MINIMALIST BLUSH PART 2

You may remember a while back I did a post on 'Minimalist Blush', where I featured two of my natural blush picks that I can sweep on, on a daily basis. Today it's time for part two, focusing on the extremely natural, almost nude shades which are both relatively new to my routine (well, the L'Oreal offering actually belongs to my mum, but I'll be borrowing it rather frequently).

Both blushes are actually designed for pale skin which is a huge plus for me as it doesn't seem I will be tanning all that much this year. The same as last time, there is a cream, and a powder offering to suit either end of the spectrum blush-wise.

For a cream, it's Billion Dollar Babies by Dainty Doll, a heavily brown toned pink which I can almost get away with as a blush/contour in one by applying it a little lower than usual and blending a little, which makes it even more minimalist for the rushed mornings I generally face.

For powder, the offering is in the form of the L'Oreal Le Blush in 125 Rose Nude/Nude Pink and although the texture isn't the best I've tried of cream blushes it is a stunning natural nude pink colour that stays put for hours - I went out in the morning and when I came home early afternoon my foundation was starting to fade and go patchy around the nose etc., but this blush was still standing strong on my cheeks, making it an instant winner.

I think I will be making this 'Minimalist Blush' thing more regular if I manage to seek out some more offerings from the high street, as everyone loves budget - leave suggestions below if you have any...

KYLIE JENNER ESQUE LIPS

In the past months, there is one particular celebrity makeup-wise that everyone is going cray about. Kylie Jenner and her widely discussed full lips, along with the dramatic winged liner and her fresh chop have sparked many inspired looks to be plastered all over Youtube and blogs and obviously I was going to get my turn. 

I was simply focusing on the 'overdrawn' almost nude lip, as winged liner has been a part of my routine for a while now and is nothing new to me, and I think I have found the 2 products to get me the perfect look. Now, they are both high end, but I honestly think both a worth the money although I am hunting for drugstore dupes along the way. 

To create the base I go in with the Too Faced Perfect Nude Perfect Lip Liner all over the lips and slightly over the edges on the cupids bow and lower lip. This is totally matte, so a lip balm is a wise option beforehand. Then, patted over the top is MAC Faux, which is slightly more plum toned and ties the whole look together and almost nails Kylie's colour on the head. 

Whether she has had the surgery that she has denied for months or simply goes on heavily with the lip liner, it's safe to say that Kylie Jenner is looking on point makeup-wise as per usual and I can't wait to see what looks she'll be going for in the future.

DIY RIPPED KNEES

The ripped-knee jeans trend has been something I have wanted to jump into myself for a while now and as they have been hitting the shelves more these past months I have been even more intrigued, but being on a saving spending ban there was no way I could buy  myself a pair. After Megan sent me an iMessage of her DIY ripped knees I headed to Google and gave them a go myself to revamp some old Primark skinnies.

The process was simple, I popped the jeans on, and drew with a pencil where I wanted the slits to be, took them off and cut two simple lines through the fabric. The next steps can be a bit difficult but I put a small cardboard box (Lush Fun Set to be specific) in the legs to get some support and it seemed to make life a lot easier.
 Using a cheese grater (weird huh) and rubbing it across the cut edges made them fray and get some texture in there to make them look more ripped seems to work a treat, and then I took some old tweezers and grabbed some of the edges and pulled tightly to get some loose strings going on which made them look much more distressed.

I honestly love the outcome of these jeans and I am tempted to try it on some other pairs as this is a something that I feel is very flattering on me and many others...

A NEW HAIRSTYLE: HALF UP 'HIPSTER BUN'

For me my hair is usually the same old same old - either straight, waved after sleeping on plaits the night before, or curled by twisting it up overnight. I got into the 'half up, half down' look a while back but after seeing a video where Lily Melrose took this look further by creating what she labelled as a 'hipster bun' and remembering it earlier this week with Megan we each gave it a go and I really like the look.

It's simple, just take a section of hair from the top section (although it's dubbed as a 'half up' style I definitely steer clear of pulling half of my locks up for this look), and tie it with a thin bobble lightly. Then, twist this chunk of hair and wrap it round to create a small bun. I pull some out to make the front more bouncy and shake the bun a bit to loosen it, take some pins/another bobble and secure it into place and it's complete within minutes.

It definitely takes some getting used to, I'll admit I felt a bit of a tool whilst wearing this for the first time as I felt like I was carrying something on the crown of my head, but I got used to it and now it is easily becoming a go-to hair fix. I will say a couple of times I have had some hair well and truly tangled among the hair tie upon removal (one incident involved me having to cut a few strands free), but just go gently when tying it up to begin with and when unravelling it and all is well.

With light beachy curls I feel this could change the look entirely and is something I shall be attempting tomorrow morning... I'll report back on that one via Instagram soon.

BOURJOIS HAPPY LIGHT LUMINOUS SERUM PRIMER

Primers are few and far in my collection, as they either make no difference to me, or overly silicon based (they tend to break me out), and since the Bourjois Happy Light release hit the shelves a while back, I have been tempted to try it out myself. Despite my combination skin, I have been obsessed with glowy, dewy skin and powder is always by my side if things get a little shiny so it seemed the perfect time to give this a go.

The texture of the Luminous Serum Primer is really nice, it is very much a serum as the name suggests - lightweight, and skins into the skin quickly leaving a smooth base to begin your makeup. There isn't actually shimmer in this which is a massive plus for me, but it honesty adds so much inner glow and radiance to the skin without it.

In terms of increasing longevity of makeup (although this doesn't claim to do so anyway), I don't see much difference and sometimes I feel like my makeup does disappear at the very end of the day but for the majority of the day with a stunning sheeny glow its worth that sacrifice. Might I add, the scent really reminds me of baby shampoo, but I'm not complaining by any means.

This has easily become a Spring/Summer staple for me, and perhaps we'll be seeing an embrace of even more illuminating products from me...

BAD HAIR DAY SAVIOURS

Bad hair days - we all have them, and most likely loathe them and as a result try and combat them in every way possible (when I was 10, this would be to soak my hairbrush under the tap and brush it through my hair with little success), but I think I have finally found a trio of products to solve my array of bad hair problems.

Dry Ends: Most mornings I will be greeted with the ends of my hair feeling a little dry or not bringing the glossiness I was hoping for. One product that diminishes the dryness in minutes is the Schwarzkopf Got2b Oil-licious Tame & Shine Styling Oil - a lightweight oil that does a good job of nourishing ends without feeling heavy.

Oily Roots: This is the other extreme I will face in the mornings, greasy roots with little or no time to wash my hair. Recently I got the Batiste Cherry and have been using this on my roots if they ever look oily and it adds a little texture there too. I have a love/hate relationship with Batiste as it does a great job at getting rid of greasy roots, but sometimes I find myself with a white hairline or a powdery feeling every time I touch my hair (which may I add is very frequently)

Lacking in volume: Flat hair was something I had a few issues with in the past, especially at the top area, but since purchasing the L'Oreal Studio Line #txt Volume Supersizing Spray I have been waving goodbye to my lackustre locks. My favourite way to use this is to either flip my head upside down and have a good spritz or to spray it all over and give my hair a little scrunch - texture in a bottle.

I seem to have found my trio to attack all my hair foes, meaning I will no longer have hairbrushes filled with water or be pulling it back so tight I had a botox effect as my primary school days encountered...

ADDING COLOUR TO MY WARDROBE

T-SHIRT: TKMAXX
LEATHER JACKET: DOROTHY PERKINS (OLD)

BAG: H&M
JEANS: PRIMARK

NECKLACE: H&M

SHOES: NEW LOOK

Well, that's a post title none of us thought would make an appearance on this blog. Considering my last outfit post was titled 'all monochrome everything' we have gone on a a huge contrast, but when I wore this outfit I felt very Spring/Summer appropriate, though don't be expecting me to ditch the classic monocrhome wardrobe staples anytime soon.

This heavily printed colourful tee has been an unexpectedly well worn item in my stash, and I think the slightly longer than average white sleeves balance it out completely. It is also waistline skimming too, and sitting just above the lightwash jeans I think it's the perfect combo.

So, that was the second installment of my outfit posts, and it would appear that I'm stepping out of my comfort zone a little..