The No Brush Make Up Look

Living such a busy lifestyle, I never really have a day in which I can mope around the house bare faced. However, I still have to clean my Make-up brushes and give them a chance to dry - for some reason my brushes take around 36 hours to fully dry. With this in mind, I had to create a make up look which I can create just using the tool that god gave me, my fingers.

Cream based products was definitely the way to go in terms of this look, as it made it a lot easier to apply and blend to create a natural look, that even included some contouring.

So I started the look with Nars Sheer Glow Foundation in Santa Fe and covered my blemishes, dark circles and all other imperfections with Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in Medium 3. I then attempted and hopefully succeeded to contour my cheekbones and bones with Bourjois Bronzing Primer, followed by added a hint of colour to the apples of my cheeks using Kiko Velvet Stick Blush in Verve Peony 05, and finishing using Kiko Dazzling Highlighter in Gleaming Apricot 02 to highlight my cheeks, down my nose and brow bone.

I then filled in my eyebrows using YSL eyebrow pencil in 2 which I love as it defines my brows but in a natural way. To add some colour and definition to my lids, I smothered them with Maybelline 24 hour color tattoo in Permanent Taupe 40, and used Mac Paint Pot in Eclair to define my crease attempting to blend it as much as possible, then on my brow bone and in the corners of my eyes I used Kiko Water Eyeshadow in 200. To add some liner, I used my current favourite, Bourjois Liner Clubbing Liquid Liner, with Sleek Eau La La Liner in Molasses 317 across half of my bottom lash line, that blended into Rimmel Soft Kohl in Pure White 071, which I put on the inner half of my bottom lash line and on my water line. I finished off the whole look with my little tester of Benefit They're Real Mascara, which unfortunately I'm still debating whether I love it or hate it.

Hopefully you've realised that a make up look is possible using just your fingers, I certainly have, however tomorrow I will be returning to using my much loved brush collection.

Long Time No Speak

 

Hello Hello

I know, shock horror right? I’m posting again, but I’ve finally reached a place where I feel I should be able to balance everyday life with regular posting… fingers crossed.

I’m just going to use todays post to give you an update into what I’ve been up to since my last contact. Well I have finally come out of the other side of my illness, for now, and since then a lot changes has happened in my life. I have dropped out of Nottingham Trent and my science course, to pursue a career in Fashion and am now studying a foundation in Art and Design which I am thoroughly enjoying. Leaving Trent and all my friends was hard but I am a regular visitor to the Midlands, and lodger at my friends house. As well as being at college, I have got myself a job and am now working at Victoria’s Secret, which means I am able to purchase lots of goodies, and fun things.

Other than that not much else is going on to be honest, but hopefully I’ll be able to find lots of exciting things to post about, and fill your lives with loads to read.

Until Next Time

Do It Yourself: Floral Crown

At the beginning of this week, I wrote a post about my current love for the festival craze that is the floral crown. (you can find this post here.) Following this post, I thought I would get a bit more creative and attempt a DIY floral crown. My expectations were minimal and I thought the outcome wasn’t going to be to great. However much to my surprise, it turned out ok, so therefore decided to share with you, the results and how I made it.

I personally went to Hobby craft to get the materials I need to make it, but I’m sure any local craft shop will stock the items needed. What I used was: an assortment of flowers of your personally choice, some jewellery wire (relatively thick), a pair of pliers, some thread and a glue gun.
The way to begin, is to measure the size of your head using the wire, following this form a loop, and wrap the edges around each other in a coil-like effect. Next, using the thread you need to mark where you want the flowers to start and finish. You may prefer the flowers to go all the the around the crown, or just half way across your head more like a headband. Once you have decided where the flowers to go, tie a piece of thread at each point. Now it’s time to start attaching the flowers. I chose light pink, and deep raspberry coloured flowers, and decided before that I would arrange them alternately. I advise buying flowers that have a wire stem, as this came in handy, whilst applying the flowers. For each flower, I placed a dot of glue on the underside, and attached it to the wire. I then wrapped the wire stem around the wire –in the same coil motion- then secure at the end with another small dot of glue. All you need to is repeat this for the rest of the flowers. Once complete make sure each flower is secure, and if needed add a little more glue. Let the glue dry, and you’re ready to wear.
This is what my completed crown looks like and I’m really happy with the results.

Excuse the makeup-less instagram photograph. I cannot wait to wear my crown out.

About A Book | Babble by Charles Saatchi

I bring you a slightly different post today, about a book. You may call me a geek but I love a good book. Genre? I’m not really too specific, although I’m not a fan of romantic novels, and only certain crime-thrillers manage to grasp my attention. Recently, I was sent into Waterstones for older-sister-Jack who is an avid reader, and I noticed a little gem sitting on one of their tables. Whoever says “don’t judge a book by it’s cover” was mistaken when it comes to this read, I was drawn in by the minimalist look of the sleeve. The simple imagery drew me in and I had to pick it up to see what was going on. The title, one word, “Babble”. The author, Charles Saatchi, a man who I admire. A master of the advertising world, and an avid art collector. His gallery, in London, a place I am desperate to visit, and interactive technique to acquiring internship staff – through the submission of a YouTube remake of famous advertising campaigns. I was drawn in. Turning the book over to discover a lack of blurb, just a list of different titles displayed on the back. A number of the titles enticed me, so I decided to purchase, and took it home to read.

This book differs from the other books by Charles Saatchi. His other books tended to be of a question and answer format whereas this was a compilation of opinions and anecdotes over a number of topics. Whilst reading, I felt a lot of the authors personality and humour come across in the book, and it seems as though his opinions are completely uncensored. The fact that the book is a lot of – how I can only describe as – short stories, which are not related at all, meant that in theory I would be able to read one chapter at time, and then be able to put the book down. However this wasn’t the case, I couldn’t put it down, I was intrigued to read more about Charles Saatchi’s opinions. My favourite chapters were titles, “You’re last meal on Death Row”, “Is good luck or bad luck passed on genetically?” and “Do you have a toilet face?”.

I enjoyed reading this book so much, that I was talking about it enough to convince my friends that they needed to read it. I also spent many days researching and entering stores to find out if Charles Saatchi had written any other books which were similar. And now I am recommending it to you.
I picked this up for half price but it retails at £12.99 from most book stores.
What do you think of this type of post? Have you read something good recently and want to recommend?

OOTD: The Yellow Skater

1. OUAH! T-shirt, Zara. 2.Sunglasses, Primark 3. Peace Necklace, Topshop.---> similar here 4. Skater Skirt, H&M ---> similar in black. 5. Elastic strap sandals, Office (last year)
The sun graced the northern parts of the British Isles this weekend, and despite only having plans to chill in the garden with a few pals, followed by the BGT final, I decided to debut my new yellow skater skirt, I purchased the other week. I am a bit of a sucker for layering at the moment (honestly I think it’s because the current medication I am taking has made me completely balloon, to a noticeable level – possibly more on that another time) as it allows me to revamp old gems I keep finding in the back of my wardrobe, hide my lumps and bumps under layers of garments, and I also get to be a little creative with prints, colour and shape without feeling too self-conscious. I purchased this skirt the other week,on a whim. I was out shopping with mother-Jack and both sister-Jacks, and we had some items to return and I honestly couldn’t find much in H&M, which isn’t unusual, I often find it a bit of a bad, jumble sale, but I picked up the skirt. I was a little iffy about the colour but it’s summer so why the heck not. I decided to take a leap out of my dark comfort zone, and bought a bright, jersey, summer garment.

With Flowers In My Hair…

I  am not one to be seen at a festival.
It’s not that I don’t enjoy or appreciate a good tune or artist, but I wouldn’t exactly be described as an outdoorsy type - unless, outdoors means lying on the beach for two weeks in the sunshine. Plus, I don’t think I could bring my self to part with the ticket price when I could possibly go abroad for the same price. Saying that, there is one thing, I do quite enjoy about festival season, and it’s something I can enjoy with out stepping foot into a gated field, or relieving myself in a porta-loo. That is festival fashion.
Despite the annual reoccurrence, of Hunter wellies paired with tiny, denim shorts and some form of crop top this year festival season fashion appears to have blossomed and graced us with a trend, I am personally loving, the floral crown. My lust towards the floral crown has grown over recent weeks, especially after seeing the most recent posts for Kavita at She Wears Fashion and these are a few numbers that I am desperate to get my hands on.

1. Pixie Lott GEORGIA oversized Floral Crown, £55.00, ROCK N ROSE. 2. Fearne Floral Headband, £8.00, Boohoo.com. 3. Sofia Floral Crown, £15.00, Dollybowbow. 4. Asos Flower Hair Garland, £10.00, ASOS.
Hopefully I will get my hands on one of these crowns very soon.

Mirror, Mirror, On the Wall…

Bank holiday came along this weekend, and I decided to get a bit crafty. I have wanted to decorate my room for years now, and my first port of call was a mirror that I’ve had hanging on my wall for a few years now.

The mirror was a gift that the rentals received as a wedding present, and I’m guessing twenty two years ago the mirror was a fashionable piece when it comes to the interiors, but a number of years later the forest green, and terracotta wood looks a little dated. Okay so I’m still  not so keen on the wicker effect but it’s all I had to work with.
White was the obvious choice as I plan to change my other furniture to white, and around 6 months ago I purchased a cream, white and gold duvet set, which has still not been used, but what I plan to base the colour of my room around.

Initially, I was planning to do this post as a DIY post, but it’s just not me and I’m not one to follow in terms of DIY. I literally put the mirror on the floor and let my artistic, creativeness flow and painted. I did enjoy channelling my artistic side again, no, I was creating a Picasso or anything, just simply painting a mirror but none-the-less I enjoyed it.

I'm wearing Topshop Skater Dress (Old), New Look Cropped Knitted Jumper (Older-Sister-Jacks and old)

I feel as though, I have given the mirror another go at life. As if I have resuscitated it and brought it back to life, and although it’s only a small step into a newly decorated room, it has made a real difference.
I would love to hear some suggestions on how else I can liven up my room.

Honeyz Bath Product, Whitby

 

As you know, on Sunday I took a trip to Whitby, and despite my wanting to fill my blog with my love for fashion, I couldn’t resist showing you the things we bought from this little – I can only describe as- Lush dupe, along the main high street through Whitby centre. Unfortunately they wouldn’t allow me to take photographs of the store, but the interior was basically a soap bakery. The fresh scents of all the flavours blended together nicely but didn’t overpower your sense of smell when you walked inside. Each product was laid out as though they were cakes, and cut into slices for you to purchase and take home. On top of this there was an unwrapped slice of each product available for you to smell, although the thought of the number of people who had pressed their bacteria-filled nasal cavities amongst them makes me feel a little nauseous. The store was called Honeyz, and this is a link to their website.

I lusted over the first thing we bought as soon as I saw it. I have always loved candles and fragrances, however until recently could never justify spending money on them, when there was always something else I always wanted. Anyways, following seeing a friend at university, burning oils to release scents into the room, I was on the hunt, for a fragrance burner. I don’t know the official name for this contraption, but you place a tea-light in the base of it, and it burns the oil on top to release a fragrance. The one we found in Whitby was a little different, as instead of place oil in the top, you place a fragranced shape. Each shape has a different fragrance and you can also place multiple shapes on top to blend the smells together.

I purchased the whole “Little Hotties” set including a box of 40 fragranced “shapes”, a diffuser, and 3 tea lights for £15, however after looking you cannot purchase this on the Honeyz website. I have done my research for you though, and the Little Hotties can be found here.

The next two products I purchased, were basically a case of, “Oh this looks good and smells nice”, so were quickly thrown into the basket as Father-Jack was about to insert his credit card. These were both products from the actual Honeyz product list and were a sweet smelling Watermelon soap, in which older-sister-Jack and I insisted we needed in our bathroom, and the second was a muscle-pain easing bath foam. I don’t have aching muscles of any kind but the sweet smell of peppermint drew me in instantly.

I have constantly been burning by Little Hotties Fragrance diffuser contraption. Honestly despite it being bought for the family, it may have a permanent place on my dressing table. I am yet to use the soap or  bath foam, however they are sitting on the window sill in the bathroom in anticipation to be opened.

A Trip To The Sea Side…

Sunday 26 / 05 / 13, the sun was shining over Britain, and Mother-Jack awoke in the mood to drive somewhere… Initially our destination was unknown but due to me running late as usual, and taking approximately 2.5 hours to get ready, going very far was not on the cards.
We took off at around midday, and Father-Jack took charge and made the decision for us to venture to the British sea-side town of Whitby. I would say Whitby is close to all the hearts of us Yorkshire men, and proves to be a “lovely” day out when en “famille”, and have no desire to “rough it up” in Scarborough. I apologise for my snobbish remarks, but theirs something about Whitby that screams “retire” and “quaint” which I have never really found in other British sea-side towns. Look, I’m usually one to be at the beach in some foreign land (usually Israel), so would never class myself as a British Coast Expert.

I couldn’t write this post with out showing you some pictures of this little coffee shop we stopped at whilst out and about. If you’re ever in Whitby, it is located along the main road, in Whitby Town Centre, near the courtyard, where there is often an outdoor vintage sale taking place. The cafe is called the Walrus and the Carpenter, and not only was the decor enough to make your heart warm up, and little envy run through your blood, but their coffee wasn’t half too bad either. Highly recommended!!

I’d love to hear about the places you like to travel to on family days out, and I certainly know that Mother-Jack is looking to explore constantly!

A Quick Update Before I Return To Being A Regular

 

My absence from the blog is only down to me. I have had quite a bit of stuff happening with the life, on top of the usual examinations at university. What makes it harder for myself, is that unfortunately I am studying for degree in a subject that I have no interest in, mad I know, however  I am currently in the process of attempting to change courses. Not being happy about things in within my life hasn’t provided me with much optimism in lots of aspects and subsequently my blogging hasn’t been up to scratch.

Unfortunately for myself, I do have two exams left to do, and another two weeks left of university, but I’m hoping to get back “on it” this weekend, and slowly update you on things and obviously post about the lovely world of fashion and beauty!!

Sorry for the picture less short but sweet (a little negative) post.

Everyone Has Knitting Fever!

It’s May, the sun has come out and we’ve decided to step outside barelegged and jacketless. I too have jumped on this bandwagon, although living in a city centre means I spend more time inside and am forever yearning to sit in the bliss of the park with a cool beverage and a group of pals. Sitting indoors all day has sent me a little loopy, bored out my brains, struggling to fill my time, whilst intentionally ignoring the fact I have exams in less than a fortnight. Two of my buddies are studying Fashion Knitwear design, whilst another Fashion design, and due to their current projects, all have been sitting around, knitted needles in hand and different coloured yarn everywhere. Its endearing watching them, the repetitive mechanics and the sound of the needles hitting each others draws you in, desperate to see the final product produced from a simple ball of yarn.

Often perceived as stereotype, knitting is a craft that is often associated with your grandma, sat in her rocking chair, television on with knitting needles working hard. All in order to produce the clothes you put on your dolls, or that scarf you always wore in the playground. After conversing with my friend, I realised that, yes now-a-days we associate knitting with an older generation, but to them it may not be the case. In our modern high-tech, “everything is a rush” society, everything is so readily available and there is no need for mum or daughter to sit at home and produce knitwear for the family to wear. In most cases yarn isn’t much cheaper than buying a ready-made garment so people don’t do it. However our grandmothers, didn’t get to the age of 60+ and think, “okay, I better learn to knit,” it is  a skill they already had learned. I thought I would do the same, I asked my friend K to teach me knit. So this is my attempt.

Currently,  I only know how to do a simple knit, and my perfectionist nature won’t let me move on until I have mastered that skill. I do plan to move and take lessons from my friends. It will definitely save me a lot of time when I do reach 60.

Casual Attire and the Theatre

I made a journey I hadn’t made in a very long time on Monday 28th April, and it regurgitated many feelings, that I hadn’t anticipated ever feeling again. The journey caused my thinking brain to vomit a lot of dark memories which, via running away, I had previously avoided remembering by storing them in a large box in the back of my skull. Although, I couldn’t have stored these memories very well, because if I were to be honest with my bean, those memories have definitely been eating  away at my think-feel-do-box for a number of years now, and continues to cause me a lot of pain.
note. to. self: create more efficient storage units for the many boxes I have tucked away in my skull.
The troubling journey was to Manchester, where I had attended school, to watch older-sister-jack perform her drama GCSE performance. The hour-long journey, sitting in a theatre for a lengthy amount of time, and then the return trek, meant outfit choice had to be practical, comfortable and aesthetically pleasing.  On top of this I was due to be returning to the village of Notts the following day, so clothing was in the cleanse and polish process, therefore I had limited supplies.













Beanie hat – Ragged Priest. Sunglasses – Primark. Cream, blouse, Black sundress, Necklace & ADONIS2 boots – Topshop. Patterned tights & frilled socks – both Older-Sister-Jack, (now mine).
Contrary to normal Family-Jack events, Mother-Jack and I arrived at the venue, The Contact Theatre, with a whole hour to spare. Within our spare hour we failed to find any decent seeds to consume ,so settled for a premade-Panini  from (insert high street coffee) shop. At the venue we met up with little-sister-jack and made our way into the theatre. In total, there was four performances, however I couldn’t fully comprehend three of said performances, so reviews cannot be written. I can however review the performance in which Older-Sister-Jack performed. The theme surrounded the UK riots that occurred in 2011, and although there was no official title for the production, I have conferred with Older-Sister-Jack and have decided to  name it “Riots – Has Britain Gone Mad?”. Now, usually a drama GCSE performance, involves a lot of over-complicated symbolism, mundane thought tracking, and numerous failed attempts at cliché accents, and this performance had all of that. Yet I was still sold the storyline, characters, and for the majority of the performance felt as though I was sat in an episode of Coronation Street. I only wonder how my I-phone addict sibling-bean managed to perform her GSCE exam, whilst retaining and using her i-phone as a so-called “prop”? 

OOTD: Is It Still Too Cold For Neon?

On Sunday April 28th, my parents invited some family friends over to “catch up” over Bagels and Coffee. A bagel brunch is a typical tradition in our household, father-jack runs off to the supermarket and local kosher deli to do the shopping, mother-jack scurries around the house cleaning with nana-jack following her from room to room catching her up with the latest gossip. Usually in this time, sister-jack(s) either rest in a peaceful slumber, or return home from their weekend adventures with their buddies, whilst I – if residing at home for the weekend – race around getting washed, scrubbed, clothed and organised for the 24hours ahead of me. Following a rushed Sunday morning of everyone completing mundane tasks, we will all come together at the kitchen table and enjoy our breakfast brunch. Unfortunately, my camera was not up and running on Sunday morning, and by the time I had it functioning there wasn’t a scrap of food left on the table for me to attempt to snap a photograph of. On the plus side, I did manage to get my camera set up, so I could snap some outfit shots for you.









Neon, knit jumper – Zara. Black, feather pendant necklace, black, tube, midi-skirt & space socks – Topshop.
The sun was beaming down on Leeds (at least when I peered out my bedroom window at approximately 10am), so I took the plunge and finally pulled out this neon, jumper; paired it with a classic black midi skirt, to create an effortless “throw-on” look. I decided to brave no tights, due to the weather which actually proved quite lucky, as I didn’t leave the house that day, and mother-jack is a cold bean so my house is constantly at a temperature equal to that of a burning furnace – much like the furnace Willy Wonker describes to Veruca Salt’s father in the Roald Dahl classic; Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
These futuristic, space-print, socks are my current go to pair at the moment as I love the print, however am not courageous enough to grace the streets in a pair of leggings with a galactic print.Although my lust for the galactic print (in small doses) has created a problem for me when entering the hosiery departments in certain high street stores – eh-hum, *Topshop* eh-hum.

The Direction of the Wind has Changed…

This weekend, I finally received the final instalment to my birthday present from the rentals. Yes, my birthday was in February, but I was undecided as to what I wanted,  and instead of spending the money on a bunch of ‘stuff’ I probably wouldn’t use much, I decided to wait until I found something I wanted. Along with my new found love for blogging, my old love for photography has been rekindled, so I asked the rentals to purchase a camera for me – as my gift. Being the fickle person, I am I didn’t want to ask the rentals to splurge a ludicrous amount of money on a swanky SLR and all the accessories it comes with. So I settled on a classic bridge camera, good enough quality, and reasonable enough to prove my photography crush is here to stay. The camera is the Fujifilm Finepix S4800, and didn’t go on sale until April 8th, so I did my waiting, and finally last weekend father-jack and I went to John Lewis to pick up, what I currently refer to as, “my baby”.

Along with new camera, my blog got a makeover as you can see, which has lead me to make the decision to change the direction in which I want my blog to travel in. Yes, my love for beauty products exists but I kept finding myself struggling with writer’s block every time I sat down at my laptop. On top of this, I felt like I wasn’t being true to myself when writing, and just spewing out words, that have been written 100 times over by other bloggers. So change is in order…
Aesthetically, there’s been change, but there will be content wise as well. I don’t want to reveal all, as it will be apparent in my future posts but what I can say is, “my heart lies with fashion, and the heart wants, what the heart wants.” My aim is to include more outfit posts, possibly some street style – providing I can rack up the courage to talk to strangers-,  and I want to try and feature some of my friends (a few are fashion students) and their opinions. I still want to include some lifestyle posts and I’m sure the occasional beauty post will crop up, just see where my writing takes me. My first approach was to become organised and that’s where I have begun – post planning, photo planning etc. is all on the cards.

I feel more optimistic about the new changes, and hopefully will be able to keep up as I’ll definitely be enjoying it more. The only thing stopping me is myself.

 

A Few Changes...

As you can see I have made some dramatic changes to the look of my blog. As well as a new appearance, I have decided to change quite a bit about my blog, as I'm currently feeling very uninspired, and limited to what I feel I should post. Which I know is completely ridiculous because this is my space, but that's just how I feel.

So hopefully starting tomorrow (once I dig up the old tripod, and learn to use my new camera) I will have some new type of posts up here, and I'll become all reinspired again. Yey!

I also have to apologise for all the Polyvure posts that keep appearing, I haven't yet worked out how to stop them but no doubt in a day or two I will have that sorted.

So for another boring, babbling post with no photographs.

Festival chic

Festival chic by lsebjackson featuring thakoon addition

Thakoon addition
kirnazabete.com

Damsel in a Dress fringe bikini
tillys.com

Hunter wide shoes
$155 - gravitypope.com

The Cambridge Satchel Company leather bag
$195 - harveynichols.com

Oliver Peoples round sunglasses
oliverpeoples.com

2b straw hat
2bstores.com