RED.

As someone with dark brown hair and pale skin, I've always turned to red lips as a way to liven up a look. It's a super quick and easy way to add a splash of colour for day time wear without having to go overboard. And since so many collections - The Chanel Fall Collection immediately comes to mind - are giving red its time in the limelight this autumn, I thought I'd share some of my favourite warm toned products and the ways they can alter your makeup. 

DAYTIME

I make no secret of the fact that I barely leave the house without some form of eyeshadow. During the daytime I don't tend to stray from the warm browns of my Naked Palette or the subtler rose shades of my Dior Quad and whilst I love the gentle look sometimes it's nice to brighten up your face, especially as the weather becomes duller and more grey by the day. 

One easy way to add a touch of dimension to your makeup is with a dark red lip. Burgundies and cherries have been all the range for the past few years and I honestly think you can find one to suit any skin tone and lip shape. 

For someone with a higher budget Charlotte Tilbury Glastonberry is my absolute go-to. It's warm, wonderfully pigmented and has a colour that can easily be builded upon. Personally I apply this using a Real Techniques lip brush and then line my lips using the Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheat in Berry Naughty. This is a great look for those days when you don't have a huge amount of time to spend doing your makeup but you still want that 'I totally put effort in this morning' vibe. 

If you're sticking to the drugstore Rimmel make some of the most affordable and moisturising lipsticks on the market. Now we've all heard of the famous Rimmel 107 but if you want some  touch darker, with some stunning plum tones then look no further than 30. The pigmentation and staying power of this lipstick is second to none, I honestly can't recommend popping into the drugstore and doing a cheeky swatch any more. 

NIGHTIME

For a trip to dinner or a night out with the girls, none thing says winter glamour more like the classic bright red lip. Paired with a shimmering eye - think iridescent golds - and a LBD and you're ready to go. At the minute I'm still loving my MAC Lustre lipstick in Ladybug. It's a MAC classic: red but not overly neon, pigmented but not drying, and paired with the lip liner in Brick you really can't go far wrong!

Something else I've been loving these past couple of weeks is the return of the dark nail. I rarely buy nail polish that isn't Essie so it's not really a surprise that I'm bringing Shearling Darling (similar linked) back into the mix this fall. Dark red polish is perfect for adding that splash of sophistication to a look and I've found that it tends to chip less than lighter colours, so it's a win-win really!

Those were my current favourite beauty reds, do let me know yours in the comments! I'm sorry I've been a tad MIA recently, but I've just moved into university and it's all kinds of hectic. 

University Room Tour: Living In Halls.

Since moving to university last Friday, my days have been a complete whirlwind of trying to find buildings and lecture theatres, frantically stalking course mates on Facebook so I wouldn't have to walk by myself and buying what seems like endless pints of milk to fuel my tea addiction. And so far, so good! What at first felt incredibly overwhelming is finally starting to mellow and I can feel myself genuinely beginning to enjoy my time without worrying. I've joined some societies, met some lovely people and had a couple of taster lectures for my course all of which is really helping to keep me busy and not think about home too much. I think it's completely natural to feel homesick and whilst I lay awake on the first night thinking 'Oh god what the hell have I done, I feel so alone' it hit me the next day that pretty much everyone felt exactly the same. 

I'm really lucky in that my flat mates are genuinely the nicest group of people who all have each other's backs and will look out for one another. It really makes me feel so thankful because I'm constantly hearing stories from other people who say that either they're flat mates speak no english and just keep to themselves, or are so shy that they never leave their rooms. Which, to be honest as an incredibly introverted person myself, I do get, but there are some situations - like uni - in which you just have to push through and try to be sociable otherwise you'll just be sadder in the long run. And being sociable doesn't necessarily mean going out to crazy parties every night of the week - me and two of my flat mates sat on my bed and watched Bake Off tonight!! 

I'm also lucky in that I managed to get really good halls - or dorms if you're from the US. My room is big enough without being overly spacious, in fact I'd say it's still pretty cosy. I wanted to share a few snaps with you all and whilst it's not crazy Pinterest Goals just yet I'm hoping to spruce things up a bit especially as the festive season draws ever closer. 

*Side Note* I've joined the photography society at uni which means I'll hopefully have access to a whole bunch of cameras and lens' (I've been promised it will) so one of my main goals is to up my photography game in a big way and share with you all some of my improved snaps! I'd also love to meet some other bloggers as I feel that's something lacking in my real life!

Let me know about your experiences living away from home or if you're still in school, tell me if you plan to head to uni or not?! 

How To: Denim For Autumn.

As the weather gets cooler and the skirts and dresses are firmly placed back in the closet for another year there is one item of clothing I always turn to: Jeans. I can remember being younger and jeans only seemed to come in two shades of blue and one horrific bootcut style, but thankfully since then, times have moved on and now a whole plethora of shapes and colours are available. 

For today's post I wanted to share with you all, some of my current favourites on the market. Most of these are mid price range and all are available at ASOS. Hopefully you can find some much needed inspiration as it looks like autumn weather is here to stay!

- JEANS -

ASOS Faded Black Mom Jeans

Pull & Bear Burgundy Skinnies

Honey Punch Distressed Boyfriend Jeans

ASOS Petite Boyfriend Jeans

River Island Distressed Jeans

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I honestly feel like jeans are one of the most versatile items of clothing on the market. They can be dressed up or dressed down, there are cuts to suit everyone and they come in every colour of the rainbow. Personally I'm obsessed with ripped boyfriend jeans which isn't a style I ever thought would work for me. I'm about as far away from 'hipster' as it's possible to get and until about a year ago was firmly on Team Skinny Jeans. And whilst I'm still a huge fan of the traditional skinny - I'm wearing some right now - sometimes it's nice to switch up your style. Most of the styles I picked features some kind of rip; they're seriously en vogue at the minute and easily add an edgy touch to even the most basic outfit. Something else I've been seeing a huge amount recently is brightly coloured detailing. Whilst I think this may be a little too far out of my comfort zone it's super fun if you want to add a touch of colour to your outfit. 

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- DENIM  -

ASOS Denim Shell Top

ASOS Denim Off The Shoulder Top

ASOS Denim Shirt Dress 

ASOS Denim Duffle Coat

ASOS Denim Cold Shoulder Shift Dress

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In all honesty aside from jeans I've never been the biggest fan of denim. I don't know why, I just never loved the whole oversized look. However recently I feel like the market has really upped it's game and so many designs and prints are being created that I genuinely love. The denim dress for example is something that I feel has been around since the dawn of time yet was always kind of associated with frumpy, older women or crazy hippie types. But some of the new releases are so stylish and chic and definitely something I would look into purchasing.

Do let me know in the comments if you liked any of the pieces I chose and of course tell me how you would style denim this fall!

Life Update: Moving To University.

I'm currently sitting on my bed it's quarter to five in the afternoon and I'm frantically writing this blog post in between trying to pack what feels like my entire life up into an abundance of plastic bags. Why? Because tomorrow (or yesterday as you're reading this) I'm moving to university to start my degree and whilst I'm really excited I'm of course slightly (okay very) nervous about what to expect. 

Firstly I'm a huge control freak. I hate nothing more than the feeling of something impending that I can't control and the stress of trying to sort nineteen years worth of stuff into 'things that I'll need' and 'things I can live without' had me up until 1AM last night worrying. This coupled with the fact that I don't really feel prepared at all when it comes to my course isn't making for a very relaxed experience! I'm trying not to think about it too much or else I'll probably have a break down, but I wanted to write a quick post to say that over the next couple of weeks my posts may be sporadic as I don't know how much time I'll have to blog.

If any of you guys have been to university and have any tips for me on how to cope and worry less then I'm all ears because right now I feel like I'm going in completely blind. 

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Of course it's not all doom and gloom and I'm really excited to meet all my flat mates, join some societies and in general have a good year away from the world of retail. Because whilst my gap year was beneficial in earning me some money, it was also incredibly tedious and I couldn't be happier to leave it all behind. 

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As I said above hopefully my posts will be regular however because I'll be settling in I'm not sure when the next one will be up. But I'm definitely not quitting blogging, I might just need a few days to find my feet!

NEW HAIR.

Before today I had never dyed my hair. It was something I'd always been too scared to do as having really dark hair can limit your choices and sometimes ending with a result that might not be exactly what was envisioned. However after much deliberating - and Pinterest stalking - I decided that I wanted to ombre my hair. 

So the last time I was getting a hair cut I asked my hairdresser if she thought creating and blonde ombre look was something that was achievable and she assured me it was. As someone who dyes my mum and sister's hair on a regular basis I trusted her opinion and decided to book myself in.   

I brought along a picture of the kind of thing I wanted her to recreate and after asking me a couple of questions, began to take me through the steps of how she would achieve my new look. As I was going ombre the main upper section of my hair would be left it's natural dark brown colour which is good for upkeep because it means I won't have any roots showing. And with super dark hair and grows ridiculously fast, I'd easily have roots in a week or two. 

For the dye she used two different colours in order to maximise the blend. We'd agreed that the immediate brown-to-blonde choppy look wasn't for me, so it was paramount to merge all the shades together. Unfortunately I'm not sure exactly what colours she used though I know one was definitely a bleach as otherwise it would be difficult to get any colour payoff at all. 

She started by pinning the very top layer of hair above my head and then worked from the bottom upwards alternating use of the two dyes. At this point I was absolutely boiling hot. It was maybe 30 degrees in the salon and I was wearing a black cape and towel to protect my neck from the dye. And of course having my hair in foils for an hour didn't really help either!!

After washing out the excess and blow dying it, she added a little wave to the bottom part. Honestly I'm so unbelievably happy with my hair, it's turned out even better than I expected! I'd definitely recommend going to a hair dresser for this kind of style because I know there is absolutely no way I could recreate it myself!

Thank you so much for reading, please let me know if you like my new hair in the comments!

Huge University Stationary Haul!

So on a post a few days back I asked if anyone would be interested in seeing a stationary haul because I went pretty crazy in Staples preparing myself for uni. A few of you said yes so here we are! To be honest I don't know what stuff I'll end up using most as this will be my first year at uni, however I wanted to be prepared so ended up purchasing most things. 

Everything in this haul is from Staples aside from the agenda which is Kate Spade and was bought on Amazon.

This haul will be mostly picture based as there is only so much you can say about a black pen! But enjoy!

KATE SPADE AGENDA 

When I was at school I literally couldn't have survived without my planner. Over the past couple of years I've had Lilly Pulitzer and Kate Spade ones and have fallen in love with them as a way of organising things. They're convenient and whilst some are more expensive than others, they do last a whole year and in the long run probably work out more cost effective than having random bits of paper floating about. 

I'm obsessed with the iridescent gold design of this one and whilst it's slightly smaller than my last (this is a medium, I had a large last year) it'll be really convenient for jotting down assignments and important dates. 

TRIPLUS FINELINERS 

I think anyone who enjoys stationary will have owned these pens at some point. They're pretty much a classic when it comes to making any written work look attractive and whilst they may not be the cheapest, I wasn't leaving Staples without them. 

PUKKA PAD & RINGBINDER 

Everyone needs a ring binder and a good notebook in their life. I don't really know what else to say apart from the purple shade fits my aesthetic nicely. 

MISCELLANEOUS STATIONARY 

Thanks for reading! Please let me know your thoughts in the comments!

Dark Lips For Autumn: Makeup Tutorial.

We're over a week into September now which totally means it's acceptable to start bringing out the dark lips / winged eyeliner tutorials right?! I mean, only a thousand and one people have indirectly tweeted me (and everyone else) saying that it's not technically autumn until the 22nd, but you know what? I don't need that kind of negativity in my life. So here we are! I wanted to show you guys one of my favourite makeup looks for this time of year. 

LIPS | CHARLOTTE TILBURY GLASTONBERRY

I've had this lipstick for around about a year now and I have to say I love it. Initially I wasn't so sure that I liked the formula (I know, I think I'm the only person to ever say that) but after finding a better way to apply it and coupling it with a lip liner I realised it was pretty much the perfect autumnal lip. (I do have a full Beauty Review from back in the day so if you're interested, click here.) 

For me, the key with such a dark lipstick is to apply it using a flat lip brush. Personally I use a Real Techniques one as it's small enough to be able to create fine lines around the edges of your lips whilst simultaneously filling it the centres. The reason why I think this works to well is that for me, the formula of this product tends to stick to the drier areas of your lips - even if I've just exfoliated them - but for some reason this eliminates that problem. I also pop just a touch of lip balm underneath as well which does take away some of the matte texture but helps keep my lips from drying out. 

If you're intrigued by Glastonberry I'd say definitely go for it. It's more of a red wine colour as opposed to a 'true' berry but of course depending on your natural lip colour and how thickly you apply it you can switch up the colour to suit your personal preference. 

LIP LINER | CHARLOTTE TILBURY IN BERRY NAUGHTY

As I mentioned above using a lip liner with this lipstick literally saved me. Because of the square topped design I found it so hard to get a precise line - especially around my Cupid's Bow which is where the use of a lip liner really helps. For me I wanted to get a matching Charlotte Tilbury one so I headed back to the counter and asked one of the lovely girls in Selfridges, Birmingham. 

She recommended two shades, both of which were fairly similar however for my lips I decided to go with the shade Berry Naughty. It's a lovely plum colour that's maybe just a touch lighter than Glastonberry, so it works perfectly as a lip liner. 

EYELINER | CHARLOTTE TILBURY: FELINE FLICK

Another firm favourite of mine. I think this is actually my second one of these eyeliners because they're just so damn good! If you're after a really precise pen that glides perfectly over your eyes without dragging or losing colour then this product is your girl. In fact if I could only recommend one product from this post it would 100% be this eyeliner as I'm obsessed with it! 

Let me know if you enjoyed this post and I will be back with another one soon!

My Netflix Recommendations | Autumn 2016

When the rain starts drizzling and the skies are grey and bleak, there is nothing better than curling up under a blanket, lighting a scented candle and watching some really great Netflix. Back in February last year I did a post recommending some of my favourite shows however since then I've seen and adored a fair few more that I think the time is nigh for another post. (I won't be talking about the same shows even though I still love them so if you're interested in me waffling on about Gossip Girl, Pretty Little Liars or Shadowhunters, you can click here.) 

*Also quick disclaimer I know that burning a christmas candle in September may be seen as a tad premature but this is one of my all time favourite scents and I was just feeling the need for something cosy!*

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1 - BATES MOTEL

I'm obsessed with this show! I haven't been watching it for that long as I'm only a few episodes into season 2 but I'm insanely addicted. If you're not aware, this show is a prequel to the horror movie Psycho that follows Norman Bates and his mum Norma who run a small motel business. You don't have to have seen the original film to watch the show (I haven't) and I don't think you really need to be a fan of horror either. 

The reason why I love this show so much is because of the storylines and the characters. The acting is phenomenal and the plot lines really push the show forward leaving you with so many unanswered questions that you just have to keep watching. It's set when Norman is around seventeen so it's got the stereotypical high school drama coupled with some much more sinister plots and to be honest it's just very good and you should really give it a go!

So far I believe there are four seasons, three of which are available to watch on Netflix so I'd highly recommend giving this one a shot if you're looking for something completely different to watch.

Image Source: Here

2 - NAOMI & ELY'S NO KISS LIST

This one is a movie as opposed to a show and to be honest I can't remember exactly why I watched this. But it's so good, guys, its just so good. If you want a light hearted chick flick with comedy, romance and fantastic characters look no further because I think this movie is everything you need for a perfect girly night in. The story follows college student Naomi and her gay best friend Ely who have always lived opposite each other in the same apparently block in New York city. Together they formed a 'no kiss list' of people who essentially as the name indicates the other person is forbidden to kiss. This is supposed to ensure that there will be no drama in their friendship - or at least no drama from boys. However this doesn't exactly go to plan as something pretty big drives a wedge in their friendship (no spoilers guys!) and most of the film is them working out their place in each others lives.

I'm not gonna lie it's quite cheesy (especially at the beginning) but if you work through the cheese then it's just such a good, light hearted watch! Also it has Matthew Daddario in it, which is basically a winner any day isn't it?!

Image Source: Here

3 - STRANGER THINGS

Oh god I hear you cry, someone else harping on about Stranger Things?! It can't be that good... Can it?! Well I'm here as your friendly Netflix addict to tell you it is in fact, that good. The show follows a group of kids (who are all just the most incredible actors seriously...) who's best friend mysteriously goes missing after a night playing Dungeons and Dragons. The most part of the series is them trying to find out what happened to him with the help of an intriguing girl called Eleven who appears to have magical powers. 

It's the perfect mix of horror (non one to watch at midnight if you're alone in the house!) comedy and just in general a great storyline. and since it's only eight episodes... I mean you could watch that in a day am I right?!

Image Source: Here

Do let me know your favourite things to watch on Netflix! 

Autumn 2016 | 3 Things To Look Forward To...

I've been eagerly awaiting autumn ever since around about mid-august when I suddenly became fed up of hot weather in favour of wanting to curl up under a blanket and rewatch Zoella's Vlogmas. Which I did, but that's another story. Fall is my favourite season: everything from the golden hues to the cosy jumpers to halloween and dark lipstick you can bet your bottom dollar I'll be loving it. So for today's post I wanted to talk through 5 reasons why I'm looking forward to Autumn...

1 - COOLER WEATHER & COSY SWEATERS

All in all I think summer fashion is still my favourite (think lace and cute patterned shorts) but autumn / winter does come very close. As the weather cools the knitted jumpers come out of hiding and let's be honest, they're just so darn comfortable. Like many others I love nothing more than a chunky knit paired with some dark wash denim and a wooden scarf and I'm so excited that the weather seems to have gotten the memo that autumn is here to stay.

In fact yesterday as I was driving back home from town at about 6pm I had the headlights on as cloud was settling and rain was pouring down. Naturally I couldn't help but put the heaters on and my car was just so cosy and lovely. I mean call me pretentious but that just made me so happy! 

2 - DARK LIPS & WINGED EYELINER

It's clearly not a secret that I'm a makeup lover. I mean you are on my beauty blog after all so I think it's safe to say I'm so excited for the return of the cherry lips and grey nail polish. Because super bright coral lips for summer are all well and good but nothing makes me happier than a touch of Charlotte Tilbury Glastonberry gracing my lips. Personally I apply it with a lip brush and a matching lip liner just to ensure that my pout is fully coated but you do you. For something slightly more subtle but with similar berry undertones I'd recommend MAC's Capricious from the Lustre collection. This also has the benefit of being super moisturising which is perfect as central heating can be really drying on your skin. 

When it comes to the nails anything dark red or grey is usually my forte. I'm a huge Essie addict and can't recommend them enough so if you're looking for a nice new polish that won't chip in under a day I'd suggest having a little look at their fall colours. 

For winged eyeliner - another autumn staple - you really can't go wrong with the Charlotte Tilbury Feline Flick!

3 - THE RETURN OF SCHOOL / UNIVERSITY

I know for a lot of us September calls the return of education whether that's in school, sixth form, college or university. My sister is due to start her A Levels and I'm off to university to begin a marketing degree. Right about now I'm equal parts excited and terrified. I'm going to be moving about an hour and a half away from home to live with complete strangers who I'm sure will be all kinds of lovely but the fear of the unknown is definitely getting to me. If you're at uni please feel free to leave me any advice because I'm totally clueless right now! 

However on a more chill note this does mean something super exciting... Stationary shopping is back! Sophie (my sister) and I went to Staples on Friday and had the best time picking up tonnes of beautiful pens and notebooks. I'm not sure what it is about stationary shopping but it's just the best! 

Okay I hope you guys enjoyed todays post and are as excited for autumn as I am! I'm currently in the process of making a spotify playlist for september full of super chill autumnal tunes so if you've got any recommendations please feel free to leave them below! 

I'm also considering doing a stationary haul post so if that's something you're interested in please let me know!