18 July 2014

Halo Braid

Another day, another plait! This time I decided to do a halo braid, which is basically meant to look like there's a plait going all around the head, like a halo! It's quite simple and looks really nice with waves or curls. 
You'll need a brush, little elastic bands, pins, and hairspray but that's optional. I think this works best if you have mid to long hair.
Start by taking a section from behind but on the right side of your head. Make sure you leave hair above this section to cover it later. I forgot to do that and you can see where the plaits start, but that's not a huge problem.
Divide your section in two and clip the one furthest from your face out of the way for now. Start plaiting the section nearest your face and then use an elastic band to tie it. You can pull it apart a bit so it looks fuller, or you can leave it small, it's up to you. 
Take down the section you clipped away and repeat the last step, plaiting it normally, securing it with an elastic band and pulling it apart. Now cross the back plait over the front so that it will go over the front of your head. Position it where you want it, as if it were a headband braid, and pin it in place. 
Take the second now back plait and go around the back of your head. If it feels loose, pin it in place. Once you reach the top, tuck the end under the first plait and pin it. Spray it with hairspray if you want to make sure it all stays in place. And you're done! 

16 July 2014

Dip Hem Maxi Dress

Dress - C&A
Necklace - H&M
Earrings - Next
Watch - DKNY
Wedges - Chaussea

This is the outfit I wore for my sister's graduation dinner. It was quite a stuffy, warm day so I wanted something light to wear. My mum actually bought this dress from C&A last year but ended up giving it to me. It's a maxi dress, but has a dip hem, meaning the front is shorter than the back. It came with a necklace included but I didn't really like it so I took it off. Instead I chose to wear my new H&M rose gold chain necklace, which I love. It's a really nice addition to any outfit and ties the outfit together nicely. I also wore my Next earrings that went well with the necklace and my DKNY rose gold watch. I feel like this is such an easy outfit but the accessories really make it look a lot nicer and make it seem like I made more of an effort. 

14 July 2014

Top 10 Lip Products For Spring/Summer

This year has been the year where I have really got into lip products. I used to always forget the lipstick step when doing makeup but I decided that this year I would try to make more of an effort. Lipstick alone can make you look fabulous! So I thought I would put together a list of my absolute favourite lip products that I love to use during the summer months. It's a mix of high street to mid range to high end, so price wise there's something for every budget. There's no particular order to these either. Let me know what your favourite lip products are for the summer!

1. Bourjois Color Boost in 01 Red Sunshine
This is a really nice, glossy muted red/pink colour and it's really moisturising. I especially love using this one when I'm in a hurry because it's so easy to apply. It's waterproof and stays on for quite some time, without staining the lips too badly.

2. Nars Satin Lip Pencil in Lodhi
I have to admit, the main reason I bought this is due to the name as Lodhi is my surname. But it's actually a really nice colour, especially if you have a tan. It applies really well too. Mine is in a sorry state because my dad accidentally squished it when I showed it to him.

3. Collection Cream Puff Lip Cream in 1 Cotton Candy
This is another favourite for when I'm in a hurry. I adore this shade of dusty rose/pink! It's really creamy when you apply it but it dries matte, which I really like because I hate getting hair stuck in my lipstick or accidentally smudging it.

4. Revlon Lip Butter in 053 Sorbet
This is the only lip butter that I own! It's a dark, glossy fuchsia pink and is really nice for when you just want a hint of colour on your lips. 

5. Chanel Rouge Coco Lipstick in 49 Liaison
My sister got me this for my birthday and I love it. It's similar in colour to the Collection Lip Cream, but it doesn't' dry matte. I love this for when I do a smokey bronze eye, because it doesn't overpower the whole look. 

6. Nars Lipstick in Heatwave
This is my absolute favourite red lipstick. It's a gorgeous, almost orange red colour and looks great all year round in my opinion. It dries matte too, which is great for me, but if you don't like having a matte lip then just use some lip balm underneath (or over!). 

7. Nars Lipstick in Funny Face
This is my newest addition to my Nars makeup collection and I adore it. I love the name, Funny Face, because it reminds me of my favourite Audrey Hepburn film. And the colour is amazing. It's a blue toned fuchsia pink and again it dries slightly matte. 

8. MAC Amplified Lipstick in Impassioned
The photos don't do this one justice. It's my favourite MAC lipstick and is a sort of bright orangey/dark coral/pink colour. It tends to go more pink on my lips but I don't mind. I especially love this for nights out. Out of all of these lip products, this one stained the most.

9. MAC Frost Lipstick in Costa Chic
I wasn't sure about this one at first, since it's a frost, but I actually really like it. I do prefer using a tissue to dab off some of it when I apply it otherwise it looks a bit weird, but once I do that it looks fine. It's a light peachy coral colour and looks great with a tan.

10. MAC Amplified Lipstick in Chatter Box
Again, this is the shade of dusty rose pink I really like and I love using this when I use brown eyeshadows. I'm not sure why but it's my favourite combo. All of the MAC lipstick I've tried are really creamy and feel really nice on.

13 July 2014

Summer Night Out

Hi everyone,
This has been my go to makeup look recently. I usually stick to matte browns but I've decided to change it up a bit with some shimmer. I did this look when we all went out to celebrate my sister's graduation and I really liked it so I thought I may as well blog about it. It's not too heavy, but nice enough for a night out. It looks like you've tried when really it's a minimal effort kind of look.

Face:
Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in Cool Medium 2
Manhattan Soft Compact Powder in 0 Transparent

Eyes & Eyebrows:
Hema Eyebrow Gel
NARS Pro Prime Eyeshadow Base
MAC eyeshadow in Patina, all over the lid
Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette:
Bootycall in the middle of the lid
MAC Eye Pencil in Coffee
Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencil in Zero
Maybelline Mega Plush Mascara

Lips: 
Chanel Rouge Coco Lipstick in 49 Liaison

11 July 2014

How To: Wash Brushes

I wanted to share with you how I wash my brushes. There's no real incredibly unique method, but I do use several different products and I always like reading how people do it too. Let me start by saying that when it comes to washing brushes, I am very lazy. Which is why I bought a antibacterial spray to use in between washes. But since I am going away, I wanted to deep clean my most used brushes so that they are nice and pristine. In order to do this, I use three different products: The Pro Hygiene Collection Makeup Sponge & Brush Sanitizing Wash, Bioderma Solution Micellaire and The Pro Hygiene Collection Antibacterial Makeup Spray.
I start by filling a small bowl, in my case a hair dying bowl, with a small amount of Bioderma. Then I fill my sink with lukewarm water. I have all of my brushes and the brush shampoo to hand and get started. I have a particular process which goes like this: dip the brush into the lukewarm water, put some of the brush shampoo onto my hand and swirl the brush around in it, then I dip it back into the water and then into the Bioderma. Then I rinse it until there are no bubbles left and place it upside down onto a towel so that the brush is at the bottom. Then repeat all of those steps until you have no more brushes left.
Once I finish washing all of my brushes, I fold the towel so that I can stand the brushes against it, again so that the actual brush part is at the bottom. I then use the antibacterial spray on each of them, just so they are extra clean.
And that's it! Which products do you like to use on your brushes?