Tuesday, 28 February 2012

How To: Get Louboutin Style, Just like Beyonce!











"The shiny red colour of the soles has no function other than to identify to the public that they are mine. I selected the colour because it is engaging, flirtatious, memorable and the colour of passion."
Christian Louboutin.



Beyonce and Heidi Klum looking fabulous in
Christian Louboutin Daffodile Strass.

These shoes are absolutely amazing! Completely covered in Aurora Boreale Swarovski crystals, and with a towering heel height of 6 inches, they ooze glamour and style. As truly beautiful as these shoes are, at $6,395 (around £4,055) this is hardly within anyone's budget! I fell in love with these shoes as soon as I saw them, so tried to recreate the style myself.. Here is a much cheaper alternative!


Step One.
  • Order a pair of cream shoes (fabric covered) with a red sole if possible. I ordered mine from eBay, and only cost around £35. It was important to make sure the shoes were comfortable, as I plan to wear them alot, and comfort is essential!
  • However, if you already have a pair of cream fabric shoes then these will be fine to use. You can buy red soles, to recreate the Louboutin style which are available on www.redrubbersoles.com and also on eBay! You can take these to your local cobblers and they will sole them for you.
  • TIP- take them to the cobblers before you attach your crystals, as due to the nature of the repair the crystals may get damaged.
  • The crystals I purchased were from eBay and were all flat back Swarovski crystal, all 3,500 of them! These cost around £50 including delivery costs from America and Hong Kong.
  • However, to keep costs down you can also purchase non Swarovski crystals which are much cheaper, but do lack the sparkle and quality that Swarovski do.


Step Two.
Now its time to attach the crystals. I used GemTac embellishment  glue.
  • Cover small sections of the heel with GemTac Embellishment glue, and using your finger place the crystals on the heel. Using a pair of beauty tweezers, reposition the crystals to their correct place. Slowly, but surely the shoes will gradually become covered with crystals. 
    Attaching Crystals to heel.









I recommend:
Gem Tac Embellishment Glue.
Retail Price - £6.00


Step Three.
  • When the shoes are completely covered, leave them to set in a warm, dry place overnight. 


Step Four.
  • When they are completely set, dot the GemTac glue in the gaps of the crystals.
  • Due to the nature of this item, crystals are bound to become dislodged if you do not take care of them. However, by adding the extra embellishment glue you are making the crystals more secure and less likely to come off so easily.
Step Five.
  • Leave them again overnight in a warm, dry place to set completely.
Then.....


Ta Da! The shoes are finished!
 The total cost of these shoes were under £150, saving yourself a massive £3,905!


Now all that's left is to wear out these gorgeous shoes and turn some heads!





What do you think of the shoes? Sound easy?
 Please leave a comment!
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Saturday, 18 February 2012

Review : Soap And Glory

Soap and Glory, founded in 2006 takes a humorous and retro style approach to skin care, with products having clever and witty names, such as 'the super-plumping sexy Mother Pucker.'
I used a selection of skin care products, every day for seven days. Here's what I thought...
The selection of Soap & Glory products I used.


First, I used the 'Scrub of Your Life' and applied it to my arms and legs with the 'Super Gloves'. Although the gloves do feel a bit rough at first, when you wash off the body scrub, my skin felt noticeable smoother. This is a very girly product, the scrub is pink, the exfoliator beads are pink, even the bottle is pink! Once you've used this your skin might go a bit red, don't panic! This is completely normal, the redness soon fades away and your skin feels gorgeous. 
Then, I applied the 'Flake Away Mini Body Polish' in circular motions, then washed it off, before applying 'Foam Call Body Wash'. 
When completely dry, I applied the 'Righteous Body Butter.' This had a lovely smell and texture, as I personally find many body butters too thick and take a long time to rub in. This butter however, absorbed really quickly, leaving my skin lovely and smooth.
These products smell feminine and sweet, and after a week, my skin felt so soft and smooth.. results I did not expect so quickly as I sufferer of dry and sensitive skin. 
My particular problem areas are my upper arms, prone to spots and blemishes. However after using these Soap and Glory products my spots have gone down and blemishes have started to fade. After using these products after only seven days, my skin felt taught and firm and visually smoother. 


Price - £4.09



These gloves do the job perfectly. At £4.09 they aren't too expensive and an extra bonus... they are pink!
Rating - 4/5.

Price - £6.50



This product not only scrubs, but smoothes the skin!
The only criticism is I felt that I had to use alot of it, but the foam was so relaxing I didn't mind!
Rating - 4/5.



Flake Away Body Polish. 
Price - £10.21


This is a salt rub and was far smoother on my skin than the exfoliator was.
This left my skin feeling clean and soft.
Rating - 3.5/5.



Foam Call, Body Wash.
Price - £6





This shower wash left my skin feeling nourished and moisturized, when some soaps can leave your skin feeling dried out.
At only £6 this is fantastic value.. I would definitely recommend this to anyone!
Rating - 4.5/5.

The Righteous Butter.
Price - £2.35


This is my favourite product of all! I loved the smell and texture and actually used the whole tub in one week! 

I loved the way my skin felt and still felt nourished after 24 hours.Rating - 5/5.


Over all these products are fantastic and at a total cost of £29.15 which is fantastic value considering how good they are! I'd recommend these to anyone, especially those with dry skin. 

Have you ever used any of these products before? Which one was your favourite?

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Tuesday, 14 February 2012

Blog Reviews

As I am writing a 'how to' beauty and fashion blog, it is important to look at the other blogs of the same subject area.


http://imogenfoxylocks.blogspot.com/
Bubble Dreams.
Bubble Dreams is a well known 'how to' beauty blog with over 5,200 subscribers. The authors way of writing is very friendly, yet factual and written clearly and concisely. Although the text is justified and there is use of italics and bold, they have been used sparingly and appear to be appropriate to the text. (e.g product names.)
The text and background contrast well, through the use of a bold and bright colour palette. It is aesthetically pleasing as the colour is appropriate to the theme of the blog.
There is extensive use of multimedia throughout the blog, with clear images and captions. (some of the images used may be considered as too large on occasion and are missing alt texts.)
The ads throughout the blog are appropriate and link to her own hair extension company (products she uses in her tutorials) and other beauty products. There is a large advert to her YouTube channel, Twitter and Facebook page.
When reviewing products the author showed the products clearly and links these items to outlets to buy the products.
The information is available quickly and easily, with interesting headings and there are very few minor criticisms of this blog.






http://www.ladyandtheblog.com/
Lady and the blog.
This blog is about getting the celebrity look for less, deals and steals and product reviews, a blog very similar to the one I shall be creating myself.
This blog shows relevant and appropriate ads to the content, the pictures are clear and of a correct size, and clearly laid out.
The blog uses an appropriate colour palette and text font in relation to the content and obvious links on every page. There is a search box and breadcrumb trails, and it is clear where you are and how to navigate around the blog.
The only visible criticism is that there are too many adverts, although some are appropriate there are many flashing images and adverts which are irrelevant.






http://www.misscaseyb.blogspot.com/
Miss Cassey B
This is a blog about experimenting with new looks, often celebrity inspired. This blog is very aesthetically pleasing and consists of good use of multimedia throughout, with YouTube videos and images. Although these images are of high quality, they can sometimes be seen as too large in places and are missing captions and alt texts.
There are also related links, along with links to her Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages.
The text is of correct size and font, with white space separating paragraphs. The sites very easy to navigate, with the homepage always accessible and breadcrumb trails. The visited links change colour and there is a search box for the site.






http://www.LoweLights.com
LoweLights.com
This is a blog that that 'aims to provide readers with day to day beauty tips, hot finds and tips and techniques straight from the red carpet.'
The blog posts are not too long, and are of the correct line length. There are links to related blogs and to YouTube, Facebook and Twitter pages.
Visited links change colour, there are tabs indicating specific sections and it is clear how to navigate the site. The text is left set, bullet points and images are used to break up the text and sans serif font is used for clarity. Blog entries are dated, the headlines are clear with interesting content.
The only negatives regarding the text is there are some scrolling text adverts, which can be seen as distracting, and there is often a wide use of capitals, bold and underlined texts, with different size fonts within posts.




http://www.themakeupblogger.com
The Makeup Blogger - Your online beauty source.
This blog is written by a celebrity makeup artist, and she invites readers into her makeup bag, and makes a 'valiant effort to find the best products out there.'
Although the line lengths are quite long, the writer uses appropriate font size and colour, separating texts through the use of bullet points and images.
There are links to outlets to purchase the products and these visited links then change colour. The links on each page and posts are obvious and it is clear where you are and how to get around the site.
The blog is pleasing to the eye and it is easy to identify what the site is about and who it is aimed at. The information can be gathered quickly and easily through good use of multimedia, such as images and videos.
There are very few criticism regarding the blog, however it can be argued that the tone of the blog may be considered inappropriate in certain places. For example, lots of humour is used which some may find inappropriate rather than funny. It is very important to find a balance between humour and condescension.
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Why I am writing this blog..

I am writing this blog as I am interested in trying out new looks as I have experimented with plenty of hair extensions, lashes, make up, nails and tans. I have worked in the retail industry for five years, and alongside having a keen personal interest I believe this has provided me with further extensive knowledge.

From thorough reading of online and print fashion magazines, to watching hair and makeup tutorials I have managed to recreate iconic celebrity styles and from this I feel I am able to pass on this knowledge to others, showing how to recreate these looks in an easy and simple way.

This blog will aim to provide an instruction guide on the latest makeup, hair and fashion trends. There will be outfits of the week from high street brand favourites, weekly makeup essentials and a favourite celebrity style. It will also promote makeup offers and promotions in high street stores. There will be makeup reviews, top eye makeup trends, and nail envy sections. Each week there will be a celebrity best dressed and a hair how to, showing a similar yet cheaper outfit alternative.

My target audience will be any fashion addicts, hair enthusiasts, and make up obsessives that want to cheaply achieve their favourite celebrity styles.

Through this blog, I want to make achieving the perfect celebrity look not just easy to do, but also far less costly than the designer alternative. Desirable celebrity styles are often expensive, and due to this current financial climate achieving the look with the same products is often unrealistic.

I want to make these styles available to everyone, from students who are on a tight budget but still want to 'glam up' for their night out, to 'yummy mummy's' who don't have the time or money to spend hours in the salon, but still want to look on trend. By informing readers of cheap alternatives everyone can achieve the celebrity and fashionable looks that we see in glossy magazines.
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Monday, 13 February 2012

How To : Get your perfect Valentines outfit.

With Valentines Day coming up, I've put together five of my favourite perfect Valentines outfits.. Whether its a romantic date or a night out with the girls, they are perfect for every occasion.


  • Outifit One.
10% Student Discount!
Total - £108.84
(£120.92 without discount)

This is a fun and flirty outfit, perfect for any occasion! These mock suspender tights are a favorite, particular to sex up an outfit on a night out !



  • Outfit Two.
10% Student Discount!
Total - £166.39
(£184.87 without discount)

These nail stickers are so on trend right now, and at only £6.50 its a bargain! A Minx manicure can cost around £25 so this is a great alternative to cut down the costs!




  • Outfit Three.
10% Student Discount!
Total - £145.53
(£161.50 without discount)

ASOS is a particular favorite of mine, as it has so much to choose from! This Red Skater Dress is a fabulous color and a style favorite of mine. The fit is flattering for all shapes and sizes.



  • Outfit Four.
Total - £214

These pink slingbacks are gorgeous and will brighten up any winter outfit.. And take you right through to summer!



  • Outfit Five.
10% Student Discount!
Total - £175.50
(£195 without discount)

This is my favorite outfit! The nude accessories contrast beautifully with the red play suit, and the spike accessories give it a real edge on your standard everyday outfit. I give it a 10/10!



So, which is your favorite outfit?
 Which one would you wear?
Leave a comment!



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