A Summer OOTD & FOTD

what I wore

top - Ebay 

shorts - H&M 

belt - River Island 

shoes - River Island 

To my surprise the weather hasn't been all that bad since I returned to England (besides the expected showers and some thunder and lightening on an evening) so luckily I can still wear shorts and they haven't been packed away in my suitcase ready for my next holiday. Last weekend I went to a friends BBQ and dressed up as if I was still in Ibiza, you have to make the most of good weather in England because its hard to come by. I wore all white with a tan belt and gold wedges and accessories. For my makeup I wanted to create a smouldering gold smokey eye, a neutral lip and a very bronzed complexion with a shimmering highlight on my cheek bones for a healthy glow. To achieve my bouncy and wavy hair, after drying I simply smoothed over the top of my hair with GHD straighteners then curled the ends.

Thank you for reading!

Recent Hair & Makeup Looks

I recently purchased a new camera for better quality pictures and to film for Youtube. I haven't got round to making a video yet as I am still trying to master the camera itself and the set up and lighting, however I have been taking lots of photos of the makeup looks I have created on myself and my clients. I am so pleased to finally be able to take pictures that really capture the work and effort that goes into eye makeup in particular. 

 If you know me you will know I love a night out and almost every time I go out I will try something new with my makeup, wether its a new take on a smokey eye or a different shade of lipstick - getting ready is probably one of the highlights of my night. Below I have put together some looks from my most recent outings. 

Girly makeup and bouncy hair.

On this occasion I went for quite a soft look using various shades of pink and purple on my eyes and really blending them out, using these colours made my eyes look blue where as they are usually green. For my lips I stuck with the theme and wore a pinky-nude lipstick to match my pink outfit and as always I contoured and highlighted my face for a more defined look. 

To create this big bouncy hair I straightened small sections of my hair and put in sleep-in rollers one-by-one while my hair was hot and left them to set for around 5 hours before removing them. Doing this gives my hair lots of volume and shape and is an alternative for my usual curly-do.

Bronze vibes and curls. 

Okay, so I don't always create a new look, sometimes I decide to go out last minute (this happens a lot) and I go for my trusty go-to bronze smokey eye, I've worn this like 1000 times but on this occasion I joined my eyeliner at the inner corners, kind of Arabic style. On my lips I wore my absolute favourite lip combo, which I have mentioned countless times on this blog... MAC 'Pink Treat' cremestick liner and 'Merh' lipstick. 

For my hair I simply curled small sections with GHD straighteners, I then tied up the top section of my hair with a bobble to create that half up/half down Ariana Grande look. 

Would you like to see these looks featured on my upcoming YouTube tutorials? Let me know what you want to see.

Thank you for reading!

x

Eye Makeup: Smokey Glitter

This is a look I created for a recent night out. I finally bought some makeup fixing glue which adheres glitter so I can finally create gorgeous glitter smokey eyes. I was wearing all black on this occasion so I thought I would go for dark eyes to match. I started off by creating a smokey eye with eyeshadows, I then applied glitter only to my lid and then added eyeliner which I really accentuated in the inner and outer corners which made for an overall dramatic look. As I went for strong eye makeup I decided to go for a neutral lip colour and light contouring because I didn't want the finished look to be too overpowering. 

Products used: 

Eyes

MAC 'Painterly' Paint Pot

MAC 'Constructivist' Paint Pot 

MAC eyeshadows: Smut, Club, Texture, Shroom, 

MAC 'Grey' Glitter 

Urban Decay eyeshadow: Blackout 

HD Pro Eye and Brow Palette

MAC Liquid Eyeliner 

Barry M Lash Vegas Waterproof Mascara

Face

Charlotte Tilbury Light Wonder foundation (shade 8) 

MAC Pro Concealer Palette (Medium/Dark)

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Powder in 'Medium Plus'

MAC 'Fleur Power' Mineralize Blusher 

MAC 'Matte Bronze' Bronzer

MAC 'Gleam' eyeshadow (for highlight) 

MAC 'Texture' eyeshadow (for contour)

Lips 

MAC 'Pink Treat' Cremestick Liner

MAC lipsticks: Merh and Chatterbox 

The finished look 

To create these big bouncy curls in my hair I firstly smoothed and curled the ends of my hair with GHD straighteners and I then put in sleep in rollers and left them in for around 4 hours before removing them. 

Recent OOTD

This is an outfit I wore for a night out recently and is something very different to what I would usually wear. I ordered this jumpsuit online and wasn't sure if I was going to love or hate it when it arrived, in the meantime I seen in hanging up in H&M and to be honest, it looked awful! H&M deliveries can take a while so it came about 2 weeks after I ordered it, I bought a size 10 which was too big and unflattering so I took it to the store to exchange for a size 8, which they didn't have in stock so I bought a size 6 which surprisingly fit me and looked much better. I think this boiler suit style jumpsuit is suppose to be a loose and casual fit but which isn't really my style, I prefer a tighter and neat fit. The colour is a khaki green which isn't a colour I would regularly wear especially on a night out, I usually wear quite bright and bold colours or something really girly. This is why I decided to spice it up a bit with my orange court shoes, which again I wasn't sure would work but I like the pop of colour they bring to the outfit. My jewellery was very basic I wore my gold YSL logo earrings which I am loving at the minute and a simple gold chain. For my makeup I went quite bold with really smokey bronze/black eyes and pink lips, I curled my hair with GHD's which I clipped back but later decided to let it fall naturally. 

jumpsuit - H&M

shoes - River Island 

Recent OOTD

I feel the need to make up for my lack of posts lately, I love wearing white and bright colours in the summer and I try to wear as little black as possible, so I thought I would post this look from last month before I begin posting my autumn/winter looks in which black and dark colours will be a staple! 

top - Miss Francesca Couture 

jeans - H&M 

shoes - River Island 

With this outfit I wore muted gold accessories and went for a bold makeup look, wearing super smokey gold eyes and nude lips and I pulled my hair into a sleek pony tail.

10/08 OOTD

I love nothing more than dressing up and going out and dancing all night and Newcastle is one of my favourite places to do so, thats where I went on Saturday night. What makes a night out even better for me is when you have a brand new outfit your dying to wear and deciding how to have my hair and make up. The 2 piece I wore was from an independent dress maker whom sells unique clothing and one off pieces. The fabric of this outfit is inspired by Emilio Pucci, a world-renowned Italian designer recognised for its geometric prints in a kaleidoscope of colours. 

Emilio Pucci 1953 Vogue Campaign 

The print and design of my outfit also reminded me of the 70's era and because it was so bold, I ensured my accessories and hair was muted, however I thought it was an opportunity to get creative with my makeup and use some exciting colours. 

For more details on my makeup read my previous post here.

In this picture you can see my earrings and bracelet which are broth from Crystal & Co 

I wanted my hair out of my face on this occasion and the focus to be on my outfit and makeup but I wanted to create a twist on a normal ponytail, as you can see my hair was put in a french plait and a low curly pony tail. My hair was done by my friend who is currently training to be a hairdresser. 

2 piece by designer 'Ruby Violet' 

The shoes I wore are Christian Louboutins, I received them for my 18th birthday and they are my favourite shoes I own but they certainly weren't designed for comfort. 

Recent Makeup Look

This is a makeup look I created to attend a wedding, the main focus of the look was the eye makeup, I was going for an 'Arabic' look, I teamed that with my regular face routine and my favourite MAC lipstick 'Pure Zen' which goes with so many looks. I used the MAC eyeshadows 'Plum Dressing' and 'Amber Lights' these stunning colours worked beautifully together and really complimented my green eyes. 

Unfortunately as much as I tried to capture the beauty of this eyeshadow, my camera didn't pick up the colours and attention to detail as well as I would have hoped but I will be recreating the look and posting a tutorial soon.

I'm wearing 

Dress - Chic Boutique Darlington 

Earrings - Ebay 

(I created natural looking curls in my hair using GHD's)

Celeb Style: Kylie Jenner

Kylie Jenner certainly has a style of her own, her quirky individualism makes her stands out from the rest of the Kardashians/Jenners. Although her style choices aren't particularly something I would go for myself, I would say Kylie is a trend setter. She is definitely the wild child amongst the sisters, she shocked us all when she cut off her luscious locks in exchange for a choppy bob, and her hair has seen a rainbow of colours from blonde dip dye to green highlights and now she is rocking a vivid blue-do! The thing I'm loving the most about Kylie lately is her makeup, she has been looking absolutely flawless in her recent Instagram posts. Her makeup is simple yet SO effective, I can see she is going for bold brows and lips, light foundation and contouring, a really neutral eyeshadow and lots of individual lashes, which look slightly clumpy - in a good way! Something that has become apparent in these images is Kylies plump lips, she has denied all rumours of having any surgery or lip fillers and I do believe that Kylie hasn't undergone any surgical procedures but I definitely think she has had lip enhancements, either that or she is massively overdrawing her lips and in that case she needs to give us some tips! 

I love all of the Kardashian/Jenners but I have to applaud Kylie for having a style of her own and not fading in to the background as I once thought she did and I look forward to seeing what she comes out with next!

#Iwishmyselfieslookedlikethis

Favourite Hair Product

As much as I love makeup and beauty products I must admit I have never been as obsessed with hair products, which is probably because I have tried so many from various brands which show no results. However there is one product I do love which is Herbal Essences 'Beautiful Ends'. I cannot recommend this product enough, I have been using this product for a long time now and urged so many people to buy it. Unlike most other hair products I have tried I can tell a difference when I use this, it really does what it says on the bottle. When I use it my hair feels so much softer, the ends don't feel dry, my split ends are less noticeable, it controls frizz, and lets not forget to mention it smells gorgeous!

http://www.herbalessences.com/en-UK/beautiful-ends/split-end-protection-cream

I apply 'Beautiful Ends' after I have washed my hair, I dispense about 4 pumps of the product and use my hands to distribute the product from the mid-length to the end of my hair and I leave it to absorb. It is a cream formula, which spreads easily through out my hair, it absorbs quickly and it doesn't leave my hair feeling sticky or heavy. This can also be used on dry hair but I prefer to use a lighter product on dry hair like a serum (the one I am currently using is Umberto Giannini 'Miracle Worker' which is a best seller from their range, I think it is good but not brilliant). Herbal Essences also sell a 'Beautiful Ends Split End Protection Intensive Mask' which I would love to try. 

http://www.herbalessences.com/en-UK/beautiful-ends

Unfortunately at the moment my hair is not in its best condition, if I forget to apply 'Beautiful Ends' my hair feels dry and the split ends are terribly noticeable to me and the ends of my hair doesn't seem as thick. I've recently been looking at some old holiday photos from 2012 and my hair was in a much healthier condition back then. I treat my hair the same now as I did back then but I think the reason for this is that my hair works in a cycle; it will be in good condition for so long and then I begin to get a lot of split ends which I need to keep on top of, I have recently had just under an inch trimmed off my hair but I think I need another inch or maybe even two cut off to get rid of all those loathed split ends. 

I want my hair in good condition for my holiday this year so that it is easy to work with and I don't have to style it every night. Lately I have been straightening and curling my hair a lot with GHD's which I know I need to cut down on as heat protection is not strong enough to prevent my hair from heat damage. I've also cut down on washing my hair as much, I went through a phase of having to wash my hair everyday but I have realised that doing so makes my hair dull and dry, so I now wash it every other day. I am going to continue to use 'Beautiful Ends' and I am also going to buy the 'Intensive Mask' to use on my hair once a week and hopefully doing so will contribute to me getting my healthy hair back! 

Tenerife 2012

In this picture I applied 'Beautiful Ends' and left my hair to dry naturally and scrunched it slightly with some moose. 

If you can recommend any other products or have any tips or tricks on how I can rejuvenate my hair feel free to comment below!

Met Gala 2014, My Favourite Looks

The Met Gala is the fashion worlds most anticipated event, every year the event is given a theme and this year it was 'White Tie and Decorations'. As always the red carpet in New York was graced by many celebrities and style icons in the most beautiful and outrageous fashions, but for me, of all the big names and alluring dresses, Kendall Jenner, Rosie Huntington-Whitely and Rihanna made the cut!  

Of all the Kardashian/Jenner clang it was only Kendall and sister Kim who made an appearance on the red carpet, and although we are so use to seeing Kim K looking stunningly glamourous at big events (and almost everyday) it was Kendall who outshone her sister on this occasion. Surprisingly Kendalls elegant gown was from none other than high street brand Topshop, but ofcourse this dress was custom made for her. Kendalls satin mermaid style dress was blinged up with a Chopard diamond choker necklace and there is certainly nothing high street about that. We have seen Kendall and sister Kylie growing up before our eyes on 'Keeping Up With The Kardashians' but I can say Kendall truly looked like a women on the red carpet, so elegant and sophisticated. Her look was finished off beautifully with simplistic hair and makeup which complimented her dress.

Supermodel Rosie Huntington-Whitely donned head to toe Balmain on the red carpet, and as I dream of a wardrobe filled with Balmain in years to come this look was bound to make it to my favourites list. The Victorias Secret models daring short dress featured gold embellishments and fierce leopard print and leather panels and her gladiator heels looked made to match. Rosie opted for minimal accessories with only chunky golden hoop earrings, she went for sleek straight hair and as opposed to the 'out there' dress her makeup look was neutral and flawless.

Rihanna is always a stand out contender on the red carpet. Her look was on par with the white theme as she looked 'elegant with an edge' in this on trend cropped two-piece. Rihanna was one of the few A-List celebs on the carpet to be dressed by top designer Stella McCartney. I am in love with this ensemble, I can see that so much thought has been put in to this creation, from the shoulder pads to the cut-out back, the ruching and trail of the skirt. In company with the dress Rihanna rocked a diamond choker and several rings and her hair looked the most natural I have ever seen it.