Outfit of the Day: £5 Primark Skater Dress & Topshop Fur Coat

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PicMonkey Collage1And the award for the biggest bitch face goes to….that ginger idiot up there.

I don’t know why I look so angry, but I think it may be because my new ginger locks mixed with my dark eyebrows make me look a bit like a contestant in Ru Paul’s Drag Race. Must get a new, non-manly palette.

Like every self-respecting poor girl, I enjoy going into Primark and snapping up a bargain. In fact, my bargain hunting has got so out of hand that I look for sale and/or extra cheap things whilst actually in Primark. I know, let me just relocate to live under a bridge.

Despite coming across as a bit homeless, this Primark dress is an absolute STEAL. I’m not joking. When I wear it, I am slightly alarmed that the po po might come and shut me down. Nevertheless, at £5 (yes, five GBP) it is basically rude note to. They actually do a number of prints (Claire has a jazzy monochrome one), but I went for this suuuuuper cute green/white floral number. It’s become an absolute staple in my wardrobe (so much so that you could probably staple together a number of voluminous manuscripts) and I already have worn it to work about 100 times.

Before heading out, I whipped on my trusty Topshop faux fur coat and my Primark cut out sandals. I’m sorry you can’t see more of them in this, I am a terrible tripod organiser. I also have my wonderful and beloved Dirty Looks HK hair extensions in, as well as Kate Moss for Rimmel on my lips. WAHOO.

What do you think of this bargain £5 dress?

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An Idiot’s Guide to Basic Contouring

Hey you, spade face! Do you have a face that’s all big like a spade and you would like to know how to get it to look less like a spade and more like a face? Well lucky you, you’re in the right place!

‘Contouring’ has without doubt been the buzz word of the makeup industry for a couple of years now. Made famous by that chiseled lunatic Kim Kardashian, contouring is the art of creating shadows and highlights to make your face look like someone else’s  the best it can.

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I’ve trawled through endless tutorials on contouring and now have a routine I’m fairly happy with. I’m by no means a pro (I don’t even have my own reality show OR a rapper boyfriend yet so I’m obviously no good at all really) and everything I do is just an amalgamation of other tutorials, so I’m not really going to be saying anything revolutionary. But if, like me, you find yourself a bit lost in some of the more complex contouring guides out there (and end up shouting “But I don’t own any Ben Nye Banana Powder!” furiously at the screen) then you may find something in this beginners’ guide useful.

What Products Do You Need for Contouring?

I’d say that all you essentially need for contouring is a bronzer that is several shades darker than your base and a highlighter that is several shades lighter. The greater the difference in these shades, the more prominent the contrast will be. I’ve tried powdered bronzers and highlighters before, but found that cream ones work best for me as they’re much more blendable. I’m currently using two Seventeen products: the Instant Glow Cream Bronzer (there’s only one shade I believe) and the Stay Time 18 Hour concealer in Extra Fair. The key is for both of these products to be matte – you don’t want glitter all over the place or you’ll look like a discoball.

For blending, I use either my buffing brush or my Real Teachniques Beauty Blender. Both work really well, so as long as you know you have a tool that’s good for blending then you should be fine.

Where To Apply Products for Contouring

After applying my base as usual, I then shadow and highlight in these areas:

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When I initially ventured into the world of contouring, I thought it was just about the cheekbones – bronzer below and highlighter on the bone. However you can basically shadow and highlight just about your entire face. Underneath the cheekbones, down the jawline, down the sides of your nose, on your temples and even a bit around the chin can all be made into shadows.

You can then highlight across the cheekbones and underneath the eyes (aim for a triangle shape), down the nose, on the cupids’ bow, your chin, your forehead, the archs of your eyebrows and the bit of cheek between the jaw and cheekbone. Once this is all blended in, the effect should be subtle – you shouldn’t notice any harsh lines whatsoever. 

Contour 2And here are the results. As you can see it’s nothing extraordinary, but I do feel significantly less like a spade once I’ve contoured.

An optional extra step here is to add more highlighter onto certain areas, namely the top of the cheekbones, a bit on the bridge of the nose and the cupids’ bow. For this step, you can use more of a shimmery highlighter (I use Seventeen’s Wow! Skin 3 Way Highlighter), though be sure not to place it anywhere where it can be mistaken for oil/sweat – sweaty upper lips are so not Kim K.

 What do you all think of contouring? Are you a pro or new to the whole thing? Share your tips below!

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Collection 2000 Lock n Hold Lipgloss in Rock Steady Review

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Hello you scoundrels,

I hope you are all having a marvellous Saturday. I’m bringing you a very quick review today, because quite frankly there is only so much you can say about lipgloss. A LIPGLOSS?! Yes, apparently we’ve time travelled to 2003 and I’m actually going to start doing OOTDs with my oversized disc belt and white gypsy skirt.

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Anywho, lipglosses are great – especially if you can tear yourself away from the terrible fact that no matter what you do, your hair will always get stuck to your lips. I like wearing them during the day, partly because they’re easy to reapply at my desk and also because I can’t be trusted to wear lipstick to work (i.e. it manages to get on my nose and forehead, don’t ask me how).

I’m a big fan of Collection and here at the old Stylingo ‘hood, we enjoy a bit of Collection 2000 reviewing – check out our Collection reviews if you’re feeling wild.

What I am not a fan of is cheap lipgloss. It tends to be really sticky, gloopy, generally rubbish and sob-inducing. The Lock n Hold lipgloss is £2.99, so we can safely say it’s a cheap lipgloss. But is it all of these tragic things?

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Well….kind of. I do really like it and I recommend it if you’re looking for an everyday gloss. Their colour range is really nice – Claire has the lilac version and it looks absolutely brillo. I just find it a little bit gloopy and touch to work with. The trick is not to layer it on too thickly (quite obvious but easy to do with the Lock n Hold) and spread the colour evenly.

Rock Steady is a pale whitey nude colour, which is right up my street. It looks quite nice on and I’m happy with it! In terms of lasting 6 hours, I say to Collection…are you having a bleedin’ laugh?

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What do you think? Have any of you tried the Lock n Hold Lipgloss?

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Outfit of the Day: Missguided Mesh Midi Dress

OOTD 12th March CollageDress: Missguided / Shoes: ASOS (old) / Bag: Accessorize 

Hello one and all! If you read our post yesterday about the charity fashion event we attended, then you might have noticed that Lauren and I both wore clothes on our bodies, in compliance with society’s expectations of us. Here is a closer look at the clothes that I wore, just in case you were working yourselves up into a feverish frenzy over it all (don’t lie, I know you were).

Unsurprisingly, we both decided to buy our dresses from Missguided – where else? We really do need to start branching out a bit, but damn their reasonable prices and endless selection of party outfits, do we really stand a chance? As it was a sophisticated evening in aid of charity, we both set out with the intention of finding something ‘classy’ to wear. I really don’t know how I managed to translate this in my head into ‘bodycon mesh’, but that happened and I’m not sorry.

OOTD 12th March 4Necklace: Tiffany’s / Rings: Primark / Nails: Barry M in White

I kept my accessories pretty simple with the exception of my much-loved leopard print clutch bag, which was actually a birthday present last year. You can literally fit so much in it; I could probably get Lauren to hop in there if I ever needed to sneak her on a plane or anything.

What do you all think of this outfit? I would love to know in the comments below!

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Nuvo Masquerade Ball & Fashion Show

Nuvo 3Last night we were lucky enough to be invited to a charity masquerade ball at Nuvo bar  in aid of Birmingham’s Children Hospital. The event was organised by the wonderful girls who study fashion at BCU and featured everything from a fashion show and dancers to topless butlers, henna and a photobooth. Drinking on a work night? Never a good idea. But when it’s for charity? HELLO VODKA (just doing it for the kids, you understand).

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Nuvo 13The show was hosted by the beautiful Miss Birmingham 2013, Rachel Barker, who we were lucky enough to meet before at the fashion event at Lilly-Lou. She did an amazing job and it was lovely catching up with her after the fashion show – even if she is so glossy and tall that she makes us feel like we’ve just rolled round in a bin (which to be honest, we often have).

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Nuvo 18(It’s a hard job being Miss Birmingham, isn’t it Rachel?!)

The whole event was brilliantly organised and everyone had a great time. We got chatting to some lovely people, including Kirsty who you might recognise from this series of Take Me Out, and of course the girls from BCU. Drinks were flowing and the photobooth was used far too much.

Nuvo 7 Nuvo 8 Nuvo 9 Nuvo 2Like the drunk Cinderellas we are, we needed to dash off by midnight to catch our train home – but luckily not before some of the winners of the raffle were called out. Errr, guess who bagged a little £50 Primark voucher?!
Nuvo 10Yeah, so my new address is Smug Lane, ChuffedAsShitVille.

Overall the night was a huge success and a great amount of money was raised for Birmingham Children’s Hospital. A big thank you to the girls from BCU for organising such a wonderful event and for inviting us! You can follow their Twitter account @BricoleurEvents to keep up to date with their future fundraising efforts – then you too can do things like this and feel no sense of shame at all – because IT’S FOR CHARITY.

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Nicole x Missguided: An Exclusive Preview

nic3It’s no secret that Claire and I are a fan of the occasional girl crush (Iggy Azalia and Nina Nesbitt anyone?). However, it seems that we’ve been leaning more towards the blondes recently, so it’s about time we get some brunettes on our list of girls we wish we looked like.

And what better timing than Missguided’s exciting and huzzah-inducing partnership with Nicole Scherzinger? I think we can all agree that Scherzy is a babe and me and Claire make no secret of our love for Missguided. So lets hit two birds with one stone and give you all an exclusive preview of Scherzy’s new clothing line (Nicole x Missguided) and have a little girl crush on Nicole Scherzy herself.

Black Nicole

White Nicole

Blue NicoleI’m actually quite a big fan of Nicole x Missguided. While I do love Scherzy herself, I’ve never hugely identified with her style before (i.e. me dressing like a genuine tramp most of the time). But there are definitely some pieces that I really love in the collection. I’ve got a huge eyeball on that white shift dress with the fishnet sleeves, which I think I will be giving to myself as a present. I also really, really like the fishnet crop top. I think even though it’s quite a saucy range (ooo-er), it’s also a classy one. There are a lot of night out dresses/outfits in there, which is pretty gosh darn good, since shops seem to have decided to not let us have social lives by with holding normal evening dresses.

All of the bits in Nicole x Missguided were designed by the lady herself, as well as quite obviously modeled by her too. Missguided are telling us that there are lots more exciting styles to come, so I’m excited to see whether we get some more colours in (unfortunately, blue looks TURRIBLE on me). Of course, keep checking back to Missguided for the official launch – but you can sign up to see the collection if you want to have a perv first hand too.

The prices are also really reasonable, especially since its a partnership with a tip top celeb like Scherzy. Most dresses range from £35-£45, tops are anywhere between £15-£25 and skirts/trousers are around £20-£35. I, for one, think that is brillo. I’ve got a feeling that this celebrity partnership may be a better one than some in recent years (sorry Kate for Topshop, you did not work for me).

But what do you girls think? Do you like what you see so far?

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Dirty Looks Hair Extensions in 90s Blonde | Review

HK 1Have you ever got an email that’s made you so happy you want to rip off your own face? We have, and it was when we were recently asked if we would like to review some hair extensions from Dirty LooksI’d seen a couple of reviews of this brand floating around the blogosphere lately (from Liza and Latasha to name but two) and they looked so amazing there was no chance in HELL I was going to pass up an opportunity to try them out. 

HK 2Dirty Looks stock a range of hair extensions, with everything from full sets to ponytails, and even a clip-on fringe. We were asked to review the HK Full Head Hair Extensions, which contains 10 wefts of hair and the mighty Quad Weft which is also available separately.

After a chat with the super helpful Abigail from Dirty Looks, it was decided that I would be best off with the shade 90s Blonde, while Lauren was best suited to St Tropez. Lauren will review her set separately (I’m not her damn slave!), so for now here are my thoughts on the 90s Blonde hair extensions that I received.

HK 3HK 5The first thing to note is how amazingly packaged the hair extensions come. Dirty Looks are such a breath of fresh air after years of buying hair extensions in scabby plastic wallets from grumpy shop owners. The extensions come in a pretty little purple box (perfect for future storage) with spare clips and a really useful guide to using your new extensions.

An especially nice touch is the sample of hair which is provided; you take this out first to check the shade and length is right for you before opening the main packet – this means that if the colour doesn’t suit, then you can easily return and exchange them. 

HK 6The helpful little booklet breaks down exactly where you should place the hair extensions on your head. We’ve all witnessed those tragic sights of really badly blended hair extensions, so this eliminates the chances of us falling victim to it (hurrah!)

HK 7And now onto the hair itself. Oh. My. GAWD. It’s beautiful. I’ve used a lot of hair extensions in my time and can hand on heart say that these are the best quality I’ve had. If you’re completely new to the world of hair extensions and try these out, then you’re going to be impressed. If you’re used to them though, then you’re going to be amazed

Most wefts tend to get thinner towards the bottom, leading to that rat-tail look that is oh so popular with the Snog Marry Avoid birds of society. These, though, are perfectly thick from top to bottom. I opted for the 16-18 inches, which is 160 grams of hair. This in itself is an impressive weight, and you can certainly tell the quality difference if you’re used to buying cheaper hair extensions.

HK 8(Ah, is there a more beautiful sight than all that hair?)

In terms of colour, 90s Blonde is the lightest shade that they stock, and it would definitely be a good match for most bleach blondes. As I’m currently in the grey/platinum club, I was advised that these would be the best base colour for me to tone to match my current hair colour. I applied my usual colourant and I’m pleased to say that they took the colour wonderfully – with no damage afterwards either.

Dirty Looks CollageI’m completely in love with these hair extensions. With prices starting at £69.99 for 12-14″, they’re not the cheapest extensions out there – but this is absolutely a case of getting what you pay for. I already know that the life cycle of this set will be far longer than any cheaper clip-ins that I’ve bought in the past.

The Dirty Looks website is also really helpful in terms of hair advice, with their blog being a particularly good read if you’re into hair extensions. Overall they’re a great brand who are clearly passionate about what they do, which is really nice to see. A huge thumbs up from me.

Have any of you tried Dirty Looks hair extensions? Or would you try them now? 

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Outfit of the Day: 1460 Vintage Rose Dr Martens

OOTD Docs Collage 2Top: New Look / Jeggings: Topshop / Chain: eBay / Doc Martens: c/o Cloggs.co.uk

Oops, the bitch face strikes again. In my defence though, I think when taking these photos I had to settle for a casual bitch face or risk cracking out into the gompiest smile ever, because I’m so IN LOVE with my new Doc Martens!

I know they’re not to everyone’s tastes – most of the boys in the office stared at me blankly when I proudly tried to show them off, while one just said “Er… are they your new gardening shoes?” – but I think they’re absolute beauties. The floral pattern is such a fun take on the traditional 1460 boot, and I know I’ll get plenty of wear out of them (once I’ve eventually broke them in anyway… I’m currently wearing them in bed). A huge thank you to Cloggs for sending these my way; they also stock Converse, Vans, Hunters, UGGs, Jeffrey Campbells and basically every other brand you could want so definitely check them out dear readers!

OOTD Docs Collage 3For their first outing I’ve teamed my beloved boots with my new waffle-texture top from New Look. I chose to finally get on board with the baby pink trend, but they also stock this in pale blue, cream and black. I don’t really venture into New Look all that much these days, but I definitely need to start as this was a little bargain at £12.99 and I think it’s really versatile.

I’m off to gaze at my boots some more now, bye bye and farewell.

What do you all think of this outfit? Let us know in the comments below!

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Barry M Ultra Moisturising Lip Paint in Black Cherry (160) | Review

 

DSCN4409Hi gals,

After a very fashion heavy week (check out yesterday’s River Island Spring/Summer 2014 post, it’s grand), I’m bringing you a little lippy review to keep your beauty heads from exploding. Because I’m pretty positive if you don’t read this review, your head will explode. Definitely.

I picked up this Barry M Ultra Moisturising Lip Paint when I had a Boots haul with Claire a few weeks ago. I’ve been meaning to review it for AGES because it is brilliant, but here it is now and we can all get excited.

The basics of this lipstick is that it’s super super (some might say ultra) moisturising, meaning it won’t dry your lips and flake off like some lippies do. The Ultra Moisturising collection comes in a big range of shades, so whether you’re a fan of shimmering, pastel shades or bright, vibrant shades – there is one for every gal (thank you Queen Lizzy). I’m definitely a vibrant lip fan and frankly think I look a bit dead without a bright colour on my face.  With this in mind, I was excited to get the Lip Paint in Black Cherry (or shade 160 for those who like to communicate by numbers). I bought it for £4.49 from Boots and you can buy it yourself online here.

Overall, I really love it. It really is moisturising, while still being vibrant enough to be mega exciting. It also fades well and doesn’t cling to the outlines of your lips (no one wants to look like Pammy Anderson with too much lipliner on).

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Lipstick Collage

My only bug bear is the colour on the lipstick stick versus the actual colour of the lipstick. If you wound this down to have a nosey at what colour it is, it looks practically black. Or at the very least a super dark purple. Once you’ve swatched it or put it on your face, it’s actually a much lighter pinky/purple – still pretty, but somewhat unexpected. You’d think that Barry M would be able to get the colour of the lipstick stick and the swatch colour the same by now. Come on guys. Fix up.

Besides that (which isn’t really a complaint at all, I just like to complain), I really love this lipstick and recommend it to all you gals who like slathering purple colours on your face. Triumphant huzzahs all round.

What do you think? Have you tried any of the Barry M Ultra Moisturising Lip Paints?

River Island Spring/Summer 2014 Collection: Best Of

Another day, another S/S14 collection to lust over.Now that we’re officially into March, I say it’s officially time we all cast off our scarves and throw our coats in the bin . No, I don’t care if you get frostbite and your nip-nips become razor sharp weapons – winter is over and spring is here, rejoice!

River Island are the latest high street retailer to be flaunting their new season wares all over the internet (you can check out their full S/S14 trends page by clicking that there link) , and below I’ve gathered some of the pieces into the key trends that RI look to be pushing this year. A warning in advance: you may need sunglasses just to look at this lot. One thing River Island has never been is subtle, is it?

River Island 1Trend 1: Pink, Pink, Loads of Pinks

There really is no way to escape it, this year truly is all about the colour pink. Whereas other retailers are sticking to pale shades, River Island are embracing each and every tone of pink they can get their filthy fashion hands on. Fuchsia, salmon, dusky, pastel, neon and candyfloss pinks are all getting their time to shine (quite literally in the case of that metallic skirt). River Island 2Trend 2:  Tropical/Psychedelic/Tacky-As-Hell Prints

I struggled with what to call this trend, so figured I would go with the obvious. The amount of print in the new collection is sure to make your eyes bleed as soon as you walk into your local River Island, but after a winter of dark florals and cutesy heart prints, I think it’s actually kind of refreshing. Yes, people might ask you if you’re wearing these items as some sort of joke, but what do they know? Team with your prints with other bold items to really go to town on the look.

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Trend 3: Cool Toned Futuristic Space Woman Clothes

Ask yourself, what will fashion-conscious space people of the future wear? Then look above – that is what they will wear. Clean lines and cool metallics feature quite heavily in the new collection, meaning that we can look all futuristic and alien-like but TODAY – which is just great news.

So there we have it. River Island definitely seem to be going quite brave this season, but what do you think?

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