How To: Style Short Hair

 HI THERE ! Want to know how to recreate this messy mop? Read on! 

Last week I went to the hair dresser and got more than a couple of inches cut off, I wasn't exactly Rapunzel or anything, my hair was just below the shoulder but to us girls even an inch of hair from the "split ends" can be traumatic (why is it so hard to part with it?). I know I definitely leave that trip to the hair dressers to the very last minute, when my hair just takes the form of a monster on my head and no hair straightener, serum, brush, clips and bits can rule the beast. Okay I think I might by slightly over doing it here, but when my hair gets that unruly and stubborn, I do tend to talk about it as if another creature stuck to my head. The day before I went to the hair dresser I started to slightly panic as I didn't know what I wanted. I started looking for photos to bring with me, as my francais isn't exactly fluent, I wasn't taking any risks! Here's what I found and thought, to hell with it, chop the beast off!

I brought this photo in with me to the hairdresser from the latest edition of Glamour magazine, love the super cute heart dress too, unfortunately it doesn't come with the hair cut *sigh*. Although the model in this photo is stunningly beautiful, I think this hair cut would suit a lot of people. If your hair has a natural kink and you're looking for something easy to maintain, then I think this could be for you too. I love how this hair cut is just to the jawline as it really shows of the neck in a pretty, feminine way. I also love how long earrings get showed off a little more too with this cut. It's a win win situation.

More onto the point though, how to style this look? well it's super easy! If your into big hair with lots of volume then look no further.

At the moment my hair routine consists of the Herbal Essences Tousle Me Softly shampoo and conditioner and after the shower I put in a large pump of the L'oreal Kérastase Elixir Ultime serum (that's a mouthful!) that my sister gave me to try out (it smells beautiful and leaves hair soft but not weighed down, thanks Anna!). And then I only half blow dry my hair, leaving it a little to dry naturally.

I then use my Remington hair straighteners to put a loose curl in my hair, they are so old now but they get the job done, so I can't complain! I work my way from the very back to the front pieces of hair throughout each layer.

I always curl my hair in layers, it's a lot easier to do as I always miss pieces of hair in the back if I don't. I lightly spray my hair with the Toni & Guy Firm Hold hairspray as I do each layer, making sure the curl doesn't drop too much along the way. 

When I'm finished curling all of my hair I gently pull my fingers through, teasing the curls apart to give a more natural wave. Finally I rub the roots of my hair with my fingers to give extra volume and give a final spritz of hairspray.

I normally would just leave my hair like this, leaving those wavy curls bouncy and wild, but for more of a sophisticated look I like to twist a little piece of my hair from the front, on the side where my fringe doesn't fall and pin it back with a clip, like the flower one below.

I don' know why I'm stretching my neck out like a giraffe, but I told you guys I can't pose!

Gotta love a blurry photo! never know what the iphone shots are gonna give ya.

And there we go, that's my how to style short hair! Let me know if you guys find this helpful in anyway or if you have any suggestions for me on how you style your short hair, I love reading all your lovely comments :) Also if you have any hair products you think I should try out, please tell me! I'm always up for new things to try.

See you soon beauties! 

Nars Andy Warhol Flowers Tutorial

Hey everyone! 

Here is the super easy Nars Andy Warhol Flowers palette tutorial that I promised on Wednesday after my review on this product, and I'm a woman of my word! I hope you like it :) (please excuse my brows)

My eyes haven't been primed just foundation has been applied all over the lid. You can do this look before you do your foundation as there is some fallout along the way (I use my foundation brush to brush away any fallout). I always do my foundation first out of habit though, its just how I roll! I used only one standard eyeshadow brush for this look, I always see the professionals using multiple brushes for blending and what-not but it really wasn't difficult just using the one.

So let's get down to business! First I have applied the pink champagne colour all over the lid, patting it onto the centre of my lid and then blending it out along the socket line of my eye and as my guide I stop blending just about where my eyebrow ends.

Then I take a very small amount of the dark brown colour of the palette onto the brush, you can always go more intense later if it's not enough. I place the brush onto the outer part of my eye, gently bringing this colour about three quarters of the way in. But not to the very corner of my eye, I want to keep this part of the eye nice and bright. I then bring it under the eye just about half way along the lash line. Keep blending these two colours until there are no harsh lines.

Dark brown

dark brown and champagne blended

This is the part I love, applying the beautiful purple grey shadow as it makes this eye make-up a little more interesting than a bronze eye look. The grey detail on the top fades once you start to use this colour and you're left with the purple grey colour underneath. I blend this colour directly on top of that dark brown shadow and bring it slightly higher towards the brow and again under the eye. 

Purple/Grey

champagne, dark brown and purple grey blended

We're nearly done! Making sure there is no purple left on the brush (I use the back of my hand to take off any excess colour from the brush) take a small amount of the white eyeshadow and brush it along the brow bone just to add a beautiful highlight . I take a little bit more of the white and add it to the inner corner to brighten that area and just underneath the eye to where the purple and brown end to make it seamless. 

white

champagne, dark brown, purple grey and white highlight

Give those lashes a lick of mascara and hey presto! you're done! you could make this look more intense by adding a black eye pencil to the water line or a liquid or gel liner along the upper lash line, the worlds your oyster! I hope this wasn't to hard to follow and if you try this out with this palette or with similar colours of your own, please leave a link because I would love to see :) 

Finished look!

Sorry for the poorly lit photo, I didn't know whether to include a full face picture of the look and I took this picture later in the day so I didn't have any natural light. But you can kind of see how it looks with the rest of the makeup. I didn't do anything special with the rest of my make-up, I wore the Bourjois lipgloss I talked about in the natural everyday look post and a rose nude/nude pink blush in the colour 125 which is very subtle by L'oreal which is just called "Le Blush" and comes with a little brush to apply, very handy!

"ALL IS PRETTY" Quote from Andy Warhol on the mirror of the palette


Don't forget to leave all your links below so I can check out all your lovely blogs :) You can find this Andy Warhol Flowers Palette in Sephora here.



See you soon!

Katie xxx

Easy Everyday Make-up Routine

Hey everyone! As I promised, this is the start of Friday tutorials! To start with I thought I'd do something I know best, my everyday make-up look, it's super quick and easy, no need for hundreds of brushes or 5 different eye shadows. This look is simple, natural and it get's me through those days when I don't totally want to scare people in the street when I go bare face. This look is just to bring out your natural beauty instead of masking it :)

no make-up, argh!

Nivea Visage Day Cream for sensitive skin

It felt a little scary to put a picture up of myself with no make-up, but then I realized its not such a big deal. Every girl feels the same way, and there's nothing to feel bad about. Beauty comes from the kind things we do for others, and it's not measured in the amount of make-up I have on. I know that sounds a bit cheesy but I really do believe that. So lets embrace the naked face! You're all beautiful ladies :)

Sephora Eyebrow pencil in 01 blonde and Sephora foundation brush

 This is one of the two brushes I use in this look, I bought it from Sephora and it's their own line of brushes. I have to say I absolutely love it, it might lose a hair now and then, but it's really soft against the skin and buffs in foundation lovely. As you can see I start in the centre of my face and I apply a pump on the back of my hand, sometimes two, and work my way from the centre to the hairline and jaw line so I'm not left with ny harsh edges.

Bourjois brush concealer in beige

Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum in number 52

Here I've hidden those sexy under eye circles with Bourjois Healthy Mix brush concealer and tapped gently with my finger to blend. Next I fill in my brows, I havn't quite perfected them yet, and I desperately need an eyebrow palette because I'm currently using an eyebrow pencil and it's not exactly the right colour for me. So this is what I do for now to fill in places of my brows which are lighter than other parts. http://marthadoesmakeup.com/ has a great post on this, and has beautiful eyebrows herself so I'd really reccomend popping over there if your in need of some eyebrows help like me!

Rimmel Glam Eyes in 130 Tribute

I have then used my rimmel Glam Eyes all over the lid in this beautiful colour, it's a bronze colour with a purple under tone to it so it's beautiful for green and blue eyes. It's been in my make-up bag for so long and I totally forgot about it, then I popped it on one day and now I'm in love all over again! I used just a normal eye shadow brush that I bought from the Gallerie La Fayette, so any eye shadow brush is good for this. I lay the colour in the centre and outer part of my lid and then I gently blended it into the inner corner and up into the socket of my eye. 

Lancome Hypnose Doll Eyes mascara

 I use Lancome Doll eyes masacara to really open up my eyes and lengthen my lashes without clumping. The brush is just perfect! check out my January favourites where I mentioned this amazing product.

Maybelline Dream Touch blush number 05

Before I apply the lipgloss I take the tiniest dab of blush on my finger,  apply it to the apples of my cheeks and then blend slightly upwards onto the cheekbone, if I think it's too much I use a finger with no product and blend a bit more until I have achieved a soft flushed look on the cheeks. (sorry I forgot to take a picture of this stage, forgive me!)

Rimmel Stay Matte Powder and Bourjois Powder Brush

 I then go on to powder the centre of my face with Rimmels stay Matte powder with my powder brush by Bourjois. I love this powder, it does'nt leave any cakey effect to your foundation but keeps the places you want matte all day long!

Bourjois 3D Effect lip gloss in number 51

Swatches of Maybelline Touch Blush and Bourjois 3D effect lipgloss 

Swatch of Rimmel Glam Eyes in 130 Tribute

This lip gloss by bourjois is really subtle and pretty for everyday wear. It does have a slightly sticky feeling to it, but its so glossy I just love it anyway and it only has the slightest pink pigment running through it so I think it's just so flattering on the lips.

And thats it! Easy as that! It's almost a no make-up make-up look, just a fresh and awake look for day to day. You can add your favourite product for lips with a more colour if you prefer than an almost total nude lip or you can just wear a yummy lip balm which I do most of the time! Hope you enjoyed this look. I'd love to know what are your everyday go-to products so please leave a comment! And if you have done an everyday make-up post I'd love to see so leave all your lovely blog links below!

Hope you have a great weekend everyone :)   See you soon!

Katie xox