Flashback Beauty Friday 13: Sindy Soap

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A bit of a special find this week, but first, if you are new to Flashback Beauty Friday, welcome. These posts are a trip down memory lane, looking back at older beauty products and their packaging, especially limited edition pieces, for a little reminisce. Last week, I wrote about the Bourjois Eau De Gloss lipglosses and today, I definitely have my oldest beauty item to show you.

Random Ramble & March Haul

Besides a lack of energy or sometimes motivation to blog, I find I procrastinate a lot. Really a lot. I didn't used to be like this, but over the years of blogging, I've become some kind of super perfectionist. If the writing wasn't good enough, the pictures weren't fantastic, the subject matter wasn't relevant, I wouldn't blog it. I'd worry, stress and leave it. Then worry some more afterwards!  Did I want something not up to scratch on my blog? No. I felt my blog was a reflection of me and my abilities and if I posted rubbish, it would reflect badly on me. I want to change that though, because like I say, I didn't used to be like this. I'd write and photograph freely about whatever I wanted, when I wanted and there was something kinda nice about that.  Everything has become less relaxed, very precise, less enjoyable if I'm really honest and that's not a fair representation of me. I'm the type of person that sees a neat row of items and wants to turn one around, so it's no longer perfect. I live in an absolute pig-sty (I call it "organised chaos"), I like my hair wild and messy, my life has been totally messed up and muddled for years.  It's all a little off-centre, disorganised, unpredictable and unconventional.  I'm not saying I want a sloppy blog, but while I love my in-depth shoe reviews and detailed photos, not every post has to be like that and I need to drum this into myself until it sticks. Why don't I open the blog one day and just write about something random that pops into my head? It doesn't need to be so heavily thought-out and produced, just do it! So hopefully, by blogging each day this month it will push me to do just that and I'm starting with an absolute random pairing and irrelevant post to prove it!

Bratz: Selfiesnaps Cloe

You probably haven't heard of Bratz for some time now (and there's good reason for that), but I bought one a couple of months ago. I wouldn't call myself a big Bratz follower, but I do own quite a few Yasmin dolls. I felt they were geared more towards a younger audience and were a bit 'kiddy' for me. My sister loves cutesy stuff, so she collects Jade and has practically every one, as well as a few others (literally hundreds). As I said, they took a break and this was due to a bitter beef between Barbie and Bratz (well Mattel v MGA), which concluded with a massive court battle costing several hundred million dollars, that took 8 years. I'll be honest and say I thought the whole thing was ridiculous. The short version is, an employee at Mattel left and started up Bratz and Mattel felt they 'owned' the concept because the designer had thought it up when he worked for Mattel and thus they were entitled to the millions Bratz had made. That's how it started, but it escalated into stolen "secrets" and confidential information, spies (from Mattel), counter-claims, court decisions which were reversed, reversed again and again and a whole lot of mud-slinging. My take is that Bratz were this completely new concept, as un-Barbie-ish as you could get at that point, with their exaggerated features, huge shoes and denim, black or camouflage clothing. There was nothing remotely resembling the taller, older and pinker than pink Barbie. Bratz were based around a group of friends (with different skin and hair colours) and came with pets and nicknames. They were 'cool' and hip and of the time and I think there was a little resentment there from Mattel. Anyway Bratz took a break and tweaked a few things and are back with several new releases this year.

Toy Shop Bargains For Christmas

I've recently made a start to my Christmas shopping, helped along by some terrific bargains at The Toy Shop (The Entertainer), which I couldn't keep to myself. They launch special discount deals in the countdown to Christmas, every Thursday and now that we're several weeks into it, there's plenty to choose from. I saved £75 on the Kre-O Transformers Autobot Assault Devastator, down to £24.99 from £99.99. I hadn't read it properly (too excited by the bargain) so had intended it to be for my youngest nephew, but it's for ages 8+ and contains 781 pieces (sorry sis), so I think it's a little too advanced for him, so am giving it to the middle one instead. You can construct different things like robots or trucks and hopefully it'll keep them amused and they'll all play with bits of it, without fighting! Plus the box is MASSIVE, so that in itself is exciting for them! I also couldn't resist the fantastic Lalaloopsy deals. The original big dolls are down to £10 (saving £17), the 'Littles' my favourite, are £6 instead of £15, as are the newer 'Girls', down from £20. Any of these look like a really substantial present, so they are great if you have kids (or adults) to buy for and are budgeting. I got a couple of Littles and a Girls for my sister.

Christmas Presents

Are you all set for Christmas? I spent this weekend wrapping gifts, so I've been well prepared. I really have to pace myself during the festivities or else I'll end up ill in bed and miss it all! So I've had to write cards and package up parcels and wrap presents in stages. I'm not a fan of doing any of it to be honest, it's quite the chore (despite me spending years wrapping perfumes and the like when I worked on the beauty counter as a youngster). My wrapping skills this year have been pretty shocking and I was glad to finish it all on Sunday.
Obviously all my presents that have to be posted were done first, then I tackled my nephews (large) gifts on Saturday and then the rest of the family. With work being done on our house, we sent our dining table to storage, so it's been a real struggle this year, wrapping on the floor (especially when my back is so dodgy just now). However it's all done and they're all sitting under the tree, ready for tomorrow.
I thought you might like to see some of the gifts I got for my family. I've only had one shopping day and literally went to three shops and that's all I could manage. It's really difficult when you can't just pop out to get that little something extra or suddenly remember there's something you forgot. I'm never in the vicinity of shops as most of my time is spent in my house/street, so I've had to rely on shopping online and on others to buy for me. I've managed to snag some bargains and unfortunately my 'one for you, one (or two) for me' shopping mentality has never left me!
Starting with a complete disaster. I wanted to get this Bratz Holiday Jade for my sister as she collects the Jade dolls and this one never came out in the UK and is harder to find. Combining her love of Christmas and dolls in one package, I was very excited to find it on eBay (and even more so, when my Dad produced a £10 voucher to use on it with his eBay account). I ordered it on November 24th and obviously thought I had no worries about it arriving on time. Weeks past and still no parcel, so I began to panic. I checked their feedback and found some others were now leaving negative or neutral saying it hadn't turned up, took ages to arrive or wasn't what they were expecting. The item was located in Germany but shipping within the UK was free... it all seemed a bit strange to me. They did say in the listing delivery would take a while and so I wasn't sure when to contact them. In the end, I went to message them and instead it led to me opening an 'item not received' case (it said I could if I hadn't received by the 14th and this was the 18th). So lo and behold, two days later the item turns up with a return address of Swansea (which last time I checked wasn't in Germany). This isn't the worst of it.
My sister raced to the door before me and I wasn't expecting it anyway and the package was OBVIOUSLY shaped like a Bratz doll (tapered box). I knew she knew, but I kept up the pretence. Then I noticed the address label was covering the label beneath which read 'EBAY Bratz Holiday Jade' and I just knew she would've seen that. So in the end, I just had to give it to her early. I was so disappointed, the best laid plans and all that!  Never again will I purchase from that seller. Anyway, she absolutely loved it, but I was furious at the blunders along the way. I already ordered her this other Bratz Holiday Jade, again it's one that is hard to find here.
Yes, we're really going to need that extension once she receives all these dolls, because I bought a vintage Sindy for her as a replacement for the 'lost' Jade. Sindy is where the doll obsession began for us both as children (although I was definitely more obsessed than her) and I thought this very rare Festive one (from 1996) would be a nice collector item for her. There's another variation ('Noel' with gold top), but I knew she would prefer this one with the furry hood.
 I just adore that cute image on the back of the box.
Oh and I've had this Kawaii Crush sleepover set for her, for ages. We just got her the complete set of individual figures the other week in Home Bargains as she's been wanting to buy these for a while and we quite literally emptied the shelves of them! I managed to get this online from Debenhams when they had a promotion on and I also had a free £10 gift card they'd given me, so in the end it cost £4 instead of £20. She'll love it.
For my dad (definitely the hardest to buy for), I got a man-bag. He has one just now that is on it's last legs and so Mum and I trawled ASOS when I had a generous discount code and found this Esprit messenger bag. It's not very exciting but hey ho.
Mum also wanted a bag. A tote, large enough for shopping and that would go on her shoulder. She's terribly fussy, so I let her pick one she liked and she chose this teal Liquorish one.
It comes with a rather large pouch thing...not sure what for, but I'm sure she'll put it to use.
I also got her this Paul & Joe Moisture Lip Treatment.
And may have done so, to keep this adorable cat makeup bag (which was free) for myself.   
These three new prints of my beloved wiggle dress may also have fallen into my basket with these orders!  I've had mixed experiences with these fitting despite owning two of the 'original' prints. The brown floral one is in the same thick cotton with slight stretch, like my other two. The jacquard one feels really stiff which I'm not too keen on and fits slightly smaller than the others. I actually sent it back, then decided to re-order it once I'd thought about it some more! The other one is a 'floaty' poly fabric which hangs really nicely (although isn't really required on such a tailored dress) and it fits ok-ish too. Despite being almost identical patterns/shapes, none are as comfortable or as generous fitting as my originals. However having ordered a few in the summer that didn't fit at all-I was thankful these did (might not after Christmas dinner).
There's some makeup items I purchased for myself too, but I haven't had time to photograph them for you yet. Naughty girl. I have my other sister, my brother in law and my three nephews, but I thought these gifts here would be of most interest to you. All of my friends have now had babies (four girls and two boys to buy for), so I was like Santa when I came home with all the toys for them! It's difficult when you're trying to buy something lightish and small for posting, safe for posting too (so many restrictions on batteries etc), suitable for their age and something you hope they don't already have. Anyway, I hope you're all snuggled up at home ready for Santa. I'm away to get ready for my second church service of the day (the midnight carol service), so I have to keep my peepers open for some time yet. Then it's off to my sisters tomorrow for our meal.  Merry Christmas to you all when it comes x x x

Haul: Monster High Dolls

With no Monster High Monday makeup this week because of my trip to the dentist, I thought I'd take photos of some new dollies that I've bought recently. As you know I have a budget of £0 currently, but my sister has been kind enough to lend me some pennies for now. I realise dolls aren't anywhere near a necessity but it's items that will probably sell out quickly and I'll never get the opportunity to buy again. Plus, I'd been waiting on the Swim Class dolls to launch for months! Swimwear dolls generally aren't that exciting, but MH always seem to make them covetable. These were exclusive to Smyths and with no store anywhere near me, it was down to buying online. I knew the exact day they were to come out and was lucky to bag all three with no problems. They sold out after I'd got mine, but they have been restocking, so it's worth keeping checking.
I'm not a Draculaura collector (although I own a couple) and I didn't really want to get into Venus as I already buy so many other characters already, but all the girls appealed to me. They have this retro inspired look, but with bright neon and perspex and I just desperately wanted them all! Each doll comes with a bag, sunglasses and matching towel (to swimsuit) and other accessories. They don't come with a stand or hairbrush which I'd expect at £14.99. I personally don't grudge paying that for these dolls, but when you look at the Roller Maze line for example, they came with just as any accessories and a doll stand but were priced a couple of £'s cheaper.
There were some issues surrounding Venus after her launch in other countries. It seemed some places were getting the original Venus (makeup colours etc) but with the swim outfit. Already owning the original I really wanted the new swim one with paler pink lips and green eyeshadow but had no choice but to order her blind and hope it would be the right one.
Luckily it was. I think I'd have sold it, had it been the original (even although I prefer the swim outfit to her original), because I really don't need two identical dolls. Draculaura came with two bunches which were a little too 'sweet' for me, so I popped them into little buns on top of her head and she looks much better. All the dolls have little dents in their faces from the sunglasses and accessories they were wearing in the box which is annoying. I've also noticed because their hair is held in place in the box, more and more of the dolls are being left with permanent kinks or lines where the plastic held their hair (not just the swim line), it's really irritating. I don't want to and shouldn't have to go to the trouble of trying to fix that on a brand new doll.
Lagoona just takes my breath away, she's ridiculously pretty. She has that hippy 70's vibe going on and you'd think with her being a sea monster I'd get bored of seeing her in swimwear, but this one is totally refreshing. It's pretty rare that she gets poker-straight hair, so that made a nice change. I love her oversized sunnies, but with the way her hair sits and also the plastic band around her head, it's difficult for her to wear it all at once!
Our local Argos have placed some of their MH dolls out on the shelves and they've been selling like hot-cakes. I really hope the company take note of this and continue to let people see items like dolls that have multiple variations all included on the one catalogue number. It must be so frustrating for staff to continually search through the stock and bring out several items for the customer to choose from and it's just as frustrating for us to have to ask to 'view' before purchasing. Seeing them on the shelves is much more encouraging to buy and I'm sure if they analysed the stock turnover in the last couple of weeks compared to usual they'd notice a huge difference.
My sister spotted (after her work while Argos was closed) that they had the Super Hero dolls on the shelves (exclusive to Argos). Now there's been lots of drama over certain stores only getting Clawdeen or Spectra and not both. I'd like to add here that my store has been showing as 'out of stock at your 10 nearest stores' for months. There has never been one doll in stock ever, never mind a choice or continuous stock of one character. I was starting to think we'd never see them north of the border! I'd been deliberating buying Clawdeen and seeing as she was on promotion and in stock for the first time (and the only one on the self) my sister just got her for me.

Clawdeen is "Wonder Wolf" and looks pretty fierce in her metallic outfit and has lime green streaks in her hair. Her hair is a bit 'wild' and reminds me of Westley (or Madison for non-Europe readers) from MyScene. We haven't seen hair like this on a Clawdeen before. She had a fringe, but I thought her face was so pretty, I scooped it back into her hairband. I'm quite looking forward to trying out the metallic makeup on Monster High Monday one week.
My sister was ordering from Toys'r'Us recently and asked if I would like a couple of things while they had a few offers on. I really wanted the Lagoona doll from the Scaris multi-pack (exclusive to TRU), but she came with Cleo who I don't collect. I also liked the Ghoulia that came with the scooter but didn't need the scooter. I decided to get both and will sell the things I don't need. Ghoulia was reduced in the sale. She's a little more severe than I was expecting and I was so disappointed she didn't come with a spare pair of glasses.
She comes with red plastic glasses which attach to her helmet but that she can't wear alone. I would've liked a 'real' pair for when she's not wearing her helmet. I'd seen several pics on Flickr etc and assumed she did come with an extra pair. I only have one spare pair which I gave to a Frankie doll a while back and she looked so adorable in them, I don't want to steal them back for Ghoulia! I've taken the glasses from my Dot Dead Gorgeous Ghoulia until I come up with another solution. It's actually quite funny how certain glasses can't be transferred between Ghoulia dolls. Some really didn't suit her face shape/makeup.
Oh and Sir Hoots-A-Lot comes with his own helmet and glasses. How cute!
Lagoona Scaris...OMG, where do I start? She has to be the least monster looking Monster High doll I've ever seen, she's like a perfect, pretty, pastel princess (tremendous use of alliteration there!). Ok, so she did come with a sheer black and pink printed tunic over the top of the turquoise dress, but I took that off so you could see how pretty she is when she's all pastel!
Again she's without her curls and waves and just has big bouncy hair instead. You can also really see the issue of the plastic leaving a mark in her hair here, grrr.
Did I mention she comes with the cutest accessories ever? An octopus necklace, hair clip and these amazing wedges (I want!). They are fabulous.
Finally, I've been looking for Roller Maze Clawdeen for months. She was released later than the original line and was in short supply. I didn't want to panic buy her at the first opportunity, as usually when I do this, a few weeks down the line it's available everywhere. I saw her online and the prices varied, usually with shipping costs too and the majority of times I wasn't quick enough and she was gone, even if I had been prepared to pay that. Then I heard she'd popped up in B&M stores for £9.99 (slightly cheaper than elsewhere)! It's really unusual for them to get any MH dolls never mind one that was hard to find and just released. So off I trotted to my nearest store only to see the empty shelf with the price ticket for the Roller dolls : ( I asked the supervisor and she said they would get more in "cause they are dead popular eh?", her exact words if I remember correctly! I didn't know if she was just saying that to get rid of me or if she really knew they would be restocked. So I left it a couple of days and went back again, but still nothing. Last week I noticed Tesco got her back in stock but at £13 I was reluctant to jump in there, plus our local store are so rude when you use the click and collect service. So I left it and she was gone by the next day! Then I saw her on Sainsburys for £11.99 and realised they also have a click and collect service and we recently got a Sainsburys here which I could collect from (and the staff are much more pleasant). So I ordered her and she arrived a couple of days later. I've not had the chance to take her out of the box yet, but she's got awesome lilac hair!

Monster High: Catrine DeMew & Other Dolls

It's a Friday and I thought some cute dollies would welcome us into the weekend! My Monster High 'Catrine DeMew' arrived from Paris (well online at Asda actually, but that's a little less glamorous), she is an Asda exclusive if you're looking for her.  However, more about her later in the post.
I mentioned in my last Monster High post that my sister completely changed the look of her Howleen (Dance Class), so I took some photos to show you. Remember she originally came with bunches, which I took out and made into one bun? Well this is what my sis did....
Completely different to mine!  Howleen has the softest hair, it's great to play around with and despite her having quite tight curls, they were easy enough to brush out. My sister looked through her spare Bratz clothes and found a new outfit and she's very happy with the finished result. The boots by the way, were purchased for her Blythe dolls, but she's given a few pairs to her MH's!
While nosing around her room, I decided to take photos of things I haven't photographed before, for you. These are her more recent MH dolls. From left to right: Ghouls Alive 'Frankie', Picture Day 'Draculaura', Scaris 'Ghoulia', Scaris 'Skelita Calaveras', 'Venus McFlytrap', I Love Fashion 'Frankie', Dot Dead Gorgeous 'Draculaura'.  
 and her other MH's.
Build-a-Bear Harajuku Lovers panda with mini G and a couple of new (tall) Bratz. On the left is 'In The Wild' and on the right is 'Totally Polished', both Jade.  
For Christmas I gave her the animator dolls from Disney; Merida (just love that cheeky face) and Mulan. She ordered Pocahontas online when I ordered my Ariel and Tiana dolls. There's a crazy looking 'On The Mic' Jade (Bratz) in the middle of them and Penelope Von Schweetz from Wreck It Ralph (she bought half the Disney store before she'd even seen this movie).
Hello Kitty and friends Pop! Vinyl figures.   Remember I bought a Kurhn doll from China? These were the two my sister bought.
A glow-in-the-dark (yes you read that right) Bratzillaz 'Midnight Beach' Jade J'Adore, wearing a spare Kurhn outfit.    
Jade J'Adore in Romantic Spell outfit (both Bratzillaz).  
'Magic Night Out' Jade J'Adore (Bratzillaz)
Finally, my Catrine DeMew. She's soooo pretty, she didn't have any imperfections either which was good as I was buying online. I took her scarf off from round her neck and wrapped it around her head and despite her lilac and pink hair being sticky-solid when she arrived, I managed to brush it out but still hold the curl.
I love that she has swirly legged sunglasses just like my Prada ones and these could be the cutest MH shoes ever. Paint-brush heels? Love it.
She's completely different from Toralei, my other cat who is orange and striped and doesn't have this adorable nose detail. Catrine is pure (almost glowing) white and her tail takes up rather a lot of room on my shelf! There was a bit of rearranging to find room for her.
I love her Paris scene handbag (which actually opens) and she comes with a tool belt for her brushes. It took several attempts to get her tail to stay on, her belt and the stand on and her clothes sitting/tucked in neatly.
There you have it! Are there any dolls you fancy from this lot?