Beauty. Fashion. Lifestyle.
Posts tagged FOTD
Fragrance Direct Valentine’s Look: English Rose
8
3 years
The lovely folks at Fragrance Direct recently set me a fun challenge – to create a look for Valentine’s Day using make up from their site. I was given a budget of £20.00, and could choose five items in total. I initially planned to go for smokey eyes and vampy red lips, but as that’s quite a clichéd Valentine’s look, I went for something a bit different in the end. I wanted to keep it simple, so I settled for a fresh-faced ‘English Rose’ look that makes the most of my pale skin, with pretty pink cheeks, lips and nails. After all, roses are what Valentine’s is all about, right? These are the five items that I chose…
Rimmel Stay Matte Foundation in ‘Light Porcelain’ £5.50 / Rimmel ScandalEyes Thick Eyeliner in ‘Black’ £5.00 / Bourjois 10 Day Anti Choc No Chips Nail Polish in ‘Shade 26′ £1.99 / Maybelline Clear Smooth Blush in ‘Fresh Rose’ £2.50 / Calvin Klein Delicious Luxury Creme Lipstick in ‘Mesmerize’ £1.99
Total: £16.98
On the high street, these products would have cost over £35.00 in total, so to get everything for under £20.00 is a massive bargain!
As was allowed, I used a few bits and pieces from my make up bag to complete the look (namely concealer, face powder, a bit of kohl eyeliner and mascara), and here is my finished look…
I must say, I am really impressed with the staying power of all of these products. The lipstick stayed put through a meal and several drinks, the eyeliner didn’t budge at all until I removed it, the foundation gives amazing coverage which lasts all day, as does the blusher, and the nail polish is supposed to stay chip-free for 10 days!
I’m happy with my Fragrance Direct Valentine’s Look – it’s subtle, but still pretty, and I think it’d be perfect for a relaxed Valentine’s Day lunch. You can check out Fragrance Direct’s full range of cosmetics here.
Naomi x
*These make up items were sent to me by Fragrance Direct. All opinions expressed are honest and my own.*
What I Wore: Graduation
3After two years of hard work, and juggling studying with a part-time job, yesterday I finally graduated from the University of Leicester with a postgraduate degree in Modern Literature! It’s been a long and, at times, difficult couple of years, but I am so happy that I can now officially call myself a Master of the Arts. And to make things even better, my fiancé graduated at the same time with the same degree, and because our surnames are alphabetically next to each other, we got to cross the stage one after the other! I was very nervous before the ceremony, which is odd considering I’d done it all before in 2011 in the same place, but in the end I really enjoyed the day and I’m so proud of my achievement.
Between them my family took hundreds of photographs, but after a hectic day I’m yet to sort through all of them, so for now I can only share a few. Hopefully I’ll have some better ones to add some time next week which actually show my outfit properly!
On the day I wore a beautiful textured floral dress from Dorothy Perkins, which I bought especially for the ceremony. We were told to wear ‘sombre colours’ but I didn’t want to look too drab, so I chose something with a nice print and teamed it with red lips and nails to match the colour of my hood.
Illamasqua Lipstick in ‘Snap’ / Ciaté Nail Varnish in ‘Dangerous Affair’
Excuse the pose on that one!
In the evening, my family, my fiancé, my fiancé’s family and I went out for a meal to celebrate the occasion. I wore the same dress as I did during my graduation, but I swapped my low New Look heels (I didn’t want to fall over on the stage!) for my new Kurt Geiger Sally Ankle Boots, my red lips for pink lips, and I also took my Zatchels Gothic Lace Saddle Bag out for a spin.
Also, I feel like MUA’s Pro-Base Makeup Fixing Mist needs a special mention here. I used the spray in the morning after applying my make up, and it did an amazing job at keeping it in place. I expected to have to reapply my make up before going out for the meal in the evening, but it still looked great, and did so right up until I removed it at 11pm! A real saviour on a long, busy day.
What did you wear to your graduation?
Naomi x
