OOTD: Ugliest Jumper Ever

This is my OOTD from yesterday, so I guess its an OOYD? Anyway....moving on....

Jumper: Primark

Skirt: H&M

Shoes: Topshop

Socks: H&M

Flower garland was given to me by my friend

I don't know what exactly it is that makes me want to wear this jumper...it's ugly, but I like it...

And whatever it looks like, it's warm and fuzzy so I'm sold!

OOTD: You're on a different road, I'm in the milky way... :)

Today I seem to be rocking the granny shoes and socks look...

Dress: Forever 21

Top: Hype

Cardigan: Depop

Shoes: Topshop

Socks: Boots

I have worn these shoes a lot since I bought them, they've appeared in my last three OOTD posts now! So yes, I like them quite a lot! And Topshop has them in different colours... 😏

The flower garland in my hair was something that my friend gave me yesterday, and I really like it but I'm not sure where it's from. Although there's a stall in camden and I think they sell online too, called PoppyDaisy that have really nice flower headbands like this one 😊

                                                🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻

Back-to-School: Lookbook

I'm a bit late with all the back-to-school series things, but here it is. I know a lot of schools can wear any clothes or have a full uniform but at my sixth form we have a dress code that says you have to be dressed smart, so either way, here's some ideas for you anyway!

I am fully aware of how cringey an iPhone-mirror selfie is and I am suitably ashamed of these pictures of myself...but as I seem to be late EVERY morning, this is the easiest way to get a photo of my outfit!

1. Glasses shirt: Forever 21

Black trousers: Primark

Moustache shoes: Primark 

Glasses and moustache necklace: Topshop

2. Sheer top with vest: American Eagle

Brown Skirt with belt: Primark

Cream frill socks: Topshop

Bag: Primark

The brogues are from a small shop near where I live

3. Sheer shirt: Fashion Avenue

Black Vest: Tesco

Cat print skirt: H&M

Black "cosy" tights: Primark

I NEED those tights in my life, they have a soft lining of brushed cotton and are SO warm! I wore them skiing and they kept me warm (well as warm as you can be in -14 degrees celcius...in the snow...on top of a mountain...)

4. Black coat: Primark

Top: see outfit 2

Assymetric skirt: H&M

And my cosy tights have made another appearance!

5. Stripey shirt: H&M

Trousers: see outfit 1

I did wear shoes -although I don't appear to have put them on yet!

6. Blue shimmery dress with brown belt: Primark (in the kid's section)

Blue and brown loafers: Primark

Blue spotty bag: Primark

7. Top: see outfit 2

Brown with shimmery thread skirt: Topshop

Silver belt: New Look

The scarf I "borrowed" from my Mum's wardrobe (hehehe...)

Although, on this day I was told my outfit was innapropriate as my skirt was "too short" and "too sparkly" (can't say i disagree to be honest) so yeah maybe don't try this one...

8. Glasses shirt: see outfit 1

Black skater skirt: eBay

9. Green floral dress: Primark

Cardigan: Depop

Cream frill socks: see outfit 2

Brogues: see outfit 2

Bag: see outfit 2

And I made the flower headband

That's a few of my outfits over the last few weeks then! PEACE ✌

How to: Updo Hairstyles

Here are some tips and ideas for a few of my favourite updo hairstyles!

Ponytail:

I left my hair natural after washing it but brushed some of the curls out, and parted it as normal which for me is fairly central but just slightly to one side. Then i took the front sections on either side, twirled them tightly backwards and clipped behind my ears. To finish, I tied my hair in a ponytail at the base of my head.

If your hair isn't curly then I would loosely roll it with a curling wand and brush it through, also if you need to, add some volume spray and backcomb the hair at the back before tying the ponytail up.

Side Plait:

Again, I left my hair natural but brushed a lot of the curls out of it so it was wavy. Pretty simply, I pulled all the hair to one side and plaited it normally. Then I pulled some hairs loose to sit around my face.

And...if you're hair isn't wavy/curly add some salt spray or texturising moose.

High Ponytail:

I straightened my hair and parted it more to the side than I usually would, pulled it all backwards and upwards to a ponytail and tied it up tightly; making sure that I left some volume in the front. To finish it, I pulled a strand of hair out above my ear et voila!

Grecian Style:

This worked well on my hair when it was natural but not newly washed. I parted it just slightly to one side and twirled each side loosely and pinned it backwards towards the back of my head. Then I used A LOT of bobby pins to get the rest of my hair in place, and rolled all my hair from the bottom up inwards and clipped it all to the base of my head, and twas done!

That's it then!

OOTD: I got chills, they're multiplyin'!

Apart from literally feeling winter approaching....I felt kinda 50s-ish in this outfit, which explains the title for this post! And here it is...

Jumper: Primark

Shoes: Topshop

Socks: Primark

And the jeans are actually jeggings from Primark a very long time ago...I roll up the bottoms (yes, because I'm too short for anything) but it actually does make them look more expensive.

As always, thanks for reading and hope you like it! MWAH!

OOTD: Bye Summer!

As sad as it is, summer is actually ending... :( But any excuse for an outfit of the day, huh!

I got most of this outfit when I went shopping in London yesterday to Camden, Covent Garden and Oxford Street, it was really good but now my feet are literally dead! It was a good mix of places to go as there are all the quirky unique things in Camden, high street shops in Oxford Street (even though I spent the whole time in Topshop) and Covent Garden has odd but cool shops! And I did stop off at Stratford Westfield on the way home because I was too lazy to find some of the shops I wanted in Oxford Street! 

But by far, the best part of the day was having lunch at The Whole Foods Market! It was the first time I have actually eaten in there as before all I have done is spend half my day drooling over all the cakes, fruit, salad and uh just everything in there...I'm getting hungry just typing this! 

Jumper: Gilly Hicks

Shorts: Topshop

Frill socks: Topshop

Shoes: Topshop

Bag: Old edition Radley

And I just clipped my hair back like this! :) Thanks for reading, hope you liked it!

OOTD: Topshop

An Outfit of the Day mostly from Topshop...

Crop Top: Topshop

Denim Midi Skirt: Topshop

Frill Top Socks: Topshop

Ankle Boots: Amazon.com

Hair Bow: Made from scrap fabric

Pearl Earrings: Dorothy Perkins

Who doesn't love Topshop, right!?

How to: Protect Coloured Hair

Some quick tips on how to protect your hair colour:

1. Use sulfate-free shampoo

Pretty much every "normal" shampoo contains sulfates (sodium lauryl sulfate) and this chemical is fine for natural hair but it really fades the pigment in coloured hair. So a sulfate-free shampoo protects colour and doesnt contain the chemicals which fade it.

Try: Matrix Biolage Colour Care Shampoo

2. Use a conditioner specifically made for your hair colour

A conditioner made for your hair colour will help to maintain the brightness of your colour.

Try: John Frieda: for red, blonde or brunette

3. Wash your hair in cold water

Not only does cold water make your hair more glossy but it helps to maintain your hair colour too. If you can't bare cold water it is fine as long as it isnt hot, because hot water can break the hair shafts and fade the pigment.

4. Rinse your hair in herbal tea

This one sounds a bit strange but before you wash your hair, rinse it through with a herbal tea that matches the colour of your hair. So for a bright red hair colour use hibiscus tea as it is a vibrant deep pink tea, for blonde hair try chamomile tea and for copper hair use a ginger tea. They help to keep the colour bright.

I've never been too good with looking after my hair colour and it always fades, so I'm going to give all of this a go and hope it works!

V Festival: OOTD

I went to V Festival on Saturday, and it was AMAZING; even despite the questionable liquids being thrown around in the crowds, the atmosphere was so good and I just want to go back right now :') 

Anyway, just thought I'd share my outfit of the day...

~ Top: American Eagle

~ Bandeau: New Look

~ Shorts: Forever 21

~ Flower Headband: PoppyDaisy (stall in Camden)

~ Socks: Primark

~ Wellies: Stolen from my Mum ;) (I think they're originally from Matalan though)

I brought my ducky print raincoat from Primark in case it rained (and it did a bit) literally EVERYONE there was wearing this coat....that's Primark for ya! :')

Oo close ups! Forever21 are having an amazing sale right now -I got those shorts for £4.50! The bandeau was on sale in New Look for £2. The Primark coat was £9 and socks £1.50. And the headband was £3. And I got the top quite a while ago in American Eagle -it was like $30...whatever that is! 

That's it then! And I'll just start counting down to V Fest 2014 right now!

Top 10 under £10

IF TEN BEAUTY PRODUCTS UNDER TEN POUNDS IS WRONG, THEN I DON'T WANNA BE RIGHT! So, here are my faaaaavourite fashion and beauty items at the moment that all cost less than £10...

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10. Forever 21 sunglasses £4.90
I got some pink sunglasses in Forever 21 a little while ago, and they actually have some really nice ones in there at the moment! Here is my Outfit Of The Day showing what I wore my Forever 21 sunglasses with :)

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9 . Primark Dresses £8.00 each
Recently I decided to look in the kids section of Primark for skater dresses and I have bought 2 in the last couple of months. I did an Outfit Of The Day post on one here (a pink floral one) and I bought a blue shimmery one this week. If you're vertically challenged enough (like me) then go for it, the kids dresses are a much better length! You have to wait sometimes for a nice dress, I've looked once or twice and not liked anything but I was quite surprised how nice the two that I bought actually are! Although, I was distracted by the Monster's Inc and Monster's University range they've got in there at the moment...and I was worryingly attracted to the Mike Wasowski backpack.....

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8. Primark Fluffy Socks £2.00 (for two pairs)
My mum got some fluffy socks from Primark for Christmas and I have been jealous ever since because they are sooooo soft and I didn't expect them to be as nice seeing as they're pretty cheap, they even stayed soft after being washed. While I was in there this week I got this pair; which are different to my Mum's ones but they're still really nice because they are made of lots of teeny soft bobbles! Obviously, it is a bit warm for them at the moment, but I can't resist a fluffy sock for winter to stop my tootsies getting chilly!

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7. Gilly Hicks Body Mist £10.00
The last time I bought a Gilly Hicks spray, it only cost £6, and seemed a good alternative to the more expensive Hollister fragrances...but they seem to have put the prices up to £10 now. Either way, I can't deny the amazing (and quite addictive) smell of them!

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6. New Look Punctuation earrings £4.99 (£2.50 on sale)
Since I had my second ear piercing done in March, I have been buying cool mismatching earrings so I can wear all different ones and not look like a walking jumble sale....so these are perfect!

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5. Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream £7.99
I haven't stopped raving about this BB Cream so my full review is here. It's definitely a good change from wearing foundation every day!

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4. Barry M Gelly Effect Nail Varnish £3.99
Everyone loves these, and everyone should! I have the red one but definitely would like to try the pastel blue and lilac ones! I don't think my love for Barry M will ever end... :)

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3. Sleek Contour Kit £9.99

For how pale I am, and continue to be even through a major heatwave -it's a miracle for me to find something like this that suits my skin! The contour kit comes in light, medium and dark and the brown contour powder is a nice alternative to using bronzer to contour, because I find most bronzers too shimmery. It also has a highlighting powder; it's subtle but definitely works!

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2. Maybelline Dream Touch Cream Blush in...erm...the pink one (I have no idea what the colour is called!) £6.49
Personally, I find this blush much better than powder ones because it has a shimmer so it looks more healthy and dewy on my skin. This one has been one of my favourites for quite a while!

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1. Kate Moss for Rimmel Lipstick in 01 £5.49
All of the Kate Moss lipsticks are soooo good and I really want to try her new matte range! The colour of this one though is especially nice, so this is definitely my number 1 at the moment! :) My post including this lisptick is here.

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If you liked this post, or if £10 wasn't cheap enough for you extreme couponing folks, then take a look at my top 5 under £5!

Real Techniques Make Up Brushes

A lot beauty gurus, YouTubers and bloggers talk about how good Real Techniques make up brushes are and for a while I've thought that I want a piece of that cake!
So yeah, I gave in and ordered two brushes -I'm weak I know!

But, I'm so happy that I did, they are just as amazing as I expected them to be, and better!
I got the Powder Brush (left) and the Blush Brush (right)

Real Techniques Brushes were developed by Samantha Chapman, a professional make up artist and beauty guru on YouTube. Sam posts tutorial videos on The Real Techniques website, as well as her YouTube channels "Real Techniques" and "Pixiwoo" (a channel she shares with her sister, Nic)

~ Both brushes are easy to use and blend with. I found the Powder Brush especially good, and it is by far the best brush I've ever used
~ With the online tutorials, it's so simple to use them
~ The brushes can multi-task. I originally wanted the Contour Brush but you can't buy that one individually, you have to get it in a set. So, instead I went for the blush brush and it does work for both
~ They are so reasonably priced. Before I looked into getting them, I expected them to cost so much more and I didn't think I would be able to buy any. But I was impressed with their prices!
~ They're really soft and feel amazing on my skin
~ The brushes are the perfect shape as they are hand cut for precision (and the fibres are all synthetic)
~ They pick up just enough product
~ Their flat bottom handle makes them convenient to use as you can balance them on a surface





Real Techniques claim that the brushes will allow you to achieve "pixel perfect results" and they definitely don't disappoint, also it's so easy to do!

Maybelline BB Cream: Review

Like a good postman, I have delivered! And here is the post reviewing my Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream that I said I would do in my "What is BB Cream?" post (we're asking all the big questions over here...)

This is the Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream in light and it is £7.99 so it is not one of the high end ones

This is the first BB Cream I have ever used so I don't have any other brands or anything to compare this one with, but I can compare it to wearing foundation....

~As you can see in the swatches, it seems almost watery compared to foundation but it actually blends just as well

~It does not give as much coverage as foundation

~It leaves a much more "healthy" and dewy look than foundation

~It feels a lot nicer on my skin than foundation, less heavy/cakey and more light and moisturising but also sort of cleansing as if it doesn't clog your pores like foundation does

So, as you can probably tell, I am a fan! If you need heavy coverage then I wouldn't go for it, but I think it's a nice alternative to foundation during summer!

Top 5 under £5

MY MILKSHAKE BRINGS ALL THE BOYS TO THE YARD, AND THEY'RE LIKE MINES BETTER THAN YOURS, DAMN RIGHT MINES BETTER THAN YOURS, I COULD TEACH YOU BUT I HAVE TO CHARGE.....la la la la la....

But, unfortunately milkshakes do not buy make-up! Soooo, here is my top 5 products that cost less than £5!

Also, check out my cool little jelly bean set that I took my photos in! TASTE THE RAINBOW (wait, is that skittles...?) Well, it is a birthday card from tesco and I folded it in half to use it for my make-up pictures :)

5. E.L.F Blending Eye Brush
£1.50
This is the brush that I always use to apply eye shadow in the crease of my eye and to blend all my eye shadow. It is the best blending brush I've ever used! It picks up just the right amount of powder and blends it perfectly!

4. MUA Eye Shadow Palette 
£2.50
The palette is called "innocence" and the colours are really good (particularly for blue eyes) The powders are really irridescent so they open up the eyes and make them sparkle. Although, I find it hard to pick up a lot of pigment from them, but the colours are lovely.

3. Rimmel Exaggerate Lip Liner
£2.99
The colour of this lip liner is called "Eastend Snob" and this has been one of my favourties for a LONG time! The first time I bought it was 3 years ago, I think. I used to wear it a lot on it's own which does look ok, but recently I have been wearing it under lipstick and it keeps the colour on all day! Also, it sort of mattifies the lipstick colour which I love because I really like matte lipsticks but they're hard to find. The only bad thing is, it snaps very easily which gets annoying!

2. MUA Cover & Conceal
£1.50
I haven't had this very long but so far it has been quite good, I use it under my eyes mainly. It is easy to apply and use but the coverage isn't very high, so I would only buy this if you don't need loads of coverage
and drum roll for 1st place....

1. NYC ExpertLast Lip Colour
£1.99
This is one of my favourite lipsticks, I don't wanna rave about it for too long but basically, it is a great colour, easy to apply, stays on a long time and looks SHAMAZING!


That's my top 5 beauty items under £5, when I was talking about them I didn't focus much on the actual price because they are just genuinely good products -it's just a bonus that they're affordable too!

Thanks for reading, and I hope you liked it! MWAH!

Is Glossybox Worth it?

In case you didn't already know, GlossyBox is a monthly subscription service where you pay a set amount each month to regularly receive a little box of beauty products to try. GlossyBox refer to themselves as The Ultimate Beauty Experience, you get 5 items each time; it's similar to the Beauty Box Five in America.

I haven't tried it, but it does sound like a good opportunity to experiment with new brands and try new things! Have you ever tried GlossyBox or Beauty Box Five, and did you like it? I'd love to hear what you thought of them :)

What is BB Cream?

Over the last few months there has been a lot of hype over BB Cream but there's still a lot of people that don't know exaclty what it is. So, I hear you ask, what is it then? Well BB Cream basically claims to be a miracle product...
In general BB Cream is supposed to do the following:

• cover blemishes like a foundation
• hydrate skin like a moisturiser
• act as a face primer
• help to clear up spots and oil
• some even claim to even out pigmentation with prolonged use
• protect skin with an SPF factor
• contain no oil
• brighten face and enhance skin's glow

BB Cream is pretty much aimed at people who don't need a huge amount of coverage, as an alternative to heavy foundations. But if you do need more coverage, then there are 'CC Creams' available which cover uneven skin and blemishes more, also many CC Creams contain anti-ageing ingredients.

So, if all of this is true, they sound amazing! BB Creams/CC Creams should be multiple products all in one but still feel light and fresh on the face. Also, they should be suitable for all skin types and they hydrate for dry skin but also clear pores for oily skin! There are many BB Creams around (some are made specifically for oily skin- Maybelline in particular make these, it does sound as if everyone can find a perfect BB Cream) some are from high street make up brands, as well as more upmarket ones but it seems like something to try at least once!

So in true Gary Barlow style, they sound ABSOLOOOUUUTELY FAAANTAAASTIC!

Oh! And if you are curiously wondering what "BB" stands for....it is "Beauty Balm" !
I hope this answered all your BB related questions!
P.S. I recently ordered a Maybelline BB Cream and the review will be linked here once I have written it!

Maybelline BB Cream: Review

FOTD: Kate Moss Lipstick

This is my first Face of the Day post, but I always like reading them so I thought I'd give it a go, let me know what you think!

Here is everything I used:

• E.L.F Complete Coverage Concealer
• MUA Cover & Conceal
• Max Factor FaceFinity Foundation
• L'oreal True Match Powder/ M&S loose powder (I mixed them together in the pot to make a better colour)
• Sleek Face Contour and Highlight Kit
• Maybelline Dream Touch Cream Blush
• Maybelline Mega Plush Volum'Express Mascara
• Rimmel Exaggerate Lip Liner in Eastend Snob
• Kate Moss for Rimmel Lipstick in 01
• Smashbox Eyeshadow for Blue Eyes in sabel, cream and mocha

I did my face in a fairly standard way so foundation, blusher, highlighter and contouring (I don't do all of this everyday but I did today)
My eyes are done in neutral colours which is how I've been doing them a lot lately, it seems to suit me most to stick to browns, creams and gold colours

I love wearing different lip colours everyday and today I went for this darkish red colour as I bought it a few days ago. I'd seen many of Zoe (from Zoella) 's videos and she was always wearing a deep red lipstick and I LOVED it, but I never knew what brand it was, but in one video she mentioned Kate Moss' lipsticks for Rimmel in shade 01 and I think that's the one she wears, so I bought it straight away and I am so glad I did!

This is my Face of the Day for today! :)

And erm yeah, that's it then...don't do drugs, stay in school...and all that jazz....!

DIY: Dip Dye and Studded Denim Shorts

 Aloha! Summer is finally here and it is ACTUALLY sunny, in England (whoa... I know right!) So let's celebrate with some ombre shorts!

A while ago I bought these plain denim shorts in Primark and I think they were about £5 or £8... It was difficult to find a pair in Primark that weren't already bedazzled....but I wanted to get some cheap shorts so if I completely messed it up and ruined them then it wouldn't matter too much.

I started by dip dyeing the bottom of the shorts by soaking them in bleach. It took ages to work, but to do it I put them in a bucket with some bleach (just the normal stuff you buy in supermarkets) and a little bit of water mixed in. I left them to soak for a long time as it didn't seem to be lightening them at all (probably because the denim of my shorts is so dark) I took them out and left them to hang overnight and washed them in the washing machine in the morning (wash all the bleach out or it will damage the denim)
I would say to make sure it works, don't be afraid about the amount of bleach you need to use because I tried it once and put waaayyy too much water in the solution and it just made my shorts verrrryy soapy....
In the end, I am really happy with the ombre effect because it fades really well from white into light blue and then dark blue which looks really cool (I wanted them like that, rather than like white then straight to dark blue so I let them soak in bleach for a bit before pulling them out slightly to let the ends soak for longer to get them like this) Also, bleach does run in fabric so put the shorts into the bleach like an inch below where you actually want to lighten.

I then decided to add studs to them. I ordered these from eBay and I got 100 pyramid ones for £1.25 and 50 star shaped studs for about £3.00. They're really easy to use, you just push them in and bend the rivets back so they are secure. It was hard to push them through the thicker parts of denim like where the pockets have been edged but overall it was okay. I decided to line the front pockets and make a curved line along the back pockets with the pyramid studs and put 5 little stars on that weird pocket inside the right front pocket (what the hell are you supposed to put in that pocket!?) and I put 4 stars along one of the curves on the back pocket.


Et voila! They are done! And once I had worked out that you need more bleach to whiten shorts than you do to clean them...then I had some pretty snazzy dip dyed and studded denim shorts!

Blog Giveaway: Manicure/Pedicure Set

YAYYYY! A BLOG GIVEAWAY! Now as we all calm down a bit, let's take a look at the prize....

Up for grabs is this electronic Manicure & Pedicure set which is in a pretty snazzy purple colour! It has all the filing and buffing whatsits so you can do everyones nails all profesionally! 

It comes with the handle as well as all the attachments and the purple case which has a nail dryer on the side, also included is the plug to charge it and an instruction booklet.

To enter (and make us verrrryyy happy people) just follow us on twitter @SBARSfashion and click our "follow this site" button to follow the blog! We'd be very grateful and you'll have a chance of winning this lush nail set! Also, if you recommend the giveaway to a friend, you will be entered into the prize draw again! But you should find all this technical stuff below where you can enter the draw!

UK residents only please, due to postage costs

So go for it and GOOD LUCK!

a Rafflecopter giveaway