I'm back

Pearls Are Rare blog is back up and running.

After a long break from blogging oh here, i decide to get stuck back into it. I have spent the last six months maintaining a neurophysiology blog for work, so getting back to a more personal blog is a great relief. I'm in the throws of a style overhaul, so you can look forward to hearing about more of my diasters then successes no doubt.

Get a girl a cocktail...

Saturday was a long overdue cocktail night. The cocktail of choice is always a french martini, and how hard is it to get a good FM, very. I have been to bars across London and the best bar for french martinis is Annex 3, i wish i could find a few more bars that can match them.

This weekend i spent the weekend drinking Lychee Champagne and Raspberry Mojitos.

I must say it has been a while since i have had cocktails and i think it's time to get back into happy hour with a little alfresco drinking.

Looking for the perfect French Martini in the name of research...

Ahh Mr President

Making Your Own Facial Toners

From about the age of 14 i used the clinque three step system, it is a great combo but one step that can be achieved at a much cheaper cost is the toner - step2. A few years ago i was reading the ingreients and realised that i was paying about £18 for witch hazel, alcohol and water.

So i decided to make my own. I used to use witch hazel and distilled water now i use hydrosols which i think are more effective and gentler on the skin. Hydrosols are the product of steam distillation of essential oils and have the properties of the essential oil in a milder form.

I mix 80ml rose water, 10ml witch hazel hydrosol and 10ml Geranium hydrosol. This produces a toner which is both soothing and astrigent because of the witch hazel. There is no alcohol so it doesn't strip your skin of mositure. And it works out at about £3 for100ml.

You can play around with different hydrosol according to your skin needs
e.g.
Rosemary - balancing for oily skin
Chammoile - calming, anti inflammatory, sensitive skins
Witch Hazel - astringent, calming good for control outbreaks
Franckiensce - toning for mature skins

I buy my hydrosols from Aromantic, a great website with lots of information and good prices. Or Naturally Thinking which have a larger range .

I would advise anyone to give it a try and you'll see the difference in your skin and wallet too.

Forzieri

On of my favorite online shops is Forzieri . It an Italian website with mostly Italian and a few European designers. The choice of clothes, shoes and accessories is large and a good price range.

I recieved a gift card for my birthday and it has been hard work spending it because i can't choose what to buy, so i keep making wish lists then return a few days later and start the search again. I managed to spend a bit on the Bentley Googles (see last post) but still have a bit more to buy.

Here is my current saved wish list

Casedi Heels - what a heel

Quai D'Orsay - i love the pearl anklet strap

Francesco Biasia - perfect mix of causal

& chic because of the soft metallic tones

Guess- cute pink shoes always a good buy

Scooter Fashion

As the weather has "improved" i'm ready to bring the Vespa out.

I love my Vespa, i get around in half the time, no congestion charge, no parking tickets (well almost none) and i love the freedom speeding down the road.

I have been looking for a retro style helmet that i like for ages but am yet to find the one that screams out to me, i'm the one u been looking for.

However i have found another accessory which i'm loving, i just ordered it from Forierzi and will get it in a few weeks, i'm so excited. They are Bentley Leather Googles, aren't they hot...

I'm not 30 am I...

So this year i turned 30, in an attempt to not turn into a fanfare i left the country and all those who knew my age behind me and celebrated my birthday in a very low key way. Since then every so often i catch myself saying "well now i'm 30.." and then i stop think oh dear i'm thirty. I'm thirty not married, still grappling to get all the requistes for my ideal job, still like eating kiddies yoghurt over adult yoghurt and the list goes on...

This shouldn't be a big deal but there seems to be some universal finger that keeps pointing a finger to remind me i'm 30 and am no closer to my "30 things to do by 30," then i was at 21 when i decided those goals.

Then last week came the big hyperventilate panic, it came as i was talking about my grandchildren (i know, yes i did say i have no man, let alone no children to make the grandchildren yet, but i'm being positive) and then had an irrational panic that i wouldn't be alive to see my child's fifty birthday as i would by that time i would be at least 85. Now in hindsight this was slightly out there and crazy thing to panic about but this is what becoming 30 does to you, it appears that you fixate on the most minute detail and obsess about it.

I guess the plus side is that apparently, i don't look my age, in the past month i have been asked for id in the supermarket twice and mistaken for a 21 yr old.