Kim Kardashian suns herself by the pool ion Miami

Kim Kardashian suns herself by the pool ion Miami

Style Crush: Jessica Alba

Seeing celebs like Jessica Alba reminds us all that just because you become a mother, does not mean you have to instantly become a frump.  Her casual attire is fabulously simple but with a cool edge and her red carpet looks are beautifully girly with an ever so slight side of toughness.

I would love to raid her shoe closet because I love everything she pops on her tootsies!  I really love how she doesn't over-accessorise and she leaves the clothes (and her beauty) to speak for themselves.  Alot of celebrities try to to develop a style but more often than not, it looks like the clothes are wearing them instead of the other way around.  Jessica manages to look feminine, chic, cool and stylish all rolled into one.

Now, onto one of the products that have been hopping into my favourites box this week.  Basically, I have a box that I keep all my daily makeup items in and I change it up every week to make sure I'm not falling into a rut with the products I use.  This also makes it easier to identify the overall favourites because they are the ones that stay in the box week after week.  Here's one of the products that has been living in the box for a while now... 

I often struggle with my eyebrows because, as I have mentioned many times before, the outer half of my brows are so blonde that they don't show up.  So, I have to draw my brows in every day which is a bit of a pain as it often depends on how steady my hands are on that day!  There have been some days when I think I have done a good job, then on later inspection, I realised that my brows didn't match at all!  I have always loved the saying that brows are sisters, not twins but I think I took that too far.  Because of this, I always welcome any products that can make the job easier. 

Clinique Superfine Liner for Brows in Soft Blonde has been my saviour because the ultra fine, self sharpening tip is perfect for people like me who need extra help with shaping their brows.  The colour is perfect for me and with soft, feathery movements, I can create perfect (matching) brows every day.  Phew!

I have thought about getting my eyebrows tinted but I've never had that done before so i'm not sure how much of a difference it would make.  Any advice/tips anyone?

Now onto a hair product that has blown me away this week...Phyto Pre-Shampoo Intense Hydrating Oil Treatment.  I am often dubious about oil treatments because I have fine hair that gets greasy at the roots and dry at the ends.  I have tried oil treatments before and have never been that enamoured with them - with the exception of Macadamia Oil Treatment which I use on damp hair before styling.  This oil treatment contains essential oils like Castor Plant Oil, Sage, Rosemary, Juniper Berries and Lemon Oils.  The difference with this Phyto product is that you apply it to dry hair, leave it in for 30 mins and then wash it out.  You get 6 vials in the pack and also a little spray bottle to apply it to the hair.  Now you may be thinking the same thing as I initially did..."how can it make that much of a difference to the condition of my hair when I will be washing it out?"

I followed the instructions and used a mild shampoo to wash my hair, then I used my normal Sebastian Penetraitt Conditioner.  My hair felt 'squeaky' clean afterwards which is always a good sign for me as I don't want anything weighing my fine hair down.  This formula is water soluble so you can be sure that there won't be any oily residue left behind. The first thing I noticed was that my hair was that little bit easier to comb through when wet.  But the real difference could be seen when I dried my hair.  I noticed as I was drying it in sections that my hair felt really soft and smooth and seemed to just fall into place without being weighed down with any product.  The shine was incredible though, so much so that Chris even commented and asked me if I used anything different on my hair!  The true sign of greatness is when your partner notices something!

My hair just looks totally revitalised and I couldn't believe how healthy it looked after the treatment!  I am at that stage where I need to get my highlights done so my hair wasn't in the best condition i.e. the ends were getting split and dry.  But this treatment managed to conceal the damage to the ends of my hair and make it look sleek again...Fab!  This treatment has also been recommended for use directly before colouring your hair because it locks in the colour and prevents any damage.  I love it!

Makeup Crush: Megan Fox

Just when you think Megan Fox can't look any better...this happens...

This was a look she wore for a Thanksgiving appearance on the Jay Leno show last year.  I love the soft, retro feel to it with the set waves and flicked liner...she looks like an old fashioned hollywood starlet!  This is probably my all time favourite makeup look because it looks great on everyone.  I know some people may think that it's too 'safe' or boring but there's alot to be said for sticking to what suits you.  I don't see any point in wearing crazy bright makeup if it doesn't suit you.  After all, makeup is about accentuating your natural features and enhancing what you already have.  Sometimes less is more and in this case, the simplicity of the radiant, flawless skin, subtely sultry eyes and nude lips are just perfection.  I personally think that this is the best I have ever seen Megan look.

This is another Troy Jensen makeup look and here are the products he used:

Benefit High Beam

Cle De Peau Beaute Concealer

Cle De Peau Beaute Fluid Foundation

Guerlain Meteorites Illuminating Pearls

Cle De Peau Beaute Cheek Colour in no.1

Cle De Peau Beaute Transluscent Face Powder

Cle De Peau Beaute Eyebrow & Eyeliner Compact

Guerlain Brow Shaping Kit

Clinique Quick Eyes Cream Shadow in Sparkling Nude

Guerlain Teracotta Mineral Shadow in Holy Smoke

Guerlain Summer Splash Eyeshadow Palette

Guerlain Divinora Liquid Eyeliner

Guerlain Le 2 de Guerlain Mascara

Dior Glossy Liner in Soft Nude Beige

Dior Addict Ultra Gloss Reflect Lipgloss in Beige Velvet 127

I think this is a very achievable look, there's no skillful blending or makeup trickery required...just a sparkling beige eyeshadow, a couple of varying taupe eyeshadows and a black liquid liner.  Everyone has that in their makeup arsenal.

My Favourite Eyeshadows

I thought I would do a post on some of my favourite eyeshadows in my collection.  I love it when other bloggers do these kinds of posts as it gives me a chance to see what else is out there and whether I need to add some new additions to my collection.  I love neutrals in the daytime but I prefer to experiment with a bit of colour for night time looks.  Here's a rundown of my favourite eyeshadows....

You know how much I love metallic eyeshadows and this has to be the daddy of all of them because the colours are so rich, pigmented and just plain gorgeous.  There is a yellow gold, a rose gold and a metallic taupe...pure heaven!  The fact that it's called 18 Carat just makes it seem even more opulent but without the massive price tag.

The Sleek palettes are a big with lots of bloggers and there's a good reason for that.  They're cheap, great quality and there's a good range of colours to suit everyone.  My favourite is the Graphite palette because it gives you the chance to create a blue toned smokey eye which is a nice twist on the usual greys and blacks.

Korres are a great brand for eyeshadows and my favourites have to be the Bronze one for an intense hit of metallic colour on the lid and the White shade to pale out any eyeshadows that are too harsh for me.  It also works really well as a highlight for the inner eye!

Mac have to be the best brand for variety of shades but as we all know they can be a bit hit or miss when it comes to the texture, depending on the finish you choose.  A couple of my favourites for a bit of colour are Parfait Amour, an amazing duo chrome purple and Shimmer Moss, a gorgeous iridescent green.  Parfait Amour creates the most gorgeous look when combined with Gesso, a matte white, as a highlighter.

This has to be my most used Mac 4 shadow palette that contains Woodwinked, Mulch, Nked Lunch and Satin Taupe.  These can be combined to create the perfect neutral eye with a bit of definition.  Woodwinked is an amazing gold toned brown that just makes my mouth water every time I swatch it! Mulch is a warmer toned brown that is great for adding definition on the lash line, it is great for accentuating blue eyes.  Naked Lunch is the perfect all over lid shade and also a great highlight colour.  Finally, everyone's best friend, Satin Taupe is a grey toned brown that acts as a fantastic crease colour and looks exceptional with Mac Mutiny Pigment!

Rouge Bunny Rouge is unquestionably one of the best choices for eyeshadows if you fancy treating yourself to a product with luxury packaging, a buttery smooth texture and amazing pigmentation.  This shade, Periwinkle Cardinal is a soft green that would work incredibly well with Mac Shimmer Moss.  This is such a wearable shade and is really flattering on fair to medium skin tones. 

Urban Decay are always a good bet if you want eyeshadows with a bit of pazzaz! Strip is a metallic blue that looks gorgeous as a lid shade for a smokey eye.  It would look amazing against brown eyes! Maui Wowie is just a jaw droppingly shiny, metallic silver beige and looks especially good with thick black flicked eyeliner.  So that's my fave eyeshadows...what are your picks from your collection? Are there any that you think are must haves?

On another note, I was shopping in town with my besty, Pamela, yesterday and I didn't intend to buy anything...how many times have you told yourself that? ha ha.  We were browsing in H&M and we spotted these fab black leggings with metal embellishments down the outer sides of the legs.  On checking the price tag, they were only £7.99 so I just had to have them!  Pamela said to me "well, you have to ask yourself if you really NEED them"...I then turned to her and said "It NEVER has anything to do with whether I NEED them...it's a must have Pam!"

Weekend Update And A Review

Wow...what a busy (predominantly alcohol-fuelled) weekend! It's not big or clever kids! Myself, Chris and some friends went out on Friday night for some 'quiet' drinks...but somehow we got back to the flat at around 3am...not sure how that happened?! Then on Saturday night we went out for dinner with 3 other couples to a new Brazilian Steakhouse called Tropeiro in Aberdeen.  It was my first time trying Brazilian food and I have to say that it was delicious! The whole concept of the restaurant is that there is a big salad bar with rice, potatoes, exotic coleslaws, amazing spicy sauces etc and then the waiters come around the tables with chicken, beef, lamb and pork on skewers and carve it for you.  All the meats were SO tasty, So flavour-some and really tender.  It's a really laid back place so it's a great place to go with a group of friends. 

After the meal, we intended to call it a night since we had been out the night before BUT in usual style, someone who will remain nameless, suggested we go for cocktails at a lovely place called Mim.  It's a contemporary fusion restaurant/bar and they do the most AMAZING cocktails I've ever had.  I particularly like the french and strawberry daiquiris! Yum!  After alot of laughs, alot of chat and quite a few cocktails, we headed home and needless to say we were all suffering on Sunday morning!  A walk on Aberdeen beach sorted that out though!...yes Aberdeen actually has a beach!

And guess what??? The wedding DVD arrived!!! I was so excited when it dropped through the letterbox yesterday morning and it looks so professional! I had to wait ALL day to watch it because I promised Chris I wouldn't watch it until he got home.  It was torture!  The dvd is amazing and I love how it turned out...it is totally worth the money because having a film like that of our special day is priceless! 

Although I would love to share it with you guys, I have made the decision not to post clips on my blog because I'm sure you can understand that it's a very personal piece of film which features my loved ones and I just can't open them up to the public domain.  I don't want just anyone watching it and by that, I don't mean my regular subscribers/readers.  What I mean is that I don't want horrible anonymous comments that have been doing the rounds on blogs lately.  It would break my heart to have someone criticising something that is so close to my heart so I decided to just post clips of it on my Facebook page instead. 

As soon as I got the dvd's, I phoned my mum and she drove all the way into town just to pick up her copy.  I also posted a copy to Chris' mum because I know she's dying to see it too.  Mum turned up at the flat with a present for me too! She bought me a gorgeous dusky pink longline blouse from Next that is in a smock style, gathered under the bust with a babydoll feel to it.  Basically it's fitted at the bust and then becomes kind of floaty.  I love it!  It will be perfect with my new black jeggings. So thank you mum!

I picked up the Max Factor False Lash Effect mascara from Boots on Sunday because I wanted to try a new mascara for every day use.  Something that's quick and easy to apply with minimal faffing around and maximum impact.  I have heard some good things about this mascara so expectations were reasonably high. 

First off, the rubber wand is probably the fattest one I have come across with very short spikes.  I wasn't sure how that would work as a mascara wand but I was willing to keep an open mind.  The wand is a bit awkward to use in my opinion and on more than one occasion, I ended up touching my face or lid with it and getting transfer of the product.  I'm always really careful with my mascara because I'm a bit of a perfectionist but this one is tricky.  I guess you just have to be extra careful with this wand so it's definitely not a mascara for anyone who speeds through their makeup every morning. 

Once applied, the mascara gives reasonably good length and a bit of volume too but I would prefer if it gave me more volume at the root of the lashes.  Once the mascara has dried it doesn't budge and there no flaking or smudging which is a plus.  This mascara only costs £7.99 so when you put it up against the YSL or Lancome ones then yes, it is good value for money because it does perform quite well.  But something about this mascara just doesn't do it for me.  I like to get more volume in my lashes and this kind of made them look too sparse when they are anything but at the moment (I have been using my Revitlash and Loreal Renewal Sreum religiously!).  I would probably give this mascara 6 out of 10 but I don't think I will be repurchasing.  I actually prefer the result you get from their cult product 2000 Calorie...that mascara allows you to build really dramatic lashes!

Style Crush, OOTD & New Look Haulage

My style crush for this week is the only British Victoria's Secret model...Rosie Huntington-Whitely.  So we all know how incredibly stunning she is but she also has great style from what I can tell.  I love her casual looks of skinny jeans or leggings, leather jackets and colourful scarfs.  Whenever she dresses down, she mixes high street stuff like All Saints and Top Shop with flea market vintage pieces and some designer pieces too.  I always feel like it's better to mix high street and designer because it brings more character and diversity to an outfit.  Anyone can throw on a designer outfit, straight off the catwalk but it takes real style and imagination to mix genres and pricetags.

Even when she amps it up and gets glam, it always looks effortless because of her loose, wavy, flowing locks.  The epitome of cool is when you can come across like you haven't even tried!

I love the fact that she can dress in a sexy way without being too obvious, it's never brash or in your face, just a touch of leather here, a short skirt there.  I guess it helps when you have the body of a supermodel though!ha ha.  But in all seriousness, be it casual wear or red carpet attire, she always looks well put together and chic.

I often get asked about my 'style' on here and to be honest I wouldn't have a clue on how to sum it up in one word.  I wouldn't say I'm on the cutting edge of fashion as I tend to stick to classical stuff that I know suits my figure and lifestyle.  I tend to have basic staples like a black blazer, a white shirt or skinny jeans and I mix it up with on trend shoes, bags and accessories.  I never wear all black because I'm addicted to colour so I need at least one accessory or piece of clothing with a burst of colour.  Brights colours make me happy and they boost your mood!

Yesterday, I nipped into town to have a nosey around New Look and also to set out on my mission to get those sheepskin trim boots I have harping on about for the past week! 

Well when I got to New Look, there was only one pair left in the whole store and they were my size!  I think we can all agree that a divine force wanted me to have those boots! ha ha...that's the way I like to see it anyway!  I always thought they were black from all the pics I had seen in magazines but they are actually dark brown. I snatched them off the shelf and toddled off to the changing rooms with a pair of black 'jeggings' over my arm.  The boots are £34.99 and despite the fact they are quite high, they are actually incredibly comfortable and easy to walk in!  I ended up buying the boots and the jeggings and here's what the boots look like with my outfit of the day (apologies for the rubbish quality of the photo...I dream of owning an SLR soon!):

 I'm wearing a long white shirt, gathered under the bust from H & M, a plain white vest top under that from Zara, black ankle length leggings from Ebay, a black waterfall front blazer from Warehouse and my new booties from New Look!  The gorgeous pink and coral patterned scarf was a present from my brother's girlfriend.  She brought it back from Qatar in the summer and I adore it because it has a lovely sheen to it...

The big, brown leather bag in the first photo was one I picked up on honeymoon from Kuala Lumpur.  My everyday style isn't particularly dynamic but I do like to look smart and I generally wear heels most days. Here's a pic without the scarf...

The long necklace I am wearing is one I picked up in a boutique shop called Fran & Jane in Cork but I have recently seen it here on the Tallulah Tu website in gold instead of silver, like the one I have.  I always get compliments on this necklace because it is really unique and really adds something special to outfits.  It's one of my favourite pieces of jewellery...

This is actually the first EVER pair of jeggings I have purchased because I think I had seen too many people wearing them in the wrong way and was put off them a bit.  They always seemed to be unflattering but that's probably because the girls I saw where wearing them with short, tight tops and it just didn't look good at all.  I think the secret for curvier girls is to wear a longline top or blouse or cardigan with them to flatter your figure.  After trying on these black ones in New Look, I knew I had to buy them because they were SO comfortable and they really do give the illusion of wearing skinny jeans.

The ones I bought were £19.99, they have an elasticated waist, pockets on the back, horizontal sweeping seams across the knees and a thin black velvet strip that runs down the outer side of the legs...

 I really like these details that add a very subtle military/utility edge to the jeggings.  They look perfect with my new boots and I know I will get LOADS of use out of them for the colder months.

The last thing I bought from New Look was this braided leather bracelet covered in crystals.  It just adds a little bit of sparkle to everyday outfits and everyone needs a nit of sparkle in their lives!

It was £3.99 and has metal cuffs to protect the ends with a small metal chain to fasten.

I hope you enjoyed my very first OOTD and hopefully I can do some again soon.  Have a lovely weekend everyone! xxx