Indian Summer: BBQ Outfit

Primark Dress / New Look Sandals / Primark Necklace / Primark Ring / Kate Moss '107' / Nails Inc.'Tate' 

After the uncharacteristic burst of sun throughout July I fully expected to be back to my winter woolies by the end of August, but alas here I am off to a BBQ earlier this week wearing a summer dress and sandals! I've got far more wear out of my summer clothes this year than ever before and this dress has definitely become my most worn item of the summer months. Pretty, comfy, flattering and tan enhancing, this has been one great little find of a five pound dress! I actually featured it here in early June paired with a leather jacket and boots, but lately it's been all about my tan sandals (another item I've worn to death this Summer) and statement jewellery. I absolutely love my Primark chunky gold collar and turquoise stone ring, just goes to show you don't have to pay mega bucks to get stylish seasonal accessories. Hair wise there are no surprises here as the messy 'I just got out of bed' (No really, I just did) beachy waves are becoming my signature look, but I did do something a big radical as you'll notice I'm not wearing peachy lips and nails. Shock horror! Instead, I'm opting to give an early nod to autumn by donning deep berry shades which in this photo are courtesy of the infamous Rimmel Kate Moss '107' and Nails Inc.'Tate'. For some reason I'm really liking this contrasting beauty look right now and think it's a good way to ease into the more dramatic grungey trends coming our way. This weekend I'm off to Bristol for one of my best friend's birthday parties and I've been rather optimistic by packing more summer dresses... Let's hope the British Indian summer continues.

Blog Sale and Advertising on the Budget Boutique!

This is just a little post to let you know I've now added a blog sale and advertising packages to the Budget Boutique, which you can find links to at the top of my side bar. I've been thinking about doing both of these things for quite a while now and seeing as I'm coming up to my second blog birthday and also have a good amount of followers and page views I thought now would be a good time- beauty blogging is a very expensive hobby after all! I have so much extra make up, clothing, hair care and skin care that I can't possibly use on one face and body, just like the Collection lip cream set above, so would rather it went to a more loving home. There's a great range of brand new and barely used stuff for you to get your mitts on for incredibly budget prices so if you want to have a browse and find out more you can do so HERE. In terms of advertising I'm hoping to get lots of lovely blogs and small business some deserved readers and customers by popping their adverts in my side bar. There are four different packages to choose from ranging from only £3-£12 that also come with lots of bonus things to get you promoted. If you're interested in securing yourself a space for October or want to find out more please do so HERE. I hope you don't mind this promotey sort of post but I do like to keep you in the loop (and encourage you to own more beauty products), so thanks for reading and I will be back to normal beauty and fashion posting tomorrow!

Portsmouth Victorious Festival

Just a few snaps from the Portsmouth Victorious festival I went to with my family this weekend. My very talented sister Nat performed on the Bandstand/Buskers stage and we also saw people like Charlotte Church on the mainstage later in the evening. Alongside the music there were so many clothes, craft and food stalls making it such a cute cultural festival and as it was located at the historic dockyard everywhere had a real 1940's wartime feel about it too which I loved! You can probably tell from the cloudy/sunny photos that the weather was a bit temperamental (I clearly thought it was autumnal enough to get out the berry lips and nails!) but it seems to be really hot and lovely again now so I'm sad I have to go to work tomorrow, although I am going out for drinks with friends tonight so it's not all bad!

What did you get up to this bank holiday weekend?

My Everyday Makeup Routine #3

This bank holiday Monday marks my third everyday make up routine. It might not look like it from all those products but this everyday makeup look is a lot more natural than the other two I've done as I cannot get enough of bronzed dewy skin and subtle pretty lips and eyes at the moment. I'm guessing that will all change once Autumn hits and I get obsessed with smokey eyes and vampy lips again, but for now it's all about the Bourjois Healthy Mix base, peach blush and shy girl/coral reef lip combo, not forgetting the pretty eye make up that I spoke about in my last post. If you want to see me create this look and talk about all the products above then please do watch the video and subscribe if you like it! I'm currently having a chilled out bank holiday morning followed by a girly BBQ this afternoon, which is a much needed relaxed day after my busy weekend in Somerset and Portsmouth where I went to a Hollywood party and the Victorious festival. I had such a lovely time and got to spend some nice quality time with the family (The boyf was away at Reading festival lucky thing) as well as get dressed up, so there will be posts about outfits and what I got up to later this week. But for now have a wonderful day off everyone! 

The Summer Eye Staples

A bit of a late post from me tonight ladies as I've been in London all afternoon for a very exciting blog meeting with a really big brand, I can't say too much yet but I'll be sure to let you know when things get going! Anyway moving on from that and onto the highly important subject of summer eye make up...When it comes to the hot months of the year (I'm still in shock Britain has actually had hot moths this year!) I do think less is more. Nobody wants melty heavy panda eyes as they laze in the sun so I've cut down on the eye liner, upped the shimmer and gone fluttery with the lashes. To create this look I start with one of my all time favourite make up items, the Benefit Ceaseless Cream Shadow in 'Birthday Suit'. The huge dent that exists within the pot is testament to how perfect it is. I've done a full review here, but basically it's the perfect subtle champagne shade with just the right amount of shimmer that makes it an ideal pretty base shadow that lasts literally all day. I take it all over the lid and under the waterline then add a bit of depth and contour with various powder shadows. I actually think eye shadow is more important in my current eye look than eye liner- shock horror- but I still can't help but add a little liner with my new holy grail pencil, the Maybelline Master Smokey. This is so pigmented and easy to work with making it super quick for me to draw a thin line around the outer corners of my eyes and blend out for a natural lash thickening, eye enlarging look. This can also be used in liberal amounts all over the lid to create a cracking dark smokey stunner, oo la la. One thing I never scrimp on no matter what the weather is mascara and I've actually found one I prefer to my beloved Next Volumiser- the Bourjois Volume Clubbing Mascara. The best thing about this is how transfer proof it is. Because of how long my lashes are I often end up with a line of mascara below my eyebrows, but this stays put purely on my lashes and also gives incredible volume, length and definition. One for the wishlist. Or for the Boots basket.  

What are your summer eye staples?

I heart London: My Weekend

After really enjoying the recent lifestyle posts by my favourite bloggers Lily Melrose and Lily Pebbles I decided to have a go at a lifestyle post myself (still with some beauty and fashion thrown in. obvs.) by making a little photo diary of my weekend away in London. My boyfriend has recently moved back up there so after I finished work on Friday I travelled up on the train reading 'The Perks of being a Wallflower' which I am now obsessed with after falling in love with the film. On Saturday we tubed into central for a spot of shopping, an incredible burger and oreo milkshake at Byrons and to watch Charlie and the Chocolate Factory the musical. I'm a massive musical theatre geek so really enjoyed it, the set and tech in particular were amazing. I'd also really recommend Byrons for their dream of a milkshake creation alone! We actually spent ages walking around London after the show because you don't have people elbowing you out the way every five seconds at night, although there were some crazy drunk people- proven by the party bus we saw... Sunday was a super lazy day that consisted of my favourite causal crop and levis outfit, a topknot, Essie 'fiji' and walking into town purely to purchase an Elle magazine so I could get the Bumble and Bumble freebie. As if every blogger wouldn't do the same! On Monday I thought I'd make the most of being in London before I travelled back home so met up with some of my best uni friends for food at the incredible Breakfast Club, a mooch around Spitalfields market and some casual drinks that made us feel like high flying city dwellers. Strawberry and lime cider is my favourite because it tastes like an alcoholic petit filous, amazing! The Breakfast Club was also totally worth the bloggers hype, the decor alone was so kitsch and cool and my food 'The All American' provided me with the best pancakes I've ever had, although I do now need to go on a health kick this week... All in all I had a really great time and hope to do lots more lifestyle posts like this again in the future.

Do you like lifestyle posts? What did you get up to this weekend?

Maxing it up: The Primark Summer Staples

Primark Neppy Tee / Primark Maxi Skirt / Primark Collar Necklace / New Look Belt / New Look Bracelet / Dorothy Perkins Ring / New Look Sandals / Topshop Sunglasses

Just a quick Sunday post from me today ladies as I'm still on my little weekend away with the boy in London but I've got a bit of time whiles he's out for a run so I thought I'd show you a couple of new summer staples I've recently got from our beloved Primarni. Until a couple of weeks ago I avoided maxi skirts like the plague. Being a definite shorty at only 5"3 I thought they'd swamp me and my little legs so I resigned myself to simply looking on with envy while all the taller girls walked around in gorgeous maxi skirts and dresses. However, after seeing how great other small girls looked in there maxis, realising how versatile they are and spotting this £10 black bargain in Primark I thought 'what they hey!' and ran with it to the till. I did have to get the smallest size and use a belt to make sure it doesn't drag on the ground too much but I totally love it. It hides all sorts of 'I've eaten too much ice cream' sins and nips me in at the smallest part of my frame making this one super flattering piece of clothing. As it's so high wasted I usually pair it with a crop top (how surprising) but as I had these photos taken after work I'd actually put it with two of my other Primark summer staples- the cream neppy tee and aztec collar necklace- for a slightly smarter but still laid back feel which was livened up by the chunky accessories. I believe these both came in at a bargain £4 and I pair them with different things all the time so they were great little buys. Oh Primark, you have been good to me this Summer! There will be a nice snap happy lifestyle post coming tomorrow or Tuesday about my weekend but it's been really lovely and I hope yours has been too!

What are your Primark Summer Staples?

The New Release: Bourjois Colour Boost in 'peach on the beach'

Unless you've been hiding under a make up less rock (god forbid) for the past few weeks then you'll already know about this little colourful gem of a new release courtesy of Bourjois. When I first heard about these new Color Boost Lip Crayons I actually thought, 'oh dear Bourjois you're a bit late on the lip crayon bandwagon', but a couple of weeks, some tempting blog posts and an irresistible 3 for 2 deal later I found 'peach on the beach' had been added to my ever growing lip product collection. But c'mon with a name like that who can blame me?

At first sight this product seems exactly the same as all the other Clinique Chubby Stick dupes, but there are definitely a few things which make this stand out from the lip crayon crowd. Firstly, the colour. Lighter summery shades are something even my beloved Revlon Kissable Balm Stains haven't done well but 'peach on the beach' is the most gorgeous candy pink with peachy coral undertones, brighter than a nude but still very wearable. The other three shades available are just as lovely, but naturally my peach addiction led me to get this one...I'm signing up to peachy lip product anonymous next week I promise. Secondly, the finish is super glossy (but not 'ohh hellooo hairy lip in the wind' sticky) and you can see from the swatch above how much shine it gives. This much shine in a product with great pigmentation is quite an achievement and it also gives the bullet moisturising properties that make it glide on and feel so light and comfortable on the lips. With this glossy finish you might expect quite poor staying power and it's true that this doesn't have the 10 hour waterproof stay as promised but I do find that if you layer this on in the morning it'll still be there after lunch, even if the shine has gone down. With the added bonus of SPF 15, a reasonable £7.99 price tag and the usual 'I can apply this without looking' perk of the lip crayon form, I just can't fault the Colour Boost. brb, off to Boots to snap up the rest...

I've pretty much just been working and career hunting for the past couple of days but tomorrow night I'm going to London for the weekend to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory the musical and hopefully visit the blogger's favourite 'Breakfast Club' with my boyfriend. Then on Monday I've planned to meet up with some of my uni besties for lunch in central so I'm ridiculously excited for all that. If you want to follow my little London adventure then I'll be posting lots of photos and updates on Twitter and Instagram! 

Have you caved in to the Colour Boost hype? 

How to go from brown to blonde at home (& maintain it)

Before I decided to go back to my more natural roots (get it?) a bit last week by going ombré I made sure to film a video on how to go from brown to blonde at home AND avoid the horrible carrot orange stages inbetween. Oh yes, I did have to endure delightful carrot orange stages getting to that light colour due to  not researching before attacking my locks. Anyway, I know lots of girls with brown hair dream of becoming a blondey but don't have the bank balance to do it so I really hope this video can help you get there! It's also got advice on maintaining both salon and home dyed blonde hair and avoiding brassiness which would be great for ombré girls too. As always please subscribe to my Youtube channel if you want to see more and feel free to comment here or contact me on Twitter if you have any more questions about hair colour or maybe how to grow it as I went though a bit of a drastic change in that department too!

Summer lovin': Picnic Outfit

Topshop crop top / Topshop skater skirt / New Look 'converse' / New Look belt / h&m necklace / Prairie Charms bracelet / Anklet from Spain

These photos were taken by my very lovely friend Faye at a picnic me and the girls had at Mote Park last week (on a pre-ombre hair day just in case you're confused by the blonde). It's such a pretty place and the weather was so sunny I couldn't resist having some outfit shots taken by the lake even if I did feel a bit of an numpty posing by myself on the platform! As the title suggests my clothes of choice for the day were a bit Sandy from Grease inspired- full denim skater skirt from Topshop, cute little crop also from Topshop and some dupe low top 'converse'. I haven't worn any outfit with shoes that resemble trainers in so long (I usually reserve any shoe with a rubber sole for the gym), but after buying these for some bar work I did at a festival I now love pairing them with shorts and skirts for a playful retro feel, plus they are super comfy! I also spent today with the girls as we went to a cute little tea room for lunch, they're definitely one of the best parts of being back home again and if you fancy following what we're up to you can check out my Twitter and Instagram...

The Boutique joins Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest!

Last Friday something very exciting happened. I finally upgraded my stupid crashberry for a shiny white iPhone 5! I was so excited by all the new apps I could have (I'm sure my friends will soon be bored of my snapchats and my fingers will be bored of playing Candy Crush), but the first one I headed for was obviously Instagram. I love it so much already and have spent all weekend snapping and filming bits and bobs from my life. My page will probably consist of outfits, make up, nails, friends, food, cats and my travels so if you like those sorts of things I'd love it if you could please follow me HERE or there is an icon in the side bar. As I'm new to it it'll be a great way of me finding all of you lovely bloggers too! For some reason expanding the Budget Boutique onto Instagram made me want to take it to other social media platforms too so today I've made a Facebook page and joined Pinterest. I'll be posting extra beauty tips, product recommendations and photos on my Facebook page so it'd be amazing if you liked/shared it HERE. Then on my Pinterest I've made boards of my personal style and inspirations as well as girl crushes and man loves so I'm hoping there will be images everyone loves, if you think you might like them then pretty please follow my Pinterest boards HERE. This may seem like a 'follow me, follow me blah blah' post but I really want to connect with you too so please do leave links of any social media platforms you have below so I can check them out! On a side note if you already follow me on Twitter, my handle has now changed to @MegsBBoutique so please don't use @MegGunn_ anymore as it won't work, boooooo.

Oh and I'm also only one GFC follower away from the big 1000 and have a big old giveaway planned for when I hit it so I'd love you forever if you decide to get me to that milestone today...

And whilst I'm talking about Budget Boutique expansion I'll also mention that I have a whole load of pages planned to go up this week including advertising starting from £2 and a HUGE blog sale with some very lovely stuff. Stay tuned.

Are there any other iPhone apps or social media platforms you recommend I join?