Spring has sprung

5 things I love about spring:

• The promise of warm weather although Ill probably end up working indoors again all summer....I sort of missed last summer completely and just watched it pass me by through the shop window :(
• Flowers starting to appear
• Saying hello to dresses of the floral and colourful variety and goodbye to dull winter clothes
• Spring makeup trends
• Different food. Over winter I seem to have a lot of stews, casseroles, soups etc now Im quite looking forward to salads and fruit.

5 things I hate about spring:

• Bees and wasps
• The unpredictable weather and having to carry around a coat and umberella just incase it rains
• Getting my ghostly white legs out to get a bit of colour - this almost never happens as I hate my legs but they really do need to see some sunshine.
• The fact that all my summer shoes went mouldy in my old flat so Ill have to carry on wearing winter boots until I can afford summer shoes
• Not being able to wear sunglasses - prescription sunglasses are just hideous

I am really enjoying lighter mornings and finishing work when its still light and being able to sit in my front room with the light coming in and the windows open to let all the signs of sinter out. HELLO SPRING!!

I was also happy that spring time showed itself for the wedding photoshoot on Sunday, the weather was perfect.

Ill be putting some piccies up from the shoot later this week or possibly today.

New business cards :D

Just wanted to share my new business cards and do a little review of my experience with moo.com and their service.

So their estimated arrival was 15th March, theyre 5 days early and I love them. I got 50 made, came to a little over £16 inc. P&P which I think id very reasonable considering the quality.

Here they are:

And a close up of the back:

My photos of the cards are a bit grainy but the actual quality of the cards is brilliant. I chose a matte finish. I think the choices are a little bit limited and you also have a small choice of card type as well. The colours are really vibrant and the quality of the card is great. I chose the standard business cards but they do postcards and mini cards as well, the mini cards are actually quite cute but as I have to rely on my images to promote my work I needed something a bit bigger. What attracted me to moo in the first place was the fact you can have as many different images as you like, you dont have to have the same cards, you can have a different image on each card if you like. I uploaded 5 images and received 10 of each image so the people you give them to can choose the card which appeals to them and you can get more of your work out there to potential clients rather than just showing them 1 image, 1 example of what you can do.

I found their service easy to use and understand, very clear and being the big kid I am I loved receiving the update e-mails from a service robot called Little Moo telling me about the progress of my order and how to seek further help if I wanted to speak to an actual real person.

They arrived really well packaged and came with a gorgeous little black storage box with separaters (is that correct?) titled 'Mine' and 'Theirs' so you can have a place to store your cards and cards youve collected from other industry professionals. I love it.

However, Im not 100% happy with my black and white cards...the image is grainy and Ive been told the image I used wasnt hi-res enough, it looked fine during the ordering process. Moo have kindly offered me a replacement order of 50 cards which has boosted me back up to being 100% happy with their service. I will certainly be re-ordering more cards in the future especially since I have an exciting bridal photoshoot coming up next week which I will keep you all updated about.
If you need business cards, I definitely recommend using moo.com I wont be going anywhere else.

Soap & Glory Madness

Ok so Im sure all aware of my recent obsession with Soap & Glory.

I accidentally stepped into Boots and found myself taking full advantage of their 3 for 2 offer.

I bought 6 new items, heres my collection so far.

I feel so naughty but Im going to smell so nice :P

Ill be reviewing more products once I have some time.

Garra Rufa Fish Foot Treatment.....is it just a craze?

I may have mentioned that it was my birthday recently :p My boyfriend treated me to a foot treatment at a spa and Ive got to say I was a little dubious.

I'd heard about these foot treatments where little fishes nicknamed "Dr Fish" nibble at your tootsies and eat all the dead skin, it seems to be the latest craze.

I LOVE these little fishes. I wish I had taken a before and after photo. My feet were proper crusty before the treatment and they were so soft and lovely after they nibbled at me. Even my toenails look nicer. Its weird as well, when I was walking home afterwards I felt really floaty and relaxed, was lovely. Im going to try to go once a month as a treat, its fairly affordable at just £13 for 15 minutes although our 15 minutes soon turned into half an hour. I usually hate getting my feet out but after that, I never wanted to wear shoes again. Its a shame its still winter boots weather.
You can also have your hands done too and Ive heard rumours you can have your whole body done although I think thatd be a bit weird.

Everyones been asking me what it felt like. Honestly? It felt like little bubbles underneath my feet, similar to the feel of a foot spa. Although there was one slightly bigger fishy and I could feel him nibbling away which was a bit distracting. Those little guys did a good job though. Is it a craze? I hope not because I am hooked (I know theres a joke in there somewhere). Also dont worry about squishing the fish with your feet, they scatter as soon as theres any movement then swarm around your feet once theyre still. Highly recommended.

Here are the facts about "Dr Fish" or Garra Rufa fish copied from the spa balik website which is where we went:
"Our dead skin cells may sound like an unappetising diet, but for fish that thrive in hot water up to 43 degrees centigrade, where nothing of much nutritional value can survive, a bather dipping in a toe is a welcome feast. In an unusual reversal of the food chain, the fish spa treatment is mutually beneficial to you and the fish. They feed while you have your skin exfoliated. It is believed that Garra Rufa fish secrete an enzyme, diathanol that improves skin regeneration.

It is also claimed these marvellous little fish can also stimulate acupuncture points helping to regulate the nervous system, relax the body and release tension. Your blood circulation and flow is also greatly increased during the treatment.

Their suction-cup mouths are perfectly shaped for gently lifting dry skin away, without damaging the healthy new cells underneath - revealing soft, supple and smooth skin for you. More importantly, fish therapy is a completely painless process. Most people find it pleasurable, a tickling, almost tingling sensation something akin to a light massage."

Re-review of Benefit Do it Daily Moisturiser

I feel I didnt give this product a fair chance. I slated it as the worst product ever and now think it deserves a re-review.

You can see my first review of Benefit's "Do it Daily" here

After saying it was the worst thing Id ever put on my skin and I never wanted to use it ever again, I have actually used it a couple more times since reviewing it and my boyfriend seems to be taking a shine to it as well. He has oily skin so he likes using this one although it did sting his eyes. He tried to blame it on the eye serum I applied to him afterwards (he keeps complaining about his bags since he started his early shift) but Ive got that in my eye before and it doesnt sting at all. But yeah Ive been using it and Ive noticed a difference in my skin.

Even though its oil free, my dry patches seem to be clearning up as well, my oily areas are no longer my oily areas and Im liking it so much I barely notice the vinegary smell I mentioned previously and the stinging sensation is gone. Ive actually noticed it sinking into my skin better, it leaves my skin lovely and soft and smooth feeling afterwards. Maybe Id just exfoliated too hard on that particular review day but Im actually liking this product. I wouldnt say loving in, love is a strong word saved only for products I will use religously and repurchase. This one, I still wouldnt buy it, I still stick to the fact that its overpriced and its not that great but I have to aplogise to Benefit for previously slating this not so bad product. I'll continue to use it if Im feeling oily and no doubt my boyfriend will continue to ask where it is so he can use it.

Soap & Glory "Marvelips" review

For my 25th birthday I received some Soap & Glory products which I am loving. Ive been wanting to try them for a while but I wasnt sure if the packaging was too much and trying to make a big deal out of a product which was nothing special, I thought maybe they were cashing in on the vintage market.BUT Ive been proven wrong. Not only is the packaging fantastic (I love this sort of style) its got lots of light hearted information on it about the product and what it aims to do and how it was tested etc. I also think their products have given me a push in the right direction in trying to copy the looks on the packaging by using their products.

Ramble ramble ramble. Basically I am totally in love with this range of products and could easily spend hundreds of pounds on it. Its not badly priced, its affordable, smells lovely and I think their stuff is great quality.

Ok on with the review. Today Im reviewing "Marevlips" which is a double ended lip pencil which aims to shape and supersize the lips (not that I need any help there). £8.43 at Boots and they currently have a 3 for 2 offer on. Ill probably be going back for more although Ill probably buy from their fantastic skincare range.

One end is colour, the other is highlighter. On the back of the packet it gives instructions on how to apply but I didnt find that their technique worked for me. It advised to fill lips with colour then use the highlighter to pick out the middle of the lips for a pouty look. But this just made the highlighter end messy which I didnt like. You can see that the highlighter is actually quite glittery but I liked it. The texture is very silky and its easy to apply, I felt like it was moisturising my lips.

So I applied the highlighter first to the middle of the lips and the cupids bow then I filled in with colour leaving some of the highlight showing through. This worked really well on the cupids bow especially later int he day when I filled my lips in with a bright red. The camera doesnt pick the highlights up very well.

As far as Im aware this only comes in one colour which is a sort of dusky pink shade, fairly natural and great for every day wear. Ive worn it quite a lot and now need to invest in a big fat sharpener for it since I definitely want to carry on using it. I love it. Very soft and silky, lovely colour. Just wish it lasted a bit longer.

First tutorial: 50's inspired

Ok Ive been promising a tutorial for a while now and Ive been nervous to start doing them just because:
a) Im not sure Im good enough
b)my makeup never photographs very well and
c) I dont even know if you guys are interested
so I thought Id start out just by taking photos of the make-up I did on myself today (Im trying out a new style since I turned 25 and I think Im liking it - a bit 50's inspired, probably bought on by my new love of Soap & Glory, I love the images on their packaging). I also used a lot of the products Im going to be reviewing this week so keep your eyes peeled for the reviews but for now heres a step by step tutorial.

So feel free to follow this step by step to create your own 50's inspired look.

I hope you enjoy it, let me know  if you like it and if there are any looks youd like me to include in my future tutorials e.g celebrity looks, film/theatre looks, fashion looks etc etc.

Here goes.

Before I put my makeup on every day I cleanse my face and moisturise. These are 2 steps I never skip ever. At the moment Im using Ponds Hydranutrivita Moisturiser because my skin is still reovering from the cold winter weather and is quite dry.

After moisturising I usually apply some of Benefits "The porefessional" which is a pore minimising primer but today I skipped that step as I was rewiewing as I was going. My first step today was to apply "you wont believe your eyes" by Soap  Glory under my eyes.

I applied this with the applicator and then I patted it into my skin with a clean finger as it didnt sink in very quickly on its own.

I then applied foundation. Todays foundation was from a Tester of Clarins Skin Illusion Foundation. I always apply from the nose outwards and I apply with clean fingers for easier blending. Remember your face doesnt stop at the jaw, you dont want tide marks. I always blend the foundation under my jawline and blend it out into my neck so it fades into the colour on my neck and chest especially if its a bit darker than usual like this one.

(I would usually use a Max Factor foundation and maybe mix 2 shades together to get a colour match).
This shade was actually slightly dark for me but I loved the texture and coverage. (Just ignore the fact its a bit dark).
Heres a close up after application.

I always apply concealer AFTER foundation. Sometimes the coverage of the foundation alone is enough to hide any blemishes but today I used an under eye concealer (rimmels "Recover" anti fatugue concelar) and a product I dont usually use (Benefits "it stick") which I thought would be best for concealing around the nose and to highlight a couple of areas as it was lighter than my foundation.

I blended the concealer with a clean finger. Under eye concealer should be patted into the skin not dragged or wiped.

Then I set with powder. You can use a translucent powder, but I prefer to use a slightly coloured powder which matches my foundation. I tend to just sweep this onto the nose and outwards onto my chin and forehead, anywhere I dont want too much shine. I tend to miss out my cheeks as theyre going to have blush on them anyway. Powder will set any concealer youve applied and take away any unwanted shine.

I then apply blush. The colour will depend on what look Im going for. If I want sculpted cheeks I go for a brownish blush just underneath the cheekbone, quite often I will go for quite a bronzed cheek to add a bit of colour but the colour I wear more than anything is a pink tone. I actually love Rimmels range of blush (notice how Im not using any of my fancy kit products, just my every day cheap makeup)

This is a nice one, its actually got quite an irridescent light pink which gives a bit of shine to my cheeks. This is what I decided to wear today, just lightly swept up onto my cheekbone to add a hint of colour.

Time for eyes. I always start with the lightest colour. Its weird because when I do other people's makeup I start with the darkest and blend out to the lightest. But anyway I started with a matte white shadow all across my eyelid and up onto my brow bone applied with a really soft fluffy shadow brush which Ive had for years and years and never lets me down, its the best for applying base colour.

Then I applied a matte dark brown shadow from the lashline to the crease, really pushing it into the socket to get a defined crease. You can then blend this a bit more using the brush you used fro the white shadow. This just softens and blends the edges a bit.

Then the same brown underneath the eye, just along the lashline with a liner brush.

This is a Ruby and Millie square brush for lining. Its not the easiest for lining but Ive sort of gotten used to it. I only ever use it for lining with shadows. Just adds a bit of extra definition around the eye.

If Im not doing a dark dramatic eye, I line my waterline with white eye pencil to brighten and open the eye. I use this quite a lot on brides for the same reason.

Because I wear glasses I find it's important to define my brows and frame my eyes.

Ive tried a few different products, brow gels, brow pencils etc etc but I always find myself going back to brown shadows applied with a stiff angled brush. Im using a GOSH angled brush here which I love for brows.
Here (hopefully) you can see the difference between an un-defined brow and a brow thats been defined with brow shadow.

And here are my 2 brows all finished and defined. Its also important to say that I tidy up my brows and pluck any stray hairs before I start my makeup.

 For that classic 50's look, you need a sweeping black eyeline. Theres plenty of different products out there; powder, pencils, gel liners, liquid liners. I love gel liner but for this style I think the liquid liner works the best. It can be a bit tricky and does take a bit of practise, maybe youll need to tidy it up afterwards and its always hard getting both eyes to match too so just practise your winged liner.
Take your time, apply with a steady hand. Your flick needs to flick upwards to open the eye and I find it useful to do the flick first with my eye open so I can carry on the line of my lower waterline at the same upward angle (if that makes sense). Once Ive got the flick I close my eye and line from the outside in. This is just the easiest way for me, you may find your own way.

So its all starting to come together nicely. We have the neautral shadows, the strong defined brows, the winged liner. Time to apply mascara. Its totally up to you how much you apply. The classic 50's look proabbly would have been quite minimal or only on the upper lashes but I love mascara so I applied quite a lot of it especially because my lashes at the moment are quite sparse and short :(

Thats the eyes sorted. For the 50's inspired look the lips are also very important, quite a defined cupids bow and a very sultry, pouty look. Lots of people probably associate the glossy red lip with the 50's style which I love but I tried to tone the lips down a bit as it was during the day and I was only leaving the house to pick up the boyfriend which I didnt think was an appropriate use of the glossy red lip.

Sooo..........I used another Soap & Glory product called Marvelips which has 2 ends. One end is colour, the other end is highlighter. It advised you to apply the colour first then use the highlighter in the middle of the lips afterwrds but I tried this and it didnt work for me so I applied it in reverse. I coated my lips in the highlighter first which I felt moisturised them a bit. I applied lots of the hightlighter to the cupids bow to accentuate it.

I then applied the colour which was a sort of dark dusky pink, quite a neautral tone which I really liked especially for daytime. I applied most of the colour to the outer edges trying to leave the highlight in the middle for a pouty look.

I took a piccie out of direct light as it wasnt showing the true colour. You can also soo in the middle where ive left a bit of the highlighter showing through. I love this product. Really soft and silky :)

I then decided it wasnt quite bright enough to match my nails and the red in the top I decided to wear so I went over this colour ( i used marvelips as a base) with Models own tangerine lip balm.

I wore this on Saturday over rel lip pencil and it gave a lovely bright pop of colour and a gorgeous glossy silky finish so perfect for a classic 50's look with the bright red lips. But for now I just wanted a brighter pop of colour so I applied a bit of this with a lip brush.

That's it, all finished. Im slowly mastering a 50's style fringe.

I hope you all enjoyed my first tutorial. I just feel like Ive ramble but hopefully Ive made sense and maybe Ive inspired you to create your own 50's inspired looks.

Im quite liking this look, Ive tried it out the past few days, maybe Ill keep it.