A Mind Software Change

The secret of living a life of excellence is merely a matter of thinking thoughts of excellence. Really, it's a matter of programming our minds with the kind of information that will set us free. ~Chuck Swindoll

God Doesn't Choose

God does not choose those who are fit. He outfits those whom He chooses.
~Jack Hyles

Expand Your Consciousness

Expand your consciousness with the Word of God, because a mind that has been expanded by the Word of God will never return to its original state.
~Dr. Danny Diaz
(Romans 12:1-2)

Colour B4 Review

I was recently wowed by the wonders of Colour B4, a DIY hair dye remover retailing at £12.25. My friend Stevie at work had dyed her gorgeous ginger locks brown and then had a change of heart. With the help of Colour B4, she was able to get back to her natural colour easily, without having to bleach or grow the colour out.

I am happy as a brunette (my natural colour is dark blonde), but am also a curious Gemini, so when Colour B4 contacted me to see if I'd like to try it out, I thought 'why the heck not'. 

I mixed up the necessary bits and bobs, just like a normal hair dye and applied it, wrapping my hair in cling film after (as recommended by some people online). Cold air stops the product working so well (the instructions even state not to apply it in a cold room!) so cling film and central heating were a must! By the way, this stuff reeks of rotten eggs, and your hair will have this subtle stench for a short while after using!

The process is a tad laborious for anyone as impatient as me, as once the allotted 20 minutes is up, you have to rinse the hair for 10 minutes - without fail - to get the old dye pigments out of the hair. Snooooze. On the plus side, you can use it thrice in one sitting depending on the end result you want to achieve. 

Let's remind ourselves of my hair 'B4'! Black with brown roots. Yum. 

And this was it after using Colour B4. A browny red colour, still with brown roots funnily enough. 

So did it work for me?

Well, not as such. I had naively assumed that it would strip my hair back to my natural dark blonde colour, not leave me with red hair. It definitely did lighten the hair, but it was nowhere near the colour I was 'B4' I started dyeing my hair black. But this product was up against years and years of black hair dying, so the fact it did anything is remarkable in it's own way. I have since seen on the product information on Boots' website that although it isn't printed in the instructions, the directions have been updated to suggest you leave the extra strength formula on your hair for an hour per sitting, not 20 minutes. I imagine this would've made a lot more of a difference to the end result and should I try it again, this is definitely something I'll be doing. Slightly annoying that it wasn't in the instructions when I used it, really!

To conclude: I think it's definitely worth using if you've had a hair dye mishap like Stevie, but be prepared  for a longer ride if you're stripping out built-up hair dye. 

After all this, I decided to embrace red hair for a while so I bought a lovely dye from Boots to even out the colour and bunged it on, forgetting about my un-dyed roots... I ended up with dark red ends and fluorescent orange roots. NOT good. Seeing as my staff party was that night, I thought 'eff this' and dyed my hair dark brown. 

All in all, a bit of an ordeal really, but mostly due to my own idiocy! 

Have any of you tried this stuff out? What did you think? 

♥

Grateful Praise Releases Faith

Thank the Lord when trouble comes,
His love and grace expressing;
Grateful praise releases faith,
Turns trials into blessing.
~David C. Egner

Picture Yourself Winning

Picture yourself vividly as winning, and that alone will contribute immeasurably to success. ~Harry Emerson Fosdick

You Can Achieve Greatness

The difference between something good and something great is attention to detail.~Chuck Swindoll

God Is With Us!

The birth of Christ brought God to man;
the cross of Christ brings man to God.
~David McCasland

Christmas EEEve!!

So anyway, it turns out that being a decent blogger and working in retail at christmas is a mega contradiction! But rather than stress myself out about the posts I didn't get round to blogging on-schedule, let's try to remember what this holiday is really all about: presents and food! Oh, and dressing festively for work! 

Poundland had sold out of antlers, so my seasonal sartorial effort consisted mainly of stealing some holly tinsel from the tree, donning it as a belt, and then having my work pals spray glitter on my bonce! 

(Dress - H&M, Cardi - Charity shop)

You can't really see 'em but I wore my new black desert boots I found in a charity shop yesterday! They were £7.99, which nearly made me vom in my mouth (Anything over £5 in a charity shop angers me), but I had been looking at pairs on eBay for like £10, so I got over it. 

Sooo, what are you lot up to for crimbz tomorrow?! Alex and I are having a cosy christmas for two and then heading to my mum's tomorrow for a couple of days. I'm mega excited but am sliiightly nervous about all the cooking and that. Wish me luck! 

Hope you all have a totally amazing day! 

xxx

PS - Is it wrong that I am kinda excited for christmas to be over so I can raid Boots' half price gift sale on Boxing Day..?! 

An Enduring Christmas Present

Give yourself the Christmas present that lasts forever: Don't act on anything the devil tries to persuade you to do. ~Donnie Alexander
(James 4:7)

Hearts Of Worship

Grant us, Father, hearts of worship
At this time of Jesus' birth;
We would see anew His glory
Shine throughout this sin-cursed earth.
~Dennis De Haan

Blessed Lamb Of God

Blessed Lamb of God, we adore Thee. We praise Thy name. We rejoice that we are washed in Thy blood. Amen. ~T.C. Horton & Charles Hurlburt

The Excellence Of Mankind

As the excellence of steel is strength, and the excellence of art is beauty, so the excellence of mankind is moral character. ~A.W. Tozer

Never Be In A Hurry

Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset. ~Francis de Sales (Philippians 4:6-7)

Prayer Is A Trade

Prayer is a trade to be learned. We must be apprentices and serve our time at it. Painstaking care, much thought, practice and labour are required to be a skillful tradesman in praying. Practice in this, as well as in all other trades, makes perfect. ~E.M. Bounds

Creative Crimbo: Gift wrap ideas!

As I'm on a surprise excursion to Scotland, I am ridiculously behind on my festive postings! I thought I'd cheat a little tonight and post some little gift-wrap ideas from the DIY book I made as part of my Final Major Project at Uni:

(I am aware there is a typo on this last page, but don't have time to edit as I'm running late for dinner!)

Other ideas:

♥ Wrap pressies with layers of different designed paper (or layers of coloured tissue paper) and pop little sweets or small gifts in between each layer - a la pass the parcel! 

♥ Instead of using normal gift tags, search websites like Pinterest to find amazing printable ones to give your gift more of a unique touch!

Anyone else got any cute and easy gift wrap tips or links to share? 

And is anyone else finding the proximity of christmas absolutely terrifying? SO much I still need to do/blog/bake and no time to do any of it! Aaarrghh! Here's to the last night in the snowy wonderland of Aberdeen before it's back to madness tomorrow...

♥

Be A Finisher

What you finish is more important than what you begin.
~Dr. Mike Murdock

Enthusiasm's Fire

Catch on fire with enthusiasm and people will come for miles to watch you burn.
~Charles Wesley

Never Give Up

Never give up, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.
~Harriet Beecher Stowe

Turn Your Scars

Turn your scars into stars.
~Robert H. Schuller

The Exchange Of Gifts

Christmas is based on an exchange of gifts, the gift of God to man - His unspeakable gift of His Son, and the gift of man to God - when we present our bodies a living sacrifice. ~Vance Havner

Christmas In 3 Words

If we could condense all the truths of Christmas into only three words, these would be the words: "God with us." We tend to focus our attention at Christmas on the infancy of Christ. The greater truth of the holiday is His deity. More astonishing than a baby in the manger is the truth that this promised baby is the omnipotent Creator of the heavens and the earth! ~John MacArthur

What I've been up to:

Taking very rushed outfit photos in the mornings before work. The 'why must you blink every time I press the shutter down?' 8am showdown just doesn't get old. Oh wait, it does! 

(Dress - Topshop, Jumper and Shoes - charity shop)

(Dress - New Look sale, cardi - charity shop)

(Clarks loafers - charity shop, Frostbitten Ankles - model's own... definitely too cold to have anything exposed at the mo!)

Spending the weekend by the sea, visiting friends, family and charity shops. I painted my nails using Models Own Peacock Green on the train there. It's beautiful and has barely chipped after 4 days wear and NO topcoat! My phone's cam didn't really capture the shimmer, but luckily Google has better pictures of it. 

My outfit for our very cold mooch round the charity shops on Saturday:

(Jumper - c/o Tesco, Dress - H&M)

Sunday morning wanderings round Brighton with our pals:

It's a pineapple shaped flask and cup set!! 

Danielle snooping out a bargain...

We met this chilly little chappy! Aww, he melted my heart. Can anyone tell me what breed this guy is? I want one. 

Beyond Retro. Literally.

As if this boy needs ANY MORE damn t-shirts. A new one arrives in the post almost every week! Usually with Morrissey's face on it. Should I be worried?

A visit to Bill's to scope out the bloody overpriced  lovingly handmade culinary delights...

Then it was home time, where we had to catch 2 trains and a replacement bus to get home. It took over 3 hours! To cheer ourselves up, we put all of our christmas decorations up in the lounge :D

Cute DIY tin lanterns are all around!

Our adorable russian doll-style festive friends from the Paperchase sale in January!

In other news, I've been working heaps but am looking forward to our trip to Aberdeen on Thursday (home on Monday night). Going to try and keep on top of blogging while I'm there as I have so many cool tips to share but cannot for the life of me find the time to photograph and blog them at the minute! 

Ooh, and while I'm here, I must tell you about the insane deal on in Boots at the moment which I've asked Alex to buy me for christmas. You get ALL THIS No7 gear for £30. I reviewed the face creams on the blog before and haven't been able to afford to buy any more. The day and night cream are over £20 each as it is, so to get all this stuff for £30 is too good to pass up! Totally eyeing this one up for mum's christmas prezzie, too! 

Speak soon, meine lieblings! 

<3

Power Of Daily Routine

What you do daily determines what you become permanently.
~Dr. Mike Murdock

At The First Christmas

It is here, in the thing that happened at the first Christmas, that the most profound unfathomable depths of the Christian revelation lie. God became man; Nothing in fiction is so fantastic as this truth of the incarnation. ~J.I. Packer

Trust And Obey

When we walk with the Lord
In the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will,
He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.~John H. Sammis

Homesick For Heaven

Sometimes I grow homesick for heaven
And the glories I there shall behold;
What a joy that will be when my Savior I see
In that beautiful city of gold! ~Dennis Fisher

The Joys Of Christmas

The immense step from the Babe at Bethlehem to the living, reigning triumphant Lord Jesus, returning to earth for His own people - that is the glorious truth proclaimed throughout Scripture. As the bells ring out the joys of Christmas, may we also be alert for the final trumpet that will announce His return, when we shall always be with Him.~Alan Redpath

Who Can Add To Christmas?

Who can add to Christmas? The perfect motive is that God so loved the world. The perfect gift is that He gave His only Son. The only requirement is to believe in Him. The reward of faith is that you shall have everlasting life. ~Corrie Ten Boom


(Today is ChristianQuotes.Mobi's 1 year anniversary! Hallelujah! Thanks for playing a huge positive role in christian quotes and may you and your family have the most festive christ-centered christmas ever! ~Donnie and Vanessa Alexander, Blog Developers)

The Best Investment

Your mind is your greatest investment.
~Dr. Mike Murdock