment!


- Loulabella posting from her iPhone

Beyonce - Best Thing I Never Had

If there's one person who gives us the opportunity to man-hate via the power of a song, it's Beyoncé!

What's more, she's happily married, which makes us love her even more as she lets us know it's ok to hate our exes even though we have a new man.

I never thought Ms. Knowles would ever be able to top her classic 'If I were a Boy' in the ballad/girl power stakes.

However, her new song, 'Best Thing I Never Had', is definitely giving it a run for its money. It's a song that makes you want to jump around and sing at the top of your lungs, on the off-chance that your ex's supersonic hearing kicks in and hears you, realising what he missed out on and that you are better off without him.

Go on girls, grab your hairbrush and belt out all of that relief...

You're the best thing he never had!


- Loulabella posting from her iPhone

A Sign of things to come?

I've just switched over to Nickelodeon (yes, I know I'm 26 but the youth inside of me will never leave!) and had a great surprise...

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is on!

Finally, the producers of Nick had a flashback to the classics that made the station what it is (even though Fresh Prince was actually on Trouble...from what I remember...).

I'm hoping that more classic shows will be aired to fulfil the nostalgic void of the post-teens of today.

Other shows that should be revisited are:

• Saved by the Bell
• Kenan & Kel
• Sabrina the Teenage Witch
• Are You Afraid of the Dark?
• Sister Sister

I think we should start a petition...


- Loulabella posting from her iPhone