LONDON

I'm heading off to London for a couple of days, my boyfriend bought me this trip as a christmas present and I can't wait to get going! I love London and it's been a year since I have last been so I can't contain my excitement. Thinking of all those shops both retail and vanity makes me even more excited! I promise to not come home until I have at least 4 bags full of items! This means more blog posts of both fashion and beauty.

You all know that London is quite famous for all it's sites but also for Oxford Street. I think my boyfriend will regret taking me there when I take him into as many shops as I can. Get ready for many OOTD posts, upcoming trends I believe are going to be big for the transition from Spring to Summer. 

I keep wanting to buy pieces of make-up but I won't have anything to buy whilst i'm there if I buy it all now. I keep having urges to want to buy some great spring season lipsticks, eyeshadow and blush/bronzer colours will have to be controlled until tomorrow!

If you have any recommendations of places to go to eat, little shops that may be worth a look? Let me know, even if it's after i've been I will be returning this year for definite so let me know! Also what did you think about my fashion posts, would you like more like that? Also my cameras picture quality do you agree that my pictures look so much better now!

Thanks, have a lovely weekend!

Pippa x

W 2012/ S 2013 Statement Jewellery Items

Cross/ Scull/ Geometric Necklaces- Primark

I don't care much for the skull necklace from this selection, I feel rhinestoned items of jewellery are a bit last year, there are obviously a few exceptions such as Jewellers jewellery and in-season pieces but I really aren't feeling this one.

Now the cross and the geometric necklaces I do like and as everyone knows crosses have been much the rage these past few months and I jumped on that bandwagon myself. I find the geometric/triangle trend very interesting, I personally love triangles there my favourite shape... (is it weird I have a favourite shape?). Anyway I found these necklaces a right bargain and I'm sure if you want to buy them they will still be in there.

Silver & Gold cross necklaces -Primark

 Above the knuckle rings- ebay

I love these and should have bought them in gold as well, as I find they can add something to an outfit with it only being simple rather than putting some statement jewellery with a statement dress/top. 

 Geometric gold and black statement earrings- forever21

I was hoping that these were going to be as small as I was hoping and I was right, with them being statement earrings anyway, they can still be quite subtle when worn with block coloured items such as a LBD.

Tiered Scroll Earrings -forever21

I find these another example of great statement pieces, I am acquiring quite an earring collection now as I find them the easiest things to wear as they aren't necessarily close to any item of clothes like a necklace or a bracelet is so earrings are easy to pair with a very versatile amount of different clothes. 

I hope you enjoyed my Winter 2012/ Spring 2013 statement jewellery items, obviously I have missed pieces out but I thought these were very much relevant to the time of year we are in now. So if you have any items of jewellery similar to these pieces of items you can carry on wearing them throughout spring and maybe even into summer.

I'm happy to be asked about any fashion related things, for example if you aren't sure if an outfit goes together or if you are struggling to update an item of clothing I am happy to help, this is what blogs are all about isn't it? Helping each other out with things we are all passionate about?

Thanks for reading!

Pippa x

Forever21, Primark & ebay Haul!

Gold beaded necklace -forever21

Gold spaced cross necklace -Primark

Classic round circle sunglasses -ebay

Pixies top -ebay

Gold plated belt -ebay

Happy New Year everyone!
I thought I would do a more fashion related post seen as all of mine have been for beauty. 
I picked up a few bargains from various websites, I look at higher priced items from various websites and looked for cheaper items over the internet, you never know how many good pieces you can find just trying to save a few pounds!

If you haven't listened to the Surfer Rosa album by the the Pixies you missing out! I bought the top in medium as its a mens top and customised the sleeves and collar, I find customising items a bit more personal and you can go to Urban Outfitters and pay £25+ for a top you can customise your self for nearly half of the price.

Plus i've got my snazzy camera now so, you will be getting more high quality images from me! & maybe even some videos? What do you think?

Hope you enjoy this post and help you find some really great pieces for hardly anything

Pippa x

Dior Forever Fluid Foundation

I got this as a sample from out of a Harpers Bazaar magazine. I have a monthly subscription as I absolutely love how they are filled of fabulous clothes and advertisements for make-up and beauty products that are all out of my price range, if only money grew on trees ay! 

I tried the sample out of this foundation and actually fell in love with it, as i am normally used to high street brands this was a whole new world for me. My auntie knew how much i loved this foundation and surprised me with it last christmas.

Baring in mind that i use this every day and i still have that same bottle is pretty amazing, all you need is one pump of this and it covers your whole face! 

I doubt i will ever go back to high-street brands again as this has lasted for over 6 months and i believe i still have half the bottle left. Maybe it's better to just splash out on a high-end foundation rather than settling for the cheaper stuff, let me know what you think?

I swatched my hand to show you girls about how lovely the consistency is, its so smooth and just glides onto the skin so lovely. It gives such an even finish and if you get the colour just right for your skin tone, it looks flawless. With me also having freckles, i do like them to be covered a little but it's also nice to see them but not so prominently and this just does the trick.

Hats off to the guys at Dior, I really do love this!

Let me know about what you think about if you think high-end foundations are really cracked up to be, and if so whats your favourite one?

This product is £31.00 at boots, here's the link for if you want to try it for yourself;

Dior Forever Fluid Foundation 

Pippa x

Bobbi Brown Vitamin Enriched Face Base

Bobbi Brown Vitamin Enriched Face Base

I bought this not long ago and I thought I would really try it out before writing a post about it thats logical right? This product smells like turkish delight which I don't like but the smell of this is quite pleasant and I don't mind rubbing it on my face. 

This again was pretty pricey but not as much as the Estée Lauder Pore Minimiser, I can't really say anything more about this because it does what it says on the tin, I have very very dry skin and this moisturises and I love the fact that there are vitamins in it because i've never seen anything like it before!

Quick Tip: I bought this from the actual Bobbi Brown website because I don't advise buying things from ebay or unknown websites as anything can be put into the pot, including mercury and other items.

Thanks

Pippa x

New Year's Resolutions

We all make them and so very little of us actually stick to them. And this year I am determined to keep to them so I thought what better way of doing it by blogging about what I want to do, then keep you updated on how it's all going. 

You could all join in with me on how yours are going, i'd love to find out what you want to change.

Loose Weight
Yet I am writing this whilst digging into some maltesers... 2012 has been the worst year ever for me, I turned 18 and was ready to go clubbing with all my friends and 2 weeks after I became unwell, I had mobility issues when I was younger and they sadly returned in the years when i'm supposed to be going out and enjoying myself I haven't been able to do anything I wanted. And what came with mobility issues was that I ate as much as I did before but began to put weight on as there was no way of being able to walk it off. Now that I am feeling better in myself and can walk a little more than before I can now start to eat less and enjoy fruit and water and be able to walk it off more than I was able too. 

Keep my room tidy and clean out things I don't use
With having my mobility issues I can't clean/tidy as much as I could before and with having two younger sisters my mum has a lot on her plate and I prefer to do it myself just because it is one of the things I am able to do, along with blogging. Obviously there will be times when it does become a mess but I would love to have the motivation to do it all the time and be able to tidy up after myself.

Save Money
I never used to struggle with saving it, this was when I used to just put all my pocket money in my savings account and just took it out when I wanted to go shopping friends and still then I hardly bought anything. Then I became 16... and found my own sense of style and fell in love with make-up and since then I have really struggled to save it. 

Estée Lauder Idealist Pore Minimising Refinisher

Estée Lauder Idealist Pore Minimising Refinisher

I bought this in the six weeks holidays and I personally think its a brilliant product. It has a pump which I always love for liquid products as you can pick how much you will need to cover whatever areas of the face that you want. I only use this every so often say, going out for meals with girls/boyfriend. I apply this before my moisturiser which it says in the instructions in the bottle. 

I have major problems with my pores and I hadn't found anything that had worked until I used this, I would keep buying it again and again but since i'm only a student this isn't possible so I have to ration it. 

Overall I believe it is a great product and for people with really problem pores then I think this product is for you, but beware that it is at the very pricey side so go to you nearest make-up counter and ask for a sample before you buy it as it may not be for you. 

I think this bottle will last me a long time because of the consistency being so thin and watery then I think that it will last a long time. The link under the picture is for the 50ml product rather than my 30.

Have any of you found any great pore minimising products, because I would love to hear about them!

Thanks

Pippa x

my skin care routine

No7 Soft & Soothed Gentle Cleanser . No7 Soft & Soothed Gentle Toner . No7 Essential Moisture Day Cream .

I have used these products religiously for 7 years, I believe that if you find beauty products that work for your skin you shouldn't change them and I haven't. I do wear night creams and bases but apart from that nothing changes. My packaging for these products is the old design and they have brought out some lovely new packaging which has been linked above. However on the cleanser bottles there is no lid which could be a pain when staying away from home but the product is still the same in the bottle so I don't mind.

I use these products every morning and night and for me they get rid of any muck and dirt that is on my face. 

The moisturiser is very very hydrating and as I have normal to dry skin this is perfect and gives my skin the hydration it needs. 

There is this moisturiser that I sometimes use instead of the essential moisture and this is No7 Essential Moisture Day fluid which I don't find as moisturising as the day cream and I need my skin hydrated in the winter so I will be using this until march/april time. 

Quick Tip No.1- If you are thinking of purchasing any No7 skincare then wait until the £5 offer is on in boots because it will obviously be cheaper to buy it then.

Quick Tip No.2- As you can see behind the moisturiser is a spray bottle, now when I apply my cleanser and toner to my face I use a round cotton pad, if you spray the pad with a couple of squirts of water using a spray bottle then your cotton pad won't soak up so much product which means it saves you money.

Thank you, 

Pippa x

make-up bag staples

Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation . Yves Saint Laurent Luxurious Mascara for a full lash effect  . Benefit's High Beam . Benefit's CORALista Blusher . MAC Brow Set . Maybelline Eye Studio Drama Gel liner . Benefit's Boi-ing Industrial Strength Concealer .

These are the items that have been staples in my make-up bag for a couple of weeks. I have had all of these products for a while and I don't know why I didn't pick them up a lot cause I haven't been able to put them down.

Rimmel's Wake Me Up Foundation has been hyped up an awful lot over the past couple of months and I can now see what all of the fuss was about. I am in the colour 100 Ivory and I still find this colour to be quite dark on my  complexion even though I didn't think I had gotten so pale, this sounds like a good excuse to get a holiday booked? I cannot say a bad word about this foundation as the finish is dewy and I think I look all glowing when i've got it on and as you can tell, i've nearly finished it.

Yves Said Laurent Luxurious Mascara for a Full Lash Effect is a mascara I picked up whilst I was coming back from holiday as it was in a packet with the touche éclat and i'm so glad I picked this up and I will end up repurchasing it. It gives my lashes volume and fullness, it is also a dream to remove with any make-up remover/cleanser. I've seen good things about the SHOCKING mascara has anyone tried it, is it worth getting?

Benefit's High Beam. This I have been using for years, Benefit was one of my first "high end" make-up brands and I just have to keep on buying more and more of them. As some days I don't wear foundation because I rarely get blemishes I apply this with my daily moisturiser and it makes my face look such luminance. I also use this for my cheekbone and brow bone and I can't fault this again, another brilliant product.

Benefit's CORALista is yet another make-up product that I can never put down, especially in summer as I aren't blessed with olive toned skin when i've been on holiday this blusher is just so perfect. Even in the winter I believe it still looks amazing and rosy.

MAC brow set before this I had never used a gel as such to keep my unruly brows controlled and I won't look back now as it is just so perfect, however it is just a brow set and i'm sure there are more on the market for cheaper as I think a clear mascara would do just the same job.

Maybelline Eye Studio Drama Gel eyeliner is absolutely amazing, I always found it difficult to use liquid eyeliner and most of the time it wouldn't dry quick enough so I used to end up with a nice line of eyeliner under by brow which isn't fun when your in a rush. I have repurchased it because I believe this is one of the best gel eyeliners on the market and it is at a reasonable price compared to bobbi browns and MAC. 

Benefit's Boi-ing Industrial Strength Concealer is another Benefit product I hear you shout! Yes, I have so many different concealers but this one is just perfect as it does what it says on the tin it really is industrial strength the coverage is medium- high which I think all concealers should be as you are trying to either cover up those dark circles or blemishes. 

I am going to make this a weekly/ monthly thing let me know how often you would like to hear about my make-up bag staples?

Thank you

Pippa x

perfume favourites

Sarah Jessica Parker, NYC . Chloé, Chloe Eau de Parfum . Jimmy Choo, Eau de Parfum . Emporio Armarni, Diamonds for women.

These four perfumes I have repurchased, again and again, which has made a difference to my purse as a couple of these are pretty pricey.

The Sarah Jessica Parker scent is very young and girly, I particularly love sweet fruity perfumes and this is just perfect, I also love the packaging. It comes in this plastic packaging which I quite like as I can take it out with me and if I were to drop it at least it would break. I also like how it comes with a screw top before you get to the applicator this means it won't leak in your bag.

The Chloé perfume is my most recent purchase and this is one of the more pricier of my perfumes, I got mine from duty free so it did get a little cheaper but still it was expensive. This is more of an evening scent and I always get compliments when I wear it. The packaging is stunning I have it on display because it would be wasted  if it was hidden away?

The Jimmy Choo scent is one I have been wanting it for ages but I always find it hard to spend money on my perfumes because they are a rather large investment especially for a student like me. It is again quite a sweet smelling perfume and comes in this stunning bottle so this is another one that I have to show off.

And last but certainly not least is my Armarni Diamonds perfume which has to be my favourite. Its such a classic smell and nearly everyone I have spoken to about it loves it so you can't go wrong. This is one of the more pricier ones however I believe its totally worth it, I find this fragrance last quite a while on me, which it should with it being an Eau de Parfum.

Quick Tip: The pricier the perfume the longer the scent will last on you, it still depends on the concentrate of the perfume but more expensive perfumes do have a higher concentrate.

I'm hoping for the Jean Paul Gaultier Classique fragrance for christmas, has anyone tried it? What are your thoughts?

Thank you 

Pippa x

get to know me

Fashion and beauty has always been my passion, I like taking clothes I don't really wear anymore and turn them into something modern. I also love shopping for clothes and make-up, I mean what girl doesn't?

 Christmas is my favourite time of the year, I love giving presents to my family and friends and have a different 'theme' for wrapping my presents so this year i have gone with the original brown parcel paper and some butchers string and made them into cute parcels. Also for my boyfriend I bought a few more items for so i wrapped them in cellophane and put a few small stars in there.

I have an unhealthy obsession for magazines, I love how they come out a month before so you can start looking for items that are going to be in, in the future. Harpers Bazaar I have read since the middle of high school and I still look forward to getting it in the post.

Talking about new styles, I love ombre and I used the lighter box than the one above it was No.2 but because I am quite a dark brunette you can hardly see it, so I may do a tutorial on how I do it?
If you have any tips on how I can get lighter ombre I am open to trying them. Maybe I should try a highlighting kit?

As I stated above I LOVE christmas and having the ciate advent calendar has made the countdown so much more enjoyable. If you'd like I could do some nail art with the colours included within it?

Thank you and if you would like to read more and more of my blog posts subscribe.

Pippa x