Instagrammin' #1

As I'm off to Spain tomorrow and wont be able to put up another post until next Saturday, I thought I would leave you guys with a little snippet of my instagram from the past few days. Yes..I am aware its mostly food.....just goes to show...you don't know how much you eat until you photograph it...oops!! I hope everyone has a great week! :)
 Thanks for reading xx

(From L to R) Couscous with roasted vegetables- Models Own hedonist and disco mix- princess bun- sweet n salt popcorn- luigi- more couscous with veggies- chinese takeaway- NOTD- carrot and couscous salad

Packing under 100ml

Any beauty junkie will know that fitting all the products needed for a holiday into a clear plastic bag is not the picture of glamorous, especially if it means decanting all out lotions and potions into little plastic 100ml bottles. Luckily tomorrow I am leaving to go on a beach holiday so I am taking a lot less than usual. I wear no makeup during the day at the beach so will not be taking any form of makeup remover, (this will result in me pinching face wipes from my friends to remove my eye makeup after a night out). Also, hair products are kept to a minimum as I plan on buying mini shampoos at the airport, as well as sun cream. This means that I can fit all the rest of my little goodies into this clear bag that I got from boots, these are my essentials, things I know I will use while I'm away; concealer to hide any spots, cream eyeshadows for an easy smokey eye, mascara, nail polish to reapply, eyeliner, vaseline, moisturiser and cream to repair my skin after being in the sun. I also feel I will have to buy a body butter at the airport as I am fairly addicted to drowning my skin in the stuff after I shower, it will be a test to see if I can get through a whole body butter in 4 days! I Hope this gives you some ideas of the kinds of things to pack when going on a beach getaway!
 Thanks for reading 1. Models Own Beach Party
2. Models Own Disco Mix
3. No7 Stay Perfect Eye Mousse in vanilla
4. No7 Stay Perfect Eye Mousse in plum
5. Benefit Creaseless Cream Eyeshadow
6. Vaseline
7. Mac Paint Pot in Constructivist
8. Oilatum natural repair face cream
9. Calendula cream
10. Natural Collection clear lipgloss
11. Collection concealer
12. Revlon Grow Luscious mascara
13. Bourjois black eyeliner

Purchase of the day

 I just couldn't resist a 'buy one get one half price' offer on all Models Own polishes at boots, so I spent a fair bit of time staring at all the pretty colours. I decided to go for 'hedonist' which is a neon coral/pink colour because I've actually heard quite a bit about this in the blogging and youtubing world. Part of the Models Own Hedkani collection, I'm hoping its as neon as my orange 'beach party' polish from the same collection. The other polish 'disco mix' is another one which I have heard a fair bit about, flecks of red and blue glitter make this a gorgeous shade and I am looking forward to layering this over a white polish! I'll try to get some pics of my nails as hopefully I'll get a lot of use out of these while on holiday! Whats your favourite Models Own polish? Let me know...I definitely need more excuses to buy nail varnish...:)!! 

 Thanks for reading xx

Autumn/Winter Trends- High Street Edit- Lusting After Leather

This is the first in a series I will be doing about Autumn/Winter trends, and more importantly where you can get them on the high street. I will be searching the high street to find 8 pieces for each trend, hopefully this will give you guys an idea of whats out there, and the pieces that I think best represent the trend on a budget.  

Leather is huge this autumn/winter, trousers, jackets, dresses and many more leather pieces were present on the catwalks. I believe that a leather jacket is an essential that every girl (and guy) should have in their wardrobe, not only does it keep you warm, but it keeps you looking stylish and acts as a staple in any wardrobe, as it is so easily paired with pieces that most of us already have; a crisp white shirt, skinny jeans, maxi skirts, graphic tees, faux fur, high waisted leggings, girly dresses and so much more. It's great to see the high street come out with so many good versions, whatever your price point your bound to find something great. 

 Below are 8 of my favourite picks from different shops on the high street. Some are more expensive than others, the detailed studding on the zara jacket (6) makes this the most expensive of all my picks, but if you're looking to spend around this amount of money, it could be a staple that lives in your wardrobe for years to come. The faux fur detail on the collar of the river island jacket (2) makes this a two-in-one, instead of having to go out and buy a faux fur collar you've nailed two trends in one (although the catwalks suggested this seasons take on fur is more big bird than simple black collars). The forever 21 blazer with the leather accents (4) would be good for someone new to the trend who doesn't want to invest £100 on a leather jacket, this blazer gives a good nod to the trend. Finally a leather gillet (3) can be thrown on over everything and is perfect for those living in a slightly warmer climate, forever 21 and pull and bear also do colour versions if you feel confident with the trend, deep colours like burgundy and deep purple look great for autumn. Let me know which one is your favourite in the comments below!

 Thanks for reading xx 1. Topshop- £65.00
2. River Island- £180.00
3. River Island- £50.00
4. Forever 21- £22.75
5. New Look- £39.99
6. Zara- £239.00
7. Pull and Bear- £119.99
8. Forever 21- £20.00

Holiday Packing :)

As I desperately need to start packing for my trip to Spain, I thought I would show you guys what I'm planning on taking with me. The trip is a short one, only 4 days, so I don't need much, just a couple of statement pieces and of course bikinis for the beach :)! I'm usually quite good at packing for short trips as I do tend to plan my outfits, this is only because I'm a notorious 'over-packer' and I know the ryanair people will have my head if my hand luggage case doesn't fit into their ridiculously small measuring cage (cage of doom). Hopefully you enjoy seeing the outfits I put together, it's going to be pretty boiling so daytime wear is extremely casual, as for evening I feel I need a few options depending on what we do (go to dinner, go for drinks, go dancing etc.), although knowing my friends I'm pretty sure it's gonna be straight to the dancefloor!!



Thanks for reading xx Oufit 1- Crop top- River Island, Trousers- New Look, Heels- KG by Kurt Geiger 

Outfit 2- Shorts- Vintage Levi, Top- New Look, Flatforms- Topshop, Lipstick- MAC Viva Glam Nikki, Necklace- Claire's Accessories 

Outfit 3- Bikini- New Look, Phone- Samsung Galaxy S2, Book- The Magic, Hand cream- L'occitane, Necklace- Topshop 

Outfit 4- Dress- Topshop, Heels- River Island, Jewellery- New Look & Topshop 

Outfit 5- Shorts- Vintage Levi, Crop Top- Topshop, Sandals- New Look, Necklace- River Island Men's Section, Lipstick- Revlon Wild Orchid, Bracelets- Primark 

Outfit 6- Peplum skirt- River Island, Heels- KG by Kurt Geiger, Crop Top- Urban Outfitters, Jewellery- Primark & Claires 

Oufit 7- Bikini- Calzedonia, Amazon Kindle 

Oufit 8- Dress- Zara, Necklace- Primark, Heels- Zara

OOTD- Parisienne

I thought I would upload these quick snaps taken today on my instagram. Me and my boyfriend went to see a day showing of 'the bourne legacy' at the cinema which was amaaazing!! Great film..if you haven't seen it..you must! I'm really getting into instagram a lot more these days, its fun to take quick pics on the go, it gives you the freedom to share small snippets of your day. If you're not yet following me please do, the link is above.

   Today my outfit it super casual; loose comfy top, cut-off trousers, flats and a slouchy bag. I used the red accents on my belt, bag and lips to keep it cute, as well as the top knot to make it a little chic!

 Thanks for reading xx

Top- Zara
Trousers- H&M
Belt- New Look
Flats- New look
Bag- Zara
Lips- Mac Lady Danger

FOTN

As I mentioned yesterday in my 'most used makeup products' post, the naked palette has been my best friend this summer; all the neutrals you could want in one place, plus a few pinks and purples thrown in for good measure, what more could you want!? Pink and purple tones are probably my favourites to wear as  they go so well with brown eyes and help to achieve a smoky look that doesn't look too heavy on the eyes. In summer I know I don't want to walk around looking like I've spent 3 hours doing my makeup (save the heavy 'done-up' looks for Christmas party season) In summer its all about emphasizing the features you already have; bringing out the colour of your eyes and complementing a sun-kissed glow. 

    

Here I have nothing on the skin other than a moisturizer and some concealer on blemishes (which annoyingly the sun tends to bring to the surface of the skin at first), so the eyes are the focus of the look. In summer I also think its best to steer clear of eyeliner, other than if maybe you're planning a big night out clubbing, but for me the soft summer evenings call for some soft smoked out black eyeshadow for a slightly more romantic look.    I used virgin and sin blended together all over the lid (two soft pinks), then took toasted (a darker shimmery pink) through the crease and blended it well, finally I took hustle (a dark purple) lightly through the crease and blend, blend, blend. I also took creep (a black) on an angled brush and softly lined the outer edge of my top lashes. This is pretty much my go-to eye look this summer, sometimes I achieve a similar look with golds and browns, but it really depends on where you're going and more importantly, what you're wearing! This look is perfect for any summer evening or even a first date where you don't want to look like you're trying too hard with a full face of makeup. 

Hope you enjoyed this type of post! Thanks for reading xx

Eyes- Urban Decay Naked Palette

Face- Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer

Lips- Mac Viva Glam Nikki

Most used makeup products

Today I thought I would show you the makeup I used the most on holiday. As usual I took way too much stuff..oops! Once I get a tan I stop using foundation completely so my nars sheer glow got completely ignored, as for all the extra eyeshadows I brought with me..well they just sat, neglected at the bottom of my makeup bag. 1. Urban Decay Naked Palette 

 2.Revlon Lip Butters 

3.Revlon grow luscious mascara 

4. Nars Laguna Bronzer

 5. Collection concealer 

6. Benefit creaseless cream eyeshadow 

7. Mac Viva Glam Nikki This palette is really all I need in terms of eye makeup, great colours, great pigmentation, great for creating smokey looks. I can't believe how long it took me to give in to this product, it really does deserve the hype. Perfect for the beach as they keep lips moisturized with a pretty colourful sheen. A slick of mascara and a bright lip was my summer evening uniform. My new favourite bronzer, a summer essential for emphasising a tan. Missing out the foundation step makes concealer a must for covering pesky blemishes. Cream eyeshadow is easy to use and looks great worn alone or as a base to make powder eyeshadow pop. I am in love with this colour and wore it practically every night on holiday, I do however have a small complaint; the matte finish means it sits annoyingly in the creases of the lip...I have found that using vaseline under it helps to keep this at bay, at least for a while. 

 When I go to Spain on Sunday this will be pretty much all I take with me in terms of makeup, the plan is not to over pack this time.. we'll see how that goes.

 Thanks for reading xx

Italy- OOTN

I'm back from Italy and so upset about it :( I wanted to stay for another 2 weeks to enjoy all the sunshine and amazing food. But as we all know all good things have to come to an end, so I find myself back in London writing this post. I wore this dress one evening to a bbq and I'm glad it finally got to see the light of day, in a striking orange it's definitely a statement but the length and cut keep it fairly casual. The final picture is of me and my boyfriend as I thought it was about time he made an appearance on this blog! I'm off to Spain on sunday for a girls holiday, so expect some more packing posts before then, possible what liquids I'll be taking in my hand luggage (how to pack for the under 100ml restrictions). 

 Thanks for reading! xx 

Dress- quiz clothing 

Sandals- new look

Whats in my beach bag?

Since I am now in italy I thought I would share ‘whats in my beach bag’. The internet here is slow and a little unreliable so I will try and get as many posts up while I’m here, but some may have to wait until I am home. However lets stop all this talk of back home and rainy London as I am going to be away for a nice two weeks. Today I spent my first day back at the beach and its good to feel the sun on my skin, swim in the sea and just lie there with no care in the world. Luckily I had my trusty essentials to keep me entertained and safe from the suns rays; My bag- The Zara bag that everyone and their dog has, its big, its tan, its my new favourite, which doubled as my hand luggage and now my beach bag. Piz buin- These sun creams claim to tan and protect, now today I’ve come back with serious tan lines, just from being in the sun for a day, so..so far so good. However I will be sticking with factor 30 until next week, better to be safe than sorry. Revlon lip butters- Now, I know that I am so late to the party with these, every blogger worth their salt has spoken about them, at the time I just wasn’t interested, I’ve got so many damn lip products I’m beginning to drown in them, but these really are worth a mention. The moment I heard they were more lipstick than lip balm I had to try for myself and these colours really are pigmented but with a nice sheen, the orange shade is tutti frutti and the pink is sweet tart. Perfect for moisturizing your lips at the beach. Magazines- September issue of Vogue...must I say more.. Book- The Hunger Games, a book who’s film adaptation has made millions. I loved the film, and as we all know the book is always better than the film..so this was a no brainer. Bikini- This bright orange number was sitting and waiting for me on the shelves of ‘Calzedonia’ and Italian underwear shop which actually has a store in Westfield, at the moment there are crazy sales, so if you’re going away in August and shop regularly in Westfield its worth a look. I’m crazy for orange at the moment; orange lips, orange nail varnish...orange everything! Sunglasses- This Missoni pair are my faves, protecting your eyes is a must. Eyelash curlers- I don’t believe in wearing face makeup at the beach, ultimately it’s just gonna slide off your face anyway, however if your face needs a pick me up, curl your lashes..simple as that.

If anyone is going away have an amazing time, if not then pamper yourself and get a nice fake tan so at least you’ll look and feel like you’ve come back from somewhere exotic!

Thanks for reading