Saturday 29 August 2015

Wedding

 Dress - Oasis 
Headband - Crown and Glory
Shoes - Topshop
Bag - New Look 

In the seven years I've been with my boyfriend Raymond, we've had never been invited to a wedding before, which is shocking considering he's one of those people that knows hundreds of people. Raymond has been friends with the groom since school so he was invited to the whole day and as he was asked to be the official wedding photographer, I only went to the reception rather than the whole day. I would've probably ended up on my own most of the day while he was busy as I only knew the groom and no one else attending. Shy girl problems. 

Anyway as I was only going to the reception I wanted to get a dress that I could wear again. Before even finding a dress I decided that a wedding is the perfect excuse to crack out the an item from my crown and glory collection. For a girl who likes a good excuse to dress up the search for the dress was took a very long time. I ended up taking a chance and ordering this Oasis dress, they seem to occasionally have selected items in size 18 (wish they would just go up to an 18 in every item), it did fit but just needed some shaper tights underneath to make things smoother. I used this as the perfect excuse to go buy new shoes and a bag, who wouldn't?! The best buy were the shoes originally £46 then reduced in the sale but they had black scuffs all over them, I knew they would come off so after asking at the till I got them for £13.50 in the end. We had a lovely time even if we didn't manage to do much dancing as we left before people had enough drinks to break out the move on the dance floor. 












Thursday 20 August 2015

Brow Essentials



Being a teen in the noughties has meant that thin eyebrows where the shape you,.  even though I went to a professional to get them waxed back then I think they followed a 'one size' fits kinda all shape. It's only in recent years since I started reading beauty blogs that I realised brows make a big difference in framing your eyes. I only used to fill them in on a night out but now I filled them in whenever I've got make up on. Mine are still very patchy at the front but generally the shape is much better. Tweezers and a spoolie are the basics to eyebrow care but the past year or so  I've discovered some products that help me get a better defined brow. 

Threading 
Choose threading over waxing. It gives a softer more natural shape. It isn't as harsh on the skin meaning that it is as red or angry for as long (if at all) afterwards. I find that going in with your brows filled in the way you like shows them the shape you like. Don't be scared to say that if you want to areas left alone especially when attempting to grow them.

Eyebrow oil 
Eylure Brow Nourishing Oil is something I had never even heard of before, and picked it up on a whim. It seemed pricey for such little product however when used regularly it really does work and has helped my brows grow quicker than when I have just left them. Roll along your brows paying extra attention to those spare areas.

Eyebrow pencil
I'm talking about the waxy softer kind as they are much easier the get a natural look and often have a triangular shape which makes everything that little bit quicker. Eyebrow Stylist from Sleek is apparently a dupe for the infamous Hourglass Arch Brow Sculpting pencil but a fraction of the price!


Powder 
Currently my favourite way to fill in my brows particularly when things are patchy and sparse as you can build it up in areas you need without looking drawn on as pencils sometimes  can if its a larger area needing filled. Use matte eyeshadows or a brow kit, it doesn't matter as long as you find your shade. MUA and Revolution do good kits for under a fiver. I'd buy a cheaper power then invest in an proper brow or angled eyeliner brush,

Gel 
Tinted gels are a speedy way to hold and define, unfortunately they don't work for me. Too big wands for too little brows just ends in a mess. Clear gels are more forgiving of errors and set them in place to avoid smudge. Those with thicker brows can get away with using clear mascara. The best clear gel I've found is the Urban Decay Urbanbrow and at £12 it is certainly not the cheapest around. The straight stiff brush is just the right size, dries quick yet doesn't give you the dreaded crispy brows. My previous tube last me about a year with almost daily use, definitely get your moneys worth. An added bonus is the package is opaque which means you can't see the gel getting discoloured.