Valentine's Day Outfit

Hello everyone, 

So Valentines Day is essentially the same as any other day of the year right? If that’s the case then why is the build up so panic inducing? Seriously, every year it gets to a couple of days before and I suddenly hate all my clothes, hair and makeup…*sigh*. This post is for all of you who, like me, need a little inspiration. 

Let’s make this a kind of blogging get ready with me :-) First I like to pamper myself with a nice hot shower with lots of gorgeous smellies, maybe even a hair masque to revitalise those scraggy ends. Top tip, always shave your legs, nobody likes sneaky little hairs poking through your tights. 

I’m planning on curling my hair so I’ll blow dry it and spray on some heat protectant spray. Then I’l leave this in to do it’s thing! While I wait for the spray I’ll moisturise my face and put on some nice body lotion, probably Soap and Glory Sugar Crush because it is beautiful. I’ll then section off my hair and curl it into loose ringlets. It doesn’t really matter how I do this bit as I’ll then put my hair up in a high, messy ponytail and voila the hair is done. 

Onto the makeup, I’ll prep my face with a bit of Laura Mercier foundation primer. Use this sparingly or it will take forever to dry on your face! I’ll then apply my Charlotte Tilbury Magic foundation (02 pale) followed by Benefit’s Hello Flawless powder in ivory. To correct any blemishes and add a little shape to my face I’ll open up my stunning YSL Gypsy Opale palette. Using the green to cover any red areas and the purple to combat any dullness I’ll even out my face. I use the green around my nose and over any problem areas, and I use the purple under my cheekbones and down my hair line above my brows, I apply it in similar areas to bronzer. I’ll then use the lovely rosy pink blush from this palette across my cheekbones. The highlighter goes on in stages, at this point I’ll brush it under my eyes to lighten any dark circles and across the top of my cheekbones. This gives you a very light contour, perfect for those too pale to pull off bronzer at this time of year! 

I’ll use the Benefit Air Patrol eyeshadow primer across my lids, while that sets a bit, it’s onto the brows. I’ll use the Sephora medium brown eyebrow pencil to fill them in and to hold the shape I’ll pull my L’oreal Brow Artist Plumper clear gel mascara through. For the eyes themselves I’ll use my beloved Naked 3 palette! My go to romantic colours are Strange for the base, Buzz in my crease, Trick in the outer V and middle of my eyelid. I also like to sweep Trick under my bottom lashes. I'll use Burnout towards my inner corners and a dab of Dust at the innermost part. To finish this off I'll blend with a fluffier brush. My favourite mascara at the moment is the L’oreal Miss Manga Punky mascara, I love the vintage, spiked lash look it gives. The eyes are finally done when I sweep a bit of highlight under my eyebrows. 

For my outfit I’m going for a short black skater skirt, black tights and my black high heel suede brogues. I have a lovely cream floaty shirt from Zara to tuck into the skirt, aaaahhhhh it’s so pretty! It is covered in little ballerinas and has a super cute collar and a cut out at the back tied with a long, skinny black ribbon. I like to add my green and rose gold Vivienne Westwood watch and black vintage clutch bag with gold detailing along the clasp line. The bag is so lovely, I found it for £5 in a vintage store. It was in perfect condition and turns out it is from Sack’s 5th Avenue in the 60’s! Anyway I digress, let me know if you ever want me to do a vintage post. 

For those of you who think I have forgotten and am leaving my lips naked, do not fear! I like to do lipstick last as I feel it really finishes off the look. My final touch to the Valentines Day look is my Charlotte Tilbury So Marilyn red lipstick. If the bold red lip is a little too much for you, a more natural alternative is the Gwen Stefani for Urban Decay Ex-Girlfriend lipstick, it is lovely taupe/nude shade that really helps pull the emphasis to your eyes. 

What’s your go to look for the day? Let me know in the comments below :-) 

xoxo

Luscious Valentines

Hello everyone, 

With Valentines Day on the approach shops have been amping up the publicity by releasing their Valentines Day collections. This means there is a sea of pink, purple and red colours with heart motifs agogo in town! Now I love Valentines Day as much as the next girl and love any excuse for romance and spoiling my man, or being spoilt by him… 

Lush always have exciting collections and I’m sure you all know how I feel about their fantastic moral stance. Their collection this year is particularly thrilling, come on, it features unicorns!! 

The Unicorn Horn bubble bar was so incredibly exciting when I spotted it, I couldn’t wait for Valentine’s day to use it. It is beautifully crafted like a pole on a merry go round. The swirls of pink, yellow and blue can’t help but put you in mind a carnival. Once crumbled it creates a lovely pale pink bath with myriad sparkly bubbles, bliss! The scent is delicate, but stays on your skin after bathing. The ylang ylang is particularly rejuvenating and after a long day on your feet makes you feel relaxed and ready for the next day. The only little downside, which I think is fab, but is less fab for poor Mr.Gingersnap is that it leaves you rather glittery…to the amusement of his friends! 

The Love Lamp bath bomb is quite unusual as it has small red hearts secreted inside it which come out at the product dissipates in the bath. It has the most gorgeous scent of chocolate orange, vanilla and orange oil, overall a very pleasant citrus scent. I haven’t tried this yet, as I’m saving it for the actual day, but it looks and smells fantastic. Perfect for pre-date pampering or a romantic date for two. 

I love the way the shower gel is called Prince Charming! Looking at I expected it to be a more rose or sweet scented product, but it actually smells of pomegranate, one of my favourite fruits. If you are worried about the grapefruit being overpowering, don’t be, it simply adds a more refreshing tang to the vanilla, cocoa and pomegranate combo. It is also fluorescent pink when on your skin, but do not fear it washes off a treat and smells heavenly! 

The Kiss lip gloss was what I was most excited about as my lips have been suffering so much with the winter. It is a lovely pastel pink colour and leaves an iridescent sheen on the lips. It’s not as smooth as I expected and is quite grainy until it melts on your lips a bit more. I was a little disappointed that it is more of a tinted balm than an actual gloss. However, it tastes really yummy, you definitely get the khalari melon and jojoba favour. 

Last, but not least is the Rose All The Way soap. It lathers up wonderfully and leaves your hands super silky. The scent is quite faint with just a hint of rose oil and syrup, which is perfect if you don’t want an overpowering blast of scent every time you wash your hands. 

There are two more Valentine’s products coming out and one that I didn’t try. I chose not to try the Kiss lip scrub as my lips are quite sensitive at the minute, but I think it would really help anyone with dry skin. There is a 1000 kisses perfume and a Lovebirds soap being made at this very moment, I think they come out on the 8th ad 5th of February :-) 

Are you guys excited about this year’s collections? Have any other products caught your eye? Let me know in the comments below :-) 

xoxo