The World of Kitsch is an Ireland Blog Awards 2016 Finalist!

I feel a bit cringe showing off, but at the same time I want to have this on record as it's quite an achievement for me. I also want to thank YOU, those of you who took time to vote for me when I made the shortlist. I know it's a pain in the arse when these things come around & you are being asked for votes left, right and centre, so thank you for taking a minute to help me. 

I'm a finalist in the Best Blog Post category & I'm very excited, because although I was a finalist for all sorts of national blog awards when I started out in 2009, I haven't seen as many finals since 2013, now the blogging world is so vast and I've so much competition. 

The World of Kitsch has always been a hobby for me, and without getting too personal it's my way of staying sane and having some sort of thing going on, when my M.E. doesn't allow me to pursue a career. It's also been something to open doors to incredible opportunities, events & experiences for myself & my son to partake in, that I simply couldn't offer him otherwise on our budget. 

I get to partner with brands I admire so much like M&S and IKEA, as well as help my local friends out by popping up a quick plug for their show, or Etsy Shop or event. 

So thank you to everyone who reads The World of Kitsch and enjoys it. It's a very special part of my life, and to be recognised amongst so many talented peers on our island is a real treat. 

Fingers crossed- I might even win! Who knows! 

Come Say Hi To My Favourite NI Artist in Belfast This Friday & Take Advantage of the Under £25 Pop Up Shop To Take Home a Hand Drawn Creative Piece of Your Own

Neal McCullough is probably my favourite Northern Irish illustrator and artist. I'm terribly fond of Sara O'Neill and Stephen Maurice Graham, but Neal from Hand Drawn Creative pips them at the post for two reasons. Firstly he's also from Bangor, and I always bump into him in M&S, so you know he's good people, but secondly and most importantly he is responsible for the The World of Kitsch logo, with its bang on fonts and mid-century plant table splendidness.

This Friday evening coming is Belfast Culture Night & Neal will be showcasing & selling his work in a pop up shop in Blick Studios on Hill Street- full details here. Neal is one of a collection of local artists who will be offering all work for under £25, so that's a great opportunity to buy some starter pieces if you wish you had a local artist collection but don't have an art lover's budget.

Here are some of the works on  the Hand Drawn Creative web shop, but I'm not completely sure whether these will be there on Friday, and whether he will be selling brand new never seen before prints too. The online prices start from £20, so if you don't live in NI you can still own one of Neal's designs without busting the bank. The Beastie Boys ones would make brilliant Christmas presents if you have a fan of them in your life.

Neal's wife Jules with a second Beastie Boys design

There is also an artists' panel before the pop up, also free & looks very interesting indeed.

A Visit To The New Ballyhackamore Pizza Express :Wait Until You See Their Clever, Subtle, C. S. Lewis Interior Theme!

Pizza Express opened two new NI branches today, one in the city centre at St. Anne's, the cathedral quarter, and one in Ballyhackamore. The location is on the right driving into the city, at the little row of shops set back from the road.

We live in Bangor & previously would drive through Belfast & up to the Lisburn Road branch, why? The free parking! So now there's a closer restaurant on this side of the city, with no need to park in Belfast city centre & have to pay. 

The first impression walking in to the Ballyhackamore Pizza Express is just 'wow'. The decorative wooden ceilings, panelled walls, booths & book features coupled with the traditional clean & open spacious Pizza Express aesthetic you find in any of their restaurants just works.   

It wasn't until I overheard the manager speaking to another table of diners about the C.S. Lewis theme I realised- the walls aren't panels- they are wardrobes! The well-loved author of 'The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe' and 'Chronicles of Narnia' was born in the East Belfast area. I really love the fact Pizza Express has taken note of the local heritage & whilst this isn't an out & out 'themed' restaurant, it's just the sort of quirk that goes down well in my book.

Wardrobe door panels used throughout the interior  

I said before the restaurant is spacious, so bringing prams along is not a problem. I always think of Pizza Express as your toddler's 'starter restaurant', as it was certainly the first experience Smix had regularly eating somewhere where he had courses, choices & felt welcome.​

Spacious and bright- lots of pram parking space

There is a dedicated children's menu of three courses for £6.95, but that's not just what makes Pizza Express so popular with families. It's genuinely a kid-friendly place, where you aren't going to get glares if your child is a bit over excited​. The kids' menu doubles up as a fun activity sheet, complete with stickers, social media competitions, puzzles & white space for drawing.

This is the child meal starter. Dough balls, garlic butter & crunchy veg. Pizza Express Lisburn Road was where Smix started his dough ball addiction, and he gives the Ballyhackamore versions a thumbs up. 

Adults can begin with dough balls too, or bruschetta, calamari rings, and the usual Italian treats including antipasto sharing platters.

Because we were trying something new, I tried the 'Prosciutto e Melone' from the summer menu.  

This was REALLY GOOD. So fresh but with the prosciutto supplying your first taste of the authentic Italian ingredients & flavours. Also worth noting you get a serious amount of meat, they aren't doing it by halves, even though it is a starter. 

Catch the summer menu before its gone

Moving on to main courses. There are salads (the Niçoise is my usual go to main course in fact), pastas, calzone and three types of pizza. You can choose a regular classic pizza, a romana, or a leggera.

With the romana they take the dough and toss it for longer to make the pizza larger & thinner, so it bakes crispier.  

The leggera is the calorie counter's dream- a pizza all to yourself and it's UNDER 600 CALORIES. 

When I get pizza rather than the salad & dough sticks, I pick the leggera option. This is because there are benefits above that of just being a less calorific meal. I like to partake in the three course experience, and if I try to eat a starter, a full size main course pizza & a dessert & coffee- I'm almost fit to burst. So I prefer to get a starter, the leggera, and a dessert than to blow my entire stomach space on just my main course (tactical eating!). It means I'm still eating a lot of calories, but it means I can actually experience the different dishes along the way. 

The other reason besides any notion of dieting, is the fact the centre of the pizza is salad. I always take salad with my pizza if I can, so rather than having to order a side salad, these come already loaded with one. Handy! 

Leggera American Hot with selection of peppers

Smix always and forever chooses the pepperoni main course pizza, which is a good size for him. The kids' menu also has a selection of pastas, and you can add whatever pizza toppings you wish to the couple of varieties on the menu. Smix used to love olives when he was little, so we would add those to his pizza. It gives kids a chance to experiment and try ingredients they might not have a chance to elsewhere. He's also a total Parmesan fiend, and Pizza Express give you it free and fresh.

Next, chips, but not just any ordinary chips. And this will expose my lack of food blogging credentials, if there were any notions I was a foodie in the first place. 

They are 'polenta chips' baked with Gean Milano cheese. Now to me they looked like, and pretty much tasted like 'fancy chips'. But I was chatting to the waitress about them, because they are new to the menu & I hadn't tried them before & she explained they are made from wheat- and not a potato in sight!  

It's hard to even describe what they are like, so I will cop out and simply say that if you visit Pizza Express soon, get a side of them to share and tweet me (@rudedoodle) what you make of them! They were good, but my little N.Irish head found the prospect of non-potato chips hard to get around! 

Finally, dessert. Smix wanted a full sized dessert, so I will just mention that included in the kids' meal you do get a choice of desserts, pictured below. 

However Smix's favourite is chocolate fudge cake, and he says this was a good one. 

I usually go for a dolcetti dessert, and again it's a clever little Pizza Express menu option for people like me who can't eat massive meals but simply have to have 'afters'!  

They are mini-desserts that come with your choice of tea or coffee, and again there is a low calorie option under 100 cals if you are watching your weight. 

However today I thought I would try the Eton Mess cheesecake from the summer menu, as I hadn't tried it before.  Another top tip- always get the mascarpone rather than ice cream or cream when you are in a Pizza Express- you'll thank me.

I actually was disappointed with this one course, and it was the taste. There is just way too much going on in that small dish. You've the pavlova type concoction of the Eton Mess, but then it's laid on a layer of dulce de leche, then a cheesecake base. It tastes like about three desserts at once, and too sweet for me. I think I would go back to the chocolate brownie or the cake Smix got. Sorry Pizza Express!

So, fancy trying out the new Ballyhackamore branch yourself? Or the St. Anne's venue? Well until the 16th September you can get 30% off your food in ANY of the Belfast restaurants. That's Mon-Thurs or after 5pm on Sunday. 

Not based in NI? Well the Pizza Express website has an offer for everyone to get 40% off food in all restaurants this Sunday- visit the link for details and more offers.

Thank you to the Ballyhackamore team for making us so welcome this afternoon. Meal provided for reviewing purposes. 

Say Sayonara to the Spirit of Summer, One Last Feast of a Fling in M&S

Why is it so hot?! I almost feel personally offended when the weather doesn't immediately switch to autumny as soon as September the first rolls around. I've been wearing t-shirts this week! I want to be wearing my leather jacket with the fake fur collar, not short sleeves! However the sweatfest of this week has allowed for one good thing- the extension of the ice cream & lollies season. 

Before we see selection boxes in the shops (& yes I've seen the Quality Street in supermarkets already), I went along to my bestest shop which I love so much, Marks & Spencer, to pick out my favourites from the whole Spirit of Summer season, which you can catch too before they leave stores in a few weeks. 

Ice creams £3 each

The two Spirit of Summer ice creams are fab, and this was actually my first time trying them. The quality is great, very creamy, and both have biscuit throughout, so if you like Ben & Jerry's loaded style ice cream, you'll love these.

Now below we have something really special. I first bought a M&S BBQ pulled pork Mac n cheese in June, and I fell in love. I had a three pack a week habit at one point. This stuff is like cheesy crack. The thought of it not being in store soon gives me the sweats. Luckily, I can bulk buy and freeze them, and I will be doing that. The £3 pack serves one person & can be whizzed in the microwave in a couple of minutes. It's true love. 

I know you can find mozzarella sticks all year round, but these are particularly good, and one of Smix's favourites. Also £3. 

Now I sort of sunk myself casually picking up these reduced £1.25 Alfajore biscuits, because when I tried them I was like, "oh okay now there's something else I have to bulk buy before Spirit of Summer ends!" 😂 There are only maybe 8 biscuits in a pack, but they are really super sweet & you would feel sick if you ate more than two (yeah, I ate three). But they are so good! M&S why do you have to torture me with these seasonal deliciousnesses? 

I haven't tried the cashews yet, but the heat of the jalapeño with the coconut was something I couldn't pass up. The bag was a pricy £3.50, but that's typical for cashews really.

Now the Blacksticks velvet seems to be a new product, at least to my local store. I love the darker coloured variety, so I'm keen to see what this is like.

Hold your horses, I'm about to tell you something from M&S that I DIDN'T like. I know, it feels like I'm cheating on a boyfriend. I had forgotten my previous purchase of the snacking chorizo, but after eating it I remembered. It may just be me but I can taste a slight fishiness to the mini-sausages and I just can't get past it. I chose them because I wanted to feature snacking items, so let's move on to those.

These little £2.50 picnic boxes are great even leading into autumn, as you could as easily heat the dinky bites as enjoy them cold. The pork and apple bites are particularly good. Like mini-scotch eggs but with an apple sauce filling. If you've a suddenly starving growing boy like I have, you could even throw something like these in for break time with some fruit.

A sad goodbye to the 3 for £7 Spirit of Summer meats. So many BBQ and spicy goodies that have been protein-snacking ideal all summer. The Diablo chilli beef is a favourite. It actually looks like ham, and it's a medium to hot heat- if you can handle a Nandos you can handle this beef. 

And so long microwaveable £3 subs! These are so easy to whizz for lunch, but I have a feeling there will be a version of them still on shelves after the Spirit of Summer departs. If you are dieting, keep an eye on the calories of these, but it's a warm, hearty snack without any fuss, and I love that.

Finally there's always time for crisps and dips. The Spirit of Summer flavours play through from the deli products and dishes with crisps in BBQ and spice flavours that you'll want to eat all year round. Don't forget to stock up on all your favourite Spirit of Summer products before they phase out over the next two months. I'll fight you for the last Mac n cheese. 

Boots SEVENTEEN Mega Matte Lipsticks. How Mega? How Matte? How Do They Compare to Liquid Lipstick Mattes? Let's Find Out.

Unless you live under a rock, or never wear makeup like I didn't until two years ago, you'll know matte lips are the big, huge, massive trend that brands are still scrambling to catch up with. Almost all the concessions now have a matte lip range, and Boots SEVENTEEN have joined the ranks this Autumn with 12 shades to try. 

The  SEVENTEEN 13 hour wear Mega Matte Lip caught me by surprised when the three shades I chose arrived for review. The trend has been for brands to make their matte lips in a liquid lipstick format, not a physical lip STICK. So usually your matte lip comes in a tube similar to a lip gloss. It goes on slightly shimmery and wet, but dries out to a completely matte colour on your lips. 

But the SEVENTEEN Mega Matte Lip range comes in lipstick format, and not even a pointy one, a flat, screw up product. The PR kit also included a lip brush, so I assume this is how they think the matte lip goes on best. However I put my makeup on in the leisure centre every day after I swim, so I tested them as I would use them, just in their stick format. 

A usual liquid lip (ColourPop Bumble) & a 17 Mega Matte Lipstick

Now I must say I really wasn't happy with this at first. I like to give beauty products a good two week trial before I write about them, otherwise I can't tell what I really thing about them. So at first I hated the stick format, and found it tricky to apply with the flat edge. However as time has gone on I've got the hang of it.  

Here is how the SEVENTEEN nude 'Looking Buff' compares to ColourPop 'Bumble'. Liquid lip Bumble on left looking at the pic, 17 Looking Buff on the right.

ColourPop liquid lip Bumble : 17 Looking Buff

The liquid lip Bumble is more highly pigmented, but it bleeds out and can be messier to apply. 17 Matte Lip is more pinkish in base, less drying to the lip itself, and has a sweet taste. You can see it has a more natural look to it. I find it easier not to 'mess up', and can do without a lip liner to keep it in place. It's also £4.49, a good £15 cheaper than the genuine ColourPop liquid lip. Incidentally ColourPop's lab make the Kylie Jenner formula from the same recipe- so if you buy ColourPop you are getting the cheaper version of Kylie Kits.

Boots SEVENTEEN Looking Buff £4.49

So the other colours. I use a purple tone liquid lip often that I bought on AliExpress, just a generic Asian brand, it was 69p or something crazy. So I asked to try the 'I Lilac It A Lot' shade of the SEVENTEEN Mega Matte Lip to compare it.

I was really disappointed in this shade. You can see below that's two coats and it's more like a light tint. I expect matte lips to be pigmented, opaque and mean business, and this colour just didn't do that for me. If you like your lip subtle you might like it, coupled with the fact none of the shades feel heavy to wear on your lips, but not for me. 

'Mega Matte Lip I Lilac It a Lot'- which I don't. 

Finally, my favourite liquid lip is a Lime Crime dupe I bought on eBay, a fiery orange red called 'SuedeBerry'. So the corresponding SEVENTEEN shade is 'Lava You A Lot', again £4.49.

17 Lava You a Lot

And this one I do Lava a Lot! Pigment is good, non-drying on the lip, fun colour, good staying power. It's gone into my after-pool makeup kit along with the nude colour. 

So over all? I didn't like how they were applied at first, but they grew on me and now I love them. Some shades are better than others in quality it seems- maybe get your hands on the testers in store before picking a colour to buy.  

They can be as good as liquid format lips, and the price is definitely a huge bonus. 

One thing is for sure, the matte lip trend is going nowhere fast, so maybe this traditional lipstick format is the introduction to the trend you've been waiting for. 

Keep up with my beauty buys and bargains on my Snapchat story, username Rudedoodle. 

Animal Sheet Masks from The Creme Shop- Walk Around Your House in a Real Life Snapchat Filter! (& 15% Off Until Monday With This Code)

TK Maxx in Bangor, and I'm guessing everywhere else too, has just taken shipment of dozens of different sheet masks in their beauty department.​

Sheet masks are face masks comprised of a cloth loaded with product that you can optionally chill in the fridge and apply directly to your face. You leave it on for the time directed, or if you wish until it dries out. Technically if you feel comfortable enough you can even sleep in sheet masks for a rejuvenating, moisturing overnight treatment.​

I prefer them to face masks you need to wash off, because I hate rinsing my face and water going up my arms.​

So TK Maxx is a great place to go to try your first sheet mask, there are dozens to choose from and they are packs of three or five for £4.99 which is a very decent price. 

I bought a blueberry pack last week, but had to return to buy these animal face printed ones this week because LOOK AT THE FACES! 

The brand is  The Creme Shop and if you can't find them in your local TK Maxx, you can buy directly from their site. $4 for one mask, $10 for the pack of three like I bought. 

The site has a hyaluronic acid penguin variety I really want to try. I'll maybe see if another nearby TK Maxx has them, if not I'll order online.  

If you want to order from  The Creme Shop Webstore you can get 15% off until Monday with the code 'LABORDAY'. They also sell brushes and eyelashes, if you want to stock up.

Also picked this little kit up for £3

But do they work and what are they like? I tried the Tiger Collagen mask last night on clean skin with makeup removed. 

Wonderfully the scent reminded me of Floral Gums. The sheet mask feels great on, and a little bonus is that the 'eyes' are on the mask, where usual white masks just have the eye holes. This extra bit of mask means you can push the fabric right up under your lashes so there isn't a circle around each eye missing out on the product.  

Another benefit of the mask being printed with an animal face is that you know which side of the mask goes on the skin. Sometimes with a plain white mask you can't tell which side of the fabric has the most product on it, to place onto the skin. 

I left the mask on 15 mnutes and afterward my skin felt soft and fresh. I was very happy with the result.

So until I can get plastic surgery to look like my favourite Snapchat filter, the deer, I guess  The Creme Shop is the next best thing. Also great idea for little stocking filler presents for Christmas, or for teachers' gifts.

Ever Wonder Where Those Effortlessly Cool Hipster Parents Shop? Not Only Can I Tell You, But I've a 15% Off Code For You To Use: Little Citizens Boutique.

There's very little I don't like amongst the inventory on the  Little Citizens Boutique website, so choosing images to share with you was tricky to narrow down. The Holywood based retailer knows good design, and have just won a silver award for best toy & gift retailer in design. They also stock children's clothing and home wares, so here are some of my favourite items from their site.

Should you love what you see too, you can use the code KITSCH15 to get 15% off orders until midnight 30th September.  (The quick buy links aren't active- sorry! It's just how I saved the photos of the products!)

Her Mother's Eyes- Beautiful, Large Scarves By Bangor Tattoo Artist Kathryn Kirk, Available for Pre-order Now

It's with pride I post this particular post today. I met Bangor-based artist Kat Kirk back in 2004. Over the past 12 years I've seen her train & draw, draw, draw with the dedication needed to become adept & confident enough to take her artwork onto skin. 

Kat now has her own place in Addiction Piercing & Tattoo Parlour, Bangor, tattooing both clients' designs and her own original flash. 

I featured her amazingly cool candles previously, but today I'm sharing with you her newest venture- bringing her artwork to large scale, vivid scarves. 

Her Big Cartel store has the designs available for pre-order, or you can call into her studio to see the prints in real life. I swung by today & was really impressed by them. The scarves are huge (140cm x 140cm), the fabric is soft & flowing and the photographic prints are clean, clear and gorgeous.

My favourite scarf is the blue & white. It's a photographic image of dozens of tattoo flash stencils that you use to mark out a tattoo on the skin.​

The collection of tattoo stencils

The scarf

I look forward to seeing the future designs Kat brings us.​