Puffy Braids






Start by making a row of small ponytails that looks like a headband across the front of her head.

Then take the first row of ponytails and split them into 2 pieces. Make 2 more smaller squares and add the far side ponytails and include it into the 2nd row.


Here is what it looks like from the top of her head. If you need further instructions please ask this one is difficult to explain.

CLOSED Bodyform Contest & LE Jemma Kidd Lipgloss

Now, when bodyform contacted me and asked if i'd like to hold a contest in order for one lucky lady to win prizes, of course i wasn't going to say no..especially when it's surrounding something almost all of us go through...



"That time of the month..ehem."





We all deal with PMS in different ways, personally, i try and believe i'm not affected by it at all...but if you asked my boyfriend & close family i'm sure they wouldn't agree with me.

To win the contest, all you need to do is leave me a comment telling me what you'd put in your



"Period Survival Kit"



Please be as creative as possible, make me laugh, make me cry...it's totally up to you.

Have fun with it :)



I will be judging the answers and the best one will win a girly dvd, some chocolates, bath salts etc..the perfect pampering kit! Everything you need to boost you're confidence.



This contest is UK only i'm affraid girlies (But for those of you in the US, have no fear as i will be holding my own contest very soon) & it will be closed on October the 12th at 6pm.



Another thing i want to mention is that Bodyform are collaborating with Jemma Kidd & as of the 12th October for a limited time, you can buy bodyform for around £1.50 with a free Jemma Kidd gloss worth £10.

A blummin good time to stock up me thinks! :)



Besides the free lipgloss, bodyform will also be feauturing useful information on the "Eve Appeal" on it's packaging.

Jemma is a long term supporter of the Eve Appeal, a charity which raises funds for research into gynaecological cancers. With Bodyform & Jemma Kidd both coming together with the Eve Appeal, it will raise awareness about gynaecological cancer & the symptoms.



Please feel free to visit the Eve Appeal website for more information, i think this is a subject that definitely is not addressed as much as it should.




www.eveappeal.org.uk



I would also urge you to go to the bodyform website and take a look at another contest they are holding where you and a friend can win a chance to have a day at the Jemma Kidd school of makeup & take away a fabulous goody bag. This contest opens on the 12th October.



www.bodyform.co.uk



I hope that you will get involved, i'm really excited to see your responses.



Review: Botanics Face Balm

When i was in Boots recently, they had a 3 for 2 offer on all skincare.
After recently trying out the botanics eye makeup remover and being highly impressed with it, i went back for more and thought i would try out some other things in the Botanics range.
One of the things that caught my eye was this "Organic, Face Super Balm"


The Price: £4.88

What the box says...

"This richly hydrating superbalm is blended for the use on areas that really need extra moisture. With Argan Oil to deeply moisturise and protect, plus shea butter to nourish and condition."

What is Argan Oil?

"The Argan tree is perfectly adapted to cope with the harsh conditions of heat and the drought of its native Morocco. The oil, rich in polyunsaturates and natural Vitamin E, has been the local women's beauty secret for centuries, nourishing and protecting the skin."

(I love that they explain the main ingredients on the back of the boxes. I wouldn't have had a clue what argan oil was had it not been there! Thumbs up Botanics!)

What I think...

During the winter, i get awful dry skin..not all over, just in patches..making my skin combination, and finding it hard to keep both the oily and dry areas at bay. I have been looking for something exactly like this to rub onto the dry skin.
I have already started getting winter skin, and its only september...how depressing, summer is now officially over in my books. I have been using this for the past week or so, and its become my new best friend. The pot is small enough to chuck in your handbag or makeup bag to take it with you and apply whenever needed. It's very concentrated and so you don't need much. I love the consistency of it...i always feel like lotions dont moisturise my dry skin well enough, or i have to apply it alot more regularly. When i apply a fingertip amount of this, it lasts so much longer.
It's almost like rubbing vaseline into your skin, and the dry, flakiness that was once there, can no longer be seen. I also apply this before bed a bit thicker, and then when i wake up, dry skin is deminished :)

I'm so pleased i found this! I know it's going to be a life saver when it starts getting alot colder.

Hair of the Day

My fringe didn't sit well today...so i parted my hair and curled it :)

I will never have gorgeous Kim Kardashian locks, but i quite liked it.
The first photo was before i left the house, and the second was a few hours later in my mums shop when the curls had dropped a bit.
What do you prefer? Big bouncy curls, or dropped, loose ones?
I think i like both!


Something A Bit Different...

I was feeling slightly more creative, and sometimes i think it's nice to experiment with the makeup you have in your collection, so i came up with this...
I'm not going anywhere, i was just bored :)
I may resemble Katie Price in a few of these, i'm putting that down to the thick falsies and hair...
Or, some may think i resemble a transexual..well..meh, i quite like it. :)
Obviously wouldn't wear it to the supermarket but it's pretty amazing for a night out.

On my Peepers...
♥ Mac Blackground Paintpot in outer 2/3rds of eye and making point/flick and through the crease.
♥ Illamasqua Sealing gel on eyelid
♥ Illamasqua Static pigment on eyelid
♥ Stila purple shadow (dont know the name - eek) over blackground paintpot
♥ Mac Carbon E/S in outer corners of eye
♥ 2true eyeliner in inner corners of eye
♥ Illamasqua Liquid Metal in Solstice in inner corner, under eye and used as brow highlight.
♥ Cheryl Cole Girls Aloud Lashes

On the Smackers...
♥ Art Deco Lip Base
♥ Gosh Darling Lipstick

And here's a photo without a bright white flash...
My hair looks so long..sheesh.
Hope you like it, it's a little more out of my comfort zone, but still wearable i'd say :)
Give it a go!

Toddler Puffy Headband

This is very simple and she got so many compliments on this wild hairstyle. All I did was made very small parts and pulled them back into as straight of a line as I could and secured the ponytails with elastics. The finished product looks similar to a headband.


Illamasqua Dystopia

I was introduced to this collection at the Illamasqua event a few weeks ago.
In all honesty, there were only a few things i really felt i would wear.
The collection is very different from the previous Sirens collection, which i would describe as "safe", something you could wear everyday for a summery, bronzed look.
This collection I would say is more vampy & smokey. Something i would probabaly be more likely to wear at night.

At the event itself, we were given 2 items to try out.
I was given the 2 lipglosses. One being a gorgeous milky pearlescent shade & the other a very scary metallic silver, which, i don't really think i will wear. Its a fab idea, but personally i think the only time i would ever rock a silver metallic lip is for a photo sesh. I've seen people dabbing it in the center of the bottom lip, and i agree that looks fab, but i think thats as far as i'd go.
The MA at Illamasqua suggested to use it on your eyes, i tried this & i hated it. I find it FAR too sticky to put anywhere near my eyes. Think of honey on your eyelids haha.
I immediately had to wash it off (and that took ages) I think if you want to achieve the mega metallic look on the eyes, stick to the liquid metals.

2 things i really did love from the Dystopia collection, were the pigments. I love that you can use these anywhere. Lips, Eyes, Cheekbones, Cupids bow, Collar bones, Clear Polish...etc etc.
And I highly rate the packaging idea, it has proved to be very tidy...pigments..as a rule...are not tidy..
The two pigments are "Static" & "Android".
Static being a gorgeous pearlescent shade. It pictures awfully but looks amazing.
Android is a dark grey with fine particles of silver glitter...again, very pretty.
With all pigments though..there is fall out...annoying but it's hard to prevent this.


I didn't have anything like this in my makeup collection. I have heard fellow bloggers compare Static to a Mac Pigment (which i can't remember what it's called - so that was a whole lot of good..)
The Illamasua MUA (who by the way, was one of the nicest most helpful people ever, which i hadn't experienced at an illamasqua counter before...) demonstrated the foiling effect of the pigments using sealing gel. It looks amazing, and since i didn't own Mac's version, i decided to buy it with the pigments so i could use it for liner and minimising fall out.

Above are swatches of the pigments. On the left side of my hand are the pigments without the sealing gel & on the right is with. It makes such a difference.

The lipglosses i find to be quite sticky, and i do not like the applicators. I find i have to stare at it, make sure some comes out, i go to put it on my lips and its sucked back down...mine also got messy very quickly. However, one plus point of the application is that you can layer it on top of a coloured lipstick and not have the colour rub off onto the applicator. I also think these last a reasonably long time!

Left: Explode sheer gloss, Right: Galactic intense gloss

Besides the fact i think they're quite sticky and a little messy, i really do love Explode gloss. Its one of those shades that will tone down a bright lipstick and give it a gorgeous pearlescent glaze on top. I have been teaming this with a lot of different bright colours and i have become a little bit addicted to it. Would reccommend this one highly :)

Overall, i wasn't blown away by the collection, but there are some gems in there that if you dont already own something similar, you should definitely check out.
Hope this has helped some of you!


Review: Maybelline Pulse Perfection Mascara

I know there are a fair few reviews on this product, but i thought i'd throw in my two sense & give you my opinion aswell. :)

"Pulse Perfection" is the new vibrating mascara by Maybelline, which retails for around £14.99.
I never bought into the whole "vibrating mascara thing". When Lancome came out with an expensive version i didn't turn a blind eye. I was happy with the standard brush thanks!
But when i saw that a cheaper alternative had been made, i was intregued to see how vibration could make a difference to the appearance of the lashes.
In all honesty, my first thought was...
"£15 FOR A DRUGSTORE MASCARA!"
I buy my lancome hypnose in superdrug for £12, so £15 for a maybelline one, did seem kinda steep..or maybe i'm just stingy. haha

This is the wand.
It's like the "Define-a-lash" one.
I always stay away from plastic brushes, i find they clump more & dont grab each lash well enough, so usually, i will always stick to a bristle mascara brush.
However, i really like this one.
The vibration mechanism is on the end of the wand, where you "simply" press down for on...and release for off.
I say "Simply" as i know alot of people have had trouble grasping the technique. I did at first.
Yesterday my friend wanted to use it, and she went to do it, and got completely flustered and couldnt make it work...and ended up being totally freaked out by the vibration near her face. It was quite amusing.
I start from the base of my lashes with the vibration on, and when i reach the tips of the lashes, i turn the vibration off.

Before & After shots...

This was with 2 coats.
I think that this is a dramatic difference, i can see how some people may say it clumps easily, but i would never do more than 2 coats as i think this would make it slightly clumpy.
I seriously love the effect this mascara has on my eye lashes. It gives the effect i love & want with only 2 coats...usually i will achieve something like this with around 4.
It lengthens, and it thickens, and they looked so curly.
Just for reference i didn't curl my lashes before hand.
I am very very impressed with this mascara, and i will be repurchasing it when mine is finished.


Under Eye Circles & HG Concealer

I don't know why i'm showing you my eye without concealer.
They are my biggest hate...& if i could change one thing about myself..(besdies my legs) it would be that i had no dark circles.
Unfortunately, it kindof runs in my family, so concealer is the only answer.

When i say i have tried loads of concealers under my eyes, that is somewhat of an understatement...

The one concealer to have ever proved just right, is ...
*Drum roll please*

Gosh Touch Up Concealer in No2


I know i have mentioned this alot in previous posts, and i have had many people asking me questions on it, and emailing me about it, so i thought it was about time i did a proper review on it.

I think what makes this concealer work so well (with my skintone anyway) is the fact it has a salmony undertone...obviously, orange cancels out blue, so the pinky-orange tone of the concealer works very well to disguise the blue under your eyes.
There is one other colour in the same range, which is shade 1, but this does not contain the same colour..so i can't say it would perform aswell. I also love the consistency of it, how easy it is to blend and the fact it has NEVER gone cakey, which so many concealers seem to do under my eyes.

I thought i would show you some before and after images to prove how much i love it...
I still can't believe i am showing you all this..haha


I know the last picture looks edited, but i promise i havent touched the brightness or the contrast, i think i was closer to the window..or the sun came out...might have to tilt your laptop screen haha

I love this stuff so much. I just find it covers the perfect amount. If the concealer is alot darker than your skintone, you can always use a touch of light reflecting concealer over the top lightly, i sometimes do this when im feeling particularly pale, or dark eyed.
My favourite under eye combo is this concealer with a touch of Benefit Erase Paste in no 1 on darker areas. I havent demonstrated that in the above photos though.

The concealer retails for around £6-7 & can be bought in Superdrug!

Triangle Part to Bun



Make triangle parts all the way around the front of her head. The picture belows shows how this is done.


Take all the triangle parts and pull the ends into one ponytail.
Make small hairs with the hair in the ponytail and twist them tight as shown below. Use the twisted hair to make a messy bun.

This picture shows how the hair looks once it is twisted.

We then added a flower to the side of her bun. The picture below shows what it looks like from the top of her head.

Want Big Smexy Hair?

I've been asked loads of times how i achieve alot of volume in my hair..

First thing is first though, if you have very fine hair, and not alot of it, it can be alot harder achieving volume in your hair..not impossible..just harder.

Luckily, i have quite fine hair...but LOADS of it, so i can use many different techniques.

Volumising Products Before Blowdrying

Obviously, before you do anything with your hair, after you have washed it, you need to apply some "volumising product" to the root of your hair..
This may be a number of different things, but these are products i tend to use regularly...

Mousse - I dont have a particular type i prefer over another. Mousse is something i tend not to reach for as often as i find it can get a little sticky, but it does do a very good job of lifting hair at the root, and works well in conjunction with rollers.
Tigi Bedhead "Superstar" range - I don't own everything in this range, but i do own the blowdry lotion which achieves fab volume after blowdrying. Although this whole line of products are designed to reach maximum voluminosity (is that a word) haha. See my review of this product HERE
S factor "Body Booster plumping spray" - This is one of my favourites, although the smell is very overpowering and often leaves me feeling sick, this product is simply just spritzed in at the roots on damp hair, and blowdryed. See my review on this product HERE
Clynol "Look At Me - Naughty Styling Fluid" - This is alot like the product before, although i do think this would work alot better on finer hair as the formulation isn't as sticky/strong. Review HERE

Blowdrying Methods

I know that most of you will already know this, but for those that don't i thought i would quickly mention it...

Blowdry your hair upside down.
It really is that simple, it's the quickest most effective way of achieving alot of volume in your hair. It's probabaly bad for the hair shaft as it's in the wrong direction, and could result in hair breakage over time, so would only suggest this if you have prepped the hair well before hand with some sort of heat protectant, and not on occasions, rather than everyday.

You can also use Large round natural bristle brushes, i own one by Tigi S Factor that is huge...but it works great. You simply curl the hair around the brush, pulling the root up and away from the head, and blowdry. I find it quite difficult getting this technique right, i guess im just cack handed. :)

Velcro Rollers

If i have time to prepare myself for a night out, and want ultimate volume, i will use velcro rollers. And i like to use different sizes for different sections of the hair.
It's best to use velcro rollers when the hair is almost dry, so a bit of upside down blowdrying after the volumising serum would be ideal. Then when the hair is still a bit damp, put the rollers in. I have seen some people put rollers in where they turn the hair down and backwards...i don't know how they achieve volume this way...i pull the hair upwards and back, lifting the hair at the root. :) You can then apply a tiny bit of flexible hairspray. I say Flexible because if you use something stronger, it might leave the hair a little crispy. I like to use strong hold hairspray at the root, but not over the hair on the rollers.

[Haha - Sexy!]
Sometimes you may need to use bobbi pins to secure the rollers in place.
You can then blowdry on a low speed, low heat setting until its fully dry, although personally, i find that if you leave it to dry naturally, it has better effect.
I tend to leave my rollers in for around an hour + (so yeh, only do this is if you are planning way ahead, and being super laid back and organised about getting ready haha)

Back-combing

Let me start by saying this is the worst technique for your hair, yet we are all guilty of a little backcombing arent we?
I try not to backcomb too much of the hair, in fact i stick to the crown mainly, unless you want to get more of a Diana Vickers esq style, in which case, you'd just go backcomb crazy.
If you start by sectioning the hair from the middle of your head, then backcomb, and hairspray each section until you reach the crown or top of your head, leaving the hair on the very top, to cover the messy backcombing.
I find a tooth pick comb the easiest way of backcombing but have also heard that a natural bristle brush does a pretty good job too.
I then secure with bobbi pins for a half up do or just hairspray if left down.


Here is my mum, modelling a backcombed half up-do. As you can imagine..its kindof impossible for me to take picture of the back of my head...believe me..i tried.

Then..in the words of JPmetz...
Hairspray THE HELL

Yep, hairspray really does do a good job with volumising. Sometimes when im feeling reallly lazy, i just lift the hair, hairspray at the root and voila.

Some Hairspray favourites...
♥ Tresemme freeze hold
♥ Clynol (review here)
♥ Pantene Ice Shine strong hold
♥ S Factor Chic shine (review here)

I hope this has helped a few of you, i know it might be pretty basic to some, but sometimes i combine all of these methods when doing my hair..bad i know, and you might not...and if you want ultimate BIG hair...then you should too :)


Fun Updo!!

This is a fun up do that has so many different angles so I will do my best to explain step by step.
I started by making corn rolls 3 of them diagonally across the front of her head

There are a couple of ways to make the rolls I took the all the hair I wanted rolled and held it out then began twisting until it was tight against her head. The other method is similar to a braid you start rolling and adding hair until you have the length you want

Once the rolls are secured in place I made triangle parts all around the outside of her head.


Then take the hair that was left in the middle and put it into a ponytail.

Now start pulling the triangle part ponytails and leave 2 small pieces of hair out and pull the rest into the middle ponytail. (I hope the picture below helps explain what I mean)

Take the pony tail and twist small pieces of hair to give it a messy bun look. Still leaving the stray strands of hair from the triangle parts out.

Now take the stray strands of hair and make ringlets out of them.

Then pin the ringlets around her hair to give the hair a much fuller look

Below is a side picture of the finished product.