Monday 28 January 2013

Make It Highstreet | Screen Actor's Guild Award 2013

I have decided that whilst there is someone as flawless and beautiful as Anne Hathaway in existence I may as well just go into hibernation. Last night she rocked the SAG Awards in a stunning black, Giambattisa Valli gown. With minimal styling (apart from a classic red lip) and a lush pair of Jimmy Choo's - Anne has got this awards malarky down to a tee! I was pleasantly surprised by most of the dresses at the SAG Awards, there weren't really any that disgusted me just some I wasn't so sure about. But first, the good! Nina Dobrev took a leaf out of Lea Michele's book in a hot pink Elie Saab dress which highlighted her crazily skinny frame. Lea Michele also went for hot pink in Valentino, for me personally the length was a bit long and almost aged her but the colour is great on her! Amanda Seyfried looked just as stunning as her Les Mis co-star in a navy Zac Posen strapless gown, I loved the jewellery she wore with this very old school Hollywood. And can I just take a moment to mention my new style crush, Marion Cotillard who went for another slightly out of the box dress this time by Dior and of course looked stunning! I love the dresses she wears to these events she always looks so different and memorable!
As I said there weren't many dresses I detested really just some I wasn't totally sure of. Naya Rivera opted for a sheer paneled Donna Karan dress. Whilst it could have been totally sexy, for some reason it just fell a little short of the mark for me. Leather gowns also featured highly with Jane Lynch (I can't find out who this dress was by) and Julia Bowen in Johanna Johnson, all over leather is never the most flattering look and these ladies are no different. On a last note, I wasn't a fan of Sofia Vegara's make up, a bit too heavy, but the Donna Karan dress and $1 million worth of Neil Lane jewellery more than made up for it...
Anne Hathaway stuns in Giambattista Valli / Cut Out Dip Dress, New Look, £28

Kaley Cuoco in Romona Keveza / Lace Skater Dress,  boohoo.com, £20
Mayim Bialik / Cobalt Lace Dress, Miss Selfridge, £25
Maria Menounos wears Randi Rahms / Cowl Back Midi, Asos, £28

Friday 25 January 2013

Make It Highstreet | National Television Awards

It is certainly not the classiest award ceremony of the season and is more likely to attract reality stars that Hollywood ones - but beggars can't be choosers and I am never one to turn down a red carpet. Just because it's not the most prestigious ceremony doesn't mean there weren't some stunning dresses on display! Nicole Scherzinger brought the vava voom by totally disobeying the 'boobs or bum' rule in a low, thigh split black beauty! Tess Daly and Holly Willoughby repped it for yummy mummys everywhere with Tess wearing a floor-length red lace number and Holly flaunting her 'assets' in a black dress which I NEED in my wardrobe soon... However, as is tradition, there were some misses. TOWIE's Lucy Mecklenburgh and Big Fat Gypsy Wedding star Cheyenne Pidgley seemed to be dressed for some kind of cheap prom. I love sequins as much as the next girl but Lucy's navy number was just too much. Also, I have a real problem with Caroline Flack's choices at award ceremonies, I don't think she dresses right for her age at all - her floral dress was really nice but the cut was very similar to Ella Henderson's, who is 17 years her junior, not the right dress for her. I'm undecided about Tulisa's dress, whilst she looked pretty in it, the material looks a bit 'cheap' and the colour made her look a tad orange (although good on her for rocking the spanx)

Nicole Scherzinger / Cut-out Maxi, Asos, £36
Tulisa Contostavlos / Cream Chiffon Maxi Dress, New Look, £49.99
Gemma Collins / Tassle Chiffon Dress, Boohoo.com, £20
Tess Daly / Red Lace Dress, Dorothy Perkins, £30

Monday 21 January 2013

DIY Lace/Dabbed Nails



So I recently saw a tutorial for this on YouTube...I'm not totally sure if I like the effect. Right now I think it looks a bit messy and I kinda wish I'd chosen different colours but you live and learn eh? The idea of these is it's meant to make your nails look like there's lace on them or that they've been dabbed in a vaguely impressionism-esque way. So here's how I did it...(I am aware that these photos are shocking quality - sorry)

Monday 14 January 2013

My 2012 Make-Up Favourites

In the year just gone I made a conscious effort to invest in better, more effective make-up rather than drowning in heaps of cheap lipsticks which I never use. So it's much easier for me to decide on my favourite products of 2012 because in truth I didn't buy that many...


I recently bought myself Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer in Fair. I bought it mainly because of the huge amount of hype I've heard about it on YouTube and it definitely lives up to it! Before this I used a concealer which was really hard to blend. This one on the other hand blends beautifully and is a great match for my skin, plus it's a total steal at £3ish... Another skin product I've been loving is Rimmel Clear Complexion Clarifying Powder in Transparent. I really wanted a matt powder but I was a bit nervous about ending up with that orange dust so this was a right find! It's transparent so matches your foundation beautifully. I've been applying this with a E.L.F Total Face Brush which is a great blending brush! I use it to apply powder but also just to even out my foundation etc. and it works brilliantly!  I love E.L.F brushes - they feel professional and soft and are really reasonably priced!
Rimmel Clear Complexion Powder, Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection concealer, E.L.F Total Face Brush, Primark Crackle Nail Polish, Chit Chat Juicy Lipstick, Bourjois Liner Stylo
There's been a big trend for nail art this season but considering I am a fiendish nail biter I didn't want to invest in super expensive stuff. I opted for Primark just so I could test the waters, for £3 I got a base coat, crackle coat and top coat! They work brilliantly and the top coat is so useful for brightening up other colours! Another product I cannot stop singing the praises of is Bourjois Liner Stylo in Noir. I love a good kohl eyeliner and this is the best one I've tried. It lasts all day which is often a problem with pencil liners and gives a really good dark colour - the only slight problem I have is with the packaging which is really easy to break if you're as heavy handed as me...

When I said I was investing in good-quality, slightly more expensive make-up I may have told a slight white lie! One of my favourite lip products this year was Chit Chat Juicy Lipstick in Damson. It offers a really vibrant pink colour which is extremely long lasting - enough to rival the Clinque Chubby Stick or Revlon Just Bitten! And the best part is it's from Poundland's make up range and cost £1! Ah-mah-zing!

So what have your favourite products of 2012 been? Anything to recommend? What should I try in 2013?

Make It Highstreet | Golden Globes 2013

So Golden Globes were last night and there really were a lot of big names on show! As with the People's Choice Awards there were some dresses I adored and some that fell a little flat (I'm looking at you Miss. Sienna Miller). I've always liked Lea Michele's style but I think with her excellent choice for the People's Choice Awards and the stunning white Ellie Saab dress she wore for the GG she's really coming into her own style! Jennifer Garner, Zooey Deschanel and Claire Danes co-ordinated with the red carpet gloriously in red gowns by Vivienne Westwood, Oscar de la Renta and Versace. Winner and my favourite actress ever Anne Hathaway looked amazing in classic white Chanel (and the short hair is stunning...I love it even if she doesn't)
There were some misses of course. Lucy Lui looked swamped by her Carolina Herrera gown; too much pattern, too much dress, too much everything! I could see where Kelly Osbourne was going with her Zac Posen fishtail gown but it didn't really do it for me. And Sienna Miller...I can't even look you in the eye that Erdem dress is one of the most hideous dresses I've ever seen, an example of how to make a gorgeous woman look beyond awful!

On a sidenote, Adele I am begging you please stop wearing the same black dress! We all know it looks great but please invest in some Burgundy or Dark Green!!!

Claire Danes wearing Versace, Halter Dress from Asos £40


Tina Fey wears L'ren Scott, Lipsy Lace Dress from Asos £55


Marion Cotillard in Dior, Talia split-side Maxi from Boohoo.com £20

Rachel Weisz wearing Louis Vuitton, Taya Dress by Topshop £20

Make It Highstreet | People's Choice Awards 2013

Award's are coming! Award's are coming! I'm so excited - I love a good awards season! The season crashed into action with the People's Choice Awards and it was certainly very glam! I sometimes worry about this award, it's voted for by the public and I sometimes wonder if really it's just a big battle of the fandoms but I was pleasantly surprised by the turn out of some big stars as well as the regulars to Trending Topics. There were some beautiful dresses on show, Heidi Klum showed off her figure in a sliced Julien McDonald gown and Lea Michele looked positively radiant in a neon pink Ellie Saab mini. There were the classic faux-pas as usual. For me the two worst looks of the night belonged to Katy Perry and Jennifer Aniston - a surprise considering what seasoned award attendees they are. They both dressed badly for their age, Jennifer took a step out of her comfort zone and went for a Dior leather mini. It just felt forced, a good dress but wrong for her. Katy Perry also stepped away from her norm in a Valentino dress, again I felt it was wrong for her age, too frumpy not the fun we're used to from the inventor of the whipped cream bra...

Now whilst we can't all get away with baring all a la Taylor Swift there were some lovely dresses on show and inspiration could definitely be found. Here's a few highstreet dupes of some of the dresses that were on the red carpet last night for us mere mortals to enjoy...
L-R Heidi Klum wearing Julien McDonald,  Ria Embellished Neck Maxi from BooHoo £15.00
L-R Katy Perry wearing Valentino, Anias Dress by Annie Green from Topshop £45.00

L-R Jennifer Aniston wearing Dior, Oasis cut-out leather dress, Asos, £115.50

L-R Naomi Watts wearing Alexander McQueen, Lisa Sequin and Chiffon Maxi from Boohoo, £15.00

Sunday 13 January 2013

Slut Shaming - that is SO 2012...

Recently one of my friends moved back to America, before she left she wrote me a letter in which she said I was very "confident in who I am and what I like". Having opinions is something I pride myself on and as long as you're not insisting you're right and shoving them in everyone's faces I don't see what's wrong with them - so it was only a matter of time before I wrote a much more opinionated post on here.

Feminism has recently become a rather large aspect of my life. This doesn't mean I'm out there beating up men purely because of their chromosomes but it does mean that everyday sexism is starting to grate on me A LOT! And recently the thing that has been annoying me the most is 'slut-shaming'. Slut-shaming is the act of calling out women as 'sluts', 'whores' or 'hoes' simply because of how the dress or how they spend their past time. I first noticed it's massive presence when the "Hey Girls..." meme started popping up on my Facebook every three minutes. Girls with webcams telling me to put my boobs away, wear less make-up or shut my legs. These aren't girls I know, just random girls who think that having a Tumblr account somehow puts them in a position to condemn other women. The meme was first started by a girl on Tumblr named Sabrina and although she deleted the picture very quickly once something's on the internet it's there forever. It wasn't long until thousands of other micro-bloggers picked up on it and it became a major feature on my Dashboard.

Monday 7 January 2013

Review | Maybelline Fit Me Foundation

I recently signed up for the Maybelline newsletters. This was probably one of the biggest mistakes I've ever made because now I get monthly emails reminding me of all the lovely make-up that I can not afford. Pair that with the fact that I am an absolute sucker for press-release drivvle and it was only a matter of time til I bought Maybelline Fit Me Foundation.