STYLE TIPS: How To Make Your Own Fancy Headband

Accessorising your hair was one of the biggest trends this summer. From delicate garlands fit for a fairy (as seen on the Chanel catwalks) to big satin bows like the ones worn by Blair from Gossip Girl, you can go a lot of different ways if you let your imagination run wild.


Despite it being a summer trend, shops are still full of all sorts of beautiful headbands. If you're on a bit of a tight budget, or fancy something more original and want to get stuck-in being creative, then here are some tips to get you started!

First off you'll need just a basic, plain headband. You should be able to get decent, affordable ones at drugstores/pharmacies, accessory shops or even your local supermarket. Make sure it's wide enough to fit your embellishments on and that it's nice and sturdy.
I always prefer plastic ones to metal because they don't tend to pinch behind your ears and are easier to glue your decorations on to.

Next, you should get some things to attach to your headbands. Flowers, appliques, bows, whatever you like! Garden centres are great places to find pretty and unusual decorations, especially around this time of year when they're starting to put up their Christmas displays. Don't forget to check back in the after-Holiday sales to find trinkets for even less!
Another good place to look is your local fabric shop. They'll often have fabric appliques with beads, glitters, rhinestones or ribbons which you could simply glue on to your headband.
Of course you could always make your own creations out of scrap fabrics, crocheted flowers, buttons, anything you like really.
Make sure you get some good quality glue, a hot glue gun or strong hobby glue. If you are using fabric or anything that's a lot wider than your base headband it's a good idea to attach a piece of felt to the back of it in order to make it sturdier and hide the glue.
Here's a few I made myself:


If you've made any, I'd love to see what your creations! Leave a comment below.

DVD REVIEW: St Trinian's 2: The Legend Of Fritton's Gold (2009)

This sequel closely follows on from 'St Trinian's'. Kelly, the former head girl has left, and Annabelle has taken over from her. A mysterious Lord Pomfrey has contacted one of the girls and offered her £20,000 for a ring hidden somewhere in the school. When Annabelle and the other girls find out, they want in on the deal. After raising the price in negotiation, the deal falls through and inevitably, chaos ensues!
Camilla Fritton, still the quirky owner of the school, tells the girls about the legend of Fritton's gold. Inspired and excited, they set off on a quest that leads them from gravedigging, to demonic possession, right to the famous Globe Theatre in London where all will be revealed.

This sequel is a bit more outlandish than it's predecessor, with winks to cult classics such as 'The Exorcist', 'Star Trek', 'Lord of The Rings' and 'This Is Spinal Tap'. It takes itself even less seriously, and is all the better for it. It still has the same aspects which made you want to join St Trinian's in the first place, but it's all been turned up a notch (to 11?).

The girls have more character, Camilla is funnier, and the head girl even more stylish and cool. Even Kelly is more badass. The movie seems surer of itself, relying less on cameos (although the former Doctor himself, David Tennant stars as the flamboyant Lord Pomfrey) and more on the established characters who make the films what they are - thoroughly enjoyable, cool and just really fun.

'St Trinian's 2' left me with a big smile on my face, so if you liked the first one, make sure you don't miss this superior sequel.

RECOMMENDATIONS: 3 Great YouTube Make-Up Channels

When you go on YouTube and search for make-up tutorials, the amount of search results can be a bit confusing. Here I've selected my 3 most-often visited channels for you to check out. (Be sure to click 'Full screen' on the embedded videos!)

Pixiwoo



This channel is run by Sam and Nic, two sisters who are both professional make-up artists. They have a good mix of both everyday and glamorous looks and their tutorials are clear, easy to follow and professional.

I really like the iconic looks that they do, and above you can see one of my favourites. Also check out their website at www.fashionface.tv and blog at pixiwoo.blogspot.com

Panacea81 (Lauren Luke)



This channel is run by Lauren Luke. She started out making her videos from home, and through her online popularity now has her own make-up line and book and is now the resident make-up expert on ITV1's 'This Morning' in the UK. I first saw Lauren on The Paul O'Grady Show (an early evening chatshow) doing a make-up tutorial.

On her YouTube channel she covers a lot of celebrity looks with friendly, straightforward tutorials. Check out her site at www.bylaurenluke.com and blog at panacea81.blogspot.com

Make-Up Geek TV




Marlena is the creator and main face of this channel. She is a self-taught professional make-up artist and does a lot of fun, colourful looks, often with inexpensive products. The channel also has useful videos on how to store your cosmetics, brushes, etc.

The channel has been running for over 2 years and has a huge following, placing Marlena and Make-Up Geek as the 11th most subscribed Guru channel on YouTube. Check out the site at MakeUpGeek.com.

BOOK REVIEW: Glee - The Beginning

Glee: The Beginning
by Sophia Lowell


Since Glee first hit the airwaves last year, it has quickly become one of the biggest and most loved shows on TV, rocketing it's cast to stardom with a series of spin-off albums, DVDs, and an army of followers. Now the first original Glee novel has been released. Is it pitch perfect or a little off-key?

This book leads up to the start of season one. It has all the same characters that we know and love (or love to hate) and follows them up to the homecoming dance. I won't say too much of what happens, but Quinn Fabray isn't yet pregnant but in the book we follow the beginnings of her secret relationship with Puck. Rachel Berry has just joined the small Glee club and is trying to inspire the members to stand-out and stand up for themselves. Future mentor Will Schuester doesn't have anything to do with the club yet.

It is written in the exact same tone as the show. It is funny, cheesy, quirky and a bit ridiculous. The characters behave and act exactly as you'd expect from the show and even without all the song and dance, this book was very entertaining.

I wouldn't really recommend it if you're not a fan of the show already, but if you're a big Gleek like me, this book is good enough to tide you over until Season 2 starts.

RECIPE: Capuccino Cupcakes

Cappucino Cupcakes An easy recipe for breakfast or afternoon cupcakes that even non-coffee drinkers should enjoy. These cupcakes can be kept if refrigerated for around 4 days, and take around an hour to make.


These cappucino cupcakes are so good! They’re pretty easy to make and look and taste very professional. The coffee flavoured sponge is very nice, but with the white chocolate icing they’re absolutely delicious, definitely one of my favourite recipes I’ve tried. I got this recipe from Nigella Lawson's excellent iPhone recipe app, but changed it quite a bit. When I made it I found that there was too much icing - a shame to waste all that chocolate! Anyway, pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees Celcius and here’s what you need (makes about 12 cupcakes):

Ingredients:

125 g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
125 g soft butter
125 g golden caster sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp instant espresso
2-3 tbspns milk

You can do this in a foodprocessor or by hand, like I did, mix everything together but the milk. When it’s all done, add the milk. (That’s it! Much easier than doing it in stages and it’s perfectly fine.)

For the icing:

80 g white chocolate
30 g butter
60 g sour cream
130 g icing sugar
½ tsp cocoa powder or cinnamon

Melt the chocolate and butter in the microwave or in a pan above hot water.

Stir in the cream when it’s cooled and gradually beat in the icing sugar.

You can add more water if it’s too thick, or more sugar if it’s too runny.

Apply the icing all over your cupcakes and sprinkle over the cocoa powder or cinnamon.

Enjoy and let me know what you think!

DVD REVIEW: St Trinian's (2007)

St Trinian's College For Girls is on the verge of disaster. If Camilla Fritton doesn't come up with the £500,000 needed to pay off debts the school is going to be declared bankrupt.
When Annabelle Fritton, the headmistress' niece, joins St Trinian's, all she wants is to leave as soon as possible, but her dad has other plans for her, and for the school. Forced to stay, she meets all the different girls: the emos, chavs, nerds and posh tottys.

Obviously they don't all get along, but when the head girl Kelly reminds them that if St Trinian's closes down, they'll all have to go to different schools - normal schools - they all pull together. They plot an ingenious way to get the money together to pay off the school's debts.

This movie is really fun, with an exciting. (There's also a great makeover scene which I'll be doing a feature on.)




It's got a great cast with lots of actors you'll have heard of or seen in other things, such as Talulah Riley (Annabelle) who you may have seen as Miss Evangelista in two 2008 'Doctor Who' episodes, and more recently in the hit movie 'Inception'; Gemma Arterton (Kelly) who is now becoming quite a big deal in Hollywood after starring in 'Quantum Of Solace' and 'The Prince Of Persia'; Rupert Everett (Camilla & Carnaby Fritton) who does the voice of Prince Charming in 'Shrek 3'; and Colin Firth (Geoffrey Thwaites) from movies such as 'Bridget Jones' Diary' and 'Love, Actually'. And that's not even the end of it! 'St Trinian's' also stars model Lily Cole, singer Paloma Faith, Russell Brand, Stephen Fry and Girls Aloud as the school band. If you're outside of the UK you may not have heard of all of these people, but that really won't spoil your enjoyment.
It took me a little while to get into it, mostly because of Rupert Everett's dual roles as both Camilla and her brother Carnaby Fritton.

They've made seven St Trinian's films since 1955's 'The Belles Of St Trinian's', this one being the sixth in the series and the first new entry in 27 years, and I believe it's kind of a tradition for the headmistress to be played by a man. Both of the characters are quite daft and I thought that it may be too silly for me, but after Annabelle is introduced, the story really gets going.

All in all, 'St Trinian's' is very enjoyable, girly but not overly sweet, and really worth a watch.

- Miss Daiquiris

Look out for my review of 'St Trinian's 2 - The Legend Of Fritton's Gold' next week!

STYLE TIPS: Easy & Inexpensive Ways To Update Your Wardrobe

Mix up your wardrobe

Try different combinations that you'd normally go for. Don't be afraid to mix up patterns, clash colours, and combine soft with edgy. On the runways and magazines you often see unusual combinations. Instead of taking one aspect, try the whole look.

Get some new accessories

Accessories are a much cheaper way of updating your look than a whole new outfit. A pair of coloured tights instead of the usual black ones will add some fun to your little black dress. A studded belt will cinch in your waist and add some cool to your look, and a pretty flower corsage instantly makes your old denim jacket an eye-catcher. Accessories are a great way to personalise your outfit. There might be ten other girls wearing your dress, but none of them will look as great as you when you add your own touch.

Customising

Get your scissors, needle and thread, and unleash your creativity on those old clothes lying in the back of your wardrobe. If you never wear them anymore, what's the harm in having some fun with them? Shortening hems, adding embellishments, cutting up those jeans to create some uber-stylish denim shorts... Just be inventive and go crazy! One thing is for sure, whatever you end up with will be one of a kind.

Swap-shop

Have a fun girly night by having your friends bring over their old clothes and swap outfits. Not only will you get to hang out with them, but that pink cocktail dress hiding under your friend's bed might be just what you're looking for. And you don't just have to turn to your friends - maybe your mum still has some cool vintage stuff from when she was your age. Sometimes there are local fashion fairs held. Who knows what you might find?

Flea markets & charity shops

A fun and inexpensive way to go shopping. You can buy whole new outfits for just a fraction of what you'd pay on the high street. You'll come across some really unique items and you'll be helping out great causes. It's a bit like treasure hunting. Definitely a good way to get a very personal style together even on a low budget. Why not bring some of your own unwanted clothes in? Just beware of the so-called Vintage shops - often they're just normal second-hand clothes shops which are then labelled vintage so that they can sell donated items for ridiculous amounts.

- Miss Daiquiris

Welcome to The Powder Room!

Hi there, and welcome to the Powder Room!

If you've been looking for something girly and a bit different, you've come to the right place. Here you will find a fun collection of 'How-To's on make-up looks from way back when, now and everything in between; homemade beauty treatments; tasty recipes and movie reviews for a girly night in.

It doesn't matter if you're a 50's pin-up, a cool rock chick or something else entirely. If you like being feminine and experimenting with food, make-up and styles you'll find something here to interest you.

I'd like to hear from you so if you've got any ideas, comments or questions, please post a comment.

- Miss Daiquiris.