Rizzle Kicks

Hey Dolls,

Just a quick catch up - How are you all? Last night, I went to see Breaking Dawn at Midnight.  Honestly, I didn't have high hopes, I was really let down by Eclipse but I LOVED breaking dawn! It made me laugh, cry and had me on the edge of my seat for the half of the film! If you've been with me since the beginning, you don't need to ask but fo shoooo I'm TEAM JACOB (and have been since first reading the books) Can't wait to hear what everyone else thinks - make sure to tweet me your thoughts!

I had some of my favourite girls round before hand to watch New Moon (since I hated Eclipse and it's taps aff more for Taylor) and we ended up looking like reject members of Rizzle Kicks...

I'm spending my Saturday night (as I do every Saturday) at the Breahead Arena watching the Braehead Clan...any other ice hockey fans in the beauty world? Honestly, if you're in Glasgow and are looking for a different way to spend your Saturday evening, get your bums down to the hockey! It's SO exciting, there's cheap beer and lots of handsome men to perv over ;) Just now, the team are doing amazingly well fundraising for Movemeber - there are some rather marvelous tashes on display! I've arranged a huge work night out to go to the hockey and am slowly introducing everyone I know to how amazing the game is...here's a photo of my friend Clare and I at a game a couple of weeks ago...

Nick and I are busy planning our annual trip to Disneyland for our birthday's in February - I think I've managed to persuade him to stay in the park this time - we've only ever travelled in from staying in Paris before...if you've stayed in the park, any hotel recommendations would be much appreciated! Hopefully we could manage to fit in at least one day in Paris - it's such a beautiful city and I always feel after leaving that I've missed out on doing about 47464249 different things!

I was supposed to be seeing Friendly Fires tonight, however it's been rescheduled as Ed's not well - boo! Instead, I'm going to sit in my onesie and watch lots of Disney films while planning our trip away! Tangled has quickly become one of my favourite Disney films ever - as soon as I heard that Alan Menken was doing the music I knew I would love it!

Have a good weekend beauties!

Love Nicola

xx

Inspiration

Hey Dolls,

I went to have dinner with my family last night, and as we were sitting munching on the most amazing millionaire shortcake, I realised I was wearing the same type of pearl earrings as my mum.  When I pointed this out, I then noticed my Gran was also wearing a smaller version of the same earrings! This got me thinking about inspiration.  When developing a sense of personal style, do we look to those around us for inspiration?

This is how I looked last night.  When I was 17, I went through a skinny, barely their, round eyebrow phase.  I repeatedly laughed at my Mum's larger, arched brow shape, constantly telling her she needed some tweezers in her life.  Six years on, and our eyebrows are pretty much identical.  Also, for as long as I can remember, my mum has lined her upper lid with black eyeshadow.  Whilst I prefer gel liner, I can't help but feel my love for winged liner comes from my mum. 

I suppose it makes sense that I am influenced by my mum's beauty style without realising it. She was the first person I ever observed putting on make up.  However, I feel I gain inspiration from lots of different places.  I can't help it, I love everything about the Kardashian's style - dark hair, dark eyes, blazers, blouses and blush.

In recent years, blogging has influenced my enormously.  Daily I am able to open my dashboard and read so many amazing posts that can't help but inspire.  It is how you incorporate these influences into an ever evolving sense of style that I find so interesting! If ever I'm ever feeling a little lost fashion or make up wise, some of my favourite bloggers to turn to include Alex, Tiffany, Zara and Laura. 

I would love to know who inspires you?

Love Nicola

xx

House of Mouse

Hey Dolls

The coolest  mouse around...I ♥ Minnie.

Nicola
xxx

Goodbye Undereye Circles

Hey Dolls,

I have never been particularly bothered by undereye circles until recently - they now seem to grow darker the older I get.  When I asked on twitter which products people recommended me to try and combat my dark circles, Bobbi Brown seemed to come out top.  I'm not quite sure why, but Bobbi Brown has never been a company that has interested me much.  However, I am now officially a convert! 

With the exception of my Japonesque concealer brush (Am I the last to know that Japonesque is available in Boots?), my entire undereye routine is composed of Bobbi Brown products - the hydrating eye cream as a base, the corrector in bisque and the creamy concealer in Natural. 

The hydrating eye cream is one of the nicest eye creams I have ever used.  It looks quite heavy in the pot, however it feels light on the skin and absorbs quickly, leaving behind a smooth velvet-like base for my concealer.  Importantly, it is quite a basic cream, it won't make any differences to how your dark circles look and has no anti-aging properties, which for me, makes it perfect for day wear (I prefer my Origins Perfect World for eyes at night).  Concealer application is so much smoother used over this cream and I've found it helps to stop my concealer slipping throughout the day!

I then use the corrector in bisque which cancels out the blue/pink tones of my undereye circles. I think this has been the key to combatting my dark shadows - the product is extremely creamy and a little goes a long way.  On me, it's a touch too pink toned however, when used in conjunction with the creamy concealer in Natural, it's the perfect match! The concealer is thick but not as creamy as the corrector and covers any imperfections perfectly, lasting all day.  

BEFORE

 AFTER

The middle picture demonstrates the amount of product I use, I apply the most in the darkest areas defore pulling and blending the corrector/concealer out to the rest of my undereye area.

Are there any Bobbi Brown products that you recommend?

Nicola 

xx