Wednesday 30 October 2013

Blog Loving #1

As there are only two days left of October (devil ears and fake blood at the ready girls) I wanted to introduce you to the lovely ladies in my sidebar and remind you there's only one day left to put yourself there for next month...

Sarah's Beauty Emporium is a Beauty, Fashion and Lifestyle blog, meaning there's something for everyone! Starting off as a beauty blog when it first started in January 2013, it has broadened it's horizons and new features Fashion and Lifestyle posts. With many of the posts being product reviews, you can discover new brands and products - who knows, your next holy grail product could be waiting for you!

Hi, my name is Emily and I'm a beauty, fashion and lifestyle blogger. I have a very healthy makeup addiction and love to talk all about it. I've only been blogging for a few months owns and have no idea why hadn't started earlier! Sharing my opinions and trying out new things is one thing I love and I really enjoy doing it. You can follow me on twitter @emilie_jay for updates and latest blog posts, you can also follow my blog via google friends connect at xxlondongirlxx.blogspot.co.uk. I would love for you to drop by and leave your thoughts and opinions, I appreciate every comment and opinion and love reading through them as well as finding new blogs through them!

Find out how you can be in my next Blog Loving post here!
Tuesday 29 October 2013

October Favourites



So it's the end of October and you all know what that means...Christmas music/jumpers/nails are finally acceptable (woo hooooo)! Well that and it's October Favourites time. I've been loving soooo much this month I just had to go and make a video as well. I'm sorry about the quality of my photos and videos at the moment but as I'm leaving in the dark and getting home in the dark on workdays and going away every weekend there is literally no light for me to use, however I will be getting some proper soft box lighting asap so if you have any recommendations for that please let me know! Anyway, in terms of favourites I've been loving bright bases, monochrome nails, Soap and Glory scents and super fun prints, with the brand new stand outs being Benefit Watts Up Highlighter and Dove Style and Care Heat Protect Spray. Percy pigs and Miss Walsh have also made a rather happy impression on my month...but favourites aside for a minute, I've had such an amazing weekend- out in London with the home girls Friday night, being Halloweeny at my boyfriend's Saturday/Sunday and getting to meet my ultimate blogging idols Vivianna Does Makeup and Lily Pebbles yesterday at an incredible blogging event! I've actually got a whole post coming about that one so I'll leave it here for now. Have a lovely night girls!

What are your October Favourites?   
Wednesday 23 October 2013

The October Wishlist: AW13 Beauty Edition


1. Autumn Essie Polishes- Now the Halloween parties are starting to kick off it's well and truly time to put those brights and pastels to bed and bring out the muted tones and berry shades on the talons. It may come as a shock to most beauty bloggers that I currently only own one Essie nail polish (the much hyped 'fiji') so I'm keen to expand my autumnal collection with the likes of 'Bordeaux', 'Soul Mate' and 'Marino Cool' which are gorgeous Autumnal colours in a high quality long lasting and shiny formula.
 2. Bleach London Super Cool Colour- Making your hair unnaturally brighter as the nights get darker is quite an unusual aw13 trend, but it's one that Bleach London's new 'Super Cool Colour' is making me totally determined to buy into! These crazy hair dyes are only £5 a bottle, last for up to eight washes and come in a range of wacky pastel and bright shades. As they work best on blonde hair I'm determined to have my little pony unicorn hair by the end of next pay day...watch this space.
3. MAC 'Let me Pop' Paint Pot- These past few weeks I've become a bit obsessed with copper eyeshadow. I just think it's super pretty and perfect for both day and night looks. For a while I've been wearing 'Chopper' from the Urban Decay Naked 2 palette but now it's actually Autumn I'm after something more pigmented and long lasting in the form of the MAC 'let me pop' paint pot which is the most gorgeous pinky true copper shade that I think will look stunning worn alone on the lid and under the waterline.
4. Soap & Glory 'Bright Here, Bright Now'- I don't know if it's just me but I always struggle to get glowing skin at this time of year- the post holiday tan is long gone and full time work is leaving me with tired eyes. Not a good look! I swear by Rimmel Wake me Up foundation to perk up the face but I also want something to make my skin glow without make up and I think the Soap and Glory 'Bright Here, Bright Now' would be perfect as it's not only moisturising and skin perfecting but really illuminating too.
5. Benefit 'Rockateur'- I defy anyone to be surrounded by Benefit make up all day at work and not be tempted by it! Latest on my lust list is the new Box o' Powder- Rockateur. I do struggle with Autumn blush because I'm obsessed with summery corals and peaches, but this is a beautiful pigmented rose gold colour that gives a snowy flushed look to  the cheeks with a hint of party shimmer. I may have to get this in my life and on my cheeks asap, particularly as I'm heading on a night out in London with my home girls tomorrow!

What's on your October Beauty Wishlist?
Tuesday 22 October 2013

The Dublin Dairies


Tonight I really wanted to share a few snaps of my little business trip to Dublin last Friday. Yes that’s right folks I went on an abroad business trip which I’m pretty sure confirms my grown up business woman status…anyway, needless to say I was ridiculously excited when Benefit told me I would be heading to Dublin to help with the Christmas bloggers event at the brand new Dublin Benefit Boutique. In fact, I’m pretty sure I squealed when I was told (Such a grown up business woman thing to do).  My partner in social media crime was the lovely Rachael and it was with great excitement and sleepy heads that we got driven to the airport early Friday morning. Although we were primarily going for the bloggers event we also had meetings lined up with Twitter and Google at their Head Offices. The meetings were so interesting and I feel like I really learnt a lot about expanding social media channels and how the companies work. The offices themselves were so cool too, particularly the Google one which featured swings, flowerpot meeting rooms and giant letters that you sat in. You’re not really allowed to take photos of the office sadly so if you ever get the chance to go then jump at it! The blogger event was equally as wonderful because the Boutique is set in a beautiful old Georgian House and all the staff and Irish bloggers were ridiculously lovely- I even got recognised by Sian from Forever Fabulous in Bows! After the event we went to an alternative retro style bar where I had a tuna steak and papaya salad and a few cocktails- I did try and drink something similar to Guinness but even the Irish touch couldn’t make it taste good. Sorry Guinness/Ireland. While I was there I really fell in love with the vibe of the city, the area we explored just felt so quirky and cultural (and had an incredible bagel place plus many people with sexy accents)  and I definitely want to go back there on a proper city break sometime next year. After a sleep in a very posh Gresham hotel  room it was time to head home and I thought the excitement was all over…until Proudlock, Colin Farrell and Josh Hartnett walked onto our plane and sat two rows in front of us!!! OMG. I’m sure there are lots of ladies who will appreciate this moment as much as I did so I’ll leave you with the image of this sexy trio whilst I eat the cake me and girls baked  to celebrate the Great British Bake off final…

Have you been to Dublin/had plane encounters with sexy celebs?
Thursday 17 October 2013

The Autumn Lip Line Up

Top&Bottom photo from left to right: YSL Rouge Pour Couture '05' / No.7 'Gay Geranium' / Revlon Lip Butter 'Lollipop' / Rimmel Kate Moss '107' / MAC 'Odyssey'

YSL Rouge Pour Couture '05' /  Autumn isn't all about the dark vampy shades, in fact a dusky nude is an everyday essential in all autumn lip line ups and this one looks so pretty paired with natural 'snow glow' make up. Plus, a YSL lipstick is a must have in every girls lipstick collection...if only for the packaging.
No.7 'Gay Geranium'/ It may surprise you that such a bright shade has snuck into my cold month line up, but this gorgeous orange toned red reminds me of bright Autumn leaves and I just can't resist a good statement power lip. This also brightens up grey early mornings and sun deprived skin tones. A must for me right now.
Revlon Lip Butter 'Lollipop' / This is definitely my party season pick (It's never too early to plan those festive make up looks girls), the most gorgeous 'girl about town' deep pink with purple undertones, this is a super classy shade packed with moisture, making it perfect for those drying wintry winds. And all nighters.
Rimmel Kate Moss '107' / This is a lipstick that needs no introduction- an ultimate blogger fave that totally lives up to the hype this has an incredible long lasting matte finish and perfectly treads the line between red and purple resulting in a vampire-esque product that hardly leaves my lips during this time of year.
MAC 'Odyssey' / No Autumn edit is complete without a deep berry shade and MAC Odyssey is my absolute favourite one. I can't believe more people don't rave about this because the frost formula is perfect- really pigmented with great staying power, but also creamy and slightly glossy with an even fade. Buy it now.

It's a bit of a late post from me tonight because I've been busy packing for my first over night work trip to Dublin tomorrow! I'm flying there with my lovely partner in social media crime for some some really exciting meetings, a trip to the google offices and a blogger event at their brand new Benefit Boutique. And of course we're going to make time for lunches and drinks in the city too...I can't tell you how much I'm having to pinch myself at the moment!

What products have made it into your Autumn lip line up?
Wednesday 16 October 2013

The bottle beach babe: label.m Sea Salt Spray

label.m sea salt spray / Look Fantastic / £13.25

It may seem like I'm writing this post at the wrong time of year- the nights are drawing in and Halloween is just round the corner- so beach babe hair is off the menu till next Summer right? Wrong. When you have been given my frizzy bush of a barnet that turns into Hermione Granger hair (first film obvs) at the first sign of rain messy-chic beach hair is always your friend. However, until I started using the amazing label.m sea salt spray last week I'd never found a salt spray that didn't leave my already dry locks feeling like straw and whilst my hair may still look a little on the dry side I assure you it felt super soft and like it had no product in it at all. Amazing! As far as texture, volume and waves go label.m's salty offering is pretty unbeatable too. Admittedly I did put a few curls in at the start of the day but spritzing this on afterwards with a bit of scrunching action really helped create some serious tousled waves that kept in hold all day long. This spray also protects against heat styling and UV rays so could even improve the condition of your hair! Sound too good to be true? Well the great news is it isn't and you can become the owner of this perfect sea salt spray from sites like Look Fantastic. It will set you back a slightly pricey £13.25 but for a salt spray that actually works and doesn't make your hair feel like dry seaweed I think it's totally worth it and undone-done hair is totally here to stay for the autumn/winter season!

Tonight I'm just having recover/chill out time with the girls as our Benefit national 'Christmas in October' party has left us feeling a bit fragile today! It was so much fun though (Who knew work parties would rival uni nights out in the fun stakes? I'm sure it's got nothing to do with the free three course dinner and open bar...) and I'm well and truly into the Christmas spirit now- it's all about having a three month Christmas this year!

What's your favourite sea salt spray?
Sunday 13 October 2013

Chelmsford Primark Haul

tartan dress £15 / cut out dress £13 / my little pony crop top £6 / christmas tee £5 / vests £2.50 / hoody £10 / trackies £7 / gym pants £7 / leopard pj's £5 / necklace £3

When you move to a new place it's only right that you explore the local area and check out the shopping scene...so with that belief in mind I've been spending a fair bit of my time in Chelmsford city centre these past couple of weeks and of course it didn't take me long to discover (and make great use of) the rather large and lovely Primark! Seeing as I'm a working girl now I don't feel too bad that I've treated myself to the things above, plus you can see they were absolute bargains! The dresses were two items I saw and absolutely had to have- in fact I've wanted the cute preppy tartan dress ever since Primark advertised it in their aw13 adverts a few months ago, I even bought one for Rosie as I knew she also wanted it really badly. I love the cut out and lace details in the second dress too and it seemed to go down rather well when I wore it on my first Essex night out last week. I really hadn't planned to buy any more tops as my drawer is bursting with them already, but apparently I'm a real sucker for cute prints and just couldn't walk away without owning a crop top with My Little Ponies on it and a boyfriend tee that featured reindeer. I am trying to wait until November before I rock the reindeers though. Or at least slightly closer to Halloween... Aside from the pj shorts and statement necklace the rest of the items I bought reflect my new gym membership (Let's just ignore the fact I'm the least sporty person ever for a moment). I'm planning to go to the gym three times a week now and as my previous living room dvd exercise didn't require a gym kit I genuinely needed to get some work out gear. I'm so happy I could get it from Primark because you have to pay a fortune for sports stuff in other places. What would I do without you Primarni? 

I actually have another Primark haul coming from a big Tottenham Court road spree I went on a little while back, so there will be more Primark bargains on the Budget Boutique shortly. Right now though I'm going to watch Strictly, X Factor and Towie whilst feeling a bit sad that my boyfriend has gone back to London after a wonderful weekend together. I may even indulge in some Kimberly Walsh autobiography which I'm enjoying immensely at the moment, it might even rival Cheryl's! 

Have you done any Primark haulin' lately?    
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