How to get the perfect tan

Being an Essex girl I love to be tanned even in the Autumn/Winter months but getting that beautiful bronze skin is easier said than done especially when you live in cold, rainy England.

Us English girls cursed with ghosty complexions have to find alternative ways of catch a tan when sunning it up on the beach isn't an option.

There are various ways one can achieve the bronzed babe look from sunbeds and fake tan to more extreme ways such as melanin injections.

Sunbeds and injections carry with them a whole host of dangerous side effects from risks of skin cancer to possible infection - anyone who truly cared for their skin would run for the hills if offered either of these.

So what about fake tan? There are what seems like 1000s of fake tanning products available on the high street, in beauty salons and online these days ranging from rub on wash off gels, creams and wipes and gradual tan moisturisers to professional spray tans. Choosing fake tan can be a bit of a maze, especially for a tanning novice.

What will give the best results and won't cost the earth? Everyone's opinion is different but trying a few different inexpensive products that take your fancy is a good place to start.

Spray tans are also a great way to achieve a holiday glow when done properly but can become a bank breaker if you're having them done often like I do. At £15-£25 a pop for a few days of looking like a goddess the costs start to stack up.

After debating buying a pricey spray tanning machine and all of the equipment myself I stumbled across what I would describe as a god send.

A fake tan off the high street with the effects of a spray tan ..is this even possible? Apparently so!

I was shopping Primarks new PS beauty range in search of some new spring nail colours and a big pink bottle (I love pink!) caught my eye ..Cocoa Brown by Marissa Carter. I had heard good things about this tanning range so decided to give it a go ..at £6 what did I have to loose?
I have been through hundreds of tanning products and spray tan brands and this is by far the best I have ever used!

It is applied as a mousse (use a tanning mitt to avoid tango hands) use a small amount of mousse for each section of your body eg feet, lower leg, thigh etc etc and ensure you have rubbed all tan in properly and evenly to avoid and streaks or pale patches, if need be get someone to check for you if you have missed any areas then leave for 1-3 hours and voilà! Fresh off the beach tan ready for your night out! For a light glow leave on for an hour then shower off and pat dry gently with a towel. For a deep tan I would suggest leaving it on over night and washing it off in the morning just like you would do with a spray tan - only do this if you like a medium/dark tan!

No more orange streaky messes here!

Cocoa Brown by Marissa Carter - £6 Primark

How to: Easy Mermaid Ombré Nails

First I must apologise for neglecting my blog and breaking my new years resolution to post more often! I have been super busy with everything including celebrating my 22nd birthday ..old I know!

Anyway, as you may know having pretty nails is a must for me and I'm always looking for new things to try out - this time I've braved ombre nails!

Ombre nails are easier than you may think, all you really need is a flat, small sponge, 2-3 different colour nail varnishes, a clear top coat and nail varnish remover for if things get messy. I chose to use a triangle make up sponge (the cheap ones you can get from Superdrug). The pink shade is China Glaze Something Sweet, the lilac shade is China Glaze In A Lily Bit and the blue is from Primark's P.S beauty range. I also added OPI Significant Other Colour mixed with a little bit of clear topcoat to give the nails a mermaid-y shimmer as I love anything mermaid related!

So to create these ombre mermaid nails make sure your nails are free of any other nail varnish and are clean and dry. Apply a clear base coat followed by a coat of Something Sweet over the whole nail to brighten the other colours when applied as it is the lightest colour.
Brush a small amount of each colour onto the sponge (as shown in the picture) and quickly dab across each nail until the paint will no longer transfer as it is dry, wait for this layer to partially dry and repeat the process of painting a strip of each colour onto the sponge and dab onto each nail until the desired colour is reached. Once you are totally happy with the colour add a little topcoat to give your nails a bit of protection and some extra shine! Alternatively you can also use a matte topcoat for a bold,chalky effect.

When dabbing the colour onto each nail ensure you don't put to much pressure on to the sponge, as if the paint is still wet it may remove paint that is already on the nail. Also make sure your not dabbing the same part of the sponge on to the same part of the nail each time as the nail may look more stripy than gradient . Obviously the ombre technique takes a bit of perfecting with trial and error to perfect, but experimenting is part of the fun.

Creating ombre nails can be a little messy when using a sponge, to get to the very edge of each nail you are bound to get some paint on your fingers, this can easily be removed with a cotton bud and nail varnish remover for a flawless finish.

There are so many colour combinations that can be used for ombre designs, the possibilities really are endless.

I hope this has given you guys a little help with creating your own ombre styles!

China Glaze Something Sweet & In A Lily Bit: Both £5.75 from eBay
PS Blue Nail Paint: £1 from Primark
OPI Significant Other Colour: £6 from a wholesaler but can be found on eBay and Amazon
  

#PrimarkSpring15

The last few days have been freezing in England and there's only so many ways to cheer a girl up (that doesn't involve a small fortune) and one of those is looking at next years spring collections!

My favourite collection I have seen so far happens to be from Primark! Although 98% of people seem to have this perception that Primark is tacky and poor quality clothes I believe they have really upped their game for the 2015 spring range.

There's a mix of pastel, floral and bold prints that work in perfect harmony and will ensure there is never a dull day in your wardrobe!

And the shoes ..are just on a whole new level! The prints and shoe styles are bang on trend for the '15 spring season giving classic styles a new lease of life.

Of course any outfit needs an essential staple ..THE bag! Primark's new season bags certainly don't disappoint. From glamorous totes to fruity clutch bags they literally have every bag lover covered!

There is a huge hype on twitter and Instagram after the press day but there is not yet an office all date when all of these lovely goodies will be in stores! Get your bank cards ready girls...
For more pictures and info I would recommend Primark's Twitter, insta and blog pages. Feast your eyes on what spring 2015 has to offer!

Beauty Buys of America

Hi everyone! Sorry it's been a while, packing for a holiday really does take up all your time!

But .. I'm finally here, across the pond in Florida!

Even though I've only been here a few days I'm already drooling over all makeup brands out here that we don't have at home like Covergirl, Wet'n'Wild and my favourite NYX.

So I thought I would do a little blog on my favourite American beauty buys so far!

First up is the Wet'n'Wild 5x megaplump mascara at the 'value for money' end of the beauty spectrum - being so well priced (at 3.97$ to be exact) I wasn't sure what to expect, I've always had good experiences when using the Wet'n'Wild brand so decided to put this mascara to the test!
I can safely say it did not disappoint, especially for a cheaper drugstore brand. The brush is a perfect thickness for capturing both long and short lashes without leaving clumps, keeping the lashes separated while adding extra length and volume. Even when using the mascara on my bottom lashes where things tend to get messy, it worked like a dream.
I would suggest using two coats as this adds to the length and makes the lashes look extra dark without looking extra clumpy! I would recommend this product to all of my blog readers.

The second product I would love to share with you guys is the NYX Set it Don't Fret It matte finishing powder.
I Love NYX products but the can be difficult to get your hands on in the UK with some products only being available in the US so I jumped at the chance of a few cheeky NYX purchases while in Target of all places!
In this post I would like to share my review on the matte finishing powder - my makeup daily makeup routine usually consists of a little concealer, liquid foundation, finishing powder to set the concealer and foundation then blush/bronzer and to finish -mascara and sometimes eyeliner if I have the time!
I have always had trouble finding a finishing powder that will cover the foundation without making my face look orange! I have tried what seems like hundreds of different powders, all of which have the same outcome - an awful orange face!
I've read some reviews on the NYX powder and thought I should give it a go as it is praised all over the internet.
The product is a superfine translucent powder that can be applied easily with powder/kabuki brush - tip a little powder into the product lid to make sure you don't end up a mountain of powder going to waste, then dab the brush lightly into the powder in the lid, you only want a tiny amount on the brush to avoid the powder caking over your makeup or flicking the powder all over the place (I learnt that the hard way) then softly brush the powder over your face, avoid applying pressure as this can brush away foundation and give it a streaky look.

I would suggest this powder is more something you would use as well as foundation/concealer, as coverage is quite minimal and will not cover any blemishes, although if you're lucky enough to have perfectly clear skin and are just looking for a light powder to reduce any shiny patches then this product is also ideal.
So if you're tired of orange, cakey powders I would definitely recommend the NYX Set It Don't Fret It Matte powder - available in various stores in the US and available online for the UK and other counties.

I hope you enjoyed my little reviews of beauty products from across the pond! Comment below ❤️

Wet'n'Wild Megaplump Mascara 

NYX Set It & Don't Fret It Matte Finishing Powder

Here I have used both products :)

The humble crop top

So.. For my first ever blog (yay!) I thought I would keep it simple and start with the humble crop top.
For most people even the mention of a crop top conjures up horrific memories of cringey 90's pop stars and aspiring to look just like them, but as the crop top craze comes back around every high street store window features at least half a dozen crop tops with girls of all ages queuing to pick up the latest style of belly-baring fabric.

Crop tops and bralets are by far one of the most versatile items on clothing on the market this summer  and can literally be worn with just about anything. From high waisted denim shorts on hot summer days to jeans and maxi skirts on the cooler days or breezy summer evenings.

To show my appreciation to these fashion god-sends I have picked out my favourite crop tops on the high street this summer. Topshop is a favourite of mine when it comes to sniffing out the latest trends and they also happen to stock my favourite crop tops! Their simple yet

genius style of crop top, as seen in the pictures,  in my opinion is a holiday must have and a clear winner this summer '14 , with soft but thick fabric to ensure no odd shapes or nip slips going on  and it comes in every colour imaginable  all for tiny price of £8! 10/10 Topshop!

But who knows ..maybe in a year or two we will be cringing once again at our love of crop tops...