Makeup Crush: Kelly Brook

As well as my new regular Style Crush of the week, I also wanted to start up a Makeup Crush post to show where I draw inspiration from.  I always find these kind of posts fun and sometimes they can encourage you to try something you wouldn't normally consider.  Over the time I have been blogging, I've started trying lots of makeup looks that I never thought would suit me...but sometimes you get a surprise and realise that it actually looks good.  I love seeing how celebs achieve their makeup looks and possibly find out what products they used.  I will try my best to find out what products were used in the looks I post but obviously it's not always possible to find out.  I personally avoid those 'promotional' pages in magazines where they only push one brand...diversity is the spice of life and I use both high end and drugstore/pharmacy products in my daily routine. 

Today's makeup crush is Kelly Brook who is sporting an almost Kim Kardashian combo of soft smokey eye and nude lip.  Now I know that not everyone is fond of the nude lip but I personally love it and I think Kelly looks amazing in this picture.  Granted there will have been some airbrushing as that's to be expected nowadays but let's just put that aside and concentrate on the makeup.

This look was created by Troy Jensen who's clients include Kim Kardashian, Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Lopez, Salma Hayek, Megan Fox and Nicole Scherzinger.  On his site he seems to punt one brand for each celeb look he does...not sure if that's to do with sponsorship or what but I'm sure there would be cheaper dupes you could use. 

In this particular look, he said he used Guerlain products so for the record, here's a rundown...

Guerlain Parure Aqua Foundation

Guerlain Glow Enhancing Perfector

Guerlain Tailor Made Bronzing Powder (Brunettes)

Guerlain Illuminating Perfecting Pressed Powder (Rose Frais)

Guerlain Mono Eyeshadows in L'Instant Nuit & L'Instant Prucieux

Guerlain Eyeliner and Eyeshadow in Smokey Metal

Guerlain Loose Powder in Noir

Guerlain Eyebrow Pencil in Brun

Guerlain Eye Pencil in Khol Me Black

Guerlain Two Brush Mascara in Noir 2 Noir

Sephora Collection Lashes

Guerlain Jewel Lipstick Compact in Gardenia

Guerlain Moisturising Sun Shimmer Gloss in Sable

Take that with a pinch of salt if you will because I'm never that convinced when makeup artists claim to use products all from the same brand.  But if there's something you see in the pic that you like, then maybe it will give you an idea of what to look at next time you pass the Guerlain counter.

I reckon you could use the Sleek Smokey Eye Palette to create the look above.  Urban Decay's 24/7 pencil in Zero would be great as soft definition for the eyes, with Bobbi Brown Longwear Gel Eyeliner in Black close to the lashes.  You could use one of the brown toned Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadows as a base to stop the eyes from looking too dark.  For the flawless skin, I think my current foundation would be perfect (Estee Lauder Double Wear).  He hasn't used any blush on this look, he just used a quad bronzer, utilising the darker shades as contour shades.  Any highlighter such as the one you get in Sleek's Contour palette would suffice, or Dior's Shimmer Powder in Amber Diamond would look amazing.  I think my favourite nude lipstick Estee Lauder Pure Colour lipstick in Vanilla Truffle would be perfect for this look with some Mac Cremesheen in Boy Bait on top.

This may not be everyone's cup of tea but I think Kelly looks stunning in this picture.  She normally rocks a retro red lip when she does red carpet appearances and that looks amazing on her too.  There's something very sultry and sexy about a subtely smokey eye and the secret is all in the blending to make sure there aren't any harsh lines.  Often you will find that layering the colours is the key to creating a really blended, effective eye.

On another note, how AMAZING was Natalie Imbruglia's makeup on the 'judge's house' episodes of the X Factor at the weekend?! I tried to find pictures of that look but they were all too blurry.  I heart that makeup though! She looked incredible!

Who is your makeup crush at the moment?

Rise Fashion

I was flicking through the latest copy of Look magazine and I noticed a new clothes brand/website called Rise. 

I have never heard of or seen this brand before so I was intrigued to see what they had to offer.  Beverly Knight is the face of the brand and apparently they supplied many high street stores until they decided to start up a brand all of their own.  Alot of the dresses look very similar to those you would find in Monsoon, French Connection, Oasis and Warehouse BUT with more affordable price tags. 

The sizes range from 8-16 and the good news is that they ship worldwide.  There's also an Outlet Store on the website where alot of the stock is sold at a reduced price.

They have alot of lovely dresses however they really need to expand their range of tops, skirts, accessories lines etc.  Most of the styles are right up my street...embellished and glam! These are a few of my favourite items on the website...

Ursula Grey Dress Price £35

I will definitely be picking up a couple of items from this site soon and I will do a post on that to let you know what the quality/service is like.

Have you bought anything from this website? What were your thoughts?

I just thought I would also give you a quick update on what's happening with my dad.  Me, my mum and my older brother were all at the hospital yesterday while dad got the stent procedure done.  They found out that the artery at the back of his heart was completely blocked so they had to clear that and insert two stents.  It all went really well and dad was fine when he got out.  They said that if all is fine today then they will let him go home.  I know he can't wait to get out of there and experience some home comforts again.  I am feeling a bit exhausted today to be honest, I think all the stress just caught up with me in one go.  I was on autopilot before but now I feel a bit rundown.  Nothing some rest and relaxation won't fix though! Thanks again for all your good wishes over the past couple of days.

I Am Gobsmacked...

I was catching up on my blog reading list tonight and after I read this post by Nicolavc86, I was completely gobsmacked to learn that there are forums dedicated to trashing gurus.  I had no idea such things existed! I am not going to post links to these sites because they don't deserve any more attention, but I am aware that this post is highlighting the fact that they are there BUT I felt so strongly about it that I just wanted to vent on here.

First of all, after everything that has happened with my dad this week, after realising how short life really is, I just can't get my head around the fact that there are so many people out there on the internet who waste their lives spewing venimous, absurd and slanderous accusations, commenting on the physical appearance of the gurus in an extremely personal and spiteful way and generally launching a full scale character assasination on their chosen hate victim. I actually became quite upset reading some of the comments and I closed the window down after reading a handful.

I became so upset because it's hard to fathom that there are people out there with such hate inside them, such bitterness and the audacity to post such awful thing about someone they have never met before. I mean, just because these gurus are bloggers and youtubers and give us an insight into their lives DOES NOT mean that it's ok to tear them to pieces. I'm all for free speech but there's a big difference between giving an opinion and picking someone apart unnecessarily. I've always been of the opinion that if you don't have anything nice to say, keep your mouth shut and if they don't like someone's YouTube videos or blog, then they can always unsubscribe! No one is forcing them to read or watch this stuff! That's what really gets me.

With that in mind, I can only come to one conclusion...that these people relish ripping people to shreds, in the vain attempt to "bring them down a notch or two". The only person they have brought down is themselves, because any decent person reading those forums would be as appalled as I was. These people take pleasure in critisising gurus who, on the whole, are doing what they do to help and advise people.  If you think someone is annoying, has no style or rubbish hair...fine, but keep it to yourself.  Why would you want to set out to intentionally hurt someone's feelings? You don't know what might be going on in their lives, they may have stress to deal with and you may be contributing to that....that's not big and it's not clever.

I can tell you something, if these people said the things they have to a REAL person in the street, they all would have been lamped by now! No one would stand for that kind of behaviour in the real world and that's why the majority of these people hide behind anonymous profiles, because they know what they are doing is wrong, it's not ok, it's not justified and they are scared of the backlash they may create if people knew who they really were.  Their inboxes would be full to the brim with protests and angry emails.  Hate breeds hate and that's a sad fact of life.  But these people should remember this famous quote about jealousy..."If malice or envy were tangible and had a shape, it would be the shape of a boomerang".

I am so sick and tired of seeing comments like "who does she think she is?"...."her face is lop-sided"..."she needs to get a better camera".  Well...if they think they are so perfect then why don't they start up their own channel? I'll tell you why...because not many people would follow a blog or channel that continuously trashes other people and encourages hate towards other human beings.  Who wants that kind of negativity in their lives? I have always believed that you get back what you give out.  If you are a happy and positive person, you will generally get that back.  If you are a jealous and hateful person, then you will wither inside and be a very lonely person. 

You're not going to like EVERY guru on here or YouTube but keep in mind that they are human beings too and they have feelings.  So people should think twice before they post a negative comment because their words could make a bad day worse for that person.

What I'm really trying to say is that I wish those people would just grow up, get a life and stop being so petty. 

Rant over.

Style Crush Of The Week: Mollie King

I wasn't going to blog much this week because I've been really stressed over my dad's ill health but I decided that I would do some posts since it's something I enjoy doing and it takes my mind off things.  I just wanted to say thank you so much to you guys for all your lovely heartfelt good wishes for me, my dad and my family.  It means alot to me to know that you are thinking of me.  My dad is still in hospital and awaiting the stent procedure, which is when they insert a small device into your wrist, feed it up to your heart and it inflates to expand the artery that has become too narrow.  There's a big waiting list so we have our fingers crossed he will get that done soon.  I think more than the physical effects of the heart attack, it has really affected my dad mentally.  He is a big, strong, tough guy from Toxteth in Liverpool and he always prided himself on being a protective and caring dad.  I think this has knocked him for 6 and as a man, he feels vulnerable and unable to care for/protect his family whilst he is incapacitated.  He is a very strong person though and I know he will get through this difficult time and emerge even stronger than before. I will keep you guys updated on how things are going.

I decided to start this new regular post because I'm always spotting celebs with enviable style...be it their own or that of their stylists! Wouldn't it be fabulous to have someone on hand to advise you on what to wear every day!  I'm aware that not all celebs work with stylists and some prefer to put together their own outfits.  I would say that pop stars have the most help in this area because they're constantly being styled for music videos, tv appearances and the like.  They probably pick up alot of tricks and tips along the way and develop their own version of the latest trends.

Someone who has been catching my attention alot lately has been Mollie King from the girl band, The Saturdays.  Girl bands have come along way since the likes of Bewitched and the Spice Girls where they often wore matching (more often than not, ridiculous) outfits.  Nowadays, they like to take a more subtle approach and seem to deviate more towards wearing outfits that compliment eachother but still show their individual personalities.  It always seems that girl bands wear crappy matching clothes when they first appear on the music scene, then as they gradually become more popular and get more exposure, their fashion sense miraculously improves (I'm thinking of Girls Aloud and The Sugababes).

Back to Mollie though, who bears an incredible resemblance to another British beauty, Sienna Miller.  I have to say that I pretty much love EVERYTHING that Mollie wears nowadays.  Her daytime looks are my favourite aspect of her style.  They are quite simple, with hardly any fussy details but I love that she looks so well put together...it's laid back glamour at it's best.  She keeps her accessories basic, a tan belt here...a fine chain necklace there, but there's never loads of fuss.  I always think that women look best when they don't look like they have tried TOO hard.  She seems to base alot of her looks on neutral tones but adds fresher tones with whites and bright colours.  Her shoes are often quite neutral but us girls all know that when you buy a neutral toned shoe, it's gonna go with 99% of what's in your wardrobe!  Who can argue with that???

Mollie is the type of girl we would all like to be friends with, she always looks effortlessly cool...attempting knee high socks can be dodgy but she makes them look fantastic.  I think her style is so accessible because stores like Reiss, Warehouse, Dune and Top Shop are full of these types of pieces so you wouldn't have to spend a fortune to get something similar. 

I don't see Mollie as being a super polished, designer draped, celeb like Cheryl Cole, Kim Kardashian or Sarah Jessica Parker BUT she is a pop star version of the girl next door, she's a regular in the best dressed sections of magazines and I always look forward to see what she's wearing.  She doesn't wear anything Lady GaGa-groundbreaking...but who's wardrobe would you prefer to raid for your everyday life?

Who is your style crush at the moment?

Bad News

Hi guys,

I just wanted to do a quick post to say that I probably won't be blogging much this week because my dad had a heart attack on Friday and he has been in hospital since then.  He is over the worst of it, thank god, and he's on the mend slowly.  It was just a shock to all of us because he doesn't smoke, he doesn't drink that much and he is active and does a fair amount of exercise.  They think it's hereditary so it's the luck of the draw really.  I have been visiting him every day with Chris and trying to cheer him up and keep his mind off things.  His sense of humour is definitely intact because he still has the liverpool cheeky chappy side to him!

When things like this happen, it really makes you take stock of your life and realise how lucky you are to have your loved ones around you.  It's sad that sometimes it takes a shock like this to remind you to live every day to the fullest, but it's something we all have to keep in the forefront of our minds.  

Kim Kardashian Bikini Shoot

Kim Kardashian Bikini Shoot