Monday 27 June 2016

Blog 16: How I tackle VR makeup

I remember when I had a huge issue with makeup. I was totally against people using it as I thought they were covering up who they really were. I now reflect back on that frustration on the fact that I couldn't work out how to make makeup look nice on myself. My eyeliner wasn't really eyeliner, more like charcoal rubbings in wobbly drunken lines. My Contour was like I had rubbed dirt on my cheeks and tbh I had no idea what highlighter was. I made a breakthrough when I finally sat down and concentrated really hard. Finally! I had achieved the perfect cat flick. Ok, I do admit that it probably took me a few months more to get my other eye sort of symmetrical but after that I was convinced I should quit school and become a beautician. I think its fair to say I'm loving makeup. Although I never really wear it for school, I do love getting ready for parties and spending hours choosing the right shade of eyeshadow. (Disclaimer: I wear makeup for myself) I literally love shopping in Superdrug now and seeing the new products and then how expensive they are and buying a relatively cheaper version of it. I especially love it when I find new brands! When I got contacted by VR makeup I was seriously excited to try out their products. I honestly thought they were going to send me some fake eyelashes and a lipstick but no! I got an entire range of products and I loved them so much that I thought they deserved an entire blog! I have of course done a quick video on how I applied and tested the products and the reviews are below! Enjoy!

 
Here's a quick link to the website: http://vrmakeup.com.au/
 
The kit



The tweezers



To be perfectly honest, there's not a lot you can say about tweezers apart from that they sufficiently pluck hairs well. They have a good grip on the end so you definitely pull the hair out in one go. They were great for shaping my eyebrows. Sorry there's no price as there wasn't one on the website but 10/10


The contour kit


 
Contour Kit, £12
 
If you don't know, I invest heavily into my contouring makeup so it take a lot to impress me. This was amazing. I used all of the shades apart from the really dark brown and they were fabulous. I started off using a mixture between the two brown shades in the middle and on the left to contour. They were a lovely powder and blended really easily not making a muddy brown at all. The yellow was helpful for making under the contour look more highlighted and natural. The highlighter is beautiful and perfect for a subtle highlighter. It gorgeous and gives a beautiful finish topped with the rose blush. Its a great palette that I will be using again! 10/10
 
 

The eyeshadow palette


 
 
Eyeshadow palette, £10

This is my 7th eyeshadow palette and there is a lot of competition in the eyeshadow department of my dressing table. Unfortunately for me, it just wasn't the best. The colours weren't that pigmented and they were really hard to blend. However, the colour range on the palette is impressive and I really love certain colours that I will be using again, especially bottom left. It is at a great price as well so 7/10


The eyelashes


 
 
Eyelashes, £3
 
Unfortunately I haven't had time to try these out but they look gorgeous and not fake at all. They will add so much volume and extension to my eyelashes and I can't wait to try them on a night out. For £3 these are a bargain and for any fake eyelash addict, these are what you want! 9/10
 
 

The lipsticks



 
Lipsticks, £7.25
 
I LOVE LIPSTICKS! So naturally when I got these I was slightly ecstatic. There are 10 different shades to choose from and I love the colours that I got sent (Raspberry on the left, Violaceous on the right). The lipsticks are very pigmented which I love and have a smooth texture to them which I love when applying them to my lips. For that 10/10

Overall I highly recommend VR makeup as they are really good quality items at cheap prices. Plus I love the packaging as it makes it look really sleek and professional.
Thanks again to VR makeup for sending me this beautiful collection.



http://vrmakeup.com.au/

Sorry this was posted on Monday not sunday! Got a bit lost in my weekend! Love you all,

Ciao xxx


Sunday 19 June 2016

Blog 15: How I tackle the summer dress

WANTED: Gardener. Will be paid in Mac Lipsticks 

I had everything sorted this weekend. I was planning on having a nice Sunday having a good balance between work and Love Island. Instead, after waking up in a great mood and bounding to breakfast, I was met with the one phrase I never want to hear. 
"We are doing gardening today"
If there is one thing I hate most in the world, it is gardening. So I spent most of my Sunday shovelling grass into heaps at the bottom of the garden which not only led to my back breaking but also led to blisters the size of volcanoes on my hands. I hope you're happy that I can't even hold a pencil. So as my Sunday went by I got increasingly irritated as the never ending pile of grass that kept coming but I kept scooping. However during this painful test of the gods, it did come to me that really this was the beginning of summer! (Which made me slightly less pissed off).  I then started thinking about swimming and sun! From then on I did cheer up a bit and I even smiled slightly when my sister (on the sit-on-mower) chased my mum around the garden. So good things can come out of bad things (sometimes). This blog is on summer dresses because they are probably my favourite thing to wear in the summer. Don't ask me how many I have, it's a shameful amount. There is such a range of different summer dresses you can get but personally I go for the pretty, cute, making you look like a year 8 look! They are also great because you can enjoy getting a tan while wearing them but also they aren't close fitting so they can air you off a bit if it's humid. I don't know why boys aren't wearing them! So here are my favourite summer dresses:
 
 

Dress 1

 
 
 
Lace shift dress Allegra K £9.50
 
Let me introduce you to Allegra K the amazing brand that sent me this gorgeous dress. It has a high neckline with lace inserts and made with chiffon material that is such good quality! To prove that, I'm actually wearing black pants underneath and you can't even tell, its amazing. The quality for the price is fantastic and I would wear this on the beach over my bikini or in the evening on holiday. Its a shift dress so it's super floating and perfect in the humidity. It also is so soft to wear and I love the feel of the material. Unfortunetly for me it is a little short but I am wearing a size S (UK6) . 9/10
 
Go check out the dress here and explore their website for more amazing deals:
 
 

Dress 2

 
 
Rose Skater dress H&M £8
 
This dress makes me feel all 50's and paired with the red lips makes this a classy look. I love the large rose print as it isn't too much but still keeps it chic. I also love the skater dress design as it is a classic style and reflects the 50's style but with a modern twist. For the price this was a bargain. Its made out of a good quality material and I receive compliments every time I wear it! 10/10

 

Dress 3


 
 
Aztec boho dress Forever 21 £20
 
For more of a modern twist, this Aztec dress is perfect. The print is gorgeous and I love the colour. The top half is elasticated which means it hugs to your figure flattering any shape. The material at the bottom is very light and does sometimes float up which isn't great. But again for the price 8/10

 

The makeup




Just in case you want to know my makeup; my eyeliner is the Waterproof Barry M liquid eyeliner which was only £4.99. Honestly it doesn't budge, I've slept in it after a party and woken up with it still on perfectly! My lipstick is Mac in the shade Angel given to me by my boyfriend. Perfect for a subtle nude colour. My necklace which has featured in nearly all the photographs was given to me by Touchstone accessories!

http://touchstoneaccessories.com/index.html
 
Thanks for reading! I've put up a tracker with the amount of views my blog has so I don't need to keep tell you! As always any suggestions just leave in the comments below.
 
Instagram: @theamateursguidetofashion
 
 
Love you all
 
Ciao xxx

Sunday 12 June 2016

Blog 14: How I tackle the playsuit

As usual I have to start with a weather comment. Literally its disgusting and unpredictable. Might as well just take my entire wardrobe wherever I go so I can change just like the weather.
The humidity does make you feel like you're in a small sauna with a very sweaty old man but it does give me an excuse to get out the summer wardrobe (for the very few days we can in the UK). A personal favourite of mine (which I can get my white legs out for) is the Playsuit. They can be quite formal and quite casual but they cool you down in the humidity. Also no risk of it flying up if its windy! I have multiple playsuits (not jumpsuits, shorter ones) but I have chosen my favourite formal and casual playsuit to show you.

 

The casual playsuit



 
New Look Playsuit £23

This playsuit makes me what to live in the Caribbean all year round. I love the print which is what first drew me too it as it isn't in your face but still quite bold. I love the way it flares out at the hips as it makes you look very curvy and your waist tiny! The extra crochet on the hem, waist and neckline really complete the outfit to make it look quite different to any other playsuit. You can wear it to dinner in the evening or over your costume when you get out the see-through Caribbean waters.
I would personally style this with nude pumps and maybe a white flower garland and suede fringe shoulder bag for a festival look.

 

The Formal Playsuit



 
 
Zara Playsuit £8

Now this isn't probably what you are expecting. I found this and I immediately loved it, however the gapping back makes it very difficult. I had to purchase a bra with a plastic strap around the back just to be able to think about wearing it. But it was worth the investment! It looks so classy and so cute on and its such an unique good quality item and I can't believe the price on it. Probably one of my favourite items from Zara. I would style this up with a long pendant gold necklace and black boots with straightened hair.

Thanks for reading! 38.1K views so far!
Instagram: @theamateursguidetofashion
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Ciao xxx

Saturday 4 June 2016

Blog 13: How I tackle Seventeen Cosmetics

So it was my (17th) birthday last week and my sister thought it would be hilarious to buy me a haul from the makeup brand Seventeen. I honestly don't know a lot about the brand but I occasionally see it on a revolving podium in boots or Superdrug but, to be honest, everyone just walks passed it and goes to the gleaming aisles of Broadway branded banners occasionally featuring grumpy sales assistants which would honestly try to murder you if you were within 10 metres of their products. Being relatively new to makeup I tend to stick to the big brands that I know I can rely on and I never really venture out. However this has forced me to step out of my comfort zone and try something completely new. For any guys reading, yes changing from one makeup brand to another is a BIG DEAL. Well it is for me. It's the difference between looking like that pretty contoured snapchat filter and being a orange covered in marker pen. I got 6 items from the brand and just a quick comment on first impressions; they looked really sleek and expensive which was very appealing. I also need to say I filmed doing my makeup which is online on YouTube if you want to check it out:


 
 

 


All the items (All prices from boots)



My eyebrows


 
 
£5.99


 
£4.69


Firstly can I say, I never really do my eyebrows. They are a feature I like to forget because I honestly don't know how to save them. They are both different shapes but I can't decide which one I like better so they are just uneven and it kinda makes me look like I'm constantly judging everything. So with that in mind, probably don't copy my tutorial. I started off with using the Clear definition mascara/brow brush to brush up the hairs into a shape I liked. I then followed the instructions from inside the brow kit using the wax first then the colour then the setting powder (used under and at front of eyebrow). For a first time properly giving my brows a go I don't think it was too disastrous. I have to rave about the Clear definition gel as it made my eyebrows calm down and have a sense of direction rather than the bushes they normally are. I'm giving it a 10/10! It is so worth the investment and it can be used as a clear mascara as well! The brow kit is also a great investment for someone who has no idea about brows. It has great instructions which won't make you look like you plucked two slugs out of the garden and stuck them to your face. 8/10



The contour


 
£5.99


Oh the joys of contouring. Believe me, its taken me a while to work out how to blend properly... but this palette is not only bronzer but can be used as a highlighter as well!!! The excitement! I started using the deepest brown as I wanted a really defined contour which was a little bit orange but with about 5 minutes of blending we got a good result. I used the lightest shade for a highlighter and it looked wonderful and I was really pleased with it. Unfortunately I've just purchased an Elizabeth Arden bronzer which blends effortlessly and matches my skin tone perfectly so the Seventeen brand bronzer wasn't really competition. However I would definitely recommend it as an affordable and inexpensive bronzer. 7/10

 


The eyeshadow

 
 
£5.99


For any of you who know me, I love love love eyeshadow and this was my 6th palette! 'Easy on the eye' comes with 8 matte shades and 4 creams. I'm very picky about my eyeshadows as I like they very pigmented and very blendable and this palette had compete with my well established other palettes. I first tried the matte shades, 'Onyx black' first which came out as a dark blue then blended it with 'twilight blue'. I say blended...more like stabbing my eye with my brush because the matte eyeshadows DO NOT BLEND to my disappointment. I was feeling kinda down about this because I do love eyeshadow so I began to use the creams in the corners of my eyes and OMG, life had meaning again. The cream eyeshadows ARE AMAZING. They are so pigmented and, obviously being a cream, easy to blend. I absolutely love the colours and I will definitely be using them again. Overall 7/10



The eyeliner


 
£3.99

It looks so funky and came in the most amazing packaging. I didn't have long to film the video so I didn't do a spectacular job of my eyeliner but I gave it a go. It has the tiniest tip to draw with which is perfect and it offers a bit of flexibility as well, slightly too much though as I nearly drifted up to my eyebrows! What shocked me was that it was almost instantly drying which is perfect for me because I always blink then I have to remove it which removed the eyeshadow then I do it all again then I blink again... etc. It was a wet look finish which I really liked considering I'm not normally a fan of it. Overall 9/10



The lipstick 


 
£4.49


Again, funky packaging! I really loved the outside of it and I would love my lipstick rack to be full of that design. I got the colour 'Rule Breaker' which I loved the colour of. As you can see it comes out in a bright berry colour which is so me. I also really liked the shape of it as it made it easy to cover my cupids bow. I was expecting it to be a matte but it surprised me and instead was really glossy and smooth. This product had no negative feedback as far as I'm aware! 10/10

So here are a few photos from after the completed look. Of course I wouldn't wear everything together as it would be a bit too bold but I really liked experimenting with this new brand and its something I would like to do again! Got any ideas as to what I should do next? I've made the comment section open below so anyone can comment so please feel free to suggest or comment on this blog!






Thank you all again! Last I checked I'm at 37k views!
Love you all

Ciao xxx