Outfit Post - Do You Know Who I Am?

Currently I am right in the middle of my January mocks at Sixth Form meaning that I've had an exam every single day this week (excluding Monday) and have been snowed under with revision. So instead of sitting around on my laptop internet shopping and trying to find items to create a wishlist I decided that I'd post some photo's that I took before New Year of one of my favourite outfits of the moment.

New Look Hat, Warehouse Coat, Primark Jumper, River Island Trousers, TK Maxx Bag and Dune Boots

In my survey the majority of feedback I got revolved around me doing more fashion related posts such as OOTD's, so I am going to try my very best to take some more photo's of my outfits even if it means spending hours outside trying to get the right angle using my tripod. If you hadn't already guessed I don't have anyone to take my photo's let alone a professional camera or photographer please bear this in mind as sometimes they won't be the best quality. 

I've been wearing this outfit none stop because most of the items are new and I just can't help myself because as soon as I get new clothes I have to wear them straight away. It has certainly been the case with these leather trousers as I've found lots of different ways to wear them. I've even got away with wearing them to Sixth Form as I haven't been sent home to change (yet) unlike one poor boy who was wearing shorts last week.

But it's not just because a few of my clothes are new that it's one of my favourites as the whole outfit because it makes me feel a lot confident, sophisticated and older. I don't think it's just me as last week one of the girls my sister works with asked her if I was the older sister, which surprised both of us considering my sisters 18 and I'm only 16! My mum's friend also mistook me for being my sister when we bumped into her in town.

It's strange how an outfit can completely change peoples perception of you but then again that's why I like clothes; you can be whoever you want whenever you want depending on the clothes you're wearing. Have you ever been mistaken for being someone else? A sibling? Perhaps a celebrity? Let me know down below.

Eleanor xx

Sunday Nails - Versace

For my first nail art of 2014 I wanted to do something special, so I decided on a nail art that is inspired by one of my favourite designers: Versace. I originally saw pictures on my tumblr feed of a nail art very similar to this that was inspired by the Versace logo, I loved it and was itching to give it ago myself.

This is quite a difficult nail art in my opinion, purely because of the Greek gorgon Medusa that made the Versace logo so iconic. If you have never heard of the story of Medusa it is basically a greek mythology about an incredibly beautiful women who seduced the Greek god Poseidon, she was punished for this by Athena who turned Medusa into a monster with venomous snakes for hair, and anyone that looked at her would turn into stone. A slightly strange story to inspire the logo of one of top fashion houses in the world but Versace's designs were made to stop people in their tracks.

 

If you are going to attempt this you're going to need a very steady hand, and it also helps if you have quite big nails or you use false nails. But other than that it is just a white nail varnish and a black nail art pen, no fancy techniques or anything. 

On another note I just wanted to thank the people who have already filled in my questionnaire as it's really helpful knowing what you like and dislike my blog, helping me improve it in the long run as you are the people reading my blog after all. If you haven't filled it out yet it will only take you a couple of minutes at most and I will be forever grateful if you do! 

To fill in my survey go to this post.

Eleanor xx

Blog Survey 2014

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey , the world's leading questionnaire tool.

If you could take a minute just to answer this quick survey about my blog it would really help me out! I'll be able to get a clearer idea of what you guys like and dislike about my blog helping me post content which you guys want to see! 

Thanks

Eleanor xx

All Time Favourites (So Far...)

So here we are 2014; congratulations you made it. 

I always find the beginning of the year a nice time to reminisce the past year and use it to build my future, learning from my mistakes whether that be to not wear blue eyeshaddow and red lipstick together or to not do enough exercise. Because of this last year I feel that I've really started to come into my own makeup wise, as I started to try new products and stick with my all time favourites. So I thought I'd share some of them with you...

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Palettes

In the past I've never really been that fussed with eyeshadows as I felt they were an unnecessary step to add into my already long morning routine, but that was before I invested in some good pigmented eyeshadows. The first time I actually bought some Urban Decay eyeshadows was for my sister last Christmas, I'd seen so many reviews of the Urban Decay Naked Palettes I decided to buy my sister the Naked 2 palette. Being the kind sister that she is, she let me use the palette and I was hooked. 

So when my parents went away for the weekend and asked me if I wanted anything as a present I begged them to get me the newly released Naked Basics Palette; I've used it every single day since. Then for Christmas I was lucky enough to be given the Naked 3 palette, and as you've probably guessed I've also used that every day since! Not only the Naked range but all of Urban Decay's Palettes have been incredibly hyped up online so you've probably heard about them millions of times before, so all I can say is that if you haven't tried them, please do, but beware you will never go back to drugstore eyeshadows ever again!

Real Techniques Brushes

When I heard a couple of years ago that Samantha Chapman, one half of YouTube duo Pixiwoo, was releasing a range of makeup brushes I was extremely excited. Pixiwoo are some of my favourite YouTubers and I instantly added their release date into my diary. I first bought the Core Collection and then went onto get the Starter Set. They are the softest brushes I own and I use the buffing brush, contour brush, deluxe crease brush and the base shadow brush every day. They wash incredibly well: drying quickly and holding their shape, I've also never had a problem with shedding unlike some of my more expensive brushes. They're also made of synthetic hair, are cruelty free and are easily available from either Boots or Superdrug,what more could you ask for?

Mac Lipsticks

Mac Lipsticks are the only high end lipsticks that I've tried but I've never felt the need to buy more expensive lipsticks when I've already found some that I like. You can buy perfectly good drugstore lipsticks but they do not have the range of finishes or colours that Mac have, and will probably not last as long either meaning that you have to re-apply more and therefore re-purchase more, making Mac lipsticks a good investment in my eyes. My favourite finishes are amplified and satin but there are finishes to suit everyone such as matte or creme sheen. At £15 they are double the price of your average drugstore lipstick but your not just paying for a name but a great product, plus when you've used up six you can do back to mac and get a free lipstick!

Simple Face Wipes

Lots of people will argue that face wipes are bad for your skin but I personally find they are the best way of taking off my makeup and then I cleanse properly afterwards. Simple's Face Wipes are by far my favourite as they do not irritate my skin unlike other face wipes I've used in the past, they're often on offer so I normally bulk buy them as I am constantly re-purchasing them, as I've used them on and off since I started wearing makeup. 

Stella Eau De Parfum

I don't often change my perfume as I like to keep one scent so when people smell it, it will remind them of me, and Stella is my scent. It's got the right balance of sweetness, floral scents and musk making it not over powering or offensive, which is the reason I think a lot of people like it as I often get compliments when I'm wearing it. It's very distinct and according to the perfume shop it has heart notes of peony, rose, mandarin orange and woodsy notes. Not that I know what half of those things smell like but together they make a very beautiful perfume.

Company Magazine

Before their revamp I'd not read Company Magazine as I thought it was just like every other fashion/beauty magazine out there but since the revamp it's become by far my favourite magazine. Company sticks to the things it does best: fashion but approaches it in a way that's never been done before, appreciating the things that the average girl is into like blogs and YouTube or the latest things in trend, not just in fashion but books, films, social media, you name it, Company are on it. I also love the texture of the paper that makes it stand out from your bog standard glossy magazine. Also earlier this year they featured a picture of my nail art, cool huh?

Of course as I try new things I will find new favourites, but I just wanted to mention one last favourite of mine this year: my blog. I started The Lipstick, The Girl And Her Wardrobe one year ago today and it has been one of the best things I've done in my life. It's helped me become more confident in myself knowing people want to hear what I have to say. It's strange having people in sixth form coming up to me saying that they've read my blog and they think it really good, as when I started it I was conscious of what people would say when they found out but everyone has been supportive and interested. I've still got a long way to go and there are so many things I want to improve this year but I wouldn't have got this far without you reading my blog, so thank you. 

Hope you have a good New Year and 2014 brings you everything you desire.

Eleanor xx

Sunday Nails - New Year New Nail Polish

There are 2 full days left of 2013, how crazy is that? We're approaching 2014 at great speed and I don't think I'm ready for a whole new year. If there's one thing I've learnt this year it's that growing up is scary, especially when you don't know what you want to do with your life and you have to start making big decisions about your future. There's also the fear of not knowing what will happen but I'm not going to let that hold me back; 2014 will be my best year yet. 

That being said I'm not doing anything special anything at all to welcome in the New Year hence the lack of outgoing and eye catching nail art, that and I wanted to use the Essie nail varnishes that my sister bought me for Christmas. She bought me the an Essie mini winter 2013 collection set containing the colours 'Shearling Darling', 'Parka Perfect' and 'Toggle To The Top', so I decided to use 'Shearling Darling' and then 'Toggle To The Top' to create the glitter gradient effect.  

If you are going out this nail art may still be a good option for you as if you are going all out in the sparkle department in other areas such as your clothes or makeup you may not want disco balls and fireworks on your nails; it may come across a bit O.T.T, so this subtle sparkle may be a perfect solution 

What are you doing this New Years Eve?

Eleanor xx

The Christmas Tag!

Merry Christmas! I hope you are all having a wonderful day whatever you are doing whether that be celebrating Christmas or not. I thought I'd schedule a post for those of you wanting a break from arguing over what to watch on TV with your family or are fed up of loosing monopoly to your great grandma Ethel! If your reading this on Boxing Day then I hope you had a lovely day yesterday and I'd love to know what you got in the comments! 

Anyway on the post, which is the Christmas tag! I've seen lots of bloggers do this tag and I thought it looked fun so I decided to share it with you!

What time of the year do you start your Christmas shopping?

I normally start thinking of what to buy people for Christmas in late summer but I only really start my Christmas shopping near the end of November and I'll only finish a few days before Christmas. I don't think I could ever be one of those people who gets everything on Christmas Eve as I spend a lot of time finding the perfect presents!

Do you have any festive recipes for food or drink you limit solely to the Christmas season to share?

Roast potatoes done in goose fat, if I could on Christmas Day I'd just have a plate full of roast potatoes because they just taste that good! My mother restricts them the goose fat to Christmas as they are quite unhealthy but I cannot begin to describe the crispy outside and fluffy interior mmmmmmmm.

Tell me how Christmas goes home in your home...

We wake up around 8.30 ish and me and my sister open our 'stockings' (it's really just a pillow case haha) in our pyjamas before we all get dressed and go downstairs. In between cooking the Christmas dinner we all open the presents from under the tree before eating our Christmas dinner at about 1 o'clock. After lunch my mum tries to persuade us to go for a walk but by then my dad's fallen asleep on the sofa. We then spend the rest of the day stuffing our face full of chocolates while watching Christmas TV.

Do you have any Christmas traditions?

Not as far as I know...

Do you have a favourite festive coffee?

I don't drink coffee but I'll never pass on a hot chocolate with mini marshmallows (mini marshmallows are so much cuter than big ones)!

Do you have a favourite Christmas song?

'Last Christmas' by Wham will always be my favourite Christmas song but I also love 'All I Want For Christmas Is You' by Mariah Carey.

What do you do on Christmas eve?

Apart from going to Church in the evening we don't really do anything special apart from preparing the vegetables for Christmas Dinner.

What's your Christmas wrapping strategy? Do you have one?

I never knew people had Christmas wrapping strategies?! I just try to be as neat as possible and finish everything off with gold ribbon. All the wrapping paper has to fit with the decoration theme though!

What's your dream gift this year?

Apart from world peace, an end to world hunger and all my family and friends to be happy and healthy, I'd love a Chanel bag or maybe some Louboutins. A girl can dream.

Describe your Christmas tree. How tall? Real or artificial? How is it decorated?

Sadly artificial as my parents are too stingy to fork out for a real tree each year, it's moderately sized at about 6ft and decorated with a red and gold colour scheme in mind but with a few mismatched personal decorations thrown in for good measure.

Do you decorate just the Christmas tree or other areas of your house e.g. windows, banisters?

Mainly just the tree but we like to put some holly and tinsel around the house like on the mantelpiece.

What do you wear to Christmas parties and what do you wear on Christmas day?

I don't really go to Christmas parties but we all dress nicely on Christmas Day, not forgetting the paper hats out of the Christmas crackers that is the Christmas uniform of many families all over the world.

I hope you enjoyed this post and if you've done this tag leave it in the comments as I'd love to read it! I'd also just like to take this opportunity to thank you all for supporting my blog as in the new year my blog will be a year old. I wouldn't be here without you.

Thank You and Merry Christmas 

Eleanor xx

Sunday Nails - Sweet Sugar Candy Cane

3 SLEEPS TILL CHRISTMAS!!! 

As you may tell I'm a little excited for Christmas, so excited that I forgot to put up a midweek blog post *slaps wrist for being a bad blogger*. It's no excuse but I've been busy and I'd hate to put up a rubbish half hearted blog post, but my New Years resolution will be to do more blog posts (including outfit posts)!

In the mean time lets enjoy the Christmas cheer by me showing you this weeks nail art. 

As I mentioned last week Christmas is a great excuse to stuff your face with lots of food, including CANDY CANES! So to create the look of candy canes I used the most Christmassy nail varnish I own: Barry M nail paint in Red Glitter, and then created diagonal stripes using my models own nail art pen.

Every time I think of candy canes I just think of buddy the elf travelling through the seven levels of the candy canes forest!

 Merry Christmas! 

Eleanor xx

Sunday Nails - Christmas Pudding

Who would've thought that Christmas would come around so quickly? 10 more sleeps till the big day and only 5 until I finish Sixth Form for my well deserved break. So that means there's only one more Christmas nail art after this one which quite frankly makes me sad. I'm not ashamed to say that each week I enjoy spreading Christmas cheer through a picture or pattern on my nails. 

So continuing with the Christmas theme I thought I'd do a simple nail art inspired by one of the best things about Christmas: the food. Ahh turkey, pigs in blankets, roast potatoes in goose fat, just the thought of it all makes my mouth water. Surprisingly I don't like Christmas pudding (#sorrynotsorry) it's just never been my choice of pudding but frankly they look so darn cute on your nails it was hard to resist!

Please tell me I'm being a pig when I say that Christmas diner is one of the best parts of Christmas Day? 

Eleanor xx

Christmas Wishlist/ Gift Guide

It's two weeks today till Christmas so I hope you've all written your Christmas lists and sent them to Father Christmas! If not or your in despair about what to buy your gal pals for Christmas then you may find this post as some much needed inspiration! 

Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette - £37

Yes the worlds most hyped up neutrals palette has returned for a third time in the form of the Naked 3 palette. The Naked 3 palette, unlike 1 and 2, is very pink based hense the beautiful rose gold packaging. I don't own the first two palettes, I'm planning to buy them when I go to New York, but I can't wait until February for this palette as all year I've been looking for the perfect pink toned eyeshadows. The palette is being released on the 16th of Decemeber so just in time for Christmas but if you want one you may have to preorder one from Look Fantastic as I have a feeling they're going to sell out very quickly!

Baz Luhrmann Epic Romances Box Set - £8.50
Personally I think that DVD's are a stocking essential and a box set is always a great gift for a film and TV lover like myself. This year I've asked for the Epic Romances box set (that includes Romeo and Juliet, Moulin Rouge and Australia) and also another box set that includes Clueless and Mean Girls. These are some of my all time favourite films but for some reason I don't own them on DVD, but if I get them for Christmas I know what I'll be watching during my break for Sixth Form!

River Island Black Pleat Front Halter Neck Top - £28 and Black Draped Tulip Mini Skirt - £25
Oh my gosh I am so in love with this black crop top and skirt combo from River Island! I love the shape and cut of both the skirt and the top, and they can be styled separately or together. Co-ordinaries are a great idea if you've got lots of parties over the holiday season as you can mix and match without having to buy 3 different outfits! Topshop Mini Nail Polish - £5

HOW CUTE IS THIS MINI NAIL VARNISH?! Seriously this thing is amazing as it's even a Christmas tree decoration! Imagine coming downstairs on Christmas morning and seeing this cutie hanging on the tree? Or if that's not your thing it would be a great idea as a secret Santa present because they come in loads of different sparkly colours to suit any nail polish lover.

ASOS iPad Case - £15

Okay so I don't have an iPad but if I did I'd totally buy this case if I did! It doesn't provide a lot of protection but if your just looking for a simple clip on case then ASOS have loads of cases in different patterns. If you don't have an iPad like myself then they also do iPhone cases and things all at reason prices and a great stocking filler.

I mean of course there are other things that I would like for Christmas such as Leonardo DiCaprio or some other gorgeous guy wrapped up in a big gold bow, but sadly we all know that's never going to happen! So in the meantime I'm just thankful for what I've already got such as loving and caring family, friends and readers such as yourself. Thank you.

Eleanor xx

Sunday Nails - Somewhere Only We Know

Now there's nothing like Christmas adverts to get into the festive spirit. For the majority of the year we despise adverts and thank the lord that bbc do not have adverts, but in recent years I've been getting excited about Christmas adverts and impatiently waiting to see the during the ad breaks of my favourite shows. 

This year was no disappointment as we had offerings from Coca Cola, KFC, Aldi, M and S and best of all John Lewis. John Lewis have gone all out in the Christmas advert stakes this year with the story of the hare and the bear, a story in which the hate gives the bear an alarm clock so that he can wake up for Christmas and they can spend the day together. That paired with Lily Allen's rendition of Kean's 'Somewhere Only We Know' provides the most magical advert that embodies the Christmas spirit of sharing and spending time with your loves ones! So obviously I had to have a go at some nail art inspired by the advert!

By the way guys, I haven't been sponsored by John Lewis (I totally should have been haha) I'm just in love with their advert! What's been your favourite Christmas advert this year?

Eleanor xx