Ego and Greed

I have been browsing Solestruck (awesome shoe website) again. Don't worry - my bank card is safely squirrelled away in my wallet and I am NOT buying. No, I am not. Through Solestruck I have discovered some amazing shoes and brands (Jeffrey Campbell, Senso) that I might otherwise not be aware of. Which may actually have left the aforementioned bank card less afraid of melting through potential over use. Thankfully, the prices are usually more than I can afford so I generally can't go splashing out. That said, they're also in the 'occasional treat if I save' arena. And, after a couple of recent emails, I've been compelled to check out a new (to me!) brand - Ego and Greed. It's a wedge-tastic collection with fierce platforms, neon brights and random prints. Google them if you have a mo' - their website's weird as fuck. Sorry - no politer way (for me at least) to out it.

In the meantime, here are some of their shoes that I love. And to think that I never used to wear wedges...

I don't know what kind of apples these are but there's no question they're apples. I've gone all posh lately and started eating those fancy pink lady apples. They're friggin' good. As I'm a through and through skinflint Scot, I only buy them on offer.

Miaow! Or miu even, as these babies are very Miu-miu circa last year. I'm all over these.

 A glorious little oxford with a pretty girlie twist. Flat, comfy, flowery and demonstrating a move away from onr-trick-pony territory. Good move.

 

Bazing! Kapow! And in yo' FACE! They come in a bunch of other equally neon-tastic colours. If you like highlighter pens, these are for you.

See, now, I just simply enjoy these. Neon bright against a neutral - it just works. If I was forced to choose one pair, it may be these. Hmm...

As promised - Oxegen

Oxegen festival was a couple of weeks back now - how time flies when you're having fun/working/going to t'gym/catching up with folk/watching shit tv/shopping online*. I was there with work for the Schuh Welly Exchange, which I've mentioned on here before. You'll get the gist from the tent front though...

*delete as applicable

Here are the wellies just waiting to be tried on!

It was great fun chatting to people at the festival and also having the opportunity to be involved in something that's working for a good cause - people literally couldn't believe that all they had to do was hand over their festival muddied shoes and we'd give them a brand new pair of wellies. Woop!

But it wasn't all work...

Oh no, we had time for some eating, drinking exploring and, of course, for some bands and dancing!

Dancing like a loon...

Dress (£5 in sale) and sunnies: H&M, hairband: bought in San Fran on honeymoon. Pal: Dave

Neil and I comparing massive wine bottle sized hands...

And as I mentioned, we had a great time checking out bands - mainly bigger folk since it was mostly in the evening that we were free...

Two Door Cinema Club. And people.

The Strokes. I die. Mr Scribbler was forewarned that if I didn't come home it was because I'd run off with Fabrizio Moretti, AKA one of the finest men EVER.

Liam slept all the way through the Beady Eye set. They were better than I expected.

The Arctic Monkeys. Also better than expected and Alex Turner got hot too! Score. Basically music festivals turn me into a perv.

The Foo Fighters. Honest. No, really!

We enjoyed that lot. This lot not so much...

I suspect U 100%, absolutely can beat a burger...especially their burgers.

Mr Mankini. Tell your eyes I'm sorry. They say a problem shared is a problem halved though. So, by rights, for everyone of you who sees this, my eyes will gradually heal. Yes, I realise I'm the one who took a picture of it.

Bargain booty!

This weekend, some good stuff happened. It was my lovely pal Ali's birthday party. That was good. The next day, I got my arse out of bed and went out on my bike and surprised myself mightily by cycling about 23 miles to North Berwick! I'm doing a 52ish mile sponsored ride in September so I need to get my training on. Here are my handle bars arriving there. It was such a gorgeous day for being out and about!

The next good thing that happened was that I got an IMMENSE bargain. Major. These boots from Urban Outfitters:

S'cuse the fuzzy iPhone photos. As it's been a wee while since I posted I was keen to get these babies up pronto! Observe le £215 price tag:

I picked them up, tried them (teeny bit big but, being boots, they stay on anyway and I can bulk 'em out with socks) and figured 40 quid down from £215 wasn't bad. Especially given that they are the softest, loveliest leather, leather lined and leather soled - pure posh, ken? But, I got to the cash desk and...

...they were only 20 quid! Down from £215. That's nearly 91% off! I walked out of the shop stunned (after buying them obvs). And I know you might not believe it given the size of my shoe wardrobe but I don't actually have a pair of black leather boots! Talk about a gap in the market! Or my shoe wardrobe - whatever.

Lovely leather soles

And, as black boots go, they're pretty frickin' perfect. They're high enough to be awesome but with a thick enough platform to be comfy. They have definite fierce 80s style connotations - have you clocked that massive sturdy elasticated gusset (ps - if you aren't tittering at 'gusset' just now, we can't be friends. Sorry.)? - and will be awesome with big jumper dresses and tights/leggings when it's cold but not icy. They have a chunk-a-mondo heel and the toe is a pointy-but-not-too-pointy almond shape. I loves them.

They're by a brand called either d.co or dico Copenhagen (depending what bit of their website you believe.). Ker-ching!

Mish Mash!

This is a mish mash post! Why? Because I had these shots of me in these shoes from AGES ago that I never got round to using and because Sarah at Misfits Vintage had awarded me a Top Blogger award that appaz requires me to tell you about my top 10 beauty products. Thanks Sarah! You are most awesome.

So, I decided that neither thing in their own right warranted a whole post, hence a mish mash fusion! Let's start with the shoes:

They were a cheapo bargain from Matalan a wee while back! I don't wear them very often but they're cute. I always think faux suede looks better than faux leather ever can. Plus, it doesn't have the rank plastic feel and smell of faux leather. The cute crackled faux leather on these babies is an exception, obvs!

Dress: Trollied Dolly, Leggings: Uniqlo, Shoes: Matalan, Cardi: TU via charity shop.

I look on some kind of mission here! The nice thing about finding these pics now is that they are 2 or 3 months old and I can totally see the difference going to the gym and eating better is making. My legs are actually starting to shape up - hallelujah! And I have less cellulite - no joke! Fuck fancy potions, eh? Plus, I feel better, healthier and more confident, which is the absolute main thing.

So, to the top 10. I loved that Sarah made it more about tips so as not to advertise anyone for free. I am far less principled (sorry! Actually, I'm not sorry - like it or lump it people!) so here's what I got for you. Unsurprisingly there are nigh on no hair tips in there!

1. Carmex lipbalm. Being full of lip, I'm picky about what I moosh about my gob in the lipbalm stakes and have never found anything that works for me as well as Carmex. I bulk buy it from the US on eBay - there's a frugal tip for ya!

2. MAC lipstick for a treat. I just love it. I try to pick it up at Duty Free where possible. However, did you know that MAC do 'back to MAC'? (If they still call it that). You take either 5 or 6 empty MAC pots/tubes etc and you get a free lipstick! Worth knowing.

3. Cheap mascara. I don't do expensive mascara. Just curl your eyelashes and go for whatever's cheapest that doesn't flake right off your face. Again, I've bulk bought ones I've liked from eBay.

4. Lots of water and healthy eating!

5. Cheap nail polish. I just can't bring myself to spend a lot on it. Barry M is probably my fave. As long as you let it dry propery and use a topcoat it should last ok!

6. Lush solid shampoo. It's good for the environment as there's no packaging, it's handy for travel as it's solid (no leaks and you can take it hand luggage on a plane), plus it's always been swell for my hair!

7. Lush Dream Cream - an actual skin saver. When I worked at Lush we'd have folk come in for it for excema, psoriasis, nappy rash and all kinds of skin ailments, each one of them swearing by it. I use it for regular body moisturising but also sun burn or exposure, dry skin, irritated skin, shaving rash - the list goes on. It's the ultimate soother and I even use it on a stressed face occasionally.

8. Touche Eclat. Sorry, I know it's the fancy one but I've never found a cheap alternatve I like better. Of course, I never buy it at high street prices.

9. If only this list was about shoes, I'd have more to share.

10. Hmm. Blusher - wakes a face up no end!

That's all folks!

Yes, it's another pair of leopard print shoes.

It's like Pringles say: once you pop, you can't stop. Or in the case or leopard print, maybe 'once you spot, you can't stop'. Which in many ways is actually better than Pringles' chat because it contains an anagram and who doesn't love shit like that? Ah, word play. The wise owl likes it.

Owl ring: Claire's

 Look - he's smiling. These owls like wordplay too. They're most fervently fond of fancy alliteration. If only it was called falliteration. That would be perfect.

Owl necklace: Claire's

And back to the matter in hand. Yes, we're talking shoes people. Just for a change. Last month, I made mention of a pair of leopard print Red or Dead shoes I was having fancy feelings for. And so I took the plunge and got a pair (from Schuh)! Look how lovely they are!

Red or Dead 'Paloma' heels: Schuh

They're pair #63 in my 'wear all my shoes' challenge (I REALLY must re-count and see who still needs worn!). I, of course, am hugely supportive of the fact that they're leopard print: my go-to neutral. I'm also a fan of their hairiness, their platform and the soft suede on said platform and heel. Plus, I like the wonky extended toe and can't help thinking that they've got a definite air of exaggerated YSL Tribute about them. Minus the exaggerated designer price tag.

Owls: Claire's, Cardi and Belt: H&M, Shoes: Red or Dead @ Schuh, Dress: I made it.

Me, the owls and the hairy printed beasts. I like the leopardiness with purple. That's all from me for the evening. I spent this weekend at Oxegen in Ireland (post to come) and am shattered! So it's goodnight from me (*night*) and goodnight from yet another pair of awesome shoes (*goodnight*). Yes, I'm so sleepy I'm making the shoes talk to you. Crazy lady.

Night!

Perpetual Mullet.

Yes, I have decided (for now) to grow out my hair and, at the moment, am in a state of perpetual mullet. What's a girl to do? I'm no good with hair anyway - I never know what to do with it, what products to use or anything.  Literally, these days I am shampoo only and, if I go for a particularly high quiff, a squirt of hairspray. My hair's so short it doesn't even need conditioner. That'll be back in the regime as soon as I have a bit more length though. So, at the moment, the 'do' is in a not-properly-short-but-not-yet-bob-length-either state and the bit that seems to grow fastest is ALWAYS the back of it. I bring this topic up purely because you can see the mullet flicks in the picture below:

Shoes: Schuh, Dress: Urban Outfitter, Shirt and Belt: H&M

I was interviewing at work today so thought I best keep to a slightly neater version of me. Don't worry - there's still ALWAYS a way to work leopard print into any look. Phew! And some accessory awesomeness! The little owl ring is new (duty free when I was at an airport waaaaaaaaaay early. Duty Free is lethal when there's lots of time to kill) and I L-O-V-E him. He's so cute! I feel I will be wearing him a lot. I think we've met the other jewels before.

And so to the shoes. Everyone knows that, if you're going to work 'smart', you need a nice pair of shoes. And I happen to think mine are particularly nice! I've wanted to get a pair of brogues for ages but wasn't sure my legs could, er, work them. Last winter I got my brogue boots which are currently awaiting re-heeling because they were worn so much (off topic, but does anyone have any vague interest whatsoever in shoe repairing? I have about 10 pairs to have mended and can't decide if shoe resurrection equals a remotely worthwhile blog post!). So, I decided that I didn't much care if people liked how they looked on me and went for it anyway.

Pair #62 in the shoe wearing challenge! Look. Aren't I gentlemanly? In a girlie pink sorta way. The brogues are from Schuh and are a gorgeous soft leather and they feel just lovely on. Plus, they smell proper leathery too - I love that. In fact I was chatting to someone today (hello!) who says she regularly offers people a sniff of her Mulberry bag. I totally get that. I'll be honest, I kind of wanted to smell it too! And, on that note, I bid you all a good evening.

Toe so pretty! (See what I did there?)

Shoe Porn?

I got an email today that purported to share the delights of the new Christian Louboutin collection. Being a sucker for their gorgeous designs (and a major designer shoe coveter. Sin or no sins, if my neighbour was trotting about in a pair, I'd be coveting the ASS off them!), I was excited to take a peek. It didn't last long. There were a few pretties (loving the suede block colour platforms) and some weird and wonderful (hello yeti's foot) but, beyond that it was pretty dullsville - boring pumps, yet another studded stiletto, a plain stiletto with an ankle strap. I am sad. So much so that I'm just going to show you some high(ish)lights.

Amazing colour that goes with bog all, big platform and a dash of glitter? Count me IN!

You reckon you'd get on a flight with this. I LOVE the fierce shoulder. The bag is blah.

I love limes. I appreciate these lime flavoured shoes.

Because I am a fan of a classic platform and it would be rude to shout out the lime ones and not these.

I think I actually would if they weren't a slingback. I don't do slingbacks (she says whilst wearing a high heeled slingback clog effort). SO odd!

Speaking of odd. Yes, it's the aforementioned yeti's foot.