Things to do on Valentines Day

 

So can you believe it? February is already upon us and with that Valentines Day is quickly approaching! I walked into Tesco's yesterday and the sea of pink and red roses, heart shaped balloons, teddy's and other romantic gifts immediately caught my eye. It made me think to myself that I best get cracking on buying a gift for my boyfriend. If your thinking the same then its time to get planning-its under 2 weeks away. Whether your planning a romantic evening with your partner or if this year you find yourself single then there of plenty of things you can do for an enjoyable Valentines day.

If your single
If your single and dreading Valentines day then there's no need to! There are loads of things you can do with the girls to keep yourself entertained. If your feeling down in the dumps about being single then why not organise a night out at your local comedy club with the girls. Tickets are usually quite reasonable to these sorts of places and your guaranteed a giggle! If you don't fancy that then a cinema visit to watch the eagerly anticipated 'Fifty Shades of Grey' may appeal. Its being released on Friday 13th just in time for the big day so book your tickets early girls!

If your on a budget
Its easy to get caught up in the Valentines frenzy and spend a fortune on gifts for your loved one but its important to remember that buying expensive, extravagant gifts doesn't equate to showing you care. It really is the thought that counts. A cheap but thoughtful idea includes making a coupon book. You can include coupons like '20 minute back massage', 'Have a bath with candles prepared when I get in from work', 'Cook my favourite meal', 'Do the dishes for a week', etc. You could also make a photo book of all your favourite pictures together, this also becomes a lovely keepsake. Another idea is to make an agreement beforehand not to buy gifts for each other, just cards. You could then put the money towards a takeaway and bottle of wine and spend the evening cuddled up on the sofa with a film.....perfect.

If your feeling adventurous
If your pretty good in the kitchen then why not prepare a three course meal for your loved one. Lay the table nicely as though your in a fancy restaurant and ask your partner to dress for the occasion. If your stuck for ideas on what to cook then you can get an array of recipes online to help plan your delicious meal. Its bound to impress!

If you want to spoil them
If your not on a budget and want to go all out then why not plan an entire weekend for your loved one. Valentines day falls on a Saturday this year which fits in well. You could book a meal in their favourite restaurant followed by an overnight hotel stay. A couples spa day is another treat that is sure to go down well. Whatever you choose to do, think of something that's related to your partner and something that they will really enjoy doing :)

What will you choose to do this Valentines day?

Berry-Tastic Nails!

  

I had these two shades of Barry M nail polish for Christmas. They're called Berry Cosmo and Atlantis. Berry cosmo is a lovely warm winter shade (reminds me of wine lol) and very pigmented! I've been wearing it since December and still not bored of it. If I want to make it a bit more sparkly then I'll add Atlantis-as pictured above. The glitter is a bit flaky so I always put a top coat of clear polish too.

 

What have been your go-to nail polishes this winter? Leave your comments below :)

 

 

Kylie Jenner inspired look

Photo Credit-Kylie Jenners Tumblr

I've always been a huge fan of the Kardashians (wouldn't consider ever missing an episode on a Sunday evening), with Khloe being my favourite. However lately it seems attention is shifting towards the younger Jenner siblings Kendall and Kylie. It's no surprise when Kendall has a budding high fashion modelling career and Kylies edgy, bohemian style has girls everywhere wanting to copy her. They are each becoming fashion/beauty inspirations in their own right.

For this post I'm going to focus on Kylies make up because like the rest of the world I've been obsessed with it lately-particularly her lips.
So how does she achieve her look? A bit of googling led me to find that she's a fan of MAC lip pencils in the colours 'soar and 'whirl'. Naturally I rushed out to the shops to buy them, only to be disappointed that they were sold out! I kept checking online but it seemed like forever until they became available again, well, 'soar' was so I snapped one up immediately! I still haven't got 'Whirl' yet. Boo :( Anyway, when 'Soar' arrived in the post I couldn't wait to try it out and have a go at the 'over drawn' lip. I certainly didn't get it right first time, in fact it took several attempts to move away from the crazy trout pout look lol! I enlisted help from some YouTube tutorials (there are loads to choose from) and with a bit of practice managed to get a pretty good look.

Here are some tips that helped me:

• Always make sure your lips are smooth and moisturised before beginning
• Use a concealer that matches your skin tone to blend around the outline of your lips. This helps to fade the perimeter of your lips which makes it easier to draw on a new outline.
• Always sharpen your liner before using 
• Start lining your lips by taking the pencil just outside your natural lip to create a trick of shadow, this will make them appear fuller. I like to start with the top lip as that's most difficult.
• When happy with the shape, start using light feathery strokes to fill the rest of your lips in
• Add some highlighter (I used Benefits Watt's Up) to your cupids bow to further accentuate fuller lips
• You can then apply some lipstick. Kylie likes to retain the matte look, MACs 'Brave' matte lipstick would do the trick. However I used Maybelline 'Rosewood Pearl'

And here is the finished look.....

January fashion picks

I've picked out three of my favourite accessories that I've loved wearing this month. All of them are fairly inexpensive and I feel each of them add that trendy look to an outfit.

The fedora hat

I recently purchased one of these from Dorothy Perkins for £14 and have received a few compliments :) my particular fedora is a soft felt material that has a lengthwise crease down the crown. The brim goes all the way round and has a 'floppy' curve to it. It fits really comfortably and looks great teamed with jeans and a blazer. I tend to wear my hair slightly wavy as shown in the picture. A little tip is to make sure its angled correctly-I like to wear the 'floppy' curve at the front. 

Layering necklaces

I like to use delicate, dainty jewellery when layering. I have quite a petite frame so find that big chunky necklaces tend to look too much. The necklaces pictured above are both from primark. I can't remember exactly how much they cost but weren't more than a couple of pounds each. I've found myself preferring to wear gold instead of silver jewellery lately as well.

 

Big hooped earrings

I don't wear these casually everyday as I have a phobia of getting them caught in something lol! However I've worn them to meals out or date night :) they really stand out and you don't really need to wear much other jewellery. They are perfect to achieve a sassy look!  My hoops were purchased from matalan for a few pounds-bargain! They are thin and rounded as I felt they suited my face better than chunky hoops (I have small facial features). Again, I opted for gold.  I've seen a wide variety of colours, size, etc available in loads of different shops so go for what suits you best. 

Update!

So it's been a while since I last posted, time has particularly flown! However I plan on getting back into my blogging very soon :) I've missed it! I've got loads of ideas to blog about. It's just finding the time to write I guess. Saying that, my new plan is to MAKE time. Recently reading other blogs has definitely inspired me to get back into it! Also if anyone has any tips for me on how they manage their blog then let me know :) How do you get posts up so regualrly? Do you have certain days that you always post? How do you make the time if you also have a full time job? I work shifts so sometimes it's difficult to get into a routine as my shifts change each week. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks guys :) xx

How to grow your hair

Have you ever tried growing your hair where it gets to that certain length and seems to stop growing? You then get bored of it, get it chopped and regret it a few weeks later?......Yes I've been there too! I would constantly do this and always felt like my hair looked scruffy so always gave in and got it cut. I never managed to grow it a few inches past my shoulders. 

However things began to change after i made a few changes to my hair care routine. I noticed an improvement in the condition of my hair and it seemed to grow quicker. So with that I've now managed to get a bit of length to my hair and I'm very happy with it. The following tips are what has worked for me personally but you should note that everyone has different hair types so I can't say it will work the same for everyone. I hope you find it an interesting and helpful read.

Don't wash your hair every day

I know so many people who are obsessed with washing their hair everyday and in my opinion it's no good. By doing this your washing the natural oils out of your hair which is bound to affect the overall condition of it. How often you need to wash it partly depends on your hair type. If you have thin finer hair it may start to get greasy quicker and look limp. People with longer, thicker or curlier hair can get away with leaving it for longer usually. Even by washing your hair every other day may help as your hair may start to get used to it. I find that on the occasions that I wash my hair more, it tends to get greasy quicker. I'm not too fussy about what shampoo and conditioner I use, I'm using herbal essences at the moment ( pictured above). I just make sure I use plenty of conditioner. I tend to wash mine every 3 days or so. If your really worried about it looking greasy then invest in a dry shampoo, it can work wonders. I like 'Girlz only' dry shampoo available from Tescos for £2.00. Also try wearing it up in a ponytail or doing a pretty style on it-people are more likely to notice how nice it looks other than if it's slightly greasy.

Let it dry naturally

I've noticed a huge difference since doing this. Blow drying really makes my hair dry and fly-away. A handy tip is to put your hair in side bunches when it's still wet, that way you won't have it dripping down your back. Just make sure you squeeze the excess water out of your hair first. I always wash my hair in the evenings so that it has time to dry and I don't have to worry about it in the mornings.

Cut down on heat

Over using heat on your hair is a big no no. As I've mentioned above it's great to let your hair dry naturally without blow drying it, but using hair straighteners and curlers a lot should also be avoided. At most I straighten my hair once a week, sometimes not even that. I try to save it for special occasions and when I do, I always use heat protectant first. 

Brush away those tangles

It may sound obvious but make sure you brush your hair every day, in the morning and always before you go to sleep at night. Don't let it build up into a cobby mess before attempting to detangle it. There's nothing worse than ripping a brush through your hair! I swear by my tangle teezer (£10.99 Boots) as my hair gets really tangled especially after washing it-no matter how much conditioner I use! It gets so tangled that it's a bit embarrassing when I go to the hairdressers, they have to spend ages combing it out lol! 

Use Argan oil

I was recommended this by a few hair dressers (I'm a salon hopper and go to wherever can fit me in on the day lol). I apply it after washing and it makes my hair lovely and smooth. It can also help nourish dry and damaged hair. 

Don't let yourself get bored of your hair!

My last tip is keep your hair interesting so you won't be tempted to cut it. Obviously you should get it trimmed when needed. I only get mine cut about 2 or 3 times a year which dosn't sound like a lot but I find that's all I need to keep the split ends at bay. You should judge your own hair individually on when to get it cut. Also try new styles, there are so many tutorials on YouTube that show you how to do fishtail braids, dutch braids, all sorts of pretty hair styles,etc that don't require using heat. This will hopefully stop you from getting bored when your hair is in the 'growing out' phase. If you still find yourself getting tempted to cut it then watch disneys tangled to motivate yourself into keeping it long lol! 

Palettes-High end & Budget

I'm definitely a palette girl, I very rarely buy individual eye shadows anymore. I find it much easier with a palette because you get a set of complimenting colours that you can use to create looks like smokey eyes-saves hunting through your make up drawer to find matching colours! So as I own so many of them I thought I'd blog about them :) I have blue eyes so I tend to go for browns, golds, and purples. They following palettes range from very cheap to quite expensive.

Urban Decay Naked 2 (£37.00 debenhams)

Now all you beauty lovers will have heard of this and it's nothing new I know, but it is one of my favourites so I was compelled to include it. The palette has 12 colours so you can create a range of looks from subtle daytime to dramatic smokey eyes. It includes neutrals, taupe, metallic gold & bronze, a mixture of browns and black. There are also both matte and sparkly shadows. I don't tend to use the brushes supplied with palettes but I find the one included with this one really blends the eye shadows well. It is very pricey but I can honestly say I've had mine for a year now and still have loads left.

W7 eyeshadow palettes (£2.99 shopping discount designer outlet)

I have 2 of these, golden brown and naked nudes. I tend to use the nude palette for work mostly. I don't find the colours in the brown palette very pigmented so you need to put quite a lot on, so I don't use this as much. I got these from a discount shopping outlet near me so the price may vary depending on where you get it from, can't imagine them being that much more expensive though.

MUA undress me too palette (£4.00 Superdrug)

Absolutely love this! This is a great alternative to the naked 2 palette if your on a budget. It has 12 colours ranging from neutrals and cool grays to warm bronze/gold metallics. The eye shadows have a slight creamy feel when you test them so they glide on and blend really well. Would definitely recommend it. They also do 'undressed' palette which includes nude shimmers and mattes. I also want to try their new palette 'hall of fame'.

Primark 8 shade palette

I was very surprised to see that primark now have a make up range, so I had to give it a go. I mainly bought this palette because the pretty shimmery shades stood out to me when I was browsing. However I didn't expect them to be very pigmented but I was wrong. With one sweep you get quite a good colour so when it's properly applied  and with a primer it's even better! The colours include shimmery mauves/purples, nude, shimmery champagne, gold, brown and grey. This was perfect for me as these are the colours I usually go for. I actually can't remember how much I bought this for and couldn't find it on primark's website. However I did come across a similar one that they sell for £2.50 http://www.primark.com/en/whats-new/product/6859,8-shade-eyeshadow-palette Well done primark!