How to organise your shoes?

I decided to do a different type of post for today.  Aside from my love of all things beauty and cosmetics, I also have a bit of an addiction to all things shoes.  So today I’m going to go through a few ways to organise your shoes since this has been a problem that I have had as I keep adding to the collection.

Firstly, you need to gather all of your shoes in one area. Go around the house and bring all the shoes together in the room that you intend to store them in. 

Secondly,  I would recommend that you go through all of the shoes that you have and then decide on what you actually wear. I know the rule with clothes is if you haven’t worn it in a year then get rid of it. I tend to follow this motto with shoes. I will usually make fours piles. One for what I am keeping, which I then break up into winter and summer shoes.  Then one for disposing of and finally one for charity. 

Thirdly, from the shoes that you have decided to keep establish if they need any repair work. If they do then do this as soon as possible as you will forget until the next time you intend to wear them. 

Next,  look at the area you have for storage. If you have a large area to store your shoes then you will be able to look into bigger storage options such as proper pieces of furniture. If the space you have available is smaller then under bed storage and shoe storage that you can hang up will be essential. 

Fourthly, you should decide on how you want to arrange your shoes, i.e. by colour, type, size. I put all of my shoes together by type, i.e. heels, flat, boots and I will then arrange them by colour. 

- I would recommend that if you have a relatively small shoe collection you should use something like an overdoor shoe bag.

- If you have a medium sized shoe collection then you should use a hanging shoe rack or an extendable shoe rack.

- If you have a large area to store your shoes that I would recommend that you use shoe boxes. This is how I store a lot of my shoes. The boxes can be stacked, it keeps the shoes clean and protected and also you can easily identify easy pair of shoes. 

Lastly, you need to maintain your stored shoes. If you have decided to separate your winter and summer shoes then you will need to swap them twice a year to have the shoes you want available. Also it is important to keep the shoes you use the most near by as it will be easier to see what you need every morning. Finally, care for dress shoes by placing them on a shelf and I would also recommend that you clear them every few weeks to prevent any damage to them or else keep them in boxes.  

So how to you organise your shoes?

Sites of the Week: 12 August 2011

Having trouble at work or school with a fashion related emergency, then these simply office supplies might be able to help.

Some great hair looks for what is left of the summer season.

If you need help with your personal style and how to develop it then this article is for you.

What to think of when you think of your younger self.

Tips to help you get your beauty sleep.

If you have problems with stretch marks and need help trying to get rid of them then try these natural remedies.

Need help with eye related make-up here is a great list of solutions.    

Here are a few funny cartoons to lighten the mood.

Benefit Bad Gal Mascara

Yet another really great mascara.  

Product
Benefit Bad Gal mascara is an excellent mascara if you want both length and volume. I have used this for both daytime and night time looks and it works brilliantly for both looks. This mascara doesn't clump and even when I put on two layers for added volume, clumping is not a problem.
The brush is large which ensures that all of the lashes are covered. It also makes it easy for the brush to glide over the lashes.

Longevity

When I apply this it will usually last for approximately eight to ten hours.  It also doesn't flake around my eyes. The thing that I find difficult with this product is removing it. I will always need to use eye make-up remover and there are times when I will have to rub it for a minute or so to get it all off.

Packaging

There is 8.5g of product in this bottle. This mascara comes in a very nice cardboard style small box. When I removed it I saw the mascara was packaged in the black plastic tube with a silver lid.  

Price

It has been about two months since I purchased this so I can't remember the exact price. I think it is approximately €22.  It is available from Benefit on-line and costs $19.00.  It is also available from the House of Fraser and costs £16.50. 

Would I buy this again? Yes

Lush Ocean Salt Face Scrub

I got this a few weeks ago when I was in Dublin and had to make a stop at a Lush store. I looked at many different things but decided on this Ocean Salt Face Scrub.  

Lush describes Ocean Salt Face Scrub as a 'cleansing lime, coconut and sea salt scrub. Ocean Salt is like taking your face on a trip to the seaside for an invigorating splash in the water, then cleansing and refreshing it with lemon, grapefruit and lime juices. Fresh avocado moisturizes and softens the skin, while violet leaf absolute calms and nurtures'. 

The smell from this product is amazing. The blend of the lime, coconut and sea salt create a great refreshing scent.  There is a thick and chunky texture to this scrub.  The particles of sea salt are larger than many other face scrubs I have seen with particles.  I find that you need to be gentle when using this product but it leaves your skin feeling so clean.  Also, if you are having a skin breakout this will help to improve the problem immediately.  

This product lasts for a full year and when you only have to use in approximately one or two times a week this lasts for ages. It also only takes a small amount of this product to cleanse your skin.  

The ingredients in this scrub include:

Fine Sea Salt, Fresh Grapefruit Infusion (Citrus paradisi), Coarse Sea Salt, Stearic Acid, Fresh Organic Lime Extracted in Vodka (Citrus aurantifolia), Sodium Cocoamphoacetate, Glycol Cetearate, Triethanolamine, Avocado Butter (Persea gratissima), Extra Virgin Coconut Oil (Cocos nucifera), Lime Oil (Citrus aurantifolia), Seaweed Absolute (Fucus vesiculosus), Violet Leaf Absolute (Viola odorata), Glycerine, Lanolin, Cetearyl Alcohol, *Limonene, *Linalool, Perfume, Colour 42090, Methylparaben, Propylparaben. 


The vodka in this is used to bind all of the ingredients together.  There is no smell of alcohol from this scrub. When I washed my face using this in the shower and was rinsing it again, I did find out that there is a  taste from the sea salts used.  

Price

I purchased this from Lush and it cost me €9.20.  

Would I buy this again? Yes.  I would also be interested in trying some of their other face scrubs.  

Urban Decay Sparkling Lickable Body Powder in Marshmallow

I have to admit that I was a little surprised when I first saw this product and wasn't really sure what to expect.  

Product

Urban Decay's Sparkling Lickable Body Powder is a very shimmery powder. It has an almost smooth texture although not perfectly smooth because of the shimmer in the powder.  When I first saw this in the container I wasn't sure what to do with it because of all the shimmer. I have applied this to my arms, legs and decollete.  I used the little puff provided when applying it to my arms and decollete. I found that this was too small when applying it to my legs so I used a large kabuki brush.
It gives a very nice glow for going out while not being over powering.  There is also a great smell from this product. I don't usually like products with a strong smell but this one actually smells like marshmallows. It is an almost white shade of product.    

Longevity

Once this is on it doesn't go anywhere for some time. When I applied this onto my arms the only time that I could remove it was I washed it off with soap and water. Even when I had my arms covered it stayed in place.

Packaging

The packaging for this isn't terrible but there could be some improvements to it. There is a plastic top over the powder which dispenses a small amount of product. However if you need more you have to remove this and this is what causes it to become messy. When the plastic tray is removed the product can leave the container when the applicator is inserted and it covers everything. 

Price

The body powder that I have it only a travel sized product and therefore I don't have a price for it. The full sized product costs $29.00 and  is available from Urban Decay.   

Would I buy this again? No. I don't think I use this one enough to purchase another one.  

Urban Decay Razor Sharp Ultra Definition Finishing Powder

Another product from the Urban Decay Urban Bride Set.  

Product

Urban Decay claims that this product is a silky, micro fine powder that fools the eyes with optical blurring and miraculously seems to airbrush skin's imperfections.  It recommends that the finishing powder is used as a finishing touch after foundation or worn alone to create a perfect bare skin look. It also claims that there are tiny water particles that float on the skin's surface and burst when applied.  Also mentioned is the no-mess component with attached puff and handy on/off switch is freeway and subway friendly. 

This is a very fine and silky powder that's give an excellent finish when applied.  To touch it feels very fine and not grainy in any way.  I usually apply this powder over foundation and it gives a great finish. It looks very airbrushed and it is also not drying. It doesn't show any patchiness in foundation and also covers areas where oiliness way be a problem.  

I apply this using two different methods. The first few times that I applied this I used an all over face brush which I though applied this very well. Then I used a stippling brush and felt that this worked better. It blended the powder in more and made it look more natural.  This is a universal shade so it blends to all skin tones.  

Packaging 

The biggest problem with this product is the packaging. As I mentioned above Urban Decay claims it is a no-mess component, this however is not so true, especially when I had to depot the product.   When I got it first I spend some time trying to figure out how to get it out of the container.  It turns out there is a switch on the side that opens and closes the top of the container.  When I did get the container open it was impossible to get any product out. I would tap it on my hand and all that would happen was a puff of powder would come out, not practical for applying to my face. So I had to become a little inventive. I got a small needle and inserted in between the lid and top of the plastic container. I then place a ruler into this area and pressed carefully onto it. This opened it and I placed the powder into a second container where the product was easy to access.

Longevity

With this powder my foundation remains under control with regards to oil and patchiness for upto eight to ten hours.  An area that I can have problems with when I have foundation on for some time is my t-zone. With this product on it keeps my foundation in place.

Price

As I only had a travel size of this product I do not know the exact price. However, the full size of this product costs $30.00 and it is available at Urban Decay.  It is also available from House of Fraser and costs £20.00.  

Would I buy this again? Yes.  

Blog Carnival:8 August 2011

Make-up


Jin presents Bare Minerals Review for Oily, Acne Prone Skin posted at Acne Skin Care.

Catherine presents Style: Lip Service posted at Completely Catherine.

Emily presents Natural Beauty Tips for Women posted at Women Weblog.

Nguyen Quoc Dung presents Pretty Simple Hair Highlight Ideas posted at Fashion And Cosmetic.

jayfletch22 presents Tropical Makeup Look posted at That's so Fletch.

Hair Care


jayfletch22 presents Repair Split Ends posted at That's so Fletch.

Nguyen Quoc Dung presents Glam Wavy Hairstyles Trend posted at Fashion And Cosmetic.

Fashion


Catherine presents Fashion: Born to Ride posted at Completely Catherine.

Laura Hartley presents What's Hot? Fashion. posted at What's Hot?.

Nguyen Quoc Dung presents Taylor Swift's First CoverGirl Ad Sneak Peek posted at Fashion And Cosmetic.

Rose a la Mode presents I Copied JCrew posted at Rose A La Mode.

Mary presents The Pursuit of Perfection posted at Fit and Feisty.

Skin care


Amber Hilton presents Laser hair removal myths | the happy writer posted at the happy writer.

Andrea presents Hidden Homemade Beauty Products in Your Kitchen posted at Savings Scoop.

Ruth Almon presents Good Morning Chemical Soup - Part 1 posted at Ruth's Real Food.

Submit your blog article to the next edition of beauty and cosmetics using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Weekly Quote

 “Beauty is unbearable, drives us to despair, offering us for a minute the glimpse of an eternity that we should like to stretch out over the whole of time.”

—	Albert Camus (1913-1960) French novelist, essayist and dramatist.

Urban Decay Lip Junkie Lipgloss in Midnight Cowboy

Here's another review of a product from the Urban Decay Urban Bride Set.  

Product

Urban Decay claims that this gloss offers a super-shiny gloss but without the sticky texture.  They also claims that lip junkie stays on longer than many other glosses.  I did find that this gloss is very shiny and you only need a small amount to give you that super shiny pout.  I did think that there was also some stickiness to this gloss though. It wasn't an unbearable stickiness that was still present.  

I got this gloss in midnight cowboy which is described as a sheer nude sparkle.  This is a really gorgeous nude colour. I find that it blends with your  skin tone to give a very natural look. The gloss is also very easy to apply. I will either use a lip brush to apply it or if I am out and don't have a brush I will apply it from the tube.  

Longevity

If I just apply this and don't do anything such as eat then this will last me approximately three to four hours. However if I do eat then it will only last about an hour. 

Packaging
This gloss comes in a very convenient plastic tube. This makes it very easy to reapply when necessary.  This is only a travel size tube so I don't know what the exact tube size is. However the full size tube contains 10ml or 0.34 fluid ounces.

Price

As I received this as part of the Urban Decay Urban Bride I don't know the exact price. However, the original sized one is $19.00 and is available from Urban Decay. 

Would I buy this product again?  Yes.  I will definitely repurchase this colour and there are also a few other great colours in the range that I would like to purchase.  

17 blusher: Bramble Frost

Similar to a review I did recently on 17 Plum Puff blush, 17 also claims that this blusher is a 'rosey cheeked to natural colour.' They also have a super soft micro-fine powder. They are dermatologically tested and fragrance free. I own three different shades of this blush. 

Product 

Bramble Frost is the lightest 17 blush that I own.  Like the Plum Puff blush there is also great pigmentation in this blush.  I apply this using a blush brush and I sweep it across the apples of my cheeks.  I find this is an excellent colour for someone with pale skin because it is a light colour. Therefore I can apply as much of this as I want as I know that since the colour is light I wont look terrible.  

There is a soft texture to this blush.  There is not a matt blush and does have some very very small shimmer particles.  

Longevity

This blush lasts on my skin for approximately six to eight hours.   There is the rare occasion that I will  have to reapply. 

Packaging

The packaging for this blush is the exact same as it was for the Plum Puff blush. The blush comes in a small black round case with a removable lid. 

Price

I think this costs approximately €5.50. It is available from Boots. 

Would I buy this again? Yes. This is the second pot of this blush that I have purchased.