Smashbox On Location event

On Friday I attended the Smashbox UK launch, tucked away in a small venue down a side road in Mayfair, London. I am already a huge fan of Smashbox, having bought their palettes and primers in Sephora when over in the US, so I was excited for their launch in Boots stores nationwide, and even more excited for the launch event!

The venue was packed out with DJs, makeup and hair stations, photo booths, and of course the latest Smashbox products

The instagram wall! Any photos of the event uploaded to instagram with the hashtag SmashboxLondon, appeared on the giant instagram wall. Me and the makeup girls are top left!

Probably the most fun to be had was in the photo booths, free for anyone to go in and pull stupid faces to their hearts content

We were reluctant on the offer of a balloon on the way out, until we realised there was a sample-sized mascara inside, how cute!

Freebies included DKNY sample perfume, 500 points voucher for Smashbox at Boots, Vita Coco coconut water, Pop chips (Which were possibly the most delicious crisps ever), and a Smashbox photo holder.

The best part had to be the amazing amount of free makeup, including a full size Halo Highlighting Wand, travel-size Photo Finish primer, Smashbox mirror, sample-sized Full Exposure Mascara, a full-sized Lip Enhancing Gloss and a Try It Kit (Containing Photo Finish primer, Photo Finish lid primer, Hyperlash mascara, Lip Enhancing gloss and Limitless eye-liner).

Despite not sticking around for long, it was a great event, followed by us all excitedly rummaging through our tote to look at our freebies over a Starbucks. Hopefully there will be a lot more of these to come over the next two or three years in London.



What do you think of Smashbox Cosmetics? Would you like me to review the products I received? Let me know!

London Calling

My new London home at The Costume Store

Brought some film favourites with me

My beloved makeup, photography and fashion books, and most recent Elle/Stylist magazines

Used Muji acrylic storage and pots to create a personal makeup station at my desk!

My new Inglot Zuca Pro-Artist case fit's perfectly under the desk, a separate post on the case is to come shortly 

Stopped by Selfridges after a job interview, and was in awe of the weird and wonderful Louis Vuitton displays

Purchased the amazing Hunger magazine, and MAC mineralize eyeshadow in Young Punk

Dolled up for my first night out in London

I finally made the move to London on Saturday, and it has been crazy non-stop since then! Today is the first day i've been able to sit down and chill out which is bliss! The week has been spent unpacking and settling in to my new home, meeting a ton of new people and neighbours, running around London for job interviews and squeezing in a bit of shopping in between.

It is still very surreal living here, with places like Oxford Street and Covent Garden 15 minutes away on the tube, but i'm sure once I start my course at LCF, I will get into the routine of things and everything will feel a bit more normal!

Tomorrow I'll be attending a Smashbox Cosmetics event in Mayfair, and will be going to London Fashion Weekend on Sunday, so I'll be sure to do a post on both in the coming days.

Finally, I'd like to thank you all for the lovely comments I've been receiving, it hasn't even been a month since I first started this blog, so I wasn't expecting anything at all yet! So thank you x

Photo Diary 01

I apologise for the lack of makeup posts, I've been so busy prior to moving, as you can probably tell!
I've been back and forth to London for various job interviews, and my last week at home has been spent with family and my boyfriend, making last minute purchases and packing. It all still doesn't feel real!


Hope your week hasn't been as hectic as mine!

Rankin presents; Caroline Saulnier teaser

For those who were wondering what I was fussing over in my last post, here's a teaser of the book from HungerTV. I've admired her for a while now, such an incredible artist, just my style of work.
Also worth checking out some other HungerTV videos if you get the chance.











Let me know what you think!

Weekend Wishlist #01

1. MAC Pro Acrylics - As I'm going back in to studying I couldn't get a professional pro card earlier this year, so had to endure the wait until this month for my student one to come through. I've been itching to buy a few of these for a while now, and I think they will be my first purchase with my card, along with a couple brushes.

2. Jeffrey Campbell Martini slippers - I have been on the lookout for some studded flats, but looking round the high street they've all appeared a bit cheap, especially considering the prices of some of them *cough* Topshop *cough*. I saw these beauties in Office, tried them on, perfect. Looked at the £130 price tag, and cried inside as I put them back on the shelf. These will be staying on the wishlist, cry.

3. Zara Shopper Basket - First saw the brown version of this bag on the arm of a blogger and thought it looked pretty expensive, so when I saw it was from Zara I was straight on the website. Fell for the berry version straight away, perfect colour for the coming autumn/winter months, and somehow reminded me a little of McQueen. Had the email today to tell me it was back in stock, so I've snapped it up quick, love it.

4. Metal Cuff, Anna Dello Russo for H&M - Saw this in my October Elle High-Street Edit and couldn't find it anywhere on the Internet. So if the picture quality's poor it's because I took this straight out the magazine and edited it. I absolutely love this cuff, but I have a feeling I'll have to grab it pretty quick if I want it. At £34.99 it's a steal, it looks like it's worth at least triple the price.

5. Rankin Presents; Caroline Saulnier - The third in the series of Rankin's beauty books, the former two with Alex Box and Ayami Nishimura. The book isn't released until the 13th of this month, and an exhibition showcasing the images to be shown at Rankin's Annroy Gallery from the 15th. I'll no doubt be going to the exhibition before it goes to Los Angeles once I've settled in to my new London home, and decide whether to purchase the book after. But with Rankin being my favourite photographer, and Saulnier the amazing artist she is, I think there's no question I'll be buying this.

6. Mango Peter Pan Top - I love the embellished collar on this top, and with various interviews coming up this month, I think it would be perfect. Will definitely be needing to try this one on first, the arms on this with my tall, slim frame could leave me looking a bit boy-ish, do not want. This is also £34.99, not bad at all!




In case you haven't heard of Caroline Saulnier before and want to know what I'm fussing over, I'll stick the teaser video for the book in another post!

20% off everything at Motel

I am now part of Motel street team! Whether you're looking for a new dress, tops, shorts, jewellery, bags, or even eyelure lashes and models own nail polish, you can get 20% off your order using my exclusive discount code at motelrocks.com!

Don't worry if you're waiting until payday, because the discount code will be placed in the links section on my sidebar from now on.




Happy shopping!

Preview MAC Office Hours A/W12 Collection

'She’s a glamorous go-getter with a real head for business and beauty who loves M·A·C Pro Longwear — advanced products that set the standard for enduring colour. With a base of SPF 10 Foundation and Concealer, Pro Longwear Blush lasts for eight hours with a weightless, bright natural finish. Creamy-smooth Pro Longwear Eye Shadow in new soft and dramatic colours brings superior depth and dimension, and Pro Longwear Lipglass shines from Persistent Peach to Everlasting Nude'


I love the promo images! I'm not big on the insane amount of pink, but the images grabbed my attention almost immediately. And what girl wouldn't want her desk full of cute stationary and MAC? As you've probably guessed, all products are in the collection are Pro Longwear, and all are mostly neutral colours. Perfect for a working day.

PRO Longwear Blush

First Row L-R : Stay By Me, Baby Don't Go, Rosy Outlook, Stay Pretty
Second Row L-R : Blush All Day, Whole Lotta Love, Eternal Sun, Stubborn

PRO Longwear Eyeshadow

First Row L-R : Every Ivory, Bloom On, Always Sunny
Second Row L-R : Uninterrupted, Endless Passion, More Amour
Third Row L-R : Mauveless, Fashion Fix, Linger Softly

PRO Longwear Lipglass

L-R : Everlasting Nude, Patience Please, Long Love Love, Next Fad,
Persistent Peach, Boundlessly Beige,  Driven By Love, Forever Rose

I will admit I'm not fond of the product names, but I do love this collection. It's released September 13th in the US/Canada, so I'm guessing it will hit the UK end of September-October time.



What's your verdict; Hit or miss? Is there anything in particular you have your eye on?

New id Cosmetics i-kiss Ultra Long Wear Lip Colour

Up until a week ago, I wasn't a huge fan of T.K.MAXX (Or T.J.MAXX, for those in the US). And by 'not a huge fan', I mean I avoided the place completely, nothing appealed to me less than a messy store, filled with crap no-one in their right mind would buy. That was until I was persuaded by my mom to go have a look at the beauty section, as she said they had some decent haircare/skincare and make-up brands. I was pretty sceptical about what my mom meant by 'decent', but thought I'd have a quick look. Immediately I spotted products by TIGI, Essie, O.P.I, Nails INC, NYX, ELF, Calvin Klein beauty and Fake Bake amongst other brands, and as I noticed the discounted prices on them all, I had a bit of a shopping frenzy.
I brought home a haul of products; a Cala bamboo brush set, Monu facial scrub, Fake Bake body butter, Nails INC trio set, New <id lip trio and ELF mineral foundation and brush set.
So I have since started a little love affair with T.K.MAXX. The rest of the store is still avoided, so I'd say it's more of a love/hate relationship..
I'll save the post on the complete haul for another day, but for now I'll focus on the lip trio purchased;

The set includes three of their lip colours, French Rose, Antique Rose, and Raspberry Rose. Each pencil retails at £13 on their website, but I got all three for £12.99. A massive saving of £26! I've never purchased anything from New <id cosmetics before, the brand had never really interested me. However, the offer was too great to pass up, so it was worth giving them a try.

From L-R : French Rose, Antique Rose, Raspberry Rose

On my hand, the pencils glided on smoothly, and one swipe was all it took to produce a high-pigmented swatch. So far so good..
When it came to my lips, I instantly felt how drying they were. It felt awful and looked awful, I hadn't even filled in my lips fully before i had to grab a makeup wipe and rub it all off again.
Before writing it off completely, I applied some Burt's Bees balm as a primer, and had another go. This time it applied better, but it wasn't long until it started sucking all moisture out of my lips and looked awful again.
When it came time to remove the swatches from my hand, I ran my hand under the tap and rubbed, it would.not.budge. I took a makeup wipe to it and rubbed...nothing. I ended up having to scrub my skin with the makeup wipe until my hand was red raw, lovely. At least we know it's definitely long-wearing!

This product was such a disappointment. It's a huge shame, as the colours are really pretty. For now they'll be put in my professional makeup kit, as I'm sure they'll be useful for shoots that don't require the colour to be on for long.
So I think it's back to not having an interest in New <id Cosmetics, unless something comes along that will prove me otherwise. But I'm a stubborn girl when it comes to product quality, sorry <id!


Has anyone here tried these or a similar product, what were your thoughts?

This is it!

This is the month where everything kicks off for me, and it's come around that quickly that I'm not ready for it!

Vogue's Fashion Night Out

Thursday I'm attending Vogue's Fashions Night Out, with an invite in hand to my favourite designer's flagship store, Alexander McQueen. So excited!

The Costume Store

Next Saturday I will finally be making the move to London, to my accommodation at The Costume Store. The brand new accommodation was built on the old BBC costume store, not too far away from the BBC television studios themselves, hence the unusual name. They have even built us some makeup rooms, lighted mirrors and all, so we only have to go downstairs if we want to practise and experiment for projects/shoots, amazing.

London Fashion Weekend

The weekend after I'll be attending London Fashion Weekend. Despite not being able to afford anything due to the expensive list of things I've had to purchase for uni, I can't resist the chance to drool over new collections and grab the exclusive Mulberry show bags, packed with goodies. I'm only human..

London College of Fashion

Then I'll be starting my course! The thing I have been working up to for nearly 4 years now, and I have no idea what to expect!

Welcome to London indeed!

I have so much to sort out and not enough time to do it in, so I'm very stressed and panicked at the moment. I'm sure it will be worth it though.

Is anyone here attending any LFW events?