BLOG SALE!!!

NEW PRICES!!! 

I've been clearing out my drawers so now you've got a chance of snapping up some bargains as I need some more space.

Shipping: $2.50 for the first item and 0.50 for each item after that within the US. $5.00 for the first item and $1.00 for each item after that for international shipping. Items will be shipped first class. Some

Payment must be made through paypal. If you are interested in an item, leave a comment in the box with an email address. I will be in contact and will send an invoice. Payments must be made within 24hrs.

I will also be doing a nail varnish sale in the next couple of weeks so look out!

Okay, here we go!

MAC Eyeshadows:

Night Manoeuvres - used less than 5 times: $9
Crystal - 90% left: $5
All Races - used twice: $8
Swimming - used twice: $8

MAC Eyesshadow Vibrant Grape - used less than 5 times: $8

Urban Decay Box of Shadows pans - these have been pried from the Box of Shadows (various) and have a magnet attached to the back.

Gunmetal: $4 (used twice)
Midnight Cowboy Rides Again: $4 (never used)
Sphynx: $4 (used once)
Sin: $5 (used twice)

Half Baked: $5 (used less than 5 times)
S&M: $5 (used less than 5 times)
Mushroom: $5 (used less than 5 times)

Philosophy
Microdelivery Exfoliating Wash (8oz). Brand new, unopened. $12
Hope in a Jar (2oz) Brand new, unopened. $20
Hope in a Tube. Brand new, unopened: $15
Hope in a Tube. Used 5 times. $10

Smashbox Photo Finish Primer (no lid! - 80% left): $10
MAC Volcanic Ash Exfoliator (2/3 left): $8
MAC Volcanic Ash Thermal Mask (1/2 left): $5

Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant (1/2 left): $10

Urban Decay DeSlick Oil Control Setting Spray (used less than 5 times): $15

NYX Jumbo Lip Pencil Deep Red (used less than 5 times): $1
NYX Jumbo Lip Pencil Chaos (used less than 5 times): $1
NYX Jumbo Lip Pencil Nude Rose (used less than 5 times): $1

Tarte Cheek Stain in Blissful (used approx 10 times): $15

NYX Glitter Eyeliners each swatched once

Pink $1
Blue $1
Silver Disco $1

MAC Shadesticks in Cuddle and Nurture. Each swatched once. $8 each

MAC lipgloss mini in Morning Glory (never used): $5
Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess lipgloss (used less than 5 times): $8
MAC Lipgloss in 3N (used twice): $8
MAC Lipgloss in Liquor (swatched once): $8

Benefit Boing (used 10 times): $5

NYX lipsticks. All swatched once, never used. $1 each

Louisiana, Rose, Hero, Snow White

Lipsticks, all used less than 5 times.

Lipstick Queen Saint Berry: $8
MAC Creme D'Nude: $10
Rimmel Coral Gold: $5
MAC Myth: $8

Eye Pencils, all used less than 10 times

MAC Minted: $8
Sephora Turquoise: $5
Sephora Shimmery Blue Crayon: $3
Sephora Shimmery Green Crayon: $3
NARS Aigle Noir Crayon: $12

NYX Glitter Jars - all never used. $1 each

Ultra Pearl Mania
Blue Glitter, Pink Glitter, Neon Pink Glitter, Gold Glitter

Korres Mascara, never used: $5
Stila Violet Smudge Pot - swatched once (mini size): $5
Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess (used once): $8

NYX Chrome Powder never opened: $2 each

Stila Lip and Cheek Crush in Pomegranate swatched once. $5.

Comment please to let me know what you'd like!

Beauty Blog Link Love

Have you ever tried epilating? Well, now Rae has -- and she just loves her new Emjoi Emagine!

Vote NOW on what Makeup Series you'd like to see next on Betty Girl Makeup. Poll closes Friday, August 6th @ 11:59pm.

Jellyminx shows a summery golden pink look and features a surprise guest!

Kim Porter swatches products from the MAC In The Groove Collection to show you what it looks like on NC50 skin.

Krasey Beauty has exclusive swatches of the new Make Up For Ever Lab Shine Collection.

Rachel's been trying out new mineral makeup from Lily Lolo over at Queen of Turquoise.

Hot Beauty Health shares a list of the top 10 virtual hairstyle and makeover sites to try out a new look!

Musicalhouses makes Illamasqua's Beg blush wearable in her latest FOTD.

Find out everything about Summer 2010 makeup trends in the Makeup4All on-line beauty magazine.

Joeybunny over at the PinkSith blog tells us what worked and what didn't during her testing of Raw Minerals Makeup and Brushes.

Jolie Laide Girl gets all hot and bothered playing with the Urban Decay Naked Palette.

Check out what makes Guerlain's Meteorites Perles primer so special on Beauty Addict.

Fed up of struggling to access your new makeup? Yeah... Lipglossiping is, too!

Christelle from Beauty Crazed learns that multiple X's are not always inappropriate... sometimes they mean mascara!

I Heart Cosmetics has become totally obsessed with the Clarisonic.

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Retrodiva is giving away the brand new Sampar's Good Weekend Kit, a new travel-friendly kit for urban skin survival.

Win an Infiniti by Conair You Curl curling iron from Audrey Dao.

There's still time to enter the Summer Smooth Skin Giveaway at The Gloss Menagerie!

Got troublesome skin? Enter Hellcandy's skincare giveaway for the chance to win some B-Liv products!

Do you want a new traincase? CSN stores is giving one Spiced Beauty reader a $40 gift card!

Beauty Blog Link Love

Have you tried Ellis Faas yet? Rae's reviewing a few of these super-luxe, super-chic products, starting with Ellis' Milky Lips line!

Armani Blushing Fabric Second Skin Blushers have caught Louise's eye.

No bruises here! Check out Maggie's soft pink and purple face of the day over at The Polka-Dotted Apple.

When do Lego's and cosmetics have something in common? When Jouer comes to town, that's when. Watch Jeweled Thumb act 5 and play with a recent haul!

Butter LONDON has some fabulous new nail shades for Autumn 2010 - come check them out on Lipglossiping!

Lisamarie from Beauty Crazed gets up close and personal with the Burberry Beauty line!

Hell Candy attends the Edward Bess UK launch and is blown away by the beauty of everything (the make up AND the man!)

Jolie Laide Girl gets silky soft with Kiehls Lightweight Body Lotion.

Sarah from IHeartCosmetics shows you how to get rid of spots,simply and easily.

Dry skinned and on a budget? Eyelining thinks Boots may have a bargain solution!

Looking for a perfect red nail polish for summer? Take a look at Illamasqua's Alarm at Makeup4All.

Lipgloss86 conquers all fears and grabs for the epilator in a bid for fuzz free legs.

The Lip Print discovers the sweetest nail shades for spring and has a chat with Orly's Creative Director about what's hot for nails!

There’s a new mascara in town! Check out Tsahi’s review on Revlon’s new Luscious Grow Mascara.

Madame B Fatale talks about a product that supports a great cause!

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Be sure to enter Phyrra's Summer Giveaway! Two winners, great prizes, open worldwide!

It's Pink Diva Beauty's birthday and you receive the presents! Have you entered?

Ever wanted to try LA's Prtty Peaushun? Now you can - Beautywoome is giving it away this month!

Reviva Labs wants to protect and prettify you with their Summer Skincare Giveaway on Prime Beauty.

The Pink Sith is celebrating her second Blog Anniversary with a Purple and Silver giveaway!

Beauty Skills or Lack of Them ....

I am absolutely all about celebrating beauty in all forms, and making the most of who you are. Jolie Laide even means “unconventional beauty”. However, I’m also all about being honest, and today I’ve decided to write about the things that I find difficult in the world of making myself look amazing and gorgeous, or at least playing around with my look. I’m sure there are part of the beauty world which either freak you out, you try and just can’t do, or you just cannot get your head around.

1.       My eyebrows!!! Ohmigoodness my eyebrows. They are troublesome children for sure. Generally bushy and shapeless, and frequently taking on a life of their own. I do go and get my brows shaped reasonably regularly at Anastasia, and then they look good for an afternoon. But even the next day – right back to their (slightly less) furry caterpillar selves! I do a very average job of evening them out with Elf’s Brow Kit, but no one is ever going to heart my brows. I do not know why, I just cannot get take control of them!  I could go to Anastasia every 2 weeks to keep them closely in check, but I don’t want to dish $34 plus tips for that! Instead, I’ve just come to terms with my misbehaving brows!

Example of my bushy brows!!

2.       Sunless Tanner. You know what? I think every single girl has had numerous sunless tanner accidents. I am far too much of a scaredy cat to let it near my face (or at least, not without the guidance of a professional!), but try to do my legs once a week. Every so often the next morning I’ll catch a glimpse of the underside of my arm during yoga to see a random orange splodge. Or, like last week, when I was in a rush and did it straight after the shower and then my wet hair dripped onto my legs and now I have random lines down my tan. Or the almost inevitable orange smudges around my ankles and the tops of my thighs. Yep, whatever fake tan disaster exists out there, I’m pretty much sure to have encountered it. Right now I am using L’Oreal’s Instant Bronze Tint and Tanner, which, despite the above issues which are really all about me and less about the product, I’m a big fan of. Still, the perfect tan really is the holy grail, so if you can suggest something that is idiot proof, I’m all ears.

3.       Tightlining. Even the thought of it gives me heebie jeebies. It looks amazing. I wish I could do it. Every so often I try. Then my skin gets all itchy crawly and I have to stop and revert to my tight-lining lite approach of lining the very base of the lashes. Not as effective. But doesn’t make my skin crawl.

4.       False eyelashes. Okay, I’m not going to lie here. I haven’t even tried. But glue? Eyelashes? EEEEEEK!!!!! And then I worry about them coming unglued when I have had a few too many cocktails and people laughing at my because it looks like I have a spider crawling down my face. Paranoid much? 

5.       Contouring. I’ve never really done much research into this. Maybe I’ll put it on my summer “to do” list. Learn to contour and give my round little face cheekbones.

I guess there’s a real worry here that as I post this list of things I am completely mystified by, I end up losing my blogger credibility. I hope not. By publicizing that there are things I am not good at. Maybe this list will force me to learn, and I’ll share the ups and downs with my lovely, lovely readers. Apart from tightlining most likely. I probably won’t be able to get around that feeling!

Beauty Blog Link Love

Over at theNotice, Rae talks about a new Burt's Bees lip balm... and how it reminds her of an old Lip Smacker!

Maggie shares this Foxy dupe of Too Faced's Sexpresso and Peachfuzz duo over at The Polka-Dotted Apple.

Kim Porter talks about a miracle moisturizer that's also a makeup primer, remover, and more!

Vesna from Beauty addict blog discovered one of her blushes is fake, so read this post to find out how to spot a fake Benefit Coralista!

Head over to Beautifully Glossy to discover a lip balm that GlossQueen thinks is an essential.

Glitter Geek is obsessed with everything sparkly, and she puts a glistening spin on the summer smoky eye.

Need some wedding makeup ideas? Check out Audrey Dao's wedding looks!

Pop over to melovemakeup for swatches and thoughts on the New Revlon Colorburst Lipsticks!

Get the only 10 tips you'll ever need for a fool-proof fake tan on beautywoome.com.

Champagne, French macarons and make up...Hellcandy spends an indulgent afternoon with Terry De Gunzburg, founder of By Terry.

Vex in the City takes a look at Mai Couture's Blush Papier - blush with a difference!

Lisamarie from Beauty Crazed discovers the joy that is cream blushes!

Eyelining Obsession thinks you shouldn't have to spend a fortune on great eye brushes.

You can wear nudes too! Spiced Beauty shows off MAC Lovin' it Lipstick with lip swatches.

Jen from A Beauty Junkie in London has been feeling all posh whilst checking out Estee Lauder's new Pure Colour Shadow.

Retrodiva splurges a bit with Chanel's Coco Rouge and Red Shine Glossamer. Find out if she thinks it's worth it!

Upcoming Giveaway!

I have 90 followers!! That's so incredible and humbling! 10 more, and I'll be doing another giveaway. I can't wait! In the meantime, check out my Alice.com giveaway for a chance to win one of 2 $20 giftcards.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Beauty Blog Link Love

Over at theNotice, Rae has been bitten stung by the Misikko bug -- and she is not pleased!

Betty Girl Makeup is back, and continuing on with her series on contouring!

Vex in the City shares her delight at discovering the wonders of Mehron's new Celebré HD-Pro foundation.

Lisamarie from Beauty Crazed checks out the multitude of choices in lash enhancers.

Louise pens a love letter to a BLUE eyeshadow, and is now trying to deal with her embarrassment.

Mz. More from The Glamorous Gleam tells you all about her experience with the Zoya Nail Polish Exchange, and shows off her new goodies!

Does your significant other complain about "too girly" shower gel scents? Want a happy medium? Look no further and discover what shower gel Hellcandy and her bf are raving about!

Jeweled Thumb shares how she spot cleans her brushes, and reviews 6 cleansers to help you find the best one for you!

Hot Beauty Health shares the top beach beauty buys for summer 2010!

Krasey Beauty meets Dany Sanz, the artist, legend, and creator of Make Up For Ever.

Spiced Beauty shows you that you can look fab in red lipstick... even if it just costs a dollar!

There's a new natural cosmetics line on the block! Lipglossiping casts her eye over Bourjois' little sister, Une.

Jolie Laide Girl is glowing with Make Up Forever's HD Blushes.

Learn how to get 'Perfect Skin' with the help of makeup artist Jon Hennessy at Makeup by Kim Porter.

Phyrra shows you the newest collection from Aromaleigh, Victoria’s Revenge. If you like steampunk, you’ll love this collection!


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Find out what Audrey Dao is giving away for June's Reader of the Month Giveaway!

Cindy from Prime Beauty is a Stila IT girl and you can be too, with her awesome Stila giveaway!

A Hint of What's To Come

Yep, that's a photo of my "unreviewed and unswatched" make up. I've got a lot of work to do over the coming couple of weeks! The blog will be busy busy busy - watch this space!

We Have A Winner!!

The lucky CATANYA!! I've dropped her an email to let her know.

To everyone else, thank you so much for playing along. I had a lot of fun with the contest, and I'll definitely do another one soon. I've already started collecting goodies for it :)

Weekend Surfing Round Up

Here's a couple of posts that caught my eye this week:

• Make Up Geek has a beautiful pink, purple and peach look going on
• Temptalia has the new China Glaze Poolside collection up. My favorite is Sun Worshipper
• Jellyminx Thinks has a great peach and coral eye makeup tutorial to check out
• I thought Ruffian has the best nails at NY Fashion Week, and Emerald Sparkled has posted her own Ruffian inspired mani

Yes, not very many posts this week, but that's because I've been focusing on getting heaps of content up as I will not be able to really the internet at all this week as my in-laws are staying with us. I miss my wee blog! Don't worry, I'll be back soon for sure :)

Yay! I'm having a contest :)

I made it to 50 followers!! Wow, I'm so thrilled, I didn't think that I would ever have anyone read my lil, blog. It's only been 2mths, but I'm super happy, and love meeting new readers and discovering new reads. It's like a whole little world out there!

Anyways, to celebrate, I've got a lil giveaway going.

The winner will receive:

• 1 MAC Shale Pro Pan Eyeshadow
• 1 Lush Snow Fairy Showergel
• 1 Kiehls Lip Balm (the best!)
• 1 Essie Mink Muffs Nail Varnish
• 1 NYX Jumbo Lip Pencil in Rose Brown

The competition is open to everyone, US resident or otherwise.

To win:

1. You must be a follower
2. You must leave a comment on this post
3. For an extra chance to win, tweet the following on twitter: "RT @scarlettholly win kiehls, mac, essie and lush here http://bit.ly/ak7x8l

The competition is open until Mar 1st, and I'll pick a random name and be in touch then.

Good luck! :)

What is Beauty Blogging's Place?

Yesterday morning, the hot topic among beauty bloggers on Twitter was this article on beauty blogging, and a make up artist / journalist’s surprise at seeing bloggers being treated as Press at the recent IMATS fair in the UK. The writer’s opinion was that beauty blogging should not be viewed as professional journalism with the associated required experience and knowledge, and because of that, should not be treated in a way that is comparable to Mainstream Media. She went on to talk about the focus on the “new” that bloggers have, and the behavior and opinions of the two bloggers she encountered.

As you can imagine, I have a number of issues with this article and the opinions of this writer. The first is that this article seems to be incredibly late. The blogging as a challenge to mainstream media reared its head several years ago, and it has been proven that time and time again, non-professionals with few barriers to entry (e.g. bloggers) can provide significant challenge to traditional press and professional bodies. Take the example of 538.com, which started off as a political polling blog applying the rules used in baseball statistics to political polling, which ended up being the most consistently accurate polling in the 2008 election. Or Jane Aldridge from Sea of Shoes who has now collaborated with Urban Outfitters on a shoe collection. New York Fashion Week has been on constant Tavi-watch, the 15 year old with a strong sense of what she likes and isn’t afraid to wear Comme des Garcons in geometry class, or blue hair to Fashion Week. Tavi’s been on the cover of magazines, written columns for Bazaar and Pop, and a video documentary for the Target / Rodarte collection. Beauty blogging has its own example with Lauren Luke who has collaborated with Sephora on a collection and writes reviews for The Guardian. This argument is old. And as Tavi said, if editors didn’t like or benefit from bloggers, they wouldn’t feature them in their magazines.

The writer appeared to struggle with the absolute nil barriers to entry that blogging has, and therefore that anyone with an opinion can do it, whether that they are a professional or not. This is true. I cannot claim that I know everything about every single beauty product, or that I can list the active ingredients in my moisturizer. But there are several aspects to this argument. The first is that there are beauty bloggers out there who can, and do. There are many professional make up artists who blog. However, I am assuming that she is referring to the non-professionals who blog simply because they love beauty products, and base their reviews on their own personal experiences. The first thought I have on that is questioning how that is different to a beauty editor in a magazine, which, at the end of the day, is still simply an opinion of one, or a few people. Yes, they might have more access to information, yes they might be able to do interviews on why a product works, but there is also an evergrowing sense of unease about the relationship between editorial and advertisement in magazines, and just how much paying for a two page spread can influence the coverage a product receives. Ironically, the FTC guidelines require bloggers to state when items have been provided for review for PR purposes, but traditional, or mainstream media, where the bulk of PR attention and freebies are sent, there are no such requirements. Furthermore, just as for every good blogger there are bad ones, the same exists in traditional media as well.

The author writes in an incredulous tone about the impact of these bloggers’ opinions to make or break products. To me, this makes sense. As people lose faith and turn away from MSM (circulation is down on many of the biggest magazines this year, and has been falling steadily for years), other opinion makers are filling in the gaps, namely style and beauty bloggers. Where a person could once get one opinion, they can now get tens of hundreds of opinions. Furthermore, the ability to interact and build relationships with bloggers, get second opinions, become part of a community all leads to bloggers becoming opinion formers in their own way. PR companies are catching up with this (just check Twitter to see whether your favorites brands are there and what they tweet), and some brands, such as ELF, are building their marketing campaigns around the new dynamic.

Does this spell the end of the expert? Of course not. But it opens a way for other people, people who can write well and whose opinions are valid, into the conversation to share. To complain about this phenomenon is pointless – it’s happened already, and continues to do so. Recognize that the paradigm has shifted, embrace the new voices, join the conversation, learn things you didn’t, and embrace the access to multitudes of knowledge and voices. 

As you can imagine, I'm not the only person to have written about this. Lipstick Rules and Lipglossiping have also written well informed responses to this post. Definitely check them out.

Holiday Surfing

So, normally I do a Saturday post of great things I've read throughout the week. With all the travel and business recently I've missed doing these posts. Instead of a weekend post, I'm taking advantage of the long weekend to get back into it. So here's some recent happenings in the beauty blogosphere:

• Aqua-Heart did a beautiful mint eye look
• Lipstick and Lollipops experiments with a home made face mask
• Shadowy Lady did the most sophisticated birthday look
• Nouveau Cheap get excited about the new Wet N Wild Palettes
• Shades of U makes a gorgeous neutral eyes look

Did you come across any great posts this week? Or maybe wrote one yourself? Leave a note in the comments! :)

Saturday Surfing Round Up

Here's a couple of things I came across this week you might like:

• Bubblegarm has a some great swatches on MAC Pigments and Barry M Dazzledust
• Beauty Blogging Junkie has the NARS Spring 2010 collection. I am super excited about this, especially the Carmugue cream eyeshadow duo.
• Fashionista has the low down on the Mulberry Alexa bag. I have a Mulberry Bayswater and love it with all my heart, but OMG I've never wanted a bag so much in my life.
• Liparazzi finds a dupe for Bobbi Brown Golden Peach in ELF Natural. I ordered this and it arrived today, but I haven't had a chance to go through all my mail yet. Excited!

Find a great post this week? Wrote something yourself you want me to check out? Leave it in the comments and I'll follow up. :)

Commenting Issue

Hi everyone,

Thanks to a lovely commenter I have discovered that my new blog layout doesn't work for comments for some reason. Urgh. I am too tired right now to fix it, but I do promise that I will over the next couple of days. Bear with me. Bad blogger.

Saturday Surfing Round Up

I hope everyone had a great NYE. I flew to West Palm Beach and got to the apartment at 11.55. Just in time to pour drinks and run onto the patio to bring in the New Year in some heat (goodbye NYC snow and sleet!).  As I type this I can see green ocean and hear waves. Lush.

This week has been lots of FOTDs and annual round ups across the beauty blogosphere. Here's some top picks:

• Temptalia has the Reader's Choice awards up. Did your favorites make it?
• My Make Up Reviews has her top items of 2009 listed - I'm definitely going to try Laura Mercier Tinted Moisteriser this year.
• There were a lot of FOTD posts for NYE and my favorite was from STYLESUZI - those eyes, those lips!
• American Apparel has brought out a range of nail varnishes and our trusty swatch-maiden KarlaSugar has them all swatched for us to take a look at.
• It seems that I am not the only one trying to use up my stash. Lipstick Rules is doing 50 days of lipstick to work through her supply of lipsticks.
• Picturesque Makeup also has a round of 2009 products including a mark lipgloss I might just have to check out and Lush! Oatmeal soap. Yum.
• Babbling Brooke has gorgeous designs on her nails for NYE.

Find any awesome beauty posts this week? Write one yourself? Post it in the comments and I'll check it out. 

About Me

Welcome to Jolie Laide Girl!

Jolie Laide is a French expression literally translated as "pretty / ugly", but means a girl who is unconventionally beautiful, or a woman who may not be considered pretty, but makes the most of herself. For me, Jolie Laide is also about a sense of insouciance, of being comfortable with yourself and your sense of beauty and style.

I am a mid-twenties girl living in New York City. I have been interested in fashion and beauty all my life, spending far too much time flicking through magazines and trying on turquoise eye shadows. By day I negotiate the murky world of financial services as an IT manager, and by night I debate I debate MAC versus NARS and Proenza Shouler, with a healthy dose of Topshop and Covergirl thrown in.

Jolie Laide is a blog set up in December 2008 to cover my personal perspective on fashion and beauty. I regularly feature product reviews, make up ideas, outfit posts, and shopping and blog finds across the internet. All posts of my opinion only, and I am not paid to review any product. If I have received a product as a sample for review, a disclaimer is included in my post. I do not guarantee to post on products received, not do I guarantee positive coverage.

I do really love to interact with my readers, so feel free to get in contact with me either via the comments section, following me on twitter, or emailing via jolielaidegirl [at] gmail.com

Saturday Surfing Round Up

I've enjoyed my first week of blogging, but I couldn't do it without all the other lovely blogging ladies out there! With the new MAC collections coming out pretty soon, there was a lot of hype about that.

• Temptalia got a first review of the MAC Love Lace Collection. For me, its maybe a little cool, but I'm sure something will tempt me!
• KarlaSugar also got a good look at the MAC Warm N Cozy Collection. Now this I'm seriously excited over. 
• All Lacquered Up did a great review of the China Glaze Up and Away Collection which I'm super excited about!
• Too Much Blush did a gorgeous face using the MAC All Races, All Ages, All Sexes collection. 
• A Brilliant Brunette did one of her most gorgeous eyes ever and one I really want to try - Starry Night Eyes
• Make Up and Beauty Blog got me all interested in Herbal Essences's new Tousled Hair Line
• Stephienese posted up some great FOTD shots. She's soo pretty, and I think I like the Rose Romance one or the Pink Eye one. Plenty of inspiration there. 
 

What other posts out there have caught your eye? Or maybe you've written a good one yourself - leave a comment and I'll check it out.