Mac Star Trek Collection - Part One

If you don't know by now I can tell you I am a massive Star Trek fan. I along with millions of other Star Trek and makeup fans have been counting down the days till the Mac Star Trek Collection came out. So when the day arrived that it became available online I jumped onto the laptop to buy my first lot. 

The collection came out the week before payday so I couldn't afford to get everything I wanted first off. I got six items for my first order and when payday came I ordered the other things I wanted . I still didn't get everything in the collection as there were a couple of products I didn't think I'd use. Maybe in a few weeks when I visit a Mac shop I'll change my mind.

When I opened the box a ray of light shone out and I could hear the angels singing...

In my first order I bought two 'Trip To The Light' powders. One in the shade 'Highly Illogical' and the other in 'Luna Luster'. They are both beautiful powders and look like they could be pictures of far away planets seen through the Hubble Space Telescope. 

Taken from the popular Vulcan phrase, 'Highly Illogical' has brown and golden shades. In the packaging the colour looks a little dark (I am as pale as they come) but when swirled together and brushed onto my cheeks it looks beautiful. The lighter shades counteract the darker to make a beautiful bronze colour.

'Luna Luster' is a lighter shade. It also has some darker shades, one almost looks purple, but as with "Highly Illogical' when swirled together they make a beautiful colour. Both powders suit my skin tone but if you have a darker skin tone both shades could be used as a highlighter.

     

Next in the box is two lip glasses. The first shade is 'Warp Speed Ahead'. This is a

Warp Speed Ahead

burgundy/purple shade with flecks of glitter, from what I can see the glitter is green and pink. You may think this is an odd combination of colours but I can assure you the shades are quite lovely :) I wore this colour out the other day and it looked nice on. If you are wanting to try a darker lip colour but you're not sure about it I recommend you buy this lip glass. It's not dramatically dark as when you spread it across your lips it becomes more sheer but it stays dark enough to keep the colour. If you like this then you could move on to try an even darker lip shade.

Khaaannn!

The other lip glass is 'Khaaannn!'. Similar to 'Warp Speed Ahead' but more muted purple/pink colour. It has some glitter running through it but as far as I can see it is the same or similar colour of the lip glass its self. When on the lips the colour is a little more transparent than 'Warp Speed Ahead'. You could put a couple of layers on to keep the colour strong but to be honest with you I think it looks nice as it is. It works well if you want to go for a more subtle look.

Left: Khaaannn!                                                               Right: Warp Speed Ahead

           

          

Last but not least in my little box of treasures are the lipsticks in the shades 'Kling - It - On' and 'Where No Man Has Gone Before'. These two shades have got to be the best names in the collection. In fact I put 'Kling - It - On' into my basket without even looking at the shade first. (I am a sucker for names as gimmicks) So well done to the Mac marketing team on this one!

'Kling-It-On'... where do I start? In the packaging the colour looks like an extremely deep purple. It has the same coloured flecks of glitter as the "Warp Speed Ahead' lip glass. It looks magnificent. Just looking at it makes me think of Qo'noS. It is a frost finish so when applying the lipstick it isn't as dark and bold as you think it would be. It's still dark and bold don't get me wrong but not as dense and shocking a colour as it looks in the packaging. I usually buy matte or amplified finished from Mac as I like a bold lip. That doesn't mean I dislike the finish though, I love the lipstick it's just not the usual finish I go for. Back to the colour... when on it comes out as a sheer black. Don't be put off though. Looking closely it looks as if there are some very fine flecks of dark green glitter then in the light the purple/pinky glitter shines through. I know I've said it about every product but this lipstick is a truly beautiful colour. You have to be brave and confident to wear a black lipstick but why not?!... I am definitely going to be wearing it. I might even try to learn a bit of Klingon while I'm at it. As I said before I only wear bold lip colours so this is defiantly my cup of tea.

And here we come to the final product in the box. 'Where No Man Has Gone Before'. This is defiantly the most wearable lip colour in the collection and a gorgeous one at that. In the packaging the colour looks almost identical to 'Khaaannn!' It has the same muted purple colour with flecks of glitter. The finish is Lustre (I don't know what the difference is from Frost so if you know please let me know :) )When on the colour is a lighter pink with golden flecks of glitter through it. The picture on the right was taken under artificial light it looks more like the colour on the right than it does when you look at it in natural light. It reminds me a little of 'Angel' by Mac but this is a nicer colour. 'Angel' is more baby pink whereas this is a little darker. I have an Avon lipliner which will match this lipstick so I'll be wearing it to work for definite on Monday. Sorry to repeat myself but it is absolutely stunning.

I have been excited for this collection coming out for so long so you can imagine how delighted I was when it came out and it actually arrived in the post. I was like a child on Christmas morning. I feel like I need every single product in the collection but I don't think my bank account would thank me for it. I'm going to same up some money and take a trip to Mac itself. As you can see I have bought all the products with my hard-earned money so I am not obliged to say nice things about the collection id I didn't think they were any good.

I am a fan of both Mac and Star Trek and the makeup and packaging is beaut. I am really impressed. But both Mac and Star Trek could do no wrong in my eyes. 

I feel like I have babbled on a bit so I'll bring this to a close.

To quote Quark from Deep Space Nine; 

'Good thing come in small packages'

Stay tuned for Part Deux :)    

<3 Nicola xxx

Scarborough Weekend

This past weekend I have taken a trip to Scarborough. I love Scarborough, my Mam and Dad have taken us there since we were young and it’s always nice to go back. Every town or county has their own seaside, Lincolnshire has Skegness and Cleethorpes, Lancashire has Blackpool or Southport, down south they have Brighton and St. Ives… just to name a few. Where I am from in Yorkshire we have always gone to Scarborough or Bridlington.

It is such a beautiful place and has a lot of history just like the neighbouring towns of Bridlington and Whitby.

Scarborough became popular as a seaside resort in the late 18th century. It was made popular by the building of the Scarborough Spa which was Britain’s first seaside resort. (One of my images further down shows a view of the Spa taken from the beach).

I used to play in a brass band when I was younger and we played at the Spa every year. When the weather was good we would play outside on the stage. The stage has a dome covering it and glass or plastic panels all around so you can still enjoy the sea view. I remember the audience would sit on the black and white checked floor in their deck chairs, just how I imagine the Victorians would have.

Scarborough Beach – The town was one of the first places to use bathing machines.

The opening of the Scarborough – York railway in 1845 increased the towns popularity (this is the line I travel there on)

Poster produced for London & North Eastern Railway (LNER) to promote rail travel to the coastal resort town of Scarborough, North Yorkshire. The poster shows some fashionably dressed people in summer clothing, with swimmers diving into the bay from a raised diving platform. 1930s. Artwork by Edmund Oakdale.

In 1867 the towns first hotel was opened, the Grand Hotel, when finished it was Europe’s largest hotel. I have stayed at the Grand Hotel many times and it is a lovely hotel. Pay a little extra and you can wake up to a beautiful sea view. (see below)

View from the room looking on to the harbour and the light house.

I bought myself a booklet of the hotels history from the reception which is great if you are interested in history.

The four towers represent the seasons, twelve floors represent the months, fifty-two chimneys represent the weeks and three-hundred and sixty-five bedrooms represented the days of the year. Now the hotel has been modified there are a lot more rooms.

Anne Bronte died in a house on the site of the Grand Hotel, there is an English Heritage blue plaque above the entrance of the hotel stating this.

(Double click on photos for a larger view)

The cliff gardens next to the Grand Hotel. You can see the town hall at the top of the hill (the red brick building)

This is me and my niece a few weeks ago, when the weather wasn’t so good, at the top of the cliff. 

Next to the gardens in-between the Grand Hotel is the Central Tramway. Going on the tram and stepping through the turnstiles is like going back in time to the Victorian era. This is why I love Scarborough, it is like going back in time. I do wish I had a time machine so I could go back to the Victorian Era and see what it was like.

The left side carriage, you can see the cliff gardens through the window. I wish I had taken a picture of the inside of the carriage but I didn’t think at the time as it was busy.

View from the window going down.

You can’t walk though Scarborough without stepping through a little history. Many many buildings have English Heritage blue plaques. Next time I go I will take pictures of the ones I see.

If you travel to Scarborough by rail you cannot avoid seeing the Stephen Joseph theatre which is situated across the road. The theatre was originally an Odeon Cinema and was built-in 1936. You wouldn’t think much to the building if you were in a rush for the train but just take a few minutes to actually look at the building and you will see a beautiful Art Deco building. I haven’t actually been inside the theatre but I have heard it is just as nice inside, in fact on my next trip there I intend to visit the cafe there and take a look around.

I took this picture walking down from the train station

and this walking up to the train station.

I love the doors on the theatre which you can’t see on this picture I took.

I found this close up picture on Google.

This post has been a bit higgildy piggildy but there is so much history and so many landmarks in Scarborough it is hard to pick which to share with you.

This is only part of Scarborough… there are many more places I wish to visit, St Martin on the hill church, the Victorian gardens, Peasolm Park and Scarborough castle just to name a few.

It won’t be long till my next visit as I do visit quite often and I am hoping to explore and research the parts I have not visited yet.

This weekend was a boozy weekend so as you can imagine I wasn’t up to exploring much the day after.

I hope you enjoyed reading this, even though it is all over the place, I’m still getting used to writing blog posts.

If you liked it leave a comment if you didn’t, don’t bother because I’ll probably cry.

Ta Ta for now

Nicola

xxxxxx

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

HTTP://WWW.CENTRALTRAMWAY.CO.UK/P/HISTORY-OF-COMPANY.HTMLHTTP://WWW.CENTRALTRAMWAY.CO.UK/P/HISTORY-OF-COMPANY.HTML

HTTP://WWW.MODERNISTBRITAIN.CO.UK/POST/BUILDING/ODEON+CINEMA+SCARBOROUGH/HTTP://WWW.MODERNISTBRITAIN.CO.UK/POST/BUILDING/ODEON+CINEMA+SCARBOROUGH/

HTTP://WWW.SCARBOROUGHSPA.CO.UKHTTP://WWW.SCARBOROUGHSPA.CO.UK

HTTP://CAREERS.ALANAYCKBOURN.NET/STYLED-6/STYLED-12/STYLED-14/INDEX.HTMLHTTP://CAREERS.ALANAYCKBOURN.NET/STYLED-6/STYLED-12/STYLED-14/INDEX.HTMLHTTP://CAREERS.ALANAYCKBOURN.NET/STYLED-6/STYLED-12/STYLED-14/INDEX.HTMLHTTP://CAREERS.ALANAYCKBOURN.NET/STYLED-6/STYLED-12/STYLED-14/INDEX.HTML

Replicated Biscuits

Today I tried out my new biscuit cutter, I have wanted a Star Trek biscuit cutter for a while now and came across one on EBay the other day, it was a cheap price so I had to have it!!

I didn't take a picture if the cutter but I'm sure from the picture of the biscuits you can tell what it is like.

I only did three red and blue ones because the icing i had was pre-made and very thick so I just decided to make my own icing with the yellow back ground.

I made the biscuits from a basic biscuit dough but instead of using vanilla essence I thought I would try almond essence. I put quite a lot of almond essence in the dough mix but I didn't think I could tell the difference from a biscuit made with vanilla. Maybe I will try one dough with almond and another with vanilla next time to see if I can taste the difference. I also put a little almond essence in the icing just for good measure. Because the cutter was small I made around 60 biscuits in total. I took them to work and my colleagues really liked them. My arms were killing by the time I'd finished baking so I don't think I'll be making any more for a couple of weeks.

Sorry for the boring post but I just had to share.

I swear my whole life doesn't revolve around Star Trek. Although I wish I lived on the Enterprise or Deep Space Nine very often.

<3 <3 <3

Star Trek Exhibition Blackpool

Today I made a trip to Blackpool to visit the Star Trek Exhibition. The last time I went to Blackpool was about 7 or so years ago, maybe even longer, for a football match. This time I was geeking out to the Star Trek Exhibition and it did not disappoint. 

I wish I had taken a picture of the entrance as it was a brilliant sight seeing it walking down the promenade. 

Here is a picture of the first thing you see when you walk into the exhibition.

Where it began... The Original Series.

Costume section. There were may costumes on display, too many to take photos of so I chose these few to share. 

This is the costume Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard) wore in Star Trek: Insurrection.

The uniform of Gates McFadden (Dr Crusher)

 Klingon Uniform

If you were to find yourself working in Quarks you'd be wearing this uniform.

 Commander Riker: "Fate protects fools, little children and ships names Enterprise" S2 E37

Shuttle craft. Can you make out any of the autographs?

Last but not least, here I am in the captains chair.

When we arrived at the exhibition the gentleman on the desk told us no all of the props had been delivered in time for the opening date. When I booked tickets a couple of dates had been cancelled due to this fact. We were offered another trip for free when all the props have been delivered. So in a couple of weeks we will be going back for more Star Trek fun :D