Lilac Love

Lilac Love by lamey 

Nars Eyeshadow in D Gorgeous ~ £18

Topshop Lipstick in Petal ~ £16

Topshop Nail Varnish in Parma Violet ~ £5

OCC Lip Tar in Digitalis ~ £11.95

Trish McEvoy Eyeshadow in Lilac ~ £12

Illamasqua Nail Varnish in Jomina ~ £14.50

BH Cosmetics Blush in Lilac ~ £3.60

This spring/summer, make-up is going girly, and one of the main colours that seems to be popping up is lilac. Pastels will always be big for spring, but lilac is the chosen one this year, and shades are ranging from cool lavenders to more pinker, warmer tones.  

Some people will love wearing this trend, but, for some, a bold pastel purple lip can be too much! Fortunately, there are more subtle ways that this trend can be worn, such as on your nails, or by using a lilac eyeliner under your eyes for that pop of colour. If you're not much of a girly girl, but still want to follow this trend, keep your outfit dark to contrast with the cutesy feel that this colour could create. 

Wearing lilac eyeshadow is another popular way to wear this trend. To tone it down slightly, wash a lilac colour of your choice over your lid. Then apply your bronzer or any brown colour through the crease of the eye. This will help to add depth and dimension to the look, as well as adding in more natural, earthy tones that will make the lilac less intense. Then, highlight your inner corner with a frosty colour, and apply eyeliner and smudge it slightly to soften the line. Then, add a few coats of mascara. This will create a really pretty daytime look. To add some drama add black winged eyeliner and a darker purple tone in the outer corner.

I personally love this trend, and can't wait to add a bit of colour to my daily make-up routine this spring! 

- L x

L's Pick #2 - Cut Out Ankle Boots

Boots by lamey on Polyvore

Leather Cut Out Ankle Boots - ASOS, £55

A huge trend these past few months has been cut out boots. I've seen them everywhere, in all the shops and in magazines, too. However, I never bought a pair as I didn't want a pair in black, which seemed to be all that there was, with a few exceptions. One of those exceptions were these beautiful brown cut out boots from ASOS, which I recently found. 

I firstly love the colour, as it is a very warm-toned brown, which is what I have found to suit me most. I also love the buckle detailing around the ankle, as I really do this that this makes them look more expensive and of a better quality - it's all in the details! I also like that there is a stretchy section covering part of the cutout. I think that this would help to make the shoes a lot more comfortable, in comparison to other pairs of cut out boots that I have tried on.

I really like how these boots are not chunky in anyway, as although I love all the chunky boots that have the cut outs, they don't really suit me or my style, so I am really pleased that I managed to find some that are slightly more delicate-looking. I also think that these would look even better once they've been worn a bit, as the colour of the leather gives a slight vintage feel, and them looking slightly distressed would add to this.

Do you have any cut out boots? What do you think of them?

- L x

Orange Is The New Black

Orange Is The New Black by lamey on Polyvore

Daisybutter: Faraway Spring  

PPQ SS14 - London Fashion Week Spring Summer 2014 | InStyle UK 

Spring 2014 Trend Report : The Smart Girl's Fashion Guide 

Runway Trend Report Orange Is the New Black 

Mulberry SS14 - London Fashion Week Spring Summer 2014 | InStyle UK  

Spring 2014 Trend Report : The Smart Girl's Fashion Guide 

Orange lips - Milan Fashion Week SS14: top five beauty trends - MSN... 

House of Holland SS14 - London Fashion Week Spring Summer 2014 |...

If you haven't guessed already, the on-trend colour for spring/summer 2014 is orange. 

From blood orange to amber, fashion labels such as Mulberry and House Of Holland have been

 seen sporting the colour at London Fashion Week. Over the past few weeks, I have heard 

the phrase 'orange is the new black' being thrown around in magazines and online - whether 

this be regarding makeup or clothing. Makeup-wise, the trend is to have bright orange lips.

 Topshop's 'Infrared' lipstick is an orange-red colour which would work with this trend or,

 for a subtle option, the revlon lip butter in tutti frutti would do the trick. Fashion-wise,

 orange has been used on a wide range of garments. I like this Topshop duffle bag  which would 

be great for adding extra colour to outfits. Also this wool coat from Zara in tangerine would 

be perfect for spring! 

-A x

L's Pick #1 - Gingham Aline Dress

In spring, one of my favorite colours to wear is mint/aqua. I think that is is one of the prettiest colours there is, as it's so reminiscent of the sea and the sky. When I saw this aqua gingham dress from Topshop, I instantly fell in love!

I love how the bottom and top of the dress are different - the top is white with blue squares, the bottom is blue with white squares, This creates a subtle contrast, which would help to slim the hips, as this area of the dress is darker. I think the colour would suit all skin tones, but would really bring out blue eyes.

The cut of the dress could be very flattering, as it is fitted but not tight, allowing room so that it doesn't cling to the body. It has a small cutout at the front, at waist height. I think this adds some femininity to the dress, as although it is short it is quite conservative, with a high neckline. I love the neckline, as the round shape is flattering, and the straps wouldn't widen the shoulders.

This dress could be styled in many ways. For a fancier occasion, I would team it with wedges or heals and a leather jacket. Because of the high neckline I would put my hair up. For a more casual look, I would wear shoes such as Vans or Converse, and wear either a chunky cardigan in cream or navy blue, or a denim jacket. Overall, this dress is very versatile.

I do not own many spring/summer dresses so I may have to purchase this once the weather begins to warm up! 

- L x

Baby Skin Vs. Porefessional

Maybelline recently brought out Baby Skin, a primer that is supposed to be a dupe for benefit's Porefessional. As I said I would in my January favorites, I am going to compare them in this post!

The texture of the two products is very similar, and both leave your skin feeling very smooth and soft. I would say that Baby Skin has a slightly oilier feel. Although Porefessional has a colour to it and Baby skin does not, I personally did not find this to make any difference as I use it under my foundation. One benefit to Porefessional is that it does mattify the skin more than Baby Skin, and it can be applied over make-up to get rid of shine and oil that has appeared through the day. Because of this, I would say that Porefessional is a more versatile product, but apart from this I would say they are pretty much identical.

Baby Skin is £7.99, making it much cheaper than Porefessional, which is £24.50. You get 22ml in each primer, so they both contain the same amount. The packaging of Porefessional looks much more expensive, probably because it is, and less comes out in one pump, in comparison to Baby Skin. This means less waste if you only use a tiny amount, but the amount that tends to come of Baby Skin is normally about the right amount for me anyway! Neither of them have a particular scent, which is good as generally a strong scent means that the product may be more likely to break your skin out.

I found that both helped to keep my foundation on all day, and both created a nice base to apply make-up on top of, making the skin feel 'pore-less' as they both claimed to. Overall, I do think that the quality is very similar, and that Porefessional is only slightly better as mattifies the skin more, and controls oil slightly better. If you have oily skin, it might be a better option, but I have normal/combination skin, and found both just as good as each other!

If you have a bit of extra money to splurge, I would recommend trying Porefessional, as it is an excellent primer, but Baby Skin is so much cheaper, and is almost of the same high quality, so overall I would choose it over Porefessional.

I hope you found this review helpful! Have you tired either of the primers? What did you think of them?

- L x