OOTD | Double Denim

Denim is a big trend this season, which is amazing because I absolutely love rocking double denim. I've teamed a silver embellished shirt with silver brogues. These jeans are my absolutely favourite because - check out lace detail in the rips. 

Outfit: 

Denim Shirt: Joules

Ripped Jeans: American Eagle

Silver shoes: Fearne Cotton for Very

For more inspiration check out my previous posts, or check out what I'm lusting after in the shops right now here. 

Until next time... x

Maybelline Dream Flawless Nude Foundation | Beauty Review

I recently came across Maybelline's Dream Flawless Nude foundation, and it's so good I just had to share it with you. 

Makeup free

Foundation only

Full face of makeup

Foundation is the most important product in your makeup bag in my opinion as if you get the wrong type it can make you look awful. I hate seeing really thick matte foundations; ones that cake up around your blemishes and fine lines. Then there are the foundations at the other end of the spectrum, ones that are so thin they give next to no coverage and look very sheer. 

Dream Flawless Nude claims to offer perfect coverage with the finest texture ever so I was really excited to try it out, especially as I've been been suffering from breakouts recently.

I love the shape of the bottle because it's easy to hold but also thin so easy to put into your makeup bag, unlike some other foundations. 

On opening the foundation I noticed the lid comes with a dropper making it easy to get the right amount of product out of the bottle - there's been too many times where I've tipped too much foundation out and had to try shovel it back into the bottle. 

I applied a bit of the foundation onto my hand to test the colour and it appeared to be very thin and runny, however when I went to rub it into my skin I was surprised by its texture. If you have ever used Maybelline's Dream Matte Mousse then that's the closest thing I can compare it to - moussey and incredibly silky. 

Before applying the foundation to my face, I prepped my skin using Benefit's professional primer. I've included a makeup free unedited photograph so you can a true idea of what my skin looks like before without foundation so you can really see the difference. 

Makeup free posing with the foundation.

Next I applied the foundation directly from the dropper onto my face and blended it in with a makeup brush - the one I'm using is actually from Claire's Accessories and I love it for blending and buffering. The silky texture of the foundation made it incredibly easy to blend, and I also found the foundation spread generously over my face so I didn't need to use much product - only what you see in the photographs below. 

The brush I used to apply the foundation

I used circular motions to blend and buffer the foundation into my skin

Half a face covered - you can see how well the foundation covers up the red blotches of my skin

A full face of foundation

At the moment my skin is quite red and blotchy and I am also suffering from a small breakout along my cheek, and after applying the foundation I was really impressed at how concentrated the pigments were for such a silky and fine foundation (it's actually 12x finer than Maybelline's Dream Satin Liquid foundation). As you can see in the photos above (all untouched) my skin looks flawless as the redness has disappeared. I am genuinely so impressed with the nude coverage - it seems that this foundation actually does what it says on the tin, or rather the bottle. 

I wanted to see how the foundation would work with the rest of my makeup, as I find some foundations can be sticky or oily so I applied a full face of makeup (I will put all product details below). 

Wearing Proper Pink lipstick by Avon

As you can see my complexion looks flawless under my make up. I love this foundation so much it's going to replace all others in my makeup bag. I genuinely love how flawless my skin appears without it looking like its caked in a layer of makeup. 

Dream Flawless Nude is available here in seven different shades, I used 10 Ivory, and it is a drugstore bargain at only £8.99. 

I hope this review was useful - do let me know if you end up getting this foundation after reading this post. If you already own it I'd love to know if you love it as much as I do? 

Until next time... x

OOTD | Florals & Fluff

My favourite trousers in the world right now. 

Jumper: Coast

Trousers: Oasis

Heels: Topshop

Lips: Maybelline Super Stay in Neverending Pink

You can shop at Oasis here.

Photography and styling assistance by Gemma Carey.

Until next time... x

MakeUp Routine | Kardashian Krazy

You may have seen my previous post on my OOTD from my evening with Kim and Khloe Kardashian. Did I mention enough times that I met them yet? ;)

I thought I'd do a post to show you how I achieved my makeup look for the evening as a few of you have been asking me on social media. 

I started with a clean face and applied a light moisturiser - if you have oily skin avoid moisturiser before applying makeup.

The Base

I applied a primer with my hands as a base - primer is great for making sure your makeup stays on for longer, which is perfect when you don't want to be worrying about your makeup all night. I used Instablur by the Body Shop, as it helps to reduce the appearance of blemishes and oil, which is what I need at the moment as I've been suffering from a breakout. 

Next I applied my foundation using a foundation brush by Louise Constad. At the moment I am using Maybelline Better Skin, as it gives good long-lasting coverage, and is enriched with vitamins giving you better skin within three weeks of use - I need all the help I can get at the moment! I use the Cameo shade.

TIP: make sure you brush downwards near your jaw and upper lip, or anywhere else you get fine hairs.

Next, I used Boi-Ing concealer on all my spots, the sides of my nose (I get dark patches there), and under my eyes. I used Lemon Aid on the top of my lids going all the way up to my brow bone in order to cover any red patches or veins. I use Boi-Ing in shade 1.

The concealer can be quite sticky, and stick to your makeup if it isn't set properly, so I used a transparent Rimmel Stay Matte powder anywhere I applied the concealer and colour corrector, as well as along my T-Zone.  

Contour & Highlighting

After setting my makeup I started to shape my face - the Kardashians' are the queen's of contouring, so I decided to highlight and lowlight to the max! I used an Estee Lauder illuminator to highlight under my eyes, down the bridge of my nose, underneath my brow bone, on the top of my lip and in the crease of my chin. Next I took a fantail brush to contour a strong line underneath my cheekbones, and along my jawline and chin. I always use Avon's bronzing powder for contouring as it is such a matte and bold bronzer, I love it. I then took a normal brush to darken my temples on the sides of my nose, taking it up to my eyebrow.

TIP: Make sure when you highlight / contour your nose you keep the lines straight or it will make your nose look bent.

Next I added some glow to my cheekbones using the Victoria Jackson shimmer powder, and I faded out my contouring lines using a big brush and my used foundation brush - you really want everything to be blended in well.

Eyes

Next I focused on my eyes and eyebrows. My eyebrows are naturally a nice shape but the most curly wild things in the world. I use Gimme Brow to keep them in place, just brushing them upwards and then out are the sides. For my eyes I use a black gel liner by the Body Shop - I swear by this stuff day or night as it's a really nice mix between a pencil and liquid liner. I used the liner in my tear duct at the bottom right into the corner then right along my top lid, thinly in the corners then building it up to be thicker on the outside with a flick. 

Next I built up my eyes using two eyeshadow palettes, one from Myleene Klass' makeup range, and the other the Luxurious Nudes palette by Avon; the latter is amazing for day time make up. I started with the lightest shade in the Avon palette and took the colour up to my brow bone. Next I coloured the lid of my eye with the lightest brown in the MK palette (top right). Using a thin brush I mixed the black and darkest brown from the MK palette and added it over my eyeliner on both the top on bottom lid to create a smokey effect. I used a mid-brown (top centre) in the crease of my eyelid and blended it in well.

I wanted dramatic lashes, so I used my Urban Decay Subversion primer and Perversion mascara - I swear by these products and you can build them up depending whether you want a daytime or nighttime look. I added the primer to my top and bottom lashes and waited a couple of minutes before adding a thick layer of mascara.

Lips

For the lips, I took inspiration from Kylie Jenner's very bold and defined nude lips, but I wanted to keep a subtle pink shade to my lips so I didn't look too washed out. I used a Clover Pink lip liner by the Body Shop to define my lips, particularly the M at the top. Next I filled in my lips with an Avon Ultra Colour in Blush Nude, blending in the harsh lipliner lines with a brush.

That was my step by step guide to my Kardashian inspired makeup look. You can see the step by step transformation in photos below (although I used a lighter eye makeup in the photos).

I'd love to know what you think of my makeup. And please let me know if there are any other makeup looks you'd like me to try out. 

You can view all the products I used for this look here:

Until next time... x

London Fashion Week with Maybelline

A couple of weeks ago London Fashion Week was in full swing, and Somerset house was people watching heaven.

Maybelline were the official sponsors of many of the catwalk shows, and on the final day they invited me to their lounge at Somerset House for some drink.

 I came straight from a photoshoot with no make-up on my face and slightly dirty hair. That doesn't sounds like a very glamourous shoot, I hear ya! It wasn't. I was booked for a job by a big lingerie brand so I turned up au natural ready for hair and make-up and it was then I found out the underwear I'd be wearing was going to be superimposed onto a much prettier model. LOL. 

So I hid behind sunglasses and headed to Maybelline - and it literally made my day when I saw they offer offering makeovers. Before saying hello to anyone I sat down on the chair, and Alicia Sandeman came to the rescue! 

I wanted something quite natural with a nice orange lip - I got a new coat from Boohoo and I basically thought the colour suited me and wanted it on my lips. Alicia created the look entirely out of Maybelline products - of course - and here was the completed look! What do you think?

My Boohoo boyfriend coat. 

The lip colour is a Colour Drama Lip Pencil in Fab Orange.

Post makeover I caught up with the lovely Becca Rose and Tasha Green.

There was the option to get your nails painted with their new range, but I ran out of time so I just took some photos to show you:

Let me know what you think of my Maybelline makeover. 

Until next time... X

Holiday preparation | Malibu's Best Summer Ever

If you guys follow me on YouTube, you will hopefully have seen my special announcement:

That's right, in the words of the VengaBoys (remember them?), "oh I'm going to Ibiza!" I've never been before either, to say I'm excited is an understatement.  

Im in going along with my best friend Ania, and meeting another best friend AJ Odudu out there. It's part of Malibu's campaign to literally have the #bestsummerever 

I'm going to do a video everyday on my channel so make sure you stay tuned, and I'll do my best to blog and vlog my experience. 

So let me begin with my pre-holiday preparation. hopefully this will be useful to you if you are going on holiday. 

Firstly, hair removal. I didn't have time to get waxed so it's all about the Veet Spray On Removal cream. It's easy and softer on the skin than a razor.

Tans are better when your skin is exfoliated - the tan goes deeper and lasts longer. So last night I scrubbed my entire body with the Body Shop's Argan Oil Body Scrub, and my face with my firm favourite Microdermabrasion Vitamin C face scrub. This scrub is quite harsh so I wouldn't recommend using it regularly, but whenever your skin looks or feels rough or dull this product is perfect for giving you a healthy glow.

I would usually always get a gel manicure before going on holiday so I don't have to worry about chips, but I didn't have time so I picked the next best thing: Maybelline's Super Stay gel polish. 

I am always that pasty English stereotype on the beach. Also, I hate the pressure of trying to look tanned, not to mention it's so bad for your skin. I used Fake Bake's 60 Minute Tan to give my skin a pre-holiday healthy glow.  

Finally, as a blonde my hair gets incredibly dry and brittle. I used an intensive Argan oil hair mask by Mark Hill Hair - I can't recommend this product enough. 

I hope you find this useful, especially if you're going on holiday. I'd love to know what you guys do in preparation for your holiday? 

Until next time... X

Makeup Tutorial | Sin City 2 Screening

The other night I went along to the VIP screening of Sin City 2: A Dame to Kill For. I loved the film and would definitely recommend going to see it - even if you don't love the story it's worth it for its visual effects. The dress code was red, white, and black, so I made sure my make up matched. I thought I would show you exactly how to get the look! 

You can watch my step by step guide on my YouTube channel:

Products:

Primer: Benefit POREfessional

Foundation: Maybelline better skin in cameo

Tinted Moisturiser: Nars Pure Radiant in St Moritz

Colour corrector: Benefit Lemon Aid

Concealer: Benefit boi-ing concealer

Matte powder: Rimmel Stay Matte pressed powder in 001 Transparent

Illuminator: The product I used is discontinued, but this is its replacement.

Bronzer: Daniel Sandler Instant Tan powder

Contouring Brush: Daniel Sandler Waterbrush

Blusher: Clinique in innocent peach

Highlighter: Benefit Watt's Up

Eyeliner: 2 in 1 gel eye liner, the Body Shop

Eyelash Primer: Urban Decay Subversion

Mascara: Urban Decay Perversion

Eyeshadow - Avon: True Colour Eyeshadow Quad

Eyeshadow - Daniel Sandler: Beyond Sunset Eyeshadow quad

Eyebrow powder: Ilah brow travel kit

Eyebrow gel: Benefit Gimmie Brow in light medium

Lips: Nars Satin Lip Golshan

Please let me know what you think of my look, and let me know if you have any questions! :)

Until next time... x