SummerBall2010

On Friday I went to my final university Summer Ball *sad face*.
This is me with one of my best friends, Alex:

Dress; Lipsy London - £145
(I also wore this in my Valentines post)

I also wore these shoes (photo is a horrifically drunken Hello Magazine-esque shot of my falling out of a car, however captures my new beauties very well!)

Shoes; New Look - £30

The UH Ball was amazing, with a free funfair, casino, professional photographer, and the refectory was turned into an amazing sparkling R&B room where we saw Tinie Tempah!

He is wayy at the front...I was perched at the back to save my poor crippled feet!

Hope you've all had a lovely weekend whatever you've been up to:)

Nails Inc & Diet Coke

I can't say I'm a huge fan of Diet Coke. Nor can I say I'm a huge fan of Nails Inc (I think they're incredibly over priced for what they are)
However...when Diet Coke and Nails Inc collaborate to provide a free nail polish with every two bottles of coke...thats when I become a fan.

Don't get me wrong, I like Nails Inc polishes. The colours are lovely, the quality is good, and the names are catchy. I'm just put off by the price tag as I know full well that there are nail polishes out there that are better for half the price. That said, when I can get my hands on one for free, this pleases me (the only other Nails Inc polish I own was a freebie with Cosmo magazine!)

ANYWAY. I was in Watford shopping with le boyfriend when I spotted the promotion. So I tugged on his sleeve and asked if he would buy two bottles of coke so I could have the freebie nailpolish and he was more than happy to oblige!

I chose the London 160 polish, & I kinda like it :)



Has anyone else got on board with this promotion? Which colour/s did you pick up?

Holly x

Tan-tastic

Tomorrow is my last coursework hand in (with the exception of my 15,000 word dissertation for september..i guess im getting excited a little early!) and therefore I plan on treating myself to a spray tanning session, for two reasons:

1. because I am tired of being pale..nothing beats a golden glow for an instant mood boost!
2. because I am far too lazy to apply St Moriz. As much as I adore it, it is a long winded process and I feel lazy.

Therefore a spraytan is the way forward!
Im a little aprehensive, as the last time I had one of these was about 5 years ago for my 6th form prom, and I came out looking a little tango'd. However, I like to think that in 5 years fake tanning in salons has developed somewhat.

I'll be visiting the boyfriend in his little village of Soham (there is absolutely nothing in the way of shops, however there are about 3 tanning salons..the Soham locals must be tan-aholics) so i'll have to see which has the best facilities.

In the past, I've used two types of spray tan booths. One being where you stand in the booth and get sprayed by the machine, and the other where you stand half naked (all in the name of sunkissed skin!) and get sprayed by the tanning assistant.

Not sure which I preferred...has anyone tried either of these (or any different) spray tanning methods lately? Any recommendations?

x

i heart photoready

What I love the most about the beauty blogosphere is that every now and then it alerts me to a product that I wouldn't otherwise necessarily have known about...
... and sometimes when i purchase these products (st moriz being a fine example), i wonder how on earth i ever lived without them!

This can most definately be said about Revlon PhotoReady Foundation.



I am officially in love with a foundation for the very first time!
Before, I was using a 17 Skin Perfecting foundation and I was more than happy with this. It was nothing special but it did the job. I wouldn't say I particularly enjoyed wearing it.

I picked up Revlon PhotoReady in Boots when it was on promotion for £10 (I also had a £2 off voucher which made it a little cheaper) after reading numerous reviews on peoples blogs. I thought I'd give it a whirl while it was on the cheap.

At first I wasn't over the moon, but the more I used it the more in love I fell!
It is so easy to apply and it feels really lovely and silky on my skin, I just adore wearing it. Normally I would always moisturise my face before wearing any foundation but I have experimented without and just applied PhotoReady to my skin, and it still feels lovely.

Today I went back to wearing my 17 foundation and was thoroughly disappointed in the difference!

Highly recommend!!

Have you tried it? Would love to know what you think

x

Heyy lovelies :)
I'll start with my standard apology for lack of blogging, life has been and still is going by in a complete blur due to it being the end of uni! Next week I have my final coursework hand in and my final exam...where did the last 4 years go?!

Anywho, heres an OOTD from last Friday lol. It was a St George's day themed night at Flirt so I stole this festive hat from my friend :)



Entire outfit courtesy of New Look :D

Its payday tomorrow so hopefully a shopping trip will take place and I'll acquire some pretty new bits and pieces to blog about.

Hope you're all having a lovely week!
x

Review: Remington SpinCurl

While I have seen great results achieved with the Remington Spincurl (Zoe, pour example!), I have come to the conclusion that it is not for me.

I have annoying hair that is a complete pain to do anything with. It is bleached blonde, to my shoulders, and hasnt grown in length in probably about 5 years, possibly because I straighten it half to death. Either way, it is at a length that I personally think does not suit curls, not on me at least. I've tried numerous curling tongs to attempt to make it look pretty and curly but I always end up looking like a poodle, and the Remington Spincurl pretty much made me look the most poodle-fied that I've ever looked lol.

It isn't complicated to use, basically you just insert sections of hair into the curl attachment and the hairdryer whips the hair around into a sort of matted dreadlock, which when brushed out should leave you with beachy waves. But no, poodle hair for Holly. Luckily I purchased my Spincurl on offer in Sainsburys for £26...I would be absolutely kicking myself if I'd paid the full £39 for this product!

But yes, overall I am disappointed that this product didnt work for me. I think for girls with longer hair, this product can achieve some amazing results, but sadly my short blonde mop is stubborn and refuses to curl properly:P

I'm considering sticking it on ebay for around £20, if anybody is interested do let me know. I've only used it twice and still have all original packaging and instructions:)

Holly xo

April 1st...Currently.

Listening to; Ellie Goulding, Jason Derulo, Rihanna, Snow Patrol, You Me At Six
Reading; The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. I've only just started this and its taking me a little while to get into it!
Watching; 90210..i am completely 100% addicted to this show!
Buying; Girls Aloud 'Sarah' Eyelashes on a weekly basis..and anything pretty from New Look
Wanting; to go back to my first year of university and live the adventure all over again
Trying; to do well in my Masters
Loving; family and friends
Planning; my future.
Making; a plan for Easter break!
Writing; my blog..and a novel one day:P
Cooking; vegetables, or i should be, soo unhealthy!
Inspired By; inspirational people

Slacker =[

Bonjour blogsphere.

No excuses for my posting slackage, only that uni is mad as its coming up to the end of term. Deadlines, deadlines, deadlines! I can't believe my time at university is finally coming to an end. Sad face. However this does mean getting a proper job, and earning money to spend on pretty things. Happy face!

The lovely Dev from Radio one came along to DJ at Flirt. He was such a sweetheart!

(ignore my dodgy appearance...Wild West theme!)


Not alot to report, due to being broke I havnt been able to buy anything new and exciting however I did purchase the Remmington SpinCurl hairdryer, which I will roadtest and review over Easter break:)

Hope you all have a lovely Easter!
x

Shoppinggg

Here are my purchases from my recent shopping trip avec my mum.
1. Hollister Body Spray in 'Malibu': Those of you who have been to Hollister know that it is probably the nicest smelling shop in the world, you can smell it from a mile off, and basically I wanted to smell like whatever they use to spritz their clothing with. One of the sales assistants told me they mix two of their perfumes together to create the spray they use, but I picked up this body spray because to me it pretty much smells the same. I can't stop spraying it..mmm.
RRP: £11

2. Flower earrings: These are from Primark, and came in a set with another pair of gold flowers which I gave to my mum because she liked them. So for two pairs of pretty earrings I paid a whopping £2...bargain:)

3. Butterfly knickers: These are too pretty not to share with the blogosphere. They are in the '5 for £10' section of New Look, and are super sweet.

4. Bow necklace: This is another New Look purchase, and this is from their jewellery concession range which im ashamed to say iv forgotten the name of, which i shouldnt considering i work there, although we don't have any concession ranges at our tiny store so perhaps i can be forgiven for the memory loss! Either way, it is adorable, and retails at £7.

Holly xx

Starstruck

On Friday night I met Alex Zane, my MTV crush of many many years, and I was well and truely star struck. He was a complete sweetheart, and seemed to be having a ball DJing to this lot:



So nice when you meet a celeb and they turn out to be exactly how you hoped they would be:)

Went shopping with my mum on Friday and picked up a few bits and pieces so I'll do a mini haul post very soooon.

Hope you've all had a lovely weekend:)

Holly xx

Gel Nails, Cadburys & Example

Not one for acrylic nails, I not long ago discovered my love for 'Bio Sculpture' nails.
Basically what this 40 minute or so treatment involves is much the same as having your nails painted as normal, however instead of having polish applied, a gel formulation is polished on to your natural nails. Firstly, a thin layer of base gel is applied. Because I opt for the French Manicure look (i'll explain my preference in a moment), i only have the clear base gel applied, with a layer of white gel swiped over my nail tips. Between each layer, you place your hand in this little contraption with a light in it to set the gel. At my salon, the treatment costs £30, and £15 for infills once your colour grows out. That is one of the reasons I opt for the French Manicure, as it hardly shows your nail growth due to the clear gel. Obviously with coloured gel you would start to see nail growth. These are my nails after three weeks, completely intact and chip free.



If I had painted my nails myself, I would have chipping most likely by the next day, which is the main reason I adore having gel nails. Not only do they look fantastic and so clean looking (another reason I love the french manicure), but my natural nails grow and strengthen beneath the gel, perfect for those who find it difficult to grow their nails.

What I would say as a negative to this treatment is that getting the gel nails removed is a bit of hassle, and I would highly recommend having them removed by your nail technician as opposed to removing them yourself. It involves soaking your nails in acetone for a long period of time and is just generally very time consuming and doesn't always work.

On the whole, however, much love for gel nails :)

In other news, I am in the process of consuming this badboy:


Much love for dairy milk also.

Last night, the wonderful Elliot Gleave aka EXAMPLE (of Watch the Sun Come up & Won't Go Quietly fame) performed at my university. It wasn't my day to do promo work however I was lucky enough to be allowed to go backstage before and after his show and watch the performance from the side of the stage. He is an excellent performer, if you havnt already heard his music I would head on over to youtube and check him out:)



Dress: New Look
Makeup is a combo of MAC and Barry M, with Girls Aloud 'Sarah' falsies:)

Alex Zane is doing a DJ set tomorrow night, very excited to work with him!
Hope you all have a fun weekend:)

Holly xx

Product Rave: Batiste!

Image from Google.

This is by no means a new product, however I am a firm believer that you can't get much better in terms of dry shampoo than Batiste. I can say this confidently after trying several different, more expensive dry shampoo from more renowned hair brands, from the likes of Mark Hill et al.
From all the dry shampoos I have road tested, cheap and cheerful Batiste has always been a winner for me :)

I purchase mine from Asda for £1.99 which, considering it is an absolute hair saviour, is such good value for money. Not only do I use this product to revive my hair between washes, but even after I've washed my hair and im going out and I feel it needs a little added volume, I'll spray on some Batiste and my hair is instantly volumised. Lovelovelove it! They have expanded their product umbrella by incorporating a Brunette formulation to cater for those who find the original Batiste leaves noticable residue in their dark hair. Being blonde I do not have this problem, however it is nice that the brand have recognised the issue and provided a solution (albeit at a slightly higher retail price). Batiste also comes in a variety of scents...I buy the pink one 'Blush'.

Big thumbs up!

Holly xx

Happy Valentines

I realise that the title of this post is a little belated, however I have been bedbound with the flu since Monday morning so I havnt had a chance to do a blog post!

So however you spent your Valentines, I hope you had a lovely day! I know its not everybodys cup of tea for whatever reason, but im a bit of a mushy one and have always had a soft spot for Feb 14th. Last year was a disaster for reasons I wont disclose, however le boyfriend had bigstyle making up to do this year, and he came through! Just thought I'd share some pictures with you in terms of what I wore etc :)

My evening began with a very cryptic set of instructions to follow:


This is the dress I wore (ignore my graduation head poking out of the top..possibly the most unsexy hat in the world!):

Dress: Lipsy London (originally £145, down to £70 in the online sale)

The new shoes:

Off the top of my head I can't remember the name of the shop that these are from. I have an Outfit store near where i live which has loads of different shop sections within it (Burtons, Topman/Topshop, Miss Selfridge) and so on, and I can't remember which section it was from, but they were £40.

So the boyfriend took me to a beautiful Italian restaurant that I have literally been itching to go to, called Nolitas. It is a frequent haunt for Tottenham footballers and generally has a fairly wealthy clientele...however by booking three months in advance le boyfriend ensured we snagged a table for valentines! This is just a shot of the beautiful piano in the lobby.


Below is a picture of me trying to get a decent shot of my dress from behind in the hotel mirror, semi-successfully! The boyfriend took me to stay at Sopwell House, a beautiful hotel in Hertfordshire where football teams (most regularly the England team!) stay after matches. The halls are lined with signed football shirts of all the teams who have stayed there. I'm sure you can see a theme now...footballers restaurant, footballers hotel..im just dying to spot one;) haha.


All in all a very wonderful and romantic evening, tainted only by my impending flu!

Hope you are all having a lovely week so far:)

Holly xx

Hola lovlies.

Not much to report on the beauty front. I have dug out a jar of Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse that I forgot I had, and I must say, it's really good! I think the problem I had with it in the first place was that I never use to moisturise before applying foundation. Now, I couldnt imagine not incorporating a moisturiser of some sort into my makeup routine. My favourite has to be the No. 7 tinted moisturiser, its lovely:)

Just a quick pic from Friday night at Flirt! The outfit was in aid of 'Pimps and Hoes' fancy dress, I wasn't about to try my luck on Kings Cross corner!
That handsome chappy with me is Radio 1's lovely Reggie Yates. He was in a bit of a hurry but kindly stopped for a picture, after providing the students of Uni Hertfordshire with a fantastic DJ set. Thanks Reggie!


Holly xx

RE: Previous post

Not overly impressed with the baby pink shade...in reality it comes out a very garish bright barbie pink, remiscent of the colour of a tacky pink limo. Not a good look. Learning curve :)

Holly xx

George @ ASDA

Today I was in ASDA, buying bread (as you do!) when I stumbled across a nifty little bargain!
George nailpolishes are currently on sale for..wait for it...£1! In all fairness they retail at £1.50 normally which is a bargain in itself, but at £1 a go I couldnt resist picking up a couple.

The polish photographed above (and I apologise again for my webcam, it isnt wonderful I know!) is a greyish lavender colour. It pretty much comes out on the nail exactly as it looks in the bottle, which is pleasing as some nailpolishes come out completely unexpected.

In terms of application, it went on quite well! On one hand I have done two coats and on the other only one, and there really is no difference between the two. I have only just painted them so I don't know about their lasting power so far but I'll keep you informed.

What I love about this polish is that it dries in absolutely no time at all. Big thumbs up to that.

In terms of the colour, Im a little unsure if I like it. Its a case of I don't dislike it, but I don't love it either, so im a little unsure for the time being. I also bought a pretty baby pink colour so i'll give that a try and see how that comes out!

So if you feel like opting for a cheap and cheerful nail polish, head on down to ASDA :)

Holly xx

Fake Tan Royalty

So of course you have all heard of St Moriz fake tan.
Praise for this badboy has been circulating the blogosphere for months, infact, it was Lollipop26's youtube review of this product that first enticed me into the world of beauty blogs/vlogs.
I'm not blogging about it today to talk about how amazing it is (although it really is very good!), but more to pick up on a negative that people have mentioned in regards to this product.
Some people have said that initially they absolutely love it, however after a few days it starts to go patchy.
I for one do not have this problem with St Moriz, which I pin down to the way in which I apply it, which might be slightly differently to the way it is applied by those who find it goes patchy on the skin (or it might not, but its worth trying to get to the bottom of the problem, right?:) )

Obviously the first step is to exfoliate the skin. All good tanning advice urges that you do this before applying fake tan, to prep the skin and remove all dead skin cells.
The next step is to moisturise. I do not moisturise all over after iv showered an exfoliated. Instead, I moisturise each body part directly before applying the fake tan to it. If im tanning my legs, I'll moisturise my left leg and tan that, before moisturising my right leg and tanning that. I find this way that the moisturiser helps the fake tan to spread more evenly.

To apply the tan, I use a SolTan tanning mitt from Boots. I used to use my hands, but its a messy process and the tanning glove really helps to distribute the product evenly all over my skin.

How much of the product you use is entirely a personal preference dependant upon how tanned you wish to look, so I will say no more on that :)

I tend to apply my fake tan a day or two before the event for which I wish to look tanned (for example, I do my promotional work on a Friday night so its nice to look tanned and healthy for it, therefore I'll either apply my fake tan on the wednesday night, or the Thursday), and this is due to a number of factors.

The Smell: I am yet to come across a fake tan that doesnt smell horrible...think a strong biscuity smell, not very attractive. If I apply the fake tan on the day I wish to look tanned, I am going to be walking around smelling like a biscuit. To eliminate the smell completely, I like to get two showers in before I am due to go out. It is recommended that you wait at least 8 hours after applying the tan before you shower. If I apply the tan on the Wednesday night, I will go to bed with it on (am yet to encounter sheet staining!) and then shower on Thursday and go about my day. Then shower as normal on Friday, and by friday evening I will be tanned and smelling completely non-offensive:) On the Thursday there is the chance I'll be walking around smelling biscuity, but not much that can be done about it!

The benefit of several showers before the event for which you wish to look tanned is also that you can wash off all the excess product, and leave yourself with an incredible natural looking tan. I find that after application, I'll wake up looking pretty orangey. This is only due to the excess product, and after a shower this tones right down to a lovely golden brown.

To prolong the tan, moisturise daily. This advice applies for natural tans and is the same for fake tans. If your skin becomes dry then there is a higher chance of the fake or natural tan peeling or becoming patchy. I find that moisturisation every day will prevent this :)

Hopefully this wasnt a complete parroting of tanning advice thats been given before, I just find that this is the process that works best for me as I have never had any problem with my fake tanning application :)

Holly xx

Hola lovlies.

So yesterday I had my hair cut and coloured. I'm trying to grow my hair, as it has been the same length (just below my shoulders) probably for about the last five years, and I'm absolutely dying for long hair! Clipping in hair extensions for nights out is becoming a tedious process lol.

I was just watching a video by Imogen at FoxyLocks about how she cares for her hair, and it has inspired me to not only protect my hair more when styling with heat, but also to rest it from the clutches of my straighteners, as I'll confess to straightening every day. So we shall see what progress I make in the quest for long locks!

Had a relatively busy weekend so far. On Friday I was photographing childrens tv presenters Dick & Dom, who came to uni for a DJ set. They were actually really lovely! I was surprised, particularly after working with some divas (yes Scott and Abs from 5ive, I am talking about you!) but Dick and Dom were sweethearts.

I wasn't having a moment of outfit insanity either, for the record! It was a pyjama themed night so I opted for the 'I wear my boyfriends work shirt to bed' look.

Off to the library now to work on my dissertation proposal! Hope you all enjoy the rest of your weekends:)

Holly xx

Nails of the Day

Sorry for the poor quality of my integrated webcam! Also my pale hands kind of blend into my marshmallow throw rug...but it was either that for a backdrop or my bedsheets which are the same colour as my nails. That wouldn't have worked, would it!

Today I painted my nails with Nails Inc polish in 'Elizabeth Street', an extremely pale pinky nude colour.

I'll admit I'm not massively impressed with Nails Inc. There are some factors about them that I like; the packaging, the pretty colours, the cute names. However I am dissappointed in the quality considering the price tags that go with their products. Also chipping...this polish did not remain chip free for a longer period of time than any cheaper polishes I own.

I'd been excited to try a Nails Inc polish for a long time, so I was over the moon to see that my Cosmopolitan magazine were offering a selection of colours free. I rooted through the rack of magazines until I found this colour, and was delighted that I was able to try it out for free before actually investing any money into it.

I can't say I'd repurchase a Nails Inc polish again, specifically. If there was a colour I was desperate for, and couldn't find a dupe in another brand, then I would opt for Nails Inc, but other than that I think that plenty of cheaper brands offer just a lovely polishes that are not only cheaper but just as good in terms of quality, if not better! (Barry M for example!)

Holly xx

Tip of the Day

Just thought id quickly share a little tip with you that I picked up from watching a TV show (The Truth About Beauty, hosted by Martine McCutcheon...hope thats spelt right!)

Basically, one of the special guests who they were interviewing, her name escapes me, gave her top tips for healthy skin. She mustve been late thirties to fourties, and her skin was absolutely glowing! Her secret? Eating tomato puree on a cracker every single day. Not so strange really, as recent studies have shown that tomatos contain a specific chemical that has significant skin benefits. I think they are looking to produce this chemical in some kind of tablet form, if they havnt piloted one version of it already.

So yeh, I've purchased my tomato puree and my crackers, now to see if it's hello to healthy, glowing skin!

x

Happy New Year!

So 2010 is upon us. Let me start by wishing everyone a very happy new year :)

I havn't blogged in a very long time..since October infact..but a new year equals a new start so I resolve to blogging on a more frequent basis! I might even start afresh entirely, by reintroducing myself and giving a quick account of where I am as the new year begins.

So, I'm in my final semester at University, studying for my Masters in Marketing (largely the reason for my lack of posts, it is the most time consuming thing I've ever done)

I work as a sales assistant at New Look in order to fund my social life and addiction to pretty, material things:)

I also work as part of the promotions team for Flirt! (the UKs biggest student night) at my University, as 'Miss Flirt'. (I basically go around & photograph everybody enjoying their night out, as well as photographing the special guests that are booked for appearances, ie Matt Willis from Busted, The Saturdays, etc) It's by far the most fun job I've ever had!

Not very exciting, but that is where I'm at right now. Im hoping 2010 will bring a little more excitement with it!

Santa was extremely generous this Christmas...not only did he buy me a new camera for my promo job (my last one had beer spilt on it, was dropped, and was generally very battered!), but he also brought me my very first MAC products:

MAC Style, finishing powder, and bronzer.

These were some of the products that the makeup artist used on me during the photoshoot I mentioned in a previous post, and I loved their staying power so much that they had to go on the Christmas list.

As well as these, I also recieved some products by SATC makeup artist Victoria Jackson, who has recently launched her own line of cosmetic products:

Above: VJ Survival Kit, Shimmer Bronzer, Lipgloss Trio and Makeover Essentials travel brush roll.

I was a little dubious at first, as a quick peek on her website did not leave me too impressed; it seems out of date and vague, however the products themselves are lovely, and I will discuss them in more detail at a later date.

For now, back to my market research assignment, joy!