The Aussie Fashion Catwalk Show - An Aussome Way to Spend a Saturday! {Picture Heavy}

Hello my lovelies - hope you have had a good weekend!

On Saturday, I was one of the lucky bloggers invited to Aussie's first Fashion & Catwalk show at The Future Gallery in London, organised by the lovely Holly! I was absolutely thrilled to be invited to another Aussie event after attending their Aussieversay celebrations - Aussie hold the most aussome (ha ha ha) events because it just feels like the ultimate girls' pampering party where you are getting spoilt with your friends! So when I was invited to their first Fashion & Catwalk show, there was no way I was not going to go - even with a misbehaving knee! It was definitely worth it where I met some lovely new bloggers, saw some great fashion, and ate too many delicious cupcakes. So here are the pictures:

Dress: Dorothy Perkins; Cardigan: H&M; Vest Top: H&M; Tights: M&S; Leather Jacket: New Look; Shoes: H! by Henry Holland.

Lovely bloggers: Dani from Polkadani, Maria from FrillsnSpills, Ashley from PinkJulep

Cupcakes by Sweet Couture Bakery in Covent Garden - Definitely visiting them!

Pink champagne!

Devon from Eight for a Wish & Becca from Becca's Beauty Blog.

Maria, Dani, Tabitha from Scaredtoast, Lily from LilyLipstick.

 

Love this hairstyle by Aussie!

 It was an incredible fashion show - I fell in love with so many items from MINKPINK & Evil Twin, especially the maxi black sequin skirt!

So a huge thanks to Holly & the Aussie team for such a wonderful way to spend a Saturday, and for bringing together so many lovely bloggers to meet in person! Plus we got a bottle of Aussie's More More More sized shampoo to take home with us, I went for Miracle Moist as the smell is just absolutely gorgeous! 

Do you love Aussie?

Love,

Friday's Frock!

Happy Friday my lovelies! Here is to the weekend - which is being brought in by sunshine today (even if there are those malicious rumours that it may rain over the weekend...)! For me, its the start of the Easter holidays as well, so trying to make plans around my knee but still enjoy the time off - a Hunger Games second viewing as well as a sneaky Titanic 3D viewing, are definitely on the cards!! 

Anyway, I'm going to start a series of posts on my blog called 'Friday Frock' which is just a new fancy title for Friday's OOTD but it will always be a dress - what do you think? 

Here is today's frock:

 Leather Jacket: New Look; Dress: Dorothy Perkins; Belt: New Look; Sequin Flats: New Look.

It was my second day back at work today since my operation so had to go with a smart looking frock, but for the first time I actually went into work without black tights on! Look - those are my legs actually seeing the sunshine again! Plus this jacket was a steal at £15 from eBay and it is real leather - New Look certainly makes cosy, well-fitting leather jackets I have to say, perfect for a summer jacket now.

I'm loving longer length dresses at the moment, until I can get some of those lace legging/shorts things I feel more comfortable wearing these without thick black tights - and the style feels very classic! Definitely coming around to the midi dresses now... More shopping you say? Well, if you insisit! *jumps onto ASOS*

Anyway, this was my Friday Frock - a teal coloured jersey knee length dress from Dorothy Perkins that looks just as good as a spring dress as it does a winter one - fashion money-saver right there. Once again, DP comes to save the day of my wardrobe woes!

Did you have a Friday Frock day? Good plans for the weekend? Is anyone else going to the Aussie Fashion/Catwalk event?

Love,

With the Sun Shining, The Sunglasses are Calling!

Hello lovelies! 

So the sun is still continuing to shine - it wasn't just a fluke appearance! With the optimistic feeling that the sun is going to stay for a little longer, I have taken the plunge and broken out the trusty old sunglasses! 

These are my beloved Karen Millen sunglasses that I have now had for a good three or four years - a record for someone who is notoriously bad with sunglasses (losing a pair on each holiday, one being over a waterfall on a mountain and in a space centre...). 

I think the reason that I have basically treated these as if they are pure gold is because they are one of the few pairs of sunglasses that I feel actually suit my face shape and don't make my face look any rounder! Plus the colour works well with both my hair being blonde and brown - win, win, win! Apart from being beautiful, and Audrey Hepburn-ish, they are Karen Millen sunglasses. Karen Millen! Apart from getting a pair of red Ray Ban Wayfarers, I can't think of any other sunglasses (ok, maybe Chanel...) that I would want to replace these lovelies with. 

Here is a happy picture of us together:

However, even though I do love these sunglasses, and they haven't broken/scratched/fallen to pieces in all these years, I can't help adoring a pair of red Ray Bans... 

Do you have any sunglasses you just can't bear to part with?

Love,

Inside my Make-Up Bag #1: The Daily Essentials

Hello lovelies!

So, I have been blogging for a little while now and realised that I have never introduced you all to something that is pretty much essential to my blogging, and to my daily life - my make-up bag:

This beast is not all of my make-up, I still have quite a few eyeshadow palettes scattered over my wardrobe, but this is the majority that I use - not all at once though, that really would suggest I have no face at the beginning of the day! Anyway, in the picture it looks quite small compared to its actual size and weight of a tonne. It has products ranging from Rimmel to Dior, and countless amounts of eyeshadows & lipsticks - my two real beauty weaknesses. Today's post is just going to focus on the products I use daily for a daytime look:

Left to Right: Benefit's Thrrrob; No7 Stay Perfect Eye Base; YSL Forever Youth Liberator Serum; MAC Studio Sculpt Concealer; Rimmel Exaggerated Liquid Eyeliner; Rimmel Stay Matte Powder; Diorshow Iconic Mascara; Benefit's High Beam; Benefit Eyecon cream; Benefit's Dr Feelgood; Urban Decay's Naked2 Palette.

My morning goes: get up, shower, get dressed, tie hair up in towel turban, and then go through the 20-30 minutes routine of putting on my make-up - I'm essentially put on a mask - yes lovely readers, I am actually a troll before I put these magical products on my face. So this is my make-up routine:

1)

Since getting the Harrods Glossybox, I have been using the YSL Forever Youth Liberator Serum as my primer because it gives a nice, glowy look and makes an even base for my make-up. It is a lovely silky mixture that dries instantly without making you feel like your face is cracking with some serums when they dry. I only use a little amount each time - the dropper definitely helps with this. 

2)

Next, I am thinking 'hey troll-face, your skin is still a sandpaper-y, better sort that!' and that's where the fantabulous 'Dr Feelgood' comes in. I absolutely love this creamy balm, that you just need to apply a little onto the sponge and smooth it over the face to make your face feel so soft plus an excellent base for make-up. I highly recommend this product for a good primer to give you smooth, matte skin.

3)

Onto the eyes! I carry sooo much baggage under my eyes I look like the luggage pick-up at Heathrow. Its a family trait to have dark circles under the eyes, and it is something that has always driven me insane. After much looking & testing, I finally found a concealer that worked perfectly to hide them - MAC Studio Scuplt in NC15. But it can show the creases after a while during the day, what stops this is mixing it with a moisturiser as a prime - thats where Benefit's Eyecon comes in that helps to lighten dark circles. Win win! 

4)

Its even more powder and prime time! With a quick sweep of powder over the face to achieve the 1950s matte look I adore & an even look, I move onto the eyes! The final primer is used which is Boots No7 Stay Perfect Eye Base that works wonders for keeping an eyeshadow in perfect condition all day. I just use a little on my finger and I'm ready for the most time-consuming part of my morning routine - the eyes:

5)

Starting with the eyeshadows from Naked2, generally I go for 'Half-Baked', 'Pistol' or 'Verve' as a day look, and sometimes blend them with 'Snakebite' if feeling particularly adventurous. Then its on with the liquid eyeliner - the concentration that comes with this takes at least ten minutes! I am incredibly fussy with my flicks, and try not to have it too thick over the eyelid for daytime, so if its too dramatic I have to then fight to wipe the excess off without messing up all the eyeshadow - fuss, fuss, fuss! I love the Rimmel Exaggerated eyeliner because the colour is jet black and the staying power is great, the only problem is it normally takes two coats to get it as dark as I like and then needs a few minutes to dry. 

Final stage - the mascara & highlight. I generally don't curl my eyelashes (huuuuge faux pas, I know) because it takes up that extra bit of time, so for me, its just a few lashings of Diorshow Iconic and sometimes Extase as well. Boom, longer & thicker eyelashes. Then its a little dab of Benefit's High Beam just over my eyelid to give my eyes an extra bit of brightness, and I'm done.

6)

 And its the last bit - the cheeks! I'm always switching about my blushers because I love trying out the different pink shades - always going for quite bright, flushed pink colours. I fell in love with Benefit's blushers from a long, long time ago, and one of my all-time favourites has been 'Thrrrob' which has that deep pink shade you get when you blush. I put my focus on the apple of my cheeks, putting the most of the colour there and then brushing it out across my cheekbones. 

Aaaaand that's it, that's how I look human at the beginning of everyday. I bet you are all a little bit terrified at what I actually look like without make-up, but yeah, that's not ever going to be posted about - ever! 

Hope you have liked this little insight into my make-up bag! The next one I am thinking about all my different eyeshadow palettes, would you be interested in that?

Thanks for reading!

Love,

Feeling Floral - OOTD & FOTD

Hello my lovelies, hope you're all having a relaxing Sunday, and if not, at least a sunny one! It was sunny here again in Essex but not enough to go au naturale on the legs front, so the tights came back out to play, but not just any tights, oh noooo, baby blue & cream floral tights! I have been coveting after these babies for a good month or two now from M&S, but being £8 for one pair, I couldn't quite bring myself to buy them - but after spotting them in the sale, my need for them could no longer be surpressed! I have been trying to figure out what outfit works with them and not be too patterned that it hurts the eye, and I found the dress that worked perfectly with them:

 Yay for floral tights! 

 Dress: H&M; Tights: M&S; Shoes: H! by Henry Holland; Cardigan: H&M

Being one of my favourite dresses, I love how the plain cream colour works perfectly with the patterned tights and gets all linked in together with the navy cardigan and shoes - not too many patterns but definitely a few to liven it up! I just love these tights! Honestly, its that vintage blue flowery pattern that you can sometimes find on china or wallpaper, and I just loved that it came on tights! Plus being from M&S, they are incredibly comfortable and soft to wear.

For the FOTD, I have been showing some love back to the original Urban Decay Naked palette, that since Naked2, I'm afraid to say, has really only been used for its brush. I know, I know, talk about neglect! So today, I put away Naked2 and used 'Smog' & 'Toasted' from Naked to create this daytime, smokey eye look:

Concealer: MAC Studio Sculpt; Powder: Rimmel Stay Matte powder; Eyeliner: Rimmel Liquid Eyeliner; Eyeshadows: Urban Decay 'Naked' palette; Blush: Benefit's Hervana; Mascara: Diorshow Iconic

Another product that isn't one of my regulars was Benefit's Hervana blush that I stole from my mum's make up bag that I just thought was a nice change from 'Thrrrob' which is a darker pink created to give the flushed look, rather than the shimmery, more posy pink that Hervana creates. Eventually, when payday comes around, I will treat myself to this!

So this is my look for today - a spring dress with some spring tights to give warmth and a daytime smokey look! 

Have you guys been bad like me and neglected your 'Naked' palette? What do you think of patterned tights?

Love,