Posted by admin on Jan 31, 2010 in
geekery,
random 
Say hello to a 2010 wall calendar with a difference- you mark off the days by popping the bubble wrap covered date! The difficulty would be managing just to pop one date per day- I wonder if this would go the way of advent calendars, where you can’t control yourself? Suddenly the actual date would become more abstract than real- but this would be great gift for any geek ( or toddler with self control issues). Considering it’s now the end of Jan you would have the satisfaction of popping off a whole month in one sitting.
$19.99 from Perpetual Kid
Tags: 2010, calendar
Posted by admin on Jan 31, 2010 in
Celebrity,
beauty,
lists My teenage days were spent wistfully perusing the counters at Boots, with barely enough money to scrape together the required 99p for a Collection 2000 lippie. I lived in lime green eyeshadow (oh the shame), sprayed Sun-In on my hair and had horrible encounters with the Silkymit and maxipads. Thankfully my beauty routine has progressed considerably (as has my budget) but there are still lessons to be learnt from the beauty blunders that occurred in those days of yore.
In fact many of the mishaps made when I was younger could now be considered cutting edge trends- and I’ll show you how to create them for yourself. Best of all, as they all pay homage to youthful errors, they’re pretty light on the bank balance.
Stripes of hair colour
I’m not sure if it was the fault of Geri Halliwell or the launch of all those coloured mascaras but I know that I desperately wanted to have streaks of purple and pink in my hair when I was young. I did try- but those mascara never worked that well, leaving the hair gritty and feeling rather lank. Once I was in my twenties hair streaks were strictly of the highlighted kind as pink shimmering sections weren’t really suitable for my career path. However, thanks to the likes of Ashley Olsen, Kate Moss and some of the recent catwalk shows, streaks are being taken more seriously, and in a sweet whimsical way. If you’re brave enough you could go for the colour block option seen on the runway at the Alexis Mabille show, but a more wearable look is simply adding streaks to the hair. La Moss went all the way and actually dyed in gray strands as highlights throughout, whilst Olsen’s take on this trend was more of a sugar plum fairy effect, with light wefts of baby blue and lilac. If you’re not brave enough to dye just yet, try clip-ins to give you more confidence, like these good quality ones from Hot Hair here. (only £2.95). Read more…
Tags: A/W 09, Ashley Olsen candy hair, Chanel Particuliere, Christopher Kane, Collection 2000, home hair dye, Impulse, Kate Moss grey hair, multicoloured nails, silkymitt
Posted by admin on Jan 25, 2010 in
beauty,
lists,
style It’s difficult for a new hairdresser to come up with a good USP (unique selling point). They can offer massage chairs, miniature TV’s by the basins, and complimentary cocktails, but when you get right down to it you’re handing over cash for someone to wash and cut your hair for around 2 hours. Making this experience pleasurable (where the cocktails come in) is all very well, but you have to get the customer through the door, before they can come back. And there are sooo many salons to choose from at the moment- Yell.com says there are currently 2520 salons in London alone, and seeing as you’ll probably find a zillion on your local high street, they need to try and hook you fast. Some have gone the freebie route with half price sessions, or ‘Cut ,try and dry’ days, but others have opted for the ‘pun‘ route. Whilst that may work well in Terry Pratchett books, some of the ones I’ve spotted don’t seem to be selling the salon particularly well. It may be funny, but that’s not really what you look for in a stylist is it?
Here are my favourite salon cock-ups
Ryan Hair
This is funny in two ways, firstly because I have a friend called Ryan who’s extremely vain about his hair, and secondly because the salon is choosing to play on the association of a budget airline, known for uncomfortable seats, long check in times, and oddly timed flights. Who wouldn’t want to get their hair cut there? Read more…
Tags: funny hair salon names, hair salon, hairdressers, stylist
Posted by admin on Jan 25, 2010 in
news,
technology 
Mobile manufacturers are getting more creative with the way they lure customers in. Previously deals would include cashback options (and pesky statement sending in on particular dates) or other incentives such as free iPods, TV’s and laptops. True, if you’re getting these freebies, you do tend to pay a premium, by being tied into a longer contract or having a slightly sub-standard handset, but many opt for instant gratification, as a shiny new iPod can assuage many guilty feelings about owning an Android G1.
Well, I’ve just discovered that there are even kookier offers available for new mobile purchases, as now not only can you opt for the lovely Wii’s, XBOX’s and LCD TV’s, you can also choose to get free EXERCISE EQUIPMENT with your handset. Yes, forget about pocket sized tech, how about a nice cardio machine to complement your shiny new handset? Read more…
Tags: cardo machine, ipod, mobile contract, Mobile phone
Posted by admin on Jan 22, 2010 in
style 
What sweets do you choose when visiting the store? I’m not talking your Cadbury or Nestle options, but good old fashioned pick’n'mix, with bonbons ranging from lemondrops to mint humbugs. Deliberating over flavour is a difficult yet pleasurable experience, and Links have echoed this, with their Sweetie bracelet having some of the most delectable charms in the world.
In recent years the recognizable Links of London Sweetie bracelet has become a cult piece of jewellery, with everyone from aspirational teens to middle aged Sloanes happily flashing it on their wrist. Every season more charms released, and the 2010 collection takes us back to the confectionery store, allowing you to indulge in deliciously decorated lollipops and quirky eighties geek chic charms. Read more…
Tags: Elizabeth Galton Couture, Links of London, Links of london 2010, Sweetie bracelet
Posted by admin on Jan 18, 2010 in
geekery,
lists There is a wide world of fonts on offer, far beyond that which MSOffice comes pre-installed with. The likelihood that the below will be appropriate in everyday life is fairly slim, but they’d be a great way of jazzing up a letter or email. Enjoy- and marvel at the creativity and kookiness that has gone into their creation.
The Jesus Font
The sexy font a.k.a Alpha Silhouettes
Read more…
Tags: cat font, fonts, fun fonts, geekery, geeky fonts, murder font, sexy fonts
Posted by admin on Jan 18, 2010 in
books,
technology 
It’s no secret that I’m a hardcore eBook fan, which probably has something to do with the fact that I speed read almost as fast as I talk. The variety of platforms to read eBooks on is expanding faster than ever as many companies are embracing the trend and we’re seeing a wide range of devices enter the market. The recent Consumer Electronic Show 2010 in Las Vegas had a large section dedicated primarily to eBooks and eReaders and I’ve rounded up the best of the bunch. They’re due out later this year, and will hopefully be (relatively) affordable.
The EnTourage eDGe
This device breaks new ground for the eBook market as it features a dual screen. The idea is that you use eInk on the left hand side to browse through books comfortably (eInk doesn’t cause the eyestrain that LCD does) and the other side to choose books and browse the web. The eReader part features a 9.7 inch screen and the LCD screen is 10.1 inches. I guess you don’t notice the difference when you close it, otherwise that would be quite ungainly. The eInk screen also lets you annotate books and write comments, and this will then be saved as a separate word document which lets you email it to peruse at your leisure.
The eDGe is compatible with ePub and PDF files, but they don’t currently mention any others which is a shame as it suggest JPEGs, DOCs and LIT files are all excluded. Though the eInk screen doesn’t show JPEG’s , they are displayed on the colour screen which might be a little confusing.
The colour touchscreen side is essentially a tablet style netbook, as you can browse the web, type emails and order more eBooks. You do this by opening a virtual keyboard and either using the stylus or your hand to type. MP3 files can be played so it can double up as a music player (nice for audio books perhaps) and there’s a video recorder included which is a little bizarre (hey- here’s a snap of me reading.. again) but a nice extra touch. The colour screen works by using my beloved Android OS (operating system) so you’ll be able to access a wealth of apps for the device. Is this really necessary for an eBook.? No, it’s taking eReaders away from their main purpose and making them a hybrid tablet mashup. Still, it’s innovative- if only the price wasn’t so high!
Currently $490 from Entourage (£300!)
Read more…
Tags: Amazon Kindle, Bookeen Orizon, ebook, enTourage eDGe, eReader, iriver story, Plastic Logic Que, Platic logic Que, Skiff ereader, Spring Design Alex