A Piercing, A Passing, A Primark Fail, And Pain! - 2 Weeks In LouLouLand

Hey peeps, it's been a couple of weeks since I last posted, and what a few weeks they've been! I had every intention of posting sooner but with the events of the last week or so it's been a bit of a balancing act for some of us on social media, wondering whether it's okay to post or whether or not some people might see it as being a bit disrespectful. It all depends on your view of the monarchy I guess - To be honest I'm not a huge fan of the whole institution, and the pomp, and inequality of it all, but even I've shed the odd tear or two. I can completely understand people being indifferent or critical but for me that doesn't mean that you can't be respectful, the same way you should be if anyone has lost a loved one. Thankfully though today a sense of normality seems to have returned and it was nice to see the news readers wearing cheery colours this morning and long may that continue.

Anyways apart from that I've actually had quite a busy couple of weeks. After cancelling god knows how many times, on Monday 5th September I actually made it to the Metro Centre for the first time since December 2021!!

Unlike some people I know, I wasn't there every week, I only ever went to real shops about once a month, but an unenforced 9 month absence is something of a record even for me! It's been a crappy year health wise for both me and Mummy Lou, and it seemed like every time I was well enough to go she wasn't, and vice versa. Finally though the stars aligned and I made a trip to one of my spiritual homes.

I had two main reasons for going  - number 1 to get a birthday pressie for Mummy Lou, and number 2, to spend some of my own birthday money on something that I'd wanted for a long, long time..

No, I didn't get a tattoo, I got a piercing! After debating it for a long. long time, I eventually took the plunge and got my left daith pierced by the lovely Kelly at Doc Black Ink.

I'd been fancying another piercing for quite a while, and I loved the look, and slightly secretive aspect of the daith piercing, and even although there doesn't seem to be a lot of solid evidence, I was also intrigued by the fact that some people find that it helps with headaches and migraines, however I had once been told by someone else that my daith was just too small and tight to pierce, so I decided to pop into the shop, and get a second opinion.

After speaking to someone on the reception desk, and talking to Kelly, she said it should be fine to do, and it was, it was a touch awkward but she was skilled enough to do it without any problems, just one thing though when a piercer tells you that the process might be "a bit nippy" what they're probably trying to tell you is that it might hurt a bit, and I'm not going to lie, it did!

It was a combination of stinging and pressure, and it continued to throb for a good 24 hours or so afterwards, and even the slightest touch maybe me want to jump through the roof, thankfully though (touch wood) just over two weeks later now the pain has pretty much gone, and whilst I still can't sleep on it till it's fully healed, or wear ear pods (I've bought some cheap wireless headphones from Poundland that are actually pretty impressive!), so far so good. My ear seems a touch dry and flaky in patches, but I'm keeping it clean with saline spray, and looking after it so fingers crossed in 6 months or so, it will all be nicely healed and I can start buying some pretty jewellery for it!

I honestly can't recommend Doc Black Ink highly enough, they're are really convenient (they are upstairs in yellow mall opposite Primark), you don't need an appointment for piercings, it was really clean and hygienic, and all of the staff were really nice, and Kelly especially did a really good job of putting me at ease and making sure I was okay, so much so in fact that I'm already planning my next piercing or two, maybe another upper lobe / cartilage piercing, or maybe a helix? Let me know what you think I should get in the comments, and I'd also love your recommendations for places to buy nice daith jewellery x 

I went for my piercing straight away, and thankfully I was okay enough to do a bit of shopping afterwards. I picked up a few things for my mams birthday, and then I headed to another one of my happy places, Primark, and do you know what lovely readers, I left feeling pretty disappointed!

Maybe I just didn't really need anything but it was just an unsuccessful trip all round, the little people hadn't gone back to school so it was still stupidly busy and I'm being serious when I say there was virtually nothing in the entire store over a size 16! Just racks upon racks of 8's, 10's, 12's XS, S, and M's! Talk about a confidence destroyer! I saw a few things I liked but finding anything that I liked enough to buy in my size proved to be an impossible task, so I only ended up spending a massive £13.50, and that included £3 on a t-shirt for Mummy Lou! Disappointing but I thought I'd share my buys with you anyways.

Yes, I had to do it, I continued the ear theme of the day by picking up a set of 6 pairs of celestial style earrings for £3.50. The set contained 3 pairs of studs, including a pair of clear crystal like stars, a pair of plain circular blue crystal studs, and pair of gold tone triangle shaped dots. The set also included 3 hoop style dangly pairs including a pair with beads and blue crystal detail stars, a pair of crystal hoops with beads, and moons, and a pair of plain hoops (which can also be worn alone) with a chain and a star plaque charm.

If you can wear cheaper earrings then to be honest you can't go past Primark. The jewellery section didn't really wow me this time around but I absolutely love sets of earrings like this because if you have multiple piercings it really takes the effort out of deciding what to wear, and who doesn't love moons and stars, just don't try and pierce your eyes with them! I've recently got lost in piercing Tik Tok and I can't believe there are people out there who try and pierce their own ears with Primark earrings! eeek!

The next thing that I bought it something again that I'd wanted for a long time. I used to have one of these years ago but alas it got into a fight with a cat and lost, no I'm not going to say how lol but I'd meant to replace it and I'd just never got round to it.

These things really are a godsend for some many reasons, first up they help you keep your bag more organised, fill it up, pop the things that you reach for most into the pockets, attach your keys to the lanyard, and because of the light colour you can find what ever you want straight away in even the darkest and deepest of bags.

If you're a handbag junkie like me, handbag organisers also make it really easy to move the contents of your bag from one bag to another. I do like to switch my bags up depending on my outfit or mood, and this makes the job so much easier just move the organiser from one bag to another, and you're good to go. This is actually a pretty decent size so if you use smaller bags then it probably wouldn't really work for you, but personally I love a good tote bag, so this one is currently entrenched in my Coach Chelsea Hobo with room to spare.

Finally I had a look through the beauty section, and again nothing really stood out but I did manage to pick up 3 beauty products, and 2 of these were reduced! First up a hair brush, and not just any hair brush, it's a Care Bear hairbrush! It's hard to believe but it's been 40 years since the Care Bears were first introduced, and when I was tiny (ok and maybe still now!) I was obsessed with the Care Bears, I had lots of cuddly bears, the wallpaper, the duvet set, the books, and countless rubber and plastic bears - I loved them! In fact I think I still have some of my collection packed away. 

I was and still am a huge fan, and I've bought quite a few bits to celebrate their 40th anniversary including some jewellery and t-shirts from Shein, but alas I think I missed out on most of Primark's offerings but I did manage to get this Cheer Bear paddle brush that was reduced to just £2.

Sticking with both the reduced and har care theme I also picked up this hair care kit from their Paradiso range that was reduced from £6 to just £3.

The kit included a gorgeous orange and pink marbleised tropical leaf design tangle teezer, wet brush style detangling brush. I have quite a few of these but they never come in wrong as they also make quite good cat brushes, and this is a particular pretty one.

The main reason that I bought this set though was from the hair mask, I am slightly obsessed with hair masks and I'm always on the look out for new ones. Packaged in an Ojon, Sol De Janeiro style tub, this one contains argan oil, as well as jojoba and coconut oil. I've got to be honest and say that on opening the tub I wasn't that impressed, I haven't tried it yet but it just resembles more of a thicker, fresh smelling conditioner rather than having a proper thick mask like texture, but you've never know appearances can be deceptive and it might surprise me, I'll let you know my thoughts in a future empties post x 

The final item that I picked up is something that you've seen before although not in this packaging or under this name. Understandably since I was last in Primark lots of things have changed and that included my favourite tea tree wipes, which are now named Clear + Cool Facial Cleansing Wipes. They are still biodegradable though, they are still just £1 for 2 packs and they still smell the same so it's just the name and packaging that seems to have changed. I don't really use these on my face i just use them as a general freshening wipe and here's a tip, if your NARS rubberised packaging has gone sticky, then these wipes are great for removing the sticky rubber, which is actually pretty scary when you think about it!

Whilst the Primark trip was a bit of a fail, I did manage to get my piercing, and my mams birthday pressie, and I enjoyed a normal shopping trip, which was something that I'd really missed. 

In the days that followed Mummy Lou had a nice birthday and although I had to cancel one family visit, I did manage to see some family members before the pain and exhaustion kicked in again and painkillers once again became my best friend. Alas that's the trade off anyone with chronic illness has, do something fun, good or even something that's considered normal and spend days recovering, that's just the way it is! Thankfully I'm now feeling a little bit more with it so I should hopefully be able to get another post or two up in the next week or so, including a long promised empties post x 

Thanks again for sticking with me and don't forget to leave me your piercing and jewellery recommendations and of course any questions that you have on my daith piercing or on my Primark haul x Thanks for reading and I'll see you soon x 

AnarKitty In LouLouLand - Part 3 - The Final Installment - Denman AnarKitty Goldie D3 Hairbrush*

I've never made any secret of the fact that the Denman Classic D3 Styling Brush is probably one of the best hairbrushes that I've ever used. I bought my first D3 probably about 8 years ago now and it's still going strong. Thankfully because of the blog I've managed to expand my D3 collection and every single one is still is good as it ever was, despite being used on multiple occasions.

The cushioned, anti static, rubber base and the smooth nylon bristles are perfect for long and straight, knotty or fragile hair. Mine D3's have been put to a huge test over the last few months and by and large I think they've passed with flying colours. Yes, I've still been losing hair every time I brush but by taking it slowly with a good quality brush it probably hasn't been as bad as it could have been. Just imagine dragging a hard or rough brush through your hair, that really would be asking for trouble. The very fact that I've been using my D3 on both wet and dry hair when I've been having so many problems with it, speaks volumes.

The basic D3 design is the same no matter what the style but whilst the original black, white and red brush remains a staple in the line, Denman have moved with the times and have introduced a wide range of D3's in different colours, patterns and even fragrances. I've reviewed quite a few D3 Styling Brushes now and you can now find all my reviews to date in my Beauty Product Directory both here and above, but probably my favourites have to be those from the AnarKitty line x

The AnarKitty range is a collaboration between Denman and British modern artist Emma Geary, aka AnarKitty. First came the AnarKitty Sassy, which was a black brush designed as tribute to the late hairdressing legend Vidal Sassoon, and then earlier this year, Denman introduced AnarKitty Ruby, a Great Gastby 1920's, flapper, inspired red brush. 

Alas all good things must cone to an end, and June saw the launch of the final instalment of the AnarKitty collaboration with the launch of the AnarKitty Goldie D3 Classic Styling Brush.

This muted, gold, black and white brush, features the familiar AnarKitty girl design but with a 1960's inspired twist.

Dressed in the tiniest of mini dresses in a swirl design, our heroine has a high beehive hairdo which comes complete with the Denman crown. She also has super long lashes, and bold golden eye make up. The design also features the AK signature, which is also repeated on the reverse of the brush.

I've really loved the collaboration and I'm sorry to see it come to an end. The quality of the brushes remain the same no matter what the design but the AnarKitty range gives the humble and dare I say it often boring hairbrush a real designer touch, that should not only appeas to beauty junkies, but also to fashionistas and to fans of modern art. The Denman AnarKitty Goldie Classic D3 Styling Brush retails at £7.50 and is available along with the rest of the AnarKitty range from the Denman website. Are you a fan of Denman hairbrushes? What's your favourite hairbrush? Leave me a comment and let me know x 

*PR Sample

AnarKitty In LouLouLand - Part 2 - Denman AnarKitty Ruby D3 Hairbrush*

If you've been reading my blog for a while you'll know I love Denman hair brushes. I bought my first Denman D3 Classic Styling Brush over 6 years ago now, and it's still going strong. I've been lucky over the years to add my collection but I promise you if they all disappeared overnight, I'd be straight out tomorrow to buy a new one.

The Denman D3 Classic Styling Brush is simply perfect for my long straight ish hair.The D3 comes with a easy to hold and manoeuvre teardrop shaped handle, and features 7 rows of high quality nylon pins embedded into their signature anti-static rubber pad, making the brush perfect for detangling, smoothing and blow drying.

Whilst the style and quality of the D3 has remained the same over the years, Denman have always tried to remain innovative and of the moment. The original black, white and red brush is still available but nowadays you can buy the classic D3 covered in lip prints, animal prints, diamantes and even in fruit scented versions.


In 2012 I was sent a special edition D3 Classic Styling Brush the AnarKitty "Sassy" D3, which was a collaboration between Denman and British artists Emma Geary aka AnarKitty- You can read my review here. I loved the almost Art Deco graphics of the original brush so I was thrilled to hear that the two have collaborated once again.

The year has saw the release of the AnarKitty Ruby D3. The ruby red brush again draws in the Art Deco ear, this embracing the roaring twenties and the Great Gastsby era.

The design on the brush features a quirky girl, in an almost flapper style dress, and a string of pearls. Her hair is styled in the traditional 1920's finger wave and on her head she wears the crown featured in the Denman logo.

The reverse of the brush handle like with last brush features the A K signature this time in black.

Away for the designs and prints this is just the typical and fabulous D3 - The colours are the same as the Classic but with a twist.

The handle and base of the brush is a bright ruby red, you definitely wouldn't lose this one in the bottom of your handbag! The anti static rubber pad is white, and the 7 rows of nylon pins are in a contrasting black.

Apart from the obvious the thing I love most about the Denman D3 is that the quality never changes no matter how plain or how funky the brush design is. They are always made to the same quality and they always work and do the business and above all last.

I love the AnarKitty collaboration and I have my fingers tightly crossed that we'll see some more new designs in the future. The Denman AnarKitty "Ruby" D3 is available from the Denman Website, and you can also check out more of AnarKitty's work via her own website here x

*PR Sample