Saturday night dinner outift review - ASOS and LMC

On Saturday night my fiance and I went for dinner and drinks with some good friends to celebrate his birthday. We have a lovely evening with great food and company (and I may just be still paying for it today)!!

Below I have composed an outfit review of the items that my friend and I wore for the evening, to try to strike the right balance between formal enough for dinner, yet sexy enough for cocktails.

I decided to team my ASOS midi dress with my Little Miss Couture 'Princess' crystal shoes and 'Buster' ruffle handbag both in gold, finishing the look with semi-pinned 50's hair and my Gucci bangle watch.

Amber stunned in her black Sophia jacket, nude Chic dress and lace Boudoir shoes, all by Little Miss Couture.

The tailoring of the jacket complimented the nude structured bandage dress, while the lace heels tied the nude and black in together perfectly!

To buy any of the items mentioned, please find them below:

ASOS midi dress - £22

Little Miss Couture gold 'Princess' heels - £95

Little Miss Couture 'Buster' bag - £35

Little Miss Couture 'Chic' dress - £85

Little Miss Couture 'Sophia' jacket - £70

Little Miss Couture 'Boudoir' heels - £85

xx

Gimme some Bloglovin'

Just a quick note to say that all you lovely ladies who use Bloglovin' can now follow me on there too...

Just click here to find me! xxx

Vidal Sassoon Tangle Free Hot Air Styler

I am one of those girls who are fortunate enough to have naturally long hair, which is both a blessing and a curse. I love the way that I can create thousands of styles and looks because of the length of my hair, however I am a self-confessed styling tool addict and am constantly wooed by new, shiny products released onto the market!!

As a result, when I was recently approached by Vidal Sasson to review some of their brand new styling tools, I just couldn't resist! The entire range looks incredibly sleek and user friendly, and I was pleasantly surprised by the price range, as I expected such a well known brand to come at a price, but the products are also purse friendly too!

The first tool I have chosen to review is the Vidal Sasson Tangle Free Hot Air Styler.

I have used various styling tools before, but never a hot air styler - I'm more of a hairdryer and barrel brush kind of girl. The hot air styler has been designed for adding volume and height, especially to shorter hairstyles, but I was interested to see it at work on longer hair.

I began with wet hair, which I had quickly towel dried. The hot air styler both dries and styles in one, so you only need one tool to style your hair! I applied a little of my favourite and essential hair product, Moroccan Oil, to protect my hair and give it shine, then sectioned off the lower pieces of my hair and set to work with the styler.

I first sat the styler below each section (about 2 inches wide) of hair, close to the root, to add lift and volume. This is great because the styler uses hot air but doesn't get too hot, allowing you to directly heat the hair which then quickly dries and lifts to give bounce and volume. It also means that you don't need to fiddle about with a barrel brush and hairdryer, so you have a free hand to seperate and adjust the hair should you need to.

After lifting the root, I then wrapped each section around the barrel and gently brushed through to dry and style.

Below is the result that I achieved on the lower part of my hair in less than 10 minutes from wet.

After I had dried and styled the bottom section of my hair, I unclipped the top and continued the same process of root lift and styling.

I found the styler very user friendly and achieved quick results. The styler has two heat/speed settings and two interchangeable barrels; one 25mm barrel for creating large curls / waves / volume or one 19mm barrel for smaller, tighter waves / curls. It features a release switch for ease of use, and assurance of tangle free curls and volume.

It really is a one-man-band sort of styler, and it allowed me to style my hair quickly and with minimum effort.  I liked the fact that I only had to expose my hair to hot air rather than heat styling, and that this was only once during the styling - rather than blow drying with a barrel brush and then taming the resulting frizz with my GHDs.

I'm not sure whether this would replace my Enrapture curlers for volume and easy styling, but as quick and easy styling tools go this is superb. Not only is it great for drying and styling but I'd also certainly recommend it for travelling or to keep in your desk at work as it provides a quick and simple pick-me-up for your hair, replenishing shape and volume throughout the day. It also has a nifty feature of allowing you to change the wattage so you can take it abroad with you to keep your holiday hair looking pristine!

Here is a picture of what I achieved using the styler in less than 20 minutes, with long, wet hair...

...pretty impressive hey?

I managed to get quite a lot of root lift, volume and movement using just the larger barrel, which is no mean feat when you have long hair which is quite heavy. I am intending on using the smaller barrel later today to create some loose, romantic waves, I will let you know how I get on!

The Vidal Sassoon Tangle Free Hot Air Styler retails for around £15 depending on the store (a complete bargain - told you it was purse friendly!!) and is available from Asda, Tesco, Boots and Sainsburys.

Find more info on the brand spanking new Vidal Sassoon electrical range on Twitter here or Facebook here 

Happy styling! xxx

Brows with Benefits

As you are probably aware from previous posts, my unruly and barely-there eyebrows (#naturalblondeprobz) are normally tended to and cared for by the wonderful and talented Ella Butler of Facebase Makeup and Brow Bar in Truro.

I will only trust Ella with my HD brows as other, cheaper, alternatives can be done by just about anyone - but you cannot guarantee that they will come out at all well. 

Ella is not your bog standard make-up beautician, she is a professional make-up artist with experience of working on TV and film, national magazine publications and A-list celebrities. Therefore, you know that will get incredible results every time and I thoroughly recommend her 100% for all of your beauty and brow needs!!

I tend to have my brows 'HD'd' every 6-8 weeks as the results are so professional that you can go for long periods between without the need for constant touch ups.

However, toward the end of the 6-8 week period my brows can start to go a little haywire (they seem to have a mind of their own) and need bringing back into line.

Today I'm going to share my secret brow saviour with you. This little miracle set really refreshes my brows, pulling in any unwanted strays, shaping and framing my face and making those HD brows last just a little longer.

If you don't tend to shape or tint your brows often (or indeed at all) then this set will also give you the appearance of freshly-groomed brows to perfectly frame your face and open your eyes.

The Benefit Brow Zings set is a must-have, go anywhere, purse friendly product which is not only easy to use but will give you fantastic results.

It is available to buy in 3 shades, light, medium and dark and it comes in a cute little compact with a mirror, a hard-angle brush, a blending brush and a set of mini tweezers!

The set consists of pigmented wax to shape and tame, along with natural-shaded powder to fill and set your brows. There is also a tutorial included to show you how to use the product.

I have applied my Brow Zings to my bare brows and taken stage by stage photographs to illustrate the difference the product makes and just how easy it is to achieve wonderful results. Please bare in mind that it has been 8 weeks since my last brow appointment so my brows are overgrown, misshapen and have no tint left (nice!).

My brows before applying any product whatsoever. As you can see the colour and shape is uneven and untidy.

Brow Zings wax applied to my right eyebrow (on your left) to shape and tame the brow hairs.

To apply the wax, I use the hard angle brush loaded with wax and start below the inner corner of the brow, drawing a defined line beneath the first section, heading diagonally up toward the top of my ear. I then concentrate on creating an arch by lining beneath the brow at the peak. To complete the line, I head along the outside of the outer edge of the brow, toward the bottom of my ear.

I finish the process by re-loading the brush with wax and 'filling' the brows, guiding and setting the hairs into place with a small amount of wax.

Brow Zings powder applied to my right eyebrow (on your left) to fill and set the brow.

 To apply the powder, I fill the blending brush and use the tip to go over the line I created below the brow and arch. I then re-load and use the flat edge to cover and set the wax that I have applied to the main brow area.

Brow Zings wax applied to my left eyebrow (on your right) to shape and tame the brow hairs.

Brow Zings powder applied to my left eyebrow (on your right) to fill and set the brow.

And voila!! We're done - and it really is as simple as that! It takes me about 5 minutes and I need no other products apart from what is included in the set. No setting gel, no hairspray on a wand, no miracles...!!

Here's a before and after shot for you.

Before.

After.

 

The Brow Zings set costs £22.50 from Benefit counters throughout the UK. It sounds like a fairly high price tag compared to eyebrow pencils etc, but remember that you are getting an entire brow set for that price. Also, I use mine daily and each set lasts me 6+ months at a time. So that's less than £4 a month for amazing eyebrows!!

Give it a go - you won't look back!

xxx

Pretty pastels

Well Spring has most definitely sprung!!

You need look no further than the highstreet window displays for colourful explosions of citrus, chiffon and printed fabrics that symbolises our move away from the drab greys and browns of winter and teases us with the fact that summer is just around the corner. There's something ultra exciting about this time of year, when you dig out your white crops and book in for a long-awaited pedicure for your poor, neglected winter feet!

I am currently lusting over the plethora of pastel shades winking at me from shop windows and magazine pages and have developed a bit of a crush on mint green.

This beautiful shade compliments every skin tone, be it fair, dark or olive, and it also looks great on blondes, brunettes or redheads.

It is almost impossible to find a colour which will look great on everyone, but I think that this shade ticks every box.

In the past month I have indulged this new found love and purchased three 'essential' items in this gorgeous pastel shade.

My first purchase has been this beautiful, floaty mint blouse from H&M. The sleeveless design, dipped hem and sheer chiffon back immediately gives a soft and feminine look.

I love how versatile this blouse is, I like to team mine with turned up chinos, flats and oversizes sunnies for a casual spring daytime look. It is also easily dressed up, just team it with leather-look leggings, killer stilettos, heavy eye make-up and chunky jewellry for a punky evening look.

The blouse costs just £7.99 from H&M, click on the picture for more info.

My second 'must-buy' is this FAB nail lacquer from GOSH in 597 - Miss Minty.

This gorgeous nail lacquer gives a more professional, heavily-applied look than nail varnishes. I adore the flat, milky colour that it gives. It applies easily and quickly, and I normally only need two coats (I have only applied two coats in the picture).

I picked this up from my local Superdrug for about £5.

I find that this a cheap and cheerful way to give a nod toward the season's pastel trend, with the colour being cute enough for day wear and muted enough for work.

GOSH nail lacquers also have the benefit of being formaldehyde and toulene free. These nasty ingredients are linked to cancer, developmental/reproductive toxicity and allergies so avoiding these in nail polishes and other beauty products is probably a good idea!

(These horrid additives are included in lots of products, shockingly they are even found in baby products, and I will be doing a big blog drive on the importance of checking ingredients and where to buy high quality, safe and healthy products at affordable prices very soon...watch this space!)

My third and final (for this month anyway...!) minty pastel purchase was this pair of delicious skinny jeans from Little Miss Couture.

These are made from a lovely stretch material which fits beautifully and gives a great shape. The deep waistband and low pockets 'lift' your bottom and flatter the waist. They're only £25 (bargain!) and will carry me through the spring and summer effortlessly.

I spotted Kim Kashardian in a similar pair recently, teaming hers with nude accents which looked gorgeous. I like to pair mine with sky-high nude courts and a plain vest for a more dressy look, or they look equally as fab when teamed with nautical items such a breton stripe tops or white cotton blouses.

They are also available in bubblegum pink which are just as cute! So much so, I couldn't decide so bought both pairs! 

These are a failsafe option if you want to be bang on trend this spring without breaking the bank.

Little Miss Couture are also running a competition on Facebook and Twitter at the moment where you can win your favourite item from their website. All you need to do is post a link on their Twitter or Facebook page and it could be up for grabs! Check it out!!

www.facebook.com/ltlmisscouture
www.twitter.com/ltlmisscouture

So there you have it. My take on easy to wear spring pastels on a budget.

If you've found any beautiful bargains so far this spring, please comment and let me know, I'd love to know how you're wearing this trend!

xxx