Top 10 'British Beauties': Number 1!

As part of their 'Beauty Month' of July, QVC are announcing a list of their top 100 'British Beauties': the most beautiful British women of all time.

I'm really excited to be collaborating with with them to upload a makeup tutorial for each of the top 10. I'm going to be posting the inspiration pictures for each of the looks on here throughout the month.

Number 1 is... Audrey Hepburn!

It's no surprise that Audrey Hepburn takes the No.1 spot. A style and beauty icon, her makeup was classic and remains effortlessly glamourous.

Click HERE to watch my tutorial.

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Top 10 'British Beauties': Number 2

As part of their 'Beauty Month' of July, QVC are announcing a list of their top 100 'British Beauties': the most beautiful British women of all time.

I'm really excited to be collaborating with with them to upload a makeup tutorial for each of the top 10. I'm going to be posting the inspiration pictures for each of the looks on here throughout the month.

Number 2 is... Elizabeth Taylor!

A timeless beauty, Elizabeth Taylor's signature makeup look will never date.

Click HERE to watch my tutorial.

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*Guest Blog* Summer Flowers Nail Tutorial

This week I'm having a Guest Blog Takeover! My final guest blog post of the week has been written by Christine from Polishes and Pleasantries, showing you all how to create this gorgeous nail look!

This nail polish tutorial was inspired by Fleur’s summer vacation. The great thing is that it is super easy and still looks super cute! I hope you like it.

What you need:

From left to right: ‘Planks a Lot’ by OPI, ‘Layla’ by Zoya, ‘Celtic Sun' by China Glaze,

‘Towel Boy Toy’ by China glaze and a small brush.

Finally: ‘Rapid Dry Top Coat’ by OPI and ‘Step Right Up’ by OPI

Honestly, you can use any colors that you want. I just chose these colors because they are bright and perfect for summer!

Step 1: Paint your nails with the base color. I would suggest an off-white color to make the flowers pop. I painted my nails with three coats of ‘Step Right Up’ by OPI. You can see the final effect on my middle finger.

Step 2: Then paint three yellow dots on each nail.

Step 3: Start by painting the pink flowers, one on each nail. This is really easy just make a little line coming out from the centre of the yellow dot. I did five little lines for each flower. It looks really cute when one of the flowers hang off the edge, in this case you can just paint however many petals seem appropriate.

Step 4: Next, paint all of the blue flowers the same as you did the pink.

Step 5: Then paint all of the purple flowers the same as you did with the pink and blue.

Step 6: Finally, go over it all with a topcoat. And you’re finished!

I hope you find it as easy and cute as I do. Like I said before, feel free to use whatever colours you want for the flowers. You could even have all different coloured flowers or you could just have flowers on the ring finger for a more subtle look.

Be sure to check out Christina's blog HERE!

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*Guest Blog* bareMinerals Night Treatment Review

This week I'm having a Guest Blog Takeover! Today's post is written by Elle from ellemakeupblog who is reviewing the bareMinerals Pure Transformation Night Treatment.

When I first read about bareMinerals Pure Transformation Night Treatment I honestly thought it was too good to be true. A medium coverage powder that you can wear whilst you sleep? I had to try it out for myself

BareMinerals have brought out this night time mineral treatment with RareMinerals ActiveSoil complex. It’s clinically proven to dramatically reduce pores, increase luminosity and deliver a faster cell turnover, which results in skin renewing benefits. This concentrated powder formula replenishes skin while you sleep so you'll wake up to the famous bareMinerals naturally luminous glow.

It comes in 4 different shades clear, light, medium and tan to instantly diffuse imperfections.

I first used this after doing my nightly cleanse, tone and moisturise but I found that once I applied the Night Treatment it turned into clumps where it had mixed in with my moisturiser. So now I only use it after cleansing and toning.

Before you apply to the face ensure the lid is screwed on tightly and give the tub a little tap and shake to ensure that the powder is on the brush applicator. Avoiding your eye area buff onto your skin in circular motions. It says to repeat 2-3 times on the tub but I only apply once.

My Verdict……I am a little reluctant with believing that piling something onto your face at nightime is good for your skin. Magazines always preach to take your makeup off at the end of the night so why all of the sudden does this mineral powder break the mould and now we are allowed to wear a bit of coverage to bed. The brush feels soft when applying it is a lovely feeling but once you have covered your face with the minerals my face felt quite stiff and I looked like I had just applied my face powder.

Before Application

After application

I hate being indecisive but this product really has kept me in two minds. I may need to try the clear shade, as I feel quite orangey with the light shade. For the price is it definitely worth a lot of consideration as it is around £45 in the UK. I usually get on well with bareMineral products but this one at the moment hasn’t impressed me. I also wouldn’t recommend it for people with dry skin which is what I have. I didn’t notice any change in my skin by the morning and I used this product for 7 days.

Be sure to check out Elle's blog HERE!

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*Guest Blog* Ombre Nail Tutorial

This week I'm having a Guest Blog Takeover! Today's post is written by Gwen from ThisFashionisMine, showing us how to create a gorgeous bright ombre nail design for the summer!

A lot of the time my nails are one of two shades, pale pink or a beige nude. But in the summer I prefer inject some colour into my life. Not only with my wardrobe but also with my nails!

Follow this simple tutorial to create these amazingly bright and bold nails. To the outsider, this design looks intricate and complicated, but I'm going to show you how to get this gorgeous nail design in less than 15 minutes, and it's so easy!)

You Will Need

1) Two summery shades of polish. I prefer to use pastel colours but brights will work just as well. I'm using Barry M Pale Blue and Models Own Lemon Meringue.

2) A clear polish as a base coat. I'm using Sally Hansen Hard as Nails.
3) A small piece of sponge
4) Crackle Effect nail polish. This one is from Barry M in black, but OPI now do their own collection too.

Start off by prepping your nails, shaping them and making them look as neat as possible. A good foundation means better results.

Apply your base coat and leave to dry. This Sally Hansen polish is also like a tiny treatment for my nails, making them stronger.

Apply one coat of your first colour. In my case it’s the yellow. Leave to dry!

Using your sponge, apply a small amount of the blue polish to the sponge… your going to dab the polish on to the tips of your nails.

Keep dabbing gently to blend the blue down into the yellow - creating the ombre, gradient effect. Don't use too much polish, you can easily add more if needed.

Don't worry about being messy, this look is not about being neat and tidy. Any polish that gets on the sides of your nails can be removed using a cotton bud dipped in polish remover.

Once this coat is completley dry you can then go in with your Nail Effects. To use the nail effects for the best results, only apply two-three sweeping motions down the nail.

Repeated strokes of the polish on top of another will 'clog up' the crackle design. This is the exciting part as you see the nail art really take shape! Allow the crackle polish to dry and then admire your bright summer nails!

An optional top coat can be applied to make the nails shiny, and to lock in the polish which means there is less chance of chipping, but I prefer this slightly matte look.

Any colour choice would look great, but two contrasting colours like yellow and blue or green and orange look amazing!

My nails remind me of the sea meeting the beach on a hot summers day...

Enjoy!

Be sure to check out Gwen's blog HERE!

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Top 10 'British Beauties': Number 3

As part of their 'Beauty Month' of July, QVC are announcing a list of their top 100 'British Beauties': the most beautiful British women of all time.

I'm really excited to be collaborating with with them to upload a makeup tutorial for each of the top 10. I'm going to be posting the inspiration pictures for each of the looks on here throughout the month.

Number 3 is... Princess Diana!

Princess Diana didn't need much makeup to enhance her natural beauty. I'm going to be recreating her beautiful, natural look during her famous photo shoot with Mario Testino in 1997.

Click HERE to watch my tutorial.

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*Guest Blog* Bronzed Glowing Skin from Clarins

This week I'm having a Guest Blog Takeover! Today's post is by Nicola from NicolaVC86 who'd sharing her new found favourite bronzer...

Very rarely these days when I see a product do I purchase it immediately, usually I umm and ahh for a few days and then the obsession is normally replaced by another sparkly item, what can I say i'm fickle! Well when I laid eyes on the new Clarins Mosaic Summer Bronzing Compact I just HAD to have it (Had being a little exaggeration as I have about 5 bronzers on the go)

First of all let's just take a second to admire how beautiful it is, the packaging is really sturdy and well made and very much Guerlain-esque in its appearance. Although the bronzer overall looks fairly light because of the light veining being prominent it gives you a lovely bronzed look without much effort as the texture is devine and very pigmented.

The thing that makes this bronzer so incredible is that it gives you a lovely tanned appearance which isn't at all orange and it lays down the most beautiful glow on to your skin without any form of glitter. If you have oily skin but have avoided products that are described as 'glowing' I really encourage you to try this out. It doesn't highlight large pores or oily skin, it just makes you looked tanned and healthy so it's great for all skin types.

I have never been the biggest Clarins fan mainly because the smell of the products is a bit too much for me, this does have a smell but not the traditional Clarins one, it actually smells really lovely although once it's on your face you can't smell it. It also has SPF 10 which is obviously useful in the summer as you are supposed to reapply your SPF every two hours plus you get loads so you're not going to run out any time soon.

It is priced at £26 from a counter but is cheaper online.

Be sure to check out Nicola's blog HERE!

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*Guest Blog* Summer Must Haves!

This week I'm having a Guest Blog Takeover! Today Melanie from BeautywithMelanieClare is talking you through her summer must haves!

As the weather in England is gradually getting hotter & hotter (hopefully the lovely weather will stay) Im sure almost every girl out there is prepping themselves for those summer days! So I’ve put together my top 5 summer must-haves which I think is essential during this season...

Number One

Exfoliate Exfoliate Exfoliate – to help achieve those soft & smooth legs!

My Pick: I Love... Strawberries & Milkshake exfoliating shower smoothie.

Number Two

A bright nail polish! I don’t think there is anything better than pastels or brights on your nails in summer. My favourite colour to wear is blue!

My Pick: Barry M Blueberry Ice Cream

Number Three

A bright lipstick to go with them bright nails! If there is any season in the year to wear a bright lip colour – it’s during summer! My personal favourites are bright corals or peaches.

My Pick: MAC Costa Chic

Number Four

Summer dresses! From playsuits to maxi’s to body cons. It’s always handy to have a pretty dress around for those warm summer nights. I personally love floral print.

My Pick: Playsuit, Maxi & Everyday Floral

Number Five

Sunglasses! Now these are an obvious for summer but I love huge ones! You don’t have to spend the hefty price tag half of the time either – you can almost always pick some up from Primark for £1-2.

My Pick: Primark!

Thanks for reading!

xxx

Be sure to check out Melanie's blog HERE!

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