#OxMeet - Oxford Blogger Meet Up

Probably the last one of the beauty bloggers to write about it, today I'm coming at you with my #OxMeet post. My first ever blogger meet up, I journeyed to Oxford on 23rd March to spend the day with a lovely little group of people who shared my passions for beauty and blogging. An amazing experience, organised by Wonder Woman who, by day, goes by the name Adrienne, I left with a new group of wonderful friends, a goody bag to rival Santa's sack, and blog ideas coming out of my ears! Safe to say, a perfect time was had by all!

Mo, Asha, Tami, Hannah, Steph, Hattie, Rachel, Grace, Jess, Me, Ellie, Kelly, Jess, Adrienne, Danielle, Katy, Samantha
Thanks to lovely Sam for the image!

Our first pitstop was Wagamama, where we all came together for the first time over Chicken Katsu Curry and copious amounts of Diet Coke. Despite having never met any of the lovely ladies before, I instantly felt at home, discussing make-up and snap happy tendencies with my newfound friends. I sat and chatted all things intern with beautiful Jess (I hope yours went well by the way!), and I got a bit nostalgic for my student days when she told me all about her uni ball. Sat on my other side was the gorgeous Tami. I'd been following (read: shamelessly stalking) her blog for a while, so it was lovely to meet The Guilty Girl herself. It was such a great first meeting, and would have made the perfect icebreaker, had there been any ice to break. 

After a bit of an impromptu circle time, in which we all introduced ourselves properly, we mozied on over to Crabtree & Evelyn, where we were given an introduction to the company and its products. Kelly and I spent a fair amount of time lusting after their new Pear & Magnolia range, whilst the rest of the girls were pampered with hand treatments and manicures. Whilst we were ogling the C&E offerings, Adrienne took us out in groups to pick up our goody bags. It was like a little school trip, and I definitely felt a sense of childish glee when she handed us bags full to the brim with all manner of cosmetic goodness. It was during our little jaunt to pick up our marvellous goody bags that I got to talk to lovely Grace, a beautiful girl with a beautiful blog, which has just had a redesign FYI, so check that out! We left C&E with a cute little bag containing a few samples and a hand cream of our choice. Crabtree & Evelyn is such a beautiful shop, which I'd never really ventured into before. After seeing what they had to offer, I certainly won't be wondering past without a second glance again!

We then had a little time to kill before our next outing, so we went to Costa to refuel and have a good chinwag. I started slurping my delicious mocha, and my wish list proceeded to expand along with my waistline. It was here that mine and Katy's mutual love for Jo Malone caused quite a stir, and I added a glossy little Maybelline number to my growing shopping list - thanks Tami.

Our final destination was Lush, where we were treated to a Rose themed evening, complete with rose lemonade and delectable cupcakes. The Lush ladies talked about their new Rose Bubble Bar, as well as showing us their make up collection, which was a welcome surprise for me! Who knew Lush did make up, eh? As we all ambled around the store, getting skin consultations and colour readings, nattering about all our must haves and new discoveries, I felt so content to be part of the beauty blogging community. It's when you meet people like this that you realise what wonderful opportunities can come out of a hobby - something that began with you sitting in front of your computer, scribbling  down random thoughts about your passions. 

Of course this post wouldn't be complete without an ode to the gift bag - oh, the gift bag. Filled with products from Caudalie, Hotel Chocolat, The White Company, Wilkinson Sword, and Eye of Horus to name just a few, as well as the month's Glossybox and Birchbox offerings, I know I'll still be playing with all my new goodies for months to come! Sadly, due to the shambles that is the British postal system, we didn't get the wonderful bags from The Blogger Programme on the day, but I was so pleased when mine came in the post. It's such a perfect memento for the occasion, and mine's already hung up on the back of my door, storing all the lovely products I've saved for future blog posts. Thank you so much to all the generous PRs for providing such an astounding array of treats for us all. Know how hugely appreciated it was.

And that's all folks! I had the most amazing time, and will be eternally grateful to Adrienne for putting so much time and effort into the whole thing. 

Lots of Love,

S.

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Be My Valentine: Girly Face and Nails for Valentine's Day

I love getting dolled up. Any excuse, however small, and I'll dress to the nines, spending hours playing around with my favourite makeup, rediscovering old gems, and concocting new colourful combinations. And with Valentine's Day just a day away, what better excuse to dress up!  Excited to create a style to complement the occasion, I had a rummage through my trusty make up storage, and came up with this pretty pink look, which I think is suitable for both day and night, along with four cute nail colours to make your digits look sweet as sugar. So, whether you're in a relationship, or a happily single pringle, have a wonderful Valentine's Day, and I hope you enjoy my attempt at a seasonal look. Here's what I did:

To begin, I primed my eyelids with NARS Pro Prime, and washed Soap & Glory's Minky, a beautiful light shimmer, across the inner two thirds of my lid. I then placed another Soap & Glory shadow, Dandy Plum, a pretty aubergine shade, on the outer third of my eye, blending it through the crease and layering up the colour until I got the intensity I wanted. I also swept a little of this shade into my lower lashes. I didn't really want a strong liner with the look, so I went for a soft and subtle off-black shadow, also by Soap & Glory, called Black Gold and smudged it into my lash line.

I next moved onto my base. After wiping away the plum shadow that had dropped down under my eyes, I primed my skin with Benefit's Porefessional Primer. I blended Loreal's True Match Foundation in the shade Rose Ivory into my skin, using the warmth of my fingers to give myself a natural, well blended look. I corrected under my eyes with the Bobbi Brown Corrector in Light Bisque, and layered YSL Touche Eclat in 01 on top. I also put the YSL product in all the areas I wanted to highlight - the top of my cheekbones, my cupids bow, down my nose and above and below my brow bone. I went in with a third concealer, Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage in SC2 to cover any spots, and then set it all in place with a light dusting of Rimmel Stay Matte Translucent Powder. 

For definition on my cheeks, I used my sweet pink Maybelline Dream Touch Blush in 07 Plum, which offers a beautiful glow as well as a lovely soft pop of colour. I contoured under my cheeks with the tiniest amount of Hoola Bronzer by Benefit, and highlighted the tops of my cheekbones with the Dior Nude Shimmer Instant Illuminating Powder, popping a little in the inner corners of my eyes for good measure.

Finally, I ran some of MAC's Charcoal Brown shadow through my brows. A slick of Revlon's Colourburst Lip Butter in Sorbet, and lashings of MaxFactor False Lash Effect Fusion on the lashes, et voila. You're ready for whatever Valentine's Day is going to throw at you with this sweet, fresh, pink look.

As you can probably tell from the mess, I used the bottom 3 shades from this Soap & Glory palette.

Now that you've got your makeup looking beautiful, here are a few nail varnishes which I think are the perfect Valentine's colours.

More day date appropriate are the Models Own polish in the shade Utopia, and Clinique's A Different Nail Enamel in Pinkini. A beautiful nude with a lilac hue, and a Barbie pink that is perhaps the most girly shade in my collection, both would be perfect for a more casual Valentine's, whilst still looking the part. 

If a vampy night time look is more what you're after, Maybelline's Forever Strong Super Stay Gel Nail Colour in the shade Berry Stain, or the No7 Damson Dream are ideal for adding a more daring, sultry vibe to your ensemble. Perfect for adding a bit of edge to a sweet and innocent look.

What are your plans this Valentine's Day? Have you got any special look planned for the occasion? Let me know!

S.

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Review: Fishwife by Butter London

I've said it a few times now, but Butter London is, without a shadow of a doubt, my favourite brand of nail varnish. I love the colour range, the consistency and opacity of their products, as well as the names and the sophisticated packaging. At around £12 a go, they're not what you would call an affordable brand, but I still have rather a few in my collection, despite my bleeding debt card. Here is most recent addition to my Butter London brood, and what was definitely my favourite shade for Summer - Fishwife.

Fishwife, which I actually quite like the name of, weird as it sounds, is a colour that I had been lusting over for quite some time prior to actually getting my hands on it. Sadly, being unavailable in England, I had to shelf it and get on with life. However, during my summer trip to Singapore, I saw it nestled happily in amongst the nail polish displays at Sephora, and ran to grab it so fast I think I might have scared the sales assistant a little. It is now safely back home in my collection, and, having now given it quite a lot of wear, I can tell you that it's a keeper.

The colour itself is the most beautiful holographic sea foam green, with a streak of gold to it, as well as a huge array of other shimmery particles, so that in some lights, it can look really fitting of it's name, and in others, more muted and warm. I'm writing this before I have taken any photographs, so I sincerely hope I can capture it well on camera, although I think I'm being a bit too optimistic. You'll just have to take my word for it. It's a beaut.

As for it's quality, it takes a few coats to really look fantastic, but I think, for the end result, it's so worth the effort! I mean, you could get away with one, but it just looks a little meek and by no means show stopping. I usually go for about 3 coats, which I think looks perfect. The consistency is that of the least streaky polish I have ever owned, and, I'm not entirely sure why but this stuff just does not chip! I don't use a top coat with it, as I feel it impairs the effect somewhat, and I'm curious as to whether this is why it lasts so long. Odd, considering the opposite should be the case.

I am head over heels for this shade, and it's definitely my favourite colour for the Spring/Summer months. Sadly, Autumn has arrived rather abruptly, so I doubt I will get much wear out of it now. So farewell Fishwife, we will meet again next Spring. I will miss you dearly, but until then, I'm excited to start rocking some autumnal berry tones and burgundy shades.

Are you a Butter London fan? What is your favourite Butter London shade? Do you own Fishwife? Let me know!

S.

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