Victoria's Secret London

I have wanted to go to the VS store in London ever since I heard that one was opening I finally I managed to get there! I went with my friend and fellow MUA/blogger Vicky http://agirlandherzuca.blogspot.co.uk and knew I would end up spending some money (oops) as we both have a shopping addiction and seem to enable each other! 

The store was incredibly impressive. Located on new bond street, surrounded by the best designer shops in London, the store stands out from the crowd with huge window displays of beautiful VS show costumes and seductive dark wood finish. The interior is just as stunning with perfume,bras, knickers and costumes lining the walls and drawers full of goodies! 

Chandeliers and underwear - heaven!

2 hours and lots of money later...

Vicky showed more restraint than me but still left with goodies 

VS bodies (or not) but yum for Vicky's gateau!

MAC taxi on Regent Street

I bought 3 bras, 2 pairs of knickers and...

a body mist which smells gorgeous!

I will definitely be going back to the store soon to buy more underwear and beauty goodies! The service was fantastic particularly from associate Katie who measured me and made sure that I found the perfect bra. The team make sure that you are given a perfect bra card which documents your size and which bra styles you have tried and works as a checklist system. They suggest getting measured every 6 months to double check sizing. It is worthwhile getting measured in there because the American sizes can differ from UK.

Have you been to the store yet and what did you think?

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Make up shopping haul!

I've been absent from blogging for a while thanks to some rather horrible events in my personal life and a very busy schedule but I'm back and ready to tell you all about some exciting things I have bought recently! As a MAC girl I have of course bought a few make up products from the new collections and couldn't resist popping into Illamasqua to see their new collections too.

So here are my most recent make up purchases! 

Illamasqua "Brink" lipstick - gorgeous coral matte shade is so different from anything I already own! 

"Intimacy" lipgloss - nude shade from the new Naked Strangers collection which will go well over any other colours!

MAC 217 brush - a girl can never have too many of these, an essential blending brush

MAC lip palette in "Plums" - contains some of my favourite colours for Autumn such as Captive and Hang up! A new product I picked up from the Pro store which will be so handy for photoshoots and freelance jobs!

"Supercontinental" blusher - From the new Styleseeker collection this peach shade with a hint of shimmer looks amazing with a tan!

"Rosy Outlook" Pro Pongwear powder blusher - So creamy yet still a powder this longwear blush is from the new Office Hours collection. It really does stay put and this soft girly pink shade would suit girls who are afraid of going too dark with blush!

Top to bottom: "Saigon Summer" "Sunny Seoul" "Coral Bliss"

These cremesheen lipsticks from the new Cremesheen Pearl collection are soft and pretty yet pack a punch of colour. I have been wearing these non stop since I bought them as they are comfortable on the lips and last really well! Limited edition so grab them while you can!

Is there anything from the new collections that you have your eye on?

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My Ombre Hair!

So I recently took the plunge and decided to steer away from my regular blonde highlights and jump on board the dip dye wagon. I don't usually follow hair trends but I loved the idea having my healthy original hair colour at the root whilst being able to add a bit of the blonde which I love so much :) I had seen photos of celebrities, bloggers and most importantly Lauren Conrad (love her) and these gorgeous images were the inspiration I needed to go for it! I decided to only have the top layer of hair done as my bottom layer is already light from previous highlights and this way if I didn't like the style I could change it back more easily! So.....here is my new hair!

In foils at the ends

Finished result - a sleek graduation from light brown to light blonde

Ombre looks nice curled too!

In natural light ready for work!

I am glad that I stuck with my original root colour as I didn't want to contrast between light and dark to be too severe, especially as this was really a trial run! Next time I will definitely be getting the same again with more blonde through the ends and perhaps a darker colour at the root!

What do you guys think of my new do?

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Chanel pop up shop!

I went to Covent Garden last week with my make up artist and below beauty blogger friend Vicky from http://agirlandherzuca.blogspot.co.uk/ and we accidentally stumbled across the Chanel pop up shop! Of course we couldn't resist going in and luckily were given permission to take some photos for our blogs! The shop is situation in the plaza area and looks as sophisticated and beautiful as we expected. The sleek black and white interior, winding staircase and pops of colour with bright nail polishes and sparkling lip glosses on the walls were stunning. 

Gorgeous nail colours!

Vicky in lipgloss heaven!

Vicky in front of the famous C's!

Make up art on the walls

It is definitely worth heading to this pop up store especially if you are a make up addict like me! I didn't make any purchases that day (finally I have shown restraint) but the staff were very helpful and attentive and the range was fantastic. I tried a few products including the matte lipsticks and certainly have a few colours on my ever growing make up wish list. I also need to invest in some more Chanel foundations as I adore the textures and finishes of them. My favourite everyday Chanel foundation is Vitalumiere aqua whilst Perfection Lumiere is stunning for a flawless finish. This store is well worth a visit!

 Find out more about the shop at http://popupstore.chanel.com/coventgarden/flash/index.html

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Hair inspiration!

I have been playing around with new hair colours recently as I have got a little bored of getting the same blonde highlights every month and for some reason becoming single has inspired me to get a little more creative with my style! My hair journey started with blonde, then slightly darker, then back to my natural mousey brown colour with blonde highlights underneath and now I am hoping to go for ombre hair! I have my hair appointment at 4pm today and am seriously considering trying the dip dye trend and have been looking for inspiration photos to show my hairdresser! I have always loved Lauren Conrad's style and so when I found that she had ombre hair now it certainly convinced me to give it a go!

Here is my hair journey so far!

Blonde highlights

Darker blonde with blonde highlights

Mousey brown with blonde underneath

Darker brown with darker blonde underneath

Current hair which has slightly faded with brown and blonde tones through it!

What do you think of ombre hair and do you think I should go for it?!

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MAC Heavenly Creatures

I absolutely love this new collection from MAC! Obviously I might be a little biased as an employee but I genuinely enjoy using all of the products in this collection and am really impressed with the look and feel of them. On my training update I got given some goodies to try at home and wear on counter and I adore them! I received a mineralize skinfinish in Center of the Universe, a coral, gold powder which is perfect for highlighting cheekbones or adding a pop of shimmer colour to the cheeks and high points of the face, a mineralise eyeshadow in Earthly, a silver grey tone shadow which provides a soft sweep of cool grey onto the lid and can be combined with lots of other colours and Cut a Caper lipstick which I have been lusting after since its original release in the Tartan Tale collection years ago. A soft coral tone, this is the perfect colour for someone who wants to try brights this Summer but wants a subtle lustre finish rather than a pigmented neon look. 

I will definitely be getting more of the collection, I've particularly got my eye on the creme sheen lip glosses and the mineralize skin finish in light year. The products look beautiful so make perfect gifts and the colours are pigmented but soft so anyone who wants to try something different would love the subtlety of the shades. 

Have you tried any of this collection and what do you think of it?

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London Muse - Bridal make up & hair and Hairstyling course

I have been absent from blogging for a while due to a combination of work and training and various other personal issues. Aside from the fact that I am now single (scary times) I have also been learning lots of new skills which is very exciting for my career :)

I began my make up journey at London Muse make up school where I completed an intensive make up course. I have since worked as a freelance make up artist and most recently as a retail artist at MAC part time which I am loving every minute of! I decided to go back to Muse to build on my make up skills and in particular look at the bridal world of make up and hairstyling so that I can offer both hair and make up as my services. I have always been extremely interested in hairstyling and this course looks at the basics from blow drying and using GHD's to up styles and vintage hair. The bridal course consisted of 4 days of make up and 2 of hair, then the second week was purely hairstyling. I loved every minute of this 2 week course and as always felt great being part of the Muse family. This is truly a make up school that cares about each and every one of its students and the aftercare is second to none.

Here are some photos from my 2 weeks there!

My updo using wraps and braids

I created a coral bridal look on Kate

I used a conical wand to give Gina curls!

My fringe braid festival style

Tutor Yannick created a beautiful bridal look on Josie

My bridal look on Bernadetta

Tutor and founder of Muse Nicci Jackson using Airbase airbrush system on Gina with flawless results!

I created GHD curls and a simple romantic up style 

We used Paul Mitchell products and got some freebies to start our hair kits!

I used lilac's for a fashion led bridal look on Gina

Deconstructed updo

My first cornrows!  

Deconstructed beehive for fashion

 Wrapping hair to create a sleek updo

I created a quiff retro up style

 

My romantic vintage style with criss cross design 

My favourite style of the week! French braid with fishtail plait 

My first simple updo using a bun ring

Nicci's fashion mohawk with colour!

I had an incredible two weeks at the school and learnt so many new skills and have learned to be as creative with hair as I am with make up and am looking forward to combining the two skills and using them on future work I do. I have had a lot of questions about this course so here is the school website where you can find information on all future courses :)

http://londonmuse.co.uk/

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