Summer brights

Dress* - Lashes of London

Aviators - Topshop

Shoes - Primark

Well I think the unimaginable just happened! Not only did we just have a bank holiday weekend...but the sun shone! Yes, we were treated to three whole days of blissful heat and it was great. We spent the Monday sunning ourselves in the park and enjoying some bar snacks in our favourite little place before heading home to indulge in a Dexter marathon. (Series 1 to 3 done in a matter of weeks!) I decided to wear my floral trapeze dress from Lashes of London which delivers an amazing clash of colours along with a contrasting, neon collar and a fun, cutout back detail. Bright, loose and floaty pretty much describes my wardrobe during the summer months so this new addition had no problem fitting straight in. The matching floral print trousers also look pretty fabulous so I am eagerly awaiting for them to come back in stock!

What do you think of this cute dress from Lashes of London? What did you get up to this bank holiday?

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Wedding Guest Hair & Makeup

Despite the miserable weather and constant rain that plagued us during the past week, I woke up on Saturday to glorious sunshine and a sense of excitement as it was my lovely friend's wedding day. It was an absolutely perfect day and I thought I would just share with you my hair and makeup from the occasion. Thankfully, because the weather was so cheery and dry, I was able to wear my floral-bright Topshop dress, better demonstrated here, paired with some nude heels and coral pashmina.

For my updo I simply pulled my hair back into a basic ponytail, loosened the hair into a hole just above the hair-tie and then pulled the ponytail up and through again. I repeated this until the end of the ponytail was tucked away and then I pinned it all securely in place.

For my makeup I wanted to keep it light and natural with a touch of peach and coral on the lips and cheeks. I am still obsessed with peachy-toned makeup with plenty of warm, golden highlighter and glossy lips so I started off with my trusty Clarins Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch primer which gives the skin a wonderful, even base for your foundation. My foundation of choice for the day was Chanel Perfection Lumiere followed by Bourjois Concealer Stick for those pesky dark circles and troublesome blemishes. I added some warmth and contoured cheeks to my look with the Clarins Splendours Bronzing Compact and popped Benefit Coralista on my cheeks for a perfect peachy glow. On my eyes I chose a beige and a taupe shade from the Accessorize Lovely Day palette and softly blended them together over my lid and into the crease. My lashes were treated to a few layers of Clinique High Impact Extreme Volume mascara and my brows defined with the HD Brows compact. I highlighted my brow bones and cupid bow with Illamasqua Gleam cream highlighter and added a swirl and a sweep of powder from the Sleek GLO Face & Body Highlighter to give my skin that lit-from-within-glow. Just before I scooted out the door I grabbed my Clarins Lip Perfector in Candy Shimmer for a glossy, pink lip to complete the look. And there we have it!

What do you think of my wedding makeup and hair?

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NEOM Enchantment Home Candle

The Enchantment Home Candle* £42
available from Neom Organics

Just when you thought NEOM couldn't possibly top their latest home candle, Contentment, which  satisfies you with spicy ginger and sweet blackcurrant, they release this little beauty and the tables are quickly turned! The new Enchantment home candle from Neom Organics is just delightful in every possible way, aesthetically with its alternative white glass and wooden lid, and inspirationally with its gorgeous floral fragrance. Enchantment takes you on a Spring time walk through fields of bluebells. The sunny bouquet is also laced with Corn Kernel, sweet Guaiacwood and Rose giving the overall fragrance a slightly rich, woody tone and saves it from being too sweet or flowery. I don't think I will ever tire of raving about NEOM candles and this latest triumph from the range has pride of place on my coffee table, adding a breath of freshness and sunniness to the room.

What are you thoughts of NEOM candles? Will you be treating yourself to this new addition?

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My MAC makeover for the BAFTAs

The girls - Lily, Zara and Ella (watch Lily's vlog for some great footage from the day)

My dress  - Gorgeous Couture

Every now and again a particular email falls into your inbox and makes it near impossible not to let out a little squeal and click reply immediately. This very situation happened a few weeks ago when MAC Cosmetics invited me along to the Corinthia Hotel for a serious A list pamper session before heading off to the BAFTAs, complete with a red carpet entrance and dinner at Balthazar, concluded by a late night ticket to the after party. There were so many highlights from the day it is hard to compress them all down into one post, but rubbing shoulders (literally) with Matt le Blanc and walking down the red carpet feet in front of Alan Carr are definitely worth a mention!

Following my hair appointment with the Mark Hill team I headed to the MAC suite to have my makeup done for the occasion. I don't know about you but I am always a bit fearful about entrusting someone else with my makeup. I like the security of doing my own makeup the way I like it so very rarely indulge in makeovers and can find the whole experience a bit daunting. However after two minutes chatting with my MAC makeup artist Charlie, I knew I had nothing to worry about. She understood exactly the type of look I usually go for but pepped it up a bit with the addition of some lashes, eyeliner on the waterline (a rarity for me) and a glossy lip. I really liked the finished look, and felt it all tied in perfectly with the hair and the dress, so I thought I would give you a quick run down of the products she used. Several of them have already winged their way onto my wishlist, in particular Pearl cream colour base which is a gorgeous, gorgeous highlighter!

Face:
Face & Body foundation, Select Cover-up, Mineralize Skinfinish, Melba powder blush, Pearl cream colour base to highlight cheeks and brows.

Eyes and lips:
Mulch eyeshadow, Dipdown fluidline, false lashes (sorry, can't remember which number!) Lovelorn lipstick, Partial to Pink Cremesheen Glass lipgloss. All products available online.

What do you think of the finished look and did you tune into the BAFTAs last week?

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Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfectors

New shades for May! 
Clarins Lip Perfectors* available online, £17

Described as a 'delicious treat for your lips', the Clarins lip perfectors are a gorgeous gel-like consistency that have more substance than your average lipgloss and a bold colour payoff much like your favourite lipstick. The "3D radiance" pigment optically smoothes your lips to create a natural, gloss finish whilst the extracts of shea butter and mango soften and protect against unsightly chapped or dry skin. These are one of my favourite go-to lip products of the moment, not only because the sponge applicator makes them so quick and easy to apply, but they smell sweet-toffee-sauce-amazing and really do work well as a lip treatment or balm throughout the day. Each shade can be worn alone as a lustrous wash of colour or can be apply over a brighter, matte lipstick to add a gloss and shine to your lips. Without doubt, my favourite lip perfector from this trio is 05. Candy Shimmer but if you love your nude, barely-there lips then 04. Petal Shimmer is definitely the one for you! It works a treat over MAC's Myth lipstick.

Have you tried the Clarins lip perfectors?

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Topshop MOM jeans

Blazer - H&M

Crop top - Primark

Jeans - Topshop MOM jeans

Necklace - H&M

Shoes - Primark

Bag - H&M

So after confessing my love for Topshop's Jamie jeans not so long ago and accumulating more pairs of jeans in two weeks than I have owned in two years, there is now a new kid on the block! MOM jeans from Topshop are my latest love and I am so happy that I convinced myself to try them on. I'm not going to lie - on the hanger these jeans do not look great. Baggy, high-waisted with tapered legs, they look a little odd and very 90s. But once I have slipped on a pair of bleach acid MOMs, I was in love. They are probably the 'coolest' jeans I have ever owned and work so well with heels as well as a pair of Converse for a sports luxe feel. I wore mine quite long in this outfit but I think the idea is that you can turn them up a bit too to give them a new cropped-style, perfect for pumps or plimsols in the Summer. So my message to you; don't judge a pair of jeans on the hanger. Give them a try, you might just be surprised! I was.

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Clarins Instant Smooth Crystal Lip Balms

Limited Edition Instant Smooth Crystal Lip Balms from Clarins, £18
available online

The days when a lipstick was just a lipstick are well and truly over and now we are inundated with numerous gloss-balm-lipstick type hybrids that offer you a multitude of benefits in one. Clarins have recently launched four instant smooth crystal lip balms that promise the colour of a lipstick, the transparency of a gloss and the comfort of a balm, all in one, snazzily-presented tube. The new collection is made up of a zesty mandarin orange, a rich plum, a rosy pink and berry purple all with a rich blend of gelled oils and high-tech polymers allowing the colour to glide on beautifully and hydrate the lips with a glossy, lustrous sheen. The main lipstick colour is at the heart of the bullet, surrounded by the translucent lip balm that sheers out the shade and gives your lips a veil of colour and high-shine finish.

Crystal Rose (05) on the left is a gorgeous rosy, almost cherry pink, lipstick and Crystal Berry (08) is a deep, rich purple with subtle blue flecks that makes your teeth look marvellously white! I love love love these lipsticks - the consistency is amazing and gives you a shot of colour with a luminous finish without the stickiness you tend to get with glosses and some balms. Not to mention that they smell incredibly...edible, like a fruity sweet icy lolly. Definitely worth a sniff swatch next time you are near a Clarins counter!

Have you tried the new Crystal Lip Balms?

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Sleek MakeUP Showstoppers i-divine palette

Cut out shoulder dress* - Glamorous

Lipstick - Bourjois Rouge Edition No.6 Rose Coquette

The Showstoppers i-divine palette* from Sleek Makeup
available exclusively online - £7.99

What do you get when you take twelve legendary eyeshadows from Sleek's previously renowned i-divines and place them all together in a brand new palette? Let me introduce you to the Showstoppers palette which offers an eclectic mix of hues and finishes including five matte shades, six shimmers and one daring, sparkly number. If you have ever gawped in awe at the vast array of i-divines from Sleek and wondered where to start, then this may be the palette for you. For me, it seems to encompass all the key shadows I would reach for on a daily basis with a good range of neutrals, copper-tones and metallics, all with a typically good pigmentation that is expected with Sleek's palettes.

For my simple eye look above I first used 'Sparkle', a creamy, iridescent beige all over my lid. I then took 'Me, Myself and Eye', the palette's supreme off-white highlighter, and place it through my brow bone and in the corner of my eye. Finally I blended 'Au Natural', a shimmery deep purple, into the outer corner and through the crease. I particularly love this final colour as well as 'Sunset', a rusty, bronzed-brown, and think they are great at giving your eye makeup some definition and colour without being too heavy or glittery.

Will you be stopping by online to purchase this Showstoppers palette?

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Bourjois Rendez-vous à Paris so laque glossy nail collection

Bourjois Rendez-vous à Paris So Laque Glossy nail enamel collection*
£5.99 available from Boots

Right on cue as we are all reaching for our soft fabrics and summer pastels, Bourjois have launched an adorable range of So Laque nail enamels in an array of pretty, fresh shades. The formula of these polishes is utterly beautiful - opaque in two coats and with a glossy, gel-like finish that means you don't even need a top coat. I've got my grubby mitts on four of the shades to show you today.  

My absolute favourite is 04. Amande Defilé which is described as a minty green with fluorescent accents. It is a milky, pastel green which is ever so similar to Essie's Mint Candy Apple. 06. Adora-bleu is a stunning bleached blue that definitely has the greatest colour pay-off out of these shades. 07. Coton Sur Ton forms the base of my floral accent nails and is an easy, soft washed-out pink that gives your nails a natural finish. Finally 08. Peach and Love is a lovely harmony of peach and peach tones and makes a great, sandal-worthy pedicure colour. 

Applying all these delicious pastel shades made me feel ridiculously spring-like so I added a floral design to my manicure by using my simple technique demonstrated in this post. I used the same polishes here for the darker pink roses and green leaves as I did in my original post, but particularly loved how this designed look on a lighter base. 

Have you tried any of these new polishes from Bourjois?

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Duty free MAC purchases

With hours to kill at various airports whilst we travelled around Australia and New Zealand, it was inevitable that a lot of my time would be spent aimlessly perusing the aisles of duty free...just to see what bits I could pick up and save myself a few pennies. The unmissable black and white signage of MAC drew me in at Christchurch Airport and I ended up adding two more, pink-based products to my already groaning makeup collection.

I love shimmery, highlighted cheekbones. I rarely finish my makeup without a sweep of highlighter or pearlescent blusher and MAC have always boasted such a great range of these products. MAC's Gentle is a mineralised blush perfectly described as "raspberry with gold pearl". It really warms the face with the lightest of sweeps and gives your skin a golden-pink glow without being too sparkly or glittery. The mineralised blushers have always been a favourite of mine as you get a gorgeous colour and highlighter in one, and Gentle is definitely one of the prettiest I've tried.

It would have been rude to leave MAC without fawning over the rows and rows of lipstick and there was one particular pink (quelle surprise!) lipstick that caught my eye. MAC's Pink Pearl Pop not only wins awards for the sweetest named product I've heard in while but is also one of the nicest pink lipsticks I've swooned over of late. It was released a few months ago as part of the MAC Cremesheen + Pearl collection and I'm pleased to say is very much a permanent product. Described as a "frosty mid tonal pink" - it isn't frosty at all in my opinion but slightly shimmery with a medium blue-pink finish. The cremesheen formula means that is completely buildable from a soft, delicate pink to a more intense, bubblegum pink with a glossy, balm-like finish. Beautiful!

Have you been tempted by anything from MAC recently?

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Illamasqua Harem nail varnish

"Harem" nail varnish from Illamasqua £14.50

Released a month or so ago amongst their Spring 2013 collection, Illamasqua have really nailed it with this lush new shade called Harem which is described as a 'bright mauve pink' and is as unique as it is beautiful. Definitely more mauve than it is pink, Harem is a creamy lavender that is perfectly opaque after two coats, yet a lovely light lilac shade after just one! You really can't go wrong with Illamasqua's nail varnishes and this is just another gem from their extensive range that will be getting plenty of nail time during the Summer. Even Temptalia has applauded their polishes in her latest Editor's Choice Awards. And if they're good enough for her...

Which pastel polishes are you wearing at the moment?

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