The July London Meet Up

Hello all,

On Saturday i was lucky enough to attend The July London Meet Up which was organised by the beautiful Helen, you can find her blog here. I was originally planning to go with my friend Anna, but she had to drop out due to some personal reasons, so i opted to going alone, but i met up with Bex and Lisa beforehand. It was so lovely to see Lisa again, and to finally meet Bex as we had been chatting on twitter for quite a while, it was nice to finally be able to get a real life cuddle! :)

We started to make our way down to Tiger Tiger where the event was being held. I say we "started" to make our way down, but what happened was we got lost first, then Bex's Sat nav skills were put to the test and finally i nearly pooped in my pants when a statue man thing came to life! *yes i screamed out loud in the street - No shame shown here* :)

When we arrived we were greeted by Helen and then we quickly split up to mingle around. I went and got myself a drink and then went off to try and mingle with others. I have to say this, was the most shy i have ever been at any event, so if you saw me or i saw you and didn't say Hello, the nerves kicked in full swing for this one! Sorry.

At the event i met some interesting people, there was Anna who works for Apivita, she was such a sweetheart and was telling me all about the brand and what products from them was in the goodie bags and what i could expect from them. The fact that all the products are made of natural ingredients made me even more interested and i can not wait to try the sunscreen while I'm away in the next couple of weeks, nor can i wait to try the samples! The second person i met was Bernice, who is trying to get her company Kekeli radiant skin off the ground and she's hoping that a launch date will be in October. So make sure you keep checking back there to see all the ins and outs of the company. The third and final person i met was the a lovely lady, who works for Paperself, (i think her name was Itsu) which is a brand of paper eyelashes. They were used on the incredible film "The Hunger Games" and i was super excited that we were given the chance to have some done ourselves. I sat myself on the chair and was the first to bite the bullet and get mine done, i opted for only the corners of my eyes to have them and i went for the butterfly effect. I loved the look of them, and with lots of mascara and eyeliner it is a real eye catching conversation starter. However, for a more natural daytime look i wouldn't get them done, also, even though they did stay on for the best part of 4 hours i did feel like they could literally drop off at anytime and i also felt them touch my eyebrows, but as Itsu said, i could always trim them down to a size i would prefer.

After a few hours of being at the event, the goodie bags were handed out, and boy oh boy were they jam packed with things, so much so, that you had to be careful not to drop anything out. Everyone also got a huge nail art box from the company Rio Nails, and when i say it was a huge box i am NOT exaggerating!

It was then time to go and do some shopping, everyone split into groups and went off on their own. I have to say my little group of girlie's was incred!! :) I just wish we had more of a chance to talk to each other, they were so funny and i made some good memories in London Town with them! :)
I only really needed a mascara and eyeliner, but having not found either of the ones i wanted, we bought some food from Boots instead and then made our way down to Topshop on Oxford Street to go and get snap happy in the photobooth. We managed a photo of 4 of us before we actually squeezed 6 beauty bloggers all into one tiny space! *oh yeah, the memories!*

The group then, split into just 3 of us, and we decided we would go and sit on the steps of an old church, eat our food and just generally dance around to One Direction. :) (Yes, we got some weird and odd looks from passers by). The rain finally kicked in, we had been expecting it all through out the day, so when it finally hit, we made a mad dash to the underground to get the tube home!

All in all, the day was amazing, i got to see some old faces but most importantly meet new ones, that i would love to see again. :)

I want to say a special thank you to Helen for organising it all and making sure it ran smoothly, thank you very much and a big "well done" to you, I knew you could do it, here's hoping for another one next year! ;)

I want to say a special mention to Grace, Olivia and to Kat, who i got to meet and would love to go for drinks and dinner some time, you guys were so funny, and made me feel very relaxed, i loved all of our conversations and jokes, memories were deffo made with you girls. I would also like to thank the little group of girlie's, that i got the chance to go shopping with, Ellie, Islay, April, Catherine, Lauren & Sam. You girls were so much fun to be around, i wont forget the photos, or the dancing in the street Ellie. It was also so nice to meet Lauren who bought my iPad mini from me a couple of weeks ago! :) such a good day spent with you girls.

Now onto the photos...

Myself and Islay - Photo taken by Islay herself! :)

(This photo was taken by Kat from Tales of a pale face)

(Photo was taken by Olivia from Beauty From The F Jord)

My outfit of the day.. Crop Top - Primark Trousers - Market Stall Flat White Pumps - Primark Anklet - Home made Ring - Primark Necklace - Lasula Boutique

First shot... 4 beauty bloggers in the first shot. (back row)Islay & Lauren (front row) Myself & Ellie Second shot...

6 beauty bloggers all managed to fit in this tiny booth on Oxford Street.

(back row) Catherine & April (middle row) Sam & Islay (bottom row) myself & Ellie.

And.. another group shot!
Photo taken by Itsu from Paperself! :)

As for the goodie bags, we were spoilt rotten with everything in them! So thank you to all the brands who contributed! :) My friend Lisandra came over in the evening and we had a good rummage through the bag and she took some bits and pieces for herself, so my goodie bag photo will not have all the contents that there were, as i never got round to taking photos of it before Lisandra was let loose on the bag! LOL

How amazing is all this from Rio Nails?? We were well and truly spoilt!

Ana
xx

Outfit of the day - A little Pocahontas

Hello all,

I hope you have been enjoying the weekend so far. Here in London we have had bouts of sunny weather mixed in with some topical storm weather, a few lightening bolts and some thunder and rain, oh yeah we love London weather -__-

Either way, on Friday i woke up and felt like it was a dress day, so i put on my favourite day dress and jazzed it up a little by wearing some of my boots instead of my normal sandals, and i was good to go, but the thing is, i got quite a few compliments through the day to say they liked it paired together or that i looked like Pocahontas, (which is one of my favourite Disney Princesses, just in case you were unaware). So with all the lovely compliments i got, i thought the outfit was worthy of an OOTD post! So here we are.

My dress is one of my favourites that i bought to rock between the months of Spring and Summer but due to the bad weather London had, it didn't see much sunlight, and my boots were something i was EXTREMELY happy to purchase, and i almost wish i had bought a few more in case these get ruined! They even have eagle wings on the back so it reminds me even more of Pocahontas! :)

My whole outfit was so basic and simple, all very neutral colours and yet it drew alot of peoples attention, so i thought why not post about it. Even my make up was very minimal, as i was only going food shopping but to be fair, it was one of my favourite outfits that i have worn during this Summer month so far!

Dress - TK MAXX

Boots - ALDO

What do you think of my outfit?
What have you been wearing lately!?
Ana
xx

Now is good

Picture Source

Today i wanted to do a little post on a book i finished reading last week. The book is Now is good and its based on a Novel by Jenny Downham staring Dakota Fanning called Before i die.

The plot is of a 16 year old girl called Tessa who has cancer, and is close to her death, so she makes a list of everything she wants to do with her life before her time is up. This list includes things like, "have sex", "steal", "do drugs" and my personal favourite "say yes to everything for the entire day" among others. The main focus is around the fact, that while trying to complete her list with her best friend, she actually finds real love, and then the troubles of being in love with someone who is dying.

I will be honest, i read the book first and then watched the film, and i will be honest and say i bought the book a good year or so ago, and just haven't been to keen to read it. When i did first read it, it took me about 2 days to maybe get a good feel for it and have that feeling of not wanting to put it down. Within the first few chapters, you do understand what Tessa is going through to some extent and do generally feel sorry for her, you get the sense that she is lonely, lost and confused but you also get a sense of an annoying girl. There were times when i was reading the book when i thought, "omg shes doing it again" she is very indecisive and wants things but then doesn't, she thinks that because she is dying she doesn't need to have respect for her parents and she feels like she can generally do whatever she pleases and it wont affect anyone, all that put together annoyed me a little. However, once you get over that stage of the book, its actually a really good read, and i couldn't put it down. The more you read about it and what cancer can do to someone the more you hate it and wish there was a cure as its just too unfair to have in this world.

When the book finished it was really sad, and there was a lot of quotes i took away from the story but mostly i took away that life is precious, life is fragile and life is short, so you have to be happy with everything you do and you have to enjoy yourself to the fullest.

I then, decided to watch the film, staring Dakota Fanning as Tessa and Jeremy Irvine as Adam. I fell in love with the story all over again, its a true gritty drama type film, with no holds barred, its set in England so lots of British accents to go around. It truly shows us how cancer changes you, not just your appearance but your whole persona. Dakota was amazing in this film and she really made my heart swell, as for Jeremy, i hadn't really heard of him as an actor before but after this film i deffo added him to the list of hot guys to drool over. There were times while watching the film that i thought "who needs an Edward Cullen when you have an Adam" LOL.

Overall, i was pleasantly surprised with the book and the film, i would deffo recommend them to any, my only advice would be, stick with the book, i know Tessa seems like a bit of a bitch at times, but you do grow to love her!

Have you read this book before? or seen the film?
Ana
xx

Oriflame Eyebrow Kit Review

Firstly Hello all, and wow, its been ages, it actually feels like a lifetime since i last posted. Work has been pretty manic and as its nearly the end of term (2 days to go, not that I'm counting or anything) we have been mad busy trying to get everything ready!

I am back today however, with a post about a make up brand that not a lot of people may have heard about, but a brand that has been around for years, over 40 years in fact. It sells in more than 60 countries worldwide, but the base of it is founded in Sweden. I'm talking about a make up brand called Oriflame! You can find out more information about Oriflame by clicking here.

I was unaware of this brand until i attended the Scarlett London meet up a few weeks back, (read about the post here.) There i met the lovely Joanne who was representing Oriflame, i got a chance to sit down with her and ask her some questions based on the brand, she was really helpful and managed to answer all the questions i had, she also asked me to sample some of the make up she had bought along with her. I tried and swatched some of the blushes and i also had a go at their eyebrow kit, as it looked pretty impressive. I always fill my eyebrows in with an eyebrow pencil, but i have recently been wanting to branch out and try a powder, so the Oriflame eyebrow kit appealed to me!

During the meet up, Joanne asked us to write down any products we were willing to test and would like to sample. I wrote down a blusher i had grown fond of and the brow kit. A few days after the event i received the products plus a catalogue so i was able to see some of their other products.

Its been a few weeks since i first started using the brand and it has quickly made its way into my everyday make up look, its now permanently in my make up bag and it has even made its way into my Travel make up kit, which i will be doing a post on before i go away in less than 2 weeks! :)

The packaging on this kit is very sleek, with a shiny black finish, it has a little mirror for you to apply on the go, as well as a hidden compartment underneath the product for you to store your brushes, PERFECT! It also comes equipped with a little chart that explains how the shape of your eyebrows should be and where to start from and finish.

This brow kit is actually a dream to use too, i use the Dark Shade 1, but you can totally mix the two browns to create the correct shade, i am yet to use the setting wax over the brows as i just don't see the need for it, and as for the brushes, even though they do work well enough, i always prefer a full size brush instead of the little travel brushes so i have opted to use the Eco Tools Angled Eye Liner brush and found that it does the job perfectly. The product lasts all day for me, i literally put it on at 7:30am and by 6pm its still in tack and in place, its not too dark to make the eyebrows look tattooed on (Nothing worse, then those tattoo brows that look drawn in like a colouring book), in fact the shades are very subtle. Even in this heat its lasted through out. I am actually in love with this product and it has fully converted me from a eyebrow pencil girl to a powder girl.

You can purchase the Eyebrow kit from the Oriflame website located here and its priced at £7.95. I know that this is a product i will be re-purchasing as i love the finished look it gives me.

Have you tried anything from Oriflame?

(p.s, Keep a look out for the Oriflame Blusher review coming soon).

Ana

xx

Deborah Milano Lipstick Review

Hello all,

I feel like I'm so behind on some of my posts, but i also know that when i have some free time to do some blogging i choose to read a book or something. At the moment I'm currently into the book "Before i die" (meh, i will do a little review of how it turns out).

Anyway, on to today's post. LIPSTICKS.
I think a girl can never have enough, lipsticks and mascaras. I also think they don't have to be designer pieces of make up to be amazing, high street ones work just as well.
I was contacted by the people at Deborah Milano to see f i wanted to try and test a lipstick of theirs, they allowed me to choose the shade i wanted and they told me if they didn't have it in stock they would send over one that was almost the same. I emailed them with the shade of my choice and then waited. I received my package so quickly and to be fair its been in my house waiting for a review for way longer then i first expected.

The colour i got wasn't the one i asked for, but i was aware of that as the colour i wanted was no longer in stock as i had been emailed about it. I got sent Shade 7 Rossetto Shinecreator (which was the tester lipstick, they wanted me to test) and they were kind enough to include another lipstick which was shade 532 Ilrossetto. They also sent a little card with the shade of the colour i received, however, i received Shade 7 and the piece of card had Shade 8 Fuchsia Bolero written over it. I, didn't receive that shade so cant review it! Sorry.

Shade 7 Rossetto Shinecreator                                                                           Shade 532 Ilrossetto

(Didn't receive this shade)

Lets start with the one i was sent to review Shade 7 Rossetto Shinecreator, to me when i first got it i fell in love with the packaging, it was red and quite a fat tube, once opened, its a thin tube of lipstick and the lipstick had the Deborah Milano Logo on it which i thought added that little extra bit. I did however think that the colour was like so many of my other lipsticks, but i wanted to give it a fair try. It applies quite easily and smooth, it does however feel every thick once on the lips, almost like when you are wearing lip gloss, (which is something i hate, and its the main reason i don't wear gloss). I liked the look it gave me in photos but i just felt like it was one of those lipsticks that i wont go grabbing purposely for, but will reach for it when in a rush and want a reddish type colour. (It just didn't wow me, like i was hoping)

The second one Shade 532 Ilrossetto was a bright pink colour, the kind of colour i avoid buying in the shops, as it reminds me of barbie make up which in turn reminds me of the make up sets you buy for kids on Christmas. The packaging was a little less plain than the other lipstick, and it made it have the feel of a cheaper lipstick. Again this lipstick applied easy enough and smoothly, and this one didn't make my lips feel all clumpy or weighed down, in fact, this lipstick felt a little moisturising on the lips and once it was fully applied properly i preferred the colour much more. Even though this lipstick had the feel of a cheaper lipstick, its still the one i would want to grab when I'm looking for a light subtle pink.

Overall, both shades are pretty and cute, but the main lipstick i was sent felt far too caked on and almost like lip gloss, wheres the second one felt a little lighter. Both are good coloured lipsticks but they are not my go to lipsticks of choice. I would recommend going on the Deborah Milano website as there are lots of different types of lipsticks to test, not just shinecreators but also Matt ones too. I am thinking of going back to the website and having another browse, as maybe the shinecreator just didn't agree with me, but i may find a slightly cheaper one in a different shade to the barbie pink that does agree with me. Also, did i mention its not just lipsticks that the website has but stuff for your eyes, face, nails and even a whole men's section. Why not go check it out and see what you think!

Have you ever tried any Deborah Milano products!?

Ana

xx

The London Bloggers Party

Hello my lovelies,

On Saturday, i met up with the beautiful Anna from Anna Rozanska. Together we were off to The London Bloggers Party. After a little confusion with where the actual event was taking place and trying our best to avoid the rustle and bustle of PRIDE, we made our way to Hanover Square to Dirty Martini. Me and Anna were eager to go in, but not before filling our tummies, as i hadn't even had breakfast that morning, we quickly found a MacDonald's and then went to Hanover Square park and ate in there. It was so nice to finally catch up with Anna, I've known her for years but we don't see each other often, as i live in London and she is based in Sheffield, so it was lovely to spend a bright sunny Saturday Afternoon with her (Even if her feet were killing her because she decided to be all glamorous and wear heels the entire day) :P

After our brief lunch we made our way to Dirty Martini, and were checked off the guest list and then made our way down to a basement type room, it was a long and spacious  place and there was an open bar plus lots of seating areas. We were welcomed instantly by Scarlett who told us to try the new "Scarlett London Martini" that they were kind enough to make for us bloggers. We took our seats and i got a chance to catch up with Rachel, who i had previously met at the Bloggers Lunch which was also organised by Scarlett, you can read about that post here.

As quickly as the room was empty with only the early bird bloggers, it got extremely full quite too. Suddenly the room became quite warm and loud and everything became a bit of a bustle to move about in. Mostly because us girls all decided to stay in one section of the area, and no one really wanted to venture out from that space, we didn't want to seem like the unsocial one! Haha, i got to meet so many youtubers, and bloggers that i have watched, listened to, read, and just generally loved and i was so excited to be able to collect new business cards (as well as finally give mine out) of bloggers i had never seen or met before. It was also lovely to finally put faces to names etc. Although i will be honest, there was so many that i was like, "i recognise her, but I'm not sure on her URL or her twitter name! :| Ops."

My Outfit of the Day..

Coral Boyfriend Blazer - Primark (old)

Black Trousers - Market Stall

Shoes - Primark (old)

Blouse - Matalan

Necklace - Lasula

Bag - Boutique in Newcastle (But most people thought it was Mulberry, so I'll go with that ;))

Watch - Vintage Market Stall

Max, thought he would take a picture of me, so i captured one of him too..

These were the only shots i managed to capture, as the whole event took its toll on me and all i wanted to do was mingle with everyone else and make new friends.

Now time for some photos, from Scarlett London's blog, and all thanks to her boyfriend Max who can be seen in the photo above.

(Max's photo)

Overall, it was a lovely event, even if it seemed a little hectic at times, and a little crowded it was lovely to see so many new faces and catch up with some old ones! :)

It was lovely to finally meet Islaay (I-LA), Fenetta & Tanya as i have been speaking to them for a while now. It was also lovely to see so many other bloggers and i only wish i had more time to chat to each and every one of them.. Ashleigh, Joelle, Ellie, Ellie, Jess, Sophia, Lucia, Shay, Georgina, Kimberley, Becky, Lorna, & Christina. Until next time girls, i hope we get a chance to chat some more.. :) aaannnddd, Ashleigh, me and you need to meet up more often, you are just too funny!! :) haha

I want to say a massive thank you to Scarlett, for organising this opportunity for us to get to know each other a little bit better, i cant imagine how much hard work goes into doing something like this, i always look at the scale of these things and think WOW! So thank you so much for taking the time to organise it, you rocked it and did an amazing job! :) Also thank you so much for organising a little goodie bag for all of us to leave with, it has some amazing things in (but I'm saving the goodie bag for another post) I'm super excited to try the hair oil among other things!

Also present at the event was..
Search Laboratory, who gave us goodies bag which included a book full of SEO tips. After talking to the girls about it a little, i was really intrigued and excited to get stuck in to reading the book.
Quiz Clothing, which also provided us with a goodie bag, with an amazing voucher for 70% off clothes, have you seen some of Quiz's clothes?, I'm super excited to spend this.
Cloud Nine Hair, which i didn't actually get a chance to get round too, this saddened me, as i am always desperately on the look out for new hair care products that can tame my messy hair!
and finally,
Oriflame, which is a make up brand trying to break the UK market. We got to chat to the girls for a little about the brand, we got to sample some of the goodies and then we were allowed to jot down which products we would love to test and try out, i HAD to put my name down for the eyebrow kits, as it just looked amazing! I'm super excited for those products to arrive too!

So all in all, The London Bloggers Party was way too much fun, if i missed your name out I'm super sorry, there was so many of you lovelies to get through, but if we did chat drop me a little comment below. It was lovely to meet everyone and I'm super excited to make my way through all those business cards i got, plus to start using and testing some of the goodies i got in my goodie bags!

Did you attend The London Bloggers Party?!
Ana
xx