Saturday 31 December 2011

New Year, New Clothes! Hello Abercromie & Fitch!

I'm still in the US and indulging in one of my favourite pastimes... shopping!

This time of year is usually when I get new clothes because I've come to the US and I hit up the shops that I can't visit, or afford in the UK. My favourite is Abercromie and Fitch. I just love the clothes there! Navy and preppy are two adjectives that would describe my wardrobe, so naturally A&F is a great shop for me. I used to shop there in high school, oh so many years ago! I often wonder if I'm actually too old to shop there, but ya know what? No one gives me strange looks when I go in there, and I actually can afford to shop there. I love the pumping loud music, and dare I admit it, the smell of Fierce, their signature scent. You can smell the Fierce as you approach the shop, and all your purchases usually smell of Fierce for at least the first wearing. It sounds kinda sad, but that scent really makes me happy now! I blame classical conditioning, ha ha.

Yes, we have A&F in the UK now. There's one shop in London, but it's so not the same. First the prices are way jacked up in the UK. Yes, I know the prices are pretty steep at A&F to begin with ($50 for a womans polo, $30 for a graphic tee, $70 for a sweater/cardigan) but in the UK they are even more so. That plaid flannel shirt that costs $69.50 in the US costs £70 in the UK. RUBBISH. Second, the flagship store in London is gorgeous and lush, but super popular, and since I don't live in London, whenever I've been on a Saturday, there's a massive queue around the corner just to get into the store. NO WAY! And lastly, you can't access the US website from the UK and the UK website prices are expensive, but orders are still shipped from the US (I assume, I've not ordered online in the UK) as the shipping fees are insanely expensive.



Okay, so A&F want to maintain that luxury brand appeal. I can dig that, but that doesn't mean I'm going to fall for it. So I only shop A&F in the US, and pretty much only the sales around Christmas and New Years. The couple of days before and after Christmas they mark everything in store down to 50% off. They also do the same on the website! I'm pretty sure A&F in the UK do not do this.

My top 5 Rec's at A&F?

1. The cardies are gorgeous! I literally bought like 20 last year, which I am still wearing so I only picked up two this year, but they are so lush! They range in price from $50 to $200! Yikes, but if you get 50% or 40% off, they're a great deal. I've found that mine really hold up and look adorable. I literally live in these at the moment.


2. Skirts. They have so many different types I guess it's not really fair to pick such a wide category, but I have been buying their skirts for years! From lace to delicate floral prints, to pleats, and to wool, there's always a skirt I covet at A&F. These can run pretty expensive, so I recommend getting them on sale, but I have managed to nab a skirt or two for as little as $20 each in the sales! The only other downside I can see to these skirts is that they are pretty short. This isn't a problem for me, as I'm short and I always wear opaque tights with them, but may pose a problem if you live in a warmer clime.





3. Skinny Sweatpants. I love love love these sweatpants! Described as 'skinny fit, all the way down' these are so cozy it's unreal! Now, I do not have a perfect butt or legs, and I would not like to wear these out in public, but they are cozy PJ and around the house bottoms for me. The skinny fit is my favourite because it hugs the leg all the way down, and since I'm a shortie and that bottoms extend a good few inches past my ankle, these wrap around my foot, covering my entire ankle. I love it. So warm and snuggly. These retail for $58.

4. Hoodies. I have so many A&F hoodies, I don't even wanna count! Okay, maybe not that many, but I do love them! Admittedly I find the need for hoodies more when I lived in California than I do living in the UK, but these are my fav hoodies. Why? They are thick and nice quality. They are not cheap and start at $58, but again, if you get them in the sales, not a bad deal, especially as they last forever!



5. I had a hard time choosing my fifth and final recommendation, but decided on polo shirts. It was a close race between polo shirts, camisoles, and graphic tees. Polos won out for me because the A&F polo is so well known. They always have tonnes in the guys' section, but I've noticed over the last few years less and less on the womens' side. Sad Face. I can really rock a preppy polo, so I love it when they have them in classic colours like navy or red. Although I'm totally digging the green below. These are $50, but yes, you can snag them in sales, which I would recommend.



Weirdly I found that a couple years ago they changed the sizing on the female polos. I used to always wear a medium, but a few years ago I got a couple mediums without even trying them on, flew back to the UK and then, bam, disappointment! They were way too big. Now, I know Americans in general like to wear clothes loose and baggy, but that's so not the Abercrombie look. Since then I have been buying a small in the polo shirts to solve this problem. I would definitely recommend trying these on and making sure you're happy with the fit! Also, the colours can be deceiving on the website. I ordered the red one recently expecting a bright true red, and actually it's kind of a neon red. Sorta bummed about that, so it's going back. Not that I don't like that red, it's just I have one from A&F from last year, LOL.




Have you hit the sales at Abercrombie & Fitch or your favourite shop? Did you get anything good?

Thursday 29 December 2011

Bath & Body Works Warm Vanilla Sugar and Wild Honeysuckle lotions and gels

Bath & Body Works is a wonderful store full of so many different fragrances of soaps, body lotions, shower gels, and now even shampoos, conditioners, and air fresheners!

I've been a fan of Bath & Body Works since I was a wee kid, but now that I live in the UK, I do miss it. I admit to stocking piling the body lotion because I literally can't live without it! Over the years scents have come and gone and I thought I'd share my favourites today.



Honeysuckle. We had honeysuckle growing in my dad's garden when I was a kid, and I love love love the smell. I'm not sure if I love it so much because of the childhood association or not, but I adore it like no other scent. B&BW used to have a Honeysuckle lotion and shower gel that I started using in my early tweens, but sadly it has been discontinued long ago.

Every so often, B&BW rereleases some of their classic scents and I think it was maybe 5 years ago or more I last purchased a reissue of that classic Honeysuckle shower gel.



Luckily, I wasn't the only fan of Honeysuckle, because B&BW released another honeysuckle scent, Wild Honeysuckle several years ago. I used to be able to find it in the stores, but now it's only available online - so I guess it's not that popular (oh well!), and so now that I'm visiting the US for a couple weeks, I'm hoping to order me some!


My other favourite scent is Warm Vanilla Sugar, which they've had for years. I find it so light and delicious smelling that I can never resist it! I'm glad this one seems to be ever-popular and am excited to see they've even got shampoo and conditioner - I am totally tempted to try this!

Have you tried Bath & Body Works? What's your favourite scent?

Wednesday 28 December 2011

ghd IV Styler Hair Straighteners Review

I have super thin and fine hair. Growing up, I found it frustrating as my hair was always getting knotted and always fell flat. I used more No More Tangles than anyone else! Thank goodness for that product or else I'd never got a comb through my hair!



I dreamed of having lux wavy tresses or bouncing curls. Since I was an indulgent child, my parents actually allowed me to get my hair permed.... twice! Both times the curls fell out. (yes, I know to wait awhile, I even waited a week before washing!) I was left with stringy hair that looked like I'd had a day at the beach rather than bouncy Shirley Temple curls that I had hoped for. Nothing wrong with beach hair, and to be fair, I spent most of my childhood swimming, so maybe I deserved it. I had just accepted that I had hair that wouldn't hold, well, anything. 

As I entered my teenage years, one of my parents moved to Arizona and I realized that in low or no humidity, I could curl my hair with a curling iron and it would actually stay for a few hours even! Usually when I curl my hair, it just falls out! I'm sure all you ladies with curly hair figured out the secret role humidity plays in how good your hair looks a lot sooner than I did! I'm kind of getting away from the point though. 

I saw a lot of my friends become obsessed with straightening their hair. I didn't really get it - why would you want flat hair? Ah, of course, straight doesn't mean flat! Although I begrudged my hair for it's lack of styling hold, it does straight REALLY well. In fact, if I just blow it dry, I don't even need to straighten my hair. Jealous?  Yeah, sorry that wasn't really my point either. 

So I came onto the hair straightener band wagon a bit later than everyone else. I only bought my first one ever a couple years ago, after copious research on the internet and asking friends, hair stylists (you think I'm kidding?), and convinced that ghd were the company worthy of my money and my thin locks. 



I bought myself ghd IV styler hair straighteners for about £100 (OUCH!), but have never looked back. The ceramic plates glide over my hair and leave it smooth and silky. I've also managed to get some amazing curls with it as well. I need more practice though, because I can only manage to get them on one side of my head, the other side goes a big wonky for some reason. I blame me, not the ghd's tho! 

Okay, so someone who admitted that they don't need to straighten their hair thinks this straightener is amazing. That's probably not terribly convincing on its own, is it? Well, remember all those friends I said were obsessed with hair straighteners? Well, anyone who's stayed at my house and used them has said something along the lines of 'OMG, your straighteners are amazing!' and yes, it's usually unprompted! 

Some more technical details about the IV Styler, the ceramic plates heat up super fast, I often switch them on and set them down only to hear them beep that they're ready! They were a luxury purchase for me as I don't *need* to straighten my hair, but I find they help me feel extra special for those days I want poker straight hair. 

Do you use hair straighteners? Have you tried ghd? 

Tuesday 27 December 2011

Jill Stuart Mix Blush Compact 07 lovely tulip Review and Swatch

I don't own many blushes, but I had been dying to get my hands on the gorgeous Jill Stuart Mix Blush Compacts (ジルスチュアート ミックスブラッシュ コンパクト) and I decided on 07 in lovely tulip.


As usual, not a cheap product from Jill Stuart, this retails for 4,500 yen for 8g of product, but comes in a super princessy packaging with a detachable blush brush. 



07 lovely tulip, like all the Mix Blush Compacts contains a quad of blushes including a white highlighter type shade, light pink, a bright peach and a bright pink. The white colour has a glimmer of shimmer to it that hopefully shows in the swatch, but is barely noticeable. I find this gives me a glowly look, and the sparkle isn't noticeable at all (which is unusual for a Jill Stuart product!) 


Swatches were hard to capture as this blush is so sheer. Personally I find that a good thing, as I'm fairly pale, I don't need a lot of colour and it's much easier for me if I have a light blusher. Anyway, I swatched each of the quads below, and tried to take a mixed shot, but couldn't get the camera to really see it. Sorry I really need to figure out this camera business.


All in all, I'm very pleased with this blush compact. Not only is it beautiful to look at, but it looks delicate on! it's a real treat and I'm glad I finally tried this!

What do you think?

Monday 26 December 2011

Gossip Girl Blair Waldorf Fashion Inspiration: Forever 21 Black Wool Cloche Hat

I recently visited two floors of Forever 21 and found this beauty, a black wool cloche hat.


It's only $17.80 and still available online. This hat is so cute! It reminded me of a couple of cloches I've clocked Gossip Girl's Blair Waldorf in. 



So Blair wouldn't be caught dead in Forever 21, but we can keep the humble origin of this hat between you and me!

I also wish they'd had this wide brimmed hat ($14.80) in stock when I visited as well, as I'm now totally lusting after this! What do you think?



Sunday 25 December 2011

Banana Republic Madmen Collection Begonia Dress for Christmas



I've been shopping in the US and I have to say, I love shopping in the US! Everything is so much cheaper than the UK. There's tonnes more selection, and the shopping centres are open all the time! (well, practically!). Even though we ventured out on Christmas Eve (YES, Christmas Eve), we hit no traffic, had no problems parking and barely had to queue! I even could get into the fitting rooms without a wait at all! This *never* happens to me in the UK, let alone in the run-up to Christmas when it's a total zoo!

I thought I'd share a bargain that we found at Banana Republic! It's this blue and grey Begonia dress from the Madmen Collection that was released this autumn.



I had seen this online and was so tempted by it, but I didn't really want to shell out all the money. Closer to Christmas I actually received a couple emails from UK Banana Republic alerting me to some sales. Some of the Madmen Collection was still available, in fact, this dress in a pink and grey and I was so tempted, but just didn't have the time to go down to London to check it out.



Well, the universe wanted to unite me with this dress! When I walked into Banana Republic, there it was in blue and grey, which was actually my preference and on sale. I tried a couple of sizes, and luckily they had one that fit me well in stock and so bought it! (Okay, my mom bought it for me!)



It got even better! They were having some sort of super clearance sale, so the dress actually rang up as $25.00!! It was on sale for $50, which I thought was a great deal from the full retail of $150! But hot damn, $25! That's a great deal for a nice dress.

Awesome sale, Banana Republic! I'm a seriously satisfied customer!

Of course, I hit some other stores too, and maybe I'll blog about that soon! I hope everyone's been having a wonderful holiday weekend! What did Santa bring you?

Friday 23 December 2011

Chanel Les 4 Ombres Quadra Eye Shadow in 33 Prélude Review and Swatch

My first review of Chanel Les 4 Ombres Quadra Eye Shadow will be the easily worn no. 33 Prélude.


I love Chanel's quad eye shadows, and yes, the baked formulas (we get these in Europe and Asia I believe, while the US has a cream powder formula). I'm not going to go on about the formula, because I actually prefer the baked, or maybe I'm just used to the baked powders so happy with them! That's a blog for another day!

I only recently picked up Prélude because I was looking for a good natural palette and thought I'd give this palette a chance. I remember when it came out, and I swatched it in store, I thought 'nice, but kinda boring'. If you know me, I'm always attracted to the bright and sparkly first, and so sometimes what might be staples for another, are more rare amongst my makeup collection. I decided that I needed a nice boring natural palette....


Boring is a bit harsh. Like most of the Chanel quads I've bought, the colours are flattering and especially these shades are easy to wear. You can do a light natural look or even a smokey eye with these colours and I couldn't be happier with this purchase.

The quad includes 4 shades which I've done my best to describe as (from left to right, top to bottom in pan, on swatches from right to left):

  • sparkly doe taupe
  • light flesh (peach) highlighter
  • sparkly milky beige
  • rich chocolate with hints of sparkle


I find it really suits and isn't boring on at all. I would recommend this palette to anyone who's looking to start out their eye shadow collection but not sure where to start. You can't really go wrong with these shades.

These are applied dry and without primer, so you can see how sheer the colours are. Really only the chocolate is strongly pigmented.


Thursday 22 December 2011

A-England Nail Polishes are on my Christmas Wishlist


I know Christmas is fast approaching, but I am hoping that Santa still has some room in his sleigh for some of these polishes for me!

A-England is a brand of nail polishes that just scream beauty and fantasy. So far, their collection of polishes, called the Mythicals are named after English legendary characters and places such as: King Arthur, Excalibur, Merlin, Morgan Le Fay, Iseult, Guinevere, Elaine, Lady of the Lake, Tristam, Lancelot, Camelot, Avalon, Perceval, Galahad, Holy Grail, The Knight (basecoat), and The Shield (topcoat).

The website also has a glossary of all the names which I also totally love!

Iseult

When I saw they have Iseult I could barely contain myself! *MUST HAVE* Iseult is another version of Isolde for those not in the know. A-England's Iseult is a light pink which they describe as 'delicate romantic pink with opalescent pearly reflection.' Hm... while that sounds pretty, it's not usually what I go for on my nails. I do like the sound of the opalescent pearly reflection though. I think I really need to see this in person before I'm convinced, but I *love* the name!



Guinevere

I do love Guinevere as well, such a gorgeous colour! That's actually one of my favourite names and it's on my secret list of names I'd love to name my children! There's also an Elaine, which is my mom's name, but sadly it's a bright purple and well, that's not really her colour either, otherwise I would have been totally tempted to get it for her! 

Tristam
I couldn't end this post without looking at Tristam (get it? Tristam and Iseult?) I think this is my favourite of them all. It just looks so lovely!

Update: I finally got my hands on Tristam! 

So Santa Baby, I've been pretty good this year! 

Wednesday 21 December 2011

Coffret D'Or 3D Glossy Eye Review and Swatch: 02 Feminine Brown and 04 Pink Violet

I've been a big fan of Coffret D'Or a Japanese drug store brand that delivers high quality products. Their eye shadow palettes have always caught my eye and so I thought I'd review a couple that I have from their current line: 3D Glossy Eye.

Left to right: 02 Feminine Brown and 04 Pink Violet


Swatches of both palettes below. Like most Coffret D'or eye shadows, the powders are smooth and full of glitter that doesn't feel at all gritty. They also go on lightly, so you can easily wear these at the office. I only wish these were more easily available outside of Asia.

02 Feminine Brown

04 Pink Violet

Tuesday 20 December 2011

BlanX Advanced Whitening Review: Keep those smiles sparkling


I often get teased for having a bit of a dental obsession. I brush and floss and currently have all my own teeth without any cavities. I would also like to keep it that way for the foreseeable future. I've never been one for wanting bright white teeth, but I do have teeth that stain easily. No, I'm serious. Ya know when you go to the hygienist (or dentist) and you've just had your teeth polished and they're nice and shiny? Well, I have one cup of tea, one glass of red wine and boom, that's all gone! My teeth are healthy, they just absorb stain like a sponge. It was just something I'd come to accept and look forward to my professional cleaning twice a year, when on my last trip to the hygienist I asked her if she could recommend any toothpaste for a poor soul like me. She recommended I try BlanX.

BlanX have a range of natural products that whiten your teeth. I've tried a couple of the toothpastes, Advanced Whitening and Sensitive Teeth. Both toothpastes non-abrasive so they don't damage enamel and use an ingredient from natural Arctic Lichen which kills bacteria and plaque.

Arctic Lichen? Yeah I know, I was skeptical at first but honestly I've found this toothpaste to be amazing. It claims to whiten your teeth to its natural colour and since I've used it since having my teeth professionally cleaned I've found that my teeth haven't stained as quickly or as easily as usual. In fact, I managed to keep my teeth totally unstained for at least 4 months after cleaning! That's an amazing record for me, so I have to say I'm impressed.

I would recommend you try BlanX too if you're prone to tea or coffee stained teeth, but don't want to be. The only downside to this toothpaste is that it's fairly expensive, it retails at £7.49 for 100 mL of product, but luckily I grab this at Boots on 3 for 2. This is a lot more than the usual price of toothpaste, but if the stain bothers you that much, it might be worth it. After all, I plan on keeping my teeth for a *long* time, so I don't mind investing if it makes a difference.

Monday 19 December 2011

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencils Review



I was recently asked if I had any eye liner pencils which prompted me to actually go through my collection to see what I have. I have to say that I'm not that keen on eye liner pencils. I usually prefer powder, cream, or liquid liner because I find pencil difficult to glide onto my eye lids. It's also a sensitive area that I don't want to irritate. Of course, having said that, I do have a preferred eye liner pencil, which is Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencil. 

24/7 Glide On Eye Pencils are currently available in 22 shades and retail for $18 USD or £13.00 UK. I have 5 in my stash at the moment (colour descriptions are from Urban Decay's website):
  • Lucky (brilliant deep copper)
  • Bourbon (brown with teeny gold glitter)
  • Lust (deep purple with subtle silver sparkle)
  • Deviant (bold blue)
  • Covet (peacock green)

From left to right: Lucky, Bourbon, Lust, Deviant, and Covet

There's lots to love about these eye pencils. They are soft and smooth, you can smudge them if you need to, but once they're set they're waterproof. They are also cruelty-free (not tested on animals). It's hard to find any negatives about these eye liners. 

Since I tend to go for the bold colours before the basics, yep, I'm just weird like that, I am still lusting after Zero (zealous black), but as I already have MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack (cream) and Lunasol Noble Shade Liner in 01 Noble Black (liquid), I haven't really felt the need for another black. 

My favourite of the bunch? Lucky, hands down. It's perfect for a natural look. 

Sunday 18 December 2011

Softbank commercials crack me up! Love Jiro!

Okay, sorry, this isn't really a beauty related post. Well, I suppose it's kinda beauty related... if you consider that you need laughter and variety to be beautiful. Am I stretching too far? Okay, well I just felt like sharing today.

Softbank is a Japanese telecommunications company and cell/mobile phone service provider and I love their commercials. That sounds kinda sad, but they are hilarious! They've had this on-going series of adverts talking about their family package deals which involve a very strange typical Japanese family called the White family.

Why are they strange? Well, they're not. They're very stereo-typically Japanese, except for the minor detail that the father is actually a dog, and the son is black.


Here's one of my favourites, where the son proposes to his GF, but she just wants to be on the friends plan, rather than the family plan and dad has some timeless advice.

I know that some of these aired ages ago, but I love them. They really make me smile, so I felt like sharing as I discovered some new ones today with Matsuda Shota (松田翔太) who is a fairly famous Japanese actor. He was in the ever popular Hana Yori Dango Japanese drama series, as well as other dramas such as Liar Game (also adapted from a popular manga) and Love Shuffle (I really recommend this drama if you haven't seen it!)  Anyway, I found some of the CMs with Matsuda Shota in them, with english subs (you may need to click on the 'cc' to make them appear!). He joins the family in an unexpected way! Okay, so I could only find the first 2 with English subs, but included the 3rd and 4th parts I could find as they are too funny not to include! 







Jiro (Dad, the dog) isn't happy about his new grandfather and grandma scolds him for being rude.



New Grandpa is back, and he's impressing all the ladies of the White family, and Dad-Jiro is still not impressed. 


I love these! I hope you enjoyed them too! 

Saturday 17 December 2011

Pretty Knotty in Nude: Nails in China Glaze Knotty and Nicole Spring Romance


Home ill with the super lurgy of all flus, and I started to go a bit cabin fevery. So what did I do? I reached for the nail polish. I applied a couple coats of China Glaze Knotty with a a couple layers of Nicole by OPI Spring Romance.

I like it. The hearts were a bit challenging, but it wasn't my first application with them (review here). It was my first time using Knotty which is a gorgeous pale colour. I hadn't done my nails in ages it seemed. First because I was busy and then I had the Christmas Show at work, which meant I had even less time and bright nails are discouraged (they're distracting!). Needless to say, the nails were feeling neglected!

I'm happy with this look. What do you think?


Thursday 15 December 2011

Extra conditioning for shiny hair

There's nothing I love more than shiny, silky hair and sometimes our hair needs a bit of extra help in winter. With holiday parties non-stop, I'm sure you're all wanting to keep your locks as luxurious as possible, so I'm going to share a few of my favourite gloss and extra conditioning treatments.

Clairol ColourSeal Gloss


These little conditioning glosses by Clairol's Nice'n Easy are amazing value at 99p each, and available at Boots, Superdrug, and supermarkets across the UK. Although they claim to seal in the colour for your latest hair colouring treatment, I find they add a lovely gloss and condition to my hair regardless of when my last colour treatment was. There are 3 to choose from: radiant reds, beautiful brunettes, and brilliant blondes. I personally have used all 3, and have found as they are non-colour depositing, I'm not sure there's much harm in using the 'wrong' shade. Each 30mL tube contains 3 usages, recommended weekly. I highly recommend these if you'd like to add a bit of shine to your hair.


Schwarzkopf Professional BlondMe Shine Moisture Mask



When I had pale blonde hair, I loved to use products from Schwarzkopf Professional's BlondMe range. Shine Moisture Mask promises prism shine technology and micro nourishing ingredients and boy does it deliver! Bleach can be pretty harsh on your hair, and I found this conditioner to really make my light blonde hair shine. The only downside to this, is that it can be hard to hunt down and fairly expensive (£10-£12), but it comes in a large tube  (150mL) that will last awhile.



Fekkai Salon Glaze



This is the most expensive of my conditioners, but it's lovely when you feel like splurging on yourself! It gives the result of a professional glossing treatment at home and retails for $28.00 USD (includes S&H) or £24.00 in the UK  for 150mL of product. I love this stuff, but it is pricey, so use sparingly!

No girl should be caught with gorgeous locks! Do you use any shine treatments?

Wednesday 14 December 2011

Beauty comes from helping others: charities need our support


Christmas is a time when we can usually fill up our wishlist for Santa and get busy with all the festivities with friends and family, but it's also a time to consider others. While, I like to think that I consider others throughout the year, the holiday season is one in which many people think about charity.So I wanted to blog today about what charities I support.

Cancer Research 


Cancer is a big issue for me. In fact, almost everyone in my family (and some friends!) has had some form of cancer, and I've had several family members die from cancer or cancer-related complications. I think research in this area is important and useful and I don't usually shout about it, but every year I give money at Christmas to support research into treatment and prevention. When I was in the US I gave regularly to the American Cancer Society, and now that I'm in the UK, I've been donating to Cancer Research UK.




I have also volunteered with Cancer Research UK's Race For Life this summer in Oxford, which I hope to do again next year.





When I was a little girl, I was a Brownie, and I sold girl scout cookies in the US. Although, I wouldn't say I'm an outdoorsy-type I loved it. So when I read last May in my local circular about how there were girls in my area on waiting lists to join Rainbows, Brownies, and Girl Guides because there weren't enough adult volunteers, it really struck a chord. I enjoyed it so much when I was a kid, and I didn't think any girl should be denied that opportunity. Since then I've become a unit helper with a local Brownie unit and love to give the girls something that they enjoy so much. Yes, sometimes it's tiring to give up your Monday night for others, but its worth it. After all, someone used to give their time up for me, so it's the least I can do.

This is what my Brownie uniform in the US looked like when I was a kid



This is what the UK Brownies wear today.



It's also a great group to be involved with because promoting good in the community is one of the aims of the Girl Guides, so you can feel doubly good!

I also have been active trying to recruit more adult helpers or leaders, so if you're in the UK and interested in getting involved, you can find more info here, or if you're in Oxfordshire send an email to northoxfordandmarstondistrict@hotmail.co.uk  We'd love to have you!


Charity Shops


Last but not least are charity shops. I always donate my unwanted clothes and goods to Oxfam and Mind.

What charities are you passionate about?
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...