NOTD's ...

Wednesday 31 August 2011

Hi dolls!

Was searching through some pictures on my laptop the other night and found a couple of quick photo's i had taken for NOTD's but never got round to posting and/or weren't quite good enough for a whole dedicated post.

First up is a leopard nail art look:

I decided to try something a bit different from my trusty gold/peach look which i actually don quite regularly now. Unfortunately i wasn't too keen, plus the grey polish i used had gone a bit funny and chipped horrifically within about 10 hours! *big sad face*

I'm gonna give the leopard nail art another go with some other colour combinations - what do you recommend?

Also:



I totally adore the silver polish (so glittery!) from ELF but the jury's still out on the dark blue/black from George @ Asda. I'm thinking i shoulda put a bit of nail art (polka dots or the like) on the nails somewhere as it looks a bit odd, no??

So there we have it,  a couple of NOTD's that didn't quite make the cut but i thought I'd give you a little sneak peak before they're hidden in the depths of the numerous photo album's on my laptop.

What do you think of these? Would you like to see more nail posts on The Notebook?

xoxo




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ELF Healthy Glow Bronzer *Holy Grail item*

Monday 29 August 2011

I have finally found a bronzer that does not leave you looking dirty, caked in mud or horrifically orange!

I have tried alot of bronzers over the years ranging from cheap and cheerful buys from George @ Asda, Rimmel and 17 to more expensive items like Elizabeth Arden. However none have had that w0w factor and all have been way too dark for my fair skin.

During my first ELF shopping spree i decided to give their bronzer a whirl as they had a selection of shades to choose from and not the bog-standard deep 'Bronze' colour.

I opted for 'Sun-kissed' as it was a light golden colour and i was indeed after a sun-kissed glow.


ELF Healthy Glow Bronzing Powder - Sun Kissed - £1.50

ELF are great as the majority of their items are £1.50 (or £3.50 for their Studio line) so they're inexpensive enough to chuck in your basket and give them a try as its not a huge waste if you're not impressed (and 9 times out of 10 you can always find someone who would want to take unsuitable products off your hands!)


ELF's Healthy Glow Bronzing Powder has wormed its way into my everyday make-up routine and i now take it everywhere! I love it! So much so i am now onto my second pan!


damn wispy bits of hair creeping their way into every photo!



clearly skipped the concealer that day, mistake! :(


Damn worthy of *HG* status. Another ELF win for me :)

What are your fave ELF buys?
xoxo

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OOTD and Oversized Gems ...

Saturday 27 August 2011

Time for another Look of the Day :)

I really wish i could post more of these but Monday to Friday I'm generally in smart work clothes which gets a bit dull and then when i do get a bit adventurous with my outfits at the weekends I'm at the bf's. Excuses, excuses i know! ha.
This tunic sits in my wardrobe for months on end feeling very unloved. I normally chuck it on when i want a comfy outfit for work but still want to look relatively smart. The sleeves are a little on the tight side but i cant bear to part with it!


 
I always get a whole bunch of compliments when i wear this dress which should probably prompt me to wear it more often. I particularly like wearing this tunic in Winter with thick, woolly, grey tights and boots - actually quite looking forward to unleashing my Winter wardrobe on you guys :)


 
I wore the tunic/dress with leggings, a plaited tan belt and tan brogues. I'm obsessed with the tan/light brown colour at the moment and practically wear something in that shade every day!

I also wore my HUGE pink gemstone ring for the first time! I love this :) it's a real statement piece. I'm a bit worried I'm going to catch it on something and the stone will fall off so i don't think I'll be wearing it to work very often.

A few bonus FOTD pics ...



Do you like my OOTD's? Shall i make the effort to post more of them?

xoxo

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Look of the Day - Preparing for Autumn

Monday 22 August 2011

Hey guys, was rummaging through my wardrobe and came across my bargain jumper of last Winter and put together a quick OOTD to share with y'all.


Jumper/Dress - Primark - £5 (sale rail last Winter)
Necklace - Dorothy Perkins - £3 (sale rail)

 
I love this V-neck jumper, its a lovely length so i tend to wear it as a dress with cosy black tights. I always jazz it up with a number of accessories. Simple yet striking :)

Totally loving my hair in the side bun right now :)


Recently on one of my many unsuccessful shopping trips (hunting for a dress for a wedding is proving to be a challenge!) i picked up this cool felt floppy hat!


Hat - H&M - £9.99

 
I really like it but not sure whether I'd actually wear it (plus the bf will not approve and laugh! Boys, tsk)

I actually picked it up for my holiday but I'm not sure if it's too Autumn/Winter for a beach holiday? Thoughts? ...

I couldn't take any decent close-up shots of me and the hat so you'll have to make do with this emo-esque pose :p

Do let me know your thoughts on the hat as I'm heading back to H&M in the week to return some other bits ...

xoxo

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3 Ways to Style ... A Lace Shift dress

Friday 19 August 2011

Take one simple shift dress, add a few accessories, a jacket or some knee high socks and voila! instantly updated outfits :)

I worry about wearing cream/white/pastel shades as I'm always expecting some drunken fool to spill berry coloured drinks over me or for some slimey child to rub crusty Wotsit fingers along my hemlines - so as much as i love this dress i haven't had a chance been too afraid to wear it yet :(

Today I'm going to show you my gorgeous cream lace shift dress that i bought a couple of months ago and three ways to wear it:

High Summer:

 

excuse my paleness - no sun = no excuse to fake tan



plain and simple - just chuck on a bangle and some sandals and you're good to go ...


 
Autumnal Day:


add some chunky knee-high socks when the weather turns chilly ...



Chilling Winter Evening:



teamed with my trusty leather jacket and thick black tights for Winter-chic ...



Dorothy Perkins - £10 (sale)

 
So there we have it ... 3 Ways to Style: A Lace Shift Dress.


 
How would you wear this dress?

xoxo

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Maxfactor False Lash Effect Mascara

Wednesday 17 August 2011

I go on my hols in less than a month so I'm hurriedly preparing my packing list and trying to tick off all the items I'm going to need for a week in the sun :)

After a recent make-up clear out i noticed i haven't got any waterproof mascaras! Cue mad panic and a desperate search of blogs for some tips that would help me have gorgeous, fluttery, voluminous lashes that wont wash off in the pool/ocean leaving me looking like an extra from a Zombie movie.

I decided on Maxfactor's False Lash Effect Waterproof mascara in Black:


I love the chunky tube and sleek black packaging



I prefer a thicker volumising brush but this works perfectly well :)


This mascara comes in a neat black tube with gold font and a royal blue Maxfactor logo. The wand is long and slim while the brush is full of thin plastic bristles. I usually perfer a thick, chunky brush as i find these add the most volume to lashes but this brush works exceptionally well.


One coat ... 


The pics above are from one coat ...


This mascara is fab! I wasn't too sure i was going to get on with it at first (i totally judge a mascara by its brush and as I've said before i love a really thick, bristly brush!)

Maxfactor's False Lash Effect mascara really lengthens and separates the lashes well. I was super impressed as they stayed separated all day!

Another plus for this mascara is that it doesn't flake at all! My usual combo of Maybelline's Great Lash and 17's Va Va Volume mascara's like to flake and go crispy as the day wears on so I'm thrilled to not have to keep checking my reflection for little black specks on my face.




My main reason for choosing this mascara was because it was waterproof.

I put this to the test and can confirm it hold ups under the emotional strain of everyday life :'(  and also under a full on shower while washing my hair. It did not budge! :)

Maxfactor i salute you. I have found an excellent waterproof mascara that adds definition to my eyes. I am now armed for my holidays with gorgeous dark fluttery lashes.

I picked this up from Tesco's using my 'Double-up' vouchers along with some make-up wipes so technically it was free :) RRP: £10.99.
Have you tried this mascara? I also need a waterproof kohl eyeliner - any suggestions?

xoxo

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What are you doing next weekend?

Sunday 14 August 2011

How the time flies!?

Roughly a month ago myself, Zoe and Leanne all posted about our plans to have a little get together in London and extended the invitation to all you lovely girls out there. The London meet is now only days away (6 days to be precise!) so i thought I'd give you all a gentle reminder of the deets :)


Date: Saturday 20th August

Time: 11:45am

Place: London Victoria Coach Station

Plans:

The plan is to meet at LDN Victoria Coach station at 11:45am where Leanne will be arriving (she's travelling all the way from Wales, dontcha know!)

I will get into Charing Cross about 11am for anyone that wishes to meet there and trek across town to meet the others :)


From Victoria we will jump on the Underground to Embankment and spend some time on a little boat trip along the River Thames.

After our adventure on the Clipper we will enjoy a delicious luncheon (location hasn't been decided yet so suggestions welcome!)

Now onto the important details ;) ...

We shall hit Oxford Street around 3pm for a couple of hours of well-deserved retail therapy and then chill in Soho with some fruity cocktails for the evening! I believe Leanne's carriage will be taking her back home around 7pm ... and i have a party to go to at 8 so it wont be an all-nighter, ha!


So looking forward to meeting y'all :) Do let us know if you're planning to meet up with us so we can swap numbers and make sure no-ones left behind!


You can catch us all on Twitter so come chat !


xoxo

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Lets Get Glossy Part 2 ...

Wednesday 10 August 2011

Finally here's the second installment to my Let's Get Glossy post about the George @ Asda lipglosses.

If you missed Part 1 you can take a quick check back and see the gorgeously coral shimmer shade 'Grrrrrrrr'.

Today's show and tell features Get Glossy lipgloss 'Goddess':



Let us start with the packaging. As i mention in my previous post it's uber sleek and seems to have taken inspiration from other top beauty brands such as Benefit, Sleek and MEMEME. Cant fault the robust tubing and wand at all, makes application a breeze!



Goddess appears to be a gorgeous sheer hot pink gloss which reminded me of strawberry jelly cubes!

Unfortunately i was left rather disappointed by this particular shade. The colour was near invisible, coming out extremely sheer (much worse than the Grrrrrr shade) and was practically just a clear lipgloss *boo*


I do think this would be great to use over a hot pink lipstick to add a nice sheen and help it pack-a-punch, but unfortunately i wont be using this product on it's own.


As with the coral Get Glossy lipgloss it isn't at all sticky and doesn't have the synthetic taste to it like other cheaper brands so that's a plus :)


The George Get Glossy lipglosses retail at £2 each and would be ideal for pocket money purchases during the summer holidays.

xoxo

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