VOICES 2012 - A new musical journey... (31/05/12)

I am SO excited right now...

Wanna know why?

I have been chosen to sing a solo in the VOICES 2012 concert! My lovely Maltesers will know what a brilliant show the Voices choir puts on every two years - I always watch the TV broadcast, and even went to watch it live last year (and came out hoarse with all the singing/screaming/whooping I did), and it was brilliant...

To those who don't have any clue who the VOICES choir  are and how awesome their concerts are, check out the video below:

This year I decided to give it a go, and auditioned for a couple of songs... I was prepared to be turned down, or even just accepted for the main choir, so imagine my infinite surprise when I received an e-mail asking me to go back for a second audition, and another email yesterday telling me I'd been chosen as a soloist!

*INSERT LOTS OF HIGH-PITCHED SQUEALING*

I still can't believe it! There are so many talented vocalists that audition for the Voices choir and solo parts, and I am super excited about the fact that I'll be sharing my journey with Fiona, my sister, and Aldo, a good friend (who also has an amazing voice!)... Won't say which song I'm gonna be singing yet... ;) But I'm gonna be documenting this journey on my blog, so look out for that! :D

Also, sorry for not having posted my haul videos and Lipstick review videos as I'd promised on my Facebook page, but I was a bit busy these past couple of days... I'll do them tonight though, promise! 

OK, enough from me... xD

Cheryl

 xXx

I really have to stop going to Health +!! - Essence & Catrice Haul (29/05/12)

I've been very naughty lately, shopping-wise... First of all, I've ordered a few items from NewLook.com... and then I had to go and buy a whole crap-load of stuff from the Essence and Catrice stands at Health +... It really isn't fair how they prey on weak-willed people like me... My bank account is not amused...

Anyway, here's the first part of my Essence & Catrice haul:

I'll be uploading part two this evening, and when my New Look stuff arrives, I'll be filming another haul for those... :)

On a totally unrelated matter, our Uni students are currently preparing for the beloved Finals, so good luck to all those who are at present sat at their desks, books and notes spread in front of them, pens and highlighters in hand, coffee cups on auto-refill mode and brains sparking with stress... I'm sure you're all going to do great!

Until tomorrow!

Cheryl

 xXx

The 4-minute workout... and some music making... (23/05/12)

Good morning sunshines! (inspired by the fact that today is relatively sunnier that it's been for the past couple of days...)

As you might have read in my previous post, I'm currently finding one different "challenge" a day, in order to help my road to re-discovery. (pause for cheesy effect...) So far, I've:

1: tried the highest (and hardest) level of the Ta Qali High Ropes - success (plus some muscle cramps)

2: tried a new (difficult-looking) nail tutorial - success (though it's chipped already *grrr*)

3: tried the 4-minute workout (which is MUCH harder than it looks) - success (plus slight dizzyness)

4: learnt to play a new song on the piano (which I will record soon I hope) - success (just some fine-tuning left)

After some careful consideration as to what today's challenge should be, I've decided to do a work-related one... Since examinations are on the way, it's my job to prepare all examination envelopes... I'm going to challenge myself to finish as many of them as I can today... (it's a bit lame, I know...)

I'm also eagerly waiting for a new book to arrive, in connection to another future challenge, so look out for a book review soon! :)

My question to you is this: If you had to set a challenge for yourself today, what would it be and why...? Feel free to leave an answer in the comment section below! :D

Now back to work!

Cheryl

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NOTW - Marble-effect Nails! And new personal mantra... (20/05/12)

I know I'm a few months off, but I've just recently made a personal resolution... Well, actually a couple, but they all boil down to one big one - self-discovery and making my self the awesome-est version of me that I can... In order to achieve that, I've challenged myself to try something new everyday, to better learn what I like/dislike, to enrich my areas of knowledge, to discover new things about myself, and to add on to the things I knew I could do...

The first thing I did to start off my self-challenge, was to try out the "difficult" level of a high-ropes obstacle course that's currently open at Ta Qali (http://www.sportmalta.org.mt/high-ropes-cb260)... Now, since I'm not the fittest of persons, I was slightly sceptical on my decision, but since we were there, I thought I might as well give it a go... It was amazing! And yes, in some parts I was worried I might falter, however, I made it through the 12 different stages unscathed... I'm therefore currently feeling a mixture of pride and muscle cramps, but I figure it's a good thing...

Since I was not exactly in the best physical state for a body-challenge today, I thought I'd do a beauty challenge instead and let my muscles rest for tomorrow's challenge (more on that later)... Now, as I might have mentioned before, I'm not best known for having the steadiest of hands, but I figured that I'd give marble nail-art technique a shot as today's challenge. I recently came across this interesting tutorial on YouTube by Bethany (MacBarbie07) which is the best one I found for marble nail-art:

So it's pretty straight-forward, considering how difficult/awesome it looks:

1. Fill a small container with room-temperature water
2. Cover your fingers around your nails with tape
3. Choose your favourite nail polishes (I went for Max Factor's Red Passion, Essence's Wake Up!/Sundancer/Breakthrough, OPI's Who The Shrek Are You?/Suzi Says Feng Shui and Deborah's 27)
4. Drip a drop of each polish at random into the container of water
5. Use a toothpick to "draw" a pattern in the polish
6. Dip your finger into the polish for a few seconds
7. When polish is dry, peel off the tape and clean around the edges of each nail
8. Apply your favourite top coat and you're done!

Since I'm sure you're all wondering how my nails turned out, here are some snap-shots:

I'm really glad with the end-result, and urge those nail-art lovers to give this a go, as it's really cool!

Now, a short note on tomorrow's challenge... I'm going to give the "4-minute workout" a go (http://pinterest.com/pin/69102175502795342/). It looks quite tough, judging by what I saw in the accompanying YouTube video, but if I managed those high ropes, then I've got the strength for 4 minutes of intense work-out... (wish me luck!)

That's all for today!

Cheryl

 xXx

Loopy for Louboutins... (18/05/12)

As a general rule, I'm not the sort of person who goes gaga for designer anything... I appreciate their beauty, but that's about it...

However, my one weakness is Louboutin shoes.... I dream of someday owning a shoe closet and amongst all my "other" shoes - as lovely as they may be - would be displayed a beautiful pair of Louboutins (or 2... or 5...) for all to see...

Yesterday, whilst indulging in some online windows shopping, I decided to document a list of my top 10 Louboutin designs (so far) so as to remind myself of my dream... 

First off, I have all my classic blacks... I think the sophisticated shapes mixed with the trademark red on the heel are a winning combo, and that's what first attracted me to Louboutins...

Decolette - a classic pump

Lady Lynch - when I think Louboutin, this is what first pops into my head...

Hyper Prive - Peep-toe in red... How can you go wrong with that?

Marcia Balla - I'm not a big kitten-heel fan, I like my heels either super high or not at all, however, this pump looks so cute and chic!!

Pigalove - These are my dream flats... Pointed tip, gorgeous design in an interesting shape... *starstruck*

Now, onto some more colourful creations:

Isabelle (floral) - OMGIWANTTHESENOW!!

Isabelle (oriental) - I think that the fact that the ribbon is red makes up for the lack of sexy-red-heel...

Piou Piou - The perfect pair of nude pumps (for me)

Mendoza - Aaaaaaa they want me to go visit an Aztec temple so baaaad!!!

Make-Up Trash - These are like me in shoe-form... Colourful, tall, different.... I can't help smiling when I look at them...

Torero (turquoise) - The colour, the beading, the little pompoms on the back... AMAZING!!

Torero (nude) - ...and since I can't say no to a good nude, this one makes it to the top-10 list too! :D

If I were to open my shoe-drawer and see these beauties staring at me, I would confirm that I've died and gone to heaven... (I can only dream, right) But someday, mark my words, a pair of heavenly Louboutins WILL grace my (unworthy) feet, make no mistake about that!

Cheryl

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Hi, I'm Cheryl, and I'm a Nail-Polish Addict! (16/05/12)

AAAAAAAAARGH!

Hey everyone! Dunno if you can remember who I am on account of the fact that I haven't posted anything for about two weeks! (sorry about that...)

Well, what better way to re-enter my blog-life, than with this kinky little nail-polish tag I re-read on Lara's (Every Beauty Addict's Bible) Blog:

Whats your favorite nail polish company? 

Essence - most definitely!! €1.40 for their Colour&Go range, they come in countless beautiful colours, very long-lasting and for someone like me (who gets very ADHD when it comes to nail colour) their small size is perfect!

Glitter or no glitter? 

Hmmmm... I'm generally a non-glitter type of girl... 1: they are REALLY difficult/messy to remove, 2: they make my nails go yellow (same goes for pearly polishes).... Having said that, though, I love a good red/gold glitter for the Christmas season!

OPI, China Glaze or Essie?

Well, having only ever tried OPI, I can't really say... However I've hears lots of good stuff about China Glaze AND Essie, and they do have amazing colour collections. What I CAN say about OPI is that personally, I don't really find them worth it, since they're about €10, quite streaky and chip easily...

When do you change your nail polish?

Everytime they chip/whenever I feel like a new colour.... It can vary... If I really LOVE a particular colour, I'll keep it on for a week or two, but generally, every 3 - 4 days...

Whats your favourite colour on your nails?

Depends on the season/my mood... Current obsessions: Rimmel's Peppermint, Essence's Wake Up! and Essence's Sundancer... :)

Essence's Sundancer

Rimmel's Peppermint

Essence's Wake Up!

Dark or bright? 

Winter - Dark (blacks/greys/plums/metallics); Spring - Pastels ; Summer - Brights (oranges/yellows/pinks) ; Autumn - Warm colours (blues/teals/browns/wines)

What are you wearing on your nails right this moment?

Rimmel's Peppermint

Matte nails - in or out?

I prefer them in the winter... I've got this gorgeous matte grey from Deborah which I <3 in winter...

French manicure?

I love the classic French manicure, as it's simple and very chic (though I've still to master the profound art and subtle science that is the home-made French manicure), but I love playing around with an inverted French, or coloured French (I recently tried a pink-and-orange combo... uber summery!)

I'll be recording a nail-polish collection soon, just as soon as I decide whether or not to chuck out all my old polishes and replace them all with Essence ones..... xD

Until then,

Cheryl

 xXx