Tuesday 8 October 2013

My Pinspiration: Collars and jumpers

 Original photo sources:  1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
I apologise for the bad pun (I'm sure that I'm not the first to have come up with that corker...) but I wanted to do a post on the best place there is to find any kind of inspiration- Pinterest! I mean really, online scrapbooking! Whoever came up with that idea is a total genius! Anyway, as I'm sure you all have and love Pinterest as much as I do, I won't go on about it, but do check mine out if you fancy and please send me your links too. I love finding new people to follow.

So, onto my recent pins. I'm a huge lover of jumpers of all shapes and sizes (really, I need to stop buying them, it's getting a little out of hand), and one of my favourite ways to wear them is with a collar poking out of the top. I think this style has got a great autumnal feel to it and I love how you can mix smart with casual; for example a smart jumper with a denim collar or second hand slouchy jumper with a clean cut cream collar. I also love patterned collars, or ones that add colour to an outfit. Really, the possibilities with this look are endless!

I thought that I'd also give a little life update for those of you who are interested. I've been back at Uni for a month now and have been rehearsing hard for our theatre company's performance of DNA by Dennis Kelly. It's been really fantastic but of course, very hard work (as these things should be!) We've got our dress rehearsal tonight and then the show opens on Wednesday, which is a terrifying but extremely exciting prospect. It also means that once this week is over, I'll be getting my life back again (or some of it anyway...) and I can't wait to get back to the blogging world. More than anything, I've missed reading everyone's blogs, although it's probably been better for my bank account :) And of course (shameless plug coming up) if any of you live in or around  Sheffield, come along and see the show!!

Essie x

Saturday 5 October 2013

Review: Sleek Blusher

Sleek Blusher: £9.99
I've actually had this post in the pipe lines for ages now but, due to an incredibly busy last few weeks, I haven't got round to posting it (sorry). Whilst this means that I appear to be very late on the bandwagon with Sleek's 'Lace' palette, it also follows that I've tried and tested this product for a couple of months now, something that I think is important for a review as opinions can change so quickly (or is that just me?)

I'll be honest with you, blusher is something that I've always been a bit unsure about. I never know what colour is best for my skin tone, or even whether I'm putting it in the right place, and so I've never been fantastic at experimenting with it. However, after seeing this palette appearing on so many blogs and as the blusher I had been using for ages was at an end, I thought that it was about time to give it a try. As I hope you can see from the pictures, the colours in this palette are really gorgeous. I've done a swab of them at their most intense but the great thing with this blusher is that it blends beautifully. This also means that a little goes a long way and after about two months of daily use, I've barely got a dent in any of the colours. The colour that I currently use the most is 'Crochet', which pleasantly surprised me as I've never used a coral blush before. I do love the pink 'Chantilly' colour, although I sometimes think that it can bring out the redness in my skin if I'm having a bad blemish day. I like to use 'Guipure'  to create a  more natural, glowy look and also use it as a highlighter as it's got a real shimmer to it.


All in all I'm absolutely over the moon with this palette. It was only £9.99, which I think is amazing value for money. Sleek's made me feel far more excited about blusher and hopefully from now on I will feel braver and try out different colours and palettes. Oof, cheesy but true :) 

I'd love to know what you think of Sleek's palette if you've tried it. Have you got a favourite colour? 

Essie x