Leading Boys On

Here's my foolproof plan on how to lead boys on...

That was a joke, to all of you that struggle to pick up sarcasm through the internet; the idea of leading boys on is actually the bane of my life. I make absolutely no effort in my real life to hide the fact that at the current moment I am in a same sex relationship, and yet still whenever my phone goes off and a boys name appears on the screen, I am regularly questioned about leading boys on. Not only does this annoy me because I want to know why that's frowned upon for me when a male would get a clap on the back for the same behavior, but mostly I want to know why my conversation with a male generically means that I'm leading him on. To support my case in point, here are three non-staged conversations between actual lads I speak to on a regular basis, and they're pretty typical;

As you can see, the thing is not the fact I want to jump your boyfriend's bones, it's mainly that I'm really good at iPhone knowledge and really bad at pretty much the entirety of life beyond that. If me asking why my games server isn't working is getting a boy hot under the collar, or me being able to digest Thunderbird references, or my ability to tell him why his notes have disappeared, then I think he's probably got a bigger problem than him supposedly being led on by a 5"4 ball of pure awkwardness. I don't know how many of you reading this will have come across me in real life but the fact is? I'm the least cool person you will ever meet. My underwear often has batman on it, I sleep in pink fleecy pants with panda faces on them and I can (and regularly do) eat an entire pint of Ben and Jerry's in one sitting; it is a miracle that my girlfriend wants me, it's completely laughable that two people might find me as appealing.

In the 21st century are you seriously telling me that basic communication will convince a boy that he needs to bed my inner damsel in distress? If a man can't talk to me about simple life matters and general pleasantries without wondering what I look like naked and whether I'm secretly hinting that I would like to be, maybe I should just lock myself in my room from now on forwards as life is going to be long and very tiresome. So what it comes down to is this: I'm not leading your brother/cousin/best friend on, nor am I trying to steal your boyfriend. I am absolutely not bothered if you want to give me your number to call on as long as someone fixes my damn Steam Server so I can play Hospital Tycoon.

What do you think about leading boys on? 

S xo.

Bumble and Bumble Deeep

Basically, I am the absolute worst for taking care of my hair. I have washed it far too often for far too long and it has been every colour under the sun with me settling on it now being bleached every six weeks or so. I have this awful tendency (stop judging me) to not brush the bottom of my hair when I throw it into a ponytail every day for work, just brushing the top so it looks halfway decent. Basically, my hair is in an appalling state and I decided a few weeks ago that something needed to be done. I'm not a massive fan of hair care, but I've been secretly lusting after Bumble and Bumble for a few months now, so when I found Bb. Deeep in the Company Cosmetics Store for £18 instead of the usual £24, I snapped it up. It is intended as a protein rich masque for chemically dependent hair, so it sounded right up my street...

The instructions say to use it as a once-a-week treatment, smother on and leave for 20 minutes under heat if possible, but this didn't really work for me, in fact it seemed to make little to no impact at all. Instead, I decided to stick to what I was used to and I swapped my regular conditioner out for this and that seems to have done the trick, my hair is definitely smoother, shinier and a lot less frizzy on the whole. There are two main things that I like about this and I'll be honest, the first is the smell. This sort of smells like some weird banana smoothie and I just love it, it makes the price tag worth it for that alone. The second thing? Easy, the method of dispensing.

I like that instead of a cap that I will inevitably break off like I seem to do with most of my shampoo bottles (cough, elvive.) this is a twist up method. Easy as pie, twist up, squeeze out, twist down. I've found if you're using this as a conditioner it's easier to squeeze it onto your hand and comb it through with your fingers, if you're using it as a masque it's much, much easier to squeeze it onto your hair directly and add more if you need it.

All in all, for what I'm using as a glorified conditioner, £18 is a steep price tag, and £24 is almost eye watering. Having said that, I'm a strong believer in the idea that if it works, it's worth the money and I guess that although it didn't work in the way Bumble and Bumble might have intended it, my hair is smooth and soft like it hasn't been in a good few months if not longer. I'd say probably not a long term solution, but £18 is well worth it to get your hair back on the right track, even in my opinion.

Have you tried any Bumble and Bumble products? What did you think?

S xo.

Songs To Listen To On Repeat, Forever

I'm one of those people who gets a favorite song and listens to it consistently until hearing it again in the future is enough to make me want to vomit up part of my stomach lining and tear at my ear drums. I have a rather diverse music taste, my dad brought me up on a mixture of Thin Lizzy and Rory Gallagher and my mum on Disney Soundtracks and B*Witched but these days, I tend to lean towards angsty twenty somethings who sing words that don't quite fit with the melody they've paired them with (no but seriously, there's something really endearing it). I thought I'd share with you the four songs that I would listen to forever on repeat, if I had to. It was a close call, and I'm not ashamed to say that Donny Osmond singing "I'll Make A Man Out Of You" from Mulan was right up there with these four.

1: Real Friends - I've Given Up On You

It's 4am and you're keeping me from closing these sleepy eyes

This is one of those aforemented angsty twenty something bands and I just really like them, I don't know. They're a very typical tumblr quote band, but their album is well worth a listen to and I've Given Up On You reminds me of someone really close to me, it'll always be one of those songs that I shuffle back to listen to.

2: Modern Baseball - Rock Bottom 

There's no good reason why I should leave your bed tomorrow

I fell in love with Modern Baseball after a horrendous marathon of the first song that I ever heard of theirs (Your Graduation, which if you follow me on twitter you'll see is the lyrics in my bio) but Rock Bottom is even better. It's sweet and sad and I just like it a lot, it's music to listen to as you're falling asleep.

3: Neon Trees - Sins Of My Youth

I had a little too much fun back when I was young

I love Neon Trees, and it will always remind me of being in sixth form and not going to lessons and blasting my headphones as loud as they would go (which is obviously not something I ever did if you're reading this mum. Stay in school, kids.) This is the kind of song that makes me want to scream it at the top of my lungs and dance around, only I'm normally on the bus so I generally manage to stop myself.

4: Passenger - Riding To New York (Acoustic)

Now my time is shorter I want to see my daughter, tell her I'm sorry for the things I taught her

The first time I heard the original of this song I listened to the lyrics like it was akin to the bible and I'm entirely sure the first time the acoustic version came on shuffle it took me by surprise and I genuinely cried. I don't know what it is about this song, but it's about making up for all the things you've done, if you got the chance and it's just amazing.

It was pretty hard to whittle down the music I would listen to on repeat forever, because I go through millions of phases, I like different things for different moods and I love hearing new bands and new albums but I'm pretty pleased with these four (although look out for an undoubtedly updated list in the next few weeks/months). On that note, feel free to leave me some of your favourite artists and songs because I'd absolutely love to give them a listen.

S xo.

Hi(atus)

So it's been a while, hasn't it? I've taken a small hiatus or, as I like to call it, I've taken an insomnia-and-holy-crap-I've-taken-on-way-more-than-I-can-handle-work-wise break. With the new school year comes a little bit of peace for me (turns out parents spend a lot of money on uniforms and have less to spend on frivolities like coffee and lunch) and I've managed to finish one of my online course -and pick up another, but that's a story for another day- and for the most part, I'm back to blogging.

I'm also back to baking, which hasn't been on Blinkered Barbie for a while (LOOK, I KNOW NOW IT WAS A MISTAKE TO TAKE ON TWO ONLINE COLLEGE COURSES AND A FULL TIME JOB, BUT I WAS YOUNG AND NAIVE) so there'll undoubtedly be some treats floating around here that you can make to comfort yourselves about the fast approaching winter.

Finally, I just want to throw a big thank you to you all for sticking with me even when I've been radio silent, I hope my incessant ramblings don't bore you now I'm back.

S xo.

Bargain (ish) Haul

Working five minutes down the road from a shopping complex with both an Outfit and a Boots is by far my downfall, and almost definitely why I never have any money. After work last night Mum decided to take me for a coffee (because it's not like I'm a waitress in a coffee shop, or anything..) and I couldn't resist a sneaky peek. Having said that, thanks to sales and offers, I didn't end up spending too much!

Miss Selfridge

This isn't a shop I tend to drop into on the high street, I find it weirdly intimidating - more so than other similar shops. Having said that I found the gorgeous beige/gray crop top with fluorescent yellow lace overlay in the sale for £10 and couldn't resist picking it up!

Topshop

I'm a sucker for Topshop at the minute, and although the Mom Jeans set me back £40, I've loved them for so long. I have a pair of acid wash ones that I bought that have only been worn a couple of times that are too big now that I'm looking to sell, too, so if you're interested drop me a line. I also managed to pick up the super soft tartan jumper (which I unfortunately can't find online) in the sale for only £12 which I was absolutely made up about!

Boots

I went in looking for the Hydraluron Moisture Jelly, which is actually down to the bargain price of £16.66 at the minute, so I picked up the Moisture Boosting Masks too as they were only £13.33. Next I made the massive mistake of popping into the make-up aisles. I was on the look-out for Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet lipstick, which I managed to pick up in "Grand Cru" which cost me £8.99 but is currently on 3 for 2 (which I resisted!). I also picked up a Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in "Macaroon" for £7.99. I bought the lip butter because I thought my girlfriend had recommended it, it turns out she told me she hates it, but I'm excited to try it none the less! I picked up a Maybelline Colour Tattoo in "Metallic Pomegranate" on a bit of a whim after talking about them during Sunday's #bbloggers (enablers!) but it only cost me £4.99 and I'm sure I'll wear it, as I wear permanent taupe quite a lot and this is a really pretty almost red shade. Last but not least, I picked up two nail varnishes, the orange has a slight shimmer to it and is Rimmel Lasting Finish in "It's A Scorcher!" which was £2.99 and the purple is a pastel lilac shade from Collection Work The Colour called "Lilac Daze" which was only £1.99. I'm definitely of the opinion you can never have too many nail varnishes!

All in all, I felt like I got quite a few things for what I spent, and the jeans were my only real splurge purchase. Have you got any of the items in my haul? What have you been buying lately?

S xo.

Wishlist - Asos Skirts

I literally hate having bare legs, and for that reason I typically live in a pair of jeans in the Summer (and actually, on that note, I've just got a gorgeous pair of mom jeans from Topshop) but this week I saw a Lola Skye Tulle Tutu Skirt in Dorothy Perkins, which you might have seen on my instagram page.

Safe to say, I'm sold, and I've been searching the skirt section of Asos like it's going out of fashion. I've fallen in love with so many it was hard to whittle it down; if only money wasn't an issue! Safe to say I'm not about to whip out my super pale legs for anyone to see, but fear not, here's my top 5 Asos midi skirt picks.

Jaquard Skirt With Sheer Hem - £45.00 // Scuba Midi Skirt In Cartoon Print - £70.00 // Bonded Sweat Midi With Contrast Hem - £45.00 // Pencil Skirt In Pastel Lace - £68.00 // Midi Skirt In Lace - £70.00

I'm considering loading up on Midi skirts, so watch this space - undoubtedly more posts to come on them in the future! How do you feel about midi skirts? How are you pairing them to make them casual for every day wear?

S xo.

5 Things (I am trying very hard to accept)

Today's post is brought to you by a 3am Tumblr binge. No, seriously. Anyone who regularly trawls Tumblr will be able to tell you that after about 1am it gets a little creepy; we go from posting pictures of cats to posting our greatest fears and deepest feelings (also, a lot of hilarious text posts, presumably from the sleep deprived.) This morning at 03:03am, to be precise, I stumbled across a post named "five things I am trying very hard to accept" which struck me as meaningful, but also quite poignant. I've mentioned it briefly in previous posts, but after hitting twenty I am struggling to find my path in life, along with a number of my friends who also made the difficult decision not to go to university.With that in mind, and the original post fresh in my head, I thought I might share my own five things I am trying very hard to accept.

1: You Will Lose Friends

It's inevitable that the people that promised that they would always be there for you sometimes just won't be. There won't be explanations, or fights, or long drawn out battles; just fewer and fewer texts until anything more becomes frankly awkward. You have to learn to accept it whether you like it or not; it will be a part of your life forever, anyone who walks out of the door you should hold it open for.

2: You Will Hate Your Job

Maybe not forever, and maybe not every day, but there will be more mornings than not when the thought of dragging yourself out of the relative comfort of bed to pull yourself through the same monotony day in and day out is enough to push you over the brink. It's a thing, people hate their jobs, life isn't fair. The money makes it all worth it, though. Dream of the eyeshadow palettes and get mopping.

3: Dream Relationships Don't Exist

No matter how much the American media want you to believe going out with your best friend is the dream, it's messy. All relationships are messy, and there will be nights when you're up at 3am wondering if you've made the biggest mistake of your life. Cold feet on lonely nights at a ridiculously late hour is completely normal, in my experience; it's when you're wondering the same things whilst walking down the aisle that you need to be worrying.

4: From The Minute You Start Earning Money, You Will Worry About It

Unless you're in the same tax bracket as Bill Gates, this is a really annoying fact of life. The minute your money belongs completely to you, you will constantly worry about it. I spend my weeks worrying if I have enough, wondering if I'm saving enough, and wondering if spending the equivalent of a days wages on a pair of shoes is excessive. It's a sad fact, but money rules the world. Try your best to be sensible with it.

5: Life Will Go Wrong

The last but by no means least is simple; it doesn't matter if you're a lawyer or a college dropout, it doesn't matter if you have a five year plan or if you're living each day as it comes - life is unpredictable. You can do your best to try and plan for anything and everything, but the basic fact is essentially this; life will send you in circles and you won't even know it until you find yourself back at square one. Everything happens for a reason, even if you can't see it right now.

I think everyone has things they're trying hard to accept at this age, and I would absolutely love to hear anything you're struggling to come to terms with. What are your opinions on mine?

S xo.