Out of every beauty product, nail varnish is my favourite. I don't even know how many I own, I can never stop buying them. There just never seems to be a limit as to how many colours I need.
I don't know if anyone else is the same, but whenever I go into a beauty store I normally come out with a new nail varnish or lipstick and recently it was no different.
Now, I normally have no preference to nail varnish brands, as long as the colour is pretty. I actuallt have a nail varnish regime of 2 coats, then a coat of clear and re do this every Sunday night. One of my favourite colours to wear is a mocha colour but I also love pastel colours, especially in the spring/ summer.
When shopping recently, I saw a gorgeous baby pink colour in the MUA range that I just had to pick up. To top this off, it was only £1. How could I not!?
I have heard a lot about this range but never used anything from it and I am very impressed by this nail polish. It stays on your nails a lot longer than many other more expensive brands and there is hardly any chips!! I am very impressed and will definitely be purchasing more colours it in!
Another good feature of this is how quickly it dries, this is huge benifit for me as I like to apply more than one coat and I hate waiting for it to dry!
If you would like to see more about this product you can find it HERE
Firstly I hope you had a lovely Christmas and enjoyed your day whatever it was you were doing!
In today's post I will be sharing with you some of the lovely things I received for Christmas. I will be doing this post in 2 parts and will shortly be posting a 'What I Gave' blog post for you all. So on with the presents! Now I am not going to share with you EVERY present I got, so I am just going to share with you a selection of my favourites.
BaByliss Curl Secret
If you follow me, or know me at all, you will know I have been banging on about this for AGES. I asked for this for christmas and yes I finally got it. I am so excited to use this! A lot of you have asked me to do a review of this because I know it is highly sort after, but the price puts a lot of people off so I will be doing a review for you to let you know exactly what I think of it.
I have actually used this already as I was far too excited to try it and did a photo shoot with the after effects to show you. I am currently editing all the photos and videos now which is taking a lot of time so will be posting this in a few weeks for you.
Here's a sneak preview from the shoot <<
Now onto more presents..
Harry Potter
Now.. this was a funny one. Without knowing me and my sister bought each other one of the same presents. We are both HUGE Harry Potter fans and have been to Harry Potter land in America but haven't been to the studio tour in London yet. So.. for christmas we both accidentally got exactly that. Luckily before we both opened the same present for each other on christmas day my dad told us the situation once he found out and I was able to return them due to having already purchased tickets.
So.. after all that palaver, me and my sister will be going to the Harry Potter studios in February, so we just catch it whilst it's still in the snow. I'm SO excited eeek.
Little Mermaid I'm a huge huge huge Disney fan and my favourite Disney film, although a hard choice is The Little Mermaid. Now for the past few years, this has been a nightmare to get hold of, but as it was released recently my sister managed to snap me up a copy and get me the boxset. Can't wait to watch this!
As well as the first film, this contains the second one which I equally love and a third one I didn't even know about!
Have you seen or heard of the 3rd Little Mermaid film?
Oribe Texturising Spray This spray is something I have wanted to try for a while now after seeing many other bloggers talk about it. The spray is quite expensive at £38 a bottle but I'm excited to try it. Having long hair, I really hope this is worth the price! This is also something I may do a review on.
Understandably it is not an everyday purchase at that price as many other dry shampoo's and volumisers are cheaper. However, if it's worth it is may be an investment.
Let me know if you'd like me to do a review on it?
So, like those are the main presents I wanted to share with you. Find below a nice little photo of all my presents. Some include a flashing Paris canvas, many cupcake books and a lot of nail varnish and jewellery. I hope you all had a wonderful day, I certainly did. I just can't believe how quick it goes by!
I will be posting part 2 of this next week where I share with you what I gave for christmas and make sure to stay tuned for the curl secret review in the next few weeks.
So, the wait is over. The John Lewis Christmas advert is here.
I wait all year for the Christmas adverts, it is the one time of year that retailers know they have to get right and pull out all the stops to outdo their competitors. John Lewis have held the top spot for a while in the UK, and their adverts have now become almost iconic with people waiting all year for them and waiting to see what emotive advert they produce. I am one of these people. I have loved John Lewis' adverts from the start and throughout the year, not even around christmas time, I find myself searching for all of the adverts on YouTube and watching them from beginning.
So, if you are wondering why I am writing this blog post when it isn't even Christmas yet, it is because John Lewis have released their christmas advert. Yes people, it's been released!! It is due to be released on TV during the X Factor on Saturday night, however it has been released online for all of us searching for it prior. John Lewis have actually bought out the entire advert break during X Factor, which the agreement of Simon Cowell, to make sure their advert is memorable and everyone is talking about. Which I'm sure they will. Watch the new 2013 John Lewis Christmas advert below:
The advert tells the story of a bear and a hare around Christmas time. The advert is animated so is quite different to anything they have done before. It shows the bear not in the Christmas spirit, whereas his best friend the hare is trying his very hardest to get his best friend in the spirit so they can enjoy it together. The advert shows all the other animals enjoying decorating the tree etc but the bear yawning. It is soon clear the bear is going into hibernation, and will always miss christmas due to his sleeping patterns and is therefore not aware of how enjoyable christmas can be.
The advert really pulls on your heartstrings when the hare is looking at all the other animals enjoying christmas day and he is so upset his best friend can't be there. The next thing, the bear comes along with a huge smile on his face after receiving the hare's present of an alarm clock to wake him up just in time for Christmas. And they all live happily ever after. Of course.
The advert cost a whopping 7 million so I do hope they sell a lot of those alarm clocks!
Something I think John Lewis do perfectly with their adverts is the music choices, this again is a perfect choice and I'm sure this cover of Keane's 'Somewhere Only We know' by Lily Allen will be a hit, as all the other iconic, slowed down, covers are. The music is so emotive and beautifully fits with the story. The music for last year's snowman advert particularly stood out to me because it was so entrancing, it made the advert.
Their adverts are so iconic, and are always known for being a tearjerking and emotional. They could be criticised for being very repetitive and following the same story, which is some cases they do. A lot of John Lewis christmas adverts follow the same story for finding the perfect christmas gift for your love ones, which this new advert follows too. However, John Lewis know if they feature products in their adverts, people will buy them, which is exactly what happens. This alarm clock will now be on everyones Christmas list.
As much as I do love this advert, and think the animation and disney like style really sets it apart from anything they have done before, I do prefer some of their other christmas adverts. My all time favourite one (and this is a hard choice) is 'The Long Wait' and I know this is a similar view of many others. The advert shows the boy impatiently waiting for Christmas and when the day is finally here, he cannot wait a minute longer. You assume he is waiting for Christmas all the time, but in fact he is waiting to give his parents the present he has bought him. It is such an emotive advert I do remember I did actually shed a tear at this one, because it is unexpected. Watch it below:
There have been many other brilliant John Lewis Christmas adverts and another favourite of mine is the Sweet Child Of Mine 2009 advert, I absolutely love the transition at the end, it works perfectly. Here are their 2008, 2010 and 2012 adverts for you to have a look, and probably cry at.
I'm sure there will be many more Christmas adverts I will love and I'll make sure to share the best ones with you! So that's it, another long year of waiting for the John Lewis Christmas advert is upon us.
And remember, give someone a Christmas present they'll never forget!
Last year, I went all out with Halloween, outfit, nails, the lot. This year I have neglected Halloween a bit due to my busy schedule, but I couldn't resist looking at a few nails online. Last year I did pumpkin halloween nails however last year I was still at uni so this was acceptable. This year I spent my Halloween in client meetings so had to stick with a plan nude, no pumpkin nails this year for me.
I am going to share with you some of my favourite halloween nail art I have found online when researching. I LOVE nail art and have previously done penguin nails which I will show you at the end of the blog. I always have my nails painted, regardless. I normally go for purply and pinky shades, but at the moment I am loving nude shades. I am currently wearing a muddy nude/brown colour and it goes with everything. I also love bold colours such a minty green as they can really stand out from an outfit.
In the Halloween season, these are some of my favourite nail designs:
Let me know which one these nail art's are your favourite and which you would try. Also if you have tried any before let me know, I tried pumpkins last year, but I love the skeleton and fake blood effect. These type of nails would only be suitable on Halloween however, and I do not recommend these for everyday nail. Unless you like fake blood and skeletons of course.
Penguin Nails
As I said earlier in the post, I have painted my nails like penguins before. I also did this last year and have now done this twice as it was such a massive hit with people. I love penguins and when I found out how to paint my nails like them I was super excited. They did look really good, but the only thing was the time it took. Obviously as you all know nails can take a while to do well, and my worst pet hate is when nails smudge.
The penguin nails were done in about 5 stages and each stage the varnish had to be completely dry because I was painting white on black. In total the nails took about 4 hours to do, but the result is really good.
These nail's weren't stick on and a lot of people thought they were fake but I promise you I did them myself. The black varnish went on first and then I painted half my nail with white nail varnish and filled in the rest with a hair grip of orange, white and black to make the features of the penguin. See the final outcome below:
If you would like I can do a blog post on how to get these penguin nails looks and the stages of me doing it, let me know if this is something you would like to see and I would be happy to do it. Plus it gives me a chance to do my nails again.
So, I hope you enjoyed this post and have a great halloween whatever your plans!
On Sunday, I was invited to a Beauty Launch in Farringdon, London. The launch was set up by Lypsso, check them out HERE. I went with my friend Oula who is a fashion recruiter and loves anything beauty related and I went as a blogger. Being a blogger I got many special treats including a complementary facial, make up done by a make up artist, free goodie bags and endless champagne. Not bad for a Sunday! I will be talking about this further below and including photos I snapped of the event. I love going to events like these and can't wait to go to more in the future. If you would like to go to one yourself, they are regularly held, especially in London so check out Lypsso and keep yourself updated as to when events like these are happening. Enjoy! x
The event was really good, lots of stands showcasing new products for the skin and new make up ranges. The make up which I had applied to me was the Benecos range and was vegan friendly and strictly not tested on animals, so I was very excited to try it. To match my outfit the make up artist chose a smokey eye effect for me. I love having my make up done, and it looked fantastic in the end. It was a shame I had to go home after! The products, especially the powder was very light on my face, which I like and the eyes looked great. Below is Oula having her make up done and the after shot.
The facial I received was by a new brand 'Jason,' the products were lovely and light and had a very refreshing and fruity scent to them. I received the facial prior to the make up, which slightly ruined it as after being refreshed I was clogging my skin with make up, but it was the only way to try the new products. Facials are so good for the skin, and I always mean to have more of them so was very excited and happy I got to get one at this event. The products were lovely and I would definitely use them again.
We were advised to take before and after shots using the professional photographers there and the difference was incredible, I always find it fascinated how different someone can look with and without make up. The photos below are of Oula, she similarly had her make up matched to her outfit. She went with a heavy eye with blue shades to match her blazer. She too was very pleased with the outcome and thought it was a great way to showcase the new products. The before and after photos were also a great idea, to show how powerful the make up is and the effects it can have.
All in all it was a good day, I got to test a lot of new products and meet some great people. As well as this I came away with 2 goodie bags with lots of lovely products in them to take away and try at home. I love going to beauty events and getting a chance to look at all the new products, and I think it's a great way to get a new brand out there. They are very popular events, and the majority are free, so I would recommend this to any beauty lover or new or struggling brand.
On Monday, I was lucky enough to go to Social Media Week's Opening Party. If you don't know what Social Media Week is, it is a week long event which takes place around the world, holding events, guest talks and lectures revolving the world of social media. For more information, check out their website HERE. The opening party is a great way to get a flavour for the week and a fantastic chance to network so I was very excited to go. For all of you that couldn't make it, I will be including photos of the night, so you all can see.
The first thing that took me by surprise was the giant red carpet outside we had to walk down! As well as this, around 20 photographers were snapping my photograph! I didn't have a clue where to look it was very surreal, but what a fantastic welcome. Upon entering there was also a lobster van which was serving various food throughout the night that went as quickly as you could even say the word lobster.
The inside of the party was decorated beautifully and the lights and effects around the room did look really good. As you can see from my photos, it was quite dark but there were a lot of strobe lights which heightened the atmosphere.
The night itself was good, there were various stalls and stands showcasing brands, but by far the best was the Duck DJ stall. When the ducks and blocks moved around the square, the beat changed and it was almost like a DJ deck. Very fascinating.
At the party there was also a great graffiti battle in which a white blank wall was covered in graffiti, it was great to see this progress and it was done only using a pen, great to see! Although I don't know what the image on the left is meant to be, eggs?
As well as this there were Nokia stands, lots and cupcakes and blue wine. The Nokia stands were showing the various new Nokia phones, which had some great new features and the cupcakes even had Nokia logos printed on them. To top this off and promote Nokia just that little bit more, the wine was blue, blue wine!
Overall I had a good night, although I would suggest more hubs next time, apart from networking there wasn't as many stands or focal points as I imagined there would be. It was a great event and I can't wait to keep updated on the rest of Social Media Week. If you would like to keep updated with Tweets about Social Media Week, take a look at their Twitter page HERE.
This is a question I am always asked, so I thought I would share my favourite advert of all time with you. This is an incredibly hard choice as there so many brilliant adverts and campaigns out there, especially at the moment.
After much deliberation I have decided and I actually have two, one is a TV advert and the other is a Viral Video. If you haven't seen these adverts before then I highly recommend you watching them in the links below.
Honda- The Cog
This advert by Honda has always been one of my favourites. I remember the first time I watched this advert and I was amazed by it. The advert was released in 2003, making me only 11, but I still remember seeing it and being fascinated by how clever it was. The concept it based on a Rube Goldberg machine which includes various car parts with them all connecting and linking together, showing the process of how a Honda is built. The advert flows so well and you are entranced right until the very end. Whoever came up with this idea is a genius and the thought process behind each movement must have been huge. The campaign itself was very successful and was broadcast on TV and in Cinemas. Cinema advertising is my all-time favourite type of advertising but I will talk about this in a later blog. I believe this advert is a classic, and whenever anyone asks me what my favourite advert is, I will always respond with this. The music at the end of the advert also makes it for me, as it is the only music throughout; it really stands out and tops it off perfectly. Watch it below.
Stats
Views: 5,286,488
Likes: 21,423
Posted: Jul 29, 2009
Dove- Evolution
My other favourite advert is Dove's Evolution Viral Video. I was introduced to this video during University by one of my lecturers as they recommending watching it and I thought it was amazing. The message of this advert is so strong and so cleverly put together, it really sticks in your mind. The campaign shows the photoshop altering of a women's face before and after it is retouched as it is for magazines and TV in todays society. This message is such a controversial and talked about subject and Dove have handled it really well, making you question society and indeed, beauty. The last line of this advert reads 'No wonder our perception of beauty is distorted.' As someone who regularly uses photoshop it is incredible to see the difference it can make to everyday images and faces. The sheer speed of the video and how quickly it changes amazes me. As well as the Evolution advert, Dove have also produced another more recent campaign in which others see your beauty even when you don't by the use of sketches. It has more views in total than both of the adverts I have shown you today and was understandably widely successful. This advert is truly touching and I will leave a link below if you want to check it out.
Stats
Views: 16,347,365
Likes: 27,965
Posted: Oct 6, 2006
So there you have it, my favourite adverts of all time for you. The two adverts I have chosen haven't been picked because they are necessary the best quality, biggest production value or funniest; I have chosen the adverts which have stuck in my mind over the years and that I find myself going back to YouTube to watch over and over again. Those are the successful adverts in my mind, the ones that still have the reach even when the campaign is over.
If you liked these adverts or have favourites of your own leave them in the comments section below or Tweet me.
Click HERE to see the other Dove- 'Beauty Sketches' video I talked about earlier.
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