Favourites From This Month

Friday, October 31, 2014
October favs

Another month, another favourites post. Another month that we all complain how fast it's gone but look on the bright side - it's another month closer to Christmas! Can you believe it's only 54 days? I still can't believe how fast this year has gone in general, it only feels like yesterday that I was writing out my New Years resolutions! I always find that the transitional months are the best for makeup and it's also when I tend to splurge a little. This month saw lots of new makeup goodies and I've loved trying them out - so much so that I have a few for this month's favourites post!

The first product I've fallen in love with this month is the Revlon Photoready foundation. I have an upcoming review of this but it's honestly such a refreshing change for me to use this. I tend to stick to the same things when it comes to foundations - matte, thick and full coverage. I bought this on a whim and had no clue what the formulation or the effect was like. Quite risky, hey? Anyway it worked for me. This is a lightweight, dewy foundation that's so easy to apply and makes my skin look much healthier and glowy. I've also been loving MAC's Sumptuous Olive after reminding myself that I actually owned it when I wrote up my MAC eyeshadow collection. This is stunning for green eyes but isn't very pigmented. To pack more colour onto my lids I just wet the brush slightly and the green & gold then really shows on your eyes.

This favourites post may as well be titles "Revlon favourites with a MAC product chucked in" but Revlon are killing it for me at the moment! I also picked up the Revlon cream blush in Pinched for a bargain £3 and again, I couldn't be happier with it. It's so natural looking and gives me that flushed glow which I love to wear in the Winter time. A favourite lip look for this month is a mixture of the Revlon Matte Balm in Elusive topped with the Revlon Lip Gloss in Papaya. This is a summery kind of shade but I love to switch my makeup up by wearing it not according to the season.

Sleek Blush in Rose Gold

Thursday, October 30, 2014
Sleek Blush

Whenever someone asks me to recommend a decently priced drugstore blush, Sleek is always the brand that pops up in my head. They cost only £5 and for that price you get a lovely packaged, pigmented blush in gorgeous shades, although you have to grab them once you see them - they're always sold out! They come in a compact little black packaging and as you can see, no space is wasted inside. You'd usually get a naff brush that comes with these kinds of blushes; one that you usually throw out and then get annoyed at how little product you actually get.

Rose Gold is one of my favourite blushes of all time & is also a well-known dupe for NARS' Orgasm blush. No other blush is coveted in the drugstore like this is and it's hard to get your hands on, but trust me - you won't regret hunting it down. It's such a pigmented blush that would look lovely all year round due to the rosy warm tones. This blush would really last you a long time as a little really does go a long way. The golden shimmers in it makes it look gorgeous when paired with a neutral, winged eye and dewy skin. You really can't go wrong with Sleek!

What is your favourite drugstore blush?


Pumpkin Vase

Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Pumpkin Vase 1

Autumn is my favourite season for many reasons but the one that always comes to mind first is Halloween. We rarely decorate the house to celebrate it, much to my dismay, because my mum is very keen on maintaining her show-home, monochrome standards. I love Halloween and all that it entails so I was determined to sneak a bit of orange into the house somehow. After a session on Pinterest that somehow ended being 3 hours long (I don't know how I do it), I came across a few pumpkin vases. I love the way that they look so I decided to make one for myself!

Pumpkin Vase 2 Pumpkin Vase 3

The vase itself is actually so easy to make, all you need is a bunch of flowers and a pumpkin. I opted for yellow, white and orange flowers because I thought they looked more seasonal & fitting with the shade of pumpkin. I also added a small witch that came with another house plant that I bought but you can find some accessories from the Halloween section in any big supermarket and add that to the flowers.

Simply, you just have to cut the top of the pumpkin and scoop the inside bits out, just as you would do if you were carving shapes into it. Then, chop the bottoms of the flowers so that they fit within the pumpkin and arrange them how you like. Once you're done, just mix the sachet of flower food that comes with the flowers with a bit of water and pour it into the inside of the pumpkin. This makes sure that your flowers don't wilt and stay healthy! There's so many variations and alterations you could do with this - you could decorate the pumpkin with permanent markers, make shapes with washi tape or even tie a ribbon around it. Have fun with it!

Fresh Flowers

Sunday, October 26, 2014
Fresh Flowers 1 Fresh Flowers 2

There's just something about fresh flowers that I can't get enough of and I've vowed that once I have my room completely finished, I'll try and have a vase of fresh flowers every week (much like the promise that I'd wear nail polish everyday when I left school. Over a year later and still going strong - I feel naked without it!). These are photos of some flowers that my brother and I bought for our mum's birthday & have been sitting in my photography album for months, but never had an excuse to appear on the blog. I also think there's a perfectly good excuse to buy more this week - my brother's ill. Even though he probably won't appreciate bright pink and white flowers I think that it just needs to be done.

Since the tiny re-design and re-branding of my blog I feel so motivated and have so many new post ideas to show you. I've been doing that much work that my whole 'watch page' on YouTube is full of Destiny's Child songs. It wouldn't be fun to do so much hard work without singing Independent Woman as loud as you can, after all. Just in case I'm missing anything, I thought I'd ask you if there's anything you'd like to see over here. Days in the life, specific reviews, recipes, snippets of my 12 year old diary? Let me know below!

MAC Lipstick Collection

Saturday, October 25, 2014
MAC Lipsticks

MAC lipsticks are something that I feel like I've been collecting for years and I love the satisfaction of seeing them all nicely co-ordinated in my makeup storage. If you're yet to purchase a lipstick from MAC, go for it! Although they have been slowly increasing in price over the past few years - does anyone remember when they were £11 - £13?! - they're worth every penny to me! Of course I have my favourites and I have done a post dedicated to each lipstick but I though that it'd be nice to do a round-up of them all.

I'll start from nudes to bolder lip colours and the first one I have is Creme D'Nude. This lipstick was actually my second MAC lipstick and I'm personally not a huge fan. I wouldn't recommend this for people with a similar skin tone as me (ghostly pale!) because this is more on the beigy side of nudes which tends to look a bit concealer-lip like. The pinker sister of Creme D'Nude is Creme Cup which I prefer so much more. This suits my skin much better and for days when I'm slightly more tanned, the two mixed together look lovely. My favourite ever nude lipstick is Patisserie and I expressed my love for this in a post I wrote last month. I'd heard so many people talk about this and decided that I needed to try it out and I'm still as in love with it as ever. It's very moisturizing and has a lovely gloss finish, something that I love in a nude lipstick.

Moving on to coloured lipsticks I have Ravishing, a lipstick that I loved last year but am not too keen on now. It looks lovely on paler skin in the Winter for something a bit unusual but I find it a bit difficult to work with. Even though it is a Creemsheen formula it tends to show up all of the texture on my lips - not good when it's Winter time and lip balm isn't cutting it! Lovelorn is another shade I have which I would describe as a more opaque version of Creme Cup. I don't reach for this as much as the other shades and I have no idea why because I'm surprised by how much I like it when I wear it.

Now we're onto the main event - bold lips. If I'm looking for a bold lip colour, I always look to MAC as they have almost every shade you could possibly think of and they're not mega expensive. Russian Red, which I only just recently rediscovered after learning it was hiding under my bed for 3 months, is my all-time favourite red lipstick that I think looks amazing in the Winter on my skin tone. It's majorly blue-toned which gives the teeth-whitening illusion and it's matte. What more could a girl want from a red lip? If you're a real lover of the bold lips and are looking for something a bit more on the purple side, Rebel will be your best bet. When I bought this last year I wore it non-stop and it's already being cracked out for this Winter - I love it!

Alpha-H Liquid Gold

Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Alpha-H

Today's post is slightly different for a few reasons - it's skincare and it's also a guest post, from my mum! I've been asking her to write a post on here for over a year now & she's finally agreed to it, so here we are! She'll be doing a little review on the Alpha-H Liquid Gold collection which she's been using for the past few months so I figured it'd be good to get another person to give their opinion on this blog. Without further ado, here's her review!

I love this little collection from Alpha H. The liquid gold is really good, the only slight problem is actually remembering to use it. You are supposed to gently swipe the Liquid Gold over your face every other evening (and not to use a moisturiser over the top for the best effect). Well.... it does give you a slight tingle and your face does feel a bit tight. Quite strange not to use a evening moisturiser as you would think they isn't good for your skin!! However, when you wake in the morning, your skin does feel and look amazing. Pores and diminished and little imperfections seen less visible. You must use a daytime moisturiser the following day with an SPF to protect your skin. Overall, I would highly recommend this.

The exfoliator is also really good, probably one of the best I have tried. It's one of those exfoliators that is quite 'grainey' but does work. Your skin does feel like glass after just one use. Again, highly recommended. The SPF 50 daytime moisturiser is perfect to wear under your foundation. The high SPF factor is really important when you're my age!!! It sinks in really quick with no greasy film that other SPF moisturisers leave on your skin. I bought this kit from QVC and as it was what is called a 'Today's Special Value'. The price was really good value. If you would to try this yourself, just ring QVC.

Can you please leave a comment and let me know what you think of my very, very first blog post!!!  Cheerio for now! x

A Few From The Summer

Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Cornwall 1

Today's post is a spontaneous one & one that I decided to post as a contrast from the weather that I'm writing in this afternoon. We're apparently having the reminents of the hurricane in Bermuda, meaning the bins have been flown half way down the street & the house feels like it's being battered by rain. It's that windy I'm half expecting myself and Meenie to fly to Munchkinland to meet Glinda the Witch and the Tinman. I'm being serious. These photos were taken on my trip to Cornwall at the end of Summer for a week of camping with my cousins, brother and dad. Considering I was the only girl I had a really good time and took some great photos for my scrapbook!

Cornwall 2 Cornwall 3 Cornwall 4 Cornwall 5

These were taken at my favourite place in the whole entire world, Lusty Glaze beach in Newquay. If you're fit enough to walk down (and back up) 125 narrow steps then you'll end up on a private beach with a small restaurant and a live band. If you're going, it's best to go at sunset. It's stunning! I'm so happy with how these photos came out. My favourite moment of the whole trip took place here when we were all in the sea and a huge wave came in. Because I wasn't as far out as the boys (I didn't want to get my dress wet... Priorities), I didn't get thrown over but the wave, which was about twice the height of my dad, threw the rest over and when I looked behind me to see them they'd all gone under. A few seconds later they all popped up & I couldn't stop laughing. It's definitely one of those "I wish I'd have gotten that on camera for you've been framed!" moments!

One, Today

Meenie 1 Meenie 2

Can you believe that this little monkey is one year old today?! Although we haven't had her from today (we got her on December 5th), it's so strange to think this little baby that we've gotten so used to is only one year old, today. It's very cliche/cat-mum like of me to say that she's come so far and it's true - when we first set eyes on her, she was locked in a tiny cage with 4 other kittens in a pet shop. I couldn't bare to leave her there as she was the smallest by far and getting trodden on by the eldest in the cage. The shop itself was very dodgy; she didn't come with any info regarding her diet, history or even vet appointments, just her date of birth and a tonne of fleas.

I've always been a lover of animals but cats were never my thing until I saw her. We originally got her when I left school which was a pretty traumatic time for me and it's amazing how much happiness she's brought me (minus the refusing to come home after a panic attack & forty minutes after initially shouting her when she first went exploring!) and she's been the best homeschooling buddy/partner-in-crime I could ever have asked for. I could now never imagine life without her! As a little birthday celebration, I've put together some of the photos I took from when we first got her beneath a photo of her now. I never realized how tiny she was until I looked back - she literally fit into the palm of my hand!

Revlon Photoready Cream Blush

Monday, October 20, 2014
Revlon Blush

Cream blushers are something that I'm only just trying to get to grips with. I'd always steered clear in fear of my face representing a children's doll, with bright pink, unblended cheeks - not my kinda thing. However, when I was in TKMaxx (I'm seriously so obsessed with the beauty section in there at the moment. Nails Inc for £4? It's a revelation!) I spotted this little cream blush from Revlon at only £3. Revlon are fastly becoming one of my favourite drugstore brands so I picked it up hoping that I could work with it somehow.

If you have the same worries as me regarding cream blushes, fear not! I slapped it on whilst waiting for my mum to try on some clothes in the changing rooms and I was so surprised with the results and how easy it was to achieve. It made my skin look much perkier & radiant. I got the shade 'Pinched' which is a lovely shimmery coral/rose shade; the kinds of shades that I love to wear in the Winter time. The formula is quite wet, not like a thick cream consistency which I would have expected. It isn't the most pigmented but I'm glad of that - it's buildable, subtle and easy to apply if you only like a small flush of colour. I also love how you can just apply it with your fingers, unlike many other powder blushes - perfect for if you're travelling or on the go!

The Ultimate Red Lip

Saturday, October 18, 2014
The Ultimate Red

Last year if you'd have told me that I'd be wearing a bold lip to nip to the supermarket, I'd have laughed in your face. Up until I bought this lipstick, me and bold lips rarely mixed. This was the first MAC lipstick I ever bought, meaning I threw myself in the deep end and it would always have a special place in my heart. I promised myself that I'd get my money's worth - spending £15 on a lipstick to a 14 year old non-working girl is a lot of money! To build myself up to wearing this out of the house and actually getting use out of it, I'd wear it during the day inside and get used to looking in a mirror rocking a bright red lip - it worked! I now feel so comfortable wearing this and is my go-to lipstick for when I want a little something extra.

It's no surprise to me that Russian Red is one of MAC's best selling products. It seems really thick when you first apply it but once it's on, it stays putt and doesn't need re-applying for at least 4-5 hours. I apply this with the Real Techniques Fine Liner brush to get the precision around my lips - a bold lip doesn't quite have the same effect if it's sloppily applied! This is also such an amazing lip colour for making your teeth appear much lighter because it's a very blue-toned red. Also, every time I wear this out I get complimented on it & people ask what shade it is. That must be saying something!

What's your favourite red lipstick?

Another Essie Collection

Thursday, October 16, 2014
Another Essie Collection

I know what you're thinking - it's Autumn now and I'm writing about Essie's Summer Collection. There's a method in my madness; a) I found them in a set for just £6 and b) they could actually pass as Autumnal colours. Whilst I was having a browse in TKMaxx with my dad this weekend I couldn't pass on having a look at what beauty items they had in. I've always see bloggers saying that there's some amazing offers on in there, especially from brands like Nails Inc, Clarins and Elizabeth Arden. I couldn't pass on this set & actually think they're perfect transitional shades from Summer to Autumn.

My favourite out of the three has to be Ruffles & Feathers, a gorgeous emerald green that doesn't remind me of any other polish in my collection. When I first tried Essie's nail polish I thought that the formula was a bit difficult to work with it but now that I've gotten used to it, I love it! Roarrrrange is one that I have on my nails as we speak - a lovely pumpkin orange shade. Orange is a shade that I love to wear in the Autumn time because it reminds me of one of my favourite times of the year... Halloween! Haute in the Heat is the only shade I'm not too mithered about in this collection as I have many others that are similar to this. It is a gorgeous shade, nonetheless!

October Morning Walks

Monday, October 13, 2014
October Walks 1 October Walks 2 October Walks 3 October Walks 4 October Morning Walks

If there's one thing that Sundays are made for, it's this - fresh air, nature and photography. Behind the constant lust of a new makeup product and the bright lights of the latest clothing store, I'm a country girl at heart and love nothing better than fresh-faced October morning walks. I've always felt more at home in wellies and a rain coat as opposed to dresses & high heels and I whole-heartedly put that down to the sheer amount of times my brother & I mithered my gran to take us for walks (if you're reading this, sorry grandma!).

I couldn't even begin to describe the amount of photos that I've taken when we're on these walks, especially now that we're making an effort to explore at least once a week! This week's excursion was to Etherow park and we're attempting to go there ever Autumn. Last year we visited here for the first time towards the end of November when the leaves were falling and I blogged about it here. This year was much busier than the last - probably because last year we were the only ones brave enough to attempt walking around in the freezing cold! We also came across this dreamy house, in the middle of nowhere & promised my mum that I'd live there one day. Who wouldn't love a gorgeous house surrounded by only hills and lakes? I would!

The MAC Palette

Friday, October 10, 2014
MAC Eyeshadows

I still remember the first time I bought a MAC palette, and the satisfaction of splurging the £90 that I'd saved up for months to give it a decent start. That was only the end of last year and my love affair with MAC shadows still continues. I try to pick up a shadow every time I go shopping - they're only £10 after all - and so I'm slowly but surely building up a nice little collection. We're still not at the level of makeup collecting that Shan is, but a girl can wish... And collect more! The beauty of eyeshadows is that they're so versatile, from using them to contour & highlight, to combing them and getting an amazingly unexpected smokey eye.

Nylon is one of my favourite eye shadows that I own because it's so versatile. I use this as a highlight for my inner corner, brow bone and even my cheeks because it gives a subtle glow. I tend to find MAC's Soft and Gentle MSF a bit glittery as the particles in it are too big/champagne-like so this is a great alternative.

Naked Lunch is a shadow that I barely use and is very similar to Sin from the original Naked palette. I usually use Sin over Naked Lunch because the quality of UD eyeshadows are impeccable and so pigmented. I find Naked Lunch a little hard to blend.

Omega is another of my all-time favourite eyeshadows as it's so versatile. I use this to contour my face on a fluffy brush and also use as a transition shade in my crease. If you're pale skinned and struggle with contouring, try this! It's a genius!

I don't tend to get a lot of use from Sumptuous Olive because I don't see it as an everyday colour when I look at my palette. I do, however, like using this to do a lovely olive smokey eye (which looks amazing on blue eyes!) but don't use it near enough as I should do.

Woodwinked is a shade that I bought when I heard so many bloggers rave about it in one of the #bbloggers Twitter chats. I really never use this shadow either because it's not pigmented enough for me but it does look stunning in the pan!

Cranberry is a beautiful burgundy shade that makes my green eyes pop when I use it in a smokey eye look with the Kate Moss 107 lipstick. A gorgeous Autumnal shade!

Another of my all-time favourites is Espresso. If you're beginning a MAC palette or already have one, this is the one I'd recommend to everyone. The simple, mid-toned brown that's also incredible for filling in brows & adding definition to the crease.

I bought Silver Ring on a whim for my mum after she was looking for a silver-grey shade and typical mum, she's never used it. I've not even attempted to use this yet because it's one of the newest in my collection but I think this would look lovely with a nude lip.

Smut is an eyeshadow that I thought I'd love, but haven't used nearly enough of it as I expected. Again, I find this one quite hard to blend and doesn't really pick up much product when I put the brush into it. It is a lovely shade though!

Shadow Lady is another of my newest in the collection and one that I enjoy using. I'm a lover of smokey eyes and again, the purple tones in it really bring out green eyes. This one is quite similar to Smut but slightly purpler.

Personally, I think Carbon should be a staple in everybody's MAC palette or just makeup collection in general. The typical matte black that I use time and time again for an intense makeup look and it never fails to impress.

And they are all of my MAC shadows! I currently have Call Me Bubbles, Soft Brown and Swiss Chocolate on my wishlist. What's your favourite MAC eye shadow?

Chocolate Cinnamon Cupcakes

Wednesday, October 08, 2014
Cinnamon Chocolate Cupcakes 1

One thing that I'm always wanting to brush up on is my baking skills. The odds of me being the only one in my family that's terrible in the kitchen are pretty high - my brother is an aspiring chef, my gran's a professional cook & my dad makes a mean egg & chips. Me? I can just about make cupcakes! Whilst my mum & I were in ASDA the other day I came across a book with 1,000 cupcake, brownie and dessert recipies. Is it just me that thinks cooking sweet things is sooooo much more enjoyable than savory? The end tasting part is always the best!

So, to make 12 gorgeous cinnamon cupcakes, you will need:
- 110g self-raising flower
- 110 caster sugar
- 110g unsalted butter
- 30g unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon

For the topping you will need:
- 110g unsalted butter
- 225g icing sugar
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder

Cinnamon Chocolate Cupcakes 3

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees (fan) or gas mark 5 & combine all of the cake ingredients in a bowl. I actually made this without scales and just guessed by looking at it. When I was making this, the mixture was so thick that I had to add a bit of water to to it to thinnen it slightly before putting it into cases. I used quite small cupcake cases that I bought in a set of three and so the mixture actually made enough for about 14 small cakes! Once they've been in the oven for 15-20 minutes, they should be done! Now it's time to make the icing.

Cinnamon Chocolate Cupcakes 2

Butter cream is one of my favourite things to make and to do so, you will need to soften the butter and slowly sieve the icing sugar into it. I originally tried to pipe the icing through a food bag because I don't have piping bags but it failed miserably, so I spread it out over the cake using the back of a spoon. Then I broke up a small block of dark chocolate and put it on the top. Done! The recipe originally said to sprinkle it with white chocolate and to add cinnamon into the icing but I thought that'd be way too much. I'll be the first to admit that they don't look the best but practice makes perfect, hey?

If you make these cakes, make sure to show them to me on Twitter - I'd love to know what you think of them!

In The Shopping Basket

Tuesday, October 07, 2014
In The Shopping Basket

Being a beauty-obsessed blogger comes with a permanent, never ending wishlist. The wishlist has become even worse now that Sephora have opened their gates to the UK and we can finally get our little mitts on all of the products we've longed for so long. I'm still yet to make my first Sephora order - the pressure is too much & I don't want to forget anything & regret it later! - but here's what's on my shopping list for when I do decided to take the leap.

The first product on my Sephora wishlist is the Sephora Cream Lip Stain in Always Red. I've heard so many people rave about this (mainly Amelia!) and as big a fan of a red lip I am, I'm surprised I haven't gotten my hands on it yet. Apparently, these have the perfect matte formula - an amazing pay-off for the price. The fall collection of OCC's Lip Tars are new to the ever-growing list, within Lament and Manhunter looking like perfect Autumnal lip shades. What would a beauty blogger be without a tonne of lipsticks coming out of her ears? I have no idea!

Brows are also a feature that require a lot of time, energy and work. Therefore we need to try a lot of products to see what works best; brows make or break a face, after all! The first thing on the list is the Make Up For Ever Aqua Brow. One of my favourite beauty vloggers, Chloe Morello, mentioned that she used this a few months back and they made her brows look incredible. A product that's been on my wishlist ever since I bought the Brow Wiz is Anastasia's Dip Brow Pomade. I'm new to the whole gel liner-like consistency for a brow product so am so intrigued to see how it fairs out. I told you, brows are an important thing!

For the face, I've been itching to try the NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer. Who doesn't have skin-envy of Lauren Curtis? (And figure, teeth and fashion envy, but that's beside the point). This has become one of her staple makeup items and every time I see her apply it, I love the results. The perfect amount of coverage, highlight and non-creaseness, I need to have it!

What's currently on your wishlist?

Hello, October

Saturday, October 04, 2014
Sweater Weather

I've actually lost count of how many times that I've mentioned how autumn is my favourite season yet never gone into detail as to why I love it so much. Crispy leaves are not the be-all of Autumn; there's the crunchy leaves, layering of clothes, candles & not to forget all of the festivities. It's the season for Halloween & Bonfire Night (two of my favourite holidays!) & the only time where you can wear a dress one day followed by a coat the next - if you live in England and experience our weather, that is.

I've began to track the 'Autumn' tag on Tumblr which I check pretty much everyday & it gets me so excited for what's to come. The weather is cold enough to wear coats but not too cold that you get frostbite every time you leave the house, the leaves change to that gorgeous shade of red that you only see for a few weeks a year & even the endless supplies of hot chocolate that might as well come straight from the tap. Is it strange that this is my favourite time of year for drinks at Starbucks & Costa? The black forest gateaux hot chocolate from Costa is one of my all-time favourite drinks & one me and my dad pick up every year. Yum.

Curling up with a good book with a purring kitten asleep on your lap whilst listening to the rain is possibly one of my favourite things, & also where I feel the most content - even more so now that it's more acceptable to.  It's even better when a good book is replace with an episode or two of The Great British Bake Off but I'll continue to profess my love for that another day. I sometimes think that I'm the only person who loves the rain (and also the smell of it). It clears my mind, refreshes everything & also makes me giggle when Meenie plays out just after the showers - she walks around and shakes her paws mid-step. So funny!

Mid-rain/thunderstorm is also the time when I love to write blog posts - perfect for the weather in England right now. It's currently the middle of Autumn & I'm curled up on the sofa with a blanket & hot chocolate catching up on some blog posts. I'm not one to complain; although the drizzly weather ends up soaking me from head-to-toe every time I step outside, the noise of raindrops on my window make it all the worthwhile. Rainy days give the perfect excuse to have lazy days. When it rains, the blankets & Netflix come out & the pyjamas are on. Orange Is The New Black is my preference but now that I finished all two seasons in a matter of weeks, I'll have to settle for something else. Clueless, Pretty Woman, Mean Girls maybe? Rainy days = lazy days!

5 Things: Defining Your Personal Style

Friday, October 03, 2014
The Capsule Wardrobe

One thing I find hardest about the whole fashion dilemma is defining your personal style. I honestly think that you're never too early to change the direction of how you want to style/dress yourself, whether that be in your teens or 50's. Let's face it, your personal style will gradually change throughout your life (would you still wear the fourteen year old-you's hot pants in your seventies? I doubt it, but whatever floats your boat!) but you always need a rough idea of where to start, and that's usually the toughest. The transition from being dressed in patent kickers by your mum to actually dressing yourself can be so confusing and even as a sixteen year old, I never know where to start. I've conjured up a little checklist to defining your personal style with tips that've helped me and that are so much fun to do.

1. Know your shape & which cuts and colours flatter you. How many times have you seen a gorgeous jumper on someone walking in the street, you finally hunt it down and it looks ridiculous on you? It's all down to trial & error and what flatters your body shape. On myself I steer clear of shorter dresses, strapless t-shirts and anything brightly coloured. I'm a minimalist at heart!

2. Do your research. Of course, we're talking about the genius that is Pinterest for this step. Start by creating your account & dedicate a board solely to fashion. The only rule is that you need to pin what you'd actually wear. If you're really into your fashion and enjoy looking at other people's style to be inspired, create another board but don't mix the two! By pinning the things you'd wear, you're more likely to reference back to it when you're out shopping. Personally, my board mainly consists of denim & monochrome

3. Justify. Can you really afford £100 on a new shirt? I doubt it. By all means purchase investment pieces, but make sure you can seriously justify them so you don't regret them further down the line.

4. Clear out regularly. Personal style is ever-changing. Would you really wear the bootcut jeans you wore out ten years ago? Nope - clear it out! Sort your clothes into three piles - keep, maybe and throw. The 'keep' pile contains items you've worn within the past 3 months and you couldn't live without, ie. the classic plain white tee or a pair of skinny jeans. The 'maybe' pile is items you haven't worn in the past 3 months but you can still find a use for. This is mainly the pile for special occasion clothes like wedding guest dresses. The 'throw' pile is everything you haven't worn for at least 6 months and you'll never find a use for them. When it comes to the clear out, you need to be harsh. None of this "I'll find a use for it! It's too nice to throw away!" rubbish. You probably won't find a use for it and you don't technically have to throw it away. Sell it or give it to family and friends, then you have a bit more cash & wardrobe space to buy more - it's a win-win situation!

5. Enjoy it! Experimenting with fashion is one of my favourite things to do and sometimes, some of the best results come from the ideas you never expected. If you buy something without trying it on first, you bring it home & don't like it - sell it! Nobody's holding you to it! No matter how much you bought it for or what style it is, it will suit someone's body shape/budget perfectly.

What are your best fashion tips?


Ebay Brushes

Wednesday, October 01, 2014
Ebay Brushes

Ebay and makeup related items are two things that are not to be mixed. After reading a true horror story about a woman buying a Benefit mascara from eBay and it turning out to be black paint and leaving her blind, I'd always steered clear. I've been looking everywhere for some cheap and cheerful eye brushes and though to myself 'a little look on eBay won't harm anybody'. What harm can brushes do, after all?

The first set of brushes I saw was this set of 5 gold eye brushes. For £1.79 and free shipping you can get a lovely set of five quality makeup brushes, so they were in my checkout cart straight away. They took a while to arrive, what with them being shipped half way across the globe, but I couldn't be happier with them! The set contains fairly similar brush shapes with a long handle and I've found a use for all five, from concealer blending to lash line smudging. They're all such good quality and the only thing I'm not keen on is the density of the bristles, but I can deal with that if they're just over 35p each!

If you're looking into buying the infamous MAC 217 brush, don't bother. There's so many amazing dupes from Crown, Sigma, Zoeva and even eBay that I couldn't justify the extortionate price tag. 217 dupes are rife across eBay, meaning it's so easy to find a dupe. I ordered this one for just 99p and it just makes my eye shadow blending life so much easier and stress free. I love it that much that I've even ordered two more, just in case. Again, this is an amazing quality brush and surprisingly, even passed the cleaning process! None of the bristles shed and it kept it's shape perfectly.

What are your favourite makeup brushes?