Sunday Nails - 50 Shades Of Pink

HAPPY EASTER! And if you don't celebrate Easter, well.... HAPPY SUNDAY! I am sure by this point in the day you have eaten all of your Easter eggs and are now starting to feel a bit sick with all the chocolaty goodness (I know I am)! So I thought I'd show you my nails to help you take your mind off it.

This picture is a prime example of why I have to many nail varnishes, as I not only had enough different shades of pink to create this look, but at least 10 other shades of pink I could have chosen to use. Not quite 50 but more than enough to be slightly ashamed!

The ombre stripes were simple enough to do but waiting for each colour to dry was very time consuming so I suggest that you do this while sitting down watching TV. You could also use sellotape to create sharper and more precise lines but I was just plain lazy and couldn't be bothered!

Hope you are all having a lovely day and I'd love to see if you've painted your nails for Easter, so feel free to tweet me your pictures @_EleanorHughes_ or if you've done a blog post, as always, leave your link down below.

Remember to nominate me in the Company Blog Awards here and follow me via Bloglovin here.

Eleanor xx

A Few Bits and Bobs Haul

It feels very strange showing some of the items in this haul as I purchased some of them months ago, because the truth is I don't buy a lot of things very often. I go shopping lots but normally only come back with one or two things as I hate parting with my money. 

Don't get me wrong, I love that rush of adrenaline when you find the perfect dress that fits like a glove and you practically run to the till before handing over your money so you can take that slice of heaven (in the form of a dress) home. But when you get home and check your purse and it's empty, the sense of satisfaction suddenly disappears. 

So if anyone has a magic purse or a money tree they'd like to lend me that would be greatly appreciated. In the mean time this is what I bought...

You may be very shocked to see the candle in my haul, as it is technically a Christmas candle. I bought this when I went to Clarks Village a while back and there was a Hallmark outlet store. As it is no longer Christmas this candle was half price and I just couldn't resist. 

This candle is actually amazing! I don't think the scent is particularly Christmasy so I can get away with burning it in my house, but wow is this sweet. If you do not like sweet scents, do not get this as you may find it sickly sweet but I love the sugary cookie scent. Also you don't have to burn it for long as the scent quickly fills the room and lasts.

Yankee Candle Christmas Cookie - £4.95 ish.

I have been eyeing up this crop top in Topshop ever since I saw it appear in the 'New In' section of their website. The shape is really unique to any other crop tops I own and I love the two cheetahs on the front as it really reminds me of something Rihanna would wear. They have more of these crop tops but with different motifs on the front and when it warms up I'm sure I will be buying them!

Topshop Crop Top - £14

Now if you've been reading my blog since the start you will know how long I have wanted a chain necklace, and finally the waiting has paid off as I found the perfect one in H and M. I have been struggling to find one for a long time as all the ones I saw were either too long, felt cheap or were way too pricey but this is perfect! I can't wait to do some OOTD's showing you how I like to style it!

H and M - £5.99

I have been having a lot of concealer trouble lately as some of you may know, so I have been looking for a new one to try. I have heard so many things on blogs about the Collection Lasting Perfection Ultimate Wear Concealer and have wanted to try it for ages but every time I went into Boots or Superdrug they never had my colour. But yesterday was the day. There was one left in Superdrug in my colour and they were doing £2 off Collection makeup, it was a coincidence destiny! 

First impressions: I LIKE, I LIKE A LOT!

Collection Lasting Perfection Ultimate Wear Concealer - £3.69

As you may have noticed that blogger randomly disabled the comments on my last post but it's all sorted now...YAY! Hope you have a lovely weekend, I'd love to know what your doing!

Remember to nominate me in the Company Blog Awards here and follow me via Bloglovin here.

Eleanor xx

March Rate or Hate

Starting off a blog post is one of the most difficult things about blogging. I must re-write the beginning of each of my posts at least 2-4 times before I am satisfied, and it has come to the point with my monthly posts that I can no longer continue to write about the weather or how fast this year is flying by. 

So before I get onto the post I'd just like to remind you how interesting Star Fish are; Star Fish can have up to eight eye's, one on every leg. 

This months Rate or Hate -

Bare Minerals SPF 20 Concealer and MUA Eye Shadows
(Not just the shade pictured but all of the shades!)

Rate - 

MUA is a British makeup brand sold only in Superdrug (as far as I know), for incredibly low prices ranging from £1- £7. I own a range of MUA eyeshaddows including some singles and a palette and that is because I love them!

Heaven and Earth Palette - £4

The single eyeshaddows are only £1 and the palettes are £4 and come in lots of highly pigmented shades. This includes matte eyeshaddows as well as shimmers which I find are incredibly difficult to find on to high street.  

From left to right: Shade 30, Shade 11, Shade 1, Shade 20, Shade 19 and Shade 17

At some point I think I will buy a cheap palette off ebay and depot all of my single eyeshaddows as the main down point to these products is that the packaging is poor, especially for the singles. But then again for £1 what do you expect?

I would really recommend these eyeshaddows if you are just staring out in makeup and want to build your collection but do not have the money to spend £10 on an eyeshaddow from MAC!

Hate - 

As you can tell for my recent posts I have not been getting on with concealers lately as my hate is yet again a concealer and what is even worse is that it is from Bare Minerals as well. 

Bare Minerals Concealer SPF 20

Don't get me wrong I love Bare Minerals as a brand and love lots of their products, that is why I am so gutted when a product of their's disappoints me and boy did this disappoint! 

Concealers are meant to conceal right? That is why they are called concealers, so why did this product do nothing but accentuate the flaws and imperfections I am trying to hide?! Even though I bought the lightest shade it is also still too dark for me making my face look patchy and discolored in some areas.

It was also very messy to apply.

Maybe if my skin was perfect this product would work for me, but then if I had perfect skin why would I need a concealer?

It's looking like I am having a concealer crisis, any suggestions?

Remember to nominate me in the Company Blog Awards here and follow me via Bloglovin here.

Eleanor xx

Sunday Nails - Easter Edition

I know that Easter Sunday is next Sunday but as people mentioned in my last post, if they'd have seen the post earlier they could have tried it themselves, so I did some Easter inspired nails a week earlier so that you could try it!

These nails are so cute! I just love the cute little chicks and bunnies and the pastel colours, and even if you don't celebrate Easter you can still do them as they are perfect for spring.

Sorry for the bad picture! Had to take it at night and use artificial lighting.

I will hopefully do a couple of posts between now and next Sunday because I am on holiday but I am still very busy with revision and seeing family. But just in case I forget, Happy Easter I hope you have a lovely day stuffing your face with chocolate (one of my favourite past times) or in church (something I will also be doing) and if you don't celebrate Easter I hope you have a lovely day and I'd love to know what you are doing!

Remember to nominate me in the Company Blog Awards here and follow me via Bloglovin here.

Eleanor xx

Max Factor 2000 Calorie Waterproof Mascara

My makeup collection is made up of both drugstore and high end products, I mainly invest more money in face products as I personally feel that it is an area that the drugstore haven't quite hacked yet, especially in terms of colour range. But I always buy my mascaras from the drugstore as I feel that they are sometimes better than the extortionately priced high end mascaras. 

One brand I always buy my mascaras from is Max Factor. They always get the right balance between pricing and quality consistently producing amazing mascaras. 

Recently I bought the Max Factor 2000 Calorie Waterproof Mascara when it was on offer. The original version of this mascara has been around for years and is well loved amongst beauty bloggers but I decided to purchase the waterproof version. I did this because I find that my mascara always drops to beneath my eyes, so by the end of the day I look like a panda which is not a good look!

The packaging is simple and glossy which is nice as looks of high street mascaras look quite tacky with neon weirdly shaped packaging. 

The wand is not something I would typically pick because I normally go for big wands but this is precise and a nice shape.

This mascara has a very wet formula which can sometimes make it difficult to apply and even once applied it can transfer onto your eyelids, which is very annoying. But apart from that it is a lovely mascara, lengthening and volumizing my lashes. It also layers nicely without looking clumpy.

Sadly though it does not stop my mascara running, and is difficult to remove as it's waterproof. For around £7.99 this is not a bad mascara but I think next time I will go back to the Max Factor False Lash Effect or Soap and Glory Thick and Fast. High end or high street mascaras?

Eleanor xx

Sunday Nails - St Patrick's Day

Happy St Patrick's Day! I may not be Irish but I do love a bit of Irish, and thought I'd get into the festivities anyway. 

While looking for a green nail varnish to use in my extensive collection of nail varnishes, I noticed that I do not have a mid tone green, I own a pastel green and a sparkly forest green but these were not what I was looking for. So instead of going out and buying a new nail varnish, I decided to layer the two greens that I own and this was the result...

... not too bad, but I should still buy a new nail polish.

I think not re-purchasing old colours is my worst habit, I try to convince myself that there will always be enough left in the bottle when really I should just throw my old sticky nail varnish's away. Its come to the point where I have none of my favourite colours left because I've used them all and not re-purchased them. 

Next time I'm in town I should pick some more up, whether I do or not is another thing but  you'll just have to wait and see. I am the only one with this problem?

Eleanor xx

READ ME I'M IMPORTANT!

I'm pretty sure most of you are aware that from the 1st of July 2013 GFC (Google Friends Connect) and Google Reader will no longer be active, if you didn't know uh... SURPRISE! Shame it wasn't a nice surprise eh?

When I found out I was like "Is this a joke?!" but I did a bit of research and found out Google and getting rid of them to encourage users to start using Google +. Well if your listening Google I'd just like to let you know that it is unlikely that people will start using Google + and it is the same reason no one was using it before, Google + is overly complicated and rubbish. 

But don't worry as there is an alternative and that is Bloglovin. Ever since I heard Fleure De Force mention Bloglovin in one of her video's I have been using it religiously to read my favourite blogs. 

Bloglovin is effectively a site made so that you can follow your favourite blogs and read them with ease, all you have to do is make an account (which is free and easy to do) and follow your favourite blogs. The layout of the site is simple and useful, and they also have a very good app that I use on my Ipod. 

If your interested in following me on Bloglovin (if you don't already) you can do that here, also if you are planning to change from GFC to Bloglovin, Bloglovin couldn't have made it any similar as they also have the option to import the blogs you follow on GFC to Bloglovin.

On another note, my favourite magazine Company are now taking nominations for their Style Blogger Awards in association with New Look. I've always loved seeing my favourite bloggers win awards and this year you can nominate me. I know it's a bit cheeky asking you guys to nominate me but hey? If you don't ask, you don't get.

You can nominate me here, here are a few categories you might like to nominate me in - 

1. Best Personal Style Blog - Newcomer, sponsored by New Look
2. Best Fashion Blog - Newcomer
3. Best Teen Fashion Blog (under 18)

Though if you don't fancy nominating me you can always nominate one of the blog on my favourite fashion blogs page. I nominated my good friend Izzy from My Wardrobe Wanderings. 

Sorry this post has been very word heavy but there were some important things that needed to be said! Who are you nominating for the Company Style Blogger Awards?

Eleanor xx

Outfit Post - Dressing Up My Boyfriend

Firstly, Cold + Wind = Outfit Post Indoors, so that is why the lighting isn't that good.

Secondly I do not have a boyfriend *cries in despair* but what I do have is a new pair of trusty Topshop 'Mom' boyfriend jeans. Sadly these bad boys were £40 and I had to squeeze my rather large thighs into a size 6 as it was the only size left in store, but they were worth it! 

Shirt H and M, Jumper Urban Outfitters

Jeans Topshop, Bag Dune

To make the jeans a bit more dressy I paired them with a structured black bag and a pair of black heels.

Shoes Miss Selfridge

I probably wouldn't wear these shoes on a daily basis but they look cute with this outfit!

How is your week going so far? Hopefully less stressful than mine!

Eleanor xx

Sunday Nails - WARNING! GRUNGE.

Happy Mothers Day! I hope you've all had a lovely day with your Mother or doing whatever you've done today. I've had a lovely day with my mother preparing for my sister's birthday tomorrow but also unsuccessfully trying to catch up with my art coursework and preparation for my french assessment this week.

I should have really posted something sweet and floral seeing as today is Mothers Day but weirdly I felt grungy and rebellious and this was the result...

Not perfect, a bit strange but I like it!  

Once again I'd just like to say thank you as yesterday I reached 300 followers! WOW... I just can't believe it. Thank you so much if you read my blog, if you have ever left a comment or follow my blog, I cannot tell you how much I want to give you a big hug!

Anyways what did you get your mamma for Mothers Day?

Eleanor xx

Sunday Nails - Magazine Nails Experiment

Previously in the past I have attempted newspaper nails and it has always turned out quite well but I've always wondered if it would work the same with a magazine. Magazines have so many pretty patterns and fonts that I would love to translate onto my nails so today I had a go at it. 

First paint your nails with a base coat and then a base nail varnish colour, I used Barry M Matt White. 

When your nails are COMPLETELY DRY (No one likes smudged nails!) go through your old magazine and cute out little squares the size of your nails, out of cute patterns and fonts from your magazine. Cut enough for a square for each nail.

Then pour some vodka or rubbing alcohol into a little pot and dip your nail into it so that it is fully covered by the alcohol.

Then take the piece of magazine, press it face down on your nail and hold it for a minute.

Remove the magazine and paint your nail with a topcoat to finish it off and seal your design.

This is the finished result. Did it work? Ummm sort of, they look kind of vintage. Will I be doing magazine nails again? Maybe I'll stick to newspaper nails next time!

Hope you've all had a lovely weekend! I had a lovely day in Cardiff yesterday watching One Direction, they were AMAZING! Harry waved and smiled at me (I nearly died of happiness) and me and my friend called Niall's name and he turned and smiled at us (Just thinking about it makes my heart pound!) 

Anyway enough of my fangirling, I'd love to know what you think of my nail 'experiment'.

Eleanor xx