Jenny Craig: First Impressions

You may have noticed a few bloggers have been posting about the Jenny Craig plan lately and I was really intrigued by the idea, so when I was contacted recently and asked if I wanted to try out the plan I jumped at the chance! Jenny Craig are currently offering a deal so a week's worth of food works out at £38.50. Which is a pretty good deal really, but as a student the idea of spending £40 a week on food was alien to me! So over the next couple of weeks I will be trying out the programme to see how it works, and whether it's worth spending so much money on.

For those of you who haven't heard of the plan before, Jenny Craig is a programme in which you get diet food delivered straight to your front door. Each day is planned out for you so you don't have to worry about thinking about which healthy meals to cook, and snacks are provided too. All you have to do is buy some fresh groceries (vegetables, fruit, milk, yoghurt etc.) and you're ready to go! You also get a weekly phone call with your Jenny Craig consultant who can guide you through any questions or problems you have, like helping you plan for days when you have to eat out at a restaurant.

On first impressions, I'm quite pleased with the variety of food that's included in the weekly menus. I love spicy food so I'm looking forward to trying their Thai Vegetable Curry and Three Bean Chilli. There's lots of 'comfort food' on the menu too, like Roast Chicken with Mashed Potato and Beef Lasagne. I would have assumed these typically stodgy type of meals would have been banned, so I'm interested to see what they are like. The main thing that I'm worried about with this programme is whether or not I'll like the taste of the food. I tend to make (almost) all my own meals from scratch and very rarely have microwave meals so I hope the food tastes nice and fresh enough to keep me happy.

I will be posting on the blog throughout my trial, updating you on how I'm getting on. I'm going to start the plan tomorrow and the first thing I get to eat is Chocolate Wheat Flakes for breakfast - sounds good to me!

What do you think of the Jenny Craig plan? Would you consider going on a diet like this?

Gillian x

The Jenny Craig trial package has been sent to me free of charge to review. As always, the review will be honest and entirely my own opinion.

Review: Rimmel 1000 Kisses Lip Tint & Balm in Carry On Cherry

A couple of weeks ago I went to Boots to buy the new Wake Me Up foundation (more on that another day!) and when I noticed Rimmel was on a 3-for-2 offer I picked up my favourite liquid eyeliner (GlamEyes in black) as well and had a look for something else to treat myself to. I was in a bit of a rush so just picked up the first thing that caught my eye, which was the 1000 Kisses lip tint. I didn't have time to test out all the colours so I just went for the one that the packaging looked the most like a "me" sort of colour, and ended up with the shade Carry On Cherry. Once I got it home and tested it out it ended up being a much darker colour than I was expecting, but I actually quite like the colour so I'm glad I ended up with this one.

Rimmel claims that the 1000 Kisses lip stain will give you long-lasting, kiss-proof colour which won't fade or transfer. Unfortunately I didn't have a boy handy to test out the 1000 kisses claim on, but it held up pretty well to a morning's wear plus a sandwich and lots of water at lunchtime! I did reapply after lunch as it was starting to fade a bit, but I wasn't expecting it to last all day. I don't mind reapplying lip products once or twice throughout the day as I think it would have to be a pretty amazing product to be able to last from first thing in the morning to last thing at night!

As for the application itself, the felt-tip pen makes it really easy to get even and precise colour. At the other end of the pen is a lip balm to help moisturise lips and lock in the colour. As with all lip stains, the colour tends to make any patches of dry skin really noticeable so it's a good idea to use a lip scrub (like Lush Pow Wow) before applying. The product was much more pigmented than I was expecting, which was a pleasant surprise. From the outer packaging, I thought the shade Carry On Cherry was going to be more of a peachy/coral/red shade but when it's applied to the lips it's much deeper red, almost leaning towards plum/purple.

I know scented makeup isn't to everyone's tastes, but I personally love it. I think the 1000 Kisses smells a bit like FAB ice lollies, amazing! The only thing I would be worried about with this product is how long it will last before drying out, but I suppose that's something only time will tell. I won't be too bothered if it doesn't last that long though as it's less than £7 in Boots at the moment, and technically I got it for free anyway!

Have you tried the 1000 Kisses lip stain yet? Do you prefer lip stains or lipstick?

Gillian x

Sunday Summary #13

1.Edinburgh skyline 2.Easter egg treats 3.Daffodils in the Meadows 4.Dissertation reading
I have been loving the weather this week, it feels like summer is definitely on its way. I've cheated a little bit with the first photo in this week's post as it was actually taken last summer, but I found it when I was tidying up my computer the other day and it reminded me how much I love summer in Edinburgh. Am I the only one that loves being a tourist in your own city? Taking little day trips and visiting all the sights and museums is always fun and it feels like you're getting a mini holiday without having to go further than a bus journey away!

The only thing I've not been loving about the sunny weather is the fact I've been stuck inside doing uni work. As I can't go out and play, I've been sat beside the window all day with it wide open so I can pretend I'm outside! I've got an essay due for tomorrow which is just about finished (just need to tidy up a few bits and then print it off, which always seems to take hours!) and then my dissertation is due next Tuesday. I'm not really feeling stressed out about it at all which is a good thing, although it does worry me slightly that I'm so laid back about it, I thought I would be majorly panicking in the week or two before it was due! The only thing I'm worried about is having to get it bound etc. - despite being here for nearly 4 years, I've never even used the library printers before, uhoh!

Aside from that, this week has been pretty boring. I didn't even go out this weekend (the first Saturday I've stayed in so far this year!) as all my friends are busy with uni work too. It was so weird to wake up on a Sunday morning without a hangover! Usually I don't even bother getting out of bed on Sunday (apart from at 10pm to watch Desperate Housewives!) but I've had quite a productive day today. Might even tidy the flat tonight if I get this essay finished soon!

What have you been up to this week?

Gillian x

Wishlist: Summer Pastels

1.Yellow Cornelli Collar Dress 2.White Tie Front Shirt 3.Silver Triangle Spike Necklace 4.Aqua Twill Long Sleeve Wrap Dress 5.Mr Octopus Ring 6.Mint Bowling Bag 7.Coral Zip Back Chiffon Dress 8.Wedge Platform Sandals 9.Neon Denim Biker Jacket
It has been surprisingly warm and sunny the last few days which has made me want to go shopping for summer clothes. Normally my summer clothes are more or less the same as my winter clothes, but with less layers of tights and cardigans. This year, however, I'm in the mood for a whole new wardrobe filled with floaty dresses and ice-cream coloured accessories. I'm determined to break my habit of wearing black all the time!

I'm a little bit in love with the mint bowling bag from Topshop, it looks like such a pretty colour and the perfect size/shape for an every day bag. I do actually need a new bag, so this is probably the thing from this wishlist which I'm most likely to buy soon. I also think it would be best to start introducing pastels to my wardrobe in the form of accessories first, I'm not ready to abandon my black dresses and opaque tights just yet!

The white shirt from Miss Selfridge doesn't look particularly exciting, but I don't have a slouchy white shirt in my wardrobe and I think it would be perfect for summer to wear with some bright jeans or shorts. I really like the tie front detail as well, a bit of a hint of 50s style without looking like you're off to a fancy dress party! The shirt would look great with long layered necklaces, like this silver triange one from Bad Passion.

I really like the aqua wrap dress from LOVE but I'm disappointed to see the biggest size they do is a 10/12. Seriously?! Especially as they're becoming a bit more of a 'mainstream' brand who are stocked in Topshop, I'm surprised they don't have any bigger sizes. (And I wouldn't exactly say 14/16 is 'big', anyway!) Very annoying.

What have you got your eye on at the moment? Are you a fan of the pastel trend?

Gillian x

Outfit: Rust

Jumper: Primark
Shorts: New Look
Necklace: Topshop
Boots: Primark

You know you need to stop buying clothes when it gets to the point that you buy something, chuck the bag at the bottom of your wardrobe when you get home, and then completely forget all about it! That's exactly what happened with these shorts, I bought them back in January but only discovered them when I was tidying my room the other day. My wardrobe is definitely getting to be a bit like "can't see the forest for the trees", I've got so many clothes but always feel like I've got nothing to wear. My recent ebay clear-out has made some extra room and I'm hoping to get rid of a lot more stuff soon so I can work out what I actually like and buy things I want to wear instead of just buying for the sake of it!

Aaaanyway, I'm really glad I found these shorts as they're such a gorgeous burnt orange/rust/terracotta colour. I love the fact that they're high waisted as well which makes them much more flattering and comfier. I'm never buying non-high waisted shorts/jeans again! I wanted to show off the high waistedness and pretty buttons but with this jumper I think I definitely prefer it untucked. I bought this jumper ages ago but never really wear it as I wasn't sure what to wear it with. It's not quite cropped but it doesn't seem properly full length either - just seems to be a weird length on me! I really like it with the shorts though, and I think the cream colour goes nicely with the rusty shade of the shorts.

I seem to go in cycles of wearing these boots all the time and then not wearing them for months, then wearing them loads again. The heel is looking a bit worn down but I think they're doing pretty well considering I bought them when I was still at school, so they must be at least 4 or 5 years old by now! Not bad for a pair of cheapy Primark shoes.

Are you guilty of buying thing and forgetting about them?

Gillian x

Sunday Summary #12

1.Sunny Edinburgh from my window 2.New Rimmel purchases 3.Topshop order 4.Kopparberg 5.Best ice cream ever
Hello chums! Can you believe it's Sunday again already, where has this week gone?! I can't wait until all my university deadlines are finished so I can go and do exciting things and actually have something interesting to tell you about in my Sunday Summary posts! The exam timetables were published this week, so I will be finished on the 21st May. It's a scary thought, but at the same time it can't come soon enough! I'm still debating whether or not to apply for a Masters course, I have absolutely no idea what I want to do with my life. Help?!

I'm loving how sunny it is here at the moment, it definitely feels like summer is coming. I'm usually much more of a winter person but this year was a bit disappointing with there being no snow, and it wasn't even very cold (I think we only switched the heating on about 5 or 6 times!). This will probably be the last summer where I get to have about 3 months off to do whatever I like, so I'm hoping it will be a good one.

I've been a bit bad this week and broken my spending ban, but I think my purchases were justified so I'm letting myself off! I bought some jeans from Topshop which were kind of an "essential" purchase as I don't have any jeans at the moment which fit properly, plus I think I will definitely get a lot of wear out of them. I also had a little splurge in Boots yesterday, but I paid with my advantage card points so technically it was free and therefore doesn't count, right?! I've heard a lot of good things about the new Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation so went to buy that, but when I noticed Rimmel was on a 3 for 2 offer I couldn't resist getting some other things too. I picked up my favourite eyeliner plus a new lipstain to try. Once I've had a chance to use the products a few times I will do some reviews of them, so look out for those over the next couple of weeks.

As usual I am sporting a bit of a hangover today so am just having a lazy day in my bed catching up with blogs, watching things on Netflix and eating ice cream and spaghetti hoops (not together though, obvs). Any recommendations of films to watch? I've also been doing lots of tumbling (?) this week as I made a new tumblr for the blog, you can follow me here. Let me know your links so I can follow you too!

How has your week been?

Gillian x

Outfit: The Luck of the Irish

Dress: Topshop
Belt: Dorothy Perkins
Shoes: Schuh
Earrings: Dorothy Perkins

Happy St Patrick's Day everyone! I had promised myself I would stay in this weekend and get lots of my dissertation done, but as soon as I realised it was St Patrick's Day this Saturday I swiftly changed my mind! Usually on Saturdays I laze about all day and then have a mad rush to get ready in the evening, but this week I'm organised, dressed and watching the rugby - no drink in hand yet though, will wait a wee bit longer for that!

I didn't want to go too over the top so I've decided to wear my favourite black dress and add some green accessories. Although it doesn't look that great in the photos, this dress is so nice and flattering in real life. I think the wrap style of the dress goes really well with the big obi belt. I love bright belts for adding a bit of colour to my outfits, especially as I always seem to end up wearing black dresses for nights out!

These shoes aren't green, but any excuse to wear them is good enough for me! I usually only buy cheap heels as I am the worst at ruining shoes, but I'm so glad I bought these. They're so pretty, and the glitter doesn't seem to have fallen off at all yet (touch wood).

An email dropped into my inbox the other day from Sourz with a couple of cocktail recipes created for St Patrick's Day. I love the sound of the Emerald Appletini, will definitely be trying that one out this evening! I love making cocktails at home, it's always fun to experiment and attempt to invent your own ones.



Are you celebrating St Patrick's Day today? Will you be trying out some homemade cocktails?

Gillian x

Review: Revlon Pink About It Lipstick

A couple of weeks ago I saw a post on Fat Frocks where Gem mentioned she was wearing Revlon's Pink About It lipstick and I instantly fell in love with the colour. Unfortunately the shade is now discontinued but they're easy to find on ebay for around £2-£3 or on discount websites like Fragrance Direct, which is a bargain considering these Revlon Matte Lipsticks usually over £7 in Boots.

I've never used a Revlon lipstick before, but I'm really impressed by the formula. It's very creamy and easy to apply without being too heavy. The swatch above is two coats of the lipstick, which is how I would usually wear it on my lips. It also looks great with just a very light single coat to give a flush of colour for the daytime rather than a proper lipsticky look. It is quite long lasting although, as with pretty much all lipsticks, it does need a little bit of topping up throughout the day. I've never tried Lipcote before but I've heard it's good for making your lipstick last longer, is it worth investing in?

The thing that initially drew me to this lipstick was the colour. Although the name "Pink About It" would suggest it was a very girly pink colour, I would say it leans more towards coral with pink undertones. I love coral lipsticks but unfortunately they don't suit my skin tone very well, so this pinky-coral is perfect. I haven't used MAC's Viva Glam Nicki in real life, but from swatches I've seen online it looks like quite a similar colour, although Pink About It does look darker. Possible dupe if you fancy something a bit cheaper and more wearable?

Overall I would really recommend this lipstick - mostly because I love the colour, but also because it applies really well and has a nice formula. Although it is a matte formula, it doesn't feel drying at all. I've never really thought of Revlon as a brand famous for their lipsticks, but I would definitely consider buying more from this range. Have you tried Revlon lipsticks before?

And on a little side note, I've decided to create a Tumblr that's a bit more blog-orientated and will feature fashion/style/beauty/etc. photos as well as my own photos from blog posts. Follow me at elevatormusikblog.tumblr.com and let me know your links so I can follow you too! I'll still be using my personal Tumblr, club-tropicana.tumblr.com, which you can follow too if you like black & white pictures, wolves, spooky things and angst haha!

Gillian x

Sunday Summary #11

1.New DVDs 2.Pints 3.Goody bag from IWD event 4.Homemade popcorn 5.Sweet chilli chicken & salad baguette
Seriously cannot believe it's Sunday again already, this week has gone so fast. Sorry there has been a bit of a lack of activity on the blog lately, my dissertation is due in 3 weeks so that (plus all my other uni work) is taking up most of my time these days. Can't wait to be finished and have a bit of a holiday - but then it's back to studying for exams in May!

I seem to have had a pretty busy social life this week as well, which makes a change. As all my friends have lots of uni work to do too, we usually go out on Saturday nights but that's about it. This week I was out with my friends on Wednesday night, went through to Glasgow for the IWD Blogger Meet on Thursday, then on Saturday Lauren came through to Edinburgh for a wee visit. We went for dinner at Wannaburger (bacon cheeseburger with jalepenos - YUM) then came back to my flat for drinks with some of my friends before heading out to the student union for lots of dancing. This was inevitably followed by a trip to the chip shop at 3am on the way home, and then a hungover lunch in McDonald's today. Sorry for ruining your diet Lauren haha!

On the way back from lunch this afternoon I had a look round HMV and treated myself to a couple of DVDs. As much as I love the easiness of watching films with Netflix, I still love to buy DVDs to add to my collection. I've never seen either of these films before but I've heard they're both good. Now I just need to decide which to watch tonight - Scott Pilgrim or Zombieland?

What have you been up to this week?

Gillian x

International Women's Day Blogger Get Together

Yesterday I headed through to Glasgow for a blogger get together organised by Kirsty in aid of International Women's Day. Not only was it lovely to meet other Scottish bloggers but it was a great chance to donate to some money to a very worthy cause. You can read more about how Oxfam are helping women across the world (and you can donate via the website too!) over on Oxfam's International Women's Day website.

The event was held in Hillhead Bookclub which was a great venue with a relaxed atmosphere and really nice decor. Will definitely be visiting again if I'm back in Glasgow any time soon! The event itself consisted of a quiz, clothes swap, manicures, raffle and bake sale (all the lovely cakes were made by Rani, yum!) and of course lots of chatting! It was so nice to catch up with some of the girls I met at the last Scottish blogger meet up in December, as well as meeting lots of new people. It's amazing how easy it is to chat to everyone, even though you've never met you feel like you already know each other! Hopefully I'll see you all again soon, I definitely think it's Edinburgh's turn for the next meet up! Feel free to add me on Twitter for a chat.

Hope everyone had a great night, and thank you to Kirsty and Rani for organising everything. Also big thanks to Lilith for rescuing me from my train trauma haha!

Gillian x

Sunday Summary #10

1.Pretty Chambord bottle 2.Thai red curry 3.Pick 'n Mix from the cinema 4.Discoball 5.Homemade margaritas

Well this week has been another pretty uneventful one, uni work is definitely getting in the way of having fun at the moment! Did manage to have a night out last night though which involved rather a lot of homemade cocktails. I think it's safe to say my measures are a little bit bigger than bar measures! Sundays might as well just not exist for me, I can't remember the last time I did anything productive on a Sunday. Still haven't managed to get out of my bed yet and it's nearly 4 o'clock, oops!

Earlier in the week my flatmate and I took advantage of Orange Wednesdays and went to the cinema to see The Muppets. I really enjoyed it, would definitely recommend it! I wasn't expecting it to be so good, but it was really funny and I loved that some of the songs were written by Bret McKenzie of Flight of the Conchords fame - one of my favourite TV shows ever! We also went out for dinner before the film and had yummy Mexican food and margaritas.

Saving for the America holiday fund is going pretty well so far, it's amazing how much money I'm saving just by cancelling all my subscriptions/memberships for things I don't really need. Finally admitted to myself that I am the laziest person ever and I'm never going to go back to the gym, so that has been cancelled! I've got loads of stuff up on ebay which is ending tonight (take a look here!) so that'll add a fair bit to the fund too. And that's just the tip of the iceberg, I've got sooo much more stuff to put on ebay. It's ridiculous the amount of clothes I have that I never wear!

Have you been up to anything exciting this week?

Gillian x

Outfit: Hi-Tops

Blazer: H&M
Top: H&M
Necklace: Quiz
Jeans: Topshop
Nike Hi-Tops: Schuh Ebay Store

You might have noticed these shoes in my last Sunday Summary post and ohmygod I am in love with them! They are so comfy and effortlessly cool with jeans and a tshirt. I've added my bright pink H&M blazer to this outfit to make it a bit more 'sports luxe'. I really like this blazer as it looks good dressed up or dressed down, which is always useful!

I had to dig these jeans out from the back of my wardrobe to wear with this outfit, and I must admit they're a little bit tighter than they used to be! I used to wear jeans every day, but somewhere along the way I got distracted by skirts and dresses and abandoned my old faithful Topshop Pippas. Sadly Topshop don't make the Pippa style any more but I've got my eye on the Kristens instead. The blue denim pair would be great for 'everyday' jeans, and the peachy ones are gorgeous and would be great for summer. I'm on a spending ban at the moment, but I might see if my budget can stretch to the blue pair as jeans are pretty much a wardrobe essential, right? Right.

The shoes themselves are amazing and look great with jeans. Unfortunately I don't think I'm quite cool enough to pull them off with skirts/dresses but I shall do some experimenting and see! I've wanted a pair of hi-tops for ages but wasn't willing to pay £50+ for them as I don't think I'll wear them all that often. So when I spotted these on the Schuh Ebay page I had to snap them up. I ended up getting them for £13, absolute bargain! The Schuh Ebay Store sells shoes that are ex-display, returns, slightly faulty etc. and most of the auctions start at 99p. Usually you can barely tell there's any 'damage' so you're basically getting a brand new pair of shoes for a fraction of the price! My hi-tops had a tiny scuff-mark on the black part but I wouldn't even have noticed it if it hadn't been pointed out.

Do you like wearing jeans? What other outfits would you wear hi-tops with?

Gillian x