Lashtastic!

I hadn’t heard of this brand before, but I’m glad I have now! If you’re a regular reader of my blog then you’ll know I am a bit of a lash addict, and have tried so many mascaras I’ve lost count!

The Lashem Double Trouble mascara ($19.99) has two different brushes depending on the look you want to go for. One end is for volume, and one for length. The ‘length’ wand is lovely for a natural daytime look, while volume provides more drama. I use them together for evening make-up and the results are amazing! Excuse the strange picture of my eyes looking crossed, but you can see the before and after shot using both wands!

 Another great mascara that uses the same ‘technology’ is Rimmel’s Day 2 Night (£7.99) – very similar results but with this one the ‘daytime’ wand on this one gives a bit more length. Lashem feels slightly more ‘luxury’ when applying – but I’d definitely recommend either! 

Spring/summer 2013 trends: Beauty

A little round up of my favourite beauty trends for this season:

Perfect pouts

The statement lip is stronger than ever this season, and in a myriad of colours. From neon coral shades at Missoni, to tangerine vinyl-shine lips at Moschino and matte orange at Paul Smith, this is one colour I just LOVE for summer. Try Lord & Berry Vogue lipstick in Mandarino (£9.95) for a long wearing, matte finish.

Moschino

Lord & Berry Mandarino

Another of my personal favourite brights to wear is a hot fuchsia - this is a colour I always go for when I want to brighten up an outfit in more of a 'fun' way than a classic red lip. Giles showed this look off beautifully with models wearing nothing else but a slick of mascara to keep the lips the focus. As I've mentioned before, Sisley's Hydrating Long Lasting Lipstick is the best I've tried colour wise, and I love how long-lasting it is too.

Giles

Sisley

For those of you who like to stick with the classic red pout, fear not - this was another strong lip seen across the catwalks, most notably Prada and Jason Wu who offered up pillar-box red pouts in a matte finish. The best lippy for this look is Mac's Ruby Woo (£12.50) - every girl who loves a red lip should have this in their make-up bag, it really does last without extra application, and the retro matte finish is so different to anything else out there. Because of this finish I find it works really well as a red to wear in the day, somehow the matte just seems slightly more casual than a glossy, slick pout. One watch out though - the formula is VERY dry to achieve the look, so some may find it uncomfortable to apply. A slight dab of Carmex on the lips is all you need to aid application though.

Prada

Mac Ruby Woo

Blue beauty

First thought when talking about blue eye make-up is either Barbie, or experimenting as a teenager, and both of these aren't something I'd like to repeat! Three of the hottest blue looks I saw were Jean-Pierre Braganza's take on the cat eye, Michael Kors floating aqua liner, and Dior's amazing peacock-hue studded with Schwarovski crystals.

Jean-Pierre Braganza

Michael Kors

Dior

Perhaps not the easiest trend to pull off, and to be honest I haven't tried many blue products to be able to recommend, but these are all interesting ways to work this trend and keep the rest of the make-up simple. 

Nude and natural

Although bright colours always work beautifully for summer, one trend that cropped up a lot on the SS13 catwalks was nude nails. Don't think of nude as just one colour though, there's a whole variety of shades to choose from! 

Pinky pastel shades were seen at Fendi and Derek Lam, and my favourite polish in this hue has to be OPI My Very First Knockwurst, a gorgeous pink nude which isn't too 'girly' and delicate. 

Fendi

OPI My Very First Knockwurst

   



















Over at Todd Lynn and Zac Posen, nail technicians mixed and matched beige shades to models' skin tones - be careful with beiges though as these can be tricky to wear; paler skins should go for light beiges while darker tones can wear a deeper beige shade and a matte top coat adds a cool twist to beige.  Models Own have a great range of beige shades, a fab all-rounder is Nude Beige (£5) and suits all.

Todd Lynn

Models Own Nude Beige

NOTD

The weather has taken a turn for the worst so I've gone back to winter nails! I do love a grey nail, and it doesn't get much better than Nails Inc in shade The Thames.

NOTD

Apologies for the dodgy photo but this is the fab and funky Ciate in Ditch the Heels. I LOVE it! Usually wear it on my toes but thought I'd switch it up a bit!

NOTD

I ADORE this colour - the amazing neon Notting Hill Gate from Nails Inc. Neon is a huge trend this season and I'm looking forward to embracing it!