hmm, so ive been thinking. and looking. i completely hate my wardrobe at the moment, its so typically topshop-esque, lets follow latest fashion-type/same as everyone else. i really want to find some originality to what i wear. i think its down to how well you put things together, making them look different from how topshop/h&m/primark puts it together on the mannequins. i like looking unique; different from my friends and all the other girls out there. hmm. i think im going to take a trip around some charity shops because i see all these other people who find great things!

on another note, im thinking of getting extentions. my hair is bland and im stuck in a rut. my hair takes aaaaaaages to grow, so extentions would be a quick fix! im just going to get the clip in ones though, my hair can't endure any more damage...

xoxxo

oh and the top picture is by paco rabane, for my art coursework im looking into sixties fashion and this dress really intrigues me, the metal discs of it are amazing.

My hair story

I've dyed my hair so many times over the past 2/3 years that I can't even remember how many packs of dye I have been through. I'm naturally a light strawberry blonde colour.

I started off at 14 by dying it brown, gradually getting darker then went the whole way and dyed it black. At the time I loved it and stayed black for around 1 1/2 years. Three months ago I wanted to go red so off I went, bleached my hair at home then applied a red dye. I loved the red for about the first two weeks but then it because dull and boring. So I wanted to be blonde.
I've bleached my hair about three times, applied 3 blonde dyes and it's still not the colour I want it but for the sake of my hair, I'm willing to leave it for a few months till it can get some condition and softness back.
At the moment, the colour is acceptable but very dry, brittle and lacking any sort of shine. When I straighten it, it breaks off at the ends. I know I shouldn't straighten it but I have naturally thick, coarse frizzy hair and not applying heat simply isn't an option.

I now plan to apply a mask every other wash. I'm also using CHI Keratin Mist, a leave in strengthing treatment which I hope will help.

Above is a L'Oreal Elvive Re-Nutrition hair mask, with royal jelly. This smells amazing! It also leaves my hair super soft (or softer than usual!) after using it. This was around £3 in Asda. I also bought Aussie Miracle Hair Insurance Leave-In conditioner, which you apply when hair is damp. I also spray it on my hair when it's dry, mainly because the smell is so damn good! I can't even begin to tell you how good this smells. Seriously, they should make a perfume out of it ha ha ha!

Hopefully, in a few months, my hair will be in better condition, fingers crossed x

Shopping spree and OOTD

This is the outfit I choose for my recent shopping trip, it was a really warm day in England so I chose this denim skirt from Bershka, tee from Topshop, blazer from Primark (as seen in another post) and gladiator sandals also from Primark. The belt is vintage and bag, Louis Vuitton!
Everywhere is having a sale atm so I picked up a few bargains.

I needed some new jewellery and I picked up this necklace for £5 reduced from £10 at Miss Selfridge. I love the coral jewels in the center! You can't really see in the picture but it has a gold and brown leather chain. It's my new love.

This top wasn't in the sale, £28 from Topshop but I needed something that would go with the skirt further down in the post. It's a crop top, which I wouldn't wear on its own as I definitely don't have the abs or flat stomach to pull it off. It's a dusty pink colour with silver metallic detailing on the back neckline. I'm planning to wear it tucked into the skirt.

The back

Zara is one of my favourite shops and it has a HUGE sale on. Literally everything is on sale. I saw some gorgeous boyfriend blazers reduced from £50 down to £29 (!!!!) but they didn't have any in my size :( That is the only problem with sales, they normally never have your size! Anyway, I saw this light denim high waisted skirt for £14, reduced from £30.

xoxo

P.S. Hello to my new subscribers 8-)

Latest in Beauty goodies

I'd just like to say a quick thankyou to all of my subscribers! I'm over the 30 mark now and I'm so happy that you've wanted to follow my blog :) Anyway...

I read about Latest in Beauty (www.latestinbeauty.com) from someones blog but I can't remember who! If it was you, leave me a comment below and I'll credit you for it because it's a brillant thing! note: it was Daisy from Cupcakes and Cherries whose blog I read! Latest in Beauty is a website which you can subscribe to for free and every month they send you samples of beauty products. You get one from Skincare, one from Make up & Fragrances and one from Hair and Body. You choose your products, send a text message then you'll get a code that enables you to send away for these free samples. The text costs £1 though, but this is to cover postage and packaging.

I decided to try out the Estee Lauder Idealist Pore Minimizing Skin Refinisher. What a mouthful hah. It claims to "refine the look of uneven skin tenture, flakiness and roughness. It leaves skin unbelievably soft and smooth, virtually poreless". I don't partically have large pores, but sometimes around the nose area, they can be quite visible. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm hoping it'll do some good. You get 7 samples of it, which is a weeks worth of supply.
However, it claims "here is a 69% reduction in the appearance of pores after 4 weeks of continued use" This would mean you'd have to go out and buy some more to see any clear results.

Next I got a sample of John Frieda Frizz Ease Weather Works Style Sealant Creme. Another mouthful! This is a serum that you apply to wet hair which protects your hair from the elements i.e. rain, humidity etc, all our worst nightmares! I have naturally frizzy hair so I'm going to give this a try and it might stop my hair from turning into a Diana Ross style 'do!

Finally, from the make up section, I got 3 samples of the Mary Kay Mineral eyeshadow. I got it in the colours Navy Blue, Lemongrass and Sienna. These pictures don't do the colours any justice! Omg I'm in love!They are so pigmented, especially navy blue and the lemongrass turns into a gorgeous gold yellow. There isn't much colour payoff for Sienna but I'm not too keen on this colour anyway.
I'm thinking of smudging the Navy Blue into my lash line to give a coloured smokey lived in look.

Definitely worth a look on the website, as they have other samples to choose from too.

Yay or Nay?

Yay:

Going camping next weekend with a large group of friends, weather permitting of course!

Burt Bees Beeswax Lip Balm - I went a day without applying lipbalm (I usually use Vaseline) and my lips turned into dry flaky heaven. I've started using this Burt Bees balm again and it definitely has been my saviour.

Palmers Cocoa Butter - Time and time again, I always go back to this moisturisier, i love it.

No heat weekend - no straighteners or hairdryers, just baring the au naturale look aka lions mane.

Barry M 101 paired with Barry M gloss in 4.

Mac Strobe cream - great primer and makes me glow all day long.

Avaitors.

Kasabian + Oasis = gig heaven. Definitely by far the best gig I've been to.

The recent warm nights.


Nay:

Dry chapped lips! A nightmare look with the 101.

Saturday nights in - so boring.

Not getting as much money as I thought I would for a full weekends work.

Rings - seem to just make my fingers look short fat and stumpy.


Not many Nays as I've been feeling quite positive this week!

Trying to find a new foundation

I have yet to find my holy grail foundation. I've tried lots but just can't seem to find one I like. I tend to go for drugstore makes, generally because they are cheaper than that such as MAC. But this always has its drawbacks; foundation wearing off quickly, making my skin look terrible etc.

What I want from a foundation:

• For it to be long lasting, it's such a faff when you have to touch up foundation after only a few hours!
• Not make my skin look greasy or shiny. I have normal/combination skin.
• To feel light on my skin; I hate the heaviness that some foundations seem when applied on the skin, especially now that it is summer.
• Not be a bugger to remove!

If anyone has any good suggestions for foundations under the £15/£10 mark, I'd be grateful for the recommendations :)

Maybe I should just splash out and buy a mac foundation...?

Nails of the Day

Just a quick post on the colour I painted my nails today. It is Have A Tempura Tantrum by OPI. This is my first OPI nail varnish, which I won in a contest held by Hele. I love the colour, a gorgeous milky beige nude pink. As much as I love the colours and naming of OPI polishes, I think there are better alternatives out there, namely the Barry M range.
Still, I love the colour and I am happy with my prize :)

Sorry for the awful quality of my painted nails, I can never paint them without getting some varnish on my skin!

Updated skincare routine

A while back I did a post on my skincare routine that I followed. Because of problems with my skin, I decided to go back to basics and only use a cleanser and moisturiser. I had found a bottle of Clean & Clear Exfoliating Daily Wash and decided to try that out with my usual moisturiser, a Clean & Clear one (on the left, above). This routine lasted for around two weeks and didn't make any noticable changes to my skin. It was still dry in places, red and I still had blackheads.

While in Asda, Clean & Clear was on a 2 for £5 offer so I picked up my usual moisturiser and a Deep Cleansing Cream Wash, oil free (on the right above). I tend to go for Clean & Clear because it caters for teen skin and is cheap as chips. I thought I may aswell give this face wash ago.
My skin has never looked better. Totally clear of spots, which is quite unusual for me as I always seem to have at least one spot. It is no longer dry or red and my skin is glowing more than usual.

My routine is as follows:
Morning: No face wash, just splash of water followed by moisturiser.
Night: Apply a pea sized amount of the cream wash to my dry face and massage in until all the white has disappeared. I then wet my hands and massage my face again, which brings the cleanser up into a foam. Rinse off and then I follow with moisturiser.

I now believe that less is more for my skin. All the products that I was using before just simply created more problems. I either have sensitive skin or because I'm young, I don't respond well to some harsh chemicals (salicylic acid anyone?) that are in face washes and blackhead cleansers. When I'm older, I'll probably start using more products that cater for my skin but for the time being, it's good the way it is.

A nice surprise from Benefit

So after reading Marcia's blog today (Let there be shopping!!) I had to hurry out and buy Glamour magazine. Why? Well because it had a freebie of a Benefit badgal Lash mascara! I panicked thinking it would sell out but of course it hadn't in my local newsagents. I remember, maybe last year, when Glamour gave away a Benefit Her Glossiness lip gloss and I couldn't find the magazine ANYWHERE. Luckily I managed to get my hands on one and the lip gloss in a very vivid pink.

Seems as though Glamour is only £2, it's a great freebie as the mascara is worth £9.50 itself. Yes it's a smaller version but just as good. I personally love this mascara, it does exactly what it says on the tin. Volumised lashes and it lasts.

Onto other things:

I'm jumping on the bandwagon late here but I only got round to purchasing the Prestige Skin Loving Minerals bronzer in Glam Tan. This is reduced to only £6 in Boots from around its usual £8/£9 price. I haven't tried it yet but I've got high hopes from the swatch I made. I thought maybe it could be used as an all over bronzer but it's way too shimmery so I think I'll just stick to the cheeks or to highlight.

I also got this powder brush from a stall in the Metro Centre (which is a big shopping centre near to where I live). It was £3 and for the price, it's amazing quality. It hasn't shed (yet) and has the softest bristles. I haven't had a powder brush like this (!), how I survived I dont know haha, and I've now realised its functionality. I've previously been using a kabuki for just about everything powder related. Yes, that means bronzers, mineralized skin finish natural, blush etc.

I have a very small brush collection, maybe around 10 brushes made up of Ruby & Millie and other random makes. I can't justify (or afford) spending £20+ on MAC brushes so I'm looking around for cheaper but just as good alternatives.

This make, w7 I think, seems very good so I will be going back for more.

Attempt in toning up my skin

With my holiday fast approaching (60 days eeek!) I am trying to make an effort in losing weight and toning up for a good bikini body. I really don't want to look like a beached whale in my group of friends so from this week, healthy eating is a must. I also have problems with the backs of my thighs and tops of my arms. The phrase thunder thighs springs to mind (ha!) so I am determined to tone up my legs. I bought this today hoping that it might do some work.

It's a Thai Spa Body Massager or in other words, a body brush. It was £3.29 in my local Superdrug. It claims to "gently stimulate circulation and tone your skin". The top picture shows a close up of the body brush with a combination of bristle hairs and these small soft plastic knobly bits. It's quite stiff so I'm thinking that this is really going to work deep into my skin.

I am planning to use this every night on my skin after a shower (or maybe before, I'm not sure what would be best) in combination with the Boots Expert Total Body Anti-Cellulite cream. I've not yet purchased this but I've heard good things so fingers crossed.