Braid Fun

I made my daughter kneel down with her head on my knees for the beginning of this hairstyle.

I started the french braid at the center bottom of her hair.  The french braid goes up her head half way up.  The front of her hair is in a small twist the only reason for this is my daughter wants to grow her bangs out.  The roll is keeping her bangs back,

Once the french braid is complete secure with a clear elastic.

Pull all the remaining hair into a ponytail and make a messy bun. 

Below is a side view of the hairstyle.

Below is another view of the back of her hair.  This style was fun and easy.

Backstage at LFW - Rachel Freire "Future Noir"

Just a pre warning, this is a long blog post, packed full of images and videos but i hope you find it as interesting as i did being there.
On Tuesday, i was invited by Jack Saundercock (head of makeup) to go backstage at one of the shows for London Fashion Week. The designer was Rachel Freire and her collection was called "Future Noir".
I'm no fashion expert, although i am extremely interested in art, textiles & trends, i can't say i'm much of a fashion journalist (in fact, i'm not one at all), so don't expect a huge in depth spectacle, merely just my personal thoughts, opinions and observations.

The collection involved a lot of reflective strips , black latex leggings/body suits, mirrors, geometric shoes, cassette tape, a mixture of nude & brown & some truly amazing headpieces. The reflective strips are not something i can say i've ever seen incorporated within a piece of clothing..besides the fluorescent jackets we use for safety reasons, and they certainly aren't the most flattering thing to wear i think you'll agree.
I also love the variety of textures Rachel used in her collection..from floating, draping & inter-twining to very tight latex, body suits & very structured pieces.
There really was an outfit to please every fashionista.






The above image was one of my favourite outfits of hers. Her inspiration came from a soccer players uniform & the very structured, protective shoulder gear they wear. I love the mirrors & the reflective strips teamed with the simplicity of the nude body suit & pvc holdups.
I think she has created a fantastic range, there were simpler designs and a lot more outrageous ones. The shoes were incredible, how they walked i have no idea. It was fascinating to see how much detail had gone into every garment & how well the models exhibited them.

The makeup was also amazing. Jack had really thought of everything. With the title of the collection being "Future Noir" he wanted to portray this in the makeup. Using dark edgy colours along with the contrasting white's and greys made the makeup futuristic & geometric. I also think the striking white worked very well with the reflective strips used in some of the models outfits. Jack described it as a "Cybotic Army".








What makeup was used?



What skincare did they use on the models?

How was the look created?







It was amazing being able to see all the products & effort which went into making the models look so amazing. Not only that, but all the thought that Jack had clearly put into his makeup to fullfill the title of Rachel's collection. Makeup is an art, and that really does come across when you see all the imagination & inspiration which is put into it.
After spending time backstage with Jack and the rest of the team and seeing first hand the products used, i definitely wanted to get my hands on the Jemma Kidd palettes & the lipstick in "Peggy", as you all know, i'm a total sucker for nudes & this one is perfect & highly pigmented & at such a good price. Jemma Kidd is sold in most Space NK stores if anyone else in interested. I also really want to try out the Dermalogica dry skin lotions & potions that Jack mentions in the video above. My skin becomes dry very easily during winter, and the things he spoke about sounded like something i definitely want to try out.

Overall it was an amazing experience being at the show & thank you Jack for giving me the oppertunity to see how things work at LFW, on the catwalk but also backstage.
♥

Toddler Pigtails

I started by making a center part all the way down her hair.  Then I made 2 puffy braids on each side going up her hair.

Then I went to the front left side of her head and make one small ponytail going towards the back of her hair.

On the right side I made one small ponytail on the front top of her head and one small one above her ear.  My daughter doesn't have a lot of hair so we made more ponytails to keep the hair pulled back.  Then I pulled all the ponytails on one side into a ponytail (doing the same to the other side)

The picture below is the right side of her head.

This picture below is of the left side of her head.

Out of Brush Cleaner?

My brushes we're in desperate need of a good clean, and low & behold, i was totally out of brush cleaner & no baby shampoo.
So, the only thing i could find, which i didn't think would be too harsh on the brushes, was this Dove hand wash.
I dampened each brush under luke-warm water, added a pea sized amount to the bristles, and lathered it up in my hand. I then rinsed & repeated if it was needed.
The first thing i noticed, was how amazingly well it took out any staining, this hand wash went beyond any other brush cleaner i've used & removed EVERYTHING.
It's been a long time since my brushes have looked new & white.



After leaving them to dry, i noticed how incredibly soft they were. I even think they were softer than when i first bought them. I spent ages brushing them over my face in amazement.
Then came the time i had to use them and dirty them up, it was very hard, but i managed okay with the reasurrance this hand wash will still be by my sink for when the day comes to re-wash. :)

I'm not sure of the price, nor where you can purchase this. I'm going to point out the obvious places like Boots & Superdrug & say it's probabaly the price of a standard hand wash, but in all seriousness, this worked like a dream.

Thank you Dove, you marvellous bird you.
♥

My Most Asked Question...

I absolutely LOVE receiving emails from you all, from simple things like "What font is that you use?" to "I just wanted to say i absolutely love reading your blog & you have inspired me to start my own so thank you" and then there's the "I'm an NW20, which nude lipstick would you recommend? Or even your favourite?"

I enjoy answering these, as i feel i can really help & it makes me happy to think I've given any advice i may have, whether it's all that useful or not.

However, there is one question which is really starting to grind on me.



"How did you get so many followers?"

I know that some of you reading this may have asked this question, and it's not like i will instantly hate you if you have, I just really don't like answering this question.
Firstly because it makes me sad that some girls might think that blogging is only fun if you have lots of followers. This really isn't the case. Blogging, for me anyway, is a hobby. It's just something i like to write about, a way to wind down & to give some advice to those who may want some.
Everyone starts a blog with no followers, i did also.
I didn't ever post a link to my blog in a comment on someone else's blog post, i never emailed people in their hundreds.
I just wrote.
I wasn't all that familiar with followers when i first started my blog, peoples little faces kept appearing at the side, it took me a while to realise these were the people who wanted to see when I'd posted something new.
If you want to gain more followers through self promotion, that's great, there is absolutely nothing stopping you, but are you really going to feel as much pride & satisfaction as you would if you didn't, and these people found your blog on their own, loved it & chose to follow you?

I honestly do not know how i have so many amazing followers, but i value and appreciate every single one. I love all the feedback & i'm blown away with the generosity of some of you.
I totally understand that some of you don't like writing with the feeling nobody is listening to you or reading what you have to say, but is that why you started your blog? I would rather have a handful of loyal followers than 500 people i asked to check out my blog or who followed me because of a giveaway.

Hopefully, every single one of you like to read what i have to say. Obviously, i never get 2700 comments on every post, but i certainly wouldn't expect that. Some people might be following purely for the Lush reviews, some for the FOTD's, some just for lipstick help...there will loads of different reasons, but that's just the fun of it. We're all very different, and people will your follow your blog for different reasons. Hey, i might even have some pervy middle aged man called Baldwin following my blog who likes my ears & i would never know haha (kinda creepy...)

If you ask this question in the form of some advice, just be yourself, enjoy what you're writing & appreciate every follower you have..even if you only have 3, this doesnt mean you are a failure. Blogging is not about failing and winning & it's not a popularity contest. These 3 people like to see what you write, even if they don't comment, so don't make them feel worthless by complaining of only having 3 followers. *sob* That is honestly, the only advice i can give you.

I hope nobody takes offense to this blogpost, i just felt i needed to address the issue as my inbox is brimming with unanswered emails all asking the same question. So i'm resolving this in one foul swoop.
Like i said, if you think more followers would make you happy, and you're quite happy asking people to give you shoutouts, then do that. There's no right or wrong way, and people gain happiness through different things. I'm just happy i have a place to express a passion in my life & i find it really enjoyable :)

♥

Make it or Break it Fun with Lauren's Braids

More Make it or Break it Fun.

I made a small part down towards her ear.  This is going to be 1 of the braids.

French braid the hair all the way to the end

Do another small french braid starting at the lateral part.  Braid all the way to the end of her hair.

I pulled all the remaining hair into a side ponytail leaving the braids out at first. 

Pull the braids down so they lay along the outside edge of her hair.

Then we made a messy bun  and added a flower for fun.

Below is what the back looks like.

Make it or Break it More Lauren Fun Braids

We have so much fun with Lauren's Braids on the TV Show Make it or Break it. 

I started with a far lateral part.

I made 2 french braids down each side of her head.  The tricky part is leaving a small amount of hair on her crown out of the braid.  (This is shown in the picture 2 below here)

The braid on her left starts clear over by her part and goes across the front of her head.  I made this a loose braid to give a poof in the front.

Shown below is the 2 braids completed while leaving a small amount of hair not braided in the center of the 2 braids.  I did this because I didn't want braid lines.

I then pulled all the hair into a ponytail.  Once the hair was in the ponytail I braided the remaining hair.

I then took all 3 braids and pulled them around the ponytail and secured with a clear elastic.

I used bobbie pins to pull the braids apart and give an even look for the bun.

Another Heart

Start by making a poof that is angled back into a V shape.

Then make puffy braids start by making the first one up towards the front of her head I secured a ribbon as well with an elastic.  The goal is to make a heart shape puffy braid. 

Then curve the puffy braids down towards the bottom center of her head.  Do this to both sides.

My husband so kindly pointed out that it wasn't much of a heart shape.  But it turned out cute either way.

FOTD

Here is what i wore yesterday..It's nothing too "out there" in fact it's rather casual.
I curled my hair with the Cloud Nine straighteners & kept the makeup fairly neutral.



Face:
♥ Mineralize Satin Finish foundation from Mac NW20
♥ Benefit Erase Paste
♥ Mac Mineralize Skinfinish natural
♥ Benefit Coralista blush
♥ Benefit Hoola to contour

Eyes:
♥ White Frost E/S in inner corner
♥ Star Violet E/S in crease/outer V
♥ Showstopper E/S in crease/outer V

Lips:
♥ Mac Snob L/S

♥

Make it or Break it Lauren's Frenchbraid to Side Bun

Another fun Lauren Hairstyle from Make it or Break it.

Make a frenchbraid right down the middle of her hair.

At the bottom make a slight turn towards the side of her head.  We did the right side as shown below.

At the bottom I braided her hair all the way to the bottom and them twisted it around itself and used bobbie pins to seperate the braid to make a messy bun look.

Heart Fun

Start by making a small ponytail on one side of her head (you will repeat on the other side too.)

Take the hair and make a twist from the back side forward.  Then split the hair into 2 pieced.

Pull the 2 pieces around give them a little twist so they keep the hear shape. I secured the bottom of the heart with another small ponytail. Do this to both sides.

Then take all the hair and make a ponytail (don't pull the hair all the way through we are going to make a messy bun)

Last step make a messy bun.