Friday, 19 August 2016

Let's talk about summer

Hola mis amigos! (Let's pretend I didn't just look that up on google translate...)

Summer will be slowly coming to a close soon, sadly, as we watch shops bring in their back to school stock, and slowly less sun emojis are used on your snapchats. Like everyone, I'm not looking forward to putting away the shorts and crop tops for another year, because in English winter, I'm not expecting to be seeing much of them. So I thought I'd talk about my top 5 summer fashion and beauty favourites today, and why they've been so important in my summer.

  1. Dark brown kohl liner. I swear, when I was on holiday, this liner was my best friend. I personally can't not wear eyeliner, otherwise I literally look as if I've just woken up from my grave. And, it doubled as my eyebrow pencil, which was actually so great for me. I took a whole makeup bag on holiday with me, filled with so much stuff and I literally used only mascara and my liner, because I just didn't have the effort. Is anyone else like this at summer? Let me know please, I don't want to be the only one.
  2. Playsuits. Before I went on holiday, I had never worn one of these before, because I didn't really see the point in them? But I bought this gorgeous blue with pink flowers playsuit from Superdry, and it had the sweetest heart-shaped neckline. I wore it so much on holiday, because it was so loose and flowy and comfy and ugh I just love it. I've now decided I want a black one, with lace trim, and a white one as well, because I saw two French girls wearing them, with matching Air Maxes, one wearing black and one white, and I actually loved the whole look when I saw them.
  3. Swing Dresses. At Superdry, I also picked up a bright pink (basically NEON PINK) swing dress. I would never go for this kind of thing usually. I've never worn a swing dress before, and I never ever wear neon. I like to stick more...um...quiet? colours, so this was all new to me, and at first I was like 'no way this dress is brighter than my future'. I still tried it on though, and I loved it. It was tight at the top, as if it was a body-con, then went out slightly at the bottom. It also had a high neck, and I just loves it. It was so flattering, and I got used to the colour, and now it's been a complete favourite for me this summer. 
  4. French Braids. I know that I'm not bringing around this big new thing here, but I genuinely fell in love with them much more this summer. After I cut my hair to from mid-boob length, to just-on-my-collar-bones length, braiding my hair in two french b raids has been so much quicker and easier. Granted, it does look better with long hair, but I don't really care because they are so cute. I remember when I was in year seven or eight (7th or 8th grade) at school, two french braids became such a massive trend at my school, and literally everyone had them in, and I was always really sad because I could never do them. :( Anyway, french braids were so convenient for me this summer. They were the best thing to wear at the beach or in the pool, because they just stay there, and don't fly around too much, and of course the next morning you have those adorable waves that everyone gets after having braids in. 
  5. Jersey shorts. Even before school finished, these were such a summer favourite for me. At school, everyone wears shorts under their school skirt when they're wearing socks, in case someone pulls down our skirt and takes us by surprise, because we don't want to look at everyone's underwear. Anyway, I have a grey and black pair and I literally have lived in them 24/7 for the past 4 months, and I think everyone in the world needs a pair.
Alright my lovelies, there's ya five. Not as interesting as a winter or autumn set, but summer isn't really a season for makeup, it's all just about going out and enjoying any good weather you get haha. Until next time xoxo

Sunday, 29 May 2016

Let's Talk About Eyebrows...

Eyebrows. Why are they so important to us? Why do I find myself examining everyone's eyebrows if they are less than five feet from me? How is it that when I would draw pictures of people when I was younger, I would draw them without eyebrows because I thought they 'didn't look nice', yet now I draw them on my own face?

I've often asked people why we have eyebrows, because what really is the purpose of them? Some tell me they're to frame your face and make you look human. My mum says they're to keep dust out your eyes. I think they're there to be a pain. At school everyday, all I see is eyebrows: big, little, slim thick, dark, light, visible or invisible. Some people's eyebrows make me cry because I want them, some make me cry because I know my eyebrows look like them, sadly.

So what can we do? These days everyone wants to have the signature 'tumblr' eyebrows, but only about 7% of people actually know how to get them. We can pluck, wax, shave, thread our eyebrows but sometimes they never go the way we want. I thought I'd share my three top tips on helping to shape and fill in your brows.

  1. Tweezers will be your best friend. Plucking is one of the most common ways of shaping your eyebrows, and keeping them neat. Angled tweezers are the best to use, and I find it's always less painful to take many hairs at once, quickly, rather than one at a time. I also find it helpful to apply some sort of lotion before I pluck, because I find tweezing SO painful. 
  2. Always follow your natural brow shape. When filling in your brows, make sure you are following the way they are going, rather than drawing a new shape completely. Do this by taking your brow product (pencil, gel, powder) and drawing a strong line along the bottom of your brow, and along the tail. Then take the product along the top and draw another line, but not as harsh. Blend them together, and your brow will be perfectly filled in, without needing to draw any random brow shapes.  
  3. Make sure you choose the right product to fill them in. For a flawless eyebrow look, you're going to want to go with a brow pomade, like the Anastasia Dipbrow (£15/$20). If you like quite a natural look, go with a pencil, and use light strokes to fill in. For somewhere in the middle, go with a powder, but be careful as these sometimes don't last as long and aren't good for drawing extra lines. 

Remember that your eyebrows are completely different to anyone else's, and that no two eyebrows look the same, as they are sisters not twins. If you like your brows the way they are naturally, then you go! You keep those brows and you slay them, because everything you are born with is why you're beautiful.