August Favourites

Fragrance

Marc Jacobs limited edition Pink Honey- It may come as no surprise that I am a huge fan of Marc Jacobs fragrances. I have collected a fair few of them in the last few years and this delicious sweet Honey scent has crept its way up to my favourites. I have been using it a lot for work, as it is long lasting and the cute bottle fits right in my bag.

Ellie Saab La Parfum- As a newbie to all things Saab, I was skeptical about delving into a new brand of scent, but I am glad I did. Although, the smell is rather old ladyish....I am loving spraying it in the corners of my room. The jasmine undertones leave a woody and floral aroma and have left my room smelling fresh and fruity. 

Marc Jacobs Daisy Dream- I understand the hype of this scent and the bottle is just beautiful. This has been the perfect blend of feminine and dreamy (hence the name) and has been my number one friend this month!

Beauty

Dior Vernis polishes- Oh my goodness, I never knew the meaning of 'Dior darling' until I was gifted this beautiful little set of polish and gel coat. I'm not one for brands or beauty in general, but I could really notice the difference between the higher end product and my usual 60 seconds to dry quick coat! I would definitely suggest splurging on the gel coat, I have been wearing shade Rouge 999 for five days and so far no chips; none!

Rimmel by Kate Nude Collection in 48- Always a huge admirer of all of Kate Moss's lipsticks for Rimmel, I picked up new number 48 and have been addicted ever since. It's smooth, soft and a bit vampy; but also not too much that you look like a bat out of hell on a summers day. 

Charlott Tilbury lipstick in So Marilyn- My current go-to red lipstick this month has been this beauty from Charlotte Tilbury, I love the shape of the bullet, it is so easy to apply and is the perfect shade of crimson.

Clothing

Topshop Ghillie Lace up flats-  These are on the more comfortable side of all the Ghillie shoes I have seen knocking about, I have been absolutely smitten with these, since I bought them earlier this month and can't seem to find anything they don't go with. Which is wonderful.

Topshop Velvet trim lace dress- Okay, so I may have been a bit naughty and gone on a Topshop spree this month, but I fell in love with this dress at first sight. High-neck, Victorian influences, velvet and lace...what more could a girl ask for. The sleeves are so perfect as well, I love magical sleeves. 

Skincare

Sanctuary White Lily & Damask Rose body butter- Everything is coming up roses with this butter, it smells divine and has great coverage. I feel like I am smothering myself in a whole bush of old-fashioned roses and a bouquet of wild lilies... but without the thorns. 

Soap And Glory Breakfast Scrub- When I first was recommended this, by a dear friend, I thought the idea of smelling like a bowl of oatmeal and honey was bizarre. But, as it turns out, this is now my daily scrub and my all time favourite. If you have desperately dry skin, like me and are looking for an inexpensive and delightful smelling way to do so; then I would say 100% go for this.

Burt's Bees Repair hand cream- Filled to the brim with shea butter and natural goodness, this has saved my hands whilst working practically everyday this summer. Although, I am not too keen of the smell, I have seen a huge difference in the texture of my skin, especially on my palms and fingers. 

Lush Let the good times roll cleanser- I have been very into scrubs recently and seeing as my skin reacts to nearly everything, I felt very lucky to have found a cleanser that doesn't. Good ole' Lush! It's very gentle and smells like popcorn and cinnamon and it gives your whole face a lovely glow.  

What have your favourites been this summer? 

March Favourites: Beauty Edition

Creams & Candles

Sanctuary Mandelular Body Souffle~Sanctuary are always the brand I turn to for a little self-pampering and this wonderful body cream has seen my skin through the winter months. Especially in the last few weeks, this has been my go to product on the daily. Not only does it smell divine, but the consistency and coverage is perfect for my dry prone skin.  

Burt's Bees Banana Hand Cream~Never have my hands been so relieved as to when they have this smothered on them. I always like to keep a hand cream in my bag and this one has been a particular favourite of mine in March. Plus it smells like a jar of banana icecream!

Bath & Body Works Candle in 'Sweet Pea'~It's always nice to come home and light a candle. to relax after a long day. My lovely friend Nicole brought this back from Dubai with her and I must say it is one of the nicest and longest lasting candles I have ever owned. I would recommend having a look at their range of scents! 

All The Reds!

Marc Jacobs Dot~  Nothing quite says Spring to me like a lovely, light. fruity scent. Having moved out of my deeper and more spice based fragrances, since the winter, I find Marc Jacobs fragrances always seem fitting for this season. This month I have been spritzing myself with the famous 'Dot'. With hints of Jasmine and vanilla, this times in perfectly with the blooming branches.

Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet in 38~Bit of a splurge on this one, I must admit.... but as I wear red lipstick practically everyday, this felt like more of an investment. The lipstick is matte, which is great for these days, before the weather gets too warm. I also love how deep, yet bold, the shade is. 

Jewels &Nails

H&M Round Gold Earrings~I have been wearing these constantly this month, they are so intricately detailed that I never want to take them off! I love H&M jewelry, it's always so reasonably priced and I'm always excited to see what they do next.

AdventureLand Unicorn Earrings~Head over heels for these beautiful emerald and gold unicorn earrings. AdventureLand have the cutest and unique bits and bobs; best of all, the earrings came in this mermaid shell too! 

Wah London Varnish in Mating Surfaces & Barry M in Kiwi~I've been brightening up my nails with these fancy colours this month. Both are nail varnish brands that I love and collect, but these two in particular have been catching my eye more than usual,

Hair

OGX Argan Oil Shampoo~This was always my favourite shampoo, great for a big hedge of curly hair like mine. I switched between a few shampoos recently, but this one always comes out on top. That reminds me, I'm nearly running out....

Dove Hair Therapy Shampoo~I hadn't tried any of the Dove hair range before and I had heard so much about it, I decided to give it a go. Turns out, the hype is correct and I have seen massive improvements to the quality of my hair this month. My split ends are less visible and my locks generally feel softer. Definitely on my top 3 shampoos currently :)

What have your March favourites been?

The Products Of A Pale Girl With Curly Hair: Part 1-Face

Hello my sweets! As you all know I am a very pale faced girl, hence my blog name. After years of wanting olive coloured skin that tanned in the warmth, I have finally become accustom to my fair limbs and face and learnt to embrace being pale. However, when it comes to make-up and other beauty buys it is often hard to find the perfect shade that doesn't make me look orange or yellow. So I have decided to do a little series of beauty posts about the products I use, which are suitable for light and pale skin. 

Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation # 010 Light Porcelain-After trawling through numerous high street and high end foundations I found that this cheap and cheerful foundation actually matches me really well. I don't wear foundation everyday but I will often pop a few pumps of this onto my cheeks, nose and chin on days out and when the weather is warm.
Benefit The Pore Fessional- I love this Pro balm, although a bit pricey for me at £24.50. If like me your skin shows every pore and big purple bags live under my eyes then I would recommend this.
Dainty Doll Powder # 001 Now That I've Found You-Dainty Doll is obviously a range designed for pale skin and this mineral powder is great for setting my makeup and letting my face look even in complexion.
Bourjois Blush #54 Rose Frisson-My cheeks are pretty pink most of the time, but if I am wearing a base then it is important to not look too washed out. So I will apply a little sweep of rose to my cheeks before an evening event or Sunday stroll.

Collection 2000 Lipstick #1 Queen Of Hearts-This is the lipstick I always rebuy. I think red lipsticks work really well with pale skin and this deep red colour I feel suits me well. I wear it most days and it lasts a long time for such a cheap product.
YSL Lipstick #1 Brun Insecure- Probably the most expensive lipstick I own, but I am so in love with this shade.It is deep and smooth and perfect for Autumny weather, and the YSL packaging is beautiful.
Dainty Doll #007 Stripped-I am not a big fan of nude shades, but this Dainty Doll lipstick works really well in the sun. It is just visible enough to give my pasty skin a small glow, perks up my features and has a lovely feminine vibe.
Kate Moss For Rimmel #107-All of the Kate Moss matte shades I love, but the 107 shade I picked out is my favourite. Pale skin doesn't really suit a lot of pink shades, but this is just dark enough with a red tinge to make it acceptable.

MaXfactor False Lash Effect Mascara In Black-I use a few different mascaras but this one really does accentuate your lashes to giraffe length. I also really love any mascara with a thick brush, so it's a winner for me.
Collection 2000 Eyeliner - My favourite liquid eyeliner in the whole world! It is so cheap and lasts for a really long time. I have used this to draw my flicks for the past five years or so, I can't reccommend it enough.
Elizabeth Arden Eyeliner Gel In Brown-Although this is meant to be for eyes I use it to fill in my eyebrows. The colour perfectly suits my brows and the little brush makes it easy to shape them.

Has anyone else tried any of these products? I would love to hear any more recommendations for pale skin.

DIY: Vintage Bob Tutorial

Dress~c/o Traffic People/ White tights~Primark/Floral socks~Primark/Patent shoes~Topshop

 Step 1~ Grab your first hair sausage

Step 2~ Wrap the bottom few inches around the sausage

Step 3~Beginning rolling upwards, wrapping your hair into the sausage

Step 4~Once you've rolled to just underneath your ears hold the sausage tightly and gently spread your hair to both ends.

 Step 5~ Pin the top and bottom of the sausage at both ends, until it is secure.

 Step 6~ Now you should look nice and lopsided! So, then do exactly the same on the other side.

 Step 7~Now you should have something that looks a little like this. And that's it, all done! Easy Peasy :)

Hello lovelies!
I hope you enjoyed this little tutorial I made, I've been toying with the idea of getting shorter locks recently and so I have been testing different styles of a short crop. I thought I would share it with you girlies, incase you wanted to give it a go too. The hair sausages are from Primark and only cost £1 each, so are very easily accessible!
Today was laundry day, a little boring I know. So, instead of just sitting around watching my clothes whirl around and be cleaned, I decided to have a cheeky photoshoot whilst my sister and I waited. This lovely little pinstriped dress was a gift from Traffic People, I was lucky enough to preview their Spring/Summer 13 range for the magazine and was offered a piece of my choice.(The article is here if you'd like a little peek). I thought the dress I chose would be perfect for Spring and I love the contrast of blue and yellow.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Top 5: Fragrances

 GHOST~Moonlight

This deep purple, mysterious fragrance has fast become one of my favourites. I've always really liked GHOST's feminine and deep scents. I wrote a full review for the magazine here, if you'd like a peek.

DOLCE & GABBANA~ The one

I had been lusting after this for a long while and it had always been just a little out of my price range. So I got the gift set from the Boots sale, for quarter of the price, much to my delight. The scent last for hours and is strong but not potent. When you're next in a perfume selling type place then I would definitely recommend having a sniff, if you haven't already!

The Body Shop~Vanilla body mist

Having bought this for years and years it's about time I gave it the credit it deserves. It is cheap as chips for a start, great to cool off with in the heat and it also smells so summery and authentic. I normally use it as a  base scent for daytime and then spritz a stronger smell on top for the evening, because it usually blends really well with other scents. 

Daisy Pour Femme

I got this on eBay, only to discover it was a fake. But oh well, it still smells really similar to the Marc Jacobs one.This scent is very fruity and girly and I mainly use it in Spring/Summer time. If this doesn't make you want to run through a some sort of field then I don't know what will. 

Paris Hilton  EDP

Although Paris Hilton is renowned for many a negative thing, I actually really like her original perfume. It cost around £10 and smells really unusual and unique. I would really recommend giving it a go, I'm currently on my third bottle!

If you'd like to tell me your favourite scents then I would love to hear them!

Bethan x

Top 5: Winter handbag essentials

My handbag is always full of so many bits and bobs it is ridiculous! At this time of year, normally at the beginning of December I have a sort out of my mess to make sure I have some absolute essentials in there to survive the season.

001. Note book- A little notepad and pen is always great to carry around to make lists for presents, food, clothes, memories etc. I know we have apps for this these days but I still love to carry around the real thing as I think it always comes in handy.

002. Hand cream- The cold can cause really dry skin, especially to our hands. I have taken to carrying around this Kiehl's ultimate strength hand salve in a sample size. I think small bottled products are always great because they take up little room and do the job well.

003. Vaseline- Similarly to our hands, lips get dry and chapped too in the cold. Lipsalves, chapsticks etc are perfect for this and I tend to just have a cheap old Vaseline as it is compact and works really well.

004. Nail varnish- If you are like me and can't bare the sight of having unpainted nails then carrying around a polish is always a good plan. I like to have a more dark shade of nail at this time of year so a green, navy or black is usually thrown into my bag.

005. Tissues-Probably the most important! You never know when you will catch a cold or need to sort out your lipstick etc. A mini Kleenex packet

Bethan x

GHOST Moonlight launch and review

 I went to the launch of the new GHOST fragrance Moonlight on Wednesday for the magazine. It was on the eve of the full moon which was lovely and symbolic of the new fragrance and new lunar eclipse. The room smelt wonderful and was beautifully decorated with large spherical moon shaped lights and dozens of small flowers. An excellent and informative presentation was given about the GHOST brand and two stunning models swanned around giving free samples to the guests. You can read my full review and see more images on The Upcoming website here.

Beautiful perfume woman, loved her makeup!

We got a complimentary 50ml bottle which I was really chuffed with. I have always liked GHOST fragrances as I feel they are very feminine yet powerful. I had a little spray and I think Moonlight smells amazing. I love the purple colour and the way that one spritz lasts all day. Although it is subtle with jasmine, ginger and white chocolate scents it is a very mystical and unusual smell that adds to the magic of the title. I would definitely recommend buying yourselves a bottle when it comes out in February 2013.

Bethan x

Beauty and Makeup bargain buys under £10

Something a bit different today, I have been wanting to get into reviewing some products and getting a better feel of what is available in high street shops at a decent price. I am one of those girls that will keep buying the same product if I love it and has to try hard to find certain products that compliment my dry and very pale skin. So I made a video on some of the best inexpensive products that I use that are actually really great, sort  of a review but it is more to give you guys tips on how to shop wisely in an ever growing beauty market.

Items reviewed:

Smokey eyes kit~Benefit

Queen of hearts red lipstick~Collection 2000

Black liquid eyeliner~Collection 2000

Vanilla body mist~The Body Shop

My big break purple lipstick~OPI

24 hour false lash effect mascara~Maxfactor

Oatmeal body lotion~Aveeno (not featured in picture)

I can safely say I bought all of these products for under £10 and they are long lasting and well worth a bargain purchase. For the full reviews and just general ramblings you can watch the video below...

Happy shopping

Bethan x

Tuesday's style icon #1: Kate Bush

Here is a new little feature on my blog. Every Tuesday I will choose someone who's style I admire and who I get my inspiration from. Plus I will be adding some 'get the look' type extras and reasons why these people are just so great!

Kate Bush #1 

Three ways to describe her style : Innovative, Eccentric, Fashion-forward

Kate Bush has always been ahead of her time, her crazy,unique and beautiful fashion sense has made her an icon of mine since I was about 6. She is fearless, always contemporary, independent and admirable and I am so happy to have her up as the first style icon.

Get the Bush look

White lace dress~Topshop~£50

Khaki shirt~eBay~£11.97

Corduroy shorts~River Island~£15

Frill neck silk dress~Urban Outfitters~£325 (Well one can dream)

Favourite Ever Look

Stay tuned for next week's icon....

Bethan x

Kate Broughton nails

One of the things I really love about my job is finding small, independent boutiques that have real gems of handcrafted bits. I stumbled across Kate Broughton on etsy and fell in love with her beautiful, modest and recycle friendly nail transfers.

I even manged to do an interview with her for the magazine, which you can read here. She seemed like a really lovely and creative woman.

All of these amazing nail art transfers are only £2.95! I am about to order the lot of them.

For more designs and to browse some of her lovely items you can visit her website here.

Bethan x