Product Hype!

Di Palomo- Wild Fig & Grape Hand and Nail Cream

This hand cream is the epitome of luxury; its gorgeously scented cream, giving hints of fig and grape is one of my absolute favourites. Stuffed full on natural goodness, such as Grapeseed Oil, Olive Oil and Fig Fruit Extract, it is rich in vitamins which when applied to your hands and nails, will leave them smooth and soft, and smelling divine.

I love using this hand cream wherever I go, and always have a bottle in my handbag. Whenever I am giving myself a mini manicure, I love nourishing my hands before I repaint my nails, so after I take off the previous colour and my nails feel particularly dry, I treat them so this wonderful smelling and my hands are instantly hydrated and soft, ready for a burst of nail colour.

The packaging for this product is lovely as well, encapsulating the chic Italian style that inspires the brand. The product is particularly perfumed but is such a nice, enriching scent that you may be caught throughout the day unintentionally smelling your hands due to their gorgeous aroma.

The brand make all their products in England but are inspired by all things Italian, the scents, the style, the quality; making them a locally sourced but exotically inspired beauty company.

Check out Di Palomo’s website for a full view of all their products-

http://www.dipalomo.com/

Wild Fig and Grape Hand & Nail Cream- £7.00

Laura, x

Wednesday Woman of Inspiration!

Adele!

Well, 2011 definitely Adele’s year! The 23-year-old singer from London shot up the charts with her sophomore album 21, with the album hitting number one in 26 countries!

But not only is she a wonderful singer that pours her heart and soul into her music, she is also one of the funniest, charming and down to earth icons in the modern music industry today. I have watched numerous clips on Youtube of ‘Adele’s funniest moments’ and she makes me laugh so much by how completely genuine and real she is.

I also love how she feels like she doesn’t have to conform to the ‘plastic Barbie image’ of today’s celebrity perception and that she has stayed true to herself.

I truly think she is a beautiful woman, both inside and out, and for that reason I have chosen her as my Wednesday Woman of Inspiration.

I love the way she presents herself, with her vintage, yet simple eye make up and those gorgeous hair of hers. I adore her fashion sense too! Is there anything Adele doesn’t master?

Although she has announced she plans to rest awhile before starting her third album, I can’t wait to see what Adele stuns the world with next!

The painting is Acrylic paint on cardboard and shows my painting style which is quite expressive.

Laura, x

Barry M Nail Varnish

Now as you can see in my picture, I do quite like Barry M nail varnish...

Apart from the gorgeous, bright pop colour range they have, I love the bottle shape, the consistency of the varnish and just the brand as a whole.

I first started collecting Barry M nail varnishes last year, and it wasn’t an intentional thing really, I just found if I had a few spare coins in my purse or enough points on my Boots advantage card, I would perk myself up on my shopping trip and treat myself to a new colour nail varnish, and as a consequence, my stash grew and grew.

So now I have 16 colours, and I’m still going strong. I love going over to the Barry M section in pharmacies and seeing which colour I haven’t got yet and choose the next one to add. I have tried every single one that I’ve bought and I love them all, and I am never stuck for choice haha!

I even distinguish them between seasons, dark, jewel colours for winter, and bright vivid colours for summer. Then of course I have fun mixing it up a little bit.

They are most definitely more than worth their price, and even putting on a new colour nail varnish can brighten up your day and instantly lift your mood.

I have a lot of love for Barry M cosmetics!

Check out Barry M’s website-

http://www.barrym.com/

Laura, x

Product Hype!

Viktor&Rolf- Flowerbomb

 Once, I heard Dita von Teese say in an interview that women should pick their favourite scent and stick with it for life. She said that a woman could then be defined by her fragrance and that if a special someone was to smell the certain scent, anywhere in the world, it would instantly remind them of her.

Well, whatever your thoughts are of this, she definitely sold it to me, so previously I have been a dedicated wearer of Vera Wang- Princess because I love sweet scents that aren’t too obviously floral. But since starting wearing it at 16, and after three years, two bottles, and maturing into an adult, I decided that Dita’s idea was all well and good, but when we constantly change our tastes and ourselves, it could be a tricky thing to sustain.

So, I wanted a change, and therefore went on the perfume hunt until I could no longer functionally smell properly.  After much deliberation, and wafting samples under all my family’s noses, I decided on Viktor&Rolf- Flowerbomb and am so so pleased with my decision.

The fragrance isn’t too light, and it isn’t too dark and musty either, it sings notes that are just right! It is like floral, but with attitude and is definitely fresh and fun. The packaging and bottle are perfect with the hint of pink, and I have received so many compliments from wearing it. Definitely a big product hype!

 So who knows, maybe someone, somewhere, has already had myself spring to mind as they have walked past Flowerbomb, I guess I’ll never know haha…

Tip: When purchasing perfumes, keep the bottle in its box! 

This allows the fragrance to keep the scent for longer and also protects the perfume from sunlight and air, which can alter the chemicals so by keeping it in the box, you can to see the gorgeous packaging on display, whilst knowing your perfume is going to keep its scent for much longer. 

Laura, x

Benefit Make Over

After receiving some Benefit gifts for Christmas from my parents, part of the goody bag they got me included an invitation to get a complementary make over with one of Benefit’s expert beauty artists at my local store, so of course I instantly booked an appointment. 

It was a great experience, really refreshing to have someone else’s ideas and methods of applying make up, as well as seeing all the lovely products Benefit have to offer.

For Christmas, I received the High Beam luminescent complexion enhancer which has a gorgeous shimmer to it and leaves your highlighted features such as cheek bones and brow bones glowing.

Also, I was given the Benetint rose-tinted lip and cheek stain which smells soooo good, exactly like roses and leaves your cheeks with a natural colour and is really fun to use.

A little sample of Benefit’s new Triple Performance facial emulsion that smells lovely and really moisturises the skin.

And then, as previously mentioned in my Inspiration post, the POREfessional balm, which minimizes the appearance of pores and again, feels fantastic.

So with these lovely gifts on my dressing table, I was very excited to see how to use them from a different perspective and was very impressed by Niomie the beauty assistant. She showed me combining the POREfessional and the Triple Performance moisturiser really preps your skin and leaves it glowing, ready for foundation.

So after being transformed, I had to purchase Benefit’s new eye cream ‘eyes It’s Potent!’ because I find my eye area my biggest concern, as I often have dry, dark circles under my eyes so now, thanks to my demonstration,  hopefully I will have dewy bright eyes!

It was a fantastic experience, I loved feeling like a model being prepared for a photoshoot haha, and with my invitation acting like a voucher, I received a free Benefit make up bag with my purchase of the eye cream.

Here are all my goodies together-

                         

Laura, x

Wednesday Woman of Inspiration!

Solange Knowles!

My Wednesday Woman of Inspiration for this week is the yummy mummy Solange Knowles. Solange is a multi talented lady: apart from being Beyoncé’s younger sister, and mum to 7-year-old Julez, she is also singer-songwriter, model, and DJ.

This lady knows how to juggle family life whilst still being uber fashionable and always looking amazing.

She often channels tribal looks and lots of bright and vibrant colours which I love about her, and she always seems to push trends and know exactly what suits her body. She is frequently spotted walking the red carpets of fashion world’s elite events and has recently becomes the face of cosmetic brand Rimmel London.

When asked by Rimmel what was Solange’s no.1 beauty tip, Solange responded:

Be healthy, be happy, be beautiful, be whole-heartedly you!

Check out her profile on Rimmel London's website:

http://www.rimmellondon.com/us/en/ourfaces/ourmodels/solange-knowles/

After the success of her album Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams, she has said recently on Twitter that she hopes her new music to be released soon, and I can’t wait, I absolutely love her voice.

But until then, she has posted this song for her fans of what is to come and it’s a must play, such a relaxed and chilled sound.

I created the portrait of Solange by using HB & 2B pencil and a splash of water-soluble wax pastels, and have used bright vibrant colours to represent her bubbly personality and her lively and energetic fashion sense.

Laura, x

Capturing Beauty

I think beauty can be highlighted and perceived through the way it is captured.

Therefore, in my forthcoming posts, I will be making use of my camera and once I’m reunited with the camera lead (it being in a different city doesn't help), I will start uploading new photography of all things creative and inspiring.

I studied an element of photography as part of my Art education, but it will be interesting to see how my creativity grows when not under the regime of exam boards.

Unfortunately my camera isn’t the one I’ve drawn, the one depicted was a vintage camera I found in my parents loft but unfortunately it was beyond repair but is now, however, a fantastic prop. The camera I will be using is a Nikon CoolPix S6, not exactly groundbreaking in the world of photography but I won it in an Art competition I entered a few years back so I am very proud to use it.

Watch this space!

The drawing of the camera is A1 in HB & 2B. I did it about 2 years ago, and I remember the size and amount of shading it took nearly killed me.

Laura, x