Three Months

September: A day in Venice - Planning a trip to Italy - On top of Monte Grappa

September: The DW - Travelling home on an away day - Upton Park

September: Craven Cottage - King's Cross - Our first breakfast in a new flat

October: The weather turned colder - Exploring London - Hospital

October: Rain at the Madejski - Currently one of my favourite nail polishes, 'A-List' by Essie - Fresh air

November: The US presidential election - Zara flats and Pablo II the Pumpkin - Library

November: Hyde Park Winter Wonderland - Christmas decorations arrive in London - An evening in with a Spaas candle, Barry M 'Red Glitter' nail polish and Korres lip butter in 'Wild Rose.'

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Cambridge Satchel

The Classic 14" Satchel in black with gold embossed letters.

I'll admit it: I'm smitten. I've been a fan of the Cambridge Satchel Company for quite some time now. It's lovely to finally own one of their bags.

The bag itself is beautifully made. I was originally a little nervous about damaging it or scratching the leather. The satchel is in fact remarkably hardy. It's emerged unscathed from journeys during London's rush hour and contact with numerous lecture theatre floors. Despite this, I'm secretly looking forward to when the bag gets a little scratched and battered. Aged and battered satchels have a unique charm about them.

I've been using the satchel for nearly three weeks now. When the bag first arrived it needed to be used and stretched a little before it expanded to it's optimum size. It's now the right size to hold the essentials and is light enough to carry around throughout the day. Although the colourful Cambridge Satchels are a lot of fun, I'm very glad that I chose to purchase mine in black. It's a practical colour which is less likely to show dirt while neatly harmonising with most outfits.

The back of the Satchel - Inside the bag.

One criticism of the bag is that it can take a while to open and close. The buckles are quite fiddly to work (especially if you're carrying a hot drink or an umbrella at the same time!) Hopefully with time and practice they'll be easier to do up. The satchel also smells very strongly of leather even after three weeks of use. This is unavoidable but is still important to note before purchasing a satchel if you don't like leathery scents.

The satchels can take up to thirty days to be delivered as they're handmade. While this is quite a long time to wait for a bag, it's well worth it. Alternatively, a number of brands including ASOS stock ready-made Cambridge Satchels which can be delivered within days. The Cambridge Satchel Company recommend using a leather protection spray on their bags to protect them from the rain. This is a worthy investment as the leather can be damaged by water. If the satchel does get wet, it's important to dry the bag straight away rather than letting moisture sink in.

Overall, I'm very happy with this purchase. The satchel is very functional and I'm still a little in awe of it. Hopefully it'll age well and prove to be a worthy investment.

Recently

Hampton Court Flower Show - 'Invisible Sculpture' by Andy Warhol (1985) at the Hayward - Victoria Station

Lewes, Sussex - Currently one of my favourite nail polishes, 'Master Plan' by Essie discovered through the fab ChelseaWears

 A pick-me-up in Paul - John Lewis' Olympic Spirit - An evening

A bargain Angora jumper picked up in the French Connection sale - Brunch with A - An afternoon

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Toluene: Seche Vite

Left to right: School of Hard Rocks by Essie, I Mainely Eat Lobster by O.P.I and Seche Vite's Fast Dry Top Coat

This evening I was painting my nails using a Seche Vite fast dry topcoat and noticed a rather frightening warning on the outside of the bottle. It stated that the product contained a chemical known to 'cause birth defects' and 'other reproductive harm.' Why hadn't I noticed this warning before? The topcoat itself is an incredible product that dries your nail varnish in little to no time. It seemed almost too good to be true when I first began using it just a month ago. What if it was just that?

The chemical found in Seche Vite and in many other nail varnishes is called Toluene. It can also be referred so as Phenylmethane, Methylbenzene and Toluol in ingredient lists. It is used in some nail polishes to make the product apply smoothly and may also be found in items including petrol, paint thinners and varnishes. According to TLC Style [1], exposure to the chemical has been known to cause eye irritation, nausea, headaches and dizziness. Studies have also concluded that high levels of exposure to Toluene can cause liver and kidney damage, birth defects, developmental abnormalities and even miscarriages.

The good news is that Toluene (in addition to the equally nasty nail varnish ingredients, Formaldehyde and Dibutyl Phthalate or DBP) was banned by the European Union in 2004 [5]. They judged that the chemical posed a serious threat to human health and was not safe for use. As a result many companies have changed the formulations of their nail polishes to fit EU regulations and Toluene is no longer found in cosmetics sold in European markets. Additionally, some well known nail varnish companies including O.P.I, Sally Hansen and Essie have removed Toluene from their products worldwide [4]. Hooray!

Despite this success, Toluene has not been eradicated from all markets worldwide. In the United States cosmetics companies can still sell products which contain potentially dangerous chemicals [2]. Some states including California have instituted laws that require brands to publicly declare their use of Toluene but this will not completely prevent exposure to the chemicals as in the European Union. I ordered my Seche Vite topcoat from the United States and as a consequence received a potentially dangerous product. I wonder how many other people are blindly using products which contain these troublesome chemicals without knowing the risks? It is unacceptable that the cosmetics industry and global governments allow people to endanger their health in such a way.

Until Seche (the makers of Seche Vite) reformulate their cosmetics and discontinue their use of Toluene, I will not be using any of their products. It's up to each individual to judge whether or not they wish to continue using these cosmetics. However, it's crucial that consumers are made aware of the risks involved so that they are able to make informed decisions. I personally believe that there is too great a risk involved with using nail polishes which contain Toluene. Let the hunt for the best Toluene-free topcoat begin.

References and further reading about Toluene:
1. Jasmin Malik Chua and Planet Green, TLC Style: "Know Your Cosmetic Ingredients: Toluene."
2. The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics: Nail Products and Salons. 
3. Cosmetics Info: Toluene Information.
4. All Lacquered Up: The Big 3 (Toxic Chemicals, that is.) and Check Your Ingredients.
5. European Commission for Health & Consumer Protection Directorate-General, 'S.C.C.P opinion on Toluene.' 

A Saturday Afternoon

Dad's Chelsea Bun (which I had a little of despite my ban on eating gluten, eep!) and Cappuchino with my lovely iced Cappuccino.

Coffee with Dad

 Art on the street - My reflection in a shop window

 Purchases - A Moleskin art gallery notebook, Designing for Social Change by Andrew Shea (this relates to the degree I'm currently studying for and is a beautifully but together book) and The Jane Austen Handbook by Margaret Sullivan (I'm a shameless Austenite - this looks fantastic!)

 Purchases - baking goodies and a beautiful summer scarf by Beck Söndergaard.

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Revlon Lip Butters

Left to right: #25 Peach Parfait, #80 Strawberry Shortcake, #50 Berry Smoothie

It's my own fault; I managed to choose the wrong colour.

It was fairly quiet in Boots when I visited in the hope of picking this product up. The Revlon booth was easy to find although disappointingly they didn't have the full range of lip butters (only around nine of them!) That was a surprise. I'd hoped to swatch a few of the colours on the back of my hand but the testers looked a little worse for wear. There also weren't any hand washing facilities available and I didn't fancy completing the rest of my shopping with a lip butter-smeared hand.

As a result I went on a bit of whim. I'd done a little research before the trip and had liked the look of shade #50 Berry Smoothie. It didn't disappoint in the flesh and is a lovely raspberry-pink shade. As you can probably see from the picture above, it's the shade I've used most so far and I really like it.

The next lip butter I picked up was on impulse - #25 Peach Parfait looked like a nice enough colour through the see-through top of the tube (which incidentally is a lovely design feature.) I actually quite like it and will almost certainly wear it. The glittery undercurrent isn't to my taste, though, as I'd hoped to wear these lip butters during the day time. As a result I'll probably end up wearing for an evening event.

So, I'd successfully selected two shades from the selection available in Boots. It was at this point that I noticed their '3 for 2' offer. "Fabulous," I thought, I love a good bog-off. I studied the remaining lip butters and selected #80 Strawberry Shortcake. This was a mistake. As I merrily skipped towards the tills (well, not literally, but you get my drift) I was unaware of the demon sitting in my shopping basket. As someone with fairly pale skin and dark hair, bright Barbie-esque pink lip colours (à la Nicki Minaj for M.A.C) don't suit me. I can wear pale pinks if it's in lip gloss form but never as a bold lip colour. It was only when I got home and tried to product on that I realised what I'd done. Okay, so, it doesn't suit me and I have no idea what to do with the product. It feels like a waste of money but at least it was bought as part of the 3-for-2 deal. I'll probably keep it in the hope that one day I'll find an occasion to wear it to.

The product itself is very nice. It's got a lovely, buttery sort of lip balm-ish feeling with the colour of a lipstick. The colour also stays on your lips for a pleasantly long time and doesn't dry your lips out as some lipsticks bought on the high-street can do. It actually feels quite moisturising and comfortable to wear which is lovely. I'd definitely recommend the product although I'd perhaps purchase different shades if I had my time again. I might consider picking up 'Tutti Frutti' if/when the weather gets a little warmer.

The packaging and actual lip butter tubes are lovely. I especially like that the cover of the tube matches the colour of each shade and has a see-through section at the top. The lipstick shape makes it easy to apply without any need for lip liner.

All in all I definitely prefer using lipsticks for a source of lip colour and lip balms for moisturising but these lip butters offer a nice alternative. Good on ya, Revlon.

Left to right: #80 Strawberry Shortcake, #50 Berry Smoothie, #25 Peach Parfait