Gorgeous

What Could You Live Without?

September 2nd, 2009

I was having a discussion last night with my flatmate about what we thought we couldn’t possibly live without. My make up counter is larger than Mac’s, and my wardrobe is of a similar size to TK Max, but after long deliberation, I managed to narrow it down. My two choices were jeans and my GHD. If you pushed me on it, I’d give up the jeans.

We all have things we can’t live without and it’s amazing how many of these essential items are relatively new inventions. Here are what I consider to be some of the most important beauty products of the last ten years:

Lipfinity: Lipfinity is one of the few products that actually does what it says on the tin. Lipfinity promises to stay ‘put’ for 8 hours. I’ve woken up many a Sunday morning with Lipfinity still on my lips. I originally put it on on the Saturday morning before heading off four hours of shopping, for two dinners, seven hours clubbing and a cheeky snog. And I’ve still had to brush it off with my toothbrush.

The great thing about Lipfinity is you can wear a lovely gloss over the top and not have to worry about the lipstick bleeding. I’ve been hooked since these came out six years ago and still don’t think that any other brand has quite cracked it. Read the rest of this entry »

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Dress for Your Size and Shape

August 21st, 2009

Big bottom, big hips, small breasts, love handles. If you’re anything like me you suffer from at least one of these, and finding a dress that not only accentuates the good but hides the bad can be a tricky business.

Thankfully, help is at hand and there are plenty of styles to choose from that will not only sort out your problem bits, but make you look gorgeous, sexy and cool.

Big Hips:
A line dresses are perfect for larger hipped ladies. Go for knee length to draw attention away from the problem area. In practical terms what you should look for is 50′s style dresses that are not only so very ‘now’ but are a classic style and will never go out.

Things to avoid are dresses cut on the bias. The cross cut of the material makes them cling to big hips like nobody’s business. Also avoid severely tapered skirts and styles with patch pockets, all around pleating and horizontal details.

Show off your top half with strapless or halter styles, empire waist styles or anything that is tight around the bust or waist and flares slightly. Read the rest of this entry »

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Imaginative Accessorizing

July 18th, 2009

It’s not easy to keep up with the cost of fashion. Designer clothes, matching handbags, the shoes needed to go with every outfit. And don’t forget the earrings, bracelets, necklaces, sunglasses, hair clips, handbag charms, toe rings…. It all adds up.

But you could save yourself some money by being a bit creative. Bold prints of flowers and sparkly designs are headlining our clothes shops, so why not go a step further and attach a beautiful flower corsage. Or take out your favourite old skirt and give it a new lease of life. Swirling hemline designs simply stitched in place give a fantastic bold statement.

An everyday handbag can be glammed up for the summer with a daisy chain of linked flowers round the top, or a big sun flower pinned on the front. You could even go as far as attaching smaller sun flowers to your flip-flops and sandals to brighten them up for an afternoon’s BBQ.

Silk flowers are a fantastic way to give your outfit the girly edge without having to spend a fortune. Put a big pink silk rose on a hairband and use it as a bracelet. Tie tiny silk flowers to the belt loops of your three quarters and team it with a camisole top. Or go for the prairie princess look with a garland of yellow flowers for your hair.

So don’t spend a fortune, use some imagination, and then smile prettily as the compliments start pouring in.

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Make Up Tips for the Rest of Us

June 10th, 2009

cosmetics

If you are a natural beauty, read no further. But chances are, you’re not. If you’re anything like the average girl you have bits about you that you like and bits that don’t make the grade, regardless of whether it’s all in your head or you truly are minging.

Thankfully, there are plenty of make up tricks that you can use to accentuate the good, play up the mediocre, and hide the just plain ugly. Here are some tips that cover the main problems:

Small Lips: Dark colours are a no no for small lips. You know how you wear black trousers on your fat days to appear slimmer? The same applies for your lips.

Light colours and light diffusing glosses are the way forward. Choose anything from natural coloured to pink or peachy shades. Start off using a light glowing powder (I use a gold eye shadow) and trace the outer line of the top lip to give you a highlight. Then use a liner to trace around the edge (not too far from the edge, we don’t want to look like Jodie Marsh) use a long staying lipstick like Lipfinity. Then finish with a light and shimmering gloss like Bourjois. Read the rest of this entry »

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Beauty Cheat Sheet

May 27th, 2009

Early to bed, early to rise, makes a girl healthy, wealthy and hot

We all have bad habits when it comes to our health and beauty regime, we all know what we should be doing, but it’s far easier to smoke that pack of cigarettes, drink that 4th Cosmopolitan, go to bed with your make up on and ditch your morning run than stick to a routine. Who among us hasn’t made umpteen New Year’s resolutions, and failed on the first day (surely that’s not just me?).

You need to find a routine that suits you and isn’t too stringent, otherwise your going to chuck the whole thing. Here are a few tips that could help you stay looking younger, more vibrant and feeling healthier.

Keep away from the chocolate trolley, keep fruit or nuts on your desk to help stave off those mid afternoon munchies.

You can get a wide range of nuts, seeds and dried fruits that can replace naughty crisp cravings and keep you fuller for longer.

Cereal bars are handy, easy to pop in your handbag and you can trick yourself into thinking your scoffing a choccie bar.

Eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, its not as difficult as you might think. Juice, tinned and dried fruit count towards it. When serving your plate put on an equal amount of veg and carbs. You will still feel full but will also be eating healthier.
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How to Apply Fake Tan at Home?

May 15th, 2009

How do the celebs look so gorgeously sun kissed all year round yet also free of sun damage to their skin? They fake it. And it’s about time you did too. We all know that we look far better with a bit of colour on our skin, but of course we don’t want to damage our skin with harmful UV rays, or end up with the ‘leather effect’ from spending too much time in the sun. If you can afford to spend the £30 odd pounds every couple of weeks to get a St Tropez or Tanning salon fake tan, then good for you. If like most of us you can’t, then start doing it at home.

Now, if you’ve tried fake tanning before, you are probably aware of how easy it is to get streaks or ‘tide lines’. After my first couple of attempts which left me looking like a diseased carrot, I decided I needed to take some positive action and find out how to do it right. First, you want to find a product that suits you, the market is inundated with fake tan creams, gels, sprays and lotions. You can play it safe by using a slow build tanning product, like Johnson’s self tanning lotion, or use a wash off product. But whatever you decide, there are a couple of simple rules you should follow. Read the rest of this entry »

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Spring Make Up

April 5th, 2009

Spring has arrived and while you’re updating your wardrobe, chucking out all your Ugg boots and selling them on eBay, spare a thought for your greatest asset – your face. The trends are different, your skin is different, and even the light is different in spring – this all leads to one conclusion – make-up spring clean out and restock.

Lashes are in in in for spring, they need to be as big as possible, layer up as many coats as possible without clumping, they should be separate and lengthy. Believe it or not, if you count the amount of strokes needed to get this look you’d be reaching about 100. So stick with it, it’s worth the effort. If you don’t have the time to achieve this look on a daily basis but have the money to splash out, you could invest in ‘permanent’ false lashes applied individually. They last about a month but are quite pricey (I’ll be sticking to my 100 strokes then). Read the rest of this entry »

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Spring Hair

March 27th, 2009

It’s all about hair: its spring time and fresh sexy locks are what’s needed to see us through until summer. Winter is hard enough on your hair, whether the cold has made it brittle and dull, or the moisture has given you an afro that the Jackson 5 would be proud of. Spring is the time to get creative with your barnet and start injecting some ‘ooooooh’ into your look.

UpDos: Get back to your girlhood talents and start braiding. Ponytails and braids are hot, hot, hot. As much as we LOVED the loose bun trend of yester year, it’s purported not to be back this spring, according to Glamour magazine. Like a garland headdress, a single braid woven across the top of the head is nothing if not romantic and it’s a brilliant alternative to hair clips for keeping hair off your face.

This look, coined the “empire braid”, is a favourite of stylists all over the globe. Worn with the rest of the hair down it gives an almost Greek princess feel, while when teamed with a high ponytail the look is much more edgy. This can be so soft and elegant it even makes a sex kitten like Jessica Simpson look grown-up. It’s a most perfect hairstyle to team with this season’s crisp fashion lines. Read the rest of this entry »

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Getting Dressy for Christmas

December 18th, 2008

Chestnuts roasting on the open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose…. But more importantly, what are you going to be wearing for all those Christmas parties coming up? Long and Floaty? Fitted and Beaded? Metallic and Modern? Short and Flirty? Or the old favourite, the little black dress? With so many styles out there, there really is something for every body shape and budget.

Whether you’re an apple or a pear, curvy or androgynous, you are sure to find something that will make you sparkle with festive spirit. The high street shops are bulging with gorgeous dresses for every occasion, the office do to the family banquet. Personally, I think I will go with one of each! Well, it’s Christmas so surely I deserve presents? Or at least to dress like one?

With all the Christmas choccies and treats going round, don’t forget the all important undergarments, such as Spanx, they truly do hide the multitude of sins, giving you a silhouette that will be envied by all the other ladies, and let’s face it, that’s what it’s all about. All that men look for is a bit of knee, no appreciation of what we go through to look amazing and outdo each other. Marks and Spencer has some absolutely gorgeous gowns in their windows, as do H&M, Next and yes, Primark. The gorgeous gold sequined dress worn by Sienna Miller on the red carpet was quickly on sale in Primark, and just as quickly sold out. They are going on eBay at three times the original price. Wish I had thought of that first!

And let’s not forget online shopping, far easier than fighting through the throngs of shoppers, just click back and relax, your dress is on its way. As Seen On Screen (ASOS) have celebrity styled dresses to die for, it’s just a matter of making sure you have enough events to attend, though you could just wear them to decorate the tree or feed the cat.

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Cosmetic Surgery for Feet – A Step too Far?

October 22nd, 2008

We’ve all been there, and on a regular basis. Those gorgeous heels that cost a week’s wages and are puuurfect for your outfit are real foot killers. You end the night limping, bleeding, oozing or going barefoot. It’s the same the world over; women’s shoes just aren’t always made for walking, from the extreme Chinese foot binding customs of olden times to the less drastic 6 inch heels of today.

You do have a few options, you can a: wear comfortable shoes (yeah right) b: get gel inserts to cushion the blow or c: get plastic surgery for your feet.

There are a few different procedures you can opt for, from collagen injections to the balls of your feet to toe amputation to make it easier to fit into your favourite Jimmy Choos. Now some people have problem feet that do need surgery, but there is a difference between that and cosmetic procedures.
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