Wednesday 16 July 2014

Festival Hairstyles with Boohoo


Hi everyone! 

Recently I was contacted by Boohoo to create a video for their blog which of course I jumped at the chance to do! They asked me to create a festival hair style which I did in this video with my lovely friend helping me, so there is in fact two hairstyles! There's also two outfit ideas so I really hope you enjoy the video! We spent four hours filming on the hottest day of the year so far, let's just say we didn't include the 'eurgh my legs are so sweaty' parts.. It took me rather a while to edit and I love how I turned out so I'd be super happy for you guys to take a look :)

 

Hope you like it! Don't forget to like and subscribe if you do :)

Emily xxx

*This was not a paid video. They did kindly send me a little gift you can see on my Instagram.

Wednesday 14 May 2014

L'oreal Skin Perfection Cleanser and Exfoliator


 
Hi everyone!

Today I'm going to be reviewing my new favourite cleansing and exfoliating products. I bought these on a whim when my usual cleanser had run out. I just wanted a simple, sensitive skin friendly cleanser that wasn't expensive as my usual one would arrive in 2 days. I bought these in Superdrug and seeing as there was an offer on, of course I made use of this and got the exfoliator too. These products costs £4.49 each, but with the 2 for £5 offer, who wouldn't take advantage of that!

Using these for the first time that evening, I wasn't expecting all that much. In fact I was more worried about upsetting my skin, but I was very pleasantly surprised. The cleanser becomes a soft, creamy lather and lifts your make up right off your skin. I wear Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation which is notoriously tough to remove, but this cleanser just completely melted it away. Definitely the best cleanser I have ever used at removing this foundation.

I then moved onto the exfoliator, again not expecting much. Exfoliator is something that has been missing from my skincare routine for a very long time, I'm not sure why but I just never bothered with it. Again, this product is super gentle and didn't irritate my skin at all or cause any redness. It doesn't feel like you're scrubbing off the top ten layers of your skin like others I've tried, but still makes my skin feel so super soft and smooth after using it. I've also found that it has reduced blackheads and pores across and either side of my nose which is something that has bothered me for a good while. This has now become a daily part of my routine and I'm so thankful I discovered it because my skin texture is so much smoother and I'm so happy to have smaller pores and less blackheads.

Both of these products have completely surprised me, I have actually continued using them for the weeks since I bought them and not used my usual cleanser I was waiting for, which is now sat on the shelf.. They have not irritated my sensitive skin at all, give me the best cleanse and overall leave me with much nicer skin. I can't believe these two only cost me £5, what a bargain! I'm pretty sure a good few of my favourite products are things I've bought on a whim as a back up, maybe I should buy things that don't look all that amazing more often..

Emily xxx

L'Oreal Skin Perfection Soothing Gel Cream Wash 150ml

L'Oreal Skin Perfection Radiance Revealing Exfoliator 150ml

Wednesday 23 April 2014

Argan Oil YouTube Giveaway


Hi everyone!

As I'm sure you can tell by the title, this post is going to be holding my YouTube giveaway! The prize is a 30ml bottle of argan oil from The Argan Company! If you would like to enter please read the details below and watch the video on YouTube, also below, if you haven't already.

This giveaway is UK only and will run for two weeks, starting from 23/04/14 at 12am and ending on 07/05/14 at 12am. The winner will be announced on 08/05/14 by Twitter DM only.

To enter, please use the Rafflecopter below! You MUST be subscribed to my channel on YouTube and following me on Twitter, all other entries are optional but give you a higher chance of winning!

Good luck!!

Emily xxx


a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Tuesday 22 April 2014

How I Got My Lilac Dip Dye!



Hi everyone!

As you may or may not have noticed I haven't been doing much blogging recently and this is actually my first post this month. I'm not going to make any excuses, I couldn't be bothered. I've been busy, I just wasn't feeling it and didn't feel inspired to write anything and it felt like a bit of a chore. I just couldn't be bothered but you know what, I don't see that as a bad thing. Why should I make myself do something I'm not enjoying. I let myself have a little break, with no idea when I'd be back. I just waited until I wanted to write a post, I didn't want to force myself  because then I'd still feel the same. So now here I am, actually wanting to write a post and feeling excited to be back. I'm also hoping to be doing some more style/outfit posts if the weather starts getting nicer so I can take pretty pictures outside! So here is my first post, ready to start fresh and get back into the swing of things. Woohoo!

Now as I'm sure you can tell by now, this post is on how I got my lilac dip dye. For god knows how long, I have been lusting over pastel hair on Instagram and weheartit. I went through a stage a year or two ago of wanting pastel pink hair (Amelia Lily on X Factor timings) and I was so close to doing it, but I got too scared. Then more recently I started wanting lilac hair, more specifically a lilac dip dye. I just think the colour looks so pretty paired with pale blonde hair, especially when it's in curls or loose waves which is my go to hair style for nights out. I thought about it all the time, searching through photos upon photos and drooling over how pretty it looked, but again I never had the courage to actually do it. Then one day, I had a 'YOLO' moment. (Don't worry, I don't really say YOLO in all seriousness). I thought you know what, I'm 19 years old, it's semi permanent and I just don't care what anyone else thinks.

That was it, I spent the whole day researching YouTube videos on the best way to do it and the best products to use. I ordered the dye that night from amazon and bought the rest of my lilac hair kit the next day. After a few busy days at work, I finally had a day off and was super excited to get my lilac hair.


So these are all the products I used. I bought the dye from Amazon and everything else from Boots.

Bleach London White Toner (optional)
Any white conditioner
La Riche Directions Dye in Violet
Tinting brush
Gloves

Now the toner part is optional, I just wanted my hair to be as even as possible and look really fresh and bright. My hair was a bit dull in the lower half and my roots were slightly brassy, so I thought I'd give this toner a go to try and even it out. I didn't actually leave this on for the full time (20 minutes) and only about half as it does have a small amount of bleach in it and I didn't want to damage my hair. I was really pleased with the results, the top of my hair looks much more even and the lower half a lot less dull. The underneath of my hair is still darker but it doesn't really bother me too much!

Unless your hair is already very even and not brassy, I definitely recommend using a toner as it will make the whole finished product look so much better. So if you're good to go with nice blonde hair, you can skip straight to the lilac. It's also worth mentioning that the purple dye will only take to light blonde hair and the lighter the better!


This is the dye I used, La Riche Directions in Violet, which after a lot of research I thought would be the best one. It seems to be the most popular and it definitely gives good results. Now there is a lilac shade of this, but I actually preferred the way this colour turns out when looking at reviews. You dilute it with white conditioner anyway so the fact that it's so dark doesn't matter, I just preferred the tones of this shade.


I would definitely recommend doing a strand test, because as you can see, mine turned out quite dark purple and not the lilac I was looking for! So when I did the real thing I knew to add less dye into the conditioner. I just cut a small piece of hair from the back, underneath of my hair and dyed it as I would do the rest.


So when it came to doing my hair properly, I added less dye. You should actually make the dye a bit darker than you want it on your head, but I think I was just scared because the strand test went so dark that I actually did it the exact colour I wanted it to come out. This meant it didn't come out as dark as I wanted and it actually looked a bit washed out. But as you can see in the photos, it's not that bad at all, just not exactly as I wanted it! I have since re-dyed it so it's a tiny bit darker.

To mix up the dye you need a white conditioner, do not use a coloured one or it will alter the colour of the dye. Put as much as you think you will need to cover your hair into any tub/bowl and gradually add the dye to get the colour you want. Add a tiny bit at a time because you only need a small amount!


As you can see, I'm wearing a random Smirnoff t-shirt. You want to wear one that you don't mind ruining! Mine didn't actually stain at all, but you don't want to risk it. So I applied the dye to the bottom ends of my hair, trying to make sure it was blended through nicely and not a harsh line. The first time I dyed it, I just put it all over in one go. This didn't turn out too even, so the next time I put my hair into sections and applied it in layers. This worked much better so I highly recommend doing that! Then you want to leave it on for about 20 minutes, but you can keep looking at your hair and checking it and take it off when you think it's ready.

Once you're ready, just wash it off in the shower and make sure all the conditioner/dye mix is out before shampooing and conditioning as normal. Then you can dry and style as you wish!


Ta da! So pretty simple and easy really! I'm just going to summarise with some top tips for doing this to your hair:

1. Make sure your hair is light blonde and a nice even, non brassy shade.

2. Do a strand test to make sure you get the colour you want.

3. Apply the dye in layers to get even coverage and blend it well.

4. Do your research. Hopefully this post is helpful!

5. Don't slip in the shower when washing off all that conditioner..


If you want to do your full head, you can still follow these steps with the only difference being that you're going to apply the dye to your whole head! I really hope you enjoyed this post and found it informative if you're planning to do this to your own hair!

Emily xxx

Monday 31 March 2014

BassBuds X Roxanne Campbell Nail Art





*BassBuds photo*

Hi everyone!

Recently I was contacted by the lovely Laura asking if I would like to create some nail art based on these gorgeous earphones. BassBuds* are collaborating with top nail artist Roxanne Campbell to create gorgeous nail looks based on these fashion collection earphones. I was super excited about this because as you may have noticed, I am super girly and these are so perfect to use when I'm on the bus to work!

So of course, I put on some nail extensions to make my nails look more polished and perfect. Can't be trying to make short, stubby nails look slick! Then I used one of my favourite nail polishes which actually doesn't have a name, all the writing has completely rubbed off! But you could use any similar shiny pinky/purple colour, I personally like the way this one is very slightly metallic. The aim with the black lines was to resemble the shape of the earphone, I'm not too sure how that worked out to be honest but I like the way it looks on the nail art and it adds something extra! Then of course, the silver, sparkly dots resemble the Swarovski crystals.

The last photo is from the BassBuds X RC collection, which clearly is much better than my nail art! I'm still happy with how my nail art turned out though, it was neater than I thought I could make it with my shaky hands! If you're after some new earphones but want some that have not only an amazing sound system but also look pretty damn amazing, these are just perfect. I am so pleased with them and it was so cool creating nail art to match them!

Hope you like my nail art!

Emily xxx

Sunday 23 March 2014

OOTN | My New Favourite Dress



Hi everyone!

I spent last weekend with my best friend Sophie, which was so much fun, but also rather expensive! We went on a big shopping trip, had some yummy lunch at Zizzis and then went on a night out. I spent way too much money considering I'm supposed to be saving, oops! You can see everything I bought in my last post.

One of the things I bought was this dress which I have absolutely fallen in love with! It is actually almost knee length, which I would wear in the Spring and Summer with a cute pair of sandals. However, for a night out I felt a big more leg would be appropriate hehe. So I bought this little black belt to hitch it up a bit, don't worry it still wasn't crazy short! I actually really like how it looks with the belt, regardless of the length!

I then paired it with my new favourite boots, a simple black clutch and a good old red lip, courtesy of MAC Russian Red.

Dress - River Island
Belt - New Look
Boots - Amazon
Clucth - Primark
Lipstick - MAC Russian Red
Hair - Straighteners and a bit of Fudge texture spray

What do you think of the dress? How would you wear it?

Emily xxx

Sunday 16 March 2014

HAUL | River Island, Primark, New Look, La Senza, Superdrug


So I might have broken my spending ban... 

Yesterday I went shopping with my best friend and we are literally terrible together because we will find a way to justify anything we want to buy. I only planned on buying a couple of things I needed, but I fell in love with a few things so of course I found a way to justify buying them. I will include my justifications below to make myself feel better. Everything in this haul I bought yesterday apart from two things so including lunch, a night out and new curtains, I've had a very expensive weekend. Oops.

Primark £14 - last pair in my size, meant to be

Primark £4 - gorgeous colour for spring/summer and super cheap. For some unknown reason I picked up the wrong size, despite it being clearly stated rather largely

Primark £4 - I needed a new purse so was looking for a nice summer colour, this is gorgeous, the perfect size and has perfect compartments

Primark £1.50 - super soft considering the price, I'll be using these to remove cleanser
Primark £1.50 - I use these when applying my make up and needed a new one, foundation in bleach blonde hair is not a good look

Primark £2/3 - I buy these every year as they are the only sunglasses that suit me at least a little bit

Primark £1-1.70 each - bad justifying for this one, just wanted some new undies..
Superdrug - Cotton pads two for £2.50, cotton buds £1 - basic necessities!

New Look £14.99 - a basic that will go with lots and feels super nice and silky on | here

New Look £2.99 - I bought this to wear with the dress I bought which you'll see below | here

Amazon £24.99 - I am obsessed with these I think they're amazing!! So comfy to wear out too | here

La Senza £30 - I don't know why this shows up blue, it's black! Every girl needs the perfect black bra and this was it

River Island £20 - these pictures do not do these shorts justice, but they're amazing, so soft and so versatile! Hopefully I'll do an outfit post to show you how they look on | here
River Island £35 - it has been a long while since I have absolutely fallen in love with an item of clothing but this is love. Everything about it is perfect, the pattern, the shape, the fit, the sleeves, the black sections, the length. This is what I bought the belt for, you can see a photo on instagram of how I wore this with the belt! I would still wear it long with a pair of sandals in the summer too | here

So that is everything I bought yesterday, minus the boots and sunglasses. I definitely spent way too much money but I really love everything I bought, especially the above dress! I have linked as much as I can if you would like to take a look at the items!

Have you broken your spending ban recently? Do you always find a way to justify buying things?

Emily xxx

Wednesday 5 March 2014

Beauty UK 'Halo' | MAC MSF Dupe?





Never before had I ventured into the brand 'Beauty UK' because to be honest, I knew it was cheap and had an idea in my head that it would be rubbish. Don't get me wrong, I know a lot of cheaper brands have some amazing products (Collection Lasting Perfection, I'm looking at you) but for some reason, I just had this assumption that it was cheap and tacky and I had never been tempted to even look at the products properly let alone buy any.

All that changed when I was having a browse through the blushers on the Superdrug website and I spotted a pink blusher my friend had been raving about not so long before. It was only then that I clicked what brand it was and so I thought I'd take a closer look. I thought this baked blusher in the shade 'Halo' looked fairly pretty so of course I headed to google to find some blog reviews. It was there that I saw it being compared to Macs Mineralise Skin Finish in 'Soft and gentle'. Sold.

When my Superdrug order arrived (a fairly large order might I add) it was actually this product I was most excited to try. So much so that I had to swatch before taking photographs, as you might be able to tell. Naughty beauty blogger. This is the most gorgeous highlight I have ever used. Despite being advertised in the blusher section, the colour and shimmer of this would definitely come under highlight in my books. I'm sure the name of this was blusher but now I look at the website they're named 'baked box', so maybe they've changed it or maybe I got it wrong. But they are in the blusher section on the site.

I'd say it's a slightly peachy, pale pink colour with very light brown running through it. When swatched and applied it comes off as a beautiful peachy toned champagne colour which makes for the perfect natural highlight colour. Not white or silver but a natural skin tone with gorgeous shimmer. This is not one of those horrible glittery highlighters that make you look like a disco ball, it just has a lovely glow and makes you look alive and well rather than 'I'm off to the roller disco'.

If you're wondering about the MSF comparison, that is just a product I've wanted to try for longer than I can remember, hence why I got super excited about a cheaper version. I've never actually used it so if you want a comparison, get googling some other reviews. Or in fact just give it a whirl, at £3.99 it won't break the bank if you don't like it. Although I'm 99% sure you will.

I also bought a Beauty UK lipstick which is the most gorgeous colour, so in the end this brand has come up trumps. I think that's a real phrase.

Have you ever tried any products from Beauty UK? Is there anything else I should pick up?

Emily xxx

Tuesday 25 February 2014

L'oreal Superliner Review





Hi everyone!

Today I'm going to be reviewing this liquid eyeliner from L'oreal, the Superliner. About a year ago I was obsessed with liquid eyeliner and would wear big flicks everyday, but gradually I got more into eyeshadow and started to wear liquid liner less and less. Eventually I was only wearing it on nights out, but I was using my gel eyeliner from Bobbi Brown on an angled liner brush because of it's staying power. 

Recently, I started to think about liquid liner again and one day I decided to wear it, only to look in my collection and realise I didn't have one. Not even one liquid liner, I have no idea where it has gone because I used to wear it all the time and had a few. I'm guessing I somehow got rid of them when I changed my make up storage. They probably would have been dry and crusty by now anyway ha! So off I went on the search for a new liquid liner.

I'd seen a few reviews of the Superliner so did a bit more research into it and decided this was the one I wanted to try, so I purchased it from Superdrug when I made a huge order (haul video on YouTube coming up!). Despite having still not uploaded my haul video, I did actually receive my order a good couple of weeks ago and since then, I have been using this liner almost every day!

This is honestly the easiest liquid liner to apply that I've ever tried, which is out of quite a few! It just seems so glide on so easily. I think this is down to a combination of the handle and the nib. As you can see the handle is quite long which makes it super easy to hold and apply. As for the nib, it has got the perfect amount of flexibility in it. I always find that liquid liners will have either completely stiff nibs or ridiculously flimsy brushes which flick about all over the place. This is a plasticy/rubbery nib which is fairly stiff but has enough movement in it to mould to your eye as you apply it.

This makes for the easiest, quickest liner application ever. Perfect for those early mornings! As for the formula, I would say it's your typical liquid liner consistency but not one of those that's too runny. It's super opaque in one swipe and doesn't look too thin or sheer as some cheaper liners can. It doesn't go dry and crumble off into my eyes throughout the day, even when I've been wearing it for around 10 hours.

My only complaint with this liner is that whilst the super long handle tricks your mind otherwise, the pot of liquid liner is actually rather small. Never the less, the product is good and the design makes for super easy application, even for those less equipped with liner skills like me.. All in all, this is probably the best liquid liner I've used and I'm really blown away at how easy it is to apply! I can get a tiny thin line to make my lashes look fuller or create a full on cat eye.

If you have zilch liquid liner skills like me, definitely give this ago as I was amazed at how easy it applies! You can purchase this in most beauty stores but I got mine in Superdrug for £6.49.

Emily xxx