Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Nailed it!









Its safe to say I love nail art or anything to do with nails at all, I'm not blessed with great nails for rely on acrylic nails to give me the length and space I need to try out nail art. As you can tell I have a penchant for an accent nail, glitter and gems! 

My Leopard print nail art tutorial  here received a great response so I thought I'd post a few of my other nail art creations, let me know what you think and if you want a tutorial for any of the above.

I've got many nail varnishes and glitter pots on my Christmas list so no doubt I'll have many new nail creations to share with you soon!

Do you love nail art? Leave me a comment with a link to your creations!

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Tailor Made



I have struggled my entire life to find the perfect foundation, my pale skin has led me to using darker shades in the hope of adding some colour to my pale complexion, my dry skin has made me despair at heavy coverage foundations as it clings to dry patches making my skin look even worse and I felt I could only wear tinted moisturiser which helped my dry skin but didn't give me the coverage I need all day.

So when No7 released their "Match Made Service" I figured it was about time I discover once and for all what shade I should be wearing and get my base sorted! The test is quick and simple and the machine is held against your make up free lower cheek ( the area where the truest skin pigment is - don't you know) the machine then allocates a colour from their range that is closest to this.

Getting tested - minds out of the gutter please!

So I popped along to my local Boots store where the lovely Louise informed my after a quick test that I was in fact a "Cool Vanilla" she then did a quick skin assessment to find the perfect foundation for me from their range of 9 foundations - I didn't realise there was such a selection! In the range they have everything from Mousses to Powders, Anti ageing to Tinted Moisturisers.
For my dry skin, that was a little tired and dull she recommended the Instant Radiance Foundation.





Instantly I was impressed, the foundation boasted it created a radiant luminous glow that brightens the complexion and it didn't lie. Even the boyfriend noted how nice my skin looked later on! A man paying attention to make up!! I'm sold!

Just after application

The foundation contains ginger (all jokes on a postcard please) that stimulates tired looking skin and the mixture of Vitamins that boosts skins vitality  As with all my reviews I like to wait a while till I've really tried the product to give an honest and in depth opinion and I have to admit I was really impressed by this foundation.
 Not only does it provide great coverage all day without drying out, there's no need reapplying at the end of the work day before going out! What's more I was pleasantly surprised to find out a full bottle was only £12.50! Which is a great improvement on the usual £25 I spend on Clinque Tinted Moisturiser I literally can't recommend this service or the product enough.

Have you used this service or products before? What do you think?

Sunday, October 21, 2012

A Little Wee Lassie






Shirt (with collar tip chain): DaisyStreet.co.uk      Skirt: c/o Own the Runway      Bag: Select
Shoes: Next       Skull Ring: French Connection        Black&Gold Ring: YSL

I have to admit this is not an outfit of the day, as I've yet to make it out of my pyjamas, and do you know what its a fantastic feeling! I can't explain how hectic the last few weekends have been splitting time between Manchester (where I live with the boy) and driving back to my family home to visit family & friends, so to have a weekend that doesn't involve rushing around, more hours relaxing than in the car and actual sleep is bliss! 

So this outfit was shot last weekend in a rare bit of sunshine in Manchester but I had to share my favourite new find with you, this Tartan shirt from DaisyStreet! I love tartan at the moment and the contrast leather collar sealed the deal, I'm already on the look out for my next tartan buy and I've set my site on theses bad boys from PopCouture.co.uk

I hope you all having a lovely relaxing weekend I fully intend to curl up on the couch with a movie and not move for the rest of the day!

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

I'll Drink to That







Dress (with belt): Primark   Boots: Primark   Bag: Select
Large Ring: House of Harlow    Watch: Michael Kors

So firstly a massive thank you to all my lovely new and old faithful followers, I've just hit the magic 100 mark and it literally means the world to me that even one person cares about my little ramblings never mind 100 of you! So thank you for making my day and getting me to this mark to celebrate I plan to hold a giveaway, but I'm still hunting for the perfect gift to give you lovelies! So stay tuned a giveaway is coming soon, promise!

In other news this is the outfit I wore this weekend for a meal out to celebrate my boyfriends new job,  the dress was a spontaneous present from my mum and I can't believe its from Primark, I'm in love with the soft blush colour! I paired it with my favourite Primark buy of all time - my studded boots which if I'm perfectly honest they've barely left my feet! 
Apologies for the half face, half hair shots but I have sensitive skin and my eye reacted badly to a new product and was all bloodshot so I figured I'd save you having to look at it and put my hair thickness to good use!





Sunday, October 14, 2012

Lost Lashes

This is only my second foray in Beauty blogging, I don't know if I intend to start blogging more about beauty, but it is also a huge passion for me alongside fashion, I don't think I have a friend who at some point I've not done their hair, make up or nails, but I felt I had to share this with you.

I am obsessed with long eyelashes, and unfortunately I am not blessed with them, so for the past year I had permanent last extensions, the type that are glued individually to each eyelash and reapplied every 4-6 weeks as your own natural lashes grow. 

My Lash Extensions when first applied
My lash extensions after they've grown out a bit more

It was great to wake up each day looking so "put together" and it seriously cut down the time it took to put my face on in the morning! So all great, right? Wrong! After a year my beautician said my own eyelashes needed a rest, so when they were all removed I was left with massive gaps between lashes, the ones left were few and far between and short. So for a lash addict to be left with hardly any lashes it was my worst nightmare.

My natural lashes

I originally turned to Lancome Hypnose Star Mascara, after much time trailing round Boots. Which although was amazing and did make my sparse pathetic eyelashes seem fuller and thicker, it cost £21.00 and dried out after 3 weeks, which for me does not equal value for money! Which is why I'm glad I waited to write this review as if I'd written a post when I got it, it would be a lot different to this one!

Lashes with Lancome Hypnose Star Mascara

Side View: Lancome Hypnose Star Mascara 

So I'm now using Benefit "They're Real" mascara which is only £18.50 and currently on offer in Boots so you receive a free travel size mascara as well as the full size tube, which is great for popping in your handbag for touch ups. Although this mascara has great reviews I must admit I was a little dubious as the brush isn't one I'd normally levitate towards. But honestly its brilliant! It really elongates my lashes and adds fullness and doesn't clump no matter how many coats I put on!

 My Lashes before mascara

My lashes with Benefit "They're Real" Mascara
My lashes with Benefit "They're Real" Mascara


My lashes with Benefit "They're Real" Mascara

Which is why I'm writing this post, it has been over 2 months now without false lashes and my own lashes have grown back (thankfully) so I'm on the hunt for great lash boosting treatments and conditioning lotions and amazing mascaras to make my own lashes long and luscious! 
Which mascara do you use? Have you got any great lash lengthening tips? I'd love to hear them and try them out!

Monday, October 08, 2012

All The Other Kids In Their Pumped Up Kicks








Top: Primark    Jeans: Boohoo   Scarf: Louis Vuitton   Shoes c/o: DaisyStreet.co.uk
Turquoise Bracelet: Spanish market    Silver Bracelet: Independent boutique   Turqouise Ring: Spanish Market

As promised here is the well deserved post to pay homage to my new shoes. It is no secret that if a piece of clothing or a pair of shoes has studs and spikes on it, I'm going to be a fan! So take a look at these beauties from DaisyStreet.co.uk!! I have been drooling over these bad boys for ages and I was lucky enough to be a sent a pair, its safe to say it made my day when they were finally in my possession. They received their grand unveiling when I wore them on my date night with the boy, but for this post I decided to pair them with a simple outfit to give them the full attention they deserve. 

Now I have these shoes I'm already dreaming about which pair to get next!! DaisyStreet are seriously feeding my addiction at the moment, they have a crazy amount of studded clothing and shoes and I'm just finding it difficult deciding what to buy next!


Monday, October 01, 2012

In September...

Apologies for the blogging hiatus for the In August Post - turns out although it was a super busy and quite stressful month, it wasn't particularly exciting or post worthy, but hey ho! September more than made up for it! So heres the highlights of what I've been up to this month!


Had a sneak peak at A/W Must Have's

I was lucky enough to receive an invite to the online clothing store, BraveSoul's Autumn/Winter preview, you can see the full post and break down on my favourite pieces here. I spent the night catching up with some of the lovely bloggers I've met while running Hand-Drawn Heart, looking at the fantastic clothes and sipping champagne - all in all not a bad way to spend a night!



Got a Little Broody

This month I got the chance to take my niece out for the day and I spent quality Aunt time with my little munchkin and took her to a park & nature reserve where she got to hold a hedgehog, watch an eagle and stroke a meerkat as well as play on the swings and slides. I took a picnic and the weather was on my side for once and was pretty sunny! I also got to meet my latest little cousin, he's only 3 months old and the cutest little bubba, safe to say after these two trips I was a little broody, luckily I was also knackered which made me think I'm not quite ready for that commitment yet!



Celebrated 2 years with The Boy

Me and the boy decided to celebrate 2 years together by taking a long weekend and staying at Rudding Park Hotel & Spa in Harrogate, you can read the full low down on the hotel here, but it was a fantastic weekend and thoroughly relaxing, can't believe its been 2 years, it feels so much longer!




Visited the Big Smoke

This was an exciting month for me career wise as well, as I got to travel down to London to meet with the lovely fashion teams from both Now and Star magazine, and also got to experience some of the most amazing cuisine London has to offer! Dining at Cote Restaurant and Novikov Restaurant, apologise for any of you who follow me on Twitter on Instagram who have already been bombarbed with photos from the day, but it was a fantastic trip and great to meet the lovely journalists face to face.