John Freida Sheer Blonde

I've had these products a while now, for two reasons, I don't wash my hair multiple times a week (there's not a great way of saying that without sounding like a scruff, but I assure you I'm not) and I like to compose a good review on products.

The video above shows an easy way with a few tricks on how to create a fishtail plait, I love a fishtail braid and I don't believe they're just for the summer, so I gave this tutorial a go, the bobble trick really helps. I love using a fishtail plait to create a textured, soft wave in my hair by keeping it in over night of for a few hours and then letting my hair loose.

I've been using the John Frieda Enhancing* range for blondes, now my hair isn't all blonde these days, my natural colour at the top is a dark blonde/medium brown then it blends down into a warm dark blonde and finally into my bleached end. So there's a few colours going on in my hair so I wasn't sure this would work for me, but I've found the shampoo and conditioner not only clean my hair thoroughly and add moisture, but they also give my hair an amazing shine when I've washed it. Just a little bit of background on my hair, I don't really have problematic hair, in fact with not washing it everyday and avoiding heat a lot of the time it's grown a lot and is pretty strong these days, so I don't find myself needing anything massively moisturising or effective for my hair. The enhancing range work by amplifying golden shine in your hair, creating a brighter, shinier colour, something I've found is hard to come by when being blonde.
I also have the Spun Gold Shape and Shine balm, this is a soft waxy balm that has gold particles that create extra shine in your hair. I remember my mam having this years ago and I used to love it, so now I've got one of my own it's even better. I like my hair to be full with texture, but nothing too heavy, the balm separates and adds texture without feeling crispy, heavy or tacky and you only need the tiniest bit meaning it'll last forever.

I really enjoy these products and I believe they work really well, so when I run out I might try the Go Blonder shampoo and conditioner next to maybe lift my colour without the use of dye. The product in the video that gives fresh volume to hair also looks amazing and is right up my street. 

*I was sent samples of these to try. This does not effect my opinion of the product.

MUA work

I haven't posted often for a very long time, my posts are sporadic and I just want to say thank you to those who still follow and read what and when I do post. I'm so busy at the moment with uni work and doing things in my spare time for my makeup portfolio, blogging is not a top priority, but I do still find myself wanting to come back to it, sometimes.

I recently got some images back from a shoot I worked on a few months ago with a photographer called Terri-Lee Shield, so I thought I'd post a video and some photos of what I've been up to. I might do this more often, especially with a new shoot coming up in a couple of weeks that I'm really excited for, and my own photography work combined with my own makeup also.

You can check out some of my other work and see updates on my facebook page https://www.facebook.com/VictoriaLaurenMUA :)

UNiDAYS

I thought I'd do a quick post about UNiDAYS, this great student discount site I came across when ordering something from Miss Guided. In all my student years (and theres a fair few!) I've never been one to buy an NUS card because I always got my discount when producing my student library card, but when it comes to shopping online it's always been a pain. Trying to use a friends NUS card for ASOS or TOPSHOP never seemed to work so I'd feel a bit begrudged to buy something. So when I came across this site I was pretty chuffed (that's happy if that doesn't translate to areas outside of the North East).
 All you need to do is sign up, select your insitution and then it takes you to your university/college website to login, this is how they verify that you're a student, and that's it, you're now free to discounts from loads of great places and more are added by the week.

I haven't been asked to write this post, I just thought it was such a great idea and wanted to give other students a heads up.

Urban Outfitters Autumn/Winter 2012/13

It's hard to think that autumn/winter 2012/13 collections are on their way or are already here when we don't seem to have had a summer yet. Personally, I prefer an Autumn/Winter collection to a Spring/Summer, I'm partial to layering, autumn burnt colours and a bit of knitwear, but for those who aren't, A/W 2012/13 isn't too heavy at all this year, in fact if we ever get a taste of summer weather any time soon I think A/W collections this year would still be very fitting with gypsy and bohemia inspiration being a forefront to the collection.

Urban Outfitters introduce two new collections 'A Modern Beat' think masculine meets feminine, mod style parkas, drainpipe jeans, slim fit and shirts tucked in. Then there's 'Tarot' a mixture of gypsy, bohemia and witchcraft, kind of paints a picture doesn't it? Think texture, lace and tapestry, layers and a lot of mystical and precious stone clad jewellery. Each collection has it's own style, but with colour palettes like khaki, grey, hot coral, burgundy and the always popular denim piece dotted about the collections mix beautifully. A/W makeup trends this year such as Roman-tique, a bohemia, electric and global influenced trend with sepia stains, texture, jewel-like metallics and a contemporary defused rethink on a smokey eye and the masculine trends where contour and structure is everything, where it's all about natural makeup with that hard, strong edge are very fitting to these Urban Outfitters collections. 

I was shown around the Newcastle store while Rachel told me about the collections, I've been in shopping a few times but it was great to find out that they're displaying art work from Northumbria University students/graduates which is where I study. You'll also find art work by Prefab 77, a collective of artists from the North East who's work is raw, British and rebellious, a perfect fit for the interior of Urban Outfitters.  Newcastle has the usual mix of Urban Outfitters own brand along with some amazing such as Vaudeville & Burlesque, Cheap Monday and Evil Twin, as well as their well known renewal selection of vintage and reworked pieces. It was great to find out the girl in charge of Newcastle's renewal selection is very particular and only puts out the best quality, so if you're in the area have a rummage!

LJ's Beauty Studio

 I'd been waiting for LJ's Beauty Studio to open for a while, curious as to what the lashes would be like, so when it launched Laura kindly sent me this pack of 'flirty' lashes. Sets of lashes come with 10 pairs and are priced at £6.50 which when you think one pair in Boots can set you back that much it's definitely worth it. I'm normally used to very thin, clear bands and usually stay clear of the thicker ones thinking they'll not look so great, but they actually still look really nice on, quite dramatic-naturalesque. Before applying them the lashes need bending gently and to give them some extra flexibility and curve is a must but they go on and stick (with the help of DUO) perfectly. I smudged some MAC Coffee eye pencil into the lash line just to give extra definition and base colour for the lashes to go against. The 'flirty' style is beautiful, soft yet full and really flattering, these would be perfect with a soft or heavy eye makeup.

Laura also blogs here along side her shop giving you sneak peaks and tips on what's coming to the shop. She also sells cosmetics tools and sunglasses, I'm loving the 'think...heat wave' ones. 

Illamasqua cream pigments & medium pencils

I made an Illamasqua order a couple of months ago. I think I was feeling sorry for myself after hurting my foot and not being able to attend the event. So I bought a cream pigment in Hollow, a medium pencil in Fidelity and the #1 blending brush. I've wanted to try out the medium pencils for a while now and I'm so glad I got one, they're so easy and quick to apply. They blend so easily, are buildable and last really well. These are totally kit worthy, I'd love to try a few more and create a whole eye look purely with these. Such a good tool if you want a quick defined eye. I'm now a massive fan of these pencils. The blending brush is also equally amazing and goes hand in hand with the medium pencil, they work perfectly together, creating soft blown out eyes.

I bought Hollow cream pigment as I heard it was a great contour colour. It is just that, but if you're looking to use this as contour I would say to be careful and not to over load as it is quite a cool shade and can turn a tad mucky with too much product. Other than that it blends with ease, even over powder which doesn't always happen with cream products, a great contour for cooler paler complexions when you find some bronzers to be a little too warm.

The picture above shows Hollow cream pigment next to Fidelity medium pencil blended and unblended.

What do you love from Illamasqua?

Wired Jewellery

1. my grandads old ring. 2. Wired Jewellery 3. blue stone ring present from parents. 4. jwlry 5. thumb ring from market

I'd been searching online for ages for above knuckle rings but to no avail, then a couple of weeks ago I saw a photo that Sara had posted of some amazing jewellery with above knuckle rings, and so thats how I found Wired Jewellery. The shop is filled with some amazing stuff, but I tried very hard not to go wild and just got myself a ring. I'm sure there will be future purchases of a lot more. I've seen a lot of jewellery shops pop up, a lot of them with the same things as others, but this one stood out with it's quirky handmade designs, stunning stones and real silver (which is a massive plus, I hate jewellery that tarnishes).

The ring came well packaged with simple but beautiful little details, like the paper cut hearts and embossed lettering, I think it makes all the difference when you get an interesting and pretty parcel. I got a medium size which is supposed to be a UK size F, it's the perfect size, fits a couple of fingers and feels secure on the lower part of my finger. I've been wearing it for a few weeks now and theres been no tarnishing, the quality is amazing and I feel like Phoebe Buffay.

Wired Jewellery are also having a flash sale this easter weekend. So get yourself 15% off with 'easterbunny'.

Guest Post: Lifting spirits with fashion & beauty

Illustration courtesy of Malia at deepfriedfreckles

Fashion Lifts the Spirits of Women with a Cancer Diagnosis
By: Jackie Clark

A cancer diagnosis can be absolutely devastating news for a woman to hear. Aside from feeling sadness, anger and denial, a woman may also change her lifestyle completely. Those who once cared about beauty and fashion may begin to wear pajamas or tracksuits and opt out of wearing makeup both during and after their cancer treatments.

Whether a woman is dealing with a diagnosis of mesothelioma cancer that has been caused by asbestos exposure or a diagnosis of breast cancer that runs in her family, it is important for her to try to remain a sense of normalcy. Despite a woman’s circumstances it is important to always be aware of the reality of cancer. Sadly, cancer doesn’t discriminate and once this is realized fashion forwardness can shine through.

First and foremost, fashion can be a great way to maintain a sense of normalcy. If a woman typically wore jeans and a sweater everyday, she should continue to do so. This will help her to feel more like herself than if she were to wear pajamas for example.

In addition, experimenting with new types of fashion can also help a woman with or without cancer feel more vibrant. Visiting a department store and asking a sales associate to help find the latest fashions to flatter skin tone and figure are a great place to start.

Accessorizing is also a great way for a woman to feel even more beautiful. Earrings that draw attention to her contoured cheekbones, bracelets that bring awareness to cancer and hats that help her cope with hair loss are also fantastic ways for a cancer patient to feel more beautiful.

Makeup can also be a huge part of fashion. A woman with a cancer diagnosis should continue her makeup regime in order to continue to look and feel her very best. She may also want to consult with makeup artists to help her to brighten up her face, which may appear tired from various rounds of treatment. A new shade of blush or a new tube of mascara can sometimes work wonders for a woman's self esteem.

Most importantly, women should try not to view themselves as victims but rather as victors. Try to keep the mindsets that controlling thoughts and maintaining as much normalcy as possible are the best ways to handle a diagnosis. Taking the steps to feel beautiful in her own skin is just one simple way that she can help herself on to the road to recovery. No matter what the future holds it is always important to look and feel beautiful because true beauty comes from the inside and nothing can change that!

Urban Outfitters Newcastle

Urban Outfitters finally graced the city of Newcastle with its presence and opened a lovely 3 storey store on Granger street. It's one of their largest stores, and boy is it big. When I saw the little 'coming soon' boxed up entrance months ago, where I think Kurt Geiger used to live, I thought it was going to be tiny and didn't see how they'd fit everything in there, so felt my excitement deflate a little. Until I walked through the door on a particularly horrible December afternoon and was pretty amazed at the vast size of the place.

In true Urban Outfitters style there's a little mezzanine floor between staircases filled with goods. This is where I picked up a vinyl wall frame (obviously minus the original 1960s album inside) for my boyfriend, perfect little present. The next floor was equipped with a great wall of shoes, tables filled with jewellery and little trinkets and the walls and rails clad with a lotta lotta clothes for the ladies, upstairs you have men's but I wasn't too interested in that and spent most of a good hour going around so many clothes and lovely bits and bobs dotted all over the shop. There's a great section of vintage finds which is where I picked up my 'Christmas jumper'. To the back of the women's floor theres a section thats slightly cornered off with sofas, mirrors and filled with unique beautiful clothes and just outside of that you'll find the most random and amazing products for gifts and the home.
I only picked up a few things that day, which is probably a good thing because I had a pretty Urban Outfitters themed Christmas, with presents from family and the boyfriend being from Aztec makeup bags and fringe clutch bags to analog camera necklaces and penguin fingerless gloves.

Seeing how busy the shop is when I've visited it and the shopping bags on the streets, I think Newcastle is now a little bit happier with the arrival of UO.


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Sleek brow kit

Not gonna lie, I've not posted for almost a century. However, my constant love for this product has urged me to spill my thoughts to you lot.

I believe in good brows, I'd rather walk out the house with a good set of brows than mascara. A brow (well two brows) can do so much for the face, they give structure around the eye, they give definition to the face over all and they can soften a sharp face or give angles to a rounded face. I love eyebrows me.

This little kit, made me put down a beloved eyebrow pencil, that is only now picked up when I have to wear it for work. The waxy cream is smooth and creates sharp perfected lines. The powder helps set the waxy/cream and gives a full look to the brows. I sometimes use both or just the powder, both work great on their own. Even the brushes, usually something I'd throw straight in the bin are pretty damn good. A little faffy due to the tiny size of them, but do their job just fine. There's even a little set of tweezers to banish pesky strays. I use the light kit, perfect for a medium blonde to brown hair, you'd have to be very light handed of you were very fair and didn't want your brows too dark.

Overall 10/10 for this little beauty. It's really impressed me and I'd recommend it to anyone.

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