Paralympic Opening Ceremony (Enlightenment) London 2012 - I was there!

Last night with less than 2 hours to go I suddenly found myself in possession of a ticket for the Paralympic Opening Ceremony.  Cue a crazy mad dash across London and back in rush hour to collect my son from my mother in law's and enlistment of no less than 3 other babysitter's (don't ask!) and a run to the tube station and we were on our way!

Once at Stratford the madness continued as we ran from the station to collect our tickets from a store (again, don't ask!) and then onto the Olympic Stadium. We made our seats with literally a second to spare and I have honestly no idea how we managed to get there in time...but we did.

The Opening Ceremony was entitled Enlightenment "a journey of discovery inspired by the wonder of science and its power to transform perceptions."  For the next 3 and a half  hours (and a bit more!) we were entertained, enthralled, moved, dazzled and inspired at the sights before us in this thought provoking spectacular.

The opening with Rihanna's Umbrella

We were treated to a show featuring Sir Ian Mckellen, Professor Stephen Hawking and a young actress playing Miranda, Shakespeare's heroine who discovers a brave new world.

The athletes coming out - 164 countries are taking part in the Games

Brazil

Iran

Team GB

The biggest cheer of the night was reserved for the home team - Great Britain - who came out to rapturous applause, a standing ovation and the booming sound of David Bowie's apt Heroes pumping through the stadium.

Once the athletes were in place blind soprano Denise Leigh sang 'Spirit in Motion' a tribute to the athletes

After inspirational and rousing speeches from Lord Sebastian Coe and the President of the International Paralympic Committee Sir Philip Craven, the Queen declared the Games open and fireworks exploded from the top of the Stadium.

Continuing with Miranda's journey

Globe opening

Six Paralympians bathed in gold take to the sky on wires; This is just stunning.

Golden Stadium

Sea of Blue and the Whale

From a stadium bathed in gold to a captivating seascape the parlaympixels are used to incredible effect.

A young singer called Birdy plays the piano and sings Bird Gerhl. This is just beautiful. She has an amazing voice that transfixes everyone in the stadium. The imagery complements and enchants.

This is followed by the Apple crunching moment as a giant golden apple arrives and Miranda bites into her apple. A stadium full of people crunching an apple :-) Well not me as I am allergic to them!

A giant reproduction of sculpture Alison Lapper pregnant appears to take centre stage and then the Royal Marine Joe Townsend zip wires down with the Paralympic Flame, handing over to blind five-a-side footballer David Clarke. Incredibly it was then handed over to Margaret Maughan, Britain's first ever Paralympic gold medal winner! I found this so touching and the crowd went wild and once again we stood up as the cauldron was lit. Magical.

The night and ceremony ended with one of my favourite singers and quite possibly my favourite moment of the evening - Beverly Knight singing a moving and soulful version of 'I am what I am'. I believe this should be everyone's motto in life.

A spectacular firework display concluded the event with Beverly still singing.

This was a night to truly remember and treasure forever. As Lord Coe said "A new Games is about to begin and new role models and stories of heroism will emerge."

Good luck to all those taking part in the Paralympics London 2012. 

Elemis Best Of British Face And Body Collection

Had to share this fabulous box set from Elemis - Best of British Face And Body Collection.

Presented in a stunning gift box it features many of my skincare favourites and represents excellent value for money.

Inside you will find:

Tranquil Touch Indulgent Bath Elixir 300ml
Wild Lavender Hand & Body Lotion 50ml
Pro Collagen Marine Cream 30ml
Melting Cleansing Gel 20ml
Tranquil Touch Body Polish 50ml
Treat your Feet Foot Cream 20ml

The set costs £49 but is worth £83! Saving you a massive £34.

I think that is worth shouting about.

Available to buy now at www.timetospa.co.uk

Glamp It Up!

The August issue of iN Magazine is available to view online now!

Clink the link below to my beauty page and see which gorgeous products are my must haves for your camping/festival trip. Also, don't miss the fab Olympic Inspired beauty finds :-)

http://issuu.com/in-magazine.com/docs/inmagazineaugustdigi/29#share

London 2012 Olympic Make Up Look

Did you know that Max Factor make-up artist Caroline Barnes has created an official make-up look for the London 2012 Olympic Games? This look is for the volunteers, medal bearers and escorts. All of the volunteers have been gifted with Max Factor make-up and P&G Beauty goody bags so that they can recreate the look that will be worn at the Opening Ceremony this evening.

Products used to create the look

Face

Lasting Performance Foundation


If additional coverage is needed

Miracle Touch Foundation
Masterpiece Concealer


On the cheeks


Miracle Touch Creamy Blush ( I love soft copper)

Eyes

Eyebrow pencil (for extra definition)
Max Colour Effect Trio Eye-shadow in Coco Crazy (sweep the pale shade across the eyelid, then place the darkest tone in the socket and underneath the lower lashes to make eyes appear bigger)
Masterpiece Colour Precision Eye-shadow (in the inner corner of the eye to add brightness)
Liquid Effect Pencil in Violet Voltage (on the outer corners of the top and bottom lashes, blend outwards for a feline shape)
False Lash Effect Gold Mascara 

Lips and Nails

Max Colour Effect Lip Gloss in Romantic
Max Colour Effect Mini Nail Polish in Ivory

I love it, what do you think?

Will you be recreating this look?

Butter London Commemorative Olympic Heavy Medal Collection!

Get into the London 2012 Olympic spirit with these three fab metallic shades from Butter London.

The Heavy Medal Collection is a limited edition set and features the following colours -

The Full Monty - Full on molten gold

Diamond Geezer - A proper platinum, silvery and shiny

The Old Bill - Burnished copper

Get your medals without lifting a finger..almost!

Available to purchase from Harvey Nichols and www.butterlondon.com costing £30

London 2012 Olympic Torch Came To Stratford And I Was There!

Completely unplanned and a bit of a last minute idea but don't they always seem to work out the best..?

This morning my husband mentioned that the Olympic Torch was going to be at Westfield Stratford at 1pm and he was going to take the 4yr old. In my head I had already started planning what I was going to do with my unexpected free time.. perhaps a bit of pampering or maybe a bit of decluttering until he muttered 'you should come too'. Oh well it was good whilst it lasted! I wasn't in the slightest bit bothered whether I saw the Olympic Flame or not but the look of eagerness from the 4yr old meant that he really did want me to join them. 

Somewhat later than intended we finally managed to set off and in our heads knew there was a chance we were not going to make it. Just as we arrived at Stratford International Station we spotted crowds looking down at the street, no sooner we had joined them then an Olympic Torch runner went past. A good surprise but not the main event.

We rushed off to the Samsung store where we would wait to see triple jumper Phillips Idowu carry the torch. Don't ask me how we did it but we rocked up with seconds to spare and somehow ended up in the inner circle right in front of the stage where he was going to arrive!

Arriving to the tune of Chariots of Fire

Kissing of the torches

As we wandered around afterwards we saw a few other things that made us smile... I am so glad we went :-)

Standing to attention outside the Liberty pop-up store in Westfield Stratford City

Meeting some real life soldiers inside Westfield Stratford City 

Portrait of the Queen made entirely of Jelly Beans to celebrate her Diamond Jubilee (inside John Lewis)

The Olympic Stadium constructed entirely from Lego (inside John Lewis)

Go Team GB!