Good news shoppers of Liverpool! Our favourite store is holding another massive event this weekend (similar to the one in the summer but, yano, better cos it’s Christmas!). All this weekend in store there’ll be: 

On top of that they’re offering one lucky shopper to win a £500 spending spree in store (I know right? OH EM GEE) – all you have to do is tweet @ScouseBirdProbs & @river_island a picture of yourselves next to the big gold bow in store using the hashtag #RILiverpool before the store closes on Sunday. Dead easy or what? Best of luck everyone!

Xoxo

Scouse Bird

 

I recently got invited to go and visit Chic hair & beauty on Eaton Rd in West Derby to experience a ‘Glam Glow’ facial. I was over the moon as I’d been out drinking on the Friday night and I’m willing to try anything when it comes to hangover cures. On that note, it worked so well that I ended up out on the Saturday night as well. Oops.

Upon entering the busy salon I was led outside through a cute little courtyard to a peaceful room at the back. The whole salon has a really cute, princessy décor. 

Melanie applied the correct Glam Glow type for my skin (there are difference kinds depending on your own skin issues) and left me to relax/snooze off my hangover for 20 minutes while the mask did its work. She explained that it would tingle and it would go dry and hard but still remain wet in certain places which would be where it was drawing the excess oil out of my skin. Afterwards my skin would be ‘glowing’ as it suggests on the tin.

I’m not sure any hung over pallor could ever be described as ‘glowing’ but I certainly looked and felt much fresher once she removed the mask and as promised my make-up did go on really lovely afterwards. Mel offers Glam Glow facials in the shop and she also retails the items to buy for at home use.

Here’s what Mel had to say about how she got into Glam Glow products: “I've done hair and beauty for over 15 yrs. now and had the shop just over 4 yrs., I try to get involved in new products and treatments all the time to be able to offer customers the newest things available
I stumbled across Glam Glow by a customer asking if I sold it and she said it was fab so naturally I wanted to try it and when I did I was really impressed, not only with what it does but the fact you can do it at home as a simple mud mask, it takes max 30 mins & that includes applying and washing off...
What I'm offering is a 30 min facial in the "prinny room"(Haha) which is comfortable, and relaxing in salon for £20 and the product sold retail at £49.95 to use at home, this includes up to 10 treatments so works out £5 per go”

XOXO

Scouse Bird

The best beauty products always crash onto the market with a bit of controversy; as far as I’m concerned it means they actually DO something. Take Botox for example; when that first came out people were in uproar because it’s a derivative of a poison (botulinum toxin which causes botulism food poisoning) but now, nobody bats an eyelid and it’s as acceptable a beauty treatment as going for a curly blow. Bottom line is, it does what it says and it does it quickly.

I recently heard of Lumigan from Bowden Aesthetics, an eye drop solution which when applied to the lash line gives you longer and thicker eyelashes. Having tried semi-permanent lashes and hating them (as they poked me in the eye and tore my natural lashes out) I’m open to an everyday solution to the problem of not being born with ‘primark sultries’ on.

I posted a picture of the drops on Instagram and people started crying that they were dangerous and they are actually Glaucoma eye drops. Yes the original intended use for these eye drops was as a Glaucoma treatment but one of the side effects was found to be that patients grew long, thick eyelashes. The eye drops have now been sanctioned for cosmetic use (which I doubt they would be if they were dangerous).  [ http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bimatoprost ] Elizabeth Arden do a lash serum ‘Prevage’ which retails at £90 and contains pretty much exactly the same ingredients as Bowden’s version, only theirs is half the price at £45.

I’ve been using them for about 4 weeks now and I’ve been getting tons of enquiries about them. Bowden Aesthetics have advised that it can take about 5-6 weeks for the effects to fully start kicking in. I’ve definitely noticed that a few lashes are looking a little longer already and I haven’t even used them every single night due to regular bouts of intoxication, naturally, I am a Scouse bird after all.

Another side effect/coincidence is that I’ve had 4 men recently tell me how beautifully blue my eyes are. I’ve always had unusual blue eyes but this amount of compliments in about a 2 week period is unusual. One of the reported side effects of the drops is that they can make your eye colour deeper. I can’t say I’ve noticed a difference myself so it could just be a coincidence, but an anecdote worth mentioning nonetheless!

Get lashing ladies!

XOXO

Scouse Bird

Kamique

We tried a little bar/restaurant a couple of minutes’ walk from Leicester Square tube station so right in the middle of a lively touristy part of London.

The bar was packed when we got there (so many tall, handsome men. London’s where they’re hiding them, I’m telling you!) and the music was a mix of standard chart music from the last few years. It would have been great to go for a dance but we were tired from travelling so we just decided to get something to eat in the back restaurant bit.

We all had the 28 day aged steak. It was ok, it wasn’t terrible but it wasn’t the nicest steak any of us had ever tried either. Our first round of cocktails came quickly but the second round we had to wait around 40 minutes for, by which time we’d finished our food, had it cleared away and were just waiting round ready to go. The strawberry mojito I had first was gorgeous but the julep I had to wait for was overpowered by the whiskey in it – not for me.

I think Kamique is better for a drink and dance than for food really.

 

Vapiano

This place is AMAZING. Some of the nicest food I have ever ever tried anywhere. There’s a couple of branches in London (please open in Liverpool, please!), we went to the Great Portland Street one. Don’t do what we did and get off at Great Portland St tube station because it’s about a 10-15 minute walk; Oxford Circus station is much closer.

You can’t book you just have to turn up. Upon arrival you get given a card which you then use to go round the restaurant ordering things; drinks, starters, pizza, pasta etc. You hand them the card back at the end and pay as you leave. It’s good if you want to split a bill because you get given one each.

The restaurant was really busy so the wait for the pasta was quite substantial; the chefs cook it there and then in front of you and completely customise it to you. With the pizza though you can go up and order and they give you a pager which buzzes when your pizza is ready to collect, giving you time to order and eat your starter.

I had the bruschetta to start. All the ingredients, even the pasta, are made fresh on site and you can tell. The food is seriously amazing, the best bruschetta I’ve ever eaten. I had the ‘special’ pizza for the main which was truffle cream, truffles, walnuts & ham. The truffle flavour was really strong but the truffle cream on the pizza was just fantastic – not sure about the walnuts though, I picked them off. If someone told me I could only ever eat there again for the rest of my life I’d be completely fine with that - it's even pretty cheap. About £10ish for a pizza. I’m back in Liverpool now and I’m already craving a Vapiano’s.

 

The Dollhouse

The Dollhouse is an underground club in a Churchyard right by Liverpool St Station (nothing like a bit of blasphemy to make sure your night goes off with a bang) – I have a bit of a penchant for rnb music but unfortunately all the rnb clubs in Liverpool are full of wronguns so I never get to go. Really good music, tables, VIP area (we were not in that) grey goose, the DJ in a cage, what’s not to love? Plus it’s open til 6am which is a bonus (if your mate doesn’t get drunk and have to be carried home at 3 of course).

 

Everyone remembers the pictures of Kim Kardashian with blood all over her face following a Vampire facelift. It might be a bit gruesome but I tell you what, it’s sticks in your head! My opinion is that the most controversial beauty treatments tend to be the most effective. I mean once you’ve used one moisturiser you’ve used them all, I want to see my beauty treatments in action! I posted a picture on Instagram of my face covered in blood and naturally everyone wanted to know all about it.

I recently went for a new derma roller treatment. It basically boils down to a beautician rubbing a roller covered in little spikes all over your face. Think medieval mace. Before you ask, no, it didn’t hurt. She used numbing cream beforehand, the same stuff they use when tattooing your eyebrows. The little spikes pierce the top layer of skin (so there’s a little bleeding), the trauma of which causes collagen production to go into overdrive. Collagen is the stuff which makes our skin plump and youthful and unfortunately it’s levels deplete as we get older. The derma roller forces levels to step it up a bit.

I get 3 areas of botox (I’m only 28, but prevention is better than cure) so my forehead and eyes are pretty youthful. I am starting to get laughter lines ever so faintly so I’m really interested as to how this will affect them. A course of 3 treatments is recommended for the full effect and of course depends what you want to achieve. I don’t have a huge issue yet with my skin so for me the difference won’t be massive. Saying that, after only 2 weeks a few people have come up to be telling me how amazing my skin is looking so it must work!

I will definitely go back in 6 weeks (treatments MUST be 6 weeks apart to allow for the collagen production to run its course and settle down) as Clair told me that you can also used derma roller to stimulate collagen production in your hands. I think the hands are a dead giveaway to a woman's age and after one too many summers battering the sunbathing, my hands could deffo do with a little youth injection.

Look out for a competition soon to win your own derma roller session worth £200 – currently on offer at CL Beauty @ Herberts for £140.

XOXO

Scouse Bird

I posted a picture of my new Venus With Love charm necklace on instagram and I couldn’t believe how many people were going mad over it.

One girl said she’s been looking for a stockist in the UK for ages (I assume they’re big in another country). I only came across them because they followed me on twitter and after having a nose I thought what they were all about was really different and unique.

Basically it’s a cross between a charm bracelet and a locket and it’s totally customisable to you. You choose a colour locket, a back plate and then you pick which charms you want from their different collections. I got the SB initials ;-) (you’re not gettin onto my real initials that easy), a shoe (well obviously), a cocktail, a palm tree, a heart and a flower and loads of little red gems because I thought they looked cute. There’s absolutely loads to choose from.

Anyway, just thought I’d share my little find. Happy shopping!

http://venuswithlove.co.uk/index.php? 

XOXO

Scouse Bird

Obviously as soon as you get with a man, the first instinct you have is to change him beyond all recognition.  Scouse Man Probs is a smoker…no lad, them dirty ciggies gots to go, Scouse Bird don’t be about neckin no ashtray.

The sign of a clever woman is whether or not she can change a man while making him think he actually has a choice in the matter and sorry SMP, you’re playing against a pro here. I’m the Murray to your Henman.

After a brief conversation he (I) decided he was going to try hypnosis seeing as it was Stoptober. He doesn’t seem the type to deal with patches and plastic ciggies so a road less travelled was the way to go.

I spoke to Elliott from Revive Hypnosis and asked him a little bit about how many sessions would be needed etc. He explained it is possible to stop someone smoking in one session but in reality he’d recommend around 4 just to make sure it’s properly ingrained.  My concern was that not everyone can be hypnotised but Elliott explained that everyone can, it just means thetechnique he uses from person to person differs. SMP’s concern was that he’d be dancing round the room thinking he was a chicken and ending up a YouTube sensation. I told him “Don’t be so stupid, gobshite.” then as an afterthought, “Buy me some shoes or I’ll arrange for it to happen.”

Elliott asked if there was anything he could help me with and I was all like “Bitch please I’m like Mary Poppins; practically perfect in every way.” For anyone who’s interested he does hypnosis for all sorts of things like weight loss, anxiety, anger management, self-esteem, stress and phobias.

I asked SMP what it was like and he said it was completely relaxing and he was fully aware of everything Elliott was saying and fully in control of all his faculties throughout the entire session.

SMP went along for his first session on Friday, it’s now Monday and since seeing Elliott he’s smoked one cigarette when he was out on Friday night and that’s it. He hasn’t bought any, he hasn’t taken them with him when he’s left the house, and he just hasn’t felt like one at all. He said he’s got so much more confidence that he’s got the ability to stop and he feels amazing. I was gobsmacked, I was genuinely thinking it would take a while, like maybe he’d cut down a bit but already he’s pretty much cut them out already. He said going to work this week will be the true test but he’s pretty sure he won’t be bothering with the bifters. We went out yesterday for a few drinks and we got a waft of someone smoking and I asked him whether it bothered him at all and he said “No, not in the slightest.” Miracles do happen. We sat down last night and worked out that this could potentially save him almost £4000 a year, that’s like 8 pairs of Jimmy Choos!

The other change I’ve seen in him is that previously he was a bitof a stress-head. He’d get wound up by things quite easily whereas I’m placid and easy-going about pretty much anything apart from the existence of kitten heels and short haircuts on girls. Now he’s like a completely different man, he’s the most happy-go-lucky person ever. He keeps doing this weird thing with his mouth, smiling I think they call it, rather than Scouse snarling at everyone. I feel like doing things to piss him off just to test him but I’m not evil enough. Old Scouse Bird even kicked me off Team Crank yesterday, I was FEWMIN.

I text Elliott saying “What have you done to SMP, he’s like a new man!” and he said, “That’s just what I do.”

I found out Elliott does past life regression actually and that issomething I’ve always been interested in. Obviously I was Queen Cleopatra, Queen Anne Boleyn and Rose from the Titanic in a previous life so I’m going to go and see him soon and give that a whirl. I’m dead excited.

I hope this has helped give even one person the courage to change something they don't like about themselves. According to Elliott, all hypnosis is self-hypnosis, meaning we all have the power within us to do whatever we want, he just helps you tap into it.

http://www.revivehypnosisliverpool.co.uk/

XOXO

Scouse Bird

There are 3 things which my parents refused to buy me when I was growing up which to this day still upset me; A Mr Frosty machine, a Soda Stream and a Baby G watch. Here’s me all deprived and scarred but it’s funny how they always had money for their things like bottles of wine and the gas bill. Pfft.

I tweeted something to thing effect a few weeks ago and it was amazing how many other people felt this similar deprivation. Honestly, it’s a small wonder we all weren’t on the phone to Esther Ranzen every 5 minutes because this is clearly child abuse. Anyway, the wonderful people at Soda Stream Uk decided to right the wrongs of my parents and decided to send me my very own Soda Stream. The inner 12 year old in me felt vindicated.

I just thought I’d tell you all a bit about what it’s like being a Soda Stream owner. It’s boss. It’s everything it was cracked up to be. First of all I was made up that it doesn’t required plugging in, I have an original 70’s kitchen (bought my nans house) and the lack of plug sockets is a real issue. It runs off a pressurised gas bottle. It required minimal setting up and it’s so easy to use. They’ve got a full range of diet drinks, not just diet coke. They actually sent me diet pink grapefruit and diet blackcurrant and they’re both gorgeous along with marguerita, mojito and cosmo mixers. Yes while they know they’re appealing to the inner deprived child, they know that deprived child is now an alcoholicadult, with adult needs, such as vodka. And yes, fizzy vodka is amazing by the way.

I’m not great at drinking enough fluids but I definitely find I’ve been drinking more since I got it and ok ok it’s fizzy so it’s not THE  healthiest thing in the world but come on, I haven’t got (that) many vices. So yeh, all in all, thumbs up to Soda Stream. Thanks guys.

XOXO

Scouse Bird

Now that I'm depressingly back from holiday I thought I'd do a holiday related blog to get you all in the mood for booking the next one.

Firstly no matter where you go you're probably gonna get feasted on by mozzies an there's nothin itchier an more irritating than a bite. Then when you've itched it it just spreads the poison which makes it even more itchy and then it looks a sheow!