Behind the Lens: Beauty Shoot

I am reaching the end of my time at university (not sure if I'm happy or sad about this) and this means that I'm nearing the end of my role as Fashion & Beauty Editor of my university's student magazine Platform. With that said, with the help of my deputy editor, I put together a beauty shoot for our final edition as a team.

Make-up isn't something that I ever used to consider myself to be particularly interested or knowledgeable in, it isn't until I start talking to somebody that I realise 'Hey I like talking about this stuff!' Hence an earlier post on what's in my make up bag that you can read here.

And photo shoots are so much fun that it was great to combine the two. It's so easy not to get involved in things at university but it's so so easy to get involved and its full of amazing opportunities so why not take advantage?!

Anyway, what I'd really like to talk about is the beauty shoot.

I decided on a simple concept of Spring looks for 2014 so orange lips, pin up, cat eyes and glitter and a dewy barely there look. All of which worked beautifully on model (and deputy editor Louisa). I was also lucky enough to be sent over an Eye of Horus eyeliner to be used in the shoot (more on that little beauty later).

Once we had the studio, photographer (A very very talented second year, you can see more of his work here), make up artist and model organised we were ready to go. It wasn't without stress as we are all students and most of us are in our final years it was a bit of a balancing act getting everybody in the same place at the same time but, we got organised! And I was so so happy with the final looks.

For any one whose curious, here's how it appeared in the magazine:

Just a really quick post before I run off and cook my dinner and get back to doing uni work (a lot less fun that writing about make up and pretty things). More on the final looks next time!

xoxo

Short Hair, Don't Care

Actually I do care, quite a lot!!! I've been meaning to write a post like this for a while now and as I've had my hair cut this week I thought no time like the present. Once again I've been neglecting my blog, sadly, in favour of third year uni work. Sigh.

Anyway! Over the last year I've come to terms with some simple facts: I look better with short hair. Long hair does not suit my teeny little face. So, I thought I'd share with you my hair journey over the last year or so. 

I've had my hair really short in the past and then at the end of my first year of uni I decided (partly because I couldn't afford the regular trims that short hair requires) that I would grow out my hair and on occasion it behaved quite well: 

Most of the girls in my family are graced with lovely long hair, my mum, my sister even my seven year old cousin. But even when I was little I had short hair– so short that in some of my baby pictures I look like a boy in a dress. The trouble is that I love love love reeeeally long hair, waist length but mine would get just past my shoulders and set up camp. 

So, I conceded that I would be stuck with shoulder length tresses so I thought I'd at least get it styled;

I was really happy with this cut for about a two days and then I was bored. So about four weeks later I decided to just give in and go back to what I know: A bob, slightly graduated and longer at the front.

This trusty cut kept me happy for a good few months and even as my hair grew longer I knew not to fall into my old habits of letting it grow out and having to over style it. So this week I went and got a short bob cut back in and although I would have preferred it a teeeeeny bit longer at the front I'm happy, that's just me being fussy! 

I'm sure my style will change but I think I've finally realised that, hey it's okay if long hair isn't my thing!

Bit of a different post today so please do let me know what you think (Apologies for all the shameless selfies) Until next time! xoxo

They Eat And They Drink: A Little Trip To Thailand

As mentioned in my last post it was indeed my birthday yesterday and as it fell on a Sunday this year my boyfriend and I decided to go out for a lovely meal and drinks (lots of drinks, that's my excuse for the not great pictures!) on Saturday night. I chose a little place that I've been dying to try called Thailand No1 in Nottingham's Lace Market after hearing lots of good things about it from my housemate (you can read her blog post on it here). 

The restaurant has a lovely atmosphere and I didn't feel at all out of place in my fairly dressy birthday outfit, we were seated by the window which is fine by me as I love a good people watching session! The staff are all so lovely and our extremely cute waitress even explained what some of the words on the menu meant, I was also struck at how accommodating they were for our special dietary needs. Everything on the menu is clearly labelled if it is vegetarian, gluten free or contains nuts making order a hell of a lot simpler!

We both decided on the Tom Yam soup, a hot and sour clear soup with lemongrass, chilli and coriander. I went for the mushroom option and Jack went for the king prawn and mushroom variety. The soup was a great dish to start really delicious despite packing quite a punch in the spice department!

For mains we both went for curries, I love love love Thai curries so it really wasn't much of a decision for me! But in the end I decided on the Gaeng Pha which is a spicy jungle curry with Thai spices and mixed vegetables, again this was definitely spicier than I'm used to but it was super tasty all the same especially along with the sticky coconut rice we ordered. Jack went for the Thai green curry with duck and it smelt absolutely perfect. I had a sneaky taste of the sauce and it was perfection. 

Shamefully we were both too full to finish our main courses but obviously found some room in our dessert tummies for something a little sweet to finish the night off with! The boy ordered us a shot of Baileys each along with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and warm banana in a coconut sauce, this was the perfect end to a lovely meal, the Baileys was smooth and the banana was so creamy and rich with the coconut and the ice cream off set all of this keeping it light and delicious. 

I would also like to mention the wine. I have recently become partial to a glass of rose here and there, but I went for a Thai classic rose on Saturday night and needless to say it was excellent as I polished off the entire bottle. It went great with the food, possibly a little too great judging by my sore head the next morning!

Thai food is most definitely a favourite of mine, I much prefer it to Chinese which I find can be quite heavy and greasy at times, and aside from my own mums excellent curries not much bets a Thai curry, be it red, green or jungle.

xoxo

She Eats: Italiano

February is a very exciting month, my birthday, mine and my boyfriends anniversary (three years on Monday!) and Valentines day. So we decided to take advantage of Zizzi's offer of a free bottle of Prosecco and a free main course last night. 

I've always been a big fan of Italian food and Zizzis especially, my only complaint is how often they change their menus! I always have something absolutely amazing and then return to find that it's no longer available, sigh. Anyway we throughly enjoyed our meal and they really do well to accommodate for everyone as I'm vegetarian and Jack requires a gluten free dish we both came home with very full tummies indeed!

I started off with Arancini which is risotto balls with mozzarella and peas coated with breadcrumbs and served with a tomato pepperonata dip. A great dish to start, they were so crisp on the outside and full of flavour on the inside and the dip complimented them perfectly. We also shared a  portion of olives and both concluded that the giant nocellara olives are delicious but the purple olives taste like cheap wine. You win some, you lose some. 

For our main I went for the simple Spaghetti Pomodoro E Bufala which is simply tomato spaghetti with mozzarella, I drizzled it with some chilli oil from the table and devoured it. Sometimes the simplest of dishes are the tastiest. This did need a tiny bit of seasoning and I would have liked a little more mozzarella but it was lovely just the same. 

Across the table my man friend ordered the Risotto Di Pesce which consisted of king prawns, mussels and squid rings in a tomato, chilli and white wine risotto. From how quickly it disappeared I can only assume that it was delicious (I asked and true to form the boy simply replied 'Yeah, it was nice' he's a man of few words). 

I was pretty much bursting at the seams after my pasta but theres always room for dessert! We both went for the Chocolate Melt which is a delicious oozy chocolate (and gluten free, I've never seen the boy look so happy when he realised he could actually eat this) cake served with vanilla gelato. This was amazing, really rich and scrumptious I could have done with a tiny bit more gelato to accompany the warm chocolatey cake. Jack also decided on a Baileys coffee, I had a quick swig and it was lush. Real creamy and rich, thumbs up from us! All in all a great way to finish off the meal.

What's your favourite Italian? 

xoxo

She Wears (She Wishes!)...

I haven't blogged in far too long and my excuse can be that I've been leading a very dull life lately... I'm in my final six months of being a student so hopefully this time next I won't still be living on such a tight budget! One thing that I am actually rather excited about is my upcoming 21st birthday which has lead me to window shop online lusting after all these beautiful things that I can't afford. So I thought I'd share my pain with you all, here are some pieces that have stolen my heart...

1., 2., 3., 4., 5., 6., 7., 8.

1. Topshop £60. I am not a bag person, I am a shoe person. I much prefer slipping on a gorgeous new pair of shoes than using a new bag for the first time, so it takes a special bag to make me lust after it. That my friends it this Topshop leather and croc effect suede bag. I love the slouchy look and the fact that it has long and short straps.

2. Topshop £46. I'm a sucker for foral dresses and I love this monochrome version, love the little cut outs at the shoulders. Great for nice little evening out for dinner or drinks.

3. Topshop £40. My housemate and I have been practically salivating over these leather shorts since September. You've probably seen them in store so I won't go into telling you how incredible they are.

4.&7. Olivia Burton £85/ £125. I haven't been a huge fan of this rose gold trend if I'm honest but it was love at first sight when I saw both these watches. The black is sophisticated enough for evening wear but would make a great statement for during the day. And the white is just lovely, simple and elegant. I can't choose between them!

5. Missguided £40. I spotted this jumpsuit on a fellow course mate at a Christmas party and I keep opening it up on my browser and then somehow I resist the urge to just buy it! I just worry that it'd swamp my tiny frame, but the blue is just beautiful and the draping and all the sexy straps makes it a great outfit for nighttime. 

6. Topshop £48. It's been a long time since I left my chunky heels behind in favour or strappy little sandals but these really caught my eye, I love the combination of textures and their simplicity.

8. Topshop £32. I am yet to find a skort that I really really love but this slightly different take on the trend is a winner in my book, the sexy slit is just enough to take this little number from dinner to dance floor.

She Eats Burgers: Carnaby Burger Co.

This Saturday was a day of firsts. My first visit to the IMAX in London (The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug was amazing) and it was also the first time I'd ever eaten at this lovely little burger restaurant near Carnaby Street called Carnaby Burger Co., which is what I really want to talk about. 

As a vegetarian family whenever we go out and fancy some comfort food in the shape of a burger we tend to stuck with one of two options: a sad portobello mushroom or a drier than sawdust bean burger. So it was a very pleasant surprise to see so many interesting vegetarian options on the menu. 

There was the usual vegetarian section of the menu but they also highlighted where a vegetarian substitution could be made. Even better the menu was full of gluten free options so needless to say I'll be taking the boyfriend.

Firstly I want to say how quick the service was, we'd just chowed down on our starter of nachos when our mains arrived.

I decided upon the Quorn Chicken, Mushroom and Swiss burger and fries. To quote the menu it was; a sautéed portobello mushroom, fried onions, melted Emmental cheese with peppercorn sauce (this was seriously delicious).

It goes without saying that we all left with very happy tums! All us vegetarians and meat eaters were satisfied - I distinctly remember my sisters boyfriend describing his burger as 'perfect' and my sister was ready to eat her falafel burger all over again.

The season of stuffing your face has most certainly begun! Have a great Christmas everyone!!! xoxo 

Santa Baby...

It's been over a month since my last post and that simply will not do! I'm not one for excuses but being a poor student has meant that there have been very few fashion or beauty purchases as of late. BUT a girl can dream and that's exactly what this post is about; dreaming, more specifically, dreaming about Christmas jumpers. From the tacky to the tasteful to the downright ridiculous, I love them all!

With December 25th just ten sleeps away there's still plenty of time to nab yourself a festive knit whatever your tastes. Here are some of my personal favourites;

L-R Boohoo, New Look, ASOS, Topshop, River Island

1. My all time favourite Christmas jumper! The berry red makes this one a little less tacky, but let's face it, any jumper with a huge slogan is gonna be tack-tastic. Who cares, it's Christmas! You can get this one for a bargain £15 from Boohoo.com.

2. This ones a little less garish but equally adorable, for those of you who don't need any help getting into the Christmas spirit and just wanna show your excitement! A little more than the previous knit at £27.99.

3. I love love love this jumper from ASOS, it's so cute and the traditional print is a lot more understated which, by my estimations, means you can definitely get away with wearing this right up till February! Making the £35 price tag all the more worth it.

4. Now I personally really like Topshop's Christmas jumper offering; The oversized holly motif would put even Ebenezer Scrooge in the holiday spirit! This one comes in at £50.

5. As far as the tacky jumpers go, this one is my number one. It's got everything: red and green, Christmas trees, a cute 'Under the Mistletoe' Slogan and an element of fairisle print! You can still order on in time for Christmas from River Island for £35.

The great thing about Christmas jumpers is that even the most fashion forward of us will embrace the ugly, the tacky and the bloody amazing, comfy, cozy knits to celebrate the holiday season! Team with a pair of jeans, killer boots and you're good to go :)

Until next time ;) xoxo