Travels | Sight Seeing & Eating Taiwan and Hong Kong

Blonde Hair | Dry Hair | Forever Long Hair

I've got that awkward 'dirty blonde' hair, which in winter just looks mousey as it isn't lightening in the sun.

I used to dye my hair dark brown (very dark!), and about 18months ago I decided to go blonde again. A little worried my hair would entirely fall out, but desperately wanting to be blonde, I bought loads of packs of B4 hair stripper, and did a few treatments over the course of a week - then went straight in with the bleach.

Thankfully, my hair is in tact - but I definitely notice it looks a lot drier now that it is blonde and doesn't reflect the light in the same glossy way as when I was a brunette. So I need to start taking care of it a bit better.

I bought this BB quenching shampoo and conditioner for terribly thirsty hair, than when combined with a good blowdry seems to do the trick! (If only I had the time/patience to blowdry my hair everytime I wash it).

Available to purchase from http://www.foreverlonghair.com/ - pretty awesome site as its always free delivery!

Roy Lichtenstein Face Paint | Pop Art Fancy Dress

I wasn't sure what to go as for Halloween this year, we were having more of an American Halloween so it didn't have to be scary! I decided to go as a Roy Lichtenstein painting - although on the morning I realised the facepaint kit I bought didn't contain red, so unfortunately I had orange spots...

I used a kids facepainting kit, cotton buds, an old eyeshadow brush, and hair straightners to add a bit of curl to my hair. Was quite pleased with the outcome, even if nobody knew what i was...

Harrods I'm Home | Kitchenaids & Kitchen Appliances

Being a keen baker myself (fully addicted once again to the Great British Bake Off!) my favourite category in the Harrods I'm Home Campaign is of course the homewares category.

Match your Magimix with your manicure and let technology do the work so you don’t have to.

Shop from an array of beautiful Kitchenaid Mixers and appliances at harrods.com. 

About Kitchenaid:

KitchenAid brings innovation, quality and convenience to every passionate chef by transferring techniques adopted in professional kitchens to appliances for domestic use. The iconic Stand Mixer was created by an engineer more than 90 years ago to help bakers mix bread dough; the product was such a success that a smaller model was designed for use in the home. Throughout its long history, KitchenAid has remained true to its roots for those who are enthusiastic about cooking and, with each new development, continues to deliver a mix of sophisticated professional technique and iconic design.

Even if you don't do that much cooking, buy yours in a beautiful colour as a kitchen accessory in its own right :)

Warehouse A/W 13 Collection | Style Me If You Can

My favourite look from Warehouse's Style Me If You Can campaign is Grace O'Gorman's 16:30 The Park look - such an easily wearable look - but warm!

Check out the full campaign here Warehouse Campaign


Pinterest Style Me If You Can

Pinterest Style Me If You Can

Harrods I'm Home | Living in Harrods

Ever dreamt of living in a department store overnight? The Harrods I'm Home Campaign is sure to make the shopaholic inside anyone and everyone positively squeal in excitement.

There is also a competition to win £3,500 of homewares product! To enter click here!

For more on this awesome campaign, visit Harrods I'm Home.

Be part of the conversation #HarrodsHome

My Favourites from Autumn Colour Collections | Giorgio Armani & Dolce & Gabbana

New for AW13, the Giorgio Armani Fall Face And Eye Palette comes in a signature glossy black, double-tiered case. Although this product does come with eye sponges/applicators, I tend to use my own… partly because I’m awful and lose everything but mostly because I prefer my eyeshadow brushes to have a longer handle so I can get a bit more precision and I’m not too close to the mirror but they're very useful for squeezing more into a small make-up bag.

The first layer of this palette contains sheer blush with micronized particles of Micro-Fil™ technology, designed to give you a subtle healthy glow but with a matte finish. The second layer contains 3 shimmery satin eyeshadows. I’ve swatched these in-store, and even though I love it, I’m still a little undecided whether this palette is the right colour for me. The difficulty I have is that one of my eyes is blue, and one is green… so what looks great on my right eye, can really clash with the left and vice versa.

The next thing on my make-up wish list is Dolce & Gabbana Makeup’s Intense Nail Lacquer Collection, yes, pretty much the entire collection!  The Nail Lacquer has been designed to be slick, and have an easy application with a patent shine that glides effortlessly on so you don’t get that stripey nail look. The palette focuses on high pearl and colour intensity offering long-lasting, beaming colour.

Retailing at £18.50 a pop, I think I’ll have to limit myself to just one or two!

Givenchy Parad`Eyes Liner | Beauty Haul

I bought a few bits of make-up on Saturday... oh dear! (reviews to follow I'm sure).

I was very impressed with the Givenchy Parad`Eyes eyeliner I bought, having never used any Givenchy products before I thought I'd give it a go. The product has quite a thick, flat brush but as the pigmentation is very good, you can literally do one quick sweep and your eyeliner looks good to go. I don't have the steadiest hand, but not a bad job.

Clarins Complete Age Control Concentrate Double Serum

I have heard a lot of buzz around the Clarins Complete Age Control Concentrate Double Serum, every review that I have read has given the product 5/5!

More than just a serum, Clarins Double Serum is the only intensive anti-ageing treatment rich in 20 plant extracts that boosts the skin's vital functions. A unique formula that can be used in two ways for a visibly youthful look: - skin looks firmer, wrinkles appear smoother, - the complexion looks more even and regains its glow - pores appear less visible.

Ingredients:
Moisturise - Katafray bark extract, hyaluronic acid
Nourish - Organic perilla and macadamia oils
Protect - Organic quinoa and green tea extract
Oxygenise - Maritime pine extract, organic rosehip oi
Regenerate - Organic green banana extract, thyme and bocoa

I’m going to try and pick one of these up at the weekend, reviews to follow!

Clarins Double Serum retails at £55 and is available to buy at harrods.com.

What's In My Make-Up Bag?

When reaching for my make-up bag, I often think I'm getting very old!

Gone are the days of a dried out benefit mascara floating around somewhere within my tatty handbag. Nowadays my make-up only gets carried around in a beautiful Whistles case (birthday present from the older Sis). As I've been getting more grown up, so have the contents of my make-up bag.

Currently my favourite beauty brand is Yves Saint Laurent/YSL Beauty. I bought a Touche Eclat and Mascara set in the Summer Sales, and the mascara can be described as nothing less than spectacular. Glides on easily, doesn't clump and importantly, washes off easily too with a decent make-up remover... no need to scrub away at your eyes removing clumps of old mascara, and undoing all your hard work with anti-aging eye creams.

I've just invested in a YSL foundation too, so hopefully I will love this just as much as my mascara. From this swatch it looks a lot lighter than my hand, but it's really not (I think it's just a combination of my poor quality camera phone pics, and the fact that I swatched way more foundation that necessary as I'm used to Mac Studio Sculpt foundation which has a super thick texture). The YSL touche eclat foundation has a really light texture, but you can build up the coverage so it's a pretty versatile product. 

I've got my eye on a few more YSL products, including a large number of lipsticks, in a plethora of shades... as well as the entire Forever Youth Liberator range! 

Dinner at Circus | Covent Garden | London

Last week I went for dinner with my work colleagues to Circus, Covent Garden.

Circus is an innovative combination of cocktail bar and cabaret restaurant set in vibrant Covent Garden, in London's West End. The restaurant boasts a highly praised Pan Asian dinner menu, created and overseen by the revered chef Andrew Lassetter.
As evening falls, the venue springs to life and the spectacle begins as diners sip exotic punches and cocktails.  West End London is synonymous with theatre and drama, so it is fitting that Circus hosts complementary cabaret style entertainment  a the venue. The charming and mind bendingly skillful acts appear in little bursts throughout the evening to entertain and delight, and then disappear without a trace into the night.

What I thought...
Definitely a great place for dinner, it's not cheap... but that's because I'm thinking of it vs. your average dinner out. If you consider we were there for 4hrs(!!!) it doesn't seem so expensive. You're paying not just for the food, but for the whole dining experience. Expect to pay about £60-70 inc drinks - still, less than the thearte + dinner & drinks. I'd definitely recommend to friends

Vaseline Deodorant Event | Vaseline Deodorant Review

A few weeks back I went to a Vaseline Deodorant event at The Hospital Club (great location, 2mins from Covent Garden!). 

The event was to celebrate a new range of Vaseline deodorants that protect and care for your underarms. The event, hosted in The Gallery Room was centred around a collection of artwork painted by Isamaya Ffrench. All of the  pieces in the series are created using the canvas of women's bodies and aptly their underarms.

Here are some images of the beautiful artwork from the event:

I’ve been using my Vaseline deodorant for the past 7days and I have to say, my armpits do feel pretty soft! I won’t post pictures of this for 2 reasons, one it’s really hard to take a photo of your own armpit, and two… that’d be a bit weird really wouldn’t it?!

My little holiday | Marrakech, Morocco | 2013

Let's Go Lashes | Blogger Event

I was lucky enough to win tickets a few months back to go and watch Sweet Bird of Youth starring Kim Cattrall, via a blogger competition with Let’s Go Lashes. However, not being that smartest cookie I failed to notice the date of the tickets being for the week I was on holiday. So my lucky colleague Monique went in my place.

Let’s Go Lashes are made from 100% human hair, making them a lot softer than their synthetic siblings. Comfortable to wear, and giving a natural looking finish (as long as you pick the natural looking ones…I can’t see Striplash Temptress 3 looking all too subtle, though I’m sure it’s not intended to be!). A great alternative to mascara on a hot summer night, no panda eyes for me.

Here is the lovely Monique, learning all about the lashes and mingling with the bloggers.

Although I missed out on an amazing, and fabulous eyelashes, I’m not too jealous as I was off sunning myself in the beautiful Morocco and getting lost in never-ending souks!

x

Great Gatsby Mania | Get the look 1920s Beauty

"All right... I'm glad it's a girl. And I hope she'll be a fool--that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool." - F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

Is it just me, or, is everyone going Great Gatsby crazy at the moment!


I can understand why, the film is out soon, and how amazing does Carey Mulligan look with a 1920s bob?!

I definitely couldn’t pull off a bob, but I am going to take inspiration from the make-up trends of the roaring twenties which are far easier to wear, and to wash off if they don’t suit.


Make-Up from the 1920s is very striking, dark smokey eyes, bright red lips & paper white skin. There’s an amazing how to get the 1920sbeauty look shoppable video available at harrods.com.


I think the make-up of the 1920s was so bold and glamorous as before the 1920s makeup was considered a bit of a taboo, something to be hidden, as to show it off was considered to be brash. The women of the 1920s women went for makeup in a bold way.
Red lips were the most important part of the face for any self respecting beauty buff of the 20s. Lipstick was slightly exaggerated, giving a more prominent cupids bow and volumising the bottom lip. 


One trend of the 1920s that I don’t think I’ll be attempting is the super thin raised dark eyebrows. Overtweezed brows are not the most flattering look nowadays. I fear I’d look less Marion Davies, more Vicky Pollard.


Make-up was no longer something that needed to be hidden away, and compacts made from precious metals and encrusted with jewelled became the must have for any girl about town. Check out these beauties from Estee Lauder.

For more Great Gatsby inspiration visit harrods.com.

Barry M Gelly Nails Review

What to wear, what to wear…

Clearly I didn’t have enough nail varnish already… So I got myself some Barry M Gelly Effect Nail Varnish. It reminds me of the finish you get with shellac nails, a bit thicker than other varnishes and doesn’t chip so quickly. Barry M is one of my favourite nail varnish brands, they always have the best colours and are quick on the mark with nail art trends too, but at way cheaper price points than a lot of other brands.

They're both so pretty that I didn't know which one to try first. So I tried both at once!

Apologies for the fuzzy photo I forgot to take a photo before I went out for the night. As is quite obvious I’m pretty happy with these polishes. Forever a Barry M lover! <3