Wishlist - White and Stone fashion.

Summer is approaching and I am loving life. I love getting in my car and driving around in the sun, meeting friends and most of all summer fashion. My new obsession is definately white and stone colours and earthy, neutral tones, especially for the summer!

So here are my top 5 wish-list items for some perfect summer outfits. 

1) Gold/ White Dress - Dorothy Perkins - £39. 50. This dress is so smart and can be used for so many summer events. It would brighten up your work wear or you could wear it for summer drinks or bbqs. I adore this dress. 

2) Pearl Bottle Necklace - Accessorize- £12 - I think this necklace is so cute. You could wear it alone with a dress or shirt, or with a few other necklaces and t-shirt for a layered casual/chic effect. I think it is quite unique. 

3)Beach Bag -River Island- £35- I have never really bought a specific beach bag - I usually just re-use a big winter bag - but I love this River Island one. I love the size, style and colour.  I'm not sure white is the best colour when on the beach as it may get dirty but that being said, I am still desperate for this gorgeous bag - will go great with any summer outfit. 

4) White Sandals - ASOS- £17- These sandals are fab! I love the grecian style with the more open sandal at the back. Great for those lighter summer outfits.

5)Rose Print Chiffon Skirt - New Look- £24.99 - I love anything floaty and light in the summer. Winter and warm clothes are great but in the summer it's time to make the most of lighter, brighter clothes. This skirt is beautiful. The stone colour matched with the rose print, works beautifully together. It can be dressed up or down as well as being perfect for holidays and the beach.

I can't wait to go out and splurge on some amazing summer clothes and accessories. Has anyone else spotted some must have white, stone or neutral colours for Summer 2012 ??

Love Kathy xxx

Enrapture Jumbo Waver

I am the first person to admit I am absolutely obsessed with styling and playing with my hair (bad I know) so I was delighted to receive the new Enrapture Amplify Jumbo Waver for Christmas a couple of months ago! I literally have tried almost every kind of heated styling tool on my long blonde hair to make it look different, so I couldn't wait to try this out.

 

Enrapture is a fairly new company to the UK market and I'd heard of it before I was lucky enough to receive the Jumbo Waver for Christmas, but I had never tried any of their products before, mainly because of the price tag, but we'll get to that later! Enrapture claims that "The luxury new Amplify Jumbo Waver allows you to easily create big, tousled ‘s’ waves, texture and volume for a rock, beachy or bohemian look", so lets see!

This is the end result to my hair after using the Waver. It's definitely a boho beachy wave look and I do like what is does to my hair! I didn't want to wave it all the way to the top as I'm growing out my fringe, but I love the loose tousled waves it creates, different from my usual soft curls I usually rock!

Now time for the negatives! As I already mentioned, it is shockingly expensive at £74.99 for a hair tool and on a student budget I definitely wouldn't have bought it myself. Unless you have a lovely person to get you it as a present like me, I'd say it may not be worth it. Second negative, it is massive and clunky! By that I mean it is very easy to burn yourself. As someone pretty experienced with heated tools I burnt myself twice using this thing as it is difficult to get the hang of.

Verdict: I absolutely love the different 'rock chick' look it does to my hair and wouldn't want to give mine up, but at £75 probably too much for your average student! Tip, try rocking straighteners back and forth down your hair, does pretty much the same thing ;)

Love Lauren

xxx

Guest Blog: MAC Eyeliner

This week our guest blogger is Jess (Deathcka) who has her own blog and tumblr account that you should definitely check out! Over to you Jess :)

Hello my lovelies!

THANK YOU for asking me to be your guest blogger! Sorry it’s taken me an age…
Anyway! I want talk about the awesomeness that is the Mac Liquidlast Liner.

As a skint student, usually I believe any form of liquid liner that is over a fiver is extortionate, and not worth it… This bad boy, however, is worth every penny of the £14.
With one coat, it is seriously black, and goes on beautifully. (I tend to opt for my Bobbi Brown liner brush instead of the one in the product. The brush tip is a bit too flimsy - you get this with most liquid liners these days; massive ball-ache.)

The most desireable element of the liner for me, is how long it lasts. It. Does. Not. Budge. You can cry, go swimming (tried and tested), run for the bus in a monsoon, and it goes nowhere. Granted, it’s a bugger to get off, when you’re merry after 5 sambucas and having trouble getting your tights off, but the fact it has stayed on all night is a testament to it’s fabulousness.
It also lasts forever, long-term. The bottle is tiny (2.5 ml) but it goes such a long way, its unbelieveable! I can buy it annually, and wear it every day.

As the picture demonstrates, I love using it as a finishing touch to smokey eyes. With big flicks on its own, it has a hints retro; any way this liner is applied, is bound to be gorgeous, and I use it in my daily makeup routine.

Overall verdict: 8/10. It’s my favourite, most reliable product in my makeup box.

Loads of love!

Deathcka
http://deathcka.tumblr.com/
xxx

Summer Skin Care

I really think that keeping your skin in great condition, makes you feel not only confident but makes your skin look glowing and makeup look absolutely flawless. I definitely think investing in a good skincare product is a must and there are some great high- street products as well as more expensive brands which I would definitely recommend.

I can't say enough brilliant things about Elemis products. They smell amazing and make my skin 100% better - that is when I stick to my skin care routine properly which I will admit I haven't been doing recently. However, summer approaches and I'm on a mission to get amazing summer skin, so I'll be getting back on track !

Elemis make loads of products for different skin types; I'm combination skin so my life savers are the Apricot Toner(£19.40) and Soothing Chamomile Cleanser (£19.40).  Using both once a day really makes my skin look healthy and bright and balances it out completely. I also use the Elemis Gentle Rose Exfoliator (£25.60) twice a week - it's gentle on my skin but removes all the dead skin etc. The best tip I was ever given was by a beautician who said always use exfoliator or the other products won't sink in and do their job. Therefore I would say exfoliating twice a week is essential.

Because I wear glasses a lot, my eyes sometimes get a bit dry and sensitive. However I've noticed a difference when using the Pro- Collagen Eye Renewal * from Elemis. It makes skin firmer and my eyes look a lot less "tired"!!

Lot's of people have been telling me how good the Liz Earle products are and I have been tempted to try them for ages. I did recently buy the Instant Boost Skin Tonic (£12.50). I have been using it and definitely noticed a difference in my skin. I usually put it on about ten minutes before I put my makeup on, and it makes my skin look fresh and nourishes it before I apply heavier foundation for a night out. I think, my skin definitely responds better to the Elemis products, however if any of you can recommend more Liz Earle must haves, let me know !

Finally, my other skin care musts are vaseline (any kind ,various prices). I couldn't live without this for keeping my lips from getting dry. I have about a million pots in bags and drawers all over my room!! Also I recently discovered tea-tree makeup wipes (£4) from Body Shop. These wipes are amazing, treating spots and getting rid of impurities every time you take off your makeup. However they do sting a bit around your eyes, so I usually take my eye makeup off with a normal makeup wipe and then remove foundation with these beauties from Body Shop. It's great to have a product that helps my skin when it removes the makeup.

However, as I'm embarking on a new skin care routine please let me know if you guys have found any great alternatives or must have skin care products. Elemis Pro- Collagen Eye Renewal is £58 on website however I got it in a set which was £25 - special offer. If anyone has any great eye treatments for MUCH cheaper (!!!!) please let me know.

Love Kathy
xxx

My Top Fragrances

As a female University student I am just obsessed with perfumes and fragrances and, having just had my 21^st birthday, my parents bought me my favourite perfume, giving me the idea to do a top fragrances post! I know everyone’s opinions will differ, but thought I’d share my favourite with you!

I have quite a large collection as, like I said, I’m a little bit obsessed but my favourite ones are definitely at the sweet and fruity end of spectrum, even in my heavier night time choices. I am absolutely rubbish at describing fragrances so apologies!

My favourite perfume is definitely not hard to pick: Viktor and Rolf ‘Flowerbomb’

This is a gorgeous sweet and fruity smelling perfume that had a lot of hype surrounding it when it was first released, and my best friend from home first got me into it as she loves it. The website describes it as “a millefleurs around the freesia, Centifolia rose, osmanthus and Sambac jasmine, supported by a background of patchouli”. If, like me, that means absolutely nothing to you then basically it just smells like a sweet, fruity and fresh. Definitely my favourite perfume!

I got Kathy this for her birthday last year! It’s Vera Wang’s ‘Lovestruck’

This also had a huge amount of hype on release and was marketed by Leighton Meester and, like Flowerbomb, it is a lovely sweet fruity fragrance. The website describes the scent as “a mouthwatering pink guava and mandarin, followed by a delicate mix of tuberose and lotus blossom. Behind it all, precious woods and sheer musk envelope a passionate elegance.” Again, it’s lovely and sweet but slightly sexier than Flowerbomb so I’d be more inclined to wear this in the evening, especially as it lasts a fair amount longer.

Next is Kylie Minogue ‘Sweet Darling’

I couldn’t possibly make a top fragrances blog without mentioning this little beauty as it was the perfume I wore every single day from the age of 16 to 19 and it became ‘my scent’. At the risk of sounding boring, it’s a lovely sweet fragrance described as “a fusion of sweet cotton candy accord, juicy passion fruit, opulent freesia, and boronia" but it is so much cheaper than the previous two! Devastatingly, they have now stopped selling this perfume! You can still get it online from amazon or cheapsmells.com, but no longer sell it in shops so I have stocked up like a badger stocking up for hibernation!

Finally, my night time fragrance is Paco Rabanne ‘Lady Million’

Again, this is a ridiculously famous perfume that Paco Rabanne released as the female version of their popular ‘1 Million’ cologne and I picked it up maybe a year ago now. This tends to be my night time fragrance as it is definitely a sexy perfume and I feel much more confident and ready for a night out when I put it on! It’s definitely still at the sweet end of the spectrum, but it feels like a more grown-up scent and much more appropriate for night time!

I hope you enjoyed my top few fragrances post. I also love most of the perfumes by Escada and the Britney Spears range, mainly because they are lovely and sweet but these are my stand out favourites! Leave me a comment letting me know your favourites or any you should recommend I try!

 

Love Lauren xxx

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LAUREN

Just to say a huge HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO LAUREN ! It is her 21st today and we had an amazing night out last night !!! It was even better because the amount of work we have in our last year of uni stops us going out much, so it was a well needed night out. Great music, great friends and great drinks !

Love Kathy xxxx

THE NAKED2 PALETTE

I’m pretty sure anybody who is anybody has heard of the original Urban Decay Naked palette, released early last year and took the makeup industry by storm! It sold out immediately and it took me a good few months to get my hands on one, but ever since it has been a major staple in my makeup bag. When I heard Urban Decay was releasing the Naked2 a few weeks ago I knew I needed it in my life!

Being honest, the Naked2 is very similar to the Naked palette with the eye shadow shades, even repeating one called Half Baked, except the Naked2 features a much cooler colour scheme rather than warm bronze browns in the original Naked palette.

From Left: Blackout, Busted, YDK, Verve, Pistol

Suspect, Snakebite, Tease, Chopper, Bootycall, Half Baked, Foxy

Just like its predecessor, the shades are beautifully pigmented, look gorgeous and blend really nicely. The palette is expensive at around £36 but I really think it is worth the money, especially if you like wearing neutral eyes on a daily basis like me. Now the real question, do you need both the Naked and Naked2 palette?

 

 

Top: Naked2, Bottom: Original Naked

The honest answer is no as they are very similar, but, if like me you are obsessed with all things makeup then this little beauty is a must for your makeup collection!

Love Lauren xxx