life, thoughts

The Temp Guide to Life

ramblingmads

Since the end of last year I’ve been temping, having quit my job of six years in an effort to restore some equilibrium to my life, here’s what I’ve learnt. 

1. You will receive little to no training so get used to figuring stuff out. 

2. Be on time, time is literally money when you’re paid by the hour. 

3. Get your agency onside – if they like you, you’ll get sent on nicer assignments. 

4. Have your interview patter down – know what you’re going to say and have examples. 

5. Scope out the lunch sitch as soon as you can, is there somewhere to eat your packed lunch or does everyone eat out. 

6. Plan your route, and if you live in London or another city, add extra time to accomodate delays. 

7. Be friendly but remember they are not your friends, it’s unlikely they’ll remember your name in a few weeks time. 

8. Getting paid weekly might sound great but it can wreck havoc with your bill schedule, hold onto your money to make sure your rent gets paid. 

9. All skills are transferable. Yes, even those ones. 

10. You will hate some temp jobs, just think of the money. 

11. You can give your all, but they won’t offer you a permanent role – aka the dream. 

12. You will encounter some really lovely people and some utter arseholes. Your interpersonal skills will be exemplary. 

13. All databases are basically the same – cheap, crap, utterly hackable. 

14. You will never earn enough per hour to put up with some of the utter bullshit in some offices. So don’t. 

15. Admin jobs basically equal office dogsbody, however they dress it up. 

16. You won’t get a leaving gift after three weeks, you might get a ‘thanks’. 

17. There is no holiday or sick pay – but you will still throw the odd sickie because your bed doesn’t judge you for breaking the printer printing off job descriptions to peruse at lunchtime.

18. Make the most of the free internet access and find your next job, polish your CV, fill in application forms etc, you’re probably only being given the shit jobs anyway – ‘make work’ or just tidying cupboards. I don’t get around to tidying my own cupboards so why am I cataloguing your stationery?

19. Get the Wi-fi password, fill the twiddling thumbs time with Twitter polls and trying to work out who that person is in all of your friend’s Instagram posts. 

20. You will become insanely good at filling empty time so you don’t get sent home early, you need the full day’s hours on your timesheet. 

beauty, make up, reviews

Doing the Dupe Shoop…

ramblingmads

For a while I was a bit of a snob about buying dupes, thinking it was always better to buy the fancy, expensive version. 

But buying dupes allows you to try the product before spending your hard earned pennies on the premium version. 

EBay and Amazon marketplace are a dream for dupe hunters – ok so the quality isn’t 100% but at these bargain basement prices it’s hard to argue.  

Shipping is often from China and pretty cheap or even free so while it does take a whole to arrive, it doesn’t cost you an arm and a leg just in postage. 

These are some of my favourite dupes so far. 

Kabuki brush – Sal Ummbaby mentioned this a while ago and I had to give it a go. It’s probably my favourite dupe item ever – and despite being cheap as chips it’s lasted really well and washed nicely, holding its shape and not shedding much – better than some of my pricier brushes have. 

Beauty Sponge – I wanted to try a sponge but didn’t fancy paying 10 quid for one so these beauties were a great alternative. They last a while and wash ok, although be gentle when washing them as the sponge shreds if you’re too vigorous. 


Brush Egg – I saw a very expensive brush washing mat on a blog post somewhere and wanted something a bit less pricey to get my brushes properly clean and this little gadget does the trick. You swirl the brush over the ridges and the grime shifts (I use a little blob of gentle shampoo and warm water too). 

Oval brush – these seemed to be a big thing and once again a bit pricier than I was willing to pay to try it out.  I don’t think they’re for me.  And it didn’t cost much to find that out. This was OK as cheap brushes go, fairly soft and stiff, washed well without too much shedding. I just prefer my sponge blender. 

Rainbow highlighter – I think it’s wanting to be a mermaid/unicorn/pirate/spacewoman/superhero/princess that attracted me to the idea of a rainbow highlighter. Swooshing colour across my cheeks. I blame Rainbow Brite. Again this was expensive and almost impossible to find. But this cheap and cheerful knockoff was easy and simple to buy and while it isn’t the fanciest packaging ever, it’s good for a bit of the ol’ I’m a rainbow shimmy. 

Nail Polish holder – this is pretty ingenious, although the original is more than some of my nail polishes. It sits on your fingers and holds the polish bottle so if you haven’t got a flat surface (or surprisingly firm and well balanced thighs) it keeps the polish from spilling. 

I haven’t written about high street dupes because they’re everywhere and I think most of you know about them, but feel free to suggest them, or any other clever alternatives in the comments. 

adventures, wedding

Wedding Wednesday 

ramblingmads

I went to a wedding fair with the Mr and my Best Woman at the weekend. It wasn’t the big fancy kind but a small one at a local hotel/venue. 

I mostly took pictures of cakes, because cake. 

I also collected about a million business cards and fliers. 

We met a Toast Master- which is a thing. I don’t quite get it. 

Ate a load of free canapés, cake samples, sweets, and played how much of this chocolate fountain can I get on a little piece of pineapple before I end up covered in it. 

We went looking for ideas and inspiration for our wedding. We found plenty and also a potential reception venue as the hotel itself was gorgeous and ticks a fair few boxes. 

The Mr was very keen on hiring some slightly mad things like a giant connect4 and a bouncy castle – I think he was joking. But you can never be sure. 

There was a fashion show in one of the rooms but we were due to have Sunday lunch with my aunt and uncle so we didn’t stay for it. Which considering my aversion to wedding dresses is probably a good thing. I have no idea what I’m going to wear.  Pyjamas are totally acceptable right?? 

It was really useful to see what options are available and meet some local businesses who we might be able to use. I now have 3 potential reception venues to view including this one, which is great as I was feeling a little bit lost after my dream venue turned out not to be. 

I suggest going to wedding fairs, this one was free and 10 minutes from us, or open days as you can get a sense of the place and also what’s on offer where you are. Even if you don’t go with the vendors there, you might get some great ideas. 

beauty, beauty boxes, my little box, reviews

My Little Mademoiselle Box

ramblingmads

This box opens like a book, tied with a ribbon, which is rather neat. Collaborating with Freddy My Love & Claudie Pierlot this box isn’t the most packed ever but it does feel super French. 

Soft leather embossed envelope purse from Claudie Pierlot. 

Erborian Ginseng Shot Mask 

My Little Beauty Audacious Volume Mascara Mademoiselle 

Yves Rocher Perfume 

My Little World magazine 

films, movie night, politics, reviews

Why Trump won’t like the new Magnificent Seven – a sort of review

ramblingmads

Last week we went to the cinema intending to use our free ticket voucher from Sainsbury’s to see Miss Peregrine.  According to both the website and the interactive noticeboard at the cinema there were seats but the dead eyed staffer said it was sold out. Normally we would have just said sod it and gone to Nandos. But the voucher was due to expire so we went to see The Magnificent Seven instead. 

I grew up with a father who loved sci fi and cowboy films. I remember watching the original version with Yul Brynner  (who will forever be the King of Siam to me, however inaccurate that film was) and indeed watching the Seven Samurai aka the original of the original. 

So I wasn’t sure I’d enjoy this, but Chris Pratt was in it and I find him amusing and for six seconds the very pretty Matt Bomer was as well. 

I have a whole theory about Chris Pratt and his mission to recreate Toy Story by himself – he’s played Andy (Parks & Rec), a spaceman (Guardians of the Galaxy), run with dinosaurs, because unless you’re Andy Serkis you can’t be a dinosaur  (Jurassic World) and now a cowboy. Next up Bo Peep, a slinky dog or a pig (remake of Babe maybe).


Anyway. Onto the title of this post. There may be spoilers ahead so read on only if you don’t care.  

The plot centres around a small frontier town in California during the Gold Rush, where a wealthy and ruthless man plans to drive the locals out to dig more mines. Matt Bomer dies in a shootout and the church is burned down. 

Matt’s widow (Haley Bennett) decides to find someone to help her town and sets off with human puppy dog in tow.  

She finds Denzel Washington, a bound sheriff doing his duty, interestingly dressed all in black, counter to most cowboy films where the heroes wear white hats (something much referenced in Buffy the Vampire Slayer). 

He recruits gambling sharpshooter Faraday (Pratt) and sets out gathering a posse. 

There are seven men, one woman and the aforementioned human puppy. No one assaults her, no one even intimates rape. Not even the Mexican or Native American. (Trump would dislike that). 

After a rather explosive shootout with the bad guys – most of the seven and many of the townsfolk are dead. The villain gets his comeuppance and is shot by the heroine. 

The three heroes who ride out of town are a black man, a Mexican and a Native American – hardly Trump’s fan base. The four buried in town include the son of Irish immigrants (Faraday), a Chinese man (himself an immigrant), a crazy mountain man who spouts the Bible – in a good way, and a Cajun from New Orleans who again would be descended from immigrants. 

They stood up and defended strangers against a wicked man only concerned with his own wealth and power.   

I think Hollywood just allied itself even more firmly with Hilary Clinton. The true hero is a woman who united people, who found the best people for the job, regardless of their background or ethnicity. 

While Clinton is far from perfect (she is human) I think she’d probably enjoy the film a damn sight more than Trump. I just really hope the Americans can see that Trump is not President material. 

beauty, beauty boxes, look fantastic, reviews, skincare

#LFPamper Look Fantastic Box 

ramblingmads

This box contains: 

Oskia Renaissance Mask – passion fruit, grape, lemon, Papaya and grapefruit extracts to exfoliate and decongest skin. 

Mio Liquid Yoga – a bath soak infused with Epsom salts, lavender, arnica and mandarin to ease achey muscles and relax. 

Polaar The Genuine Lapland Cream – a lipbalm free from parabens, fragrance and colour. Contains polar berries, blackberries and lingonberries.  

Murad Intensive-C Radiance Peel – a blend of Glycolic Acid, Vitamin C and Indian Figurine to protect against free radicals. 

Laura Geller Pout Perfection Waterproof Lip Liner – creamy lip liner with jojoba oil and Vitamin E to condition. Shade; Cabernet (pinky mauve).

Alterna Caviar Moisture Intense Treatment- pre-shampoo treatment to rehydrate frazzled hair with Caviar extract. 

As winter starts to loom more ominously and the temperature drops skin needs more moisture and protection from the elements.  This box has some good bits in it to offer some support to skin and hair during the upcoming cold snap. 

books, reviews

Book Review: Crooked Kingdom – Leigh Bardugo

ramblingmads

If you haven’t read the prequel, Six of Crows, go do so and come back. 


Has Kez Brekker gone too far this time? After being double crossed at the end of Six of Crows he and his gang are after revenge.  

An elaborate scheme to get what they’re owed and then some, but with enemies piling up and short on resources, can Kez and Co pull it off? 

This is a read it in one sitting book, rip roaring alone at some pace and peopled with the characters I loved in the first book. Nina the Grisha Heartrender and her stoic Fjerdan love Matthew, fast on the draw Jesper and clever but illiterate Wylan.

This definitely needs to be read after Six of Crows, so much of the plot depends on knowing the first book. 

I don’t want to say too much or spoil the book so I’ll post this very short almost a review. 

If you love fantasy and thrillers, read Six of Crows and then read Crooked Kingdom. 

inspiration, life, wedding

Wedding Wednesday

ramblingmads

An occasional series about planning my wedding. 

This week – inspiration 

Wedding planning is slowly taking shape and I’ve been collecting ideas and inspiration from all sorts of places. 

Pinterest – this is the biggy, there are hundreds of ideas and images shared here, so I’ve been looking at decorations, venues, dresses, flowers, cakes, everything basically. 

Etsy – there are lots of fabulous things to buy here, from decorations to dresses, cake toppers to thank you cards. I’ve built a shopping list of my favourites to buy once I’ve got the budget sorted. 

Bloglovin/blogs – lots of other bloggers have written about their weddings and happily share their thoughts, photos and vendors, which is a great way of finding inspiration. 

Being a wedding guest – lots of my friends have been getting married recently and I’ve been inspired by their ideas, one of my recently married pals is even giving me some candle holders to use. 

Wedding magazines – to be honest these are a bit of a ripoff as they’re mostly adverts but if you find one in a hairdresser’s or dentist’s have a flick through. 

Wedding fairs – there are the big expensive ones in convention centres that cost a lot to go to, and then there are smaller ones hosted by venues, that are often free, and are a great way of seeing what’s available where you are. I’m off to one on Sunday just to get some more ideas. 

Specialist websites/apps – I came across Guides for Brides, which is basically a directory of wedding venues and vendors.  They also have a free app you can download to help keep track of your vendors and budget. There are loads of other wedding planner apps too. 

Have you got any suggestions from your own wedding planning or just things you’ve come across? Something you really liked at a wedding you went to? Share in the comments below. 

books, reviews

Book Review: Nevernight by Jay Kristoff

ramblingmads

I got this in my last Illumicrate and for some reason put off reading it till now. I think I just wasn’t sure about it. Foolish me. This book is a right cracker. 

Mia Corvere was once a pampered daughter of a wealthy and important man, now she is a creature of death and shadows.  

She wants vengeance for the deaths of her family and will train in the ways of the Red Church to get there, if it doesn’t kill her. 

The writing is strong and the characters are fun, from a horse called Bastard to the shadow-cat only Mia can see, they’re richly drawn and as the plot thickens and gathers tempo I found it harder and harder to put it down. 

The first in a planned trilogy Nevernight is set in an alternate world, with three suns in the sky and warring gods whose squabbles are echoed by their believers.