New Hair!

Before

After

Hey lovelies! Firstly I apologise if this post seems all over the place, as I am bloggin' from my ipad, which I actually have never done before so its taking a little getting used to! For a while now I have been getting a bit bored of my hair. I know we all want what we don't have, but I found as my hair was getting longer and longer, my natural shade of brown was making it look a bit flat, so I decided it was time for a small change.
 I have totally done this the wrong way round, and usually people go for a darker colour during the winter months, and a light shade for the summer, but I just needed something new. When I was younger, I used to have blonde highlights put through my hair, but to save money I decided to go back to my natural, dark brown colour. For the past five years I have kept that dark brown so I felt it was definiely time for a change. I had been looking  up pictures of caramel highlights on celebs for a while, and found a few photographs for inspirational colours which I really liked (Cheryl Cole highlights, Jlo, Zoe Hardman etc). I took these photos to the hairdressers and explained I wanted a half head of foils to give me some subtle caramel/light brown highlights, with maybe a touch of dark blonde. As my hair was so dark, the caramel colour wouldn't have taken to my hair, so first I had to have half a head of foils with bleach. This was super scary for me as I had been the same dark brown colour for so long, and had just got my long locks into a good condition from having so much heat damage over the years, (not to mention the horrors stories I have had with home dye kits containing bleach!). The hairdresser let the bleach sit, then once it was washed out, coated my hair in toner to get rid of any orange of brassy tones. She then put a light brown hair dye all over the top, which left me with these subtle highlights. I really like the result, by putting light brown all over my head has left me with several different colour tones through my hair which I think makes it a lot more natural than if I was to just have blonde highlights! Iv found that just by adding these highlights it has created more body to my hair and has definitely livened it up, whilst still looking subtle and not too big of a change. Although I am even thinking about going back and getting some more put through and to go even lighter, which I neverrr thought I would do as I was always so fond of my dark brown!

I also thought I would share a product I picked up, the John Frieda ......purple shampoo, a toning shampoo which states to get rid of any brassy tones in highlighted hair. Iv used this a couple of times and honestly as my highlights are so fresh I doubt it has made much difference, but after a little while when they begin to fade a little I hope this will bring them back to life. I have also heard good things about the Touch of Silver shampoo, so I will definitely give that a try, or let me know if you have any recommendations!

Hope you are all well, I will be back soon will some Christmassy/winter related posts :)

Nail Polish Collection & Storage!

 Left to Right, Top to Bottom: Sally Hansen Insta Dri // No.7 Pinky Pure // No.7 Snowflake // Models Own Jade Stone // Models Own Champagne // Models Own Buff Pink // Models Own Thunder and Lightening // Models Own Hedkandi Hedonist // Models Own Pink Punch // Models Own Nude Beige // Models Own True Blue // Models Own Lemon Meringue // Models Own Hedkandi Ibiza Mix // Essie Good To Go Mini Top Coat // OPI Crown Me Already // China Glaze Lorelei's Tiara // Essie Fiji // Essie Mademoiselle // Essie Looking For Love // Essie Loophole // Essie Shift Power // Essie Antique Rose // Essie Scarlett O'Hara // Essie Bahama Mama // Essie Risky Buisness

Left to Right, Top to Bottom: No. 7 Silver Glitter // Primark Glo Baby Glo // Primark Glo Baby Glo // Revlon Gold Coin // No.7 Hot To Trot // No.7 Vivid Violet // No.7 Damson Dream // No.7 Totally Teal // No.7 Sing The Blues // Barry M Rose Quartz Glitter // Barry M Silver Glitter // Barry M Black Multi Glitter // Barry M Pink Silver Glitter // Barry M Mint Green // Barry M Blue Moon // Barry M Peach Melba // Leighton Denny Babydoll // Orly Mini Ruby // Look Nail Pop Bling // ELF Mint Cream // ELF Gum Pink // ELF Champagne // Rimmel Hot & Spicy // Rimmel White Orchid // Rimmel Urban Princess // Ciate Paint Pot Mojito // Deborah Lippmann Razzle Dazzle

Hey ladies! If you have been following my blog for a while, you may know I am a huge nail polish fan. I am one of those people who co ordinates my nail polish with everything, outfits, bags, makeup, I love to match my nails up, add a complete contrast or pop of colour to any outfit. I find that painting my nails is the finishing touch to getting ready, and if I for some reason have two changes of clothes in one day, I will still change my nail polish twice depending on what colour I need! (Sad I know!)

Today I thought I would share my nail polish collection with you. I have instagrammed a picture to twitter before, but I thought I would go into a bit more detail for those who asked questions. For some my collection may be a lot, and for others it may be a small amount, but for me its just about right (although I do believe you can never have too many!) and manageable  and also means I actually wear what I own. 

I keep my polish on two acrylic storage stands, these can be picked up on amazon for around £10 each and are a great way of storing your little bottles of goodness. In terms of how many bottles they hold, it honestly depends on the shape and size of the bottles you own. One of my stands right now holds 24 and the other 26, so it really varies on what brands you own, obviously if you store the larger bottles (Opi, Models Own etc) you will fit less than if you were to store smaller ones. I love these as not only does it keep them neat and organised, it also allows them to stand upright and means you are able to see what colours you have. They also play a great part in decor for my dressing room. I like to keep them in order of brand rather than colour, as I find this means I can fit a few more on as the same brand of bottle seems to snug tightly against another. 

As you can see I have started to over flow my stands as my collection grows, although the way the stands are built it allows for another row to run along the front. This definitely gives me an excuse to start buying some more polishes, so let me know your favourite brands and colour recommendations in the comments! (I wonder if any of you Glossybox fans can spot the Glossy polishes!?)

Hope you enjoyed this post, let me know if there is any other storage posts you would like to see! I have my acrylic makeup storage post here and jewellery storage here, so please feel free to check those out! I am super excited that Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 2 has been released and can't wait to see it, although i'm not sure I am ready for it all to end! Are any of you Twilight fans?

Speak soon, 

Lots of love,

Happy Birthday To Me!

Lush Bath Bomb & Snow Fairy- My all time fave,so yummy! Love the limited edition packaging // Soap&Glory A Great Kisser Lip Balm- smells like peach, need I say more!? // Topshop gift voucher- They know me too well // Essie Bahama Mama- Gorgeous winter polish

 London Rebel Nude Wedges

Nude studded ballet flats

Asos oversized ring

The Perfume Studio- Perfume making set, excited to try this!

 Babyliss Volume Waves- I have wanted these for ages but I have so many curling tongs, I couldn't bring myself to buy another pair. I used these for the night out and I abso LOVE them, they give gorgeous body with a subtle wave. Review to come soon!

Mark Hill Blow Dry Brush- Although it doesn't look it, this brush is huuuge! and perfect for creating volume when blow drying. My hair also took half the amount of time to dry with it being so large. 

Drunken awkward posing-oh dear!

Fireworks night makeup- pinky red lip from 17 :)

Hey everyone! Remember me!? ;) Hope you have all been well. I have been crazy busy cracking on with my final year of uni, but last weekend I had a well deserved break as it was my birthday! On Saturday I turned (the rather boring age of) 22. Last year for my 21st, I went all out and had a big party, but with this year not being so much of a 'big' age step, I decided to keep it a bit more low key and celebrate with my nearest and dearest. 

On the Saturday morning I woke up and was greeted with breakfast in bed from my lovely boyfriend. I then excitedly unwrapped some presents from both him and my family all of which I loved! I then got even more excited as I went off to meet two of my besties who were travelling up from home, before heading back to mine for more catching up and prepping for the night ahead. We then went off to the train station to pick up another one of my very good friends from home. We spent the rest of the day chatting and eating pizza before starting to get ready for the evening.

One of my favourite parts of a night out is definitely getting ready, I love pampering and dolling myself up. I had been having a dilemma for weeks over what I wanted to wear and ordered far too many options from Missguided and Asos only to send the majority of them back. I ended up with two options, a black and white striped peplum dress, and a black peplum top which I would pair with a maroon coloured lace skirt. I decided to go with the maroon skirt and peplum top, as I felt it was more winter inspired. Once ready, a few other girl friends came over and we had a giggle over a glass (or 10..) of bubbly. We actually didn't even head out till about 12:45am, so you can imagine how late a night it was! I had a fab night out, (and one too many sambuca shots) and danced the night away, to the point where one of my heels actually fell off my shoe- oops! 

On the Sunday, a few of us went to get a yummy carvery to nurse the hangover, which did the job perfectly. And on the Monday was fireworks night, so we wrapped up warm and went to an event nearby and got fish and chips on the harbour whilst watching the fireworks which was fun. I had a wonderful birthday weekend and it was really nice to spend time with good friends and all have a catch up. Anyhoo, I thought I would get this post up to share a few of the beauty related pressies that I got with you, hope you enjoy :)

Eyebrow Routine!

Hey beauts! I was recently contacted by a lovely girl who asked if I would do a tutorial on my eyebrows. I was really touched that anyone would actually want to know how I do them to be honest, as I have never thought of mine being anything special! Although I am happy with the way they are, I think we all want what we don't have and I am forever lusting over gorgeous, natural, full brows! I have definitely had some brow disasters through the years (I wish I had photo's to show you all!) and when I was in my early teens, the trend was to have super skinny mini eyebrows, so of course I took to the tweezers and went pluck crazy, leaving me with brows the thickness of a pen line which I regret so much, as looking back at childhood photo's I had very full (although some what bushy and a bit messy) brows. Thankfully, after a little while, and some embarrassing looks later, they did grow back, though I never got my full brows back. On a positive note though, I do feel like the brows I now have suit my face shape and they are super easy to do and maintain so I guess you win some, you lose some! 

Anyway, on to what I do. I am pretty lucky in that my brows do tend to pretty much maintain their shape on their own, although I do give them some help. Firstly, plucking. I don't tend to pluck too often, as I can be a little heavy handed, so about once a week is fine for me (to be honest as my brow hair is so used to being removed it grows back pretty sparsely anyway) and I just pluck the underneath following the shape of my brow bone. To keep the tops in shape, I take a pair of small scissors, nail scissors are good but I find cuticle trimmers to be the best as they have a curved edge which means you arn't left with a really blunt cut across the hairs. I just used these to neaten up the front and trim down any that are too long. 

When filling in my brows, I start off combing them through with an eyebrow comb, mine is from No.7 and came from a set I got at Christmas, but you can pick these up super cheap else where. 

I then use my HD Brows Palette in the colour 'Bombshell'. I got this in my Glossybox last year and have been using it everyday since (I have recently got a back up but even after 12+ months of using it everyday, I still have some left!). Now I believe the Bombshell palette is actually meant for blondes, but even though I am a brunette, I find a mix of the 'Ash Blonde' and 'Medium Blonde' to be absolutely perfect for my colouring. They do look pretty light in the pan, but actually work really nicely to give a natural filled in look, and I find going any darker too harsh for me. For me, I much prefer using a powder to a pencil. I think in my brows it looks a lot more natural, and with the inner shape being quite squared off, a pencil is just too much. 

(Quick Tip: The Gosh Eyebrow Set is a great, inexpensive dupe for the HD Brows palette!)

I use a Royal & Langnickel Silk Pro C490 brush to fill them in. This is basically a small angled brush which some people may find this brush too small but I find it great for creating little lines in the brows to mimic real hairs rather than filling them in very bluntly. I also find it is the perfect size for creating the arch in my brow and pulling it down without leaving it looking fake. When filling in the front of my brows, I tend to turn the brush on its side and apply in the opposite direction to the hair growth, I just find this leaves it look natural and not filled in. After applying the powder, I give it another brush through with the brow comb again, just to get rid of any harshness. 

I will some times then set my brows (usually only if I am going on a night out or have a very long day ahead) with a brow gel, I like the one by Mac but Elf has a great cheaper alternative which I think works just as well! And that's it really! My brows are definitely not perfect but I hope at least someone finds this helpful!

I know it is difficult to do tutorials like this in a blog post, but I hope it makes sense! If you have any more questions feel free to pop them below! Do you have a favourite brow product? Do you fill in your brows or just leave them natural?

LOTN #2

Hey lovelies! So freshers is now officially over (sad face :()! I had an amazing time catching up with my friends and going on nights out (did not enjoy the hangovers so much!) but now here is where the real work starts. I thought I would share another look of the night's with you. I went for a similar smokey eye as my previous look, but slightly darker, and paired it with a nude lip. As you may be able to tell by now, I rarely put any makeup on my lower eye, not even mascara or pencil in the water line. I do this as I have quite small eyes and I feel leaving it clear, opens my eyes up a bit more! I have been really getting into nude lips recently, as much as I love darker, vamp-ier colours for autumn, with a smokey eye I think its nice to keep the lip simple.

Face

Revlon Photoready Primer

Mac Studio Fix Fluid NC35

Clinique Superbalanced Makeup Ivory

Mac Studio Finish Concealer

Rimmel Stay Matte Powder

HD Brow Palette Bombshell

Nars Laguna Bronzer

Nars Deep Throat Blush

Eyes

Urban Decay Naked Palette-

Virgin all over lid/brow bone and tear duct

Buck through crease

Smog/Darkhorse over outer two thirds

Naked to blend out

Mac Powerpoint Eye Pencil Engraved (Upper lash line)

MUA Black eyeshadow (to deepen)

Maybelline The Flared Mascara

Ebay Eyelashes (cut in half)

Lips

No.7 Perfect Lips Pencil Nude

Mac Hue Lipstick

I promise the next post will be my super simple eye brow routine/tutorial! What makeup do you go for on a night out? Do you prefer a nude or a bright lip?

LOTN!

Hey lovelies! I am now back and uni and enjoying freshers week as much as poss before getting stuck in to the work! I went out last night and thought I would share my look of the night with you. I recently got a new lip liner from Mac which I have been wearing non stop and absolutely love it! (Post to follow) In this look, I went for a light smokey eye and coral lip, a combo which has become my go-to look. I paired it with a coral top, nude skirt and black blazer, along with my fave pair of nude strappy wedges (still living in the summer!).

Face

Revlon Photoready Primer

Mac Studio Fix Fluid NC35

Mac Studio Finish Concealer NC30

Rimmel Stay Matte Powder

Mac Mineralize Skin Finish Natural Medium Plus

Nars Laguna Bronzer

Mac Cream Colour Base Pearl

Nars Deep nThroat

HD Brow Palette

Eyes

Urban Decay Primer Potion

Urban Decay Naked Palette

Mac Powerpoint Eye Pencil Engraved

Maybelline Flared Mascara

Eyelashes (Half Lash) Ebay

Lips

Mac Lip Pencil Lasting Sensation

Mac Cut A Caper Lipstick

Revlon Lipgloss Coral Reef

What has been your go-to look recently?

Illamasqua Intense Lipgloss Review

Hey beauts! I was recently browsing the Debenhams website and spotted that the Illamasqua Intense Lipgloss's were in the sale for a bargain £5.99. I have never been that much of a gloss girl, and always favour lipstick, but, I knew for that price I had to grab one. There were two colours which caught my eye, but as I hadn't tried them before and therefore didn't know if I would actually like them, I decided to only order one. The one I got is 'Frenzy', an amazingly bright hot pink. I can definitely see why they called these lipglosses 'intense' as even in the tube the colour is so striking. 

I am not the biggest fan of the packaging, only because squeezy tubes just don't work well for me, and with it being such a bold colour, if you arn't careful and squeeze too hard, you are going to end up with it all down your clothes. I much prefer a brush applicator, I find them much easier to apply with precision (again, this is needed with it being such a statement colour) and to take out in your clutch to reapply on a night out, but that's just down to personal preference. 

The gloss itself is seriously pigmented, and it applies with enough coverage that there is no need for a lipstick. It does actually feel like you are wearing a bold lipstick with a glossy finish to it and when applied to the lips it is one of those formulas that you just know is going to last well (although probably isn't the best if you are planning on kissing or hugging any body, as it will most definitely end up on their face/lips/clothes!).

I think this colour is a great alternative if you are a little scared or feel you can't pull off wearing a bold red lip. It really is a statement gloss, perfect for a night out teamed with a nude eye and your fave little black dress. I am super tempted to pick up some more of these whilst they are still in the sale, as they are definitely worth it. 

This gloss has definitely opened my eyes when it comes to choosing lippy over gloss. What do you think? Are you more of a lip gloss or lipstick kinda gal? Have you tried any of the Intense glosses from this line?

Sigma F25 Brush Review

Compared to Real Techniques Blush and Contour Brushes.

Hi lovelies! I was recently contacted by Sigma asking if I would like to try out one of their brushes, and being a huuge brush fan, I jumped at the chance. Sigma brushes have a lot of hype around them in the blogging world, with them being the cheaper dupes to Mac brushes. I have been eyeing a few of their brushes for a while, in particular the F25 Tapered Face Brush, which I ended up picking and was very excited that I would finally be able to try it out. 

Sigma F25 Tapered Face Brush- "Apply powder, blush or contour shades onto the cheeks and temples. Tapered shape gives exact placement of product."

I was so excited when this arrived on my door step, with a lovely note from Sigma and instructions on how to care for my brush, as well as a free travel size E05 Eyeliner Brush in pink which is so cute! As instructed, I gave the brush a first wash before I used it, and when leaving it to dry I was a little worried that it would lose its tapered shape, but  once dried I was very happy to see it stayed in perfect condition and retained its original shape as well as drying pretty quickly. 

I have been testing the brush out for the past week or so and I absolutely love it. I have been using it to contour using my Nars Laguna Bronzer and it has been working perfectly. The tapered bristles mean you can get right into the hollows of your cheeks and the brush is large and fluffy enough for it to blend nicely and for it not to look too harsh. I am not someone who is blessed with strong cheekbones and previously I had been using the Real Techniques Blush Brush to apply bronzer and contour, but found it wasn't quite tapered enough for this, which is where the F25 is amazing for me (I now have some sort of structure to my face!).

The brush itself is great quality, and just by holding it you can feel that it is a very well made brush. The bristles are super soft and luxurious feeling allowing the product to glide onto the skin beautifully. I love the design of the brush, simple black handles are what I favour anyway and this one looks very sleek and professional. It has a chunky handle which I actually really like. The name is printed clearly on the handle in a holographic like print, which adds something special to the design. I havn't had any shedding from this brush (one of my pet peeves with some other brands) which is another bonus!

Overall I am so happy with this brush and impressed with the brand overall. I have read that some people find this brush too large for bronzer/contour purposes, but I actually think it is the perfect size to achieve something that doesn't look too sharp that it becomes unnatural. This brush has definitely converted me to Sigma over a lot of other more expensive brands, as they are so much more affordable yet so comparable in quality to higher end brushes. I am definitely keen to invest in some of the other brushes in the range, I have my eye on the flat top kabuki and the F35 (a mini version of the F25) looks like it would be amazing for applying highlighter or contouring the nose!

The F25 can be purchased on the Sigma website here and they do ship to the UK for a very reasonable shipping rate!

Have you tried Sigma Brushes? Which is your favourite?

(Disclaimer- This brush was sent to me for review purposes. All opinions are my own.) 

Nars Laguna Bronzer

(The flash on my camera has made the colour look a little pinky, and although it is warm colour, note that it is a little darker in real life!)

Hey lovelies, hope you are well! Nars Laguna has to be one of the most raved about bronzers of all time. I rarely hear negative things about this bronzer, and although there are millions of reviews out there, I thought I would give my thoughts on it! I have recently been in a 'repurchasing products I love' phase, as I have been running out of some of my faves (haul post to come!). I ordered a new Nars Laguna from Asos, which cost £24, but with the 10% student discount I got it for £21.60. I decided to order from Asos as they offer free delivery, which usually arrives pretty quickly so is great value for money. There is something about Nars packaging which just looks and feels so luxurious (Although attracts dirt like nothing else!). Being a bronzer the packaging is a lot larger than that of a Nars blush/eyeshadow duo and with 8g of product, it does last ages which helps justify the price. The bronzer itself is such a perfect natural colour, the finish is matte enough to allow you to contour with it, but has teeny tiny flecks of shimmer, which are so finely milled that it gives you a lovely bronzed glow. I love the names of Nars products, although some can be a little cringey, 'Laguna' reminds me of Laguna Beach, where everyone is super gorgeous and tanned!
I have heard that this bronzer is prone to smashing with it being such a thin, wide pan, but I (fingers crossed) havn't had this problem, although I am pretty careful how I handle it. 
I used to apply Laguna with my Real Techniques Blush Brush, but recently have started using the Sigma F25 (Review post to follow), a combo which I have been loving!

Have you tried Laguna? What are your thoughts? Do you have a different favourite bronzer?