Vingt et...

Luxe Guttersnipe

wonderlandgirl — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:15:16 +0000

So this A/W I’m doing a ‘look’. I haven’t done a ‘look’ since I was a teenage goth, and that was a dreadful combination of spiderweb lace and black denim. Anyway…

This ‘look’ is a smash-up of grungey, sulky rocker chic and glamour femme with a bit of androgyny thrown in. I’m calling it Luxe Guttersnipe. This is what I’m wearing:

Credit: ASOS

Credit ASOS

Credit: ASOS

I’ve started wearing some pieces and it’s working really well. I love black and being a little messy. I’ve also had a big chop and my hair is now jaw length again and I love it. It’s quite choppy and works well with the ‘look’. And of course there’s the ubiquitous dark nail polish and statement accessories (I’m doing snakes and Marrakech bazaar in jewellery, metallics and patent in handbags). Oh, and the black tights. Love black tights. Autumn and winter are my favourite seasons almost solely for that reason.

At a party this weekend there were lots of ‘looks’, way too much Lady Gaga and bodycon. The boys were working the grungey look, the girls were all leotard-ed out. So far I’m the only person I know wearing this look but that will change as sequins, leather, studs and slouch are all the rage in the fashion mags. Primark are getting in a black stud-heeled shoe for £19, which is definitely an affordable way to work the look, and probably one which can go to work with you.

Sideburns

wonderlandgirl — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 11:37:18 +0000

Men: sideburns are not cool.
While not a widespread trend I’m alarmed by the number of males I see still sporting a Hugh-Jackman-as-Wolverine look, particularly as you can’t cross the road without being presented with the brooding face of some well-groomed male model on the side of a bus. Clearly British men are not taking the hint.

Credit: Cinematical.com

And it’s not just the X-men look. Regular offenders also include the Elvis, the Liam/Noel Gallagher and horrifyingly, the Zac Efron.

Credit: Now That's Nifty

Credit: The Sun

Credit: Orange blogs

Please paint your toenails

wonderlandgirl — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 11:23:46 +0000

Having been exposed to numerous examples of bare toenails recently I’m alarmed.

Has it always been okay for women not to paint their toenails?

Call me a beauty fascist, but I’ve never worn peep-toes or sandals without having neatly pedicured feet since the age of 11 and maybe I’m living in a lala land of the super-groomed, but I’ve always thought that was as expected as shaved underarms and deodorant use.

Credit: Wotton Cool

Credit: SmlPx

Which looks nicer? Painted all the way. Bare toenails, to me, are a bit like not brushing your teeth. Not everyone has nice-looking, healthy nails, particularly on their feet, and even if they do the whole look is a bit nasty. To me.

Do you agree?

Not a man in a frock

wonderlandgirl — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 10:53:10 +0000

Credit: xoxgracexox

One of my all-time favourite Iwannabeher people is Elle Woods. So she’s a character, tell me something I don’t know. She’s amazing! The Legally Blonde films are sweeter candy for my feminist soul than any Orlando-esque Sally Potter crap. You can’t help but love a woman who is independent, fluffy, smart and clueless all at the same time. Her outfits are sometimes doubtful, her hair is always chic.

Elle says to me ‘you can do anything and be successful without abandoning your femininity’. This is important for many women who grow up in a male-dominated society in a male-dominated world and graduate into a male-dominated industry. There seem to be only two roles for us ladies to take: be a man, or be a tart. And many women segue into these roles without a blink of their masculine suits or clumpily mascara-ed lashes. But what about those of us who want to keep our lashes lustrous and lump-free?

It is often our perceptions rather than the reality warping our visions. Sure men may have objected to women in the workplace fifty years ago, but now the economy would be non-existent without us. We have the power and value to carve a path for ourselves as professional women who can wear pink, or take two hours curling our hair, or blow our salaries on sexy shoes, or just enjoy our femininity while still being serious about our careers and main players in our field.

Last week I went to a networking event for women in business (I’m not one, I was there as someone’s protégé) and the speaker was Holloway Prison governor Sue Saunders, and she talked about how being a woman in such a role is a challenge. People react differently to her; both the prisoners, her officers, and the outsiders. As a woman she sees herself bringing ‘love’ to a role that many people view as that of a punisher, and considering the very nature of her job that is remarkable. We females are softer creatures than our male counterparts. Even those of us who are not at all soft. We offer something different.

I’m not saying go out and spread the love in your office, more that being a woman in a ‘man’s world’ is not something to fear. You don’t need to stifle your girliness, your passion for fashion, your innate attraction to things with hearts on, if that’s you. Your employer is not under some misapprehension that you are, in fact, a man in a frock.

Gym instructors: Do we like them hot or not?

wonderlandgirl — Tue, 26 May 2009 16:33:22 +0000

Gym instructors and personal trainers are some of those who see us at our ugliest. It can’t just be me whose post-gym appearance has more in common with a woman in labour than the cover of Women’s Health. Red faced in a sweaty lycra bulge-inducing gym kit wearing no make-up sucking on a sports bottle of water: girl, that ain’t sexy.

Boris Kodjoe. Credit: The Skinny On Me

I work out better in certain conditions. If there are no women, great. If there are no other members at all, even better. But what trumps both of these is the presence of a sexy male gym instructor.

The other day there was a new instructor I’d never seen before. He looked a bit like Boris here. Now I don’t have good eyesight and don’t wear glasses or contacts to the gym, but to me he looked hot enough to swoon and almost fall face-first down the stairs. More importantly though, he gave me swagger.

swag·ger (swgr)

Poised, sassiness that can’t be touched. It may be in the walk or it may be in the talk, but there is no doubt it means you own the room and you have that natural charisma. Basically, one with swagger dominates at life. (Urban Dictionary)

I know I’m not the only woman who sees a sexy man and tries to attract his attention without looking like she’s trying. A little wiggle in the hips, a flick of the hair, the old tricks of the lady trade. But all the downsides of exercise are the gradual decline in your appearance. You might be a pretty girl out shopping or in a bar, but at the gym we are almost all reduced to mess. So surely this would be the last place you’d want to see a hot guy?

Apparently not. I’ve seen those ladies sticking their butts in the air at an angle completely useless for stretching when sexy gym instructor is around. A little more huff, a little more puff, a little more speed, a little more lift. These guys we assume are undaunted by our sweatiness and impressed by our athleticism and strength.

Are they really impressed? Or is our judgement addled by racing pulses and fatigue? We may never know. Lucky for us that the sexy male instructors (and my gym has four) aren’t there to tell us the truth but to encourage, smile and chat to us while we push ourselves that little bit harder on the treadmill. Oh, and to give us that all-important swagger.

Ladies and gentlemen of the class of ’09. Wear Sunscreen.

wonderlandgirl — Mon, 25 May 2009 17:59:14 +0000

Today has been, briefly, a scorcher.
Yesterday London was hotter than Barcelona, today the trend continued. And for the first time in a long time I was not worshipping at the altar of Ra.

As a fair-skinned English Rose I’m not blessed with a tan-friendly complexion but that has done nothing to stop me from sunbathing for the last seven or eight years. I’m not a typical redhead; my shade is a darker auburn, my skin is slightly sallow and with the exception of my nose, cheeks and the tops of my shoulders I am freckle-free. But I still have Type II skin.

A sunburned Kim K. Credit: Kim Kardashian

Sometimes I get a little golden-brown tan line, but mostly I get red and occassionally my skin has peeled. I have drowned myself in aftersun more times than I can remember and sat in a cold bath praying the stinging pain would abate.

Latterly I have bought every single fake-tan lotion and potion on the shelf to help me in my quest for that elusive bronzed appearance.

No more.

After an excess of Gray’s Anatomy where the character of Izzy has skin cancer, and a horror of the leathery faces and bodies I see more and more of, I am now a vocal advocate of sunscreen. SPF 30 baby, yeah!

Today I went to a family party and when I went outside I could feel myself burning in the sun but no-one had any sunscreen and most people seemed happy to bake. Not me, no thanks, I went and bought a bottle of sunscreen from the shop and plastered myself in it, and even then I still felt the heat on my skin and went inside.

The biggest issue I have with sunscreen is the texture of the stuff. It can be so sticky and greasy! The one I bought today was Tesco’s SPF 30 Sun Spray. It smelled delicious, was non-greasy and easily absorbed by my skin. All memories of childhood beach holidays spent marinading in slimy white sunblock wiped out. But then I find an article telling me that Tesco sunscreen is not all it seems:

“Which? magazine has called for a review of industry guidelines after its tests revealed some lotions labelled SPF 15 provide less protection than stated.

Four products claiming an SPF of 15 failed to provide protection of at least 12.5 – Marks & Spencer, Tesco, Wilkinson’s Wilko and Malibu.” (Sky News, 2008)

Well, that’s bad news. My creamy skin needs proper protection. But is the sun spray a new correct-SPF formulation or just a re-branding of the old not-the-SPF-it-claims lotion? It would be really useful if suncreens had a universal and independent body that tested and verified their SPF’s and UVA protection.

Deception of consumers and the vested interests of big business are a whole other issue but when it comes to a product than can mean the difference between health and cancer and beauty and sun-damaged skin it seems more than a little unfair that we can’t necessarily trust the SPF of a sunscreen.

However this won’t dissuade me from using sunscreen, I’m just going to apply double and take extra precautions: staying out of the sun when it’s really hot and if that’s not possible then wearing a hat and not parading around in tiny clothes exposing my fair skin to its rays. I love sunshine as much as the next sun-worshipper, I just love my skin more.

Hungry, period

wonderlandgirl — Sun, 17 May 2009 15:13:19 +0000

Nothing bothers me like inexplicable hunger. I just ate, so why would I be hungry again so soon? The human body is an inconsistent beast and variations in timing and voracity of hunger are normal, but I’m talking about the ravenous, bottomless pit, stomach ache hunger than comes when I’m hungover. And, as I today discovered, when I’m due my period.

Post-ovulation and pre-menstruation is called the luteal phase, and during this time women burn between 8 and 20 % more calories than in the earlier part of their cycle (Alexandra Logue: The psychology of eating and drinking). Depending on the women this phase can last anything from a few days to just over a fortnight as the oestrogen levels drop and progesterone levels rise.

Credit: BBC GCSE Bitesize

This hormone change also leads to the increase in body temperature which many women notice at night and is similarly responsible for mood swings.

Some small studies have shown that carbohydrate/sugar consumption increases during this phase and while widescale research hasn’t confirmed this it would explain the chocolate cravings that are typically associated with pre-menstrual women. But these could also be due to the emotional changes that occur at this time as many women use chocolate as a comfort food.

I was pretty suspicious of this new, urgent hunger which has been present the last few days as I’ve lost a few more kilos and have no desire to find them again. Now I know I’m not imagining the hunger it feels okay to satisfy it, but I’m looking forward to the end of my cycle and the disappearance of my extra appetite.

Lily legend

wonderlandgirl — Sat, 16 May 2009 15:33:05 +0000

Listen carefully to the lyrics… How can people not love this song?!

The hottest

wonderlandgirl — Fri, 15 May 2009 18:49:46 +0000

That bastion of modern-day feminism Maxim magazine has just declared the ‘Hot 100′ women of 2009, and with a cursory scroll through the top ten it seems Maxim have blown their editorial budget on airbrushing this year. Just look what they did to Bar Refaeli:

Credit: Hollywood Backwash

Credit: Maxim.com

She’s hot without the magic paintbrush, why make her skeletal?

Not convinced by Maxim’s list- I don’t think any of the men I know would agree with it- I’ve decided to come up with my own top ten hotties.

All these women look healthy, fit and have gorgeous figures. I think many men would agree that the women here are far hotter than the very thin women in Maxim’s list. So it makes me wonder who puts that list together, and where they found their narrow (and perhaps unhealthy) perspective of female beauty.

Beyonce Credit: Hollywood Tuna

Shakira Credit: Starpulse.com

Rihanna Credit: The Insider

Jessica Biel Credit: The Superficial

Katy Perry Credit: Skinny vs Curvy

Nelly Furtado Credit: Hollywood Tuna

Katherine Heigl Credit: Celebrity-gossip.net

Kate Hudson Credit: Huffington Post

Hayden Panetierre Credit: People.com

Kim Kardashian Credit: People.com

Don’t play cheap

wonderlandgirl — Tue, 12 May 2009 18:48:47 +0000

Let me begin by saying I love Katy Perry. She’s awesome. If You Can Afford Me is a kickass stairmaster song that’s pumping my workouts at the mo. As is the mental image of Katy’s hot figure.

But talking of cheap, I have a cheap discovery which saves me about £4 every time I go shampoo/conditioner shopping. I love the smell of Herbal Essences and since my hair is fairly normal I don’t need expensive fancy junk, I just need it to be clean and fragrant. Recently I let someone else shop for my haircare and they returned with something I’d seen but written off as too cheap (hah, as if that’s even a consideration in this economy) but is actually incredible: Alberto Balsam.

I got the raspberry and pomegranate flavours and they’re amazing, the smell really lasts and when I sniff my hair it’s fruity and clean-smelling. Nice! And at less than £1 a bottle in some stores with loads of flavours i’m never going to switch back to expensive.