Thursday 31 January 2013

January 13 - This Month I Loved...

Suffering the January Blues? These were the things that perked me up this month.
A Small Change To Your Head - I got my hair coloured at the start of this month and it really is true what they say, a small change to your head can make a big change to your heart. Feeling good about how you look can give you so much confidence, I don't know whether it is because I am a hairstylist by trade but I always feel that unless my hair looks good it wouldn't matter how pretty my clothes are or how well applied my make up is I just wouldn't feel confident. I went blonder again this time as I have been getting so many lovely compliments on how well it suits me, normally I'm a copper or burnette kind of girl but I am throughly enjoying my beach-y blonde locks. 
Music is Food for the Soul - and my soul loves anything where you can hear the guitar. I actually picked up my guitar for the first time in months again this month and its incredible the muscle memory in my fingers will allow me to play chords I was expecting to have to re-train them into, this brought a small smile to my face. Music if I remember reading correctly is proven to lift your spirits, so if you are having a bad case of the January blues stick on your favorite upbeat CD and have a dance round your room and sing and the top of your lungs I bet you feel better again in no time.  
Winter White - We have had a fair amount of snow in the UK this month and I love snow. It makes the air fresh and crisp and makes everything looks so fresh and pure. It gives a feeling of the holidays (even though they were 4 weeks ago) and gets kids outdoors having fun and away from their computers and gaming systems! If you aren't a fan of the snow it give you an excuse to snuggle up inside with a blanket, plenty of hot drinks and a loved one. 

What made you smile this January?

Emmie xo

Saturday 26 January 2013

13 for 2013


So at New Years I told you all I was starting a "Bucket List" or set of challenges for the year instead of a set of resolutions. While I still do not have all 13 I have my main 12 and am going to get started on them. So today I thought that I would just share them with you because I will be keeping you all informed as to how I am doing.

1)            Visit another continent

2)            Complete college qualification

3)            Learn some new recipes

4)            Run a 5K

5)            Enter a photographic competition, challenge or both

6)            Learn a new language or re-learn an old one

7)            Take a couple of guitar lessons

8)            Do something for charity

9)            Give up Tea for Lent

10)          Research the family tree

11)          Work to become a good salon manager

12)          Do something you have never done before (not on this list)

Have you got a bucket list? What is on it?

Wish me luck and feel free to track my progress using the 13 for 2013 label,

Emmie xo

Wednesday 23 January 2013

Tutorial: Basket Weave Nail - Inspired by Rodarte SS13

So a week or so ago I posted about those beautiful nude basket weave nails by Rodarte as seen on their Spring Summer catwalks and I had a go at recreating them. It is quite simple and I hope you will have a go and if you do you will share your results with me.
1 - Start with clean nails and apply a strengthening base coat to nails.

2 – Apply a nude or neutral coloured nail polish to nails. I used OPI’ s “Don’t Pretzel My Buttons”.

3 – Take a roll of Sellotape and cut off a long strip suspending it on a surface that will not add fluff or dirt to the sticky side of the tape, I suspended mine over the roll as seen in image 4.

4 – Paint your length of tape with the same nude of neutral coloured polish you used for your base coat. Allow to dry fully before applying a second coat to your polish strip.

5 – Cut small lengths of tape and as you cut them start applying them to your nails in a criss-crossed fashion to form your basket weave. I did approximately 5mm strips and used about 4 strips per nail.

6 – Trim off the excess lengths of tape from the nail and buff the ends gently. Apply top coat to nails to seal in place and voila!

Show me your results and I may even post them to the blog!

Have fun,
Emmie xo

Saturday 19 January 2013

Review: Maybelline Dream Satin Liquid Foundation

Maybellines Dream Satin Liquid described by the company as 'Ultra-blendable, comfortable feeling texture. Airbrushed, poreless finish' it certainly helps even my skin tone out and hide blemishes. It has a lightweight feel and gives my skin a dewy but not overly shiny finish, making me feel like I have a fresh faced look. It lasted a full day on my skin at work and still gave some coverage by the end of the day and I didn't find it rubbed off onto my clothes. 

There are currently 8 shades ranging from Light Porcelain up to Caramel. The packaging is pleasant enough and is small so it won't take up too much space in your make up bag if you are traveling or like to carry your make up around with you.

Let me know what you think of it if you have tried it.

Emmie xo

Thursday 17 January 2013

Happy 1st Blog-Birthday!


Today my blog turns 1! I think i've done really well to keep blogging for a whole year, normally I'd get fed up after a few months and just forget about it so I'm really quite pleased with myself. I hope if you are a regular to my blog you have enjoyed what I have been posting. If there is anything you would like to see more of let me know.

For now I will leave you with links to the top 5 posts of the last year. 

1 - Hamleys - A Royal Lego Affair

2 - SS12 Hair - Vintage Vixens

3 - Review: Ambre Solaire Golden Touch

4 - SS12 Hair - Braids and Buns

5 - Tutorial: Half-Moon Manicure

Thank you so much for stopping by! 

Emmie xo

Monday 14 January 2013

Lookbook: Snow Day



Hat - Topshop
Jeweled Necklace - H&M
Jumper - Topshop
Belt (just seen) - H&M
Jeans - Topshop
Riding Boots - Topshop

So I'm pretty sure we all know I'm obsessed with Topshop by now with all of the clothing I w ear that comes from there. Here is my latest Lookbook post.

We have had our first snow of the year in the UK today and felt it was the perfect excuse to wear my new bright orange jumper I got yesterday with my christmas money.  I adore the bright colour it just makes me want to smile. I accessorised with my favorite hat and a jeweled necklace for a laid back but chic feel. I love dressing laid back, I've discovered I never feel more me that when I am in jeans and a jumper or tee and you can go into almost any situation with this formula dressing it up accordingly with the right accessories. 

If you have snow I hope you are enjoying it!

Emmie xo




Saturday 12 January 2013

Celebrity Doppelgangers

So last weekend i talked about using style by inspiration to help in the quest for your own style. Today I'm going to talk about the second technique i use, Celebrity Doppelgangers.

So last Saturday we talked about Style by Inspiration, this weekend I'm sharing part two of finding your style in the lines of Celebrity Doppelgangers. Celebrity Doppelgangers are people in the spotlight with a body shape and height similar to yours. They are to be your reference for how to wear your inspired style, which skirt length is best? Should you wear tailored styles? What boots go best with those jeans? You can use them for all sorts of style inspiration not just clothing. If they have a similar face shape and features, how they wear their make-up and hair can be taken into consideration. If they have similar natural colouring to you what colours will possibly suit you.

I think its a good idea to look at why you like your doppelganger too, not just thinking that you want to emulate their style. Do they dress, Classic, Romantic, Dramatic, Athletic, Girlie, Laid-back? I tend to find my style varies between Laid-back, girlie and classic with the occasional slightly dramatic twist, so I picked my doppelgangers based around these ideals.
It’s important to me not to try to copy their style exactly but use aspects of it to generate your own look and style. I mean what is the point of being an exact doppelganger for someone else when you are so wonderfully unique yourself right? So mix and match and add large quantities of your own personality to the mix. Some of my style doppelgangers include Lauren Conrad, Alexa Chung, Emma Stone, Olivia Palermo and Taylor Swift.

Who would you use as your celebrity doppelgangers? 

Emmie xo

Tuesday 8 January 2013

The New Neutral

So while I have been floating around the Internet looking for photos to go with my Spring Summer 13 trend reports I stumbled across this image of the nails as showcased at Rodarte SS13 catwalks. I thought it was a really interesting way of playing up nude and neutral shades without being boring or over the top.
Photo by GoRunway via VogueUK

I think this would be a wonderful way of dressing up your nails for and event that you could then wear everyday and the texture it adds to it is brilliant for the beauty texture trends heading our way from the SS13 Catwalks. I will definitely be giving these a go soon and will share photos and maybe a tutorial when I do.

What do you think? Would you wear these nails?

Emmie xo

Saturday 5 January 2013

Style By Inspiration

So its a New Year. We have all probably over-indulged, laughed endlessly and then had to get back to life as usual after tidying away all our festive decoration. For me a new year includes an overhaul of my life, new beginnings, including my style.

Finding your own style can be troubling, fun, confusing, time consuming and expensive. All those items that you buy and realize are a mistake. I have found a two ways to help in the never ending quest for good style, Style by Inspiration and Celebrity Doppelgangers. Today I'm going to talk about the former.


Style by Inspiration, or Inspiration boards are becoming more and more popular, images boards of items that you like. Nothing is off limits you can add fabric, magazine images and personal photos of places or people absolutely anything that sparks an instant interest or reaction. If you over analyse your images you won’t get a board that is true to you and your style.
Once you have your mood board complete then you can analyse your images. Look for reoccurring themes and work with them. I use my Pinterest to store pictures of people whose style I like on one board and have other boards for images that inspire instantly. Another good site to use for gathering images of style you admire is Lookbook.nu

What techniques do you use to inspire your style? I’d love to hear from you.

Emmie xo
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