Treat your feet

Our faces, hair and fingernails seem to get all the attention when it comes to beauty upkeep, and feet are often forgotten about down there, so why should we let them be so neglected?! I've decided that I think it's time we gave our feet a treat girls...

With Britain having a surprisingly nice start to the summer (touch wood) I was not expecting to be wearing sandals and flip flops as much as I have been doing. I have begun to get very tired of the sight of my feet, plus training for a half marathon at the moment has meant that my feet have taken a right battering. So, they are in serious need of some TLC, requiring more than just a polish. As a result I decided to treat myself to a trip to the beauticians to give my feet the pampering that they so deserve.

It was certainly money well spent as my feet underwent a serious of luxurious treatments including a hot bath spa, a moisturising foot massage, a good buff to the palms and heels of my foot, a reshaping and file of my nails and to finish, a shellac polish. The beauty of shellac and the bonus of it in comparison to regular polish is that it lasts up to 3 weeks, it doesn't chip easily or ruin your nails underneath and it has a nice gel shine finish that is hard to find with a regular paint.

With a fully qualified beautician this pedicure can cost from £20-£40, the lower price would be minus certain aspects such as the little extras like the foot massage; but I would suggest that the Shellac is a must.

I just noticed I also did not think twice about upload a photo of my feet, also a sign how a little pedi will make you feel.
My summer sandals will certainly be getting their wear out of them this year!

Ellie

Blogs I ❤

I have just added a new page which has links to some of the blogs that I follow and often read, it is worth taking a minute to check some of them out.

A Matter of Style - A really great innovative DIY blog with lots of useful fashion and beauty tips and tricks, definitely worthy of a follow.

Fashion Canvas - I admire this blog for all the fashion photography, all fashion bloggers would appreciate the magazine quality shots! 

Life of A Trainee Journalist - The clue is in the title. A friends of mine who's blog posts cover all things beauty, fashion and lifestyle. I will be shocked if this girl doesn't end up working for a fashion mag one day. 

Masha's Mumbles - An american blogger who's blog features all things beauty, lifestyle and travel. You can tell she has a good eye for photography as well. 

Ro's Tinted - Another fashion, beauty and lifestyle blog, but you can never have too many! This blog was also shortlisted for Company magazines style blogger awards 2013. 

Trends With Benefits - An inspiring fashion crafty blog that was the winner of Company magazines style blogger awards 2013.

Enjoy.
Ell

Product of the week: Lee Stafford Wonder Spray

So I have just got round to rooting through my goodie bag from graduate fashion week and I came across the Lee Stafford blow dry your hair faster spray. I must admit I wouldn't ever chose to buy a product like this because I am always lead to believe they are just a myth however as it was a freebie I thought it would do no harm to give it a try...

When trialing the product I really liked how lightweight the spray was, often hair products that you have to apply to damp hair tend to stay sticky, and you can feel the excess on your hair once its dry; which I don't know about you but it just makes me want to wash it again! But fortunately this was not an issue with this product.

Usually it takes me a good twenty minutes to fully dry my hair as I have very long and quite thick hair so those of you who have hair similar to mine will know it's a massive hindrance when you need to get ready in a rush. However thanks to this product, the time it takes to complete my everyday regime has now significantly reduced!

In terms of success of the spray it did as it said on the tin and I was indeed impressed, therefore proved wrong of the mythical connotations I normally associate with these types of hair products. I would definitely suggest to people with the same hair type as mine to try this spray, it would be a wise investment!

You can buy this item for a reasonable six pounds and nineteen pennies at Boots online along with a range of other Lee Stafford products.

Apologies for the photo quality, still looking for a good camera I can use for the blog! In the mean time please bare with the phone quality.

TOP TIPS: Towel dry your hair so it's not dripping wet, and do this just before applying the spray.

Don't go crazy! I found that five sprays to the front of the hair and five to the back was sufficient to cover the hair,

and to do this it's easiest flipping all your hair over or to the side of your head.

Thanks for reading.

Ellie

Outfit of The Night: Diamonds world tour

The night before last I was lucky to witness live the barbadian goddess that is Rihanna perform her diamonds world tour, supported by David Guetta at Sunderlands stadium of light, and this is what I wore...

Studded sleeve peplum top: H&M, Khaki lightweight skinny jeans: Topshop



I chose to wear this top back to front because

I liked the zip as a feature!

Sandals: Topshop

Excited!

However there is no doubt that Rihanna certainly trumped my outfits as she wore six throughout a one and a half hour slot! Firstly, to open the show she stepped out in a pair of  black knee high flat boots with a sheer black crop top, embellished shorts and a gorgeous embellished coat to match, which to no surprise didn't stay on for long! To follow was a two piece outfit consisting of a casual boyfriend fit black and white t-shirt, accompanied with a killer pair of thigh high, yes thigh high! white boots that I think only the likes of Rihanna could pull of without looking like 70's cross dresser! Then for her performance of S&M it was no shock that her outfit consisted of a large amount of PVC and fishnet...need I say more!

Then as the beat of 'We Found Love' filled the arena came her next outfit change, stepping out in a metallic silver skater dress with a matching jacket and high tops, not forgetting a pair of pastel green sunglasses to top it off.

Outfit no. 5 was a scarlet red sarong style dress with a cut out across her stomach, flattering her flawless figure...she definitely made me regret the Dominos pizza I had earlier eaten.

Her 6th and final outfit we all had high expectations for as of course it was the finale...and as she ascended from beneath the stage all the lighting in the arena began to reflect off of a stunning and what looked to be encrusted gold jumpsuit. Well done Ri good thinking to wear this whilst singing 'Diamonds' as she was indeed (pardon the pun) shining bright.

Stadium of Light

My photo of the night, the man was a-ma-zing!

Just before the firework finale 

Thanks for reading!
Ellie

Do I smell pancakes?

I've always had such a sweet tooth for pancakes, and even though they are ridiculously cheap to make, I still see them as a luxury because they taste so good!

After returning home for summer since finishing uni, life has become a little more luxurious and I have taken full advantage of this by getting my expert of a cook dad to help make pancakes with me at breakfast.

The recipe my dad and I have added our own touches to is Nigela Lawson's American pancake recipe:

First things first, you will need...

225g of plain flour

1 tablespoon of baking powder

A pinch of salt

1 teaspoon of sugar

2 large eggs

30g of butter, melted and cooled

300ml of milk
Sunflower oil

Although highly unlikely..if you dont want to make a huge batch, half of the mix usually makes enough for 2 people.

Me and my dad tend to use the all in one method by blending the ingredients all together with a electric mixer, but if you are using a hand mixer I suggest you sieve the flower in gradually to save yourself arm ache trying to remove loads of lumps!

You can transfer the mixture into a jug so its easy to pour into the pan, however we tend to use a ladel because this seems to serve for a perfect pancake size!

When it comes to cooking the pancakes drizzle the pan with oil (not butter as the recipe states) and allow it to get really hot, but not smoking!

You'll know the pancake is ready to flip when the upper side starts blistering, and then it should only take about another minute until your pancakes are ready. Furthermore, to ensure they are not gooey inside, a sign that they are fully cooked inside is when your pancake is a lovely golden brown colour.

Now for the fun bit, dressing your pancakes! There are many different variations you can enjoy with your pancakes, some more bizarre than others, but my personal favorite is golden syrup and strawberries.

Some other variations include:

Nutella and banana

My dads personal favorite, sultanas and maple syrup

Or perhaps if you're having the pancakes as a dessert, blueberry's and vanilla ice cream are a fantastic combo!

Enjoy!

Ellie

Product of the week: St. Moriz self tan

I've never been one to fake tan, the one time I tried it when I was 16 it looked like a 5 year old had applied it, so after that experience I was put off! I'm quite lucky that my skins tans naturally anyway, however its been a long time since my skin has seen foreign sun so recently my flat mate persuaded me to try the fake way!

Knowing I don't tan on a regular basis and with a tight student budget I didn't want to splash out on a tan that was really pricey so my flat mate suggested St. Moriz instant tan which is currently retailed at the affordable price of only £2.99. I was initially a bit wary of this cause the last thing I wanted another 5 year old applied look going on but after looking at my already empty purse I decided I couldn't afford much than that so just went ahead and bought it!

St. Moriz offer a mouse, cream and spray instant tan and also in a variety of shades, light, medium and dark. I bought the spray in the medium shade and when it came to applying it I was getting ready for a night out so if it went wrong I was screwed! However I was very pleasantly surprised! The tan went on so well, it looked really natural and not at all orange, and even better, the morning after my skin felt softer and even after a shower that top layer rinsed off leaving a nice natural light brown shade perfect for the daytime.

Also after few days I notice on some people that some spray tans go really patchy and basically it looks they have scales, I found with St.Moriz I avoided this, however if you want to keep up your tan I would recommend re applying after a few days and it does scrub off quite easily in the shower with a loofah and exfoliator.

Overall I had much more successful false tanning experience than I've previously had, therefore I would definitely suggest St. Moriz spray tan as my product of the month.

TIPS: Buy a tanning mit, you can get these really cheap and make the process so much easier, I found it best to spray the product onto the mit and then rub it onto my body.

If you have dry skin, apply moisturiser to these areas before applying the tan.

When it comes to shaving, do this the day before so it doesn't emphasise your hair follicles.

If you decide you've done something wrong & want to remove it as soon as you've applied it, it comes off easily with a face wipe.

Thanks for reading.

Ellie

Tatty Devine

Until I visited the Baltic exhibition centre in Newcastle a couple of weeks ago I had never heard of the jewelry brand Tatty Devine. I was visiting the Baltic to help out with my universities graduate fashion show and there happened to be a photo window with massive scale necklace designs on display for visitors to use as props, take some photos, and enter them into a competition. For a laugh me and my friends took a few and posted them on Tatty Devine's twitter page, and then the next thing I know I've been tweeted back saying I'd won! I was lucky to win the speech bubble necklace, a really cute piece of jewelry that you can customize with your own sayings!
If you've not heard of the brand before you should check out Tatty Devine's website. They have some really quirky and unique designs that can be made the main statement of an outfit!

The winning photo

My necklace!

Ellie

Graduate Fashion Week

What better way to end my first year at uni than to accompany the 4th years to London to showcase their final collections at graduate fashion week.
Although it meant setting my alarm for 3.45AM, I repeat AM, to get on a 6 hour bus journey from Newcastle to London it was worth it to see such a huge amount of incredible and diverse talent from some of this years graduates, and up and coming designers that was displayed at Earls Court.
I reiterate in saying that the work from all universities was of an incredibly high standard and it is evident that many of the individuals have a big future ahead of them. However Northumbria was definitely a uni to stand out. It was a shame I wasn't able to see the actual show as I was dressing the models backstage, however I must admit that having a few topless male models hanging about backstage certainly wasn't a disadvantage.

Here are a select few images of the inspiring looks produced by Northumbria Fashion Design students...

Victoria Schofield 'A Festival of Colour'

Rosie Janes 'Tour De Knit'

Bryony Carrigan 'Triangulation'

Linsy Hansom 'A Glass Winged Carnival'

Melyssa Bates 'Fervent Rein'

It is very nerve wracking however extremely exciting to think that I have the same opportunity as these students and I will hang onto this thought to motivate me through my degree!

Images from: http://www.gfw.org.uk/blog/show-northumbria/