bits and bobs

Had lots of beauty bits and bobs over the past week to update you on!

So first of all, went to a beauty party on Friday which was lovely, especially as it involved Domino's and champagne! Had a back, neck and shoulder massage, as well as HD brows and semi-permanent eyelash extensions. I've had a brow wax and tint before, but loved the effect of HD brows. Using a combination of techniques including waxing, threading, tinting and plucking, a strong, defined brow making the most of your natural shape is created. Mine actually looked fuller than they did before, so pleased with them.

Also I'm so happy with my eyelash extensions, I had a half-set spread across the eye as I have quite short and relatively sparse eyelashes as I'm half Filipino. I asked for them not much longer than my natural lashes, and the effect is that of a good coat of mascara. They're comfortable to sleep and wash in, and last up to 6 weeks if taken good care of. I just have to think before rubbing my eyes in the morning! Oils can dissolve the glue that attaches the lashes to your natural ones so using a non-oil based mascara and cleanser ensures they last longer. They're attached to your lashes not your skin so they fall out when your natural lashes do. To be honest, I don't think there's a need to wear mascara with these. Really, really impressed and will be keeping these maintained with infills, I love the fact my make-up takes less time to do in the morning and no under-eye mascara smudges by the afternoon!

Treated myself to a new Mac lipstick when I went to Westfield last weekend, I originally want the Dior Rouge shade I was matched to at Vogue Festival but couldn't stretch to the £25 price tag so went for this alternative, Dark Side, £13.50. It's a black cherry colour with raspberry pink undertones as you can see in the below pictures (taken with and without flash). I really like the finish of it - using a lip brush, I'm able to build up the colour for a stain effect, and it's edgy without being too vampy.

Treated myself to this Zara top while at Westfield too, for £39.99. I look a bit funny in these pictures and they don't show it off to it's full potential but it's a lovely thick cream boucle knit(?) material with padded shoulder details and gold clips at the back with a transparent panel. I wore it with indigo skinny jeans, a leather jacket and cream suede brogues today but it'd be great with a black skirt and gold blazer for a smarter look. I'm in love with Zara at the moment, this is the third top I've bought from them in about the past month (as well as the fantasy studded blazer in my Vogue Festival post!). As I'll be graduating from university next year, I'm starting to piece together a working wardrobe instead of falling for trends that I won't be able to wear in a couple of year's time. Working wardrobes don't need to be boring - this top's smart but cheeky with the panel at the back.

Finally, after a long break, I'm trying to get back into nail art. I picked up a few new polishes on Oxford St yesterday to create this chic sparkly design:

The purple looks so different in different lights! It's more a red purple as seen in the first picture rather than the blue purple as seen in the pictures above and below.

Left to right: American Apparel Glitter in Supernova (great dupe for the much-hyped about Opi Rainbow Connection - has loads of glitter particles in it and dries to a smooth, not gritty, finish), Barry M in 342 Nude and 303 Bright Purple. I painted the nude base colour first, followed by the tips then the glitter.

black swan, raspberry nails

Happy Halloween (for yesterday)! I love this time of year when everyone really gets into the spirit of spooky dressing up and then there's bonfire night and Christmas lights switching on, I feel so festive!

I went to a Halloween party on Friday night, and, with very little time to decide on/make a costume, I opted for Black Swan. My costume consisted of a black vest top, black leggings, ballet pumps and a black feather hair clip from Accessorize (£18). I bought a black eyeshadow, white eyeshadow and lipstick from the MUA make up range at Superdrug, and as each item only costs £1 and there was a 3 for 2 offer on, I picked up three pieces of make up for just £2! Obviously the quality isn't brilliant, but it was absolutely fine for the purpose: it was relatively easy to apply and it stayed on all night.
I powdered my face with talcum powder first, applied Benefit Thrrrob blusher to the apples of my cheeks and then drew the black feather outlines around my eyes, covering my eyebrows. I filled the outlines in with black eyeshadow and then wet an eyeshadow applicator before using the white eyeshadow to flick white lines across the black. Wetting eyeshadow brushes is a great trick to transform an eyeshadow into an eyeliner and create neater lines of colour, as using dry eyeshadow to line the eyes usually creates smudgy edges.




These are my nails this week:



The colours don't look quite like this in real life, they're actually rose gold and burgundy. The nail varnishes are Rimmel Lycra Pro in Golden Totem and Barry M Nail Paint in Raspberry. I really like the raspberry varnish as in some lights it looks really pink and in others it looks like more of a red wine colour. I achieved this look by painting my nails with Golden Totem and then starting from each corner of my nail bed, sweeping the raspberry polish up to the tip.