BENEFIT - ROLLER LASH MASCARA │♥│

A mascara is something that myself and most other people can be quite fussy about. You can try thousands upon thousands of mascaras and never find one that truly gives you what you want - it may be curl, it may be volume, it may be length and it may be the blackest of black. Whatever you want from a mascara I can almost guarantee you've tried a stack load before finding...the one. Well, I am happy to say that I have found the one. I am a big fan of both of the other Benefit mascaras, Bad Gal (old classic, my first high end mascara!) and Benefits They're Real. The delighful product is Roller Lash.

At first, I was a bit skeptical when it was first released. But after pictures of the mascara results on normal individuals - without any of Benefits ad campaigns or marketing, I was absolutely gobsmacked. I knew, that this mascara had to be mines. So, the next day I dragged my boyfriend up to Livingston, to our local shopping outlet, for some "shopping". He had no idea what he was in for. I marched into Debenhams and I seen it displayed on the Benefit stand, The heavens opened and I knew, it was mine. I was certainly not disappointed the first time I used it. I initially tested it without eyelash curlers, as apparently you do not need them. And Benefit are right, you do not need the eyelash curlers, although for the ultimate curl I do prefer to use them. The main purpose of this mascara is to provide you with a curl, and it certainly does live up to standards. It is very lengthening and buildable - I never really clumps and I tend to add about three coats. For the purpose of this blog post, I only added one coat so you can really see the true natural effect of this mascara. The staying power is fantastic - although its not a "hard" mascara, it lasts all day and the curl stays put. 

Packaging & Tube

 

Mascara on left eye only - curlers used in this image - also using benefits gimme brow

This mascara comes in at £19.50 from most Benefit counters in the United Kingdom - unsure of the price in countries across Europe and the US. This mascara is well worth it and is perfect for every day use - thinner fake eyelashes could be added for a more dramatic look. I enjoy using this mascara daily and it is well worth the price - I feel like Benefit could have charged more for this if they wanted to - as it's worth every penny.

What are your favourite mascaras and have you tried this one yet? Also - have you seen my previous post on makeup storage and organisation? You can check that post out here. 

Thank you for stopping buy and reading this blog post. It really truly is a fantastic mascara.

Lauren xox

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MAKEUP STORAGE & ORGANISATION │♥│

There is nothing more satisfying than organisation. Well, except one thing. Makeup organisation. The rest of my bedroom and life can be an absolute disaster, but I get great satisfaction out of a tidy make-up area. Most of my makeup is stored away, and I only display a collection of items - purely because they are easy to access and I do not have to rummage through thousands of products to find my most used and favourite concealer or blush. Every so often I swap which makeup I have on display, and rediscover old favourites in the process.

It took me years to find the perfect makeup storage. Years of searching through pinterest and youtube videos. But a few months ago I became very, very happy with my layout. I released my inner Kim Kadarshian and purchased some purse-friendly acrylic makeup storage. Of course my stand was about 1/10 of the price that Kim paid for hers... but still, I was very inspired! I found a seller on Amazon selling exactly what I wanted. It was small enough to put on my desktop- it had organisation, and it was great quality. Click here to see my storage unit.

The storage which I purchased contains three sections at the very back, two of the sections are very deep, where as the other is a lot more shallow but wider. The unit provides space for either 12 lipsticks or 12 nail polishes, and has a little square area to the side of the lipstick/nail polish space. The bottom of the unit contains four drawers - two large ones and two smaller ones. I am not going to go into too much detail about where I keep all my products - but pictures are going to be displayed of the drawers so feel free to be inspired by me. I loved this unit so much I purchased two of them - just to give myself more space and to make my desk/vanity area look a bit more pretty! 

Overview of the desk area - I do love these cute little brush holders also!

The first unit - fits MAC powders in perfectly! (soft & gentle highlighter, face powder & semi precious blush/highlighter)

Two of the smaller drawers 

Larger drawer

Final & bottom drawer

Second of the units

Two of the smaller drawers 

Can you tell I LOVE Maybelline's colour tattoos? 

My cute little brush holders!

I always keep whatever nail polish I am currently wearing somewhere around my desk. Also please, ignore the grubby makeup packaging and dirty makeup brushes! My brush cleaning routine is here - which I really need to start sticking to!

To see my previous blog post on contouring click here. 

How do you store your makeup? Are you as organised as me, or are you more organised? Do you prefer your makeup on display or hidden away? Have you noticed any products in the pictures that you want me to talk about? 

Thanks for reading, Lauren xoxox

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│AUTUMN/FALL FASHION FAVOURITES │ PLUS SIZED PICKS │ ANYBODY CAN WEAR THOUGH│ NOVEMBER 2014 │♥│

Hello! If you remember, in the summer - I done a clothing haul for plus sized girls jetting off on holiday... Well a new season means new fashion! When it comes to autumn (or fall for my american pals), I feel as if everyone suits every fashion trend. Big scarves, jumpers, boots, you can't really go wrong! This is my current favourite fashion picks for autumn/fall 2014, not exclusively for plus sized girls, but maybe my fellow plus sized divas are able to get some inspiration and ideas from the particular items that I have, and will continue to wear, probably up until Spring 2015.

Firstly - I have to say, year round, I always wear scarves, black skinny jeans and my leather jacket. Yes, all year round, So thats why I haven't included they items in this blog. The only difference is that I wear bigger more fluffy scarves in the autumn and winter.

I'm gonna start off with the jackets I have been wearing so far this Autumn.

I bought this big, denim, shearling lined jacket last year from ASOS, for around about £65 if I remember correctly. Denim and shearling alway seems to come back at this time of the year. Theres something so 90's chic about this denim jacket. And it is extremely cosy! I will NEVER be into double denim, I don't care how fashionable it is, I just can't do it...So therefore I usually wear this with a pair of leggings and a big baggy printed or slogan top, and my doc martens! Might as well throw on big hooped earrings and a scrunchie with this, to embrace your inner 80's/90's diva. If you hop on to ASOS to buy this, I would recommend getting your normal size, even though it is really oversized and isn't particularly the most flattering, I am glad I bought my normal size, it sits on you much nicer and is baggy in all the right places.

I have to say I am obsessed with this next jacket. Once again it's big and oversized, from River Island! I bought this in the summer so I am unsure if they still have it or not - regardless many places sell coats like this as they are very in at this time of the year. The only fault I have with this jacket is that I hate navy and I find it really hard to style! Much more of a black type of girl. I love wearing this to dress up, it's gorgeous with a LBD underneath or just some nice skinny jeans and a scarf. I have actually managed to loose my brown riding boots, but i'd imagine the colours in this jacket would look great with black skinny jeans or black leggings, a white top underneath, with brown riding boots and a nice big slouchy brown bag. I am picturing it in my head so hopefully you have that image as well! (Yes I have wore this and I still have the tag on it, woooopsies!

Thats it guys. I bit the bullet. I done it. I faced my worst fears and I bought a cape. And I regret nothing. I have seen girls run about in capes looking all posh and preppy, I was green with envy because I couldn't actually find one that I liked or suited. But I have to say, River Island has a great range! Tartan, plain, leopard print...You name it. What I love about the cape that I bought is that the colours are very neutral and will pretty much match my entire wardrobe. The fur effect is beautiful, but if you don't like, don't fear..the fur on most of these River island capres are detachable. This comes in one size, and is £35. I have seen that Topshop and Zara have quite a lot of beautiful capes in also.

Now on to jumpers! I love a good jumper during autumn and winter, not quite ready to get my christmas jumpers out yet... So i've featured three of my favourite jumpers for this time of the year. All of these are inexpensive, unlike the jackets and the capes above.

Firstly, I love the colour khaki green this time of the year. This isn't too thick, but not too thin. You can get away without wearing a vest top underneath it. I usually team this with leggings and black ankle chelsea boots. This is from H&M, I think H&M is excellent for "basics". You never see anything too bright or fancy in there, but it's great for all your basic jumpers. This jumper was a bargain at £14.99. The sizes, are a bit annoying... They come in S/M/L, which I absolutely hate! None the less, I have this jumper and i've probably overworn it, people will be sick of the sight of this... I like wearing this quite plain, and putting on a big chunky necklace with it. You can make this colour/jumper either super girly, accessorising with creams, or quite tough rock-chicky - thrown on with doc martens and a leather jacket. 

This jumper is a great piece for this time of the year. This is another H&M number, I actually got this for a present, last year in 2013 for my birthday, so I have no idea what the price is, I imagine it would be under 20 quid. Words cannot describe how cosy this jumper is! I have also included a picture of the jumper closer up, so you can really see the fluffy texture and material. This is just a plain black jumper with a twist, so I cant really give anybody any advice on how to wear this piece. Personally I think it looks great with blue denim jeans and thats how i've worn it - see, I don't ALWAYS wear black skinny jeans or black leggings. But seriously though, it's a black jumper, wear it how you want. I have dressed this up, and dressed this down - I wore it last christmas with a brown and cream leopard print mid length skirt - surprisingly it actually looked great together. 

Although this checkered shirt is not a jumper, I don't usually wear is as a shirt, I like to leave it open. I have often popped this on top of my tshirt and left it unbuttoned, which adds to the layered look which is also a fashion winner at this time of the year. This shirt is actually over two years old and I could really be doing with investing in a new one! But I love it. As you can see the collar has cute little studs on it. Checks and shirts go great together, especially during this season. Checks will always come back. 

Say hello to my new pride and joy! This gorgeous grey, sequined jumper from Topshop, which costs £46. Everyone should stick around to appreciate the beauty of this. Like the green khaki jumper, I don't feel the need to wear a tshirt underneath this as it keeps you nice and cosy the way that it is. I tend to wear this with black skinny jeans, leather jacket and my ankle chelsea boots. I do not feel the need to accessorise with a necklace or a scarf, because i think the embellishments are gorgeous on show. 

Now for some shoe time! I have included two pairs of converse on this post. I have included my all white leather pair, even though they are not traditionally autumn - they are leather, so they are waterproof! Perfect for they cold mornings when it's frosty, then sunny in the afternoon - they wont get ruined (if you look past the fact they are all white...). I have also included my burgundy converse. I went through a phase of loving and buying anything and everything burgundy! As you can see they are a bit tatty... But i wear these all the time! Converse are unbelievably comfy to wear, great for they long university days - and match pretty much everything! I have wore the white converse with the grey embellished topshop jumper, and the burgundy converse look great with the khaki green jumper. 

Well I feel a bit cheeky including these black boots in my autumn favourites because my feet are currently covered in blisters because of them, I love them though,  and continue to wear  them...Because they look great with most autumn outfits, including leggings and skater dresses. Paired with my leather jacket you have the perfect autumn outfit. In theory they are practical too... good boots for the winter, if they didn't hurt so damn much!

 Like my boots above these shoes look great with most autumn outfits, and unlike the other boots...these are incredibly comfortable! I love chelsea boots. I bought these from River Island recently and i like the detail included on the heel of the shoe, it has a gun mental/silver band with a stud on either side of them. These are a match made in absolute heaven when you look at my topshop embellished jumper. 

Now....on to my last favourite. These aren't for the faint hearted, and I will admit, they do look a bit pyjama bottom like.... But I love this with my leather jacket, plain black top and my black ankle boots. Equally they look nice with black plimsole's... but it's not plimsole season anymore! These are super comfortable for they long university days. And easy to wear! You don't have to fuss around finding stuff to wear with it - just throw it on with a plain top and you have a great looking outfit. These are quite thick and cosy, and I wouldn't consider the print to be particularly summery, more like... autumn floral. Did I just invent a new thing? flowers aren't usually alive in the autumn! I bought these from topshop recently - although I cannot find them on the website, I believe they have a matching bomber jacket with the same material and quilted effect. I'm going to take a wild guess and say these were between £30-£40.   

Thank you so much for reading this, it has been a while since I have posted something fashion related - as I know myself i do not have the best fashion taste in the world, I'm much more into make-up and I feel more confident at it. Although if you have enjoyed my fashion posts, please do not hesitate to let me know, as I love hearing feedback. Have a fabulous Thursday! xoxoxo

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Tuggy Tips & Techniques

Many girls would long for thick, shiny, smooth hair. I have the thick hair, but in no means do i have the shiny smooth hair. In-fact, my hair is that thick, it tugs and creates knots by itself when i'm sitting doing nothing. Over the years, I have gathered advice from beauty guru's, magazines and my hairdressers. Now, my hair is much more manageable! Below, I have shared my tips and techniques for unruly thick hair. 

My hair only gets washed 3-4 times in a week. In-between washes, I use dry shampoo, which is obviously good for soaking up oil - but there is no denying the fact that this is a nightmare for thick colour treated hair in regards to tuggy-ness! (made up word for you!). I struggled with this for years until I was introduced to heaven in the form of a brush. The tangle teezer. 

Tangle Teezer

I make great use of the tangle teezer in all situations - for brushing out dry shampoo, brushing out backcombing and dry hair products such as hairspray, and i also make use of this little peace of heaven in the shower.

The tangle teezer is a paddle brush, that moulds to the shape of the hand - which makes it very easy to control. It has large "teeth" placed closely together and shining qualities. It glides through hair pain free, getting rid of all knots and tugs it comes across. 

The tangle teezer is available in boots, and this one in particular costs £10.99. It may seem like an expensive way to brush your hair - but this brush is a little bit of magic. 

L'oreal Paris Elvive Colour Protect
Deep Conditioner 

A deep conditioner is a must have for every girls haircare routine. Because I don't wash my hair often, when I do wash it I always use a deep conditioner. I shampoo my hair with L'oreal Paris Elvive Colour Protect, then go on to massage this into my hair, then brush it through with the tangle teezeer. I leave it on for 5-10 minutes, and get up to something else like shaving my legs, or washing my face, etc. I rinse off as you would with normal conditioner, ensuring that I have all of it out - and left with no oily residue! 

Why do I love this?

The main reason that I love this product is because it's colour protecting - and I think using colour protecting products on coloured hair contributes to getting smooth, tug free hair. 

This product is an inexpensive deep conditioner - retailing at £6 in drugstores. 

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