Going to the Chapel

I'm not one of those girls that enjoys planning an outfit for a night out, in fact I dread it - Quite the opposite to Gemma, my YouTube partner in crime, as I'm sure she enjoys this part more than the night out itself! I find it all a bit stressful. Traipsing the shops with something in mind only to come home empty handed and disappointed is not my idea of fun. Last minute is more my thing.

Wedding guest shopping on the other hand, I ruddy love! I don't know if it's the novelty of dressing up for a different occasion or the wedding itself but either way I love scrolling my way through the 'occasion wear' section on ASOS and flicking my way through the rails in Topshop.

My friend Tasha married her fiancé last weekend in the most beautiful ceremony and seaside themed reception so of course I needed a suitable ensemble. I am of a, let's say, porcelain complexion and have never dreamed of being a bronzed goddess but for once I decided to embrace my auburn hair and freckle-a-plenty face and chose an orangey-red midi dress. Scrolling for hours paid off, hurrah! 

Dress - ASOS

Shoes - Aldo (at ASOS)

Bag - River Island (old)

Fascinator - Claire's Accessories

The midi style suited the formal occasion and the backless detail and bold colour added an edge. I was actually surprised at how comfortable I felt in it and I'm now eagerly waiting for another event to wear it to.

I had been eyeing up the Aldo pointy heels for a fair while, adding them to my ASOS basket months in advance before plucking up the courage to part with the money. But I'm so glad I did as I absolutely love them. The metallic heel and nude leather worked so perfectly with the vibrant dress. Plus I was able to thriftily recycle the nude bag and fascinator that I wore to Gemma's wedding. Outfit compete! Did my feet feel the same level of affection for the shoes? Erm, no. 

Of course the only dress everyone was looking out for was the bride's and good heavens it was beautiful. Such a simple but elegant design and Tasha looked perfect. The bridesmaids looked beautiful in blue and mirrored Tasha's dress with the low cut v neckline. 

I'm sad the celebrations are over so I can only imagine how the bride and groom are feeling. Congratulations Tasha & Greg!

Alex x

Style Tips For A Teenage Me

First of all it is important that you know however you present yourself, whether you are rocking those bodycon dresses or chilling out in a pair of dungarees, you will look back at photos of yourself further down the line and cringe. Once you realise this is the same for everyone walking this planet things will be easier. Honestly, Kate Moss cringes, Zoella Cringes, Cheryl Fernandez-Versini even cringes. We are all Human and we all make fashion mistakes.

As a teenager the need to 'fit in' feels like the world's gravity pushing down on your shoulders. This pressure creates terrible fashion faux pas. Your mum will probably tell you that covering your lips in foundation or those massive gold hoop earrings look strange, but she is old and knows nothing about your life or fashion right? (Wow I really wish I had of listened to my mum)

There is a trick though, which will make those cringe worthy pictures make you smile instead of cry. It is really quite simple, be yourself. If you love that red hair mascara, mascara it up, cover your whole head in that crusty ginger sheen. If a long black coat and a silver studded choker fills your body with joy then represent, even in the heat of the summer.

The most embarrassing photos are the ones when you can tell that even back then you thought you looked awful. Everyone is wearing adidas trousers and an oversized clown necklace so you thought you should circum to the uniform of your youth. NO - don't do it, don't become a clone. I'm not telling you to make a conscious effort to push boundaries and shock the olds. I am just telling you to be comfortable and wear what you enjoy. That is the only way you will look back at those awful teenage photos you wish would disappear with any sense of pride, they are you being you - and as cringeworthy as they will be, knowing you made those choices as an individual makes them sort of beautiful!

Would You Rather?

Would you rather is such a fun game to play, especially when beauty is thrown into the mix. Watch us playing would you rather the beauty edition! :)

June Favourites

Hi Guys,

If you didn't catch our June Favourites video last week here it is for you, I talk about that Contour Kit again and show you some beaut strappy heels!

We will have a new video up on Wednesday so please subscribe to our youtube channel if you haven't already!

Peace Out
Gemma xx

Smashbox Haul

During our June favourites video I mentioned to Alex that I had indulged in a massive haul over on the Smashbox counter in Boots. I thought you might be interested in what I picked up and my thoughts on each product. 

Starting off with the Step-By-Step Contour Stick Trio which I mentioned in the June Favourites Video. I am really enjoying using this product and am having to stop myself from using this everyday because it is THAT easy to use that you could if you wanted to. This product comes with an instruction sheet showing all the different face shapes and how to achieve the perfect contour for you. I would recommend blending this product in with a sponge (Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge) rather than your fingers. Your fingers may be too warm and work the product in to your skin more than you would want to leave the desired contour effect. The only negative to this product is that the sticks currently only come in one shade trio and the highlighter is too similar to my normal skin shade so it would be great if in the future these sticks could come in a range of shades to be purchased separately.

The next thing I picked up was the Halo Highlighting Wand in the colour Gold. I wasn’t really looking for a highlighter but the Smashbox assistant Jade really sold this to me as a must have (and I am an easy touch) The colour is REALLY pretty and it is a long lasting product, however the applicator is reminiscent of a foundation brush and when I use this to apply the highlighter onto my face it makes me feel like I am scraping off the foundation below. What I am doing to stop this is first applying the product onto my finger and then blending into the cheek bone. On the whole I don’t think I would be in a rush to repurchase this product over other highlighters on the market. If anyone has an amazing highlighter they can recommend for me to try next please do so!

I was on the hunt for a new liquid liner, I wanted one with a felt type nib and Jade recommended the Photo Angle Pure Pigment Gel Liner. I have been disappointed with this product and at a cost of £18 it isn’t cheap. The nib at the top of the pen is really hard and when I try to apply it to my lid it feels like it drags across and pulls my eye lid which is anything but ideal, trying to form a precision cat eye look with this pen isn’t an easy task. It comes out in clumps and gets stuck in my eyelashes, I have found myself using this as a rough line and then blending with a dark shadow to correct and smooth. I was given the wrong colour as I asked for Black and was given Smoke. Will not repurchase. Someone PLEASE tell me where I can pick up an amazing liquid eyeliner it is going to be a mission for me to find the right one.

The mascara that I have been using hasn’t left me loving lashes and I was about to leave Smashbox and haul my arse over to Benefit to grab a Roller Lash (which Alex talks about in our June favourites video and is loving right now) but I was stopped in my tracks by the Full Exposure Mascara and the Layer Lash Primer. I liked the idea that you could use the primer to boost your mascara for evening but leave it off for a daytime look. I’ve been having really bad itchy eyes with my current hay fever situation so I haven’t used it too much just yet but what I have seen I have been liking.

As I had purchased all of the above Jade treated me to two sample primers. The Photo finish foundation primer (which I am yet to try as I have just purchased the PIXI Flawless Beauty Primer) and the Photo Finish Lid Primer. I have used the lid primer however I also have recently been given a sample of the Urban Decay eyeshadow primer in the shade Sin and I have found myself reaching for that one more often.

So that was it for my Smash Box haul, I hope this post has helped you out if you was thinking about investing in any of the products. I would love to hear if you have any different opinions on the products or if there is a product you think I must try. 

Peace Out 

Gemma x 

Starting our YouTube channel

There was something myself and Alex were up to which the other knew nothing about, only in the privacy of our own homes and when no one was around…… yes obviously we was dreaming about creating our own YouTube videos and getting our voices heard. One day we was brave and confided in each other about this vision that we had to make our mark on the internet and decided to collaborate and start our very own channel. 

That was the easy bit. 

After watching over a thousand tutorial videos and reading blog post after blog post explaining how to make and edit YouTube videos it is safe to say I have a new found respect for everyone who is creating videos and posting them online. 

Today I have finally after two days of editing uploaded our very first video onto YouTube, it is The TMI Tag which we decided would be a good start to get us comfortable talking on camera and having fun with the whole thing. It has taken me in total 12 hours to successfully upload the finished product (which you can take a look at by clicking right here) me and my macbook were about to seriously not be friends and then it finally was successful, how people are uploading daily I just do not know. 

We created this first video with an iPhone 5S, iMovie and the help of picmonkey so as you can imagine the style is very home made, but we are learning and hopefully with each upload we will be more and more proud of the videos we are making and continue to have FUN which after all is the main thing! 

I welcome any tips you can share about making videos, which camera should I invest in? is iMovie good enough for this type of editing? How do people create their amazing intro sequences? Please share your knowledge with me! 

Peace Out 

Gemma  x