My Online Boutique Has Launched

Hi everyone. Just a quick post to let you know my online shop is now open! It's been great fun making both the bags and the shop.

I would love it if you support me by giving it a quick visit at:

http://handmadebypenelope.blogspot.com/

Here's a quick look at some of the items available in the shop.

Everything is handmade by me, so stock is limited and everything sold in very low numbers. I'll be adding new items/ designs from time to time, so please revisit the shop.

I ship internationally and payment is secure via paypal.

I'd like to say thanks to everyone who complimented my bags, giving me confidence to open an online boutique.

November Haul: Japanese and Mii cosmetics

I haven't done a beauty haul post in ages. I've been trying to save money by cutting down on my beauty purchases. But not being able to buy any products got quite depressing, so I thought I'd treat myself to a few things!

I ordered these Shiseido Maquillage products from apopofkawaii.com, my go to shop for Japanese products.

I bought their Moisture Rouge Lipstick in RD336 and a refill of the Design Cheek Color in 80.

The packaging of the lipstick is wonderful. I love the shiny pale pink/lilac cap!

I've had this blush shade before, and have been using it for the last 2.5 years, so I only had to buy the refill. This is one of my favourite blushers ever. It gives the cheeks to most lovely radiant flush.

Swatches of the 4 individual shades:

Swatch of : (L) the lipstick in RD336 and (R) the 4 blush shades swirled together:

Sorry for the above swatch. I must agree, it's the crappiest swatch ever. I will do an FOTD post with a review on these products sometime in the future so you can get a better idea of the shades.

I've kept hearing great things about Mii Cosmetics. They have been featured in numerous magazines as well as various blogs. I've been wanting to get my hands on these products for a while, but found it extremely difficult as they were only stocked in specific spas around the country. However, they were recently made available online at http://www.gerrardinternational.com/

I have to say, I really like this website as it gave me free next day delivery AS WELL as a free gift!

I bought the Moisturising Lip Lover in Smile

Uplifting Cheek Colour in Kissed

Luminous Tinted Moisturiser

The tinted moisturiser was bought as a gift for my mum as the mii skin products come in shades too dark for me. My mother plays golf ALOT so is nice and tanned.

The blush is a super pretty shade or bright pink. It looks a lot less bright (and more subtle) on the cheeks.

The lipstick is a gorgeous petal pink shade. Am really happy with my choice of shade (as shopping for makeup on the internet can sometimes lead to nightmares!)

Here are swatches of the (L) blush and (R) Lipstick:

As with the Maquillage products, I will do an FOTD with these products when I next get some free time.

Here's the free gift I got with my purchase! It's a full sized Dramatic Powder Finishing Brush.

The brush is of great quality and feels so soft on the skin.

This Month's Empties

Hi everyone! I'd like to say thank you to those who commented on my last post. Your compliments on my crafted bags were really sweet! I've received quite a few requests from you to sell these bags online, something which I'm seriously considering. I've been busy making bags for the past week to see if I can make enough to sell. I've also been busy seeing how easy it is to set up a blog shop - answer: not that easy!

Anyway, I'll keep you posted on my progress and will let you know if and when my blog shop becomes a reality.

Here are some products I've finished recently. The first one is more of an indulgent treat, but quite a few are essentials which I've stayed faithful to for some time.

1. Aromatherapy Associates Deep Relax Bath and Shower Oil

This heavenly scented oil was given to me as a gift. I really love this! I add a few drops to my bath for the most relaxing soak ever. It's a blend of chamomile, sandalwood and vetivert and together they make the most gorgeous scent. Using it results in a bath that leaves me feeling stress-free, happy and sleepy at the same time!

2. Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser

A really effective cleanser. This has gotten me hooked on using muslin cloths to thoroughly cleanse my skin. I used to have pretty large pores, but they have disappeared now after prolonged use of this cleanser. Click here if you'd like to read more on my thoughts on this cleanser and my skincare routine.

3. Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic

Another no frills skin product that does it's job well. It also features in my skincare routine post if you'd like to read more about it. It's a lovely product which smells great, but to me not a skincare essential.

4. Benefit Badgal Waterproof Eyeliner

This black eyeliner technically isn't finished yet, but I've had it for 1.5 years so for hygiene reasons this needs to be replaced! I find most eyeliners smudge too easily, and those that don't are extremely difficult to remove. This eyeliner is a happy medium!

5. Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer in Beige

This to me is an essential product. I've used so much of it since I've has a terrible bout of insomnia lately leaving me with dark circles. This concealer is great. It comes in a large variety of shades, so I've found a perfect match for me skin. It's fairly long-lasting, and does not crease of cake. As much as I like this product, I'm trying to improve my sleep pattern so that I won't have to use this anymore. I've been using this brand of concealer on and off for the past 5 years!

6. Loreal Absolute Eye & Lip Make-up Remover

Another essential item for me, and another item that I've stayed faithful to for the past 5 years. It removes makeup like a dream. I find it works just as well as luxury brands, but at a fraction of the price (it's sold for £4.99).

My New Hobby

Hi Everyone, hope you're all having a great week! I've been super busy with my new hobby - sewing!

In a bid to save money on future Christmas presents (ever since I got married, the list of people to get gifts for have expanded almost exponentially), I decided to create makeup bags to give as gifts. Once I started making them, I realised I enjoyed making them so much I couldn't stop!

Here are some I've made so far, all of them have a contrasting fabric lining:

This pastel flower bag is made from Cath Kidston material, and I've made a little macaron charm to go with it.

The bags below has pastel bears holding macarons.

I've made little macaron charms for them too.

A bag with little deer and mushrooms:

I gave this bag a lilac and polka dot lining.

A Gingham and Cherry bag:

A Mini hearts and Bow bag:

Hope you liked them! I'm thinking of giving one away as part of my next Giveaway x

My Jewellery Acquisitions

Thanks to the lovely girls who suggested Halloween costumes for me. I had a last minute inspiration to go as Quorra from Tron (was just going to pretend I didn't know the theme was 'Villains'), but I couldn't find any electroluminescent wire in the space of 5 hours. So I had a last minute switched to Lady Deathstrike from X-men, played by Kelly Hu. My adamantium nails came out really well, but sadly nobody realised who I was! I kept being mistaken for Edward Scissorhands, and even worse- Freddy Kruger!! What a big Halloween fail!

Nevertheless, my husband won 'Best Costume'!! Am so proud of him, although I did catch him voting for himself!!

Now onto my post on my recent jewellery acquisitions. Over the last few months I've bought quite a bit of jewellery and thought I'd do a post on them. Here's a pic of my jewellery collection, I like using stand to store them.

My recent jewellery haul:

I got this necklace from Swarovski. Was actually there to purchase a graduation gift for my sister in law, but couldn't resist this necklace for myself when I saw it.

My husband got me this sweet and dainty flower ring from Carat. I really love it!

I recently got really into statement jewellery, but can't manage to pull them off as they temd to swamp me. This art deco inspired necklace from Monsoon is great as it's big without looking too chunky.

This necklace was from Banana Republic. I quite like their jewellery, and I really like ethnic insipred jewellery so this one was hard to resist.

I got this long necklace from Warehouse. Thought it looked quite dainty.

And lastly, also from Warehouse is this bow necklace. I love anything with bows on it!

I'd also like to share with you a scarf I just finished making. It took me quite some time to make, but thankfully I finished it just in time for the cold winter months ahead.