Wednesday 21 September 2011

A long road ahead

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I am about to head off into the unknown on an experience of a lifetime.  From the East coast to the West with my favourite person by my side.  There are days scheduled full of meetings for an exciting project in the works and there are days full of nothing but adventure.  

I will still be posting whilst on my travels so look out for a false eyelash tutorial, product recommendations and most definitely some images from the road.

Wednesday 14 September 2011

Bright and Breezy

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Can you believe New York fashion week has come around so quickly?

I adore Paris fashion week for its theatre and drama, I love London fashion week as it is inherently forward thinking, edgy and of course home, and I always have a soft spot for New York fashion week as you can rely on playful, wearable collections from some of the worlds greatest artists showcased in my favourite city in the world.

This season to much anticipation J. Crew debuted on the runways of NYC, with Jenna Lyons as the driving force behind a beautiful show filled with pieces I know my wardrobe is crying out for.  Bright colours and flattering stripes.  And at last, J. Crew are about to open an online retail outlet in the UK. Yes!

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Continuing the striped theme was the king of the New York fashion scene Marc Jacobs.  Not only was every garment that walked perfection but the hair and make-up was divine.  Hair swept up sleekly and make-up to match.  I just love a statement outfit paired with natural make-up I think it exudes confidence.

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If you fancy going for the simple beauty look Marc Jacobs decided upon for his show then look no further than Stila convertible colour in Gerbera.  It's creamy consistency leaves the cheeks looking fresh and dewy and its depth of pigment means it's beautiful as a lip colour also.  A quick dab of this with a light gloss over the top really brings the colour together for a cohesive look.

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And finally if you are lucky enough to live in the USA near a Target store then I do hope you have rushed there to buy up as much of the Missoni for Target collection as your budget will allow, from throw pillows to awesome chopper bikes there is something for everyone.  I hope there will be a little something left for me by the time I make it to a store!

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Friday 2 September 2011

Work It Curl

One of the easiest ways to mix up your look is to have quick hair re-style.  Even without cutting or colouring your locks this is an easy trick to use if you fancy a change.  Curling your hair using straightening irons is so simple and effective that once you have got the technique right you will use this styling method all the time.  To begin with you need to shampoo and dry your hair.  Next, make sure you use a heat protectant or blow dry lotion as heated styling tools can do some serious damage to your mane that simply can't be rectified.  Especially if you have coloured hair as this is even more susceptible environmental damage. I like this particular product.

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It adds really good body for a blow dry, keeps curls stable and offers a good barrier between your hair and the 180º heat you are about to introduce to it!  There are so many of these products on the market now that you will be able to find one in your local chemist or drugstore. Next up you need a pair of these.

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I love using GHD's they have adapted the shape of the irons recently in order to aid curling by rounding off the edges of the casing.  The ceramic plates mean your hair glides through whilst straightening and curling with no pull or breakage, they heat up quickly to such a temperature that the look you are trying to achieve is done so with only one or two sweeps of the irons, this really minimises heat damage.  They are also available in different sizes suitable for different lengths and thicknesses of hair and different curl size.  Of course there are many other brands available.


Leslie has such fantastic long hair in great condition so we decided to quickly curl the ends just to add a bit of movement.  Different sized irons obviously create different sized curls, we used the small GHD's so the curls were quite tight and defined but larger irons will create a softer, wavier, beachier, look.  Section your hair really randomly the only thing you need to make sure is that the sections you gather are all a similar size but you really don't have to be precious about doing this it is meant to be really quick!  Hold the straighteners at the point where you would like the curl to begin, at the root, half way down or perhaps you just want to curl the ends under to neaten off a pretty sharp bob.


Once you have decided where you want to start, close the irons and start to pull them gently down along the length of your hair twisting as you go....


Keep twisting, depending on the length of your hair perhaps you need to swap hands half way to reach the end, keep twisting....


As you are twisting allow the hair to wrap itself over the outside of the irons this is what really defines the curl, or the Farrah Fawcett style flicked out layers, or curling under your fringe (bangs) the ways to use this technique are endless, have a play around and see what it can do for your cut....


Keep twisting right until the end, Ta Da! it's so easy, keep sectioning your hair and continue this way and when you have curled to your hearts content, you should have achieved your own variation of this....


Pretty and simple, we just quickly curled the ends in order to add a little bit of movement and texture but for a far more dramatic change we could have used the large irons and started from the root.


Have a go with your straighteners and see if you can discover an update for your style, sometimes they can make a world of difference if you are trying to grow out a cut.

(Once again, thank you so much to the beautiful Leslie and my super talented friend Kye Corfield)


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Have a fantastic (curly?) weekend.