Merry Christmas Everyone

Just a quick note everyone to say I won't be blogging until the new year now as spending our first Christmas with our baby girl but would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Hope you all get spoilt!!

Here is a pic of my friend Jade (left) and me (right) on our works Christmas party!!

 

Have a great time everyone! Hope Santa is good to you all!!

 

 

 

Clothes Show Live 2013.

So last week was the annual Clothes Show Live in Birmingham at the NEC. This year was it's 25th anniversary. I've ventured to the Clothes Show Live for the past 10 years and every year I have absolutely loved it. It normally runs for 5 days and has hundreds of stalls to browse. Included in the ticket price you get to watch the fashion show in the renowned Fashion Theatre. This year it was sponsored by the new Alcatel One Touch.

I was lucky enough, along with my friends to get complimentary tickets due to me knowing someone involved in the Clothes Show Live.

 

 

 This person happens to be one of my best friends Scott Innes. You may know him from being in the band Times Red on 2012 X Factor. Scott had a performing slot on The BINTM Stage, The Style Stage and also the Alcatel One Touch Fashion Theatre where he performed two tracks, the fan favourite 'Next To Me' and the touching Water Into Wine. If you would like to find out more about Scott Innes you can do so by the following.

Twitter : @ScottInnesMusic

YouTube : http://www.youtube.com/user/ritchies123?feature=watch

>

 

 

 

This year it seemed that the main trends at The Clothes Show Live were either Tartan or Sparkly dresses. Both, for me personally, are welcome trends. I did, however find that when it came to the stalls that the Beauty section was amazing this year in comparison. However I did find a couple of stalls were very popular and had a lot of people talking. The one that caught my eye the most was the following........

Inkdoll Apparel

The creator behind Inkdoll is Sally Axl. You may recognise the name as she was one of the stars on this years Big Brother on Channel 5. She's a hard working mum who is outspoken and honest with an amazing work ethic and style to match and quite frankly, I admire her a hell of a lot. The clothes we're incredibly on trend and the stall at The Clothes Show Live always looked busy with the girls being friendly and approachable to every customer. All the prices were affordable too!

My fave item of clothing was this Exclusive Pastel Neon Vest which retails at £24.99.

You can visit the InkDoll website here http://inkdollapparel.bigcartel.com/products

 

In regards to Beauty this year the Models Own stand was without a doubt the best for both range a value for money.

 

For £10 you could choose any 3 polishes from their range and you got a number of free gifts included too which included this Limited Edition Nail Polish which was only available at The Clothes Show Live!

 

 

If you are running out of gift ideas for people or just want to treat yourself, Models Own are doing a great offer on their polishes at the moment which you can see below. Just type in the code on checkout to claim this brilliant offer!

 

 

The Fashion show in the Alcatel One Touch Fashion theatre was incredible again this year. It was based around a garden party theme and was jam packed full of over 200 costume changes! Without a doubt though, my favourite outfit of the whole show was this one, i'm just disappointed I didn't find out who the designer was!

 

 

We saw a lot of celebrities whilst we were at the Clothes Show Live from Towie, Made In Chelsea, Geordie Shore and we also saw Union J who were brilliant! The highlight celeb spot for me though was meeting the amazing Henry Holland who was absolutely lovely and even posed for a picture!!

 

Did you go to the Clothes Show Live? If so what did you like/dislike about this years event?!

 

 

 



 

GHD Final Fix Hairspray & GHD Heat Protection Spray

 

I've been a huge fan of GHD and their products for a number of years now and recently have started using their Final Fix hairspray and their Heat Protection spray, and I have to say, I've been very impressed with them both.

 

The Final fix hairspray I've been using comes in a 400ml bottle and is fast becoming my favourite hairspray. I like big volume hair, especially on a night out, and I find that this hairspray holds my hair in position perfectly. On the bottle it's described as having a firm but soft touch hold to keep your finished style in place, suitable for all hair types and humidity resistant. You might say it does exactly what it says on the tin! As I have naturally wavy hair in the heat a tiny bit of humidity and I look like Monica from Friends in the Bahamas episode! So I'm thankful for the humidity resistance this brings!

 

To use it directs to gently mist 30cm away from your hair for a lasting hold.

 

 

 

 

 

In regards to straightening hair it's so important for your hair to use a heat protection spray. As I've been using GHD hair straighteners for a number of years now I use the heat protection spray as I see it as compatible with my choice of straightener! It definitely leaves my hair looking and feeling a lot smoother. The Heat Protection Spray itself comes in a 120ml bottle and it's advised on the GHD website to apply the heat protection spray first before layering your hair with other products. This advice, however, is not written on the bottle. It's also advised to spritz from root to tip (at around 6-8 sprays for mid - long hair) and comb through to ensure that the product is distributed evenly throughout the hair before using a styler or hair dryer.

 

 

I'd definitely recommend these GHD products and will also be doing another GHD related blog post soon on the amazing GHD Eclipse styler!!

 

 

The GHD Final Fix Hairspray retails at £9.95 and can be found on the GHD website here

 

The GHD Heat Protection Spray retails at £9.95 and can be found on the GHD website here



If you use, or have tried any of GHD'S products let me know what you think !



Kate Spade Nail Polishes for Nails INC

As a sucker for a beauty and fashion bargain I was absolutely delighted when I spotted these nail polishes as a freebie with this months Glamour Magazine.

They come in 4 shades, Soho Silver, Big Apple Red, New York Noir and Uptown Glamour. I have become slightly obsessed with the Big Apple Red and New York Noir Shades!! When on my nails I have only needed 2 coats and I have found the polish to be reliable and not chip. I found the drying time to be rather quick for these polishes too!

The Polishes retail at £11 each normally. Glamour magazine is on sale for £2 so to get one of these polishes really is a value for money! They are full size 10ml bottles and the whole set would normally be worth a massive £44 so to get all 4 for £8 is great!

Have you got any of these polishes? Which ones are your favourites?

Accessorize - Head Over Heels Intense Colour Lipstick

 

 

Accessorize Head Over Heels Intense Colour Lipstick

I've been after a red lipstick now for a while and with the run up to Christmas I've been on a bit of a budget so I thought that I would have a browse of the Accessorize website. Having been a huge fan of the Accessorize make up range for a while now I knew they would have something and they didn't let me down. After a few minutes browsing their amazing make up range I stumbled upon this little beauty of a lipstick. It was just what I wanted and even better it was on sale at £1.50. Normally the lipstick retails at £5.00 and you will find in the concession stand in your local Superdrug that it will cost £5.00 there but even still, I would still pay £5.00 for this lipstick as the quality is so good.

The packaging of the lipstick, as you can see below, is different to the one shown above. The one I've been sent feels of quite a cardboard texture but looks great. I've done a swatch on my hand so you can see what the make up looks like on the skin. I've also posted a picture of myself wearing it.. This lipstick I feel would go great with nearly any outfit and will also look amazing on a night out.

The lipstick itself lasts for a long time and during a busy day I only had to top my lipstick up once which I thought was great. You don't need to pile it on. It's a very nice feel on your lips and doesn't go too thick which is nice.

If you haven't checked out the Accessorize make up range before you can do here Accessorize Make Up

The link to the lipstick you will find under the picture above. Please let me know if you use Accessorize make up and what your favourite products are. I would definitely recommend their nail polishes!

Boots Number 17 Bronzing Brick

When it comes to make up I'm usually faithful to MAC. I've been using MAC's Soft and Gentle Mineralize powder for a number of years now and recently hit pan (EVERY GIRLS NIGHTMARE) ! As I didn't have a lot of money at the time I thought that I would branch out and try something different so I decided to hit Boots and have a look. I came across this......

The 17 Instant Glow Shimmer Brick. To look at, it didn't look much so I decided to use the tester and I was so impressed. Having spent around £21 each time for my MAC Mineralise powder at £4.99 this can fund my habit on a budget!!

The Brick itself has 4 shades on it from very light pale colours to more of a bronzer. I was very impressed at the pigments within the brick and it also stayed on for a lot longer than I thought it would.

Below is a few swatches I did so you can see the colours.

Overall, I would totally recommend this product as it stays on the skin really well and for £4.99 is an absolute bargain and has made me think twice about spending £21 on MAC when I can get near enough the same result from this bronzing brick! If you are thinking about trying this product out you can purchase it from the Boots website here 17 Shimmer Brick

My Christmas List

I'm not really one for wanting things at Christmas, I'm more of a giver really. However, this Christmas I have my eye on a few things. Nothing major, Just a few little items that would make me a happy girl!

The first one is the Pandora White Quartzite Stacking Ring which retails at £60.00. I'm more into accessories and costume jewellery so I was really please when something a bit more personal caught my eye. I just think it's a really pretty ring and will go pretty much with most dressy / girly outfits that I have. The direct link for this ring you can find here Pandora Ring

Next up is the Black Nike Blazers. I have some baby blue ones with my daughters name on the back arriving soon which I designed on the Nike ID website for the purpose of when me and my family go to Florida in 2014. I've decided that I want a second pair in a darker colour so I don't have to ruin my others going round the theme parks so I decided on a standard black pair which look just as nice. These retail around £65-£75 depending on which shop you go to. A link for this particular pair can be found here Nike Blazers

I haven't worn a watch in years and recently I've been seeing these little retro Casio numbers floating about and I absolutely LOVE them!! There are quite a number of colours available but I am loving the gold ones and retailing at £35 I think they're a bit of a bargain!! Get yours here.... Casio Watch

Last, but not least, is the MAC Studio Fix Fluid Foundation. I've seen a few people blog about this product and I've also seen people in my area who I know wearing it and it literally can change your face and make you look flawless and as I am now getting older I NEED this product in my life! It retails on the MAC website at £21.50 which I think is a very good price!! You can purchase this product here MAC Studio Fix Fluid Foundation

So there you have it!! My Christmas list..... SANTA, If you're reading this I've been a good girl this year!!