Style: The Watermelon Obsession.....

                                                                                                                Bikini Top- £14.99

                                                                      Clutch- £9.99

                                       High Waisted Bottoms- £9.99

                                            Bikini Bottoms- £9.99

Yes, this summer I have been feelin' a little fruity! 

Fruit prints & accessories have been huge across the catwalks this summer & because I am quiet the Watermelon addict plus I like the whole 50's vibe surrounding it, I thought I would jump on the fruit train. So whilst on the bikini hunt this summer (though I'm not going on holiday!) this baby caught my eye whilst trawling the New Look website & although it sold out a few times before I managed to get my hands on it, I think this has to be my favourite bikini of all time.

I opted to get the high waisted bottoms as well as the regular ones just because a high waisted tan line is not cool! The top is also tan friendly- no halterneck just two regular straps & is very flattering for small boobed ladies like moi- it is slightly padded & has an underwired cup. I love how 1950's & cute it looks when wearing the high waisted bottoms & also when I stalked out the matching watermelon bag to complete this summer outfit, the look was finally complete!

Have you got a fruit fetish?

Much Love,

Elle

xoxo

♥

Being Elle: The Sunday Catch- Up Week 020...

1. Me & Adam started off the week with a little trip to Bluewater Shopping Centre. After getting stuck in traffic for over an hour we finally got there to do a sort of pre-birthday shopping for me, but we didn't end up picking up that much. I am happy with my Marvel top from Forever 21- it maybe a mens top but I love it & Adam picked it out!

2. Rediscovered Snack A Jacks in Barbecue. That is all. 

3. We Exchanged on Tuesday!!!! We have a house! Completion date is 15th August, which means I will soon be barricaded in to a sea of cardboard boxes.  

4. Wednesday & Thursday saw the dreaded twelve hour shifts to VM our store for two days before it re-opened. It was stressful, funny, interesting & creative but the store looks amazing so I am very happy.

5. I have been obsessed with Josie Maran's Argan Colour Stick in Natural Pink. Perfect for the summer months as well as a busy working gal on the go!

6. Friday finally saw the re-opening of our store & it felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Two weeks of overnights, twelve hour shifts, bruises & sleepless nights have all proved worth it- the store looks amazing & I could not be prouder of my team. 

7. This weekend I thankfully had off- Saturday morning was again pretty chilled, caught up on the new ELLE & drank quiet a few green teas. In the evening I headed over to Adam's parents where we had a lovely, family barbecue (the first in all our seven years together!) & rounded off the evening taking a lovely bath.

8. Today (Sunday) saw me have a pretty chilled out day, which basically consisted of me lounging on the sofa, watching Gilmore Girls, typing out a few blog posts & enjoying a day off after such a busy week *exhales deeply*

How has your week been?

Much Love,

Elle

xoxo

♥

Beauty Review: Make Up Academy Cover & Conceal Concealer......

Makeup Academy Cover & Conceal Concealer- £1.50 Each

What has been established a lot here on VE is the fact that I bloody love MUA Cosmetics! 

So much so, that I tend to buy their products in bulk (two or three of each) just in case I can never get my hands on some of my favs for quiet awhile. Well ladies & gents I tell you this, one of my beloved products has been completely sold out for nearly a month & I am beyond distraught! 

The item in question is of course The Conceal & Brighten Kit in Porcelain Beige which I cannot rave about & love enough. To begin with I thought that because my two local stores that stock it usual are quiet tiny, that perhaps they hadn't got their order through yet so carried on waiting & checking every day. Two weeks past & I was literally scrapping the pan & corners, I started to check the Superdrug in Brighton- no luck. Then Crawley- the same, then Horsham- nope! I started to worry & have been checking online & every single day I'm on my lunch break in Brighton to see if they have had new stock of it in- BUT NOTHING!!!! This scrapping of corners lasted for close to a month & still there was no sign of them restocking it anytime soon, so I was forced to go & find an alternative for my beloved palette. Of course I didn't want to part with an uber amount of cash because if I didn't like the formula or the colour match was way off I would just beat myself up about how it was a waste of money & because I am such a MUA fan, I stuck with them & gave another product a whirl!

I brought all three colour shades on offer- Fair, Natural & Almond, all of which are shades you would expect in a concealer palette. The formula of them is quiet light & thin, which did concern me to begin with as I thought the coverage would be terrible but if you work in layers (two looks great) it's easily buildable and does not look cakey. I use the sponge applicator that it comes with to apply the product underneath my eyes & on any spots or redness & then using my ring finger, I lightly blend the product into the skin finishing off with my Real Techniques Expert Face Brush to take off any excess & buff it in. The colour I was the most excited to try was Almond- its the more peachier toned out of the three which is perfect for concealing dark circles under the eyes. Again I am blown away- they are cheap & cheerful, great coverage, easily buildable, no cakey-ness, look natural & feel lovely on the skin. Although I am still in love with my beloved palette, I think I may have a Summer romance with these babies- you never know it may turn into a marriage (fingers crossed these don't disappear too!). 

Have you tried these concealers? Does anyone know the mystery surrounding the Conceal & Brighten Kits?

Much Love,

Elle

xoxo 

♥

Summer Reads......

L-R: 'The Fault in Our Stars' By John Green, 'Before We Met' By Lucie Whitehouse & 'The Goldfinch' By Donna Tartt.

Unlike Adam & quiet a lot of people I know, I am a huge book worm. 

I could spend hours wafting around the boook cladded aisles of Waterstones, weaving in & out of Fiction to Non-Fiction, Fashion To Cookery, Travel to Home Decor absorbing the titles in front of me. The scent alone makes me want to set up home for the day in a bookshop, a mix between new books with the lingering smell of freshly made coffee (maybe this is how they get us to buy so many books in one trip!!?). Also unlike many people who live in the twenty first century, I have to have a physical copy of a book- none of this ebook crap. No. I need to feel the book, physically turn the pages, smell the newness & crispness of each page & read. I'm sorry but that is reading!

Every Summer since I can remember I have a little ritual- I have to read an insane amount of books. I know what most of you are thinking- 'I'm crazy!', but I'm a fast reader, it keeps my brain ticking & I simply love it. Now this was all fairly easy when I had a whole six weeks off school for holidays (I think one year I read close to twenty!) but know I can only get two weeks off work during the summer it has become more of a challenge! This year especially as I am using my two weeks off to move house. So I ventured into WH Smiths this weekend with the intention of buying a wedding card for my cousin, which instead ended in me leaving Smiths with three books & no card! Yep I am a prize fool but I am an excited fool because I cannot wait to get stuck into these (what looks to be)corkers of books. 

The Fault in Our Stars By John Green: Last year I picked it up & put it down. Did I really want to cry into the pool in France about a teenager who has cancer? Not really my idea of fun, but this year I simply had to read it purely because I feel like it could be a life changing book (& I don't want to see the film fyi) & when Time Magazine calls it 'Dam near genius' you have to read it.

Before We Met By Lucie Whitehouse: This was a wild card buy I must admit. I am hugely into the Thriller genre of books & whilst reading the blurbs on a number of different books, this one drew me in the most. Marketed as a cross between Gillian Flynn's brilliant 'Gone Girl' & SJ Watson's 'Before I Go To Sleep' its a marriage thriller of a newly married women who waits for her husbands flight to arrive from The US to London Heathrow, but he never turns up & then she finds her bank account has been emptied. Very excited to start reading this but I have a feeling it won't be as good as Flynn or Coben's thrillers that I love. 

The Goldfinch By Donna Hartt: Its a Pulitzer Prize winner. That's why I got it. Well, that's one of the reasons I picked it up- like Gone Girl last year, this year social media has been a blaze as to how good 'The Goldfinch' is. Many have compared it to a modern day The Great Expectation which I'm not sure how I will get on with it as I'm not a huge fan of that book, but nevertheless I shall give it a whirl & see how it goes!

What are your Summer read recommendations?

Much Love,

Elle

xoxo

♥

Elle's Emotions: Step Back, Breath, Reboot...

Yes, I have been slightly MIA recently- did I intend to step away from VE? Not completely. Like most 'bloggers' recently, I have been struggling to balance & juggle everything thats been going on in my life as well as finding myself questioning everything that I have created on here & how the blogging world in evolving. For so long I have enjoyed this little creative space on the internet & have marvelled at the power this community now has. But at the same time I find my voice getting lost within the blogging hubbub in a community which I feel, is now overly saturated with all things beauty, fashion & lifestyle related. It is really difficult to stand out these days in comparison to five years ago. I do not say this in a jealous or malicious way, but I have to think am I still relevant? 

Then there is also the 'real world'- working a full time forty hour plus job five days a week, trying to hold down some sort of a social life, the stress of purchasing mine & Adam's first house, planning a wedding & finding time for me has been such a struggle over the last six months. Looking back at that last sentence I'm actually surprised as to why I haven't physically combusted!

I do not like to make excuses. That is one thing everyone who knows me will tell you, but I felt like I have had to step away to find my voice again & focus on 'the real world'. 

So now I'll tell you a couple of exciting things that have been going on! We are in the process of buying our first house (this has been one of the most stressful & emotionally draining moments in our lives!) with a move in date of the beginning of August! & also we have been trying to plan the wedding. Now whilst all our engery & time has been spent focussing on the house which we are so so excited about, we have been taking teeny tiny baby steps towards sorting out where & when we will be getting married. It has been a crazy, stressful & emotional six months, but I hope you all will understand that this here has not number one on my list of priorities. I am growing up. VE is growing up. I am no longer that nineteen year old girl that buys whatever clothes & cosmetics she wants- I will be paying a mortage soon!

Ultimately I just need to get back into the zone- do what makes me happy & create content frequently that I am proud of. I know I have written similar posts to this one over the course of five years, but sometimes you just need to take a step back, take time to breath & reboot. 

I hope you all have a lovely weekend & enjoy this glorious sun shine the UK has been have.

As always..

Much Love,

Elle

xoxo

♥

My Five Ultimate Go-To Lip Products.....

I have never really been a lipstick kinda of girl. 

My teenage self would always be the Natural Collection lipgloss wearing, Lip Smackers hoarding addict which has carried on into my early twenties (minus the Lip Smackers part!). 

However over the last couple of years I have tried to embrace a splash of colour on the ol' lips- granted it can't be too bold & needs to have a worn it all day/model off duty kind of look  for me to even consider wearing it. So here are my ultimate go to lip products & shades that I reach for on a regular basis, ticking all the right boxes for a lipstick scaredy cat like moi! 

Revlon ColourBurst Matte Lip Balm in 'Elusive': If there is one lipbalm that pushes me out of my comfort zone this is it. 'Elusive' is a cool toned pink that looks just as beautiful in the bullet as it does on the lips. Now I must say I did surprise myself when I brought this down to how bold this one looks in comparison to my other favs, however I feel it brings out shades in my skin tone I didn't even know existed! I love how you can wear it both day & night with a strong cat eye or tea dress. A pattern you will see occurring in this post is how I like lip products to feel on. They have to be moisturising & not drying on the lips- the one thing I hated as a teen was the feeling of heavy, drying lip products. These balms being matte, I was a little sceptical of how they would feel as I had flash forwards of them being ultra drying & heavy. However they feel lovely & smooth on, lasting a few hours before needing to be reapplied & I love how cute they look!  

Chanel Rouge Coco Lipstick in 'Chintz': I've said it before & I'll say it again, this is one make up product I cannot live with out & is so incredibly beautiful in formulation & colour that leaves me weak at the knees. If you ask me to describe 'Chintz' I would say it is the colour of an English rose- pink with an earthy undertone to it which looks beautiful with porcelain skin. The formulation is very creamy in texture so glides on with easy & keeps your lips feeling hydrated throughout the day. If I am feeling down & need a pick me up this lipstick does not fail in making me feel happy, also I get a lot of compliments when I wear it so that also helps boost the old confidence! 

Revlon ColourBurst Lip Butter in 'Juicy Papaya': Revlon's Lip Butters are my comfort zone for a lipstick noob like me. A cross between a lip balm & a lipstick which is so so moisturising & creamy when you apply it, which leaves my lips look soft & juicy (ooerr!). The colour like any kind of lipbalm is very sheer so is very buildable, which for someone like me who just likes a hint of colour on the lips is perfect. 'Juicy Papaya' is one of those coral-red shades that just makes me think of summer whenever I wear it & looks great with minimal makeup.

Revlon ColourStay Ultimate Suede Lipstick in 'Socialite': You've probably all started to sense a pattern forming here- I love Revlon lip products! The Ultimate Suede's collection does what it says on the tin, provides great application with it not feeling heavy on the lips & has great staying power. The one thing I would say you have to do before applying it is you need to add a balm underneath (my fav is Nuxe Reve De Miel), as this lipstick does have a tendency to stick to the lines & grooves of your lips if used on it's own. However the colour is more or less identical to 'Chintz' perhaps a shade darker, which looks lovely & natural for an everyday look but for half the price. 

Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquer in 'Luna': The Apocalips range is known for being highly pigmented, bursting with bright colours with strong colour pay off- so your all probably surprised that one of them is a go-to product of mine! 'Luna' is the most gorgeous, warm peachy shades that I have ever used. As I am typically pale for nine out of the twelve months we have in the year, I feel this shade still looks just as beautiful on me tan or no tan! As we all know I love a neutral eye, & this paired with a simple smokey eye makes me feel uber summery as well as complimenting my dark eyes & hair. The Apocalips formula is one of my favourites out there- it's not sticky or drying, a little of the product goes a long way & it lasts for most of the day. I am still working my confidence up to investing in more of the shades from this range however when I feel I need a little summer pick me up, I reach for this one the most.  

*********

What are your go-to lip products that never fail to put a smile on your face?

Much Love,

Elle

xoxo

♥

Being Elle: The Sunday Catch Up 019.....

1. The week started with two overnights which I felt went really well, but has left me really really tired & craving sleep for the rest of the week.

2. Tuesday saw something very very exciting happen. I don't want to tell you all yet because I don't want to jinx it, but I will share with you next week what I am talking about, but its sooooo exciting!!

3. Malteaser 'Teaser' chocolate bars are the bomb.com! We have them in the vending machine at work & I cannot get enough of them!!!

4. Caught up with Made in Chelsea on Wednesday & let's just say I am not a happy bunny! * Spoiler Alert *.....

Stevie & Stephenie.. WTF!

That Toff girl is extremely un-necessary

Alex's behaviour is appalling 

Who would want to sleep with Spencer Matthew's knowing his reputation?!

Lucy & Jamie just need to be together. End.

5. I rediscovered one of my all time favourite songs this week 'Civil Sins' by Boy Kill Boy, which lets just say is extremely nostalgic & brings back alot of great memories from 2005-2006. It basically was my soundtrack- I actually used it as my 'background track' on my Myspace page & on plenty of slide shows I uploaded onto Bebo. In general it reminds me so much of parties, prom & general craziness that happened around this time of year eight years ago! That sentence makes me feel old! 

6. My Sims 3 addiction is back in full swing (Adam you shouldn't have reminded me about it!) & I am sorry to admit that I spend every day after work playing on it for at lest three hours *slaps hand*

7. Saturday was chilled as ever- spent the day with my mummy & sister. We went to our local garden centre, mooched around our local farmers market, had a chat over Costa & I nearly stole a five week old kitten on a trip to our local pet shop (just look at that face!!!). In the evening I cooked a new Jamie Oliver recipe that turned out amazingly, well, that was until I took it out the oven & the handle of the frying pan broke dropping the whole thing onto the glass of the oven door!! *face palm* After a few frantic minuets of trying to salvage it, we sat down to dinner & lord, this is amazing- unhealthy but amazing! I will do a post on it soon.

8. Today (Sunday) has been spent doing very little. Had lunch outside in the sunshine (cheeky Bacon Sandwich), written a few blog posts for the week & planned some videos & posts. Later on when Adam's back from work & if the weather stays nice, I think we will go for a little walk in the fields & just have a chilled out evening as I have a really busy week at work ahead boo! 

What have you been up to this week?

Much Love,

Elle

xoxo

Fashion Musings: Blake Does It Again......

Images found on Google.com

Could she be anymore perfect??!!

Which one was your favourite look from Blake at Cannes?

Much Love,
ELle
xoxo
&heart;

How To Sooth An Itchy Scalp......

Ladies I hold my hand up & admit that I, like sixty percent of the global population suffer from itchy scalp & Dandruff! Not only is it not glamorous, it also makes you feel self conscious, restless & frustrated.

After spending a good deal of my teens washing my hair every other day & 'suffering in silence' with my irritable scalp, I wanted to share with you all two of my tried & tested, 'no frills' products that have helped my scalp feel & look healthy again, as well as restoring my love for my hair! 

Head & Shoulders Citrus Fresh Shampoo: I am not afraid to admit it, for years I have used Head & Shoulders to try to combat my dry & (gulp) dandruff prone scalp. Not only do I personally suffer from a sensitive & dry scalp, but also my roots become fairly greasy after the second day meaning that I have two big nasties to tackle. The Citrus Fresh version of this shampoo I find works the best for me, as its formulation is made specifically for greasy hair. It doesn't smell too lemony almost a little bit herbal which when applied to the scalp, gives off a cool, soothing sensation. What I love most about this shampoo is how calm my scalp feels after using it, which makes a huge difference to the way my hair feels everyday. 

Boots Build Up Removal Expert Shampoo: A few months back, I started to notice straight after washing & blow drying my hair that for some reason my hair would look greasy & limp, as though I had not washed it at all. After numerous frantic google searches & badgering my mum to examine my hair, (lol!) I came to the conclusion that my hair was wighted down with product *cough dry shampoo* & needed a good old detox. I didn't want to splash out & buy the Bumble & Bumble Sunday Shampoo (which I did eventually buy!) so again headed to google search to find a cheaper alternative, where I found many rave reviews on a boots own brand! This shampoo is liquid gold- removes product build up like a dream leaving my hair feeling super clean & voluminous as well as looking super glossy & healthy days after. The only negative that I do find when I use this is, like all clarifying shampoos is that it is too harsh to use every time you wash your hair & although I only wash my hair twice a week, I tend to use this every other week as it can become too harsh on my scalp making it become greasy on day two. That aside I love this shampoo as a cheap, fortnightly hair detox & actually when alternated between hair washes with my Head & Shoulders Shampoo, keeps my scalp feeling a lot calmer & health looking. Side Note- expect a comparison post between The Bumble & Bumble Sunday Shampoo & this one next week!

What are your hair 'unsung heros'?

Much Love,

Elle

xoxo

♥

Style: The Best Of The Met Gala 2014......

All Images From Vogue.co.uk & Elle.co.uk

Old fashion glamour, Lace, Muted Colours & Sleek Hair were the key elements featured along the red carpet for the Met Gala this year.

My 'muse' of the moment- Emma Stone looked simple & sleek yet trendy in a Thakoon fascia maxi skirt complete with side split, with a light pink crop top exposing the hint of stomach. Others who made my best dressed included Blake Lively in Gucci, Leighton Meester in Emilio Pucci, Emmy Rossum in Carolina Herrera & Jessica Alba in Diane Von Furstenberg. 

Who was your favourite this year?

Much Love,

Elle

xoxo

♥