Archive for June, 2009

Did you know things like this existed within the M25? Sprawling woods full of winding paths and happy squirrels?

How about this? A lovely little disused castle hidden away on the top of a hill?

A rose garden with killer views in the grounds of a now demolished building from a couple of hundred years before you were born, perhaps?

Or a tiny little meadow?!

On Sunday, Charles and I walked the first section of the Capital Ring, a 78 mile walk around London that goes through as much greenery as possible. At one point, it sweeps just past my flat and through Crystal Palace park,somewhere I’m a little more familiar with, but the first section goes from Woolwich to Falconwood, an area in the borough of Greenwich that neither of us had a clue about.

We started the day by getting the Thames Clipper from Waterloo to Woolwich, and then set about the 7.1 mile section that weaved first along the Thames path, before cutting through gorgeous parks, beautiful woodland and one scary patch of open common that Charles described (quite accurately) as “slightly murdery.” And he lives in Stockwell.

Despite the fact we knew the walk took in green space as often as possible, we weren’t quite ready for the amazing ruins of two old houses (Jackwood House and Castlewood House), the strange Severndroog Castle (described aptly in the route guide as ‘eccentric’) and the lovely Oxleas Meadow (think Primrose Hill but with rural views) and its gorgeous accompanying wood. Without doing this walk, I never would have known such amazing green spaces existed so close to London. It wasn’t until we got on what felt like the loudest tube in history to go home that we realised just how quiet and peaceful it had been.

70-odd miles in various sections is going to take us some time – especially with the logistics of having to get to and from places like Hounslow and Greenford for the northern sections – but we’re hoping to complete the whole thing eventually. Obviously, I’ll keep you posted!

It’s time for another mascara review, as I hunt for the perfect lash perfector. I’m going to try and alternate between makeup counter options and bargain alternatives, because I truly believe there are some £5 mascaras out there that really do the job.

Today, however, is the turn of the pricey ‘Sumptuous’ from Estee Lauder, a £17+ treat in a swish gold tube that promises bold volume and lift.

Now I like drama, and when I was buying this, that was what I was promised. Well, actually I was told I should try the TurboLash with its vibrating brush, but the idea of putting something that vibrates so close to my eyes freaks me out, as does the £27.40 price tag. So Sumptuous it was.

All in all, this does the job. It’s a proper old-school mascara, with a classic mid-sized bristle brush and quite a thick, dense creamy texture. Where it really impressed me was that it just doesn’t clump. Cheaper mascaras of a similar thickness (Rimmel Volume Flash, for example) give bold results but need loads of combing through to separate the lashes after application. With this, I only needed a couple of coats for a daytime lash, but I found I could keep on adding it without any clumping.

However, it takes quite a lot of coats for anything resembling the false lash look I like, but I do have high hopes when it comes to that. As a does-it-all daytime mascara, it looks the part, stays on all day, and doesn’t weigh down the lashes. Whether it’s worth £17 I’m not sure, but the lack of clumps definitely makes it a cut above many rivals.

Estee Lauder Sumptuous Mascara £17.13

Before: Maybelline Stiletto Lash
Next: Rimmel Glam’Eyes

Last night I was supposed to go to a burlesque class with the lovely Zara. Unfortunately, I’ve come down with a weird cold / cough bug that’s rendered me grumpy and sofa-ridden when I should have been prancing about with a feather boa.

So in an attempt to cheer myself up late last night, I attempted my own little burlesque / pin-up girl homage in the privacy of my own bathroom. I never really wear my hair up, and you can probably see why. These are the kind of ridiculous photos that will a) come back to haunt me in a few years time and b) not be possible when I move in with the boy later this Summer. So enjoy while you can!

I’d like to tell you how I did the hair, but I really can’t. It’s neat in the front, but at the back there’s all kinds of partying going on. It involved masses of dry shampoo, a lot of kirby grips and a dozen of those annoying metal sectioning clips that either slide out or get ridiculously tangled up. I really don’t know how Bernie Dexter does it.

I’ve been talking about mascara a lot on Twitter recently. As makeup goes, it seems to be the thing that gets people most angry / passionate / vocal. Ironically it’s also the thing I probably spend the least amount of money on. While my skin is coated in £25 foundation and my lips given a bit of shine with £15 lipgloss, the mascara I use rarely costs much more than a fiver.

Thing is, I’ve never found the perfect one. So I’m still on the lookout. Plenty have impressed me, an equal number have let me down. I’m sure you’re the same, ladies, so in an attempt to perform some kind of service on this blog other than amusing myself, I’ve decided I should try as many mascaras as I possibly can and share the results.

I’ll start with Maybelline Lash Stiletto. Looks pretty, has a quirky idea behind it, and doesn’t cost the earth. Sadly, I found it a little ‘meh‘. It does what it’s supposed to – adds gloss and loads of length, but I just wasn’t wowed by it. Maybelline are the mascara brand but this one isn’t their best, I think it’s just a bit too thin. I like drama and drama with this means four or five coats.

One thing I did love, however, was the brush. It’s a godsend if you’re fed up of HUGE brushes or plastic bristles or whatever other ‘new’ idea is trying to reinvent the wheel. This goes back to basics, it’s a long-bristled, narrow brush that gets to the roots and drags the lashes out and up. It’s really good for lower lashes and it allows so much control I can apply it on the train without smudging.

Yes, I do my makeup on the train. Please don’t judge me. It’s A 45 minute commute and I like my sleep!

Maybelline Lash Stiletto: £7.82 (with £2 off at Boots now)

Next: Estee Lauder Sumptuous.

I have frequent bouts of sadness at the moment when I look at Catwalk Queen and realise it’s not mine to do with as I please any more. Though my new job does involve some fashion writing and research, the site (launching soon, I hope) is much broader in terms of what we cover, and I don’t get to be so involved in what’s going on in the world of fashion any more. In some ways it’s great,  as I get to read the site as a visitor and not an editor. But it’s also sad that I don’t get to do things like visit Graduate Fashion Week and tour the press days at the moment.

That said, because I came into this very early on, I spent a long time trying to help PRs get to grips with blogs, and I’m still very much involved in that area of the industry. Yesterday morning I put my blogging hat back on for a breakfast meeting with a high street brand, where we discussed fashion blogs and PRs. I was waxing lyrical about how wonderful the big PR 360 has been in terms of giving bloggers access to things, understanding how and why to work with them, and managing communications when things go wrong, and I really meant it.

Sadly, when I got to the office I was greeted with a tweet from Liberty London Girl regarding the shocking treatment of Susie Bubble by Pam Hogg’s PR, after she took some cameraphone pictures of her and a friend trying on catsuits in Hogg’s pop-up shop and put them on her blog.

I don’t even know where to begin in addressing this. I suppose in a way I don’t need to. The damage has been done, so perhaps now these people will realise that the internet is there to be embraced, not ignored. I applaud Susie for having the guts to put up a post explaning exactly what happened, especially since it may jeopardise future communications with these PRs in her day job (at Dazed Digital).

To the ladies at Pam Hogg, you can try and ‘manage’ the reputation of your brand, but I really don’t see the problem with a well-respected, award-winning fashion blogger and industry insider posting a few pics of herself having fun and looking fabulous when you’ve already happily seen your creations on WAGs in the Daily Mail.

…and I didn’t even have to mention Peaches Geldof.