My makeup, beauty and skincare essentials.

Personally, it has taken me years to find out what makeup is best for me, as I have sensitive skin.
Here is a list of my make up kit essentials: 

Bare Minerals Foundation.
Finally!! I have found a foundation which is perfect for my skin.
Some foundations can leave your skin feeling sticky and like it has a thick layer over it. This one however is weightless, you can't even tell that your wearing any and it lasts all day long!

Benefit Erase Paste.
This is a god send! After a heavy night out, or if you've missed a couple of hours sleep this hides all your black bags. Its surprising how long this little pot lasts. I bought my last one in January and I haven't even used a quarter of the pot. I use number 2, medium.

Here's a before and after picture.. You can clearly see how good this product is! Those big black bags are gone instantly.

Benefit CORALista Blusher.
I love this blusher! It doesn't leave your cheeks looking orange.. it makes them look lovely and rosie! Like my other benefit makeup this has lasted so long. I couldn't tell you when I last bought a new one and although benefit is a bit more  expensive I think spending that bit extra is worth it.

Volum' Express Colossal Cat Eyes.
This is the best mascara I've found. It doesn't leave my lashes all thick and clumpy like others have. The brush leaves them looking thick, but also natural. The false lash effect without the hassle of false lashes for a more natural look.

Maybelline Gel Eyeliner.
I never use pencil eyeliner, because of the mess the pencil shavings can leave behind.. (cream carpet, black shavings.. need I say anymore?!) I haven't had this long so still getting used to it.

Benefit Posie Tint.
Personally I don't like the lip glosses and unless your willing to pay a fair amount, I don't think you can buy a lipstick that lasts. Posie tint is a lip and cheek stain which leaves your lips looking a lovely pink colour and lasts for hours. Only disadvantage of this is sometimes it makes my lips a bit dry, so I use Vaseline to keep them moisturised. I don't use this product on my cheeks as it does not mix well with the foundation, and leaves it looking a little unnatural.

Big Beautiful Eye Palette.
I first had this free in work last year, and I loved it! Now that I have dyed my hair dark these colour shades suit me far better than when I was blonde. I've used this for months now and Benefit makeup really does last, even if it is a bit more expensive.

Palmers Cocoa Butter.
I suffer pretty badly with dry skin, and when I'm a bit stressed my eczema flares up in the folds of my arms. When it does, I use this! I put a really thick layer on the itchy areas before I go to bed and wear long sleeve pyjamas. Usually, by the next day my dry skin is far less red and itchy and looks and feels a lot better.

Soltan Beautiful Bronze Mousse and Tan Mit Applicator.
Even though using fake tan on sensitive skin can irritate it.. I just can't live without a tan, and I'm not using sunbeds! As long as you ensure you exfoliate and moisturise using tan on sensitive skin shouldn't give you too many problems! I have used Fake Bake, St Moriz, St Tropez and I have found this one to be the longest lasting and cost effective! Sometimes you can get a strong smell from fake tan (reminds me of biscuits!) whereas this one gives off a fresh summery scent. It is so important to use a fake tan mit, otherwise you end up with orange hands.. not a good look!


And finally, my beauty must have!

Moroccan Oil.
I cannot thank my hairdresser enough for introducing me to this miracle treatment! It has got my hair into fantastic condition and leaves it looking and feeling soft and shiny. I once had hair in terrible condition, I ruined it with years of peroxide, bleach and straightener abuse and this saved it and brought it back to life! I use a pea size amount on wet hair once every two weeks and it has repaired my hair and even made it grow! 




So here's my essentials. What is your makeup and beauty must haves? Leave a comment and let me know!

How To : Dress for Festival season!

So, Coachella has officially kicked off the beginning of this years festival season. For me, this is my favourite time of the year! I'll definitely be hitting Beach Break Live, I went last year and the atmosphere was incredible, definitely a brilliant way to end my university experience! 
There will be hundreds of festivals taking place this year, so I have combined five of my favourite festival outfits from my favourite stores!

Outfit one - Miss Selfridge.

1. Petites Graphic Fringe Tee - £24
2. Petites Grey High waist Shorts - £30 
3. Trilby Hat - £14 (Perfect to tame that festival hair do!)
4. Mini Round Sunglasses - £10
5. Pink Leopard Welly - £25
6. Gold Cross Earrings - £4
7. Gold Cross Chain Rings - £8.50  




Outfit two - River Island.

1. Orange Print Bandeau Playsuit - £18
2. Mint Green Denim Jacket - £45
3. Coral Fringe Bag - £35
4. Yellow Trilby Hat - £16
5. Feather Hoop Earrings - £4.50
6. Turquoise Friendship Bracelet - £8







Outfit three - Topshop.

1. Stud Skull Crop Vest - £22
2. Studded Hotpants - £35
3. Longline Biker Jacket - £48
4. Dr Martens - £100
5. Peace Wood Bracelet - £4
6. Mega Ring Set - £18
7. Peace Rosary Necklace - £12.50
8. Mixed Feather Clips - £4.25





Outfit four - New Look.

1. Blue Daisy Front Zip Bra Top - £14.99
2. Pastel Denim Hotpants - £12
3. White Longline Waistcoat - £19.99
4. Bow Detail Wellies - £19.99
5. Sunflower Daisy Bracelet - £4.99
6. Daisy Garland Headband - £3.99
7. Bow Striped Bag - £16.99




Outfit five - ASOS.

1. Denim Shirt Dress - £25
2. Hunter Brit Wellies - £125
3. Cath Kidston Bag - £55
4. Pieces Fortune Heart Belt - £22
5. Cath Kidston Antique Union Jack Drop Earrings - £16
6. 4 Pack Adjustable Rock Rings - £12







Are you going to any festivals this year? If so which one?
And whats your favourite outfit?
Leave a comment and let me know!

I did it myself!

So, I blogged about my favourite nail tutorials.. and thought it would be best to try them out!
Over the last few days I have tried out the nail marbling tutorial.
To be honest, the first time I tried it I found it very tricky! If you want to try and recreate this look make sure you have plenty of time on your hands. First time I tried this out it took me over an hour! So this is not something you can do if your running late or as a last minute thing.. this takes time!

Here's the marbling process.

I covered the top of my fingers and around the nail  with sellotape. I did this because it was much easier to clean up afterwards, just pull the tape off and all the mess is gone!






You can use a small dish, or plastic cup to drop the nail varnish into, with filtered water (works best! all you need to do is use boiled water which is left to cool completely!) 


As long as you follow the tutorials, you can't go wrong!
I chose to use pink and coral.. however, I don't think these colours were too effective as they are very similar.. So I tried again, but used pink, white and coral and I thought it was much better!


The nail varnishes I used were Pink and Coral from Barry M, and the white was from natural collection. (I got mine from Boots as they were on offer, three for the price of two!)

Second attempt.

I was so pleased with how these turned out. By mixing the white in I think it gave it a much better pattern... it made them stand out! This look will be perfect for festivals. I can't wait to try all the different colours, and your guaranteed a different design every time.

Have you tried out any of the designs? Let me know how you found them!

My favourite Spring Summer nail tutorials!

Hopefully, you will have had a look at my sneak peak into spring summer blog post... if you haven't click here to take a look! 


Here are some nail tutorials, which will match perfectly with what's big this spring summer!


1. Aztec Nails

Unfortunately I couldn't share the link, but if you click here you'll be forwarded straight to the page!
Here, there are two designs which are so simple and easy to do.
I watched the nail tutorial and instantly wanted to try this.. As soon as my student loan comes in i'll be stocking up on some new nail varnishes! You pay around £25 or more for a minx manicure and personally I think these nails look just as good and will be a fraction of the price. I think this design will be perfect for festival season.




2. Tropical nails.

I LOVE these nails! They are so cute, but from watching the video it does look as if it would take a few goes to get the technique just right. 

I love that you can pick and choose whatever colours you want and change them to match your outfit. Why not get the girls around for a night in and practice designs on each other? Practice makes perfect!

3. Pastel coloured nails.

This is my favourite nail tutorial... Look how FAB they look! This is called water marbling. When I first saw these designs I couldn't even begin to imagine how you would do it, but after watching several video how to tutorials I can't believe how easy it is! This was my favourite video and design as the author clearly shows just how easy it is. Again, you can pick and choose the colours you wish to use.. and how many! The options are endless. I can't wait to try this one.

How about you, which is your favourite? Have you tried to do any of these nail designs? Post a comment and let me know!

How to : Get Noticed! Marketing a celebrity, fashion & beauty blog!

With all the other fashion and beauty blogs out there, how are you going to get yours noticed?

It is very important to:

R Make sure your content is up to date and you update it regularly.  

R Make sure it is clearly laid out and easy to navigate.

R Make sure it is search engine friendly.

R Make sure you actively market your blog.



8 How to make your blog easy to navigate.

It is essential to have a blog which is easy to read and find your way around.

Here are some top tips to make sure your blog looks professional.
C Make sure you have a Search Box.
C Ensure the links change colour when visited.
C Include obvious links on every page, it should always be clear where you are.
C Don’t make your lines too long, only ten to twelve words!
C Make sure your font size is readable, this is far too small!
C Don’t write huge paragraphs, use photos and bullet points to break it up.
C Use sans serif fonts.. they are much easier to read!
C Avoid dark backgrounds.
C Don’t make your pictures too small or too big!
C Make sure you use captions for your photos and alt texts. (Shows when you hover over the image.)

These are all really simple ways to make your blog really professional, which requires hardly any effort at all!

8 How to keep updated with other celebrity, fashion and beauty blogs.

One way of doing this is to set a Google Reader.

This allows you to subscribe to other websites and blogs, and get the very latest content emailed to straight to you. This is a really easy way to keep up to date!

How to set it up:

8 Next, get yourself a Twitter account! 

Nowadays, news hits twitter first, so by following the right people, you find out the gossip first!

Never used twitter before? Here’s what it’s all about:

I love Twitter, and have incorporated it into my blog by using a twitter feed, follow me button and a section called #TodayImWearing which is a very commonly used trend on twitter. Just type it into the search box and there’s thousands of tweets about it every day.

My #TodayImWearingSection on my blog.

Twitter search for #TodayImWearing

For my blog I follow celebrities, other beauty and fashion bloggers and beauty websites. Make sure you follow people relevant to your blog, so you can find out the gossip first, which may be of use to you!

People who I follow on Twitter.

Make sure you have a ‘follow me on Twitter’ button on our blog.

You can get these here!

 Top Twitter tips!
S Don’t use your personal account.. Make one specifically for your blog. (Get a name as close to your blog name as possible, as it will be easier for people to find you!)
R If someone follows you, follow them back.. It would be rude not to!
R Make sure your tweets are interesting! Nobody wants to reading boring tweets.
R Keep your twitter updated! Yesterday’s news is old news.

With over 300 million users, twitter is a great way to market your blog.

C Make your blog search engine friendly.

Search engines such as Google will search your blog for key words.
! Always make sure your key words are used in the headline, description, caption and alt text.
Also, Google does search for labels. *Labels are words that you think sum up the blog post and words that people may search for in Google, trying to find your content.

Good headlines are so important. This can be the difference between someone reading your blog, and going elsewhere.

Google also looks at:
▪ How much content is on your site.
▪ How often it is updated.
▪ How many links there are.

C Optimise your blog through social media.
You can share you blog through Twitter, and Facebook... and others can share it too!

How to share to Social Media.

Snapshot showing my blog being shared on Facebook.

The more outlets you share your blog through, the more likely you’ll get traffic.

C Now, promote your blog!
R You need to spread the word and get people to read your blog.
R Write about it on your Twitter and Facebook.
R Get your family and friends to visit your blog and comment on it! Ask them what they think, and what they would like you to blog about.
R Register your blog in web directories.
R Find others who blog about similar things to you, leave them some comments and see if they reply!
R Link to other blogs and sites.
R Get involved in forums and websites about your subject area. Remember to link your blog, you may get some traffic as a result!
R Email your blog posts to people you think may be interested.
R Print flyers and put them on notice boards at work, university etc..
R Make your blog different, and stand out!

Now all that’s left is to be patient and keep trying!
Here’s a helpful website with tips and tricks on promoting your blog.

Do you have any different ideas to promote your blog and get noticed?

Let me know and leave a comment!

A sneak peak into Spring/Summer style at Miss Selfridge!

Walking into Miss Selfridge, first thing I notice is how clean and tidy it is.. sometimes this is hard to find! I was greeted by all the lovely staff straight away.. something else you don’t get very often! This store is immaculate, the graphics look fantastic and the trends are merchandised fantastically.

Miss Selfridge Swansea Store.

I interviewed the manager Laura at Miss Selfridge in Swansea, to try and find out what’s hot this spring summer. Here’s the inside scoop!

▪ So what is going to be big this spring summer?
“Expect to see lots of powerful prints and festival wear. I have seen some of the stock that will be hitting stores soon and it is amazing!  It’s something for all customers to look forward too!”

I’ve had a look at the up and coming look book, and although I can’t show you it.. trust me, the stock looks fantastic! I cannot wait to buy it.
 

▪ Any particular colour palettes/trends?

"There are a lot of pastels, aztec and prints in this spring summer! As you can see from our new print leggings, they are fabulous! I love the way they have incorporated the pastel colours with the aztec print.” 

“Tropical print is going to be huge this summer! I love this print and already have the Hawaiian Print Dress. As it isn’t quite summer yet, I paired this with a denim crop jacket! This tropical print is eye-catching and bright, getting me in the mood for the summer!”

"Pastel colours are a very popular choice this spring/summer. My wardrobe will be full of these as I love pastel colours as they are so girly and feminine. There are so many pastel coloured denim too, from yellow to purple. I love it!"

“Miss Selfridge have just launched its ‘Designed By’ range, which is all fabulous bright tropical prints.. Definitely a must have!”

My favourite colour palette is the pastel colours. The chiffon floats so elegantly and can easily be dressed up or down.. Can’t wait to get my hands on these! 

For me, some of the ‘Designed By’ range is a bit too bright, but i’d imagine these would look fabulous on someone who isn’t afraid to try a new style!

▪ What should we be wearing this Spring Summer?
“Anything floaty and floral.. And from Miss Selfridge of course!”

▪ What is your best style advice?
“When shopping look for three key pieces;

One print item.
One colour item.
One patterned item.

By having 3 pieces, you can mix and match these items, and get much more wear out of them!”

▪ Is the new stock good value?
“For what your getting, it is fantastic value. The clothes are of a brilliant standard this year.”

Its true, the stock does seem a better standard this year.. even if some of the pieces are a  tiny bit more expensive, the quality of the clothing definitely makes up for it.

▪ And finally, what is your favourite outfit?
" I love this dress!! Very Carrie Bradshaw!”

Personally, I think the outlook for spring summer fashion, is much better than last year and the clothes that have come in, and are coming in are much better.

So, what do you think of the new spring summer collection?
Do you have any favourites?? Whats your spring summer essential? Leave some comments and let me know!

Introducing the new iPad.

Today the official iPad 3 was released, and here it is!

Lets take a look at what its all about!

Here is the official Apple iPad3 video.

Although it is visually identical to the iPad 2, there are some differences.. 

The new iPad has:

• High Resolution Display.
  Apple have managed to somehow, make the screen even better.. increasing the resolution to 1536 x 2048, with a 264 ppi pixel density! That's more than one million pixels than a 1080 high definition TV.
•  A5X Processor.
  This new iPad has 1GHz CPU and a quad core graphics chip. (in less technical terms, makes it much quicker, clearer and powerful!)
• 5 Mega pixel Camera.
  This camera is much, much better than that on the iPad 2! The iPad 2 had a 0.7 mega pixel camera and the new iPad 3 has gone up to an impressive 5 mega pixels. I myself have the iPad 2 and although the camera quality wasn't great, for me the camera was not the reason I bought an iPad.. I use my camera for that!
• 4G Mobile Broadband.This is an even faster broadband.. however the current models won't be available in the UK as the 4G networks aren't up and running yet! Even when they are, the iPad 3 won't be able to use it!

• What you need to know!

    How much is it? Just WiFi

    Prices: 16GB - £399,
                  32GB - £479
                  64GB - £559
    WiFi + 4G. On Vodafone, 02, Orange & 3 Mobile.
     Prices: 16GB - £499
                  32 GB - £579
                  64GB -  £659


Here is the Price Plan:

My iPad is 16GB with just WiFi and I never have a problem with Internet access. Wherever I go I use hot spots, so for me personally I do not need to pay extra for WiFi and 4G.. it would be a waste of money!

• Apps:

Miss Selfridge, River Island and Very Apps.

The apps on the iPad are phenomenal..you can find almost anything! The apps are quicker and better quality 

than when you go on the website on Safari.. I love them!

• My favourite app:

It is full of beauty how to's, hair and makeup tutorials and style advice! The images are so defined and powerful, with fabulous illustrations and clear text. There is a clear content page and it is so easy to navigate! 

You can also download the latest newspapers and store them in your very own newsstand.

What do people think of this new iPad?

1. Review from The Guardian..

" The iPad 3 puts Apple a mile ahead of anything we've seen from Android tablets. The interface is unchanged. But all sorts of incremental details – especially the screen, but also the camera capability and so the graphics heft, and the mobile broadband capability – have been ratcheted up. Of course, if you don't think you'll be able to tell the difference in the screen, and if you think LTE is not going to happen in time, good news: the iPad 2 is now cheaper than before. Win-win!"

2. Review from The Telegraph..

"Apple has packed four times as many pixels into the same space and the improvement has to be seen to be believed. Text and photos look beautiful. Put the new iPad side-by-side with the iPad 2 and the differences are amazing. There are changes particularly in performance. The upgrade is apparent already in some of Apple's apps but it will become clearer still once new apps are released that take advantage of the graphics capabilities of the new A5X processor. The performance jump is not as significant as the leap between the original iPad and the iPad 2 but it is definitely there. The new iPad is all about the screen. It is very slightly heavier and thicker but not enough that you would notice. If you have been holding off getting a tablet then this is the one to go for."

3. Review from PCDA Advisor..

" Our first impressions? If the iPad 2 had had any serious competition from even the big-name Android pretenders, iPad 2012 has just buried it. The new Retina screen is the eye-popping glimpse of our computing future, fixed within what has already become established as the most intuitive and reliable computing device you can find at any price, let alone one that still sells for less than 400 quid."

As you can see from the reviews, the new iPad has been very well received. Tech-savvy fans from all over the world rushed to queue from the early hours to get their hands on this incredibly advanced technology.

People in London, Singapore and New York queued for hours to get their hands on the latest gadget from Apple.

So, what is my favourite thing about the iPad? ...The fabulous cases you can get!

This is my favourite case I've found, but at £85 it is unfortunately out of my price range!

Oh well, I'll just have to spend more time looking at sparkly cases! 

Do you have the new iPad? What do you think of it?

Leave a comment!