April Rate Or Hate

This is the first time in a while when I've actually been dreading the next month, but it's hard not to when you've got 7 exams coming up that don't end until mid June. For those of you in the same position as me, trust me when I say I feel your pain but hopefully this post will provide a bit of a welcome break from your revision instead of a means of procrastination.

This months rate or hate - 

Bare Minerals Ready Foundation and Mac Viva Glam Gaga 2

Rate -

Bare Minerals Original Foundation is my go to everyday foundation and has been for a couple of years now, but when I ran out a couple of months now and Debenhams didn't my colour I had a decision to make; do I buy the foundation in the wrong colour and try make it work or buy the pressed version. As you can see I bought the pressed version of my normal foundation (in the right colour) and I have been pleasantly surprised. There isn't a lot of difference between the original and the ready foundation apart from the ready foundation is a lot less messy and gives a slightly fuller coverage, which are only positives in my opinion!

Hate -

I bought this lipstick a couple of years ago now and at the time I really liked it but I haven't worn it in months because I have just gone off it. I don't think that Viva Glam Gaga 2 is a very flattering shade as it creates the appearance of foundation lips and makes me look ill. It isn't as bad if I wear a lipgloss over the top and it may suit a different skin tone but I do regret buying it. I guess on the plus side the money I paid for it goes to charity so it wasn't a total waste.

What have you been rating and hating this month?

Also don't forget to enter my £15 ASOS Gift Card giveaway here!

Nominate me for Best Teen Style Blogger in the Company Style Blogger Awards here!

Eleanor xx

Sunday Nails - Disney

I love Disney, honestly who doesn't? There is something so magical about Disney as a brand that every time I see the Disney logo I get butterflies in my stomach. Disney brings back so many fond memories of spending hours watching Cinderella, The Little Mermaid and more recently Frozen. While I'm not as obsessed with Frozen as the rest of the developed world I did enjoy it and would recommend watching it if you haven't seen it yet.

To create this simple Disney nail art I used Barry M's Gelly Nail Paint in Blueberry and my trusty Models Own nail art pen. I then drew freehand some iconic Disney symbols including Mickey Mouse and the iconic Cinderella castle. I'm sure you can find some Disney stickers or decals which would create a similar look but sometimes drawing is just as easy and a lot cheaper.

I can't wait till exams are over and I can just spend all days watching all the classic Disney films I have on video, until then I have to spend nearly every waking moment revising. 

What's your favourite Disney film?

Also don't forget to enter my £15 ASOS Gift Card giveaway here!

Nominate me for Best Teen Style Blogger in the Company Style Blogger Awards here!

Eleanor xx

Outfit Post - Blue Jeans, White Shirt

When I bought this hat I never anticipated how often I would wear it, since I bought this hat it has practically not come off my head (literally because when I take it off I have serious hat hair). And it seems that I'm not the only person who loves this hat as every time I wear it I get a lot of compliments on it (as well as a few 'Are you Amish/Indiana Jones/a witch?' comments)!

New Look Hat, Ben Sherman Shirt, Pull and Bear Jeans, T K Maxx Bag, Dune Boots and Primark Sunglasses

I wore this outfit the other day when I was shopping in town and it's the sort of thing I've been wearing a lot recently. The ripped jeans and leather jacket help to dress down a crisp white shirt and my staple black studded boots, and when paired with a good pair of sunnies this makes the perfect spring/summer shopping outfit.

Despite my love for hats, they can be quite annoying. For example:

• Wearing hats results in a lack of spacial awareness as you don't realise that your circumference has increased, this has resulted in me walking into quite a few walls.
• Every time the wind blows you have to hold onto your hat for your dear life.
• And of course the dreaded hat hair.

Please tell me I am not the only person who experiences hat problems?

Also don't forget to enter my £15 ASOS Gift Card giveaway here!

Nominate me for Best Teen Style Blogger in the Company Style Blogger Awards here!

Eleanor xx

Sunday Nails - Mermaid's Eyes Review and Nail Art

Happy Easter! As you are all probably being bombarded with hundreds of different Easter nail art, I thought that I would post something a little different today: a review. 

*Debora Lippmann Nail Polish in Mermaid's Eyes

*I was sent this nail polish to review but that in no way effects my opinion, for more information please check out my disclaimer page. Thank you to www.beautyexpert.com for sending me this product.

Mermaid's Eyes by Deborah Lippmann is a limited edition nail polish that was inspired by one of their most popular nail polish's Mermaid's Dream, that was released as part of their summer 2013 collection. Mermaid's Eyes is a beautiful metallic nail polish with little chunks of dark blue glitter and gold shimmer running through it, it applies beautifully and opaquely though I would recommend at least two coats for a completely opaque finish. 

One thing that I love about this nail polish is that it is thin enough that it dries quickly (within one or two minutes) but opaque enough that you don't have to apply four or five layers. My only gripe with this nail polish is that is has a bit of a rough texture because of the glitter but this was easily fixed with a top coat. As for it's wearing power I've been wearing it for a good few days now and it has shown no signs of chipping which I'd expect from a high end nail polish.

Inspired by the name of the polish I decided to do some nail art inspired by the scales on a mermaid's tail, using Mermaid's Eyes as a base colour before creating the scales with a black nail art pen and adding detail with a white nail art pen to create a 3D effect. 

Overall I think that Deborah Lippmann nail polishes are of a very high quality and I would consider buying them in the future. They have a beautiful range of unique colours, making them perfect as a gift for someone or a treat for yourself, but because of the £18 price tag I probably wouldn't buy them other than as a treat.

Have you tried an Deborah Lippmann nail polishes before?

Eleanor xx

Spring Fashion Haul

Ah a new season, a whole new wardrobe! Well not a whole new wardrobe, just a few new basics to update my closet. I haven't quite decided what style or trend that I'll be going for this spring/summer so everything that I've bought so far have been basic and versatile so that I can style it in multiple ways and its not a disaster if I change my mind. That being said I hope this haul isn't too boring for you!

I've really wanted some black high top style trainers for quite a long time now but I've never found the right pair for the right price. This was until recently when I suddenly started seeing pictures of Nike Air Force 1's popping up all over instagram and tumblr and fell in love, the problem was that I only ever saw them in white. After a quick Google search I found that Nike did in fact make them in black but practically no where sold them. But luckily for me, while I was browsing the concessions in Topshop on Oxford street I saw them, bought them in my size and took them home like a proud parent to a newborn baby.

Black Nike Air Force 1 - £51.99

For a few years now Primark has been my go to place for sunglasses. They've always got hundreds of styles that are always less than a fiver, and this year wasn't a disappointment. I picked up these gorgeous round sunglasses with gold detailing on the bridge on the nose and on the arms, they're sort of a cross between John Lennon and the Olsen Twins if you get my drift.

Primark Sunglasses - £3

Some simple gold rings are another thing that I've been lusting after for quite a while but I could never justify to myself spending £12 or something ridiculous for a pack from Topshop, I then saw this pack of rings in Primark for £2.50 and all the waiting was made worthwhile. In the pack there are three different types of rings, skinny, medium and large with a cutout, making them perfect for stacking without the cost of buying lots of rings separately. 

Primark Rings - £2.50

I have finally found my perfect pair of ripped jeans! They're the perfect mid wash denim that I was after, the perfect fit: not boyfriend jeans but not skinny jeans either and not so many rips that they may as well be shorts! Another bonus is that they won't break the bank as they were only £19.99 a bargain compared to the Topshop ripped jeans.

Pull and Bear Jeans - £19.99

H and M Basic T-Shirt - £6.99

Everyone needs basic t-shirts in their wardrobe, including me which is why it was strange when I realised that I didn't actually own any basic t-shirts. So while I was in town I picked up these two grey v-neck t-shirts, they're flattering, cheap and good quality, what is not to love?

H and M Basic T-Shirt - £6.99

Since the weather has picked up recently my sister and I have recently started to go running. I used to be quite good at running and I've done the Race for Life in the past, but with Sixth Form taking up a lot of my time, running got pushed to the back. So in my quest for a bikini body I've started running again but I had nothing to wear, so when I was in Primark I picked up this cheap black hoodie.

Primark Hoodie - £8

Sorry I haven't been buying any extravagant items like pink feather boas or Jimmy Choos (?) but you've got to have the staples before you buy any investment pieces. I'd love to know what you've been buying recently so make sure to link your blogs below! 

Also don't forget to enter my £15 ASOS Gift Card giveaway here!

Nominate me for Best Teen Style Blogger in the Company Style Blogger Awards here!

Eleanor xx

Sunday Nails - Negative Space Positive Energy

In the past I've never really been one to follow nail art trends, while some of them have been cool and interesting like caviar manicures or crackle nail polishes I've just never jumped on the band wagon until now. Recently I've being seeing a lot of negative space nail art and I love it! 

Unlike other nail art trends in the past, you can easily do this at home without having to go out and buy hundreds of different nail polishes or beads as all you need is your regular nail varnish and some sellotape. Simply cut the sellotape into whatever shape you want (for this look I cut thin strips of sellotape) and place them on your nail where you want to negative space to be. Then paint your nail as normal before finally taking of the sellotape to reveal your design, and once it is all dry finish with a clear topcoat to seal it all together.

Top Tip - Use tweezers to take off the sellotape it makes it a lot easier and you won't smudge your other nails while doing it!

I'd love to know what you think of this trend and will you be trying it out? 

Also don't forget to enter my £15 ASOS Gift Card giveaway here!

Nominate me for Best Teen Style Blogger in the Company Style Blogger Awards here!

Eleanor xx

GIVEAWAY - £15 ASOS Gift Voucher

A few weeks ago I started hitting a some milestones on my blog and decided that it was finally time to do a giveaway! I've never done a giveaway before but I really wanted to say thank you to you guys for all of your support and this is just a small way to say thank you.

 

I have decided to giveaway a £15 ASOS Gift Card as ASOS sell such a wide variety of products that I'm sure whoever wins the competition with have no problem in finding something to spend the money on. It's also safer than me buying makeup or clothes, that you might already own or that might not suit you.

To enter the giveaway you must be following my blog as this is a competition to thank my followers for their support but there are other ways to gain extra entries as well with all of the links being at the side of my page under the 'about me' section. (Please make sure you follow the right accounts as if you are not following the right account your entry will not count).

Simply follow the rafflecopter instructions below to enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Good luck to everyone who enters! 

Also nominate me for Best Teen Style Blogger in the Company Style Blogger Awards here!

Eleanor xx

Sunday Nails - Butterfly Wings

While I've never been fond of insects, I've always loved butterflies. From finger painting pictures of butterflies as a kid to seeing Damien Hirst's exhibition at the Tate Modern on butterflies, their beauty has always fascinated me. With summer approaching hopefully we'll start seeing a lot more butterflies but until then I will just have to paint my nails to look like butterfly wings.

The base colour is actually a mixture of a holographic silver nail polish and a purple sparkly polish and while it looks pretty I kind of wish that I had blended in a blue sparky nail varnish as well, so if you are going to recreate this look then that could be something that you could do. I then used my black and white nail art pens, outlining the shapes and then filling in the outside space before adding a few white dots around the edges.

Also for those of you who do not know, on Thursday I finished Sixth Form for 2 weeks and while that sounds like I'll have loads of time to relax and blog, it turns out that I have a lot of revision to do. Painting my nails and blogging is my method of procrastinating from revision, which while it's sort of productive I need to revise as well, so please bear with me as I try and find the right balance between the two!

Eleanor xx

April Wishlist

Introductions are hard, especially when you're having writers block so I'm just going to say here is my wishlist...

Topshop Cami Dress - £12
After watching Shirley and Sami's videos on how to style camis I fell in love with the grey cami dress that Shirley wore in her video and knew that I had to have it. It probably won't look as great on me as it looked on Shirley as I don't have her curves but I can just pretend can't I?  

Zara Metallic Heels - £ 59.99
I don't really have much to say about these heels apart from THEY'RE SO PRETTY! I'm quite a magpie when it comes to anything sparkly or shiny hence my addiction to these Zara beauties. I have no idea where or when I would wear them, all I know is that my tootsies would look great in them.

Barry M Gelly Nail Paints in Sugar Apple, Pink Lady and Huckleberry - £3.99
I already own quite a few of the Barry M Gelly Nail Paints and they are some of my favourite nail varnishes. I love Barry M as a brand for nail varnish because they are affordable and have a great range of colours, and their new spring releases are no exception.

John Green The Collection - £29.99
If you follow my Instagram you'll know that last month I finally got around to reading A Fault In Our Stars by John Green, after my friend Maddie lent it to me. It's such a beautiful book and one of my new favourites, and I really would recommend you reading it if you haven't already. So it only makes sense that I buy all of John Greens books and read them all right before they're all made into films right?

Sorry that this post has been a bit all over the place and my writing has been so poor but I promise that my next few posts will make up for it, especially since one of them will include a GIVEAWAY! Yes you heard right. I will soon be doing my first giveaway to celebrate reaching 500 followers on GFC and 400 on Bloglovin and to thank all of you for reading my little blog. So keep your eyes peeled...

Eleanor xx