Hello my lovelies!

Two posts in quick succession today - I need to get my blogging on! Today we visited Castle Hedingham in Essex for their wedding open day, as it's a place Jon and I have talked about for a while. Jon is adamant we get married in or around a castle, whereas I'm happy with a pretty old house, so this was the best of both worlds. We both fell in love as soon as we entered the grounds, but for me the deal was sealed when I saw this view...so of course I had to have my photograph taken!

I think we've both pretty much decided this is where we would like to get married. Jon can have his castle photographs, I get my marquee with fairy lights...everyone's happy! Now to stump up the cash from somewhere...I need to save more!

Speaking of saving, I found this fab Topshop cardie on eBay for a fiver! The orange top was a sale buy from Dorothy Perkins last year and the skirt is from ASOS. 

Aside from wandering around the castle and manor house, we also got to view the accommodation they keep for the bridal party. I fell in love with this mirror - I want one! There was also a whole ROOM specifically dedicated to the application of make-up, complete with lightbulb mirror and a make-up artist who offered to jazz up my eyes...how could I refuse?

The first photograph is a little odd because as I was craning my head out the window to take a self-shot, another group of visitors entered the room...embarrassing much? Aside from the products she used on my eyes (a mixture of high end and high street, she assured me), I'm wearing my own MAC Studio Sculpt foundation in NW15, with Boujois blusher in Rose Coup de Foudre for a coral glow and the usual Sleek brow palette. 

Overall it was a fab day out and I'm sure we will be visiting again and again to reassure ourselves it is the right place for us (although we're sure already!)

Have you ever visited Hedingham Castle? Are you a fan of castles, even?

xoxo

Hello my lovelies!

I realise this is a day late but I thought I'd show you my latest bargain buys in terms of clothing!

You may have noticed by now my penchant for eBay...I bought this Dorothy Perkins top on there for about £2 the other day, it's somewhat longer than I thought but works nicely with leggings and is slightly more summery than what I've been wearing recently! I really feel like spring is on the way, with all the flowers starting to appear and the sun lingering a little longer these days! The leggings were £10 by River Island on ASOS, but are a little bit too thin for my liking so I wear tights underneath to keep warm.

To add to the spring feeling I wore my Fiorelli Silver daisy earrings. The company I work for designs the jewellery for Fiorelli, meaning I get a nice discount, so I bought these the other week because I don't have many earrings that aren't studs. They can be found here if you're interested!

Have you had any bargains recently?

xoxo

Hello my lovelies,

I've been trying out different settings for my outfit photos, hence the "pin hole" effect in these pics! My camera has all these Magic Filters that are quite fun to play with, so expect some silly photos in future...

Today's outfit features the Dorothy Perkins skater dress. I have this dress in four different colours now as my local DP was selling them for £5 in the sale! They're so easy to throw on and are perfect for layering, so I added this H&M pussybow blouse to liven the black up a bit. I bought this on a whim two years ago and hardly wear it because in all honesty it is quite unflattering on its own, but it does look nice when paired with jumpers or dresses.

I'm also wearing red tights but unfortunately I don't have the room or means to take full length photos at the moment. I may have to resort to taking different stages of my outfits to give you a better idea of how they look! This look reminded me a bit of Blair Waldorf so of course I had to add an Alice band...

And a quick snap without any weird filters on! I tried out my Ilamasqua Skin Base again and it is still a little dark, but after lots of blending it looked fine. I'd forgotten how heavy the coverage was, it really seems quite thick to me when compared to my usual Perfection Lumiere, but it's nice and glowy and worked well with my Bourjois Rose Coup de Foudre blusher!

Are you digging out any old favourites?

xoxo

Hello my lovelies!

Another mascara review for you today; I go through these things like wildfire! You may have gleaned from previous posts that I'm a big fan of long, defined lashes as opposed to voluminous ones, hence why my favourites thus far have included Benefit's They're Real and Chanel Inimitable Intense. Today, however, I bring you a cheaper alternative!

After reading Gem's rave review of No7 Exceptional Definition mascara I simply had to give it a go. I had a £5 voucher burning a hole in my pocket, it was meant to be! I've learned not to expect much from high street mascaras but this product was pleasantly surprising. 

The different edges really help fan out your lashes and define each one. It doesn't clump too much and any clumps are easily brushed out by the thinner bristles. I also like the inclusion of the spiky tip - it reminds me of They're Real and in my opinion, it achieves similar results.

I really like this mascara! The only reason it does not quite match up to my expensive favourites is the fact that it doesn't hold a curl all day long and I do find myself having to brush through my lashes after a few hours' wear to achieve the wide-eyed look again. However, I will definitely repurchase when the No7 vouchers make a welcome return, as it's such a nice formula and much more affordable than Benefit or Chanel!

Hello my lovelies!

I'm currently curled up on the sofa in my dressing gown trying to fight off both a horrid virus and hunger pangs after watching Saturday Kitchen (does anyone else always feel absolutely starving after watching this?!). Unsure whether I will feel up to taking any outfit photographs until I feel better, so I thought I could dedicate some time to talking about my latest beauty purchases!

My usual MAC Select Cover Up has not been doing its job recently, although it has to contend with spottier-than-usual skin and super dark under-eye circles, so I can't fault it too much. However, when I began covering up spots with dots of orange, it became apparent that NW20 had become too dark for my pasty winter skin, so off I trotted to the MAC store at Westfields.

Stephie uses Studio Sculpt concealer as well, and her skin always looks perfect, so I picked it up in NW15 after testing it in-store. I really like the consistency of the product, it's creamy and blends well into the skin, and the lasting power is pretty good too if set with powder. It's also better at concealing my spots, so no more horrifying orange blotches!

MAC Studio Sculpt Concealer, retails for £13.50 from all MAC concessions.

After the disappointment that was Revlon Colorstay liner, I found myself swatching the L'Oreal liners in Superdrug last week. I don't know what it is about L'Oreal but it's not a stand I tend to spend much time on. Maybe it's the ridiculous adverts, or the fact that I've disliked some items in the past, but at any rate they aren't a brand I buy from regularly. 

Despite this, I was rather impressed with the Super Liner in Black Vinyl, as it resisted all attempts to rub it off my hand, so into my basket it went. (It was also £1 off which probably helped!) 

So far I quite like it, despite it not being my usual pen-style liner. It's a lovely true black which lasts all day on me, although it takes slightly more time to draw perfect flicks! It does take some work to remove, which is testament to its lasting power, and can sometime become a strange gel-like substance after you've washed it off, I have to literally pick it off my eyelid sometimes! It's good value for money though so I may well repurchase if nothing better pops up. 

L'Oreal Paris Super Liner retails for £6.49 (although keep your eyes peeled for offers!)

So these are the first photos taken with my new Olympus SZ-800uz! I've been after a new camera for ages and finally found this on eBay for just over £100, perfect condition, almost new! I'm too much of an amateur to use a DSLR so this is perfect for developing my photography skills. Can you see a difference? I hope so!

Hello my lovelies!

I am delighted to feature my very first guest post, by the lovely Jackie Clark (@jakieClrk) . The topic is feeling beautiful in the face of cancer, and as you all know this is a subject that is quite close to home for me! I hope you enjoy!

So much of this rings true! I can acutely remember the day I sat down in that salon and watched the stylist cut off the remaining strands left on my head. I really became aware of my face on its own, the shape, how my features settled into it, the size of my ears...  I think that was the moment I began to appreciate the severity of my illness. Up until then it had been easy to convince myself there was nothing truly wrong with me, but seeing myself looking the way a cancer patient "should" really drove home the fact that I was seriously ill. It was incredibly depressing and difficult facing other people looking the way I did then - my sister burst into tears the first time she saw me without hair and unfortunately that set the tone for everyone else! - and it was difficult facing myself too.

However,  I found solace in make-up; when I lost my hair I lost my brows and most of my lashes too, so turned to dramatic eyeliner and bright blusher to try and make myself feel somewhat feminine and pretty. I also began wearing more skirts and dresses in a bid to balance out my cropped hair with feminine touches, with headscarves, headbands and long dangly earrings to finish off the look. Sometimes life forces you to experiment with your style, and this experience certainly shaped my current penchant for flicked eyeliner and 50s dresses! In this day and age it is such a struggle to feel beautiful in normal circumstances, so it does become incredibly difficult when you don't look as though you fit in, when people stare at you in the street and whisper about you behind your back, when your skin is ravaged and your hair gone.

But it takes a certain kind of strength to rise above this and make the best of what you have and I really believe this is the true beauty of the thing: it is not what you look like, but how you act in the face of such a terrifying evil. 

xoxo

Hello my lovelies!

Just a quick face of the day post for you. Yesterday my sister Minnie travelled up to visit and I was so excited I didn't have much time to snap proper outfit photos (it wasn't a terribly interesting outfit, in all fairness...)

I managed to curl my hair, which lasted for all of five minutes...I also spent ages using my new buffing brush from Ecotools to try and make my skin look better, I think it worked well on my cheeks but my technique could use some work!

 I picked up the MAC Studio Sculpt concealer in NW15 yesterday, as well as the L'Oreal Super Liner. I have to say I'm not impressed with the Revlon liner at all, it doesn't stay put, comes out patchy and doesn't draw the sleek sharp lines I like! I have heard good things about the L'Oreal one so I shall keep you updated on my thoughts!