Style Speaks Louder

When it comes to my staple wardrobes items jeans and a t-shirt make the top of  the list, closely followed by a clean simple jumper. I'm not a girly girl so I practically live in jeans and a t-shirt or when its still cool weather, like it is now -  a nice fine knit jumper.

I'm a little obsessed with finding the 'perfect' white t-shirt. In my eyes there are a few boxes it has to tick. The material has to be either a soft cotton or a fine jersey so the material drapes and hangs nicely and the sleeves have to be the right length and create the right overall shape. The neck line should be flattering - I am still looking for the perfect round neck that isn't too high or too low - but this Topshop tee (above) is a pretty good v-neck - low enough to be flattering but not revealing. I am pretty pleased with this white v-neck and you can be surprised how good a decent white t-shirt can look.

When it comes to jeans I prefer to buy from Topshop rather than any other high street retailer. For my height (I'm 5'9) they fit me perfectly and have a range of leg lengths, although I prefer my jeans to neatly end at my ankles so I choose a 32 inch leg and a 28 inch waist.

These are the Leigh style jeans which are a soft skinny leg jeans. The leopard loafers are also Topshop but from a little while ago.



 

And finally I really love this Topshop grey jumper. It's a slouchy knit that drapes perfectly and has been my go to item for the cooler spring days.





Unfortunately it looks like the weather is about to get colder again in London so it looks like I've just bought this just in the knit of time.

I am a little obsessed with succulent plants at the moment, it must be the spring air urging me to bring nature into my home. I just cant get enough of these juicy little plants and it seems everyone else is too, with succulent obsessed  boards popping up on pinterest.

So I set about making my own little succulent garden. I happened to be in Wilkinson when I spotted a whole shelf of succulents and got so excited that I might have had a few strange looks from security. I had to stop myself from buying them all.

What you will need:
Succulents
Suitable pot
Gravel
Soil
Gardening gloves and trowel - to make your life easier and cleaner.

This is what I bought to start my succulent family:



I bought a deep salad bowl that would look great with the succulents, aquarium gravel for drainage and decoration and four different succulent plants. The trowel I already had and I already had soil from other gardening projects but an all purpose soil should work fine.



I picked four different succulent varieties to make the garden look more interesting. Its important to pick plants that are similar to each other and require the same environment, by sticking with succulents I knew that they would all be able to happily live in the same pot.



To start, add a level of gravel to the bottom of the bowl to allow for drainage, you can also add moss on top of this to help absorb excess water but I don't plan on over-watering the succulents.



I then added the soil on top of this and then arranged the succulents roughly where I wanted them to by before adding more soil around each individual plant.



I then added the gravel again on top of the soil to make it look pretty. I had mixed gravel so I painstakingly picked out all the white quartz to arrange on the top. I then dropped the gravel on top of the soil and all the way up the stems of the plants and my garden was complete.

TA DA



It looks so cute on my coffee table right now. Let me know if you make a spring succulent garden too in the comments below. x

*Succulents are low maintenance plants but do require plenty of natural light and water - just don't leave them in direct light for too long or they can get scorched and give them a light watering.

[caption id="attachment_298" align="alignnone" width="630"] Cronut, coffee and doughnuts[/caption]


So they are of course really good for you....... well ish  - well better than fried ones.

Founded by Paul Hurley they are branded as “The Best Doughnut in the World” bold statement, but they really amazing in taste and texture and they are lower in fat and light and fluffy.

The hard part was deciding which to choose from their store in Box Park Shoreditch as I really wanted to try the cronuts they had too, so in the end we took one of each doughnut on offer that day and I had a cronut too and a coffee. I also really loved the coffee cup with the cute pink lid and will be looking for a longer lasting version for home.

If you are not familiar with the cronut its a croissant/doughnut hybrid and theirs was a almond and pistachio cream and amazing. It was my first cronut and didnt disappoint with the texture of a croissant on the outside but with the texture and taste of a doughnut on the outside.

[caption id="attachment_297" align="alignnone" width="630"] My first cronut[/caption]

The doughnuts we chose included a Creme brulee- crispy sugar shell and rich creme inside, Banoffee - banana puree and creme du leche and Strawberry Cheesecake as well as classic jam filled and a raspberry glazed doughnut and a chocolate nut covered doughnut.

Mmm heaven



Dum Dum Donuts are located at number 31 Box Park - Shoreditch.

We then wandered around the area walking over to Spitalfields market and just enjoying Saturday which included an odd goofy picture of course.



And some sneaky swooning over flowers and more food before admitting we were quite hungry and needed more than just a cronut in our belly.

So we headed to Holborn to our favourite restaurant Eat Tokyo!

[caption id="attachment_308" align="alignnone" width="568"] photo from Zomato.com[/caption]

Eat Tokyo has been our favourite no thrills Japanese restaurant since we stumbled onto the Trafalgar Square branch located behind the National Gallery, and we have been so many times we can not count.

Why do we love it? Well the prices are really reasonable for the amount of food you get and its really simple authentic Japanese food and seems to be full of other Japanese people whenever we visit. Our favourite branch is Trafalgar Square but there are often long ques so we headed to Holborn for our fix on Saturday.

We arrived at 3.25 and were told last order for the afternoon was at 3.30 and then they were shutting at 4pm - would that be a problem? Us: Not at all!! FEEED US!

We tend to know exactly what we want when we go there. For J it is a big bowl of ramen:



And for me it is always a Bento box which comes with miso soup on the side:



This time I had the mackerel with tofu whereas I usually pig out and get the Bento with teriyaki salmon and tempura and sushi and usually means I have a very full belly afterwards.

We then rolled ourselves home and vegged out for the rest of the evening feeling pretty pleased with ourselves.

What are you doing this Saturday? leave a comment below letting me know. x

Its heeeeerrrrre!!!!  I blogged about this bareMinerals palette in a previous post as being one of my eye palette obsessions and now this little beauty is mine and I couldn't love it more!

I don't often use eye-shadow and I have quite big eyes so any bold colour can look a little over powering on me or if I'm using colour, I look like an 80's pop star in a bad way. I already went through my blue eye-shadow phase as a teen and I've vowed never to go back.
So a set of 'Power Neutrals' seemed perfect for an eye-shadow-phobe like me.




It arrived in a little gold box with an instruction leaflet with some ideas on how to blend the colours which include mat skin tones and more sparkly highlights as well as greys and khakis. The actual palette is also in a reflective gold metal tone to mark it as a Limited Edition palette which I think is really pretty.
The idea of this palette is that it will complement any skin tone and the eye-shadow are made of sea minerals including coffee to soothe and pep up the skin.

I was expecting it to be slightly larger and at first I was a little underwhelmed that the shadows were quite small but less is more and the size is actually perfect to carry around in your bag. It comes with a mirror inside and an applicator brush that is tapered at one end so you are all set for doing your make-up on the go.
The selection of colours are really rich and quite stunning and some of the pressed powders seem more like cream on the skin, they are that luxurious. They blend really well together and the colour lasts all day.

[caption id="attachment_256" align="alignnone" width="600"] Top left to right: Boss Lady (shimmer bronze) + Moneymaker (dusty olive) + Schmooze (bronze sheen) + Boardroom (deep chocolate) Bottom left to right: Exec (polished slate) + Payday (light granite) + Magnate (nude peach) + Get Ahead (rustic taupe)[/caption]

I immediately was drawn to the pale neutral shades (Boss Lady, Schmooze and Magnate) which suit my skin tone wonderfully, Magnate particularly is a complete match to my skin tone and make my lids look flawless. I have tried to swatch the colours below but it was difficult to show the colours properly in the light so forgive me.



I was a little wary of the olive coloured 'Moneymaker' because it is quite a strong khaki colour on my skin, but after blending it into my lid its a really wearable day colour that isn't as harsh as wearing a brown or a black. Where as the grey colours, 'Exec' and 'Payday', work brilliant together to create a subtle smoky eye for day or night.
However my favourite is 'Get Ahead' which is a soft brown and looks like velvet on my lids and the Boss Lady is perfect for an under-brow highlight where as I use 'Boardroom', which is a very chocolate brown, for my lower lash lines and also to define my brows using the tapered end of the brush.

I think this little palette is perfect for everyday wear, and as the shadow names suggest, it is perfect for wearing to work without looking too done up and over the top.
Its just the ideal palette to have as a go to and you can easily build on the lighter shades to make an impressive evening eye.

It is however limited edition and has been out for a little while, at least in the States so snap this little beauty up at bareMinerals while you can. x

I must admit to you all that I have an obsession with Beyonce. She is one of my idols, I love her style, her music, how she keeps her relationship private and how she is a strong female in our modern culture. I honestly could gush about Beyonce all day.

I think she always looks flawless and stunning so I squealed a little when I read that her long standing make up artist, Francesca Tolot,  had spoken to Into The Gloss website about what it takes to make Beyonce beautiful, I mean it can't really be that hard a job, can it?

In the interview Francesca, who has worked with Beyonce for 10 years, discusses what it took to create some of Beyonce's famous looks from her music videos to her magazine shoots.



I was actually watching Beyonce's 'If I was a boy' video just the other day and thinking to myself wow Beyonce looks flawless yet seems to have no make- up on - how does she do that? Well Francesca explains that to create this look that 'there was really practically no makeup there' - wow I knew it. Francesca explains that all it took was 'moisturiser and maybe a little bit of concealer and lip balm'. I wish I could look that great with just moisturiser and lipbalm!

During the interview Francesca explains some of Beyonce's most well known looks from her 'Crazy in Love' video where Francesca describes the make-up as 'barely there' and her shoot for W magazine where she bleached Bey's eyebrows white!

Francesca also talks through what has helped make Beyonce look so amazing and here are some of her top products:

Amazing Concealer 'It’s very intense, very rich. It really covers a big problem if you need it to...'
La Mer The Radiant Concealer '...it’s very moisturising and it doesn't dry or crease.'



On talking about the mascara that makes Beyonce's killer lashes Francesca said that the MAC In Extreme Dimension Mascara is a staple used on Beyonce 'it's the best mascara right now, so that’s kind of a constant.'

Francesca's other top mascara for Bey is the L’Oreal Voluminous Million Lashes which is only £10.99!

Francesca also admitted that she does not use false eyelashes on Beyonce anymore as they both find false eyelashes are 'dated'. Which I agree with - I much prefer real eyelashes - less fuss.

Francesca's also talked about what exactly made Beyonce glow in the 1+1 video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaasJ44O5lI

Francesca says that there was an 'ultimate use of baby oil' in the 1+1 video which leaves the skin 'nice and smooth' after being wiped off but that she couldn't use make-up  'because it would be gone in two seconds.' However after watching the video I assume she is referring the the glow on Beyonce's skin as it is clear that Beyonce is at least wearing eye-shadow and lip products, so I guess she didn't let all the secrets slip.

However she did admit that she likes to mix in shimmer and oil into moisturiser to create the glowing skin look that Beyonce is famous for and likes the Nars Body Glow and RCK Luminous Body Glow products for luminous looking skin.

So it seems that Beyonce's major beauty secret is just simply beautiful skin. That and the fact that she is already gorgeous.

For the full interview by Annie Kreighbaum visit Into the Gloss.

I've always been a trainer girl and recently I have become obsessed with Nike Air Max trainers. I think because its spring my feet want out of the boots I have been clomping about in all winter but they aren't quite ready for ballet pumps or loafers so trainers are my happy medium.

I haven't had a chance to take a pic of how I have been wearing my Air Max Trainers, but I bought the exact pair that are shown above and Ive been throwing them on with literally everything Ive been wearing.

But I think nothing better goes with trainers than a crisp white tee and a pair of blue jeans, add a statement necklace like the Zara one above to tie in the colour of the trainers and a slick of lipstick to finish the look.

I desperately want to buy another pair of trainers but I am trying to be a good girl. So here are my top four trainer buys for Spring:

L-R: Nike International £67, New Balance 574 - £64.99, Nike Air Max 90 - £95, Converse Chuck Taylor - £55

“I believe in manicures. I believe in overdressing. I believe in primping at leisure and wearing lipstick. I believe in pink. I believe happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day, and... I believe in miracles.”  Audrey Hepburn

I agree with Audrey, I also believe in in lipstick, which is why I'm showing you my beauty essentials. Beauty may only be skin deep but every girl has something that she goes back to over and again and these are mine.

SKIN

L-R: Centrum Advanced, Clinique all about eyes, Clinique dramatically different moisturising lotion, Nivea lip balm, Clinique make-up remover, Clinique clarifying lotion, Biore pore strips, bareMinerals skin rev-er upper and Clinique pore minimizer.

I have a bit of a Clinique obsession as you can see, but the reason behind this is that I have very sensitive skin and the dramatically different moisturising lotion is the only moisturiser that does not irritate my skin and moisturises effectively, I seriously suffer without this yellow magic. My routine at night night involves taking off all my make-up with the Clinique make up remover, which takes off every last scrap, followed by the clarifying lotion to ex-foliate and cleanse and then the moisturiser. I have also started wearing eye cream at night (the joy of getting older) and this eye cream sinks wonderfully into the skin.

I have very very sensitive skin on my nose and as a result I can't touch it with anything, not even moisturiser. These pore strips are the only product that touches it and does what it says on the box.

I can't be without a lip balm - its an absolute essential for me and this Nivea lip balm moisturises my lips without being sticky.

The bareMinerals skin rev-er upper is a multi vitamin complex with boosts my skin, I use it as a base on top of moisturiser or sometimes on its own to perk up my skin when I'm not wearing foundation.
I wear the Clinique pore minimiser on my cheeks occasionally to help reduce the look of pores and of course the Centrum Advanced keeps me and and my skin healthy. The only thing missing from this picture is drinking water, lots and lots of water.

 FACE - BASE

L-R: YSL Touche Eclat concealer, MAC Sheertone Blush - Breath of Plum, Maybelline Fit Me concealer, Garnier BB Cream, Shu Uemura face powder, bareMinerals All over face powder - Warmth, bareMinerals Mineral veil.

The YSL Touche Eclat (number 2) has been a beauty staple of mine for a while, it brightens and conceals in one swift swoop, however it is quite expensive so I don't wear it everyday and so I swap it with Maybelline Fit Me concealer in Light 10, which is a great match for my skin.

The MAC blush has been my favourite blush for a while, as you can see. A lot of blushes have glitter in them and I dont want to look sparkly on a daily basis, this blush adds colour without the shimmer. I am however looking for a peach blush for spring so that will be my replacement.
The BB cream was a quick buy when I ran out of my foundation as I wanted a tinted moisturiser, this BB cream maybe low price but it adds a great base and a touch of warmth without being oily.



L-R - MAC blusher, Shu Uemura face powder, bareMinerals face bronzer and bareMinerals mineral veil.

The Shu Uemura face powder is pure magic, it sets my make up off perfectly by taking away shine and leaving a velvety texture to my skin and its so light like it is not even there.

The bareMinerals powders are my beauty heroes, I use the bareMinerals foundation but have currently run out, but it is the only foundation that I will use. As my skin is sensitive liquid foundation leaves my face dry and gives me a rash so I was so grateful when I discovered bareMinerals. The foundation give the best coverage but doesn't feel like you are wearing a mask, its so light and your skin can breath. Its made without chemical dyes and parabens and has mineral elements so it actually improves your skin as you wear it.
Above is the face bronzer which you only need a tiny amount to give a wondrous glow and the mineral veil which leaves the skin with a matt healthy finish.

 MAKE-UP

Back L-R: Clinique mascara, Lancome Hypnose Star waterproof mascara ,Clinique Chubby Stick,  Benefit Smokin' Eyes, Barry M lipstick, MAC Matte Ruby Woo, Benefit Browzings.
Front L-R: MAC eye-shadows in  Concrete and Chorme Yellow, Calvin Klein eye-shadow in pink slip, Calvin Klein white eyeliner and Rimmel waterproof eyeliner.

I received the mini Clinique mascara as a gift when buying my moisturiser and I actually like that its so tiny as it fits in my bag easily and it really defines my lashes however for extra volume I use the Lancome Hypnose Star waterproof mascara.

The Clinique chubby stick is my favourite lip colour product because its not sticky like a lipstick and I can build up the intensity of the colour, I've had this one a little while and the labelling has all worn off so its clearly time to get a new one (yay!)



I love the little Benefit Smoking Eyes palette, it includes a great black and grey shadow for creating smoky eyes and even eyebrow wax and I also have the Benefit Browzings product which is great for setting and finishing my eyebrows.

The MAC lipstick is great for consistent powerful colour, I have a red one for when I'm feeling sophisticated and the Barry M lipstick is a great low price lip colour for instant colour pop.

I love the MAC eye-shadows as the colour you see is exactly what you get on the skin and this little Calvin Klein shadow is a cute shimmery pink which is easy to wear during the day.

And finally I can not be without my eyeliners. A lined eye has been my signature look since I was 15 and my eyes just don't look the same without a slick of eyeliner. I use black waterproof eyeliner by Rimmel to line my eyes and white to line the rims and brighten my eyes.

So those are my beauty essentials - let me know what yours are.

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