Gishwhes London Trip!

Gishwhes 2014 is over!

And I am very sad that it has ended. I loved doing Gishwhes this year as I got to do it with my friend Paige and an amazing team; the Mishavengers!!

Now I do hope that we win as the stuff we submitted was amazing, props to one of our members who got an amazing Pope tattoo!! But at the end of the day it is all about doing kind and fun things for others and ourselves and it was certainly amazing fun. 

One of the items was to go to Kensington gardens and build a fairy house out of entirely natural materials found in the park. As me and Paige live in England and the rest of our team live in the US it was only natural (see what I did there) to go ourselves. So we packed a few things in our backpacks and headed to London on the train!
As we got there we briefly got confused on which tube to take but eventually we took the tube to High Street Kensington and went into the park/palace gardens. It was very busy as the day was very sunny despite being predicted thunderstorms and families were out enjoying the sun. Me and Paige looked around the whole park for other teams fairy houses but we couldn't find any which was disappointing! So we chose our spot and built our awesome fairy house with the materials around us, those being dead or wilting leaves, bark and different grasses. Overall our fairy house looked pretty awesome and we headed off to Buckingham palace after a bite to eat at Cafe Rouge (Steak and chips for Paige and a chicken and bacon Salad for me) which was a nice quick rest. 

Mmmm salad! The bacon was smoked and so delicious!
At Buckingham Palace we took some shots of us infront of the gates which was our little tourist moment, then we went into St James park and Paige changed into her bathroom dress which was amazing! I then took the pictures of Paige as people stared at us thinking what the hell are those weirdos doing!? But hopefully as we went the extra mile with this item, our team will get more points!
After that we went to Whole Foods which is the most amazing grocery shop ever! We got dessert pots, I did the predictable thing that only I could do which was get a chocolate brownie sundae pot, an unhealthy dessert in a health food store haha. Paige got an eton mess pot which looked really nice aswell but hey I have a sweet tooth, especially for chocolate and I must say that their brownies are the best I have ever had!

We browsed the sections of the store for a while, getting some green tea and yes you guessed it, more sweets! The hot food counters are amazing there and the curry smelled so good but I refrained from spending all my money on curry! 

I also went into Topshop and spent quite a bit of money! I bought a large rim black hat for £28, expensive but I have wanted one for so long, a grey tanktop for £10, lipstick in the shade wine gum for £3 and a nail art dotting tool for £3 in the sale. Damn why does Topshop suck all the money out of my bank account!!

After that we took the train back home and the next day did some more tasks, my two tasks which were making Paige into a zombie and having her buy toilet paper at Waitrose, the staff were amazing and so into it which was fantastic, and we both made a gingerbread house village riddled with crime and debauchery. It was so much fun!

I highly recommend anyone to create or join a team and do Gishwhes next year, it really is absonome!

I recently got Instagram so if you want to, go follow my account; DarthVadresss

Have a great day!

-Tasha 

     

The Wonders of Vinegar!

Some of you may be thinking "What can vinegar do apart from be used in cooking?" Alot apparently. 

I recently acquired a new book called '501 Hints & Tips with Vinegar' by igloobooks and wow what a handy guide! Vinegar seems like one of those products that you keep in your cupboard just in case for that special meal or just as a basic ingredient but actually it has so many applications that are just mind boggling. 

This is a book I highly recommend reading, you will not be disappointed. So to encourage you I thought I'd pick out a few of my favourite tips...

1) Want clean mirrors? Don't use a simple duster, get a soft cloth and wipe mirrors with a water bottle containing a 50:50 mix of vinegar and water. Keep the cloth damp not wet.

2) If anyone in your family has allergies then use vinegar when washing your bedsheets instead of fabric softener! This will make them extra clean.

3) Do you drink alot of tea? If so limescale on your kettle is a nightmare! just soak it in white wine vinegar overnight or even for just 10 minutes then wash off.

4) When making pizza sauce add a splash of red wine vinegar, this brings out the flavour of the tomatoes. 

5) Hate de-scaling fish? Find it tricky? rub vinegar on it first. Not only does it help remove the scales it also helps eliminate fishy smells on your hands.

6) To stop doughnuts from soaking up too much grease add a teaspoon of white distilled vinegar to the oil.

7) Add a spoonful of white wine vinegar to pastry to make it extra light and flaky!

8)  Keep moisture in your cakes when baking by adding a teaspoon of white distilled vinegar to the mix.

9) Want fluffier American pancakes? Add some vinegar!

10) Spray ice cold vinegar on minor skin burns to prevent blisters and reduce pain.

11)  Mix a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar in a glass of water as a daily tonic!

12) Hayfever is a horror in summer! To help take a glass of water daily with 2 teaspoons of honey and 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar mixed in.

13) Hate spiders? Ugh me too! Spray vinegar in crevices like windowsills, room corners to keep them at bay. They are put off by the smell. This also works for repelling mosquitoes and nats. 

14) Prolong the life of hosiery by adding a tablespoon of white wine vinegar to the water when washing.

15) Use vinegar and a cloth to help peel off stubborn stickers from shoe bottoms, furniture and packaged goods!

There you have it! There are so many applications for vinegar that I never dreamed of and now that I know them I am going to go vinegar crazy! That spider trick is definitely a good one! 

Have an awesome day everyone and keep alert for my next post will be my New Look and Superdrug Haul! <3

-Tasha 

   

Movie Review: My top 5 re-watchable movies!

Recently we have all been bogged down by so many amazing movies that have or are going to be released this year and I personally have been daydreaming about Sebastian Stan for the last two months...and I got to thinking what are the movies I always go back to watch again? Well I have compiled a list and without further ado I present them to you my wonderful readers!

1)Miyazaki's 'Spirited Away' (Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi) (2002)

This hands down is probably the movie I have watched the most ever since I first saw it. The story is relateable despite being set in a fantastical and slightly evil world and the characters are really well developed; Chihiro an innocent and eager girl who is determined to save her parents and is a caring friend and Haku a mysterious and tormented boy who despite having a dark secret, does everything he can to protect Chihiro. Spirited Away is such a beautiful movie with stunning animation that brings the characters to life like no animation I have seen. This is a movie I will still be watching way into my eighties.  

2) Speed (1994)

I have always been a fan of Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock and the chemistry between them is undeniable whether you watch Speed or The Lakehouse. Speed is an action thriller that has me on the edge of my sofa every time I watch it even though I know what happens! The villain played by Dennis Hopper is cunning and malicious but with an unusual twist in terms of his conscience. I can't really put into words how much I love this movie but I really love it...like ALOT.

3) The Lakehouse (2006)

Now you know that I love Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock...so here is one of my absolute favourite movies I can watch over and over and over...The Lakehouse. Both Sandra and Keanu are the main stars in this movie and despite the gloomy looking poster above I can tell you that this film whilst sad and heartbreaking is also fiery and passionate and funny, due to not only the amazing acting and chemistry between Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock but the emotional plot with its twists and turns and the perfect mix of coincidence, fate, happy and sad. I highly recommend this movie.

4) The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006)

This is one of my more recent finds, I first watched it about a year and a half ago, and I fell in love with it instantly! It is such a clever movie with stunning animation and a thrilling story that keeps you guessing all the time. Some parts I'm shouting at the screen yelling "NO DON'T GO THERE!" It is that suspenseful....or maybe I'm just weird...hehe. It is such a confusing story to explain without revealing the ending or any plot twists so I won't even go there.

5) Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace (1999)

I can just hear alot of you groan because the old Star Wars episodes are better than the new ones and I agree to an extent but I have many fond memories of Star Wars. I practically grew up playing lightsabers with my brother and pretending to open doors with my force abilities and I remember watching Star Wars Phantom Menace in the cinema with my dad and rewatching it on video years later. The plot is brilliant and the actors are really good, especially Liam Neeson one of my favourite actors who plays Qui-Gon Jinn my favourite Jedi out of all the movies old and new. One of the aspects that make this movie awesome is the music. Oh the music. John Williams composes the most beautiful music that really strikes a chord with you in each scene it plays in. My favourite being the duel Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi Wan Kenobi have with Darth Maul one of the coolest Sith to ever live. The music creates such suspense and I get so excited when that part of the movie approaches. Seriously watch it. Watch all of the Star Wars movies because Liam Neeson may be amazing in The Phantom Menace but hot damn Harrison Ford as Han Solo is one beautiful man.

Well thats it for this post! It was so difficult picking just five as there are loads of other movies I watch over and over, but these are my favourites. For example I would have included The Bourne Series, Lord of The Rings, Underworld series, Resident Evil series, Constantine (another Keanu Reeves movie yes I know I have an addiction) Salmon Fishing in the Yemen and many more. Agree with me? Let me know what movies you can watch over and over in the comments below and we can fangirl over them! 

-Tasha

    

How to get perfectly clean makeup brushes!

One of the most crucial and important chores to do as often as possible is cleaning those makeup brushes! 

One of the horrible things about brushes is that they accumulate so many horrible things after several uses. Dust, bacteria, oil, dead skin cells and old makeup are the nasty things you DO NOT want to spread all over your face.

Ugh just visualising that makes me recoil.

So here is how to clean them!

1) Take a bowl and pour in a good amount of antibacterial washing soap, the stuff you use for washing dishes in your sink. This will get rid of all of the nasty stuff mentioned above as it is a disinfectant.
2) Add in the bowl extra virgin olive oil, about half the amount of the soap you used. This is important as the oil moisturises the hairs and prevents them from being dry and brittle which happens if you only use soap.
3) Mix them together.
4) Dip your dirty brush in the mixture and rub in the palm of your hand in circular motions and sweeping motions to work the soap and oil into the brush. Yes it will look horrible but that means it is working!
5) Once you have done all your brushes wash out all the soap and oil from the brushes under WARM water. Don't use hot water as it will damage the brush hairs. 
6) Place on a paper towel (kitchen roll) and pat off the excess moisture being very gentle.
7) Place breathable brush guards on the brushes.
8) Place upside down in a glass making sure the brush is not squashed on the bottom as we want them to dry in shape. It is SO important that they are upside down (with the brush head facing downwards) otherwise the water will run into the handle loosening the glue that holds the hairs together and swelling the handle.
9) Leave until dry. Moisture will accumulate in the bottom of the glass and shouldn't touch the brush itself.
If you don't have brush guards then don't worry, just place the brushes on a long piece of tape and stick to a wall that you don't mind potentially being damaged (tape can be very mean) and hang them upside down. This has the same effect for frying them out.    

Make sure you wash your brushes regularly to avoid spot breakouts and rashes and things like that. 

I hope this was helpful to you guys! I would love it if you could follow me on Bloglovin or on your G+ accounts :)

-Tasha  

DIY Frozen Lace Mask!

DIY Frozen Lace Mask!

So sorry for the lack of anything lately but I have been super busy with college work and family things. But I have an epic tutorial for you guys that I did a couple of weeks ago and have had so many compliments for so I thought hey why not let you know how to do it? So here it is!

1) Grab a craft cutting board, something that will protect your work surface and be kind on your craft knife/pen knife. 

2) Get a craft knife or pen knife. I used a craft knife I have had for years and very precise blades with a very sharp point. (Please be very careful when using a craft knife! They are very sharp and can cause serious injury!) 

3) Gather some blue card of desired thickness, I used thin card just so it is easier to cut and is more flexible. Also get some embellishments like glitter glue,snowflakes rhinestones etc.

4) Print off your template. I used a template from KlaireDelysArt (Will be linked below) 

5)Place the template over your piece of card and tape it to it securely.You don't want the template to move around when you cut! 

6) Using smooth small cuts start cutting around the edge of the template with your craft knife. Then cut out the eye holes. 

7)With great care start cutting out the detail, this is the hard part and will take you time! The cutting out is the hardest part and the longest, it took me two days! 

Here are some pictures of my progress.

  

8) Make sure it fits well on your face, this one is meant to be oversized but do be sure your eyes aren't dwarfed by the centre nose piece. 

9)Make two small holes in the sides of the mask and cut some elastic to the right size. You could also use ribbon but remember the mask is fragile so be very gentle. 

10) Add the decorations. I went simple on mine and used glitter glue and snowflakes. The snowflakes I attached with the glitter glue and as the snowflakes I used have holes in the middle the glue came through and set looking like a rhinestone! You could also use fake rhinestones which you can get from many craft stores. 

Then you are DONE! YAY! 

I hope you all liked this tutorial, I loved making the mask and it can be used for so many things! Hopefully I will be making a Steampunk one in the future!

The mask template can be found over on Klaire de Lys blog http://www.klairedelys.com/2013/03/19/tad-lace-face-masks/  

As always thankyou for reading! Have a wonderful day :D 

-Tasha

Lush Experiment!

This would have been up sooner but my Internet was acting up which frustrates me to no end! But no matter, It is here now!

Whilst visiting my brother at his halls in Southampton Uni we perused around the EXTREMELY BUSY West Quays shopping centre and wow was I overwhelmed by the clothes and food and pretzels! Oh my god the pretzels I actually cant remember what the store is called Aunt Annies or something. One of the highlights was going into Cafe Giardino and eating Pasta Carbonara because who doesn't love pasta carbonara!? Cut my leg off and I swear pasta carbonara would pour out.

But back on topic, I was very excited to go into Lush and see how big the store is and buy some beautiful things but I have to say I was disappointed because it was much smaller than the store in Basingstoke which is the main Lush store I shop at because I wanted to roam the store and dance around in the big open space but alas twas only a dream.

However I was very pleased to get the UltraBland face cleanser which has many excellent recommendations so I bought a big pot and have already used it for two days and wow it smells amazing and leaves my face feeling really clean! I am using only the UltraBland in the hopes I can clean up my terrible acne and have smooth skin. I think I will cry when that day comes.

I have to say that it is not white, it is a pale yellow colour due to the beeswax and I LOVE the smell!
So I will keep you updated on how it is working!

Oh and is it just me who is really jealous that Britain has no Thrift Stores like the ones in America...because I am envious.

Anyway...have a wonderful day folks!

-Tasha

Picture from the Lush website/.

Mistral Haul!

Now this haul is only small, two items to be exact, but I love both of them so much I just had to share it with you guys!

First item I bought is the purple knitted beanie which is very soft and has a nice simple pattern that isn't too overwhelming. The pattern was what caught my eye as it goes down vertically and gives it nice shape when being worn. The colour is a dark aubergine purple. This hat only cost me...£3.40 ish as I got 50% off in the sale! Bargain! 

I apologise for the poor image, my phone is playing up today! 

The second item is the Robin scarf which I had to have as soon as I laid eyes on it! 

I adore the deep blue of the background and the cute Robins! The material is silky and soft to the touch and it is made out of 100% viscose. The length is perfect for me, it is 176 cm long, and it goes with alot of my clothes and gives them an added touch of colour especially since it is Spring. This was originally £19.50 but after the 50% off I got it for an amazing £9.75! Another amazing bargain!

Go have a look at the Mistral online shop, they sell really lovely colourful clothing. 

www.mistral-online.com   

- Tasha