Monthly Archives: July 2011

How To Use A Spirit Level

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A spirit level (or bubble level) is used to test whether a surface, or anything you are constructing or installing, is completely horizontal or vertical. When putting up shelving, tiling a wall or erecting a fence, you need to make sure you are working in a straight line. If you don’t, the money you’ve invested in your lovely new living room sofas and dining room furniture will be wasted as guests spend all of their time at your humble abode talking about the uneven and tilted nature of your room!

When bricklaying, you can ensure your bricks are of an even level. Hold the spirit level against the front of all of the bricks. If all of them touch the spirit level, then you know they are level.

It is usually made from aluminium containing a glass tube or several vials filled with a liquid spirit. There is a bubble in the tube which moves towards the centre of the tube when it is placed on a flat surface. If the bubble moves to rest between two lines drawn across the centre of the tube, then this means it is lying completely flat. Longer spirit levels are always going to provide a more accurate reading.

The spirit level is a useful tool which is incredibly easy to use and well worth investing in. To use, hold the spirit level up against the surface you are using or whatever it is you are installing. If you are holding the spirit level straight, the bubble will come to rest in between the two lines drawn across the centre.

After taking that reading, turn the level around the opposite way and take the reading again. It should read exactly the same as before.

Glamping: Fashionable Camping for The Modern Day

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Blame Kate Moss and Glastonbury – glamping (or glamorous camping) is all the rage this year. It may be anathema to the purists but for anyone wanting the benefits of the great outdoors with none of the hardships, glamping is a godsend. Forget about damp sleeping bags, muddy camping mats and baked beans, glamping can be every bit as comfortable (or dare I say luxurious) as any boutique hotel.

Cooking on a camping holiday need no longer involve heating up a tin of soup or baked beans on the most basic of camping equipment. Some glamping locations provide cooking carts which look rather like an Aga on wheels with power provided by a wood burner which also heats water (presumably so that you can do the washing-up in your granite sink). Kitchen equipment is provided in bucketloads and extends to luxuries such as coffee grinder and glasses and ice buckets for your champagne. If you don’t fancy cooking, home cooked meals can often be delivered and if you can’t be bothered shopping then order a hamper which can be tailor made to suit your requirements.

There was a time when campers came home dirty. Then came queuing for the communal shower block. Glamping, however, means that you will have your own shower tent, flushing toilet and sometimes even your own hot tub under the stars.

When it comes to sleeping, no expense is spared with handmade four poster beds de rigueur in some locations. Forgotten the sleeping bag? Don’t worry since goose down duvets, Egyptian cotton sheets and feather pillows are provided too.

If a tent, however posh, is not for you then yurts and tepees are also available in various parts of the UK.

As you might imagine, glamping does not come cheap. Expect to pay around £600 for a high season 3 night weekend and £700 for a high season 4 night mid week stay. Prices are significantly cheaper out of peak season.

The Fashionable History Of Waterproof Clothing

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Perhaps unsurprisingly, man started attempting to make waterproof clothing hundreds of years ago. Let’s be honest, there are few things more uncomfortable than being wet (unless you are having a swim) and our ancestors obviously felt the same.

In the 13th century, Amazonian Indians were using a substance derived from rubber trees to coat their foot and headwear. Five hundred years later, the Europeans were trying to keep dry, with Francois Freneau being the first to devise a waterproof fabric in 1748.

In 1821 the Fox’s Aquatic (so named because of its designer G Fox) became the first ever raincoat to be manufactured. Two years later in 1823 the Scot, Macintosh, a chemist by profession, discovered that a lot of the problems associated with using rubber as a waterproof material could be overcome. He realised that by dissolving rubber in naphtha the resultant liquid could be used to coat fabric, rendering it waterproof and comfortable to wear. So, the first “mac” was born.

Around the same time, Aquascutum was introduced, a fabric designed in such a way that water was shed from the woollen fabric by means of a chemical process. By the early 20th century the use of chemically treated material was widespread and Burberry introduced the gabardine trench coat used by soldiers in the First World War. After the end of the war, they became popular with civilians too, being lighter and more comfortable than the Macintosh.

In the 1950s and 60s, new materials, such as vinyl and plastic, were used for ladies waterproof jackets. Nowadays high tech fabrics such as Gore-Tex are used to great effect to manufacture clothing for hard core outdoor enthusiasts.

For everyday wet weather wear, there is a huge variety of styles and fabrics available but many of us still wear the Gabardine trench coat introduced almost a century ago.

Which Mascara Is The Best?

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When it comes to buying a brand new tube of mascara, it can be tempting just to stick with the company that you’ve used since you were a teenager, even if since then such massive technological advances have been made in the beauty industry that your tried and trusted brand makes your eye lashes look like spiders compared to the results gained from the latest mascara ranges on sale today.

You shouldn’t be afraid to try something new, but it’s extremely important to do your research before hitting the high street. Let’s take a look at a few fantastic mascara choices:

- Maybelline Great Lash Mascara: Coming in at just over £5 for a tube, this is an excellent choice for the beauty-conscious female. This mascara is fully waterproof, and brushes through eye lashes in such a way that will never leave clumps. This choice looks great, even if you are just keeping the tube in your beauty cabinet, and is a safe choice at such a low price.

- Yves Saint Laurent Luxurious Mascara: A slightly more expensive option at over £20, this one comes in colours that you don’t always find on the beauty shelves. You can find purple mascara, blue mascara, but also the standard colours of brown and black. The only problem with this option is that it can make your eyes look overly done, and somewhat vampy. However, if that extreme look is the one you’re after on a special night out, opt for this brand; you won’t be let down.

-Givenchy Phenomen’Eyes Mascara: This mascara makes use of an innovative ball-shaped applicator to provide exceptional length to your lashes while increasing the volume of your look. It was designed to grip your lashes from the root to the tip and the applicator certainly performs that function very well. It can take some time to apply this one to your eyes and you’ll need to take care that the mascara doesn’t clump, but coming in at under £20, it isn’t too risky an option.

For some light relief from your beauty shopping online, check out Fosters’ new video campaign with vic and bob.

Paris Haute Couture Fall 2011

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The international fashion weeks starts in New York, then moves through London and Milan taking its end in Paris. Right now the major fashion show is occuring in Paris offering new tendations for the autumn (fall) / winter and spring / summer 2011-2012 seasons.

What is radically new we can see there? I guess that principally there are no absolutely new ideas there but continuing of last fashion tendentions offering a wide diapason of various styles, colors and forms combinations from famous fashion designers.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaaCj5qEAWQ&w=640&h=390]