Being Elle: The Sunday Catch Up Week 009......

1. My week kicked off with the last in the series of Made in Chelsea- boo!! As always there was a lot of drama, surprise relationships, random parties & brilliant quotes, (Millie always gets the good one liners!) if you watch it I won't spoil it for you but all I can say is I am no longer on Louise's side. Let's hope the nest series is just as good.

2. Wednesday saw me & Adam return to the International Antiques & Collectors Fayre, where we picked up a few lovely little bits & pieces for the future home. Adam spent a good fifteen minuets deciding whether he wanted a metal draw unit (which he ended up getting) & I happily chatted to a lovely lady over cushions, who said I reminded her of her daughter, so much so that it led to her giving me £2 off a cushion- score!

3. This week I have really been enjoying my Catrice 'Prime & Fine Highlighting Powder'. Now normally I do not like using a powder highlighter, I just prefer the overall look & application of a liquid however the subtle gold/pink shimmer of this powder has got me hooked ♥

4. My skin went absolutely crazy on Thursday. I have not had a breakout this bad in quiet a while & although I have not added anything different into my skincare routine, (you guys know I stick with the tried & tested products) I did make homemade pore stripes which could have caused this major skin upset! Although the pore stripes were really fun to make & peel off, taking away many blackheads & yuckiness- it could have caused this reaction. So therefore I am currently on a 'back to basics' mission of no new products, no makeup & slapping on the witch hazel!!!

5. On the subject of health, I have also had cravings all this week for Cadbury's Marvellous Creations Chocolate bars which if you guys have not heard of them, are a chocolate bar with jelly beans, popping candy & smarties-like sweets in it. Tastes great but all this bad eating could have been another reason for my skin to go crazy, so cutting everything bad out for next week.

6. Thursday night saw me stay up till midnight to grab me some bargains at the Zara sale. A few things that I had been eyeing up all season did not go into sale, but as it is my birthday soon I thought to try them anyways to see if I liked them enough to want them for then- so expect a Zara haul coming soon next week!

7. Saturday marked my little sisters twenty first birthday, which makes me feel really old! Sadly I had to work a four hour shift in the middle of the day so missed the main event, which was an Alice in Wonderland style tea party *sad face* but we had a lovely evening munching on left overs & playing boardgames (how British!) so kind of made up for missing most of the day. 

8. Sunday (today) has as always been a relaxed & chilled out day, spent doing not much! Caught up on all my missed Youtube videos, replying to comments & emails, painting my nails (Essie's Bikini So Teeny for reference) & having a lovely home cooked Chicken, Bacon & Leek pie for dinner- could my Sunday have been anymore relaxing?!

What have you done this week?

Much Love,

Elle

xoxoxo

♥

Being Elle: The Sunday Catch Up Week 008.......

1. Pretty hectic week on the old work front, consisting of preparing the store for the regional's visit tomorrow, re-merchandising the whole shop floor & having a giggle with the staff! I have been very very thankful for a day off today to sleep in & let my mind slow down!

2. This week continues my nightly date with my SATC boxset. Nearly at the end of the final season, I am a couple of episodes away from Carries big (no pun intended) move to Paris. My fiance's mum asked me the other day who I saw myself as in SATC? Honestly I would say I am a mixture of both Carrie, Miranda & Charlotte (sorry Samantha but I am just not a confident, ragging sexaholic like yourself!!). On one hand I love fashion & am addicted to bags like Carrie is to shoes, I am a workaholic like Miranda & a hopeless romantic like Charlotte. So I'm Carriandalotte! 

3. After Wednesday & Thursdays dreary, dull & winter-esque weather I have been day dreaming/looking forward to my summer holiday with the family this year. Now you all know by now that we visit France every year & this year is no exception, except that we will be journeying to the gorgeous & luxurious South where Monaco, Cannes, Nice & Grasse are all but a ten to half hours drive away! I need some sun, sea & french designers in my life now!

4. On the topic of France, I was extremely excited to find out that Isabel Marant will be collaborating with H&M to create a one off collection, which will be launched in November. Unlike most H&M collaborations, I am genuinely excited for this one as I have grown to love Marant's cool & chic model off duty look. 

5. After six months (gulp) of avoiding having my haircut, I finally booked a much needed cut & re-style. I have had no inspiration to spend anytime styling my hair apart from the odd day here & there of curling, so a much needed hair overhaul will be taking place the week after next! I'm thinking of keeping the length as it is (just a tidy up needed) & getting more long layers put in so that it looks a little bit more like this. What are your thoughts? & yes, Claire is my hairspiration (love her blog & Youtube Channel).

6. Friday saw another date night with the fiance. The night consisted of my new favourite pizza- Parma Ham, Rocket & Mozzarella on a thin stone baked base, as well as getting our superhero fix at the cinema by watch 'Man of Steel'. The movie was excellent: graphics, music, acting & overall production was phenomenal. Everything I was expecting & more just the overall storyline lacked a little something. Still date night was lovely as always ♥

7. Slight addiction happening with Cadbury's Twirls. Similar to a  flake but this time its covered in chocolate- needless to say this is heaven & addictive!

8. Today (Sunday) was as intended, the day of rest & completely relaxed. I slept in till nine & caught up on Youtube videos in bed till eleven, Adam came over & as the weather had improved we headed off on a Sunday stroll in the fields & was finished off by silly 'couple' antics such as trying to do the 'Superman' on each other (not at all dirty!) & breaking down into a giggling fit! Also as it is of course Fathers Day & Sunday, we had a lovely family roast & family time.

9. Highlights on the blog include| Review on Revlon's Suede Lipsticks & a (gasps!) Eye Look of the Day.

How has your week been? Have you had a crazy time at work like me?

Much Love,

Elle

xoxoxo

♥

Eye Look Of The Day: Smokey Taupe & Gold.....

The unpredictable English weather has of course gone back to being damp,dreary & grey & therefore so has my eye make-up! 

My planned video & blog post could not take place, I was stuck on things to do (housework anyone!?) so I cracked out my favourite eyeshadow palette of the moment & had a little play around. 

The result: a vamped up smokey taupe & gold concoction, perfect for a night out. My eye makeup is never by all means perfect- there is always something I would want to change, but I like to experiment & have a little play around & I quiet like a little bit of imperfection in makeup.  

                                                                                                      Undress Me Too Palette- £4

Firstly I took the colour 'Lavish' which is a matte shadow & the taupe-ist colour out of the palette (second in on top row) for the base colour & applied it to the whole eye lid, starting at the outer corner & moving inwards towards the tear duct- it doesn't have to look perfect as I blend it all at the end!

Now for the gold, & I used 'Tranquil' (bottom left) which is a slight gold & taupe mixture that is nicely pigmented (looks beautiful!) for the  inner & middle part of the eyelid. I applied this over 'Lavish' to create a lighter taupe colour that had a touche of gold, so that in different light/move you can see either taupe or gold (different light shows off different colours). Next get a fluffy blending brush & just very lightly start to blend the two colours together using light circular motions, make sure to focus on the middle & outer part of the eye to blend out the line from the two colours so that they merge into one. For the crease I used 'Obsessed' (second in bottom row of previous photo) on a pencil brush & again applied it using a circular buffing motion to the crease & outer V. This is a very strong colour so start off lightly & build up the colour slowly & then using the same blending brush, blend out the crease so it is not so harsh & it begins to look smokey. Lastly I took a dot of 'Devotion' (top right) to my inner/ tear duct area.

To finish off the eyes I took 'Corrupt' which is the only black shadow in the palette, (on a eye liner brush) to line my upper lash line & applied two coats of Maybelline's 'The Rocket' Mascara. The rest of my face is my tried & tested everyday face routine & hair is kept natural with my 'no heat' waves.

Have you had a recent play around with your makeup?

Much Love,

Elle

xoxoxo

♥

Beauty Review: Revlon ColorStay Ultimate Suede Lipsticks......

I am slightly late in jumping onto the Revlon Ultimate Suede Lipsticks bandwagon.

 But I have actually had these since they were first launched over here in the UK (March time?) & am only now getting around to reviewing them & had to let you guys know my thoughts! So let's jump into it.....

T-B: Revlon ColorStay Ultimate Suede Lipsticks in 020 'Front Row' & 025 'Socialite'- £6.99

Unlike most lipsticks that I own, the lids are see-through on these meaning that you can actual tell what the colour of each looks like without having to open them, which is really handy if your quickly looking for a particular colour in a packed makeup bag! As well as the lid being see-through, the rest of the tube is also with the shades colour as the rest of the tube. I like how they look- they are not all one colour & appear to look like a lip gloss tube instead of a lipstick, as it's in a plastic see through tube like most glosses are!

The colour 'Front Row' is a gorgeous light bubblegum pink, which even after drying has a slight iridescent sheer to it. Even though the colour is slightly too light then what I would normally pick, both lipsticks are extremely buildable in colour & have the best colour pay off I have so far found in a lipstick. On application, they feel lovely & creamy on the lips (slightly drying if you don't put a little bit of Vaseline or lip balm on before) which lasts throughout the day. The great thing about them is that they dry to almost a matte finish with a slight sheer & last for a good amount of time (5+ hours). I am one of those people that hates the feeling that they are wearing lipstick- you know that horrible dry feeling on your lips? But with these I forget & only realise when I need a touch up! 

'Socialite' is by far my favourite shade out of all of them. Gorgeous rosy-brown colour which reminds me a lot of my Chanel 'Chintz' lipstick, as the colours are extremely similar with 'Socialite' being just a tad more darker when applying it to your lips. Again I'm a huge lover of the way that this lipstick applies- starts of creamy & slightly glossy but dries matte with it barely defining my slightly dry lips! This is a great colour dupe for 'Chintz' but for a fraction of the price & I really enjoy wearing it.

L-R: 'Front Row' & 'Socialite'

Have you tried the Revlon Suede Lipsticks? What was your first impressions?

Much Love,

Elle

xoxoxo

♥