by Carla Louise | Sep 30, 2012 | Uncategorized |
I know I haven’t posted a beauty review for absolutely ages, partly down to my 100 days of non spending challenge. Which is now over – woo hoo!
Mimi at Little Sips of Tea mentioned coconut oil and its wondrous properties a while go over on our other blog, and as I had half an hour to kill at Liverpool Street waiting for a train, I decided to buy a pot.
Boots’ version comes in a pretty glass pot, and is a bargainous £2.54 (or 254 points) for 100ml.
Coconut oil is solid above 23 degrees or so, and melts on contact with the skin. Mine has been in a continuous liquid state for the past week and a half, because it lives in my bathroom and my bathroom resembles a sauna. Or perhaps a steam room. Perhaps now winter is setting in, it will be more solid, more of the time?!
I wasn’t initially sure what to do with it first – it can be used as a body moisturiser, facial moisturiser, hair conditioner… so I tried all three.
As a body moisturiser, I am in love. It glides on, it doesn’t irritate my exceedingly sensitive skin even straight after shaving, it makes my legs glossy and lovely and it feels and smells amazing. General wisdom is that you should apply to damp skin to lock in the moisture, but I find just as effective to rehydrate parched skin.
I then tried slathering it on my feet (my feet are a disaster zone) and putting cotton socks on overnight. Although not quite a miracle worker, it was certainly as effective as my Body Shop hemp ointment.
*You’re not getting a photo of my feet, sorry*
As a facial moisturiser I sadly wasn’t as struck. I have naturally very oily skin, and though I think it probably needs more hydration than I give it (not to mention my Pepsi Max habit, which probably isn’t helping), putting oil on it instead of moisturiser wasn’t the most successful of experiments… it just slid and felt oily.
However, I know that Mimi finds it very effective as a facial moisturiser and says her makeup sits better when she uses it, so horses for courses (or skin types) – I’d certainly say give it a try.
As a conditioner I also liked it very much – I used it more like I would a hair mask, by washing and conditioning my hair as usual and then slathering it on the (very dry) ends and going to sleep. Washing it out in the morning it felt noticeably softer, and was swishier although still tangly all the next day. My hair is always tangly so I don’t think that’s a negative point, I’d be interested to know what other people have experienced using it this way).
I have been using it regularly as body oil and a hair mask and I am still less than a third of the way through the jar. All in all, a very well spent £2.54, my new favourite go-to product, and I have plans to try it during a manicure and on my elbows…
Essential statistics:
Full product name and brand: Boots Ingredients Coconut Body Oil
Buy from: Boots
Size: 100ml
Packaging: glass jar, paper label. Fully recyclable (or reusable as a candle holder) – ten out of ten!
Price: £2.54 or 254 Boots Advantage Card points
Alternatives: Superdrug (£2.29 for 125ml), Holland and Barrett (50% off sale on a huge jar, now £7.50 for 453ml, and claims it can also be used for cooking. Do not use the Boots or Superdrug versions for cooking!)
by Carla Louise | Sep 27, 2012 | Personal Development, Thrifting |
Somewhere in the last mad couple of weeks, the 100 days challenge officially ended.
The end result? A slightly healthier bank balance, a lot less random tat in my house, a more focused me and and a better thought process when impulse shopping. And shopping generally.
I did slip up a little – a gorgeous grey dress (categorised as ‘work clothes’ to make it ok), stage makeup and the odd magazine did slip through the net. But considering the madness of the three months I’ve been doing it, I think I did pretty well. And I will certainly be making more informed, less impulsive decisions to do with money in the future.
🙂
I have been absent from the internet for a few days, and have been ill on and off for about three weeks now – I am finally feeling more myself and so normal Ducking Fabulous service should resume. You never know, I might even photograph stock and update my shop!
by Carla Louise | Sep 24, 2012 | Uncategorized |
I love dance in all its forms, and one of my favourite ways of spending money is to browse the many dance outfitters in Covent Garden, or flip through the pages of catalogues on the train. So I was delighted when Move Dancewear contacted me to ask if they could guest post on Ducking Fabulous. They have a gorgeous selection, in a decent range of sizes (for those of us not built like traditional ballerinas, this is important!) and I always get my burlesque essentials (dancers fishnets, practice shoes, etc) from them.
So without further ado, here is the post they wrote for me – I hope you enjoy 🙂
Finding dancewear for your favourite dance craze can be a challenge. It all depends on the dance type, and if you’re ahead of the craze; which often results in stock not being available yet.
However, folks at Move Dancewear cater for dancers and dance enthusiasts of many different styles. So, if you are a dancer, or are looking for a new hobby, here’s some dancewear to inspire you:
Flamenco:
You can go for the classic black frill skirt or the traditional spotted frill skirt. It all depends on your mood. Don’t forget the great Flamenco accessories:
You can choose between red or black flamenco shoes, as both have 2 inch heels and Rivets on toe and heel.
Ballet
Many people are put off by ballet as a hobby, as it’s often regarded as a very professional dance, but you can start any time. Move Dancewear offer start kits for children and adults, which include a leotard, ballet shoes and tights. So, you can give it a go, and see if you like it, before moving on to adding some ballet accessories to your gear:
Tutus and tutu skirts can easily be added to your leotard, and will be essential for when you go forth into the performing world. Even if it’s just a small performance in your local community to raise money for charity, it’s still good to look the part.
Jazz
The first perception of Jazz may be that you’ll have less choice regarding dancewear, but this is by no means the case. There are many different styles of Jazz suits:
You can also opt to just going for the jazz trousers and shoes:
With Jazz, it is very important to have the right footwear, as Jazz shoes give the flexibility to move swiftly, elegantly and precisely.
You can also find books, DVDs and CDs all about dance. For more information on dancewear, as well as ballet and character shoes, visit the Move Dancewear website.
And remember that when it comes to dance, the possibilities are endless.
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Disclaimer: I am not paid or otherwise compensated for guest posts. I only accept those which I feel fit my interests and therefore those of this blog. The content of guest posts does not necessarily reflect my own views or opinions. All images provided by guest blogger.
by Carla Louise | Sep 22, 2012 | Uncategorized |
So I posted and scheduled this, or at least thought I did, last week. However, it has failed to materialise so I am trying again!
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To date, I have done two previous swaps via Popular Crafts magazine (who featured me this week – squeee!) My first was the Union Jack swap, followed by the Polka Dot swap. I signed up for the strawberry one with much excitement and absolutely no clue how busy August and September would turn out to be – oops!
I was partnered this time with lovely Lynsey, who blogs at The Diary of a Novice Crafter and while we are both super-busy and rather stressed out, we have managed the odd email and tweet which is great – I love to meet fellow crafters and stay in touch beyond one project! (I have to say though, she’s not a novice, she’s bloody brilliant!)
Now, I have just about got there with my makes and will sneakily post them here once they are safely with Lynsey, but I couldn’t resist posting photos of what she sent me when they arrived yesterday – terrible lighting as I was out and didn’t get back till really late, but look how gorgeous it all is!!!
Here’s my parcels, prettily wrapped:
And inside, here are all my beautiful bits… hand knitted strawberry gloves (I adore these and will be wearing them to work the moment it turns colder); a beautiful cross stitched card that has pride of place on my mantelpiece; a strawberry lavender bag (destined for my clothes rails – it’s too pretty to go in a drawer!); and strawberry bunting for my bike basket! I squeaked when I saw this – so exciting! Pics of Bluebell suitably adorned asap 🙂
My treats are just as exciting – two dainty little pots of strawberry jam, Body Shop lip balm, which happens to be one of my favourites, and gorgeous strawberry stickers 🙂
Thank you so much Lynsey – I adore it all and it made my weekend! I hope you love all your pressies as well when they eventually wing their way over to you!
Aren’t I lucky? Did any of you take part? Post your links, I’d love to see what you sent and what you received!
by Carla Louise | Sep 21, 2012 | Uncategorized |
I’ve had such a mad few weeks, I haven’t done a Happy Thursdays post for AGES. However I have been keeping my eyes open for small things that make me smile during the long and sometimes relentless weeks. Here are a few:
Perfect cupcakes before the Hurly Burly show, with Wendy. Gorgeous Sunday – cake, burlesque and one of my best friends, what more could a girl want?!
A truly spectacular moment on the way to the pub after rollerskating with Caroline, and planning our cabaret performances, her website, her new house and my future. It was glorious, and felt like a proper summer evening.
Lunch at the Folly with Lou. Full review coming soon (possibly on Project Pin Up) but I loved that they gave us our bill in a seed packet. It was fabulously quirky, suited us down to the ground AND there was a fashion shoot going on at the same time we were there.
Spotting an old but rather beautiful Maserati outside my parents’ new house. Sadly not theirs.
Deckchairs and screens provided in the middle of the City for workers to watch the Olympics and Paralympics on. Lovely, no? 
There are more, but I’ll leave you with those for now. I am off to get some sleep, finish recovering from this horrible virus I’ve had, and hope with all my heart that Poppy sails through her service and MOT tomorrow – it makes me unreasonably nervous!
by Carla Louise | Sep 8, 2012 | Collecting, Creating, Photography, Thrifting |
EDIT 23/11/20 – I’m getting fairly regular requests for the manual for this machine – I’m so sorry, I gave it to a friend when I moved house in 2015 so don’t have the machine or the manual any more 🙁
Quite some time ago, I broke the little portable sewing machine my Gran gave me. The tension has gone, and when I took it in to be fixed they told me, gently but firmly, that it would be significantly cheaper to buy a new one.
So I have existed without one till now – not critical as I plan a lot of sewing and rarely get round to actually doing it, and have been able to beg, steal or borrow machines to use when I’ve needed to make things like the parrot costume.
However, lovely Kim at work gave me one quite a while ago, and only its weight and bulk stopped me from bringing it home till now. One very long day, a sturdy suitcase and a few pulled muscles later, and here she is, installed in my studio… isn’t she gorgeous?
Joining my Singer and my Jones (meep, that means I now officially have a collection of vintage sewing machines), but superior in that she has an ELECTRIC PEDAL… she’s very heavy, but threaded up and whizzed through the test piece very smoothly. I have bobbins that fit her, so will get some new needles tomorrow and we’re off!
Here’s to a long and happy relationship!
xx
PS Pretty sure Kimmy doesn’t read my blog – but if you do, a million thank yous, I’m in love!
by Carla Louise | Sep 8, 2012 | Books |
Goodness, how the weeks are racing past!
I am about to put on a headscarf, put Poppy’s roof down and race off to Helen’s Mad Hatter’s Tea Party… very excited! This morning I had breakfast out with Simple Things magazine (I love it – it could have been written for the life I am now actively working towards), then came home, spring cleaned the living room so I can actually see the floor (it has been doubling as a photo studio for some time now) and went through the catalogues and brochures we brought home from last weekend’s trade fair, for the secret project… which will be revealed very, very soon! We have some final touches and tweaks to make to the website tonight and tomorrow, and our survey and tweets will begin from Sunday/Monday 🙂
So do keep your eyes peeled – I know lots of you will love it!
Life has been very busy but rather lovely recently, not counting a day of illness. Last night I was out at Proud Cabaret with girls from work – most of them had never seen burlesque before and I’m still not sure they’re convinced, but I had a wonderful time and stole some costume ideas too 🙂
I have a whole stack of blog posts drafted, waiting to retrieve photos from various bits of technology to go with them… perhaps that should be tomorrow’s job. With a cup of tea, in the sunshine… yes, that sounds like a way to spend a morning!
Until later, lovelies – I would linger, but there is cake to be eaten and tea to be sipped!
xx
by Carla Louise | Aug 28, 2012 | Thrifting |
This bank holiday weekend I was lucky enough to have a wander round some charity shops (I am almost never in town on a Saturday or weekday) AND go to a car boot with Naomi. Despite 100 days I let myself spend money, and as none of it cost much, I don’t feel bad. Here is my haul…
Red sequin high heels. In my size. £3.49. Yup, would have been rude not to. Intended for burlesque and the dressing up box, but might wear them to work on a dreary Pin Up Monday, just to make myself smile.
Car boot haul – two tea set trios (£2.50 and Naomi had the other two), an unread set of Narnia books with the same covers as the ones I had as a child (£2, bargain), a box of vintage lace (£2), a ridiculous number of books considering I’d set myself the target of not buying any books… but one is an all time favourite I have been after for ages, Katie Fforde’s Wedding Season. Candles (£1), crystals (£1) and my most expensive but most bargainous buy of the day, two pre-cut leather purse kits (£4).
Saturday also yielded this beauty – haven’t decided whether to keep it as a scarf or use it as a throw. Its colours speak to my soul, somehow.
I also bought a dress, for £2, that needs significant altering before I can wear it – will share that when it’s in progress.
It was a glorious weekend – I need to wander, and eat cake, and do lovely things with lovely people more often. I feel more relaxed than I have for ages. It’s a soaring happy feeling… and one that is slowly becoming more frequent, which can only be a good thing.
by Carla Louise | Aug 27, 2012 | Personal Development |
I had a very fraught week last week. Having tried various things to soothe my anxiety, I found myself longing for the calming and energising fragrance combinations of my university days. I am still sorting out my studio and have no clue where I’ve put my existing collection of essential oils, so I nipped to the shops on my way home after working late on Friday night.
(I have to say that London is good for things like that – finishing work at half six and getting to the shops for 7 and still being able to browse because they’re open till 9… it’s one of London’s main redeeming features, in my eyes.)
So after much mooching, sampling and breathing, I took home these beauties (descriptions from here for ease of posting, although they tally with the little I already knew)
Rosemary ~ Strengthening; good for nervous exhaustion, overwork, strain, mental fatigue, and other stress-related disorders, loss of memory; provides energy, creativity, clarity, concentration
Grapefruit ~ Liberating; good for self doubt, depression, nervous exhaustion, mental stimulation
Orange ~ Invigorating; calming; good for depression, nervous tension and other stress-related disorders, self-consciousness, withdrawal, worry
Bergamot ~ Encouraging; good for anxiety, depression, emotional imbalance, despondency, concentration, motivation
The descriptions of what they treat is like a word for word description of me in the past few weeks. Not good at all.
In the absence of my oil burner, I’ve had a pan of water simmering for most of the time I’ve been in the house this weekend, adding drops when I need to. I am calmer, stronger, newly aware of my path and what I need to do to get there. That awful clutching anxiety in the pit of my stomach that makes me restless and unable to settle and inexplicably tearful has vanished.This is as much due to spending time with dear friends and family who talk sense and let me talk out my worries as to the oils, but they help immensely when I’m alone. And it doesn’t hurt that they also make my flat smell lovely.
A few drops of orange in the shower, and a few of rosemary on my pillow tonight to imbue me with strength for the weeks ahead… it may be a little hippie, a little pagan, a little frightening for those souls who don’t know me well, don’t read my blog and don’t believe in “new age stuff”.
But for me, they work wonders.
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Do you use fragrance, essential oils or other things to calm and centre you when life gets all too much?
by Carla Louise | Aug 14, 2012 | Creating |
Title borrowed from something Mimi said to me earlier today. It summed up perfectly how I feel right now – tense, bubbly, ready to explode with all the exciting things that are happening but also slightly reluctant, nervous, apprehensive. And yet much more so, positive, forward looking, decisive and determined. It’s wonderful but slightly unnerving, feeling all these things at once.
I’m on my way to a meeting to talk about one of the many exciting ventures that are currently building and falling into place in my life. I do feel, despite some ups and some serious downs, that I am shortly to be exactly where I am meant to be, where I have been leading to both deliberately and unconsciously, for all of my adult life.
The Olympics are over and the Paralympics don’t start for another two weeks – London is in limbo, but we truly have inspired more than a generation.
For me, watching the games, experiencing the atmosphere and observing the grace, belonging and dedication of those athletes, doing something they truly love – it made me realise that I need to stop waiting for my dreams to magically happen, and go and get then instead. This means creating something rather than looking for a compromised version, making it happen instead of hoping it will fall into my lap if I wait long enough. In short, stop watching, start doing – my dreams will only happen if I make them.
I also tried to take up running, something which I’m almost certain will be quite short lived. I prefer wheels to feet. But can’t hurt to try something new, right?
So I am considering, planning, weighing up options. The response I’ve had from the few, varied, people I have whispered my tentative plans to has been overwhelmingly positive – I wasn’t looking for validation but support, and I have cried more than once at how lucky I am to have these kinds of friends and family. Unwavering, loyal, but also honest – and help me see things I may have overlooked about myself.
I have a definite timescale, defined by things outside my control. But that’s no bad thing. It adds to my focus, makes me even more determined.
This is a hazy vision of my future, I know, but watch this space – my custom-made life is about to develop like a photograph in a darkroom…
by Carla Louise | Aug 4, 2012 | Acquired, Photography |
Any of you who are regular readers, or who follow me on Twitter or Facebook, will know I rarely have a day to myself without commitments, travel and madness. Yet today was exactly that. And it was heavenly.
I spent the morning researching properties for the new incarnation of Project Pin Up – having discovered that this one, which I popped out to see and photograph briefly on Thursday evening, has been sold and had planning permission granted to turn it into houses. Clearly I don’t have the resources to buy something like this, but a lease may be possible with a proper business plan and some angel or VC investment. It’s a pipe dream, but it’s making me happy.
I had an impromptu brunch with Janine to plan her upcoming 30th birthday party, followed by taking shelter in the garden centre next door when the heavens opened (convenient, no?!) As a result I came home with these, which don’t count as 100 days lapses, because Poppy is desperate for an air freshener, and you can never have too many notelets 🙂 (please excuse shocking photo – the thing in the front is a pack of Yankee Candle car air fresheners, in Macintosh, my favourite crisp apple scent).
Came home and had a cup of Ceylon tea (I am rapidly growing very fond of it, especially taken from a teapot, with cake)
Spent the afternoon working on a couple of PDFs for PPU’s soon-to-be-launched new website and download centre, and popped to town to look at the empty, derelict and up-for-sale old Odeon. It’s 1930s Art Deco, beautiful building and so sad that it’s been empty and unloved for so long. It also has a £1.5m price tag, and is too big and the wrong shape for what I’d like to do with it. But worth looking at from the outside anyway. I hope someone converts it soon… it’s going to crumble otherwise.
May have accidentally topped up my fancy dress box in Accessorize’s ridiculous sale – each of these was £1.50…
And picked up the little bird earrings for me, and the ice skate for a dear friend of mine who I don’t see enough and who I’m almost certain doesn’t read my blog!
And now? It’s only half past seven, so I shall make dinner, work some more on the websites I’m currently building, and perhaps later curl up with a book and another cup of tea. Tomorrow I have the day to myself until 4pm, when I’m off to help Mum & Dad with some computer bits in the new flat and have dinner with them there 🙂
I hope you’ve all had equally gorgeous Saturdays – I’m resolving to have more like today!
by Carla Louise | Jul 31, 2012 | Memories, Photography |
A highlight of my weekend was watching the London 2012 Olympic opening ceremony – I didn’t intend to stay awake for all of it, but it was so spellbinding I did… and I was, am, so proud to be British. Much more than usual – Danny Boyle triumphed! The description of it as a “love letter to his homeland” struck quite a chord – it was breathtakingly beautiful. And all the engineers I know got ridiculously excited about the cauldron.
I noticed the reflection of the TV in my “HOME” embroidery – and thought it was slightly more interesting than just photographing my TV screen. So here are a few shots from the ceremony.
It transpired that two people I know, an old friend and the daughter of a friend, were part of the ceremony – while watching and tweeting I discovered people I follow were involved. It was fabulous. Let’s hope we now get some medals to go with the breathtaking ceremonial pomp 🙂
