Wedding hair tester

So today I went to a lovely little wedding fayre at Ashton Court in Bristol and was lucky enough to have a sample hair style done. 

The hairdresser used GHDs to curl my hair then pinned it all up. It only took around 20mins and of course is a little messy compared to how it would look on the big day. But was great to get some ideas! 

Hats off to you..or on as the case may be

So this is just a little bit of fun. A good hat can just completely change an outfit. And as far as I'm concerned, the bigger the better!!

I couldn't resist trying a few on when shopping today. I loved them so much, I thought I'd share them with you ;) 

Ahh there is nothing like a great hat. 

DLJ 

Xoxo 

Foundation Brushes

Do they really make that much of a difference? For years I went by thinking that they wouldn't, then one day I decided to splash out and have never looked back. 

There are loads of different styles of brushes on the market, but I'm going to focus on the two that I feel are most popular styles. 

The first if these is the is the Bobbi Brown Foundation Brush. This was th very first foundation brush I ever brought. It cost £32 which is a little steep for one brush, but you can buy similar styles from different brands. 

I used to love this brush, but now only occationally use it when I get broad of my other brush or fancy a change (I know living on the edge right?) 

I find that this brush can be too much effort. I know that sounds so lazy, but you just can't use it quickly! And sometimes you just need a foundation brush that is quick and still delivers results. And so onto my favourite brush.

On the plus side I find that this brush doesn't absorb as much foundation, so less waste. But it just doesn't give me the coverage that I need. 

The Stippling Brush from RealTechniques is technically a finishing brush, but I use it as my foundation brush and have friends that do the same. 

This is a real bargain buy. At only £11.99 you really cannot go wrong with this brush. It gives amazing coverage and is designed to give an airbrushed finish. 

I love this brush because it is quick. You can use this in a rush and still get great results. It has a flat head so you can literally get makeup onto the face with speed and blend in quickly. Loads of other brands also do the flat headed foundation brush these days, but I've not come across any this cheap. I've had this brush for nearly a year now and it's still going strong! 

All in all, a foundation brush is a must have for your make up bag. No matter what type of foundation you use, foundation brushes are essential. 

DLJ

Xoxo 

Hair care : my hair basics

So everyone has different ways of looking after their locks, but here is my small list of products for hair care basics. 

For everyday volume I use James Brown moose to add a little boost to my hair. Then while my hair is still wet after applying my moose I also add argon oil to the tips. This makes my hair super soft and glossy. 

Once a month I also use Macadamia Oil hair mask (pictured above). You can either buy this in a tub, or in handy sachets like I have here. It says you can use this up to twice a week, but I find that once a month is enough as I already use argon oil daily. 

If I need lots of volume then I also add Lee Stafford Big Fat hair spray to my hair once dried as well as using moose on damp hair. (Pictured below) 

This add LOADS of volume to your hair, but can be a bit sticky. So if you like to touch your hair a lot (some people do) then this might really bug you. 

I'd love to hear your hair tips! Feel free to contact me letting me know how you make your hair beautiful! 

DLJ

Xoxo

My 'go to' eye shadow palettes

There is nothing better than a palette which has a range of nudes and colours that you can mix and match to your hearts content. 

So here are three of my favourite palettes. 

Two of them are from Estée Lauder and the third one is from Bobbi Brown. 

As you can see the nude colours in my Estée Lauder palettes have taken a bit of a beating over the months. I love to use these colours as my base for most eye looks. 

The reason I love palettes so much is because you have so many colours all in one place. (In one place being the key here). I travel back and fourth, here and there all the time, so for my having so many colours in one place is a god send. Not only is it easy to cart them around, but it also means you don't have loads of little tubs to sift through and you never forget a colour. Life is just so much easier. 

Of course there are down sides to these palettes. You can't always choose the exact colours you want. I know lots of brands are happy to make up palettes from their range to suit you, but as far as I know Estée Lauder don't offer this as an option (yet). I believe that Bobbi Brown may do (but don't hold me to that) 

Now the great think about the Bobbi Brown palette is that it also has a range of lip glosses that suit the eye shades. I know that sounds a bit crazy, but no matter what look I create with these colours, all of the lip glosses just match perfectly. A match made in beauty heaven :) 

Palettes also provide quite good value for money. They do always seem quite expensive at first, but when you do the boring maths, they actually work out really 'cheap' vs if you brought every colour separately. 

On the flip side, if you know for a fact you just arnt going to use half of the colours and there are only two or three in the palette that you like / want, then you are of course much better off just buying the colours you want instead :) 

DLJ 

Xoxo

Hidden gem : YSL solid perfume and lip gloss bag accessory

Don't you just love it when you find something you forgot you had!? 

I was having a good old rummage through my make up box (one of many) and found this hidden gem at the bottom! 

Inside this beautiful purple box is a lovely little bag accessory which is home to a solid perfume and lip gloss! They do say all good things come in small packages! 

The accessory just clips onto your favourite bag and away you go. 

When you open the tiny boxes you can see the solid perfume and lip gloss along with a handy mirror for application. 

What a great find. 

And the moral of the story!? 

Sort your make up out on regular occasions...although if you don't, no biggie because you get lovely surprises when you finally get around to it 

DLJ

Xoxo

Nails : teal and gold

I decided to be a bit more creative than usual with this look. 

I first applied Me Me Me nail colour in Defiant (teal) to my nails and waited for it to dry. I believe I got this colour from a superdrug store last year. I remember really wanting teal and I couldn't fit it anywhere at the time! Superdrug was the last place I looked it was really cheap for nail varnish, so I was really chuffed! 

Once this base layer dried, I then added Ted Baker varnish completely over my 2nd finger in and did half colour for all my other nails. 

It's really annoying because the bottle doesn't have the name if this colour :( it was part of a limited edition set I got last Christmas. 

Here is the finished look! 

DLJ 

Xoxo

Colour at BareMinerals

I loveeeee eye shadow and one of my favourite counters for eye shadow selection has to be BareMinerals. 

They have literally every shade and colour a girl could wish for in their loose powder range. 

And if that wasn't enough, they also have little palettes of perfectly matched colours too! 

Added to the insane range of eye colours, they also have a great range of blushes to match every skin tone. 

So many products...so little time! 

How I would love to have all of these at home. Although if I did, I don't think I'd ever get to work on time! 

DLJ

Xoxo

Morning with Benefit : the new eye liner

So this morning I spent some time with the Benefit team in John Lewis. 

Today the brand launched their new eye liner: They're Real! Push Up Liner. 

This new liner is a revolution in the eye liner market. Rather than being your typical liquid eye liner, it is a gel eye liner but in a pen rather than in a tub! 

As you can see below it is a nifty shaped  pen which is designed to feel comfortable in your hand. It has three sides so it feels a bit like an ink pen that you used to use when you were at school, but on these the nib is made of plastic. 

While I was with Benefit I used the eye liner along with a range of other amazing products to create the following look. (Smokey brown look in different lights) 

To create this look I using the cream eye shadow in 'Birthday Suit' for my base. 

I then used their 'Smokin Eyes' kit to add greys to blend the darker colours. 

I then used 'Call My Bluff' eye shadow to do more blending and get rid of any harsh lines. 

I used 'Guilty Pleasure' on the inner part of my eye to add more depth. 

I finished off the look using the new They're Real Push Up Liner and their normal waterproof black eye liner on my water line. 

Overview...

I don't know how I feel about this gel liner. It really is revolutionary in the market, but I found it quite 'sticky' to apply. The colour lasts really well, and I think after a few days of using this I would get used to the texture of the product. 

It's a really great price at only £18.50, which I think is a real bargain! 

DLJ

Xoxo

Are your feet ready for summer?

Summer is well and truly here in the UK (let's hope it lasts) 

But are you feet ready for summer sandals!? If not, then you need this product in your life! 

One thing I always forget about is my feet ! Soap and Glory have an amazing foot cream called Heel Genius. 

You simply apply this to your feet before bed, pop on some socks and sleep well the magic happens! 

Weirdly enough this stuff smells amazing!!  I almost done want to waste it on my feet because it smells so good. 

So what's in it? Allantoin, Glycerin, Macadamia Oil, Menthol, Bilberry, orange and lemon acid smoothers! 

For a quick heel fix, try this amazing stuff :)