Blogust Day 10- #TBT - Marilyn Monroe

I'm back with another edition of #TBT. This weekend we're looking at one of my all time favourites...

Who:

Marilyn Monroe. Actress, model, singer.

When:

June 1926-August 1962

The look:

Arched brows, red lips, beauty mark.

Works best on:

Everyone!

Marilyn's look is what most people would refer to as a "classic pin up" look. This strongly arched brows, the stamped on red lip and slight winged eyeliner is a totally iconic look that really does suit everyone. It's timeless, it's classic and it's actually beautifully simple to recreate. 

The key aspect of this look is keeping everything else very simple. Three features are being highlighted here; the brows, the lips and the eyes, so don't go in with heavy Kimmy K style contouring and a smokey eye. Just stick to the basics.

The beauty of this is is very wearable to you can rock it day to day or just have it as your go-to look for a night out.

To recreate the look on myself I reach for the Maybelline Master Shape Brow Pencil in Dark Blonde. Now I have much thicker fuller brows than Marilyn so I have to really accentuate my arch and concetrate the coliur there, rather than filling the whole brow- don't go crazy here, you don't want to look like your brows are drawn on- remember they're sisters, not twins. I then go in with the Dior DiorShow Brow Fixing Gel in 541- this is perfect for dark blonde brows. 

Next up is the liner- I start of with a matte shade all over my lids to even everything out and stop creasing. Something like Foxy from Urban Decay is great. I then use the Eyeko Skinny Liquid Liner in Black to create the feline flick. You want to keep this quite thin, but really use to flick to elongate the eye.

Finally, the lip. I use the good old Lisa Eldridge trick of using the lipstick to stain the lips and then building up the layers, to create a really long lasting lip. My red of choice is the Rimmel Kate Moss Lasting Finish Lipstick in 001. It's the perfect pillar box red and completes the look beautifully.

And there you have it. A classic pin up look, Marilyn Monroe style.

Blogust Day 9- Vanilla Cupcakes

I'm back with another recipe for you all! Today I'm letting you in on my recipe for vanilla cupcakes. These are a great base if you want to get fancy with your cake decorating, or if you just wake up craving cupcakes, like I often do!

The recipe is really simple and very very quick to do. It makes 12 cupcakes.

You will need:

110g butter softened at room temperature

100g caster sugar

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

100g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1-2 tbsp milk

Step 1

Preheat your oven to 180C and line a muffin tin with 12 paper cases.

Step 2

Cream the butter and sugar till pale. Gradually add the eggs. Stir in the vanilla extract.

Step 3

Add the baking powder to the flour then gently fold in to the mixture.

Step 4

Bake for 10-15 minutes. Insert a skewer or cocktail stick- if this comes out clean your cupcakes are ready.

Step 5

Set aside to cool for around 15 minutes.

Step 6

Decorate as desired.

And there you have it! Like I said these are super simple and quick to make. Send me pictures if you use the recipe! Also, let me know if you'd like to see more recipes from me.

Blogust Day 8- AuGuest #2

Hello everyone! I'm so excited to be able to show you what's in my bag as part of Charlie's ongoing guest series this August. Thanks for letting me be a part of it! I'm Erika and you can find me over at Erika Does Life, my fashion, lifestyle, and beauty blog!

I thought that a "What's in my bag?" post would be the perfect post because I've just recently changed over my bag and so I really thought about what I need in there on a daily basis. This summer has been horribly rainy and so I haven't been able to use the majority of my bags as they are open top. Annoying. The bag that I've been using for the last two weeks is by London Fog,  and I got it off of Little Black Bag (RIP!). I am a fan of large bags, so this is actually quite tiny for my liking, but I feel like in summer, I need less on the day-to-day than I do in winter, so it's been alright for me!

The first 'category' of things that I keep in my bag is beauty and skincare products. In the summer, I am especially prone to breakouts because sun + no breeze = sweatiness (ew!) and so I need to keep a treatment with me in case I can feel something popping up. I use the Murad 30-day kit when I am travelling and so I keep it in my bag as well. Murad isn't my daily skincare brand, but I do like their treatment gel a lot. I will usually put on just a bit and touch up my makeup after it's dried in that area.

The next product that I carry with me is a relatively new one. I always bring mascara with me, that's nothing new, but I've only recently discovered the amazing Lights, Camera, Flashes mascara by Tarte. It's going to become my new mascara. It's amazing. My lashes are incredibly well-lengthened and volumized after just one coat of this, and even when I put on more for added pop, my lashes never clump. It also tends to stay put with minimal transfer, but it's easy to get off at the end of the day, unlike other brands.

In the summer, I often don't wear lipstick, but I need to have something on my lips that is hydrating and can get into my lip creases so that they don't get sore. I find that Smith's Rosebud Salve is the most soothing product by miles. I've been using it for about three years now and I doubt that I'll ever change as long as Smith's is around!

The last beauty product that I have been carrying with me is the pinkish-corally lip color by H&M that I picked up when I was in Paris. I've been shocked by how good the products are, considering how cheap they were - less than five Euros for lipstick? That's crazy!

The next set of things in my purse are things that I automatically have in every purse. I never leave my house without hand cream because my hands just get so dry, I don't really know why. It's horrible. I especially have to be sure to moisturize around my cuticles. Years of nail biting and picking at my skins - a gross habit, I know - left them in horrid condition and though they are getting better, I've noticed that moisturizing them has made a huge difference. My favorite hand cream by far is Bliss' Blood Orange & White Pepper cream. You only need a small dollop to completely cover both hands and it absorbs nicely into the skin. I hate the feeling of slimy hands after moisturizing! 

Obviously, everyone has keys in their purse. I'm aware that my key ring is super ugly, but I lose small key rings and I liked that this one had three separate key sections so I can separate my work keys and home keys.

Next up is my wallet. I'm obsessed with it and the Parisians were, too! I got loads of compliments on it by cashiers. It's from Aldo and you can probably still get it because I didn't buy it that long ago. It's got loads of spots for cards, which is great since I have about a million memberships and the change wallet is detachable so that you can lighten up your wallet a bit if you know you won't need change.

I've only started carrying an umbrella full time this summer. It's just been so rainy that I can leave the house in the morning and by the time that I go home from meetings at 3pm, it's now in torrential downpour mode. So a small umbrella was a must. I got that one from the pharmacy and I liked the solid wooden handle.

The last category of stuff is organizational tools! I recently added the "Logical" notebook to my bag as it's nearly school time and I have to have a notebook for my Teaching Assistant duties. I have to take notes, write down what I've done each week to log my hours, etc. The notebook is great because it has both ruled pages and regular lines, so I can do architectural sketches when I need to and just take regular notes the rest of the time.

I also never leave my house without my vlogging/everyday camera, a canon powershot, so I keep a memory card with me. My better quality one stays in my canon t3i.

The black notebook with the legs is from the Robert Mapplethorpe exhibition at the Grand Palais in Paris. They were still selling them even though the exhibition was over and I couldn't resist picking up the little trio since I'm a fan of Mapplethorpe's work. It's my general notebook where I keep notes in various meetings.

The last item in my bag is my agenda! I did a really comprehensive tour of the agenda on my youtube channel if you'd like to see it! I recommend watching the video because I tell you not only about the agenda's contents but also how I organize my life and hopefully that can be of some use to you!

And that's it! It's a small purse but as you can see, it holds quite a bit! Comment and let me know what you keep in your purse, or if you think I'm missing anything essential!

Blogust Day 7- Music Monday #2

Welcome back to Music Monday! This week I'm coming at you with another debut album..this time in the form of Days Are Gone, by Haim.

Haim are a pop/rock trio from California consisting of Este, Danielle and Alana, all of whom are sisters. I love them because there serve up just the right amount of punchy lyrics and rocky numbers with a few quieter more emotional songs thrown in there too.  This is another album that I've had on repeat since I discovered it.

The album includes thirteen tracks:

Falling

Forever

The Wire

If I Could Change Your Mind

Honey & I

Don't Save Me

Days Are Gone

My Song 5

Go Slow

Let Me Go

Running If You Call My Name

Send Me Down

Edge

So far my favourites are probably The Wire, Days Are Gone and Go Slow. You'll have probably heard a few of Haim's songs, especially the incredibly popular Falling and My Song 5, but I'd really recommend you check out the rest of the album. It's really worth listening to. 

What music are you guys currently enjoying?

Blogust Day 6-Charlie's Chatter #2- Chopping off my hair!

For a while now I've been debating chopping off my hair. The last time I went to the hairdressers back in February I chickened out and reverted to my go-to style- long hair with a blunt full fat fringe. (see below)

Now it's summer I got really bored of the fringe, so decided to grow it out and completely change up my hair. Woo, decisiveness! So last week into the salon I wandered, seeking a collarbone skimming semi A line bob and out I emerged looking like this!

My hair pre-cut was around my waist, so I've lost a good 13-15 inches in length, which is A LOT! 

What do you guys think of my new style?

I'll be doing a hair styling post within the next few weeks to let you guys know what products I'm using and how I'm styling my LOB (long bob).

Stay tuned....

Blogust Day 5- #TBT Edie Sedgwick

Welcome to the very first #TBT post of Blogust. I'll be using these posts to show you iconic looks of the past, talk about the person that made them iconic and show you my recreated version of the iconic the look. Without further ado, let's get into it!

Who:

Edith Minturn "Edie" Segwick. American heiress, model and actress.

When:

April 1943-November 1971

The look:

Good girl gone bad. Mini dresses. Bold prints. Graphic liner.

Works best on:

Almond shaped eyes.

The iconic graphic liner look seen here on Edie is a look that has been replicated on numerous occasions since Edie's time. Whilst it is bold and dramatic, it screams retro sixties, a style that is truly timeless.

The key part to this look, is dramatising one part and one part of the face only. The eyes were hugely dramatised, whilst the complexion and lips were pared down, to add even more drama to the eyes.

The looks consists of a strongly cut crease, heavy liner and lashings of lashes. Note, this is NOT an everyday wearable look, but for the right occasion, it's stunning.

To recreate the look on myself I filled my brows in as usual- from the graphic I was using I could see that Edie's brows had quite a soft shape to them with hardly an arch shape to them at all- just like my own. 

Using Bootycall and Blackout from Urban Decay I created a classic smoky eye, making sure to keep the shake quite almond like, rather than winging it out. I then created the cut crease effect, first of all with an angled brush and some more black shadow, then when I was happy with the shape I went over the line I had created with the Eyeko Skinny Liquid Liner in Black. I then applied heaps of Clinique High Impact Mascara to bulk up my lashes.

On the skin I used a very light hand to apply a little bronzer to carve out my cheek bones. The skin should remain matte for this look. 

I applied just a touch of lipbalm to my lips to finish off- the eyes are the main focus here.

And that's it! I hope you've enjoyed this post, I know it's something a bit different! Stay tuned for the next one...

Blogust Day 4- Top 5...Lipglosses

I'm back with my Top 5! This week we're talking about lip gloss.  Again, I've got a range of different brands and colours for you. Let's take a look...

The dark nude glaze like gloss in the form of Pixi Lip Booster in Freya is the thing I grab when I'm after a deep toned nude. It's quite thick on the lips, but still comfortable and last for ages. Great quality for money, and I really like the fact that it's a kind of twist up lip brush applicator, it makes application simple and smooth.

The goes with everything kinda gloss...Clinique Long Last Glosswear in Goldspun; pretty much sheer, with a slight golden tinge to it, and a very fine shimmer running throughout it. I've had this for years and still love it. It's so pretty and juicy on it own, but add a beautiful gloss to anything that you want to pop underneath it.

My go-to, highly pigmented, bright lip option, Clinique Long Last Glosswear in Kiss Fit. This is a super hot pink and works incredibly well on its own, or paired with something like the Estee Lauder Pure Color Lipstick in Candy (FYI a marriage made in heaven). This too has a very fine blue toned shimmer running throughout and sticks around for ages, it's the bees knees.

If I'm after something a bit more vampy, I grab the Estee Lauder Pure Color Gloss in Plum Divine. This is a relatively sheer plum shade on it's own, so it's a wearable vampy lip for those that don't want to maintenance of a full on pout, but I loved layering it over darker lipsticks too, to really amp up the colour.

And finally, for pretty lips all year round I reach for the Estee Lauder Pure Color Gloss in Pink Kiss. I wouldn't actually describe this as pink at all, it's more of a bronzey shade with golden tones to it. Ah-mazing for the summer paired with just a bit of tinted moisturiser and some mascara. It smells like vanilla in a subtle sheeny but non-sticky formula. Perfection.

What's your favourite pouty product? Let me know and stay tuned for the next in my Top 5 series...