REVIEW: MARC JACOBS HONEY

Honey is the new addition the Marc Jacobs fragrance collection; it’s essentially a sweet fragrance, quite floral and fruity, with a hint of honey and vanilla. It’s lovely to wear on the daytime and because of its light scent, it’s perfect for Summer! The bottle is truly stunning with white polka dots all over, pearls and bee stripes; it is definitely one for the dressing table and it’s earned a special place on mine amongst my favourite fragrances!

The exciting part is that, to celebrate the launch of Honey, Marc Jacobs wants you to be a part of the buzz. They will be running a competition on Instagram, giving you the chance to win Marc Jacobs fashion and fragrance prizes by taking a photo of your favourite Honey Spots in London and uploading it to Instagram. This can be anywhere you like in London; I can’t wait to see what are your favourite spots in London.  Here’s how to enter:

HOW IT WORKS:

1. Take a picture of your #MJHONEYSPOT on Instagram

2. Tag photo with #MJHONEYSPOTS and name the location of the spot

3. Post picture and you’re automatically entered

Honey is a sunny delicious floral – happy and energetic, with a touch of the unexpected. Meet Marc Jacobs new Honey and discover #MJHONEYSPOTS at www.marcjacobsfragrances.com

My Diet Will Start Tomorrow

So I thought I would mix up the posts today by talking about my diet. Firstly,  I am the biggest offender of the classic "My diet will start tomorrow" complex, so I am determined to break that habit. I will start off by going over my current diet, what a regular week is for me and my new goals and aspirations. Hopefully this can give you some inspiration or extra motivation so that you too can be thin for Sumer and if you like it, you can try it out.  Stick around till the end because I have some exciting announcements for you!

A normal week: 

I am gluten intolerant so that is a huge factor in my diet. I can have a certain amount of gluten in my diet but if I have too much, my body reacts badly, so a lot of the time you just have to guess! So this means that I can not eat pasta and cakes and cookies etc, otherwise known as 'The fun food'. My general rule of thumb is to not eat these foods at home, on a regular basis, so that when it is a party or I am out with friends, I can indulge. It is also important to note that I LOVE Pepsi. I have about 2 glasses a day, which I know is not good and I have actively tried to cut down. I originally thought I was addicted so I planned to go two weeks without it to break the addiction, but after a week I was going really strong, so strong and not even craving it that I decided that I was not actually addicted, I just really love Pepsi. But this was helpful for me to create a good diet plan I can stick with.

This week:

This week, has been probably the worest week I have had in a long time, diet wise. As of next week, i will have complete control over my diet because of some exciting news that will reveal in a minute. So that I decided that this week i would just throw all diet plans out the window and just love life and eat whatever my little heart desires. So far that has consisted of sushi 3 times, 2 pizzas, a jar of Nutella and two packets of chocolate biscuits.

The New Plan: 

So from my extensive research from above, that my biggest diet issue is that I have no control over what is in my kitchen because I live at home and I hate going up to the shop that I would rather eat something that will make have a gluten reaction. For example Mum will have at least 3/4 oven pizzas, so I would rather eat that then going up the shop. But the exciting news is that I am starting a new job and moving out so that I am completely in control of what is in the house. I am very excited. So I created a few rules for myself to stick to.

The Rules: 

• Carbs are only once a day at dinner time
• Since I will be on the road in my new job, I should have fruit for lunch
• Eat gluten free as much as possible
• I can only have Pepsi or Coke on weekends and it wont be in the house to tempt me during the week. 
• I get to pick one 'naughty' food that I can have on the weekend. I get all week to decide which one I want for that weekend. I think its important to indulge. 

I feel like this should be relatively easy to stick to because I am a pretty healthy person normally anyway, although I am saying that with a mouth full of Nutella, so who knows! I also just want state that I am not necessary looking to loose weight, I don't have a weight problem, I am just trying to be as healthy as possible. However, I may need to loose a little bit of weight after this week! For the sake of measurable objectives, I will state that I am a size 6-8 (0-2 US sizes)   

I'll just leave this here for some extra motivation

Life updates and things to come! 

I also came up with a exercise plan to accompany this new diet plan. Which I will do a blog post and perhaps a video demonstrating how to do them because I always struggle to understand exercise instructions when they are written. 

Also, I have planned heaps of youtube videos I will now will be able to film because I will just be living with Daniel. At the moment, I live in a house with 3 other people and I don't like filming when other people are around and I don't have professional lighting. So I have to wait till the sun is out, no one is home and it isn't a day I need to wash my hair. As you can see, these don't come about too often. But on a positive note, I have convinced Daniel to film the boyfriend tag, which will be exciting, along with many other videos. I was thinking of starting a weekly video that is more ' The girl behind the blog' something like 'Fun Fridays" or "Get to know me Fridays" or something. If you have any suggestions do let me know. I wont be posting every youtube video I do on here, so if you don't want to miss anything, make sure to subscribe to that channel.

That should be it for today, sorry i know this was a long blog post, but I just had so much I had to share! Exciting things are happening and I excited to share them with you!

Blonde and Blonder: 10 Things to consider before dying your hair

Getting the perfect blonde hue can be a bit of a struggle. No matter how many photos of Carrie Underwood you flash before your stylist, there's always a 50/50 chance your hair will come out looking brassy, bleached, bright yellow, or just plain fake.

10 WHAT IS YOUR BLONDE BUDGET?

Going blonde requires maintenance. If you are going to do it, make sure you can afford the upkeep every four to 12 weeks, depending on the desired blondness and your existing natural color.

9 BE AWARE OF YOUR NATURAL LEVEL OF COLOR

Imagine hair color range to be from one to 12, one being the darkest level of black and twelve the lightest blonde. It may be a long time before you see your natural hair color again or even remember it. It is rare that anyone over the age of 16 actually has a natural level lighter than a seven.

8 BE READY TO UPGRADE AND CHANGE YOUR SHAMPOO AND CONDITIONER ROUTINE

Typically, going blonde requires higher levels of ammonia or bleaching products. You will notice a texture change in your hair that most likely will require less shampooing and more conditioning. I recommend finding a gentler sulfate free shampoo and a reconstructive treatment mask.

7 FIND A BLONDE COLOR SPECIALIST

Be on the lookout for someone whose color you admire. Approach them and inquire "Who does your color?" Don't be afraid to ask someone that same question whose color you think is hideous, so you know where not to go. If your colorist pulls out a crochet hook and a plastic cap, reschedule with someone else.

6 KNOW HOW BLONDE YOU WANT TO GO

There are many different shades of blonde to choose from. Be aware of cool and warm shades and which one compliments your skin best. Bring pictures of blondes you like (and even you don't like) to your colorist. Make sure they are realistic and not in black or white. Keep in mind, blondes will look different depending on the surrounding light.

5 BE READY FOR A MAKEUP CHANGE

Your hair color is the frame for your face. Going blonde will directly affect your current shade of lipstick, which most likely will need to change. Visit a near by make up counter directly after your blonde session and get some make up tips from someone who has never seen you before.

4 KNOW IF YOU NEED HIGHLIGHTS, A SINGLE PROCESS OR BOTH

If you are a level seven or above, you most likely can become a blonde with highlights only. Any darker and you may require a single process, even a base breaker (which is bumping up your natural color slightly one level) or both if you are a level five or lower. You will need to learn this lingo to ensure your future blonde appointments are scheduled with the appropriate time needed.

3 ASK FOR A GLAZE

After going blonde, a glaze is a non peroxide treatment with sheer shade options that help achieve that perfect blonde tone and seal in an extra four to six weeks of shine.

2 BE READY NOT TO BE TAKEN AS SERIOUSLY

Blondes are stereotyped as intellectually handicapped. Be prepared to hear some stupid blonde jokes from some idiots. But remember, sometimes it can be smart to be perceived as dumb, they don't see you coming

1 KNOW THE REASON YOU ARE GOING BLONDE

Is it because you heard blondes have more fun and you're bored. Either way, have fun with it! Hair color is the easiest thing you can do to dramatically change your appearance without going under the knife.

Blonde and Blonder: Picking the right shade

Sorry about the delay in posts for the last few weeks, I have had a lot going on that I will soon be able to tell you about, don't worry, it's all good things! 

On to todays post. With it being the middle of summer for those of you north of the equator and the tale end of winter for us south of the boarder, the biggest hair trend that is happening right now is blonde, blonde highlights and blonde tips (otherwise known as ombre). Because of this, I decided to do a new blogging series called 'blonde and blonder' going over all the different aspects of being blonde, what to consider and how to care for it etc. To kick start this series, I should focus on picking the right shade.

First thing you need to consider is your skin-tone.

According to Ludovic Audesson, senior colorist at in New York City, choosing the right blonde tone goes hand-in-hand with your skin-tone. Here are his recommendations:

Blonde hair color for light skin-tonesOpt for a golden, strawberry or light blonde. Warming up your hair with highlights can add some color and interest to your locks and your face. But because you are fairer skinned, stay away from shades that are white, ash and reddish.

Blonde hair color for medium skintonesBecause your skin has more color to it, you can add more color to your hair. A golden hue is beautiful, as is a beige-blonde or even a light blonde. Just be sure to maintain some warmer tones to match your skin. Ashy or orange-based tones will make you look washed out.

Blonde hair color for dark skintonesStick with darker blonde shades on your hair. Remember, you don’t want to move more than two shades from your natural hair color, so if you have dark skin, chances are your hair is naturally darker too. Caramel or golden highlights can be beautiful. You should avoid tones with too much white, platinum or orange because these will look unnatural with your darker skin-tone.

Next, consider your natural hair colour. 

On a scale of one to 10 with one being the darkest possible hair colour and 10 being the palest, if you’re born a natural blonde, you are a level six (dark blonde) to a level 10 (platinum blonde). If you want to change your hair color or add highlights, stick with this basic rule of thumb: Don’t go more than two levels—or shades, above or below your natural color.
Jon Furniss/WireImageReese Witherspoon

For example, a level six can go darker or lighter—to a four or an eight—because this is the most versatile shade. Levels seven to eight have the perfect scenario to add highlights or lowlights and become more of a golden, strawberry or pale blonde. If you’re a nine to 10, meaning a very light blonde, you shouldn’t use an all-over color because you don’t want to contrast your natural tones with anything too dark. If you choose to do anything, add lowlights for dimension and contrast.

Celebrities with blonde hair

When choosing the perfect blonde shade for your skintone, take your inspiration from the celebrities who do it right. Sharon Stone and Reese Witherspoon are both examples of women with fair skin who look amazing with their lighter locks. Jennifer Aniston is someone with medium skintones who pulls off her “bronde” (blonde-brunette) hue perfectly, and while Kim Kardashian has a darker skintone, her caramel highlights add a lot of depth to her long mane.
 

“Hair color is a mixture of colors,” said Van Gogh. “The darker the blonde to begin with, the more a dye will look toned down. But the lighter or whiter the blonde, the more vibrant the dye will become, so you have to be careful when choosing a shade.”

Another thing to consider when going blonde is your lifestyle, according to Ludovic. “Do you live somewhere warm where the sun is going to affect your hair color? Will you be going in the ocean or pool a lot while maintaining your color?” Those are factors that can change the tone of your hair to a less desirable shade that may no longer work with your skin.

“Being blonde can take 20 years off you and soften your face,” added Ludovic. “Consistent with the cliché, the risk is that sometimes blondes are not taken seriously, but if you pay careful attention to getting the right shade and tone, it can be powerful.”

Blonde hair can be great for summer, but make sure you get it done professionally because I do not what to be responsible when you burn all your hair off with bleach! But, as a former blonde myself, I have it on good authority that blondes do in fact have more fun so go blonde and have a great summer!!

Everything you need to know about Lip Plumper's

Recently I have been spending too much time on the Victorias Secret website and been staring a little too long at Candice's lips, so I decided that I would attempt to enhance mine to look more like hers with the use of lip plumper's. Before I make my purchase, I wanted to do my research and this is what i have found.

Since the beginning of time, women have yearned for voluptuous lips. Egyptian women used henna to colour theirs an alluring red; femme fatales in the Middle Ages used honey to enhance their kissers. Today, thanks to Angelina Jolie and Scarlett Johansson, and the best lip plumpers, lips are once again the hottest thing. Now along with artificially puffing up our chests comes a whole new niche of beauty products designed to plump up our lips.

Lip plumpers as they're called are the reason that sales of all lip products have doubled in the past year. More than 200 variations of gels, glosses, primers, treatments, and lipsticks have come on the market, each guaranteeing to make you feel more seductive and feminine. If you are one of the millions of teens craving larger, fuller, poutier lips like the models on this month's magazine covers, here are some facts you should know about the best lip plumper.


What's in them?
When the body recognizes an irritant, its natural reaction is to create swelling. Lip plumpers often use natural agents like cinnamon, ginger, peppermint, cayenne pepper, and wintergreen to act as irritants. These in turn increase blood flow to the tissues, which gets the lips to swell temporarily. Some include natural moisturizers and antioxidants like red tea to soften the tissue.


What does it feel like?
The girls we asked reported they may sting or burn when you put them on. One said it felt like she dabbed Tabasco sauce on her lips. Another compared the feeling to eating extra-spicy Buffalo wings. Is it worth it? If your goal is an evening of shiny, glossy, bee stung lips, the answer is yes. Just be aware the results are fleeting, anywhere from half an hour to an entire evening.


Tips on choosing the best lip plumper

1. Lip plumpers are over-the-counter enhancements that come without guidelines. Read a few customer reviews and ask around before you buy one that you feel is the best lip plumper. It's up to you to decide if one that burns for 20 minutes, or feels chalky, or smells like cough medicine, or feels gooey (the so-called queen of all lip plumper's includes the word venom in its name!) might be too much pain for the gain. Or you might be one of those girls who are actually reassured when their lips sting or feel tingly that the plumper is doing its job.
2. Stay away from products that list alpha-hydroxy acids and alcohols first. They may result in dried out, parched-looking lips.
3. Creamy bases, rather than gels, are kinder to your lips.
4. Don't overuse them. We know that reapplying lip gloss can be addictive, but if you reapply lip plumpers that often, you risk the uncommon side effect of developing ulcers in the corners of your lips.
5. Don't be fooled into thinking even the best lip plumpers work for a long period of time.
6. At the end of the day there are plenty of experts who insist that the best lip plumpers don't work any better than lip gloss and a pencil combined with a pinch on your lips to make them look fuller.

Daily Clear Vitamins & Extracts Review + Giveaway

The brand new Daily Clear Vitamins & Extracts range from trusted skincare brand, Clearasil, is a fruity formulation that gives you the confidence to put your best face forward every day. This latest innovation is a step change for the Clearasil brand.

Designed for women who work hard and play hard, the new wash and scrub contains fruit extracts known for their skin conditioning properties, delicate enough to be used as part of a daily skin care routine.

Formulated with Avocado Extracts and nourishing Vitamin E, glycerine for hydration, as well as Pomegranate fruit extract, an anti-oxidant known to help keep skin looking and feeling healthy, these delicious smelling products cleanse gently and do not leave your skin over dried.

Containing less salycilic acid than other Clearasil products, the Vitamins & Extracts formulas are milder - working to help maintain clear skin through a combination of nourishing fruit extracts and effective cleansing properties that help prevent breakouts.

Using these products together as part of a regular daily cleansing routine will help the skin look and feel great so women have the confidence to put their best face forward all day, every day.

In a trial conducted by Clearasil, over 74% of people said they loved the way the Daily Clear Vitamins & Extracts products made their skin look and feel; with 71% claiming that it made their skin feel clearer and healthier.

I have been lucky enough to have been asked to trial the Daily Clear Vitamins & Extracts scrub and mask.

                                                              

As a mask:
It has a plesent smell, makes me hungry for Sushi! It is preforms quite good, I believe it cleared my skin up and it did feel quite soft afterwards. However I don't believe it really goes on like a mask, the consistency seems almost too thin to be a mask. I did persevere and put a lot more on to make it more mask like but still it did not go on like many other masks I have used in the past. None the less it still preformed well and cleared up my skin.

                                                              
As a scrub
It preforms much better as a scrub, I feel like it really gets into you pores and really cleans everything out. I would suggest that this is the best method to get the most for your money.

The Giveaway
Today is my first ever give away!! TGIF! Today I’ll be giving away 5 receive a full-sized Clearasil Vitamins and Extracts Wash and Mask.

The Rules

• The giveaway will run from 1st July till 22nd July.
• You must comment on this blog post about what skin concerns they think Clearasil Vitamins and Extracts could help them with.
• Subscribe to my Youtube channel 
• Comment and like the video at the end of this blog post

Clearasil Vitamins & Extracts Daily Clear Wash and Mask RRP $10.99 – gentle enough to be used every day, while remaining effective at removing impurities and helping prevent breakouts

How to dress for your body shape: Rectangle

It's easy to make women's dress more flattering by paying attention to the woman's figure. If you have a rectangle shape, one with no curves, you can make your dress habits flatter your figure by making the right clothing choices.

• Ladies dress items like dresses, dress pants and dressy blouses can all be worn in a way that flatters a rectangle figure. The object is to create the illusion that you have larger hips than you waist and larger breasts than you do. This can be done by the cut and the color of the dress items that you choose.

• Look for items that are tailored at the waist. The shirt, jacket or dress should nip in at the waist to create the illusion that it's your figure that has the waist. The cut of the outfit should also emphasize the bust line. A shirt or dress with an empire waist will make the bust look larger and therefore the figure curvier.

• Choose brighter colors at the bust line to break up your figure and make your bust look larger. Many shirts and dresses feature extra color or styling at the top. These can help you to instantly look curvier and less like a rectangle.

What to wear?Tapered Shirts

Choose shirts that taper in at the waist instead of shirts that are loose fitting in this area. The reason for this is that the loose-fitting shirt will hide your curves and make you look rectangular or "boxy." This is the opposite of what you want to do. By choosing a shirt that tapers in at the waist, you are using your shirt to create curves. Choose shirts that have lower neckline, as opposed to the high necklines. You can also choose shirts that have decorations around the neckline to add visual interest to the neck area.
Flared or Straight-Legged Pants

Flared or Straight-Legged Pants

Wear pants that give you shape or pants that highlight the shape you already have. For example, instead of choosing a tapered pant that will cling to your rectangular shape, choose flared or straight-legged pants. By wearing a flared or straight-legged pant, you are adding shape and definition to your lower body, from the hips all the way down to your ankles.A-Line Skirts


A-Line Skirts

Stay away from straight-line skirts, since these straight lines will cause you to look rectangular. Instead, wear A-line skirts. The A-line skirt literally flares out like the shape or the letter "A." The A-line skirt will give the appearance of shape to your lower body. Try to wear skirts that stop just above or at the knees. This will allow the curvature of your calves to show.
Tapered Jackets


Tapered Jackets

Wear a jacket that tapers in at the waist. For the length of the jacket, it should stop right below the waist. If you wear a jacket that is longer, you run the risk of the jacket covering up the curves of your hips, thus giving you a rectangular shape.

Celebrities with a rectangle body type:  

Cameron Diaz, Hilary duff, Nicole Kidman and Britney Spears 

Review: Dior Amber Diamond

So I picked up the Dior Amber Diamond highlighter while I was in the states a few month ago. I had heard a lot about this product from many other bloggers and beauty guru's, I was pretty excited to test it out.

The packaging is really great. It is sturdy and you can really feel the quality. Which is good considering it is not a cheap product, RRP is at $50. It even comes with a velour pouch to store the product in.

As with most highlighters, you are supposed to put it on your cheeks, nose, brow bone//forehead and chin, all areas you wish to have more definition in. However this highlighter has a high shimmer to it, so I found that I could not put it on areas where I suffer oily skin because it makes the area too shiny. So this rules out nose, and chin and forehead. However it does look stunning when put in the right areas.

As you can see from the above picture, that the palette is made up of different shimmery bronze colours and even has the Dior name stamped into it. Unfortunately I could not swatch or demo this because the effect is too subtle for a camera to pick up on, but in real life and sunlight, the effect is stunning.

Overall, it is a good product when used correctly. It is a tad expensive but it is important to keep in mind that you only ever use a little bit of this product so it will last pretty much forever. I think that if you are looking for a high end product and you have limited funds, there is probably a product that you will get better value from then this. However if you have already got an established make up collections, the Dior Amber Diamond does make a really nice addition.