What I Wore Wednesday: Versace for HM

Last Thursday I was lucky enough to win a Twitter competition and skip the queue for the unveiling of the new Versace for H and M collection! (ed note: I know it is not H and M, but I can't get an ampersand to work for some reason!) I got to go in early and shop before anyone else hit the store. The same rules still applied: I could only shop for 10 minutes and only one of each item.  

I went in with only two items in mind and came out with five items from the Versace collection. I had planned a fashion show for y'all but well life took over so lucky for me Polyvore stepped in! So here is how I *would* have worn them if I actually got chance!

I'm still unsure about a few items and have until tomorrow to return them so please be honest about what you think! I'm also keen to hear alternate styling options, too!

Embellished Skirt-Versace for H and M 

Black 3/4 sleeve top- H and M

Black Peep Toe Heels- Stuart Weitzman (Don't actually own but have similar pair)

High stylized bun

Black Ice Manicure- 15 Royal Terrace (I'm loving how the micro glitter breaks up the black!)

Red Dress- Versace for H and M (Sold out! No Link)
Black Peep Toe Heels- Stuart Weitzman (Don't actually own but have similar pair)
Long, Straight Hair; Middle Part

Black Fur Vest- Versace for H and M (Sold out! No link.)
Black Leather Studded Bag- Versace for H and M
Black Boots- Sketchers
Skinny Jeans- Old Navy

Floral Leggings- Versace for H and M

I've no idea how to really wear the leggings other than some sort of plain black top; any ideas? Did you shop the new Versace collection?

JINNYlash Semi-Permanent Eyelash Extensions

If you are a regular reader of my blog you'll know I'm kinda obsessed with my makeup, especially mascara. I love long, lush dark lashes and have tried dyeing and I love the way my eyes look when the lovely Nancy from Brideface applies individual false lashes, but while they look fab they are a one night only deal.  So you can imagine my excitement when I got the chance to try JINNYlash semi-perminent eyelash extensions; seriously I could have peed my pants I was so excited (don't worry I didn't).

JINNYlash is the original, revolutionary technique in semi-permanent eyelash extensions and is suitable for anyone who wants to achieve longer, fuller eyelashes. JINNYlash extensions are renowned for their natural-looking finish and last between five and eight weeks. The treatment involves attaching up to 100 lashes onto each eye and because each synthetic lash is attached onto each natural eyelash, the end result is fuller, longer, natural-looking lashes.

Normally if I'm headed out of the house whether it's to Bounce and Rhyme or a nice night out I need to curl my lashes, put on mascara, eyeliner and eyeshadow. I love a defined eye and my eyelashes in their natural state are translucent. If I don't have on mascara you can't see them.  So you can imagine how exciting the idea of full, dark lashes all day, everyday would be to me.

The treatment lasts around ninety minutes and if you wear contacts be sure you have them out as you'll be laying down with your eyes shut the entire time.  I had my treatment at my absolute favourite salon in Glasgow: The Beauty Store.

The Beauty Store is an amazing hidden gem off of Royal Exchange Square and you'll feel like you're in the lap on luxury the moment you walk in the door. The salon is impeccably stylish with black and white wallpaper and sparkling chandeliers; I know they say not to judge a book by it's cover, but you can judge a salon by it's style and you trust me here you are in for a real treat.

I know it sounds strange but it was remarkably relaxing to have hundreds of lashes applied to my eyes and the end result, well judge for yourself but in three words: AH-MAZ-ING. The look incredibly natural, but glamorous at the same time. My eyes look larger and more defined and I haven't felt the need to put on makeup just to leave the house.

I've had the lashes in for a week now and while some have fallen out (there is no way of knowing what stage your natural lashes are in so some will shed) they still look full, dark and lush.  I was planning on flutter my lashes while I shook it at my friend's 30th birthday, but I got sick and couldn't go. I'm still in shock the lashes have stayed put since I got sick basically the evening I got them.

The Beauty Store charges £95 for a full application of JINNYlash lashes and included in the price is a touch up appointment (to replenish those that have fallen out naturally) 2 weeks later! Appointments can be made by phoning 0141 204 224 or you can book online. Let them know I sent you! JINNYlash is also available at the Jinny Salon in London and other fine salons in the UK.

Transatlantic Blonde was provided this treatment to review but the opinions expressed are her own.

Blinkingly Blissful

I'm back! Hallelujah the laptop is working again! My poor blog has been neglected these past two weeks and I'm backed up with posts about all the lovely things we've been trying out! Most of the time Blondie Boy is the main tester in our house, but every now and then I get to be the guinea pig!

Kajal Eyeliner by Blink

I love beauty products and am a total makeup snob. I'm especially a sucker for a defined eye and black eyeliner is a staple in my makeup bag. Normally I'm a black shadow as liner girl but I got the chance to try the new Kajal Pencil by Blink. It contains waxes derived from olive and jojoba oil and is free of mineral oil and preservatives. The liner is long lasting and has a smudger on the end to create your desired look.

I hadn't used a pencil liner in a long time, but this goes on smooth and lasts for ages! I wear contacts so my eyes are very sensitive but the natural kohl didn't irritate them at all! I like to line my inner lash line for a more defined and fuller lash look, but this would be perfect for a smokey eye or cats eye, too!  The intense Kajal Eyeliner retails for £13.00.

Fat Girl Slim by Bliss

I've blogged about Bliss products before and they are some of my favourite pampering and beauty products on the market.  I could have lied and said I don't have cellulite, but I'm not a very good liar, so of course I jumped to try Fat Girl Slim. It energizes the skin, stimulates the skin surface to firm and contour with caffeine and visibly reduces the appearance of excess fluid retention in skin layers.  I've been trying out Fat Girl Slim on my c-section tummy and while it smells and feels amazing, so far I can't see any results, however in clinical studies 87% saw a firming effect, 85% felt a slimming effect and 73% noticed a reduction in the appearance of cellulite! Hopefully if I keep using it (and exercise more) I'll see the same results myself!  Fat Girl Slim retails for £28.60. 

Transatlantic Blonde was provided these products for review but the opinions are our own.

Sexy Mother Pucker

I'm a lipgloss kind of girl and to be honest I'm a lipgloss (and makeup for that matter) snob. I like a product that has quality, style and to be honest I'm a sucker for a super cute name. Soap and Glory's Super Colour Sexy Mother Pucker ticked all my boxes!

Super Colour Sexy Mother™ Pucker Lip Gloss is Soap and Glory's best selling extreme plumping gloss with superfill® microspheres now in seductive colours and fabulous flavours.

The extreme formula lip plumping gloss, with scientifically-proven plumping microspheres that explode in volume up to 10x when they come in contact with water. (They’re like tiny, dehydrated little sponges that expand when you apply them onto your lips. We’ve also formulated Sexy Mother™ Pucker with a rare circulation enhancing ingredient that gives your lips a little ‘electric’ buzz, to move more blood around the area, creating a swelling effect).

I've had problems with lip plumping glosses in the past and wound up with hives and a red face trying to explain to an Italian pharmacist in Milan that I needed hydrocortisone--not fun. So I was a bit trepidatious to try Sexy Mother Pucker but my fears were unfounded. Not only did I not have an allergic reaction, but I loved the gloss.

Super Colour Sexy Mother Pucker is super glossy, super tasty and creates a super pucker. All you do is apply the gloss and press your lips together and soon you'll feel a tingling sensation which is more tickly and nice than strange.

NotBlondeHusband said he thought my lips looked nice but he wasn't sure if they were plumper. Personally I think they looked more plump than with normal lipgloss and I loved the colour and it's staying power. The gloss stayed on after going out for coffee and I only had to reapply once all day.

The lovely people at Soap and Glory are going to give you a chance to get a sexy mother pucker of your own! I have a Super Coulour Sexy Mother Pucker in Half Naked to give away to one lucky reader.

To enter:

Follow my Blog publicly (link on right sidebar) and comment on who you think has the sexiest mother pucker.

Extra Entries:

-Follow me on Twitter and tweet about the giveaway (including a link to this post and @Melaina25) and comment to let me know (1 extra entry)

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Make sure to leave each entry in a separate comment.

All entries will be verified and deleted if not valid so make sure to leave the usernames you subscribe or tweet with.

I've checked out shipping prices and this giveaway is open to all readers worldwide. A winner will be drawn at random on November 15th at 12:00 GMT. Winners must contact me within 48 hours or another winner will be drawn. GOOD LUCK!COMPETITION NOW CLOSED.

Transatlantic Blonde was provided this product to review/giveaway, but postage is paid by Transatlantic Blonde.

Totally Blissed Out

I love beauty products, especially ones that are pampering. I'd heard of Bliss before, as they are stocked in my favorite store, Sephora (why doesn't it exist in the UK?), and regularly listed in beauty magazines. I was super excited to try their products out and even roped my mother-in-law into helping me test as well.

I started first with the Bliss Vanilla and Bergamot Body Scrub which you rub on to your body BEFORE you get in the shower and then rinse off. I'm a big fan of exfoliating products and was interested to see how applying before you step in the shower would work. I expected since you started your shower with the scrub the scent would be gone by the end of your shower, but the scent lingered long after I'd finished showering. The scrub is effective, but not harsh and left my skin feeling smooth and soft. My only complaint is the scent and that is only because I am not a fan of musky smells and bergamot is a musky scent. That being said, it's not so strong that it's stopped me from using it.

After showering I followed up my scrub with Bliss Naked Body Butter Lite. Now I don't know about you, but when I see body butter I immediately think of thick and greasy--this is anything but! This moisturizer is light and refreshing and quenches dry skin without leaving you feeling like you can't sit down for the next twenty minutes. It has a light, fresh scent and I love that it comes in a pump; I hate having to dig into jars and getting moisturizer stuck under my nails. This is a random one, but the pump comes with a guard so you physically can not pump out any body butter when the guard is on. As someone who has had product spilled out in my suitcase several times I love this.

The final product we were given to test was the Bliss High Intensity Hand Cream which I gave to my lovely mother-in-law since she let Blondie Boy and I crash with her last week while NBH was in London. Here is what she had to say:

I have tried lots of hand creams and no matter what the companies say in their advertising, the problem is always the same - they remain greasy for far too long and you end up leaving fingerprints on clothes, work papers, in fact anything you touch. So when I was asked to try Bliss hand cream I was fairly sure I could predict what my reaction to it would be - I'd like to use it but my life is far too busy to wait 15 minutes for cream to soak in. I was completely wrong.

The tiny amount I applied left my hands feeling moisturised and softer. More importantly, the cream was absorbed straight away which means I can apply it anytime, whether I'm handling papers or about to fold washing. I also love the smell - fresh, clean and lemony. I'm now a complete convert to Bliss and intend to try out some of their other products. The hand cream definitely works.

If you'd like a bit of pampering in your own home shop Bliss online or request a catalog.

Transatlantic Blonde was provided these products for review.

Wake me up

For the past two weeks I've been trialling Olay Total Effects Wake-up Wonder moisturizer (it was just me, NotBlondeHusband hasn't been using it at all, I swear). I was excited to try it out because my make-up maven Nancy at Brideface has recommended Olay products in the past. First here is what Olay has to say about it's new product:

WonderDiscover its Wake-me-up formula, with Mint Extract, for instant moisture refreshment!

Olay total effects Wake Up Wonder addresses fisrt signs of ageing with 7 age defying effects to wake up creased tired looking skin.

■Minimises lines: Visibly reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles as they start to develop
■Nourishing Moisturisation: Intensively hydrates the skin as it begins to show signs of dryness
■Tone Enhancement: Balances colour & visibly evens skin tone
■Gentle Exfoliation: Smoothes and evens skin texture
■Pore Refinement: Minimizes the appearance of pores as they become slightly more noticeable
■Brightening: For a radiant healthy glow
■Reduces the appearance of skin imperfections

Well let me start off by saying that I pretty much exclusively moisturize my face at night as that is when I wash my face, so I don't really know if it gets rid of creases. I obviously didn't pay attention and thought it just woke up skin rather than was to be used after you wake up!

The moisturizer is really light and fresh, but I was expecting it to smell like mint and to even be a bit tingly in a refreshing sort of way. I'm sure the mint extract is doing something, but it isn't contributing to the smell or any invigorating feeling. It smells nice, but isn't overly perfumed and not that I'd know or anything, but it's pretty safe to say that men built like linebackers would be happy to use it too.

My skin does feel really nice and smooth and NotBlondeHusband thinks it's evened out my skin and even calmed down some of my redness. It seems to be on sale at Boots and you can register here to request a free sample and try it out yourself!

Transatlantic Blonde was provided this product for review.

Sans Fards

So "sans fards" seems to be another trend that's all the rage. Jessica Simpson did it in Marie Claire (well, maybe not) and a blogger in Australia has come up with bloggers without makeup day.

When I first saw Emma at Me, the Man & the Baby, blog about this I thought "hell no, not me." The more I thought about it though, I thought what was I so afraid of? I love makeup, don't get me wrong, but even when I go out pretty much all I wear is eye-makeup.

So here I am, in all my translucent eyelash glory; no Touche Éclat, nothing. I took the plunge, so what about the rest of you? Will you go sans fards, too?

Ooh look at me!

Yay! I'm Makeup Bag Monday over at Brideface!

The fabulous Nancy from Brideface did my makeup for my wedding and my friend Dana's 80's party (check out NBH's makeup ala Nance, too!). She is absolutely the best and I haven't been satisfied with anyone else doing my make-up since!

Every Monday she reviews someone's make-up bag and suggests new products for them to try and this week it's me! I've got some giftcards from Christmas I've been waiting to use to get her suggestions, so I can't wait to try them out.

Do you want to be Make-up Bag Monday or do you need a fabulous make-up artist in the Greater Cincinnati area? Get in touch with Nancy and let her know I sent you!

Thank You Thursday

Thank you to my Mommy and my Mother-in-law!

My mother-in-law treated me to a American style spa pedicure last night. It's the only place in Glasgow with massage chairs and foot spas, plus they do scrubs and moisture wraps and all sorts of other goodies. My cute purple tootsies are VERY grateful and distract the eye from my swollen ankles!

My Mommy sent me a fab care package of Old Navy maternity clothes, so my style doesn't have to be completely stale for 9 months! Finding maternity clothes here has been pretty tough, so I really appreciate her helping me take advantage of the ON sales!

I am a very lucky girl!

Thank you!!!!

I ♥ Makeup

I went a bit nuts at Benefit today:

Creaseless Cream Shadow/Liner in "Birthday Suit"


Talent Shadow/Liner Brush





That Gal Brightening Face Primer




Some Kind of Gorgeous Foundation Faker


...and I got B Spot Perfume to free!

The girl did half my face and I did the other, so I know I can use the products, but I'm still having a hardcore case of buyer's remorse. I never splurge on myself like this. If anyone can praise these products and convince me not to return them, please do!

Totally Tubular!

The Saturday we were in Cincinnati my friend Dana and her husband Adam threw an 80's party. I love dressing up and when the FABULOUS Nancy offered her services I couldn't say no. Nancy did my makeup and my bridesmaid's makeup at our wedding and is the owner of Brideface.

My makeup was inspired by the most truly, truly outrageous 80's girl there is, Jem:

Alison's makeup was for that 80's rich girl: defined cheeks and blue eyeshadow and NBH well, I guess he was a club kid. My man is secure in his masculinity, thank you!

What a poser!

Sisters, for sure!

Dana and I (my jacket was an authentic Class of '87!)

Make-up Snob

I am a self-proclaimed make-up snob. I like the good stuff, we're talking YSL, Dior, MAC, etc. I don't do Maybelline or Cover Girl, sorry Tyra. I had been a convert to Fiberwig mascara or as it calls itself "paint on false lashes." It was amazing, but we don't have Sephora here, Emma chomped on my mascara so it dried/ran out quicker and I'm impatient.

So I went back to my old standby Dior Show.



Now since Dior and I were last friends, there has been several new DiorShow mascaras produced. I went to the John Lewis counter by my work and the lovely woman suggested DiorShow Blackout. Not only does it give you voluminous dark lashes, but it has kohl to rim the roots of lashes to create a lined effect. SOLD. I love me some black eyeliner, so this 2-in-1 was for me. She also advised me that waterproof mascara has fibers in it that can irate contact wearers. Normally I'd go for the waterproof, but I've decided to follow her advice. Oh and the non-waterproof came in a really cute gift bag with a free smoky eyes kit and pouch. SCORE!

PS: In other random news, the front page of the John Lewis website is advertising the "Fur Real Smores Pony" which can be yours for the bargain price of £225. I'm sorry but if you are going to spend that much money on a small child, you could book them riding lessons on a real pony. Rant over....

NBH just got back from a weekend trip to London for some business and to visit his friend Dougal and his sister Kate. Emma and I are both happy to have him back, but that's not the only reason why I love him.

He brought me back a double pack of YSL Touche Eclat. I'm a bit of a makeup snob at times but there is really no comparison when it comes to this highlighter/corrector. I've tried the Sephora version and it just isn't the same. I adore it as it brightens your eyes, covers spots and dark circles and can even make your lips look plumper. Now I don't have to ration the little bit I have left anymore.

LOVE IT, LOVE NBH!

Oh there you are eyelashes...

Just got my eyelashes tinted. Tinted you say? If you were blonde you'd understand. Without tint or mascara they are non-existant. With tint it means I don't have to put on gobs of mascara just to make them visible, I can just put it on like a normal person to extend and volumize.

Before

After