photo diary

01 ♡ Treated myself to Real Techniques Stippling Brush & some other goodies.
02 ♡ Feeding my Lana Del Rey obsession.
03 ♡ Daisy-Rose being the cutest cupcake!
04 ♡ Trying to be healthy...
05 ♡ GBK with Mitchell... not very healthy!
06 ♡ Do I even need words!?
07 ♡ 'My Week With Marylin' - a must see!
08 ♡ Little D striking a pose.
09 ♡ First night out with the girls Emma, Harriet & Charlotte, in nearly 11 months!
10 ♡ Embracing the sunshine.
11 ♡ Easter themed nail art.
12 ♡ Princess & I on our first Mother's Day ♡
13 ♡ Lovely gifts from Little D!
14 ♡ Mummy, Daddy & Daisy.
15 ♡ Beautiful Mother's Day flowers :).

lana del rey inspired / MUA cosmetics

If you're anything like me & the rest of the internet (so it seems) you'll be completely mesmerised by Lana Del Rey, not only for her sultry voice but for her mysteriously beautiful face - there's something about her that keeps me fixated! I adore her make up, mixing the infamous Twiggy inspired eyes & 1950's pin up with modern day beauty trends is the perfect combination. I decided to attempt a style of make up inspired by the look from her music video 'Born To Die'...

• For this look I used mainly MUA products - Matte Foundation Shade 1, Pressed Powder Shade 1, Blush Shade 1, Lipstick Shade 13, Liquid Liner shade 5 & the Heaven & Earth palette.
• Firstly apply MUA's matte foundation in shade 1 for a dewy complexion. To remove shine use a large powder brush to apply MUA's pressed powder. At this stage if you desire you can fill/shape your brows with a medium brown shade similar to Lana's.
• Take the top left corner colour from your Heaven & Earth palette (a shimmery vanilla white) & apply heavily on the lids up to the brow bone.
• Using a thin brush take the second to right dark brown shade on the top row of your palette & draw a line slightly above your crease, following the natural shape of your crease line blend slightly using your finger or a blending brush. Using the same shade/brush line underneath your waterline to achieve Lana's larger, retro eyes.
• Take your black liquid liner & add a thick, high winged cat flick.
• To achieve the retro '60's eye look apply a generous amount of mascara to your lower lashes (I used Soap & Glory's Thick & Fast as I'm yet to buy an MUA mascara.), it's okay if they look clumpy - the thicker the better!
• Add a pair of false eye lashes (I'm wearing Eylure Girls Aloud - Nicola, I'm yet to purchase MUA lashes!), MUA's flair are perfect for this look. Apply a coat of mascara to the outer lashes to give them a feathery appearance.
• Sweep shade 1 blush along your cheekbones, apply this sparingly - we want to keep the face clean & natural with just a hint of colour so there's more focus on the eyes & lips.
• Finally, apply a deep red (shade 13) lipstick - to achieve the illusion of fuller lips use a lip brush to blend the colour slightly outside the edge of your lips.

Et Voilà! Now all I need to do is master the hair... Feel free to drop a comment for any requests!

st. moriz instant self tanning mist

False tans... where to start!? They're baffling from the word go - do I buy a lotion, mousse, gel, spray? Which brand do I buy? Shall I spend £30 or will the £10 products work just as well? Shall I go for instant or developer? Am I going to end up looking like a Wotsit or a bronze Godess? The questions are endless. I spent a good fifteen minutes browsing the false tan selection in Boots & I left the store empty handed with a very confused expression & a headache. There is far too much choice & all the orange packaging became to overwhelming for little old me. I came home & did what any beauty blogger would do... read reviews. I saw the brand St. Moriz cropping up several times & decided as it's wonderfully cheap & cheerful I'd give it a go & made a mental note to pick some up from Savers.

I paid £2.99 for St. Moriz Instant Self Tanning Mist - they had no mousse or lotion in stock but I much prefer spray on tan anyway. The product boasts it gives a 'healthy golden tan all year round' & a 'professional flawless tan', they also have a helpful 'how to apply' & 'top tips' section on the reverse of the packaging. After carefully reading both of these I exfoliated, moisturised & got to work! I applied in sections, firstly arms then chest, stomach, legs & finally my back. I found keeping the bottle around 30CM away from my body worked well as the nozzle is medium - large, meaning a large surface area gets covered easily. I worked the bottle in small circular motions & once I was done on once section I used a self tan mitt to even out the application.

What I think...

• Packaging - the obvious comment regarding St. Moriz packaging is how much it looks like St. Tropez, I'm pretty sure the font used for the logo is exactly the same? Either way, the packaging is a fresh, clean white with easy to read, clearly titled details on the reverse. For a product that's £2.99 I think it's very nice & looks like it would cost a lot more.
• Product - I would go as far as saying this is one of my holy grail cosmetic products. The product applied so smooth, even & streak free, it was incredible. I always have a rubbish turn out when it comes to self tan - but not this time, it really does do what it says on the bottle! My tan is a gorgeous golden bronze colour yet it looks completely natural. I'm super, super happy with the results!
• Price - £2.99? I doubt I need words to express how chuffed I was about this!
• Purchase again - Yes, 110%!
• Rating - ❤❤❤❤❤ / ❤❤❤❤❤

mix & match nails #2

A mix & match design I created using Models Own, Collection 2000 & Look Beauty.

small change, big difference

Now that I'm finally back to my usual, non waddling self I'm enjoying a fresh start in many areas of my life, especially my appearance. I decided to go for a new cut & colour hair wise first of all. Now, I've been growing my hair for quite some time, three years ago it was an inch or two below my ears & after many DIY dye jobs it needed some serious TLC. Lately I've been taking extra care of my locks but the bane of my life, my side fringe was ruining them for me. With this I decided to give myself a wispy full fringe. You may not notice much difference between this photo & the photo above but I really do. I absolutely love my fuller fringe & darker hair; I feel my face appears shorter in length (thank God!) & my natural colour benefits my dark eyes, whereas I feel the sandy blonde looked dull, dry & washed me out.

The point I'm trying to make is sometimes, if you fancy a change you need not go for a drastic hair transformation. A few tips I would give are...

•  Do a little online research as to what hair styles suit your face shape - I found this very beneficial! 
•  If you feel like a change of colour there's no need to go from bright red to deep black to make a statement - going a shade or two lighter/darker could be all you need.
• Before taking an irreversible plunge explore your styling options. If you tend to only wear your hair in a particular style try something new! Ditch the straighteners for curlers, experiment with looks you wouldn't usually try, browse Youtube for style tutorials, there are more than plenty!

Finding a quick & easy solution to fulfil your image change needs is simple, I think in this case less is definitely more!

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