In Summer - FOTD

Hello my lovelies - my golly it's hot, isn't it?! I literally melted whilst chilling in a park in London yesterday, very much an Olaf-in-Arendelle moment (it was not as attractive on me as it is on Olaf). However, I shouldn't complain really as it is either this or downpour and I much prefer the sunshine!

Anyway, today's post is on my make-up look for this sweltering day as I headed out with my two best girls. 

 Products: Boots No7 Illuminating Instant Concealer; No7 Pressed Powder in Translucent; MAC Studio Fix Concealer; Urban Decay Eyeshadow in 'Sin'; Benefit Creme Eyeshadow in 'Bikini'; Yves Saint Laurent Le Teint Touche Eclat Foundation; Benefit High Beam; Bobbi Brown Rose Shimmerbrick; Urban Decay Naked Palette; No7 Mascara; L'Oreal Eye Kohl in Brown; Real Techniques Core Collection Brushes; Benefit Dandelion Blush.

Lipgloss - Chanel Rouge

Generally in the summertime or on holiday, I will opt for this slightly softer look using a matte brown or slightly shimmery brown eyeliner pencil rather than my usual black liquid/gel liner as it tends to stay put more in the heat of the day and can be a softer framing of the eyes. I also experimented more with my blusher - mixing my standard light pink Dandelion with the Bobbi Brown Shimmer-brick to give my cheeks a gentle highlight. I love both of these products, but I really only use the Shimmer-brick when the sun is out as I find that sometimes in the winter (without the sun to bounce off of) the shimmery colours can emphasise some imperfections on my skin. What I really love about summertime and going more for this softer eyeliner look is the more adventurous I can be with my eyeshadow. Whilst opting for my usual black eyeliner cat flick I try to stick to more simple shades so as not to deflect from the eyeliner, but in summer I can try all sorts of combinations. Today's shade was 'Sin', one of my all time favourite shades by Urban Decay, I first fell in love with it when using my 'Naked' palette (all those years ago...) and have now stored up with an individual pot. It is just the perfect mix of a neutral shade with a shimmery touch which adds a bit of Hollywood Glamour, and a great base to blend more shades into to create a variety of day/evening looks. 

Do you have a summertime look or a favourite eyeshade? Comment below to let me know!

Love,

Stephie x

Saturday's Outfit & A Trip to Windsor/Eton!

Hello my lovelies, how are you all enjoying the sunshine? I have to say I am absolutely loving the heat (even if I did get a little pink yesterday - oops!) and refused to waste a moment of it inside after being cooped up in school all week! So the boyfriend and I decided to take a little trip into Windsor & Eton to explore and stroll by the riverside. 

Dress: Dorothy Perkins

Belt: M&S

Cardigan: New Look

Pumps: New Look

Alice bag: Walt Disney World

This, for me, is an ultimate summer dress that only gets brought out of storage when summer is upon us. I love the white broderie anglaise pattern and the square neckline which I find quite flattering and summery.

I styled it with red accessories (how patriotic) including a thin red belt to add a bit more definition between the bodice and full skirt. For a bag I went for an old favourite, my Alice in Wonderland bag. I bought this when I worked in Disney because it is the most adorable Alice bag I have seen, with a unique illustration of her amongst the flowers, and the cute pink colour just seems to brighten up every outfit. Perfect summer shoulder bag and it fits a ridiculous amount of things in it! 

Just some pictures of the adventure:

Windsor Castle

The Long Walk - Not an Understatement.

Another part of Windsor Castle

Happy Hour!

Over the River.

Outside part of Eton College

This was such a lovely day, and there was so much to do in Windsor & Eton that we didn't have time for it all despite being there all day! I couldn't believe the sheer size of Eton College, the library alone looked big enough to be a a department of a school! The whole architecture and enormity of the college was stunning, including a cathedral style church that was joined on opposite part of their housing. I have now decided that when I become rich and if I have a son, he must go to Eton - I want to see inside that library! Although we didn't get to go into Windsor Castle itself (a huge queue and £17 per person seems a tad expensive) we walked all around the outside which in itself was beautiful, especially from the Long Walk view. If you haven't ever been to Windsor, I would highly recommend it as a place to visit in the sunshine - its beautiful, and has a Canterbury-esque feel to it, with a lovely river to wander along by.

The shopping was also paradise, having pretty much every shop I wanted there, and with payday on Friday I treated myself to some John Frieda hair products as Boots has a 3 for £10 offer going on. For my three, after much 'umming' and 'aaahing', I chose the 'Go Blonder' shampoo, the Highlight Activating Blonde Conditioner, and the Full Repair Conditioner which I have heard good things about in the blogsphere. After using the 'Go Blonder' lightening spray quite a lot last summer (which worked wonders on lightening my roots and my hair to almost platinum), it made my hairdresser furious and resulted in me having to go darker to get it out the mixed bleach blonde, so wasn't going to make the same mistake twice! Still wanting to go lighter between hairdresser trips, I went for the shampoo with its natural lightening products and no bleach in there, so it will be a lot more gentle. Reviews for these three products will be coming in a week or so I think to give it a bit of time to see results! Also, Boots are giving out £5 No7 Vouchers again, so keep an eye out for those as they are always handy!

Finally, a huge thank you to all my lovely readers who have now pushed me over 100 followers! It means the world to me to know that this tiny blog which I started just for my best friend to read, is now being followed my over 100 lovely people and more readers from around the world. It completely stuns me that people are interested in my reading and has built up my confidence in writing and myself, so thank you :-) A special giveaway is in the works to reward you lovelies! 

More posts coming today, but what have you been up to on this gorgeous weekend?

Love,

Saturday's Outfit & FOTD - Weekend Styling.

Hi lovelies, how is it already Sunday?! I feel like it should still be Saturday, and not have the threat of work tomorrow morning... Urgh. Anyway, yesterday I was a busy bee with a trip to Westfield Stratford to have lunch with the boyfriend and with a two hour driving lesson - I was quite proud of myself actually and bought NOTHING in Westfields, despite my payday wishlist growing almost double in size in the past week alone. For my trips out, I decided to revel in my weekend wardrobe:

(( Dress: River Island

Cardigan: New Look

Leather Boots: Next

Belt: Boohoo))

During the week I tend to end up wearing the same dresses over and over again, as they are appropriate in length and style, so when it comes to weekends I try and wear things that are more student-y and less work just so I can have a bit of variety in what I wear rather than feeling that there is no difference between my work and weekend clothes anymore. This dress is definitely one of my weekend items, and I love just how versatile it can be when dressed up with different accessories. Yesterday, I went for a more natural sort of look with a tan cardigan and brown boots (maybe even a Cowboy feel?). Its also incredible comfortable, a plus when I am just wanting to chill out without having to fidget constantly to get comfortable or worry that its too low cut/too short.

 As it is the weekend, I also went back to playing with my make-up and using black eyeliner which I have cut down using during the week so I feel like I can do something a bit more special on the weekend:

((MAC Studio Sculpt Foundation 'NC15'; Benefit's Stay Put Concealer; Bobbi Brown Gel Eyeliner 'Black Ink'; No7 Creme Touch Powder 'Translucent'; Urban Decay's 'Suspect' 'Snakebite' Eyeshadows; Inika Brown Eyeliner; Benefit's High Beam; Benefit's Thrrrob Blush; Diorshow Iconic Mascara; Soap & Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Lipgloss.))

I went for a soft, smokey eye look yesterday to go with the more natural colours in my outfit, using Urban Decay's Naked2 'Suspect' as an all over colour, and then 'Snakebite' on the outer edges and crease line. I absolutely love the blend brush that came with my Naked2, as it blends the colours perfectly without losing too much of the pigmentation or mixing the colours together too much. I've also gone back to using Bobbi Brown's Gel Eyeliner as I love just how dark it comes out in one sweep, and the long lasting power it has - honestly, when it comes to washing my face at night it takes a good two scrubs to get it off my eyes! With a lot of focus having gone onto my eyes wit this look, I went for just a natural lipgloss to give me a bit of shine.

Are you like me and have a bit of your wardrobe designated for the weekends? Or style your make up differently on the weekends?

Love,

Feeling Checky - Saturday Night's Outfit.

Wo-ho-ho did you see what I did there with the title? Hysterical, aren't I? Swiftly skipping along before giving you the chance to answer that, today's post (with probably some more to follow if I get round to it in between my busy schedule of nothing...) is just a looksie over my outfit from last night. Feeling reminiscent of my days as a student, I wore one of my beloved first year shirt/lumberjack style dresses that was always in my mind a 'casual but stylish' dress - perfect for drinks out or dinner out but not an event where you should throw some more effort in. However, with new items in the wardrobe, and not living so much on a student budget (although I do stress 'not so much', hardly rolling in the monies) I gave it a new style than those days back in 2008/09 where going out drinking happened at least once a week:

 Dress: New Look; Long cardigan: Betty Jackson; Tights: M&S; Belt: Next.

The trusty dress in first year - I miss that room!

Sorry for the lack of good quality pictures, these were taken just before rushing out the door to Westfields for some evening shopping & Wagamamas, so didn't have loads of time to try and control the bluriness. Anyway, this dress and I have had some good times together - some drunken, some sober, and I've always relied on it for that 'casual-but-dressy' look. Not feeling as confident as I was in my dreamy-eyed days of 19, I wore a long cardigan with it and thick black tights - more appropriate for Westfields than the Student Union I think.  The belt pulled in the waist to show I actually do still have one underneath all my layers, and add a bit more glam. The make up was the usual cuplrits: Benefit, Bobbi Brown, Dior, MAC, No7 and Urban Decay - just made a little more dramatic for the evening out. 

Anyway, that's it - we went to Wagamamas where we nommed our way through Ginger Chicken Udon Noodles - branching away from my beloved Katsu Curry, bought myself a check skirt from Hollister (post coming) and presents for the bestie for her birthday. Quite restraint for a trip to Westfields if I'm honest! 

Do you like checks? Still dressing in student style?

Love,

It's so fluffy! New Year's Day - OOTD & FOTD.

Happy new year my lovelies! I hope that the start of the New Year is treating you well and you're enjoying all the food and tv that the 1st Jan 2012 brings with it! The fireworks across the world were spectacular, but have to say, London was the best. I rarely ever say that, but it really did out-do itself on NYE! Anyway, as you are all recovering from festivities of last night, just writing a quick post on the outfit that I chose to see the New Year in with - the fluffiest and softest jumper known to man. So without further ado, I introduce to you the fluffiest jumper in the world!

 Sequin Jumper: Jane Norman; Skirt: ASOS; Belt: ASOS; Tights: M&S; Slippers: Next.

I am not even sure these pictures do the fluffiness of this jumper justice, but it gives you the idea. Actually, I'll let you in on something, not only is this jumper like wearing a cloud (well, not reaaaally, but what a cloud SHOULD feel like) but the skirt is soft as well! This may be, just may be, the softest outfit I own - including the velvet touch tights! Moving along from the softness of everything, what really drew my attention to this jumper was the sequins that just added that bit of glamour needed to a jumper - something to sparkle with! The skirt on the other hand, well, since Dani came home with this check skirt from ASOS, I have needed to add it to my wardrobe. So since it was in the sale, it was a sign that it had to be bought and have not regretted the decision since! Not only is it the softest skirt in the world (or in my world at least!), but it literally goes with everything! T-shirts, jumpers, shirts - everything! Definitely making a girl-on-a-budget wardrobe that bit easier.

Make up wise - this was my New Year Day FOTD:

Foundation: MAC Studio Sculpt (NC15); Concealer: MAC Studio Sculpt (NC15); Primer: Benefit's 'Stay Put'; Powder: No7 Creme Touch in Translucent; Eyeshadows: Urban Decay (Toasted, Hustle, Creep) and Blink & Go (Copper & Olive); Mascara: Diorshow Iconic & Exstase; Eyeliner: Bobbi Brown Gel Eyeliner; Higlight: Benefit's 'High Beam'; Blusher: Benefit's 'Thrrrob'.

You know, when I list aalll the make up I wear, does it make you wonder if I actually have a face under all that?? I know it makes my boyfriend wonder when he watches me putting it on in the mornings! Only so long you can claim that you 'naturally look that way' with cat-eye flicks! Anyway, I tried to co-ordinate the make up with the shades in the outfit so there was a lot of mixing, and shading in different colours of the eyeshadows to give it that look. I'm not sure the pictures show the shades as much as it is there in real life, but it's the best I can do with the old camera. 

Anyway, going to sign off now as it is time for Sherlock and dinner! Hope you are all having an incredible start to the New Year and look out for posts on Dior, Glossybox December and Boxing Day Sales Haul! Also tell me what sort of posts you would like to hear more about via Twitter or on a comment!

Love,